MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE
JAMMU&KASHMIR: Electronic media or the print media are selective and suffer from amnesia, is never in doubt. They have been always selective and conveniently forget or gloss over events that always demanded highlighting issues in service of truth.
Why are they peddling, which are truly against the interest of the nation!
Some months ago the country had abrogated article 370 of the Indian Constitution following proper procedures. There is enough and more to prove that inclusion of this article 370, into the pages of the most sacred national document has been done to protect and promote a sectarian interest at the cost of national interest. And for all the past 70 years, governments have come and governments have gone, all thought that article 370 has not been fair in the pan-Indian context, but none did anything to correct the anomaly.
But this government of NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the unthinkable. Without any noise, they quietly consigned this article 370 into the dustbin of the contemporary history of our nation.
Naturally it has deeply hurt the psyche of those who lorded it over the destiny of Kashmir for over seven decades. For their capacity to foment mischief they have been detained in their residence post abrogation of article 370. Since they enjoyed unparalleled freedom and comfort, their new found equity among equals, has completely overturned their ivory tower existence.
We all know how Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, as the home minister under VP Singh allowed terrorists to be released by faking the abduction of his daughter Rabaiya Sayyeed! We are also privy to the atrocities of 1989/90 by the Kashmiri Muslims on the Kashmiri Pandits, which no Human Rights Organization anywhere in the world or even governments in New Delhi did precious little to address, the near genocide, of the unfortunate victims of time and circumstances.
And comes this lady, Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti and Rubaiya is her sister. As a daughter, her concern for her mother is certainly in order. But for her to run down the Indian government and to give Indians lessons in constitutional propriety and legal infirmities of some of its actions is completely officious to say the least, except for her ‘friends’ in the media who are around only fishing for such wasted groaning and moaning!
She appeared on NDTV few days ago and was mouthing inanities, on how India was a syncretic culture, secular and all that crap as if she was qualified to lecture on such issues. But her interlocutor from NDTV failed miserably, may be even purposely to question this Iltija Mufti, how the so-called syncretic culture didn’t stop the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits and how they became refugees in their own country. Writing in TOI, she branded life in Kashmir resembling “Orwellian dystopia”. According to her “The repression that was unleashed on Kashmiris is sadly a precursor of what will follow. Whether it’s the Ayodhya verdict or the communal CAA, it’s painfully obvious that sowing seeds of division, bigotry and demonizing minorities will define agenda of a government that enjoy unparalleled impunity due to a brute mandate”.
First of all she needs to visit of the countries in the middle-east to understand what dystopia truly means. Having enjoyed the freedom of India and a special status to Kashmir, no wonder, even tightening some ‘vent-screw’ can suffocate likes of junior Mufti. Coming to her comments on Ayodhya judgment and CAA, the issues are clearly beyond her limited and contrived comprehension. It is unfortunate that media, being on anti-Modi mode tries to over-highlight likes of this Iltija Mufti. She only deserves to be ignored.
NEW DELHI:Like all elections to state assemblies, the Delhi election too has come and gone.
As expected AAP has romped home in style, despite the BJP claim “Exit polls will fail, we will form new government in Delhi”. It is true that 9 months ago, in the election to the Lok Sabha, AAP couldn’t get even a single win to the Lok Sabha. There were 7 of them at stake. In fact every assembly segment AAP did poorly, coming 3rd. Thus some calculations would have taken this arithmetic into account in coming to the conclusion by the BJP leadership that AAP will not make it to the Delhi assembly.
But what most pundits have ignored the basics of vox populi is, issues in Lok Sabha election are different, unlike those in assembly elections. It’s the local issues that will have precedence in decision making, whom to vote and what to look for. BJP completely failed to understand these basics.
Back in 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Congress won over 400 seats under the leadership of reluctant Rajiv Gandhi, despite the then blue eyed boy of Indian politics Ramakrishna Hegde questioning Rajiv’s antecedents of being Indira Gandhi’s son as the only qualification. But same Ramakrishna Hegde, won hands-down in the election that followed, to the Karnataka assembly. So clearly, what mattered in Karnataka assembly elections was entirely different from the Lokha Sabha election, indicating clarity of thought and maturity of then Karnataka voters. Similarly, it was the performance of AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal that voted the party to another resounding victory. Such victories are good for the body politic of India in general. All political parties need to understand this dimension of electoral politics. Of course there was this huge crowd, who voted for Kejriwal freebies, which are truly speaking, not development.
Mostly it is the macro issues that help in decision making for Lokha Sabha choice, unlike states, where it is micro issues that truly decides the voting pattern. It is also true that AAP has done well on both education and health, two fundamental barometers of development. Hope a clear message to this effect will go across the political class for better future for the country as a whole. Two cheers to AAP in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: British labour M.P Debbie Abrahams was denied entry into India, was the news in most newspapers across the country. There was, truly speaking, no need for this to become a news. But clearly, intent on making it a news Ms. Abrahams had travelled from UK to New Delhi, with no visa in her hand, since the e-visa that she had was cancelled on 14th February itself, much before her travel on 17th February.
Ms. Abrahams, who chairs a parliamentary group on Kashmir, was known to have friends in Pakistan and has been vociferous in putting across their point of view on Kashmir, ever since the abrogation of article 370 from the Indian constitution. Thus she was clearly an unwelcome guest. Fortunately, wise counsel prevailed over the Congress leadership and hence came out openly in support of the denial of the entry visa to Ms. Abrahams, by the MEA of government of India. Reportedly Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Supreme Court Lawyer and Congress leader has gone on record, saying that Debbie Abrahams is not just a British Member of Parliament but a “Pakistan proxy”. Tweeting his party’s response to the denial of entry to Ms. Abrahams, Singhvi had stated “The deportation of Debbie Abrahams was indeed necessary, as she is not just an M.P, but a Pak proxy. Every attempt that tries to attack India’s sovereignty must be thwarted”.
While, the Congress stand on the deportation of Ms. Abrahams to Dubai from New Delhi, is a welcome development, Ms. Abrahams has reportedly remarked about the undemocratic democracy of India while stating that she, “will always stand up for those fighting for their rights”. Unfortunately Ms. Abrahams is clearly suffering from selective amnesia when it comes to the rights of non-Muslims in Pakistan, be it their religion or accusation of blasphemy, violence and forcible conversion of non-Muslims, especially Hindus and Christians and forcible marriages of their women to Muslim men, besides supply of non-Muslim women to Pakistan’s Chinese masters, as sex slaves. Clearly this Abrahams is blind and deaf to the happenings in Pakistan. No wonder, the parliamentary group she chairs in the British parliament have mostly Pakistani British Members of Parliament, with none from India, and hence the group speak only Pakistani language “Government of India was within its right to refuse entry to this controversial member of parliament” commented British TV commentator Katie Hopkins dubbing the attempted visit as “arrogance of the left”.
NEW DELHI: “Publicise criminal cases of candidates”, the diktat by the highest court of the land has not come a day too early.
It has been long overdue from the power that be, as the ultimate custodian of law and order of the country.
In a far reaching verdict aimed at decriminalizing politics, the Supreme Court stated “It shall be mandatory for political parties to upload on their websites detailed information regarding individuals with pending criminal cases who have been selected as candidates, along with reasons for such selections, as also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. If a political party fails to submit the compliance report of the directives with the Election Commission, the poll penal shall bring such non-compliance to the notice of the Supreme Court within 72 hours of the selection of the said candidate as being in contempt of this court’s orders”.
Criminals in politics or in political office are fairly routine in all political parties. All political parties have been giving lip service to the eradication of this menace, including BJP, who have always spoken as a party with a difference, while it is true that, it is not as rampant as in some other parties. Of course, communist party is similarly better placed, when it comes to personal corruption of candidates. But no political party is free of this menace completely. But there are likes of Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD of Lalu Yadav, SP of Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP of Mayawathi, DMK of Karunanidhi, JD(S) of Deve Gowda, all these parties and there are many other smaller parties, are soaked in corruption. Therefore it is important that the highest court of the land, even so late in the day, takes up cudgels on behalf of the people that only those who have impeccable record in public space are selected, elected and promoted to serve the electorate and the country.
MAHARASHTRA: There was this print media news datelined Mumbai, “Sedition charge on students will wreak their lives, say teachers”.
There was this ‘Mumbai Pride’, an engineered protest in support of anti CAA protestors elsewhere in the country. Students of TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) had taken part.
Reportedly one Urvashi Chaudawala, a 22 year old final year student at TISS was booked for a slogan like a couplet that she raised at the venue of the protest in Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, which Mumbai police considered as seditious.
Indians are privy to the fact that one Sharjeel Imam, an IITian from Bombay, was recently arrested as instigator of violence at Jamia. He had reportedly made clearly seditious utterance like “will cut Assam from the rest of India”. And this joker of a youth Urvashi Chaudawala had reportedly remarked “Sharjeel hum tumhare sapnonko manzil tak pahunchayange”. Now this cannot be ignored as a mere freedom of speech, however hard one tries. Thus her being booked under sedition is apparently in order. And reportedly the Bombay High Court has rejected her bail plea.
Once a person is booked for an offence as serious as sedition, running around the police and court is given. So naturally the student has been put to hardship. To her help/support come some student leaders and even members of the faculty in TISS. As if these student leaders and their faculty members in TISS are the custodians to decide what is freedom of speech and how it should be tackled.
Some faculty members have reportedly stated ‘No government has the right to disrupt students’ future for protesting’, as if students have the right to disrupt normal life of citizens.
The issue here is managing law and order, besides acts of commission which could be construed as seditious. Police have no role, unless the occasion demands.
Students are sent to institutions of higher learning to equip themselves with knowledge and skill to face the challenges of life. So the duty of every student should be to remain dutiful in pursuit of his academic and professional goal. But, as usual- Yeh Dil Maange More! They go in search of thrills to enter arena of action. This is pure politics. When you enter politics, it is with the knowledge that there is risk of police intervention. When you cross the ‘line of control’, you are asking for trouble and hence should have no reason to complain. Police only did what they were expected to do. So, what right we have of complaining when we have crossed the line of control in pursuit of our rights instead of duties.
MAHARASHTRA: The infamous 26/11 is coming back at regular intervals to haunt some of the actors, who have allegedly been the ‘Causa Proxima’ in the entire sordid episode of terror attack on the unsuspecting crowd in Mumbai, on 26th November 2008.
Sometime in 2019 a book had surfaced in the publishing world by a former Indian Home Ministry official RVS Mani, and the title of the book is “The Myth of HINDU TERROR”. It is an insider account of how a calculated diabolic narrative was planned to be built around a non- existent HINDU TERROR.
He names in the book, questioning the role of likes of Shivraj Patil & P. Chidambaram, both ministers in Manmohan Singh government, besides Hemant Karkare, the senior policeman killed by 26/11 terrorists, so also Digvijay Singh, a senior Congress Leader, in this chilling game of a mean political subterfuge.
And comes along another bombshell from Rakesh Maria, another senior policeman, a former police commissioner of Mumbai. In his memoir “Let Me Say it Now”, he leaves nobody in doubt that there indeed was a diabolic plan to fix Hindu organizations by making the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack by Pakistani outfits, look like a HINDU TERROR”.
According to the book “If everything went according to plan, Kasab would have died as Samir Chaudhary of Bengalooru and media would have blamed Hindu terrorists for the attack”.
Kasab is the same Ajmal Kasab, who was fortunately caught alive by the brave-heart hero, ASI Tukaram Omble. According to the book, this Kasab was found with a fake Indian Id card and a red thread on his right hand wrist, symbolizing his being a Hindu.
But unlike RVS Mani policeman Maria tells that “LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) had planned to show the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai as ‘Hindu Terror’ and LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) tried hard to eliminate Ajmal Kasab in the jail, using notorious underworld criminal Dawood Ibrahim’s gang men”.
These two books expose the underbelly of our political class, especially those who are opposed to the rise of BJP and their allied organizations. Is it a failure of the political class, aided by some members of the media to take on BJP politically that has led to this diabolic chilling operation with the help of Pakistan!? What a fall for the Grand Old Party, if true!
A question always persisted but never answered WHO AIDED THE TERRORISTS FROM PAKISTAN TO LAND ON INDIAN SOIL VIA COLABA CAUSEWAY FROM THEIR BOATS THEY SAILED FROM KARACHI?
GOA: The Diocesan Center for Social Communications Media, a wing of Goa Church, reported to have issued a statement a few days ago against the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
According to the media report, it had stated, “The Archbishop and the Catholic Community of Goa would like to appeal to the government to listen to the voice of millions in India, to stop quashing the right to dissent and, above all, to immediately and unconditionally revoke the CAA and desist from implementing the NRC and NPR”.
At the outset, it is a very negative development coming from the temporal head of Christian community of Goa. While all of us are entitled to have our own views on anything that happens in the country, to come out in open against an enactment, which was debated and passed by both houses of parliament, especially by a head of a religious community, is very unhealthy and unwarranted, to say the least. It could at best his own individual stand on an important legislation like CAA, when there are practicing Christians openly criticizing him for his stand on CAA, which is designed to help persecuted minority community persons from our immediate neighbors.
So prima facie, the formal public stand of Archbishop of Goa is against the interest of Christians. There is a political class, which cleared this CAA on the floor of the parliament, now they are up against the government purely as a vote bank politics. This is just not done. Mercifully there are lots of members of his own faith who are opposed to him publicly vocally and even quietly. Besides, there are enough issues for his holiness, the Archbishop, to worry about like the sexual escapades by the clergy, which are considered unacceptable sins, which should truly worry the Archbishop and his ilk.
Archbishop talks about, all those hackneyed observations of some of the opposition parties like Congress and Communists, invoking, constitution, secularism, religion etc., without truly applying any logic. He is just acting on somebody’s nudging, if not instruction. This will neither win him friends nor influence people.
KARNATAKA: Some weeks ago 97 year old mother of a local municipal corporator passed away in a suburb of Mangalooru.
Being a Hindu, the body was taken to a crematorium. An extremely helpful attender at the crematorium was doing his job to the utmost satisfaction of the family of the old lady. Among the requirement that the attender was needed to attend to, was the protocol that was in place which he had to adhere. He asked for copy of the Aadhaar card of the deceased lady, which was promptly provided. Life went on and all appeared quite routine and nothing happened that made news in the local media, either print or 24x7 electronic.
And comes this news in the print media, Times of India, to be specific, titled “crematoria staffers ask for Aadhaar of the dead, add to mourners’ trauma”. Rohith BR of timesgroup.com who wrote the story and filed it to be published made quite a work of going into the nitty gritty of this ‘Aadhaar for dead’, imbroglio.
A 75 year old lady had died. She was a resident of Vijayanagara in Bangalooru. Her relatives took her mortal remains to Sumanahalli crematorium. Bangalooru being a techno savvy city, online booking for a slot in the crematorium was the norm and as usual the staff there asked for Aadhaar card. Reportedly, they insisted on original, which the relatives of the dead lady didn’t have as it was missing and somehow the relatives managed to generate an e-aadhaar and life went on as usual.
However, the Times of India staffer Rohith BR filed some 600 words story of this mundane news. He had all the time to get in touch or visit different crematorium in and around Bangalooru to check if indeed Aadhaar was needed to perform the last rites of the dead. Fortunately, every place where this journo happen to have visited or contacted, all insisted that proof of identity was indeed needed, if some had Aadhaar others had voter-id or any other government issued identity proof was good enough for the purpose. Surely there was no need for a write-up with a caption, “demand for Aadhaar of the dead, add to mourners’ trauma”. After all the staff in the crematorium in Sumanahalli were only doing their job. Because the relatives didn’t have the Aadhaar of the deceased they were not refused. Job was completed with the e-Aadhaar card. Hence, there was no need for a story portraying staff at the crematorium in poor light. If you do not do your job, you are damned. But if you do your job properly too you would be damned. Was it to portray Karnataka government in poor light! But then there are many other stories of BSY government’s bungling, media can write about! This is Yeh Mera India!
KARNATAKA: The highlight by the TOI, on the Karnataka High Court judgment was on expected lines. “Courts suspects bid to cover up excesses by Mangalooru police” was the top billed news on February 19, in the front page in its Mangalooru edition.
One man bench of Justice John Michael Cunha was granting bail to some 20 accused of violence in the 19th December anti-CAA protest by a section of Indians, supposedly local Mangalooru crowd.
As for granting bail, it’s a right of all Indians to get, assuming those released on bail, would not go against the terms of release and they do not constitute any risk of any kind on being released.
At the outset, on going through the reported observations of the learned judge, even at the risk of being hauled up for contempt, I would like to state, they are not right, while categorically stating that I am neither a card holder of BJP or an RSS cadre.
Firstly, it has to be recognized that, the supposedly local crowd consisted many from outside the state, including a Kerala journalist found at the site of the trouble. How did he know that there’s going to be a protest, without being informed firsthand! Then you have a former minister accused of making inciting speech “Karnataka will burn if CAA is imposed”. Why he was not booked? Or is it, that the prosecution failed to mention to the court that, minister indeed made inciteful speech prior to the protest turned violent, or there were outsiders who had gathered at the site of the protest with intention to cause violence and destruction, or that there were some 80 policemen hurt in the stone pelting and other materials which could cause physical injuries and many other relevant facts of the entire happening. By the way the observation of the learned judge was reported in TOI, it was clear, either, the prosecution completely failed to present its case or police have done an incomplete incompetent job of filing their report to support the FIR against the 20 accused. And the worst scenario is the judge John Michael Cunha had his own deduction on the whole issue to come to a conclusion to unreasonably fix the police in Mangalooru, which may not be correct to assume.
But clearly, there has been a miscarriage of justice in ‘suspecting the Mangalooru police accusing them of cover up their excesses’. Hope the government comes out with a statement to clear the misgiving soon to sustain the morale of the police as protectors of law & order.
KARNATAKA: There was this ‘Ease of Living rating’ conducted by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry for some 114 cities across the country. We are in early part of 2020, but the result of only 2018 is available now, with all this effort at going digital. Anyway this is a newer initiative which not only gives a glimpse of the livability index of our cities but also to what extent citizen participation can make it vibrant.
The report published in the print media shows some interesting observations, although it is limited to only Karnataka, while the survey is for the whole country.
Be that as it may, it has shown very poorly Bengalooreans with only 5% participation by them, while being ranked at 58, when Mangalooru has been ranked at 41st position, the best for the state. However it is to the credit of Tumkooru that it has scored 113% participation by its respondents, while Mangaloorian have clocked only 25%, and they want Mangalooru to be a smart city.
Online filling up for 2019 for the Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) was launched on February 1st, and in just a fortnight alert citizens of Tumkooru responded far beyond the target of 3181. They had 3588 number of people taking part online, as compared to 1306 Mangalooreans against the target of 5172, and Bengalooru a mere 4381 as against the target of 90,266. Thus, among the 7 cities included in the Survey, Tumkooru responded the highest at 113% and Bengalooru at only 5% while Mangalooru was at 25%. The seven cities are Bengalooru (BBMP) Belagavi, Davangere, Hubli- Dharwad, Mangalooru, Shivamogga and Tumkooru.
KARNATAKA: ‘The party with a difference’ slogan once again coming a cropper? Or else, what explains the sudden silence after some days of being in the confused state of news, the Mercedes involved in Bellari accident, where two persons perished!?
From-‘yes’, ‘no’ to ‘I don’t know’, it has seen it all. Since the ill fated vehicle allegedly was driven by the son of Karnataka Minister Ashoka of BJP, police were giving different stories on different days with Home Minister still not having gone on record, it looks fairly apparent, that all is not straight.
Police have arrested one Rahul as the driver. One Sachin, who was sitting in the car next to the driver apparently, has succumbed to the injuries suffered in the accident. Ravi, a 19 year old, poor labourer was hit in the accident and died on the spot. Report also suggests that minister’s son Sharath was taken away in an SUV for treatment of his injuries.
Earlier police version said, the son, Sharath was at the back seat and it also appears, there is a denial that he was in the car at all. Clearly there’s a lot police have to say. Where is Sharath now, is he in some hospital? If in the hospital for injuries how did he get the injury? What about this, alleged driver Rahul, is he in the custody of police if arrested?
Here the question is how Rahul, who is in the custody, as the alleged driver, is not injured at all after such a horrendous accident, where a co-passenger died and nothing happened to the driver! Where are local witnesses like the tea shop owner, where young Ravi, was sipping tea? Suddenly, Rahul too is ‘injured’ and under treatment.
It is clearly a case where somebody is shielding the guilty. It is becoming increasingly a case like Salman Khan hit-and-run-case. Salman too was taken away in a vehicle after the accident and another person was paradropped as a driver and the bodyguard of Salman, a Mumbai policeman, Ravindra Patil, who was the prime witness, died an excruciating death under unexplained circumstances. The case is still dragging in apex court, courtesy Mumbai police under the then Home Minister RR Patil of Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Oh poor mother India where poor will continue to suffer and powerful will continue to ride roughshod with the help of authorities.
KARNATAKA: Saturday, 22nd February that is day before yesterday, India’s largest English Newspaper to the Nation, had carried two news items.
One was “India paying for not sending Muslims to Pak”. Attributing to Union Minister Giriraj Singh making a statement in Purnia District of Bihar, he had reportedly remarked “The country is paying the price for failure to send Muslims to Pakistan and bring Hindus to India after the Islamic state came into being during Independence”. TOI accused him of triggering a fresh controversy.
The 2nd news was “15 cr of us can prevail upon 100 cr of them”. Reportedly a former Maharashtra MLA of AIMIM, Waris Pathan was speaking at an anti CAA rally in Kalaburgi on 15th February, said “Azadi, jo maangke nahi milthi, usey chheen ke leni padegi. 15 crore hai lekin 102 crore pe bhaari hai bhai” among few other idiotic communal barbs.
Between the above two controversial statements, the 2nd one is very serious and tantamount to cognizable offence and AIMIM Maharashtra President has disowned the stupidity of this joker Waris Pathan.
But strangely, the polarizing divisive sick mind of the TOI editor has placed the 2nd news in a corner of 4th page, but the first one on the front page at prominent left side itself, so that everybody sees and reads it.
Unfortunately for both Waris Pathan and TOI editor, an FIR is already filed against this joker, and 'Lion' is already whimpering. This Pathan has gone to town saying he is quoted out of context.
KERALA: A news report datelined Kochi had the title “Congress soft on minority communalism”. Ascribing to former minister and one of the most qualified & dignified Congressmen Jairam Ramesh, the report had stated that ‘Congress is indeed soft on minority communalism’. He was echoing similar statement from AK Antony, a former Defence Minister, who had reportedly remarked “We (Congress) cannot be seen to be insensitive to the sentiments of majority community".
He was participating in the Krithi International Book Fair organized by the Kerala Department of Culture & Co-operative Society of Writers in Kerala, a part of the Left government. Jairam Ramesh has reportedly observed “We (Congress) have to be absolutely clear. We should not be pandering to any religious sentiments of anybody and that is real secularism. Real secularism is fighting communalism of all types with aggression” while adding that ‘Congress Party cannot be selective on the issue and suggested it should target Popular Front of India (PFI) type of communalism also’.
Unlike Shashi Tharoor, both Jairam Ramesh and AK Antony are more even handed in their observations. It can be recollected, how as chief Minister of Kerala AK Antony had taken a clear stand on the Marad sea shore killing of Hindus, where he alleged how Gulf money was being used to fund extremist communal activities of some groups.
In fact it is the selective approach of Congress in dealing with minority communalism which greatly contributed to the growth of BJP. It was only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha for BJP in 1986, and now it 303. Jairam Ramesh was only echoing what is written on the wall.
Why are they peddling, which are truly against the interest of the nation!
Some months ago the country had abrogated article 370 of the Indian Constitution following proper procedures. There is enough and more to prove that inclusion of this article 370, into the pages of the most sacred national document has been done to protect and promote a sectarian interest at the cost of national interest. And for all the past 70 years, governments have come and governments have gone, all thought that article 370 has not been fair in the pan-Indian context, but none did anything to correct the anomaly.
But this government of NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the unthinkable. Without any noise, they quietly consigned this article 370 into the dustbin of the contemporary history of our nation.
Naturally it has deeply hurt the psyche of those who lorded it over the destiny of Kashmir for over seven decades. For their capacity to foment mischief they have been detained in their residence post abrogation of article 370. Since they enjoyed unparalleled freedom and comfort, their new found equity among equals, has completely overturned their ivory tower existence.
We all know how Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, as the home minister under VP Singh allowed terrorists to be released by faking the abduction of his daughter Rabaiya Sayyeed! We are also privy to the atrocities of 1989/90 by the Kashmiri Muslims on the Kashmiri Pandits, which no Human Rights Organization anywhere in the world or even governments in New Delhi did precious little to address, the near genocide, of the unfortunate victims of time and circumstances.
And comes this lady, Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti and Rubaiya is her sister. As a daughter, her concern for her mother is certainly in order. But for her to run down the Indian government and to give Indians lessons in constitutional propriety and legal infirmities of some of its actions is completely officious to say the least, except for her ‘friends’ in the media who are around only fishing for such wasted groaning and moaning!
She appeared on NDTV few days ago and was mouthing inanities, on how India was a syncretic culture, secular and all that crap as if she was qualified to lecture on such issues. But her interlocutor from NDTV failed miserably, may be even purposely to question this Iltija Mufti, how the so-called syncretic culture didn’t stop the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits and how they became refugees in their own country. Writing in TOI, she branded life in Kashmir resembling “Orwellian dystopia”. According to her “The repression that was unleashed on Kashmiris is sadly a precursor of what will follow. Whether it’s the Ayodhya verdict or the communal CAA, it’s painfully obvious that sowing seeds of division, bigotry and demonizing minorities will define agenda of a government that enjoy unparalleled impunity due to a brute mandate”.
First of all she needs to visit of the countries in the middle-east to understand what dystopia truly means. Having enjoyed the freedom of India and a special status to Kashmir, no wonder, even tightening some ‘vent-screw’ can suffocate likes of junior Mufti. Coming to her comments on Ayodhya judgment and CAA, the issues are clearly beyond her limited and contrived comprehension. It is unfortunate that media, being on anti-Modi mode tries to over-highlight likes of this Iltija Mufti. She only deserves to be ignored.
NEW DELHI:Like all elections to state assemblies, the Delhi election too has come and gone.
As expected AAP has romped home in style, despite the BJP claim “Exit polls will fail, we will form new government in Delhi”. It is true that 9 months ago, in the election to the Lok Sabha, AAP couldn’t get even a single win to the Lok Sabha. There were 7 of them at stake. In fact every assembly segment AAP did poorly, coming 3rd. Thus some calculations would have taken this arithmetic into account in coming to the conclusion by the BJP leadership that AAP will not make it to the Delhi assembly.
But what most pundits have ignored the basics of vox populi is, issues in Lok Sabha election are different, unlike those in assembly elections. It’s the local issues that will have precedence in decision making, whom to vote and what to look for. BJP completely failed to understand these basics.
Back in 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Congress won over 400 seats under the leadership of reluctant Rajiv Gandhi, despite the then blue eyed boy of Indian politics Ramakrishna Hegde questioning Rajiv’s antecedents of being Indira Gandhi’s son as the only qualification. But same Ramakrishna Hegde, won hands-down in the election that followed, to the Karnataka assembly. So clearly, what mattered in Karnataka assembly elections was entirely different from the Lokha Sabha election, indicating clarity of thought and maturity of then Karnataka voters. Similarly, it was the performance of AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal that voted the party to another resounding victory. Such victories are good for the body politic of India in general. All political parties need to understand this dimension of electoral politics. Of course there was this huge crowd, who voted for Kejriwal freebies, which are truly speaking, not development.
Mostly it is the macro issues that help in decision making for Lokha Sabha choice, unlike states, where it is micro issues that truly decides the voting pattern. It is also true that AAP has done well on both education and health, two fundamental barometers of development. Hope a clear message to this effect will go across the political class for better future for the country as a whole. Two cheers to AAP in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: British labour M.P Debbie Abrahams was denied entry into India, was the news in most newspapers across the country. There was, truly speaking, no need for this to become a news. But clearly, intent on making it a news Ms. Abrahams had travelled from UK to New Delhi, with no visa in her hand, since the e-visa that she had was cancelled on 14th February itself, much before her travel on 17th February.
Ms. Abrahams, who chairs a parliamentary group on Kashmir, was known to have friends in Pakistan and has been vociferous in putting across their point of view on Kashmir, ever since the abrogation of article 370 from the Indian constitution. Thus she was clearly an unwelcome guest. Fortunately, wise counsel prevailed over the Congress leadership and hence came out openly in support of the denial of the entry visa to Ms. Abrahams, by the MEA of government of India. Reportedly Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Supreme Court Lawyer and Congress leader has gone on record, saying that Debbie Abrahams is not just a British Member of Parliament but a “Pakistan proxy”. Tweeting his party’s response to the denial of entry to Ms. Abrahams, Singhvi had stated “The deportation of Debbie Abrahams was indeed necessary, as she is not just an M.P, but a Pak proxy. Every attempt that tries to attack India’s sovereignty must be thwarted”.
While, the Congress stand on the deportation of Ms. Abrahams to Dubai from New Delhi, is a welcome development, Ms. Abrahams has reportedly remarked about the undemocratic democracy of India while stating that she, “will always stand up for those fighting for their rights”. Unfortunately Ms. Abrahams is clearly suffering from selective amnesia when it comes to the rights of non-Muslims in Pakistan, be it their religion or accusation of blasphemy, violence and forcible conversion of non-Muslims, especially Hindus and Christians and forcible marriages of their women to Muslim men, besides supply of non-Muslim women to Pakistan’s Chinese masters, as sex slaves. Clearly this Abrahams is blind and deaf to the happenings in Pakistan. No wonder, the parliamentary group she chairs in the British parliament have mostly Pakistani British Members of Parliament, with none from India, and hence the group speak only Pakistani language “Government of India was within its right to refuse entry to this controversial member of parliament” commented British TV commentator Katie Hopkins dubbing the attempted visit as “arrogance of the left”.
NEW DELHI: “Publicise criminal cases of candidates”, the diktat by the highest court of the land has not come a day too early.
It has been long overdue from the power that be, as the ultimate custodian of law and order of the country.
In a far reaching verdict aimed at decriminalizing politics, the Supreme Court stated “It shall be mandatory for political parties to upload on their websites detailed information regarding individuals with pending criminal cases who have been selected as candidates, along with reasons for such selections, as also as to why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. If a political party fails to submit the compliance report of the directives with the Election Commission, the poll penal shall bring such non-compliance to the notice of the Supreme Court within 72 hours of the selection of the said candidate as being in contempt of this court’s orders”.
Criminals in politics or in political office are fairly routine in all political parties. All political parties have been giving lip service to the eradication of this menace, including BJP, who have always spoken as a party with a difference, while it is true that, it is not as rampant as in some other parties. Of course, communist party is similarly better placed, when it comes to personal corruption of candidates. But no political party is free of this menace completely. But there are likes of Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD of Lalu Yadav, SP of Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP of Mayawathi, DMK of Karunanidhi, JD(S) of Deve Gowda, all these parties and there are many other smaller parties, are soaked in corruption. Therefore it is important that the highest court of the land, even so late in the day, takes up cudgels on behalf of the people that only those who have impeccable record in public space are selected, elected and promoted to serve the electorate and the country.
MAHARASHTRA: There was this print media news datelined Mumbai, “Sedition charge on students will wreak their lives, say teachers”.
There was this ‘Mumbai Pride’, an engineered protest in support of anti CAA protestors elsewhere in the country. Students of TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) had taken part.
Reportedly one Urvashi Chaudawala, a 22 year old final year student at TISS was booked for a slogan like a couplet that she raised at the venue of the protest in Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, which Mumbai police considered as seditious.
Indians are privy to the fact that one Sharjeel Imam, an IITian from Bombay, was recently arrested as instigator of violence at Jamia. He had reportedly made clearly seditious utterance like “will cut Assam from the rest of India”. And this joker of a youth Urvashi Chaudawala had reportedly remarked “Sharjeel hum tumhare sapnonko manzil tak pahunchayange”. Now this cannot be ignored as a mere freedom of speech, however hard one tries. Thus her being booked under sedition is apparently in order. And reportedly the Bombay High Court has rejected her bail plea.
Once a person is booked for an offence as serious as sedition, running around the police and court is given. So naturally the student has been put to hardship. To her help/support come some student leaders and even members of the faculty in TISS. As if these student leaders and their faculty members in TISS are the custodians to decide what is freedom of speech and how it should be tackled.
Some faculty members have reportedly stated ‘No government has the right to disrupt students’ future for protesting’, as if students have the right to disrupt normal life of citizens.
The issue here is managing law and order, besides acts of commission which could be construed as seditious. Police have no role, unless the occasion demands.
Students are sent to institutions of higher learning to equip themselves with knowledge and skill to face the challenges of life. So the duty of every student should be to remain dutiful in pursuit of his academic and professional goal. But, as usual- Yeh Dil Maange More! They go in search of thrills to enter arena of action. This is pure politics. When you enter politics, it is with the knowledge that there is risk of police intervention. When you cross the ‘line of control’, you are asking for trouble and hence should have no reason to complain. Police only did what they were expected to do. So, what right we have of complaining when we have crossed the line of control in pursuit of our rights instead of duties.
MAHARASHTRA: The infamous 26/11 is coming back at regular intervals to haunt some of the actors, who have allegedly been the ‘Causa Proxima’ in the entire sordid episode of terror attack on the unsuspecting crowd in Mumbai, on 26th November 2008.
Sometime in 2019 a book had surfaced in the publishing world by a former Indian Home Ministry official RVS Mani, and the title of the book is “The Myth of HINDU TERROR”. It is an insider account of how a calculated diabolic narrative was planned to be built around a non- existent HINDU TERROR.
He names in the book, questioning the role of likes of Shivraj Patil & P. Chidambaram, both ministers in Manmohan Singh government, besides Hemant Karkare, the senior policeman killed by 26/11 terrorists, so also Digvijay Singh, a senior Congress Leader, in this chilling game of a mean political subterfuge.
And comes along another bombshell from Rakesh Maria, another senior policeman, a former police commissioner of Mumbai. In his memoir “Let Me Say it Now”, he leaves nobody in doubt that there indeed was a diabolic plan to fix Hindu organizations by making the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack by Pakistani outfits, look like a HINDU TERROR”.
According to the book “If everything went according to plan, Kasab would have died as Samir Chaudhary of Bengalooru and media would have blamed Hindu terrorists for the attack”.
Kasab is the same Ajmal Kasab, who was fortunately caught alive by the brave-heart hero, ASI Tukaram Omble. According to the book, this Kasab was found with a fake Indian Id card and a red thread on his right hand wrist, symbolizing his being a Hindu.
But unlike RVS Mani policeman Maria tells that “LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) had planned to show the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai as ‘Hindu Terror’ and LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) tried hard to eliminate Ajmal Kasab in the jail, using notorious underworld criminal Dawood Ibrahim’s gang men”.
These two books expose the underbelly of our political class, especially those who are opposed to the rise of BJP and their allied organizations. Is it a failure of the political class, aided by some members of the media to take on BJP politically that has led to this diabolic chilling operation with the help of Pakistan!? What a fall for the Grand Old Party, if true!
A question always persisted but never answered WHO AIDED THE TERRORISTS FROM PAKISTAN TO LAND ON INDIAN SOIL VIA COLABA CAUSEWAY FROM THEIR BOATS THEY SAILED FROM KARACHI?
GOA: The Diocesan Center for Social Communications Media, a wing of Goa Church, reported to have issued a statement a few days ago against the implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
According to the media report, it had stated, “The Archbishop and the Catholic Community of Goa would like to appeal to the government to listen to the voice of millions in India, to stop quashing the right to dissent and, above all, to immediately and unconditionally revoke the CAA and desist from implementing the NRC and NPR”.
At the outset, it is a very negative development coming from the temporal head of Christian community of Goa. While all of us are entitled to have our own views on anything that happens in the country, to come out in open against an enactment, which was debated and passed by both houses of parliament, especially by a head of a religious community, is very unhealthy and unwarranted, to say the least. It could at best his own individual stand on an important legislation like CAA, when there are practicing Christians openly criticizing him for his stand on CAA, which is designed to help persecuted minority community persons from our immediate neighbors.
So prima facie, the formal public stand of Archbishop of Goa is against the interest of Christians. There is a political class, which cleared this CAA on the floor of the parliament, now they are up against the government purely as a vote bank politics. This is just not done. Mercifully there are lots of members of his own faith who are opposed to him publicly vocally and even quietly. Besides, there are enough issues for his holiness, the Archbishop, to worry about like the sexual escapades by the clergy, which are considered unacceptable sins, which should truly worry the Archbishop and his ilk.
Archbishop talks about, all those hackneyed observations of some of the opposition parties like Congress and Communists, invoking, constitution, secularism, religion etc., without truly applying any logic. He is just acting on somebody’s nudging, if not instruction. This will neither win him friends nor influence people.
KARNATAKA: Some weeks ago 97 year old mother of a local municipal corporator passed away in a suburb of Mangalooru.
Being a Hindu, the body was taken to a crematorium. An extremely helpful attender at the crematorium was doing his job to the utmost satisfaction of the family of the old lady. Among the requirement that the attender was needed to attend to, was the protocol that was in place which he had to adhere. He asked for copy of the Aadhaar card of the deceased lady, which was promptly provided. Life went on and all appeared quite routine and nothing happened that made news in the local media, either print or 24x7 electronic.
And comes this news in the print media, Times of India, to be specific, titled “crematoria staffers ask for Aadhaar of the dead, add to mourners’ trauma”. Rohith BR of timesgroup.com who wrote the story and filed it to be published made quite a work of going into the nitty gritty of this ‘Aadhaar for dead’, imbroglio.
A 75 year old lady had died. She was a resident of Vijayanagara in Bangalooru. Her relatives took her mortal remains to Sumanahalli crematorium. Bangalooru being a techno savvy city, online booking for a slot in the crematorium was the norm and as usual the staff there asked for Aadhaar card. Reportedly, they insisted on original, which the relatives of the dead lady didn’t have as it was missing and somehow the relatives managed to generate an e-aadhaar and life went on as usual.
However, the Times of India staffer Rohith BR filed some 600 words story of this mundane news. He had all the time to get in touch or visit different crematorium in and around Bangalooru to check if indeed Aadhaar was needed to perform the last rites of the dead. Fortunately, every place where this journo happen to have visited or contacted, all insisted that proof of identity was indeed needed, if some had Aadhaar others had voter-id or any other government issued identity proof was good enough for the purpose. Surely there was no need for a write-up with a caption, “demand for Aadhaar of the dead, add to mourners’ trauma”. After all the staff in the crematorium in Sumanahalli were only doing their job. Because the relatives didn’t have the Aadhaar of the deceased they were not refused. Job was completed with the e-Aadhaar card. Hence, there was no need for a story portraying staff at the crematorium in poor light. If you do not do your job, you are damned. But if you do your job properly too you would be damned. Was it to portray Karnataka government in poor light! But then there are many other stories of BSY government’s bungling, media can write about! This is Yeh Mera India!
KARNATAKA: The highlight by the TOI, on the Karnataka High Court judgment was on expected lines. “Courts suspects bid to cover up excesses by Mangalooru police” was the top billed news on February 19, in the front page in its Mangalooru edition.
One man bench of Justice John Michael Cunha was granting bail to some 20 accused of violence in the 19th December anti-CAA protest by a section of Indians, supposedly local Mangalooru crowd.
As for granting bail, it’s a right of all Indians to get, assuming those released on bail, would not go against the terms of release and they do not constitute any risk of any kind on being released.
At the outset, on going through the reported observations of the learned judge, even at the risk of being hauled up for contempt, I would like to state, they are not right, while categorically stating that I am neither a card holder of BJP or an RSS cadre.
Firstly, it has to be recognized that, the supposedly local crowd consisted many from outside the state, including a Kerala journalist found at the site of the trouble. How did he know that there’s going to be a protest, without being informed firsthand! Then you have a former minister accused of making inciting speech “Karnataka will burn if CAA is imposed”. Why he was not booked? Or is it, that the prosecution failed to mention to the court that, minister indeed made inciteful speech prior to the protest turned violent, or there were outsiders who had gathered at the site of the protest with intention to cause violence and destruction, or that there were some 80 policemen hurt in the stone pelting and other materials which could cause physical injuries and many other relevant facts of the entire happening. By the way the observation of the learned judge was reported in TOI, it was clear, either, the prosecution completely failed to present its case or police have done an incomplete incompetent job of filing their report to support the FIR against the 20 accused. And the worst scenario is the judge John Michael Cunha had his own deduction on the whole issue to come to a conclusion to unreasonably fix the police in Mangalooru, which may not be correct to assume.
But clearly, there has been a miscarriage of justice in ‘suspecting the Mangalooru police accusing them of cover up their excesses’. Hope the government comes out with a statement to clear the misgiving soon to sustain the morale of the police as protectors of law & order.
KARNATAKA: There was this ‘Ease of Living rating’ conducted by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry for some 114 cities across the country. We are in early part of 2020, but the result of only 2018 is available now, with all this effort at going digital. Anyway this is a newer initiative which not only gives a glimpse of the livability index of our cities but also to what extent citizen participation can make it vibrant.
The report published in the print media shows some interesting observations, although it is limited to only Karnataka, while the survey is for the whole country.
Be that as it may, it has shown very poorly Bengalooreans with only 5% participation by them, while being ranked at 58, when Mangalooru has been ranked at 41st position, the best for the state. However it is to the credit of Tumkooru that it has scored 113% participation by its respondents, while Mangaloorian have clocked only 25%, and they want Mangalooru to be a smart city.
Online filling up for 2019 for the Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) was launched on February 1st, and in just a fortnight alert citizens of Tumkooru responded far beyond the target of 3181. They had 3588 number of people taking part online, as compared to 1306 Mangalooreans against the target of 5172, and Bengalooru a mere 4381 as against the target of 90,266. Thus, among the 7 cities included in the Survey, Tumkooru responded the highest at 113% and Bengalooru at only 5% while Mangalooru was at 25%. The seven cities are Bengalooru (BBMP) Belagavi, Davangere, Hubli- Dharwad, Mangalooru, Shivamogga and Tumkooru.
KARNATAKA: ‘The party with a difference’ slogan once again coming a cropper? Or else, what explains the sudden silence after some days of being in the confused state of news, the Mercedes involved in Bellari accident, where two persons perished!?
From-‘yes’, ‘no’ to ‘I don’t know’, it has seen it all. Since the ill fated vehicle allegedly was driven by the son of Karnataka Minister Ashoka of BJP, police were giving different stories on different days with Home Minister still not having gone on record, it looks fairly apparent, that all is not straight.
Police have arrested one Rahul as the driver. One Sachin, who was sitting in the car next to the driver apparently, has succumbed to the injuries suffered in the accident. Ravi, a 19 year old, poor labourer was hit in the accident and died on the spot. Report also suggests that minister’s son Sharath was taken away in an SUV for treatment of his injuries.
Earlier police version said, the son, Sharath was at the back seat and it also appears, there is a denial that he was in the car at all. Clearly there’s a lot police have to say. Where is Sharath now, is he in some hospital? If in the hospital for injuries how did he get the injury? What about this, alleged driver Rahul, is he in the custody of police if arrested?
Here the question is how Rahul, who is in the custody, as the alleged driver, is not injured at all after such a horrendous accident, where a co-passenger died and nothing happened to the driver! Where are local witnesses like the tea shop owner, where young Ravi, was sipping tea? Suddenly, Rahul too is ‘injured’ and under treatment.
It is clearly a case where somebody is shielding the guilty. It is becoming increasingly a case like Salman Khan hit-and-run-case. Salman too was taken away in a vehicle after the accident and another person was paradropped as a driver and the bodyguard of Salman, a Mumbai policeman, Ravindra Patil, who was the prime witness, died an excruciating death under unexplained circumstances. The case is still dragging in apex court, courtesy Mumbai police under the then Home Minister RR Patil of Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Oh poor mother India where poor will continue to suffer and powerful will continue to ride roughshod with the help of authorities.
KARNATAKA: Saturday, 22nd February that is day before yesterday, India’s largest English Newspaper to the Nation, had carried two news items.
One was “India paying for not sending Muslims to Pak”. Attributing to Union Minister Giriraj Singh making a statement in Purnia District of Bihar, he had reportedly remarked “The country is paying the price for failure to send Muslims to Pakistan and bring Hindus to India after the Islamic state came into being during Independence”. TOI accused him of triggering a fresh controversy.
The 2nd news was “15 cr of us can prevail upon 100 cr of them”. Reportedly a former Maharashtra MLA of AIMIM, Waris Pathan was speaking at an anti CAA rally in Kalaburgi on 15th February, said “Azadi, jo maangke nahi milthi, usey chheen ke leni padegi. 15 crore hai lekin 102 crore pe bhaari hai bhai” among few other idiotic communal barbs.
Between the above two controversial statements, the 2nd one is very serious and tantamount to cognizable offence and AIMIM Maharashtra President has disowned the stupidity of this joker Waris Pathan.
But strangely, the polarizing divisive sick mind of the TOI editor has placed the 2nd news in a corner of 4th page, but the first one on the front page at prominent left side itself, so that everybody sees and reads it.
Unfortunately for both Waris Pathan and TOI editor, an FIR is already filed against this joker, and 'Lion' is already whimpering. This Pathan has gone to town saying he is quoted out of context.
KERALA: A news report datelined Kochi had the title “Congress soft on minority communalism”. Ascribing to former minister and one of the most qualified & dignified Congressmen Jairam Ramesh, the report had stated that ‘Congress is indeed soft on minority communalism’. He was echoing similar statement from AK Antony, a former Defence Minister, who had reportedly remarked “We (Congress) cannot be seen to be insensitive to the sentiments of majority community".
He was participating in the Krithi International Book Fair organized by the Kerala Department of Culture & Co-operative Society of Writers in Kerala, a part of the Left government. Jairam Ramesh has reportedly observed “We (Congress) have to be absolutely clear. We should not be pandering to any religious sentiments of anybody and that is real secularism. Real secularism is fighting communalism of all types with aggression” while adding that ‘Congress Party cannot be selective on the issue and suggested it should target Popular Front of India (PFI) type of communalism also’.
Unlike Shashi Tharoor, both Jairam Ramesh and AK Antony are more even handed in their observations. It can be recollected, how as chief Minister of Kerala AK Antony had taken a clear stand on the Marad sea shore killing of Hindus, where he alleged how Gulf money was being used to fund extremist communal activities of some groups.
In fact it is the selective approach of Congress in dealing with minority communalism which greatly contributed to the growth of BJP. It was only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha for BJP in 1986, and now it 303. Jairam Ramesh was only echoing what is written on the wall.
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