Projects Being Inaugurated in Varanasi Tiday

#ModiForPM2019 #ModiFor2019 #NamoSecuresBharat #NamoAgain #NaMo #BJP4India #BJPFor2019 #BJP #ModiSarkarMeriSarkar #AchceDin #UP #UttarPradesh #Yogi #YogiAdityanath #CongressMuktBharat

Modi Govt Passes amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act

In a very welcome move, Modi Government has passed an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act; ensuring death penalty in case of children's abuse. 

This was long due and we all thank the BJP government and PM Narendra Modi for this act: 

Union Cabinet on Friday approved an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, seeking to ensure death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse of children. The amendment further levies heavy fine for not deleting, reporting and destroying child pornographic material. The POCSO Act, which was originally enacted in 2012, was later modified to make it as foolproof as possible.

Briefing the media, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Our children should be protected from sexual offences. Now, those taking advantage of children in heinous ways will be severely punished".

https://www.newsnation.in/india-news/death-penalty-for-aggravated-assault-under-law-on-sexual-crimes-against-children-ravi-shankar-prasad-article-210077.html

Modi Govt Passes The Muslim Women Bill 2018 Against Triple Talaq

In a very welcome move, the BJP Government has passed The Muslim Women Bill 2018 which criminalizes so called "Triple Talaq". 

The Muslim Women Bill 2018, which criminalises triple talaq, was on Thursday passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill was passed despite opposition parties, including the Congress, the AIADMK and the Samajwadi Party, staging a walkout before the voting on the bill began.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replied to the debate on behalf of the government, asserting that the bill was not aimed at targeting any particular community or religion. He accused the Congress and other opposition parties of opposition the bill with the intention of protecting their votebanks.

http://zeenews.india.com/india/triple-talaq-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-after-walkout-by-congress-led-opposition-2166312.html

This is a very welcome step and this will improve the life of millions of potentially impacted women in future. Triple Talaq was considered a shame by most people who care for women's rights and it is surprising how long this practice sustained itself, thanks largely to the minority vote bank politics of the Congress Party which has been in power in India most part of its post-independent history. 

With Triple Talaq gone, we can hope for more such moves being made for the Muslim Women's rights. India must serve as a good example for other nations in the neighborhood who are still plagued by archaic laws of a gone era. 

Thank you Mr. Modi and government for passing this bill. 

Modi Govt Passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 Banning Commercial Surrogacy

In a very welcome move, Lok Sabha has passed a bill which bans commercial surrogacy:

A bill that bars commercial surrogacy and allows only close relatives to act as surrogates to needy infertile couples for altruistic reasons was passed by the Lok Sabha Wednesday with Health Minister J P Nadda terming the proposed legislation historic. The 'Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016' was passed after an hour-long debate amid noisy protests by Congress and AIADMK members over various issues.

Nadda said different sections of society, political parties, the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have spoken against commercial surrogacy and that the bill addresses these concerns. India had become a hub of commercial surrogacy and surrogate mothers also suffered from exploitation, he told the House. "The bill protects women from exploitation and ensures the rights of the child born through surrogacy. It has been a demand from all sections of society," he said.

The bill proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy, but altruistic surrogacy will be permitted for needy infertile couple under strict regulation. The bill entitles only Indian citizens to avail surrogacy. Foreigners, NRIs and PIOs are not allowed to seek surrogacy in the country. 

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/policy/lok-sabha-passes-bill-which-bans-commercial-surrogacy/67170854

This is a very good step by our government. India had become a hub for global population seeking to exploit poor Indian women by making them act like surrogates while they went on with their life. This practice not only degraded women and made them appear like a vessel or a machine, but was also a disgrace on humanity. It is no surprise that this practice is already banned in so many advance or developed countries in the world.

It is also surprising how long it took for Indian government to wake up to the menace. Vested interests from the hospital business would have liked this practice to continue - after all they earn dollars from foreigners through this business. But turning motherhood and child bearing process into money-making business is something which intellectuals must think about.

Better late than never. It is a good news that the current government which is lead by our popular PM Narendra Modi is taking care of so many social issues which have been ignored for decades. At the same time, it looks like shame that the principal opposition party Congress even opposed this bill since it has gotten itself into a trance like situation where it ends up opposing whatever the Modi Government does. The opposition party should apply some mind before opposing such moves. 

Once again, thank you PM Modi and BJP government at the center for this good decision taken for our country.

Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO)

Menace of Encroaching Public Parks by Muslims for Namaz

There is a very strange news which is making rounds these days. In Noida, UP, Muslims are offering Namaj by encroaching and capturing public parks. It is surprising that this practice was going on for so many years until finally administration has tried to stop it: 

Noida Muslim employees working at offices in Noida’s Sector 58 on Tuesday said it was convenience that led them to offer namaz at a public park in the area. The workers said that for the past five years, the public park in the middle of Sector 58 is visited by over 300 men every afternoon to offer namaz. On Fridays, over 800 people turn up for the ‘juma ki namaz’.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/noida/muslim-workers-say-it-was-a-convenient-place-to-offer-prayers/story-ingMBeS3XHFh6ZsvgXkZIM.html

It is interesting to note how the culprits do not find anything wrong in this act. Public behavior and good citizenship is so rare in India that sometimes a simple thing appears to become a monumental task. 

Capturing a public park for religious purpose like this where a large crowd of Muslim men gather in a park and pray together is a shameful act of encroachment. This also scares other visitors to the park and they would soon start avoiding visiting the park. This defeats the purpose for which such parks are created and maintained by the government. Greenery is getting destroyed all around and if we start allowing greenery to be encroached upon by such religious people, it would be a shame.

Muslim individuals must offer prayer at their respective office desk or prayer room if allowed by company policy or else they should take half day leave and go to a proper place for offering namaz. Encroaching public property like this is not right. Also, accusing government or the local administration of religious bias is again bad attitude.

This practice of capturing public roads and parks by Muslims must stop and they should start caring about the inconvenience they are causing to others in this manner.

Modi Govt Reduces GST (Tax) Rates

Bringing relief and cheers to several sectors, Government has reduced GST Tax Rates for several items:

The 31st meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council took place today in Delhi. V Narayanasamy, Puducherry Chief Minister, who attended the meeting, told reporters, "33 items have come down from 18% to 12% and 5% as they are common man’s consumption goods."

https://www.zeebiz.com/india/photo-gallery-gst-council-meeting-today-live-update-press-release-full-list-of-items-with-new-gst-rates-slab-77040

https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/gst-council-meet-tax-live-updates-slab-for-33-items-reduced-from-18-to-12-5-1415245-2018-12-22

Modi Train Derailment Campaign

About MJ Akbar and his Career

Mr. MJ Akbar is currently the Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, and a Member of Parliament. Recently as part of 'MeToo' campaign, he has been accused of sexual harassment to fellow female journalists. Main opposition party Congress Party has demanded his resignation and launched a strong campaign against him. 

A few facts for the benefit of all: 

First, MJ Akbar has been accused of sexually harassing woman journalists "during his time in the media". It means there are no charges of misconduct against him while being the minister of state in the current government. Mr. Akbar he has been an eminent journalist and editor and has worked with media houses like The Times of India,  The Illustrated Weekly of India, Onlooker, Sunday, The Telegraph, The Asian Age, etc. 

MJ Akbar's political career is as follows:

1. MJ Akbar is an ex-spokesman for Rajiv Gandhi.
2. He won Loksabha election as a Congress candidate in 1989.
3. In 1991, Akbar joined the Congress-led Govt as an adviser in the Ministry of Human Resources. 

* MJ Akbar has joined BJP only recently in 2014.

#MeToo Campaign in India and Way Forward

What is this trend about?

The phrase "Me Too" was popularized by American actress Alyssa Milano on Twitter in 2017.  #MeToo is the latest global fad / trend which Indians have copied from the West. As a 'third world' nation craving for our place on the globe, Indians copy a lot of global trends only at their face value. Most of these are hypocritical in nature and are completely forgotten / abandoned afterwards. MeToo is also one such trend which is just the latest fashionable trend being followed in India and promoted by TRP craving media. 

Role of Mainstream Media (MSM)

Mainstream media in India does not have any better job than assassinate famous people's character and conduct 'media trials'. Mainstream media even pass the judgments in most cases, and then go on to haunt democratic governments for not doing enough according to what they ordered!

Like Award Wapsi fad / tirade this will also vanish without trace in a few months.

Is this trend genuine?

I fail to believe that all of a sudden, most male celebrities in India have become predators and sexual assaulters; just because an American actress popularized a hash tag on Twitter!

What happens in most cases is as follows - most of the time these are "consensual relationships". Until the woman keeps getting monetary benefits out of the relationship, she will keep mum. When the relationship turns sour and she does not earn anymore out of it, she will call it "rape" or "assault" or whatever.

In a lot of cases, such women also simply accuse rich and famous men so as to earn "extortion money". For every such #MeToo complaint which is being made, I guess there would be 5 other cases where the woman would have earned her "extortion money" and would have kept mum. This is plain criminal.

Somewhere, this media propelled trend is sick. It is sad both for men and women. Because it is dishonest and opportunist at the core. No one can know what really happened 10 or 15 years back, but these women are trying to destroy careers, homes and families of rich and famous men for their own selfish motives. This is shameful.

At the same time, some of such reported incidents might be true. It is our collective responsibility to think of ways to prevent such crimes from happening. 

What can be done to prevent such real crimes?

For the MeToo related real crimes; most such crimes have happened when there is a victim and there is an exploiter. E.g. there was a movie director and there was a female actress in search of work. The relationship was 1:1. Number of females on the road did not matter to what happened inside closed doors between two people.

I think such crimes are side-effect of how civilization is working. There is too much pressure on young aspirants and the 'rat race's is too harsh. If there were too many jobs for those female aspirants who went to see their male bosses; they won't have chosen to be exploited at that time. They are now accusing their perpetrators when they are rich and strong. So justice should not be a privilege of rich and strong women. We have to ensure even poor and weak women get justice if they are harmed. And that can happen only by creating a happier, more prosperous and civilized world.

- Rahul 

Technology as fourth pillar of democracy

When will we realize that internet changed the world! Are not we still living in the past when we say these old things like media is a pillar of democracy? Internet, technology and social media changed the world and now technology is the true pillar while news is a commodity! 

There is not much role of these traditional media houses; when citizens of y-generation are aware of the world events by the moment. No one waits for the newspaper vendor to drop newspaper at the door every morning; we just read online news happening every minute! No one reads editorials anymore; where much of brainwashing used to happen earlier! World changed; people changed; and hence the need of mainstream media houses reduced. So they have resorted to air CCTV camera footage of accidents; funny videos; and glamour news on TV. And on printed papers, we see two views - one supporting and one opposing - in order to catch attention of both sides of the divide. Mainstream media is not yet settled down; we are in transition phase. But Mr. Modi is very futuristic in all areas, e.g. solar power, etc. He found long back that mainstream media does no good and social/digital media is much faster and more direct; so he chose later over the older media...

Hoax of Non-Gujaratis fleeing Gujarat

You must have read news in mainstream media (MSM) about non-Gujaratis fleeing Gujarat after a recent incident. For example, here is a news item on Rediff.com which mentions "Railway stations in Gujarat are packed with north Indian migrants and everyone wants to flee Gujarat as they fear for their lives".

But I think media is giving this news too much of spin. Most of migrants go to their native places during Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja every year. That is what is happening now barring a few exceptions. Media is just reporting those as fleeing migrants as that is more convenient 'spin' for them. 

I am sure most migrants would return to Gujarat after Diwali and Chhath puja.

Gujarat has been and will always be a very safe place for migrants. The mainstream media and opposition parties led by Congress party are targeting Gujarat because it is home state of our PM Narendra Modi.

Sabarimala verdict is flawed in many ways: On Rediff

Let us imagine for a moment that there is an idyllic island in the Pacific Ocean. People follow their native traditions, and rituals, there is no war, it is a harmonious society.

On opposite corners of the island are two temples, one for men and one for women.

The women's temple celebrates menstruation, and is a safe sacred space for women to congregate and bond.

The men's temple similarly is a community space where men mingle. Men and women live in harmony.

The question simply is this -- should such a situation be outlawed? Is it necessary to force women into a men's temple and vice versa to uphold 'equality'?

This is exactly the situation that existed in Sabarimala. The Sabarimala temple did not allow women of a certain age into the temple. This was part of the legend associated with the temple's deity.

There are also women-only temples (external link) in India where no men are allowed.

Each temple has its own story and maryada. There is even a temple that specifically celebrates menstruation, the Kamakhya temple in Assam. Men are barred from the temple for certain days.

Every temple does not need to be identical, the divine can be celebrated in many different forms, each having its own particularity. It does not need to be homogenised into sameness. This is the beauty and diversity of Hindu traditions.

The Supreme Court judgment is flawed in many ways.

Firstly, the process of 'public interest litigation' in such matters is itself flawed.

The notion of 'public interest' is an excuse to subvert a basic principal of justice -- that of locus standi.

People who can show no harm to themselves can ask for a remedy in the 'public interest'. Therefore, you can impact others with no skin in the game yourself.

This turned into a farce in the case of Sabarimala.

Activists sitting in Delhi, neither devoted to temple visits, nor having any interest in worship at Sabarimala, file a lawsuit based on 'public interest'.

Never mind that the actual women devotees of Sabarimala from Kerala ran an ardent campaign with the tag #ReadyToWait, for their wish to honour the traditions of the temple.

The legend of Sabarimala has Ayyappa, the presiding deity, in celibate form, which is why women of a certain age do not visit the temple, to respect the tradition.

So when women devotees actually want the tradition to be honoured, whose 'right to pray' is being violated?

If one doesn't have faith in the legend of Ayyappa at Sabarimala, why would one go to pray at the temple at all?

The point clearly is not about the 'right to pray', but about desecrating a sacred place. This is exactly what the verdict has done.

Hindu women had repeatedly expressed their support for continuing the traditions at Sabarimala.
As Anjali George had expressed (external link) about the #ReadyToWait movement, 'It is ignorance, which makes them see the practice in Sabarimala as discriminatory.'

'#ReadyToWait is to tell the so-called activists that they are wrong on Sabarimala; to tell all the decision-makers that we devotees are the more important stakeholders in the debate over faith and not the atheist feminists,' George added.

Jogakhichudi, a devotee, writes in OpIndia (external link) in response to the Supreme Court verdict: 'I'm a Hindu woman and believer who is #ReadyToWait and with this verdict, I feel utterly cheated and defeated. Cheated and defeated by these false petitioners who didn't represent me (and thousands like me) and yet cheated me out of my right to choose to wait. But mostly, I am angry. Very angry.'
Similar sentiments were expressed by other women devotees as well. Twitter user Govinda63106467 expresses the anguish (external link) of his mother.

'The judges never thought about people like my Mom who is a ardent devotee of Ayyappa all her life and seeing her beliefs shattered by people who don't understand the emotions involved is indeed depressing.'

So the Supreme Court passes a draconian judgment on the pretext of providing relief to 'Hindu women' against discrimination. Hindu women devotees are not relieved, but distressed by this judgment.

If so, who exactly did the Supreme Court provide relief to?

Who is celebrating this judgment?

Sabarimala has been under attack for decades as a popular anchor of Hindu devotion in Kerala. It was attempted to be destroyed in a fire in 1950, a work of Christian zealots, according to the government inquiry (external link). It has since then been consistently under attack.

Further, the Supreme Court judgment was based on claiming that there was no 'scriptural or textual' basis for the practice. This is also flawed since it turns diverse Hindu traditions into becoming bad copies of Book-based religions.

Traditions do not need any textual authority. Their existence over time is their source of authority.
Thus, a patriarchal court ignored Hindu women's pleadings. It is like flawed notions of 'equality' destroying native traditions at the idyllic Pacific Island mentioned earlier, because colonial outsiders know what is best.

It is a colonial gaze on native culture, a 'civilising mission' to fix natives.

The only woman justice on the bench dissented with the four male judges. And the pretext for all of this was 'women's rights'.

Can there be a clearer example of patriarchy at work?

Sankrant Sanu (@sankrant) -- an author and entrepreneur based in Gurgaon and Seattle -- blogs at sankrant.org. The views expressed are personal.

http://www.rediff.com/news/column/sabarimala-verdict-is-flawed-in-many-ways/20181001.htm

Surgical Strike and Medical Surgeries

Indian Army has done a few 'surgical strikes' on Pakistani terrorists and support network over the last few years. This has been often cited by the BJP supporters as an achievement of current BJP-led government at the center. India was long called a "soft state" for being too liberal on the terrorists and Pakistani attacks. Now, Indian Army retaliates whenever there is infiltration or attack from across the border. 

Someone compared these strikes with medical surgery and tried to make fun of it saying that unlike medical surgeries, these "surgical strikes" did not solve the root cause of the Kashmir problem. 

I think "surgical strikes" by definition are known to be "tactical" strikes; not expected to remove the root cause - which a "medical surgery" is expected to do. And hence this may not be best analogy.

I think taking "antibiotics" would come closer. It would solve the immediate issue right on hand. It may also have side-effects.

Co-founder of Leftist Website "The Wire" accused of sexual harassment

These days, India is witnessing a #MeToo campaign where women are labelling charges of sexual assaults on famous male celebrities. It started with movie stars and until it was within movie industry, media was celebrating it. This was perfect "Masala" news - a paradise for media houses since such news attract public attention immediately. But alas, media's celebration was short-lived. Now this campaign has infiltrated the media itself!

Over the last few days, several media personnel have been accused by women. A Hindustan Times key person was accused recently and he stepped down. And now The Wire's co-founder has also been accused: 

Now co-founder of leftist website ‘The Wire’ accused of sexual harassment

https://www.opindia.com/2018/10/now-co-founder-of-leftist-website-the-wire-accused-of-sexual-harassment/

This is life "full circle" for crooked media houses who enjoy at the expense of others. This is also a slap on the face of "self righteous" portals and news traders like The Wire who claim to be "holier than thou" but have coffins in their coffers. 

Why BSP and INC could not forge an alliance

Recently BSP which mainly plays caste based identity politics decided to go solo and not do do alliance with the Congress Party. I think the reasons behind this decision are the follows:

1. Since Congress Party is a sinking ship and no one wants to board a sinking ship
2. Since Congress Party needs BSP more than BSP needs Congress Party
3. Since Mayawati can earn more by selling tickets to rich bidders than what Congress Party which is moving towards bankruptcy can offer her...

Modi Government and Mainstream Media

Someone commented that the current India PM Mr. Narendra Modi does not appear to face mainstream media much and does not directly face questions thrown by TV journalists. The feeling was that the current government focuses too much on social media platforms and seem to be not relying on the mainstream media.

First, when you say that PM is "not facing the press"; you have to be more specific. Our PM does give interviews to the press as well as to TV channels. Then what specifically do you mean by "not facing"? I believe you are expecting him to hold press conferences where mainstream journalists could ask him a variety of questions about government policies and he would try to "conquer" them. In a nutshell, you expect some "drama" from him.

But alas, government works in a certain way for the benefit of all. Govt has specific spokespersons for that role. And hence PM does not have to hold a press conference after every policy move. Also, individual Ministers do hold press conferences explaining decisions of their ministries. In India we do not have USA type presidential rule; hence Mr. Modi does not hold press conferences like Mr. Trump does. 

Previous PM Manmohan Singh had also held only 3 press conferences during his tenure of about "10 years". But one can say that his tenure was marred by scandals and scams, and that would have made it necessary. Currently govt is running very smooth and hence there is not much need for press conference by PM.

I think the perception that Modi Government is not depending on mainstream media to some extent is true. Out of all India PMs, current PM Mr. Modi seems the best when it comes to be being directly in touch with people. And there is a history and reason behind it. After post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, he was ostracized and demonized both by opponents outside and within his party. There was a strong media campaign demonizing him both inside India and among NRIs (since Gujaratis have strong NRI presence). E.g. we constantly got news from media about Modi being denied Visa by US even though he never applied for the same! And we had seen what mainstream media had done to him with the famous "puppy remark" by Mr. Modi in an "interview". Hence, in order to survive; and in order to "turn stones thrown to him into a stepping stone"; Modi took "social media" by storm and got into direct contact with people. Media initially was baffled - why does not he talk to the media? Why does not he gave media interviews? Crooked media could not believe there initially that there could be such a Strong Willed Lion among Men who would "bypass" them totally!

After becoming PM, of course he had to give interviews to media and interact with media. Keeping aside media's hateful and funded campaign against him, he started loosening up. But it is important to know the history.

I think it is a mistake to think that PM Modi is out of touch with people and does not know our feedback. He is on Twitter and posts his events, thoughts and works several times every day and would also get people's reactions. He has this NaMo App for mobile phones through which he gets feedback. He does Mann Ki Baat on Radio and TV regularly on weekends. He goes to visit all across the country in election rallies as well as to inaugurate government projects. He regularly visits Temples and places of religious and cultural importance wherever he goes. When he sees children, he goes and plays with them. We never had such "human" PM in the recent times... This is why his supporters adore him like this... 

Plus, most of Big Indian Media Houses have been Left Leaning or Anti-Right Wing philosophy. E.g. The Hindu is a certified communist leaning paper. Hindustan Times Group from the Birla ownership who funded Congress. India Today and Rajdeep Sardesai are anti-BJP. NDTV is certified pro-Congress and anti-BJP channel. CNN-IBN and Sagarika Ghose are clearly Left leaning.

I accept that a few media / TV news houses are pro-BJP too; but all these are only recent upstarts. All old and biggest media houses are anti-BJP, pro-Congress/Left. Hence, if Modi Govt takes mainstream media too seriously, they will only bite it in the ear while standing on its shoulders. Hence Modi Govt still focuses on direct access to people through social media channels.

- Rahul Tiwary

Pakistani Poetry

Someone said Pakistanis are good poets and their language skills are great. 

I said there is nothing new in it. Poetry, art, drama, kauwali, mujra - all forms of art flourished during Muslim rule of Mughals and Nawabs in India. This happened while Europe was witnessing Industrial Revolution!

Certainly jihadis and a lot of pen pushers would have excellent language skills. After all, they would need all of it in order to brainwash an entire generation and make them into fidayine.

Book Readers Hating Modi?

Someone said that most of the people he knows who read a lot of books hate Mr. Modi. 

I thought he meant that people who acquired second-hand intellect through books hate Modi but people who are hands-on and have their own individual opinion about things support Modi. This is something which would only please Modi's fans...

Movie Starts do not go to College

Someone said he was disappointed with a famous actress while she spoke to a journalist about some news. 

I thought it was hardly surprising. Most movie stars are maximum Std. 12th pass from schools and did not go to college. They are in show business. Not expected to be intellectuals.

Karl Marx and his False Theory of Religion as Opium of Masses

Karl Marx while defining Religion as opium of masses had said that removal of religion would usher in 'real happiness' in place of 'illusory happiness' (provided by religion).

This quote is often repeated by all sorts of people when they want to speak against religion. But I disagree with it. 

The fate of communist countries like Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam and state of Naxals including 'Urban Naxals' in India do not prove that being communist i.e. being without religion has made them any happier.

In the World's Happiest Nations Survey/Ranking, most of the time Christian countries come at the top. This settles the debate. 

Karl Marx and his quote on religion should be ignored instead of being given undeserved credit for giving us a false theory.

Failure of Aakash Tablets

Someone said that Aakash Tablets were earlier unveiled by the government with much funfair but have now disappeared. And this is a failure of government. I disagreed. 

Akash tablet was launched by UPA Govt led by Congress Party in year 2011. The project was a failure from the beginning and did not take off well. Therefore there is nothing to blame the current government! 

- Rahul Tiwary

UGC Circular on Surgical Strike Day

Recently, UGC has asked all higher education institutes to celebrate Surgical Strike Day marking the day from last year when Indian Army crossed line of control and destroyed several Pakistani terrorism infrastructure. Some people objected, calling it government's self-patting. But I disagreed. 

First, this will be celebration of our Army, not of any political party or person. 

Secondly, compare that to Children's day which has been forced to be celebrated in the guise of celebrating birthdays of Nehru ji. What have children got to do now with old bald Grandpa Nehru ji? This is the difference between Con Party and NaMo Sarkar!

Also, this UGC circular is not binding to institutes but only advisory in nature. Hence no one should have problem with it.

- Rahul Tiwary 

Why Democracy does not mean Govt elected by the 'Majority'

Someone asserted that "democracy means govt elected by the 'majority' people". I think it is an unfair assertion and democracy is seldom seen to be so. 

The religious, linguistic or ethnic "majority" people's votes also get divided because of "multi-party system". If one political party tries to appeal to them in order to consolidate their votes; several other political parties also rush to complete with it and hence votes get divided among these parties. Hence the so called "majority" group could never vote as one unit for only one party. And hence govt in a multi-party democracy does not represent only the majority people's opinion. 

On the other hand, it is the "minority" people who are seen to be showing totally "undemocratic" traits. Since they are less in numbers, they are easy to consolidate and often they are more centrally controlled/influenced. The minority people seldom show "individualistic" traits using their own minds but often vote as herds; running on "fear psychology". 

Bottom-line: Democracy is more complex than "a govt elected by the majority".

Agricultural Loans Worth Rs 59,000 Crore Went to 615 Accounts in one year

Answer by Govt to an RTI filed by 'The Wire' reveals that Agricultural Loans Worth Rs 59,000 Crore Went to 615 Accounts in one year. That makes a per capita loan of 95 crores to so called Agricultural Institutions at a concessional rate of Interest @4%. Some people asserted that this was unfair and the real beneficiary should always be the end farmers. They thought government was doing something wrong in allowing agriculture loans to big corporate. 

When I read further, I found that these big accounts which received loans are of big agri-business companies e.g. Reliance Fresh who do direct sourcing of farm products and then sell the products. It is easy to say that small farmers should also get easy loans but difficult to recover and get into loan waiver politics. But at the same time I think concessional loans to agri business companies would eventually help the end customers by keeping price down and hence keep food inflation down. So it is not that bad a thing in my opinion.

A cheap loan to anyone part of the whole food supply chain would in the end benefit the end customers by keeping the food prices and food inflation low. 

At the same time one can take note that 'The Wire' has leftist leaning. It was started by an ex-editor of 'The Hindu' (a left-leaning newspaper) and is widely believed to be anti-BJP and anti-Modi. 

महिलाओं की व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता का मुद्दा

यह बगावत का नहीं इंडिविजुअल फ्रीडम या व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता का मुद्दा है।.

जैसे जानवरों को देखें तो ग्रुप में रहते हैं ग्रुप में शिकार करते हैं, क्योंकि उनके लिए "सेफ्टी" या सुरक्षा सर्वोपरि है। मानव सभ्यता में शुरू में ऐसा ही था - पहले जान बचानी थी, व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता को कौन पूछे? पर जैसे जैसे मानव सभ्यता आगे डेवेलप हो रही है, व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता और निर्णय लेने की स्वतंत्रता उतनी जरुरी होती जा रही है।

न तो सारे देश एक हैं और न सारे समाज एक; पर धीरे धीरे मानव समाज को हर व्यक्ति (महिला या पुरुष) को व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता देना ही होगा। आप बोल सकते हैं कि ऐसा होने पर परिवार टूटेंगे और पुराने संस्कार ज्यादा अच्छे थे - पर दुनिया की सोच किसी और ओर जा रही है।

हवा की कोई दिशा मोड़ पाया है कोई?

गो-तश्करों की पिटाई और गौरक्षकों का आतंक

हाल के दिनों में मीडिया में ऐसी खबरों को प्रमुखता से दिखाया जा रहा है जिसमे बेगुनाह मुसलमान व्यक्तियों को गोरक्षा के नाम पर पीटा जाता है।

मैं हिंसा का समर्थन नहीं करता पर हाल में देश में जो माहौल बना है उसे समझ जा सकता है। कानून तो ७० साल से था पर सच ये है कि गोतश्करों को रोकने में बिल्कुल नाकाम था। तो कुछ युवाओं ने कहा कि "अब बस" और लगे खुद ही तश्करों को पकड़ने और सजा देने। यही चीज जब फिल्मों में दिखाई जाती है, जब हीरो गुंडों को मारता है तो सब सीटी बजाते हैं और पसंद करते हैं। जब रेपिस्ट्स को बीच बाजार लटकाने की बात आती है तो अधिकांश लोग "कानून को हाथ में मत उठाना" ऐसा कहते नहीं दीखते। बस जब गोहत्या और गोतश्करों की बात आती है तो कानून याद आता है और हम देश के कानूनी रखवाले और आदर्श नागरिक बन जाते हैं। ऐसा क्यों?

मुद्दे की बात ये है कि अभी जो माहौल है उससे सालों से गोहिंसा और गोतश्करी करते आ रहे वर्ग विशेष में खलबली है। मीडिया जो एक तरह की बात को ज्यादा हाईलाइट करता है वो भी बात समझी जा सकती है। बस "गेहूं के साथ घुन पिसता है' की कहावत की तरह कुछ बेगुनाह लोगों को सतर्क रहना होगा।

यदि राज्यों की पुलिस अब देश के माहौल को देखते हुए गोतश्करों के खिलाफ खुद अच्छे से एक्शन लेती है तो ये गोरक्षकों द्वारा कानून हाथ में लेने की घटनाएँ अपनेआप रुक जाएँगी। पर बिकाऊ मीडिया को "बेगुनाह पीटा गया" दिखा-दिखा कर टी आर पी बटोरनी है; तो देखें क्या होता है।

Appreciating Dissent When it is Against Someone Else

Justice Chandrachud of the Supreme Court has made a remark which is apparently targeted at the ruling party in Government. He said, “Dissent is the safety valve. If you try to clam it shut, there will be a bigger build up of pressure. The Pressure Cooker is likely to burst and cause much larger damage." 

While the statement is very fine in isolation and without reference but when we look at it in the perspective of which it has been said, it takes a different meaning. The statement was apparently made in reference to the arrest of some communist leaders on the charges of plotting to kill India's popular Prime Minister. 

It is easy to say that dissent should be welcomed but it is easier said than done. We had seen how SC had handled its own dissenters - the 3 judges drama - by doing nothing.

It is nice to play with others' wounds, and when your own turn comes, then all the philosophy goes into steam. 

Judiciary these days is all the business of "preaching" a lot, while millions of cases remain pending and innocent people rotting in jails without verdict. The Supreme Court should focus on what is ailing the legal system of India and try to bring about positive changes. Merely serving sermons and playing "nice guy" by doing "nice talk" won't help much.

- Rahul

Hating Nehru and Teen Murti Complex Controversy

Some people are worried about growing lack of popularity of India's first Prime Minister - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. They fail to realize that 'Nehru' is not just a surname or a name of a dead person. It is a brand; it is a notion; it is a sentiment; and it is a legacy. Just like people who would love to soak in it, there would be people who would love to loath it. We have to come to terms with this phenomenon. Your position on Nehru may be in intellectual one; but the moment 'Nehru' word is read by readers, it 'triggers' a host of chain reactions in them. Thereafter, they can't objectively discuss the subject, because the brand becomes the subject in itself. 

As a personal figure, for someone, Nehru may be pioneer of modern India. For a juvenile, he may be a good uncle who wears costly white suits. For a netizen, he may be root cause of lots of our burden. For someone else he may just be a chapter from the history book. All may look at his different aspects. It is futile to force everyone look at him through one's own glasses. 

Nehru became a matter of discussion because of recent decision by a museum to include in it artifacts about other Prime Ministers as well. The whole controversy was unnecessary. You can read here: 

Museum director Shakti Sinha told The Indian Express: “I would humbly like to say that the objections are a little misplaced. Even in the present set-up, less than 2% of the books, documents and other items in our repository are about Nehru. When we expand the repository to include other PMs, we will be adding to Nehru as well in the process. Nowhere are we obliterating Nehru, we will make it Nehru-plus.”

https://scroll.in/latest/892158/museum-for-all-pms-at-teen-murti-complex-will-not-hurt-nehrus-legacy-says-director

Is there something wrong in it? I don't think so. 

Some people are lost in their love for Nehru because of his book "The Discovery of India". I would advise such people to also look at others who 'discovered' India as well and in different tastes than Nehru did. E.g. what about Ravindranath Tagore and his literature? Premchand and his literature? Vivekananda? Devdutt Pattanaik. Arun Shourie. Gulzar. RK Laxman. It should not always be only about Nehru.

- Rahul 

Making Mess in Karnataka

Yeddyurappa quits as Karnataka CM as BJP could not get majority support. 

So finally, two corrupt parties will get to join hands to form government in Karnataka. This is such a sigh of relief for all those who took part in their success; directly or indirectly. Here are some observations from the messy few days:

If you noticed, the moment news broke that no party had got majority, BJP was the biggest one and just fell short of majority; it was assumed by media that the BJP would be able to make a government there. People followed the cue and immediately assumed that BJP will be able to form government there. This was due to two factors: more than confidence in Amit's Shah's skills, this was a vote of confidence in Congress' lack of skills.

Media started spreading news of horse trading. What is wrong in BJP talking to the MLAs of other parties asking their support to form a stable government? Defection is part of democracy. Every MLA should have right to decide to quit its party or switch sides or resign or abstain from voting; as per his or her own free will. There is nothing wrong in it per se. But media told us that if the MLAs of Congress do it and if it benefits BJP, it is wrong.

Rumors were spread that BJP was trying to “buy” MLAs from other parties. This is such a joke if you think about it. Any MLA who can be “bought” by money would be corrupt. Then, ask yourself: which party is a better place for corrupt politicians: Congress or BJP? For a corrupt MLA, Congress and JDS were a “natural choice”. So, if the BJP had to try to break them away, they won’t use “money” as bait. They would use other facts as baits; like being part of a stable govt; being part of govt with pro-development image; benefits in being away from dynasty-driven parties etc. If some conscientious MLAs had been able to help BJP win trust vote; that would have been beneficial for the state. But in the mess that was made out of the news-space thanks to media, no one got to do any real thinking. We just followed the lead shown on TV screens.

And suddenly, the act of smuggling MLAs into 5 star resorts and hotels till the confidence vote is casted got a positive validation. Thanks to perception spread by media, this was considered a "necessary precaution" to avoid poaching attempts by BJP. How can keeping MLAs confined where they can't use their “free will” be called good democracy? But no questions were asked by media. This was a “perception war” and media had won it for Congress.

When Congress reached Supreme Court against governor's decision, the SC rushed to address the matter in the “mid-night” as if it was a matter of national security and of greatest importance to nation. It appeared that if BJP remained in power for 15 days, it will be such a sin that it must be stopped at all costs; even if it means setting up hearing during whole night. As per constitution, the Governor had full rights to decide and call the largest political party to form government and prove majority. Court knew clearly that it had no right to meddle in the affairs, but like it does in many other cases, it still tried to prove that "I am the boss"; by shrinking the 15 days’ notice period to 1. What is wrong in giving 15 days’ time to MLAs to think which side to take?

Due to the whole drama played by media and innocent public forming their opinions on what was being shown on the screen, the BJP CM could not even put up a fight and had to resign even before voting. That is sad for democracy.

Now that the drama and show-time is over for media; people would realize what they have lost and what they gained in the process. A party which was thrown out by people; a CM who lost his own seat by 36000 votes and managed to win another seat by 1600 votes; will come back in power. Two “Dynasty” driven corrupt parties will join hands making democracy a matter of arithmetic. And a party which emerged as largest party; gained massively from last time and was just short by 7 seats to reach the majority mark will sit in opposition.

Mind it that BJP lost 10 seats with margin of less than merely 3000 seats! Had it won those, it would have got simple majority. Everyone knows that the BJP deserved to form the government. And everyone knows that the last government deserved to be in opposition. But thanks to the way news traders played the tune and the innocent people followed their cue forming casual opinions; this event will be painted as if democracy has won in Karnataka today.

Ironies in BJP's Struggles with Dalit Politics

News headline: "Dalit Members Cleanse Ambedkar Statue After Tributes by BJP Leaders". 

Looking at the news headlines hyped by media during last few weeks, it appears that the BJP is struggling hard trying to defend itself as a pro-dalit party. Smaller, niche and regional 'pro-dalit' political parties are giving it a run for its money. Recently its own 5 dalit MPs have written letter to PM accusing Govt of not doing anything for the dalits. And after Supreme Court's decision restricting immediate arrests in casteist cases, whole anger from the dalit protesters was diverted towards BJP as if BJP was the Supreme Court! This whole trend is full of ironies. 

From our recent memory, it was BJP and Modi who snubbed a veteran like LK Advani to make Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, India's president (second dalit president of India). Before that, BJP had inducted Udit Raj in its fold; who had spent his whole life advocating caste-based quota system in India (Irony: Still, BJP is accused of conspiring to remove quota!) Uma Bharti has been a popular dalit face in BJP for long. BJP has long history of association with dalit parties like Ramvilas Paswan, Mayawati etc. The manner in which BJP's own Dalit MPs are allowed to openly speak against the govt, tells how much the party respects them. And the BJP has 40 Dalit MPs! During last general elections of 2014, out of the 66 reserved Dalit Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP had won 40 seats. Almost 15% of BJP’s Lok Sabha strength consists of Dalit MPs. It is ironical that the BJP is still accused by media of being anti-dalit. 

On the other hand, Congress does a “fasting with chhole-bhature” and yet the news is subdued in a few days and no media house accuses Congress of being ‘anti-dalit’. And media has been doing nothing to expose those leaders who have long played dalit politics without doing anything for the community. 

Getting to the basics also tells a story full of ironies. “Conceptually”, the Congress party before India’s independence was a pro-poor, pro-dalit party; because of the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and other great nationalist leaders who genuinely wanted development of these ignored sections of society. On the other hand, “conceptually”, the Congress party post India’s independence has been an elitist and progressive party; majorly due to influence of Nehru who was always elitist and progressive. Despite that, the party maintained its ‘pro-poor’, ‘pro-dalit’ image, because whenever needed, it just drew imagery and inspiration from the ‘pre-independence era’. It helped that people still considered it “Gandhi’s party” and only after a long-long time people realized what the party had become – a “dynasty of Nehru family”. That is why the BJP and Modi kept chanting “dynasty” “dynasty” in order to make people realize the truth about what the Congress party had become. Once people realized that, they made sure that Congress won less than 50 seats from total 543 seats in Lok Sabha in 2014. 

The smaller regional fringe ‘pro-dalit’ parties have proven enough that they do not want complete development and progress of Dalits; because if Dalits become highly educated and rich, they would start behaving like the other Hindus; ignoring their ‘caste appeals’. Hence, all that these smaller regional dalit parties want to do is, first, to keep accusing the government of being anti-dalit, so as to keep getting dalit votes due to ‘anti-incumbancy’; and secondly, keep negotiating and getting better beneficial positions for their own Party Chiefs. 

Coming to the BJP. “Conceptually” the BJP looks like best fit party to work for dalits’ advantage. It is so because “conceptually”, the BJP is predominantly two things: a nationalistic party; and a party drawing inspiration from Hindutva. As a nationalistic party, BJP would definitely like those sections at the bottom of pyramid to come to the forefront. Because of lower denominator effect, this has potential to propel our nation to a higher growth path in the least time. (This is also the reason why regional parties from the poorest corners of India are so scared of the BJP; e.g. Nitish Kumar as he was and Mamata Banerjee as she is. To improve India’s GDP quickly, it makes sense for the Center to focus on and turnaround the poorest and most regressive states first. And hence these regional leaders were scared to death of losing their privileged positions if BJP succeeded.) As a pro-Hindutva party as well, it makes sense for BJP to win the hearts and minds of the Dalits because the Dalits have a very high trend of converting to other religions. First the Islamists forced them away, then the Christian missionaries lured them away and now the Buddhists are cajoling them away. As a pro-Hindutva party, it makes sense for the BJP to try best to integrate Dalits with the mainstream nation; break all caste barriers in order to unify Hindus into a single set; and to make all sections strong and powerful. (And this is also the reason BJP will never scrap caste-quota even in its dream!) The BJP won’t succeed in its vision of creating a strong great nation if there are communities still living in the medieval times; if there are caste-based discrimination running deep and wide; and if Dalits are still downtrodden. 

Another news headline tells that yesterday, PM Modi helped a tribal woman wear her chappals with his own hands. 

Conclusion: It seems so unjustified and unfair that the BJP is accused by media of being anti-dalit while a party like Congress still enjoys ‘pro-dalit’ image. It just tells that our media is not fair. The worst possible repercussion of all this can be that the BJP might lost its sight on its “development agenda” and remain engaged in such unproductive image management exercises. That would be very unfortunate. 

A Wedding and Two Hypocrisies: Tina Dabi and Athar Amir-ul-Shafi

Earlier this week, a wedding made news; especially on the internet news. Tina Dabi, IAS topper of Batch 2015 got married to the runner up of the same batch, Athar Amir-ul-Shafi. Media hailed this marriage; calling it breaking of a social "taboo" and what not. Rahul Gandhi congratulated the couple calling them "inspiration to all Indians in this age of growing intolerance and communal hatred". That was the 'tone' most media also reported the wedding. 

Why was this wedding highlighted by media? Because the bride was a Dalit Hindu and the groom was a Muslim - that was so unusual and path-breaking for the media that it could not stop singing in its praise. If we look at the fine prints, this case is peculiar due to entirely different reasons.

First, was it really a new trend? "Muslim boy and Hindu girl" tie the knot in a "love marriage" - is it really a new trend? This trend is as ancient as arrival of Muslim invaders in India. When male Afghan mercenaries came as part of armies and if their leader chose to get settled in India (e.g. Mughals), it was natural that they would be able to find only Hindu girls to marry. Speaking of love - Akbar married Jodhabai; and from most recent 'filmy' memory, Alauddin Khilji waged a war in an attempt to marry 'Padmavati'. History is sick of this trend for those who care about history. And some people were so sick of this old trend that they called it "love jihad" and brought the matter to the court. I am mentioning all this just to prove how old and boring trend this has been. A real new "inspirational" (for Rahul Gandhi) trend would have been if a Hindu boy married a Muslim girl and if they actually got to liveand their marriage survived till they die of natural causes). 

Secondly, Tina Dabi was hailed as a 'Dalit' girl and inspiration for the community. Let us see how 'Dalit' she had been. Her mother is a former Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer and her father is a serving IES officer. She did her education in Carmel Convent School and graduated from Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram college. Tells that she is from a high-class family and got top education and then if she topped IAS entrance exam, we should salute her talent, not her caste. There is nothing 'dalit' about her; as the media reports. If people from privileged background like her are called 'dalit' (downtrodden); it is an insult to the real 'dalits'. 

For me, these two hypocrisies are more interesting than the wedding. 

Who is causing caste riots in India?

Looking at the trends of caste based riots happening in India, it looks like an organized one where some forces are trying to destabilize the government at the center.

This is being done with General Elections 2018 in the mind. Needless to say this is dangerous for our democracy and all Indians must expose those who are creating this environment of conflict. India must focus on development alone. 

Here is a cartoon which very aptly frames it:

Thug Life of Arvind Kejriwal

Thug Life was an American hip hop group. It released their only album in 1994 called Thug Life: Volume 1. Today, we all know 'thug life as an urban slang. It stands for many things including the philosophy of not following any rules and trying to succeed somehow against all odds. In India not many can qualify as leading a 'thug life' for very long. Vijay Mallya led a 'thug life' for some time; today he is hardly successful and hence he became just a 'criminal' instead of a 'thug'. There is only one great 'thug life' title awardee in my opinion currently - and that is Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

That was a time when the "honesty gang" was trying to gain much wider audience. It chose a strategy of hurling shoes at big people, getting beaten up, and becoming famous in the process. At that point of time there was an "empty space" in Indian political landscape. BJP as primary opposition party had already lost that space after gaining power at the center. Congress which ruled the country for so long, did not quality as opposition (it is still trying hard to make people believe that it is an opposition party despite having lost power everywhere). Media, anti-national people and chronic skeptics looked at Kejrwal and his gang as the "right choice" for taking that empty space of a "spoiler".

Kejriwal and his gang alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association when Arun Jaitley was its president. The massive army of part time Aam Aadmi party members and full time skeptics took his words as a gospel. BJP supporters kept calling them "blind supporters" and more urban slang like "Aaptards" were born but it just did not fade. Thug Life succeeded against all odds.

But today, Kejriwal has apologized to Arun Jaitley.

"These allegations made by me were based on information and papers furnished to me by certain individuals who represented to have first-hand insight into the affairs of DDCA. However, I have recently discovered that the information and the imputations contained therein are unfounded and warranted and I was clearly misinformed into making these allegations," wrote Kejriwal in the apology to Jaitley.

"I offer my sincere apology to you and your family members for any harm caused to your reputation as a consequence of my allegations," the apology further said.

Just like Kejriwal was on "allegation spree" back then, he is on "apology spree" now. Kejriwal's apology spree consists of his apologies to BJP's Nitin Gadkari, Congress party's Kapil Sibal and Akali Dal's Bikram SIngh Majithia.

"I made certain statements, without regard to its verifiability, which seem to have hurt you. I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same. Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure." wrote Kejriwal to Gadkari.

I remember that due to Kejriwal's allegations, Gadkari had gained really bad name and was considered a corrupt man in the popular psyche by most people outside Maharashtra.

One interesting fact is also that these apologies are actually the final nail. You would remember that Kejriwal had shrewdly hired Ram Jethmalani as a lawyer to represent himself against Jaitley in the later's defamation case. He knew that Ram Jethmalani was immensely angry against the BJP; and he wanted to use that anger in winning that defamation case. But sadly, his experience also did not go well as he had a spat with Jethmalani over the controversy around payment of fees from the state treasury.

So where do these apologies stand in the overall 'thug life' of Arvind Kejriwal? I think these are just a new feather in his cap. He is the greatest thug of our time - he first fooled people with his allegations against these established political leaders and he has fooled people by his apologies against the same leaders. He meant nothing personally against those leaders when he alleged corruption charges against them. He means nothing now when he says "my sincere apology" to them. There is nothing "sincere" in the psyche of Arvind Kejriwal. There never was; except a very deep motivation to become a bigger man than he is by riding over shoulders of other men.

That is how I would always remember him - a man who stood over shoulders of poor old Anna Hazare and made his own name and bucks. He brought deep distrust among the masses against any possibility of an honest "non political" alternative to the current political landscape.

The reason I don't like Kejriwal is not because he has flaws. Everyone has "flaws" - but not everyone lives a "thug life".

- Disclaimer: Views are personal