AchcheDin: Good News for India - December 2019

·         Government of India has unveiled Rs 102 Lakh Crores of infrastructure projects for next 5 years: TOI

·         Total green cover of India has increased to 8,07,276 sq km which is 24.56% of country's geographical area: TOI

·         In past 2 years, India’s green cover increased by 5,188 sq km (0.6%), an area similar in size of Goa + Delhi combined: TOI

·         India’s defense partnership with USA has seen >$18 Bn in equipment sales and >19 military exercises. Much credit goes to former defense min. Manohar Parrikar and the then US defense secretary Ashton Carter: BL

·         More than 40000 people attended Irish band U2's concert in Mumbai recently. Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Bryan Adams have all performed in India in recent years: BBC

·         India has stepped up work on tunnels near borders. India has issued a global tender for world-class tunnel in Assam; working on 3 tunnels near China border, and plans to build 6 tunnels near Pakistan border: ET

·         India is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth-largest economy in 2026: TOI

·         Indian envoy to Austria, Renu Pall, has been recalled to headquarters on charges of misuse of government money and financial irregularities: IT

·         SBI has reduced its interest rate on loans to existing home loan customers as well as MSME borrowers by 0.25%: TOI 

·         Indian tech startups have raised record $14.5 billion in 2019, beating their previous best of $10.6 billion last year: Research firm Tracxn.

·         Total tree and forest cover in India increased by 5,188 square kilometer in the last 2 years.

·         Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has inaugurated the statue of Late Arun Jaitley Ji in Patna. Jaitley family was also present on the occassion: DB 

·         Russian FM to visit India to boost defence, energy ties: MSN 

·         India is all set to cross the 100 GW renewable energy capacity mark in year 2020: ET  

·         The GST reform brought down the number of forms to be filed by businesses to just 12 from 495 earlier: LM  

·         With GST, India replaced 17 central+state taxes with a single tax. Logistics cost, which was earlier 14% of the value of goods sold, came down to 10-12%.  Distance covered in a day improved from about 225km to 300-325km: LM

·         India's "Wearables" market has reached all time high in 2019. Demand for wearable devices in India grew by 30.9% sequentially in Q2 of 2019: IT

·         Sodexo is $ 24.2 Bn French company. India contributes 7-8% in Sodexo's global revenues. The company is currently working on smart-vending i.e. offering fresh food out of vending machines with Big Basket: ET

·         Upcoming medical university in Himachal Pradesh will be named "Atal Medical and Research University", after Late Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee: TIW 

·         "Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools" are schools affiliated to the Maharashtra International Edu Board (MIEB), set up by state govt with an aim to achieve higher education standards: MD

·         Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has inaugurated a statue of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee ji in Patna on Atal ji's birthday 25th of Dec: DB 

·         Current FY has been the 'safest' year in 166 years of Indian Railways history; with least accidents and no deaths. Good job Railways and Minister 

·         JnJ (MNC Pharma Co) has been fined Rs 230 Crores since it did not pass on the GST rate cut benefit to consumers: DB. This is the best consumer-centric and people-focused govt ever! 

·         Haima Motors is planning entry into Indian market. To debut at Auto Expo 2020 - Autocar India 

·         CBI to Probe Yamuna Expressway Scam; Books Ex-CEO, 20 Others for Irregularities Worth Rs 126 Crore. No govt in India has been so anti-corruption like the BJP Govt under NarendraModi 

·         Modi Govt has approved Atal Bhu Jal Yojna for better water management to help farmers. Govt will initially spend Rs 6000 Cr in 7 states - MP, Rajasthan,  Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana 

·         Muslims have so many countries to go to, Hindus have only one. Population of Hindus and minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan has been reducing due to persecution and India must help those refugees. : Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani: IE 

·         BJP led Himachal Pradesh govt has provided LPG connection to all, making the state smoke-free: TS  

·         Vande Bharat Express is set to get major upgrades as govt has placed orders with Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) to manufacture 44 best-in-class  Trainsets of 16 coaches each: IC

 

·         CST station in Mumbai is set to get a makeover in station modernisation program. As part of this program, 50 stations will be modernised under PPP mode: IE  

·         PM NarendraModi will inaugurate a bronze statue of late Atal ji on his birthday, Dec25 at Lok Bhawan, Lucknow. Modi ji will also lay the foundation stone of Atal Bihari Medical University in Lko: IE 

·         India's foreign exchange reserves at record high 

·         Trains of Japan and Canada to be decorated with Bihar's iconic Mithila Painting 

·         In last 5 years under ModiSarkar, India has received 50% of total FDI that India received in last 20 years: DB 

·         Food services industry will create 50 lakh new jobs in India in the next 5 years: McDonalds Sr. VP: DB 

·         Gujarat Minister Hands Over Indian Citizenship Certificates to 7 Pakistani Hindu Refugees: IC 

·         Hero Splendor 2020 edition is coming in soon with BS6 engine: MO  

·         NBCC's bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech has been approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC): MC 

·         Patanjali Ayurved has completed Ruchi Soya Acquisition For ₹4,350 Crores, and hence SBI recovered its ₹883 Cr loan to RuchiSoya 

·         NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) facility is now available 24x7 

·         New trend: Some companies have started paying employees to do charity work: TOI 

·         Govt is placing a bill in parliament to make tougher law for protection and care of old parents. Now, even son-in-law and daughter-in-law can be jailed if they ignore old parents and monthly compensation limit is being raised: DB 

·         Food subsidy in parliament canteen is being removed: IT  

·         RBI is planning to launch a pre-paid card of Rs 10k to promote Digital India: TS  

·         Modi Sarkar has extended Caste Reservations in Loksabha and State Assemblies 

·         Modi Sarkar introduces Citizenship (Amendment) Bill  

·         The IPO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (USFB) has got fully subscribed on Day 1 of the bidding process: ET 

·         UK-based MUBI has entered India in the online streaming market after partnering with PVR: MC

नगरकिता कानून पर कविता

अपने पैरों पर रहे स्वयं कुल्हाड़ी मार,

फांस गले की बन गया उनके एनपीआर।

उनके एनपीआर आम जन को भड़काया,

पता चल रहा आज खुदै कानून बनाया!

लगा देश में आग देखते ऊंचे सपने,

फंसते ऐसे लोग जाल में खुद ही अपने।

- ओमप्रकाश तिवारी / दैनिक जागरण

Jharkhand: Virtue Signaling by Hemant Soren

As soon as counting of votes reached to the final rounds and it became clear that JMM led alliance was getting maximum seats and Hemant Soren was all set to become next Chief Minister of Jharkhand, news channels on the television started airing a curious picture. Hemant Soren was shown riding a bicycle inside his quarters area, carrying a small kid on it. He was shown making joyful circles on the bicycle while members of his large family were hanging around. News reporters started praising Junior Soren for his "simplicity", "humility" and remaining grounded to his "roots". 

It should be noted that ever since the counting of votes for state assembly elections had started since morning, Hemant Soren was not to be seen anywhere. He was "hiding" in his bungalow, as the news reporters had informed us. On the other hand, outgoing Chief Minister Raghubar Das was caught on camera many times as he moved in and out of his residence for work. Hemant Soren on the other hand seemed to have no other work that day. His entire political career was staked on the election result and he seemed to have planned it well. The fact that he did not need to move out of his residence since morning till evening tells about the planning he did for the "D Day". It is obvious that the bicycle ride was planned for camera too. It gave him a good "starting point". 

The next day, below picture came out on the front page of a Hindi newspaper in Delhi: 

The picture shows Hemant Soren in "shorts", checking his mobile, while a small bathroom towel is resting on his shoulder. The picture has been labelled as "Hemant: From simplicity to power". 

Two things are remarkable in above picture and its caption. First, this is a very casual picture. Anyone else could also have got similar picture clicked using a mobile phone of any family member or a friend, if one wanted to. This is nothing of the outstanding sort of picture. And if you notice the place, you would notice costly tiles on the floor along with costly furniture. These also do not raise any eyebrows. After all, Hemant Soren is the son Shibu Soren of three-time Chief Minister who has a huge list of corruption charges to exhibit as his achievement.

The fact that his father is a three-time Chief Minister and was hounded by the CBI for years on corruption charges, also explains how the newspaper has called him only "Hemant" in the caption title, and not "Hemant Soren". Is Hemant trying to break away from the burden of his family name since it is nothing to be proud of? Time will tell. 

Both images - of Hemant riding a bicycle inside the boundary of his bungalow and Hemant wearing a shorts inside the comfort of his home are pretty ordinary images. But the manner in which many media houses have used these images to create a larger-than-life image of Hemant Soren as a man who has kept his "roots" intact; tells about a larger picture. It seems Hemant Soren and his JMM are managing the media very well. And in a planned manner, media is showcasing his "virtue signaling" as genuine signs of virtue. At this stage, this is the only speculation I can make. Time will tell the rest. But did the BJP / Raghubar Das Government failed where Hemant Soren succeeded? Managing the "impression war" better? 

Narendra Modi Government's Focus on Environment

Someone asked about what the current BJP government led by Narendra Modi is doing for environment. I said that environment is a high focus area and most of the high-focus government policies are working towards a better environment and stopping climate change. For example:

PM Modi's high focus pet projects: 

1. Swachh Bharat: Reduces dust/air/water pollution
2. Namami Gange: Reduces water pollution
3. Digital India: Reduces carbon emissions and paper
4. Ujjwala Yojna: Reduces fossil fuel consumption
5. Smart City: Holistic step to green economy

Plus, Modi Govt has been pushing hard for E-Vehicles:

1. Govt push for E-Rickshaws
2. Large Govt Orders for electric cars

Also, Govt has made BS-VI standards mandatory for all vehicles. 

All these policies and initiatives clearly show Indian government's agenda for environment. 

Newspaper Ad Politics by AAP - a Wastage of Public Money

Above is the snapshot of full 2 full pages advertisement issued today by AAP party led government in the state of Delhi with public tax payers’ money. Before AAP had come to power, the party used to point fingers at other parties for wasting public money to promote their own image. But it is a huge disappointment that the party itself started doing all the things it used to accuse other parties of.

It is clear that since elections are nearby for Delhi assembly and hence AAP has decided to waste tax payers’ money in such ads. And they don’t stop with newspapers. If you go to any Delhi Metro boggy, everywhere you would find similar ads by the state government with picture of its leader Kejriwal. The party wanted to develop Kejriwal as a “cult leader” and such ads serve the propaganda. If there has been a great achievement, one could still accept ads. But often the achievements are silly in proportion and scale, like installing some “free public wi-fi” stations (public wi-fi are security threat and not recommended) or purchase of some public buses (which is a regular activity everywhere else and no other state advertises it).

We all need to criticize AAP government for wasting public money in such silly cult-making propaganda activities.

राजस्थान में मानव तस्करी का अपराध

मानव तस्करी अपने आप में एक घृणित अपराध है। उसपर से बच्चों के साथ यह होना और भी निंदनीय है। दैनिक भास्कर के नई दिल्ली के आज के संस्करण में प्रकाशित यह खबर झझकोर देने वाली है। आशा है राजस्थान सरकार इसपर अवश्य करवाई करेगी। 

India Grants Citizenship to 7 Pakistani Hindu Refugees

After BJP led Government has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya has started handing out citizenship certification to migrants.

On Friday, the minister handed over citizenship certificates issued by the Government of India to 7 Pakistani refugees in Gujarat’s Kutch.

He met the Pakistani refugees, who had taken shelter in Gujarat’s Morbi and Kutch districts and said that the Citizenship Amendment Act will provide a new opportunity in life to the minorities who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

"It is Modi Government’s efforts to offer them a dignified life in India after they faced extreme harassment for so many years in those countries’, Mandaviya added.

Meanwhile, officials present at the occasion told PTI that refugees have welcomed the govt’s decision, saying it was like restoring trust and faith in humanity.

“People coming from different walks of life greeted each other by distributing sweets, bursting crackers and putting colours on each other. While welcoming this Act, their faces were full of happiness and satisfaction,” the official said.

https://www.india.com/news/india/union-minister-hands-over-indian-citizenship-certificates-to-7-pakistani-hindu-refugees-3884564/

Arvind Kejriwal as a Cartoon Character

Arvind Kejuwal is a popular Indian cartoon character. He is also known with many other fictional names like “Muffler Man”, characterized by his overt use of muffler irrespective of the season. He is known to speak gibberish in a manner which sounds logical. He is known to do nonstop mudslinging against other political party leaders. He has an amazing capability to “switch on” and “switch off” himself. He automatically switches on in front of the camera and switches off when no camera is around. The above cartoon is only a small token of appreciation for his art of “spreading raita”. 

Racism in Assam Must be Discouraged. Fear Against Citizenship Amendment Bill is not Entirely Rational

After Indian parliament passed "Citizenship Amendment Bill", widespread violence was seen in Assam. As explained by ET, the fear among people is that since now India allows citizenship to minority Hindus of Bangladesh, a large number of Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in Assam; which local people won't like to happen. Is the fear rational? 

It may be true that more Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in India after this bill. But the things to note are as following:

The Hindus in Bangladesh are living in far greater threat and are not able to express themselves as well as their religious sentiments freely. Their daughters are not safe and often women are abducted and forcibly converted into Islam. Indian parliament took up the initiative to protect them by facilitating Indian citizenship to them, if they choose to come to India. This was a noble gesture. And people of Assam must look at this noble angle, instead of their own petty interests. 

Today, lakhs of Assamese people are living in all Indian metro cities. In Delhi, they have even created ghettos where you would see more people from Assam and North East than you would see local Delhiites. And no one asks them to go back to their home state. People of Assam must think about it. 

But when it comes to allowing people from outside North East into North East, they react as if their local culture would get spoiled merely if 100 people from outside their state start living in their city or town. Local politicians playing the race card and regional card merely exploit their sentiments. If people did not support their racist policies, how would political parties exploit them?

People of Assam must stop being racists. They must stop being hypocritical where they themselves are living in very large numbers in all Indian cities but do not allow others to live in their state. Also, it is not reasonable to expect that lakhs of Bangladeshi Hindus will really arrive in India. Since not all people decide to migrate; there are always risks in migration. Plus, not all Bangladeshi people would choose to live in Assam, when they already know that local Assamese people are racists and hostile to others. So the fear of Assamese people may be true only to a less extent. 

Assamese people living outside Assam must call their folks in the state and ask them to calm down. They should stop burning buses and public infrastructure since it is a suicidal step. Once they will destroy all the railways and government infrastructure and later they will cry that no development happens in their city. The large participation of young students is also weird. After education, most of these students will head to Delhi and other India metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. How would they show their face to the outside world, if they do open violence against so called "outsiders" like this? And what will others think about them; does education bring no sense of civilized behavior in them? 

Let us hope Assam returns to normalcy soon and violence stops there as soon as possible. 

Why you should support Citizenship Amendment Bill

Details about proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill are out. In very simple words, this bill will allow distressed people from Muslim countries' minority religions like Christians/Sikhs/Buddhists/Hindus to get protected by India. The Muslim countries like Pak/BD/Afghanistan witness vast number of crimes against minorities like Christians/Sikhs/Hindus/Buddhists just because these people are non-Muslims. So Citizenship Amendment Bill proposed by BJP government will allow them a second life. Let us support CAB.

Some anti-Modi media houses are running stories on TV asking why Muslims are not part of CAB; i.e. why India is not allowing Muslims from Pakistan/Bangladesh to settle into India. It is as stupid question as it can get. Muslims are not persecuted in Pakistan/Bangladesh on the basis of religion and hence they are not on threat. So there is no question of allowing Muslim migrants into India. 

The historical blunder created by Congress/Gandhi/Nehru is being corrected partially by BJP/Modi/Shah today by this Citizenship Amendment Bill. 

Delhi Fire and AAP ki Politics

There has been a devastating fire in Delhi today which killed 43 men so far. There are many aspects to it which make us think more than just feeling sad. One is the manner in which state government of Delhi is running. It seems Delhi state govt is good in only one thing: giving away freebies to win voters. People who vote for AAP should do some soul search. People should think what price they are paying for electing an incompetent govt in state. Is it really worth it? My personal opinion is that statehood and state assembly of Delhi should be abolished and some parts should be merged in neighboring states while main part should be under direct rule of Center as a UT. New Delhi being capital of India, we can’t take the risk of letting low-level regional political parties play their politics in Delhi.

Unnao Rape Case – End-to-End, it is a Different Story

Poverty changes people. But when there are buyers, there is no end poverty can go to sell itself. This fact has been proven recently in the much hyped Unnao rape case.

In this famous case of crime which was highlighted by media day and night, a woman had accused her live-in partner and some of his friends of raping her. As per reports, she was living with the man for some time and the man had promised to marry her. Later, as the relationship got sour, she filed a “rape case” on the man and his friends. Many people say this was a typical fake case; similar to the ones filed by spurned lovers and discarded live-in partners. But the men were arrested for real and put in the jail. It tarnished their and their family's image. Recently the men had come out of the jail on bail. And then the woman was found to have been set on fire, and died. In hospital before she died, she accused the very same men for setting her on fire. 

There are several angles to this case, but if we look at end-to-end story, we can understand what would have happened. Several women stay in physical relationship with men for years and when the relationship is broken, they accuse the men for “rape”. Police also file such cases as rape cases. This is wrong. In such cases, it can’t be called rape since at the time it happened, the couple had done it consensually. Women can’t file such a case as a pressure technique to force the concerned men to marry them. Such fake cases tarnish the image of not only the man but his family and some of such men do end up retaliating. It may be possible that in this case the men would have retaliated. Still, it is difficult to believe that the men would be so reckless that they would do such a crime while they had just come out on bail. Such a decision would have been suicidal. But if the men did it directly or indirectly, we can easily see that there intention was revenge.

It is a matter of probe but it is possible that someone else would have done this to the woman to frame the men. Since it is common knowledge that whatever happened to this woman, police were sure to arrest those men. It is also possible that the woman did self-immolation in order to frame the men since she knew that her fake-rape case was weak and the men were bound to go free sooner or later. There are several clues which point to this, including the following:

1.   No one saw any man setting her on fire so we can't be sure what really happened before she was spotted burning

2.   If some men would have set her on fire, why did they let her run away? Since she ran away, there was a great chance of survival. So if they wanted her dead, why did not they really kill her? 

3.   She was spotted running for about 1 Km while being on fire. Her first natural response should have been to dowse the fire by throwing herself on the soil or in the grass. But in an over-dramatic scene, she was running while on fire. And she ran for a great distance of 1 Kilo meter; before she went unconscious. No one does that. It seems she wanted herself to be seen burning by maximum people possible (to ensure media coverage). 

Looking at the clues from the incident, it might be a possibility that the woman set herself on fire in order to frame the men and to create a sensation. To dramatize it, she ran to a distance while on fire. Perhaps she had assumed that she would survive. This is also proven by her last recorded statement from the hospital where she was recorded as asking for a confirmation that she would survive. She said, "But I would survive, right?" I know this is a speculation and merely a theory; and police should investigate it with an open eye. Anything is possible. People setting themselves or others on fire or harming themselves in order to frame their enemies is nothing new.

At the same time, media’s tendency to pick up random cases to target is also very curious. Unnao is in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has been crime-infested for decades, mainly from the era it was ruled by Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Law and order in the state deteriorated to unrecoverable extent. The BJP came to power in the state recently after promising a crime-free state. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who is known for his high-handedness against crime took the matter in his own hands. He ensured that UP Police was ruthless against criminals. I was in UP during the time he took over and witnessed the changes myself. Every day some big-shot criminal was killed or arrested by the police. Finally, law and order was much into control. Obviously, opposition and the media houses hands-in-glove with them won’t like it. This seems to be the reason why media chose to highlight only Unnao case while factually grave crimes against women happen all over the country. Their intent is to prove that Yogi Adityanath has failed in improving law-and-order in the state, which would make a strong point for return of SP/BSP’s “Gunda Raaj”. Also, the timing was "politically right" since people were already up in arms after Hyderabad rape case; and media wanted to channelize this anger towards Yogi's Uttar Pradesh. 

At the same time if you are following social media you would have noticed that in social media posts, Brahmins are specifically being targeted in this case, since one of the accused is said to be a Brahmin. There was a hash-tag on Twitter which clearly targeted Brahmins for this crime. It is a sham. The political mind behind this is simple. Using the British formula of “divide and rule”, evil forces have been trying to make Brahmins and Rajputs fight each other. Since Yogi Adityanath is a Rajput, the attempt in targeting Brahmins is to make them get angry with the CM. People have to prove this attempt futile by staying united.

Here are my conclusions in this case:

1.   If we see end-to-end story, the Unnao rape case is not a simple crime but it looks like a case of fake rape allegation and later extortion angles can’t be ruled out

2.   There is a clear attempt to target BJP ruled UP government in this case, since it had promised to save the state from Gunda Raj of SP/BSP.

3.   There is an attempt to spread hatred in society and divide Hindus by specifically targeting Brahmins.

Now coming to my comment on poverty, with which I had started this article. After the victim died, her family members started putting demands on the state government which was almost an “extortion” like scenario. The victim’s sister demanded a government job; her brother demanded a gun license; and her family demanded a big house. All these demands were being made while media was targeting UP government day and night. Result? State government agreed to all their demands. Government job will be given, gun license will be given and two flats will be given to the family since the family has too many members to be accommodated in one flat. Normally large compensation is given to deceased if they are the sole bread-winner of their family. But in this case it seems it was given to make peace with angry protesters. 

It seems that while in other places, families of victims want justice but in Unnao, such a family wants gun license, govt job, 2 flats and much more. It may be more profitable for them to milk the opportunity for money, rather than seek justice. After all, the dead can't see, and money will help them in future more than justice would do.

Therefore, Unnao rape case is not a simple case where you can easily take sides. Think again before lighting that candle and creating that Twitter outrage.

Modi Sarkar Extends Caste Reservations in Loksabha and State Assemblies

Narendra Modi led BJP Government has extended SC/ST Caste Based Quota in Loksabha and State Assemblies for another 10 years. 

The government on Wednesday approved a proposal to extend reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for another 10 years.

Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the reservation for these categories in the Lok Sabha and assemblies was to expire on January 25, 2020. The government will bring a Bill to extend the reservation till January 25, 2030 in the ongoing winter session, he added.

The decision shows BJP government's willingness and resolve to continue with the caste based discriminatory system of providing easier wins for people of certain castes after ignoring merit. One can easily ask how such laws do not violate equality provision of our constitution. But as we have seen all political parties support caste based quota system in India and BJP is no different. 

At the same time Government has abolished the provision of 2 Loksabha seats where people are nominated from Anglo-Indian community by the government. This was an outdated system perhaps created to please the Britishers and the so called Anglo-Indian community (comprising of mostly children and future offspring born out of wedding of a British colonial national with an Indian woman). It is good that Modi government has abolished it. Also, the fact that BJP government abolished it while being in power; shows it is taking selfless decisions in the interest of the nation and is not thinking about its own electoral gains. 

Modi Sarkar introduces Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

Government of India has decided to pass a citizenship amendment bill that would facilitate minorities from Indian sub-continent to get Indian citizenship if they are persecuted and at threat in their native countries. Some details are as follows: 

The government is likely to clear the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday morning. The bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants in the select categories eligible for citizenship. Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to provide Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh made it clear at the meeting of the BJP parliamentary party on Tuesday that the contentious legislation was the top priority of the government, equating its significance with the decision to turn Article 370 into a dead letter and asked party lawmakers to ensure their presence when home minister Amit Shah tables the bill next week.

Minorities in the neighbouring theocratic countries have been subjected to continuous persecutions, which forced them seek asylum in India. Giving citizenship to six minorities will be yet another push from the Modi government to the spirit of ‘sarva dharma sambhav’,” defence minister Rajnath Singh said in his address.

My opinion on this matter is not a clear yes or no. India is already over-populated and people are facing resource and job crunch. In this condition, inviting thousands of such outside people would create pressure on the economy and society especially in big cities since most migrants from outside India tend to head for big cities because of more earning potential in such cities. At the same time, humanitarian angles would ask us to support this bill since the impacted people are at threat and struggling for survival. 

At the same time, any attempt to include Muslims or people from non-Indian religions should be strongly opposed. India was divided in 1947 and separate nation was made for Muslims so there is no point invite Muslims from other nations to come and settle in India, since this would make a mockery of partition and would also provide renewed threat of repeat of partition like scenario in the long term future. 

I think we can trust our government that it is doing the right thing to do in this matter after consulting experts in sociology and polity and has reviewed both the merits and demerits of this move. As a precautionary measure I would suggest that government should limit the number of such outside citizens who come to India every year by creating an "yearly quota" - this would control the impact on native people and economy.