Why Sikhs are helping Kashmiris reach home safely

August 19, 2019

Corrected Update: (Monday, August 19): 32 Kashmiri girls studying in Pune panicked when they lost communication with their families post abrogation of Article 370 shutdown in Kashmir. The girls reportedly approached the Sangat (United Sikh Mission) –not the Sikh Gurudwara committee as reported in the media yesterday –for help in going back to their homes. It was the Sangat (not the Pune Gurudwara committee) who booked the girls on a flight to Delhi. Not only that, they picked them from their hostels PGs etc and ensured their safe departure. At Delhi, other Sewadars took over. The girls were sent to Srinagar, a few sewadars accompanied the girls on the flight.They personally ensured that each girl was escorted to her home safely across Kashmir. Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ (Pronounced like “Wha-hay guroo”) !

We have all witnessed the humanitarian work done by Sikhs all over the world. From serving langar during floods in India, to feeding the Rohingya refugees, the principle of “Sewa” (service) is the essence of Sikhism. On August 10, 2019, 3 Sikh activists helped raise funds and escort 32 female Kashmiri students from Pune to their homes across Baramullah, Badgam, Shopian, Srinagar and Kupwara districts, when due to restrictions imposed on J&K during the abrogation of Article 370, the students lost touch with their families and wanted to return to them.

A sustained helping hand by Sikhs
Earlier this year, after the tragic Pulwama terror attack, angry mobs threatened the safety of Kashmiri students across the country. Sikh volunteers and organizations rose up to protect the Kashmiris, standing guard outside hostels, and helping Kashmiris travel safely back home. Khalsa Aid organized buses to evacuate more than 300 Kashmiri students to Jammu. Local Gurudwaras opened their doors and offered food and shelter to Kashmiris. Social media witnessed hundreds of Kashmiris thanking the Sikhs and offering them free services and hospitality.

A tradition of stepping up to protect
Sikhs model this tradition of standing up for all communities after the countless examples of secular and syncretic practices of their Gurus. The most heart-wrenching story is of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s sacrifice for Kashmiri Pandits in 1675. Guru Teg Bahadur Ji is the ninth Guru of Sikhs. When the Kashmiri Pandits felt their religion was being threatened under the Mughal rule, a delegation of 500 Kashmiri Pandits approached Guru Teg Bahadur Ji for help and guidance.

With words of encouragement and bravery from his then nine-year old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji (the tenth and last living Guru), Guru Teg Bahadur Ji told the Pandits he would travel to Delhi and take a stand for them. The Guru was arrested and brought to Delhi as a prisoner, he was subjected to torture to convince him to convert, but he refused saying, “For me, there is only one religion – of God – and whosoever belongs to it, be he a Hindu or a Muslim, him I own and he owns me. I neither convert others by force, nor submit to force, to change my faith.”

He refused to give up on his stance and defence of not just Sikhs but Kashmiri Pandits as well and was ultimately executed on November 11, 1675. He is honoured with the affectionate title of “Hind-di-Chadar” or the Shield of India because of his exemplary fortitude. In today’s world, scarred by religious fanaticism and intolerance Guru Teg Bahadur ji is truly a hero to be revered and emulated.

Why Sikhs serve humanity, not religion
When Sikh volunteers and organizations Khalsa Aid and United Sikhs stepped up to help the Rohingya refugees in 2017, providing emergency relief supplies – clothes, water, food, jaggery and vegetables to the Rohingyas, many people questioned why Sikhs were helping Muslims when they had a history of being persecuted by some Mughal rulers. But once we delve into the history and teachings of the Sikh Gurus, we understand the service spirit of Sikhs is not limited by religious identity, economic differences, caste, or language. As the religious book Guru Granth Sahib says, “Nanak naam chardi kalaa, tere bhaane sarbat da bhalaa” (Nanak, with you name, comes prosperity, and with your blessings, may there be peace for all). The phrase “Sarbat da bhalaa” ends the daily prayer of Sikhs, inspiring them to wish peace and prosperity on every being on earth.

The Gurus left Sikhs with a legacy of sacrifice and compassion for everyone, irrespective of religion, and this is a legacy they protect fiercely. This is why Sikh volunteers can be seen helping out during natural disasters, communal tensions, war, or even serving water during summer months to parched commuters.

Sikhs in Kashmir
As Indians grapple with the new reality of Jammu & Kashmir, we must remember the Kashmiri Sikhs who have persevered in the valley, living in close proximity with their Muslim neighbours. Despite being subjected to unprecedented violence in in March, 2000, the reason and perpetrators shrouded in mystery, most Kashmiri Sikhs still reside on their ancestral land in Kashmir due to a combination of economic and sentimental factors. As the future of Kashmir unfolds, we pray that the spirit of brotherhood prevails and the Sikh community can continue to live and preach communal harmony. They may be a micro-minority in the area being only 2% of the population, but their concerns and voices are important and should be heard.

Related articles
— It was Sikhs from Dehradun to Chandigarh who restored Kashmiri’s Faith in Humanity
— Pulwama Aftermath: The Love for Sikh Community
— Malerkotla: A History of Compassion
— Bringing communities together for peaceful coexistence: Know Your Neighbour
— Viral Video : A Muslim spent Rs. 80 lakh for carpeting road connecting Gurdwaras in Pakistan
— Temple Vandalism case: Hindus and Muslims come together, serve food to Shobha Yatra participants

Misrepresent “facts” a la BJP’s ideological Imperative: Mission Kashmir

August 19, 2019

Curfew, news and communications blackout, transportation shut-down… News reports from Kashmir are worrying. So are the views relayed through the media, especially television. Old-fashioned repression seems to be consorting comfortably with expressions of concern “for our Kashmiri brethren”. We are looking at Orwell’s 1984 in the making.

In medical emergencies hospitals are practically out of reach. Vehicles ferrying patients can’t easily get past militarised check-points. A human rights issue is looming. Journalists are under tight monitoring. Controlled news is the order of the day.

A burst of gunfire can be clearly heard in a recent BBC television report. The police have not fired a single shot (since Kashmir’s special status became extinct earlier this month), says the government. Then, did BBC doctor the video, or did another uniformed force let go a volley on protesters? Or, was it the other way round- armed militants concealing among protesters shooting at the security forces? There are no details forthcoming, or even an accusation against BBC. Just blanket denial.

In the fog of one-sided propaganda, facts are a casualty. Political sources no longer exist when communications are down. Shah Faesal, a young bureaucrat-turned politician trying to leave the country, was arrested at Delhi airport and taken back to Srinagar. Senior opposition leaders on fact-finding missions were refused entry and made to turn back from Srinagar airport.

In under four days of the commencement of the state of disquiet on August 5, more than 400 Kashmiri politicians were thrown behind bars, including the hapless Sajjad Lone, who had cozied up to BJP. Ali Mohammed Sagar, the National Conference general secretary who has not lost a state legislator’s election from Khanyar in Srinagar since 1983, has been despatched to a jail in Bareilly in faraway UP.

In Srinagar, on the day of Eid-ul-Azha, one of the holiest days in the Islamic calendar, the largest mosques and Islamic sites of prayer of Muslim Kashmir, were out of bounds for the faithful. This has to be a low point for religious freedoms.

This writer can recall visits to the valley in the militancy years of the early ‘90s when the Indian state had to shoot its way out of the corner. The clampdown did not seem so severe then, though there were many serious problems.

In political terms, what the regime may have succeeded in doing — for the first time — is to unite all the political and social tendencies in a straight line against the Indian state. In conditions of extreme repression, this should ordinarily mean the deepening of repression.

In such a situation, there is real danger that the day of the mainstream politician — especially of a party like the National Conference (NC) — may be over for the foreseeable future. Consider the enormity and the tragedy. But for the NC and its stalwart founder-leader Sheikh Abdullah in 1947, when Jinnah pleaded with Kashmir to join Muslim Pakistan, Kashmir had chosen “secular” India.

All this is forgotten. There is hypocrisy, doublespeak. If a concerned citizen wonders whether the BBC report about firing on protesters is accurate after all, ‘Pas-Darshan’ — as distinct from the government television Door-Darshan which, now doesn’t seem so outrageous — knocks her on the head and questions her “nationalism”. How dare you swallow a foreign lie and ignore home-cooked official facts? That’s the new trend in our journalism.

If another citizen says that in a zealot Hindu dispensation very unusual goings-on are occurring in Kashmir perhaps because the valley is mainly Muslim, he is clobbered and warned not to be “communal”. In New India, inversions of the truth are welcome.

Undiluted propaganda and the falsification of history about Article 370 are peddled. ‘Pas-Darshan’ beams the catechism with gusto. The provision was “temporary” and had to go to bring the whole country under one law, says the government. Many have fallen for this, but not the Supreme Court.

Post-1947, even people of Jammu, who could have legitimately settled in the Valley, chose not to do so in any significant way

In 1968, in Sampat Prakah vs the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and then again in as recently as 2016 in SBI vs Santosh Gupta, the top court made it clear that Article 370 was by no means “temporary”. This means that Union home minister Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha on August 5, built his case on a dubious premise. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the strongman in the forefront of integrating the princely states in 1947, is falsely invoked to justify ending J&K’s special status when the Sardar was central to the discussions and negotiations that produced Article 370 and related provisions.

Another element of propaganda is that 370 came in the way of Kashmir’s development. This has to be a wilful departure from facts because the facts are laid out in the official statistics. On social and infrastructural indices like education, health, nutrition, roads and housing, J&K- especially Kashmir valley- surely ranks among the best places in India.

In his recent address to the nation on Kashmir, wittingly or unwittingly, the PM too has seriously erred. He said Kashmir “had been deprived of the Right to Education (RTE)” because J&K’s special status under Article 370 prevented the application of Indian laws to Kashmir. This is monumentally at variance with the reality.

The facts are that there is perhaps not a single law passed by Parliament that did not apply in J&K if New Delhi wished it to, and this was made possible by the much reviled Article 370. As for the RTE, Kashmir — unlike the rest of India — does not need it.

Since as far back as 1950, education was made wholly free in government schools and colleges right up to the most advanced level in Kashmir. It is probable that young Kashmiris may be among the best educated people anywhere in South Asia.

In the Kashmir context, there appears to be well-crafted propaganda at work. The agenda is to misrepresent and misinterpret the known facts in deference to BJP’s ideological imperatives, and to falsely suggest that the special status for J&K, arising from Article 370, has paved the ground for terrorism in the Valley.

Ergo, remove the special status, and permit people from other states to buy property in Kashmir. When that happens, and Hindus settle in the Valley, separatism or terrorism would vanish, runs the unstated logic.

Apart from the presumption that Muslims are terrorists by temperament, there are two problems with this Israel-like settlement plan (operational in Palestinian territories). The first is that the Israeli settlements have failed to bring peace and have indeed made matters worse, just like the Chinese plan for Xinjiang or Tibet. These do not constitute a solution.

Two, in the post-1947 period, even the people of Jammu, who could have legitimately settled in the Valley, chose not to do so in any significant way.

There is some anxiety even in BJP-held Jammu now about being flooded by property-seekers from outside.

We are summoning a disturbing, uncertain, future.

*Senior journalist based in Delhi. A version of this article first appeared in The Asian Age

First published on https://www.counterview.net/

Now Ram Puniyani Prevented From Going To Ayodhya

August 19, 2019

We condemn the house arrest of Advocate Mohammd Shoaib, Sandeep Pandey and other friends on 11th and 16th August, 2019 on the issue of staging one hour candle light demonstration in support of people of Jammu and Kashmir and for preventing Professor Ram Puniyani, Sandeep Panday, Rajeev Yadav, Hafeez Kidwai and others from reaching Ayodhya on 17th August, 2019 for a 2 days meeting on communal harmony and for arresting the host of this meeting Mahant Yugal Kishore Shashtri and bringing him to Raunahi where Prof. Puniyani and others were detained on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway and threatening and putting pressure on participants of this meeting to return to their homes, thereby killing the programme. Prof. Puniyani was told that after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A the situation in the country has changed and therefore the Ayodhya event, even though it had nothing to do with Kashmir issue, was being denied permission. There was no formal order with the Sub Divisional Magistrate Arpit and Additional Superintendent of Police Shailendra Kumar Singh, the officers who had detained Prof. Puniyani, banning the meeting in Ayodhya. They were carrying a general order dated 10 July 2019 signed by DM banning any programme which could potentially disturb communal amity.

Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta has said in an Indian Express article that by what the central government has done Indianisation of Kashmir may not happen but Kasmirisation of India will take place. It appears that his words are coming true. In Jammu and Kashmir there is total clampdown on civil liberties. There is restriction even on press. Now it appears that there is a clampdown on anybody even outside of J&K who wants to stand with the people of Kashmir. From what happened on 17 August it is now clear that it is not just Kashmir, anybody who holds a view different from that of Bhartiya Janata Party or Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh even on any other matter is not free to express their views or organise any programmes. We are headed towards a situation of Emergency. If this is not challenged the government is likely to become more autocratic.

The government has thrust a decision on people of J&K without their approval and against their wish. Even if the decision may be considered correct the manner in which it has been taken is anti-democratic. Tomorrow the government can interfere in the matters of other states also. Such autocratic tendency of the government needs to be opposed.

Even though Narendra Modi has formed a government the second time with absolute majority, the BJP has got merely 37.4% votes. It cannot to taken as a licence to take any decision which affects the like of people like ban on currency notes with consulting the people or taking them into confidence. He cannot assume that all his decisions will be approved by all the people. In fact, majority is against him.

To sideline any other opinion in order the implement the agenda of RSS, BJP is working in a high handed manner. To stifle the voice of people who protest its anti-democratic decisions is even more condemnable. We are committed to maintaining the Constitutional freedoms of citizens and will go to any extent to fight for them.

Rihai Manch, Socialist Party (India), National Alliance of People’s Movements, Lok Rajniti Manch

Can’t go to court with RTI information, rule Ahmedabad authorities: Kankaria accident

August 19, 2019

In a shocking reply to an application filed by me, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) authorities have said that the information provided under the Right to Information (RT) Act should be used in court or in a judicial process. The Act is known to be a major tool that enables citizens to seek certified copies of documents, records from any public authority of state and Central government within 30 days, as per provisions of the Act.

Citizens across the country have been using this Act not only to access information but also as a means to monitor the extent of government’s transparent and accountable to citizens, which is expected in any vibrant democracy.

Gujarat, one of the states with rapid industrial development, has always claimed that it sets an example of best governance practices, and has bagged several awards at the national level for it. However, it is found to be lagging far behind in giving access to information to citizens.

Public Information Officers (PIOs) not only give strange, often innovative, reasons to deny information, but go so far as to restrict citizens to use information that they receive for getting justice.

In the reply dated August 14, AMC denied information to the RTI application filed by me for seeking copy of the contract given to the ride operator/company at the Kakaria Adventure Park, next to the historic Kankaria lake of Ahmedabad, and details of checking done by AMC regarding the ride’s safety. The information was sought in the context of an accident, which caused several deaths and injuries.

AMC denied the information saying that a first information report (FIR) had been filed against the company, and hence the information could not be provided. Further, and this was simply scandalous, the AMC’s public authority instructed me that the information should not be used anywhere as evidence or in the “judicial system” (court).

During the accident, which took place on July 14. two people died and 27 others injured when the ride carrying around 30 people in the Kankaria Adventure Park collapsed after a pipe of the main shaft broke. At least 15 people were critically injured. AMC gives contract to private contractors to operate rides in the park.

The accident took place a month after the Ahmedabad Fire Brigade carried out a midnight rescue operation after as many as 40 people were stuck on a ferris wheel at a fare in the city. Fire officials had to use a 55-metre-tall snorkel to rescue those who were stuck, including 14 children and eight women.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation should proactively disclose information relating to safety checking of rides and conditions in the contract

“This is unconstitutional, and even violates the principle of natural justice”, Harinesh Pandya, master trainer of RTI and founder of the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, an organization that promotes the use of RTI to enhance people’s participation in the democratic process, told me.

“Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation should proactively disclose information relating to safety checking of rides and conditions in the contract, as it is a very vital information as far as public safety in concerned”, Pandya insisted.

The information sought, he pointed out, falls under the proactive disclosure category as per the provisions of the RTI Act. He adds, RTI has been used by victims of casualties, or injustices done to them in such cases, and certified copies of documents obtained thereby have been produced in court as evidence.

Hence, according to Pandya, it is shocking that AMC instructs not to use the reply in court. In fact, some of the major scams and irregularities that were exposed and governments could take action against the culprits has been due to RTI. The information produced from RTI has often been quoted extensively in courts.

Significantly, the RTI reply shows poor quality of training inputs AMC officials get regarding RTI, and also reveals a very negative approach towards transparency or disclosure to citizens. The reply suggests a very bad sign of governance, which is a matter of major concern.
I have decided to not only filed the first appeal against the reply but I am also planning to make a separate representation to the Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government’s Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), which is responsible for training centre for government officials, and to the State Information Commission.

—
*Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

First published on https://www.counterview.net/

Most NOTA Votes In Areas Of Left-Wing Extremism, Reserved Seats, Bipolar Contests

August 19, 2019

Sonipat: Lok Sabha constituencies reserved for the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST), and constituencies in areas affected by left-wing extremism saw a higher percentage of voters choosing “none of the above” or NOTA in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while states that saw a multi-party contest saw a lower share of votes cast for NOTA, our analysis of polling data has revealed.

Nationwide, NOTA recorded 6.5 million votes–more than the population of Ahmedabad, or 1.06% of all votes polled in the 2019 general election. This was lower than 1.08% (6 million) polled in 2014. Bihar saw the highest vote-share (2%) for NOTA this year, followed by Andhra Pradesh (1.49%), Chhattisgarh (1.44%) and Gujarat (1.38%).

Source: Trivedi Center for Political Data, Ashoka University

The option to choose “none of the above” was put in place by the Supreme Court in its 2013 judgement following a writ petition by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a human rights body. NOTA was envisaged to help voters express dissent while still maintaining the secrecy of their ballot to help achieve greater participation in the exercise of democracy.

“When the political parties realise that a large number of people are expressing their disapproval with the candidates being put up by them, gradually there will be a systemic change and the political parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity,” the then Chief Justice P Sathasivam wrote in the judgement.

On October 29, 2013, the Election Commission of India announced that even if the NOTA votes were higher than any other candidate in a constituency, the candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner.

“This provision made the NOTA option almost redundant,” Jagdeep Chhokar, founding trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms, wrote in this December 2018 comment in The Hindu. “…the provision clarified that a NOTA vote would not have any impact on the election result, which is what interests candidates, political parties, and voters. Soon after this, candidates began campaigning against NOTA, telling voters that choosing the option meant wasting a vote.”

To look at the impact of NOTA on the 2019 election result, we compared the winning margin in a constituency against the NOTA vote-share. Twenty-six of 543 constituencies saw a higher vote-share for NOTA than the victory margin. That is, if those who voted for NOTA had chosen the runner-up in a constituency, he/she would have won the race.

NOTA will also help “wide participation of people”, the Supreme Court had said in its 2013 judgement. However, election data do not show such correlation: Of the top 10 constituencies with the highest NOTA vote-share, three recorded a turnout greater than the national average.

“So NOTA remained a toothless tool,” Ajit Ranade, economist, political analyst and a founding trustee of ADR, wrote in December 2018 in the Pune Mirror. “The NOTA button is a vote of discontent and must have teeth.” He cited the Maharashtra state election commission’s decision, applicable to local body elections, as an example. Under the order, if NOTA got the most votes in a constituency, the election would be cancelled and a fresh election would have to be conducted.

Reserved seats saw higher NOTA vote
On average, reserved seats recorded a higher NOTA turnout, as we said, than general seats in 2019: 1.76% of voters in all ST seats and 1.16% in SC seats chose NOTA, compared to 0.98% in general seats.

This is in line with earlier elections, according to this June 2019 analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal, which studied from 43 different elections and 6,298 constituencies (both Lok Sabha & assembly) that went to polls after the introduction of NOTA in 2013.

Source: Trivedi Center for Political Data, Ashoka University

Anecdotal evidence from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Bastar in Chhattisgarh suggests a mobilisation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) vote favouring NOTA against the ST candidates, according to this August 2018 paper in the Economic and Political Weekly.

In Bastar, OBCs formed the Pichda Varg Kalyan Manch (Backward Class Welfare Front), to protest against ST candidates, who according to them were getting unfair rights due to enforcement of the fifth schedule which grants special rights to tribal communities.

Areas with left-wing extremism saw higher NOTA vote-share
Since the inception of NOTA, areas affected by left-wing extremism have, on average, seen a higher NOTA vote-share as compared to other parts of the country, our analysis showed.

Of the top 10 constituencies with the highest NOTA vote in 2019, six are in areas affected by left-wing related violence, according to our analysis. This includes Bastar in Chhattisgarh where 4.56% of votes cast were for NOTA–second only to Gopalganj which recorded a 5.04% NOTA vote.

Paschim Champaran (4.51%), Jamui (4.16%), Nabarangpur (3.85%), Nawada (3.73%) and Koraput (3.38%) also saw high NOTA vote-shares.

Source: Trivedi Center for Political Data, Ashoka University

State-wise data also support this trend: Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, affected by left-wing extremism, all saw a higher proportion of NOTA vote-share.

The high NOTA vote-share in the areas affected by Naxal and Maoist insurgencies points to a possible use of NOTA as a means to protest against state machinery.

The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) used NOTA to “buttress their assembly election boycott call in Chhattisgarh” ahead of the 2013 state assembly elections, according to this October 2013 Times of India report. The rebels conducted training camps with dummy EVMs in Bastar to acquaint voters with NOTA and explain its significance as a tool to “protest against the government’s oppression and exploitation,” the report said.

More voters pick NOTA in bi-polar contests
States which saw a direct bi-polar contest between the two main national parties–the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party or their allies–saw a higher NOTA vote-share as compared to states where there was a third alternative, our analysis of 2019 election data showed.

Gujarat, which had a direct contest between the BJP and the INC, saw a NOTA vote-share of 1.38%. Bihar, which saw a bi-polar contest between the BJP-Janata Dal (United) alliance and the INC-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance, had a NOTA vote-share of 2%.

Similarly, Andhra Pradesh, which saw a contest between the two regional parties–the Telugu Desam Party and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party–polled 1.49% NOTA votes.

Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, which saw three-way contests, recorded 0.84% and 0.53% NOTA vote-shares, respectively. While Delhi had the third alternative of the Aam Aadmi Party, Uttar Pradesh saw the alliance of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party as an alternative to the national parties.

(Bansal and Marathe are students at Ashoka University.)

Courtesy: India Spend

What the UGCRC doesn’t want students to read: Meena Kandasamy’s ‘Touch’

August 19, 2019

As part of UGC’s Learning Outcome-Based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) for undergraduate programmes, the Delhi University decided to update the syllabi of several courses this year. The process began in January and many changes have been made since then. However, it seems like DU’s curriculum row is not going to be resolved anytime soon.

According to the Indian Express, The UGCRC asked the English department to replace poet Meena Kandasamy with Premchand and Amitav Ghosh with RK Narayan. The commitee has also asked the department to remove any reference to the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and Jan Natya Manch.

The English department has refused to accept any of these changes. The Indian Cultural Forum supports this decision and celebrates the work that all of us—students, and all other citizens—must continue to read.

The following is the poem ‘Touch’ by Meena Kandasamy.

Image courtesy Goodreads

Have you ever tried meditation?
Struggling hard to concentrate,
and keeping your mind as blank
as a whitewashed wall by closing
your eyes, nose, ears; and shutting out
every possible thought. Every thing.
And, the only failure, that ever came,
the only gross betrayal—
was from your own skin.
You will have known this.
Do you still remember,
how, the first distractions arose?
And you blamed skin as a sinner;
how, when your kundalini was rising,
shaken, you felt the cold concrete floor
skin rubbing against skin, your saffron robes,
how, even in a far-off different realm—
your skin anchored you to this earth.
Amidst all that pervading emptiness,
touch retained its sensuality.
You will have known this.
Or if you thought more variedly, about
taste, you would discount it—as the touch
of the tongue. Or, you may recollect
how a gentle touch, a caress changed
your life multifold, and you were never
the person you should have been.
Feeling with your skin, was
perhaps the first of the senses, its
reality always remained with you—
You never got rid of it.
You will have known this.
You will have known almost
every knowledgeable thing about
the charms and the temptations
that touch could hold.
But, you will never have known
that touch – the taboo
to your transcendence,
when crystallized in caste
was a paraphernalia of
undeserving hate.

Meena Kandasamy is a Chennai-based poet, writer, activist and translator. Her work focuses on caste annihilation, linguistic identity and feminism.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

Deshbhakti curriculum to be introduced from next year in Delhi schools

August 19, 2019

Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi announced that from the next academic year curriculum that inculcates ‘desh bhakti’ (Patriotism) will be introduced in government run schools.

Delhi state Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and leader of Aam Aadmi Party

The announcement was made on the eve of Independence day in his address on the launch of ‘constitution at 70’ campaign. The Delhi CM said that children need to learn about patriotism so that when they grow up they will become responsible citizens who will not take bribe, discharge their duties honestly and will have love and respect towards the nation and the ‘guests’ who come from other countries.

He said that the decision has been taken after detailed discussions with Education Minister for state Manish Sisodia.

The CM said that feelings of patriotism arise only when there is a cricket match or when there are tensions at the border. This feeling is absent in our day to day lives. Therefore the objective of this curriculum is to instil love and respect amongst the students for their country.The children will also realise the problems the nation is facing such as farmers’ suicides and poverty and that they need to be solved by all.

“We have to create a sense of ownership among all children that they have to take on the challenges we are facing as a country head on and address them. Third, we have to instill among children the passion and commitment to be prepared to sacrifice anything for the nation,” he said.

Calling the curriculum as a ‘gift to the nation’, Kejriwal said that the teachers and the principals of the government schools will be consulted while designing the curriculum.

This decision of ‘desh bhakti’ curriculum is seen as a step to be with the flow of the prevalent mood of ‘nationalism’ and also as a strategic step for the upcoming assembly elections in the next year.

Courtesy: Two Circles

6 Years After Narendra Dhabolkar’s Assassination, Masterminds Remain Free

August 19, 2019

While chargesheets against accused Amol Kale, Amit Digwekar and Rajesh Bangera are still pending, the permission to search for the weapon used has only been granted recently.

Narendra Dhabolkar. Image Courtesy : The Indian Express

August 20 will mark six years since the Maharashtra-based rationalist Narendra Dhabolkar was assassinated by bike-borne men while returning home in Pune from a morning walk. As the investigation has evolved over the years, many questions still remain pending, the biggest being, when will the key conspirators be nabbed as the masterminds in the case still remain scot free.

Speaking to NewsClick, Hamid Dhabolkar from the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), an organisation founded by the rationalist, said, “It’s almost a year since the suspected shooters have been arrested and it has become quite evident from Gauri Lankesh, Kalburgi and Pansare’s case that the murders were a coordinated effort and a conspiracy to eliminate the voices of dissent.” Dhabolkar’s family has been highlighting that the process of the investigation has been extremely slow. Despite the fact that Sanatan Sanstha (SS) and its many splinters have been named in the killings of rationalists by the investigative agencies, these organisations continue to function and are not being investigated properly.

Currently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested over six people in the case. However, no substantial leads to the key conspirators have been established. Out of the six, the central investigating agency has also taken custody of three, Amol Kale, Amit Digwekar and Rajesh Bangera — who are also accused in the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. Lankesh was killed near her residence in Bengaluru in September 2017. In December last year, a court in Pune granted “default bail” to these three suspects in the Dabholkar murder case as the CBI did not file a chargesheet against them within the stipulated period of 90 days. However, they continue to be in jail for their alleged involvement in the Lankesh murder case. Hamid added, “First and the most logical thing that needs to happen is to reach out to the mastermind and the conspirators, otherwise they will keep bringing up people like this.

In June 2016, in a major breakthrough, the CBI had arrested ENT surgeon and Sanatan Sanstha member Virendra Tawade, alleging that he was the mastermind of the conspiracy to kill Dabholkar. In the chargesheet against Tawade, the CBI mentioned the involvement of other Sanatan Sanstha activists Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar and stated that they had shot Dabholkar. But later, the agency claimed that the arrested had accused Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar of shooting Dabholkar.

More names surfaced in May this year, as the CBI arrested Sanatan Sansthan counsel Sanjeev Punalekar in connection with the case. Punalekar, who is currently out on bail, was arrested along with his aide Vikram Vinay Bhave based on an alleged confessional statement by Sharad Kalaskar, who has been named in a CBI chargesheet as one of the two shooters who killed Dabholkar. Kalaskar had allegedly issued the statement to the Karnataka special investigation team (SIT) investigating journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder. A decision on the bail application of Vikram Bhave is also pending in the court and is likely to be pronounced soon.

Despite the progress being made on the arrests of the persons involved, six years later there is still no probe on the weapon used to murder Dhabolkar. Hamid added, “There are statements that are available from Sharad Kalaskar saying that he has dismantled the gun near Thane. This has been available with the investigating agencies for over seven to eight months now (the chargesheet against the shooters were filed in February 2019), still they have not managed to get a clearance to probe the site. The High Court has also pulled them up a lot of time on this as well saying that the delay can be potentially dangerous. Despite this information being available with the agencies, the permission to probe the assault weapon has been granted recently.”

He added, “On August 10, CBI has also informed the Pune court that it has obtained the necessary clearance from the state environment ministry to conduct a search operation in the Arabian Sea to find out the weapon used to assassinate rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. A foreign company has been given a contract to conduct the operation.”

Every year on August 20, MANS observes a day of protest against the political murder of Narendra Dhabolkar. This year, however, the society, in order to facilitate discussions on science and rationality, has decided to organise a Dr. Narendra Dhabolkar memorial lecture to pay homage to the rationalist.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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While chargesheets against accused Amol Kale, Amit Digwekar and Rajesh Bangera are still pending, the permission to search for the weapon used has only been granted recently.

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