Asia Bibi‘s long and highly publicized ordeal is finally over – she has been allowed to leave Pakistan. Bibi, a Christian, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. However, she was acquitted by the Supreme court in October last year after the prosecution failed to submit valid evidence against her.
Photo: Protesters mobilizing for the release of Asia Bib in Lahore, Pakistan on November 21, 2010 (Mohsin Raza/Reuters)
Bibi’s acquittal sparked protests by religious fundamentalists across the country, and despite being acquited by the highest court in the country, Bibi was not allowed to leave Pakistan. The review petition against Bibi was also dismissed by the Supreme Court, but she was forced to remain in Pakistan until she quietly left for Canada on Wednesday. Such is the sensitivity of the matter that the government is tight-lipped about Bibi’s departure and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to confirm she was in Canada for security reasons.
Bibi is one of the more fortunate victims of Article 295-C of the constitution: unlike many others accused of blasphemy, after spending eight years in prison, she was able to flee the country. There are still dozens of people accused of blasphemy languishing behind bars in until their cases can be heard. The lower courts do not like to go against public sentiment and in most cases, despite the evidence against them being weak, the accused are given death sentences. The case of Professor Junaid Hafeez is a classic example. Hafeez, a lecturer at a government university in Punjab, was charged with blasphemy because of a Facebook post he made in 2013, and since then his case has been pending in the lower courts and the judge presiding over the case has been replaced six times. His lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was murdered in broad daylight after he refused to abandon the case.
As Varanasi goes to polls the jheeni jheeni chadariya of its composite culture is under threat
Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Gyanvapi Mosque
The elections in Varanasi are taking place at a delicate juncture. It is not just Modi and BJP versus Gathbandhan. Varanasi has symbolised a richly vibrant syncretic culture that emerged over the centuries. Kabir and Raidas (or Ravidas) contributed to it as did various Urdu shayars of yore. Premchand and Dhumil arose from here, as did Bismillah Khan. Mandirs and masjids coexisted as did weavers’ guilds and unions of mallahs. All this is sought to be crushed under a ritualistic and regressive juggernaut, ignorant of history and culture.
Uttar Pradesh, over the last five years, has been a hotbed of communal politics. Since the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the state has witnessed a vicious brand of communal politics actively organised by the Sangh and the BJP. The rise of the Yogi regime further aggravated this trend. In Varanasi too there have been concerted efforts at communal polarisation.
It is understandable why Varanasi would be a soft target for the Hindutva brigade. Varanasi has a history of temple-mosque politics which is similar to that of Ayodhya before the Babri Masjid was demolished. The Sangh believes that the Gyanvapi masjid in Varanasi stands on the same ground that the original Kashi Vishwanath temple stood upon. One of the slogans raised during the Babri masjid demolition was “Yeh toh sirf jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura baki hai.” Over the years, this issue has been consistently used by the Sangh to whip up communal sentiments. In fact, locals allege that the current demolition drive in the area to create the Kashi Vishwanath corridor brings the Hindutva brigade one step closer to demolishing the mosque.
Another reason why Varanasi has been such an important target for the BJP is that it has historically been a symbol of cultural and social syncretism. The famed Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the region, which involves mixing and acceptance of different cultures and religions, has for long found strong expression in Varanasi. Traditionally, the cultural ethos of the city has gone beyond the narrow “peacekeeping” notion of secularism to that of whole-hearted mutual embrace.
One of the greatest musicians to ever come from Varanasi was Bismillah Khan, the shehnai maestro, who single-handedly brought the instrument that was earlier only played in temples and weddings into mainstream Hindustani classical music. Bismillah Khan embodied the syncretism of Varanasi, embracing many religions and traditions at once. He would often say that music was his true religion. He had an undying love for the city. At a time when most other music practitioners of some fame, like Ravi Shankar, decided to move on to greener pastures and never look back, Bismillah Khan never left Varanasi.
The relationship between Varanasi and literature is also rich and diverse. As against popular perception, the city finds mention not only in Hindu scriptures, but also in the imagination of Urdu poets such as Ghalib. Ghalib composed a poem of 108 couplets, Chirag-e-dair (The Lamp of the Temple), based on Vanarasi, which he visited in 1827. About Varanasi he had to say: “Zamane bhar Mein / yeh sthal / Mukaam-e-fakher / kehlata hain// Dehli shaher bhi / iski / parikarma ko / Aata Hain.”
Varanasi itself has seen many Urdu poets, like Nazeer Banarasi and Rashid Banarasi, both of who belonged to the weavers’ community. Nazeer Banarasi wrote extensively about India, its festivals and politics. Rashid Banarasi, in one of his poems, says that the Ganga protects those who respond to the conch of Hindus, the call to prayer of Muslims, the devotional songs of Sikhs, and the church bells of Christians. Not only Urdu poets, the city has produced legendary Hindi poets as well. Dhoomil (Sudama Pandey), was widely known for his revolutionary poetry, who was also from Varanasi. A host of other progressive writers, such as Premchand, Kashinath Singh, and Namvar Singh, who were ahead of their times in the themes they wrote about, also hailed from Varanasi.
Varanasi’s tryst with poetry of tolerance and syncretism of course goes much further back. Two saint poets, who stood for their own unique and emancipatory philosophy, both from Varanasi, were Kabir and Raidas (or Ravidas). Kabir denounced both Islam and Hinduism, even while embracing them both. He belonged to the working class, whereas Raidas was a dalit who was not even allowed to enter the city. Both are still as relevant and revolutionary today as they were in their lifetimes.
It is worth mentioning here that a large part of the economy of Varanasi consists of the production and trade of sarees. The weavers who make these sarees and silk materials are Muslims, and they are traded by Hindus. The famed Banarasi Saree is largely crafted by Muslim weavers in the area.
Though Varanasi has been simmering since the demolition of the Babri Masjid and has mostly seen the BJP in power in recent times, the city was also once a bastion of the Left. This was due to a large number of trade unions, not just in the saree and silk trade, but also among the artisans who produce wooden toys and brass goods which the areas is known for. There have also been prominent leaders of the left, such as Rustam Satin, who have made lasting contributions to the cultural vibrancy of Varanasi.
As we enter the last phase of polling, it is important to remember all that is at stake here. Hanging in the balance is our prized composite inheritance. What can be said about Varanasi can also be said about the country as a whole. The very secular fabric of our nation is being destroyed by the Hindutva brigade, and it must be stopped.
Guwahati, 17th May: About 3.8 lakhs of people, who failed to submit claim applications for inclusion of names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the December 31 deadline will now face to face trial in the 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across the state of Assam. FTs are quasi judicial authorities where people who are suspected to be foreigners or doubtful voters have to prove that they are indeed Indian citizens failing which they are lodged in Detention Camps. In a cruel twist of fate, unlike other trials where even murderers and dacoits are presumed innocent until proven guilty, in an FT case the burden of proof lies on the proceedee i.e the person whose citizenship is being questioned.
The process for updating NRC or National Register of Citizens began in Assam in 2014. It was to settle the long standing dispute about the presence of ‘foreigners’ in the state. All together 3.29 crore of people applied for inclusion of their names, out of which 2.89 crore names were included in the final draft NRC that was published on 31st July, 2018. In that stage, 40,07,707 people were dropped from the final draft NRC of which 36.2 lakh people submitted their reclaim applications within the stimulated period of 15th September to 31st December of 2019. Thus it appears that about 3.8 lakh people could not submit the claim applications within the deadline.Now, these people will have to face foreigners cases immediately.
The Assam state Home Department is reportedly seeking detailed reports from Prateek Hajela, the State Co-ordinator, NRC, Assam about the people who failed to meet the deadline. Speaking to a local media, Ashutosh Agnihotri, the Commissioner Secretary, Home, Government of Assam said, “The Home Department, Government of Assam, has sent a letter to Prateek Hajela, the State Coordinator for updating NRC asking for the details of those people who didn’t submit Claim Applications after their names were dropped from the final draft NRC that was published in July 31 last year. These might have failed to submit the reclaim applications as they might not have any valid documents of their citizenship. The Border Police under Department of Home, Government of Assam will lodge foreigners cases against each and every person who failed to submit claim applications for NRC. We are just waiting till the details. Once the list and addresses of such people arrives, it will be sent to Border Police who will then refer such people to the Foreigners’ Tribunal, so that the foreigners cases can be started at the earliest.”
It is alleged that the administration did not do enough to effectively educate people about the Claims process and many were forced to undergo undue harassment at the time of submitting Claim applications. The same administration is now active in taking legal action against these people. Presently, Assam has 1.25 lakh declared foreigners, a vast majority of whom are allegedly victims of ex-parte judgement. At the same time, a large number of cases are pending before these tribunals. As, lakhs of such cases will come up just after publication of final NRC, the Government of Assam have proposed to establish 1000 new FTs in the state to dealt with the upcoming cases.
Who are the target? It is believed that the people who are likely to be worst affected by this are those to belong to the Bengali speaking community, both Hindus and Muslims. Even among Muslims the affected families could be indigenous Muslims, who don’t have any history of migration. Some could also be Bengali Muslims who became residents due to redrawing of district and state borders due to partition of Bengal during British times, partition during independence or those who were fleeing a war torn East Bengal but came before March 25, 1971.
Speaking to Sabrang India, Karimganj based Advocate and activist Sishir Sen expresses his apprehension saying, “All Bengalis cutting cross their religious lines, all Muslims cutting cross their linguistic lines are main target of the biased and doubtful NRC. No one will be spared.” On the other hand Advocate Shaiizuddin Ahmed of Gauhati High Court, who is also member of State legal team of CJP fears that it isn’t just Bengali speaking Hindu and Muslims who will be affected. He said, “Not only the Muslims or Bengali people, but many other Indian people will be affected if Government of Assam starts foreigners cases against the people who didn’t submit claim applications. Bengali cutting cross their religious lines, Muslims cutting cross their ethnic lines have submitted maximum number of reclaim applications. Very few of these people did not submit their applications mainly due to ignorance, confusion or illiteracy. But, other Indians, who submitted their applications in huge numbers during initial period, had lost their faith in updating NRC due to endless harassment for collection, compilation of proper documents and attending repeated hearings. Though, they were relieved from submitting further documents during submission of claim applications, they felt they couldn’t rely upon NRC authority. As, they are not a targeted group of people as Bangladeshi and they have some other states to take shelter, they avoided to submit claim applications in huge numbers. These groups of people will be mostly affected if the government of Assam takes any initiative to lodge foreigners cases against the people who didn’t submitted claim applications for NRC.”
Varanasi and Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh): “I don’t fake things. Sometimes, if I don’t want to speak the truth, I can tell you the extended truth. But I don’t lie.”
As the last phase of Lok Sabha elections unfolds tomorrow, the Bharatiya Janata Party says there is no contest to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi. But in the bylanes leading to the holy ghats, there is growing dissent.
At a primary school in Varanasi, Vaibhav Kapoor, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and head of the party’s social media campaign, made this remark as he explained how the campaign to re-elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi–from a constituency that he won by 581,023 votes in 2014–was going. It was in the bag, Kapoor claimed, as India prepared to vote in the last phase of general elections on May 19, 2019.
As Kapoor, a bunch of party managers and national spokesperson Nalin Kohli told school children about the Swachh Bharat or clean-India campaign, the “truth” they said was that there was no contest here in Modi’s constituency, where he won 56% of the vote in 2014, where people could not–in the telling of party managers–conceive of an alternative. They spoke of the “next step”, what would be after Modi won, new partnerships and trust in the next generation.
Vaibhav Kapoor (left), Bharatiya Janata Party leader and head of the party’s social media campaign, speaks to your reporter at a primary school in Varanasi. “I don’t fake things,” Kapoor says. “Sometimes, if I don’t want to speak the truth, I can tell you the extended truth. But I don’t lie.”
The “extended truth” that Kapoor referred to–hidden from party propaganda–appeared to unfold away from the school premises and its Swachh Bharat pin-up charts.
Among the ranks of the boatmen at the Dasashvamedha ghat–the oldest set of steps going down to the river, where Brahma the creator is said to have sacrificed 10 horses–and local shopkeepers, a consensus appeared evident: If things are so certain for Modi, why is his campaign so shrill? Modi has made personal attacks, for instance, on opposition leader and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, calling his father, assassinated in 1991, “Corrupt No.1”.
This is the story of the quiet voices from the margins of Varanasi, one of 80 constituencies in UP, India’s most important state electorally. Among them were the boatman and his friend–both requested anonymity–who complained how no business was possible each time Modi campaigned because the ghats were closed. Both were Nishads, a group of other backward class (OBC) Hindu communities in UP and Bihar, who traditionally depend on riverine occupations. In 2014, they voted for achhe din, or good days, the promise Modi made. They intended to vote this time for the Congress, which won two seats in the state in 2014 and is contesting 80 in 2019.
General Elections In Varanasi, 1991-2014
Year
Candidate
Party
1991
Shrish Chandra Dikshit
Bharatiya Janata Party
1996
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal
Bharatiya Janata Party
1998
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal
Bharatiya Janata Party
1999
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal
Bharatiya Janata Party
2004
Rajesh Kumar Mishra
Indian National Congress
2009
Murli Manohar Joshi
Bharatiya Janata Party
2014
Narendra Modi
Bharatiya Janata Party
Source: Election Commission of India
The BJP is also being questioned in its upper-caste Hindu bastions.
Vocal, visible: Modi’s base
Modi’s upper-caste base is vocal and visible.
To the south-west of the ghats, in the largely upper-caste neighbourhood of Chandrika Nagar, first-time BJP legislator Saurabh Srivastava worked up a sweat as he campaigned door to door for the prime minister. Srivastava, 42, won the Varanasi Cantonment seat in the state elections of 2017, and he felt it was his duty to assure Modi a margin greater than the 371,885-vote lead in 2014 over Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi.
“Pehle matdaan, phir khan-paan,” First vote, then food.
That was Srivastava’s plea to everyone he met. Most people said exactly what Srivastava expected to hear: “We are all pucca (firm) Modi voters.” One of them had a complaint, or, as he put it: “I’ve made 100 complaints.” As Srivastava jumped over a stinky, dark green stream of sewage spilling across the front porch of the man’s house, he confirmed he was still “an out and out” BJP supporter.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislator from Varanasi Cantonment Saurabh Srivastava campaigns door to door for the Prime Minister in the largely upper-caste neighbourhood of Chandrika Nagar. Most people said exactly what Srivastava expected to hear: “We are all pucca (firm) Modi voters.”
Varanasi city is home to 1.2 million people. It is about 3,000 years old and Hinduism’s holiest city. “Benares (as it was once called) is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together,” wrote Mark Twain.
The decrepit city–in UP’s most backward region, the east–has experienced an explosion of attention since Modi made it his constituency in 2014.
The BJP’s hopes are concentrated on winning Varanasi–and the sewage lines cannot keep up.
Sewage flows along the ghats of Varanasi. The city has only half the sewage lines it needs, government data show.
When IndiaSpend asked Srivastava to explain what the Modi government had done to build drains in the city, he began by speaking of his mother’s efforts.
In 2012, when Srivastava’s mother was a legislator from the region, he said, she proposed four new lines to replace the old, narrow and clogged sewers. The first instalment of money for new drains came, but the BJP was not in power either at the Centre or the state. So, work began on only two lines. By 2017, when the BJP did capture UP and also ruled Delhi, only 1.5 of four sewer lines had been built.
But what, Srivastava was asked, of progress since then?
There hasn’t been much more work since then, said Srivastava, because the previous government “ate up” the remaining funds and a new plan for fresh funding money is “still being drawn up”. Varanasi has only half the sewage lines it needs–805 km of 1,596 km required–according to state government officials.
A massive clean-up is evident along the front of the ghats. New roads and flyovers have been built. But behind the malls and hotels, in the back alleys, Varanasi’s extended truth is evident and enduring.
The distrust of minorities
In the gullies behind the Tulsi ghat, there are no drains and no garbage disposal. A few streets away from Chandrika Nagar is the Muslim neighbourhood of Lallapura, where sari weaver Abul Hassan, 58, spoke of a financial crisis affecting Varanasi’s handloom-sarees sector.
Come look at “vikaas” (progress), at the cleanliness in our streets, said Hassan, angrily. This area is right next to the BJP party office, he pointed out. On their side of the road, the street lights were bright and garbage was collected, more or less efficiently. Down the same road, as Lallapura begins, the drains and garbage collection were all but absent.
The Muslim neighbourhood of Lallapura in Varanasi has open drains and garbage strewn across the streets. Further down the same road is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kashi region office, where the streets are clean and garbage is collected, more or less efficiently.
“Humney acchey din waley ko na kabhi vote diya tha na kabhi denge,” said Hassan. I have never voted for the harbinger of good days, and I never will.
As Srivastava continued his campaign, some of his supporters spoke of “unsavoury elements”–a reference to Muslims, who make up a third of the city–from neighbourhoods like Lallapura. It was hot. Srivastava was taking a break, chatting with a group of BJP supporters in Chandrika Nagar’s Vinay Kunj apartments.
“Roz yeh thele waley aatey hain jo Kashi ko Kerala bana rahey hain, ek din yaha kattey challenge,” said a man dressed in track pants and tee shirt. Every evening, the men with the carts come here, converting Kashi into Kerala (a state that in the Hindu majoritarian view coddles minorities). One day, country-made pistols will be used here.
The man said he was a long-standing BJP voter and a member of its “intellectual arm”, the RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Srivastava explained what the man meant: that he would like the BJP to “look into this” when it was voted back in the city of holy Kashi Vishwanath temple.
“He is expecting the party to prevent anti-social elements from ruining the area and making it unsafe,” said Srivastava. “Which we will do by telling the police to look into the matter.”
“Dekhiye, kuch logon ko chod ke, baaki Muslim ke chaar biwi, 40 bachchey hotey hain,” said Srivastava. “Look, apart from a few, most Muslims have four wives and 40 children.”
At the ghats, this double-speak of development laced with divisiveness criss-crosses every shop. Himanshu Khanchandani, 31, is a third-generation shopkeeper who represents the new Varanasi. At Jeewan Stores, he sold nighties for women, from the sexy lacy nightgowns to more flouncy, floral ones.
Himanshu Khanchandani’s Jeewan Stores sells nighties for women along the ghats in Varanasi. A Modi fan, he has no time for claims that demonetisation and the goods and services tax hit small businesses like his. Outside the frame, other shopkeepers say “Modinomics” hit them hard.
Khanchandani is a Modi fan. He had no time for arguments against the PM or claims that the demonetisation of the economy in November 2016 and the tax reforms or GST (Goods and Services Tax) six months later hit small businesses like his. A few shops away, it was a different story. A trader who did not want to be named said his business took a 50% hit because of “Modinomics”.
Modinomics pushed UP, which is India’s second-poorest state by per capita income–with an annual average per capita income of less than Rs 45,000, or half the national average–into deeper distress. In eastern UP, the average annual income is Rs 16,522, 15% lower than the already abysmal state average.
Poverty, faith and caste
As the sun set on the ghats alongside the Ganga, it was time for the evening aarti or prayers, a display of faith and exuberance. Five-foot-high speakers played bhajans at high volume, as devotees gathered to watch young men leading the prayers, whirling acrobatically with large multi-tier lamps.
Devotees gather to watch the evening aarti or prayers, on the ghats alongside the Ganga.
Away from the noise, in a quiet corner along the Tulsi ghat, stood a quiet dissenter. Mangal Yadav, 49, chanted the Hanuman chalisa or prayer to Lord Hanuman, in front of a tiny statue built into an alcove along the ghats, in the dark. He lit a clay diya or lamp.
“Dharam ko vyapar bana diya,” he said. He blamed right-wing organisations for converting faith into a business.
Yadav said he was “a devout Hindu”, who argued that the sanctity of his prayers lay in going against the current grain of the city and its loudly proclaimed faith. The aesthetics of the evening prayers, according to him, were mixed up with the prime minister’s politics.
But Yadav’s dissent was not a straight link between sanctimony and commerce. Caste was the ever-present all-pervasive factor in those who opposed and praised Modi.
This is important because scheduled castes–traditionally the most discriminated against–form 21.1% of UP’s population, higher than the national average of 16.2%.
The quiet Hanuman bhakt was a Yadav, a group that has traditionally voted for the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP), a party that popularly referred to as the party of, by and for the Yadavs.
In a quiet corner along the Tulsi ghat, Mangal Yadav chanted the Hanuman chalisa or prayer to Lord Hanuman. “Dharam ko vyapar bana diya,” he says, blaming right-wing organisations for converting faith into a business.
With OBCs, Yadavs are part of a significant social grouping in UP. Taken together, a third of the people of UP are below the poverty line and they are overwhelmingly scheduled caste or OBCs.
As Modi campaigned in the rural districts adjoining Varanasi, caste was front and centre. In a large open maidan in Lalanagar in the district of Bhadohi, he told an audience of about 200,000 that Bhadohi was renamed after the sufi Dalit saint Sant Ravidas, by former chief minister Mayawati, leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which says it represents the interests of scheduled castes or Dalits.
When Mayawati was voted out in 2012 and replaced by the SP, they changed the district’s name back to Bhadohi. Now, the two erstwhile rivals were in alliance against the BJP.
Using pejoratives for both, Modi asked his Bhadohi audience: “Bua ke baad babua ke aaney se unhone apney ahankar se naam hata diya, kya yeh Sant Ravidas ka apmaan nahi hai? When the aunt (Mayawati) was replaced by the Yadav nephew (Akhilesh Yadav of the SP) then he also changed the name to satisfy his ego. Isn’t that an insult to Sant Ravidas and by implication to Dalits?”
Micro-managing candidates, voters
As Modi spoke, a thin, emaciated man from a dalit caste–75-year-old daily wage labourer Mahi Lal–did not listen to much of the speech. As he saw this reporter approach, he folded his hand, pleading: “I am getting my rations and that’s all.”
Daily wage labourer Mahi Lal (75), a Dalit, did not listen to much of the Prime Minister’s speech at a rally in Lalanagar in Bhadohi district. As he saw this reporter approach, he folded his hand, pleading: “I am getting my rations and that’s all.”
A BJP minder in the crowd quickly arrived on the scene. Harikesh Singh, 24, edged Lal out of the conversation. “I am not in the BJP or a bhakt (fan),” he said; “but I am with the sachhe insaan--the honest man–mannaniya Modi ji, respected Modiji.”
Harikesh Singh (right), a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minder in the crowd at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Bhadohi. “I am not in the BJP or a bhakt (fan),” he says; “but I am with the sachhe insaan--the honest man–mannaniya Modi ji, respected Modiji.”
Unlike Varanasi, caste politics in Bhadohi is in plain sight. The BJP candidate, Ramesh Chand Bind, an OBC, sat in a motel he owned along the highway in a pink room, with the cupboard door displaying shirts and vests open.
Ramesh Chand Bind (right), the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Bhadohi, is surrounded by party workers–including legislator Dinanath Bhaskar (left). Following a politically embarrassing speech, he is watched and micro-managed.
He was surrounded by BJP party workers, who listened carefully to him, especially because Bind made a politically embarrassing speech just a few days ago.
He switched to the BJP only in March 2019 after 18 years in the BSP, Mayawati’s party. As he had done all those years in the BSP, Bind boasted in an election speech how he would put upper-caste people–the BJP’s main voters–in their place.
“Aaj agar ek brahmin ek Bind ko agar peetta hai…toh hum brahminon ko pitwatey hain. [Watch video between 0.27 – 1.08] If today a Brahmin has beaten anyone from Bind, we will beat the Brahmins.”
The speech had embarrassed the BJP’s many upper-caste leaders and voters, and in villages near election rallies held by Modi and Bind people said they would vote for Modi, but, as one said, “we do not want to see the face of the local candidate”.
Like the fearful dalit man at Modi’s rally, Bind was watched and micro-managed.
“That video clip of my speech was edited,” said Bind. “It was doctored.” Then, he added: “Jis samaj ke prati yeh aarop lagaye hain yeh samaj hamesha poojaniya raha hai aur yeh poojaniya rahega. The section of society I am accused of having insulted is actually the section that we all worship.”
Unemployment and stray cows
There is a thumb rule for castes and their political preferences, based on patterns that elections in the past have thrown up: scheduled castes and Dalits vote for Mayawati’s BSP, Yadavs and Muslims for the SP and upper castes and non-Yadav OBC groups for the BJP.
However, when economic distress is as great as it is in eastern UP, and Modi is seen by many voters as not having delivered on his promises, the outliers in each group may provide a picture of the PM’s popularity.
At Modi’s rally, a young upper-caste man, a Brahmin, who did not want to be named, called himself a BJP party worker but in fact turned out to be a dissenter. Over plates of hot chappatis and bhindi subzi (ladyfinger), he said most Dalits who came to Modi’s rally in Bhadohi were there just to see the helicopter.
“Woh madam jahaz dekhney aaye they–phar phar phar phar bolat hai. The phar-phar-phar-phar sound of the helicopter is what they came to see madam,” he said, grinning widely.
The condescension aside, Dalit or scheduled-caste groups appear as divided as others on supporting or shunning Modi. In a village called Natwa near Modi’s rally site, Dalit homes were made of mud, so low that residents had to crawl in.
Dalits in Natwa village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district are divided over whether or not to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party and, in effect, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Even so, 50-year-old Dalit Phool Kumari, said she would vote for Modi because she now had a light bulb. Gayatri Saroj from a low caste called Pasi agreed. But 35-year old daily wage worker, Ganga Ram, a Dalit, shook his head. “Kuch nahi kiye hain Modi. Modi has done nothing,” he said. For the last two years, work available under the national rural jobs programme, which the previous government started, had come to a halt, he said, and there was no alternative launched.
Unemployment is particularly evident in eastern UP. The third generation of a family of BJP voters, the Brahmin party worker we referred to earlier spoke how “no one has a job” and “there is nothing to do except migrate to other states to look for work”.
In fact, not only is the unemployment rate in UP high, in the last decade, many more people have become casual labourers, earning uncertain incomes.
Rise Of Casual-Wage Jobs And Self Employment in UP Source: World Bank, May 2016
Unemployment has worsened in Bhadohi, once a bustling carpet-weaving area. The Brahmin BJP man said that despite being a party worker, “mujhe khud kaam ki talaash hai. Mai khud pareyshaan hoon lekin kisko bataney jaaoon. I am myself in search of work, but who can I tell?”.
Could he not go to the MP? He laughed: “Kya madam aap bhi! Really madam, how could you even suggest that?”
In Natwa, dominated by upper caste Shuklas, about a kilometre from Modi’s rally, farmers–all Shuklas–were divided for and against Modi and out-shouted each other at a grocer’s shop when this reporter visited.
Rajesh Shukla, 35, was passing by when he stopped his cycle. “Modi hasn’t done anything about the unemployment in this region,” he said. Yet, he said, he would continue his loyalty to Modi because Natwa now had electricity for up to 18 hours every day, compared to the five or six hours under the previous government.
In Natwa village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district, dominated by upper-caste Shuklas, farmers–all Shuklas–were divided for and against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and out-shouted each other at a grocer’s shop.
He was interrupted by an older, scruffier man, also a Shukla. Harinder Shukla, 55, said: “Rajneetik parivartan kuch 10-15 saalon me aisa hua ki Hindu-Musalmaanon ke beech me rajnaitik roop se khaiyan bana di gai hain. The main political change in the last 10-15 years has been the creation of a deep cleavage between Hindus and Muslims.”
Harinder Shukla said the BJP’s “divisive politics” had led to even greater economic distress in the region on account of cow vigilantes, who had spread hate and fear by threatening and even killing people who sold cows. Now, hundreds of stray cows ate up farm produce, and there were not enough cow shelters, he said.
One such shelter with 400 stray cows rounded up was not too far from the Shukla village. In the centre lay a dead calf, with birds picking on carcass.
A dead calf at a cowshed in Bhadohi district’s Aurai block. Over 400 stray cows have been rounded up here, and the caretaker says 14 died in the last three months.
Modi supporters in the region were torn between admitting that there was a downside to the cow politics or denying that there was a problem at all.
When BJP candidate Bind was shown a photo of the dead calf, before he could answer, Rajendra Dubey, the BJP district president for the Bhadohi region interrupted: “Unse kya pooch rahey hain, woh abhi toh bicharey pratyashi huey hain…abhi interview mat kijiye. What are you asking our candidate, he’s just been made a candidate, the poor man. Don’t interview him just now.”
(Laul is an independent journalist and film-maker and the author of `The Anatomy of Hate,’ published by Westland/Context in December 2018. )
The BMC, on Thursday, has announced a financial aid of Rs 100 crore a month to “help the undertaking improve its transport wing.” BEST currently takes loans of Rs 184-crore every month to pay salaries and there has been a demand from various quarters to merge BMC-BEST budgets.
The announcement was made by Mayor V Mahadeshwar in the presence of group leaders of various political parties and the newly-appointed Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi. The Mayor said that it will take about seven to eight months for the merger and until then, financial aid of Rs 100 crore per month will be granted.
However, this announcement comes with several riders. BEST is required to work out a plan on procuring an additional 3000 buses through wet-leasing. Wet leasing is the process of handing out a service to a private contractor. The buses procured by wet-leasing are required to be added to the existing fleet of 3200 buses. Officials from the BEST have been asked to submit a report on wet leasing process to the BMC ‘soon’. Deputy General manager of BEST reportedly said, “We will work out the modalities of wet leasing another 3000 buses.”
Reportedly, the meeting was held to address BEST’s demand of a Rs 250-crore aid to pay off its dues to Tata power. The BMC, however, had made it clear that the package is only for its transport wing and that it will have to manage its electricity dues on its own.
The BMC is expected to conduct a review at the end of each month to ascertain how the money improved bus services. BEST officials have also been asked to consider a report of consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which estimated that the undertaking could turn a profit of Rs 150 crore a month by opening its depots and colonies for commercial exploitation.
However, citizens’ groups have mixed reactions on the development. Hussain Indorewala, assistant professor of Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi school and part of the forum to protect BEST buses, Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), said, “Now, BEST is getting a subsidy to justify wet-leasing. We welcome the merger but wet-leasing of buses will do more damage than good as the efficiency of buses will go down. Further, if commercialisation of BEST is being done, it will be a big blow to the undertaking in the long run. The subsidy is just another way for the administration to have its way. The only difference is that it’s being presented as a progressive step.”
The AMAB group said that they are awaiting more details from the BMC and that they welcomed the merger proposal, but without any of the conditions. They said that the conditions [of wet leasing] were not in commuters’ and public interest
Earlier this year, a 9-day BEST bus strike, longest in recent history, came to an end after a division bench of Chief Justice N.H. Patil and Justice N.M. Jamdar passed an order saying, “The mediator shall within a period of three months discuss demands put forth by the employees, like 20-step pay hike, merger of BEST and BMC budgets, and so on,”. The other demands raised during the time were about improving public transport, discouraging private cars, reducing bus fares drastically, increasing the frequency of BEST buses, purchasing new buses, reviving discontinued routes etc. BEST workers’ union leader, Shashank Rao, reportedly said that he was yet to receive a communication on the deal. “It’s the municipal corporation responsibility to run BEST undertaking which was one of our primary demands,” he said. BEST workers, whose primary demands were wage raises and a BEST-BMC budget merger, had agreed to call off their strike and accept a 10-step increment proposal after the Bombay High Court appointed a mediator to resolve all pending issues within three months.
Right now the plan for a transition to contractor run buses, or documents on cost savings etc. are still awaited. One of the most pressing concerns of falling ridership also needs to be addressed, still. It also remains to be seen whether wet-leasing will be combined with other reforms such bus priority lanes, traffic management, parking policy etc.
We are in the last leg of the general elections and May 19 will see the action in Uttar Pradesh shift to big battlegrounds like Varanasi and Gorakhpur. Other seats to watch out for include Ballia and Kushinagar.
Ballia: The region that is most famous for its scholars like Hazari Prasad Dwivedi and Bhairav Prasad Gupt, Ballia covers the assembly segments of Ballia Nagar, Bairia, Phephana, Zahoorabad and Mohammedabad. According to census data, 6.59 per cent of the population of Ballia district are Muslims, 15.3 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes and 3.4 belong to Scheduled Tribes. The key castes here are the Jatvas and Dusadhs, while Gonds form a bulk of the tribal community. The region has seen communal tension in October 2017.
This is also the constituency of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar who won from here eight times. His son Neeraj also won twice on the Samajwadi Party ticket, but in 2014 BJP’s Bharat Singh won the seat. This time the BJP has fielded Virendra Singh Mast against SP’s Sanatan Pandey. Santosh Pratap Singh is the CPI candidate while the INC is not contesting from this seat.
Gorakhpur: Gorakhpur is sadly associated most with a crumbling public health infrastructure that was highlighted when an oxygen cylinder shortage led to the deaths of nearly 70 children, many of them infants and toddlers. This has also been an Encephalitis hub and according to one report the disease has claimed the lives of 25,000 children over four decades. Though the state government has claimed that the numbers have declined significantly, the Congress has accused the Adityanath administration of hiding real data.
The caste equation is very significant in this constituency with Yadavs, Nishads, Dalits, Brahmins, Kayasthas, Thakurs, Pasis and Beldars. Also, according to census data 20.6 per cent of the population are Muslims.
This is the constituency from where Chief Minister Adityanath has been elected MP five times. But Praveen Kumar Nishad, son of Dr Sanjay Nishad founder of the Nishad Party, won the seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket in the 2918 by-election. However, in April 2019, he switched allegiance to the BJP! The BJP, however, have fielded actor Ravi Kishan against Samajwadi Party’s Ram Bhau Nishad. INC’s Madhusudan Tripathi and CPI’s Dr Ashish Singh.
Kushinagar: Created as a part of delimitation in 2008, Kushinagar parliamentary constituency covers the assembly segments of Khadda, Padruana, Hata, Ramkola and Kushinagar. This is a diverse district with 17.4 per cent of the population identifying as Muslim according to census data, while in the Kushi Nagar city area this figure is higher at 27.46 per cent. Also, while 5 per cent of the people belong to Scheduled Castes, 2.4 per cent belong to Scheduled Tribes such as Gond. This region has seen communal tensions in October 2016.
The economy ground to a standstill when the last of the sugar mills shut down. Local farmers have no place to sell their produce and this is one of the key issues in this predominantly agrarian constituency.
While the INC’s Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh won in 2009, in 2014 the seat was won by the BJP’s Rajesh Pandey. But this time the BJP have fielded Vijay Kumar Dubey against INC’s RPN Singh an erstwhile royal, while the SP candidate is Nathani Prasad Kushawa.
Varanasi: The biggest battleground this election season, this is the constituency of PM Narendra Modi. Until recently, he faced his greatest challenge from former BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav whose nomination was rejected at the last minute due to a technicality. He now faces challenge from INC’s Ajay Rai and SP’s Shalini Yadav.
Varanasi is famous as a heritage tourist destination where lakhs of people throng its temples and ghats every year. Economy wise it is famous for its woven handlooms and embroidered textiles. But of late small and medium enterprises have suffered the twin blows of Modi’s own economic blunders; demonetisation and GST. There is widespread unemployment and even people’s homes have not been spared as many have been torn down for the Kashi Corridore project, robbing the city describes as “older than time” by Mark Twain of its quaint winding bylanes.
According to census data, 14.88 per cent of the population is Muslim and 13.2 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes. Prominent castes include Yadavs, Dalits, Brahmins, Bhumihars and Kayasthas.
Hyderabad: In a series of name change in the Modi government’s regime, the latest to be added is the Osmania University (OU) library which is all set to be renamed as ‘Bharat Ratna Dr. B.R. Ambedkar library.’ The name changing ceremony is scheduled to be held today, wherein a group of alumni will hold a mass protest.
As reported in the Deccan Chronicle, since the declaration of the name change, various alumni, historians and members from the founder’s family, the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, have been writing to the Vice-chancellor of OU, S. Ramachandram, Chief Secretary S K Joshi and Governor ESL Narasimhan to intervene and halt this move but to no avail.
Reportedly, the decision to change the name of the century-old library was taken after the administration received multiple appeals from student bodies over the past four years.
A group of alumni have signed a petition demanding immediate steps for rescinding the decision (of name change). The petition states, “Strong opposition is based on the firm belief that a change of name does nothing to advance academic excellence nor does it honour the memory and vision of both the founder of Osmania University or Dr Ambedkar, one of India’s most illustrious sons.” It further states that the name change trend had to end and that miscreants should not be allowed to change the existing name of the OU library.
Nawab Najaf Ali Khan, the grandson of the founder and the President of the Nizam Family Welfare Association, has also condemned the decision to change the name of the OU library adding that he respects Dr. Ambedkar but the name change is “unnecessary.”
“It is highly deplorable that this unnecessary and short-sighted decision of changing the name of Osmania University library has been taken in such a way without keeping in regard the sentiment of the founder and the students of all castes, creed and religions benefitting from it,” Najaf said.
Adding further, he said, “While it is greatly appreciable that the BR Ambedkar Research Center is being inaugurated, it is appalling and hurtful that tampering with such a historic symbol can even be considered let alone carried out. If such acts of seemingly harmless “Renaming” continue what will become of the history, heritage and legacy of one of the most iconic heritage structures of Hyderabad.”
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been on a name-changing spree since it came to power. In 2018 alone, it changed names of almost 25 towns and villages across India. It has even been accused of changing names of places which specifically have a Muslim name or a Muslim association.
Opposition parties have responded by accusing the BJP and the RSS, its parent organisation, of rewriting history in an attempt to extend their cultural influence.
JNUTA said the integrity of the faculty recruitment process in JNU’s has been hugely compromised by the manifold illegalities committed by the VC and that JNU teachers have been relentless in their opposition.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court ruled in the favour of Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) saying that new faculty appointments must be routed through the Academic Council and Executive Council. the JNUTA in a statement said that it makes it very clear to the JNU Vice-Chancellor that there must be full implementation of the order.
JNUTA said the integrity of the faculty recruitment process in JNU’s has been hugely compromised by the manifold illegalities committed by the VC and that JNU teachers have been relentless in their opposition. “This order of the High Court has put the indelible stamp of justice on our efforts. But in the face of willful errancy by a rogue administration, including defiance of court orders, the need of the hour is for all teachers to stand in defence of the JNU Act more than ever before,” the JNUTA said.
JNUTA said that the Academic Council must be allowed to discuss names of the experts in a manner accessible to its entire statutorily-defined membership. “Members must be allowed full opportunity to discuss, reject, or approve any such name. Such an AC meeting must be scheduled and conducted in full accordance with the JNU Act and Regulation M1 and not before schools and centres have had adequate opportunity to express a view on the additions to their database of experts,” the JNUTA said.
It added that centres and schools must be mandatorily informed about the names that have been added to the panel of experts they had recommended to the 141st Academic Council so that the centres can have a comprehensive discussion about the experts before taking these names to the Academic Council for approval.
The teachers, in their statement, reminded the VC that “no selection committees can be constituted that include experts added to the panels by the VC without AC approval,” the JNUTA said.
As regards appointments already made through an illegal procedure, the JNUTA said it is extremely unfortunate that the university administration did not officially inform the selected candidates about the ongoing legal proceedings challenging the procedure of their appointments.
JNUTA has had to seek Delhi HC’s intervention time and again to protect the sanctity of the education system at JNU. In January this year, The Delhi high court stayed the mandatory marking of attendance for teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as decided by the academic and the executive council in July 2018. The court stated that action against teachers for irregular attendance can be taken in accordance with laid down rules.
Not just mandatory attendance JNUTA has also been fighting for the VC’s removal.
50 members of Parliament submitted two memorandums to the HRD Minister Mr. Prakash Javadekar from Lok Sabha (45 MPs) and Rajya Sabha (5 MPs) expressing anguish over the alleged destruction of the university under the Vice-Chancellorship of Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar and sought immediate action. The MPs demanded the removal of the JNU VC over his policies that have been severely detrimental to the university.
In 2018, JNUTA spoke against the unjustified and sudden termination of two sanitation workers and said that it was unacceptable.
One of the sanitation workers who was let go was Urmila, the President of All India General Kamgaar Union. Kamgaar Union was fighting and defending the rights of the workers in JNU.
“Rather than reversing the trend towards contractualization, the administration is now punishing those who are fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable workforce in JNU,” Atul Sood, President and Avinash Kumar, Secretary, JNUTA, had said in a statement.
The fears students had expressed about having a body like an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in JNU had come true in December, 2018. In an extraordinarily harsh move, the ICC recommended punitive action against a complainant of sexual harassment. The Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) called the recommended punitive actions as “extraordinarily harsh” and expressed fears that such action may threaten the work around gender justice on the campus.
GSCASH was replaced by the ICC in its 269th Executive Council meeting held on September 18 2017 and ICC, which was supposed to have members nominated by the administration, was formed.
Students had expressed fears about the ICC not being a body selected by students and faculty and hence its decisions could turn undemocratic and may not entirely serve the purpose of gender justice.
Sabrang India had earlier reported that the UGC (University Grants Commission) had imposed Central Civil Services (CCS) conduct rules, 1964, on Jawaharlal Nehru University in September amid discontent and criticism from JNU teachers.
“A university produces new knowledge and teaches it. But to do so, it needs independence of thinking and the freedom to dissent and act on that dissent. The CCS rules will remove these freedoms,” JNUTA had said in a statement.
The UGC has been trying to dissolve the Delhi University’s autonomy by bringing Exams, Teaching, Learning and Evaluation under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA.)
This being done at the behest of MHRD and the ESMA Act was passed by the Modi govt.
The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) has promised to resist this attack on their democratic rights.
Students and teachers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) marched from the JNU campus to Parliament in Delhi in March, 2018, in a move that the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) and JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) labelled the ‘Long March’. The teachers have spoken out against the institution’s current vice-chancellor, Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar, whom they accuse of trying to “wreck and ruin” JNU “with the help of the media and the political establishment”. The teachers said that “the VC has presided over a massive seat cut in JNU, depriving our ordinary poor and hardworking students of the opportunity to come and study at an institution like JNU.”
In a report by Nivedita Menon on Sabrang India, she listed all the things that the VC has done since his taking over in January 2016:
openly flouted every statute and regulation of the university
shut down admissions almost entirely for the 2017 academic year
violated the law of the land, that is, constitutional provision for reservations
failed to implement JNU’s Deprivation Point system that attempts to bring about representation for students from a diversity of class, regional and caste backgrounds
shut down the country’s oldest functioning Committee on Sexual Harassment (GSCASH)
brazenly cooked up and manipulated Minutes of meeting after meeting of the Academic Council and
treated faculty and students of JNU as his enemies to be defeated by the naked use of authoritarian power
He has lost all moral authority to continue as the Vice Chancellor of a university that has consistently been ranked highly by reports of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council – see here and here, as well as by reports of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), carried out by the government of India in 2017 and 2016. (All this before this VC taking over, and without compulsory attendance.)
Full text of JNUTA’s statement:
The JNUTA welcomes the order of the Honourable High Court of Delhi (attached) on the interim application (CM No.17195/2019) filed in the ongoing challenge to the new faculty appointments procedure created by the Vice-Chancellor. By amending regulation M 18, the VC had delegated to himself the power to add names to the panel of experts and merely report these to the Executive Council. The JNUTA is gratified to report that in its interim order, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has upheld the teachers’ viewpoint (through their counsel Mr. Akhil Sibal and Mr. Abhik Chimni) and the JNUTA stand that the panel of experts has to be approved by the Academic Council. The Vice Chancellor thus far needs the Academic Council “recommendation” (at para 16) and “approval” (at para 12) and it is only thereafter that the panel could operate for affecting selections to faculty positions. Without this procedure being followed, no valid panel of experts can be created. M-18 therefore cannot delegate the power of Academic Council to the Executive Council and then further to the Vice-Chancellor.
With reference to JNU’s argument that the Academic Council had no jurisdiction over faculty selection, the Court in its order found it “surprising that the JNU is seeking to argue contrary to its own statutes” (at para 8). This observation of the Court and the interim order are testimony to the fact that the JNU Administration and the public resources at its command are being used, not to represent the interests of the university or of its teachers and students, but solely the lawless JNU VC, M. Jagadesh Kumar. The law officer of the university, the JNU Registrar, is also complicit in this process and both must be held accountable for this. While expressing gratitude to the DHC rescuing the JNU Act and Statutes from the depredations of its administration, the JNUTA resolves not to rest until official responsibility is fixed for this and several other instances of failure to uphold the JNU Act and Statutes.
The Court order clearly states that “the panel, including the names added by the VC, if any, would have to be recommended by the Academic Council and, thereafter put up to the Executive Council for approval, and it is only thereafter that the panel could operate for effecting selections to faculty positions” [at para 16(ii)]. The JNUTA makes it very clear to the JNU VC that there must be full implementation of the order of the Hon. High Court of Delhi. This means that:
– No Selection Committees can be constituted which include experts added to the panels by the VC without AC approval.
– As regards appointments already made through an illegal procedure, the JNUTA notes that it is extremely unfortunate that the University Administration did not officially inform the selected candidates about ongoing legal proceedings challenging the procedure of their appointments. It must at least do that now as the date for the final disposal of petitions challenging the selection committees held in violation of the JNU Act is 13 August 2019.
– Centres and Schools must be mandatorily informed of the names that have been added to the panel of experts they had recommended to the 141st Academic Council so that Centre’s can have a comprehensive discussion about the experts before taking these names to the Academic Council for approval.
– The Academic Council must be allowed to discuss names of the experts in a manner accessible to its entire statutorily-defined membership. Members must be allowed full opportunity to discuss, reject, or approve any such name. Such an AC meeting must be scheduled and conducted in full accordance with the JNU Act and Regulation M1 and not before Schools and Centres have had adequate opportunity to express a view on the additions to their database of experts.
The integrity of the faculty recruitment process in JNU’s has been hugely compromised by the manifold illegalities committed by the Vice chancellor Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar. JNU teachers have been relentless in their opposition, and this order of the High Court has put the indelible stamp of justice on their efforts. But in the face of willful errancy by a rogue administration, including defiance of court orders, the need of the hour is for all teachers to stand in defence of the JNU Act more than ever before.
