Quoting the September 27 MoEFCC’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) meeting,  released on October 2, a senior scholar-activist of the top environmental advocacy group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) has reported that in a “respite” to forest dwelling communities, fragile biodiversity and community conservation areas, the EAC has “rejected” the Adani application for project.

However, the window for continuing with the controversial project hasn’t been entirely closed. To quote Parineeta Dandekar, the proponents have been asked “to apply afresh” for Stage I Clearance, adding several conditions to assessment. To quote her, “The EAC did not approve the Adani application for amendments in the Terms of Reference (TORs) earlier granted for 1200 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pumped Storage Project (PSP) by Adani Green Energy.”

Appreciating the move, Dandekar said, the EAC not just “rejected” the application but “decided to visit sites all the PSPs that have applied for environment clearance before giving any further clearances”, hoping, “The site visits will expose the perilous siting of over 15 pumped storage projects in the Western Ghats.”

In a detailed analysis on September 24 on the advocacy group’s website, Dandekar had pointed  to how the upper dam of 1500 MW Warasgaon Warangi Project “was set to destroy a sacred fish pool and sacred grove of Goddess Varadayini in the village Tekpowale.” This followed an SANDRP submission to the EAC outlining the impacts of this project on the “ecologically sensitive area” and the “wider cumulative impact” of the multiple PSP schemes in the Western Ghats.

The submission was signed by more than 200 individuals and organizations, including Parineeta Dandekar and Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP; Suniti SR and colleagues of the National Alliance for People’s Movements; Shailaja Deshpande and colleagues of the Jeevit Nadi; Priyadarshini Karve of the Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change; Jaideep Baphana of Pune River Revival (a group with over 1000 members in Pune); and Shripad Dharmadhikary of the Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Pune.

Quoting the minutes of the  EAC meeting, Dandekar said, it asked the project proponents to prepare “a new project layout which will not obstruct rivulets in Western Ghats” and “change the project layout to reduce impact on forest land”. Refusing to grant TORs (Stage I Clearance) to the project and deciding on a site visit to all the proposed  PSP sites in the Western Ghats for which TORs have been issued prior to granting Environmental Clearance, EAC said, “These projects are located in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats and huge forest area is also involved”.

She quoted EAC as rejecting the Adanis’ TOR given on February 13, 2023 which had specifically said the project proposes to use water of the catchment of the lower reservoir for initial filling and annual recuperation of losses, pointing out, this will “impact several small rivulets draining into these reservoirs as the water will not be released downstream.”

Said Dandekar, the EAC was of the view that project proponents had “changed configuration of the project drastically which could attract more impact on the environment”,  raising concerns about “change in the total forest land required for the project with an increase of more than three times, i.e. from 24.50 ha to 88.98 ha.”

Hence, the EAC suggested submission of a fresh proposal for grant of TOR with modified pre-feasibility report (PFR) with “fresh alternative site analysis modifying the project layout with no obstruction of small rivulets in the area as the small rivulets are the key source of water for the perennial rivers in the western ghats”, and “change in project profile i.e. change in project layout, change in forest land and private land requirement.”

At the same time, the EAC  noted that  the MoEFCC had granted TOR to approximately 15 projects in the Western Ghats, but “given the region’s high environmental sensitivity”, there should be site visits by sub-committee members to several PSPs as these  are located in “the ecologically fragile Western Ghats and huge forest area is involved”. Hence, the need for a site visit “in toto wherever possible.”

In her September 25 analysis  of the project prior to the EAC move, Dandekar (photo), who had visited the project site earlier, had said, Adani Energy’s had planned the project “in a remote, densely forested area of the Western Ghats and enveloped by dam backwaters” around Tekpowale village, which “feels like a place lost in time”.

“This village”, she said, “narrowly escaped submersion from the Panshet Dam and now precariously perches on its encroaching backwaters. The Warasgaon Dam backwaters lie about seven kilometers away, with Mulshi and Temghar Dams approximately 19 kilometers distant and Pawana Dam around 48 kilometers”, adding, “The region is densely packed with dams; a mere straight-line distance of 66 kilometers from the northern-most Thokarwadi Dam to Panshet encompasses ten large dams in the Mula-Mutha Basin.”

According to Dandekar, “Unsurprisingly, Maharashtra holds the distinction of being the most dammed state in India, and this area might be the most heavily dammed within the state. Despite the proliferation of dams, upscale resorts, and urban developments like Lonavala and Lavasa encroaching upon the Western Ghats’ forests.” Yet, the region “still boasts vital community conservation areas, including sacred groves, temple forests, and remarkable community fish sanctuaries.”

Recalling her visits to Tekpowale, she said, they have “often revolved around its cherished fish sanctuary, which preserves a sacred pool devoted to Vardayini, a fierce forest goddess known as the Bestower of Boons. Surrounded by an ancient dark grove, the pool is home to sacred Mahseer fish, which villagers protect with utmost reverence. The grove, adorned with traditional garments and offerings, forms an eerie yet majestic setting.”

Pointing out that the community in the village “strictly forbids fishing in this sanctuary, believing the Mahseer bears a distinctive mark given by their goddess—similar to tales from other regions in India about fish marked by divine figures”, Dandekar noted, “Even in times of drought, the villagers refrain from drawing water from the pool, opting instead to carry it by hand as a show of respect.”

Praising this as a “community-driven conservation model”,  signaling “a successful commitment to safeguarding their sacred spaces and the biodiversity they support”, she warned, “This tranquil setting faces a dire threat. Adani Energy plans to create a 56-meter-high dam just upstream of Vardayini’s pool, resulting in the flooding of 49 hectares of dense forest within the proposed Velhe-Mulshi Conservation Reserve. This not only jeopardizes a culturally revered site but also threatens the diverse freshwater ecosystem.”

She underlined, “The 1500 MW Warasgaon-Warangi Pumped Storage Project will involve the construction of two massive dams—one in Tekpowale and another in Warangi—connected by a two-kilometer underground tunnel… Despite its proclaimed benefits, the environmental implications of such a project in a biodiversity-rich and sacred region are concerning.”

Calling the project’s pre-feasibility study “superficial” focusing “solely on economic factors while neglecting ecological realities, such as the presence of the Varadayini Fish Sanctuary”, Dandekar said, “The project would disturb not only the sacred pool in Tekpowale but also the nearby Walen Kondh Fish Sanctuary, without acknowledging its significance in project considerations.”

Asserting that the “communities like those in Tekpowale, deeply connected to their land and water, oppose any developments that threaten their heritage”, she said, “The claim that the Warasgaon-Warangi Project supports green energy initiatives is misleading”. She added, “The destruction of these sacred places is anything but eco-friendly and sustainable. As the guardians of Vardayini and her sanctuary, the villagers of Tekpowale stand resolutely against the encroachment of industry into their revered spaces.”

Courtesy: CounterView

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Results of city-wise trends on funding raised in first quarter of 2024, released by Tracxn, claiming to be a leading market intelligence platform, showo that Bengaluru topped with $247 million and 44% of all funding received, followed by Mumbai ($194 million or 35%), Hyderabad ($75.0 million or 13%), Gurgaon ($19.7 million or 3%), and Surat – the only Gujarat city to figure in Tracxn’s list of cities — ($5.0 million or 1%).

Yet, ironically, the report seeks to heap praise the Indian economy, which it says “showed a strong performance in the previous quarter with a growth of 8.4%.” Agreeing that the “this number is expected to decline to 5.9% in Q1 2024 as per government sources”, it insists, “The Government of India has always been focused on promoting the tech ecosystem in the country.”

The declining trend in the funding of the FinTech startup ecosystem has come despite “the announcement of the Startup India Initiative in 2016”, which came up with “multiple schemes and initiatives have been introduced to boost the growth of India’s startup ecosystem”, to quote from the report. Thus, “Around $12 billion was allocated in the Interim Budget for 2024 for providing interest-free loans for 50 years to promote R&D in the private sector in the country.”

The report quotes the IMF to say that India is “expected to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2027 with a GDP of over $5 trillion”, and “with a large consumer base comprising the world’s largest young population and rising urban incomes, India is set to see good growth in the coming years.”

It adds, “FinTech has consistently been one of the top funded sectors in the country. Increasing smartphone penetration, the push towards a cashless economy, and other favourable regulatory policies have helped the sector receive consistent investor interest.”

Making a comparison of funding in Q1 of 2024 and Q4 of 2023 instead of Q1 of 2023, the report says, “Banking Tech, the third-highest funded sector, received funding of $85.8 million in Q1 2024, which is a growth of 187% compared to the $29.9 million in funding witnessed in Q4 2023, benefiting substantially from record-breaking UPI transactions and digital banking’s widespread adoption due to rising internet and mobile device penetration in cities and rural areas.”

However, this comparison, which many would consider incomparable (as the compared periods do not match), also shows that, to quote from the report, “Q1 2024 witnessed a significant 75% drop in seed-stage funding, which was at $9.9 million compared to $39.2 million in the previous quarter. Early-stage funding saw a 35% drop from $227 million raised in Q4 2023 to $147 million in Q1 2024. Only late-stage funding rounds witnessed a phenomenal rise of 392% to $394 million, compared to $80.1 million in Q4 2023.”

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Recently dubbed “urban Naxal” and “anti-tribal” by Union home minister Amit Shah, Chaitar, a tribal himself, fights the election from the Bharuch constituency with Congress support as part of the INDIA bloc. ADR’s list – based on ECI data – shows, he tops the list of 36 candidates who have criminal cases pending against them. Considered a promising candidate, popular among the tribals, Chaitar is pitted against BJP’s Mansukh Vasava, a six-term Lok Sabha MP.

Reported to have been pressured to join BJP, which he is said to have refused, and jailed for a month in a rioting case in December 2023, the Gujarat High Court granted interim relief to Chaitar by suspending the bail condition that restrained him from entering the Narmada district, part of which fall under the Bharuch constituency, till June 12, the next date of hearing in the case. It allowed him to submit his candidature. The sessions court had imposed the bail condition in January this year.

Known to have fought several Supreme Court cases for bringing about electoral reforms – the latest one being on the electoral bonds scheme which brought the elite non-profit into limelight – the ADR list, based on the affidavit Chaitar filed, shows that as many as 12 criminal cases are pending against him, including those related with robbery, sexual harassment, extortion, causing grievous hurt, abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, and so on.

Answering a question on whether ADR attempts to look into political reasons why such criminal cases are being imposed by the powers-that-be on candidates like Chaitar, especially in the light to recent arrests by security agencies of top politicians, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, the NGO representative in Gujarat, Pankti Jog, said, “We only analyse the affidavits filed by individual candidates in order to analyse their criminal record. We don’t have resources to analyse why these cases are being used against politicians.”

With some of the top Indian academics on its board, including Prof Trilochan Sastry, who chairs ADR, who was with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad; Prof Jagdeep S Chhokar, former director, IIM-Ahmedabad; Dr Ajit Ranade, vice chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, Pune; Dr Kiran B Chhokar, head, Higher Education Programme at the Centre for Environment Education (CEE); Kamini Jaiswal, senior Supreme Court advocate; Jaskirat Singh, founder and CEO, Webrosoft Solutions (P) Ltd; and Dr Vipul Mudgal, director of Common Cause, another top elite NGO, it reportedly has 1,200 NGOs as its members.

Chaitar Vasava, a tribal himself, fights the election from the Bharuch constituency with Congress support as part of the INDIA bloc

Yet, ironically, ADR avoids making a comprehensive analysis of the netas’ antecedents, including their hate speeches, which have lately been in news nationally and internationally, which seek to incite religious discord. It just offers an “open data repository platform” claiming to “empower Indian voters with election-related information” on criminal, financial and educational information of candidates who have contested elections. Hate and involvement in communal rioting as a crime is analysed only if a case a registered against a candidate, not beyond.

Chaitar Vasava No 1 in criminal cases

While it recently won a major legal battle that forced the State Bank of India to release data about how much poll funding was received as electoral bonds and get them published on the Election Commission, it is not known if ADR wants to take the case further to ensure that political parties, especially the ruling BJP, does not use the money they received as electoral bonds following raids or threats of raids by security agencies on industrial houses. Answering a query, Jog, Gujarat ADR in charge, told media, “Ambiguity remains… We haven’t pursued the matter.”

Other legal cases it has fought include making it mandatory for the candidates contesting elections to file self-sworn affidavits on regarding their criminal, financial and educational background; making income tax returns of political parties to be available in public domain; bringing political parties under the Right to Information Act by declaring them as public authorities; barring MPs and MLAs from holding office on being convicted in a court of law; having a separate button on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) with the option of None of the Above (NOTA); and so on.

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A candidate chosen to fight the Lok Sabha polls from the Rajkot constituency, currently a Union minister who was elected in the Rajya Sabha five years back, I kept in touch with this top Saurashtra Patel BJP leader in order to do stories on the political situation in Gujarat.

Around the time I reached Gandhinagar, Shankarsinh Vaghela’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had lost majority, as the Congress withdrew its support, and elections were announced. Keshubhai Patel, then Gujarat BJP supremo, led the party to a resounding victory.

On becoming chief minister in early 1998, Keshubhai refused to retake Rupala in his Cabinet. I don’t know what was the reason, but I suspect, Keshubhai considered him a close associate of his bete noire Narendra Modi. There could be another reason: You scratch the skin any of these leaders, and one would find caste ingrained deep into them. Keshubhai was a Leuva Patel, and Rupala a Kadva Patel. Sugar-coated with Hindutva talk, annihilation of caste hadn’t perhaps touched them.

Rupala had earlier served under Keshubhai’s short-lived ministry in 1995-96. A disgruntled Rupala was made Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) chairperson, a non-executive post, about which he would always complain to me, saying he had no powers.

I would often meet Rupala along with two of his close friends, also sidelined, Bhuprendrasinh Chudasma and Arvind Patel, all three of whom would brief me, of course off the record, about the type rebellion that was brewing against Keshubhai within the party.

Of the three, Rupala was most  amenable, straightforward and frank, especially during our one-to-one interaction, both during our meetings at his official residence in Sector 19, and later at his personal residence in Sector 3 in Gandhinagar after he was defeated by Congress’ young and fiery Paresh Dhanani in the December 2002 assembly polls, which also reconfirmed Modi as chief minister.

Rupala would tell me how Keshubhai was losing support in the party, and why the party high command was keen for a replacement. After Modi came to power in October 2001, he was appointed as water resources minister, where he lasted till his defeat in the assembly polls in December 2002.

After Modi assumed power in October 2001, one of the persons whom I promptly met was Rupala. I asked him what did he think of Modi, and he told me, speaking in English instead of Gujarati, a rarity, “He is hardly working, you know, hardly working…” I smiled. What he meant was, Modi would work very hard for Gujarat’s development.

As Modi’s minister in 2001-2002, I would meet him in his ministerial chamberr. Never keen on briefing about what was being done under him as water resources minister, he would generally talk politics. He would explain at length how elections are not fought on the basis of ballot box, telling me the type of strong arm tactics required to win.

At one point, I asked him what he had to say about the infamous April 7, 2002 incident in which Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar was assaulted in Gandhi Ashram in the aftermath of the anti-Muslim riots. In his reply, laughing aloud, he uttered some extremely unprintable words, even as supporting the action against her. On that day, I lost whatever respect I had for him, yet, for reporting purpose, I kept meeting him till 2012, when I retired from the Times of India.

Now coming to the so-called Rajput rebellion against Rupala. That Patels, which climbed up the social ladder after Independence following land distribution, and Rajputs, Gujarat’s former rulers, had strong contradictions is a well known fact.

Indeed, historically, as a former bureaucrat with no political axe to grind, told me, Rupala’s observation of the former Gujarat princely rulers wasn’t wrong. The rulers of small and big princely states, a whopping 327 out of a total of 584 across India, indeed had excellent relations with the British before Independence, but they took little time to change sides after India became independent, the credit of which goes to Sardar Patel. The region from where Rupala comes, Saurashtra, alone had 222 princely states!

While there is little reason to think that there were no conjugal relations of members of the Princely families with the British, I don’t have facts about it. Yet, it seems that this statement has hard the Rajputs the most.

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Based on household consumer expenditure survey (HCES) in order to ascertain “living standards” across India, the state-wise estimation of average monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE) suggests that Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra – including two major smaller states, Delhi and Goa and several Union territories – have higher MPCE in urban areas.

Worse, while Gujarat’s urban MPCE – estimated at Rs 6,683 – is a little above the national average, Rs 6,521, the state’s rural MPCE, Rs 3,820, nearly half of the state’s urban MPCE, is below the national average (Rs 3,860). The states which have better rural MPCE than Gujarat’s are – Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, apart from other important smaller states like Delhi and Goa and several Union Territories (click here for full table).

Explaining the concept of per capita income or per capita (overall) expenditure which has been used, the top Government of India document says, it is “used for comparison of average living standards between countries, between regions, and between social or occupational groups.” It adds, “MPCE, therefore, is defined first at the household level: household monthly consumption expenditure, divided by household size. This measure serves as the indicator of the household’s level of living.”

“Next”, states the document, “Each individual’s MPCE is defined as the MPCE of the household to which the person belongs. This assigns to each person a number representing his or her level of living. The distribution of persons by their MPCE (i.e., their household MPCE) can then be built up, giving a picture of the population classified by economic level.”

Released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) last week, the household surveys were carried out between August 2022 and July 2023 in as many 1,55,014 rural and 1,06,732 urban households in order to ascertain living standards India. Of these, the surveyors – who were divided into 10 panels – visited Gujarat’s 5,726 rural and 5,560 urban households.

While estimating living standards, if the survey offers all-India estimates of MPCE across 10 different classes each for rural and urban areas across India, ironically, it does not offer state-wise MPCE of different classes, making it impossible to ascertain the average living standard of the poorest of poor sections versus those who are in the top stratum of society, for instance, in Gujarat. These are likely to be known in June 2024 only, i.e. after the Lok Sabha elections, when the full HCES report is likely to be released.

Meanwhile, allegations have been made that the Fact Sheet has been released alongside the Niti Aayog interpretation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in order to take political mileage. Top economist Prof Arun Kumar says that, based on the Fact Sheet data officials have claimed that poverty in India has declined to less than 5% of the population is poor. However, the alleged fall in poverty is based on current prices, without taking taking into account inflation.

According to him, “At current prices, the increase in average consumption looks impressive. It increased 164% in rural areas to Rs 3,773 (from Rs 1,430 in 2011-12) and in urban areas by 146% to Rs 6,459 (from Rs 2,630 in 2011-12). But most of it is due to inflation. Adjusting for inflation, the real increase is 40% and 33.5% for rural and urban areas, respectively. This is in 11 years.”

Stating that the Fact Sheet does not make any reference to poverty eradication, nor is there suggestion of any poverty line given by the HCES, economists wonder, how is the value judgment made by Niti Aayog – that poverty has fallen? Asks Prof Arun Kumar, “What is the poverty line that is being used to claim that poverty has declined? Poverty has to be defined as ‘minimum social necessary consumption’. This is space and time specific. So, it keeps changing.”

Thus, he says, “The World Bank has changed its poverty line recently from $1.9 to $2.15 per person per day. This amounts to about Rs 26,000 per family of five per month. Even adjusting for nominal dollars, it would be about Rs 10,000 per family per month. If this poverty line is considered, then the number of poor would be much more than the 5% being quoted by officials.”

Offering a breakup suggesting the difference in standard of living between different classes, the Fact Sheet gives the following data, “The bottom 5% of India’s rural population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of Rs 1,441 while it is Rs 2,087 in the urban areas. The top 5% of India’s rural and urban population, ranked by MPCE, has an average MPCE of Rs. 10,581 and Rs 20,846, respectively.”

It further notes, “Among the states, MPCE is the highest in Sikkim for both rural and urban areas (rural – Rs 7,731 and urban – Rs. 12,105). It is the lowest in Chhattisgarh (rural – Rs 2,466 and urban – Rs 4,483). The rural-urban difference in average MPCE, among the states is the highest in Meghalaya (83%) followed by Chhattisgarh (82%). Among the Union Territories, MPCE is the highest in Chandigarh (rural – Rs 7,467 and urban – Rs 12,575), whereas, it is the lowest in Ladakh (Rs 4,035) and Lakshadweep (Rs 5,475) for rural and urban areas respectively.”

Courtesy: Counter View

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Former metro editor of “The Times of India”, Mumbai, Singh’s column in the daily “The Fault With Reality” in FPJ, which he began at the start of the pandemic, was suddenly discontinued following his last piece ‘India isn’t a safe place for comedians either’ (May 7, 2022), where he scathingly asks, “Where was the need to rely on the global index published by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders when hundreds of your own brethren are being locked up under trumped-up charges ranging from sedition to spreading infectious diseases?”

While the book doesn’t contain this last piece, there is reason to wonder why the column wasn’t stopped earlier. No doubt, it has several pieces on environment, urban development, architecture and heritage in Mumbai, but Singh, ever since he began writing in early 2020, was always strongly critical of Modi and his policies.

In “Mahatma of the New Millennium?”, which he wrote on September 20, 2020, for instance, he says, the common man is led to believe that if Nehru “thrust alien concepts such as secularism on us”, while Modi “is a homespun hero” not hesitant “about flaunting his Hindu identity”, hence he “embodies their hopes and aspirations today just as Gandhi once did.”

Disputing this, he comments, “Gandhi harvested hope, Modi harvests hatred. Gandhi appealed to the higher values, Modi is a rabble-rouser. The Mahatma insisted that the end should not justify the means and called off the non-cooperation movement at its height in 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident when a mob burnt a police station with the 22 cops and three civilians in it. Modi’s handling of the Godhra riots which saw over 1,000 deaths was not seen as ‘raj dharma’ by his own party leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.”

He continues, “Gandhi would surely launch a satyagraha against the undeclared Emergency of today, he would join the Shaheen Baug sit-in, side with Prashant Bhushan over the contempt of court case and demand the release of scholars such as Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha and Varavara Rao and others held for over two years in the farcical Bhima Koregaon case.”

Despite such writeups, the column continued for two long years till May 2022. Indeed, there is reason to ask: Did FPJ owners sense which way would the political mood in Maharashtra was likely to move in early May 2022, a little over month before Uddhav Thackeray’s coalition government with Congress and NCP was to collapse, giving way to the breakaway Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde forming government with BJP as partner?

Indeed, Singh remains critical of Modi or his policies all through. In “Modi’s Temples of Modern India”, for instance, he says, “Modi and his masters in the RSS” razed “Nehruvian temples and build their own on the ruins”, noting, “Some mad cow disease has afflicted our research institutes. IIT-Delhi received several proposals from top research institutions to explore the benefits of panchagavya, a mixture of five cow products: urine, dung, milk, ghee and curd.”

Then, critical of the Modi establishment for dismantling of institutions, he states how the Election Commission of India went out of the way to hurriedly disqualify 20 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs from Delhi on the ‘office of profit’ charge; how the Chief Information Commissioner has turned into a toothless tiger after the RTI Rules-2019; and how nobody hears about the Lokpal and the Lokayuktas, who are supposed to be ombudsmen representing public interest.

At one place, he asks, is Modi the “the same man who swears by Lord Ram who went to the extent of banishing his wife based on hearsay?”, even as reporting elsewhere that donations were being solicited for the Ram Temple “in the middle of a pandemic”. He comments, “Babies die like flies in our hospitals for lack of oxygen cylinders, as in Gorakhpur, or are charred to death because of faulty incubators, as in the Bhandara civil hospital in Maharashtra, but we are obsessed with a temple for Ram ‘lalla’.”

At another place, pointing towards how “religion has been weaponised to suit political ends”, he states, under the Modi dispensation, Ram rajya and ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ are just ‘jumlas’; the rule of law is an alien concept; lynch mobs will rule the streets and troll armies will rule the information highways; and those like Harsh Mander, who quit IAS to work for communal harmony and launched Karwan-e-Mohabbat campaign in solidarity with the victims of communal violence, are sought be prosecuted for ‘hate speech’.

Singh asks, “Are lynch mobs our answer to the alleged appeasement of Muslims by the Congress?”

The author wants the love poems of Bharatiya sanskriti must feature in Valentine’s cards, quotes Kalidas and Jayadeva’s Geet Govinda

The post This book reasons why Ram rajya and ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ have been just ‘jumlas’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The document, which has been released as part of the 112-page government resolution (GR), whose annexures say it all, is a guideline on what all the selected 20-odd young graduates with a mere 60% with a monthly stipend of Rs 1 lakh (which is more than the salary of state class one entry-level state official) – would need to do research on.

It admits, “There is wide gap in the generation of the sewage and its scientific disposal”, underlining, “Lack of adequate system for sewage collection in villages and small towns” is leading to “serious water pollution problems due to discharge of untreated domestic sewage into recipient bodies like rivers, natural drains, lakes, seashores or groundwater.”

At the same time, the document believes, the problem is equally huge in big cities. It says, there is “wide gap in the amount of household solid waste generated in the state as well as the amount of waste collected and disposed of scientifically”, adding, “Due to the urbanization in big cities, solid waste management requires advance planning and a lot of changes in budget provision.”

What happens because of “the use of polluted water in dry areas” and “lack of clean water” across the state, believes the document, is “diseases and other health problems” to human beings, on one hand, and adverse impact on “agriculture and animal husbandry”, on the other.

Talking of “lack of proper solid waste collection, treatment and disposal system”, the document says, the “frequent epidemics and other pollution problems” become worse because of of lack of public awareness.

Pointing towards “a lot of opposition from nearby residents/ public while selecting new sites for solid waste disposal”, the document says, there is a “need to work for economic benefit from proper collection of recyclable solid waste and compostable bio-degradable solid waste.”

Insisting on the “widespread need for low-cost sewage treatment plants”, which needs to be done after evaluating “treatment capacity with regard to domestic sewage generation in municipalities”, the document recommends, there should be provision of “severe penalties for violation of solid waste disposal regulations and for its effective implementation.”

Pointing out that “operational problems in most sewage treatment plants needs to addressed, the it says, there is “lack of proper operation and maintenance of” existing “sewage treatment plants”, which “leads to odour nuisance in surrounding areas.” Hence, it underscores, the “establishment of appropriate and adequate systems for re-use of treated sewage is a big question.”

Coming to industrial wastewater pollution, the document states, “The industrialization in the state and presence of multiple sectors of industries leads to generation of complex and high volume of industrial wastewater”, adding, “Small scale industries lack technical and financial capabilities for operation of treatment plants. Problem and recommendation.”

However, it is not just small industries which are a problem. The document does not spare even large industries. Thus, it says, there is “lack of technologies and technical manpower in treatment plants with regard to product diversification in large industries.”

This problem, it notes, is compounded by operational and maintenance problems in common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), where there is “lack of capacity and new technologies in existing treatment plants for disposal of wastewater arising from new products in member units of CETP.”

The document continues, “Lack of reuse system of treated industrial wastewater from CETPs leads to disposal issues”, adding, “Industrial wastewater management by zero liquid discharge units as compared to other units have higher economic burden”, which is caused by “lack of skilled workers in industrial units as well as in CETPs.”

Presence of multiple sectors of industries in Gujarat leads to generation of complex, high volume of industrial wastewater

Coming to problem of plastic pollution, the document claims, “Number of plastic waste recyclers is the highest in Gujarat as compared to other states”, but adding, for enhancing “plastic waste management”, there is a need for registration of plastic “producers, importers and brand owners as per plastic waste management rules”.

Further claiming that “plastic waste from paper mills in the state is used as alternate fuel in cement mills”, it says, “New innovative technology is requires for utilization of plastic waste in other industries.” Also, there is need for proper “disposal of plastic waste generated from metropolitan, municipal and rural areas in scientific manner”, as it too “is a big issue.”

Seeking to address hazardous waste, the document says, “There is a huge generation of hazardous waste in Gujarat”, pointing out, the problem becomes particularly sharp because of “wide variation in the type of hazardous wastes due to diversity in industries”, which add to “its collection, storage, treatment, reuse and disposal.”

Insisting on the need for “new technologies for cleaner production and use of cleaner technology in industries to reduce hazardous waste generation” as also “policy” for promoting “industries for scientific reuse of hazardous waste”, the document seeks “strict implementation of waste hierarchy by industries, treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF) operators and regulators.”

However, it regrets, “In spite of proper landfill site design and operation”, issues like “air pollution, water pollution or structural stability incidents from existing landfill sites” occur. Hence, what is required is “land use plan for keeping distance of hazardous waste disposal sites from human population and other environmentally sensitive locations on permanent basis. Problem and recommendation.”

Commenting on air pollution in the state, the document says, “effective implementation of state level air pollution control action plan by every stakeholder” is required. It talks of “lack of participation and proper time-bound coordination and implementation by all concerned departments of the state for … the City Air Action Plan.”

Seeking mandate for the use of clean fuel or controlling the increasing number of vehicles, document wants “wider use of public transportation” for which “micro level planning” should be done “for air pollution control in big cities as well as industrial estates.” Also policy is required “to increase use of clean fuel in industries”, and monitoring and imposition of penalty should be done “for effective measures to prevent air pollution from building construction.”

Then, the document talks of the need for “preventive measures required to prevent accidental pollution in industries”, which requires “monitoring by authorities like the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) for proper safety measures to prevent air pollution and need to guide industries accordingly.”

Among the measures required include “green buffer zones to prevent air pollution and noise pollution” along “major roads, highways, railway lines etc.”, though regretting, there is “lack of adequate green buffer zone around industrial estates.”

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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A recently-released 122 page government resolution (GR), which includes annexures, and whose copy is with Counterview, states, the stipend would be given to selected candidates for the Chief Minister’s fellowship programme, which would be identified as the Sardar Patel Good Governance CM Fellowship. The GR claims, “The aim and objective of this scheme is to channelise youth-energy (aged 35 or less) in holistic development of state and the nation”.

The GR states, after “careful consideration”, the government decided that in all “20 fellows will be appointed at the end of the selection process in the fellowship programme”, though not ruling out recruiting even more, underlining, “The actual need will be determined over time.”
As for remuneration, it would be “a monthly stipend of Rs 1,00,000 + Rs 10,000 leave travel allowance (LTA)”, the GR reveals, adding, the entire coordination of the programme would be carried out by the government’s top institute which offers refresher courses to all categories of officials, the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), and under the General Administration Department (GAD), responsible for giving final touch to appointment and transfer of all categories of state babus.

A government source confirmed, the Gujarat government take-home salary for a newly-recruited class one official is “around Rs 90,000-95,000 per month”, which includes the basic pay, the dearness allowance and other payments which she or he is supposed to receive every month. “The senior-most class one official gets take home salary of about Rs 1.75 lakh per month”, the source added.

According to the GR, SPIPA would invite “online applications following principle of equal access, open competition and transparent selection by advertisement in a newspaper of wide repute”, adding, the selection would be done following a scrutiny of the applications first by a Scrutiny and Shortlisting Committee (SSC), then by a Selection Committee (SC), and finally by a Special Selection Committee (SSC).

The first layer of the selection committee would do its job on the basis of “the personal statement from candidates of at least six times the available seats”. The personal statement would be “evaluated by an expert at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A)”. This expert, it adds, would recommend a panel of at least three times of the number of seats.

While government officials from SPIPA and GAD would dominate in the each of the layers set up for the selection process, the final selection, GR states, would be the prerogative of the Special Selection Committee headed by additional chief secretary (ACS), GAD, who is one of the senior-most IAS bureaucrats of the Gujarat government, and consisting of other officials and a “nominated member either from IIM- A, Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar (IIT-G), or any other reputed institute.”

Says the GR, the process of selection would be based on not just on “personal statement” evaluated by the IIM-A expert (it would be given a 20% weightage). A far bigger weightage (40%) is to be given to “personal interview”.

However, the GR offers a loophole here, stating the rules may be relaxed; the evaluation may not necessarily involve an “outsider” from IIM-A or IIT-G or any other reputed institute. It underlines, “In certain exceptional cases and in the exigency of time and with full justification, selection can also be considered from a single source…”

To be recruited for one year and extendable for another year, the GR says, the continuation of the fellowship would be determined by mutual consent, and individual fellows would get a 10% increase in their stipend. Even here there is a loophole: It notes, whereas ever the Gujarat government is of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient to do so, there may be relaxation or modification in “any of the provisions…”

And what are these 20 (or more?) selected fellows are supposed to do? The appendix attached with the GR says, the fellows – to be attached with a government “mentor”, equipped with a personal laptop, and transport facilities in case of travel for project purpose – are supposed to “contribute to the enhancement of governance in the state of Gujarat by infusing innovative and effective approaches into policy-making and service delivery processes.”

To be selected for Chief Minister’s fellowship programme, the aim is to channelise youth energy in holistic development of state and nation

Further, the selected boys and girls would “serve as a catalyst for transformation within government departments promoting a culture of innovation, efficiency and excellence”, GR says, underlining, the fellows would serve as “advisory or professional” capacity, “providing expert or strategic advice” on “management, policy or communication”.

Further, it adds, their services would include “feasibility studies, project management, engineering services, architectural services, finance accounting and taxation services, training and development, etc.” — all of which would subject to strict “confidentiality laws and regulations applicable within the State of Gujarat.”

In fact, the fellows, according to the GR, are prohibited from “publishing a book or a compilation of articles or participate in TV/ radio broadcasts/social media or contribute an article or write a letter in any newspapers or periodical either in their own name or anonymously or pseudonymously in the name of any other person if such book, article, broadcast, or letter relates to subject matter assigned to them by the Government of Gujarat.”

While the minimum qualification for applying for the fellowship is graduation with 60% marks, and persons with higher qualifications, more experience and those from reputed institutes (IIT, IIM, Indian Institute of Science, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Law University, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa) may be “preferred”, when contacted, a top state official told Counterview, “The fellowship is nothing but another BJP move amidst many to favour and reward those are from saffron outfits.”

The fellows, the GR notes, would be required to study, analyse and offer project reports on subjects which include implementation of the midday meal scheme; nutrition and health of anganwadi kids; wasting, stunting and malnutrition among school going children; health and nutrition of pregnant women and lactating mothers and children up to months of age, especially in the tribal blocks. advantages of fortified food, reduction in under-nutrition and nutritional anemia among adolescent girls.

Then, the fellows are supposed to organise rapid surveys on enrollment of students in science and mathematics stream at secondary/ higher secondary level; recycling of municipal waste, liquid and solid waste management; promotion of natural farming; enhancing irrigation capacity and optimal utilization of Narmada water resources; and tourism promotion of heritage, wildlife, beaches and religious sites.

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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In a surprise revelation, which may send shock wave among those who consider agitations as a democratic right and believe this right is being eroded by the powers-that-be, nearly 95 percent of the respondents in a recent survey in Gujarat have justified the government’s use of CCTV as a means to control political movements of all sorts.

The highest in India, this is followed by two-thirds of the respondents from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana (65% and 64% respectively) completely supporting CCTV use for clamping down on protests. The result comes amidst sharp increase in mobile surveillance and drones by the police in the recent past in these States.

Says the report, “A State-wise analysis revealed that in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, more than 85 percent believed that the use of CCTVs by the police in their areas has increased”, adding, “More than two out of three respondents from Gujarat reported a significant increase in the use of mobile surveillance and drone technologies by the police in their localities in the past 4-5 years.”

The survey, carried out by Delhi-based non-profits Common Cause and Lokniti – Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), and titled “Status of Policing in India Report 2023 Surveillance and the Question of Privacy” (SPIR 2023), also reveals that, in sharp contrast, respondents from West Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka “were not as enthusiastic in their support.”

“Only one-third of the respondents (29%) from Bengal completely justified the use of surveillance footage to curb dissent. The number is slightly higher in Punjab (36%) and Karnataka (37%)”, it notes.

Seeking to explore public opinions and experiences regarding digital surveillance, SPIR 2023 has been prepared against the backdrop of “recent developments, such as the Supreme Court’s recognition of the right to privacy and discussions surrounding data protection, have intensified debates around privacy and surveillance”, the report claims.

It has also been prepared in context of recent concerns regarding “allegations of illegal government surveillance using the Pegasus spyware and the enactment of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, which grants police the power to collect biometric information from suspects and detainees”, it adds.

In order to prepare the report, Common Cause, in collaboration with the Lokniti Programme of CSDS, conducted a face-to-face survey with 9,779 individuals across 12 Indian States and UTs to understand perceptions around digital surveillance. At the same time, the organisers conducted Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with “domain experts, in-depth interviews with serving police officials, and an analysis of media coverage of surveillance-related issues”.
Admitting that the survey suggests “a lack of public awareness regarding critical issues” pertaining to “digital surveillance by the government”, helping the authorities to easily to go in for curbs on “freedom of expression”, the report underlines, however, the “support for any form of surveillance decreases with a decline in the respondent’s socioeconomic status”, with the “poor, Adivasis, Dalits, and Muslims” being “least trustful of the police.”

Regarding the overall use of drones by state agencies, a State-wise comparisons suggest that respondents from Gujarat (81%) and Uttar Pradesh (72%) showed substantially high levels of support. Respondents from Karnataka (60%) also indicated moderate support, but relatively higher opposition to this was seen in Punjab (17%) and West Bengal (17%).

At the same time, the report notes, “Across the occupation category, the lowest levels of support were observed amongst farmers (14%)”, adding, “Relatively lower levels of support for drone usage by government agencies amongst farmers is a noteworthy finding, especially in view of the fact that the Centre has been pushing for incentivising the use of drones for farming.”

Coming to the impact of surveillance by police and government through drones on people, while across India four of every ten (43%) respondents said that it is justified ‘to a great extent’, “Significant support came from States such as Gujarat (63%), UP (57%) and Delhi (56%). In contrast, the opposing States were Kerala (30%) and Punjab (14%)”.

Also, “the highest proportion of respondents from Gujarat supported the usage of drones by the police for law enforcement (95%), followed by Kerala, (94%) and Andhra Pradesh (91%); while Assam, Karnataka, and Punjab stood at the opposite end of the spectrum”, the report says, adding, “Those from Assam were least likely to support police usage of drone for rule enforcement, those from Gujarat were most likely to support.”

At the same time, pointing out that “over four of five people in Gujarat support drone usage by government to quell dissent”, the report notes, “While doing a State-wise comparative analysis, we found that in BJP-ruled States such as Gujarat (85%), Haryana (67%), and Uttar Pradesh (65%), the support for using drones for curbing political protest was highest”.

On being asked if they felt that political parties view their photos, messages, videos or searched objects from their phones or computers, the report says, “A little less than two-thirds, about 65 percent, disagreed.” But out of the 16 percent that agreed, a significant proportion of 27 percent belonged to Gujarat and Karnataka. “Conversely, a significant proportion of respondents from Kerala (83%) and Tamil Nadu (74%) disagreed that political parties can view their data.”
Ironically, despite wide support to digital surveillance, fear on its usage prevailed among large sections. Thus, “those in Haryana (41%), Gujarat (33%), and Delhi (32%) were very scared of provoking legal action by expressing their political opinions online, whereas in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala not many people exhibit their fear of legal action for posting political or social opinion.”

Asked whether they think the police should be able to collect the biometric details (such as fingerprint, footprint, iris, retina scan, facial recognition, etc.) of all suspects, including those who haven’t been declared guilty by the court, while close to half (48%) across India agreed that police should be allowed to collect such details, “a large proportion of the respondents from Haryana (74%), Gujarat (69%) and Delhi – NCT (65%) were of the opinion that police should have this power.”

“Conversely”, the report states, “A significant proportion of respondents from Tamil Nadu (56%) and Karnataka (54%) were of the opinion that police should not be allowed to possess such powers. Those belonging to the Adivasi community (44%) were significantly more likely to oppose giving the power to the police to collect biometric data, as compared to the general caste group (28%).”

*Editor, Counterview

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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Claiming that there has been “no comprehensive analysis of media reporting and commentary” on the “developments” following the passage of the Citizens Amendment Act (CAA), and the February 2020 communal violence” in Delhi, a recent report, in an analysis of debates aired on the six most watched news channels from December 2019 to February 2020, has said there was “a similarity in rhetoric, positioning and language” to air “prejudice and suspicion against the Muslim community.”

There was a concerted attempt on the part of these channels — Republic TV and Times Now which are English channels, and Aaj Tak, Zee News, India TV, and Republic Bharat — to frame the issues around the CAA as Hindus versus Muslims with Muslims being portrayed as “troublemakers” or “ungrateful citizens”, or people whose actions were “antithetical to national interest”, the report, titled “Troubling Dualities: News Media as Arbiter of Fact or Platform of Hate?”, alleges.

Forming part of a larger study, “Uncertain Justice: A Citizens Committee Report on the North East Delhi Violence 2020”, the report, based on viewing 326 episodes on these channels running for 243 hours — accessed through their websites or social media accounts – accuses them of using “sensationalist tickers, hashtags and headlines flashed across TV screens” during their primetime shows.

Published by the advocacy group Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), which consists of former civil servants, the authors of the study are: Justice Madan B Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court; Justice AP Shah, former Chief Justice of the Madras and Delhi High Courts; Justice R.S. Sodhi, former Judge of the Delhi High Court; Justice Anjana Prakash, former Judge of the Patna High Court; and GK Pillai, IAS (Retd.), former Home Secretary, Government of India.
Pointing towards how these channels sought to project the December 2019 nationwide protests against CAA as “singularly disruptive and violent”, the report says, they “uniformly” and “repeatedly” called anti-CAA protesters “vandals”, “rioters”, “potential terrorists”, “anti-national”, “tukde-tukde gang”, “victimizers”, “cowards”, “blackmailers” and “dangerous”.

Thus, according to the report, an episode of Republic TV’s primetime show, aired on December 16, 2019, was punctuated with flashing text, such as “Using rights excuse for riots?”, and ran the hashtag, #RightsNotRiots. “In the episode, the anchor repeatedly called protesters potential terrorists trying to incite communal violence”, the report notes.

And when on December 17, violent clashes broke out between the police and protesters in Delhi’s Seelampur-Jaffrabad area in the daytime, the report says, India TV’s primetime show posed a series of rhetorical questions: “Who set Delhi on fire?, Who burnt down Delhi?”

The show, the report says, displayed such flashing texts: 210 minutes of riots in Jaffrabad, 100% complete picture; who has spread Modi phobia in Delhi’s Muslims?; and direct guerilla war against PM Modi). On December 18, DNA (Zee News) claimed that the protests against the CAA are a larger conspiracy to spread communal riots with the help of social media tools, which were referred to as “Digital Danga”, even as the anchor termed the protesters as “Urban Naxals”.

And, the Republic Bharat on December 27, 2019, basing on “uncorroborated visuals and WhatsApp messages”, said there were calls to start jihad after meeting at India Gate with hockey sticks and baseball bats, attack the police and be prepared for becoming martyrs. However, there was “no description of the origins or authenticity of the WhatsApp message”, the report comments.

In January-February 2020, the Shaheen Bagh protests were sought to be “vilified by these channels”, the report says, stating, on January 27, 2020, an episode of DNA (Zee News) wondered, “Are we going to now need visa for entering Shaheen Bagh?”, with the accompanying hashtag #370InShaheenBagh. It says, “In the show, the anchor compared Shaheen Bagh to conflict sites like Kashmir and Syria in an attempt to characterize the protest site as violent and aggressive.”

On the next day (January 28, 2020), the telecast ran with the text “Shaheen Bagh should now get emptied”, and the hashtag was #LekarRahengeShaheenBagh (We will take over Shaheen Bagh). The anchor asked the audience: “Can’t all of us together free Shaheen Bagh from the tukde-tukde gang?”, stating the protesters were speaking the same language as in Pakistan or Kashmir.

Underling that news channels uncritically accepted “inciting comments made by panelists invited for discussions”, the report gives the example of how, on January 28, 2020, in an episode of Aaj Tak, the anchor praised provocative statements made by a BJP representative who quoted an unsubstantiated Imam order “to break the country” and “connect fire he with jihad”.

Then, on February 24, 2020, on a Republic TV host accused anti-CAA protesters of killing head constable, Ratan Lal, who died amidst mob violence. The report comments, “The exact circumstances of his killing remain under investigation to date, and certainly were not known on February 24.” Yet it featured flashing text such as, “Rioters kill police constable” followed by, “They have blood on their hands”.

Thus, DNA (Zee News) on December 26 said, “DNA test of expert stone pelters from Kashmir have reached UP”, claiming, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), the Popular Front of India (PFI) and “expert stone pelting groups from Kashmir” were funding and training anti-CAA protesters for violence.

Then, the report says, India TV on January 3, 2020 portrayed Muslims, including a prominent politician, as colluding with the protesters for violence at local levels through the cover of mosques and the protests. The episode flashed the text, “Remove CAA and say La Ilaha Illlahah. Listen to each slogan and listen to the meaning of the protesters.” The show’s anchor posed the question, “How do Modi’s enemies give tuitions to Muslims?”, asking audience to pay close attention to the slogans which tell the protesters that “their religion is under threat.”

The episode, says the report, continued, “In the name of saving one’s religion, Muslim youth are being provoked and influenced into accepting the path of jihad.” It predicted, “A rally against the CAA would definitely be taken out after jummah prayer.” The report comments, “By casting protest as akin to notions of religious warfare, the show’s anchor seemed intent on creating a fear psychosis in the minds of non-Muslims.”

The anchor “repeatedly insinuated that the killing of Ratan Lal and acts of violence were deliberately being done to coincide with the official visit of then American President Donald Trump, which took place on February 25”,the report says. On the same day, Zee News said that “a conspiracy was in play with the prime intent of maligning India before the international world during President Trump’s visit”, claiming the “tukde-tukde gang and opposition parties were behind this.”

There was a similarity in rhetoric, positioning and language to air prejudice and suspicion against the Muslim community

Then, says the report, on February 25, 2020, Republic Bharat pushed the narrative that the protesters were in fact rioters by stating, “These people who are talking about CAA, they are rioters, they don’t know anything about the CAA, NRC.” And, the Republic TV made the remark, “The Nanis and Dadis (grandmothers) of Shaheen Bagh are basically jihadi elements sitting and inciting a violent mob here.”

The report notes, “An important strand of the vilifying narrative used by these channels was to show anti-CAA protests being imbued with designs of Muslim extremism, backed by Islamic extremist groups. The language of attacking Hindus, of waging jihad, was used to embed the Hindu-Muslim binary with Muslims as aggressors.”

Then, says the report, on January 16, 2020, Republic TV, focusing on the central question, “Is Shaheen Bagh a paid protest?” with the hashtag #ProtestOnHire, said, “This is the attempt of Islamic radicalization that is going on in Shaheen Bagh. Shaheen Bagh is not a people’s protest. It is political plus it is an attempt at Islamic radicalization. It is an attempt at religious polarization.”

The TV continued, “If you want to protest, go to Jantar Mantar. Why do you have to be in a Muslim majority area in Delhi? This has to stop at some point of time. The whole country is fed up with this Shaheen Bagh rubbish. This McDonaldization of the protest movement… Start a Shaheen Bagh franchise. You have some free time, start a Shaheen Bagh in Pune, start a Shaheen Bagh in Kolkata, start a Shaheen Bagh in Bengaluru. But it’s now going strongly against national interest.”

On January 17, 2020, the report says, the debate aired with the title, “Shaheen Bagh campaign: Call off ‘political protests’”, with a hashtag #ShaheenBaghSham, with the anchor stating, “This group wants bloodshed. Thousands of Rohingya refugees are living in camps in and around Kalindi Kunj and Shaheen Bagh…You’re bringing infiltrators into the protest, foreigners, threats to internal security are being provoked out there. Small children are being told that their entire life’s purpose should be to assassinate Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”

On January 27, 2020, the report continues, in an episode of Republic TV titled “12 tapes expose ‘Break India’ conspiracy”, which ran with the hashtag #UniteForIndia, the anchor opened the show with, “Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, thank you for your support for the unite for India campaign, our campaign against the Muslim supremacist Islamic radicals who are trying to create a Shaheen Bagh experiment everywhere in India. And we must call them out as Muslim supremacists because their philosophy is Muslims for Muslims.”

The report underlines, “These channels framed the protest movement as a homegrown conspiracy with violent motives, hatched either by the opposition, or by international actors. Within this, there was also an attempt to frame the protests as anti-Modi as a conspiracy aimed to discredit the Prime Minister and exaggerate the dangers posed by the CAA-NRC.”

Thus, on December 19, 2019, an episode on India TV was titled as, “Modi’s enemy, the riot brigade…There is politics beyond fear.” And on January 3, 2020, in an episode, Republic Bharat stated that Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were part of those inciting violence “without any evidence to back this claim.” And on January 4, 2020, the Times Now episode titled “Are the CAA Protests an anti-Modi Conspiracy to Mislead Muslims?” ran with the hashtag #CAAAntiModiConspiracy.

On January 15, 2020, an episode of Republic TV was aired with the title “Congress-Pakistan hold CAA meet in Lahore?” and the hashtag #LahoreConspiracy. Printed text on the screen read, “Lahore to Shaheen Bagh via ISI?”. During the show, the anchor stated: “Please understand the dangerous mind that is planning this… They want to create a Shaheen Bagh political business model supported by the Pakistanis.”

Pointing out that from about mid-January 2020, the TV channels started giving calls for the closure of the Shaheen Bagh protest, the report says, “Following a protest by residents of Sarita Vihar in Delhi demanding the removal of police barricades in their neighborhood (ostensibly placed because of the neighbouring sit-in protests), an episode of Republic TV of January 21, 2020 whipped up a Hindu-Muslim narrative between Sarita Vihar and Shaheen Bagh, casting Shaheen Bagh as anti-Hindu.”

Thus, says the report, the anchor made the remarks: “Not far from Shaheen Bagh in Delhi is a colony called Sarita Vihar. Sarita Vihar is large residential colony whose hardworking tax-paying citizens have had their lives turned upside down for over a month. The children in Sarita Vihar have been terrorized and traumatized by the violent protests unending at Shaheen Bagh. All the roads are blocked all the time by the politicians and violent protesters at Shaheen Bagh.”

The anchor continued, “Anti-nationals and members of the tukde-tukde gang mock these people of Sarita Vihar, they laugh at them, and one of them said today on Twitter that till 370 is not brought back in Kashmir, the people of Sarita Vihar and other parts of Delhi must be prepared to pay and must be prepared to suffer. Shaheen Bagh, which is a useful epicenter of an anti-Hindu, anti-India, money guzzling, opportunistic and entirely political movement.”
On February 17, 2020, the report quotes Republic Bharat anchor making the remark, “The people of this country are against Shaheen Bagh…You’ll have to stop the protests or else you’ll be uprooted…Until there are riots, these people won’t shut up, we will not let riots take place.”he added, “Hindus are being provoked on account of Shaheen Bagh.” A panelist on the show was allowed to make the provocative remark, “Only Muslims cause riots in the country” and “Rioters should be shot.”

Courtesy: https://www.counterview.net

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