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Hate Watch: Saffron flags greet Tejasvi Surya’s cycle rally outside mosque

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 12:35:34 +0000

Image Courtesy:Twitter

The next Karnataka Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in early 2023. However, as is being reported regularly, instances of communal confrontation, violence, and attempts to polarise have picked up speed already. Even a cycle rally, pegged as a fitness or sports event to celebrate “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been punctuated by Saffron groups making their presence felt.

Karnataka based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tejasvi Surya recently organised a cycle rally from Bangalore to Kolar to celebrate the PM’s programme as it were.

Cyclists from Kolar led by their energetic MP Shri @bjp_muniswamy joined the #Cycle2Freedom ride at Narsapura in large numbers.

Grateful to them for adding strength & joining the #FitIndia movement.#AzadiKaAmritMahotsav @BJYM pic.twitter.com/FuXnn8obpe

— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 27, 2022

However, when the rally reached the Hussaini Makan Masjid of Kolar they were met by chants of “Jai Sri Ram… Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai” set to music that’s upbeat and similar to the ‘DJs’ of north India. It is noteworthy that according to social media users, the slogan chanterse were people who participated in the rally. Now, on the surface, this might appear to be a harmless display of pride in one’s religion, but what added a communal spin to the entire incident is that it took place right outside a mosque. That Karnataka is currently witnessing open targeting of Muslims, and Christians is a matter of record, and such an act should be a matter of concern to all.

Tejasvi Surya had organised a cycle rally from Bangalore to Kolar on March 21. When the rally reached the Hussaini Makan Masjid of Kolar the people who participated in the rally stopped and started doing this nuisance.

What is the message? pic.twitter.com/9UwiZlGbEm

— Mohammed Irshad H (@Shaad_Bajpe) March 29, 2022

To those who may argue it was spontaneous, they must remember it was not a surprise event at all, as the MP’s office issued a press release that “450 riders” including him “rode the distance in under 5 hours” and that “S Muniswamy, the Kolar MP, also joined the ride from Narsapura on the border between the two cities”. Surya said, “The Cycle 2 Freedom ride is a celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav called in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” adding, “India’s sporting culture and fitness lifestyle have undergone a sea of change under Modi’s leadership. Be it the World Yoga Day, Fit India Movement or the Olympics campaign, the Government has encouraged community participation in making its sporting ecosystem flourish. The Cycle 2 Freedom ride is an event which brings the community together and encourages citizens to stay fit, healthy and active.” The event was also streamed live on Surya’s social media platforms.

However, the identity of the saffron scarf / flag swinging people chanting “Jai Shri Ram” outside the mosque is yet to be ascertained.

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“Don’t give citizenship on basis of religion”: Bangalore Archbishop to Govt.

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 11:01:53 +0000

Image Courtesy: indianexpress.com

In another move of support those opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Archbishop of Bangalore wrote to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, expressing their criticism towards the Act saying that it could polarize people based on religious lines.

Reverend Peter Machado, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangalore and President of the All Karnataka Christian Forum for Human Rights, appealed to the Central government to grant citizenship to the illegal migrants not on the basis of their religions, but on the merit of each individual case.

Reiterating the statement by the Archbishop of Mumbai, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Reverend Machado said that the government has a dialogue with those opposing the Act and come to an agreement about the way forward with justice, equity and fairness.

Making a powerful statement, he told the President that there is no harm in backtracking; changing course if this is necessary for the good of the country and our people. Saying that doing so, will convince the citizens of the country that it upholds the sacredness of the Constitution and respects the rights of all the linguistic and religious minorities without any discrimination, he said that the backtracking would mete out justice to all the illegal migrants and thus promote equity among them.

Making a powerful statement at this time of unrest that has gripped the country, Reverend Machado said that the Christian community would continue to work for the betterment of all citizens without any discrimination and continue to build the nation based on equality, justice and fairness.

He added that the community expressed its solidarity with those who had been discriminated on the basis of religion, and assured them of support and fellowship.

Earlier, speaking to reporters Reverend Machado had said that the Christians would like to stand with the Muslim community, and as minorities, put up a ‘united front’. He also said that he had not submitted his statement earlier because there was confusion about the Act’s specifics. He also said that justice may be granted to those discriminated against and that all may live as one family, as brothers and sisters in the Mother Land.

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Bangalore roars in unity against the CAA and NRC

Tue, 24 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

More than 1 lakh people joined the ‘Peace Protest’ on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) organised by the Joint Action Committee in Bangalore on December 23, 2019. The city police who enabled strict security and traffic management to maintain crowd control had expected only about 50,000 people to attend the event that was held to examine the long-damaging effects of the CAA and the National Register of Citizens’ (NRC) on the country’s citizens.

The Deccan Herald reported that at first around 2,000 people gathered at the site of the rally – Eidgah-e-Khuddus Saheb on Miller’s Road at 11 AM. By noon though, the crowd had swelled up to around 30,000 individuals, the police estimated and organisers were informed that more than a lakh were waiting across the length of Miller’s Road and Nandidurga Road to join the protest.

(Photo – Deccan Herald)

Carrying the tricolor and placards with messages against the CAA and NRC, the crowd together pledged to not furnish any documents if the government decided to implement the NRC nationwide and enforce the CAA.

Sea of people on the streets of Bangalore #CAA_NRC_Protest .

100s of 1000s people gathered for Anti-CAA protest. #IndiaAgainstCAA_NRC pic.twitter.com/rQCZxn3rqn

— Md Asif Khan‏‎‎‎‎‎‎ آصِف (@imMAK02) December 23, 2019

Loudspeakers carried messages from clerics, eminent citizens and rights activists to the crowd that had spilled beyond the eidgah ground to the streets.

The anti-NRC/anti-CAA protest in Bangalore is peaceful. It is so packed that you can barely move an inch. They’re also giving out free bottles of water. It’s beautiful. pic.twitter.com/nZSnNSZwHE

— San (@sansdn) December 23, 2019

Participated in the Massive protest where in over 2 lakh peace loving Indian Citizens from Bangalore city converged at the Eidgah-E-Khuddus Saheb, today, raising their voice to repeal the unconstitutional NRC & CAA, by the Government of India. Organised by Joint action committee. pic.twitter.com/dm1TC4btE9

— Aga Sultan (@Agasultan5) December 24, 2019

S Sashikanth Senthil, the former IAS officer who had quit the civil services following the abrogation of Article 370, was one of the speakers at the rally. The Telegraph reported him as saying, “Let us not submit our documents. We will opt for civil disobedience and throw the (citizenship) law back in the government’s face.” He had earlier written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying that he boycotted the NRC process and was ready to be locked up in a detention camp as a non-citizen, but would not furnish any documents.

The Imam of Masjid-e-Bilal on Tannery Road, Mohammed Zulfiqar Noori accused the Modi-Shah government of trying to sabotage India’s rich legacy of pluralism and diversity. Raising the slogan of Hindustan Zindabad he said, “This is not their India. This is Mahatma Gandhi’s India. Only 10% of Muslims are on the streets right now. We will mobilise everybody and our protests will gain momentum if the CAA is not withdrawn.”

Supporting the boycott of the NRC and questioning the credibility of BJP allies, Maulana Tanveer Peer Hashmi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) said, “We don’t need a certificate from the BJP on our citizenship. We played a great role in the freedom struggle unlike the RSS.”

Former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice V Gopala Gowda also added that the anti-CAA protests were not just a fight for the right of Muslims, but for the future of India as a culturally diverse nation.

Last week, PM Modi had made a communally insensitive comment about the violence at protests saying that the people who engaged in violence could be identified from their clothes. Activist Harsh Mander who was present at the Bangalore rally that saw most Muslims in their traditional attire took a jibe at PM Modi’s statement by telling the crowd, “Looking at your clothes and faces, I can see only one thing (in common) — that here are people who love their country.”

He told the attendees to be proud of their choice of staying back in India after the Partition. “When India was partitioned, people like me had only one choice: to stay in India. But you (Muslims) had the option of moving to Pakistan. Your ancestors opted to stay in secular India. So if anyone questions you, you must tell them that you are citizens by choice, and that they are citizens by chance”, he said.

The rally went off without an incident and the attendees both inside the eidgah ground and on the streets maintained the highest level of law and order, debunking the BJP’s theory that people from a particular community were stoking violence at protests.

The police too played their part well, installing around 1,000 CCTV cameras and getting prior information about any planned violence. Fire tenders and ambulances too were kept ready in case of any emergency.

The crowds thronging to the streets all over India in opposition to the CAA and NRC are a novel sight in post-Partition India. The student community has come to the forefront to secure the country’s future from the divisive policies of the ruling government. Police brutalities and state-sponsored violence notwithstanding, the people of the country have presented an unrelenting joint front against the implementation of the CAA and the impending NRC that is set to affect the marginalised communities the most.

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Avva: My aunt (Gauri Lankesh)

Sat, 26 Jan 2019 13:30:47 +0000

One of the feelings I have thought about the most, is pain. And not the kind of pain one feels when you are physically hurt, but the kind of pain you feel when you lose someone. I used to think about it a lot when I was little, afraid that there will come a day when I lose those who are dear to me, but it never felt real until it actually happened.

One evening, my grandmother and I heard that my aunt had collapsed. We were alone at home. My grandmother drove me to my aunt’s house, scared and crying all the way, because she was afraid of what could have happened. When we reached my aunt’s house we were shocked to learn that my aunt had been shot dead. My mother was already there, crying and heartbroken. I broke down too. I cried like never before, because the pain was something I had not ever experienced, or even imagined. And what had happened was so shocking that it was almost unbelievable. Till today, I still feel like she is here, and that she has really not gone away forever.

They say time heals, but a year has passed but I feel the pain as if it was yesterday. Maybe I am not crying anymore like I was back then, but the void inside me still feels just as deep as it did that day. Initially, I felt very angry towards the killers. I wanted to hurt them the way they hurt her. I wanted them to experience the pain we felt. I still do. But the bitter truth is that my aunt will not come back even if they suffer. I realise “An eye for an eye, makes the whole world blind”. All we can do is wait for the pain to subside, get justice and the murderers to get punished legally.

There has never been a day that has passed by, that I haven’t thought of her. When I remember the love she had for me I miss her terribly. My aunt did not have children of her own, but she called me her daughter, just as I called her “Avva” which is another word for ‘mother’ in Kannada. She was almost like a second mother to me. They say sometimes that one never realises the true value of someone, unless you have lost them. I did not realise how much I really loved her until I lost her. I had never imagined a world without her.

When I was little I would go to her house over the weekends. She would tell me bedtime stories of her own various versions of Cinderella. In my aunt’s version, Cinderella was a strong and independent girl. Cinderella would be a working woman and every time my aunt would change her profession; if sometimes Cinderella was a chef, another time she was a writer! And most of all Cinderella was no meek girl who would wait for her prince! Each time the story would have a slightly different setting or challenges she faced. I would just love listening to these stories. As I got older she would tell me stories of Jim Corbett, Kenneth Anderson and even gave me books by Poorna Chandra Tejaswi etc. She was a voracious reader. Apparently even when my aunt was a young girl, her siblings would go out and play, but my aunt would be happy immersed in the world of books!

My aunt adored me so much that she never introduced me to her friends as her niece, but introduced me to them as her daughter. She would regale her friends with anecdotes about me, even when she was extremely busy. She would tell me I should always speak for myself and be a strong woman. She would always keep me updated on all the current events and would even take me to listen speeches, or make me watch talks by young student activists such as Kanhaiya Kumar or Shehla Rashid. She always said that the youth should be aware, as they are the ones who can bring about a change.

On her birthday a few years back, she presented herself with a tattoo on her arm of a peacock feather symbolizing my grandfather’s newspaper logo and my name under it. Every weekend she would come home and spend time with my mother and me. My aunt loved non vegetarian food, but she hardly ever cooked. So whenever she came home, my mother would cook chicken for both of us. Both of them would share funny stories of their past, their experiences and memories, and we would spend the afternoon laughing.

Being secular and equal was very important to my aunt which was also ingrained in us. Our family would celebrate Ganesha festival in my uncle’s house, Christmas in our house and Ramadan in my aunt’s house. She would tell me and my cousins’ stories and the significance of the festivals. To her, it was important to understand and empathize with all religions and communities. Needless to say she fought for women’s rights, women empowerment, Dalits, Muslims, Trans genders and many other minorities. She was a strong, ethical journalist and a fierce activist who consistently fought for the downtrodden and addresses issues concerning them. She tried to persuade naxalites to give up their guns and arms and have peaceful negotiations with the Government about their problems.

She worked very hard, day and night, almost never took a break. After her death is when I realised who she really was and how much she has done for people from various strata of society. For me she was simply “Avva” who loved me to bits, but I realised she was “Akka” “Amma” a friend, a colleague to thousands of people, and a mentor to many youngsters. I knew what she did, I knew what she loved and I knew especially what she hated, but I did not know how many lives she had influenced, the young and the old, the weak and the have-nots. The day of her funeral, we expected some people, but were amazed to witness thousands of people from different sections of society turn up. There were women, students, Trans genders, Muslims, politicians, theatre personalities, the film fraternity and more. There were protests in every nook and corner of Karnataka, across India and even across the world. People held candlelight protests near the Indian gate. Journalists protested in every city. Even after a year protests for justice and safety for journalists who speak truth to power continue in places nearby and far such as France, New York, Germany, and Malta. There was even a pillar honouring her inaugurated in a town called Bayeux, France by the Reporters without Borders Association.

The only factor that lessens the pain of losing her is how proud of her I am. And how the killers did not silence her, but instead made her voice louder by showing solidarity towards her and what she stood for across the word.

Before I lost her, I never knew how it felt to lose someone. Although I constantly feared that I would lose someone I love deeply, I never thought it would be the end of everything, and I assumed things would go back to normal, but unfortunately it is both. Some things came to an abrupt end, some things in life moved on as though nothing had happened at all.

When I think back, I wish I had spent more time with her. I wish I had told her more often how truly I loved her. I wish I had told her how proud I was of her and the work she did. I wish I had understood what she stood for, better. I wish I had known she was not merely my aunt, but she was much more and that I told her that I respected her immensely. I also know regardless of whether I expressed all this to her or not, she knew how much I loved her, and I know how much she loved me. And if I could tell her something now, I would say thank you, for spending thirteen years with me and being my role model. I cannot believe she won’t be there to share so many things with me now, but I know in spirit she will always be with me. I also know that in the short span of her life, she did so much that she will live in my heart and many other’s for a long time. A very long time.

*All pictures courtesy Kavitha and Esha Lankesh

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Gauri Lankesh Murder: Sister Kavita demands case stay with Karnataka SIT

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 06:01:35 +0000

Ms Kavitha Lankesh, sister of slain journalist activist Gauri Lankesh has intervened in the Supreme Court urging that the investigation into her sister’s murder should remain with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed in 2017. The investigations in the case are at an advanced stage and arguments on framing of charge were to be made before the special trial court on Friday January 25. The case has now been adjourned to February 26. The Intervention Application will also be heard then.

Ms Kavitha Lankesh is a nationally and internationally recognized film director and has a Masters in English Literature from the Bangalore University. She is also the younger daughter of Central Sahitya Academy winner P. Lankesh and younger sister of renowned journalist and social activist Gauri Lankesh.

The intervention application number 811/2019 has been filed in Writ Petition (Criminal) Nos 212/2017, filed by the Uma Kalburgi, wife of Kannada academic MM Kalburgi who was similarly gunned down in August 2015, two years before Ms Gauri Lankesh. The petition of the Kalburgi’s has prayed for a Court monitored investigation and not for a clubbing of investigations.

The Intervention Application of Ms Kavitha Lankesh may be read here.

In her intervention application, Ms Kavitha Lankesh states that she felt the urgent need to file the present Intervention Application as the news reports of the last hearing of the abovementioned Writ Petition filed by Mrs Umadevi Mallinath Kaburgi, the wife of the Late Mr. M.M. Kalburgi on 11.12.2018, reported that the Supreme Court had (orally) expressed an opinion regarding the possible clubbing of investigations of all four murder/assassination investigations and even sought a response of the same from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Ms Gauri Lankesh, the elder sister of the applicant was tragically gunned down in cold blood, on September 5, 2017, outside her home in Rajarajeshwarinagar Bangalore, by extremists and fundamentalists causing shock waves across the nation. Ms Kavitha Lankesh, younger sister of the deceased is the first original complainant in the matter in CR Nos 221/2017 registered with the Rajarajeshwari Nagar Police Station, Bangalore.

Ms Gauri Lankesh’s incident of the cold blood killing of the sister of the Applicant, Ms. Gauri Lankesh took place on September 5, 2017, between 8:00 pm and 8:30 pm, at her residence No. 473/A, 14^th Cross, Ideal Homes Extension, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, when some miscreants committed murder of the Press Personnel Gauri Lankesh by shooting her with firearm.

The said incident came under the jurisdiction of Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station of Bangalore City and on the same day an FIR was registered under Sections 302, 120(B), 114, 118, 109, 201, 203, 204, 35 of I.P.C. and Sections 25(1), 25(1B), 27(1) of the Indian Arms Act, 1959 and Sessions 3(1)(i), 3(2), 3(3) and 3(4) of the COCA Act, 2000 ( Order No.C.R.M./01/158/BC/2017-18 dated 06-09-2017 of the D.G. and I.G.P.) as Crime No. 221/2017.

Ms Kavitha Lankesh argues in her intervention that, since the case was a very sensitive and of grave nature and was/is likely to impact gravely on all of society, the then Karnataka State Government, D.G. and I.G.P., State of Karnataka, Bangalore, announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was constituted the day after the ghastly incident itself. Since then the Investigation has been carried on by the said SIT.

She further urges that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector General of Police (Karnataka) has been conducting the Investigation with great speed and urgency and moreover the entire Investigation has been committed to a Court though not yet completed. From January 2018 till date, 16 accused persons have been arrested and incriminating evidences have been unearthed by the SIT. Following this, even the preliminary and subsequent Charge Sheets have been filed.

In this application she makes the point that if, at this advanced stage of the Investigation into the matter of the cold blooded murder of the sister of the Applicant, any change is made or the Investigation is shifted to any other agency, the entire process would be de-railed. It is through the sensitive investigation under the aegis of the SIT that links and connections to the other cases and murders committed before the killing of the applicant’s sister, Gauri Lankesh have been and are being made. Accused hitherto linked and connected to other crimes even outside the killings of the four rationalists along with the applicant’s sister have been unearthed through the investigations of the SIT, Karnataka. If at all therefore any investigations have to be clubbed or transferred it ought to be to this body constituted of the senior echelons of the Karnataka police.

Background

Ms Uma Kalburgi, in her petition before the Supreme Court has made the following prayers:-

“a) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ, Order or Direction in the nature of Mandamus appointing Independent person retired Judge of Supreme Court or High Court and of directing Respondent No. 2 Government of Karnataka to appoint dedicated Special Investigation Team led by the Additional Director of General of Police, Karnataka, and comprising of expert officers of impeccable credentials to conduct an investigation into the conspiracy and gruesome murder of Professor M. M. Kalburgi on 30/08/2015 and to take all necessary consequential steps/actions pertaining thereto and direction to provide such Team necessary facilities as well as support. The directions also should include reporting to Hon’ble Supreme Court and no change in the team without permission of the Hon’ble Court;

b) Direct the State of Maharashtra and the State of Goa to nominate particular police officer to provide all support and information to Special Investigating Team constituted under prayer-clause (a) immediately and share details of investigation in murder of Dr. Dabholkar and Comrade Pansare;

c) Seek immediate report from all the Respondent States involved and especially from the National Investigation Agency seeking efforts made by them to apprehend the accused named in the said crime and accused involved in Professor Kalburgi murder case along with reports from State of Maharashtra and C.B.I.;

d) Formulate appropriate policy for investigation of inter-state crimes and the support of agency like the N.I.A. and the C.B.I. to various State agencies whenever and wherever it is required. The said policy should mandate appointment of Nodal officer holding rank of Inspector General of Police in every State. The policy should also provide for timeframe for sharing information and coram of meetings;

e) Monitor the investigation to be carried out by the Special Investigation Team sought to be constituted through the present Petition, till the time such investigation is reached to its logical conclusion;

f) During the pendency of the hearing of the present petition, this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent to submit the periodic status report as to the progress made in the investigation in the case of murder of Professor M. Kalburgi”

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सावधान हो जाएं ! 2000 रुपए का नकली नोट बाजार में

Sun, 13 Nov 2016 15:01:40 +0000

Fake Two Thousand Currency Notes & Bulk Notes Surface: South, North, East and West

Round Up from Different Networks, Vijay Karnataka, Dainik Savera, News X, News 24 Online

Hindi News 24 Online

अगर आपको कोई 2000 रुपये का नोट दे रहा है तो सावधान हो जाएं। क्योंकि अभी तक देश की जनता के पास पूरी तरह से भले ही यह नोट पहुंचा भी नहीं है कि इसका नकली नोट बाजार में आ गया है। चिकमंगलूर के एपीएमसी बाजार में 2000 रुपए का नकली नोट सब्जी वाले को किसी ने पकड़ा दिया, जिसे सब्जी वाले ने बाद में वापस कर दिया।

एनबीटी की खबर के मुताबिक नकली नोट का रंग हूबहू नए 2000 के नोट की तरह था। नोट को देख कर लग रहा है कि उसके किनारों को कैंची से काटा गया है। लोगों को अभी 500 और 2000 के नोट की पहचान नहीं हो पाई है जिसका फायदा उठाया जा सकता है।

आपको बता दें कि मोदी सरकार ने 500 और 1000 रुपये के नोट को यह कहते हुए बंद किया था कि बाजार में 300 करोड़ रुपए की फेक करंसी है। नोटबंदी के पीछे सरकार का उद्देश्य फेक करंसी पर लगाम लगाना भी था।

Vijay Karnataka:

While we were told that the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes will be hard to counterfeit, there are reports of a fake Rs 2,000 note appearing in a market in Chikmagalur, Karnataka.
A local publication, Vijay Karnataka, reported that the note was found in APMC market. The publication added that the colour of the note in question was precise and therefore misleading. The note seemed to have been trimmed using scissors.

A NewsX journalist too tweeted, saying the fake currency had surfaced in Chikmagalur.

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We must expand our notion of equality to encompass all around us: Teesta Setalvad

Sat, 24 Sep 2016 15:43:09 +0000

This is what IIMB’s website reported on Teesta Setalvad-

September, 2016: Teesta Setalvad, civil rights activist and journalist, urged young people to contribute towards building an inclusive and equal society.

As one of the speakers at Vista 2016, the annual business fest organized by the FII Club at IIM Bangalore, she remarked that India and the south Asian region had gained a lot in importance in the present world. “India has so much to offer in terms of multiplicity and plurality — that is the essence of Indian-ness. This idea of India was sought to be enshrined in our Constitution. The basis of the Preamble of the Constitution is the vision that every citizen of India — regardless of case, creed, community, etc. – has the right to equality before the law, and a non-discriminatory framework,” she said.

“We need to look within and see, are we able to expand our notion of equality to encompass all around us? Are we consciously or unconsciously ‘othering’ people?” she asked.

In this context, she also mentioned that media often did a disservice to causes as they “engaged in shouting matches rather than in fruitful and constructive exchange of opinions with diverse kinds of people”.

She went on to observe, “History has shown us that community memories dominate, tend to have a trickle-down effect on modern day politics as we resonate with our old prejudices, old pains. ‘Othering’ can be extremely dangerous for the country,” she said.

“Communalism, caste, untouchability, gender inequality… this is the dark underbelly of Indian society, and we need to confront this,” she said, adding that if one believed in democracy, then one had to pay heed to even the last dissenting voice.

(First Published: http://www.iimb.ernet.in/node/15354
We must expand our notion of equality to encompass all around us: Teesta Setalvad, IIMB Website)

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The Slow Death of the Old India

Sat, 14 May 2016 12:27:05 +0000

Image Credit; Samir Kelekar
When I first came to Bangalore in 1996, Brigade road was a happening place. Bangalore was then known as the pub city and pubs such as the famous space station clone Nasa were the talk of not just the town but of young urban youth. On my way home from work I used to pass by Brigade Road and rake in what was the new India. In that new India, however, there was also a place for the urban poor who used to sweat it out to make ends.

I remember the guy who used to help park two wheelers of people stopping by, adjusting other two wheelers so that as many could fit in the small space available. He would also be the only guy who would know how to manoeuvre take your two wheeler out when you were ready to leave. Out of sheer courtesy one would give him two rupees as tip. He wouldn't mind if you didn't pay him.

I also remember another guy who used to sell goggles standing on the pavement of Brigade Road. He had a small space. Just a wire on the wall to hang up his 'goggle wares'. As I purchased one or two Ray Ban look-a-likes from him — it was a craze in those days to speed on bikes wearing goggles to impress girls — he became friends with me.

Brigade Road also had some thriving night life. There used to be these bars where women used to sing Hindi songs of your choice. A man used to be also around who used to double up as a singer and a 'co-ordinator'. His job was also ensure that customers did not cross limits. Old soulful Hindi songs were the flavour of the season and I remember visiting with friends and asking for my favourite farmaiish (request) ‘ Naina barse’ by Lata (Mangeshkar) a number of times. There was a certain Indian-ness to the whole thing for want of better words. Hindi was the language used and after a second visit, you would be recognised and welcomed; they would be friendly but it was all within limits. At shutters down time, when the bar was closing, the men would ensure that the women were dropped home. I suppose the auto drivers were also regulars.

As Bangalore became internationalised and morphed into the IT capital of India — and slowly the outsourcing capital of the world– things changed. 2001 and the dot com bust was the turning point.

Malls suddenly shaped the landscape, as one by one, the old buildings on Brigade Road were demolished to make way for the glass and steel swanky look. Rents sky-rocketed so only the Van Heusens and the KFCs could afford them. Indian restaurants got replaced by high end lounge bars.

One day I saw the same 'in-charge of' parking guy all ruffled while he was begging for 10 rupees. I asked him what had happened. He said that the parking is now managed by high end contractors who outbid each other to win the parking bids. Old men like him are no more needed. The parking man now gives you a smart receipt. In some places it is automated parking meters for cars. Convenience is the name of the game and our man is an inconvenience; also an eye sore and a nuisance.

A few days later I bumped into my friend who used to sell goggles. He also was begging for money. When I asked him what happened, his story was similar. He said police chase me off now. He had lost his space. The 'Arrows' and the 'Van Heusens' didn't want him among their midst. To make things worse, our man was sick. He had varicose veins probably due to long hours of standing in one place. He didn't have the money for the surgery the hospital had suggested.

As Bangalore moves upwards to become one of the top cities of the world you have no space here if you can't look like, fit in or give what the high-end market wants. The old India is dying. Suicide probably is the only recourse for many.

(The author is a techie and an activist)

Image Credit: Padhaaro.com

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