With barely months to go for assembly elections, West Bengal’s political discourse has taken a headlong communal plunge. Again. This is not the first time but this time round, the sudden recall of the ‘Babri Masjid’ –a contentious and sore issue—through a carefully curated and widely publicised “programme” for a foundation-laying ceremony of a Mosque in Murshidabad set the proverbial stone rolling. Invitations were sent out widely by an ‘ousted’ Trinamool MLA belonging to the Muslim community (Humayun Kabir) inviting physical presence of all manner of people at this “brick laying foundation ceremony scheduled for December 6”, the 32^nd anniversary of the demolition of the historic mosque in Faizabad-Ayodya in 1992. These went out in the last week of November; however clearly for the thousands gathered at Murshidabad on Saturday, December 6, the silent planning had gone on for weeks. Making strident calls for “donations for a 300 crore Mosque!” Kabir with other controversial leaders and clerics sparked nationwide coverage and controversy by laying the foundation stone for a “new” Babri Masjid in Murshidabad. The very next day –in a carefully choreographed “rebuttal”, ‘Sanatani’ Hindus gathered in huge numbers in the heart of Kolkata for a reading of the Bhagavad Gita and calling for Hindu unity!

On December 6, 1992, a staggering number of people turned up at the site — a 25-acre plot in Beldanga, a municipality town in Murshidabad — for the brick-laying ceremony, which Kabir described as a ‘prestige battle’ for Indian Muslims. According to some reports, several people had travelled from as far as North Dinajpur and Canning in South 24-Parganas, located some 240 kilometres away. Many were seen walking toward the site balancing bricks on their heads, which they wanted to use in the structure.

Split or Grab: the rush for the ‘Muslim Vote’ in West Bengal

Monetary contributions are not only being sought but unconfirmed reports of who is actually supporting this “programme” have led to widespread speculation. Clearly what is at stake in this communal battle are the 174 Assembly seats out of the total 294 with at least a 15% Muslim electorate — as per the 2011 Census, Muslims comprise 27% of the population — the BJP has made headway in terms of vote shares but has struggled to convert its growing presence into seats. According to pollsters this Hindu majoritarian party will look to “better its 2019 Lok Sabha election record” when it led in 42 of the 174 Assembly segments that have at least 15% Muslim electorate. Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has been accused of its fair share of “appeasement” politics and the third (insignificant) player, the Indian National Congress-CPI (M) combine also accused of encouraging a Muslim communal Indian Secular Front (ISF), founded by Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui. Now the controversial Assaduddin Owaisi has threatened to throw in his hat in the West Bengal poll ring by fielding candidates of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM). Split or grab, it’s the Muslim Vote that is in demand in West Bengal!

In 2021, after an equally high-pitched (and even communal battle by the BJP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) managed to retain power in West Bengal. The electorate rewarded Mamata Banerjee another term with a vote share of nearly 50 percent! This signalled a significant victory since it indicated of how Banerjee was chosen by not just the minority community, but all secular-minded people from different faiths. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that ran a deeply communal campaign, openly calling Banerjee “Begum”, alluding to her alleged pro-minority bias, appears to have failed in dividing the people on the basis of religion.

Banerjee’s TMC had won not only won seats in constituencies with large population of people hailing from the minority community, like Bashirhat (Uttar and Dakshin), Deganga, Islampur, and Kasba, but also in urban centres, mixed neighbourhoods, and constituencies with a larger population from the majority community. Some of TMC’s most significant victories in such seats were, in 2021, from Dum Dum, Howrah (Uttar, Dakshin and Madhya), Jadavpur, Kharagpur, Kolkata Port among others.

“Gita” recital event

A day later, this year, on December 7, devotees in large numbers (BJP claimed 6.5 lakh) turned up at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Ground to participate in a collective recital of the Bhagavad Gita, titled ‘Panch Lakkho Konthe Gita Path’, organised by the Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad — a collective of monks and Hindutva leaders from across states and institutions. The event, attended by the likes of Dhirendra Krishna Shastri (‘Baba Bageshwar’), Sadhvi Ritambhara and Baba Ramdev, also featured BJP leaders like Samik Bhattacharya, Dilip Ghosh, Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh, Sukanta Majumdar, Locket Chatterjee, Agnimitra Paul and others. Participants arrived in huge numbers, in crowded buses, ferries, and trucks, not only from West Bengal, but also from neighbouring states such as Bihar, Orissa, Assam, and even Bangladesh and Nepal.  Clearly underlining central government’s support for the second event, Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose, too, addressed the crowd.

Communal speeches at both events

Before the onset of the brick-laying ceremony in Beldanga on Saturday, Kabir delivered an incendiary speech, going as far as declaring that Muslims, who account for 37% of the total population in Bengal, would willingly sacrifice themselves before letting the bricks of the Babri Masjid come undone. The attendees said that he had perfectly articulated the sentiments of the Muslims in the state. Compatriots of Kabir roared from the stage, “Humayun se jo takrayega, woh choor choor ho jayega!” (Translation: Whoever clashes with Humayun will be smashed to pieces!).

This was both sudden and also planned. Local reports indicate that, Kabir had first expressed his desire to set up the mosque last year in December 2024. He had promised to make a cast of the Babri Masjid by December 6 of this year. “…With donations from everyone, we will build a new Babri Masjid in Beldanga in Murshidabad in West Bengal,” he had said. After this act on December 6, 2025, he was suspended by the Trinamool Congress, which cited communal politics as the grounds for its action. “He stays in Rejinagar and is an MLA from Bharatpur. Why then does he want to build a mosque at Beldanga? This is because Beldanga is communally sensitive, and if there are riots, it will result in polarisation and help the BJP,” Mayor Hakim was quoted as saying.

Both Kabir in Murshidabad and Shastri in Kolkata posed disquieting questions: Were they setting up their supporters for a prolonged confrontation and division?

At the Kolkata parade ground, Shastri, while calling for a Hindu Rashtra, asked: “You won’t be scared? (No) You won’t step back? (No) You won’t run away? (No).” In Beldanga, a speaker standing next to Kabir echoed a similar line of provocation: “You will not run away in fear of the police? (No) Are you ready to be beaten by the police to get what we want? (Yes).” Another compatriot of Kabir exclaimed from the podium: “Ladke lenge Babri Masjid.” (We will fight to reclaim Babri Masjid).

Divisive consequences

The unfortunate result of such verbal challenges translated into a spirit of aggressive religious posturing among the attendees. In Murshidabad, one attendee threatened to cut off the head of whoever stood in the way of the Babri Mosque and play football with it. At the Brigade Parade Ground, saffron-clad vigilantes assaulted one Sheikh Reyajul for selling chicken patties at the event. They kicked down his box of savouries, despite Reyajul pleading that it was his source of livelihood, and made him do sit-ups while holding his ears. Reports later emerged of a second incident where another Muslim vendor was allegedly assaulted for selling chicken puffs near the venue.

The Opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) predictably and openly endorsed the Gita recital event and made their presence felt on the dais. However Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is caught unawares. Forced to suspend Kabir days before the foundation laying event. Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim referred to him as a ‘traitor’, pointedly indicating that Kabir followed in the stead of ‘Mir Jafar’, implying his history of defections, which saw him change from the Congress, to the TMC, to the BJP, and then back to TMC, before his recent suspension. Furthermore, chief minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the Gita Path events despite being invited, citing ideological differences. “How can I go to an event organised by the BJP? I am from a different party, I have a different ideology… They (the BJP) are anti-Bengali”, said Banerjee in a statement.

The BJP in West Bengal didn’t take too long to retaliate. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that while the party did not object to the construction of the mosque itself, they had a problem with the naming. Addressing a press conference on Monday, December 8, Adhikari alleged that Kabir had the support of the administration in celebrating “Mughal-Pathan invaders”.

Notably, one section of those who attended the Murshidabad event seemed miffed with the Bengal government. While speaking to Aaj Tak Bangla, several devotees raised allegations of corruption against the Mamata Banerjee government and underlined that nothing substantial had been done for the Muslims.

Dubious background of Humayun Kabir

This is not the first time that Kabir was expelled from the TMC. In 2015, he was expelled for 6 years over anti-party statements. After contesting and losing as an independent candidate in Murshidabad’s Rejinagar seat in 2016, he joined the BJP in 2018. After losing again in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he rejoined TMC in 2020 and won as MLA from the Bharatpur seat.

MLA from Goshamahal, Hyderabad, T Raja Singh, notorious for his Islamophobic hate speeches and incitements to violence, released a video reacting to the ‘new’ Babri Masjid initiative. He exclaimed: “Mai aaj challenge karta hu — ke Bharat ke Ram-bhakto ko le jaakar Babar ka naam jis prakar se Ayodhya mai mita diya gaya tha, waise hi Bangal ke Ram-bhakt jayega, aur Babar ke naam ki bani huyi masjid ki ek ek eent ko samapt bhi karega.” (I’m issuing a challenge today — in the way that the Ram-bhakts of Bharat had removed Babar’s name from Ayodhya, the Ram-bhakts of Bengal will also come together to demolish each stone used in the building of a mosque in the name of Babar.)

The Wire has this piece on the controversy that may be read here

Saffron flags at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground

The sentiments against the foundation of the mosque spilt onto the Gita Path event the next day. While delivering his speech at the Brigade Ground, Dhirendra Krishna Shastri made several references to Babri Masjid. “In Bharat, should anything be named after foreign invaders? Does Bharat belong to Babur or Raghubar? (Raghubar is another name for the Hindu deity Ram.) It belongs to Raghubar or not? (A resounding yes follows) Hindus need to unite, wave the Bhagwa flag and go to villages far and near to wake the Hindus…” he says during his speech.

While calling for a Hindu Rastra, Shastri also posed several provocative questions. He said, “You have to decide if you want Ghazwa-E-Hind or Bhagwa-E-Hind, if you want tanatani (tension) or sanatani, if you want to see a moon on your flag or a flag on the moon, if you want to see a crack among the Hindus or unity…”

Sdhvi Rithambhara graced the occasion as the chief guest. Rithambara she was one of the 68 people named by the Liberhan Commission in its report on the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition and the riots that followed. Besides, she had played a key role in popularising the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ narrative through incendiary speeches — which would be distributed through audio cassettes, and played in public. Rithambara has been awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Narendra Modi government and in August 2014 –in a unique photo-opportunity moment was seen tying a “Raakhee” to the newly elected Modi.

Read this article on Rithambara’s Padma Bhushan here.

Re-incarnated in her role at the Kolata Gita recital assembly, she asserted: “Babar ya Babri ki koi buniyaad iss desh mai nahi hai. Koi eento ki maharat khada kar sakta hai, par hriday mai Babar ko basa nahi sakta. Ye rashtra Ram ka hai, aur Ram ka hi rahega. Yaha bhagwa hi pherahega, yahi satya hai—yai Sanatan satya hai.” (Neither Babar nor Babri has roots in this country. Let them build something out of bricks, it won’t change the fact that Babar can never reside in the heart. This nation belongs to Ram, and will only belong to him. Only the saffron shall rule. This is the truth — the Sanatan truth.”

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose also addressed the crowd, quoting extensively from the Bhagavad Gita and referring to the Indian epics. Reminding the audience that “something” had transpired in Murshidabad the previous day, he urged them to end “religious arrogance” in the state. Bengal is in a sad state of affairs and is ready to usher in change, he remarked. At the very beginning of his speech, he said, “I will try to speak in Hindi, since Hindi is our national language. The national language is the mother. English is a midwife, and a midwife can never be a mother.” This is an oft-repeated piece of misinformation, fact-checked by Alt News.

West Bengal: Will the Communal Narrative succeed?

While Kabir finds it difficult at the moment to make political allies, there is no doubt that the two events totally captured the political discourse in the state to an extent that almost everything else have been pushed to the distant margins. A significant marker of that is what Bengali TV news channels debated in the last few days. One can see the playlist of ABP Ananda’s primetime programme ‘Ghantakhanek Sange Suman’ here.

Republic Bangla went on an overdrive in reporting the Gita Path event on Sunday. The anchors went up on the podium, personally interviewing the guests on their observations on the mass gathering. Shows were run with the tagline “When Brigade turned into Kurukshetra.” Journalist Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh also interviewed Sadhvi Rithambhara, asking her whether she felt that Bengal was ready for such a spectacle. The latter indicated, with a wry smile, “Ye prarambh hai, aage dekhiye.” (This is the beginning. Let’s see what happens next). Ghosh was also on stage with Hiranmay Maharaj, who asserted that ‘yoddhas’ or ‘sainiks’ were being created at the venue, who had picked up the mantle of fighting injustice in Bengal, and instituting a Hindu Rashtra.

Bengali mainstream media channels such as Zee 24 Ghanta and ABP Ananda ran continuous coverage on either Humayun Kabir’s actions or the Gita Path controversy, with both stories dominating their news cycles over the weekend

Article 19India traced the dubious political history of Humayun Kabir. The Video may be watched here.

In 2021, Sabrangindia had carried a series of reports/videos on the issues impacting West Bengal Polls. These may be read/watched here and here and here.

Related:

Battleground Bengal: TMC decimates BJP’s communal agenda, wins almost 50 percent vote share!

Elections 2021: Mixed bag for Future of Indian Democracy

Bengal Elections: Here’s what people had to say

The Bengal shrine where Hindus and Muslims both come to pray

The RSS started entering our spaces in the name of ‘religious celebrations’: Bansa Gopal Chowdhury

The post ‘Babri Masjid’ v/s Gita recital: In a cynical play of communal politics, pre-poll West Bengal sees active polarisation at both ends of the spectrum appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Christophe Jaffrelot, who is Professor of South Asian Politics at Sciences Po in Paris and also King’s College in London and author of ‘Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the rise of Ethnic Democracy’, said that during the last ten years of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister India has developed “a deeper state”, which he distinguished from a deep state.

He says elements of the Sangh Parivar and vigilantes have ensured that there is a distinction between what happens officially and what happens unofficially and even illegally. Often the civilian government is the front façade but at times it even seems redundant. Describing Narendra Modi’s handling of the economy as a “quasi-loss decade”, Prof. Jaffrelot said MSMEs, youths, farmers, Dalits and Adivasi’s have either lost out or stagnated under Modi but not oligarchs who have gained. He added the government’s claims on the economic front “are not supported by data”.

Referring to Thomas Piketty, Prof. Jaffrelot said India is the most unequal country in the world after South Africa. At one point in the interview he described Modi’s economic policies as “pro-rich”.

Speaking about Modi’s attitude to Muslims, Prof. Jaffrelot said “he looks at Muslims as descendants of converts or foreigners”. Prof. Jaffrelot said he treats them as second class citizens who should be ‘obliterated’ or ‘ghettoized’. Prof. Jaffrelot said the majoritarian attitude means “Muslims are at the bottom or margins of the social pyramid”. He said “Muslims are de facto second class citizens becoming de jure”.

In relation to a question about Modi’s participation in the Ram temple consecration, when he emerged as the high-priest of Hindu nationalism, Prof. Jaffrelot said “secularism is dying”. He called it “a dead letter”. Prof. Jaffrelot said not Hinduism but “Hindutva is the de facto ideology of the country”.

Speaking about the personality cult surrounding Narendra Modi, Prof. Jaffrelot first compared it to the personality cult under Indira Gandhi but added that for two reasons it’s greater and also more disturbing.

First, Indira Gandhi did not differentiate between Hindus and Muslims. Second, she did not have access to the modern day technologies available to Narendra Modi.

Talking about Nehru, Prof. Jaffrelot said that he “thinks” that Modi does have a complex about Jawaharlal Nehru who he is constantly targeting and belittling. Prof. Jaffrelot said that if Modi is re-elected he does envisage definite steps being taken towards creating a Hindu Rashtra.

He says they are likely to be taken immediately after the re-election. Finally, Prof. Jaffrelot said “Modi has no successor” adding “it is very difficult to succeed a man like Modi”.

If you want to understand Narendra Modi’s legacy and political personality I cannot strongly enough recommend this interview? Prof. Jaffrelot has spoken analytically but also with illustrative detail. He’s measured but, at the same time, critical. Consequently, the interview is a tour d’horizon of the situation today as well as a perceptive analysis of the Prime Minister’s personality and political qualities.

Weeks before the next general election, I do believe this is an interview you must see to understand where we are, what sort of person is our Prime Minister, what are the implications of the policies he’s followed, their success or lack of and, at the end, what to expect if he wins as well as what to expect when he finally departs the political scene.

To help you I give below the list of questions.

1) Narendra Modi has been Prime Minister for ten years and he hopes to add another five at the forthcoming elections. Let me start by asking what is your assessment of his performance as Prime Minister over the last decade?

2) Modi frequently boasts of his handling of the economy. He says he’s made India the world’s fifth biggest economy and lifted 250 million out of poverty. His critics talk about unprecedented levels of unemployment, increasing inequality and K-shaped growth. What’s your opinion of how Modi has handled the economy?

3) Modi dominates the Indian political horizon and there is a huge personality cult that surrounds him. He only refers to himself in the third person and often his ministers and even a former Vice President compare him to God. His policies are called Modi’s guarantees. Is all of this understandable and justified or is it approaching megalomania?

4) Side by side with the personality cult and larger than life image is his style of governance. How would you characterize his handling of institutions like parliament, the election commission, the judiciary and security agencies like the CBI and ED? And the fact everything is run by the PMO, not ministers. He believes he’s deepened Indian democracy. His critics accuse him of authoritarianism. What’s your opinion?

5) One deep concern is the sharp divide that’s emerged between Hindus and Muslims. Modi and the BJP vigorously deny this but many believe they are responsible for it. What’s your view?

6) Under Modi the BJP doesn’t have a single Muslim MP in either house of parliament. It hasn’t fielded a single Muslim candidate in states like UP and Karnataka with substantial Muslim populations and in Gujarat for over 25 years. BJP chief ministers and MPs call Muslims Babar ki Aulad and tell them to go to Pakistan. We’ve even had calls for a Muslim genocide. Right through all of this Modi has kept quiet. What does this tell us about Modi’s attitude to Muslims?

7) On January the 22nd, when the consecration of the Ram temple happened, Modi seemed to emerge as the high priest of Hindu nationalism. What is the likely impact of this on India’s secularism, which is part of the basic structure of the constitution?

8) How badly has the line that should separate religion and politics been breached? I’m referring to the Sengol in parliament, the constant references to Hinduism in Modi’s speeches and his much publicized preparation for and role in the temple consecration. Is Hinduism becoming the de facto official religion of the country?

9) Can this increasing Hinduisation be reversed? Can we go back to square one? Or is that unlikely if not impossible? After all, Zia’s Islamisation in Pakistan may be criticized but it’s never been rolled back

10) Modi repeatedly claims he’s made India great again. He says this with reference to Pakistan, relations with America, the G20 and even International Yoga Day. Does the world perceive India as Modi sees it? As a vishwaguru? Or are there also deep concerns about India’s diminishing democracy, increasing communalism and growing intolerance of dissent?

11) Let’s talk about Modi the person. He is an incomparable orator. He has indefatigable energy and he is hugely popular. How does his personality compare with earlier prime ministers like Nehru and Indira Gandhi?

12) Modi is constantly targeting and belittling Nehru. Do you suspect he has a complex about him?

13) Modi doesn’t like critics, whether they are politicians or journalists. He uses terror and money laundering laws against them. He doesn’t hold press conferences. He only gives interviews to anchors who will never challenge him. What does this tell us of his political personality? Does it hint at a certain insecurity?

14) Before we end let’s talk a little about how India has changed under Modi. When I was young no one accused Muslims of love jihad or cow lynching, no one called them Babar ki Aulad and Abba Jaan. Now it’s commonplace. Has Modi awoken sleeping demons and made the unacceptable acceptable?

15) Let me ask a deeper question. What has Modi revealed about Indians? Do we prefer authoritarian to democratic rulers? Are we prejudiced against Muslims and Islam? Are we taken in by his oratory and his event management?

16) If Modi wins a third term what do you anticipate and expect? Do you envisage or, perhaps, fear a push towards Hindu Rashtra?

17) Finally, what happens after Modi? He’ll be 74 this year and this, presumably, could be his last term. What will happen to the BJP after Modi?

Here is the link to the video:

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Image: AP Photo/Anupam Nath
 

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It is alarming. India is sitting on a tinder box. Any day it can explode, inflaming the whole nation. It is time that saner people came out of their comfort zones and did something. Many people say I’m helpless. Many people blame it on the political parties. Many people say I’m not a political activist, what can I do? No, it’s not the time for forsaking India. It’s not the time for apathy. It’s time that everyone started doing whatever in their capacity to save India from a grave danger that’s lurking in the dark. When political parties, except for the right wing fascist Sangh Parivar and its political off shoot Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are in deep slumber it is time for people to step up.

During freedom struggle Gandhiji asked everyone to drop whatever they are doing and plunge into freedom struggle.  I would say it was not a smart move, but it had it’s political impact. But it left many people without good education and knowledge to earn a livelihood. Finally when freedom came it also made many people disenchanted.

Now we have come to such a stage that we have to launch a second freedom struggle. Now people don’t have to leave their jobs or their studies. They just have to donate an hour for the well being of the country . On top of whatever everyone is doing, donate just one hour for the communal harmony of India. One hour is a bench mark. You can donate more or even just five minutes of your time a day. This can be spent in any meaningful social work that anybody can do. From a five year old child to a 90 year old elder citizen should be able to take part in this endeavor. While spending this hour people will be reflecting why they are doing it, where the country is headed, is this the direction the country should go.

Some Activities that we can do in this one hour or five minutes.

1. Blood donation camps. Sharing our bloods will make us realize that we are all brothers and sisters.
2. Community kitchens or food packet distribution to the needy
3. Know your neighbor. Spend some time with your neighbours to know about them more deeply and intimately. This can create communal amity.
4. Film screening on communal harmony
5. Poetry reading on communal harmony and social integration
6. Cultural Programmes
7. Seminars, workshops on communal harmony and social integration
8. Protest gatherings, rallies
9. Petition campaigns
10. Literary/painting workshop for children and college students on communal harmony
11. Spend time with disabled people, elderly people
12. Planting of tree saplings for a better India
13. Reviving/protecting a water body to protect our lives
14. Inter caste/inter religious food festivals to create communal harmony

Well, this is small list I just scribbled down. There is no end to creative actions that can bring peace, justice and communal harmony to India. We can build a better India. Let’s start dreaming and working together.

Binu Mathew is the Editor of www.countercurrents.org. He can be reached at editor@countercurrents.org
 

The post As India Descends Into Darkness Let’s Spend An Hour For Communal Harmony appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Bhima Bhoi, saint, poet and social reformer, who lived in later part of the 19 th century and who wielded his pen against the prevailing social injustice, religious bigotry and caste discrimination, would not have imagined in his wildest dreams that in the second decade of the 21 st century there would arrive such new claimants to his legacy who stood against everything for which he stood for. A populariser of Mahima movement or Mahima Dharma which 'draws elements from Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism and Tantra Yoga,' the movement Bhima  led was a 'deeply felt protest against caste system and feudal practices of western and central Orissa.' and goal of his mission was "Jagata Uddhara" ( liberation of entire world).

Recently Bhima Bhoi's name reached national headlines once again when BJP, the ruling dispensation at the centre, named the venue of its national executive meeting held in Bhuvaneshwar after him. The symbolism was not lost on people who understood it as part of the parties electoral calculations as it wants to 'woo dalits who constitute over 17 per cent of Odisha's population.' Inaugurating the media centre, Dharmendra Pradhan, a central minister explained the rationale behind this move as he told how the 'revolutionary poet's ideology was being followed by crores of people in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.'  (http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bjp-names-party-meet-venue-in-odisha-after-dalit-poet-bhima-bhoi-1681490)

It is a different matter that the first steps being taken by the ruling dispensation to co-opt Bhima Bhoi in their pantheon of Prat Smaraniya ( worth remembering in the morning) or the launch or relaunch of  digital pay app  called BHIM (adding one more name to the 'acronym crazy' of this government) which is a very crude manner to tap sympathy/support of the followers of Bhim (Rao) Ambedkar, have come at a worse time for all such people who venerate Bhima Bhoi or who are ready to walk in the footsteps of Ambedkar.

The saga of Buta Singh, son of a dalit farm labourer from Mansa, Punjab – who is now 'accused no 10 – accused of culpable homicide' along with 70 others who were protesting the massive fee hike by the Punjab University administration, Chandigarh, brings out poignantly how this plan is being executed. It has been widely reported that there was simmering discontent on the Punjab University campus when the administration notified that from coming session there would be 8 fold or 10 fold increase in fees in various courses supposedly to get over curtailment of funds from UGC which finally erupted in a militant protest movement led by a united front of students from revolutionary left to other democratic organisations barring the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). (https://kafila.online/2017/04/12/reclaiming-punjab-university-student-protests-erupt-in-chandigarh/)

The Chandigarh Police found it fit to lodge charges of sedition against these protesting students and thus further extended the sphere of 'sedition' to its ridiculous extent. ( As an aside it may be reminded here that the Central Minister for Ayush ministry had called all those people who prescribe 'non-aurvedic drugs' as 'anti national' /http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolhapur/Doctors-prescribing-non-ayurvedic-medicines-are-anti-national/articleshow/52058067.cms/) It was finally forced to drop these charges because of tremendous public pressure. Describing the arduous struggle waged by Buta Singh to get education and reach his dream destination Punjab university,  when '.. Universities are known by packages and vice-chancellors boast of campus placements,' who ' rarely talk about the knowledge the universities are producing.' the write-up poses a question which none has bothered to ask :

" Why was Buta ready to brave water cannons? Why didn’t the police cane scare him? Why was his fragile body ready to face third-degree torture?" ( 'Why Buta Singh Must Protest Again' (http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/education/why-buta-singh-must-protest-again/392603.html))
and the article ends with a note :

He should protest because every wretched of the earth has the right to access to knowledge; he should protest because the courage to disagree shouldn’t die; the dream to rebel should live on. He should protest so that the university doesn’t become a cage, a placement centre, a package deal. He should protest because now protest seems the only way to survive. (-do-)

Any cursory glance at the trajectory of Buta's young life makes it clear that young people like him are to be found in various campuses and one should be ready to listen to stories of their childhood or adolescence to get to know how even after 70 years of independence it is difficult for students from ordinary background to reach good academic institutions. e.g It was only last year that an activist writer had looked at the social composition of JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and concluded

..for years, JNU has been home to the finest and most fertile minds from economically and socially deprived sections of society. And when they analyze the hows and whys of their socio-economic background, they get drawn to Marxism. …Estimates suggest that at least 70 per cent students of the university come from either poor or lower-middle-class families…

After the enrolments last year, the percentage of students in JNU from SC, ST and OBC has gone up to 55. A large number of Muslims are enrolled in Arabic, Persian and other language courses in JNU. Data on them is not available. But if, along with them, the number of Ashraf Muslims and other minorities is added, it can be safely presumed that at least 70 per cent of the students in the university are non-Dwij. Note that the number of OBC students in JNU has gone from 288 in 2006 to 2434 in 2015, ie a tenfold increase in nine years. The number of women students has also gone up substantially
(/kafila.online/2016/03/01/bahujan-discourse-puts-jnu-in-the-crosshairs-pramod-ranjan/)

Sedition charges against students from Punjab University might have been dropped but repression continues.  There are reports that the police is raiding houses of students based upon video inputs and terrorising students but it is a very positive thing that developments in Punjab University has given rise to solidarity movement all across Punjab and thousands of people from different strata of society have come out on streets demanding justice for students and teachers.

Definitely what is unfolding before our own eyes in Punjab University could be said to be a microcosm of the developments elsewhere on other campuses of the country. Methods adopted might be different, targets chosen might be different and objectives bandied about might be different but the aim is very much clear. The saffrons want to weed out all dissenting elements from campuses or silence them, make arrangements so that there is no fresh inflow of such elements and are able to turn campuses into modern day gurukuls where students would have no qualms in paying obeisance before their teachers. They want to create a new breed of disciplined students who would be mainly interested in utilising the transitory period at such institutions in rote learning which could be regurgitated at places of employment ( of course, if they are fortunate enough to get one)

Perhaps Banaras Hindu University – one of the central universities seems to be a model University which they want every other institution of the country to turn into.  Much has been written about the fact that here how attempts are on to subvert the idea of democracy in insidious ways. Girl students have been a primary target in this plan and various restrictions have been imposed specifically on them. A girl student cannot use mobile phone after 10 p.m., they are disallowed to use the 24 7 library at night, they are not allowed to use the bus facility which has been provided to all students, they were asked to give an affidavit that they won't indulge in any protest or demonstration. There are dietary restrictions also on them, thus while male students can consume meat, women are not allowed to do so. When there was an agitation by students to establish a cyber-library, the administration refused to concede to their demand under the specious plea that   “such a library will be used by the students to watch pornography. There is no need for a cyber-library because students need not study anything outside the syllabus”. ( (thewire.in/67205/bhu-rsss-new-education-lab-open-gender-discrimination/))

And as the on-going developments in JNU demonstrate they have no qualms in using any method – using fake videos, planting fake news or freely using the might of the police force, the tactics of 'dumbing down' by the media or even using young storm troopers of the Hindutva Right – to accomplish this. Their 'defeat' of a different kind in the first round of attack, when bogey of anti-national slogans was raised – kudos to the unprecedented movement which emerged in the campus putting majority of students and teachers on the same side of the barricade which received massive national, international support –  has not deterred them from continuing with their designs to 'shut down' JNU or turning it into its anti-thesis.

The manner in which funds are not being released leading to many students facing tremendous hardships – under one pretext or another – or the planned manner in which more than 70 to -80 per cent seats have been reduced in different courses, is just an indication that they are ready to go to any extent.

A recent write-up 'BHIM on lips, lock on cash for students' which appeared in The Telegraph explained in detail how there has been a 'drought in scholarship funds at JNU' (https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170416/jsp/frontpage/story_146624.jsp#.WPUy7Pl97IU)

– Stopping the Rs 2,000-a-month merit-cum-means scholarship that nearly 1,000 undergraduate and master's students at JNU are entitled, which is given to students whose parents earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh a year.

– Drying up of the flow of another allowance called the "non-National Eligibility Test" scholarship from the higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission,  affecting around 3,000 JNU research scholars. The non-NET scholarship is given to research students not covered by the Junior Research Fellowship, on offer for the top 3,200 performers in the National Eligibility Test, or by the handful of other fellowships.

– Severe cut in seats for integrated PhD-MPhil courses, now it can admit just 130 students against the 1,068 last year, under pressure from UGC and the HRD (human resource development) ministry

– Scrapping of additional "deprivation points" awarded during admission to research students from backward regions and marginalised sections

For close watchers of the education scenario in this country it is abundantly clear that while Ambedkar said, 'Educate, Agitate, Organise'," the present regime is "is instead practising the mantra of 'exclude, alienate, oppress'." Whatever might be the claims of the BJP and its cheerleaders, it is evident that 'Drona mindset' is in full play and doors of better educational institutions are being closed for 'Eklavyas' and 'Shambuks' of today's times.

The post Talk Bhima or Bhim, Walk Manu appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

The post For the BJP Now & Before, Invoking the Communal Divide has been at the Core of Its Electoral Politics appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Pathologically communal or back to basics? More apt descriptors of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments at Sunday’s election rally in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, cannot be found. But let’s be clear: The statements he made are the default setting of the party he leads with his friend Amit Shah.

At the rally, Modi pleaded in the name of non-discrimination that a cremation ground should also be constructed in a village that has a burial ground, and that electricity should be distributed equally between Hindu and Muslim communities, especially during their festivals.

Modi said:

“Gaon me kabristan banta hai to shamshaan bhi bananaa chahiye. Ramzan me bijli aati hai to Diwali me bhi aani chahiye…Agar Holi mein bijli milti hai, to Eid par bhi bijli milni chahiye. 
“[If a graveyard is made in a village, it should also have a cremation ground. If a village gets electricity during Ramzan, it should also get the same during Diwali…If there is electricity during Holi, there should be electricity during Eid too.]”
 

He added:

“There shouldn’t be any discrimination. It is the duty of a government to be unbiased. Injustice shouldn’t be done to anybody…it should never be on the basis of religion or caste or class.”
 

Graveyards have been a sensitive issue in the villages of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for a long time now. In the year preceding the 2015 Assembly election in Bihar, more than a dozen incidents of encroachment and small-scale violence related to graveyards were reported from that state.

The BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have always tried to keep this issue alive. Muslims have legitimately demanded boundary walls around their burial grounds as sometimes idols are put there in a bit to encroach, or attempts are made to carve out a thoroughfare through these grounds on the pretext of creating shortcuts. The boundary walls offend some Hindus as the land is officially made out of bounds for them. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has played on this feeling of deprivation successfully.

Therefore, the constituency of the BJP is clear about which community is being discriminated against. The myth that Hindus are made to suffer, and Muslims benefit at their cost, has been nurtured in our minds since our childhood. If I recall my childhood days in Bihar correctly, there was a perception at that time that Hindus did not get an adequate supply of water on Holi, the spring festival of colours, and they had to suffer electricity cuts even on Diwali, the festival of lights, whereas Muslims received an uninterrupted supply of water and electricity on Eid and Bakr-Eid. This perception was totally unfounded, but Hindus believed it then, and still do.
 

Hindu vs Muslim

While making his comments on Sunday, the prime minister perhaps took his cue from Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who, two days before the first phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that electricity wires bypassed Hindu homes.
Reporting on Goyal’s February 9 press conference, the National Herald quoted the minister as saying:
 

“BJP MP Sarvesh Kumar had lodged a complaint with Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about discrimination in distribution of power connections on the basis of religion in Moradabad. After inquiry these charges were found to be correct.”
 

The National Herald later talked to AN Mishra, a top official in the Uttar Pradesh electricity department. Mishra dismissed Goyal’s allegations, saying:
 

“There is no hop, skip and jump when electricity flows through conductors. There is no mechanism by which you can give electricity to Muslims and deny the same to Hindus.”
 

The issue of compensation

In the same press conference, Goyal also referred, rather crassly, to the issue of compensation. He alleged:
 

“The BJP has always been saying that SP [Samajwadi Party] thrives on appeasement of Muslims. It gave different compensation to Hindus and Muslims – the Muslims got more money while Hindus did not even get half of it. This is on record and anyone can verify it.”
 

Compensation after a mishap or tragedy is another sensitive issue with Hindus. In violence-hit areas in Bihar and western Uttar Pradesh, Hindus often complain that Muslims have been treated royally by the respective state governments while they have been left high and dry. Those who enquire further are also told that if a Muslim police officer dies, his relatives get jobs, and crores as compensation, whereas the families of slain Hindu officers are left to languish without any monetary compensation.

It is not surprising therefore that Modi is consistent. It works through a ritual of repetition, and Modi does not seem to lose heart from the fact that his narrative has not clicked with voters on certain occasions.

Let us compare the prime minister’s Fatehpur speech with his speeches from the Bihar elections to see that they have been consistent. In Fatehpur, apart from demanding a cremation ground for each graveyard, Modi hinted that Muslims are the main beneficiaries of state schemes. He said:
 

“Ask a Dalit in Uttar Pradesh and he will tell you that he is not getting his rights because these are given only to the OBCs [Other Backward Classes]. Ask an OBC and he will say that Yadavs are enjoying all the benefits. A Yadav says the family members of the Samajwadi leaders are hogging the advantages [government-sponsored benefits], and the rest goes to the Muslims.”
 

In Bihar, Modi used similar language to accuse the Nitish Kumar government of favouring Muslims, of taking away from Hindus to give to Muslims. It was not borne out by facts, but Modi repeated it unabashedly. He reiterated it even when there was an uproar, and figures disproving his claims were brought to his attention.

At a rally in Buxar, Bihar, on October 26, 2015, Modi alleged:
 

“These leaders [Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad] are making a devious plan. They are conspiring to take away five per cent reservation of Dalits, Mahadalits, backwards and extremely backwards and give it to a particular community…I come from an extremely backward class and understand the pain of having been born to a poor woman. I will not allow this to happen. I pledge to protect the rights of Dalits, mahadalits and backwards.”
 

Calling this a sinful plan – “paap ki yojana” – Modi said: “Nobody will be allowed to take away your reservation and give it to any other community in pursuit of their vote bank politics.”

In his Fatehpur speech, Modi also referred to a case in which Arun Verma, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Sultanpur, had been booked for the murder of a woman who had accused him of rape.

Modi said:
 

“Kya maa-betiyon ki ijjat lootne ke liye SP ki sarkar banai thi…maa-betiyon ki hatya karne ke liye SP ki sarkar banai thi? 
“[Was the SP government elected to rape and kill our mothers and daughters.]”
 

If you put Modi’s comments together with Amit Shah’s pledge in Kaptanganj on Monday to shut down all slaughter houses in Uttar Pradesh if the BJP was voted to power and convert “a river of blood of cows, oxen and buffaloes in Uttar Pradesh” into a river “in which ghee and milk flow”, and to form anti-Romeo squads to punish “a particular kind of motorcycle riders” (read Muslims) who harass women, the Modi-Shah strategy becomes very stark.
 

Inherent ideology

The communal strategy deployed by Modi and his party failed miserably in Bihar in 2015. Then why are Modi-Shah still speaking this tired language?

Those who think in narrow instrumentalist ways believe that only success drives one’s instinct. But there is also something called ideology, which one inculcates, which one is trained in, which one believes in, which is one’s world view and which makes each person who they are.

Social psychologist Ashis Nandy understood the psychological make up of Narendra Modi long ago, when nobody would have dared to suggest that Modi would one day rule India. After interviewing Modi, who was a worker with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at that time, Nandy told his colleague, Achyut Yagnik, that he had just met a textbook fascist.

After Modi took over as prime minister of India in 2014, and everybody was dying to believe that he had changed, that he had been swept into power on an inclusive plank of development, Nandy was interviewed. The interviewer asked Nandy if he would like to comment on his earlier understanding and description of Modi. Nandy said, his voice unwavering, that he stood by his professional conclusion.

Thus, it is not desperation that has driven the prime minister towards communalism.

However, at elite gatherings, one argument put forward to defend Modi’s communal statements goes thus: “What can the poor man do if the idiots do not understand his appeal for development, he has to speak in language they understand.” The people who say this would like us to believe that Modi, and the BJP, is all for development but they need power for this noble mission. Since power comes only through elections, and since the so-called casteist and secular parties have practised only the language of caste and religion for decades, BJP and its leaders have no option but to resort to this communalist communication strategy.

The argument goes on to say: “Everything is fine and no one is discriminated against once the BJP comes to power. Look at Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan – absolute peace and high speed development! Are Muslims not getting a part of this?”

It is this logic that keeps the backers of Modi and the BJP from even raising their eyebrows at the communal statements made by Modi and his party men, often at election rallies. Additionally, the prime minister gets no notices from the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the anti-minority communal statements are repeated in a loop. These statements accumulate in our minds, their roots going deeper and deeper into our social psyche.

Apoorvanand is a professor of Hindi at the University of Delhi.

This article was first published on Scroll.in

The post The BJP’s communal strategy failed in Bihar. So why are Modi and Shah repeating it in Uttar Pradesh? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Images Courtesy Sandesh Bhandare

Yesterday in your speech (in the Public Meeting at Lohia Maidan in Madgaon for the Abhivyakti Conference of the Dakshinayan Rashtriya Parishad) you spoke of fear, not just of those who kill rationalists in broad daylight, but fear of the existing political order. Could you explain further what you meant?

The ruling establishment is using laws like defamation cases against people speaking out against those in power. In such a scenario, how can people resist?

How can we reach out to people in this worsening political climate? How can we uphold the sacrifices made by people like Comrade Pansare, Dr. Dabholkar and Prof. Kalburgi?

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

The post With Fear of Silence: In Conversation With Megha Pansare appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: The Hindu

महज पांच दिन पहले यानी 27 अक्टूबर, 2016 को भाजपा अध्यक्ष अमित शाह ने मौजूदा राजनीतिक दिग्गज मुलायम सिंह के गढ़ इटावा में भाषण देकर हालिया इतिहास के उस दागदार अध्याय की याद दिला दी, जो इस देश के सद्भाव में जहर घोलने के लिए कुख्यात है। इस ऐतिहासिक शहर की एक रैली में शाह ने लोगों को याद दिलाया कि उत्तर प्रदेश में सुशासन तभी आ सकता है जब यहां ओबीसी नेता कल्याण सिंह (सिंह पार्टी से रिश्ते बिगाड़ कर बाहर भी जा चुके हैं) जैसी सरकार हो। लेकिन शाह को पता नहीं कि ऐसा कह कर उन्होंने इस देश के राजनीतिक इतिहास के किन कुख्यात दिनों की याद दिला दी।

शाह रैली में यूपी में कल्याण सिंह शासन के उन दिनों की याद दिला रहे थे, जो फर्जी मुठभेड़ों के लिए कुख्यात रहा है। ( उन दिनों फर्जी मुठभेड़ों में कई दलितों और मुस्लिमों को मार गिराया गया। शासन ने समाज के सबसे कमजोर वर्ग के लोगों को निशाना बनाया।) और सबसे बड़ी बात तो यह कि कल्याण सिंह का शासन धर्मनिरपेक्ष भारत के  सामूहिक शर्म का काला अध्याय बन गया।

यूपी में कल्याण सिंह के शासन के दौरान ही 6 दिसंबर,1992 अयोध्या की बाबरी मस्जिद ढहा दी गई थी। इस विध्वंस के दौरान 3000 अदर्धसैनिक बलों की टुकड़ी चुपचाप किनारे खड़ी रही ( जिस  वक्त कारसेवक कानून में हाथ में लेकर बाबरी मस्जिद तोड़ रहे थे, उस दौरान उन टुकड़ियों ने कोई हस्तक्षेप नहीं किया)। कल्याण सिंह की सरकार और उनके प्रशासन ने जानबूझ कर सुप्रीम कोर्ट की अवमानना की और बाबरी मस्जिद विध्वंस की अनदेखी कर दी। ( 6 नवंबर, 1992 को जब एडवोकेट ओ पी शर्मा ने यह बताया कि सैकड़ों-हजारों की संख्या में उन्मादी भीड़ (कारसेवकों की भेष में) अयोध्या में जमा हो रही है तो भी सुप्रीम कोर्ट हालात की गंभीरता को भांप नहीं पाया। अदालत की यह स्थिति भविष्य में न्यायपालिका की काबिलियत पर शोध का विषय बन सकती है। अदालत ने कारसेवकों को गिरफ्तार करने का आदेश देने के बजाय ऑब्जर्वर नियुक्त कर दिया, जो चुपचाप बाबरी मस्जिद के विध्वंस को देखता रहा।

बाबरी मस्जिद विध्वंस की राजनीतिक फसल काटने वाले भाजपा के सभी बड़े नेता 6 दिसंबर 1992  को फैजाबाद-अयोध्या में मौजूद थे। इन लोगों ने राम मंदिर आंदोलन की फसल काटी। (हालांकि यह 400 साल पुरानी मस्जिद को नामो-निशां मिटाने का आंदोलन था। रविवार के जिस अभागे दिन यह मस्जिद गिराई जा रही थी उस दिन ये नेता उन्मादियों का हौसला बढ़ाने और खुशी जाहिर करने के लिए खुल कर सामने खड़े थे। भाजपा के तमाम बड़े नेता खुल कर कार सेवकों का हौसला बढ़ा रहे थे। और मस्जिद उनके सामने गिराई जा रही थी। मैं सोचती हूं कि आज के कॉरपोरेट घराने के टीवी चैनल मसलन – टाइम्स नाउ, हेडलाइन्स टुडे, जी न्यूज, आईबीएन, ईटीवी, आजतक इस घटना की कैसी व्याख्या करते। क्या वह इसे देश के कानून के खिलाफ अपराध मानते या फिर इसकी कुछ अलग ही व्याख्या करते?

मौजूदा भाजपा अध्यक्ष अमित शाह इधर यूपी में अपराधियों को ढूंढ़ कर उन्हें जेल भेजने को लेकर काफी मुखर रहे हैं। लेकिन उनकी नजर में ये अपराधी कौन हैं। मुख्तार अफजल अंसारी के भाई, समाजवादी पार्टी आजम खान और अतीक अंसारी या फिर बीएसपी के नसीमुद्दीन सिद्दिकी। ये सभी मुसलमान हैं। साफ है कि शाह और बीजेपी की नजरों में सिर्फ मुसलमान ही अपराधी हैं। क्या कोई हिंदू अपराधी नहीं है। क्या भारत में इतने निचले स्तर की राजनीतिक बहस संभव है।

बीजेपी के अध्यक्ष कहते हैं कि उनकी पार्टी में कोई अपराधी नहीं है। बीजेपी में गुंडों के लिए कोई जगह नहीं है। हम देशभक्तों की पार्टी हैं। शाह ने तो पार्टी के लिए सरकार की ‘सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक’ का भी राजनीतिक लाभ लेने में कोई कोताही नहीं बरती। उनकी पार्टी का रवैया ऐसा है, जैसे देशभक्ति पर उसी का एक मात्र अधिकार हो। लिहाजा बीजेपी की रैली भी जय श्रीराम और भारत माता की जय के नारों से शुरू हुई। ऐसे में यह कल्पना करना मुश्किल नहीं है कि बीजेपी क्या चाहती है।   

बहरहाल, इटावा में 27 अक्टूबर की संकल्प रैली और शाह के भाषण के बाद बीएसपी और समाजवादी पार्टी ने प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त करने में देर नहीं की। समाजवादी पार्टी के राजेंद्र चौधरी ने शाह के बयान को बचकाना करार दिया। शाह के बयान को खारिज करते हुए चौधरी ने कहा कि नीति आयोग के गठन के बाद यूपी को मिलने वाले केंद्रीय अऩुदान में 9000 करोड़ रुपये की कटौती की जा चुकी है। साफ है कि केंद्र यूपी के साथ सौतेला व्यवहार कर रहा है। शाह और पीएम को यह बताना चाहिए कि बीजेपी को 73 सांसद (इनमें अपना दल के दो सदस्य शामिल हैं) देने वाले यूपी के लिए उन्होंने क्या किया है।

मायावती ने भी शाह को आईना दिखाने में देर नहीं की। कल्याण सिंह की सरकार के ‘गुड गवर्नेंस’ की याद दिलाते हुए उन्होंने कहा कि 1992 में खराब कानून-व्यवस्था, कोर्ट की अवमानना और गैर संवैधानिक काम के लिए कल्याण सिंह की सरकार बर्खास्त कर दी गई थी। कल्याण सिंह की सरकार के ‘गुड गवर्नेंस’ की याद दिलाकर अमित शाह ने यूपी की 22 करोड़ जनता का अपमान किया है। अमित शाह को अपने इस बयान के लिए माफी मांगनी चाहिए।

मायावती ने 1992 के दौर याद दिलाते हुए कहा कि बीजेपी के पास गुड गवर्नेंस का कोई उदाहरण नहीं है और इस संदर्भ में यूपी में कल्याण सिंह की सरकार की याद दिला कर उसने खुद को एक्सपोज ही किया है। बीजेपी को यह याद रखना चाहिए कि 1992 में बाबरी विध्वंस के आरोप में कल्याण सिंह की सरकार बर्खास्त कर दी गई थी और राज्य में राष्ट्रपति शासन लगा दिया गया था।

शाह का बयान इस साल जनवरी में आई उन रिपोर्टों के नौ महीनों के बाद आया है, जिनमें कहा गया था कि यूपी के मुख्यमंत्री रह चुके कल्याण सिंह को राज्य में पार्टी की कमान सौंपी जा सकती है। कल्याण सिंह इस वक्त राजस्थान के गवर्नर हैं।
अगले साल चुनाव के बाद यूपी में 21वीं सरकार बनेगी। 26 जनवरी, 1950 के बाद यूपी में अब तक नौ बार राष्ट्रपति शासन लागू हो चुका है।पहली बार 1970 में 17 दिनों के लिए राष्ट्रपति शासन लागू हुआ था। यूपी की दो महिला प्रधानमंत्री हुई हैं। पहली सुचेता कृपलानी, जिनका शासन 1963 से 1967 तक था। दूसरी मायावती, जो चार बार इस राज्य की मुख्यमंत्री रहीं। पहली बार 1995 ( 137 दिनों के लिए), 1997 में (184 दिनों के लिए) 2002 में ( एक साल 118 दिनों के लिए) और 2007 में ( 4 साल 137 दिनों के लिए)। 2003 में यूपी विधानसभा के स्पीकर केसरी नाथ त्रिपाठी ने जोड़-तोड़ कर सत्तारुढ़ गठबंधन से बीएसपी के 15 विधायकों को तोड़ने में अहम भूमिका निभाई। (मायावती इसके खिलाफ सुप्रीम कोर्ट पहुंची, जहां चीफ जस्टिस एम एम पुंची, जस्टिस के टी थॉमस और जस्टिस एन श्रीनिवासन के फैसले के बाद मुलायम सिंह के नेतृत्व में सरकार बनी। इसे बीजेपी पीछे से सपोर्ट कर रही थी। )

पिछड़ों और मुसलमानों के मसीहा की छवि लिये मुलायम सिंह 1989 में यूपी के मुख्यमंत्री थे। (एक साल 201 दिन के लिए)। इसके बाद वह बाबरी मस्जिद के विध्वंस के बाद 1993 में मुख्यमंत्री बने ( 1 साल 201 दिन के लिए)। 2003 में भी ( 3 साल 257 दिनों के लिए ) भी वह सीएम बने। इसके बाद उन्होंने कमान बेटे अखिलेश सिंह यादव को सौंप दी। अखिलेश भारी मतों से जीत कर 15 मार्च 2012 को सत्ता में आए।

1977 तक भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस (आईएनसी) का यूपी में कोई मुकाबला नहीं था। सिर्फ 1968 और 1970 में  चौधरी चरण सिंह (भारतीय क्रांति दल) का थोड़े दिनों तक शासन रहा। इमरजेंसी के बाद भी कांग्रेस की सरकार बनी। पहली वीर बहादुर सिंह की 1988 में और दूसरी 1989 में एनडी तिवारी के नेतृत्व में। लेकिन इसके बाद मंडल आंदोलन से पैदा हुए पिछड़े उभार और फिर 1992 के बाबरी विध्वंस के बाद यूपी का गढ़ कांग्रेस के हाथ से निकल गया। यूपी में बीजेपी की सरकार चार बार बनी। पहली बार कल्याण सिंह के नेतृत्व में 1999 में ( 2 साल 52 दिन)। इसके बाद रामप्रकाश गुप्ता के नेतृत्व में 1999-2000 तक। ( यह सरकार  351 दिन चली।)। इसके बाद राजनाथ सिंह की सरकार 2000 में बनी ( यह सरकार 1 साल 131 दिन चली)। बीजेपी मंडल राजनीति के अंतर्विरोध और रामजन्मभूमि की विभाजनकारी राजनीति के बाद ही यूपी में पैर जमा सकी। 2014 के लोकसभा चुनाव में इसे भारी सफलता मिली और इसने 80 में से 73 सीटें जीत ली।

हाल के ओपिनियन पोल (सितंबर, 2016 के) बताते हैं कि यूपी चुनाव में बीजेपी को हल्की बढ़त हासिल है। साफ है कि इसे देख कर बीजेपी राज्य में तेज ध्रुवीकरण की राजनीति पर उतर आई है ताकि अपनी बढ़त को और मजबूत बना सके। अब देखना बाकी है कि बीजेपी की इस कोशिश का राज्य की 22 करोड़ आबादी पर क्या असर पड़ता है।  राज्य की यह आबादी विविधता से भरपूर है और उसके पास क्षेत्रीय राजनीतिक विकल्प भी मौजूद हैं। अगर विभाजनकारी राजनीति के खिलाफ बहुजन राजनीति मजबूत होकर खड़ी हुई तो भारत की राजनीति में दखल और आतंक के इस मौजूदा दौर को झटका लगेगा। कम से कम थोड़े समय के लिए इसका जोर तो कम हो ही जाएगा।

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