That senior doctors have to talk to health workers telling them not to smear their bodies with cow dung and cow urine is more than a bizarre tale. This is the strange and dangerous reality currently being reported from cow shelters in Gujarat, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah hail. That cow dung and cow urine have some ‘curative’ or medicinal powers is a belief that still holds strong among many in India, and is often supported by the right-wing groups who see it as an important part of their agenda.

As the country continues to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic that has now reached cities and villages even as it continues to wreak havoc in big cities, some in Gujarat believe taking a bath in cow excreta will ‘protect’ them from Coronavirus. According to a report in Reuters, people have been going to cow shelters to smear themselves with ‘packs’ made of cow dung and cow urine because they believe this “will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus.”

Doctors, however, have warned that this mixture will give “no protection from the coronavirus” and that it “may cause other infections including mucormycosis or black fungus.” The news report quoted Gautam Manilal Borisa, an associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company, who claimed “even doctors” undertake this cow dung therapy. He claimed that this “practice helped him recover from Covid-19 last year” and he continues to undergo it at the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam. Reuters photos show how a group of men sit smeared with the dung and urine mixture and then wash it off with milk. 

Doctors in India are warning against covering one’s body in cow dung and urine in the belief it will ward off COVID-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases. More photos: https://t.co/g2rTla2PUx ? Amit Dave pic.twitter.com/3WpULYndxA

— Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) May 11, 2021

The report quotes Dr JA Jayalal, national president, Indian Medical Association, debunking this practice saying, “There is no concrete scientific evidence that cow dung or urine work to boost immunity against Covid-19, it is based entirely on belief,” adding “there are also health risks involved in smearing or consuming these products – other diseases can spread from the animal to humans.”

This comes close on the heels of a disturbing video of a man attempting to pour a yellow liquid, that was allegedly cow urine, or gau mutra, down the throat of a woman who is hooked to a ventilator. This incident came to light in the last week of April, and the questions were raised on how did the man even manage to get into a ward and administer the liquid to a seriously ill female patient.

According to another news report a Covid-19 isolation centre at Tetoda village in Deesa taluka of Banaskantha district, Gujarat is reportedly “treating” patients based on “ayurvedic medicines made of cow urine, dung, milk, ghee and curd” called “Panchagavya” or five elements/ essences from cows, along with allopathic medicines. It was reported by the Deccan Herald that this “centre is being run in a gaushala or cowshed that has over 5,000 cows managed by a trust ‘Rajaram Gaushala Ashram’ and is named “Vedalakshana Panchagavya Ayurvedic Covid Isolation Centre.” 

Related:

Take a swig of cow urine to finish Corona: Surendra Singh, BJP MLA
Did a BJP worker give ‘Gau Mutra’ to a Covid-19 patient on a ventilator?
Bad news for those still looking for gold in cow milk
Why does UGC want herds of students to take ‘cow science’ exams?
INVESTIGATION: The Missing Cows of Gujarat

The post Cow dung, urine don’t prevent Covid-19, can cause infections: Doctors appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In the process of effectively scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution through a Presidential order supported by a resolution in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters regurgitated a slew of myths, half-truths and sleights of hand that have been part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) propaganda for decades. The fact that many parties who do not subscribe to the RSS ideology also repeated them only goes to show how far these myths have travelled. Meanwhile, social media went ballistic with RSS/BJP supporters posting more and more bizarre claims while others started offering land for sale in Kashmir.

Here are some of the most long-nurtured myths – and the reality behind them.

MYTH: “J&K integration with India took place in October 1947. Article 370 came into force in 1952, Article 35A came in 1954, four and seven years later respectively. How can Articles 370 and 35A be a condition precedent to merger?”

This statement by Arun Jaitley, conveyed through a tweet on August 4 , summarises a frequently given argument. It is meant to prove that Article 370 and Article 35A were somehow unrelated to J&K’s joining of the Indian Union implying thereby that they are unnecessary and also that they were the result of some Congress government’s stupidity. Actually, this statement is wholly erroneous.

REALITY: The Instrument of Accession (IOA) was signed by Raja Hari Singh, then ruler of J&K on October 26, 1947. The IOA itself said that Parliament could only legislate on defence, external affairs, communications and some ancillary subjects in respect of J&K. Clause 5 clearly says that “The terms of this my Instrument of Accession cannot be varied by any amendment of the Act or of Indian Independence Act unless such amendment is accepted by me by an Instrument supplementary to this Instrument”. Clause 7 said: “Nothing in this Instrument shall be deemed to commit me in any way to acceptance of any future constitution of India or to fetter my discretion to enter into arrangements with the Government of India under any such future constitution.”

In other words, there were many things left pending in the IOA and these were to be settled through negotiation in the coming years. Remember that in 1947, Pakistani forces and tribal militias had invaded Kashmir and were on the verge of annexing the whole of the state. In fact, this is what forced Raja Hari Singh to turn to India – otherwise he was vacillating. India rushed troops to Srinagar and the war went on till 1949. After that, negotiations on how to lay out the laws and governance mechanism started. Meanwhile, in order to preserve the spirit of IOA and reassure the Kashmiri ruler, Article 370 was moved in India’s Constituent Assembly in May 1949 and passed in October 1949 to become part of the Indian Constitution. In 1950, 1952 and 1954 Presidential Orders to settle various issues were passed. Both Nehru and Patel were part of these negotiations, blowing away the other myth that Patel was opposed to Article 370. The RSS was, at that time, propping up an agitation against the land reforms initiated by the Sheikh Abdullah government (appointed by the Raja), cloaking it as a demand for full integration of J&K. Most land was vested with Dogra and Pandit landlords, so the RSS was simultaneously giving it a communal colour, since most peasants tilling the land were Muslims. Perhaps that’s why they do not choose to remember the complex history of that period.

What about Article 35A? RSS/BJP propaganda hides the fact that way back in 1927, Raja Hari Singh had passed a Hereditary State Subject Order which allowed only to residents of the state to own land and right to government office. Subsequently, this was included in the J&K Constitution by the state’s Constituent Assembly. Because the IOA insisted that only those subjects in the Indian Constitution that were permitted would extend to J&K, the rights of state subjects also had to be preserved. This was done by the Presidential Order of 1954 which inserted Article 35A.

MYTH: “Autonomy given under Article 370 caused alienation of Kashmiri people from India.”

REALITY: Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that Article 370 was the root cause of spread of terrorism while many RSS/BJP leaders have been saying this for years. As a corollary, it is also said that the article was the source of sentimental belief in a separate Kashmir, providing ground to cross-border terrorists to exploit.

The harsh reality is that it is the erosion of Article 370, in letter and spirit, that has led to increasing disenchantment of Kashmiri people and their search for a way out. First, look at the erosion in letter. Since Article 370 provided for extending provisions of law to J&K through Presidential Orders, issued after concurrence of the State Assembly, this method has been used extensively. By the 1954 Order, almost the entire Constitution was extended to J&K. Out of the 97 entries in the Union List, 94 have been made applicable to the state and out of the 47 entries in the Concurrent List, 26 have been extended to the state. This has largely reduced the powers of the J&K state government. In all, Article 370’s provisions were used at least 45 times to extend provisions of the Constitution to J&K.

In this way, not only have the rights of the state been increasingly restricted, the spirit of the section has been violated by simply getting the state government to rubber stamp such extensions. Not that there should be no extensions at all. But so many? And that too by routine approval.

Not only this, the state’s own Constitution was amended several times using Article 370. For instance, Article 356 was extended removing a similar provision in the J&K Constitution (Article 92) which called for President’s concurrence for imposing President’s rule. Extension of President’s rule were done using Article 370. Even Article 249 (power of Parliament to make laws on State List entries) was extended to J&K without an Assembly resolution but through a recommendation of the Governor.

Many of these measures were used in the past (by Congress governments) to manipulate the politics of the state – to install ministries or impose President’s Rule. The BJP government itself played the same game in the previous term. And, now they have upturned the whole thing lock, stock and barrel.

MYTH: “Development was not possible because Article 370 didn’t allow it.”

REALITY: This is one of the most ludicrous of all myths created by the present government. Referring to the effective scrapping of Article 370, Arun Jaitley tweeted: “”The decision of the government will help the people of J&K the most. More investment, more industry, more private educational institutions, more jobs and more revenue.” Many of the MPs who spoke in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha waxed eloquent on the so-called benefits that would accrue with the removal of special status, including J&K will now become part of Global India”, etc.

How did Article 370 stop any government from providing or encouraging more investment and industry in the state? Already most provisions of the Constitution, including Union list entries were extended to the state. Most laws were also extended. The Union governments of the day could have undertaken any economic measures or schemes/programmes they wanted in J&K. In fact, all these years, there were wild promises of special packages, including the one made by PM Modi himself in 2015 for Rs 80,000 crore (of which about Rs.66,000 crore only actually materialised, till 2019).

The truth is that no government at the Centre – whether Congress or BJP/NDA – seriously undertook a complete package which included both economic and political measures that would provide sustainable and long-term benefits to J&K. The attitude was always that of distributing largesse and that too in a very myopic manner. Later, as the militancy took roots, all pretence of economic uplift was abandoned except when elections were in the offing.

What Jaitley and others really mean is that by removal of Article 35A, land will now become available and so, real estate sharks can gobble it up and deploy it for setting up private businesses including “private schools” as Jaitley innocently specifies. Whether this will happen or not is for the future to reveal. It is difficult to believe that private investment will flow into J&K even as the people there are discontented and uncertain.

MYTH: “Art 370 and Art 35A, and the arrangement they enshrine, were unique to J&K.”

REALITY: This is a popular myth but wholly untrue. Immediately after Article 370 in the Constitution is Article 371 in which various sub-articles exist giving similar special status to various regions/states based on the ethnic histories and cultures of the areas. These include: 371A for Nagaland; 371B for Assam; 371C for Manipur; 371D and E for Andhra Pradesh; 371F for Sikkim; 371G for Mizoram; 371H for Arunachal Pradesh; and 371I for Goa. Among the main provisions (except for Goa and Andhra Pradesh) are included provisions for land ownership, Governor’s role, etc. In other states too, there are laws preventing non-domiciliary persons from owning land like Himachal Pradesh (under its own HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972). So, it is not as if J&K had something unique. It is notable that most states having such special laws that preserve local customs and culture or prevent land alienation have a special history and demographic composition (for example, tribal population) which calls for sensitive handling and assurances about rights. The same was the case with J&K.

Courtesy: News Click

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Recently released data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that almost 99% of the banned 1000-rupee notes actually made their way back to the RBI. This means that either black wealth held in these notes was successfully manipulated back in to the legal system or such black money was not being held in 1000-rupee notes. Either way, the govt.’s move of demonetisation or note-bandi has come a cropper.
 
RBI TABLE

At the Modi regime’s direction, the RBI had declared 500-rupee and 1000-rupee notes illegal on 8 November 2016. Prime Minister Modi had personally gone on air and dscribed it as a historic strike against illegal wealth. A few days later he had claimed in emotion choked voice that he was willing to accept any punishment if it turned out that this move was a failure.

What a spectacular failure the ill-thought out move has turned out to be. The government is adamant in its refusal to reveal the details of how much money in banned notes was deposited back with the RBI although 8 months have passed since the window of exchange closed in January this year. Despite repeated questioning in Parliament, by the Parliamentary Committee, in the Supreme Court and through RTIs, the govt. and RBI has doggedly maintained that old banned notes were still being counted. In June this year, finance minister ArunJaitley claimed that each note was being checked whether it was counterfeit and that the process would take “a long time”.

Now the truth emerges, albeit slowly. Analysis of data recently released by the RBI shows that when financial year 2016-17 ended on 31 March 2017, there were Rs. 8925 cr worth of 1000-rupee notes still in circulation. This means that these are the notes that were not deposited with the banks after note-bandi.

How many total 1000-rupee notes were there in circulation on 8 November 2016? According to a statement made by Santosh Kumar Gangwar, minister of state for finance, in the LokSabha on 3 February 2017, 6858 million pieces of 1000-rupee notes were in circulation on 8 November. The value of these notes works out to Rs. 6.86 lakh cr.

So, out of Rs.6.86 lakh cr, just Rs.8925 cr is unreturned. That is a mere 1.3% of the total. The overwhelming balance of 98.96% of 1000-rupee notes is back in the RBI coffers.

The total value of demonetised currency on 8 November 2016 was Rs.15.44 lakh cr. Of this, 1000-rupee notes made up about 44% and 500-rupee notes 56% approximately.

Similar calculation cannot be done for 500-rupee notes because unlike the 1000-rupee notes, new 500-rupee notes were printed and circulated in parallel to withdrawal of old ones. So, figures of 500-rupee notes in circulation on 31 March 2017 are mostly for new notes.

Experts say that what goes for 1000-rupee notes is equally applicable for 500-rupee notes. Although data is not released but in all probability 98-99% of 500-rupee notes must also have come back.Former JNU professor of economics Arun Kumar, in an analysis published in EPW in June, has suggested that 98.8% of all banned currency was deposited back with RBI.

In other words, no black money was unearthed by Modi’s ‘historic’ move.. As has been shown earlier, terrorism has also not gone down after demonetization and neither has circulation of counterfeit currency. So, it was a failure on all counts, a point that has been predicted by economists worldwide.The only people who benefited from the note bandi were companies that own digital payment systems (like PayTM, MobiKwik etc.) and credit card companies.

It also seems now that ultimately, the black money owners have benefited because they managed to convert all their black wealth in to white using proxies.
 
When will the political opposition be able to creatively convey these facts to the populace during the ultimate game of electoral politics—the game for votes???
 

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