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)

The post We must expand our notion of equality to encompass all around us: Teesta Setalvad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

This Video was shot on September 12, 2016, the day before Bakri Eid

Published on 15 Sep 2016. Courtesy: Newsclick

The Mewat incident, involving two deaths and rape of two women by the cow vigilantes has spread fear across the district since the middle of August 2016 The Bar Association of Nuh stands firm in its position of defending the victims and exposing the complicit attitude of the police, allegedly intent on burying the evidence. The girls were raped in an act of revenge for their allegedly been consumers of beef. This happened on the night of August 24-25, 2016.

Thereafter, in the run up to Eid ul Azha (Bakri Eid) the state government run by the supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) conducted a series of raids all on vendors of food, all Muslims, acting on allegations that they were selling beef. The Haryana Government passed a controversial 'Cow Protection' Law that has become the source of legitimising these attacks on minorities and Dalits.

Sabrangindia has been highlighting this issue consistently (See references). On the eve of Eid, as the commercial television media raised the state and BJP fueled hysteria of whether or not the street food vendors sold beef,  TV channels in Haryana have reported news quoting Dr Ravindra Sharma, Director of Research of Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar that seven meat samples received in the University from various places of Haryana have been tested to be positive for beef with Vice Chancellor authenticating the report.

At that time we had raised these questions:

1.   Which laboratory in the university has carried out the said tests? 

2.   Whether the said laboratory has been accredited by accreditation body or recognized by the state government as provided in Section 12 (1) of The Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act 2015. It is a matter of fact that no laboratory in the said university has any accreditation or recognition to carry out such tests

3.    Whether the report given by the said laboratory is valid for vetro-legal purposes? Is it not true that the university officials write on the test report page that the report is not valid for vetro-legal purpose

4.    In which department of the university the laboratory (where the said test has been reported to be carried out) is located? Whether the head of that department has been informed about the findings of the laboratory? The answer is no.

5.   What procedure was followed while taking of samples and their labeling? As a matter of fact, no authority in the university has been designated to ensure that the sampling, labeling of samples is done in a proper manner in matters involving species differentiation

6.    Whether the permission of the state government was taken before giving press statements as those appearing in news channels yesterday and newspapers today? The answer is no. 

7.    Who officer of the university will be responsible for genuineness of the results in the event of any untoward event occurring after publishing of news item?

References:
 
1. Fear Stalks Mewat as Bakri Eid Approaches

2. Mewat Gang-Rape Victim Breaks Down While Narrating Horrific Incident

3. Beef Hysteria Fueled in Haryana, Serious Questions Raised

4. हरियाणा ने बनाया सरकारी ‘गौरक्षक दल’

5. गौरक्षक ही थे मेवात में गैंगरेप करने वाले : पीड़िता का आरोप

The post Where Hate & Mob Hysteria Guide Government Policy: Haryana appeared first on SabrangIndia.

आज तीन प्रतिष्टित यूनिवर्सिटी , Delhi university , JNU aur Punjab University के नतीजे एक साथ आये .
JNU में abvp का सफाया होना एक बहुत बड़े परिवर्तन का संकेत है.

9 फरबरी के बाद जिस तरह का हमला abvp, rss, मोदी सरकार और उसकी भोंपू मीडिया ने किया था उसका जबरदस्त जवाब jnu ने वाम को रिकॉर्ड जीत देकर दे दिया है .जेएनयु की जीत नागपुरी गुंडागर्दी, कार्पोरेट व मीडिया की संयुक्त ताकत के खिलाफ़ जीत है.

वाम छात्र संगठनों की जेएनयू में जीत कोई अनोखी बात नहीं है, लेकिन इस बार उन्होंने सिर्फ विरोधियों को नहीं हराया । युद्धोन्मादी, सांप्रदायिक और फ़ासिस्ट मीडिया को भी हराया है । मीडिया ने जेएनयू को ‘देशद्रोही’ बताने के छदम राष्ट्रवाद की आड़ में अभियान चलाया, पूरे देश में जेएनयू के प्रति घृणा पैदा करने की कोशिश की, लेकिन जेएनयू के छात्रों जबरदस्त लड़ाई से साबित किया की "असली देशभक्ति ” क्या होती है , और असली देश भक्त कौन है ? देश विरोधी नारेबाजी की किसने की थी? किसको गिरफ्तार किया गया था? 

बात उस समय ही साफ़ नज़र आ जाती है कि आखिर माज़रा क्या है. किस तरह रोहित वेमुला के केस में कटघरे में आ चुकी मोदी सरकार के लिए मुद्दे को डायवर्ट करना ज़रूरी था.और फिर जेएनयु तो हमेशा से संघियों की पीड़ा का सबब था. लेकिन इस संघी बिग्रेड के बाक़ी तमाम झूठ की तरह ही ये झूठ भी जनता के सामने आ ही गया.
Jnu ने बहुत कायदे से नकली देशभक्तों को जवाब दे दिया है. 25 साल पहले JNU में राजनीती शुरू करने वाली abvp की ऐतिहासिक हार हुई है। इस जीत के मायने को इस सन्दर्भ में भी समझना चाहिए की पिछला दौर काफी जटिल संघर्ष का दौर रहा है . पूरे देश में संघी ब्रिगेड ने दलितों, अल्पसंख्यको और वंचित तबको को निशाना बनाया है और जिसके खिलाफ पूरे देश में जबरदस्त प्रतिरोध भी हुआ है , इस प्रतिरोध में युवायों ने अति महतवपूर्ण भूमिका अदा की है और उसमे भी Jawahar Lal Nehru University ने हिरावल दस्ते के भूमिका निभाई है .

Occupy UGC, II Madras , रोहित बेमुला की संस्थागत हत्या , दादरी, दनकौर का सवाल रहा हो या कलबुर्गी , पंसारे की हत्या के प्रतिरोध का Jawahar Lal Nehru University के छात्रों ने तीखा प्रतिरोध किया है. पूरे देश के पैमाने पर जो उन्मादी माहोल बनाया गया था और मुख्य निशाना JNU था जिसकी गंभीरता समझते हुए वामछात्र संगठनो ने मिल कर एक जुझारू लड़ाई लड़ी और JNU से इस प्रतिगामी ABVP के सफाए के लिए साथ मिलकर चुनाव लड़ने का अति महतवपूर्ण फैसला लिया , जिसके पीछे चुनाव जीतने की तात्कालिक सोच न होकर प्रतिरोध और सवालिया संस्कृति की रक्षा की सोच प्रमुख थी . इस सोच के आधार पर SFI और AISA ने साँझा पैनल बनाकर JNU में चुनाव लड़ा और JNU के अन्दर abvp की ऐतिहासिक हार की इबादत लिखी .

JNU ने साबित किया की वोह असल देशभक्त हैं जो कश्मीर से लेकर कन्याकुमारी तक की तक़लीफ़ों से विचलित होकर लुटियन दिल्ली में तूफ़ान मचाने की ताकत रखते हैं और जिनके आगे सरकार , पुलिस, कार्पोरेट मीडिया बोनी साबित हुई। देश की वास्तविक एकता का रास्ता येही है की हम सबके सवाल और तकलीफ को अपना समझे और उसके खिलाफ प्रतिरोध दर्ज करे. पिछले दिनों JNU ने इस काम को बखूबी अंजाम दिया है .यह वैचारिक टकराव असल में दो सपनों के बीच का संघर्ष था और आखिरकार JNU ने तय कर दिया है कि उसे भगत सिंह और आंबेडकर के सपनों के साथ जीना है नाकि हेडगेवार और गोलवरकर के सपनों के साथ. Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad का सफाया  JNU की तरह पंजाब यूनिवर्सिटी में भी हुआ है . Delhi University में ABVP ने ३ पद जीते हैं पर ४४ में से मात्र ११ कॉलेज ही उसके कब्ज़े में आये हैं , ३३ में उसको हार का सामना करना पड़ा है.

 
Pradeep Sharma शिया कॉलेज, Lucknow में समाज शास्त्र पढ़ाते हैं। सामाजिक और राजनैतिक कार्यकर्ता हैं और अपने छात्र जीवन में sfi के नेता रहे हैं

The post Shut down JNU से Fight back JNU तक appeared first on SabrangIndia.

@ 21:31 Just Now: Finally. JNU Result is out. Wait is over. Left Unity wins all central posts. Its  4-0. This was a heavily contested election especially after the developments on the campus since February 2009. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad(ABVP) a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh active on campuses had used money and muscle power in these polls. In the Delhi University (DU) it is the ABVP that won the major seats in the Central panel but the youth wing of the Indian National Congress, the National Students Union of India won the elections to panels in 33 Colleges.

The Birsa Ambedkar Phule Student's Association (BAPSA) and its shinin star Rahul Sonpimple emerged as a strong contender during these highly surcharged elections at the Jawahrlal Nehru University (JNU).

(Satarupa Chakraborti, SFI)

Out of total 23 Councilors-

17 Councilor from left unity win
4 are independent
1 has gone to DSF
1 to ABVP
NSUI -00

Two Days back in JNU-

The post JNU Left Unity strikes Four! All Central Posts go to Left in JNU appeared first on SabrangIndia.

पंडे-पुरोहित चला रहे हैं देश.

हम गोमूत्र पीने के ही काबिल देश हैं.

सरकार पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे!

हम सब अपने चारों ओर विज्ञान और टेक्नोलॉजी से घिरे हुए हैं. जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में इनका असर है.

ऐसे समय में केंद्र सरकार स्पेक्ट्रम की नीलामी को श्राद्ध यानी पितृ पक्ष खत्म होने तक टालने का मन बना रही है. 1अक्तूबर से नवरात्र शुरू है. टेलीकॉम कंपनियों ने सरकार को लिखकर दिया है कि वे शुभ मुहूर्त में ही यह बोली लगाना चाहती हैं. भारत सरकार के टेलीकॉम सचिव इसके लिए तैयार हैं.

स्पेक्ट्रम तरंगो का वह सुपर हाईवे है जिसपर चलकर हमारी मोबाइल आवाज और डाटा का सफर तय होता है.

एक पोंगापंथी देश सबसे आधुनिक टेक्नोलॉजी को कैसे अपनाता है, इसकी मिसाल हैं हम.

The post सरकार गोमूत्र पिला कर मानेगी और हम पी कर रहेंगे appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Today I wish to present my side, which incidentally is the only side of this story.

 
My family has been facing the worst form of witch hunt at the hands of this Srivastava, who seems to be backed by this government. What’s really shocking is that Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokesperson like Sanju Verma reproduce such news items without even confirming the veracity of the article.
SK Srivastava, Commissioner, Income Tax, has pending charge sheets against him and recently the Honourable Supreme Court has in a written order said and I quote , “During the course of hearing , the learned solicitor General has submitted that three chargesheets that have been annexed to the counter affidavit that have been filed by respondent number 2 – department concerned have been filed against respondent number 1 (SK Srivastava) but for some reasons no action has been taken in pursuance of the said chargesheets. The enquiry shall be completed in six months from now.” 

Srivastava’s case was being investigated by the vigilance wing of the income tax department, where my wife and the other officer were posted at that time. It was then that he started intimidating Shumana and others by writing the worst possible dirt and filth about them. We challenged this man and the High Court pronounced a 15-day jail term for him, which is now pending in Supreme court. I am now quoting from the record of the High court judgement that was in our favour. Sample the filth Srivastava threw at two women officers who have been named X and Y:

1.    It is brought on record that to wreak havoc upon me and to intimidate others into silence lest the illicit sexual intimacies between Sri BK Jha and Ms “X” and Sri  SS Rana and Ms “Y” in organized prostitution wherein Sri  BK Jha and Ms “X” is practicing the illegal trade of prostitution is objected to and punished as per law, 

2. Both these women, i.e., Ms “Y” and Ms “X” apart from being in extra-marital sexual intimacies with Sri PK Misra and a large number of other male colleagues are also involved in organized prostitution and are prostitutes in terms of clause (f) of Section 2 of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956. … Ms “X” … garishly painted and gaudily attired befitting a prostitute of her caliber, is visiting various places including premises of Ld. CAT,  Principle (sic Principal) Bench, Delhi acting in most suggestive and provocative manner offering immoral gratification if person upon whom she is working agreed to conspire with her against me.  Log record of operational vehicle assigned to Ms Y would reveal her nocturnal trips to various places and people to canvass support against me through illicit and extra-marital sexual favours….   

How does a BJP spokesperson support someone who thinks like this? My wife is a government servant – bound by rules of conduct – and she has no right to reply. Is it fair of Verma to support Srivastava as he targets an officer?
The previous government did not encourage Srivastava, but at the same time, it refused to sack him, displaying a lackadaisical attitude as far as defending women officers in their departments. Although he was suspended in 2007, after the suspension was revoked due to technical reasons, Srivastava was posted to Ranchi by the previous administration. This government, shockingly, brought him back in 2015 and posted him in Noida. Now let’s talk about the charges.

The entire case against us is built around the allegation that we indulged in money laundering. Srivastava has been dramatically changing this figure over the years – from Rs 100 crores to Rs 5,500 crores, to… now I have really lost count.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s special court judgement clearly rubbished the case and imposed a Rs 10,000 fine on him. Here’s the gist:
“In view of the aforesaid reasons and to prevent recurrence of such frivolous and mischievous appeals, all the four applications deserve to be dismissed with exemplary costs. However, the costs is concerned I am inclined to take a lenient view. Accordingly all four applications are dismissed subject to cost of 10,000 rupees to be deposited within seven days from now.” 

I know Srivastava’s supporters will say the court did not comment on the merits of the case . So my humble submission is, why not challenge this decision in a higher court of law? Why indulge in propaganda on social media? It’s obvious with no facts to back him, it was only vile propaganda that he could rely on to target us.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court had accepted a petition by Shumana Sen and another complainant, pleading that they were being harassed and that the government was doing nothing about it. In the course of the hearings , everyone from S Gurumurthy and KPS Gill filed interventions, and each and every intervention was thrown into the dustbin.

The Honourable Supreme Court had this to say about the entire matter in September 2015, and I quote,
“In the circumstances, we direct that the chairperson of the CBDT, will nominate an officer higher in rank that respondent 1 who will look in to the grievance of the petitioners within six months from today and shall suggest appropriate action, if any, which shall be initiated against the concerned persons”.

Now the matter is being investigated, but the government is obviously dragging its feet. It has already failed to meet the court’s deadline to file a report – could it be because it cannot blatantly deny what these women officers have been undergoing? – and the Supreme Court has asked the government to submit a report by December as the noose around Srivastava’s neck tightens in the defamation case that involves a jail sentence. This explains his desperation to seek publicity on malafide income tax assessments that have been made by the authorities at the behest of Srivastava himself. In fact, it is a classic case of the department being used as a tool to harass honest taxpayers, who just happen to be officers themselves or related to them. This is the worst form of tax terrorism one can witness anywhere.

Let me explain. The entire argument is that the Central Bureau of Investigation will soon file a case based on income tax assessments that have “exposed” some Rs 11 crores of unaccounted wealth possessed by my wife and me. This also includes the name of the other lady officer, who by the way has absolutely no link whatsoever with NDTV. She has never assessed or processed any NDTV tax matter. So why is she named here? Because she was one of the officers posted in vigilance. Srivastava has been intimidating her ever since and he’s now dragged her too in the NDTV matter.

The CBI interrogated my wife for eight hours last year and has been sitting on the matter since. We’ve been told by sources that the CBI didn’t really have a case but left it hanging. We did not attend a single hearing of these assessments as we knew the futility of doing so with Srivastava controlling the strings in the matter. The Circle does not even have the jurisdiction over my case as per the defined jurisdiction chart. But Let me give you an insight into the language of these comical assessments.

“On the other hand, Sri S.K. Srivastava, IRS dug in his heels in the manner reminiscent of the  First World War and accused Ms. Sumana Sen (IRS 99005) of accepting bribe and  illegal gratification from M/s NDTV Ltd. through the conduit of her spouse Sri Abhisar Sharma and employee of M/s NDTV Ltd.”
“The List of Cases as annexed by the Petitioners as Annexure P-4 with their Writ Petition and which the petitioners wanted the Honble Supreme Court to quash and set aside by calling those cases from the lower Courts including Honble Delhi High Court and other Honble High Courts contained cases in which the petitioners had no involvement and to which were not even party. The demand for removal of 93 minute video from the U Tube and Internet which contained mainly the wrongdoing by M/s NDTV Ltd. without letting any agency inquire or investigate the same only reflected the malafide agenda of the assessee.…. The nexus of assessee and M/s NDTV Ltd. and Rs.5,500 crores money-laundering scam is therefore duly made out …”

“I am the victim of faking of sexual harassment, sexual assault, molestation & repeated rapes by Ms. Sumana Sen (IRS 99005) ……  and which she  had faked in lieu of money paid to her by Sri P. Chidambaram, former Union Finance Minister & former Union Home Minister and M/s NDTV Ltd. who hired them  to fake sexual harassment, sexual assault, molestation and repeated rapes  by abusing  official position….”

(Emphases: mine.)

Not a single shred of evidence, documentary, or otherwise, has been either mentioned or discussed in any part of any of the orders.

We are now in appeal and have also filed a grievance with the committee set up for the purpose of looking into high pitched additions. Needless to say, no finding has been given by the committee, though the time limit for the same has expired. It is bizarre how the department has moulded itself into being an extension of Srivastava when it comes to harassment.

I would now like to give an outline of the facts about my employment with NDTV and the much hyped and maligned foreign tours.

As a special correspondent with NDTV, I had been given as part of my salary package from 2004 to 2006, a foreign travel allowance. It was part of my cost to company and was given every year at the time of my annual appraisal. This had no connection with the posting of my wife Shumana Sen as Assistant Commissioner Circle (1) 13, which is evident from the fact that the first such appraisal took place on July 29, 2004, whereas my wife joined that charge on August 13, 2004. Also, these appraisals continued even after she left that charge. Therefore, it is crystal clear that the annual foreign travel allowance was purely on the basis of merit, for my work rather than as a bribe for favours granted to NDTV as has been suggested in smear campaigns. I would also like to say with full responsibility that this allowance was given not only to me, but to many others in NDTV. The facts of the case are documented and I don’t wish to add anything further to this.

The following may be noted:
I joined NDTV in 2003, prior to which I was a Producer in BBC world Service London.  Therefore, I was qualified in my own right to be employed in NDTV. Srivastava, supported by Gurumurthy, has often said I was a small time stringer in BBC. However, I was a full time Producer, in London, and selected out of thousands who appeared for the entrance exam.

There were absolutely no favours granted by my wife to NDTV. On joining, she met her then Commissioner and informed him of my employment with NDTV. Before she could intimate the same in writing, an order dated 19-8-2004 (documents available) was issued in which he assigned eight cases to the Additional Commissioner Range 13 (my wife’s immediate superior officer) and vide that order, the Additional Commissioner was assigned these cases in capacity of an assessing officer with immediate effect. Out of these eight cases, two were of M/s NDTV and M/s NDTV World, limited for the assessment year 2002-03. There was no time gap in which my wife could have given a written intimation since she had joined on August 13 and the order was passed on the 19th.

The only order passed by my wife in case of NDTV was the intimation under section 143(1) of the Income tax Act and the refund cheque, which was due to the organisation and had to be given on time in order to avoid paying interest to NDTV later on, which would have caused loss to the revenue and monetary benefit to NDTV by way of interest.  To put it simply, she has saved money for the government. Moreover, this refund was granted only after obtaining the approval of the Additional Commissioner Range 13, as per the provisions of the Income Act.

Srivastava sought to defame me and my wife by getting my income tax cases reopened and then conniving with officers to make absurd additions with the view to upload it on the internet, thereby tarnishing our image. A perusal of that order of year 2006-2007 shows that a total addition of Rs 43 lakhs has been made out, of which an addition of Rs 31,90,500 has been made on the issue of ESOPS , quoting a section of the Act which was not applicable in that year. As clarified by NDTV (letter available), fringe benefit tax did not apply for the first two years. Similarly, the assessing officer has made wild estimates while calculating what our expenditure must have been on foreign travels that year (without any basis) and has made additions accordingly.

The assessment order under section 148 in our cases mentions a closure report of the vigilance directorate on the complaint filed by Srivastava containing allegations of corruption and misconduct. To quote the report,
“In this regard, I am directed to submit that the complaint concerning NDTV Ltd made by Sh SK Srivastava  against Ms Shumana Sen was registered as FCR-A/sd/NZ/56/13 and same has been closed by DGIT(vigilance) on 15-02-2013 in absence of any vigilance angle and in view of the honourable High court’s directions.”

It has been the modus operandi of the cartel headed by Srivastava and shamefully supported by Gurumurthy where documents have been leaked deliberately to cause embarrassment to me and my family and in turn to my employer.

The constant leaking of our documents, the absurd  IT assessments and then CBI threats only suggests one thing – a smear campaign, and I will not take this lying down.

There have  been  continuous setbacks that Srivastava has faced from courts and various other tribunals in addition to the fine imposed by the CBI special court in the money laundering case and the jail sentence by the High court. For example, my  wife had filed a  harassment case against him in the Barakhamba road police station. Not only was an FIR filed against him, but the Court ordered for framing of charges.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke out for his officers Arvind Subramanium when he was targeted by a BJP leader. Will now Mr Jaitley defend my wife, as a BJP spokesperson attacks her?

If the cases had an iota of truth, I would have bent over backwards for this government, as some in my community have. Like the one who has been avoiding a second jail term in Tihar and another journalist who had made 500 phone calls to an arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, arrested by Enforcement Directorate and suspected to be a middleman in the Rafale deal. The ED found a money trail that led to a Gurgaon penthouse. It wanted to interrogate and is still waiting for an answer from the Finance Ministry.

I am a fiercely neutral journalist who would continue to question this government on all its wrong doings. I am also fiercely protective of my family. If you attack us, I will defend our honour at any cost. So bring it on. I am also counting on the FIR that the CBI intends to file against us, as mentioned in the PGuru website. I seriously am. The CBI may ignore the facts of the case, but the Courts of this country still demand fact by way of evidence.

Courtesy: Newslaundry.com

http://www.newslaundry.com/2016/08/23/abhisar-sharma-to-srivastava-and-cbi-bring-it-on/

The post Abhisar Sharma to Srivastava and CBI: Bring it on appeared first on SabrangIndia.

बुधिया का दीन-हीन हमशक्ल खोजना मुश्किल काम था। कास्टिंग टीम ने हज़ारों बच्चो के ऑर्डिशन के बाद बड़ी मेहनत से एक चेहरा ढूंढा। पर्दे के बुधिया की कहानी भी असली बुधिया जैसी ही है। गरीब आदिवासी है, पिता नहीं है, अपनी मां और मामा के साथ रहता है। बच्चे का नाम मयूर है, लेकिन ना तो ठीक से नाम बता पाता है और ना उम्र। सिर्फ हां और ना में जवाब देता है। निरीह बच्चे की चुप्पी पर शो में लगातार ठहाके लगते रहे। बच्चे के बाद कैमरे पर उसके मां और मामा की पेशी हुई। दोनो ही निहायत ही गरीब और सहमे हुए।

कपिल शर्मा ने मयूर की मां से कहा– आपसे से अच्छा तो आपका बेटा है, कम से कम हां ना तो बोलता है। ना बोलने पूरे परिवार का जमकर मजाक उड़ाया गया। मयूर की छोटी बहन तक के बारे में कहा गया– अच्छा आपलोगो की तरह यह भी नहीं बोलती। सेट की लगभग अंधा कर देने वाली लाइटिंग के बीच गांव या कस्बे से आया एक निरीह परिवार चुपचाप इस तरह खड़ा रहा जैसे रैगिंग चल रही हो। हरेक चैनल में एक S& P (stander and practices ) डिपार्टमेंट होता है, जिसका काम यह देखना होता है कि कोई भी शो संवेनशीलता के किसी भी मापदंड का अतिक्रमण ना करे। ऐसा लगता है कि ऑन एयर करने से पहले S& P ने उसे प्रीव्यू ही नहीं किया। अगर किया तो यह बात उनकी समझ क्यों नहीं आई कि शो में मयूर के पूरे परिवार से जिस तरह से बात की गई वो निहायत ही क्रूर और अशोभीनय है। बॉलीवुड आजकल बायोपिक का खजाना खोदने में जुटा है।

बड़े और संपन्न लोगो के बाद अब नायक बनने की बारी मांझी और बुधिया जैसे गरीब लोगो की आई है। फिल्म का नाम पहले दुरंतो था। इसी नाम से इसे सेंसर सार्टिफिकेट भी मिला है, लेकिन बुधिया की पहचान को भुनाने के चक्कर में बाद में इसका नाम बदला गया। बुधिया सिंह वही बच्चा है, जिसके पीछे 10 साल पहले देश के सारे न्यूज़ चैनल हाथ धोकर पड़े थे। छह साल के विलक्षण एथलीट के रूप में उसकी कहानी घर-घर पहुंची थी। फिल्म रीलीज़ होने की बारी आई तो मीडिया ने जवानी की दहलीज पर कदम रख रहे बुधिया सिंह को फिर से ढूंढ निकाला।

बुधिया को कोच मर चुका है। सरकार पढ़ाई का खर्च तो उठा रही है, लेकिन ट्रेनिंग ठीक से नहीं हो पा रही है। एक बड़ा एथलीट बनने का सपना लगभग मर चुका है। फिल्म के बारे में मीडिया ने पूछा तो बुधिया ने बड़ा मार्मिक बयान दिया– मुझे पता नहीं था कि मैं बचपन में इतना बड़ा आदमी था।

The post अब नायक बनने की बारी बुधिया और मांझी जैसे गरीब लोगो की आई है appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Government doesn’t give us house, allowance for our children’s education or any benefit Government has done nothing for us. Why should we stick our neck out to remove other people’s dead animals! We don’t want to be killed for the work which pays us bare minimum! I wont risk my life for money

 

“We will stop picking up dead animals if we are harassed and tortured like this“

“Why should we pay bribe every year for the contracts of removing dead animals? These contracts are reserved for us. The rate of bribe grows ten percent every year. We are threatened by government officials that they will open the contracts to general category if we don’t pay up. We should be given license for this work and not be expected to apply for contracts every year. “

“The Government doesn’t give us house, allowance for our children’s education or any benefit Government has done nothing for us. Why should we stick our neck out to remove other people’s dead animals! We don’t want to be killed for the work which pays us bare minimum! I won’t risk my life for money”

The Dalit- Muslim workers and contractors dealing with removal of dead animals are feeling terrorised, scared and angry after recent attacks by cow vigilante in Lucknow. They are also frustrated with both the police and bureaucracy’s lack of initiative in providing them protection. Their concern is supported by advocate Mohammed Shoeb of Rihai Manch – “There is a deliberate attempt to dilute the offences in the FIR in the recent case of Vidyasagar and Chhote. The local police has not applied sections of the atrocity act and also sections of IPC related to the spreading of enmity between communities”

The speculation is rife among the Dalit- Muslim contractors that that this could be a ploy to open up the reserved contracts to the general category. If the Dalits and Muslims stop applying for the contracts out of fear who will get the contracts?  Will the Caste Hindu really do this job? They almost zone out wondering why first rumours of beef and now cow carcass has been used to hit, hurt and kill Dalits and Muslims in last few years.  Is it simply love for Gau Mata? Or is there a business model there? After all the big beef export business is largely handled by caste Hindus. Could they now be eyeing these contracts? They can always employ Dalits to do the dirty work.

On July 28, 2016 , Vidyasagar and Chhotey’s vehicle was stopped by a cow vigilante group two kilometre away from Indiranagar Police Station. This is one of the posh localities of new Lucknow. The two Dalit men were transporting a dead cow on Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s usual orders.

Vidyasagar and Chhotu were abused, beaten up and threatened that they would be killed if seen again with a dead cow that wasn’t properly covered with a Kafan.

Where is the Kafan?  “Where is the Shroud?”
 

The vigilante men were livid that the dead cow had not been covered with a shroud. “Har mari gau mata par kafan hona chahiye nahee to tumhey khatam kar dengey”.  Vidyasagar and Chhotu explained to the miscreants that they didn’t have the money to buy Kafan for every cow. That it wasn’t their cow. They were asked to pick up the dead cow by LMC.
The vigilante group asked whether the Dalit men would eat the dead Cow.  Vidyasagar, a Dalit man of thirty something and Chhotey, in his forty are from Sitapur. They explained to the miscreants that they don’t eat dead cows.

What would they do with the dead Gau Mata, asked the vigilante men. The two Dalit men informed that the dead cow’s skin would be removed. Hearing this the vigilante group started hitting the two Dalit men and accused them of killing the cow, eating beef, being disrespectful towards “Gau Mata” or Cow mother.

On the August 3, when this reporter reached the Nagar Nigam office at Lalbagh Lucknow I couldn’t help notice how white the walls of the campus were. No usual betel leaf marks anywhere. Swopped and cleaned. Silent and calm. Well contained.  LMC veterinary officer Dr. Arvind Kumar Rao  mentioned that by the time contractor, Mohd Iliyas had reached the spot the vigilante group had left. The miscreants were in their early twenties. The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) lodged an FIR with the Indiranagar Police Station after the matter was brought to its notice by the contractor. Was everything back to normal? Were Vidyasagar and Chhotu back at work? this reporter asked.

“Sab kaam kar rahey hai” Everyone is back at work. Dr Rao insisted that this wasn’t like Gujarat. The boys who harassed were not vigilante. They were miscreants of twenty something. It was not an organised attack of any cow vigilante group. Has such incidents increased in Lucknow? this reporter asked next. Dr Rao said it was a one off case. He, however, agreed that cow protection drive is on the high in the country. Dr Rao used the word Gau-Mata while talking about cow. He however, added that there is no killing of cow in Lucknow. “Only a mad person would kill a cow in this area. Miscreants just harass people. Cleaning the dead cow is extremely important else the rot will cause endless health issues in the population”.

Next this reporter met with some of the contractors and workers who deal with carcasses. Municipal corporations hire contractors from reserved category of Muslim and Dalit community to keep the city clean. These contractors hire Dalit workers to transport the dead animals from their owner’s house. It is on the call of the Municipal Corporation that the contractors send their workers to lift a dead animal. Municipal Corporations have a department for dead animals. Removal of dead animals is a serious task in any civilized society where a government and its civic bodies are concerned about protecting its people from illnesses. The men who pick up dead animals get a daily wage of Rs 300 – 350 from the contractors in Lucknow. These men on other days work as daily wage labour and make an amount of Rs 200 – 250 a day. Contrary to Dr Rao’s assessment of the situation we were informed that Vidyasagar and Chhotey have returned to their hometown Sitapur. They have decided to not risk their life. No more picking of carcasses for them. The contractors and workers repeatedly used the words “Khauf” and “Dehshat” while mentioning the mood at ground zero. The workers asked this reporter why spontaneous acts of terrorising them were so common now. They asked – Does it matter who terrorised them? Isn’t the issue that they were terrorised because they were Dalits? Does it matter who hits, hurts and terrorises? The main issue is that Dalit men were hurt and humiliated specifically because of their caste and the nature of their work.

Kamta Prasad, a Dalit contractor from Zone 1 added that such cases have happened in Lucknow before. He has faced harassment twice in last four months. Once he had rushed to Gomtinagar where his vehicle carrying the carcass was stopped by a vigilante group. When he enquired what was the fuss about, the men in Innova tried driving away. In that chaos the car hit Kamta Prasad’s head. He showed the minor head injury he had suffered.

(Kamta Prasad, Dalit Contractor of dead animals with Lucknow Municipality Corporation)

Mohd Iliyas and Kamta Prasad welcome Dr Rao’s idea of an identity card with phone numbers of LMC and Police Station. The identity-card may help their cause. Some contractors suggested that LMC should tell the owner of the dead cow to accompany the body till the destination. The workers should not risk their life for a few hundred rupees for another man’s dead cow.

Some other contractors insisted that identity card may be of help but the question is much bigger and humanitarian. Why do caste Hindus and cow worshippers not pick up their own dead cow? Why don’t they buy a Kafan for their mother? Why doesn’t the cow vigilante group engage with the cow owners and tell them to ensure kafan and last rites for their “Mata”?

They added that general caste Hindu population may never touch a dead animal, including the cow they worship. However, some business minded men may be seen soon as future contractors.  “May be the Savarn workers will be able to afford a Kafan for the dead cow. We don’t make enough to often buy one for our dead family members”, one of them mourned.

(Meanings for English only readers: Mata is Mother. Gau-Mata is Cow Mother)

The post Where is Gau Mata’s Kafan? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

प्रेमचंद के बारे में कुछ ऐसे तथ्य जो ज्यादा लोगों को पता नहीं है-

हिंदी के इस मशहूर लेखक ने अपनी पढाई एक मदरसे से शुरू की थी .

• शुरूआती दौर में यह उर्दू लेखक थे और इन्होने लेखनी की शुरूआत में कई उर्दू नाटकों से करी और इन्होने हिंदी में बाद में लिखना शुरू किया .
• कहते हैं इन्हें उर्दू उपन्यास का ऐसा नशा था कि यह किताब की दुकान पर बैठकर ही सब नॉवल पढ़ जाते थे ।
अपने उपन्यासों और कहानियो के लिए तो सभी लोग इन्हें जानते है पर बहुत कम लोगों को पता होगा की वह साथ ही एक नाटककार भी थे और लोगों का कहना है कि कहानियो से पहले यह नाटक ही लिखते थे
• अंगेजी हुकूमत को इनकी रचनाओं में बगावत की बू आने लगी थी जिस कारण इनकी रचनाओं पर प्रतिबन्ध लगा दिया गया था . इस प्रतिबन्ध से बचने के लिए इन्होने “प्रेमचंद” के नाम से लिखना शुरू किया . .
• वह फिल्मों में खुद अपनी किस्मत आजमाने मुंबई भी गए थे और इन्होने मजदूर नाम की फिल्म की स्क्रिप्ट भी लिखी थी और प्रदर्शित होने के ठीक बाद इस पर प्रतिबन्ध लगा दिया गया था क्योंकि यह मजदूरों को मिल मालिकों के खिलाफ भड़का रही थी

मामूली नौकर के तौर पर काम करने वाले अजायब राय के घर प्रेमचन्द ( धनपत राय ) का जन्म ३१ जुलाई सन् 1880 को बनारस शहर से चार मील दूर लमही गाँव में हुआ था। कहा जाता है कि घर की माली हालत कुछ ठीक नहीं थी जिस कारण उन्हें मैट्रिक में पढाई रोकनी पड़ी और ट्यूशन पढ़ाने लगे. बाद में इन्होने में ग्रेजुएशन की डिग्री हासिल की. तंगी के बावजूद इनका साहित्य की ओर झुकाव था और उर्दू का इल्म रखते थे । उनके जीवन का अधिकांश समय गाँव में ही गुजरा और वह सदा साधारण गंवई लिबास में रहते थे।

काफी कम उम्र से ही लिखना आरंभ कर दिया था और यह सिलसिला ताउम्र जारी रहा । पहली कहानी कानपूर से प्रकाशीत होने वाले अखबार ज़माना में प्रकाशित हुई थी । बाद में जब माली हालात कुछ ठीक हुए तो लेखन में तेजी आई। लोग बताते है कि 1907 में इनकी पाँच कहानियों का संग्रह सोजे वतन काफी मशहूर हुआ था और यही से एक लेखक के तौर पर मशहूर होना शुरू हुए ।
 
सामाजिक रचनाओं के साथ साथ इन्होने समकालीन विषयों पर भी अपनी कलम चलाई और अंग्रेज शासकों को इनके लेखन में बगावत की झलक मालूम हुई और एक बार पकडे भी गए. इनके सामने ही आपकी रचनाओं को जला दिया गया और बिना आज्ञा न लिखने का बंधन लगा दिया गया। इस बंधन से बचने के लिए इन्होने प्रेमचन्द के नाम से लिखना शुरू किया ।

इनकी लिखी लगभग 300 रचनाओं में से गोदान , सद्गति , पूस की रात जैसे उपन्यास और दो बैलो का जोड़ा , ईदगाह , गबन , बड़े भाईसाहब , शतरंज के खिलाडी , कर्मभूमि जैसी कहानिया तो सभी जानते है पर सामन्ती और पूँजीवादी प्रवृत्ति की निन्दा करते हुए लिखी “महाजनी सभ्यता” “नमक” नामक लेख उस समय के सामंती पूंजीवादी समाज का सटीक विश्लेषण है । कई मशहूर निर्देशक इनकी कहानियों पर कई फिल्मे भी बना चुके हैं .

प्रेमचंद के वो लेखक थे जिन्होंने कहानी के मूल को परियों की कहानियों से निकालकर यथार्थ की जमीन पर ला खड़ा किया और वह सही मायने में हिंदी आधुनिक साहित्य के जन्मदाता थे.

The post आज के समय में प्रेमचंद कि प्रासंगिकता –किशोर appeared first on SabrangIndia.

कितने बाजू, कितने सिर.
अहमदाबाद, 31 जुलाई, 2016.

जमीयत उलेमा हिंद ने रविवार को अहमदाबाद में हो रही दलित महारैली का समर्थन किया. लाखों लोगों के जुटने की उम्मीद. सभी दलित संगठन तैयारी में जुटे. राधिका वेमुला और Dontha Prashanth लेंगे हिस्सा. बुद्धिस्ट संगठन साथ. यूनाइटेड OBC फोरम शुरू से इस आंदोलन के साथ खड़ा है.
जय भीम, जय भारत के नारों से गूंजेगा अहमदाबाद.

The Telegraph के संपादक आर. राजगोपाल टाइम्स सेंटर फॉर मीडिया स्टडीज में मेरे बैचमेट रहे हैं. उन्होंने आज एक शानदार काम किया है. गुजरात के गोरक्षक गुडों की जन्मकुंडली खोल दी है. अवैध शराब के कारोबारी, छेड़खानी के आरोपी, जबरन वसूली करने वाले, अपराधी….सब जेल गए. 307 लगा है. लंबे समय के लिए गए हैं.

हे गोमाता,
तू इन पुत्रों को
अपनी विरासत से
कर दे बेदखल.
छीन ले उनसे
बेटा कहलाने का हक!
ये कपूत तो तेरा
अंतिम संस्कार तक
करने को
तैयार नहीं हैं.
जेसीबी से
उठाई जा रही हैं
तेरी लाशें.

The post भारत की ब्राह्मणवादी राष्ट्रीय मीडिया के हिसाब से आज अहमदाबाद में कुछ नहीं हुआ appeared first on SabrangIndia.