While paying lip service to Ambedkar, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat equated him to RSS Founder K.B. Hedgewar, “Both dedicated their lives to social progress and held a common aspiration for nation’s growth”. Now what is common between Ambedkar’s dream of social equality, democratic, federalism, abolition of caste and RSS founder’s vision of a Hindu nation, based on the ancient holy books upholding caste system and patriarchy? These are polar opposites. But as paying tribute to Babasaheb has become mandatory for all for electoral compulsions, Bhagwat has to stretch things to pull Babasaheb in the ambit of list of their icons.

Not to be left behind, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India went on to criticise the Indian National Congress “Congress has become the destroyer of Constitutions. Dr Ambedkar wanted to bring in equality… Babasaheb wanted every poor, every backward to be able to live with dignity and with their heads held high, to have dreams and complete them…Congress has always treated SCs, STs, and OBCs as second-class citizens.”

In a way Narendra Modi is distorting the facts. It is true that Ambedkar was critical of Congress and Gandhi at various occasions; still it was Congress and Gandhi with whom he interacted maximally to achieve his goal of social equality in particular. Gandhi is much criticized for betraying the cause of Dalits. ‘Poona Pact’ has come under severe criticism, but all said and done this was the most practical step towards affirmative action for Dalits. Gandhi was so touched by Ambedkar’s positions that he understood the ills of caste in a deeper way and made eradication of untouchability as his major mission for the next two years. Going from village to village, ensuring that Dalits are permitted entry into the temples and are able to draw water from the village wells. This also became the mission for many Congress workers.

This is the time when BJP ideology founders were singing praises for the values of the caste system and arguing that it is this system which has given stability to Hindu society! Ambedkars yeoman service to the nation was recognized by the national leaders and they were keen that Ambedkar should be part of the Constituent Assembly, In her biography ‘BABASAHEB: My Life with Dr. Ambedkar’, Savita Ambedkar quotes correspondence between Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of Constituent Assembly, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister-elect, Sardar Patel, the Home Minister, G. Mavalankar, Speaker and BG Kher, the CM of Bombay state to stress how all the top Congress leaders were extremely keen to have her husband elected to the Constituent Assembly unopposed. For instance Patel wrote to Mavalankar on July 5, 1947: ‘Dr Ambedkar’s nomination has been sent to PM. I hope there would be no contest and he would be returned unopposed so that he could come here on the 14th.’ “

Congress ensured that Babasaheb won the seat for Constituent Assembly and made its Chairman. The participation and Contribution of Babasaheb, well supported by Congress, yielded the fruit in the form of the Indian Constitution. On the contrary Organiser, the mouthpiece of RSS, the father organization of BJP, came out heavily saying that this Constitution has nothing Indian about it. The ideological mentor cum fellow traveller of RSS, Savakar was against it saying the “Manusmriti is the Constitution for India.”

Same way Ambedkar handled the responsibility of drafting the Hindu Code Bill, with Nehru standing behind him. The Code was opposed by some elements within but mainly by the ideologues of Hindu Nationalism, who went on to burn the effigy of Ambedkar on 12 December 1949. While RSS-BJP are upholding the Brahmanical version of Hinduism Babasaheb had already declared that I was born a Hindu but I will not die a Hindu.

Similarly as RSS was talking of Hindu Rashtra, Babasaheb in revised edition of the book on Pakistan, opposed it on the ground that this may pave the way for Hindu Raj which will be the biggest tragedy for us. BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology is deeply opposed to Babasaheb’s dream of Annihilation of caste and has been deeply opposed by Modi’s ideology. Modi’s parent organization RSS has floated Samajik Samrasta Manch, which talks about harmony among caste rather than its annihilation.

Currently some ideologues are arguing that since annihilation is not easy, so let us resort to strengthening sub caste identities to get them more privileges! This will be a disaster for the values of our Fraternity, the core principle of Indian Constitution. RSS is also trying to wean sections of Dalits by co-option and social engineering. RSS organizations are also inventing icons of sub communities among Dalits and giving them values of patriarchy, and caste hierarchy along with Anti Muslim slant.

One could see the response of BJP to implementation of Mandal Commission, which was a major step towards social justice. In response, BJP did not oppose it for electoral calculations but instead intensified their Ram Temple campaign. The way BJP is floating the identity issues and derailing the path of social justice is highly despicable. At the same time through various manoeuvres it has also succeeded in turning a section of deprived youth as its foot soldiers who dance in front of mosques with naked swords.

On the top of that it is Rahul Gandhi of Congress who brought to fore the implementation of the Constitution as the major path for social and economic justice. Putting the blame on the plight of Dalits/OBC and neglect of Babasaheb by Congress is like putting the truth on its head! At the same time it is putting the blame of one’s own doings on others.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

The post Standing Truth on its Head: Ambedkar and BJP agenda appeared first on SabrangIndia.

And then it is the best who hang’

– Albrecht Haushoffer

[January 7, 1903 – April 23, 1945, German geographer, diplomat, author, who faced martyrdom for his resistance to Nazism]

Uday Bhembre, the 87-year-old widely respected Konkani writer, son of legendary freedom fighter Laxmikant Bhembre, who has been a Sahitya Akademi awardee, is a worried man these days.

He has discovered to his dismay that his courage to speak the truth and challenge a narrative being peddled by the ruling dispensation in Goa, especially its Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, regarding well established facts of Goa’s own history, would lead to protests, led by Right-wing formations and many among them trespassing his house at night and pressuring him to issue an public apology.

Not very many people outside Goa know how this great writer – he was even a MLA (1984-89) — had neglected his literary career to fight for rights of Konkani language and has been against attempts to merge Goa into Maharashtra, to preserve its culture.

Thanks to the existence of powerful voices of resistance and a vibrant civil society in Goa, a significant number of people have publicly condemned these attempts to intimidate Bhembre and demanded strict action against the perpetrators and exposed the collusion of the Right-wing formations with people in power. Many even went to meet the noted writer to express solidarity with him.

It all started with Shiv Jayanti celebrations in Goa and the Chief Minister making debatable claims about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, where he supposedly claimed that it was not the Portuguese but Shivaji Maharaj who ruled over most parts of the state and that Portuguese rule was limited to merely three talukas. He further claimed that Goans were saved from being converted to Christianity as Shivaji Maharaj ruled over most parts of the state.

What was perturbing was that this was not the first time that such unfounded claims were made by the Chief Minister.

A few years ago, the Chief Minister had similarly claimed – incidentally during Shiv Jayanti celebrations only – that Shivaji Maharaj had been close to conquering Goa in the mid-1600s (which was a century-and-half into Portuguese rule, when the colonisers held parts of Goa territories). Had he done so, Goa would have been spared the atrocities of colonial domination. In fact, O Heraldo, a very respected newspaper from Goa, had exposed this penchant for ‘reinvention of history’ while reporting the incident.

As per this report, these claims did not go unchallenged then, too, with the likes of Damodar Mauzo, Jnanpith awardee literateur and Bhembre himself questioning the Chief Minister’s ignorance “…[o]f the historical facts” and understanding of the issue. Underlining the greatness of Shivaji Maharaj, they had talked of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) tactics to appropriate the Maratha leader and “portray him as anti-Muslim”, emphasising that “no religion was involved in Shivaji’s actions”.

Understanding the gravity of these attempts to ‘rewrite history’ Bhembre had provided details of Shivaji’s foray into Goa then, how he was known to have “courted hostilities as well as woven alliances with the Mughals, the sultans of Bijapur and Golconda and the colonial powers as was common of rulers and chieftains of the day,” in an extensive interview to the reporter. He had based his arguments on historian P S Pissurlencar’s monograph on Portuguese Mahratta Relations, which has been translated into English from its original in Marathi, called, Portugese Marathe Sambandh, and has been published by Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture (June 1983)

As per this monograph, Shivaji was after ‘Desais of Kudal’ and he resented that the Portuguese — they occupied Ilhas, Bardez, Salcette and Mormugao at the point — had provided them protection. “His quarrel was not with the Portuguese, but the Desais, who he wanted to capture and punish.”

The Portuguese resisted the attack (an interesting account of it is provided in Pissurlencar’s book: “The Ranes of Rewade, Nanode and Peirna, villages under Portuguese control on the outskirts of Bardez, were used by the Portuguese as bases against the Mahrattas.”) and Shivaji had returned to Bicholim.

Pissurlencar writes:

“…Narba Savant, a nephew of Lakham Savant, Desai of Kudal, one of those Desais who had come to Goa, having taken fright at Shivaji’s movements, went to Vengurla on 15 September 1667, caused a riot and molested the Dutch. He was accompanied by some Portuguese. The Dutch of Vengurla protested against this to the Portuguese and probably complained to Shivaji also. These Desais who were sheltered in Bardez often returned to their original seats of power (vatans) and terrorised people in the neighbouring territory controlled by Shivaji. In order to capture them and also punish the Portuguese who had harboured them, Shivaji dispatched an army of 1,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry to Bardez on 19/20 November 1667.”

Underlining the overwhelming attempts to present Shivaji as a nationalist icon, Bhembre in his interview had said that Shivaji was more a “guerilla warrior”, more interested in expanding his reach and territories. He also talked about Shivaji’s pragmatism in “striking up military alliances”. In fact, soon after this attack, in December of 1667, he had signed a treaty with the Portuguese, committing to return “all that he has carried away from Bardez”, asking for Portuguese help to build his navy. (All references based on the above mentioned O Heraldo article.)

It may appear incomprehensible to scholars and activists to unpack the ‘intimidatory tactics’ adopted by the Hindutva formations this time, when there is no qualitative difference between how Chief Minister Sawant’s unfounded claims to carve out a ‘suitable’ Shivaji as per convenience of Hindutva’s worldview, did not go unchallenged then also. May be this has to do with the growing audacity of the larger Hindutva Parivar and plethora of its affiliated organisations, after the ascent of a Hindutva Supremacist formation at the Centre for third consecutive third time (albeit with a reduced majority)

Coming back to the protests targeting Bhembre this time, it needs to be mentioned that these protesters, allegedly associated with Bajrang Dal, were targeting his YouTube presentation this time. In this presentation, Bhembre had underlined many things that he had mentioned earlier, as discussed in Pissurlencar’s book,

One, Shivaji never ruled over Goa. He never conquered any territory in the state.

Two, Shivaji, at least outwardly, had good relations with the Portuguese because they had a common enemy. So much so that when Shivaji decided to build his Navy, he requested the Portuguese to give him craftsmen. The Portuguese gave him the craftsmen, who built 20 ships

Third, on the claim that Shivaji stopped the conversions, he was more forthright, emphasising that it is wrong to assume this. The conversions started in 1540, whereas Shivaji was born in 1630. I asked ‘how much time will it take [for conversions] in only four talukas, where the population was less than 2 lakhs?’ So, Shivaji never interfered with that and if Shivaji had done that, he would not have approached the Portuguese for craftsmen…The conversions continued even after Shivaji’s death,”

It remains to be seen whether Goa’s Chief Minister would be ready to take action on the police complaint filed by Bhembre against these trespassers or at least stick to the facts – not unverified claims – in future meetings while talking about history.

It was obvious that in a hurry to push this narrative, the Chief Minister did not even bother to look at websites/blogs associated with the government itself, which themselves seem to counter Sawant’s outlandish claims, showing him in a rather poor light.

Here is what one website associated with the Department of Information and Publicity (https://dip.goa.gov.in/history-of-goa/) tells us:

…In 1510, the Portuguese defeated the ruling Bijapur kings with the help of a local ally, Timayya, leading to the establishment of a permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old Goa)… On 19 December 1961, the Indian army with Operation Vijay resulted in the annexation of Goa ..(-do)

The North Goa district administration tells its readers (a similar story:

Goa was under Portuguese rule for about 450 years. Afonso de Albuqureque, first portuguese attacked Goa and occupied it. Due to Portuguese rule over Goa, here Christian religion spread very fast.

One can similarly look at more such websites and blogs to discern the links further.

What prohibits the likes of Pramod Sawant, who are in an undue haste to ‘rewrite history’, from looking at the much more nuanced history that is unfolding around us.

Such people would be rather shocked to know the ‘Portuguese contributions to Peshwa might.’ The well documented monograph by Pissurlencar titled, Portuguese Mahratta Relations throws light on this, too.  

 By 1788, ..there were about 100 Portuguese and over 200 Goan Catholic soldiers enlisted in the Peshwa army. They were recruited for their knowledge of artillery, something the Marathas had failed to master, and gunners in the army were handsomely rewarded in comparison to other soldiers. “In the seventeenth century, every European in India was supposed to be an artillery expert,” writes Romesh C Butalia in The Evolution of the Artillery in India. Dom Noronha, a prominent Portuguese officer born in Goa, is said to have been behind Madhavrao’s gift.[-do]

Any close watcher of the Goa situation knows that attempts to silence the courageous voices like Bhembre are no exception. Merely a month and a half ago, another Sahitya Akademi winner Datta Naik, was similarly in the crosshairs of the Hindutva formations, was charged with ‘hurting religious sentiments, or how the names of Damodar Mauzo and few others were found in the ‘hit list’ prepared by Hindutva terrorists who were nabbed few years ago.

The targeting of renowned writer Bhembre and the intimidatory tactics being adopted to silence him also demands that voices across the country and the entire sub-continent should also rise to unitedly condemn such moves, and pressure the government to nab the perpetrators.

The writer is an independent journalist. The views are personal.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Goa: Who Fears The Truth? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The report becomes important with the news that the government of Arunachal Pradesh – once called NEFA [North East Frontier Agency] as it borders Bhutan, Myanmar and China through Tibet – will shortly enforce the anti-conversion law it passed in 1978 to stop the growth of Christianity in the state. Also likely to be raised is the political demand that those already converted to Christianity be stripped of all privileges given to the members of the scores of big and small tribes inhabiting this Himalayan redoubt.

Stripping tribals, also called Adivasis in North and Central India, of their scheduled status is an important national project of the BJP and the Sangh to contain the growth of Christianity among Tribals and Dalits. The Presidential Order of 1950 became the biggest anti-conversion law of the newly independent India, with converts penalised by being denied reservations in government, legislatures and education. Tribals, till now, can retain such rights even if they become Christians, and very rarely, Muslims.

These rights were the fuse that lit the conflagration in Kandhamal, Orissa which saw 56,000 people displaced from their homes and seeking safety, first in the nearby forests, and then in government refugee camos for up to a year. Many women, including a Catholic Nun, were raped, more than 400 churches and 4,000 houses burnt, while 400 villages were cleansed of Christian presence. The subtext was that converts to Christianity should not be given the Scheduled Tribe benefits.

This was also one of the subtexts of the violence in Manipur which began on 7 May 2023, and continues with the toll mounting every day. Over 70,000 people, mostly tribals of the Kuki-Zo group are homeless.

They have also forced Meitei Christians to return to the older Sanamahi faith by making them sign conversion affidavits and burning their bibles in what they described as acts of ghar wapsi, or homecoming – the preferred BJP term for the reconversion to Hinduism of Indian Christians and Muslims.

As in Kandhamal, over 400 churches are reported destroyed. The majority Meitei, who are not tribals, want the same scheduled status. This would in effect make everyone the state equal and give the Meitei egress into the hill districts which have mineral deposits, and allegedly now grow contraband poppy, from which many opiate derivatives find their way to the billion dollar international drug trade in which reportedly politicians are also complicit.

Arunachal Pradesh is home to 26 major tribes and over 100 sub-tribes, collectively 68.78% of the 1.3 million population [2011 census].

The first Church in Arunachal was set up in 1957 at Rayang village in the present-day district of East Siang, close to the Assam birder.

Christians now constitute just over 30 per cent, with Hindus close behind at 29.0% , the Donyi-Polo at 26.2% and Buddhism, both Theravada and Mahayana at 11.8%. The many indigenous tribal religions, many nature or ancestor worshipping, total some 3 per cent .

The strength of the Hindu population may be significantly more as the Donyi Polo often also so identify themselves. Many of their social, political and religious leaders are also members of the RSS

In such a mixed population, English is a link language, but also Hindi, which many people if the state speak fluently as it was taught in Vivekanand schools. Hindi also makes it easy for the Hindutva activists to emphasise its connectedness with the Hindu majority Indian mainland. The other tribal states of the North East use English as their link language.

Over the last three decades which saw Christian evangelisation, the RSS was working with equal zeal radicalising Hindu tribal groups, and ones following various indigenous faiths. the RSS and its affiliates, who view the state’s “indigenous faiths” as part of “Sanatana Dharma”. This has now effectively pitted them against the proselytised Christians.

The Sangh, not working exactly under the radar, set up an education network which parallels the one by Christian missionaries, quite matching it in expanse and facilities. These Ekal Vidyalaya are similar to the ones which impart Hindu nationalist philosophy to tribal children from Orissa in the south and Rajasthan in the west. Demonising Christians is part of the extra-curricular activity.

The Anti-conversion Act was not passed by a BJP government in the state or in the Centre. It was enacted in 1978 when Arunachal was not even a state but a Union Territory. It remained in cold storage till 2024 when a series of steps became harbingers f a toughening if stance against the Church.

As other similar laws in a dozen central and north Indian states, it too does not name Christianity or Islam, and prohibits conversion “by use of force or inducement or by fraudulent means”. Many states have now weaponised this law and punishment can range up to ten years for the pastor engaged in proselytising, or a Muslim man marrying a Hindu woman and making her a Muslim. Every act of conversion is to be reported to the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned.

The Act was contested even before it received Presidential assent. The Christian community formed the Arunachal Christian Forum which has ensured that the law remained in abeyance all these decades. Forum president Tarh Miri says, to push for the repeal of the Act. It continues to lead the push against the Act” which Miri called an “anti-Christian law.” “If the bill is enforced, there are chances of it being misused by the district administration or police,” he said.

The number of Christians in the state has grown rapidly over the years, and in the last census of 2011, they were enumerated as 30.26% of the population, making Christianity the largest religion in the state, if by a whisker.

In 2018, Chief Minister Pema Khandu had told a meeting of the Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association that the state government was considering to repeal of the Act.

But, as in Manipur in yet another parallel, the call to stop conversions was routed through a public interest litigation in 2022 by a lawyer, Mr. Tambo Tamin, in the Itanagar bench of the Guwahati High Court appealing for judicial intervention over the “failure” of the state government to frame rules for the Act.

On September 30, 2024, the State government told the court that draft rules had been framed and would be finalised in six months. That would mean March end or April may see the law operationalised.

Preparations apparently had begun last year when government strengthened the existing Inner Line Permit system that makes it mandatory non-residents including foreigners to apply for a permit to enter the state. Such permits are also required for some other North East states, including Manipur.

The entry permit system gives the state powers through its police to check any evangelist to enter the state.

The church in Arunachal no longer really needs people from outer areas to reach out to various remote areas to preach. Unlike in North Indian states, or even in. Rajasthan and Gujarat in the west of the country where the Christian population is small, Arunachal now has a sizeable community which can take of itself if the state itself does not turn on the people.

The Sangh may possibly have met its match in this state.

Courtesy: Mainstream Weekly

The post Arunachal Christians gird up to face a challenge from Sangh and the government appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In his path-breaking book, ‘India’s Undeclared Emergency’, Bangalore- based legal luminaire, Arvind Narrain, presents an incisive and accurate analysis of how the Modi- regime has ushered in, through direct and subtle ways, an undeclared emergency! Narrain is clear, through measures which reek of populism, polarisation and post-truth, the Modi-regime is far more dangerous as constitutional propriety, the pro-people policies and the concern for the nation’s future – are blatantly disregarded. It is clearly an authoritarian rule, there are several indicators to evidence it. A short distance from India becoming a totalitarian state. The message is loud and clear: today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

On 4 February 1948, under the stewardship of Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the Indian Government banned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by one of them on 30 January. The unequivocal resolution of the Government stated among other things, “undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried on by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of the country individual members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunition. They have been found circulating leaflets exhorting people to resort to terrorist methods, to collect firearms, to create disaffection against the government and suborn the police and the military. These activities have been carried on under a cloak of secrecy…. In these circumstances, it is the bounden duty of the government to take effective measures to curb this reappearance of violence in a virulent form and as a first step to this end, they have decided to declare the Sangh as an unlawful association. Government has no doubt that in taking this measure they have the support of all law–abiding citizens, of all those who have the welfare of the country at heart”. So, when a few days ago, the Centre recently lifted a longstanding ban on government employees participating in activities associated with the RSS, they were clearly stating, without qualms of conscience that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

In a hard-hitting expose ‘Democracy can die in daylight too’ (The Hindu, 13 June 2019), Krishna Prasad a former Editor-in-Chief, Outlook, and former member of the Press Council of India writes, “When the media’s darkest days — the censorship under Indira Gandhi’s 21 months of Emergency — are invoked, L.K. When the media’s darkest days — the censorship under Indira Gandhi’s 21 months of Emergency — are invoked, L.K. Advani’s quote that ‘the press crawled when asked to bend’ is airily recalled. But at least the media of the time was adhering to a formal order which had a start date and an end date. In the 21st century, it didn’t take a presidential order for the ‘feral beasts’ to suspend their instincts, to look the other way, to stoke majoritarian fires, to fearlessly question not the ruling party but the Opposition, and usher in Modi 2.0”. That was said five years ago.  India’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index 2024 is a pathetic 159 out of 180 countries.

On 18 July, ‘The Editors Guild of India’ (EGI)wrote a letter to Shri Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in Parliament. The meticulously written letter cites several “concerns about legislative measures taken to control media over the past years”. The EGI urged the opposition to raise questions in Parliament, highlighting the “increasing the increasing threat to fundamental freedom” and mentioned four legislations with their limitations: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023; Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023; Press and Registration of Periodicals Act 2023; and amended IT Rules 2021. Freedom of speech and expression is being throttled in India as never before Indeed, today is worse than the ‘emergency!’

In India during the Hindu month of ‘Shravan’, a large number of Hindu devotees travel from various places with ‘kanwars’ (two pitchers tied on either end of a bamboo pole), carrying holy water from the River Ganges to perform ‘jalabhishek’ of Shivlings. Recently, the Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand brought out an extremely pernicious order, demanding that all eateries where the pilgrims would journey to compulsorily display the names of their owners. Such orders are blatantly unconstitutional, reminding one of the discriminatory policies of Hitler’s Nazi regime and the apartheid of South Africa. Thanks to enlightened citizens like Aakar Patel, Apoorvanand Jha and others, these directives were challenged in the Supreme Court. On 22 July, in an interim order, the judges of the Supreme Court prohibited the enforcement of the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directives stating “until the returnable date, having regard to the above discussion, we deem it appropriate to pass an interim order, prohibiting the enforcement of the above directives.  In other words, the food sellers maybe required to display the kind of food, they are serving to the Kanwariyas, but must not be forced to disclose the names/identities of the owners or the employees. A powerful statement indicating that, today is worse than the ‘emergency!’

On 17 July, the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) in a detailed statement (with irrefutable facts and figures) strongly condemned the spree of mob lynchings of minorities across the country, after the declaration of Lok Sabha election results on 4 June. The NAPM demanded a fair investigation, stringent and prompt action against the perpetrators in all these cases, as well as complete support, safety, and compensation to the aggrieved families. They also called for the withdrawal of the FIR filed against UP- based journalists for merely reporting cases of mob lynchings. They added that, while the BJP Government has received a weakened mandate in the elections, the social poison of communal hated continues to remain a major challenge, which the NAPM and many others, are convince needs to be unitedly resisted.  The mob lynchings of minorities only prove that, today is worse than the ‘emergency!’

Ever since the Modi-regime, assumed power in 2014, there has been incessant attacks on the minorities of India particularly on the Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. Those belonging to minority communities are attacked and their institutions destroyed. Hate speeches denigrating and demonising minorities are the rule of the day even during the election campaign speeches of Modi! The anti-conversion laws in several BJP -ruled states are draconian and unconstitutional. Some governments have policies which are blatantly anti- minority. Minorities are also denied employment opportunities in the Government. According to a recent report released by an Advocacy group, there are at least two attacks per day on Christians and their institutions. On 26 June, releasing its annual ‘International Freedom of Religion Report 2023’, in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken stated, “In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship of members of minority faith communities”. All this demonstrates that, today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

For more than a year now, since 3 May 2023, tribals (who are mainly Christian) in the State of Manipur have been at the receiving end of a vicious Government! Even today, more than thirteen months later the violence continues unabated: many are killed and many more are injured; thousands (particularly the Kuki-Zo people) are living as refugees elsewhere. Their houses and places of worship are destroyed. Their land has been taken away from them! That the State and Central Governments are responsible for the ongoing violence in Manipur, leaves no one in doubt. That they have shown not an iota of political will to quell the violence and restore law and order in Manipur is a clear proof that, today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

Whilst India boasts of producing some of the richest persons in the world, the fact is that vast sections of the society still do not have access to roti- kapda- makaan(food-clothing-shelter) and the other basic amenities of life; many still below the poverty line. The gap between the rich and the poor grows wider every day! It is not surprising that in the Global Hunger Index 2023, India was placed at an abysmal 111 out of 125 countries surveyed! The Adivasis/Tribals (indigenous people), who constitute a sizable section of India’s population are denied their jal- jungle- jameen (water-forests-land) and other legitimate rights. Thousands of them are displaced because of mega- projects. Primary education in the remote tribal villages is non – existent and so is medicare for them; a large percentage of tribals have to migrate to urban areas / other States in search of employment. Besides them, most migrant workers, continue to be excluded and exploited! The plight of the Dalits, the OBCs leave much to be desired; untouchability is practiced everywhere; manual scavenging still exists; the reality of the safai kamdars (those who clean the sewage tanks) is pathetic. These and other vulnerable sections of society are testimony to the fact that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’ 

Just before his arrest on 8 October 2020, in a video-message that went viral, Jesuit Fr. Stan Swamy said, “What is happening to me is not something unique happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers’ writers, poets, activists, students, leaders, they are all put into jail because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India. We are part of the process. In a way I am happy to be part of this process. I am not a silent spectator, but part of the game, and ready to pay the price whatever be it.”  Fr Stan was incarcerated in the Taloja jail. He was accused as being a part of the Bhima- Koregaon conspiracy case with about fifteen others. A charge he vehemently denied and there is enough of evidence today to prove that he is innocent! His death on 5 July 2021, whilst still incarcerated is regarded as ‘institutional murder’! Human rights defenders, journalists, activists, academics, NGOs and others who take a stand for justice and have the courage speak truth to power have had to pay a heavy price. There are many from civil society who have had to face the wrath of a regime which is vicious and vindictive. These include besides those in the Bhima -Koregaon case the likes of Teesta Setalvad, Sanjiv Bhatt, R.B. Sreekumar, G. N. Saibaba, Umar Khalid, Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy, Sheikh Showkat Hussain and several others. This regime brooks neither dissent nor criticism proving that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

There are the whole range of anti-people, draconian laws/ policies which have been hurriedly pushed through. These include the new Criminal Laws, the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Education Policy, the anti – conversion laws, the anti-farmer (pro-Corporate) farm laws, the four labour codes, the Forest Conservation Amendment Act, the Uniform Civil Code passed by the State of Uttarakhand, the ‘One Nation, One Election’ report. All these have been designed, in tone and letter to decimate the Constitution; to take away the rights of the people. There is no doubt about that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

The Environment is in a shambles! In the 2024 Environmental Performance Index, India was ranked last 176 out of 180 countries! The destruction of precious forest lands and bio-diversity, to cater to so-called ‘development’ projects contribute immensely to the climatic changes one experiences today. The 2023 Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act provides that the de-reservation of reserved forests, use of forest land for non-forest purpose, assigning forest land by way of lease or otherwise to private entity, precious water bodies in the urban areas are land-filled, causing floods. Most major rivers in the country are polluted; there is over-dependence on fossil fuel. Even today coal blocks are auctioned to crony capitalist friends of the Government. Sections of the corporate sector and particularly the mining mafia–have no qualms of conscience, in depleting precious natural resources, with the sole desire of profiteering. Today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

Corruption is mainstreamed in the country; practically nothing can be done without greasing the palms of those at the control wheels. Politicians from opposition parties are easily bought up. The ruling regime has made mindboggling amounts of money through demonetisation and the sale of electoral bonds (EB). Corruption has become new normal in India. The massive and unprecedented scam of the Electoral Bonds) rocked the nation a short while ago! Fortunately, the pathbreaking judgement on the EB by the Supreme Court on 15 February, has exposed the corruption, the lack of transparency and accountability of the current regime.  Through the EB they have amassed huge amounts of money. The State Bank of India (SBI) had to furnish the complete details to the Apex Court by 6 March. In a blatantly corrupt manner, on 4 March, the SBI petitioned the SC, for an extension of time till 30 June to provide these details! In accordance with law, the Apex Court dismissed the petition and the SBI had to comply with the order or face charges of contempt of court. They finally provided the data on 12 March. On 14 March, the Election Commission uploaded some of the details on their website. The SC once again came heavily down on the SBI on 15 March, for not revealing complete details of these bonds. Transparency International ranked India 93 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The BJP regime under Modi must be the most corrupt amongst the world democracies reiterating the fact that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’ 

This regime has compromised and corrupted constitutional and independent authorities like the Election Commission (ECI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the National Human Rights Commission, the police and even sections of the judiciary. A new incisive report just released by #votefordemocracy (VFD) analyses the vote manipulation and the misconduct during voting and counting in the recently concluded General Elections 2024.  With evidence, the Report shows that the ECI was in the pocket of the BJP. The elections were clearly stolen from the people of India in at least 75 seats, reaffirming that, today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

In Parliament, the opposition is not allowed to speak freely: they are shouted down or the mike is muted. The body language of particularly the Speaker of the Lok Sabha towards the opposition is one of hostility, important remarks are expunged whereas the treasury benches are allowed to get away with lies, half-truths and venom! Important and critical debates on pressing issues which impact the people of India are not allowed! If elected representatives of the people are not allowed to make the peoples voices heard in Parliament means that today, is worse than the ‘emergency!’

The joke is that, a few days ago the Home Minister speaking on behalf of the Government, declared June 25 will be observed every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’, which loosely translates to ‘the day the Constitution was killed’.  Pathetic indeed! If the Constitution was ‘killed’ almost fifty years ago what was the BJP doing all these years, in their first term in power and since 2014, when the Modi took charge?  That means they were running the country without a constitution? They have indeed reached such a low level of fascism that they are unable even to think rationally and objectively! Instead, they need to realise that today, is worse than the ‘emergency’ and it will continue to be so, till the day they and their ilk, like the evil Holika, are consigned to oblivion!

(Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist /writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com)

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During one of the school events in June last year, the 60-year-old saffron-clad woman gets on the stage to address the students about ‘honour’, traditions and rituals during a personality development camp. In a video, shared on the school’s Facebook page, Ritambhara can be seen commenting on how girls are “out of control” in colleges and social media.

“What do we find in colleges? Girls smoking cigarettes at midnight. In these hubs of education, women are breaking liquor bottles, and spreading indecency with their boyfriends on motorcycles… We had never thought that the daughters of India would be so out of control. They are posting abusive reels on social media. They are doing nude photoshoots. They are showing off their bodies in undergarments. It seems that these women are mentally sick… These girls don’t have sanskar,” says Ritambhara.

Her girls’ school in Vrindavan and another, Raj Luxmi Samvid Gurukulam in Solan, Himachal Pradesh recently joined the list of at least 40 schools that have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Sainik Schools Society (SSS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), to run Sainik Schools under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. 

In 2021, the Union government opened doors for private players to run Sainik Schools in India. In their annual budget that year, the government announced plans to set up 100 new Sainik Schools across India.

Any school having SSS specified infrastructure –  land , physical and IT infrastructure, financial resources, staff etc – could potentially be approved as one of the new Sainik Schools. As per the approval policy document, infrastructure was the only specified criterion that made a school eligible for approval. This limitation enabled schools linked with the Sangh Parivar and organisations with similar ideologies to apply.

Collated information from the Union government’s press releases and Right to Information (RTI) replies show a concerning trend. Our findings reveal that of the 40 Sainik School agreements so far, at least 62% were awarded to schools linked to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allied organisations, politicians of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its political allies and friends, Hindutva organisations, individuals, and other Hindu religious organisations.

While the government expects the new PPP model to bolster the recruitment pool for the armed forces, the initiative that brings in political players and right-wing institutions into the military ecosystem has raised concerns.

In the history of the Sainik School education system, this was the first time the government allowed private players to get affiliated with the SSS, receive “part financial support” and run their branches. On October 12, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a cabinet meeting that approved a proposal to run the schools “as an exclusive vertical which will be distinct and different from existing Sainik Schools of MoD.”

According to the policy  document,  the government provides, through SSS, “an Annual Fee Support of 50% of fee (subject to an upper limit of Rs.40000/- per annum for 50% of the class strength (subject to an upper limit of 50 students) per year from Class 6 onwards till class 12, on Merit-cum-Means basis,” which means, for a school that has classes till 12th standard, SSS offers to provide support of maximum Rs 1.2 crore per annum. This is given as partial financial support to the students. Other incentives offered to the schools include “an amount of Rs.10 lakhs as training grant given annually based on academic performance of the students in class 12.”

Despite the government support and incentivisation, The Reporters’ Collective found that the annual fee for the senior secondary ranges from a nominal Rs 13,800 a year to as high as Rs 2,47,900, indicating a significant disparity across fee structures of the new Sainik Schools.

Who will run the new Sainik Schools?

Until the new policy, 33 Sainik Schools housing 16,000 cadets existed in the country with SSS acting as its parent body. SSS is an autonomous organisation under the Defence Ministry. Multiple government reports point to the importance of Sainik Schools in sending cadets to defence institutions. The Standing Committees on Defence have often emphasised Sainik Schools’ role in preparing cadets for the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Naval Academy. In one of the most sought-after military entrance exams to join NDA, according to the 2013-14 Standing Committee, nearly 20% of Sainik School students appearing every year for the exam make the cut. According to data submitted in Rajya Sabha earlier this year, over 11 percent of Sainik School cadets joined the armed forces in the last six years. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh credits Sainik Schools for contributing  more than 7,000 officers to the armed forces.

Sainik Schools, along with Royal Indian Military College and the Royal Indian Military Schools, send more than 25-30 percent of the cadets to various training academies of the Indian armed forces.

“In principle, the PPP model is a good idea. But my apprehension is about the kind of organisations which will win these contracts. If the majority of the ownership is in the hands of BJP-related individuals/organisations, then that bias will impact the nature of education imparted. If, like regular Sainik Schools, these students also have to apply for NDA and other entrance exams for armed forces, the kind of education they have received will definitely impact the outlook of the armed forces,” said a retired Major General who didn’t want to be named.

According to the RTI responses, at least 40 schools have signed MoAs with the Sainik Schools Society between May 05, 2022 and December 27, 2023. A closer review by The Collective reveals that out of the 40 schools, 11 are directly owned by BJP politicians or managed by trusts chaired by them, or belong to friends and political allies of the BJP. Eight are managed by RSS and its allied organisations directly. Additionally, six schools have close ties to Hindutva organisations or far-right rabble-rousers, and other Hindu religious organisations. None of the approved schools are run by Christian or Muslim organisations or any of the religious minorities of India.

Sanctioned for party members and friends

From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, a large number of these new Sainik Schools either see direct involvement of BJP leaders or are owned by trusts that they head.

Tawang Public School in Arunachal’s border town of Tawang is the sole Sainik School approved in the state. The school is owned by the state chief minister Pema Khandu. Hitendra Tripathi, Ex. Officio Secretary of the school managing committee, who also serves as the school principal, confirmed Khandu’s role as chairman of the school committee. Khandu’s brother Tsering Tashi, a BJP MLA from Tawang, is the managing director of the school.

When asked if the government has favoured their school because of their BJP links, Tripathi said, “I don’t find any truth in that claim because three thorough inspections were carried out by the concerned authorities.” Tashi and Khandu, however, have not responded to our queries.

In Mehsana, Gujarat, Shri Motibhai R. Chaudhary Sagar Sainik School is affiliated with Dudhsagar Dairy, which is chaired by Ashokkumar Bhavsangbhai Chaudhari, a former BJP general secretary for Mehsana. Last year, Home Minister Amit Shah had virtually laid the foundation stone of the school. Another school in Gujarat, Banas Sainik School in Banaskantha, is managed by the Galbabhai Nanjibhai Patel Charitable Trust under Banas Dairy. The organisation is led by BJP MLA from Tharad and the current speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Shankar Chaudhary.

In Uttar Pradesh, Shakuntlam International School in Etawah is run by Munna Smriti Sansthan, a non-profit chaired by BJP MLA Sarita Bhadauria. Her son, Ashish Bhadauria, who oversees the functioning of the school said, “We don’t have any experience in running Sainik Schools. We will be starting it from the coming session.” He claimed, “The selection process was very extensive.” When asked whether their application was favoured for party association, he said, “You should ask this from the government.”

The investigation found many of the people benefiting from this new PPP model include several BJP politicians. This long list has BJP leaders from different states.

In Haryana, Shri Baba Mastnath Residential Public School of Rohtak is now a Sainik school. Former BJP MP Mahant Chandnath founded it and is currently run by his successor Mahant Balaknath Yogi, the incumbent BJP MLA from Tijara in Rajasthan.

Maharashtra’s newly approved schools include Ahmednagar’s Padmashree Dr Vithalrao Vikhe Patil School — an institution chaired by former Congress MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil who joined BJP in 2019. Former Sikar district BJP president in Rajasthan, Hariram Ranwa is the chairperson of the trust that manages the Bhartiya Public School. SK International School in Sangli, which got Sainik School affiliation, was founded by Sadabhau Khot, a BJP ally who was a minister in the 2014 Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government. In Katni, Madhya Pradesh, Syna International School which received approval is headed by Nidhi Pathak, wife of the BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh, Sanjay Pathak.

Some of the above-mentioned schools are existing schools which have received approval to become Sainik schools. Sainik schools, like many other government-run schools in the country, primarily follow the Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum with a few additional subjects, such as moral values, patriotism, communal harmony, and personality development, among others.

A school run by a foundation under the Adani Group, which is close to BJP, was also given affiliation.

Adani World School, in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, was also affiliated. The school is located near the Krishnapatnam port, a deep water port operated by the Adani Group on the eastern coast. The school is owned by the Adani Community Empowerment Foundation. Priti Adani, chairperson of the foundation hasn’t replied to our queries.

Saffronising Sainik Schools

The list of approvals didn’t just include BJP leaders, the mandate to run private Sainik Schools was handed out to RSS institutions and several Hindu right-wing groups linked with it. Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan (Vidya Bharati) is the educational wing of RSS. Seven such affiliations went to already existing Vidya Bharati schools across India — three of them are located in Bihar, and one each in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Bhausahab Bhuskute Smriti Lok Nyas, an affiliate of Rashtriya Sewa Bharti, the social service wing of RSS, is also part of the cohort running the schools. Their school in Hosangabad, Saraswati Gramoday Higher Secondary School, received approval.

Often accused of rewriting history, indoctrination and anti-Muslim curriculum, Vidya Bharati is upfront about how they define their mission. RSS established Vidya Bharati in 1978 to administer the growing number of schools under it. At present it has 12,065 formal schools under it, with 3,158,658 students, making it probably one of the largest network of private schools in India. They, as mentioned on their website, want to “build a younger generation which is committed to Hindutva and infused with patriotic fervour.”

The new policy changes have raised concerns involving ideologically skewed private players running Sainik Schools. “It is obvious, ‘catch them young’ is the concept. Not good for the armed forces,” said former Lt General Prakash Menon, agreeing that awarding contracts to such organisations will impact the character and ethos of the armed forces. Menon is currently the director of the Strategic Studies Programme at The Takshashila Institution.

In an article, Menon highlighted the potential danger “of a nexus developing between the Union and the private parties to promote an ideologically slanted version of education that is far removed from the values enshrined in the Constitution.”

Aditya Mukherjee, coauthor of the book RSS, School Texts and the Murder of Mahatma Gandhi: The Hindu Communal Project, found it shocking that such schools received sponsorship and official support from the Defence Ministry.   “In a democracy, Vidya Bharati kind of schools shouldn’t even exist because of the hatred they have been spreading against minorities. But at least they were only RSS schools. By affiliating them to national institutions, particularly defence, the government is bringing unspeakable danger to the country. This is bound to infect the defence forces with a majoritarian, communal outlook,” Mukherjee told The Collective.

In an interview with The Collective, Avneesh Bhatnagar, general secretary of Vidya Bharati central executive committee, said, “We don’t manage these applications centrally. Each school applies on an individual level. The school committee would know if they were favoured. I cannot answer that.”

However, D. Ramkrishan Rao, president of Vidya Bharati central executive committee, talked about plans to apply for more such affiliations, “For now, we just tried with a few schools. But, we are planning on getting more Vidya Bharati schools to apply and get affiliated to SSS, said Rao.

Bhonsala Military School, Nagpur, run by the Central Hindu Military Education Society, was also approved to be run as a Sainik School. The school was established in 1937 by Hindu right-wing ideologue B.S. Moonje. During the probes into the 2006 Nanded Bomb Blast and 2008 Malegaon blasts, the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad investigated the Bhonsala Military School where the blast accused were reportedly trained.

Just like BMS, several other Hindu religious trusts, some of them founded by Hindutva rabble-rousers, have received approvals to run Sainik Schools in their existing set-up. This includes Hindutva leader Sadhvi Ritambhara’s two schools mentioned above.

Infamous for her speeches leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992, historian Tanika Sarkar described Ritambhara and her speeches as “the single most powerful instrument for whipping up anti-Muslim violence.” The Liberhan Commission which probed the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, accused 68 people including Ritambhara of leading the country “to the brink of communal discord.”

She remains significant within the Sangh Parivar and close to several BJP leaders. Union Home Minister Amit Shah travelled to Vrindavan in December 2023 to wish her on her birthday. In January, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an all-girls Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School. During the ceremony, Singh commended Ritambhara for her pivotal role in the Ram temple movement. “Didi Ma [Ritambhara] made a significant contribution during the Ram temple movement. She has considered society as her family,” Singh was quoted by the news agency Press Trust of India.

Smt. Kesari Devi Lohia Jairam Public School in Kurukshetra, Haryana is owned by the National Vice President of Bharat Sadhu Samaj (BSS), a society of Hindu ascetics. Shri. Brahmanand Vidya Mandir Gujarat’s Junagadh, which too got the Sainik School affiliation, is run by Bhagvatinandji Education Trust, whose managing trustee — Muktanand ‘Bapu’ — has also been the President of Bharat Sadhu Samaj (BSS) since 2019.

Sree Sarada Vidyalaya, Ernakulam, Kerala is run by a Hindu religious organisation Adi Sankara Trust, a unit of Sringeri Sharada Peetham — a Sanatan Hindu mutt — believed to be set up by 8th century Hindu philosopher and scholar Adi Shankara.

The Collective sent detailed queries to the Defence Ministry and the Sainik Schools Society. We are yet to receive a response from either despite reminders. Requests to arrange a meeting with the founder of Param Shakti Peeth, Sadhvi Ritambhara and its general secretary, Sanjay Gupta, also went unanswered.

Courtesy: https://www.reporters-collective.in

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Collected Works sell sans Annihilation of Caste and the Riddles in Hinduism!

Who is afraid of the writings of Babasaheb Ambedkar? Both, the Modi and Phadnavis governments respectively; or so it seems.

For an average social scientist, Ambedkarite, a student of Indian freedom and inequality, when discussing Ambedkar and his most critical works, some names come immediately to mind.

These are, or are they or not, the Annihilation of Caste, or Riddles in Hinduism?  Even State and Minorities , Shudras and the Counter Revolution, Women and the Counter Revolution ?  Not for this regime(s) however. This government(s) – Centre and Maharashtra — would have us believe that the seminal or important works of this man are only his writings on the Roundtable Conference or his works related to Poona Pact, or his debates with Gandhi.

Now imagine a set of books, the official collection, copyright of which is with the Government of Maharashtra, re-branded as the (truncated) Collected Works of Bhimrao Ambedkar (CWBA) but without these seminal texts that cast a sharp and critical look at caste-ridden Hindu society.

This is exactly the farce that is being played out at India’s premier Book Fair currently on in the capital right now. The Delhi Book Fair. The Ambedkar Foundation, a Government of India body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the sole publisher of Babasaheb’s writings and speeches in Hindi, is selling the Collected Works without 11 books from the set ! Among the missing books in the Collected Works in Hindi are Anhilation of Caste and Riddles in Hinduism.

The official explanation is that the Ambedkar Foundation is in the process of publishing a new set of the Collected Works –and in the intermediate period — this truncated Collected Works is what they have to offer to the readers. But none at the Foundation (whom this writer spoke to), knows exactly when the new set of books will be published. This is the status of the Hindi edition of the CWBA.

For the English originals, the situation is more complicated. As the Foundation has not received the No Objection Certificate or the NOC from the Maharashtra Government, the copyright holder of these works, the Foundation cannot publish the English versions of the CWBA. It’s intriguing that the Maharashtra government that holds the publishing rights for the writings and speeches of Babasaheb is resisting sending this NOC to the central government affiliated Foundation!

In the meanwhile, citizens of the country have no option but to buy a truncated set of the Collected Works.  These acts of the Modi and Phadnavis  governments come at a time when the year is being celebrated, nationwide, for the 125^th Birth Anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has himself taken the lead in these celebrations. The Indian Parliament has held a two days special session to mark this occasion; a special commemorative coin has also been issued.

Is this celebration, then, just a façade for the Modi Government ? On the outside there are clever moves to appropriate Babasaheb; the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have declared him a ‘thinker’ or a ‘Guru’. But in essence, while this shallow eulogising continues, the radical social scientist and critical thinker in Babasaheb is being white-washed.

Dr. Ambedkar, while delivering his concluding speech before the Constituent Assembly, had forewarned us about the problems with hero worship. This regime, adept at ‘event management’ is simply trying to appropriate an idol. By suppressing Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s critical works, the RSS driven regime is trying to rob the revolutionary essence contained in the writings of Babasaheb.  While both the BJP and the RSS want to appropriate Babasaheb, his writings are, in a sense, too hot for them to handle. As a symbol to garner votes, Babasaheb is a welcome appropriation to the Hindutva  pantheon. But their affection for him ends there.

Why are Ambedkar himself and the Ambedkarite movement a Catch 22 for the RSS and the Sangh Parivar ?  Because, it has always faltered in its dealings with the issue of Caste. The centrality of caste in the democratic discourse of Ambedkarite stream of thought is a stumbling block for the avowed objective of the RSS in establishing upper caste Brahamanic hegemony in the country. In the Anhilation of Caste, Ambedkar actually advocates the demolishing of certain Hindu religious texts to enable Hindus to be really free. His writings are therefore extremely problematic for any organisation that seeks to re-affirm or consolidate caste hegemony.

And therein lies the rub. With Ambedkar and his legacy of radical critical thought, a searchlight is shone on aspects of the Indian (read Hindu) social and political structure that reactionary forces like the RSS and the BJP would prefer to conceal. In this year of the 125^th Birth Anniversary of Ambedkar, the choice is clear. Dr BR Ambedkar’s writings and thoughts need to be recognised in their completeness. In toto. By hollowing out his Collected Works of their seminal portions, the regimes in Delhi and Maharashtra seek to sanitise this legacy. A strong vibrant Dalit tradition will not so easily allow this mis-appropriation.

 Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches

(The writer is a senior journalist, former managing editor India Today group and presently researching at the Jawaharlal Nehru Univreristy (JNU) on Media and Caste relations)

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Supply Sodium Cynanide and a Rope to every Dalit student-Rohit to the VC a month before he took his life

This letter, dated December 18, 2015 has not been so widely quoted nor has it gone viral. It is a comment on all of us, especially those of us in the media, that we failed to read the warnings or feel the anguish.  After all it is since August 2015 that the social boycott and ostracizing of Dalit students, including Rohith was systematically afoot. That is close to five months ago.

Nearly a month to the day that he tragically gave up the struggle to live and took his own life, on December 18, 2015, a hand-written letter from Rohith Vemula to Vice Chancellor Appa Rao says it all. Taunting and tragic, the note will now be read as a precursor of what was to come. In a hand-written scrawl that hints at acute desperation, he says, “Your Excellency (addressed to the Vice Chancellor Appa Rao) “make preparations for the EUTHANASIA for students like me from the Ambedkarite movement…and may your campus rest in peace forever.”

The letter traces the officially sanctioned “social boycott” of Dalit students after they took on a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for his derogatory remarks to the Dalit students. “Donald Trump will be a Lilliput in front of you,” Rohith tells Appa Rao then offering a piece of chilling advice. “Please serve 10 miligram of Sodium Azide to all the Dalit students at the time of admission…Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalits students..”The text of the letter can be read here and a scanned hand written copy seen here.

Now we know, and fret over the fact that his Rs 25,000 per month stipend (as of all his other suspended colleagues) was stopped after suspension and he had to borrow money, even from home, to survive the struggle. Now that he is dead we listen to the plight and anguish of his family. Why did we not listen before? As the isolation and anguish built up to make Rohith take a step so final that it signalled no return? Yes, we are all to blame.

“After the stipend was stopped, his family was struggling to support him. He borrowed Rs 40,000 from a friend and was living frugally. Almost every day, he used to say that his money was stuck,’’ said Velmula Sankanna, a fellow PhD scholar and one of the other five students who were suspended. “In December, Rohith wrote an angry letter to the V-C, sarcastically asking him to provide euthanasia facilities for Dalit students. Since then, he was scared to go to the administration building and ask about his stipend. He became silent and withdrawn. He said that he was falling into depression because he was being defeated by the system at every turn. He blamed himself, his caste, and the circumstances around him. He did not take much interest in anything except studies,’’ added Sankanna, a close friend.

We did not rise to feel, see or appreciate the seriousness implicit in the warnings. In August 2015, a questionable mode of ‘suspension’ of five singled out students of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) followed by the arbitrary stopping of their scholarship stipend, further followed by their being locked out of their rooms from January 4, 2016. Yet they fought on, sleeping out near the shopping complex in the cold. Awaiting fair hearing, democratic space for protest(s) and justice.

From the night of January 4, 2016 until today the sleep out protests continue.

After the tragic and unnecessary loss of the life of a budding science scholar, a proud Ambedkarite, will justice and fair hearing happen? Yesterday in a fully articulated representation to PL Punia, Chairperson of the National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Commission, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, University of Hyderabad (UoH) has demanded:

• Punish the Culprits under the SC/ST Atrocities Act:
• Banadaru Dattareya, Union Cabinet Minister of State for Labour and Employment
• P Appa Rao, Vice Chancellor
• Professor Alok Pandey, Chief Proctor
• Susheel Kumar, ABVP President
• Ramchandra Rao, MLC
• Remove P Appa Rao from the post of Vice Chancellor
• Employ a family member of Rohith Vemula at the University of Hyderabad and give his family Rs 50 lahs in compensation
• Drop the fabricated cases against five Dalit Research Scholars immediately and unconditionally
• Revoke the suspension of Students immediately and unconditionally

The Anger Spreads; Demands for resignation of Vice Chancellor Appa Rao

Anger and grief are potent combinations and both were visible in plenty at the mortuary of the Osmania Hospital on Monday, January 18 where Rohith Velumal lay, a day after he tragically ended his own life. His mother’s anguished cry says it all, ““I used to proudly tell everyone in my village that my son was doing PhD at Hyderabad University. Today, I have come to collect his dead body.’’ The family is from Gurazala near Guntur, his mother a tailor and father, Manikumar a security guard at the Hyderabad University. Rohith has two siblings, an elder sister and a younger brother.

Over 1200 students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) participated in a rally on Monday evening and have resolved to protest on Tuesday, January 19 and not allow the university to function until the current Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao steps down. Before the rally, his close friends and colleagues, along with his family were present at the cremation of Rohith in Hyderabad. (see Image story)

Simultaneous and spontaneous protests continued through the day yesterday at Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Mumbai and Delhi. The road outside Shastri Bhavan, the office of Smriti Irani, the Ministry for Human Resources Development (MHRD) was cordoned off akin to a war zone (see pictures). In Hyderabad, a visit from the chairperson of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Commission allayed feelings somewhat.

Though it is Rohith is the one who has made the most recent and most tragic sacrifice, the question is whether it will still open India’s eyes and hearts?

We read every other day not just of the social boycott of Dalit children in the mid day meal schemes. In ‘Dravidian’ politics ruled Tamil Nadu colour bands on Dalit students brand them with their caste. There is little political, social or cultural outrage. The television channels, packed as they are with ‘journalists’ most of whom sport a myopic caste consciousness of the elite Indian that simply excludes any mention of discrimination or exclusion while badgering home ‘the banner of tolerance’, rarely flag anti-Dalit atrocities as an institutional ill to be faced squarely then remedied.
In ‘progressive’ west India the discrimination takes similar forms, and examples abound. In Phugana, three young Dalit children, one a baby was burnt alive in a burst of Rajput rage.

Just like the Blacks fought (and have barely won) the Civil Rights battle in the West – last year’s incidents at Fergusson are evidence of how thinly layered this success is –it is privileged India, caste Hindus who need to hang their heads in acknowledgement, first, and the, shame.

We need to internalize what Dalit students experience when they enter schools, colleges and universities and break the glass ceiling and enter India’s famed institutions of higher learning, the IITs, the IIMs and Universities.

Not only is the percentage of Dalit students who enter higher educational institutions small. They are subject to insidious caste practices and exclusion that batters the hard earned self-esteem. A dangerous argument of ‘meritocracy’ cloaks well organized money and caste induced privilege.

This everyday institutional and societal exclusion and othering needs to be acknowledged squarely by each and one of us.

It is time we ask difficult ourselves some hard and uncomfortable questions.

What kind of history do we teach? Who are our heroines and heroes?
How many Dalits are there in the media, print and television?
How many Dalits in Institutions of power and governance?

The Dalit experience says that entering the corridors of elite educational institutions like Indian Institute of Technologies (IIT) and Indian Institute of Managements and Central Universities for scores of Dalit students is like walking into a living hell, where the fear of being shamed and humiliated hangs heavy on the heart and soul of every student.

Before Rohit, we lost Senthil Kumar and Nagaralu Koppalas, also in the Central University of Hyderabad. Have these earlier losses, deaths of young men in their prime been internalized and taught the UoH any lessons worth learning? The recent and continuing unfair suspension of Dalit scholars would appear to suggest that no lessons have yet been learned.

Is India willing ready and able to accept her Not So Hidden Apartheid?

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Commenting on the changes in the history books of NCERT, noted historian Irfan Habib said that the BJP government is trying unsuccessfully to communalise education. In a special conversation with NewsClick, Habib said that after the changes, the image of India will be tarnished in front of the world.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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Under the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right-wing organisations have been utilising the temples for propagating their Hindutva agenda. Being home to lakhs of temples, Tamil Nadu provides a perfect platform for the Sangh Parivar to promote its propaganda.

With a 50:50 ratio of minority and majority population, Kanyakumari district has become a perfect place to experiment for the RSS and its affiliates. The right-wing has successfully managed to intrude into the day to day activities in the temples controlled by the government in the form of devotee organisations. These organisations have a free run in the temples outside the government regulations, including those managed by individuals and trusts.

From conducting preaching classes on weekends, organising special sessions for women and children and organising festivals, the right-wing organisations have their say in all activities.

The negligence of the State government and an increasing number of vacancies in government-run temples help the right-wing groups gain the upper hand in dictating terms. The democratic and religious organisations have been long demanding the government to stop the intervention of right-wing groups.

LETHARGY IN ADMINISTRATION HELPING RIGHT-WING

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department manages around 44,000 temples across the state, of which 490 are located in Kanyakumari district and Shenkottai taluk of Tirunelveli district. These temples are controlled by the joint commissioner of incorporated and unincorporated Thirukovilgal (temples), situated in Suchindram.

The increasing vacancies and negligence of administration are helping the right-wing activists intrude into the temples’ daily affairs. “The successive governments have not given sufficient attention to the temples attached to the HR&CE department. The lack of staff in temples has led to the intervention of right-wing groups,” said Aji Kumar, district general secretary of Kanyakumari DIstrict Temple Workers Union.

The functioning of 5 regional offices controlled by the joint commissioner is also being criticised frequently. The Superintendent’s office of the Kuzhithurai region has long been closed. The office is entrusted with monitoring 90 temples and several educational institutions.

A temple worker in the division accused the right-wing organisations and a few officers of being hand in glove. “The officials support the right-wing groups so that they do not need to spend time in office. In certain temples, the complete administration is run by the people belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),” he said.

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), to which the temple’s workers are affiliated, have been continuously demanding the government to curb the intervention of Sangh Parivar organisations in the temple activities.

“These people are intervening in temple administration purely for their political gains, and they do not have spirituality in their minds,” the worker accused.

FAILURE IN OTHER DISTRICTS

However, the Sangh Parivar organisations cannot emulate the success in other districts as they have achieved in Kanyakumari. Prof Arun Kumar, a researcher and assistant professor at Gautam University, Bengaluru, opined that the success is a result of the religious complexion of the district.

“The Sangh Parivar organisation has been successful purely because of the Hindu- Christian polarisation, which is being strengthened through the temples. Their primary focus is on getting hold of the ‘temple committees’, which is a traditional practice in the district,” he said.

In other districts, the formula has failed, including in Coimbatore, where several Sangh Parivar groups have a considerable presence. The organisations have initiated several plans, including the ‘Hindu Temple Reclamation Organisation’, but have not succeeded.

“In Coimbatore, the organisations utilise temple space for conducting free tuitions only in around five places in the district. The organisations have made small inroads in Theni, Cumbum and Uthamapalayam areas by organising committees to retrieve deserted temples. But their success is minimal, and the organisations have not gained electorally in any other districts,” Arun said.

INTRUSION IN PRIVATE TEMPLES

Apart from the temples under HR&CE control, tens of thousands of temples are managed by individuals and trusts. The Sangh Parivar organisations have been trying to bring these temples under a single umbrella but cannot move at the pace they wish.

“There are around 6,000 temples in Kanyakumari district alone in this category. A Hindu Temple Confederation was initiated in 2018, and only 800 temples have joined this so far. For the last couple of years, this organisation has been in a stagnated state Arun said.

The temple trusts are managed by different caste groups, in which the Sangh Parivar has managed to earn a considerable presence.

“The right-wing activists become a part of the temple committees and dominate the proceedings. Once their intentions of introducing Brahmanical practices in small temples and political gains get exposed, the people used to kick them out,” said a trustee of a temple seeking anonymity.

Though the success is limited to only one district, the Sangh Parivar is desperately trying to utilise temples as their base for political gains. The devotees, workers and section of the public are demanding the government’s intervention to restrain the right-wing groups from capturing temples.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in

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Nuh, a district in Haryana in the region of Mewat organised a people’s conference for communal harmony and brotherhood on June 20, where several individuals from Mewat including ASHA workers, mid-day meal workers, officials, members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) as well as sanitation workers came together as citizens of India, to promote communal harmony. This was in wake of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar’s alleged attempts to create violent differences between different religious and caste groups, especially against Muslims and Dalits. Women, especially, joined the conference in large numbers. A visible demand and thought reverberating through the individuals who participated in the conference was that the rights granted by the Constitution of India should be equally granted to all, justice especially should be equally accessible to all.

The incident that prompted this conference was the brutal murder of a young man, Asif, allegedly by certain infamous hooligans from Nuh, who are notorious for committing ruthless acts of violence. A resident of Khera Khalilpur village, Asif had gone out to buy medicines with his brother when both of them were attacked. After thrashing them, assuming that Asif’s brother was dead, this band of vigilantes kidnapped Asif and then murdered him. After the incident, there were arrests of people including those responsible for this heinous act. But, true to their routine way of doing things, a Hindu Maha Panchayat was organised soon after on May 30 by members of the Sangh Parivar.

This Hindu Maha Panchayat was called under the presiding presence of BJP members, including Suraj Pal Amu who was later ‘honoured’ by being given the media spokesmanship of the party. Amu has made several allegedly hateful comments against Muslims in the past. He is also the chief of Karni Sena, a Rajput interest group known to incite violence. Joining them were also the Loni BJP MLA and Naresh Kumar, one of the main accused in the vicious religiously instigated murder of Junaid, a 16-year-old boy. The purpose of the gathering was allegedly to destroy any semblance of communal harmony that has existed in Mewat. This select group of individuals from BJP, made several provoking statements in the panchayat. They not only claimed that any act of violence against Muslims ought to be condoned but also that those accused in Asif’s murder are innocent. According to what is by now characteristic of the ruling party’s functioning, they supported extra-constitutional violence against Muslims while making polarising statements. Individuals accused in Asif’s case were released soon after.

These actions, along with the rising communal hatred and violence in the country brought together individuals for the people’s conference on June 20. Although there were threats, including threats of violence allegedly by the members of the Sangh Parivar who visited villages to warn people against attending the conference, the turnout was overwhelming with more than 600 people. The conference was conducted by Ashraf from All India Lawyers’ Union, Subhash Lamba the state government employees’ leader, Shaheedana the Mewat Sabha President, Aryaveer, CITU leader Surinder Singh as well as Badal Saroj and Inderjit, leaders from the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). Subhashini Ali, an ex MP from CPIM was the chief guest while Savita from AIDWA and Surekha from Asha workers’ union also played a crucial role in mobilisation and speaking at the conference. The individuals who participated in and organised this conference voiced that one of the biggest requirements for this country today is to fight against communalism.

The aim of the people’s conference in Nuh was to promote communal harmony while also demanding the arrest of all accused, and compensation for the families of the victims of communal vigilantism. The common consensus the collectives in the people’s conference demonstrated was that they wanted to show visible solidarity in the face of the growing communalism in India. They were clear that matters of law should be handled Constitutionally and not by self-proclaimed violent vigilantes. 

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