Category Archives: Bad ideas

Bad ideas, Culture, Everyday Life, Identities

डिजिटल दुनिया के देशभक्त सैनिक और औसत आदमी : मनीष राज

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Guest post by MANISH RAJ

चारों तरफ देशभक्ति का खुमार चढ़ा देख मैं सोच में पड़ गया. क्या मैं भी देखभक्त कहलाने लायक हूँ? क्या मेरे अन्दर भी देशभक्ति के वे सभी गुण मौजूद हैं जो एक भारतवासी में होने चाहिएं? इस सवाल का जवाब जानने के लिए पहले मुझे देशभक्ति के मायने समझने होंगे. आखिर देशभक्ति किसे कहते हैं?

सबसे पहले मैंने इस शब्द के शाब्दिक अर्थ पर गौर किया. देशभक्ति यानि देश की भक्ति. लेकिन भक्ति तो भगवान् की होती है न जी, जिसका गुणगान करना मोक्ष का मार्ग माना जाता है. या फिर उन बाबाओं की, जिनके एक आशीर्वाद, एक अंगूठी या एक ताबीज़ से आपका धंधा चल निकलता है, आपके बच्चों की शादियाँ हो जाती है और सारी बीमारियाँ ठीक हो जाती है. वैसे आजकल भक्ति शब्द अलग-अलग नामों से बहुत फैशन में है. एक समूह दुसरे समूह को किसी व्यक्ति विशेष का भक्त बता रहा है, तो वहीँ दूसरा समूह पहले समूह को पुरानी धारणाओं से ग्रसित और किसी दूसरे व्यक्ति का चमचा बता रहा है. सूचना के लिए बता दूं कि मैं अपनी गिनती इन दोनों समूहों में नहीं करता. इन दोनों में खचाखच भीड़ है, और भीड़ में मेरा दम घुटने लगता है.

शब्दों में उलझ गया तो फिर सोचा कि व्यस्तता से भरे आधुनिक जीवन में शब्दों की तितलियों के पीछे दौड़ने का क्या लाभ. इसलिए व्यावहारिक होते हुए मैंने देशभक्ति के प्रमाणिक सबूत तलाशना शुरू किया. देशभक्त किन्हें माना जाता है और उनमें क्या गुण होते हैं? Continue reading डिजिटल दुनिया के देशभक्त सैनिक और औसत आदमी : मनीष राज →

Bad ideas, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Government, Right watch

Buying into Demonetisation- the Popular Ideological Receptors of Creeping Fascism: Sanjay Kumar

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Guest Post by SANJAY KUMAR

The withdrawal of eighty six percent of currency notes by the Modi government has been an administrative fiasco. It is clear that little economic thought, and only a political urge has gone into the exercise. Informal sector of the economy, which accounts for 80% of the employment and 40% of the national output, has suffered short to medium term damage. All cash dependent transactions, wages, wholesale and retail trade, agricultural purchase and sale, are at a crawl. Workers are not getting wages, factories are closing, mandis are empty. Crores of young and old working people are spending hours in queues at banks and ATMs to withdraw their own money now gone scarce.  Press reports count more than eighty deaths. Parliament of the country is in a limbo, because the prime minister thinks it below his worth to reply to charges by the opposition party MPs. While ordinary people are suffering, the Nero like rulers are trumpeting the arrival of the nirvana of a cash less economy as the answer to India’s economic ills.

Even while Mr Modi’s government is solely responsible for this needless and widespread suffering, it would be naive to expect an automatic popular backlash against it. The politics of the ruling party does not fit into the patronage or identity driven models of its competitors. Its closest template is fascist politics, which  is a very particular kind of authoritarianism. What distinguishes a fascist regime from other modern authoritarian regimes like military dictatorships is the popular support it is able to garner for its policies and depredations. This is achieved by carefully working upon popular anxieties, prejudices, desires and fears, and refashioning them as grounds for aggression against selected minorities, and a belief in an imminent deliverance under the personalised rule of a leader. Continue reading Buying into Demonetisation- the Popular Ideological Receptors of Creeping Fascism: Sanjay Kumar →

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Economic Emergency – Notes From Sargana: Zaheeb Ajmal

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GUEST POST by ZAHEEB AJMAL

Nothing remained normal after November 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that evening that Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes were to be ‘demonetised’ at the stroke of midnight (full announcement here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJYFE59rLhM). Not only were the high denomination notes held by people rendered worthless, but stringent limits were imposed on cash withdrawals. People were given time until December 30 to exchange their existing, now worthless, currency notes for newly-minted ones.

As everywhere else in the country, the announcement sent shockwaves across Sargana. People went into a tizzy to exchange their old high-denomination currency notes for new ones. Not only that, the limits on cash withdrawals meant that people began to worry about requisitioning cash for daily usage. Continue reading Economic Emergency – Notes From Sargana: Zaheeb Ajmal →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Government, Identities, Law, Left watch, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

A Dog Writes to a Minister: Dear A K Balan …

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Dear Mr A K Balan

I am writing to you because I feel that it is my duty to disabuse you of the ideas you seem to harbour of, and in the name of, Indian nationalism (and not just bark at the portentous approach of the peddlers of ‘nationalism’, the Hindutvavaadis). You are a Minister in the CPM-led government of Kerala, which was elected by  Malayali citizens to ward off the monstrous Hindtuva-Nazi-Predatory Capitalist combine that has taken over India nearly, and so my barking should have been enough. But you seem to be totally wrapped up in your ignorance. Continue reading A Dog Writes to a Minister: Dear A K Balan … →

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Towards a One-Man Dictatorship: Santosh Rana

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GUEST POST by SANTOSH RANA

It is a rare sight in Indian Politics.  On 23rd November, 2016, the Members of Parliament from almost all the opposition parties united in New Delhi to register protest against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization policy.  To some, the atmosphere in the capital on that day brought back memories of the Emergency and the Bofors era.

This unique event took place under unique circumstances.  When all the democratic institutions of the country are being destroyed in order to establish one man’s undisputed control over Power, the event signified the first step towards a united resistance against these inauspicious developments.  Continue reading Towards a One-Man Dictatorship: Santosh Rana →

Bad ideas, Education, Government, Law, Politics, Religion, Right watch

परवेज हुदभॉय क्यों चिन्तित हैं ?

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Image result for pervez hoodbhoy quotes

परवेज हुदभॉय (Pervez Hoodbhoy) भारतवासियों के लिए अपरिचित नाम नहीं है!

जानेमाने भौतिकीविद और मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ता के अलावा उनकी पहचान एक ऐसे सार्वजनिक बुद्धिजीवी के तौर पर है जिनके अन्दर बुनियादपरस्त ताकतों से लोहा लेने का माददा है। पाकिस्तान में इस्लामीकरण की बढ़ती आंधी में वह ऐसे शख्स के तौर पर नमूदार होते हैं, जो सहिष्णुता, तर्कशीलता, की बात पर जोर देते रहते हैं। नाभिकीय हथियारों से लैस दोनों पड़ोसी मुल्कों में आपस में अमन चैन कायम हो इसके लिए आवाज़ बुलंद करते रहते हैं।

पिछले दिनों ‘डॉन’ अख़बार में लिखे अपने नियमित स्तंभ में उन्होंने पाठयपुस्तकों के माध्यम से प्रचारित किए जा रहे विज्ञान विरोध पर लिखा।( http://www.dawn.com/news/1300118/promoting-anti-science-via-textbooks  ) खैबर पख्तुनख्वा में प्रकाशित जीवविज्ञान की पाठयपुस्तक का जिक्र करते हुए उन्होंने बताया कि किस तरह उसमें चार्ल्स डार्विन के सिद्धांत को सिरेसे खारिज किया गया है। किताब में लिखा गया है कि चार्ल्स डार्विन द्वारा प्रस्तावित इवोल्यूशन अर्थात विकासवाद का सिद्धांत ‘अब तक का सबसे अविश्वसनीय और अतार्किक दावा है।’ किताब इस धारणा को ही खारिज करती है कि संश्लिष्ट जीवन सरल रूपों से निर्मित हुआ। किताब के मुताबिक यह विचार कामनसेन्स/सहजबोध का उल्लंघन करता है और यह उतनाही ‘बकवास’ है जब यह कहा जाता हो कि दो रिक्शा के टकराने से कार विकसित होती है। हुदभॉय के मुताबिक प्रस्तुत किताब अपवाद नहीं है। खैबर पख्तुनवा की एक अन्य किताब बताती है कि ‘‘एक सन्तुलित दिमाग का व्यक्ति पश्चिमी विज्ञान के सिद्धांतों को स्वीकार नहीं कर सकता। /कहने का तात्पर्य सिर्फ पागल लोग स्वीकार सकते हैं ?/ सिंध की भौतिकी की पाठयपुस्तक स्पष्ट लिखती है कि ‘ब्रहमाण्ड तब अचानक अस्तित्व में आया जब एक दैवी आयत/श्लोक का उच्चारण किया गया।’ विज्ञान का यह विरोध निश्चित ही पाठयपुस्तकों तक सीमित नहीं है। वहां विज्ञान और गणित के तमाम अध्यापक अपने पेशे से असहज महसूस करते हैं। Continue reading परवेज हुदभॉय क्यों चिन्तित हैं ? →

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The Sultan of Sophistry:Satya Sagar

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GUEST POST by  Satya Sagar

 

It is early winter and a thick, grimy fog, black and white tinged with grey, hangs over Delhi much of the day. Morning visibility is bad, clears up a bit with a dull sun in the afternoon, before darkness descends again on the city.

A month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his demonetisation policy, the gloomy weather in the national capital describes quite well the mood of the people here. Sullen but not angry, worried but not yet panicked, uneasy about the future but focused for the present on solving daily problems.

And yet somewhere deep down there is a growing feeling that we are witnessing the twilight of the Indian Republic – at least as we have known it for over six decades- a sovereign, federal, democratic nation, which with all its flaws, stumbles along intact. Few fully understand the real implications of 86% of the Indian currency disappearing overnight but there is foreboding it is a sign of many more drastic events to come. Continue reading The Sultan of Sophistry:Satya Sagar →

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Wrought of Iron Until She Was No More – Jayalalithaa’s Passing: Francis Cody

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This is a guest post by FRANCIS CODY

All who did and most who did not support the Chief Minister are in mourning, in some form or another.  J. Jayalalithaa is no more.  A cinema star-turned-leader, whose determination in the face of massive adversity had won her the titles of ‘Iron Butterfly’ and ‘Revolutionary Leader’, Jayalalithaa captured the imagination as a woman not necessarily of the people, but certainly with the people as a ubiquitous presence and force in political and popular life.  It’s hard to fathom the Tamil landscape with the knowledge that all of those portraits of the leader no longer point back to a living, sentient being.  The outpouring of emotion she commanded in life and now in death never cease to amaze those do not have a feel for how the political and popular affect have been collapsed into one another, for better and for worse.  Without getting into the task of proving the sincerity of sentiment leading some to go so far as to take their own lives in acts of political devotion, or the opposite and equally misguided one of showing that those who participate in public displays of mourning are doing so because of some culture of political ‘sycophancy’ as it is often dubbed, we must shift the terms of debate on the nature of her power while appreciating the massive loss Tamil Nadu has sustained with her passing.

  Continue reading Wrought of Iron Until She Was No More – Jayalalithaa’s Passing: Francis Cody →

Bad ideas, Everyday Life, Feminism, Genders, Government, Identities, Images, Sex

Memories of a Machine, or the Machine of Memory?

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Watching the much-debated ten-minute-film ‘Memories of a Machine’, which has been accused of justifying paedophilia, I remembered this woman:

I met her, a young woman professional working at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram – where else, in these days, but in the queue in front of an ATM . In response to my grumbling, she told me that she had never experienced any kind of power in her whole life.  She had not even been affected by demonetisation much, she insisted. ‘True, I couldn’t pay the dhobi and the ironing-man, but those were minor inconveniences,’ she quipped cheerily, quite convinced, of course, that the predicament of these two people, definitely as much professionals’ as her, was none of her concern. Indeed, her constant effort was to cheer people in the queue with her don’t-worry-be-happy body-language with which she slipped and slid between acting and sounding like a grown woman and chirping and giggling like a teenager or child. She was attracted to the BJP, she said, because she needed some ‘philosophy’ in her life, to balance the heavy workload she carried in her workplace. As far I could see, her life was such that the philosophy-lesson she would find useful could have been obtained from something as commonplace as a treadmill – start slow, peak up, take regular dips, continue for a spell sufficiently long, stretch after the workout. In other words, her life seemed to be just one long workout, with no indication of when it would end or yield result. But just the feeling that she was on her way was enough to make her cheery to the point of being silly. Continue reading Memories of a Machine, or the Machine of Memory? →

Bad ideas

Hasta la victoria siempre

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UNTIL VICTORY, ALWAYS…

150304151657-01-fidel-castro-0304-restricted-exlarge-169Image courtesy CNN

Bad ideas, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Identities, Law, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Neocaligulaism: Thoughts from Kerala

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In these insane times in our country and the world, one searches in the past desperately to make sense of the unfolding madness of the present. No wonder people have recalled Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the face of what has been described (rather misleadingly) by the neutral word ‘demonetisation’ – but as many have already pointed out in considerable detail, what we face is much more than a foolishly, irresponsibly-conceived act of monetary governance gone horribly wrong. Caligula is back, and neocaligulaism is the flavor of the season, across the world, one might say. Continue reading Neocaligulaism: Thoughts from Kerala →

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Death by Demonetisation: Satya Sagar

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GUEST POST BY Satya Sagar

The abrupt demonetisation of 500 and 1000 rupee notes by the Narendra Modi regime is a drastic move that is staggering in its scale, ambition and repurcussions. The only other figures in modern history one can think of, devious or stupid enough to attempt something similar, are the likes of Marcos, Suharto, Idi Amin and Pol Pot.

For all its audacity however, the decision could go down also as the grandest of blunders made by anyone in Indian political history. Poorly planned and implemented it is likely to prove disastrous not only for the country’s economy but – ironically enough,– for the BJP’s own electoral fortunes.

The abolition of the two currency notes – that make up 86% of all cash in circulation in the Indian economy –  has affected almost every family in the second most populous nation on the planet.  The harassment of the common citizen – particularly from the ranks of the urban and rural poor- through denial of access to income, savings and livelihood will not be forgotten anytime soon. Continue reading Death by Demonetisation: Satya Sagar →

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Muktibodh’s Endless Journey

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( Muktibodh was born on 13 November, 1917.This article is a tribute to him to mark the beginning of his birth-centenary)

It is a coincidence that November marks the beginning of the centenary of the Bolshevik revolution and also the Hindi poet Muktibodh. The fates of the two however have taken two divergent trajectories.

The life of the revolution turned out to be very short, it could not last out the century it was born. The poet on the other hand, though he died when he was not even 46, has seen his significance growing constantly.

Muktibodh was a Marxist and is considered to be a poet who longed for revolution. But the revolution demanded from its followers  to surrender themselves to the Party, which was absolute. They were expected to be a mere reflection of this absolute self. Muktibodh, on the other hand is interested in the life history of each soul. He seeks to create a community of selves in which each one will  be autonomous.  Continue reading Muktibodh’s Endless Journey →

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The Meaning of JNU’s Presence : Ankit Kawade

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This is a guest post by ANKIT KAWADE

 How does the presence of public universities in general, and JNU in particular, affect the course of Indian politics? What is the sociology of such institutions, since therein cohabit people from diverse and unequal communities and regions? As a sociological phenomenon, what are the potentialities of the interactions which take place in such institutions across class-caste-gender-region categories? Continue reading The Meaning of JNU’s Presence : Ankit Kawade →

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Statement on False Charges by Chhattisgarh Police Against Human Rights Activists

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PLEASE ENDORSE IF YOU AGREE

We the Undersigned, strongly condemn the absurd charges of‘criminal conspiracy and murder’ against highly respected academics and social activists by the Chhattisgarh police in the case of murder of Shamnath Baghel by unknown persons on 4th November.

None of the following named in the FIR –  Dr Nandini Sundar, Head of the Department of Sociology, Delhi  University; Dr Archana Prasad, Professor, JNU; Vineet Tiwari of the Joshi Adhikar Sansthan;Sanjay Parate, Secretary, CPM, Chhattisgarh and Manju Kawasi of the CPI– were anywhere near the spot of the killing of Shamnath Baghel. Implicating them for this heinous crime only smacks of sheer vendetta by the police against them for daring to enquire into human rights violations in the state as part of an independent fact finding team.

The Chhattisgarh police’s action is further indication of the undeclared Emergency that has gripped the nation and the harassment of bonafide human rights activists and citizen’s groups trying to protect the fundamental Constitutional rights of ordinary citizens. In particular the Chhattisgarh Inspector General of Police SRP Kalluri seems to have embarked on a mission to prevent the rest of the country from scrutinising the many illegal actions of his forces against innocent tribal populations in the state as part of his war against Maoist extremism.

We have always believed that the use of violence by both the state authorities and those opposed to them are both wrong and any lasting settlement to the conflict in Chhattisgarh can only be brought about through political negotiations between all parties involved. Fact finding teams, like the one the academics and activists were part of, are critical to enabling such dialogue for a peaceful resolution and any assault on them is a threat to both peace and democracy.

We demand that the Chhattisgarh government immediately intervene to drop the arbitrary inclusion of names of completely unrelated persons from the current FIR filed in the Baghel murder case and instead launch a proper criminal investigation to apprehend those really responsible.

Tanika Sarkar

Sumit Sarkar

Zoya Hasan

Achin Vanaik

Pamela Philipose

Rahul Govind

Aruna Roy

Nikhil Dey

Shabnam Hashmi

Apoorvanand

Satya Sagar

Snehsata

Shankar Singh

Dilip Simeon

Kumar Rana

Arshad Ajmal

Manindra Thakur

Radhika Singha

Ravi S. Vasudevan

Chitra Joshi

Sangeetha Dasgupta

P.K.Dutta

Manisha Sethi

Dipak Dholakia

Nivedita Menon

Aditya Nigam

 

 

 

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Government, Images, Language, Law, Mirror Worlds, Politics, Right watch, Scams

The Cult of the Angry Pointed Finger, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Father

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The recent order by the I&B Ministery to NDTV India to suspend broadcast for 24 hours drew a range of reactions from outrage to bewilderment. The supporters of the ruling party were of course triumphant – Subhash Chandra of Zoo, er sorry Zee News was so excited he wrote a whole article on this. But even outside the partisan responses, many well-meaning self-declared neutral janta declared that national security is not a matter to be trifled with, and that it was right for the government to admonish NDTV. Wait, ADMONISH?! Never mind that the government’s allegation of NDTV having compromised national security simply doesn’t survive a fact-check. Here is how the largest section of (English-speaking, online) popular opinion sees it.

This token punishment was good and important to show that someone is there who is monitoring the media who always thinks behind the mask of freedom of expression that they can do anything in the world. So it is important that the Government of the Day makes its presence felt otherwise there will more chaos and issues like the UPA government where everyone was going around like headless chicken and no one is bothered or cared if a Govt of Man Mohan Singh existed or NO. Even small timers like the Delhi CM AK and his Guru Anna were threatening and taking morcha in Ram leela Maidan every second day and doing expose every third day putting the Govt. of India on the back foot and in defensive mode running for shelter. Now Arvind Kejriwala and his team is running for shelter as every day a Delhi MLA is shown the door of the JAIL and Anna Hazare has been locked in a shell in his hometown watching the sunrise and the sunset. This means business, It is important that Govt of the India should show it exist otherwise human mentality is that then everyone shows that everyone exist and everyone is the BOSS. Cannot allow to happen like this MESS. PM Modi please keep it up and keep the heat on this reckless media, on AK and his gang, on others who are trying to show unnecessary activism and also the Judiciary, keep all the appointments on hold and let them slog day and night. Show who is the BOSS ! Show who is the BOSS !

Yes, Modi ji, show who is the BOSS!

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Continue reading The Cult of the Angry Pointed Finger, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Father →

Bad ideas, Culture, Government, Identities, Politics, Religion, Right watch

Separatism of Majority against Kashmir : Anil Chamadia

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Guest Post by Anil Chamadia

I am an Indian, but a separatist too. I am hostile against Kashmiri people because I only love my fellow countrymen.

The feeling of separatism among the people of a bordering state is easily identified. But there are two types of separatism. In a state or region like Kashmir and North – Eastern states, separatism is identified in such a way that there is a group or more than one group of people who want to secede from Indian nation and they carry out “actions” to fulfill this desire. They try to galvanize public support through their “actions” and harm government machinery as well. But have we ever identified the separatism that is professed by the majority section of the society?

I belong to a Hindu family of north India. Right from the beginning, a separatist feeling against Kashmir has been cultivated within me. A survey can be conducted in entire north India to know how a relationship with Kashmir has been nurtured among the people of this region during their childhood. If I ask 100 children, they all know Kashmir only through the materials available in media. I want to repeat the story how I was introduced to Kashmir. I was born in the early years of 1960s.  While going to school or returning back, I was told that Kashmir has a separate flag which is different from Indian tricolour. Like prime minister of India, it also has a prime minister. There is a separate section in Indian Constitution for it and Muslims are in majority there. Since Pakistan follows Islam, therefore loyalty of Kashmir people is also doubtful. Continue reading Separatism of Majority against Kashmir : Anil Chamadia →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Government, Identities, Politics, Religion, Right watch

भारत को पाकिस्तान बनने की राह पर धकेल रहे कट्टरपंथी

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अठारह साल की एशम और उसकी बहन ईशा हर महीने दो बार मुल्तान जेल पहुंचती हैं, ताकि अपनी मां से मिल सकें। उनकी मां आसिया बीबी फिलवक्त पाकिस्तान के विवादास्पद ईशनिंदा कानून के तहत सजा-ए-मौत का इंतजार कर रही है। इस मामले में उसकी अंतिम अपील सुप्रीम कोर्ट के सामने है। ननकाना साहिब के लिए मशहूर पाकिस्तान के शेखपुरा जिले के इत्तनवाली गांव की रहने वाली आसिया बीबी (उम्र 50 वर्ष) पर ईशनिंदा के आरोप 2009 में लगे थे। एक खेत में काम करते हुए उसका झगड़ा साथ काम करने वाली मुस्लिम महिला से हो गया। झगड़ा इस बात पर हुआ कि आसिया को पानी लाने को कहा गया, तो मुस्लिम महिला ने आपत्ति जताई कि गैर मुस्लिम का छुआ पानी नहीं पिया जा सकता। झगड़े के बाद मुसलमान औरत स्थानीय मौलवी के पास पहुंची और बताया कि बीबी ने पैगंबर मोहम्मद को गाली दी। इसे ईशनिंदा का अपराध माना गया।

संवेदनशील मामला
पाकिस्तान में ईशनिंदा बहुत ही संवेदनशील मसला है, जिसके लिए मौत की सजा भी हो सकती है। आसिया बीबी को पुलिस ने गिरफ्तार कर लिया और उस पर मुकदमा चला। आसिया ने अदालत में कहा कि आपसी झगड़ा था, ईशनिंदा जैसी कोई बात ही नहीं थी, फिर भी 2010 में उसे मौत की सजा सुना दी गई। उसके समर्थन में बोलने वाले पंजाब प्रांत के तत्कालीन गवर्नर सलमान तासीर को उन्हीं के बॉडीगार्ड ने गोलियों से छलनी कर दिया। इस्लामाबाद में सरेआम गवर्नर की हत्या करने वाले मुमताज कादरी को मौत की सजा सुनाई गई और 2016 में उसकी सजा पर अमल भी हो चुका है। Continue reading भारत को पाकिस्तान बनने की राह पर धकेल रहे कट्टरपंथी →

Bad ideas, Ecology/Environment, Images, Literature

Anguish and Insurrection – Travelling with Shubha’s Poem: Prasanta Chakravarty

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Guest post by PRASANTA CHAKRAVARTY

अतिमानवीय दुख

शुभा
________________

इतना दुख आंसुओं से नहीं उठाया जाता
वे हार गए कब के
चीख़ इसे और वीभत्स बनाती है
गुस्सा तो सिर्फ राख पैदा करता है

कुछ देर इसे ख़ामोशी ने उठाया
कभी उठाया कविता ने
विचार ने उठाया इसे
इसे उठाया दोस्तों ने
मिलकर गीत गाते हुए

कम्युनिस्ट पार्टियां बिखरीं
कितनी बार इसे उठाते हुए

इसे उठाने के लिए
कुछ और चाहिये
इन सबके साथ
उठाने का कोई नया ढब
इतिहास ने इसे उठाया कभी-कभी

अब इसकी चिन्दियां बिखरी हैं
इन्हें बच्चे उठा रहे हैं
यह पहुंच रहा है प्रकृति तक
तूफान और कन्दराएं
उठायेंगी इसका बोझ

अगर धरती इसे न उठा सकी
अन्तरिक्ष में नाचेंगी इसकी चिन्दियां

1.

SUPERHUMAN GRIEF

Shubha

Tears cannot bear such a burden of grief
They gave up a while ago
A scream makes it even more horrid
And anger gives birth only to ash

For a while silence bore it
Occasionally it was borne by poetry
Thought bore it
It was borne by friends
As they sang songs together

Communist parties scattered
so many times as they bore it

To be able to bear it
Something more is needed
along with all of these
a new way to bear it
History bore it on occasion

Now its scraps are scattered
Children are gathering them
It is now reaching nature
Storms and ravines
Will bear its weight
If the earth cannot bear it
Its scraps will dance in the cosmos

(Tr. Suvir Kaul)

* * *

2.

GRIEF WAY BEYOND HUMAN

Shubha

A grief that is way beyond human
Is too hard for tears to hold
Defeated, they dry up before long
Howling makes it only worse, more horrendous
Anger yields nothing but ash

Silence shouldered this grief for sometime
As did poetry
As did ideas now and then
As did comrades singing in unison
History has carried it too

Communist parties fell apart so often
Carrying this burden

Surely we need something different now
To carry it any farther

Grief is everywhere now
Little children are carrying its shredded pieces
It has overcome nature
Caves and storms will bear it

If the planet too fails to contain this grief
Its shreds will swirl and spread
Into empty space beyond

(Tr. Bhupinder Brar)

* * *

3.

SUPERHUMAN SORROW

Shubha

So much sorrow cannot be borne by tears
They gave up a while ago
A shriek makes it more grisly
And anger only births ash

For a while silence bore it
And sometimes poetry did
Thought carried it
And friends too
Singing along together

Communist parties disintegrated
so often while carrying it

Something more is needed
Some new bearing
with the rest to carry it
Now and then history lifted it

Now its bits lie scattered
Children are picking them up
Now it’s reaching into nature
Storms and caves will
bear its burden

If the earth is unable to bear it
The bits will dance in the cosmos

(Tr. Aishwarya Iyer)

* * *

4.

SUPERHUMAN GRIEF

Shubha

Tears can’t bear this much grief
They had been defeated long ago
A scream makes it more grotesque
Anger can only turn to ashes

For a time silence carried the burden
sometimes poetry tried it
Ideas bore it for a bit
And then the friends
singing together

Communist parties disintegrated
trying to carry it ahead

To bear it
one needs something else
A new way
Beyond the known ones
Occasionally history too tried its hand

Now it lies scattered
And children pick up the pieces

It now enters the nature itself
Storms & Caves
Shall lift its burden
If the earth can not bear it
Universe shall see the pieces dance

(Tr. Tarun Bharatiya )

5.

SUPERHUMAN GRIEF

Shubha

Tears cannot bear this burden
They have dried up long ago
A scream makes it bizarre
And anger can only produce so much ash

Silence bore it for some time
Sometimes poetry
Thought carried it
As did friends
singing in unison

Communist parties disintegrated
Umpteen times under its weight

Something else is needed
To lift it
A new way
Along with the familiar ones
History lifted it occasionally

It is scattered into tiny strips now
Kids are picking and carrying them
It is now reaching the nature itself
Storms and caves and ravines
Will bear it

If the earth couldn’t carry its weight
The strips will dance in outer space.

(Tr. Asad Zaidi)

––––

Five translations of a single poem, by five leading poets, activists, artists and/or literary scholars. A rare occasion in contemporary translation on the subcontinent. A special poem it is indeed. Every single one of these attentive readers seems to have been scorched by the primitive, enunciatory power of its pure voice. Every single translation extends the afterlife of the original and shows how Shubha has been able to successfully communicate the force of a guttural shriek into something coherent and universally felt. Continue reading Anguish and Insurrection – Travelling with Shubha’s Poem: Prasanta Chakravarty →

Bad ideas, Debates, Education, Identities, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics, Right watch

The Importance of Being Makarand Paranjape: Anirban Bhattacharya

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Guest Post by ANIRBAN BHATTACHARYA

A few days back, drawing from Oscar Wilde’s classic, Makarand Paranjape wrote a piece titled The importance of being Narendra Modi. He urged his readers to ensure a second term for Modi saying “If Narendra Modi gets a second term, he will certainly change India in a lasting and significant way.” That he is going to change India, and is doing so already is not that far from truth, but the question is which way is this change taking us. Given the track record of Modi Ji(o) so far, the change is surely going to be for the worse. But this piece is not on Modi Ji(o). This one is on the Makarand Paranjapes of the world. Yes, they are not one. They are in fact a particular breed not new in history, and they have a particular role. Specifically, we would evaluate this role of theirs in the light of a recent piece of his on the gherao of the JNU VC.

Some would say that the piece was on the issue of Najeeb. But no, it wasn’t. Najeeb, a new student pursuing M.Sc in Bio-Tech living in Mahi-Mandavi hostel was publicly assaulted by identified ABVP goons in front of students as well as wardens on the night of 14th October. He was showered with dire consequences of which too there are multiple witnesses including again the hostel wardens. A vicious communal slur-campaign was set in motion by the sanghis writing “Muslims are terrorists” within the hostel premises. Amidst all of this and in the given context Najeeb “disappeared” on 15th October from his hostel. He had called his mother last, who, as it appears, had reached Anand Vihar and was on her way to meet her son in distress. But, by the time she was here, Najeeb went “missing” mysteriously and is yet to be found. After five days of entreating an unresponsive university administration to be proactive in creating conditions for Najee’s safe return, JNU students undertook an all night vigil on the 19th of October.

Continue reading The Importance of Being Makarand Paranjape: Anirban Bhattacharya →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Government, Law, Media politics, Violence/Conflict

Resist the Draconian and Undemocratic Ban Order on the Kashmir Reader Newspaper: Junaid Nabi Bazaz

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Guest Post by Junaid Nabi Bazaz. Photos by Abid Bhat and from Kashmir Reader Online

kashmir-reader-ban-759

 

In a move unprecedented in the last three decades in the strife torn Kashmir valley, the Jammu and Kashmir government published an order in early October that stated that Kashmir Reader (KR), a vocal newspaper with circulation of less than10000 copies, contained material and content ‘which tends to incite violence and disturb public peace and tranquility.’ This was then used as a justification for placing a ban on the publication of KR. Today, on the 25th of October, Journalists assembled in Srinagar to protest this arbitrary ban.

Continue reading Resist the Draconian and Undemocratic Ban Order on the Kashmir Reader Newspaper: Junaid Nabi Bazaz →