Category Archives: Right watch

Politics, Right watch

Assam Election Results 2016 – Challenges to Pluralist Ethos: Ram Puniyani

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Guest post by RAM PUNIYANI

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Once cut off from the electoral list, getting re-enrolled is a painful exercise for these migrants who work outside Assam. Fear of being struck off voters’ lists and branded Bangladeshis haunts them.

(Picture Credit – The Hindu)

This time around (2016 Elections) BJP has managed to come to power in Assam, though as a coalition with its allies. Its vote share this time came down to 29.5% from the earlier 36.5% (2014); still because of the strategically stitched alliances it beat the Congress in the number of seats won. BJP election appeal was centered on the divisive issue of Bangaldeshi immigrants. It took care to regard 3% native Muslims on the ground of ‘Native Assamese identity’ while the Bengali Muslims (32%) were singled out as immigrants; outsiders. The Bengali immigrant Hindus were projected as refugees. BJP’s propaganda was on the lines of Hindus versus Muslims. Cleverly it was presented as natives versus outsiders.

Elections 2016

Taking recourse to communal historiography the election was presented as the second battle of Saraighat, where Lachit Burfukan had defeated the Mughal army in 1671. As such the many commanders and soldiers of Lachit were Muslims also like Bagh Hazarika. Mughal army had many Hindu generals and soldiers. By spinning the tale directed against Mughals projected in the form of Badruddin Ajmal, who was the main target as he was presented as a symbol of Bengali Muslims. At electoral level the Muslims votes got split between Congress and Ajmal’s party. Now the new Government is planning to identify the Bangaldeshi immigrants and throw them out. As such Assam has been witnessing the harassment of Muslims and many of them have been denied voting right putting them in D Votercategory (D for doubtful). Continue reading Assam Election Results 2016 – Challenges to Pluralist Ethos: Ram Puniyani →

Government, Identities, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Hindutva Lands on Foreign Shores – A View from the Gallery: Rebecca de Souza

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Guest post by REBECCA DE SOUZA

Recently, I received the opportunity of a lifetime when I was invited to attend Indian Prime Minister (PM) Modi’s address to the joint session of US Congress on June 8th, 2016. When I got the call from Congressman Nolan’s office, I was surprised to say the least. I am not involved in politics, I did not know Rep. Nolan personally, and have not made any significant monetary contributions to politics in either country. My first reaction was to say no, because PM Modi and I could not be further apart on the political spectrum. But soon the significance of what had happened dawned on me. I, an Indian American, an academic, had just received an invitation from a US Congressman who knew about my work and had picked me to be his guest. As a minority in both countries, a Christian minority in India and an ethnic/ racial minority in the US, I was invited to a place of power which typically would be inaccessible to a person like me. Ironically, as an Indian-American I had more access to a transnational political arena than as an Indian living in India. I arrived in DC with eager anticipation not knowing what would unfold.

Attending PM Modi’s address has provided me with unique insight into transnational politics and my own identity as an Indian-American and one who is “not a Hindu”. As I was sitting in the gallery with other Indian Americans, I realized that in a post-liberalization world where political contributions flow easily across borders, Indian Americans play a huge role in the political economy of India and the message of Hindutva has become the single most powerful way to unite this group.

The term Hindutva refers to a nearly hundred year socio-political project promoted by right wing Hindu nationalist groups, which redefines people living in India as “Hindu” based on geographic, racial, and cultural identity. The Hindutva project is centered on the “invention of archaic Vedic Hinduism” and Vedic Aryanism and the belief that “…it was in India that Aryans had either originated or achieved the pinnacle of their culture and civilization which they had then bestowed on the world”.  While Hinduism has been known for being a diverse religion, Hindutva’s project is to construct a homogeneous Hindu community through universalizing upper caste practices and values to all castes and classes. [1] Continue reading Hindutva Lands on Foreign Shores – A View from the Gallery: Rebecca de Souza →

Capitalism, Centre watch, Right watch

Of experts and politicians – The Raghuram Rajan Drama: C. P. Chandrasekhar

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Guest Post by C. P. CHANDRASEKHAR

The attack on Raghuram Rajan spearheaded by Sangh Parivar trouble-maker Subramanian Swamy has disturbed even those who otherwise support Prime Minister Modi’s government. The attack has received even more attention because it preceded Rajan’s surprise announcement of his departure from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), prior to the government’s decision on whether he should be given a second term. It is clear from his letter to the RBI’s staff announcing his decision to keep out of the race for the job as central bank chief, that Rajan would have liked to serve a second term. But sensing that he was not going to be offered the extension and could even rejected if he applied for it, Rajan chose to step down.

It would be giving Swamy too much credit to hold that his letters to the Prime Minister claiming that Raghuram Rajan was wrecking the economy, was not “nationalist” enough because of his American green card, and was a stooge of the Congress, were responsible for the latter’s decision to exit. Swamy is widely seen as a maverick, and Rajan is too smart not to know that if anything, it is the BJP MP’s credibility that has been affected. What must have irked him more is the failure of the government and the PM to stand up for him. That silence possibly explains the arrogant shift of Swamy’s target of attack to the Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, who is more vulnerable because of his advice in the past to the US government, calling for stronger action against India on intellectual property issues. Continue reading Of experts and politicians – The Raghuram Rajan Drama: C. P. Chandrasekhar →

Mirror Worlds, Right watch

Indian Feminists In Solidarity with Dr. Homa Hoodfar

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This statement was sent to the Iranian authorities and the Iranian Embassy in Delhi yesterday.

Here is a link to one of Prof Hoodfar’s most influential essays, “The veil in their minds and on our heads.”

homa_hoodfar

We, the undersigned, are in solidarity with Dr. Homa Hoodfar, a Canadian anthropologist of Iranian origin who has been imprisoned by the Iranian authorities on June 6, 2016. Dr. Hoodfar is a respected academic scholar and researcher on women and family in the Middle East and the Muslim world.  She travelled to Iran in March 2016 to visit family and for research on women’s participation in public life.

Prior to her arrest, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard interrogated Ms. Hoodfar repeatedly without the presence of a lawyer, searched and seized her belongings including passport, phone and laptop.  Ms. Hoodfar fully cooperated with the process and has been very respectful of the domestic Iranian judicial system.  Since her arrest however, her family, colleagues and supporters in Iran were left with no choice but to go public with the news of the arrest.

Iranian authorities have given no reason for the arrest and the charges under which she has been held.  She has not been granted access to her family or legal counsel.  Dr. Hoodfar, aged 65, is not in good health and has already suffered from a mild stroke in 2015.  Her family is concerned about her health and fears she may not have access to the specialized care that she requires. Continue reading Indian Feminists In Solidarity with Dr. Homa Hoodfar →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Everyday Life, Government, Movements, Religion, Right watch

रौशनी के बीज बोने का माददा – ‘अंधविश्वास उन्मूलन’ पुस्तकत्रयी के बहाने चन्द बातें 

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(‘पहल’ के आगामी अंक हेतु )

Andhavishwas Unmoolan : Vichar - 1

1.

स्मशान में कवि सम्मेलन और वह भी अमावस की पूरी रात।

पिछले साल के अन्त में पुणे से आयी इस ख़बर की तरफ बहुत कम लोगों का ध्यान गया था। ( देखें इंडियन एक्स्प्रेस 14 नवम्बर 2015) उधर शहर में लोग दीपावली मना रहे थे और वहां सैकड़ों की तादाद मंे एकत्रित लोगों के बीच कविताएं पढ़ी जा रही थीं, एक कविता संग्रह का विमोचन भी हो रहा था, कुछ सांस्कृतिक  समूह भी बीच बीच में अपनी प्रस्तुतियां दे रहे थे। पुणे के उपनगर बोपोडी की स्मशानभूमि का परिसर उस अलग ढंग के कार्यक्रम का गवाह बना था।

‘अमावस्या की पवित्र रात में स्मशान में कवि सम्मेलन’ शीर्षक से आयोजित इस कार्यक्रम के मुख्य आयोजक थे , महाराष्ट्र अंधश्रद्धा निर्मूलन समिति – जिसके निर्माण में शहीद विचारक डा नरेन्द्र दाभोलकर ने पहल ली थी – तथा सिद्धार्थ संघ और सिद्धार्थ महिला संघ। समिति के सदस्यों द्वारा गाया एक गीत काफी चर्चित हुआ, जिसके बोल थे ‘बो रहे हैं हम प्रकाश बीज’। भूतों-प्रेतों के ‘अस्तित्व’ या उनके ‘विचरण’ को लेकर समाज में व्याप्त भ्रांत धारणाओं को चुनौती देने के लिए अंधश्रद्धा निर्मूलन समिति के बैनर तले आयोजित इस कार्यक्रम ने बरबस कुछ समय पहले कर्नाटक के बेलागावी सिटी कार्पोरेशन के अन्तर्गत आते वैंकुंठ धाम स्मशान में हुए एक अन्य आयोजन की याद ताजा कर दी थी,  जहां कर्नाटक के उत्पादनशुल्क/एक्साईज मंत्राी जनाब सतीश जरकीहोली ने सैकड़ों लोगों के साथ वहीं रात बीतायी थी अंौर वहां भोजन भी किया था। याद रहे कि महाराष्ट्र की तर्ज पर कर्नाटक विधानसभा में अंधश्रद्धा विरोधी बिल लाने में अत्यधिक सक्रिय रहे मंत्राीमहोदय दरअसल लोगों के मन में व्याप्त इस मिथक को दूर करना चाहते थे कि ऐसे स्थानों पर ‘भूत निवास’ करते हैं। Continue reading रौशनी के बीज बोने का माददा – ‘अंधविश्वास उन्मूलन’ पुस्तकत्रयी के बहाने चन्द बातें  →

Everyday Life, Feminism, Genders, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

India vigils in memory of Orlando shooting victims

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FROM ORINAM

The mass shooting in Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, US, on the night of June 11, resonates with those of us who have faced intolerance, hatred and violence simply for being who we are. The lesbian, gay, bi, trans*, intersex, queer, ally and other (LGBTIQA+) communities in India stand in solidarity with the families, biological and chosen, of the victims of this senseless crime.

LGBTIQA+ people have always been at the receiving end of bigots from all faiths, and we register our protest against initiatives by ideologues of all stripes to use this incident to advance political and personal agendas of xenophobia and Islamophobia. Bigotry is a form of violence against a community, and we stand firmly against all attempts to make this part of a global anti-Islam narrative, just as we resist the dastardly celebration of this incident by homophobic groups.

We condemn all forms of hatred and violence, whether based on sexuality, gender, religion, caste or ethnicity.

Protests and vigils are being planned in the following cities and towns.

FOR DETAILS SEE ORINAM.NET

Education, Politics, Right watch

This Is Not Just About Kanhaiya Kumar & Delhi University Teachers: Mukul Mangalik

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MUKUL MANGALIK in raiot.in

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) General Body Meeting (GBM) held on May 28, 2016 issued an appeal ‘to all students to support our struggle’ against the University Grants Commission (UGC) Notification 2016. The resolution passed by the DUTA GBM of June 2, 2016 ‘extends thanks to Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) for its support’ and to many other students’ organisations ‘which have expressed support for the ongoing struggle’. The DUTA Executive, in keeping with the letter and spirit of the sentiments expressed by successive GBMs invited representatives of teachers and students’ unions and organisations, including the JNUSU, to extend solidarity with the ‘khaali thaali’ (empty plates) dharna (sit-in) organized by the DUTA on 6th June outside the UGC compound. A section of Delhi University (DU) teachers did their best to prevent Kanhaiya Kumar, elected President of the JNUSU, from speaking on this occasion…

In trying to deny a student even a chance to speak, they have gone against everything that teaching should mean; in seeking to throttle words, speech and ideasinstead of countering them with other words, speech and ideas they, as university teachers have struck a blow against the freedom of expression that is the lifeblood of universities. They have gone against the idea of universities as potentially life-altering sites for students, places that encourage them to ask questions and speak freely; to read, write and think critically, analytically and with academic rigour, together and independently, in the endless pursuit of understanding and truth; to debate, disagree with, and discuss everything of consequence without fear of any forms of authority or power, but with respect for universal rights, ‘in the hope of creating a future in which liberty and human freedoms might be grounded in citizenship based on substantive equality’…

Let no one imagine that this moment of contestation in our history will spell political doom for the DU teachers’ movement. It shall not. If anything, we are likely to come out of this with an even stronger resolve, holding up a brighter flame of hope to all teachers and posing a more invulnerable front to Capital and State than has been the case thus far.

Read the whole article here.

Education, Right watch

Open Letter to JNU VC from a JNU Professor: Rajat Datta

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Guest Post by RAJAT DATTA

Dear Professor Jagadesh Kumar,

I read your long interview in the Pioneer of 6th June 2016 with great interest, particularly because of the way in which you’ve outlined your vision for JNU over the next five years. We’d been hearing a lot of whispers about your `vision’ all these months, and I’m happy that I’ve finally got to see it in print. Unfortunately, some of the issues you’ve raised have made me somewhat uncomfortable, and thus I feel constrained to write this open letter to you to share some of these concerns. Please don’t take it amiss, for what I have to say emerges from being a very senior faculty member of the university and from your assurance that you work in `consultation’ with senior faculty members.

My first area of unease is precisely this proclamation. I don’t recall a single instance where you tried to consult me, or any of the senior faculty members that I know (and believe me, I know most of them). You’ve not bothered to visit my Centre, the largest in the University in terms of the faculty and student numbers, to interact and `consult’ with us. If by `consultation’ you mean your meetings with Deans over policy issues, there is nothing new in what you’re doing. All Vice-Chancellors in JNU have done that, and more. Indeed, you have omitted Chairpersons entirely from these processes. If your consultation process is so pervasive, why did so many `senior’ and not so senior members of the JNU faculty sit on a relay hunger strike against your administration over eight days in May? I regret to say that the consultation process that you talk about so proudly is seen by many as a very closed coterie of people (whom you proudly refer to as your `team’). Is it because you haven’t been able to win the trust of the larger academic community of this university? On their own initiative, different groups of teachers have met you (when permitted to) and other members of your “team” when you have been unavailable to meet them, over various issues, and emerged from these meetings feeling that you do not listen to us. Continue reading Open Letter to JNU VC from a JNU Professor: Rajat Datta →

Bad ideas, Debates, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

The Bose Republic

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The recent violent event in Mathura has  outraged many people. But more than anger, there is bewilderment. It is difficult for people to accept that right in the heart of a town like Mathura, part of the mainland, there existed and flourished  a liberated zone. Liberated zones in our imagination are created only by Naxalites or Maoists in the jungles of Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand. And they are inspired by ‘alien’ ideologies like Marxism or Maoism. This makes it easy for us to label them as ‘anti-nationals, conspirators’ who are out to dismember our nation. They have ‘collaborators’ hiding in places like JNU, masquerading as students and teachers. Continue reading The Bose Republic →

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

Islamic Banking in India – For Financial Inclusion of Muslims or to squeeze them further ?

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(Photo Courtesy : http://www.malaysiagazette.com)

Faith based banking in a country which has secularism enshrined in its constitution ! Does not it sound anachronous ?

Well, as far as the present dispensation at the centre led by BJP is concerned – which has an altogether different take on secularism – it does not seem to think so. And that’s why it has gladly accepted the proposal by the Saudi Arabia based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) – an international investment organisation – to start its operations here. In fact this proposal is considered a positive outcome of PM Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia sometime back.( April 2016) Although a date has not been announced when the Bank would start its operations here, all the formalities regarding its launching have been completed and even the city for its first branch in India has been identified. Ahmedabad would see the first branch of this Bank. Continue reading Islamic Banking in India – For Financial Inclusion of Muslims or to squeeze them further ? →

Government, Politics, Right watch

Statement Condemning the Persecution of Lawyers Collective and Indira Jaising and Anand Grover by Home Ministry, GoI

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We, the undersigned, unequivocally condemn the efforts of the Ministry of Home Affairs to persecute the Lawyers Collective (LC), Indira Jaising and Anand Grover in order to obstruct the legal and human rights work being carried out by them.

We condemn the suspension of the FCRA registration of LC, as well as the mala fide and motivated manner in which the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a blatant violation of law, leaked the suspension notice to the press even before providing LC with a copy of the same.

There has been a systematic campaign and abuse of the legal process by the Central Government to malign Indira Jaising and Anand Grover as well as LC over the past six months. The suspension of LC’s FCRA registration is nothing but an escalation of the Government’s campaign to crush dissent and criminalise any person or organisation that questions or opposes the violation of fundamental rights and human rights by the State and its agencies.

The motivated campaign and actions against LC fit neatly into the present Government’s concerted campaign against marginalised and oppressed sections of society and any person, whether students, activists, academics or individuals who question the policies, actions and the abuse of power by the government.

Senior Advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover have an exceptional profile of public service, probity and personal and professional integrity as lawyers and as human rights activists. Their work has received global recognition.

Ms. Indira Jaising, has made an unparalleled contribution to law and jurisprudence on gender discrimination, whether relating to women’s right to property, sexual harassment at the workplace, domestic violence etc. She has also been a member of the CEDAW Committee. Anand Grover held the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health between 2008 to 2014. He has made a tremendous contribution to the legal campaign against the criminalisation of homosexuality; rights of persons living with HIV; and access to medicine and healthcare. Ms. Jaising and Mr. Grover, through LC have and continue to advance the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of society, thereby upholding constitutional values. Instead of recognizing their invaluable contribution to the county and its people, the Government is making all efforts to obstruct their work.

Through the persecution and harassment of LC and Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, the present Government is sending a clear and chilling message to the citizens of this country that the inevitable consequence of questioning or criticising the present Government’s policies is repression and criminalisation.

LC has specifically and repeatedly countered and justified each of the bald allegations regarding misuse of funds that have been levelled by the MHA. However, the MHA has displayed an unusual vindictiveness by ignoring the official responses sent by LC and proceeding to suspend their FCRA registration. Continue reading Statement Condemning the Persecution of Lawyers Collective and Indira Jaising and Anand Grover by Home Ministry, GoI →

Bad ideas, Countryside, Empire/ Imperialism, Excavation, Identities, Images, Language, Media politics, Movements, Politics, Religion, Right watch, Scams, Violence/Conflict

Three Photographs, Six Bodies: The Politics of Lynching in Twos: Megha Anwer

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This is a guest post by MEGHA ANWER

 

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Mazlum Ansari and Imteyaz Khan, Jharkhand 2016.

 

The recent spate of vigilante attacks in India has lent a new, nearly domestic familiarity to the word “lynching”. This, though, is more than just a shift in language: the nation’s visual archive itself seems be shifting, towards instatement of a new normal. Inside just a year the “lynching photograph” has moved center-stage, filling mainstream news reportage and social media newsfeeds. The imagistic vocabulary of lynching has thus taken on a touch of mundane inevitability in caste and communal violence.

It began in March 2015, with the lynching of Syed Arif Khan in Dimapur, Nagaland. A couple of months later two teenage Dalit girls were raped, strangled and left hanging from a mango tree in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh. Then, on 28 September 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq was bludgeoned to death by a mob in his home near Dadri in what went on to gain spurious notoriety as a “beef-eating incident”. The following March, continuing with the logical rhythm of a scheduled sequel, the cattle herder Mazlum Ansari and his 14-year-old nephew Imteyaz Khan were lynched and hanged from a tree in Jharkhand. Most recently (on May 22) M. T. Oliva, a Congolese citizen, was beaten to death in the national capital of Delhi. This is an incomplete list: it includes only those incidents that resulted in fatalities. In the same timeframe there have been at least a dozen other cases in which the victims somehow survived the end-stage public shaming, torment and lurid physical violence, in short the ordeal of a completed lynching.

There is no lynching without its spectators. Continue reading Three Photographs, Six Bodies: The Politics of Lynching in Twos: Megha Anwer →

Culture, Debates, Politics, Right watch

Ambedkar Cannot be Adopted or Appropriated by Hindutva: K Satyanarayana

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Transcript and translation of lecture  by Prof. K.SATYANARAYANA, speaking at the launch of book, Ambedkar Can Neither Be Adopted Nor Appropriated by The Hindutva Elements. The book, authored by Bojja Tharakkam, K. Satyanarayana, K. Laxminarayana and K. Y. Ratnam. It was launched in Hyderabad in July last year and is a reply to RSS’ Organiser special edition on Ambedkar. The text and video of the original Telugu lecture received by us via DALIT CAMERA.

All the friends who gave me this opportunity, to the many Ambedkarites present in this hall and to the very senior members, activists and intellectuals, I thank you all. After Anand Teltumbde has spoken, there isn’t much left to speak because he covered all the information in this book and also described completely about a lot of aspects about Maharashtra, about Ambedkar’s like and his work. Therefore there might not be much new information in my speech, but while writing this book, the distortions they made, or the attempts of RSS in relation to Ambedkar, as there is a need for historical context, I will speak about some of those issues. Firstly what Respected Mr. Tarakam has said is, to read some of the names of essays in the Organiser as the book is not available to everybody. When this book Organiser came out, generally RSS-BJP, when they talk about Ambedkar or about Babri-masjid, what we think is that they speak lies, false words, and mistruths and therefore there isn’t any danger as nobody will believe in their load of rubbish and lies. We think that way and if people understand the lies and if they don’t follow those words, there is no danger, but with this same type of propaganda, they completely changed the normal common-sense of the people and today Modi, as a K.D (drawn from an old colonial police/ legal category, it has become a Telugu expression that suggests a person with undesirable traits), as our brother has sung, is sitting in power.

Continue reading Ambedkar Cannot be Adopted or Appropriated by Hindutva: K Satyanarayana →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Government, Right watch

Response on the Suspension of Registration under the FC(Regulation) Act, 2010 : Lawyers Collective

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Guest Post by Lawyers Collective

The Lawyers Collective condemns the blatant attempt  of the government of India to victimize the organization and its office bearers India Jaisng and Anand Grover .This is noting but a gross misuse of the FCRA Act which is being used to suppress any form  of dissent . it is far too well know that both Anand Grover and Indira Jaising have represented several persons in their professional capacity as lawyers is several cases against the government and the functionaries including  the President of the BJP party ,  Amit Shah  protesting his discharge in the Sorabudin murder case . The lawyers collective intends to challenge the order as   unconstitutional and required to be set aside . 

The order/show cause notice is a malafide act and an act of vindictiveness on the part of the Government. This is being done because of the cases that Lawyers Collective (‘LC’) and its Trustees, Ms. Indira Jaising and Mr. Anand Grover, are involved in, including but are not limited to Sanjiv Bhatt, Yakub Memon and Priya Pillai. The aim is to destroy the credibility of LC by leaking it to the media, before even serving it on LC. LC till today has not received the order purportedly issued on 31st May, 2016, though it is available to the press. Continue reading Response on the Suspension of Registration under the FC(Regulation) Act, 2010 : Lawyers Collective →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Government, Left watch, Politics, Right watch

In the Name of Fidel – The Left Reads the Mandate: Vipin Kumar Chirakkara

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This is a guest post by VIPIN KUMAR CHIRAKKARA

Party has two faces: V.S. Achuthanandan (centre) with Pinarayi Vijayan (left)
Party has two faces: V.S. Achuthanandan (centre) with Pinarayi Vijayan (left) Photo and Caption Courtesy – Indian Express.

In his address to the media in Thiruvananthapuram after the Left won the mandate in Kerala, Sitaram Yechury announced two positions to be given to two leaders of his own party who had successfully contested the elections from there.  One is that of the leader of the legislative party of the CPI-M, or effectively the chief ministership of Kerala.  That went to Pinarayi Vijayan.  The other one went to V.S. Achuthanandan.  He is made the Fidel Castro of Kerala.  Yechury, the embattled general secretary of the party who is also known to be closer to VS than to Vijayan, elaborated on the function of the second position since, seemingly, he felt that people could develop doubts about the implication of this honour, if not an anxiety whether the left victory in a single assembly election is turning Kerala into Cuba.  He clarified that VS will be an inspirational symbol providing advice and direction to the new government, and added that the veteran leader could not head the government due to his advanced age and poor health.  Yechury was, of course, flanked by the state secretary of the party Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and VS himself.  The suspense thriller of this election thus had the curtain fall, with an anti-climactic scene of unity.

It would deprive us of a unique opportunity to know another meaning of the mandate if we ignore how Yechury has read it.  He interpreted the mandate in the same address to the media that was held in Kerala’s capital.  He had a special reading to offer us, indeed different from what we all would ordinarily imagine.  His reading is distinguished from ours by its methodology itself.  He does not look at the assembly elections with reference to states where elections have taken place now. According to him, elections took place in 820 seats.  He took out his cell phone and provided the statistics of the results.  The BJP could win only in 64 assembly seats, the Congress in 115 whereas the Left has been victorious in 124.  He said that this was “the absolute ground reality”.  He assured us, the anxious beings, further that this reality implied no such threat as the return of the saffron.  When a journalist mentioned to him the victory of the Trinamool Congress that had won above 210 seats in West Bengal, he said he had in mind only the national parties.  So, we are expected to understand if we haven’t yet, that the Left’s is indeed an impressive performance as a national party!

Continue reading In the Name of Fidel – The Left Reads the Mandate: Vipin Kumar Chirakkara →

Bad ideas, Capitalism, Centre watch, Government, Politics, Right watch

Modiversary – Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai! Really

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It was late mid-eighties when we use to do streetplays in Varanasi as part of our activities as a left student group – which called itself ‘Gatividhi Vichar Manch’ in Banaras Hindu University. One such plays was titled Desh ko Aage Badhao. The 5-7 minute play was part of a compilation of many other plays brought out possibly by Jana Natya Manch. We must have done hundreds of shows of the other play Raja Ka Baja – which was about the dire state of education and employment.

The theme of this short play Desh ko Aage Badhao was rather crisp. It showed a Netaji/leader in white clothes telling people gathered around him how the ‘nation is progressing’. When the innocent people ask for details, then he starts listing out his personal achivements and the wealth he has acquired through all these years of ‘serving the masses’. The tagline was Arrey Murkhon, dekho desh kaise aage badh raha hai‘ ( You fools, look how the nation is progressing)

The end scence showed people coming together, getting organised and slowly pushing the Netaji. When the terrified Netaji use to ask Arrey Murkhon, yeh kya kar rahe ho. (What are you doing idiots). The awakened people use to answer in unison Netaji, desh ko aage badha rahe hain ( We are pushing the nation forward).

I was reminded of this short play when TV started showing the ad how the nation is changing and how it is progressing with a tagline Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai, Aage Badh Raha Hai. ( How my nation is changing, and advancing) focussing itself on two years of Modi government at the centre. Continue reading Modiversary – Mera Desh Badal Raha Hai! Really →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Education, Government, Politics, Right watch

Congratulations on the Completion of Two Years of Government: Reaction of JNU student, Bihu Chamadia

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Guest Post by BIHU CHAMADIA

Congratulations on the completion of two years of government. But I just want to ask a simple one line question. Completion of two years but at what cost? At the cost of increase in the number of farmer suicides, at the cost of creating war-like situations in educational institutions, at the cost of acting as a catalyst of widening the gap between hindu-muslim, at the cost of increasing imports and decreasing exports. Celebration on such a large scale because of course it is the first ever government in the history of the world to complete 2 years of governance ! With on-going crisis in the country BJP spends 1000 crores on a programme for this celebration. We would have no problem if this money was yours but sadly it’s not its ours. So now to all the tax payers who had problem with JNU raising its voice I ask you have you people become blind and deaf or are suffering from amnesia and forgot how to read and write.

Well, you speak well Mr Modi but the problem is that you only speak. You and your whole cabinet knows that each and every student of these educational institutes can give you people a befitting reply to all your one liners but we choose not to. People laugh at what your ministers says and say what a fool but I have a completely opposite view. You people are not fool you people are smart, very smart indeed.  Your every policy and every one liner can have a nice reply. Continue reading Congratulations on the Completion of Two Years of Government: Reaction of JNU student, Bihu Chamadia →

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Statement of Solidarity with Kancha Ilaiah

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[The following is a statement in support of scholar-activist Prof  Kancha Ilaiah, who is under attack from a number  of Hindutva organizations and  against whom the Hyderabad police recently registered a case for ‘hurting religious sentiments’. The tendency to  resort to police cases, in order to stifle any criticism of Hindutva and the regime has assumed menacing proportions, against which we stand  firmly with Kancha Ilaiah. Those who wish to add their names to the statement and express solidarity may do so by adding them as comments.]

We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the continued harassment, attacks on and intimidation of Prof Kancha Ilaiah at the hands of various Brahmin / brahminical organizations, police and the state administration of Telengana for his political writings and views.  We also hold responsible for this intimidatory environment, the Telugu media that reportedly published distorted and misleading reports of Prof Ilaiah’s speech.

While speaking at the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, a wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on May 14, 2016, at Vijayawada (Amaravathi), Prof. Ilaiah had  said: “The Brahmins as a community have not contributed anything to the production process of the Indian nation. Even now their role in the basic human survival based productive activity is not there. On the contrary, they constructed a spiritual theory that repeatedly tells people that production is pollution.” Continue reading Statement of Solidarity with Kancha Ilaiah →

Culture, Law, Politics, Religion, Right watch

Condemn the Attack on Kancha Ilaiah for asking, ‘Is God a democrat?’

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[We at Kafila condemn the repeated  attacks on scholar activist Professor Kancha Ilaiah by the Hindu Right and  the recent case registered against him by the Hyderabad police. According to a Times of India report, Ilaiah had on May 14 delivered a lecture in Vijayawada in a programme entitled `Nationalism and Divergent Views’ organised by CITU where he reportedly criticised Hindu gods and scriptures, according to the police. Following this an advocate filed a private petition in the court of the XI Metropolitan Magistrate court, Ranga Reddy , requesting to register an FIR under relevant sections of IPC. The court directed cops to register a case under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs),153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 298 (uttering, words, etc. with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of IPC.”

Earlier, last year the  VHP had initiated a campaign against him which was followed by the filing of a case against him by the Hyderabad police. That was in relation to an article Kancha Ilaiah had written, asking ‘Is God a Democrat?’ The story by Ajaz Ashraf from Scroll.in linked below refers to last year’s case but due to an inadvertent mix-up, was initially extracted by us as the one in the eye of the current controversy. The error is seriously regretted and we thank one of our readers for pointing this out. The Times of India report linked to above gives refers to the speech that is currently in the eye of the storm.

Professor Ilaiah has now himself described the current attacks on him in this piece in Scroll.in, where he signs his article as Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, recalling his caste name (translated into English, in order to mark his distance from the brahmans).

The attacks on  Professor Ilaiah are totally unacceptable. We have all read and long admired his writings. Many of us have hugely benefited and learnt a lot from them. The time has come for us to collectively put our heads together and fight this menace of Hindutva, which after hurting every living being’s dignity and sentiments, has now begun claim to be the perpetual and universal victim. Dalits today cannot speak of the indignities and oppression that they have suffered at the hands of the Hindus – even that has become a matter of ‘hurt sentiments’. The response has to be worked out politically and intellectually so that the law is not repeatedly turned into a surrogate of Hindutva politics.]

The Hyderabad police have registered a case against renowned social scientist Kancha Ilaiah, after Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists complained that an opinion piece he wrote in the Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothi had hurt their religious sentiments.

They filed their complaint at Hyderabad’s Sultan Bazar Station was filed on May 9, the day Ilaiah’s article titled Devudu Prajasamya Vada Kada? (Is God a democrat?) was published.

VHP activists Pagudakula Balaswamy, Thirupathi Naik and two others accused Ilaiah of comparing Hinduism with Islam and Christianity, insulting Hindu Gods by comparing them to mortals, mocking their worship, and for attempting to trigger clashes between upper and lower classes (by which they presumably meant castes).

On the basis of their complaint, Inspector P. Shiva Shankar Rao wrote a letter to the Senior Assistant Public Prosecutor, who advised the police to register a case under Section 153 (A) and Section 295 (A), which empower the authorities to act against people who commit deliberate and malicious acts aiming at outraging religious sentiment and spreading enmity between groups.

Case under investigation

The public prosecutor’s legal opinion led to a case being filed on May 15 against Ilaiah, the management of the Andhra Jyothi newspaper, its editor and publisher. The case is currently under investigation, at the completion of which a decision will be taken to whether to chargesheet them.

A police officer at the station told Scroll that Ilaiah is in the habit of articulating provocative views in his articles, which can and do hurt the sentiments of people. “Why does he have to make comments against practices which are dear to people?” the officer said, declining to give his name.

Read the full article here

Bad ideas, Debates, Government, Politics, Right watch

Sahmat statement on intimidation and threats to scholars and activists

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Guest Post : Sahmat statement on intimidation and threats to scholars and activists who investigated human rights abuses in Chhattisgarh

Date 24.5.2016

We strongly condemn the Chhattisgarh government and its police force for using intimidation and threats of a criminal case against academics and political activists investigating human rights abuses in the southern parts of the state, especially Bastar and Dantewada. A fact finding team consisting of Prof. Archana Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Prof. Nandini Sundar, Delhi University (DU) and Vineet Tiwari, researcher at CPI’s Joshi-Adhikari Institute recently visited the area for 5 days between 12-16 May 2016. They were accompanied by Sanjay Parate, Chhattisgarh State Secretary CPI-M.

After the visit the team was accused of spreading dissent against security agencies and supporting the ’Maoists’. The statement by the state home minister Ram Sewak Paikra in the Times of India reportedly calling the three reputed Delhi based academicians ‘anti-nationals’ and ‘Maoist’ is part of a recent and explicit trend to stifle the freedom of expression and movement through a state crackdown on political dissent. The threat of an FIR and further harassment looms large. The local contacts, escorts and villagers who hosted the team are being harassed and intimidated by the Police in order to fabricate evidence and ensure that they help no other study team in the future.

The Press Release by the team clearly indicts both the Chhattisgarh state and Maoist violence and reveals how ordinary Adivasis, struggling for a dignified existence and protesting against the violation of basic rights have little space to voice genuine grievances.

This is the latest in a long line of actions to criminalize dissent, free expression and movement, and stifle fair reportage of events which have become hallmarks of the Chhattisgarh government.

We appeal to all democrats to condemn this brazen attempt at intimidation by the State and its Security Agencies.

Bishnupriya Dutt, (JNU)
Ranjani Mazumdar, (JNU)
Surinder Jodhka, JNU)
Neeladri Bhattacharyya, (JNU)
Jaivir Singh, (JNU)
Vivek Kumar, (JNU)
Sachidanand Sinha, (JNU)

Continue reading Sahmat statement on intimidation and threats to scholars and activists →

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

कुल्हाडी की छाया में उम्मीद

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‘शब्द हिरासत में हैं और हत्यारे खुलेआम घुम रहे हैं’

( Photo Courtesy : freethinker.co.uk, Martyr Rajib Haider who was killed by the Islamists on 15 th February 2013)

आम दिनों में ऐसे बयानों पर कोई गौर नहीं करता, मगर एक ऐसे समय में जबकि आप के कई साथी इस्लामिस्टों के हाथों मारे गए हों और उनके द्वारा जारी हिट लिस्ट में आप का नाम भी शुमार हो और उधर अपने आप को सेक्युलर कहलानेवाली सरकार भी  इन आततायियों के खिलाफ सख्त कदम उठाएगी ऐसी कोई उम्मीद नहीं दिखती तो, उस पृष्ठ भूमि में तीन ब्लागर्स द्वारा अपना नाम लेकर जारी किया गया एक बयान विद्रोह की आवाज़ को नए सिरेसे बुलन्द करना है। (http://sacw.net/article12741.html)

‘कुल्हाडी की छाया में उम्मीद’ यही शीर्षक है उस पत्र का जो बांगलादेश के युवा ब्लॉगर और लेखक आरिफ जेबतिक ने लिखा है। सरकार की समझौतापरस्ती की आलोचना करते हुए वह लिखते हैं कि ‘जब किसी नागरिक की हत्या होती है और राज्य की प्राथमिकता होती है कि पहले यह पता किया जाए कि उसने लिखा क्या न कि हत्यारों को पकड़ा जाए, तब स्पष्ट होता है कि इन ब्लागर्स के हत्यारों को पकड़ने में सरकार की कितनी दिलचस्पी है।’ ‘मेरे विचार चुपचाप रोते हैं’ शीर्षक से एक अन्य पत्र मारूफ रोसूल ने भी लिखा है जो लेखक हैं और ‘मुक्तो मोना’ (Mukto Mona ) नामक ब्लॉग के लिए नियमित लिखते हैं। वह लिखते हैं कि बुनियादपरस्त लोग पूरी दुनिया में उत्पात मचाए हुए हैं, अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता, मुक्त चिंतन सभी खतरे में है और इसलिए यह संघर्ष अनथक जारी रहना चाहिए, इसके पहले कि यह शैतानी ताकतें हमारी स्वतंत्रता में एक और कील न ठोंक दे।’ तीसरा पत्र जानेमाने ब्लागर एवं कार्यकर्ता इमरान सरकार ने लिखा है जो ‘बांगलादेश ब्लागर्स एण्ड आनलाइन एक्टिविस्ट नेटवर्क‘ के अग्रणी हैं तथा, ‘गणजागरण मंच‘ जैसे सेक्युलर आन्दोलन के प्रवक्ता हैं। इमरान सरकार लिखते हैं कि ‘शब्द हिरासत में हैं और हत्यारे खुलेआम घुम रहे हैं।’ ..हत्यारे मुक्त चिन्तन के रास्ते में एक के बाद एक बैरिकेड खड़े कर रहे हैं। एक एक सहयोद्धा की मौत के साथ उनके शोक में निकले जुलसों में लोगों की तादाद बढ़ रही है और सरकार हत्यारों को पकड़ने के बजाय ब्लागर्स के लेखन पर ही सवाल खड़ा कर रही है और सूचना एवं सम्प्रेषण टेक्नोलोजी की धारा 57 का इस्तेमाल करते हुए ब्लागर्स को ही गिरफतार कर रही है।’ Continue reading कुल्हाडी की छाया में उम्मीद →