Bad ideas, Centre watch, Countryside, Culture, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Government, Identities, Images, Law, Movements, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Not Pakistan, but Modi has pushed Kashmir on the Brink : Ashok Swain

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This is a guest post by ASHOK SWAIN

Since the death of a young and charismatic separatist named Burhan Wani, Kashmir has erupted into violence and chaos. Weeks of violent protests in the Valley have resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people and over 5,000 injuries. Kashmir is not new to violent protests and civilian deaths, but this time the intensity of the protest and the passion of the protesters is unprecedented. Continue reading Not Pakistan, but Modi has pushed Kashmir on the Brink : Ashok Swain →

Politics, Right watch

Statement against RSS attack on journalist Neha Dixit and press freedom

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UPDATE: The statement now includes below, 31 endorsements received from Gujarat as of 19 August 2016

This statement is being posted with the hundred-plus signatures received between 1 pm and 8 pm today. Please endorse in the comments section if you wish to do so.

We, the undersigned journalists, activists and academics, condemn in the strongest terms, the brazen attack launched by RSS organizations and individuals on journalist Neha Dixit and Outlook magazine for a thorough investigative report by Dixit based on three months of field work. This report revealed how different Sangh outfits trafficked 31 tribal girls, some as young as three years, from tribal areas of Assam, to Punjab and Gujarat. Orders were issued to these organizations by the Assam State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, the Child Welfare Committee (Kokrajhar), the State Child Protection Society, and Childline (Delhi and Patiala), to return the children to Assam. These orders were violated with impunity by Sangh-run institutions with the help of the Gujarat and Punjab governments.

On the publication of this report in Outlook, a police complaint was lodged at Latasil Police Station on grounds of inciting communal hatred, and the police registered an FIR against Indranil Roy (Publisher), Krishna Prasad (Editor) of Outlook and Neha Dixit, writer of the story. The complainants are Bijon Mahajan (BJP spokesperson and Gauhati High Court advocate), Mominul Awwal (BJP Minority Cell) and Subhash Chandra Kayal (Assistant Solicitor General).

Instead of launching an investigation into the trafficking, the police have chosen to act on a frivolous and motivated complaint against those who exposed the crime.  We demand that the police immediately file charges against those who conduct child trafficking.

In addition, RSS organizations have started a campaign targeting Neha Dixit and Outlook in social media, claiming “defamation”, and we can expect more trumped up police complaints and legal interventions. We are also aware that these Hindutva brigades often take the law into their own hands, unleashing violence with impunity, emboldened by the current regime.

RSS organizations and individuals have long used the law and police machinery to hound artists and intellectuals from MF Hussain to Ashis Nandy, invoking the legal section of “inciting communal hatred” to stifle freedom of expression, using it whenever their own communally violent and hate-inducing tactics and actions are revealed and made public. Journalists are particularly vulnerable, as their investigative reports that reveal RSS organizations’ strategies to attack minorities, Hinduise tribals and created hatred between communities, are themselves targeted as “inciting communal hatred”. Continue reading Statement against RSS attack on journalist Neha Dixit and press freedom →

Bad ideas

नामवर सिंह का जन्मदिन: कुछ सवाल

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नामवर सिंह के नब्बेवें जन्मदिन के उत्सव को लेकर विवाद चल रहा है. यह आयोजन इंदिरा गांधी राष्ट्रीय कला केंद्र में, उसके द्वारा आयोजित किया गया.केंद्र राष्ट्रीय महत्त्व की संस्था है. लेकिन आजतक उसने किसी जीवित व्यक्ति का जन्मदिन मनाया हो,इसके उदाहरण नहीं हैं. यह असाधारण अपवाद नामवरजी के लिए किया जा सकता है क्योंकि वे हैं भी असाधारण व्यक्तित्व.तकरीबन सत्तर साल तक वे हिंदी साहित्य के केंद्र में बने रहे हैं.हिंदी ही नहीं,अन्य ज्ञानानुशासनों के बीच भी उनकी प्रतिष्ठा है. वे जैसे लेखक हैं, वैसे ही प्रखर वक्ता.कोई राष्ट्रीय संस्था उन्हें सम्मानित करे,इसमें क्या विवाद हो सकता है?

सामान्य समय होता तो न होता. लेकिन हम असाधारण समय में रह रहे हैं.भारत को अघोषित लेकिन निश्चित रूप से हिन्दू राष्ट्र में बदला जा रहा है.शायद ही कोई दिन जाता हो जब किसी देश के किसी हिस्से में गाय या किसी और बहाने से मुसलमानों पर हमला न हो रहा  हो या उन्हें अपमानित न किया जा रहा हो. दलित अब हमलों के नए शिकार हैं.लेकिन इसमें कोई शक नहीं कि निशाने पर मुसलमान हैं.गाय के नाम पर हमलों को सड़क छाप गुंडों की हरकत मानकर नज़रअंदाज नहीं किया जा सकता. सरकार बनने के तुरत बाद सीमा सुरक्षा बल की तारीफ़ करते हुए गृह मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह ने कहा कि उन्हें इसलिए शाबाशी दी जानी चाहिए कि उन्होंने सीमा पर चौकसी इतनी सख्त कर दी है कि बांग्लादेश को गायों की तस्करी रुक-सी गई है.उसी भाषण में उन्होंने कहा कि इससे उस देश में गोमांस की कीमत बहुत बढ़ गई है. फिर उन्होंने जवानों का आह्वान किया कि वे ऐसा उपाय करें कि पड़ोसी देश के लोग गोमांस खाना ही भूल जाएँ. Continue reading नामवर सिंह का जन्मदिन: कुछ सवाल →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Left watch, Movements, Politics

Democratic centralism – ‘freedom of thought (sic.) and unity in action’? Rajinder Chaudhary

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This is a guest post by RAJINDER CHAUDHARY; you can view his previous post on democratic centralism, on Kafila here.

The title of this note uses a quotation from ‘On Democratic Centralism’ by Com Prakash Karat carried in The Marxist, XXVI, 1, January-March 2010. This piece by the then General Secretary of the CPI(M) and the constitution of CPI(M) available on its official site (as updated in October 2015) throws interesting insights into operationalisation of the principle of democratic centralism, which recently once again came into public view in the Jagmati Sangwan episode. (All quotations henceforth are from either of these two documents.)

            Prima facie ‘unity in action’ appears quite desirable but is it really so in all situations? Does it require to ‘bind the entire collective into implementing that decision’ in all situations as Karat argues, or ‘the individual shall subordinate himself to the will of the collective’ as article XIII 1(b) of party constitution requires? Do all actions-decisions that a communist party undertakes in a parliamentary democracy like ours are of the war like situation requiring marshalling of all resources without exception? Obviously, all organisational decisions cannot be equally crucial to require binding the whole organization to it. Why can’t there be freedom of action where some members or units decide to focus on health issues and others on educational issues, and some may refrain from either? Why can’t some members/units try particular tactics of organization, follow a calendar of their own and others a different one? If it sounds that one is stretching the centralism aspect a bit too far, it may be noted that Karat points out that the ‘democracy is practiced, before the conference when the political line is being formulated. Centralism comes in when the line is being implemented’, ‘when the party is formulating its policies, at the time of conferences etc., there will be democracy in action, free discussions within the party forums. Once a call for action is given, the aspect of centralism will predominate’. As if defining the political line once in three years, clinches everything and thereafter, on no other issues independent and dencentralised decisions can be taken. In fact article XXXIII of the party constitution, makes it explicit that democratic centralism means “the centralised leadership based on inner-Party democracy under the guidance of the centralised leadership”. There is a whole article on “Inner-Party Discussions” (article XXI) which states that “State Committee can initiate inner-Party discussion on an important question of Party policy concerning that particular State… with the approval of the Central Committee” (emphasis added). So, even discussion at state level on state issues can only be initiated with the approval of the Central Committee (and off course format has to be approved too). This amply clarifies the meaning of ‘freedom of thought (sic.) and unity in action’ and where emphasis lies in ‘democratic centralism’. No wonder many times one has come across situation where Party members are just curious to know what the party line on particular issue was and not the detailed arguments and would not speak on a current issue until unless party line was clear.

Continue reading Democratic centralism – ‘freedom of thought (sic.) and unity in action’? Rajinder Chaudhary →

Culture, Debates, Government, Identities, Politics, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Cow-Gangs of Akhand Bharat and the Dalit Revolt – Hindutva Unravels

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As the cow-gangs of Hindutva go on a rampage and the the prime minister, Narendra Modi, adopts a posture of strategic silence, the country is rapidly being pushed to the brink of a civil war. This might sound a trifle far-fetched but classically, when large numbers of people begin to believe that there is no government for them, the time is not far when they will start making preparations for defending themselves. It started with the attacks on Muslims but soon enveloped the Dalits as it was bound to. The Una incident, which sparked off a veritable revolt, was followed up by subsequent attacks in Lucknow. The Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association in Punjab, involving large number of Sikh farmers, has also been fighting continuing harassment and violence by cow-gangs of Hindutva in Punjab for some time now. The PDFA president has also stated that they might be forced to act in self-defense. The president Daljit Singh Gill, in fact, reportedly told mediapersons that “(I)f someone attacks the farmers, we will stop them now,” and “(I)f something goes wrong, it is the government’s responsibility.”

Even as the cow-gangs continue with their vigilantism unrestrained and unchecked, a large demonstration yesterday at Jantar Mantar by Samta Sainik Dal, actually sent out yet another signal. It spokespersons said in so many words that they were now prepared to take on the cow-gangs physically, if and where necessary.

Tracing SSD’s lineage back to Dr Ambedkar’s initiative in the 1924, the President of the organization openly blamed the ‘Manuvadi’ forces, in cahoots with the police and bureaucracy, backed by the government. He was candid that it is not the Sikhs or Muslims or Christians who are attacking the Dalits today but the Hindus who are doing it in the name of nationalism and that people were now in a mood to fight back unitedly together.

Not only is Modi’s deafening silence now coming to be seen as a sign of encouragement and complicity, with BJP leaders like Hyderabad MLA Raja Singh openly justifying the Una attack, and no action being taken against him by the party yet, it is clear that this vigilantism is endorsed by the highest quarters in the party. For those who may have missed seeing Raja Singh’s video, this is what he said:

“Jo Dalit gaye ke maas ko le ja raha tha, jo uski pitai hui hai, woh bohut hi achhi hui hai (Those Dalits who were taking the cow, the cow meat, those who were beaten, it was a very good thing to happen).

Continue reading Cow-Gangs of Akhand Bharat and the Dalit Revolt – Hindutva Unravels →

Bad ideas, Culture, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Feminism, Frontiers, Genders, Identities, Images, Language, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

A response to “Kashmir is Feminist Issue” by Sonam Mittal: Tupur Chatterjee

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Guest Post by Tupur Chatterjee

Sonam Mittal’s recent piece in Kafila, “Kashmir is Feminist Issue” draws upon an oft-cited gendered analogy to describe the Kashmir’s relationship with India and Pakistan. Though it makes a few pertinent points about the nexus of power and patriarchy and the urgent need for Indian feminist solidarity with the Kashmiri resistance, I found the analogy deeply problematic and strongly feel that it needs further unpacking to underline its worrying implications.

Continue reading A response to “Kashmir is Feminist Issue” by Sonam Mittal: Tupur Chatterjee →

Bad ideas

सात-वर्षीय विश्वविद्यालय का हाल-ए-दिल: युगांधर

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GUEST POST by YUGANDHAR

2009 ई. में भारत सरकार ने देश के उन राज्यों में एक-एक केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय की स्थापना की जहाँ पहले से कोई केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय नहीं था | इसी प्रक्रिया में बिहार में भी एक केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय की स्थापना हुई | तत्कालीन केंद्र सरकार और राज्य सरकार के बीच प्रस्तावित विश्वविद्यालय के स्थायी परिसर को लेकर खींचातानी शुरू हुई | लगभग तीन साल की कशमकश के बाद यह फैसला हुआ कि बिहार में दो विश्वविद्यालय स्थापित किए जाएँगे | इसकी भी औपचारिकताएँ पूरी करते-करते सन् 2014 आ गया | कुल मिलाकर यह कि गंगा नदी के उस पार मोतिहारी में ‘महात्मा गाँधी केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय’ और गंगा के इस पार गया जिला के पंचानपुर-दरियापुर में ‘दक्षिण बिहार केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय’  की स्थापना का निर्णय लिया गया |

चूँकि ‘दक्षिण बिहार केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय’ स्थायी परिसर गया में बनना था इसलिए तत्कालीन कुलपति ने 2013 ई. में कुछ विषयों की पढ़ाई गया में आरंभ की | जुलाई 2013 ई. से नए सत्र की शुरुआत हुई | मार्च 2014 ई. में संस्थापक कुलपति का कार्यकाल समाप्त हो गया | भारत सरकार की लेटलतीफी के कारण लगभग डेढ़ साल यह विश्वविद्यालय प्रभारी कुलपति के सहारे चलता रहा | अभी आलम यह है कि कुछ विषयों का पठन-पाठन  पटना में और कुछ विषयों का अध्ययन-अध्यापन  गया में किराए की जगह में चल रहा है | विश्वविद्यालय के स्थायी परिसर के निर्माण का काम भी चल रहा है |  Continue reading सात-वर्षीय विश्वविद्यालय का हाल-ए-दिल: युगांधर →

Capitalism, Ecology/Environment, Government, Metropolis

The Gurgaon Deluge Is Only A Taste Of Things To Come

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This article was first published in The Huffington Post.

What happened in Gurgaon two days ago is only a foretaste of what is going to befall Delhi. The same fate awaits all other regions surrounding Delhi in the broader National Capital Region, if we refuse to draw appropriate lessons from the deluge that short-circuited the virtual dreams of those who had bought the chimera of the Millennium City.

 A short recap of what led to the deluge will help place the entire issue in perspective. The low-lying plains of the area receive precipitation run-off from the Aravalis and the Chhattarpur area of Delhi. All this run-off used to flow through the Badshahpur Nala.
Map: Shehla Hashmi Grewal Drainage pattern of Delhi
Map: Shehla Hashmi Grewal
Drainage pattern of Delhi
Continue reading The Gurgaon Deluge Is Only A Taste Of Things To Come →
Bad ideas, Capitalism, Media politics, Scams

An Example of the Liberal Media Defending Powerful Neoliberal Elites: Aditya Velivelli

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Guest post by ADITYA VELIVELLI

A wife’s career taking a backseat due to her husband’s work is no trivial issue. However, Outlook magazine used this issue to defend a powerful couple who had giant conflicts of interest among them.

In the recent cabinet reshuffle, Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha, was shifted out of the finance ministry. A few news articles came out speculating that Sinha’s transfer was due to his wife Punita Sinha’s conflicts of interest and because a Tea party organised by Jayant Sinha involved schmoozing between Corporates and bank officers. Jayant Sinha was in the process of organising a bailout fund for the bad corporate loans at that time. This bailout fund would be paid for by the tax payers.  Continue reading An Example of the Liberal Media Defending Powerful Neoliberal Elites: Aditya Velivelli →

Culture

Relaa – Singing in dark times

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mynah-1-768x328

RELAA is a collective of cultural activists and independent artists across the country, on an ongoing journey to keep the space for dissent alive, for diverse understandings, imaginations and embodiments of resistance. Relaa does not wish to use the arts as an instrument for politics, but to create forms with rigour, passion, boldness and conviction – forms that can haunt, move, disturb and provoke people to think beyond facts.

Here is a song from them

FOR MORE SONGS AND INFORMATION ABOUT RELAA, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.

Culture, Everyday Life, Right watch

Operation #BetiUthao – How the Sangh Parivar Hinduises tribal girls: Neha Dixit

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An investigative report by NEHA DIXIT in Outlook on how the Sangh Parivar has flouted every law, to traffic 31 young tribal girls from Assam to Punjab and Gujarat to ‘Hinduise’ them, leaving their parents forlorn. In a three-month-long investigation, Outlook accessed government documents to expose how different Sangh outfits trafficked 31 tribal girls as young as three years from tribal areas of Assam to Punjab and Gujarat. Orders to return the children to Assam—including those from the Assam State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, the Child Welfare Committee, Kokrajhar, the State Child Protection Society, and Childline, Delhi and Patiala—were violated by Sangh-run institutions with the help of the Gujarat and Punjab governments.

Excerpts from Neha Dixit’s five part story:

“I never wanted to send my daughter so far. What if she fell sick? What if she needed me? Where will I go looking for her? But this guy forced me,” says Adha Hasda, his eyes bloodshot with anger.

Mangal Mardi, his neighbour and a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, stood by the barbed-wire fence marking out the small cowdung-plastered patch on which Adha Hasda’s house stood. He got me to meet Adha to hear for myself about the excellent welfare work that the RSS was doing in Bashbari village of Gossaigaon area in Kokrajhar district. Adha’s unexpected outburst has stunned him. He uttered something in Assamese but Adha was undeterred.

“Then where is Srimukti? Tell me? You sent her!” says Adha, breaking down. His wife Phoolmani consoles him.

“Do you plan to send the other three children too, like Srimukti?” I ask.

“No,” he says, looking up in anger. “Not even if they pay me money.”

Mangal smirks at this exchange, kneeling by the pillar of house as he twirls a smartphone in his hand.

Continue reading Operation #BetiUthao – How the Sangh Parivar Hinduises tribal girls: Neha Dixit →

Capitalism, Countryside, Ecology/Environment, Movements

The Gaze of the Developmental State and the Narmada Action Plans: Ashwin V.S

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Guest Post by ASHWIN V.S

Malud-Jal-satyagrah

Jal Satyagraha in Narmada valley 2013

The years following the Second World War were characterized by a renewed focus on the ‘Modernization’ of nation-states. While the constant feature of the post-war years was the high-stakes rivalry and arms race between the USA and the USSR; both tread a common ground as regards high-modernization and ‘development’. ‘Development’ fuelled growth was considered a panacea to all ills and soon became dominant across the post-colonial world. WW Rostow’s The Stages of Economic Growth was a significant work which argued for five stages of growth in which “traditional societies” could transform themselves into the “age of high mass-consumption”. It was no wonder therefore as to which nation-states were characterized as ‘traditional’ under this rubric and pushed towards ‘development’.

A standard feature of ‘development’ in India has been the showcasing of large scale industrial and apparently ‘public purpose’ projects; an instance of this is seen in the construction of large dams. As much as ‘modernization’ or ‘development’ can be witnessed through the industrial or ‘public’ projects themselves; the ambition of the ‘developmental state’ and its vision can certainly be understood through the one-constant feature of the bureaucratic machinery – paperwork.

Therefore, for the purposes of this essay, I attempt to evaluate the ambition of the post-colonial ‘developmental state’ in India by analyzing the language of a few planning documents. In this case, I consider the Narmada Valley Development Authority’s (NVDAs) Action Plans prepared in the years 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2000 for the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) of Sardar Sarovar Project ‘oustees’ in Madhya Pradesh. These Documents are revealing in aspects of the modern state’s enterprise and it’s most significant undertaking, planning.

The State’s gaze and legibility:

James Scott’s magnificent work Seeing Like a State characterizes a crucial difference between the pre-modern state and the modern state: while the former “was in many crucial respects, partially blind” and “knew precious little about its subjects”, the modern state is consumed by a desire to know. Armed with statistics and other tools of ‘accuracy’, the modern state stakes its claim to the accurate depiction of the social world, which it then tries to alter in accordance to its designs of ‘development’. Continue reading The Gaze of the Developmental State and the Narmada Action Plans: Ashwin V.S →

Debates, Politics, Violence/Conflict

In Solidarity With Irom Sharmila – Repeal AFSPA: Forum Against Oppression of Women

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Statement issued by FORUM AGAINST OPPRESSION OF WOMEN

index

Let Us Work Together To Create New Strategies Of Struggle Against Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)

We wholeheartedly support the decision of Irom Sharmila to withdraw, her fast of nearly 16 years for the revocation of AFSPA, we salute Irom Sharmila for her undying spirit, heroic struggle and undeterred determination in struggle against AFSPA.
It is our responsibility to take the struggle further and also support Irom Sharmila in her continuing struggle against AFSPA.
 
The history of post-Independence India is also the history of subjugation of the citizens of the North-eastern region. There has been a systematic crushing by the Indian state of their aspirations, and a consistent betrayal of promises made. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was enacted as long ago as 1958, in order to suppress the genuine protests of the region’s inhabitants.
 
What is essentially a political issue has been treated simplistically as a law and order problem. AFSPA gives unbridled powers to the army and airforce. (Mizoram is the only part of India where the air force has actually bombed its own people.) The original Act allowed state governments to declare an area to be ‘disturbed’ and to call in the army. A 1972 amendment further allowed the central government to override state governments in order to do the same in any area.
 
AFSPA gives army officers the power to arrest without warrant, to shoot and kill on mere suspicion, to destroy property, and many other such draconian powers. The armed forces are required to act “in aid of” civilian authorities, but that caveat exists only on paper. In reality the army has virtually taken over large areas for decades together now, becoming a force unto itself, answerable to none. No army personnel may be prosecuted without permission from the central government – a permission hardly ever granted. Even bodies like the National and State Human Rights Commissions have little jurisdiction when it comes to human rights violations in the context of AFSPA.
 
What might have served at best as a short-term measure has become a permanent feature in Manipur and most of the North East (except Tripura where AFSPA was withdrawn in May 2015) and some parts of Kashmir. Yet the AFSPA is in violation of various international instruments that India has ratified, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture, the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the UN Body of Principles for Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention, and the UN Principles on Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal and Summary Executions.  It is patently unconstitutional, which makes it all the more unfortunate that the Indian Supreme Court got carried away by security concerns and upheld the constitutional validity of the Act.
 
In Manipur there has been widespread unhappiness, with the continuing abuse of human rights by the armed forces under cover of AFSPA causing bitter grievances to surface. Protests against these abuses are a constant feature. In one unique protest in 2004, angered by the custodial rape, torture and killing of 32-year-old Manorama who was picked up from her home on “suspicion”, a number of women paraded naked in front of an army base in protest against the army’s atrocities against women. The other unique and non-violent protest has been that of Irom Sharmila, poet and activist from Manipur. In what has possibly been the longest fast-unto-death anywhere, she has spent more than fifteen years now refusing food and demanding the repeal of AFSPA. For these fifteen years she has lived under arrest and been kept alive through intravenous force-feeding by the authorities.

Continue reading In Solidarity With Irom Sharmila – Repeal AFSPA: Forum Against Oppression of Women →

Culture, Debates, Frontiers, Identities, Images, Language, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Kashmir’s Freedom is India’s Freedom: Hum Kya Chahte? Azadi

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I do not think ordinary Indians support the brutality of army occupation in Kashmir. Despite what the Indian state says, and despite what the Indian army and CRPF are doing, I honestly do not believe that any ordinary Indian supports the torture of young men, the blinding of people attending a funeral, the rape of women, the killings and maiming and abuse and humiliation that are now a routinized fact of daily life in the Kashmir valley. To believe that ordinary Indians enjoy watching this spectacle of violence, that ordinary Indians take pleasure in the torture of children, would be to think India is now a country comprised of sadistic psychopaths. I honestly do not think ordinary Indians are psychopaths. I do think, however, that ordinary Indians, and I count myself amongst them, have somehow managed, till now, to keep some distance between what is happening in Kashmir and the idea of India as a whole. After all, India is a large and complex country, a huge and diverse society. Everything that happens in Kashmir, the brutality of the army and the security forces, cannot signify the whole truth of India we tell ourselves. It seems somehow unfair to us ordinary Indians that what happens in Kashmir reflects on us all.

But the time has come now to squarely face some hard truths about ourselves, and the dissimulations, psychological and social, by which we continue to live in this country and call ourselves ‘Indians’. Continue reading Kashmir’s Freedom is India’s Freedom: Hum Kya Chahte? Azadi →

Everyday Life, Identities, Language, Violence/Conflict

Reflections on Dissent -How Is Hannah Arendt Relevant for Contemporary Israel and India? Ira Chadha-Sridhar

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This is a guest post by IRA CHADHA-SRIDHAR

In 2016, the age-old conflict between Israel and Palestine has become tougher and more violent at the ground level. The year has come with several disturbing developments in the region- the intensification of the Gaza blockade, the subsequent statement by the Hamas threatening to implement an explosion unless the blockade is lifted and Israel’s rejection of the French peace treaty for the region. Jean-Marc Ayrault, French Foreign Affairs Minister said, in April 2016 that, “The two sides are further apart than ever.” In other news, Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London, has been criticized for his statements claiming Hitler himself was a Zionist before “he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews”. The merits of Livingstone’s statements and the fallacious reasoning he employs has been rightly criticized by several international commentators. However, he has unknowingly raised larger, more important questions by his statements about how to criticize the Israeli state without being branded as “anti-Semitic” within international discourse- a problem that several commentators critical of the Israeli regime have faced. How can the international community legitimately advance its criticism of the Israeli state? Although critics of Israel are usually non-Jews, there has been a vibrant critique of the oppressive Israeli regime from the Jewish diaspora itself. For historical instruction, in this article, I draw upon the work of one of the earliest and most controversial voices of critique from the Israeli diaspora- the brutally honest voice of 20th century political philosopher, Hannah Arendt. Her book of unparalleled political influence, ‘Eichmann in Jersulelam: A Report on the Banality of Evil’, created what scholars often refer to as a “war” amongst intellectuals across the world that brought to question the validity of her theories and their political and global ramifications. (Elon 2006) Amongst the Jews, and, in particular, in Israel, Arendt’s work was met with anger and severe political backlash. She was labelled “Anti-Jew”, “Nazi” and a “Jew-hater”- labels that were intended to act as violent threats against her distinct, free intellectual voice. (Elon 2006). Continue reading Reflections on Dissent -How Is Hannah Arendt Relevant for Contemporary Israel and India? Ira Chadha-Sridhar →

Identities, Images, Language, Violence/Conflict

The Paths of Piety: Nandagopal R. Menon

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This is a guest post by Nandagopal R. Menon

The recent disappearance of 21 Muslims (men and women) from Kerala – allegedly to join the IS – has created considerable panic in the state. Media and public discourses are rife with speculative reports about their whereabouts, their motives (or pathologies rather), the Islamic networks and scholars with whom they were associated and so on. In this note I want to think about one aspect of this discourse about the disappeared. What is striking is how a specific form of Islamic piety (Salafism) is sought to be, advertently or inadvertently, linked to the IS’ violent extremism. That is, though they are not exactly the same, practicing a certain kind of Salafism could or will lead to embracing the ideology of the IS. To be fair, there is no overt claim made on these lines, but the inordinate focus on Salafism and its practices in the context of IS-related panic creates the impression that there is some kind of organic, straightforward connection between Salafism and IS. Now whatever the precise definition of Salafism given by scholars, what concerns me here is the alleged nature of its “problematic” variant that is at the centre of the controversy in Kerala. This interpretation, sometimes termed “extreme” or “ascetic” Salafism to distinguish it from its “moderate” versions represented by some of Kerala’s major Muslim organisations, apparently stresses a “puritanical” piety that demands a literal interpretation of the Islamic tradition (primarily the Qur’an and hadith, or traditions of what the Prophet said, did or approved). For instance, since there are hadith which say that the Prophet kept goats, Muslims who strive to be pious should also take up herding goats. Similarly, this piety requires one to separate oneself from all kinds of “un-Islamic” ways of life – avoid using products brought with money involving paying or receiving interest, shunning various forms of arts like music and cinema, rejecting certain sartorial styles (trousers that fall below the ankles for men or dress that do not cover the face for women) etc. This form of “puritanical” Salafism thus marks out its practitioners as separate, distinct and even encourages one to (literally) seclude oneself from not only the rest of the society, but also from other Muslims (even family members) who do not adhere to this form of piety. Some “ascetic” Salafis are said to have travelled to Sri Lanka and Yemen, or carved out a separate space in Kerala itself, in their search for the perfect and complete Islamic way of life. Continue reading The Paths of Piety: Nandagopal R. Menon →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Countryside, Culture, Debates, Everyday Life, Government, Identities, Images, Violence/Conflict

Black and Blue: A Short Story by Saunvedan Aparanti

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This is a guest post by SAUNVEDAN APARANTI

[Based on Gujarat Dalit flogging. It chronicles the fictionalised life of one of the victims.]

What comes to your mind when you think of India? If you’ve been seduced by films, books, pictures and anglophile Indians over the last century then you will no doubt paint a happy picture. You might romanticise the poor yet happy people, the colours, the cuisine, the attire, the mystics, the music, the dance, the cacophony, the heat and the sensory overload of this one country. The only colour missing in your picture will be any shade of black because black is a colour that India hides.Black is a colour that India detests whether it be the colour of your skin or the colour of the sewer that you’re lowered in. A bottomless pit is where you will find the true colour of India. Continue reading Black and Blue: A Short Story by Saunvedan Aparanti →

Culture, Government, Religion, Right watch, Violence/Conflict

Eminent Citizens of Gujarat Demand Judicial Inquiry into Attacks on Dalits in Una

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The following is a Memorandum to the Governor of Gujarat, initiated by statement issued by the Movement for Secular Democracy and signed by many eminent personalities in the state, demanding a judicial inquiry into the attacks on Dalits in Una by cow-vigilantes. The memorandum was sent on 16 July 2016.

(079) 26404418

MOVEMENT FOR SECULAR DEMOCRACY (M.S.D.)

C/o. Narmad Meghani Library, Opp. Natraj Railway Crossing, Meethakhali, Ahmedabad- 380 006.

Date: 14-7-2016

To,

The Honourable Governor,

Gujarat,

Gandhinagar.

Sub: Appointing a Judicial Commission for the Investigation in the Matter of Atrocities on Dalits in Una of Gir Somnath District

Dear Sir,

It is a matter of pain that when the entire nation is celebrating 125th Birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Gujarat has created a precedent of atrocities on Dalits! Continue reading Eminent Citizens of Gujarat Demand Judicial Inquiry into Attacks on Dalits in Una →

Government, Violence/Conflict

Killing of 5 civilians in Gumudumaha: Statement by GASS and HRF

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Statement issued by Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan (GASS, Odisha) and the Human Rights Forum (HRF, AP and Telangana).

We demand that personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) who participated in the firing that resulted in the death of five civilians of Gumudumaha village in Paranpanga panchayat of Tumdibandha block in Kandhamal district of Odisha on July 8, 2016 be duly charged under relevant provisions of the IPC as well as those of the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminally prosecuted.

A four-member team of the Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan (GASS, Odisha) and the Human Rights Forum (HRF, AP and Telangana) visited Gumudumaha village on July 17 and spoke with local residents including eyewitnesses to the killings. Over 15 residents of the village had hired an auto-rickshaw at Balliguda on the evening of July 8 to take them to their village. Most of them were returning home after having collected their MGNREGS wages at the sub-divisional headquarters (Balliguda). At about 8.20 pm the auto was close to the village but had to get over a steep incline. The passengers got down and while the women, two of them carrying infant sons, walked ahead, the men pushed the auto up the kutcha road.

Upon reaching the top, the women first began to get into the auto when SOG personnel lying in wait amidst bushes not more than 10 to 15 metres away to the left of the road opened fire with no warning whatsoever. Five people, including three women, and a two-year old boy were killed instantly while seven others were wounded, five of them seriously. The dead and wounded belong to the adivasi Kondh and the Scheduled Caste Pano communities. Continue reading Killing of 5 civilians in Gumudumaha: Statement by GASS and HRF →

Bad ideas, Centre watch, Debates, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Kashmir, Summer 2016: Angana Chatterji

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Guest Post by Angana Chatterji 

In 2011, I had written an essay on Kashmir entitled: “The Militarized Zone,”which was published in an anthology on Kashmir (Verso Books).

What was apparent then is all too real now. I reproduce an edited fragment here today, in solidarity with Kashmiris who are being asphyxiated in their land and subjected to life under conditions akin to collective internment, and their allies across India who are being intimidated to conserve the silence. Speaking up on Kashmir is inevitably accompanied by fear for many even as silence is a betrayal of humanity. Continue reading Kashmir, Summer 2016: Angana Chatterji →

Centre watch, Debates, Education, Empire/ Imperialism, Everyday Life, Frontiers, Government, Images, Mirror Worlds, Movements, Politics, Violence/Conflict

Statement Against State Violence in Kashmir: Ashoka University Students and Alumni

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Guest Post by Ashoka University Students and Alumni

Letter condemning the State Violence in Kashmir

To

The Govt of India. and the Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir.

We, the undersigned—current students, alumni of the Young India Fellowship, and faculty of Ashoka University—write to voice our deepest anguish and grave concern at the violent turn of events in Kashmir in the past few days. The violence perpetrated by the Indian State after the extra-judicial execution(1) of 22-year old Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani (2) is highly condemnable. The Indian Army, Kashmir Police and other task forces have reacted violently with bullets, pellets and lathis in the clashes that erupted after Burhan’s funeral. This was immediately followed by many more protests and demonstrations as part of Kashmiri resistance to the military occupation of Kashmir by the Indian State. In the violent repression of the protests which had a huge ground support (evident from the large attendance to Burhan’s funeral) , 55 civilians (3) have been killed and around 3100 people (4) were severely injured by the pellets(5), lathis and bullets, some of whom have lost their eyesight. We, unequivocally, condemn this brutal use of force by the Indian State in dealing with the protests after the killing of Burhan Wani. Continue reading Statement Against State Violence in Kashmir: Ashoka University Students and Alumni →

DISSENT, DEBATE, CREATE