“Respect for the NATION comes before the honor of any Individual”
Most of the people aspire for winning, not doing right thing. In the course of ambition to win definitely wrong things will be done. Wrong things will be corrected after facing outrage. Exactly same thing happened in the issue of Jinnah tower in Andhra Pradesh. Ruling YSRCP government in AP is well known for doing appeasement politics and treating minorities as vote bank. On republic day little did the ruling government of AP expect that one more such appeasement act of it was actually against the respect and integrity of nation and evoked sentiments of patriots of AP and country.
The first question that comes to the mind of people is why in Andhra Pradesh is there a tower still named after Jinnah even 75 years after independence. Jinnah tower was built in 1945 on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Guntur to commemorate a meeting for which Jinnah was invited as a guest. He did not come to the meeting. Local muslim leaders named the tower after Jinnah. In 1966, locals demanded to rename the tower after Param Vir Chakra recipient Havildar Abdul Hameed who fought with valor, destroyed 8 Pakistan military tanks and was martyred in India- Pakistan war 1965. The resolution was adapted, but not implemented.
On republic day this year Indians proudly unfurled national flag all over India. For the first time as citizens watched proudly tricolor was unfurled on clock tower in Laal chowk, Srinagar, Kashmir. The saddest part is that few citizens were ambushed and arrested when they tried to unfurl national flag on Jinnah tower in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
On republic day few activists of Hindu Vahini wanted to unfurl national flag at Jinnah tower, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. They went there carrying national flags and raised “Vande matharam” slogans. Police immediately surrounded them. Police snatched the national flags from them and physically had altercation with them. Late, police arrested them. The reason the government said for arresting them was to maintain communal harmony. Some ruling part people questioned about the need to unfurl national flag on Jinnah tower. Only BJP was the party who supported the activists who wanted to unfurl national flag. Ruling government blamed that BJP and Hindu organizations wanted to disturb communal harmony.
BJP condemned the incident, demanded to unfurl national flag and change name of Jinnah tower. Outrage was created nation wide with the same demand. After this outrage YSRCP party leaders changed action plan. Suddenly, state government ordered to paint Jinnah tower with tricolors and to unfurl national flag. The ruling party leaders claimed that Jinnah tower symbolizes religious tolerance and communal harmony. The hypocrisy of ruling government is clearly evident as on sees the sequence of events unfolded.
The questions to be answered
- Why did police misbehave with the citizens who were carrying national flag and wanted to unfurl national flag?
- Why did ruling YSRCP state government treat those who wanted to unfurl national flag on Jinnah tower on republic day like terrorists and arrest them?
- Why did state government support the arrests by saying that “Hindu vahini activists wanted to disturb communal harmony by unfurling national flag on Jinnah tower?”
- Why the government after national wide outrage suddenly took U turn to paint Jinnah tower in tricolors and hoist national flag?
- Why no other political party like Congress (INC) or Telugu Desham Party (TDP) or CPI (M) or CPI raised the issue or protested against arrests?
- Why the tower should be named after Jinnah who was responsible for partition of country and killing of lakhs of Indians?
The Indian political scenario has been dominated by appeasement politics. Most of political parties consider Muslims as vote bank and do not actually work for upliftment of Muslims. No patriotic Muslim would ever stand with such decisions of not allowing to unfurl national flag near Jinnah tower on republic day or naming tower after Jinnah. Communal harmony is being disrupted and anti-national attitude is being developed due to Such ridiculous and inappropriate actions of majority of political parties like Congress or YSRCP or TDP or Leftist parties. Such unwarranted political actions are dangerous to national integrity and security. In no other country in world such actions disrespecting nation will be tolerated. India is a tolerant country, but the tolerance levels of Indians should not be tested repeatedly.
“Some times it is better to lose and do right thing than to win and do wrong thing”
