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Dear western and Indian media, thank you for belittling us in our hard times

Malathi
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Dear western and Indian media, thank you for belittling us in our hard times

We know what is happening. We live here. The people who suffer are our loved ones, our colleagues, our friends, our neighbours. Hospitals are overflowing with patients. Pleas for medical attention, life-saving medicines and oxygen prop up in our phones and social media every few minutes.

In these times, people are reaching out and helping others. Our health care professionals are stressed but still work. Our law enforcement, our essential services people, government employees still go to work in spite of the fact that they might be infected next. 

We do not reject any criticism. But there is a time for that. This is the time for everyone to pitch in and help whatever we can. And so many are doing that – either physically, emotionally or financially. Only those with an agenda will look who to blame in a situation like this. 

Samples of “responsible” journalism from the likes of BBC, Reuters, NYTimes, NYpost, Scroll are the following.

1. Covid surge “swallowing” people in India

2. People are gasping for air in the street like “fish out of water

3. They’re dying like animals

4. People are dropping dead like flies

5. “Stunning” to describe funeral pyres

Your glee at the burning pyres of our people, your condescending sympathy, your denial of dignity to the dead, your racism, your dehumanising elitism, your utter selfishness has not escaped our attention. Yes, we are suffering. We are mourning. But if you think we will give up, you don’t know what Bharat is. You don’t know her people. You don’t know what we have been through.  Neither the colonialists nor the traitors within will understand this. You think burning pyres denote the end, we think of it as Agnipareeksha. We haven’t come this far to buckle under a virus. Every life lost will push us to do better. Every life saved will inspire us. Every sly and sarcastic remark will fuel the fire to overcome. 

We are thankful for the wishes of thousands of people around world and the countries who rushed to offer assistance and moral support. Good times and bad come and go, friends are forever. 

To the departed souls, may you attain Sadhgati. Om Shanti. 

Finally, to those who think they can subdue us again,

Bharat is not just a piece of land where people live. She lives in the hearts of millions who call her home, in those who look to her for guidance, in those who value Rashtra & Dharma and in those who seek refuge in her centuries-old wisdom. Bruised and battered we may be, we will not just survive, but thrive before your eyes.

Jai Hind. Vande Mataram.

Will we ever be the same again?

subhashinis
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Will we ever be the same again?

They say we’ll get through it all somehow. They say it’ll all be over someday. They say a few years down it will all seem like a surreal nightmare. They ask us to stay safe. They ask us to stay positive.

Let’s say we do everything they ask us to do. Let’s say we get through it all and emerge on the other side physically unscathed. Could we really term it a victory? Can we really just go back to the way things were? Can we “un-see” some of the things we’ve seen and read? Can we “un-hear” some of the things we’ve heard?

When we meet our extended family again, will we hug them and cry tears of joy? Or will we grieve the precious time we’ve lost to fear and worry? Will an overdue night-out with friends start with a round of high-fives? Or will it dissolve into tears of remembrance for all those who didn’t make it? When we walk in to our doctor’s office, will we start with our complaints? Or will we look for the unseen scars and emotional toll this year has taken on them? Will a business meeting with colleagues really be business as usual? Or will it involve a deeper discussion on what really matters?

Something tells me, it’s never going to be the same again – at least not in the immediate future. Every deep breath will be followed by a quick thank you to an unseen force that randomly spared us. Every handshake and hug will be followed by an urge to sanitize. Every sneeze and cough will cause us to do a double take. Every visit to the theatre or mall will have us checking for the reassuring presence of a mask on our face. Every walk past a hospital will leave us with a feeling of so many stories left unsaid and unfinished. Every street corner will remind us of shattered dreams and livelihoods lost.

A year back I spent an evening watching the 1980s movie – Katha, a very unique take on the age old “tortoise vs. hare” folktale. A straight arrow Rajaram, played with sensitivity by Naseeruddin Shah, is madly in love with the girl next door, Sandhya, portrayed by a luminous Deepti Naval. Farooq Sheikh rounds off the cast as the whip smart and unscrupulous Bashu, who steals Sandhya’s heart. The story ends with a possibly pregnant Sandhya, ditched on her wedding day by Bashu, reluctantly accepting Rajaram’s marriage proposal. Leela Mishra, playing a world-weary dadi-amma, concludes the story telling her grandson “Haan beta jeet kachue ki ho gayi. Par yeh bhi kya jeet?”

Stories about war and strife, even from mythology, end with a rousing victory of good over evil which makes every sacrifice seem worthwhile. Yet, war veterans and their families have told us time and time again that no one really wins a war. Everyone loses.

There is no question of a victory in our “war against corona”. How can there be? We will definitely emerge from its dark shadow one day and limp back to normal. And while we can all look forward to that day, we must never be the same again. Let us never forget our doctors’ faces writ with desperation and sorrow, the pleas of those close to losing their loved ones, the feeling of isolation enveloping our senior citizens, the utter helplessness that takes over our being when we realize that we are not in control at all. Let us forever remember so that we can bring in the change that truly matters.

Let us never be the same again.

Dear eminents of the country, can we please ask to shut your filthy mouth up?

sjworshipper
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Dear eminents of the country, can we please ask to shut your filthy mouth up?

The way in which the eminent unelected people of this country are behaving makes one wonder if these individuals are the new Royalty and are above all others. The holiest and the wisest eminences think that they are the guarantors of the rights of the citizens, the defenders of the democratic values and what not. The delusions of grandeur have reached to twinkle twinkle brilliant stars level and reached the empty heads and are mostly making noises instead of acting on serious cases waiting for a patient hearing.

The delusions are such that nothing seems to be out of bounds and it seems that these eminences have considering themselves as the Gods of a section of Indians. It would not be a miracle if a decree might be delivered stating that their pics be placed along with the gods and they get the first pooja to verity the credentials of the poojary and ensure the quality of the rituals. The current eminences might not directly do it but might give this huge additional burden to the retired ones. The eminences think that since they alone are doing everything at all times during their regular work like, they are thinking that even after retirement they have to bear the burden of this third world country’s religious affairs because the devotees are fools. The delusions of grandeur need a repair of the basic structure.

These eminences have never allotted the necessary time to look into the deaths of two lynched sadhus but are more worried about the facilities to those who want to break India. The eminences did not find it necessary to stop the middlemen protests and secular rioters in the capital of nation but instead have aided in the killings of Indians. These eminences have all the time in the world to notice that the Teesta who is a special protectee is present in the protest sites leading to the deaths of 59 Hindus. This number is very close to the initial deaths of Godhra but there was no pogrom in Delhi riots. May be the eminences wanted a riot in the Indian streets but China had other plans.

The Chinese virus seems to have derailed the plans just like that baby retard leaked the toolkit publicly a bit early. The eminences were more blind than a real blind by birth. The selective blindness is aided and abetted by the government of the day and a sample of it was seen when a government went ahead booked a 5-star hotel rooms for the Modern-Day Royalty of India. Public anger has made the eminences and the government to realize that luxury in the pandemic times is not good optics but something else can happen privately and nobody will know because the wealth of the eminences is not yet declared for public consumption. Those lecturing the natives about morality will tend to forget that they too must practice what they preach. These eminences are like those child abusers who preach high morals and then pay billions of dollars to settle cases with victims.

The ways of these eminences are beyond the understanding of any sane person. May be the eminences have transcended the logical sanity of human beings and are now operating at the level of aliens. May be the eminences have watched too many broadcasts where in Indian deities are considered as aliens and have come to the conclusions that they are the most powerful ones on this land. The government of India has failed in a big way in reining these madmen across the nation. The statements made by these eminences during the pandemic times are beyond any constitutional morality and each little eminence is making the state as his personal kingdom. One Royal king went into a private ceremony and insulted everyone present. Another Royalty allowed shooting and is transferred without any action. Many things are happening and the citizens’ lives never matter to these eminences but the pandemic issues have become an itch that needs to be scratched by the eminences. The desire to play for the global audiences has gone into the heads of these eminences to such an extent even they happily lie about their father’s death. The land of Dharma is now filled with eminences who have a disease called Verbal Diarrhoea and the only treatment is to ask them to Shut the F*@k up.

Verbal Diarrhoea is a common disease like regular Diarrhoea affecting all Indians but when it affects people in power it creates many more problems. The problems may not only be limited to loud noises at 5 am but can also lead to beheadings by supporters of the patient. The victims of this disease are usually the special protectees of the eminences whom the constitution considers as a special citizen and most laws donot apply. All governments bow before the eminences in order to escape the results of the diarrhoea because it is not a good experience to do the post cleaning. The eminences have brought themselves to such a situation that only their favourite caretakers are allowed special considerations and all others are given secondary treatment and nobody is showing the mirror.

The eminences are believing the environment that they exist is the reality and nothing else exists beyond their vision. The eminences are also believing that their mere statements will set things right. Some god said, let there be light and it was believed that light came into existence and so are the Indian eminences. The belief in their super natural powers has made them super humans, err aliens in their own land and their disconnected from reality was evident when one of their own spoke about greatest women of history.

Congress and scams: The jeep scandal 1948 and Nehru’s ignorance

unnamed
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Congress and scams: The jeep scandal 1948 and Nehru’s ignorance

In the post-independence period, only seven out of the 15 Prime Ministers had a term of five years or more. Out of these seven Prime Ministers who really matter, five were from the Congress, accounting for 53 years of Congress-led governments. Out of these 53 years, 38 years belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and 10 years belonged to the puppet government under Manmohan Singh. From time to time, Congress has been strongly accused of being involved in major scams. They are accused of doing self-development in the name of public development. Indian National Congress as a result of scams are convicted against loss of Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 as updated by the Zee Media on Aug 22, 2019, 23:59 PM IST. The party and its allies, has been accused of a host of scams including the 2G, Bofors, AgustaWestland Helicopter, Scorpene submarine, Maharashtra irrigation and Commonwealth Games which are considered to be major ones.

The list of scams is a long one but the Jeep Scandal is infamous as the first major scam of Independent India. The main allegations were against V K Krishna Menon who was serving as the Indian High Commissioner to Britain. While the inquiries went on for round six years, without even considering the suggestions by the Inquiry Committee Govind Ballabh Pant, the former Home Minister, out of sheer ignorance announced in 1955 that the case shall be closed. When the opposition insisted on the demand for an inquiry Pant said that the opposition parties can make it an election issue if they are not satisfied by the Government’s decision. This was the official statement issued by a Congress leader which brought the discussion of scams in elections into existence.

Since the Indo-Pak War of 1948 was on, our Army was in an urgent need of jeeps against the Pakistani forces. Arguing that delivery would be done immediately done along with spare parts Vengalil K Krishna Menon placed an order for 2,000 refurbished Jeeps. The controversy lies in the fact that for the same price of new Jeeps could be purchased from the rising super-power USA.

M/s Anti-Mistantes which had to deliver the jeeps had a capital of round £600 so Krishna Menon agreed to pay $172,000, with 65% of the total payment upfront without any inspection certificate, only 10% of the Jeeps would be inspected was also clarified by him. However of the 155 Jeeps that arrived, none had the credibility to be placed into service. As a result the Ministry of Defence refused to accept them, and Anti-Mistantes suspended delivery of the Jeeps.

The earlier contract stipulated that 65% of the payment would be made upon inspection, 20% on delivery and the rest a month after delivery. Menon, unable to contact it, singned a contract with S.C.K. Agencies for 1,007 jeeps, with 68 being delivered monthly and the Indian government to be compensated for its loss from the older contract. Each jeep cost £458.10 while Anti-Mistantes sold a jeep for £300. Krishna Menon agreed to change the contract and asked for the 12 jeeps to be delivered monthly for six months following 120 jeeps shall be delivered monthly. The company, however, supplied only 49 jeeps in two years and refused to compensate the government. (Source: Wikipedia)

Apparently, Menon misused his influence in the deal. When the information about the deal reached India, there was a big uproar in the country including the Parliament here. The country had just got independence, people were unaware, media wasn’t popular enough, Gandhi-Nehru duo was considered as angel from heaven and the constitution was yet in preparation phase so not much was discussed by the common men about the scam.

Menon bypassed protocol to sign a deal worth Rs. 80 lakh to the foreign firm for the purchase of the jeeps. While most of the money was paid upfront, only 155 jeeps were delivered. While the protocol should have been to ask Menon to resign and come back to India Nehru forced the government to accept the jeeps.

After much hue and cry, Ayyangar Sub-Committee investigated the case and came with the data mentioned above in its report submitted to Nehru on 9th April 1951. The Public Account Committee took the cognizance and advised formal investigation in the matter by Two High-Court Judges. On 18th December 1954, Government asked the Committee to reconsider its decision. When the PAC refused to agree, Government informed the committee on 30th September 1955, that the case was officially closed by clearly ignoring the stats given by the Ayyangar Committee. The shutting down of the Committee midway puts Nehru, his ministers and VK Krishna Menon has always put his government under questions.

Menon himself entered into written agreements with the controversial companies of Britain. He did this by ignoring government procedures. No High Commissioner had the right to make such agreements. The relevant officials of this country had to sign on the paper of the purchase agreement. Despite allegations against Menon Nehru clearly ignored the Ayyangar Commitee reports and made Menon his closest Advisor. Later, on 3rd February 1956, Menon was introduced into the Nehru cabinet as a minister without portfolio and as a trusted ally to the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s he even rose to be the Defence Minister in his Cabinet in 1959.

“It is pertinent to mention here that Nehru made corrupt colleagues like Krishna Menon, who was involved in the infamous ‘jeep scam’ while he was the Defence Minister”.

U V KALYANAM in an Interview

After this if people like Atal ji tell Nehru, “Your personality is a divided personality. It’s a split personality of both Churchill and Chamberlain.” people like Pt. Nehru shouldn’t get offended.

Hardeep Singh Puri taking dig at INC on scams

While Rahul ji is still estimating the price of the Rafale, someone should educate him on the Jeep Scam too. deal He keeps on harping about Rafale, only the figures involved in the corruption keeps changing based on his memory and mood. The liberals from Bollywood should also be educated on this topic and asked to keep quiet as the Modi Government proceeds with the deal. When the opposition is slamming the NDA led government for selling the nation just for the sake of few votes here and there they must be enlightened on why the public chose Modi over RaGa. The current situation is that the liberals want the Nehruvian Dynasty can again rise to power in India.

Covid-19 management in India: Five immediate steps

Payal Dey
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Covid-19 management in India: Five immediate steps

India despite its vast population, kept the surge of Covid-19 cases in check after the first peak in September, 2020. After initiating the vaccination drive for the general public in mid-March, an unprecedented ‘second wave’ has resulted in making the country the most vulnerable in the world at present. No one is to be blamed! India’s management of the infection was lauded right from the decision of a timely lockdown, crowd management to vaccine diplomacy, resulting in near disappearance of cases in New Delhi to as recently as February, 2021. The upsurge has been a human result of ‘post vaccination overconfidence syndrome’ to lack of self-discipline in three basics we were taught in the beginning of the pandemic: proper masking, physical distancing and hand-washing, which were to continue despite complete vaccination!

As India grapples with the stress of this health emergency, there are some strategies that could be explored culling into the competence of Make in India to partnering with last-mile connecting private players and expanding the frontline workforce for public outreach.

1.Testing: The present RT-PRC testing mechanism, although decentralised may further increase chances of exposure in testing centres and has been subjected to state-pressures on delayed testing results taking as long as 3-5 days. With excessive sample loads, time lapse between date of collection and analysis is believed to give unreliable report.    

Strategies: Self testing kits, popularised in many developed countries need to be replicated logistically in India at the earliest. Two indigenous kits meeting the gold-standard of RT-PCR testing, out of which ‘Feluda’ using latest CRISPR technology have already been developed. The results take only between forty-five minutes to one and a half hours, not days. The manufacturing of both these kits need to be urgently scaled up and made available to general public both OTC and online. This is an urgent step to curtail spreading, early isolation and treatment. 

2.Vaccination: The third phase of vaccination, open to everyone over 18 years would be beginning from May 1. With close to 40 percent of the population over the age of 45 being eligible, nearly 20 percent between the ages of 18 and 44 would be added to the system, contributing to already overloaded public health infrastructure. Large crowds gathering for jabs, would only lead to upsurge in cases.   

Strategies: Further decentralising the process of vaccination is the need of the hour. Similar to door-to-door testing, a vaccination drive on these lines needs to be explored, by expanding robust mobile refrigeration and mass deployment of qualified personnel. RWAs could play a leading role in managing this drive. Existing scale of vaccine needs to be ramped up, especially of Covaxin that has promised to increase capacity by 6-folds by July, still reaching only up to 70 million doses per month. Although manufacturing partnerships have been established with two leading public sector companies taking the combined capacity of Covaxin to 100 million monthly doses, through additional licensing the supply could be further increased to match that of the Covishield – the other available vaccine.    

3.Rules on Masking and Public Management: With lives getting endangered and panic amongst public, fines on improper masking and physical distancing is no more sustainable, especially for the affected parties.   

Strategies: Governments, private, public and social institutions along with general public at this stage must invest in setting up free vending machines of sorts for masks, sanitisers and other essential equipment in emergency clusters. Effective disposal strategy of used masks and equipment is an inseparable aspect for ensuring safety.     

4.Parallel Healthcare: While healthcare system is overburdened with a large crisis, other critical cases tend to get neglected.    

Strategies: While having dedicated hospitals for Covid-19 seems far-fetched at present, separate entry/ exit points for non-Covid cases with high-quality ventilated spaces is essential. Highest facilities need to be extended to non-Covid healthcare service providers such as accommodation, transport and meals to prevent the general healthcare system from collapsing. Governance discretion, public resource management and stakeholder cooperation must be utilised for overall healthcare more than ever.

5. Partial Lockdown: With healthcare remaining a state-subject, public gatherings without state control have proven to give leeway to hotpot clusters.  

Strategies: As Nagaland becomes the newest State to impose partial lockdown, all public gatherings including places of worship must remain closed in totality in all zones till period of normalcy is attained. Section 144 and night curfews may be imposed, without shutting down businesses, shops and malls during the affected period.

Amidst rising number of cases, several solutions get caught up due to political differences. Governance must come into play where people cannot self-manage. There is a dire need of coordinated governance at all levels, irrespective of the government. Testing times give strength, and the current crisis poses a war-like challenge for India which it has the capability of handling with solidarity.

Payal Dey is a final-year PhD candidate at IIT Delhi. She was a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and pursued an MSc in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2014. She can be reached on LinkedIn and Twitter @payal_dey.

A ray of hope during these tough times

Swetha Krishnan
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A ray of hope during these tough times

The second wave of COVID19 has shattered the lives of millions of Indians. Seeing people standing in long queues for oxygen cylinders is a nightmare come true. The last time we saw people standing in such a long queue was in front of the ATMs during the demonetization. Only this time, it is not about money but about saving lives. The situation is so worse that, every now and then, a COVID19 patient runs out of oxygen and dies of asphyxia. Gasping for air is a terrifying experience. Only Asthma patients and a few other people with breathing difficulties could relate to it.

Short of Breath

As it is said, COVID19 is a respiratory virus. Death, as caused by the COVID19 infection, is due to lung failure or multiple organ failure. Either of the conditions occurs with the lack of oxygen supply. Gas exchange is vital for life. And according to pulmonologists, the coronavirus obstructs lung function, thus affecting the gas exchange.

Although all the doctors belonging to distinct branches of medicine are unanimously putting up a fight against the COVID19, the role of pulmonologists has been paramount. It is clearly reflected in the recent online search analytics. In recent times, we encountered an unusual spike in the number of people searching for the best pulmonologists on ThreeBestRated®. The searches increased to nearly 300% in the past few months. It is synonymous with the rise in COVID19 cases in India right now.

The specialists

If saving lives is one thing, helping patients recover without the chances of any long-term illness is another thing. This is where the lung specialists come into action. Pulmonologists’ role is critical in post covid recovery treatment and rehabilitation. COVID19 affects people at varying intensities. Research reveals that in a few instances, COVID19 patients may develop some long-term respiratory and musculoskeletal illnesses. Pulmonologists save such patients from the vulnerability of the disease and aid them to lead a healthy life after recovery. And the proning technique shared by pulmonologists to raise the oxygen levels is indeed a breakthrough in the battle against the COVID19 pandemic.

The Silver Lining

While the situation may look bleak, hearing stories of octogenarians recovering from COVID19 gives us a ray of hope. And we are unanimously indebted to all the doctors and healthcare workers who risk their lives every day to save ours. The earth still remains a better place to live because of the selfless nature of millions of doctors across the world.

Bengal Verdict: Will history repeat itself or write a fresh new chapter?

Ayona Mitra
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Bengal Verdict: Will history repeat itself or write a fresh new chapter?

Battleground West Bengal witnessed its last phase of the state legislative assembly elections 2021 on Thursday, 29th April after a long, eventful and highly competitive polling season that ran through 8 phases. As the state gears up for reality to hit on D-Day, May 2nd, here’s the million dollar question: who will the voter, the pulse of every election for the ‘defeater’ and ‘defeated’ choose this time? Will history repeat itself and mark the return of the All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee or will this day see the birth of an entirely new disposition in the state with Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party taking over? In case you’re wondering why I failed to mention the Congress-Left alliance here, its to firmly address what India is really thinking but might let it silently pass. The fight was ALWAYS between Modi and Mamata.

So wait, as the countdown commences. Also, read and reminiscent the highlights of this election that is all set to change Bengal’s future.

Phase-I – 30 seats (27.03.2021): The polling kick started with the highly controversial Mamata Banerjee-Praloy Paul audio tape ‘leak’ where the former is seen requesting the latter, also the VP of the BJP in Nandigram for help as Paul bravely continued to show his solidarity for Didi’s former loyalist and much loved Suvendu Adhikari. No sooner did the BJP release this tape that raised multiple questions about the TMC supremo, a delegation headed by prominent TMC leaders marched to the EC quarters in Bengal and raised issues over the authenticity of the recording and the go-to cry of any party feeling threat in elections i.e., “alleged EVM rigging” in places poll-bound that day. Interesting though, neither did Didi deny the tape straight up nor accept it. Well, amidst stories of violence and clashes between party workers here and there, the mass electorate voted fearlessly and contributed to a 79.79% turnout.  

Phase-II – 30 seats (01.04.2021): Perhaps the only phase that was talked about the most. Why? Because it wasn’t about a clash of the titans, it was to see who was the bigger titan. The place-Nandigram, the titans-Didi herself vs her once upon a time confidante, Suvendu Adhikari. More than the significance of the day itself, what citizens took away from it was the extreme show of brutality. From CPIM workers blocking roads to TMC workers beating up polling agents in Keshpur to scathing attacks on the CRPF throwing allegations that they’re working on the behest of the Centre, phase 2 was an exhausting one. Even as voters continued to show up, Mamata was seen at her constituency to take stock of the unrest situation and claimed that ‘outsiders’ were seen near a booth blocking the voters from casting their vote. A wheelchair-bound CM dialed Guv Jagdeep Dhankar to complain of the same. In another place, PM Modi paid his tributes to the late Shova Majumdar, fondly known as ‘Nimtaa Maa’ as she breathed her last following a month long struggle in the aftermath of her failed attempts to save her son from TMC goons as she had claimed. So what does one remember from a day so eventful but mostly unfortunate? The fact that enthusiastic voters came about in large numbers (80.43%), ITBP jawaans helped the elderly to exercise their voting rights and above all, impressive Covid protocol followed by the officials and citizens. Small things matter big! 

Phase-III – 31 seats (06.04.2021): PM Modi sweeped this one away. Addressing massive rallies in Howrah and Cooch Behar, he didn’t stop at just his infamous, “Didi, O Didi”. Calling out the ‘TMC syndicate’ he raised questions over the coal scam, the mysterious killings of 150+ BJP workers in Bengal, unemployment in the state, lack of governance, vote-bank appeasement politics and ‘false promises’ made to the common man in the name of development and growth in the last decade. While the PM was firmly trying to assert his win this time, near the Arambagh area, a TMC candidate was allegedly harassed by the opposition leading to multiple clashes and 5 arrests on the same. As the war of words continued regarding who started the violence against whom, the EC heard pleas by the TMC that claimed that their woman candidate, Sujata Mondol was chased in Arambagh and attacked while she took note of the situation near her booth. All this while the CRPF employed there turned ‘mute spectators’. The final turnout for phase-III was 77.68%. 

Phase-IV – 44 seats (10.04.2021): Following the unfortunate demise of 4 people in Sitalkuchi, Coochbehar, the ECI ordered for the adjournment of polling in the area while phase 4 was underway. Taking a dig at the CRPF jawaans deployed and alleging that the attack was ‘pre-meditated’, CM Mamata Banerjee ordered an enquiry into the circumstances leading up to the violence and said that the central forces were doing “tandav” in the state. Condemning the killings in the district, Congress leader P. Chidambaram and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury fired accusations at the ECI as well for conducting elections in a manner that was costing lives. The CRPF however, issued clarifications stating that their components were neither deployed at the aforementioned booth nor had anything to do with it. Despite the disturbance, the day saw a voter turnout of 76.16% as the PM also addressed crowds in Krishnanagar. 

Phase-V – 45 seats (17.04.2021): Another day, another controversial tape. In the aftermath of the Coochbehar killings, BJP IT chief Amit Malviya released an audio tape conversation between Mamata and TMC’s Sitalkuchi candidate Partha Pratim Ray. The former is heard instructing the candidate to ‘preserve the bodies’ of the 4 victims for her to stage a protest parade over the same the following day. In a rather stern demanding tone, Didi was allegedly also heard saying that she will make sure that the assigned commission officer of the area and SP of Sitalkuchi would be arrested for ‘playing part’ in the firing. Following the release of this tape, the two parties started throwing muck at each other over the contents of this tape. TMC leader Derek O’Brien expressed strong dismay over phone-tapping and questioned the need for the central forces to fire bullets leading to the killing. The BJP delegation that took the tape to the state EC headquarters expressed disappointment and addressing the press later said that, as if threatening voters at polling booths everyday wasn’t enough to disrupt the atmosphere of elections, the TMC is now playing politics over the death of common people. They also said, “the only goal of the tape was to create further polarization.” However, this didn’t stop voters as they continued to show up throughout the day in good numbers, final turnout being 78.36%. Also, PM Modi in Gangarampur addressed another rally and urged people to vote without fear for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.’

Phase-VI – 43 seats (22.04.2021): On what grounds does an election stand? When voters cast their choice. Who is the voter? The people, the common man. As India witnessed a sudden surge in Coronavirus cases, the concern wasn’t only the exponential spike in active numbers but also other core issues at hand i.e, adequate oxygen supply, availability of beds and medical equipment and the need of the hour, opening vaccinations for ALL. In a welcome decision, PM Modi canceled all his remaining rallies in Bengal owing to his presence in high-level Covid related meetings. He did however take the decision of addressing the crowds of the state particularly in Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Kolkata through a virtual medium on April 23rd. After multiple allegations and concerns that roadshows/rallies of any and all parties could turn out to be a major contributor to the alarming Covid situation in the country and state, the ECI banned all of the above and issued appropriate guidelines for maintaining Covid appropriate behavior at polling stations. Without much hassle, it was refreshing to see people queue up adhering to the guidelines of masking up, social distancing and frequent sanitising of hands. The relatively calmer phase 6 saw a voter turnout of approximately 79.11%. 

Phase-VII – 36 seats (26.04.2021): The penultimate phase of the election saw a relatively lower turnout of 75.06%. As the nation continued to grapple with the worsening situation on Covid, the ECI was still bearing the brunt of conducting the state legislative assembly elections in 8 phases. Alleging that the ECI listens to the PM and Home Minister only and was working on their behest, TMC leader Nusrat Jahan blamed the rise in Bengal numbers on the BJP’s rallies only. Along with her, phase 7 saw other prominent leaders cast their vote, like, Agnimitra Paul(BJP), Abhishek Banerjee(TMC) and Sobhandeb Chatterjee(TMC). Also, concluding their overall campaigning for West Bengal elections, BJP chief JP Nadda said in a press conference that, “this was an unprecedented and unique election. Our campaign was for positivity and how we can deliver the promises we made to the people of Bangla.” 

Phase-VIII – 35 seats (29.04.2021): With the last 35 seats up for grabs, the most-anticipated and talked-about elections in the history of India was nearing its end. As this day was about to seal in what could possibly change the course of Bengal’s way henceforth, National leaders came forward and tweeted and urged the people to vote in large numbers to ‘sustain democracy.’ However, violence didn’t take rest even as the tiring 8 phases was about to end. Areas like North Kolkata and Murshidabad saw incidents of bomb hurling and brutal clashes between party workers as 1 person was killed and 2 others injured hours before polling began. Like always, the ECI sought a detailed report of the case and assured leaders of all parties that there would be no inefficiency or flouting of Covid norms on counting day after the TMC submitted a report to them over the same. The West Bengal elections 2021 ended with a 76.07% voter turnout. 

1 election, 8 phases and the ONE winner. The clock ticks.

Awaiting the next epidemic!

debanjan123
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Awaiting the next epidemic!

Corona pandemic is not over yet. Is it the right time to think about the next epidemic? Time can only tell what is right but we need to be aware of our action as human beings and their impacts on nature and the consequent epidemics. Now, the human race is battling against the Coronavirus. Even if the human race wins this battle, which they will, there is still the possibility of another pandemic still awaiting if we do not learn from the past and the present.

Recently, I had the privilege of reading several books on epidemics. Among them, ‘Crisis in the red zone’ by Richard Preston, ‘Pandemic’ by Sonia Shah are noteworthy. The descriptions of the book by Preston are scary. It describes a gripping account of the doctors and scientists fighting to protect humans from the Ebola outbreak. The book by Sonia Shah provides an example of ‘Sundarban’ Forest. During the rule of the Mughal Empire, people did not inhabit ‘Sundarban’, it was thought to be an unholy place. At that time the place was full of cholera bacteria. In 1760, the East India Company came and started cultivating rice by cutting the jungles. Eventually, that cholera crossed to humans and learnt to adapt.

Most of these germs, viruses could spread on their own but today our communication system has improved in such a way that the virus from China has reached almost all the countries in the Globe. Since animals are the source of these germs, the diseases from them are called Zoonosis. Zoonosis (zoonotic disease) is an infectious disease that is transmitted by a germ (such as bacteria, virus etc) and from animals to humans and then from humans to humans. Zoonosis accounts for nearly 60 percent of infectious diseases worldwide. More than 30 new germs have been discovered in the last three decades of which 75 per cent are from animals. Facts from The ‘Pandemic’ book by Sonia Shah are quite hair-raising. From 1957 to 2007, the number of hog farms in the USA increased by 2000 percent and the number of chicken farms increased by 30,000 percent. In the unhygienic environment of these farms, germs develop and pollute the air, soil and water and eventually, it reaches the human body.

According to Michael Greger, author of Bird Flu: a Virus of Our Own Hatching said, ‘When we overcrowd animals by the thousands, in cramped football-field-size sheds, to lie beak to beak or snout to snout, and there’s stress crippling their immune systems, and there’s ammonia from the decomposing waste burning their lungs, and there’s a lack of fresh air and sunlight- put all these factors together and you have a perfect storm environment for the emergence and spread of disease’. He even said that “If you want to create global pandemics, then build factory farms.” Sonia Shah also mentioned, “When I was writing my book, I asked my sources what keeps them awake at night. They usually had two answers: virulent avian influenza and highly drug-resistant forms of bacterial pathogens,” “Both those things are driven by the crowding in factory farms. These are ticking time bombs.”

Yes, animal farms are indeed ticking time bombs. It’s the need of the hour that we start to respect science and facts and act accordingly.

The main purpose of these animal farms is to provide meat to the customer. We can raise the question of, are there alternatives to these animal farms which will reduce the risk of these zoonotic illnesses, reduce the effects on climate change as well as reduce the cruelty to animals? Experts have their say on sustainable animal husbandry. Apart from that, the demand for plant-based meat has risen in first world countries including the USA and Canada. ‘Beyond Meat’ is a company that has started doing millions of dollars of business and even following the epidemic many people have started to choose more plant-based meat than the regular ones.  

These viruses like Corona are dwelling inside the body of birds, cows or bats for ages. It reaches the human body whenever it gets the chance. It is called ‘spillover’. The bat has the Coronavirus in its body but its immune system is such that it can coexist with the virus. We have to be extra careful from now on so that these viruses do not spread to us. One way is to start looking for alternatives to these animal farms or ‘Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. It’s time we should encourage alternative meat enterprises and if possible welcome lifestyles like veganism.

We are all suffering in this corona epidemic. Many have lost loved ones. We have to be careful now onward that there is no next epidemic once this epidemic is over. Hopefully, this critical period will pass and we will start taking measures to avoid another epidemic from now on.

Debanjan Borthakur

Did Shakespeare know our pseudo secular journalists?

unnamed
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Shakespeare was the first man to comment on our ‘Secular’ (well I doubt this) journalists. Back in late 1500s, he uses his skills to describe the rationale of some of the ‘secular’ faces of our nation.

There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond
And do a willful stillness entertain
With purpose to be dressed in an opinion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,
As who should say “I am Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark.”
O my Antonio, I do know of these
That therefore only are reputed wise
For saying nothing, when, I am very sure,
If they should speak, would almost damn those ears
Which, hearing them, would call their brothers
fools.

Merchant of Venice(Gratiano to Antonio, act 1-scene 1)

Well the same is the case with some of the people present in the Clubhouse meeting of Prashant Kishor. People like Sakshi Joshi were silent when politics in Bengal was being discussed but then came a time when she wanted to know Mamata Banerjee’s washroom schedule. Even PK replied laughingly, “Am I supposed to answer this also.” She gave a chance to the nationalist media to coin a new word into the journalism industry – ‘Susu Patrakarita’. As long as she was silent, she was disguised in the veils of conceit and wisdom but when she moved her lips (not to mention while she was speaking even no other dog in the Clubhouse meeting dared to bark) even people of the Clubhouse toolkit started considering her to be a fool. Not to mention Magsaysay award winner’s Ravish Kumar’s question about anti-incumbency against BJP in a state where it never even got more than 5 seats. I think Sir Oracle (Ravish Kumar) for unaware that anti-incumbency is against the ruling party and not the challenger.

Writing about Ravish Kumar I remember his famous poem,” Aage Dilli… Peeche Dilli… Bheegi Billi… Bolo kitne Dilli/Billi..” (whatsoever). These lines are heart touching lines from Lord Byron of the toolkit media. They have inspired us a lot to write poems in the future. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and Jayashankar Prasad would be proud to know that Bihar has produced this new poet. And then when people comment about the false notions of Ravish Kumar like a chamaleon he quotes Shylock,

“Why, look you how you storm!
I would be friends with you and have your love,
Forget the shames that you have stained me with”

MERCHANT OF VENICE(Shylock TO Antonio, ACT 1-Scene 3)

Being afraid of the channel TRP, he then tries to convince us that he’ll forgive us for we are like his brothers. He would forget all the sins that we committed against him and calls us our friends. Hypocrisy also has limits Ravish ji.

Today when not only the Hindus but even from the churches voices have been raised against love jihad, when the world is raising voices against the grooming of girls from only a particular section of society Arfa Khanun quotes Juliet,

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

Romeo and Juliet(Juliet to Romeo Act 2-Scene 2)

Yes it’s true that in the 21st Century a man should be known by his own identity and not his surname but then why should only Capulet (Kafir girl) marry a Montague(Muslim man)? Why can’t a girl from a Montague family marry a bold man of the Capulet? Whenever a Montague marries a Capulet the other members of the Montague family instigate riots but Arfa ji thinks that the Capulet community shouldn’t even raise voices against the grooming of their girls? Where does the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb disappear then?

When Arif Mohammad Khan raises his voice against Triple Talaq he is advised to keep quiet by Arfa ji. This is called secularism. Yes if you don’t know get it. If you knew that secularism meant equality for all religious beliefs you are mistaken. Secularism means minority appeasement.

Sometimes I try to feel what the fake media thinks about the Hindus then I’m reminded of another quote from the Merchant if Venice.

O heavens, this is my true begotten
father, who being more than sandblind, high gravelblind,
knows me not. I will try confusions with him.

Merchant of Venice(Launcelot to Old Gobbo Act 2-Scene 2)

They consider us to be blind of the facts that they are spreading fake news and hence they come up with conspiracy theories in order to confuse us to a further extent.

Spreading fake news is their agenda, hence they even haven to apologise each time but that too they don’t publish in any article otherwise their dual standards shall be revealed. Then we have Dhruv Rathee and Akash Banerjee who take excerpts from the fake articles published by these Media houses and spread their false agenda amongst the public.

You must take your chance
And either not attempt to choose at all
Or swear before you choose, if you choose wrong
Never to speak to lady afterward
In way of marriage. Therefore be advised.

Merchant of Venice(Portia to Morroco Act 2-Scene 1)

This is my advice to all the readers. You have to choose between the Pseudo-seculars and the Nationalists. Either don’t not choose anything at all or choose the right one. For if you choose the wrong one truth shall never speak to you and you shall for long be debarred from the truth.

Here from Verona art thou banished.
Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.

Romeo and Juliet(Friar to Romeo Act 3-Scene 3)

There was a day when the Kashmiri Pandits had to leave for exile never to return back again. For them though they were banished from Kashmir, they knew that they would have acceptance all round India but remember that if you don’t rise and the same exodus happens with you the same India won’t remain as broad and wide as you think it is.

Rohit Sardana: The untold Story of virtuous Journalist

ivineet
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Rohit Sardana: The untold Story of virtuous Journalist

Rohit Sardana is one of the most recognized & prominent personality in India. You can hate him or love him but you can’t ignore him because of his ravishing personality.

I want to accentuate some points related to his virtuous life.

In the early days of his career he worked as a copy editor and as a assistant producer at Sahara Samay for 1 year.

He had achieved numerous award and recognition this include “Best news anchor award” from Delhi Education society, Ganesh Vidyarthi Puraskar in 2018 and many such honorable awards.

In November 2017, Rohit Sardana got multiple threats from several Islamic organizations against his tweet. But because of his humble and virtuous personality many people from different background came in his support.

When he was pursuing his mass communication degree, television journalism was not something he had given much thought as a career. Nevertheless on 14 Oct 2014, he joined the zee news network as an output producer.

His time with Zee news is an excellent exam of the survival of the fitness. Despite facing numerous odds he managed odds and he managed to survive there for a year because of his virtuous personality.

After he joined Zee News, he made every effort to stay in tune with the work culture of the organization spate by workload.

But today in a shocking incident one of the most renowned anchor of mainstream Media Aaj Tak “Rohit Sardana” passed away due to Heart Attack after testing positive to Covid-19 on 24 April. The media personality had tweeted that his Reverse Transcription- PCR was negative but CT scan detected Covid-19 infection in his Lunge. The untimely death of Rohit Sardana came as a major Shock to the media community at large.

Today I’m speechless and shell shocked to hear about him. I pray almighty to give strength and courage to family and loved ones to bear this loss. Om Shanti.   – Vineet Tripathi

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