Home Blog Page 228

India faces second wave united, sickular media and left liberals attack Gujarat

rajaneeshvr
-
0
India faces second wave united, sickular media and left liberals attack Gujarat

India is in the grip of a massive second wave of the COVID pandemic. The union government, led by the honorable prime minister Shri Narendra Modi is on a D-Day mission to stop the corona spread and reduce the death rates. The BJP led central govt already had a massive success during the first wave with bold and decisive actions. Now when the second wave came, left-liberals and intellectuals are howling for a new lock down. One should not forget that the same group of people has criticized the first lock down imposed by the union govt even though it successfully arrested the First Wave.

With the second wave’s arrival, our govt is on the surgical strike mode against corona—this time, the modus operandi involves vaccinating a targeted group of people so that the damage is the minimum. Modi govt unfolded Tika Utsav and expedited the use of vaccines like sputnik-V, and the opposition and left-liberals started politicizing the vaccine. Congress and other allies started a debate around an imaginary shortage of covid-19 vaccines. This move to create panic among the ordinary people by repeatedly saying there is vaccine shortage fell short. Common people were generally bemused of all the irresponsible fear-mongering unleashed by congress and other left news portals.

When the Goebbelsian attempt at conjuring up a “vaccine shortage” out of thin air by congress leaders and states such as Maharashtra and Kerala failed, the intellectuals had moved on to their next trick to malign the central government. I.e., Misrepresent or spread falsehood about Gujarat and put the responsibility on the honorable Prime Minister and Honorable Home Minister.

When the vaccination program and Tika Utsav were a big success in arresting the rapid spread of covid-19, states like Maharashtra and Kerala have failed to provide adequate infrastructure, leading to a vaccine shortage. Experts had also pointed out in many of these states crying foul, does not have many takers of vaccine, which leads to the expiration of precious vaccines. In Chennai, many people are reluctant to take up the vaccine because of the falsehoods spread by the opposition parties. In this time of pressing needs, one can only hope opposition parties and intellectuals will show some responsibility and stop these nefarious activities. While all of India showed a decline in cases before the mutant strain started the second wave, Kerala was reeling with a higher number of cases and deaths than any other states. instead of taking up responsibilities, these states just started demanding an unfeasible amount of vaccines from the center as well as reducing the age limit to 18. It is unfortunate that these state governments are not showing any sympathy towards other states which also have an equal share of the vaccine.

In this light, all the left and congress media started spouting fake news regarding Gujarat to deviate attention from individual states’ failings and malign the central government. First came the ‘Remdesivir distribution’ allegation. With no sticks available to lambast the NDA govt, they picked up BJPs efforts to distribute Remdesivir to the deserving people and reduce the effects of covid-19. When the second wave started, the union government and state government have capped the drug price in the market. Also, as an added effort to prevent future shortages, on April 11, the export of the Remdesivir drug has been banned. Gujarat police also started their mission to find out hoarders of this vital medicine, and many Remdesivir black marketers are already behind bars. Instead of lauding these efforts, opposition and left news portals started to misrepresent the efforts to distribute Remdesivir as hoarding. As usual, such hate mongering did not work.

After the Remdesivir attempt failed, Left news portals like Scroll.in, The liar.in, The Lallantop, etc. started spreading the fake news of IITGn in the home ministers constituency had vaccinated a thousand students below 45 years of age. This attempt at the controversy did not even get any wings as the Gandhinagar collector had conclusively rejected this as fake news and provided there was around 400 vaccination happened at IIT Gandhinagar all of the beneficiaries are either above 45 years of age or essential workers. Students volunteered to help with logistics and maintaining social distancing in the drive. Health department officials have explained that very often, when on-site vaccination drives are held, the center that they are deputed from is sometimes given as the location where they received the vaccine for administrative purposes. Of course, the discerning junta of India had seen right through such pathetic attempts at controversy.

After many failed attempts, the Left and congress media are on a 24 by seven attempt to show Gujarat’s health system in a bad light. Edited videos and manufactured reports abound on Twitter and other social media. Pictures taken from other states and sometimes even from Brazil are spread as if they are from Gujarat. These media unleash a massive smear campaign against Gujarat. Sometimes one wonders whether these media and intellectuals care or value human life.

The second wave of the pandemic is due to the muted Coronavirus being severe than the first wave. However, no one can deny that the union governments’ efforts to manage the second wave with minimum damage to the economy and minimum deaths are not showing its result. If the vaccine role out did not happen at the time, things would have been entirely different. Health ministry was prepared for this months before and is proactive in its measures. Unfortunately left, congress and intellectuals are more interested in watching our country suffer. As long as the union government led by the NDA is in power, that will remain a dream.

Rajaneesh V R
Swami Saranam
Om Namo Narayanaya
Swami Saranam

Universalizing human rights: UCC & women rights

TS
-
0
Universalizing human rights: UCC & women rights

The recent comment of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India hailing Goa’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) system of justice has brought forth the decades old deliberation on implementation of UCC to limelight. As welcome the thought might be, what is to be weighed in is that the rhetoric of a UCC in India as a response to religion based gender discrimination, given the presence of centripetal forces upholding patriarchal interpretations of practices on the lives of women & gender Justice.

Patriarchal interpretations of religious beliefs have defined and shaped the social and cultural contexts of Indian women that has resulted into their disempowerment and somewhat second-class status. Almost every religious community started as movements presenting themselves as “a way of life”. In fact several of them have their origins in protest against established exclusionary and oppressive religious structures. Although, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion, an attempt to define it would involve certain keywords viz. “respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, sense of right, moral obligation, sacrament, sanctity etc.” In other words, religion can be said to be a social construct, deviance from which is believed to invite undesirable consequences. Such beliefs could be fallacious in interpretation as, well knit method of conditioning to suit one segment’s ideologies.

Recently, urban migration, female political participation, education, careers, and the activities of social reformers have all helped the public acceptance of new roles for women. As yet, only a segment of women who can afford the alleged disquieting consequences of claiming their human rights, have benefited from the changes. The religion based disparity continues and extends, not limited to menstruation, purity, women’s role in religious leadership, patriarchal interpretation of religious texts, and women’s entry into various religious places. In India, and several other parts of the world, religious values regulate a number of aspects of personal life, from marital relationships and children’s guardianship to inheritance of property and divorce.  And these aspects significantly affect women’s dignity and quality of life in plethora of aspects. In balancing equity, if not equality for all women, with religious prerogatives; the legislature and judiciary often find themselves in a blind alley.

The recent uproar with respect to women’s’ entry in the Sabarimala Temple wherein the Supreme Court noted its primary agenda is to evolve a sense of “substantial and complete justice” in such matters, and therefore, the need for an overall judicial review of religious practices across the nation. But, religious institutions have the ability to appeal to a majority of the population in peculiar ways that state cannot. Amidst all these, balancing the fundamental rights of women together with balancing of rights to freedom of religion becomes a herculean task. In such scenario, the plausibility to introduce Uniform Civil Code in India as a response to religion based Gender Discrimination in India, tends to be bleak.

While India’s jurisprudence has in some areas been quite progressive with regard to women’s rights, this has not been the case in the area of personal laws. Though the Supreme Court has adjudicated a plethora of cases balancing the rights of minorities against somewhat more universal ‘civil rights’, the discussion herein is limited in scope to those instances that have affected the rights of women. Back in 1954, a 7 – judge Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme court, in the Shirur Mutt case conceived the doctrine of ‘essentiality’ to protect only such religious practices which were essential and integral to the religion. The question stands if the doctrine has been applied in regulating patriarchial and non – integral practices in religion with regard to women.

In the Shah Bano Begum case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court granted maintenance rights to a poor woman, which led the religious leaders create sufficient pressure on the Parliament to overrule the judgment and the doctrine. Shah Bano, judgement, crossed a few more miles and held that a Muslim man has an ‘obligation’ to pay maintenance to his ex-wife irrespective of the adequacy of the customary payment. However, the agitation against the judgment and the political interests aligned with the community at that time set back those steps to square one. In cases challenging sex inequality in personal laws, our institutions appear paralyzed by the fear of being tarred by the brush of cultural insensitivity.

Even in the landmark case of Shayara Bano Begum, feminists have argued that the gender aspect rather fell short. Although Articles 14 and 15 were cited in the judgement, it did not deal with the intersectionality of gender and religious identity. The Hon’ble Court seemed less concerned with women’s rights, and more with the preservation of marriage, when it found fault with triple talaq on the  ground that “the marital tie can be broken capriciously and whimsically by a Muslim man without any attempt at reconciliation so as to save it”. However, it cannot be denied that the Shayara Bano case is a step forward when it produces attempts to critically evaluate those laws that discriminate against women or are based on patriarchal notions.

In the August 2020, the Hon’ble Supreme Court passed a progressive, rather revolutionary judgement in the case of Vineeta Sharma V Rakesh Sharma granting equal coparcenary rights to daughters. The Indian judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, in its role as the defender of the Constitution, has been the forerunner in protecting minorities and safeguarding the multicultural ethos of the polity. It can be concluded that Indian courts have proved a more hospitable forum for protecting and promoting women’s rights, at least more than the religious institutions.

These issues stem from the fact that our religious institutions are spearheaded by male clergies. By allowing these religious leaders to continue exercising their authority over women of their respective communities, coupled with the state’s policy of reinforcing the split on the pretext that no change is possible in the personal law unless the call for such change comes from the community itself; the state can be said to have abandoned women to patriarchal interpretations of their respective personal laws and has the effect of legitimizing it. An example could be the Shariat courts or darulqazas (dispute resolution platform with their decisions based on Islamic law) which proclaim that “only obedient, moral, battered, and materially neglected women are deemed worthy of the qazi’s support”.

CAN IT NOW BE SAID THAT THE RECOGNITION OF PERSONAL LAWS UNDER THE GUISE OF PROTECTING MINORITIES FROM A SO-CALLED DOMINANT MAJORITY CULTURE HAS FACILITATED INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF PATRIARCHAL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES THAT DISADVANTAGE INDIAN WOMEN?

There is a much discussed about suggestion which provides for the “introduction of a uniform non-discriminatory law for all Indian women, which would also provide for adequate economic rights for them (maintenance, inheritance, an equal share of matrimonial property and economic independence for women after separation or divorce)”. However, what stands in way is the perception that the personal laws are as good as ‘facts’ for a  legal system which has embraced secularism. Suggestions of “Optional Code” in line of one drafted by the ‘Forum Against the Oppression of Women’ in the 1990s have been put forth, provisions of which would apply “a sex-equal family law” to all religious communities with the consent of the women belonging to the respective communities.

Other suggestions include a system combining the enactment of a UCC with a regulated and state-recognized regime of alternative dispute resolution platform involving religious rules. This would  help accommodate the women’s rights and their respective religious identities. However, such an enactment, if made optional, at the discretion of women would seldom reflect women’s own free will, given the social conditions as well as community costs. Another suggestion that has been made is ‘community led’ law reforms which accepts legal pluralism as a fact and “acknowledges the intersection of gender and religion”. This suggestion stems from the assumption that UCC would inadvertently situate minority women in an antagonistic relationship against their own communities, and hence may not receive the support of women from these communities. The continued existence of two parallel socio- legal justice systems (the religious clergy and the courts) has etched a cynical impact on the rights of Indian women. Claims have quite aptly been made that the support for the adoption of a uniform civil code in India has not been based on a recognition that women’s rights might otherwise suffer under the personal laws.

The concept of UCC statutorily stems from Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. In practice, the Sarla Mudgal case affirmed, “Freedom of religion is the core of our culture. But religious practices, violative of human rights and dignity and sacerdotal suffocation of essentially civil and material freedoms, are not autonomy but oppression. Therefore, a uniform civil code is imperative both for protection of the oppressed and promotion of national unity and solidarity.” Although the question before the court did not pertain to uniform civil code, however, an inference can be drawn from the Court’s language that there seems a judicial willingness for such a code that would protect all individuals, even within the framework of group rights. In the case of John Vallamattom v. Union of India, the Court again made reference to a uniform civil code. The Court expressed regret that Parliament had still not framed a common civil code in order to fulfill the urging of Article 44 and urged that “a common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing the contradictions based on ideologies.”

India has the requisite statutory and interpretational bedrock for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code. The questions that we need to ask ourselves before accepting or dismissing the idea of UCC are:

Should it be enforced?
Will lead to true equality among the citizens ?
Will it strengthen gender justice, without which there can be no equality at all?
Is UCC a tool of secularism & communal politics or an instrument enabling gender justice, equity & intersectional equality?

शेषप्रश्नों के साथ उनका जाना

Meenakshi Dikshit
-
0
शेषप्रश्नों के साथ उनका जाना

विगत दिनों लखनऊ के एक लोकप्रिय लेखक का निधन हो गया। कहा जाता है कि लखनऊ या अवध उनकी सांसों में बसता था। लखनऊ के चप्पे चप्पे की कहानी उनकी ज़बान पर रहती थी। उन्होंने जो भी लिखा लखनऊ के विषय में ही लिखा। लखनऊ पर बनी कुछ फिल्मों से भी वो जुड़े रहे। कुछ लोग तो उन्हें लखनऊ का इतिहासकार भी कहते हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त अवध की लोक विधाओं के विषय में भी उन्होंने काफी कुछ लिखा और सहेजा।

लखनऊ उदास है। एक छोर से दूसरे छोर तक उनके प्रति अपने प्रेम की सघनता दिखाते हुए लोग उनके नाम पर स्मृतिका, सड़क, भवन वगैरह वगैरह बनाने की मांग सरकार से कर रहे हैं। कुछ लोग तो कह रहे हैं कि इतना उत्कृष्ट कार्य करने पर भी उन्हें साहित्य अकादमी पुरस्कार नहीं मिला। हाँ नरेन्द्र मोदी जी के नेतृत्व वाली सरकार में उन्हें पद्मश्री अवश्य मिला।

लखनऊ निवासी होने के कारण मेरी भी कई बार उनसे भेंट हुयी। उनके सृजन को लेकर मेरे मन में सदा कुछ प्रश्न रहे, हमेशा सोचती थी, कभी एकांत में या एक दो लोगों के सामने ही पूछूंगी। सार्वजानिक रूप से पूछे जाने के लिए वो प्रश्न बहुत कठिन थे । वरिष्ठ और आयु में मुझ से पर्याप्त बड़े होने के नाते मैं उन्हें किसी कठिनाई में नहीं डालना चाहती थी।

तीन –चार वर्षों पूर्व, एक संगोष्ठी में उन्होंने दूरदर्शन पर रामायण धारावाहिक के प्रसारण के विषय में अपने कुछ विचार रखे और उनको सुनने के बाद मुझे अपने एकांत के लिए सहेजकर रखे गए प्रश्न उनके लिए अनावश्यक से लगने लगे या यूँ कहूं तो उनके उत्तर मुझे मिल गए।

वस्तुतः वो क्षण एक लेखक से मोहभंग का क्षण था।

उन्होंने बताया कि, दूरदर्शन पर प्रसारित होने वाली रामायण उनको इतनी अरुचिकर लगती थी कि जब भी उसका प्रसारण होता और परिवार के अन्य सदस्य उसे देखते तो वो क्रोध में अपने कक्ष का द्वार बंद कर अकेले अन्दर बैठते। एक बार उनकी मौसी, जिनके वो बहुत निकट थे, धारावाहिक प्रसारण के समय आ पहुँचीं। अशोक वाटिका प्रसंग चल रहा था। घर के सदस्यों ने मौसी से देखने का आग्रह किया, जिस पर मौसी ने कहा, “ इनका का देखी, ई ना राम का रोउती, ना रावण का, ई रोउती रुपियन का” और मौसी के इस कथन में उन्हें दिव्य ज्ञान की अनुभूति हुयी।

वस्तुतः ये गोष्ठी में उपस्थित तथाकथित वामपंथी, उदारवादी और छद्म धर्मनिरपेक्ष लोगों को प्रसन्न करने का एक प्रयास था।

इस प्रसंग को सुनने के बाद कभी उनसे वो प्रश्न करने की इच्छा नहीं हुयी जो उनको देखते ही अनायास मेरे मन में आ जाते थे।

अब वो नहीं हैं तो वो प्रश्न मैं सभी से पूछना चाहती हूँ। यदि उन्हें लखनऊ के इतिहास से इतना ही प्यार था तो उन्होंने कुछ दूर पीछे जाकर क्यों नहीं देखा, क्यों उन्हें लखनऊ में सिर्फ तवायफों की ड्योढ़ी, मकबरा, मजार, नवाबों की रईसी, आशिक मिजाज़ी, कबाब ही दिखते रहे?

सच तो ये है कि रामानुज लक्ष्मण की नगरी को नवाबों और कबाबों का लखनऊ बनाने में उन्होंने पूरा जीवन लगा दिया। उनकी मानें तो पवनपुत्र का लखनऊ का नगर देवता होना भी नवाबों का ही एक एहसान है।

क्यों नहीं वो कुछ समय पीछे गए और उस स्थल की पहचान की जो लखनऊ में सबसे ऊँचा टीला था, जिसके  लक्ष्मण जी का महल होने की मान्यता थी। क्यों नहीं, वहां उत्खनन कराने का प्रयास किया? उस जगह पर असमाजिक तत्वों का कब्ज़ा बढ़ता गया और वहां टीले वाली मस्जिद बन गयी, लेकिन लखनऊ के इतिहास से प्रेम करने वाला मौन ही रहा।

श्री लक्ष्मण के प्राणरक्षक श्री हनुमान हैं, इसलिए वो लक्ष्मण की नगरी के भी रक्षक हैं, लखनऊ में जन जन के रक्षक, नगर देवता। ये तथाकथित लखनऊ के इतिहासकार इस पर भी मौन हैं।

एक पुरानी इमारत का एक हिस्सा गिर गया, नीचे से जो निकला संभवतः नक्कारखाना या नौबत खाना था, वैसा जैसा हिन्दू मंदिरों में होता है, जहाँ नगाड़े रखे जाते हैं, लेकिन तब भी उन्होंने ध्यान  नहीं दिया और तवायफों की छतरियां ढूँढने में लगे रहे।

एक छोटा लेख देखा था एक बार जिसमें एक मोहल्ले के लिए छोटी अयोध्या होने की बात लिखी थी उन्होंने लेकिन यह बहुत बाद की बात है और लेख संभवतः अपवाद होगा।

समझ में नहीं आता उन्होंने, लखनऊ का इतिहास लिखा, सहेजा या फिर लखनऊ को सिर्फ नवाबों और तवायफों में समेट दिया? चैती, सोहर, बन्ना जैसे लोकसाहित्य को लखनऊ का या अवध और अवधी का इतिहास नहीं कह सकते।

आज वो नहीं है इसलिए अधूरी बातों के साथ, विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि !!

Kumbh, elections and atmnirbhar COVID

Kaustubh Chaturvedi
-
0
Kumbh, elections and atmnirbhar COVID

The two images here may seem like they are from pre COVID times, rather they were taken when second wave of COVID started to peak in India. Can you believe the second picture was taken the day India recorded more than 1.6 lakh cases? The home minister was in West Bengal campaigning for one of his party’s candidates while the rest of the country was running short on COVID vaccines. 

Political Rally
Kumbh Mela 2021

‘Second wave of covid infections in India has started and the number of daily infections is more than that of the first wave. On April 12, 2021 more than 1.6 lakh people were reported to be COVID positive on the day across India. On the same day more than 35 lakh devotees took holy dip in river Ganga in Haridwar with no respect for social distancing. In West Bengal thousands of people attended rallies of Prime minister Modi, Home minister Amit Shah and Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee for legislative assembly elections.

On one hand, the alarming number of cases in India is problematic, there have been market shutdowns, night curfews and total lockdown in places while on the other hand massive gatherings in the name of religion and political rallies are happening within some miles from these places. There has been shortage of vaccines, beds and ventilators in hospitals across India. These rallies and festivities can become a source of COVID super spreader and health infrastructure has already collapsed in some states across India. The message sent out to the common public is that central government cares more about its political gains than the lives of common public.

Kumbh 2021, Haridwar

Kumbh mela (Kumbh Fair) is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism, celebrated every twelve years. People come here to take a holy dip in river but community commerce, religious education by saints and other religious and community activities takes place simultaneously. It is one of the largest religious gathering across the world. The 2021 Kumbh is organized in Haridwar on the banks of river Ganges. Large number of Hindu devotees arrive with their families from across India to participate in it. More than 35 lakh people bathed in Ganga on the auspicious day of April 12, 2021 and more than 100 people tested positive at Kumbh, the same day when only 18,000 were tested. 

In 2020, after prime minister Modi announced nationwide lockdown covid outbreak was detected at the Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi. The gathering took place even before lockdown was announced. This gathering of about 3500 people was painted by media and some Bhartiya Janta Party leaders as an irresponsible group. Now, this Kumbh gathering in Haridwar is shown as necessity. Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has said there should no “rok-tok (impediments)” and the mela should be “open for all”. “Nobody will be stopped in the name of Covid-19 as we are sure the faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus,” he had famously said on March 20, 2021.

Inspector General Sanjay Gunjyal told news agency ANI that it is difficult to maintain covid protocols during the large gatherings of the people. He further said that stampede like situation may arise if social distancing protocols are enforced at ghats. More than 1000 cases have been detected between April 10 and April 14 in Haridwar. The ruling party in New Delhi and Uttarakhand has been promoting this religious gathering, by advertising through different media channels. On one hand prime minister has announced “Tika Utsav” (Vaccination drive) in the wake of growing cases across India, while on the other hand his political party has been promoting participation in Kumbh Mela using his images on different social media platforms and media channels. This kind of mixed communication is a big failure of government communication to people as it shows that PM Modi is not sure of his steps in the wake of second wave of COVID-19.

Election Rallies

Legislative assembly elections are taking place for states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. For these elections, massive election campaigns are organized by candidates and political parties participating in these elections. Some are following standard operating procedures in place for COVID while others are flouting rules these rules fearlessly.

An election rally in West Bengal
An election rally in West Bengal

In these campaigns and road shows thousands of people are participating. Very few people can be seen wearing masks in the images captured from the ground zero, but none is practicing social distancing. The images from these election rallies are very disturbing, when seen from the perspective of rising COVID cases in India. Prime minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Trinamool Congress chief Mamta Banerjee and other leaders can be seen without masks and surrounded by people.

In the table below, I have recorded the number of COVID cases and deaths from these states as on April 14, 2021 according to Government of India:

StateNumber of active COVID casesNumber of cases within past 24 hoursNumber of deaths due to COVIDNumber of deaths in past 24 hours
West Bengal29,0502,51910,43420
Assam4,2715371,1191
Kerala52,4504,5364,81420
Tamil Nadu49,9853,67712,94518

These alarming numbers should be considered with a pinch of salt because under reporting of Covid cases is a major concern in India. The urgency of conducting legislative elections should be looked at in the backdrop of rising covid cases across these states as well the country. When the state governments across the country are cancelling major exams of students, why is the election commission moving ahead with these elections?

Conclusion

What does the central government want to communicate to its constituencies? Is it that elections are more important than the lives of its citizens? Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and BJP campaigner in these states recently tested positive for COVID. If the cases of ordinary citizens were not enough for the central government, they should reconsider their strategies since their own leaders are also suffering in this second wave.

Health infrastructure in many states has suffered badly. There are no beds available in the states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There is a shortage of ventilators and drugs required for patients suffering serious illness. Maharashtra has announced complete lockdown for next 15 days while many cities in other states have night curfew. In these tough times, the leadership is promoting these gatherings which can become super spreaders.

People are losing their faith in the central leadership. In the middle of a pandemic, country’s leaders are attending election rallies to promote their candidates and parties. This kind of irresponsibility from the leadership fails to restore the faith of people. When the Prime Minister himself is not wearing a mask and is surrounded by thousands of people who are flouting COVID protocols, how can we expect common public to follow them. Prime minister’s “Atmnirbhar Bharat” (meaning self-dependent India) is now a clear message to the people that they should be self-dependent since the leader is busy winning another election.

Empowering women: Creating leaders, today and tomorrow

Rachita Sharma
-
0
Empowering women: Creating leaders, today and tomorrow

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us one clear, valuable lesson: Women make great leaders. Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand; K. K. Shailaja, the minister of health and social welfare of Kerala state in India; and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, have undeniably seen success in managing and controlling the pandemic response in their respective countries. The real problem is that lingering structural and systemic issues still lead societies to value men over women, leaving few women in national leadership roles.

The reasons for this are complex. Often, women are simply not permitted to enter leadership positions. Other times, societal pressures and expectations prevent women from having the confidence to do so. Yet empowering women is necessary, so that their communities can benefit from the full potential of their leadership. If we are to build up and promote women in the workplace, our efforts must begin at home.

Most societies, even in the 21st century, still feel that a woman’s primary role is that of homemaker. Women are expected to put their careers on hold so that their professional duties do not interfere with their familial responsibilities. Women often have to work a kind of “second shift”1 to cover both their paying job and their housework, which forces many women to ultimately sacrifice either their family or their career. Further exacerbating this challenge are the plethora of companies that offer no provisions for maternal or paternal leave, which inevitably places the burden of childcare on women.

Empowerment, in the truest sense, means giving women opportunities for success that are equal to men’s. At this point, such opportunities are lacking. Companies must place their focus and efforts on strategic planning and concrete mechanisms that will provide equal access to leadership opportunities . Such changes would play a crucial role in enabling women to boost their self-confidence through their own actions and achievements.

Studies have proved that having a diverse workforce confers enormous benefits. A Catalyst study, for example, states that the financial performance of businesses that have a higher proportion of women on their top management teams is better than that of companies with fewer women in upper management roles.2 Thus, actively hiring and promoting more women is not only advantageous for companies but also mutually beneficial.

Another way of making the corporate sector more welcoming to women is to actively encourage women to pursue corporate careers. Companies can position women leaders as brand representatives, thereby demonstrating to young women that being a consultant, an entrepreneur, or a CEO, for example, are all very achievable goals. This kind of representation will help young women have faith in themselves and their dreams, and encourage them to achieve them. It will also help them to define their future goals, which is a necessary part of becoming a successful leader in the future.

_______________

1 Hochschild, Arlie, and Anne Machung. (1989) The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home. New York: Penguin Books.

2 Catalyst. (2004) “Report: The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity.” Research report, sponsored by BMO Financial Group. Available at www.catalyst.org/research/the-bottom-line-connecting-corporate-performance-and-gender-diversity/.

In addition, the pay gap between men and women in the corporate sector must be addressed and remedied. A study by PayScale shows that even in 2020, women earn just $0.81 for every dollar men do.3

To overcome systemic discrimination, women need and deserve strategic support. For example, a report by PwC states that after returning to the workplace, 48% of new mothers felt they had been passed over for novel projects and promotions.4 Companies must address these concerns and do so effectively with long-term planning and strategies to include women.

Companies also have a responsibility to make their events and activities more accessible to all employees equally. Women who commute via public transportation must often consider the safety risks of staying after hours to work or to socialize with coworkers because doing so would require them to return home alone late at night. This impediment renders certain social events unavailable, which can have a negative impact on their career progression. And the expectation for women to be “family oriented” can make attending late-night meetings and covering evening shifts a struggle. Jobs that involve significant travel impose a similar burden. Providing transportation services and flexible work hours can address many of these obstacles to joining the corporate sector.

Companies must create safe spaces within the workplace as well, to help women feel secure in their places of employment. This is of particular importance in the wake of the Me Too movement, which highlighted the stunning frequency of sexual harassment in the workplace. Women’s lack of trust in the companies and institutions they work for discourages them from coming forward and speaking publicly about such negative experiences. Every office must have adequate safety measures in place to protect employees from sexual harassment and establish a board or committee to address women’s concerns. These delegated bodies should be made up of women and legal representatives, so that a sense of trust and solidarity can be established with those who need to report an incident. Managers, HR professionals, and all first-contact persons for employees must also be well trained to ensure the creation of an empathetic, sensitive environment for those wishing to address issues of sexual harassment.

Picture Credits: Pexel

The efforts outlined here will help empower women and give them confidence in the workplace. As Michelle Obama rightly said, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” Companies must take concrete steps if they want to tap into the full potential of their women employees. Only when these plans are implemented will we see more and more women in positions of real leadership.

_________________

3 PayScale. (2020) “The State of the Gender Pay Gap 2020” (webpage). Accessed MONTH #, 2020. www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap.

4 PwC. (2018) “Time to Talk: What Has to Change for Women at Work.” Available at www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/diversity/iwd/international-womens-day-pwc-time-to-talk-report.pdf.

Who is responsible for India’s healthcare blowout?

Rajesh_Dubey
-
0
Who is responsible for India’s healthcare blowout?

With everyday news of out-of-supply oxygen cylinders, black marketing of medicines, non-availability of hospital beds, hospitals refusing beds to critical patients, thousands of Indians dying every day, and the pictures of flames furiously erupting from 10, 20, or 30 bodies being burned at the same time in mass funerals in cities across the country, it would be an understatement to say that a common Indian is overwhelmed and scared. He is scared for himself, his family, and his future. The double whammy with governments across India enforcing lockdowns in varied forms and closing down sources where he earned his livelihoods, has ensured silent chaos across the country.

What happened? Just a few days back, we were celebrating our victory over corona-pandemic and had started living as if it was just another normal day. With the fear of corona a matter of the past, everything was back to normal, markets were brimming, and the stock market was scaling new highs. Things, however, suddenly appeared to have changed overnight. Today, it’s a situation where everyone is scared at the mere thought of developing corona infection and going to hospitals where death seems to be imminent.

Here is what happened: The typical ‘Mera kya’ (it doesn’t concern me) Syndrome of Indians, which has failed every institution in this country, had failed healthcare too long back. Just like you would never send your kid to a Sarkari school that mostly breeds everything except a quality education, healthcare too had completely become a corporate domain. Neither Government, nor your elected politicians, and not even your bureaucrats gave two hoots about your medical needs and building capacity in form of hospitals, medicines, or equipment to ensure you get respectable healthcare support when you need it. So, just like you send your kid to a private school gleefully paying hefty fees and take pride, you also got used to, proudly, using private hospitals and labs for your medical needs. Even those who could not afford the fee of these blood-sucking hospitals and labs had no option but to go there only because the Sarkari system was simply not equipped to treat cases other than cold or fever.

On the other hand, private hospitals were being run just like any typical business. Purely focused on making money, all they built was a facility that could fetch them regular and high revenues. Their priority was to ensure that their capacity remains completely utilized, and hence they never created excess capacity, be it the number of beds, rooms, ICUs, ventilators, or having integrated oxygen plants. You go to any private hospitals and you will always find them super-crowded. They can’t be faulted though. There was no compulsion, either voluntary or forced by government regulations, for these private hospitals to be ready for an emergency like the one we are facing. After all, being privately funded, their focus on profitability and creating shareholder wealth is only natural. They can’t be expected to run charity organizations while the government keeps using hospitals as third-grade shelter homes where an uninterested staff distributes generic pills whose quality can’t be attested, surgery rooms look more like pathogen-infested open-door butcher houses, and doctors who rather than attending their duties are more concerned about their private-practices. Mind you, this describes the pathetic state of tier-1 city hospitals. The situation gets more gloomy if one goes to tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns.

While the situation worsened, you, the common men rarely raised your voices. When did you see people heckling politicians for the pathetic state of hospitals? When did you see people voting out a politician, or disgracefully impeaching a corrupt ghuskhor babu who siphoned off money meant for public health for buying swanky cars and properties? You obviously can’t depend on the police and judiciary as they are busy doing hafta-wasooli with targets as high as 100 crores.

So what will fix things now? That is a tough question. To be frank, politicians and babus have become so shameless that nothing affects them anymore. You will keep abusing them and they will calmly sip their tea watching Mirzapur on their smartphones, knowing very well that soon you will be out battling with life. Every day one can see multiple news of collapsing public infrastructure in leading newspapers. Such news no more shakes the conscience of any official; they no more raise any commotion in government offices; neither they cause any political storm as all politicians from different parties to know that they all have skeletons hanging in their backyard.

Get used to it. Things will stay like this and will only become worse with time. Government schools no more teaching, hospitals no more treating, police no more policing, municipal services rotting in the waste piles, judiciary delaying justice, and common men clueless, caught in the web of a decaying political and bureaucratic web, there is little hope for this country.

RIP. 

    

हिंदी बेल्ट के लेखकों, इस महान प्रतिभा को जानो

hemenji
-
0
हिंदी बेल्ट के लेखकों, इस महान प्रतिभा को जानो

“तना देहमु, तना गेहमु,
तना कालमु तना धनम्‌भु तना विद्‍या
जगज्जनुलके विनियोगिंचिना
घनुडी वीरेशलिंगकवि जनुलारा!”

अर्थात् “अपना तन, मन, धन, निवास, समय और विद्या सब कुछ जनता के हित के लिए निछावर करने वाले महापुरुष हैं ‘वीरेशलिंगम्‌’।” जब व्यक्ति, मात्र व्यक्ति न रहते हुए व्यक्तित्व को प्राप्त करे, और अपने आचरणों के आदर्श से खुद को एक विचार बना ले तो वो कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम हो जाता है।

कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम

तमिल साहित्य का “गद्य ब्रह्म” जिसने अपने साहित्य के सौंदर्य से दसों दिशाओं को प्रकाशमान किया। समाज की कुरीतियों के खात्मे का प्रण लिया, महिला सशक्तिकरण के कांटों भरे रास्तों को चुना और जो प्रण लिया, वो किया। जिस समाज जातिवाद का अजगर समाज को अपने पाश में बांध चुका था, जाति के बंधनों को काटने सबसे पहले खड़े हुए कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम, एक ब्राह्मण परिवार में अप्रैल की 16 तारीख को पैदा हुए थे।

उस दिन आधुनिक युग का अरुणोदय हुआ था, स्त्री शिक्षा और विधवा विवाह के लिए इन्हें आंध्र से बाहर के लोग जानते हैं, लेकिन ये उससे बहुत अधिक थे। कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम आंध्र के सामाजिक जीवन के कायाकल्प शिल्पी और तेलुगु साहित्य के पुनर्जागरण युग के प्रमुख साहित्यकार थे।

जिस प्रकार भारतेन्दु को हिंदी साहित्य में एक विशेष दर्जा हासिल है, वही स्थान कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम को तेलुगु साहित्य की अद्वितीय सेवा करने के लिए प्राप्त है। कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम ने 11 दिसंबर 1881 को ‘प्रथम विधवा पुनर्विवाह’ समपन्न कराया इससे उनकी ख्याति चहुओर फैल गई थी। स्त्री शिक्षा के लिए उन्होंने 1874 में राजमंड्री और 1884 में इन्नीसपेटा में बालिका विद्यालय की स्थापना की। ये वो दौर था, जब शिक्षा व्यवस्था न के बराबर थी, ऐसे में महिलाओं की शिक्षा के लिए उनका संघर्ष सराहना योग्य है।

तेलुगु साहित्य के प्रथम उपन्यासकार, प्रथम नाटक के रचयिता एवं आधुनिक पत्रकारिता के प्रवर्तक के रूप में कंदुकूरी वीरेशलिंगम को जाना जाता है।

हिंदी के लेखकों और साहित्यकारों को लगातार वीरेशलिंगम जैसी प्रतिभाओं को पढ़ना चाहिए। उनके बारे में लिखना चाहिए। ये हमारे देश के आपसी सौहार्द के लिए बहुत जरुरी है। हमें हर भाषा, संप्रदाय और क्षेत्र विशेष की महान विभूतियों के विषय में अपनी पीढ़ियों को जानकारी देनी होगी ताकि वो जान, समझ सकें कि साहित्य मात्र हिंदी और उर्दू में ही नहीं होता। अन्य भाषाओँ ने भी ऐसे सपूत जने जिन्होंने उन भाषाओं का मान बढ़ाया, लोगों को, समाज को और देश को रास्ता दिखाया, जिसपर लोग चले और आगे बढे।

आप जैसा न कोई था, न है। आप अमर रहेंगे “गद्य ब्रह्म”। एक महान समाज सुधारक, साहित्यकार एवं भाषासेवी व्यक्तित्व को नमन।

निजी नौकरियों में आरक्षण से निवेश में कमी आएगी

Jyoti Ranjan Pathak
-
0
निजी नौकरियों में आरक्षण से निवेश में कमी आएगी

निजी नौकरियों में आरक्षण से निवेश में कमी आएगी

आज देश कोरोना महामारी के कारण बेरोजगारी की समस्या से जूझ रहा है, और ऐसे नाजुक समय में झारखंड सरकार द्वारा स्थानीय संरक्षण का हवाला देकर निजी क्षेत्र की नौकरियों में आरक्षण लागू किया जा रहा है। बेरोजगारी का दंश झेल रहा झारखंड में हाल के दिनों में स्थानीय लोगों के लिए निजी क्षेत्र की नौकरियों को आरक्षित करने की कोशिश की है, जिससे स्थानीयवाद, क्षेत्रवाद और आरक्षण जैसे मुद्दों पर बहस शुरू हो चुकी है।

हाल में ही झारखंड सरकार के द्वारा एक नया कानून लाया गया, जो निजी क्षेत्र की उन नौकरियों में स्थानीय लोगों के लिए कोटा का प्रावधान करता है, जिसमें 30 हजार रुपए तक की वेतन शामिल हैं। इस कानून के तहत 75 प्रतिशत स्थानीय लोगों को नौकरी में शामिल करने की व्यवस्था है, और तकनीकी रूप से दक्ष युवक और युवतियों, मजदूरों की नियुक्ति में प्राथमिकता देने की बात कही गयी है। इस कानून में यह भी कहा गया है कि अगर संबन्धित कंपनी को उनकी आवश्यकता अनुसार स्थानीय स्तर पर प्रशिक्षित लोग नहीं मिलते हैं, तो वह कंपनियाँ सरकार के साथ मिलकर तीन वर्षों में प्रशिक्षण देकर नौकरी लायक बनाने के लिए प्रशिक्षण दे, जिससे कंपनी यह बहाना न बना सके कि उन्हे कौशल मजदूर नहीं मिल पा रहे हैं।

बता दें कि इस तरह के कानून के प्रयोग अन्य प्रदेशों के द्वारा पहले भी होते रहे हैं। आंध्रप्रदेश सरकार ने इसी तरह का फैसला लिया था, लेकिन यह कानून इसलिए लागू नहीं हो पाया क्योंकि उस फैसले को उच्च न्यायालय में चुनौती दी गई थी। वर्ष 2019 में पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री कमलनाथ ने भी मध्य प्रदेश के स्थानीय लोगों के लिए निजी क्षेत्र में नौकरियों में 70 प्रतिशत आरक्षण की घोषणा की थी। प्रश्न यह उठता है कि क्या निजी क्षेत्र में आरक्षण लागू करना क्या जरूरी है? क्या इस तरह के आरक्षण के प्रावधानों से निजी क्षेत्र की कंपनियों के मन में अनावश्यक दबाब नहीं होगा? कंपनी ऐसे राज्य में निवेश से बचने की कोशिश करेगी कि, जहां उसे स्थानीय आरक्षण के कानून से उसे बंधना पड़ेगा, कंपनियाँ निवेश करने से पहले सौ बार सोचेगी।

झारखंड में बने इस कानून के तहत अगर कोई निवेशक उधोग लगाता है और उसे यह निर्देश दिया जाता है कि आपको 75 प्रतिशत लोगों का बहाली स्थानीय स्तर पर करनी होगी, तो क्या निवेशक यह नहीं सोचेगा कि हमें अत्याधिक कुशल लोग दूसरे राज्यों से मिल रहे हैं तो मैं झारखंड से लोगों को लेकर अपना कार्य को प्रभावित क्यों करूंगा? एक निवेशक के लिए पूरा भारत ही खुला है, वह चाहे जिस राज्य से कुशल कर्मचारियों एवं कामगारों को काम पर रख सकता है, और वह ऐसे राज्य में अपना निवेश करना चाहेगा, जहां इस तरह के स्थानीय आरक्षण कानून लागू नहीं है।

सरकार को कोई भी निर्णय लेने से पहले यह सोचना अतिआवश्यक है कि इस फैसले का क्या असर राज्य और निवेशक पर पड़ने वाली है। हमारे देश में बहुत ऐसे कम कामगार हैं, जिनके पास स्थायी नौकरी है। कामगारों का बड़ी संख्या अनिवार्य रूप से निजी क्षेत्र का हिस्सा है। हम सब जानते हैं कि झारखंड की एक बड़ी मजदूर आबादी देश के उन राज्यों में जाकर रोजगार करती है, जो अधौगिक रूप से सशक्त हैं। अगर सभी प्रदेश इसी तरह की संरक्षण नीति अपनाने लगेंगे, तो क्या यह संभावना नहीं होगी कि झारखंड के लोगों को भी वहाँ से निकाला जा सकता है ,तो ऐसे में इस कानून से प्रदेश में बेरोजगारी कम होने के बजाय और बढ़ जाएगी। लोगों के मन में दूसरे प्रदेश के प्रति मन में घृणा का भाव उत्पन्न होगा और अफरा–तफरी का माहौल बन जाएगा। यह कानून रोजगार देने से अधिक लोगों के लिए कष्ट दायी सिद्ध होगी, क्योंकि इसमें निजी निवेश बुरी तरह से प्रभावित होगी।  

निजी क्षेत्र में संरक्षण कई मामलों में हानिकारक है। यह कानून क्षेत्रवाद को भी बढ़ावा देता है और राज्यों के बीच संबंध को भी प्रभावित करता है। संविधान के अनुच्छेद 15 के अनुसार यह जाति, लिंग भाषा, नस्ल के आधार पर भेदभाव करने वाला कानून है, साथ ही अनुच्छेद 19 को भी प्रभावित करता है जिसमें यह कहा गया है कि हर व्यक्ति को देश में कहीं भी व्यापार, कारोबार करने ऑर रोजगार पाने का पूर्ण हक है।

ज्योति रंजन पाठक –औथर व स्तंभकार

Bureaucracy; Entropy & Omerta!

Swarn Kishore
-
0
Bureaucracy; Entropy & Omerta!

“Don’t you realise what would happen if we allow the Minister to run the Department? In the first place, there would be chaos, and the second, which is much worse, there would be innovation! Public Debate! Outside Scrutiny!” says Sir Humphrey Appleby. Sir Humphrey Appleby was a character from a British sitcom, ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ wherein he played Cabinet Secretary to the Prime Minister of Britain. Yes, Prime Minister was a popular satirical TV show of BBC which used to manifest the struggles and hurdles faced by an elected minister to administer a policy and to wake the government from inertia of rest when opposed by status quoist British Civil services. Although it is considered as a work of fiction but believe me it is pretty close to the way bureaucracy really works globally.

To explain the influence and toxicity of bureaucracy, let me jog your memory through few incidents; In 1881, 20th President of the United States of America, James A. Garfield was assassinated because he had proposed substantial civil services reforms. In Britain, there are osmotherly rules which clearly state that that civil servants are not accountable to parliament, neither they could be summoned by the parliamentary select committees. And the spectrum of their authority can be evaluated with the fact that civil servants are the ones who will determine whether or not some material evidence is to be released after someone requests under freedom of information ( same as RTI in India). And back in India, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for road transport and highways had very recently said about the bureaucrats working in his ministry that, “Mein in logon se haar gaya hoon and now I don’t waste much time on them”.

Let me set the record straight at the outset that here we are not dealing with PN Haksars & Brijesh Mishras, it is about babus & super-babus who have a general tendency to hold onto power while staying immune to aspirations of the people. And there is a reason why this article isn’t about babus like PN Haksar; while PN Haksar served at the pleasure of Indira Gandhi and he was the one who had orchestrated the rise from Gongi Gudia to PM Indira Gandhi. He helped her politically to manage her supremacy in Congress, he advised her in almost every decision she took as Prime Minister and she even used to seek his advise in her own family matters.

But when Indira Gandhi tried to return the favour by recommending his name for second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, he refused to accept the award with humility and wrote to the then Home Secretary, “Accepting an award for work done somehow causes an inexplicable discomfort to me”. Not to talk about the impact and influence of bureaucracy, the elected representatives are also so very inclined, addicted and dependent on these babus that they come out all guns blazing just to support a babu, no matter how good or bad the accusations on him are. Recently Mamta Banerjee staged a dharna to shield an IPS officer, Former Additional Director General, CID, West Bengal, Rajeev Kumar, from investigations of CBI over the all popular chit fund case. Although there is no denying that this chit fund case is a big example of corruption and misappropriation of public money but that was hardly any deterrence for Mamta Banerjee.

After influence and extravagant dependence on babus, we need to find what the real role of bureaucracy should be. “Economy and Society”, a book originally written by Max Weber, a German sociologist used bureaucracy as a form of public administration and governance. But then we know the role of bureaucracy is defined in another popular dialogue of Sir Humphrey Appleby (supra) says, “While it has been government policy to regard policy as a responsibility of ministers and administration as a responsibility of officials, the questions of administrative policy can cause confusion between the policy of administration and administration of policy”.

Look at the irony, to become a finance secretary or foreign secretary, to become a collector of Bastar or Baramulla or to become SP of Kutch or Kottayam, all you need to do is to get a room in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, somewhere near Batra theatre and start cramming Urdu Literature and public administration for a year, trust me you can top the exam, at least someone a decade ago did. Then in the hills of Mussoorie they are made to believe that you are the most brilliant and fertile minds of the country, which ostensibly is a well managed fraud. Also they are told that there is a hierarchy and you need to obey and obey only to prosper.

The bureaucracy here in India is pretty much of British style, it was an ostensible choice for us but nothing changed even after the British left. During British rule, the civil servants were predominantly Firangs only therefore they had an in-born idea of supremacy over us Indians but things did not change afterwards as well. The arrogance, elitism and ignorance still stands out as the trademark of the bureaucracy in today’s India. The successive governments failed to bring an alternative to this fiasco or even some reforms in the bureaucratic system. In 2017, Niti Aayog had recommended lateral induction of personnel at par with career bureaucrats. These personnel were supposed to be appointed after considering their expertise and specialisation in some specific domains.

And when a person becomes a bureaucrat after cramming Urdu literature and anthropology, expecting any sort of expertise in any subject or issue is above and beyond from them. To pull in some fresh talent and experts in governance will ostensibly effectuate significant improvement in governance. Just imagine since independence only finance secretary we got, who wasn’t a career bureaucrat was Dr. Manmohan Singh. Someone who would have possibly got inducted into civil services for writing Urdu couplets in UPSC Mains examinations, have been deciding our financial issues and preparing our budgets. Ludicrous!

Just imagine a proposal of 2017 sent by Niti Aayog and up till now just an advertisement has been notified, doesn’t this remind us of UPA regime sluggishness? Remember there is a pact of omertà between all the civil servants that every one of their species has to protect the indigenous of the civil servant community. When the bureaucrats are made to move ahead with this option of lateral entry by the NDA government, remember civil service options to cabinet is like a conjuring trick. Take any card, you will always end up with the card the magician forced you to take. Why this denial to change, it is only because of the indolent mechanism of functioning of bureaucratic set up. There are three styles which can explain the functioning of our bureaucratic set up; it takes longer to do things quickly; it is more expensive to do them cheaply; it is more democratic to do them in secret. And if this mechanism isn’t put to rest soon and this disorder isn’t treated then as Weber very profoundly said, “no summer bloom lies ahead of us, but rather a polar night of icy darkness”.

Bhimrao “Ramji” Ambedkar to Bhimrao Amedkar

Intrepid Talks
-
0
Bhimrao “Ramji” Ambedkar to Bhimrao Amedkar

Surprised? But that’s the fact, Ambedkar’s full name was Bhimrao RAMJI Ambedkar, which certain people, political parties, and specifically left/liberal historians molds according to their convictions. They manipulate things like this so they can be benefited from the act, conveying truth to the common people is always one of their least priorities, whether it is Ancient Indian history, Mughal kings, and other incidents they all were presented after cutting the facts, adding lies and by manipulating the whole scenario.

So let us come back to RAMJI Ambedkar. I’m emphasizing so much on RAMJI because it’s the core of the whole thing. From our childhood till adult we were taught that his name was B.R Ambedkar or Babasaheb Ambedkar, but why not RAMJI? There is a very straight and simple answer to it because RAMJI didn’t fit in the narrative of those so called secular historians and parties.

It was done to portray Ambedkar as an Anti-Hindu and with RAMJI in his name, their dream cannot be true so they start using their weapon that is M.M {Manipulating and Molding history}. But Ambedkar was in fact opposite of it. Even the one who sent Ambedkar foreign for his further studies was a Brahmin. He never opposes the whole of Hinduism, he was only the critic of orthodox practices prevailing in those times in Hindu Society. RAMJI was a hardcore critic of communists as a whole{especially Marxist Theory} and Orthodox Muslim Society. But if we go on and start searching about Ambedkar all we will get is B.R Ambedkar was Anti-Hindu {not even his full name because of Ramji}.

Those political parties who now present themselves as Ambedkar biggest fan and glorify him only to get votes were the ones who tried their level best to prevent Ramji to be a member of Parliament but they fail. In 1950 the Lok Sabha election Ramji was contesting from, but gets defeated at the hands of an INC candidate, later under pressure, he was sent to Rajya Sabha.

Ramji on Ambedkar also criticized Islamic practice in South Asia, he condemned child marriage and the mistreatment of women in Muslim society.

He said “No words can adequately express the great and many evils of polygamy and concubinage, and especially as a source of misery to a Muslim woman. Take the caste system. Everybody infers that Islam must be free from slavery and caste, much of its support was derived from Islam and Islamic countries. While the prescriptions by the Prophet regarding the just and humane treatment of slaves contained in the Koran are praiseworthy, there is nothing whatever in Islam that lends support to the abolition of this curse. But if slavery has gone, caste among Musalmans has remained”.

Ramji’s views on Communism were expressed in his essay “Buddhism and Communism.” He saw Communists as willing to resort to any means to achieve proletarian revolution, including violence, while he saw democratic and peaceful measures as the best option for change. He did not see this exploitation as purely economic, theorizing that the cultural aspects of exploitation are as bad or worse than economic exploitation. Also, he did not see economic relationships as the only important aspect of human life. Ambedkar also opposed the Marxist idea of controlling all the means of production and private ownership of property.

So all the things we read in our history books are not at all true they are highly manipulated books. They are far away from reality.

Ambedkar was against orthodox Muslim and Marxist theory.

1...227228229...889Page 228 of 889