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देश में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून बने

Jyoti Ranjan Pathak
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देश में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून बने

हाल हीं में बजट सत्र के दौरान संसद में भाजपा सांसद द्वारा बढ़ती जनसंख्या के विषय में चिंता जाहिर की गई। सांसद के तरफ से यह कहा गया कि देश में आज बढ़ती जनसंख्या सभी समस्याओं का मूल जड़ है। प्रधानमंत्री मोदी द्वारा भी जनसंख्या विस्फोट के बारे में पहले ही चिंता जताई गयी थी, लेकिन भारत में राजनीतिक वोट बैंक के कारण इस गंभीर समस्या को नजरंदाज किया जाता रहा है। राज नेता इसे सांप्रदायिक मुद्दा कहकर बचने की भरपूर कोशिश करते हैं। लेकिन इस बात से इंकार नहीं किया जा सकता है कि देश में बढ़ती जनसंख्या वर्तमान में सारी समस्याओं से ज्यादा खतरनाक है।

देश की हर गली, हर नुक्कड़, हर चौराहा आज बढ़ती आबादी का प्रत्यक्ष उदाहरण बन गया है। बस स्टॉप, हवाई अड्डा, रेलवे स्टेशन, अस्पताल ऑर मंदिर जैसे सार्वजनिक जगहों पर भारी भीड़ आसानी से देखी जा सकती है। विभिन्न अध्ययनों से पता चला है कि साल 2025 तक भारत जनसंख्या के मामले में चीन को पछाड़ देगा ऑर विश्व में सबसे अधिक आबादी वाला देश बन जायेगा। हमने आज मृत्यु दर पर तो सफलतापूर्वक नियंत्रण पा लिया है, परंतु जन्म दर को नियंत्रित करने में नाकामयाब रहे हैं। यदि जनसंख्या में इसी दर से वृद्धि होना जारी रहा, तो अब से कुछ वर्षों के बाद हमारे पास बेरोजगार, भूखे एवं निराश व्यक्तियों की एक फौज खड़ी हो जाएगी जो देश की सामाजिक, आर्थिक तथा राजनीतिक प्रणालियों और संस्थाओं की जड़ों को हिला कर रख देगी। सभी मांगों का एक संख्यात्मक आयाम होता है। चाहे स्वास्थ, शिक्षा, आवास, नियोजन, जलापूर्ति अथवा अन्य क्षेत्र यह एक सवाल है कि कितनों के लिए?

भारत ऐसा देश था, जिसने सन 1950 के दशक में एक सरकार –समर्थित परिवार नियोजन कार्यक्रम को विकसित किया था। इन्डोनेशिया, थाईलैंड तथा दक्षिण कोरिया जैसे विकासशील देशों, जिन्होंने इनका अनुसरण किया, के द्वारा सफलतापूर्वक अपनी जनसंख्या को स्थिर कर लिया है किन्तु 70 वर्षों के बाद भारत अभी भी सबसे पीछे चल रहा है। भारत ने अनेक कार्यकर्मों के माध्यम से  लोगों को जागृत करने की भरपूर कोशिश की गई ऑर उसमें करोड़ो रुपए खर्च भी हुए परंतु  जनसंख्या वृद्धि में रोक लगाने में हम सक्षम नहीं हो सके।

दुनिया में वियतनाम पहला देश था जो वर्ष 1960 में ही, सबसे पहले दो बच्चों की नीति पर कानून बनाया था। इसके बाद वर्ष 1970 के साल में ही सिंगापुर में स्टॉप एट टू पॉलिसी शुरू की गयी थी। दो बच्चों से अधिक पैदा करने वाले परिवारों को सरकार द्वारा दिये गए लाभों से वंचित करने का आदेश सुना दिया गया था। 1970 में ब्रिटिश शासन में हांगकांग में यह कानून लागू किया गया था, लेकिन तब इसे अनिवार्य नहीं किया गया था। 2012 में ब्रिटेन की कंजरवेटिव पार्टी दो बच्चों की नीति लेकर आई थी जिसके तहत सरकार ने परिवार के पहले दो बच्चों को ही लाभ देने का घोषणा किया था। इस्लामिक देश ईरान में भी 1990 से 2016 के समय दो बच्चों की नीति को प्रोत्साहित करने के लिए अभियान चलाया गया था। वर्ष 2016 में चीन द्वारा दो बच्चों के कानून को प्रभावी रूप से लागू किया गया। जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून के इतने उदाहरण सामने होने के बाद भी भारत अभी तक जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून बनाने में असमर्थ है।

इन्दिरा गांधी शासन काल के दौरान संजय गांधी ने जनसंख्या नियंत्रण अभियान तो शुरू किया लेकिन लोगों की जबरन नसबंदी और महिलाओं की जबरन नलबंदी या प्रलोभन देकर किए गए आपरेशनों ने इतना जन आक्रोश फैला कि जनसंख्या नियंत्रण का मुद्दा आपातकाल के अत्याचारों के शोर में ही समा गई। भारत में मुस्लिम वोटरों के नाराज होने के चक्कर में केंद्र की कांग्रेस सरकार हिम्मत न कर सकी। जब भी देश में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण के लिए कानून बनाने की आवाज उठी तो उसे धर्म के साथ जोड़ा गया है। जनसंख्या नियंत्रण एक विवादास्पद मुद्दा बन गया है। विगत कुछ दशकों की राजनीति अनिश्चिता तथा सांप्रदायिक उन्माद के मध्य जनसंख्या विस्फोट की समस्या को पृष्ठभूमि में ढकेल दिया गया है। न राजनीतिक दल अथवा सरकारें उस समस्या पर ध्यान केन्द्रित किए जाने को आवश्यक समझते हुए प्रतीत होते हैं। इस तथ्य पर विद्वानों द्वारा किए गए अध्ययनों एवं विचारों की कोई कमी नहीं है, कि भारत आर्थिक एवं मानवीय विकास की दौड़ में मुख्य रूप से इसलिए पिछड़ रहा है, क्योंकि यह अपनी जनसंख्या की वृद्धि को सीमित करने में बहुत अधिक प्रगति का प्रदर्शन नहीं कर सका है।

जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून का उद्देश्य न केवल व्यक्तियों की संख्या की अनियंत्रित वृद्धि (जनसंख्या विस्फोट) पर नियंत्रण करना होना चाहिए, बल्कि जनसंख्या के अनियंत्रित आवागमन को रोका जाना शहरी क्षेत्रों में लोगों के बढ़ते केन्द्रीकरण को रोका जाना, तथा जनता के पर्याप्त आवास स्थान एवं स्वस्थ पर्यावरण भी करवाया जाना होना चाहिए। देश में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून की आवश्यकता है। हमें समाज में जागृति लानी होगी। इसमें कुछ मुश्किलें जैसे– धर्म या सामाजिक परम्पराओं  के आधार पर विरोध का सामना करना पड़ सकता है, लेकिन हर हाल में जनसंख्या नियंत्रण कानून लागू होना चाहिए।                                                

ज्योति रंजन पाठक (औथर )–‘चंचला ‘ उपन्यास

Why Pradeep Chhibber is wrong on all counts

prasadraoe
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Why Pradeep Chhibber is wrong on all counts

This is with reference to the article in The Print by Pradeep Chhibber titled If Modi govt doesn’t control vigilantism, history will compare it to Indira Gandhi Emergency.

Let’s begin with the title. How many Left Lib writers have outrightly condemned Indira Gandhi’s Emergency without Ifs & Buts? Don’t they swear by the Constitutional Amendments that were made during the same period when the entire opposition was in jail? Especially the 42nd Amendment.

The vanguard of this regime are legions of vigilantes; these are ordinary citizens, businessmen, journalists, and of course, bureaucrats. They are the new regime’s foot soldiers, led not by the government openly, but by low-level officials and ordinary citizens seeking to ingratiate themselves with the powerful.

What is wrong with this? Ordinary Citizens, Businessmen, Journalists and Bureaucrats – these are the people who elect governments. They are not paid / card carrying members like the other opposition party ‘workers’. They have every right to decide what they want.

A second, and more dangerous vigilantism that is currently prevalent, is seen in those who protect their self-interests by becoming loud advocates of the government’s policies.

Again, what’s wrong with this? I vote for a Government which promises certain policies which are in my interest. When the Government implements those policies, I have every reason to be happy and every right to be its advocate – loudly or quietly.

Vigilantism does not bode well for citizens, the ruling party, or the vigilantes themselves. Any citizen can be subject to the ad hoc actions of a vigilante.

When did the Liberals attain this Nirvana? Who were the people who wrote to the President of another country to deny visa to the elected CM of a State of India? Did any one of them condemn when some Vigilantes on their side offered 51 crore to kill the PM of India or amount offered to kill Waseem Rizvi? They don’s just stop with threats do they? They ‘execute’ their plan like in the case of Kamlesh Tiwari.

Even today’s newspaper carried an article saying about 2500 Eminent Intellectuals (I always wonder who issues these certificates) wrote to a court asking for the release of a certain individual detained for anti national activities. They want the Judges to take cognizance of their letter and not the law.

What Chhibber says is my vigilantism is good but yours is bad.

He is supposedly (I refrained from using the LeLi’s favourite word Allegedly) a Professor in some university in the US. Probably not even an Indian Citizen. I have no qualms in being called an ‘Ordinary Citizen’ (as he derogatively refers to us). As per the Indian Constitution -which they like to refer to selectively– my vote weighs as much as the vote of any self styled Intellectual. Isn’t that what Democracy is all about?
Neither The Print nor its writers have any right to insult the citizens of India.

They owe us an apology.

Wasim Rizvi and the problem with Islam

Dr Jadabeswar Bhattacharjee
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Wasim Rizvi and the problem with Islam

Wasim Rizvi’s recent (March 2021) filing of a PIL in the Supreme Court of India seeking deletion of 26 verses of Quran which are obviously violent and hateful towards non-Muslims has created turmoil in Muslim community of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. While the majority group is aggressively against Wasim Rizvi, a small group is using this opportunity for seeking reforms in Islam. For information of the readers, these verses are 4:56, 4:89, 4:101, 5:14, 5:33, 5:51, 5:57, 8:12, 8:65, 8:69, 9:5, 9:14, 9:23, 9:28, 9:29, 9:37, 9:58, 9:111, 9:123, 21:98, 32:22, 33:61, 41:27, 41:28, 48:20, and 66:9. Readers may Google any verse to understand its content.

As we know, the Prophet-hood of Muhammad lasted for a little more than 22 years from AD 610 to AD 632. Quran was revealed to Muhammad during that period. Of this total period, the first 12 years was spent in Mecca and rest 10 years in Medina. Quran has 114 chapters (Surah) with 6236 verses (Ayat). About two-third of Quran was revealed in Mecca and rest one-third in Medina. It is interesting to note that out of those 26 litigious verses; only four were revealed in Mecca and rest 22 in Medina. These verses are spread over 10 chapters and chapter number nine (Surah Al-Tawbah) has highest number, that is 9, of contentious verses.   

A Muslim is a person who submits exclusively before Allah. But a Muslim not only has to submit before Allah, he has to accept Muhammad as messenger of Allah too. Though Judaism, Christianity and Islam are collectively called Abrahamic Religions, Islam stands apart for its ‘Sunnah’. The word ‘Sunnah’ means doings or traditions of Muhammad.

In Islamic theology and teaching, Muhammad was the most ideal man who ever walked on earth and following his doings and traditions is obligatory on the part of all Muslims. The word ‘Muhammadan’ means follower of Muhammad, the Islamic Prophet. Thus an ‘Iman-dar’ (believer) has to be a ‘Muslim’, as well as, ‘Muhammadan’ also. 

Barring aside the merry-go-round arguments of Islamic apologists, hatred and violence towards non-believers and critics, as well as, performing polygamy, pedophilia, killing of apostates and practice of ‘maal-e-ghanimat’ are very truly and historically parts of ‘Sunnah’ of Muhammad.

Those who are optimists about reforms in Islam have to ensure that Muslims, as a community, officially forgo the malevolent Sunnah of Muhammad and anti-Kafir and hateful verses of Quran, as both are ‘prescriptive’ to them in nature and essence irrespective of ‘context’ of those verses. But as Quran is revelation from Allah and Sunnah is obligatory, – reforming Islam will destroy it. When one will tamper with the soul of Islam by deleting some verses of Quran and rejecting some Sunnah, Islam will crumble down.

In Hindu epic Mahabharat, cousins killed cousins. But those killing are descriptive and allegorical to Hindus today. In other words, no Hindu will kill his cousin today for land issue by referring to Mahabharat. If at all he does, it will be a law and order problem only. But if a Muslim leaves Islam, his son or father can kill him for apostasy by referring to Quran or Sunnah and the killer will be honoured by the community. 

Though most of the Muslims do not see the problem in their religion, a small proportion of them understand this ‘tight corner’ situation of Islam and feels scared of the void it will bring if Islam is reformed to be destroyed. The loss of credibility of their religion and loss of identity will be unbearably shameful for them.

Islam has been EXCLUSIVE all along. And this exclusiveness has been its ‘Achilles heel’ too. So majority Muslims today are over-protective of this ‘heel’. Increased symbolism like use of burqa and skull cap, keeping of beard, wearing pant or paijama above ankle, performing mass prayer in mosques and on roads, building of more mosques and madrasas signify this over-protectiveness. Regular terrorism across the world in the name of Islam and using of the word “Islamophobia” at the drop of hat are other protective endeavours on their part.    

The bottom line is Islam is a violent, imperialistic, and Muslim-centric political cult in the guise of a religion. It has a strong similarity with Communism and many Communists in Western world and India are sympathetic to Islamic Jihad, which strangely appear ‘armed revolution of proletariat’ to them. What happened with erstwhile USSR and other Eastern European countries can happen to Islam too. But it can’t be reformed.

PS: This is not the first effort by any Indian to abolish the hateful verses of Quran. The famous “The Calcutta Quran Petition” of 1985 is available in public domain of cyber world and interested readers can visit that. Interestingly, BJP has condemned the said PIL of Wasim Rizvi.

Derelict status of women in education

shivangi
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Derelict status of women in education

They shot my father right in front of me. It was nine- o’clock at night. They came to our house and told him they had orders to kill him because he allowed me to go to school. The Mujahideen had already stopped me from going to school, but that was not enough. Then they came and killed my father. I cannot describe what they did to me after killing my father.
—A 15-year-old girl, Afghanistan, 1994

This quote is from the year 1994, and if we see the present data presented by UNICEF, 3.5 million children are out of school in Afghanistan and 85 percent of them are girls.
If we move on to the worldwide level, according to UNICEF report, worldwide 132 million girls are out of school.
There are various factors which act as barriers to girl education such as:
1.Poverty
2.Child Marriage
3.Gender-based violence
4.Religious beliefs

There are various plans and steps taken towards it, for example, In 1995, 189 countries signed Beijing Declaration. The Beijing Declaration aims towards gender equality and mentions, “Literacy of women is an important key to improving health, nutrition and education in the family and to empowering women to participate in decision-making in society”.

CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) has been signed and ratified by 187 countries. It was ratified in 1993 in India, it states to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises. Not just Bejieng Declaration and CEDAW, different nations have launched their own programmmes and movements to eliminate gender based discrimination and empower women.

The commitments are realistic but their implementation is not. The world is yet to become a better place for women. Infanticide is still being practiced, girl child is still devoid of getting education, girls are still discriminated, rights of women are still violated.

The government needs to find out the ways of implementing these big commitments.

From where Shekhar Gupta is? Shekhar Gupta & Et al. works for whom?

paramhansa
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From where Shekhar Gupta is? Shekhar Gupta & Et al. works for whom?

In an article dated 27 March, 2021 in ThePrint’s great journalist Shekhar Gupta writes the following paragraph.

“…The threat of war in eastern Ladakh abated. But the Chinese made their point. That India had not one but two hostile neighbours. And it wasn’t about to leave the other to fend for itself as it did in 1971. That was also an obvious impulse for restoring some sort of order on the LoC with Pakistan. And cessation of hostile rhetoric. …”

Let us ‘Cut the clutter’ and ask him, What does he mean through the above  paragraph? Exactly what and whom Shekhar Gupta & Et al. is celebrating, through the above paragraph? From where is he? Shekhar Gupta & Et al. works for whom?

Forget about Modi and BJP here, Shekhar Gupta does not give credit for 1971 win to Indira Gandhi’s strategy but passes on credit to China for not interfering in 1971 Bangladesh on Pakistani side, that too Gupta & Et al.’s statement presumes China made a mistake by not interfering from Pakistani side. And now China is pressuring India by engaging on borders is somehow a welcome sign for Shekhar Gupta? Problem is not that Shekhar Gupta analyses  difficulties of two front war  and specially handling China, but the problem is not stopping at analyzing situations rather indirectly welcoming a foreign Chinese hand, that is why I ask to whom all Shekhar Gupta & Et al. works for? with what objectives ? and with which vested interests ?

If one uses scale like one India policy Pakistan and Bangladesh were supposed to be part of India itself and what business China does have to interfere in India/ South Asia’s internal matters? If at all China wishes to interfere one needs to think how to counter the same, rather than that Shekhar Gupta & Et al. seems celebrating results of aggressive Chinese behavior for reasons justifiable to purely pseudo secular sensibilities only.

Did Shekhar Gupta ever ask any Chinese, why you Chinese never supported one India? Why did you leave  India to fend for when it was being divided on non secular non plural principle  and attacked there after with all the terrorism?

  “…That was also an obvious impulse for restoring some sort of order…” This statement of Shekhar Gupta Et al. indirectly intends to suggest India is an aggressor ? and the one responsible for troubles on the border? Why does  Shekhar Gupta & Et al. want to color Indian forces as foreigners on their own soil and lands?   Had Shekhar Gupta & Et al. really been true secular would have said there is no space for non secular state in Pakistan and Bangladesh and once they are secular they have no reason to be separate from India and hence Indian soldier  has not only full moral  right to defend Indian borders but also ask for all lost South Asian territory. Whatever practical international compulsions Indian government might have had or still may need to behave taking into account any pragmatic considerations, every Indian has a righteous duty to ask for undivided India if not today maybe tomorrow, if not tomorrow may be thousand years down the line.  

Pakistanis who did break India are heroes and Indian soldier may be a civilian soldier or from defence forces who serves to the integrity to keep ‘Vande Mataram’ intact is villain? In what way Shekhar Gupta & Et al. supports an UnIndian point of view?   

If Shekhar Gupta & Et al. wants to support Bangladeshis to become Indians then let them come with whole of Bangladesh as Indian state like any other Indian state. By which way a Bangladeshi or Pakistani non secular Muslim, who supports separate existence of Bangladesh or Pakistan and who did not support secularism and one India unequivocally becomes automatic secular by crossing the border to India, and we allow them to vote without they sharing our values? As earlier said we want Pakistan and Bangladesh back in our own fold but with our values and our terms not at their values and their terms.     

Reservation policy and Reverse discrimination

DR. ABHISHEK SINGH
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Reservation policy and Reverse discrimination

Reservation and comprehensive growth have been among the most intensely debated issues surrounding public policy in India. From many tools adopted to promote positive equality alike programmes for the upliftment of the backward classes which include exemption from school fees, the provision of scholarships, the provision of facilities like book grants, and the maintenance of hostels, or assistance to hostels for SC students, the reservation policy or the policies of affirmative action or preferential treatment and compensatory justice is one of them. The theory of positive equality was developed to deal with the self-destructive social conflict between the dominant and the depressed classes and the realization that such destruction could only be avoided by working towards a more egalitarian society based on equality and non-discrimination.

The concept can better be elaborated and understood presupposing three aspects: positive discrimination, reverse discrimination and compensatory discrimination. Positive discrimination denotes providing special treatment to those who are susceptible to exploitation. Compensatory discrimination involves adoption of measures to safeguard the interests of historically disadvantaged sections of people. Affirmative action and reservation policy are measures of distributive justice that endeavor to remedy such inequalities within a liberal legal framework. It is a social policy of the Indian state to ensure the participation and empowerment of the historically excluded section of the Indian society – through the mechanism of positive discrimination by way of fixing of quota in the electoral, public employment and educational institutions.

But ever since Champakam Dorairajan case of 1951, the there has been a huge change in social engineering  and amalgamation of social growth inclusion. Reverse discrimination is becoming a trend. The term “reverse discrimination” originated to describe the kinds of cases where members of a majority group are claiming they are now been discriminated against on the basis of their age, race, gender, or other protected characteristic. Reverse discrimination is a sort of unrelenting measure, which means discrimination against those who had discriminated. To increase the plight, the progressive judges said, even appointment means appointment to all the incidentals of joining the service like pension, gratuity, transfer moreover promotions also. The earlier cases struck down promotions. Eventually, the legislature then passed that reservations shall be applicable in promotions also. And then it went on, promotions, plus seniority, plus lowering of standards. When a race begins, everybody must be equal. Equality among equals is justice but forcing equality among unequals would lead to relentlessness.

One may have all the potential for acquiring that acumen (for the post) eventually. But that job has to be done today. We can give positive assistance, give deprived children free meals, reading rooms, free stay, extra tuition, every help that society can set apart. But in reservation lies not only folly, but a disaster. 50% cut off limit was only for educational institutions. That was transposed to services also. At that time, it was for entry, for appointment, which is all that 16(4) says. An enabling provision on reservation Article 16(4) has been amended many times. It just says, you may, not shall. Whenever the courts would try to create a barrier, the political class blows it up. The Constitution, very deliberately made a distinction and never used the word ‘caste’ always used ‘classes’. Reservations in public services were hardly thought of and what was put in were special measures for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which had been deprived, how to help them with special measures. The courts are struggling with various types of discrimination cases, including those considered to be “reverse discrimination.”

The original intent of the Constitution needs to be examined. Reservations in public services were hardly thought of and what was put in, were, special measures for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which had been deprived, how to help them with special measures. In case, the state feels they are inadequately represented, the state will put some reservation.

There will be no caste-based reservation. The general rule of equality is a part of the fundamental structure. Then (Article) 15(4) was introduced. Article 15(4) talks about class and class is not synonymous with caste. So factor such as poverty and illiteracy should be considered. It  was then provided that the state may make such provisions because the only exception that had been allowed was for women and children. Here it was that it may be for Scheduled Castes and Tribes that got extended to socially and educationally backward classes.

Seafarers: ‘Ever given’ a thought?

aslesha
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Seafarers: ‘Ever given’ a thought?

The Suez Canal, one of the most important waterways of the world, was ‘traffic-jammed’ after Ever Given, a container vessel, was grounded. Why was the world so concerned? After all, it was just a ship blocking some other ships, and there were some sailors onboard these vessels. Here’s why:

  1. Global trade has been hit hard.
  2. Ships blocked by Ever Given will need to go around the Cape of Good Hope, adding around 3800 kms and approximately two weeks to their delivery time. Imagine the added cost!
    Don’t forget that some of these ships contain time-sensitive cargo (food, apparel and even animals!).
  3. Shipping costs will go up and might affect global inflation.

The world is bleeding millions every day. This is the only reason why a ship has become priority.

It is sad that it took a canal to be blocked to get people talking about ships and the shipping industry. But, even now, no one is talking about the sailors.

In March 2020, after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, countries went into lockdowns, flights were halted, markets shut down and economies crashed. But for the shipping industry, it was business as usual. Seafarers, despite the fatigue and uncertainty, kept up global supply chains. Washington apples, imported cars, branded clothing and footwear, and vaccines and ventilators, continued to reach consumers. ‘People have no idea about the mental fatigue sailors goes through. With the amount of rest we get, and now the extended contracts, it’s mental torture, often without an end date in sight. We have to live with the same set of faces for months on end,’ said Sarfaraz, a sailor employed with one of the world’s biggest shipping companies.

Governments don’t want to take risks with people who come from ‘outside’, even if they are citizens. Consequently, crew changes are affected. Even today, seafarers are stuck at sea and land; some awaiting sign-off, others waiting to sign-on. It’s not just them. Their families, too, bear the impact. Do the math about the number of people impacted.

‘Companies are constantly cutting down on costs in various ways, which compromises on rest and adds to mental and physical fatigue. At times, cost-cutting impacts machinery and equipment, which if not repaired leads to more breakdowns and adds to the cost of functioning,’ Sarfaraz added.

It is March 2021. Not much has changed for the seafarers. Many countries are yet to declare them essential workers. Crew changes are still tricky. Being stranded at sea for months is becoming the norm.  Vaccinating them is still not a priority.

‘If sailors are considered the second line of defence, why aren’t we a priority? Why are we seen as corona carriers, why not corona warriors? Vaccination is based on the level of exposure and we see a lot of it,’ says Sarfaraz.

The funny thing is that while sailors are joining ships after submitting endless paperwork and spending days in quarantine, jetting off to take a vacation is just a matter of hours. In fact, how many of us, except those who know sailors personally, have even a faint idea about what they do for us each day (think about all your online orders of clothes, accessories and shoes, and bigger things like LNG)?

‘Countries have different sign-off and sign-on procedures. In fact, a sailor who has medical issues might not even be allowed to set foot on land. They are more likely to be given advice over a video call, even if the ship is in port,’ said Nishant (name changed), a sailor employed with a leading shipping company.

What if, just for two days, all sailors decided to not work? Yes, sailors sign up to stay away from their families for months, but is that justification enough?

‘People and the media lap up conversations about who in Bollywood is doing drugs and what a certain actress tweets. But there is no conversation about us and the hardships we endure. In fact, I am tired of hearing stereotypes like “drunk sailors” and “you guys party on the ship”. It’s a professional environment. We are there to work,’ Nishant added.

The crew change crisis has been dubbed a ‘humanitarian crisis’ and with good reason. Initiatives like the Neptune Declaration are what the seafarers are clinging on to.

‘Like the aviation sector, seafarers too need to have high IQ and EQ. We have to be prepared for any and every emergency. Just because you don’t hear about us often doesn’t mean we have it easy,’ says Sarfaraz.

Here’s a parting thought: Imagine going to work one day and not knowing when you will be home again. Now imagine battling this uncertainty every day.

—Aslesha

(I am the wife of a sailor and an editor with a global publishing house.)

Will the Sanatan Adarsha resurface now?

sudip47
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Will the Sanatan Adarsha resurface now?

The Indian tradition was of Sanatan Adarsha i.e., Harmonious Living and Cooperation. Despite economic disparity, there used to be mutual respect for each other’s work and responsibilities and contribution to society. People loved their own tradition and culture without despising other’s.

The root of Sanatan Adarsha is harmony and that there should be no rancour and hatred among different castes, classes and races.

Tagore said: The encounter with foreign lands has disturbed the age-old tranquillity of Bharatavarsha and consequently our commitment is faltering, our character is disintegrating; our mind is becoming unruly and our efforts futile. Yet our real ties are with the Bharatavarsha that lies outside our textbooks. Over many hundreds of years, it is our roots, hundreds and thousands of them, that have occupied the very heart of Bharatavarsha. But, unfortunately, we are obliged to learn a brand of history that makes our children forget this very fact. It appears as if we are nobody in India; as if those who came from outside alone matter. (The English translation is from ‘Essays of Tagore’ by Sibesh Chandra Bhattacharya and Sumita Bhattacharya)

The attack on this tranquillity was intensified by the Islamic fundamentalists so much so that the country was partitioned in 1947 and then there was huge influx of refugees from East Bengal (Now Bangladesh) to West Bengal. This completely destroyed the harmonious social fabric and West Bengal became the breeding ground for thoughts on Class and Caste exploitation and mutual struggle and Socialism and Communism. These concepts were alien to Indian tradition and this was the first time that their political significances and inferences were brought to the people’s consciousness. This worked like opium.

Pursuit of these ideas through political movements led to installation of leftist governments in West Bengal (continued for long 34 years) and to violent Naxalite movements. Gherao of corporate managers and Annihilation of Jotdars were two instruments of revolution resorted to by them, respectively. This was done to instill a feeling of intense hatred and to imbibe violence and cruelty, the so-called ‘revolutionary spirit’ among labourers and peasants. But such cruelty and persecution were anathema to the masses rooted in Indian tradition and ethos and they found it too much to accept. So, all this proved counterproductive and disillusionment set in. People wanted Parivartan and Trinamool was brought in. But violence and lawlessness continued with renewed vigour and the leadership of the party has lost all credibility. People are now asking for Asal Parivartan.

But when can Asal Parivartan happen? That would mean eradication of violence, restoration of law and order and bringing back the Sanatan Adarsha of harmonious living and cooperation.

The onus is not only on the newly elected government but also on the people themselves.

-By By Sudip Bhattacharyya: The writer is a longstanding commentator on contemporary issues.

The forgotten Hindu genocide of 1950 and the roots of the CAA

avisheksen07
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The forgotten Hindu genocide of 1950 and the roots of the CAA

The CAA since its inception has generated a lot of controversy and has been the greatest bone of contention between the Government and its  detractors, namely the so called “secular” left and the Islamic fraternity. Apart from the violent reactions pan India, it is also a topic of paramount importance for the 2021 assembly polls of West Bengal, which harbors a significant refugee population from Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan. The genesis goes all the way back to a forgotten Hindu Genocide in 1950 which started in 10th February and lasted for over two months and ended with the greatest betrayal known to the Bengali Hindus, known as the Nehru-Liaqat Pact.

Nachole Police Station area was a Hindu majority inhabited by mainly Santals and Bengali Hindus and also a hotbed of Communist Tebhaga Movement. On 5th January, 5 policemen were killed by Santals, when they opened fire to disperse the villagers gathered to protest the arrest of one of them. This also led to identical reprisal rape and killings from a 2000 strong Army contingent, assisted by police and East Pakistan Ansars. Around hundred peasants died in police custody. Communist leader Ila Mitra was caught and subjected to grotesque sexual torture within the precinct of the police station itself, which included stripping, inserting boiled egg inside her genitals and rape. Like a true communist she tried to whitewash the fact the bestiality was driven by Islamic hatred for the Hindu Kafir, the basic founding principle of the state of Pakistan.

These two events led to a large refugee influx in the Indian state of West Bengal and consequently Hindu-Muslim riots started in Kolkata. The communal violence was swiftly quelled by the state administration led by Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Roy. However, the Pakistan administration resorted to malicious propaganda and rumor mongering on alleged persecution of Muslims in Kolkata. On 6th and 7th February, Radio Pakistan broadcasted that ten thousand Muslims were killed in Kolkata and gave a call for ‘action’. A local daily called the ‘Pashban’ inflated the number to one hundred thousand. Other local dailies and also prominent newspapers like the “Dawn”, jumped in the bandwagon of rumour-mongering which ended with disastrous consequences for the minority Hindus. (Kamra, 2000) (Roy, 2007) (Jugantar Archives)

High Drama at State Secretariat

Another Oscar-winning performance of rumor mongering took place in Dhaka Secretariat which had clear footprint of the Pakistani state

In February 1950, Sukumar Sen, the Chief Secretary of West Bengal had travelled to Dhaka to hold the Chief Secretary level dialogue with his East Bengal counterpart Aziz Ahmed. On 10 February, at around 10 A.M. in the morning, when the talks were in progress, a Muslim woman in blood-stained clothes was paraded in front of the Secretariat building. It was alleged that she had been raped in Kolkata and her breasts chopped off . The Secretariat employees immediately struck work and started a procession shouting anti-Hindu slogans. Allegedly Mr Sen was heckled by the so called protestors.As they progressed towards Nawabpur, many others joined the procession, which ended at the Victoria Park. At 12 noon, a rally was held at the park where the speakers, some of them employees of the Secretariat, made fierce anti-Hindu speeches. At around 1 P.M., as soon as the rally broke, riots commenced. (Lahiri) (Roy, 2007)

Theatre 1:Dhaka

The fact that the riot was preplanned was betrayed in Prabhas Chandra Lahiri’s book ‘Pak-Bharater Ruprekha’ .PC Lahiri had received a tip off that riots would start after the Namaz ,which actually did after the Secretariat drama and police remained a mute spectator.An estimated 50,000 Hindus were displaced in seven hours of murder loot and arson. According to the PTI reports, the worst affected areas were Banagram and Makims Lane. Most of the houses in the two predominantly Hindu localities were completely looted, many completely burnt down and places of worship desecrated.Hindu residents of Wari,a posh locality in Dhaka a modern equivalent of Ballygunge in Kolkata or Greater Kailash in Delhi , abandoned their homes and took refuge in the precinct of  Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Residences and properties of sitting Hindu MLAs were attacked and destroyed with impunity .A prominent example being Mr Manohar Dhali’s Hotel.On the afternoon of 12 February, 60 India-bound Hindu passengers were attacked at the Kurmitola airport.All the non-Muslim passengers arriving at the Tejgaon airport were stabbed. East Pakistan Ansars in plain clothes were witnessed killing the Hindus while the administration turned a Nelson’s eye. According to Indian government sources, the bodies of 200 Hindu victims were cremated in the first two days of violence.On 24 February 1950, the U.S. ambassador to India wrote to the U.S. Secretary of State that between 600 and 1,000 Hindus were killed and thousands injured in Dhaka area.It  was observed that after 1950 killings Hindu property holding fell to merely 12.7% from 55%and 90% of the Hindu residents migrated to India.Similarly the Hindu student population shrank from 2900 to forty only.From 65% of the college students,only 12 remained at the end of the massacre.Similarly for Hindu businesses,out of 1500 shops only 157 remained. (Lahiri) (Jugantar Archives)

Barisal district suffered the worst atrocities of the entire pogrom. Unlike in urban areas, in the rural areas the lead in the massacre was taken by Bengali speaking Muslims. As in Dhaka, it all started with preplanned rumour or mongering ,aided and abetted by Magistrate G A Farooqi.Minister Janab Tofajjel Ali toured Barisal district and provoked the local Muslims against the Hindus.On 13th February a meeting was convened in  local Town hall and was addressed by Muslim league secretary Mr. Mahiuddin and ex DM Hassanali Mir.In the meeting a rumor was spread about popular leader Fajlul Haque being murdered in Kolkata along with his nephew and the Muslims were exhorted to extract revenge from local Hindus.Mr Farooqui, in spite of being aware of the volatile situation in Dhaka did nothing to stop these provocations .At the end of the pogrom he was rewarded with a promotion by the Muslim League as the commissioner of Rajshahi divison. (Singha)

Madhabpasha Massacre: Barisal

In Madhabpasha village,PS Babugunje, a couple of Hundreds of Hindus we’re trapped in a local Zamindar’s mansion.They were visited by Magistrate Farooqi,Additional SP Mr. R Khan and others of the local administration and assured protection.But no help; came in reality and soon after the officials left, a frenzied mob was let loose on the hapless inmates as if they were waiting for a signal .Around 300 Hindu men were rounded up , stripped naked, made to squat in a row and their heads chopped off one by onewith a Ramda(a heavy cutlass).Babies were snatched from their mothers and thrown below to be skewered on spikes by the mobs waiting downstairs ,as a kind of sport.A parallel can be drawn with Banu Quaryza massacre, were around 700 Jews were beheaded by Islamic armies (Kamra, 2000) (Roy, 2007) (Singha).

Muladi Massacre: Barisal

Another infamous episode took place inside Muladi port.When loot and arson broke out in Muladi village in the Sadar Sub-division of Barisal,hundreds of Hindus ran for shelter to the Muladi police station. Several hundred were attacked and killed in the precinct of the police station itself and the women violated, in full view of the police officers. The police officer in charge was himself found in possession of a large quantity of jewellery looted from the victims. Eerily similar to the Nazis collecting the valuables from the Jews after gassing them.This incident is vividly described in Jogendra Nath Mandal’s letter who was the law and labour minister of Pakistan and a leader of the scheduled caste federation.

“At Muladi Bandar alone, the number killed would total more than three hundred, as was reported to me by the local Muslims including some officers. I visited Muladi village also, where I found skeletons of  dead bodies at some places. I found dogs and vultures eating corpses on he river-side. I got the information there that after the whole-scale killing of all adult males, all the young girls were distributed among the ringleaders of the miscreants (Roy, 2007) (Singha) (Jugantar Archives) (Mandal, 1950).”

Rajapur Massacre: Barisal

In Rajapur PS,near Jhalakati, nine family members  and neighbours  of a certain Mukhopadhyay family were beheaded ,including a nine year old girl and their heads were neatly arranged for display.The mob was led by Union Board president Azmat Ali Khan, League President Moqammel Hussain among other prominent Muslims.At a place called Kaibartakhali under P.S. Rajapur, 63 persons were killed. Hindu houses within a stone’s throw distance from the said thana office were looted, burnt and inmates killed. All Hindu shops of Babuganj Bazar were looted and then burnt and a large number of Hindus were killed (Roy, 2007) (Singha).

Lakhutia Massacre: Barisal

In Lakhutia, Muslim mobs started looting and burning Hindu houses on February 15.More than a thousand hapless Hindus including women and children took refuge in the Lakhotia Rajbari, whose scion Indra Lal Roy was the Indian flying ace in World War I. As in Madhabpasha, Deputy Magistrate visited the trapped inmates and gave assurance to send a police force.Following the earlier pattern, instead a murderous Muslim mob stacked straw and tree branches around the Rajbari house and set it on fire. Engulfed by smoke and fire the trapped inmates tried to escape but were waylaid by the waiting mobs and around 50 of them were butchered. Many perished within the flames. Women were abducted and taken to nearby Muslim villages (Roy, 2007) (Singha) (Jugantar Archives).

Other Theatres in Chittagong Sylhet and Noakhali

Anti-Hindu violence started in Chittagong on 12th February at the instigation of Muslim League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury. At night the city went up in flames. Hindus were killed in Chittagong proper and adjoining areas such as Noapara, Chowdhury Hat, Patiya and Boalkhali. Fani Sen, a relative of legendary revolutionary Surya Sen was stabbed and killed in the violence. Four Buddhists were stabbed to death (Singha).

February, Hindus were attacked in Noakhali town. On 13th February, Hindus were attacked in broad daylight in Feni town, within 200 metres of the S.D.O., the Police station and the courts. Hindu women were abducted and forcefully married to Muslims. The attacks continued till 23rd February by when 4,500 Hindus had taken shelter at the refugee camp at Feni College and another 2,500 were scattered in various refugee camps across the Noakhali district. 5,000 Hindus fled to Belonia, in the Indian state of Tripura (Singha).

In Sylhet, the arson, loot and murder were perpetrated in an extensive manner. 203 villages were devastated and more than 800 Hindu religious places were desecrated. In the villages of Dhamai, Baradhami, Pubghat and Baraitali about 500 Bishnupriya Manipuri families were affected in the violence (Singha).

Train Massacres

The architects of the 1950 genocide tried to mimic the Punjab model of train massacres during the partition riots.The advantages for the organizers was that the victims from distant villages would be traveling in these trains and ascertaining their identity or exact number would be next to impossible and their crimes would be hidden from scrutiny.Needless to say, the rail authorities were hand in glove with the murderers.There were many who saw the railway staff at Akhaura junction washing coaches to remove bloodstains.The railway and steamer employees of East Bengal Government aided and abetted the murder squads by stopping the trains and steamers at wayward stations indicated by rape and murder squads.After the deed was done, the corpses would be buried on the sides of the railway lines by Muslim labourers’ popular modus-operand i was de-training the Hindu passengers by uniformed Ansars under the guise of protection and packing them in separate compartments marked for them.Initially some police would be posted in these compartments,who would disembark at the crucial moment after which the train would be stopped in between by pulling chains and murder squads took over.In mixed compartments,Muslim passengers would collaborate with the attackers and identify the hapless Hindu passengers travelling with them for murder and rejoice loudly after the deed was done.Worse still, the railway authorities would coerce the survivors to file a report of a normal railway robbery .Ghost trains would arrive in Sealdah station sans passengers , with compartments full of bloodstains, abandoned luggage, women’s clothing etc. While it is difficult to identify the exact number of train massacres and impossible to determine the bodycount, the notorious ones were  Anderson/Bhairav bridge , Santahar and Sitakunda  rail massacres. Hiren Chaki, the nephew of freedom fighter Prafulla Chaki was killed in the massacre (Kamra, 2000) (Roy, 2007) (Singha) (Jugantar Archives).

Anderson Bridge Massacre

Anderson Bridge also known as the Bhairab Bridge is a 1 km long railway bridge over the Meghna River, connecting Bhairab Bazar Junction in Kishoreganj District with Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria District. The bridge carries a single metre-gauge rail track. In 1950, it was an important rail link connecting Dhaka and Mymensingh districts on the west with Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong districts in the east (Roy, 2007).

On 12 February, most of the Hindu passengers travelling on this train route were murdered. All the cases followed a pattern. The assailants would board the trains from either side either at Bhairab Bazar Junction or Ashuganj, just before the train departed. They would lock the doors of the compartment from inside. When the train was completely on the bridge, the train would stop. The assailants would pick out the Hindus one by one, force them out of the compartment, slit their throats and throw their corpses into the river.People trying to jump out would either be hit by steel girders or fall in crocodile infested waters.On the shores of Meghna river rioters would wait,brickbatting the survivors or drag them to the shores for massacre. Prabhas Chandra Lahiri has held Aziz Ahmed, the Chief Secretary of East Bengal and Abdul Majid, the District Magistrate of Rajshahi responsible for this massacre (Roy, 2007) (Jugantar Archives).

Santahar train massacre

A large number of Bihari Muslims were settled around the railway town of Santahar,close to Naogaon who took the lead in Santahar massacre.As per eyewitness accounts, trains were stopped just after they have left the station precinct and were surrounded by frenzied mobs armed with lethal weapons who massacred hundreds of passengers after barging into trains and dragging them out of compartments. Allegedly a Punjabi Muslim Railway crew inspector called Md. Sharif also leader of the Ansars,was the chief architect of the massacre (Roy, 2007) (Singha).

Sitakunda Rail Massacre:

Sitakunda in Chittagong district was a holy site of pilgrimage for the Bengali Hindus of East Bengal, Tripura and Assam. Every year on the occasion of Mahashivaratri thousands of pilgrims visited the Chandranath temple there. That year, on 14th& 15thFebruary, the East Pakistan Ansars and armed Muslim mobs murdered pilgrims arriving from Chittagong within the train and at Sitakunda railway station. All up and down trains on the Chittagong-Sitakunda route were looted, Hindu houses in Sitakunda were set on fire (Singha) (Jugantar Archives)

Steamer Massacre:

The waterways, a crucial mode of transport in East Bengal, witnessed similar massacres like the railways perpetrated by the steamer employees and Muslim mobs. The steamers would be stopped a secluded jetties, where murderous Muslim mob would murder, loot and rape the Hindu passengers. The corpses would be disposed in the river.

.Prominent examples are the steamer massacres were in  ‘ SS Naga’,’S S Sitakunda’ and  S S Ostrich.On 14th February,,Barisal bound Hindu passengers were killed on steamer Naga, and their bodies dumped in the river.

Ilsaghat is a steamer station on the Meghna, in the island of Bhola, 7 miles from Bhola town. It falls on the steamer route between Barisal and Chittagong. On 16 February 1950, the S.S.Sitakunda of the Royal Steam Navigation Company anchored at Ilsaghat on her way to Chittagong.Around 8 P.M. that night, hundreds of Muslims attacked S.S.Sitakunda while still anchored at the steamer station. They massacred the unarmed Hindu passengers and threw them into the river. 30 Hindus were killed in the massacre, while three survived.Similarly in steamer Ostrich,Hindu passengers were forcefully disembarked on a isolated shore of River Padma and subjected to atrocities.Hindus who were hiding  inside the steamer were killed and bodies dumped in water (Singha) (Jugantar Archives).

Nehru-Liaqat Pact: backstabbing of Bengali Hindus

The sordid saga ended with two resignation letters .One was from the Law and Labour Minister of Pakistan J N Mandal and a champion of Dalit Muslim Unity. He wrote a lengthy resignation letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan which describes in threadbare details the shocking details of the genocide.Similar to JN Mondal’s resignation letter, another letter of resignation shook the Politics of the Indian State of West Bengal.The resignation letter was from Dr. S P Mukherjee addressed to the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in protest against the pathetic joke called ‘Nehru Liaqat Pact’.He sarcastically advised the supporters to stay in East Pakistan with their families in general and womenfolk in particular to test the waters there (Roy, 2007) (Jugantar Archives).

The proposal was that the pre 1950 refugees were to be differentiated from post 1950 refugees.For the latter the brief was relief and not rehabilitation because they were expected to go back.This pact contained a solemn assurance by the Governments of India and Pakistan that henceforth each country would ensure the security and dignity of their religious minorities.The Punjab Model of population exchange, which was coordinated by Nehru himself would be discontinued for Bengal Minorities, since it’s against India’s social and spiritual principles.Dr Meghnad Saha protested vehemently and Nehru and S P Mukherjee had a heated exchange in Parliament which culminated in the resignation of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and K C Niyogee, his cabinet ministers from West Bengal (Roy, 2007).

Needless to say the pact was honoured by the Indian side but the Pakistani side reciprocated with Santahar rail massacre and subsequent 1964 followup genocide for the Hajratbal episode and finally the mother of all Hindu genocides,in 1971 when 2.5 million Hindus were butchered by Pakistani regulars and irregulars.

What did Pakistan gain through the massacre?

As per Professor Samar Guha

1)February killings squeezed out the overwhelming majority of upper and middle class Hindus from East Bengal.

2)Towns and cities were freed of Hindus and their predominance .Large scale migration of non-Muslims has greatly helped the Pak Government to free municipalities,lawyer’s associations and other public,educational and cultural institutions from ’Undesirables’

3)Evacuation of non Muslims from the towns and cities solved the acute problem of housing of growing Muslim middle class and Govt. employees.

4)Militant Scheduled Caste(Namashudras)and tribal people living in compact masses and constituting local majority in the frontier zones adjacent to India were liquidated substantially with a view to increase the Muslim population.

5)Blackmail the Indian Government successfully to buy East Bengal jute and supply much needed coal to Pakistan at a lopsided price in favor of Pakistan.

Lose-Lose situation for Bengali Hindus on either side of the border.

1)The Nehru-Liaqat pact provided absolute physical security to Muslims in East Bengal.Which later turned them into political king-makers owing to  their blooming population from 19% in 1950 to 27.1% in 2011 census and their tendency to vote en-bloc.

2) While the pact had a quid pro quo clause , it was never honoured by the Pakistani government and later by Islamist Bangladesh who turned Hindu genocide into a cottage industry.As a result the Hindu population shrank from 33%to merely 8%.

3)The exchange of properties which worked since the partition also stopped owing to overwhelming advantage in favor of Muslims.Who would actually buy a property of a fleeing Hindu , which could be obtained for free otherwise.

4) Since the Punjab model population exchange did not take place, the refugee Hindus could not be settled in the evacuee properties and their downhill journey continued in refugee camps throughout India from remote Andaman to Dandakaranya in Chhattisgarh, where they were exploited once again. Marchjapi being a bloody example of refugee massacre in independent India.

5) Pakistan Government issued a circular to heads of commercial organizations requiring them to obtain prior permission from DM before appointing any non Muslim.Hindus  who still controlled big capital invested hugely in industries which was stalled by bureaucracy.With their home and hearth and future bleak, Hindus had no option but to embark on a one way journey to India

NRC and CAA

Tragic events of 1950 and the Farcial Nehru Liaqat pact, make it obligatory on the part of Indian government to provide unquestioned citizenship to the minorities of Bangladesh who are still subjected to inhuman violations.Bangladeshi infiltrators on the other hand receive citizenship at the drop of a hat, by turning into  the vote bank of local collaborators like the erstwhile commuinst party and also the present ruling fraternity of West Bengal.The Bengali Hindu is now endangered in West Bengal itself , which was meant to be Bengali Hindu homeland as envisioned by its architect Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.The distant echo of 1950 genocide can be heard in the form of Daganga, Dhulagarh and Canning riots.

Thus citizenship of India is an undisputed right of any non-Muslim minority in Bangladesh.Also eviction of Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators from West Bengal is also of paramount importance  to preserve the sanctity of Bengali Hindu homeland and also to prevent the recurrence of the likes of 1950 genocide. CAA and NRC is not as option but an obligation to correct historical wrongs and must be enforced without delay, if India in general and West Bengal in particular has to survive and thrive in the long run.

Bibliography:

Jugantar Archives. (n.d.).
Kamra, A. J. (2000). The Prolonged Partition And Its Pogroms. Voice Of India.
Lahiri, P. C. (n.d.). Pak Bharater Ruprekha.
Mandal, J. (1950). Resignation Latter To Liaqat Ali Khan.
Roy, T. (2007). A Supressed Chapter In History. Bookwell.
Singha, D. C. (n.d.). Raktaranjito Dhaka Barisal.

Tamilnadu’s typical attitudinal change has to precede political change

yogendranbk
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Tamilnadu’s typical attitudinal change has to precede political change

The Tamil Nadu Jama’athul Ulama Sabai and The Tamil Nadu Bishop Council decided to support the ‘secular front’ led by DMK [1]. Irony is why does a secular front need religious body support and if accepted will the front be still secular?!

Jokes apart a few questions for introspection of my dear Hindu brothers and sisters of Tamil Nadu who think we are the most secular and liberal because we are descendants of one of the oldest surviving civilisations.

I am sure that we would have been carried away by statements like why do you need new temples when we already have so many? Why not build a school or hospital instead of a temple? Just when u look around for the shopping mall and high raises also see how many new Masjids, Dargahs, Churches, prayer centers have cropped up in last decade in your locality. Do a secular comparison of this with temples land, who looted and whose is it. By making you think that secularism is fashionable, temple visiting is just a personal religious belief and no society/community angle is associated with it, they looted you without any resistance from your side. Curious or religious people do compare and check how many temples itself have vanished just in Tamil Nadu state (1947-2017) leave away the land, and jewels loot by our progressive development oriented state governments and Hindu religious and endowments board authorities.

I am sure many of us are strong supporters of freedom of choice, freedom of food, meat is meat, food doesn’t have religion, etc. Just when you look around restaurants and eateries don’t just look at rate, taste, but do compare how many “halal available”, “only halal” boards have cropped up in recent years. Just remember the basic principle of halal is it has to be cut by a muslim, that too after recitation of quaranic verses. Damn with your perceptions about food. Intelligent and interested people can further study about the economic angle (business capturing by Muslim groups) through halal certification which is why many vegetarian items including coconut oil, wheat atta comes with halal certification.

It’s not too late when value of your property or growth of your business would be directly dependent on you towing a particular religious line or bowing to a particular religious group. In Metros like Mumbai for example the ingress of Bangladeshi Muslims and uncontrolled prorogation of a peaceful religious denomination coupled with “what problem for me” attitude of Hindus and vote bank appeasement of khangress and nationalist khangress has now created a situation where all business especially the service sector – auto, taxi driver, plumber, electricians, ac fridge mechanics, vegetable fruit sales, etc – dominated by Muslims; that too in some business the whole business cycle from raw material supplier, manufacturer to retailer, transporter etc has a particular religious monopoly. Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Kovai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Tanjavur, Thotukudi all have similar issues with some more and with some lesser intensity. I am just speaking about the normal happenings a common man can easily recognise and visualise, leave away the hifi international agenda, money power used to retard India’s capability like in vedanta copper or kudankulam nuclear power plant issues.

There is no much time left before we Hindus are pushed to make our decisions considering the very basic necessity of safety of our daughter/sister and safety of our life (sorry if I am rude, I am actually practical & straight forward). The Land jihad, Love jihad, etc are neither myth nor mere theories but are well thought out expansionist strategies that are being executed through dedicated funds and with clear cut division of responsibility. 

Politicians and political parties are an important link in these strategies and hence are brought out showing the candy of money, position or power. Media keeps us busy with cricket, kollywood, etc which we think are beyond politics (read religion) but we fail to think why then are politicians closely connected with film production houses, ipl teams, etc and why many so called film actors, writers, directors openly single out and criticize hindus alone.

Many missionary sponsored authors (right from GU Pope’s thirukural translation) have worked overtime to create a perception that Tamil culture is different from Vedic culture. We being typical Tamilians we got into the web of accepting Church, Masjid as nearer to our Tamil culture like we accepted a foreign country’s English language as nearer to us than sanskrit. And now we are ashamed to acknowledge that this was wrong. Better we acknowledge so that it’s not too late. If we make this fundamental correction in our thinking rest all changes in positive direction will follow. We are on the third stage as below and let’s wake up and join together so that we don’t go to the fourth stage.

First they came against Hindu leaders. I didn’t speak as I am not their political follower;

Then they came against Hindu religious groups/organisations. I didn’t speak as I am not a member of it;

Then they came against Hindus (festivals, practices, god’s, temples). I didn’t speak as for me religion is my personal belief and (pseudo)secularism is my fashion;

Then they came against me (my business economy / family members safety). No one was left to speak;

References:

[1] https://m.timesofindia.com/city/chennai/minority-groups-to-back-secular-front/amp_articleshow/81666256.cms

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The author Yogendran BK is a tamilian who is not saddened to see the twisted narratives set in his state but is saddened because a good chunk of his fellow people get carried away with such narratives. The author can be reached at twitter handle @yogendranbk or FB id yogendranb

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