Sunday, September 22, 2024
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Islamist takeover of Bangladesh getting inevitable

While Pakistani state machinery and its mouthpieces in the media are continuously branding India as “worst enemy of Muslims”, sitting in Washington DC, Joe Biden and members of his administration are pushing-forward a dangerous agenda of helping Islamist and jihadist forces, such as Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) as well as pro-Caliphate Hefazat-e-Islami seize power either through undemocratic ways or through an engineered election held under Biden’s men. It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh is expected to hold its next general election in January 2024.

On January 5, 2014, BNP and JeI boycotted the election and resorted to terrorist activities thus attacking, looting, and vandalizing Hindu homes and temple, while a large number of Hindu girls and women fell victims of sexual violence and rape. A large number of BNP-JeI activists were arrested in connection with these gruesome attacks on Hindus. In India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned the attacks on Hindus and called for stern action against the perpetrators of crimes. But now, the same BNP is trying to attract Hindu votes by offering sops to the Hindus if BNP is voted to power.

Accusing prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League, traditionally perceived sympathetic towards Hindus, of grabbing land of temples, cremation grounds and houses of Hindus, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders were quoted by newspapers as assuring the Hindu community that BNP would stand by them if they are attacked.

Ironically, Khaleda Zia, chairperson of BNP who had in 1996 parliamentary elections campaigned that Bangladesh would be part of India and become a Hindu state if Awami League was voted to power.

Khaleza Zia, who had stated in the election campaigns of 1996 that Azan (call for Muslim prayer) would be replaced in Bangladesh by blowing of conch-shells if Awami League came to power.

It was during the rule of Bangladesh Nationalist Party under Khaleda Zia’s premiership that around 3000 Hindu temples in Bangladesh were damaged, many Hindu girls and women raped and properties of Hindus destroyed following the demolition of Babri mosque in India in December 1992.

As a mark of protest, a section of Hindus in Bangladesh did not celebrate their biggest religious festival Durga Puja with traditional pomp and instead restricted it to a symbolic puja ignoring threats from the then ruling party BNP and its frontal outfits, both overtly and covertly.

Why BNP is anti-Hindu and anti-India? The response came from a senior leader of the party.

According to BNP Former Foreign Minister M Morshed – “Late president Ziaur Rahman founded BNP challenging the Indian hegemony and people who strongly opposed India joined the party. The party’s main strength is the anti-India politics”.

“Those who are the mainstream BNP can’t be pro-India … BNP was born with anti-India sentiment as the majority of people in the country are anti-India”, said a senior leader of BNP.

It may be mentioned here that, BNP leaders univocally uphold a dangerous notion where it is said, “existence of Bangladesh depends on continuous and massive confrontation with India”. Although during the 1971 war of independence of Bangladesh, Pakistani occupation forces had murdered three million Bengalis, whereas the final casualty figures for Hindus sum up to anywhere between 1.2 to 2.4 million, as Hindus accounted for nearly 80 percent of those killed; Bangladesh Nationalist Party considers Pakistan as their “trusted and tested ally” and “brethren”, which certainly goes against the spirit of Bangladesh’s war of independence.

Even in March 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the golden jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh’s independence, Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its ideological allies – Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami staged countrywide demonstration, arson attacks, attacks on Hindus as well as Hindu homes and temples, demanding, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “should not” participate in country’s golden jubilee celebrations. At that time, West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee had also echoed the voice of Bangladeshi Islamists.  

BNP serves beef to Hindus

During 2022 Ramadan, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) served beef to the Hindu invitees at its iftar party.

According to media reports, the event was organised by the Sylhet unit of BNP at the Kushiara International Convention Hall in Chondipul in Dakshin Surma in the Sylhet district. As per reports, the attendees confirmed that the meals were kept in front of each chair even before the start of the Iftar party.

The dishes included beef curry, chole, onion fritters, dates and potato cutlet. A total of 20 Hindu party members and leaders were invited to the event. Besides, several non-Muslim journalists were also present to cover the Iftar party. However, no alternate arrangements were made for them. Instead, they were also served beef curry like the Muslim members of the party. As a result, the Hindu invitees didn’t eat the served meal. Several Hindu leaders of the BNP expressed their discontentment during the event. Many labelled the treatment meted out to them as ‘downright communal.’ Some party members also took to Facebook to display their angst.

BNP-Jamaat attacks on Hindus

Referring to Ain o Shalish Kendra, an article in The Print said, there have been more than 3,600 attacks on Hindus since 2013. That year, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist group, the Jamaat-e-Islami, unleashed large-scale communal violence to protest the conviction of its leader, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, for war crimes he committed in the liberation campaign of 1971.

It further said “Even though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government have sought to stamp out the violence, Islamists remain an entrenched part of Bangladesh’s political landscape. The regime’s authoritarian policies—driven, in part, by its effort to stamp out jihadism—undermined its legitimacy, forcing unhappy compromises with competing Islamist groups.

“From its famine-ravaged, blood-soaked birth, Bangladesh has succeeded in transforming itself into one of the region’s most vibrant economies. Fundamentalism, though, remains a powerful force, threatening to undo those hard-won gains”.

Islamists want to “take back” Bangladesh

For the last three years, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist-jihadist cronies, including Jamaat-e-Islami has been spending hugely towards lobbyists in the United States and Britain with the agenda of returning to power with direct help from the Biden administration, It was also reported in the media that BNP was also looking for hiring Hunter Biden as one of its lobbyists. Meanwhile, Joe Biden and key members of his administration are showing signs of their visible inclination towards anti-Awami League and anti-Sheikh Hasina bloc thus granting assurance to BNP and Jamaat of America’s help in ousting or defeating Awami League from power by January 2024.

While situation is truly complex for Awami League, members of Bangladesh’s civil-military administration, including intelligence agencies are playing dubious role – covertly and overtly against ruling Awami League and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while they are showing no signs or even interest in countering BNP-Jamaat’s notorious lobbyist acts and media assaults.

During the recent months it has been observed with greatest worries that sensitive and even top-secret documents and information are being regularly leaked to opponents of Awami League, who are using those in further expediting ongoing propaganda against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Awami League and key figures in the government. In my opinion, those civil-military and intelligence officials are doing this as they too have started believing that Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamist-jihadist blocs may return to power anytime soon and it is investable.

Psychology of Indian Muslims

[Note: The contents of the article pertain to the majority (99%) Muslims of India].

The third generation of Muslims in independent India, educated or otherwise, are present in all spheres of Indian society. One can be a painter, barber, businessman, puncture-wala, actor, butcher, corporate officer, vegetable seller, teacher, lawyer, cook, doctor, delivery boy, journalist, labourer or politician etc. But her/his core intent always remains dedicated to the spread of Islamic causes in India in some way or other.

While the ill-educated Pasmanda Muslims, who constitute about 80 percent of Indian Muslims, primarily act as foot soldiers in stone pelting, mass agitation, arson, loot, destruction of properties and killing of Kafir; -the educated and elite section of Ashraf Muslims create narrative to instigate the Pasmanda Muslims and justify their violent misdeeds at national and international levels. Ashraf Muslims, being a small minority, was the ruling class of India for centuries till 1757 AD. But, after 266 years of Plassey, they are yet to come out of their entitlement. Thus, in independent India, they play the role of leaders of Pasmanda Muslims.

Interestingly, about 95 percent of Indian Muslims, both Ashraf and Pasmanda, have never read and understood what Quran, Sahih Hadith and Sirat actually revealed/said about Allah, Islam, Muhammad and duties of Muslims. They remain ignorant about pre-Islamic history of Arabia too. They are required to know all those as, unlike Christianity, Islam controls every aspect of Muslims’ life.

On the contrary, they get indoctrinated in early childhood by Mullahs, in a formal way, at home or in Maqtab/Madrasa. The Mullahs teach a form of concocted Islam to Muslim kids by resorting to fake tales full of grandeur, valour and benign piousness of Muhammad. Mullahs also resort to lies, imagination and deceit about Islam and its Prophet.

The core message which is impregnated in the brain of Muslim kids relates to Islam being the only true religion and Muhammad being the best and last prophet and all other religions are false and evil. There is no scope for the kids to question or express doubt about Islam. The parents and society also discourage children and youths from asking any critical question about Islam or Muhammad. The Muslim society in India revolves around blind Islamic faith, Honour and Shame. Violence remains the only driving force to sustain these three attributes.

Grandfathers of 90 percent of these Indian Muslims violently fought for creation of Islamic Pakistan during 1940-47 for the Muslims of British India. They were crying that their future, as Muslims, would be in danger in Hindu-majority united and independent India. But, after partition they did not take the train to Pakistan and stayed in India to extract more Islamic pound of flesh from Hindu-majority India. While they created Islamic Pakistan in 1947 by playing minority card, their grand-children are now playing the same minority card in India after 75 years of independence. In other words, they ate the apple in 1947 and their grand-children have it now too.

Almost all the Indian Muslims now take refuge to Gandhi and Nehru at the drop of a hat. They eulogize Gandhi-Nehru as two sides of secular and democratic India. Their façade is so benign that Gandhi-Nehru would have become shell-shocked if they were alive now. Indian Muslims absolve themselves from partitioning India to make Islamic Pakistan. They blame Hindu Mahasabha and Savarkar for the Two nation Theory and creation of Pakistan. They have deceitful mind to create such false narrative.

These Indian Muslims first create problems, then develop a narrative and start playing victim card at last. They also resort to Confusion Jihad by taking different stands on the same issue to confuse the majority Hindus. A case in point is the Hijab issue of Karnataka’s Muslim school girl students. A few months back all of a sudden, the Muslim girl students of Karnataka state started wearing Hijab in violation of the dress code of the schools.

When those girl students were denied entry into the schools with Hijab, the Muslim community, across India, started crying that their religious practice was compromised. Expectedly, some Muslim civil-society members were calling the wearing of Hijab as their religious right, while others were calling it as personal choice. Meanwhile a distorted narrative about persecution of Muslims in India was peddled world-wide and Indian Muslims presented them as victims in Hindu-majority India.

Another example is anti-CAA agitations. The Government of India enacted CAA in 2019 to ease the process of giving citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who had migrated to India up to 2014 from Islamic Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh for religious persecutions. But Indian Muslims called CAA as anti-Muslim without any logic and launched nation-wide protest with main centre at Shaheenbagh, Delhi. They also took international support from their co-religionists and Left-Liberal ecosystem to make it appear as a draconian anti-Muslim Act of Hindu-majority India by misinterpreting CAA.

The anti-CAA Muslim agitation in India was actually aimed at pre-empting the detection and deportation of tens of millions of illegal Muslim Bangladeshi and Rohingya in India. India is not any developed country with a negligible Muslim population and needing extra workforce.

So, India could never accept such illegal infiltration at the cost of shifting of demography in favour of Muslims and to compromise law and order situation. But after creating this problem by supporting illegal infiltration, Indian Muslims created a narrative around CAA in their favour and started playing victim card as usual.

Nupur Sharma case is a clear example of how Muslims in India can be collectively and individually evil. After a TV debate, where BJP spokesperson Ms Nupur Sharma quoted from Standard Islamic Narrative about Muhammad’s life, Mohammed Zubair of Alt News dog-whistled on her so-called Gustakh-e-Rasool to garner support from Islamic countries against India to bring India to its knees.

Besides organizing massive angry and violent protests by Muslims in different parts of India for weeks together, three Hindus were murdered, four brutally assaulted and numerous got death threats. In the process, Ms Nupur Sharma was suspended from the post of BJP spokesperson and she had to go in hiding for safety of her life. Such vicious, Indian Muslims can be.

Blaming others for their own faults has been a trait of Muslims for 1400 years. Indian Muslims could make martyrs out of the killed Islamic terrorists in Batla House encounter. They awarded the same title to killed Islamic terrorist Burhan Wani and Afzal Guru.

Even the horrific Islamic terrorist attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 was labeled as RSS Ki Sazish by them, when an Indian court had already awarded death penalty to the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab in that connection. In all these Jihadi endeavours, Congress and Communists  stood rock-solid with the Indian Islamists.

All the credit for Islamic problems in today’s India goes to the Congress party. Under Gandhi, Congress became the B-Team of Muslim League before 1947. The picture did not change after independence of India even. One example here will explain the Islamic soul and face of Congress party.

Before independence, Muhammad Ismail Sahib was a top Muslim League leader from Madras Presidency. The Muslim League fought 1946 election with all its strength on the single agenda of Pakistan. In Madras Presidency, Muhammad Ismail led Muslim League to victory in all 28 Muslim seats.

But after partition, Ismail Sahib and his group did not migrate to Pakistan. He became the member of Indian Constituent Assembly and bitterly argued for continuation of separate electorate for Muslims in independent India. When Muslim League party went to Pakistan after 15 August 1947, Muhammad Ismail did not waste time in forming another political party named Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in March 1948 in Madras Province.

During reorganization of states, Ismail’s constituency came under Kerala state. IUML has been an alley of Congress party in Kerala. Congress shouts 24 x 7 and abuses BJP as a communal Hindu party, but it has been hand-in-glove with Muslim communal party like IUML since 1948.

Another example can be found in Moinul Haque Choudhury of Silchar, Assam. After obtaining MA degree from AMU Aligarh, he joined Muslim League in 1946 and was a top-level national leader of its Youth Wing. But after partition, Moinul Haque did not migrate to Pakistan. On the contrary he was inducted in Congress during 1951, became five times MLA of Assam Assembly and a state cabinet Minister also.

In 1971, Haque became an MP from Congress party in a by-election and was made Industry Minister by Indira Gandhi. This way almost all Indian Muslim Leaguers, who did not migrate to Pakistan, were absorbed in Congress and such number was very big. This prevented Indian Muslims to come out from Muslim League ideology, even after independence of India.

Aurangzeb and other cruel Muslim invaders/rulers of India used swords to Islamize India. But the Congress party, in independent India, used the Constitution, Acts and Laws to Islamize the country. Muslim Personal Laws, Muslim Personal Law Board, government sponsored Iftar Parties by the President and Prime Minister of India, Wakf Council and state Wakf Boards, giving of government lands to Wakf Board, Minority institutions status to AMU and Jamia, keeping of the income of Muslim Shrines free from income tax, government funding of Madrasa education, constitution of Minority Commission and Ministry of Minority Affairs, Hajj subsidy (withdrawn by BJP government a few years back), allowing unrestrained and illegal construction of tens of thousands of Mosques and Mazars across India (through Land Jihad) are few examples.

Instead of encouraging Muslims to integrate with Hindu majority independent India, Congress party consciously pampered the Indian Muslims to cultivate their separate identity, which was based on Islam alone. Nobody cared to know that Islam allows them to wage war (through violence, propaganda, deception and mischief) in non-Muslim majority countries (Dar al-Harb) like India for the cause of bringing India in the way of Allah.

Later, some regional political parties like AAP, SP, BSP, RJD, JDU, TMC, NCP, and TRS etc have also become Muslim-centric parties for vote bank politics. These parties have taken Muslim appeasement and Muslim hooliganism in India to the next higher level.

The identity crisis of Indian Muslims is no different than Pakistani Muslims. Emotionally, they align with Mughal, Turk, Arab and Persian which connects their Islamic identity. But, genetically and physically, they are part and parcel of India. So, they are neither here, nor there. However, they thrive on some extra-territorial delusion. Indian Muslims are primary products of Islam that negates their peaceful co-existence with the majority Hindu community of India, who are considered as Kafir.

Islam is an exclusive religion full of megalomania. It others everything that is non-Islamic. Indian Muslims could never come out of that limitation of Islam. It has always been we versus they, that is, Momin versus Kafir. As per Islamic teachings, every Hindu is an accursed and hell-goer to be converted, killed or made Dhimmi. Indian Muslims may cry hoarse that these are hate speech. But Islamic scriptures are full of Kafir-phobia and give the believers such inhuman and violent commandments to deal with the Kafir.

Democracy, Constitution and Secularism are anti-these of Islamic scriptures and teachings. So, when an Indian Muslim cries on some imaginary violation of democracy, constitution or secularism in the country, she/he either comes out of the realm of Islam or uses this as a lie to peddle Islamism in India. There is nothing like liberal Muslim or moderate Muslim. Either one is Muslim or not.

After partition in 1947, Muslims in independent India constituted about 9.5 percent. In the 2011 census, they became 14.2 percent. Now they will be about 18 percent. Out of total 766 districts in India, Hindus have already become minority in 200 districts. This is pure Population Jihad. In this context it should be remembered that they created Islamic Pakistan when they were about 25 percent of British India’s population.

In the past seven decades, demographic shift in their favour has been seen particularly in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala. Besides there are thousands of Muslim pockets across India, and those behave like mini-Pakistans within the country.

The situation has been further worsened in India by Communists and Secular Hindus. On one hand, Communism being an authoritarian, violent, disruptive and evil political dogma, its followers always try to support Islamism and Islamic causes in India for creating social disruption, which may help them to weaken the majority Hindu community. On the other hand, Secular Hindus are stupid. They fall victim to false propaganda of Muslim Intellectuals that Islam is the religion of peace.

Nothing can be furthest from the truth. These Secular Hindus foolishly accept Iswar Allah Tero Naam without knowing that no Muslim can accept this line, as it amounts to Shirk. It is a crime under Islam to associate any other God with Allah and punishable by death. The Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava of Secular Hindus, too, is utopian. Firstly, because Islam is no Dharma. And secondly because Muslims cannot but accept Islam as the only true religion.

Indian Muslims have initiated a new trend since a few years. With active support from the Communists and Secular Hindus, Indian Muslims are criticizing and opposing public celebration of Hindu festivals like Holi, Dewali and Ram Navami. Their opposition finds expression in age-old practice of stone pelting and other criminal activities. Bongs, on the other hand in Kolkata, invite Mullahs to give Azan from their Durga Puja Pandals. This is done to publicize the limitless secularism of Bongs. The stupid Bongs, however, do not care to know that the contents of Azan dishonour and negate the existence of their Goddess Durga. The same Bongs will never dare to ask Muslims to play Hindu devotional song from any Masjid.

A news has come from the Tumkur district of Karnataka recently that Muslim owners of Event Management Companies hire Hindu girls from poor families on daily wage basis and force them to wear Hijab and remove Kumkum from forehead. But leading Islamists of India perpetually cry for Muslims being a Dara Hua Qaum in Hindu-majority India. Indian Muslims keep on crying on Gujarat 2002 even after 20 years because of the fact that Gujarat 2002 had made permanent cracks in their cult-based conviction to Islamize India. Besides having branches of Al Qaeda, ISIS and Pakistani and Bangladeshi Islamic terrorist organizations, India has its own home-grown Islamic terrorist groups like SIMI (Students’ Islamic Movement of India) and PFI (Popular Front of India).

SIMI was banned in India for the third time in 2006. In 2022 government of India declare PFI as ‘unlawful organization’ and temporarily banned it for five years under UAPA Act. Without physical, intellectual, financial and logistic supports from Indian Muslims, these multiple Islamic terrorist organizations would not have found any foothold in India. But the Indian Muslims and Left-Secular gang try to divert attention from these Islamic terrorist organizations by raising the bogey of RSS and creating continuous cacophony against it.

Congress has been hand-in-glove with Left-Islamist gang to peddle the fake narrative of Hindu Terror and Saffron Terror to cover-up the malicious activities of dozens of Islamic terrorist organizations in India and Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Digvijay Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal were actively involved in that anti-Hindu propaganda.

Bollywood movies, under the influence of Islamists, disguised as Communists, went on injecting Islamism in Indian society in a very subtle manner over the past decades. Rahim Chacha (the benign and pious old Muslim blind man in ‘Sholey’), Sher Khan (the lovable Pathan criminal in ‘Zanzeer’), blind faith of an atheist Hindu on Islamic Billa No. 786 in ‘Deewar’ are only a few examples. In India the expression of Islamism among Muslims reaches peak when Pakistan wins a cricket match against India. Muslims in thousands of mini-Pakistans, within India, come out in the open, hoist Pakistani Flags, shout Pakistan Zindabad slogan and burn fire crackers to celebrate the loss of India in the hands of Islamic Pakistan.

The voting pattern of Indian Muslims has been very definite since 1952. They look for a party which has best semblance with Muslim League. In Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, they vote for Congress; in Delhi they vote for AAP; in UP they vote for SP; in Bihar they vote for RJD; in West Bengal they vote for TMC; in Maharashtra they vote for NCP and in Kerala they vote for CPM. They don’t vote for national, state or locality’s interest. They vote for only community’s interest. Thus Congress, Communist and most of the regional parties are their best replacements for Muslim League. Indian Muslims could never come out of Muslim League mind-set.

Since a past few years, Indian Muslims have resorted to condemn any criticism of Islam, Muslim or Islamic terrorism as “Hate Speech”. They try to give an impression that they are the victims of hatred from majority Hindu community. But they conveniently forget that their Asmani Kitab has been the original source of violence and hatred towards Kafir for last 1400 years.

From The Calcutta Quran Petition of 1986 to the recent case in the Supreme Court by Wasim Rizvi to declare 26 verses of Quran as unconstitutional and non-functional on the ground that these promote extremism and terrorism and pose a serious threat to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, – the picture remains clear on intent of hatred and teaching of violence in the Quran. But Indian Muslims refuse to see these.

India is in cross-road now. Congress, Muslim-centric regional political parties, Communists and Secular Hindus of India have supported the Muslim causes for too long. Indian Muslims also took full advantage of the situation. After 2014, Modi has started to clean the cobweb of undue Islamism in India. Hence so much hue and cry against Modi by Islamist, Congress, Communist, other regional political parties and Secular Hindu group of India and certain Western intellectuals, media, NGOs and academia.

One can understand what is said above, in a better way, simply by following the members of Islamist-Leftist-Secular cabal of India in social media. The names of such members are known to all. The bottom line is, heads I win, tails you lose-attitude with dominating and exclusionist psychology of Indian Muslims, after 1947, has been shaped by Islamic teachings on one hand and unnecessary pampering of the Indian Muslims by Congress, Communist, Secularist and most of the non-BJP regional political parties on the other hand, in the name of fraudulent secularism. This reminds one of the proverbial line spare the rod and spoil the child.

Rahul Gandhi’s election pitch is a broken record

The world changed drastically or rather dramatically in the last five years. Several mutually exclusive events lead to a domino of change hurling the mankind to witness a world which was unimaginable just five years ago.

Work from home isn’t luxury or privilege any more, hybrid way of working is the new work order. 80 crore people receiving free ration through out the year is not a figment of imagination anymore. Its as real as it can be. Life without e-commerce, e-shopping is unthinkable. Covid made sure everyone make peace with Artificial Intelligence asserting its presence at every turn in life. Even the underprivileged don’t shy away from QR codes anymore. Brexit along with the Russia Ukraine conflict/war made irreversible socio-politico-economic changes in the world; setting a new world order. Economies of the European countries along with Britain are crumbling like never before. There are nation wide protests, strikes, supply shortages and what not. Governments and Prime Ministers are behaving like butterflies.

Yet,

somethings never change!

Rahul Gandhi’s Election Pitch is one such thing.

After 2014 and 2019, 2024 is the third General Election that Mr. Rahul Gandhi is pitching for, with the exact same script.

You pick up any speech-lecture-interaction of Rahul Gandhi for this matter, you will find him saying these six SEO friendly verbatims:

Democracy in India is either dying or in danger or is already dead

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS is an evil divisive force

He is a Gandhi, a victim of violence and a compassionate listener. (the Gandhi-ness)

Modi/BJP supports and promotes Crony Capitalism

We need to empower women and youth

Systems and Processes need to be re-defined

That is it. Rest everything in his interviews-speech-lectures is a philosophical gyan, stories, epilogue, prologue leading to and re-enforcing these six points.

As a matter of fact, Rahul Gandhi, in his 2023 lecture in Cambridge as an alumni of Cambridge Judge Business School made an exact replica of SEO vocabulary he used five years ago in his 2018 lecture in Hamburg, Germany as an alumni of Bucerious Summer School. In fact, these lectures are in line with what he said ten years ago in his 2013 interview with Arnab Goswami that went viral for a variety of reasons. Do you remember Frankly Speaking with Rahul Gandhi?

This time he used his “aadha-bharat jodo yaatra” as a prop to put forth his six points. (aadha (half) because the rally roughly covered 14 states; what about the other 14 states? Are they not Bharat?)

Also read: A Role Model or A Wrong Model

For example, this time it was his aadha-bharat jodo yatra where his knee pain shut him and made him to listen to others. A girl walked up to him and told him she was gang-raped, she did not want him to call the cops because she would be shamed. What does Rahul Gandhi do? He listens; shows compassion and thinks if he became the prime minister he would empower women of the country (Points 3 and 5 covered). Don’t forget, one of the reasons his 2013 interview with Arnab went viral was him saying “Empower Women” for every other question thrown at him.

Last time in Hamburg, he recited his experience with his father’s assassins. His anger had vanished and compassion took anger’s place in his heart. He listened to what she was saying. (Point 3 again) He reminded the audience about his gandhi-ness; his grandmother was assassinated; his father was assassinated; his family has sacrificed a lot for the nation. So he understands violence very well. This time by comparing his Aadha-Bharat Jodo Yatara to Gandhi’s Dandi March, he aptly invoked his gandhi-ness once again; he is indeed a proud dynast.

This isn’t all for listening and compassion, when his Aadha-Bharat Jodo Yatara reached Kashmir, he listened to the militants with all his heart and that’s why they didn’t do anything to him (re-enforcing point 3 once again). I wonder, if government of India should send him as a delegate to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir just to listen to the militants there or maybe to Aksai Chin; maybe the map of Kashmir becomes a complete crown again.

For his point 4, its Adani and the Airports this time. Last time it was Ambani and Rafale! If I am not mistaken he was made to apologize after the court case. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t said “Chowkidar Chor Hai” this time! But you never know, still a year to go.

Also read: Rafale Deal sums up India’s journey from “Marut” to “Tejas”

For his points 1 and 6, this time he went global, drew interesting America vs China comparisons (Two divergent ideas) including the development models in the two countries. Innovation in the US vs emerging as a result of processes in China. I will be writing a separate article on these comparisons he made; including the curbside check-in feature he pointed out. I think his arguments, analogies and comparisons were not only flawed but also showed his compromised integrity when it comes to Intellectual Property Rights.

Quite interestingly, he brought this point 6 for redefining Systems and Process in his 2013 interview with Arnab Goswami even after being in power for past ten years.

Also read: What lies beneath the Mask?

RSS, has been a constant punching bag for him and his party since eternity. This time RSS is like Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. One time Digvijay Singh tried to blame RSS for 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack at a book launch; at some other time RSS was held responsible for Malegaon blasts.

The point I am trying to make is simple and straightforward, if the world let alone India has completely changed and continues to change at unprecedented pace, how can anyone expect to win an election by running an old, stale and stagnant election campaign?

It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.

Darwin’s Origin of Species

Also read: The Magician becomes the Hat!!!: The Indian Politician doing tricks

मिसेज़ चैटर्जी वर्सेस नॉर्वे – भौगोलिकरण के दौर में बच्चों का पालन

अजीब दास्ताँ है इस शहर में चौकसी की 

मेरे अज़ीज़, चौकीदार ने तहखाने में बंद किए हैं  

हाल ही में एक फिल्म चर्चा में आई है मिसेज़ चैटर्जी वर्सेस नॉर्वे (लघु – मिचैवन)। फिल्म का विमोचन भारत के साथ-साथ दुनिया के अनेकानेक देशों में 17 मार्च को किया गया। फिल्म एक सत्य घटना पर आधारित है। यदि मैं अंग्रेजी के शब्द युग्म रील-रियल का सहारा लूं तो कह सकता हूं कि 11 वर्ष पूर्व जब रियल घटनाक्रम नॉर्वे में उत्कर्ष पर था तब मैं बीचों-बीच खड़ा था। मैं मूलतः उत्तर भारत से हूं और डेनमार्क, यूके से लुढ़कता हुआ 2009 अंत तक स्तावंगर नॉर्वे पहुंच चुका था।

2011 में जब उड़ते उड़ते खबर कानों में पड़ी की बारनेवर्न (नॉर्वी भाषा में बाल सुरक्षा विभाग) वाले ‘बंगालियों’ के बच्चे उठा ले गए हैं तो एक वर्षीय पुत्री का पिता होने के नाते मैं ठिठका और मुझे यह समझने की जिज्ञासा हुई कि इस आपदा का स्वरूप क्या है? क्या मैं अपने संकट में फंसे हुए देशवासी दंपती का किसी प्रकार से सहयोग कर सकता हूं? इस समस्या से आज वे जूझ रहे हैं कल को हम भी जूझ सकते हैं। मैंने अनुरूप और सागरिका (जिनकी कहानी का चित्रण किया गया है) को ढूंढ संबंध स्थापित किया और जो थोड़ा बहुत संबल सहयोग मेरे सामर्थ्य में था वह दिया। अप्रैल 2012 में जब बच्चे सुरक्षित भारत पहुंच गए तब संकट टलने की प्रसन्नता मुझे भी थी। सागरिका और अनुरूप की कहानी भारत में भी अन्य घरेलू कहानियों की तरह आगे बढ़ती रही और मेरा सरोकार समाप्त हो चुका था।

मिचैवन पर प्रतिक्रिया करने वालों को तीन वर्गों में  विभाजित किया जा सकता है। पहले वर्ग वाले इस फिल्म को नॉर्वे की एक संस्थागत व्यवस्था पर टिप्पणी न देख कर नॉर्वे और संपूर्ण नॉर्वे की संस्कृति पर आघात के रूप में देख रहे हैं। इसमें वे लोग तो हैं ही जिनके पास नॉर्वे की छवि को संवारने व संभालने का दायित्व है, कुछ वे आप्रवासी लोग भी सम्मिलित हैं जिन्होंने नॉर्वे को अब घर बना लिया है। उन्हें यह विस्वरता रास नहीं आयी। इस दृष्टिकोण का नेतृत्व करते हुए भारत में नॉर्वे के राजदूत मान्यश्री हैंस जेकब फ्रॉयडनलुंड अपने मंतव्य (इंडियन एक्सप्रेस, 18 मार्च 2023) में लिखते हैं कि फिल्म काल्पनिक है, वास्तविकता को नहीं दर्शाती। नॉर्वे की संस्थाएं ऐसी बकलोल नहीं हैं कि वे हाथ से खाना खिलाने पर और बच्चे को साथ सुलाने पर बच्चा उठा लें। यूरोपीय मानवाधिकार न्यायालय में इस मुद्दे से मिलते जुलते 39 केस लंबित हैं, इस बात का उल्लेख उनके लेख में नहीं है।

दूसरा वर्ग उन लोगों का है जो बारनेवर्न के द्वारा उनके बच्चों को दिए गए सुरक्षा कवच से पीड़ित हुए हैं। इस वर्ग वाले कहते हैं कि मिचैवन में जो दिखाया गया है वह वास्तविकता के हूबहु है। और तो और बारनेवर्न इससे भी कहीं अधिक बेढब उपाय बाल सुरक्षा के नाम थोप सकता है। सांख्यिकी के आधार पर कहा जाता है कि इस प्रकार के सुरक्षा कवच के लिए उपयुक्त पाए जाने की संभावना नॉर्वे स्थित आप्रवासी परिवारों के लिए एक औसत परिवार की तुलना में चार गुना अधिक है। परंतु सोशल मीडिया पर इस स्वर को गुंजाने वाले लोगों में अधिकांश आप्रवासी हों ऐसा नहीं है, वहां प्रायः आपको इस पक्ष को रखते हुए मूलतः नॉर्वी पृष्ठभूमि के लोग ही मिलेंगे। मारिउस रेइकेरोस, रूने फारडाल और टॉन्ये ओमडाल अनन्य सक्रिय कार्यकर्ताओं में से कुछ नाम हैं जो इस व्यवस्था को बदलने के लिए कृत संकल्प हैं।

तीसरे वर्ग में हम अन्यों को रख सकते हैं जिसमें सर्वहारा से लेकर विशिष्ट फिल्म आलोचकों तक सब हैं। इनका फिल्म के विषय से सीधा सीधा कोई हित जुड़ा हुआ नहीं है। जनसाधारण फिल्म में रानी मुखर्जी के दमदार अभिनय और कथा के संवेदनशील विषय से अभिभूत है। फिल्म सुखदांत होते हुए भी एक टीस छोड़ कर समाप्त होती है। कुछेक फिल्म आलोचकों का कहना है कि निर्देशक ने अपनी बात को वज़न देने के लिए अतिश्योक्ति, ध्रुवीकरण और षड्यंत्र सिद्धांत जैसे साहित्यिक उपकरणों का उपयोग करने में संयम नहीं रखा। यहां उल्लेखनीय है कि फिल्म मुख्यधारा के आम दर्शक को ध्यान में रख कर बनायी गयी है और इस प्रक्रिया में कुछेक बारीकियों को उजागर करना कठिन सिद्ध हुआ है। 

फिल्म के विषय वस्तु  को आगे बढ़ाते हुए मैं सबसे पहले नार्वी संस्था बारनेवर्न के नाम पर टिप्पणी करना चाहूंगा। मेरे पिताजी कहते थे संज्ञा वहअच्छी है जो संज्ञान करवाने में सफल हो और संज्ञा धारक को जीवन मंत्र भी दे। यह युक्तिपूर्ण है कि नाम से ही हमें लक्ष्य और मूल्यों का बोध हो जाए। मुझे निजी तौर पर बाल-विकास अथवा बाल-कल्याण तो समझ आते हैं परन्तु बाल-सुरक्षा सुनने में अधूरा लगता है। बाल-विकास एक समन्वित प्रक्रिया का बोध करवाता है जिसमें सुरक्षा भी सम्मिलित है। यह कल्पना की जा सकती है कि सर्वांगीण दृष्टि न रख सुरक्षा पर ध्यान केंद्रित करने से सुरक्षा देने वाला अति-उत्साह, संकीर्ण दृष्टि और संरक्षण देने का दम्भ दोषों को प्राप्त करे। जाको राखे साइंया, मार सके ना कोय। हमारी सुरक्षा तो भैय्या ऊपर वाला ही करता है।

पहले वर्ग और दुसरे वर्ग के प्रतिनिधि अक्सर सांस्कृतिक भिन्नताओं, बच्चों को दिशा देने के लिए हिंसा का प्रयोग जैसे मुद्दों पर भिड़ते हुए सुनायी देते हैं। इस शोर में यह आधारभूत प्रश्न सुनने में नहीं आता कि जीवन चक्र के मूल में ऐसे कौनसे अनिवार्य गुण हैं जो जीवन को शैशव से वयस्कता तक सर्वांगीण रूप में पहुंचाते हैं? मैं यहाँ प्रस्ताव रखता हूँ कि जिस पालन में निरंतरता, समन्वय-परस्परता और विस्तारण में दोष आएंगे वह पालन बालक के सर्वांगीण विकास का संवर्धन नहीं कर सकता। 

निरंतरता से अभिप्राय है कि हर शिशु सभ्यता और सांस्कृतिक धरोहर के साथ जन्म लेता है और यह धरोहर वह अपने माता पिता से प्राप्त करता है। जब माता पिता किसी कारणवश ऐसा करने में असमर्थ हों तो ये दायित्व उनके पारिवारिक सामजिक वृत्त में उपलब्ध अन्य वयस्कों का है किसी दूरस्थ का नहीं। आम की डाली ने संतरे के पेड़ पर कब फल दिया था? समन्वय-परस्परता का सम्बन्ध माता और पिता की आपसी पूरकता, जो जीवन के प्रारंभिक वर्षों में अनन्य आवश्यक है, से तो है ही इसका सम्बन्ध परिवार के व्यापक परिवार और समाज के साथ सहअस्तित्व से भी है। पारिवारिक कोलाहल समन्वय-परस्परता में बाधक है। विस्तारण का यहाँ अर्थ है कि जुड़े रहते हुए जीव अपने भविष्य  की यात्रा स्वयं तय कर आगे निकले। जब डाल ने फैलना है तो फिर उसे फैलने के लिए स्थान चाहिए।  

मेरी समझ में एक बाल-कल्याण के लिए कृत संकल्प संस्था का काम है कि जिस भी बालक के पालन में इन तीन गुणों में से किसी में भी कमी आ रही है तो वे उस कमी को पूरा करवाने में सहयोग करे। वह संस्था इस कमी को पूरा करवाते हुए ध्यान रखे कि उसका कार्य करुणा, सेवा, अध्यात्म, परोपकार, बहुवाद, उदात्तता, निरंतरता मूल्यों पर आधारित हो और मिशन, चौकसी, कट्टरवाद, निरंकुशता, द्वीपीयता, आरोपण, अवसरवाद उसके कार्यक्रम को भ्रमित न करें। 

रानी मुखर्जी नायिका के किरदार को जीवंत करती हुई फिल्म को माँ की व्याकुलता में लपेट हमें बाँध कर रखती हैं। फिल्म विषय वस्तु को हाशिये से खींच मुख्य धारा में लाने के प्रयोजन में सार्थक है। फिल्म के निर्माताओं ने ऐसे संवेदनशील विषय को पेशेवर फ़िल्मी युक्ति से प्राण दिए है इसके लिए वे बधाई के पात्र हैं।

#MrsChatterjeeVsNorway #RaniMukerji #Norway #Parenting #ChildWelfare #NRI #HumanRights

The hypocrisy of the West

Recently Rahul Gandhi was suspended from the Lok Sabha for his casteist remark on the Modi surname. He violated the law and hurt sentiments, India is a democratic and secular country, and it was not tolerated. The US government released a statement, 

“Shared commitment to democratic values – including, of course, freedom of expression.”

The United States of America out of all the countries had commented on ‘freedom of expression’. 

Here’s a reality check for the west!

  1. The police officers brutally killed George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 for an ACCUSATION of a purchase made with a counterfeit $20 bill. He was not allowed to tell his side of the story, his rights were taken away just because of his skin color, and he was dragged and brutally beaten. When Floyd’s ‘right to live’ was taken away, where were the Americans preaching ‘freedom of expression’?
  1. Six people were killed in the Nashville school shooting just a few days ago. Yet the president, Mr. Joe Biden, Insensitively comments that he thought ice cream was being served downstairs. 

Weapons are still allowed to be carried even after repeated requests to ban them. There has been no action taken in response to the concerns expressed by parents in the United States. Risks have been posed to millions of children. 

  1. When Donald Trump was banned from Twitter for merely tweeting his opinions just because the democrats came into power, thus removing his freedom of expression completely okay for the US?

The west should understand that we aren’t inferior to them anymore. We stand head to head in terms of economy, development, and military power. We are the only constitution that involves the holy book of each religion under its constitution. 

Rahul Gandhi has been given every right to protest and go to the honorable courts of our country.  Maybe the states need to look into their own affairs!

Can CBDC assist and support the growth and development of the Indian economy?

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Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital form of fiat currency that is issued and backed by a central bank. The concept of CBDC has gained significant attention in recent years, with many countries considering its adoption. India is one of the countries that have been exploring the possibility of implementing a CBDC. The question remains, can CBDC assist and support the growth and development of the Indian economy?

There are several potential benefits that CBDC can offer to the Indian economy. One of the most significant benefits is that it can help reduce the cost of printing and distributing physical currency. India has a vast population, and the cost of printing and distributing physical currency can be substantial. By switching to a digital currency, the cost of printing and distribution can be significantly reduced, resulting in cost savings for the government.

Another benefit of CBDC is that it can help increase financial inclusion. India has a large population that is unbanked or underbanked. CBDC can provide these individuals with access to digital financial services, including payments, savings, and credit. This can help bring more people into the formal financial system, thereby increasing financial inclusion and reducing poverty.

CBDC can also help improve the efficiency and security of payments. With a digital currency, transactions can be processed quickly and securely, reducing the risk of fraud and other forms of financial crime. This can help improve the overall efficiency of the economy, making it more competitive on the global stage.

However, there are also some challenges that need to be addressed before CBDC can be adopted in India. One of the biggest challenges is ensuring that the digital currency is secure and resilient against cyber-attacks. India has a high incidence of cybercrime, and any digital currency must be able to withstand these threats.

Another challenge is ensuring that CBDC does not lead to financial instability. CBDC can potentially create new risks, such as bank runs, if consumers and businesses prefer to hold CBDC instead of bank deposits. To mitigate this risk, the central bank will need to carefully manage the introduction of CBDC to ensure that it does not disrupt the existing financial system.

CBDC has the potential to provide several benefits to the Indian economy, including:

Cost savings: As mentioned earlier, switching to CBDC can reduce the cost of printing and distributing physical currency, resulting in cost savings for the government.

Financial inclusion: CBDC can provide individuals who are unbanked or underbanked with access to digital financial services, including payments, savings, and credit, thereby increasing financial inclusion and reducing poverty.

Improved efficiency and security: CBDC can help improve the efficiency and security of payments by processing transactions quickly and securely, reducing the risk of fraud and other forms of financial crime.

Enhanced competitiveness: By improving the efficiency of the economy, CBDC can make it more competitive on the global stage, attracting more foreign investment and driving economic growth.

Stimulating economic activity: CBDC can be used to distribute funds directly to individuals or businesses in times of economic crisis, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. This can help stimulate economic activity and support those most in need.

Overall, CBDC has the potential to provide several benefits to the Indian economy, including cost savings, financial inclusion, improved efficiency and security, enhanced competitiveness, and the ability to stimulate economic activity in times of crisis. However, it is important to address the challenges and risks associated with its adoption to ensure that it is introduced in a manner that is safe, secure, and beneficial to the economy.

Sam Pitroda’s poor defense of Rahul Gandhi

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There was ruckus in the parliament for two-days i.e. on 14th and 15th of March on Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Cambridge London on India’s democracy being in danger and his call for the European nations and the U.S. for course-correction. This he did on 6th of March. He said the so-called defenders of democracy (meaning to say Europe and America) were oblivious of what is happening in India and its democracy. The BJP immediately said Rahul Gandhi was defaming India and Indian democracy on foreign soil and asked for his apology to the nation.

Somehow, Rahul Gandhi’s statement might not have gone well with his own party intellectuals. Perhaps due to which Mr. Gandhi made a correction the next day i.e. on 7th March that India could solve its problems internally on its own. However, it was a grave mistake. In any case, the ruling party is seeking an apology for what he said. Whereas, the Congress is stuck on the Adani issue to eclipse the mistake made by Rahul Gandhi.

Sam Pitroda, the Congresses’ overseas member cum organizer and promoter of Rahul Gandhi came to his defense yesterday on national television. He agreed with what Rahul Gandhi said i.e. Indian democracy is in danger. Pitroda said the ruling party was attacking Rahul Gandhi in an organized way. Sympathizing with Mr Gandhi, he added, “Poor fellow, let him give some space”. He said, why every word, sentence and his tone were dissected. At the end of the day we are all human beings. This is how pro-party men speak. There is no logic in it.

If Rahul Gandhi really cared for democracy, why was he skiing at Gulmarg along with his sister Priyanka Vadra, when all political parties were campaigning in the North-Eastern states? Maybe he is not the Congress president, but he is a tall leader in the Congress. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been invited to Cambridge to give political- lessons, Kharge should have been called (to Cambridge). For Rahul Gandhi with no political strategy, no political plan, only blaming prime minister Modi and calling Indian democracy a flawed-one will not serve. Will only show Mr. Gandhi’s desperateness.

The U.S and E.U countries do their business with any elected leader in any electoral democracy. They don’t meddle with the internal matters of any democracy. For that matter any autocracy like China or the infamous Taliban in Afghanistan is okay with them for their business. India has 1.4 billion people and is the world’s largest democracy and it doesn’t require some other country to meddle in its internal affairs or to give lectures/sermons. Rahul Gandhi is either naïve or ignorant of geo-political realities. His mentor Pitroda says, “Indian Democracy is everybody’s concern”.

In that case, what is happening in every democracy is the concern of every other democracy of the world. Let Mr Pitroda set-right democracies in Europe, especially Italy ruled by the far-right Giorgia Meloni, before talking about India. He says, the present Govt. at the Centre has well-orchestrated machinery on its side to promote its views. So did Congress while it ruled the country. The Congress joining hands with the Left-parties, in fact, coerced and silenced the other voices till the social media tech-giants came into picture. In the interview (https://www.youtube.com/live/GuWo0ywcBdM?feature=share), Mr. Pitroda told the anchor (Rajdeep Saradesai, although the anchor is leaned towards their ideology), when asked about how he explains on Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy in foreign soil, “Don’t put your interpretation, as the only interpretation…he didn’t say, you have an interpretation.” So, therefore, anybody can interpret anyone’s statement in any way. No problem for Pitroda. So, deal with the way the ruling party interprets!

If Rahul Gandhi speaks whatever he strongly feels about anything anywhere, as per his freedom of speech, the BJP in the ruling could interpret in their own freedom. A politician should have tact, should try to impress people and be politically correct. If Rahul Gandhi wants to remain an idealogue (of pseudo-secularism) and not a day-to-day politician, it is his wish. For which, he need not blame Indian- Democracy. The Congress party also need not blame the media, which they once controlled.

An open letter to my lords in supreme court

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I fervently hope that you will find time to read this. We are increasingly worried about the impression that the Supreme court is giving to us about total lack of awareness about the various subversive forces that are operating in the country and their modus operandi. We are equally perturbed by My lord’s casualness towards National security. Your justification to repeal Govt ban on some media channels indulging in nefarious propaganda is quite disturbing.

In matters of security the underlying phrase is “Preemptive actions”. In matters of national security one does not wait for authentication of threat factor to be beyond doubt. Prompt and swift response is the essence of threat prevention. There is every possibility of a disaster striking during the time lag that is spent on collating and assimilating further information for conclusive evidence of a security threat.

Your penchant to belittle Govts sealed envelope modus operandi on grave matters of National security, divulges your total lack of understanding of how subversive forces are operating in various countries.

Perhaps the Judiciary is taking it too seriously the recommended practice of insulating itself from the influence of outside world opinion by refraining from reading about and keeping itself abreast on world affairs. Otherwise Judiciary cannot be having such a distorted sense of prioritizing in balancing Free speech vs. National security. National security would always take precedence over free speech, and a society’s common good would over ride individual rights for free speech. If the Nation is subjugated by forces of evil and society is destroyed by inimical elements then of what value is a free speech of an individual.

The most irritating rhetoric of judiciary is the clichéd phrase regarding Free Press. The often heard sermons on importance of free speech in democracy are becoming wearisome. Every institution has under gone sea change with the changing times. The Educational institutions, Health Institutions, Electoral system and administration, Law and order administering institutions, Commercial institutions, Govt models, Monarchial traditions and institutions, Media institutions, all of them have evolved over times and adopted to changing times.

However the Judiciary in Indian context (I cannot vouch for other countries) has got permanently glued to centuries old traditions and dogmas, hardly there has been any significant progressive development nor there has been any signs of willingness to understand the key factors and fundamental changes and threats that have come to grip the well being of the modern society.

When our My lords travel by airlines do they ever grumble about the enormous hardship they have to endure in going through various security drills. Do they not comply with the airport and airlines regulations grudgingly or otherwise. It is not as if these security measures and regulation were there from centuries before. Many of them were introduced during the last few decades arising out of the twisted wisdom of people seeking justice and redressal of their grievances through threat of violence on the innocents. Why then our lords make mockery of Govts security concerns, however exaggerated it may be.

When it comes to media is the world of My lords not aware as to who sets the agenda of the media. Whose freedom of press the Judiciary is so much worried about. Media is part of big multi National corporations, housed in multi storied posh buildings in high end areas of Metro cities. None of them have an opinion or contention that emanates directly from the concerns for citizens. Media’s opinion is influenced by their fund sponsors.

Even the editorial team of the media is not free enough to express its independent views. The owner or the fund sponsor spells out the agenda. The media world is full of stories of frustrated scribes resigning in disgust for the pressure on them to cover up the truth or distort the truth. Same issues and similar grievances would still find the press have different reactions- from a mere mention to ferocious coverage to utter indifference- depending upon its own self interests. But there you are My lord worried about the role of free press and their plight. How far removed you are from the reality.

A normal expression under the freedom of expression, becomes blasphemy or an hate expression by the devilment of media with ulterior motive. The Media under the guise of free press can instigate a community and can precipitate a violent back lash resulting in many innocent people’s lives. The Govt would be saddled not only with controlling the escalating law and order problem but also preventing damage to public property.

A hate speech by an individual is severely condemned by the judiciary but when same hate content is surreptitiously pushed through by the media, why then under the free speech label the media is able to hide its dubious motive and allowed to get away. I am sure My lords in the SC would be fully aware of the “Sar tan se Juda” hate cry by some sections due to instigations by the media, exploiting free speech. Exactly the reason why Govt thought it fit to ban some media channels based on sufficient intelligence inputs from its agencies.

Has it ever occurred to our My lords in the Judiciary, that why in countries like China, North Korea and other dictatorial regimes there is least number of subversive attempts against the regime or the society? The reason is very obvious, there is no stealth cover of free speech, human rights etc of a Democracy readily available. A 9/11 in USA or 26/7 in Mumbai would never ever be feasible in China or North Korea. Democracy by virtue of its noble doctrines becomes the target of vicious forces that takes undue advantage of its altruism.

It is not the fault of Democracy that it becomes vulnerable to subversive and seditious forces. The real culprit are those institutions which has left Democracy defenseless in the name of upholding its prevalence. The Judicial institutions have come to regard even some legitimate safeguards and some fencing of protection around Democracy as preposterous to the principles of Democracy.

A man from Kerala was apprehended for hate crime. He doused passengers in a train coach with inflammable liquid and set them on fire. As per the first reports, he has admitted that he was tasked with this hate deed by some hostile group. Can we encourage a limitless free speech and freedom of expression that allow Religious institutions to poison the impressionable minds? Can media in the name of attacking the Govt polices through free press bogie succeed in instigating people taking to the streets with “Sar tan se juda” war cry.

Not long ago while addressing a public gathering, the chief justice of India expressed his dismay and lamented at the attempt by some section of media to intimidate the judiciary just because some judgments were not found favorable to some groups. In this context can a Govt not be allowed to legitimately feel exasperated on attempts by some sections of the media exploiting the free press bogie to attack it unduly and also sow seeds of mistrust and sedition on some gullible section of the society?

More than the need to feel good about themselves in their judgments it would be prudent for the judges to keep the well being of the future generations of a Democracy in their judgments. Govt policies can be upturned, Govts can undergo change but unfortunately the Judgments of Supreme courts assume permanent legacy despite its inherent flaws and not only that it also sets precedence for future judgments.

My lord we plead to your good sense. Please come out of your fancy world to the real world. Please do not end up abetting the hijacking of a Democratic Nation in the name of nurturing and fostering absolute “Free speech” and other tenets of Democracy without provisioning for some reasonable restrictions.

The cult of rating culture

Stars do twinkle but they hoodwink too

Doorbell rung, I opened the door, took my packet of curried parmesan fish fingers with the yoghurt dip from Zomato’s delivery guy, paid the requisites, and was about to run inside to devour on the delicacy, but then I heard an echoing voice, ‘rating please’.’

Today rating culture is everywhere, from once being a trend to getting finely absorbed in the aura of our societal dimensions, it has moulded or basically condensed our understanding of likings and dislikings to mere five stars. Gen Z believes that rating culture has saved time and money by alerting people beforehand of the service they are going to pursue.

According to them ratings provide people an idea about what they actually gonna get, and it is indeed much more helpful when people randomly order something from an e-commerce platform or from a newly inaugurated cloud kitchen. The rating stars are even helpful in saving our first date by not letting it get ruined by a plan of watching a random movie of a Star kid, by giving us a disclaimer in form of 1.5 to 2 stars.

Today, we often resist ourselves to try new things and places by seeing just the mere rating online on our screens these stars many times even form a vent for one’s office exasperation, as people usually dine in restaurants, eat a complete meal with satisfaction and just because they were vexed, sign out with a horrible rating on the scorecard but yeah feel bit eased up after this misdemeanor. But have we ever wondered whether the luminance of these rating stars could hoodwink us? This means these stars hold the competence to gradually hegemonize our thinking.

To validate the above point, the US Uber driver’s case is worth mentioning, where the judge conclusively compared the employment status of Uber drivers with the panopticon in Foucault’s Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. As rating a service or a service person, make them realize that every next step they are going to take in the service there are in will be monitored or rated per se, which might sometimes even motivate them to do their task in a much more efficient way, though this may prima facie look a positive outcome of rating culture but this outcome forms just one side of a tarot card.

What we don’t realize is, how these mere five non-twinkling stars could sculpt and construct the thinking of a person. Rating today is everywhere, every person or business, somehow associates with it. Do you remember the modern dazzling damsel, Pooh from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? The girl who rated guys, for selecting her dance partner. Like Pooh, today we often see children rating the love of their parents, which they think is a mere service to them. Though this is not what children do intentionally but subconsciously, as everywhere around them, there is nothing but a race of comparison and rating going on.

Today’s generation is so deeply though latently affected by these stars, that sometimes their sole objective, of getting or probably giving a service or maybe buying an article, becomes the rating. We could also see a similar craze in our nearby local markets, where many shops, instead of having a welcome board hanging out, have a board of Rating Please!

Nowadays, any random trend, which gets popularity from Instagram or YouTube for that matter, casually gets imbibed in our day-to-day lifestyle. Children today and surprisingly many adults too are getting influenced so easily by these day-to-day trends and hashtags that the line between a trend and simply a hegemonizing tool is getting blurred. People need to realize and understand the difference, to prevent themselves from getting hoodwinked so easily.

Mumbai’s urban renaissance: An overview

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Is the spirit of Mumbai still alive? Or is it lost somewhere amidst the jam-packed roads and cramped local trains? It’s about time we stopped romanticising the lack of infrastructure and an overburdened transport system under the garb of the ‘Spirit of Mumbai’ which effortlessly whitewashes a toxic burnout culture. This is not a rant. Rather, a hopeful testimony regarding the upcoming mega-projects aimed at easing the life of an average Mumbaikar.

Mumbai has been a work in progress forever. The unprecedented growth of all the industries in the financial capital demands a much-needed infrastructure boom. A state-of-the-art network of expressways, roads, flyovers, and metros is set to complement the existing framework and shorten the commute time within Mumbai and the Metropolitan Region.

Mumbai Coastal Road Project

Wilbur Smith and Associates was commissioned in 1962 to study transportation and traffic in Mumbai. The suggestions of this study were supposed to give Mumbai horizontal growth, unlike the north-south traffic nightmare of today. It also proposed a road somewhat similar to the under-construction Mumbai Coastal Road. The grand 8-lane, 29.2 kilometres long expressway connects north and south Mumbai from Kandivali to Marine Lines respectively.

The southern stretch of which is set to be completed by the end of 2023. The project employed a range of cutting-edge technology including the largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed in India- TBM Mavala, named after the valorous warriors of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who excelled in mountain warfare. The road will reduce travel time from 2 hours to 40 minutes. About 70 hectares of reclaimed area is reserved for a green belt and recreational facilities. The project also includes public transport facilities with a dedicated lane for Bus Rapid Transit System. (BRTS)

Mumbai Metro Rail Project

A commuter puts his life on the line when travelling on Mumbai’s lifeline. An average of seven people lost their lives and six received injuries in local train accidents every day in 2022. Officials blame the increasing passenger density and failure to correspondingly increase train services, which lead to massive overcrowding. The maximum capacity of a 12-rake train is 2,160 people whereas it carries at least 5,500 passengers– two-and-half times more than its capacity during peak hours.

The Suburban Railway now needs the support of an efficient rapid transport system for effective connectivity with the extensive areas of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Mumbai’s developing metro rail network as a whole constitutes 14 lines covering an area of around 350 kilometres. The metro lines will crisscross the city in all directions and serve as a parallel train service. The long wait for Mumbaikars to have a safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable rapid public transport system is nearing its end. 

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), a 21.8 kilometres bridge connecting Mumbai to the mainland, is India’s longest sea bridge. It is expected to cut down travel time between Navi Mumbai and South Mumbai thereby serving as an engine of economic growth. The MTHL will also aid in decongesting Mumbai and thereby reducing pollution. The MTHL is expected to be completed and opened in August 2023

Navi Mumbai International Airport

To reduce air-traffic congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, an additional international airport has been proposed through Public Private Partnership. The Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is being built in the emerging satellite town of Navi Mumbai by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). This airport will be a boon to those living in the eastern suburbs who now battle the traffic jam to reach the airports located in the heart of Mumbai. It is one of the largest greenfield airports planned to handle a minimum of six crore passengers each year.

Dharavi Redevelopment Project

Dharavi is a booming business hub generating economic activity of over $1 billion annually. One of the densest slums in the Asia-Pacific region, Dharavi is also a hub for several small-scale, unorganised industries that manufacture medicines, leather, footwear, and clothes. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is a bold show of what India is capable of when it comes to construction. The project has been in the pipeline of the Maharashtra state government for over two decades since the idea was first suggested by architect Mukesh Mehta in 1997.

The project will include the construction of free housing for all eligible slum dwellers, along with other infrastructure development. The state government wants the rehabilitation process to take place within the next seven years. The cultural image of Dharavi will undergo a tremendous shift once the redevelopment project gets underway. At the same time, it remains to be seen how the project will help expand the commercial capability of the residents. The construction work, for the slum cluster which sprawls over 240 acres and is home to about a million people, is likely to start in October 2023.

There have been several instances of criticism and protests against the various development projects. However, the improved quality of life ensured in the long run easily outweighs the contemporary concerns. Presently, Mumbai’s two parallel highways and the local train lines are overburdened causing valuable time to be wasted in commutation. Those opposing land reclamations forget that the city itself was formed by reclaiming land and joining 7 islands.

There is no place to build roads. Through land reclamation, Singapore has created space for new areas like Changi Airport and Marina Bay, and in low-lying countries like the Netherlands, around 17% of the country’s current land has been reclaimed from the sea or lakes.

The ambitious development projects are a reflection of the city’s zeal and commitment to building a better future for its residents. Mumbaikars will not only save money due to reduced fuel consumption but also enjoy clean air as a result of the decrease in environmental pollution. The impressive feats of engineering, from colossal bridges to state-of-the-art metro rail systems, are symbols of growth and development happening in the city of dreams.