The staggering relation between India and China has achieved a new height with the recent border dispute near eastern Ladhak. The Chinese expansionist policy, newly fomented by Indian infrastructural developments near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has led to the rise of “boycott China” roars in the social media. This escalated with the video of Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer and educational reformist from Ladhak, surfacing online. He propagated boycotting Chinese items to weaken the communist nation economically rather than using military forces. This followed by the emergence of a trending application known as, “Remove China Apps” in the Google playstore, helping users to identify and remove Chinese applications from their smart phones. After about 5 million downloads in the recent weeks this app was pulled down by Google for not abiding by its policies. But this anti-China sentiment is it actually in sync with the ground realities?
Very recently the change in India’s FDI policy targeted at Chinese companies after the People’s Bank of China acquired 1.01% stakes in HDFC bank was a poignant move to let our South Asian neighbour know that we have not let our guards down even amidst the pandemic. But the adventurism of boycotting Chinese products all together can make India pay a hefty price.
The looming question is: Are we ready to take the risk of cutting all trade related ties with China? Especially during this health emergency situation when the number of COVID 19 cases are touching new heights every day, India should not forget that around 70% of its imports of APIs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) come from China. In 2019, China exported 10.12 million tonnes of APIs, up 8.83% year-on-year, data from the China Chamber of Commerce showed. In fact the ramifications of API shortage due to the lockdown gave a judder to the Indian Government. Since this API sector is a humongous source of pollution, India’s Pollution Control Board has imposed stringent laws causing India’s API sector slow down over time, and thereby, increasing its dependence on Chinese API.
While Chinese FDI will now have to go through stringent checks by the Indian government instead of a more direct route, it might turn into the opening of a Pandora box for Indian businesses and start-ups. With Chinese investments tantamount to 1.8 billion USD in India, companies like Swiggy, Zomato, Byju’s, Paytm, Ola, and several other unicorns receiving gargantuan flow of money from Chinese investors might suffer from a setback. While China seems to be an anathema for most Indians we must realise that multitude of citizens in the country are surviving on affordable Chinese products like smart phones, electrical equipments, home appliances, automobile parts,etc. that have flooded the Indian market. Also, since India does not want to slump down from its 63rd rank (out of 190 countries) in the Ease of Doing business index, immoderate vetting can be noxious. In this age of globalisation, when a single product is made through the culmination of Chinese equipments, Indian labours and American intelligence, it is implausible to distinguish a “pure” Chinese product from a “pure” Indian product.
Nationalist sentiments and market politics do not go hand in hand. This is the very reason, China is our largest trading partner and while Pakistani misdemeanours are dealt with surgical strikes, Chinese felonies are dealt through negotiations and peaceful talks. The preponderating strength of our neighbour cannot be snubbed down by hasty attacks and waging wars can prove to be economically fatal in times like this. Thus upsetting China is not a feasible option. Public opinions are often clouded by banal conceptions which fail to see through the myriad nooks and corners of international politics. Smooth flow of information and a steady lock on the dissemination of fake news are the pillars for building a nation of well informed citizens.
The need of the hour is robust domestic policies on the lines of self-reliance. India has already become the second largest manufacturer of PPE kits after China. It is now strategising policies to provide stimulus to drug manufacturing units through improved pollution controlling technologies in order to reduce its dependence on Chinese APIs. While Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is eyeing to boost up MSMEs, the local to global initiative can only be realised through overcoming the demand slump prevailing in the Indian economy. Unless the middle and lower middle income groups are provided with helicopter money (in hand), Indian companies cannot loosen themselves from the grip of Chinese competition.
Further a sustainable economy and strong monetary foundation is the first major step in outweighing international foes. Indigenous businesses can also take advantage of this China averse atmosphere and market Indian products at modified prices. Thought it is preposterous to steer away from the Chinese coast immediately, India can initiate paving its way to self-sustainable market regulatory policies and formulate an expedient framework towards its goal of 5 trillion dollar economy.
About the author: Mouboni Dutta is pursuing her bachelor’s degree from the Department of International Relations at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
How many of you know about Emergency (1975)? How many of you know that Indira Gandhi declared emergency just to stay in power?
A large number of Indians, specially our young generation don’t even know anything about the emergency because it was never included in our history books. It was never taught in the schools or colleges. But I am going to tell you some amazing facts about the emergency.
-> How many of you know that it was Shashi Bhushan(father of Prashant Bhushan, same Prashant Bhushan who is famous for writing mercy petitions for terrorists) who was lawyer of Raj Narayan, who filed the petition against Indira Gandhi for corruption during the elections of 1971 and in fact he won the case which lead to the emergency.
In Picture : Raj Narayan
In Picture : Adv. Shashi Bhushan
-> How many of you know that Indira Gandhi was found guilty of doing corruption during the elections and a judgement was given by the Allahabad High Court that she will not be able to contest any elections for 6 years and her victory was invalid and she has to resign with immediate effect.
-> After this judgement Indira Gandhi with the help of Nani Palkiwala (one of best advocates of this country) got a stay on this judgment from Supreme Court. But that was a conditional stay which says that she will remain the PM of India but her vote will not be valid in the parliament.
Pic : Declaration of stay order by Supreme Court
-> How many of you know that, after that conditional stay on the order of Allahabad high court, Indira Gandhi with the help of the President and her son declared emergency in India on 25th June 1975. She then too full control of the largest democracy in the world and jailed almost every opposition leader.
Pic : Emergency declared and top opposition leaders were jailed
-> How many of you know that, after imposing the emergency Indira Gandhi with the help of Law minister made amendments in the constitution according to her, which will keep her in the power. There was no one to question her as the whole opposition was in jail.
Pic : Amendments made in the Elections Law – 1951
-> How many of you know that the amendments which were made by Indira Gandhi during the emergency are actually the rules that led to the corruption charges against her. So those amendments will ultimately made the judgment of Allahabad High Court invalid and her 1971 election victory valid.
Pic : Amendments made in the Elections Law – 1951
->How many of you know that during the time of emergency, everyone was misusing their power. The state of law and order was so poor that policemen was arresting anyone who ever had any personal conflict with them.
-> After long 21 months of fascism emergency was relaxed in 1977.
-> This important part of our history was not included in our textbooks for obvious reasons. The sad part is the same dynasty never apologized for emergency and we gave them power again and again.
In the month of March, the United Nations had asked India to mediate between Israel and Palestine because India was a close ally of both the countries and could do the needful. For a long time, India has said that Palestine should have East Jerusalem as its capital whereas Israel should have West Jerusalem as its capital.
India has a long history of engaging itself with the Palestinians and the Israeli people and the Israel Palestine dispute, even before the Independence of India. In 1936, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian National Congress celebrated Palestine Day.
In 2018, America shifted its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, effectively recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. America and Israel withdrew from the UNESCO, pointing out that UNESCO was extremely anti-Israel in its attitude. In fact the United Nations was repeatedly discussing Resolutions passed by member states to impose sanctions on Israel. Encouraged by this response, Hezbollah, Hamas and PLA repeatedly launching attacks on Israeli territory, causing heavy casualties on the part of the IDF. Rape and molestation of innocent Israeli women and children was carried on by these militant groups. Several government and military officers were kidnapped or shot in cold blood.
Anti-Semitism
In response, Israel launched extensive military operations against these Palestinian terrorist groups. This caused anti-Semitic people and advocates of Intifada all over the world to actively argue for BDS again and again. BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Movement, in fact, is an extremely extremist movement against Israel, initiated by several Palestinian groups in 2005.
Anti-Semitism has a long history. In the Middle Ages, whenever a child disappeared or was found dead, people blamed the Jews. The child’s blood, people thought, had been used to make the Passover matzah. Literary figures like Shakespeare and Dickens, promoted Anti-Semitism, consciously or unconsciously, throughThe Merchant of Venice and Oliver Twist. Hermann Goedsche’s novel, Biarritz, (1868) described the Devil appearing before a mysterious group of Rabbies who were a part of a “Jewish conspiracy”, as per Mr. Goedsche. In a chapter in this book , “In the Jewish Cemetery of Prague,” representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel met at midnight to discuss taking over the world, embarking on a mission for global Jewish dominance through religion, business, politics, academia, literature and other fields. Encouraged by the success of this book, “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion” was published by the Imperial Russian newspaper Znamya in 1903. It is an anecdote of secret Jewish meetings, unveiling a Jewish plot to control the world. It continues to be translated, published and read worldwide.
In March 1997, Nabil Ramlawi, the PLO’s representative to the UN Office in Geneva accused Israel of killing Palestinian children. Israelis have been accused of spreading mad cow disease to Palestinians through chocolates, killing Arab children and extracting their organs to sell them in the market at a high price and sending AIDS-infected Israeli prostitutes to infect Arabs in the West Bank.
India’s Role
Amidst a series of confrontations between the two parties, it remains to be seen whether India can successfully mediate between Israel and Palestine and solve the decades-long dispute. We can only hope for the best as India has a good rapport with both the parties and has outstanding people at its disposal to do the work, both within and outside the IFS. We must help Israel in combating Radical Islamic Extremism (RIE) emanating from Palestinian soil, which is very close to Pakistan. This will act as a double-edged sword of making India even closer to Israel and a strong deterrent against RIE in India. India should also try to assuage the difficulties of the Palestinians. It must not miss this opportunity to create history.
About the author: Sauro Dasgupta is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. He is interested in reading, writing, public speaking and his writings have been published in many important magazines, journals and newspapers. Email address: [email protected]
भारत आंदोलनों का देश रहा है और भारत की बागडोर हमेशा से ही आंदोलनों से निकले लोग ही करते आए हैं। पिछले 72 सालों में हमने देखा है कि कैसे विभिन्न आंदोलनों ने देश को कई अच्छे नेता दिये। भारत के स्वतंत्रता संग्राम से निकले भारत के राष्ट्रपिता गांधी हों या फिर नेहरू और सरदार पटेल हों। आपातकाल और इंदिरा गांधी के विरोध में हुई जेपी आंदोलन से निकले लालू- नीतीश या मुलायम और चरण सिंह-चंद्रशेखर हों। हिन्दी विरोध और द्रविड़ आंदोलन से निकले पेरियार, करूणानीधि- अन्नादुरई हों। राम मंदिर आंदोलन से राष्ट्रीय नेता की छवि पाने वाले अटल-आडवानी की जोड़ी हो या फिर 2011 के लोकपाल आंदोलन से निकले अरविंद केजरीवाल-किरण बेदी या कुमार विश्वास हों। हर आंदोलन ने देश को कोई ना कोई नेता अवश्य दिया है जिसने आगे चलकर देश की बागडोर किसी ना किसी स्तर पर अवश्य संभाली है। हाँ, इन आंदोलनो से निकले नेता कितने सफल हुए यह अलग बहस का विषय है। लेकिन आज बात दिल्ली की तीसरी बार कमान संभाल रहे और आम आदमी पार्टी सुप्रीमों अरविंद केजरीवाल की।
दिल्ली के मुख्यमंत्री अरविंद केजरीवाल ने 07 जून को एक तुगलकी फैसला लिया और आदेश दिया कि दिल्ली सरकार के मातहत अस्पतालों में सिर्फ दिल्ली वालों का ही इलाज होगा। इन अस्पतालों में इलाज करवाने के लिए आने वाले मरीजों को दिल्ली के निवासी होने का प्रमाण देना होगा। हालांकि, दिल्ली के राज्यपाल अनिल बैजल ने अपने शक्तियों का प्रयोग करते हुए इस फैसले को पलट दिया है और अस्पतालों को आदेश दिया है कि किसी को भी इलाज से मना ना किया जाए। इस घटना कि चौतरफा आलोचना हुई लेकिन केजरीवाल सरकार को इससे फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा। केजरीवाल सरकार के इस अमानवीय और खतरनाक राजनीतिक फैसले ने कइयों को चौंकाया। विशेषज्ञ अपने-अपने तरीके से इस फैसले को समझने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं।
2011 की जनगणना के अनुसार दिल्ली में करीब 38% इंटर स्टेट माइग्रेंट पॉपुलेशन रहती है। इनमे ज्यादार बिहार और यूपी की जनता रहती है। ये लोग या तो स्थाई तौर पर दिल्ली में बस गए हैं या फिर रोजगार के सिलसिले में दिल्ली में रह रहे हैं और इनका परिवार अब भी इनके मूल राज्य में ही है। इनके अलावा दिल्ली में वो लोग सबसे ज्यादा आते हैं जिन्हें अपना या फिर अपने किसी रिश्तेदारों का इलाज करवाना होता है। यह बात हमेशा से स्पष्ट है कि बिहार में इलाज की सुविधा बहुत जर्जर है, इसलिए लाखों लोग हर हफ्ते दिल्ली आते हैं।
इस बात पर बहस हो सकती है और इसमे सच्चाई भी है कि दिल्ली की आप सरकार का स्वास्थय और शिक्षा पर जोड़ रहा है और इसी के इर्द गिर्द केजरीवाल की चुनावी राजनीति घूमती रही है। लेकिन कोरोना महामारी ने दिल्ली के अस्पतालों की बुनियादी हालत की कलई खोल दी है। लोग सवाल पूछने लगे हैं। लोगों को अस्पताल में बेड नहीं मिल रहा है, टेस्टिंग की संख्या कम कर दी गई है। हार्ट एटैक से मरने वालों की मौत को कोरोना से मौत में नहीं गिना जाएगा। बेड की कम संख्या या अन्य कोई और वजह हो सकती है केजरीवाल सरकार के गैर दिल्ली वासियों के दिल्ली के सरकारी अस्पतालों में इलाज से रोकने को लेकर, लेकिन इसकी कई वजुहात और भी हैं और जिसे समझना अतिआवश्यक है।
मालूम हो कि केजरीवाल ने दिल्ली चुनाव से पहले कहा था कि बिहार- यूपी के लोग 500 रूपए में आते हैं और इलाज करवा कर चले जाते है। यह कोई नई बात नहीं है.
जो लोग केजरीवाल और आम आदमी पार्टी पर नजर रखते आए हैं वह जानते हैं कि 2011 से ही केजरीवाल की महत्वाकाक्षां देशव्यापी नेता बनने की रही है। 2014 और 2015 में लागातार दो चुनाव भारी बहुमत से जीतने के बाद केजरीवाल की महत्वाकाक्षां को पड़ लगा। देश भर में मिल रहे सकारात्मक संकेतों और रैली मे जुट रही भीड़ ने केजरीवाल को इस बात को मानने पर मजबूर किया कि उन्हें देश भर में भी दिल्ली जैसी ही नतीजें मिल सकतीं हैं। केजरीवाल और उनके सलाहकार दावा करने लगे कि वो पंजाब, गोवा, महाराष्ट्र, और मध्य प्रदेश में ना सिर्फ कारामात करेंगे बल्कि सरकार बनाएंगे। 2013 से अब तक आम आदमी पार्टी ने 17 राज्यों में कुल 20 विधानसभा चुनाव लड़ा है। इसमें तीन चुनाव दिल्ली विधानसभा के शामिल हैं। फिलहाल आप पार्टी के दिल्ली में कुल 62, पंजाब में 20 विधायक हैं। लोकसभा में 1 और राज्यसभा में कुल 3 सांसद हैं। देश के ज्यादातर हिस्सों में आम आदमी पार्टी के ज्यादातर सीटों पर जमानत का जब्त होना केजरीवाल के लिए ना सिर्फ झटका था बल्कि उनके देशव्यापी महत्वाकाक्षां के अंत का भी परिचायक था।
साथ ही साथ केजरीवाल द्वारा गैर दिल्लीवासियों को दिल्ली के अस्पतालों में इलाज पर प्रतिबंध लगाना इस बात का भी परिचायक है कि केजरीवाल ने हार मान ली है और अपने देशव्यापी एजेंडे की तिलांजली दे दी है। वरना कोइ भी नेता इस तरह का फैसला करने की हिम्मत नहीं कर सकता है वह भी दिल्ली में। दिल्ली महज एक राज्य या किसी राज्य की राजधानी नहीं बल्कि देश की धड़कन और राष्ट्रीय राजधानी है। हर नेता इस बात को जानता है कि देश की नजर दिल्ली की तरफ रहती है। आज दिल्ली में दिल्ली के मूल निवासी को ढ़ूंढ़ना ना सिर्फ मुश्किल है बल्कि अव्यवहारिक है। भारत के बंटवारे के बाद पाकिस्तान से आए लोगों को सरकार ने बसाया, फिर 84 के दंगो मे प्रभावित लोगों को बसाया, अवैध कोलोनियों में रह रहे लोगों को दिल्ली में कानूनी रूप से बसाया गया और दिल्ली में आज पूरे देश के लोग बहुतायात में रहते हैं। अतः दिल्ली में दिल्ली बनाम अन्य करना ना सिर्फ कठिन है बल्कि राजनीतिक आत्महत्या है वह भी किसी ऐसे पार्टी के लिए जो देशव्यापी महत्वाकांक्षा रखती हो। मसलन बीजेपी या कांग्रेस यह गलती जिंदगी में नहीं करेगी। इन दोनों पार्टियों को इस तरह के फैसलों का बुरा अंजाम देश के अन्य राज्यों में भुगतना पड़ेगा।
तो क्या यह माना जाए कि केजरीवाल ने राष्ट्रीय राजनीति का ख्वाब छोड़ दिया है? तो इसका जवाब हां है! केजरीवाल ने समय-समय पर ऐसे एकतरफे फैसले लिए जिससे ना सिर्फ आम आदमी पार्टी के मौकुफ़ को नुकसान हुआ बल्कि केजरीवाल के साथ जुड़े लाखों समर्पित कार्यकर्ताओं को भी धक्का लगा और ये लोग धीरे- धीरे खुद को केजरीवाल से दूर रखने लगे।
मसलन, केजरीवाल, जन लोकपाल आंदोलन से निकले हैं। उन्होंने अन्ना हजारे, किरण बेदी, और समाज के विभिन्न क्षेत्रों के जाने माने लोगों के चेहरों को ना सिर्फ इस्तेमाल किया बल्कि इनके कई मुद्दे जैसे लोकपाल, भ्रष्टाचार, सत्ता परिवर्तन और अन्य जन सरोकारी मुद्दे को भी हाईजैक कर लिया। अन्ना हजारे के मना करने के बावजूद केजरीवाल ना सिर्फ चुनावी राजनीति में उतरे बल्कि चुनाव में जीत के बाद के बाद उन्होंने जो पहला फैसला किया था वह था कांग्रेस के साथ गठबंधन की सरकार बनाना। मालूम हो कि केजरीवाल की जन लोकपाल आंदोलन के वक्त से ही सारी राजनीति कांग्रेस के खिलाफ रही थी। इससे लोगों पता लग गया कि केजरीवाल नेता बनने आए हैं समाजसेवी नहीं। दूसरी बात जो उन्होंने कि वह कि जिन लोगों ने भी केजरीवाल का साथ दिया था और आम आदमी पार्टी को बनाने में कंधे से कंधे मिलाकर काम किया था उन सबको एक- एक कर पार्टी से निकाल दिया। ये लोग आप पार्टी की बुनियाद थे। योगेंन्द्र यादव, प्रशांत भूषण, कुमार विश्वास, मयंक गांधी, प्रो. आनंद कुमार, आशीष खेतान, अजीत झा और वे सभी लोग एक- एक पार्टी से निकाल दिये गये या फिर उनहें अप्रासंगिक बना दिया गया। 2018 में जब राज्यसभा चुनाव की बात आई तो केजरीवाल ने संजय सिंह के अलावा दो गुप्ता बंधु करोड़पतियों को राज्यसभा भेजा। एक बच्चे के लिए भी यह समझना मुश्किल नहीं था कि इसके बदले किस तरह की डील हुई होगी। इसका परिणाम यह हुआ कि पत्रकार से नेता बने आशुतोष की राज्यसभा जाने की उम्मीद धुमिल हुई और उन्होंने पार्टी छोड़ दी। एक बार फिर इससे केजरीवाल के मंसूबों और चतुर चाल का आभाष दुनिया को हुआ।
केजरीवाल को जिस-जिस राज्य में लोकल पार्टी नेतृत्व से विरोध के स्वर सुनाई दिए उसे उन्होंने फौरन भंग कर दिया। मसलन, 2018-19 तक दिल्ली और पंजाब के बाद आप पार्टी की महाराष्ट्र इकाई सबसे बेहतर प्रदर्शन करने वाली इकाई थी। लेकिन उसे उन्होनें सिर्फ इस लिए भंग कर दिया क्योंकि मयंक गांधी ने केजरीवाल द्वारा योगेन्द्र यादव, प्रशांत भूषण, अजीत झा एवं अन्य को निकालने को लेकर उन्हें ना सिर्फ एक्सपोज किया था बल्कि उनके दोहरे चरित्र को भी उजागर कर दिया था।
केजरीवाल की राजनीति की बुनियाद और शुरूआत ही हुई बगैर सबूत के बड़े- बड़े नेताओं के खिलाफ़ भ्रष्टाचार के आरोप लगाकर वोट बटोरने से। इससे उन्हें चुनावों में फायदा भी हुआ लेकिन दुःख की बात यह रही कि वो आजतक कुछ भी साबित नहीं कर पाए। केजरीवाल ने जिस- जिस पर भ्रष्टाचार के आरोप लगाए उन सबसे एक-एक कर माफ़ी मांगी। इससे केजरीवाल के ईमानदार छवि को ना सिर्फ बट्टा लगा बल्कि प्रदेश ईकाईयों, समर्थकों में घोर निराशा के भाव उभर कर सामने आया। केजरीवाल ने सबसे माफी मांगकर ना सिर्फ अपने सबसे बड़े अस्त्र को ही नष्ट कर दिया बल्कि विरोधियों को यह कहने का मौका दे दिया कि केजरीवाल की तो फितरत है लोगों पर अरोप लगाना और भाग खड़ा होना।
बिक्रमजीत सिंह मजीठिया, अरूण जेटली, नीतिन गडकरी, और शीला दीक्षित जैसे हर बड़े नेता के खिलाफ केजरीवाल ने जो कागज लहराते हुए गंभीर आरोप लगाए थे बाद में खुद को मानहानि केस से बचाने के लिए लिखित में माफी मांगी।
केजरीवाल के पिछले कुछ सालों की राजनीति और फैसलों को देखें तो स्पष्ट होता है कि केजरीवाल ने खुद को दिल्ली तक सीमित रखने का फैसला कर लिया है। वरना केजरीवाल की शख्सियत रही है आरोप- प्रत्यारोप, मोदी विरोध, और फ्री आधारित राजनीति।
देखें तो केजरीवाल ने मोदी पर सीधे आरोप लगाना बंद कर दिया है और अभद्र भाषा का प्रयोग बंद कर दिया है। केजरीवाल ने मानहानि के डर से किसी पर आरोप लगाना भी बंद कर दिया है। धरना प्रदर्शन करना कम कर दिया है। पार्टी में अपने विरोधियों को खत्म कर दिया है। पैसे वालों, दागदार छवि वाले नेता और दूसरी पार्टी से आए नेताओं को टिकट देना शुरू कर दिया है। यह सब यही बताता है कि केजरीवाल भी आम नेता की तरह थे और उन्हें कभी भी सुचिता और सरोकार से कोई लेना देना नहीं था। मतलब, केजरीवाल ने येन केन प्रकारेण सत्ता में रहने का गुर सीख लिया है।
A few weeks ago honorable prime minister announced a special economic and comprehensive package of 20 lakh crores, equivalent to 10% of the GDP. Following his address to the nation, honorable finance minister gave out the details of the package in the next five days. Ever since, there has been a lot of noise regarding the fine print of the package. How big the package is in reality; it’s a loan; it doesn’t help poor; it is pro corporate; etc. You must have seen news headlines like these:
Have they ever approved of/praised anything that Modi has done in the past 6-7 years? Even the schemes like GST that were conceptualized over decades were targeted, let alone the ones conceptualized by BJP. I don’t expect Mr/Mrs Gandhi or Mr. Akhilesh Yadav to say “Oh Modi did a brilliant job” That would end their political carrier. Won’t it?
In fact I do agree that this package is a cruel joke.
But for who?
It is for the first time in the history of independent India that politicians are losing money rather than making money during a crisis or a calamity or lets say an act of god. At first, the government cut their salaries by 30% and then suspended MPLADS which is 5 crore per year per MP. You could read more about it here: MPLADS and Corruption!. And now when there was one last chance left for some politicians to get rich by siphoning off from the relief funds and the cash payments in the name of poor, the government instead of sending the cash introduced loans. As far as the poor is concerned, the government has allowed the states to borrow extra 2% of their GDPs over and above the existing 3%; who is stopping the states to put cash in the hands of poor? What a pity!!! Corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and middle men can not use the same old formula of using the relief funds for their individual benefit. There are millions of people who relocate every year because of some or the other calamity, be it floods, famine or anything else, but someone always makes money out of that. This is not the first time I am pointing this out. I have pointed out this before, have a look at Floods and Democracy. I am quite content that there is little cash in play.
I am not bothered about these news articles or politicians saying these things. They are trying to build a narrative that suits them. There is something else bothering me, which is why I decided to write this article in the first place. There are two screenshots shown below. Have a closer look at them and see if you can find out something unusual. Hint: you don’t need to worry about the content of the videos, just look at the snapshots.
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
As you would have rightly observed, the people in first screenshot are neither the finance minister nor the economists, however on the other hand, the person in the second screenshot is the finance minister herself. The thing that bothers me is the number of views. The original content/facts presented by the finance minister have way-way less number of views as compared to other videos. I am not even going in the debate if their opinion is biased or not, I am only saying that the original content was not even viewed. 58k, 78k, 86k, 98k and 161k only!!
Why?
Why form your opinion based on someone else’s opinion? And not even verify it.
This is one the biggest reasons why self proclaimed journalists, so-called journalists easily get away with their manipulated versions. And the saddest part is that the two youtube videos shown in screenshot 1 are not based on the original presentation presented by the FM. One of the videos clearly uses already manipulated articles. They are simply promoters of a narrative and they don’t care if some one who follows them loses on an opportunity.
Every person is different and has different requirements. To elaborate this I can only give one of my own examples. Last year I had an opportunity to attend an expo, where I met a few Indians who had studied the similar course but from different universities. During the conversation the guy from the US commented that with the same GRE score, I could have chosen an American University. Why didn’t I do that? It was simple for me, US is 8 to 10 times costlier than Germany, and here the tuition fee was negligible. Since, I didn’t want to spend or let’s say didn’t have that kind of money, one of my requirements was low cost. The next question that followed was, why did I choose Bremerhaven instead of Frieburg? It was also simple, one of the electives that I would have likely chosen and later did choose, was entirely taught in German. My German skills are limited to “Guten Morgen, Ich heiße Anant. Wie geht’s dir? ” i.e. another requirement for me was a 100% English course.
My point being, if I have specific requirements that are different from others who studied the exact same course and exact same subjects, how can one youtuber tell millions that there is nothing good in the package for them? You and only you should be deciding if it has something meaningful for you or not. There are lot of things in the package that I don’t relate to, but there is someone who does. You might be one of them who could be benefited. I could highlight at least a few that I can remember (these are just a few that I remember, in all there are around 50 points spread across 5 tranches, please go and visit the presentations, I have added the links are at the end):
Farmers can sell their produce to anyone and anywhere at whatever price they like. So far, as per the Essential Commodities Act 1955, a lot of commodities were prohibited from being exported.
Farmers were asked to sell their produce to only certain numbers of licensees but now its open for all.
Farmers don’t have to pay unreasonable interest rates to private lenders, they can use the PM kisan credit scheme.
Do you own livestock or do you know someone who does? The government is providing with vaccinations to eradicate disease like foot and mouth, common in cattle.
Are you a street vendor or do you know someone who does? They can get a working capital of upto INR 10,000/- to kick-start their work.
Do you have a micro, small or medium enterprise or do you know someone who has?
You can get a collateral free loan.
You should definitely look at the new definition of MSME, it helps you reduce liabilities.
Global competition reduced
Fund of funds corpus
Do you work in Real Estate or do you know someone who does? You can use the clause “act of god” or “Force Majeure” to keep your contracts intact and avoid penalties or losses.
Are you interested in startups or do you know someone who is? The five tranches gave at least a dozen opportunities which will be explored by different people in the near future
For example – funding for bee-keeping, cold-chains and post harvest management opportunities and some more.
I can go on and on, but I would never be able to decide for you if there is something for you or not. You and only you would be the best judge for that. And of course, the schemes would be effective only when people who need the schemes know about them. My goals here is just that I want everyone to at least watch the presentations at(Press Information Bureau, Government of India).
If someone is wondering that the videos are too long and he/she doesn’t have enough time, they actually aren’t:
In every video, Mr. Anurag Thakur conveys the same information in Hindi that the FM conveys in English. So, it actually turns out to be around 4 hours (all combined). I listened to the English version only and moved ahead.
Every video has around 15 minutes for question answers at the end, which I personally did not find very useful. So, you could skip that if you like, and reduce the time to around two and a half hours.
You could increase the playback speed to 1.5x, its better that way. It helps.
The FM gives a brief introduction in the first 5-10 mins, that is very important, it will help you to decide which tranches you would need to pay more attention to. You would be done in around 2 hours.
Keep a piece of a paper and a pen handy, I had to, there are a lot of things that I didn’t know.
See, the thing is, one of the biggest differences between our generation and the generations before is that we have the easiest and the fastest means to access information. We don’t have to go to big messy public libraries to search for content, books, journals. We have them on our finger tips. In fact we even have access to landmark court judgments to read, we have the Indian constitution on line, each act, each clause everything.
I understand, political biases exists, but you don’t have to lose on anything because of the bias. In fact a lot of problems would be solved if only we started following the original content. The direction of the debates would change altogether. The debate won’t be why Uniform Civil Code, the debate would be how to implement Uniform Civil Code. Why? Because the article 44 of the Indian constitution already asks the state to implement it. The debates on “my right to food” will cease to exist as soon as we say “cow slaughter is prohibited under article 48”. Either you follow the constitution or you don’t. End of discussion!
So, I urge every person to seriously go back and listen to what exactly are the things mentioned in the five tranches by the FM and of course share this article as much as possible because other people also need to know that they will have to decide on their own to know if the package has something or nothing to offer them. You can access the videos here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5. Once you know what is being said, you would be in a better position to create an opinion, be it for the government or against.
Aatmnirbhar!!
Just a thought, who will win if (hypothetically) the lok sabha elections were going to happen tomorrow? Post your views in the comment section and stay tuned for my answer to this hypothetical question, I have some numbers to show.
“अरे कहाँ भगे जा रहे हो अब्दुल मियाँ? हम से अइसन नजर न चुराओ। हम कौन सा तुमसे माइनारिटी का कार्ड छीनने आए हैं”।
“वो तो वैसे भी हमसे कोई नहीं छीन सकता लेकिन अभी थोड़ा जल्दी है। का है न कि सरकार पइसा भेजी है तो अपनी मेहरारू को लेकर बैंक जाएंगे”।
“अरे तुम भी अब्दुल मियाँ कहाँ इस सरकार वरकार के चक्कर में पड़े हो। हम तो सुने है कि सरकार कागज़ मांग रही है। हम तो ये तय किए थे ना कि कागज़ नहीं दिखाएंगे। अब काहे दिखा रहे हो?”
“अइसा है गोपाल जी कि हम तुमको भी पूरा मजा लूटते हुए देखे हैं तो हमको न बताओ कि कागज़ दिखाएं कि न दिखाएं। चलो अभी निकलते हैं शाम को मिलते हैं अड्डे पर”।
गोपाल और अब्दुल मियाँ एकदम स्ट्रेटेजिक फ्रैंड हैं। गोपाल जी बहुतय पढ़े हैं। दिल्ली में रहते थे तो गजबे किए थे। मतलब सरकार हिलाए थे बिलकुल। गोपाल जी जाति विरोधी हैं इसलिए अपना सरनेम हटवा दिए हैं या ये कहिए कि थोड़ा सा कटवा लिए हैं। लेकिन अंदर की बात बताएं, हैं अव्वल दर्जे के भेदभाव वाले आदमी। लोगों को उनके वर्ण से बुलाते हैं। जब से यहाँ गाँव आ गए हैं तब से लोगों की नाक में दम कर रखा है। कमाई धमाई तो है नहीं लेकिन काम रुकता नहीं है। अब्दुल मियाँ के अलावा इनका कोई दूसरा मित्र नहीं है या ये कहें कि जानबूझकर बनाए नहीं। दिल्ली की आदत इतना जल्दी कहाँ छूटती है। अब्दुल मियाँ के तो कहने ही क्या। वो तो पैदा ही पहचान के साथ हुए हैं। अब्दुल मियाँ गाँव में ही एक पंचर बनाने की दुकान चलाते हैं। दुकान में थोड़ा बहुत गाड़ी मोटर का पार्ट भी रखे हैं। वही दुकान तो अड्डा है, गाँव के कुछ बुद्धिजीवियों का जहाँ गोपाल जी के नेतृत्व में क्रांति की आधारशिला रखी जाती है किन्तु एक बार रखने के बाद आधारशिला उठती नहीं है। अब्दुल मियाँ की दुकान बढ़िया दूर से ही पहचान में आ जाती है। दसियों हरे झंडे दिखाई देते हैं। यही तो पहचान है जिसे गाँव के बुद्धिजीवी किलोमीटर से सूंघ लेते हैं।
आज अब्दुल मियाँ भारी प्रसन्न प्रतीत हो रहे हैं। लगता है बैंक का काम सफल रहा। घड़ी दोपहर के तीन बजा रही है। गोपाल जी कांधे पर गमछा डाले पहुंचते हैं। साथ में चमकू भी है।
“अस्सलावालेकुम अब्दुल भाई। क्या हाल है? मुँह देखकर तो लग रहा है कि बैंक से खाली हाथ लौटे हो”। गोपाल जी ये कहते हुए वहीं बाहर रखी बेंच में बैठ गए। चमकू लाल झंडा ठीक करने लगा जो वहीं बगल में पीपल के पेड़ पर लगा हुआ था।
“अब क्या बताएं गोपाल भाई। हम हालात के मारे हैं। एक तो मुसलमान हैं ऊपर से अल्पसंख्यक, बैंक वाले बोले कि कल आना”। अब्दुल के मुख पर चिंता की गहरी रेखाएं खिंच गईं।
“अरे लेकिन हमारे चाचा भी गए थे। वो तो बढ़िया पइसा गिनते हुए आए हैं”। चमकू ने इतना कहा कि गोपाल भाई एकदम तमतमा गए और बोले कि,
“एक रपेट लगाएंगे। कितनी बार बोले हैं कि अब्दुल भाई जो बोल रहे हैं वही सत्य है। तुम अपनी बुद्धि न भिड़ाया करो। कितना लाल काढ़ा पिलाए हैं किन्तु तुम्हारी बैल बुद्धि में गोबरय भरा है। अब्दुल भाई से माफ़ी मांगो”।
“अब्दुल हम शर्मिंदा हैं”। चमकू ने माफ़ी मांग ली।
अब्दुल और गोपाल जी का दिल का कनेक्सन है। बिना कहे दोनों एक दूसरे की बात समझ लेते हैं। तीनों बैठे गप्पे मार रहे थे कि इतने में इनकी क्रांति के दो ठो सिपाही और आ गए, सुनील और बिसम्भर।
दोनों आकर बैठते इससे पहले गोपाल जी बोल पड़े,
“काहे रे सुनिलवा का करा रहे हो? आज अब्दुल भाई को बैंक वाला पइसा नहीं दिया और जानते हो काहे “?
“हम जानते हैं। हमको शरम आता है कि हम हिन्दू हैं। अब्दुल हम शर्मिंदा हैं”। सुनील भाई बिलकुल फील में आ गए थे लेकिन चमकू बीच में बोल पड़ा।
“सुनील भाई हमको सरम काहे नहीं आता है। थोड़ा थोड़ा आता है फिर बिचक जाता है। हम प्रयास किए लेकिन हमें उस लेबल का सरम नहीं आ पा रहा है, जिस लेबल का आपका है”।
“अरे हम क्या आज़ादी लाएंगे। हमारा अस्सिटेंट ही अपने द्वार बंद करके बैठा है, कहाँ से आए शरम। द्वार खोलो महाराज। हमें तो लगता है कि हमारे लाल काढ़े में ही खोट है”। चमकू की बात से गोपाल जी एकदम तिलमिला गए।
इतने में अब्दुल मियाँ की नमाज का समय हो गया। अब्दुल मियाँ अपनी चटाई निकालें इसके पहले ही उनके निठल्ले मित्रों के रुमाल निकल आए। इसे कहते हैं नेक्सस। हार्ट तो हार्ट कनेक्सन।
अब्दुल भाई और गोपाल जी की टोली पूरा दिन वहीं दुकान में बैठे गाँव भर की खबरों का मैनीपुलेशन करते रहते हैं। गोपाल जी तो वैसे दिल्ली में कामरेड और कामरेडियों को चाय पिलाते थे किन्तु गाँव में ऐसा व्यवहार करते हैं मानो लेनिन की रोटी में घी यही चुपड़ते थे। बाकी तो पता नहीं लेकिन मैनीपुलेशन और डफली बजाना जरूर सीख आए हैं दिल्ली से। अब नेशनल लेबल में न सही किन्तु गाँव लेबल पर तो क्रांति ला ही सकते हैं। ऐसे ही एक दिन सारे क्रांतिवीर दुकान में बैठे थे तभी वहाँ से पंडित रामप्रसन्न गुजरे। पंडित रामप्रसन्न, गाँव के पुराने एवं सम्मानित पुरोहित बिरजू जी के पुत्र हैं। रामप्रसन्न बड़े ही भोले भाले और धार्मिक प्रवृत्ति के व्यक्ति हैं। सदैव भगवान स्वयंभू की सेवा में लीन रहते हैं। वैसे तो राजनीति और बहसबाजी से दूर रहते हैं किन्तु जब अब्दुल की दुकान के पास वाले पीपल में सोमवती अमावस्या की पूजा करने का विरोध हुआ तब रामप्रसन्न जी ही थे जो गोपाल जी के कामरेडों से अकेले उलझ गए थे। लेकिन बेचारे अकेले पड़ गए। वह पीपल अब धर्मनिरपेक्ष हो चुका है। वह समानता के ज्ञान पुंज से प्रकाशित है क्योंकि अब वहाँ लाल झंडा लगा है।
“का हो पंडित कहाँ भगे जा रहे हो? तनिक हम लोगन को भी ज्ञान की गंगा में नहला दो”। गोपाल जी बात सुनकर उनके चेला चपाटी मार हंस हंस के अपने फेफड़े संकट में डाल दिए। बिसम्भर के फेफड़ों से तो सीं सीं की आवाज आने लगी थी।
“अरे गोपाल भाई आप तो स्वयं ज्ञान के क्षीरसागर हो। हम भला आपको क्या ज्ञान बताएंगे”। रामप्रसन्न जी ने बड़ी विनम्रता से गोपाल जी के उपहास का उत्तर दिया।
“अरे लेकिन तनिक बैठ तो लो। लाओ तुम्हारे स्कूटर की हवा चेक कर दें”। अब्दुल भाई भी पंडित जी से आग्रह करने लगे।
“हमारे स्कूटर की हवा बढ़िया है अब्दुल भाई। हम थोड़ा जल्दी में हैं। बाबू जी की दवाई लेने जा रहे हैं। समय से लौट आए तो बैठ लेंगे”।
“लेकिन स्कूटर में चारों तरफ रंगाई पुताई काहे कराए हो? पूरा राम मंदिर यहीं बना लोगे क्या? ऐसा सार्वजनिक रूप से अपने धार्मिक प्रतीकों का प्रदर्शन करना सही नहीं है”। एक बार फिर गोपाल जी के चेला चपाटी हास्य के सागर में डूबने लगे। ऐसा लगा मानों स्वयं हास्य देव गोपाल जी के कंठ में विराजमान हो गए हों। एक बात तो है कि गोपाल जी के चेला चपाटी लोग डेडिकेटेड हैं गोपाल जी के प्रति। गोपाल जी छींक भी मार दें तो ऐसा लगता है मानो ड्रॉपलेट्स की जगह ज्ञान प्रवाह हुआ है।
रामप्रसन्न जी गोपाल भाई को बिना कोई उत्तर दिए थोड़ा सा मुस्कुरा के चल दिए।
“देखा बिसम्भर भाई। स्कूटर में हवा कम थी लेकिन फिर भी हमसे चेक नहीं करवाए। जानते हैं काहे”?
बिसम्भर जी कुछ कहते सुनील बीच में ही कूद पड़ा।
“हम जानते हैं काहे। अब्दुल हम शर्मिंदा हैं”।
“अरे लेकिन आप इतना शर्मिंदा काहे होते हैं? और अब्दुल भाई पंडित जी के स्कूटर में हवा कम नहीं थी। वो तो रेडियल टायर हैं, ऐसे ही दिखते हैं”।
चमकू का इतना कहना था कि एक झन्नाटेदार झापड़ चमकू के छोटे दिमाग में बज गया। इस बार गोपाल जी अपने चेला को टॉलरेट नहीं किए।
“कितनी बार बोले हैं कि तर्क न किया करो। हम तुमको बता चुके हैं कि हमारी टोली में तर्क का कोई स्थान नहीं है। हमारे साथ रहा करो तो तर्क वितर्क अपनी अटरिया में धर आया करो। समझे”?
“समझ गए”। चमकू मुँह बनाते हुए बोला।
“लेकिन गोपाल भाई, हम पंडित को इतना टॉलरेट काहे कर रहे हैं? कुछ तो करना पड़ेगा”।
सुनील की बात सुनकर गोपाल जी विचार करने लगे।
शाम को जब पंडित रामप्रसन्न गाँव लौट कर आए तो उनके स्वागत में लोग तख्ती लिए खड़े थे। तख्तियों में लिखा था,
“ये देश चलेगा संविधान से, संविधान से, संविधान से”
“आवाज़ दो कि एक हैं, एक हैं हम एक हैं”
“स्कूटर पर लिखी हुई पहचान नहीं चलेगी चलेगी”
12-13 लोगों के विशाल जनसमूह का नेतृत्व कर रहे थे गोपाल जी, बिशम्भर, अब्दुल मियाँ, सुनील और चमकू।
2-4 किनारे खड़े हुए लोग आपस में खुसर फुसर कर रहे हैं।
“भाई समोसा नहीं आया अभी तक”
“आता होगा, टमाटर पीसने में तनिक देर तो लगती ही है”
“काहे शांत खड़े हो नारा वारा लगाओ तो एनर्जी आए लोगों में”
ये सब देखते हुए रामप्रसन्न जी एक क्षण के लिए रुके किन्तु उनके समझ में कुछ भी नहीं आ रहा था कि आखिर क्या हो रहा है? कुछ देर वहीं खड़े रहने के बाद रामप्रसन्न जी अपना स्कूटर स्टार्ट किए और चलते बने।
बताते हैं कि समोसा थोड़ा लेट आया था। इसके बाद लोगों में समोसा लेने के लिए लड़ाई हो गई थी। गोपाल जी अधिक मात्रा में समोसा लेने के चक्कर में थे ताकि घर ले जा सकें। इस चक्कर में गोपाल जी पर दो रपेट पड़े। गाँव में तो ये भी चर्चा है कि चमकू हाथ साफ किया है।
June 13th is Ganesh Damodar Savarkar’s birthday: The cellular jail in the Andaman islands was a place which could break any freedom fighter’s morale. The punishments ranged from solitary confinement to standing handcuffs. This was where both the Savarkar brothers – Vinayak and Ganesh (Babarao) spent nearly a decade, undergoing the worst torture.
This was not the first prison sentence of Ganesh Savarkar, who was famous for his revolutionary activities. He took the responsibility of bringing up his family at a young age, thereby sacrificing his education. He pinned his hopes on Tatyarao (Veer Savarkar) who went to London to become a Barrister. Years later, meeting Veer Savarkar at the cellular jail in Andaman would be a shock for Babarao.
Abhinav Bharat Mandir in Nashik. Picture credits – savarkar.org
Mitramela and Abhinav Bharat
Rashtrabhaktasamooha was formed in 1899 by VD Savarkar and in 1900, it was rechristened as Mitramela. This would later pave way for the secret society called Abhinav Bharat. The primary activities were organising public celebrations of Hindu festivals, inviting other freedom fighters and intellectuals to give lectures. Lokamanya Tilak had close ties with this group, whose secretary was Babarao.
On a dussehra procession, the Mitramela members marched the streets of Nashik with loud “Vande mataram” slogans. It infuriated the Britishers. Babarao and some members were arrested as they thrashed a policeman who hit Babarao with a baton. They were tried, found guilty and punished with a hefty fine. This was widely known as the Vande Mataram trial.
First Imprisonment
Babarao was arrested in Bombay for a duel with Hussain, a sub inspector posted for crowd control. He had come forward to save a Khoja gentleman from the policeman. After he was arrested, JF Guyder the Superintendent of Police recognized the Tiger of Nashik was in his clutches. He left no stone unturned to ensure Babarao’s conviction.
The first charge slapped against him was organizing an illegal gathering, which was dismissed. This was because the crowd had come to see the editor of Hind Swarajya, not Paranjpe of Kaal (Babarao’s friend). He had to argue on his own as he did not get a lawyer. He was found guilty for disobeying the Sub Inspector and had to spend a month in prison, where he would meet Lokmanya Tilak for the last time.
Surveillance and Second Trial
Gopal Krishna Gokhale is believed to have told the government about Abhinav Bharat’s links with Tilak. Now, the Savarkar residence was under surveillance and Babarao had detectives following him everywhere. He was arrested from Mumbai where he had reached for a discussion, after evading the detectives who were behind him.
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
Laghu Abhinav Bharat Mala, a collection of 18 Poems, was cited as the evidence for proving him guilty for waging war against the Empire. His trial was initially before the Nashik District Collector, Jackson who ensured Savarkar’s Transportation of life. The judgement was pronounced on 8th June 1909, which happened to be Babarao’s birthday as per the Hindu calendar.
Babarao and Yesuvahini. Picture credits – savarkar.org
It would be unfair to omit the suffering of Ganesh Savarkar’s wife – Yesuvahini. She had lost everything and was alone when Babarao was transported for life. The couple had lost two children in infancy. She had to spend the rest of her life in Rambhau Datar’s house as the two families were close. Savarkar’s other friends also pitched in to help her in all ways they could. Veer Savarkar’s poetic letter Saantvan was an attempt to console her, from England.
Wrath of the patriots
The news of Babarao’s sentence spread far and wide. This made the blood of the Indian revolutionaries boil. On 1st July 1909, Madanlal Dhingra, a patriot assassinated Curzon Wylie as a “humble revenge for hangings and deportation of patriotic Indians”. Dhingra was hanged to death.
Stamp issued in memory of Madanlal Dhingra
In November 1909, the Bombay HC upheld the verdict against Babarao. Anant Laxman Kanhere, a 19 year old student hatched a plot to kill Jackson, the DC of Nashik. They knew that he was the kingpin behind Babarao’s sentence. The same DC had saved a Britisher from the law, when he murdered an Indian driver On 21st December 1909, they killed Jackson. Kanhere, Karve and Deshpande were tried and executed. The Britishers conducted several raids and arrests to prevent further retaliation.
Babarao’s days in Andaman Cellular Jail
He was constantly tortured and forced to reveal the names of other revolutionaries in mainland prisons. He never gave them even the slightest hint. This torture affected his health. In the Cellular Jail, he faced the worse torture under a cruel Irish jailor, Barrie. The conditions were so harsh that some of them preferred to commit suicide or escape.
In 1911, Veer Savarkar joined his brother in Andaman. He was found guilty for various crimes, mainly the supply of guns to kill Jackson. However they were not allowed to communicate and were separated. They organised ‘Shuddhi’, to bring back those Hindus who had converted to Islam. This was to prevent forced conversions by the muslim jailors.
There were informers and traitors too, among the inmates. One of them, who was known as Ainewala Babu, had plotted to accuse Babarao of a murder and later tried to poison him. Finally, on 2nd May 1921, the Savarkars were released from Andaman and repatriated. This was mainly due to their younger brother – Narayanrao’s efforts.
‘Ditcher’s Diary’ in The Capital
The Capital was a periodical in which a defamatory article titled – ‘Ditcher’s Diary’, was published. It was a propaganda piece which was a concocted fairy tale of the writers. It was written to complicate the release of the Savarkars and to break any support they still had.
Narayanrao dragged the Editor of the periodical to court for libel. They apologised unconditionally and withdrew the article two months later on 28th July 1909. Today, it’s Congress who plays this role of defaming Savarkar.
Gandhi Amanullah Pact & Critical Analysis of Gandhian thought
Babarao met Maulana Mohani from Sabarmati prison. He was part of the Khilafat movement. It whipped up the pan islamist sentiments of Indian muslims in support of the defeated Ottoman Empire. He learnt about the sinister Gandhi Amanullah pact from the Maulana. According to this, Amir Amanullah of Afghanistan was ‘invited’ to invade India to drive the Britishers away. Babarao smelt something fishy in this.
He was familiar with few Gandhians whom he met in prison. He learnt about Gandhian school of thought from them. Some of the incidents he observed in jail are as follows.
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
This was when he saw the loopholes in such a philosophy and the damage it was doing to the cause of Swarajya. Babaro disagreed with Gandhi’s theory of ‘Go to jail for patriotism’. He believed that the ideas like spinning charkhas and filling up prisons would not win the cause. He felt that Gandhi was refusing to adapt to the industrial age, which was needed in any modern country. He viewed Gandhian ideals of ahimsa and non co operation as ‘shackles’ in the fight for freedom.
Releaseand recovery
Narayanrao had intensified his efforts after learning that Babarao was going to die in prison. The British government did not want that to happen, so they allowed him to be released. He was released from jail in September 1922, after 13 years of imprisonment.
He came out of jail on a stretcher and was in a critical stage. He knew that death awaited him as the Civil Surgeon did not predict he would live beyond a few days. Fortunately he managed to recover and dedicated his life to awaken the Hindus.
Here is one incident mentioned in his biography, which occurred after a year.
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
Efforts to save Bhagat Singh and others
Though he did not agree with Gandhi, he set aside differences and went to meet him to save Bhagat Singh from execution. They met at Gandhi’s Ashram in Wardha on 15th February 1931 where they had a long conversation.
Babarao had come to know of his meeting with Irwin, the next day. A smart man he was, he could see the emergence of a pact where political prisoners would be released. He urged Gandhi to strive for Bhagat Singh’s release. Though he tried hard, he could not convince Gandhi, who kept his ideal of ahimsa above the lives of revolutionaries. That was their last meeting as Gandhi had walked away, unable to answer Babarao.
Tarun Hindu Sabha, meeting KB Hedgewar and RSS
He formed the Tarun Hindu Sabha to find and groom patriots to work for Bharat, between 1923-24. It was also to provide a cadre base for the Hindu Mahasabha. Babarao met Anusilan Samiti member – KB Hedgewar in 1924 at Nagpur. Hedgewar left a lasting impression on Babarao during their meetings. He later handed over the Nagpur Branch’s charge to Hedgewar when it was time for him to leave Nagpur. In 1925 when Hedgewar founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Babarao was also present in the function. He had helped them in preparing the pledge and flag.
In April 1930, Babarao merged his organisation into RSS and started working for the Sangh. He further approached other Hindu nationalist organisations to merge their groups with the Sangh and work for the Nationalist cause.
Writings
As someone who was not much of a writer before his Andaman imprisonment, Babarao yearned to write. He became a voracious reader and kept notes in diaries. One of his best works was Rashtramimansa va Hindusthanche rashtraswaroop (Analysis of the concept of nation and the nature of India’s nationhood). It was in two parts where he discusses nationhood and India’s nationalist sentiments.
Hindu Rashtra- poorvi, aataa aani pudhe (Hindu nation – past, present and future) was another landmark. His other works were Shri Shivaraayaanchi aagryaavaril garudjhep, Veeraa-Ratna- Manjusha, Christaparichay arthaat christaache Hindutva,Dharma havaa kashaalaa?, Nepaali aandolanaachaa upakram, Nepaali aandolanaachaa upakram etc. He also wrote articles for periodicals like Kesari, Vande Mataram and Sakaal.
Last days
By 1944, Babarao had become weak. His body was already battered with the treacherous imprisonment and strain due to his work. On 31st July 1944 Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha came to visit Babarao. Here is the message he had for Dr. Mukherjee.
Snippet from Babarao Savarkar’s biography on savarkar.org
Babarao Savarkar breathed his last on 16th March 1945. The subsequent events in Indian history would prove that Ganesh Savarkar was right. He could not live to see the light of the day India would become independent. His brother Veer Savarkar continues to be vilified and attacked by the Congress party and its ecosystem. However the Savarkar family’s legacy lives on and inspires many. Today, the top leaders of India are groomed by RSS, which had Babarao’s blessings.
The participation of women in India’s electoral politics is a stark example of the problematic functioning of the systematic male dominance in the public sphere and the unsaid public-private divide in terms of domain identification. While the Constitution of India enshrines equal rights for men and women of India, the value system of a gendered citizenship keeps women away from taking up space in the formal politics of the country. The “second” gender still have de jure rather than de facto access to their fundamental rights. In fact, when compared to other South East Asian countries India’s female political participation is drastically low.
While the female voter turnout and election campaigners have seen an increase in the recent years, it does not ensure qualitative participation. The amount of agency a woman use while casting her vote or exercising her free decision making power is an unsettling question. The lacuna created due to the intersecting phenomena of caste, class, demography and the patriarchal societal structure needs to be critically addressed. A woman’s electoral behaviour in most cases is enormously influenced by the opinion of her spouse or family members. This lack of political awareness coupled with minimum involvement in politics has led to the surge in decline of women’s active participation.
If we travel back to the days of freedom struggle, the scenario would seem quite different. There were a huge number of women who took part in the Bengal Swadeshi movement and prominent female figures can also be seen associated with Mahatma Gandhi. But in the post colonial era, with the ushering of the Universal adult suffrage, women’s role and participation in the functioning of the country became mere words without action, laminated in the pages of the Constitution.
The types of participation from women can be classified on the lines of social and economic parameters. Women, belonging to the higher strata of the society can be seen dominating the female blocks in the Parliament. Out of only 14% (78) women representing in the 17th Lok Sabha, the representation of women from the Dalit community is dismal. Few names like Chandrani Murmu from Odisha and Ramya Haridas from Kerala made to the headlines for the very reason. The politics of exclusion of women from participating in the electoral process is practised not only in the national level but also in the regional levels. This is very evident from the ground realities of Gram panchayats. In 1993, a constitutional amendment was passed as per provisions contained in Article 243 D of the Constitution which reserved 1/3rd of the Seats of Panchayati Raj Institutions and 1/3rd offices of the Chairperson at all level of Panchayati Raj Institutions for women, covered by Part IX of the Constitution.
However, in reality while the election for the reserved seats was fought by the women candidates, the real administrative power is exercised by their husbands and sons. A similar policy of affirmative action at the national level was conceived by the Rajya Sabha in 2008. It is known as the Women’s Reservation (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008, which aimed to reserve 33% seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. It also provided that one third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups. But it failed to pass in the Lok Sabha and eventually lapsed, since it was met with opposing views, thus further widening the gender gap that could have been narrowed.
Regionally, women voters from rural areas are more in number than those in urban areas. While there are instances of bribing for garnering votes from economically disadvantaged sections of the society, in remote areas the election season comes as a sign of hope for the poor women who cast their vote with the expectation of their issues to be vehemently addressed by the upcoming government. Also, in the few states having a matriarchal social structure, a burgeoning number of female participants can be found involved in the electoral process.
Further, the subaltern status of women within the political parties also portrays the gender based discrimination faced by them within the Indian electoral process. The disproportionate nominations of men and women by the political parties stem from the assumption that the winning ability of a male candidate surpasses that of a female candidate. However, election data since 1998 shows that the success rates of men and women candidates do not differ in a major way and in many cases women candidates are more successful than their male counter- parts. The intra-party organisational power structure tends to keep women from influencing party decisions and establish their grip over the power structure. Even when they are elected to prestigious positions, their decisions are often influenced by the male counterparts.
Women’s confinement within the four walls of domestic labour, insufficient support from family, lack of acceptance and prejudices in the public sphere dominated by men, contribute towards their low proportion or almost absence from the electoral process. Since, the amount of space a woman carves for herself within the political sphere has a direct impact on gender based policy formation, their under-representation in the electoral process plummet their chance of negotiating and bargaining for legitimate political resources.
While women like Indira Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Mamata Bannerji, Mayawati, have been able to penetrate through the male dominance and make a mark in this arena, there is still a multitude of women who are struggling to get loose from the grip of the patriarchal preponderance. Unless they are able to break the glass ceiling, a strong voice advocating for women’s rights issue will fail to occupy the spotlight. Addressing problematised affairs disadvantaging women and implementing stringent laws concerning rapes, acid attacks, GBV, can only achieve reality through a collective female voice in the governing bodies.
Any crisis gives diverse options, but the choice of selecting the option depends on individual. Crisis also brings out and tests the leaderships. World succumbed to unprecedented corona crisis. Corona crisis caused a lot of unexpected devastation of health and economy globally which led to lot of fear. People are caught in confusing sad situation of saving lives or livelihoods. Prime minister took and implemented timely decisions taking care of lives and livelihood. Initially government implemented lockdown when cases were reported in hundreds curtailing spread of corona and saving lives. Few weeks later, Modi government brought 1.7 lakh crores“Garib kalyana Yojana” Package to take care of poor and later 20 lakh crores “Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan” to revive livelihoods and economies. It constitutes 10% of GDP. These packages aim at supporting needy from every sector and reviving livelihoods and economy. Leading the nation, PM Modi has taken such bold decisions to save lives and reviving economy.
Government has given utmost importance in taking care of the migrants, daily wage laborers, farmers and the poor and addressed the needs through 1.7 lakh crores “Garib Kalyan Yojana”. Ration of 5kgs rice/wheat and 1 kg pulses per person for 3 months was provided for migrant labors with 3500 crores and also for all ration card holders. The garib kalyan yojana has been extended for three months to a total 6 months.Till now 18000 crores worth cereals and pulses have been distributed to 8 crores migrants and 69 crores ration card holders.
Even the poor without ration cards also got ration under this scheme. One nation one ration card will be implemented soon helping 67 crores (83%) people. A total of 52606 crores has been transferred to 41 crores Jan dhan accounts. Through PM Kisaan Yojana 2000 rupees has been transferred to 8.7 crore farmers and peasants. Through Ujwala scheme poor women got free LPG cylinders for 3 months. Centre has given 11000 crores to states for providing 3 times meals, shelter and basic needs to migrant laborers. PM Awaas yojana houses to be provided to migrant laborers, daily wage earners and urban poor at nominal minimal rents. Central government has arranged buses and Shramik Express trains for the migrants to reach to native places. Central government has allowed 5 crore employees registered under EPF scheme to withdraw up to 75% of total or 3 months’ salary. Center has allotted 15,000 crores for emergency health package to fight corona
A package of 6 lakh crores was allotted for MSMEs, tax payers, DISCOMS, NBFCs, real estate and contractors. Government allotted 3 lakh crores to revive the stressed MSMEs which were in financial stress due to lock down. The limits of MSMEs have been increased and industries with investment value of 25 crores and turnover of 100 crores are eligible under this scheme and they will be provided additional credit amount, new loans without any collateral or guarantee. Central government shall bear the guarantee for such loans. An amount of 20000 crores has been allotted to 2 lakhs stressed SMEs and NPAs. To promote growth potential of MSMEs Funds of funds worth 50000 crores was created to provide equity funding. To boost MSMEs government has decided to stop global tenders for government tenders worth below 200 crores. Central government paid total 24% (12% contribution of employee & 12% of employer) of salary as provident fund for companies having below 100 employees for 6 months with salaries up to 15000.
This will provide 2500 crores benefit to 72.2 lakh employees. Collateral free loan limit has been increased from 10 lakhs to 20 lakhs for Self-help groups run by women. Central government has extended duration to file income tax returns to November 30. Percentage of TDS has been reduced from 10% to 7.5%. Interest rates on Mudra-shishu loans have been reduced by 2% for 12 months providing 1500 crores benefit for micro industries. Credit linked subsidy scheme on housing loans providing 6.5% subsidy on interest rates for those with annual income of 6-18 lakhs is extended to March 31,2021. Credit of 10,000 rupees to be provided to 50 lakhs street vendors India wide. Firms with 10 employees also will be covered under ESI.
Center has taken decisions to boost income of farmers. Two lakh crores to be disbursed through Kisaan credit cards to provide loans at lesser interest rates. 2.5 crores farmers, fisher men, shepherds NABARD to provide loans to 3.5 crores small farmers and peasants through 30,000 crores emergency capital fund. This is in addition to already given 90,000 crores loans given by NABARD to small farmers and peasants. Migrant laborer in villages to be provided works of planting trees, building cattle sheds, developing orchards through MNREGA scheme. An amount of 1.63 lakh crores has been allotted for the development of agriculture and allied industries. Methods in which farmers can sell their crops directly to consumers will be developed and one lakh fund is allotted to develop infrastructure accordingly.
PM Matsya Sampada Yojana has been started with 20000 crores to promote fisheries and marketing with a goal to increase output of fisheries by 70 lakhs tons, doubling exports to one lakh crores providing jobs to 55 lakhs. Ten thousand crores were allotted to 2 lakh micro food enterprises for branding of food products in clusters. To control brucellosis & Foot and mouth disease in animals 13,343 crores allotted to National Animal Disease Control Program. To promote dairy infrastructure 15,000 crores allotted. National Medicinal plants Board to promote cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs in 10 lakh hectares with 4,000 crores. Cultivation of honey bees and marketing of honey, wax,etc..will be promoted with 500 crores to provide livelihood to 2 lakhs rural farmers and women.
“TOP to TOTAL” scheme is launched with 500 crores to extend 50% subsidy being given on transport and storage of Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP) to all vegetables. Essential commodities act has been modified by an ordinance removing pulses, cereals, oilseeds, edible oils, onions, potatoes from the list of essential commodities. This benefits farmers by allowing them to sell their crop across India at the price and place of their choice. Farmers also can sell any where in nation and states cannot charge for the interstate sale now. Farmers can enter into agreements with firms or persons at the time of sowing crop for which farmers will have legal protection. If the prices increase after agreement, the benefits have to be transferred to farmers. E marketing, branding and online sales of Agri products will be promoted to reduce involvement of middle men. All these measures are aimed at doubling the income of farmers in next few years.
Government has given importance to infra structure, business, health and education sectors. An amount of 40,000 crores is allotted to MNREGA scheme in addition to already allotted 60,000 crores increasing budget to one lakh crores to provide 300 crore working days for migrants, daily wage earners and laborers. Daily wage under MNREGA scheme has been increased from 180 rupees per day to 212 rupees per day. Social infrastructure projects Viability Gap funding by government has been increased from 20 to 30% with 8,100 crores. Mining of minerals will be taken under Public Private Partnership (PPP). Union health ministry released 4,114 crores for corona control. Health sector to be strengthened at basic ground level. Medical labs to be set up at mandal level. Research in health to be promoted through ICMR. An amount of 550 crores has been allotted for research on kits and tests.
Online education system to be promoted by PM -E Vidya and Mano Darpan projects. A separate channel to be started for students of first class to twelfth class. Separate E – education system to be started for students with hearing and vision problems. Businesses adversely affected due to corona crisis shall be exempted from Insolvency and Bankruptcy (I&B) code for 1 year. Duration of incompliance of non-repayment of EMIs of loans to declare NPAs increased from 90 days to 180 days. Decriminalization of company acts, changing I & B code rules and bringing reforms for promoting industries and ease of doing business. Measures to promote easy listing of companies in stock exchange.
National Companies Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLT) to establish additional benches for easier fast resolution of cases and to decrease fines on small companies, start ups and single person owned companies. Revenue deficits of 12,390 crores to states shall be allotted to states by center. Ways and means advance limit of states increased to 60%. Overdraft duration of states increased from 14 to 21 days. We were importing PPE kits and N95 masks in March. India is able to produce 5 lakh PPE kits and masks a day by June. Government is taking steps to promote local products for domestic purpose and exports. PM Modi himself addressed the citizens to “Go Local, Vocal for Global”.
Entire world is facing corona health crisis and unexpected economic slowdown. Globally GDP growth rates are expected to shrink and become negative. Even advanced countries are estimated to have economic slowdown. India has 17.7 % of world population and diverse socio-economic factors. It is a humongous task to revive the economy of India. Indian government led by Prime minister Modi acted swiftly and focused on areas of distress to revive economy. Government also is also emphasizing the need to promote local products by citizens. If all these measures are well implemented on ground, definitely there will be revival of livelihoods and economy. This may also be a chance to promote local products and become self-reliant Bharat. Hoping that this opportunity to turn crisis in to opportunity will become true.
World environment day, the annual event was celebrated worldwide on 5th June, finds its origin in the year 1974. This day was adopted by the UN General assembly in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held from 5 to 16 June in Stockholm. Through this, “the international community reaffirmed their responsibility to take action to preserve and enhance the environment”, reads the UN resolution. (https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/2994%20(XXVII))
The theme for this year’s World environment day is “Biodiversity”. According to an estimate, the no. of species on earth is 2 billion. The concern for biodiversity holds more importance in the present context when it is estimated that 0.01 to 0.1% of species will get extinct each year and up to 1 million species threatened with extinction.
The reason for this accelerated loss of biodiversity can be attributed majorly to human activities causing habitat destruction and fragmentation The way of living is becoming more and more materialistic and unsustainable. In this time of crisis, the world can look up to Indian cultural practices. The traditional knowledge of this land is exemplary and has always guided the human race to take from nature only for their need and not for their greed. All scriptures and practices guide towards living in harmony with nature and its components. There are several quotes in Vedas and ancient Indian scriptures that show how important the earth has been to India.
Indian Culture and sustainable living:
Indian culture takes and respects the planet as a mother and this is a reflection of the deep understanding and respect that this culture has for nature. The Vedas quote “माता भूमि पुत्रो अहं पृथिव्या” which means “Earth is my mother and I am her son”.
Even the teachings were given giving the examples of nature, for example, a Sanskrit shloka reads, “च्छायामन्यस्य कुर्वन्ति तिष्ठन्ति स्वयमातपे, फलान्यापि परार्थाय वृक्षाः सत्पुरुषाः इव” which means, “Trees stand in sun and give shade to others. Their fruits are also for others. Similarly, good people go through all hardships for the welfare of others”.
There are so many practices of living in harmony with nature. The sacred groves, for example, are a practice that preserves a portion of the forest and keeps it totally untouched. These sacred groves are often the patch of forests with the highest biodiversity.
Even Ayurveda can be taken as an appreciation of nature and the services it can render. Never was over-exploitation a practice here.
The concept of Vegan or vegetarian is new for the world but is being practiced in India since ancient times. We see campaigns like plant a tree etc but it has already been a practice to plant trees like peepal, banyan, or fruit yielding plants regularly and not just plant them but protect them.
The groundwater reservoirs are depleting at a fast rate around the world. But in the past, there have been practices of construction of Step wells (called Baoli in local language). These step wells served dual purposes, it stored water and also replenished the groundwater and was a major source of water in arid and semi-arid regions like Rajasthan. But with the passing time, these practices are losing their place.
Importance of India as a hotspot:
India while having just 2.4% of the world’s land area, accounts for 7-8% of all recorded species, including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals. India is one of the 17 Megadiverse countries and houses 4 out of the 36 biodiversity hotspots around the world. These are Himalayas, Indo-Burma, Sundalands (includes the Nicobar Islands), and Western Ghats (and Srilanka, as it is cataloged. It is important to point out that there are two criteria for assigning a region as a biodiversity hotspot. These are:
It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics. Endemic species are the ones that are confined to a specific region and found nowhere else in the world.
It must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
What this means is that these regions have species of plants found nowhere else in the world and out of that 70% have already extinct! It is an alarming situation that requires attention and action.
So how do we deal with this loss? Along with conservation practices, scientists focus on 3R’s to transform a degraded ecosystem into its original state. These are Reclamation, Rehabilitation, and Restoration.
A realization that’s the need of the hour is that not just stringent laws but that cultural ethos that connect us with nature need to be revived and looked upon. This connects should reflect both in the policy formulations and the enactment and execution by the people. Why I say this is because, recently we have seen that how a pregnant elephant succumbed to death after she was fed with a pineapple laden with crackers. Despite laws, even though Elephants are an endangered species in India and killing them will invite serious trouble, this heinous crime was committed. This was perhaps because of the absence of those Indian cultural ethe and the lack of humanity.
Time for Nature, the theme for World environment day, always have been at the heart of Indian Culture. It’s time for “Vasudhev Kutumbkam” which means “Earth is a family” and this family includes all plants and animals and the associated environment.
