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Judiciary also needs to ‘learn to live with coronavirus’

R. Madhav Bera
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Judiciary also needs to ‘learn to live with coronavirus’

Senior Advocate of Supreme Court Mr. Dushyant Dave while addressing on the subject “Role of judiciary in a pandemic” in a seminar organized by All India Lawyers Union on Saturday had stated that court system is not very E-friendly. Efforts have been made by the Bar to help in the technological revolution of the system but there has been no dialogue between the Supreme Court Bar and the Supreme Court Bench in this regard.

During the pandemic, the Court has the opportunity prove that it can rise to the occasion and is not helpless, he observed. Mr. Dave said that the crisis is a time for every segment of the society, including the Judiciary to come up with crucial solutions for critical problems and this is the time for the Judiciary to galvanize itself.[i] Further, Mr. Dave in his speech has strenuously pointed out the failure of the judiciary over questioning government accountability while dealing with many odd issues arises during the present pandemic.  

Senior Advocate & Rajya Sabha MP, Kapil Sibal while addressing the media urged the judiciary to declare a plan to make justice delivery system an essential service, noting that people were facing hardships due to restricted functioning of courts during the coronavirus lockdown. Mr. Sibal said, “I want to ask the judiciary whether judicial service is an essential service in this country. If food, water and electricity are essential service, is the justice delivery system not essential,”[ii]

The concern raised by aforesaid two prominent senior advocates might be more focusing on governmental accountability over some of the odd situations arises in the country amid pandemic. However, one cannot deny this fact that non-functioning or minimal functioning of regular courts is affecting the rights of the common people or litigants.

We all are aware that functioning of normal courts are erupted badly due to COVID-19. That non-functioning of regular courts is creating havoc in justice delivery system. Further, non-functioning of regular courts is piling up pendency of cases in courts. People of Delhi might be worst affected state due to non-functioning of regular courts amid pandemic as in the month of November 2019 regular court hearing were affected due to lawyer’s strikes over unpleasant incident of clash between cops & lawyers at Tis Hazari.

It is pertinent to note that Ministry of Health & Delhi CM Mr. Kejriwal while advocating for opening up the economic activities, had urged people to ‘learn to live with Corona’.[iii]

Doesn’t our judiciary too feel that it should also learn to how to live or function with corona?

Brief Insight Of Functioning Of Judiciary During Various Lockdown Phases In Delhi:

Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide notification dated 13.03.2020 has issued an advisory for the first time to restrict function of the Hon’ble Courts on account of COVID-19. It is pertinent to note that Hon’ble Apex Court vide aforesaid notification had decided to hear only ‘urgent matters’ and also restricted the movements of the litigants in the courts.[iv] Simultaneously, Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in consonance with the aforesaid advisory of the Supreme Court, had also restricted the functioning of the Hon’ble Courts to hear only ‘urgent matters’  w.e.f 16.03.2020 vide notification dated 13.03.2020.[v] In pursuant to aforesaid notification, Registry of Delhi High Court had also issued certain advisories to its subordinate district courts & urged to hear only ‘bail matters’ and matters requiring urgent stay/injunction till 31.03.2020.[vi]

Again, Hon’ble Apex Court vide notification dated 26.03.2020 had further restricted the function of the courts to hear only “extremely urgent matters” through video conferencing and necessary advisories had been issued to the litigants/advocates to represent their cases before the Hon’ble Courts. [vii] That Hon’ble High Court of Delhi by showing solidarity with the Hon’ble Apex Court, had also decided to hear “extremely urgent matters’ through video conferencing and issued certain guidelines to the litigants/advocates pertaining to filing and listing of their matters.

Similar types of advisories/guidelines have been issued by Hon’ble Apex Court & High Court from time to time regarding functioning of the courts & hearing of the matters. [viii] Further, some virtual courts are started all over India and more emphasis were tried to be given on hearing matter through video conferencing. But, ‘Digital India’ concept is hard to implement widely in legal routine framework during present pandemic as many litigants/advocates are not so tech savvy. As the concept is new and outside the ambit of many, so, it can’t provide much asylum during the present pandemic.

It is very crucial to mention that Judiciary being one of the foremost pillar of a democracy should resurge its existences in order to contribute in country’s growth amid pandemic. We have observed that other branches of democracy whether it is legislative or administrative, have shown significant changes in their functioning from time to time in order to manage several affairs of the country amid coronavirus. We all have observed how Government Departments & agencies have progressively changed its functioning during each lockdown phases. However, no significant progress in the functioning of the courts were observed during different lockdown phases or between lockdown 1.0 to 4.0 or till today.

Crux Of Functioning Of Ministerial, Governmental Offices & Overall Movements During Lockdowns

During Lockdown 1.0 & 2.0 functioning of the government offices & other administrative branches were mainly restricted to essential purposes. However, during lockdown 1.0, Central Government had decided to open all Central Ministerial offices & directed all senior level officers to resume to work from offices with one-third essential staffs. [ix] Further, both Central & State Government have provided certain leniencies pertaining to the lockdown measures during Lockdown 3.0 & subsequently in Lockdown 4.0. That functioning of the Ministerial offices & other governmental branches were seems progressive during each lockdown phases.

That moving step forward during lockdown 3.0 Delhi Government had decided to open all its government offices dealing with essential services with full strength & also allowed private offices to function with 33% staff. Further, new guidelines were issued and certain leniencies were provided pertaining to the movement of vehicles, opening of shops, private offices & business establishments etc. in order to revive the struggling economy during the pandemic. Further, many goods and services which were restricted and were not enumerated in the ‘List of Essentials’ during prior lockdown phases, are now allowed to function in the recent lockdown period. For example In Delhi, Government has allowed to run private offices, construction works, stand-alone shops, industries, liquor shops, buses, taxis, cabs & rickshaws etc. [x] 

From the above analogies, it is very clear that functioning of the other government & administrative machineries are more or less satisfactory, moreover, there movement & functioning were progressive throughout different lockdown phases.  

It is submitted that crowd, movement of litigants, advocates, court staff etc. might be some of the possible hurdles in functioning of the regular courts. But, as success says “if there is a will there’s way”. Therefore, judiciary should make all possible endeavors in order to move for the welfare of the country or we can say “In The Interest Of Justice” amid pandemic. Further, there is no guarantee when situation will be under control, therefore, waiting for situation to come under control will not be a plausible option during the pandemic.

Things Can Be Done:

In addition to running courts through video conferencing & virtual mode, Judiciary should open up physical courts after taking adequate safety measures. Furthermore, our judicial system have to “learn to live with Corona” in order to contribute to the nation’s growth amid the pandemic.

Supreme Court of India & High Courts should increase the functioning of courts as soon as possible. In Delhi, High Court should also issue advisories/guidelines to its subordinate courts to open their courtrooms & take up more matters immediately. That functioning of the regular courts is very much required not only in order to serve justice to the common people but also for maintaining proper law & order in the country amid the pandemic.

We all are more or less familiar with the rush at the Delhi Courts during normal period of court hours. However, this type of situation can be managed if court administration takes adequate measures. Court administration can also take note from the government offices, how they are dealing with public & crowd during this pandemic. Needless to say, if government can manage crowd from liquor shops during this pandemic then this type of crowd management thing must not be a blocking rock in movement or functioning of the courts.

It is pertinent to note that Delhi is divided into 11 Districts and 6 court complexes are established for effective management of judicial system. Except Patiala House & Dwarka District Courts, all other 4 district courts are handling cases pertaining to 2 or more district from single court complex.

For Example, Tis-Hazari district courts are handling Central & West District cases from Tis-Hazari court complex. Likewise, East, North & Shahdara Districts courts are functioning through Karkardooma Court Complex. Therefore, to handle the crowd and to maintain proper self-distancing, hearing of the cases can be divided on the basis of ‘districts’ e.g. on a particular day court can take up matters of only one District Zone in its entire court complex.

Similarly, listing and hearing of the matter can be divided on the basis of nature of cases (Civil & Criminal), Designation of courts (Civil Court, Criminal Courts, Metropolitan Magistrate Courts, Sessions Courts etc.). The additional court rooms can be used as a waiting room for the litigants/lawyers & court administrations shall take other effective measures to handle the crowd in the courtroom during hearing. Cause-list of matters should also reflect the proposed timing of the matter in order to avoid crowd in courtrooms.

In Delhi buses, cabs, taxis, auto-rickshaws becomes more or less functional. Furthermore, past week Hon’ble High Court of Delhi had directed the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh & Delhi to issue E-passes for the advocates to visit their offices at Delhi.[xi] As such, movement for litigants, advocates & staffs etc. shall not create much difficulty in court’s functioning. In addition, more beneficial guidelines can be issued in order to make smooth passage for the movements.

More destination buses can be deployed in consultation with respective Bar Associations for the movement of the litigants/lawyers from one court to another. Further, certain leniency can be shown while accommodating adjournments & granting next date of hearing.  Further, certain exemptions from personal appearances can be granted to avoid crowd in the court complexes. Furthermore, certain reasonable restrictions can be provided for filing fresh matters.

As we all know pendency of cases is one of the hardest hit in the Indian judicial System. It has always been the priority of the Judiciary & Law Ministry to curb the pendency of the cases from courts. We all are familiar with a quote ‘Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied’; here a reasonable reason might be with the judiciary for causing delay in giving justice is ‘Covid-19’. However, it’s high time Judiciary should rise against all the odds & set a benchmark in the history of judicial system amid the corona pandemic.

[i] https://www.barandbench.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-judges-have-singularly-failed-in-holding-the-government-accountable-since-the-last-8-weeks-dushyant-dave

[ii] https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/make-judiciary-an-essential-service-sibal-120042501064_1.html

[iii] https://khabar.ndtv.com/news/india/75-of-delhi-s-covid-19-patients-asymptomatic-or-have-mild-symptoms-says-arvind-kejriwal-2226426

https://www.livehindustan.com/national/story-health-ministry-says-learn-to-live-with-coronavirus-cases-in-india-continued-to-increase-3201927.html

[iv] https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/Notification/13032020_120544.pdf

[v] http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/writereaddata/Upload/PublicNotices/PublicNotice_J0QQYKWPPJK.PDF

[vi] http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/writereaddata/Upload/PublicNotices/PublicNotice_VQHKSS8VKKE.PDF

http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/writereaddata/Upload/PublicNotices/PublicNotice_X9QC23LSZ3P.PDF

[vii] https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/LU/23032020_153530.pdf

https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/cir/26032020_134544.pdf

[viii] http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/writereaddata/Upload/PublicNotices/PublicNotice_5U75WWGF7N8.PDF

https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/LU/15042020_134922.pdf

https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/LU/16052020_123951.pdf

[ix] https://www.news18.com/news/india/council-of-ministers-to-resume-work-from-offices-on-tuesday-form-plans-for-post-lockdown-period-2574087.html

[x] https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/delhi-lockdown-4-0-guidelines-latest-updates/1962242/

https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/delhi-lockdown-4-0-guidelines-checkout-what-is-allowed-and-not-allowed-during-lockdown/articleshow/75824466.cms

[xi] https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/hc-directs-up-govt-to-allow-advocate-to-travel-to-delhi-with-epasses-during-lockdown/1840687

Veer Shiromani Maharana Pratap – A Mighty Valiant Warrior

Chintamani Thakur
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Veer Shiromani Maharana Pratap – A Mighty Valiant Warrior

According to the Hindu Alamanac (Panchang), Maharana Pratap was born at Kumbhalgarh fort on Jyeshtha Shukla Tritiya of Vikram Samvat 1597 (9th May 1560 AD). This year it happens to be on 25th May 2020.

Pratap’s grandfather was the great warrior Rana Sanga and grandmother was Maharani Karmavati. He was also known as Kika during his childhood. He got this name from the Bhils (a community), in whose company he spent the early days. Kika means ‘son’ in the dialect of Bhils. Maharana Pratap had a horse named Chetak which he loved most. Chetak has his place in Pratap’s heroic stories. He played an important role in winning many battles with agility, speed and bravery.

The most interesting fact in the reign of Maharana Pratap is that the Mughal Emperor Akbar wanted to bring Rana Pratap under his control without war. Therefore, Akbar appointed four ambassadors to convince Rana Pratap, in which Jalal Khan first entered the camp of Rana Pratap in September 1582, in the same order Mansingh, Bhagwandas and King Todarmal also reached to convince Rana Pratap, but Rana Pratap disappointed all four. Rana Pratap refused to accept subjugation of the Mughals resulting in the historic War of the Haldi Ghati (valley).

Akbar declared Jihad and Maharana fought a historic war

The battle of Haldighati was fought between Mewar and the Mughals on 14 June 158 AD. In this war, the army of Mewar was led by Maharana Pratap. Rana Poonja, the chieftain of the Bhil army was Bhil. The only Muslim chieftain to fight on behalf of Maharana Pratap in this war was Hakim Khan Suri.

Mansingh and Asaf Khan led the Mughal army in this war. Abdul Qadir Badayuni narrated the eyes of this war. Asaf Khan termed this war as Jihad. Even in modern days, we have seen how jihadis treat kafirs. This is the same old mentality of the sixth century which is still endangering the entire humanity.

In the battle of Haldighati, he was confronted by the huge army of Akbar led by Mansingh. Maharana Pratap faced 70 thousand Mughal soldiers in this war in 1557 with about 20,000 soldiers. This is the most discussed war in medieval Indian history. In this war, Pratap’s horse Chetak was injured. After this war, Mewar, Chittor, Gogunda, Kumbhalgarh and Udaipur were captured by the Mughals. Most Rajput kings accepted the rules of Mughals but Maharana Pratap refused. He did not accept the subjection of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and struggled for many years.

Guerrilla warfare during the Dewar war

Akbar decided to fight Maharana Pratap in 1576. Akbar’s uncle was Sultan Khan, who led the Mughal army in this war. It was Vijayadashami day and Maharana split the newly organized army into two parts and triggered the war cry. One troop was commanded by Maharana himself, while the second contingent was headed by his son Amar Singh.

The Mughal army had 2 lakh soldiers, while the Rajputs were only 22 thousand. Maharana Pratap’s army, under the leadership of Maharaj Kumar Amar Singh, attacked the royal police station of Dewar. This war was so fierce that Pratap’s son Amar Singh attacked the Mughal commander with a spear which  rammed into his body together with the horse into the ground.

On the other hand, Maharana Pratap attacked Bahlol Khan’s head with such force that he cut it into two pieces along with the horse. Local historians state that after this war, there was a saying that “The warriors of Mewar cut the rider with a horse in a single blow”.

In this war, Maharana adopted the strategy of guerrilla warfare. In the Battle of Dewar in 1582, Maharana Pratap’s army defeated the Mughals and left Chittor and re-occupied most of the land of Mewar.

Maharana Pratap was the first Indian king to use guerrilla tactics in a very planned manner and as a result forced the Mughals to kneel down. Maharana stood with full confidence in front of Akbar. There was a time when almost the whole of Rajasthan was under the occupation of the Mughal emperor Akbar, but Maharana fought with Akbar for 12 years to save his Mewar. Akbar used every tactic to defeat him, but Maharana remained undefeated till the end.

The Dewar war of 1572 is considered to be an important war in history, because in this war the lost kingdoms of Rana Pratap were recaptured. After this a long struggle between Rana Pratap and the Mughals took place, due to which the British East India officer and the Colonel James Tod called this war “Marathon of Mewar”. Colonel Tod has written the valor of the Maharana and his army, describing the war skills as heroic as the warriors of Sparta, that they were not afraid of an army even four times larger than theirs on the battlefield.

Fearing Maharana Pratap Singh, Akbar moved his capital to Lahore and came back to Agra only after Maharana died.

As a true Rajput, knight, patriot, warrior, of the Motherland, Maharana Pratap became immortal in the world forever.

Lesson to be learnt from the most dangerous prisoner

shrinivashinge
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Lesson to be learnt from the most dangerous prisoner

The world is facing this gruesome situation for the first time since inception. There were many epidemics and wars happened in the past but the effects were limited to certain countries and most of the world was unconcerned. This COVID situation is first of its kind and most of humanity has been in lockdown in their dwellings. This jail-like atmosphere is new to us. Initially, people enjoyed this phenomenon by circulating relevant jokes and stayed positive. Then they found some ways to keep them busy. As the lockdowns are getting extended people have started feeling anxious. British Parliament has predicted that after Corona Pandemic there are chances of people facing Anxiety Pandemic which may cause even severe anarchy in the countries. The tremendous increase of domestic violence is one such example.

During this lockdown, we tend to find some inspirational stuff online as staying positive and remain calm are the most important things we need to do. As a fan of our Indian history, I did try to find some situations which can inspire us most. There are many examples in our history which shows that our current situation is far easier to face than the situations faced by our great ancestors who fought for our country. I got inspired by the story of how ‘Veer Savarkar’ spent his time in Andaman jail. He was sentenced double life imprisonment i.e. 50 years of prison in the Kala Pani. Even the word Kala Pani came from Kaal (Death) Pani. People were left to die in that prison. A boy of magnificent intellect and the tremendous case of possibilities was thrown to a far-off island and was ordered to spend the rest of his life in chains. He took an oath just like Shivaji Maharaj to break the chains of slavery and take the nation to a bright future. He ignited a fire in the belly of his companions with his nationalistic views. Many souls sacrificed themselves after getting inspired by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s words. Because of his strong desire to free his country, the enslavers became aware sentenced such punishment that no other revolutionary was punished in similar way.

I have been to Andaman a couple of years before. The story about his stay overwhelms you. I have visited the cell in which Savarkar was kept. He was marked as the most dangerous prisoner among all. He had spent 11-12 years in that menacing prison. A person with so much ambition spent his life in a dark room where the only view he had was of gallows, the only sound he could hear was of the prisoners who were screeching in pain. The food he was offered won’t be considered as a food in normal human society. In such lockdown state, he composed thousands of verses of beautiful poems. He used nails to scribble the poems on the prison wall. Every morning he might have woken up with a hope that he will get another chance to serve Maa Bharati again. I wonder what might have kept him going in those days.

In these lockdown days, we might get frustrated and upset as we were never been in such position ever. This is the time we should learn from our history and our history makers like Savarkar. Just compare his state in the 10*10 ft jail and our comfortable houses. We are in a paradisiacal situation in front of his. This comparison might be absurd for few but it helps when we think of his situation when we are dejected. On this Savarkar Jayanti let us all promise ourselves that we will learn the endurance from his great man and keep patience till the COVID situation gets better. STAY SAFE AND STAY HEALTHY.

Secularism around us

anandv
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Secularism around us

This article erupts from my own personal experiences over a period of time. Last few months have been hard on our nation, and I was time and again, made to feel guilty for voicing my opinion on the current scenarios within the country. Issues like CAA, Delhi riots, Tablighi Jamaat doings, Mumbai Bandra terminus incident, lynching of 2 Hindu Sadhus in Palghar, and so on. During that time only, I came across this video message of Madhur (@theplacardguy), whose link I am attaching at the end. That is a good thought, and throws light on the aspect of so called friendships in this era of secularism.

This was the same situation I have been facing with a lot of people around me. Let me just list out a few of them:

1. The general secular guy – believes every religion has good and bad things and it’s only the perception of people misreading those books.
2. The egalitarian thought – the Delhi riots could not have been started by Muslims as they can never outnumber Hindus. Doing Saraswati puja in college because college had BJP leaning. This dilutes the secularism of college.
3. The UPSC aspirant – Why not free electricity / water rather than 20 lakh crore economic package? What will the poor person get out of this package? Demonetization and GST were failures of the government.
4. The Dalit guy- The person who drafted constitution had 32 degrees and now the people with no degrees are changing it.
5. The intellectuals – Lockdown was announced in a hurry without any proper planning. West is using super computers to simulate vaccines and Indians are drinking gaumutra. Why Yogi Adityanath is only now talking of generating jobs? Why did he not do so all these years?
6. The uninformed girl – Rich who don’t vote are being brought home by airplanes and poor who do vote, are left stranded to walk down their way home (sharing side-by-side two pictures – one of the airplane where people are being brought and other of the labourers walking home, with a child on shoulders).

Few of these people had been very close to me and at times, I respectfully stopped further discussion on the topic as it turned awkward. But through here I want to answer all these questions. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar did not put the word “Secular” in Indian constitution, it was put in 1977. And he made the provision of caste-based reservation “temporary”, to expire after 10 years. This reservation, which you think is your birth-right even after earning a salary in 7 digits.

The cow urine jibe – Cow is our mother. Only the milk of cow has the quality that a new-born baby can survive his life through, even if he is deprived of the mother’s milk. Just type in a search engine and you’ll find that cow urine is a proved anti-biotic and has registered patent.

The comparison of rich and poor migrants – Yes, our PM has started Vande Bharat mission to bring back Indians stranded in various countries. But at the same time, thousands of Shramik expresses are being run free of cost by our government. Why don’t you question the corresponding state government who has failed to provide food to these people, and not even able to make arrangements for their train boarding.

Muslims can’t outnumber Hindus? Yes they can! In the situation of riots. Because Hindus are not rioters. But at the same time, we have a few liberal self-declared intellectuals, who side with these rioters in the name of secularism.

Through the above, I was told that I have started seeing communal colours in lot of situations. Yes, I AM being communal. Because this all IS communal. This is not only about the Jamatis spreading Corona, it’s about the people of their community who are openly defending them. People, who pretended to raise their voices for women, keep calm when the wrong happens with Babita Phogat, Rangoli Chandel or Apurva Singh.

I was told that media will do anything for TRP and I should not let my opinions get fogged. And guess what, they’re following Faye D’Souza for credible news. The same Faye D’Souza who defends fake news peddler S Varadarajan in the name of FoE, praises Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray for good job being done in Covid time, but don’t write a single word to praise Yogi Adityanath. She does a Boom fact-check of the Bandra incident without a single evidence or statement of either the police or the locals, but I am supposed to believe her because she’s a so-called unbiased reporter. You just need to come out of your cocoons and see the real world. You just read The Wire / Print / Scroll and assume that is the whole world. But, to your disappointment, it isn’t. I read both – The Scroll and OpIndia, verify them from other official sources, check the evidences available, and then I decide what’s true.

Let me talk about Chand Mohammed, the fruit seller who was selling fruits after spitting into the weighing machine. If I talk about him, I am termed Islamophobe. You live securely in your apartments in gated communities, order groceries and milk online. Will you accept those fruits / vegetables if you had even a slight doubt that it may have been spat into?? No. Then why question people who carefully avoid buying fruits/ vegetables from them?

Let me show you the mirror. You’re happy when Supreme court orders in favour of petitioners for Sabarimala case, but when the same Supreme Court orders in favour of Ram Mandir, it’s biased, and a hospital should’ve been built at that place. And then you have the audacity to advise me to stay neutral. I would ask you to imagine yourself in the same situation. Your house has been forcibly occupied by the thugs. The matter goes in Court. Will you be happy if the court directs that a hospital be made at the location?

You don’t talk secularism when Kamalesh Tiwari is murdered for his freedom of expression, but secularism is all in while reporting COVID-19 cases, and Tablighi Jamaat conveniently becomes single source, and further completely disappears from the news. I hear the azaan 5 times a day, which says that there is no God but Allah, and never complained (once Sonu Nigam did, and guess what, he was immediately termed an Islamophobe).

You very conveniently compare our god Sri Krishna with playboys/flirts, laugh swiftly at gaumutra jokes. But when I support RSS for their hard work and perseverance in the service of the nation, I am termed communal.

And at last, about my faith in the current government. I say – Why not? There is a person on PM’s chair who is selfless and made of steel. The world today is taking pride on India, who, your beloved Chacha, showcased the world as the country of snake charmers, and his descendants are still doing the same. There is a person on the chair of Home minister who is ready to give his life for PoK, and has the courage to say it in Parliament with absolute confidence. The UP CM, a monk who has been very successful in controlling riots as well as corona in the India’s most populous and riot-prone state, and is pro-actively working on the path to generate 20 lakh employment opportunities within the state.

So enough of the guilt trip. I can, and I will, raise my voice against your hypocrisy. I would rather be happy to be such a communal that a bigot like you.

Annexure (The video message from @theplacardguy)- https://twitter.com/ThePlacardGuy/status/1251547476873621504?s=19

Humanitarian hand of Help

Rajat Raushan
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Humanitarian hand of Help


In the current scenario, when India is in the 4th phase of the lockdown and emphasizing mostly on the economic and victual problem of migrants their emotional well being also needs to be catered as soon as possible.

Our forefathers and constitution-makers were aware of the discriminatory approach adopted by the residents towards the migrants. That is why they explicitly mentioned that no person shall be discriminated based on their place of birth and residence, explicitly in Article 15 and 16 of the Indian constitution.

Migrants are stuck away from their families without food, money and shelter. It is quite obvious that they came to mega cities to feed their families by sending their hard-earned savings back to home. However, in this crisis when their family needed them most, they are left helpless. Their families are relying on the pity of others. When the elders needed the utmost care, the young ones are trapped. Their decision, maybe compelled or chosen, of coming to the city in search of work forced them to leave the old dependents behind. Moreover, as the lockdown continues, they are unable to find any work and are running out of money.

Many RWAs, civic societies and individuals are feeding them but what they are providing in the name of help is more like beneficence. Hungry children are being scolded to maintain the queue for a bowl of rice and dal, though the service provider intends to align with the norms of social distancing, the means adopted does not justify their ends. This inhuman treatment is not new for them and has been engraved in the societal setup and the mindset of city dwellers who forget that their luxury comes from the hard work of the migrant coming from the remote areas of the country. So its the duty of everyone to dignify them and treat them as an integral part of our ecosystem. One way in which it can be achieved is through maintaining proper behavioural conduct. This will not only give them moral support but also the much-needed strength to fill the moral vacuum, with the help of societal acceptance, in a territory which is also a part of their motherland India but gives them the vibes of a foreign land.

In the words of Karl Marx, the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.
{Marx, Theses On Feuerbach: Thesis 11 (1845)}

Entrapment of a false Messiah

PARTHA SARATHI
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Entrapment of a false Messiah

“I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.”
Nelson Mandela

When a man feels that he has a divine mission, say to lift up, to save or to liberate mankind, when a man feels the divine spark in his heart and believes that he is the mouthpiece of supernatural imperatives, when such a mission inflames him, it is only natural that he should stand beyond all merely reasonable standards of judgment. He feels that he is himself sanctified by this mission, that he is himself a type of a higher order! What has a priest to do with philosophy! He stands far above it! And hitherto the priest has ruled!‐He has determined the meaning of “true” and “not true”!”

These words of Friedrich Nietzsche truly draw within it the rudiments of a Messiah in a human being. The lucid characterization of a Messiah who has human upliftment and empathy for its sufferings at its core has sadly been systematically trampled with and deliberately obfuscated since ages when humans wanted to use suffering of mankind as an instrument to grab and augment power! The signs of such obfuscation are not hard to understand as the rivalry of religions took centrestage since medieval times.  Christ , the Messiah of Christianity is not accepted as a Messiah in Judaism. Although Islam accepts Jesus as both a prophet and Messiah, but notions of him as either God or the equal of God are rejected by both Jews and Muslims as idolatry.

In Jewish traditions, the Messiah to come is thought to be a human leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon, who will be involved in predestined accomplishments, including the unification of Israelites, the gathering in of Jews to the Holy Land, the ushering in of a Messianic age of world peace and the annunciation of the World to Come. This has brought to fore a piquant situation where Messiahs are deified in various societies leading to fragmentation of mankind which often have resulted in bloodshed and dominance of the mighty, leading to the very antithesis of preaching of the Messiahs.

The situation has been vilified with proclamations of prophecy from unscrupulous individuals and societies associated with such falsifiers. One of the greatest mistakes humans commit is to deify the artist rather than the art; the messenger rather than the message.  But the associated largesse doled out by the society to the Prophets have turned it into a lucrative trade where personal submission to an individual augments considerable clout and power around it. This is surely a recipe for disaster when it magnetizes politics and draws favours from ruling classes. Leland Lewis has aptly described the notion of such elements; “What is a ‘false prophet’? Those who lie by attributing personal biases to divine source.” In these perilous times, we have more preachers of the truth than doers of the truth. In other words not all preachers are doers and salvager of humanity.

It is but natural to draw motives to such false messiahs. As pointed out by H.L. Mencken in the Minority Report “The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. Power is what all messiahs really seek: not the chance to serve. This is true even of the pious brethren who carry the gospel to foreign parts.” Self-proclamation of authoritative titles is a common phenomenon among religious and/or occult sect leaders. A cursory survey of this primarily 20th century phenomenon will instantly reveal a multitude of self-declared Masters, High Priests, gurus, Ipsissimi, Bhaghwani, etc. Legitimate religious teachers and scholars know that a genuine spiritual leader is one whose calling to lead is first noticed by those outside of him or herself based on certain qualities, abilities, and actions and then must subsequently be accepted by the individual in question as his or her destiny. This contrasts with those whose will to lead is born simply out of the mundane wish to be a leader. In such cases the goal being to reap the rewards a title brings without the hard work and the innate, manifest qualities which validate the position; in short what might be considered a ‘false prophet’.

To put it rightly, we need no messiah menacing us with hell and purgatory. As Richard Bach summarizes “Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.” Those who spend their time and energy spreading unhappiness and hatred for others and are themselves consumed by it, are by the very definition of the term ‘false prophets’.  Atheists are not the real enemy as many such demagogues propound; the real enemy knows God and Godliness but still reject him. A false prophet puts himself into the shoes of god, with no socks of humanity underneath!

But it’s wiser to surmise that a false prophet is one whose greed is not yet extinguished by the sublime truth of wisdom. People ponder on knowing words of a preacher. The more enlightened ones muse on meaning of word of God. The real duty of man is to know mankind, ameliorate its sufferings and to attain godliness through a true Messiah! Knowing the heart of a human is the true way to knowing God. Janice B Brown has eloquently described the conundrum of postmodern societies and its frustrating efforts to assuage the guilt complex.  He argues “Modern infatuation with angels is based on imagery that is far removed from Psalm 103’s depiction of angels as ‘mighty ones who do his bidding.’ With the loss of knowledge and respect for scriptures has come a greatly demeaned understanding of spiritual realities, especially those concerned with supernatural occurrences.”

To sum up, humanity has entrapped itself in a cocoon of materialism to accomplish carnal desires which becomes infused into its mind and soul. But the innate realizations still do crop up which juggles him to a Messiah in search of self- restitution. What is relegated to background is the Word of God well enumerated in all Holy scriptures- Empathy, mercy, devotion to the needy and to lead life with pride and honour outweighs the glib words of every false prophet and the teachings of every false Messiah!

Migrant exodus, a human tragedy

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
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Migrant exodus, a human tragedy

Yes. Yes. Yes. The Migrant Exodus is heart rending. To see men, women and children walk miles across borders and face the forces of nature, is not a sight to behold. Particularly, young children trundling along with their elders barefoot, is excruciating to even see. Several have died from exhaustion. Some lost their lives while sleeping on railway tracks over run by trains. How cruel could it get? No one in his right senses would grudge the migrants their agony and discomfort. It is a terrible tragedy that Covid-19 has brought in its wake.

The Central and State Governments have been caught napping, by the sudden Exodus and they are therefore struggling to play catch up. Inevitably, the State is facing serious criticism that the original National Lockdown was announced suddenly and caught the migrants off guard. The suggestion is that if only the State had announced a planned schedule, offering time and space to the migrants to take the call, to stay put or move out to their homes, the tragedy could/would have been averted.

It is all very well to say so in hind sight with a 2020 vision. But it was neither practical nor feasible nor would it have avoided the tragedy. The unfolding tragedy would have still have played out anyway. This is part of the ‘deathly dance and its tragic damages’ as an academician wrote about the 1918-20 Spanish Flu. Lest you jump upon me, one is not even remotely suggesting that we ought to accept the death, destruction and devastation, as part of life’s journey and move on. No. No. No.

Let us assume that the State had locked down a week, hence the date of announcement with a timeline to adjust. Affording time for the migrants to shift bases. It would have been a worse and terrifying logistics nightmare. We have 4 crores migrants at work, at any point of time. They travel the distances from Manipur to Meghalaya and Allahabad to Kanpur to Dhanbad to Raipur and where not. No matter even if all the trains were offered for the service and the buses and lorries in attendance, one cannot imagine the calamitous chaos it would have unleashed. Social distancing would have gone for a toss and the Pandemic would have spread its tentacles far denser and wider and well before its due date. We would have been in far worse mess than we are today in.

Ideally, the migrants ought to have been cared for where they were. One can identify specific textile and garment units in Tiruppur where the employers were caring and comforting. They continued housing the employees from Orissa and Bihar and fed them with salaries as well, during the initial 3 week shut down. One can multiply such instances of benevolent employers.

Now, the government has eased the closures, the factories are stirring back with no discomfort, as the workforce is pampered and available. Just as these model employers took good care of their migrant workmen, the State also should have offered space and support to them.

For instance Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister, sincerely and literally begged the migrant labourers to stay put and he promised to lodge them safe, secure and be well fed. The migrants did not heed the call.

Surely, one is not blaming the migrants. With no certainty of the time line, as to how long this lockdown will continue, when the viral curve would be flattened and when normalcy would return, the desperation of migrants to get back home, no matter they may have to starve, was understandable. One cannot be crudely unempathetic to attribute any other intent to them. You and I may have also behaved similarly, or possibly worse.

It would therefore be unfair and unjust to blame the State for the tragedy that Migrant Exodus is proving to be. No matter how well they had planned, the tragedy was bound to happen. There was no one fool proof method to be planned. The scale of the Coronavirus impact was so humongous. If 213 countries are in its leash and the leader of the free world is struggling to disrupt the disruption, the Indian experience is not unnatural at all. It is not a man made disaster as is sought to be portrayed for political slants. It a natural disaster well beyond the ken of Homo sapiens and nature has shown us, who is the boss.

Instead of carping and complaining with the Centre and States for their ‘unplanned’ declaration of National Lockdowns, we would do well to explore solutions, to not repeat the same, if and when there is a second wave, as is threatened. State must get up and running to construct Migrant Homes, as migrant movement is real and it is hugely helpful as a booster to our economic engine. Infrastructure to house the migrants must become a mandatory need. Yes, even then there is no guarantee that Migrants would stick to the workplace and not be inclined to move, as Home is where his heart would be, more so in times of such a crisis. At least, we may be better prepared than now. It is time for policy makers to form an expert committee to analyse the Migrant Exodus issue threadbare and come up with a statutory and regulatory framework for a permanent structure in place akin to the Disaster Management Act. That is the way to go. And be deriding each other, when we need to be helping each other out. Please.

The world we live in today is a different place as it is in the throes of a Pandemic. The world after the Pandemic May be even more different and unrecognizable from today. Each one of us may have to pivot from our present, private, social and economic ways.

The virus that escaped from a Wuhan wet market has not only slayed lives in lakhs, it has maimed them and devastated the economies too. There has been nothing akin to this ever. Not like the Bubonic Plague, Black Death, Deep Depression, World Wars, sub prime mortgage crisis, the SARS, H1N1, MERS, or the likes of it. Covid-19 is unlike anything the world has seen or experienced. The grip is hard and sure and not easing any time soon. The threat of second and third waves or continuing waves until a Vaccine is discovered is real and not imagined.

In such a bleak and black scenario, to play blame game for Migrant Exodus is unfair, unjust and unrealistic. No matter the crafty and clever planning we were capable of, the tragedy was bound to play out. The form, time and place would have been different. It is singularly sad and unfortunate that the hapless migrants were caught in the web, for no fault of theirs, in the wake of nature’s fury. Let us try to come up with their rescue with food, shelter and medical support wherever we can, as the Exodus is on, while we pray for their wellbeing, safety and travel back home.

Criticism be damned at this hour of crisis as the unprecedented nature of the crisis would have overwhelmed even the richest and best placed nations, as it has. Our job would be not to lurch the lot of Migrants at this hour of crisis and be by them as well as we can as We The People.

(Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan- Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court)

संघ पर सोशल मीडिया के द्वारा मिथ्या एवं फर्जी पोस्ट से कुठाराघात करने का एक नया वामपंथी चाल

वीरेंद्र पांडेय
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पिछले काफी समय से सोशल मीडिया पर संघ को लेकर अनेक भ्रामक एवं मिथ्या पोस्ट आती रही हैं जो सत्य से परे झूठ एवं असत्य के बुनियाद पर लिखी जाती रहीं है। अभी हाल में पूजनीय सरसंघचालक डॉ मोहन भागवत जी के नाम से एक फर्जी न्यूज वायरल किया गया, न्यूज एक पेपर कटिंग के रूप में बनाई गई। जिसका शीर्षक ‘कोरोना ने तोड़ी मेरी धर्म में आस्था’ एक फर्जी डिजाइन किया हुआ है। कुछ दिन पहले ही एक और वायरल संघ प्रमुख के हवाले से -‘संघ लागू करेगा नया संविधान’ शीर्षक से दुष्प्रचार प्रसारित किया गया।संघ मुस्लिमों, दलितों को खत्म करना चाहता है, फेसबुक, टवीटर से लेकर वॉट्सऐप तक पर ऐसीं अनेक अखबार की फर्जी कटिंग घूमती रहती हैं। इसमें मोहन जी की तस्‍वीर का इस्‍तेमाल करते हुए उनके हवाले से फर्जी खबर बनाई होती है। आखिर यह कौन लोग हैं? उनका लक्ष्य क्या है? उन्हें देश भक्त ‘कथनी नहीं, व्यवहार से स्वयं को समाज के समक्ष प्रस्तुत करने वाले संघ संगठन से घृणा क्यों है?

यह कुकृत उन भारत विरोधी शक्तियों एवं वामपंथी सोच -विचार का है। जिनकी प्रत्यक्ष सामाजिक,राजनितिक धरातल की नींव हिल चुकी है। वे भारत में लगातार हो रहे राष्ट्रीय विचारों के सूर्योदयों से भयभीत हो कर छद्म घात का मार्ग अपनाये हुए हैं। इसमें कम्युनिस्ट आगे हैं। वह पहले हिदुत्व को सांप्रदायिक बताते रहे। वह बंगाल में लंबे समय तक सत्तारूढ़ रहे, लेकिन वह विवेकानंद को नहीं मानते थे। पर जैसे-जैसे संघ का कार्य बढ़ता गया उन्होंने हिदुत्व को नरम और उग्र के खांचे में बांटने की कोशिश की।इनके लोग लंबे समय से हिदू और हिदुत्व के खिलाफ भ्रामक प्रचार करते आ रहे हैं। उनकी कोशिश होती है कि जाति, भाषा और प्रांत के नाम पर हिदू बंटे रहें अन्यथा हिदुत्व ही राष्टीयत्व है के नाम पर सारा समाज जुड़ जाएगा। इनका एक पूरा गिरोह है , इसमें एक फर्जी मुद्दा प्लांट करता है, दूसरा उस पर लेख लिखता है , तीसरा उस पर कथित रिसर्च का नाम दें किताब लिखता है , चौथा पब्लिशर बनता, पांचवा डिस्ट्रीब्यूटर बन यूनिवर्सिटी कालेजों में प्रोफेसरों के माध्यम से पीएचडी करवाता है और इस प्रकर एक असत्य ,झूठ, अनास्था से उत्पन्न विचार समाज में स्थापित होने लगता है।

इस तरह वह संघ को भी बदनाम करने की पूरी कोशिश करते रहे है। संघ पर एक मिथ्या आरोप, को साबित करने के लिए दश और मनगढंत आरोप, केस अलग अलग माध्यमों से प्लांट करते रहे हैं। राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के प्रति दुराग्रह रखने वाला वर्ग संघ के विचार को गंभीरता से सुने बिना ही मिथ्या प्रचार कर समाज को तोड़ने में लगा रहता है । यह वर्ग आरएसएस को ऐन-केन-प्रकारेण विवाद में घसीटने की ताक में बैठा रहता है। भारत में राजनीतिक स्वार्थ इतनी चरम पर है की समाज एवं समरसता के लिए काम करने वाला संगठन, झूठ एवं मिथ्या आरोपों को लगातार सहता रहा है। हमने देखा है कि पूर्व में कैसे ‘टुकड़े-टुकड़े गैंग ने आरक्षण पर अफवाह और भ्रम फैलाकर हिंदू समाज को तोडऩे के प्रयास किए हैं। विभाजनकारी सोच ने सामाजिक मुद्दे का इस तरह से राजनीतिकरण किया है कि समाज भले की बात कहना भी कठिन हो गया है। प्रिंट, इलेक्ट्रॉनिक तथा सोशल मीडिया के माध्यम से तथाकथित प्रगतिशील बुद्धिजीवी-पत्रकार, कम्युनिस्ट सहित अन्य राजनीतिक दल तो तैयार बैठे रहते हैं, संघ को दलित विरोधी, आरक्षण विरोधी सिद्ध करने के लिए। वे गहे बगाहे ऐसे कुचक्र करते रहे हैं। आजादी के बाद से ही संघ इन दलों और विचारों के कोपभाजन बनता रहा है।

जनसंचार माध्यमों में जब राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के संबंध में भ्रामक जानकारी आती है, तब सामान्य व्यक्ति चकित हो उठते है, क्योंकि उनके जीवन में संघ किसी और रूप में स्थापित है, जबकि आरएसएस विरोधी ताकतों द्वारा मीडिया में संघ की छवि किसी और रूप में प्रस्तुत की जाती है। इसलिए अब बहुत आवश्यक है की ऐसे किसी भी भ्रामक विषय पर संघ के सुचना तंत्र द्वारा प्रकशित पक्ष को ही महत्त्व दिया जाना चाहिए।

“सबल भुजाओं में रक्षित है ,नौका की पतवार। चीर चलें सागर की छाती, पार करें मंझधार।।

ज्ञान केतु लेकर निकला है विजयी शंकर। अब न चलेगा ढोंग, दम्भ, मिथ्या आडंबर।। “

वीरेंद्र पांडेय

सहायक आचार्य एवं शोधकर्ता

The Naga dynasties in ancient India

Priya Chaturvedi
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The Naga dynasties in ancient India

How many of us remember reading about how the great Gupta Emperor Samudragupta established his empire in north India? Do we remember reading about one Ganapatinaga? I am talking about the Naga dynasty of ancient India and there fascinating though still somewhat obscure history.

The Nagas came into prominence on the political map of India probably towards the close of second century C.E. Though there is still a lot of confusion about their origin but that much is certain that they arose when Kushana power was in decline and the Nagas played a significant role in finishing off the Kushana empire.

“This was the time when a number of indigenous powers, like the Yaudheya, Arjunayana, the Malava were gaining strength.” The Nagas do not seem to be from a single dynasty. Most likely they were a group of families. Their power centre were these four ancient cities – Mathura, Vidisha (Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh), Padmavati (Pawaya in Madhya Pradesh) and Kantipuri (Probably Kutwar in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh).

The Naga dynasties at these places themselves unfortunately, did not leave any epigraphic record. The sources from which the history of Nagas comes to light are mainly the numismatic evidence and the Puranas. There are also some inscriptions of the Vakatakas that mention one of the Naga dynasty, the Bhara Shivas.

Illustrative Map of Naga Territory

“The Vishnu Purana discloses the existence of nine Naga Kings who ruled at Padmavati, Kantipuri, Mathura and the evidence is corroborated by Vayu Purana, which mentions two houses of Nagas, one at Padmavati. and the other at Mathura. The number of Kings at each of the places being stated to be nine and seven respectively.”

Bhogi, Sada-chandra/ Chandramsha (Candrāṃśa) /Vama-chandra (Rama-chandra), Dhana-dharma/ Dhana-Varma, Vangara and Bhuti-nanda are some of the kings of the Naga house of Vidisha after which the lineage was carried forward by king Shishunandi and his descendents after overthrow of the Sungas.

Though reputed scholar K.P.Jayaswal who had done comprehensive research on this in his “History of India 150 – 350 A.D.” tried to connect the Datta lineage coins of Mathura which are of an earlier period of 100 B.C.E.-50 C.E., with the Nagas of Vidisha, he was strongly opposed by another scholar A.S.Altekar on this point. Altekar has the majority opinion with him, reason being that not only the Datta coins are found only in and around the territory of Mathura but also that when Cunningham and later Dr. R.G.Bhandarkar carried out their excavations in Vidisha, the coins of the rulers of the Mathura series were conspicuous by their absence.

The Nagas of Padmavati were another very important dynasty which even had close relations with the royal house of Vakatakas. H.V. Trivedi had done extensive research on the Naga coinage in his “Catalogue of the Coins of the Naga Kings of Padmavati” published in 1957. He stipulates that the Naga kingdom extended from the areas like Morena and Jhansi to Vidisha. The first prominent king of the Nagas of Padmavati is Bhavanaga, from the Bhara Shiva lineage. He probably ruled from around 310 – 335 C.E.

According to Jayaswal, Vakatakas had “inherited that paramountcy from the Bhara Shivas whose dynasty had performed no less than ten ashvamedhas on the Ganges – a repeated assertion of their imperial position in Aryavarta. It is needless to state that the ashvamedhas were at the cost of the Kushana Empire. That history written in the orthodox Hindu fashion sums up the breaking of the Kushana Empire and driving of the Kushans further and further north-west towards the confines of the Salt Range.”

The daughter of Bharasiva king, Bhava Naga was also married to the son of Vakataka king Pravarasena I, Gautamiputra. “This event was so important in the history of Vakataka dynasty that it was incorporated in their dynastic history and repeated in all the official deeds of the Vakatakas.”

The famous ghat of Varanasi, Dashashvamedha Ghat also has a fascinating connection with the Nagas. “There it is recorded that before this political marriage the rajavamsha (dynasty of the Bharasivas) had performed ten asvamedha sacrifices on the Ganges which they had acquired by valour, that with the holy water of the Ganges seems to me to be the sacred site come down to us as Dasasvamedha at Benares, the earthly home of Lord Shiva. The Bhara Sivas issuing from Baghelkhand must have reached Ganges through what we now called the Ancient Deccan Road terminating at the town of the Goddess Vindhyavasini (Mirzapur, U.P.).”

Jayaswal also opines that the Bhara Shivas and the Vakatakas were most probably neighbours and that for them (Bhara Shivas) to have conducted the said ten ashvamedhas, their existence must have been at the least a century earlier than the reign of Pravarasena I. Thus, he dates the rise of the Bhara Sivas to about 150 C.E.

Bhara Shivas get their family name on account of a religious practice. The inscription of the Vakatakas describes the Bhara Sivas and the reason of their distinct nomenclature in these glorious terms –

“Of (the Dynasty of) the Bhara Sivas whose royal line owed its origin to the great satisfaction of Siva on account of their carrying the load of the symbol of Siva on their shoulders – the Bhara Sivas who were anointed to the sovereignty with the holy water of the Bhagirathi which had been obtained by their valour – the Bhara Sivas who performed their sacred bath on the completion of their Ten Asvamedhas”

Naga Coinage

By the time of the illustrious Samudragupta (335-375 C.E.), it seems that the Naga power was headquartered at two places, Mathura and Padmavati. The famous Prayag Prashasti or the Allahabad Pillar Inscription composed by Harishena gives us insight into this. The inscription talks about how Samudragupta “violently exterminated” nine kings of the Aryavarta, probably during his second campaign in northern India. The given names of the kings defeated are Rudradeva, Mattila, Nagadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapatinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta, Nandin and Balavarman.

“The occurence of four Naga names in the list indicates the serious nature of the threat to the Guptas from the power of the Nagas. But inspite of this campaign of “extermination”, the Naga power survived for a Naga princess, Kuberanaga, was married to Chandragupta II, son and successor of Samudragupta.”

Here we have a very interesting and ammusing connection between the Guptas, the Nagas of Padmavati and Mathura with the Vakatakas. As we read above, the Vakataka ruler Pravarasena I had his son, Gautamiputra marry a Naga princess of Padmavati, daughter of Bhara Shiva king Bhava Naga and the son of this couple, Rudrasena became the next ruler Rudrasena I of Vakatakas. When Samudragupta eliminated the Naga power at Mathura, the princess of the royal house, Naga Princess Kuberanaga was given in marriage to Chandragupta II, son and successor of Samudragupta. Offspring of this union was Prabhavati Gupta who was later married to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II.

Bana Bhatta in his “Harshcharita” also talks about one Nagasena in these words,”the doom of Nagasena, born of the Naga lineage, occured at Padmavati because he was foolish enough to have discussed his policy in the presence of a mynah bird who declared them out loud”.

A lot is still very obscure about the Nagas, so much so that scholars are not even unanimous about whether they were one family that sprung into Mathura, Padmavati, Kantipuri and Vidisha or they were different families sharing the Naga surname. One can only hope that some more research can clear these questions.

References:

1.History of India 150 – 350 A.D. – K.P.Jayaswal

2.Ancient India: History and Culture – Balkrishna Govind Gokhale

3.Dimensions of Human Cultures in Central India by A.A.Abbasi

कीबोर्ड का सच्चा सिपाही संजय द्विवेदी: पत्रकारिता के छात्र से पत्रकारिता विवि के कुलपति तक का सफर

Rinku Mishra
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कीबोर्ड का सच्चा सिपाही संजय द्विवेदी: पत्रकारिता के छात्र से पत्रकारिता विवि के कुलपति तक का सफर

कहते हैं कि सबको सबकुछ नहीं मिलता है लेकिन कुछ बिरले लोग होते हैं जो अपनी मेहनत के बलपर बहुत कुछ अर्जित कर लेते हैं। ऐसा ही एक नाम है संजय द्विवेदी। जो कवि तो नहीं है लेकिन स्वयं में काव्य है। भाषण और संचार कौशलता ऐसी कि उसका एक-एक अक्षर सहिर्दयता का वह पड़ाव है जहां वह पढ़ने वाले और सुनने वालों के रूह में उतर जाता है। वह न कभी रुकता है न कभी थकता है। मुश्किलें मायूस होकर उसकी चौखट से लौट आती है लेकिन उस तक पहुँच नहीं पाती। तमाम कोशिशें, साजिशें और षडयंत्र भी उसकी तारीफ करते नहीं थकते जो उन्हें बेबस होने पर मजबूर कर देता है। वह तो निर्मल है, निश्छल है, निष्कपटता उसे भला कब तक और कहां तक रोक पाएगी। वह तो अभ्युदय का जीता जागता दिव्य पुंज है। ओस की बूंदों पर बनी दीवारें भला उसे कब तक और कैसे रोकतीं। उसे तो रौशन होना ही था।

देश के जाने माने पत्रकार, लेखक व मीडिया गुरु और भाषण व संचार कला के धनी संजय द्विवेदी को माखनलाल पत्रकारिता विश्वविद्यालय के कुलपति का प्रभार सौंपा गया है। वे इस विश्वविद्यालय के छात्र रहे फिर प्राध्यापक बने। करीब एक दशक तक जनसंचार विभाग के अध्यक्ष रहे, दो बार कुलसचिव भी बने और अब उन्हें विश्वविद्यालय में कुलपति की जिम्मेदारी दी गई है। विवि परिवार के लिए इससे बड़ी सुखद और गौरवान्वित करने वाली खबर भला और क्या हो सकती है। विवि के अकादमिक और प्रशासनिक दृष्टिकोण से भी यह महत्वपूर्ण नियुक्ति है। निश्चित रूप से जितनी बड़ी जिम्मेदारी मिली है उतनी ही विवि और विवि के बच्चों को उनसे उम्मीदें भी हैं। अब तक जिस जिवटता और जिजीविषा के साथ उन्होंने पत्रकारिता और जनसंचार के क्षेत्र में कार्य किया है वह इस बात  का जीवंत प्रमाण है कि वे आगे भी अनवरत विवि को ऊंचाइयों पर ले जाने में कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ेंगे। 

संजय द्विवेदी का जन्म उत्तर प्रदेश के बस्ती जिले में 7 जुलाई 1974 को हुआ। वे बचपन से ही अत्यंत मेधावी थे। किशोरावस्था से ही उनकी लेखन के क्षेत्र में रूचि रही, वे विद्यार्थी जीवन में ही पत्र-पत्रिकाओं का संपादन करने लगे थे। उन्होंने छात्र जीवन में ही बाल सुमन नाम से बाल साहित्य पर आधारित पत्रिका निकालना शुरू कर दिया था। उन्होंने माखनलाल पत्रकारिता विवि से पत्रकारिता में स्नातकोत्तर की उपाधी ली और अपनी कक्षा में सर्वोच्च अंक प्राप्त किया। इसके लिए उन्हें मा.गो.वैद्य स्मृति रजत पदक सम्मान से सम्मानित किया गया। 

एक विलक्षण संपादक……संजय द्विवेदी को पत्रकारिता के तीनों प्रमुख आयाम प्रिंट, वेब और इलेक्ट्रॉनिक मीडिया में काम करने का अनुभव है। तीनों ही क्षेत्रों में उन्होंने अपनी अमिट छाप छोड़ी है। उन्होंने भोपाल, रायपुर, बिलासपुर, मुंबई के दैनिक भास्कर, स्वदेश, नवभारत, हरिभूमि जैसे अखबारों में स्थानीय संपादक, समाचार संपादक जैसी जिम्मेदारियां निभाई। वे इंफो इंडिया डाट काम, मुंबई से भी जुड़े रहे। इसके साथ ही उन्होंने छत्तीसगढ़ के पहले सेटलाइट चैनल जी 24 घंटे छत्तीसगढ़ में इनपुट एडीटर और एंकर के रुप में कार्य किया। 

मीडिया शिक्षा संजय द्विवेदी एक दशक से अधिक समय से मीडिया शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में कार्य कर रहे हैं। वे कई विश्वविद्यालयों से जुड़े रहे। वे कुशाभाऊ ठाकरे पत्रकारिता एवं जनसंचार विश्वविद्यालय, रायपुर में पत्रकारिता विभाग के प्रथम एवं संस्थापक अध्यक्ष और विश्वविद्यालय की कार्यपरिषद( एक्जीक्यूटिव कौंसिल) के सदस्य रहे। हिमाचल प्रदेश केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय- धर्मशाला, इलाहाबाद केंद्रीय विश्वविद्यालय-इलाहाबाद, रानी चेलम्मा विश्वविद्यालय-बेलगाम, महात्मा गांधी अंतराष्ट्रीय हिंदी विश्वविद्यालय, वर्धा, पत्रकारिता जनसंचार विभाग, विक्रम विश्वविद्यालय, उज्जैन आदि संस्थानों में बतौर बोर्ड ऑफ स्टडीज जुड़े रहे। वे माखनलाल पत्रकारिता विवि में एक दसक से अधिक समय से जुड़े हैं। इस दौरान वे प्राध्यापक, जनसंचार विभाग के विभागाध्यक्ष, कुलसचिव और अब कुलपति बने हैं।

सम्मान…पत्रकारिता और लेखन के क्षेत्र में अनुकरणीय कार्य करने के लिए संजय द्विवेदी को कई पुरस्कारों से सम्मानित किया गया है। इनमें मा.गो.वैद्य स्मृति रजत पदक, वांडमय पुरस्कार, अंबिका प्रसाद दिव्य अलंकरण, धुन्नी दुबे आंचलिक पत्रकारिता सम्मान, पं. प्रतापनारायण मिश्र युवा साहित्यकार सम्मान, सृजनगाथा सम्मान, प्रवक्ता सम्मान और राजेन्द्र जोशी सम्मान शामिल हैं।

कीबोर्ड का सच्चा सिपाही…..

संजय द्विवेदी कीबोर्ड के एक ऐसे सिपाही हैं जो कभी थकते नहीं हैं, रुकते नहीं हैं। देश के तमाम ज्वलंत मुद्दों पर, मीडिया और समाज के सरोकारों पर अनवरत लिखते रहते हैं। आए दिन उनके सारगर्भिक लेख समाचार पत्रों व डिजिटल मंच पर पढ़ने को मिलता है। वे जितना साफ और स्पष्ट लिखते हैं उतना ही प्रखर और मुखर होकर तमाम ज्वलंत मुद्दों पर बोलते भी हैं। यूपी के एक छोटे से शहर बस्ती से निकल कर राष्ट्रीय मीडिया में अपनी पहचान बनाना और उसे वर्षों बाद भी कायम रखना आसान नहीं होता है। उन्होंने बदलते वक्त के साथ अपने को ढाल लिया और हर विधा के साथ मजबूती से जुड़ते गए और अपनी प्रखर लेखनी को भी जोड़ते गए। देश के विभिन्न समाचार- पत्र- पत्रिकाओं में उनके तक तीन हजार से अधिक लेख छप चुके हैं। वे दो दर्जन से अधिक पुस्तकों का लेखन व संपादन कर चुके हैं। इनमें मोदी युग, मोदी लाइव, मीडियाः नया दौर, नई चुनौतियां, प्रभाष स्मृति, मीडिया की ओर देखती स्त्री, राष्ट्रवाद, भारतीयता और पत्रकारिता, ध्येय पथःराष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के नौ दशक, मीडिया और भारतीय चुनाव प्रक्रिया जैसी लोकप्रिय पुस्तकें शामिल हैं। वे पिछले 13 वर्षों से मीडिया सरोकारों पर केंद्रीत मीडिया विमर्श त्रैमासिक पत्रिका के कार्यकारी संपादक हैं।

यारों के यार: संजय द्विवेदी यारों के यार हैं। वे किसी से तनिक भी द्वेष नहीं रखते हैं। वे पद, प्रतिष्ठा, विचारधार आदि से ऊपर उठकर सभी से सीधे संवाद में यकीन रखते हैं। उनके दरवाजे सभी के लिए समान रुप से खुले होते हैं। कभी भी कोई भी विषय हो, समस्या हो उनसे सीधे संवाद किया जा सकता है। उनका व्यवहार और वाकशैली ऐसी है कि उन्हें पसंद न करने वाला भी उनकी तरफ सहज ही खींचा चला जाता है। आप भले पहली बार उनसे मिल रहे हो पर वह इतनी आत्मियता और गर्मजोशी से मिलते हैं कि आप उन्हीं के होकर रह जाते हैं। इस बात का जरा भी एहसास ही नहीं होता कि हम पहली बार मिल रहे हैं या एक दूसरे से पहले से परिचित नहीं थे। 

आसान नहीं हैं संजय द्विवेदी हो जाना….संजय द्विवेदी होना आसान नहीं है। उन्होंने लम्बा संघर्ष किया है, खुद को सजाया है, संवारा है, हर परिस्थिति के अनुरूप खुद को गढ़ा है।  ऐसा नहीं है कि वे सीधे कुलपति बन गए हैं। इसके पीछे उनकी वर्षों की अनवरत लेखन साधना रही है। वे शून्य से शिखर तक पहुंचे हैं। माखनलाल पत्रकारिता विवि से पढ़ाई पूरी करने के बाद उन्होंने एक ट्रेनी पत्रकार से संपादक तक का सफर किया। फिर विवि में प्राध्यापक बने, विभागाध्यक्ष बने, कुलसचिव बने और उसके बाद कुलपति का प्रभार उन्हें मिला है। अब तक के इस सफर में उन्हें कई बार मुश्किलों का सामना करना पड़ा, लेकिन उन्होंने हार नहीं मानी, अनथक चलते रहे और सफलता के नित्य नए सोपान गढ़ते गए।

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