शाम आठ बजे और कुछ टीआरपी जैसे समाजवादी कारणों से अब नौ बजे, प्राइमटाइम में अधोमुखी मेरूरज्जु से निहुरा हुआ एक अदना सा पत्रकार आता है. बरसों पहले एक बक्से के साथ बिहार से दिल्ली आया था. तब बेचारे के पास कुछ नहीं था. जिस दौर में वो आया था वो दौर उसी के रंग वाला था.. मने लाल सलाम वाला.
वो दौर ऐसा था कि चीन पोषित मार्क्सवादी चैनलों पर सिकुलरिज़्म के बोये गए बीजों से कोपलें निकल चुकी थीं. कुछ तो जवान भी हो गईं थीं.उसका पसंदीदा चैनल और उनके मालिक सर्वहारा की क्रांति के ऐसे समर्थक थे और हैं , जिनके स्वयं केशरीर पर रेमंड से बने सूट शोभायमान होते हैं.
वहां ‘अदना सा पत्रकार’ के दिल भी घर कर गया.
इसी बीच साथ मिला हरखा का, वो दिन ऐसे थे कि नैरेटिव के शिखर पर चढ़कर कुछ भी दिखाया जाए, चाहे जितना भी देश की गरिमा के विरूद्ध, परंतु जनविरोध शून्य था या कहें शून्य रखा गया था. ‘अदना सा पत्रकार’ अपने सभी रिपोर्ट में ये दिखाता जैसे आजादी मिली तो एक शाही परिवार की वजह से.. विदेश नीति पढ़ाई जाए, तो बस अपने में सिमटे गुटनिरपेक्षता और पंचशील की चर्चा हो…. नेता शब्द की बात आए तो बस एक नेता के करिश्माई नेतृत्व पर शहद (स्वादानुसार) लगाकर रसपान करना उसका पहला कर्तव्य बन गया था.
अगर सड़क पर कहीं दुर्घटना हो जाए, तो पत्रकार लम्बा वाला लाल माइक मुंह में घुसेड़ कर पूछता है, “हे हे हे… कौन जात हैं? अच्छा कौन धरम से हैं, यही बता दो”
पाकिस्तान यदि भारत पर हमला कर दे तो अदना सा पत्रकार कम्पास जैसा मुंह लेके, कद्दू में चीरा मारने जैसी स्माइल मारता है, और कहता है, “बापू होते तो क्या सोचते, हांय! समस्या का हल बात चीत से भी तो निकल सता है”.
अदना सा पत्रकार यहीं नहीं ठहरता, जब सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक हुई और कुछ कुंजड़व्यक्तित्व के धनी लोगों ने प्रमाण मांगा.. तो अदना सा पत्रकार भी, हें हें हें करके बोल गया, “समाज का एक बड़ा वर्ग प्रमाण चाहता है, पर सरकार ना जाने क्यों पीछे जाती दीख रही है.”
एक बार तो हद तब हो गई जब इंग्लैंड से पढ़कर आए एक बैरिस्टर की सभा में एक लड़की ने ‘पाकिस्तान जिंदाबाद’ बोल डाला था. तो ट्विटर सहित पूरे देश में इसका विरोध हुआ, होना भी चाहिए था.
पर.. वो तो अदना सा पत्रकार है.. अदना सा पत्रकार
इतना आदर्शवादी ‘ प्रवक्ता’ है कि दलील देने लगा…हें हें हें करके बोला, “एक नवयुवती ने आज जिंदाबाद का नारा लगाया, तो लोगों के अंदर पता नहीं क्यों गुस्सा आ गया. हम कहां जा रहे हैं? इतनी नफरत भर दी गई है कि हम इतना नहीं सुन सकते.. समाज कहां जा रहा”
मने आपने अगर बचपन में नैतिक शिक्षा पढ़ी हो ना, तो अदना सा पत्रकार.. उसमें रहने वाली प्रत्येक कहानी की फलश्रुति बनना चाहता है.
एक और मजे की बात, 2014 से पहले तो इस पत्रकार के लिए सबकुछ रामराज्य जैसा था.. (लेकिन वो रामराज्य नहीं बोल सकेगा आप कुछ और शब्द जोड़ लें.) 2014 में तो जैसे भूचाल आ गया इनके जीवन में…बरसों से बरखा में घूम घूम जो अंग प्रत्यंग पत्रकारिता रूपी जल से भिगोये थे… सब जैसे बह गया 2014 मई में.
फिर शुरू हुई क्रांतिकारिता भरी पत्रकारिता, ऐसी कि यदि देश में कहीं दंगा हो जाए तो सरकार दोषी.. और अगर कानून व्यवस्था का पालन करवाने में पुलिस लाठी भांज दें… तो अदना सा पत्रकार बोलें, “लोकतंत्र कहां हैं? मर तो नहीं गया.”
मतलब इनकी बातों को दोमुंही ना कहें बल्कि कई मुंह वाला कहें. इनका दर्द जायज है, कभी ये चुटकी भर के फोन से मंत्री संतरी बदलवा देते.. आज दर दर भटक रहे.कभी छोटे से छोटा इंटरव्यू राष्ट्रपति भवन में होता.. आज सड़क पर निकलना पड़ रहा.
इनके कुछ साथी संगत हैं, वो भी यदा कदा पंजाब के किसी ढाबे में मूंगी मसरी वाली दाल के साथ फोटो डालती/ते हैं..
हालिया, जब देश में कोरोना काल आया.. और चीन की किसी लैब से निकले वायरस के कारण पूरा देश शिथिल पड़ गया. तो भी रिपोर्ट में भांय भांय करते बोल पड़ा, “लगातार ट्विटर पर चीन के खिलाफ आउटरेज हो रहा, जबकि अभी तक कोई प्रमाण ऐसे नहीं है,जो यह सिद्ध करदे कि चीन दोषी है . ना जाने सरकार क्या छुपाने के लिए ये सब करवा रही”
इनके ऐसे चरित्र के बड़े चर्चे हैं… आप सभी मुझसे अधिक वाकिफ हैं. कभी आठ बजे, अब नौ बजे बिलार जैसी आंखें फैलाए, साढ़े बत्तीस किलो वजनी सूट पहनकर.. निहुरी पीठ के साथ इतनी बकवास लपेटता.. कि आप अपना बीपी बढ़ा सकते हैं.
अंत में उसकी एक उक्ति जो उसके दांतों से रगड़कर चिंगारी फेंकने लगी है… “टीवी फोड़ दो….” अबे तेरा फाफड़ा जैसा चेहरा कहां देखेगा… तेरा समाज?” धन्यवाद.
Bal Thackeray was born in 1926. His father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray was an Indian social reformer and a leader of Samyukta Maratha Samiti that successfully campaigned for a linguistic state of Maharashtra.
Thackeray’s career started as a cartoonist in the nationalist newspaper Free Press Journal. But Thackeray developed differences of opinions with the Free Press Journal when his cartoons made a mockery of immigration of south Indian people into Bombay. Thackeray along with his friend George Fernandes left the newspaper to start their own newspaper News Day. But the newspaper survived for a few months. Later Balasaheb along with his brother Srikant started his cartoon weekly Marmik. In 1960, the then chief minister of Maharashtra and a strong Congress leader Yashwantrao Chavan inaugurated Marmik. This cartoon weekly dealt on issues of common Marathi men regarding unemployment, influx of migrants into the state, retrenchment of Marathi workers.
Later Balasaheb termed the cartoon weekly as instrumental in the rise of Shiv Sena. During 1960-1966 the weekly protested against influx of south Indian and Gujarati people into the state. The butt of Thackeray’s cartoons ranged from ignorance of Marathi people about their culture, growing poverty in the country and Congress party’s indifference attitude towards it. Before the formation of Shiv Sena the weekly set out many agendas especially against the Gujaratis and South Indians. The noted campaign of “Hatao Lungi, Bajao Pungi”, and derogatory names such as Yanda Gundu or Lungiwaale for south Indians shows the hatred put forward against the non-Marathi people. In 1966, Bal Thackeray took help of every political parties including Congress party’s stalwarts VP Naik and SK Patil to form Shiv Sena. On an interview with India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai (29th NOV, 2019), senior congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “We were ideological opponents of Shiv Sena but let’s not forget in 1967 it was SK Patil and VP Naik who were responsible in many ways to break the monopoly of the AITUC and the CITU then trade unions of Bombay”.
Political analyst Suhas Palshikar in his article named Economic and Political Weekly confirmed the presence of state congress leader Ramrao Adik at the first Sena rally. Whoever may be behind the creation of Shiv Sena, it is true that hatred towards non-marathis runs deep into the vein of this party. Contrary to what people think today about Shiv Sena as the flag bearer of Hindutva, the party never took a great leap towards uniting the Hindus from all parts of the country.
Let us see a timeline of Shiv Sena since 1966.
1966 – Bal Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena, the name coined by Keshav Thackeray. Especially on 30th October of 1966, Bal Thackeray gave an intimidating speech at his first rally in Shivaji Park and as a result the sena workers pelted stones at the South Indian Udupi restaurants on their way homeward. This hatred towards the South Indians led Vaibhav Purandare write in his book The Sena Story : Shiv Sainiks often “ barged into various offices, delivered physical blows to lungiwallahs and bhaiyas who had robbed their jobs, attacked Udipi hotels….”
1967- The party wins 17 out of 40 seats in the civic polls of Thane. Communal tension arose regarding the claims of both Hindus and Muslims over the Durgadi Fort where Muslims used to pray Namaz. Thackeray announced that Shiv Sainiks would march to the place and raise saffron flag at the place on September 8. Amid bans and tight securities, they managed to gather at the spot to pray.
1968- The party wins 42 seats in total 121 seats in the civic elections.
1969- This year was a dramatic year in the history of Shiv Sena. Belgaum was an area inhabited by Marathi-speaking people but it had been merged with the Karnataka during the bifurcation of undivided Bombay presidency into Karnataka and Mumbai. Bal Thackeray’s fiery speech regarding this border dispute motivated the Shiv Sainiks to stop the vehicle of the then Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai. But the vehicle tried to speed away and in the process many Shiv sainiks were injured. As a reaction to this, the Shiv Sainiks sent the city of Mumbai into rampage as they pelted stones at busses, attacked restaurants. The rampage went on as the police arrested Bal Thackeray and 59 people died in the police firing. Finally Bal Thackeray had to appeal to his followers for calm from the jail in Pune.
1970- Shiv Sena followers stabbed communist leader Krishna Desai who was an MLA that time. Although Bal Thackeray’s link in this matter was not proven, he was found to be saying: “ We must not miss a single opportunity to massacre communists wherever we find them.”( Ref: Nativism in a Metropolis: The Shiv Sena in Bombay by Dipankar Gupta, page 159). Communists at that time blamed the Congress government for supporting this heinous crime saying they wanted to weaken the communists in Mumbai. The same year Sena workers decided to take the Shivaji Jayanti procession through the tensed area of Muslim localities in Bhiwandi. In the riots, more than 250 people died. In his book “Jai Maharashtra” Prakash Akolkar wrote that in order to win the municipal polls, Shiv Sena made an alliance with the Muslim League. The first chief minister from Shiv Sena, Manohar Joshi himself confirms in his book “Shiv Sena-Kal-Aaj-Udya” that Sena Supremo Bal Thackeray shared stage with a Muslim League Leader G M Banatwala at Mastan Talao in South Mumbai.
1971- Shiv Sena fielded three candidates in Loksabha in alliance with Congress in the Mumbai and Konkan region. None of the candidates managed to win.
1975- Sena Chief Bal Thackeray supported Emergency terming it as a move in the interest of the country. In addition to Bal Thackeray, many stalwarts like Vinoba Bhave, M G Ramachandran, Kushwant Singh and Mother Teresa supported the suspension of civil liberties in the name of Emergency. Sena Leader Manohar Joshi in the book “Gods of Power: Personality Cult and Indian Democracy” by Kalyani Shankar is found to be saying, “We, the thinkers in the party believe that Balasaheb should not have taken the decision to support the Emergency and that he was wrong in doing so”
1977- Two years later when Emergency was lifted off, Congress as well as shiv Sena failed to win majority of the seats in the Civic poll as Janata Party won more seats.. To make Murli Deora of Congress the Mayor of Mumbai, Bal Thackeray immediately made an alliance with the Congress. He justified his decision by saying that this congress leader was married to a Marathi Woman and so he was the son-in-law of the community.
1980- Congress again received support of Sena in the assembly election because the then Congress Chief Minister Abdul Rehman Antulay enjoyed a personal relationship with Bal Thackeray.
1984- Bal Thackeray convinced Pramod Mahajan to contest under the symbol of BJP but this first alliance was unfruitful.
1985- Shiv Sena won 75 seats in the Civic polls and came to power at the Municipal Corporation in Mumbai.
1989- Sena made an alliance with the BJP both in Loksabha and Assembly Elections. Sena newspaper Saamna was launched in this year.
1990- Winning 52 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly Sena’s Manohar Joshi became the opposition leader.
1991- Sena Chief Bal Thackeray was against the report of the Mandal Commision Report and this created a trouble between Thackeray and his close aid Chhagan Bhujbal. Chhagal Bhujbal resigned from Shiv Sena and joined Congress.
1992- In the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid, Sena chief hailed the demolition and made anti-muslim remarks. He even claimed that Shiv Sena played a role in the demolition of Babri. As a consequence, the party lost the Municipal Corporation to Congress in the same year.
1995- Shiv Sena comes to power of Maharashtra assembly in alliance with BJP. Sena wins 73 seats making Manohar Joshi the CM of Maharashtra.
1998- Sri Krishna Commission indicates at Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena’s involvement in Mumbai riots of post-Babri demolition. The riots lasted for 2 months killing 800 people.
1999- Sena-BJP alliance lost power to Congress-NCP in the Assembly election.
2003- Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray was appointed as Executive President of Shiv Sena.
2006- Bal Thackeray’s nephew Raj Thackeray resigns from Shiv Sena to form Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
2009- Shiv Sena loses power in Maharashtra Assembly. Activists of Shiv Sena vandalized offices of Hindi and Marathi news channels.
2012- Party manages to hold power in the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. In the same year Bal Thackeray died making Uddhav the party president.
2014- Managed to get only 63 seats in the Assembly Elections after breaking up alliance with BJP. Post-election the party supported the BJP to be a part of the rulling alliance.
2015- Sena banned concert by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali.
2019- The party broke away from BJP stating that the BJP has not kept promises. Instead, it tied with Indian National Congress and NCP to form the government in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena and Indian National Congress In 1966, when Shiv Sena was formed the politics in Maharashtra was such that the Communists were holding the reign in labour unions making an uncomfortable situation for Congress. Indira was slowiy losing her hold on the undivided state of Bombay. Gaining on the sentiment of the Marathi people, Bal Thackeray attracted the unemployed Marathi youth with his fiery speeches. The butt of his criticism was the Gujarati people who held most of the trades, south Indian migrants coming to the state in search of white collar jobs. Bal Thackeray criticized the policies of the Central government by Congress when Nehru was at the helm. But his relation with Mrs. Indira Gandhi was very warm as he was found to be praising her on numerous occasions. The beginning of Shiv Sena started with Congress’ support as as some leaders of the Congress party were present in the first rally of the Shiv Sena. Balasaheb’s support to the Emergency is well known. He always hailed her as the best PM of India. Of late, Maharashtra Congress President Balasaheb Thorat accepted that Bal Thackeray and Indira Gandhi had a good relations and they stood by each other whenever it was needed. In the late 80s, the son of the soil theory of Shiv Sena started to backlash and the party aligned with BJP taking on the nationalistic Hindutva fervor of BJP. Even then also the party supported Congress whenever it needed. Be it supporting the presidential candidate of Pratibha Patil or criticizing the policies by NaMo government, Shiv Sena had always remained by the side of the Congress.
Bal Thackeray and the Underworld Haji Mastan, Karim Lala Varadarajan Mudaliar ruled the underworld from 60s to 80s. There is a controversy over if Sundar Sekhar was the adopted son of Haji Mastan but his remarks stirred up a political battle between Shiv Sena and Congress. When Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut spoke about Indira Gandhi’s link with Karim Lala, Sundar Sekhar said, “Indira Gandhi used to meet him. Many other leaders also used to visit. Haji Mastan was a businessman. Balasaheb Thackeray too was a good friend of Haji Mastan.” In one such picture that went viral after this Balasaheb is seen to be sitting beside Karim Lala in an event at Patkar Hall.
Shiv Sena and NCP Bal Thackeray and Sharad Pawar maintained a very good relationship from the time they were not in politics. For Thackeray, he had a relation with his “Sharad Babu” which was beyond politics. Both of them used to visit each other’s house very often. Although there was a political enmity, there were times they united in politics. In 1982 Bal Thackeray united with Sharad Pawar and George Fernandes against the trade unionist leader Datta Samant. It was Pawar who persuaded Shiv Sena to support the presidential candidate of Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee. Sharad Pawar, a congress party member then, was present in the first rally of Bal Thackeray where he gave a fiery speech creating hatred towards the migrant workers flocking to Baombay. Of late, Shiv Sena formed an alliance with NCP and Congress to form the government in Maharashtra Assembly in 2019.
Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray Uddhav Thackeray is the youngest son of Bal Thackeray and Meena Thackeray. Until 2002 he was not into active politics. In that year he had been given the post of Campaign incharge in the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections. In the very next year he has been appointed as the working president of the party. He took over as the chief editor of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna in 2006 and held the post up to 2019 until he became the chief minister of Maharashtra. Uddhav’s cousin Raj Thackeray was also an important member of Shiv Sena. Later in 2006 he resigned from the party citing differences with Uddhav and formed his own party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The party won only 1 seat in the 2019 assembly election in Maharashtra.
Finally, it can be said that Shiv Sena was a poltical party that grew on the ideology of the son of the soil aiming against the migrant workers coming to Bombay. It was when the party alligned with BJP, it started picking on the ideology of Hindutva but that too was never consistent over the years as the party maintained alliance with non-hindutva parties like Congress, NCP and Muslim League.
कोरोना वायरस से निपटने और अर्थव्यवस्था को पटरी पर लाने के लिए प्रधानमंत्री मोदी द्वारा जिस पैकेज की घोषणा की गई उसके पहले चरण में उन उपायों की चर्चा की गई है जो मुख्यतः व्यापार एवं एमएसएमई के हितों के संवर्धन पर आधारित थे। इसके पश्चात इस पैकेज का दूसरा भाग जो 14 मई को जनता के सामने लाया गया वह मुख्यतः कृषकों, प्रवासी मजदूरों और रेहड़ी-ठेला लगाने जैसा व्यापार करने वालों पर आधारित है। इस पैकेज का उद्देश्य कृषकों और छोटे व्यापार करने वालों को तरलता के माध्यम से सहायता उपलब्ध कराना है। साथ ही ऐसी व्यवस्था की जा रही है जिससे प्रवासी मजदूरों के खाद्य और आवास संकट को समाप्त किया जा सके।
पैकेज के दूसरे भाग का विस्तृत वर्णन आगे किया जा रहा है।
प्रवासी कामगारों के लिए सभी राज्यों/संघ शासित क्षेत्रों को प्रति कामगार दो महीनों यानी मई और जून, 2020 के लिए प्रति महीने प्रति कामगार 5 किलोग्राम की दर से खाद्यान्न और प्रति परिवार 1 किलोग्राम चना का मुफ्त आवंटन किया जाएगा। राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अधिनियम के दायरे में नहीं आने वाले या राज्य/ संघ शासित क्षेत्रों में बिना राशन कार्ड वाले ऐसे प्रवासी कामगार इसके पात्र होंगे, जो वर्तमान में किसी क्षेत्र में फंसे हुए हैं। राज्यों/ संघ शासित क्षेत्रों को योजना के तहत लक्षित वितरण के लिए एक तंत्र विकसित करने का परामर्श दिया जाएगा। इसके लिए 8 लाख एमटी खाद्यान्न और 50,000 एमटी चने का आवंटन किया जाएगा। इस पर होने वाला कुल 3,500 करोड़ रुपये के व्यय का वहन भारत सरकार द्वारा किया जाएगा।
राशन कार्डों की पोर्टेबिलिटी की पायलट योजना का 23 राज्यों तक विस्तार किया जाएगा। इससे अगस्त, 2020 तक राशन कार्डों की राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर पोर्टेबिलिटी के द्वारा 67 करोड़ लाभार्थियों यानी 83 प्रतिशत पीडीएस आबादी को इसके दायरे में लाया जाएगा। 100 प्रतिशत राष्ट्रीय पोर्टेबिलिटी के लक्ष्य को मार्च, 2021 तक हासिल कर लिया जाएगा। यह प्रधानमंत्री की तकनीक आधारित व्यवस्थागत सुधारों की मुहिम का हिस्सा है। इस योजना से एक प्रवासी कामगार और उनके परिवार के सदस्य देश की किसी भी फेयर प्राइस शॉप से पीडीएस का लाभ लेने में सक्षम हो जाएंगे।
केंद्र सरकार प्रवासी श्रमिकों और शहरी गरीबों के लिए सस्ते किराए पर रहने की सुविधा प्रदान करने के लिए एक योजना शुरू करेगी। सस्ते किराए के ये आवासीय परिसर प्रवासी श्रमिकों, शहरी गरीबों और छात्रों आदि को सामाजिक सुरक्षा और गुणवत्तापूर्ण जीवन प्रदान करेंगे। ऐसा शहरों में सरकारी वित्त पोषित मकानों को रियायती माध्यम से पीपीपी मोड के तहत सस्ते किराए के आवासीय परिसरों (एआरएचसी) में परिवर्तित करके किया जाएगा। विनिर्माण इकाइयां, उद्योग, संस्थाएं अपनी निजी भूमि पर सस्ते किराए के आवासीय परिसरों (एआरएचसी) को विकसित करेंगे और उन्हें संचालित करेंगे। इसी तर्ज पर सस्ते किराये के आवासीय परिसरों (एआरएचसी) को विकसित करने और संचालित करने के लिए राज्य सरकार की एजेंसियों / केंद्र सरकार के संगठनों को प्रेरित किया जाएगा। इस योजना का पूरा विवरण मंत्रालय / विभाग द्वारा जारी किया जाएगा।
भारत सरकार मुद्रा शिशु ऋण लेने वालों में शीघ्र भुगतान करने वालों को 12 महीने की अवधि के लिए 2 फीसदी का ब्याज उपदान प्रदान करेगी, जिनके ऋण 50,000 रुपये से कम के हैं। मुद्रा शिशु ऋणों का वर्तमान पोर्टफोलियो लगभग 1.62 लाख करोड़ रुपये का है। शिशु मुद्रा ऋण लेने वालों को इसमें लगभग 1,500 करोड़ रुपये की राहत मिलेगी।
स्ट्रीट वेंडरों पर मौजूदा स्थिति में सबसे प्रतिकूल प्रभाव पड़ा है। उनको ऋण तक आसान पहुंच की सुविधा देने के लिए एक महीने के भीतर एक विशेष योजना शुरू की जाएगी ताकि उन्हें अपने व्यवसायों को फिर से शुरू करने में सक्षम बनाया जा सके। इस योजना के तहत प्रत्येक उद्यम के लिए 10,000 रुपये की प्रारंभिक कार्यशील पूंजी की बैंक ऋण सुविधा दी जाएगी। यह योजना शहर के साथ-साथ ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों के विक्रेताओं को भी कवर करेगी जो आसपास के शहरी इलाकों में व्यवसाय करते हैं। मौद्रिक पुरस्कारों के माध्यम से डिजिटल भुगतानों के उपयोग और समय पर पुनर्भुगतान को प्रोत्साहित किया जाएगा। ऐसा अनुमान है कि 50 लाख स्ट्रीट वेंडर इस योजना के तहत लाभान्वित होंगे और उन तक 5,000 करोड़ रुपये का ऋण प्रवाहित होगा।
क्रेडिट लिंक्ड सब्सिडी योजना को मध्यम आय समूह के लिए (6 से 18 लाख रुपये के बीच वार्षिक आय) मार्च 2021 तक बढ़ाया जाएगा। इससे 2020-21 के दौरान 2.5 लाख मध्यम आय वाले परिवारों को लाभ होगा और आवासन क्षेत्र में 70,000 करोड़ रुपये से अधिक का निवेश होगा। आवास क्षेत्र को बढ़ावा देकर ये बड़ी संख्या में नौकरियां पैदा करेगा और इस्पात, सीमेंट, परिवहन व अन्य निर्माण सामग्री की मांग को प्रोत्साहित करेगा।
क्षतिपूरक वनीकरण कोष प्रबंधन एवं योजना प्राधिकरण (कैम्पा) के अंतर्गत लगभग 6000 करोड़ रुपये की निधियों का उपयोग शहरी क्षेत्रों सहित वनीकरण एवं वृक्षारोपण कार्यों, कृत्रिम पुनरुत्पादन, सहायता प्राप्त प्राकृतिक पुनरुत्पादन, वन प्रबंधन, मृदा एवं आर्द्रता संरक्षण कार्यों, वन सरंक्षण, वन एवं वन्यजीव संबंधी बुनियादी सुविधाओं के विकास, वन्यजीव संरक्षण एवं प्रबंधन आदि में किया जाएगा। भारत सरकार 6000 करोड़ रुपये तक की इन योजनाओं को तत्काल स्वीकृति प्रदान करेगी। इससे शहरी, अर्ध-शहरी और ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में और जनजातीय (आदिवासियों) के लिए रोजगार के अवसरों का सृजन होगा।
ग्रामीण सहकारी बैंकों और आरआरबी की फसल ऋण आवश्यकता को पूरा करने के लिए नाबार्ड 30,000 करोड़ रुपये की अतिरिक्त पुनर्वित्तीयन सहायता प्रदान करेगा। यह पुनर्वित्त फ्रंट-लोडेड (असमान रूप से आवंटित) और मांग के अनुसार प्राप्य होगा। यह 90,000 करोड़ रुपये से अतिरिक्त राशि है, जो सामान्यत: इस क्षेत्र को नाबार्ड द्वारा प्रदान की जाएगी। इससे लगभग 3 करोड़ किसानों को फायदा होगा, जिनमें ज्यादातर छोटे और सीमांत हैं और इससे उनकी रबी की फसल कटाई के बाद और खरीफ की मौजूदा जरूरते पूरी होंगी।
किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड योजना के तहत 2.5 करोड़ किसानों को 2 लाख करोड़ रुपये का ऋण प्रोत्साहन, पीएम-किसान के लाभार्थियों को किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड के माध्यम से रियायती ऋण प्रदान करने के लिए एक विशेष अभियान है। मछुआरे और पशुपालक किसान भी इस अभियान में शामिल किए जाएंगे। इससे कृषि क्षेत्र में 2 लाख करोड़ रुपये की अतिरिक्त नकदी आएगी। इसके तहत 2.5 करोड़ किसानों को कवर किया जाएगा।
वास्तव में इस पैकेज की विशेषता ही यही है की इसमें तात्कालिक और दीर्घकालिक उपायों की चर्चा की गई है। भारत में असंगठित क्षेत्र इतना विशाल है कि यह सम्पूर्ण उपलब्ध रोजगार का लगभग 93% भाग कवर करता है। कोरोना वायरस का सबसे बुरा प्रभाव इसी असंगठित क्षेत्र पर पड़ा है। इसमें किसान, छोटे व्यापारी, रेहड़ी-पटरी वाले, निर्माण क्षेत्रों में कार्य करने वाले मजदूर तथा स्व रोजगार में संलग्न कामगार सम्मिलित हैं।
इन सभी को आगामी भविष्य के लिए तैयार करने और वर्तमान संकट से उबारने के लिए यह पैकेज लाभकारी सिद्ध होगा। हालाँकि राज्यों को अब रोजगार निर्माण की दिशा में कार्य करना होगा क्योंकि जो मजदूर और कामगार महाराष्ट्र, गुजरात और कर्णाटक जैसे राज्यों को छोड़कर वापस आ रहे हैं उनमें से अधिकतर इन राज्यों की ओर वापस लौटने में संकोच करेंगे। ऐसे में उत्तर प्रदेश, बिहार और मध्य प्रदेश जैसे राज्यों को अपने स्थानीय स्तर पर रोजगार मुहैया कराने के उपायों पर विचार करना होगा। तात्कालिक रूप से असंगठित क्षेत्र ही बहुतायत मात्रा में रोजगार सृजन कर सकता है। इसी परिप्रेक्ष्य में यह आर्थिक सुधारों का पैकेज महत्वपूर्ण हो जाता है।
Bangla Pokkho is one movement to watch out for. They claim to be the outfit fighting for the rights of Bengalis. They also claim to fight for and on behalf of Bengalis over veg vs non-veg food, including Bengali as a medium in government tests, and domination of the Hindi belt in Parliament. They claim that they are doing this for Bengal and the Bengalis. Garga Chatterjee who is connected with TMC is associated with Bangla Pokkho.
Prima Facie, it would look like any regional linguistic movement, like Shiv Sena’s Marathi Maanoos (Person) and Marathi Asmita (Pride) movement, or Tamizh Pride that Dravidian Parties project. But if we scratch the surface we will observe that it is a very smartly devised separatist movement under the guise of linguistic regionalistic sub-nationalism. This is very much in line with the Kashmiriyat that uses local Kashmiri identity as a cover to hide the islamist orientation of Kashmiri separatist movement.
The underlying agenda of Bangla Pokkho movement is United / Greater Bengal / Bangladesh which includes East Bengal (now Bangladesh), West Bengal (part of India), Assam, and Tripura.
In 1947, during Independence of India, Muslim League supported the idea of independence of United Bengal into a separate country. Muslim League knew that it would then aggressively take over the control of Independent United Bengal by demographics and violence and convert it into what current Bangladesh is. As per the plan, Constituent Assembly of Free State of United Bengal would have 30 seats, with Muslims having 16 seats, and non- Muslims (including Europeans) having 14 seats. So, Muslim League knew that they had a majority and could easily steer the state in the direction it wanted, including total Islamisation of the state.
It appears that successors of remnants of Muslim League who stayed back in India and those who migrated to East Pakistan (or even West Pakistan?) haven’t forgotten the grand idea and agenda of their ancestors of having the whole of Bengal, along with Assam and Tripura in their control. The work on regaining control over that lost out part started long ago with series of illegal immigration of Bangladeshi Muslims into India. They acquired ration cards, voter identity cards, and other documents and even land and property in India, at times by displacing locals – especially in parts of Assam and Northern Bengal. This is how they managed to change the demography in favor of Greater Bengal.
After acquiring demographic domination, next step is militant domination and control over the newly encroached area. This is what was happening in Malda in 2016 and now in parts of Kolkata and other places. Malda was a success wherein they were able to paralyse the administration and prove their domination and instill their rule over the area. However, they have started seeing resistance from non-Bengali Hindus who are in huge numbers in parts of Kolkata and other places in Bengal.
Garga Chatterjee’s tweet that created outrage in non-Bengalis and many Bengalis must be seen from this prism of separating Bengal from India and the threat that non-Bengali Hindus (read: Biharis) pose to Islamists in their agenda to take over Bengal from India and merge it with Bangladesh. Creating hate towards Biharis and getting them out of Bengal helps the Islamist agenda of grabbing control over Bengal. Later on the highly educated intellectual secular liberal Bengali Bhodrolok would manage the remaining part of unfinished agenda of agitating against Indian Government’s domination of Bengal and try to get Bengal separated from India. If you read their language you will realise that Bangal Pokkho Gang (read: TMC and Islamists) looks at India as a Federation of States and not as a Union of States. This is exactly the same narrative used by Islamist Separatists in Kashmir who claim that India is a Federation of States and not an Union of States and hence any State has the right to separate from the Nation. Again like Kashmir, Islamists have successfully managed to mask the Islamist agenda of breaking India, with the cover of linguistic regionalistic sub-nationalism, which is Kashmiriyat in Kashmir and now Bangal Pokkho in Bengal.
This again takes us back to 1947, when the then Muslim League member and Prime Minister of Assam Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla wanted whole of Assam to be merged in East Pakistan, and if that was not possible then at least merge Muslim dominated parts of Assam in East Pakistan. For this he went to the extent of importing East Bengali Muslims in Assam way back before independence to change the demographics of Assam and tilt it in favor of Pakistan. Thanks to Gopinath Bordoloi, Assam is now in India. However, now when we look at Assam, we see many Assamese hating Bengalis (exactly the way many Bengalis hate Biharis, Marwadis, Odiyas, etc etc in Bengal and plausibly outside Bengal too). Again the same agenda – first make Assamese fight with Bengalis and then of course Assamese and Bengali believers will be united to dominate Assam and bring it under the Greater Bengal / Bangladesh fold.
Trying times ahead for India, as descendants of those who voted for Muslim League – irrespective of whether they stayed back in India or migrated to Pakistan work on the unfinished agenda of acquiring what they couldn’t take in 1947. Jinnah had then called the manner in which India was partitioned and Pakistan was created as “mutilated, moth-eaten Pakistan”. If the descendants of Muslim League voters are successful, Jinnah would finally be happy, from wherever he would be seeing the unfinished agenda being completed. Lets not forget the slogan that they repeat umpteen number of times: “Hans ke liya hai Pakistan, Ladke lenge Hindustan”. Secular liberal Hindus are useful idiots in this Great Game.
All India Computer Graphic Artist and Co-Workmen’s Association (AICGAA)
Press Brief
On 20th March 2020, Ministry of Labour & Employment – Government of India had clearly advised all employers not to terminate any employee from job or not to reduce their wages. Again on 29th March Government of India vide order No 40 -3/2020-DM-I(A) of Home Secretary, GOI has issued additional directions under Section 10(2)(i) of the Disaster Management Act 2005 which clearly directs that all the employers shall make payment of wages of their workers at their workplace on the due date, without any deduction for the period their establishments are under closure during the lockdown. But unfortunately many employees are facing salary cut, job termination or unpaid forced leaves. On 12th April Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd. had served a notice to their employees mentioning that they will deduct the salary from April 2020 and will continue to pay the deducted amount in next three months. On 22th April Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd. has served a notice again stating that 60% salary will be deducted for next three months. Unfortunately on 7th May they informed that all employees are being sent to leave without pay.
The All India Computer Graphic Artist and Co-Workmen’s Association (AICGAA) strongly condemns this kind of retrenchment or salary cut during the lock down period or after that. We believe that all the MNCs or other companies must extend their support to their employees during this crisis. AICGAA demanded on 10th May, 2020, immediate intervention for cancellation of all job termination by Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd and to reinstate the employees with a proper compensation for mental harassment and ill-treatment.
In this connection Mr. Saubhik Bhattacharya, The General Secretary of AICGAA stated that it is the violation of instruction under Disaster Management Act 2005 by Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd should be deemed as a punishable offence under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). “We solicit your immediate intervention so that these companies can be restrained from unfair labour practices amidst in this worst ever national crisis. We are afraid, if these types of issues are not addressed strictly then mass retrenchment will be a trend for the MNCs in grabbing profit, placing the workers to worst situation.”
AICGAA
On against of this complain by AICGAA the labour commissioner of Maharashtra state Govt. issued one notice to the management of M/s Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd. Stating not to incorporate any wage cut of any employees working there and the company has to pay their dues as immediate as stated. Otherwise it will be treated as a punishable offense and will be examined under strict judiciary process.
It is a victory of AICGAA against mass lay off / wage cut by the private IT & ITES companies nationwide, as stated by one of the employees of Legend Artists Pvt. Ltd.
For more details contact: Contact: Mr.Saubhik Bhattacharya– GS (AICGAA)-9830090202
The Corona virus has struck the world a deadly blow – and it is not done with packing its punches, yet.
While it has led to wide-scale disruptions across industries and businesses alike, there is a strong public sentiment – mostly as outrage against the government, in support of the many and many migrant laborers who have had to suffer the most during these dire times.
While one cannot shy away from this fact, there is possibly a silver lining amidst this grim situation as well – the Aam Janta has finally started to talk about the welfare of these migrants stuck without food and other essential items in various parts of the country. Or at least, they seem to do so on various Social Media platforms.
There is a growing concern among netizens about the whole migrants-movement situation- possibly triggered by the series of photos floating around the digital ethos, that captures the anxiety, desperation and helplessness of these migrants. The opposition too, has taken the government to the cleaners on its supposedly “ill-preparation” for performing this exercise. It is, however to be noticed, it is at the demand of a few states only that the centre was made to arrange for the movement of the laborers. But the buck doesn’t stop there.
A public discourse is being created on Social Media to blame each of these casualties on the central and state government(s), practically resulting in constant media trials of those in power. While questioning those in power is a healthy democratic exercise, there have been incidents in recent times, where people have gone far too ahead with their slap-stick judgments and criticisms of the government. All of this brings us to our most important question – Is this a sign that we do really care for these migrants? Well, the reality is far from what it seems, if we look closely.
There are some observations around migrant labor and the pre-Corona laws protecting it in India that are worth taking notice:
According to this report, there are close to 139 Million migrant laborers across India.
This article explains how 80% of India’s total workforce comprises of migrant workers – factory hands, delivery boys, loaders, cooks, painters, rickshaw pullers – You name it.
These migrants form the largest chunk of India’s vast unorganized work sector. However, due to the lack of critical skills, information and bargaining power, migrant workers often get caught in exploitative labour arrangements that forces them to work in low-end, low-value, hazardous work.
These migrant laborers have very little immunity in terms of job protection. According to this article, the Industrial Employment(Standing Orders) Central amendment rules, 2018 doesn’t require a notice of termination for a temporary workman. Further, it also does not hold fixed-term workman eligible for any kind of termination notice or pay in lieu thereof as and when their contract expires. So, basically they live everyday with a fear of getting fired every day. Just imagine that!
The compensation for injuries to workers in the course of employment are the lowest in India as compared to other sectors, as per the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923.
While the Interstate Migrant Workmen Act 1979 guarantees to protect workers whose services are requisitioned outside their native states in India, it is generally not observed in good spirit. Recently, we saw how some of the state governments such as Maharashtra and New Delhi did not comply with this.
So, it is very clear that the migrants anyway had to suffer due to these existing laws – whether Corona came into the picture or not. Had the so-called perennial sympathizers been so vocal in discussing these issues earlier, we could have dealt this situation better.
On a different note, we Indians seem to care about gaining attention a lot. Any prevailing issue which seems to get a lot of limelight – by media and other controversial segments of the society – is an automatic choice to be followed subsequently, while other important issues are often kept at bay. For instance, it was easier to convince people that CAA will drive a certain section of society out from the country and create a total ruckus of the judicial and democratic system of the country. People gave blind support to those agitations, without even being fully aware of the act – in ink as well as in spirit.
While issues such as Migrant Labor rights and their upliftment don’t generate the amount of mileage as we would expect to. For example, one of the most ominous threats – climate change – is hardly discussed as part of general discourse in India. Forget arranging dialogues, people very often have a devil-may-care attitude towards solving this crisis. Another example is of poverty, which has been India’s achilles’ heel on the path of its long-awaited glory. After around 70 years of independence, we still have around 30% of our population living under Rupees 35 per day.
Of course, there are people who have come forward to offer services for the benefit of these migrants. While no act of kindness is small, these people are setting exceptional examples in terms of providing assistance to the stranded migrants who continue to walk on foot on way to their hometowns. This is the need of the hour -these being unprecedented times, demand active participation from the citizens. A well collaborated effort which includes the government, NGOs, as well as the willing citizens is required to fight this Pandemic.
So next time when you see someone cribbing about the migrant crisis – you know what to do – ask them if they really care and do something about it. While the government is trying its best to cater to the requests of all classes of the society, in case there are some voids left, we must try to see if we can fill those.
For any elected government in the world in the world performs only as good as the people who have elected it. PERIOD.
The Kashmir dispute dates from 1947. The partition of the Indian sub-continent along religious lines led to the formation of India and Pakistan. However, there remained the problem of over 650 states, run by princes, existing within the two newly independent countries.
In theory, these princely states had the option of deciding which country to join, or of remaining independent. In practice, the restive population of each province proved decisive. The people had been fighting for freedom from British rule, and with their struggle about to bear fruit they were not willing to let the princes fill the vacuum.
Although many princes wanted to be “independent” (which would have meant hereditary monarchies and no hope for democracy) they had to succumb to their people’s protests which turned violent in many provinces.
Because of its location, Kashmir could choose to join either India or Pakistan. Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, was Hindu while most of his subjects were Muslim. Unable to decide which nation Kashmir should join, Hari Singh chose to remain neutral. But his hopes of remaining independent were dashed in October 1947, as Pakistan sent in Muslim tribesmen who were knocking at the gates of the capital Srinagar.
Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for military assistance and fled to India. He signed the Instrument of Accession, ceding Kashmir to India on October 26.
INITIATION OF INDO-PAK CONFLICT:
Indian and Pakistani forces thus fought their first war over Kashmir in 1947-48. India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January. In a resolution dated August 13, 1948, the UN asked Pakistan to remove its troops, after which India was also to withdraw the bulk of its forces. Once this happened, a “free and fair” plebiscite was to be held to allow the Kashmiri people to decide their future.
India, having taken the issue to the UN, was confident of winning a plebiscite, since the most influential Kashmiri mass leader, Sheikh Abdullah, was firmly on its side. An emergency government was formed on October 30, 1948 with Sheikh Abdullah as the Prime Minister. Pakistan ignored the UN mandate and continued fighting, holding on to the portion of Kashmir under its control. On January 1, 1949, a ceasefire was agreed, with 65 per cent of the territory under Indian control and the remainder with Pakistan. The ceasefire was intended to be temporary but the Line of Control remains the de facto border between the two countries.
In 1957, Kashmir was formally incorporated into the Indian Union. It was granted a special status under Article 370 of India’s constitution, which ensures, among other things, that non-Kashmiri Indians cannot buy property there.
WHAT IS ARTICLE 370?
Article 370 was the basis of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to the Indian union at a time when erstwhile princely states had the choice to join either India or Pakistan after their independence from the British rule in 1947.
Included in the Constitution on October 17, 1949, Article 370 exempts J&K from the Indian Constitution (except Article 1 and Article 370 itself) and permits the state to draft its own Constitution. It restricts Parliament’s legislative powers in respect of J&K. For extending a central law on subjects included in the Instrument of Accession (IoA), mere “consultation” with the state government is needed. But for extending it to other matters, “concurrence” of the state government is mandatory. The IoA came into play when the Indian Independence Act, 1947 divided British India into India and Pakistan.
WHAT IS ARTICLE 35-A?
This article comes under the provisions of article 370 from the presidential order for territorial regulations. The article permits the local legislature in Indian-administered Kashmir to define permanent residents of the region. It forbids outsiders from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs or winning education scholarships in the region.
The article, referred to as the Permanent Residents Law, also bars female residents of Jammu and Kashmir from property rights in the event that they marry a person from outside the state. The provision also extends to such women’s children. While Article 35A has remained unchanged, some aspects of Article 370 have been diluted over the decades.
WHY WAS IT ABOLISHED?
The ruling BJP and its right-wing allies have challenged Article 35A which it calls discriminatory, through a series of petitions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had long opposed Article 370 and revoking it was in the party’s 2019 election manifesto. They argued it needed to be scrapped to integrate Kashmir and put it on the same footing as the rest of India. After returning to power with a massive mandate in the April-May general elections, the government lost no time in acting on its pledge. Critics of Monday’s move are linking it to the economic slowdown that India is currently facing – they say it provides a much-needed diversion for the government.
WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?
Kashmir will no longer have a separate constitution but will have to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state. All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris, and people from outside the state will be able to buy property there. The government says this will bring development to the region.
“I want to tell the people of Jammu and Kashmir what damage Articles 370 and 35A did to the state,” Mr Shah told parliament. “It’s because of these sections that democracy was never fully implemented, corruption increased in the state, that no development could take place.”
The government is also moving to break up the state into two smaller, federally administered territories. One region will combine Muslim-majority Kashmir and Hindu-majority Jammu. The other is Buddhist-majority Ladakh, which is culturally and historically close to Tibet.
CRITICSMS:
Abrogation of article 370 has generated many emotions, from celebration to anger, from euphoria to despondency, from pride to humiliation, it has seen a wide spectrum of emotions reflected through millions of conversations through social media.
Tensions between the two countries has spiked since India abrogated the article 370. India’s decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, and it has downgraded the diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian ambassador. Many criticised the abrogation of article 370 as assault to the constitution and undemocratic.
Points to ponder post annulment of article 370
Valley politicians will join hands
Kashmiri politicians may not be the only channels of communication between New Delhi and the Valley, but within the Valley, they do influence opinions. On the other hand, it is also increasingly felt that the separatists do not represent the voice of the entire state. Given the widespread aversion to the BJP in the Valley, it has been difficult for New Delhi to have an open debate even with the Kashmiri society. Today’s announcement, therefore, will increase this difficulty and deepen the mistrust.
Radicalisation and recruitment will increase
Terrorism in Kashmir is a parasite that has survived on the killings of local Kashmiri boys. It has used every episode in its history of violence to nurture the feeling of hatred, alienation and subjugation among young Kashmiris to breed new terror recruits. From Maqbool Bhat to Afzal Guru to Burhan Wani – every fallen Kashmiri has been eulogised and projected as heroes. While there is no barometer to assess the levels of radicalisation, the figures of terrorists killed in post-Burhan Wani days in the Valley is an indication enough to understand how issues related to the Valley are exploited to further radicalisation.
Chance for Pakistan to internationalise Kashmir
After remaining on the backfoot for a while on the Kashmir issue, finally Islamabad has found an issue with the help of which it can internationalise the matter.
Suggestions for economic development of Kashmir
Elimination of terrorists.
Encouragement of tourism
Export of indigenous apples, tulips, saffron, Kashmiri chillies etc
12th May 2020, 8 PM, address to the nation by PM Modi shall be remembered for generations to come. I am not talking about the 20-lakh crore package announced to bring economy on track suffering due to pandemic. Let’s bring clarity on broader level. We have been destroyed economically and socially by Mughals then britishers for long. Even after independence, our minds have been poisoned that we cannot be the good manufactures and service providers than China and other developed nations. Slowly, we became addicted to Chinese products, just check in your house how many commodities are made in China, even we started buying idols, Diyas, such a mental slavery and dependency on China for our living and other requirements, a country which always backstabbed us, supported our enemy nation Pakistan and its terrorists to kill our civilians and soldiers.
Naxalism in India is created and supported by China. Never supported India on international platform rather opposed and helped terrorizing our soil. They never consider part of North East and J&K as an integral part of India. Still, the laws and structures set by our previous governments created difficult situations and literally mental torture by many bureaucrats and politicians to anyone who wished to start a manufacturing or service industry, Keeping our economy much weaker than China. Thanks to resilience and perseverance of our stalwarts like Tata, Ambani, Aziz Premji, Mahindra and many more who brought glory and confidence in Indians about our capabilities even under adverse conditions.
That’s why PM’s address is vital. He taught us how to convert adversity into opportunity. He clearly indicated that we need to focus on local manufacturers and service providers (Make in India) and stop using Chinese products. More we become self-reliant; more we will become powerful in the world. Economy will be further strengthened, living standards will improve, reduced unemployment and most important, we will focus more on research and development.
We are turning powerful doesn’t mean that we will take control of other nations sovereignty but our culture teaches us to help them with the knowledge, resources, products, services, etc for the betterment of everyone on the planet as we believe in “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
On the path of AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT, we have so many challenges to overcome, especially with regard to quality, delivery, service, bureaucracy, political will and stability. PM has already shown his spine to handle it at international level and efforts to make it happen on ground level by announcing big package and changing the mindset by saying “Local ke liye Vocal Bano”, his words and actions are always taken seriously by Indians, recent examples are lighting diyas and Thali bajao at a particular time. More actions will be declared soon.
Lot of measures have been taken by Modi government to reduce control of bureaucracy (Red tapism) resulted in increase in FDI, but it is not adequate to enable quantum jump which PM said in his address. More actions on ease of governance, most of the approvals through online mechanism, lowering interest rates, confidence building measures, creating awareness about the importance of local through various social organisations and NGO. Attracting industries/investment those who wants to shift their base from China.
Quality will also play an important role. “Chalta hai” attitude will not work anymore, whatever we manufacture or provide services, has to be of international quality or else will be difficult to retain even local customers. As PM mentioned, we have to create a local brand which can become global brand, for that we need to have quality in everything, delivery on time and timely service.
We need not forget that we are living in an era of globalization. While ensuring local, we need to respect products and services from friendly countries, we have to fight against enemy nations and not against countries which supports us on various fronts as a friend
Pankaj Jagannath Jayswal Author, Educationist, counsellor, AOL Faculty, Electrical Engineer. Coming books in May: Youth: Reflection of Universe in English and Hindi
जिला गोपालगंज का नाम सुने हैं? जी हाँ वही गोपालगंज जिसे वीरभूमि कहते हैं। माँ थावे धाम कहा जाता है गोपालगंज की हर माँ अपनी मातृभूमि की रक्षा हेतु एक बेटा जरूर पैदा करती है। उसी गोपालगंज में मस्जिद को शक्तिशाली बनाने के लिए बच्चे की दी बलि, पुलिस प्रताड़ना के बाद हिन्दू परिवार को छोड़ना पड़ा गाँव…
जी हाँ, चौकिए मत..
इस घटना नें गोपालगंज की धरती को शर्मसार कर दिया..
बिहार में पुलिस और प्रशासन की असंवेदनशीलता का एक ऐसा नज़ारा देखने को मिला कि कोई भी काँप उठे। एक असहाय और ग़रीब परिवार के बच्चे को मस्जिद में ले जाकर मार डाला गया। इसके बाद उसे नदी में फेंक दिया गया। जब माता-पिता पुलिस के पास शिकायत लेकर पहुँचे तो उन्हें पुलिस ने मारा-पीटा। मजबूरन उन्हें घर छोड़ कर भागना पड़ा। अब वो उत्तर प्रदेश के एक इलाक़े में रह रहे हैं।
राजेश जायसवाल का परिवार ग़रीब है, जो पकौड़े बेच कर अपना गुजर-बसर करता था। मार्च 28, 2020 को कुछ लड़के आए और उनके नाबालिग बच्चे को क्रिकेट खेलने के बहाने बुला कर ले गए। पीड़ित राजेश ने मीडियाकर्मी से बात करते हुए बताया कि ये सभी बच्चे मुसलमान थे।
उनका कहना है कि उनके 15 वर्षीय बेटे रोहित को पहले मस्जिद में ले जाया गया, जहाँ उसकी ‘बलि’ दी गई। गाँव में नया मस्जिद बना है। मुस्लिमों के बीच ये चर्चा आम थी कि अगर किसी हिन्दू की ‘बलि’ दे दी जाए तो मस्जिद शक्तिशाली हो जाएगा और इसका प्रभाव बढ़ जाएगा। राजेश का कहना है कि असल में बच्चों के बहाने उनके नाबालिग बेटे को बुलाया गया। मस्जिद में उन बच्चों के गार्जियन पहले से इन्तजार कर रहे थे, जिन्होंने इस घटना को अंजाम दिया।
राजेश जब पुलिस के पास अपनी शिकायत लेकर पहली बार गए थे, तब थानाध्यक्ष अश्विनी तिवारी रिपोर्ट लिखने में आनाकानी कर रहे थे। उन्होंने यहाँ तक कहा कि वो राजेश को सरकार से 8 लाख रुपए बतौर मुआवजा दिला देंगे और उन्हें एफआईआर नहीं दर्ज करानी चाहिए। राजेश का आरोप है कि पुलिस ने पोस्टमॉर्टम रिपोर्ट भी अपने मन मुताबिक बनवाई। बच्चे के मृत शरीर को 2-3 मिनट के लिए अंदर ले जाया गया और पोस्टमॉर्टम कर लिए जाने की बात कही गई।
The Covid-19 lockdown has forced one to look beyond books for meaningfully passing one’s time. I was never much for watching TV, especially the dreadful soaps that competed for eyeballs on various channels. News had turned into screaming competitions, with anchors rotating a known panel of experts (?) on every subject under the sun. These experts moved from one channel to another mouthing platitudes, openly exposing their biases (mainly anti-Modi, anti-Hindu, and often anti-Indian.) So, disgusted with the state of the TV industry in India, I did not renew my Tatasky subscription from August 2019. Until the lockdown in March, I did not miss anything. Social media was there to help remain abreast with the latest relevant information. But, once forced indoors, I decided to have a look at the streaming platforms, Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon Video.
A couple of days ago I discovered that Amazon Video had a large library of regional Indian cinema, and while browsing through the Bengali section I came across the film “Gumnaami.” It is a 2019 film that dramatizes the Mukherjee Commission Hearings that took place from 1999 to 2005 trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance and death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The protagonist, Chandrachur Dhar, a journalist, urged by his editor to delve deep into the Netaji files, gets so obsessed with his subject that he loses track of everything else. He resigns from his job, his wife walks out, while he puts together a team of “Mission Netaji” investigators who collect volumes of data that cast more than sufficient doubt on the official theory that Netaji died in a plane crash in Saigon and whose ashes are even now kept in the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan.
Poster of the Film
The film is well-researched-and-scripted. A more-than-watchable film, “Gumnaami” leaves you with a number of questions that any government should have answered long ago. But, as the final captions show, the original mystery continues to remain shrouded in secrecy, for reasons that should not have continued to exist after May 2014. We still do not know why the Nehru Government continued to spy on the Bose family till as late as 1964, the year of Nehru’s death, even though the official stand was that Netaji died in 1945. Although some 2204 files on Netaji have been declassified till date, we are nowhere closer to the truth. Following the order of the Allahabad High Court on 31st January 2013, an investigation was launched under Justice V. M. Sahai to ascertain the identity of “Gumnaami Baba.” The investigation was wound up in September 2017 (3 years after Narendra Modi became PM) but its findings continue to remain under wraps. The DNA testing of the ashes in the Renkoji Temple could have conclusively established if they were actually those of Netaji, but again, this investigation has not been undertaken.
The last caption at the end of the film reads:
“Hence, till date, Gumnaami Baba remains a fraud and a petty impostor for some, an IB plant to divert attention from the fact that Netaji was killed in Russia for some others, and for the rest, the true liberator of India, and possibly the greatest freedom fighter, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.”
One would think that the BJP would be happy to grab the chance of adopting Subhas Chandra Bose as a national icon, just like it did with Sardar Patel. The fact that Patel remained a loyal Congressman till his death did not come in the way of the BJP appropriating his legacy and giving him a larger than life stature in Gujarat and India. In Bose’s case the appropriation would have been much easier. The Congress had already dumped him as a war criminal and would have gladly handed him over to the Allied Powers had he been apprehended alive. Bose had every reason to disappear and fake his death to avoid capture and possible execution. But his image among the masses as an intrepid soldier devoted to the cause of Indian independence was much larger than that of any other leader of his times. If Clement Attlee said that it was not Gandhi but Bose and his INA that forced the British to quit India, he was only speaking the truth. After independence, however, Bose was quickly erased from history books to make space for a larger than life Nehru.
One can understand the reluctance of the Nehruvians to recognize Bose and his contribution in the struggle for freedom. After all he was against the idea of Indian soldiers fighting the Imperialist’s wars, and ready to take up arms against them instead. He did not hesitate to look for help from the Axis allies in pursuit of his goals. The Congress always used this rope to hang him with. He was certainly not in favour of Partition and had he been around, would not have permitted Jinnah and Mountbatten to prevail upon Gandhi and Nehru to accept a truncated free India.
Why has the BJP not pursued this avenue? What is there in the classified papers that even Modi and Shah wish to keep under lock and key? Are any of the leaders of the erstwhile Hindu Mahasabha, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, or RSS implicated in the Bose cover-up? This is a question that needs to be asked and answered. Netaji was every inch a Nationalist, and for a party that professes Nationalism as its creed, he would be an ideal icon. This son of Bengal has the same place in the hearts of the common people as Swami Vivekananda. Isn’t it obvious that by giving Netaji his due and appropriate position in the National pantheon, the BJP would be correcting a historic injustice, and thereby winning the trust and confidence of the people of Bengal?
The second Bose whom the nation has forgotten is Rash Behari Bose. Born in 1886 in a small village Subaldaha, in Purba Bardhaman district of Bengal, Rash Behari Bose came under the influence of a group of revolutionaries while working at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. He was part of the failed assassination attempt at the Red Fort in Delhi on the life of Lord Hardinge, Governor General & Viceroy of India, on 23rd December 1912. Forced to go into hiding, Bose later emerged as one of the leading figures of the Gadar Revolution that attempted to trigger a mutiny in India in February 1915, while most of the British Indian Army soldiers were deployed in the European theatre during World War I. The revolution failed, most of the leaders were arrested, but Rash Behari, like Subhas, escaped the dragnet, and reached Japan in 1915. When the British discovered where he was hiding, they put a lot of pressure on the Japanese Government to extradite him to India. To avoid that eventuality, Bose married Toshiko Soma, the daughter of Aizō Sōma and Kokkō Sōma, the owners of Nakamuraya Bakery in Tokyo, and became a Japanese citizen in 1923, living as a journalist and writer. His extraordinary talents led him to create a new Indian-style curry in Japan. Though more expensive than the usual English style curry, it became quite popular with the locals, and Rash Behari earned the sobriquet “Bose of Nakamuraya.”
As a Japanese citizen, he was able to influence the Government to extend Japan’s support for Indian independence. Bose convened a conference in Tokyo on 28-30th March 1942, and mooted the idea of establishing the Indian Independence League. It was Rash Behari Bose who first proposed the motion to raise an army for Indian Independence. A second conference was convened at Bangkok on 22nd June 1942, in which it was resolved to invite Subhas Chandra Bose to join the League and be appointed as its President.
Rash Behari Bose (Courtesy: Storypick)
The genesis of the Indian National Army (INA) that Subhas Chandra Bose raised on 1st September 1942 with prisoners of war of the British Indian Army captured by the Japanese in Burma and Malaya, is in Rash Behari Bose’s Indian Independence League. It was he, who selected the flag of the Azad Hind Fauj, and created the organizational structure we know today as Subhas Bose’s INA. Rash Behari Bose died in Tokyo on 21st of January 1945. He was 58. His successor disappeared from public view six months later in an alleged plane crash in Taipei, Taiwan on 18th August 1945.
The third Bose, and perhaps the most daring of them all was the 18 years old Khudiram Bose, born barely two weeks after Jawaharlal Lal Nehru, on 3rd December 1889, and hanged by the British on 11th August 1908. A quintessential revolutionary, Khudiram was indicted in the Muzaffarpur Conspiracy Case, involving the attempted assassination of a British magistrate, Douglas Kinford, when a bomb was thrown on his carriage. As luck would have it, the magistrate was seated in a different carriage, and therefore, escaped the attempt. However, two British ladies died in the bombing. Khudiram had a co-conspirator, Prafulla Chaki, who committed suicide before being captured, leaving the 18 year old to face the wrath of the imperialist judicial system alone. He was sentenced to death, and even though persuaded to appeal against it, the system persisted in imposing the maximum penalty, resulting in his hanging in Calcutta.
Khudiram Bose Archives, Chhatisgarh
One of the youngest martyrs to espouse the cause of India’s independence from the imperialist yoke, Khudiram’s story inspires awe and wonder! A boy who had not yet crossed his teens gladly went to the gallows, with his spine straight, and with Vande Mataram on his lips. Predictably, Mahatma Gandhi lamented the death of the two women, while denouncing Khudiram’s act of violence. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, writing in his paper “Kesari” defended Khudiram and Prafulla, and gave the call for immediate Swaraj. Tilak was promptly arrested by the British and charged with “sedition.”
Apart from the three Boses, the BJP would do well to adopt the 1930 Chittagong Armoury Raid conspirators, led by Surya Sen, a schoolteacher by profession. In 1918 Surya Sen was elected as President of the Chittagong branch of the Indian National Congress. Sen recruited a group of young revolutionaries that included Anant Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and Lokenath Baul, organizing anti-imperialist activities and participated in the non-cooperation movement. He was arrested and jailed for two years between 1926 and 1928. The Chittagong Armoury Raid was a daring exploit in which some 80 British troops and about a dozen revolutionaries lost their lives. The revolutionaries did succeed in seizing the arms but failed to capture the ammunition. They hoisted the Indian National Flag above the Armoury and then escaped into the nearby Jalalabad Hills. They were surrounded by the avenging British forces, and in a fierce battle that ensued, a number of the revolutionaries died, while some were captured, but some, including Surya Sen, managed to flee.
Masterda Surya Sen (From Facebook)
Surya Sen moved from place to place, finding shelter with different people, but was eventually betrayed by a man called Netra Sen. He was tried, and hanged on 12th January 1934, barely 40 years of age. In his last letter Sen wrote:
“Death is knocking at my door. My mind is flying away towards eternity. At such a pleasant, at such a grave, at such a solemn moment, what shall I leave behind you? Only one thing that is my dream, a golden dream – the dream of free India. Never forget the date, 18th of April 1930, the day of the eastern Rebellion in Chittagong. Write in red letters in the core of your hearts the names of the patriots who have sacrificed their lives at the altar of India’s freedom.”
Free India celebrated the lives of these revolutionaries with whole libraries of books, and occasional films. But, generally, the political establishments have conspired to either ignore them or pay some lip service by naming an obscure railway station, road, or building after them. No posthumous Bharat Ratna has been awarded to them, while so many unworthy politicians have actually diminished the lustre of this award.
All of them belonged to the land of Bengal. First the Congress, then the Communists studiously ignored them. Mamata, of course, has no connection with Bharat and is busy appeasing those who promoted Partition. In her search for vote banks she has embraced those who would not mind breaking India apart into a thousand pieces.
The revolutionaries of Bengal can be a powerful magnet to bring together the forces of consolidation, to repel divisiveness and to give shape to their dream of a truly “free India.” The BJP would do well to recognize their contribution, adopt them as its icons, and put them on a pedestal like it did with Sardar Patel. For a start, it could nominate all of them for the Bharat Ratna award, thereby bringing honour to it.
In the assembly elections due next year BJP will need more than Tollywood heroes to defeat the present incumbents. The three Boses could perhaps turn the tide in its favour. Are J. P. Nadda, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi willing to undo the wrongs of history and redeem the pride of Bengal with these real heroes?
