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पालघर हत्या या द्वेष?

Gautam Kumar Singh
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पालघर हत्या या द्वेष?

खामोशियों का आलम इस कदर है जैसे साँसों का भी राजनीतिकरण हो गया हो, महाराष्ट्र में निर्दोष 70 वर्षीय साधु, साथी साधु और कार चालक की निर्मम हत्या ने पूरे लोकतंत्र को झकझोर करके रख दिया है, वकील हूँ सो नही पाया सोचा अपने लोकतंत्र और सविंधान को कलम दू, ऐसी निर्मम हत्या की वीडियो को देख इंसानियत शर्मशार हो गई।

अब आते हैं कुछ पहलू पे

1)पुलिस की मौजूदगी में निर्मम हत्या, कैसे?
तो इंडियन पुलिस एक्ट की धारा 7 और 29 के तहत अगर पुलिस अधिकारी अपनी ड्यूटी और दायित्वों की अदायगी में कोताही या असफल साबित होता है, या ईमानदारी बरतने में नाकाम होता है तो उक्त धाराओं में बरखास्तगी, जुर्माना और निलंबन का प्रावधान हैं.

2)कानून क्या कहता है
इसी तरह आपराधिक मामलों की कार्रवाईयों के संदर्भ में सुप्रीम कोर्ट के डी.के. बसु बनाम स्टेट ऑफ वेस्ट बंगाल और भाई जसबिर सिंह बनाम स्टेट ऑफ पंजाब और शीला बरसे बनाम स्टेट ऑफ महाराष्ट्र के फैसले में देख सकते हैं. इस फैसले में सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने गिरफ्तारी से पहले और बाद की कार्रवाईयों के संदर्भ में अहम निर्देश जारी किए हैं. जो दीवारों पे या किताबों में सिर्फ एक अक्षर नही कानून है।

3) लॉक डाउन में इतनी भीड़ आई कैसे?
मुझे लगता है भीड़ आई नही, लाई गई थी क्योंकि आनंदविहार (दिल्ली) की भीड़ हो या बांद्रा मुम्बई की, हर भीड़ की एक कहानी है जिसका रचयता कोई और, तो लाचार ,बेबस और निर्दोष साधुओं की हत्या भी आई हुई भीड़ नही थी, भीड़ को किसी ने लाया था। क्योंकि इतना द्वेष, इतनी हिंसा आई हुई भीड़ नही करती, वो भीड़ करती है जिसको पहले ए ही पढ़ाया या समझाया गया हो । ये लाचारी नही हत्या थी।

4) 3 दिन बाद जब वीडियो आया तब क्यों करवाई हुई या जब मीडिया ने इसको दिखाना शुरू किया तब क्यों करवाई हुई
ये उत्तर तो बड़ा सरल है, हत्या हो जाती और चोरी का मुकदमा दर्ज करवाके निर्दोष साधुयों को ही दोषी बना दिया जाता । लेकिन लोकतंत्र भी अजीब है उसमें से कुछ लोगो के आंखों पे पानी था, जो रोक नही पाए तो आपने गुस्से को वीडियो का रूप देके हर जगह वायरल कर दिया, क्योंकि ऊपर वाला भी है जो न्याय और अन्याय का फर्क देखता है।

मेरे मानना है कि ये एक “custodial death” है, क्योंकि पुलिस वालों द्वारा भीड़ को सौपना और पुलिस स्टेशन से साधु को लेके आना अपने आप में एक तरह की हिंसा है, अतः “कॉस्टडीएल डेथ” कहने में मुझे कोई गुरेज नही।

अख़लाक़ खान, पहलू खान कोई भी हो सबके लिए देशव्यापी रोष था, हैशटैग चले थे, सारी पार्टीयों में जैसे गुस्से का तूफान आ गया था, लेकिन साधुओं की हत्या पे चुप्पी बहोत कुछ बोलती है, भइया ये लोकतंत है और हम जनता है हम “भूलते” नही।

ये ब्रह्म हत्या कहीं इस देश को या राज्य सरकार को भारी ना पर जाएं क्योंकि अगर वो चोरी करने गए थे या चोर थे तो
1) गाड़ी से क्यों जा रहे थे, कोई चोर चोरी करने गांव में कार से क्यों जाएगी।
2)साधुओं को पुलिस स्टेशन से निकाल के उनके सुपुर्द क्यों? किया गया और
3) पुलिस मूक दर्शक क्यों?बनी रही
4) 3 घंटे तक पुलिस स्टेशन में थे और तब तक कोई करवाई क्यों नही हुई

ऐसे सवाल ही मन में ‘राजनीतिकरण’ होने की आशंका लाती है। लेकिन हर अन्याय के बाद न्याय होता है और असहाय साधुओं की पुण्य आत्मा को न्याय जरूर मिलेगा। इसमें जितने लोग थे उनमें सबसे ज्यादा कहीं ना कहीं “पुलिस” वाले ज्यादा दोषी हैं।

बस इतना ही पूछना चाहता हुँ की 70 वर्षीय कल्पवृक्षगिरी साथी गिरी महाराज और कार चालक नीलेश तेलग्ने पे इतनी खामोशी कहीं कुछ लोगों की खुदकुशी की सबक ना बन जाए।

गौतम कुमार सिंहMBA/LLB.अधिवक्ता, AdvocateSupreme Court of India.9891637735.

COVID19 – Challenges and opportunities for India

Mukesh Kumar
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COVID19 – Challenges and opportunities for India

Corona-virus has brought down wheels of economies to a stand still with almost all countries in lockdown or emergency mode. Some economies took the risk of continuing production, but ultimately resorted to Lockdown. There is no vaccine at the moment. If at all a vaccine is found, it will take months for its commercial production. Economics, Strategists, Governments are struggling with the damage caused by Pandemic. The immediate priority of the Governments is saving lives, lest Pandemic can be more deadlier as have been in past.

The impact of such pandemics is immense in terms of lives we lose. The impact is demotivating if not devastating on the Economies. The challenges to be faced next will be bringing back economies to normal, unemployment, NPAs, Growth. Historically, Mankind has faced several natural disasters, man made disasters since the start of the civilization.

World GDP has become 18 times (on nominal basis) while Population increased by 4.6 times. In simple terms, the need and life style of people has grown by 4 times in last 120 years. Table below depicts the journey of World GDP, and growth of Population. World output has been mounted by 5 times since start of 20th Century. The New world is no more local, it is inter-twinned, inter-woven. The extent of dependency of economies on each other is paramount.

Any slow down or change in improved lifestyle is demotivating to devastating. Stopping a wheel of 90 Trillions and starting it again will need lot of reshuffling, realignment, stimulus, and top of all TIME. Pandemics are not new to the civilization in past one hundred years at least on 2 occasions the world got devastated. While the countries recover psychologically, there will be change in Economic world order. As will be discussed later, the world’s input needs are highly concentrated to one country China. The Pandemic has caused economies to rethink to avoid recurrence of such havoc again.

The confidence of the world is eroding the way CCP, WHO handled the Pandemic. In order to diversify and mitigate the losses, big countries like US, Japan, Italy, UK have already expressed their willingness to shift manufacturing base from China to other countries. China’s exports close to 2.5 Trillion Dollars on yearly basis (2018). The number is close to the overall GDP of India on nominal basis. People look this event as an opportunity for shift of manufacturing base from China to India. Let us evaluate various factors in context of India in the event their is substantial or large chunk of manufacturing base to India. We are evaluating this scenario because next better available option to world is Vietnam and Indonesia lack availability of Manpower (a basic ingredient to manufacturing process).

First let us examine the kind of opportunity we are dealing with. China’s big trading partners are the big economies where labour is costlier. To domesticate their consumption, these economies don;t have kind of cheaper inputs of production. If at all these countries start to manufacture their own needs, the prices of outputs will be much higher. Let us evaluate the Chinese trade into type of goods being exported, imported and country wise transaction.

Photo by Sabel Blanco on Pexels.com

Exports of China of $2.5 Trillions mainly includes Capital goods of $ 1.15 Trillions such as Transportation, Machines and Electronics. Capital goods export is almost 46% of its total exports. Next highest category is Consumer Goods (Textiles, Footwears, Wood, Hides and Skins, Food Products, Vegetables, etc.). The exports to US were 20%, Hongkong 12%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.5%, UK 2.3%, Australia 1.9% Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand put together 11%.

China’s Imports of $ 2.13 Trillion in 2018 included imports 10% from South Korea, 9.2% from Japan, 8% from USA, Germany 5.4%, Australia 5.4%, Brazil 3.9%, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand 8.8% and rest other countries. The major component imported were Electrical and electronic equipment 24%, fuels 16%. Rest of imports largely commodities such as metals, non-metals.

China’s top trading partners

China’s Export to its top trading partner US included 152 $B of electrical machinery, Machinery 117 $B, furniture and bedding B$, toys and sports equipment 27$B and Plastics were 19$B. China imported Aircraft 18 $B, machinery 14B$, Electrical Machinery 13$B, Medical instruments 10$$B, agricultural products 9.3 $B. US also exported 59 $B services to China.

China’s export to Japan 2nd largest trading partner were Electrical machinery of 52.4B$, machinery of 31.1 B$ clothing 18 B$, and chemicals worth 12 B$. China imported from Japan 52 B$ of machinery, 32 B$of Electrical machinery, chemicals worth 24B$, transport equipments 14.4B$ during 2018.

Hong Kong is China’s 3rd largest trading partner. It can be termed as China’s trading hub since almost all the goods exported by Hongkong to China are for re-export. China’s Export during 2018 to Hong Kong were Electrical machinery of 160 B$, machinery of 44 B$ medical equipments 10 B$. China imported from Hongkong 198 B$ of machinery, 19 B$ of Electrical machinery, and machinery of 39 B$ during 2018. Hongkong’s Import and Export were almost 44.2% and 46.3% respectively and exclusively with China

We see demonstrated above how big is the trade we are talking about. The total foreign trade of China is approxiately 4.5 Trillion $. Its 150% of India’s GDP alone. Shifting base from China to other countries would mean a retaliatory action by China to shift its import base as well. We saw it is not that simple. Another weighing evaluation for sustainable growth of Output is Cost of factor of production which includes Labour, Rent and Capital cost. The other qualitative factors are supply chain. Let us evaluate each parameter one by one.

Cost of wages

China’s average wage is 72000 CNY per year, the minimum wage is around 29800 CNY per year, this translates into 43000 CNY (assuming 30% white collar and 70% blue collar); Average of manpower cost is 495 $/P.M.. In India, minimum wage is around 5340 INR/P.M., wages of low skilled labour is 10900 INR/P.M. and wages of high skilled labour is 43200 INR/P.M. The average manpower cost is approximately 212 $/P.M. Personal Income tax rate in China is 45% and Social security tax rate is 48%. While Individual Personal Tax rate is 15-33%, Provident fund is also 24% on basic. Hence The Gap between Disposable Individual Income of two countries narrows down to 65% due to higher SST and IT.

China’s weighted average manpower cost is costlier by 134% as compare to India. Hence this is advantageous not only in terms of Cost but the availability of Manpower is not an immediate constraint.

Capacity and Capability building will emerge as a challenge going forward!!

Availability of Power

Cost of Electricity a major component in production. China’s Electricity cost is 0.52 RMB/KWH while the same in India is 5.94 INR/KWH. In Dollar both country’s cost of electricity comes out to be 0.078 USD. Availability of uninterrupted power supply for Industrial production is at present a challenge for India. Although, NDA-II Government under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi has geared up for this future need. The All India installed capacity As on 31.03.2020 is 370 GW, a jump of impressive 50% in NDA’s regime. However, the consumption grew by 36% in same period. Currently in 2019 the total consumption of electricity stands at 277 GW (1196309 GWh). A surplus of 107 GW at the moment. Transmission and Distribution Losses (T&D) were appx 20% in India very high as against averages of world average of 8%. China’s T&D losses reported 5.91% in 2012. The current consumption of electricity by Industrial segment is 41%. We can cater the additional demand for electricity by cutting down T&D losses and utilizing unutilised capacity. But will that be enough if we need to cater increased demand from the world post Pandemic sentiments. This will need a short term as well as long term planning.

China’s 2018, Industrial power consumption sore to 4.72 Trillion GWh (1.1 Trillion Watts) on ~40% of Manufacturing share in GDP. The proportional use of electricity consumed for export is around 341 MW. This is around the total output of India’s all production capacity. For Each increase in Production by 100 $ Billion 14 MW Power needed.

If we can bring down India’s T&D losses to world average of 6%, the balance 14% equivalent to 50 GW would only be sufficient to increase production by $ 300-350 Billion.

Availability of Power is ceiling on aspiration of availing opportunity.

Logistics and infrastructure of India and China

Next crucial parameter to compare is Supply Chain Management (SCM) this includes movement of goods (Raw material, Finished goods) from and to ports. The big countries are very particular about quality and turn around time (TAT). We will need to evaluate how we can improve various parameters vital to improve our response time and quality of logistics. India ranks at 44th out of 160 countries, while China stands at 12th Rank in terms of Logistical Performance Index (LPI) published by World Bank in 2018. Smaller countries like Indonesia, Hongkong, Taiwan fares better in terms of LPI. Some of the criterion, which need an evaluation are

  • Customs clearing process
  • Quality of infrastructure in terms of accessibility of inputs and deliverability of outputs
  • Shipments at competitive prices
  • Competitive logical services
  • Ability to track and trace shipments and
  • Timeliness of deliverable

While other parameters can be matched in short run, Timeliness and quality of Infrastructure the are two parameters which India legs behind as compared to China.

Capital Cost in a country is driven by Prime Lending Rate (PLR). Sovereign Banks always use PLR as a tool to incentivize infra and business projects. Current PLR of both the countries China and India are at PAR. So this is not an issue in the evaluation of criterion

Rent is the yield of Investment in Property. This is another factor cost for manufacturing industries. The Rental yield rate is 3.5% in Delhi as compared to 1.8% in Shanghai or 2.5 in Beijing. The Property rates are 2-4 times costlier in Chinese metro cities as compared to India’s metropolitan cities. This way the Rental cost should be lesser in China by almost 40-60%. The State Governments can provide Land at subsidized rate in order to decentralize already choking metro cities. This can be combined with Modi Government’s existing policy of Smart City Project.

FM, Ms N Seetharaman, announced Corporate tax rate for Domestic companies of 25.17% not claiming tax exemptions and 26.0%-29.12% for the companies intend to claim exemptions and incentives. The Corporate Tax rate of 17.16% is a boon for New Domestic Manufacturing set up on or after 1st October 2019. Foreign entrepreneurs will like to setup their manufacturing units as Domestic company to avoid a higher tax rate of 41.60%-43.68%. New tax slabs will make Indian products more competitive vs Chinese output as Chinese Corporate tax rate of 25% is higher by 8% in case of New manufacturing units.

Availability of technology or rights to manufacture are assumed to be provided by Import countries at a royalty. Normal royalty rates are 2-5%. This loss can be compensated from the savings in Manpower, Rentals and Income tax.

Bottom Line

Manpower, Corporate tax rate is a plus point to India in the current scenario of availing opportunity. Power Generation, Supply chain Infra will be a challenge. Our Visionary PM Modi ji has already announced a spent of INR 100 Lakh Crores (appx $ 1.35 Trillion in next 5 years) but this opportunity came too early.

  • References
  • https://tradingeconomics.com
  • https://www.genimexgroup.com/blog-manufacturing-in-china-manufacturing-consumer-goods-india-vs-china/
  • https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/China/India/Energy
  • https://www.economist.com/news/2020/01/15/the-big-mac-index
  • https://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/compare/india.china/energy
  • https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/CHN/Year/LTST/Summary
  • https://www.livescience.com;
  • http://statisticstimes.com/;
  • https://www.worldometers.info/
  • https://tradingeconomics.com/china/
  • https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/China/India/Cost-of-living
  • https://www.intouch-quality.com/blog/manufacturing-in-india-vs-china
  • https://lpi.worldbank.org/international/global
  • https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092815/chinas-top-trading-partners.asp
  • https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/over-rs-100-lakh-cr-to-be-spent-in-next-5-yrs-on-building-modern-infrastructure-president/articleshow/73798512.cms?from=mdr

Hats off to 1.3 billion Indians and their leader

mehulnationalist
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Hats off to 1.3 billion Indians and their leader

This was the headline of CNN on 16th April: Under India’s caste system, Dalits are considered untouchable. The coronavirus is intensifying that slur

Wait. What is this? When whole world was fighting against “Wuhan virus”, CNN was more concerned about untouchability in India. Even whole India was fighting against Wuhan virus with so much positivity, but it was western media which was reminding to whole world that, Indians still consider untouchability as their routine. It is a different topic, and not only I, but any common Indian can argue with these liberals, why we Indians don’t encourage such negativity in our country. On the same day there were around 2500 deaths in US alone, but CNN was worried about why Indians are castiest people on earth. Is this bias was against Modi?? Yes, it was. Believe me, these guys were literally predicting that, India will have to pay big price considering its huge population. They were assuming, India will have maximum cases in lacs if not in millions.

However, such a big crisis did not happen. On the contrary, India was helping many countries, sending hydroxychloroquine to almost 55 countries and keeping infection under control for its 1.3 billion population. Isn’t that amazing dear CNN and BBC?? In fact, India was the first country to initiate video conference among its neighbors (SAARC meeting) during this crisis, and same concept was implemented in G20 virtual meeting as well. India has registered lowest cases (if we take ratio of infected cases and population). In current situation, we need positive attitude. This blog is written to appreciate the efforts of 1.3 billion people, their leader and to send a message to liberals that, yes India did which was difficult to achieve.  

After almost 80 days when first case was registered, India has almost 560 deaths, much lower than other countries having same size, and population. At the mid of March, many were predicting worst scenario for India, but India really managed well. So, let us analyze what happened to some of worst affected countries and then understand where India stood.

  1. Italy: Population: 60.36 million, First case detected:31st January. Deaths around 24000 as on 21st April. Total cases per million:2732
  2. Spain: Population:50 million, First case detected on 31st January. Deaths around 21000 as on 21st April, Total cases per million:3864
  3. France: Population:67 million. First case detected on 31st January. Deaths around 20000 as on 21st April. Total cases per million:2265
  4. USA: Population of USA :333 million. First case detected on 20th January. Deaths around 45000 as on 21st April, Total cases per million:1946
  5. India: Population:1341 million. First case detected on 30th January. Deaths around 645 as on 18th April, Total cases per million:9

(Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-canada-australia-among-top-to-control-covid-outbreak/articleshow/75181309.cms)

India is almost 2.5 times bigger in population than whole Europe and 5 times of US. “Wuhan virus” started to show its real effect around same time in India and most of Europe. It started 10 days ahead in USA. India was successful to control the spread of virus as per the current status. Many Indians are considered as undisciplined, filthy, uneducated, casteist and so on by western media and It is also true. However, same Indians were also able to perform better than their counterparts. At least there was no community spread in India. Even WHO is confirmed it.

So, what are the factors which played important role?

Leadership. Yes, that helps a lot. Even though a country is rich, but if the leader is not matured, then people of that country have to suffer. It is said that, true leadership is tested during crisis. You can see the response of Leaders like Trump, Boris Johnson, Jair Bolsonaro. All were laughing at Wuhan virus initially. In fact, Boris was so overconfident that, he shook hands with many patients, and finally he was tested positive. Trump wanted to give importance to economy. He did not like lock down, because for him elections were coming in this year. Jair of Brazil thought corona crisis is a trick of media. All these leaders put many lives in danger due to their ego. I do not want to go into details of lives lost due to “immaturity” of these leaders.

Modi was able to understand quickly. He had very tricky situation. He was not lucky like other leaders since he had to pick either economy or humanity. At one side, he had 1.3 billion people. Many Indians do not have proper hygiene standards mainly due to liberal laws and habits. On the other side, he has to repair economy. Indian economy was not performing well from some time. Now, when we have some hope of recovery, we got this crisis. We should also remember, before lock down, Indian government was able to help and call back many Indians from many countries. Many were isolated after they came to India. A proper health infrastructure was in place for them. If he might not have taken lock down decision at right time, we would have lost around 8 lac people by 1st week of April.

(source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southasia/india-says-lockdown-has-spared-it-from-overwhelming-number-of-coronavirus-cases-idUSKCN21R0XE)

I think, this is very small number. We could have lost millions. Certainly, Modi should be given credit for saving many lives. But why most of Indians follow Modi? Well, because over the time, he has led by examples. People have monitored him for long time, and they trust him. So, Indians are equally responsible for this success. The success of appreciating medical and cleaning staff by standing in balcony and clapping for them was great example about respect Indians have for their leader. Modi performs better under pressure. Can you imagine any country where almost 1 billion (assuming 0.3 billion in India are as always against Modi), can follow their leader so closely in recent times? So, this was great example of collaboration of leader with its people to save whole country from crisis. If crisis worsens in May after lock down is released, Modi will surely be blamed. So, its all about leadership.

Timely Lock down. It is considered as biggest lock down in world. Indian PM Modi did not worry about economy unlike Europe, USA. This was right decision at right time. Just putting 1.3 billion people inside house is a big decision. This is equal to putting almost 20 % of world population inside house. Even China did not have lock down in whole country. It was not only humanity, which took center stage, but Modi also tried to give justice to economy. He already has announced 1.7 lakh crore stimulus, that included free food grains and cooking gas to the poor for 3 months and cash doles to women and poor senior citizens.

During this time, most of the people stayed in their homes. I can just give you one example of Indian state Uttar Pradesh (UP). The population of Uttar Pradesh is around 23 crores, which is equal to combined population of France, Italy, Germany, Spain. The size of UP is smaller than these countries combined. So, you can imagine how lock down was implemented with huge population concentrated n small area. You can also compare number of cases in UP (around 1200) against 6.7 lacs (0.67 million) combined cases of these countries.

Testing method: Tracking people who came in contact with infected person and testing them. India’s strategy was focusing early detection of cases and stopping infection from there before any community spread. India was often criticized for performing lesser tests. Many critics argued that, since tests were slow, casualties were also low. Well, if that was the case, then why many people did not die?? In a democratic country like India, if few casualties happen due to any crisis, it becomes global news immediately. India is not China, which will/can hide many deaths.

The ratio of number of tests/infected cases for India was 20. It was 6.47 for Italy, 3.61 for Spain and 5.05 for USA. That means, India was already ahead in testing for infected people. This shows that, the argument of less testing is not valid. Did the excessive testing help countries like US? No. So, India was right in using testing method only for the people who came in contact with the infected people. That does not mean, India’s  testing is low. India only tests people, where it is necessary. With 1.3 billion population, we have to think rationally. However, in recent weeks, India has also ramp up testing.

Well, every society has matured and immature people. Having 1.3 billion people, It was natural that, many people would come out on streets. There were off course “immature” people who went against lock down. It is common in any democracy. Being democratic country, India could not do much for such “immature” people, since government is also monitored by Supreme court. A petition was filed in SC for action against media for communalizing the Jammat event.

So, India gives equal freedom to all even during crisis, and that’s what makes this challenge more difficult with huge population. This is exactly a big challenge for a country like India, since we have to fight against virus and we also have to take care about people, who are against their own country in a democratic way. In countries like North Korea, China, they can easily execute such people since their government is not answerable to its people or SC. “Single source” event of Tablighi Jamat was one of the worst things happened with India. Most of Indians followed all rules of lock down and suddenly they realized that, there were more than 2000 jamaat members gathered in a mosque in Delhi against all rules. They were informed about danger in advance by government and Police. They not only neglected but gave wrong information about their actual numbers. Final number was more than 2500. They traveled in different part of the country and put whole country at the risk of community infection, since many of them were infected.

I will also consider this strategy as failure from Government, since I was expecting a very strict response from government. At least, Modi should have named and shamed them during his speech to nation. It was so shameless that, when government was helping them to come out from their hidden locations and requesting them to get hospitalized, these guys did exactly opposite, which was not even comparable with any civilized society. They spread infection at many places. They did not stop even after being caught. The real tragedy started when they were getting treated in hospitals in different places. They misbehaved with the medical staff, pelted stones when police and medical staff used to go to their homes for testing, made efforts to infect many people in country. In fact, there was hardly any incidence like this in whole world, where doctors were getting attacked during such crisis. India had a great success story, but the Tablighi Jamat incidence was a black spot.

This should be termed as terrorist activity. Indian government need to be very careful, when lock down is released, since the same people can try to repeat this misadventure. This is the misfortune of India. India was not only fighting against Virus, It was also fighting against this jamati virus. And that is what makes India’s efforts as one of unique. For the countries like Italy, USA, France, Spain etc, their enemy was Wuhan virus. For the India, it was Wuhan, Jihadi virus. In fact, after so soft approach towards Jamatis, India was still blamed by western media that, Indians have Islamophobia. Thats why I reiterate, 1.3 billion fought against multiple crisis, kept calm against many misadventures, and still were able to keep death count not crossing beyond 650 after 75 days. That itself is really big success.

In brief, India’s response against this crisis was very matured. India considered humanity above economy. It was always told that, life in India is cheap. But this crisis showed that, Indian life was much more protected than rest of the world. India was also able to treat many foreigners, who came to India with Wuhan virus from their countries. Nobody knows, what will happen after lock down, but that is a fact with all countries. We would have lost many lives if we might have selected economy over humanity. Many may still say that, poor economy after lock down can take many lives. I do not agree with this. I see lot of positive attitude among people, and I am certain that, India will bounce back and can recover momentum.

Whole word is very busy in this crisis, so it will take time to realize how big is this achievement not only for India but also for humanity. India has shown that, with measured response (not aggressive or soft), any crisis can be handled with positive attitude and timely actions. So, this is the time to say big THANK YOU to our PM, our health, police and cleaning staff for pulling us together from such crisis. Stay safe.

Yes, I am Islamophobic!

bapiraju3
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Yes, I am Islamophobic!

I have a very deep respect for all religions and have great friends from different religions. In fact, one among my best friends is Arshaan Khan. Captain of our Begumpet Blasters cricket team and one of my dearest friend. We regularly talk with each other on various subjects and have understood each other always. The reason am giving this example is that, just like there can be fanatics in my religion, there are fanatics in Islam as well.

There are two kinds of Islam according to me. One that my best friend follows, which believes in respecting other cultures and following your true path towards enlightenment and God. I believe most of the Indian educated Muslims belong to this category. And then there is another Islam. The one, where they believe only in Allah and all the others, who don’t follow the path of Allah are considered infidels or Kaafirs, who need to be eliminated. Unfortunately we have many Muslims in India, who belong to the second category as well. The behaviour of some members of the Tablighi Jamaat is a case in point.

The problem is never with people of the followers of first type of Islam. As they also believe in the concept of Universal brotherhood and are truly patriotic. But the second category, is dangerous as they only believe in one thing and they blindly follow their religious heads dictates to the T. While they go about unleashing hell on the rest of humanity, we have defenders of these nincompoops, who then legitimise everything they do under the big old umbrella of Islamophobia. Now here is my problem with that, what they are inadvertently doing is creating this sense of distrust between two different sects and that will have major repurcussions.

The problem, with the second type of Muslims, is that they don’t believe in the concept of national allegiance. Their allegiance is to their faith. While it is commendable that they have such unwavering belief in their faith, the situation reaches critical point because they believe in eliminating all the non-believers. There can be no other explanation than that, when they spit on our front line warriors, choosing to spread the infection than be cured or the way they have been hiding instead of trying to come forward to get tested, which can have tragic consequences in the near future.

And very recently the brutal lynching of three men in Palghar district, Maharashtra, where the police led a 70 year old Saffron clad Monk and his associate along with their driver to their deaths, by handing them over to frenzied mob armed with sticks, bricks and what not, all used to brutally assault a 70 year old man, whose face was bloodied while he was running to seek the protection of the Police will haunt me for the rest of my life. Whether the mob was Muslim or Christian, I do not know. But what I do know is that they were killed for the colour of their clothes.

The liberal media, as it is wont to do, downplayed the incident while the usual assorted bunch of celebrities and award wapsi gang was silent. It was heart wrenching to say the least, to see a person being led to his death by the very people, who are supposed to protect him. The State, which has contibuted to the highest number of Covid cases so far, but was adept in celebrity endorsements had nothing to say on that appalling incident and warned against communilising the issue. This is where my Islamophobia comes in. A party, which was established on communal lines has suddenly become secular! Irony!

To the liberal gang, which routinely downplays such incidents but are ready to dish out sermons over unlawful activities as freedom of expression and start targetting individuals speaking against such incidents and branding them as Islamophobes to shut them up, I would like to say, I am an Islamophobe. I have a fear of the second type of Muslims, who don’t mind killing and getting killed in the name of religion. So if you want to brand me as communal, intolerant or any other term that you can think of, please be my guest. If speaking out against such horrific brutality that happened in Palghar, will get me branded so be it. But one cannot be sitting in the comforts of their drawing room peacefully with the knowledge, that such heinous crime playing in front of their eyes happened only because they were saffron clad monks.

And before I finish, I would like to discuss on another point I raised at the beginning of this article. I have stated that there are fanatics in Hinduism as well. So why don’t I fear a Hindu fanatic as well. The most I have seen a Hindu fanatic do till date is reply to a brutality heaped upon them by others. I have never seen an aggressive Hindu fanatic, who kills because he believes that all the others are infidels. It made me angry and fanatical to see such horrific brutality heaped upon an old Sadhu, who renounced everything only to run for his life, while he was being repeatedly beaten from all sides by a ruthless and worthless mob. It made me angry and fanatical, to hear the State’s response on such brutality. It made me angry and fanatical, to see the policeman handover the old Sadhu, like a lamb to slaughter, into the hands of the rampaging mob. Will I become an Islamophobe, if I express my anger in words rather than action? Or should it be the other way around?

Whatever tag you might want to brand me with, I am comfortable in knowing that my conscience is clear. I know my best friend will still be my best friend and he knows those tags don’t apply to people like me. Someday, I hope that a majority of my country see things the same way and has the courage to call a spade, a spade and do away with these shackles that the liberal elite have so cleverly blinded us with and call out any heinous crime in the name of religion, whether its the Shaheenbagh protests or the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots or the callous and perverse attitude of some members of Tablighi Jamaat or the recent Palghar incident without fear of being branded. Until that day comes I will be a proud Islamophobic. Jai Hind.

Judiciary may need to adapt itself in these pandemic times

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
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Judiciary may need to adapt itself in these pandemic times

Forget it. The world is in doldrums. Nations are wobbly. It is a crisis like no other. First and Second World Wars, seem like sports carnivals, compared to the present Global Health Emergency. It has morphed from an outbreak to epidemic to a Pandemic, in no time. Social Distancing and Contract Tracing are the current lingo, as Lockdowns and Shutdowns, swamp us all. It has not left unimpacted, any one, in any part of the world. In such a deadly scenario, can Judiciary be far behind? 

It is a humongous struggle to keep the doors of judiciary open. ‘They’ say, we are into Videoconferencing. Emergent cases are being offered space. There are scanty, scanty reports in print and electronic media on proceedings, before the courts. In the not so distant past, just a few weeks ago, newspapers were full of reports on the proceedings before Courts. Reams and Reams, were devoted to cover the happenings in courts, in real time. Our drawing rooms were also noisy with the ideological food fights, founded on court judgments, on the idiot box. Now it is close to zilch.

Reports are now seeping out that Madras High Court has ‘cancelled’ the summer vacations from 1st May, 2020 to 31st May, 2020 and there could/would be near ‘regular’ sittings. One feels like going to one’s roof top to shout Wow, sound the conches and bang the Thalis, with all one’s might. Sorry, even as one is made privy to the proposed near regular sittings, one is updated on the devilish dance of this menacing virus, which ‘they’ (a different they this) say is spreading faster than the fastest virus, which has come visiting this planet. Medical professionals, health experts and scientists, who are now the flavour of the season, are truly bewildered, when Donald J Trump wants ‘normalcy to return’- and as such you can club regular Court sittings, to this genre. The US virologists and epidemiologists have now opined that ‘the world will be revisited by this virus in mutated form in the winter months and that could be worse’.

Come on, the scientific community is telling us- Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Indian Council for Medical Research- in unison, that we are nowhere near sighting ‘normalcy’. Even ignoring the stellar configurations and prognostications that it may be end of July etc, to see a genuine ‘flattening of the curve’, the health experts from World Health Organisation have warned, “Covid-19 is not going anywhere anytime soon. It is here to stay with humans as the ‘host and carrier’, until there is a vaccine in place. And the timeline for a vaccine is a 12/18 month affair, if history of such discoveries, are anything to go by.”

Put two and two together, the irrefutable inference is that Judiciary is not placed anywhere near immunisation, from the influence of this invisible enemy. It does not merely appear so, but too evident and clear that May, 2021 looks more like it, and not May, 2020, for normalcy to return. WHO experts say that the ‘flattening of the curve’ may suggest euphoria, but it would be too short lived, if the 1918-20 Spanish flu experience, is a reference point. The virus will survive all the shutdowns and lockdowns, in Homo sapiens, as unwilling hosts of mutating aliens, and efforts to return to ‘normality’, would be an invitation to hellholes, ‘they’ (those who know) say. 

What of Judiciary? The world over, Law is last in embracing digital platforms. Silicon Valley is busy with their Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and more, in any and every field of human activity, other than Judiciary. Yes, Yes, Yes, before someone somewhere pounces, that our E-Court initiatives have come a long way, and that is conceded. But the long way is still a long, long way, from having effective and organised sittings of courts. That is the nub of the issue.

What is the alternative? Yes, urgent matters require emergent attention. Human rights issues are sacrosanct. The legal fraternity is used to filing cases, following it up through the corridors, getting them passed, numbered, uploaded and then listed for the ‘regular hearings’. All physical. Those in the know of things, would be aware of what is the logistics involved in this sequence. It can be infuriating at times to the litigants. But that is the reality.

In such difficult times, the Judiciary may be well advised to introduce the precept and practice of Written Submissions, (which is now part of the dispensation under Consumer Protection Act, 1986). In the western hemisphere, it is a matter of course that written submissions are de riguer. In the British tradition, which we have adopted as a legacy left behind, oral submissions are many a time dispensed with as well, and timelines borrowed from United States, are getting introduced, as it is found inevitable.

As for the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) or even the Federal or State Supreme Courts and lower Divisions, written submissions are mandatory, and a matter of course. These submissions are supported by oral submissions, within a strict time frame and even where the Judges and lawyers are not in the same city or State, they get together on an online platform, and even on phone. Oral Submissions may also been dispensed with, for good and valid reasons. SCOTUS is about to embark on its maiden venture, to have live streaming of 11 seminal causes, on audio, via mobile, of oral arguments of the counsel , in these Pandemic times.

What do we do? Let us take it that the present impasse is here to stay, for some time. Assembling lawyers (not the most disciplined community, when they are under one roof, to practice social distancing) and the clerical community, in Court halls, may be a disaster waiting to happen. How one wishes it were not so? Realistically, May, 2020 re opening can well be ruled out, as the statistical model, built from international experience, indicates that 2nd week of May,2020, may be India’s day and destiny, for the peak of the cliff of this viral spread.

The ideal situation in the present scenario may be for the High Court to list those causes which are ripe for final hearing. There is no dearth of it. The Registry can help with the compilation. The advocate community can also provide their lists. All the while practising social distancing. Written Submissions could be received via E mail and cases decided by Judges in their Chambers. And judgments pronounced and uploaded as well. Surely, there are thousands and thousands of cases of this genre, crying for closure. As a puisne Judge mailed, “Let us be clear. Very rarely the oral submissions make the difference. More often than not the papers tell us the story and the result. In fact, many a time, I have ‘decided’ the case contemporaneous to my reading it in my chamber, and more often than not, the oral hearings affirm my conformed conviction”.

It is a glorious opportunity for the learned judges to read the papers, in the silence of their chambers, without the avoidable ‘cacophony from counsel’ (as the legendary Sir C P Ramasamy Aiyar put it) and decide in leisure. Why not? Why not? That is the way to go, for now. Experienced practitioners, except the confirmed naysayers, would readily agree, as extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary remedies.

There are many, many appeals and cases which come within the ambit of possibility of such a closure, even if it may seem akin to a guillotine. We are in a crisis situation. The Courts cannot afford to open and open up the possibility of a viral spread- with each asymptomatic and symptomatic entity is capable of infecting 406 others- as per ICMR study. It seems so risky at this point of time, no matter, how anguished we may feel, by the forced shutting of the doors of the Blind Lady Justice. Truth is, we have so badly harmed her sister, Lady Nature, for the Blind Lady of Justice, it would be a family in distress. Alongside seeking disposal of cases, ripe for final hearing, upon receipt of written submissions, by most judges, a few judges may suffice to handle emergent cases, as there is nothing more emergent than the health of the nation in these Pandemic times.

Video conferencing may not be necessary. A conference call on mobile devices may suffice. Orders can be dictated to personal assistants sitting miles away and digital signatures affixed and orders uploaded. Waiting for normalcy to return for all cases, under various portfolios to be listed and heard, is elusive on date. Instead, cherry picking cases that could be disposed of in this manner, may be the practical and pragmatic way to go. One hopes and trusts that the Madras High Court and even the Supreme Court and other High Courts, pivot to this digital route and exploit the time available to dispose of causes of that genre, which offer huge scope for such closure, than seeking the normalcy route.

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

WTI Crude Oil decline & impact on India

Vishal Trivedi
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WTI Crude Oil decline & impact on India

Most of the Indian’s woke up on Tuesday morning to discover the crude oil prices have fallen below $0 (-$37.63), first time ever in history. The panic in the oil market on Monday was exacerbated by May futures.

Those rejoicing the drop in Crude oil prices and mocking Indian government for not lowering despite the drop, it’s time to educate ourselves on the methodologies followed.

The Crude Oil decline:
The sharp decline is actually on US Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil on the May Futures price of WTI Crude Oil in a bid to avoid incurring of storage cost. This is a simple demand-supply imbalance & glut.

What is the US WTI Crude Oil:
WTI Crude oil is extracted from US oil fields in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota and has a lower Sulphur content (0.24%) thus making it lighter. The WTI is traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) – the commodity futures exchange.

What is Brent Crude Oil:
Brent crude is extracted from the North Sea & has a higher Sulphur (0.37%) content than WTI thus a higher API. It’s price is the international benchmark price used by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Brent Crude is traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London.

Impact of WTI Crude Oil on India & Globally:
India buys the crude oil from India Crude Basket (current rate ~ $20) which comprises of 80% oil from OPEC & 20% from Brent. Hence Brent is the benchmark for oil prices in India.
Including India, 75% oil demand is fulfilled by Brent crude & not WTI crude.

Why the divergence between WTI & Brent Crude Oil?
Cost of shipping for Brent crude is lower as it is produced near the sea and it can be put on ships immediately. Shipping of WTI is priced higher since it is produced in landlocked areas in USA where the storage facilities are limited. The cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, was higher since more storage space is available across multiple locations, making deliveries easier. Although, Brent prices slid 9 percent on April 20, settling at $25.57 a barrel.

Please note that while US WTI crude prices crashed, ICE’s Brent crude are still trading around $25 a barrel level.

Road Ahead:
For WTI, Crude Oil May contract has become rather illiquid & the United States Oil (USO) funds have already shifted majority assets to June futures. It will be probably still be at $20 then. The oil prices going ahead will depend on how long the lock-down stays and whether there is extension. The efforts to ramp up the global economy once the lock-down is lifted may take a toll, as the lack of employees as well as demand may come down hard on industrial activity.

लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में फरक..

prashantchauhan
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लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में फरक..

लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में भी फरक होता है साहेब,
लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में भी फरक होता है साहेब,
एक इन्टॉलरेंट लिंचिंग है,
तो दूसरी केवल ग़लतफ़हमी.

और ये मैं नहीं कहता,
ये बतलाता है हमें हमारा सेक्युलर/लिबरल /बुद्धिजीवी  समाज और निडर पत्रकार.

जान अखलाख की भी कीमती, जान तबरेज की भी अनमोल,
पर मरने वाले साधू, तो, इंडियन एक्सप्रेस के लिए ये चोर,
पहले में देश और समाज असहिंष्णु, हर तरफ शोर,
दूजे में बस सन्नाटा और चुप्पी चारो और.

और ये मैं नहीं कहता,
ये दीखता है हमें हमारा सेक्युलर/लिबरल /बुद्धिजीवी और निडर पत्रकार.

नफरत में अंधी भीड़ तबरेज को मारे तो ये इन्टॉलरेंस
वही नफरत भरी भीड़ साधु को मारे तो ये गलत फहमी,
एक ज़ाहिल भीड़ अखलाख की मारे तो समाज हिंसक,
वही  ज़ाहिल भीड़ साधु को मारे  तो ये अफवाह का नतीजा.

और ये मैं नहीं कहता,
ये बतलाता है हमें हमारा सेक्युलर/लिबरल /बुद्धिजीवी और निडर पत्रकार,

एक निरीह साधू का आखिरी उम्मीद में करुणा भरी नज़रो से,
पुलिस वाले का हाथ पकड़ना,
और उस वीरहीन /कायर सिपाही का,
हाथ छुड़ा के साधू को भीड़ को सौंप देना.

फिर सेक्युलर/लिबरल /बुद्धिजीवी और निडर पत्रकार का हमें बताना,
ये तो बस नतीजा है ग़लतफ़हमि का.

लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में भी फरक होता है साहेब,
लिंचिंग लिंचिंग में भी फरक होता है साहेब.
एक इन्टॉलरेंट लिंचिंग है, तो दूसरी केवल ग़लतफ़हमी.

और ये मैं नहीं कहता,
ये बतलाता है हमें हमारा सेक्युलर/लिबरल /बुद्धिजीवी और निडर पत्रकार.

Four More shots: How the web series is conveying wrong messages to today’s youth about freedom and Feminism.

Priya Ranjan Tewary
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Four More shots: How the web series is conveying wrong messages to today’s youth about freedom and Feminism.

In the wake of coronavirus, India is in lockdown and Indian youth are bored as they are not getting to go outside. To kill time and entertain themselves, a large number of youths are preferring to watch some web series or films which is giving a hike to TRP and subscriptions to the entertainment industry. But all the web series are not made for the sole purpose of entertainment but also for conveying and propagating strong messages and Four more shots please! By Anoop Ram Kumar is one of them which is streaming online on Amazon Prime.

The web series is meant for attracting the youth audience and enlighten them about the idea of freedom and Feminism. But the question arises is really the series is conveying the right message? Well it’s opinion may differ from person to person.

The plot is based on the story of four totally flawed girls and one of them is bisexual and everyone in the story is having multiple affairs with different persons and the series is full of erotic scenes which may not suit for the audience below 18 years old. The web series claims to be feminist but instead of showing women empowerment and a idea about having an ideal future that may motivate young girls to work hard to make their future bright it propagates the idea of having multiple affairs as a form of freedom and Feminism which doesn’t qualify as a ideal future for many girls. This is not the first web series to come in controversy, earlier Netflix’s Liela was also came in controversy for it’s dystopian view in which people will be living under a majoritarian and fascist regime which will based on religious bias.

Here is the Hindi Twitter thread of review of Four More shots please! by @yeshajethva1 on twitter:

https://threader.app/thread/1251911148129173504

क्या भारत की ‘दुर्गा’ वामपंथी पितृसत्तात्मकता को हरा पायेगी?

100rabjalandhar
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क्या भारत की ‘दुर्गा’ वामपंथी पितृसत्तात्मकता को हरा पायेगी?

भारत वह भूमि है जहां की औरत हाथ में शस्त्र लिए कभी महिषासुर का वध करती है तो कभी रक्तबीज का संघार करने के लिए उसके रक्त की आखरी बूँद तक को भी पी जाती है। भारत में औरत वह शक्ति है जिसके बिना शिव आधे हैं और वह सीता है जिसके बिना राम का नाम अधूरा है।

उसी भारत भूमि पर आज के दौर में ज़्यादातर मार्क्सवादी विचारधारा को मानने वाले प्राणी ट्विटर फेसबुक और पारम्परिक मीडिया पर महिला सशक्तिकरण पर बात करते मिल जाएंगे। परन्तु दिक्कत यह है कि वामपंथियों के लिए महिला सशक्तिकरण की जो परिकल्पना है वह भारत की मूल विचारधारा के काफी विपरीत है।

उदाहरण के तौर पर एक आम भारतीय दुर्गा को माँ के रूप में पूजता है पर वही एक वामपंथी प्राणी के लिए दुर्गा माँ नहीं अपितु ‘सेक्सी दुर्गा‘ है इससे आप यह समझ सकते है के वामपंथियों को औरत न माँ, न बहिन, न प्रेमिका और न ही पत्नी के रूप में मान्य है। उसके लिए औरत केवल सम्भोग की एक वास्तु है जिसका नाम भी लेना हो तो आगे ‘सेक्सी’ लगाना अनिवार्य है।

दुसरे उदाहरण की ओर देखें तो जहां एक तरफ भारत के गाँवों में हर पंचायत में कम से कम 33% सीटें महिलाओं के लिए आरक्षित है, वहीं भारत में वामपंथियों के सबसे बड़े गिरोह ‘कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी ऑफ़ इंडिया -मार्क्सवादी‘ जिसके सरगना कामरेड सीताराम येचुरी है के पोलितब्यूरो (नीति निर्धारण की समिति) जिसमे कुल 17 सदस्य हैं, उसमे में से केवल 2 पद यानी के केवल 11% प्रतिशत प्रतिनिधित्व ही महिलाओं को दिया गया है। यह अपने आप में महिला सशक्तिकरण के सपनो पर आघात है।

तीसरा आप देखेंगे की वामपंथी कभी लेनिन की, कभी मार्क्स की, कभी माओ की और कभी स्टालिन तथा फिदेल कास्त्रो की पूजा करते मिल जाएंगे पर क्या कभी किसी वामपंथी ने किसी महिला कामरेड का बुत्त लगाकर माला पहनाई है?

क्या महिला सशक्तिकरण का केवल यही अर्थ है के महिला के एक हाथ में सिगरेट और दूसरे में दारु का गिलास हो जिससे सिप लेते लेते वह कहे के ‘देखो कामरेड, हम आज़ाद हो गए‘।

या महिला सशक्तिकरण का अर्थ है महिलाओ को पुरुषो के सामान अधिकार, एक जैसे कार्य के लिए एक जैसा वेतन, हर क्षेत्र में प्रमुख पदों तक पहुँचने के लिए एक जैसे अवसर, निर्विघ्न शिक्षा पाने का अधिकार, अपना जीवन साथी चुनने का अधिकार।

धन्य है भारत की नारी जो हर विपरीत परिस्थिति के बावजूद भी सेना में, शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में, खेलों में, न्यायतंत्र में, मेडिकल आदि आदि में अपना और अपने परिवार का नाम रोशन कर रही है।

परन्तु संघर्ष अभी बाकी है क्युकी उसे ‘जज दुर्गा’, ‘डॉक्टर दुर्गा’, ‘कप्तान दुर्गा’, ‘नेता दुर्गा’ आदि कहने की बजाये वामपंथी विचारक ‘सेक्सी दुर्गा’ कह कर ही सम्बोधित करते है।

यह तो भविष्य ही बताएगा कि क्या भारत की दुर्गा वामपंथी पितृसत्तात्मकता को हरा पायेगी!
उम्मीद है वह जीते।

संकट के समय संघ गढ़ अतुल्य प्रतिमान

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संकट के समय संघ गढ़ अतुल्य प्रतिमान

यह त्रासद का समय, नगरों की सड़कें वीरान पड़ी हैं, दुकान-प्रतिष्ठान सभी बंद, विद्यालय-विश्वविद्यालय बंद हैं। हमेशा यात्रियों से भरे रहने वाले बस अड्डे, रेलवे स्टेशन सुनसान हैं। यह इस सदी का हृदय विदारक दृश्य है, यह स्थिति उत्पन्न हुई है, उस चाइनीज वायरस के कारण से जिससे लोग अपने घरों में सिमट कर रह गए हैं। कल क्या होगा, जीवन फिर से कैसे पटरी पर लौटेगा इन प्रश्नों से उन लोगों की मनः स्थिति कितनी भयावह हो रही होगी जो लॉकडॉन में अपने घर से दूर कहीं अन्यत्र कैद हो कर रह गये, लेकिन इन सबके बीच तस्वीर का दूसरा पहलू भी है। जो आपदा के आवेग से भी ज्यादा प्रखरता से आंखों के सामने घटित हो रहा है, वह तस्वीर है सम्पूर्ण मानव जाति को बचाने का। यह तस्वीर है उस सभ्य सज्जन शक्ति कि जिसके विचार में “सर्वे संतु निरामया” के भाव बीज रूप में स्थापित है।

पड़ोस के बुजुर्ग बहुत चिंतित है, उन्हें दिल की बीमारी है, उन्हें दवा की जरूरत है, दुकान कब खुलेगी? दवा कैसे मिलेगी? इत्यादि उधेड़बुन में लगे हैं तभी पड़ोस का एक युवक आकर उनसे बोलता है, मैं लाकर आपको दवा दूंगा बाबूजी आप चिंता ना करें। यह युवक! उसी विचार पाठशाला का एक छात्र है, जिसका ध्येय “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्” है। प्रशासन के साथ मिलकर, एक फोन पर जरूरतमंद लोगों तक पहुँचना, राहत सामग्री देना, कोई भूखा न सोये इसके लिए प्रतिदिन लाखों लोगो के लिए भोजन पैकेट तैयार कर प्रशासन के अनुमति से बाँटना, यह दिनचर्या उन हजारों स्वमंसेवकों की है, जो कोरोना संक्रमण काल में ध्वज वंदना के बाद राष्ट्र आराधना में प्रतिदिन लग जाते हैं। इन मंजरों को कुछ शब्दों में बांधे तो यह कार्य है – सेवा,करुणा और अपनत्व का।

किसी भी देश के लिए विपदा काल ही वह समय है जब वहाँ कार्य करने वाली स्वयंसेवी संगठन, रहने वाला समाज, तथा संबंधों की राष्ट्र के प्रति दायित्वों की परीक्षा होती है। यह विपत्ति का काल है, समाप्त हो जाएगा, बस रह जाएंगी तो उसकी निशां और वह निशां यह बतायेंगे कि जब देश पर संकट आया था तो कौन से लोग किस प्रकार से राष्ट्र के साथ खड़े थे और वह कौन लोग थे जो देश को और विपत्ति में झोंक रहे थे।आज चाइनीज वाइरस आपदा काल में बहुत से भ्रम और क्रम टूट रहे है, तथा स्पष्ट होता जा रहा है की अदृश्य भाव में कितने घाव छुपे हुये थे।

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के स्वयंसेवक आज पूरे राजस्थान भर में भोजन व्यवस्था, सेनेटाइजेशन, दवा वितरण, मरीजों की सेवा, अस्पतालों को सहयोग, प्रशासन का सहयोग, आवश्यक वस्तुओं की आपूर्ति जन जागरण इत्यादि कामों में निस्वार्थ भाव से लगे हुए हैं। आज सेवा भारती की ओर से चलने वाले बाल केंद्र, सेवा केंद्र बन चुके है। सेवा भारती के माध्यम से सेवा बस्तियों का हर प्रकार से देखभाल का जिम्मा संघ ने लिया है। वहीं विश्व हिंदू परिषद, भारतीय मजदूर संघ के माध्यम से दिहाड़ी मजदूरों तक भोजन पैकेट का वितरण नित्य लाखों की संख्या में हो रहा है।

स्वयंसेवकों के माध्यम से पुरे प्रदेश में हजारों स्थानों पर लाखों परिवारों तक हर प्रकार की सहायता पहुँचाई जा रही हैं। जयपुर प्रान्त की ओर से प्राप्त हुई जानकारी के अनुसार 1485 स्थानों पर, 9798 सेवारत कार्यकर्ताओं के माध्यम से, 14 अप्रैल तक, 121262 स्थानों पर लोगों को ठहरने के लिए अस्थाई व्यवस्था की गई है। प्रशासन के साथ मिल कर जहाँ एक रास्तों की ब्लॉकिंग एवं कॉलोनियों की सुरक्षा सुनिश्चित की जा रही है। तो वहीं 108 एम्बुलेंस सेवा के कॉल सेंटर पर प्रतिदिन 13 -15 स्वयंसेवक सहयोग कर रहे हैं। विपदा के इस कठिन समय में संघ के अन्य समविचारी संगठन वनवासी कल्याण परिषद् ,बीएमएस, विद्या भारती, हिन्दू जागरण मंच, विद्यार्थी परिषद्, किसान संघ जैसे दर्जनों संगठन सेवा कार्यों में लगे हैं।

पिछले दिनों एक वीडियो के माध्यम से रा. स्व. संघ के सह सरकार्यवाह डॉ कृष्ण गोपाल जी ने महामारी के प्रकोप झेल रहे समाज को सम्बोधित करते हुये कहा कि भारत के संस्कार में ही सेवा है इसलिए आज की परिस्थितियों में न सिर्फ अपना ध्यान रखना है बल्कि अपने आस पास कोई भूखा न सोये इसकी चिंता करनी है।

वास्तव में जब भी इस देश पर संकट आये चाहे वह प्राकृतिक आपदा हो या पड़ोसी देशों द्वारा प्रायोजित संकट राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ हमेशा देश के लिए समाज को जागृत कर कंधे से कंधे मिला कर खड़ा होता रहा है। संघ के कार्यकर्त्ता युद्ध स्तर पर राहत अभियानों में जुट कर समाज का दुःख हरने में लगे रहते हैं। और इसके लिए ऐसे मन-मस्तिष्क का निर्माण संघ अपने प्रशिक्षणों -कार्यक्रमों के माध्यम से करता है। क्यों की प्रत्येक परिस्थिति के मूल में मन मतिष्क होता है, किसी भी चुनौती के लिए खुद को तैयार करना तथा उस अनहोनी संकट को स्वीकार कर समाधान खोजना यह एक प्रशिक्षित व्यक्ति ही कर सकता है। और संघ अपने स्वयंसेवको में यही भाव का बीजारोपण करता है।

पूर्ण विजय संकल्प हमारा अनथक अविरत साधना,
निशदिन प्रतिपल चलती आई राष्ट्रधर्म आराधना। ..
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