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One more western prism to divide India

amrish101
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One more western prism to divide India

INDIA that is BHARAT (article 1 of the constitution) is an incredible nation and cradle of the human civilisation. This civilisation has offered countless things to the world such as spritualism, yoga, martial arts, astronomy and many more. It had tackled the barbarianism of invaders and fuse them with indigenous values such as sufism form out form turkish invasion. India is inveterate nation and will thrive to remain one.

There are many attempts made to divide the INDIA, earlier they were direct (force conversion, virulent suppression, economic drain, racially superiority) now they are indirect (employing discarded western ideologies such as socialism capitalism, communism etc, there are also evangelism, proselytizers etc). Earlier Aryan invasion theory was propounded and propagated to classify the upper class as invaders, downtrodden section were classified as SC and ST, OBC section were created. Now after these division the divide is being deepen by various western rationale to break the country apart.

Culture and traditions of India has offer world a way of living and eating of which vegetarianism is intrinsic part. This life style changes as per India faced countless invasion eventhough we remained epicenter of vegetatian culture. It is because of our value that we respect every life form and restrain ourself from killing. It is not compulsory for every one but people who follow their traditions refrain themselves from killing. Even in Quran it is mention that killing can be allowed only for the survivals.

Recently in an article in ECONOMICAL AND POLITICAL WEEKLY journal titled, DEEPENING DIVIDE-THE CASTE CLASS AND REGIONAL FACE OF VEGETARIANISM, a malicious attempt is visible to instigate the divide and tried to prove vegetarianism as authoritarian culture. Only salient thing in article was use of data from NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY and pedantic way to use graph to relate it ambiguously with their propaganda of traditional suppression. According to NFHS data there is little change in vegetarians from 2005-2015. change in those subsequent years in women was 30.22% to 30.99% and in men from 20.60% to 20.73%.

According to NFHS survey it was found that there is regional disparity in vegetarians and also a gender gap in different section of Hindus. Various reason given by article was that vegetarianism was prevalent in the region where Hindutva forces are dominant and there was aggressive Dalit movements. It was also mentioned that men force women to follow the tradition of vegetarianism, vegetarianism is enforced by people of upper caste as their is increase in vegans of 4.4 percent in them.

All the points made in that article are absurd in nature. According to survey there is an increase in number of meat eaters in south India, which is true but the reason could also be attributed to rise in the population of Muslims and prevalent conversions into Christianity. If we link it to history, there is no record of beef eating in India, chicken was not made at that time. Also Mughal and British are the ones who bring meat eating at such scale. Even if we try famous south Indian dishes such as Idli, Dosa, Appam, Medu Vada, etc., they are vegetarian in nature, there can be sea food in their diet due to proximity of coastal areas and tribal natures. Clearly non vegetarian culture is purely western. Now in Kerela due to communist movement and so called liberals using their western prism made beef eating a regular thing in Kerela. These pseudo left media are paid by evangelist and incorporated to carry out the narratives so that it could be easy for them to spread their business. There is surge of vegetarianism because of spiritual culture and teaching and social movements.

vegetarianism in India is way of life and it is not due to suppression. Due to change in life style of people, things have changed and there is surge in meat eating but that is also very limited. Beef eating in some part of country is advertised as modern and human rationale which is completely misleading like it is mentioned int the above article in EPW.

The article evidently tried to make this as suppression made by Brahminical society and widens the rifts. India from thousands of years is producing grains. Back in Harappan period, the staple diet was made of wheat barley and rice. In INDIA we don’t eat food we eat Prasad, food is offered first to god and then eaten. We don’t offer meat to god. The main goal of such writings by left is to stir up divide and make people of this nation as stepping stone on their path to change the demography, relegion, diversity.

Trump to Dr. Fauci- “You’re fired!” Would be a colossal tragedy & shame

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
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Trump to Dr. Fauci- “You’re fired!” Would be a colossal tragedy & shame

The Trump Presidency has been a chaotic one. For the past three years, the world has changed a lot, thanks to his entry into 1610, Pennsylvania Avenue. Till date, he has not formed his entire Cabinet, even as November, 2020 elections are round the bend. He began his Presidency with a bang, firing James Comey, FBI Chief, on his disinclination to swear ‘person loyalty to Trump’. Coney has captured it all in his “Higher Loyalty” to the nation and its Constitution.

That was only the beginning of Trump’s “You’re fired” from his reality TV show The Apprentice. He has fired a whole host of entities- Secretary of State, Defence Secretary, White House Chief of Staff, Media and Communications Director, Attorney General, his own personal physician and counsel too. We can make of List of firings to compile a Tome.

It is nothing new. But this is truly bizarre. The world is in a lockdown. Twenty thousand and more Americans, more than Italy and Spain have lost, have died in the Pandemic and the curve is not flattening yet. Trump started off with “Coronavirus is a box, a Democrats’ conspiracy’ theory until scientists and medical professionals were forced to hold his hands, legs, mouth, with or without a mask. Dr. Anthony Fauci is the 80 year old Doctor who has held office for 36 years in government service handling many a viral epidemic as SARS, H1N1, Ebola and any other. He is on the Coronavirus Task Force and is the ‘sane and solitary voice looming above the cacophony’.

Dr. Fauci has been standing alongside, in the White House briefings held court by Donald J Trump. The good doctor has gone on record in print and electronic media that ‘it is the virus that will determine the timeline for opening the economy’. Now, he went to State of the Union Show with Jake Tapper CNN on 12th April, 2020- that ‘obviously we had shit everything down from the beginning the fatalities would have been far lesser but we delayed as there was a push back from the internal divisions led from the very top’.

It is too obvious that Dr. Fauci was pointing to Trump as the cause for delay. Trump does not like it one bit. Trump was called a ‘moron’ by Rex Tillerson, his first Secretary of State, of course, fired. Now, Trump has been called as ‘nuts’ by his so called more loyal than the king Moscow Mitch (as he christened on media) , Senate Majority leader who holds all the aces for legislations in the Congress.

Read this fascinating piece in The NewYorker – https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-mitch-mcconnell-became-trumps-enabler-in-chief revealing what Mitch has been up to and even he, the so called for hard acolyte has called a Trump ‘ Nuts’. Donald J Trump has now retweeted a tweet that Dr. Anthony Fauci deserves to be ‘fired’ for his laying the blame for delayed lockdown and huge number of deaths on the lap of Trump. It would be one helluva decision to take even as the world is fighting the invisible enemy. Would Trump go ahead and commit harakiri? Don’t rule it out. He is far more moronic or nutsy than he has proved to be. Forget not that after the impeachment enquiry failed on the Senate Floor, Trump fired some witnesses and Inspector General who rolled the dice first, from their positions, and this happened in those Pandemic times.

World waits with bated breath if Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, who has continued for 36 long years, across 7 Presidents, and not allowed to go home, till date, may well get fired by Donald J Trump, even as America and the world is still waging an uphill battle against Covid-19.

As Bob Woodward, he of the Carl Bernstein twin of Watergate fame, said, “Put nothing beyond Trump. He instills fear and his narcissistic tendencies can overwhelm him at any moment of the day as any firing is just a tweet away”. Dr. Fauci is not fighting America’s fight. He is inspirational to the entire world in his unrelenting struggle to defeat the virus and its viral impact. Heaven help, if Donald J Trump were to live up to his name and fame and shout ‘You’re fired’ to Dr. Anthony Fauci and asks him to go packing home, and in the midst of this war on virus, which none of his 6 predecessors in the White House ever got the gumption and courage or idiocy to utter. It would tragedy compounded by eternal shame.

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

Improved quality of air and increased survival of corona? Is there a new danger hidden under our carpet

S Ranganathan
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Improved quality of air and increased survival of corona? Is there a new danger hidden under our carpet

The sudden 21 day lock down announcement made by Indian Prime Minister on March 24 2020 to prevent the spread of corona in India appears to have done little to India with reference to the purpose of lock down. Many even ardent followers of Modi also have expressed their displeasure and anger against Modi for his unplanned lock down and his habit of giving nation, a surprise at short-notice. 

Scientifically the 21 day lock down was a thoughtless measure, because we took such measure much before understating anything about the ecology of corona in different populations in India but simply we followed the rule of how to prevent an epidemic and pandemic like a copycat. 

Without mapping the behaviour of corona in human body from inoculation to the manifestation of all signs and symptoms of COVID 19, the infectivity and spread of the disease in such individuals, the spread cannot be prevented.  

A medical or clinical point of view was essential than the rule of how to prevent the spread of any pathogen of epidemic to pandemic proportion. 

Just by paralyzing India, its economy and people, we cannot shock or shake corona. 

If corona were that susceptible to human intervention, it would not have ruled the world by travelling from Wuhan, China. Perhaps China would want to rule the world; it looks like, corona has not let down China from such perspectives, although such connotation is unworthy for the time being. 

The recent study of NIH (National Institute of Health) USA has proved that novel corona can survive in ex-human habitat for prolonged period of time. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-coronavirus-stable-hours-surfaces.  The survival of corona in the air for a while is also well known. 

The question that plagues out mind is that have we increased the survival chance of corona by accidently increasing the quality of our air as a result of 21 day lock down? If such possibility is true even partly, then have we not defeated the purpose of preventing the spread of corona between people through lock down and social distancing? 

The proportion of viral spread through direct contact although we would have reduced by 21 day lock down but by the consequent effect of lock down led air quality improvement, have we not increased the chance of survival of the virus in the air?  

When the whole world was shaken and shattered over novel corona, India should have learned a little more about corona ecology than rushing to procure ventilator and genome sequencing. After understanding a bit about corona a reasonably workable and acceptable measure could have been implemented. 

But Modi has put all his eggs in one basket and in one go? The result is, corona is still active, may bounce back vigorously in coming months, India is left with little option. 

Our medical professionals are specialized only treating the patient and are less aware of diverse India or Indians. Otherwise, why Modi should abolish MCI and brought a new bill called NMC 2019, which was opposed and protested at national level by our medical fraternity. 

India lost too much in preventing the spread of the virus for a while but missed to understand other vital facts that are necessary to deal the epidemic till the near total elimination or attenuation of the virus is achieved. 

Who knows the better quality of life, purity of air, low humidity, near zero exposure of the population to various pathogens in European countries and in US might have favoured corona in a better way in those countries and therefore adopting the measures taken by them, India would achieve nothing.     

Imagine, if the air quality improvement due to lock down is going to positively favour the survival time of corona means, what have we achieved through lock down?   

The global data on corona suggests that India has not yet seen the true face of corona in India and only coming months, we may see the true medical challenges due to corona. The corona disaster is not yet over and it may continue for another 3-6 months, the least. 

Modi has exhausted the best and supposedly the last weapon called lock down of the country prematurely and too early and lost the game. 

Coming days are going to be tough both medically and economically thanks to the overzealous measure over corona. Intension may be good; definitely the outcome is no way in proportion to the cost.    

A vote for the finger

Ajith N
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A vote for the finger

The very vote that gives ministers a status of supremacy serves as a superficial physical and social barrier between the voter and him.

Sirens, used to convey importance or emergency in situations, now possess a diluted significance due to the fallacious notion of the Members of Parliament being “VIPs”. The spirit of democracy and equality is run over by the motorcade of the ministers, passing on roads made vacant to aid their speedy movement. Public wonder over the VIP has been converted to sheer despise and inconvenience, with everyday local MLA’s and ministers utilizing multiple cars unnecessarily to facilitate the transport of one vain minister. 

Symbolising their arrogance and status by placing a red siren on the roof of their SUVs, a vehicle half the size of their egos, they receive the same security as a Cabinet Minister or even the executive head of the country. ‘Public’ roads and highways are now private pathways, traffic comes to a standstill, and along with his cars goes the public perception of the minister. After all, they must reach on time, lest their duties be neglected due to their delay and the polity might run itself. The very public that voted for them on a sunny day is now forced to wait for aeons to even move an inch on the crammed roads. These men, who were once like any other common man, now revel in the glory of their designations, drowned in a world of benefits that come with it. Their status as “VIPs” was destined by the people waiting in those same crammed roads – the public, that placed confidence in their abilities, and who are now at the receiving end of their decisions. The indelible ink on their fingers is now a symbol of social patronage, solidified by the tall promises and sky-high claims. 

A solution would be to place the poster of Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands cycling to the Noordeinde Palace in each of their offices, a beginning to change the bullet-proof protection to the otiose egomaniacal ministers. Inspiration comes in all forms and sizes; thus, a rotund minister on a bicycle not only benefits the environment and public expenditure, but also his own health. A multi-fold problem that has one solution with two wheels.

The very ‘status’ that these people in power hold is due to the public confidence and faith placed in them to carry out their functions and be the voice of the aggrieved. However, the ‘VIPs’ fail to realize this and take their importance over and above the required threshold with rows of cars and crowds of people to make way for them. The core of this issue lies in the failure of the ministers to realize that the very importance they so enjoy and revel in, would be absent if the people who made them important in the first place were to indicate their choice for somebody else. This is not just an issue of thosein power taking undue advantage of the resources at their disposal, but the indifference the public has to these individuals if their vehicle is in front at a traffic light. Contrary to the delirious beliefs that they would be mobbed by persons on stepping out of their protective motorcades and bodyguard bubbles, the public is severely uninterested in them. Thus, the very need for these measures stands invalidated. 

The Islamic fundamentalism on a rise in India and its solution

pawanpandey
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The Islamic fundamentalism on a rise in India and its solution

Recently in New Delhi, the authorities forcibly removed thousands of people from an Islamic Center of controversial religious organisation Tablighi Jamaat. As of writing this piece hundreds of Jamaatis, many of them foreigners, who refuse to come forward and get tested for COVID 19, are being apprehended from all parts of the country. This attitude, dangerous to the society at large, is being condemned by all sections of society and some right thinking Muslims too. But there is a deafening silence from the intellectual and religious leaders of Indian Muslims. Not a word of condemnation or even advice to abide by govt rules, can be heard from the lips of ‘secular’ mediapersons, leaders and activists. This included such persons of Marxist bent. Therein lie the clear symptoms of the Muslim problem in India.

The Muslim problem in India is neither new nor unknown but for some reasons it has always been pushed under the carpet. Although the ’eminent’ historians claim that communalism in India is a modern phenomenon, the truth is that since medieval times Muslims have attacked Hindus and their temples for religious reasons. If someone says Mehmood ‘butshikan’ Gaznavi or Firoz Shah Tuglaq, or Khalji or Aurangzeb (to name just a few) were motivated only by economic reasons, he/she is plainly lying. These lies can be exposed by reading histories of their times (written by contemporary Muslim court historians) which praise their religious zeal. Hindus on the other hand remained largely oblivious to this and seldom do we hear of Muslim places of worships demolished.

Modern era and British systematizing of our history of course challenged Hindu pride and what is called Hindu communalism is just Hindu awakening and spirit of unity. In short majority Muslims were always religious zealots and as Mahabharata explains: “The cure for venom is venom itself.” This Hindu assertion seen in works of Swami Dayanand, Annie Besant, Swami Vivekananda inspired our freedom struggle. The faultlines between the two communities came to fore during later stages of freedom struggle. Jinnah, otherwise a non-observant{secular?} Muslim{ate pork and drank too}, ironically became the poster boy of fanatic Islam. The result was tragedy of Direct Action and Partition. The actual tragedy of partition was that the areas that actually voted for league and were the support base for it, remained in India. League leaders and population remained in India and expected Indian Hindus to not doubt on their patriotism. The problem could still have been resolved by sensible policies immediately after partition, but the woulds of society were allowed to fester. We have come to such a situation today that mistrust between Muslims and Hindus in India has reached such a low, that one cannot agree with other even if the subject is non-political and beneficial to both.

Reasons for Islamic problem in India:-

The reasons for this mistrust are quite well known. The mistrust emanates from the following reasons:-

  • The overarching reason is aggressive minority politics since before the partition. The tradition continues unabated and we see declarations of 15 crore vs 100 crore and 15 minutes frequently.
  • The glorification of Hinduphobic rulers of the past. In Pakistan, it can be seen in their naming their missiles after Gaznavi, Gauri and Abdali etc. There is no dearth of people in India, who idolize and admire these zealot Muslim Kings of the past. This basically serves the function of providing them associative pride of ruling and oppressing India for the proverbial 1000 years.(actually it is like 300 years for most places.)
  • Unlike other world religions, Islam has not seen a major religious reform. It means that religious fundamentalism has never been addressed in Islam. Combined with religiously exclusivist dogma, it means death or condemnation for non-Muslims. You can see the false sense of superiority and condemnation of non-Muslims in the spitting habits (brought in light recently, but ever present.)
  • There has been no solution to disputes over the thousands of occupied religious structures f Hindus by Muslims. Temples converted to mosques which have not been returned. There is a principle demand to return Mathura and Kashi (Ayodhya has been resolved.), which clearly have literary and archaeological proofs of being occupied by Muslims (and can be seen with naked eyes), and let Muslims keep other thousands of sites.

There have been many past attempts to solve this Muslim problem in India. Since before partition, Arya Samaj has tried conversion. ISKCON, although not focused on India and Muslims, also tries the same approach. In recent years, Agniveer has also done some work in the area. Clearly, it has not worked and it is not expected to convert all 25 crores of Indian Muslims. Successive governments have tried to integrate them in the mainstream social life, but due to above-mentioned reasons, the ‘Sabka Vishwas’ solution has not worked either. So, it has been deemed convenient to paper over the differences and falsely present to public and the world a face of unity.

It has led to many problems. The endemic riots, most recently seen in Delhi; internet trolling from both sides with religous jibes and ridiculous statements from leaders or attention seekers have endangered the country. The internet revolution in last 5-6 years has only worsened the matters as anyone can make an irresponsible statement online in secure anonymity. It has also given rise to agent provocateurs and foreign elements’ meddling in India. If the current trend continues, we can expect worsening conditions and a veritable clash of civilizations playing out in our country. Nobody would be the winner except the communists, who have always wanted 22 countries in Indian subcontinent.

Suggestions to tackle the above problem in India:-

I suggest a few steps to arrest and counter this trend and we need to implement some or all of these steps within the next 2-3 years:-

  • A Truth and Reconciliation Commission based on model of South Africa should be established. Its mandate should be to clear up the myths of Indian history. In this, no foreigner or foreign funded person should be allowed. Indian history scholars{including those not from JNU and AMU} with Sanskrit scholars should debate, discuss and come to agreement on an authentic history of India. A previous efort under Mazumdar was a great effort. The official historical facts should be the only ones taught in all schools and colleges. The interpretations can, of course differ.
  • A Hindu Genocide museum should be built, lest we forget. Research should be undertaken to uncover sites, and years of specific events and the stories propagated through movies, stories etc.
  • Anyone teaching, propagating or advocating alternative wrong facts should be prosecuted under laws similar to Germany, where just raining a Nazi salute can land you in jail. Muslim despots like Aurangzeb, Gaznavi etc. were no better than Hitler and praising them should attract strict punishment.
  • Foreign influences and money in religious matters in India should be strictly regulated. It has been no more apparent than today during COVID crisis. Pan Islamism is a danger to the country.
  • Govt should also be more proactive on the Internet. The hatemonger Zakir Naik was preaching since years with hundreds of YouTube videos, but the govt acted very late. A viable method is to provide a single app where one can report only such hateful content. Local police can review this user generated data. Vigilant citizens of India would certainly help in this.
  • Regulate religious education in India. Prescribe a course, made in consultation with eminent religious scholars, and any deviation in preaching/instruction should be punished.
  • Bring UCC. It is constitutionally mandated, logical and will help in mainstreaming Muslims in a generation or two. Ignore the protests as Nehru Govt did in case of Hindu Code Laws.

These statements may look radical but most of these have precedents in European countries, which are supposed to be paragons of secularism. Unfortunately, the first six years of this govt have been rather lacklustre in terms of educational reforms, which form the backbone of making a strong nation. It is to be hoped that after the COVID crisis, one would see some real action from the govt.

When Allah striven for Ram Mandir

shrinivashinge
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When Allah striven for Ram Mandir

He finished his morning Namaz with great devotion. In his prayers he asked Allah to give justice to each and every living creature on this planet. He took off his skull cap and washed his hands, legs and went to his study room. The study table had a book waiting for the reader since last night. He took the book in his hand, opened the page where he had left the bookmark and read

                                                न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् |

   कार्यते ह्यवश: कर्म सर्व: प्रकृतिजैर्गुणै: || 5|| Bhagwat Geeta Chapter 3 verse 5.

(There is no one who can remain without action even for a moment. Indeed, all beings are compelled to act by their qualities born of material nature.)

Karingamannu Kuzhiyil Muhammed the member of Archaeological Survey of India has the biggest responsibility on his shoulder of finding the things dug deep into the earth since many centuries and tell the world what everybody can infer from his findings. Muhammed is in continuous process of learning Sanskrit as he always felt that Sanskrit helped an archaeologist a lot to understand more about Indian culture. He had gone through many texts like Bhagwat Geeta, Upanishads, and Vedas. More and more he read and understood Sanskrit, more he started falling in love with the language. His companions used to say that last birth of Muhammed was surely in some Brahmin’s house where for the whole day he might be reciting Sanskrit Shlokas in loud voice.

Allah has blessed him with great life and great intellect. After spending initial few years of life in Kerala, he went to study at Aligarh Muslim University. He was very hard working and focused person, whatever work he took in his hand he managed to finish it perfectly. After joining Archaeological Survey of India he became part of the team which worked on excavation of Ram Janma Bhoomi in the year 1976 where Babri Masjid was still standing. The dispute was 100 years old and now people from both faiths were having all eyes on ASI team who was undertaking the cumbersome task of excavating the disputed but a very pious land. There was a feeling in the country that either faiths had gone through injustice.

The process of excavation has started in full swing. ASI team was very much unaware in the beginning as always about what they would be finding in next few days. Even the tenure was also not clear but the passion to solve the biggest emotional, social and cultural problem for India made them work efficiently in whole process. In the beginning they found some 12 pillars below the Babri Masjid. They studied more about the pillars after carrying out carbon dating process that the pillars were of temples.  KK’s study of Hindu literature helped them here. They found Purna Kalash inscribed on the pillars. The Purna Kalash symbolizes prosperity and also one of the 8 auspicious symbols in Sanatana Hindu Dharma. The team also found some idols of Hindu faith.

But to make sure that the temple was of Lord Rama, the profound study of Ramayana by K K Muhammed supported the team. The description found on ‘VishnuHari Shila Phalak’ said “this is the temple of the person who killed Bali and the 10 headed man.” Hence it was understood that the temple belonged to Lord Rama. In further excavations the ASI found more 50 pillars and also a pass way for water which was used to bathe the deity. The carbon dating process made sure that the temple was built around 12th AD. Even the writings of the travelers which were found before the Babar period (20 April 1526 – 26 December 1530) talked only about the idols and how Hindus used to pray in the Ram temple.

K K Muhammed and his team were sure that there was temple before the construction of Babri Masjid and accordingly they submitted the report to the high court. But his bigger challenge was his own community who were questioning his faith and devotion towards Islam.  Hence proactively he started discussion with prominent Muslim historians and personalities in the society. In 1990 he came out and gave an open statement in Indian Express that “Ayodhya and Mathura are as important for Hindus as Mecca and Medina are for Muslims. Muslims should willingly handover the sites to Hindu brothers.” Many Muslims got convinced with the logic K K Muhammed had provided, he also said that “This site has no relation with any significant figures of Islam like prophet Muhammed, Khulafa-e-rashideen etc. ”

But the main issue started when the Marxist historians like Irfan Habib made the matter worse. They made sure that the matter will heat up the relation between the two communities. KK repeatedly said that identifying oneself with Babar is stupidity but his voice didn’t reach everyone. After all the ugly things, finally supreme court gave order to build temple in the disputed land on 5th August 2019 and Muslims were also given a separate land in Ayodhya. This was same solution KK Muhammed was prescribing from day one. His determination and faithfulness towards his work and immense belief in Allah made him hero of the country and 600 years of wrong doing was corrected finally.

Sources:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._K._Muhammed

India and post-Wuhan/Covid19

shalabhsharma
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India and post-Wuhan/Covid19

World including India is facing a grave situation where economies are at halt, people are inside, and the virus has affected more than 1.5 Million people, there is one country, the originator i.e. China has resumed all the activities and people are back on the streets. After World-War-2 this is the first world-wide challenge where almost all the countries are affected and the globalization has seen its negative impact. I will talk about post-Wuhan/Covid19 attack on humanity, it’s implications on India and a probable hypothetical scenario in this essay below.

China has resumed all the activities where people are again moving on the streets and business has started for domestic consumption after more than 70 days lock-down, the people are happy and TV visuals are inspiring as they celebrate the dawn of new century as China has started to claim the world hegemony where they are finding successful attempts, whether it be in Europe or other parts of the world, countries are thanking China for the medical equipment and various other kits. Although there are reports that some countries due to lower-quality are sending back the material the only exception is Pakistan which recently got material made not out of required material as given by WHO’s specifications. But what if China successfully achieves the hegemony through this virus attack? There is a theory in Political Science and International Relations that a country can persist hegemony up to 100 years, from the past examples of UK, France, and other EU countries theory can be accepted, if accepted then the USA has to contest for its place in near future, and the future may be today in 2020 or 2021 where China through OBOR/BRI, debt-trap and other kinds of moves which were taken by the USA nearly a century ago can be seen with crystal clear dimensions.

India, where the second-largest population lives, the biggest democracy on the planet Earth, will be affected by this change in the world order. Firstly, China has an “all-weather-friend” called Pakistan. Let’ visit this scenario where China is all-powerful, in the region and already created a Bi-Polar world again, where the USA is struggling to keep its pace in keeping world order, then Pakistan which is a proxy of China for India, to keep India engage and stress vital resources, will cheer. The non-state-actor will find easy targets in India, and there will be an increase in terrorists activities and radicalization to destabilize India, which is very beneficial for China as well as other countries for the hegemony, and sole rule of China in India-Pacific.

Secondly, as China already moved ahead and has debt-trapped countries in place, India can be harmed strategically in the Indian Ocean where more investments and hegemony-ical-fear will keep countries in a neighborhood away from Indian interests. The Strait-Of-Malacca will be ruled by China as well as South China sea and clearly there will be a polarisation due to the so-called “National Interest” and “BoP” in the region. Thirdly, the energy security of India which is prime importance to India will be endangered, due to Gwadar port which is obviously owned by China, and China’s naval army presence will see frequent contestation. Africa and small islands will see the rise of Chinese naval bases, which directly impacts India because of the presence of Indian oil supply lines in this region. The busiest route i.e. Suez Canal route will be controlled by China too, and this affects the EU where they will have to subdue to China due to the already presence of BRI and now the control of China through companies in EU and other parts of the world. This will surely affect India’s interests worldwide. Lastly, if Pakistan becomes powerful in China’s reign then Afghanistan will be more destabilized and as the USA is withdrawing, therefore, there can be an increase in the rate of terrorism in other parts of the world and India can see the radicalization of people.

The above is a hypothetical situation, where if we think the post-Wuhan/COVID world need to be controlled by powers of the world, as we have already seen WHO’s brassiness, and UNSC resolutions are already vetoed by China stating “racist” factors, although that wasn’t applied in Zika or Ebola or other virus pandemics. Therefore, world order needs to be restored post-crisis. India needs to take steps to keep our national interest and contest Chinese hegemony in the near future. First, as India has taken leadership of Pharma products which are now allowed to export is a great step where the world will experience India’s soft power as J. Nye has stated about it. India needs to ramp up production and also see that we make medical equipment also so that we can counter Chinese low-quality products with our Make In India products. Secondly, the revival of SAARC is a step in the right direction, India has already created the COVID fund and countries are already contributing the fund, India already sent many packages to Sri-Lanka as well as the Maldives, but needs to take further steps, such as creating a Post-COVID engagement and policy on the economy, MSME revival and tourism, such that at least countries other than Pakistan come aboard and there is need to be greater engagement.

Thirdly, India must also engage with BIMSTEC, as BIMSTEC is more functional than SAARC in recent past, also it does include other countries that are part of the Act-East policy of India., same as in SAARC there should be a COVID fund and later engagement through economic policies and strategic policymaking. There can a wider financial engagement through the Bond market and there can be a BIMSTEC bank that can finance reenergizing the economy. Fourthly, to revive the domestic economy India shouldn’t keep the check on fiscal deficit and we must amend FRBM to push the targets to some other year, as 3.0% is a utopian concept linked to EU markets. Lastly, India must invite companies such as Japanese, South Korean, American and others to come and invest. For that, we must enhance Ease of doing business and work on the Plug-and-Play model of the development where the companies must find it easier to start without any complexity of licenses or clearing from various ministries. Japan has already announced a package of 20% of its GDP and we must utilize this opportunity to give companies a great experience in India. This will solve our upcoming unemployment and low-GDP growth rate.

As already stated that this is all hypothetical situation but the solutions are not. China can be hegemonic but there is a problem for China also that it is majorly an export-dependent economy and majority of its market area are in crisis i.e. USA and EU, the further USA has openly criticized China for spreading this virus and this needs to be seen what will happen when the USA comes out of the grace situation. China is also facing a fall in forex reserves and many countries are failing in debt-servicing, therefore, this also adds to the problem of China. But it is to see in the future what the world order be post-COVID/WUHAN virus pandemic. But one thing is sure Honourable Prime Minister of India N. Modi is taking the right steps at right time, it’s the right time where India can lead the world and be a world Guru as in past.

People who were suggesting what to do with Mob Lynchers are silent on what to do with Tablighi Jamat!

Shailendra Kumar
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People who were suggesting what to do with Mob Lynchers are silent on what to do with Tablighi Jamat!

I turn on the TV set every morning and tune into all liberal news channels, just to get good news that all 2361 Markaz attendees have been traced and all persons who came into their contact has been isolated. Yes, according to the NDTV news there were 2361 attendees on 22nd March when gates were locked of five-story “markaz” building. TV debates are fading day after day after reporters have received threats from supporters of Tablighi. No Media house cares about whether all Tabligis are captured and isolated. No one knows better than reporters how brutally Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered. Media house knows very well about the murders done in the Charlie Hebdo office in France.

SC used to take Suo moto cognizance on mob lynching incidents, pollution in Delhi and on various topics. Is SC is not worried that many Wuhan Corona virus-positive Jamati is still hidden somewhere in India and spreading Corona? Is NDTV not worried that 50 crore daily wage workers have to go through the long duration of unemployment due to “Lockdown 2.0. Are Congress and other Opposition parties, Kanheya Kumar, Swara Bhaskar are not worried about the pain of the poor people of India?

We are on the dangerous point in the history of India and no one dares to ask the key questions!

Congress , opposition and Gandhis are silent for obvious reasons.

NDTV and so called “Intellectuals” are silent due to obvious reasons.

Mostly law abiding “Bhakts” are also silenced due to strict laws on social media post.

If someone is still speaking freely without any fear are “the most fearful” community of India.

As a regular taxpayer, I pay my taxes on time, as a law-abiding citizen who cares, for others, I am avoiding crossing my gates since 10th March, yes my family and I are under self-isolation for more than a month. I have donated in PM CARES fund reasonably in my capacity. But I have questions in my mind. I want answers for those questions

Who will ensure the safety of doctors and front line of Corona fighters?

Police Inspector who captured 21 absconding Corona positive person is now contaminated with Corona, Who is responsible for his illness?

Is Indian system waiting that Corona virus would mutate itself into a less harmless virus?

What is the fate of India when no one would speak about the internal security of India?

Isn’t it my right to ask the government, Supreme court, media houses, opposition parties, intellectuals that how they are going to change or curb the anti-government sentiments in the multi-million strong population of India?

How much freedom, subsidies, and secularism is required for them to love Indian doctors and Indian Police?

ABVP volunteers help students during the lockdown caused due to the COVID 19 outbreak in South Mumbai

Nivan
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ABVP volunteers help students during the lockdown caused due to the COVID 19 outbreak in South Mumbai

At a time when the country is going through a rough path due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with confusion arising amongst the student community regarding recent developments in the country, volunteers of ABVP South Mumbai have been spreading information regarding various step taken by the state government to counter the rise of the Novel Coronavirus. 

On a daily basis, a public representative is invited to go live on the Instagram page of ABVP South Mumbai (www.instagram.com/ABVPSouthMumbai) and interact with students. Various industry leaders, social activists and professors have been called so far. 

The ABVP unit of HR college has been making various posts on social media and circulating information on WhatsApp groups whenever an announcement that can affect students is made. Various volunteers have been allocated the job of countering fake news on WhatsApp

Multiple helpline numbers have also been created to help the student community if they are stuck in any district or face any shortages of food or other essential services.

Whenever an important announcement is made, ABVP members on the college and district level verify the news and then begin circulating it in all circles. Students are routinely informed about the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic and are being taught how to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. 

However, at the same time, steps are being taken to ensure that mass panic doesn’t take place amongst the students, and efforts are being made to educate people about the ill-effects of hoarding essentials and medical equipment. 

It is being ensured that awareness is spread amongst students about the lockdown, and students have been advised to stay at home until the government lifts restrictions. 

Yashoda’s Curse on TASMAC Viral Pandemic

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
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Yashoda’s Curse on TASMAC Viral Pandemic

Yashoda (name changed on request), was making her daily visit, into our garage, to pick up the dirt and dust collected and religiously packed, as dry and wet stuff, separately. A conservancy worker, whose beat included our street houses, now for nearly 5 years. Whenever I happened to see her, as I was rushing to office, I used to pay her a Tenner or twenty, never more, and which may have been, twice a week. But today, as she wound up, I pulled out a 500 rupee note to handover to her. She was shocked. Her initial response was to refuse. I then showed her the story in an English daily- Tirunelveli city police awarding a guard of honour to conservancy workers and one Mookayi, a conservancy worker in Arakkonam Municipality being singled out for gratitude, when a local couple fell at her feet.

Yashoda: “Saami, a sister working with me, sent a WhatsApp message on the story. It feels good to be respected. But, imagine our plight, when we are treated like beggars, when we seek Inaam, during Deepavali, Pongal. We are chased out. We are told that we have no other work than seek such alms but never do our work sincerely and surely never respond to emergency calls. Saami, if you need to have such a virus, to notice our presence I would rather not have it”. What a solemn and stinging response!

I told her that I felt obliged to contribute my smallest mite. Why can’t she use it to buy some eatables for her children. Yashoda: “Saami, both my children- 8 and 5 y’ears, are with my mother in a Villupuram village. I live alone in a one room tenement as my husband, a drunkard, died some years ago. Instead of all of you suddenly respecting us for what we have been always, why cannot you tell the wretched government not to run these hell holes in TASMAC outlets (The poignant vernacular is beyond my translation faculties). I lost my father and now husband to liquor addiction. Saami, I am ashamed to tell you that my father chose my husband, after he became friendly with my husband, in a liquor vending shop and proudly said that my husband was a ‘super drinker who never got high.’ Why cannot you educated, who are now falling at our feet, and not go fall at the feet of the government to stop this menace?” She could not hold her emotions.

It was tough up tell her that challenges to liquor vending by government, had been nixed by courts. They were held legal and constitutional. Prohibition is tough to implement. Yashoda: “Saami, I understand nothing of what you are saying. Only, if you realise what my mother and I went through, you will understand. I wish there was a viral Pandemic affecting all the drinkers. Then, maybe the government will understand how alcohol virus is worse than Covid-19. Saami, when my father and husband were drunk, they were so mad and bad that sometimes my husband would mistakenly beat my mother and my father me. My husband, and his Guru, my father, drunk themselves to death, from the prasadam from their presiding deity TASMAC.

I did not know how to tell Yashodha that TASMAC was not going anywhere. Not now, tomorrow or ever. She told me the news “…governments were so concerned with the drunkards suffering from withdrawal symptoms that they were allowing liquor purchase on Doctors prescriptions, during the Lockdown. Saami, I can understand private people selling alcohol and making money. But government itself selling alcohol? How can you educated people accept it? Saami, it is not concern for drunkards with withdrawal symptoms – for government, it is money, money, money. Even if the Government gives everything free to us, rice, pulses, dress, and cash- no use. Our husbands/fathers/ brothers and now sisters are also joining them, will ensure that they are never thirsty. Shame Sir, that such things are considered legal and permissible.”

I concluded the debate by telling her “Law is an ass”. She asked me, “Why is it not kicking the bloody drunkards. Why is it kicking us? Next, you will all join and tell us that it was legal for government itself to run prostitution dens with licenses, so that they can make more and more and more money and give us more and more things for free.” I was felled into silence.

I offered now Rs. 1,000/-, assuming it may help her better. She said, “No Sir, I am now living alone. I now work for 16 hours instead of the usual 12 hours. Some Maharaja or two like you, give us some money now and then, to help me manage, with my take home salary of Rs. 8,000/- per month. Saami, I have one request. Tell all these people who are treating us as Covid-19 warriors and so on, that we have been doing this for years together. Only now, you have opened your eyes and ears, because if we do not clean daily, the dreaded Covid-19 may come visiting you. So, you are suddenly feeling generous to give money and respect us. Have you ever given Rs. 500/- before? Never. You need not. We are not beggars. We are working for a living. Please respect our work. And when we come for Deepavali or Pongal Inaam next time, don’t drive us out. Share a little bit of your happiness with us.” I was stunned by her onslaught, which I deserved every bit.

I apologised to her for the way we had never seen their services. I told her that her services were now being equated with those of Doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. Even essential service workers, newspapermen, grocers, milk vendors, were seen from a different prism. I was feeling so small in front of her. When I asked her one more time to accept the Rs. 1,000/- she said “Saami, do one thing- buy some rice, some vegetables, and biscuits with that money. There are ten families in our tenements. Most families are struggling. I will cook a good meal and share it with the other families.”

Oh My God. What nobility in her thought and expression. She rose higher in my estimation. I went to the nearby Amudham store, and bought her requirements. I was happy to see her beaming face. We have heard of Patriotic Philanthrophy from David Rubenstein, Warren Buffett’s and Bill and Melinda Gates with their munificence and our Azim Premjis and Ratan Tatas, opening their purses, before and now. But Yashoda offering to share what came to her, exceeded all those in precept and practice.

This is God’s own. Yashoda is right. The TASMAC vice and virus is worse than Covid-19 virus, for the latter has hit us with a venom, unheard of since 1918- 20 Spanish Flu. After one hundred years. But this despicable TASMAC virus is hitting us day in and day out, as I wholeheartedly joined Yashodas, in cursing a worse Pandemic on the TASMAC virus genre. Law and We The People can do no more.

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

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