आदरणीय गब्बर सिंह जी अपने जमाने के मशहूर डाकू थे। वे अपने गिरोह के सरदार थे। वे अपने डकैति वाले व्यवसाय में पूर्ण रूपेण समर्पित थे। वे अपने गिरोह के “गुडविल” और “ब्रांड” के बाजार मूल्य (Market Value) का पूरा ख्याल रखते थे। और उनके बारे में जितनी बातें कुख्यात थी, उसे वो अपने डकैती व्यवसाय में किये गए पूर्ण समर्पण का पारितोषिक मानते थे। उनके गिरोह में कालिया और साम्भा जैसे अत्यधिक कठिन परिश्रम करने वाले अनुयायी अर्थात उनके पश्चात उस गिरोह कि गद्दी को सम्हालने वाले डकैत शामिल थे।
कालिया के नेतृत्व में गिरोह के कुछ डाकू गांव वालों से Tax वसूलते थे जो की अनाज और मुद्रा दोनों हि रूपों में हुआ करता था। उनके द्वारा फैलाये गए आतंक का हिसाब किताब ” साम्बा के पास होता था, वो दिन रात इस प्रयास में रहता था कि सरकार गब्बर सिंह के आतंक की सही कीमत तय करती रहे।
खैर सरकार ने गब्बर सिंह को जिंदा या मुर्दा पकड़वाने के लिए ₹ ५००००/- का पारितोषिक देने की घोषणा कर रखी थी, जो गब्बर सिंह के ब्रांड वैल्यू को दर्शाता था। आदरणीय गब्बर सिंह जी स्वय इस तथ्य से अवगत थे और अपने डकैत साथियों में जोश भरने के लिए वो कहा करते थे कि सरकार ने उन पर ₹ ५००००/- का इनाम इसीलिए रखा है ” कि उनके गिरोह के पते से ५०-५० कोस कि दूर पर जब बच्चा रात को रोता है, तब उसकी माँ कहती है, बेटे सो जा, सो जा नहीं तो गब्बर सिंह आ जाएगा।”
जब गांव के ठाकुर के दो आदमियों जो पेशे से चोर थे, कालिया और उसके दो साथियों को गांव से भगा देते हैं, तो गब्बर सिंह को बड़ा आघात लगता है। वो सोचते हैं कि दो चोर उनके तीन डकैतों पर यदि भारी पड़ गए तो उनके ब्रांड वैल्यू का क्या होगा और फिर गब्बर सिंह कालिया सहित दो डकैतों को पहले हँसने का मौका देते हैं और फिर उन्हें गोली मारते हुए कहते हैं ” जो डर गया, समझो मर गया”।
माननीय (वर्तमान)मुख्यमंत्री:- अब आ जाते हैं, बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री पर, बिहार के वर्तमान मुख्यमंत्री स्वय को मुख्यमंत्री बनाये रखने के लिए किसी भी पार्टी की गोद में जाकर बैठ जाने से परहेज नहीं करते। इनका भी अपना ब्रांड वैल्यू है। पिछले १५ वर्षो से लगातार वो बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री है। पिछले चुनाव में “ये उनका आखिरी चुनाव है” ये कहकर बिहार की जनता के बीच गए थे और दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी राजनितिक पार्टी भाजपा के सहयोग से तीसरी बार मुख्यमंत्री बने। अब इन्होने बिहार में पूर्ण रूप से “शराब बंदी” कि घोषणा करके उसे कार्यान्वित कर दिया।
अब मुख्यमंत्री जी अपने ब्रांड वैल्यू को चमकाने में इतने व्यस्त और मौकापरस्त हो गए कि उन्हें इस बात का ध्यान हि नहीं रहा “कि मानव समाज को जिस कार्य को करने के लिए मना किया जाता है, वो उसे चोरी छिपे हि सही पर करने का जरूर प्रयास करता है और इसी का लाभ समाज में वो लोग उठाते हैं, जिन्हें समाज में फैलती बुराई से कोई सरोकार नहीं होता अपितु केवल “दमड़ी” से रिश्ता होता”। मुख्यमंत्री जी के असुरक्षित ” शराबबंदी ने बिहार में १:- शराब के तश्करी के मार्ग खोल दिए और २:- जहरीली शराब के तैयार होने और उसे चोरी छिपे बेचने का मार्ग प्रशस्त कर दिया।
इसका परिणाम ये निकला की असावधानी से और घटिया युक्ति से शराब के निर्माण करने की प्रक्रिया ने उसमें नशा का तत्व कम अपितु ज़हर का तत्व अधिक पैदा कर दिया और उसका सबसे तत्कालीन उदाहरण है ” बिहार के छपरा जीले में जहरीली शराब पीने से हुई ७५ से ज्यादा लोगों की मौत।
परन्तु आश्चर्य इस तथ्य का नहीं कि ” सुशासन बाबू कहलाने वाले मुख्यमंत्री के अयोग्य और अहितकारी सरकारी प्रबंधन ने जहरीली शराब को बनने, बेचने और उसका उपभोग करने से नहीं रोक पायी, अपितु आश्चर्य इस तथ्य का है कि, माननीय मुख्यमंत्री ये कह कर कि “पियोगे तो मरोगे” अपनी छाती बेशर्मी से फुलाये घूम रहे हैं। और यही नहीं उनके राजनितिक पार्टी के ब्रांड वैल्यू को बनाये रखने के उत्तरदाई उनके प्रवक्ता इससे भी दो हाथ आगे निकलकर कह रहे हैं कि ” जो लोग जहरीली शराब पीकर मर गए उनके साथ कोई सहानुभूति नहीं है, मुआवजा किस बात के दे”।
अब ज़रा इस तथ्य पर गौर करिये कि यदि बिहार में शराबबंदी नहीं होती तो ना तो शराब कि तस्करी होती और ना जहर से भरी कच्ची शराब चोरी छिपे तैयार की जाती और ना हि शराब के शौक़ीन चोरी छिपे इसे खरीदकर कर पिते और ना ही इतनी बड़ी मात्रा में इंसानों की मौते होती।
शराबबंदी यदि लागू करना हि था तो पहले उसकी पृष्ठभूमि तैयार करनी थी। सर्वप्रथम पूरे राज्य से शराब बनाने वाली वैध और अवैध शराब भट्टीयो को नष्ट करना था। पूरे राज्य में शराब के तस्करो पर लगाम लगानी चाहिए थी। कार्यपालिका, विधायिका और इन शराब तस्करो और शराब बनाने वाले लोगों के मध्य फैले गठजोड़ को तोड़ना और समाप्त करना था। परन्तु दुर्भाग्य ये है कि ” शराबबंदी” को बिना किसी तैयारी के लागू कर दिया गया।
पर बात यंहा पर राजधर्म कि यदि बात करें तो राजधर्म का पालन करने वाला व्यक्ति अपनी प्रजा के प्रति सवेन्दनशिल नहीं अपितु अति सवेन्दनशिल होता है। प्रजा पर विपत्ति आए या आपत्ति आए हर परिस्थिति में राजधर्म का पालन करने वाला व्यक्ति अपनी प्रजा के साथ खड़ा होता है।
अनागतविधाता च प्रत्युत्पन्नमतिश्र्च यः । द्वावेव सुखमेधेते दीर्घसूत्री विनश्यति ॥
मित्रों हमारे शास्त्रों ने स्पष्ट कहा है कि “न आये हुए संकट की आगे से तैयारी रखने वाला और प्रसंगावधानी ये दो (प्रकार के राजा) ही सुखी होते हैं । विलंब से काम करने वाले का नाश होता है ।” ये श्लोक पूरी तरह से बिहार के मुख्यमंत्री पर खरा उतरता है। ऐसा नहीं है कि यह प्रथम अवसर है, जब जहरीली शराब से लोगों कि मृत्यु हुई है, इसके पूर्व १५ वराह के शाशनकाल में अनेको बार इस प्रकार की मौते हुई हैं, पर उनसे सबक लेने के स्थान पर “पियोगे तो मरोगे” जैसी असंवेदनशीलता का प्रदर्शन किया जा रहा है।
दुष्टस्य दण्डः स्वजनस्य पूजा न्यायेन कोशस्य हि वर्धनं च । अपक्षपातः निजराष्ट्ररक्षा पञ्चैव धर्माः कथिताः नृपाणाम् ॥
दुष्ट को दंड देना, स्वजनों की पूजा करना, न्याय से कोश बढाना, पक्षपात न करना, और राष्ट्र की रक्षा करना – ये राजा के पाँच कर्तव्य है। परन्तु आज का बिहार का राजा अर्थात मुख्यमंत्री “पियोगे तो मरोगे” जैसी निर्लज्जता पूर्ण टिप्पणी करता है तो फिर वो उन पाँच कर्तव्यों को पूरा करेगा इसमें केवल संशय और संशय है।
आपको विदित हो कि जितने मनुष्यों कि मृत्यु हुई है, ये सभी समाज के अति पिछ्ड़े समाज से जुड़े हैं जो रोज़ कमाते थे और रोज़ अपने परिवार के लिए रोटी का जुगाड़ करते थे, अपनी गरीबी के दर्द को भुलाने के लिए मदिरा का सहारा लेने की गलती ने उनसे उनकी जिन्दगी छीन ली।
नरेशे जीवलोकोअयं निमीलति निमीलति। उदेत्युदयमाने च रवाविव सरोरुहम्।।४अक्षयनीतिसुधाकर
यह मनुष्य लोक नीतिपरायण राजाके अभाव से अवनति को प्राप्त होके अस्त हो जाता है। न्यायपरायण प्रजाहितैषी राजा का उदय होने से उन्नति को प्राप्त होता है। जैसे सूर्य उदय होने से कमल प्रकाशित होता है और सूर्य अस्त होने से कमल अस्त हो जाता है।जो शासक धर्मशील सद्गुणों से युक्त हो,तेजस्वी और पराक्रमी हो और प्रजा को प्रसन्नता प्रदान करनेवाला और प्रजा को सन्मार्ग पर अग्रसर करने वाला हो वह ‘राजा’ कहलाता है।
अब देखने वाली बात ये है कि अपने ब्रांड को चमकाने के पीछे अंधों कि तरह दौड़ लगाने वाले नेता और उनके अनुयायी, कब तक स्वय को जिम्मेदार समझकर प्रजा कि वास्तव में सेवा करेंगे और उसके सुख दुःख में सहभागी होंगे।
Ek Bihari sab pe bhari but what when they are in bunch?
The political leaders of Bihar and their murky leadership is getting immensely heavy and harsh to their innocent natives with no sign of relief or empathy. Mr. Chief Minister resembles the famous character “Gajodhar bhaiya” coined by veteran comedian Lt.Sh.Raju Srivastava. Gajodhar bhaiya with jabbering noise and numbed public comments sprouting as obtuse comicalness character with no sense of benevolence.
Chief Minister Saheb instead of coming up with a feasible solution to combat the illegitimate trade of poisonous liquor and safeguard the lives of their natives, publicly asserted that “No compensation will be given to people who died after drinking…We have been appealing — if you drink, you will die… those who talk in favor of drinking will not bring any good to you…” in another statement, he irresponsibly stated “Piyoge toh maroge (Those who drink spurious liquor will die)”.
Three major hooch incidents were reported in this year- 22 deaths in Bhagalpur on March 22-23; 20 deaths in Gopalganj on November 2-3; and 15 deaths in Gopalganj again on November 3-4. NHRC has also underlined the failure of the State Government to implement its policy of prohibition of the sale and consumption of illicit liquor in Bihar.
The CM saheb instead of being mournful and showing remorse to the family members of the deceased heartlessly made the insentient statement in the media. The government completely failed in tacking bootleggers, and it seems that they are being backed by some powerful entity due to which they function fearlessly.
The crime rate is shockingly increasing. In November 2022, a murder in Karbigahiya wholesale market located adjacent to Patna Junction made the local traders furious. They claimed that Patna is no longer a safe place for traders. A similar incident occurred in Danapur where a gang barged into a shop with weapons, ferociously attacked the owner, and took away valuables at gunpoint. The situation in Arrah is even worse as more than 11 murders took place in a short span of 14 days.
Even today bootleggers are openly operating in this state without any fear of law and order, instead parallel economy in Bihar is unprecedently rising, and the bootleggers are massively flourishing and earning fortunes without any hindrance. The Hight of daringness is quite evident from incidents that occurred in past months wherein bootleggers brazenly attacked police officials and excise administrators.
It’s not only about the illicit liquor trade, the state of Bihar is bleeding in all social aspects with no kindness to its inhabitants. In another incident, the women of Bihar were brutally traumatized, as they cried in excruciating and unbearable pain. Their hands and feet were held tightly as the doctors surgically sterilized them cold-heartedly. At least, 23 women were forced to undergo tubectomy, without anesthesia. The shameless and callous act of medical negligence was committed by hardhearted medical practitioners in open daylight without any fear of law and order. Surprisingly, the health minister instead of taking responsibility and prompting instantaneous action against the culprits chooses to sideline himself from this controversy.
The corruption in this State is crossing all limits, on June 25, 2022, a team of vigilance raided the house of a government official who was designated as a drug inspector in Patna, they found more than 4 crores of cash overstuffed in the mattresses. The drug inspector also reportedly owns 27 properties. Not only government servants are in the headlines but also ministers are being arraigned. Bihar agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh, against whom several corruption charges were leveled had to tender his resignation to preserve the repute of his party.
The leaders of this State are full of pride
but underprivileged inhabitants are being deprived of Fundamental Rights.
The state of Bihar is a pitiable state
with lots of corruption, illicit trade, and raid.
No sign of respite and recognition of the elementary right
The present state of affairs seems to be less bright.
Over the course of 35+ years of Hindu practice, from having a guru and not having one, many have asked me if a teacher is needed in the learning and practice of yoga=meditation, leading to samadhi and eventual moksha.
My answer has always been, ‘Yes’, of course.’ How fortunate one is to have a guru. There are, however, many caveats to consider.
In this day and age we have more information than we actually need. We can have multiple gurus. We can buy their works on Amazon. We can place them in our hearts and minds, as we will. We can put such teachings into practice. Yet, there may be one Sat-Guru, working in the background. Remember his or her lineage and how you might have been to find it.
Mine stems from Haidakhandiji Baba, then flowers in through Ram Dass, Paramahansa Yogananda, Vamadeva Shastriji and Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.
Haidakhan Babaji left what was known to be his last visual body, before I had even come to hear of his name. He came to me in dreams. From many directions. Not just dream-symbology. He revealed himself as someone who’d been with me in some sense, since early childhood. Since I could remember. He had maha-samadhi when I was still a Christian teenager. His love lingers daily.
Guru Distortion
Unfortunately, there are spurious or false gurus. This is to be expected. They only want your money, your adoration, your compilation, or your body. Usually, combinations of these. Such gurus still might have much to offer the shishya. They may have great teachings. They may have great compassion, along with nefarious motives.
It’s most important to note that a guru and teacher, might very well be two different things. Actually, the true guru might have little to nothing to say or teach. Simply being in his or her presence, stands fast and can bring the follower to truth, quite quickly. However, the gunas (qualities) of such an individual and his or her lineage, must appear before blind following.
The guru and the teacher can be one and the same, beyond the usual teacher-student relationship; where the teacher often offers Vedic knowledge. The guru who chooses not to speak a word or very little, still has an immensely positive influence on his/her devotees. Though detrimental qualities can be caught like a cold, from others. Even a so-called ‘false guru’ can uplift.
Distinguishing an organic Guru from a false and detrimental one
The genuine sattva-guru has no ulterior motives. Whether dealing with one who is already in some way ‘spiritual’, or in dealing with groups in a general and mundane fashion. He/she (the Guru) has equal love, compassion and understanding for all.
No matter where they might be on their journey towards Nirvana…he or she simply knows that everyone is an individual who can comprehend his or her teachings, or mere presence in a unique and optimal manner, or also in diverse ways. The guru knows every individual is the first and only creation of his or her own kind, and should be treated as such.
A guru does not crave praise. They are embarrassed if anyone bows before them, stands before they enter a room or gives them any unnecessary adulation.
Though this is traditional and has its reason, cause and effect, the true guru is not concerned. Furthermore, the true guru does not deal with the love of money, lust or greed. The guru gives teachings without the need to be recognised Not for, nor by them.
The guru might have absolutely zero sense of ego and will never self-aggrandize. Though the guru might have left-over ahamkara (ego) that is used in a spiritual way, in order to lift up his/her shishyas. The Guru seldom starts organizations in his/her own name. We know that there have been ones who do, who become multi-millionaires. Who have done great things. Nothing’s wrong with having money. There can be many things wrong with how one gets their money.
The guru is most always available. Gurus are not ‘mystery mongers’. They may perform tapas or types of sacrifice, but they do not advertise them or brag about them. They do not go into hiding for months and come out with a book for sale. Perhaps a few do. Look at Baba Ram Dass who would have been worth close to $100 million. He gave it all to charity. He also never referred to himself as a guru.
The guru is never dismayed or not happy, not content. A good sense of humility and humor are always a sign of Guruji. Of course, he or she may be anxious, confused at times and quite depressed. The difference is, a true guru doesn’t stay these ways for long.
Guru East & West
In the west, we’ve come to see a guru as someone with some sort of Jedi mind. One who will automatically and quickly relieve us of our ignorance and displeasure.
No. A guru from India and her cultural realm, can likely be a layperson; but someone who has great knowledge and great presence to share. These gurus should have no problems with seeking devotees to support them, if need be. Simply because he or she is not attached to such silly things, most of us find ourselves in the mists.
When the so-called ‘Guru’ starts making millions of dollars, instead of or in spite of his/her kooky followers, we can plainly see a problem. We can see why the term ‘guru’ has become mundane or worse: a term synonymous with the word, ‘charlatan.’
This has become a part of misappropriation of Hindu thought and tradition. It spewed to the west, then regurgitated back to indigenous Hindus, in a mixed format. In the west we have auto-gurus, fiance gurus, self-help and weight-loss gurus, Etc.
As Hindus, we don’t really have to come to a consensus regarding what a true guru is and/or is not. All we have to do is gain clear perception (buddhi), viveka (discernment) and Chaitanya/Vidhya (higher insight/intelligence.) As such qualities are what true gurus offer.
Having a personal or family guru is of great importance and fortune. But we do live in the Kali yuga, so just what should we expect? Especially from gurus who’ve made their way to the west, and turned Sanatana Dharma into Sanatana drama.
~Sean Bradrick
Ayurvedic counselor. Author of ‘A Hindu’s Guide to Advocacy and Activism.’
The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed constitutional body in India that was intended to replace the existing system for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary. The NJAC was created by the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India, which was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2014. The amendment established the NJAC as a six-member body responsible for recommending appointments and transfers of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts of the states and union territories in India.
The NJAC was composed of the Chief Justice of India, two senior judges of the Supreme Court, the Union Minister of Law and Justice, and two “eminent persons” who were to be nominated by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister of India, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament).
The existing system, known as the Collegium system, had been in place since the 1990s and had been the subject of criticism and controversy for several reasons. Under the Collegium system, appointments and transfers to the higher judiciary are made by a committee of judges consisting of the Chief Justice of India and a group of senior judges of the Supreme Court.
The process is opaque and largely insulated from external scrutiny, and there have been concerns about potential corruption and nepotism in the selection of judges. In an effort to address these issues, the Indian government proposed the creation of the NJAC as a more transparent and accountable body for the appointment and transfer of judges.
However, the NJAC faced significant legal challenges and was ultimately struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India in 2015. The court ruled that the NJAC violated the principle of judicial independence and the basic structure of the Constitution of India, and the old Collegium system was reinstated.
One of the main reasons why the judiciary was unwilling to implement the NJAC was that it was seen as a threat to the principle of judicial independence. In the past, there have been instances where the government has sought to exert influence over the appointment and transfer of judges, but these instances have generally been the exception rather than the rule.
Some of the main criticisms of the Collegium system include:
Lack of transparency: One of the main criticisms of the Collegium system is that it is not transparent and that it is difficult for the public to know the reasons behind the appointment and transfer of judges.
Lack of accountability: Another criticism of the Collegium system is that it is not accountable to the public and that it is difficult for the public to hold the judges who make appointments and transfers accountable for their decisions.
Lack of diversity: Some people have also criticized the Collegium system for not promoting diversity among the judges of the higher judiciary and for not ensuring that a sufficient number of women and members of underrepresented groups are appointed to the bench.
Lack of public input: Another perceived weakness of the Collegium system is that it does not involve the participation of the public or other stakeholders in the appointment and transfer process, and that it is largely the preserve of the judges themselves.
Potential for corruption: Some people have also raised concerns about the potential for corruption and nepotism in the Collegium system, arguing that appointments and transfers may be influenced by personal connections or other improper considerations.
In response to these criticisms, the Supreme Court of India has taken some steps to enhance the transparency and accountability of the Collegium system. For example, in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the process of appointment and transfer of judges under the Collegium system should be more transparent and that the reasons for the selection of judges should be made public. The court also held that the Collegium system should be open to review by the public and that the views of the public should be taken into account in the selection process.
In spite of these criticisms, why has the Collegium system remained in place in India?
One of the main reasons is that it is seen as a more independent system for the appointment and transfer of judges. Under the Collegium system, appointments and transfers to the higher judiciary are made by a committee of judges consisting of the Chief Justice of India and a group of senior judges of the Supreme Court. This system is largely insulated from external influence and is seen as more transparent and accountable than the previous system, which was based on the personal discretion of the Chief Justice of India.
Another reason why the Collegium system has continued to be in place in India is that it has been upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court of India.
It is worth noting that the system for the appointment and transfer of judges has evolved over time in India, and the role of the government has varied depending on the specific system that was in place. For example, under the old system that was in place before the 1990s, the Chief Justice of India had a great deal of discretion in the appointment and transfer of judges, and the government had relatively little influence. However, under the current system, known as the Collegium system, the government has a more limited role in the appointment and transfer of judges and the process is more transparent and accountable.
In 2002, the Law Commission of India released a report titled “Reforming the Judicial Appointments System”, which made a number of recommendations for improving the system for the appointment and transfer of judges. The report suggested the establishment of a National Judicial Commission (NJC) as a more transparent and accountable body for the appointment and transfer of judges. However, the recommendations of the Law Commission of India were not implemented and the NJC was never established.
What can be done to develop an effective and transparent system for appointing and transferring judges?
To address the concerns of both the Supreme Court and the government concerning an effective and transparent system for appointing and transferring judges in India, the following steps may be taken:
Improving the transparency and accountability of the existing Collegium system: To make the Collegium system more transparent and accountable by making the reasons for the selection of judges public and by ensuring that the views of the public are taken into account in the selection process.
Establishing an independent body to oversee the appointment and transfer of judges: Another option could be to establish an independent body, such as a Judicial Appointments Commission, to oversee the appointment and transfer of judges. This body could consist of judges, legal experts, and other stakeholders and could be responsible for ensuring that appointments and transfers are made on the basis of merit and not on the basis of political considerations.
Introducing a more participatory process for the appointment and transfer of judges: A third option could be to introduce a more participatory process for the appointment and transfer of judges, such as a system that involves the consultation of a wider range of stakeholders, including legal experts, civil society organizations, and members of the public.
A review of the Supreme Court’s stance regarding the appointment and transfer of judges.
The following landmark decisions have been issued by the Supreme Court regarding the system of appointing and transferring judges:
In the case of Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India (1993), the Supreme Court ruled that the power to appoint and transfer judges to the higher judiciary rested with the Chief Justice of India and a group of senior judges of the Supreme Court. This ruling established the Collegium system as the mechanism for the appointment and transfer of judges in India.
In Re: Special Reference 1 of 1998 (1998), the Supreme Court ruled that the Collegium system was the appropriate mechanism for the appointment and transfer of judges and that the government had no role in the selection process. The court held that the independence of the judiciary was a fundamental feature of the Constitution of India and that the government could not interfere with the appointment and transfer of judges.
In National Judicial Appointments Commission v. Union of India (2015), the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which was a proposed constitutional body intended to replace the Collegium system. The court struck down the NJAC as unconstitutional, holding that it violated the principle of judicial independence and the basic structure of the Constitution of India. The court also ruled that the NJAC Act was not consistent with the principle of separation of powers, as it sought to interfere with the judicial function of appointments and transfers. As a result, the old Collegium system was reinstated.
In the case of Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court ruled that the process of appointment and transfer of judges under the Collegium system should be more transparent and that the reasons for the selection of judges should be made public. The court also held that the Collegium system should be open to review by the public and that the views of the public should be taken into account in the selection process.
Which system of appointing and transferring judges to the higher judiciary is more suitable for the development of Indian democracy?
It is not possible to say definitively which system is better for Indian democracy, as both the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and the Collegium system have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Ultimately, the decision of which system is better for Indian democracy will depend on the specific circumstances and priorities of the country at a given time. And, it is important to carefully consider the pros and cons of each system before making a decision about which one is best suited to the needs of the country.
“Buy handmade, be one in a million, not one of millions”, is a famous tag line. Recently Modi jacket made the headlines too.
India surely has always had a rich tangible cultural heritage of traditional clothing and artwork. Ancient India, as we know today, was highly advanced in all spheres of life – from science and technology to astronomy, astrology, art and literature, textile and handicrafts. Reference to weaving styles have been found in Vedas, and woven and dyed fabrics have been excavated in the ruins of Mohenjo-Daro. Even in those times, the Indian fabrics were exported to Rome, Egypt and China.
In the pre-colonial era, the Indian textile industry was at its peak of glory. India was known for its famous muslin cloth; wherein a full length saree would pass through the ring of a finger. But colonial rule threw the highly specialized artisans into poverty. After 75 years of independence, our cottage and handloom industries are once again regaining their long forgotten glory, as the handicrafts and handloom products are much in vogue again.
Be it hand embroidered Chikankari of Lucknow, handloom woven Banarasi weave, Paithani sarees of Ahmadnagar, Mysore silk, Kanchivaram silk, Sambalpuri weave, or Madhubani paintings of Bihar, Tanjavur paintings – the list is endless and each work speaks a volume about itself. Each state has a rich heritage and each piece is a class by itself. No two pieces are alike. The exhibitions are organized by these craftsmen both at local as well as national level, to display their artistry.
Round the year, vibrant and lively ‘Delhi Haat’ offers exquisite handicraft and handloom products from across the country, usually conspicuous by their absence in the local market. So does a fortnight-long India International Trade Fair (IIFT) of Delhi, organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization, wherein the companies in specific industry from world-over showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services; meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of the rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities.
Throughout this fortnight, people just throng in to lay their hands on the extraordinary, exquisite items. This reveals the people’s penchant for the handicrafts and handloom items over any common place product. These places are highly patronized, equally by the nationals as well as the foreign nationals, who are highly passionate about these ‘handcrafted’ collector’s items.
Various schemes and programmes have been rolled out by the Government to improve the working condition of handloom weavers; and for sustainable development of handloom sector, to empower them by organizing self-help groups.
Secondly, by various skill development programmes the artisans are being motivated to produce diversified products with innovative use and improved quality, to meet changing market trends and get remunerative prices.
The artisans are the pride of any nation and are held in high esteem, due to their highly proficient job. Donning exclusive items set us apart, and the best way to show our gratitude to them is by being vocal about buying local and recognizing, applauding and carrying the pride of our country on us.
Moreover, it would be worthwhile to buy their products directly, as many of them are quite well versed with technology and social media. This could be easily done by pre-booking or pre-buying the product, and get it customized according to one’s taste. The exquisite items could also be purchased from organizations that work directly with clusters.
This would not only reduce our dependence on imports, but our regional economy will get a boost, and encourage our local industry. Accordingly, the recent trend is that buying local is the new global mantra. Post COVID-19 most of the countries started promoting their own products, to boost their own state economic machinery.
The opportunity for employment of our educated youth would increase, and cease the exploitation of the local communities. The country as well as our artisans is likely to earn more, while the consumer spending remains the same. Moreover, since “handcrafted things never go out of style,” they remain in vogue forever, and are worth the investment.
India in a nucleus of world financial slowdown resembles a bright point and both the IMF and World Bank are hopeful on Indian growth — as they placed growth estimates amid 7.5-7.9%. BJP Govt. has launched several policies and schemes like “Make in India” and “Digital India” to retain the momentum progressing. Numerous schemes like Surakhsa Beema Yojana, Atal Pensiion Yojana, Pradhan Mantri JanDhan Yojana, have been driven for commercial fusion and social protection.
This isn’t first time any govt has started ambitious schemes, since Nehruvian time central govt has been attempting to turn this nation more flourishing, but they be unsuccessful in strong implementation and reaching beneficiaries. In a populated and diverse nation like India, govt machinery isn’t adequately competent in both aspects.
Still, a nation where farmers commit suicide, shortage of quality education, non-functioning demographic dividend, and many menaces of Indian nation — reveals a mediocre story that notwithstanding presence of advancement policies, India is distant behind in imagining a peaceful and flourishing society. The causes can be associated to a largely couple factors; firstly, the inefficiency of govt in implementation & secondly, deficiency of awareness amongst multitude.
INCAPABILITY OF GOVERNMENT
Indian govt’s aim to render aid to the underprivileged and their escalating is transparent, but at implementation, the part govt unsuccessful. The analysis of inability can be associated to inappropriate monitoring, deficiency of responsibility, misalignment of motives and corruption. For instance, MNREGA failed in Maharashtra, United Child Development Scheme in Bihar, M.P. and Orrisa, Midday Meal in M.P. As per 2013’s CAG Report, MNREGA scheme has slipped in Karnataka and Bihar because of overthrow and misappropriation of funds.
Creating a policy and executing it as scheme has equivalent distinction- what the cricket team projects in changing room & what it performs on the pitch. The govt appears well equipped in changing room but when it happens on ground it befalls far fro expectation. For example, agriculture which employs our 55 percent populace and has been consistent locus of every power set in centre — still it staggers behind Chinese farming produce. There’re numerous schemes if we add both the center and state sponsored schemes but notwithstanding owning so prevalent farmer-focused policies, farming is the ultimate choice anyone will go for employment.
DEFICIENCY OF AWARENESS
In a current instance, when Gujarat govt started scheme, Mukhyamantri Yuwa Svavlamban Yojana –to support Matriculation cleared students to get financial support for admission in further studies — scholars and parents saw it complicated to appeal for scheme on govt website, wrongly they began to send needed docs. It pointed that govt isn’t fully informed of ground truth and they do not have a precise tool to reach beneficiaries. Indian govt has registered enormous success when purpose is collectively yielded.
India’s elections which’s seldom titled as “undocumented surprise” (a phrase neologized by then Chief Election Commissionar S.Y. Quarishi)- widely error-free concerted effort with less political intervention and co-ordinated administration, turns this huge democratic experience a triumph. India also satisfactorily dealt with the natural calamities in history. The govt also appropriately tackled many illnesses such as malaria, HIV and polio when target was well-broadcasted and transparent.
So the enigma appears How India can tackle natural disasters, diseases and elections so strongly but fail to execute a scheme. Roughly 72% of rural families in a poll held for seven states in 2011 (displayed by Pratham/ASER in collaboration with United Nations Development Program), weren’t informed concerning India’s most extensive flagship schemes MGNREGS. It unquestionably explicates that govt unsuccessful in formulating an cognizant environment where public comprehend what govt is executing for them. If miniature schemes were inspected, it might’ve presented more mediocre outcomes.
POSSIBLE REMEDIES
Indian govt allocates approximately Rs. 2 Lakh Crores on the 100 flagship projects centered on a series of public assistance and amid them 10 large flagship projects like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, MNREGS and different alike schemes — which estimates for 90% of resources. So there’re 90 another miniature projects which cover up administrative capability which significantly influences implementation of larger schemes. The schemes are created in the ministries but executed at the states, districts, and at village level and administration may not apprehend about all schemes executed in their district. So eliminating the miniature schemes to adequately focus on more extensive schemes can enhance administrators in administering.
Furthermore, schemes can be customized as per regional conditions. Some prefectures like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, and to some degree Maharashtra been victorious in achieving health-care schemes but the prefectures like Bihar, Orissa. There’s a necessity for more meticulous coordination with center and state govts and may be tailored policies may run much better than the homogenous ones in few states. And ultimately, there’s a call for superior coordination between special entities, NGOs , community, civil society, and govt in formulating public policy to ameliorate the transparence, effectiveness and excellence of scheme or policy.
In most of the countries, every year apropos to the increase in the wages of workers, operational cost, production cost and government taxation a small price hike will be there in the major goods and services that are being offered to the public by the governments and private bodies which is a pretty normal phenomenon and not a inflation since this will not fuss the people usually. On the other hand Global Inflation is merely a swift price rise episode in the Goods and services consumed by the Public due to an increase in demand and drop in supply for a certain period of time but what the world is going over right now is a “Global Hyperinflation” a combination of Cost Push and demand pull inflation which is an abnormal inflation.
It is nothing but a peculiar whirlwind price rise in most of the goods and services consumed by the people globally for a certain period of time. This type of Hyperinflation will bite every country’s primary currency that will eventually end up landing in a global recession. Current Global inflation rate is approximately 8.8% at the moment which is the third highest inflation rate in the last 30 yrs. The first and second global inflation rate was approximately 10.3% and 8.9% in the years 1994 and 2008 respectively.
The root cause of Current Global hyperinflation and when was it started?
The current global inflation started in early 2020 and has reached its peak right now. While many have given different reasons for the cause of this weird global economic inflation and recession, The months-long curfew in most countries during the covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 that led to the halt of production of goods and services and disruption in supply chain between the countries, followed by the change of regime in the US presidential election at the end of 2020 and some of the economic and tax policies of the newly formed government in the US, effects of Russia-Ukraine war are being seen as major factors behind the current situation.
The global economy was hit hard by the mandatory curfews imposed in the world countries because people were confined to their homes and many industries (Except few service industries) halted their production and distribution altogether due to the lack of workers (man power) and raw materials. Due to which the Supply-chain interrupted globally so the economy started to move downwards in all countries! The US economy plays a vital role in the world economy for the past 4 decades. A surge or slump in US economy and its monetary policies will always have effects for the rest of the countries in the world. We cannot snub and deny the highest Inflation and recession endured by the world countries between 2008 and 2009 as a consequence of the poor monetary policy decision taken at US.
On the other hand, since 2022 February, the relentless and round the clock war between Russia and Ukraine has stimulated the supply shortage of Energy and food products being exported from Russia and Ukraine to other countries. None of the financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The World Trade Organization (WTO), The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, anticipated that the world economy would collapse to this extent in 2022 because they only made economic forecasts based out of post Covid effects and did not predict the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine.
These are the major factors behind Global inflation at this time and it will begin to decline from the third quarter of 2023. I will write about 2022 US midterm elections and its effects on world countries as well as 2024 US election prediction (states and counties wise prediction). I will also write about why USD is going stronger against all currencies including INR e.t.c in my next articles.
Inflation in India
Most of the world countries had faced major crisis in the supply chain of goods and services during the Covid period and as a result the economies of the world countries had started shrinking and after that the outbreak of Russia-Ukraine war in early 2022 had led to the Global energy crisis and that has eventually pushed the world economy towards Global inflation but India’s inflation and economic growth is far better than other developed countries with advanced economies and developing countries with emerging market and economies. World countries have appreciated India’s sustained growth in its economy and its contribution to the world communities even after being hit hard by Covid-19 since India was one of the highly populated countries which did show 8.9% of GDP growth rate in the year 2021 with a massive annual change rate of 15.4% from the previous year (2020).
None of the world countries had recorded double digit Annual growth rate except India. If we happen to consider India’s inflation rate and economic growth over the past 3 decades, India has witnessed tremendous and sustained growth since 2015. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) appreciated India’s control over inflation and on October 2022 one of the top officials from IMF stated that “India has not remained unimpacted, but is doing better and is in a relatively bright spot compared to other countries “. The major factors behind India’s prodigious inflation control management and bright level-headed Economic growth are as follows.
This great nation called “India” is being headed by its very own sons and daughters of the same soil (likeminded Prime minster and group of ministers and this is one of the major factors, The other factors include this government’s elegant and visionary economic policies, self reliant nation (Atmanirbhar Bharat) and Digital India Initiatives, a friendly and uncompromising strong external affairs (foreign) policies!.
Global inflation comparison Charts
Below are the comparison charts showing India’s economic growth (GDP) and inflation against advanced economies (G7 countries) and some of the emerging market economies (Developing countries). Besides my own prediction for 2023 based out of Consumer Pricing Index (CPI) and Wholesale pricing index (WPI), rest of the data given in the charts below were taken from IMF/WEO/Other online resources and follows January-December calendar year model.
GDP Comparison (India Vs G7 countries with Advanced Economies (AE))
Look at the chart data above, India stands firm against the yearly GDP growth rate of all other G7 Advances Economies
GDP Comparison (India Vs Notable Developing Countries with Emerging Economies (EE))
Look at the chart data above, India stands firm against the yearly GDP growth rate of all other Emerging Economies
Inflation Comparison (India Vs G7 countries with Advanced Economies (AE))
Look at the chart data above, India’s yearly Inflation rate stands lower against all other G7 Countries (advanced Economies)
Inflation Comparison (India Vs Notable Developing Countries with Emerging Economies (EE))
Look at the chart data above, India’s yearly Inflation rate stands lower against all notable developing countries with Emerging Economies
Measures taken by Indian Government to control Inflation
Ever since this present Government assumed office it has taken various Price Control, Monetary and Fiscal measures to keep the prices and inflation under control and to grow the economy. I have given below some of the major control measures that are effectively being implemented till date by the central government in the last 8 yrs to enhance the GDP (Data source: National Portal of India, RBI, Indian Finance Ministry website and other online resources).
Monetary measures
Prior to Covid-19, Considering the evolving global economic environment and to boost up India’s economic growth for a long-run competing with growing economies and advanced economies and in order to get rid of the price rise problems in the retail market which sways livelihood of the middle and lower class people the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act, 1934 was amended by the central government on May 2016 as to give statutory basis for the flexible inflation targeting framework (FITF) and it also constituted a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on September 29 2016.
The objective of this strategy was for the central government to fix the inflation target in discussion with RBI based out of CPI (Consumer Price Index) for every 5 years and declare it in the Gazette for public access. Some of the major objectives of this FITF are, Forecasting and targeting the inflation rate for every 5 yrs, retaining the fixed inflation rate with an upper and lower tolerance band for 5 years, maintaining the price stability in retail market, reducing uncertainty in the share market, boosting the GDP Growth rate and a lot more. MPC would advise RBI in setting up the repo rate for controlling inflation rate within the target. The first 5 years inflation target for the period between 5th August 2016 and 31 March 2021 was set for 4% with the upper tolerance limit of 6% and the lower tolerance limit of 2 % by Central government on August 5 2016 and the same was declared in the Gazette.
On the 31st day of March 2021, the central government retained the same inflation target and the tolerance band for the next 5 year period starting from April 1 2021 till March 31 2026. This is the best Monetary policy strategy ever made by RBI to control the inflation rate since independence and this well defined strategy was engineered by the then Government led by Honorable Prime minister Narendra Modi in 2015 and that has saved us today from this global economic downturn. Also RBI as part of its control Measures to achieve the inflation target set forth and to promote economic growth revises the interest rates from time to time and on December 7th 2022 RBI has revised the following interest rates, CRR: 4.50% SLR: 18.00%, Repo Rate: 6.25%, Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35% Bank Rate 6.50% Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 6.50%. Standing Deposit Facility rate: 6.00%.
Fiscal measures
Since 2014, with the effective implementation of fiscal policy measures till date, India has been maintaining its fiscal deficit margin of around 4% of total GDP but in the FY 2020-2021 the deficit went up to 9.5% due to the impact of covid-19 and the government had to increase the current expenditures to Compensate and protect the people from this Covid-19 disaster but in the FY 2021-2022 the deficit did shrink to 6.7% of the total GDP which is 0.2% lower than the projected deficit rate by the Finance Ministry itself due to the higher tax receipts and thrifty current expenditures as part of the decisions taken by the Central Government wisely on Monetary and fiscal policies.
For the FY 2022-2023, despite the fact that total expenditure will remain around 4.9% and of which the capital expenditures will remain between 2.8% and 2.9% The central Government has targeted the actual GDP growth rate between 7.1% and 7.8% with the deficit of 6.5% of the total GDP and has also planned to lower the deficit further to 4.5% by FY 2025-2026. On December 6th 2022, The World Bank upgraded GDP growth forecast for India to 6.9% for FY 2022-23 from 6.5% that it was projected In October 2022 stating that the Indian economy was showing higher resilience to Global Shocks and has shown extraordinary output numbers in the second quarter of FY 2022 -2023.
Price Control
1. The Central government slashed an excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. The government also proclaimed that it will bear a deficit of approximately Rs 1 lakh crore an year owing to the excise duty reduction on petrol and diesel. Honorable Central finance minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman consistently insisted that all states should implement this excise tax cut as this would benefit the people.
2. The central Government slashed the import duty on coal from 2.5% to 0% and waived of the import duty on essentials raw materials and intermediaries for the steel and plastic industries On the other hand hiked the export duty up to 50% for few steel products, Iron ore and concentrates to surge their availability.
3. The Central Government announced a subsidy of RS 200 per Gas Cylinder (To a maximum of 12 cylinders an year) to the deprived class families enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ (PMUY). This announcement financially helps around 9 crs beneficiaries till date.
4. The central Government exempted the Customs duty and agriculture development cess on imports of 20 lakh metric tonnes of crude soyabean and crude sunflower oil on yearly basis and this will remain in effect till 2024 March 31st.
5. The Central government has set a limit of around 60 lakh tonnes on sugar exports effective from November 1, 2022 till May 31, 2023 as to ensure the availability of Sugar stock for the domestic utilization in the markets at a fair price during the sugar season.
6. The Central Government has also taken measures to control the price of Cement and surge its availability.
7. India Banned all types of wheat exports effective from May 2022 until further notice due to domestic food security concerns and to curb wheat price in the domestic market but allowed the wheat exports to neighboring and vulnerable countries that demand through their respective governments for their food security needs.
8. As part of the Inflation and price control measures for the FY 2022-2023, the central Government has announced an additional Fertilizer subsidy of 1.10 lakh crore to farmers as to protect them from the Global price rise in fertilizers besides the regular subsidy of 1.05 lakh crore being given to them currently and on the whole 2.15 cr fertilizer subsidy is being given to the Farmers by the Central Government.
How does India survive in this Global inflation
India was doing a whole lot better during the Covid-19 pandemic time in the year 2020 (First wave) and 2021 (second wave) with an effective Pandemic and economic management framework through a win-win strategy and that saved a lot of lives and the livelihood of the people as well as economy. India shown a V-shaped recovery and bounced back with an 8.9% of GDP growth rate in the year 2021. Being said, most of the world countries were drastically affected by Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021 that led the world to encounter economic crisis hence the recession started in 2022 but the Indian government headed by Hon’ble Narendra Modi anticipated that the global economic downturn, Inflation and recession will endure in 2022 owing to the impact of Covid-19 worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2020 itself.
The prime minister also said that his government is not only to secure lives and livelihood from this pandemic but also to ward off the country from facing a huge economic downturn and inflation like other countries. In January 2021 Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman said that the central government adopts a unique four pillar strategy of containment, fiscal, financial and long term structural reforms to control inflation and amplify the Economic growth. Calibrated fiscal and monetary support was given to mitigate the needy people during the lockdown and to uplift consumption and investment at the time of unlocking.
As a result of such a visionary planning by the central government, India’s economic growth is currently retained at 6.9% which is around 50% greater than the economies of other G7 countries and developing countries. To lower the inflation and augment the GDP growth rate further for the FY 2022-2023, Central government has taken several innovative control measures. It has also imposed some restrictions on the export of essential goods as to ensure that there are no shortfalls in the domestic market and to control the price raise.
Besides the monetary, fiscal and price control measures taken to top and pile up the economy, GDP growth rate and to maintain the inflation rate between 2% and 4% several reforms were introduced under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-Reliant India) in 2021 for Manufacturing and service sectors since these two sectors drives economic growth, employment, revenue and livelihood of the people. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme which was introduced in FY 2020-2021 to cover vital sectors like electronics manufacturing, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food products, Telecom, solar EV modules, automobile and auto components, Specialty Steel, ACC battery, textile products, White goods (ACs and LED) for attaining Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has received investment intentions worth of Rs 30 lakh crore and this would heighten the GDP growth thus by creating more domestic employment opportunities.
PLI is expected to create around 60 lakh job opportunities by the end of March 2023. The central Government also announced an extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLG) till March 2023 for small businesses coming under MSME so as to enhance their production. This measure has helped almost 12 million small businesses to cushion their revenue deficit incurred due to the impact of this pandemic till date.
While controlling the inflation, on the other hand the Government does focus on people’s welfare schemes in an uncompromised way, around Rs 60,000 crore was allocated for providing access to tap water for approximately 3.8 crore households, Rs 44,605 crore was allotted for Ken-Betwa River Linking project to provide irrigation to approximately 9.05 lakh hectares of farm land and drinking water for 6 million people. Under PM Gati Shakthi scheme Central government allocated Rs. 1 lakh crore as 50-year interest free loans to the states for the FY 2022-2023 to assist in attracting investments to boost up the GDP which is above the usual borrowings allowed for states.
What would have resulted if Central Government did not take any control measures?
During the Covid-19 pandemic period (2020) and post covid period (2021- till date) if this present government being headed by the strong progressive thinker, visionary leader Honorable Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi and his group of ministers was not in reign a country like India with a population of over 130 crores would have suffered a huge number of catastrophic fatalities and causalities and beyond that the economy would have gone to the bottom. Even countries like Italy, England and Canada with a population between 6 and 7 crores were unable to control the outspread of this pandemic and the causalities arising out of it as well as their very own sinking economies.
Formulating and constituting variety of schemes, laws and policies for the people is not a big deal, whoever assumes power can make it but implementing and administering them successfully among the people for their betterment can only be done by a strong leader. It is the need of the hour too. The world countries greatly appreciated and admired the Indian Government for its Initiatives, dynamism and technical handling of this pandemic because India has not only handled the pandemic effectively and abated the fatality rate but also revived the economy and showed an annual growth of about 15.4% in 2021 that did set an example for all other countries.
India also embarked on the task of preparing a vaccine for Corona and India was the very first country which offered the vaccine to its citizens free of cost besides exporting the surplus to other countries in the same year. All these were possible only because of the present central Government led by likeminded nationalists.
While BJP led NDA’s return to power in 2024 appears to be more or less certain, the opposition is basically pinning its hope on the ruling party delivering a self-goal. This happened once in 2004 while Vajpayee, a certain winner, lost most unexpectedly to a beleaguered opposition.
Though BJP is on a much stronger wicket this time under PM Modis leadership, such a threat does exist and it can arise due to two cardinal factors. These are: (1) Over-reach, and, (2) Over-confidence.
BJP’s essential strength comes from sizeable chunk of voters who love India and want preservation of Indic civilisational values and ethos. As a matter of fact, if it can ensure continuation of support from these voters alone, its return to power would be a certainty. BJP however does not seem to be sufficiently aware of the concerns of these voters which make them to vote for it. Nor is the party able to value their support. That probably fills it with a queer impatience and go for bringing in leaders from its opposition parties especially before polls.
More often than not, as examples of West Bengal and UP showed, barring few exceptions, most of these new comers proved its liabilities. While BJP was harmed by their inductions, its rival parties gained by shedding baggage of anti-incumbency. West Bengal was perhaps the most glaring case where BJP snatched ‘defeat’ from the ‘jaws of victory’ in 2021 polls, because of large scale induction of rejects of the ruling party who, as reflects from various social media reports, resorted to sabotage of various kinds.
Another important example of ‘over reach’ is BJP’s attempt to try to secure votes of religious minorities at any cost, including appeasement in various names and forms. It tends to ignore the support of a comfortable constituency of religious majority, which can easily return it to power and enable it to resume its work for the holistic development of all Indians – religious minority and majority- without discrimination. But by going for appeasement of religious minorities it has been causing deep disquiet in those voters.
These twin issues suggest the party has an obsession for adding to numbers of voters rather than their quality in terms of the latter’s attitude and loyalty. This approach betrays doubtful wisdom. The party needs to realize that its oft-repeated claims of being ‘the world’s largest party’ may cheer up own workers but cannot motivate its voters unless it zealously protects their core concerns. Mindlessly going for quickly and inorganically adding to its support base ignoring party’s long-held principles may frustrate its core voters creating in them a ‘Nota’ kind of mindset.
The second key factor that poses threat to BJP is ‘over confidence’. It is a psychological condition that can take heavy toll of a party, as history has repeatedly proved. As a matter of fact, this trait contributed to the party indulging in ‘over-reach’ discussed above.
The kinds of hazards ‘over confidence’ exposes the party to, will be discussed in relation to two issues viz., (a) the party’s differential approach to religious demographics of voters; and (2) its decision to go in a big way to hold G 20 meetings (200 mega events in 50 cities) across the country, including the opposition ruled states.
It was earlier mentioned that the party has set out on a quest to conquer votes of religious minorities i.e., essentially Muslims. It seems to have found out its ‘eureka’ doctrine of winning over ‘majority of minorities’ or Pasmanda Muslim through ‘triptkaran‘ towards that end. But such over confidence can hurt it both ways rather than conferring electoral benefits. This needs little elaboration.
As history since 1952 showed the religious consideration has been the prime factor for Indian Muslim voters. They tend to consider politics in the light of religion and often cast votes tactically and en bloc keeping in view the religious-political objective in view. Their voting pattern, in state after state and nationally, has shown their deep distrust and aversion towards BJP.
Hopes for a change in this pattern may be misplaced unless there are paradigm changes in the mindset of the community as a whole. Bringing about a transition in this regard is a complex and challenging task. At the least it may take long period. The fact that in few cases Muslims have cast votes in its favour in recent months do not reflect any change in their mindset. Here is why?
BJP received some Muslim votes in some constituencies in recent Gujarat polls as well as in a couple of LS by-elections in UP but it will be misleading to imagine the phenomenon as an offshoot of its ‘triptikaran’ doctrine and ‘majority of minority’ strategy. It is eminently possible the party got these votes because its rivals had no chance of victory and in that circumstances the minority Muslim voters wanted to be with the winners for obvious reasons. Considering the series of polls including assembly polls of West Bengal (2021), Uttar Pradesh (2022), the minority votes are most likely to be cast in every single constituency in favour of strongest opposition candidate against BJP in LS 2024 polls.
The second risk resulting from over-confidence is taking its core voters for granted. This is fraught with graver risk. Its unpredictable shift from ‘appeasement to none’ to ‘triptikaran‘ is an example.
While it is true that large chunk of religious majority in the country has shifted its support from INC to BJP over last decade, they did so essentially out of their concern for protecting India’s civilizational legacy. This was mentioned earlier. It is also true that during Modi era there has been phenomenal rise in in their consciousness and pride in their civilizational ethos and values. Today, these voters are more aware of the danger of appeasement politics than ever before. They are keeping watch over the governments, whether state or centre, on this parameter and unlikely to condone any misadventure on this issue, even if it be on the part of BJP.
On this point, a mention of the experience of UPA government may be instructive. It had pioneered the RTI mechanism and it also ironically fell to corruption charges revealed by the stream of information that were unearthed through this mechanism. Similarly BJP has done a laudable thing by generating civilizational consciousness in religious majority, but it should remember that it has also lent itself to close watch by this raised consciousness in its voters. They may not be in a mood to condone transgressions.
Over-confidence seems to have driven Modi government a third risk on the eve of the 2024 polls. It relates to its decision to hold 200 mega events related to G20 meetings in 50 cities spread across the country including in the opposition ruled states. The intention is of course noble which is to use India’s presidency of the current term as a geopolitical opportunity to demonstrate and showcase her leading role in global affairs- whether in terms of economy, technology, politics, and more.
However considering the mean nature of politics practised by its rivals and their readiness to stoop to any level to score brownie points over BJP and vitiate public opinion against it, the political sagacity of this decision is suspect. BJP may assume the glamour and halo associated with holding these meets in spectacular ways and a round the year focus on these evets will help it in smooth sailing of 2024 polls. But it needs to understand that its opposition too are aware of this and may like to play spoilsport.
To get an insight into the issue we need to take a helicopter view of the centre and opposition ruled states relations. These have taken particularly worse turn since 2019 and aggravated in direct proportion of Modi government’s performance and popularity both of which have been on steady rise. Some examples of the hostility of the states towards the centre follow.
One after another, the opposition ruled states passed resolutions in the assemblies against Acts like CAA and Farm Laws passed by Parliament, which have been unprecedented in India’s history. Withdrawing general consent for CBI (latest by Telangana) to conduct investigation and harassing central agencies have been two other interesting examples. In West Bengal, the state government even went to the extent of filing FIRs against these agencies in some cases and the latter had to approach judiciary to get relief. The ruling party even went to the extent of passing in the assembly a resolution against the excesses by central agencies in the state, which probably was unprecedented.
There have also been non-cooperation by the state governments with the centre on various issues at various levels and even humiliation of the post of prime minister on occasions. The most prominent case was when both chief minister and chief secretary of an opposition ruled state did not attend a review meeting on cyclone (Yaas) held in that very state and in which the prime minister himself was present in person with his team. In another instance the state government intriguingly failed to protect PM’s route from airport to Kolkata city, a stretch of 16 kms, due to ongoing anti-CAA protests by left parties, arguably a cause which the ruling party also shared with the protestors. That made PM Modi to use helicopter to enter the city. During his visit to Punjab on the eve of Punjab elections, PM Modi’s security was endangered due to serious lapses by the machineries of the state government. This was unprecedented in the post-independence history.
In recent times there have also been attempts to display anti-centre attitude using planks like insider-outsider or bahiragoto slogan and campaign, Hindi-non-Hindi conflict, South vs. North divide and so on. Quarrels of the governments of opposition ruled states like Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana with their respective governors are out in the open. West Bengal assembly passed a resolution amending University Laws to replace Governors as chancellors in all state Universities with the Chief Minister. Kerala also followed suit. In no other times since independence India probably saw this kind of anti-centrist climate. Ironically this is happening despite best intention and policy of co-operation on the part of the centre and this may be traced to the opposition parties frustration as they do not see any chance of capturing power at the centre in foreseeable future.
At the party level too, the BJP ladders and workers have been facing intolerance and violence in several opposition ruled states. This has been in stark contrast to BJP’s conduct marked by dignity, tolerance and democratic spirit. There have been reports of violence against BJP and RSS workers in opposition ruled states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and others. In West Bengal, the violence has been widespread. NHRC observed over a thousand cases of crimes and violence including several cases of murders, murderous assaults and rapes in the post-poll phase spread across the state which made Calcutta High Court order CBI enquiries and also set up SITs to investigate into such extensive violation of human rights. Murderous attack was carried out even against party’s national president.
In addition to inter-party issues , there are also some fifth columns in the country bent upon breaking national unity scheming and fuelling protests and agitations from time to time. The country saw their hands in anti-CAA agitation, anti-Farm Laws protests, in despicable incidents at Hathras, Lakhimpur Kheri, and so on.
Incidentally, PM Modi had referred to Shaheen Bagh agitation as ‘political design‘ or ‘Prayog’ by vested interests. To the agony of country men, this agitation had culminated into the infamous Delhi riots against the religious majority What was more troublesome was the media report that the conspirators had hatched up a plan to synchronize Delhi riots with the visit of US prez Donald Trump at that time to malign India’s image globally. These evil forces are always looking for opportunities to create trouble and they have to be kept under constant leash round the year 2023.
To end the discussion on ‘over-confidence’, if Modi government’s decision to disperse the G 20 meetings across the country has been out of a fine spirit of cooperative federalism, the opposition parties ruling some states may miss this big picture and overwhelmed by petty domestic politics. If so, it becomes a matter of grave concern.
The presence of ‘breaking India’ forces pose additional challenges. The situation would have been different had the centre invited proposals from states for holding these meets supported by their credentials. In the present scheme of things, Modi will be under continuous pressure till the last meeting is held successfully. It is a botheration that it could have avoided in the year leading to general elections.
To conclude, BJP ordinarily foresees no obstacles to its victory in 2024. It stands on the top of stellar performance in multiple areas of governance and can easily sail through if only it keeps its existing support base intact. Restraint and discretion rather than overdoing things can help achieving that. On the other hand its strongest challenger lies within its own psyche – its tendency to ‘over-reach’ and bear ‘over-confidence’, can harm its electoral prospects more than all the opposition parties put together. It need to cognise that with no PM candidate from the opposition space who can even remotely match Modi’s stature, the whole opposition are waiting and hoping BJP falls into these twin traps.
India’s struggle for Independence is a saga in itself filled with numerous incidents and stories of sheer determination, bravery and selfless sacrifices. Among the true heroes of our past is one such individual who goes by the name Subhas Chandra Bose, fondly referred to as ‘Netaji’. Every year on 23rd of January, India remembers this great personality for his contribution in helping India gain independence from the British. Speeches are delivered, praises are sung, banners are put up and articles are printed ‘remembering Netaji’. Although these efforts are praiseworthy, its time we ask ourselves this very significant question- Is this enough? For all that he did for the country, does he not deserve a much more relentless and much justified appreciation?
The history textbooks all over the country generally suffer from an inherent bias in favor of some national leaders, often at the cost of overshadowing other luminaries like Netaji. Even after 75 years of independence, our educational curriculum has failed to underline the importance of Subhas Chandra Bose’s and Azad Hind Fauj’s contribution in earning us our independence. While leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru never fail to capture our imagination as the mighty stalwarts of the freedom struggle, likes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose often take the backseat as ‘Lesser Greats’. In all fairness, the date 23rd January never seems as familiar as 2nd October or 14th November.
It would, however, be grossly incorrect to blame the curriculum alone for this biased perception towards our dear freedom fighters. We live in the ‘Age of Information’ and no information is more than a click away. Yet we choose to remain highly misinformed yet content in whatsoever half baked truth we have been believing in, over the past seven decades.
The great acts of determination and utmost patriotism once exhibited by our dear Netaji are today nearly concealed behind the never ending discussions and conspiracy theories relating to his mysterious death in the infamous plane crash. While we may all agree that the declassification of the official documents relating to disappearance and death of Netaji is long overdue, it’s high time we shift our focus on the other equally mesmerizing aspects of his life as well. For instance, Azad Hind Government, founded by Netaji is India’s first ever independent provisional government and the only government in the world which never surrendered to the Allied Powers during the Second World War.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is a part of our heritage. While we have every right to demand justice and a free flow of information relating to him to the government, we must not entirely depend on the system. With the help of civil society and various pressure groups, Ministry of Education must be persuaded to include the contribution of Netaji in our freedom struggle in a much more comprehensive manner.
We citizens must take a step forward to make Netaji an integral part of our civilizational consciousness. Fact checking, debunking the myths, educating the masses to look beyond the conventional sources of history, organizing public forum discussions are perhaps some of the ways to achieve this. We must ensure that his legacy lives on in our minds and hearts forever. The succeeding generations must be in awe of Netaji’s achievements and this would not be possible if we ourselves remain unaware of his accomplishments. Let’s remember him not only for his mysterious death, but also for his marvelous deeds.
सात दशकों से चली आ रही गणतंत्र दिवस की औपचारिकताओं की पुनरावृत्ति के बाद यदि इतिहास के पृष्ठों पर नज़र डालें तो समाज मे व्याप्त दुरावस्था की जड़ों तक पहुंच कर समाधान का मार्ग तलाशना आसान होगा। स्वातत्र्योत्तर भारत को अल्पसंख्यक बहुसंख्यक अगड़े पिछड़े आदि विभिन्न वर्गों एवं हजारों जातियों मे विभाजित करने के बाद भी अनेकता मे एकता का पाठ पढ़ाने वाली लोकतंत्र के आवरण मे प्रस्तुत संविधान प्रदत्त धर्मनिरपेक्षता से आच्छादित तुष्टीकरण के दुष्परिणामों को छिपाती भारतीय शासन व्यवस्था देाष पूर्ण होकर अपने अंदर भावी ग्रह कलह के बीज छुपाए हुए है।
कार्यानुसार चार वर्णों मे वर्गीकृत प्राचीन भारतीय समाज मे अपने कार्य व्यवसाय पर पीडी दर पीडी एकाधिकार सुरक्षित रखने हेतू जन्माधारित जाति व्यवस्था का आविष्कार हुआ था एवं सीमित संसाधनों पर असीमित दावेदारी के कारण जातीय संघर्ष की भूमिका बनी। वर्तमान युग मे इस प्राचीन व्यवस्था का औचित्य ना होने पर भी जातियों की संख्या मे ना केवल निरंतर वृद्धि देखी जा रही है इनमे से अधिकांश जातियां आरक्षित वर्ग मे शामिल होने को बेताब है। इस प्रवृत्ति को राजनीतिक दलों द्वारा प्रश्रय दिया जाता रहा है। समानता के लोकतांत्रिक सिद्धांत को तिलांजली देकर क्षूद्र स्वार्थ के ख़ातिर राज्य सत्ताऐं जब प्रजा को विभिन्न वर्गों मे बांट कर पक्षपात करने लगती है तब समाज मे विघटन एवं राज्यों का पतन आरंभ होता है इतिहास मे इन्ही कारणों से बौद्ध धर्म का उदय हुआ था और इन्ही कारणों से बौद्ध धर्म एवं बौद्ध राज सत्ताओं का पराभव हुआ।
कोई भी जाति एवं धर्म शासन तंत्र की सुरक्षा मे विशेषाधिकार प्राप्त करने पर समाज की मुख्य धारा के कटने लगता है। इसका परिणाम सामाजिक विद्वेष द्वारा सामाजिक एकता और अंतत: राष्ट्र की अखंडता के लिये खतरे के रूप मे देखा गया है। सुदृढ़ राज्य सत्ता एवं कुशल सामाजिक नेतृत्व के अभाव के कारण मध्यकाल मे भारतीय समाज अनेक जातियों मे विभाजित हुआ इन जातियों मे टकराव के कारण देश पराधीन हुआ। आज केंद्र मे सुदृढ़ एवं स्थिर राज सत्ता की उपस्थिति भारतीय समाज की एकता एवं राष्ट्र की अखंडता के लिये शुभ संकेत है परंतु क्षुद्र स्वार्थ के ख़ातिर मुट्ठी भर खल तत्वों द्वारा राष्ट्रवादी सरकार को अस्थिर करने के लिये किये प्रयासों मे एक है जाति आधारित जनगणना इसके अंतर्गत समाज को अनेक जातियों मे विभाजित कर मत कोष निर्माण हेतु भेदभाव पूर्ण नीतियों द्वारा समाज की एकता के मूल्य पर राजनीतिक महत्वाकांक्षा पूर्ण की जायेगी मंडल आयोग की रिपोर्ट के समय जातिवाद से झुलसते समाज के विभत्स दृश्य की पुनरावृत्ति मे सत्ता का मार्ग तलाश किया जाएगा।
गांधी के जाति मुक्त भारत की परिकल्पना को आज के गांधीवादियों द्वारा ही घुरे पर फेंक जातीय जनगणना की स्वीकृति दी गई। इसे धार्मिक कट्टरता के दुष्परिणामों की प्रतिक्रिया स्वरूप जन्मी सामाजिक एकता को जातीय कट्टरता मे परिवर्तित कर सामाजिक विभाजन द्वारा निर्बल करने की साज़िश के रूप मे देखा जाना चाहिये। सदियों से धार्मिक सहिष्णुता के लिये यत्नशील भारतीय समाज को जातीय जनगणना के बाद जातीय सहिष्णुता के प्रयत्न मे अपनी उर्जा व्यय करना होगी। प्राचीन भारत मे सनातन एवं बौद्ध दो धर्मों के बीच समन्वय के अभाव मे भारत भूमि विदेशी अत्याचारों से रक्तिम हुई थी वहीं स्वतंत्र भारत मे सत्ता लोलुप प्रवृत्ति से ग्रसित राजनीतिक दल समाज को कई जातियों एवं धर्मों मे विभाजित कर भारत की एकता को खंडित एवं विकास को अवरुद्ध करने की दिशा मे प्रयत्नशील है।
लोकतंत्र मे सत्ता के लिये संख्या बल आवश्यक है ओर संख्या बल के लिये विभिन्न समुदायों के मध्य विभाजन रेखा खींच कुछ जाति समुहों को तुष्टीकरण द्वारा अपने पक्ष मे करने जैसे ओछे हथकंडों मे सत्ता का मार्ग खोजा जायेगा। समानता का सिद्धांत ही लोकतंत्र की मूल भावना एवं राष्ट्रीय एकता की नीव है, समाज के एक वर्ग को आवंटित विशेष सुविधाऐं, कुछ राजनीतिक गुटों के दबाव मे इन सुविधाओं का विस्तार, इस नीव को कमजोर करता हैं। सुरसा के मुख की भांति निरंतर द्विगुणित होता जातीय और धार्मिक वैमनस्य इसका उत्पाद है। इसे नियंत्रित करने के बजाय इसके विस्तार हेतु जातीय जनगणना जैसे नए नए मार्ग तलाशे जा रहे है।
