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Dear Indian Express, is ‘Mother’s Day’ not for Modi’s Mother?

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jmetamedia

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16 May 2018

Dear Indian Express, is ‘Mother’s Day’ not for Modi’s Mother?

Happy Mother’s day to a select few Mothers, if one has to believe the ultra-liberal Indian Express.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/mothers-day-2018-from-indira-gandhi-to-sheila-dikshit-here-are-some-powerful-politician-moms/

Indian Express the champion of Feminism, Poor, Underdogs, Lower Class and all the bleeding heart liberalism in the world has wished Mothers day and mentions a select few Mothers from Indian Politics.

It has Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Maneka Gandhi, Rabri Devi, Nandini Satpathy, Sheila Dixit, and Vijayaraje Scindia. It had the most glaring omission, Prime Minister Modi’s Mother, who is very much alive.

Of all the seven mentioned by Indian Express, 3 i.e Indira Gandhi, Nandini Satpathy, and Vijayaraje Scindia are deceased.
All the seven were/are related to extremely powerful men and owe their political career solely to those powerful men in their lives.
None of the seven was in any manner connected to poverty or known to lead a spartan life. The poor loving Indian Express only mentions extremely rich people.
All the seven mentioned have their progeny in politics, thereby continuing their dynastic politics.
There is not a single “Mother” from the south of Vindhyas. (Rest in Peace “Amma” Jayalalitha, coz as per Indian Express you are not a “Happy Mothers Day wishable” Amma! Never mind most Tamils call you Amma and your daughter still leads a quiet non-political life).
Let’s not talk about mothers from North East India because as per Indian liberal media, North East India exists only if there is a gaffe from a BJP leader or Rohingyas have been denied shelter.
Current sitting Chief Ministers such as Mehbooba Mufti and Vasundhara Raje Scindia have been royally ignored.

(the below snaps belong to Indian Express)

Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi, the ruthless Congress ruler who injected the poison of dynastic decadence into Indian Polity has been remembered on Mother’s Day by Indian Express. Since Narendra Modi’s Mother was a simple “kaam wali” from a small town in Gujarat, Indian Express has “liberally” ignored her. Never mind her son, Modi is the current Prime Minister of the largest and most complex democracy in history!

Sheila Dikshit

sheila dikshit, akhilesh yadav, congress, samajwadi party, Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, UP polls, India news, indian express news, elections updates

She ruled the City State of Delhi for 15 years. Nevertheless, she is mentioned because of other reasons such as

her closeness to the first family of Indian Politics.
rumoured Lutyens kitty party circle.

Sonia Gandhi

The whole point of the article from Indian Express was to put Sonia’s photo as the benevolent mother, and her “young” dynamic son Rahul, flanked by the great, erudite and honest minority leader Dr Manmohan Singh. Others in the photo are faded so they matter little except one, Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Dr Singh and his boss supremo Sonia, ruthlessly lead India during “Dark Decade of Decay” from 2004 to 2014. During Sonia’s rule, not a quarter passed without a bomb blast, not a month passed without a major riot, not a week passed without a major scam and not a day passed without Indians being reminded how utterly useless they are before the Titans of First Family, her chamchas and her loyal vote bank.

Please look carefully at the photograph as it is the most important part of the article and perhaps the most important photo of today’s Indian Express.

Rahul is wearing a hindu looking yellow scarf. Since Gujarat 2017, almost all photos of Rahul will have a Tika, Tilak or some odd Hindu Paraphernalia. IE and all the liberal “pidi patrakars” have mastered the art of subconscious messaging, they always show Rahul with these fake Hindu paraphernalia in order to hoodwink Hindus.
Rahul appears to give some Gyan to Sonia (I wonder what gyan he was giving to Sonia?) and Sonia is calmly listening. Here IE wants to convey to all the doubters that Rahul is so matured now that he can even give gyan to Sonia, the supremo who ruled India for a decade!
Dr Singh is as usual stoic. Another message saying that First Family can even control the brightest minds in the world. Such is the power of family name and money.
The most important sub plot of the photo is the faded face of Jyotiraditya Scindia! Indian Express is saying to Jyotiraditya “You are nothing before the first family” and you will fade into oblivion without our support. First Family knows Jyotiraditya is one of the potential challenges to Rahul, so they cooly snub him though their “pidi patrakars”.

Rabri Devi

Rabri Devi has been awarded a photo by Indian Express for her loyal support to the first family. Its sad considering the fact she was the CM of Bihar for a very long period. Also to gently remind her party RJD to continue the alliance in Bihar, after all, they have 40 Lok Sabha seats. Never mind her husband is a convicted criminal and her party’s rule single-handedly destroyed the economy of Bihar. Ironic considering the fact that Biharis are some of the most hardworking and brilliant people.

Vijaya Raje Scindia

The snap of late Rajmata Scindia and late Madhavrao Scindia is once again a subtle message to Jyotiraditya Scindia. “None of your family is alive and the first family is your only true boss. Cut your ambitions and declare your unflinching loyalty to the first family.” Is this what IE wants to say? Please note there is no Vasundhara Raje in the photo, while the text in IE mentions her. Anyhow many right wingers want Vasundhara to be replaced as Rajasthan CM. They should wait for May 15 Karnataka results. Perhaps IE wants to say “Vasundhara join the first family and earn a mother’s day photo from Indian Express“!

Nandini Satpathy

Nandini Satpathy’s son Tathaghat Satpathy is a two time BJD MP from Odisha! Perhaps Indian Express is reminding him, “come join the first family as your mom was with them”.

Maneka Gandhi

Nutrition council rejects Maneka’s proposal to replace anganwadi rations with nutrient packages

Maybe Maneka Gandhi earned her spot in Indian Express because of her WhatsApp group. Anyhow, we can very soon expect a long-form article from her son Varun Gandhi, who is famous for never publicly wishing Modi on his sweep in Uttar Pradesh, about some arcane subject! Many right wingers ask “Why is Maneka still a minister in Modi’s cabinet?”

By omitting PM Modi’s mother, Indian Express one of the best “Pidi Patrakars” in Lutyens Delhi has taken the art of liberal snubs to entirely new lows.

जिन्ना चले गए पाकिस्तान, उनका जिन्न रह गया हिंदुस्तान

Harshil Mehta

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11 May 2018

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जिन्ना चले गए पाकिस्तान, उनका जिन्न रह गया हिंदुस्तान

पिछले कुछ दिनों से अलीगढ मुस्लिम विश्विद्यालय पे टंगी हुई मोहम्मद अली जिन्ना की तस्वीर पर विवाद मेनस्ट्रीम मिडिया और सोशल मिडिया में छाया हुआ है। अलीगढ़ के भाजपा के संसद सतीश गौतम ने AMU के कुलपति को चिट्ठी लिखी और स्टूडेंट यूनियन हॉल में जिन्ना की तस्वीर टंगने का मकसद पूछा। बाद में कुलपति ने प्रत्युत्तर में लिखा की, “स्टूडेंट यूनियन एक स्वायत संस्था है। और जिन्ना को १९३८ से जिन्ना को आजीवन सभ्यपद मिला हुआ था। इसीलिए वहां पर ये फोटो लगी हुई है। ”

सोशल मीडिया में खबरे फैलते देरी नहीं लगती, जैसे ही यह खबर फैली की ट्विटर पर विवाद चालू हो गया। लेकिन इसमें एक बात गौर करने लायक निकली की, भारत में रहकर जिन्ना की तरफदारी करने वाले लोग कम नहीं है। परंतु यह लोग इस बात को खुल्लेआम बोल नहीं सकते। सामान्य रूप से यह लोग AMU के रेडिकल छात्र या फिर कामरेड है।

देखने लायक बात यह भी है की, भारत के कुछ कट्टर सेक्युलर लोग जिन्ना की सीधे मुंह निंदा भी नहीं कर सकते। उदाहरण के तौर पर जावेद अख्तर साहब को ही देख लीजिए। अपने आप को कट्टर सेक्युलर कहने वाले जावेद अख्तर मूल रूप से नास्तिक है। उन्होंने इस घटना पर कहा की, देश में जिन्ना की फोटो को बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जा सकता। लेकिन साथ ही में कहा की, इस देश में गोडसे के मंदिर भी है। उन्हें भी हटाया जाना चाहिए। वैसे तो मैं गोडसे को मंटा नहीं हूँ, किन्तु बात जिस तरह से भ्रमित करने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है तो मेरा प्रश्न यह है की, क्या कोई भी गोडसे का मंदिर सरकारी जमीन पर या फिर सरकारी सहायता से बना हुआ है? जबकि अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय तो भारत सरकार से हर वर्ष करोड़ो रुपए लेता है। फिर विद्यार्थीओ को जिन्ना की फोटो दिखने का क्या अर्थ? सामान्य तौर पर कोई आदर्श व्यक्तित्व की फोटो दिखाई जाती है, ताकि विद्यार्थी उनसे प्रेरणा ग्रहण करे। भला जिन्ना की फोटो से छात्रों को क्या प्रेरणा मिलती होगी?

एक तर्क यह भी दिया जा रहा है की, वो तस्वीर तो १९३८ से लटकी हुई है। इतने सालो बाद अब क्यों याद आया ? सीधी सी बात है हमे याद नहीं रहा फिर भी आपने तस्वीर नहीं निकाली? चलिए अब हमें याद आ गया है, अब तस्वीर निकालेंगे? हकीकत में तो देश के विभाजन के बाद इस देश में रहने का फैसला करते वख्त ही उस तस्वीर को हटाना चाहिए था। ‘It’s better to delay than never.’

आश्चर्यपूर्ण बात यह भी है की, कांग्रेस जिन्ना की फोटो का विरोध भी नहीं कर पा रही है। तुष्टिकरण की राजनीती के चलते बहुत से पक्ष एक खास समुदाय में अलगाववाद का और स्पेशल स्टेटस का बीज बो रहे है। असदुद्दीन ओवैसी जी पिछले दिनों संसद में एक विधेयक लाने वाले थे की भारतीय मुसलमान को पाकिस्तानी कहने पर तीन साल की सजा हो। लेकिन उनके क़ायदे-आज़म की तस्वीर पर एक शब्द भी नहीं बोलना उनकी बेबसी है या फिर चतुराई, यह कुछ कह नहीं सकते।

जिन्ना की तस्वीर का समर्थन करने हेतु लगभग २५०-३०० छात्र(!) AMU की सड़को पर उतर आए है। इतना ही नहीं, आज़ादी के नारे भी लगा रहे है। इनका अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से कहना है की जिन्ना विश्वविद्यालय की विरासत है। उनके साथ खिलवाड़ नहीं होना चाहिए। यह बात ही दिखाती है कि, बड़े बड़े विश्वविद्यालय में मिल रही शिक्षा में हकीकत में राष्ट्रवाद की कमी है।

यदि इसी तरह से छोटी छोटी बातो में अलगाववाद के बीज बोते रहे, तो बहुत दिन बाद यह एक वटवृक्ष बन सकता है। इतिहास यह भी है की, अलीगढ़ मुस्लिम विश्वविद्यालय के छात्रों ने पुरे भारत में अलग पाकिस्तान की मांग जगाई थी। हाल ही में, बशीर अहमद जैसे पीएच.डी. करने वाले छात्र भी कश्मीर के अलगाववादी संगठन में जुड़ जाते है। मुस्लिमो की अलग जुबान, विरासत और मजहब के नाम पर एक चौथाई देश ले लेने के बाद भी भारत के राजनीतिज्ञ देश की अखंडता पर मंडराए हुए संकट को देख नहीं पा रहे है। जिन्ना की तस्वीर के साथ उसका जिन्न भी भारत से चला जाए तो राष्ट्र के लिए अच्छा होगा।

हाँ मुझे भी प्रकाश में एक विलन और विक्षिप्त बीमारी नजर आती हैं!

Abhishek Singh Rao

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11 May 2018

0

हाँ मुझे भी प्रकाश में एक विलन और विक्षिप्त बीमारी नजर आती हैं!

कुछ सालों पहले पाकिस्तानी मूल के कैनेडियन एक्टिविस्ट, लेखक और भारत में अप्रतिम नाम कमा चुके तारिक फतह ने मीडिया से ही सवाल करते हुए पूछा था कि “भारतीय मीडिया बॉलीवुड के एक्टर्स को इतनी तवज्जो क्यों देती हैं?”

आज मैं भी कहता हूँ, वे एक अच्छे एक्टर्स हो सकतें हैं लेकिन इसका मतलब ये नहीं कि सामाजिक और राजनितिक मुद्दों पर उनकी उतनी ही बुद्धिमता हों. गोदी मीडिया इस बात को समझे और बॉलीवुड एक्टर्स की टुच्ची सोच को भारत के सामाजिक और सांस्कृतिक दृष्टिकोण न जोड़ें! आमिर खान की बीवी को भारत छोड़ना हैं तो उसका मतलब ये नहीं की पुरे भारत के लोगो को उसी बहस में पटक दिया जाए और एक ऐसा असहिष्णु माहौल बनाया जाए जैसे देश की तमाम महिलाएं देश छोड़ना चाहती हैं! ये एक्टर्स और खास कर एक्ट्रेस उन्हीं जगहों पर मच-मच करती हैं जहाँ उनका एकाधिकार हों, जहाँ उनको किसी का जवाब न देना पड़ें, जहाँ उनके कुछ भी बोल देने के बाद मीडिया हैडलाइन बना सकें!

दरसअल फ़िल्मी परदे से एकतरफा इंटरेक्शन करते-करते उनको आम-जीवन में भी उसी की लत लग गई हैं! वे कभी तथ्यों पर बात नहीं करतें, नाही उन्हें तथ्यों का ख्याल होता हैं! सोशल मीडिया प्लेटफॉर्म्स पर कुछ लिख कर और खुद के वीडियो बनाकर ये लोग अपने शब्द दूसरे लोगो के मुँह थूंकने को अग्रेसर रहते हैं लेकिन जिनको ये ऊँगली दिखाते रहते हैं उस ख़ैमे से जब कोई एक भी खिलाडी उनके सामने आता है, भले ही वह अंतिम छोर से क्यों न हो तब इनकी हवा टाइट हो जाती है! और फिर उनकी सोच को जब वे गलत साबित होता पाते हैं तब वही राहुल गाँधी वाला राग अलापते हैं, “भाई हम तो सिख रहें हैं!”

यकीं नहीं होता तो कल की सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी और प्रकाश राज की डिबेट को देख लीजिये आपको मेरे एक एक शब्द का वजन मालूम हो जाएगा! आर.एस.एस, भाजपा और हिन्दू-वादी संगठनो के खिलाफ जहर उगलने वाले प्रकाश राज ने कहा कि “वे हिंदुत्व को मिस-गाइड करने वालो के लेकर चिंतित हैं.” और ये लोग कौन हैं पूछने पर उन्होंने सबसे पहले आर.एस.एस का नाम लिया.

जब सुब्रमण्यम स्वामी की बारी आई तो उन्होंने कहा कि “उन्होंने(प्रकाश राज) ऐसी कोई बात चिन्हित नहीं की कि जो आर.एस.एस ने कहा हो और उनको खतरनाक लगती हो!” स्वामी की इस बात पर जवाब से कोसो दूर भागते हुए प्रकाश राज ने अचानक आने वाली पीढ़ी की चिंता शुरू कर दी और बिच-बिच में हिन्दू-राष्ट्र और गौमूत्र जैसे शब्दों से हिंदुत्व के खिलाफ वायरल हो रहें कुछेक व्हाट्सप्प मेसेज याद कर खुद को बचाना चाहा लेकिन स्वामी नहीं माने!

स्वामी ने दुबारा पूछा, “ऐसा हो सकता है लेकिन यह आर.एस.एस के साथ कैसे लागु होता हैं?” उन्होंने आगे कहा कि “ऐसा लगता है मानो वे(प्रकाश राज) न्युरोसिस(बीमारी) से जूझ रहें हैं!”

स्वामी ने एक बार फिर पूछा, आप जिनकी बात कर रहें हैं वे लोग कौन हैं? परन्तु इस बार भी प्रकाश राज कुछ अलग मूड में दिखे और कहने लगे “मुझे तुमसे प्रॉब्लम हैं! मेरी प्रॉब्लम है, आदमी की जबान में हड्डी नहीं होती इसका मतलब ये नहीं कि आपकी स्पीच में भी रीढ़ की हड्डी नहीं होनी चाहिए!” और फिर वे 21 वीं सदी की मांग बताने में व्यस्त हो गए.

गौर कीजिएगा अभी तक प्रकाश राज बता नहीं पाएं कि आर.एस.एस की कौनसी बात उनको खतरनाक लगी!

आगे इस डिबेट ने मोदी, अमित शाह, गौ-हत्या, राम-मंदिर, बुरहान वानी जैसे कईं मुद्दों को छुआ लेकिन हर मौके पर स्वामी ने प्रकाश राज को संवैधानिक भाषा में विलन साबित कर दिया.

डिबेट में ऐसे मौके भी कईं मौके आए जब खुद के तर्क नहीं रख पाने के कारण विलन का गुस्से में स्वर ऊँचा हो गया.

सबसे बड़ी किरकिरी तो तब हुई जब डिबेट की दर्शक दीर्घा में से लोगो को मौका मिला कि वे दोनों मेहमानो को प्रश्न पूछ सकें तब किसी ने भी प्रकाश राज को अपने प्रश्नो के उत्तर देने लायक नहीं समझा! बहरहाल, एंकर को सामने से कहना पड़ा कि “प्रकाश राज के लिए भी कोई प्रश्न है या सब स्वामी के पास ही जाएंगे!”

एंकर के इतना कहने के बाद एक व्यक्ति खड़ा हुआ जिसने अपने आप को पूर्व इंस्पेक्टर जनरल ऑफ़ पुलिस बताया. उसने प्रकाश राज को उसकी मूवी का रोल याद करवाते एक बेहद परेशान व्यक्ति बताया और कहा “डायरेक्टर और प्रोड्यूसर ने आपने एक विलन देखा इसलिए आप एक अच्छे एक्टर बने!”

इतना सुनते असहिष्णुता का मोर्चा सँभालने वाले प्रकाश राज खुद असहिष्णु हो गए और वह व्यक्ति अपना प्रश्न पूरा न कर सका!

इस पूरी डिबेट की बात करूँ तो ऐसा लगा मानो प्रकाश राज बेहद विचलित, क्रोधित और न्युरोसिस की बीमारी से जूझ रहें हैं!

यूट्यूब पर इस वीडियो के निचे और सोशल मीडिया पर लोग तरह तरह के कमैंट्स लिख रहें हैं जिसमे आम बात बात बहार आ रही हैं कि “प्रकाश राज दूसरे पप्पू हैं!” दूसरी सबसे बड़ी कमेंट आ रही हैं कि “प्रकाश राज स्वामी के साथ डिबेट करने के लायक नहीं हैं! यह स्वामी का टोटल टाइम वेस्ट था!”

घर जाकर प्रकाश राज ने भी यह डिबेट फिरसे देखी होगी तभी उनको अंदाजा आ गया कि उनकी हैसियत क्या हैं और उन्होंने लोगो की कमैंट्स को कुछ हद तक खुद की ट्वीट में समाहित कर लिया!

Rediscovering Sita

Opinions

Nidhi Mishra

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10 May 2018

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Sita means furrow in Sanskrit. In Rigveda, she is named as an earth goddess who is associated with fecundity. A Vedic hymn invokes Sita in this manner;

Auspicious Sita, come thou near;

We venerate and worship Thee
That thou mayst bless and prosper us
And bring us fruits abundantly.

She has been a great icon who inspires all of us. Tradition in India speaks Sita as an exemplary lady who has been a role model of feminity. Her character represents all the required traits of an ideal woman viz..pious, devoted, affectionate, simple. She is worshipped as God incarnate.

Despite all these divine-like qualities embodied in her, Sita’s portrayal has been deprived of its just place. Sita’s forbearance has been greatly highlighted overlooking the other dimensions of her character. Sita was a docile yet courageous figure in the Ramayana. Penetrating deep into the character analysis of Sita one comes across many times Sita standing as an epitome of immense willpower and inner strength. Being of a mother goddess origin, we find Sita in harmony with nature. In the Sita Upanishada Sita is eulogized as the ultimate Brahman, the material cause behind every manifestation. The Upanishad identifies Sita with primordial Prakriti (nature) and her three powers:

सा देवी त्रिविधा भवति शक्त्यासना
इच्छाशक्तिः क्रियाशक्तिः साक्षाच्छक्तिरिति

That divine Being is threefold,
through her power, namely,
the power of desire,
the power of action,
the power of knowledge.

—Sita Upanishad verse 11

It further states; As the moon (She) is the mistress of the herbs; She is the tree of plenty, flowers, fruits, creepers and bowers; the mistress of medicinal plants and physicians; She is the divine draught of immortality, yielding the fruit of massive splendor.

As the legend speaks, Sita, as a young girl, had picked up Shiva’s bow with one hand — a feat which even great warriors found difficult to accomplish. It showed how Sita possessed strength both physical and mental. It was her ability to stand up and face challenges which are displayed when Lord Rama leaves for forests and she insists to accompany him. The charming serenity of the forest makes her feel captivated that she would opt for the simplicities of the forest life over the complexities of the life at the kingdom. This is one of the instances where we witness Sita being the determined and assertive woman in her thoughts. Whatever she decides she does such is the resoluteness of Sita. She thus follows Ram into the forests. It is with regard to her birth from the mother earth Sita has a special relationship with nature. Forest life is romantic and pleasant for her. She finds deep affinity with the solace of a jungle. Sita and Rama have many adventures in the forest, meeting various sages and vanquishing demons. Contrary to the popular belief, lady Sita as being portrayed in Valmiki’s Ramayan is a powerful woman who never shies away from taking crucial matters into her hands. In one of the versions of Ramayana namely Adbhut Ramayana which too happens to be the work of Maharishi Valmiki, Sita’s characterization is not of the demure, helpless victim waiting for her husband to rescue her. Sita is never seen shedding tears here, in fact, she is depicted as Goddess Kali who kills many demons.

In Adbhut Ramayana there is one unique story of Sita even slaying thousand headed Ravana. Here she is identified with Prakriti (Nature or the universal creative principle). She takes on the form of Shiva, and Rama says that Purusha is one of her forms (26: 29). She kills mercilessly and creates profusely. She also preserves the universe and acts for its welfare. The reason behind her birth is to establish Dharma and destroy evil on earth. She thus acts as an agent and not victim. Therefore, Sita’s actions apparently seem to be motivated by wifely devotion, are in fact aimed at universal welfare. In the Adbhut Ramayana, Sita gets ready to fight battle only when her husband falls unconscious, and is appeased only when the Gods bring him back to life. Thus we see Sita is synonyms with Shakti and encapsulates all the major traits of Shakti. In Ashok Vatika, her restraint is remarkable and unprecedented. It was the amazing strength of her character that Ravana never dared to even touch her.

But here also one peculiar fact come to the forefront that Adbhut Ramayana misses whole episode of Sita’s abduction and exile hence completely shifting focus from Sita a mute spectator eagerly waiting for her husband to rescue her. Here the stature of Sita is elevated to the level that even Rama is being depicted as a Sita devotee. It begins with Brahma, the creator God, telling Rama that he needs to recognize Sita’s importance: “Rama, you are not able to do anything without her. To make you realize this, Sita, who is beyond criticism, has done all these actions” (24:42). Brahma then tells Rama to actually look at Sita: “Look at Janaki, Rama, give up fear, great-armed one” (24:43).

In this way, we see what is being popularized of Sita till date stands in contradiction of how she is portrayed in other versions of Ramayana e.g. Adbhut Ramayana. So the need of the hour is just like the two most popular versions of Ramayana, they also need to be universalized. As it can be figured out that Valmiki himself felt that in his Ramayana due place has not been provided to Janki so he orders to overhaul it writes Adbhut Ramayana with the new perspective towards Sita and that’s why it is called Adbhut meaning extraordinary.

Such approach towards the characterization of Sita provides a befitting challenge to those who here and there try to demean our holy scriptures on the pretext of showing the female protagonists helpless and victimized. But whereas our scriptures show that females were held in highest esteem in the ancient era, the following mantra in Manusmriti is adequate enough to prove it:

Yatra Narestu pujyantey ramantey tatra devata Yatreta too na pujyantey sarva tatrafla kriya. –Manusmriti 3-56

‘wherever women are given their due respect, even the deities like to reside there and where they are not respected, all actions remain unfruitful’.

Women’s non representation in Indian politics

Opinions

Dr Somdutta

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10 May 2018

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Women’s non representation in Indian politics

Why are women outnumbered in politics? Why is political power still a male bastion? From bellowing slogans of ‘Beti padhao, Beti bachao’ to saving the sanctity of Bharat Mata, Gau Mata and Ganga Mata, the card of womanhood is often deployed by our politicians as a tool to garner votes. At the moment, with the Karnataka elections in the offing and general elections next year, parties are cleverly positioning women in their high decibel campaigns and manifestos. But, my question is, where are the women? From reinforcing their commitments to women’s rights to merely representing a leading party’s election symbol, why is the fairer sex amiss in India’s political milieu? When on one hand, women voters are a decisive factor during elections with the EC even setting up special Sakhi polling booths in the impending Karnataka polls, why has their political participation been abysmal?

Women account for a whopping 49% of India’s population, but, according to a survey tabled in the Parliament last year, factors such as domestic responsibilities, prevailing cultural attitudes regarding roles of women in society and lack of support from family were among main reasons that prevented them from joining politics. Here’s where I differ to agree. When on one hand, in a landscape where women are raising their voices and winning against sexual abuse and harassment, why in the political setting is there presence nonexistent? This is not just the case in India, but across the globe where women’s representation in government is declining at an alarming rate.

Our ruling government has always had a Sanatan perspective rooted deeply in Hinduism. Did you know there never existed the term Hinduism? There were Sanatan Dharma and the Vedas that taught us ways of lives more than a religion, but never Hindu religion. Unlike the ill-fated crimes in the recent times, women in ancient India were equal with men, in fact, they enjoyed a much higher standing than men, they were revered as mothers, as wives, as daughters, as the ‘gruhini’, the queen of the house. Today, such words may sound fancy and glamorous, but when your claim to fame is grounded on the dharmas our ancestors have imbibed in us, why don’t we see the same status as the books in real life being given to women? Santana Dharma stresses on the active participation of women in all activities including governance and administration. But, when we look at the numbers, they are shameful – 11% – 27 women amongst 245 MPs in Rajya Sabha, 11.8% – 64 women in Lok Sabha comprising 542 members.

I cannot stress more on the importance of women in political participation and that recognizing their prominence in decision-making processes in our society is significant to reinforce our path toward building a progressive holistic culture where all citizens are equal. When Nirmala Sitharaman was named India’s Defence Minister, the first woman to hold the post since Indira Gandhi, why were questions raised on her devotion to the public, merely because she’s a woman? Why wasn’t the same treatment meted out to Arun Jaitley or Manohar Parrikar?

Doesn’t India champion itself as a beacon of democracy? Yet, practically 70 years after permitting its women citizens the right to vote, it clocks way behind when it comes to women’s participation as representatives in elected government bodies! In the army as well, one of the world’s most male-dominated professions, why are women in combat roles still a long pending demand? Simply because she’s perceived as the weaker sex and a woman does not belong in the battlefield or sea, only behind desks and in the kitchen?

What is the use of ranting against injustices on women when we don’t have voices to air those concerns in the cabinet? While our Constitution attempts to remove gender inequalities by protecting fundamental rights for all citizens, why do women still have de jure and not de facto access to said rights? India may have had women Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers of various states, paradoxically, India ranks 20th from the bottom as per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report when it comes to political representation of women.

To remedy this, in 1993 and what can be called a watershed moment, the 73rd and 74th Indian constitutional amendments mandated 33.3% reservation for women in Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies. But, did we see that happening? Around the globe, just about 22% women are political representatives, which in India is 11%. Alarmingly, much smaller nations like Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan have a better representation of women in politics. See, although boosting the number of women in national government may not assure an impact on governance, one thing is certain, a massive number of women in power can bring about leadership transformation at all levels.

When it comes to casting your vote, we are definitely progressing with the turnout of women during India’s 2014 parliamentary general elections was 65.63%, only marginally less than the male turnout of 67.09%. But, this participation is not apparently translating into equivalent electoral power for women. But how will we progress when women have no or very negligible say in policy making?

A key challenge, women in India face is lack of basic education. Bridging this gap by providing them quality education and creating awareness about their rights and privileges is imperative. Although our Government of India has initiated several missions for women empowerment and safety, the very issues of gender-based violence and provision of safety and security should be addressed on priority. In today’s environment, when women are breaking glass ceilings after ceilings, I will not agree to the fact that women are not recruited because they lack confidence or interest or ambition in politics, what they need is the same encouragement as men.

When you think of it, it’s a vicious cycle that when lesser women enter politics, the more their needs get ignored and the more insecure they become and then more apprehensive to enter politics. There is an immediate need for capacity building of women leaders by imparting them with leadership training across fields. They need to be empowered to speak up. Political gatekeepers who tend to recruit from their own networks, especially me, need to look beyond gender. Women can win elections just as good as men can, all we have to do is un-attach political mechanisms from the sex of the candidate else we’re just playing into the myth that women can’t get elected.

BJP’s motormouth problem

Opinions

abhishekdalal

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9 May 2018

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BJP’s meteoric rise over the past four years has meant that the party has manifestly grown and adopted a slew of new members, some of whom have paid rich dividends with their political acumen. Others, as I have written about before, have gone on to become the largest thorns in the government’s drive to project an inclusive development narrative. The friendly fire caused by these motormouth CMs, MLAs and MPs have done a great disservice to Narendra Modi, the BJP itself and by extension those of us that continue to support them. Further, they would go a long way in alienating those crucial members of the electorate that swung the 2014 election in Narendra Modi’s favour.

As I keep reminding many of my own friends, the BJP in its current form (going by 2014 exit poll results and other trends) managed to stitch together a diverse coalition of voters that were rightfully angry with the erstwhile ruling party and sought decisive change. Even without the tone-deaf proclamations made by errant BJP politicians, the party faces an uphill task to re-engineer its 2014 winning coalition in the upcoming general elections. As many have observed, India is a country that relishes the opportunity to vote the incumbents out and despite Narendra Modi’s popularity, the laws of political gravity will catch up with the party either 2019 or the multiple elections that will continue to follow them. Contrary to what many of my fellow BJP supporters think, Mr Modi’s BJP will not rule forever. That is unequivocally good for Indian democracy.

Focusing our attention solely on 2019, however, one could say that a combination of the central government’s groundwork and Mr Modi’s rhetorical abilities can potentially stave off anti-incumbency. But this requires a disciplined communication strategy that focuses on the work done in these past 4 years and an inclusive development oriented second-term agenda that builds upon his current successes (of which, there are many). In this light, statements ranging from bizarre anti-scientific rants to outright communalizing hate speech will undercut the message Mr Modi is trying to present to the electorate. It will also turn away a milieu of urban and first-time voters that played an imperative role in BJP’s 2014 victory. The party’s tallest leaders must find a way to convince their own half-witted leaders to keep their trap shut if they have nothing intelligent to contribute.

Looking beyond the immediate future, the BJP must find a way to broaden its core leadership talent pool. The blatant anti-science rhetoric coming from no less than our own Education Minister is extremely troubling. An aspirational India saw an inspiring story of Narendra Modi’s rise from ignominy to the highest elected office of the land. But this same aspirational India can quickly turn into a tidal wave of anger against a party dominated by incoherent loudmouths that continue to outdo their own ludicrousness. For god sakes stop, or we should all get used to saying, “Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi”.

India’s $620 billion defence market attracts Lockheed, Airbus, and Saab

Reports

sahajdesai

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9 May 2018

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India’s $620 billion defence market attracts Lockheed, Airbus, and Saab

India’s defence market is growing rapidly despite the country being a major arms importer. The sudden focus of the Indian government towards its defence sector has alerted major arms manufacturers, especially the European defence firms.

Defexpo 2018, the Indian defence expo, held at Chennai, reflects the focus mentioned above. Airbus is the only bidder that has shown interest for Indian Air Force’s Avro Replacement Programme.

If the deal is finalized, Airbus will produce 56 units of C295W military transport aircraft with assistance from Tata Advance Systems Ltd. President and MD of Airbus India, Pierre de Bausset explained, “As soon as the Avro replacement programme turns into a contract, it will be assembled over here, manufactured here in India.”

Airbus, one of the largest European aeronautics company, is also eyeing the South Asian continent for new projects. In fact, it is developing a strong supply chain running through the Asian nations. Owing to the increasing tension in the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea, defence purchases are increasing steadily.

Local manufacturing is being pushed with the help of regional partners. It’s quite visible with a jet fighter deal that may be concluded soon. For the deal, Lockheed has partnered with Tata Group, and Saab has joined hands with Adani Group, fronted by Chairman Gautam Adani and Managing Director Rajesh Adani. At least 85 percent of the planes are going to be manufactured in India, which is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The man behind the curtains is PM Narendra Modi. His ‘Make in India’ initiative is promoting local production of goods and services. The aim is to make the country self-reliant rather than depend on costly imports, which may not fall in line with the quality needed by the defence forces. Recently, the home ministry gave clearance to 48 private defence projects. These will enable small and medium-scale arms production.

In other news, The Indian Air Force has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to invite tenders for 110 fighter aircraft. Around 75 percent of the aircraft will be single-seat variants and the other 25 will be double-seat fighters.

Men need to step up to improve the position of women in Indian society

Open Letters

manjeetsingh

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9 May 2018

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Men need to step up to improve the position of women in Indian society

For millions of women in India, the working day commonly begins at 4.30 or 5.00 am and ends sixteen hours later, as they struggle to meet the most basic needs of their families – for food, water, clothes, health care and a home. The reason for this ‘hundred-hour week’ is that most women do two jobs – in the home and outside of the home. It can be in the agriculture sector and private industry.

In the popular imagination, the women of India look after the house and raise the children whilst the men go out for bread and butter. But the truth is something else. In India, women do more than half of the subcontinent’s agriculture work. It is usually thought that it is the man who is responsible for farm work, assisted by women, but in most cases now it’s the women who do the farm work, assisted by the men.

A few weeks ago a minor girl got raped in J &K, another in Bihar, Assam, and Delhi. Last week a couple got beaten thrashed by the mob just outside of the Kolkata airport just because people thought they were standing to close to each other. That’s quite normal in our country. Isn’t it? Every day we read news about rapes across India. We talk about it for a day or two max and then things are back to normal. India is a country of 1.3 billion people out of which 49% are women. So half of our population are females. And that’s how a society works. On an average 20000 rapes took place in India in a year. My heart bleeds when I read about rapes in newspapers. As a man, it’s our responsibility to make sure women should feel safe around us. It’s our collective responsibility to make sure that nobody misbehaves with them in market, train or buses.

Most of the Indians know very well how tough is the life of a woman in the world’s biggest democracy. Everybody knows it and few are making money out of it. The rivalry between older and younger women is so common in joint family households that it has spawned an entire sub-genre of “saas-bahu” soap operas about wives and mothers-in-law. They are among the most popular program on Indian television. We had a woman president, we’ve had a woman Prime Minister. Yet in 2012, one of the greatest tragedies in our country is that women are on their own when it comes to their own safety.

Women have proved that they can beat men in any sector. Be it sports, arts, science, politics, Tech or for that matter anywhere, she has stood at par with what a man could do. Yet, she still fights for equality. No matter what, the old thoughts and upbringing culture still lay cluttered in the minds of men that women should not be above men, but below them. It is sad to understand that women are the better halves of the society, yet they are the ones who face the maximum tortures in many ways in their lives. Time has changed, yet attitude towards women have never been changed.

Even today, leave alone villages where people are uneducated, the educated society or who claims to be in the high-class society, opts for abortions of girl child! The only reason they state is “It is expensive to bring up a girl child.” How ridiculous? The system has to be changed right from the roots.

When a girl child is born, the first thought is, the parent has to make dowry to get her married off. Aren’t men and their families ashamed to ask for dowries even today? Do they survive on the money from the girl’s house?

One thing is crystal clear: 91 years after Gandhi urged Indian men to treat their women with respect, the lesson has yet to be learned. Everything is so tough for women in India. People kill girls even before birth, female foeticide still a common problem in our Country n 21^stcentury. Girls have limited freedom in almost everything. Education, career, clothes, parties, night out with friends, school-college tours and almost at every place. Why?

If I look around my neighbourhood I can find 100s of the example where families didn’t allow their girls to go to another city for decent education even though those girls are one of the brightest I have encountered in my life. Girls had proved that whether its sports, education, army, science-tech or any field, they are nowhere less than the boys. But still no major change in the mentality of the people. There is nothing inevitable about violence against women, here or anywhere. Struggle by courageous women and their allies has already had an impact. But the worst thing we can do is allow our horror at what happened on that Delhi bus to make us complacent

It’s not about Hindu or Muslim. It’s not about BJP or Congress. It’s not about Right or Left. It’s about making sure women get what they deserve. Respect, Freedom, rights, and equality in every sector of the life. More women need to come in front to fight for their rights.

But although the voices of women must be heard above all else, men must speak out too. It’s really important that we show solidarity with women, educate each other and challenge prejudice in our ranks. Men have a crucial role to play, too. Parents need to teach their kids to respect women at very early age. Our education system needs many changes, at least when it comes to its curriculum. We as a society need to give the freedom to our girls.

The curious case of Count Dankula, and hate speech

Opinions

anonBrook

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9 May 2018

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The curious case of Count Dankula, and hate speech

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.

-Evelyn Beatrice Hall

Free Speech and how free is free speech, is something almost every democracy is struggling with. Particularly with respect to hate speech. In India particularly, this discussion holds a lot of relevance. To my horror, almost everybody seems to agree that those that indulge in hate speech should be punished, i.e. they agree that hate speech should be criminalized. Some go even further to state the Free Speech and Hate Speech are, in fact, different all-together and hence, Hate Speech is not protected. The horrifying part is, nobody agrees on what Hate Speech is. And that’s a tiny bit problematic, you see, since, people will go to jail for something we don’t even know what it is. Isn’t that nice?

For example, to criticize Mohammad and Islam is Islamophobic and hateful, but drawing the sacred Trishul of Bhagwan Shiva as a penis or to call Prabhu Ram a “pig” is apparently free expression. But today I don’t want to reduce this argument to Hindu-Muslim or to reduce its importance by bringing in boring, relevant and burning socio-political issues concerning India as we are utterly incapable of rationality while talking of important problems that plague our Nation. So, let me tell you about a man you most probably have no clue about. His name is “Count Dankula”. Well, not really. His name is Mark Meechan and Count Dankula is the pseudonym he goes by on YouTube.

Before, moving ahead I want to ask you if you think to teach your dog to raise a paw and posting a video of your dog doing exactly this and some other things, is Hate Speech. Now, think very hard. Do you, like me, think it’s not Hate Speech? Well, think again because according to a United Kingdom Court it is, in fact, Hate Speech! *Dun* *Dun* *Dunn*

Yay First World Libertarianism!

Having laid out the ‘bhoomika’ (foundation), let us begin. Count Dankula is a small YouTuber, who described himself as a “Shit-poster” and posts funny videos for the small fanbase he has. One of his videos he posted on YouTube was of his girlfriend’s pug.

Mark’s girlfriend was always going on about how cute her pug dog was. When she was absent, Mark thought it would be funny to turn the pug into what he described as “the least cute thing that I could think of — which is a Nazi.” Meechan then made a video in which he showed his girlfriend’s pug watching videos of Adolf Hitler, raising his right paw (as in a “Sieg Heil”), and reacting seemingly excited to the phrase “Do you want to gas the Jews?” Meechan/Dankula uploaded this to YouTube and thought he would get some appreciation from his fans. In case any viewers were under any misconceptions, Meechan stated in the video that ‘he wasn’t himself a Nazi but thought that what he had done was funny.’

If it’s your kind of humour, you might find it funny. Not everybody enjoys the same sort of jokes.

But the law in modern Britain- specifically modern Scotland- does not seem to believe this, much like the law, here, in India. The Scottish Police arrested and charged him. At his trial in Airdrie Sherriff Court in Lanarkshire, Meechan was found guilty of posting “grossly offensive, anti-Semitic and racist material.” He pleaded not guilty but was convicted under the Communications Act in a crime that the court found was aggravated by “religious prejudice.”

“Grossly offensive”, “religious prejudice”- do these sound similar? Well, of course, they do! We are in India. People are arrested so regularly over Social Media posts for “disturbing communal harmony” that it’s not even surprising anymore.

Thank Congress for the First Amendment. “Reasonable Restriction” for the win!

And then there is also the infamous Section 66A of Information Technology Act, that was struck down by the Supreme Court of India as unconstitutional but under which police still, regularly, arrests people.

But these are all relevant things to discuss so, let’s not waste time talking about them right now and let’s discuss abstract concepts, as is required of armchair experts like me, and come back to where we began. And that is the question, “What is hate speech? Should it be punishable? Is Hate Speech not Free Speech?”

Merriam-Webster defines Hate Speech as “speech that is intended to insult, offend, or intimidate a person because of some trait (as race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability)”.

This definition is surprisingly very specific, yet totally vague. Sarcastically praising someone’s beauty or intelligence (a “trait”) can be insulting and/or offensive. Is that Hate Speech? What if I made a joke about Chinese people? Is that Hate Speech because it is, apparently, racist? Or what about something more controversial like, a critique of certain monotheistic faiths, specifically one whose genocidal prophet raped a nine-year-old and which calls for the death of those that don’t worship the one true God, whose perfect and infinite wisdom is recorded in a book which is full of contradiction? Is that Hate Speech simply because it, despite being true, offends the peaceful followers of this extremely peaceful religion? Or what if I ridicule deities of a multi-theistic faith, or call them misogynists. Specifically, the one who forced his wife into exile upon untrue insinuations from random strangers or maybe the one who married all of the women except the one who he loved since childhood and who had also been in love with him? Is that Hate Speech simply because followers of this faith too get offended?

If taking offence is all it takes, everything is Hate Speech!

As displayed, Hate Speech is subjective. And “intent” is impossible to prove. How can anybody know the precise reason why a person said something. And so it must not be punishable because a law that defines crime on subjective criteria, where criminal intent can never be established will always be misused.

Coming to the last and most important question, is Hate Speech Free Speech? You may have heard, as have I, many a self proclaimed “intellectuals” declare with utmost pride and confidence that Hate Speech is NOT Free Speech, but let me just say that these “liberals”, who for some reason, are almost always leftists (but such “liberals” are aplenty in the right wing also), are absolutely WRONG and stupid, I might add!

How am I so certain? Because I am not stupid and I understand that it is idiotic to say that alkali does not base, or that junk food is not food or that tigers are not cats or that- well, you get the point. Yes, Hate Speech is different from Free Speech, but only in so far as it is a type of free speech. Imagine a circle within another, bigger circle. Are the circles different? Yes, but they are both circles. To say one is not a circle simply because they are different would be quite ridiculous.

Hate Speech IS Free Speech and hence, must be defended fiercely just like Free Speech. Because if we are not free to say ridiculous and potentially offensive things then what use is a democracy really? This was best explained by Jordan B Peterson in his interview to Cathy Newman, which was watched & shared worldwide, in which he says, “…. to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive…”

नक्सलवाद को हराती सरकारी नीतियाँ

डॉ नीलम महेंद्र

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8 May 2018

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24 अप्रैल 2017 को जब “नक्सली हमले में देश के 25 जवानों की शहादत को व्यर्थ नहीं जाने देंगे” यह वाक्य देश के प्रधानमंत्री नरेन्द्र मोदी ने कहा था, तो देशवासियों के जहन में सेना द्वारा 2016 में की गई सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक की यादें ताजा हो गई थीं।

लेकिन नक्सलियों का कोई एक ठिकाना नहीं होना, सुरक्षा कारणों से उनका लगातार अपनी जगह बदलते रहना और सुरक्षा बलों के मुकाबले उन्हें स्थानीय नागरिकों का अधिक सहयोग मिलना, जैसी परिस्थितियों के बावजूद ठीक एक साल बाद 22 अप्रैल 2018,को जब महाराष्ट्र के गढ़चिरौली क्षेत्र में पुलिस के सी-60 कमांडो की कारवाई में 37 नक्सली मारे जाते हैं तो यह समझना आवश्यक है कि यह कोई छोटी घटना नहीं है, यह वाकई में एक बड़ी कामयाबी है। इन नक्सलियों में से एक श्रीकांत पर 20 लाख और एक नक्सली सांईनाथ पर 12 लाख रुपए का ईनाम था।

आज सरकार और सुरक्षा बलों का नक्सलवाद के प्रति कितना गंभीर रुख़ है इससे समझा जा सकता है कि 29 मार्च 2018 को सुकमा में 16 महिला नक्सली समेत 59 नक्सलियों ने पुलिस और सीआरपीएफ के समक्ष आत्मसमर्पण किया। इसी क्रम में पिछले दो सालों में सरकार द्वारा 1476 नक्सल विरोधी आपरेशन चलाए गए जिसमें 2017 में सबसे ज्यादा 300 नक्सली मारे गए और 1994 गिरफ्तार किए गए। लेकिन इस सब के बीच नक्सलियों का आत्मसमर्पण वो उम्मीद की किरण लेकर आया है कि धीरे धीरे ही सही लेकिन अब इन नक्सल प्रभावित क्षेत्रों में सक्रिय नक्सलियों का नक्सलवाद से मोहभंग हो रहा है।

वर्तमान सरकार के गृह मंत्रालय द्वारा जारी आंकड़ों में कहा गया है कि उसकी नीतियों के कारण 11 राज्यों के नक्सल प्रभावित क्षेत्रों की संख्या 126 से घटकर 90 रह गई है और अत्यधिक प्रभावित जिलों की संख्या भी 36 से कम होकर 30 रह गई है। सरकार के अनुसार भौगोलिक दृष्टि से भी नक्सली हिंसा के क्षेत्र में कमी आई है, जहाँ 2013 में यह 76 जिलों में फैला था वहीं 2017 में यह केवल 58 जिलों तक सिमट कर रह गया है।

देश में नक्सलवाद की समस्या और इसकी जड़ें कितनी गहरी थी यह समझने के लिए पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह जी का वो बयान महत्वपूर्ण है जिसमें उन्होंने इसे देश की आंतरिक सुरक्षा के लिए “सबसे बड़ी चुनौती” की संज्ञा दी थी। उनका यह बयान व्यर्थ भी नहीं था। अगर पिछले दस सालों के घटनाक्रम पर नजर डालें तो 2007 में नक्सलियों ने छत्तीसगढ़ के बीजापुर जिले में पुलिस कैंप को निशाना बनाया था जिसमें 55 जवान शहीद हो गए थे। 2008 में ओड़िशा के नयागढ़ में नक्सली हमले में 14 पुलिस वाले और एक नागरिक की मौत हो गई थी।

2010 में इन्होंने त्रिवेणी एक्सप्रेस और कोलकाता मुम्बई मेल को निशाना बनाया था जिसमें कम से कम 150 यात्री मारे गये थे। 2010 में ही पश्चिम बंगाल के मिदनापुर जिले के सिल्दा कैंप पर हमले में पैरामिलिटरी फोर्स के 24 जवान शहीद हो गए थे। इसी साल छत्तीसगढ़ के दंतेवाड़ा में अब तक के सबसे बर्बर नक्सली हमले में 2 पुलिस वाले और सीआरपीएफ के 74 जवान शहीद हो गए थे। 2011 में छत्तीसगढ़ के गरियबंद जिले में एक बारूदी सुरंग विस्फोट में एक एसएसपी समेत नौ पुलिस कर्मी मारे गए थे। 2012 में झारखंड के गरवा जिले में नक्सलियों द्वारा किए गए ब्लास्ट में एक अफसर सहित 13 पुलिस वालों की मौत हुई थी। 2013 में छत्तीसगढ़ के सुकमा जिले की दरभा घाटी में नक्सली हमले में काँग्रेस नेता महेंद्र कर्मा और छत्तीसगढ़ के काँग्रेस प्रमुख नंद कुमार पटेल सहित 27 लोगों की मौत हुई थी। सिलसिला काफी लंबा है।

लेकिन अप्रैल 2017 में जब सुकमा में नक्सलियों ने घात लगाकर खाना खाते हमारे सुरक्षा बलों को निशाना बनाया तो सरकार ने नक्सलियों को मुँहतोड़ जवाब देने का फैसला लिया और आरपार की लड़ाई की रणनीति बनाई जिसमें इस की जड़ पर प्रहार किया।

इसके तहत न सिर्फ शीर्ष स्तर पर कमांडो फोर्स और उनके मुखबिर तंत्र को मजबूत किया गया बल्कि नक्सल प्रभावित इलाकों के जंगलों को खत्म करके वहाँ सड़क निर्माण स्कूल एवं अस्पताल, मोबाइल टावर्स, अलग अलग क्षेत्रों में पुलिस स्टेशनों का निर्माण, सभी सुरक्षा बलों का आपसी तालमेल सुनिश्चित किया गया और यह सब हुआ केंद्र सरकार और राज्य सरकारों के समन्वय से। इसके अलावा मनरेगा द्वारा इन नक्सल प्रभावित आदिवासी इलाकों के नागरिकों को न सिर्फ आर्थिक रूप से आत्मनिर्भर बनाने का अभियान चलाया गया बल्कि विकास कार्यों से उन्हें मुख्य धारा में जोड़ कर उन्हें नक्सलियों से दूर करने का कठिन लक्ष्य भी हासिल किया।

जी हाँ, लक्ष्य वाकई कठिन था क्योंकि जब 1967 में पश्चिम बंगाल के नक्सलवाड़ी जिला दार्जिलिंग नामक स्थान से इसकी शुरुआत हुई थी तब चारू मजूमदार और कनु सान्याल जैसे मार्क्सवादियों ने भूस्वामियों की जमीन उन्हें जोतने वाले खेतिहर मजदूरों को सौंपने की मांग लोकर भूस्वामियों के विरुद्ध आंदोलन शुरु किए जिसे तत्कालीन सरकार ने 1500 पुलिस कर्मियों को नक्सलवाड़ी में तैनात कर कुचलने का प्रयास किया। यही से वंचितों आदिवासियों खेतिहर मजदूरों के हक में सरकार के खिलाफ हथियार उठाने की शुरुआत हुई।

धीरे धीरे यह आंदोलन देश के अन्य भागों जैसे ओड़िशा झारखंड मप्र छत्तीसगढ़ महाराष्ट्र समेत देश के लगभग 40% हिस्से में फैलता गया। तत्कालीन सरकारों सुरक्षा बलों और सरकारी अधिकारियों के रवैये से एक तरफ इन इलाकों के लोगों का आक्रोश सरकारी मशीनरी के खिलाफ बढ़ता जा रहा था तो दूसरी तरफ उनका यह क्रोध नक्सलियों के लिए सहानुभूति भी पैदा करता जा रहा था। स्थानीय लोगों के समर्थन से यह समस्या लगातार गहराती ही जा रही थी। लेकिन यह मोदी सरकार की बहुत बड़ी सफलता है कि अपनी नीतियों और विकास कार्यों के प्रति वह आज इन नक्सल प्रभावित क्षेत्र के लोगों का न सिर्फ विश्वास एवं समर्थन हासिल कर पाई बल्कि उन्हें नक्सलवाद के खिलाफ सरकार के साथ खड़ा होकर देश की मुख्यधारा के साथ जुड़ने के लिए भी तैयार कर पाई।

उम्मीद की जा सकती है कि अब वो दिन दूर नहीं जब जैसा कि देश के गृहमंत्री राजनाथ सिंह जी ने कहा कि 2022 तक कश्मीर, आतंकवाद, नक्सलवाद और नार्थ ईस्ट में जारी विद्रोह भारत से पूर्ण रूप से साफ हो जाएगा।