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China is expanding its way in South Asia

Rohit Dhyani
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China is expanding its way in South Asia

Veteran centurion Bobby Fisher once said, “If you are playing a game you play to win, but if you lose the game then it was because you lifted your eyes off the pawns, so you have to lose Were worth.” Is India being isolated from its neighbors? Countries like Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have come closer to China.

China’s growing interference in the world is not hidden from anyone. The country has implemented all policies at several levels to establish its dominance. Apart from foreign policy and diplomacy, the country is now spreading culture and Chinese values too. China wants to make many new international routes at a cost of $ 900 billion. Beijing will do all this under the campaign called ‘One Belt, One Road’.

Chinese presence in Sri Lanka is no hidden thing. Between 2005-17, Beijing has invested $ 15 billion in projects in Sri Lanka over a period of 12 years. At the same time, an ambassador of China has given a clear message to India, who sees the Chinese presence in Sri Lanka as infiltration in its area of influence. Ambassador, while giving a clear reply to India, said “no negative force can weaken the cooperation between Sri Lanka and China.”

For India, it is going to bother. Indian foreign policy relies heavily on the relationship between the test of time, but Sri Lankan people have had impatience expectations, on which India failed to pay attention and respond and China succeeded.

Sri Lankan people can often be heard saying that they are dissatisfied and unhappy with Chinese presence, which are quite harsh and arrogant. It can be understood as embracing a danger, but when a desire for a prosperous future in their mind and brain emerges, they find this opportunity very attractive.

On the other hand, India is going to be isolated from all sides. There is hostility to Pakistan. The Maldives is unstable. The position of Nepal is almost full of confusion and Sri Lanka is trapped in a clear lucrative delusion. India is actually facing the most serious security challenge so far this time. If India has to work together, then it needs not only imagination but speed and efficiency, so that the promises made to Sri Lanka’s future can be fulfilled.

The growing influence of China in the past decade has reached the Maldives. China has invested extensively in the Maldives. China has now been expert in making ports and infrastructure. Many countries want to use this capability China’s services are cheap compared to the West. Due to these services, China also gets access to other countries’ markets. China with the export-oriented economy is hungry for new markets all the time.

The political crisis of Maldives, the island nation of the Indian Ocean, is currently engaging in India and China. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has signed to join Beijing’s One Belt, One Road Project.

China announced the economic project of 41 billion euros with Pakistan. China wants to increase its influence in Pakistan with the Economic Corridor. It also wants to reduce the impact of America and India. This economic corridor will link Pakistan’s Gwadar Port in the Arabian Sea to the western Xinjiang region of China. There is also a plan to construct rail, road and oil pipelines in the corridor.

But besides the local communities and tribal groups of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, leaders of smaller provinces are also opposing those who say that the big Punjab province will take all the benefits using their land and resources. From Gilgit Baltistan in the north to Balochistan in the west and Sindh province in the south, the signs of controversy have started to emerge between Islamabad Government and local groups.

The Corridor project on Gilgit-Baltistan will have a negative impact, especially on the environment there. Pakistan will have economic benefits from Chinese investment, but this will increase its dependence on China. Pakistan will have to pay the price of this project. Pakistan will have to take all decisions to keep the interests of China in mind. This will strengthen China’s friendship in Pakistan. Many people even say that Pakistan will be colonized in China.

The biggest problem is that through this China is trying to take a strategic and political advantage in Pakistan. Due to this project, defense and security cooperation between the two countries will also increase. In this case, it is feared that these cooperation can go ahead with trade and economic cooperation. This is the biggest concern of policy makers of India. The Corridor Gilgit will also come from the disputed areas of Baltistan, which is not far from India-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s deteriorating relationship with India and Afghanistan can prove to be a barrier to this project. Its success will depend on regional stability, security and the rule of law. If security is not guaranteed, then Chinese companies will hesitate to invest beyond the existing agreement in Pakistan. Pakistan realizes this and that’s why he has taken several steps to protect the project.

On the other hand, India has failed to divide its economic prosperity with neighboring countries. Even in the case of engineering and research and development, India has been far less backward than China.

The issue of security makes these equations more complicated. By making big ports in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Djibouti, China has taken up its business and military interests. India is still confused within itself. A clear example of this is that in 1947, India had a much larger rail network than China. But after 70 years, China has gone very far ahead of India. He has a world-class train network, the largest port, has hundreds of airports. In engineering, it is only ahead.

But this advantage has been used by China to suppress more than protecting its strategic interests. Beijing’s stance is destroying the neighboring country of India, Japan and ASEAN. After heavy investments in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, China has now deepened its penetration even in the Indian Ocean. Indian defense experts believe that China is surrounded by both sides of land and water. In response to this, India is trying to stop China’s expansion in collaboration with Vietnam, Japan, Australia and the United States. Countries such as the Maldives, are just the footprints of this chess, but the time may come when the king is in danger.

Europe and the United States relationship in the critical mode

Rohit Dhyani
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Europe and the United States relationship in the critical mode
The decreasing role of the US on the international stage has a big impact on the world. This is why Europe is very nervous. According to the Munich Security Report, Europe now has to pay attention to its future itself.
According to the report, Washington has shown a very American-centered approach under the leadership of Donald Trump in 2017. The US has been leading the issue of global security issues so far. But during Trump’s tenure, America has just started looking at its interests. The report is feared that it will have to bear the brunt of the traditional American traders. In the lead of the Trump, Washington has shown little interest in regional or global organizations affecting international relations. On the contrary, the US has tried to strengthen bilateral ties while looking at its interests.
The White House’s diplomatic plans are also running parallel to this change. During the tenure of the Trumpet, there has been a huge increase in the budget of the Ministry of External Affairs and the defense budget has been greatly increased. There is a very clear message for Europe in changing US policies. Europe now has to make its own arrangements for its own security. Since World War II, America has always stood with Europe. Due to Washington’s support, Europe was also protected from Russia during the Cold War. But now European countries have to think about the defense budget, defense capabilities, and new security associations.
If Europe Union member countries and Norway consider NATO rule, then they will have to pay 2 percent of their GDP in NATO. This would mean that the defense budget will increase directly by 50 percent. Even if the forces of Europe are very effective, they will need a tremendous partnership. According to the report, Europe will have to work on this “mutual engagement and digital phase”. European countries will need a lot of money to fill this gap. More than two percent of the money invested in NATO to save Europe from external danger, the continent will have to improve its scattered defense industry.
Among the challenges, there are some relief things for Europe in the report. Experts believe that in some cases European countries are coming closer to each other. France and Germany have expressed their desire to build a new generation of fighter aircraft. French President Emanuele Macrons is the vocal supporter of the shared European military. The report also speaks of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement, “That time has passed when we were fully or largely dependent on others. We must take our future into our own hands.”
The report mentions traditional and non-traditional challenges in terms of moderate and international relations. The report says that climate change will be a major threat to the security of the countries. Referring to 2017, it has been said that the year was the hottest year, in which there have been many disasters like hurricanes, droughts, and floods.
This crisis can increase due to the separation of the US-Paris climate treaty. The report of the MSC says, “Climate change will affect the world’s economic, security and political systems.” In countries with limited capabilities, this will work to increase the risk multiplied. The poorest countries will be the worst hit.
Due to climate change and disputes since 2015, millions of people have come to Europe from Africa and Asia. Europe will have to create a new strategy for the Mediterranean. Problems in the interconnected world now face problems like ice cubes. In the beginning, it is small and with the progress, it becomes big and destructive. In the coming years, such problems will present the main challenge before the international community.

Why Pakistan needs US aid to save their economy

Rohit Dhyani
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Why Pakistan needs US aid to save their economy

US President Donald Trump’s new year has begun with a lot of anger and this anger appears to be making a big difference to Pakistan. Trump says Pakistan as false and deceitful. In terms of help from foreigners, America is the largest donor. Japan, in the second place, Germany on the third and France on the fourth. In early 2018, US President Donald Trump stopped military help from $ 25.5 million for Pakistan. Earlier, the United States cut the UN budget.

The US government has made it clear that if Pakistan takes action against the terrorists then it can help. At the same time, it has also been emphasized that civilian assistance given to Pakistan will not be affected. The current foreign aid system of America was prepared under the Foreign Aid Act of 1961. Its purpose was to properly implement the support efforts taken by the US government across the world. In America, this help is called “resource distribution with the world”.

This help not only involves foreign military and defense help but also includes technical, educational and other cooperation. This help can be given to foreign governments, military forces, business groups or charitable groups like the United Nations or other non-governmental organizations.

America is constantly increasing its stance on Pakistan. Last month, the administration of Donald Trump stopped Pakistan’s assistance of $ 2 billion. Pakistan refuses to support terrorists in Afghanistan and India. He has also expressed displeasure on America’s warnings. Although the Pakistani government is concerned about the FATF’s action as the verdict can harm the banking sector there. Its impact will be on the economy of the country. Elections will be held soon in the country.

According to some studies, 1.3 percent of the total federal budget of the United States provides a help. But the helping figure varies every year. According to the experts, after the Second World War, the US gave a big boost to European economies.

In the 1990s, similar help was given to the Soviet Union which was later reduced. After the 9/11 attacks, the limit of help extended. According to experts, this helped increase the help given by George W. Bush in Iraq and Afghanistan and due to the global health program.

According to the data of 2015, 38 percent of the total help is given in the form of long-term development assistance. It is given to the poor countries of the world who have a weak economy and at the same time have been backward in health standards.

15 percent of this goes to the World Bank and United Nations Development Program. Apart from this, 35 percent of the military and defense assistance is included, 16 percent is included in humanitarian aid such as an earthquake, drought, war etc. and 11 percent political help.

About 21 agencies are involved in the management of US foreign aid. But according to the law of 1961, the US government created the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This is a semi-independent agency that works under the directions of the President, Interior Ministry, and the National Security Council. However, all other agencies also manage overseas help.

America gives help to more than 200 countries of the world. According to the 2015 data, the main countries are Afghanistan, Israel, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan. According to the Washington Post report, a large portion of aid is provided to Afghanistan due to security reasons, while military help is given to Israel. Egypt and Iraq are also given protection in the matter of security.

West Bengal on the top for acid attacks again

Rohit Dhyani
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West Bengal on the top for acid attacks again

Despite all the laws and instructions of the Supreme Court, acid attacks in India are not there anymore. According to the latest figures, West Bengal is in the first place in acid attacks.

In spite of being in power of a woman chief minister, the rate of justice and compensation for women suffering from acid attacks in Bengal is very slow. National Women’s Commission has recently prepared a National Digital Data Base for Acid Attacks to increase the pressure on the police chiefs of different states in order to speed up the process of rehabilitation and compensation for the victims. After passing the Criminal Law Amendment Act in 2013, after the inclusion of sections 326 A and 326 B in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the accused now have a provision of punishment from 10 years to life imprisonment. Earlier in such cases, there was a provision of punishment for the maximum of three years.

The latest figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that government and all the laws in preventing acid attacks have not been effective till now. These figures say that in 2016, 283 incidents of an acid attack were reported across the country. Out of these, 27 per cent of the total number of 76 cases was in Bengal alone. After Bengal, Uttar Pradesh has a place where 57 cases are registered. In 2014, there were 203 such cases registered in the country, while 222 such cases were reported in 2015. But in 2016 the number of such cases increased to 283. A total of 233 people were arrested in 2016 in connection with these attacks.

Experts say that despite strict guidelines of the Supreme Court on the sale of acid in the country, they are not being strictly adhered to. Uncontrolled sale of acids is the biggest reason for such a crime. Despite the Supreme Court’s ban, it is not difficult to buy acids anywhere in the country. In the year 2013, the court directed the governments to license the sale of acids to select shopkeepers. Along with banning the sale of acid to minors, the court had said that the details of the sale of acid should be given to nearby police station within three days.

A detailed study of the Acid Survivors and Women Welfare Foundation (ASWWF) states that rejecting love and marriage proposals is the biggest reason for such attacks. At least 36 per cent of the cases have seen similarities. Apart from this, such attacks have taken place in 13% of cases due to unrest in marital life. The report says that in 84 per cent of cases, the attackers were familiar with the victim. According to the ASWF, 220 cases of an acid attack in Bengal were recorded between 2010 and 2016, which is 20 per cent of the incidents that took place during this period.

In spite of being the first place in the case of acid attacks, Bengal’s record in the matter of giving justice and compensation to the victims in Bengal is quite bad. ASIWWF Convener Dibyalok Rai Chowdhary says, “In the last few years, the rate of punishment for the accused in an acid attack in the country is 40 per cent, whereas in West Bengal it is only 14 per cent.” They say that after the attack, the victims stay in shock and hospital for months. During this, the culprit is either absconding or by taking advantage of legal flaws, he prepares the land of defense.

The biggest challenge facing the sufferer or the victim after acid attacks is to raise the cost of treatment. Their treatment or rehabilitation can last a long time. But the record of the Bengal Government is not good in this case. The information collected by the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), under the Right to Information Act, has revealed that the government has compensated only in 18 of the 46 cases. The APDR’s Bapi Dasgupta has been fighting cases for years from the victims of acid attack. Apart from taking into account the information of compensation through the right to information, they are also campaigning to strictly enforce the rules related to the sale of acid. Says Bapi, “These attacks mainly use nitric acid, which is easily available in goldsmith shops, it is used to clean gold.” According to Joint Narayan Chatterjee, senior advocate fighting the cases of victims of acid attacks in the Calcutta High Court, “There should be no relation to compensation from the progress of investigating such attacks. Whether the accused is arrested or not, the compensation should be met first.”

National Women’s Commission has recently prepared a national digital database of acid attacks to increase the pressure on the police chiefs of different states in order to speed up the process of rehabilitation and compensation for the victims. According to Joint Secretary KL Sharma, the Commission, “This database records the progress of such attacks and investigation of the entire country, it shows that the victims get compensation or not, Whether the accused has been arrested or not. ”

Legal experts and social organizations are advocating lessons from neighboring Bangladesh to curb such attacks across the country including West Bengal. In the case of such attacks till a few years ago, Bangladesh was the first place in the whole world in Bangladesh. By the year 2002, there were five hundred acid attacks in the country annually. But to curb such attacks, he made two stringent laws that year and implemented them. Consequently, there have been hundreds of such attacks with the same laws and other measures reduced to a hundred in the year. In the said laws, the sale of acids was completely banned. Authorities were forced to deal with such attacks. National Acid Control Council was formed there. The Bangladesh government has made it mandatory to complete the investigation of such attacks within 30 days. Roy Chaudhary says that it is also necessary to strictly enforce the existing laws and to change the attitude of the police administration to curb acid attacks.

Ideological scale of democratic India

ankurswami
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Ideological scale of democratic India

In my view today the ideology map of literate, politically aware democratic India scales from Left Extreme to Right Extreme with intervening categories of Left Extreme in thought but moderate in action, Left of Centre (liberal), Right of Centre (Liberal), Right Extreme in thought but moderate in action and Right Extreme. Let me give examples to illustrate my point.

A. Left Extreme: Eg: Maoists, elements of Muslim league.

B. Left Extreme in thought but moderate in action: Eg: CPI, CPM, some sections of English media, some sections in Congress like Mani Shankar Aiyar and Digvijay Singh and some NGOs and left leaning intelligentsia like Kavita Krishnan, Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy.

C. Left of Centre (Liberal): Eg: Majority of English media, Nitish Kumar, the majority of Congress leadership and the majority of conventional intellectuals who support congress (Amartya Sen, Romila Thapar, the Sahitya academy/ Nehruvian class).

D. Right of Centre (Liberal): Eg: some sections of Hindi media, Most top leadership in BJP, lots of young aspiring Indians who supported Modi and many intellectual commentators like Chetan Bhagat, Gurcharan Das, Tavleen Singh, Jagdish Bhagwati, Swapan Das Gupta.

E. Right Extreme in thought but moderate in action: Eg: Most in RSS, some in BJP like Yogi Adityanath, Sakshi Maharaj, many in Shivsena and VHP.

F. Right Extreme: Eg: Most in Shivsena and VHP, Owaisi Brothers, Hindu Sena, Ram Sene.

Now I have purposely left out SP, BSP, AAP, Lalu, Pawar because they are essentially political opportunists with largely fixed vote banks, limited appeal but without any fixed ideology and can sleep with anyone for power. They should be relegated to their small islands of influence where they get episodic moments of glory. Ideally, The Left and Right extreme should have no place in national political discourse or decision making simply because they can and they do resort to violence which should be the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ in democracy. The only way they can influence the mainstream is if they shift their ideology towards more moderate space.

There should be no space for and no leniency towards any kind of violence ( physical, verbal) in a democracy. And I must say that media coverage is the oxygen for these extremists and they like their 24hr of fame in newspapers and on TV through their intolerant and stupid remarks and actions. They can be totally defanged if our media decide to boycott them. Sadly, lately, they are (especially Right Extreme) occupying our mainstream media and vitiating the communal atmosphere

The most bitter ideological fight is and will always be fought between Right and Left extreme in thought but moderate in action. These two extremes occupy the majority of social media space and are in fact fodder for each other. One breeds the other. The most intriguing part is that they always try to influence and overpower the liberal narrative and try to implement their own agendas when their respective liberal colleagues are in the seat of political power and conversely their respective liberal political masters also woo these extremists during elections to win over the supposedly loyal vote banks of these extremists. So overall there is a symbiotic relationship between them. Generally, this should be acceptable in a diverse democracy like ours so long as these extremists are kept at fringes and not allowed to hijack the liberal agenda.

For almost 60 years since independence, the left leaning thought extremists have occupied the centre stage with blessings of their left liberal political masters and media giants. However the tables were turned in 2014 elections with a resounding victory for Modi and the right thought extremists who have remained marginalised since 1947, believe this is a mandate for their ideology and now want to assert their supremacy by countering aggressively the left thought extremists. The discourse and debate between right and left thought extremists makes good copy and spectacle on TV but sadly this debate is becoming more shrill and biased and less intellectual and accommodating.

Our mainstream media is also overreacting to this hyperbole from right thought extremists and projecting them as divisive and a threat to the idea of India. Although in my view the media is creating a phantom and the buffers inbuilt in the Indian civilisation auto checks any extremist movements going out of hand but still Modi should reign in these right thought extremists in his fold who have deliberately misinterpreted the thumping mandate Modi got was for extremism whereas the truth is that Modi got the mandate for taking the Right liberal line. Mr Modi must remember that BJP at the height of its Right Extreme thought ideology could muster only 180 Lok Sabha seats in 1996. It came to power with unprecedented 280 seats in 2014 only because Mr Modi shifted the narrative from right extreme ideology to right of centre aspirational development ‘less entitlement-more empowerment’ agenda and if he does not correct the right extreme elements hijacking the agenda as they are trying today, BJP will again be reduced to 180 seats in 2019 elections because that’s the political saturation point of right extreme thought ideology.

In my view the pendulum of political power in this country should swing between Left of centre and Right of centre and these two categories should fiercely guard their political space and not allow it to get polluted by their respective extreme colleagues. Even the mantle to keep intellectual exchange based on debate, discussion, dissent and tolerance for difference of opinion lies with these two poles of liberals. The future of this country and quality of democracy and diversity is most secure when our national consciousness and political discourse swings between two sides of liberal ideology as we see in most developed and civilised democracies around the world. I am sure as this country becomes more literate, politically aware and economically strong: political dividends gained by aligning with two sides of extreme thought ideology will start shrinking and the liberals on either side with ceasing to flirt frequently with the extremists.

Over time the divide between two poles of liberals will become amorphous and these two sides may cross occasionally and will be open to embracing a good IDEA from where ever it emanates rather than remaining stuck in an inflexible IDEOLOGY.

An Open Letter to Papon defenders, will you still blindly support him?

Shivam
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An Open Letter to Papon defenders, will you still blindly support him?

Dear Papon Supporters,

Anger. The one emotion which has possessed me since the news came of a singer forcefully kissing a minor girl on the lips. The anger grew and grew as certain colleagues of the singer came in support of him.

The person you are defending, might be a good singer who has won a lot of awards, and who has been “seen as a good-hearted person”, but let me tell you one thing. This does not mean that he is innocent in this case and certainly does not mean that he escapes punishment from the law.

I feel disgusted with the way you people are supporting him despite having seen the full video footage. Let me remind you of the key details of the video which makes me angry, and shocked with the way you people are blindly defending him.

  • Just before he forced himself on the minor girl, he was seen to be pinching the cheeks of another young girl, who was also not liking what he was doing.
  • Right after that he forcefully pointed a gun like gesture to the girl’s cheeks and rubbed her face continuously for at least 5 seconds. Now where is the fatherly love and affection in this, which some of his supporters and his lawyer is claiming? This is an act of sexual harassment towards a minor.
  • He then, put both of his hand on the girls face and forcefully kissed her on the lips. Right after that shameful act, the video person who was filming the live video goes on to say “yeh kya ho raha hai” (what is going on). To which Papon, looking in a drunk state replies “music music”. Which sane person reacts like that? He then tells the video guy if he is still filming the live video and asks him to shut down the video with a cut in the throat gesture! Now which innocent person or in fact a father does that to his daughter? If he is innocent then why did he react like that? In which world do you see a father pointing gun gesture on his daughter’s cheeks and forcefully rub colour on her cheeks for 5 seconds?

The fact that his reaction was such that he didn’t know that the live video is still on, tells the whole story. He thought that the live video was off and hence decided to force himself on a minor girl. Doesn’t that clearly show his intentions were bad? So, I ask the Papon defenders, what if the video was not live, would he have done much more than he shamefully did?

What’s more shocking is the difference of statements that his lawyer and Papon himself gave. In twitter Papon posted his statement which one of the lines said “I may have done it spontaneously” and then goes on to support an argument of “faulty camera angles” which in itself is hypocrisy right there. What does he mean by he “may” have done it spontaneously?

The lawyer of Papon goes on to say that “he was just showing affection”, which means he has admitted that his client did kiss the minor on the lips and he portrayed it as a “affection”. Why are there two different statements, in which the lawyer is admitting kissing and the offender is denying kissing and saying faulty camera angles? Now all the Papon defenders, would you still defend him?

Another question which begs to be answered is why was there no female staff in the van to look after the kids? Why was it only male staff? These questions need to be asked and also need to be taken care of in future, so that not another Papon will come and molest kids like that!

The channel chairman Subhash Chandra has lead by example and banned Papon from his channel forever. We need more people like Subhash Chandra. The contestants might have come in support of Papon under the impression of him being nice to them before, but who remembers Gurmeet Ram Rahim? He was caught in a similar case and his supporters defended him because they thought he can never do anything wrong, but what was the verdict?

I don’t care if he was seen as a good person before this incident took place, I don’t care if he is a celebrity who has won awards. All I care is that in this horrific incident, he deserves a heavy punishment and you, the Papon defenders need to think, what if your daughter was in place of the minor girl? Would you still blindly defend him? Even after this if you keep defending him, then you are part of his crime and really spineless and heartless people! He needs to be punished and be reminded that no matter which position you are in, you can never ever take advantage of kids and force yourself upon them and then get away with it!

Why law can’t allow Papon to simply get away

Alok Choudhary
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Why law can’t allow Papon to simply get away

The entire Bollywood and the nation has been stunned after singer Anurag Papon Mahanta – popularly known as Papon was seen on camera Kissing an 11-year old girl.

The live video, shared by singer’s official verified social page, has been since widely criticized across the large masses. While travelling in Guwahati city bus, I found two people watching a video of the singer Papon kissing a girl on their mobile phones.

I searched the internet and found the same video and at first I was not able to believe my eyes that the person in the video is Papon Dada. After watching the video, anyone can get to know about the girls being shocked at being kissed on her lips. The video also had someone asking “Yeh kya ho raha hai?” when Papon kisses the girl. Soon after that he turns to whoever was filming the incident, asked if the “live video” on social media is still on and upon being informed, he asks the fellow to switch it off with a guilty look on his face.

After this incident few people can be seen backing Papon on the arugument being presented by Papon that he is an affectionate loving guru, who simply wanted to kiss the “Shishya” on her cheek but by mistake ended up kissing her on the lips.

Even if you look at the guru-shishya culture, the relationship among guru and shishya is considered as sacred than that of a parent-child relation. I decided to visit back the history of guru-shishya and i am yet to find any such instance where a guru kissed the lips of the shishya in order to show love and affection.

In fact, forget about lips, even if any adult touches any child on any part of the body, we must be enraged and angry. No matter whether Papon did this accidentally or intentionally but under the eyes of law he will be seen as a culprit.

Section 7 of the POSCO act clearly states “Whoever touches the child in an inappropriate way will be considered as sexual assault”. On the ground of doing something accidentally can’t be taken under law and if so, then a rapist after raping a girl can probably say in defense “She said no, but accidentally I heard it yes” and in the same way the culprit can get away.

What actually appears more appalling is the parents of the girl calling the entire incident a love of a teacher. The reason can be the parents don’t want to drag their daughter in court cases and they might be scared of the celebrity influence of Papon. But I think the parents must stand by their children in order to make her believe that if next time something similar took place then she must know that this is not okay.

While the singer admits at one point that what he did was not right but soon he contradicts this admission with the statement “In today environment, to touch a girl child, however innocent your thoughts are, is not advisable”. Papon need to understand the fact that touching a girl child and kissing a girl on her lips without her consent are two different scenario.

Without any doubt, Papon is a magical singer and he enjoys a celebrity status with a huge fan following but law cannot be different for a common man and someone who is a celebrity instead it is equal.

File Images.

For those who are backing Papon by terming this episode a small one must come out of their “Fan” mode. Papon is liked for singing well, not for what he did now, no matter intentionally or unintentionally. Having stayed in Guwahati for a long time, I know people love him but we can’t put a blind eye on what he had done.

I love Papon for his singing quality but being a fan of Papon, I will not support this act under any circumstances. The law must take its course of action without any influence.

“मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है”

darshannk
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“मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है”

“Democracy is in danger”, “There is Growing Intolerance”, “Emergency is back”, Bharat tere tukde honge” etc. are favorite slogans used by pseudo-seculars, left-libtards, so called intellectuals and some politicians.

Irony is that this loud, chest thumping cabal goes all places shouting these slogans, uses the choicest expletives for the prime minister, openly backs terrorists but still claims that their “Freedom of Expression is curbed” and “Democracy is in Danger.”

I believe eventually people will see through their double standards and will decide what’s best for them.

Our generations need to be given history lessons on the emergency imposed in 1975. Only then the gen next will understand what “Democracy is in Danger” means.

MY TAKE (POEM) ON PSEUDO-SECULAR, LEFT-LIBERAL AND SO CALLED INTELLECTUAL CABAL

“मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है”

साठ बरस शाही परिवार
नित्य चलाता था सरकार
अब जनमत जीत उनको चित करना
एक गरीब, पिछड़े के बस में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

हो भारत के टुकडे इंशाअल्ला
गुरु अफजल तो बुरहान लल्ला
याकुब पे विवाद, भगवा है आतंकवाद
इनके षडयंत्र रचे हर पथ में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

देश की बर्बादी तक रहेगी जंग
वंदे मातरम् से एकता होगी भंग
योग तोड़े तानाबाना, पर गौमाँस है खाना
जो कहे वो बुद्धिजीवी वर्ग में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

पत्थरबाजो को मानवाधिकार
और सेना को निरंतर धिक्कार
बटला की शहादत झुटी, पर इशरत बेटी
कितने छलछंद इनके मन में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

नीच, चाय बेच, तू हिमालय जा
मनोरोगी, डरपोक, हड्डीया गला
देश के प्रधान को नितदिन कहना भी
आजाद अभिव्यक्ति के हक में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

विकास, सुनिति पर करे मजाक
पर ना रोकना चाहे तीन तलाक
जातिवाद की निति, भ्रष्टाचार ही रिति
तुष्टीकरण इनके नस नस में है,
मगर, लोकतंत्र खतरे में है।

चाहे जितना करो झूठ प्रसार
करती जनता भी सोच विचार
नीयत किसकी सच्ची, कहाँ बुद्धि कच्ची
ये निर्णय जनता के वश में है,
यहाँ, लोकतंत्र हर कतरे में हेै।

– दर्शन

Can medicine be Western in origin?

Murali KV
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Can medicine be Western in origin?

Christianity turns out to be the only great world religion — great in the sense of widespread and influential — that had no teaching or interest in hygiene. In the early years of the church, the holier you were, the less you wanted to be clean. Cleanliness was kind of a luxury, like food, drink and sex, because cleanliness was comfortable and attractive. The holier you were — and this really applied to monks and hermits and saints — the less you would wash. And the more you smelled, the closer to God people thought you were.

“What is causing this hideous plague that is killing one out of every three Europeans, and what can we do to prevent it?” And the doctor said the people who were at risk for getting the plague had opened their pores in warm or hot water, in the baths, and they were much more susceptible. (Mieszkowski 2007)

…

What are the basic essentials of life?

  1. Breathing (air)
  2. Drinking (water)
  3. Eating (food)
  4. Excreting (waste from the body)

Common sense would dictate that an advanced civilisation should be completely adept and excel in such basic necessities of life. (Dharampal 1971, 1983) Let us see how the Christian West and modernity fair in each of these cases but to end pleasantly and in a good note, let us begin with the most stinking item, and often a matter of urgency, as the first for consideration in this short article.

Queasy stinker! Will you, say after eating on a plate, just wipe it “clean” and then reuse the same plate for eating without at least washing it with water, if not as well with soap? Nobody in the right sense of mind will do it, not just you. Even the lazy-kind amongst us, who ignore to wash their hands before a meal, absolutely would not delight in such an endeavour. Even if such a treatment is imposed on criminals on the death sentence in a jail, it would be considered a human rights violation scam.

Yet, every single time a Westerner or a Westernised “intellectual” (sepoy) goes to the toilet and passes stools, and after that, they just wipe themselves off. That too not with wet wipes. Dry paper. Incidentally, it is masochistic (for those who love a good burning sensation up there) as well. With a modicum of knowledge of our own skin elsewhere, we know it is no smooth affair with the natural grooves (both visible, semi-microscopic and microscopic) on the skin. Down there, it is a perfect recipe for a nauseating disaster. Let alone basic hygiene…

Forget that, most animals only wipe themselves off (let us not mention cleaning by licking here; not everybody will have the tolerance of a medical student!); so it is not after all that bad. Let human social animals be animals will be the defence of the sycophants of the West and our “intellectual” elites. This author would be called a Sanghi for wanting to prevent the heart burns that will arise out of a-hole burns.

…

Next, what about the anatomically healthy position to pooh-pooh? The Indians squat on an Indian toilet and that my friend is the only healthy way to do it. Nothing else. To sit and pooh, as in a Western commode, is akin to blocking the hole and blowing with the force of the exhaust of a jet engine. In the long run, it leads to all sorts of gut diseases and ill-health (constipation, piles, prolapse… please Google for images and you would not use a Western toilet again). Mate, it ain’t no nose to blow the way you like!

Of course, we all know the well-known criticisms about the toilet seat sat on by many many different people, all their skins touching it lovingly and its dermatological consequences. But who bothers. It is so cool to “ape” the West and let one’s bottom to stink like a country English pub’s toilet or burst like rock n’ roll. In fact, use of the word “aping” is an insult to the apes as it appears animals are not that stupid: they know how to excrete and keep themselves clean.

We cannot handle the stench anymore… so let us move on to a better (topic) area.

…

What is water? If we, for a moment, remove our sycophancy soaked (not just tinted) Western glasses and probe into the history of our erstwhile colonial masters, we will see that they paid their labour in barrels of beer. One of the reasons was that the water available in England (rest of Europe too was no exception) was unreliable and the risk of diseases such as Cholera was so high that they drank only beer. All the water needs for the body’s metabolism was met from beer and whatever was possibly available from potatoes and steak. Perhaps the beer was so strong that it kept all the noses knocked off that they could not smell the others who would have also not bathed for months, if not years, as water was not available and even if available they were too poor to warm it. In fact, till the smelly Westerners colonised India and destroyed its native sciences and industries (100 years after industrial revolution), they were the beggars of the globe. The entire West constituted less than three per cent of the global GDP, almost as late as the start of the 1800s. (Maddison 2001)

Here is an interesting quote from MEDIEVALISTS.NET: “Medieval writers saw bathing as a serious and careful activity. One medical treatise, the Secreta Secretorum, has an entire section on baths. It notes that the spring and winter are good times for bathing, but it should be avoided as much as possible in the summer. It also warns that excessively long baths lead to fatness and feebleness.” (Medievalists.net 2013)

Next, less said the better. Otherwise, PETA will sue the author for promoting animal cruelty. It is wrong to hold the hump of a “pet” bull and play with it, but it is fine for any number of cows to be slaughtered for one’s own taste buds. It is freedom to eat what one wants, even if that means 100s of families will go without water: each kilogram of beef costs 3500 litres of water and all a person needs according to World Health Organisation (WHO) is 7.5 to 15 litres per day as bare minimum and 20 litres per day as a comfortable minimum. Yes, the “intellectuals” freedom of palate is more precious than life-saving water to the poor.

With almost all chronic diseases, like heart conditions, diabetes, cancer, etc. linked strongly to meat eating, especially to red meats such as beef (Group 2A carcinogen according to WHO), it is still cool to eat “red.” Lest one cannot make holy cow jokes in Club West, can we?

…

Forgot to breathe, properly. Yes, one has to qualify it with the word “properly,” otherwise “forgot to breathe” might mean dead. But does it matter, actually? Most “intellectual” fans of the West are walking brain dead anyway, aren’t they? It is a matter of fact that many people would have heard in many fancy personality development and other such fashionable workshops, and “sexy” yoga sessions, that we do not breathe properly as we have forgotten the proper technique in the breathtaking “advanced” modern times. Many people even breathe in while their tummies go in. How removed are we from being properly alive, let alone living naturally healthy? So they have to be taught “breathing exercises.” Well, it is the phrase for those that cannot pronounce pranayama. There are too many a-s in the word and it is a party-trick tongue-twister for our champagne drunk “intellectuals.” Moreover, why bother with a lowly word from a Hindu language called Sanskrit, while you can savour Alsatian whites with Scottish oysters at the Alliance Français and eulogise about the Germans’ work on Vedas at the Max Mueller Bhavan.

To summarise, a (non-)civilisation that is so superior and advanced that it has no need to remember how to excrete, drink, eat and breathe and thus is “aptly” considered the mother of medicine. Hail (the) West!

And, the Hindu civilisation is regressive, superstitious and unscientific… above all, intolerant, especially to the “universal” scientific standards of the hygienic West. Ahem.

(Many thanks to Sudarshan T Nadathur for reviewing the draft)

Must read for the conscientious:

Dharampal. 1971. Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts. Impex India. https://archive.org/details/DharampalCollectedWritingsIn5Volumes

The limitations of Aravindan Neelakandan and why he should keep to his expertise

Suggested reading and references:

Dharampal. 1983. The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century. Biblia Impex. https://archive.org/details/DharampalCollectedWritingsIn5Volumes

Maddison, Angus. 2001. Development Centre Studies The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective. OECD Pub.

Medievalists.net. 2013. “Did People in the Middle Ages Take Baths? – Medievalists.net.” Medievalists.net. April 13. http://www.medievalists.net/2013/04/did-people-in-the-middle-ages-take-baths/.

Mieszkowski, Katharine. 2007. “The Filthy, Stinking Truth.” Salon. November 30. https://www.salon.com/2007/11/30/dirt_on_clean/.

JNU like protests at TISS in Mumbai – how political propaganda works on campuses

Raj
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JNU like protests at TISS in Mumbai – how political propaganda works on campuses

Student Union of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) declared a complete boycott of classes and all academic activities on 21st Feb 2018 saying that TISS Administration has stopped the funding for students of marginalized sections. They also said that Government of India- Post Matric Scholarships has been stopped and so we should protest.

They blocked the main gate of the Main Campus which is on Mumbai-Pune highway in Chembur. With that, all other campuses of TISS also followed as I came to know about it. In the Mumbai campus, as the main gate was blocked and all people were asked to come from the back gate which is more than half a kilometer from there. I supported this strike when I first heard about it but at that time I was unaware of the details as to what followed what. That day we had an exam and some classes all of which were canceled. Initially, I thought that as it’s a college where anyone’s choice to not take part in the protest and continue his or her classes/exams will be respected. But that did not happen and I know one of the students who was not allowed to attend a class he wanted to attend. This is one such incident.

Another incident was that one of the lady staff member who is visually impaired was not allowed to enter the campus from the main gate and was asked to go from the back gate. This seemed so disgusting to me that I decided to write this article. In one other incident on the second day.

Our warden was coming back to the campus with her daughter who is appearing/preparing for her class 12th Board Exams. They were stopped at the gate and were asked to go from the back gate. When warden’s daughter protested that she is not any staff member so she should not be stopped. Warden Ma’am also had a heated discussion with the people protesting. After that, they said that her daughter can go from the gate but her Mother (warden) has to go from the back gate. And warden’s residence was just near the main gate of the campus. To this warden’s daughter started crying and told them that how can they do this that her mother has to go from the back gate of the campus and she can go from the main gate that to their own home residence. I was standing there with one of my friends (we were actually leaving for our rooms but when we saw warden we stopped to see what is happening). My friend had a bike, so we requested ma’am that we can drop her on bike and her daughter went from the main gate. This just made me angrier and gave me even more than a reason to write this article.

I know as a fact that most of the State Govts. under GoI-PMS transfer their the fund directly to the account of the students who apply in their respective states. Earlier the funds used to come to the account of the institution. So, now institute has made a policy that, the student should deposit the fees first and with the fee statement apply for the scholarship so that he or she will get the money reimbursed that he or she has paid. Even institute has extended the date for submission for the fee for such GoI PMS eligible students at the time when I took admission. But, now the students are claiming that the scholarship has been stopped which in any sense is not true.

Now, another angle here is that GoI PMS is only for SC, ST and OBC students with some income criteria applicable to them for availing the scholarship. So, here what actually the protestors are trying to do is that polarize the students on the caste lines. One of the person I know who is pursuing his M.Phil told me that although he does not support this strike as he knew the real facts, but his friends persuaded him for joining the strike by saying that “tum backward class ke ho, tumhe sharm aani chahiye ki tum hamara support nahi kar rahe ho”.

Somehow he came under peer pressure. So, the caste lines, which are the biggest fault lines in our country is being exploited in the most despicable ways. Student Union has not done anything which can be called remarkable since they got elected but its interesting to note that they are showing their full support and strength in this issue particularly when its going to be dissolved in few days as academic year is going to end soon. And when that’s the case, what’s the best thing other than caste equations to exploit.

Now on the third day i.e. 23rd Feb 2018, some faculty also came to support the students and they even tried to re-invigorate the energy for strike which somehow was at its dampening position. And today a great “secular” person who earlier used to advise “Ford Foundation” tweeted in support of the TISS strike. On the second day JNUSU and Hyderabad University Students Union also sent their support statement for this strike. On the first day some so called “leading newspaper” covered this news and till second day, the news was covered by almost all national dailies as well as an infamous news channel based in Delhi. All these things happened in just 3 days, and if I connect the dots, I find that it was never spontaneous and all the checkpoints are part of a big ecosystem which works in India day and night, but no one correctly knows who pays them.

TISS posters TISS postersEarlier I was not sure, but as I saw these posters, everything in my mind added up to form the correct pattern which essentially tells me that this protest is big sham and is totally politically motivated and no one is interested to solve the problems of the students who really need the scholarships.

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