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Beef Ban: Who are we fooling?

Guest Author
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Ever since the Narendra Modi-led BJP rose to power in 2014, there appears a desperate attempt to prove that the country is increasingly going out of control. A malicious propaganda is being run to create Pre-Modi and Post-Modi type of image in people’s mind. An image of a hunky-dory Pre-Modi India and a chaotic and violent Post-Modi India. All governmental actions are showcased as an innovative ‘atrocity’ towards the Minority. Can’t face facts? Better give it a communal flavor, and convert rhetorics.

One such example is the ‘Beef Ban’ controversy which has caught the eye of a storm. Let’s put some facts into perceptive before we move ahead. Barring just 7, 29 of 36 States and UTs have banned cow-slaughter in one or the other way. Most of them weren’t BJP ruled when the anti-cow-slaughter laws were passed and nor are they when the laws still operate. Those political parties shedding crocodile tears over the issue have all continued with such bans in the states they rule. Therefore, cow-slaughter ban isn’t a BJP invention.

Focal to the controversy is the recently approved legislation by the President of India, confirming to the 19-year-old amendment of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976. The act of 1976 already banned slaughter of cow. The amendment which was brought in 1995 further banned the slaughter of bulls as well as bullocks, previously subjected to a fit-for-slaughter certificate. The ban, however, does not apply to the slaughtering of water buffaloes.

Validity of any law is only through a constitutional verification. Constitutionally valid law is not and should not be the subject matter of media’s scrutiny.

To understand the constitutionality of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995, one has to look into Article 48 of the Constitution which states as follows:

“Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry.—The State shall endeavor to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.”

Therefore, it is clear that the constitution itself mandates the states to ban slaughter of cows, calves, and other milch and draught cattle. Any law which follows such constitutional mandate is valid.

Supplementing Article 48 are other Articles 48-A and 51-A which state as under:

“48-A. Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wild life.—The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country.”

“51-A. Fundamental duties. — It shall be the duty of every citizen of India —

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(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;”.

The new Maharashtra law faces a constitutional challenge in form of infringement of fundamental rights of Minority concerning Article 19(g) [Right to practice any profession, occupation, trade or business] & Article 25 [Right to profession, practice and propagation of religion].

Hon. Supreme Court and different High Courts have unanimously upheld the constitutional validity of various legislations banning cow, bull or bullock slaughter qua article 25. Courts have held that such bans are not violative of any community’s right to profess religion. In the case of Mohd. Hanif Quareshi v/s State of Bihar, the 5-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court adjudged that a ban on cow slaughter does not violate the Muslim community’s right to religion as there is no evidence to show that the Muslim Community slaughters cow for religious purposes. This ratio has been reiterated in State of W.B. v/s Ashitosh Lahiri and State of Gujarat v/s Mirzapur Moti Kureshi Kassab Jamat.

A law imposing total ban on cow, bull and bullock slaughter (similar to the Maharashtra Law) was challenged under Article 19(g) before a 7-judges constitutional bench in State of Gujarat v/s MirzapurMoti Kureshi Kasab Jamat contending that the said law infringed the right of butchers to practice their profession. This 2005 judgment upholding the constitutional validity of such law hold water till date.

The apex court held that since Gujarat’s economy is predominantly agricultural (so is Maharashtra’s) there was a need to protect animals like bulls and bullocks too. The court further explained the various uses of the animals proclaiming that “Cow and her progeny are the backbone of Indian Agriculture and its economic system.” The court specifically answered the contentions regarding Article 19(g) stating that because there is some inconvenience or dislocation to the butchers, the enacted law does not cease to be in public interest.

Therefore, illogical arguments propagated by media so passionately are unconstitutional because the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995 is unquestionably valid according to the Constitution of India.

Across India, Muslims from all corners of life including politicians, social activists, and artists are seeking a ban on cow slaughter. Organizations like the Muslim Reformative Society (MRS) and the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) have also vocally bid for a pan-India cow slaughter ban. Well-known personalities like Mohammed Abdul Raheem Qureshi, assistant secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Board and president of the Majlis-e-Tameer-e-Millat, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Maulana Aneesur Rehman Azmi, Maulana Mufti Nassem Ahmed Ashrafi, and Maulana Mufti Mahboob Shareef Nizami have also joined the chorus.

It’s high time that we all introspect about the imaginary communal divide propagated by some in the media for their TRPs and reject it in toto in the interest of national integrity and harmony. The choice is ours to make, it always has been.

written by Ansh Bharadwaj, BBA LLB 3rd Year, Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University

BJP should declare Varun Gandhi as its CM candidate in Uttar Pradesh, here’s why

akhils
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The BJP’s defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections has brought to a screeching halt the once seemingly unstoppable Modi Wave that had helped the BJP emerge victorious in the state assembly elections of Maharashtra and Haryana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, no doubt continues to remain a formidable force and a much revered leader in the eyes of those many who gave him their mandate in 2014. But when a Political Party’s election campaign proves to be unsuccessful in two major state elections (Delhi and Bihar), there is enough reason for the said political party to consider altering strategy in future election campaigns.

It is obviously now time for the BJP to look and plan ahead. The loss in Bihar will no doubt negatively impact the ability of the Narendra Modi led NDA to fulfill its legislative agenda, in the absence of a majority in the Rajya Sabha; which fact makes it all the more vital for the BJP to adopt the right campaign strategy in its approach to the upcoming five Indian state assembly elections; the most important of which is undoubtedly the State Assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh to be held in 2017.

Because even the most inexperienced of political observers in India would be able to affirm, that the 2017 state election results of Uttar Pradesh will provide us with a more than fair indication of which way the political wind is blowing in our country; and the results are therefore bound to also have a profound impact on the fate of the Narendra Modi led NDA Government’s future when India goes to the polls in 2019.

It is thus advisable for the BJP to reinvigorate its party cadre and national support base by projecting a viable and exciting Chief Ministerial face to represent it in its campaign for the UP State Assembly elections.

A few prominent names from Uttar Pradesh that come to mind when considering the options on offer for this task, include the names of Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath, Mahesh Sharma and Feroze Varun Gandhi, among others.

In my opinion, from the perspective of seeking to infuse a certain freshness and enthusiasm to the spirits of the BJP cadre and national supporters, after the Bihar debacle, the choice of Rajnath Singh as the Chief Ministerial face for Uttar Pradesh would likely be viewed as a cautious and conservative one; as one could, I suppose, make an argument for seeking to project a younger and more cosmopolitan candidate from the BJP for the job.

For given that the incumbent Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, (with his formidable caste and religious vote bank support) is himself a young leader; and given that the BSP supremo Ms. Mayawati’s popularity among the Scheduled caste voters in UP is not likely to be seriously challenged by a Thakur face like Rajnath Singh; and further with the Brahmin vote in UP unlikely to be consolidated in the absence of a strong Modi Wave, projecting Rajnath Singh as a CM candidate may well prove to be a move that does not yield the desired election results for the BJP.

Out of the three remaining names mentioned above, Yogi Adityanath and Mahesh Sharma, both faces associated with Hardline Hindutva, have unfortunately been part of the Post-Modi ‘intolerance’ narrative spun by the Mainstream Media in our country. But at the same time the remarks of these two BJP politicians (pertaining to Shahrukh Khan’s statement on intolerance in India and prior to that on the unfortunate Dadri incident), one must be willing to acknowledge, were not made in particularly good taste.

And I fear that the Mainstream Media in India with the tacit support of certain “intellectual elites” at the present moment is engaging in and is likely to continue to engage in what can only be described as biased political propaganda of the worst kind; and irresponsibly reckless Hindutva rhetoric of the sort we’ve heard from these two BJP leaders only adds fuel to the fire of that fear psychosis that the Mainstream Media is attempting to perpetuate in our country.

The last among the four names discussed, is that of the 35 year old BJP Member of Parliament from Sultanpur, Shri. Feroze Varun Gandhi.

The first thing one is reminded of when someone mentions the name Feroze Varun Gandhi (apart from his share in the Nehru-Gandhi legacy) is the alleged hate speech that he made in the run up to the Indian General elections of 2009.

This alleged hate speech had got him into some trouble with the law when the then UP Government under Mayawati chose to invoke the National Security Act against him; which later came to be revoked pursuant to a Supreme Court directive to the Uttar Pradesh Government.

What followed after a few years was Varun Gandhi’s complete exoneration from all criminal charges levelled against him in connection with the alleged Hate Speech, by a court in Pilibhit. This no doubt established, from a legal perspective at least that Varun Gandhi could no longer be accused of having made the said alleged Hate speech.

Moreover Mr. Varun Gandhi seems to have evolved a great deal as a politician since 2009. A glimpse at his low profile career post the alleged hate speech would in itself reveal his conscious and sustained effort to distance himself from the hardline Hindutva agenda; with his speeches, newspaper columns and media interactions since then being squarely focused on social welfare and developmental issues; issues which he arguably addresses with some eloquence and sound perspective.

But Varun Gandhi hasn’t done himself any favors with his perceived standoffish attitude towards the present BJP party leadership. That he was out of favour with BJP President Amit Shah was something that became rather evident when he was dropped from the post of General Secretary of the BJP’s National Executive Committee; a move that was viewed as an attempt to discipline Varun Gandhi for his allegedly disrespectful remarks regarding the ‘okay’ crowd turnout at a rally addressed by Narendra Modi in Kolkata in the run up to the General elections of 2014.

Another reason cited for his removal as General Secretary from the BJP’s National Executive Committee was the apparent eagerness of his mother Maneka Gandhi who is believed to have remarked that the only way Uttar Pradesh could improve would be if Varun Gandhi would be made Chief Minister of the State; a statement which was rumored to have irked the President of the BJP enough to contribute towards his decision to drop Varun Gandhi as General Secretary of the National Executive Committee of the BJP.

Maneka Gandhi’s favorable bias towards her son notwithstanding, Varun Gandhi certainly does possess certain attributes that might make him a dark horse worth betting on in the Uttar Pradesh. A two term winning Member of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, Varun Gandhi is the sort of person who seems comfortable both in the air-conditioned Television studios of New Delhi and also in the rough and tumble of election campaigns in the Hindi heartland.

His famous surname coupled with his sound understanding and grasp of social and developmental issues concerning Uttar Pradesh and India is also something that becomes evident from his charismatic and perspective filled addresses both in Parliament and outside of it.

Also from the point of view of seeking to win elections, which is after all what Political parties are in the business of doing, it could be argued that Varun Gandhi may just be the ideal BJP candidate when it comes to cutting across caste lines in Uttar Pradesh.

The factors that go against him however are his independent/rebellious streak and perceived reluctance to wholeheartedly throw his weight behind a Narendra Modi led BJP; something that has put him out of favor with the party leadership. But perhaps it’s also time for the party leadership to be magnanimous and consider Varun Gandhi as a possible candidate; because a mandate of the kind the BJP received in 2014 is a rare occurrence; and it would be a pity if the same is squandered away for want of momentum in 2019; something that could be built up by giving Varun Gandhi an opportunity; an opportunity that would likely create a buzz if not entirely change the electoral dynamic in Uttar Pradesh.

Reimagining Free India

amitnangia
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They are all voters!

The guy who cuts you off in the line to enter the office parking lot on a busy morning is a voter. The young fellow who drives in the wrong direction in the face of oncoming traffic? Well, he’s also a voter. So is the “lady” who nonchalantly tosses an empty bag of chips out of the car window. The biker who zigzags like mad through traffic with no concern for his own well-being? The man who urinates and spits in full public view? The parents who convince their daughter to go back to her abusive husband in the name of family honor? The obscene youth who harasses girls? The in-laws who torment a daughter-in-law for more dowry or for not giving birth to a son? The parents who abort a female fetus? Well, they are all voters!

Every single one of these people is real. Many of us may not identify with any of these types. However, they exist in our midst, and in fact, some of them may be us.

The governments a country gets, and way a society runs is largely a reflection of the people and their aspirations. A people get the ruler they deserve. Inversely, it is also true that yatha raja tatha praja — as is the king, so are the people.

While India is still home to tons of wonderful, selfless, and good people, it often seems that at the societal level, callousness, a sense of entitlement, and disregard for the “larger good” characterize the attitude and behavior of a large section of the population. Centuries of foreign oppression and economic exploitation, poverty and ignorance, the collapse of native pride and systems of ethics, overpopulation, and the failure to consciously plant the seeds of a culture of character building, societal belonging, and personal responsibility have impacted Indian society and its day to day life dynamic.

In this backdrop, expecting a new government to miraculously stem the rot by itself is naïve.

Top down change through awareness campaigns takes time to permeate and any government that seeks to drive such change typically does not get enough time for to the desired outcomes to manifest. The irony of Indian democracy is that governments that work towards progress and development, without pandering to the customary identity politics and entitlements, usually get voted out after one term.

Imagine the transformation a second term for progressive Prime Ministers like Narasimha Rao or Vajpayee could have unleashed years ago. Instead, regressive politicians like Lalu, Mamata, Mulayam, and Sonia, who seek to preserve the status quo, manage to return to power, directly or by proxy, term after term. This is a major shortcoming of Indian democracy.

For India to truly live up to its potential and fulfill its “manifest destiny,” a major social transformation is indispensable.

A 21st century social, cultural, and economic Indian Renaissance will depend on more than just the government. Community leaders, influential persons, entrepreneurs, educators, celebrities, thought leaders, and ordinary patriotic people will have to come together collectively push for values like civic responsibility, respect, egalitarianism, and personal integrity. This will have to be done with some intensity.

School curricula especially will need to emphasize these values as well to ensure that the next generation can take the work for the (re)establishment of these values forward.

A government may institute systems, incentives, and controls that support improvement, but it is ultimately for the people to adopt the necessary changes in day to day life. Swachh Bharat will not succeed till the time a majority of Indians stop tolerating littering, for example. Beti Padhao will not amount to much, if daughters continue to be seen as liabilities by parents conditioned to worry about their future marriage.

Governments however do have a key role to play by ensuring a climate of security and promulgating policies that support economic growth. The creation of such an environment requires cooperation from opposition parties, which seems to be missing right now.

In the interim, a push for better law and order through effective policing, fast-paced and sensible economic reforms, women’s empowerment, smart governance, skill building and HR development, and robust public access to technology are all within government remit.

It is time to reimagine an India freed from the drag of the past and to move away from the negative narratives of discord, violence, division, scarcity, and backwardness towards constructive efforts that aim for India’s actual full-potential brilliance.

(Amit Nangia is a learning and development professional with a background in finance and human resources that informs his commentaries on geopolitical and socioeconomic trends.)

Aamir Khan and the ‘Scary’ future of his ‘other’ children

akhils
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Discussing intimate details of the personal lives of celebrities in print is a ‘journalistic activity’ that is mostly restricted to those columns of scurrilous gossip and scandal that have long been associated with numerous film magazines in our country; and of late increasingly even with the entertainment sections of India’s mainstream media publications.

I have been following the OpIndia.com website on the internet for a while now and it does not appear to me to be the sort of media outlet that would consider publishing pieces dedicated solely to discussing the details of the personal life of a celebrity or public figure.

But when a celebrity or a public figure uses such details of his/her personal life as a basis to make a political statement (much in the way that I believe Aamir Khan recently did) then the celebrity in question opens up the floodgates for all serious media outlets to scrutinize and inspect similarly situated aspects of the concerned celebrity’s personal life that could also be used as a basis to make valid observations that may seem unpalatable or perhaps even controversial, with regard to the personal life of the celebrity in question.

Now much ink and angst has already been spilled over the issue of Aamir Khan and his current wife Kiran Rao’s expression of fear about the future of their child, amidst the supposedly ‘growing intolerance in India’; and also if they should consider moving out of India as a result. Arguments over whether there is any merit in their apprehensions have been done to death and the discussion is now a seemingly saturated one.

But I was struck by certain interesting aspects of Aamir Khan’s personal life that couldn’t help but make me wonder if Aamir Khan would not be well advised to consider worrying a little more instead, about the future of his other children; by this I mean the future of his children other than the child he has fathered with his current wife Kiran Rao.

For the sub-text in Aamir Khan’s remarks is quite clear: Aamir Khan and his current wife are worried that the growing ‘Hindu intolerance’ in India will affect the future of their child, as the said child is a Muslim or at any rate the said child happens to bear a name that is Muslim sounding.

We shall therefore discuss the possibly scary future of Aamir Khan’s other children by similarly proceeding on the footing that all of Aamir Khan’s other children are Muslims or at any rate are likely to bear the brunt of the supposedly growing ‘Hindu intolerance’ in India as a result of their Muslim sounding names.

Except I would like to bring to the notice of the readers that these other children Aamir Khan has fathered, are more likely to face intolerance while they currently pursue their respective lives and destinies in foreign countries. (This is possibly true of probably two of his other children)

To begin with, Aamir Khan’s eldest child with his first wife Reena Dutta is a young man in his early 20’s who goes by the name of Junaid Khan. Junaid Khan is an aspiring filmmaker who began his professional journey by working as an Assistant Director to filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani on the Hindi motion picture ‘PK’. According to a fairly recent report in a mainstream newspaper, Junaid Khan is currently pursuing his further studies in Los Angeles, U.S.A.

In my opinion, Aamir Khan should be extremely worried about his son Junaid Khan’s possible future tryst with intolerance, while he currently pursues his higher education in the United States of America. This is not an unfounded statement on my part.

Because even though many political commentators and media personalities in America have scoffed at the recent suggestion of the Republican Presidential Candidate aspirant, Donald Trump to create systems (read: Databases)to keep track of individual Muslims living in America, in the wake of the Paris terror attack; this suggestion has apparently resonated with (according to a poll survey result:)32% of likely U.S. voters who believe that
“Most individual Muslims should be monitored by the government as potential terrorists”.

But this is not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discussing instances of Muslims in America being viewed suspiciously or even bearing the brunt of alleged religious discrimination by average Americans and their various Law enforcement agencies.

Instances of alleged religious profiling and discrimination against Muslims over the last more than one decade (after the 9/11 attacks) by law enforcement agencies in U.S.A are commonplace; with the most recent incident to catch my attention being the alleged unreasonable detention and prevention of two Palestinian Americans from boarding a domestic flight, pursuant to their conversation in the Arabic language which made a fellow passenger uncomfortable.

Perhaps Aamir Khan is ignorant of the existence of intolerance towards Muslims in the U.S.A. For why else would he have allowed his eldest born to study in the U.S.A?

Although I personally find this hard to believe; especially since he must be aware of the troubles faced by his Film Industry colleague, Shahrukh Khan in U.S.A, back in 2009, when Shahrukh Khan was detained for questioning by immigration officials at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after his name showed up on a ‘computer alert list’ presumably because Shahrukh Khan’s surname is common enough to be shared by those ‘few’ individuals suspected of engaging in terrorist activities.

This is why I reckon Aamir Khan should be fearful for his son Junaid Khan’s future in U.S.A. Because not only does Junaid Khan share the same common surname as Shahrukh Khan; but it is also quite conceivable that the US Immigration authorities may end up wrongly confusing Junaid Khan with the alleged terrorist ‘Junead Ahmed Khan’ who was thankfully arrested recently in U.K. for being part of an ISIL inspired plot to kill American Servicemen in the United Kingdom.

But perhaps I am allowing my alarmist tendencies and fertile imagination to run wild. Because it is probably unlikely that the son of an influential ‘intellectual’ superstar like Aamir Khan should ever end up at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. I for one certainly hope, for Aamir Khan’s sake, that Junaid Khan comes back to India after successfully completing his further education in Los Angeles and goes on to have a successful career in filmmaking, by making the most of his Daddy’s contacts in Bollywood.

However it is not only Junaid Khan’s possibly scary future in the U.S.A. that Aamir Khan should be worried about. If I were Aamir Khan, I would also be extremely worried about the future of the alleged illegitimate child he has allegedly fathered with a British woman named Jessica Hines.

The ignominy of growing up as the alleged ‘lovechild’ of a famous celebrity, with your name and photographs plastered on various Indian news websites (both mainstream and otherwise) is made worse for the poor child (with an apparently Muslim sounding name) by the currently polarized climate in Britain.

One only has to read the recent newspaper reports that indicate how the Paris attacks have contributed towards a spurt of Hate crimes against Muslims in Britain, to affirm this.

And if this intolerance towards Muslims in U.K. was not sufficient, a recent newspaper report has also claimed that about 1 in 5 British Muslims’ sympathize with the cause of Jihadis; something that should also be reason enough for Aamir Khan to be concerned about the welfare of his alleged illegitimate child’s future in the U.K. (assuming that he’s concerned about the future of a child he has never acknowledged in public as his).

Now I do realize of course that citing isolated instances of intolerance towards Muslims in the U.S.A. and the U.K. should not be used as a basis to make a generalized and alarmist assertion about the existence of intolerance (or its lack thereof) in these two countries. But since Aamir Khan has chosen to be alarmed about the intolerance in India on the basis of certain isolated incidents that have occurred here, I have reason to believe that Aamir Khan should therefore also be losing sleep over the possibly scary future of his other children studying or living abroad.

Aamir Khan would now be well advised to take immediate steps to secure the future of his children by moving them all to a country whose population is completely free of all intolerance and prejudice. He should then let me know which country this is; for I too wish to live in such a Utopia.

Is BJP really a “Right-Wing” Party?

Abhishek Jain
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India is a country full of conundrums and puzzles which amazes a lot of people around the world as to how this nation holds itself together with such vast diversity and regional problems. What is even more astonishing is the fact that majority of the governance in India has been under a socialist liberal or centre-left government under the Indian National Congress or the grand old party of the Indian political system. Indian National Congress (INC) is predominantly a liberal socialist party. But here I want to talk about the so-called Right leaning party of India, Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP).

So what is a Right-wing party? The term comes from French revolution as the supporters of the king sat on the right side and those opposing were on the left side making them left wingers. And a right winger is someone who is capitalist, nationalist and traditionalist in nature. Indian right wing a concept which prominently came into existence before the 2014 elections with the rise of Narendra Modi as a national leader and still continues with people supporting Modi or BJP terming themselves as Right-wing and more so on Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. But is BJP really a right wing party? Well I would like to believe that it isn’t, but at best it is a centre of right party.

A right-wing party in its basic form is a party favouring majority. Like in US the Republican Party which is a right wing party known for its stand against the migrants and its policies favouring the majority there. BJP can’t do that or simply in India no one can be a right wing party due to various reasons. One of them being that our majority (here talking about religious majority in Indian context) doesn’t vote as one block but votes on different criteria like caste or any other regional issue which has transcends into votes at national level, also majority of the people of India want different things from the Government or a party they are supporting. Some want development others want reservation for job security. Another reason is that our constitution which states that everyone is equal and everyone deserves equal rights which in a way suggest that you can’t be a right-wing party in India preferring to give certain rights to only majority or opposing minorities in your policy framework.

Social Media on the other hand has been the driving force for this change of being called a Right-wing if you support Modi or BJP. Layman won’t understand what’s a right-wing or left-wing, he will only want to see development or pay less taxes and to be able to earn good money; he/she may or may not have enough knowledge about the political structure as for them it’s not about ideology but to get a better life and future. But it’s the people on Social Media who want to be called Right Wing supporters as they think BJP is a Right Wing party but it’s not.

It is yet to define itself in the new form after the rise of Modi as a national leader as pre-Modi BJP wasn’t exactly a Right Wing party, its main goal was to remove Article 370 which gives the state of Jammu and Kashmir a special status, to build Ram temple and to equalize laws in the country for both minority and majority via implementation of Uniform civil code.

The confusion of whether BJP is right-wing or not comes from the fact that Modi is seen as someone being pro-business or pro-development. Being pro-business doesn’t necessarily means someone is Right Wing, with the wealth generation you will be able to infuse money into lot of social welfare schemes which would otherwise be dead without the much needed investment in Infra-social sector. Modi isn’t Right Wing but more of a centrist so far from all the policies he has pushed so far at the center after forming the Government.

In Indian context people believe that being pro-minority (religious minority) is being left-wing and being pro-majority is being a right-wing. But this is a very flawed way of thinking as our forefathers in the constitution have laid down the frame work of giving equal rights to everyone. But over the years different political parties have given more legal and social rights to the minorities due to vote bank politics. This has snowballed into BJP being seen as someone who would support the cause of majority. Even if BJP wanted to take up that cause of supporting majority it won’t get votes only on this platform as even in 2014 BJP could only get close to 32% votes of the total votes which were cast in the election which is the lowest in terms of any party getting clear majority in the history of Indian general elections in percentage, meaning that still a large number of majority didn’t vote for BJP even when people on SM and even some leaders promoted BJP as a right-wing party supporting majority (Religious context) which makes about 80% of India’s population.

People on SM or anywhere who consider they are right-wing for supporting BJP, I would go as far as saying that no Right-wing party can survive in India politically on a grand scale. What BJP seeks is a stronger more developed India which has a growing economy but which also means that the poorest of poor also gets those benefits which a well off Indian can afford to enrich their life. BJP may not call itself a Right-wing party but those who support BJP or Modi thinking they are right-wing presents itself with lot of ambiguity as Modi himself never called himself a leader for only majority. It’s about seeking relevance in the current political spectrum and a new phenomenon where certain people due to various reasons see the need of a true right-wing party which can assert itself politically. But this change will only come if the people of India are ready to accept that change.

It took 68 years for another party other then INC to get majority in General elections, with a mandate on development so it’s best to not squabble about being right-wing or not on SM but to make sure you bring about the change you promised to bring after winning the election and the supporters hold BJP accountable for that. Otherwise in 2019 we might have a political situation where we may get a fractured mandate dooming India for another 10-15 years.

Why we need more ministers like Jayant Sinha and Piyush Goyal to push the reforms agenda

Smiran Bhandari
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After 10 years of UPA government, there was a growing disenchantment across all sections of society regarding extreme corruption and lethargy of governance. Even though Manmohan Singh was respected for his past credentials as an Economist and Bureaucrat, it was soon realized that he was not the one who was calling the shots. The real power lied in the hands of the Congress President who had usurped the role of framing the policy as well as decision making. Ministers and bureaucrats very well understood that their promotion did not depend on performance but on proximity to the shadow government led by Sonia Gandhi. Unfortunately, this arrangement did not work too well as it led to a complete breakdown of transparency and accountability. Scams and corrupt practices became the norm. The country was rocked by one scam after another like Commonwealth Games scam, 2G scam and Coalgate scam. Irregular and shady land dealings of Robert Vadra were also an indication of the rot and malaise that had plagued the system.

In this context, the restoration of power to the Prime Minister’s Office comes as a huge relief. Hopefully, ministers and bureaucrats will now be assessed in terms of merit and performance rather than on frivolous metrics like sycophancy. Speaking of merit and performance, there is a clear pattern emerging regarding the top performers in the Ministry. The two most significant reforms announced by the Modi Government have been the Banking reforms and Power reforms. The architects of the reforms are Jayant Sinha and Piyush Goyal respectively. Interestingly, these ministers have a lot in common between them. Both are highly educated and have a distinguished background. Jayant Sinha is an IIT graduate who later completed his Post-Graduation from Wharton and Harvard. He went on to become a Partner at McKinsey and Omidyar Network, a Private Equity firm. Piyush Goyal is an all-India second rank holder Chartered Accountant and second rank holder in Law in his University. He has served in the boards of SBI and Bank of Baroda and has been a well-known investment banker as well.

Normally, there is a paucity of such highly accomplished professionals joining political ranks. The political corridors are a highly closed door society and are not welcoming to smart professionals who would like to make a difference to their country. Here too, Jayant Sinha and Piyush Goyal share a commonality which provided them an access to political circles. Both had fathers who were ministers in the previous NDA regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Yashwant Sinha was the Finance Minister and Vedprakash Goyal was the Shipping minister.

If we need to have a better performing ministry in our Government we need more such new-age professionals who are tech-savvy, intelligent and have the abilities to drive the reforms agenda. Narendra Modi tapped the aspirations of a modern India while canvassing for votes during the general elections. These aspirations will be shortchanged if smart professionals need to have a political vintage to enter the arena. Many career politicians may have the drive to perform in their ministries but they may not have the requisite skill-sets to do so. It is not surprising that a lack of bench strength is cited as one of the biggest pain points of the present Government.

Even during the previous NDA government, one of the best performing ministers was Suresh Prabhu who initiated major reforms in the power sector during his stint as the Power Minister. Suresh Prabhu also has solid technocratic and professional credentials. He was All-India 11th rank holder in Chartered Accountancy exam and is working on his Ph.D in Public Finance. Given his track record, PM Narendra Modi was ready to placate and pacify Shiv Sena leaders who were not keen on seeing Suresh Prabhu as the Railway Minister due to personal differences.

The lessons from these examples are crystal clear. At the end of the day, governance is driven by people. We need to have enough right people in our ministries who have the drive, intelligence and skillsets to carry out the ‘Reform to Transform’ agenda laid out by PM Modi. Thus, it is imperative that our Government cast its net as wide as possible in attracting smart professional talent who can perform in important positions. Post the winter session in Parliament, it is widely expected that a cabinet reshuffle will take place to weed out the under-performing ministers. This presents an opportunity to our Government to bring in meritorious technocrats instead of career politicians who fulfill some political compulsion. This move will go a long way in being in a position to meet the sky-high expectations that the people of India have from Narendra Modi. The bar for governance has been set really high and exceptional people are required to meet such high standards. Nothing else will do.

Reforms by Modi govt must show its effect on ground and soon enough

Krishna Anand
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When India elected PM Modi to govern in May 2014, most Indians including me who had voted for him had a renewed sense of vigour and energy. Good times are here was the literal translation of Ache Din, and there was no reason to doubt that.

The only drawback was the strained media relation with the BJP. That most news media disliked them was known, and expected given most editors flourished through the congress years and thus owed them a subconscious allegiance. Could PM Modi mend bridges and showcase his work through the media? What do the past 18 months tell us?

They tell us a lot.

Firstly, we can’t deny there’s been rabble rousers determined to off track the development agenda. But we can’t deny either that they have become the media’s favourite source for a bite irrespective of their knowledge on the subject. There’s no news on corruption, so let’s attack the government on religious tolerance seems to be the buzz word.

This is now having an effect on the development agenda. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes as evident from the various schemes that include Make in India, Jan Dhan Yojna and others. But these will only bear fruit years from now. What till then?

PM Modi can not allow the media to dictate the daily discourse and must ensure enough is done in the interim to satisfy the millions who voted for him, for they could soon be disillusioned by the biased story line. We must see reform on the ground and soon. People need to see change in their daily lives or else results like Bihar could become a norm?

The bottom line is, the effort is being put in, but might not be highlighted. It’s now up to the Government to ensure the right signals are sent and the right issues discussed.

Boycott of Snapdeal due to Aamir: It had a reason, and it sent a message

vivekanand ( @neohunk007 )
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Snapdeal  is facing flak on Social Media these days after a controversial  remark made by  its brand ambassador Aamir Khan on growing intolerance in India. Mr. Khan said that his family contemplated leaving  India. And the unlikely victim of this whole saga  has been Snapdeal.

The  e-commerce giant is bearing the brunt of people’s  anger in the form of App wapsi  & ratings downgrade. People vented their anger by  boycotting Snapdeal ,deleting its app & writing unfavourable reviews leading to its downgrade on Google Play Store. Here is a tweet by Suresh Nakhua:

Hashtags like #BootOutSnapdeal  & #Appwapsi  became the top  trends on twitter. The message was loud & clear – Hit the ecosystem where it hurts the most.Usual protest methods like candle march or burning public properties or sitting on Dharnas couldn’t have affected Aamir Khan in any manner.

So the economic boycott of Snapdeal was the only way which directly affects Aamir who happens to be the Brand ambassador of the e-commerce giant.

The drop in sales due to this economic boycott, mass deletion of the app by users, and negative reviews directly hits the finances of Snapdeal as well as affect its goodwill (intangible asset) and thus a perfect method to convey the message to Aamir khan that his irresponsible statements are going to hit all his endorsements. This not only affects his own finances but also his brand value which may have a bearing on his future endorsements.

And certainly it hurt them as many ‘Thought Liberals’ jumped in to placate the common man hurt by Aamir Khan’s remark. Some tried to douse the fire by trying to delink Snapdeal from Khan’s comment. As Snapdeal started facing consumer backlash, many even questioned the legitimacy of this protest. Quite evident from this tweet by Barkha Dutt:

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Soon they were shown the mirror by being reminded about the Gandhian philosophy of “Non-cooperation” & economic boycott as a legitimate & democratic way of protest.

See these tweets from ggiittiikkaa, GreatBong, AviralKapoor, Anil_Aarush, heeraman98, among others:

In the process, tweeples also exposed the hypocrisy of such “thought liberals”.

Check these tweets by reviewero, DavidBCohen1, NalinSKohli, and doctoratlarge:

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So has Social Media got a new tool to fight against biased MSM & ‘thought liberals’? Much to the disappointment of many, the answer is Yes.

The Social Media is certainly responsible for amplifying the backlash which Snapdeal is facing. And it was only possible due to breathtaking power & speed of Social media because today everyone with a cellphone is essentially a reporter.

This continuous backlash on SM & mass deletion of its app forced Snapdeal to remove Aamir Khan from its cover page on Twitter.

So is it Good or Bad ? Well in my opinion it depends on the cause for which it is used.

According to an article by Wharton : “Social media outrage, it seems, is a beast with the fangs of a rattlesnake, and the attention span of a gnat.”

Well Social Media is here to shape the socio-political environment & this outrage is completely justified as nobody has the right to defame our country.

Indian Secularism is just a Scarecrow

sourabh
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Let’s start by watching the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPddnn8sdJo

Now that’s extremely tolerant, peaceful and secular. Not at all controversial.

Not a single media debate. No outrage. Entire media, intellectual mafia, liberals has gone into hibernate, as if nothing has happened.

It matters only when a timepass BJP leader says something, that too just 10% of this, but not when it comes from the Leader Of Opposition from Congress Party, in the Parliament, while discussion on the Constitution.

I don’t remember the “when a big tree falls, the earth shakes” dialogue, as I was just 2 months old at that time. But, now I’ve heard Mr Kharge’s threat live on the TV. It only strengthens my view about Congress, that, in Independent India, Congress is the Party responsible for & beneficiary of all the communal riots starting from Partition of the country, purely based on religion, for first time in the history.

Whenever people have started asking them Roti-Kapda-Makan not as Bheekh but through mai stream channels of Education & Jobs, which they could never deliver, they always come up with same tantrum of Secularism, in different forms.

Secularism, for the Congress and other self proclaimed Seculars, is just a Sacrecrow. SacreCrow has two words, and both are equally insulting & inhuman.

Minorities are the biggest victims of Secularism. More than others, it’s important for these sufferers to understand this. They will have to come forward & ask:

  • How long are you going to use Secularism as a veil to hide your non-performance, failures & evils?
  • Why are we not part of the mainstream even after 65 yrs of your rule?
  • Why do we have to spend our life in filthy Ghettos?
  • Why is it so easy for fanatics to identify our houses and ruin our life?
  • Why are our settlements kept separate from others?
  • One community gets itself freed from Sati pratha, Polygamy & Bali Pratha, just after independence, while the other community; whose roots are in Sufism, whose preachers were likes of Rahim, RasKhan, Ghalib, Khusro, NizamUddinAulia, Muinuddin Chisti & Iqbal; In last 65 yrs of secular rule, that community has been systematically attached with one of the most inhuman activities? Why & How?
  • Why is there a caste & religion column in any govt application form which is supposed to be equal for all?
  • Why in my country I’ve a separate identity?
  • Why our names are more important than our talent?
  • Some of us were born poor, agreed, but why we were scared & forced to become beggars in the name of Secularism?

And the biggest player in this game is a particular section of Media. Media which cannot survive without sensationalizing anything. The media which is no more related to journalism, the media which has nothing to do with NEWS but only have to force & sell their VIEWS. How fair Indian media is in reporting is quite clear here. Listen to what Congress LOP Kharge said, and have a look on what Media reported.
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I hope, we all remember, how this media behaved on comments of Ret Gen V K Singh. V. K. Singh, who spent his youth protecting us from enemies, so that we can live peacefully. V. K. Singh, who was on the ground Zero, when Indians trapped in Yemen were being escaped. What are contributions of this Rowdy Kharge, that he can threaten entire nation? Shame, on Congress, on Media & on Us.

These combined forces, first they failed to derail the govt, now they are trying to divert our focus. Time to realize that and shout it out clearly: “to hell with your opportunistic, biased and fake Secularism, just let us live peacefully, Work & Let us Work. You armchair activists may get everything without any work, but we have to work, work hard, for each & everything in our life.”

Quoting words of Tufail Ahmed, “Indian Secularism has tasted Muslim Blood.” Sooner the victims of Secularism realize and reject it, better the life they can guarantee for our future generation. Remember, your friends have not changed, your neighbors are same, you work with same colleague at your work place.

Your doodhwala, paperwala, kaamwali, autowala, securitywala, sabjiwala, kiranewala, teacher, clasmates, bankers, doctors, plumbers, carpenter, electrician nothing & no-one has changed. Engage with them, talk to them, express & exchange yOur views or fear, and focus on yOur issues, yOur priorities, yOur career, yOur life & yOur future. Let yOur kids enjoy the same carefree childhood which we have enjoyed.

Time to move on from this TRP driven artificial, meaningless, time & resource killing,  tolerant-intolerant OR secular-communal debate.

Yamuna Mission : Collective team effort towards Clean Yamuna

anupamkpandey
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As we all know, India is a country where largest percentage of population involved in farming. So, we all can understand the importance of cleaning rivers for agricultural purpose. In the same view; “Yamuna Mission” team initiated mega cleaning effort of river Yamuna & Ghats as well as massive plantation.

Each & everyone responsible for stability/instability of earth, so its responsibility of everyone to take some initiatives to assure clean & green earth.

Current status of river Yamuna along with ghats; before cleaning effort people use to drop/throw the waste in this. Today, no one can even imagine that this is same place, now they enjoy sitting at ghats with fresh air generated after massive plantation. This place is converted into a “Incredible India” place now.

Ramneti, Gokul: Plantation effort by team members resulting-in now as small plants now growing & making environment clean & green. We encourage everyone to plant more for clean & green environment.

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Krishna Yamuna Ghat: After cleaning efforts, volunteers making every possible effort to assure proper growth of planted trees. Iron wire fencing to protect plants from animals near Krishna Yamuna ghat in Mathura.

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Krishna Ganga Ghat: Plantation of Banana trees along Yamuna ghat; by the team members to assure proper balance in environment, in future.

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Karshri Kund Govardhan filled up with fresh water after cleaning effort. two images shows the difference (first one before cleaning & another one after refilling fresh water). Every week team change the water & refill fresh water to avid any kind of harm.

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One of oldest ghats at Mathura is “Chakrateerth Ghat” but this remain neglected for long time. Finally, hard work of team members changed the look and feel of ghat & its present with now glory in front of us today. People started visiting the place & spending time there.

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To assure beauty around plants, team working continuously on “Chakrateerth to Swami Ghat marg”

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The road is under construction on back side of Dhobi ghat in Mathura to connect Chakrateerth to Swami Ghat.

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Continuous in-flow of waste stopped underground water-flow of river Yamuna, which lead to flood with a small amount of rain. To solve this problem, team started in-depth cleaning of river Yamuna & effort resulting-in to a clean water with proper underground flow.

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Work in progress on route “Swami Ghat to Kans Kila”. Construction of the route will help pilgrims.

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To assure unstoppable flow & cleanliness of river Yamuna, team members making their best possible efforts. Lets join hands to make this a grand success & achieve the milestone of “Swachh Bharat”.

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