The Maharashtra defeat a jolt to BJP’s muscle power

The defeat of BJP’s diabolic game in Maharashtra on the Constitution day of November 26 is the biggest blow to the image of Modi-Shah duo since the formation of the second Narendra Modi government at the centre in May this year. Only the senior BJP leaders, especially the President Amit Shah, would understand the impact that this formation of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the financial capital of India will have on the money and muscle power of the party in the coming days.

Mumbai is the epicentre of corporate India and a large share of funds from the corporates are accrued from Maharashtra. Now, the sudden loss is sure to give a halt to that growth momentum and the Congress and the NCP, apart from Shiv Sena, should be in a position to take away a good share of the funds from the corporates that were otherwise diverted to the BJP.

The BJP took big advantage of the electoral bonds in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as also in the state assembly elections later. The ADR report shows that a third of the electoral bonds were sold in Mumbai and the BJP got lion’s share of these bonds. However, there are so many ways for the ruling Party in a state can mobilise funds for the elections from the cash-rich financial capital of the country.

National, Opinion, Politics

By Nitya Chakraborty

November 26, 2019

Democratic Forces should Unite to Save the Constitution

The Constitution of India, whose prime architect was Dr Ambedkar, was adopted on 26th of November 1949. It was not conceived just as a document of codified laws and regulations but it was an embodiment of the values inherited from our freedom struggle. The leaders of many streams of our struggle for national liberation sat together and deliberated for nearly 3 years to draw a roadmap for the future objectives and structure of governance for India. The coming together of such luminaries from various ideological inclinations and backgrounds gave our Constitution an inclusive and diverse approach which could cater to the cultural, spatial and social diversity of the country.

The constitution thus drafted was a very organic document which protected, strengthened and reinforced the richness and depth of our cultural diversity and imbibed it with a sense of modernity. Thus the ideas of Republicanism, Rule of Law, Democracy and Secularism formed the solid bedrock on which the concrete structure of our independent Nation State was built upon.

Unfortunately, this very dynamic and lively document, the supreme law of our land and its principles are under attack from the majoritarian, patriarchal and fascistic regime of the BJP- RSS combine.

National, Opinion, Politics

By D Raja

November 25, 2019

BJP’s surgical strike will cement Maha Aghadi ties

More than any other state—Karnataka, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh— where the BJP’s “Operation Lotus” succeeded in winning over opposition legislators, Maharashtra is a prize which the party is loath to lose.

Hence, the unseemly haste in swearing-in a government of its own when only a few weeks ago, the party had expressed its inability to do so. What made the BJP change its mind was the apparent success of the three unlikely allies—the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress—in being able to cobble together a Maharashtra Aghadi and come within striking distance of forming a government.

For the BJP, such a turn of events was unacceptable for two reasons. One was the message the new combine would send out that the mighty electoral machine of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah was not invulnerable. This could not but have an adverse impact on the party’s prospects on the eve of the Jharkhand elections, which have assumed extra importance in the aftermath of the BJP’s lack lustre showing in Maharashtra and Haryana.

National, Opinion, Politics

By Amulya Ganguli

November 25, 2019

Karnataka action replay: BJP’s diabolical approach to the fore

We must thank our stars that Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has not cited the Official Secrets Act to prevent questioning of the manner in which President’s Rule in Maharashtra was lifted and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, the exact status of whose party is still not clear, were sworn in by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is in the eye of a storm for what has done and failed to do.

The Governor was literally burning mid night oil to see ‘his own’ man installed as the chief minister. The unearthly hours also saw coordinated activities elsewhere, including Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Minister’s Office. The ‘enemy’ had to be thwarted by all means.

The Official Secrets Act is meant to prevent information or material falling into ‘enemy’ hands. It was earlier used against The Hindu when the newspaper published documents relating to the Rafale deal, which the government alleged were leaked from the Defence Ministry.

National, Opinion, Politics

By K Raveendran

November 25, 2019

Maharashtra: More twists and turns in store

The Devendra Fadnavis government formation last week has raised moral, legal and political questions. The Apex Court is already looking into the legal aspect. The on-going political drama might continue with claims and counter claims and clarity might return only after the floor test of the new government.

Questions were raised at the way the BJP staked claim in the wee hours on Saturday and the conduct of the governor in swearing in the BJP government. The BJP had kept its cards close to its chest and gave an impression that it was not in the race to form the government though statements from the BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari who said, “in politics and cricket anything can happen” gave some indication that there was something up their sleeves.

Fadnavis taking oath is not the end of the matter, as he has to prove his majority. Indicating apprehensions of horse-trading, the four parties have already transported their respective legislators to various resorts. This ‘safekeeping’ of our elected representatives seems to have almost become a normal practice with people delivering more and more fractured verdicts. It is unexplainable why a public representative and lawmaker should be willing to change sides so fast?

National, Opinion, Politics

By Kalyani Shankar

November 22, 2019

Why the return of Rajapaksas is bad omen for India

There are ample signs that India is losing its grip over Sri Lanka, the island nation strategically important to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his pet Neighbourhood-First policy. Sri Lanka is one of the biggest victims of China’s debt-trap diplomacy. Now that the presidential election is over and the Rajapaksas are back with a bang, it is good news for Xi Jinping’s China; and indeed, a bad omen for Modi’s India, as also Sri Lanka’s liberals, minorities, and the Tamils.

The recent election victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the President of Sri Lanka gives a huge boost to China’s political interests in the country. Gotabaya is the younger brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who held the crucial defence portfolio during the Mahinda Rajapaksa-rule. Along with Mahinda, Gotabaya also played an instrumental role in suppressing the Tamil uprising that lasted 26 years, undoubtedly the bloodiest period in Lanka’s history.

The civil war ended in 2009, and the Rajapaksa brothers emerged as heroes for Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Although their popularity dipped in the latter years, they were back in contention in the aftermath of Islamic State-inspired terror attacks on last Easter that killed more than 200 people.

International, National, Opinion, Politics

By Dipin Damodharan

November 22, 2019

Courage Confronts Brute Power

On November 18, the police and CRPF, many of them in plainclothes, repeatedly brutalised JNU students who set out from their campus to march to Parliament to protest fee hikes and commercialisation of hostel facilities. They arrested several lots of JNU students and detained them in police stations across Delhi.

But there were still thousands of students remaining, making their ways through the Munirka alleyways and various lanes and by-lanes, forcing the police to collect their barricades and try and keep pace with them. So, thousands of students waited at Jor Bagh, not far from the prime minister’s residence, demanding the release of their colleagues, and demanding that the JNU students union find representation in the committee constituted by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to address the JNU deadlock.

When the students finally dispersed from Jor Bagh and began walking back to the campus, they suddenly found the street lights switched off. Under cover of darkness, the police launched a final round of assault. JNUSU Councillor, Shashi Bhushan, a history student who is visually challenged, took off his dark glasses to tell the police he could not see. But they knocked him down and kicked him in the stomach with their boots, saying, “If you’re blind why did you participate in the march?”

National, Politics

By Kavita Krishnan

November 22, 2019

Campus protests, Opposing Worldviews, and a Nation’s Destiny

Students are on strike in two of India’s biggest universities and for different reasons. In Banaras Hindu University (BHU), a section of students are demanding that the recent appointment of a particular teacher be cancelled. Whereas in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) the majority of students are on strike demanding the withdrawal of the recent hike in hostel fees. Underlying both contexts is a clash of ideologies, a conflict between two opposing worldviews that, in a sense, puts the very identity and direction of our nation in perspective.

For the last two weeks, a group of 30-odd students of Sanskrit literature belonging to the Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vijnan department have been sitting outside the office of BHU Vice-Chancellor. They are protesting against the recent appointment of Firoze Khan as Assistant Professor. These students, mostly with allegiance to Hindutva groups, do not want a Muslim to teach them Sanskrit.

Banaras (Varanasi or Kashi) is India’s premier pilgrim city where millions throng to get salvation both for themselves and their forebears. It’s a place which confronts the individual with the ultimate spiritual lesson about existence—that one is fundamentally a soul and that all material/physical markers are insignificant or secondary. It was here that, in 1916, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Annie Besant established the Banaras Hindu University on a 1,700 acre land donated by the hereditary ruler of Kashi. The Nizam of Hyderabad also contributed a generous donation of one lakh rupees. The university was expanded later and is now one of the biggest residential institutions in the world. It is spread over 4000 acres and boasts of a student population of around 30,000. Interestingly, the first thing that strikes anyone visiting the official website of the University is the vision of its founder, Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya given on the homepage:

Education, National, Opinion, Religion, Society

By Josy Joseph

November 20, 2019

Making Sense of the Muslim Response to the Ayodhya Verdict

Though the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhumi dispute that continued in the courts of law for decades, the community’s response across the country appears to display a mature, pragmatic approach to a highly emotive issue.

The initial responses from the Babri Masjid Action Commitee, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Wakf Board, the principal parties that were involved in the litigation and public campaign on the issue of the disputed mosque, highlighted the point that the verdict was a setback to the community’s long-held claims and interests. But the question as to how to respond to the Supreme Court verdict has split the various organisations, with the Sunni Central Waqf Board and the other principal litigants in the case opting to accept the verdict and put an end to this unhappy chapter in India’s recent history.

It is to be noted that though there are differences as to how to proceed, the public opinion in the community is now definitely in favour of finding an amicable settlement and moving on once and for all. This is evident from the reactions of most Muslim organizations who have asserted that they would pursue the quest for justice through democratic and legal means. This is a common thread in the reactions of all political parties and groups that claim to represent the Muslim community, ranging from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the Welfare Party of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the All India Majlis-e-Ithihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) of Asadudin Owaisi and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). They have expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court decision to hand over the entire property to a trust for the building of a Ram temple, but generally have refused to be drawn into confrontationist and violent public actions that would further vitiate the communal atmosphere in the country.

National, Opinion, Politics

By N P Chekkutty

November 19, 2019

Confusion Persists in Assam over NRC

For the much-harassed Hindus and Muslims in Assam suspected of being illegal Bangladeshi settlers, there is now a glimmer of hope: in recent days, authorities have released 20 people held in endless detention long after serving their 3 year sentences, from special camps in Goalpara and Tezpur.

Altogether 56 people are to be freed, out of 140 applicants. Most have been treated as prisoners for life, having served out their terms. There was no relief for the rest because their submissions were ‘not in order,’ according to local media reports. However, bowing to the twin pressures of international opinion and an increasingly hostile press, state officials have offered to help the barely literate poor prisoners unable to write out a legible prayer seeking their overdue release.

The sudden surge of official mercies comes in the wake of the recent death of two 60-plus men in jail. Both men suffered from acute mental and physical problems. Civil rights groups allege that even during their last hours they did not get much medical attention, whether in prison or when they were shifted to civil hospitals.

Law, Life, National, People, Politics, Religion, Society

By Ashis Biswas

November 18, 2019

Surveys Confirm Fall in Consumption Expenditure

Leaked reports over estimates of consumer spending is sending shock waves across the economy and the political spectrum. A report that consumer spending has fallen in 2017-18 compared to 2011-12 has created serious concerns. Monthly consumption expenditure of the average rural household has fallen to Rs 1446 in 2017-18 from Rs 1501 in 2011-12. More poignantly, expenditure on food has fallen from Rs 643 in 2011-12 to Rs 580 in 2017-18. Consumption expenditure in urban areas have increased but only marginally.

It is one thing that consumption expenditure has not risen. But to have fallen in absolute terms is sheer horror for a developing economy like India’s. Overall, deprivation is widespread, that only hefty rises in consumption could lift the situation.

It is taken to be the ultimate vindication of the deepening slowdown in the economy for the last couple of years and, since these things do no change overnight, the slowdown might just as well mutate into a full-blown recession—unless reversed with policy interventions or through some ambient dynamics.

Economy, National, Politics

By Anjan Roy

November 17, 2019

Not a smooth ride for Modi 2.0

With the executive, legislature and judiciary more or less on the same page, the BJP can be said to be on a dream run. But the oddity is that it isn’t. The reason is that democracy allows hoi polloi to follow a line of thinking which may not tally with the views of the powers-that-be. Hence, the BJP’s setbacks in Maharashtra and Haryana.

The party appears to have made a mistake by interpreting its massive success in the parliamentary polls as a carte blanche for pursuing the key items on its Hindutva agenda which had been shelved by one of its tallest leaders, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in 1996.

The revocation of Article 370 was one of these items, but the BJP has flunked the first test of its August 5 decision to dispense with Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. If the people had been impressed by its ‘bold’ decision to put an end to Kashmir’s privileged position, the BJP would have fared much better in Maharashtra and Haryana.

National, Politics

By Amulya Ganguli