Month: January 2020

Anti-CAA Protests – Opposition Must Seize The Moment

By Anita Katyal

Contrary to an earlier public perception, the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens is not petering out. In fact, the January 5 armed attack by masked “goons” on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University has triggered a wave of protests on university campuses across the country.

It  is still not clear if the student community, which has been joined by others, will be able to sustain these protests but there is no doubt that the youth is angry and is not afraid of hitting the street and taking on the ruling dispensation.

ALSO READ: Deconstructing India’s New Citizenship Law

The Modi government, however, has refused to backtrack on the implementation of the CAA though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attempted to allay fears over a proposed nation-wide NRC, saying the matter has not been discussed in the Cabinet. Home Minister Amit Shah, on the other hand, has made it abundantly clear that the government has no intention of revoking the new citizenship law and that a nation-wide NRC was very much on the table.

Instead of opening a dialogue with the agitators, the Centre has sought to crush the protests by unleashing the police on the dissenters and accused the opposition of inciting violence with its faulty interpretation of the citizenship law.

At the same time, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its ministers have embarked on a door-to-door campaign to explain the provisions of the CAA to the people and dispel any misconceptions about the law. The citizenship law, it is being explained, is not about taking away citizenship but giving citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Muslims have been omitted from this list.

ALSO READ: Citizenship Law And Justice For All

Convinced that the protests will gradually peter out, the Modi government has undoubtedly been taken aback by the fact that the demonstrators are continuing with their fight. But the Centre is confident that this crisis will blow over as it believes that those opposing the CAA are in a minority and that the new law has failed to erode its support base. On the contrary, the BJP is convinced that the new citizenship law enjoys the popular support of the silent majority who are unmoved by the argument that it tinkers with the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. As for the NRC and NPR, the implications of this exercise have yet to be comprehended by the people who are, by and large, unconcerned about it as long as it does not affect them personally.

In fact, the BJP is actively working to ensure that the ongoing protests are perceived to be organized and led primarily by Muslims. This strategy has been particularly effective in Uttar Pradesh where its rabid chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a brutal police crackdown on Muslims in which 20 persons were killed and several injured. In a state which is already highly polarised, it is not surprising that Yogi’s tactics have resonated with the people and resulted in further Hindu consolidation in favour of the BJP.

The objective is to keep the “communal” pot boiling in order to reap electoral benefit first in Delhi and, more importantly, in next year’s assembly election in West Bengal, a state which the BJP is extremely keen to wrest from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. Here again, the BJP is not unduly worried about the intellectuals, writers and activists who are agitating against the CAA. The party is instead keen on weaning away the underclass from the Trinamool as it is the BJP’s understanding that playing up the Hindu-Muslim divide with its repeated emphasis on illegal immigration appeals to this section.  

ALSO READ: If Amit Shah Can’t Budge On CAA, Shaheen Bagh Won’t Either

The BJP is also helped by the fact that the opposition is hopelessly divided and has been virtually rendered irrelevant during these protests which have been led by students and ordinary citizens.  While most opposition parties have rejected the new citizenship law, the NRC and the NPR, they have proved incapable of taking leadership of these protests or giving it any direction.

The opposition has also failed, so far, to communicate how the NPR and NRC will impact an ordinary citizen, especially the poor and the illiterate. The only exception here is West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who lost no time in hitting the streets and spelling out the dangers of the BJP’s latest policies. However, the political class is still trying to gauge if the protests are confined to the urban areas and whether the message has truly percolated down to the rural hinterland.

In an attempt to take advantage of the growing anger among the people, Congress president Sonia Gandhi called a meeting of opposition parties on January 13 to draw up a joint strategy on the CAA-NRC-NPR as well as the students’ agitation but several parties including the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Shiv Sena and the DMK chose to stay away from it. The 20 parties which did attend reiterated their opposition to the new citizenship law and demanded that the NPR be suspended and the NRC be put in cold storage.

However, the big challenge before the opposition is to enlarge the protests beyond students and activists in urban areas by bringing in different sections like Dalits and farmers to cash in on their disillusionment with the BJP. For this, they clearly have to move away from conference rooms and connect with the people. Unless the opposition gets its act together and ensures that its message reaches an ordinary citizen, the BJP’s powerful and well-oiled propaganda machinery will always have the upper hand. 

IMF Cuts India’s Growth Rate To 4.8% For FY2019-20

By LokMarg

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India’s growth rate to 4.8 per cent for the current financial year, which is expected to rise to 5.8 per cent in 2020.

In October, the IMF had estimated the growth rate at 6.1 per cent.

“IMF’s World Economic Outlook report estimates India’s growth at 4.8 per cent in 2019,” said the global money lender in a statement.

It projected the country’s growth to improve to 5.8 per cent in 2020 and 6.5 per cent in 2021.

The IMF attributed the slash in estimate to the slowdown in demand in the domestic market and stress in the nonbank financial sector.

“The growth markdown largely reflects a downward revision to India’s projection, where domestic demand has slowed more sharply than expected amid stress in the nonbank financial sector and a decline in credit growth,” said the IMF.

It further said: “The downward revision primarily reflects negative surprises to economic activity in a few emerging market economies, notably India, which led to a reassessment of growth prospects over the next two years.” (ANI)

JP Nadda Elected BJP National President

By LokMarg

Jagat Prakash Nadda on Monday was elected unopposed as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party following the party’s organisational poll process.

Several party leaders including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari were present during the announcement.

Nadda will replace Amit Shah who is currently serving as Union Home Minister in the Narendra Modi Cabinet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will felicitate Nadda later today at the party headquarters.

A former Himachal Pradesh minister, Nadda has organisational experience and became party’s working president in June 2019 after the ruling party swept the Lok Sabha elections.

(ANI)

82% Students Paid Revised Hostel Fees, Says JNU VC

By LokMarg

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar on Monday announced that 82 percent of students have cleared their hostel dues by paying the revised charges.

“Out of 8500 students at JNU, 82 percent of students have cleared their hostel dues for winter registration as on Monday. Remaining students are also expected to complete their registration process since registration is still open with a late fee,” said Kumar while talking to ANI.

Last week, VC had informed that more than 65 percent of students staying in hostels have cleared their hostel dues.

He had also said that the schools and centers are working on conducting tests for those students who did not complete the last semester’s academic requirements.

The JNU campus saw a violent incident on January 5, where a masked mob attacked the teachers and students of the university.

Several students and teachers, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured in the attack.

(ANI)

Brajesh Thakur Convicted In Bihar Shelter Home Case

By LokMarg

A Delhi Court on Monday convicted 19 accused including NGO owner and former MLA Brajesh Thakur in connection with the sexual and physical assault of girls at a shelter home in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district.

One of the accused has been acquitted by the court. The court on January 14 had adjourned the pronouncement of its judgement till today.

More than 40 minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Brajesh Thakur’s state-funded non-governmental organization (NGO).

Earlier, the court had framed various charges including criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against the accused in the case. The gruesome incident came to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) filed an affidavit detailing the horrifying sexual abuse cases at the shelter home.

In December 2018, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet against 21 accused in the case.

The Supreme Court had earlier transferred the case from Bihar to a Delhi court and ordered the judge to complete it within six months. Trial Court then framed charges against 21 accused in the case.

(ANI)

ED Grills Karti Chidambaram In INX Media Case

By LokMarg

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Congress MP Karti Chidambaram in connection with the INX media case.

Both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing how Karti managed to obtain clearance to the tune of Rs 305 crore from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father P Chidambaram was the finance minister.

The economic offences watchdog had registered a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case based on FIR by the CBI and alleged that irregularities took place in the FIPB clearance to INX Media. P Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister at the time.

Last month, Chidambaram was released on bail in connection with the matter.

(ANI)

Anti-Citizenship Law Protest In Delhi

‘If Amit Shah Can’t Budge On CAA, Shaheen Bagh Won’t Either’

By LokMarg

Shaheen Kousar, a 44-year old protester at Shaheen Bagh, tells LokMarg why Muslim women have come out to resist Modi government’s move on Citizenship Act and National Register of Citizen

Yes, I am Shaheen from Shaheen Bagh. And I, along with many other women, have resolved to take this battle forward with my faith and inner strength. The Modi government has to listen to what we have to say about CAA-NRC. Is the government wondering as to why the Muslim women who did not take to streets even when the Triple Talaq Bill was brought in, have now come out in such a strong manner? Because now the very existence of our children and our own existence and this country’s social fabric is at stake.

Our protest site is located near NH-24 and is known as the Shaheen Bagh Highway. While some people are complaining that our protest is affecting traffic, many other people from other parts of Delhi are coming to us and interacting with us and telling us that they support us.

It is heartening to see that people from all religions are showing their love and support to us. It’s not like we don’t feel cold and tired. We go home only for 4-5 hours every day. But till the time we are at the protest site, people who have their residence near the site have opened their homes (including their kitchens and washrooms) for us.

People used to say that in big cities people don’t even interact with their neighbours, but look at the beauty of it, how people are now trusting complete strangers because they believe in a common goal. To put it succinctly, the warmth of human interactions isn’t letting us feel the cold.

Moreover, we are protesting in an organized manner. We have divided duties among ourselves. Some people are responsible for food, others for sanitation, and a few others for security. Thankfully the organisation of the protest has been so good that no untoward incident has taken place. Is bar aar ya paar wali bat hai (This is a do or die situation). If our Home Minister isn’t ready to go back an inch, then we are also staying put here.

Also Read: ‘Mothers Are At Shaheen Bagh To Save Their Children Future’

It’s not like we don’t understand the nitty-gritties of what an act like CAA entails deep down. Having to manage chilly weather, biting winters coupled with rains, police batons, household work as well as office work, nothing is going to weaken our resolve that the government take this act back.

Amit Shah as well as our Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said it is just about giving citizenship to people (except Muslims) from three countries. Fine, but then what are these detention centres being prepared for? It is for those inside the country who won’t be able to prove their citizenship. The government is giving confusing signals whether detention centres exist or not. This time we aren’t going to take things at face value.

If they can hurt unarmed and vulnerable students in Jamia and JNU, who is to say that things are going to be better later on? The NRC exercise in Assam showed there were only 19 lakh people who couldn’t prove their citizenship, then the government brought in CAA. Now they are talking about NPR (National Population Register).

I am a director at a school and by God’s grace, like many other women, I have been able to manage my home, my professional life as well as coming to the protest site. We are doing all this for our nation, for our children and we hope God will keep providing us with the strength to carry forward. If the kids can be strong and fearless in the face of brutality fir to hum bhi beraham aur tang-nazar logon ke samne aawaz utha hi sakte hain. Magar hum wo aawaz shanti se uthana chahte hain. (if students can show their resistance to police brutality, we too can raise our voice against a suppressive, and narrow-vision regime. But we want to raise this voice democratically and peacefully). Our resolve should speak volumes.

Zalmay Khalilzad with Taliban representatives

India Must Remain Involved In US-Taliban Peace Talks

By Seema Guha

Taliban ended 2019 by kindling hopes of a ceasefire ahead of signing a peace deal with the US. But a few days later they went back on their word, perhaps due to internal differences within the group or for unknown strategic considerations. But whether now, or later in the year, a peace deal is likely to be announced, with or without pre conditions like a cessation of hostilities.

The Taliban has said often enough that fighting will stop only after foreign forces are out of Afghanistan. President Donald Trump would be desperate for an agreement considering that US elections are due this November. What the contours would be is not known, but the Taliban will ensure that they get a large piece of the pie in any political settlement worked out between the Afghan parties.

Also Read: Has Trump Plan Edged India Out Of Afghanistan?

India needs to keep this is mind, and prepare for an eventuality when the Taliban becomes an important part of the Afghan political scene. The good news for India is that Afghanistan has changed drastically since the time the Taliban was in power till 2001. People are no longer in the mood to be cowed down and sacrifice the gains made in the Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani years. Womens’ rights have become pivotal as well as democratic principles. Ashraf Ghani’s victory in the presidential elections bears witness to this positive narrative. People came out to exercise their democratic rights during the parliamentary elections in 2018 despite the boycott called and the blood-letting by the Taliban. The same is true of the 2019 presidential polls. Luckily for Ashraf Ghani and by extension India, the President’s decisive victory will make his position stronger during the intra Afghan talks.

India had sent two of its former diplomats to Moscow in 2018 when Russia organized a meeting with representatives of the Taliban. Realising that all regional powers were engaging with the Taliban, and not wanting to be left as a by stander as the peace process seemed to gather momentum, Delhi sent retired diplomats to the meeting. They were tagged as “non-officials’’ keeping in mind India’s reservations about engaging with the Taliban. Both former diplomats later said that they did not get an opportunity to exchange pleasantries with the Taliban representatives at the meet. They just observed from a corner table of the hall. Perhaps that’s true. But it is unlikely that Indians have not been in contact with lower functionaries of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sure there has been no interaction at the higher levels. By sending two “non-officials’’ to the Moscow meet, New Delhi signaled that it was ready to do business with the Taliban in future.

It is also unlikely that if the Taliban becomes a part of the ruling establishment in Afghanistan, India would be asked to shut down its embassy as happened earlier.

What is evident from the US-Taliban negotiations is that the latter is now perhaps a tad more pragmatic than earlier when Mullah Omar headed the movement. By interacting with the US as well as China, Russia and Iran, besides the Gulf nations, it  is gradually coming to grips with the dynamics of pragmatic power play. The Taliban today though still staunchly wedded to its Islamic ideology is likely to be more practical in governance. The people of Afghanistan, especially in Kabul and other urban centres will not tolerate banning women’s education, a stop to all kinds of music, public beheadings and destruction of Bamiyan Buddha carvings is unlikely to happen. They may all be manifest in the countryside far away from international focus.

The final political settlement will see the Taliban emerge as the main power centre, and be in a position to dictate terms. It is well known that Pakistan, already anxious about India spreading its wings across Afghanistan will certainly try its best through the Taliban to clip Delhi’s wings. Islamabad will use its influence to try to close down some of  the consulates. Besides the main mission on Kabul, Indian consulates are in Kandahar, Mazar-e-sharif, Jalalabad and Herat.

The consulates have been a sore point with the Pakistani establishment and this will certainly be part of the agenda. How much dictation the Taliban will take from Pakistan is also a question. The fiercely independent Afghans are loath to take dictation from others.The Taliban are also aware that ordinary Afghans are happy with India’s developmental work, which have touched their lives. 

Successive Indian governments, starting from the Vajpyee era, through the two terms of Manmohan Singh’s term and now the Narendra Modi government had wisely focused on people to people contacts in Afghanistan. Luckily Pakistan’s opposition to Indian boots on the ground has paid off for New Delhi. By its non-aggressive stance, India has been able to win the hearts and minds of local Afghans. The Taliban are aware of this. In fact last year a Taliban spokesman had said that India can continue with its development works. Whether the leadership of the Taliban are of the same view or it was an off the cuff remark is difficult to gauge.

Delhi’s stand on Afghanistan has so far paid off. It has echoed the elected governments stand and marked out the red lines—that the hard earned democratic values cannot be sacrificed. India’s option is to continue to support the democratic forces in Afghanistan and concentrate as it has always done on development. At the same time whenever possible to be in touch with the Taliban. Not talking to the Taliban should never be an option as they are a part of Afghan society. Keeping in touch with all sections, supporting the democratic government of Ashraf Ghani for now, and working for the people would finally pay dividends.

No one knows when a political solution is worked out, but Delhi will know that Islamabad or rather Rawalpindi will try to use its influence to keep India out. How finally all this pans out is not known, but Delhi needs to keep its ears to the ground.

Delhi Court Convicts Two In 2013 Gudiya Rape Case

By LokMarg

A Delhi court on Saturday convicted two men in the 2013 kidnapping and brutal rape case of a five-year-old girl, who came to be known as Gudiya.

Manoj Kumar and Pradeep were convicted after the trial for brutally raping the minor girl at their rented accommodation in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar area in April 2013.

The gang-rape survivor was found with candles and plastic bottles inside her body. The minor was held captive by the convicts who raped and tortured her.

The court has convicted them under Section 363 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement), 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other offences.

Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra said that the court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on January 30.

“In our society minor girls are worshipped as Goddess but in the present case the victim child, who was aged about five years at the time of the incident, experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality,” the court said in the order.

It further observed that the crime against the rape survivor was committed in a “most grotesque and revolting manner”, adding that it shook the “collective conscience of the community”.

The case came to the fore after the girl was reported missing on April 15, 2013. The minor victim stayed in the same building where the accused were residing.

She was rescued on April 17 morning from the ground floor of the same building. The girl was later rescued and admitted to a hospital where three surgeries had to be conducted.

A case under charges of kidnapping, rape and attempt to murder was registered against both them for confining her to a room for two days.

One accused Manoj Kumar was apprehended from his in-law’s residence in Chiknouta village in Bihar while the accused was arrested later. Both the accused are currently in Tihar jail.

The family members and lawyer, who represented the minor, welcomed the judgment of the court.

“This matter has overwhelming DNA evidence and circumstantial evidence. Even then it has taken such a long time. We are grateful that finally justice has been done. It is a miracle that she is still alive,” advocate Prabh Sahay Kaur told ANI.

Meanwhile, a woman journalist from an English news channel was allegedly assaulted by one of the convicts as he came out from the court.

She was slapped following which a complaint was filed by her. The court has now sought an action-taken-report from the concerned police station on the incident.

(ANI)

Aditya Thackeray Denies Rift In Sena-Congress Ties

By LokMarg

In the wake of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s veiled jibe at Congress over conferring Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar, another party leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday asserted that their alliance with Congress is strong despite having a different stance on certain issues.

“Sanjay Raut mentioned in what context he spoke. Shiv Sena-Congress alliance is strong and we came together for the development of the state. We may have different views on certain issues but this is what democracy is,” Thackeray told the media persons here.

His remarks came hours after Raut retorted strongly to those opposing Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar and said that such people should be put in jail for two days.

Several leaders across the political spectrum have pushed for Bharat Ratna award to be accorded to Savarkar.

Congress, on the other hand, has time and again sparked controversy on Sarvarkar’s name. Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise for his “rape in India” comment saying that his surname was Gandhi, not Savarkar.

The Congress party had also come under attack over its booklet which claimed that Nathuram Godse and Savarkar had a physical relationship.

“Those who oppose Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar should be put for two days in Andaman’s cellular jail where Savarkar was lodged. It is only then that they will realize his sacrifice and contribution to the nation,” Raut had said earlier today.

Reacting on this, Thackeray urged people to talk about current issues like plummeting GDP and unemployment instead of history. “We should learn from history and move forward,” he added.

(ANI)