Category: Lok Issues

Sidhu Has Harmed His Party

‘Sidhu Has Harmed His Party, He Is A Bad Team Leader’

By LokMarg

Dr Bhojdev Brar (22) from Amritsar says celebrities do not always make good politicians and all the good work by Navjot Singh Sidhu was undone by his image politics

Punjab politics is going through such confusing times, I wonder how things will shape up in the next few months when Punjab Assembly elections are held. I belong to Amritsar, the constituency of Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is slowly turning out to be one of the most divisive figures of Punjab politics.

I feel he is eyeing the Chief Minister’s seat in the strategic state as in these important times (because of farmer protests). But the way he is going about it doesn’t seem very well thought out. He seems temperamental, hasty in decision making and someone who doesn’t think too well before taking a step. Soon after he resigned, another minister from the Charanpreet Singh Channi cabinet, Razia Sultana, Punjab Congress General Secretary Yoginder Dhingra and party treasurer Gulzar Inder Chahal also resigned from the party. This then becomes more about a person and less about the interests of the party.

I don’t think image politics can influence the electorate deeply if there is no weight behind their words. These celebrities or personalities cannot just bank on their image or previous charisma to get votes, they need to keep interacting with the people who voted for them and upgrade their understanding. There are so many celebrities who are good at what they do, but aren’t able to walk the long road in politics.

Metro Man, Mr E Sreedharan can be considered an example. Sidhu has walked a longer and more active road than most other celebs (17 years in active politics), but I feel he still doesn’t know the art of walking in unison with others, he still considers himself above the party.

Dr Brar with farmer leader Rakesh Tikait (left) and with Dr Swaiman Singh (extreme right in green), a New Jersey-based cardiologist who came to India to support farmers protesting agaisnt Central farm laws

And in times like these, especially in the post-Covid world, we need compassionate, considerate and calm leaders; leaders who have the capacity to listen to people’s concerns as much as they can speak. Covid has shown us how each leader is important right from the ward level to the Prime Minister level and we can’t be lax with who we choose to power.

Sidhu has done some good work in Amritsar like building road, strengthening the metro bus service, but he should also look into important matters like reducing corruption at all levels, strengthening the administrative machinery and easing governance in general so that people find it easy to approach the government on important matters.

ALSO READ: Comedy Of Errors: Capt On Congress Crisis

Moreover, I feel surprised why doesn’t he stand secure in his own identity? Why is trying to pit himself as an alternative to Captain Amarinder Singh? He should focus more on what is being and not being done in his own constituency rather than galloping off to Patiala, the constituency of Captain Singh.

If many people say that Captain Singh is growing old, then the ex-Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh led the country efficiently even at an advanced age, an Sidhu is probably showing the folly of youth. Punjab needs leaders who are cool, calm, composed and yet not afraid to take the lead, if the situation so demands.

I am keeping a keen eye on the news developments and in these times of social media boom, celebs image can fall down as quickly as they can be built. So people should be careful about each step in politics. They should aim at serving the public and not their image.

The Cryptocurrency Market

‘Cryptocurrency Is Innovative; Risky But Rewarding’

By LokMarg

An IT professional who started investing in cryptocurrency early this year reveals how the market operates and the risk it carries

I work in the IT Sector and have a fairly good understanding of how the cryptocurrency market works. I had kept an eye on the crypto market for several years but began actively investing only since April 2021. I needed time to get properly acquainted with the extremely volatile market.

Cryptocurrency can be described as totally unregulated digital tokens or coins, whose value often changes faster than you can pronounce the word cryptocurrency. It is not considered a legal tender and is definitely subject to market risks. These tokens exist on a widely distributed and decentralised digital ledger, known as Blockchain. Each different cryptocurrency has its own ledger or Blockchain.

Not only is the cryptocurrency highly volatile, it is also highly innovative and more and more players are joining the fray with each passing day. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency and other currencies in general are designed to keep government intervention and regulation at bay when it comes to finances.

The world seems divided between people who love cryptocurrencies and those who don’t. Governments across the world, including India, don’t encourage dealing in cryptocurrencies as those who don’t have a proper understanding of the market can be easily defrauded, since the market is an unregulated one.

Only a few days ago China’s regulators banned all cryptocurrency mining and trading, a move that sent Bitcoin (the most expensive) and other coins tumbling. Furious buying and selling is still going on and Chinese investors are scrambling to protect their digital assets. Many are saying that China is doing this because it wants no competition for the government-run digital currency in the pipeline – the digital Yuan.

ALSO READ: Bitcoin Nosedives After Chinese Crackdown

The most expensive digital coin in the world right now is Bitcoin that originated in Japan around 2008-09. 1 Bitcoin is equal to ₹31 lakh as of today morning. Compare this to the fact that $1 is equal to nearly ₹73 and you know how totally different the two markets can be. Other popular cryptocurrencies are Ethereum, USD-Tether, Dogecoin, Cardano, Ripple, Litecoin, Binance. Due to the Chinese crackdown Bitcoin fell to as low as $41,018.41, while altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies) saw an even deeper fall in value.

I have invested in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum primary, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Cardano, USD-Tether etc over the months. Overall you could say my cryptocurrency portfolio value (much like share portfolio in the stock market) has gone down in the past months due to volatility because of the Chinese crackdown. I haven’t suffered losses yet because I haven’t sold or traded my holdings, but their value has reduced drastically.

Most people do not have an understanding of how the crypto market works and they buy disproportionate amount of coins only to suffer losses; they have no idea that crypto coins can be bought in decimal units as well, known as ‘Token Decimals’. I had traded USD Tether (A US Dollar-based cryptocurrency) with Shiba Inu coins and the currency immediately crashed. Had I opened my trading window and sold off my holdings, I would have heard a huge amount that day, but I chose to play safe.

ALSO READ: Bitcoin – A Goldmine Or A Landmine?

The crypto trading and exchange works much like stock exchanges in real life and it is known as a Digital Exchange Platform (CEP) or Digital Currency Exchange (CCE). These software platforms are based on block chain. The top digital exchange platforms in the world are Binance.US, Coinbase, Crypto.com, Kraken, Gemini etc.

In India the main platforms are: Coin DCX, Wazir X (Indian Subsidiary of Binance Holdings),Coin Switch Kuber, Unocoin, Bit bns.

I would like Indians to try out the cryptocurrency market, though it is at a nascent stage here. Moreover, the financial sense of Indians is conservative and needs a little cleaning up too. We are too impatient and disparage a new financial model at the slightest hint of discomfort. I would say one should not only focus on making big bucks, but also be consistent with it.

The cryptocurrency market isn’t regulated by a SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) like body. Yet, the risk is totally worth it and with new players entering the market everyday, one can hope to make recovery fairly quickly. One should both thoroughly read about the market and know how to use one’s instincts when it comes to cryptocurrency. As they say in all financial disclaimers: investment is subject to market risk, read all scheme-related documents carefully.

As Told To Yog Maya Singh

(The identity of the narrator is kept undisclosed on request)

Muslims Continue to Suffer State Apathy

‘All Parties Same For Muslims, But No Riots Under Yogi’s Watch’

By LokMarg

Mohammad Saleem Riyazuddin, 40, director of Al-Barakaat Public School in Meerut, says while Muslims continue to suffer state apathy, Yogi can be credited with preventing any communal flare-up in last four and half years

There cannot be any comparison between the earlier governments and the current government as far as Muslims are concerned because they all are same. Muslims have always been treated as a vote machine by previous governments. The regime changes but the story remains the same.

As the Yogi Adityanath government completes 4.5 years, we can complement him for at least one achievement: that there has been no major communal riots across the state. In each such riots prior to 2017, Muslims were at the receiving end physically and financially. Apart from isolated incidents of attacks due to religious identity, the government has succeeded in preventing any communal flare-ups, thus saving many innocent lives.

Muslims are always used as a political tool in UP. Previous governments sought votes citing right wing fanatics but didn’t do much for the development of our community. In the current regime, the situation is no different. There is a lot to be done in the field of education, health and general well-being of the minority community across UP.

Yes, there is a sense of uneasiness due to the statements of the state and Centre government leaders. The writing is on the wall: decisions like the CAA and NRC were taken side-lining a particular community and every Muslim understands this. Apart from this fear, nothing on the ground has happened which can actually worry us.

ALSO READ: ‘Muslims In UP Are Uneasy With Yogi At Helm’

The financial health of Muslim community, which is largely involved in small and medium businesses, has been in shambles due to lockdowns, due to Covid-19. I run a small school where children mostly from the Muslim community study. They don’t have facilities to opt for online classes and their academics and our finances both badly suffered during pandemic times.

Those running big schools can survive with online classes, but here, the parents of the students don’t have such facility due to their poor financial backgrounds. The governments must understand this. The situation of the community has remained the same as it was in the previous governments apart for the sense of fear which the right wing people spread, nothing much has changed in last 4.5 years.

The community also needs to understand the current political scenario and stop being just a vote bank. We shall focus on development and future of our children rather than being a political tool for certain political parties. The children need good education; the Muslim localities need better healthcare unit, hygiene and infrastructural development. The poll promises are forgotten after a government comes to power.

Having said that, the only solace in Yogi rule is that no communal riots took place, even though a sense of insecurity remains. Currently, survival in post-Covid times is the main concern in the community. Many businesses have shut. Many students have stopped going to school to help their families. We would want the governments to focus on this.

Dalits Political Representation

‘Dalit Representation In Politics Will Bring Social Change’

By LokMarg

Swarn Singh, 47, a Ramdasia Sikh farmer in Ropar, Punjab, says the appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister will help alleviate discrimination faced by lower castes in the state

Punjab has the highest Dalit population among all the states in the country. Therefore, the fact that Charanjit Singh Channi was chosen as the Chief Minister means so much more than a symbolic appointment. Even though it came as a surprise, I feel Channi’s appointment will bring about major changes to the mindscape of Punjab.

It was a Dalit, Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who gave us the Constitution, and it is sad that Dalits have remained at the bottom of the pyramid, because they have little political representation. We are Ramdasia Sikhs and wanted to share that one of the biggest Dalit leaders Kanshi Ram Ji was a clean-shaven Ramdasia Sikh and he gave a strong voice to the Dalit identity.

Over the years Dalits have also begun to understand the importance of being interested in politics. We keep an eye on the news and ensure that we are not caught unawares. When the SC/ST Atrocities Act was amended in 2018, it felt like a watering down, a dilution of the overt and covert discriminations against Dalits.

However, later it was reversed the same year, and again in 2020 some changes were made. In a 2020 judgement, a three-judge bench observed that all insults or intimidations to a person will not be an offence under the Act unless such insult or intimidation is on account of victim belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

Swarn Singh says appointment of Charanjit Singh Channi (right) as Punjab CM brings hope to Dalits in the state

Channi Ji is a very educated man and I believe his ways will be different than many other leaders. And I believe his appointment will make Dalits more assertive over issues such as laws or directives that concern us. I would call it a strategic step in these times, as farmers everywhere and particularly in Punjab are restless and hopeful for their voices to be heard. You must realise that one’s caste matters when it comes to how much land one holds. Thus, the current CM’s appointment might bring major changes into people’s lives. I hope he will uphold the values and principles laid down by Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

Even though Gurudwaras are considered open to all, because the Gurus talked about everyone being equal in Sikhism, there is a subtle discrimination which prevails at the holy places too. One doesn’t feel fully accepted when a devotee is seen through the lens of caste. I myself haven’t faced overt discrimination, but I have seen others face it. Sikhism says: Sab Manas ek jaat, but people still discriminate because of deep-rooted, subconscious social prejudices. I hope that will change too.

ALSO READ: ‘Dalits Face Caste Bigotry Early In Life’

I am a farmer and live in a joint family of 25 members. So far we have been holding out fine with the land we own and the business my brother runs. But with the new farm laws we don’t know what the future holds for us. At such a time we are hopeful that Channi Ji’s appointment will safeguard our social and financial interests.

The pandemic has done a lot to remove discrimination, I would say. People have begun seeing other people as humans and not just as someone belonging to a particular caste or religion. It is a good change that has happened, the coming together of people’s hearts and the falling away of prejudices, even if only a little. However, it is sad that many people lost their lives to the virus. But I hope Channi Ji will ensure that love and brotherhood gets strengthened in these times and will work hard towards social equality.

Muslims Under Yogi Adityanath Rule

‘Muslims In UP Are Ill At Ease With Yogi At The Helm’

By LokMarg

Mohammad Afsar Saifi, 29, a welding and fabricating business owner at Pilakhuwa (Hapur, Uttar Pradesh) says there is palpable uneasiness among Muslims under Yogi Adityanath rule

There was an uneasy calm when we first heard in March 2017 that the BJP has chosen Mahant Yogi Adityanath to be the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He had made fiery speeches in the past and hence the minority community was generally apprehensive.

In the last four and a half years of his rule, the same sense of fear, uneasiness and the risk of a communal flare up has constantly been there, even though there has never been any untoward incident in my locality. I feel it is his duty as the chief minister to work towards allaying this fear.

I am a fabricator. My earnings have improved over the last four years, despite a breakdown of business during Covid-19 lockdown for several months. But financial wellbeing has not lessened out anxiety about our safety. As elections are drawing near, members of my extended family and community are afraid of what will happen if Yogi is re-elected as the state chief minister.

I personally don’t think much about it as I am the one who goes out and face the world to earn bread for my family and so far I have not faced any single case of discrimination which my community people have been thinking.

Yet, my family members cannot vote for him as the perception still reigns among our minds that he is a Hindu hardliner. Largely, this idea is being used as a political tool also in both the communities. Polarisation of votes on communal lines suit all politicians. Yogi’s detractor will naturally fuel our fear factor to gain Muslim support and organize votes against him.

ALSO READ: ‘Misinformation On NRC Is Rife, Muslims Are Scared’

Many people talk about an improvement in the crime situation under his rule and that the mafia lords have been tamed. But, frankly, to someone like me who is from an economically weaker section, I cannot feel any difference as far as the law and order is concerned.

There are certain apprehensions which are still in our mind about the image of the chief minister. Apart from whatever happened during CAA-NRC protest and other isolated incidents, we feel there is a lack of inclusiveness as our community is largely missing from the policy brought in by the Yogi government. Sometimes we feel left out, but at the same time, we think that we have spent last 4.5 years in the same apprehension when nothing untoward actually happened.

‘School Environment Provides Children A Holistic Learning’

By LokMarg

Bengaluru-based Arpana Tripathi, 45, is happy about reopening of schools for her daughter. She narrates her reasons for allowing her daughter to go back to school

On September 2nd, we got a communication from my daughter’s school that they have received guidelines from the government and would be reopening for offline classes as well. We didn’t need to think twice about it. My 16-year-old daughter Aarshia who is in Grade 12th was excited to go back to school.

It has been both frustrating and exhausting more mentally than physically for the schoolchildren to be at home for so long now. And if I talk about senior students like my daughter, it is worse for them as they don’t get any breather from studies with online classes at home. It leads to a saturation point for them. My daughter has missed some precious time the past one and half year. The isolation that they faced due to lockdown and being at home due to the pandemic has been horrible.

Be it a primary student or a secondary student, school plays an important role in a student’s life and there is nothing that can compensate for that school time.

Tripathi says her daughter Aarshia (left) is excited about rejoining school

Yes, these are unprecedented times and no one could help so we had to follow the rules laid down by the government to fight the pandemic. No doubt that online classes came as a blessing in these times but at home the kids will only learn what their parents want them to while in school they get to live and learn life on their own, being exposed to various thought processes of the teachers and fellow students.

Social interactions help them in their learning process and inter-personal skills. I see my daughter any day more energetic and happy to be going to school. There is a routine, she looks forward to another day at school unlike the lockdown days and online classes at home when she would be lethargic and saturated. For their holistic well-being and development, they need to return to school as soon as possible. I fully support the government’s decision to reopen school for senior students. It is such a breather for my daughter.

ALSO READ: ‘Won’t Send My Kid To School Till He Is Vaccinated’

I know the kids are yet to be vaccinated but it has been almost two years that we have been fighting Covid-19 and the senior schoolchildren are well aware of the Covid-appropriate behaviour. In fact of what I see, children seem to be more particular in following Covid-19 protocols than the adults.

Besides, the school has made arrangements for social distancing. The students are required to wear two masks, there will be a separate bench for each student, and they have been asked not to share their food or water with classmates. They also sanitise the classrooms on a regular basis.

And to think of it, even if I chose to not send my daughter to school, would that guarantee me zero-risk for her for Covid -19? So not sending them to school is not the solution. School and parents together have to collaborate and make efforts for a safe return of students to school.

I so hope that the third wave doesn’t hit us. For, that will pave the way for students get back to their normal school life.

As Told To Mamta Sharma

A Food-Tech Startup Amid Pandemic

‘As A Food Startup, My Goal Lies In A Hunger-Free India’

By LokMarg

Sakshi Guha, 34, founder and owner of Bengali Love Café, Gurgaon, who has been nominated as a ‘Covid-19 Soldier’ shares her story and her objectives

Mine is a Slumdog millionaire story: A girl who came out of a humble household, founded a food-tech startup amid pandemic, with zero financial support from anyone, and made a fortune big enough to support many other unlettered women. Today, Bengali Love Café, my one-year-old venture, distributes free meals to the less privileged, gives out educational kits to poor students, holds tree plantation campaigns and trains women in business skills.

I came to Gurgaon from Muzaffarnagar, a small town, for work and better opportunities. When I lost my job during raging Covid-19, I decided to start my own business set up. I noticed during those tough times that even well-to-do families were hard put in arranging meals; restaurants had shut shop, housemaids had left to their native places, and the disease caused fatigue.

Hence I along with my mother, Deepa Guha, started a tiffin service by distributing leaflets in and around our locality in the hope of getting customers for our service. It was a bona fide startup. We took money from those who could afford and provided free meals to those who could not.

There were all types of meals, of course it included traditional Bengali food, and several interesting options different from the regular fare. The food was freshly cooked, and delivered to the doorsteps of our patrons.

To save costs, we grew fresh and chemical-free vegetables at our own kitchen garden. All spices used for cooking are also home made by our women team members. This helped us maintain hygiene as well as keep them cost effective. We promoted zero-food-waste policy and decided to donate the extra food to the needy.

Guha with her mother (left) and other team members of Bengal Love Cafe

As business grew, we found pleasure in serving the isolated people, families of Covid patients, PG (paying guest) students, youth workers, corporate employees and senior citizens. Our good intentions clicked. We made enough profits to set off a bigger objective: a hunger-free future.

As per recent update, about 194 million people in India today do not have enough food to eat, the largest number in the world. According to the Global Hunger Index 2020, India falls under the ‘serious’ hunger category with a rank of 94 among 107 countries. These statistics do not take into account the effects of Covid-19. The resultant migration, unemployment and loss of earning members of households has pushed millions of Indians into extreme poverty and hunger.

ALSO READ: ‘How I Turned The (Dining) Table On Lockdown’

We believe that satisfying hunger is not an issue of charity. It’s a matter of justice. It is our true attempt to liberate ourselves as a community. We launched a Feed India, one-time meal, campaign under Bengali Love Cafe Foundation. We are glad to share we have being able to help more than 30,000 people across India so far. Though this is just a beginning. People from different cities are joining our campaign through social media channels and promoting the same.

Focus is around taking action against hunger by kindling the spirit of fulfilment through giving while reducing wastage of food. As we all know in food tech business majority of food get wastage daily either by walking customer or by staff but we manage to minimize it to zero wastage.

As Told To Mamta Sharma

Attend Kisan Mahapanchayat

‘Mahapanchayat Has Revived The Farmers Movement’

By LokMarg

Kuldeep Singh Khalsa, 32, who travelled from Tikri Border to Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh to attend Kisan Mahapanchayat, says this is a do-or-die battle for protesting farmers

When we received the call to attend the Kisan Mahapanchayat at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh on September 5, we didn’t waste a single moment. We moved straight from Tikri Border (where we had been protesting till then) to the Mahapanchayat site. We were a group of 20 people who went to participate in the important Mahapanchayat and we lend our full support to the cause as well as the kisan leader Rakesh Tikait Saheb.

The place was full of protestors and not even a single patch of the ground at the protest site (Government Inter College Ground) was unoccupied. People kept pouring in with each passing hour. The Mahapanchayat was organised smoothly and there was no inconvenience to us for the days we were there.

Our spirits have been revived and attendance in such huge numbers has given the movement a fresh shot in the arm. It shows that the protest isn’t going to die down anytime soon until a concrete solution is offered by the government.

We have zero faith in the current government and the corporate entities it is seemingly supporting. If corporates get into farming, we will turn into gulams all over again. The very fabric of our country will be torn, for people without land are people without identities. The farmers don’t have the means or resources to fight these corporates. As individuals, farmers are powerless but collectively we can be a force to reckon with. Which is why such a huge number of farmers with landholdings big and small attended the Mahapanchayat.

Khalsa says corporates have little knowledge of farm procedures or crop cycles

Tikait Saheb has taken a vow that he will not enter his house until our demands are fully met. Such leadership gives us the motivation to carry on. It is this trust that was evident at the Mahapanchayat. The atmosphere was one of hope and faith that the tide would turn fully in our favour soon. There were farmers from various nooks and corners of the country at the meet, including female protesters. For, this time it is aar ya paar ki ladai (do-or-die battle).

It has been nearly one year since we started protesting and even though the ministers say that there have been multiple rounds of meeting with farmer leaders, those meetings had little substance. Forget MSP, even farm loan waivers haven’t been worked upon. The pandemic has already made our condition worse. If we don’t give this fight all we have, we could be at the mercy of such corporates who have no idea of farming procedures or crop cycles.

ALSO READ: Solution To Farm Crisis Lies With Canada Sikh MPs

This time it is not only the elders who are fighting, even children of farmers and other youngsters are taking extra initiative, be it then amplifying the cause through their social media handles or volunteering in any capacity.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has given a call for nationwide bandh on September 27 and we fully support it. Just how many voices will the government ignore? The government should show genuine interest to solve the problem otherwise elections are right down the corner. The vote speaks louder than words. In my opinion, forget six months (to the Assembly elections), if the jazba (spirit) is right and the cause just, then even one month is enough to take on the matter politically.

Sikh Refugees To India

‘Evacuation Of The Stranded Is ‘Sewa’, My Religious Duty’

By LokMarg

Padma Shri Vikramjit Singh Sahney, president of World Punjabi Organisation, was instrumental in evacuating hundreds of Sikhs and Hindus from trouble-torn Afghanistan over last one year. He reveals his inspiration to LokMarg

It is the religious duty of every Sikh to help those in distress. Saving a life is considered Sewa, or selfless service, which is a way of life for the Sikh as commended by the Divine. I consider it my fortune to be given a chance to perform Sewa for my brethren in Afghanistan.

Our mission first began on March 25, 2020, when a bomb blast at Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib in Kabul killed over 30 of our Hindu and Sikh brothers. The incident created a frightening environment. A few of our community members discussed the situation and decided that we must evacuate our people from the war-ravaged zone.

The challenges were many. Foremost, there were no flights operational due to the raging Covid-19 pandemic and the shutdown. Second, coordinating with people stranded in Kabul or other parts of Afghanistan was another major hurdle as the administrative network there was stretched due to violent environment.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and World Punjabi Organisation coordinated with the Indian embassy in Kabul and Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi to establish communication with the stranded and our evacuation plan. We then arranged and sent three Spice Jet chartered flights to bring Afghan Sikh and Hindu families to New Delhi.

The evacuees from Afghanistan reach New Delhi with Vikramjit S Sahney (inset)

We managed to evacuate around 500 families from Afghanistan who were granted long-term visa. Since all the Gurdwaras were closing down in Afghanistan, we also got 12 Pavan Saroops, physical copies of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib, to India.

This experience came handy when on August 15, Kabul was taken over by Taliban forces and largescale exodus from the country began. We again got together for a redux of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.

We are keeping a close watch on the situation in Afghanistan and have prepared a list of families stranded there in Gurdwaras. Meanwhile, 180 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus returned to their respective homes in Jalalabad, Gahzni and Kabul and a few of them are in Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul. They had a narrow escape from the bomb blast that happened last fortnight at Kabul airport and we subsequently advised them to return to Gurdwara.

ALSO READ: ‘We Were Told To Embrace Islam, Insulted’

When the Kabul airport reopens, we will try and ensure we get them to India as soon as possible. We are in touch with MEA and remaining Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan and evacuation plan is being chalked out in next 10 days. MEA officials in Delhi and Doha have got assurance from Taliban leader for safe evacuation of these families.

I must add here that our work does not stop at evacuation alone. Rehabilitation of these families begins soon after the evacuation under our “My Family, My Responsibility” programme in West Delhi. The evacuees were provided houses, household expenses, health insurance and enrolled in a skill centre.

Free skilling services have been extended to all Afghan Muslim refugees as well in the wake of recent protest by Afghan refugees seeking jobs and means to livelihoods. The World Punjabi Organisation and Sun Foundation remain committed to save lives for all Afghan refugees irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. I pray to Waheguru that we are successful in evacuating more of such families and subsequently rehabilitating them to earn a dignified life.

As Told To Mamta Sharma

‘LGBTQ Pride Continues To Grapple With Prejudice’

By LokMarg

Harpreet Singh, 46, a literary editor from Mumbai, says LGBTQIA+ relationships continue to be judged by same old yardstick, in spite of getting legal sanction three years back

The word ‘pride’ is often associated with the LGBTQIA+ community. Perhaps we should also add ‘prejudice’ to the mix. The LGBTQIA+ community finds itself constantly moving between ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (of feeling pride one moment and fighting prejudice the next) and not really feeling settled. One must have thought that the 2018 verdict decriminalising homosexuality (annulment of Section 377) might have given the LGBTQIA+ community wings and the sky, but people are still prejudiced against us more than three years later, even though the judiciary tells us that there is no rhyme or reason for doing so.

Until and unless we become part of mainstream, until the legal judgement seeps into the social ethos, we cannot truly say that change has arrived. We continue to be othered and bothered, misunderstood and silenced by the majority of people. There is no sense of belongingness and we feel secluded, kept away and marginalised.

LGBTQIA+ people rarely feel completely safe and free to love. Barack Obama brought in the legislation for same-sex marriage in the most progressive country in the world and Trump weakened its provisions. At home, in 2009, a Delhi High Court bench gave a verdict in our favour, which was overturned in 2013. So you never know which way the wind would blow the next moment as far as one’s sexuality and thus one’s life is concerned.

Many moods of Harpreet Singh

There is no solid ground on which we can stand and examine our identity, our feelings and emotions even 3 years later. The power is always in someone else’s hands. In case of same-sex couples, it is still the next of kin rather than the partner who can make important decisions when it comes to matters of life and death (say someone wanting to be taken off life support as a last wish).

Love can never be unnatural, and while we are on the topic of nature, I would say climate change issues are a reflection of our othering of nature. We take her for granted, much like we take people with different sexual orientations, identities and interests for granted. Sex education and conversations around sex have still not been given due importance, while our population proliferates. Dialogue is necessary between different sections of society if we want to go further than token change.

I am an optimist and love celebrating small changes, which might become big over time. At least those aware of their rights in big cities can no longer be mistreated by cops. The social media explosion in the past 3-4 years has meant that many people from the LGBTQIA+ community have found a voice, a social support structure (even if only virtual) and a small scope for discussion in a civil manner.

Around a decade ago, one had Dostana, a neither here nor there film on homosexuality, but now we have Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan which knows what it is talking about and doesn’t do so in hushed tones. That, to me, is change. To me Axis Bank introducing joint account for same-sex couples is also a win.

Whenever new people come in contact with us, they see our sexual orientation first and our hearts and values later. Shouldn’t it be the other way round? Or maybe it should not even matter. How we express our love to our beloved in private is our personal matter.

My family is one of the most liberal families you will come across. It is full of inter-cultural marriages. My dad, a Sikh, married my mother who is a Parsi, and yet he couldn’t not understand my idea of love. I came out at 16 to my mom and at 19 to my family. I was beaten every day by my father since I was 13 and till I turned 17. Our relationship remained fractured till his death in 2018. I was lucky however that my mother stood rock solid behind me and even took part in many a pride marches.

Love for your partner, family, society, country and world at large needs a series of adaptive actions and compromises from everyone. I am a man of love and I can see beyond gender, skin colour, caste, religion, nationality etc. and straight to the heart of a person. Hope someday the community will also be seen for their hearts rather than just their bodies. My best friend is a woman named Poonam who loves me unconditionally and truly sees me for who I am. Soon there will be more and more Poonams… I continue to hope.

As Told To Yog Maya Singh