tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22028674563156733852024-03-14T01:01:10.910-07:00deshi senseA blog mainly about India and politicsFarzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-28338294009219159622019-12-17T09:49:00.000-08:002019-12-17T09:49:22.996-08:00Have we learned to protest again?The past few days have seen the most widespread and energised mass protests since the fascists came to power in 2014. And it hasn't been a great few years. People <a href="https://thewire.in/government/demonetisation-deaths-modi-government" target="_blank">died in bank queues</a> and trillions were wiped off the economy by the great masterstroke of demonetisation, but there were no large scale protests. There was anger and sympathy when <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/Kashmir" target="_blank">Kashmiris were suddenly demoted to fourth class citizens</a>, but that too didn't translate into large demonstrations across the country. The Citizenship Amendment Act, however, seemed to break a spell.
<br><br>Students have been particularly courageous in protesting this Act, facing violence and demonisation, and demolishing the notion that India's youth have all been numbed to idiocy by years of relentless and repetitive propaganda. The scale of the protests have clearly taken the government by surprise. In Orwellian style, hate-monger-in-chief appealed to people <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dont-let-vested-interests-divide-society-says-modi/article30323233.ece?homepage=true" target="_blank">not to let "vested interests" divide society</a>. "Vested interests" presumably refers to young people some of whom wear vests. (Some also took off their vests.) And "society" presumably refers to the NDA, some of whose junior members <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sads-sukhbir-badal-says-want-muslims-under-citizenship-laws-purview-2149771" target="_blank">are starting to feel a little awkward</a>.
<br><br>The appeal for unity came hard on the heels of one of those wry, clever little claims he likes to make now and again: <a href="https://thewire.in/communalism/narendra-modi-citizenship-amendment-act-protests-clothes" target="_blank">"<i>those lighting the fire can be identified by their clothes</i>"</a>. Gone are the days of <a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/scars-of-memory/article9749694.ece" target="_blank">"<i>Hum Paanch, Hamare pachchees</i>"</a>. Being the dignified statesman he is now, he only whistles to his dogs these days when he is feeling a bit nervy and needs a bit of Bhakt-love. So this particular whistle adds to the sense that the protests took him and Chanakya a.k.a. Motabhai by surprise. For any dogs hard of hearing, others translated the whistle into images, sharing doctored or decontextualised videos of Muslims and violence. (Yes, he was talking about Muslims of course - didn't you get it?) <a href="https://www.altnews.in/unrelated-video-from-2017-shared-amidst-caa-protests-with-a-communal-spin/" target="_blank">European neo-nazis</a> who despise Asians but apparently adore Modi jumped on the bandwagon, retweeting and amplifying the message.
<br><br>In the midst of this mayhem, India's one incorruptible institution, the Supreme Court, came to the rescue of democracy, addressing the demonstrating students who had been subjected to unprovoked police violence. <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/dec/16/if-you-want-to-take-to-streets-then-dont-come-to-us-cji-bobde-to-students-2076926.html" target="_blank"><i>If you take to the streets, don't come running to me</i></a>, the Chief Justice of India wagged his finger. The law is for good girls and boys.
<br><br>So what do we learn from all of this? That you have to be brave and resourceful and rely on each other. All the institutions in the land are not going to save you right now. But if you are together you might just save the institutions. And us all.Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-59323002541324293832019-11-20T23:12:00.000-08:002019-11-20T23:12:39.406-08:00Is the Narendra Modi government the most corrupt in India's history?To answer this question we first need to define "corruption". Definitions of corruption can be more or less broad. The Merriam-Webster defintion is perhaps the broadest: "<i>dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people</i>"<sup>[<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corruption">1</a>]</sup>. Wikipedia adds some detail: "<i>corruption is a form of dishonesty or criminal activity undertaken by a person or organization entrusted with a position of authority, often to acquire illicit benefit, or, abuse of entrusted power for one's private gain</i>."<sup>[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption">2</a>]</sup> The notions of dishonesty and abuse of power for gain are common to most definitions. Although bribery is sometimes mentioned, the definitions do not insist that the gain must be financial. Thus, most people would agree that gaining political power, status, or sexual favours through dishonest means involving the abuse of power is corruption. While some definitions include the phrase "private gain", this seems mainly to clarify that the benefits of the dishonest practices do not come to the public at large.
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Creating a climate where abuses of power can go unpunished has been central to the Modi government's programme. Necessary for corruption to flourish are measures to reduce transparency, diminish accountability, and weaken institutions which could otherwise provide checks and balances against abuses of power.
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Let's begin with transparency. Key to the government's drive against transparency is the availability of information and data. Statistics about politically sensitive and important issues such as violence against minorities and lynchings, animal welfare, crime, rural distress, and the economy are suppressed or tampered with<sup>[<a href="https://www.newsclick.in/NSSO-DATA-Lynching-NCRB-Stray-Cattle-Livestock-Census">3</a>, <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/where-data-crimes-and-farmer-suicides-2016-tamil-nadu-mp-asks-centre-105179">4</a>, <a href="https://thewire.in/economy/108-economists-social-scientists-raise-red-flags-over-interference-in-data-estimation">5</a>]</sup>. When it comes to the economy, the government does not hesitate to lie about numbers in parliament<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/government/budget-2019-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-taxes">6</a>]</sup>. While misleading the public and denying us information, the government is also busy obstructing people's right to information (RTI), making the uncovering of abuses ever more difficult<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/government/the-right-to-information-is-dead-here-is-its-obituary">7</a>]</sup> and dishonouring India's RTI martyrs, people who have been killed seeking to unmask abuses by the powerful<sup>[<a href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/defanging-rti-step-step">8</a>]</sup>. By weakening the right to information, it seems the Modi government is desperate to ensure that the only information available to the public is what is released by its own propaganda machine and fed to a largely pliant media.
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Remaining on the theme of transparency, consider the question of political funding, key to understanding the forces at play behind political decisions. The BJP government introduced a widely criticised system of electoral bonds, effectively annihilating all hope of transparency in political party funding<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/political-economy/lok-sabha-polls-electoral-bonds">9</a>]</sup>. The BJP receives the vast bulk of electoral bond money, but we'll never find out from whom, and what these "donors" receive in return. While the very cosy relationship between the Narendra Modi government and certain big business houses is well known, the detail and scale of these transactions become harder to probe.
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Lying and hiding information for political advantage are much easier if the supposedly independent institutions of democracy - investigative agencies, the judiciary, the media, educational institutions, the election commission, institutions charged with producing statistics - are all greatly compromised or weakened. And this is a key part of the Modi government's agenda. <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/institutions">News items under the heading "institutions" on this site</a> illustrate the great variety of ways in which the institutions of democracy have been attacked by Narendra Modi's government. These include restructuring or dissolving institutions, passing laws which reduce their powers or bring them under the control of the central government, packing them with corrupted or pliant individuals close to the ruling party, and harassing dissenting voices within institutions. This last theme of <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/institutions">attacking dissenters was the subject of a previous post</a>. A few instances were highlighted where threats and misuse of the law were used to make the lives of those who investigate or criticise the government miserable. Apart from deterring protest, the goal is surely also to reduce the likelihood of corruption and other abuses being exposed. A recent - and very serious - example of an attack on dissent involves the snooping on rights activists and critics of the state using a WhatsApp vulnerability<sup>[<a href="https://sabrangindia.in/article/who-benefits-question-nobodys-asking-whatsapp-hacking-case">10</a>]</sup>.
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In an environment where access to information is restricted and the media is fearful or compromised, propaganda goes unchecked. Corruption in the sense of "dishonesty for political gain" becomes rife. The government raises slogans about women's empowerment, while it welcomes supporters of sexual violence<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/politics/adityanath-govt-withdraws-rape-case-against-former-minister-chinmayanand">11</a>, <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kathua-rape-case-2-bjp-ministers-attend-rally-in-support-of-accused-1181788-2018-03-04">12</a>, <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/bjp-mp-sakshi-maharaj-thanks-unnao-rape-accused-mla-after-election-win">13</a>]</sup>. It makes noisy speeches about terrorism, while working hard to get its favoured terrorists off the hook<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/law/i-am-waiting-for-the-right-moment-to-strike-i-will-speak-up-rohini-salian">14</a>]</sup>. It even found space in parliament for an individual facing serious terrorism charges, an unparalleled moment in politics<sup>[<a href="https://thewire.in/communalism/pragya-singh-thakur-digvijaya-singh-bhopal-election">15</a>]</sup>. Narendra Modi repeats in several languages to an NRI audience that "<i>everything is fine</i>" in India<sup>[<a href="https://scroll.in/latest/938158/howdy-modi-pm-to-address-indian-diaspora-soon-crowd-line-up-outside-houston-stadium">16</a>]</sup>, either not knowing or not caring that every other child in the country is malnourished<sup>[<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/telling-numbers-half-of-indias-children-suffer-from-malnutrition-unicef-6072500/">17</a>]</sup>. Fawning supporters are impressed, forgetting that a lie in eight languages is still a lie.
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Yes, it is true that the political class has always been corrupt, using its power for financial gain and giving handouts to its cronies. This has continued under this government. The major names and incidents associated with this kind of corruption in Modi's India are well known. There are plenty of details in pieces on our news pages about <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/corruption">corruption</a> and <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/crony_capitalism">crony capitalism</a>. We haven't focussed on this kind of financial corruption and cronyism in this piece because, although they are important, they are a continuation and escalation of past tradition, not a break with it. However, when it comes to corrupting the very frameworks of democracy, naked abuse of power for political gain, the crushing of democratic institutions, and attacks on all dissenting voices, the actions of this government are unprecedented.
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Is Narendra Modi's government the most corrupt in India's history? The answer seems self-evident.
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[This post first appeared on <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/is_the_Narendra_Modi_government_the_most_corrupt">Narendra Modi Facts</a>. A version of this post is available <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/hi/Modi_government_most_corrupt_in_history">in Hindi</a>.]
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-29917700009481222192019-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:002019-11-12T09:20:05.966-08:00क्या मोदी सरकार देश के इतिहास में सब से भ्रष्ट सरकार है?इस सवाल का जवाब देने से पहले हमें पूछना पड़ेगा: भ्रष्टाचार आखिर है क्या? "भ्रष्टाचार" शब्द की कई परिभाषाएँ मिलती हैं, पर सब के लगबग एक ही अर्थ है. विकिपीड़ीया के अनुसार<sup>[<a href="https://hi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AD%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9F%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0_(%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A3)">1</a>]</sup> भ्रष्टाचार "<i>सत्ता होने वाले लोगों के द्वारा बेईमान या धोखाधड़ी का आचरण</i>" है. मतलब अगर सत्ताधारी लोग कोई फ़ायदे के लिए सत्ता का दुरुपयोग करे तो इसे हम भ्रष्टाचार कह सकते हैं. गौरतलब है कि यह फ़ायदा आर्थिक हो सकता है, सियासी हो सकता है, लैंगिक भी हो सकता है. अगर कोई विचारधारा फैलाकर अपना प्रभाव बढ़ाना सत्ता का मकसद है, और वह इस विचारधारा को बेईमानी और झूठ का इस्तेमाल करके फैलाता है, तो इसे हम भ्रष्टाचार ही मान सकते हैं. <br><br>
मोदी सरकार अपने फ़ायदे के लिए बेईमानी करने में माहिर है. उदाहरण इतने हैं कि उनमें से चुनना मुश्किल हो
जाता है. <br><br>
आम जनता तक सूचना और तथ्य पहुँचने ही नहीं चाहिए. सामूहिक हिंसा (लिंचिंग) जैसे महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दों के आंकड़ों को दबा देती है यह सरकार<sup>[<a href="https://hindi.newsclick.in/NSSO-DATA-Lynching-NCRB-Stray-Cattle-Livestock-Census">2</a>]</sup>. आर्थिक आंकड़ों के साथ भी खेल खेलती है<sup>[<a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/04/29/economy-indian-sample-survey-office-employment-gdp-bjp">3</a>]</sup> - अर्थव्यवस्था के बारे में संसद में झूठ बोलने से हिचकिचाती नहीं<sup>[<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/prime-time/report-on-difference-between-revenue-and-expenditure-in-budget-2019-521190">4</a>]</sup>. इसके साथ ही नागरिकों से सूचना का अधिकार छीनने में लगी है<sup>[<a href="https://newslaundry.com/2019/07/20/modi-government-is-trying-to-kill-rti-law">5</a>]</sup>. बस उनके <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqr3aQ4XcDI&t=6">प्रचार प्रसार तंत्र</a> द्वारा फैलायी गई झूठी खबरें लोगों तक पहुँचनी चाहिए.
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सूचना की बात करें तो एक प्रकार की सूचना लोकतंत्र में बहुत ही अहम है: सरकार को कौन पैसे दे रहा है? इस सवाल का जवाब छिपाने के लिए सरकार ने एक अच्छा तरीका निकाला: <i>चुनावी बॉन्ड</i><sup>[<a href="http://thewirehindi.com/100087/lok-sabha-polls-electoral-bonds-adr/">6</a>]</sup>. कौन क्या देता है और बदले में क्या मिलता है, यह अब छिपाया जा सकता है. जनता ना पूछे, “किसका प्रतिनिधित्व कर रही है यह सरकार? किसकी सरकार है यह?”
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लोकतंत्र को कमज़ोर करने में लगी हुई है यह सरकार. देश के हर संस्थान में दखल देती है - चुनाव आयोग, मानवाधिकार संस्थाएँ, विश्वविद्यालय, मीडिया, आंकड़े जमा करने वाली संस्थाएँ, सीबीआई, न्यायपालिका, प्रशासनिक सेवा<sup>[<a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/hi/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8">7</a>]</sup>... प्रतिरोध की आवाज़ों को कुचलने में भी व्यस्त है - चाहे कानून के दुरुपयोग से, हिंसा से, या धमकी से<sup>[<a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/hi/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7_%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9C_%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B_%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%AC%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE">8</a>]</sup>. और अब मालूम पड़ रहा है कि स्पाइवेयर का इस्तेमाल करके सरकार के विरोधियों की जासूसी हो रही है<sup>[<a href="https://hindi.newsclick.in/WhatsApp-Snooping-Pegasus-Hacking-Bhima-Koregaon-Indian-Government">9</a>]</sup>.
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बेईमान सरकार कहती कुछ है, करती कुछ और है. नारे लगाने में अव्वल है. बेटी बचाओ का नारा लगाती है, साथ में बलात्कारियों के समर्थन में सड़कों पर उतर आती है<sup>[<a href="https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-48615326">10</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/hindi/india-48534999">11</a>, <a href="http://thewirehindi.com/39671/yogi-govt-decides-to-withdraw-rape-case-against-former-minister-swami-chinmayananda/">12</a>]</sup>. आतंकवाद के खिलाफ नारेबाजी और आतंकवादियों को बचाने के लिए कड़ी मेहनत<sup>[<a href="https://www.jansatta.com/national/rohini-salian-special-public-prosecutor-since-this-new-govt-came-i-have-been-told-to-go-soft-on-accused-hindu-extremists/30274/">13</a>]</sup>
- आतंकवाद के अभियुक्त के लिए संसद में भी जगह बनाई सरकार ने<sup>[<a href="http://thewirehindi.com/82769/loksabha-elections-results-2019-bhopal-digvijaya-singh-sadhvi-pragya-leads-by-30000-votes/">14</a>]</sup>. अमरीका जाकर एनआरआई भक्तों के सम्मेलन से मोदी कहता है, "<i>भारत में सब अच्छा है</i>"<sup>[<a href="https://hindi.newsclick.in/baica-bahasa-bhaarata-maen-saba-acachaa-nahain-haai-maodai-jai">15</a>]</sup>. जबकि भारत का हर दूसरा बच्चा कुपोषण का शिकार है<sup>[<a href="https://www.jansatta.com/editorial/jansatta-editorial-sampadakiye-column-on-malnourished-development/1190055/">16</a>]</sup>. शायद एक झूठ को अलग-अलग भाषाओं में दोहराने से वह सच हो जाता है.
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हाँ, सच है कि देश का राजनीतिक वर्ग हमेशा से अपने निजी फ़ायदे के लिए - खासकर आर्थिक फ़ायदे के लिए - सत्ता का दुरुपयोग करता आ रहा है. रिश्वत लेना और देना, धन-संपत्ति बेईमानी से जमा करना, अपने दोस्तों के हित में काम करना - ये सब तो दशकों से हो रहा है. और मोदी शासन में भी लगातार होता रहा है - किसी व्यक्ति का नाम लेना ज़रूरी नहीं है - आप तो इन्हें जानते हैं - बड़े बड़े पद पर बैठे हैं. पर मोदी सरकार की बेईमानी और सत्ता के दुरुपयोग की कोई सीमा नज़र नहीं आती है. जिस तरह नागरिकों के साथ यह सरकार लगातार धोका-धड़ी करती आ रही है, वह अभूतपूर्व है. आप खुद फ़ैसला कीजिए - क्या मोदी सरकार भारत के इतिहास में सब से भ्रष्ट सरकार है?
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[<a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/hi/Modi_government_most_corrupt_in_history">यह पोस्ट पहला नरेंद्र मोदी फ़ैक्ट्स पर प्रकाशित हुआ</a>. आपको पसंद आया तो शेयर कीजिए.]
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-21438887794364018032019-11-09T22:41:00.000-08:002019-11-09T22:56:40.388-08:00Punishing dissent in Modi's IndiaHere are a few recent instances of people being punished for speaking truth to power. Or just doing their jobs. There are, of course, many many more examples like this.
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<b>Government employees... beware of speaking up! (Or even just doing your job.)</b>
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Tripura government doctor, Kaushik Chakraborty, was suspended for some social media posts about Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb. Among other things, Dr. Chakraborty tweeted, addressing Deb: "<i>there is no Nobel Prize for speaking nonsense!</i>"<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/rights/tripura-govt-suspends-doctor-for-social-media-posts-questioning-chief-minister">[The Wire]</a></sup> If there were such a prize then Deb, who claims there was internet in the days of the Mahabharata, would be a strong contender.<sup><a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/from-tagore-s-nobel-to-mahabharata-7-gaffes-by-tripura-cm-biplab-deb-118051100342_1.html">[Business Standard]</a></sup> But the competition for the nonsense Nobel Prize would be stiff: union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal claimed that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Bridge">Ram Setu</a>, the chain of limestone shoals between India and Sri Lanka, was built by Indian engineers.<sup><a href="https://newslaundry.com/2019/09/09/religion-vs-science-at-iit-delhi">[Newslaundry]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Chennai Doordarshan official, R Vasumathi, was suspended for refusing to telecast a speech by the dear leader live.<sup><a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/dd-asst-director-chennai-suspended-not-live-telecasting-pm-modis-speech-iit-109854">[The News Minute]</a></sup> At the cost of her job she gave DD viewers a much needed break. Her actions score 10 out of 10 for courage!
<br><br>
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) official, Ashish Joshi, was suspended for filing a complaint about a hate filled video posted by BJP MLA Kapil Mishra<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/rights/hate-speech-social-media">[The Wire]</a></sup>. Mishra is a well known hate monger and his most recent tweet compared Muslim children to pollution.<sup><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bjps-kapil-mishra-sparks-row-after-communal-tweet-on-pollution-control-2123812">[NDTV]</a></sup> The DoT claims he was expelled because he filed his complaint on letter headed paper!
<br><br>
Indian Forest Service officer Kallol Biswas was sacked after serving notices to a Karnataka BJP leader Gali Janardhana Reddy whose mining activities allegedly crossed permitted boundaries.<sup><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/centre-sacks-whistle-blower-ifs-officer-kallol-biswas-752034.html">[Deccan Herald]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa was a dissenting voice on several controversial decisions where the EC gave clean chits to Narendra Modi's campaign. By a strange coincidence, the Income Tax department is now probing his wife's income.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/government/election-commissioner-ashok-lavasa-wife-it-notice">[The Wire]</a></sup>
<br><br>
<b>Teachers and students... be careful what you say (especially about Kashmir)!</b>
<br><br>
JNU PhD student and Kashmiri activist Shehla Rashid was booked for sedition - and other crimes - for her tweets about the human rights situation in Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/rights/shehla-rashid-sedition-tweets-on-kashmir-situation">[The Wire]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Hindutva activists forced the suspension of UP headmaster Furqan Ali because his students recited in morning assembly the poem <i>Lab pe aati hai dua</i> by Muhammad Iqbal, author of <i>Saare Jahan Se Accha</i>.<sup><a href="https://www.newsclick.in/learn-how-counter-hate-furqan-and-his-children">[Newsclick]</a></sup> Students at his school - Hindu and Muslim - walked out of their classes in protest and later officials said that the suspension would be revoked.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/communalism/mohammad-iqbal-lab-pe-aati-hai-dua">[The Wire]</a></sup> Here is what some of his students said, according to the Indian Express: "When we read this poem in our Urdu book, we liked it and asked our headmaster permission to recite it. Both Hindu and Muslim students had asked him. He does not say no to us. And he allowed us to sing this poem on alternate days... We used to recite <i>lab pe aati hai dua</i> and <i>woh shakti humein do dayanidhi</i>. If he has been suspended for allowing us to recite the poem, then it is also the government's fault for making it part of our syllabus. Does that mean this government should be suspended?"<sup><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/up-their-headmaster-suspended-for-iqbal-poem-students-walk-out-6076793/">[Indian Express]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Madhumita Ray, an assistant professor at a technology institute in Orissa, was sacked immediately and without warning after appearing on TV advocating peace with Pakistan.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/education/kiit-odisha-pulwama-army">[The Wire]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Seven UP teachers were suspended for their social media posts. It is worth reading what these teachers were suspended for, to get a sense of how far authoritarianism in Adityanath's UP has gone.<sup><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/up-government-adityanath-pulwama-balakot-facebook-twitter-5642648/">[Indian Express]</a></sup>
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Six students from socially marginalised backgrounds in a Maharashtra university were suspended for writing to the PM complaining about mob lynchings, the clampdown in Kashmir, and the sell-off of public assets. The suspensions were revoked, perhaps in response to the publicity the case received.<sup><a href="https://www.newsclick.in/MGAHV-Wardha-Suspends-6-Students-Written-Letter-PM">[Newsclick]</a>,<a href="https://thewire.in/education/maharashtra-university-revokes-suspension-of-six-students-who-wrote-to-pm-modi">[The Wire]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Four Kashmiri students at Aligarh Muslim University were served show-cause notices for raising slogans about atrocities by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/rights/amu-four-kashmiri-students-show-caused-for-protest-against-army-atrocities">[The Wire]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Kiruba Mohan, an Ambedkarite postgraduate student activist in Madras University, was expelled. The university claims his expulsion was because he failed to submit some documentation, but activities like protesting against visits by BJP leaders seem a more plausible explanation.<sup><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/i-dont-know-what-i-violated-ambedkarite-student-activist-expelled-from-madras-university/">[Indian Express]</a></sup> The student filed a case against the administration in the Madras High Court.<sup><a href="https://www.edexlive.com/news/2019/sep/18/madras-hc-asks-madras-university-to-explain-why-they-expelled-student-who-was-founder-of-apsc-8223.html">[Edexlive]</a></sup>
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<b>Judges and police... beware of your decisions</b>
<br><br>
Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, V. K. Tahilramani, was one of India's most senior judges. In 2017, while Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, she upheld life imprisonment sentences of 11 people convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case during the Gujarat violence of 2002. The Supreme Court Collegium - which figures in the next incident too - recently made the decision to transfer her to Meghalaya. They refused to reconsider and she resigned in protest. After a backlash, including a strike by lawyers in Chennai, the authorities spread around a variety of reasons for her transfer. But her courage in punishing Hindutva violence seems the most likely reason.<sup><a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article29506965.ece">[Frontline]</a></sup>
<br><br>
It is not so long ago that Amit Shah was a triple murder accused: as far as the CBI were concerned he was essentially the head of an organised crime syndicate.<sup><a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/india-trial/amit-shah-acquitted-of-triple-murder-charges-idINKBN0K80N920141230">[Reuters]</a></sup> Justice Akil Kureshi has the distinction of having sent Amit Shah to police custody - yes, you read that right - for Shah's role in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter. Currently the most senior judge in the Gujarat High Court, Kureshi was due to be appointed as chief justice of the MP High Court, but at the Modi government's insistence, the Supreme Court Collegium changed its recommendation to chief justice of the Tripura high court.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/law/supreme-court-now-recommends-justice-kureshi-to-tripura-high-court">[The Wire]</a></sup> This downgrade may not be enough to please the powerful enemies Kureshi made.<sup><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/supreme-court-to-hear-plea-on-akil-kureshi/cid/1713360">[The Telegraph]</a></sup>
<br><br>Earlier this year, another person punished for having had the courage to act against a powerful BJP leader was IPS officer Jasvir Singh. He was suspended after giving an interview to the media in which he claimed he had been sidelined ever since booking Yogi Adityanath under the NSA in 2002.<sup><a href="https://www.newsclick.in/government-suspends-ips-officer-who-booked-yogi-adityanath-under-nsa-2002">[Newsclick]</a></sup>
<br><br>
<b> And journalists... do not humiliate Adityanath!</b>
<br><br>
Journalist Prashant Kanojia was arrested for sharing on social media a video in which a woman alleged that she had been in a relationship with Adityanath. According to the BBC, six people were arrested for tweets about Adityanath in three days.<sup><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48579626">[BBC]</a></sup>
<br><br>
Five journalists were booked by police for reporting on how a Dalit family was allegedly prevented from drawing water from a hand pump in a UP village.<sup><a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uttar-pradesh-jounalists-booked-reporting-discrimination-dalits-bijnor-1597388-2019-09-09">[India Today]</a></sup> It seems that reporting on caste discrimination equates to provoking caste enmity.
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The poor treatment of (poor) children in UP schools figures in two further recent cases. A case was filed against UP journalist Pawan Kumar Jaiswal who took a video of primary school children eating rotis with salt as their midday meal.<sup><a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/on-case-for-roti-salt-school-video-up-villagers-support-journalist-2095459">[NDTV]</a></sup>. And UP journalist Santosh Jaiswal was arrested after he photographed students mopping the floor of their school.<sup><a href="https://thewire.in/government/up-journalist-arrested-after-he-clicked-photos-of-school-kids-mopping-floor">[The Wire]</a></sup>
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[This post first appeared on the <a href="https://narendramodifacts.com/news/">news pages of Narendramodifacts</a> on October 29th 2019. If you like it, please share it.]
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-22547155228249777512014-05-20T02:06:00.001-07:002014-05-20T02:06:26.561-07:00Indian elections 2014 - a milestone in the Hindutva project?(This post is dedicated to the memory of <a href="http://scroll.in/article/664314/Mukul-Sinha,-self-effacing-Modi-opponent-and-labour-organiser-who-disliked-being-called-a-leader">Mukul Sinha</a>.)<br />
<br />
Assuming no significant electoral fraud, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Lok-Sabha-Elections-2014/News/BJPs-31-lowest-vote-share-of-any-party-to-win-majority/articleshow/35315930.cms" target="_blank">31% of Indian voters voted for the BJP</a> giving them an absolute majority in the new parliament and ushering in a new "Modi-fied" era. We can comfort ourselves that almost 70% of people <i>didn't</i> vote for the BJP, and more than 60% didn't vote for the NDA. To achieve the BJP's 31% took a charismatic demagogue, the powerful infrastructure of the <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_Sangh.html" target="_blank">Sangh Parivar</a>, a <a href="http://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/television-scripted" target="_blank">desperately partisan media</a>, the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/sanjoynarayan/why-big-business-likes-narendra-modi/article1-1189494.aspx" target="_blank">backing of big money</a>, and vocal <a href="http://blogs.soas.ac.uk/ssai-indianelection2014/2014/04/09/%E2%80%98development%E2%80%99-and-the-indian-general-elections-by-subir-sinha/" target="_blank">support from huge swathes of the educated middle classes</a>; nevertheless the reality remains - we face an uncertain future where the dominant political force is a rejuvenated, hugely confident, extreme right. <br />
<br />
People are naturally asking what brought us here, what happens next, and how we resist. You can't really start asking such difficult questions without some clarity about the event itself. A look at the messy electoral data, and reflection on the Modi-campaign, reveals something rather obvious at one level, but curiously ignored by some anti-Modi, anti-communal thinkers: this election is first and foremost a milestone in the Hindutva project. The problem of how to create an overarching Hindu identity - overriding but not dismantling caste and regional identities - obsessed the early Hindu nationalists. Creation and spread of a sense of Hindu-ness appears both as a means and as an end in their writings - it is both a pre-requisite for, and the definition of, "<a href="http://deshkosh.org/D/dharma.html" target="_blank">dharma rajya</a>", the hazily defined "Hindu nation". And in this election it seems the Sangh Parivar has provided a proof of principle - they have shown that <i>manufacturing an over-arching Hindu identity may be possible on a grand scale</i>. <br />
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What data backs up such a claim? <br />
<br />
Firstly, the Parivar achieved its current success without co-option/ cooperation of Muslim - or other minority - voters, or alliance with ostensibly secular forces. All the data suggests that <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/postpoll-survey-clear-hindumuslim-divide-during-voting/471620-3.html" target="_blank">Muslims did not vote for the BJP</a>, and largely did not vote for the NDA. What little information is available shows the same for other minorities. Moreover, the initial polarisation that resulted from Modi's candidature made sure that parties with claims to being secular largely steered clear of the NDA, which ended up as the BJP, a few usual suspects like the Shiv Sena and the SAD, and some tiny hangers-on of little relevance. Thus, perhaps for the first time in Indian electoral history, the minority vote became entirely irrelevant. To put it bluntly, 2014 must be remembered as the election where if you were a Muslim you might as well have stayed home on voting day. Even Modi poster-boy Chetan Bhagat acknowledged the '<a href="http://liveblogs.indiatimes.com/The-underage-optimist/bjp-could-attain-an-all-time-high-of-hindu-power-but-it-must-use-this-wisely/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">near boycott by the Muslim community</a>' of the BJP. The electoral sidelining of Muslims <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Lok-Sabha-Polls-25-years-zero-Muslim-MPs-from-Gujarat/articleshow/33833828.cms" target="_blank">deeply entrenched in Gujarat politics</a>, was replicated nationally, potentially leaving Muslims all over the country - and other minority communities - the choice they face in Gujarat: deal with the BJP on its terms or face complete marginalisation. <br />
<br />
Secondly, BJP <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/election-beat/tectonic-shift-how-the-bjp-stole-congress-thunder/article1-1220206.aspx" target="_blank">upper caste consolidation</a> reached new heights. It has been a consistent feature of their success, but this time round they captured an unprecendented proportion of upper caste votes. It seems that counterweights to the BJP's dominance amongst upper caste voters, like the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/world/asia/12india.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Dalit-Brahmin electoral alliance</a> forged by Mayawati, are a thing of the past. Given the strong correlation between caste, class and power, expanding upper caste support gave the BJP access to huge resources, both financial and in the form of social capital. On the one hand, the frenzied media and social media backing for Modi fuelled the "Modi wave"; on the other hand the wave gathered new junk from those classes and castes which dominate the mainstream media, and access social media intensively. Thus we saw a snowballing effect with Modi's elite admirers producing ever lengthier, louder and more convoluted defences of him - it became a game to guess which pillar of the liberal establishment would fall helplessly into the Modi camp next. <br />
<br />
Thirdly, while there was no clear national breakthrough, the Parivar got <i>enough</i> OBC and Dalit votes to win seats in those constituencies where it really mattered - most importantly in UP and Bihar. This was achieved via capture of leaders such as Ram Vilas Paswan coupled with the Parivar's age-old strategy of inciting communal violence to break the cross-community alliances which held them back. It is no surprise that <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Lok-Sabha-Elections-2014/News/Election-Results-All-3-riot-accused-in-west-UP-win-big/articleshow/35230522.cms" target="_blank">all three riot-accused BJP candidates</a> in West UP won their seats with huge margins. It also cannot be denied that the Modi-cult and Modi's proclamation of his own OBC status may have played a role in getting OBC votes, and this is presumably why that bastion of upper caste power, the RSS, tolerated such proclamations of caste identity. The breaking of caste alliances didn't have to be extensive or complete to ensure BJP victory, for where it mattered the anti-Modi vote was hopelessly split. (On the other hand in states like Gujarat, MP and Rajasthan where the anti-Modi vote was not split, the BJP's overwhelming strength made this irrelevant.) Ironically, faced with the Parivar onslaught, many in the anti-Modi camp clung on to the hope that a certain inertia of Indian rural politics with its strong caste and community alliances would hold back the wave; the BJP-RSS machine, however, penetrated into villages and overcame historical inertias. <br />
<br />
Thus the BJP consolidated upper caste support and made sufficient inroads into OBC/Dalit votes to ensure the complete electoral sidelining of Muslims, the majority of Dalits, many OBC communities, and of course secular, rational and thoughtful Indians of all communities. A momentous victory for Hindutva in the political sphere. <b>But what about the sphere of the mind</b>? Was every Modi-voter motivated by visions of the Hindu nation? Unquestionably, many people longing for vaguely defined "change", or looking to escape some ugly realities of life, joined the cult of the great leader/ were dragged along by the wave. They didn't all enter the movement as ideologues. But the point is that participation in historic movements such as these - and not introspection and soul-searching - shapes and reshapes identities. This participation may occur on the streets, or in the virtual world, or even via passive longing in front of TV screens followed by the great joy of victory. You travel a road with hundreds of millions of others and come out as one. The shifting identities may sometimes be fragile and conflict with some idea of a plural India. But if there was angst along the way, then the expertly manufactured new common sense around "dynasty", "corruption", "pseudo-secularism", "appeasement", "pampering", etc., provided stepping-stones onto the Hindutva shore. Anyone who listens to new Modi-bhakts - the affluent, educated ones too - will know that through all the talk of development and strong leadership, they never <i>really</i> doubt Modi's centrality in the Gujarat violence of 2002. Hiding behind the joy of victory is an immense satisfaction that somebody - who? - has been taught a lesson. Lurking beneath the new national pride is a communal - perhaps even racial - pride, hinged on hatred for the "anti-nationals", the "Bangladeshi infiltrators", those who "should go to Pakistan". The more honest or confident say it out loud: "<i>Why should we not be a Hindu nation? Look at all the Islamic nations. Look at all the Christian nations.</i>" <br />
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If this election is all about the Hindutva project, then what about <b>the NaMo effect</b>? Was Modi himself just a vehicle for the Sangh Parivar? To some extent. The RSS worked tirelessly on the ground with "video-raths" <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/exit-poll-figures-will-be-right-nda-will-win-290305-seats-amit-shah/471637-3.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">going village to village</a> projecting the Modi message, aided by NRI volunteers. They won Modi the election where it mattered. The RSS clearly did not itself buy into the Modi-cult, but saw the significance of these elections and sensed the magnitude of the opportunity offered by Modi-mania. Right now Modi is the most extraordinarily powerful member of the Parivar, and has a private army of starry-eyed fans - they were a great help. But had the RSS-apparatus not decided to seize the day, back his candidature, and throw its full weight behind his campaign, the efforts of this NaMo army would not have amounted to much. Despite Modi's self-absorption and delusions of grandeur it remains to be seen whether the Parivar subjugates itself to his will, whether he is ultimately undermined by them, whether internal conflict tears the whole edifice down, or whether some mutually beneficial compromise is worked out. <br />
<br />
So, despite the relatively small BJP vote-share, and the regional variations, this election must be seen as a milestone for the Hindutva project. If mile one was completed with the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Ayodhya_dispute.html" target="_blank">destruction of the Babri Masjid</a>, then this election - the campaign as much as the outcome - completes mile two. Common sense has been altered, identities shifted, and the reality of this shift proved at the ballot box. Modi himself serves both as the symbol and the vehicle for a new idea of India. They know it is just a beginning. Having learnt from their most successful experiment - Gujarat - the BJP-RSS will work intensively to consolidate the new realities they have constructed. Their shakhas, schools, and religious and "cultural" organisations will sprout. There will be manufactured outrage at apparent insults to Hinduism. They will threaten their enemies with everything at their disposal. Agitations for censorship and moral policing, and periodic episodes of communal or vigilante violence, will provide moments for group bonding and new recruiting.<br />
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The election period showed that the anti-Modi, anti-communal forces also have huge resources to draw on. But no resistance to the RSS project can start from the complacent perspective that their current victory is just another move by the neo-liberal, anti-poor team in some grand game of chess. It is this, but it is much more. Indian democracy, flawed and incomplete as it is, is teetering on the edge, and needs defending. We may hope that the family which has seized power will crumble under some internal dynamic - but we can't wait for this. If we manage some regrouping and coalescing, the question is whether our efforts can outpace BJP-RSS consolidation. It is unclear which institutions will be corrupted first by their new overlords, how rapid this corruption will be, and what room there will be for manoeuvre. It is unclear what levels of violence to expect. There is an onslaught coming and facing it will require courage, solidarity and imagination.<br />
<br />
<b>Some sources</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iVsfVOTUnYEC" target="_blank">The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics</a> (Christophe Jaffrelot, Penguin, 1999), and <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8560.html" target="_blank">Hindu Nationalism: A Reader</a> (Christophe Jaffrelot, ed., Princeton University Press, 2009)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/eciresults.nic.in/PartyWiseResult.htm" target="_blank">Election commission of India data</a> on the election results</li>
<li><a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/postpoll-survey-clear-hindumuslim-divide-during-voting/471620-3.html" target="_blank">Post-poll survey: Clear Hindu-Muslim divide during voting</a> (CNN-IBN, 14 May 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/postpoll-survey-bjpled-nda-ride-on-modi-power-congress-faces-rout/471411-81.html" target="_blank">Post-poll survey: BJP-led NDA ride on Modi power, Congress faces rout</a> (CNN-IBN, 14 May 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/election-beat/tectonic-shift-how-the-bjp-stole-congress-thunder/article1-1220206.aspx" target="_blank">How the BJP stole Congress' thunder</a> (Hindustan Times, 17 May 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/t3zPsC11huXGnIKi3FEt1O/Disregarding-fascism.html" target="_blank">Disregarding fascism</a> (G. Sampath, Live Mint, 21 April 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/mihir-s-sharma-the-modi-generation-114051601927_1.html" target="_blank">The Modi generation</a> (Mihir S. Sharma, Business Standard, 16 May 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://socialjusticefirst.com/2014/05/16/understanding-the-moderate-urban-middle-class-modi-supporter/" target="_blank">Understanding the 'moderate' urban, middle-class Modi supporter</a> (Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav, 16 May 2014)</li>
<li><a href="http://communalism.blogspot.in/2014/05/if-modi-becomes-pm-irfan-engineer.html" target="_blank">If Modi becomes the PM</a> (Irfan Engineer, 12 May 2014)
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-in-narendra-modi-s-india-a-case-of-rule-and-divide-1988115" target="_blank">In Narendra Modi's India, a case of rule and divide</a> (DNA, 14 May 2014) </li>
</ul>
<br />Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-36460037422799633512014-04-26T07:15:00.001-07:002014-04-26T07:15:09.527-07:00What does Modi tweet about?This blog recently commented that what makes Narendra Modi stand out amongst right-wing demagogues is <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.in/2014/04/narendra-modi-as-prime-minister-of.html">a particular confluence of factors</a>: his history, his governance style, and above all the mass movement which holds him aloft, with its vast membership and its portfolio of political, religious, vigilante, and terrorist activity. These, combined with some successful image management, have brought him to the brink of national power.<br />
<br />
This post is an attempt to see what Modi tells us about himself via his tweets. In particular his twitter feed from Feb 17th to April 26th 2014 is examined. In a previous post we met (in a virtual sense) <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.in/2013/09/fascist-chatter.html">some Hindutva tweeters</a>. They provided insight into how the movement builds momentum with constant talk of victimhood and violence. They entertained us with analyses of caste, and women's rights and the economy. So what about Modi? He tweets many times a day, but about what? Sadly this story is a bit more dull, but maybe there are some lessons to be drawn from it.<br />
<br />
He tweets <b>publicity for his events</b>: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I really look forward to addressing 3D rallies. Technology enables me to connect with so many fellow Indians & exchange ideas with them.</span>" (How, Modi ji, do your fellow Indians <i>communicate their ideas</i> to your 3D avatar?) He <b>congratulates himself</b> via his fans: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thank you Karnataka! Was truly touched by the warm welcome during the 2 rallies in Davangere & Mangalore</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thank you Varanasi. No words will describe the affection you have showered today. Truly touched</span>". Everywhere, he receives warmth and love. <br />
<br />
He sends <b>festival greetings</b> - in this period we had greetings for: Holi, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa & Navreh, Cheti Chand, Utkal Diwas, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti, Baisakhi, Rongali Bihu, Mesadi, Puthandu, Vishu, Pohela Baisakh, Easter, Navroz, Gangaur. He mentions <b>local heroes</b> as he traverses the country: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Apart from being a brave warrior, Shivaji Maharaj was a torchbearer of good governance. His economic & trade policies still inspire us</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Remembering the great freedom fighter & tall leader from Uttar Pradesh, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant on his Punya Tithi</span>".<br />
<br />
His <b>attacks on his enemies</b> are frequent, but very focussed. There are a <b>lot</b> of tweets about "Madam": e.g., "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Recently Madam addressed the nation by purchasing prime time space on TV, but what she said was full of lies!</span>"; and "Shahzada": e.g., "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Shahzada
came to Rajasthan without informing their CM & rode on a bike
belonging to a history sheeter. Perhaps he was inspired by Dhoom 3</span>"; and Congress more generally: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">For Congress all 365 days are April Fools' Day.</span>" Interestingly, <b>he doesn't tweet about AAP</b> - presumably his media machine has decided the best strategy is to ignore them.<br />
<br />
<b>There's some clever stuff</b> about "3 Ds", and "5 Ts", and arithmetic, and chemistry: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Demography, Democracy & Demand...the 3 Ds are India's strength! No other nation is blessed with all 3 the way we are</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">NDA will focus on 5T formula (trade, tradition, talent, technology & tourism)...</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">2014
polls are not about arithmetic but people's chemistry with BJP. In
arithmetic 1+1 is 2 but such is our chemistry that 1 & 1 becomes 11!</span>" There's general <b>self-congratulation on development</b>: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Giving
example of our successful effort in Kutch, talked about the priority
NDA attaches to fast-paced development of our desert regions</span>". He <b>responds to his critics</b> on Gujarat's development dismissively: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">From
dropout rates, debt to malnutrition in Guj, Madam tried her best to
mislead people with incorrect facts. Thankfully, people are wiser.</span>" <br />
<br />
<b>He mentions his acolytes fondly</b>: Ramdev ji, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, Rajnath ji, @AnupamPKher, @chetan_bhagat, Jaitley ji, Parkash Singh Badal ji, Ramvilas Paswan ji, Uddhav ji, Munde ji, Athawale ji, Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, Pawan Kalyan... there is a long list of <a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-ls-election-interview-aakar-patel-modi-is-the-most-talented-politician-of-our-time/20140327.htm">"chamchas and yes-men"</a>. He remembers those who have passed with affection: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We miss Balasaheb. Lets ensure a grand victory for Mahayuti & defeat Cong-NCP. This will make Balasaheb proud</span>".<br />
<br />
He makes a cautious approach to a <b>potential ally</b>: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Birthday greetings to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ji. I pray for her long life & good health</span>" (this was on Feb 24th). But he <b>doesn't mention his controversial or faltering allies</b>: <a href="http://deshkosh.org/P/Pravin_Togadia.html">Pravin Togadia</a> gets no mention; <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html">Amit Shah</a> gets no mention; Ramdas Kadam gets no mention; Giriraj Singh is mentioned once, but that was before he said that <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/bjp-nominee-to-modi-critics-you-will-soon-be-in-pak-not-india/">those who want to stop Modi will have to go to Pakistan</a>; Sushma Swaraj gets no mention; Advani gets one hurtfully neutral mention: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Will join Advani ji at Karyakarta Sammelan in Gandhinagar. Later, will accompany Advani ji to file his nomination papers.</span>" Following the recent <a href="http://twocircles.net/2014apr24/nris_concerned_about_hate_speeches_lok_sabha_election.html#.U1ujGY9Kc64">epidemic of Hindutva hate speech</a>
the mainstream media, seemingly desperate to see Modi as a reformed character, picked up on two tweets: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I disapprove any such irresponsible statement & appeal to those making them to kindly refrain from doing so</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Petty
statements by those claiming to be BJP's well wishers are deviating the
campaign from the issues of development & good governance.</span>" Modi mentions no names or particular statements he finds objectionable. A very faint "tut" indeed. <br />
<br />
He only <b>hints at Hindutva</b>. "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My coming to Varanasi is like a child going to his Mother. I have come to this divine land on the call of Ganga Mata</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Digitisation of our ancient scriptures can go a long way in preserving & further popularising Ayurveda, particularly among our youth</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">There is no place for infiltrators from Bangladesh who have come to further the votebank politics agenda of others. They should be sent back</span>". Religion is almost never explicitly mentioned though <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Baba_Ramdev.html">Baba Ramdev</a> gets warm mentions in 6 tweets and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gets a couple. Hindus come up only once: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Not Assam alone, but all states must accommodate Hindus coming from Bangladesh & offer them a life with dignity.</span>"<br />
<br />
<b>He avoids caste</b>. Dalits are mentioned twice but only to attack Congress: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">A Dalit won Vadodara Cong Primary but was asked to withdraw overnight. Shows Cong's lack of respect even for systems they themselves created</span>"; and "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Congress' Primaries were described as 'historic' but what happened in Vadodara signalled its pre-mature end & anti-Dalit nature of Congress.</span>"<br />
<br />
There's a bit of <b>fear mongering</b>: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Kerala has become a nursery of terrorism</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Narcotics & lot of fake currency is entering through our borders but Centre is watching silently</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Congress is like a watermelon- green outside but red from within</span>." (<i>Communist</i> within? Really?)<br />
<br />
The tweets are clearly heavily managed by Modi's media machine - it is hard to pick out the man behind the facade. Yet subtly he reminds his supporters of who he is via his choice of icons - Bal Thackeray, Ramdev ji - his choice of cultural references - Ganga mata, Ayurveda and scriptures - and coded messages about "Bangladeshi infiltrators", a "nursery of terrorism", "red within"...<br />
<br />
But what matters above all is what is absent. There is no mention of Gujarat 2002, or snoopgate, or fake encounters, or gas prices, or land give-aways, or human development indices, or big business, or marital status, or campaign funding, or style of governance. The silence is deafening.<br />
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-86013787348308266392014-04-14T05:56:00.000-07:002014-04-14T05:56:16.989-07:00Narendra Modi as prime minister of India: what will it mean?Comparisons have been drawn in national and international media between <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/">Narendra Modi</a> and Berlusconi, Putin, Abe, and a long list of other right-wing demagogues. The need for such comparisons is understandable (especially in articles in the foreign media trying to explain the significance of the Indian elections to a non-Indian audience). Often these comparisons are accompanied by comforting, but uncertain, noises to the effect that Indian democracy is strong, that even if he comes to power Modi will be "reined in" by the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/BJP.html">BJP</a>'s allies, that Modi has moderated his earlier discourse as he has come closer to national power, etc. You sense some journalists trying to convince themselves as much as anyone else. The reality is that right now we don't know what a Modi victory will mean. But Modi lies at a certain <b>intersection</b> which makes him fairly unique even among ultra-right demagogues.<br />
<br />
<b>Ethnic/religious nationalism</b>. He is an avowed ethnic and religious nationalist. Moreover he is embedded in a "family" of chauvinist organisations, the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Sangh_Parivar.html">Sangh Parivar</a>, which is unique in itself - no country in the world boasts a comparable network of ethnic supremacist organisations. Their sheer number, the way they manage to reach different audiences from school children to the devout to urban youth, the way they converge when necessary, the way they include paramilitary and terrorist activities as a natural component of their "portfolio" - all are quite amazing. Occasionally a foot-soldier gets sacrificed to the law, but the top brass appear mostly to speak and act with impunity. They run tens of thousands of schools, have tens of thousands of "cells" (apparently <a href="http://communalism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/india-2014-2000-odd-rss-shakhas-sprout.html">2000 new RSS shakhas have sprung up in the last three months</a>), control tens of thousands of religious bodies, have their people in the judiciary, the police, the civil service, the military, and so forth... Having access to a pre-prepared network of organisations of this kind would make Modi the envy of many would-be dictators.<br />
<br />
<b>Backing of a mass movement</b>. Modi has a huge mass movement behind
him which is not necessarily affiliated directly to the BJP, or even to
the Sangh Parivar. He is a charismatic leader who has shown he can
control his own party by successfully <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/sidelining-jaswant-advani-how-modi-centric-has-bjp-become-1448507.html">sidelining elders of the BJP</a>
with little protest from the party or beyond. Many
supporters who claim they are not ordinarily BJP voters support him in
terms which are millenarian. A <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/fascist-chatter.html">typical sentiment on social media</a> for some not-so-light entertainment: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">O
son of Bhaarat,arise,awake and lead us till we achieve a India of our
dreams..tis not merely d B'day of @narendramodi,tis dawn of New Era.</span>" <br />
<br />
<b>Political violence as a strategy</b>. Modi is, of course, deeply implicated in the Gujarat violence of 2002. His <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_Modi2002.html">role in encouraging this violence</a> is well documented and commonly acknowledged even among his supporters - despite extensive work at a whitewash, which has involved <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/sit-chiefs-history-made-him-unfit-to-lead-probe-new-book-on-2002-riots-1458785.html">subverting the (ongoing) legal process</a>, and an <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_PR.html">intensive PR campaign</a>. What Modi has demonstrated time and again, both directly and through his lieutenants such as <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html">Amit Shah</a>, is that using political violence to gather votes is central to his political strategy. This is not new of course in India: several parties indulge in political violence on a large scale; but the BJP still stands among a very few whose existence in the political sphere can be traced almost entirely to violence. Never has violence as a strategy been more openly endorsed than at the present moment.<br />
<br />
<b>Authoritarianism and oratory</b>. Modi is acknoweldged to be deeply <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_leader.html">authoritarian at a personal level</a>. He never apologises, even when those he has promoted and guided such as <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Maya_Kodnani.html">Maya Kodnani</a> have been convicted of serious crimes. He is open in his <a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-ls-election-interview-aakar-patel-modi-is-the-most-talented-politician-of-our-time/20140327.htm">contempt for the judiciary, for minority rights, and for the democratic process</a>. He speaks with contempt about liberals, <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_minorities.html">about minority communities</a>, and <a href="http://sacw.net/article8318.html">about people with disabilities</a>. Again, this is part of his appeal - he is the man who speaks his mind, is not afraid to say it like it is, can by-pass regulation, cut red-tape and would retaliate appropriately to foreign aggression. His oratory is ultra-nationalist and populist. He presses the correct buttons in a skillful way: "strength", "pride", "honour", "nation" and victimhood. His political opponents are weak-kneed, dithering and indecisive, and would let India's enemies take control. After terrorist attacks in Mumbai, he suggested that as a strong leader <a href="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UCa9pnWnXH0&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow">he would have started a war with Pakistan</a>, and this got him applause from the audience. (As we know, the BJP has indicated that if they come to power, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/07/indian-election-bjp-manifesto-nuclear-weapons">they will review India's 'no first use' nuclear policy</a>, and this is unlikely to meet much resistance from their allies.)<br />
<br />
<b>The support of big business</b>. Modi has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/07/narendra-modi-massacre-next-prime-minister-india">the support of a large section of big business</a> who finance and back him quite openly. This has come as something of a shock even to the liberal intelligentsia, as big business has tended to hedge its bets, and has previously preferred a slightly lower profile when it comes to influencing the political process. Something is different this time round, leading naturally to comparisons with Nazi Germany where <a href="http://www2.wiwi.hu-berlin.de/wpol/schumpeter/pdf/Voth.pdf">"helping to undermine democracy at important junctures produced high returns"</a> for big business. <br />
<br />
<b>Middle class support</b>. Modi has the support of <a href="http://blogs.soas.ac.uk/ssai-indianelection2014/">a significant section of the "educated" middle class</a>. This has been achieved via <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_media.html">extensive and successful manipulation of the media</a>, and also by riding on the economically rightist (anti-welfare, anti-tax, pro-business) sentiments which are widespread in this class. The <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-gujarat-model-of-development-summary.html">myth of development in Gujarat</a> has been very skillfully constructed, and he has managed to present himself as an economic moderniser able to bring growth and development to the country.<br />
<br />
This list could go on, but in brief Modi is not just another right-wing demagogue. He combines support from powerful business interests and large sections of the middle class, ultra-nationalism, ethnic supremacism, the backing of a huge and diverse network of Sangh Parivar organisations, skill as an orator and great confidence. He has <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-banality-of-evil/article5818580.ece">got away with Gujarat 2002, and successfully recreated himself as "Vikas Purush"</a>. Whether comparisons with German Nazism and Italian fascism are justified remains to be seen, but even a weak Modi-led coalition would dramatically accelerate the erosion of the fabric of democracy. Sangh Parivar members and sympathisers will be given positions of power in the judiciary, the civil service, the military, the police. We can expect an increase in the levels of political and communal violence. Liberal and secular voices in the media will face huge pressure to moderate their words, and those speaking out will do so at significant personal risk. Minority communities will be increasingly marginalised and fearful, with some being tempted to turn to their own most right-wing elements for protection. <br />
<br />
What is still unknown is whether Modi has really managed to gain sufficient support amongst the rural and urban poor - the vast majority of India - to make his dreams come true. This question will be answered on May 16th.Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-81605178008316531942014-04-10T05:08:00.001-07:002014-04-10T05:08:15.127-07:00The Gujarat model of development - a summary.There have recently been several good articles discussing and critiquing the "<b>Gujarat model of development</b>", which has become a key battleground in this election. The discussion centres around theoretical and empirical questions, relies on analysis of data provided by government and NGO sources, and can appear quite complex. However the main conclusions seem to be quite simple. Below is an attempt to summarise these conclusions as briefly and accurately as possible. The original articles are all listed below. <br />
<br />
1) Gujarat performs well by some economic indicators. However, almost always, it performed well by these indicators for decades before the BJP came to power. Infrastructure, for example, was already good, and Gross State Product (GSP) was already high. In general, the performance under BJP rule followed the trends of earlier performance. Projection based on earlier data is not an exact science and so there is room to present these findings in different ways; but the overwhelming conclusion seems to be that where Gujarat performs well, this continues earlier trends, and Gujarat's trajectory is comparable to, or weaker than, that of other states such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. <br />
<br />
2) Even by some traditional indicators of economic performance, Gujarat's performance is often dwarfed by other Indian states. Also, Gujarat's increasing Gross State Product (GSP) has been accompanied by spiralling per capita debt. This is connected with the fact that public money and other public resources - notably land - have often been generously offered as "sweeteners" to encourage investment in the state. <br />
<br />
3) On the basis of human development indicators, such as levels of malnutrition, sex ratio, and infant mortality, Gujarat's performance is often mediocre or poor. This seems consistent with the fact that Gujarat's development has been geared towards big business and encouraging investment. Other casualties of this development strategy have been labour rights and the environment, with Gujarat topping the list for some of the most polluted regions in the country. Land allocation to industry has displaced many farmers, fishermen, pastoralists, and agricultural workers, with those displaced often belonging to marginalised groups such as Dalits and Adivasis. <br />
<br />
4) Although the Gujarat model has seen mixed success at best, it attracts some strong support. The support appears to be driven by: <br />
<ul>
<li>a well-constructed propaganda drive by Modi's powerful and vast PR machine, whose operation and financing is far from transparent. This machine has worked by (i) selecting some figures and ignoring others; (ii) choosing carefully how to present figures, for example without providing contextual information on other similar states, or historical performance pre-dating BJP rule; (iii) sometimes fiddling the data directly, for example presenting pledges of investment as actual investment (it has taken RTI queries to get some of the true data).</li>
<li>the vocal support of sections of the wealthy and business communities which have been served well by the Gujarat approach, benefitting directly from the transfer of public wealth to private hands; </li>
<li>sections of the new middle-class in Gujarat with an aggressively neoliberal perspective, who see GSP growth as the only indicator of development which matters, even if it is accompanied by high levels of inequality, poverty and malnutrition. </li>
</ul>
<u><b>References </b></u><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?289889">A Look In The Mirror</a>, Maitreesh Ghatak and Sanchari Roy, Outlook, March 31, 2014.<br />
<a href="http://www.epw.in/web-exclusives/gujarat-model-development.html">The Gujarat Model of Development: What would it do to the Indian Economy?</a>, Rohini Hensman, EPW, March 15, 2014.<br />
Decoding Gujarat, parts <a href="http://www.thestatesman.net/news/47621-decoding-gujarat-i.html">1</a> and <a href="http://www.thestatesman.net/news/47815-decoding-gujarat-ii.html">2</a>, Hemantkumar Shah, The Statesman, April 4, 2014.<br />
<a href="http://blogs.soas.ac.uk/ssai-indianelection2014/">‘Development’ and the Indian General Elections</a>, Subir Sinha, SOAS blogs, April 9, 2014.
<br />
<a href="http://www.sacw.net/article8260.html">BJP’s money-festo - Modi-festo's Understanding of Environment</a>, Rohit Prajapati, SACW, 8 April.
<br />
<a href="http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-news/blog-gujarat-s-development-pre-dates-modi-considerably-505647">Gujarat's development pre-dates Modi considerably</a>, Reetika Khera, NDTV blogs, April 8, 2014.<br />
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-36491062011731042062014-04-06T02:39:00.001-07:002014-04-06T02:39:06.984-07:00India 2014 - tactical voting to save democracy (two short videos)With voting beginning tomorrow, a key question is: <i>how do we minimise the strength of a Modi-led BJP/NDA government or even stop it</i>? There are
many constituencies where the majority will vote against fascism, <b>but an NDA
candidate will win</b>. The answer is quite simple: if you agree that a Modi-led government will be a serious blow for democracy, and if preserving democracy is the first priority, then
it may sometimes be necessary to vote for the strongest non-NDA candidate,
despite deep ideological differences and differences of principle. At the very least, Congress supporters may need to vote for AAP and vice versa depending on the local dynamics in their constituency. To
put it bluntly, this is not the time for party loyalty. This line will be deeply unpopular with some people who oppose Modi... But it has to be said.<br />
<br />
English:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="324" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GTfmfbbkNi4?feature=player_detailpage" width="576"></iframe>
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Hindi:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="324" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1Ut_iQjAsSI?feature=player_detailpage" width="576"></iframe>
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-20239953975606288512014-03-22T14:44:00.001-07:002014-03-22T15:46:12.631-07:00Modiji and friends quiz (part 1)<script type="text/javascript">
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<div id="q1">
1) Who said about whom: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In any free country, a person like him would be shot dead</span>"? (<a href="#q1" onclick="toggle('answer1');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer1" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://deshkosh.org/N/Nathuram_Godse.html">Nathuram Godse</a>'s brother Gopal Godse, co-conspirator in Gandhi's murder, said this about Gandhi. <a href="http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2055031,00.html">In his last interview in 2000</a> he said, "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In any free country, a person like [Gandhi] would be shot dead</span>". He also said, "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">All the [Godse] brothers were in the RSS. Nathuram, Dattatreya, myself and Govind. You can say we grew up in the RSS rather than in our home. It was like a family to us... He has said in his statement that he left the RSS. He said it because [Madhav Sadashiv] Golwalkar and the RSS were in a lot of trouble after the murder of Gandhi. But he did not leave the RSS.</span>"
</blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q2">
<br />
2) Who has a 56 inch chest? (<a href="#q2" onclick="toggle('answer2');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer2" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Almost certainly <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/narendra-modi-s-talk-of-56-inch-chest-draws-acerbic-response-from-sharad-yadav-475104">not Narendra Modi</a>. A 56 inch chest is apparently size XXXXXL and <a href="http://www.asos.com/infopages/SizeGuide/pgesizechartMan.aspx?r=2">most shops and size guides don't go up to this size at all</a>. He'd need a good tailor. If he does have a chest this size, he should probably consider <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_Gujarat.html">vegetarianism and some beauty consciousness</a>.
</blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q3">
<br />
3) If Scottish-island-owning godman <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Baba_Ramdev.html">Baba Ramdev</a> sticks to <a href="http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=682390">his claim that he will meet 50 crore (500 million) people in 2 years</a>, how many people will he have to meet per day? (<a href="#q3" onclick="toggle('answer3');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer3" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
About 684,000 people. Rather more than the entire population of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kochi,_India">Kochi</a>. But then he is a great man. He can do it. </blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q4">
<br />
4) Whose self-declared goal is: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">qualifying and fitting our boys for the game of killing masses of men with the ambition of winning victory with the best possible causalities [sic] of dead and wounded while causing the utmost possible to the adversary...</span>"? (<a href="#q4" onclick="toggle('answer4');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer4" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The <a href="http://communalism.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/rsss-chief-bhagwats-speech-at-bhonsala.html">Bhonsala Military School</a> praised by <a href="http://deshkosh.org/R/RSS.html">RSS</a> chief <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Mohan_Bhagwat.html">Mohan Bhagwat</a> who said "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">military schools run under the aegis of Hindutva institutions are the need of the hour</span>".</blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q5">
<br />
5) Which of these is <a href="http://deshkosh.org/V/VHP.html">VHP</a> leader <a href="http://deshkosh.org/P/Pravin_Togadia.html">Pravin Togadia</a>'s favourite person: <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Asaram_Bapu.html">Asaram Bapu</a>, <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Swami_Aseemanand.html">Swami Aseemanand</a> or <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Maya_Kodnani.html">Maya Kodnani</a>? (<a href="#q5" onclick="toggle('answer5');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer5" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hard to say. The godman facing charges of sexual assault against a minor, the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/R/RSS.html">RSS</a> worker who has admitted to various terrorist acts and the convicted mass murderer are all Hindu leaders facing persecution for Togadia. See my previous blog post on <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-family_28.html">the family</a>. </blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q6">
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6) What links <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-family_28.html">V. D. Savarkar</a> and <a href="http://deshkosh.org/N/Nathuram_Godse.html">Nathuram Godse</a> to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malegaon_blasts">Malegaon blasts</a>? (<a href="#q6" onclick="toggle('answer6');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer6" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Apart from the obvious ideological and historical links? Probably many things, including Himani Savarkar, Godse's niece married to V. D. Savarkar's nephew (they like to keep it in the family). She is founder of <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Abhinav_Bharat.html">Abhinav Bharat</a>, the splinter group linked to several acts of saffron terror. She has also said <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?238939">"<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We must declare ourselves a Hindu rashtra where everyone is a Hindu. Anyone who isn't should be declared a second-class citizen and denied voting rights.</span>"</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q7">
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7) Who said "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">If Modi works 16 hours, people will ask why he doesn't work 18 hours. People expect a lot from Narendra Modi.</span>" (<a href="#q7" onclick="toggle('answer7');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer7" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You guessed it! <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/">Narendra Modi</a> himself in <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/680511/the-delusional-narendra-modi/">an interview with Urdu Weekly Nai Duniya</a>. He likes referring to himself in the third person. </blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q8">
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8) Who said: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It is everybody's knowledge that this [Gujarat] government has been reaping very rich political dividends, since last 12 years, by keeping the glow of encounter cases alive in the sky of Gujarat</span>"? (<a href="#q8" onclick="toggle('answer8');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer8" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is the flowery prose of jailed supercop and former loyal soldier of Modi, <a href="http://deshkosh.org/D/D._G._Vanzara.html">D.G. Vanzara</a> in his <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Read-DG-Vanzaras-letter/articleshow/22262722.cms">resignation letter</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q9">
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9) Which Harvard alumnus said: "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus</span>"? (<a href="#q9" onclick="toggle('answer9');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer9" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Modi-loving BJP politician <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/harvard-wrestles-with-free-speech/article2701780.ece">Subramanian Swami</a>. He has said <a href="http://www.truthofgujarat.com/dr-subramanian-swamy-stop-spreading-communal-hatred-falsification-information/">a lot more than this</a>. </blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q10">
<br />
10) Who did Modi-bhakts in <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-modi-wave.html">comment-land</a> say the following about? "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">THIS RELIC OF A CHAP</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">he seems have plan of sabotage with snake nitish</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">His time has gone, he failed</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">...like a spoiled child all the time</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">CRAZY OLD MAN... GROW UP TAKE SOME VIGRA PILLS</span>", "<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">extremely selfish on his part</span>". (<a href="#q10" onclick="toggle('answer10');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer10" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The grand old man of BJP politics, L. K. Advani himself (these were all comments on various newspaper articles - you can find the phrases easily by googling them). Advani wanted to contest the upcoming election from Bhopal, not Gandhinagar - the <a href="http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=833281">BJP gave in</a>, after the intervention of the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/R/RSS.html">RSS</a>. Still, how betrayed he must feel after all his hard work creating a national party out of the BJP via the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Ayodhya_dispute.html">Ayodhya dispute</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q11">
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11) What links <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html">Amit Shah</a>, facing charges of murder and being head of an extortion syndicate; Sahara chief <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-26379739">Subrata Roy</a>, currently in jail for fraud; <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Asaram_Bapu.html">Asaram Bapu</a>, facing charges of sexual assault against a minor; and BS Yeddyurappa, <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/There-Is-No-Opposition-in-BJP-to-Return-of-BSY-Sriramulu/2014/03/17/article2113673.ece#.Uy07JI9uE64">still facing corruption charges</a>? (<a href="#q11" onclick="toggle('answer11');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer11" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Probably many things link these people. But Hindutva ideologue and so-called top lawyer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Jethmalani">Ram Jethmalani</a> has represented all of them. </blockquote>
</div>
<div id="q12">
<br />
12) Who believes in an immediate death penalty for corruption and adultery without scope for a mercy petition? (<a href="#q12" onclick="toggle('answer12');">answer</a>.)</div>
<div id="answer12" style="display: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It's super-rich godman <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Baba_Ramdev.html">Baba Ramdev</a> again. He said: <a href="http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=682390">"<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">We want a law that seeks death penalty for corruption, adultery, rape and dowry. The law should be such that the capital punishment is awarded immediately to the guilty and there should not be any scope for mercy petitions.</span>"</a></blockquote>
</div>
<br />Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-73447810770458260572014-03-15T14:52:00.003-07:002014-03-15T14:52:56.647-07:00A safe seat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8lvjnkvnrw/UyTKD5dyPYI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Bo-UYdkkSPo/s1600/FinallyASafeSeat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8lvjnkvnrw/UyTKD5dyPYI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Bo-UYdkkSPo/s1600/FinallyASafeSeat.jpg" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">After a desperate search <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/">Leaderji</a> finally finds a safe seat.</span></h3>
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-82852176985113289992014-03-14T15:16:00.000-07:002014-03-14T15:16:16.958-07:00The Modi wave<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PiMSn74KXow/UyN-tuso0YI/AAAAAAAAABA/V-4eah5gxL8/s1600/Modiwave1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PiMSn74KXow/UyN-tuso0YI/AAAAAAAAABA/V-4eah5gxL8/s1600/Modiwave1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>What is the Modi wave?</b> Physicists are searching for new theories to explain it. Is it connected with the hand pointing skywards? Is <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/" target="_blank">Leaderji</a> on it, in it or under it? Could it be an electromagnetic wave heading harmlessly into the distance, at most hitting an atom to cause short-lived excitement?
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No one knows the exact answers, but most experts think it is most like an ocean wave causing a <b>prolonged disturbance</b> as it heads for shore. They think Leaderji is riding the wave, but are unsure how stably he is standing. If it is an ocean wave, then it needs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_surface_wave">wind to drive it</a>, and they have identified a powerful <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_PR.html" target="_blank">wind machine</a> providing this: <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-Gujarat-Narendra-Modis-3D-avatar-for-rest-of-India/pmredirectshow/19624957.cms" target="_blank">a virtual 3D Leaderji in 53 locations</a> (for a few million dollars); <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/200-hitech-trucks-to-spread-bjps-message-modi-aane-wala-hai/457522-3-242.html" target="_blank">200 LED-screen trucks traversing UP</a> with the soothing message <i>'Modi aane wala hai'</i>; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-26540748" target="_blank">chai pe charcha</a> - with the small risk of some chai-stains ending on the Leaderji-faced tea cups.
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But such gusts are not enough to whip up a wave: steady wind over a wide area is needed. The experts have now found armies of <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bjp-s-tech-savvy-volunteers-to-reach-out-to-remote-voters-1969198" target="_blank">latest-technology-powered</a> mini wind generators. These whirr into action in the ancient kingdoms of <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/promodi-social-media-warriors-taunt-advani/article4800820.ece" target="_blank">comment-land</a> and <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/fascist-chatter.html" target="_blank">twitterstan</a>: the nation is facing a plague of "<i>spineless blood sucking congie leeches</i>", Kejriwal is a "<i>USA chamcha with naxalite ideas</i>", <a href="http://www.truthofgujarat.com/long-list-sexist-bigots-narendra-modi-follows-twitter/" target="_blank"><i>Sagarika Ghose is a bitch, that too a smelly one</i></a>. But Leaderji "<i>gives us hope</i>", writes Ananth. Prasad gets poetic: "<i>Life is not worth living without a lofty dream to pursue</i>". Madhav is "<i>gonna stand for Modi till death</i>".
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<br />
Thus the mini-winds which start life in twitterstan and comment-land journey to the sea. Fuelled, the mighty wave gathers pace, picking up debris as it moves. A Yeddy <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/chalta-hai-look-at-who-narendra-modi-wants-for-allies-1127571.html" target="_blank">falls off but is later spotted back in the foam</a>. A Paswan <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Unease-with-Lalu-Modis-rising-graph-pushed-Paswan-towards-BJP/articleshow/31134382.cms" target="_blank">jumps into the wave just in time</a> nearly missing it as it passes. There's some inevitable friction as battling cousins realise there may no longer be <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/specials/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Uddhav-Thackeray-hits-out-at-Raj-Thackeray-Nitin-Gadkari-BJP-firefights/articleshow/31862513.cms?" target="_blank">space for two on the wave</a>. The debris is now so great it seems <a href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bjp-leader-giriraj-singh-upset-over-ticket-distribution-meets-rajnath-singh_917925.html" target="_blank">you need a ticket to be part of it</a>.
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That's the current state of knowledge. Physicists do not yet know the end of this story. Does the wave continue to grow and proudly reach the shore? Does it break too early? Could Leaderji fall off? Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-88708819362589060222014-02-28T07:57:00.001-08:002014-02-28T07:57:48.737-08:00The family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMJ3xqLx6tM/UxCojmMEYlI/AAAAAAAAAAw/OYZAPRSwFCk/s1600/family2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RMJ3xqLx6tM/UxCojmMEYlI/AAAAAAAAAAw/OYZAPRSwFCk/s1600/family2.png" usemap="#map" /></a></div>
<br />
<map name="map">
<area alt="Babu Bajrangi" coords="114,8,203,48" href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Babu_Bajrangi.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="convicted mass murderer"></area>
<area alt="Baba Ramdev" coords="260,14,350,57" href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Baba_Ramdev.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="super-rich godman and close Sangh Parivar associate"></area>
<area alt="Amit Shah" coords="21,102,109,147" href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="Modi's right hand man, implicated in numerous illegal acts"></area>
<area alt="Narendra Modi" coords="190,134,287,177" href="http://narendramodifacts.com/" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="BJP's PM candidate; gave the go-ahead for Gujarat pogroms of 2002 according to the perpetrators"></area>
<area alt="Swami Aseemanand" coords="336,74,423,115" href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Swami_Aseemanand.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="in jail for involvement in a number of terrorist acts"></area>
<area alt="Maya Kodnani" coords="93,209,187,254" href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Maya_Kodnani.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="convicted mass murderer"></area>
<area alt="D. G. Vanzara" coords="23,264,113,306" href="http://deshkosh.org/D/D._G._Vanzara.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="disgraced supercop in jail since 2007 for his role in fake encounters"></area>
<area alt="Mohan Bhagwat" coords="320,220,419,266" href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Mohan_Bhagwat.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="RSS chief"></area>
<area alt="Asaram Bapu" coords="355,315,448,357" href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Asaram_Bapu.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="godman in jail for sexual assault on a minor"></area>
<area alt="Pravin Togadia" coords="174,321,262,360" href="http://deshkosh.org/P/Pravin_Togadia.html" shape="rect" target="_blank" title="VHP chief known for hate-speech and inciting violence"></area>
</map>
<br />
The family is coming together, sensing they have a real shot at power in the centre.
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<a href="http://deshkosh.org/V/VHP.html" target="_blank">VHP</a> president <a href="http://deshkosh.org/P/Pravin_Togadia.html" target="_blank"><b>Pravin Togadia</b></a> always has a lot to say. Some <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Sangh_Parivar.html" target="_blank">Parivar</a> members were unhappy with <a href="http://deshkosh.org/N/Narendra_Modi.html" target="_blank"><b>Modi's</b></a> more cautious tone as <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/BJP.html" target="_blank">BJP</a> prime ministerial candidate. But Togadia got the picture, tweeting: <a href="http://www.truthofgujarat.com/pravin-togadias-tweets-exposes-modis-fake-secularism/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"Let him add secular votes... We are ONE & the same. Nation needs him"</i></span></a>. For Togadia, <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Asaram_Bapu.html" target="_blank"><b>Asaram Bapu</b></a>, currently in jail charged with sexual assault of a minor is <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-asaram-bapu-is-a-real-saint-is-innocent-vhp-leader-pravin-togadia-1881212" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"a real saint"</i> </span></a>. Here's how Togadia sees mass murderer <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Maya_Kodnani.html" target="_blank"><b>Maya Kodnani</b></a>, sentenced to 28 years in jail for orchestrating the killing of 97 people in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naroda_Patiya_massacre" target="_blank">Naroda Patiya massacre</a>: she <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkGN2pbGNW8" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"stood up for her religion... she is the daughter of 100 crore [1 billion] Hindus. We stand with her"</i></span></a>. And for Togadia, the arrest of <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Swami_Aseemanand.html" target="_blank"><b>Swami Aseemanand</b></a>, in jail having confessed to a number of terrorist acts, was a government <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Govt-conspiracy-behind-Aseemanand-confession-Togadia-/articleshow/7314811.cms?referral=PM" target="_blank">conspiracy against Hindu leaders</a>.
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Disgraced "supercop" <a href="http://deshkosh.org/D/D._G._Vanzara.html" target="_blank"><b>D. G. Vanzara</b></a>, in jail since 2007 for his role in overseeing a number of <a href="http://deshkosh.org/F/fake_encounter.html" target="_blank">fake encounters</a>, has strong feelings. On Modi and his right-hand man <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html" target="_blank"><b>Amit Shah</b></a>: <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/jailed-cop-dg-vanzara-attacks-amit-shah-gujarat-government-over-fake-encounters-413902" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"I used to adore Modi like a god. But I am sorry to state that my God could not rise to occasion under the evil influence of Amit Shah who usurped his eyes and ears and has been misguding him"</i></span></a>. Vanzara apparently also <a href="http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cover-story/Asarams-arrest-was-the-last-straw-for-Vanzara/articleshow/22271333.cms" target="_blank">adored Asaram Bapu</a>, whose arrest was the last straw for him.
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Modi may not have been the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/R/RSS.html">RSS</a>' first choice for <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Sangh_Parivar.html" target="_blank">Sangh Parivar</a> prime ministerial candidate. But RSS chief <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Mohan_Bhagwat.html" target="_blank"><b>Mohan Bhagwat</b></a> wanted to dispel any suggestion of infighting, saying Modi <a href="http://firstpost.com/politics/modi-is-my-friend-says-rss-chief-bhagwat-617963.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"is my friend"</i></span></a>, and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2560313/If-stand-no-one-stop-RSS-leader-Bhagwat-demands-100-cent-unity-BJP-ensure-nationalist-victory-polls.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"if we stand together no one can stop us"</i></span></a>. Indeed, the Parivar stands together: in March 2013 Bhagwat and Togadia jointly launched the <a href="http://www.truthofgujarat.com/hindutva-gujarat-style/hindu-ahead-launch-at-karnavati-dr-mohan-ji-bhagwat-dr-pravin-togadia/" target="_blank">"Hindu Ahead"</a> (हिंदू ही आगे) movement in Ahmedabad. <a href="http://deshkosh.org/S/Swami_Aseemanand.html" target="_blank"><b>Swami Aseemanand</b></a>, in jail for terrorist atrocities, has claimed that RSS chief <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Mohan_Bhagwat.html" target="_blank"><b>Mohan Bhagwat</b></a> <a href="http://caravanmagazine.in/swami-aseemanand-interviews" target="_blank">approved the terror attacks</a>, and that Modi said to him <a href="http://ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/what-aseemanand-allegedly-said-about-narendra-modi-rss-and-terror-480088" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"now it has been decided that I will be CM, let me come and then I will do your work. Rest Easy."</i></span></a>
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Modi has surrounded himself with the best. <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Amit_Shah.html" target="_blank"><b>Amit Shah</b></a>, implicated in fake encounters, facing charges of murder, and being the head of an extortion syndicate, and director of the illegal surveillance of a young woman in late 2009, in the so-called <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_snoop.html" target="_blank">snoopgate scandal</a> is Modi's <a href="http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/amit-shah-narendra-modis-righthand-man/1181855/" target="_blank">right hand man</a>. <a href="http://deshkosh.org/M/Maya_Kodnani.html" target="_blank"><b>Maya Kodnani</b></a> was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20001001" target="_blank">Modi's close aide</a> and was promoted to minister after her starring role in the <a href="http://deshkosh.org/G/Gujarat_pogroms_2002.html">Gujarat pogroms of 2002</a>. Modi's fanbase goes wider. Convicted mass murderer <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Babu_Bajrangi.html" target="_blank"><b>Babu Bajrangi</b></a> felt his mentor Togadia <a href="http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107After_killing.asp" target="_blank">betrayed him</a>; but Modi <a href="http://www.tehelka.com/to-get-me-out-on-jail-narendrabhai-changed-judges-thrice/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"made everything all right, otherwise who would have had the strength?"</i></span></a> Super-rich godman and close associate of the Sangh Parivar, <a href="http://deshkosh.org/B/Baba_Ramdev.html" target="_blank"><b>Baba Ramdev</b></a>, declared before Modi's selection that if Modi was not declared PM candidate <a href="http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/no-narendra-modi-no-support-baba-ramdev-to-bjp_874579.html" target="_blank">he would have to rethink his support for the BJP</a>. He also feels that <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/narendra-modi-government-support-baba-ramdev/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"Modi alone can give stable government to the nation"</i></span></a>. Ramdev is also a fan of <a href="http://deshkosh.org/A/Asaram_Bapu.html" target="_blank"><b>Asaram Bapu</b></a>, declaring him to be <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9BxLPxpTTg" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><i>"Guru Ghantal"</i></span></a> (the guru of gurus - the one with all the answers.)
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This is only a small part of the family. They hope to take over very soon unless we stop them.
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-57707707139854018632014-02-08T15:08:00.000-08:002014-02-08T15:39:30.414-08:00Human sexuality and the human computerI remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi" target="_blank">Shakuntala Devi</a> appearing on Doordarshan in my childhood, generally accorded the status of a national icon for her astonishing feats of mental arithmetic. She could multiply, add, and extract roots of numbers of frightening size in seconds and without pen or paper. It seems likely that she - like other savants with similar abilities - related to numbers as poetry, as something to feel and experience rather than cage and manipulate. Although no doubt intended as a compliment, her nickname "the human computer" now sounds cruel, hinting that her special relationship with numbers might diminish her as a human being. But computers have not, so far, had much of interest to say about human sexuality. Whereas Shakuntala Devi on the other hand <a href="http://orinam.net/r-i-p-shakuntala-devi-math-evangelist-and-ally-of-the-queer-community/" target="_blank">called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality</a> in India. In her book <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/358567.The_World_Of_Homosexuals" target="_blank">"The World of Homosexuals"</a>, written in 1977 at the height of her fame, she interviewed a number of gay men, and ended by advocating "nothing less than full and complete acceptance... not tolerance and not sympathy". She stressed that her position was based on empathy and common sense.<br />
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In 2009, a full 32 years later, the Delhi High Court agreed. In a landmark judgement the Court declared a colonial era law, namely Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalising gay sex, as discriminatory and unconstitutional. In December 2013, about eight months after Shakuntala Devi's death, the Supreme Court of India <a href="http://orinam.net/377/supreme-court-verdict-2013/" target="_blank">reversed this decision</a>, to loud applause from the religious right. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377_of_the_Indian_Penal_Code" target="_blank">Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish bigots</a> chorused their satisfaction at the Supreme Court's <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/199550107/Struggling-for-Reason-Fundamental-Rights-and-the-Wrongs-of-the-Supreme-Court" target="_blank">contradictory and confused judgement</a> in which it decided that "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" was a meaningful category, referred to the LGBT community in India as a "miniscule fraction of the country's population", and claimed that the harassment of this community by the police using this law was a misuse of Section 377 rather than its natural consequence.<br />
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There will of course be another swing of the legal pendulum eventually and Section 377 will go the way of other junk - though if the forces of <a href="http://deshkosh.org/H/Hindu_Nationalism.html" target="_blank">Hindutva</a> come to power in the coming general election, this may take a while. What is of no doubt is that in the big scheme of things, Shakuntala Devi will remain an icon, while this Supreme Court judgement will just look silly. Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-36419762217496585762014-01-23T05:10:00.000-08:002014-01-23T05:12:34.725-08:00Racism in IndiaFollowing the <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/police-clear-women-targeted-by-aap/article5585531.ece" target="_blank">racial and sexual violence against African women in Delhi</a> orchestrated by Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti, the issue of racism in india has been <a href="http://kafila.org/2014/01/20/the-savage-greed-of-the-civilized-aap-moral-posturing-and-ordinary-racism/" target="_blank">getting some attention</a>, including in <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/we-were-groped-beaten-by-aap-men-four-ugandan-women-go-to-police/" target="_blank">the mainstream press</a>. Other <a href="http://nsi-delhi.blogspot.in/2011/01/skin-deep-narratives-of-racism-in-delhi.html" target="_blank">harrowing stories</a> of the casual, yet extreme, discrimination faced by African migrants in India have been emerging. These are certainly backed up by the anecdotes of friends of African origin who have visited or stayed in India. This seems to be worse, but certainly <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/living/not-so-cosmo-after-all-african-techie-faces-racist-attack-in-bangalore-950839.html" target="_blank">not exclusive to</a> the north of the country, with Delhi a hotspot of bigotry. See also <a href="http://mycontinent.co/Racism.php" target="_blank">these personal stories</a>.<br />
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African migrants are of course not the only victims of racist attacks and discrimination in India, and it seems fair to say that racism is deeply embedded in Indian culture. In a country so diverse, it is bizarre that so many Indians - at least the urban middle classes - are <a href="http://www.epw.in/blog/g-arunima/%E2%80%98difference%E2%80%99-delhi.html" target="_blank">so obsessed with, and terrified of, difference</a>. It would be fair to say that racism is endemic: take, for example, the casual telling of racist, xenophobic or regionalist jokes which anyone who has lived in India will have heard; the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/09/india-fair-skin-dark-campaign-das-20139181353151512.html" target="_blank">obsession with fairness</a> and the huge industry around it; the discrimination and harassment faced by <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/lets-stop-pretending-theres-no-racism-in-india/article3466554" target="_blank">people from the north-east</a> in many parts of the country; the endless association of fair with good and dark with bad in popular culture (naani teri morni...) And of course, caste can be seen as India's very own brand of racism, and no evil is quite as ugly and endemic as caste.<br />
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So since Indian racism is certainly there, I guess it's positive that people are talking more about it. There are good articles appearing in <a href="http://kafila.org/" target="_blank">alternative media</a>, but also some decent commentaries in the mainstream press. No doubt the deeply authoritarian tendencies in Indian culture (fear your superiors, kick your inferiors) mentioned in an <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/why-do-young-people-love-narendra-modi.html">earlier post</a> mean that no sudden changes are to be expected. But perhaps people who haven't thought too hard about these things but are just carried along on the tide of normality of racism in India (everyone does that, everyone finds that funny), may pause for thought.<br />
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You may want to <a href="https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Delhi_Chief_Minister_Arvind_Kejriwal_We_call_upon_you_to_Remove_Delhi_Law_Minister_Somnath_Bharti_immediately/?tsRRNab" target="_blank">sign this petition</a>.
Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-41275733698019052732013-09-22T11:23:00.000-07:002013-09-22T11:23:44.124-07:00Fascist chatterThe <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_Sangh">Hindu nationalists</a> have brigades of internet activists who chatter constantly to each other. There are thousands of them and some tweet tens or hundreds of times a day. Who are they and what can be heard amidst the chatter? I scanned about on Twitter for some insight. First, some of the cast with their self-descriptions...<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@nimeshchandra: Hindu,Hindutva-vadi ,Proud Bharatiya ,Patriot, Invester & trader , nonpracticing Homeopath, aspiring Politician</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DrShobha (Internet Hindoo): Mother,Edn Professional, Dreamer@TheArtOfLiving, Blessed wid a Master,Humble Nationalist;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@truevirathindu: Love My Mother COW who feeds us with richness till she lives. Wanna Save her till my last drop of blood is there. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DabanggHindu: whole of Hindu community has to be united polarized consolidated to save Hinduism, sadhu saints,sadhvis from false cases jail liquidation of Hindutva RSS BJP</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@Meedana: journalist, writer, poet, artist, film director, philantrophist. My dream is an India headed by Narendra Modi and Swamy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DrPravinTogadia: Renowned Cancer Surgeon ; International Working President, VHP</span></li>
</ul>
_____<br /><br />Now we've met a few, what do they do? They converse with each other:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@Meedana: "for votes con goons will burn, kill and rape hindus as they don't need them"</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@truevirathindu to @Meedana: "Now after voting, we hindus will literally rape & kill them in the results"</span></blockquote>
and with their enemies:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@faraznamah to @DrPravinTogadia: "y u divide hindu n muslim.Y cant u say its human beings who got killed.were u born communal.Atleast respect ur profession"<br /><br />@DrPravinTogadia to @faraznamah: "You just shut up. The whole world now knows how YOU guys kill everyone else who are not like you. Hindus only self protect."</span></blockquote>
And they offer insights...<br />
<ul>
<li>On women's rights: <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@ShoneeKapoor: "#Women #rights have become the means of subordinating society to whims of the few misdirected #feminists." @yashna_chawla: "what about justice 2men whose life n families are destroyed coz of the misuse of women centric laws?"</span></li>
<li>On the economy: <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DrPravinTogadia: "Simple! Let us change the PM & the new PM will surely order piddly US to stop the US - Syria war Then the rupee will go up."</span></li>
<li>On electoral strategy regarding caste: <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@Prabodh7Singh: "I working to unite Hindus irrespective of their caste's in patna.PEHLE DHARM PHIR JAAT."; @nimeshchandra: "@narendramodi u r wasting time and energy for votes of muslims-NRIs instead focus on st sc obc votes"</span></li>
<li>On victimisation: <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DrPravinTogadia: "Media busy targeting Muzaffarnagar Hindus!", "all blame on Hindus. Sick!", "All over Hindus are made targets. Gvt busy arresting Sants at Ayodhya!" @AdvRoopKaur: "this is pseudo secularism, majority suffering" @ranjeetnatu: "Grave danger to human rights of Hindus in UP.", @DrShobha: "We have become so accustomed to blaming Hindus that we could be missing something insidious and very dangerous."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the new (golden?) dawn that awaits:</span> <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">@DrShobha:
"O son of Bhaarat,arise,awake and lead us till we achieve a India of
our dreams..tis not merely d B'day of @narendramodi,tis dawn of New
Era." @anilkohli54: "I hv jnd BJP,Iam available on d net n on d
street,am a sepoy bldng nation's might,modi is my leader n a gr8 India
is my future" @DabanggHindu: "When Hindu gets angry they starts a huge
backlash no power on earth can control them its called majority
retaliation strike"</span> </span></li>
</ul>
So, is there something to learn from the hatred, the whining and the self-congratulation? Certainly the chatter is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_grooming">social grooming</a>: the big family constructing and consolidating its bonds and its identity, keeping its energy and optimism high, waiting for the day... But we also see some tensions in the family, and the fragility of this identity constructed around victimhood and threatened masculinity. We see how crucial the external enemy is: I've omitted the endless references to Pakistan and Islamic terrrorism and so forth as I commented on this in a <a href="http://deshisense.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-great-enemy-pakistan.html">previous post</a> - in these snippets the enemy is mainly the minority-appeasing state. But perhaps above all what we see is the centrality of violence, in metaphor and in reality, for binding the group together. It will not be a surprise if we see more before election day. <br />
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Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-72628544367734219592013-09-20T03:58:00.000-07:002013-09-20T03:58:21.844-07:00The great enemy Pakistan? The legendary Indian film actor Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan in what is today Pakistan) recently had a heart attack but is, at the time of writing, recovering. One may recall that he received, amongst countless other honours and awards, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Pakistani government in 1997 - the highest civilian award in Pakistan. The Shiv Sena predictably objected, but Dilip Kumar decided to accept the award anyway.<br />
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In India, the forces of communalism need nothing more than a permanent Pakistan-hating frenzy. If you doubt how important this is for the Sangh Parivar, visit the twitter page of VHP head Pravin Togadia. In August, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists were <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/vhp-workers-lathicharged-by-police-in-ahmedabad-408239" target="_blank">arrested for vandalising an Ahmedabad art gallery displaying work by some Pakistani artists</a>. Togadia tweeted condemning the arrests, suggesting this was about getting (presumably Muslim or secular) votes. But after some prolific VHP tweeters started sounding sulky about Modi, Togadia had to reassure his supporters: in allowing some Brownshirts to be arrested, Modi was not really turning against his core fanbase. "<i>We [Modi and the VHP presumably] are ONE & the same</i>", he explained, and "<i>let him [Modi] add secular votes</i>". So in the run up to the elections there may be some mild bickering in the Hindutva camp, but their bigwigs understand the need for a bit of realpolitik at this important moment when the RSS finally has another shot at getting to the top.<br />
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Returning to the question of Pakistan, I'm sure most people know instinctively that people of the subcontinent are all much the same, even in our foolishness (for example, getting worked up over religion). Sure, Pakistan has its nutters and terrorists. As does India. If speaking rudely of Pakistanis was unacceptable in India - even considered a form of communalism - it seems likely the Sangh Parivar's power would wane. This highlights the importance of events like the Pakistan India Peoples' Forum For Peace & Democracy's recent seminar in Delhi: <a href="http://www.sacw.net/article5236.html">Talking peace in the times of war mongering</a>.<br />
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Here are some other initiatives which seem to be in the right direction:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.friendswithoutborders.org/">http://www.friendswithoutborders.org/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/indopak">https://www.facebook.com/indopak</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.indiapakistanpeace.org/">http://www.indiapakistanpeace.org/</a></li>
</ul>
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Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-49526291389721430672013-09-19T02:04:00.001-07:002013-09-20T04:05:55.437-07:00<b>Search engine optimisation (SEO) and the propaganda war</b><br />
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If you google "Narendra Modi", it's depressing how far down the list you have to go (at the time of writing) before you come to anything critical. It seems that the forces of communalism know more about SEO than their opponents. I don't know much about it, but the key seems to be Google's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank">PageRank algorithm</a> (named after a co-founder of Google, Larry Page, and not after web-pages). The details are rather complicated, but in short it works like this: if you want your site or blog or facebook page to appear high up in searches you need a lot of other sites to <i>link to yours</i>. This pushes up your ranking - it gives your site points, if you like. Moreover, if you can get sites which themselves have a good ranking to link to your site then that ups your site's ranking even more. So web-people opposed to communal fascism in India in the run up to the 2014 election: even if you have strategic differences, <b>please link to each other's sites</b>.<br />
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Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202867456315673385.post-22314707400848745082013-09-18T14:00:00.000-07:002013-09-20T04:04:40.590-07:00<b>Why do young people love Narendra Modi?</b><br />
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Apparently Modi has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/world/asia/indian-vote-off-to-a-violent-start.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">"rock-star appeal"</a> and young people love him. If it's even half true, what's that about? Perhaps they swallow the nonsense <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_PR.html" target="_blank">his PR machine</a> spews out, but that doesn't seem enough to explain it.<br />
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So here's a nice simple-minded theory. We have a complicated relationship with authority and power in India. Pecking orders are everywhere and many people switch easily between fearful respect towards one person, and haughty superiority towards another. Grovelling and terrorising in quick succession. (Sometimes it's not clear cut - two people meet and they both think, "is this a grovel moment or a terrorise moment?")
The fear and respect starts early, with parents; and teachers; and elders; and the police; and the military; and other representatives of the state; and people with power and money; and so on. Since it starts so young, maybe we end up so emotionally confused that love and fear are nearly indistinguishable. We resent our weakness and long for a higher power to come along to torment our tormentors. The hero film-star rescuer.<br />
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Maybe that's what Modi is to some people. A fantasy born of general impotence - the father you're supposed to love - benevolent and kind, provided you are sufficiently fearful and respectful. The people who claim to love him are then mostly just afraid, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Mallika-Sherawat-sings-Happy-Birthday-for-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/22690209.cms" target="_blank">however cheerfully they announce their adoration</a>. The Modi love-fear certainly transcends class - a quick trawl through the web shows that Modi has a significant "educated", middle-class following. It also transcends all reason, since the grubby, bloody reality of his rise to power is no superhero story.<br />
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One lesson could be that there's not much point being earnest and reminding people about the <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_2002.html" target="_blank">Gujarat violence of 2002</a> or <a href="http://narendramodifacts.com/faq_encounter.html" target="_blank">encounter killings</a> or the <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/hindu-nationalists-historical-links-nazism-fascism-214222" target="_blank">historical links of the RSS to Nazism</a> - this just reinforces the love-fear. Maybe the careful and precise analysis you'll find on <a href="http://kafila.org/tag/narendra-modi/" target="_blank">Kafila</a> is mainly for the converted. More hope perhaps of toppling the idol in other ways like they try at the recently created <a href="http://pheku.in/" target="_blank">http://pheku.in</a>, a website which makes a point of "cussing" him - attacking him irreverently with cartoons and satire. And even if such attacks just wind the Modi-maniacs up, that's good enough for me. Well done to those who conceived it.<br />
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Farzihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13312034525670319415noreply@blogger.com0