Nationalism Controversy Rages
By Insaf
Gandhi land Gujarat has set the ball rolling in making the chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai compulsory. Whereby, four Gujarati schools have made it binding for those seeking school admissions to write their affirmation in their application forms. This is purportedly to instill nationalism among the students especially against the backdrop of anti-national slogans dotting various university campuses across the country. Recall, JNU President Kanhaiya Kumar became a cause célèbre and was jailed for participating in a pro-Afzal Guru rally and wanting those who had hanged the Parliament attack perpetrator to be brought to be book. Fueling further controversy some minority institutions too have announced that saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai goes against the tenets of Islam which preaches adherence to only one God. Whether asserting Bharat Mata ki Jai or Jai Hind does not really matter. As Shakespeare said “A rose by another name would smell as sweet.” Bluntly, what counts is India and allegiance to it, not how you profess it.
Yet, all is not well at the NIT campus in Srinagar where protest for and against Bharat Mata Ki Jai continues to rage. It all started when few students celebrated the victory of West Indies over India in the T20 World Cup semi-final recently. The next day the pro-nationalists started shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai slogans resulting in a clash between two rival groups and two FIRs being filed. On side the out-station students demanded the shifting of the institute from Kashmir, on the other the locals sought action against policemen who had lathicharged them. Amidst the tension BJP’s Dy Chief Minister has ordered a time bound enquiry in to the violence. Obviously, the Government does not want a repeat of Delhi’s JNU controversy which unleashed a national maelstrom.
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Modi’s UP-Assam Game Plan
In election season Parties are busy doling out freebies even as they calculate how these would translate in the ballot boxes for them. The first off the mark is Prime Minister Modi who has promised to change the lives of Dalits and tribals in Ulta-Pulta Pradesh. No matter that elections in the State are slated for next year. He has offered them cheap loans through one of his pet schemes Stand Up India, by underscoring how cheap credit would unleash new job plans and growth opportunities. More so, as Dalits account for 21 per cent of UP’s population and thus are a crucial vote bank in the State which sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. Besides, Modi’s initiative is all the more important especially after the suicide of a Dalit student in a Hyderabad University. Will the electorate buy Modi’s wares?
In salubrious Assam, all Parties have put their best foot forward in the ongoing elections. While the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to return to power for its fourth term, arch rival BJP has its fingers crossed of hitting gold in this North Eastern State. Pollsters feel, the large Muslim community seems to be leaning favourably towards the Hindutva brigade. They base this on the high voting in the first phase wherein the State recorded 78 per cent polling for 65 seats. In neighbouring West Bengal which too boasts of a high minority population, the State recorded 83 per cent voting. Clearly, the BJP game plan wrests on getting the Dalits and tribals on their side and making peace overtures to the Muslims.
JDU-RLD Merger In UP
Fresh winds of change are blowing across the Hindu heartland. All eyes are on the forthcoming merger of Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U). Many wonder if this is the beginning of a larger umbrella which may see the Congress joining hands with its Bihar ally to form a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the Assembly elections one year away. According to JD(U) this amalgamation would ensure a senior position for Ajit Singh with his son and former MP Jayant Chaudhary being made UP’s Party President. There is no gainsaying, for both the Congress and JD(U) a pact could turn out to be a win-win situation. One, they could pool their resources to take on rivals Samajwadi, BSP and BJP. Two, after Mulayam tried to spoil the JD(U)-Congress pact in Bihar by fielding candidates against them, Sonia and Nitish have an aversion for the SP supremo. Three, the Congress and RLD share an aversion to Mayawati’s BSP and BJP, thus an anti-BJP platform makes sense. It remains to be seen whether the fusion would expand each Parties base by reinforcing the combined interests of the JD(U) and RLD.
Drought Vs IPL
Drought stricken Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana have been severely reprimanded by the Supreme Court for their ‘non-seriousness’ in dealing with the acute water crisis leading to farmers committing suicide. The Court took the States to task for filing shoddy statistics on the drought hit areas in their regions. This sentiment was reiterated by the Bombay High Court which rapped Chief Minister Fadnavis for allowing the forthcoming IPL matches to be held in the State. With scarce water, how could the Administration allow wastage for getting the stadiums ready? Shockingly, so severe is the famine that not only have farmers committed suicide but it has resulted in a full blown public health crisis. Hence doctors in the famine-struck region are putting off surgeries as there is no water even to wash their hands! Take Latur, its five lakh population’s lifeline are water tankers which come every two-three days. Worse, the tanker water is so polluted that people are contracting diseases like jaundice, typhoid and gastroentities. A vicious annual circle afflicting rural India with heartless States watching as mute spectators. What next? —INFA