Ahmedabad has disgraced the nation if this story, sent as Facebook message, is true

By Markandey Katju*Ahmedabad has disgraced the nation. The sender has asked me to delete his name:June 30, 4:51pm
I was on internship at Well Stimulation Services, ONGC, Ahmedabad, and was excited about the internship because of ONGC and Ahmedabad. It was going to be my first time in Ahmedabad.
I reached Ahmedabad, and liked everything, like ONGC, Ahmedabad city, etc.
The weather was perfectly fine. Me and one of my college frnd, A Saxena, took a flat at Visat chawraha, adjacent to ONGC. The owner, 65 yrs aged, stayed with his wife. He was very nice and supportive. 2-3 days passed and everything was smooth, until he came to know that I am a Muslim.
From that very moment everything changed, he was no more nice to us. He started scolding us at everything like wasting water n all, talked nonsense and still we ignored. 2-3 days passed this way. Finally when he was done with all his nonsense and truth came out of his mouth, he called my friend Saxena and told him directly "dekh Saxena Tera dost Muslim hai.. Is colony me Muslims allowed nhin hain.. Colony waale jaan gye toh kya bolenge..".
These are some of his statements. My poor friend Saxena, from a good family background, being a little unaware of these communal hatreds and differences took him lightly and never told me. 2-3 more days passed when the owner couldn't resist his anger and called me finally at 1am night. He told me "dekh ---, Teri saari hoshiyari nikal jayegi. Over smart nhin ban.. Yeh Tera UP nhin hai.. Yeh gujrat hai Raat-o-raat gayab ho jayega pata bhi nhin chalega.. Samaan tak nhin wapas le ja payega Ghar.."And I was like "what the hell happened to him.. What's my fault?" but still seeing the conditions and taking care of his age I managed to ask him politely "I am a Muslim and it can't be changed.. What do you want me to do?".
Then he spoke his mind, which he should have said at the time of giving us the flat to avoid all these insults "leave the flat.. Muslims aren't allowed in this colony" then I remembered remarks of my father when I told him about my internship at ONGC, Ahmedabad which is "arey Ahmedabad me toh badi dikkaten hotin Muslims ko"..Then I realised how right he was.
I left the flat at that very moment. Stayed with my other college friends illegally. Searched for another flat/room but the same response "we don't give rooms/flats to Mohammedans".. Tired of all these.. I left Ahmedabad on my ninth day of internship.. Joined Institute of drilling technology, ONGC, Dehradun. Dehradun, a beautiful place with awesome people with awesome thinking.
Ryt now m in Dehradun, happy.
But when I look back I can't decide who's fault was that.. Mine? Coz I was born in a Muslim family.. Or the landlord's? I don't think so Coz he was a nice person until he knew my name.. I still wonder "WHO'S FAULT WAS THAT?"
P. S: Modiji is right in building "Statue of Unity" at Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad really needs unity.
---
*Former chairman, Press Council of India. Courtesy: http://justicekatju.blogspot.in

Comments

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Call to "enjoy" pilgrimage of Sabarmati beyond Ahmedabad, where river water turns black

Sabarmati at Vautha By A Representative Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch (NSM), a Gujarat-based civil rights organization, has called upon the state's citizens to join in a "unique yatra" along the river Sabarmati, starting in Ahmedabad and ending off the Gulf of Khambhat, where the river is supposed to merge with the sea. Pointing out that in Hindu culture, rivers are equated with Mother Goddess, NSM convener Jatin Seth says, it will be a "special event of pilgrimage", because, just like Ganga, Sarbarmati possesses "special properties." "Starting at Giaspur, one can see how industries are releasing chemicals in Sabarmati, and you get a Thumbs-Up like colour of the water, and if you drink it, you are sure to be at least affected by cancer, and this way would enable you to book your ticket in the paradise. The river has a special smell, too, emanating from a black cocktail-type colour", says Seth in a statement. A village next to Sabarmati river In...

Budget for 2018-19: Ahmedabad authorities "regularly" under-spend allocation

By Mahender Jethmalani* The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC's) General Body (Municipal Board) recently passed the AMC’s annual budget estimates of Rs 6,990 crore for 2018-19. AMC’s revenue expenditure for the next financial year is Rs 3,500 crore and development budget (capital budget) is Rs 3,490 crore.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra* Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Covid response? How, gripped by fear and groupthink, scientists 'failed' children

By Bhaskaran Raman* “Today’s children are tomorrow’s future”, “Nurture children’s dreams”, “A child’s smile is sunlight”. These are some cliches, rendered rather uninspiring through repetition and obviousness. However, for nearly 2½ years, society forgot these cliches, children suffered as science failed and groupthink prevailed. Worse, all of this has been swept under the rug.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Search This Blog