On Gandhi Jayanti, Gujarat governor launches book praising Modi non-violence, following Mahatma's footseps

By Our Representative
In a controversial move, Gujarat governor OP Kohli on the Gandhi Jayanti Day unveiled a book which claims to highlight "ideological parallels” between Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “key themes” of non-violence, nationalism, poverty and inclusive development.
Titled ‘Mahatma Gandhi to Modi’, the book has been authored by Rajeshkumar Acharya, a specialist in pharmaceutical chemistry and a practicing lawyer with focus on intellectual property rights, and Girishchandra Tanna, a retired government official. The book was being offered a 30% concession in order to “promote” it.
During the book launch ceremony, neither Kohli, nor the two authors, once recalled Modi's role – positive or negative – in the 2002 Gujarat riots, in which more than 1000 people died, nor did they refer to his other controversial decisions, such as refusal to provide scholarship to minority students, calling it “appeasement.”
Without also referring to criticism on Modi, under attack within the country and abroad for “stifling” dissenting voices and civil society, and remaining silent on “increasing” attacks on minorities and the marginalized, one of the authors, Acharya, said the Prime Minister has set “new precedents for people striving for liberty and equality across the globe.”
Acharya also talked of how Modi's ideas included the idea of “a single unified nation, non-violent struggle, self-reliance and inclusivity” – something that Gandhi stood for. It is not known whether the book as a special chapter of violence that occurred during the 2002 riots and its aftermath, leading to thousands of minority community people becoming displaced.
Claiming that there has been a vacuum so far on Gandhi's thoughts and ideologies about “education, health, rural development, employment, female development, and industrial development”, which have remained “untouched” in the intellectual sphere, the authors suggest, this is one reason why they had decided to come up with a book on Modi's quest to follow the Mahatma.
Charactering the book as "thought-provoking”, Kohli, launching it at a Raj Bhavan ceremony, praised the authors for having "narrated the convictions and commitments" of Modi, adding, "They have highlighted the accomplishments of Modi, deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Swami Vivekanand."
The authors believe the proof of Modi being inspired by Gandhi lies in his admiration of the Mahatma Gandhi in his “speeches”, adding, the development model Modi has chosen from Gandhi's ideology are – Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, Mission on October 2nd, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
However, they did not refer to the critics' contention that the Swacch Bharat Mission is singularly silent on the plight of manual scavengers, for whom Gandhi stood all this life.
Other “Gandhian” steps of Modi, he authors believe, are the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna for financial inclusion, and the Make in India campaign as a replica of the Swadeshi doctrine of Mahatma Gandhi.
The book has been published by Nanoland Publishers, a division of little-known Nanoland Group, which claims to be a “knowledge pool of rising talents" working on the role of nanotechnology in “the advancement of space technology and demystify the unexplored universe.”

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India failing to dictate diplomatic preferences of Nepal, Bhutan, is unfairly blaming Beijing: Chinese daily

By Our Representative
In a sharply-worded editorial, a top Chinese media outfit, described by BBC as state-run, has said, commenting on India's foreign relations with its neighbours, that "speculation and suspicion" is "certainly not diplomacy". Published in "China Daily", the largest circulating English Monday-to-Saturday newspaper with branches across the world, the editorial notes (September 20) that "several recent events" in Nepal and Bhutan, are "gnawing worrywarts in New Delhi".
The editorial -- which comes close on the heels of a sharp critique of India's foreign policy in a state-supported Russian media outfit, Sputnik International, calling India's anti-Pak diplomacy as having "gone awry" following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "half-baked" push for anti-terror drill down "others' throat" -- says, the " worrywarts" include "Nepalese troops taking part in a joint…

Accused of being RSS plant, Modi man, Hyderabad Urdu varsity chancellor asks President to probe "irregularities"

Counterview Desk
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Counterview Desk
Well-known farmer rights leader Sagar Rabari, in an open letter to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, has demanded a transparent account of Narmada water, saying, while he has received a "routine reply" from him to his earlier, the data emerging from his RTI application show huge quantity of water being directed to Ahmedabad, the 10 km stretch of Sabarmati for the Ahmedabad riverfront, and nearby elite urban areas, including the Adanis' Shantigram township and GIFT City.

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By Our Representative
Hundreds of elderly, widows, single women and differently-abled persons from different districts of Jharkhand gathered near the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi for a public hearing organized by the Jharkhand Right to Food Campaign and Pension Parishad demanding the right to universal social security pensions ahead of World Elderly Day on October 1.

Ethnocide in Caribbean island filmed following award winning docufilm on Jamaica's anti-colonial Indian roots

International awards winner for Best Feature Documentary Linda Aïnouche for “Dreadlocks Story” (2014), which shows how Indians are entangled in the Jamaican society, and how Hinduism was a source of inspiration for the Rastafari movement, is all set to release her new documentary, “Marooned in the Caribbean”, which aims at documenting the awful desolating living conditions that Raizal people, the native inhabitants of San Andres Archipelago, endure.
Sons of slaves, these islanders have fallen prey to what the Colombian government calls Colombianization. “It’s a process”, according to her, “which kills the Raizal culture; it’s the killing of the Raizal soul. Colombianization subjugates Afro-descendants of San Andres to an ethnocide.”
Explorer, director and producer, Linda Aïnouche writes exclusively for Counterview: ***
Nobody escapes from blood and thunder in Colombia, and definitely not in the archipelago of San Andres, situated closer to Managua and Kingston than Bogota. The Raizal p…

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By Tapan Bose*
Seven Rohingya Muslims refugees who were held at a detention centre in Assam since 2012 will be handed over to Myanmar. The Supreme Court of India has refused to stop their deportation. The new Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gagoi said, "We are not inclined to interfere on the decision taken".

An elite Kutir set up by Modi far from the "madding" crowd: This Gandhi museum is formal, unapproachable

By Rajiv Shah
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By Nandini Oza*
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Hyderabad-based Urdu university "bars" entry of its new chancellor, who had "initiated" reforms in institute

Counterview Desk
In an unusual controversy, Aslam Parvaiz, vice-chancellor of of the Hyderabad-based Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) has restricted the entry of its newly appointed Chancellor, Firoz Bakht Ahmed, allegedly because he was trying to initiate reforms, including setting up of a Maulana Azad Center for Composite Culture and Progressive Studies, Model Madrasa, Center for Empowerment of Muslim Women, Course for the Development of Legal Vocabulary and Legal Consciousness in Urdu, and so on.

Poor response to tenders for Gujarat's bid for the world's tallest statue, no international firm shows interest

By Our Representative
The Gujarat government’s claim that its decision to build the world’s highest statue in the world, in the memory of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, would attract “tremendous” response top international construction companies, has gone phut. The state government floated international tenders in August to build the statue, which is slated to be 182-metres high. Despite the “international” character of the tenders and big claims, well-informed Sachivalaya sources close to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi say, “not one international firm has come up to offer to carry out the construction activity.”

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