Kashmirisation of India? Ayodhya communal harmony meet: Activists stopped, detained

Counterview Desk
In a joint statement, three civil rights organizations, Rihai Manch, National Alliance of People's Movements and Lok Rajniti Manch, and Socialist Party (India), have taken strong exception to the Uttar Pradesh government taking "preventive" steps against those seeking to hold a meeting on communal harmony at Ayodhya.
In a statement, they have said that what the Central government may not be successful in Indianisation of Kashmir, but Kasmirisation of India is surely a possibility. "The government has thrust a decision on people of J&K without their approval... Tomorrow the government can interfere in the matters of other states also. Such autocratic tendency of the government needs to be opposed."

Text:

We condemn the house arrest of Advocate Mohammd Shoaib, Sandeep Pandey and other friends on August 11 and 16, 2019 on the issue of staging one hour candle light demonstration in support of people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and for preventing Professor Ram Puniyani, Sandeep Pandey, Rajeev Yadav, Hafeez Kidwai and others from reaching Ayodhya on August 17, 2019 for a two days meeting on communal harmony and for arresting the host of this meeting Mahant Yugal Kishore Shashtri and bringing him to Raunahi where Prof Puniyani and others were detained on the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway and threatening and putting pressure on participants of this meeting to return to their homes, thereby killing the programme.
Prof Puniyani was told that after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A the situation in the country has changed and therefore the Ayodhya event, even though it had nothing to do with Kashmir issue, was being denied permission.
There was no formal order with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Arpit, and the Additional Superintendent of Police, Shailendra Kumar Singh, the officers who had detained Prof Puniyani, banning the meeting in Ayodhya. They were carrying a general order dated 10 July 2019 signed by the district magistrate (DM) banning any programme which could potentially disturb communal amity.

Prof Puniyani was told after abrogation of Articles 370 the situation in the country has changed. Hence the Ayodhya event, though not on Kashmir, was being denied permission

Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta has said in an “Indian Express” article that by what the Central government has done, Indianisation of Kashmir may not happen but Kasmirisation of India will take place. It appears that his words are coming true. In Jammu and Kashmir there is total clampdown on civil liberties.
There is restriction even on press. Now it appears that there is a clampdown on anybody even outside of J&K who wants to stand with the people of Kashmir. From what happened on August 17 it is now clear that it is not just Kashmir, anybody who holds a view different from that of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) or Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) even on any other matter is not free to express their views or organise any programmes. We are headed towards a situation of Emergency. If this is not challenged the government is likely to become more autocratic.
The government has thrust a decision on people of J&K without their approval and against their wish. Even if the decision may be considered correct the manner in which it has been taken is anti-democratic. Tomorrow the government can interfere in the matters of other states also. Such autocratic tendency of the government needs to be opposed.
Even though Narendra Modi has formed a government the second time with absolute majority, the BJP has got merely 37.4% votes. It cannot be taken as a licence to take any decision which affects the life of people, like ban on currency notes with consulting the people or arriving at a consensus. He cannot assume that all his decisions will be approved by all the people. In fact, majority is against him.
To sideline any other opinion in order to implement the agenda of RSS, BJP is working in a high handed manner. To stifle the voice of people who protest against its anti-democratic decisions is even more condemnable. We are committed to maintaining the Constitutional freedoms of citizens and will go to any extent to fight for them.

Comments

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 ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

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.

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...

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

Counterview

Search This Blog