Thursday, December 25, 2025

Are rights of minorities in India in jeopardy?

By
Humra Quraishi
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The AAP government in Delhi has achieved two wonders. First, a sizeable number of government schools in the Capital city are running on par with the public schools. The examination results of the last academic year and the parents’ reaction have gone ahead to show that if a government genuinely wants, it can make the educational institutions stand out, even with the basic fees and facilities.

The other sphere is the AAP government’s earnestness to reach out to the minority groups and communities. The indication became clear in last year July when Arvind Kejriwal-led government appointed three fearless members in the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) — Dr Zafarul Islam Khan as chairperson, and Anastasia Gill and Kartar Singh Kochhar as members.

Of course, it would have been too soon then to write about this team but, now, as it has completed a year in the office, we can see that for the last several months the team has been taking on the police and the administrative authorities in matters related to minorities where their rights are sabotaged, dented or even bypassed. And now, more recently, the Delhi Minorities Commission has also issued notices to two particular television channels for provocative and communal slants in their reportage.

The DMC is not just directly naming and pinpointing the ‘wrongdoers’ but also issuing notices so that the cases reach a logical conclusion. In fact, Zafarul Islam Khan, a PhD holder from Manchester University in Islamic Studies and Editor of the Milli Gazette, who has worked for several international organisations, told me recently that there has been no political interference nor even the slightest trace of political pressure. Perhaps, with that in the background or foreground, this team is daring to do its utmost, to see that fair play and sense prevails to keep the fabric intact.

In May, DMC issued a notice to Zee News where it pointed, “While bypolling was on in Kairana parliamentary constituency, Zee News telecast a report showing Kairana’s Muslim women wearing Talibani burqas. The report, anchored by Sudhir Chaudhry on May 28, repeatedly targeted elderly Muslim women of Kairana who wear burqas which the channel dubbed as “Talibani burqas”. It alleged that the Muslim community of the area is inspired by Wahabism and that they are trying to propagate the “ideology of Taliban.” Amid images of Muslim women wearing burqas were flashed like “Bharat mein Talibani soch ki ghuspaith?” (Talibani thinking’s intrusion into India), “Talibani burqe ka itihasik DNA test” (Historic DNA test of Talibani burqas), “Dekhein Kairana mein Talibani burqe ka kya kaam” (Look, what Talibani burqas are doing in Kairana). In addition to the broadcast, the channel also published a report same day on its website with the headline: “Dheere dheere Bharat ke Musalmanon ko kattar banaya jar aha hai” (Slowly, Indian Muslims are being made extremists). It has claimed that Indian Muslims are being Talibanised which it called a “karwa sach” (bitter truth) and said that attempt is being made to change the DNA of Indian Muslims, that Kairana has become a “laboratory” of communalism and of religion-based politics, that “Talibani thinking has crossed Afghani borders into Pakistan and from there it has infiltrated into India”. Such comments are a clear attempt to defame a community, propagate disaffection against it and concoct a fake story which has no root or basis since the kind of burqas the channel refers to are centuries-old in India. This clearly is an offence under IPC Section 295/A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and IPS Section 505 (spreading false rumours). The broadcast was also an attempt to polarize communities and influence voters on communal lines while a byelection was on in the area, which is a punishable offence under Section 171/C of IPC.”

The DMC also issued notices to the Sudarshan TV channel over a report it telecast about residents of Bawana in North Delhi. The notice reads, “The channel had aired a programme on May 11 which dubbed Bawana residents as “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” although these Indian citizens have been officially settled here by the government agencies after relocating them from various Delhi areas over the decades… DMC has ordered the managing director of the channel to reply by June 12 with proofs to show that Bawana residents are “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas”…The Commission has also issued a notice to DCP North District to file a report about the action taken against the said broadcast, especially against one Ganga Ram who is allegedly behind spreading rumours that residents of the area are “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas”.

I am left amazed by the DMC’s outreach. Even the slightest intrusion into religious places of worships and dargahs has been halted by them. Two very recent cases:

When news trickled down that the land of Dargah Shah Kaleemullah in New Delhi would be converted into a “heritage parking” to serve the visitors of the nearby “Heritage haveli”, the Delhi Minorities Commission has issued a notice to the Delhi Waqf Board to explain what steps have been taken by the board to protect the Dargah land and why this land is required when a parking lot exists nearby Subhash Maidan?

In another case, Delhi Minorities Commission has issued suo motu notices regarding Gulshan Masjid in Mehrauli where anti-socials stopped Namaz, damaged prayer mats and attacked the Imam. A year ago, these elements had demolished graves inside the mosque compound. The DMC notices have been issued to DCP South, SDM South and Delhi Waqf Board to file a report about what action has been taken against the anti-socials who have attacked the Imam and have stopped Namaz in the mosque for few days. The notices have also asked what action was taken against the destruction of graves by anti-socials a year ago.

DMC is reaching out to even those residing beyond Delhi. Why not! After all, its duty is to protect the human being. And, as the communal violence went uncontrolled in Shillong, the DMC Chairman, Dr Zafarul Islam Khan wrote letters to the Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Deputy Commissioner of Shillong Peter Sansan Dkhar asking them to take strict action against the mobs attacking Sikhs in Shillong: “We believe it is a clear failure of the law and order machinery to control the situation and bring the culprits to justice. The Delhi Minorities Commission hopes your administration will rise to the occasion and discharge its responsibilities without discrimination. Mobs must never be allowed to rule the streets of any part of our country. Rule of mobs means a total failure of the lawful authorities to discharge their duties under Constitution and Law. We hope a strict message will be conveyed to the mobsters and their political supporters that their tactics will not be tolerated at any cost and for any consideration.”

While, the AAP government is trying to reach out to the aam aadmi (common people)… I wonder why we insist on playing fault finding game! It has become almost fashionable to find fault with everything, even when it’s a doer!

letters@tehelka.com

Pranab at RSS headquarters, an exercise in image makeover

By
Anil Sinha
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India witnessed an event which will be remembered for long. Former President Pranab Mukherjee who has been a hardcore Congressman for five decades went to the RSS headquarters at Nagpur to attend one of the most important functions of the Hindutva outfit, on the occasion that marks the completion of three years training program. The graduates, after completing this coursework of the RSS are aimed at creating a Hindu Rashtra. Obviously, the appearance of a man of his stature at headquarters of the RSS came as a surprise to most of the people in the country.

The question that baffles most of the people is what could be the intention of an experienced and shrewd politician like Mukherjee behind such a move. People, particularly those who are involved in confronting RSS became anxious about the possible political consequences of the event. Though it is really difficult to know his real motive, it can easily be assumed that he must have gone with some political purpose as he is known for his political manoeuvrings. In a recent article, eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar recalled how Mukherjee was associated with Sanjay Gandhi, an extra-constitutional authority in Indira Gandhi’s rule and he carried out his orders during an emergency. Nayar considers his years in the presidency as an “insult to the democratic nation”. “I have followed the period when he was at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and I found to my horror that it was a rule which had a negative impact,” he wrote. He has also said that Mukherjee had the ambition of becoming Prime minister, but Sonia Gandhi’s determination that Rahul Gandhi should get the post came in the way. Mukherjee decided not to contest the elections.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut has given credence to the political gossip of Pranab’s attempt to realise his lost dream. He has said that he may be projected as the consensus candidate for the post of Prime Minister in a situation where BJP fails to get a majority in 2019 polls. He said that RSS might project him as the head of a national government. However, his daughter and Congress politician Sharmishtha Mukherjee has denied the possibility of his returning to politics.

According to experts, he did nothing wrong by accepting an invitation from a cultural organisation. However, the argument does not seem to hold water as it ignores the fact that the RSS now controls the biggest political party of the country, the Bhartiya Janata Party and it has always been standing behind the party in every election. It is also no secret that the organisation has been interfering in policy decisions as well. It would be only naïve to consider this organisation as an apolitical and cultural one.

One can easily assume that Mukherjee’s visit may have some serious political implications in future keeping in view the capacity of the RSS in manoeuvring the politics. Mukherjee has been also equally adept in such things and one should not forget that he had performed the role of a trouble-suiter for the Congress in its difficult times. Apart from being a shrewd politician, he has been a favourite of the corporate all through his political careers.

He made a speech which prompted the Congress party to change its stand that it had taken prior to his visit to Nagpur. The party picked up some thread from his speech which was in consonance with the stated objectives of the party and endorsed Mukherjee’s speech. It was virtually an admission to the fact that the earlier apprehensions of the party were wrong.

“Any attempt to define our nation through religion, dogma or intolerance will only fade our existence,” said Mukherjee in his speech.

“We accept and respect our pluralism and celebrate our diversity. Our national identity has emerged from a long drawn process of confluence and assimilation, the multiple cultures and faiths make us special and tolerant,” he told the cadres who were just ready to carry out the agenda of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Congress party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “He particularly highlighted the imperative need of freeing the public discourse from all forms of violence — physical and verbal, besides putting compassion, harmony and non-violence at the centre stage of our public life.”

However, the official appreciation by the Congress was challenged by other leaders of the party.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Manish Tiwari asked the former president: “You were a part of the government that banned the RSS in 1975 and then again in 1992. Don’t you think you should tell us what was evil about the RSS then that has become virtuous now? Either what we were told then was wrong or your lending respectability if not legitimacy to the RSS by the act of association is not kosher given your stature in public life.’’ He said that the visit would be used to “mainstream” the outfit. The social media was soon flooded with morphed photos of the former president saluting the saffron flag to support his view and a similar apprehension of Pranab’s daughter.

The current political scenario certainly gives some insight in to what’s going on in the RSS. The BJP has lost most of the Lok Sabha bypolls since 2014. If it has won some states it had to struggle hard to make favourable social equations. A few states have come under its control only after manipulations. The percentage of votes has gone down significantly compared to 2014. Regional allies are also feeling uneasy. Results of Uttar Pradesh bypolls have proved beyond doubt that if a united opposition challenges BJP, it cannot win. The party requires an immediate image makeover. The RSS and the BJP, both have realised that only a soft face can again bring them in to power.

Mukherjee has only helped RSS in its attempt. Though Congress chose to ignore the finer points of the speech at Nagpur, the speech by no means was embarrassing for the organisation. Mukherjee’s narration of ancient history was in tune with that of the RSS. He referred to glory brought to the nation by Chandragupta Maurya, Asoka, Kautilya and Guptas. He referred to medieval rulers as Muslim invaders and took all the precaution not to refer Akbar as the great ruler. He was also cautious not to talk about incidents of attacks on freedom of speech. Pluralism, secularism and tolerance are the words which are regularly quoted by the RSS and the BJP. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat also spoke of pluralism and inclusiveness in his own way. He also claimed that his organisation works for whole of the society. He also said that idea of pluralism should be respected.

The most important thing Mukherjee did in endorsing the RSS by writing a rosy tribute to Hedgewar, the founder of RSS. He wrote in the RSS book that Hedgewar was a “great son of mother India”. The man who has been criticised for his pro-Hindu stance for all these years gets such an endorsement from a person of Mukherjee’s stature. This is a long-term benefit he has done to the RSS.

The current political scenario should also not be overlooked. The former president went to the RSS function at a time when Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition are engaged in a fierce battle with the RSS-BJP combine. He has also damaged the political prospects of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, his home state where the TMC and the RSS are fighting a ferocious battle.

letters@tehelka.com

Pranab’s visit to RSS HQs generates heat

By
tehelka
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The furor generated in the aftermath of former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee’s acceptance of the RSS invitation to address new recruits of the organisation at its headquarters in Nagpur is not subsiding even after his speech there on June 7, which is being applauded by top-brass RSS office-bearers as well as the BJP but has evoked mixed reactions from the Congress and is critically looked upon by the Left parties.

Mukherjee’s decision had drawn criticism from several senior Congress leaders who had expressed surprise over his decision to visit the RSS headquarters, including his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee, a Delhi Congress spokesperson, who had also tweeted against the visit. However, some experts have insisted that Mukherjee was no longer bound to seeing issues through a political or partisan prism as his active association with party politics ended after he became President in 2012.

Political Message

The introductory speech of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, as well as speech of Pranab Mukherjee, entailed political message for different quarters. While calling the controversy over Mukherjee’s acceptance of invitation as “unseemly”, the RSS chief asserted that there could be difference of opinion and debate but one must keep the decorum. Asserting that for one destination, people could take different paths, Mohan Bhagwat said that diversity was good for India. He also underlined RSS’s commitment to “unifying” society and that the imprint of Indian culture can be seen on all Indians. According to some experts, this entailed a veiled message of caution for Narendra Modi government’s present policies.

Liberally quoting from Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Kautilya, Lokmanya Tilak and Surendranath Banerjee, a former Congress party president during the British Raj, Pranab Mukherjee, in the course of his half-an-hour address delivered in English, delved into the concepts of nationhood, nationalism and pluralism. His speech entailed veiled messages for multiple audiences. He cautioned that any attempt to define India through “religion, dogma or intolerance” would only dilute the country’s existence. To the RSS, the former President recalled “vasudhaiv kutumbakam” (the world is one family) as the soul of Indian nationalism; to new Sangh recruits he spoke of the need for harmony; to his parent party Congress, he emphasised the need for dialogue and to PM Narendra Modi, he quoted Kautilya’s lessons in governance. He also used the occasion to drive home “diversity and acceptance” as the bedrock of Indian nationalism.

While describing the Constitution of India not merely a legal document but a Magna Carta for the socio-economic transformation of society, from which flows “our nationalism,”Pranab Mukherjee also commented on the “routine of violence” in the country, saying India may be the fastest growing economy but it was lagging on the World Happiness Index. Mukherjee said as he marvelled the fact that 1.3 billion Indians used 120 languages, 1,600 dialects, followed seven major religions, belonged to three ethnic groups and still stood united under one flag, one Constitution and one identity — “This is Bhartiyata.”

Pranab Mukherjee’s speech got bipartisan support with BJP general secretary Ram Madhav tweeting soon after: “Great address by Dr Pranab Mukherjee at Nagpur. His address and Dr Bhagwat’s address are in a way complementary to each other. Nation First is the core message of both.” Dubbing Mukherjee’s speech as that of an ‘elder statesman’, one RSS spokesperson said: “We welcome his speech and the points he raised on issues such as nationalism, patriotism, and the need to end all types of intolerance and violence.” According to media reports, BJP veteran L K Advani described Mukherjee’s visit and his illuminating exposition of the noble idea and ideals of Indian nationalism at RSS headquarters as “a significant event in our country’s contemporary history.”

The Congress, which has initially opposed Mukherjee’s acceptance of invitation from the RSS, changed its stance after the speech of the former President of India at Nagpur. While echoing its endorsement of some of the points raised by Pranab Mukherjee, a senior Congress spokesperson said: “As Indians and as Congressmen, we encourage and believe in the democratic dialogue and recognise the right and sanctity of dialogue across different thought processes but a dialogue is only possible in a democratic order with an open mind and willingness to change, accept and adapt to the other person’s point of view.” Nevertheless, some leaders of the Congress are still critical of Pranab Mukherjee’s move of going to RSS headquarters.

Way Ahead

In the immediate aftermath of former president Pranab Mukherjee’s acceptance of invitation to visit RSS at Nagpur, a couple of critics had hypothesised Mukherjee’s move as exemplifying Buddhist notion of (seeking shelter under Sangh); nevertheless, soon after Mukherjee’s erudite speech and RSS chief’s explicit exposition that Sangh is Sangh and Pranab Mukherjee is Pranab Mukherjee, these critics lost no time in debunking their own hypothesis and starting saying that it was vice versa in view of RSS’s growing disenchantment with Modi government’s performance of the past four years, declining popularity of Prime Minister Modi, and emerging larger than life images of Modi-Shah duo eclipsing the BJP.

According to one analyst, Pranab Mukherjee has been a difficult political personality to gauge and it is in this backdrop that his real motive behind the visit to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on June 7 may never be revealed. Nonetheless, the same analyst has further opined that Mukherjee would have factored in the net effect of his Nagpur sojourn on the Congress’s battle plans for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

One critic has opined that the presence of former President Pranab Mukherjee at the RSS event was as political as it could get, even though functionaries of the RSS and the BJP may debunk the observation. The fact remains that the event coincided with ongoing attempts by the Opposition to build an anti-BJP narrative to counter the “new BJP” under Prime Minister Modi and party chief Amit Shah.

Asserting that whichever way politicians spin it, another critic opines that the optics of Mukherjee presiding over the event is a big victory for Sangh, making the right-wing organisation appear tolerant and the Congress intolerant. It’s a smart move that has put the RSS in a good light, the streaming live visuals of Bhagwat and Mukherjee sitting on the same dais, talking about inclusiveness, diversity and plurality. Mukherjee’s presence provided credibility and endorsement to the Sangh as a “social-cultural organisation”, an image that very few among the non-BJP/ Sangh believe in.

While describing Mukherjee’s speech at Nagpur, generally hailed by his detractors, in fact, predictably tame, one political analyst has pointed out that the speech had flashes of lively points but otherwise, the speech was formal and staid so as not to upset the hosts too much and at the same time, careful not to concede any major point that they are often keen about. It is further pointed out that by using the framework of nation, nationalism and patriotism, the former president without necessarily being discourteous to his hosts, could have touched upon the contemporary — the post-independence challenge of being nationalist and, simultaneously, democratic.

Another analyst has pointed that even after having risked his reputation, having taken the trouble to go to Nagpur, Mukherjee did not make much of himself except that, for the record, he said all the politically correct things and in contrast, his host seized the opportunity admirably. For the first time perhaps, the RSS was getting extraordinary nationwide publicity.

letters@tehelka.com

Indian Railways yet to CLEAR encroached lands

By
M Y Siddiqui
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India has a massive network of railway lines, extending thousands of kilometres and reaching every nook and corner of India. With such enormity, it is always a challenging task to manage such mammoth network and ensure seamless operations. The Indian Railways owns 4,58,588.16 hectares of land, out of which, a significant 47,339.5 hectares (10.33 per cent) land remains unused. Around 46,408.75 hectares (10.2 per cent) land is vacant and 930.75 hectares (0.21 per cent) are under encroachment. Currently, 37,235 eviction orders by estate officers are pending for execution under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, (PPE Act). However, a review by CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) reveals non-serious pursuance of encroachment cases under the PPE Act.

The Ministry of Railways and other land owning ministries of the Union Government like Defence, Urban Development, Shipping, Transport & Highways, Home Affairs, etc. are blaming Ministry of Urban Development, which administers policy for land management in the government for not amending the PPE Act to make states responsible for eviction. Landowning ministries have been pursuing with Urban Development Ministry for several years. Successive governments have not taken any fruitful action resulting in eviction orders to stuck with no progress. Without the involvement of states, eviction of encroachments, unauthorised occupants, destruction/ removal of unauthorised construction, removal of existing, old and fresh encroachments cannot be ensured.

There is non-seriousness in the government at all level as there are big money and massive corruption in land management. Presently, land of railways under encroachment is 861.70 hectares (0.18 per cent of total land). Out of this, 152.4 hectares of land has been encroached in six big cities–Delhi, Hyderabad-Secundrabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangaluru and Kolkata, where 363 court cases for settlement/eviction of 81,414 encroachments are pending. Added to this, railways have, so far, not categorised its land under land grabbing, land under court cases, land under unauthorised occupation of slum dwellers, land under armed forces for its proper use and so on despite Railway Land Development Authority been set up in 2005. Encroachment of Railways land has been continuing since 1950.

Raising its concern, the CAG has stated that area under 7,775 encroachments was not available with the Zonal Railways. It said non-availability of records of encroachments is a matter of concern, that railway administration does not possess the required data and valuable evidence to defend its claim before the adjudicating authorities/ courts. According to the Audit, Railways require 3,455-kilometre boundary wall costing about 2,796 crore to protect railway land by constructing boundary wall at vulnerable locations, which is not workable in the current resource crunch that the Railways are facing. In the circumstances, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has suggested to hire an independent agency or set up one such agency on management of railway land.

The Audit has also observed the authentication and digitisation of land records. So far, out of 53,898 land plans that are available, 81.41 per cent have been digitised. However, no land plan has been digitised in Kolkata Metro Railway. Shortfall of digitisation of 19.59 per cent land plans indicates Railways’ failure to prioritise the issue even after a clear deadline given by the Railway Board. Out of 42,182 land plans, 41,467 land plans have been authenticated and uploaded. About 4,462 land plans are yet to be authenticated, for which Railways are making efforts.

With setting up of Railway Land Development Authority in 2005, Railways administration
was buoyed that unutilised surplus land will be exploited for commercial use in Public-Private Partnership mode on 50-50 profit sharing basis, which is stuck as the states are not belling the cat. States want money, so whatever they have earned from commercial exploitation in particular state should be funnelled in the development of railways in that state, whereas, Union Government is insisting that such money has to come to the kitty of the Centre for use across the country. As a result, there has been little progress in the commercial exploitation of unused surplus of railway land. In the process, additional revenues utilised through commercial exploitation of unutilised surplus land that can take care of all-round expansion and modernisation of railways, has come a cropper!

letters@tehelka.com

‘If BJP wins in 2019, there would be no more elections, no more democracy’

By
Manmohan Singh
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They say country is reeling through strange socio-political crisis… Your take on this

The country is going through a serious crisis. The economy is in doldrums, There is a grave agricultural crisis, no new jobs are being created, the thoughtless demonetisation and unplanned implementation of the GST, has caused a serious injury to the small traders and the daily wage earners. The high taxes on petrol and diesel and the resulting inflation has broken the backs of the middle classes. The rupee is depreciating, exports are falling and the trade gap is widening. The banking sector has been crushed by a huge rise in the NPAs and unprecedented scams.

The social tension between different religions is mounting. Dalits and minorities are beaten up and are even being lynched. Overall, there is a serious economic and the socio-political crisis in the country. The Government is clueless about how to get back to high economic growth, how to resolve the farm crisis, how to attract investment and how to create manufacturing jobs.

The finance minister is unwell and the inadequacy of talent in the government has now become clearly obvious. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a corruption-free government and he had promised to get back the black money stashed in the tax havens abroad, but instead this has turned out to be the most corrupt government, — there is no transparency in the Rafale aircraft deal, the Bullet Train deal, the GSPC scam and HPCL disinvestment, and not a rupee of black money has been brought back. Crony capitalism is the guiding principle of this government. People have seen through the empty slogans and broken promises. They are not impressed by glamorous events and ad blitz any more. They are disillusioned. And that is reflected in the poor performance of the BJP in the recent by-elections to Gujarat and the Karnataka Assemblies, and also in the series of defeats in the Lok Sabha by-elections.

BJP dented Northeast which was once considered fiefdom of the Congress as well as the regional political outfits, reason?

BJP has won in the North Eastern states only using brute money power and misusing the office of the Governor. These are all very small states with very small assemblies. They generally like to be with the Central Government so that they can get large grants. This is not very surprising.

You have recently said that if the BJP once again acquired a majority in 2019, it would be the last election in India. Explain

I have often said that if BJP wins the 2019 Lok Sabha election that would be the last election in the country. BJP has now emerged as the largest party in the Rajya Sabha — they will get a full majority by 2020. So, they will be in a position to amend the Constitution in any way they like. BJP has always wanted to alter the Constitution. This will be their opportunity. If you see the style of functioning of the Prime Minister, he is autocratic. He has little respect for the institutions. There is no consultation with his ministerial colleagues or senior party leaders. Winning elections at any cost is the only objective. The Supreme Court has been marginalised, Election Commission has become a toothless body, Parliament is not allowed to function. There is a scant respect for Parliamentary conventions and democratic institutions. The Hindutva hardliners are not being checked. There is a serious danger to the democracy and the Constitution. If BJP wins in 2019, there would be no more elections, no more democracy.

You said that there would be no opposition without Congress. How many parties Congress could bring together to fight against the BJP? Is Congress powerful enough to quench their thirst for power?

Congress party has always been an important pole in the Indian politics. The only way to defeat the BJP would be for a broad alliance of all secular parties, led by the Congress Party. Because Congress Party is present in the large number of states. Without the Congress Party, other parties would not be able to create a momentum to give an effective fight to the BJP across the country. The choice of Prime Minister could be left to the outcome of the election.

According to your detractors, third front seems to be a distant reality. Your take…

Yes, the third front would be a non-starter. BJP government has to be opposed by a single alliance of all the secular, pro-constitution, pro-democracy parties. The real challenge would be in fielding a single candidate against the BJP in every single constituency. The Karnataka outcome and the subsequent events, particularly the role of the Governor showed how low the BJP can stoop. Kumaraswamy’s election as the Chief Minister and the subsequent opposition unity seen during his swearing-in ceremony has laid a solid foundation.

Ironically, wherever the presence of the third front is significant, Congress either remain at the periphery or non-existent as clearly witnessed in UP, Bihar, WB, Orissa, etc.

Again, I would reiterate that not a third front, but it has to be an opposition of all the secular democratic parties which will have to oppose the BJP. It is true that in many states, Congress is not a significant player, but Congress Party has a substantial presence in more states than any other single opposition party and in many states, there is no third Party.

Rahul is speaking of’ ‘resurgent Congress’, what would be your role in such ‘pro-active’ Congress?

Rahul Gandhi has now taken over as the Congress President. There is a renewed confidence in the Party, particularly after the Gujarat and the Karnataka elections and the series of defeats of the BJP in the series of Lok Sabha by-elections in all the seats held by BJP. People’s anger against the BJP is palpable. We will see that the BJP does not win the 2019 election. We are determined to see that BJP is defeated in Maharashtra. Whatever use the Party wants to make of people like us, we are prepared to serve the Party with the sole objective of taking the Congress ideology to preeminence.

How do you see the love-hate relationship between the BJP and Shiv Sena?

The BJP and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra have really ill-treated its principal ally, Shiv Sena, just as the Prime Minister has ill-treated the TDP, the Akali Dal and the Biju Janata Dal. Shiv Sena is really cutup with the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister. Shiv Sena continues to be in the government, however, it has clearly indicated that it will not fight the Lok Sabha election with the BJP. They will fight independently. Of course, the BJP has now become desperate to get back all the allies — Shiv Sena and the TDP and even smaller parties like Raju Shetty’s party. Also, the BJP will use all means at its disposal to make sure that the opposition parties do not come together. Let us not forget that in May 2014 Lok Sabha election, BJP polled only 31 per cent votes and its allies with 8 per cent votes making it a total of 39 per cent votes. That means 61 per cent voters voted to defeat Narendra Modi, but their votes were divided. After four years of ineffective rule and broken promises, Modi and the BJP are no longer as popular as they were in the last election. As the opposition unity now appears to be a reality, BJP’s defeat is a foregone conclusion.

Is the same applied to the NCP and the Congress?

NCP pulled down my government in Maharashtra, just before the 2014 Assembly election. And we paid a price. If we had continued our alliance, together we could certainly have won the election. It can be seen from the vote percentages. NCP and Congress together had a vote share of 35.2 per cent as against the BJP vote share of 27.8 per cent. We have learnt our lesson. We will surely form a prepoll alliance and defeat the BJP in Maharashtra.

Is the Congress President wily enough to outmanoeuvre BJP’s Amit Shah?

After taking over as the Congress President, Rahul Gandhi has demonstrated his leadership skills. The latest example is being the deft handling of the Karnataka situation. The Modi and Shah duo have used up all their tricks. They cannot fool all the people all the time.

 

letters@tehelka.com

Cobrapost sting: Peddling fourth estate for a price

By
Vipin Pubby
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Called as Operation 136, named because that’s the number at which India figures in the World Press Freedom Index, the Operation was conducted over an extended period of a few months without raising any suspicion among those who were stung. Of course one of the top media houses subsequently claimed that it was trying to “counter sting” the alleged representative of a fictitious religious organisation called Shrimad Bhagwad Gita Prachar Samiti. The alibi was not just lame but also laughable as it came after the Cobrapost.com had released all the evidence it had gathered.

All the others caught in the sting operations maintained a deafening silence and have still neither denied nor confirmed that they were fooled into negotiating contracts to spread a particular ideology or to run down specific political leaders.

While sting operations are generally looked down upon as surreptitious journalism in which “immoral and unethical” methods are used to ensnare the unsuspecting victims, there are times when it is difficult to pin down the culprits through conventional investigations. It is obvious that persons or entities dealing in suspicious activities would attempt to leave as little footprints as possible and that it becomes virtually impossible to pin them down or establish the wrongdoings.

This was perhaps one of those instances where it would not have been possible to wash the dirty linen from media houses with conventional investigations. Cobrapost.com, headed by
well-known journalist Aniruddha Bahal, who has specialised in organising and conducting sting operations, deployed a senior journalist Pushp Sharma, who posed as the frontman of an organisation seeking to spread Hindutva and make fun of some political opponents. And, all this, of course, for a hefty fee ranging from a few crores to Rs 500 crore.

The bait was enough to attract top media houses and their representatives who fell for the money promised. Some of them even going to the extent of accepting cash routed through front companies. Over two dozen media houses, both mainstream and regional, across the country accepted the bait and there were only two honourable exceptions — Bartaman Patrika and the Dainik Sambad.

A press release from the website said the operation “shows Indian media’s underbelly in its most visceral form, where even the “big daddies” do not mind agreeing to undertake a campaign that has the potential to not only cause communal disharmony among citizens but also tilt the electoral outcome in favour of a particular party. This they will do if they are paid the right price….”.

Even as the undercover journalist approached these media houses with his preposterous proposal, “Cobrapost saw them all crumble under the weight of a “big business opportunity” that was knocking on their doors without asking. Almost all bent themselves backward to grab this opportunity”.

The website claimed that the media houses “agreed to promote Hindutva in the garb of spiritualism and religious discourse. They agreed to publish content with the potential to polarise the electorate along communal lines. They concurred to besmirch or thrash political rivals of the party in power by posting or publishing defamatory content about them. Many of them were ready to accept unaccounted cash, in other words, for the job to be assigned to them” and in the process gave a go bye to the principle of neutrality. Worse they offered to compromise on all moral principles and didn’t bother if their actions could lead to cheating and misguiding their readers or listeners.

The investigation by the website led to quite a buzz in the media world. While journalists discussed the sting operation and how it has exposed some of the media houses, the organisations concerned remained tight-lipped and declined to be drawn into any discussion. The conclusion was obvious that they or their senior management had taken the bait. Only one media house approached the courts against the claims of Cobrapost and obtained a stay on the publication of any material which referred to the Group. Most journalists’ organisations also preferred to maintain silence on the issue.

It was after a week or so that the Editors Guild of India expressed concern over Cobrapost’s sting and urged media organisations to explain their position to the people. The Guild also said that the media was under attack from different quarters in an environment that required journalists to be “extraordinarily vigilant and conscious of the need to adhere to the highest standards of free and fair journalism”.

The Guild said, “Editorial freedoms must be fully respected. Paid news, even a suggestion of it, is ruinous for the media’s image.”

The Guild, which is currently headed by former Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express and founder of theprint.in, Shekhar Gupta said that while it cannot ascertain the veracity of the tapes, it urged media organisations, whose representatives were purportedly caught engaged in inappropriate conversations, “to explain their conduct to their readers and the public at large….. They must squarely address the charge that some media organisations seem inclined to sell editorial content for revenue.”

While the Guild said there can be no compromise on maintaining the wall between editorial and advertising and that all sponsored and advertorial content must be clearly identified and demarcated,” the media houses concerned made no move to come clean on the issue.

Yet to assume that the Cobrapost sting has ‘nailed’ the India media or that it is the norm would be a big fallacy. There may be a few black sheep, whose so-called “wrongdoings” did not even materialise, but there are most others trying to do an honest job and who do not succumb to such crumbs.

It is also a pertinent point that of the top media houses were open for sale, they would have been purchased much earlier by the tycoons who have enough money power to easily purchase all the media houses.

Surely questions can be raised over the method used to sting the top management of some of the media houses. This sting operation was quite unlike the other major investigations done by international organisations like Wikileaks and Cambridge Analytica, where illegal actions already completed, had been exposed.

Nevertheless, the Cobrapost sting has exposed the soft underbelly of these organisations and lessons needed to be learnt. The investigation has led to several questions. One wishes that the operation should have also involved confronting the organisations concerned and getting their responses.

Although the credibility of a section of media is already low, the sting operation is no reflection on the working of the entire media in the country. It is too soon to write the obituary of media in the country which has been taking stands as and when required and remains essential for the success of democracy as a watchdog rather than a lap dog.

One major saving grace from the operation was that none of those who fell to the sting were professional journalists. Not that all journalists are above board but one must not lose faith in the fourth pillar of democracy.

letters@tehelka.com

Rajiv Gandhi-Narendra Modi assassination plots: How similar, how different?

By
Tehelka Bureau
-

The government has taken input from Maharashtra Police “very seriously” to effectively neutralise all possible threats. The Home Ministry has already received a report from the Maharashtra police regarding the communication found from the Delhi residence of activist Rona Wilson, one of the five arrested days ago for alleged Maoist links and their role in the Bhima-Koregaon violence. While the Congress has demanded a probe into the alleged assassination plot against PM Modi and asked the issue not to be politicised, NCP boss Sharad Pawar has dismissed the threat letter as an attempt to garner sympathy. Speaking at a rally, Pawar said, “The BJP has realised that they are losing popular support. In order to gain sympathy, the BJP is now playing the threat letter card.”

Shiv Sena has scoffed at the alleged Maoist letter suggesting a plot to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Rajiv Gandhi-type incident by saying the conspiracy appears like the story of a horror film and is “laughable”. An editorial in Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana said that such information often does the rounds ahead of elections.

Rajiv’s first wireless intercept The first wireless intercept about Rajiv Gandhi read “Rajiv Gandhi avarunde mandalai addipodalam. Dump pannidungo. Maranai vechidungo” (Blow the head of Rajiv Gandhi, eradicate him, Kill him) was heard by the People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Ealam, a pro-government paramilitary, which was with logger heads with LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam). The intercept, which was heard in April 1990, was immediately reported to the intelligence wing of Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka after which intelligence agencies started monitoring wireless communication. Though they were able to trace a message between two unauthorized stations in Chennai and Jaffna in January 1991, but couldn’t break it as it was highly coded and had alphanumeric codes. No wireless messages were untangled till the death of Rajiv Gandhi. It was only after his assassination, a Special Investigation Team of CBI, after months of investigation, were able to decode the messages and found the involvement of LTTE in the assassination.

Modi assassination plot

Now, after 27 years, the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has again been in the limelight after it was mentioned in a letter, which was recovered by Pune police allegedly from the computer of Delhi based activist Rona Wilson. Wilson along with anti-displacement activist Mahesh Raut, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Nagpur-based Lawyer Surendra Gadling and Mumbai based activist Sudhir Dhawle have been arrested from Delhi, Nagpur and Mumbai. The whole case took a new angle when a section of media went frenzied by the mention of the alleged assassination plot of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the lines similar to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and arrested the accused persons of the assassination plot.

How different?

Though the plot of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination had a highly coded nature of communication, the assassination plot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no secrecy to it. The Maoist letters allegedly recovered from Wilson’s computer have a clear mention of the assassination plot and even has the names of political leaders and social activists. Maharashtra Director General of Police Satish Mathur claimed that the letters are credible.

A high ranking IPS officer from Intelligence department of Andhra Pradesh with an expertise on Maoism (on the condition of anonymity) has reportedly said, “Maoist do write letters but they don’t write in such a long form. Mention of buying M-4 guns with 4,00,000 lakhs rounds of bullets, strategy to mobilise people and discussing the assassination of PM is weird. I do have seen letters written by Maoists in my career but for the first time, I am
seeing such kind of letter.” A source in the forensic department said, “We have not done any analysis of the letters, we just did the cloning of the hard disc and other devices. We don’t know whether the letters were there inside the hard disc or not.”

M V Krishna Rao, Former Director General of (Sahastra Seema Bal) and Former ADG of CRPF, was quoted as saying, “First of all CPI (Maoists) will not recruit people who are known in public domain. These five people, Prakash Ambedkar or others who are mentioned in the letters are renowned in public domain and Maoists will never recruit such people who are famous. To be a member of the party or central committee nobody should be able to recognise you if you stand next to someone. As far as I know, members of the central committee were not using computers 6-7 years back. I don’t know whether they have started using them now. The central committee members generally don’t use the methodology of sending letters through emails, they used the methodology of couriers (couriers are 2 or 3 trusted people of CC members who are employed with the job to deliver their messages) and the letters are very short with not more than one or two sentences. A normal person will not be able to understand them as they have hidden meaning to it,” added Rao.

letters@tehelka.com

United Colours of Politicos

By
tehelka
-

Karnataka that has seen four successive years of drought has also seen suicides by 3515 farmers between 2013 and 2017. Farmers in the state have been demanding waiver of all loans as they had lost all crops in the past four years. Even when crops were not lost, crash in prices led them into deeper debt. The crop loans alone stand at a whopping 53,000 crore and the sum total of all borrowings by farmers (for personal and family expenses) is well over double this amount.

Janata Dal (S) had promised waiver of loans during electioneering as did the Congress and the BJP too. In fact, last year, the then Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah waived crop loans of up to 50,000 borrowed by farmers from government run cooperative banks. But many farmers were left out as they took loans from the nationalised banks and the RRBs.

Naturally, now the farmers in Karnataka are seeking a full loan waiver from the new government of Kumaraswamy and apply same procedure for loans taken from all financial institutions. The Chief Minister is yet to implement his promise, though he said he was keen to waive off loans as he had promised.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy’s predecessor, the two-day Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, demanded the immediate loan waiver as promised by Kumaraswamy or else face action. The BJP did act — sponsored a state-wide bandh on May 28 that evoked tepid response in the state, barring in its strong holds.

But can Kumaraswamy afford to waive off loans and more important who will bear the burden? In the Congress led Punjab, as CM candidate Captain Amrinder Singh promised loan waivers during electioneering but found out that the Centre abandoned the state and refused to foot the bill for this subsidy.

Regardless, the BJP goes to town on loan waivers itself when it comes to campaigns for elections anywhere — like in Uttar Pradesh last year when the party swept the state and made Yogi Adityanath the Chief Minister. As CM he signed the loan waiver scheme with much fanfare, but the ground reality, the beneficiaries found was in sharp contrast – it turned into a poor joke with few farmers getting a loan waiver of few Rupees and even less.

There was this farmer in the state who got Paise 19 as loan waiver, that exemplifies loan waiver scheme of a government, this time of Uttar Pradesh government. Yogi and his ministers and a host of BJP spokespersons on television dodged the question but the farmer on the field knows, “even god was not helping them.”

Why, even in other governments led by different political parties, had similarly doled out pittance as farm loan waivers for individual farmers. So, it is more of a pattern that the bureaucracy and the systems in place see to it that promises made by politicians remain that – lofty but empty promises.

But politics over the farmer continue unabated as this is a huge vote bank every political party is eyeing in elections.

So, it is not a surprise that the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa wooed the farming community with his own loan waiver promise. It was bettered by Kumaraswamy, who eventually became the CM with Congress help and promised waiver of all loans of the farmers, even those taken from nationalised banks.

With drought and farmers suicides the major issue in rural Karnataka, loan waiver politics had heated up during the elections and even after the elections.

But for the farmers, there is no respite whether in Karnataka or in states ruled by the BJP. The agrarian distress continues and farmers are committing suicides, unable to fight anymore given the adverse terms of trade they suffer vis-à-vis other sectors of the economy. Every political party makes promises only to break them.

The farmers were swayed when as PM candidate Narendra Modi had promised profitable MSP to the farm produce on the basis of the Swaminathan Committee report. But four years into his term, the prime minister is yet to come good on this promise, by and large. There could be in some instances where this promise was kept, but not many seem to have benefitted going by the nation-wide anger of the farming community.

Tamil Nadu farmers, who agitated for few months in Delhi and could not get even a minute of the Prime Minister’s time more to draw attention to their plight, question this gross neglect of the Annadata by the leaders when in government. Out of government, like Rahul Gandhi now, they speak a different language is the lament of the farmers.

It is not that all these leaders, advised by respective party experts and a battery of agronomists and policy makers, don’t know the answers. But it seems as if they don’t care and that farmers anger was just another occupational hazard for politicians.

Otherwise, nothing can explain as to why a well documented, well-argued and well-presented report on doubling farmers’ income by agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan continues to gather dust, all through the regimes of the two principal political parties of the country — the Congress and now the BJP.

Meanwhile the father of the Green Revolution and the author of the report, Swaminathan himself laments that a prudent agriculture pricing policy only can help the farmers increase their incomes. He is still hopeful that the government will come out with a new agriculture product pricing policy and help the farmers double their income.

Swaminathan has a plan that he asserts can double the farmers’ income by 2022 and has made presentations on this several times.

The farmers across the country may not have met him or heard him speak. But everyone knows the Swaminathan formula, made a household word by the BJP in the last general elections of 2014.

The government has done precious little to implement the Swaminathan formula for fixing agricultural produce price — largely through the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism, which is 50 per cent more than the comprehensive cost of cultivation as determined the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP). This was first suggested by the National Commission for Farmers constituted under the previous UPA government in 2007. Swaminathan headed the panel.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata party had in its 2014 election manifesto promised to implement Swaminathan formula but has so far failed to do that.

The MSP for rabi crops to be grown in 2017-19 announced last month was less than 40 per cent of their average comprehensive cost as determined by the CACP. Several of his other recommendations continue to be ignored.

Just consider what Swaminathan’s suggestion, creation of special agricultural zones to conserve prime farm land, could have done to prevent the agricultural lands from being handed over to unscrupulous industrialists and possible fly-by-night operators. Why, some lands allotted to industrialists lie vacant many years after they took possession, fuelling rumours that the lands were being hoarded with an eye on speculative real estate market.

The only reason for treating industry and industrialists with kid gloves when compared with the farmers is that the farmers are neither organised nor articulate enough like industry and their lobbying bodies and chambers.

Often this aspect plays out in real life when a banker who does not even dare to call up an industrialist would confiscate a tractor of a farmer even though he may have fallen behind just a single instalment. There are surely many farmers who defaulted on loans, but the issue is why are the banks and financial institutions have dual standards to deal with loan applicants on the basis of their profession?

So, the farmer eventually is dependent on the informal banking channels — the money lender — where the processes are not cumbersome but the cost of loans is very high. Gradually a marginal farmer find himself in a financial mess from which he cannot get out and many farmers have taken their lives due to growing indebtedness.

What the Swaminathan Committee suggestions do is to improve the income of the farmer by turning the terms of trade in his favour and also addressing the issue of cost of finance.

One must admit that the governments have tried to implement the committee report in bits and pieces but for a worthwhile result, there has to be a holistic approach to achieve the goal of making the life of the farmer better.

letters@tehelka.com

What went wrong for Sikhs and Khasis in Shillong?

By
Bharat Hiteshi
-

The spark for the week-long incidents of violence in downtown Shillong was a lie spread through WhatsApp, the ubiquitous messaging platform, that has increasingly become an unfiltered medium for hate and rumour mongering.

A scuffle between members of the Mazhabi Sikh community, long-time settlers in the Punjabi Lane area of the city, and a Khasi youth and his associates over a local matter was the trigger. But a fabricated story that the youth had succumbed to injuries sustained in the scuffle led to large numbers of Khasi protesters siege to Punjabi Lane, demanding that the Sikh residents move outfrom the area. The “Sikh settlers” have been in Shillong for more than a century and a half, having been originally brought there by the British colonials to work as manual scavengers, and have since integrated themselves within Shillong, has not insulated them from being described as outsiders. The administration did well to protect the dwellers of Punjabi Lane from physical harm, but mob violence persisted until a curfew was imposed and the Army put on stand-by.

Picturesque Shillong is no longer just an idyllic hill station; it is a bustling city that has grown in an unplanned manner and requires reforms such as zoning regulation. But the agitators’ demand to shift the Sikh residents is unreasonable and must be resisted. In fact, the Meghalaya High Court had stayed an order by the District Commissioner to evict the residents from Punjabi Lane (also known as Sweepers’ Colony) in 1986.

To prevent a repeat of those incidents, the government must stand by and protect the Sikh residents, and not give in to the arguments of the protestors. The Sikh Forum moved the country’s religious rights watchdog, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), in a show of solidarity with Shillong’s tiny Sikh neighbourhood caught in an unrest with a powerful local tribe.

The Sikh Forum, an apolitical grouping of community professionals, entrepreneurs, former military veterans and bureaucrats, was set up by Lt-Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora, the hero of the Bangladesh war after anti-Sikh violence ripped through parts of the country in the wake of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984.

Its secretary-general, former DIG, Partap Singh, led a delegation to the NCM in Delhi to seek protection for Sikh settlers in Shillong’s Punjabi Lane, also referred to as the city’s Sweepers’ Colony.

Since May 29, the Meghalaya capital has been hitting national headlines following reports of clashes between the Khasi tribe and residents of the Sweepers’ Colony that have left a dozen people injured, including police. The Sikh residents are descendants of Dalit Punjabis that the British moved them here before 1857 as the colonial rulers expanded their footprints on the subcontinent. “We met the NCM’s Sikh member, Manjit Singh Rai, in Delhi and requested the Sikh minority be given all possible protection in Shillong,” said Lt- Col Sukhvinder Singh Sodhi, part of the delegation that called on the religious rights watchdog.

“The NCM member promised that state and central authorities have already been directed to take all measures to safeguard Shillong’s Sikh community,” Sodhi said.

Conflicting versions have appeared about what led to clashes between the Khasis and the Dalit Punjabis in Shillong. Some reports blamed them on alleged harassment of a Punjabi woman, some on a row over parking.

The trouble was sparked by an altercation between a Sikh woman who lives in the colony and a Khasi bus driver over the parking spot for a Meghalaya State Transport Corporation bus. Matters escalated later that day, leading to curfew being imposed in the city.

On the ground, there are two versions about the incident that set off the violence. Some members of the Sikh community in Punjabi Lane said that after a Sikh woman was harassed by Khasi men, she and four other women living in the settlement beat them up. The Khasis said that after the argument about parking, they were assaulted by men from the Punjabi Lane colony.

Despite the competing claims, the feuding parties reached a formal compromise at the local Cantonment Board police station. The agreement, written by the bus driver in Khasi, stated that he had no hard feelings towards the Sikh woman and man accused in the altercation.

The fake news spread on Whatsapp said that a group of Punjabi people from the colony had decapitated two Khasi boys. A mob soon gathered near the colony, intent on violence. The mob clashed with personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force and state police, resulting in injuries on both sides. The police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

The curfew was imposed in several parts of Shillong while internet and text messaging services were also shut down across the city to prevent rumours from spreading. The Army was put on standby. The Army also fed and housed more than 300 civilians from the “disturbed areas” in the cantonment, according to a release from the Press Information Bureau.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has assured his Punjab counterpart Capt Amarinder Singh on the safety of Sikh community and their religious institutions in Meghalaya. Conard Sangma called up his Punjab counterpart, Captain Amarinder Singh to assure him of the safety of Sikh community and their religious institutions in Meghalaya in the wake of clashes that broke out in Shillong.

According to a statement issued by the Punjab government, Conrad Sangma apprised the Punjab CM of the situation in the state in the wake of communal violence reportedly triggered by a minor incident and tried to allay any apprehension of Sikhs being under attack.

Sangma assured Capt Amarinder that there was no damage to any Gurudwara or other institutions belonging to Sikhs in Meghalaya.

The Punjab Chief Minister expressed concern over the developments and hope that situation would not escalate further.

The Meghalaya Chief Minister has said that he is personally monitoring the situation to ensure that there is no further trouble or fresh incident that could escalate tension.

letters@tehelka.com

Killing of Shujaat Bukhari

By
Tehelka Bureau
-

It is unfortunate that a credible think tank like @orfonline should allow this diatribe in absence of the person referred to. In #Kashmir we have done Journalism with pride and will continue to highlight what happens on ground,” the prominent journalist Shujaat Bukhari posted on Twitter hours before he was shot dead by the unknown assailants. The tweet was in response to a report by the Observer Research Foundation which criticised him for being a biased editor when it came to reporting Kashmir.

But the biased he never was. His paper Rising Kashmir was one of the most balanced publications in Kashmir. And, as is clear from his tweet, Bukhari was passionate about journalism. Despite having a battery of talented journalists running his paper, he was actively involved in every aspect of the publication. On June 14 too, he was at his office, instructing his staff as to the distribution of news across the pages according to their relative importance. But, he was especially mindful about the first ever UN report on the human rights situation in Kashmir released on the day and had asked his staff to give it a prominent display on the front page.

All seemed to be going well. Only days before he had returned from Lisbon where he had attended the World Editors Conference. He had pinned a picture of him outside the venue to his Twitter handle.

Bukhari was a globe-trotter. He would be all around the world attending conferences on Kashmir. And over the years, he had become an influential voice on the state which was heard and respected.

He had been active on the Kashmir journalism scene over almost three decades, joining the well-regarded English regional daily, Kashmir Times,as a reporter in early nineties, when militancy was at its peak. In 1994, he joined The Hindu as its Kashmir bureau chief and quit it in 2011 to set up his own newspaper.

Nobody has owned the responsibility for his killing. In fact, the militant organisation Lashkar-i-Toiba and the grouping United Jihad Council (UJC) have condemned the killing. The UJC chief, Syed Salahuddin, has demanded an international probe into the assassination.

“The killing of Shujaat Bukhari at a time when the UN human rights Commission released a report on the human rights abuses by Indian forces in Kashmir raises many questions,” Salahuddin said, in the statement.

Similarly, Lashkar chief Mehmood Shah has termed the killing “a conspiracy”.

“Killing of Shujaat Bukhari is a conspiracy hatched to suppress the voice of indigenous freedom struggle. Indian agencies have enmity towards every individual who is loyal to the freedom movement. The world must pay attention to India’s vicious and ill-fated conspiracies,” a spokesman of the outfit Dr Abdullah Ghaznawi said in a statement quoting Shah.

At the same time, condemnations have poured in from the mainstream and separatist political organisations. It is more or less a familiar scene that plays out after every high profile killing in Kashmir. And Bukhari’s is no different.

Police has released the CCTV picture of the three youth on a bike and appealed to people for their identification. However, it won’t be easy to do so. One of the youth in the picture driving the bike is wearing the helmet. One of the two pillion riders is thinly masked and another squeezed in between is carrying a bag, holding probably the weapons.

J&K Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the murder and will look at all possible angles to expose the conspiracy.

However, for the ordinary people, it is difficult to explain why Bukhari was killed. In his write-ups and the television discussions, he would stoutly defend Kashmir cause. And considering the record of the investigation into many such killings in the past, the murder is likely to remain a mystery.

letters@tehelka.com

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