Friday, December 26, 2025

Opposition parties cry foul as UP govt proposes draconian law

By
Mudit Mathur
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yogi at Vidhan SabhaOpposition parties in Uttar Pradesh have raised their voices against a proposed legislation introduced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime (UPCOC) Bill, 2017, in the lower house during the recently concluded winter session of the state legislature.

Though the Bill is aimed at fighting rising organised crime, land grabbing, mining activities run by mafias or crime syndicates in the state, the Opposition feels otherwise. It is being apprehended that the real intent behind the Bill is to use it selectively as a tool to settle political adversaries by way of intimidating and suppressing voices of dissent and targeting religious minorities.

Having passed by the Vidhan Sabha, the Lower House of the bicameral state legislature, amid heavy protests, uproars and boycott by the Opposition parties, the Bill could not sail the test of majority in the Vidhan Parishad or Upper House as it was referred to the Select Committee to review its contents before putting it up for passing as a law. The controversial Bill has been prepared by and large on similar lines of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MCOCA).

The proposed law was tabled in the UP Assembly on December 20 for discussion, after it was approved by the State Cabinet a fortnight before that. It was passed just the next day amid pandemonium of aggressive protests and walkouts from the opposition benches. The UP government feels the proposed law would give it strong arms to combat organised crime but opposition parties have come together to disapprove it saying that it would be wrong to give unbridled blanket powers to the police that could undermine the constitutionally guaranteed basic freedoms to the citizens.

Terming the proposed UPCOC Bill as a “draconian law”, former chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav opposed the Bill on the floor of the legislative council. “It has been brought to intimidate leaders of other political parties… First the CM said law and order would improve after encounters. But it only got worse in the last nine months. Now they are saying UPCOC Bill would improve it. This is just an eye wash to betray the people as they have miserably failed to control crimes and give good governance. Sufficient time of nine months has passed but they could not bring the propagated change. UPCOC Bill is not going to improve law and order,” Yadav said.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former Chief Minister Mayawati too echoed similar views and expressed her apprehensions. “UPCOC Bill will be used for the suppression of weaker sections of society including Dalits, poor, backward castes and religious minorities,” Mayawati said. Accusing the Adityanath government of already misusing various laws for communal and political reasons, she said that the UPCOC Bill, if passed, will only worsen the situation. “Laws are grossly misused in the state to the extent that any BJP worker walks up to a police station and the police register false cases against people,” Mayawati alleged in a statement in Lucknow, adding that she wanted that the Bill be withdrawn in public interest.

CopsHowever, while opposing the UPCOC Bill brought by the BJP government, Mayawati conveniently forgot that during her governance the idea of separate legislation of UPCOC Bill was not just mooted but passed by both the Houses. Later, it could not become law as the then President of India did not grant his assent to such an Act which could abridge fundamental rights under the Constitution of India.

Some of the crimes defined under the UPCOC Bill are — land grab (government and non-state property), illegal mining, manufacture and sale of illegal drugs and illicit liquor, bribes, money laundering, wildlife smuggling, extortion, abduction syndicate, hafta collection, contract murder, conspiracy to murder and white-collar offences. It has also enlarged the scope of its operation to cover various offences covered by other enactments legislated by Parliament.

The Bill says that whoever conspires or attempts to commit or advocates, abets or knowingly facilitates the commission of an organised crime or any act preparatory to organised crime, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may be extended to life imprisonment along with a fine of minimum 15 lakh.

Human Rights Advocate Mohammad Shoaib, chief of Rihai Manch, an organisation that provides legal assistance to people from the minority community who are falsely implicated in terror cases, said that by introducing this “draconian” Bill, the government is trying to “curb the voices of dissent”. “In addition to other objectionable provisions, shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused to prove his or her innocence makes the proposed Bill draconian like TADA and POTA,” he added.

Expressing apprehensions about its misuse by bringing the media under the scope of the Act, Shoaib said, “It is meant not only to persecute the opposition but also to harass media and prevent it from writing about the dark corridors of crime. This is an attempt to put a gag on the media. Complicating the procedure for the accused to meet relatives and associates is clearly a violation of his or her basic human rights.”

Speaking against opposition to the UPCOC Bill, a senior government spokesperson told Tehelka that the Bill has enough provisions to check misuse. He said that cases under the proposed UPCOC Bill would be filed only after the approval of a two-member committee comprising the Divisional Commissioner and a DIG-rank officer, whereas permission of the IG, Zone, will be required before filing the charge sheet. He also said that assets would be taken over by the state with the permission of the court and a Special Court would be constituted for hearing cases under the proposed law which proposes a state-level organised crime control authority.

After the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in Uttar Pradesh with a promise to improve law and order, encounter killings appear to have been taken up as part of a new strategy to combat growing crimes and criminals. As per data released by the state government citing its achievements on completing six months of assuming power, more than 431 encounters have been carried out, which roughly means one encounter happened every 12 hours. The UP Police said that between March 20 and September 18, 431 encounters took place in the state wherein 17 criminals were killed. Two policemen died and 88 were injured. About 1,106 criminals were sent behind bars.

The Chief Minister recently said, “Criminals will be jailed or killed in encounters.” Taking suo moto cognizance of the chief minister’s comments, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the UP Chief Secretary calling for a detailed report on the matter.

“The Government of Uttar Pradesh is allegedly endorsing killings in encounters by police for seeking improvement in law and order situation in the State,” NHRC said in a statement. “NHRC also observed that even if the law and order situation is grave, the State cannot resort to such mechanism, which may result in the extrajudicial killings of the alleged criminals. The reported statement of the Chief Minister is tantamount to give police and other State governed forces a free hand to deal with the criminals at their will and, possibly, it may result into abuse of power by the public servants.”

“It is not good for a civilized society to develop an atmosphere of fear, emerging out of certain policies adopted by the State, which may result in violation of their right to life and equality before the law,” added the NHRC statement.
The Opposition has questioned the number of encounters cited by the government. The Samajwadi Party, which was voted out by the BJP in the assembly elections held in March 2017, has called it a “dangerous trend” to use encounters as a “yardstick to maintain law and order in UP.” “The officer on the ground is under pressure to add to the statistics and present them before the government and that is very worrying,” a Samajwadi Party spokesperson recently told media persons.

Defending the severe attack from opposition parties over the controversy with regard to possibility of misuse of the UPCOC Bill against its political adversaries and the media, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma told Tehelka, “The Bill has enough provisions to check its misuse. We have proposed a three-tier system of monitoring at the District, Regional and State levels to check its abuse unlike Karnataka where no safeguards were provided. The BJP government has devised a thorough procedure to charge sheet against only those who have criminal history. The whole idea behind the proposed legislation is to define organised crime that brings conspirators, protectors along with executors of crime under its ambit”.

Sharma vehemently denied the growing perception of misuse of the proposed law against the media, saying, “A free press and media is an important organ of our democracy and our government respects it. We protect impartial journalism.”

letters@tehelka.com

Stray cows’ milk in demand in Punjab. Will other states follow suit?

By
Raju William
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IMG-20180107-WA0003Abandoned on roads for being unproductive, scores of stray cows brought to the government cattle ponds located at villages Burj Powat, Gadolia and Khokhar Kalan in Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mansa districts of Punjab have resumed yielding milk. This has led to poor people of the areas approaching the cattle’s caretakers with the request that they be allowed to take them to their homes with the promise of looking after them.

The development is being seen by many in the field as a noticeable opening of a possibility of their rehabilitation in a scenario where the freely roaming hordes of cows are largely being considered a menace for humans. A crude line of thought, that packing them off for slaughtering could be better riddance, brings along risks of social and communal disharmony.

About 100 cows out of the total 800 at these three cattle ponds have turned productive with daily average yield of 100 litres of milk. Of this, about 70 litres is being sold to households daily and the demand is increasing. Its quality quotient seems to be the clincher given the presence of adulterated milk in the market. “So much so, we are being approached daily by poor people offering to take these cows home with the promise that they will not abandon them,” disclosed Pawan Kumar, a founding member of the Mansa cattle pond. Similar is the case in the two cattle ponds in Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana districts which together are home to over 400 stray cattle, majority being cows.

Both cattle ponds are being managed by the volunteers of Delhi-based spiritual and charitable organization Dhyan Foundation (DF) who, on the instructions of their guiding light Yogi Ashwini, volunteered for this service. Notably, the cattle ponds at both places were in a locked state before the DF offered to run these in association with administrations of both districts. Over 1500 stray cows, bulls and calves are being looked after at these three places.

“It’s a new lease of life for such cows at our cattle pond but it’s at initial stage and need to be sustained. It could be a wonderful step if they find ways into homes again. Yes, this model needs to be studied to make it worth replication at a larger scale but should be tried at local level to start with,” observed Kanwalpreet Kaur, Deputy Commissioner, Fatehgarh Sahib. Her Mansa district counterpart, Dharam Pal Gupta, shared her observation saying such a rehabilitation model could be a trailblazer.

The agreement of commercial dairy farmers too points to its likely effectiveness. Daljit Singh Sadarpura, the national and state president of Progressive Dairy Farmers Association, is not averse to evolving such a model based on experience of stray cattle management at these three places. “Of course, it’s a doable idea if the cows are brought back into the breeding cycle but massive efforts at the government levels are required for this to happen,” he observed. Sadarpura pointed out that 50 to 60 per cent of such cows are fit for lactation. He ruled out their commercial viability as this requires minimum yield of 14-15 litre, which in the case of large dairy farms is average 22-25 litre. But he agreed that the reported low yield of the cows in these cattle ponds could be useful in rehabilitating them in the poor households.

Experts believe this could be a workable idea for the state government to motivate commercial dairy farmers to hand over cows directly to the poor as and when they find them commercially unviable. It is alleged that a multitude of stray cows and bulls are abandoned on the roads and public places at this stage. A senior official of Punjab Animal Husbandry Department said there were one lakh stray cattle in Punjab as per 2012 census. Cows outnumber bulls and that is why they are more visible on roads. The current census is going on.

Developing a proper rehabilitation model can lead to optimum capacity utilization of these cattle ponds as well as those in other districts of the state. The Punjab government had, over two years ago, constructed cattle ponds each costing nearly Rs one crore on village lands in every district. But these remained non-operational as no animal welfare organisation came forward to take responsibility of managing these mainly due to their location away from urban centres and lack of funds.

But things got going after DF took the initiative in Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib districts and Varinder Kumar Sharma, the then Deputy Commissioner of Mansa district. The DF also voluntarily contributed funds for Mansa during initial financial crunch. There is an increasing realisation that the incumbent state government should actively help out in resource mobilization by way of ensuring community participation to make all the cattle ponds work at optimum levels.

It is an accepted fact that such places cannot thrive without active participation of the area community. It is seen that due to this factor, gaushalas being run in urban centres are financially more resourceful. But these gaushalas do not accept stray ones because milk-yielding cows are financially useful. “The poor wanting to take home these productive stray cows due to their economic value is a new form of community participation that should be seriously thought about if the governments want to tackle the problem of wandering cattle. Their rehabilitation in the poor households offers a more constructive solution,” opined Mohit Sharma, a DF volunteer.

Being shelter-less, the cows that move around are prone to accidents resulting in human and animal deaths. In 2016, 1.23 percent of total road accidents in India were attributed to stray animals and 5 to 7 percent in Punjab, mostly in its Malwa region mainly due to single roads and unrestricted access for animals, said Dr Kamal Soi, member, National Road Safety Council.

Accident prevention too calls for ways to reduce chances of stray cattle being let out to fend for themselves. The charge that these innocent beings cause accidents is absurd to the core because it is us who have forced them on to roads. Since the process of commercial dairy farming cannot be reversed, ways have to be found for their rehabilitation by involving all stake holders including dairy farmers. This initiative has to be taken at the governments’ levels, argue animal activists.

Those behind the idea hold that besides restoring economic status of cows, the problem of bulls, now of only nuisance value due to highly mechanized farming practices, too can be resolved by resorting to selective breeding. Their unwanted propagation can be checked by employing available ‘sexed semen’ besides castration when they are 6 to 8 months old. “The insemination technology ensures birth of female calves with 10 to 12 percent error margin. Our state government has been importing filtered semen straws for the purpose,” informed Dr Surjit Singh Makkar, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Mansa.

But all this does not negate the need of healthy bulls. The available embryo transfer technology is there to take care of their propagation for breeding purpose. Does this small experience at these cattle ponds call for its serious examination and pave the way for evolving a model of restoring the economic value and consequent rehabilitation of such stray cows elsewhere in Punjab and the country to reduce the incidence of hazards posed by their presence in public places and roads? It’s hoped that governments will wake up to this issue.

letters@tehelka.com

Why killing more militants cannot wipe out militancy in Kashmir

By
Riyaz Wani
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Faisal Khan (1)In 2017, security forces killed 210 militants in Jammu and Kashmir, most of them local youths from South Kashmir. This is the largest number of militants killed in a year in the past seven years. Among those killed were around 15 top commanders from Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the newly established Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind.

So is militancy in Kashmir once again on the way to decline on the pattern of what had happened following 9/11? New figures will tell you so. From around 300 active militants in the beginning of this year — the highest such number in a decade — the figure has come down to around 200. Similarly, as against around 100 local youths who joined militant ranks during the six-month-long post-Burhan unrest last year, the local recruitment this year enhanced to 117 militants. Supplemented by more than 70 militants which infiltrated from across the border, the number has again gone up to around 200.

The security agencies have christened the ongoing campaign against militancy as Operation All Out. The objective is to eliminate insurgency by attempting to kill all the militants within a specific time frame. Viewed from that perspective, the security agencies have been exceptionally successful this year. And if the killings continue at this rate for another three months, it could drastically reduce the number of active militants. This, in turn, is expected to alter the political dynamics in the Valley, albeit not fundamentally so. The deeper factors underpinning the current state of affairs will linger on and can be expected to gestate conditions for yet another phase of violence and unrest.

But so far the union government has refused to look beyond a security-centric approach to the situation. Apart from a low-key political outreach, that is. For the Centre, the path to stability in the Valley is linear and literal: wipe out the militancy and peace will follow. And to achieve this end, all possible measures are being undertaken.

In June, the government moved 2000 more troops to parts of South Kashmir most affected by militancy. This reinforced the existing heavy troop presence in the area.  Similarly, six Army camps have been set up across Shopian in a throwback to the  massive concentration of troops the district had witnessed in the early nineties. The government has also gone back to the nineties’ style Cordon and Search Operations, popularly known by its abbreviation CASO. This keeps militants on the run and also makes it easier to track them down — albeit, the human and electronic intelligence have been the predominant sources of information for the security agencies.

In addition to this, the union government has embarked on a plan to further strengthen the fighting capability of J&K Police and the CRPF by procuring for them bullet-proof vehicles, vests and the latest equipment. During one of his visits to the state, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Centre has already released funds for this purpose.

However, while frequent killings has dealt a blow to militancy, there has been no corresponding improvement in the situation. In fact, from a defensive posture, militants have often gone on the offensive. This year there have been sensational attacks like the one on the Pulwama police lines which killed eight security personnel and the one on a security patrol near the critically important Banihal tunnel which killed one constable. There was also one on the BSF camp near Srinagar airport in which one ASI was killed. Or for that matter, the attack on the State Minister for Public Works Naeem Akhtar during his visit to Tral which led to the death of two civilians and injury to several others.

“The reason for this is that while the killings may have brought down the number of militants, some more local recruitment and the fresh infiltration has to some extent replenished the shortfall,” a police officer told Tehelka on condition of anonymity . However, as the current figures stand, not all the heavy loss has been compensated. As it is, the number of militants now hovers around 200, which is about 100 militants down from the early post-Burhan period.

But security experts don’t see it as a setback for the militant groups. “Between 150-200 is an ideal number for militants and also for their managers in Pakistan. Three hundred is an unmanageable number for them. They are liable to be tracked down and killed. The killings this year is a case in point,” said the police officer, adding that ideally Pakistan would want around 200 militants operating in Kashmir with an equal proportion of foreign and local militants.

“There is a method in keeping the number of militants smaller. Pakistan wouldn’t want locals to dominate lest this compromises the jihad. For example, with security forces piling on more pressure, all locals could surrender. But the presence of the foreigners keeps this tendency in check. Another drawback is that more local militants could trigger rebellion. Zakir Musa’s is a case in point. He has gone against the Pakistan-based militant leadership,” the police officer explained.

The local-foreign militant combination is also important because they complement each other, the officer continued. “One, local militants are not sufficiently trained and as such don’t have fighting capability. So foreigners who are more professional compensate for that,” the officer said. “But the locals have a critical role. They act as shelter givers and guides to the outsiders”.

What does the near future  hold for Kashmir? A lingering uncertainty. Security experts hope that should the current uptick in the killings continue, they would have substantially reigned in the militancy by the onset of spring. But killings have hardly been a deterrent in the Valley. Though local recruitment has dwindled somewhat, it hasn’t stopped which it did for some years from 2005 onwards. For it to stop now, the overwhelming public support that drives it has to come down.

“If not the foreign then certainly the local component of the militancy can be reigned in,” said the police officer. “But for that to happen, the public support has to moderate if not completely disappear”

letters@tehelka.com

Lucknow shocker: Class I boy stabbed inside school toilet

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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1516264829077-2000263434In yet another horrific incident which raises questions over child safety inside school premises, a class I boy was attacked by his senior with a knife in the toilet of Brightland School in Triveni Nagar area of Lucknow.

The police have identified the accused schoolgirl who stabbed the boy.

Six-year-old Hrithik Sharma was reportedly found bleeding profusely and unconscious inside the toilet. According to reports, the child has suffered injuries on the chest, abdomen and also left eye.

The boy was admitted to the Trauma Centre at King George’s Medical University.

The incident brings back the memories of the gruesome murder of Pradyuman Thakur, who was found dead inside the toilet of the school, with his throat slit in Ryan International School in Gurugram.

According to reports, the accused girl wanted the school to declare a holiday.

According to the boy’s statement, which he gave to the police on January 17, the girl, while beating him said she was doing so to get the school to close early.

SC strikes down 4-state ban on Padmaavat, movie to release on Jan 25

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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dc-Cover-3d1hqpn7g9kctekddnvp6lclv2-20180118110446.MediThe Supreme Court on January 17 has stayed the ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bollywood period drama ‘Padmaavat’ previously titled Padmavati.  The ban was imposed by four states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
The movie is now set for an all India release on January 25.
It is to be noted that despite the film was cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), the ban was imposed.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of the counsel of Viacom 18 and other producers of the film that the plea be heard urgently as the movie was set for all-India release on January 25.
The apex court has not given a green signal for the release of the movie but also restrained other states from issuing such a ban.
It is is the duty of states to maintain law and order and that the creative content is an inseparable aspect of article 19 (1), freedom of speech and expression and needless to emphasise that right is not absolute, said the apex court.
The epic period drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali features Deepika Padukone in the title role as Rani Padmavati, alongside Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji.
 

Govt ends Haj subsidy; funds to be used to educate minority

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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haj subsidy
The Indian government has ended subsidy for Haj from this year, according to minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
A record number of 1.75 lakh Muslims will undertake the pilgrimage this year from the country despite the subsidy withdrawal, the minister said.
Naqvi also said that the Saudi Arabian government has in principle agreed to allow Haj journey from India by ships and officials of the two countries will sit together to finalise the modalities
“This is part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement,” Naqvi told reporters and cited a host of measures for the welfare of minorities
The government has pledged that the funds earlier meant for Haj subsidy will be used for the education of minorities, particularly girl children.
The government will invest what it saves for minority education. It had spent over Rs 250 crore last year on subsidising the travel to Saudi Arabia, he said. Restrictions on pilgrims having to take flights from their place of stay or nearest airports have been relaxed and this will lead to cheaper air travel, Naqvi said. It will also allow Haj travellers to take advantage of bulk bookings while the government will continue to spend on medical expenses.
The decision to end the subsidy for Haj pilgrims follows a 2012 Supreme Court order to do away with the subsidy, long sought by BJP. Following the order, the subsidy was gradually rolled back and has now ended.
Earlier this year, Naqvi had said that the Centre would abolish the subsidy for Haj pilgrims in accordance with a Supreme Court order
“A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had, during the Congress regime in 2012, directed that the Haj subsidy be done away with. Hence, in the new policy, as per the recommendations of a committee, we have decided to do away with the Haj subsidy gradually,” he had said.

Dalit-Maratha clashes: History will affect future politics

By
Anil Sinha
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62385966 This year, celebrations of a two-centuries-old battle at Bhima Koregaon near Pune took such a turn that it will influence the political course of the country ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. It may also change the Maharashtra politics to give rise to new social and political equations in the state to the discomfiture of the present government headed by the saffron party, BJP, at both the Centre and in the state of Maharashtra.

Celebrations at the Jay-stambha to commemorate the battle between the British East India Company and Peshwa Baji Rao II 200 years ago have been regular for several years now with people from the Dalit community gathering at the monument on the first of January every year. The military memorial built by the British has become a symbol of valour and pride for the Mahars, a major community among the Dalits. Though caste Hindus never accepted the narrative associated with Bhima Koregaon, peaceful celebrations have been going on without interruptions. This time, on the 200th anniversary of the battle, the gathering was attacked and one person lost his life. Many vehicles were vandalized. Dalits leaders allege that the police did nothing to stop the violence.

Though there had been a series of Anglo-Maratha wars, the Koregaon battle signifies a decisive decline of military power of the Marathas. The battle also saw Bajirao II fleeing from Pune never to return again. The British commemorated the battle to exhibit their determination to defend the territory occupied in India. The obelisk at the banks of the Bhima river highlights the triumph of the Company soldiers in the most hostile situation. “Captain Staunton was destitute of provisions, and this detachment, already fatigued from want of rest and a long night march, now, under a burning sun, without food or water, began a struggle as trying as ever was maintained by the British in India,” writes contemporary British official and historian Grant Duff.

According to Pune historian Shraddha Kumbhojkar, “Neither side won a decisive victory but despite heavy casualties, Staunton’s troops managed to recover their guns and carry the wounded officers and men back to Seroor.” The Gazetteer of Maharashtra, published in 1885, also recalls the battle as the “defence of Koregaon”.

“As this was one of the last battles of the Anglo-Maratha wars that soon resulted in the complete victory of the Company, the encounter quickly came to be remembered as a triumph. The East India Company wasted no time in showering recognition on its soldiers. While Staunton was promoted to the honorary post of aide-de-camp by the Governor General, the battle received special mention in parliamentary debates the next year. A memorial was commissioned and Lt Col Delamin, who passed by the village the next year, witnessed the construction of a 60-foot commemorative obelisk,” reads a research paper published in the prestigious social science journal the Economic and Political Weekly.

The battle was fought between 900 soldiers of the Company and the 20,000-strong Peshwa army. Bajirao II witnessed the battle from a site 200 metres away from the battlefield and left the place, abandoning his desire of recovering Pune. British troops comprised of natives, mostly Mahars, and the Englishmen. The Koregaon memorial mentions the names of those who lost their lives.

Bhima-koregaonIt may baffle contemporary Indians as to how a memorial on  the triumph of British troops came to be regarded as a symbol of Dalit pride. But, it is not difficult to understand given the existing social situation during the Peshwa rule and the opening which was offered by the rule of the British East India Company. A close look into the past will contradict the narrow interpretation of political history of the country which presents a simplistic choice between the Peshwas and the British, the nationalist versus the foreigner. The Peshwa rule was casteist to the core and unleashed all kinds of atrocities against the untouchables. Mahars, along with Mang and others, were treated like animals and subjected to all sorts of indignities. They had lost whatever little they had gained during the rule of the first Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj who even recruited Mahars in his army.

The advent of the East India Company in Bombay (now Mumbai) provided the Dalits the opportunity to escape the tyranny of the Peshwas. The British recruited the so-called low castes in their armies in huge numbers. They participated in many battles and performed well. This was, o the one hand, a strong denial of the Brahmanical four order of Varna, a road to a life free from the atrocities that the untouchables were suffering at the hands of the caste Hindus.

However, it is not that the Koregaon battle was recognized as a liberating moment as soon as it was over or the obelisk acquired the symbol of emancipation as soon as it was erected. The fact is that they were reinterpreted and reinvented in the light of the new identity that Dalits were acquiring during the first decades of the twentieth century. This was part of the Dalit assertion which attained a peak under the leadership of Dr. BR Ambedkar. Ambedkar visited the site on January 1, 1927 at the invitation of Shivram Kamble who had been organizing celebrations at the monument for nearly two decades. Ambedkar also mentioned the memorial as a symbol of pride in his writings.

Ambedkar’s visit made the site a pilgrimage centre in later years and neo-Buddhists started to visit the site every year.

In this context, the debate on nationalism vs colonialism becomes meaningless and could be seen as part of communal historiography which is basically directed against the Muslims. In this case also, the Peshwas are the icons of Hindu nationalism because they carry the legacy of the fight against the Mughals.

The recognition of the Koregaon battle contradicts the legacy of Maratha rule as being invincible. In Maharashtra, the Hindutva narrative of Maratha rule projects Shivaji as a Hindu ruler who wanted to free the country from alien rule of the Muslims (Mughals). It automatically makes Peshwas as nationalists and those who oppose them becomes collaborators of foreign rule.

But the proposition hardly holds any water. Maratha chieftains were fighting each other and frequently taking help of the East India Company to defeat their opponents. The last Peshwa Baji Rao II himself had made the treaty of Baseein with the British in 1802 to oust the Holkar who had captured Pune and forced Baji Rao to flee. Kumbhojkar rightly points out how the Koregaon memorial faded away from the memory of the British and they abandoned mentioning the event in later descriptions of the empire. It is clear that, from the British point of view, the memorial became an insignificant artefact in due course of time.

But, for Dalits, it acquired an iconic status which was much more than winning a battle. The Koregaon memorial assumes significance in a wide anti-caste narrative.

It should also be recalled that like other Indians, Mahars served the British and their participation in Multan and Afghanistan brought praise as well, but they also took part in the 1857 war of independence. This led the British to distrust them. In the late twentieth century, they were stopped from being recruited in the army. Mahar leaders made a series of petitions to lift the ban. The World War I necessitated them to lift the ban but it was again imposed after the war. The ban was lifted again during the World War II.

The recent episode of violence is the result of socio-political equations which have been emerging in Maharashtra and other parts of the country. Marathas are fighting for reservation in jobs and education. The new Maratha assertion is partly directed against Dalits as they are also demanding abolition of Prevention of Atrocities against SCs and STs. The episode of rape of a girl at Kopardi also saw a violent anti-Dalit upsurge. The BJP has been exploiting this antagonism and mobilizing support of Dalits and OBCs against the dominant Marathas.

Meanwhile, the new Dalit leadership which has emerged in Gujarat after rising number of cases of cow-vigilantism grabbed the opportunity to expand its anti-BJP struggle in other parts of the country. They decided to celebrate the memory of Dalit victory with a meeting at Shanivarwada, the seat of the Peshwas in Pune. Most of the Dalit and youth organizations who are opposing the “communal” and “anti-poor” rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were invited. Prominent Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, Jignesh Mevani along with JNU student leader Umar Khalid and the mother of Rohith Vemula were the prominent speakers.

The opposition to this new formation, alleges Ambedkar, came from two Hindutva outfits — Shiv Pratishthan led by Sambhaji Bhide and Hindu Sangstha Aghadi led by Milind Ekbote. Both the organizations took advantage of the antagonism between Marathas and Dalits and incited violence. However, both Dalit and Maratha leaders soon recognized the danger of caste riots and united against the saffron government. The incident has now pitted Dalits against BJP. It is going to affect the equations that BJP has been building with an eye on the next Lok Sabha elections. Prakash Ambedkar is trying to forge an alliance of Dalit-OBCs in Maharashtra for years. The incident has opened up some opportunity for him as well. The new Dalit politics under the leadership of Jignesh Mevani will also help spread the social alliance that the Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tried to forge in Gujarat and in other parts of the country. The Koregaon incident certainly has ramifications for 2019.

letters@tehelka.com

L-G approves Delhi govt’s scheme for doorstep delivery of 40 public services

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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anil-baijal
Green Signal for Doorstep Delivery Scheme

The Lieutenant-Governor’s office on January 15 issued a statement approving the programme aimed at doorstep delivery of public services proposed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The mentioned scheme was cleared by the Cabinet on November 16 last year.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal approved the scheme which will allow the citizens to get important works involving government departments done by a third party without you having to step out of their homes.

Provisions:

  • Assistants will turn up at the doorstep of individuals willing to avail certain government services and upload requisite documents online, ending the need for them to visit government offices
  • Government to set up internet kiosks to provide employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth
  • Internet Kiosks to help those who are not able to access the internet and also help in delivery of the services
  • Government to work out a financial model to provide soft loan to set up these kiosks

The facility will be provided for 40 services across eight government departments.

The services include registration of caste certificates, marriage, birth and death certificates, driving licence, transfer of ownership of vehicles, new water or sewer connection and old age pension scheme.

One has to call the helpline number to avail the scheme, after which a ‘mobile sahayak’ (facilitator) will be assigned to that particular person.

The LG said the scheme was cleared after CM Kejriwal “assured that the government will simultaneously work to plug the gaps in the digital delivery of services from the ‘application’ to the ‘delivery’ stage” in the prevailing online system a report said.

Minutes after the L-G’s office issued a statement announcing the approval, the Chief Minister thanked the Lieutenant Governor on Twitter

Why are Christians being attacked in India?

By
Humra Quraishi
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cherian05As I celebrated Christmas a few days ago, I thought about the attacks on Christians in various locales of the country. In fact, there’s been an ongoing hate campaign unleashed against them by right-wing outfits: first it was all the hype that Christian missionaries are indulging in mass conversions which stood vetoed by vital facts and figures showing that the country’s Christian population was decreasing and not increasing. Then came the vicious propaganda against the very celebration of Christmas.

I recall rather too distinctly that after the hounding and killings of Christians in Orissa’s Kandhamal tribal belt in 2008, I had interviewed several victims and it was shocking to hear accounts of how fear prevails in tribal pockets, more so around Christmas time. They’d told me they have to keep celebrations absolutely low key; so subdued that even singing and music is kept out so that right-wing goons on the prowl do not burn their homes or church properties.

Coincidentally or not, ever since the right-wing government came to power at the Centre, it gets somewhat apparent that hurdles are made to come in the way of Christmas celebrations. In 2014, hadn’t the government cancelled the December 25 holiday, ‘converting’ the day to Good Governance Day, and then had come up with all those silly excuses as cover ups.

This past Christmas though there was no ‘good governance day’ (after all, where are traces of good governance?), news-reports of attacks on the Christian population have been coming through. Hindutva brigades issued warnings to Christian families in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh against singing of carols or celebrating Christmas in schools. In Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district, Christian students and priests were attacked and beaten by Hindutva brigade, relaying an atmosphere of utter fear.

Sadly, there is no open condemnation of this, even as we realize that this hounding of the Christian community cannot take place without an indirect official sanction of sorts, and not without the backing of the police-politician nexus. Yet we are not crying hoarse against this ongoing hate propaganda against a community that has given us so much; foremost, education. I have to acknowledge that with their middle class resources, my parents couldn’t afford to send my siblings and I to a public school, so we were enrolled in Lucknow’s Loreto Convent, where the Irish nuns charged students very basic affordable fees. Yet they gave us so much in return, in terms of education and values.

With nostalgia tightening its hold, I recall the tranquility and calm spread around the school chapel. I was there almost every afternoon but, mind you, nobody tried to convert me from a this to a that!

My generation of middle-aged Indians owe much to the missionaries. We can converse and communicate in English because we were taught by selfless nuns and priests, who dedicated their entire lives for us. Yet, we are ungrateful enough to not veto the Hindutva brigades’ vicious propaganda against the missionaries.

In fact, the situation can be termed so very obnoxious that even Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity is not spared by these brigades. The nuns have dedicated their entire lives to look after the needy and homeless, the sick and the dying. In one of their hospices they tend to the dying and even perform the last rites in accordance to the religious beliefs and faith of the dead. Tell me how many amongst us will be able to reach out to the dying and the disadvantaged?

In fact, once when my friend late Khushwant Singh had even asked Mother Teresa — “Tell me how can you touch people with loathsome diseases like leprosy and gangrene? Aren’t you revolted by people filthy with dysentery and cholera vomit?” She had gently replied, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus. This one has gangrene, dysentery or cholera. I must wash him and tend to him.”

Whilst on Mother Teresa, its apt to quote Khushwant Singh. He has written extensively on her and after reading those details you are sure to sit and wonder the extent of Mother Teresa’s selfless service. Yes, only a saint could have reached out in the way in which she did.

“In my study in my cottage in Kasauli, I have two pictures of the people I admire most — Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa… It must have been more than thirty years ago that I was asked to do a profile of Mother Teresa for The New York Times. I wrote to Mother Teresa seeking her permission to call on her. Having got it, I spent three days with her, from the early hours of the morning to late at night. Nothing in my long journalistic career has remained as sharply etched in my memory as those three days with her in Calcutta… Before I met her, I read Malcolm Muggeridge’s book on her, Something Beautiful for God. Malcolm was a recent convert to Catholicism and prone to believe in miracles. He had gone to make a film on Mother Teresa for the BBC. They first went to Nirmal Hriday Home for dying destitutes close to the Kalighat temple.

“The team took some shots of the building from outside and of its sunlit courtyard. The camera crew was of the opinion that the interior was too dark, and they had no lights that would help them take the shots they needed. However, since some footage was left over, they decided to use it for interior shots. When the film was developed later, the shots of the dormitories inside were found to be clearer and brighter than those taken in sunlight. The first thing I asked Mother Teresa was if this was true. She replied, ‘But of course.

Such things happen all the time.’ And she added with greater intensity, ‘Every day, every hour, every single minute, God manifests Himself in some miracle.’ She narrated other miracles of the days when her organization was little known and always short of cash. ‘Money has never been much of a problem,’ she told me, ‘God gives through His people.’ She told me that when she started her first school in the slums, she had no more than five rupees with her.

But as soon as people came to know what she was doing, they brought money and other things. The first institution she took me to was Nirmal Hriday. It was in 1952 that the Calcutta Corporation had handed the building over to her.

Orthodox Hindus were outraged. Four hundred Brahmin priests attached to the Kali temple demonstrated outside the building. “One day I went out and spoke to them, ‘If you want to kill me, kill me. But do not disturb the inmates. Let them die in peace.’ That silenced them. Then one of the priests staggered in. He was in an advanced stage of galloping phthisis. The nuns looked after him till he died. That changed the priests’ attitude towards Mother Teresa. Later, one day, another priest entered the Home, prostrated himself at Mother Teresa’s feet and said, ‘For thirty years I have served the Goddess Kali in her temple. Now the Goddess stands before me.’ ”

letters@tehelka.com

'Missing' VHP leader Togadia found unconscious in Ahmedabad Hospital

By
Tehelka Web Desk
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togadiaPravin Togadia, national working president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who went missing on January 15, was found unconscious in a hospital in Shahibaugh locality in Ahmedabad.

According to reports, Togadia went missing after stepping out of the VHP headquarters when a contingent of Rajasthan Police came with an arrest warrant in an old murder case.

Togadia, who is undergoing treatment for hypoglycemia at a hospital in Ahmedabad, was found to have low blood sugar levels. He was found in an unconscious state in Shahibaug and was taken to Chandramani Hospital located in the same area by an unidentified caller on the night of January 15.

 Dr Rupkumar Agrawal at the hospital confirms that VHP leader was brought to the hospital by someone in the 108 ambulance service in an unconscious state. He is stable now but not in a condition to give a statement.

“Recently attempts were made by certain elements of RSS and BJP to remove Pravinbhai from the post of working president of VHP. While those attempts failed, he is being targeted being the lone Hindu voice pressurizing for building Ram Mandir and issues like conversion and love jihad” VHP spokesperson Jay Shah said.

VHP party workers alleged that Togadia had been taken away by Rajasthan Police, but situation over his arrest deepened when J K Bhatt, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), while addressing a press conference denied his detention or arrest.

“The great news is that Togadiaji has been found. Doctors have asked that he should be allowed to rest. Police will conduct a detailed probe into the incident,” said Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchhod Bharwad.

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