There has been a resurgence of old superstitions and outmoded social practices retarding the progress of society along modern lines. Child marriage, for example, was made illegal during the British time under the pressure of enlightened Indian social reformers. But today, child marriages are common in some of the States of India and are celebrated openly with impunity, receiving publicity in the sensation-crazy sections of the media.
Our women are still treated as less than human. Day in and day out, we read in the newspapers gruesome stories of dowry deaths of young women in the flower of their youth, because of the insatiable greed of husbands and the in-laws. The law-enforcing agencies remain indifferent or ineffective, and the law itself remains awfully inadequate. In fact, statistics show that crimes against women have been on the increase. No place is safe for them, not even their own homes. Swami Vivekananda used to say "the land of India is soaked ... with the tears of widows". Today it is soaked by the tears of women in general, and even girl children, who are ill-treated and murdered ... There are dark clouds of prejudice and callous unconcern hanging over our society with regard to the problem of rape and atrocities on women. Since neither conscience nor common sense is responding to this tragic problem, should not the law-makers rewrite the laws so that a deterrent against such crimes exist in society? ...
An experiment that is worth taking note of is the campaign for decentralized planning launched in Kerala a few years ago. This, of course, is an old Gandhian idea that is significant in the modern context. This decentralisation and devolution of funds have given economic power to people at the grass-roots level, aroused their enthusiasm for developmental work and enabled them to work together for their own advancement in their respective areas ... With the initiative and the innovative capabilities of our grass-roots institutions and of our ordinary people. enhanced through decentralised democracy, it would be possible for India to be an effective player iri the globalized world that is emerging.
... In fact the silver linings in the dark clouds of backwardness and deprivation are the people's initiatives which have served as crucible of new ideas and methodologies for nation building. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation, had very prophetically said in 1947, "As a matter of fact, if the people will help themselves, then the Government is bound to move and that is what I will call real democracy which is built from below". (Source: The Indian Currents, 27 August, 2000)
PMI Vajpayee's Message On Urs Celebrations
.A large number of religious minded people hold faith in Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti ... People of all religions go to the durbar of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Saheb and this is a symbol of national unity.
. "His love for humanity, peace and brotherhood is a message that cart be the guiding light for all mankind".
BJP's Report Card Editorial, Indian Express, 4 October, 2000
For A.B. Vajpayee, one year into his second stint, the news should have been like a dream come true: He had everything going for him: triumphs on the foreign policy front; laurels on the liberalisation front; cool cruising with allies in a coalition comprising over two dozen parties; a hegemonic grip over his own party, and glory on the personality front. Yet the dream seems to be turning into a nightmare, the triumphs into tribulations and the cruising ... threatens to turn into a bruising ... The party is knee-deep. in trouble given the drubbing that it has received in its erstwhile strongholds, the latest of which was the panchayat and municipal election results in Gujarat. Equally disastrous has been its previous performance in local elections in Uttar Pradesh ...
The anti-incumbency phenomenon ... does not explain why the ire with the incumbent surfaces at one time and not another. Performance is the basic yardstick ... The BJP. has miserably failed to perform wherever in power ... With the shadow of assembly elections looming large, panicky senior party leaders in the state are busy calculating caste combinations and permutations. In the process, basic issues like development and governance have been given the short shrift.
For the Congress, the BJP's lacklustre poll performance has come as a shot in the arm ... However, they need to remember two lessons: First, it is only in a two-party system that the losses of one party are the gains of another. In a multi-party dispensation, the equation is not so simple ... So, while the Congress might gain from the BJP's loss in Gujarat, they are in no position to do so in UP. Second, given bad governance, public discontent is natural but unless the electorate clearly perceives an alternative, they are not ready to switch sides. Racked with fierce factionalism, a rudderless and practically leaderless Congress is today hardly in a position to provide an alternative.
Sunetra Choudhury - Muslims Grieve Alone for a Muslim Soldier!
When they brought home the body of Capt. Javed Ali Saifi from Kashmir, the entire neighbourhood of Zakir Nagar in South Delhi was out on the streets (in mourning. But) it has been replaced by an unmistakable sense of hurt. And a feeling ... that because Cap. Saifi was a Muslim, that because his neighbourhood is predominantly Muslim, Zakir Nagar had to grieve all alone ... Reinforced, perhaps, by typical official callousness
· For one, the Army declined to give details to the family other than saying that Cap. Saifi, of the 35 Rashtriya Rifles, had been "killed in an operation" in the Valley on August 22.
· There were no reports of the death or the funeral in the mainstream media.
· No Minister, no politician, not even the local MLA Parvez Hashmi came to shed even the token tears.
It was ... the community (has) name a road after Capt. Saifi put up boards in the neighbourhood announcing his martyrdom ... (Source: The Indian Express, 24 September, 2000)
Shahabuddin on Repeal of IM (DT) Act
Letter to Governor of Assam, 5 Sept., 2000
I am surprised to learn that you have suggested a referendum in the State to decide whether the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act should be repealed.
You have also advised the political parties to raise the question of repeal as the only issue for the coming Assembly elections in Assam. As Governor of the State, it is improper for you to advise the political parties what they should or should not take up in their election campaign or include in their manifestoes.
As for the Act, it is an Act of Parliament and the Parliament is alone competent to amend or repeal it. There is no provision for a referendum in our Constitution. The Act applies to the whole country and as such the Act cannot be repealed at the request of only one State Government or Assembly. How can a Governor suggest an extra-constitutional procedure?
Shahabuddin on Small States - Letter to The Statesman, 4 Sept., 2000
Apropos Mr. Soumitro Das article "Question of Identity" the aspiration of empowerment is implicit in the consciousness of an identifiable collectivity with a territorial base. However, the aspiration is catalysed into a demand and agitation, only if the collectivity faces adverse discrimination and injustice in its own abode.
I agree with Mr. Das that there is a critical size for statehood. But the answer lies in decentralisation of power and devolution of resources right down to the Panchayats and accommodating the resurgent collectivity as a district, a block or a panchayat within a pattern of multi-layered federalise.
The story of Assam tells us that adhocism is no solution. Therefore, we have to have national norms and establish a permanent Commission for Territorial Reorganisation to examine all demands in the light of those norms.
I do not see the formation of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as the end of the story. Jharkhand faces built- in instability because the Scheduled Tribes form only 27 per cent of the population and they will continue to be objects of politics.
Secondly, major tribes among them have clearly demarcated habitats. Either they would demand regional autonomy and, failing that, separation. In Chhattisgarh, Bastar will also wake up and rise to liberate itself from the shackles of Chhattisgarh.
Every ethnicity, today, all over the world, demands recognition and participation.
Amulya Ganguli - US Hymn for a Swayamsevak!
Though understandable because there is a BJP-led coalition in power in India, it is difficult to approve of the chanting of Hindu hymns in the US Congress before PM Vajpayee's address ... India is not a Hindu country. It is a country where Hindus are in a majority but it is also a country of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists ... and many others including the different seets of the main religions. It is also the birthplace of as many as three religions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism - a. unique heritage ... Since the practice of identifying a country, or its Prime Minister, with a religion is a theocratic one and totally antithetical to secularism, which is the creed enshrined in the Indian Constitution, it is odd that a Hindu priest should have been invited for an invocation in the US Congress ... If the BJP genuinely wants to shed the appellation, (Hindu nationalist) means that it is beginning to realise that the label is not in keeping with the modern concept of a party representing all communities and not just one religious group. If so, a country should be even more reluctant to be associated with one religion, as the invitation to a Hindu priest by the US Congress suggested:
... As an expedient measure adopted temporarily for tactical reasons, the BJP has kept its Hindutva agenda on hold. But its soul remains with the RSS. Despite its lack of acquaintance with the intricacies of the Indian scene, the US Congress has acknowledged this link almost instinctively. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 25 Sept., 2000)
On the ISI Scare - Editorial, The Hindustan Times, 18 Sept., 2000
The casual manner in which the police and others in Government talk nowadays about the ubiquitous ISI connection also tends to spread the impression that Pakistani agents are lurking everywhere and have infiltrated all organisations and localities associated with Muslims, Perhaps the bureaucrats and politicians should show greater restraint ... and refrain from assigning guilt unless it is proved beyond doubt in a court of law so that the ISI bogey is not used indiscriminately to taint individuals and institutions.
SIMI: Inter School G.K. Competition - Text of 'Anti-National' Questions
Jehad means:
a) to struggle according to Quran
b) to demolish Mandir
c) to struggle for livelihood
d) to struggle for Namaz
