India : Muslims in difficult times, bulldozers running on justice

Tavleen Singh writes in The Indian Express that she is ashamed to see the picture of an old woman in which she has two photographs in her hands. One of his kutcha house and the other of that pucca house which he built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and on which the Madhya Pradesh government got bulldozers run.

The house was demolished as a rioter or as an illegal house, but in any case, no government has the right to break the house while staying out of the court process. The author believes that the foundation of Jungle Raj is being laid. Taking the law into your own hands is being encouraged. Muslims have come to believe that there is a government of Bharatiya Janata Party, they will neither get equality of citizenship nor will they get justice.

Tavleen Singh writes that many videos of Ram Navami processions have been put on social media and it is clearly visible in all of them that a bunch of Hindu youths had waved saffron before the violence started. The saffron-clad sadhus have spurred so much hatred that if they had a cleric in their place, they would have been in jail today. India has become so infamous in the eyes of the world that the US Secretary of State, in the presence of the Indian Foreign Minister and Defense Minister, expressed concern over the incidents of human rights violations in India.

The author believes that what Indian journalists are unable to say, they are saying foreign journalists. She questions that how many people in our media have said loudly that till now the Madhya Pradesh government had no right to run bulldozers on people's homes? Punishment of rioters is being supported by citing sluggish legal process, but this will worsen the situation and establish Jungle Raj. The author believes that when riots happen, clapping is played with both hands. It is not right to punish any one community.

Tough times for Muslims

Asim Amla writes in the Telegraph that Muslims are going through the most difficult phase in independent India. There is an era of communal violence in the midst of discussions on issues like halala, hijab, loudspeaker. This anti-Muslim violence has started spreading its feet at the grassroots level, not just election-era violence. Now it has picked up its pace and even there is no unified command over it.

Violence in many states during Ram Navami is proof of this. Two other realities are giving rise to pessimism about the future of Muslims. One, BJP's rule has been seen for a long time. Second, democratic institutions, including the opposition, the bureaucracy, the media, civil society and reportedly the judiciary, are beginning to weaken.

Asim Amla writes that Muslims in UP have more than one option which other states do not have. In principle, Muslims are not seeing a reality-based relationship with the BJP. It is being claimed that there will be no riots in BJP ruled states.

At the same time, it is also being claimed that in every election, Muslims are voting for BJP from 5 to 10 percent. Despite this, BJP is not ready to give political representation to Muslims. At the foreign policy level, BJP will definitely face troubles if the image of the BJP government in the world does not improve.

BJP has distanced itself from the Muslim leadership. Apart from this, there is no other community in India other than Muslims, which can be targeted and mobilized the majority. In the countries of the West, this class is seen as a fight between the local and the outsider, but in India the situation is different. The bottom line is that there is no bargaining power for a better relationship between the BJP and Muslims. Based only on realities, the options for a better relationship are left.

There is no silence on hate speeches

P Chidambaram has written in the Indian Express that in view of the elections to be held in 2023 in Karnataka, there has been a ruckus due to the controversy over Hijab, Halal and Azaan. There is an attempt to divide Karnataka into Hindus and Muslims. Hijab, Halal and Azaan have been prevalent ever since Islam came to India and no one ever opposed them.

BJP's penetration in Karnataka is not very old. But, now she is running the government by breaking the MLAs from other parties. For this, Operation Lotus was run. Now that non-BJP parties have strengthened ways to avoid horse-trading, then BJP now has to write a different script.

Chidambaram writes, barring exceptions such as historian Ramachandra Guha and industrialist Kiran Sha Mazumdar, there has been no retribution for hate speech in Karnataka. In some states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, hate dialogue has crossed all limits. Last year's Dharmasansad held in Haridwar saw extremely derogatory remarks against Muslim women.

Yeti Narasimhanand has discussed its alleged ill-effects by keeping the possibility of a future Muslim Prime Minister. Mahant Bajrang Muni, another self-styled godman, has threatened to kidnap Muslim women from their homes and rape them.

He was arrested after 11 days. The author is not ready to believe that these incidents are incidents in excess. They have got the support of BJP. The author believes that in the midst of growing intolerance, the deliberate silence maintained by the top leaders of the country is not a mere mistake.

Indian economy in better condition than the world

TN Nainen has written that the Indian economy is looking better than the world economy. Inflation is 8.5 percent in the US and 7.5 percent in the euro area. Consumer price inflation in India is less than 7 percent. Compared to the BRICS countries, Brazil has an inflation rate of 11.3 percent and Russia 16.7 percent.

Inflation is controlled only in China, which is at the level of 1.5 percent. The economic growth rate for India is estimated at 7.2 per cent for 2022. This is a better position. China is only slightly better off with a growth rate of 5.5 per cent among the major economies. The US appears to be making slow progress in terms of economic growth, with the US 3 per cent and the euro area 3.3 per cent. Brazil is headed for a deep crisis with GDP expected to decline by 10.1 per cent.

Nainen writes that the rupee is better than any other currency. In the last 12 months, it has declined only 1.4 percent against the dollar. Apart from the yuan, only the currencies of Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico have strengthened. Still stick to the good news, it's hard to say. Oil prices remain high.

Hence the rupee may fall. If America's economy moves towards recession, then other economies will also be affected. If global trade slows down, India's exports will also lose momentum. The truth is also that all the growth projections in India have come down compared to a quarter ago.

Nainen writes that the rate of inflation has deteriorated continuously. Monthly production figures have been weak, while surveys show business sentiment has eased. The RBI estimates that the growth rate in the second half of 2022-23 will not exceed 4.1 percent. After that, there may be an acceleration.

The Ukraine war seems to be dragging on and another wave of the Covid pandemic appears to be approaching. The Chinese city of Shanghai is closed. In such a situation, despite good figures, there is nothing to be very excited about for India. The world is still going through a crisis.

Is academic freedom in danger?

Karan Thapar has raised the question of resignation of 13 professors of Australia India Institute in Hindustan Times . These resignations have come in protest of the Indian High Commission's alleged interference in teaching. This news is in the headlines in the media of Australia, but this news is missing in the media of India. This matter is related to the image of India.

Australian newspaper The Age and another website sauciantude.com.au have reported that in a letter to the Vice Chancellor of Melbourne University, the resigning professors have accused the Indian High Commission of violating academic freedom. Ian Ulford, one of the 13, says he has resigned because of government interference and restrictions on academic freedom.

Karan Thapar points out that The Age and the website have cited three examples of alleged interference. The first example is from 2019 when a much-hyped event was converted into a private invitation-only seminar following the intervention of the Indian High Commissioner. Its theme was 'Key Words for India Violence' and it was to discuss violence by Hindu nationalist groups against Muslims.

Another example is when the institute refused to publish the educational material written on the issue related to Mahatma Gandhi. The institute also did not allow a podcast titled "Cast and the Corporation in India and Abroad". The author quoted the institute's founding director Amitabh Mattoo as saying that Indian officials are finding it difficult to answer the Australian media, although they claim that no one has resigned, but everyone's term was ending.

However, the author has confirmed that the resignation has been accepted. The author leaves two questions. The first question is why is our media completely silent on this subject? The second question is, why is the government not openly denying the allegation that the Indian High Commissioner is interfering in academic matters? Who will answer when the High Commissioners are convicted?

Violence and Sangh on Ram Navami in India: Understand the Chronology of a Century

There was a procession led by Sangh founder Hedgewar, then loud music was played as they passed by the mosques

One thing that Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in 2019 became famous - 'You understand cronology'. This was said by the Home Minister when he was explaining the plans and ambitions of the Central Government to implement the nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) . However, that timeline got messed up due to many reasons.

Whatever change takes place, it is due to the arrangement of the gradual development of the events that have been going on in the past. In such a situation, it is necessary to trace a century-old chain of its (struggle) development in the context of the communal conflicts that took place in many states across the country during the Ram Navami procession . It also has a 'chronology' which is different from Amit Shah's chronology. This chronology might be disturbing to him and his ilk. As a driving force devoted to a communal ideology, this is one aspect of their past that they do not wish to be reminded of.

First of all, we must look at the root cause of these undeniably preventable conflicts between Hindus and Muslims, in which many people have been injured and some deaths have been caused, a large number of public and private properties have been damaged.

The only thing that emerges from all the incidents is that violence was witnessed when processions were taken out on Ram Navami and in these processions, ostentatious devotees raised provocative slogans by waving saffron flags while passing through mosques and Muslim areas.

'Chronology' from 1925

According to a pro-Hindutva website, a Hindu right-wing commentator admits that the "common or frequent 'trigger'" for the heavy stone-pelting on processions was that processions passed in front of mosques but the music did not stop. The majoritarian argument, however, is that there is a more than 100-year-old tradition of violent Muslim reactions followed by 'Hindu processions playing music outside mosques'.

This argument is half-baked as it ignores the fact that for over 100 years, Hindu procession organizers have openly incited Muslims while passing through mosques or colonies in the name of celebrating the festival.

It is important to revisit the beginning or 'chronology' of this development as it is intrinsically linked to the founding of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since 1925, the ideological source of the (RSS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). is. The RSS is also a 'training' ground for most BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Hindus are not 'organised': Hedgewar

Despite Hindu and Muslim communities being strategically joined together during the Revolt of 1857, social relations between Hindus and Muslims in the late nineteenth century were often poor. There were serious conflicts between the two communities in 1903-04 and 1914 in Nagpur, the birthplace of the RSS.

The last RSS founder KB Hedgewar and his political mentor BS Munje distanced themselves from Mahatma Gandhi in the early 1920s after advocating Hindu-Muslim unity and merging the Khilafat movement with the non-cooperation movement.

KB Hedgewar and BS Munje, both organized Hindu sentiments against Muslims in Nagpur. Munje led a fact-finding team in the Malabar region of Kerala to investigate the horrific violent events of 1921. This was revealed to Hedgewar while in jail for his involvement in the Non-Cooperation Movement; By the time he was released in 1922, Gandhi had withdrawn the movement after the violent incident at Chauri Chaura.

Munje also released his report on the Moplah rebellion, calling it "forced conversions" and "the biggest Muslim attack on Hindus since Muslim rule".

The release of the report with a clear majoritarian bias and rising anti-Muslim sentiment in central India gave Swami Shraddhanand an important reason and rationale for launching the 'Shuddhi' movement.

As a result, it was seen that Hedgewar affirmed his view that 'Hindus are not as well organized as Muslims... the only way to solve this... is for Hindu leaders to organize their own society'. ' The future founder of the RSS decided to take the lead in this direction.

Munje and Hedgewar lead the Dindi Satyagraha

Hedgewar started his campaign by bringing back the orphans who had taken refuge in Christian missionaries. But the real success he got in 1923 in winning over the Hindus and widening the divide with the Muslims.

This happened when he started a campaign against the British officers. Their demand was simple: Hindus would no longer abide by the 'Peace Pact' signed after the 1914 riots and would henceforth take out religious processions accompanied by loud music, even passing in front of mosques.

Hedgewar had said that the right to play music was not a trivial matter but an expression of 'Hindu might'. He ignored the fact that the above agreement came after Hindus accepted the prevailing Muslim view on the 'improperness' of music.

Local authorities banned the playing of music during processions, but Hedgewar convinced Hindu organizers to indefinitely postpone the immersion of Ganesh idols in protest. This caused anger among the Hindus who held the Muslims responsible for the standoff.

Eventually, instructions to ban music were violated and processions were taken out with "excessive noise" as they passed in front of mosques.

This protest was called 'Dindi Satyagraha', in which a group, or Dindi, was singing devotional songs. Academic John Zavos wrote in his book Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in India that Munje choreographed the satyagraha, while Hedgewar "acted as an offensive soldier".

How did the 'Macho Man' get involved in such processions?

With the success of the musical performances in front of mosques, a branch of the Hindu Mahasabha was formed in Nagpur, with Munje as the vice-president and Hedgewar as the secretary and Laxmanrao Bhonsle, the former king of Nagpur state, as the pretentious president.

The music played by individuals in the processions did not arouse spiritual sentiments, but acted as a sign of a 'disturbing' presence and thus was derogatory to Muslims.

Before the founding of the RSS, Hedgewar's biggest victory was the Dindi Satyagraha. There were some occasions during this campaign when the drummers had stopped their hands for fear of security, then on those occasions he (Hedgewar) himself played the drum outside the mosques.

The future RSS founder was also passionate about bodybuilding and put his physical skills to good use during the communal riots of 1924.

Many people running akhadas, gyms or body building clubs were involved in the campaign during the Dindi Satyagraha despite having no prior experience or interest in politics.

VD Savarkar's book Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? Hindu nationalist ideas have been codified in Inspired by this book, Hedgewar made physical fitness an integral part of the RSS's functioning after the founding of the RSS in September 1925.

Hedgewar had also ensured that RSS volunteers were trained to use weapons such as the sword, spear and dagger. Such weapons are mainly used in close face-to-face combat, not against the aggressors of a country.

'Music-before-mosque' riots have been happening for decades

Munje did not endorse Hedgewar's enthusiasm for the RSS. However, in December 1927, Munje admitted that one of his disciples had once ensured a Hindu counter-attack. He had said that 'this miracle of eradicating the lowly and submissive nature of our [Hindu] society has been achieved by the RSS and Hedgewar.'

There is no doubt that processions and music during Hindu religious festivals that intensify when passing through mosques or Muslim areas have captured the foundations of the establishment and development of the RSS and its allies.

Julian Lynch, a doctorate in Anthropology/Ethnomusicology, wrote that newspaper readers were familiar with the term "music-before-mosque riots" even in the 19th century. They believe that such incidents and clashes arose as a result of the 'planned presentation of a musical procession, usually during a Hindu festival, in front of a Muslim place of worship as disrespectful to one'. At the same time, doing such an act again and again is like incitement which takes the form of violence. And this is how violence takes place in such cases.

The music in such religious processions effectively had nothing to do with music, but was a derogatory expression used against a community that is stuck in one place and continues to play music that continues unabated. Growing up, which is capable of using hit-and-run tactics. Despite the fact that the events of music-before-mosque riots predate the formation of the RSS, its use was crucial to the formation and expansion of the organisation. But now the leaders of the organization have mastered the use of such tactics, as the latest incidents of communal violence show.

Even after independence (especially on the occasion of Ram Navami and after the Ayodhya Ram Mandir movement gained momentum), the RSS and its allies (including the BJP cadre) used religious processions to strengthen their support base among Hindus. done in inciting riots.

When processions announce 'Arrival' there is no devotion

The riots triggered by the processions seem to be similar to Hedgewar's efforts a hundred years ago. They are part of the same chronological.

Lynch notably pointed to a 1924 report in The Times of India, Calcutta, which talked of disturbances outside a mosque during Durga Puja celebrations. The report emphasized that 'Hindus retaliated by playing bands and music', indicating that it was not a devotional act, but a response of sorts.

Reports and videos of recent clashes and clashes demonstrate that music during Ram Navami processions was difficult to separate from acts of provocation and provocation. This was exactly what happened in the past when the RSS was founded. Thus music is only a spectacle. It's a way to mark your location and show your presence, or to announce 'arrival'.

Isn't it often said that the more things change, the more they stay the same?

( The author is a writer and journalist based in NCR. His most recent book is The Demolition and the Verdict: Ayodhya and the Project to Reconfigure India. His other books include The RSS: Icons of the Indian Right and Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times are included. They tweet at @NilanjanUdwin.)

Jahangirpuri violence: Police and peace committee meeting, appeal to maintain peace

After the violence in Jahangirpuri, Delhi, a meeting of the Police and Aman Committee was held to maintain peace. Police officers of Jahangirpur including DCP North West attended the meeting.

During the meeting, all the members were asked to appeal to the people of their respective areas to maintain peace and harmony. Along with this, he has also been appealed not to pay attention to any kind of rumours. Police officials have also requested people to be alert to the activities of anti-social elements and to report immediately.

Karnataka: Stone pelting at police station in Hubli, case registered

Angry mob pelted stones at Old Hubli Police Station in Karnataka. Four policemen including an inspector were injured in this incident. Section 144 is in force in the entire city. The police have started investigation by registering a case.

The atmosphere of the country is being deliberately spoiled- Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the way the atmosphere of the country is being deliberately spoiled to win elections, I think it is not good for the country. There was an attack on Hanuman Jayanti and Ram Navami in Delhi yesterday, this never used to happen before.

Andhra Pradesh: Action after clashes in Kurnool district, 20 people in custody

Clashes broke out between two communities at Alur in Kurnool district during Hanuman Jayanti procession. 15 people have been injured in this incident. On the basis of the video, the police have detained 20 people, whose interrogation is going on.

Kurnool SP said that the situation is peaceful now. Adequate civilian and armed forces are deployed in the area.

Delhi: 14 accused arrested so far in Jahangirpuri violence

Police action continues after violence in Delhi's Jahangirpuri. 5 more accused have been arrested in this case. A total of 14 people have been arrested so far. The police have also arrested the accused who opened fire during the incident. Along with this, a pistol has also been recovered from his possession.

Source : the quint