{"id":180959,"date":"2022-01-04T02:06:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T20:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=180959"},"modified":"2022-01-04T02:06:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T20:36:27","slug":"vision-of-new-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2022\/01\/04\/vision-of-new-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision of ‘new India’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hate Speech & Hinduism <\/strong>
\nBy Insaf<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where is India headed? The hate speeches at Haridwar\u2019s Dharam Sansad, religious conclave, and right-wing activists stalling Xmas celebrations in Karnataka, Assam and Gurugram should make many a head hang in shame. The Haridwar conclaveunabashedly indulged in open Muslim-baiting and incitement to Hindus to take up arms, there were calls for genocide and violence. Neither a single person arrested nor the ruling BJP reining in the sadhus, which it fosters. Worse, it smacks of double standards wherein a stand-up comedian is arrested for statements attributed to him, social activists\u2019 languishing in jail under the draconian UAPA law for speeches, or for that matter an young activist arrested for an NGO toolkit, to mention only a few. Is the right to freedom of speech and expression a given for those speaking for a \u2018Hindu Rashtra\u2019? And only because the battle of the ballot is upcoming in UP and Uttarakhand and such speeches will woo the BJP\u2019s vote bank, that it is brazenly ignored? Sending notices for appearance or lodging FIRs against one or two hate speech perpetrator is making a mockery of the system. Will the Supreme Court heed to a letter by 76 of its lawyers to take suo-moto cognisance of the events?
\nIt doesn\u2019t stop here. There are instances of right-wing activists targeting the Christians this past week. The group \u2018Hindu JagaranaVedike\u2019bullied and heckled aChristian convent Nirmala English High School\u2019s management in Mandya district in Karnataka, over Xmas celebrations. \u2018Why Hindu festivals like Ganesha festival were not being celebrated!, it asked. The Head Mistress said the groupasked us to hang a photo of Goddess Saraswathi in the school and accused \u2018us of converting students which isn\u2019t true.\u201d In Assam\u2019s Silchar district, members of Bajrang Daldisrupted a Christmas programme in the town demanding Hindus must shun the celebrations and in another incident a group forced its way into a church and demanded it be shut down because Hindus could not take part in the festivities! In yet another incident a group of men claiming to be right-wing activists barged into a church premises in Gurugram\u2019s Pataudi disrupting the prayers, raising slogans \u2018Jai Shree Ram\u2019 and \u2018Bharat Mata Ki Jai\u2019.Well, if the Dharam Sansad and these incidents are examples of the kind of society we are building, then God bless \u2018New India\u2019!<\/p>\n

Naga Conundrum
\nHas the Union Home Ministry made matters worse in Nagaland? Extending the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act for another six months by issuing a notification on Thursday last, declaring the entire state a \u201cdisturbed area\u201d, is being seen as an \u2018insult to all Nagas.\u2019 More so its timing \u2013 amidst a growing clamour for AFSPA\u2019s withdrawal following the botched army operation which led to killing of 14 civilians. Worse, the move puts a big question mark on the Centre\u2019s sincerity to make amends and heal wounds as just days before Amit Shah set up a committee to look into the possibility of its withdrawal, following a meeting with Chief Minister Rio and his team in Delhi. The Ministry\u2019s justification it was necessary as the committee would submit its report in 3 months and the June extension was expiring on 30 December, has no takers. Rather there is condemnation: An \u2018aghast and affronted\u2019 National People\u2019s Front (NPF), a constituent of State government slammed Modi government\u2019s \u201cutter disregard\u201d for \u201cvoices of smaller states\u201d and \u201cit added salt to injury\u2019; the Naga Students\u2019 Federation reacted, the notification claiming whole of Nagaland was \u201cdisturbed\u201d was an \u201cinsult to Nagas at this time of grief\u201d and it has decided to come all out against the notification through a \u2018series of democratic agitations\u2019. Has the Home Ministry bitten more than it can chew and isn\u2019t it versed with the idiom \u2018out of the frying pan into the fire\u2019?<\/p>\n

AAP\u2019s Chandigarh Debut
\nThere\u2019s good reason for jubilation in AAP\u2019s camp. It\u2019s made a stunning debut in Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls, winning 14 of the 35 seats, including that of the Mayor\u2019s by its dhaba owner candidate. BJP came close by bagging 12 seats, Congress 8, Akali Dal staying at one. An upbeat chief Kejriwal, who campaigned vigorously for these city polls tweeted: \u201cAAP\u2019s victory points at imminent change in Punjab. People have rejected corrupt politics and have chosen AAP…Punjab is ready for change,\u201d with its party spokesperson Raghav Chadha adding: \u201cThe Chandigarh election is a trailer, Punjab will be the full movie. The mood in Chandigarh is the mood in Punjab.\u201d Perhaps. For AAP\u2019s entry is bound to have a chilling effect on BJP, SAD and Congress, just months before the ensuing big Assembly battle. The BJP in particular, seems to be showing signs as the same day it announced a poll tie up with Amarinder Singh\u2019s Punjab Lok Congress and SS Dhindsa\u2019s SAD (Sanyukt). The Congress, though raised its share, continues to struggle with infighting and needs to find more ways of keeping its flock together, with two more MLAs and a senior leader leaving the \u2018sinking ship.\u201d How the SAD-BSP alliance fares is anybody\u2019s guess. One thing is certain; the city elections have provided AAP leaders and cadres a stimulus and ignited hope.
\nRelief For Delhi
\nThe national capital, Delhi can heave a sigh of relief. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has ended its 15-day long strike early Friday last, following assurances of their demands being met. These were: To get NEET-PG counselling expedited; an apology from authorities for police manhandling the doctors and withdrawal of FIRs registered against protesters.Patient care should limp back to normalcy asOPD services, wards and emergency services were impacted, worse at a time when Delhi\u2019s covid cases are drastically on the rise. And while Union Health Minister Mandaviyatoo should be less stressed, the big question he must address is why do doctors, the \u2018frontline workers\u2019 applauded for their stellar work during the pandemic, have to get on to the streets? Their demand for expediting NEET-PG counselling is justified, for the government\u2019s delay has left medical college hospitals \u2018short-staffed\u2019 with outgoing batch of 3rdyear PG students having already left and many resident doctors are ending up working 100 to 120 hours a week due to the shortfall. This when nearly 45,000 NEET-PG aspirants across the country are waiting to join the workforce! The Ministry would do well in future to take the cue from \u2018A stitch in time saves nine\u2019.<\/p>\n

Innovative Jharkhand
\nJharkhand shows the way. Petrol will be subsidised for the poor! On Wednesday last, marking two years of the JMM-led government Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that petrol will be subsidised by Rs 25 per litre for ration-card holders with two-wheelers, among other schemes. However, there may be a cap of 10 litres per family per month, once modalities are finalised to the scheme to begin from Republic Day. This as Soren said: There are motorcycles in poor\u2019s homes, but people can\u2019t ride these because they don\u2019t have money for petrol\u2026 the person is unable to go to the market to sell his crop. We hear that people are mixing kerosene and petrol to ride motorcycles\u2026\u201d Like other States, petrol and diesel prices are Rs 98.52 per litre, and Rs 91.56 respectively, a pinch for the middle and lower-middle classes. According to data, there are 61 lakh families that have ration cards, and of these 2 lakh to 20 lakhs would have motorcycles, so the scheme is expected to make a difference, a feather in its cap. Other States\u2019 may consider riding the tide too. \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hate Speech & Hinduism By Insaf Where is India headed? The hate speeches at Haridwar\u2019s Dharam Sansad, religious conclave, and right-wing activists stalling Xmas celebrations in Karnataka, Assam and Gurugram should make many a head hang in shame. The Haridwar conclaveunabashedly indulged in open Muslim-baiting and incitement to Hindus to take up arms, there were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-180959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180959\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}