Last October, when law student and Dalit feminist Raya Sarkar put up a crowd-sourced list with names of professors in the Indian academia who have been allegedly sexually predatory towards students, it did more than just spark a discussion on sexual harassment and due process. It started a deeply uncomfortable conversation on the very divide in the feminist movements in India in addressing issues of gender politics in the age of the internet.

Recently, an internal complaints committee of the Ambedkar University Delhi found eminent scholar Lawrence Liang, dean of the law faculty (whose name was on the list), guilty of sexual harassment. If one were to read his statement to the committee as reported on The Scroll, it would point to how gendered ‘consent’ continues to be. However, that’s a discussion for another time.

For now, what’s more concerning is the response of prominent feminist and professor Nivedita Menon’s to the same; historicising due process without acknowledging how the law and the state still continue to be deeply patriarchal and misogynistic, invalidating the politics of the “List”, and dissing contemporary feminist practices as uninformed/self-righteous/finger-tip activism.

To me, Menon’s blog brought to fore the widening gap between generations of feminists and their understanding of the evolving ‘means’ to empowerment.

1. Her response plays on various implicit victim-blaming tropes that we use, especially as feminists, without really weighing the implications it can have. Menon has spent a significant number of years of her life theorising feminism and leading important gender-rights movements in India. For someone with that body of work to call out women and men as ‘finger-tip activists’ is a really low blow. Her constant attempt at distancing India’s feminist movement/practice from ‘finger-tip activism’ is alienating, and the assumption of the internet public as uninformed, unaware and incapable of ‘owning’ their voice is extremely problematic.

Those of us who came out to share our horrid, traumatic and coerced sexual encounters on social media know how hateful that space can be. Sexual harassment is now served to most of us on Facebook comments, and Instagram inbox requests. When women talk online, it’s not as simple as typing words on a keyboard. It’s putting out a narrative for the world to scrutinise, opine and judge, and most often, de-legitimise. At a time when the internet is becoming so obviously polarised, #MeToo symbolises a solidarity of people to call out the misogyny most of us live. It was a movement to call out power, not just of gender, but of the multitude of identities that accompany masculinity.

It was also a cry for fixing the due process, that either failed some of us or doesn’t exist for most of us (as in with child sexual assault). The individual act of people speaking out is the testament of a larger feminist ‘practice’ of breaking the silence. Each individual act contributed to making the #MeToo ‘movement’ as we know it today.

I think, making clear the difference between movement and practice, especially in this particular instance, is useful.

Once we acknowledge that, one will see how radical the act of speaking out in the context of the #MeToo movement is. Finger-tip activism, in that sense, is radical. The ability of women to come out to voice themselves in spaces they occupy actively de-legitimises them as a body and mind and is radical. And the “List” is part of the same radical ‘practice’ of calling out abuse in even ‘apparently’ feminist and egalitarian spaces. It’s not a fetish, as Menon refers to it. It’s what re-claiming politics looks like.

Due process for sexual harassment, on the other hand, has itself been a feminist intervention. There is no denying it. I think it would be wrong to assume that people who put out testimonies in the public do so only because due process fails. For a lot of us, in extremely imbalanced power structures of gender, class, caste, age and education, speaking out is itself a radical act. It’s not so much to denounce due process as to own one’s narrative. The way Menon refers to “counter-narratives” and “protests” in cases of the failure of due process is itself reminiscent of the existing power imbalance. In a culture where the burden and shame of harassment are so internalised in the psyche of a victim, due process does very little in cases where the abuser is a prominent, influential name. Even so, the politics of the “List” only makes the due process accountable, rather than simply vindicating it. And, acknowledging that essential difference is useful for all of us – finger-tip activists or not.

2. I don’t see where Menon’s sense of her claim to feminism arises from. She calls out finger-tip activists for “no historic memory” – and adds that the fetishisation of the “List” and some individuals by finger-tip activists is contrary to the ethics of “all” feminists.

(Read it again, if you don’t catch the paradox.)

Last time I checked, the historical memory of the feminist struggle urges each of us, especially those of us with a background in feminist theory, to acknowledge the existing divide in the feminist practice over generations, which in fact, is rather pervasive. Historic memory asks us to learn from our experiences and struggles as feminists and evolve practices for empowerment. If we don’t learn to adapt our politics with the changing times, we might just end up creating the very bias we wish to uproot.

If being a feminist has taught me something, it is to acknowledge that women are not a bunch of homogenous humans that can be bracketed into a singular category. Most of us live complex and intersectional lives, take on various other identities on the lines of class, caste, sexuality, etc.

That’s where feminism starts for me. There will always be women whose struggles I will never encounter, and I can never fully empathise with, no matter how actively I try to be cognisant of my unconscious bias and privilege. Instead of trying to pulling down each other, maybe we can all just listen and stand up ‘with’ instead of standing up ‘for’ women. I think we all have a voice, and we all deserve the mic. Most of us just need the mic. Let’s not hold it for too long, let’s just pass it around.

The post Dear Nivedita Menon, Contemporary Feminists Are More Than Just ‘Finger-Tip Activists’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

In 2 similar interviews, the Prime Minister has encouraged simultaneous elections to be held in the country. In my view, neither is this a financially responsible solution to our expensive elections, nor is it the right way to conduct elections in a multi-party democracy full of single state and regional parties.

The president of the party that is in majority in the Government has given a speech on simultaneous elections from their new party office. The party has provided a 10 point action plan to its chief ministers (the party is in power in 19 out of 29 states), to ‘popularise’ the idea. It even asks the state governments to nominate a minister who will handle the issue politically. This idea has been mentioned by the current and former president in their addresses as well.

Since this idea is going to generate increased traction as the general election comes closer, I thought it best to examine the issue of changing India’s electoral system.

Constitutional Limit

Under our Constitution, nowhere does it specify that a legislature (state or Centre) enjoys a fixed term. Due to Article 83 (2) for the Centre and Article 172 for the states, the words ‘unless dissolved sooner‘ holds an important meaning. Seats are up for election after 5 years from the start, but, –

• they can be dissolved earlier on the recommendation of the Prime Minister/Chief Minister,
• they can be extended during Emergency for up to 6 months
• they can be ended earlier if the Government of the day does not enjoy the support of the party members/coalition it is a part of, through a no-confidence motion.

This is without mentioning the fact that a state legislature can be dissolved on the report of the Governor under Article 356 which makes a state come under President’s rule. This has been severely abused by many governments. It was abused by Indira Gandhi throughout her tenure and by the present government in Uttrakhand, which was deemed a constitutional crisis.

In various states, coalitions are the order of the day, and with that comes alignment of regional parties from one ideology to the other, in search of a better outcome. When leaders die, such as in Jayalalithaa’s case, there can be factions within the same party which break it.

All of these are unique instances of how India’s legislatures do not reach their full term. When a Government falls, it will have to be under President’s rule. When a Government falls due to a lack of majority, that Government will have to wait and so will the opposition as the elections will only happen at the set date along with all other assemblies in the country. Is breaking the link between the legislature and the executive, hereby, destroying the fabric of the Parliamentary system, a small price to pay?

The other problem is of not fulfilling the Constitutional obligation of having a legislature complete their term or extending the term by more than 5 years. You would have to cut short the recently elected Gujarat assembly and extend the current Karnataka assembly to have simultaneous elections. Basically, you are diminishing/increasing the worth of a specific state’s citizen’s vote. That could even lead to litigation under Article 14. You are forcing the states to comply with the Centre’s schedule. How is this fair in a federal system where states are not subservient to the Centre, but their equal?

Speaking of litigation, the Kesavananda Bharati versus State of Kerala case had ruled that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be altered. A parliament system was deemed to be part of the basic structure. Inherently, the parliamentary system is where the executive derives its power from the legislature. Many believe that simultaneous elections would mean moving towards a presidential system since — due to the many reasons listed a state/Central government is bound to fall, the President would rule with his/her own council of ministers. Would it, then, pass judicial scrutiny? I think not.

If you want simultaneous elections, you need fixed terms, otherwise, it falls. You cannot do this without a constitutional amendment. Suppose all parties come together and decide simultaneous elections are a good idea, then, that state/Central legislature would either stay on, despite losing its majority i.e. the will of the people or fresh elections will be called, in which case, it will stay on for less than 5 years till the fixed date comes up. Is either truly democratic? I am not in favour of a trade-off between stability and democracy. No one should be. What if that Government becomes extremely incompetent? Knowing they cannot be ousted. What if that Government falls for the variety of reasons listed above? President’s rule for years? Our democracy is messy, but that is a fault of the people we elect, not the frequency of our elections.

The Constitution is a clear deterrent against this practice and for right measure.

Model Code of Conduct

But what about the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)? This is the cry of the proponents of the measure. The MCC comes into place 45 days before an election and bars any big-ticket announcements to ensure the Government does not use its office to sway voters. The MCC is a guideline on how to ‘act’ during an election period by a political party. It is enforced when the election is announced till its completion. People argue that the MCC prevents ‘developmental work’ and governance since a Government cannot announce any new schemes.

This is what a Committee said in 2015 –

“The imposition of the MCC [model code of conduct] puts on hold the entire development programme and activities of the Union and state governments in the poll-bound states. It even affects normal governance. Frequent elections lead to imposition of MCC over prolonged periods of time.”

Some argue that the Centre becomes hesitant to take ‘risky’ decisions that might be good in the long run, but, would affect the ruling party politically. What happened to putting the country first? The Centre is a Government first, and a political party later. Seeing decisions through the prism of politics might be debatable, but, negating the development of the country just so you can win one more state, is ridiculous.

The Government argues that it places a tightrope around their developmental work. They cannot announce new projects. It places their ability to govern.

This would be a valid argument except the MCC is quite liberal in their design.

1. It places no restrictions on normal day-to-day administration.
2. It is applicable throughout the country ONLY during the Lok Sabha elections. In state elections, the MCC is applicable only in that state.
3. Ministers cannot use Government transport or official visits for electioneering work.
4. No advertisements at the expense of the taxpayer.
5. In case of emergencies like floods, droughts welfare measures may be announced after obtaining prior approval of the Commission
6. No financial institution funded by the Government may write off any loans.
7. No Ministers and other authorities shall not announce any financial grants in any form or promise thereof; or (except civil servants) lay foundation stones etc. of projects or schemes of any kind; or make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities etc.

Point number 2 is indicative that for continuous state elections, developmental work is not impacted. You can carry on introducing projects for other states and extend the same to that particular state after the MCC is lifted. In the rarest of rare cases, where the Central Government HAS to introduce some new scheme in a state during the imposition of MCC, it can do so after consulting the Election Commission (Point 5). For the Lok Sabha MCC, 3 months, of incapability as voters make their uninfluenced decision to vote seems to be fair enough considering the Central Government gets 57 months to work uninterrupted for the country.

If parties still think the MCC is disruptive, it might work better to change the code itself to be more accommodating rather than clubbing all elections together. However, the MCC is a check on the Government, rather than a limitation of development.

Public funding of elections

The main argument of the Prime Minister is that a lot of money will be saved by having elections all at once, rather than, having it every 6 months. His solution – of clubbing all elections at once to save that money.

First off, the cost estimated for the 2014 Lok Sabha and all states and UT elections was Rs. 4,500 crores by a Parliamentary committee. Divide this by the number of people who voted in just the Lok Sabha elections i.e. 55 crores – for each voter, your cost was Rs. 88 for 5 years. Lower if you take all those who voted in the state and UT elections. A state Government has spent Rs. 3,600 on a statue. Fiscal conservatism when it is convenient? Can you say money needs to be saved for the highest democratic duty of the country?

Secondly, the cost to the EC is a procedural one. The negative cost to democracy is the destructive influence of money in politics. There is a difference between party election expenses and what the Election Commission has to spend. The disproportionate spending by parties in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was estimated to be around Rs. 30,000 crores. The limit for a candidate in the Lok Sabha is Rs. 70 lakhs. Money in politics ensures a quid-pro-quo between big business/donors and our representatives.

Saving for the EC is the Prime Minister’s argument rather than curbing expenditures by parties? That says it all. I have a better idea Mr Prime Minister. Public funding of elections.

Removing money out of politics is a must and the Representation of People’s Act (1951) has not done enough. Germany is an excellent model to follow. The funds given to parties are in proportion to their votes and it stops corporations from buying elections. There have been various high-level reports that have recommended some level of public funding but nothing has been done yet.

Public funding of elections also ends the disgrace of electoral bonds. I call this, although probably not the first one to term it, the ‘Citizens United’ of India. Citizens United was a judgement in the United States of America which allowed corporations to disproportionately affect elections. Similarly, electoral bonds allow anonymous unlimited donations to a political party. This purely unregulated anti-democratic practice can be stopped by public funding.

You kill two birds with one stone by removing money out of politics and reducing party election expenses.

Political Accountability

A personal opinion of mine, based on observing international politics, is that politics is better when it is a constant audition rather than an uninterrupted tenure. Whether you take the mid-term elections of the United States Congress or the local elections in the UK for councils, people in power are forced to perform so that a wave of anti-incumbency does not emerge. In India, that performance evaluation serves to keep a check on the Government. Have they performed after coming into office? If the answer is no, then vote them out in a particular state or local election. Give them fewer seats in the Upper House. Elections are not a routine but a duty. For both the politician and the voter. It should serve as a ground to keep the party in check. I do not think that the voter should just be heard every 5 years.

Centralisation?

Voters do not know the difference between state and central issues. That there is a bifurcation of issues that only the state can handle and ones that the Centre can handle, subject to exceptions. A study by the IDFC Institute had data from four Lok Sabha elections which found that “on average, there is a 77% chance that the Indian voter will vote for the same party for both the state and Centre when elections are held simultaneously”. This trend is worrying for regional parties who risk being phased out. Only national parties with more outreach, muscle and money will have a chance to prevail.

President style campaign

We had simultaneous elections during our first ever elections in 1952. An accident of history. Due to the nature of the beast, that got disbanded in the 60s and since then elections are scattered. Since India is a federal republic, there is no need to have state and Central elections simultaneously, which was recognised by the Constitution too. With simultaneous elections, it becomes more like the American process of having personality-based politics, which becomes even less accountable with a parliamentary structure. Would people who voted for the party based on the Prime Ministerial candidate realise that it is their MP and MLA who need to be held to ransom and not the Prime Minister?

Even the issue of security forces is not clear as many state elections such as Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal require massive CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) from neighbouring states to conduct fair polling. It is also one of the reasons elections are done in phases. Do we have the capability to do that for 545 Central constituencies and over 4,000 state ones?

There have been many undemocratic events put forward in the name of electoral reforms and simultaneous elections are one of them. The proper solution is simple – the system is fine, it is the people who need to be better. Many Parliamentary countries do just fine with regularly occurring elections. The proponents of this practice see elections as a hindrance; as a nuisance to be reduced. I could not disagree more.

The post The Lies Around Simultaneous Elections appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

By Shruti Sunderraman:

Ashwini* was 12 when she started playing football. Now 33, she still recalls the day her friends looked at her naked body in the bathroom after a match and ran away from her, screaming. That was the day she discovered that she was neither female nor male. Her parents had never told her she was intersex. They wanted to protect her from the truth. But how can you run away from a truth that’s visible? All her life, she believed her ‘truth’ to be ugly; an abomination. It took her years to understand that being intersex was nothing to be ashamed of.

Intersex people are possibly some of the most misunderstood within non-binary sexualities. Conversations about sex and sexuality often leave them behind.

Here’s a primer on what intersex people wished everyone knew.

Q. What does it mean to be intersex?

An intersex person is someone whose reproductive anatomy does not conform entirely to medical definitions of male or female. Intersexuality is an umbrella term and is not to be mistaken to be just one type of sexual identification. Intersex has at least 30 congenital variations of sex anatomy. No two intersex experiences are the same.

Q. What are the different types of intersexualities?

There are many types and markers for intersexuality and it’s all because of a structure called chromosomes, in our body.

Chromosomes are a thread-like structure and are the key to determining the sex of a human being. There are two types of chromosomes — X and Y. It’s the combination of these two chromosomes that determine our gender. A combination of XY chromosomes gives us a male, and XX gives us female. Chromosomes are also responsible for puberty, sex drive and body hair

Like determining males and females, chromosomes play an important role in determining sex characteristics for intersex persons. Whether a person is intersex can be determined through three indicators — their genitalia, reproductive organs and/or sexual characteristics.

The uterus and fallopian tubes are examples of female genitalia while testis and prostate are examples of male genitalia. In many intersex persons, there are chances of underdeveloped genitalia, sometimes some genital organs are missing and sometimes they have ambiguous genitals.

But the ambiguity of sexual organs is not always known at birth. Many intersex persons don’t realise that they’re intersex till they reach puberty and notice that their sexual organs and body parts affected by hormonal development do not look the same as others’.

This brings us to the third indicator, which is the presence or absence of external characters like body hair or development of breasts. An intersex woman may not necessarily have fully developed breasts while an intersex man may not have as much body hair as is common for men. But it’s important to note that this is no clear indicator of an intersex person. Many non-intersex persons don’t have any of these sexual characteristics as well.

Intersex characteristics are chromosomal and hormonal, and not just anatomical. For example, an intersex person could look completely female, but happen to have XY chromosomes (which is more usually the combination for male). Many intersex people are also born with a different combination of chromosomes, like an XXY combination of chromosomes. Some of these combinations are accompanied by what doctors call Partial or Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), in which the person’s cells don’t respond to androgens, leading to underdeveloped sexual organs.

People born with gonadal dysgenesis, another chromosomal condition characterised by the incomplete or defective formation of the gonads, also fall into the intersex category.

Here’s a helpful chart to understand some types of intersexual reproductive anatomies:

Q. Why does this happen?

It just…happens. It’s biological and medical. Why people are born intersex is like asking why someone is born female or male. It’s just how some people are born or develop.

Q. Is intersexuality a disease or a medical condition?

It’s easy to presume that having non-binary reproductive organs is a medical condition. This, however, is far from the truth. Having a bit of both male and female genitalia is not a medical “condition” that needs to be fixed. It’s simply how intersex people are genetically made — it needs no fixing, just acceptance.

Acceptance, as intersex people will tell you, is hard to get. Many parents wonder if they should immediately get surgery for their intersex babies’ genitalia. This can be a major ethical dilemma. Parents might think they are acting in their child’s best interest to assign them a more predictable sexual identity. But today, there are debates about whether parents or doctors can or should make such huge decisions. How can they possibly know what lies in our hearts and our futures, ask intersex people.

In its ‘Free & Equal’ campaign for LGBT equality, the United Nations Human Rights Commission states that sex corrective surgeries should be avoided because they are often irreversible procedures and can cause permanent infertility, pain, incontinence, loss of sexual sensation and lifelong mental suffering, including depression. And yet, stigma, ignorance and prejudice lead many parents to ‘fix’ their intersex children with invasive surgical procedures.

Importantly, many intersex people (or their parents) don’t know they are intersex from childhood. Sometimes, people don’t realise they’re intersex till puberty; for some intersex persons, reproductive organs develop only at or after puberty. This can be very confusing as well. Imagine having believed you are female all your life, only to find that your body has changed.

Q. So… intersexuality is a type of gender?

No, intersexuality denotes biological sex, that is determined by medicine and biology, just like male or female. Gender, on the other hand, is what someone identifies with psychologically — like man or woman. This is a common misconception people have about intersex people. A common and untrue assumption is that intersex people choose their sex, like people choose their gender.

Q. Are transgender and intersex people the same then?

Another no. Intersex people are often confused with transgender people.

Transgenders are people who are born male or female but identify themselves psychologically as the opposite of their sex they were born into. Transgender is about being the gender a person identifies with, while intersexuality is about a whole different sex. An intersex person may identify themselves as transgender but he/she is not transgender by default. Transgender is psychological while intersex is biological.

Q. Are intersex people automatically gay or lesbian?

Another common assumption is that intersex people identify with the ‘LGBA’ in LGBTQIA. This is untrue. An intersex person does not necessarily have to be gay or lesbian or bisexual or asexual; he or she could be any of them or none. As with anybody else, an intersex person’s sexual orientation is not decided by their sex but by their sexual orientation. If an intersex person identifies himself as a man and is attracted to men, then and only then can he be called gay. Assuming that an intersex person (or a trans person) is automatically gay or lesbian is another misconception.

Q. How different are intersex people from hijras?

Hijra is a cultural community and cultural identity. It is a community consisting of mainly transgender persons who were born male but either identify themselves as a woman or don’t identify themselves with either gender; and also intersex persons. Some hijras choose ritual castration, and these days may also seek sex reassignment surgery. Not all Hijras are intersex although some intersex persons may choose to join the Hijra community.

An intersex person may or may not have non-conforming genitalia. Intersex people are neither a community nor tied to a geography, as groups of hijras are. The hijra community is recognised as the third gender in India and other parts of South Asia, whereas, as mentioned before, intersex is not a gender but a whole different sex.

Q. What’s the difference between a hermaphrodite and an intersex person?

A technical definition for hermaphrodite is someone who has completely developed male and female reproductive organs — ovarian and testicular tissue both. But if you want to know if intersex people differ from hermaphrodites because of underdeveloped organs, there’s an important distinction to make here. According to the Intersex Society of North America, hermaphrodite is a mythical term – it’s not medically possible to have fully developed male and female reproductive organs in the same body. Hermaphrodite is a mythical concept while intersex is a legit, medically-sound term.

The term ‘hermaphrodite’ is outdated and is considered offensive by most intersex persons.

Q. Is romance different in the intersex world?

Intersex people fall in love, date and want romance like everyone else. A straight intersex woman can be easily dating a bisexual/straight man. A bisexual intersex man can seek love with a gay man. It’s not the unavailability of combinations under the many non-binaries of gender and sexuality that pose a problem for intersex people, it’s the stigma and the jungle of misconceptions that have to be fought through. But love (and activism) often find a way.

Q. Can intersex people have sex?

Of course, they can. Having differently-shaped sexual organs does not mean intersex persons do not have any pleasure centres in their body. An intersex person is capable of having sex like anyone else.

With all the variants in intersex persons, it would be easy to presume that sex can’t happen for an intersex person. But this isn’t true. All this means is that there needs to be proper communication about what sex means to an intersex person and how it plays out for them. Sex can happen with proper communication with partners.

Q. Do intersex people have sex the way everyone else does?

No two people experience sex in the exact same manner. Sure, the general mechanisms of sex remain the same but its application varies for everyone. It gets even more subjective for intersex persons. With differently developed organs, sex is a different experience for intersex persons. For example, some intersex persons who identify as women don’t have a fully developed clitoris but can have penetrative sex. For others, penetrative sex is not pleasurable due to an underdeveloped vaginal opening and might prefer externally stimulating sex. The same goes for intersex people with conditions where they do not have a penis (like in aphallia).

As you know and as we agents like to keep repeating, sex is not merely a penetrative act. It’s an entire act of feeling pleasure between two or more people. So how someone feels pleasured goes beyond penetration or a particular combination of genitalia.

But if penetration is central to sex for an intersex person, it could pose a problem. An Androgren Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) individual planning to engage in penetrative sex, for example, needs to discuss the fact that, without a uterus, the vagina is what many call ‘blind-ended’, that is, it ends in a sac of tissue that doesn’t go up to the cervix. There’s a back wall to the vagina preventing full penetration. Sometimes, there can be pain with penetrative sex with that back wall.

Individuals with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia might have an enlarged clitoris that has erectile capability. Intersex people with the Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome also do not have a vagina or have an underdeveloped vagina, preventing penetration.

On a side note, some intersex women are also biologically capable of getting pregnant. Over the years, there have been several cases of intersex women getting pregnant after intensive hormone therapy.

Q. Do intersex people only have sex with other intersex people?

Not necessarily. Pure intersex couples do exist but that doesn’t necessarily mean that an intersex person will date only another intersex person. A lot of intersex persons have met men and women who are not baffled by differently developed organs.

Like it is with everyone, sexual chemistry is entirely subjective for an intersex person.

*Name changed to protect identity

The post What Intersex People Wished Everyone Knew About Them appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

आज 23 मार्च का दिन पूरे भारत में भगत सिंह की शहादत को बहुत ही जोश से मनाया जायेगा। 23 मार्च, 1931 के दिन ही भगत सिंह, राजगुरु और सुखदेव ने हंसते हुए और गीत गाते हुए फांसी को गले लगाया था। भगत सिंह ने एक सपना देखा था, वो सपना जो एक ऐसे आज़ाद भारत का था जो गरीबी और शोषणमुक्त हो। एक ऐसा भारत जो फासीवाद का मुहतोड़ जवाब दे, जहां समाजवाद और बराबरी हो।उन्होंने कहा था “दुनिया में सबसे बड़ा पाप गरीब होना है। गरीबी एक अभिशाप है, यह एक दंड है।”

पिछले कुछ दिनों में भगत सिंह के सपनो के भारत में ऐसी कई घटनाए हुई हैं जो शायद इस महान शहीद के सपनो के विपरीत है। साथ ही जिस तरह से भगत सिंह के नाम का दुरुपयोग कर के लोकतांत्रिक और सामाजिक मूल्यों को एक विकृत रूप प्रदान करने का प्रयास किया गया है, वह निंदनीय है।

अगर हम केवल 14 फरवरी के दिन का ही उदाहरण ले तो देखते हैं किस प्रकार से सोशल मीडिया, व्हाटसएप पर यह गलत खबर फैलाई गई की 14 फरवरी 1931 को भगत सिंह, राजगुरु और सुखदेव को फांसी दी गयी थी। जो की सरासर गलत खबर थी। खबर के पीछे का मकसद एक हिन्दू कट्टर विचारधारा को फैलाना था, जिन्हें शायद सभ्यता और संस्कृति के नाम पर शहीदों की अस्मिता के साथ छेड़-छाड़ करने में ज़रा भी शर्म नहीं आई।

इतना ही नहीं जब त्रिपुरा में लेनिन की मूर्ति को गिराया गया तब भी कुछ मीडिया चैनल द्वारा यह कहा गया की भगत सिंह को लेनिन के बारे में कुछ पता नहीं था. जबकि सच्चाई यह है की अपनी फांसी से ठीक पहले भगत सिंह लेनिन की किताब “रिवॉल्युशनरी लेनिन” को पढ़ रहे थे। इस बात में कोई दो राय नहीं है के भगत सिंह समाजवादी विचारधारा से प्रभावित थे और साथ ही उनका सपना केवल अंग्रेज़ों से भारत की आज़ादी का नहीं बल्कि हर तरह के शोषण से आज़ादी का था। देश के नाम उनके आखरी शब्द थे “सिर्फ़ दो संदेश… साम्राज्यवाद मुर्दाबाद और ‘इंक़लाब ज़िदाबाद!”

आज जब कट्टर और अतिवादी हिन्दू विचारधारा के लोग भगत सिंह की शहादत को अपनी राजनीतिक फायदे के लिए इस्तेमाल करेंगे तो शायद यह सबसे बड़ा तिरस्कार होगा उनकी शहादत का।

जिस नौजवान क्रान्तिकारी को अपने नास्तिक होने पर जीवन के आखिरी पल तक गर्व था उनका इस्तेमाल आज खुलेआम बेरोज़गार युवाओं को इतिहास की गलत व्याख्या कर के राजनीतिक फायदा उठाने  के लिए किया जा रहा है।

यदि आप भगत सिंह के लेख ‘मै नास्तिक क्यों हूँ’ को पढ़ लें, तो आप शायद इस धर्म और कट्टरता के भ्रम से बहार आ सकते हैं। उन्होंने ना केवल हिंदुत्व/ हिन्दू धर्म को सवालों के कटघरे में खड़ा किया है बल्कि इस्लाम और इसाई धर्म पर भी सवाल उठाये हैं। अपने समय में अपने समय से काफी आगे की सोच रखने वाले भगत सिंह ने जाति के प्रश्न पर भी कुठाराघात किया है, उनके शब्दों में

“तुम क्या सोचते हो, किसी गरीब या अनपढ़, जैसे एक चमार या मेहतर के यहां पैदा होने पर इन्सान का क्या भाग्य होगा? चूंकि वह गरीब है, इसलिए पढ़ाई नहीं कर सकता,वह अपने साथियों से तिरस्कृत एवं परित्यक्त रहता है, जो ऊंची जाति में पैदा होने के कारण खुद को ऊंचा समझते हैं।”

मनुस्मृती और वेदों-पुराणों को भी उन्होंने सिरे से खारिज कर दिया है। उनके शब्दों में “धर्म, उपदेशकों तथा सत्ता के स्वामियों के गठबंधन से ही जेल, फांसी, कोड़े और यह सिद्धांत उपजते हैं।”

आज देश के युवा एक ओर शिक्षा और रोज़गार के सवालों को लेकर सड़कों पर आन्दोलन कर रहे हैं, वहीं दूसरी ओर युवाओं का एक हिस्सा धार्मिक कट्टरता के मद में चूर हो चुका है। सवाल बस इतना है कि आप कैसा भारत चाहते हैं? भगत सिंह के सपनों का भारत या जाति और धर्म के नाम पर सदियों से चलते आ रहे शोषण का पिछलग्गू भारत?

याद रखिये भगत सिंह एक क्रान्तिकारी थे जिन्होंने युवाओं के लिए एक ऐसी विचारधारा छोड़ी है जिसका मूल प्रश्न करना है, तर्क करना है और रुढ़िवादी परंपरा का नाश करना है।

आज देश के सभी युवाओं को केवल भगत सिंह के नाम से एकजुट किया जा सकता है, लेकिन इसमें भी सावधानी बरतने की ज़रूरत है क्योंकि जिस तरह से इतिहास की गलत व्याख्या कर के तथ्यों के साथ छेड़-छाड़ की गई है, उसपर एक गंभीर चर्चा की ज़रूरत है। आज के दौर में जब धार्मिक कट्टरता और राजनीति एक दूसरे का पर्याय बन चुके हैं, इस समय भगत सिंह को पढ़ना और समझना बहुत ही ज़रूरी हो गया है। साथ ही इस बात को याद दिलाने की ज़रूरत है कि भगत सिंह की देशभक्ति उस समय के हुक्मरानों के लिए देशद्रोह था। आशा करता हूं की केवल जोश और उन्माद में भगत सिंह को याद नहीं किया जायेगा बल्कि उनके विचारों को अपनाया जायेगा।

इंक़लाब ज़िंदाबाद!!!

The post भगत सिंह के बारे में झूठ फैलाकर युवाओं को बड़गलाने वालों से सावधान appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

My mom has asked me on separate occasions why I write about mental health. Specifically, why do I write about having Borderline Personality Disorder? It’s not really a pleasant topic to think about – and definitely not to read about. So, why write about it? And I haven’t really thought a lot about it till very recently.

Well, to answer her question, I must ask another essential question. Why do we watch movies with people who look like us? Why do we love books where characters resemble us? Why do our favorite songs remind us of how we felt on that one hot summer day when we were walking around with that person we were so attracted to, and everything felt right, comfortable and amazing?

It’s simple really. We crave representation. We crave being seen and not feeling lonely. We want other people to say, that “hey, I feel this way too. I get how you feel right now, I’ve been there.”

And this world is not ready for showing borderlines on TV. I mean, we’ve only recently started making more movies and shows that represent depression and anxiety properly (not looking at you, “13 Reasons Why”). And a quick google search will show you that Indian cinema has been unsurprisingly terrible, judgmental and stereotypical in its treatment of mental illnesses. I mean, you only need to look at the summaries of “Krazzy 4” and the very famous Shah Rukh Khan thriller, “Darr”, to understand that.

And so, I know that the chances of me seeing someone like me – a 19-year-old, fat, queer, Indian girl with self-harm scars and borderline personality disorder, a love for cats and a strong dislike for tomatoes – are slim to none. And that’s not counting the role where I might be casually drowning puppies or killing people!

So, I write. And of course, whenever I end up writing prose, the characters are all self-inserts. Not all characters, just the leads. Sure, I don’t often finish my works on borderline personality disorder (it’s just so difficult to write when you have a mental illness-induced writer’s block) and I never post them anywhere – but they do exist. They are characters who look like me, talk and think like me, and most importantly, feel like me. And even more importantly, I can make them happy. If only in the pages of my notebook, I have people who are living like me and are able to get happy endings.

At this point, I want to talk about a phenomenon that happens a lot to queer characters on TV shows. This trope, known as “Bury Your Gays” is very popular in most forms of media featuring queer people.

Characters come out, only to be killed soon. Their sexuality seems to be just something to get the liberal ratings for the show. And as soon as that is done, they are disposed of and swept under the rug, like some inconvenient dust that you can’t get into the dustpan.

Queer activists say that this practice harms those who don’t identify as strictly heterosexual. Seeing people like you never being given a happy ending, always killed, always hurt, especially in a community that has been relentlessly killed and hurt in real life as well, is so so harmful and dangerous. It is a crime against the whole community.

Imagine what it must feel like to never see someone like you. Never seeing someone with the same (or at least similar) struggles as you.

And that’s why I write so much about having Borderline Personality Disorder.

Because maybe, one day in the future, if my work is published, and a fat, queer, Indian girl with a borderline personality disorder picks up my book, she will feel less lonely. She may feel that someone else has faced what she’s going through – and they are still kicking it. Admittedly, it is sometimes hard to still keep kicking it, but they are. And I will too!

Because god knows there are days – so many of them, where I need that myself.

Because I, very much like other people, would like to have a happy ending. I would like to envision a future where I can live happily and healthily with my partner and two cats. A future where I no longer display symptoms of my illness, or well, am able to deal with them in a healthy way, at least. I would very much like to believe in that.

My therapist, my parents and other people close to me often tell me that I am quite good with words. Maybe if I saw someone like me actually being successful, I would believe them.

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Featured image used for representative purposes only.

The post It’s Not Always Pleasant, But Here’s How Writing About My Mental Illness Helps Me appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

“होंठो को सिके देखिये
पछताएंगे आप
हंगामे जाग उठे हे अकसर
घुटन के बाद।”

– Shabana Azmi after Gauri Lankesh’s murder.

As children, we could never imagine that the real monsters in this world were humans. Gauri Lankesh, a senior journalist and activist, was shot three times outside her house on the fatal evening of September 5, 2017, by an unidentified killer on a motorbike. However, her death spoke volumes. It has ruffled many feathers, the result of which was impacting and dynamic.

Several intolerant voices found strength in the voices of the journalists being silenced. Shantanu Bhowmick, a 28-year-old full-time journalist with the local TV network Din Raat, was beaten to death in the Mandai area of Tripura, by miscreants owing allegiance to the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT). Despite proving his identity as a journalist, he was dragged by the mob and attacked from behind with sharp weapons, fatally murdering him while he was covering the political agitations surrounding the demand for a separate tribal state, Tipraland. Surprisingly, this act of impunity came only a few days after the heinous Gauri Lankesh murder.

Pen vs Bullet:  There is no safe haven for journalists even in the so-called progressive 21st century.

Following Bhowmick’s death, the media fraternity had issued a statement, “It is a reckless, inhuman act to silence the voice of free press in the country and an assault on the freedom of the press.”

Senior journalist KJ Singh was stabbed to death, and his mother strangled at their Mohali residence in Punjab on September 23, 2017.

“While Hindu nationalists try to purge all manifestations of ‘anti-national’ thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media,” Reporters Without Borders said in its 2017 World Press Freedom Ranking.

Journalists with their spines of steel are finding places in the graves. The question is ‘to say or not to say’. As one of my friends, Meghalee Mitra, quoted, “In a country of Gharwaapsi, Lankesh and Kalburgi were killed in their own homes.”

Idol-worship is a sham and browbeats the society, thought academician MM Kalburgi. How dare he mix modern sensibilities with tradition? Rationalist, they call him, is it? God or goons rained a hail of bullets in him, silencing him and his argument forever. The deaths of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare’s followed, mainly because of their criticism of Hindutva and their anti-desi cosmopolitanism.

Nazimuddin Samad, the Bangladeshi activist and blogger, was hacked to death in 2015 in Dhaka for his anti-Islamist post on Facebook. He had been on the 2013 hit-list of 84 atheist bloggers (I fail to imagine how such a list exists) that was drawn up by a radical group of Islamists and sent to the Bangladeshi ministry. His crime? Speaking up against corrupt religious fundamentalism and being a scathing critic of Islamic intolerance, despite being a Muslim himself. The difference – he was a liberal while his killers weren’t. Witnesses claim that the murderers shouted “Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)” while they attacked him on a busy street.

Samad, you were so naive. What did you think? Perhaps, our God favours ‘them killers’. Oh, how I abhor such fake spirituality!

Journalists and secular bloggers alike have always faced the heat – for being idealistic rebels and sceptic enthusiasts.

“Ours is a democracy, not a Stalinist state or a theocratic republic that stifles other voices,” elucidated an Economic Times opinion piece. The atonement of such non-conformists is not justifiable.Their suppressed voices is the suppression of many a thought, an outlook, an intention, a voice that has antagonised the corrupt seat of power. But well, that is how it should be, isn’t it?

Gauri Lankesh had once said, “In Karnataka today, we are living in such times that Modi Bhakts and the Hindutva brigade welcome the killings (as in the case of Dr MM Kalburgi) and celebrate the deaths (as in the case of Dr UR Ananthamurthy) of those who oppose their ideology, their political party and their supreme leader Narendra Modi. I was referring to such people because, let me assure you, they are keen to somehow shut me up too. A jail stint for me would have warmed the cockles of their hearts.”

Asserting how death threats have become a common phenomenon in Karnataka, Lankesh staunchly protested against the saffron-clad right-wing hypocrites, by endorsing the minority Lingayats who wanted autonomy by removing themselves from under the umbrella of the Hindu faction. Despite being convicted in a defamation case, Lankesh never backed down. She mentioned how her conviction had less to do with her article titled “Darodegilada BJP galu” and more to do with her political views.

“We can’t be so dead. It is human to express and react. What we feel impulsively is usually our most honest response,” she said.

‘Journalism is the fourth pillar of democracy’ is what we are taught in journalism courses in colleges. However, the truth lies bare before us.

Firebrand journalists and writers like Shantanu Bhowmick, Gauri Lankesh, Sudip Datta Bhaumik, MM Kalburgi have been subdued by the grip of death. However, their voices still ring in our ears. They did what they could; they said what they should have. Nothing deterred them; nothing could stop them from espousing their beliefs. And they were killed. Why? Only because they dared to be different, dared to cross their limits. These were vociferous people and in their deaths, several other Lankeshs, several other Bhowmicks will be born. They will be gutsy; they will prove to the world that journalism is synonymous with bravery and how every negative controversy will ensure positivity in the lives of others. There is no stopping them.

What do you wish for, now? Let all the journalists be mum forever?

No. Journalism isn’t the place for the meek, the silent. The euphoria will be preserved as long as the 1.324 billion people of this nation speak up in protest. Because in their deaths, they gave several others voices.

In the end, I wish to quote Agha Shahid Ali:

“My book’s been burned
Send me the ashes, so I can say
I’ve been sent the phoenix
In a coffin of light.”

The post The Inconvenient Truth: Journalism No Longer Speaks Through The Pen But Through Bullets appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

In the last four years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tasted phenomenal success. The party has been in news for a lot of reasons recently – for its aggressive politicisation of the illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis in Assam, for allegedly having a communal agenda which goes against the ethos of the Indian Constitution and for the unprecedented electoral success it has achieved in the north-east, especially in the states of Assam and Tripura.

We caught up with Shubhrastha, a strong and prominent supporter of the BJP, who was a poll strategist for the party in the 2016 Assam elections, to talk about the issue of illegal immigration in Assam, BJP’s success in the north-east and more. After her party’s success, she also co-authored a book along with Rajat Sethi, titled “The Last Battle of Saraighat”, that detailed BJP’s victory in the 2016 Assam state assembly elections.

In the interview, Shubhrastha told YKA just why she thinks it is justified to provide refuge to Bangladeshi Hindus but not Muslims, why those who think the BJP is ‘anti-women’ are lazy, why the word ‘secular’ should not be a part of the Indian Constitution and more.

On The Ones Who Call The Politics Of The BJP ‘Anti-Women’

I think they are lazy and do not want to get into the nuances of any debate. They don’t want to do their research well. It is the first government which has gotten so many women ministers.

It’s not rhetoric. Just google, you will find it on Wikipedia. You don’t even have to go to the constituent assembly debates, etc, etc.

Just look at the cabinet and you will get a touch and feel of what I’m trying to say. For a very long time, women were relegated to the Women and Child Development Ministry, Food Processing Ministry. This is the government which has really taken that whole idea of women leadership beyond the maternal, feminine bastions to defence. To something as serious as ‘corporate affairs’. So, finance, HRD. I don’t think people who ask these questions are people who genuinely want to question. These are people who are rabble-rousers. These are people who just want to create an issue out of nothing. And I would call them propagandists more than anything else…

On PM Modi Being Criticised For Not Speaking On Mob Lynchings

I think this whole creation of a narrative around mob lynching is very very selective. If the Prime Minister speaks on an Akhlaq, he will also have to speak on what is going on in Kerala and Karnataka. Then, he must also speak about what happened in Tripura. Every day, there was a case of rape or violence being reported in Bihar when RJ(D) and JD(U) were in power together. These are facts. Some facts highlighted by the media, some wilfully suppressed by the media. And law and order is not a central issue, it’s a state issue… He did a fantastic job by keeping quiet and exposing the state governments for their own lacunae. Whoever rules the state government, whether it is the BJP or the Congress or any other regional party.

On The Academic Culture In JNU And DU

I’ve studied in Delhi University and have attended functions by Geelani. Anybody who has studied in DU and JNU would know that it is part of the liberal culture to abuse India and say ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’. So, it shouldn’t come as a shock to most of us. Most of us who have studied in DU and JNU know about it. People who have not studied in these universities, do not. This is a fact. You may have an ideological problem that can be debated, but at least agree to understand that there are sub-national theories that people believe in. And you can’t chastise people for believing in them, but of course you can question them…

On Space For Different Ideologies In Universities Like JNU And DU

I am not chastising anyone for the ideological belief that they have. What I am saying is: is there room for a dissent or a question? Because of the shrinking space for dissent in the left academic space, somehow, the purported right in this country has had to resort to things like spitting on Geelani… So, my point is if you are countering one propaganda with another, then either you treat both of them with the same lens or you don’t take a moral high ground. This is the point that I am trying to make.

On BJP Polarising The Electorate And Allegedly ‘Othering’ Muslims Of Assam As Bangladeshis

Yes, we did polarise the election. But we did not communalise the election. There is a subtle difference between the two. With respect to ‘othering’ of the Muslims, no, it never happened…

It’s very simple. In Assam, the question is not about Hindus and Muslims. It’s a question of ethnic Muslims or Bangladeshi Muslims. And of course, people have problems with illegal migrants. And the election was polarised against illegal immigrants. And elections, even in the future, would be polarised along these lines. But anybody who is looking at a communal angle showcases the mentality of the party they represent and the politics they represent. 1946, when the elections were fought in Assam, the issue was the very same – illegal immigration. In 2016, when the elections are fought, the issue remains the same. And who ruled Assam for all these years? The Congress party. So, they should be the ones who should be subjected to more questions, than people like us.

On BJP Welcoming Bangladeshi Hindus But Not Allowing Bangladeshi Muslims

Yes, because there is a difference between a ‘sharnaarthi’ (refugee) who has come to you after having suffered religious persecution from the other end. And again, this is nothing non-factual. You look at the population of Hindus in Pakistan when the Partition happened and look at the population of Hindus today in Pakistan. Similarly, you do that analysis for Bangladesh and you would know what one is talking about. So somebody, who crosses the border and says we have been persecuted because of our religion and we want to stay here, gain safety and shelter here. Should India not take care of the human rights…

Why Indian Government Is Treating Rohingya Differently Compared To The Bangladeshi Hindus Who Want To Seek Shelter Here

What roots have they taken? The Rohingya question, I’m very very clear on that part. The Rohingya have gone and settled in Jammu. If Rohingya were only limited in and around the areas which surround the whole borders of Myanmar, it would have made sense. But I don’t understand the whole idea of Rohingya settling down in Jammu. And all these reports are there out in the public domain where they have been seen advocating for an ISIS kind of an ideology. So, clearly, there is a larger design at play, which is of Islamic terrorism. So, do we confront that reality or keep our mouths shut because it is politically incorrect to talk about it.

On BJP’s Recent Electoral Success In The North-East Since 2014

To say that the BJP came to power in a very short time would be an injustice to the kind of work the Sangh has been doing for a very long time in the north-east. The Sangh started its work way back in 1947 when the Partition had happened. That was the first footprint of the Sangh Parivar then. Now, why am I bringing the Sangh Parivar here? Because the BJP is an ideological party, it is not just a conglomerate of a couple of politicians who have come together to capture power by hook or by crook…

What I am trying to say is that this was a very slow process – the political conversion of the north-east. Yes, the effect of it came to prominence now because the BJP can now govern the north-eastern states. But if you look at Assam for instance and the past electoral data, you would see that there has been an upward trend with respect to the BJP, in the past couple of elections. Of course, people wanted to give BJP a chance. People started believing in what it stood for. The kind of democracy that we are in, ultimately it is a number game and you need a certain threshold to be able to claim your space as an MLA or an MP, the dispensation at large. I think it took time for that.

On Why It Was Wrong To Add The Word ‘Secular’ To The Indian Constitution

A: Because the way of an Indian life is very very religious. And it’s not to do with Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or Zoroastrianism. As a country, we are very religious. Even today, when our ministers and MLAs and MPs take oath, they take oath in the name of God. That is not the sign of a secular state. So, what was the need for this unnecessary word… We did not need this morality, this is not our culture!

The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.

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Image source: Shubhrastha/ Facebook

The post BJP’s Election Strategist Shubhrastha On Assam Polls, PM’s Silence On Lynchings & More appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The famous musicologist Susan McClary once noted that music should not be treated as a “sublimely meaningless activity” that has managed to escape social significance but must be treated as a medium that participates and influences social formation.  She argues that music is “too important a cultural force to be shrouded by mystified notions of Romantic transcendence”. Caste is too big a monstrosity to be fought by music, but ‘The Casteless Collective’, 19-member Tamil band performing under the banner of Neelam Cultural Centre, is definitely making a mark in doing just that.

Founded by Kabali director Pa Ranjith, who brought together artists practicing different musical forms in Chennai for this cross-cultural collaboration of indie urban music, it’s effect can already be felt. A case in point is the ‘Quota Song’ by the band, which has music entwined with Dalit cultural assertion. When the audience dances to the fervent beats of protest music, you know the songs have reached home.

A non-Tamil Indian would draw an analogy with the works of Sambhaji Bhagat or Sheetal and team’s Kabir Kala Manch in Maharashtra. The songs bond the lower-middle class youth by instilling a sense of fraternity and camaraderie through a confluence of urban music traditions such as rap, rock, hip-hop and especially gaana, a form practiced on the streets of Chennai.

An important metaphor for emancipatory music used by the troupe is parai. It is an instrument which gave birth to the caste name parayars, a lower caste community in Tamil Nadu, and eventually became a symbol of their identity. From suit-boot symbolism to Ambedkar iconography, ‘The Casteless Collective’ has deployed everything consciously to transfer their sense of emancipation to their community brethren. It experiments that explores music’s potential for resistance and reflection. Political affirmation of the backward castes is musicalised to find a creative expression that would defy the precepts of classical music. The band strives to take back music from higher echelons of our society to where it belongs: the common folks.

An ardent follower of music for its aesthetic value and creative output would whimper a bit for poor production quality. When there is a lot of attention paid to lyrics, themes, and performance, music can take a back seat. Despite this wonderful start, the firebrand team of musicians need to put in more preparation to position them better for performance.

But perhaps that ardent follower can take a leaf from the book of T M Krishna, himself a Carnatic musician, who wants to the challenge the notions of the pure and the polluted. Since “music is pure, you mustn’t pollute it with ideas of gender, caste and the politics of life”. Such is “the snootiness of abstraction” Krishna intends to fight as a critical insider. Like he said, “Art becomes real only when the artist and the community are in the constant zone of trouble, of internal reflection. Art should make us question; discomfort is beautiful.” Music should then be a reflective practice not only for the artists but also for the aesthete. And that is the lesson ‘The Casteless Collective’ teaches.

Featured image: Facebook/The Casteless Collective

The post Tamil Band ‘The Casteless Collective’ Proves Music Can Be About Caste, Gender & Politics appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

A French security researcher, who has kept UIDAI on their toes by exposing various security holes in the Aadhaar infrastructure, has claimed in a series of tweets that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s application is sending personal information of its users to a third party website called in.wzrkt.com and it is doing so without the user’s consent.

When you create a profile in the official @narendramodi #Android app, all your device info (OS, network type, Carrier …) and personal data (email, photo, gender, name, …) are send without your consent to a third-party domain called https://t.co/N3zA3QeNZO. pic.twitter.com/Vey3OP6hcf

— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) March 23, 2018

After a quick search, this domain belongs to an American company called @CleverTap. According to their description, “#CleverTap is the next generation app engagement platform. It enables marketers to identify, engage and retain users and provides developers” pic.twitter.com/Ikqp9GbCDm

— Elliot Alderson (@fs0c131y) March 23, 2018

Pushing personal information such as email, photo, name, gender etc to a third party website without a user’s consent is a serious privacy breach. To ascertain whether this privacy breach occurred or not, Alt News decided to take a deep dive into this issue and investigated PM Modi’s Android App.

Sniffing Data Transmitted By Your Phone

To ascertain whether your phone is transacting with a certain website or not, the data between the phone and the outside world needs to be intercepted. There are several software applications which allows one to do so. We used a popular software called Charles. As described on the Charles website, it enables one to view all the HTTP and SSL/HTTPS traffic between a machine and the Internet. The trial version of Charles works for 30 days after installation and runs only 30 minutes at a time. Details of how to configure Charles and your phone to intercept data is provided at the bottom of the article in the section “Technical Details”.

Intercepting Data

To verify the claim of the researcher, we installed the Narendra Modi Android app on our phone, tapped on the “Sign Up” button at the bottom and created a profile.

During the process of creation of the profile leading upto a successful registration, the APP was transacting data over the Internet which we captured using the Charles software mentioned above. What we saw was that personal information such as name, email id, gender, telecom operator type and more was indeed being shared with the website in.wzrkt.com. In the screenshot below, it can be seen that the email-id pratik@xyzabc.com that we entered during registration has been sent to in.wzrkt.com.

The video below will show a live demonstration of this fact-check and will show how personal information that you’re sharing with the Prime Minister’s app is indeed being sent to a third party website without your consent.

NOTE: Kindly watch the video in Full HD/1080p for better viewing.

Technical Details

Once Charles is installed on your PC/laptop, your phone’s proxy server needs to be configured to point to the machine which has Charles running so that it can intercept all the traffic emanating from your phone. This is done by inputting the IP Address of your PC/laptop and the proxy server port (Default: 8888) that Charles is listening on in the proxy server section of the Wi-Fi Settings on your phone.

Additionally, since the data that is being transacted between the Narendra Modi app and outside world is over HTTPS and is encrypted, one needs to install the Charles Root Certificate on your phone by pointing your Mobile browser to chls.pro/ssl and following the prompts.

Lastly, add in.wzrkt.com in the list at “SSL Proxy Settings” which in turn can be found in the “Proxy” main menu.

Once the above settings are configured, Charles running on your machine is ready to intercept the data from the Narendra Modi app on your phone.

This post was first published here on AltNews.

The post Is PM Modi’s App Sharing Personal Data With A Third party Without Your Consent? YES appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

“बनारस इतिहास से भी पुरातन है, परंपराओं से पुराना है, किंवदंतियों से भी प्राचीन है और जब इन सबको एकत्र कर दें, तो उस संग्रह से भी दोगुना प्राचीन है।”

अमेरिकी लेखक मार्क ट्वेन (Mark Twain) द्वारा की गयी बनारस की यह व्याख्या इस शहर के ऐतिहासिक दबदबे को बताती है।

बनारस हमारे देश का धरोहर है। घाट, गंगा, मंदिर, मशान संकरी, बन्द , आड़ी-तिरछी गलियों में खुले दिल दिमाग के जीवन मूल्य और ठलुवा मस्त मलङ्ग व्यवहार की संस्कृति के कारण ये फिल्मकारों, संगीतकारों, चित्रकारों और साहित्यकारों के आकर्षण का केंद्र रहा है। ये प्राचीनता और आधुनिकता का मिश्रण है। आनंद एल राय द्वारा निर्देशित ‘रांझणा’ और सनी देओल की ‘मोहल्ला अस्सी’ फिल्म में बनारस के इस अलग अंदाज़ को दिखाया गया है। नीरज घयवान की ‘मसान’ में यहां के लोगों के जीवन की जटिलताओं का मार्मिक चित्रण किया गया है।

केदारनाथ सिंह के शब्दों में-
“यह आधा जल में है, आधा मन्त्र में
आधा फूल में है, आधा शव में
आधा नींद में है, आधा शंख में
अगर ध्यान से देखो तो ये आधा है, और आधा नहीं”

अगस्त 2014 में बनारस को क्योटो के तर्ज पर विकसित करने के लिए MoU साइन किया गया। हस्ताक्षर पीएम मोदी और जापानी प्रधानमंत्री सिंज़ो अबे की मौजूदगी में हुआ। क्योटो जापान की हेरिटेज सिटी है। पूरे शहर में बौद्ध संस्कृति की छाप है। जापान ने क्योटो को ऐसे विकसित किया है जिससे उसकी वास्तविक पहचान बनी रहे। शहर के सारे धरोहरों को सुरक्षित संरक्षित रखा गया है।

बनारस के साथ जो MoU पर हस्ताक्षर किया गया उसका उद्देश्य विरासत की रक्षा, शहर का आधुनिकीकरण एवं कला संस्कृति के सहयोग के साथ बनारस का विकास बताया गया। लेकिन बनारस को क्योटो बनाने के बजाय न जाने क्यों बनारस से ‘बनारस’ को ही खत्म किया जा रहा है। परमाणु हमले के बावजूद भी जापान ने क्योटो को बचा लिया लेकिन सत्ता द्वारा हो रहे संगठित हमले से क्या हम बनारस को बचा पाएंगे?
आज बनारस से उसकी पहचान को छीनने की कोशिश की जा रही है। देश विदेश से लोग बनारस की गलियों और घाटों को देखने के लिए आते हैं लेकिन मौजूदा सरकार इसको सही नही मानती।

‘आस्था’ और ‘विकास’ के कॉकटेल के साथ आए प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी 2014 में बनारस से सांसद चुने गए थे। जनता को ये नहीं मालूम था कि ‘विकास’ आज के दौर का सबसे बड़ा जनविरोधी कार्यक्रम है।

बनारस में चल रहे तमाम कथित विकास परियोजनाओं में से एक है विश्वनाथ मंदिर कॉरिडोर और गंगा पाथवे प्रोजेक्ट। इसे पीएम का ड्रीम प्रोजेक्ट भी बताया जा रहा है। इसके लिए हज़ार करोड़ का बजट आवंटित किया गया है। इस प्रोजेक्ट के तहत विश्वनाथ मंदिर से मणिकर्णिका घाट तक 60 फीट चौड़ी 200 मीटर लम्बी सड़क बनाया जाना है तथा मंदिर परिसर के क्षेत्र को भी खाली कराया जाना है। इस चौड़ीकरण की योजना में 200 से अधिक पक्के मकान तथा मणिकर्णिका के किनारे बसी पूरी डोम बस्ती को तोड़ा जाना है।

जिन घरों को तोड़ने की बात चल रही है वो अपने आप में धरोहर हैं। इस प्रोजेक्ट की जद में आने वाले सभी मकान 100 से 200 साल पुराने हैं। इतने पुराने घरों से उनका कागज मांगा जा रहा है। कागज़ वाले ही मुआवज़ा का हकदार होंगे। कहते हैं कि बनारस को हर कण, हर क्षण महसूस किया जा सकता है। इन सभी मकानों में वास्तुकला का अद्भुत नमूना है। पत्थरों से बने ये घर और उनपर बनायी गयी कलाकृतियां दीवारों पर प्रकृति को ज़िंदा करती हैं। दीवारों पर पत्थर को काट कर पशु-पंछी, नर्तकी और देवी देवताओं के चित्र को उकेरा गया है। ये दीवारें हमारी सभ्यता की ऐतिहासिकता का प्रमाण हैं जिसको संरक्षित करने के बजाय ‘विकास’ के नाम पर खत्म किया जा रहा है।

‘स्टैचू ऑफ यूनिटी’ के लिए सरदार पटेल की मूर्ति चीन द्वारा बनवाई जा रही है क्योंकि हमें अपनी कला की पहचान नही है, देश के मूर्तिकारों पर भरोसा नही है। जोर जोर से बोले जा रहे ‘मेक इन इंडिया’ के नारों में ‘इंडिया’ कहाँ है? इसके अलावा कई पुराने मंदिरों को तोड़ा जा रहा है तथा गरीब डोम बस्ती को भी उजाड़ा जा रहा है।

ऐसे में सवाल यह उठता है कि इस प्रोजेक्ट में विस्थापन का शिकार इतनी बड़ी आबादी के पुनर्वास की क्या योजना है? घाट से जुड़े रोज़गार जैसे पंडा गिरी, डोम कार्य , मल्लाह, मछली पालन, पर्यटन से जुड़े साउथ इंडियन और विदेशियों से जुड़े विभिन्न मनी एक्सचेंज, ट्रैवेल, लॉजिंग, रेस्त्रां, योग शिक्षा, हिंदी टीचिंग आदि से जुड़े लोगों की आजीविका पर संकट आने वाला है, उनके लिए सरकार क्या कर रही है?

60 फीट चौड़ी सड़क बनाकर सरकार किसका विकास करना चाहती है? क्या सरकार गुजरात गोवा के समुद्री तट और बनारस के घाट में कोई फर्क नहीं समझ पा रही? काशी की अन्तरगृही पंचक्रोशी यात्रा के कई मंदिर जिन्हें धरोहर रूप में संरक्षित करने की आवश्यकता है उन्हें ध्वस्त किया जा रहा है। 35 हज़ार से भी ज़्यादा पुस्तकों का भण्डार गोयनका लाइब्रेरी जो कि बिना किसी शुल्क के 20 के दशक से निर्बाध कार्य कर रही है जिसका की शताब्दी वर्ष मनाया जाना चाहिए था उसे भी ध्वस्तीकरण विस्थापन का भय खाए जा रहा है।

नेपाल क्रांति और राजनीति का केंद्र नेपाली मन्दिर और मठ जिसमें नेपाली छात्र और क्रांतिकारी रहते पढ़ते आए है। जो कि काष्ठकला से बनी एक अद्भुत धरोहर है और भारत नेपाल संबंध का एक जीता जागता उदाहरण भी उसे भी इस परियोजना में जमींदोज़ होना है। ना जाने ऐसे कितने दुःखद उदाहरणों के होने या भविष्य में होने की संभावना से यह समूचा इलाका सहमा हुआ है। आए दिन कोई अधिकारी कोई कर्मचारी दरवाज़े पर मापी करने, कागज़ जांच करने और कोई न कोई धमकी या प्रलोभन लेकर खड़ा है। यूरोप, आस्ट्रेलिया और देश दुनिया के कोने से लोग बनारस में घाट और गलियों को ही देखने आते हैं। बनारस अपनी प्राचीनता के लिए ही जाना जाता है।

आदर्श व्यवस्था में सरकार धर्म निरपेक्ष होनी चाहिए और समाज सभी धर्मों का सम्मान करने वाला होना चाहिए। सभी की गरिमा सम्मान एकसमान होनी चाहिए। एक धर्म विशेष में आस्था रखने वाले को दूसरे अन्य धर्मों के प्रति आदर और सम्मान का भाव रखना चाहिए। और बनारस बिना किसी हो हल्ले के आदि काल से यह काम करता आ रहा है।

बनारस गंगा जमुनी तहज़ीब की साझी विरासत और साझे मालिकाने पर लम्बे अरसे में मज़बूत कायम हुए है। बिस्मिल्लाह खान की शहनाई के स्वर से मन्दिर की आरती के समय और धुन कब जुड़ गई कभी इस पर चर्चा ही नहीं हुई। नज़ीर बनारसी गंगा जी मे वजू करके कब ज्ञानवापी मस्जिद की सीढ़िया चढ़ने लगें और यह सब कब बनारस की संस्कृति का हिस्सा बन गया हमें पता ही नही चल। मिर्ज़ा गालिब ने क्या सोचकर 108 शेर बनारस पर लिखे यह इस तानेबाने को तोड़ने खरोचने में लगे लोगों को सोचना चाहिए।

गौतम बुद्ध ने इसी धरती पर पहला उपदेश दिया और पहले पांच शिष्य बनाए । जैन धर्म के लिए तो बनारस एक तीर्थ है। बीमार विश्व को रास्ता दिखाने वाला योग दर्शन और पतंजलि इसी ज़मीन की पैदाइश है। गलियों में धर्म का मेलजोल कब साड़ी बुनते-बेचते व्यापार में बदला और कब ऊपर के तल्लों पर आमने सामने खुलती खिड़कियों में गुझिये और सेवइयों के लेनदेन में एक जीवनशैली जिसे हम ‘ बनारसी ‘ कहते हैं, विकसित करता चला गया पता ही नहीं चला ।

भारत विविधताओं का देश है। ‘कोष कोष पर पानी बदले चार कोष पर वाणी’ ये हमारी विविधता की व्याख्या है। यहां विकास का कोई एक मॉडल नहीं थोपा जा सकता। हमारा संविधान देश की विविधता को प्रोटेक्ट करने की गारंटी देता है, धरोहर और संस्कृति की रक्षा की बात करता है। इस पूरे प्रोजेक्ट में केवल घर ही नहीं टूट रहे बल्कि हमारा सामाजिक और संवैधानिक तानाबना भी टूट रहा है।

सारी तस्वीरें लेखक द्वारा स्थानीय लोगों की मदद से ली गई हैं।

The post विकास के नाम पर बनारस से ‘बनारस’ ही क्यों खत्म किया जा रहा है? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Tuberculosis and silicosis are killing innumerable stone quarry and mine workers in the country. Both private companies and the government are flouting the law and not taking adequate preventive measures or providing compensation.

World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24 every year. It is worth noting that India has the highest occurrence rate of the disease in the world, with an estimated 27.9 lakh patients. The government hopes that its strategic plan will eradicate the disease by 2025. It is difficult to tell whether this deadline will be met or not. In the meantime, not a lot is being done to protect and compensate stone quarry workers and mine workers and groups most vulnerable to tuberculosis (TB). Akbarpur, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand, a region known for its stone quarries and crushing units, is a case in point.

When Community Correspondent Ramlal Baiga visited Akbarpur, he found that almost every household in Akbarpur has a patient suffering from TB. But what looms larger than the threat of TB in Akbarpur is the threat of silicosis, a disease whose symptoms are very similar to those of TB, but a disease that has no cure. Silicosis is recognised as an occupational disease – and a large number of workers, between 3-10 million, are estimated to be vulnerable to the disease. It is caused by the presence of silica in the immediate environment, the inhalation of which affects the lungs. Silica sand is one of the primary minerals found in Chitrakoot, the district Akbarpur falls in.

The Health Department in Chitrakoot has diagnosed the patients in Akbarpur as TB patients, but no test has been carried out for silicosis, which is a notified disease, meaning that patients can claim compensation for it.

“Even when we sleep at night, a layer of dust (silica dust) settles on us,” says Bharat, who lost one of his children to what the doctors diagnosed as tuberculosis. He adds that the food and water are also contaminated with the dust. While no health camps are organised to test the local residents for silicosis, no regular check-ups are held for TB tests either.

When Ramlal spoke to Gyanchandra Shukla at the district hospital, he said that those diagnosed with the disease are being treated under the government’s DOTS programme or the TB control strategy recommended by the World Health Organisation. Shukla, who is the district coordinator of the government’s Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant TB/HIV, also said that TB is primarily linked to lifestyle and sanitation. When asked about the occurrence of silicosis, he said that he does not know of any cases in the area, but if a case does surface, the person will be tested. The district hospital, however, does not have the resources to test for silicosis.

In areas with high prevalence of silicosis, like parts of Gujarat, the National Human Rights Commission has taken cognisance and the Supreme Court has directed the state government to pay a compensation amount of ₹3 lakh to the families of the victims. However, state governments have tried resisting the court’s directive. In some places, the workers have been unable to claim compensation under the Workers Compensation Act or the Employees State Insurance Act because they have no identity cards to prove that they have been employees of these stone-crushing units. The battle to get compensation, therefore, opens another Pandora’s box altogether.

According to a Khabar Lahariya report published on Scroll.in, a local resident claims that only 25-35% of the stone-crushing machines in the vicinity of Akbarpur are operated by licensed contractors. Why is the government not regulating or cracking down on these private companies? In March 2016, the stone-crushing machines were banned after some of the workers lost their lives to accidents in the quarries. But the government lifted the ban after a year, presumably under the influence of the quarry owners who were clearly flouting the laws. Moreover, the lift came as a relief for many workers who have no source of livelihood other than the stone quarries, despite the fact that they are killing them.

Silicosis is a notified disease under the Mines Act and the Factories Act – and the WHO has recommended making it notifiable under the Public Health Act as well so that reporting it becomes mandatory. It has also recommended mandatory silicosis tests for workers every six months and the integration of the silicosis control programme with the TB control programme.

Where the government should be focusing on regulating private companies and providing adequate safety nets to workers in a sector which is proving to be fatal for so many, it is instead at the centre of the nexus of private interests and ever-diminishing workers rights.

Video by Community Correspondent Ramlal Baiga

Article by Alankrita Anand, a member of the VV editorial team

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Featured image used for representative purposes only.

Featured image source: Hindustan Times/YouTube

The post India’s Stone Quarries Are Sounding The Death Knell For The Workers appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Men and the ‘Not all Men’ Syndrome.

Privilege is that kind of a thing. If you are born into it, if you have benefited from it, if you are wittingly or unwittingly propagating it, then you are likely to deny it. Occasionally, as the most ungracious form of indulgence, you will even make a claim to the opposite. Play the bully as a victim card. Being born into wealth, for instance.

Being a man is that kind of privilege, too. It matters not what kind of a man you are. If you are straight, white, male and of American/European/Scandinavian ancestry, you enjoy – by default – the highest amount of opportunity. If you are straight, male and brown, that opportunity is more limited, yet it’s there. If you are straight, black and male, even less so, but it’s definitely better than being black and female.

While the absolute and extreme version of this privilege being exercised is unmissable and easy to call, a milder variant affects a lot of otherwise well-meaning, decent men. One that I suffered a lot from and continue to do so – in hopefully decreasing strains. One that makes men appear defensive, small – and frankly, petulant.

It is what can be called as the ‘not all men’ syndrome. Not all men are violent. Not all men are sexist. Not all men are misogynists. Not all men are homophobes. Basically, whenever men think or say that ‘not all men’ are like this or that.

At the heart of the ‘not all men’ argument lies a deeply-held belief that some men try hard to consciously be respectful, mindful and sanguine with and of women, or for that matter, of people with different orientations. That we fight dearly for equality and fairness. Of course, we do.

We frequently point to the amount of progress that has been made where attitudes to women and the opportunity on offer is concerned. And yet, if anything, that should only tell us of the magnitude of the battle on hand, and that this progress is merely a good start.

Women know that not all men are sexist. And yet, this co-exists with the fact that all women – without exception – have to navigate a world, which looks, feels and is experienced like a devil’s obstacle course of the real kind, every single day of their lives. One that is, at the very least, different and decidedly difficult from what men experience. That’s the mess they are stewing in. That’s the fault line they deal with.

What we perhaps fail to understand is that this is not personal at all. That this not a failing or weakness, or even the lack of trying on the part of men.

The thing is, not one of us is immune to the sexism or patriarchy that is hardwired into us. The kind that was bequeathed as a legacy when we were young and not paying attention. The kind that is embedded in the air that we breathe, the systems we interact with and the institutions we are a part of.

Even as we are making the right noises, the everyday sexism, the everyday misogyny, the everyday condescension and the everyday mansplaining continue.

Elsewhere, even the best of us have difficulty in understanding what constitutes abuse, and what is tantamount to shaming. And what constitutes harassment or not?

This week, yet again, I have found myself in conversations with multiple women/men of other orientations and the challenges that they have and continue to face. A new app has added to the topicality of it all. This piece is dedicated to their collective wellbeing.

To be in denial of these everyday small and big battles that women fight – simply because they are women – is both churlish and silly, and well, being more privileged. We will never understand it, because we don’t have to ever face it. And if you are actively not doing anything about dismantling it, then you are propagating it.

It is not enough if you are not being discriminatory yourself. If you are doing nothing about its existence, you are part of the problem. Yes, a bit like the classic ‘Bushism’ – if you are not with us, you are against us. Only this time, it makes sense.

The point is we may not be sexist in some ways, but we continue to be sexist in so many other ways. You can be blatantly sexist or subtly sexist or subliminally sexist, for instance.

Look around. No slang or slur, worth its salt, is ever directed at a man – or any role he occupies. In every language, the ‘bad language’ is always about mutilating a woman’s genitals – whether she is a mother, sister or daughter.

Or the one statement that I heard thrown around a lot while growing up – ‘Don’t cry like a girl’. Look at what that innocuous-looking statement is loaded with:

a) Crying is not acceptable behaviour.

b) If you cry, you are a lesser being.

c) A girl is some kind of lesser being.

And then people question why men have issues with crying! This is just one of the many cultural memes that have been passed down to us – of the sheer toxic masculinity that surrounds us.

Perhaps you wouldn’t find a more stunning or heart-breaking example of this than with our attitude towards rape.

Consider this. Rape, first and last, is an act of violence – and in a non-sexist, non-patriarchal world, it would be dealt with as such. And yet, look what we have done to rape by equating it to a woman’s honour, respect, dignity and modesty. In one fell swoop, we have subverted the paradigm.

Whether the man gets punished or not, the woman in question will be shamed every single day of her life. The scar will be deepened, and the trauma reinforced. The last vestiges of self-respect and self-worth desecrated. That’s patriarchy for you. Embedded in the very amber of our collective consciousness.

That’s how the power equation remains unchanged. By making the world believe that a woman’s honour lies in her vagina, men control women and limit her agency. And until that is dismantled, no man has any business saying ‘not all men’.

Finally, at the end of this piece, some men may question my manliness, or accuse me of being a wimp or girly, and that’s the whole point – kind of. Notice, however, that nobody will threaten me with rape.

And that is my privilege.

The post #YesAllMen: ‘If You Are Benefiting From Privilege, You’re Likely To Deny It’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Several users deleted their Facebook accounts in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy controversy, wherein it was revealed that the social media giant had compromised the private data of over 50 million users. Unlike deletion, deactivation alone may not be a solution here, since it still leaves behind personal data on Facebook’s servers.

The original idea behind social media was to connect people with the least inconvenience. So the various apps/platforms built features like ‘upload phone contacts to find new recommendations’, etc. While the user was given the option to go for these or not (in most cases though not all – for instance the WhatsApp-Facebook data-sharing initially), many opted to do so. After all, how many of us really sit and read the fine-print (assuming the fine-print was there in the first place)?

On top of the concern that Facebook has sold their data, many are now realising the extent of the data held (logs of incoming and outgoing calls and texts on Android phones, etc). When a user opts for deletion, they are prompted if they wish to download their info. While this dump helps keep a record of their data, it also reveals the extent of data the platform maintained. But that was Facebook; what about other platforms?

Just focusing on Facebook alone ignores the issue of the data that can be shared by its group-concerns Whatsapp and Instagram, not to mention the others like Google (owners of Gmail, Youtube), Twitter, Snapchat and the rest. Within the Facebook group, WhatsApp itself has become as big as Facebook in key markets. For example, it has a user-base of 200 million in India which also has Facebook’s largest user-base (at ~250 million). Facebook is not the only platform where your personal data is susceptible to be used (or misused) – that risk exists in varying degrees on every platform. This challenge is more imminent in developing countries where data privacy laws have still not matured, hence offering scope for legal loopholes.

As far as user-data on WhatsApp is concerned, there is mixed news.

1. Over the last year, WhatsApp agreed not to share user-data with Facebook in the US by signing an undertaking with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

2. The same occurred in the UK, which decided that WhatsApp was sharing user-data without their consent.

3. In India, the Supreme Court asked Facebook and WhatsApp to file affidavits to give the assurance that they would not share user-data to a third party till its government framed a law for data protection.

4. In France, the Chair of the National Data Protection Commission sent a formal notice to WhatsApp asking it to stop sharing user-data with Facebook.

5. In Germany, the data-sharing deal between WhatsApp and Facebook was banned.

6. Italy fined Whatsapp for sharing user-data with Facebook.

7. China has anyway blocked Whatsapp and Facebook, along with Google.

This is the good news!

But at the same time, the issue of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fiasco takes the WhatsApp data-sharing debate on another track. As per WhatsApp’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy in 2016, it said that it transferred user-data to Facebook for three purposes: advertising, security and service improvement. This was because Facebook was the advertising outlet for it – hence, it brought the chunk of the revenues for Whatsapp. But with that data-sharing deal now struck down and Facebook’s ties with external agencies under the scanner, how does WhatsApp earn revenue and stay profitable?

1. Most of the $19 billion valuation that WhatsApp received during its sale stemmed from the fact it had one of the largest user-bases globally. That was its single-point USP. In fact, user-base is the main USP for most digital startups in the consumer space. Has the time come for Whatsapp to monetise its massive user-base directly for advertising? Yes, it earned from app-purchases in certain countries and certain devices for some time, but that was always a smaller portion of its commercials. Following the data-sharing bans it faced in recent months, WhatsApp is on track to launch an app for business-customer communications to generate revenues through a business account model. As of now, it is only testing its new features!

2. Let us come to advertising, a faster revenue source for social platforms. WeChat, the equivalent of Whatsapp in China already uses advertising as a revenue source. Although the end-to-end encryption in WhatsApp makes data mining tough (ironically WhatsApp was banned in China possibly because it’s end-to-end encryption made it difficult for Chinese intelligence agencies to spy), the necessity to stay afloat may necessitate it to explore advertising in countries where regulations offer loopholes to do so with external agencies. Developing countries like India, Brazil, Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt and Mexico, where Facebook has seen its fastest growth in recent years, are possibly the most susceptible.

This makes it imperative for the governments in these countries to establish adequate data-sharing and privacy regulations between WhatsApp and external agencies at the soonest, before WhatsApp users start seeing targeted advertising on their accounts – and a possible repeat of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica episode happens again.

With regulations varying across geographies, what is unacceptable in one country can pass the loopholes in another. This is more pertinent in developing nations where regulations have historically been reactive, not proactive.

So while other platforms (including WhatApp) may now talk long about their data protection, the truth is that the survival race to earn revenue and remain profitable to justify the high valuations makes every platform’s records susceptible to be used (or misused) at some point. It depends on how much the law allows them to get away with. After all, Facebook itself maintained the same line on data protection till this scandal broke. In India alone, only 1 out of 41 consumer startups showed profits in 2016 – missing profitability and over-expensive valuations is a toxic mix!

With data-sharing drying up for WhatsApp and its new business tool yet to pick steam, one has to wait and watch if it eventually resorts to advertising. At that time, based on its data policies, users who joined #DeleteFacebook recently may have to decide on #DeleteWhatsApp!

A version of this article was originally published here.

The post Did You Delete Facebook? But What About WhatsApp? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

अभी सोशल मीडिया में एक खबर आई, हिंदुस्तान अख़बार के हवाले से, इसके अनुसार एक लड़की ने अपनी आंख ही देवी को चढ़ा दी। इसे हम एक पल में बेवकूफी कह सकते हैं, पर हम में से बड़ी संख्या इसी सोच के चंगुल में हैं, जो सोचते हैं कि बलि देने से ईश्वर अथवा देवी खुश होती है।

बलि जितनी बड़ी होगी, उसका अभीष्ट उतना ही सिद्ध होगा, ऐसी सोच है। जैसे कि मुर्गे की बलि देने से बकरे की बलि देना बड़ा समझा जाता है। बकरे की बलि से भैंस के बच्चे की बलि देना बड़ा समझा जाता है। अगर ऐसा एक समाज सच मानता है, तो एक अंधश्रद्धा में डूबे व्यक्ति के लिए ऐसा सोचना कि अगर अपने शरीर के अंग का बलि दे दिया जाये, तो ईश्वर अथवा देवी तो और भी खुश होगी/ होगी। जिस समाज में इस प्रकार की अंधश्रद्धा और बलि को मान्यता है, वहां  किसी भक्त को अपने शरीर के अंग का दान भी उचित लग सकता है।

भारतीय धार्मिक परम्परा में, ईश्वर और देवी को खुश करने के नाम पर बलि देने की लम्बी परम्परा रही है, खास कर हिन्दू धर्म में। कोई अपनी मनचाही सिद्धि के लिए बलि देता है, तो कोई अपने कष्टों को दूर करने। बुद्ध ने इस प्रकार की परम्परा का छठी शताब्दी ईसा पूर्व में ही विरोध किया था, पर वह आज भी जारी है।  

लोगों द्वारा अभीष्ट सिद्धि के लिए, कई मौकों पर बलि देने की प्रथा है, जैसे नवरात्री और दशहरे के वक्त (नवमी के मौके पर)। ऐसी भी मान्यता है कि महाअष्टमी को बकरे की बलि देने से देवी प्रसन्न होती है। आगरा क्षेत्र में काल रात्रि को भी इस प्रकार बलि देने की परम्परा है। केरल के बारे में, आईचौक में भी हाल में एक खबर आई थी जिसमें केरल के तिरुवनंथपुरम के विथुरा गांव के लोगों ने देवी को प्रसन्न करने के लिए पशुओं के रक्त की जगह इंसानों के रक्त से देवी को अभिषेक करने की अपील की गई थी।

कुछ ऐसे भी स्थान या धार्मिक स्थल हैं, जहां निरीह जानवरों की बलि के खून से नालियां बहती हैं। जैसे झारखण्ड के छिन्नमस्तिके मन्दिर में। यहां भी पिछले साल एक युवक ने अपना गला काटकर अपनी बलि चढ़ाई थी। धर्म के मामले में कुछ भी कर गुजरने की यह सोच कोई स्वस्थ परम्परा नहीं है, बल्कि धर्म और ईश्वर को खुश करने के नाम पर शुद्ध अंधश्रद्धा है, जिसकी कीमत निरीह पशुओं को चुकाना पड़ता है और कभी कभी इंसानी जान भी जाती है। अंधश्रद्धा में आकंठ डूबा भारतीय समाज पुरोहित तथा पुजारी के टोटकों और उनके स्वार्थों की गिरफ्त में आकर, तंगी के बावजूद भी, ऐसा करता है।

हिमाचल प्रदेश में स्थित देवी चिंतपूर्णी से संबंधित कथा के अनुसार भक्त माई दास ने अपना सिर काट कर देवी को चढ़ाया था। तब देवी ने प्रकट होकर उन्हें जीवित कर दिया था और अपने भक्तों से वरदान मांगने को कहा था। क्या ऐसी मान्यता और कहानियां जानवरों और इंसानों की बलि को नहीं बढ़ावा देता?

भेड़ बकरी और किसी जीव की बलि देवी-देवता मांगते हों ऐसा कोई प्रमाण किसी के पास नहीं है, ये सिर्फ कहानियां और किंवदंतियां हैं जो मूढ़ और अंधभक्त समाज में बहुत जल्दी लोकप्रिय हो जाती है।

जीवों की बलि चढ़ाने के पीछे कई कारण हैं, लोगों का धर्म के मामले में अँधा होना पहला कारण है, जहाँ धार्मिक किवंदंतियों को भी विज्ञान मानने की होड़ और ज़िद है। कई अन्य कारण है, ईश्वरीय आस्था में लालच का होना। आप बलि देकर या ईश्वर को कुछ चढ़ाके अपनी मनोकामना पूरी करवाने का भ्रम पाल सकते हैं। पुजारियों का झूठी परम्पराओं के लिए अपने स्वार्थ के लिए लोगों को गुमराह करना आदि।

गुवाहाटी के कामख्या मंदिर में इसी किस्म की मान्यता है, यहां बलि देना आम बात है। बचपन में एक कहानी सुनता था कि जो औरतें डायन बनती हैं वो यहां आकर सीखती हैं, और उसके एवज़ में अपने किसी खास की कुर्बानी देकर उसकी कीमत चुकानी पड़ती है। ऐसी कहानियां भारतीय समाज को न केवल डायन प्रथा में विश्वास करने को दुश्प्रेरित करता है, बल्कि बलि प्रथा को भी जारी रखती है।

कामाख्या मंदिर बलि के लिए जितना मशहूर है उतना ही तांत्रिक केंद्र के रूप में भी। यहां जितने आराम से और खुलेआम जानवरों की बलि दी जाती रही है, वह देखकर लगता नहीं कि इसके खिलाफ समाज में कोई चेतना है अथवा कोई कानून ही इसकी फिक्र करता है।

उत्तर प्रदेश के बुंदेलखंड की इसी वर्ष की घटना है जिसमें चित्रकूट जिले के पहाड़ी थाना क्षेत्र के लोहदा गांव के चौंसठ जोगिनी देवी मंदिर की घटना हैं, जहां एक युवक ने अपनी गर्दन काट कर खुद की बलि चढ़ा दी थी। वहीं मानिकपुर कस्बे में एक युवक ने अपनी जीभ काट कर देवी को खुश करने की कोशिश की थी।

पंजाब के श्रीकाली माता मंदिर में सप्तमी को (नवरात्र) मां कालरात्रि की पूजा की जाती है। इस दौरान माता को बलि दी जाती है। यहां पर एक गुरु जगतगुरु पंचानंद गिरि ने अपनी उंगली पर कट लगाकर सांकेतिक रूप से बलि की परंपरा को पूरा किया। बाद में 9 कददुओं को काटकर बलि दी गई।

भारतीय समाज इतना डबल स्टैण्डर्ड को मानता है कि उसकी सीमा नहीं। एक तरफ अहिंसा को महत्व दिया जाता है, दूसरी तरफ बलि जैसी प्रथाएं जारी रहती हैं। एक जीव की हत्या से आपकी मनोकामना पूरी होती है, दूसरे जीव की हत्या पाप की श्रेणी में है।

पिछले साल सितम्बर में, झारखण्ड के देवघर में मन्दिर प्रशासन द्वारा बकायदा टेंडर निकाल कर भैंस के बच्चों की बलि के लिए एक्सप्रेशन ऑफ इंटरेस्ट वहां के एक प्रमुख अखबार में निकला। वहीं गाय मांस ले जाने के आरोप में उसी झारखण्ड के रामगढ में अलीमुद्दीन की हत्या कर दी गई। हालांकि अभी उस मामले में इसे न्यायालय ने हत्या माना और 11 लोगों को हत्या के जुर्म में सज़ा दी गई।

इस सम्बन्ध में इस्लाम की बात करें, तो उनका मत है कि पृथ्वी पर सभी चीज़ें इंसानों के उपभोग के लिए बनाई गई हैं। मुहम्मद जैनुल आबिदीन मंसूरी अपनी पुस्तक ‘जीव-हत्या और पशु-बलि इस्लाम की नज़र  में लिखते हैं,

“हर जीवधारी (वनस्पति या पशु-पक्षी आदि) को मनुष्य के उपभोग के लिए पैदा किया गया है।”

उनके अनुसार पेड़-पौधे तरकारी को काटना उसी प्रकार से हिंसा है जिस प्रकार मछली, और जानवरों की खाने के लिए हत्या करना। हालांकि यह तर्क आज लोगों को कितना उचित लगेगा, यह अलग बात है। इस्लाम में पशु बलि (कुर्बानी) को हिन्दू धर्म की तरह ही मान्यता प्राप्त है। अल्लाह को प्रसन्न करने के लिए कई मौकों पर कुर्बानी दी जाती है।

मुहम्मद जैनुल के अनुसार ही –

“इस्लाम में इस्लामी कैलेण्डर के बारहवें मास, जिल-हिज्जा की दसवीं, ग्यारहवीं व बारहवीं तिथि को ‘ईद-उल-अजहा’ त्योहार के अवसर पर बलि दी जाति है जिसे कुर्बानी कहा जाता है। इसके अतिरिक्त हज को जाने वाले हर व्यक्ति पर भी यह कुर्बानी अनिवार्य है।”

कुर्बानी में ऊंट, भैंस, गाय, बकरे आदि दिए जाते हैं। हालांकि मुफ्ती अरशद कासमी के बताए अनुसार ऐसे ही जानवरों की कुर्बानी दी जानी चाहिए जिसकी कानून हमे इजाज़त देता है। सरकार द्वारा प्रतिबंधित जानवरों की कुर्बानी नहीं  देनी चाहिए।

मुफ्ती एजाज़ अरशद कासमी का मानना है कि इस्लाम में कुर्बानी का बहुत महत्व है। अल्लाह द्वारा परीक्षा के नाम पर हज़रत इब्राहिम से अपने इकलौते पुत्र इस्माईल की कुर्बानी की भी बात आती है, जिसके लिए इब्राहिम तैयार हो जाता है। हालांकि कुर्बानी देने के वक्त कहा जाता है कि परीक्षा पूर्ण हुई और उसके बेटे की जगह दुम्बे (भेड़ समान एक पशु) की बलि दे दी जाती है। ऐसी कहानियां भी आम जनों में मान्यता प्राप्त हैं। इसे गर्व और त्याग के लिए कहा और सुनाया जाता है। इससे समझ में आता है कि पशु तो छोड़िये ईश्वर-अल्लाह के नाम पर इंसान के अंग को चढ़ाना अथवा इंसान की बलि/कुर्बानी करने को भी गलत नहीं समझा जाता और आम जनमानस इसपर अंधभक्त की तरह व्यवहार करते हैं।

ऐसी भी खबरे आती है, जहां इंसानों की बलि देने का प्रयास किया गया। इस प्रकार की सोच तथा विश्वास भारतीय समाज को कहां लेकर जाएगी? हमारे जैसे कई युवा इनसे चिंतित हो सकते हैं पर साथ ही हमारे समाज के युवा में भी, आज बलि जैसी कुरीतियों में विश्वास है। यदि किसी का मांस खाना है तो ईश्वर और देवी की नाम पर क्यों, खुद के नाम पर खाओ। ये भ्रम खुद के लिए भी तोड़ो और समाज के लिए भी।

यदि इस ब्रह्माण्ड में कहीं ईश्वर का अस्तित्व हो भी, तो सोचिये कि ईश्वर सिर्फ इंसानों की फिक्र करेगा? क्या वो निरीह जानवरों की चिंता नहीं करता होगा? आप स्वयं विचार करें कि जब आपको ज़रा सी खरोंच आ जाती है तो आप चीख पड़ते हैं, टेटनस की सुई लगवाते हैं और जिस निरीह जीव का आप गला काट देते हैं, उसको कितनी पीड़ा होती होगी?

आप सोचिये, कि क्या आपका ईश्वर इन सब से खुश हो सकता है? अगर औसत दर्जे की भी समझ इनसान को है तो वह गलत, अमानवीय और बेवकूफी भरी इन परम्पराओं को धर्म के नाम पर बढ़ावा नहीं देगा। अतः आप भी अपने आसपास नज़र डालिए और ऐसी अंधी सोच और बलि की कुरीति को विदा कीजिये। यदि आपको मांस खाना ही है, तो खुद के नाम से खाएं, किसी ईश्वर या देवी के नाम पर नहीं।

The post ईश्वर-अल्लाह के नाम पर जानवरों और इंसानों की बलि का ढोंग बंद करिए appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The ‘autonomy’ being granted to more than 60 higher educational institutions (including five central and 21 state universities) by the government, against which an unprecedented number of students were out on the streets on Wednesday, is an attack on both, the poor’s ability to send their children to college, as well as on the democratic social character of higher education. Let’s try to figure out how.

The ‘autonomy’ we are being ‘granted’ is a misnomer, to begin with. While academic institutions actually do need a great deal of academic autonomy (that is, the freedom to design curricula, syllabus, examination patterns, entrance and cut-offs), the proposed 70:30 formula of funding is actually an attempt to ‘privatise’ the costs of education under the guise of financial autonomy, where academic institutions will be required to generate 30% of all costs. This would come primarily from three sources – fee hikes, the introduction of ‘marketable’ self-financing courses and a cut-down on employees’ wages and benefits.

A higher-education funding authority (HEFA) is also being set up for the purpose of making it possible for institutions to borrow from what the government calls, ‘a not-for-profit agency with an initial capital base of ₹1000 Crore’, announced in the Union Budget 2016-17, for building ‘world-class infrastructure’, subject to the institutions’ ‘ability to repay’ the debt – obviously, again by hiking fees, firing non-permanent staff, cutting down on benefits and contractualisation of non-permanent non-teaching positions.

Advocates of the policy also propose that those who cannot afford to pay the increased fees can borrow and thus get into what Noam Chomsky calls, the higher education ‘debt-trap’, where students who take heavy loans to fund their education effectively lose the ability to put education to societal use, while having to focus on landing a well-paying job to repay the debt. Thus, they end up spending the socially most-productive years of their lives in servicing corporate interests instead of questioning the status quo. Fee hikes thus serve as a disciplinary technique to silence dissent and condition people to adapt to a general consumerist milieu.

It is not difficult to understand how private corporations lending and sponsoring higher education and research would also come to determine ‘what is researched’ and more importantly, ‘what is not’ – taking away intellectual freedom, and thus, the democratic social space for critical questioning. Rollback of public budgets from higher education not only take away from the poor working masses their right to ‘democratically’ access affordable education but will also severely curtail the very idea of academic autonomy and intellectual freedom. Any attack on higher education and research thus needs to be seen as an attack on democracy itself.

Another casualty of these proposed changes will be social justice, direct attacks on which are also being coordinated and carefully manoeuvred with the attempted privatisation of higher education. The recent order to implement a 13-point departmental roster instead of the 200-point institutional one significantly reduces the total number of posts going to reserved categories and thus weakens the existing policy for affirmative action and social justice. With roster-violations and second tranche posts lying vacant in most colleges, and almost half of all teaching positions in the university filled on an ad-hoc basis, any attempt to privatise or grant ‘financial autonomy’ are all set to hurt the interests of the deprived and marginalised sections even further, making their socio-economic position weaker still.

It is of crucial importance to see the connection between the attempted privatisation of higher education and its impact on social justice and looking at some data can definitely help us here. Nearly 1.25 billion people are officially poor and live below the ‘one dollar a day’ poverty line (nearly 77% below the universal ‘two dollar a day’ standard). With the ‘average Indian’ earning as little as ₹10,000 per month (or ₹1.2 lakh annually), it is no coincidence that as many as 60% of the poor continue to reside in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, whereas nearly 85% of all Dalits and tribal people live below the poverty line. According to the findings and recommendations of Mandal Commission (1980) and the Sachar Committee (2006) reports, deprivation of education explains the predicament of all marginalised sections to a great extent – and improved access to education through direct provisioning and/or reservations in jobs can significantly ensure increased inter-generational social mobility to those born ‘poor’.

Not surprisingly, Dalits, Muslims, tribal people, OBCs and women constitute a vast majority of the ‘poor’ in India and exhibit significantly worse educational attainment rates and workforce participation ratios and job-concentration figures compared to their privileged counterparts. They are also the ones most likely to get most severely hit by policies like these. With discriminatory social systems like caste, patriarchy and communal social exclusion working to their disadvantage, any notion of a democratic or pro-people state cannot overlook the plight or predicament of these deprived groups.

The whole idea of a welfare state anyway rests on the state’s ability to ensure access to healthcare, education, nutrition and dignified work for all, and to allow those born poor to work their way up through education and gainful employment. If that doesn’t happen, the very nature of the state needs to be questioned. And I am proud to say that is precisely what our students were out on the streets for today – to defend higher education itself, and with that, the democratic, secular and pro-people character of society.

The post In The Name Of Autonomy Of Universities, The Govt Wants To Keep The Poor, Poor appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

In a lesser known part of Assam, far away from the mundane city streets, is a quaint and picturesque tea-garden called Namsang. Not many will be aware of a human world that exists beyond the dense cover of the Dihing Patkai rainforest. Fourteen-year-old Bagmati Urang hails from this garden.

Urang is a school dropout. Her day starts at 5 in the morning, as she walks about 8 to 10 kilometres to the nearby Burhi Dihing river, a tributary of the Brahmaputra in Upper Assam, to fetch the daily water supply for the household.

Bagmati is not the only one in these lanes – more commonly known as ‘Lines’ or ‘Labour Gallis’ – inhabited by the tea tribe communities of Assam. While the dominant conversation around tea plantations focuses on production, export, etc, often the most important issues of tea garden workers get sidelined. Further sidelined are the issues concerning women workers in the gardens, who constitute around 52% of the workforce and are the backbone of the industry.

As one tries to strike a conversation with these women, one notices their slender bodies, the pale faces that demurely smiles, and the tiny fingers and scarred hands that carry two to three pails of water at one go. As I introduce the subject of menstrual hygiene, almost everyone blushes and coyly looks at one another, not knowing how to make a smooth exit from the situation.

Rabina, a frail 20-something girl from the group, finally courageously says, “Didi, we face a lot of problems during our monthly cycle. Most of us do not have access to proper toilets and have only temporary makeshift arrangements.”

A Deeper Inroad Into Their Lives

As one walks past the narrow gallis called Field Line, Puberun Line, Gutibari, I get how among the many pressing concerns Urang and members of her village face, concerns around sanitation and hygiene take a backseat.

The stigma and shaming of a menstruating woman is highly observed amongst the tea-tribe communities. Sharmila Karuwa is a plucker, for example, and a mother of three adolescent girls. She says, “My daughters are now coming of age, and it is a huge embarrassment for them, especially during their monthly cycle when they have to walk down several kilometres to take a bath in the river.”

Most women say they don’t go to work on the first two days of the cycle, as there is no provision for toilets or water for women pluckers in the gardens. As a result, women end up missing out on their daily wage for two to three days every month, a problem men don’t face. For a community still not covered under the Minimum Wages Act, and depending on a meagre Rs 135 per day, missing out a day’s wage is unaffordable.

Back in the Lines too, they complain of acute water shortage and lack of options for disposing sanitary pads. Although a lot of young girls are now using sanitary napkins instead of a cloth, some say they directly dispose the used napkins in the river when they go to collect water.

The toilet in the only ME School in the entire saah bagan run by the management is just a temporary see-through arrangement made of bamboo and covered by banana leaves. Adolescent girls in the school say they hardly use the toilet since boys in the adjacent playground can openly view whoever goes to the so-called ‘toilet’. “This open shack that you see covered with bamboo leaves is what we call a toilet. But we girls hardly use this, as the boys can easily see us,” says Minee, a 14-year-old girl.

The lack of awareness on menstrual hygiene and sanitation further challenges the lives of women in tea garden areas. Apart from women missing work, young girls miss school every month, and the stigma associated with menstruation does not allow open conversations or knowledge dissemination on the issue. Even ASHA workers hesitate to talk and openly educate women on hygiene and sanitation issues specific to menstruation. At the same time, lack of women’s leadership in several pockets of tea garden areas means that this issue never grabs attention, getting sidelined further.

A Gamut Of Challenges

In Assam, there are around 800 tea estates along with thousands of smaller gardens that are widely mushrooming. Every morning there is a siren that goes out at around 4 am in the morning. This is a wake-up call for pluckers who have to be at the worksite at the break of dawn. They have to work irrespective of the weather.

It is mainly women who engage in plucking, while the men mostly work in the factories. As a result, women end up spending more time in harsh weather conditions and are often exposed to harmful pesticides and insecticides that are sprayed in the gardens. As the condition of crèches in the gardens is extremely poor, women are compelled to carry their infant child to the garden. In the process, the child too is exposed to hazardous pesticides.

Lack of proper awareness on hygiene and sanitation implies that women are also prone to different diseases like fungal infections, allergies, or vector-borne diseases after the monsoon season. Prithviraj Tanti, Secretary of Assam Tea Tribe Students Association (ATTSA) of Joypur Sub-division, told me that of a population of around 5,000, the death toll of people affected by jaundice in Namsang goes up to 40 or 50 every year. This needs timely and proper attention by authorities.

“The primary factor responsible for this being impure water that is directly consumed without filtration,” Tanti explains. At Karuwa’s home, I had noticed a hollow pit, with a small iron bucket tied to a rope alongside. This pit is the only source of water for her family.

At work, pluckers are provided with water either twice or thrice a day, depending on the tea garden. However, the purity of the water that is provided to pluckers and if it has gone through a filtration process is something that remains uncertain.

In many tea gardens, salt is mixed with the water that is given to the workers. This is more commonly known as ‘Chai-Pani’ and even young school-going children are found to carry this. The regular consumption of salt in the drinking water has been also found to increase the blood pressure in many cases. Many workers say that this practice of mixing salt with the Chai-Pani is an age-old British practice so that their brain slowly becomes less active and their capacity to think shrinks. This continues to be in practice till date.

Workers opine that the Welfare Officers in the tea gardens need to be made more accountable for their condition to improve. They allege that these officers merely make a visit or two and that the management doesn’t address their issues. Government schemes too, they say, very rarely reach them. Another issue is that the head of the workers in tea gardens, who is known as a Sordaar, is always a man. Hence, women’s issues are never given the importance they deserve.

As the struggle for women’s rights and empowerment picks momentum, there is at the same time a further invisibilisation of yet another category of women whose narratives do not grab ‘mainstream’ attention. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) concerns continue to remain a serious matter requiring immediate attention for these women who work in tea gardens. A lot still remains to be said, a lot still remains to be achieved.

All photos inside the post provided by the author. Featured image source: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint via Getty Images

The post Denied Water, Access To Toilets: How Tribal Women Are Exploited In Assam’s Tea Gardens appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

केंब्रिज एनालिटिका का डेटा लीक मामला पूरी दुनिया के साथ-साथ भारत भी पहुंचा। इसके बाद व्हाट्सएप पर मैसेज आया कि यदि कमेंट में BFF टाइप करने पर आपके फेसबुक का रंग हरा हो जाता है तो आपका डेटा सुरक्षित है, जो कि गलत मैसेज है। अब अपनी प्राइवेसी,डेटा को लेकर फिक्रमंद लोग BFF टाइप करने लगे। इससे पता चलता है कि हमारे देश में इंटरनेट लिट्रेसी कितनी कम है।

कंपनी ने भारतीय यूज़र्स का भी डेटा बेचा। मामले की व्यापकता को देखते हुए सरकार की ओर से सूचना प्रौद्योगिकी और कानून मंत्री रविशंकर प्रसाद मीडिया के सामने आएं। उन्होंने कहा कि भारत अपने नागरिकों का डेटा सुरक्षित रखने में पूरी तरह समर्थ है। हमारे पास कई सारे कानून हैं, जिससे दोषी कंपनी पर कार्रवाई की जा सकती है। साथ ही उन्होंने कहा कि ज़रूरत पड़ी तो हम ज़करबर्ग को भी तलब करेंगे।

उन्होंने कांग्रेस पर भी आरोप लगाया है कि कांग्रेस 2019 में इस कंपनी का इस्तेमाल करने वाली थी। फेसबुक अभी भारत ही नहीं पूरी दुनिया में संकट में है। अमेरिका और ईयू की संसद ने ज़करबर्ग से जबाब मांगा है। कहा जा रहा है कि फेसबुक अभी तक के सबसे मुश्किल परिस्थिति में है।

क्या है मामला-

ब्रिटिश प्रोफेसर अलेक्ज़ेंडर कोगन ने this is your digital life नाम का ऐप बनाया, जो कि फेसबुक बेस्ड है। इस ऐप को तकरीबन 2 लाख 70 हज़ार लोगों ने डाउनलोड किया, यह पर्सनैलिटी बताने वाली ऐप थी। यह ऐप एक बार डाउनलोड हो जाने के बाद यूज़र  और उसके फेसबुक फ्रेंड्स के डेटा स्टोर कर लेती थी। इस तरह इस फर्म के पास 5 करोड़ यूज़र का डेटा आ गया। अब इसने इस डेटा को केंब्रिज एनालिटिका नाम की कंपनी को बेच दिया। अब केंब्रिज एनालिटिका कह रही है कि उसे इस बारे में पता नहीं था। कोगन कह रहे हैं कि उन्होंने कुछ भी गैरकानूनी नहीं किया है।

केंब्रिज एनालिटिका एक ब्रिटिश पोलिटिकल कंसल्टिंग कंपनी है, जिसका काम अपने क्लाइंट को सलाह देना, रिसर्च करना, माहौल बनाना होता है। कंपनी के मालिक रोबर्ट मर्सर हैं। कंपनी पर आरोप है कि उसने अमेरिका में ट्रम्प के पक्ष में काम किया और ब्रिटेन को यूरोपियन यूनियन से भी बाहर जाने के पक्ष में माहौल बनाया, जिसके लिए गैरकानूनी ढंग से हासिल डेटा का इस्तेमाल किया।

केंब्रिज एनालिटिका की पैरेंट कंपनी SCL है, SCL नें इससे पहले भी कई देशों में काम किया था। जिसमें एक देश घाना भी था,जहां 2011 में चुनाव था। क्रिस्टोफर विली, SCL के लिए घाना में काम करते थे। कर्मचारी होने के नाते वो अच्छी तरह जानते हैं किस तरह केंब्रिज एनालिटिका ने डेटा का गलत इस्तेमाल किया है। क्रिस्टोफर विली अब विसलब्लोअर बन गए हैं, वो ही केंब्रिज एनालिटिका की पोल खोल रहे हैं।

भारत में SCL की पार्टनर कंपनी OBI है। OBI को अमरीश त्यागी चलाते हैं,अमरीश , JDU नेता केसी त्यागी के पुत्र हैं। केंब्रिज एनालिटिका की वेबसाइट पर बिहार चुनाव का भी ज़िक्र है। जहां उसने JDU और BJP के लिए काम किया था। ओबीआई की वेबसाइट पर भाजपा को क्लाइंट के तौर पर दिखाया गया है। अमरीश ने राजनाथ सिंह सहित कुछ अन्य बीजेपी नेताओं के साथ काम करने की बात को स्वीकारा था। हलांकि अमरीश ने कहा कि उन्होंने कोई नियम नहीं तोड़ा है।

OBI की वेबसाइट पर कांग्रेस को भी क्लाइंट बताया गया है। रविशंकर प्रसाद भले ही कहें कि कांग्रेस 2019 चुनाव में केंब्रिज एनालिटिका का इस्तेमाल करने वाली थी। जबकि हकीकत है कि काँग्रेस और बीजेपी दोनों केंब्रिज एनालिटिका के सम्पर्क में थी।

पूरे विवाद के बाद फेसबुक पर भी संकट आ गया। फेसबुक पर जानते हुए भी नज़रअंदाज़ करने का आरोप लग रहा है। हालांकि फेसबुक इसका खंडन कर रही है। व्हाट्सएप( जो फेसबुक द्वारा खरीदा जा चुका है) के सह संस्थापक रहे ब्रायन एक्टन ने कहा कि अब फेसबुक डिलीट करने का वक्त आ गया है। ट्विटर पर #DeleteFacebook ट्रेंड कर रहा है। फेसबुक का शेयर भी 7% तक गिर गया।

यह वक्त सियासी दलों से भी सवाल पूछने का है कि किस तरह वो पिछले दरवाज़े से कानून तोड़ने वालों की मदद करते हैं और उनकी मदद लेते हैं। अभी ही किस तरह देश की दोनों बड़ी पार्टियां राजनीति कर रही हैं। जबकि दोनों पार्टियों से उसका संपर्क था। यह वक्त उपभोक्ता को भी अपनी प्राइवेसी को लेकर सतर्क होने का है, उन्हें भी किसी ऐप को परमिशन देते वक्त सावधानी बरतनी चाहिए। बाकि उम्मीद है कि संबंधित सरकारें उचित कार्रवाई करेगी। फेसबुक भी भविष्य में ऐसी घटना को लेकर सतर्क रहें, वरना एक बार विश्वास डिगने के बाद दोबारा हासिल करना बेहद मुश्किल है।

फोटो आभार- फेसबुक सेक्योरिटी वीडियो स्क्रीनशॉट

सौरभ Youth Ki Awaaz के फरवरी-मार्च 2018 बैच के ट्रेनी हैं।

The post आसान भाषा में समझिए फेसबुक डेटा लीक मामला और इसका इंडिया कनेक्शन appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The BJP and the Congress have been fighting each other ever since Cambridge Analytica’s work in India started getting reported. A new round of this war of words took place on Tuesday after Christopher Wylie, the whistleblower behind the latest round of revelations, told a British parliamentary panel that he believed Congress was one of the clients of the firm. Paul-Olivier Dehay, the co-founder of Personal Data.IO, another individual who spoke to the panel, told it on the other hand that the firm might have worked against the Congress too.

The reason why CA has been in the news recently is because it was able to exploit Facebook for big data, which it subsequently used for election management. However, documents shared by Wylie on Wednesday on Twitter or an insider report published Tuesday on the company’s work in India, do not indicate any data breach, as both the BJP and Congress have been alleging.

Despite this, these new revelations show the role data has played in election management in India. Moreover, CA’s involvement in Indian election is a cause of concern because of the company’s shady dealings abroad.

So What Exactly Did Cambridge Analytica Do In India?

The insider report published by The Print details the early years of an Indian company of CA’s parent firm SCL Group. It is this Indian company, Strategic Communications Laboratories Private Limited, which worked on elections in India.

According to The Print report, SCL devised a survey-questionnaire for understanding voters better. That wouldn’t be surprising or improper, except the questionnaire was designed to make a voter dislike the Congress. “Our services help clients to identify and target key groups within the population to effectively influence their behaviour to realise a desired outcome,” the documents shared by Wylie also say.

The Print report doesn’t say which party finally engaged SCL, but only says that an Indian-American businessman, who wanted the Congress to lose, was a client for some time before opting out. Interestingly, the firm was simultaneously trying to earn a contract with the Congress.

Who Are The People Behind This Company?

SCL has four directors in India. It is the connections of these people that is making people speculate their role in Indian elections. Among these four directors are also the co-founders of SCL Group, which owns Cambridge Analytica, the firm that acquired and exploited Facebook data for the Trump campaign.

A possible cause of concern can also be that the answers of the survey, which was completed at least in Amethi and Rae Bareli, were collected through an app. This app was supposed to share data with servers in the US against the wishes of one of the Indian directors of the company, Avneesh Rai. The documents released by Wylie on Wednesday say that “SCL India has a database of over 600 districts and 7 lakh village, which is constantly being updated”.

Are There Other Parties Involved?

The documents shared by Wylie say that SCL India “was asked to provide electoral research and strategy for the 2010 State Elections for the Janata Dal (United)”. The company assisted the party through a behavioural research programme for over 75 percent of households. Amrish Tyagi, whose Ovleno Business Intelligence is a subsidiary of SCL India by his own admission, is also the son of JD(U) leader K C Tyagi.

I’ve been getting a lot of requests from Indian journalists, so here are some of SCL’s past projects in India. To the most frequently asked question – yes SCL/CA works in India and has offices there. This is what modern colonialism looks like. pic.twitter.com/v8tOmcmy3z

— Christopher Wylie (@chrisinsilico) March 28, 2018

The documents also claim that SCL worked on the 2003 Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the 2007 election in Uttar Pradesh, the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and in a caste census in Uttar Pradesh in 2011 and 2012.

According to the story Rai knew as a director of SCL India, however, these claims are likely to be an exaggeration. He told The Print that he worked in his individual capacity as an election consultant on Bihar elections, and that the SCL team never went to Bihar. Claims of working in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 2003 were added in the presentations back then to make a stronger sales pitch to potential clients.

Dan Muresan, head of the elections wing of SCL UK, however worked with Rai on 2009 Assembly elections and three experts of the Behavioural Dynamics Institute. They analysed why Mahesh Sharma, BJP leader and now a Union minster, lost the election. This was done by surveying voters and analysing their facial expressions to check whether they are lying. Behavoural Dynamics Institute was founded by the brother of one of the directors of SCL India and co-founder of SCL Group.

After 2009, Alexander Nix and Dan Muresan were in touch with Rai. Around 2011, they started training surveyors, which is when Rai learnt of the leading questions and that a client had already been hired by the company without his knowledge. Until then, they had been making presentations to top leaders of both BJP and Congress although Nix seemed more interested in a contract from the Congress.

Is The Company Still Active In India?

According to records available with the corporate affairs ministry, SCL India never held an annual general meeting, which it is supposed to under the Companies Act. Shivam Vij, the journalist who reported on the company for The Print, told YKA that Rai had often suggested that either Alexander Nix or he should resign from SCL India, but Nix stopped replying to emails. “So none of them ‘left’ SCL India but it’s a defunct organisation that does not exist out of the ROC (Registrar of Companies) records – even a board meeting was not held,” Vij told YKA.

Wylie suggested in his tweet that SCL or CA work in India, but didn’t specify whether it’s SCL Group or SCL India that does the election work. “To the most frequently asked question – yes SCL/CA works in India and has offices there,” he tweeted. The documents he shared on Twitter are also not dated. 2012 is the last year in which SCL India claims to have worked on elections here in the documents shared by Wylie.

Featured image: Twitter/Cambridge Analytica

The post In 3 Simple Charts, The Inside Story Of Cambridge Analytica’s Work On Indian Elections appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

वैसे तो भारतीय संस्कृति में भगवान श्रीराम किसी परिचय के मोहताज नहीं हैं। त्रेतायुग से लेकर कलयुग तक उनकी प्रासंगिकता और उनके प्रति आस्था में कहीं भी कोई कमी होती नज़र नहीं आई। अयोध्या का नाम मन में आते ही मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम श्रीराम ज़हन में आस्था के प्रतिबिम्ब बनाकर उभर आते हैं।

लेकिन इस बार पता नहीं रामनवमी जुलूस में आस्था, श्रद्धा और भक्ति का प्रदर्शन था या फिर अपनी धार्मिक और राजनैतिक ताकत का प्रदर्शन ? खबर है देश में कई जगह हुई हिंसा में तीन लोगों की मौत और कम से कम दर्जनों लोग ज़ख्मी हुए। हिंसा के दौरान बंगाल के 24-परगना ज़िले के कांकिनाड़ा में देश के पहले शिक्षा मंत्री रहे मौलाना आज़ाद की एक मूर्ति भी तोड़ दी गई। समझ नहीं आया कि उत्सव रामनवमी का था या राजनीति का?

कुछ ऐसा ही हाल जोधपुर में भी रहा। बताया जा रहा है कि रामनवमी के दिन जोधपुर में भी 350 झांकियां निकाली गईं। पर जोधपुर की झांकी में भगवान राम के अलावा इन्हीं झांकियों में शंभूलाल रैगर की एक झांकी निकाली गई। कहा जा रहा है यह शोभा यात्रा जोधपुर के प्रमुख मार्गों से होकर गुज़री और हर सर श्रद्धा से झुकता चला गया। इनमें कोई राजनेता था, कोई साधु-संत तो कोई सांसारिक प्राणी।

शायद ये चेतावनी थी लोगों को, कि शंभूलाल रैगर भी हमारे लिए किसी अराध्य देव से कम नहीं है। अब अगर सब कुछ इसी तरह बेरोकटोक चलता रहा तो भगवान श्रीराम के धनुष, भगवान श्री कृष्ण के सुदर्शन चक्र, परशुराम के फरसे के बाद आने वाली पीढ़ी शंभूलाल रैगर की गैती के प्रति भी इसी आस्था से अपने भाव प्रकट किया करेगी।

हो सकता है आगे माएं बच्चों को कहानी सुनाए कि कलयुग में जब लव जिहाद का पाप बढ़ रहा था तब भगवान शम्भूलाल ने प्रकट होकर इसी गैती से एक मज़दूर की हत्या कर धर्म की स्थापना की थी। जिसे-जिसे इस बात से गुस्सा आये वह शम्भूलाल की झांकी की भी आलोचना ज़रूर करे क्योंकि भगवान राम की झांकी में एक हत्यारे को महिमामंडित किया जाना भारतीय संविधान के मज़ाक से अधिक तो भगवान श्रीराम जी का अपमान था।

मेरे रोम-रोम में बसने वाले राम, जगत के स्वामी, तू पालनहारी मैं तुझसे क्या मांगू, या ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरो नाम सबको सन्मति दे भगवान ऐसे गीतों को सुनकर में बड़ा हुआ। फिर रामायण का सीरियल देखा तो मेरी भक्ति राम के प्रति और अधिक जागी कि किस तरह अपने पिता के वचनों के कारण एक मर्यादित महापुरुष पुत्र ने अपना राजपाट त्यागकर वनों में विचरण किया। हालात कैसे भी रहे लेकिन मर्यादा का पाठ नहीं भूले।

भगवान श्रीराम की झांकी निकालना कोई बुरी बात नहीं है। बुरी बात है शम्भूलाल जैसे अपराधी की झांकी को राम के बराबर दर्जा दिया जाना। कितने लोग पसंद करेंगे कि विश्व शांति के संदेश का मंच हो और उसमें 26/11 का अपराधी हाफिज सईद शामिल हो?

पर जब धर्म की झांकी का राजनीति से जुड़े लोग अपहरण कर ले तो भगवान की झांकी के साथ किसी शम्भूलाल की झांकी और शांति और मर्यादा के सन्देश की जगह दंगा, हिंसा हो जाता है। धार्मिक और सांस्कृतिक नारों का रूप राजनीतिक नारों में बदल दिया जाता है। तब अपने-अपने धार्मिक और राजनैतिक नेता ही अवतार नजर आने लगते हैं।

जब मज़हब के नाम पर मालदा में और पैगम्बर के नाम पर बशीरहाट में लाखों की भीड़ सड़कों पर उतरती है। बशीरहाट को आग लगाई जाती है तब भी देश का सांस्कृतिक ढांचा जलता है। जब रामनवमी के शुभ अवसर पर सड़कों पर बंदूकें, लाठी और त्रिशूल लहराए जाते है तब भी देश की समरसता को ही फूंका जाता है।

धर्म-मज़हब से जुड़े संगठनों के राजनीतिक जिन्न जिस-जिस देश में बोतल से बाहर आये वहां-वहां का इतिहास उठाकर देख लीजिये, ना सभ्यता बची न देश और लाखों मासूम लोगों को डकार लेने के बाद आज भी वो जिन्न बाहर घूम रहे हैं। सीरिया, अफगानिस्तान, यमन, नाइजीरिया, के बाद पाकिस्तान भी उसी तरफ आगे बढ़ रहा है।

यदि हमारी चाल धर्म-मज़हब के नाम पर इसी तरह तेज़ रही तो हम पाकिस्तान को यहां भी जल्दी ही पछाड़ देंगे। बोलो लक्कड़ महाराज की जय।

रामनवमी के मौके पर कहां आग नहीं लगी। बिहार के नालंदा के सिलाव में, समस्तीपुर में और औरंगाबाद में भी रामनवमी की शोभायात्रा निकाले जाने के दौरान हिंसा हुई थी। जुलूस में शामिल लोग डीजे पर नाच रहे थे, हाथों में लाठी और डंडे लहरा रहे थे। फिर कथित तौर पर इस जुलूस पर पथराव हुआ और फिर हिंसा भड़क गई। तीन दर्जन से ज़्यादा दुकानों को आग के हवाले कर दिया गया। सड़क पर गाड़ियों को आग लगा दी गई।

दुनिया की कोई भी संस्कृति अपना घर फूंककर क्या आगे बढ़ पाई है? यदि नहीं तो समझ जाइये आप जुलूस में शामिल धार्मिक व्यक्ति के बजाय राजनितिक मोहरे हो।

जब मैं सुनता हूं कि जल्दी ही हम विश्व गुरु बन जायेंगे तो सोचता हूं यदि विश्व गुरु ऐसे ही बना जाता है तो मध्य एशिया के देश सुडान, लीबिया जॉर्डन अभी तक विश्व गुरु क्यों नहीं बने? इसका जवाब किसी के पास हो तो दे देना भाई ताकि मेरे इन सवालों को मोक्ष मिल जाये।

फोटो आभार- ANI ट्विटर हैंडल

The post रामनवमी की झांकी में शम्भूलाल रैगर की अराधना मेरे भगवान श्री राम का अपमान है appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Yash Johri (YJ): You have recently written book titled, ‘Why I Am A Hindu’, why did you feel the need to explain why you are a Hindu? Do you believe that a divisive political idea of Hindutva, such as that of the BJP’s, can affect people’s individual faith, or is political Hinduism confined to the domain of politics?

Shashi Tharoor (ST): First of all, the concerns expressed by me in this book are not at all new. If you look at “The Great Indian Novel” by me almost 30 years ago, it talks about Dharma; if you look at “Riot”, it looks at Hindu-Muslim riots that took place in parts of Northern India during the lead up to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement; and if you look at my book “India From Midnight To The Millennium”, 20 years ago, it talked about my own feelings, as a Hindu, about my own faith and what was being done to it just five years after the Babri Masjid was destroyed. So in that sense, I’ve been consistent that these are issues that have mattered to me as the record shows.

But now, I agree with you it has become more morally urgent because with the BJP in power and our ruling establishment trying to put Hindutva in your face as if it is sort of the political expression of Hinduism, I thought it was time for someone like me who doesn’t accept their version of Hinduism to fight back. The best way I can fight back is through my words and ideas, which is why I’ve come out with this book. It is a personal book, I have a chapter, rather presumptuously titled “My Hinduism”, because I accept there is no one way of being Hindu. But I also try to delve into the texts for such authority, as I believe I can claim from that, and then, I also go in the book to an understanding of Hindutva. Hindutva, I believe, doesn’t really have anything to do with religion, it’s more a political ideology – and it needs to be seen, understood and challenged at that level.

YJ: In your book, in numerous interviews, as well as your speech at the 84^th AICC (All India Congress Committee) Plenary Session you spoke of Hinduism making Indians a more plural people as opposed to secular. Panth Nirpekshita over Dharma Nirpekshita. However, for all who have grown up in and been raised by elders who’ve grown up in environs influenced by the Nehruvian form of secularism, is this not a new idea?

ST: No, in theory, it would seem like a new idea, but in practice, what were we doing? Secularism would actually mean distancing oneself from religion. French secularism says that you cannot have any overt religious symbolism when you come to a government school, you can’t wear a cross if you’re a Christian, a turban if you’re Sikh, a skullcap if you’re Muslim or Jewish, etc. Whereas in India, the manner in which we practised our secularism is that everyone is free to be and can show whatever they wish. So in our schools and college campuses, you have women wearing the Hijab, girls in mini-skirts, guys in jeans or kurta-pyjamas – all of this has been acceptable. So what we were actually celebrating in the name of secularism is pluralism.

I would like to think that I’ve sufficiently imbibed the values and lessons of Nehruvian belief, because if for nothing else, when I wrote my biography of Nehru in 2003, I pretty much read everything that he’d written – be it his books, letters, correspondence, diaries or speeches. So I have a pretty clear idea of what Nehru believed. Nehru personally was agnostic and would have wanted a secularism that was distant from religion. In practice, what he saw being celebrated around him and never opposed was actually this kind of pluralism. I’ve said before that it’s from Nehru’s time that we’ve performed the ritual of smashing a coconut to launch a ship as opposed to the British smashing a bottle of champagne for the same purpose. There has been an overtly Hindu cultural idea of the coconut being a sanctified way of commemorating an auspicious moment, and that started under Nehruji. So I believe we can’t speak of secularism in the ‘western dictionary sense’ in the Indian context.

YJ: With the BJP majority in the Parliament and their dominating presence across states, an ominous narrative pervades followers of politics in the country about the BJP putting into action their work to build a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, something close to a ‘nation’ as espoused by M.S. Golwalkar in “A Bunch of Thoughts”. What evidence do you have for this, from the BJP-RSS combine’s actions in the past three-four years?

ST: Well in all fairness, the BJP hasn’t yet had an opportunity to implement this. Because they need three things – those three being a majority in the Upper House, a majority in the Lower House and the support of two-third of the states. Now, they have the Lower House from 2014, they’ve recently reached the threshold with the states, but they still don’t have the Upper House. They are not dumb enough to try something that they know will provoke a massive argument and result in their defeat. They will wait until they know they have the numbers to pass their vision. I think, that one can only judge them after they have achieved the requisite numbers, and of course, my party and I, hope they will never achieve the numbers in all three places. But if it were to happen that they obtained a majority in the Rajya Sabha, then in my own view, they are not going to hold back as it is very fundamental to them.

For example, since Mr Modi came to power, Deen Dayal Upadhya’s thought is supposed to have been taught in all the ministries in the country. Many ministries are supposed to have been putting references to him in their letterheads, their official communications, and there are various schemes and yojanas named after Deen Dayal Upadhyay. Then you have to look at what the gentleman actually believed in. In my book, I have gone into about 20 pages of summary of what I’ve read of Deen Dayal Upadhyay. And there are many things in it I have no real problem with – for example, taking the concept of the purusharthas which all Hindus are supposed to live by and applying them to society, his clear compassion for the downtrodden and the poor. These are very interesting ideas, which perhaps people don’t know. But equally, I’ve also brought attention to his rather alarming views on the Constitution of India and minorities, and you can’t accept the one thing without the other. If you’re talking about his vision and his ideology, it’s important to note that via his views on the Constitution of India, he was very much an advocate of Hindu Rashtra among others.

YJ: Do you believe Indian democracy, as vigorously diverse as it is, is suited to majoritarian governments? Fali Nariman, the renowned jurist, often compares the present government’s tyrannical tendencies to those of the second Indira Gandhi government and has stated that India’s not suited to majoritarian governments. Do you agree with him?

ST: I certainly agree that India is not suited to majoritarian governments. In fact, the reason we have been a successful democracy, looking back over 70 years, is precisely that we gave every citizen the feeling that they had an equal stake. That essentially you could be anything in this country no matter your tongue or where you came from. We can proudly say we’ve had Rashtrapatis who’ve been Muslim, Sikh, Dalit as well as a woman – the same can be said about our armed forces as well as the judiciary. And the logic of all this is to say, if you feel you have a stake here then why do you have to have a problem with the system? You have an opportunity – do your best. If your political appeal and luck both come your way, the sky is the limit.

The moment you go majoritarian, suddenly there are 20% of our people saying that irrespective of whatever we do, however good we are, whatever legitimate concerns, aspirations or talents we may have, if we don’t belong to the majority community, we have no chance in this country. That’s the way the minorities have felt in Pakistan – presently it’s a 97% Muslim country; at its inception, it was a 70% Muslim country. That kind of majoritarian rule is not acceptable in India because we are too large and too diverse to drive out 20% of our population, which in any case, in our country where 20% of the population is upwards of 250 million people is no joke.

YJ: Political parties seldom repeat their best and worst performances. So by this logic, in 2019, we shall see gains for the Congress and losses for the BJP relative to their 2014 performances. However, the degree of this gain/loss will depend on the work that’s put in by either side. The Congress recently had an energetic, consultative plenary session with numerous leaders given the opportunity to speak from the dais. Do you believe the Congress would move forward better in this collective fashion with Mr Gandhi as a first among equals?

ST: Well, the fact is that Mr Gandhi is the president of the Indian National Congress, and in our system, the president has a very big say. He nominates the working committee, the general secretaries, he decides pretty much the role and authority of all these leaders who spoke at the plenary. So I think it’s not just a first among equals, he is the leader of the party.

Now, he is the kind of leader who wants to take people along with him, and he’s certainly not the man on the white stallion that Mr Modi tries to be, who claims to have all the answers. Instead, he is someone who says maybe I don’t have all the answers, maybe I don’t know all the questions as well, but I’ll come and listen to you, tell me what your issues are and then I’ll come with my team of experienced qualified people who will help work with you to solve the problem.

That’s Rahul Gandhi’s approach – so it’s not that he’s not the leader, he’s certainly more than a first among equals but he’ll bring with him a whole lot of people to help solve the problems of the country. And I think that style of leadership is going to be different from what’s being offered by the present government.

The post Shashi Tharoor Speaks Out On BJP’s Version Of Hinduism And The Need To Fight Back appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.