Finally, all the drama and suspense surrounding the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ has come to an end. Steve Smith has been slapped a 1-year ban after being held guilty for having ‘knowledge of a potential plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball’ and ‘failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and implementation of that plan’.

Smith has also been barred from assuming any leadership role in the national team for the next two years. Experienced opener David Warner and youngster Cameron Bancroft have also been suspended for one year and nine months, respectively, by Cricket Australia (CA).

Soon after CA came out with this penalty, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla followed suit and informed the press about the unavailability of both the Aussies in this year’s IPL.

The way this entire ball-tampering controversy unfolded, it has done a great disservice to the game. For decades, the Aussie style of playing cricket – hard, but fair – was touted as the ideal way, but the recent debacle has certainly marred that image. The fact that a young cricketer was thrust into such a malicious environment and entrusted with the responsibility to change the state of the ball sets a wrong example for budding cricketers and fans across the globe.

What Is Ball Tampering?

The season ball offers conventional swing when it is hard and new, but after a few overs, the shine of the ball wears away and it ceases to swing. In such a situation, bowlers try to scuff up one side of the ball and shine the other side, so that weight of the two tiers of the ball becomes unequal and the ball starts to swing in the direction of the heavier side.

However, it is not always that the ball starts to reverse naturally after a few overs, and that is why various techniques are employed for the same. Some of them include crushing the ball under spikes, biting it and picking the seam. The attempt is made to somehow change the weight of the ball on either side, so that it wobbles around more.

What Cameron Bancroft did was that he tried to use a sandpaper to scuff up one side of the ball to help the pacers reverse-swing the ball as Australia were in a dire situation in the third Test match. But as the cameras zoomed in on him, he panicked and tried to hide the sandpaper in his pants. However, he was caught red-handed in the act and had to face a lot of humiliation.

Can we talk about this? pic.twitter.com/cmpRrOArgD

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) March 24, 2018

Quantum Of Punishment

The punishment meted out by Cricket Australia to its players certainly seems a bit too harsh as it is unprecedented. Earlier, players were let off after a fine or a ban of a couple of matches, but slapping a 1-year ban in a case of ball tampering is unheard of.

The reason for this stern approach is that the Australian cricket board wants to set an example for other cricketers so that such incidents don’t reoccur. The involvement of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also ensured that exemplary punishment was meted out to the culprits.

Not A New Thing

No matter how unfortunate it may sound, such cases are not new to international cricket. There have been several similar events in the past which have maligned the image of the ‘gentleman’s game’.

Michael Atherton

In 1994, young England skipper Michael Atherton was spotted rubbing dirt on the ball in a match against South Africa at Lord’s. Atherton picked up dirt from the pitch and put it into his pocket, giving the impression that he would use it to keep his hands less sweaty.

The English opener was nevertheless charged with ball tampering. While he managed to hold on to the captaincy and avoid suspension, he was fined $3,700.

This unfortunate incident has been recorded in the history books in black ink and is unearthed every time any ball tampering incident sees the light of day.

Sachin Tendulkar

It was the second Test match between India and South Africa at Port Elizabeth in 2001 when the legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was handed a one-match ban by match referee Mike Denness. Tendulkar was accused of tampering with the seam of the ball. It created a lot of furore from the Indian fans and the then BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya.

In the same match, five other Indian players including spinner Harbhajan Singh and captain Sourav Ganguly were also fined 75% of their match fees for indecent conduct. However, the charges against Tendulkar were later repealed after sustained pressure.

 Inzamam-ul-Haq

It was the fourth match of the Test series between England and Pakistan at the Oval in 2006. On the fourth day of the match, umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove accused Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq of ball tampering.

In an unfortunate follow-up to that verdict, Inzamam told his players not to take the field after Tea. When the Pakistani players stayed in the dressing room for 17 minutes, Hair and Doctrove called the match off and awarded England the win via forfeit. However, Inzamam was later acquitted of the charges by ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle.

 Shahid Afridi

It was a close ODI encounter between Australia and Pakistan in 2010 when another Pakistani captain was charged with ball tampering. In a low-scoring affair played at Perth, Australia found themselves at 178-7, needing 35 runs off the last 30 balls.

Shahid Afridi was clearly seen biting and chewing the seam twice in the overs of Mohammad Asif and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. He was found guilty and banned from playing two T20 matches. This tarnished his image and proved to be the lowest point in his long cricketing career. ​

Faf du Plessis

After being proven guilty of rubbing the ball on the zipper of his pants’ Faf du Plessis was fined 50% of his match fee at Dubai in 2013. Three years later, he was charged with ball tampering.

In 2016, the Proteas captain was accused of using mint saliva to alter the condition of the ball. South Africa had just clinched a resounding Test match victory over Australia in their own den at Hobart, when the footage of du Plessis emerged. As a result, the skipper was handed three demerit points as per the ICC Code of Conduct.​

The post Sandpaper Gate: All You Need To Know About The Australian Ball Tampering Controversy appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

बिहार को नफरत की आग में झोंक दिया गया है। इसे फिरकावाराना फ़साद कहा जाए या दो पक्षों में टकराव या साम्प्रदायिक तनाव, लफ़्ज़ों पर आलिम जितनी चाहे, उतनी बहस करें। आम बिहारी जन के लिए यह नफ़रत, ख़ौफ़, हिंसा, तनाव, बेचैनी, नींद उड़ाने का दौर है।
वैसे, अब यह जानना लाज़मी हो गया है कि आज़ादी के बाद बिहार साम्प्रदायिक हिंसा और तनाव की ऐसी गिरफ्त में कब आया था? यह भी जानना उतना ही लाज़मी है कि बिहार के कौन-कौन से ज़िले पिछले दो साल में साम्प्रदायिक तनाव से बच पाए हैं?

छोटी-मोटी झड़प जाने दें, फिर भी अगर लिस्ट बनेगी तो अब ऐसा लगता है कि बिहार के ज़्यादातर बड़े और अहम ज़िले इसमें शामिल होंगे। साल- दो साल की घटनाएं न याद आ रही हों तो फिलहाल छोड़ दें। पिछले छह महीने पर ही गौर करें, इस दौरान ही बिहार ने साम्प्रदायिक हिंसा की कई बड़े दौर देख लिए हैं।

बकरीद, दुर्गापूजा, मुहर्रम, बारावफात, सरस्वती पूजा, नव संवत्सर, रामनवमी और शायद अब हनुमान जयंती तक- इन सब मौकों पर बिहार में एक साथ कई ज़िलों में फिरकावाराना तनाव हुए हैं,अभी हो रहे हैं। रामनवमी को गुज़रे कई दिन हो चुके हैं पर साम्प्रदायिक हिंसा और तनाव का दौर अभी गुज़रा नहीं है। इन लाइन को लिखे जाने के दौरान भी हिंसा की खबरें आ रही हैं। कुछ लोगों को यह अस्सी के दौर की याद दिला रहा है। हालाँकि, शायद अस्सी के दौर में भी बिहार के इतने ज़िलों में एक साथ, इतने कम वक्त में साम्प्रदायिक टकराव या तनाव नहीं हुए थे।

दो साल में ज़िले दर ज़िले हिंसा की आगोश में

अलग-अलग ज़रियों से जुटाई गई जानकारी बता रही है कि पिछले दो सालों में बिहार के सीतामढ़ी, मधेपुरा, गोपालगंज, गया, नवादा, जमुई, मुजफ्फरपुर, वैशाली, सीतामढ़ी, छपरा, पूर्वी और प‍श्च‍िमी चम्पारण, कटिहार, अ‍ररिया, सुपौल, भोजपुर, बेगूसराय, सिवान, भागलपुर, पटना, औरंगाबाद, रोसड़ा, मुंगेर, नालंदा, अरवल, शेख़पुरा में साम्प्रदायिक तनाव हुए हैं, हिंसा हुई है। ज़ाहिर है, यह लिस्ट पूरी नहीं है। इनमें वे घटनाएं शामिल नहीं हैं, जो गो-रक्षा के नाम पर बिहार के कुछ ज़िलों में पहली बार सुनने और देखने में आईं। जी, यही बिहार को नफरत की आग में झोंकने की कोशि‍श है। इसे अब सुनियोजित, संगठित साज़िश भी कहा जा सकता है, इसकी पड़ताल तो होनी ही चाहिए।

बिहार कभी भी इतना नफरती राज्य नहीं था। खान-पान में न रहन-सहन में और न ही एक दूसरे के साथ सामुदायिक रिश्ते में। बिहार की आबादी की बुनावट भी ज़्यादातर मिली-जुली रही है, मगर पिछले कई सालों से इस बुनावट के एक-एक धागे को बहुत ही मेहनत और करीने से अलग-अलग करने कोशि‍श की जा रही है।

विधानसभा चुनाव ने नफ़रती विकास का बीज बोया

यह कोशि‍श पहली बार बड़े पैमाने और खुले तौर पर तब देखने को मिली जब बिहार में विधानसभा चुनाव हो रहे थे। चुनाव में गो-मांस, गोहत्या, पाकिस्तान, मुस्ल‍िम आरक्षण, मुस्ल‍िम वजीफा जैसे मुद्दे उछालकर, फैलाकर बिहार में नफरती विकास की राजनीति की बुनियाद डालने की कोशि‍श हो रही थी। मगर बिहार ने विकास की नफरती राजनीति की बुनियाद पर सर उठाना गवारा नहीं किया। उसने बहुत ही साफ आवाज़ में इसे नकारते हुए अपनी बात कही।

हालांकि, बिहार चुनाव के नतीजे आने के तुरंत बाद इस टिप्पणी को लिखने वाले ने हिन्दी में एक टिप्पणी लिखी थी। उसमें लिखा था,

‘नफरत की राजनीति, कभी बिहार का मुख्य स्वर नहीं रहा। नतीजे भी साफ-साफ यही बता रहे हैं कि असहिष्णुता की राजनीति यहां नहीं चली। मगर क्या हमेशा ऐसा रहेगा, यह कहना मुश्किल है। पहली बार बिहार ने साम्प्रदायिक आधार पर इतना तीखा और सघन प्रचार देखा है। गाय, गोमांस, पाकिस्तान, धर्म के आधार पर आरक्षण, आतंक- ये सारी बातें, मुद्दे के रूप में उछाली गईं। एक नहीं, भाजपा के तीन-तीन विज्ञापन इसी वजह से चुनाव आयोग की आलोचना के शिकार हुए। ज़ाहिर है, इन सबका मकसद साम्प्रदायिक आधार पर ध्रुवीकरण था. हालांकि ऐसे प्रचार का सीटों की संख्या पर असर भले न हुआ हो, लेकिन यह टोलों-टोलों तक पहुंचा। वोटरों की बड़ी तादाद भले ही भाजपा के इन मुद्दों के साथ नहीं गई, पर एक हिस्सा तो ज़रूर गया।

भाजपा को मिले एक चौथाई वोट तो कम से कम से यही बता रहे हैं। इसलिए ये मुद्दे भले ही इस चुनाव के साथ दबते दिखें लेकिन समाज में अविश्वास का बीज पड़ गया है। अगर इसे खाद-पानी मिलता रहा तो आज नहीं तो कल यह अंकुरित होगा। सवाल है, राजनीतिक और सामाजिक स्तर पर नफरत के इस बीज को अंकुरित होने से महागठबंधन कैसे रोकता है? यह न सिर्फ बिहार के लिए बल्कि पूरे देश के लिए अहम है। जैसे इस चुनाव के नतीजे अहम साबित होंगे.’

चुनाव में उठे मुद्दों ने माहौल को डरावना बनाया था। इसीलिए जीत के बाद एक अहम सवाल था कि क्या बिहार में डर की राजनीति पर अब विराम लगेगा? ध्यान रहे यह बात लगभग सवा दो साल पहले की है।

बेखौफ लहराता नफरत की बेल

मगर नई सरकार को सामाजिक तानेबाने की चदरिया को मुकम्मल रखने के लिए जितना तवज्जो देना चाहिए था, उतना उसने नहीं दिया। बीज को खाद पानी मिलता रहा और वह फलता फूलता रहा। नफरती बोल, नफरती जुलूस, नफरती काम चलते रहे।
और महागठबंधन टूटने के बाद तो वह बेलगाम हो गया। इतनी तेज़ी से यह नफरती बेल लहराता चला गया कि अब उसे थामना मुश्कि‍ल हो रहा है।हालांकि, महागठबंधन टूटने के बाद से ही नफरत के साए के गहराने की आशंका होने लगी थी। मगर वह आशंका इतनी जल्दी, इतने भयावह रूप में परवान चढ़ेगी, यही सबसे खौफनाक और परेशानकुन बात है। ऐसा नहीं था कि नफरत पहले नहीं फैलाई जा रही थी, मगर तब प्रशासन भी तेज़ी से कार्रवाई करता दिख जाता था।

बिहारी समाज को तहस-नहस करने की कोशि‍श

अब नफरत फैलाने वाले और उसकी फसल काटने वाले बेखौफ हैं। ये नफरत और हिंसा, बिहारी समाज को गहरा घाव देने वाला है। सड़कों पर उतरे लोगों के तेवर देखि‍ए, उस तेवर में नफरत की ताप देखि‍ए, उनकी चाल, उनके हाथ से उठते तलवार, हॉकी स्ट‍िक और मुंह से निकलते उद्घोष इसकी तस्दीक कर रहे हैं। ये सब आमजन को खौफज़दा करने वाले और उकसाने वाले हैं। ये पूरे समाज को हिंसक बनाने की कोशि‍श है, यह घरों, मुहल्लों, इलाकों, बाज़ारों, दोस्ती, मेलजोल को बांट कर अपनी बेलों को और ताकत देगा।

बहुतों को यह बात बहुत ज़्यादा लग सकती है। आज़ादी के बाद शायद यह पहली बार हो रहा होगा, जब कुछ महीनों के अंदर बिहार में एक साथ कई जगह पर साम्प्रदायिक तनाव/ हिंसा लगातार हो रही है। इन लाइनों को लिखते हुए कभी नालंदा में भगदड़ तो कभी मुंगेर में दुकान बंद कर भागते लोगों की खबर आ रही है। तो नवादा में हनुमान जी की मूर्ति के खंडित होने और उसका बदला लेने उतरे लोगों की तस्वीर दिख रही है।

नफरत के इस दौर ने भागलपुर, औरंगाबाद, रोसड़ा, मुंगेर, नालंदा, सिवान, नवादा, गया, शेखपुरा को अपने आगोश में लिया है. कहीं दो पक्ष आमने-सामने आएं, कहीं पथराव, तो कहीं आगजनी, कहीं गोली चली। मगर हर जगह अब ‘स्थि‍ति नियंत्रण में लेकिन तनावपूर्ण’ है।

बेबस नीतीश और गायब शासन का इकबाल

मौजूदा साम्प्रदायि‍क तनाव की बुनियाद इस महीने हुए लोकसभा और विधानसभा उपचुनाव के नतीजे के साथ ही बनने लगी थी। अररिया में राष्ट्रीय जनता दल की जीत के बाद लगातार ऐसे बयान आए, जो अररिया और वहां की जनता के बारे में नफरती छवि बनाने वाले हैं। नफरत के नाम पर लोगों को एक-दूसरे के खि‍लाफ खड़ा करने वाले हैं। फिर एक वीडियो आया, पाकिस्तान आया, देश को टुकड़े करने का कहीं से नारा आया, फिर इस नफरती छवि को धारदार बनाने की कोशि‍श हुई। अभी यह सब ठंडा ही हो रहा था कि भागलपुर में एक जुलूस निकला, कहा गया कि यह ‘भारतीय नव वर्ष’ का जुलूस है। मगर इस जुलूस ने भारत के वासियों को जोड़ा नहीं। हंगामा और तोड़फोड़ हुई, फिर रामनवमी की तैयारी, रामनवमी का जुलूस और राम के नाम की आड़ में डराने, धमकाने और बांटने की कोशि‍श हुई। कोशि‍श कामयाब हुई, क्यों, क्योंकि बिहारी प्रशासनिक निजाम को जैसी मुस्तैदी बरतनी चाहिए थी, उसने बरती नहीं। उसे ऐसी नफरत, हिंसा या हंगामे की आशंका नहीं थी, यह कहना और मानना बहुत ही मुश्किल है। खासतौर पर जब उसके पास पिछले दो सालों के नमूने हों।

बिहार के सुशासन के प्रतीक के रूप में अपनी पहचान बनाने वाले मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार इस बार पूरी तरह बेबस दिख रहे हैं। वरना कोई वजह नहीं थी कि नफरत की बेल एक ज़िले से दूसरे ज़िले में फैलती रहे और पता न चले। सरकार कुछ असरदार कदम न उठा सके।

जिसका फायदा, वही तो नफरत की फसल बोएगा

पड़ोसी राज्य बंगाल में भी जो हो रहा है, वह कम खतरनाक नहीं है। इन दोनों राज्यों की पहचान नफरती/साम्प्रदायिक हिंसा वाले राज्यों के रूप में नहीं रही है। अब नफरत फैलाने वाले, नफरत की फसल बोने और काटने वालों की फेहरिस्त में अपना नाम चढ़वाने के लिए अब यह भी बाकियों से टक्कर लेंगे। ज़ाहिर है, इस फसल का फायदा किसी न किसी समूह, गुट, व्यक्त‍ि या व्यक्त‍ियों के समूह या विचार को मिल ही रहा होगा। तब ही तो यह फैल रहा है और फैलाया जा रहा है, है न?

कैसा अनोखा सुशासन है? कैसा जबरदस्त विकास है? है न?

फीचर्ड फोटो- Youtube Screenshot

नासिरूद्दीन पत्रकार हैं, झूठ, नफरत और हिंसा के खि‍लाफ लगातार लिख और काम कर रहे हैं।)

The post बिहार नफरत के आगोश में है और कौन हैं जो चैन से बंसी बजा रहे हैं? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Juggernaut is proud to announce an association with Youth Ki Awaaz for exclusive digital originals. Ranging across different important issues – from examining different aspects of gender sensitivity, to creating a serious conversation around depression and mental health, even an investigation into the seedy underbelly of Bollywood— these books change the perspective of traditional news reporting and bring you stories and essays by young people across India about the issues that matter to them.

Youth Ki Awaaz represents young India’s voice on critical issues shaping our world. A platform built for and by the people, Youth Ki Awaaz democratizes the media by putting the reader at the center of it. “Young India represents a diverse demographic dividend, but their voices often go under-represented. The Youth Ki Awaaz books represent authentic citizen narratives on issues that are often ignored by our society – told directly by young people from across India. We are really excited about this collaboration with Juggernaut to take these stories to hundreds of thousands of people through their powerful network.” said Anshul Tewari, Founder, and Editor-in-Chief at Youth Ki Awaaz.

Juggernaut publisher, Chiki Sarkar said, “The Youth Ki Awaaz archive is a unique space that allows young India to express themselves on issues that affect them, and Juggernaut is very excited about this partnership to curate digital, short, essential books”.

The Youth Ki Awaaz digital books will be launched on the 31st of March 2018. What the Media Won’t Tell You is the first of this series.

The post Announcement: Juggernaut Partners With Youth Ki Awaaz For Digital Books appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

It’s convenient to say that young people matter. It’s a lot more difficult to make them matter.

When I started Youth Ki Awaaz, sitting in my room with a dial-up connection 10 years ago, I had only one, simple thought in my mind. Kuch karna hai (I want to do something). Young people aren’t new to being told that their voices matter and that they’re the future of our world. But they’re also not new to the reality that when they actually speak up, they’re asked to shut up.

At 17, the world looked different. It seemed possible that things can change, and that a platform for young people to be the forerunners can be created – and that’s what started the YKA journey. With the first-ever members of the YKA community, Umashankar Sahu – a user from Orissa who started writing, and Parul Sabherwal, my classmate who volunteered to edit the articles to today – when more than 100,000 people have used YKA to speak up, a lot has changed.

And while 10 years is a lot, there’s a lot more that needs to be done. In simple words, 10 years on, the dominant traditional media system – the main source of information for a majority of our country is levitating more towards those in positions of power and has stopped serving ordinary citizens. In other words, power and money have come to dictate how citizen voices are portrayed and relayed to millions of people. We’re flooded with stories left, right and centre, but it’s become increasingly difficult to find authentic narratives that have the power to bring systemic change around us.

What running Youth Ki Awaaz has taught us is that powerful, diverse stories and narratives can change the world – but only if you create a space for them. For far too long and even now, the media has fluttered around top-down structures and addressed young people only as an afterthought. So when teenagers get out on the streets to protest, they’re stunned and find ways to silence them.

Yes, of course, there are enough pioneering journalists and editors out there trying to do good work – but the system is broken.
The easy answer to why I spent 10 years building Youth Ki Awaaz is because, in times of adversity, the YKA community gave me and the entire YKA team the strength to believe that doing this was extremely important. The not so easy answer is because the culture of silence needs to be broken a lot more – and young people are bound to lead this change.

The YKA community, every day, makes us believe that nothing is impossible! Every single voice has brought us closer to our mission of making sure that everyone has an equal shot at speaking up and making their voice count. And it is this community that has made YKA one of the boldest, fearless, progressive voices on the Indian internet. And that’s why we’re excited and on for the next 10!

The last 10 years have built an important foundation for YKA, and for the next phase of our journey, we want to work with you. Let’s take back control of our narrative and how we get to tell it. Let’s not let grammar come in the way of communication, and let’s demand a better, more open media by speaking up when it matters the most. Today.

The post Why I Spent 10 Years Building Youth Ki Awaaz, The Largest Platform For Youth Opinion In India appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

I am a student of class 10, studying at St. Paul’s School, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Through this letter, I want to raise some questions about the functioning and working of the CBSE.

This time, I was about to appear in the board exams for the first time – and so, there was tremendous pressure on me to score well. With all my strength, I studied till 3 AM for the first exam, English. When I was giving the paper, I found it easy except for two questions in the ‘unseen passage’ section. I wasted at least 15 minutes on these questions, ending up with less time for answering other questions. Still, I couldn’t find a suitable answer. I thought I had directly lost two marks on these questions. With a sad heart, I came home only to be scolded by my parents.

After some time, I came to know that the question itself was wrong and misguiding. I was very upset because if I hadn’t wasted so much time on the question, I could have definitely answered other questions from the ‘writing and literature’ part better. So, my first question to CBSE is – you are a committee of the nation’s most intelligent minds operating at a central level, but can’t you even make one question paper correctly?

I’ll now move on to the next subject, which was Science. Again, it was found out that the paper contained a wrong, 3-marks question again! What’s going on? Making so many errors repeatedly? Even we students don’t repeat our mistakes! Is the whole committee sleeping? Can’t our country’s board of education make the questions more seriously?

The last exam was the Maths paper. After the paper, my friends were talking on a WhatsApp group that the paper had actually been leaked. I thought that it was merely fake news, as I refused to believe that a CBSE question paper could be leaked. Before the exam, I had studied through the whole night. On the day of exam, I answered all the questions correctly except one. So I was confident that I would score above 77. But I came to knew that paper had actually been leaked. I was heartbroken.

Dear CBSE – later, I found out that you will be re-conducting the exam. I feel humiliated – why do the students have to pay for your mistakes? But still, I was relieved that at least, due justice would be served. But after 2-3 days, I am now hearing the news that the Maths paper will be re-conducted only in Delhi and Haryana. Why only in these two places, when the paper was probably leaked in Rajasthan and other states too? Why are the students from the other states facing injustice!? And how can you play so easily with the lives of students? Don’t you know that our future depends on your actions?

Don’t you have a sense of responsibility?

A Student Of Class 10

The post A Class 10 Student’s Letter To CBSE: Why Should We Suffer For Your Mistakes? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

As a student of the Zakir Husain Delhi College, I have had a front-row view of the protests against the government’s new policy of financing central universities, which are being carried out by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) and the students.

These protests have been going on for a few weeks now, with active participation from both the teachers and the students of my college. I too decided to join, to support the movement and the cause. At times, I would come back from college quite early since classes got cancelled after 11 AM, and later get to know from my fellow students about how the day’s protest proceeded. I would learn about how they protested in the sun for hours – and this happened several times over the past month. But what would amuse me the most was how, when I mentioned these things to students from ‘prominent’ colleges, I would get a blatant response about how their colleges are not affected by any such protests. That their teachers are extremely serious about their classes, and how they are not as lucky as students like me who get such frequent ‘holidays’.

Fast forward a week and my Instagram feed was flooded with posts describing why it was important to participate in the protest of March 28, while also encouraging students to boycott classes. Naturally, I was excited to see that now, students from even the so-called ‘prominent’ colleges were actively talking about taking part in the protest and the movement itself. As a student who had been talking about this issue and the problems that might come up with this new policy, I felt enthralled to see more people now taking part in it.

But as some time passed and I saw even more people posting about the protest, I could not help but wonder – how did this sudden surge in interest come about? How is it that the same people, who talked about how their colleges are immune to such protests, are now taking very strong and vehement stands against this policy? That’s when I decided to find out how these posts started.

The post was originally written by a well-known student from a highly reputed college in the north campus of Delhi University. It was confirmed that the said student is popular on social media. I could not help but wonder – was it because the student belonged to a particular college, besides being popular on social media, that people finally decided to pay attention?

I am not against the student who wrote about the protest, nor am I against more people taking part in the protest and posting about it. What worries me is how the nature of the protest has changed. The more I talked to people, the more I found out how less or ill-informed they were about the issue at hand.

While it is true that DUTA is bringing out bulletins regarding the protest, we must remember that the people in DUTA have political affiliations too. Depending on their word is not enough. We talk about how it is the students who will be most affected, but do we know how? Do we know why the fees may go up? Do we know what the policy says in detail?

If we are the prime targets of this policy, then it is important that we should know what the policy is all about. Students have been talking about how the fees might rise astronomically to ₹1 lakh, or (even ₹5-6 lakhs) if this policy of autonomy is implemented. But who gave out this estimate? What is the calculation behind this estimate? Why will our fees suddenly multiply by a manifold because of this policy? And most importantly, why haven’t we discussed these figures and instead, blatantly accepted this Trump-esque behaviour?

It is of immense importance for us to know that DUTA has its own agenda too. There might be a reason why they are choosing to focus on our fees going up to lakhs, instead of talking about the other points which have been mentioned in the notification.

For example, the notification put forward by the University Grants Commission (UGC) states that there shall be a 20% reservation for foreign faculty and an attractive incentive structure to attract talented faculty members. How is that beneficial for the students? It will lead to a decrease in the number of highly qualified professionals who decide to work in private universities because they are provided with better research facilities and are paid much more compared to the central universities. This means that professionals who have had their education abroad and who are highly qualified will be more willing to apply to central universities. By doing so, the job security of the current faculty members does come into question. But never once has this been brought up even though it might be highly beneficial for the students.

The notification also says that the given autonomy will help the central universities break free from the shackles of getting permission from the UGC with regards to starting open and distance learning centres, hiring foreign faculty, engaging in academic collaborations with foreign institutions, etc.

The reason why most of the students decided to take part in this protest was because of the terror of our fees going up to lakhs that was instilled in us. The point that I am trying to make is that since our main issue has been that our fees might go up to lakhs, we must at the least understand why and how this might happen. In order to defend our stand of affordable higher education, we need to know what we are up against. But the sensationalisation of the march took away the attention from the crux of the issue and transformed it into a social media event. And that is why I decided to boycott the march on the March 28.

The truth about the protest on the 28th is that it became a vogue event, it became a fad. It became the place to be, because it was the ‘in’ thing to do. And the reason I say so is because of how quickly people changed their opinion about these protests after it was shared by people who belong to the established upper strata of social media.

As people started posting videos and images from the protest on the 28th, I started to realise how the march had changed from a march against anti-education and anti-student laws to a march where people were carrying placards which did not have any relation to the issue at hand (“Even Hogwarts was not privatised” – I get the humor but question the relevance!) and where people went for pictures to add to their ‘feed’. But, why do I say that? Because even though this was not the first sit-out or march or mass protest for this cause and against this issue, this was the first time social media was flooded with such posts. The posts showcased ‘innovative’ placards and pictures of people with their friends screaming at the top of their voices.

But then again, why do I feel that this was wrong? Why did I decide to write an article about it? I am doing so because I feel this march became another example of how certain sections of the society actually took away the spotlight from the people who will actually be most affected.

It moved away from the actual cause of being a movement for change to something which might now become a one-time event. And in a world where people already talk about how the younger generation does not have enough depth or knowledge about the issues at hand, about how the privileged people are overthrowing others, this march may have become another example of it. And that is something we should all pay attention to. Otherwise, this movement will soon succumb to the 21st-century adversity of getting lost on the internet.

Details regarding the facts stated about the notification passed by the UGC are from Ministry of HRD (UGC) notification dated February 12, 2018- “UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION [CATEGORISATION OF UNIVERSITIES (ONLY) FOR GRANT OF GRADED AUTONOMY] REGULATIONS, 2018”.

I have decided to keep my name anonymous for the moment due to certain personal reasons and have hence published this article under a pen name.

The post Ignorance About Order, Marching For ‘Likes’: Why I Decided To Boycott The DUTA Protest appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

एडिटर्स नोट– सुप्रीम कोर्ट के द्वारा 20 मार्च को SC-ST एक्ट में बदलाव के आदेश के रिव्यू में हो रही देरी की वजह से आज देश भर में दलित हक की लड़ाई करने वाले समूहों द्वारा भारत बंद का एलान किया गया था। दलित समुदाय का आरोप है कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट का यह आदेश SC-ST एक्ट को कमज़ोर करने के लिए दिया गया है। यह रिपोर्ट पब्लिश होने तक मध्यप्रदेश से 4 प्रदर्शनकारियों की मौत की खबर आ चुकी है। यह स्टोरी राजस्थान के बाड़मेर में प्रदर्शनाकिरयों पर हमले कीआंखो देखी है।

मैं सुबह घर से निकलकर तकरीबन दोपहर 11:30 बजे बाड़मेर पहुंच रहा था कि सामने से करीब 200-250 लोग भागते आते दिखाई दिए। यह कहते हुए सुना जा रहा था कि “भागो, लाठियां मार रहे हैं”।

यह सुन मेरे साथ के सभी लोग वापस भागने लगे लेकिन मैं अकेला ही आगे बढ़ने लगा, पहचान छुपाकर। थोड़ा सा आगे चलकर देखा कि 40-50 सवर्ण हुड़दंगी हाथ में लाठियां और पत्थर लेकर उनको भगा रहे हैं, जातिसूचक गलियों के साथ। ये लोग ठाकुर समाज की “करणी सेना” के  लग रहे थे, वही समाज जिसने कुछ दिन पहले “पद्मावती” को “पद्मावत” बनाने के लिए देश जलाया था। उन लोगों के करणी सेना से होने की गवाही इससे मिल रही थी कि वो ‘करणी सेना की जय’ के नारे लगा रहे थे। सुबह से कुछ सोशल मीडिया पोस्ट्स से भी पता चलता है कि वो करणी सेना के ही थे (उपद्रवियों के पहचान की और पुख्ता जानकारी मिलने पर स्टोरी अपडेट की जाएगी) ।

उन्होंने मुझ पर शक न करते हुए जाने दिया लेकिन वहां खड़ी sc/st लोगों की सभी गाड़ियों के शीशे तोड़ दिए, कई लोगों की जमकर पिटाई की गई। मेरे आसपास काफी पत्थर पड़े, साथ चल रहे युवक को बेरहमी से मारा गया। बचते बचाते निकलकर पुलिस प्रशासन से बात की तो कोई संतोषजनक जवाब नही मिला। फिर मुख्य बाज़ार तक पहुंचा तो देखा कि वहां आंसू गैस के गोले छोड़े जा रहे थे और फिर हवाई फायरिंग।

स्थिति बेकाबू होती देखकर मैंने एक सुरक्षित जगह ढूंढकर लोगों से बात की इस स्थिति से निपटने की प्लानिंग को लेकर। बातचीत में पता चला कि सुबह 8 बजे sc/st समाज के कुछ लोग इकट्ठा हुए फिर वहां से अनुशाषित तरीके से रैली निकलते हुए चौहटन चौराहे पहुंचे थे कि वहां लाठियां और पत्थर लेकर तैयार खड़े “करणी सेना” के लोगों ने आतंक फैला दिया। वहीं से स्थिति बेकाबू होनी शुरू हो गयी।

आंदोलन कर रहे लोगों को पुलिस ने वापस शहर की तरफ भगा दिया लेकिन “करणी सेना” के हुड़दंगियों को दूसरी तरफ शहर के द्वार पे खड़ा कर दिया जहां से वो आने वाले लोगों को खदेड़कर भगा रहे थे।

सूचना देने के बाद भी पुलिस “करणी सेना” के साथ मिलकर काम करती रही। जिसका नतीजा यह निकला कि उन्होंने कुछ और लोगों की पिटाई की, सैंकड़ों गाड़ियों के शीशे तोडे गए, पास ही अम्बेडकर होस्टल के अंदर और बाहर खड़ी 4-5 गाड़ियों को आग के हवाले कर दिया। ये सभी वहां sc/st के लोगों के थे।

प्रशासन से फिर से प्रतिनिधि मंडल मिला सुरक्षा को लेकर लेकिन प्रशासन अपने अड़ियल रवैये पर बना रहा। आंदोलनकारी शहर के अंदर है जहां आंसू गैस के गोले छोड़े जा रहे हैं, लाठीचार्ज हो रहा है, हवाई फायरिंग हो रही है लेकिन वहां एक भी गाड़ी का न शीशा टूटा न कोई गाड़ी जली जबकि शहर के द्वार पर खड़े आतंकी इतनी देर शीशे तोड़ रहे थे, अभी आग हवाले करनी शुरू कर दी है।

शहर के अंदर तकरीबन 50 हजार लोग फंसे हुए हैं और प्रशासन की लापरवाही से स्थिति और भी बद्तर हो सकती है।
मानवाधिकार संगठनों, अन्य न्यायप्रिय लोगों, समाज के MP/MLA से अपील की जाती है कि उच्च स्तर पर दखल की मांग की जाय।

फोटो और वीडियो- लेखक

नोट- घटना को लेकर YKA ने स्थानीय SP से बात करने की कोशिश की लेकिन मौका-ए-वारदात पर होने की वजह से वो हमें ज़्यादा जानकारी नहीं दे सकें, अपडेट मिलने पर स्टोरी में जोड़ा जाएगा।

The post भारत बंद के दौरान दलित प्रदर्शनकारियों पर कथित तौर पर करणी सेना का आतंक appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Editor’s Note: Dalit rights groups are protesting across the country today over the delay in a review of a March 20 order of the Supreme Court. The order was criticised for diluting the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Until the time of publishing this report, 4 persons protesting against the order were reported killed from Madhya Pradesh. The following story is an eyewitness account of the attack on protesters from Barmer, Rajasthan.

Just as I was about to reach Barmer, after having left home in the morning, at around 11:30 am, I saw around 200 to 250 people running towards me. “Run! They are beating people with sticks,” I heard.

Everybody around me started running away after hearing this, but I alone kept walking ahead, trying to hide my identity. After having walked a little, I saw around 40 to 50 Savarna miscreants, with sticks and stones in their hands, threatening people to leave and hurling casteist abuses. These people appeared to be of the Karni Sena from the Thakur community, the same community that burnt the country some time ago to turn ‘Padmavati’ into ‘Padmaavat’. We heard the slogan ‘Karni Sena Ki Jai’. Social media posts that I have seen since the morning and protesters I spoke to also suggest the group is involved. (The story will be updated with any further confirmations of their identity).

They let me go without suspecting anything, but they broke vandalised all vehicles of the SC/ST people there, and also thrashed a number of people. A lot of stones fell near me. A youth walking beside me was beaten up mercilessly. When I scrambled out of the place and spoke to the police administration, I didn’t get any satisfactory answers. When I reached the main bazaar, I saw tea-gas shelling and aerial firing.

When I saw the situation get out of hand, I found a secure place, and spoke to people about planning to fight it. In the conversation, I learnt that around 8 am, people from the SC/ST community had gathered and from thereon rallied in discipline to the Chohtan Chauraha, where people from the Karni Sena, ready with sticks and stones, terrorised them. The situation started getting out of hand from there.

The police sent the protesters towards the city, but stationed the ‘Karni Sena’ miscreants at the gate of the city towards the other side, where they were forcing anybody arriving to leave.

Even after being informed, the police kept working with the ‘Karni Sena’. This resulted in some more people getting beaten up, hundreds of vehicles being vandalised. The 4-5 vehicles in the Ambedkar hostel nearby were also burnt. All these vehicles belonged to SC/ST people.

There are about 50,000 people trapped in the city and the situation can get worse with any lapses by the administration. I appeal to human rights organisations, justice-seeking individuals, and the community’s MPs and MLAs to demand an intervention at the highest level.

Note: YKA tried speaking to the local SP, but he didn’t comment as he was at the site of protests. The story will be updated with his comments later.

The post was first published here on YKA. This is a translation of the original post.

Photo and video provided by author.

The post I Saw ‘Karni Sena’ Attacking Peaceful Dalit Protesters During Bharat Bandh appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

On March 20, 2018, the Supreme Court passed an order which was aimed at ending the alleged ‘misuse’ of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In its order, the Court said that a public servant can now only be arrested under the provision of the Act, if the authority which was responsible for appointing them, approves of it. And in case the person who is an accused is not a public servant, their arrest can only be made after the superintendent of police of the district provides permission.

The SC also said that it would now be possible to grant anticipatory bail to the accused if the case is discovered to be ‘mala fide’ or there is no prima facie case.

This order is seen by many as a ‘dilution’ of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

After this order was passed there was a huge public outcry from various quarters. The order of the Supreme Court was criticised by intellectuals and politicians alike for ‘diluting’ the Act concerned.

In protest against the order by the Supreme Court, Dalit groups called for an all-India bandh to be observed on April 2. The impact of the bandh was felt nationwide, with the intensity of the violence and number of fatalities different in various states

In Punjab the state government decided to suspend all public transport services for that day, anticipating violence. Mobile internet services were unavailable and schools were closed. The protests turned violent in some states and resulted in the deaths of nine people, seven of whom were Dalits. One died in Rajasthan, two in Uttar Pradesh and six in Madhya Pradesh. Clashes were reported between police personnel and protesters in Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

What Is The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act?

The act was first passed in the year 1989 by the Rajiv Gandhi government and was amended in 2015 and is now called the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

When the Act first came into effect in 1989, it was stated in its Statement of Objects and Reasons: “Despite various measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, they remain vulnerable. They are denied a number of civil rights. They are subjected to various offences, indignities, humiliations and harassment… A special legislation to check and deter crimes against them committed by the non-scheduled Castes and non-scheduled tribes has, therefore, become necessary.”

How The Bench Justified Its Decision To ‘Dilute’ The Act

While passing the order the bench observed, “It is necessary to express concern that working of the Atrocities Act should not result in perpetuating casteism which can have an adverse impact on integration of the society and the constitutional values.”

The bench of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that the guidelines have been issued since the Act has been wrongfully misused to ‘blackmail’ people for vested interests.

But What Do Statistics Say?

Low Conviction Rates

From 2007 to 2016, the average conviction rates of crimes against SCs is 28.8 and against STs is 25.2 While the average conviction rates for all crimes under the Indian Penal Code is 42.5.

In 2016, the conviction rate of cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes is 25.7, while for crimes against STs it is 20.8.

Response Of The Political Parties

The Narendra Modi government submitted a review petition in the Supreme Court on Monday. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Surely senior lawyers of the government in the apex court will argue this matter with all their legal preparations and authority that this judgment needs to be reconsidered.” Today, the SC agreed to reconsider the order it had passed last month regarding the Act after 10 days.

Across the political spectrum, disagreements of the political parties with the SC’s order was made public.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had tweeted:

The SC/ST Act is the most important instrument to prevent atrocities on Dalits/Adivasis.

A complicit Modi Govt failed to defend it in the Supreme Court.

The PM must not abdicate his duty in favour of the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP/RSS.https://t.co/ytQPCNJLkv

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 21, 2018

Political parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), among others, did not agree with the Supreme Court order.

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Image source: Sakib Ali/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images

The post Here’s Why Dalits Were Out On The Streets Protesting Against The ‘Dilution’ Of SC/ST Act appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Clothes are our chosen skin and fashion is a kind of language – both tell the world what we want it to know about us. Considering the destruction the fashion industry is causing, we have to be mindful of every single piece of clothing we buy and wear because it has a human cost to it.

April 2013

A building in Dhaka, Bangladesh known as Rana Plaza, housing five garment factories, collapses due to structural failure. The disaster kills 1,135 people. The world wakes up to the disturbing reality of the fast fashion industry- unsafe working conditions, low wages, inhumane treatment. People realise the clothes they are wearing have a human cost.

October 2013

An individual disturbed by the Rana Plaza tragedy, yet with no knowledge of the fashion industry, decides to travel the world with his team and document what the true cost of fast fashion is. Andrew Morgan and team travelled to 25 cities in 13 countries to provide the world a perspective it may not have had before. “The True Cost”, which premiered at Cannes in 2015, started as an idea on Kickstarter and turned into a revolution.

The documentary takes the viewer on an eye-opening journey, showing a reality nobody thought existed. Through interviews with garment factory workers, farmers, garment factory owners, subject experts and activists, Morgan unapologetically exposes just what is wrong with the billion dollar fashion industry.

One gets to hear stories of collateral damage and victims of the fashion industry, like the one of Shima Akhter from Bangladesh, who works in a garment factory in Dhaka and was present during the Rana Plaza tragedy. His unabashed determination to uncover and show the world what the industry is hiding is unmistakable as he is rejected for interviews by every major clothing brand he contacted. Right from the lethal environmental impact of the second largest polluting industry in the world to the monumental role of the media in perpetuating the need for new clothes- what you see makes you think and rethink your own wardrobe.

Apart from the economic and socio-cultural effects, you will also learn about the medical and health damage that the fashion industry brings about. It also shows us a mirror to our consumerist habits, to which we rarely give a second thought. Spoiler alert – look out for the clips of the massive Black Friday sales across the world – they are just as shocking as they are hilarious!

For me, the most appealing trait of this documentary was the somewhat rogue approach to the art of documentary making. Although it is evident that there was a tremendous amount of research involved, WHAT people had to say and what he wanted to show clearly got more importance than HOW it was put across. Along with the interviews with people and the footage depicting the extent of destruction, he also uses footage from protests, news, conferences, fashion shows, advertisements and other documentaries to support his research. With Andrew himself narrating the entire film, it is refreshing to get an insight into what goes through the mind of this filmmaker whilst undertaking this brave adventure.

You may think this documentary is all about problems, and it may get quite disturbing in some parts, but it really isn’t- it also shows how some people are doing things right. The interviews with the sustainable fashion advocates will turn your views on fashion upside down. However, it doesn’t quite explain very clearly what someone can do on an individual level to bring about change in this situation, apart from buying from sustainable fashion brands. In reality, the solution isn’t so straightforward.

“The True Cost” is a testament to the fact that sometimes all one needs to bring about change in the world is to ask questions and document the answers.

Fun fact – Andrew refused funding from any corporation, non-governmental organisations and foundations so that the project would remain autonomous. This may not be the most aesthetically and visually pleasing documentary you’ll see, but it is definitely powerful enough to make you rethink your everyday choices.

The post Powerful Documentary Exposes The Shocking, True Cost Of Your Fashion Choices appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

“Ek badan, do ball, ek kamar, ek choot, ek gaand. Aur kya kahegi ek raand?” (One body, two testicles, one waist, one vagina, one ass. What else will a whore say?), says a woman looking into the camera. This is how the bold trailer of Samit Kakkad’s upcoming adult drama begins. Inspired by the writings of Saadat Hasan Manto, “Ascharya Fuck It” is an upcoming film based in the modern city of Mumbai.

The names of characters like Kanta (sex worker) and Khushiya (pimp) have been taken from Manto’s stories itself. Kakkad made his debut in 2012 with the Marathi film “Aayna Ka Bayna”. His second feature film “Half-Ticket” (2016), also in the Marathi language, received critical success and was shown at various international film festivals. This is Kakkad’s first Hindi-language film.

YKA caught up with him in an interview, where he talks about the not so conventional title, cinema in the age of Netflix, self-censorship, about choosing to make a film where the important characters are pimps, sex workers, etc. and more.

Sourodipto Sanyal (SS): Why did you choose the name “Ascharya Fuck It” for the movie? People don’t use explicit words in titles, usually. 

Samit Kakkad (SK): I don’t think it is explicit because people use that word in normal life. You know, my maid, sometimes when she makes a mistake, she says, “Oh fuck.”… So, it is a normal bloody thing of life today ya. And we don’t want to be hypocrites and say, “Oh, I am not going to use that word.” It is there. It is there in normal life.

Every day, you do it, I do it, my father does it, my mother does it, my girlfriend does it, my friends do it, my brother does it, my niece does it, my sister does it. So ab isse zyada kya ho sakta hai? You know, it’s a very normal thing. Everybody should now go beyond it. It’s a normal word which people use…

At the same time, while using that word, you are not insulting anybody or you are not trying to put down anybody. It is a normal way in which the youth talks. Every person, from the 10th standard. This is how the youth talks…

SS: Do You self-censor yourself?

SK: I will never self-censor myself. Because then, as a filmmaker, I will fail. I don’t want to do that. Why should I self-censor? There is a censor board for that. That’s not my job. My job is to make a film with utmost honesty and truth… What I am showing is the truth. I am not showing anything which is false. What I am trying to show in my films is 100% true. And for that truth, I can fight anybody. I can go up to any length and fight with any person in the world because this is a film which I want to make. This is the film I’ve made. This is the film I want people to watch. And I want them to watch the way it has been shot. Because the minute you start censoring yourself, your texture goes away, your tone goes away, the language goes away.

SS: The film has been inspired by the writings of Manto. At the beginning of the trailer, we can also read a quote by him. Can you tell me, what is it about his writings that inspired you so much that you decided to make a movie?

SK: His work was mostly about the interior thought of the characters. He sought to give characters that people really thought about.  Be it a prostitute, a pimp, or even a film actress. You know, there are layers to every character. There are many layers.

And you know Manto, you have read about Manto. He used to write about characters on the fringes of society. And he has captured their voice. That was the scene…

SS: Both your earlier films dealt with sensitive issues but centred largely around kids. What motivated you to venture into something so different?

SK: I think every filmmaker should do that. Try and make different kinds of films. And I was very lucky enough because I got this opportunity thanks to Yoodlee Films, which is Saregama. I think Yoodlee Films is a boon for filmmakers. They are the best thing that could happen to any filmmaker in this country. Because they believe in good content. They are not scared. They believe in fearless filmmaking and they have given us an absolutely open ground to shoot the way they want to. And they are not scared. They don’t question you.

I was called and spoke about the content of the film and they were so very cool about it. First of all, it is a little bit of shock because the company is also Saregama… But they were so very cool about the cinema they wanted to make. They are the most fearless people I have met in my life.

SS: You’ve chosen to make a film on pimps and sex workers. One of the main characters is a pimp, one of the main characters is a sex worker. They are considered to be the ‘underbelly’ of the society. And the lives they lead, the professions which they pursue are highly stigmatised. Why did you choose to make a film with such people as main characters?

SK: First of all, the biggest thing is that they are human beings. They are more honest than anybody in the world, according to me.

SS: Why do you think so?

SK: Because I have met them. And I feel they are very honest people. They are in this business because of some kind of chutiyapa which has happened in their lives, maybe. But they are at least honest at what they are doing. They are not trying to be hypocrites at all. And my film suits all of this because the plot is around them…

While location hunting, I met so many of them. I met prostitutes. I met pimps. And the way they talk. They are so very human. And they are normal people. I met them in the daytime. I met them in the evening and I met them at night. Because I was location scouting all over Bombay… I really find that they have something really really nice about them. But they are in the world they are…

And it absolutely suits my film.

SS: How has the emergence of Netflix changed cinema in India, both from the perspective of the filmmaker and also the audience?

SK: Oh, it has changed a lot. People can watch better films right now. That’s the biggest change. And so many different options available to you. With so many different languages available to you. So, you don’t have to waste your time going to a theatre and watching a bad film and paying through your nose. You can sit at home and watch a brilliant film which will make you very happy and make your day…

I was discussing with some college students. They are hooked to “GOT”, “Narcos”, “Breaking Bad”, “Good Vibes”. And they talk about it. This has never happened before. People used to never talk about films sitting on the college katta. People now talk, ‘ki next episode mein kya hone waala hai’. People wait for it. I think it is a great change. And everybody should subscribe to Netflix, Amazon and Hotstar. You know that is also a learning process for many students and filmmakers because you have an entire platform with so many thousands of films there. You don’t have to do piracy. You can watch the cinema that you want. Either learn something from it or if you don’t want to learn, you can at least enjoy. It’s a great feeling. I watch it, you watch it. Everybody is watching it.

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Image source: Wikimedia Commons/ YouTube snapshot

The post ‘Ascharya Fuck It’: Bringing Manto’s Bold Story On ‘Prostitutes And Pimps’ To Life appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Any mention of the word ‘farmer’ in today’s India brings up news of farmer suicides and debt and the farmers’ march. It provokes visuals of farmers toiling in the heat, working hard to provide us with the food and materials we eat and use daily.

While all of this IS true, it is incongruous with the harsh reality. Most of these visuals are associated stereotypically with farmers who are men. Women farmers are almost always vastly excluded from the narrative. They are not recognised as farmers (as the men are), even though 60% of agricultural workers are women. They don’t have the same access to resources as men do, and they don’t have the power of decision-making like the male farmers do.

Recently, I was presented with the opportunity to visit Osmanabad and Solapur to interview women farmers who are also entrepreneurial leaders in their communities. The two days I spent interviewing these inspiring women showed me more than anything else could, that patriarchy is spread across every single acre of this country; it has even penetrated our soil.

The women farmers I met are accomplished, successful visionaries who run their own businesses (yes, many of them!) They are the result of the work that has been done in training women farmers in entrepreneurship and encouraging them to create more women leaders like themselves. However, not all women farmers have access to an empowerment programme like these women did.

From what I learned during my brief visit, it seems like women farm because they are born into and/or married into a family of farmers. They are the ones who wake up early and manage the housework, make sure the children are off to school on time and then spend the day working on the fields, only coming back to more household duties. This is a ubiquitous scenario in most farming households in the country. They play an indispensable role in agriculture – right from production and pre-harvesting to packaging and marketing. Their income, however, doesn’t do justice to their effort.

According to Kavitha Kuruganti of the Alliance of Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), women farmers earn only 50-75% of what the male farmers earn.

It seems like everyone working in the sector is aware of this disparity and inequality, yet there isn’t much done to ameliorate the situation. Archana, one of the women farmers I met, says, “In India, 80% of the farming work is done by women. All the lowly work is given to women and all the transactions, finances and marketing is handled by men. Women farmers are rarely encouraged to pursue something they want to, because the men are afraid of the women achieving more than them; they think if she gets more power, she won’t listen to the men anymore. In India, patriarchy is the dominant way of society, but women farmers are slowly stepping out of their homes and creating an identity for themselves. There will come a day when the women will lead and that’s when real change will happen.”

Women are expected to partake in and contribute to the family’s agricultural business – that’s the norm. Venturing out and starting something on your own? Not so much the norm. Uma thinks it’s important to acknowledge the rights and dreams that the women farmers might have for themselves. “People say that women should take care of the kids, take care of the kitchen and work on the farm – those are her duties. What about her aspirations and ideas? Where will they find acknowledgement? Why can’t a woman earn for herself and establish her own income? Why is she obligated to partake in what the family is doing, even though her entrepreneurship might be more financially beneficial for the family?” she says.

The problem in agriculture isn’t just limited to recognition, income and freedom. It also extends to the issue of rights to ownership of land. The most irrational reality seems to be that, regardless of women doing a majority of the work when it comes to farming, the land is owned only by men. The ownership of the land is passed down to the men of the family; the women aren’t even considered. An alarming 87% of women do not own their land; only 12.7% of them do.

Bhagyashree elaborates, “If a man decides to buy another piece of land for farming, then the second one’s ownership may be transferred to the woman, but the primary land is always owned by men. A woman works on her husband’s land with all the energy and effort she has – it is only fair that the land should be in her name, at least partly.” Apart from patriarchy, even the law contributes to this injustice, as land is a state subject, and is not governed by the Constitution under a uniform law that applies equally to all citizens. It is governed by personal religious laws, which tend to discriminate against women when it comes to land inheritance, according to Women’s Earth Alliance.

Moreover, the male farmer population is increasingly abandoning their farms and migrating to the cities in search of jobs. Women farmers are, now more than ever, demanding individual rights to land to be able to finally legitimise their identity as farmers and protect themselves from abuse.

The government has apparently started taking steps towards mainstreaming women in the agricultural sector. How effective their plans are and how much of a difference they will make – only time will tell. Along with the government, it is every citizen’s responsibility to acknowledge women as farmers and discourage discrimination in the agricultural sector. After all, it’s the women who feed India.

The post The Real Reason Women Farmers Remain The ‘Invisible Force’ Driving Indian Agriculture appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

When students find a bold red message in Hindi painted across a classroom wall (saying “Reservation is our birthright”), a student aggressively demands the scrapping of reservation. That’s when actor Saif Ali Khan performs a brilliant take-down of this line of thought. While the antagonists – a young male student, and a teacher (Manoj Bajpai) – wax eloquent about how a merit-based system is needed, Khan lashes back by saying merit itself is a privilege, something that makes itself (un)available to you depending on which caste you are born in. And when the student challenges SC/ST/OBC students to compete with general category students, Khan wheels around with a fierce “Race ki starting line ek honi chahiye sabke liye.”

And we couldn’t agree more.

Whatever your views on the movie itself are, there’s no denying the power of this scene. It is the harsh, grating sound of a truth so many of us have chosen to ignore, made senseless by our caste privilege.

The video resurfaced on Facebook, as a post by Indian Atheists, and the timing could not be more important. Make the transition from reel to real, and realise that the fight for reservation, for opportunity, equality, and dignity, is still raging in India.

Remember the protests that broke out after Dalit youths were assaulting in Bhima-Koregaon? In the former case, many Mumbaikars looked on with utter contempt, wondering why Dalit activists and protesters didn’t take their “tamasha” elsewhere. Because centuries of oppression, abuse and violence can’t compare to a few traffic jams, right? The protests that broke out in New Delhi on April 2 – part of the larger call for a “Bharat Bandh” – were no different. And neither were people’s reactions, with many railing about the inconveniences caused to their commute, and daily routines. What this section of people in both Mumbai and Delhi fail to understand is the gravity of the situation that propelled these protests.

It was the Supreme Court’s changes to the provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, on March 20, that really launched the protests. Under the new guidelines, public servants will be arrested only after written permission from their appointing authority is granted! These changes were made to protect those who were falsely implicated under the act, however, Dalit activists and organisations say this tragically weakens the Act, and have raised their voices against this farce.

The debate going on at the national level now, and the argument between Saif Ali Khan’s character and the student in “Aarakshan” should really lead us all towards understanding and empathising with the lives of SC/ST/OBC Indians, rather than frame ourselves as victims.

The post Saif Ali Khan’s Scene From ‘Aarakshan’ Is The Lesson We All Need On Reservations appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Supreme Court of India, in its historic judgment delivered last year on August 22, had struck down the unilateral, discriminatory and antiquated practice of triple talaq. Internal voices among Muslims welcomed the SC move with women hailing the verdict as historic and progressive. The apex court had ruled that triple talaq was null and void as it defied gender justice and Constitutional morality. The Court had relied heavily on Quranic injunctions and drew parallels from Muslim countries that had already done away with this arbitrary method of divorce.

The new petitions in the Supreme Court against Nikah Halala, Nikah Mutaa, Nikah Misyar, and polygamy are, however, different from the previous batch of petitions in a number of ways. The apex court, in the abolition of triple talaq, had the extensive support of Muslim women, the ruling BJP, the ruling party patron RSS, non-Muslims, and liberals worldwide. The ruling had unnerved the defiant All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) which had allowed or rather, forced judicial intervention in a case which was intensely religious.

The Muslim Board disgraced Islam and Muslims in order to protect the sanctity of Hanafi Jurisprudence. The Board, will again, have a tough time in the court defending a demeaning practice, Halala. Halala is an arranged, temporary sham marriage which is carried out, when one believes that three talaqs delivered in one go are valid and will lead to the abrupt termination of the alliance, in order to make the divorcee wife lawful for her previous husband.

The Larger Picture

The Supreme Court, on March 26, referred a clutch of petitions, filed by individuals such as Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, advocate and BJP leader, seeking abolition of practices, prevalent in some sections of the Muslim society, such as Halala, Mutaa, Misyar and polygamy to a Constitution Bench.

Mr. Upadhyay challenged the provisions of Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, on the grounds of equality, justice, and dignity for women. He claimed that Halala and polygamy violated the fundamental rights of Muslim women which are enshrined in Article 14 (Right to Equality), Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on any ground) and Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution of India.

The Likely Face-off Between Various Sections Of Muslims And The Constitution Bench

The Supreme Court will face no formidable hurdles in resolving the fate of Halala. This is because of the following reasons: the need of intermediary marriage hinges on the validity of triple talaq in quick succession that has already been struck down by the court leading to an ostensible slump in the number of Halala cases; the growing awareness among Indian women against this malpractice where they are abused sexually and emotionally in the name of religion; there is no theological basis for this exploitative and obsolete practice and strict warnings of the Prophet against those who indulge in this practice. I will briefly provide few dictates of the Prophet which are enough to make one feel abhorrence for this practice: The Prophet stated, “Allaah has cursed the muhallil (the one who indulges in this disgraceful act) and the muhallal lahu (for whom this is performed).” The Prophet also proclaimed, “Shall I not tell you of a borrowed billy-goat (a man who’s paid for sex).” They said, yes. He said, “He is al-muhallil. May Allaah curse al-muhallil and al-muhallal lahu.” The Second Caliph Umar argued in favour of stoning to death the one who indulges in the commission of Halala.

Despite all these warnings and a near consensus of a majority of Muslim jurists on the abomination of this practice, the Hanafi School of Thought still considers it lawful. This clause will lead to a face-off between this School and the Constitution Bench.

Apart from Halala, the top court will have a similar confrontation with the Shia sect of Islam that views Mutaa as permissible and allows its practice even today. Nikah Mutaa involves a man who marries a woman for a specific length of time in return for a particular amount of money.

Mutaa was lawful in the early period of the Prophet Muhammad till he pronounced it unlawful during the battle of Khaibar in seventh Hijri or AD 629.  Ali told Ibn Abbas that during the battle of Khaibar the Prophet forbade Mutaa and the eating of donkey’s meat. Scholar Imam Nawwi argued that after Eighth Hijri, Mutaa was forbidden for forever. The majority of Muslim scholars have a consensus on its unlawfulness. Qazi Ayaz said that the whole Muslim community has reached on a consensus in declaring this marriage as unlawful except some sects of Shiite.

In the light of foregoing compelling arguments against Mutaa, the Shia sect of Islam will find it hard to justify it.

On the other hand, when the Supreme Court takes up the case of polygamy for constitutional scrutiny, it will not likely find an ally in any section of the Muslim community as the issue has legal sanctity in Islam.  The Verse (4:3) explicitly endorses the sanctity of polygamy though with certain riders such as maintaining absolute justice between two wives. The entire Muslim community has a consensus on the legality of the polygamy with no differing views. A tiny minority of Indian Muslim women who are feminists and view justice through the gender and constitutional prism may likely cheer the apex court if the latter outlaws it.

The likely challenges, the SC Bench will face in testing the polygamy, are as follow: the practice has Divine approval and no theological difference has ever been registered against it, Muslims are not the only community which is polygamous in India. A study conducted in 1974 revealed that the Muslims were found to be the least polygamous with the 5.7 polygamy rate when compared with other sections such as tribals with 15.2, Buddhists with 9.7, Jains with 6.7, and Hindus with 5.8 polygamy rate. There are very few Islamic countries which have sought to ban it such as Tunisia and Turkey. Majority of Muslim countries have, at best, tried to regulate or circumscribe the inimical effects of it falling short of flouting the Divine dictum which is explicit in the Quranic endorsement of the practice. The practice, however, does not form an essential part of Islam.

Nikah Misyar

This is a new notion alien to Indians and is practised by some Arab men. Misyar is a marriage of convenience in which a couple agrees on certain conditions such as a woman renounces some of the basic rights such as accommodation and maintenance which she is otherwise entitled under the marriage contract and the husband visits her once a week or visits her during the day or takes her on a business trip.

This marriage is often done with a woman who is financially independent and does not need a husband for her material needs. Some Muslim jurists argue that this sort of marriage is lawful and far better than having extra-marital affairs as Islam does not sanction sex outside marriage.

The Jurists who view Misyar as lawful are Shaykh Ibn Baaz and Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal al-Shaykh. They argue that if a marriage fulfils all the required conditions, such as consent of the couple, an announcement of the marriage, the presence of the guardian from the woman’s side and two witnesses and wedding feast known as waleema, then the marriage stands as legal and lawful. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen earlier recognized its validity but later retracted from his earlier position in view of its misuse. Shaykh al-Albaani, a prominent Islamic scholar, has, however, argued against it and disallowed it on two grounds: a husband, in this marriage, does not repose or stay with his wife and his unavailability will have an adverse impact on the upbringing of his children.

In view of the differing positions of Muslim scholars in the case of Misyar, the SC bench will be tested for its ability to navigate the different positions of Islamic scholars in the contentious practice known as Nikah Misyar.

India is a country driven by the judiciary with the Supreme Court being the last ray of hope. Given the respect the apex court enjoys in India, it will be an uphill task for the Bench to navigate between Constitutional rights of Muslim women and sentiments of the conservative Muslim clergy. In my view, the apex court will do better in staying away from Nikah Misyar and polygamy and striking down the Halala and Mutaa which have no basis in Islam and are outrightly discriminatory in nature.

The post The Challenges SC Will Face While Reviewing Petitions On Banning Polygamy And Halala appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

पिछले दिनों सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा SC/ST एक्ट में हुए संशोधन को लेकर दलित समुदाय का देशव्यापी आन्दोलन हुआ। हर तरफ इस मसले को लेकर चर्चाएं हुई। राजनैतिक फायदे का ख्याल रखते हुए हर राजनीतिक दल ने बहुत नाप तौल कर इस मुद्दे पर अपनी राय रखी, आखिर 2019 नज़दीक है और चुनाव के साल कोई भी खतरा मोल लेना नहीं चाहता। दुःख इस बात का है कि इसी राजनीतिक उठापटक के चलते दलित हित और विमर्श पीछे छूट गया और गंदी राजनीति ने आन्दोलन को कब्ज़े में ले लिया।

इसी के परिणामस्वरूप दलित आन्दोलन हिंसक हो गया और 1 दर्जन से ज़्यादा लोगों की मौत हो गई। इसी मुद्दे पर फिर एक सवाल को ज़िन्दा कर दिया जो वक्त – बेवक्त सामने आता रहता है। सवाल यह कि “क्यों भारत में आरक्षण आर्थिक आधार पर लागू नहीं किया जाता?” मैंने इस विषय में सोचा और कुछ जांच पड़ताल की। उसी के अनुभव पर यह लेख लिख रहा हूं। मुझे उम्मीद है आप समझ जाएंगे कि आज आरक्षण को आर्थिक आधार पर लागू करने में क्या दिक्कते हैं।

आइये सबसे पहले हम सिलसिलेवार तरीके से बातों को समझते हैं। भारत में इस समय आरक्षण का आधार जातिगत है। इसका मतलब यह है कि अगर आप एक विशेष जाति–जनजाति से आते हैं तो आपको सरकारी नौकरी, पढ़ाई और अन्य सुविधाओं में रियायत या सहूलियत मिलेगी इसकी वजह ये रही कि भारत में कई हज़ार सालों तक इन जातियों और जनजातियों पर अनेक किस्म के अत्याचार और शोषण किए गये जिस कारण ये मुख्यधारा से दूर दीन-हीन जीवन जीने को मजबूर होते रहे।

मगर उनकी दिक्कतें आज भी दूर नहीं हो सकी। राजनीति के चलते सियासी दलों ने उन्हें सिर्फ अपना वोट बैंक समझा और उनका इस्तेमाल किया जिसके चलते आज़ादी के 70 वर्षों के बाद भी उनकी स्थिति में कोई सुधार नहीं हुआ। इसी बीच भारत की जनसंख्या बहुत विस्फोटक ढंग से बढ़ी और उसी का नतीजा रहा कि हर तरफ एक असंतुलन पैदा हो गया। देश में बेरोज़गारी एक बड़ी समस्या के रूप में उभरी और इसी के चलते कई ओर से यह आवाज़ उठी कि इस आरक्षण के चलते हमको नौकरी नहीं मिल रही है। इसलिए अब आरक्षण का जातिगत आधार खत्म करके इसे आर्थिक आधार पर लागू किया जाए।

अब मैं आपको बताता हूं कि आज के भारत में ये क्यों मुमकिन नहीं है।

देखिए जब आप कहते हैं कि आरक्षण का आधार आर्थिक होना चाहिए तब आप ये कहते हैं कि चाहे व्यक्ति किसी धर्म, जाति, जनजाति, समुदाय, लिंग का हो अगर उसकी आर्थिक स्थिति ठीक नहीं है और वो बेहद गरीबी का सामना कर रहा है तो उसे आरक्षण मिलना चाहिए। इस बात को कहते वक्त आप समाजिक समानता की बात करते हैं, आप मानते हैं कि किसी धर्म, जनजाति, लिंग, समुदाय,जाति का गरीब एक समान है, इसलिए उसे आरक्षण दिया जाना चाहिए।

लेकिन आपकी ये सोच सच नहीं है, मैं इसे आगे साबित करने की कोशिश करता हूं

फर्ज़ कीजिए आपके शहर या गांव में 2 गरीब व्यक्ति हैं। एक गरीब जाति से ब्राह्मण है और दूसरा गरीब जाति से दलित। अब आप सोचेंगे कि दोनों गरीब एक समान हैं। मगर ऐसा नहीं है। एक गरीब जो ब्राह्मण है उसे समाजिक संघर्ष करना पड़ेगा मगर सिर्फ अपनी आर्थिक स्थिति को लेकर। मतलब अगर कोई उसकी बेइज्ज़ती करेगा तो सिर्फ इसलिए क्योंकि वो धनवान नहीं है। इसके अलावा वो किसी भी मन्दिर में जा सकता है। किसी भी नदी, तालाब, कुंए से पानी पी सकता है। किसी भी सभा और सामजिक कार्यक्रम में भाग ले सकता है। किसी भी सामुदायिक कार्य्रकम में उसके साथ उसका तिरस्कार उसकी जाति को लेकर नहीं होगा। हर कोई उसके घर भोजन ग्रहण कर सकता है, वो बिन किसी परवाह के अपनी सन्तान की शादी कर सकता है।

इसके ठीक विपरीत अगर कोई ग़रीब जाति से दलित है तो उसे आर्थिक हालत पर तो जिल्लत झेलनी होगी ही साथ ही अपनी जाति के आधार पर हीन महसूस करना होगा। उसे अपनी सन्तान की शादी से पहले दस बार सोचना पड़ेगा कि वो शादी के इतजाम किस तरह के करवाए .आज भी धूम धाम से शादी करने से पहले हमारे देश में दलित की हत्या कर दी जाती है। आज भी दलित को तालाब या कुँए से पानी पीने की इजाजत नहीं है .आज भी दलित के घर का भोजन करने में लोग परहेज़ करते हैं। आज भी सवर्ण अपने बच्चों की शादी दलित से नहीं करवाते .आज भी दलित आपके घर किसी काम से आएं तो उनके चाय, पानी के बतर्न अलग होते हैं।आज भी दलित देश के कई हिस्सों ने गटर साफ़ करने और इंसानी मल उठाने का काम कर रहे हैं। आज भी उनके साथ अछूत जैसा व्यवहार हो रहा है।

कोई दलित अगर आरक्षण पाकर 10 लाख रुपये सालाना कमाने लगे फिर भी लोग उसके घर खाना नहीं खाएंगे, उसकी बेटी से अपने बेटे का ब्याह नहीं करेंगे, उसे पूजा अनुष्ठान में नहीं आमंत्रित करेंगे। इसका मतलब यग कि चाहे वो गरीब से अमीर बन जाए उसकी आर्थिक स्थिति तो सुधर जाएगी मगर सामाजिक इज्ज़त नहीं बढ़ेगी।

अगर आपको मेरी बातें अतिशोक्ति लग रही हैं तो गूगल पर कई सरकारी आंकड़े देख लीजिए। पिछले 10 सालों में दलित उत्पीड़न के मामले लगातार बढ़े हैं। हर दिन दलित महिलाओं के साथ बलात्कार की घटनाओं में इज़ाफा हो रहा है। देश के हाई कोर्ट और सुप्रीम कोर्ट में दलित जजों की संख्या लगभग शून्य है। पिछले कई वर्षों में दलितों की हत्या के केस बढ़ते चले आएं हैं।

इससे ये साबित होता है कि एक गरीब ब्राह्मण और एक गरीब दलित समान नहीं हैं। गरीबी के अतिरिक्त ऐसी कई समस्याएं हैं जिससे एक इन्सान को सिर्फ इसलिए गुज़रना पड़ता है क्यूंकि वो दलित है।

अब जब ये साफ है कि दोनों गरीब समान नहीं हैं तो हम कैसे कह सकते हैं कि आज का भारत आरक्षण को आर्थिक आधार पर लागू करने के लिए तैयार है।

हमको ये साफ तौर पर ये समझना पड़ेगा कि जब तक हम अपने समाज से जातिवाद खत्म नहीं करते, जब तक हम खाने पीने, शादी करने से पहले दूसरे इन्सान की जाति देखते रहेंगे तब तक इस देश में आर्थिक आधार पर आरक्षण लागू करने की बात करना सिर्फ बेईमानी होगी।

The post “आज के भारत में आरक्षण आर्थिक आधार पर नहीं हो सकता” appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

I always loved reciting nursery rhymes as a kid and would always find ways to sing them out loud in front of my relatives, teachers and friends. Even when I grew up and entered high school, I did not stop humming some of my favourite rhymes (both Hindi and English) without trying to understand the ideas that they were subtly hinting at. I remember singing out loud “Papa ke paise gol gol, mummy ki roti gol gol” to my young cousins without even realising that poems like these were only strengthening the existing gender-based roles reinforcing the idea that ‘paise’ belongs to ‘papa’ and ‘rotis’ to mummy.

Unaware of these subtle allusions, I continued believing the same while flaunting my poem recitation skills for so many years. However, in 2014, my inherent patriarchal values were shaken to the core when I came across Kamla Bhasin’s unconventional book titled “Housework is Everyone’s Work: Rhymes for Just and Happy Families” on nursery rhymes which did not show mothers as perpetual sweepers and cooks but as people who read newspapers, played football and went out for work.

At first, I was stunned to see such unconventional illustration of fathers changing nappies and drying clothes and mothers coming back from office with big black bags in hand because the rhymes I had read always showed fathers and mothers in altered frames. However, after reading further, I realised that my abhorrence towards stay-at-home fathers during that time emanated from the poems I had memorised as a kid. It is interesting that I never tried to pay attention to the words of the poems as much as I twiddled with the poetic rhymes that it generated.

For me, poems were something which was not supposed to be questioned or critically dealt with but was only meant for entertainment. But after reading Bhasin’s re-written rhymes, I began to question all the poems, stories, comics, TV shows and films that I had keenly watched all throughout the time and tried not to take everything for granted. And I was surprised to find that except for some, most of them imparted the idea of patriarchy and gender-based prejudices.

In one of the poems, Bhasin writes –

“Fathers like a busy bee,
Making us cups of hot tea,
Mother sits and reads the news
Now and then she gives her views”

Contrasting these lines with a previously mentioned poem on ‘papa ke paise’, one can notice the distinction in terms of how gender roles are projected in general discourse. The above lines clearly convey the idea that fathers and men are not to be always looked upon as someone whose sole occupation is to blurt directions to people around him. Furthermore, she tries to raise the issue of sharing the load of housework asking why only mothers are asked to do all the work when everyone in the house can contribute –

“Not a moment does she stay
Mothers work all day
Don’t you think this is unfair
Shouldn’t we help and do our share?”

I used to abhor doing housework and other daily chores before but after reading this, I understood the value of it and made sure that I start helping my mother with housework in whichever way possible so that she doesn’t have to bear all the burden.

While reading these lines did change my attitude towards my mother, I also tried to further look into other stories, rhymes and movies that I had read and watched over the years to analyse how women and girls, in general, are positioned in the general discussions. Since then, I have been vocal about media representation of women in different spheres and how it has been normalising the patriarchal values in more than one way.

I have been writing extensively on how we see women in mythological stories, how popular culture perceives the idea of women and how we can use creative means (like the one used by Kamla Bhasin) to alter the existing practices. My journey from being an ignorant and insensitive person to being a socially aware feminist was triggered by Kamla Bhasin’s hard-hitting poetry (especially the illustrations) which not only made me think about my own wrong perceptions about gender roles but also the society’s false assumptions towards women in general.

While it is extremely difficult to altogether overthrow the patriarchal values deeply embedded in our social fabric, we sure can use creative means to at least show what ideally should happen and what shouldn’t. If we cannot alter the existing realities which are problematic in more than one way we definitely can work on the ‘reflection’ of these cultures in advertisements, films, nursery rhymes, short stories and many such creative outlets by owning the narrative.

It is interesting that the popular culture we rely on for everyday entertain is dominated by men. This can only change when more women get to talk about themselves. Some use doodle art, wall painting, documentaries, etc. to dominate the common discourse. I use writing as a tool to do so and shall continue doing the same. (All thanks to Kamla Bhasin.)

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Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The post Kamla Bhasin’s Poetry Turned Me From An Ignorant Person To A Socially-Aware Feminist appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

केस 1 : 4 अप्रैल, 2018

भाजपा के विधायक कुंवर प्रणव सिंह चैंपियन ग्रेटर नोएडा स्थित वेनिस मॉल में घूमने गये। वहां मॉल में बनी नहर में नौकायन कर रहे थे। उसी दौरान सेल्फी लेते वक्त भाजपा विधायक और सुरक्षाकर्मी पानी में गिर पड़े।

केस 2 : जून,2017

यूपी के कानपुर में गंगा बैराज में मौज-मस्ती के लिए गए सात छात्रों का सेल्फी क्रेज़ उनकी ज़िंदगी पर इस कदर भारी पड़ा कि इस चक्कर में उन सातों की डूब कर मौत हो गयी।

एक अनुमान के अनुसार दुनिया भर में सेल्फी लेने के दौरान होनेवाली मौतें सबसे ज़्यादा भारत में (127) होती हैं। इसके बाद क्रमश: रूस (14) दूसरे, पाकिस्तान (12) तीसरे, यूएसए (09) चौथे और फिलीपिंस (05) पांचवे नंबर पर है।

यह आंकड़ा दरअसल एक शोध का हिस्सा है, यूएस की कारनेगी मेलन यूनिवर्सिटी और भारत के इंद्रप्रस्थ इंस्टिट्यूट ऑफ इंफॉर्मेशन टेक्नोलॉजी, दिल्ली (IIIT Delhi) द्वारा संयुक्त रूप से जिसे ‘मी, माइसेल्फ एंड किल्फी’ (Me, Myself and My Killfie) शीर्षक के तहत वर्ष 2014 से 2016 के बीच पूरी दुनिया में सेल्फी लेने के दौरान हुई मौत के आंकड़ों के आधार पर प्रकाशित किया गया था।

चौंकाने वाली बात है कि मात्र 18 महीनों के अंदर सेल्फी के कारण दुनियाभर में हुई कुल मौतों में अकेले भारत में 60% यानी 76 मौतें हुई हैं।इस शोध की मानें, तो ज़्यादातर लोगों की मौत सबसे कूल टाइप की सेल्फी लेने के चक्कर में- खास तौर से ट्रेन के कारण हुई है। कभी कोई चलती ट्रेन की छत पर खड़े होकर सेल्फी लेने के चक्कर में मारा गया, तो कभी कोई आती हुई ट्रेन के आगे स्टंट दिखाते हुए सेल्फी लेने के चक्कर में अपनी जान गंवा बैठा। आये दिन युवाओं द्वारा सेल्फी लेने के लिए इस तरह के खतरनाक कारनामे करने या ऐसा करते हुए उनकी मौत होने की खबरें पढ़ने-सुनने को मिलती रहती हैं। ऐसा वे लोग अपने फ्रेंड्स या सोशल मीडिया पर टशन दिखाने के लिए करते हैं।

रेलमंत्री भी कर चुके हैं आगाह

लगातार बढती इस तरह की घटनाओं से आहत होकर केंद्रीय रेलमंत्री पीयूष गोयल ने एक ट्वीट करते हुए लोगों से यह अपील की थी कि उन्हें इस तरह अपनी ज़िंदगी को जोखिम में डालने की बजाय अपने ऊर्जा को सार्थक कार्यों में लगाना चाहिए और एक नये भारत के निर्माण में अपना योगदान देना चाहिए। रेलमंत्री के अनुसार, भारत स्मार्टफोन के सबसे बड़े यूजर्स में से एक हैं और यहां का रेलवे नेटवर्क विश्व के पांचवें सबसे बड़ा नेटवर्क है हमारा। कमाल की बात यह है कि रेलमंत्री के इस अनुरोध के बाद ऐसी घटनाओं में कमी आने के बजाय बढ़ोतरी हुई हैं।
सर्वे में यह माना गया है कि सेल्फी मौतों को काफी हद तक रोका या कम किया जा सकता है अगर सेल्फी लेनेवाला व्यक्ति उचित सावधानी बरते और इस तरह की मूर्खता ना करे। अक्सर रेल ट्रैक पर खड़े होकर सेल्फी लेनेवाले यह दिखाने की कोशिश करते हैं कि फलां व्यक्ति के साथ उनकी दोस्ती या मुहब्बत कितनी गहरी है। हालांकि पिछले साल से सेल्फी का एक नया ट्रेंड देखने को मिल रहा है। जैसे कि- जंगली जानवरों मसलन हाथी, शेर, बाघ, सांप या अन्य खतरनाक जानवरों का साथ सेल्फी लेना, जो कि एक समाजशास्त्रीय अध्ययन का मुद्दा है कि आखिर ऐसा क्यों?

क्या एक बीमारी है सेल्फी क्रेज़

आज लगभग हर दूसरा चौथा इंसान सेल्फी एडिक्ट हैं। कहने का मतलब यह कि ऐसे लोगों के जीवन में कुछ हुआ नहीं कि वे सेल्फी लेकर उसे सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट करने को बेताब रहते हैं। आप कहीं भी जायें या किसी भी परिस्थिति में हों आपके आस-पास मौजूद एक-दो लोग आपको सेल्फी लेते ज़रूर दिख जायेंगे। एक तरह से कहें कि हम सेल्फी ऑब्सेस्ड वर्ल्ड में रहते हैं, तो कुछ गलत नहीं होगा। मनोवैज्ञानिकों ने युवाओं के इस व्यवहार को सोशल मीडिया एडिक्शन या सेल्फी मेनिया या सेल्फीटीज़ नाम दिया है।

ऐसे लोगों को मनोवैज्ञानिक परामर्श या इलाज की जरूरत हैं। इसके लिए मनोवैज्ञानिकों ने एक स्केल भी डेवलप किया है, जिससे किसी व्यक्ति के सेल्फी क्रेज़ के स्तर को मापा जा सकता है। हाल में ऐसे ही एक शोध परिणाम का प्रकाशन इंटरनेशनल जर्नल ऑफ मेंटल हेल्थ में किया गया। इसमें सेल्फी मेनिया को तीन स्तरों में बांटा गया है :

– सीमांत स्तर (borderline level) : जब कोई व्यक्ति एक दिन में कम-से-कम तीन सेल्फी लेता हो, लेकिन उन्हें सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट नहीं करता हो।

– संवेगी स्तर (acute level) : जब कोई व्यक्ति एक दिन में कम-से-कम तीन सेल्फी लेता हो और उन्हें सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट करता हो।

– चिरकालिक स्तर (chronic level) : जब किसी व्यक्ति में सतत रूप से सेल्फी लेने की इच्छा रहती हो और वह उनमें से कम-से-कम छह सेल्फी को सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट करता हो।

सेल्फीटीज से प्रभावित लोग आमतौर से आत्म मुग्धता और संवेदनहीनता का शिकार होते हैं। उन्हें इस बात से कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि उनके आसपास मौजूद लोग कौन हैं, क्या कर रहे हैं या किस स्थिति में हैं। उन्हें तो बस सेल्फी क्लिक करने और सोशल मीडिया पर पोस्ट करने से मतलब होता है।

वर्ष 1977 में मीता, डर्मर और नाइट नामक मनोवैज्ञानिकों द्वारा किये एक अध्ययन में यह पाया गया कि जब लोगों को उनकी दो तस्वीरें दिखा कर उनसे उनकी पसंद पूछी गयी, तो ज़्यादातर लोगों ने वास्तविक तस्वीर के बजाय मिरर इमेज को पसंद किया। इसका परिणाम यह निकाला गया कि लोग अपनी वास्तविक छवि के बजाय अपनी दर्पण छवि को देखना अधिक पसंद करते हैं।

ऐसे लोगों की खुशी दूसरों पर निर्भर करती है यानी उनकी पोस्ट की हुई सेल्फी को जितने लोग देखते या लाइक करते हैं, उसी स्तर पर वे खुश होते हैं। उनमें आत्म-संतुष्टि या आत्म-सम्मान की भावना का अभाव होता है। मनोवैज्ञानिकों ने इसे ‘looking-glass effect’ की संज्ञा दी है। इसका मतलब है कि इंसान खुद को अपनी नजरों से नहीं, बल्कि दूसरों की नज़रों से देखता है।

फोन की स्क्रीन की नीली रोशनी भी त्वचा को नुकसान पहुंचा सकती है। रोशनी का मैगनेटिक प्रभाव होता है, जो त्वचा पर असर डालने के साथ चेहरे के रंग को भी प्रभावित करता है। कुछ विशेषज्ञों यह भी मानना है कि मोबाइल फोन की विद्युत चुंबकीय तरंगें डीएनए को नुकसान पहुंचा कर त्वचा की उम्र बढ़ा देती है। ये त्वचा की खुद को सुधारने की क्षमता को खत्म कर देती है। लिहाज़ा आम मॉश्चराइर और तेल इन पर काम नहीं कर पाते. इससे त्वचा को ज्यादा नुकसान होता है।

सेल्फी का क्रेज़ दरअसल एक जानलेवा एडवेंचर साबित हो रहा है, जहां मौज-मस्ती की चाह और कुछ नया कर गुज़रने ख्वाहिश रखनेवाले (ज्यादातर युवाओं) को जान से हाथ धोना पड़ता है या अन्य दुर्घटनाओं का शिकार होना पड़ता है। हमारे देश के लोगों में जितना सेल्फी प्रेम है, वहीं सेल्फी सुरक्षा के मामले में भारत दुनिया के बाकी देशों से काफी पीछे है। ऐसे में ज़रूरत है, तो इस बारे में लोगों में अधिक-से-अधिक जागरूकता फैलाने और उनमें यह एहसास जगाने की सेल्फी से कहीं ज्यादा कीमती आपकी ज़िंदगी है।

रूस ने सबसे पहले चलाया था सेल्फी सुरक्षा कैंपेन

रूस दुनिया का पहले ऐसा देश है जिसने ‘सेफ सेल्फी कैंपेन’ चलाया था। इस कैंपेन का उद्देश्य युवाओं को खतरनाक परिस्थितियों और स्थान पर सेल्फी लेते वक्त सावधान करना था। इस कैंपेन का सिद्धांत था कि ‘सोशल मीडिया पर मिलने वाले लाखों लाइक्स आपकी ज़िंदगी और स्वास्थ्य के लिए काफी नहीं है।’ साथ ही इस बुकलेट में ये भी कहा गया है कि सेल्फी पूरी सावधानी के साथ लें, ताकि आपकी वह आपकी आखिरी सेल्फी साबित न हो।

अमेरिका के पूर्व राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा ने सेल्फी को बैन कर दिया था। ऐसा करने वाले वह दुनिया के पहले नेता थे। ऑस्कर अवॉर्ड कमेटी ने ऑस्कर के दौरान सेल्फी पर बैन लगा दिया था, क्योंकि सेल्फी की वजह से पिछली बार ऑस्कर अवॉर्ड विजेताओं के लिफाफे आपस में बदल गये थे।

भारत में भी कुछ समय पहले सेल्फी हादसों को ध्यान में रखते हुए

केंद्र ने राज्य सरकारों से उन पर्यटन स्थलों को चिह्नित करने को कहा हैं जहां सेल्फी लेने के दौरान अक्सर हादसे हो जाते हैं। लोकसभा में एक सवाल के लिखित जवाब में केंद्रीय गृह राज्यमंत्री हंसराज गंगाराम अहीर न  कहा कि पर्यटकों के लिए सुरक्षा के उपाय मुख्य रूप से राज्य सरकारों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों की ज़िम्मेदारी है। इन उपायों में किसी भी अवांछित घटना से बचने के लिए लोकप्रिय पर्यटन स्थलों पर ‘नो सेल्फी जोन’ घोषित करना शामिल है। केंद्र की तरफ से जारी एडवाइज़री में दुर्घटना संभावित पर्यटन स्थलों की पहचान, साइन बोर्ड लगाना, सेल्फी लेने के दौरान खतरे की चेतावनी आदि शामिल हैं।

रेलवे ट्रैक किनारे सेल्फी लेने के दौरान हुई तमाम वारदातों को देखते हुए रेल प्रशासन ने भी इसे रोकने की तैयारी की है। उत्तर मध्य रेलवे समेत तमाम ज़ोनल रेलवे प्रशासन ने ऐसे लोगों के खिलाफ अब कार्रवाई करने की बात कही है। बोर्ड से मिले निर्देश के बाद अब ट्रैक किनारे सेल्फी लेने वालों पर जुर्माना लगाया जायेगा। जुर्माना न दिये जाने की स्थिति में जेल भेजे जाने का भी प्रावधान किया गया है।

फोटो प्रतीकात्मक है।

The post ये सेल्फी लेने का क्रेज़ आपको बीमार बहुत बीमार कर रहा है appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

I have believed the pen is mightier than the sword, ever since I held a pen at thirteen. My first tryst with writing wasn’t in the crumpled pages of a teenage journal or the back pages of a notebook for a mandatory school essay.

The very first thing I wrote was a letter – a letter on a spotless white paper, with margins, and blue ink – addressed to the Prime Minister, when I was thirteen. I wrote to him urging him to remedy the issue of the minor rapist involved in the 2012 Delhi gang rape receiving a lenient sentence for being a child; I argued he should be tried and convicted like an adult. Needless to say, my letter didn’t contribute in any way or create an impact, and I soon forgot about it, but the next time I wrote was a few months later for the Facebook page of a gender-equality organisation I had begun my consistent and passionate tryst with writing.

Five years since that day, I still write with the same resolve, the same fervour, and the same unflinching hope that my writing will create an impact, no matter how small or limited.

As to why I write, my reasons are simple.

I write to create change. My writing usually revolves around women’s empowerment, dismantling patriarchy, LGBTQ rights, and politics. I write about things that need change, that need to be re-built, and that need to be re-imagined. With my writing, I try to explore the merits of the discarded and bring to light the demerits of the unquestioningly accepted.

I write because I see that political statements are often rhetoric; I see women being owned, discarded, and silenced; I see the toxic myth of real masculinity that patriarchy perpetrates and the lives this myth shapes; I see marriage equality being granted as a privilege that should be met with gratitude and not as a basic right.

I also write because I am aware, aware of stories happening all the way across the globe, aware of the lives living in conditions unspeakable. I see the world as one and not divided by borders, languages, or race. I am aware of the power and influence of the youth on the world, of our responsibilities, not to our homelands but to the entire world, as a global citizen, without race lines and language barriers.

I write because I am aware of the capacity of the written word to invoke thought, emotions, and most of all, action. A tool that powerful is a tool that can change the world, a tool that can shape lives for the better, and a tool that can be the foundation of our path towards an egalitarian and desired world.

If I change one thought, if I affect one life, if I mould one opinion, I know I will have succeeded as a writer. That’s what keeps me determined even when my writing receives hate or the attention of trolls. If it manages to create the smallest of impact, if it contributes in the tiniest of ways, every troll, every hate-filled reaction, and every threat will be worth it.

This is not to say all my motives to write are noble, I write for myself too.

My writing brought me one step closer to the woman I want to be, and I still have a long way to go to be the woman I can be proud of, and my writing will always be a part of that journey. Ever since I was conscious of my identity as a woman, I have been a writer. In me these two identities co-exist, and they aid me in my quest to be a strong, independent woman and a writer worth her salt.

Writing is an essential part of my life and has had a profound impact on my being. My writing is my voice and the only tool I need. Writing is the tool I use to fight discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice, and hate, my writing is the toll that I use to battle systemic oppression, internalised misogyny, and deeply entrenched patriarchy, my writing is a hand to reach people who envision the world I do, my writing is my raft to traverse the violent ocean of communal politics and polarisation.

I write because I see the power of the written word, I revere the written word, I am what I write.

The post ‘I Write Because I See Women Being Owned, Discarded, And Silenced’ appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

On March 24, thousands of people protested on the streets of Tuticorin. The immediate reason for such a large protest was the decision of Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta to build one more copper smelter in Therkuveerapandiyapuram village in Tuticorin district to double the company’s total copper production in the region.

However, this was only the immediate and urgent trigger. There has been opposition to the plant by the residents, activists and others ever since the idea of a copper plant was notified to be built in 1993.

According to the residents living near the smelter, academics, activists, etc. the copper plant has been responsible for the poor health conditions of the people living nearby. And the creation of more plants will only worsen the current scenario.

Vedanta In Tuticorin

In 1996, Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper set up a copper smelter project right at the edge of Tuticorin town in Tamil Nadu. Currently, the plant has the potential to produce 4,38,000 tonnes of copper anodes on a yearly basis. But Vedanta’s ambitions don’t end here. The eventual plan is to make it into the world’s largest smelter.

It’s Not Just Tuticorin In Tamil Nadu

This is not the first time Vedanta has been at the receiving end of protests of such a grassroots movement. In Odisha’s Niyamgiri hills, indigenous tribals have been at the forefront of a movement to prevent Vedanta from expanding its bauxite mines. In 2013, the Supreme Court gave power to the villages which were affected by the bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills to decide on whether the Vedanta should be allowed to mine the hills for bauxite. All of the 12 gram sabhas identified by the Odisha government for a referendum on the issue, unanimously went against the proposal of the company.

The battle is still going on with the Odisha government having tried to annul the results of the referendum by filing a petition in the Supreme Court, the Home Ministry discrediting Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (the organisation behind the resistance) by linking it to Maoists and an increase in the local resistance against any efforts by Vedanta.

Why Do So Many People Want The Plant To Be Shut Down?

Copper production inevitably leads to the creation of toxic byproducts such as sulphur oxides, lead and arsenic. This has severely impacted the residents living near the copper plant. Within a 10 kilometre radius of the plant, a population of over 4.6 lakh people exists in the 27 villages and the eight census towns which are located there.

A 2005 report by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute found out that there were high concentrations of cadmium, chlorides, arsenic, copper, lead and fluorides in a groundwater sample from the plant’s neighbourhood. This report had also been submitted to the Supreme Court.

A study had been done by the Tirunelveli Medical College in 2008, covering over 80,000 people living within 5-km-radius of the plant. According to the study, 13.9% of the people in the study were victims of respiratory diseases.

It must also be noted that during the time the study was conducted (in 2006 and 2007), the plant had only been producing between 70,000 and 1,70,000 tonnes of copper. Now, it can produce more than double of it.

According to a ground report done by Scroll, residents around the copper plant listed out how many of them suffer from respiratory diseases, wheezing, chest congestion, etc. One resident also pointed out that his mother’s cancer, which eventually resulted in her death was also due to the existence of the copper plant.

The residents of Tuticorin and Niyamgiri hills are not the only victims of Vedanta’s policies. Some people from Zambia are also suing one of Vedanta’s subsidiaries in courts in the United Kingdom for livelihood and environmental damage done.

How Political Parties Benefit From Vedanta

In 2014, the Delhi high court had discovered that both the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had received a sum of ₹9 crore overall between financial years 2004-2010, violating the Foreign Contributions (Regulations) Act, 1976.

The political parties cannot be penalised or prosecuted anymore since a clause was introduced earlier this year in the amendment to the 2016 Finance Bill, which absolves political parties from having accepted foreign donations previously.

Bharatiya Janata Party received an overall ₹22.5 crore in donations from subsidiaries of Vedanta in the financial year which ended on March 31, 2014. On May 16, 2014, Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

In the financial year of 2016-2017, corporations had donated ₹325.27 crore to political parties. The nexus between Indian political parties and large corporations have come under major scrutiny. Experts say that it prevents political parties from acting against corporations even if its policies impact the populace negatively since they are dependent on them for election funding.

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Image source: Facebook

The post Ignored By The Media, Why Thousands Are Protesting Against Vedanta In Tamil Nadu appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

From the fellowship journey of our fellow, Akshay Modi. He is currently working with the NGO, Gram Vikas in Orissa.

NOTE: If you are reading this article electronically, it is because in all likelihood you have access to the information superhighway – the world wide web. Alternatively, to read an article offline, I presume that one would have to download the webpage on their computing device, which can then be accessed later even without internet. I have been doing the latter for the past four months, as I am living in the Thuamul Rampur block of Kalahandi district in Odisha.

Whilst India is on the cusp of a communications revolution, made possible by an increasingly affluent and demanding populace, advances in mobile hardware and drop in data prices, these in themselves mean little without access to the basic building block of telecom – access to a mobile network. As per an April 2017 report, there were over 50,000 villages in India still without mobile telephony.

Thuamul Rampur is amongst the poorest places in India. Characterized by hilly terrain and a largely tribal population, this block of Kalahandi district is home to ~100,000 people. Most parts of the block do not have a network tower. Public services, especially healthcare and education, are in a dismal state given the lack of infrastructure and skilled manpower to deliver these services.

In today’s age, access to a mobile network is considered a given for most of us. During my initial days after arrival here, I had met a person who had been unable to complete the last rites of his father who had passed away 4 days ago, as he was unable to get in touch with his son living in a different state and get him to transfer some money for the same. He had said he was failing to even mourn for his father given all his efforts to be able to speak with his son. This, philosophically speaking, seems to be in contravention of the fundamental right to life – a father should have a right to be able to speak with his son living elsewhere. A grandson should have a right to be informed of his grandparents’ death in time so that he can reach their funeral.

Taking the case of the demonetization episode, one of the central objectives of the exercise was to foster a cashless economy. However, how can a society turn cashless if there is a single bank branch to cater to a population of over 100,000, and there is no mobile network in order to undertake digital transactions? So much so, it had taken 3-4 days time for the news of the demonetization announcement to reach some areas of Thuamul Rampur. The pain of the de-mon fiasco was far more pronounced in places such as Thuamul Rampur, which have little facilities in terms of transportation and communication.

We often talk about the transformative impact that can be created by smart use of technology. Farmers can be boarded onto the eNAM platform as part of a single market to purchase and sell agricultural produce. Digital learning can complement the existing physical infrastructure, in order to curate a superior learning experience for our students. Coupled with financial literacy initiatives, technology can support creating a truly digital economy.

A “Digital India” campaign first and foremost should look to create a Digital Bharat. The government’s efforts towards this end are laudable but the initiative is running behind timelines. Already, the authorities concede that getting network here will be a long-drawn affair. The people of Thuamul Rampur have gotten accustomed to the shoddy implementation of government programmes.  We hope that they are pleasantly surprised in this instance.

The post India Is On The Verge Of A Digital Revolution, But 50,000 Villages Still Remain Dark appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.