The update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has sparked yet another debate regarding the status and scale of immigrants in a state that ostensibly bears the brunt of illegal immigration. Sadly, the discussion surrounding the NRC has taken a woeful direction and has yet again descended into the binaries of the liberal left and the xenophobic far-right. It doesn’t take long for a left-liberal to label anyone in favour of the NRC a bigot, and frankly, seeing that the narrative has been hijacked by sections of the media that only exist to determine who yells the loudest and is the most patriotic, one cannot blame them. The nauseating narrative pushed forward by some of the prime time debates is doing a major disservice to anyone, mostly the people of Assam, who want the rest of India to understand exactly how they feel about the NRC. The problem with the NRC is not its existence, but its implementation.

Is anyone who even remotely supports the NRC a hyper-nationalist bigot? Is it not possible for one to be on board with the NRC and see its shortcomings and the issues with its implementation and yet be against the ruling party and its communal politics? The fact that the Assam agitation took place because of the drastic increase in the electorate is something to take note of. And whether or not Assam’s illegal immigration problem is as bad as some claim it to be, the concern about immigration, one that has a history and a violent one at that, isn’t unique to the right-winger bigots who want to throw everyone out unless they are a citizen and not turn a hair to their well-being.

No one is saying that the NRC cannot potentially be a disaster. And no one is indifferent and oblivious to the havoc it can wreak. By the same token, when one says that the NRC is something necessary and was supposed to be updated at some point anyway and was pending since 2005, it does not amount to a disregard of the vulnerable and the indifference of those who may be deemed illegal immigrants and stripped of their citizenship. And it certainly does not imply that the 4 million people excluded from the NRC are all illegal immigrants. Some “liberals” need to keep in mind that those frothing-at-the-mouth uber-nationalists on prime-time debates do not represent the people of Assam and don’t speak for those who may not be entirely opposed to the NRC. There is cause to worry. However, what is often not properly taken into account regarding the NRC is that this is not the final list. And no, that is not repudiating the fact that the time given to take in those who have been wrongly left out of the NRC isn’t nearly enough, but that is nonetheless a fact that needs to be considered.

“Those who complain the most often have the most to hide”: of the 3.97 lakh people who could not be included in #NRC because states didn’t bother to verify their status, West Bengal was the biggest defaulter, not bothering to verify 1.07 lakh people, nearly 30% of the total pic.twitter.com/hvqidk88rD

— Minhaz Merchant (@MinhazMerchant) August 3, 2018

The debate about the NRC is almost always shut down by bringing up far-right extremist voices, and anyone who is for the NRC even if they are worried about its faulty procedures is suddenly associated with voices as extreme as a that of a BJP MLA calling for shooting the immigrants dead if they don’t leave. Trying to present an opposing view not only invites a sort of backlash that is uncomfortable since it implies bigotry, but it also turns the debate into that of humanitarian aid as opposed to one about illegal immigration. Supporting the NRC is not majoritarian bullying and communal, and it’s an absolute woe that some sections of the left are not able to see for what it is and mistake every opposing voice for those extremist far-right hyper-nationalists.

It’s disheartening to see the way Assamese are being wrongly labelled because people who are actually hyper-nationalist are using a certain kind of rhetoric. Woe betides anyone who dares to speak for something that is happening under the current regime, no matter what it is. Because this is a time where either you are against communal politics and must oppose literally everything the BJP does, or you are a xenophobic bigot. If the BJP pushes for the Citizen (Amendment) Bill, which makes it easier for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship, oppose it. If the NRC update happens to be taking place while the BJP is in power, even though it’s because the update was ordered by the Supreme Court and has little to nothing to do with the current government, oppose it.

It doesn’t matter if the people who are defending the NRC are doing so on the ground that it’ll identify the problem of illegal immigration and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will exacerbate that very problem, you have to oppose both. It doesn’t matter if you are rightfully worried of the procedure through which citizenship will be determined and are still not entirely opposed to the NRC, you cannot but be a xenophobic bigot and a staunch supporter of the ruling party if you lend your support to the NRC. You must be one of those who supports lynching, and you must believe that the 4 million people are all illegal immigrants. You must be oblivious to the genuine problem of the aftermath of the NRC update. In essence, you are either completely in concurrence with a very specific liberal viewpoint or with those blindfolded xenophobes whose politics is communally coloured, for there isn’t any other position to be taken.

None of that is to say that there aren’t actual xenophobes out there and the rise in the anti-immigrant sentiment across the world is well understood. There are voices which are extreme, in Assam and outside. Speaking about immigration, therefore, knowing that there are extremist voices out there missing no opportunity to play with the politics of alterity and capitalise on people’s insecurities by exaggerating a situation can be deeply uncomfortable. It is important to note, however, that speaking against the dehumanisation of immigrants and refugees and be concerned of an illegal immigration problem in one’s own state isn’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

The only way to have a healthy discussion about the issue is to recognise that lending your support to the NRC doesn’t amount to the denial of its errors and it is possible to discuss what sort of mechanism and strategy there needs to be to deal with those who will be stripped of their citizenship and still be supportive of the NRC, all the while acknowledging that a fairly large number of people risk losing their citizenship despite being Indian citizens because of poor management. It is an important issue, and it needs to be properly discussed and debated. However, for that to happen, one needs to break away from the binaries that seem to have hijacked the current political discourse.

The post Does Supporting The NRC Reek Of Bigotry? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) would be a good alternative to the tainted Medical Council of India (MCI) that has been facing severe criticism over the alleged corruption, experts tell Youth Ki Awaaz. They unanimously noted that the NMC bill, currently tabled in the Parliament’s ongoing monsoon session, would make the role of medical regulator more patient-centric than the existing doctor-centric model.

“There’s a gross corruption and mismanagement involved in terms of college accreditations and maintaining uniform quality of medical education in the country. We needed some strong reforms and NMC is in the larger interest of a populous country like India,” pointed out Dr. Shamika Ravi, a senior fellow at Brookings India and author of ‘Restructuring of Medical Council of India’.

The proposed bill, however, hasn’t gone down well with the doctors. Highlighting the bureaucratic overreach in appointing members to the advisory board, Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called the NMC bill undemocratic.

According to IMA President Dr. KK Agarwal, “By dissolving a democratically elected body of 150 medical professionals and replacing it with a body of 25 members of which 20 will be nominated by the government is undemocratic. It’s a clear indication that government is hell-bent to take control over the medical profession.”

Why NMC?

According to medical experts and industry insiders, MCI is a failed institution and there was a pressing need to revamp the regulatory mechanism of medical education and practice. The Parliamentary Health Committee in its March 2016 report noted that MCI has failed on all accounts to act as a neutral regulator.

The Niti Aayog had also pointed out that the medical regulator had failed to produce doctors suited to meet the Indian context.

Commenting on the deep-rooted corruption in MCI and why private doctors are up in arms against the NMC bills, a Jaipur-based medical representative under the condition of anonymity told YKA, “MCI is a body of corrupt doctors that want to safeguard their interests. Doctors right during the graduation or post-graduation courses become part of doctor-pharma nexus. Officially IMA and MCI have issued guidelines to discourage this nexus. But, that’s eyewash.”

The proposed NMC bill is a resultant of two-year-long deliberations with the medical experts, policymakers, and various stakeholders.

What Are The Objections?

1.) Checks and Balances:

The NMC bill was floated to ensure transparency with the division of powers. Under the NMC  three independent boards-Search and Selection Committee (SSC), Medical Advisory Council, and the National Medical Commission- will operate with autonomy from the others, thereby creating a mechanism for check and balances.

But according to IMA’s President Dr. KK Agarwal, “Whatever changes they are suggesting through NMC, they can easily bring them by amending MCI. All we want is dismiss NMC and amend MCI. The autonomy of the medical profession shouldn’t be comprised by bureaucratic control.”

2) Integrated Health Care Model

The first draft of the Bill proposes to streamline various AYUSH and Homeopathic practitioners and create an integrated healthcare model where the state governments decide the modalities of the provision.

Many fear the integration of the AYUSH doctors will legitimise the quackery.

However, according to experts, the integration of Homeopathy, Ayurveda and other alternative medicinal practitioners is in line with WHO-approved ‘Task Shifting’ mechanism to address the scarcity of doctors. Under this mechanism, less specialised health workers are trained to strengthen and expand the health workforce.

3.) Fee Structure And Exit Exams:

The NMC bill proposes that the government will determine and regulate the fee structure of 50% of the seats in private medical colleges. The government has claimed that it will provide the students from poor background to pursue medical education which was earlier impossible due to high fee structures of the medical institutions.

“Not everyone is part of the creamy layer that makes to the government colleges. And the high fees of private colleges was a deterrent for the medical aspirants from the poor background. While it is still to be seen how much of this translates into reality, it’s a positive step from the government to make medical education in private institutions accessible to all,” said Dr. Jayesh Sheth, founder, and chairman at Foundation for Research in Genetics and Endocrinology, Institute of Human Genetics.

But, the public statement issued by IMA said, “Reservation of 50% of the seats for the rich, who can pay, is denial of equitable opportunities and hence is certainly anti-people.”

Furthermore, after the amendment, the Cabinet has approved that under NMC the final MBBS examination would be held as a common exam across the country. This would serve as an exit test, called the National Exit Test (NEXT), and would be a prerequisite to practice Allopathy. The common exam is expected to ascertain uniform quality of doctors throughout the country.

IMA has called the proposal of centrally-administered common exam anti-federal. It has asserted that the bill marginalises state governments, state medical councils and state health universities.

While the NMC bill aims to cure the medical practice in India, there are widespread apprehensions on its success. This is the second attempt by the Centre to replace MCI in last decade.

The post The National Medical Council Bill Aims To Improve Healthcare For You, Then Why The Worry? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

मुज़फ्फरपुर बलात्कार कांड का विकास से कोई लेना-देना नहीं है। अगर विकास अपने चरम पर हो, हवा में ट्रेन उड़ रही हो या फिर इंसान ही उड़ रहा हो, तो भी ऐसी घटना हो सकती है। ऐसी और भी घटनाएं हैं, जिनका विकास से कोई लेना-देना नहीं है, मसलन गाय के नाम पर हत्या, राह चलते लड़कियों से छेड़खानी, घरेलू हिंसा, भ्रष्टाचार, सांप्रदायिक दंगे। तो हम ये नहीं कह सकते कि विकास नहीं हुआ है, इसलिए ऐसा हो रहा है। ये भी नहीं कह सकते कि विकास हो जाएगा तो ऐसा नहीं होगा।

बाबा राम रहीम और आसाराम के कुकर्म, पढ़ने में सत्रहवीं शताब्दी के लगते हैं। इक्कीसवीं शताब्दी तक इतना विकास तो हो गया था कि ये कुकर्म ना करने पाते। इन दोनों को सज़ा दिलाने में कई लोगों की जानें गई हैं। आसाराम के मामले में एक लड़की का केस लड़ने में देश के कई कोनों में लोगों ने अपनी जान गवां दी, फिर भी कुछ लोग जान पर खेलकर इसको जेल ले गये। दोनों के ही मामलों में इनका रसूख देखकर कभी लगा नहीं कि ये जेल भी जा सकते हैं। यही चीज़ मुज़फ्फरपुर कांड के आरोपी बृजेश ठाकुर के केस में दिख रही है, इसकी हैसियत देखकर लगता नहीं कि इसको सज़ा हो सकती है। ये हंसता हुआ पुलिस कस्टडी में गया था।

मुज़फ्फरपुर में लोगों को बहुत पहले से पता था कि बहुत कुछ खराब हो रहा है इसके शेल्टर होम्स में, पर कोई कुछ नहीं बोल रहा था। मामला CBI के हाथ में जाने के बाद मुख्य गवाह के अलावा सहयोगियों की हत्या हो जाने के कयास लगाये जा रहे हैं। इसमें कुछ भी आश्चर्यजनक नहीं है। इसे सज़ा तभी हो पाएगी, जब कोई जान पर खेलकर लड़कियों का केस लड़ेगा। 34 लड़कियों में से कई तो धीरे-धीरे मुकर जाएंगी, कई गायब हो जाएंगी, एक-दो ही बचेंगी जिनके सहारे केस चलेगा। पर इसके लिए भी कोई चाहिए, जो अंत तक टिका रहे, नहीं तो ये न्यायालय से बाइज्ज़त बरी हो जाएगा।

एक इंसान को न्याय दिलाने में कई इंसानों की ज़िंदगी चली जाएगी। इक्कीसवीं शताब्दी का सबसे बड़ा लक्ष्य न्याय ही है। विकास तो हो ही रहा है। क्योंकि विकास किसी के ज़िम्मे नहीं है। इंटरनेट आया तो आ ही गया, मेट्रो आई तो आ ही गई, इसी तरह बाकी चीज़ें भी आ जाएंगी। हो सकता है, धीरे धीरे आए हमारे देश में पर ये सब आने के बाद भी न्याय नहीं मिलेगा।

लोकतंत्र का सबसे बड़ा भरोसा ही है कि पुलिस आएगी और मामले की जांच करेगी, दोषी को जेल ले जाएगी, मुझे न्याय मिलेगा। पर न्याय मिलता नहीं है। चाहे वो बांध से विस्थापित लोग हों, छेड़खानी या दहेज के शिकार हों, घर में हत्या हो गई हो या फिर दंगे में मारे गये लोग हों, कहीं पर भी न्याय नहीं मिला है। अगर कहीं न्याय मिला है तो उसका खूब ज़ोर-शोर से प्रचार किया गया है, क्योंकि हज़ारों में से किसी एक के साथ ऐसा हुआ है। बाकी लोग न्याय की आस में आसमान ताक रहे हैं।

आदिकाल से ये बात चली आ रही है कि न्याय ही नहीं मिलता। न्याय की तलाश में ही राजे रजवाड़े और अंग्रेज़ी राज से होते हुए हम लोकतंत्र तक पहुंचे। किसी भी शासक से ज़्यादा क्रूर होने के बावजूद अंग्रेज़ी राज के प्रति वो घृणा नहीं रहती लोगों के मन में, इसके पीछे उनका न्याय देने का सिस्टम ही है। उन्होंने न्याय का सिस्टम बनाया था, जिनमें राजा भी कटघरे में आता था। उनको भगा कर हम लोकतंत्र ले आये, लगा कि जो भी कमी थी पूरी हो जाएगी, सबको न्याय मिलेगा पर ऐसा हो नहीं रहा है।

गरीबी हटाओ के नारे से हम इक्कीसवीं शताब्दी में आ गये, विकास आएगा, अच्छे दिन आएंगे- सबके नारे लगे पर न्याय नहीं मिला किसी को। कोई देने का वादा भी नहीं करता। आज तक हिंदुस्तान की एक भी सरकार ने न्याय के बारे में बात नहीं की है।

ऐसा क्यों नहीं हो सकता कि चुनावों से पहले नेताओं को हम इसी बात पर घेरें? न्याय दिलाना भी आपके एजेंडे में रहे। बिना न्याय के सारी चीजें बेमानी हैं। सारा विकास एक-दो परसेंट लोगों को चला जाएगा, आप फिर न्याय नहीं दिला पाएंगे। लाखों लोगों को विस्थापित कर दिया जाएगा विकास के नाम पर, न्याय फिर नहीं मिलेगा, दर्जनों लड़कियों का रेप कर आरोपी मुस्कराता हुआ निकल जाएगा, क्योंकि विकास के काम में वो आपका सहयोगी रहा था। न्याय तो नहीं मिलेगा, ऐसा विकास लेकर वो लड़कियां क्या करेंगी।

हमें वही सरकार चाहिए, जो न्याय दिलाने का वादा कर सके।

The post “2019 का वोट उसी को जाएगा जो मुज़फ्फरपुर की 34 लड़कियों को न्याय दिलाएगा” appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

The Supreme Court’s hearing on revocation of the Article 35A that grants special status to the people of Jammu and Kashmir has once instilled fear in the valley. While the apex court today adjourned the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the validity of the Article 35A, it is feared that repealing of the article will have severe consequences.

Tinkering with the Article has been termed as a political strategy by the Centre to change the demography of the state by undermining the concerns of the indigenous population, experts tell Youth Ki Awaaz.

“From breaking of the alliance with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to pushing for the scrapping of Article 35A, everything is happening right when General Elections are around the corner. This is clearly undermining the fears and apprehensions of the Kashmiri people. Everything should not be seen from politically benefitting angle, especially in a sensitive land like Kashmir,”  said Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para, President Youth PDP.

Local journalists and politicians believe that the fate of Article 35A will not change the Valley’s sentiments towards New Delhi. According to them, the move to scrap the only Article that renders some negotiating power to the state will open a Pandora box of conflicts.

“BJP came in alliance with the PDP with the assurance that Article 35A will not be repealed. If they still go ahead and remove the Article, then it’ll be a breach of trust. The protests and tension is only going to intensify. By spreading an atmosphere of fear one can’t hope to win the people,” asserted Para.

Article 370 and Article 35A have been a contentious issue ever since the state of Jammu and Kashmir was formally included in the Republic of India.

What is Article 35A?

After partition in 1947, Kashmir was torn between two newly-formed countries- India and Pakistan. After a long period of uncertainty and political turmoil, Jawaharlal Nehru struck a deal with Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh. The instrument of accession signed between Singh and Nehru was the start of negotiating Kashmir’s relation with India.

Later in 1949, Article 370 was included in the constitution after deliberations between Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, an essential figure in Kashmir politics, and Nehru. Article 370 defines Kashmir’s political relationship with New Delhi by granting special status to J&K. It restricts Centre’s legislative powers over defence, foreign affairs, and communications.

In 1954, through a presidential order passed the then President Rajendra Prasad Article 35A  was issued under Article 370 (1) (d) of the Constitution. The article accords special rights and privileges of the ‘permanent residents’ of the Kashmir in government jobs, land acquisition and other public welfare projects.

Significance of Article 35 – A Bone Of Contention

SC is currently hearing the petition filed by NGO, We the Citizens, that challenges the validity of both Article 35A and Article 370. According to the petition, Article 35A is against the “very spirit of oneness of India” and creates a “class within a class of Indian citizens”.

However, according to the residents of Kashmir, Article 370 and 35A are two planks on which the state can negotiate its autonomy with the Centre. Over the years, especially after the enforcement of AFSPA and PSA, the valley has been sceptical of New Delhi’s intent. The repeated atrocities of the armies and Centre’s meddling with the regional issue has further alienated the Kashmiris from India.

“New Delhi has already eroded Article 370. In terms of politics and security Kashmiris already feel that the Centre has failed to be considerate towards the concerns of the people. Repealing of Article 35A will send the message that even judiciary is against people of Kashmir. It will be a breach of trust,” argued Para.

It is further argued that the revocation of the Article 35A will trigger a large-scale incursion of big industrialists and people from other other states.

“It’s not just the political angle. People are also concerned about the environment. Just like how people in Singur opposed Tata’s plant, people in Kashmir fear that with mass migration, which may happen if the Article goes away, will not only change the demography of the state, but also hamper the environment,” said a Kashmir-based journalist Fahad Shah.

Commenting on Centre’s approach towards Kashmir, Shah argued, “New Delhi’s policies towards Kashmir haven’t changed much. Be it the rigging of 1987 elections or atrocities inflicted by PSA and AFSPA, Centre has never really given Kashmir the promised ‘special status’. Congress did behind the curtain and BJP is doing it openly. The current government at Centre likes to brag.”

The post Explained: What Article 35A Is And Why Scrapping It May Be A Bad Idea appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

मुथुवेल करुणानिधि, ये नाम है उस दिग्गज का जिसके पीछे साढ़े छः दशक का असाधारण रूप से लम्बा और सफल राजनीतिक करियर है। अपने समर्थकों के बीच “कलैग्नार” यानी “कलाकार” नाम से पुकारे जाने वाले करुणानिधि का जन्म 1924 में मद्रास प्रेसीडेंसी (अब तमिलनाडु) के थिरुकुवाले गाँव में हुआ था। शुरू से ही कला और साहित्य में रूचि रखने वाले करुणानिधि तमिलनाडु की राजनीति के सबसे प्रमुख और प्रभावशाली नेता होने के साथ साथ तमिल सिनेमा में एक जाने माने लेखक और गीतकार रहे हैं। करुणानिधि का आज शाम निधन हो गया वो 94 वर्ष के थे।

करुणानिधि का राजनीतिक जीवन

अगर करुणानिधि के राजनितिक जीवन की बात की जाये तो इसकी शुरुआत सन 1938 में ही हो गयी थी जब महज 14 साल के करुणानिधि को जस्टिस पार्टी के अल्गारीस्वामी के भाषण ने कुछ इस कदर प्रभावित किया की उसी छोटी उम्र में ही वो उस वक्त मुखर रूप से चल रहे हिंदी-विरोधी आन्दोलनों का हिस्सा बने। हालांकि औपचारिक रूप से करुणानिधि का राजनीती में पदार्पण सन 1953 में हुआ।

उस वक्त तमिलनाडु के एक छोटे औद्योगिक शहर कल्लाकुडी का नाम बदल के एक पूंजीपति के नाम पे डालमियानागरम करना प्रस्तावित किया गया था। उस वक़्त तमिलनाडु में पेरियार के द्रविड़ राजनीतिक आंदोलन से जन्मे दलों को ये कदम हिंदी साम्राज्यवाद से प्रेरित गैर-हिंदी भाषियों पर हिंदी को बलपूर्वक थोपने की कोशिश लगी। इसके विरोध में होने वाले उग्र प्रदर्शनों में करुणानिधि एक युवा लेकिन महत्वपूर्ण चेहरा बन के उभरे और उन्हें जेल भी जाना पड़ा। तब तमिल फिल्मों में स्क्रीनप्ले लिखने वाले करुणानिधि आने वाले समय में तमिलनाडु की राजनीति के दिग्गज बन के उभरनेवाले थे।

करुणानिधि ने द्रविड़ आंदोलन के पहले छात्र संगठन ‘तमिलनाडु तमिल मनावर मन्द्रम’ की शुरुआत की। 1953 में कल्लाकुडी आंदोलन में राजनीतिक पटल पर उभरने के बाद सन 1957 में 33 साल की उम्र में कुलितले विधानसभा सीट से डीएमके की और से पहली बार निर्वाचित हो के तमिलनाडु विधानसभा में गए। 1961 में वे DMK के कोषाध्यक्ष बने और 1967 में जब पार्टी सत्ता में आयी तो वो कैबिनेट में मंत्री बने।

1969 में तत्कालीन मुख्यमंत्री अन्नादुरै के निधन के बाद करुणानिधि ने पहली बार मुख्यमंत्री पद संभाला और 1969 से 2011 तक वे भिन्न भिन्न कार्यकालों में 5 बार तमिलनाडु के मुख्यमंत्री रह चुके थे।

करुणानिधि के राजनीतिक प्रतिद्वंदी और विवाद

करुणानिधि के सबसे बड़े राजनितिक प्रतिद्वंदी बन के उभरे तमिल सिनेमा के बड़े अभिनेता एमजी रामचंद्रन। एक वक्त में करुणानिधि के मित्र और डीएमके में उनके साथी रहे एमजीआर ने अलग होकर अन्नाद्रमुक पार्टी बनाई और तब से आज तक वो डीएमके के सबसे बड़े प्रतिद्वंदी बन के उभरे हैं।

करुणानिधि और विवादों का चोली दामन का साथ रहा है। भ्रष्टाचार के कई आरोप उन पर, उनके परिवार पर और उनकी पार्टी पर लगते आये हैं। सेतुसमुद्रम विवादों के दौरान भी उनका एक बयां जिसमे उन्होंने ने हिन्दू भगवान राम के होने पे प्रश्न उठाया था उसकी काफी आलोचना हुई थी।

करुणानिधि और इंदिरा गाँधी और काँग्रेस के बीच भी काफी तनातनी का वातावरण रहा है। 1975 में लगायी गयी इमरजेंसी के दौरान करुणानिधि की पार्टी एकलौती सत्तारूढ़ पार्टी थी जिसने इमरजेंसी का विरोध किया था। हालाँकि इस से पहले करुणानिधि ने इंदिरा गाँधी के बैंको के राष्ट्रीकरण करने पर उनका समर्थन दिया था।

करुणानिधि और लिट्टे के बीच के सम्बन्ध भी विवादों का कारण रहे हैं। राजीव गाँधी की लिट्टे द्वारा हत्या के बाद करुणानिधि की सरकार को प्रशासन करने पे असक्षम मान बर्खास्त कर दिया गया था। एक इंटरव्यू में करुणानिधि ने लिट्टे प्रमुख प्रभाकरन को अपना मित्र भी बताया था।

करुणानिधि के राजनीति की विचारधारा

करुणानिधि तमिलनाडु में पेरियार द्वारा चलाये गए ब्राह्मणवाद विरोधी आन्दोलनों से जन्मी विचारधारा और राजनीति का हिस्सा रहे हैं। अगर हिंदी पट्टी के लोगों को पेरियार और करूणानिधि के बीच के संबंधों को समझाना हो तो ये कहा जा सकता है कि जो सम्बन्ध बिहार में जयप्रकाश नारायण के छात्र आंदोलन और नीतीश कुमार और लालू यादव का रहा है या फिर उत्तर प्रदेश में जो सम्बन्ध राम मनोहर लोहिया के समाजवादी विचारधारा से अभी की समाजवादी पार्टी का रहा है वैसा ही सम्बन्ध पेरियार और करुणानिधि का माना जा सकता है।

तमिलनाडु में गैर ब्राह्मण और पिछड़ी जाति की राजनीति जिसका उद्गम पेरियार के समय से हुआ उसे ही आगे बढ़ाने का दावा करुणानिधि द्वारा किया जाता रहा है। लेकिन करुणानिधि के आलोचकों का कहना है कि वो अब पेरियार के दिखाए रास्ते से अलग हटकर वोट बैंक की राजनीति के लिए जातिगत समीकरणों का इस्तेमाल करने लगे थे। इसके अलावा आये दिन करूणानिधि और उनकी पार्टी द्वारा ब्राह्मणवादी प्रतीकवाद का इस्तेमाल वोटरों को रिझाने के लिए करना पेरियार की विचारधारा के ठीक विपरीत माना जाने लगा था।

DMK में वंशवाद औऱ करुणानिधि पर भ्रष्टाचार का आरोप

इसके अलावा करुणानिधि का एक और पक्ष आलोचना का शिकार होता रहा था और वो था उनका वंशवाद को बढ़ावा देना। अपने बेटे स्टालिन को अपना उत्तराधिकारी बनाने की वजह से खुद की पार्टी में भी उन पर पार्टी हित से ज़्यादा अपने परिवार को तरजीह देने के आरोप लगाए जाते रहे थे। हालांकि उनके समर्थकों का कहना था कि स्टालिन ने अपने दम पे ग्रासरुट लेवल से अपना राजनितिक करियर बनाया।

करुणानिधि और उनकी पार्टी पर भ्रष्टाचार के कई आरोप लगते रहे हैं। इंदिरा गाँधी की सरकार ने भ्रष्टाचार के मामले में कदम उठाते हुए एक बार करुणानिधि की सरकार को बर्खास्त भी किया था। सन 2001 में चेन्नई में बन रहे फ्लाईओवर में होने वाले घोटालों के लिए उनको जेल भी जाना पड़ा है। संप्रग की सरकार में हुए 2जी घोटालों में द्रमुक के सांसद कनिमोझी और ए राजा को अभियुक्त बनाया गया था। हालांकि CBI अदालत ने दोनों को इस मामले से बरी कर दिया था।

करुणानिधि का राजनीतिक करियर कई उतार चढ़ावों और विवादों से भरा रहा लेकिन इन सारे विवादों के बीच ये “कलाकार” तमिलनाडु और देश की राजनीति में सबसे लम्बे समय तक सक्रिय रहा। ये बात सच है कि समय समय पर अपने राजनीतिक आदर्शों और विचारधारा से करुणानिधि अलग हटते रहे लेकिन तमिलनाडु की राजनीति में पिछड़े वर्गों की मज़बूत हैसियत के होने के पीछे इनका बहुत बड़ा योगदान रहा है। इनके निधन से वाकई एक युग का अंत हुआ है और पेरियार के आंदोलनों में अपनी जड़ें रखने वाली राजनेताओं की खेप अब करुणानिधि के साथ ही समाप्त हो चुकी है।

The post 94 साल की उम्र में तमिलनाडु के दिग्गज नेता करुणानिधि का निधन appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

In the times of proliferation of “liberal” thinkers and writers, some of the civil society organisations have found new ways and dimensions to accommodate such brow-raising scholarship. While the platform should and must be flexible for a wide-ranging debates and discussion, it is more often than not distanced from experiential and evidence-based knowledge which is not often rooted in grassroots reality.

The passing of the Anti-Trafficking Bill, 2018, by the Lok Sabha on July 26, 2018, was largely welcomed by sections of the civil society and the society at large. However, concerns, which are devoid of facts and reasons, raised by some NGOs confusing the general public. While on the surface they appear thought-provoking, in reality they are mere assumptions that lack concrete evidence. For a layman, these statements may create misconception, alienating them from the gravity of the problem and debarring them from the factual understanding.

Critical thinking thus can have a downside and this article is an attempt to unravel such preconceived and rhetoric theories which are embedded in the realm of abstraction. Some of the answers to the frequently asked questions are summarized below:

Q.What is it that the Bill proposes in comparison to the already existing legal framework?

The Bill creates a dedicated three-tier institutional framework at national, state, and district level to ensure the effective implementation of the law at all levels. The existing laws on trafficking only criminalise the act of trafficking and there is no framework for prevention of trafficking, or the protection and rehabilitation of victims. The fact that trafficking is closely linked to the issues of bonded labour and prostitution, but is distinctively independent from them is something that can only be addressed in the proposed new Bill. The Bill recognizes the wider scope of trafficking and associated crimes, including organ-donation, bride-trafficking, trafficking children for transportation of arms, drugs, etc.

Some of the new provisions proposed in the Bill include creating economic deterrence by attachment and forfeiture of property and freezing of bank accounts used for trafficking, directing surveys, awareness generation and community-based rehabilitation. The bill further aims at creating a special action plan for prevention of trafficking, providing for International cooperation to tackle cross-border trafficking, mandating a right to rehabilitation to survivors through:

(i) Special rehabilitation agencies at all levels.

(ii) A dedicated rehabilitation fund for survivors for assistance in the form of psychological, social and economic rehabilitation, which is not contingent upon conviction.

(iii) It provides capital, infrastructure and skill development to survivors to become self-dependent and creating designated courts and special prosecutors for time-bound prosecution of offenders.

Q. How does the Bill comply with global standards and requirements?

This Bill sets international precedent in bringing statutory rehabilitation together with all aspects of prevention, protection, and online forms of trafficking in one comprehensive legislation. This will provide a single point of support to all survivors. It can be rightly argued that the Bill is a giant step by India to not only achieve, but also set the highest international standards of combating trafficking in persons.

Q. How is the Bill survivor-centric?

The Bill aims to “prevent trafficking of persons, especially women and children and to provide care, protection and rehabilitation to the victims of trafficking, to prosecute offenders and to create a legal, economic and social environment for the victims and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

While the welfare of the survivor is at the core of the Bill, it also caters to the crime and its processes. The survivor-centric provisions include:

(i) Preventive measures at the community and institutional level.

(ii) Immediate protection through rescue from place of exploitation, and protection as victims and witnesses.

(iii) Immediate rehabilitation through protection and rehabilitation homes.

(iv) Long-term psychological, social and economic rehabilitation.

(v) Burden of proof on the offender. It also addresses the crime by including stringent punishment and fines, time-bound trial, attachment and forfeiture of property, freezing of bank accounts, and cancellation of anticipatory bail.

Q.What about the gaps in processes and enforcement of the law that are not given in the Bill?

Any Bill or Act provides the substantive law for addressing a crime or issue. The Rules, which are formulated subsequent to the passing of a Bill, provide the procedural law for implementation. The same process will be followed in this case wherein the rules for the Act will provide for the procedural aspects of the law, which will address any issue pertaining to its implementation.

Q. How is sexual exploitation defined in the Bill?

The Bill uses and extends the existing definition of trafficking as provided for in Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code 1860. The term “exploitation” in this Section includes both physical and sexual exploitation. Section 2(w) of the Bill states that “trafficking of persons” will be defined as per Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines exploitation as  “any act of physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs.”

How does the Bill rehabilitate sex workers?

As far as child victims of trafficking are concerned, the Bill protects and rehabilitates them. However, it leaves it to the choice and agency of an adult sex worker to accept or decline the option of rehabilitation by making an application, along with an affidavit, to the magistrate declining rehabilitative services. It does not resort to mandatory institutionalisation, but only provides the option of a safe place to stay to survivors. Apart from national, state, and district-level agencies and a dedicated fund, the statutory rehabilitation model in the Bill also includes capital, infrastructure, and skill development to survivors to become self-dependent.

Q.Does the Bill criminalise voluntary sex work?

The list of offences under Chapter XII of the Bill only criminalises a person who buys and sells other persons for the purpose of exploitation. The Bill does not criminalise voluntary sex work. It aims at criminalisation of trafficking in line with the already existing definition of trafficking under Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code 1860.

Q. How does the Bill protect the privacy of survivors?

By introducing Section 42 of the Bill which states that “no report or newspaper or magazine or news-sheet or audio-visual media or any other form of communication regarding any inquiry or investigation or judicial proceedings at any stage shall disclose the name, address, or any other particulars, which may lead to the identification of a victim or witness of trafficking of person under this Act shall be published”, the Bill protects the identity and confidentiality of survivors at all stages and criminalises its violation.

Q. How does the Bill include forfeiture of property?

Section 29 (1) provides for the attachment of property only in cases where “the property is concealed, transferred or dealt with, in any manner which may result in frustrating any proceedings under this Act”. Property is only attached till the time of conviction, and will only be forfeited thereafter. The process has all necessary checks and balances so it is used only in cases where trafficking has been proved.

Q. How does the Bill get operationalized and doesn’t it perpetuate bureaucracy expansion by setting up additional agencies?

It must be noted that the Bill sets up one new agency and institutionalises those already existing in a single line of institutions from the national to the district level to implement the law. It also only assigns additional profiles to existing bureaucrats and does not employ new ones.

Q. Why does the Bill not address the issues of transgender individuals?

The Bill is essentially gender-neutral and aims to protect all genders under its ambit. Perhaps this is the reason why special vulnerabilities of transgender individuals are addressed in the Bill, in its entirety.

Q. Why does the Bill create a gradation of offences by adding aggravated forms of trafficking?

The Bill recognises the levels of severity of the crime of trafficking caused by increased levels of vulnerability of the victim, span of the crime and its long-term implications. Enhanced punishment of a minimum of 10 years is assigned in cases where the victim’s heightened vulnerability is exploited, or the victim is trafficked, held in bondage and consistently exploited.

Q. Is the Bill of any use in the absence of adequate resources?

The Financial Memorandum attached with the Bill clearly states: “The financial implication arising from the establishment of National Anti-Trafficking Bureau is estimated as recurring expenditure of Rs 10 crore in the first year and Rs 20 crore each in the next two years and for Rehabilitation Fund it is estimated as an initial allocation of Rs 10 crore and to be augmented subsequently on need basis”. Therefore, no cap has been placed on these amounts so that they may be subsequently increased as much the need may be.

Q. Should the Bill be passed in haste despite of being critiqued by the UN agencies?

The article titled “India must bring its new anti-trafficking Bill in line with human rights law, urge UN experts” on the official OHCHR is the opinion of individual special procedure experts of the UN, and does not represent the stand of the UN. The said article clearly states-“…Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.”

Q. Which stakeholders were consulted during the process of drafting the Bill?

Over a period of almost three years, all relevant stakeholders and civil society at large were consulted at all stages of formulation of the Bill, and their suggestions incorporated. The process of formulation of the law began in August 2015, when a multi-stakeholder committee was established for its drafting. In May 2016, the Ministry of Women and Child Development placed the draft on its website for public suggestions. All subsequent drafts were also shared on the website, and public comments and suggestions were invited. The ministry received over 300 suggestions from public and civil society. Regional consultations were held in all main cities, in which over 60 NGOs, government departments and police participated in. All stakeholders including sex workers and labour unions were consulted. Extensive discussions with the Members of Parliament were also conducted.

The answers to the above mentioned questions make an attempt to deconstruct some of the existing myths and confusion surrounding the Bill. In the absence of this Bill, the trafficker or the person responsible for promoting the crime of trafficking would laugh with impunity in the lack of any legal accountability and effective implementation of the laws relating to trafficking. Hence, keeping in mind the pressing challenges, it is imperative at this point of time that the Bill is passed by Rajya Sabha on priority without any hindrance or further delay, while ensuring its effective implementation. 

The post Deconstructing The Myths Surrounding The New Anti-Trafficking Bill appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Dear Miss Ruchira Gupta (Founder of the Indian anti-sex trafficking organisation, Apne Aap),

India’s civil society has played a defining role in the journey towards social justice and transformation. Our colleagues and comrades have laid down their lives to bring us where we are today in our struggle for human rights and their realization.

Your open letter regarding the Anti-Trafficking Bill 2018 does not only disregard those who have pioneered India’s human rights movement but also demonstrates the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of those NGOs who claim to fight for the rights of India’s most vulnerable, while living in a foreign land. In this article, I attempt to respond to the key questions you have raised and hope that my line of reasoning will lead you to develop a more accurate understanding of the Bill and refine your further critique.

Human trafficking is the most heinous form of slavery and violence. Millions of children and women are pushed into forced labour and sexual servitude. What exposes these millions to great peril is not legislative action, but the absence of it. It takes more than noble intentions to end trafficking and this is what the Anti-Trafficking Bill lays out.

1. Your first allegation is that the definition of trafficking leaves out millions of victims of sex trafficking.

On the contrary, the definition of trafficking under Section 370 of IPC as espoused by the Bill covers any act of physical or sexual exploitation, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs. Moreover, the Bill creates a range of offences which further elaborate and interpret this definition in its widest sense possible.

It is basic legal sense that rather than defining each word in every law, a specific word or clause defined in any one law becomes the basis for every subsequent policy and legislation. If one was to take your argument, every law would have 200 pages of definitions alone.

2. Your second allegation is that illiterate victims will be dependent on the words ‘may be’ from the Bill’s statement of objects and reasons –

A basic understanding of law teaches us that police complaints are registered against specific offences and not on the statement of objects.

Next, you alleged that discrimination by local authorities will deny marginalized groups access to justice. This statement is both irresponsible and ill-informed.

It is grossly irresponsible to suggest that all police officials or other law enforcement agencies will misuse or not use the law. As a feminist and human rights advocate, I shudder to think of what would be the consequence of any law aimed to provide protection to women and other vulnerable sections of the society if one would imagine that in every case poor illiterate people will have to understand and use the law on the basis of their understanding.

It is our collective responsibility as a society to ensure that the law remains and is applied uniformly to all, and protect all, especially the poor, illiterate and the most vulnerable.

3. Your next statement on the comprehensiveness of the Bill is self-contradictory.

The reason behind the usage of the existing definition of trafficking is to avoid multiplicity of laws that you alleged it creates. Further, it aims to fulfill the vacuum that currently exists in the laws.

You continue to misread Section 370 of the IPC by stating that it does not punish the sex buyer or the end user. A simple reading of the law will tell you that the said Section includes the receiving of person or persons for the purpose of exploitation, which includes both buying and exploitation. You also claim that the Bill is not a victim friendly and burdens the victims with vagueness of definition, multiplicity of laws, no punishment of the perpetrator and the continued punishment of the victims. These myths surrounding the law have been repeatedly clarified on the floor of the Lok Sabha as well as in the media. You choose to remain misinformed and perpetuate these myths, thus creating a cloud of ignorance around the Bill and its true provisions. It does not bode well for an academic of your position. However, I will attempt to clarify the same again.

1. The Bill only criminalizes those who exploit, not the exploited.
2. For the first time, voluntary sex workers will be extended an option to step out of the practice and avail economic, social, psychological, and skill development based rehabilitation and reintegration. At no point will a voluntary sex worker be punished. In fact the Bill also provides impunity to offenders, in some situations if they have been victims in the past.
3. The Bill increases the punishment for perpetrators to a minimum of 10 years and up to life in aggravated forms of offences.
4. The existing laws for bonded labor and prostitution, and other forms of exploitation will continue to be enforced. The Bill only aims to tie together the various provisions of laws on exploitation to the process of trafficking.

4. You point out that the Bill gives draconian powers of surveillance, raid and rescue to a new National Anti-Trafficking Bureau in the name of investigating trafficking cases and coordinating between law enforcement agencies and NGOs.

The said Bureau is a first of its kind investigation agency that facilitates national and international cooperation for the crime of trafficking. Removal from a situation of slavery and exploitation is an essential strategy to provide immediate respite to victims in situations of extreme exploitation and is often the beginning of the process of delivering justice to victims. Such rescue operations cannot be carried out arbitrarily, but only with the registration of an official complaint with the police and the following of the legal tenets. From your allegations, one may only guess about your current exposure and experience of such operations. Similarly, surveillance is conducted only as a means of prevention. The identity of victims is not only protected but its violation is also punishable by the Bill.

5. Your next allegation regarding harassment of youth from Muslim, Dalit and Indigenous communities who enter into inter-caste or inter-religious marriages is unfounded.

The Bill only criminalises trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage and not the act of marriage itself. It appears that you have chosen to use such words or arguments without even going through the law properly.

The Bill was out in the public domain for close to two years. NGOs came and made submissions to the Ministry dozens of times. How many times did you or your group come to the Ministry to improve upon the Bill, Ms Gupta? Or even raised these points and arguments that you are vehemently making now at the time of the regional consultations that Apne Aap representatives had attended. Even when the Bill was finalized, the Cabinet deliberated upon it for months, the GOM was created to further fine-tune it, and this is the result of a process of over 2 years of hard work by dozens of people, including NGOs like Prajjwala, Prayas, and subject matter experts like Dr. P.M. Nair, who have all worked for decades on trafficking.

Earlier, in another newspaper article, you had critiqued that in the year 2016 when the government amended the Child Labour Act, it removed millions of children in family based-enterprises and audio-visual entertainment from the definition of child labour; and the government was able to report that Child Labour had come down in India. This is not only incorrect in interpretation but also incorrect in law. The amended Child Labour Law did not remove any children from any form of labour. In fact, it broadened the scope of the law to include these children. Therefore there can be no cause-effect relationship between the spike of child rape and child labour. Moreover, children were always allowed to work in families (even in the erstwhile Child Labour Act), and audiovisual entertainment was never a part of the Child Labour Act.

By making these arguments that are not only untrue but are within the scope of being called ‘fake news’, and circulating the same, one wonders whose interests are being propagated by such ‘fake news’. It is certainly not of the victims and survivors of trafficking. I was a part of the team that worked on an earlier draft of the law for the Ministry. And I am well aware that you had not made any suggestions at that time to the Ministry apart from the argument that we should not have this Bill, and had said nothing on what do we need if not this Bill.

I challenge you to answer the victims of trafficking for whom rehabilitation today is not a matter of right and who do not get their due wages and payments back, the witnesses and victims who find no protection during rescue and trial, the victims who have no official body to go to, or the children who are trafficked for begging and are found across India, and whose traffickers are not covered within the ambit of any law. I could go on and on, but I do not think there is an answer currently in law that you can give.

In conclusion, I believe that a purely theoretical and superficial understanding of the realities of trafficking has led to random and illogical arguments unfounded in law, thus propagating confusion in the minds of the less informed reader. These are often disguised as principled stances on the issue. I urge you to interact closely with the survivors of trafficking and those who attempt to protect and empower them. I also urge you to read this law closely and others that precede it. This will help your noble intentions translate into tangible critique and solutions.

This is not a perfect law, because there is no such thing as a perfect law. But raising rhetorical and fake arguments will not bring us closer to any such thing as even a good law. It is easy to criticize. It is difficult to create. Let us work hard together, study more, work with victims and survivors more, and use this law as a step forward.

The post ‘It Takes More Than Noble Intentions To End Trafficking’: A Letter To Ruchira Gupta appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

पटेल चेस्ट, मुखर्जी नगर, परमानंद, नेहरू विहार, इंद्रा विहार, गांधी विहार, वज़ीराबाद, संगम विहार इन सारे इलाकों में रहने वाले स्टूडेंट्स एकमुश्त कोचिंग करने मुखर्जी नगर आते हैं, जिनमें अधिकांशत: हरियाणा, बिहार, उत्तरप्रदेश, झारखंड के रहने वाले हैं। मुखर्जी नगर की स्थिति वैसी ही है जैसे बिहार में कभी एक गांव से दूसरे गांव तक जाने वाली मिनी बस की होती थी जिसमें 20 लोगों की औकात वाली बस में 45 लोग कोचाए (ठेला-ठेली) हुए रहते थे और कुमार सानू का गाना सुनते हुए रास्ता काट लेते थे। कभी-कभी अति हो जाने पर बस पलटी मार देती थी।

एक तरफ कोचिंग वाला, किताब वाला, अखबार वाला, ढाबा वाला, चाय वाला, दारू वाला, मोमोज़ वाला, भोजन वाला, मिठाई वाला, ऑटो वाला, रिक्शा वाला, पैंफलेट्स वाला, लिफ्लेट्स वाला, एटीएम वाला, ब्ला… ब्ला.. ब्ला… जोड़ते जाइए और हर ‘वाला’ के यहां छात्रों की ज़बरदस्त भीड़। हर जगह अस्त- ब्यस्त वाला माहौल।

दूसरी तरफ होते हैं स्थानीय, या सही शब्द में कहूं तो लैंडलॉर्ड। इन सबसे बोझिल हुए मुखर्जी नगर से गुज़रते हुए लगता है कि कहीं कोई होर्डिंग देह पर ना गिर जाए या किसी दिन सेचुरेशन (saturation) प्वाइंट पर पहुंचकर गांव की उस मिनी बस की तरह मुखर्जी नगर भी पलटी ना मार दे। साल 2015 में नेपाल में जब भूकंप आया था तो दिल्ली हाई कोर्ट ने एक याचिका पर सुनवाई करते हुए कहा था।

दिल्ली की अधिकतर बिल्डिंग डेंजर ज़ोन में है, एमसीडी ने अपने हलफनामे में कोर्ट को बताया कि 25 परसेंट बिल्डिंग प्लानिंग के तहत बनी है बाकी 75 परसेंट बिना किसी प्लानिंग के है। हाई कोर्ट ने कहा कि दिल्ली सरकार नेपाल की तरह किसी आपदा का इंतज़ार कर रही है क्या।

उन दिनों हाई कोर्ट की इस टिप्पणी को पढ़ते हुए इन्हीं इलाकों का खयाल आया, अगर भूकंप आ जाए तो तबाही हो जाएगी। पांच-पांच इंच पर जोड़ी गई दिवार, एक गिरी तो सब धराशायी। इस डेंजर ज़ोन में किराए पर मकान को लेने के लिए ठेला-ठेली है। किसी को आईएएस बनना है, किसी को बैंकर, किसी को एसएससी वैगेरह, वगैरह। नया बना हुआ

पच्चीस गज का मकान है तो 9 से 10 हज़ार रुपया। बिना दलाल के मकान नहीं। खाली भी होगा तो भी मकान मालिक नहीं देंगे, क्योंकी सबकी सबसे सेटिंग है, मकान मालिक, दलाल, पानी वाला, ढाबा वाला। असल में ‘अर्थशास्त्र’ तो यहीं आकर समझ आता है।

8,000 हज़ार रुपए का मकान है तो 4,000 रुपया दलाल को मकान दिलाने का और 4,000 रुपया मकान मालिक को रेंट के अलावे सिक्योरिटी मनी मतलब कुल 16,000 हज़ार रुपया। रेंट एडवांस चलेगा, बिजली बिल NDPL के मुताबिक नहीं मनमर्ज़ी सात या आठ रुपया, 200 रुपया पानी बिल। इतना तो हर महीन मकान मालिक को देना है।

अब अकेला इतना खर्चा कौन उठाएगा तो दो से तीन लोग एक साथ कमरा लेते हैं मकान में तीन लोग हैं तो एक-एक कोना पकड़ कर बैठ जाइए। किताब, कपड़ा रखने की जगह नहीं, कमरा नहीं गोदाम। सबसे ज़्यादा दुर्गति ठंड में होती है रज़ाई भी रखने की जगह नहीं। इन इलाकों में रहने वाले स्टूडेंट्स रज़ाई बारह महीने बाहर ही रखते हैं।

लैंडलॉर्ड का अलग से रूल बुक (विशेषकर लड़कियों) के लिए लड़के नहीं आएंगे, नॉनवेज नहीं बनेगा (सब नहीं कुछ लोग), 10 बजे के बाद मेन डोर बंद हो जाएगा। टाइम पर किराया दो, पांच तारीख को घर में शिफ्ट हुए थे तो किराया पांच से पांच चलेगा।

इन तमाम एट्सेटरा… एट्सेटरा…एटसेटरा के बाद भी पढ़ने वाले पढ़ रहे होते हैं। यूपीएससी का ख्वाब देखना और एक से दो बार मेंस में बैठने का मतलब है जैसे सिगरेट पीने की घनघोर आदत लग जाना जब तक फेफड़े में पानी ना भर जाए तब तक चलेगा!

इन सबमें सबसे ज़्यादा फल- फूल रहा है कोचिंग सेंटर और लैंडलॉर्ड। इधर कोचिंग सेंटर का ब्रांच पर ब्रांच तो उधर शहरी ‘सामंतवादियों’ का फ्लोर पर फ्लोर, बिल्डिंग पर बिल्डिंग।

कोचिंग सेंटर इसलिए कि हमारी सरकार आधी रात ‘वन नेशन वन टैक्स’ ला सकती है लेकिन ‘वन नेशन वन एजुकेशन’ नहीं कर सकती। परिणामस्वरूप हिन्दी मीडियम के वह तमाम छात्र- छात्राएं जिन्हें बेहतर प्राथमिक शिक्षा नहीं मिल पाई वो हर चीज़ के लिए कोचिंग पर डिपेंड हैं। कोचिंग अंग्रेज़ी मीडियम का स्टूडेंट भी लेता लेकिन ज़्यादातर पैर्टन समझने के लिए, हिन्दी मीडियम की हालत कोचिंग के गुरू जी लोगों को पूजने वाली होती है कारण भारी तादाद में वे स्टूडेंट्स होते हैं जो पहले से सफाचट्ट होते हैं। (मैं हिन्दी मीडियम के सारे छात्र- छात्राओं को जेनरलाइज़ नहीं कर रही हूं।)

इसी में किसी दिन कोई मकान मालिक तो कभी कोई दलाल या स्थानीय किसी स्टूडेंट पर हाथ उठा देता है, न्याय के लिए छात्र-छात्राएं सड़क पर आ आते हैं और पुलिस लाठी भांजते हुए अपना दायित्व पूरा कर देती है जैसा कि बीते दिन हुआ है। मैं कोई कॉन्क्लूज़न लाइन ड्रॉ नहीं कर रही। बस यही कि तात्कालिक समाधान है कि छात्रों को न्याय मिले। लेकिन यह महज़ तात्कालिक ही होगा।

The post मुखर्जी नगर गांव की मिनी बस की तरह है क्या पता कब पलट जाए! appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

कल जब हम लाल किले की प्राचीर से आज़ादी की 72 वीं वर्षगांठ मना रहे होंगे, तब हमारे सामने ये सवाल खड़ा ज़रूर होगा कि इस आज़ाद देश में हमारी आधी-आबादी यानी महिलाएं कितनी स्वतंत्र हुई हैं? हो सकता है मेरे इस सवाल से कुछ लोग इत्तेफाक ना रखे और कहें कि आज देश के रक्षा मंत्रालय से लेकर विदेश मंत्रालय तक कई राज्यों में मुख्यमत्री, लोकसभा स्पीकर तक और देश के अनेकों शीर्ष पदों पर महिलाएं विराजमान है तो भाई ओर कितनी स्वतंत्रता चाहिए?

किन्तु मेरे हिसाब से ये सिर्फ आत्ममुग्धता या दिल बहलाने वाला उत्तर होगा क्योंकि यदि सफलता या स्वतंत्रता मापने के यही पैमाने हैं तो दिल पर हाथ रखकर कितने लोग जवाब देंगे कि बारहवीं सदी में जब रज़िया सुल्तान दिल्ली की गद्दी पर बैठी थी तब क्या महिलाएं स्वतंत्र थी?

महिलाओं ने अब तक जो भी हासिल किया है वो स्वयं के अनुभव, आत्मविश्वास और मेहनत के आधार पर पाया है क्योंकि पुरुष समाज भी पितृसत्तातमक सोच के दायरे से बाहर नहीं निकला है। स्त्री को सिर्फ एक देह मानने की मानसिकता से क्या अब तक हम निकल पाये हैं? ये सवाल जब हम खुद से पूछेंगे तो निश्चित तौर पर हमें इसका जवाब मिल जायेगा।

दुनियाभर के संपन्न देशों में महिलाओं की स्थिति दर्शाने वाले एक शोध में भारत आखिरी पायदान पर खड़ा है। पर जब हम इस शोध पत्र को घूर कर देख रहे थे, इसे फर्ज़ी और बकवास भरा झूठा शोध पत्र बता रहे थे तब देश में बिहार के मुज़फ्फरपुर में बालिका गृह यौन उत्पीड़न कांड ने ना सिर्फ बिहार बल्कि पूरे देश को हिला कर रख दिया था।

जब तक हम शर्म की चादर से इस मामले को पूरी तरह ढक भी नहीं पाए थे तब यूपी के चर्चित देवरिया शेल्टर होम का दूसरा मामला हमारे सामने खड़ा हो गया है। भले ही मामला अब CBI के हाथ में है लेकिन देश को महिलाओं के मामलों में जो ज़िल्लत उठानी पड़ी उसकी भरपाई भला महिला उत्थान के कुछ नारे लगा देने से कैसे होगी?

कुछ समय पहले तक हमारा देश अपराध को अपराध की नज़र से देखता था, आवाज़ उठाता था, लेकिन अब ऐसा नहीं है। सत्ता पक्ष हो या विपक्ष सब अपनी राजनीतिक नफा-नुकसान के आधार पर तौलकर आवाज़ उठाते हैं। बाकी बचे देश के लोग तो ये प्राचीन रोमन साम्राज्य के ग्लैडीएटर हैं जो सोशल मीडिया के अखाड़े में उपस्थित होकर अपने-अपने राजनितिक आकाओं के लिए युद्ध करते हैं।

ऐसा नहीं है कि बिहार के मुज़फ्फरपुर या यूपी के देवरिया शेल्टर होम में पहली बार बच्चियों के यौन शोषण के मामले उजागर हुए जिससे हमारा नैतिकता का ग्राफ नीचे गिर गया इससे थोड़े समय पहले लखनऊ के एक मदरसे में भी यौन शोषण का मामला उजागर हुआ था। इससे पहले भी ना जाने राज्य वर राज्य कितने मामले अख़बारों के पन्नों में आँखों के सामने से गुज़र गये।

बहुत पहले जब मैंने आचार्य चतुरसेन शास्त्री द्वारा लिखित ऐतिहासिक गोली उपन्यास में राजस्थान के रजवाड़ों और उनके रंगमहलों की भीतरी ज़िंदगी, राजाओंं-महाराजाओं और उनकी दासियों के बीच वासना-व्यापार का बड़ा मार्मिक जीवन पढ़ा तो मैं सोचता था कितने बुरे राजा रहे होंगे। वासना में डूबे हुए उसी परिवेश की एक बदनसीब गोली की करुण-कथा, जो जीवन-भर राजा की वासना का शिकार बनती रही बाद में फेंक दी जाती या मार दी जाती थी।

लेकिन कहा जाता है जितना बड़ा देश है, उसका उतना ही बड़ा इतिहास होता है राजाओं के “रनिवास” मुगलों के ज़माने में “हरम” के बाद आज वर्तमान में राजनीति से जुड़ें लोग बालिका संरक्षण गृहों में यही काम कर रहे हैं तो आखिर बदला क्या है?

आखिर कहां खो गयी है मानवता? ये कौन सी प्रगति है और कौन सी स्वतंत्रता जहां मासूम बच्चियों की उन्मुक्तता सुरक्षित नहीं है? ये कौन सी प्रगति और विकास है जहां वो संरक्षण गृहों में सुरक्षित नहीं? उसका डर और ये ओछापन हमारे समाज से कैसे खतम होगा? कब तक इसे सिर्फ एक खिलौना समझा जाएगा जिससे जो चाहे खेल ले अपने हिसाब से, आखिर कब तक?

कभी नगरवधु के नाम पर तो कभी हरम की आग में वो जलती रही। एक किस्सा ये भी कहा जाता है कि खुदारोज के दिन अकबर अपनी प्रजा को बाध्य किया करता था कि एक आयोजन हो जिसमें प्रजा अपने घर की स्त्रियों को नग्न करके दरवाज़े पर खड़ा करे ताकि उन स्त्रियों में से सबसे सुन्दर स्त्रियों को अकबर अपने हरम के लिए चुन सके।

आज बालिका संरक्षण के नाम ब्रजेश ठाकुर जैसे लोग यही काम कर रहे हैं लेकिन ये बादशाह तो नहीं? फिर कार्रवाई में देरी क्यों? कठुआ गैंगरेप के बाद सब चाहते थे कि रेप की सज़ा फांसी हो, इसकी मांग गुंजने लगी थी इस गूंज की वजह से मोदी कैबिनेट ने यह तय भी किया है कि वो इस मसले पर लेकर नया कानून बनाएंगे, तो अब देरी क्यों?

महाभारत में जयध्रत वध के समय का एक प्रसंग है जब कृष्ण, अर्जुन से कहते हैं “देखते क्या हो पार्थ! अभी सूर्यास्त नहीं हुआ है, वो रहा सूर्य, ये रहा जयध्रत बाण चलाओं।” मैं कोई कृष्ण तो नहीं लेकिन एक सामान्य नागरिक की हैसियत से  इतना तो कह ही सकता हूं कि हे महिला उत्थान चाहने वालों वो रहा कानून और ये रहा आपकी पकड़ में आरोपी ब्रजेश ठाकुर, तो मासूम बच्चियों को न्याय दो!

The post कभी नगरवधु, कभी हरम और अब शेल्टर होम, आज़ाद भारत में भी महिलाएं कितनी सुरक्षित हैं? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Forest Laws, by definition, ‘govern activities in forestlands, with respect to management and timber harvesting.’

At least a dozen laws have been formulated in India, regulating wildlife, forest resources, and climate change, in the past 70 years. They all give separate powers to the state and national governments to take decisions aimed at increasing India’s forest cover to 33% of the total geographical area by 2020. And with almost 275 million people dependant on forests for their livelihood, it is vital that the country place special focus on preserving and developing forests.

But are the laws really fruitful? It is ironical to think that despite so much regulation, India’s forest cover is ever depleting. According to reports, in the past 95 years, India has lost about 40% of its green cover. Where does the flaw lie? Is it in our policy or its implementation?

Let’s take a look at how India fares on the forest management scale.

This Act was enacted during the British rule, in addition to the Forest Act of 1878. Both the 1878 and 1927 acts sought to reserve the areas having forest cover or significant wildlife. This was done to ensure proper use/trade of forest produce like timber, and regulate the taxes levied on them. The Act also categorised forest areas as – Reserved Forest, Village Forest or Protected Forest and laid down guidelines for tourist activities allowed in these areas.

This was one of the initial laws carved by the British government not just to protect forests, but also regulate trading activities of forest resources like wood, fruits, sap, etc. And while this Act successfully protected our forest for years, it’s the 2017 Lok Sabha Bill that made it flawed.

The amendment of the Indian Forests Act omitted the need for permissions for felling and trade of bamboo. This was done because bamboo cultivation in India is increasing and it gives farmers a supporting income when other crops fail. But in the long run, this amendment will be counter-productive for the environment. It will give easy access for felling trees and allow a bamboo mafia to thrive in limited regulation. How? We know for a fact that timber and weed mafias run heavy activity in restricted forests, as there aren’t many people around. In many instances, these mafias have deliberately started forest fires, to acquire resources that they wouldn’t have otherwise got access to. By doing so, they can easily cover up the excessive felling of trees and take help from bribed forest officials.

It doesn’t make sense giving easy passage to tree felling, especially in a country where corruption is high and that’s already seen the rise of mafias in deregulated industries.

Although the country had to wait three decades to get the new forest policy (previous in 1988), it sure looks promising, with a plan to pay particular attention to fresh challenges – decreasing green cover, human-animal conflict and increased climate changes.

The draft, though unapproved, proposed to reduce the activity of humans in existing forests and create new forests on arid lands using scientific experiments. This is how it plans to bring the forest cover to 33%. These ideas weren’t drawn in any previous plans, simply because the idea of technologically producing forests seemed too expensive and risky. But the government has now found a solution. And that’s where the problem occurs.

While it sounds like a solid plan, it received a lot of flak for three reasons. First, the idea was to allow private investments in forest technology. People were quick to point out that the move was a BJP quip to let the private sector enter forests. Before this, forests had been completely under the control of the state governments with absolutely no say to private parties. But now, the plan is to innovate. How do you increase forest cover in low fertility areas? Technology is needed and the affordability comes from privatisation.

Second, current forestlands have several other development activities going on like mining, agriculture, and construction. Although it’s right of the government to not part with forestland for such things, it needs to provide an alternative area. Agriculture for one is equally as important as forestry. And farming families that use this land for their livelihood need replacement, which the draft fails to offer.

Finally, the draft hasn’t given enough attention to the plight of tribal communities who were ousted from forest areas. These communities consider the forest as their home and live off hunting and forest produce. Their homes were previously torn apart to construct housing and facilities for urban populace. Ironic, isn’t it?

Although, the rights of these tribal have been addressed in the Recognition of Forest Rights Act.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights Act), 2006 legally recognises the rights of certain communities who live in the forests and help take care of it. The Act not only gives rights to tribals to live in forest areas but also access to collect forest produce and regenerate resources.

But why did we need a special act to authorise their life in the forests in the first place? It’s because human activities brought immense losses to their livelihoods. Mining led to contamination of forest lakes and infertility of land, mafia activities led to forest fires, trees were felled to construct resorts, and tourist attraction sites were termed National Parks. The government approved grazing of large chunks of forest areas to build houses and highways for urbanisation.

Human thirst for development and profit ruined forests and lives of people living in it. This is why the government had to come up with a law that restored tribal lives by giving them rights to live in and look after the forests.

But despite such efforts, the Act has a minor impediment in its execution. It grants permission to village assemblies (Gram Sabha) to take the final call in matters affecting tribals. Instead of determining the tribal families in an area and giving them direct rights, village panchayats were entrusted with providing justice. This means they can decide as to how a case should be treated under the act, and of course, ulterior motives do play a part. Villagers don’t always follow the law. They may take away rights from a family due to personal grudges or prejudices. And at the end, there is no guarantee of justice for tribal communities.

With a whopping 250 projects and a new-fangled approach, the 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) has the potential for some path-breaking changes.

It takes a new ‘landscape’ approach as opposed to the prior ‘area’ approach that was confined only to the protected areas of the country. This means that the plan looks at the importance of wildlife protection in terms of the whole country as compared to just wildlife areas. Once you focus on the impact on the country, the purpose becomes clearer. Now it’s not just about saving wildlife, but about the ‘why’ factor of doing so.

It aims at tackling the human-animal conflict arising due to human development activity in wildlife zones.

But where are the results?

A study published in Conservation India shows that 85% of the tourist resorts and hotels are located within 5 km of wildlife zones. They draw water and wood from the area — sometimes at the cost of the animals themselves, and dump garbage with no regard for the environment. There’s also free entry for civilians into wildlife zones with no ceiling on the number of people or vehicles allowed, or the permitted behaviours. Yet, the plan makes of mention of tackling these issues. In addition, it also proposes to focus on private sector participation in conservation of wildlife – something people have already established is counter-productive.

In conclusion, each of the policies can be merited for focussing on specific aspects of forests, but they leave lots of room for corruption and failure. What we really need is a consolidated plan that brings all aspects of forests under a single law. Is that possible? Can we really devise a one law fits all situation?

The post Why Are India’s Forest Policies Failing? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

राष्ट्र भावना को देशभक्ति गीतों में एक ज़ुबान मिल जाती है। कहना होगा कि हिन्दी फिल्म में इस जुनून के गीतों की एक सकारात्मक विरासत रही है। इन गीतों के गीतकारों पर श्रोताओं का उतना ध्यान नहीं रहता, ना इनमें जीता आम आदमी नज़र आता है। राष्ट्रीय भावनाओं के यह गीत आपको राजेद्र कृशन की ओर ले जाएंगे। सितारों की भीड़ में वो एक ध्रुवतारा थे। फिल्मी दुनिया में रहकर धारा से अलग होकर चलने का फन उनमें था। एक अनबुझ पहेली की तरह शांत होकर काम करते रहे।

आपके समय के बहुत से समकालीन राजेन्द्र को जानते भी ना होंगे। आज उनको गुज़रे अरसा हुआ लेकिन फनकारी की विरासत कभी ना फना  होगी शायद। ताज्जुब नहीं कि हिन्दी सिनेमा के पांच सर्वकालिक गीतकारों में आपका भी शुमार होता है। चालिस से साठ दशक के दरम्यान राजेन्द्र कृशन को पूरा फिल्म जगत दीवानों की तरह तलाश करता था। बेहतरीन कलाकार को बार-बार पाना एक वाजिब चाहत थी।

दिल्ली है दिल हिन्दुस्तान का
यह तीरथ है जहान का
कहने को छोटा सा नाम है यह
सोचों तो इसके मतलब हज़ार
बिखरा है इतिहास गलियों में इसकी
सदियों के बाकी यहां पर निशान।

फिल्म पतंग का यह गीत राजधानी दिल्ली पर सरसरी नज़र रखने में बेहद कामयाब मालूम पडता है । सदियों से यह शहर अपने में बेशुमार भूली बिसरी दास्तानों को समेट कर चल रहा है। यहां के हरेक पडाव पर एक इतिहास आपका इंतज़ार करता है। अतीत की कहानियों के साथ जीना यहां एक चलन है। फिर भी दिल्ली रह-रह कर खतरनाक क्यों हो जाती है? राजेन्द्र जी एक गाना ‘इक तहज़ीबों का संगम है’ भी याद आता है। देश की गंगा-जमुनी तहज़ीब को समर्पित यह गीत एकता की मिसाल था। यह गीत गौरव गान की तरह लिखा गया था। हमें स्वयं के भीतर भारतीय को तलाश करने की ज़रूरत है। तालाश उसकी जो हमारे भीतर है, लेकिन वक्त पर ज़ाहिर नहीं होता। भला ऐसा क्यों?

इक तहज़ीबों का संगम है
जिसे दुनिया भारत कहती है
तुलसी के दोहों के संग
गालिब की गज़ल भी रहती है।

देशभक्ति गानों के लिए मशहूर कवि प्रदीप को देश का सिनेमा याद करता है। जिस किसी ने ‘अए मेरे वतन के लोगों’ को सुना वो प्रदीप को भी जानता होगा। चालीस के दशक में फिल्मों से हुआ रिश्ता लंबे समय तक कायम रहा। प्रदीप की शख्सियत को उनकी रचनाओं के बहाने याद करना मुल्क की इबादत से कम नहीं। प्रदीप ने गीत व कविताएं गाकर सुनाने का रास्ता अपनाया, अपने बहुत से फिल्मी गीतों  को आवाज़ देने का अवसर नसीब हुआ था। आपको मालूम होगा कि पहली ही फिल्म में लेखन के साथ गायन का काम मिला था। गायक का फर्ज़ ‘जागृति’ से निखर कर आया। फिल्म का गीत ‘साबरमती के संत तूने कर दिया कमाल’ याद आता है। हिन्दुस्तान की जानी मानी ऑडियो कंपनी एचएमवी ने प्रदीप के लिखे व गाए गानों का एल्बम जारी किया था। कवि प्रदीप भारत के मुस्तकबिल की बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारी लेकर चल रहे थे। वो इंसानियत को बचाने की फिक्र में लिख गए ‘कितना बदल गया इंसान’ फिर यह गाना भी

दुनिया के दांव पेंच से रखना ना वास्ता
मंज़िल तुम्हारी दूर है रास्ता

भटका ना दे कोई तुम्हें धोखे में डाल के
इस देश को रखना संभाल के…।

प्रेम धवन ने चालिस दशक में आज़ादी के आसपास फिल्मों में कदम रखा। फिल्म के लिए संगीत रचकर गीत लेखन का रास्ता भी अपनाया। देव आनंद की एक फिल्म में किशोर कुमार के साथ कामयाब गाने दिए। गर आप उनकी गीतों का जायज़ा लें तो महान गीतकारों का ख्याल होगा। कहा जा सकता है कि हिन्दी सिनेमा के दिग्गज गीतकारों में प्रेम धवन को जगह मिलनी चाहिए। सिनेमा में उनका नज़रिया ज़िक्र का हकदार होकर भी उससे बाहर रहा। धवन ने देश भावना को गीतों के ज़रिए खास जुनून दिया। उनके लिखे गाने सुनने वालों में वतन का जज़्बा तराश कर लाते हैं। यह गीत इंसानी भलमनसाहत का एहसास कराते हैं। संपन्न लोगों को, हाशिए पर पड़े लोगों की इस भावना का ख्याल करके इनकी सहायता में वाजिब कदम उठाने चाहिए। जिन लोगों का इनसे मोहभंग हुआ, हक के लिए उठ खड़े हुए।

अए मेरे प्यारे वतन,अए मेरे बिछड़े चमन
तुझपे दिल क़ुरबान…!
तु ही मेरी आरज़ू…तू ही मेरी आबरू।

फिल्मी गीतों को सरल सुगम बनाने में दीनानाथ मढोक जैसे गीतकारों का सराहनीय योगदान था। चालीस दशक की बहुत सी हिट फिल्मों में दीनानाथ  की लेखन काबलियत उभरकर आई ।  उस वक्त की फिल्मों में तानसेन,रतन एवं भक्त सूरदास के गीत काफी सराहे गए। कलकत्ता के ‘न्यु थियेटर्स से फिल्मों में आने वाले दीनानाथ ने पहले पहल बतौर हीरो काम किया। लेकिन उन्हें बहुत जल्द ही समझ आया कि यह वो मंज़िल नहीं जिसकी उनको जुस्तजू थी। वो समझ गए कि लेखन को उनकी ज़्यादा ज़रूरत है। चालीस के दशक की बहुत सारी हिट फिल्मों का अहम हिस्सा रहे दीनानाथ के देशभक्ति स्वर के गाने का अंदाज़ काबिले तारीफ था। वतन से अलग हमारी पहचान नहीं हो सकती। सामाजिक न्याय के बिना क्या उत्तम पहचान मिल सकती
है? दीनानाथ कह गए…

वतन की मिट्टी हाथ में लेकर माथे तिलक लगा लो
जिस माटी ने जन्म दिया उस माटी के गुन गा लो।

अमृतसर के एक पंजाबी परिवार से ताल्लुक रखने वाले ओमप्रकाश उर्फ कमर जलालाबादी को बचपन से शायरी में दिलचस्पी थी। इस शौक की वजह जल्द ही शायरी लिखना-पढ़ना सीख लिया था। स्कूल की पढ़ाई पूरी होने तक अखबारों में लिखने का फन हासिल कर लिया था। चालिस के दशक में फिल्मों की कशिश कमर को बॉम्बे ले आई। ज़्यादातर कहानी व सीन की डिमांड पर लिखने वाले इस गीतकार की संजीदा शख्सियत गानों में बखूबी महसूस की जा सकती है। वतनपरस्ती के जुनून में डूबे गीत कमर जलालाबादी को एक और पहचान देते हैं…शहीदों तुमको मेरा सलाम,फांसी के तख्ते पर चढ़कर लिया वतन का नाम’ को सुने। आप यह गीत
भी सुनें-

सिकंदर भी आए कलंदर भी आए
ना कोई रहा है न कोई रहेगा…
मेरा देश आज़ाद होके रहेगा।

गीतकारों में शौकत परदेसी का नाम एक बहुत जाना पहचाना नाम नहीं। हिन्दी संगीत की बड़ी विरासत में आज यह एक भूला-बिसरा नाम है। इस गीतकार ने वतन की इबादत में एक खूबसुरत फिल्मी गीत लिखा था। जिसके बोल सराहनीय कहे जा सकते हैं। परदेसी का यह बोल एकता का महत्त्व बता गए। कहना ज़रूरी नहीं कि न्याय के लिए आंदोलन हर समय ज़रूरी होता है। शोषण की शक्तियों का खात्मा अब भी नहीं हुआ है, वो आज भी हमारे दुखों का कारण हैं।

आकाश के आंचल में सितारा ही रहेगा
यह देश हमारा, हमारा ही रहेगा
तूफान का अंजाम किनारा ही रहेगा।

आपको सत्तर दशक के गीतकार वर्मा मलिक का नाम याद होगा। हिंदी सिनेमा में परिवर्तन का समय लेकर आया। इस युग में रूमानियत व  प्रतिशोध की धाराएं हिन्दी सिनेमा को एक खास सांचे में ढाल रहा था। पचास व साठ दशक के बड़े नाम उभरते सितारों के कारवां से अलग होकर खुद में एक नयी शख्सियत देख रहे थे। रूमानियत से आगे के समय पर सोचकर सलीम-जावेद ने ‘प्रतिशोध’ थीम वाली कहानियों को लिखा। परदे की ‘एंग्री इमेज’ ने रूमानी कहानियों से हमारा ध्यान हटा दिया। वर्मा मलिक के गीतों ने इस समय को गीतों की ज़ुबान देने की अच्छी कोशिश की। उनकी देशभावना गीत हुकूमत को सड़क के आदमी की ताकत बताने में कामयाब रहे थे। इन पंक्तियों का तेवर महसूस करें…।

मज़लूम किसी कौम के जब ख्वाब जागते हैं
तो देश में हज़ारों इंकलाब जागते हैं।

यही हम यही इरादा,यही फैसला करना है
हमें देश की खातिर जीना और मरना है।

वर्मा मलिक के समकालीन संतोष आनंद भी याद आते हैं। मनोज कुमार अपनी फिल्मों में संतोष आनंद एवं वर्मा मलिक सरीखे गीतकारों को लेकर आए। संतोष के गीतों में देशभक्ति-रिश्तों की झनक-मानवीयता विषयों का दिलचस्प मेल देखने को मिलता है। मनोज कुमार एवं राजकपूर की फिल्मों के गीत लिखते हुए एहसास के ज्यादातर पहलुओं को देखा था। मनोज सिनेमा में अगली पारी का तेवर लेकर मुल्क से ताल्लुक रखने वाले विषयों पर फिल्म बना रहे थे। संतोष आनंद का लिखा यह गीत यह कह गया कि राष्ट्रहित में मेहनतकश हमेशा सजग रहते हैं।

दुनिया की सारी दौलत से इज्ज़त हमको प्यारी
मुट्ठी में किस्मत अपनी, हमको मेहनत प्यारी।

देश का हर दीवाना बोला,मेरा रंग दे बसंती चोला…।

इंदीवर को भी इस पावन बेला पर याद किया जा सकता है। हिन्दी फिल्मों के लिए एक से एक सुंदर गीत लिखने वाले इंदीवर रूमानियत से रूबरू होकर जीवन के सत्य से अलग नहीं थे। उनकी यह सोंच ‘जिंदगी का सफर,यह कैसा सफर’ फिर ‘नदिया चले रे धारा तुझको चलना होगा’ में देखी जा सकती है। मौत से मुहब्बत निभाने का वादा सिखाने वाले इंदीवर का यह गीत याद आता है।

दुनिया में कितने वतन
दुनिया में कितने वतन कितनी जुबानें
प्यार का बस एक वतन दिल
एक जुबान सब जानें।

गुज़रे वक्त के गीतकारों में अनजान का नाम इस मायने में काफी महत्त्व रखता है कि वो कवि सम्मेलनों में जाया करते थे। बनारस से ताल्लुक रखने वाले लालजी पांडेय उर्फ अनजान को हिन्दी प्रसार से दिली मुहब्बत थी। हालांकि वो मुशायरों में भी शिरकत करते रहे। पचास दशक के शुरुआती सालों में फिल्मों का रुख करने वाले इस गीतकार ने हिन्दी संगीत को बेहतर गानों की विरासत दी है। आज अनजान का लिखा ‘मत पूछ मेरा कौन वतन’ याद आता है। किसी को भारतीय होने का सबूत आखिरी बार कब देना नहीं पड़ा था?

मत पूछ मेरा है कौन वतन
और मैं कहां का हूं
सारा जहान है मेरा, मैं सारे जहान का हूं।

नब्बे दशक ने भी हिन्दी सिनेमा को उम्दा गीतकार दिए। पी के मिश्रा- महबूब सरीखे लोग आज भी याद आते हैं। मणि रत्नम की फिल्मों से लेखन की शुरुआत करने वाले  महबूब का यह गीत हर भारतीय के दिल में बसा होगा। इस गाने पर भारतबला ने ए आर रहमान को लेकर काफी उम्दा विडियो भी बनाया था। रहमान का ‘मां तुझे सलाम’ आप ने पिछली बार कब सुना… महबूब को एक मायने में बहुत ज़्यादा मिस करता हूं।

अस्सी नहीं सौ दिन दुनिया घूमा है
नहीं कहीं तेरे जैसा कोई नहीं
मैं गया जहां भी, बस तेरी याद थी
जो मेरे साथ थी मुझको तड़पाती, रुलाती
सबसे प्यारी तेरी सूरत
मां तुझे सलाम, अम्मा तुझे सलाम।

वंदे मातरम…वंदे मातरम

महबूब के समकालीन पी के मिश्रा का लिखा ‘भारत हमको जान से प्यारा’ मणि रत्नम की फिल्म को पूरा करता है। नब्बे के दशक में तमिल व हिन्दी फिल्मों का एक दिलचस्प रिश्ता बना। इस वक्त में बहुत सी तमिल फिल्मों का या तो रिमेक हुआ या फिर डबिंग करके रिली़ज हुई। इस सिलसिले मे रोज़ा याद आती है। इस समय में राजस्थान से ताल्लुक रखने वाले पीके मिश्रा ने भी फिल्मों के लिए गीत लिखने शुरू किए संगीतकार रहमान के साथ महबूब व पीके मिश्रा का तालमेल सिनेमा को बेहतरीन उपहार दे गया। सांप्रदायिक हवाओं के खिलाफ लिखा यह गीत इंसानियत के नज़रिए से सोचने को कहता है। पीडित की मदद करते वक्त उसकी जाति का पता कभी नहीं करना चाहिए।

भारत हमको जान से प्यारा है
सबसे न्यारा गुलिस्तां हमारा है।

मंदिर यहां,मस्जिद वहां,हिन्दू यहां,मुस्लिम यहां
मिलते रहें हम प्यार से,
हिन्दुस्तान नाम हमारा है,सबसे प्यारा देश हमारा है।

एड गुरु पीयूष पांडे की रचनात्मक दुनिया मनोरंजक विज्ञापनों के दायरे बाहर भी सांस लेती है। आप ने कभी सोचा कि ‘मिले सुर मेरा तुम्हारा’ पीयूष पांडे ने लिखा ? लोक सेवा संचार परिषद ने पीयूष के लिखे गीत का वीडियो बनाकर पहली बार राष्ट्रीय नेटवर्क पर प्रसारित किया था। नए युग के देशभावना गीतों में यह काफी मकबूल हुआ। इसे सुनकर बार-बार सुनने से खुद को रोक पाना मुश्किल होता है।

मिले सुर मेरा तुम्हारा
तो सुर बने हमारा…

सुर की नदिया हर दिशा से
बहके सागर में मिले
बादलों का रुप लेकर
बरसे हलके हलके
मिले सुर मेरा तुम्हारा…।

देशभावना की गीतों का ख्याल दरअसल मुल्क की दीवानगी में मर मिटने की एक कशिश सी है। वतन के लिए जज़्बा हर किसी में होता है। ज़िंदगी की धुन में डूबे दिनों का हर लम्हा खास होता है, फिर भी आम आदमी की खुशियों का दिन रोज़ नहीं आता। ज़िंदगी की खूबसूरती से दूर बेपरवाह मर जाना ही इसने पाया है। आपको मालूम है कि इन दिनों में भी कोई गरीब भूख के मारे मरता ज़रूर होगा। हर भूखे को पेट भर खाना व कपड़ा देखकर ही राष्ट्रीय पर्व पर गौरव होता है। किसी गरीब का चूल्हा दिनों से राहत का इंतज़ार देखकर बंद ना पड़े।

The post देशभक्ति के जोश से भर देने वाले इन गानों के गीतकारों से मिलिए appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

हर किसी को अपनी आज़ादी प्यारी होती है, फिर चाहे वह इंसान हो या फिर पशु-पक्षी। आज हम अपनी आज़ादी की 72वीं वर्षगांठ का उत्सव मना रहे हैं। साल में एक दिन ही सही, लेकिन हम अपनी इस आज़ादी को महसूस तो करते हैं, लेकिन हमारे देश की जेलों में वर्षों से बंद उन कैदियों के बारे में कभी सोचिए, जो इस एक दिन की आज़ादी के लिए भी वर्षों से तरस रहे हैं। इस आज़ादी की बाट जोहते न जाने कितनी आंखें पथरा गयीं, कितने जिस्मों में झुर्रियां चढ़ आयीं और कितनी ही ज़िंदगियां काल के ग्रास में समा गईं। क्या इनकी आज़ादी सरकार और प्रशासन के लिए कोई मायने नहीं रखती?

वर्ष 2016 में फिल्म निर्देशक ओमंग कुमार ने अपनी फिल्म ‘सरबजीत’ के ज़रिये लोगों को यह बताने की कोशिश की थी कि किस तरह से एक निर्दोष और गरीब किसान नशे में धुत होकर भारत की सीमा पार करके पाकिस्तान चला जाता है और फिर वहां उसे उस गुनाह के लिए, जो उसने कभी किया ही नहीं था, तमाम तरह की यातानाएं सहनी पड़ती हैं। भारत की जेलों में भी ऐसे ना जाने कितने ‘सरबजीत’ बंद हैं। और ज़्यादा अफसोस की बात है यह है कि वे पाकिस्तानी नहीं, बल्कि ‘हिंदुस्तानी’ होने के बावजूद यातनापूर्ण कैद का दंश झेल रहे हैं।

ऐसे कैदियों में से करीब 67 फीसदी ऐसे विचाराधीन कैदी हैं, जिन्हें ट्रायल, इंवेस्टीगेशन अथवा इंक्वॉयरी के दौरान प्रतिबंधित (detained) कर दिया गया, लेकिन अब तक न्यायालय द्वारा उन्हें अपराधी घोषित नहीं किया गया है। अंतराष्ट्रीय परिपेक्ष्य में देखें, तो भारत के जेलों में बंद कैदियों की ये संख्या यूके (11%), यूएस (20%) और फ्रांस (29%) की तुलना में कहीं ज़्यादा है।

इनमें भी जमानती कैदियों की संख्या शामिल नहीं है। अर्थात वैसे कैदी, जो जमानत मिल जाने के बावजूद गरीबी या किसी अन्य मजबूरी की वजह से अपनी जमानत देने में सक्षम नहीं हो पाते, वे निरपराध घोषित होने के बावजूद भी जेलों में सड़ने को मजबूर हैं। अगर विचाराधीन कैदियों में इन कैदियों की संख्या को भी मिला लिया जाये, तो यह संख्या शायद लाखों में पहुंच जायेगी।

भारतीय जेल सांख्यिकी : 2015 के अनुसार, भारतीय जेलों की सबसे बड़ी समस्या क्षमता से अधिक संख्या में कैदियों का होना है> 31 दिसंबर, 2014 तक भारत में कुल 1387 जेल हैं, जिनकी कुल क्षमता 3,56,561 कैदियों की है, जबकि वास्तव में वहां 4,18,536 कैदी  (114.4 फीसदी) रह रहे हैं। इस कारण यहां साफ-सफाई को मेंटेन करना या कैदियों को आधारभूत सुविधाएं भी उपलब्ध करवाना मुश्किल होता है।

वर्ष 20015 से प्रभावी आइपीसी की धारा-436A के प्रावधान के अनुसार, जिन विचाराधीन कैदियों ने अपने द्वारा किये जानेवाले ‘अपराध’ (अगर वे साबित हो जाते) के लिए मिलनेवाले दंड का आधा समय जेल में गुज़ार लिया हो, वे व्यक्तिगत अनुबंध अथवा जमानत पर रिहा हो सकते हैं। इसके बावजूद विचाराधीन कैदियों को अक्सर लंबे समय तक सलाखों के पीछे रहना पड़ता है। यह प्रावधान मृत्यु दंड अथवा उम्रकैद प्राप्त कैदियों पर लागू नहीं होती है और जेल सांख्यिकी- 2014 के अनुसार, आइपीसी के तहत करीब 39% अपराधियों मृत्यु दंड या उम्र कैद की सज़ा नहीं दी जा सकती है।

भारतीय संविधान की सातवीं अनुसूची के अनुसार, भारत में जेलों के प्रबंधन की ज़िम्मेदारी राज्य सरकार की है। प्रत्येक राज्य में जेल प्रशासन तंत्र एक सीनियर रैंक के आइपीएस अधिकारी के अधीन होता है जिसे जेल अध्यक्ष कहते हैं। भारतीय जेलों की तीन प्रमुख समस्याएं हैं, क्षमता से अधिक कैदियों की संख्या, पर्याप्त संख्या में कर्मचारियों का ना होना और समुचित फंड की कमी। इस वजह से कैदी अमानवीय परिस्थितियों में रहने को मजबूर होते हैं और आये दिन जेल प्रशासन के साथ उनकी झड़प की खबरें भी आती रहती हैं।

उचित कानूनी एवं सामाजिक समर्थन का अभाव

”जिस इंसान के पास सामाजिक स्वतंत्रता नहीं है, उसकी कानूनी स्वतंत्रता भी किसी काम की नहीं होती।”- भगत सिंह

भारतीय संविधान द्वारा प्रदत मूल अधिकारों के संदर्भ में देखा जाये, तो कानून की नज़र में जब तक किसी व्यक्ति का अपराध साबित नहीं हो जाता, उसे ‘अपराधी’ नहीं माना जा सकता। इसके बावजूद हज़ारों विचाराधीन कैदी आज अपराधियों की तरह जेल की यातनाएं सहने पर मजबूर हैं। आये दिन उन्हें जेल के अंदर होनेवाली हिंसा का भी शिकार होना पड़ता है। इन सबका सीधा असर उनके मनोवैज्ञानिक तथा शारीरिक स्वास्थ्य पर पड़ता है। जेल में रहने के दौरान कई कैदियों की मौत हो जाती है, कई अपने परिवार या पड़ोसियों को खो देते हैं, कईयों के घर की पीढ़ियां बचपन से जवानी या जवानी से बुढ़ापे की दहलीज पर पहुंच जाती हैं। इसके अलावा हमारे समाज में जेल की सज़ा काट कर आये कैदी को हमेशा से ही हिकारत भरी नज़रों से देखा जाता रहा है। अगर किसी को जमानत मिल भी गयी, तो भी बार-बार अदालत में पेशी होने की वजह से उसे कहीं जॉब मिलने में परेशानी होती है।

विचाराधीन कैदियों को कानूनी सहायता भी मुश्किल से मिल पाती है। ऐसे ज़्यादातर कैदी गरीब हैं जिन पर छोटे-मोटे अपराध करने का आरोप है। बावजूद इसके वे लंबे समय से जेलों में बंद है, क्योंकि ना तो उन्हें अपने अधिकारों की जानकारी है और ना ही कानूनी सलाहकारों तक उनकी पहुंच है। महात्मा गांधी के शब्दों में- ”जिस स्वतंत्रता में गलती कर पाने का अधिकार शामिल नहीं हो उस स्वतंत्रता का कोई मूल्य नहीं है।”  भारतीय संविधान की धारा-21 ने भी भारत के हर व्यक्ति को सम्मानपूर्वक जीने के अधिकार दिया है। संविधान यह कहता है कि किसी भी व्यक्ति को उसकी व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता से वंचित नहीं किया जायेगा। इसी को ध्यान में रखते हुए पिछले वर्ष माननीय सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने अपने एक अहम फैसले में अधीनस्थ न्यायालयों को सभी आपराधिक मामलों की जल्द-से-जल्द स्पीडी ट्रायल के लिए सुलझाने का निर्देश जारी किया था। यह फैसला निश्चित रूप से स्वागतयोग्य है, किंतु पर्याप्त बुनियादी सुविधाओं के अभाव में इस फैसले को वास्तविक रूप से अमलीजामा पहनाना उतना ही मुश्किल है।

क्षमता से अधिक कैदियों का भार

एनसीआरबी द्वारा जारी भारतीय जेल सांख्यिकी के अनुसार, भारतीय जेलों में उनकी वास्तविक क्षमता से करीब 14% अधिक कैदी रह रहे हैं। इनमें से करीब दो-तिहाई से भी अधिक कैदी विचाराधीन हैं। छत्तीसगढ़ और दिल्ली  क्रमश: पहले और दूसरे स्थान पर हैं, जहां यह दर दोगुने से भी अधिक है। मेघालय में यह दर करीब 77.9% , यूपी में 68.8% तथा मध्यप्रदेश में 39.8% है। विचाराधीन कैदियों के मामले में यूपी (62,669) पहले नंबर पर है. उसके बाद क्रमश: बिहार (23,424) और महाराष्ट्र (21,667) का स्थान है। राज्यवार दृष्टिकोण से विचाराधीन कैदियों की सर्वाधिक दर (82%) बिहार में है।

वर्ष 2014 में कुल 36 में से 16 राज्यों व केंद्रशासित प्रदेशों में करीब 25 फीसदी कैदी प्रतिबंधित थे, जिनमें से सर्वाधिक (54%) कैदी जम्मू-कश्मीर की जेलों में और उसके बाद क्रमश: गोआ (50%) तथा गुजरात (42%) में थे। ऐसे कैदियों की संख्या की दृष्टि से यूपी (18,214) टॉप पर था। इसकी मूल वजह बड़ी संख्या में देश के न्यायालयों में मामलों का पेडिंग होना है, जिसका कारण न्यायधीशों और अन्य कर्मचारियों की कमी है. 31 मार्च, 2016 तक भारत के विभिन्न न्यायालयों में करीब 3.1 मामले लंबित थे. करीब 43% विचाराधीन कैदी उतने समय से कहीं अधिक की सजा भुगत रहे हैं, जितना उनके द्वारा किये जानेवाले अपराध के साबित होने पर उन्हें मिलती. ऐसे 2.82 विचाराधीन कैदियों में करीब 55% मुस्लिम, दलित और आदिवासी कैदी हैं. सामूहिक रूप से अगर देखा जाये, तो ये कुल कैदियों की संख्या का करीब 39% हैं. भारतीय जनगणना- 2011 के अनुसार, इनकी आबादी का प्रतिशत क्रमश:  14.2%, 16.6% तथा 8.6% है. इससे पता चलता है कि आज भी इन समुदायों को घोर असमानता के दौर से गुजरना पड़ रहा है.

कर्मचारियों की भारी कमी

भारत के लगभग सभी जेलों में वहां की प्रशासनिक व्यवस्था के सफल संचालन के लिए ज़रूरी कर्मचारियों की भारी कमी है। देश की राजधानी दिल्ली इस कमी से सबसे ज़्यादा जूझ रही है। वहां ज़रूरत से आधे स्टाफ ही है। इसके बाद उत्तरप्रदेश, बिहार और झारखंड राज्य आते हैं, जहां कुल ज़रूरी कर्मचारियों के करीब 65% पद रिक्त हैं। पर्याप्त संख्या में जेल कर्मचारियों की कमी होने से ही आये दिन जेलों के अंदर की कुव्यवस्था की खबरें उजागर होती रहती हैं। जेलों में बंद प्रभावशाली लोग भी इस कमी का जमकर फायदा उठाते हैं और कर्मचारियों को घूस देकर जेल में रहते हुए भी हर तरह की सुख-सुविधा का लाभ उठाते हैं।

वहीं दूसरी ओर सामाजिक-आर्थिक रूप से पिछड़े हुए कैदियों को आधारभूत सुविधाएं भी मुहैया नहीं हो पाती। इसी वजह से भारत में बड़े व प्रभावशाली लोगों को कानून का डर नहीं रह गया है. उन्हें यह अच्छी तरह पता है कि चाहे वे जेल के अंदर रहें या बाहर, उनकी सुख-सुविधाओं में कोई कमी नहीं होनेवाली।

भारत में एक मज़बूत मुखबिर सुरक्षा कानून (Whistleblower Protection Act) ना होने और क्षमता से अधिक कैदियों की भीड़ एवं कर्मचारियों की कमी को दूर करने के लिए किसी संरचनात्मक ढांचे के अभाव में, भारतीय जेल राजनीतिक रूप से प्रभावशाली लोगों के लिए ‘स्वर्ग’ और गरीबों के लिए ‘नरक’ बने हुए हैं।

The post जेल में बंद हज़ारों विचाराधीन कैदियों की आज़ादी पर क्यों नहीं होती बात appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

It is that time of the year when we witness thousands of children on the street selling flags, badges and tricolor bands. Every year,  bloggers, writers, and journalists get their momentary fame by writing articles about these children and then disappear. In fact, I did not even have to invest time in wandering around capturing photos on the street. I just googled ‘children selling flags on street’ and found hundreds of pictures of poor children running amidst traffic trying to sell the tricolor flags.

Most of the corporations were busy on Tuesday ‘celebrating independence day’. They have the tricolor dress code, special menu, and celebrations. Everybody was seen dipped into the colors of ‘patriotism’ and clicking selfies at the workplace. I wonder if our nationality has come down to this.  The flags are bought from whole sellers and are distributed amongst all the street sellers. Children, women, elderly as well as people with disability, dressed in worn-out clothes, carry these heavy flags, running from signal to signal, knocking on rolled up car windows in the hope that they can sell it to those privileged enough to feel patriotic for a day.

While Independence Day for us is just another Holiday, when we get to dress up and relax, for the poor and the street vendors, Independence Day is no more than an occasion to have better sales of their merchandise. Sadly, not all of them are lucky enough to sell all of their merchandise. According to research, there are about 51,000 street children on Delhi streets. They work for almost 12 hours every day. Their major occupation is selling some product or the other on the street with the average income of Rs. 20-30 per day. Yes! You just had a samosa worth the amount of their daily income. The reason so many children are out there on the streets is due to poverty, family disintegration, urbanization, an inadequacy of resources and growing population.

There are about 20 lakh homeless children in India who suffer from various issues such as malnutrition, child labor, poverty, and lack of access to education. These children end up doing hazardous jobs in factories, are illegally employed in canteens, restaurants, construction sites, indulge in rag picking and selling newspapers and flowers at traffic signals. Are they independent? Do they have any concept of the freedom that so many people suffered through hell and many lost their lives to achieve generations ago? Or are they enslaved under the heaviest burden our civilization has ever faced: Economy.

If not, then whose independence are we talking about? When it comes to hypocrisy, Indian liberals and secular people are the best. No one in the universe can beat them.

The other day I went to a movie theatre and as per the ‘mandate’ had to stand straight during the national anthem. I would not call myself a patriot but I am definitely someone who does not want to get beaten up. Half-heartedly, I stood there looking at people standing in unison for the love of their country. When the movie ended and people made their way to the exit, I noticed the entire auditorium was a mess. Popcorn, wrappers, plastic bags, tissues, and leftover food were littered everywhere. There were only two staff members running around to clean the entire place as they had only five minutes before the next show started. If we really love our country and its infrastructure, why can’t we respect and keep it clean? On my recent visit to Ladakh, it was heartbreaking to see all these country loving patriots throwing garbage, plastic bottles, polythene bags near the famous Pangong Lake and other tourist spots. One could easily spot garbage near every waterfall and river on the way. We do not have the right to enter into somebody else’s habitat area and throw garbage and come back to the city announcing a great trip. It is not only the responsibility of the government but of each and every individual to promote responsible and sustainable tourism. We do not have any right to call ourselves Desh-Bhakts if we cannot respect our country.

Not just in the name of nationality, we create a mess during every religious festival. One of many such events is the one where people claim to do ‘seva’ on the street by offering free beverages. The people make sure to stand right in the middle of a busy street, stop every car and force them to drink a beverage. Disturbing the traffic and blocking the road is not considered to be a problem anymore in India. As Indians, we are used to it: sometimes due to a wedding, kawad yatra, frequent accidents, wrong driving and parking skills or just random cow/buffaloes on the street. What usually annoys me is the huge amount of plastic glasses thrown on the street! These activities meant for a ‘good cause’ by serving water to people once a year, leave behind a huge amount of plastic waste on the street adding up to the existing issue that our country is facing.

Also, during many festivals where Idols are worshipped, we immerse huge idols into the rivers every year.  So far the focus has been on who spends the most and builds the best idol and sets a record, rather than who will clean the pollution leftover afterward. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is not just for the government to achieve. Every human being has to contribute. Cleanliness will have to come out of the churches or places of worship like temples, gurudwaras and come to streets, parks, roads and our neighbourhood. Roughly half of our country has been turned into garbage dumps. Constantly polluting the same country that we claim to love, is that what freedom is all about? The pollution caused to the environment is something that we can still monitor and resolve, but the extent of pollution in the human mind neither has any bounds nor ways to be curbed. Violence in the name of nationalism and religion is not new. Nobody is aware or willing to counter this abusive environment as well as those abusive individuals. In this invasive stench of hyper-nationalism, many of us are failing to identify the dull fragrance of common sense.

These are the basic and prevalent issues that we come across on a daily basis. Let us not forget the recent research reports :

• India has been ranked as the most dangerous country out of the world’s 10 worst countries for women, behind Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia, according to a poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
• Reports of India dropping to the 100th rank on the Global Hunger Index in 2017 has also surfaced recently. Not only are we behind Nepal and Bangladesh, but also lagging behind war-ravaged Iraq and North Korea, tying with Rwanda this time.

In the year 2017, there were about 31 lakh NGO’s, 7,000 crore CSR budget and numerous government policies in place, yet do we see any substantial development? Something that I ponder over again and again! Huge budget, huge availability of human resources, yet no visible development as per the outcome of recent research!

Let me not even get started on ‘Freedom of Speech’!

We overlook all the persistent issues in the country because we have accepted the harsh reality that we cannot do anything to change the present scenario. We are comfortable with our own lives and monthly salaries. We are too busy surviving each day to bring about a change to the nation that is going towards impending doom.

Is this how it feels like to be a Nationalist citizen of an Independent country? We were under the bondage of the British, and now we are under the bondage of poverty, darkness, and helplessness.

 ‘Happy Independence’ Day!

The post Whose Independence Are We Celebrating Anyway? appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Written by Karan Singhania

We owe our freedom to thousands of people who chose the nation over themselves. However, if a sacrifice is the highest form of expression for patriotism, must we forget the people who have sacrificed the most for the nation?

If there ever was a people who gave the most for a nation’s development and yet, their sacrifices were unthanked for, it is the Adivasis. Since the first resistance to the British, Adivasis have made ongoing sacrifices in terms of their land, homes, lives, and livelihoods for the progress and development of this great nation. Our electricity comes from the Adivasis’ land, our gold and jewellery come from their land, our forests are their land, the wildlife we cherish, is conserved by them. Our cities are built on their land, dams that give us water and electricity are built on their homes, our nuclear security is thanks to the Adivasi lands that have been taken for mining.

This Independence Day, we salute, bow down and humbly acknowledge these continuous sacrifices, mostly forced, that the Adivasis have been making for the progress of India. Here are 5 instances of how India’s developmental model has led to massive displacement of Adivasis-

Sardar Sarovar Dam

One of the most prominent and controversial Government projects ever, Sardar Sarovar Dam is one of the largest dams of India subsequently resulting in the large-scale displacement of Adivasis. This dam is located on the Narmada River in the Kevadia village of Gujarat and is a 1,210 long concrete gravity dam occupying an area of 37000 ha. This dam is expected to supply water for irrigation to 1.84 million ha of land across 15 districts and a state-wide drinking water grid which is expected to supply drinking water to 75% of the state of Gujarat.

Since the area of land and the number of people who would be affected were very large, it led to one of the biggest resistance movements called the “Narmada Bachao Andolan”, which started in 1985. This protest was against the construction of the dam on the Narmada River and was started after the involvement of Medha Patkar along with 30 other women. The proposed project would use up about 40,000 ha of fertile land and displace about 250 villages in that area. The movement has been successful so far in delaying the project, but after years of struggle and protests, the dam has nevertheless been inaugurated, and the Government plans on completing the proposed extensions.

In 1993, the World Bank (who majorly funded the project) withdrew from financing the project due to the various implications on the communities. The Supreme Court had also halted the construction of the project in the late 90s, only to allow the construction to resume in 2000. Today, the project is funded by state Governments and is expected to be completed by 2025.

Iron Ore Mining in Goa

Goa has been one of the largest exporters of iron ore. Plenty of firms have been established to extract iron ores. However, due to the various problems surrounding people and environment, the Supreme Court banned all iron ore activities in the state in October 2012. However, the ban has been lifted, and the mining has resumed, creating massive problems for the Adivasi communities residing in the area.

The Gowda community of Sonshi village is one such community. Excessive air pollution has led to dust clouds and water bodies being polluted or dried up. Due to this, the community members protested on 11 April 2017 and also obstructed trucks, which resulted in the arrest of 45 people. Bail had been granted but a fee of ₹10,000 has been imposed per villager, something very few can afford to pay.

Along with deprivation of clean water and air, the livelihood of the people is also being affected. People here are dependent on cashew and paddy cultivation. The rigorous mining of iron ore has destroyed the cultivation there. After a month of tussle, Goa State Pollution Control Board declared that they would not renew sanctions of 12 out of 13 mines around the village. Having said that, the struggle of the Adivasis there still continues in silence.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project

The newly signed bullet-train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is a warning sign for the Adivasis of the ills to come in the process of bringing “advancement” to the nation. The bullet train project was agreed upon by Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe in 2017. The proposed project will cover around 500 kilometres in an estimated time of 7 hours. It is slated to be completed by 2022.

To make way for the project, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation will acquire 850 hectares of land affecting 192 villages in Gujarat and 120 villages in Maharashtra. The people practising farming will be the biggest victims. In April 2018, officials went to Dahanu village to conduct a survey regarding the route of the bullet train. The locals say they were not provided with any notice regarding the survey and to add to that, farmers are being threatened to give their land, being told that will have to face serious consequences otherwise.

This has led to widespread protests against the project. On May 3, 2018, farmers came out in large numbers conducting a massive rally under the banner of different organizations. Media estimated the total number of protestors at 40,000-50,000. Among the many issues raised in the rally, water struggles faced by the Adivasis and land rights violations are other sensitive issues which were raised.

Achanakmar Tiger Reserve

The Achanakmar Tiger Reserve is a scenic 914 sq. Km reserve in Chhattisgarh comprising of tropical moist deciduous and tropical dry deciduous forests. Wild fauna found here include the tiger, leopard, bison, flying squirrel, Indian giant squirrel, chinkara, wild dog, hyena, sambar, chital and over 150 species of birds. It also has a few tigers and is a famous tourist destination.

The Kanha-Achanakmar tiger reserve corridor is proposed to pass through the Bhoramdeo wildlife sanctuary in Kawardha district of Chhattisgarh and connect the Kanha and Achanakmar tiger reserves which will affect more than 200 villages. These areas are home to the Baiga Adivasis who are native to the place. To protest against the project, the Adivasis carried out a march on March 17, 2018. A villager also mentioned that they practice farming on small patches of land in the hilly areas rather than farming on flatlands. This would not only displace them from their homes, but they will not have any place to work and earn a livelihood.

However, there have been assurances from officials saying that there is no such proposed tiger reserve. An interesting fact is that these Baiga Adivasis have already been displaced from the region once, and now fear to face the same fate once again. Back in 2013 when these Adivasis were displaced, it was reported that they claimed the displacement solved neither their livelihood crisis nor did it protect the tigers.

Aarey Milk Colony

The Aarey Milk Colony in Mumbai is a relevant example of the atrocities Adivasis have to face due to rapid urbanization. There are different developmental projects that are being undertaken in the area under the Development Plan 2034. To oppose them, around 1000 Adivasis staying in 27 hamlets of the colony conducted a march in June 2017 to put forth their demands.

One of the things they were protesting against was the construction of a zoo that would cover an area of 150-200 acres. This is in addition to the fact that they had been deprived of basic amenities like water and electricity. They also opposed an ongoing survey to resettle the displaced Adivasis. Within the same report, an Adivasi claimed that they have lived in this very land for the past hundred years and do not want to resettle leaving behind their home. Certainly, how would we feel if we were thrown out of a place that has been our home for decades?

The other specific construction that was opposed was the Metro Car Shed Park. According to the Development Plan 2034, 33 hectares of Aarey Colony has been earmarked for the car shed. The march started at a point close to the Metro Car Shed and ended at the Aarey Milk Colony’s CEO office. This is an ongoing struggle for the Adivasis living in the financial hub of the world’s largest democracy.

Development is essential for the progress of a country. Every citizen of the country wants and should be provided with better facilities. Strong infrastructure is a necessity to cater to these developments. However, development doesn’t need to happen and must not happen at the cost of the human lives. The Adivasis in India have already been struggling for their rights and better opportunities for a long time. Driving them out of their ancestral homes to fulfil profit-making agendas is not in the direction of development, it is against it. It is us who has to decide whether we want to develop a nation at the cost of what makes it a nation- its people.

The post How India’s Developmental Model Continues To Displace Adivasis appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Over the past four years, there has been a significant rise in hate crimes against minorities across the country. From the lynching in Dadri to the gruesome rape of 8-year-old Asifa Bano, the rise of majoritarianism and ultra-nationalism has wreaked havoc on minorities, especially Muslims.

On August 15 this year, while PM Narendra Modi was addressing the nation and reassuring citizens of keeping faith in democracy, a 25-year-old Muslim man had a near-to-death experience in the Okhla area of the national capital.

Daud Arif, a research assistant at All India Radio – Akashvani, lives in a studio apartment on a terrace. A few young men, identified as sons and nephews of the landlord, were indulging in drugs, alcohol, and loud music. According to the Facebook video upload by Arif to narrate the series of events, the miscreants allegedly urinated in front of his door.

To avoid any altercation with the intoxicated group of men, Arif approached the landlord and asked for help.  When Daud along with landlord confronted the youths, one of them started hurling insults and threatened to kill Arif. He also claimed that with him being a Hindu it’d be easier for him to kill a Muslim and get away with it.

“”Tu musalmaan hai, tujhe maar daalenge aur humara kuch nahi hoga (You are a Muslim. If we kill you nothing will happen to us),” said the youth.

Arif claimed that the youth even tried pushing him off the terrace. Frightened with such threats, Arif decided to leave the place immediately. He reached New Friends Colony police station and narrated the entire incident to the police. The police advised Arif to vacate the house and assured police protection.

The resurgence of Hindutva politics has labelled Muslims as the ‘others’. Even the legislators of the ruling party at the Centre have often lent their weight to the culture of hatred to secure their vote banks. It’s ironical that on the day India pledged to be a secular democracy, Arif was targeted for practising a particular religion. There are many Arifs who are struggling to claim freedom to live freely with their identities. The rise of majoritarianism has consumed many nations. Let’s not become one of them.

The post ‘Tujhe Maar Daalenge Aur Humara Kuch Nahi Hoga’: Hindu Youths Threaten A Muslim On August 15 appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

93 साल की उम्र में पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री और भारत रत्न अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी की मृत्यु हो गई है। उनकी तबीयत बिगड़ने की वजह से उन्हें लाइफ सपोर्ट सिस्टम पर रखा गया था। एम्स ने कल यानी 15 अगस्त के दिन उनका हेल्थ बुलेटिन जारी करते हुए इसकी जानकारी दी थी। एम्स ने आज सुबह दोबारा से उनका हेल्थ बुलेटिन जारी किया था, जिसके अनुसार उनकी स्थिति उस वक्त भी नाज़ुक बनी हुई थी।

वाजपेयी को किडनी ट्रैक्ट इंफेक्शन, यूरिनरी ट्रैक्ट इंफेक्शन और सीने में जकड़न की शिकायत के बाद 11 जून को एम्स में भर्ती कराया गया था। कल शाम से ही वाजपेयी को देखने लोगों की भीड़ एम्स पहुंच रही थी।

काफी लंबे समय से उनकी सेहत खराब होने की खबरें सामने आ रही थी। राजनीति से दूरी बनाने की वजहों में से एक उनकी खराब सेहत भी रही है।

अटल बिहारी ने सबसे पहले 1996 में 13 दिनों के लिए प्रधानमंत्री के रूप में कार्यभाल संभाला था। इसके बाद 1998-1999 में वो 11 महीनों के लिए प्रधानमंत्री बनें। इसके बाद 1998 से 2004 तक उन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री के रूप में अपना 5 सालों का कार्यकाल पूरा किया।

अपने राजनीति कार्यकाल में अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी कई बयानों की वजह से विवादों में रहें, चाहे वो बाबरी मस्जिद से जुड़ा बयान हो या फिर पार्टी के प्रति अपनी गंभीरता को लेकर दिया गया उनका बयान। संसद में दिए उनके कई बयान भी काफी चर्चा में रहें।

आइए नज़र डालते हैं उनके राजनीतिक करियर के कुछ फेमस बयानों पर

1. बावरी मस्ज़िद पर अजल बिहारी वाजपेयी का विवादित बयान-

अपने इस बयान में अटल बिहारी ने कहा था कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने हमें अधिकार दिया है कि हम कार सेवा करें, उसे रोकने का तो सवाल ही नहीं है। कार सेवा करके सुप्रीम कोर्ट की अवहेलना नहीं होगी बल्कि उनके फैसले का का सम्मान होगा।

उन्होंने अपने इस भाषण में ये भी कहा था, “जहां नुकीले पत्थर निकले हो उनपर तो कोई बैठ नहीं सकता। तब ज़मीन को समतल करना होगा, बैठने लायक करना होगा। मैं नहीं जानता कल क्या होगा, मुझे अयोध्या जाने की इच्छा थी लेकिन, मुझे दिल्ली आने के लिए कहा गया और मैं आदेश का पालन करूंगा।”

2. 1996 में अपनी 13 दिनों की सरकार के गिरने के बाद अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी का सदन में भाषण- “मैं अपना त्यागपत्र राष्ट्रपति महोदय को देने जा रहा हूं”

3. जब अटल ने सदन को कहा कि सत्ता तो आएगी-जाएगी लेकिन ये देश बचा रहना चाहिए।

4. जब अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी ने नरेंद्र मोदी को राजधर्म का पालन करने की सलाह दी थी

5. पोखरण में परमाणु परीक्षण के बाद सदन में अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी का भाषण

6. पार्टी के प्रति अपनी ईमानदारी दिखाते हुए वाजपेयी- “पार्टी तोड़कर सत्ता के लिए नया गठबंधन करना, अगर सत्ता हाथ में आती है तो मैं ऐसी सत्ता को चिमटे से भी नहीं छूना चाहूंगा।”

7. राष्ट्रवाद पर बात करते हुए अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी

The post अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी के 7 सबसे चर्चित और विवादित भाषण appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Former Prime Minister and a renowned statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 93, passed away due to multi-organ failure, on August 16 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

The three-time Prime Minister, who commanded great respect in the political circle, was admitted at AIIMS nine weeks ago on June 11. However, his condition worsened in the past 36 hours, and he was put on life support system, said AIIMS health bulletin.   

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mourned BJP-patriarch Vajpayee’s death and stated that his death marks ‘end of an era’. President Ram Nath Kovind and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also paid homage to the towering politician who was the strong face of opposition and challenged Congress’ successive rule at the Centre.  

Long-standing parliamentarian Vajpayee was a soft-spoken poet and a dynamic leader who was known for taking bold decisions, like 1999 Kargil war, during his tenure at the Prime Minister Office(PMO). While his first two terms as PM in 1996 and 1998 were short stints of 13 days and 13 months respectively, his third term starting October 1999 secured him the reputation of a progressive and a bold leader. From connecting villages to cities under his iconic Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna to strong foreign policies, his contribution to the Indian politics will be remembered for many years to come.

Face of moderation

Vajpayee’s political career had roots in right-wing hardliner Rashtriya Swayamsevak (RSS) backyard, yet he was identified as a liberal leader. He was one of the few right-wing leaders that commanded a great deal of respect from everyone, nationally and internationally, including Pakistan. 

Vajpayee started attending RSS shakhas at a very young age, and his political ideology was shaped around the right-wing approach towards nation-building. However, Vajpayee never fell for the religious animosity and hardline approach towards minorities. Regardless of his association with Sangh parivar, he promoted peace and harmony among different sects. He became the face of moderation and peace due to his repeated attempts to solve Kashmir conflict through ‘insaniyat’ and mend terms with Pakistan.

An able statesman and a visionary leader

Vajpayee’s encounter with politics happened in 1942 during the Quit India Movement. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1957. However, it was in the 1980s that he began to display his political prowess. Known for playing his cards close to the chest and stitching strategic alliances, Vajpayee was a fiery orator and masterful rhetoric. His oratory skills were noted by SP Mookerjee, founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and got him entry into the party. Later, Vajpayee along with his close aide LK Advani carved out Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP). From here began the making of a great parliamentarian. In 1994, Vajpayee received Lokmanya Tilak Award and Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for his parliamentary skills.  Vajpayee was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 1992 and received Bharat Ratna Award in 2014. 

In his eventful political career that spanned over five decades, Vajpayee played a critical role in shaping up the politics of modern India. While he challenged political elitism by coming to parliament in a bullock cart, he displayed ability of a modern and visionary statesman by making India nuclear power after the successful launch of Pokhran-II. Political pundits have lauded his governance. He introduced various reforms that boosted the country’s economic growth.

His formula of using sugarcane-extracted ethanol in petrol reduced country’s heavy dependence on oil imports. He also invigorated public sector savings from 0.8% in 2000 to 2.3% in 2005 by introducing Fiscal Responsibility Act. He passed several legislations with firm resolve, despite strong opposition. His privatisation drive was widely criticised but that didn’t stop Vajpayee to sell 32 state-owned companies to private firms. Furthermore, his massive infrastructure drive connected villages with the cities and boosted trade. His model of constructing arterial roads to stimulate growth has been followed by successive central and state governments.

His charisma at the international forum was also widely acknowledged, with many diplomats appreciating his fixation with peace. Even Pakistan’s then-President Pervez Musharraf developed a liking for Vajpayee’s statesmanship. His strategic skills in foreign policy were displayed when the United States wanted India to be part of the Iraq war. Vajpayee neither wanted to be part of the US mass-killing drive, nor did he want to spoil US-India ties. He subtly dropped the hint to Left parties, who were protesting against India’s participation in Iraq war, that ‘there isn’t enough opposition on the ground’. Following this, the opposition grew, and Vajpayee used it as an excuse to stay out of the Iraq invasion.

However, towards the end of his tenure as PM, Vajpayee government was scarred with allegations of crony capitalism and 2002 Godhra riots under then BJP’s Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. Moreover, the Babri demolition drive under the BJP leaders and the Godhra massacre tainted the party and his supremo. Then President KR Narayanan also blamed Vajpayee government for not safeguarding the minorities. Vajpayee later regretted Babri mosque demolition and said, “It was unfortunate. It should not have happened.”

Furthermore, his ‘India Shining’ campaign failed to attract voters, and he had to step down. A year later in December 2005, Vajpayee announced his retirement from active politics and spent his remaining years in isolation and solitude.

Today, the nation mourns the demise of a skillful politician who gave the country the first national-level opposition party to the Indian National Congress. 

The post Known For His Statesmanship, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Leaves Behind Legacy Of Its Kind appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is no more. I speak of him now not as a politician of the BJP, but a statesman who was a model public figure.

‘Aura’ is a word I rarely use, ‘transcendental aura’, even more scarcely, but for Mr Vajpayee that is an apt one. Every single time I watched his speeches, it made me aware of how special this man is. His aura shone through the screen. ‘A masterful orator’ is what is usually said to describe him, but, I was also enamoured by the child-like gleefulness of his delivery. The smile with which he eviscerated accusations. His witty repartee, in this age of social-media, would be a gold mine. What does he mean to someone who was not even 15 when he retired from active politics? To a generation that has not really ‘lived’ through his Government? Precedent. A #101 on how to conduct yourself. For me, that was adopting the manner of being assertive yet approachable based on a foundation of strong principles and sprinkled with the right dose of theatricality. This precedent is not restricted to people who are aspirants for a role in public life, but, is also extendable to be a precedent on how to build and lead an organisation. An organisation that seems electorally unstoppable hitherto was reduced to 2 seats in 1984, where Mr Vajpayee himself lost his seat. He led the effort to build that party along with Mr. Advani, which they managed to do together. He serves as a precedent to appreciate the gift of laughter in a space which was sometimes full of sanctimoniousness and pseudo-self righteousness. He was a precedent on reaching across the aisle in times of conflict, with a famous friendship with his predecessor Mr PV Narasimha Rao. A precedent in not reducing to the level of pettiness during civil discourse. There are enough anecdotes on his magnanimous nature, especially to people from the opposite aisle but the real test of his statesmanship, for me, was to turn that smile into a steely frown when faced with tough decisions. The nuclear tests, not bowing to public outcry over disinvestment of PSEs and of course, Kargil are stellar examples. I do not want to comment over whether I liked those decisions or not as I do not wish to be political in this post, but rather, wish to take the position of an ordinary citizen professing his admiration for a singular person’s personal qualities.

One good thing coming out of the horrible and untimely death of Mr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, when he went to Kashmir to protest the permit quota system of the Government, was when he told his young secretary – “tell everyone where I am and what this Government is doing”. That young secretary did so and more. That event gave us Mr Vajpayee. He continued the work of Mr Mookerjee and got himself elected to Parliament. He impressed our first Prime Minister over there enough to be predicted to become a Prime Minister himself one day. I seldom want to romanticise people, especially those who I did not know personally, however, it seems as though it was inevitable, fateful and not hypothetical that he would reach that post. He impressed as the External Affairs Minister. The first person to make a speech in Hindi at the UN. His ranking of speeches would give anyone a headache. His speech during the 1962 war is almost an urban legend in terms of how good it was. The best speeches of his, in my opinion, were reserved for his ‘enemies’. He never let politics come in the way of mutual respect. His eulogies for Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi were beautifully poetic and poignant.

An unassuming man, he lamented not being able to go out and eat in a dhabha when he became the face of his party. His humility shown through his poetry. ‘Geet naya gaata hoon’ and ‘Oonchai’ are poems I can recite the lines to. There is a certain level of appreciation which is unimaginable for anyone else when you ask anyone about him. People who would not be fans of his party show particular reverence for him. This isn’t a geographical phenomena either. People coming from south India, Northeast and even Kashmir (where his ‘Insaniyat’ doctrine is still well-known) elicit positive opinions about Mr Vajpayee. He once went to the extent of making sure Government facilities like a car were not being used by his relatives. The respect he had for the Parliament and parliamentary procedures is also a significant precedent. A ‘Gentle Giant’ indeed.

I await a biography about his life. Theatrically so, he once lost a no-confidence motion by a single vote. He also spent years building an alternative political platform in India. His personal bravery during the unfortunate 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in stopping two people from harming another, was heroic. Of course, there are the not-so great moments too. Political and personal. The mistakes and faults make for a well-rounded story. A liberal man in the truest sense of the word. His is a story of a poet who somehow entered politics and couldn’t leave it. A man who desperately wanted to be a journalist but found himself on the other side. There will be people who shall enter politics, be great orators, earn admiration from friends and foes, they shall still be a pale imitation of Mr Vajpayee’s stature. There won’t be another one. This starts the end of an era where old-school politics will not work for a newer India.

I particularly liked his victory against the resistance he was faced with when he was Prime Minister. He was pressured from all sides to do this or that and yet, decisively, he did what he thought was right. He was big enough to apologise and seek corrective measures when he thought he was wrong too. He did that with certain schemes as well as certain events. The best part about him, however, like I said, will be his unparalleled sense of humour. I wish there were cameras since the 50s to appropriately capture his speeches. Anecdotal examples reveal themselves to be indicative of a man who used it as a healthy way to put his point forward. I wish there was more of that today.

A simple phrase he once said about himself “Bheed mai bhi akela mehsus karta hu” (I feel lonely even in crowds) struck me as daringly honest. It was strange relating to a then-65+ year old man who put something so simple yet empathetic. His unique way about himself was always nice to watch. India would benefit from having people sharing his characteristics in our political sphere. It would do good to move conversations about issues from an acrimonious way, to perhaps, an enjoyable one.

In one of his famous interviews he observes that he only wants to be remembered by people as an ‘aacha aadmi’. One who only wants to escape this dessert of politics respectably. I shall do him that courtesy, “aacha aadmi tha”.

You will be missed, Atalji.

The post Every Time Atalji Made A Speech, His Aura Shone Through The Screen appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

Until 2017, 90 million Muslim women constantly faced the threat of being divorced suddenly, either orally, via a text or through a letter. Till date, approximately 66% of Muslim women have been divorced by their husbands orally. That is by just saying the words ‘Talaq’ thrice. There have also been incidents of Muslim men divorcing their wives over a Whatsapp message.

However, all this changed after the 2017 verdict by the Supreme Court which ruled out the practice of Triple Talaq as unconstitutional. But, this success did not come easy. It took years of struggle by the Muslim women who stood up for their rights and dignity. Clearly, they felt it was unjust to end their marriage without their wish or consent.

Here’s courageous stories of women who dared to challenge the male-dominated society to fight for their dignity.

Shah Bano Begum: ‘Questioned The Conflicting Role Of Personal Laws’

At the age of 62, Shah Bano was thrown out of her matrimonial home along with her five children by her husband, Mohammed Ahmad Khan. The two had got married in 1932. But, after 14 years of their marriage, Khan married another women – the reason why Bano was abandoned by her husband. Three years later, she filed a suit demanding maintenance of ₹200/month from her husband, as mentioned in Section 125 of CrPC. Being a wife without any income and neglected by her husband, made her eligible for the same. So, to avoid this expense, Khan divorced her by simply uttering the words ‘Talaq’ thrice. Because, as per the Muslim Personal Law, as she is no more his legal wife he cannot maintain any connection with her, and thus is not responsible to maintain his wife. Further, as per the law, he was required to pay maintenance only for the iddat period i.e. three months after the divorce. But, this did not stop her from fighting as this was not a fight just against her husband, but the entire male-dominated society and by extension the discriminatory social customs.

She won the cases in the local court, High Court and even the Supreme Court. However, this was soon reversed by the Rajiv Gandhi government (for the fear of losing Muslim vote bank), which passed the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce Act), 1986 which was in lines with the Islam laws.

Despite this failure, the Shah Bano case became a landmark one in the legal history of India. This case was significant as it was the first time the conflicting role of personal laws and the Constitution came to light. Are personal laws above gender justice? Does the Section 125 of CrPC apply to women? Although this was not the first case to recognise Muslim women’s rights, it was significant in recognising the need for equal treatment of Muslim women in matters pertaining to their marriage. This got the ball rolling and sowed the seeds for a revolution which encouraged more women to raise the voice. For instance, Bano’s fight resulted in increase in number of applications being filed for maintenance by divorced Muslim women. They began questioning their community as a protective institution.

Despite the failure, this case set the ball rolling and sowed the seeds for a revolution which encouraged more women to raise the voice against the injustice faced by them. As recalled by her daughter Siddique Ahmed who says she remembers seeing her mother’s determination at a time when no one supported her. Although her mother was not educated she did not give up despite immense pressure from their relatives from Saudi who were ready to pay for her Hajj only so that she would give up.

Shayara Bano: ‘Got Triple Talaq Banned’

Since her student life, Bano was against anti-social customs such as triple talaq and Nikah halala. And these very practices became a part of her life after she got married to Rizwan Ahmed. Domestic violence, torture and demands for dowry became the new normal for her. And in 2015, she received a divorce from her husband via a speed post. That’s when she decided that she cannot take something that is ‘so wrong’. One year later, she petitioned the SC seeking a ban of instant talaq, polygamy and nikah halala and declare it unconstitutional as its in violation of Articles 14 (equality before law), 15 (non-discrimination), 21 (right to life with dignity) and 25 (right to freedom of conscience and religion) of the Indian Constitution.

It was based on this petition PM Modi filed an affidavit against the triple talaq. Her case was joined by five other women seeking a ban on this practice. And in August 2017, in a landmark verdict, the SC struck down the practice by a majority of 3:2, declaring it was unconstitutional. The Modi government drafted The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, which was passed in the Lok Sabha in December. However, Shayara hopes the other practices too will be banned. In an interview with The Hindu, she states that she will continue to fight for women’s right and will now file a petition to ban other practices as well.

In her entire fight, it was the mental harassment which was the biggest challenge for her. She was often threatened by the members of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to withdraw the case stating that she was going against Islam. Despite this discouragement, she kept the fight going. With the support of women activists, NGOs, lawyers, her family and the media, her case got significant coverage. Her courage got more and more women to speak up.

Nida Khan: ‘Being A Victim Of It, She Is Fighting To Get Nikah Halala Banned’

Just after a year of her marriage with Sheeran Raza in 2015, Khan was given divorce by her husband. Following which Khan filed 2 petitions in a local court in Bareilly, first for triple talaq and the second one for domestic violence. And in 2018, the court declared the triple talaq as invalid and also ordered the authorities to probe the domestic violence case against the husband and his family.

Khan now runs an NGO for women and fights for victims of the controversial instant divorce and other such practices. She is also fighting against the nikah halala. She herself has been a victim of this practice, where she was forced to sleep, consummate marriage with her father-in-law and brother-in-law to remarry her husband. She has even written to the UP CM, Yogi Adityanath urging him to abolish the evil Islamic practice. In 2018, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and the Law Commission asking them to review the petitions which were filed to abolish the other two practices- nikah halala and polygamy.

But today, she is facing a huge price for her brave acts. She has constantly been receiving threats that she should leave India, and if not done so she would be stoned. A fatwa as well has been issued by the Muslim clerics which ordered a social boycott unless she apologized. Another fatwa stated that whoever brings her chopped hair will be rewarded with Rs. 11,786.

Farahnaaz Khan: ‘Got The Court Declare The Divorce Received Via Whatsapp Invalid’

Her case brought to light the latest and the fastest method of instant talaq – via Whatsapp, email and Skype. And it also highlighted the fact that despite making the practice unconstitutional, there was no stopping of this practice. In November 2017, she was shocked to receive a video message on Whatsapp from her husband, Yawar Khan, who gave her a divorce due to the disputes between them and his disinterest in her. Prior to this, she had filed a domestic violence case against her husband in a Session’s Court. It was during a hearing of this case that she showed the court the video her husband sent, which the court declared as illegal. Continuing her fight, she is now going to file a petition against her husband in the Bombay High Court for contempt of the top court’s order on triple talaq.

The post Meet The Women Behind The Triple Talaq Fight appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.

अमर लेखिका अमृता प्रीतम ने एक बार कहा था कि कुछ रिश्ते ऐसे होते हैं जो हर हाल में रहते हैं स्वीकृति से जन्मते और कायम रहते तो ठीक था लेकिन यह कई बार अस्वीकृति में से भी जन्म ले लेते हैं और सिर्फ जन्म ही नहीं लेते बल्कि इन्सान के साथ भी जीते हैं और मरने के बाद भी। एक ऐसा ही अटूट रिश्ता अटल जी और श्रीमती कौल के बीच था जिसे भारतीय राजनीति से लेकर सदन तक ने हमेशा सम्मान दिया।

दरअसल साल था 2014 और महीना था मई का देश में चुनावी शोर मचा था। राजनीतिक रैलियों के मंचों से नेता दहाड़ रहे थे एक दूसरे पर कीचड़ उछालने से भी पीछे नहीं हट रहे थे। लेकिन इस शोर के बीच 2 मई को मंचो के पीछे एक मौन संवेदना का दिन भी था। उस दिन भारत के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री अटल जी के घर पर एक मौत हुई थी उन महान देवी को श्रीमती राजकुमारी कौल के नाम से लोग जानते थे। कई वर्षों से वाजपेयी की लगातार साथी रही और उनकी दत्तक बेटी नमिता भट्टाचार्य की मां। 86 वर्षीय श्रीमती कौल एम्स में हृदय की बीमारी के बाद मृत्यु को प्राप्त हो गईं थी।

अखबारों में पहली बार उनके बारे में खबरें छपी थी इंडियन एक्सप्रेस ने विस्तार से इस खबर को पहले पेज पर छापा था। जिसे पढ़कर अधिकांश लोगों ने जाना कि यही वह अटल जी की जीवन की वह डोर थीं जो आज उनसे टूट गयी। उनके घर की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण सदस्य और उनकी सबसे घनिष्ठ मित्र भी।

किन्तु इस मौत से ना केवल अटल जी दुखी थे बल्कि चुनाव अभियान को बीच में छोड़कर तत्कालीन कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी ने सुबह-सुबह अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी के निवास पर एक शांती यात्रा की थी। सोनिया गाँधी संवेदना प्रकट करने गयी थी. उस समय भाजपा के प्रधानमंत्री पद के उम्मीदवार नरेंद्र मोदी के पास समय का बेहद आभाव था लेकिन इस रिश्ते की पवित्रता या गहराई को लालकृष्ण आडवाणी बखूबी समझते थे. आडवाणी जी के साथ-साथ  राजनाथ सिंह, सुषमा स्वराज, अरुण जेटली और रविशंकर प्रसाद समेत अन्य शीर्ष नेता श्रीमति कौल के पार्थिव शरीर के पास शोक मुद्रा में उपस्थित थे। वाजपेयी जी की हालत नाज़ुक थी, शरीर में इतना बल नहीं बचा था कि उठकर अंतिम विदाई दे सके। आँखें नम थी और बिस्तर पर बैठे थे अत: अंतिम संस्कार में भाग नहीं ले सके थे।

अंतिम संस्कार में भाजपा के ही नहीं बल्कि तत्कालीन केंद्रीय मंत्री काँग्रेस नेता ज्योतिरादित्य सिंधिया भी उपस्थित थे। तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह जी ने भी फोन पर अटल जी की दत्तक पुत्री और श्रीमती कौल की बेटी नमिता को अपनी संवेदनाओं से परिचित कराया था। यही नहीं इस रिश्ते को अंतिम विदाई देने इस अंतिम संस्कार में आरएसएस के कार्यवाहक सुरेश सोनी और आरएसएस प्रचारक और भाजपा के महासचिव (संगठन) रामलाल भी उपस्थित थे यह भारतीय राजनीति के इतिहास की शुचिता और नैतिकता का एक ऐसा सम्माननीय उदहारण है जिसकी जगह कोई दूसरा अन्य उदहारण नहीं ले सकता। तमाम राजनितिक तू-तू, मैं- मैं के बीच ये एक ऐसे रिश्ते को सम्मान दिया जा रहा था जिस रिश्ते का कोई नाम नहीं था।

बताया जाता है कि अटल और राजकुमारी कौल की कहानी की शुरुआत 40 के दशक में हुई थी जब अटल ग्वालियर के एक कॉलेज में पढ़ रहे थे। वह भी उनके साथ पढ़ रही थीं। दौर ऐसा था कि बातें केवल आंखों ही आंखों में होती थी और आँखें एक दूसरे की मन की गहराई तक पहुंच चुकी थी। ज़्यादा बात करने के अवसर नहीं थे, आखिरकार अटल ने इस राह पर कदम बढ़ाने की हिम्मत की। उन्होंने एक प्रेम पत्र लिखा, जिसका जवाब ही नहीं आया। वह बहुत निराश हुए, उन्हें क्या मालूम था कि ये प्रेम करीब एक-डेढ़ दशक बाद उनकी जिंदगी में हमेशा के लिए बदलने वाला है। अटल ने अपना जीवन एक महिला मित्र को समर्पित कर दिया था। बहुत सभ्य, सलीके और इज्ज़त के साथ रिश्ता निभाया।

वरिष्ठ पत्रकार कुलदीप नैयर के अनुसार ये खूबसूरत प्रेम कहानी थी। अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी और राजकुमारी कौल के बीच चला वो रिश्ता खूबसूरत रिश्ते में बुनता चला गया। राजकुमारी कौल को दिल्ली के राजनीतिक हलकों में लोग मिसेज कौल के नाम से जानते थे। हर किसी को मालूम था कि वो अटल जी के लिए सबसे प्रिय है।

वाजपेई ने कॉलेज के दिनों की अपनी दोस्त राजकुमारी कौल के साथ रिश्तों को लेकर कभी कोई सार्वजनिक बयान नहीं दिया, लेकिन उनकी शादी के बाद पति बीएन कौल के घर में वे काफी समय तक रहे थे। एक पत्रिका को दिए इंटरव्यू में राजकुमारी कौल ने कहा था, मैंने और अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी ने कभी इस बात की ज़रूरत नहीं महसूस की कि इस रिश्ते के बारे में कोई सफाई दी जाए।

शायद यही वह रिश्ते होते होंगे जिनका अमृता प्रीतम ज़िक्र किया करती थी। ये रिस्ते दर्द से बने होते हैं बस इनमें दर्द, त्याग और बलिदान होता है। शायद यही वह प्रेम होता होगा जिन्हें लोग कथा कहानियों पढ़ते हैं। अटल जी बेशक अच्छे महान कवि थे एक दमदार प्रधानमंत्री भी रहे किन्तु उन्हें एक सच्चा महान प्रेमी मानने से कैसे इंकार किया जा सकता है जिन्होंने अपनी मुहब्बत के लिये किसी भी सामाजिक रीति की परवाह नहीं की।

The post अटल जी और राजकुमारी कौल की प्रेम कहानी जिसे समूची राजनीति ने सम्मान दिया appeared first and originally on Youth Ki Awaaz and is a copyright of the same. Please do not republish.