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Round The States
New Delhi, 9 April 2016
Nationalism
Controversy Rages
Bharat Mata Ki Jai, whats in a Slogan
By
Insaf
Gandhi land Gujarat has set
the ball rolling in avowing Bharat Mata
Ki Jai compulsory. Whereby, four
Gujarati schools have made it binding for those seeking school admissions to
write their affirmation in their application forms. This is purportedly to instill
nationalism among the students especially against the backdrop of anti-national
slogans dotting various university campuses across the country. Recall, JNU
President Kanhaiya Kumar became a cause
célèbre and was jailed for participating in a pro-Afzal Guru rally and wanting
those who had hanged the Parliament attack perpetrator brought to be book.
Fueling further controversy some minority institutions too have announced that
saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai goes
against the tenets of Islam which preaches adherence to only one God. Which way,
asserting Bharat Mata ki Jai or Jai Hind
does not really matter. As Shakespeare said “A rose by another name would smell
as sweet.” Bluntly, what counts is India and allegiance to it, not how
you profess it.
Yet, all is not well at the NIT campus in Srinagar where protest for and against Bharat Mata Ki Jai continues to rage. It
all started when few students celebrated the victory of West Indies over India in the
T20 World Cup semi-final recently. The next day the pro-nationalists started
shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai slogans
resulting in a clash between two rival groups and two FIRs being filed. On side
the out-station students demanded the shifting of the institute from Kashmir, on the other the locals sought action against
policemen who had lathicharged them. Amidst the tension BJP’s Dy Chief Minister
has ordered a time bound enquiry in to the violence. Obviously, the Government
does not want a repeat of Delhi’s
JNU controversy which unleashed a national maelstrom.
* * * *
Modi’s UP-Assam
Game Plan
In election season Parties are busy doling out freebies even
as they calculate how these would translate in the ballot boxes for them. The
first off the mark is Prime Minister Modi who has promised to change the lives
of Dalits and tribals in Ulta-Pulta Pradesh.
No matter that elections in the State are slated for next year. He has offered
them cheap loans through one of his pet schemes Stand Up India, by underscoring
how cheap credit would unleash new job plans and growth opportunities. More so,
as Dalits account for 21 per cent of UP’s population and thus are a crucial
vote bank in the State which sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. Besides, Modi’s initiative
is all the more important especially after the suicide of a Dalit student in a Hyderabad University. Will the electorate buy
Modi’s wares?
In salubrious Assam, all Parties have put there
best foot forward in the ongoing elections. While the Congress is leaving no
stone unturned to return to power for its fourth term, arch rival BJP has its
fingers crossed of hitting gold in this North Eastern
State. Pollsters feel, the
large Muslim community seems to be leaning favourably towards the Hindutva
brigade. They base this on the high voting in the first phase wherein the State
recorded 78 per cent polling for 65 seats. In neighbouring West
Bengal which too boasts of a high minority population, the State recorded
83 per cent voting. Clearly, the BJP game plan wrests on getting the Dalits and
tribals on their side and making peace overtures to the Muslims.
* * * *
JDU-RLD Merger In
UP
Fresh winds of change are blowing across the Hindu
heartland. All eyes are on the forthcoming merger of Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok
Dal with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (U). Many wonder if this is the beginning of
a larger umbrella which may see the Congress joining hands with its Bihar ally to form a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh for
the Assembly elections one year away. According to JD(U) this amalgamation
would ensure a senior position for Ajit Singh with his son and former MP Jayant
Chaudhary being made UP’s Party President. There is no gainsaying, for both the
Congress and JD(U) a pact could turn out to be a win-win situation. One, they
could pool their resources to take on rivals Samajwadi, BSP and BJP. Two, after
Mulayam tried to spoil the JD(U)-Congress pact in Bihar
by fielding candidates against them, Sonia and Nitish have an aversion for the
SP supremo. Three, the Congress and RLD share an aversion to Mayawati’s BSP and
BJP, thus an anti-BJP platform makes sense. It remains to be seen whether the fusion
would expand each Parties base by reinforcing the combined interests of the
JD(U) and RLD.
* * * *
Drought Vs IPL
Drought stricken Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana have been
severely reprimanded by the Supreme Court for their ‘non-seriousness’ in
dealing with the acute water crisis leading to farmers committing suicide. The Court
took the States to task for filing shoddy statistics on the drought hit areas
in their regions. This sentiment was reiterated by the Bombay High Court which
rapped Chief Minister Fadnavis for allowing the forthcoming IPL matches to be
held in the State. With scarce water, how could the Administration allow
wastage for getting the stadiums ready? Shockingly, so severe is the famine
that not only farmers have committed suicide but it has resulted in a full
blown public health crisis. Whereby, doctors in the famine-struck region are
putting of surgeries as there is no water even to wash their hands! Take Latur,
its five lakh population’s lifeline are water tankers which come every
two-three days. Worse, the tankers water is so polluted that people are
contracting diseases like jaundice, typhoid and gastroentities. A vicious
annual circle afflicting rural India
with heartless States watching as mute spectators. What next? ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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