Round The States

New Delhi, 15 July 2017

Amarnath Yatra Attack

WHAT KASHMIRIYAT SPIRIT?

By Insaf

PDP-BJP government in Jammu & Kashmir has more on its plate than it can handle. The shocking attack on Amarnath yatris has unfortunately ended a 15-year terror-free run for the pilgrimage. Worse, it has put both the Centre and State government in the dock by once again revealing the cracks in its security and intelligence apparatus. To top it all, while leader after leader is claiming that Kashmiriyat has not taken a beating and the yatra continues, the question to be asked is who are we fooling? All sections of society condemning the attack on the pilgrims, is no yardstick to go by. The Muslim community helping the Hindus with this yatra should be seen by many as simply an economic necessity. It is no secret that the hoteliers, ghoodawalas, the pithoos etc look forward to the yatra, as it rakes in the moolah with the lakhs of pilgrims visiting the shrine annually. If Kashmiriyat is alive, as says Home Minister Rajnath Singh, then can he give figures of how many Hindu families have been resettled in the Valley and welcomed back? The much-hyped project has been languishing for decades. Let the polity face the fact that the State has undergone a major change. It is reeling under unprecedented uprising for much over a year, with even the younger generation taking to the streets. Passing on the buck to Pakistan and its funded-Hurriyat is unacceptable. Time for an honest reality check!

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Bihar Conundrum

Bihar continues to hog the headlines. Will he or won’t he break the ruling alliance, is the million dollar question being asked of JD(U) President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. With his partner RJD chief Lalu Yadav and family buried deep in multi-crore corruption scandals, the alliance along with the Congress clearly becomes untenable as Nitish refuses to buy the Yadavs’ claim of “political vendetta” and the BJP trying to ‘break the alliance’. In its Executive meeting last Tuesday, Nitish was firm that RJD needs to come up with a detailed response to the charges levied by CBI and ED and was unwilling to join the opposition cry of TMC, Congress and SP that the probe was “right-wing frame-up.” To buttress his demand, Nitish said in the past tainted JD(U) ministers had been made to quit. Be that as it may, former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who recall was asked to resign following corruption charges, says his mentor simply wants to regain or retain the chair. By now he should have sacked Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who has refused to step down. “Zero tolerance” stance on corruption is an ideal excuse for JD(U)-BJP tie-up!             

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Booze Relief For Arunachal, Andaman

Hilly terrain and forest land come to the rescue of States and UTs to dilute the liquor ban. Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman Nicobar Islands are the latest entrants to the club where the Supreme Court’s 500m liquor ban alongside highways wouldn’t apply. Taking a cue from Sikkim and Meghalaya, which got exemption on March 31 after it argued that 90% of its liquor shops would be closed given the terrain, Arunachal argued it too deserved parity as 80% of its roads are national highways and it had lost 50% of its revenue, Rs 210 crore of Rs 441.61, since the court’s ban order. The SC agreed as it has been sympathetic to other States too. For Himachal Pradesh it had reduced the liquor-free zone from 500m to 220m in some areas; Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been given extension till September 30, to implement the ban in view of different excise licence period; and it upheld Chandigarh’s move to de-notify highways within city limits as major district roads. Tipplers would keep on eye how many others knock on the Supreme Court’s door.

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Hope For Tribal Undertrials

Three cheers to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. It has decided to act on human rights activists’ distress. The Commission has written to all State governments to collect information about tribal undertrials in prisons, see how long they have been languishing in prisons, those who have no cases against them and those who can be set free. While 2013 Home Ministry figures reveal there were 11.34 % tribal undertrials in jail, with high percentage in North East States of Mizoram (99.96%), Meghalaya (78.12%) and Arunachal Pradesh (49.38%), Maoist-hit States of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand deserve special attention. This, after complaints have increased that tribals are being held illegally as they were being arrested on mere suspicion of being sympathisers of Maoists or their cadre. For example, human rights activists have argued that RTI data confirms that most tribals in Chhattisgarh were eventually acquitted. And went a step further by asking whether the State machinery had a sinister design imprisoning them--to acquire their land? While that would to be ascertained, the big question is will the States speed up trial and heed to the Commission? Or let the advice languish too?

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UP Budgets Hindutva

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath does keep his word. Not just to the farmers but critically to the Hindutava camp too. Presented on Tuesday last, the Budget focuses on rural and overall development of the State and keeps aside Rs 36,000 crore as farm loans, as promised. However, a closer look at the disbursement of funds may make the secular camp cringe as the provisions bear the Hindutva stamp. Of interest is that special attention has been paid to towns including Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi. Under the theme of retaining “our cultural heritage,” there will be a launch of ‘Swadesh Darshan Yojana’ (Rs 1,240 crore) focusing on Ramayana, Buddhist and Krishna circuits; setting up of Gita Shodh Sansthan (Gita Research Institute) and Krishna Sangrahalaya (Krishna Museum); a Prasad Yojana, of Rs 800 crore for development of infrastructure facilities in the 3 towns; Rs 200 crore for a cultural centre at Varanasi; ‘Lok Malhar’ and ‘Savan Jhula’ programmes in Gorakhpur and Ayodhya; special places for ‘bhajans’ will be constructed in Ayodhya and Chitrakoot, etc. Indeed, the gods should help Yogi take the State forward on the high trajectory of growth.

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Maha Social Boycott Ban

Maharashtra can boast of another first. With the President giving assent on Tuesday last to the Maharashtra Prohibition of Social Boycott Act, 2016 after over a year it was passed by the legislature, the State will become the first to punish culprits for social boycott or caste ostracising. Thus, extra judicial bodies such as caste and community panchayats will now come under the radar. Predictably, the Act will help remove caste barriers and prevent caste panchayats to violate basic human rights, say activists. Judgements or issues of fatwas will now be a cognizable offence and any decision of boycott shall be treated as a crime. Culprits can be punished with imprisonment up to three years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Recall, the State was the first to enact an anti-superstition law and another for safety of journalists. How soon the Fadnavis government gets the machinery in place needs to be watched and so does the fact whether others follow suit?---INFA

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