Why Modi built Sardar Patel statue?

  

The Statue of Unity, depicting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is being championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but there is far more to the story of this expensive project. It was Dy PM Sardar Patel  who banned RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi's assasination said "the RSS was not involved... his assassination was welcomed by those of the RSS ...". Golwalkar repeatedly pleaded with Patel, but Patel remained firm. He lifted the ban only after the RSS pledged to stay away from politics, not be secretive and abjure violence and professed "loyalty to the Constitution of India and the National Flag". After removal of ban, RSS hoisted the flag at their headquarters on 26th January 1950. 

• The hope is that this monument to Patel will attract lakhs of tourists, but there is far more going on with this strange and expensive statue.
• The statue was a bold assertion of Gujarati nationalism as it was to give Narendra Modi a political lineage to distinguish him from the parent RSS, which sat out the freedom movement. 
• Why he didn’t build a statue of Guru Golwalkar or Deen Dayal Upadhyaya or V.D. Savarkar. Or even Subhash Chandra Bose, speaks volumes about his designs to snatch Patel's legacy from Congress.
• Patel is a historic Indian figure - crucial to the Indian independence movement and political organisation of postcolonial India. This on its own, though, does not exactly warrant building the ‘world’s tallest statue’ in his honor. Rather, it is the contemporary politics of Modi’s nationalist project and its model of development that explains Patel’s extraordinary memorialization. 
• During his term as Jawaharlal Nehru’s Deputy Prime Minister, Patel negotiated - through diplomatic tact underpinned by the threat of force - the incorporation of the 562 princely states of colonial India into the Union of India. This earned him a reputation as the “Iron man of India” and as the unifier of India.
• Today, the assertion of Indian unity has political meaning beyond the incorporation of the princely states into modern India. Within the Hindutva view of India, unity must be centred around Hinduism and India as a distinctly Hindu civilization.
• Modi’s statue project seeks to emphasise moving away from secular leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru. Patel’s reputation as an ‘Iron man’ and his willingness to use force to unify India is a counter to Nehru’s nonviolent foreign policy.
• The statue is connected to Modi and the BJP’s promise for development and investment. In Modi’s time Gujarat was known for authoritarian leadership, communal tensions, and largely jobless, GDP growth.
• Many believe that BJP has become aware of lack of faces among in the ranks in the list of freedom fighters and that the statue might be a gimmick ahead of elections.

There were so many iconic personalities of independence struggle but the reason why Modi selected Patel for 'Statue' is due to his Hindutva inclinations despite banning and RSS and professing secularism is due to his hatred towards Nehru and Congress and that Gujarati Patel would have become first PM in the absence of Nehru. What he ignores is Patel and Nehru - admiration they had for each other. Patel, in his reply to Nehru on August 3, 1947, wrote "Many thanks for your letter on the first instance. Our attachment and affection for each other and our comradeship for an unbroken period of nearly 30 years admit of no formalities. My services will be at your disposal. I hope for the rest of my life, you will have unquestioned loyalty and devotion from me in the cause for which no man in India has sacrificed as much as you have. Our combination is unbreakable and therein lies our strength. I thank you for the sentiments expressed in your letter." No matter what ever Modi does, Patel remains Congressman and his legacy belongs to Congress. Never to RSS who were hand in hand with British during pre-independence days.

Varavara Rao & 4 others arrested - Arbitrary crackdown

Deccan Chronicle | Hyderabad | 29-8-2018

Virasam leader Varavara Rao (77 years), lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves were arrested on 28-8-2018 by the Maharashtra Police for their alleged involvement in organising Elgaar Parishad, suspected with Maoist links, earlier this year in Pune. They were arrested under IPC Section 153 (A) and according to the FIR, provocative speeches were made at the event, and these triggered the violence in Bhima Koregaon.

• The National Human Rights Commission observed that "it appears that the standard operating procedure in connection with these arrests has not been properly followed by the police authorities, which may amount to violation of their human rights."
• He’s almost 80 years old. I don’t know how he will hold up in prison, said Hemalatha, Varavara Rao’s wife, as she broke into tears.
• This entire plot is devised to garner Hindutva support. Modi is already losing support and he wants to gather sympathy by stating that a Hindu leader is going to be killed. This Bhima Koregaon, an assertion of Dalits is a barricade to the Hindutva politics, so they want to taint it, said Kurmanath.
• This is a witch hunt and an attempt to divert attention from the failures of the current government, questions that are being raised about demonetisation, the Rafael deal, and right wing extremism, said historian Ramachandra Guha.
• The Hyderabad High Court bench of Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice T Amarnath Goud gave the direction while hearing an urgent plea filed by Hemalatha wife of Varavara Rao. Seeking counters from DGPs of Maharashtra and Telangana, the bench said that it would declare the arrest illegal if their counters did not disclose a valid case against the writer. “If it is found that police did not follow due procedure, we will intervene,” the bench said while adjourning the case to next week. 
• The Supreme Court today (29-8-2018) said the five people arrested yesterday in connection with the Bhima Koregaon investigation should be kept under house arrest till Sep 6, 2018 - the date of the next hearing in the case.
• Dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you don't allow these safety valves, it will burst, said the Supreme Court bench, which comprised Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.

The recent multi-city crackdown on human rights activists and left-leaning intellectuals and academics is in violation of fundamental rights. It was totally unjust, but sought to be justified on the pretext that they working against the country’s interest. But the fact remains that they championed the cause of the country’s impoverished people. It would be a sad day for Indian democracy when the defense of the weak and vulnerable is treated as a crime.

Why NDA lost in 2004?

The Congress-UPA has just won 26.7% of popular vote people's mandate while BJP-NDA has won 22.16% only. Congress became the most voted party in this elections with a vote share that was 5% more than BJP. While UPA won 145 seats (gain of 31 seats), NDA won only 138 seats(loss of 44 seats). Although it is not a clear victory for Congress-UPA, it is a clear defeat for BJP-NDA. Here are the core reasons for the BJP-NDA's defeat. 

• NDA projected the election as the battle between Vajapayee and Sonia, and Sonia won and Vajapayee lost.
• NDA fell because of their own weight, own sins and Vajpayee's visionless leadership. 
• Old men are supposed to lose their marbles and AB Vajpayee seems to have lost the same. 
• Media singing songs of Vajpayee's greatness harmed NDA. 
• The media created a hype that Vajpayee is the greatest Indian leader, who could do no wrong and people didn't find any substance in that.
• NDA created an illusion that Vajpayee is the greatest PM, but people of India saw this old man, who never said a word or gave any opinion on any issue and remained silent through out his prime ministership and never took any crucial decision or reigned any of his colleague or Parivar people.
• People saw Vajpayee was old, forgetful and incompetent to solve India's problems while in Sonia Gandhi they saw a fresh face with purpose.
• The middle-class lost their hard-earned money in the UTI scandal.
• Large rural population's welfare has been over looked. 
• Unemployment and anti-poor stance. 
• Over-indulgence on trivial Hindutva issue.
• NDA reduced interest rates and impacted the voters honest savings. 
• The Tehelka reporters who exposed corruption were harassed.
• Concentrating to impress world nations and criminal negligence of the people's problems.
• Inaction on Gujarat CM Modi for not catching either Godhra train massacre culprits or Gujarat communal riots culprits that killed 2000 Muslims.
• After the horrendous massacre, Muslims were expecting that the Gujarat CM Narendra Modi will be put to trial, but instead he was awarded 127/182 seats (2/3rd majority) in mid term polls immediately after the riots with a gain of 10 seats.
• Gross miscalculation of NDA and their misreading of the 'pulse ' of the people.
• Impressive orations, debates and arguments like in court rooms than performance.
• BJP went overboard with the “India Shining” campaign which offended the rural & urban poor. Sonia Gandhi used the opportunity to mock at this campaign by pointing out India’s poverty.
• Anti-incumbancy factor.
• NDA allies too fared very badly - TDP(5/42) in AP & AIADMK(0/39) in Tamilnadu suffered humiliating defeats.
• BJP criticised congress and Sukhram.  Congress expelled Sukhram and in the next election Sukhram becomes an ally of BJP. BJP ought to be more ethical.
• Never in the history India witnessed such a low level malicious campaign by the ruling party. 
• BJP belived that insulting people is Hindu dharma, that's the price they have paid for. That's one of the main aspects in BJP debacle.
• BJPs failure to control Modi and his uncultured tirade against Sonia Gandhi.
• The consistent "Sonia Bashing" by BJP and it's top leaders, the larger than real life images and speeches by the so called second rung leaders of BJP ... Mahajan, Jaitley etc. and Rabble-rousing by Katyar, Modi, Uma bharati etc. have all had negative effects.
• Over-usage of the tasteless word "pseudo-secularism". It was flogged to death. Watching the arrogant BJP men debating on TV in the last two years.
• Corruption as exposed by Tehelka, Petrol-pump, coffin-gate by George Fernandes, etc. had its effect.
• Towards the end of this campaign, the BJP even openly begged Muslims for votes, thereby upsetting lakhs of its conventional supporters.

Elections 2004: BJP pays heavy price for arrogance, haste and strategic blunders

India Today | May 24, 2004 | Prabhu Chawla 

It has become fashion to interpret defeats with figures and statistics. It is very easy to come up with statistics and 'spin' the results any way you want but the reality is that the voting population preferred the Congress and their allies much more to the BJP and its allies. If anyone feels that it was not a mandate for Congress since they did not get majority of votes, it is just a joke. It might have been local issues that have brought the Congress to power and the people had no clue that they were sending Vajpayee packing who never deserved such a drubbing. Indian mentality will not allow appreciate a sacrifice and we always attribute some ulterior motive to every one. Even Mahatma Gandhi had serious critics at his time. No one wants to acknowledge Sonia Gandhi's sacrifice. If Sonia Gandhi wanted to become prime minister, nobody could have stopped her even if it was for one month and go down in history. If any one tries to find out for reasons why BJP should have won in 2004, he would have been amused with none. Vajpayee's inaction against Modi-Gujarat riots and ignoring poor and peasants are the primary causes for NDA's debacle in 2004. Today in 2018 similar situations are prevailing that is causing jitters among BJP, Modi & co., who are clueless how to come overcome this mess they created for themselves.

What we have become?

• Amongst us (Hindus) today who does not have at least one relative or acquaintance who hates Muslims?
• In the independent India where the exploitative British regime was over, it was a country peopled with liberal myths and socialist dreams. It was agreed that the state and the judiciary would follow the western institutions on which they were modeled.
• On January 19, 2018, in Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, an 8-year-old girl, Asifa Bano, disappeared for a week before her dead body was discovered by the villagers a kilometer away from the village. The post-mortem revealed that the girl had been drugged with a sedative before she was raped and murdered. Forensic evidence suggested that she had been held for several days by rapists. Strands of hair recovered from the temple matched those taken from the girl. The forensic examination stated that Bano had been raped multiple times by different men, and that she had been strangled to death, as well as hit in the head with a heavy stone.
• One of the protests, in support of the accused, was attended by two ministers from the BJP. The rape and murder, as well as the support the accused received, sparked widespread national outrage. In the face of widespread public criticism of his silence in the rapes in which either policemen or politicians from the ruling BJP are implicated – PM Narendra Modi on April 13, 2018 condemned the incidents and said justice would be done. He said the incidents had shamed the country and that the guilty would not be spared. Curiously, he refrained from referring to Kathua or Unnao by name, adding that such incidents are an attack on human values regardless of the state or area they have occurred.
• Kashmir's lawmakers marched to save the policemen from being charged with rape and destruction of evidence. Women too marched to defend the rapists: because they are Hindu and the child who was gang-raped and killed was the daughter of a Muslim goatherd. It is impossible, when this level of mental sickness and brutality coalesce, to do anything more than fall into the silence of absolute despair. Until then an overwhelming rage sweeps away the despair.
• There is no horror in these things as they happen to someone else. If you are affluent enough to fly, if you are not a minority, you are forever in a bulletproof, air-conditioned cocoon. But what is it like not to have the cocoon?
• Muslims are silent somewhere. They are feeling cornered, besieged by the sense of hunting dogs coming after them. This is not the country we grew up in together, the necessity of secularism drummed into us. It was still a country in which parents were more likely to teach you about morality and manners, not sheer human survival.
• What can you do as an ordinary citizen trying to survive in a country run by criminals? What can you do when you see your protectors turn into killers? Everyone is not a soldier or a lawyer or an activist. Everyone's usefulness lay in doing their own work.
• 49 former civil servants wrote to the Prime Minister: In Kathua in Jammu, it is the culture of majoritarian belligerence and aggression promoted by the Sangh Parivar, which emboldened rabid communal elements to pursue their perverse agenda. They knew that their behaviour would be endorsed by the politically powerful and those who have made their careers by polarizing Hindus and Muslims across a sectarian divide. Even more reprehensible than such abuse of power, is the response of the state government in hounding the victim of rape and her family instead of the alleged perpetrator that shows how perverted governance practices have become. Prime Minister, these two incidents are not just ordinary crimes where, with the passage of time, the wounds inflicted on our social fabric, on our body politic and the moral fibre of our society will heal and it will soon be business as usual. This is a moment of existential crisis, a turning point -- the way the government responds now will determine whether we as a nation and as a republic have the capacity to overcome the crisis of constitutional values, of governance and the ethical order within which we function.
• Paakhi Jain (15), a student of Delhi's School wrote: During the Navaratras, you worship us, girls. At other times, you rape us. We don't want such worship. Improvising on civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr's speech, she added ... I have a dream that no girl, no woman will be tortured or molested or raped in the future. I have a dream that humanity will be the supreme religion of this nation one day.
• Vrinda Grover, lawyer and human rights and women's rights activist, said: Don't expect much from the politicians. The rape cases today can't just be called sexual crimes. These are hate crimes -- disgusting, despicable crimes of pure hatred. And this hatred that has been planted in us, which is used to incite us every day -- it is done by the ones we handed over the reins of the country to, the ones responsible for the smooth running of the State. These politicians in power want us to hate each other, turn us against each other. The women and children face no danger from the border; they are in danger from within the country. We demand you revisit the Budget. We don't care how many fighter jets you buy, our daughters' safety does not depend on it. If we keep silent when a few powerful men rape us, then these men will keep raping us more. They should know, we can get angry too. We can take to the streets too. We must change this rape culture.
• Deepika Singh Rajawat, lawyer for the eight-year-old girl from Kathua, said: I am the mother of a five-year-old girl. Today when my daughter gets into her school van, I have my heart in my mouth because I want to see my daughter return home to me afterwards. This is the state of affairs in our country, and the man responsible is a custodian of our society. Mr. Prime Minister ... Your MLAs provoke the masses, and say 'destroy compassion, destroy peace'. These politicians tell the accused 'we are with you, the ones arrested will be freed, and we will ensure that no one else is arrested'. Wow, what leadership! What a country! Today, our civil society faces a grave threat from within. We say we are proud citizens of our country, we chant 'Jai Hindustan, jai humanity', Mr. Prime Minister says he will save our daughters. It is your people who are responsible for Kathua and Unnao. Why is our society silent? Why is there only a Deepika who is ready to get her head cut off?

Read the source article

PM Modi condemning the incident after weeks of stoic silence only after public outrage and President Kovind after few more days speaks very poorly about their real intentions. Their delayed condemnation is as good as approving rape of Muslims by Hindu fundamentalists. Modi facing NRI protests in London etc in his recent foreign trip is testimony of his falling graphs. These RSS elements in the seats of power have no respect for individual rights especially of Muslims & Christians. These minority fears were rightly expressed by Hamid Ansari few days before he laid down the office of VP and PM Modi and VP elect Venkaiah Naidu violently reacting and pouncing on him in Rajya Sabha. Where are we heading as a nation?

GST: Why Modi calls it a collective initiative?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated and uncharacteristic observations on Goods and Services Tax (GST) since the middle of October reveals the political impact of the “historic economic reform” initiated by the NDA government on July 1, 2017.
• The central argument in Modi's repeated assertions was that the introduction of the GST regime was a collective decision of all political parties and State governments and that the Centre only played a small part in the decision-making process. The Central government is only a 30th part in the entire GST Council, he says.
• Modi's pronouncements stood out in contrast to his normal style of speechifying, which is usually marked by self-aggrandisement and claims of great achievements and triumphs in various fields.
• Modi is also known for running down political adversaries in his speeches. But the tone and tenor of the GST-related references were conspicuously defensive, and while adopting this posture Modi also sought to apportion credit or blame, whichever way one wanted to see it, to his political associates and adversaries. 
• What he wanted to convey was evident. It was the responsibility for the mess in trade, industry and agrarian sectors caused by the new tax regime and its implementation cannot be placed solely on him or his government and the BJP.  These points also flagged a sort of desperation that Modi supposedly does not display under normal circumstances. 
• A former Bihar RS member describes this new role-play by Modi as a political act, devious and amusing at the same time. “Here is a man who, in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections in 2013-14, unabashedly took the credit even for Amul Dairy in Anand, Gujarat that was set up in 1946 and nurtured as a successful model since the 1970s under several regimes, including the Congress. Modi was CM of Gujarat only from 2001 to 2014, but he had no qualms about claiming credit for the dairy cooperative movement. So now when he says that you are all partners in GST and his government is only one-30th of GST council, there is little doubt that it is driven by a realisation that the political challenges thrown up by the new tax regime and its implementation are indeed grave.”
• All sections of the population, including traders, industrialists, salaried employees, daily-wage earners and farmers, minced no words in expressing the hardships they had suffered over the past one year, not only on account of GST, but also demonetisation. 
• Even supporters of the BJP and RSS outfits, in trade, industrial and agricultural bodies, were critical of the demonetisation-GST continuum.
• “When GST was launched Modi had promised four things. First, there would be a uniform tax structure across the country. Second, it would remove corruption and prevent generation and circulation of black money. Third, the harassment of traders by high-handed officials would come to an end. Fourth, all trade in the country would be documented and receipted. Now, as we see the implementation of GST, not one of these promises is being fulfilled,” a BJP MP from UP said.
• Given our striking infrastructural deficiencies, is it possible to fulfill the digital requirements demanded by the GST regime? The listening quotient of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is very low. Out of 62 specific anomalies in the GST structure, just 12 of them have been accepted. Government will have to come around and accept the other 50 too, because they are legitimate demands, strong on facts and reasoning. But every genuine demand is addressed with extreme laxity while arbitrary and ill-thought-out directives emerge out of the big officers of the government. Modi will have to address all this at the earliest and put the government back on track.
• The mess and the unending economic hardships inflicted by demonetisation & GST are now increasingly alienating the poorer classes from the BJP. This situation presents an opportunity for the disparate mainstream and regional opposition parties, including the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), the SP, BSP, the RJD, the DMK, NCP etc, to build a campaign and make it an effective anti-government political weapon.
• If the opposition was able to put up effective campaign on these lines, the Modi-Amit Shah duo, along with RSS, may only have the option of propping up an aggressive Hindutva rhetoric to create a communal divide in the name of the Ayodhya Ram temple or some other polarising issue. 

You are a failure when you blame and criticize others for your mistakes. 

Stop blaming others and take responsibility. 
Owning responsibility is the trait of a statesman.

Modi was elected by people of India to govern them within the framework of constitution and laws of the land for their growth and prosperity. GST seemingly good for all, did immense damage to informal sector, due to flaws in design and implementation. The informal sector accounts for 45% of manufacturing and employ over 117 million people. Unable to migrate into formal sector, half of these companies are either out of business or have gone underground completely. GDP growth rate nose dived to 5.7% (below 6% is considered a catastrophe) from what otherwise should have been around 9.5%. Instead of owning up responsibility and taking corrective steps PM & FM (Modi & Jaitley) resorting to passing on the buck is definitely a catastrophe for India. While steep fall in economic indices happen due to self inflicted injuries, recovery is painfully slow and will happen over next several years. Modi is disastrous Prime Minister of India ever had, better than only VP Singh in 1989. Modi, a egoistic and fame hungry, will not accept defeats but will continue to make reckless adventures (political & otherwise) for his survival. The worst fear is BJP invoking 'Hindutva' which will divide, polarize India on communal lines. Repetition of  1992 Babri Masjid demolition like things are not ruled out. If that happens, economy will end up in shambles.

Modi keeps Indians live in denial

• An Useful Idiot is “someone who supports one side of an ideological debate, but who is manipulated and held in contempt by the leaders of their faction or is unaware of the ultimate agenda driving the ideology to which they subscribe.”
• Anyone can be wrong once. But to be wrong repeatedly, when all the facts are before you, when the stakes are so high, is unpardonable.
• Many supporters of Modi did so assuming that the Hindutva movement would be kept in check while long-awaited economic reforms would happen. Many people on the ‘economic right’ walked into his camp. Modi got a resounding victory, and had the mandate he needed to carry out sweeping changes. He did nothing.
• All the evident failings of Modi since 2014, briefly are: no reforms; a move leftwards to a command-and-control view of the economy; a continuation of most of the flawed schemes of the previous government with fancy name changes; maximum government, minimum governance; a rollout of GST, which they had earlier opposed, with so many slabs and exemptions; another inspector raj; demonetisation.
• Modi mishandled Kashmir, with violence escalating. The social wing of the Hindutva Project that he clearly believes in is tearing Indian society apart. Quips about it being safer to be a cow than a woman have become a cliché.
• Many who had supported Modi in 2014 now realised that their optimism was misplaced and the worst-case-scenario was unfolding. But many did not.
• Demonetisation (or DeMon) was a litmus test that revealed which intellectuals cared about their principles, and which just wanted proximity to power. DeMon was the largest assault on property rights in the history of humanity. It led to people dying in queues, businesses shutting down, livelihoods being decimated. There was no way any of its goals could be achieved, and there was no way taking 86% of the money supply out of circulation would fail to devastate the economy. All this was evident from the start. Any economist who supported DeMon lacked either intelligence or integrity. There is no charitable explanation.
• Modi is a master of optics, and controlled the narrative to actually make short-terms political gains from DeMon. But it was worrying and depressing that so many people who should know better continued in their steadfast support of him. Why did they do so? Here are few possible reasons why these Useful Idiots continued to stay Idiots. (1)These Useful Idiots, who can't win on their own tried to rationalize every action or inaction of Modi with rationalization. (2)The Patronage Economy swung into place after Modi came to power with legitimate ways of rewarding cronies i.e. Rajya Sabha seats, Padma Awards, sinecures at government institutions, and so on. (3)This government is vindictive, and it appears that it will remain in power for a long time. These Useful Idiots who had spent their lives on the periphery are now establishment intellectuals and there is no way that these idiots will lose that position and face Modi's wrath just for the sake of principles and truth. (4)These Useful Idiots never actually believed in anything. Once close to power, they discarded these principles; just as their masters will one day discard them. Modi and gang have consolidated their political capital, and no longer need these Useful Idiots.
• Had crude oil prices remained flat, at May 2014 price of $108 per barrel, our GDP growth would have been lesser at 6.5% (instead of present 7.5%), a matter of serious concern.

Going by the history and attitude of Modi, it was unreasonable for Indians to expect Modi as a savior of the country which seemingly suffered under Congress regime. The fears are unfolding. It is saddening to note his failed schemes, deterioration of economy, joblessness, banks in peril, agriculture in distress, law & order in crisis, Kashmir burning, China border standoff with imminent danger of war and so on. Modi keeping people in denial that 'ache din' is coming is fast evaporating. The worst fear is that Modi might prove worse than Congress and its imminent return in 2019, with 20% minorities and 25% dalits en masse voting for Congress and BJP is saddled with disgruntled Hindu vote bank. When nothing had been done in three years, what can we expect in next one year, with fifth & final year focus totally on forthcoming general elections.

Modi's rule: Our democracy in peril

Modi's three year rule is characterized by ...

• Disregarding democratic principles for economic progress and shunning democracy for majoritarianism.
• With his anti minorities attitude and a Hindu hardliner, Modi can hardly be a true statesman.
• There is a lot of difference between governing a state and an entire country full of diversity, which he doesn't realize.
• People’s desires for economic progress have been channelized into the sentiment that democracy isn’t working for them. 
• He is making people believe that shunning democracy and sacrificing a few democratic values paving way for authoritarianism is an easier way out.
• Economic progress and diplomatic fanfaronade are made more important and fundamental rights, individual freedom and secularism have been reduced to useless hyperboles.
• Dissenters have been pushed to the periphery and have been blamed as anti-nationals, for whom petty personal freedoms are more important than the nation’s glory. 
• Complete faith has been bestowed into the PM and questioning him means going against the nation’s sentimentality. 
• A brand new nationalistic discourse has been charted. You are either on the side of your nation or on that of abhorrent Islamic neighbor.
• It has never been controversial to be secular in this country. While just a few years ago it was largely considered a virtue, secularism today stands abused and bastardized. 
• The pride associated with being secular for over six decades since the inception of our Constitution has been reduced to the malicious fallacy of being minority appeasers.
• He is not directly propagating chauvinist nationalism and aggressive jingoism, but he is basking in its glory.
• He is hypersensitive to any criticism or even analytical critiques.
• Today, the country is completely divided on communal lines with Muslims and Christians being considered enemies unless they bow down to majoritarianism. 
• There has been rising violence and hooliganism against Muslims and Dalits in the name of cow protection. These are law and order problems unacceptable in any civilized society.
• Dalits feel that discrimination against them has increased since Yogi Adityanath was appointed CM of Uttar Pradesh. 
• When the PM and Yogi Adityanath do not wholeheartedly condemn atrocities against minorities, it gives a free hand to those who believe in an aggressive communal Hindu nationalistic ideology.
• It is true that previous governments and political parties have exploited both Dalits and minorities, indulging in vote bank politics and have contributed little to their upliftment. Failures of the past do not justify wrongs of the present. National Commission for Minorities is not having a single member for months now. 
• Modi puts his foot down against the Sangh Pariwar, occasionally. Modi praised Mother Teresa for serving the poor  “As Indians we feel proud about the canonization of Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa.” 
• RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had in 2015 said that Mother Teresa converted people to Christianity in the name of serving humanity and demanded that the Bharat Ratna bestowed on the Saint in 1980 be withdrawn.
• Last year Modi cited quotes from the Quran and said Islam was “a religion of peace”, is another example. But there has been no conscious effort on his part to keep the country’s secular fabric intact.
• Neither can Islamic fundamentalism be controlled nor RSS’ dream of a Hindu Rashtra be realized by resorting to lawlessness and savagery. On the contrary, it could backfire and more people could get disillusioned and take recourse to Islamic fundamentalism.
• There is contradiction between our Constitutional values of pluralism and equality and the concept of Hindutva. 
• Indian’s dreams of development and progress and to making our country a fast-growing economy will be successful only only there is harmony.
• It is an irony that while millions across the world are giving up their lives for democratic values, today a large number of Indians find no virtue in democracy. 
• As Modi is confident of his victory in the 2019 general elections, it’s just a matter of time our democracy gets reduced to a farce.

My View:

Instead of engaging people of Kashmir valley with economic progress and politically, deploying half of Indian Army and their resistance of military atrocities reflected by stone throwing even by women and school girls doesn't august well with our democratic principles. Voter turnout in recent Srinagar Lok Sabha bye-poll from 64% in 2013 to under 7% is glaring and worrying example of total alienation of Muslims in Kashmir by Modi government. Unless some drastic steps are taken, which is unlikely by authoritarian Modi, it is matter of time we end up losing Kashmir forever. Modi's senseless demonetization busted all sections of people and GDP taking a big hit. Today's farmers unremunerative prices is attributed mostly to currency shortage, consequent to demonetization, still prevailing especially in rural India. And his farmer loan waiver loan announced for winning UP elections is resulting in announcing the same by all states, one after other. GST without enough lead time for preparation is likely to hit supply chain of most commodities resulting in lower GDP apart from higher inflation. Demonetization and GST roll out, without preparation and mitigation, and farmer loan wave offs , Modi in fact is destroying economy while talking of high speed reforms.

Kashmir: Total Alienation

• Kashmir's youth come out on street in support of militants and challenge Indian security forces with stone pelting etc, indicates their feeling that state is insensitive to their concerns.
• Ministers and senior politicians had themselves abandoned the area.
• Militancy is not the challenge but break down of law and order is, in which people get involved and put up resistance that will result in civilian causalities.
• The recent Srinagar lok sabha by-poll witnessed less than 7% voter turnout, lowest ever recorded. During 2014 elections voters turnout was 65%. Low turnout and violence on polling day indicates people's disaffection with state and disconnect with politicians.
• Militants are more connected with people and attracts  crowds to defend them.
• In 2016 security forces trying to quell the protests resulted in killing of over 100 people and use of pellet guns injured over 1000 leaving many blind.
• Use of brutal force by security personnel, with Delhi's sanction, is only complicating the matter. This only led to increased support of people to militants especially youth.
• Situation had worsened so much that even girls are coming out and throwing stones at police and security personnel.
• Young people pelt stones at police & security forces know that it will not bring a solution but it is only to express frustration and hitting back.
• One of the narratives in Media and by BJP is that stone pelters are Pakistan paid agents.
• Kashmiri youth, 70% of population under 30 years, in the absence of political leadership which way they will be going is matter of deep concern. The anger of youth, unless harnessed to higher goals, can take unpredictable turns if society fails to apply the needed salve, if political leaders cannot summon wisdom.
• The violence and its impact on the minds of the youths over last two decades have contributed to a belief that nothing is going to change.
• 90% of families are angry that over 63% of families are affected directly by violence.
• Massive militarization and with impunity, armed forces indulge in killing civilians and human right abuses unabated. 
• Centre declaring that stone throwers will be dealt with sternly only forces Kashmir youth to rebel and revolt.
• Doctors say that suicides have grown 400% and 58.69% of youth have experienced trauma of facing gun fire and violence. The influence of religion increased significantly in past 20 years.
• A feeling of living under siege in their homeland, economic deprivation and denial of participation in democratic process has led to dejection.
• A fake encounter by Army personnel killing three youth allegedly to get rewards and promotions in 2010 triggered prolonged unrest that resulted in killing of 120 civilians.
• The alarming thing is that youth are not listening to parents any more.
• Who ever pelts the police with stones is a warrior and who ever gets killed by police is an martyr, in Kashmir today. This type of social sanction makes it amply clear how the situation has unfolded.
• Blocking of social media has only proved counter productive.
• Stone pelting during Nov 2016 was stopped not due to demonetization but due to acute winter. The connection between terrorism and fake currency was overly exaggerated.
• The surgical strikes of Sept 2016 and subsequent media hype have resulted in escalation of border tensions and increase in civilian casualties.
• What ever is happening in Kashmir is not law & order problem any more. It is result of continuous denial be New Delhi of political engagement. Mehbooba Mufti's continuous pleadings to reach out to Kashmir has no avail. The iron handed methods used there with no concern for people is getting stronger and at the end the human cost would be enormous.
• Syama Prasad Mookerjee was vociferous in the cause of the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India terming the arrangement under Article 370 as Balkanisation of India. On Feb 4, 1953 Sheikh Abdullah reminded Syama Prasad Mookerjee "This arrangement (Article 370) has not been arrived at now but as early as 1949 when you happened to be part of Government". SP Mookerjee was minister in Nehru's cabinet between 1947-50 and later founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951. In a way, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, BJS/BJP are equally responsible as Congress for Article 370. Having made constitutional provision it must be honored in letter and spirit until revoked or amended.
• Nearly 96% of population in Kashmir are Muslims. With Hindutva nationalism rising, Kashmir Muslims are frightened and their desire to remain with India is weakening. It is difficult to face growing fear in the minds of Kashmir people. One can't deal with imponderable sentiments. It is clear that we can't hold Kashmir valley with force of arms alone. If the people there don't want us to remain, we have no case left and we can't continue for long. This is RSS contribution to Kashmir issue.
• Weak law and order situation in Kashmir in all likelihood will lead to war between India and Pakistan. That would be catastrophe for both the nations and in particular to people of Kashmir. 
• Kashmir situation was never so bad in the past mainly due to squandering of opportunities to find solutions by Modi government. The resentment and anger against centre among the Kashmir youth is so rampant that even Kashmir girls are coming out in open and engaged in stone pelting. Driven by hopelessness youth are coming into streets and are prepared to die. Yet our Modi government doesn't realize that this is political problem and iron handed action is the only solution that will only worsen the situation.
• At the time of independence, the autonomous kingdom Kashmir was neither interested in joining Pakistan nor India, despite persuasion by Lord Mountbatten to join India. Only invasion by Pakistan's tribal army compelled Kashmir's Raja Hari Singh to sign 'letter of accession' joining India and Indian Army saved remaining Kashmir. But people of Kashmir had apprehensions with India and Pakistan, both.
• There is one way to move forward in Kashmir: Talk, talk and keep talking. But Modi & BJP committed to senseless nationalism are adamant not to initiate talks with Kashmir and militants playing into hands of Pakistan is now total.
• Alienating 20% minorities completely, BJP will never get legitimacy to rule the nation, even if they win elections.

The earth belongs in usufruct to the living. 

The dead have neither powers nor rights over it ... Thomas Jefferson

My View:
Not withstanding past and history, today Kashmir is very much integral part of India without any questions. But whether people of Kashmir were treated fairly and their pari passu rights respected or not in India, is a million dollar question? Article 370 is largely in statutes but in reality it is doing no good to Kashmir people. It is neither honored and nor implemented in letter & spirit. The reality today is that due to suppression by authorities, people of Kashmir see militants as liberators from oppression and are ready to sacrifice their lives to save them. People are also fed up with status quo in which they are trapped for 70 years in general and last 30 years in particular. With no political activity Kashmir people are deprived of their rights & fruits of democracy and this situation can not last indefinitely. Kashmir valley with population of nearly 9 million of which 96% are Muslims, who are alienated totally, sees no future with only stern orders and reinforcements from Delhi are set up for protracted struggle. The mighty army at best can kill revolutionaries and insurgents but the causality will be Kashmir. In case of war with Pakistan, which seems likely, the Kashmir population might have no option except to support and shelter Pakistan and it will be 'from frying pan to fire' for Kashmir people. Unless Central Government rapidly restores process of democracy in letter and spirit quickly and engages people of Kashmir politically, we may very well end up losing Kashmir. With stubborn Modi at Delhi, people of Kashmir are destined for prolonged struggle, uncertainty and suffering.

Federalism in India

• Federalism is defined as distribution of power in a federation between the central authority and the constituent units (as states) involving especially the allocation of significant lawmaking powers to those constituent units. Federalism is a system of government in which entities such as states or provinces share power with a national government.
• Federalism is one of the most important and innovative concepts in the U.S. Constitution, although the word never appears there. Federalism is the sharing of power between national and state governments. In America, the states existed first, and they struggled to create a national government.
• Federalism is a principle of government that defines the relationship between the central government at the national level and its constituent units at the regional, state, or local levels. Under this principle of government, power and authority is allocated between the national and local governmental units, such that each unit is delegated a sphere of power and authority only it can exercise, while other powers must be shared. 
• US Supreme Court justice Hugo L. Black wrote that federalism meant a proper respect for state functions, a recognition of the fact that the entire country is made up of a Union of separate State governments, and a continuance of the belief that the National Government will fare best if the States and their institutions are left free to perform their separate functions in their separate ways.
• Federalism does not consist of a set of fixed principles, rather, federalism as a principle of government has evolved differently in different situations.
• Real politics, culture, ideology and history determine the actual working of a federation. A culture of trust, cooperation, mutual respect and restraint helps federations to function smoothly. Political parties also determine the way a constitution would work. If any single unit or State or linguistic group or ideology comes to dominate the entire federation it could generate a deep resentment that could lead to demands for secession by the aggrieved units or could even result in civil wars. Many countries viz. USSR, Chechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Pakistan etc are embroiled in such conflict situations and division of the countries.
• The constitution declares that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. Indian constitution also defines the power distribution, legislative, administrative and executive powers, between the union government (the Centre or union) and the States in India. Constitution of India does not mention the word 'federation of states'. Indian Constitution has created a strong central government to stem disintegration and bring about social and political change. The Constitution clearly states that executive powers of the centre are superior to the executive powers of the States. The division of powers is that economic and financial powers are centralized in the hands of the central government. The States have immense responsibilities but very meager revenue sources. 

Indian federalism is an institutional mechanism to accommodate two sets of polities - one at the state level and the other at the national level. Each government is autonomous in its own sphere. Each level of the polity has distinct powers and responsibilities and has a separate system of government, as detailed in a written constitution, the source of the power of both sets of governments. An independent judiciary is to settle & resolve disputes between the central government and the states on legal matters about the division of power. 

Certain subjects, which concern the nation as a whole like defence, atomic energy, currency, foreign affairs, railways etc, are the responsibility of the union or central government. Regional matters like law & order, education, agriculture, etc are the responsibility of the State government. Some subjects like forests, electricity etc are kept in the concurrent list. Local administration is left in the hands of Municipalities and Panchayats administered by state governments.

In the middle of the 1960s Congress dominance declined and in a large number of states opposition parties came to power. It resulted in demands for greater powers and greater autonomy to the states. The state governments were protesting against what they saw as unnecessary interference in their governments by the Congress government at the centre. The Congress too, was not very comfortable with the idea of dealing with governments led by opposition parties. Since the 1990's, Congress dominance has largely ended and beginning of an era of coalition politics at the centre. In the States too, different parties have come to power. This has resulted in a greater say for the states, a respect for diversity and the beginning of a more mature federalism. The role of Governors has always been a controversial issue between the states and the central government. The other dimension of tension in our federal system has been the demand to create new States.

Federalism has to continuously maintain a difficult balance between the centre and the States. No legal or institutional formula can guarantee the smooth functioning of a federal polity. Ultimately, the people and the political process must develop a culture and a set of values and virtues like mutual trust, toleration and a spirit of cooperation. Federalism celebrates both unity as well as diversity. National unity cannot be built by streamlining differences. Such forced unity only generates greater social strife and alienation and tends finally to destroy unity. A responsive polity sensitive to diversities and to the demands for autonomy can alone be the basis of a cooperative federation. While the states keep fighting with the centre over autonomy and other issues like the share in revenue resources, states border disputes, river water sharing disputes are even more serious. The judiciary acts as the arbitration mechanism on disputes of a legal nature but these disputes are in reality not just legal. They have political implications and therefore they can best be resolved only through negotiations and mutual understanding. 

The purpose of living together must be that all of us are happy 

and must make each other be happy.

My View:
With the rise of Modi as prime minister  and BJP sweeping into power in most states, the nation has become de facto hindutva nation discarding its secular character with brutal majoritarianism that relegated minorities into second grade citizens. Modi attempting to make uniformity across the nation is not only against federal principles but also due to their underlying belief that BJP will remain in power in centre and most states forever, which is insanity. The day BJP loses power in centre, BJP run states would be the first to cry foul of excessive controls by centre. While elections and power will be changing parties from time to time, preserving our ethnicity and respecting our diversity, it is important to preserve federal polity of political system. While powerful centre is essential for preserving unity and integrity of India, near total autonomy for the states, i.e. federalism in its true sense, is equally important for preservation of cultural, religious, linguistic & ethnic diversity of the nation. While uniformity appears seemingly good, it threatens the concept of federalism and undermines autonomy of the states and results in rising of fears of majoritarianism bulldozing over all kinds of minorities. This could be offset to great extent by truly allowing institutional independence. Otherwise voices of north south discrimination that are already rising and heard on and often are sure get louder. Such voices once risen, it is a matter of time the same could consolidate into demands for separatism on regional basis sowing seeds for nation's disintegration. The real issues can't be ignored but must be attended to reassure all people that none is superior and none is inferior in this land of diversity. In a democracy, while majority runs government, minorities and their rights are never inferior and must be respected in letter and spirit. Otherwise doomsday could very well surface at horizon.