CAA Debate: Falsehoods to the Fore

Ram Puniyani
December 28, 2019

Citizenship Amendment Bill, while passed in both houses of Parliament has elicited diverse and negative responses all over India. On one hand we see massive protests in North East leading to death of four people. On the other there is a sever discomfort among those upholding Indian Constitution and among the Muslim community all over the country. This Bill in its present form gives the rights of citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians persecuted in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangle Desh. What is glaring is that Muslims are missing from the list. What is glaring and dangerous is that while those persecuted in these countries have been offered citizenship, the Countries like Myanmar, where worst persecution against Muslims has been seen in recent years, don’t fins any place in the list. Also even in the countries which are mentioned in the bill, there are sects of Muslims which are persecuted, but have been left out.

A lots has been written against the bill and its intention of converting our plural India into Hindu rashtra, what is also disturbing is that the defense of this Bill has been done by blaming Congress and by stating that partition was done on the basis of faith! Both these formulation are a total lie. Mr. Amit Shah while speaking in Rajya Sabha in an aggressive manner retorted that “Is desh ka vibhajan agar dharma ke aadhar par Congress na kari hoti to is Bill ka kaam nahin hota (Had the Congress not partitioned this country on the basis of religion, there would have been no need for this Bill).” In response Shahshi Tharoor of Congress said that Amit Shah was not paying attention to History class. The facts lie somewhere else.

Mr. Shah was a RSS worker who later joined RSS student wing ABVP. Contrary to what Shashi Tharoor is saying Shah has imbibed the history taught by RSS combine and seriously internalized it. We recall that even Nathuram Godse the murderer of Father of Nation, also held Gandhi, the patriarch of Congress, as being responsible for partition.  This is believed by most of the Hindu nationalists. Religion as the basis of Nationhood is by and large attributed to begin with Savarkar and then Jinnah. As such the story is much older. Before coming to roots of genesis of the idea of religion as the root of Nationhood, we also need to remember that, the British, the colonial masters, were the prime force in encouraging Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha-RSS on the other.

The British, to begin with, saw these organizations as helpful in the pursuing their ‘divide and rule’ policy. Later close to the peaking of National movement in 1942, they started keeping yet another angle in their mind. This was the geo-political realities of those times. Russia had emerged as the major other pole in the power politics of the World. It was posing the challenge to British-American hegemony of the World. Russia was also inspiring the anti colonial movements. Many of the leaders of freedom movement were influenced by socialist ideology. Keeping this in mind, division of India was one of the steps in the mind of British. The idea behind this was that they can retain their hold in the region through yet to be formed Pakistan.

Coming to the genesis of nationalism in the name of religion, it was the reaction of declining classes’, landlords and Kings, to the changing scenario, where through Industrialization, communication and modern education, India was emerging as a secular democratic nation. Different groups, Madras Mahajan Sabha, Pune Sarvjakik Sabha, Bombay Association, representing the emerging classes and newer social changes started coming up and as they formed the political organization Indian National Congress in 1885. In response to this declining classes became very uncomfortable with the changes which were the root of equality. The feudal classes, Landlords-Kings of both religions were deeply shaken as the system of birth based hierarchy, on which they were presiding, started crumbling.

At this point of time the Muslim section started saying that Islam is in danger and Hindu sections presented as if Hindu religion is in danger. As Indian National organizations and parallel activities of education for dalits and women started picking up, the feudal classes saw it as an assault on the religiously ordained inequality. While these organizations initially had the participation of landlord-kings, later they succeeded in winning over other elite and still later sections of average people. This is the foundation of religious nationalism-Muslim and Hindu. So on one hand we had Indian nationalism, which can broadly be identified with Gandhi, Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, on the other Muslim League formed in 1906, Hindu Mahasabha in 1915 and RSS in 1925. The latter group harped on ancient glorious past while the India nationalist stream saw the need for struggle against the prevalent inequality.

The articulation of religious nationalism comes with Savarkar, who saw Hindus and Muslims as two opponents, and Muslim League which saw that Hindu majority will not let them have equal rights. Hindu nationalists spread hatred against Muslims and Muslim nationalists, forming the base of intense communal violence in times to come.

It was the gravity of communal violence which forced Congress to gradually accept the Mountbatten’s (March 1947) proposal of partitioning the country. Congress in its resolution accepting the partition stated that though it opposes the ‘Two Nation theory’ (of Savrakar, Jinnah, Golwalkar-Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS), in the given circumstances it seems to be lesser evil than the communal venom which is engulfing the nation. Here again VP Menon, the architect of the Partition Plan, points out that Patel 'accepted the division of India in December 1946, while Nehru would only acquiesce six months later'."

Maulana Azad and Gandhi, did not accept the idea at all, but in the face of the rising communal tide, they had to keep quiet about it. In Amit Shah-RSS narrative Congress is blamed as Congress, leading the freedom movement, never accepted the idea of religion as the basis of nation.

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News Network
July 20,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 20: Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy has urged the Karnataka government to stop putting warning signboards in front of COVID-19 patients' houses alleging that they are leading to "social discrimination and untouchability" in the present times.

"A local government warning signboards in front of the homes of COVID-19 infected people is leading to neo-social discrimination and untouchability in the new age. Even after infection, the individual and family should live with dignity. The government should immediately stop the practice of placing signboards," Kumaraswamy's first tweet read.

"Instead of placing them in front of their homes and creating untouchability, send health workers to their homes to create courage and awareness. They should be told not to leave the house. There is no such degrading practice left behind. I would like to ask Chief Minister Karnataka BS Yediyurappa to pay attention to this," he added.

The former chief minister further said that threatening to cancel the licenses of medical colleges for refusing treatment to patients would not solve the problem and urged the government to take them into confidence instead of rebuking them.

"Refusing treatment is the fault of any hospital. But for the same reason, threatening to cancel government medical college licenses is not right. There is no profit in this emergency of health. MCI also has the power to revoke the licenses of medical colleges. Remember not the government," he said.

"In this case, the government should look to the Medical Colleges to get their services in order to get them to trust them instead of getting angry. Let them focus on meeting their needs. I insist on a collective fight against the coronavirus through this," he further added.

The COVID-19 count in Karnataka reached 63,772 on Sunday, including 39,370 active cases and 23,065 cured and discharged patients.

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News Network
August 7,2020

Madikeri, Aug 7: Two days after massive landslides triggered by heavy downpour in Kodagu, five people including a priest are still missing. 

The landslide, which originating at Brahmagiri Hills in Talacauvery, swept away two houses on Wednesday night.

This missing people are: Talacauvery temple chief Narayana Achar (70), his wife Shantha (70), brother Ananda Theertha Swami (87) and two assistants — Ravi Kiran (26) and Srinivas (30). Achar’s neighbour had shifted out of Bhagamandala earlier, fearing a landslide. 

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had to stop rescue operations due to bad weather. The operations resumed today. 

“There are many minor landslides on the way to the spot,” said Kodagu Deputy Commissioner C Annies K Joy, adding that the flood situation at Bhagamandala was not permitting earthmovers to reach the spot. Heavy rain between Wednesday and Thursday triggered landslides. 

Bhagamandala Panchayat Development Officer Ashok said a notice was issued to the priest’s family to shift out of the house, but they chose to stay back. 

On Thursday morning, when the Talacauvery temple staff went to check on Narayana Achar, as he had not reached the temple for the daily puja, they found levelled land and debris where Achar’s house stood. Utensils, puja material and clothes were found nearly 2 km away at Cherangala. 

As rains continued over the last few days, many rivers are flowing above the danger levels, forcing people to move to safer places.

 Responding to the situation, which is turning grimmer by the day, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who is currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, directed ministers to visit rain-hit areas and supervise relief efforts. He has also assured of providing required financial assistance for those affected.

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News Network
April 21,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 21: Bengaluru Police and administration has issued prohibitory orders in the city, with exemptions to essential and emergency services, to enforce the COVID-19 lockdown.

"In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 144 (1) Code of Criminal Procedure, I, Bhaskar Rao, IPS, Commissioner of Police and Additional District Magistrate, Bengaluru city hereby issue a prohibitory order within the limits of Bengaluru city commissioner on midnight of April 20, 2020, to midnight May 3, 2020," the order issued on Monday said.

Section 144 of the CrPC pertains to the power conferred to a District Magistrate, a sub-divisional Magistrate or any other Executive Magistrate to issue orders in urgent cases of a nuisance of apprehended danger.

"As per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India on the measures for containment of COVID-19 epidemic, it is imperative to take stringent measures in the jurisdiction of Commissioner of Bengaluru city to prevent the spread of the disease," the order said.

As per the order, the offices of the Government of India, its autonomous and subordinate offices and public corporations shall remain closed with the exception of defence, central armed police force, treasury, public utilities, disaster management, power generation, and post office, etc.

Offices to the state government, their autonomous bodies, corporation, etc shall also remain closed except police, home guard, civil defence, fire and emergency services, electricity, water, sanitation and Mandis operated by Agriculture Produce Market Committee, etc, it added.

It said that municipal bodies, with staff required for essential services, will also remain functional during this period. Other essential and emergency services, like hospitals, shops, etc have also been exempted from the prohibitory orders.

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