Molitics Articles

There was a piece of disturbing news that came from   JNU   in Delhi. Masked men and women who were armed with sticks and stones, they beat students and teachers and vandalized property at the university. The mob also attacked a team of doctors and nurses that went to JNU to give first-aid to students and broke the windows of their ambulance. The attack has left 34 people injured.  The campus had been tense for a few months as one section of students had been protesting against the sharp increase in   hostel fees   by the university authorities. Even if somebody disagrees with the ideology of JNU students or any other university,   violence   is not a solution. There should be no place for violence in a democratic and civilized society. Who’s responsible for these attacks? According to reports, a radical group has taken the responsibility for the violence that took place in JNU on the eve of   5th Jan . They could be behind this attack...

As the  Delhi assembly elections  are approaching nearer, politics has heated up in the national capital. The BJP, the Congress party, and the Aam Aadmi Party have all left behind the development issue and are busy doing politics over the  Citizenship Amendment Act . This time just a month ahead of elections, the Delhi voters are talking nothing other than CAA, and this is what basically the political parties want, irrespective of their ideologies. The common voter is thus falling into the trap of our  political leaders . Besides, our politicians know how to play with the mind of youths, especially those studying in premier educational institutions. When it comes to student politics, JNU’s name comes on the top. The University is often called an ‘adda’ (hub) of politics. A few days back there was an outrage among the students over the fee hike issue. Whether the  fee-hike issue  was justified or not is another debate. However, the panic created by t...

The union government has approved Rs 3941 Cr for conducting NPR along with a separate Rs 8754 Cr for census 2021. NPR is not a new exercise, it has also taken place in 2010 and 2015, but there’s a fear this time.  NPR  is a register of population, a register of people living at a specific place for a period of a minimum 6 months. It doesn’t matter if the person is a citizen or not. But the NRC is a register of citizens only.  People are confused if this data is going to be used for the  nationwide NRC  about which many ministers of the union government have said previously on various occasions. HM Amit Shah has said that the govt. is going to conduct a nationwide NRC before 2024. But after the nation witnessed protest against  CAA-NRC  in many cities, the govt kind of backstepped a little and started saying that there is no discussion on NRC till now from the time they attained power in the union. But this has cre...

Not a single day passes when the Modi-Shah govt fails to dominate the news headlines. The Modi govt after it has assumed office has delivered several 'historic' judgements like: Triple talaq, abrogation of   Article 370 ,  Ayodhya judgement   and the recent   Citizenship Amendment Act . One phrase goes true, that is, you can either applaud or criticise the Modi govt but you cannot ignore it. However, even after these key decisions, it seems the Bharatiya Janata Party, has miserably failed to turn the situation in its favour, as the reverse has happened with the Modi Govt, something it had never thought of. The oppositions parties can although rejoice over this, as they were sceptical that the decisions would help BJP increase its popularity and support base. The elections to the three state assembly elections-   Haryana ,   Maharashtra   and   Jharkhand   prove that the ...

Faiz’s most famous poem “Hum Dekhenge” got both the writer and the singer in trouble. The year was 1985. A packed auditorium in Lahore, with more than 50,000 in attendance. It was the first death anniversary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. A woman dressed in a black saree takes the stage and starts singing the poem. This was followed by an immediate commotion in the crowd. The poem incited the passion of rebellion in the audience. This woman was none other than Iqbal Bano, one of the most beloved singers of Pakistan. “ Hum Dekhenge ”, was written by renowned Pakistani poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz. As per reports, Iqbal Bano was later banned from singing anywhere in Pakistan. The immortal lines of ‘Hum Dekhenge’ were written in 1979 after the religiously conservative and repressive Zia rose to power through a coup in 1977. Since poetry is considered to be the best language of dissent, through this poem, the poet tried to critici...

The recent enactment of the amendments to the Citizenship Act of 1955 has left many very disturbed. The legislation itself is undoubtedly problematic and is when compounded by the linkages with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), creates a sense of fear in a particular community.  The  CAA  is touted as a “fast-track” means of granting citizenship by naturalization to what it identifies as persecuted minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians) from three neighboring countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan). Those belonging to these communities from these countries will not, as per the law, be regarded as “illegal immigrants”. It is arbitrary and violates the right to equality before law enshrined in Article 14 of the  Indian Constitution . It deliberately marginalizes Muslims as a minority community and uses religious identity as the basis for granting citizenship The protests that have followed the  Citizen...

Veer Savarkar has remained a controversial figure in Indian politics. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or more commonly known as Veer Savarkar was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, politician and a writer who formulated the Hindutva philosophy.   Last month, Rahul Gandhi while taking a jibe at Veer Savarkar, refused to apologize for his ‘Rape in India’ remark, where he stated that he is not Savarkar to apologize for something which is right. It was after this that attempts to vilify Savarkar intensified and the critics went to an extent so as to call his clemency petitions as ‘apology letters.’  Also read:  NPR row: Did Arundhati Roy make an irresponsible statement In reality, nowhere did Savarkar ‘apologize’ in the clemency petitions that he wrote. After reading the petitions, would one realize that there is not so much as a “sorry” in the petitions. This can be corroborated by the note, dated Nove...