Shares in online payment platform giant PayTM fell as much as 26 % in their market debut, minutes after debuting on the stock market as India’s biggest ever Initial Public Offering (IPO). The shares opened for trading at ₹ 1,950 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), at a decline of 9.3 per cent or ₹ 200 from its issue price of ₹ 2,150. The share price further dipped to hit an intraday low of ₹ 1,586.
PayTM’s ₹ 18,300 crore IPO was India’s biggest IPO ever and was subscribed 1.89 times last week. The IPO of PayTM’s parent company One97 Communication was launched on November 1 and concluded on November 3 and had a price band of ₹ 2,080 – ₹ 2,150 per share. On Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the same opened for trading at ₹ 1,955.
Founded in 2010 by Engineering graduate Vijay Shekhar Sharma, PayTM was first developed as platform for online mobile recharge. However, soon it was used as payment gateway by cab aggregator Uber which fuelled its growth exponentially in India. PayTM’s IPO consisted of a fresh issue of shares worth ₹ 8,300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders worth ₹ 10,000 crore. However, despite the dip on listing price, PayTM managed to clock in the valuation of over Rs 1 lakh crore.
As per analysts, the reason behind fall in the share price on listing day could be PayTM’s expensive valuation. Brokerage firm Macquaire Research has written a note to its clients that PayTM’s business model lacks ‘focus and direction’ and initiated coverage with an ‘underperform rating’. “Achieving scale with profitability a big challenge,” the note by the brokerage firm sand and called the company a “cash guzzler”.
On November 17, a joint session of the Pakistani parliament passed a bill to punish habitual rapists with “Chemical Castration”. Termed as the Criminal Law (Amendment), Bill 2021, it would amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 to add the provision of making habitual rapists incapable of performing sexual intercourse.
The bill read, “chemical castration is a process duly notified by rules framed by the prime minister, whereby a person is rendered incapable of performing sexual intercourse for any period of his life, as may be determined by the court through administration of drugs which shall be conducted through a notified medial board”.
During the joint session, Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021 was passed as well. It would enable the authorities to form special courts and use modern devices during the investigation and trial of rape cases. The special courts would be bound to complete the trial within four months.
These bills were introduced in the Pakistani parliament after the public outcry over surge in the rape cases across the country. The serial offenders would be added to the National Register under National Database and Registration Authority.
Bill termed as ‘anti-Sharia and un-Islamic’ by Islamist leader
Mushtaq Ahmed, Senator of Jamaat-i-Islami, had protested against the bill. He had termed it un-Islamic and against Sharia Law. While marking his protest, Ahmed claimed as there was no mention of castration in Sharia, passing such a bill would be against the Islamic law. On the contrary, he suggested that the rapists should be hanged publicly.
On November 17, the Uttar Pradesh government appointed BJP leader Sonam Kinnar as the vice-chairperson of the newly formed Uttar Pradesh Transgender Welfare Board. She has been given the status of Minister of State. In her statement, Sonam thanked CM Yogi Adityanath and vowed to bring BJP back in power.
She further cursed former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. She said, “BJP will return to power with a majority. It is my curse to (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav that he would never come to power in his life.”
Transgender leader Sonam appointed the vice chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Transgender Welfare Board, get the status of minister of state
“BJP will return to power with majority. It is my curse to (SP chief) Akhilesh Yadav that he would never come to power in his life,” Sonam says pic.twitter.com/LjstrPmIGY
Sonam Kinnar had left Samajwadi Party and joined BJP in August 2021. At that time, she had said that when she joined SP, many promises were made by the party leaders, but none were fulfilled. After joining the Transgender Welfare Board on Wednesday, Sonam attacked SP and said it is like a private limited company that runs on the behest of one family. She blamed the previous government for not taking any decision for the welfare of the transgender population of the state.
She further added BJP had given her more than she had thought. She said, “If the party permits, I will contest assembly elections against Akhilesh Yadav from wherever he decides to contest.” She told the whole transgender community is with CM Yogi. While talking to Hindi Daily Dainik Bhaskar, Sonam, also head of Sultanpur Ashram, said all five lakh transgender people would go door-to-door with turmeric and rice to campaign for BJP. “We had faced discrimination in the state in the past. However, by forming a Transgender Welfare Board, the BJP government has shown they fulfil their promises,” she added.
Political carrier of Sonam Kinnar
In 2018, Sonam Kinnar contested municipal elections but lost to Babita Jaiswal of BJP. In August, Sonam joined BJP along with seven leaders from opposition parties. At that time, Sonam said she pursued her community to join SP, but the party’s leaders did not do anything for their welfare. “They did not give us the respect and rights that we deserve,” she had said.
Shiv Sena MP Krupal Tumane on Thursday went on a sexist rant against four time national award winning actress Kangana Ranaut to insinuate that she did not deserve the Padma Shri conferred upon her earlier this month.
#WATCH महात्मा गांधी जी अगर सत्ता के लालची होते तो उस समय प्रधानमंत्री-राष्ट्रपति सब कुछ बन सकते थे। कंगना रनौत को क्या करके पद्म श्री मिला, किसके पांव चाटने से, क्या-क्या चाटने से ये पद मिला है ये दिल्ली के सभी सांसद, विधायक बहुत अच्छे से जानते हैं…: शिवसेना सांसद कृपाल तुमाने pic.twitter.com/luZdgHSpbM
As per a video byte shared by news agency ANI, Tumane, while responding to a statement by Ranaut that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was greedy of power, said, “If Mahatma Gandhi were greedy of power, then at at that time, he could have been prime minister or even the president if he wanted. Kangana Ranaut knows how she herself got the Padma Shri. Whose feet she has licked and what all things she has licked to get the award. All the MPs and MLAs in Delhi are aware of it. People lobbying in Delhi are also aware. To speak more on this would be ‘tuchha’ (shallow) and I would not like to say anything more on such ‘tuchha’ woman.”
Kangana Ranaut and her ‘Independence in bheek’ statement
Kangana Ranaut kicked up a storm last week when in a show on Times Now she said that we in India got true Independence only after 2014. She said that the independence we got in 1947 was more like alms. This triggered Congress workers and leaders who have since been putting out a series of sexist jibes against the actress who has won the national awards for films four times till now.
When sensitive rumours find the support of juvenile politicians and agenda-driven organisations then law and order go for a spin. There cannot be a more apt line than this in explaining what is happening in Maharashtra. Today, the economic activity of the state and freedom of people is sabotaged by organised acts of violence in the name of protests. Nanded, Malegaon and Amravati in Maharashtra witnessed mob violence on rumours of vandalization of a mosque in Tripura. No matter how agonising it sounds, the reality is that such incidents are bound to reiterate as long as political masters give patronage to organisations that preach religious extremism.
Such incidents are a direct consequence of how political figures use religious fault lines to excavate political brownie points. Organisations who thrive on religious extremism often find themselves at the epicentre of such violence. Their sole agenda is to mobilise the masses on their religious sensitivity. Minorities for too long have been sensitised by such organisations and used for political gains. In Maharashtra, the case was of mobilising Muslims by Raza Academy based on rumours in Tripura. Today millions are suffering because of Raza Academy and its extremism. Let’s unravel the Maharashtra violence based on the sequence of events.
In late October, the headlines around the country were filled with news of religious violence in Tripura. Soon fake news started flooding the social media among which there was news of the vandalisation of a mosque. The Tripura police dismissed it as fake news. However, organisations like Raza Academy didn’t let the matter go. On October 30, Raza Academy after a meeting with Ulemas condemned the violence in Tripura and on November 2, after a meeting in Mumbai, Raza Academy demanded President’s rule in Tripura and called for Maharashtra Bandh on November 12.
Raza Academy’s call for a Maharashtra bandh, on 12th November, was very well received by the various Barelvi centres and major figures from local Barelvi centres led the protest in different parts of Maharashtra. The protests soon turned violent in different parts of the state. In Nanded, stones were even pelted on policemen and two officers were injured in the violence. Also, in Amravati and Malegaon, the protestors targeted the shops of innocent civilians. Several shops, as well as police vehicles, were torched. Finally, a riot squad was called in to crush the violence. Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil named Raza academy and stated that the protests for submitting a memorandum to authorities turned violent. This was not a one-off incident for the Raza Academy. Raza Academy has a history of citing religious tension.
Raza Academy started as an education society in 1978. Under the leadership of Saeed Noori, Raza academy was established to print and publish books written by 17th-century Muslim scholar Aalahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza. Soon Raza Academy tried to establish itself as a voice of the Sunni Barelvi movement. Over a period of time, Raza Academy has earned notoriety for religious incitement on various occasions. In 2012, a protest March led by Raza Academy turned violent in which two police personnel were killed. Raza Academy has often sided with religious dogmatism and extremism.
Earlier in the year Raza Academy Chief Saeed Noori condemned the removal of ‘Muslim Only’ boards at Madinah by the Saudi Government. Later he organized a meeting of Ulemas in Mumbai and condemned the decision of the Saudi regime on the opening of cinema halls and other sources of entertainment in Madina. Raza Academy also filed a written complaint against the Tamil Web series ‘Navarasa’ to Mumbai Police Commissioner as it used Quranic verses in the posters.
Moreover, Raza Academy over the past few months have been targeting Wasim Rizvi for publishing edited versions of the Quran. There are many other such incidents that directly exhibit communal bigotry of the organisation. Thus, when Raza Academy called for protests and precedents were to be believed, violence and disruption of communal harmony is not an anomaly. The various Barelvi centres established in different parts of the state respond to such calls of protest by Raza academy. Such protests often turn violent. Supposedly the agenda of the protest was to submit a memorandum which included demands for people like Wasim Rizvi to be arrested for blasphemy and action against Tripura Violence.
Organisations such as Raza Academy use the fault lines in the democratic model to push their agenda and influence people. They play around with the religious sentiments of people. The situation in Maharashtra speaks volumes about their end goal. Organising protests based on rumours leading to an economic loss for innocent civilians and physically hurting police personnel reflects on their ideology of supremacy over Indian law. Organisations such as Raza Academy also receive political patronage from parties indulging in dangerous vote-bank politics. The Academy leaders have in the past met several leaders across party lines and received assurance on the passing of blasphemy law. Even for actions against Wasim Razvi, various political meetings have been held. Raza Academy receives support from various Barelvi scholars. The scholars even push forward their agendas in their various discourses. Even before the recent violence in Maharashtra, few Barelvi scholars highlighted the incidents in Tripura trying to inflame passions. They even gave a clarion call to raise their voice against Tripura violence citing their ‘Muslim brotherhood’. Such religious scholar networks consider themselves as real flag bearers of religion. Protests against allowing cinemas by the Saudi government is a clear reflection of the same.
Organisations such as Raza Academy can be detrimental to the democracy of India. Inflaming religious sentiments and supporting organisations such as Raza academy will be detrimental for political miscreants in the long run. It does nothing but harms the communal harmony of the country. The issue is very serious when it is not a one-off incident but a replication of past incidents. Organisations such as Raza Academy which have led violent protests in the past need to be dealt with strictly. If such incidents are promoted and organisations are given support, it will not only have short term detrimental effects but will also leave long term scars in our democracy.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has slammed the Times of India for publishing fake news that claimed that the Assam government is ready to hold talks with Ulfa (I) terrorists and discuss their core issues including demand for sovereignty.
Sarma shared the photograph of a news report published in the Times of India, saying that he is aghast to see such claims attributed to him.
I am aghast to see this news in @timesofindia. No Chief Minister can discuss Sovereignty of India with any one. This is non-negotiable. We all Indians, irrespective of our positions, are here to protect the sovereignty of India. I strongly refute the news report. This is FALSE. pic.twitter.com/LUjgeRr2ij
“No Chief Minister can discuss sovereignty of India with anyone. This is non-negotiable. We all Indians, irrespective of our positions, are here to protect the sovereignty of India. I strongly refute the news report. This is FALSE”, Sarma tweeted on Thursday, 18 November.
The report in Times of India claimed that Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated on Wednesday that Ulfa (I)’s core demand of sovereignty has to be addressed along the way.
The report further went on to add that since the inception of undivided Ulfa in 1979, no CM had ever come close to acknowledging the core demand of sovereignty for a dialogue. It added that former PM Manmohan Singh had once stated that the centre was ready to discuss ‘core issues’.
The report further stated that soon after taking office, CM Sarma had stated that dealing with Ulfa ‘needed a fresh approach and had added that “an equilibrium has to be created between the perimeters of the constitution and the outfit’s demand for sovereignty and their core issues will have to be discussed at some point of time.”
In September, Sarma had stated that he had spoken with HM Amit Shah and had obtained permission to speak to Ulfa chief Paresh Barua to initiate a peace dialogue. He had clarified further that it was at initial levels and no conclusions should be drawn from it. He had also added that the Home Ministry has told him that any communication with Ulfa has to be a structured dialogue.
It is notable here that the peace process with several insurgent groups has been negotiated successfully in Assam in the last couple of years. In January 2020, Home Minister Amit Shah had secured a peace agreement with Bodo groups. Subsequently, over 1600 cadres from all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had surrendered their weapons and were welcomed back into the society in a historic event.
In September this year, six insurgent groups had signed the Karbi Peace Accord with the centre, bringing an end to decades of violence and unrest in the Karbi-Anglong region.
Earlier this week, comedian Vir Das sparked massive outrage online after he shared his “Two Indias” gig that he performed at the Kennedy Center in the United States on his YouTube channel. In the 7-minute long video, Das could be seen delivering a monologue wherein he peddled anti-India propaganda under the garb of performing stand-up comedy.
There were several problematic aspects in Das’ gig in the United States, the foremost being an Indian comedian trying to project a patently wrong image of the country on a foreign soil, similar to that peddled by the Congress party over the years of India being the land of snake-charmers and quacks.
Das also hailed Barkha Dutt in his monologue, lavishing praises on her for her “real journalism”, even though she was accused of indulging in vulture journalism. During his monologue, Das also played the “religion card”, painting Hindus as intolerant and inherently antagonist towards Muslims.
He then raised aspersions on the integrity of PM Modi by propagating lies about the PM Cares Fund. The ‘comedian’ also raked up the Lakhimpur Kheri incident to spread one-sided narrative about the episode that led to the death of 9 people after a mob of farmers attacked BJP convoy with sticks and stones. In a part of the monologue, he said, “I come from an India where we worship women during the day and gang-rape them during the night.”
The mendacity of Vir Das in propagating fictional account of India with the use of distortions, mistruths and propaganda drew the ire of the social media users, who accused the actor-comedian of pushing an agenda to discredit the current regime under the pretext of a stand-up gig.
Vir Das slammed for objectifying women and using derogatory language against them
Amidst strident criticism of the video and complaints filed against him, Vir was forced to issue a clarification wherein he stated that monologue “I come from two Indias” weren’t intended to insult the country. However, the criticism directed at Vir Das highlighted the malaise prevalent in the Indian stand-up fraternity.
Soon after Vir Das’ abominable video started getting talked about on various social media platforms, several Twitter users pointed out how Vir, who insinuated in his monologue that India is a country of gang-rapists, was among those who openly objectified women through his tweets. They dredged up an old tweet by Vir Das where he was casually referring to women’s private parts.
Source: Twitter
In another instance, Vir Das was seen making derogatory remarks against West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. “There is fire in my vagina,” said Das while mimicking Mamata Banerjee at a stand-up comedy event.
“Who else is running this country? F*cking Mayawati, man. I don’t hate Mayawati because she looks like a man. I don’t hate Mayawati because she sounds like a penguin with an Uttar Pradeshi accent. I hate Mayawati because somewhere I saw Mayawati with a garland of money and that pissed me off. Because she took to primal male fantasies, cleavage and money and combined them in the ugliest possible manner,” he said.
So you see, when the man who regularly objectifies women, especially politicians, in his own comedy gigs, when he takes a moral high ground and pontificates about ‘Indians gang-rape in the night’, it just reminds one of the popular dialogue from the 70s movies of ‘girebaan mein jhaank ke dekho‘.
The vices of Indian comic industry
As it turns out, Vir is not alone in the Indian stand-up fraternity to perpetuate sexually pervert behaviour and degrading women to their body parts. The Indian Comic scene is not as sincere and innocent as it seems. Though they have the tendency to take the moral high horse and preach Indians on everything under the sun, a cursory glance at their antecedents reveal they are not as honourable as they claim to be.
The rot lies deep and to the extent that it is endemic to the entire Indian comic industry. There are countless ‘comedians’, including the prominent ones, who are accused of not only cracking sexually depraved jokes but also of perpetrating sexual harassment.
Back in 2018, the #MeToo movement took India by storm and one comedian, Utsav Chakraborty, found himself mired in the eye of this raging storm. Several women came out to accuse Utsav of barging into their chats uninvited and making sexual overtures. A year later, after the frenzy around it had subsided, Utsav alleged that at least four of them were lying.
Nevertheless, the #MeToo movement was responsible for the downfall of quite a number of celebrities, most notably ‘comedians’. The movement finally brought to reckoning the comedians who pontificated on sexual misconduct in their stand-up act but later indulged in that same kind of perverse behaviour.
All India Bakchod co-founders Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba were asked to leave the organisation on account of their involvement and complicit behaviour in separate sexual harassment allegations. Subsequently, Bhat was asked to step away from the company and Khamba was put on indefinite leave. Bhat had admitted that he knew about Utsav’s predatory behaviour and sexual harassment while Khamba was himself accused of sexual harassment by an unidentified woman.
Following his fall from grace, several people on Twitter also shared an old tweet posted by Tanmay Bhat wherein he was seen expressing glee at the prospect of watching breasts of baby girls.
Source: Twitter
Propagandist who masquerades as ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra was also among those who knew about Utsav Chakraborty’s behaviour but remained a mute spectator and condemned his behaviour only after several women came out in public and accused Utsav of sexually harassing them. On Twitter, Kunal shared a long-winded message, admitting to knowing about Utsav’s transgressions and not doing anything about it.
Source: Twitter
In February 2018, a popular name in the poetry circle, 24-year-old Shamir Reuben who regularly spoke on empowerment, gender equality and feminism, was accused of sexually harassing minors. And even then hardly anyone spoke up against ‘one of their own’.
Then in 2019, Hindustan Times columnist Mayank Soofi shared an image of a rotten orange on the website Instagram with a seemingly sexist caption. For the uninitiated, fruits like oranges are often used as ‘artistic symbol’ for a vagina. This half orange is used to imply how a ‘free woman’ who has had ‘many lovers’ would be like.
More recently, ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura has been accused of sexual harassment by a woman in her early 20s. The woman has taken to Instagram to accuse the comedian of sexual abuse. Rajoura is a member of the comedy collective ‘Aisi Taisi Democracy’. Varun Grover was also accused of sexual harassment in 2018 by an anonymous woman. The comedian later categorically denied allegations levelled against him.
Besides all these, the Indian comic industry is also accused of perpetuating sexism and body shaming, with jokes cracked around these subjects becoming increasingly common and frequent. Many ‘woke comedians’ who regularly wax eloquent on women empowerment, gender equality and feminism find no compunction in making sexually explicit jokes against women or objectifying them during their gigs. And what’s even worse? They try to normalise such behaviour by arguing that they were made in jest, aimed at evoking laughter and humour.
How comedians hide behind the veil of “comedy” and “humour” to understate their depravity
This is the typical modus operandi adopted by ‘comedians’ who are confronted for their vile sexist remarks or comments. Most of them don’t even bother addressing criticism directed at their sexist or misogynist tweets. Those who do try to deflect the criticism by giving sanctimonious lecture that their “joke” was meant to create an awareness about the social evil.
In his clarification, Das said he did not mean to insult the nation, adding that his intention was to a serve as a reminder that the country, despite its issues, was “great.” This is illustrative of the disingenuous responses that comedians resort to after being called out for their tomfoolery. Just like Das claimed that his video was to show India was great despite its shortcomings, when comedians are confronted for their sexist comments or objectionable behaviour, they often hide behind the mask of “comedy” and “jokes” to escape the criticism.
Comedians like Vir Das give us an accurate insight into the mind of a typical liberal comedian, who has no qualms insulting the nation by hiding behind the veneer of “humour”, but will seek moral grandstanding when he is held to account for his transgressions. The average liberal comedian is a hypocrite of highest order, who has a habit of preaching sermons to the masses even though he himself might not be practicing it.
Farmer Union leader Rakesh Tikait has threatened that the protesters would not ‘allow’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to set foot in Uttar Pradesh if the UP government caused any problems in Mahapanchayat on November 22 in Lucknow.
Tikait was attending Kartik Mela at Garhmukteshwar, where he gave the speech. He further added that choosing BJP was a mistake, and the people of UP should ‘eliminate the lotus flower’.
“Ek bhool, Kamal ka phool,” said Tikait. It roughly means the people should not make the mistake of voting for the lotus (BJP).
Tikait reached the Kartik Mela with his followers in large numbers. Using the stage for political gains, Tikait was found making inflammatory statements from the stage. When he was asked why he was using Kartik Mela for political statements, he said, “Where else would I talk about politics? You are free to file a case against me if I have made political statements. If someone does not want to listen to political statements, why are they coming to our meetings?” Notably, a lot of people from Western Uttar Pradesh come to attend Kartik Mela.
He further issued a ‘warning’ for the Yogi-led government in UP and said, “They also need to visit different places in Uttar Pradesh. If they try to disturb Mahapanchayat in Lucknow, neither Prime Minister nor Chief Minister would be able to land in UP. CM is doing his rallies, and we are doing ours.” Tikait was hinting towards the campaigning for the upcoming UP Assembly elections.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections
The Assembly elections for the state of Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for early 2022. Most of the major parties in the state have already started campaigning for the elections. UP, being the largest state in terms of the population holds an important position in Lok Sabha elections as well. The results of Assembly elections will help the national parties to set the agenda for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan (BAPS) has responded to the lawsuit filed in the United States of America alleging forced labour for construction of temple as well as human trafficking.
As per a statement, BAPS said, worship through seva is integral part of Bhakti in the sect and volunteers from around the world contribute for the same. The volunteers who take part in such construction activities of the temple regularly interact with people who come to visit. They are also regularly in touch with their family members back home.
BAPS further stated that many of the artisans then went back home while some chose to stay back and perform seva at other temples in the US. “When the artisans have come to the US they have done so on R-1 visa, which the federal government has approved for 20 years. In addition, federal, state and local government agencies have regularly inspected and approved all of the mandir construction projects on which the artisans volunteered,” the statement reads.
BAPS reiterated that major religious facilities maintain adequate security to ensure safety of worshippers, visitors and volunteers and no fences or security guards prevent anyone including the artisans from leaving. The statement further stated that the organisation is handling the legal matter with a team of experts and once again reiterated that the BAPS did not indulge in human trafficking.
Lawsuit against BAPS on allegations of forced labour and human trafficking
In May this year, a group of Indian workers in US had filed a lawsuit alleging human trafficking and forced labour and had claimed they were confined and forced to work for as low as USD 1 on construction of the Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey’s Robbinsville. BAPS was accused of luring labourers from India to work on temples near Atlanta, Chicago Houston and Los Angeles along with New Jersey while paying only USD 450 a month.
However, BAPS has officially denied all the allegations.
A poet has accused Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi of using his poem without his authorisation and asked her to not use his literary property for her political purposes. Uttar Pradesh based poet Pushyamitra Upadhyay posted a tweet today evening responding to a video posted by Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Ajay Kumar Lallu, where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen reciting Upadhyay’s well-known poem ‘Suno Draupadi Sashtra Utha Lo’.
सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठा लो अब गोविंद न आएंगे कब तक आस लगाओगी तुम बिके हुए अखबारों से
कैसी रक्षा मांग रही हो दु:शासन दरबारों से सुनो द्रोपदी शस्त्र उठा लो अब गोविंद न आएंगे
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra used the poem to liken the BJP with the Kauravas while speaking to women on the bank of Mandakini river in Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh today. However, the poet has now taken a strong exception to the misuse of his creation for political purposes. He also asked what expectations people can have from a politician who steals even poems written by others.
Responding to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reciting his poet, he wrote, ‘I had written this poem for the women of the country not for your cheap politics. Neither I support your ideology not allow you for political use of my literary property. What the country will expect from those who steal even poetry?’
@priyankagandhi जी ये कविता मैंने देश की स्त्रियों के लिए लिखी थी न कि आपकी घटिया राजनीति के लिए। न तो मैं आपकी विचारधारा का समर्थन करता हूं और न आपको ये अनुमति देता हूं कि आप मेरी साहित्यिक संपत्ति का राजनैतिक उपयोग करें। कविता भी चोरी करने वालों से देश क्या उम्मीद रखेगा? https://t.co/pul4puX9Sr
When the video of the same recitation was later posted by ANI Hindi on Twitter, poet Pushyamitra Upadhyay again posted the same tweet responding to it.
@priyankagandhi जी ये कविता मैंने देश की स्त्रियों के लिए लिखी थी न कि आपकी घटिया राजनीति के लिए। न तो मैं आपकी विचारधारा का समर्थन करता हूं और न आपको ये अनुमति देता हूं कि आप मेरी साहित्यिक संपत्ति का राजनैतिक उपयोग करें। कविता भी चोरी कर लेने वालों से देश क्या उम्मीद रखेगा? https://t.co/EHFvgnUYc7
‘Suno Draupadi Sashtra Utha Lo’ has gone viral on social media several times earlier, which the poet had posted on his blog page in December 2012. The poet had earlier told media that he had written it after getting deeply affected by the horrific Delhi gang-rape case on December 16 that year.
The poem
Using the incidents from Mahabharata, the poet tells the women to pick up arms to protect themselves, because Govinda (Krishna) is not coming to save them.
Pushyamitra Upadhyay said that he had written the poem to describe the pain of women from all sections of society. Apart from the poem becoming popular on social media, it has also earned accolades for the poem. But now Upadhyay says that it has been misused for political benefits repeatedly.
