Supreme Court counsel and renowned author J Sai Deepak launched his second book of the Bharat Trilogy on Tuesday at a function in Delhi. The book, “India, Bharat and Pakistan was launched by Historian Meenakshi Jain and Author-Scientist Dr Anand Ranganathan. The book is the second in the trilogy that seeks to understand India’s history from a decolonial approach. It is published by Bloomsbury India.
Several eminent people from various disciplines of arts, science, culture, and history including author Sanjeev Sanyal, and Ami Gantara graced the event with their presence. During the event, TV panellist and moderator Anand Ranganathan lauded the author for noting the facts straight in his new release named ‘India, Bharat and Pakistan’. He said that the second book in the Bharat Trilogy series written by the author was remarkable and was as good as Dr BR Ambedkar’s book named ‘Pakistan or the Partition of India’ which is based on a similar topic and the one by author Venkat Dhulipala named ‘Creating a New Medina’.
Elaborating on the book, author J Sai Deepak said that his recent release talks about the formation of Pakistan well before the year 1940 when the theory of two nations was pronounced. “The theory was pronounced in 1937, and 1940 as mentioned in Dhulipala’s book as well. But the germ for the separate country had started to take root in 1740 at the very least”, he said further adding that the only common thing between his book and Dr BR Ambedkar’s book is that they both speak as lawyers through their publications.
He suggested that there was a pre-existing division in the former country of Bharat which was escalated by the British and the Islamist leaders like Syed Ahmed Khan and Jinnah during the 1940s. “The only question that I have posed through this book is did the duo (British and the Islamist leaders) consciously collaborate with each other to lead towards the partition? Was there a conscious handshake between the British mindset and the Islamist mindset”, he said. Meanwhile, author Dr Meenakshi Jain congratulated the author for the second book in his series Bharat Trilogy.
About India, Bharat and Pakistan
The second book in the Bharat Trilogy, India, Bharat, and Pakistan, continues the subject begun in the first book, India That Is Bharat. It investigates the combined impact of European and Middle Eastern coloniality on Bharat as the successor state to Indian culture, as well as the roots of the Indian Constitution.
Through that purpose, the book follows the intellectual continuity of Middle Eastern coloniality from the development of Islamic Revivalism in the 1740s after the collapse of the Mughal Empire, which foreshadowed the concept of Pakistan, to the conclusion of the Khilafat Movement in 1924, which solidified the route to Pakistan.
The book also exposes the convenient partnership that developed between supporters of Middle Eastern coloniality and the British colonial administration, which led to the destruction of Indian civilisation. This book’s objective is to help the reader see parallels between today’s problems and the challenges encountered by the Indic civilization from 1740 to 1924. The book’s overarching objective remains the same as the first: to inspire Bharatiyas to pursue a critical decolonial study of Bharat’s history, particularly in the context of the Constitution, so that religious adherence to the constitution is counterbalanced by a sense of proportion, perspective, and purpose.
The first book – India, That Is Bharat
The first book of the trilogy, India, That Is Bharat, looks into the effects of European ‘colonial consciousness’, particularly its religious and racial underpinnings, on Bharat as the successor state to the Indic civilization and the beginnings of the Indian Constitution. It establishes the groundwork for its sequels by spanning the time period between the Age of Discovery, as symbolised by Christopher Columbus’ journey in 1492, and the reformation of Bharat through a British-made constitution—the Government of India Act of 1919. This covers international developments that led to Western countries forming the League of Nations, which had a tangible influence on this voyage.
Furthermore, the book connects the roots of ostensibly universal concepts like tolerance, secularism, and humanism to Christian political theology. In order to advance their shared contempt for the Indic way of thinking, it also explores the concept of Middle Eastern coloniality, which precedes its European equivalent. Decoloniality is presented as a requirement for civilisation in nature, religion, culture, history, education, language, and, most importantly, constitutionalism in order to save Bharat’s inherent indigeneity.
About J Sai Deepak
J. Sai Deepak is a former engineer who now works as an arguing counsel, particularly before the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. Sai, a mechanical engineer from Anna University, earned a bachelor’s degree in law from IIT Kharagpur’s Law School in 2009 and has positioned himself as a civil, commercial, and constitutional attorney.
Sai has been involved in numerous important cases, including those involving the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the Basmati Geographical Indications, and the Indian Penal Code’s Marital Rape Exception. Sai received the Young Alumni Achiever’s Award from his home institution, IIT Kharagpur, in 2019. In addition to giving lectures on constitutional matters, he produces plenty of material for prestigious newspapers and periodicals.
Days after two imams were arrested in Goalpara districts for their alleged links with terror outfits, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday designed Standard Operating Procedure to ensure that imams and other people coming to madarsas from other states register their names on the government portal.
“We have made some SoP that if any imam comes to your village and you do not know him, immediately inform the Police Station, they will verify, only after that, they can stay. Our Muslim community of Assam is helping us in this work”, Sarma said on August 22. He added that those who are from Assam, do not need to register their names on the portal.
We’re also making a portal for Imam & other people who are coming to madrasa from outside the state. Those who are from Assam, do not need to register their names in that portal, people from outside will have to register their names in the portal: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma pic.twitter.com/te7HUS3785
According to the reports, the government portal is being created only for Imams and other people who are coming to madarsas from outside the state. Assam CM however failed to specify when the SOPs or portal will be introduced.
This comes days after the two imams named Abdus Subhan (43) and Jalaluddin Sheikh (49) were arrested by the Assam Police from Goalpara district. Several incriminating documents, phones, and SIM cards were also seized from their possession. According to the Police, the two were associated with the terror outfits named Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) which is based out of Bangladesh.
The Assam CM then revealed that one of the arrested terrorists was found to be a kingpin who, besides working as an imam, was involved in expanding the terror network. The same was confirmed by Goalpara SP VV Rakesh Reddy who added that the accused would provide logistic support to those further associated with the two terror groups. “They were also recruiting people for new ‘jihadi’ sleeper cells in Goalpara and were getting logistical support from AQIS and ABT,” Reddy was quoted.
Reportedly, Abdus Subhan worked as a cleric of Tinkonia Shantipur Masjid under Mornoi police station and Jalaluddin worked as a cleric of Tilapara Masjid under Matia police station.
Earlier this month, CM Sarma had stated that Assam had become a hub of jihadi operations and also cited the seizure of five jihadi modules with links to Al Qaida-affiliated terror organizations in Bangladesh in the previous four months. “According to intelligence inputs, at least six ABT members from Bangladesh entered India illegally between 2016 and 2017 to set up terror modules and sleeper cells by indoctrinating local youths about jihadi ideology. While one of them, who was working as an Arabic teacher as well as an imam in Barpeta district, has been arrested, the others are missing”, he had noted.
He further mentioned that the madarsas in Assam were becoming the hub of all kinds of jihadi activities. Without generalizing the statement he had said that all those arrested in the past had some or the other connection with the mosques. “These people were working as preachers in mosques as a cover job. They aimed to wage ‘jihad’ against India and establish the ‘Shariat’ law. Several training camps were set up by them, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. “They were trained in tradecraft, radicalization, indoctrination, gun training, and bomb-making,” he had said.
The state administration apparently closed down over 800 madarsas and transformed them into ordinary schools months ago. According to Sarma, Assam has around 1500 madrassas, and efforts are being made to guarantee that they are registered and that the identities of the professors are documented.
On August 23, 2022, academic Madhu Kishwar wrote an open letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to warn him about the direct/indirect links between radical Islamic organisations such as Darul Uloom Deoband, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the most lethal global terrorist organisations.
Friends, Sharing my Open Letter to @myogiadityanath ji, regarding direct/indirect Terror Links of Deoband, Nadwa & AIMPLB.
Attaching documentary evidence against the Islamic organisations and their purported link with terror outfits like Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other jihadi terror groups based in Pakistan for referral, academic Madhu Kishwar urged Yogi to take strict action against these anti-social elements and enemies of India.
“We are bringing into the public domain some alarming facts about the intimate links of Darul Uloom, Deoband and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow with the most lethal global terrorist organizations, in addition to their leading role in mentoring the openly genocidal tanzeem called Taliban. This brief note builds a strong case for a thorough investigation into the functioning and role of Deoband and Nadwa in promoting jihadi terror within India as well as globally. And if the charges we are levelling are proven correct, then Darul Uloom, Deoband and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow deserve to be shut down and the publications as well as the literature produced by these sinister organisations ought to be banned,” read the letter Kishwar wrote to CM Yogi Adityanath.
Madhu Kishwar also provided a note that detailed the links of these Islamic outfits with dreaded terrorist organisations to attest to her claims. The note attached first spoke about the Islamic organisation Darul Uloom Deoband and its purported role in promoting jihad.
Beginning with a brief history of the Islamic seminary in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the note attached for Yogi Adityanath’s perusal went on to detail Darul Uloom Deoband’s proximity to the Taliban.
The proximity of Darul Uloom Deoband to the Taliban
According to the note, researchers from the Kabul Centre and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), Deoband have alleged that Darul Uloom Deoband is the Taliban’s ideological fountainhead, mentoring many virulent jihadis.
“Darul Uloom Deoband (is the) The Indian Ideological Source of the Taliban. The Taliban learned their interpretation of Islam while studying at Deobandi seminaries in Pakistan. Mullah Omar, for example, the leader of the Taliban, attended the Deobandi Darul Uloom Haqqania madrasa in Akora Khattak, in Peshawar, Pakistan. So many Taliban leaders were educated at this same school that its head cleric, Maulana Sami ul-Haq, has been called the father of the Taliban“, read the note attached to the letter addressed to Yogi Adityanath.
The note further elaborated on how the Darul Uloom Deoband had in March 2001, extended its unwavering support for the Talibanis when the latter went on to destroy the 1,500-year-old Buddhas of Bamyan. It added how the Islamic seminary’s principal Arshad Madani had also glorified the Taliban after they came to power in August 2021.
Further explaining how Deoband is the lead agency for global jihad, the note read, “From Peshawar to Chittagong, the Deobandi madrasa movement has spread its evil tentacles all over the Indian subcontinent and beyond. They are one of the leading players in preparing Muslims around the world for violence against non-Muslims as part of global jihad. Over the past few decades, there have been hundreds of reports about Deoband being a fertile ground for honing youngsters to unleash barbaric forms of Islamic terrorism. There are plentiful examples of how Deoband has been exporting terrorist ideologies and tanzeems.”
The activist, in her letter further mentioned how Sana-ul-Haq, better known as Maulana Asim Umar, the head of Al-Qaeda’s South Asia branch was a Deoband product.
‘Deoband is a regular Refuge for Terrorists on the Run‘, writes academician Madhu Kishwar
Quoting an excerpt from a 2017 Times of India report that read, “The revelation has been drawn from interrogation report prepared by anti-terrorist squad of UP Police, which arrested in the past 10 weeks four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants linked to Bangladesh-based terror modules. All four had taken refuge in Saharanpur and were staying in Deoband, the Islamic seat of learning which attracts Muslim scholars from different countries,” Madhu Kishwar further added how there have been countless instances of jihadis seeking refuge in Deoband after committing terrorist attacks.
Further expressing her concern about how the “Commie-Islamist Combine distorted our history and misled the people of India by painting Deobandis in the colours of nationalism”, Kishwar stated that Darul Uloom Deoband’s ideological bent can be gauged by the fact that it has never issued a fatwa against suicide bombings nor has it ever accepted the sanctity of international borders between countries.
“Well-known terrorist organizations targeting India from our neighboring countries are using precisely this principle of pan-Islamic/global Ummah to “bleed India to death through a 1000 cuts.” Ironically, terrorist tanzeems inspired by Deoband are not happy even with Pakistan on account of its pretense to be a nation state, albeit an Islamic one. This despite the fact that in effect Pakistan is only a launchpad for terrorist acts and spread of jihadi Islam,” the note read.
It added, “International media provide regular reports of daily clashes between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani border forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border / Durand Line. According to experienced analysts, this is because the Afghan Taliban and their cross-border affiliate the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) envision Afghanistan and Pakistan as one land mass governed by Nizam-E-Mustafa (puritan Islamic Law) and are deadly against Pakistan’s aspiration to be counted as a modern day nation state with pretentious trappings of democracy.”
International Terrorist Organizations’ Links and Support for Deoband and Nadwa
The activist also attempted to draw Yogi’s attention to the link between international terrorist organisations and Darul Uloom, Deoband and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, as well as the support the former provides to the latter.
“Yogi Adityanath Ji, you have already taken unprecedented measures to keep an eye on Deoband by positioning security forces near this Islamic seminary. You would not have needed to do that if Deoband was just a scholastic institution. However, it is equally important to connect the dots from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to Uttar Pradesh,” the letter read.
Global terror outfit Al-Qaeda funded by Muslim World League: Madhu Kishwar
Madhu Kishwar here goes on to present facts to establish the link between the Muslim World League, a so-called international non-governmental Islamic organization based in the Holy City of Makkah, Saudi Arabia run by members of the Saudi Royal family and the slain global terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
Citing Matthew Epstein and Evan Kohlmann’s testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations: Progress Since 9/11: The Effectiveness of the United States’ Counter-Terrorist Financing Effort, Kishwar stated that in conversations with former senior Al-Qaida lieutenant Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl in 1993, Usama Bin Laden identified three Muslim charities as the primary sources of Al-Qaida financial and fundraising activities: Muslim World League (MWL), Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), and Qatar Charitable Society (QCS).
“These three organizations served a critical role in the Arab-Afghan terrorist infrastructure by laundering money originating from bank accounts belonging to Bin Laden and his sympathetic patrons in the Arabian Gulf, providing employment and travel documents to Al- Qaida personnel worldwide, and helping “to move funds to areas where Al-Qaeda was carrying out operations,” read the letter.
Kishwar further went on to uncover the link between Maulana Arshad Madani, the current Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband and the Muslim World League.
The letter read how Maulana Arshad Madani, Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, President of Jamiat Ulama I Hind, and Vice-President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, boasted on his official website about being named a member of the Muslim World League in 2012 when he was Professor of Hadith at Darul Uloom Deoband. At the time, the Muslim World League was designated as a “Terrorist Organization.” On June 6, 2012, a Deobandi website reported Maulana Arshad Madani’s appointment as a member of the Muslim World League.
“Thus, for over four years, Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband and President of Jamiat Ulama I Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani was a member of the Muslim World League, even though it was an internationally designated ‘Terrorist Organization’.
The Muslim World League is run under the patronage of the Saudi Royal family. In 2014, Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh openly visited Darul Uloom Deoband and pledged to work closely with Darul Uloom Deoband during a ceremony organized in the minister’s honor by Deoband students and faculty members,” the letter read.
Nadwatul Ulama’s connection with Muslim World League and ISIS
After establishing how the global terror outfit Al-Qaeda was funded by Muslim World League, Madhu Kishwar, in her letter to the Uttar Pradesh CM further elucidated the link between Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow with the Muslim World Link and ISIS.
“Deobandi website had also carried the news about Maulana Muhammad Rabey Nadwi, President of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow and Chairman of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) having been appointed a member of the Muslim World League before 2012 (when it was an internationally designated ‘Terrorist Organization’).
Maulana Salman Hussaini Nadwi, nephew of Maulana Muhammad Rabey Nadwi and then Dean of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow had also written a letter congratulating ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi lauding him as a Caliph of Muslims after he made his speech in July 2014 at Mosul’s Great Mosque, declaring the creation of an Islamic State with himself as its Caliph,” she wrote.
Kishwar further talked about the sordid history of the notorious Deoband-based radical Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulema-e Hind and its connections with Al-Qaeda.
Notably, in June last year, the Deoband-based organisation had also deputed its lawyers to defend alleged Al-Qaeda terrorists in Uttar Pradesh. The organisation had declared that it would provide legal assistance to the two terror suspects.
Meanwhile, to prove her point, Kishwar cited the incident wherein during the violent protests against the hijab ban in colleges in Karnataka, the radical Islamic outfit Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind stoked a controversy by announcing a reward to a Burqa-wearing protestor, Bibi Muskan Khan, who shouted provocative “Allahu Akbar” slogans against a group of Hindu students.
By citing the aforementioned incident as an example, Kishwar said that in addition to its long-standing involvement in global terrorist organisations, Deoband never misses an opportunity to incite Muslims to defy India’s sovereignty and laws on flimsy grounds, whether it’s engineered protests against the CAA, farm laws, or school uniforms.
Kishwar further threw light on the financial connection of Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband and President of Jamiat Ulama I Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani with Pakistan-based terrorist organisation by sharing the FCRA record of his radical Islamic outfit Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.
A sample FCRA record of Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind shared by Madhu Kishwar
She alleged that Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and Sheikhul Hind Educational Charitable Trust have been receiving crores of rupees from foreign sources. “As per the FCRA records, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind UK Limited has been donating regularly to Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and is also operating in Pakistan as per the records of the Charity Commission for England and Wales,” the letter further stated.
“It needs to be expeditiously investigated whether the activities and support of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and uncle-nephew duo Maulana Arshad Madani and Maulana Mehmood Madani are linked to wanted terrorists and terrorist organizations based in Pakistan,” the letter added.
“How can a country like India allow a hydra headed monsters like Darul Uloom Deoband and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Luckow to flourish on the soil of democratic India even though these organizations endorse the use of barbaric forms of violence to achieve their goals and have direct and indirect links with designated terrorist organizations in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the rest of the Islamic world. Firstly, these organizations engineered a bloody Partition of India in 1947. Instead of banning them after the genocidal Partition, the Indian state allowed these Break-Up India Mafia to set up countless mini-Pakistans on the soil of democratic and secular India.
The result is that Islamic outfits are openly declaring that they have plans to turn all of India into Dar-al-Islam (land where Islam rules) by 2047. We cannot remain a mute witness to this dangerous game being played at break-neck speed. Therefore, we request you to initiate an urgent inquiry into the activities of Darul Uloom Deoband and Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Luckow and shut down these sinister institutions immediately in the interest of the security of Uttar Pradesh as well as India,” Madhu Kishwar concluded her letter by urging Yogi Aditynath to take immediate and decisive action against radical Islamic outfits that she claimed posed direct threats to India’s sovereignty.
Notably, prior to this, on July 27, academic Madhu Kishwar along with over 20 academicians wrote an open letterto Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring to his notice the ‘Jihadi Islamic course curriculum’ being followed by state-funded Islamic universities, including Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Hamdard University.
In the letter, the academicians said that the continuous attacks on the Hindu society, culture and civilization are a direct result of such a curriculum. They had included a detailed note on how anti-Indic and anti-national curriculum is openly taught to the students in Islamic universities.
The 14ACMM court on Tuesday ordered an immediate release of suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, hours after his arrest for allegedly committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The court returned the remand application for the suspended BJP MLA and ordered his immediate release.
Telangana | 14ACMM Court returns the remand application for suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh; orders that he be released forthwith.
On Tuesday, the Telangana Police registered an FIR against Raja Singh, BJP MLA from Goshamahal for his alleged blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad. Later, he was arrested. This move came after severe protests broke in Hyderabad last night at South Zone DCP office where protesters demanded immediate action against Singh and chanted ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, an Islamist chant calling for his beheading for ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad.
According to the reports, the BJP MLA had posted a comedy video on Monday in which the demonstrators claim that he used abusive language toward Prophet Muhammad. Multiple people filed a complaint against Singh and said that he had hurt the religious sentiments of the Islamists.
Later, Bharatiya Janata Party suspended T Raja Singh allegedly for his post on Prophet Muhammad. In the letter issued by the Central Disciplinary Committee, it was mentioned that Raja’s views were contrary to Party’s stand on various matters, and he violated Rule XXV 10(a) of the constitution of the Party that reads, “Breach of discipline includes acting or carrying on propaganda against any program or decision of the Party.”
Notably, former spokesperson of BJP Nupur Sharma was also suspended on similar grounds after a clip of her remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a debate went viral on social media. Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair had shared an incomplete video of Nupur Sharma’s debate on Times Now where she was defending her faith after a fellow co-panellist mocked the Shivling discovered at the Gyanvapi compound. The row escalated after Zubair and his supporters on Twitter sought help from the Muslim accounts from the Middle East, creating a diplomatic nightmare for the Indian missions in the Persian Gulf.
The Adani Group on August 23 announced that its media arm would purchase a 29.18 per cent stake in New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV), and make an open offer to acquire another 26 per cent of the shares in the media giant.
The Adani Group’s media arm, AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL) released a statement on Tuesday, providing details of its offer to indirectly acquire NDTV and launch an Open Offer.
The acquisition of a 29.18 per cent stake will be indirect and made through Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL), which is owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).
“AMNL’s wholly owned subsidiary VCPL holds warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR) entitling it to convert them into a 99.99% stake in RRPR. VCPL has exercised warrants to acquire a 99.5% stake in RRPR. Such acquisition will result in VCPL acquiring control of RRPR,” the media release said.
This will trigger an open offer to acquire up to a 26 per cent stake in NDTV in terms of SEBI’s takeover regulations, the organisation said.
“RRPR is a promoter group company of NDTV (NDTV. BSE: 532529) and holds a 29.18% stake in NDTV. VCPL along with AMNL & AEL (persons acting in concert), will launch an open offer to acquire up to 26% stake in NDTV, in compliance with the requirements of the SEBI’s (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011,” the release said.
NDTV has three national news channels –NDTV 24×7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit, besides having a strong online presence. The company recorded a revenue of Rs 421 crore in the financial year 2022, with an EBITDA of Rs 123 crore and a Net Profit of Rs 85 crore during the fiscal year.
“AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge. With its leading position in news and its strong and diverse reach across genres and geographies, NDTV is the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision,” the statement added.
In a democratic country, the easiest way to accumulate power is to idolise an individual, exaggerate his contribution to the country, and continue to bill oneself as his loyal follower. Over the years, the individual assumes a god-like significance, and his so-called followers seek legitimacy to extend their party’s rule by appropriating the self-crafted legacy of that individual and aggrandising his purported accomplishments. The relentless deification of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in India by the Congress party is a case in point.
Decades before India earned its hard-fought independence, a section of the elite political class belonging to the Congress party began rallying behind MK Gandhi, putting him on a high pedestal and exalting him to the levels that few other freedom fighters attained.
The veneration continued well into the decades after the independence as the leaders of the Congress, a party that appropriated Gandhi and studiously brushed aside his inadequacies and blunders, continued invoking him when they saw power slipping away from their hold and into the hands of their ideological opponents. The practice continues to date as the Congress party, now in opposition and staring at its imminent demise, desperately seek to turn the fortunes and mount a credible campaign to give a tough fight to the ruling BJP.
How Congress has deified Gandhi and elevated his stature to use it as a shield to ward off political crises
To this end, Congress leaders this year—on the occasion of the 75th year of India’s independence—ran a campaign on how the Gandhi-led Quit India movement laid the foundation for the country’s freedom from over two centuries of tyrannical British rule. The objective, of course, was not to celebrate India completing 75 years as an independent nation but an opportunity for the Congress party to once again lean on the alleged achievements of Gandhi and use them as a springboard to launch a political campaign ahead of the general elections slated to take place in 2024.
Every time Congress faces tough political headwinds or existential crises like it is facing today, it relies on Gandhi to extricate itself from its predicament and stage a comeback. The reliance on Gandhi stems from the fact that over decades, Congress has consciously elevated him as a leader beyond reproach, someone whose actions are beyond the realm of criticism. His contribution to India’s independence is exaggerated to such an extent that even a reasonable examination of his decisions elicits a sharp reaction from the Congress leaders of the day, who vehemently oppose a contrarian viewpoint that weakens their deification of Gandhi.
This approach entails glorifying the Quit India movement launched by Gandhi and the Congress on 8 August 1942, a crusade that the Congress leaders like to project as the one that ushered the country into Independence. Any objective assessment of the movement, let alone criticism, instantly results in vehement objection from the Congress party, which proceeds to label it politically motivated and thereby undermine its possible stinging inferences.
While Congress dismisses non-left ideologues’ objective assessment of Gandhi, it sweeps under the rug his criticism from their ideological compatriots
For instance, Congress and Gandhi loyalists have routinely dismissed scholars and historians as propagandists who have criticised Gandhi and raised questions about his decision-making, especially those coming from their ideological opponents, chiefly the Hindu-centric ideologues. Any well-meaning criticism and dispassionate scrutiny of Gandhi’s decisions from the non-left political observers has attracted fierce pushback from Congress and other political parties, which spare no time in branding such attempts as politically motivated without objectively evaluating the criticism.
Many independent historians have opined that Gandhi’s reckless decision to abruptly call off the Non-cooperation movement in 1919 and the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930 had grave implications, including delaying the country’s independence by decades. But relevant questions and opinions on such subjects have only resulted in drawing the ire of the Congress party, which dismisses such sincere attempts as political propaganda aimed at smearing Gandhi.
Even Jawaharlal Nehru, the foremost leader of the Left intelligentsia, of course after Gandhi, had been reportedly miffed with the latter for his rash decision to withdraw the Civil Disobedience movement, just when it was gathering steam and turning into a countrywide agitation. But Nehru, according to some historical accounts, stood with Gandhi because the latter favoured him and his support became a crucial lever to wrench control of the party, whose members were increasingly becoming disillusioned with Nehru’s policies and vision of independent India.
Similarly, criticism of Gandhi and his Quit India movement, including by their own ideological compatriots such as BR Ambedkar, Periyar, and others, who are often selectively cited and expediently idolised by the Left to discredit their ideological rivals, had been meticulously kept under wraps, for it would strip the veneer that the Congress and its cheerleaders had so thoroughly used to conceal Gandhi’s mistakes and blunders. Be it BR Ambedkar or Periyar, both had vehemently criticised Gandhi, but the Congress and the Left have conveniently chosen to turn a blind eye to it, selectively citing the opinions of these ideologues when it is politically and ideologically favourable to them.
Once a “star speaker” of Congress, Periyar Ramasamy was a staunch Gandhi critic
Periyar EV Ramasamy, one of the stalwarts of the Left, was a staunch critic of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Periyar, once a “star speaker” for Congress, opposed Gandhi vigorously and fervently criticised his idea of India. From once being a devotee of Gandhi, the schisms between the two ultimately turned him into a strident Gandhi critic. In his last speech made in 1973, Periyar said, “These are our five principles—the annihilation of God, the annihilation of religion, the annihilation of Gandhi, the annihilation of Congress and annihilation of Brahmins…Before we could annihilate Gandhi, the Brahmins did the task for us.”
Periyar, a contentious leader whose brand of politics involved harbouring deep hatred for the Brahmins and the North Indians, was so disenchanted by the Congress party and Gandhi that he observed 15 August 1947, the day India gained Independence as a “black day”. Even before India’s Independence, Periyar fiercely opposed Gandhi and movements launched by him. In the years to follow, Periyar’s revulsion for Gandhi only intensified.
In 1957 while calling for the burning of Gandhi’s pictures, Periyar said, “We were cheated by Gandhi. Our land (the Tamil land) has been enslaved to the Northerners and Brahmins by Gandhi. It is because of Gandhi that people lost all great qualities they had…(and) it is now impossible to live without being immoral, dishonest, deceitful and traitorous.”
Dr BR Ambedkar: The unrelenting critic of MK Gandhi who referred to him as the “Prophet of the Dark Age” over Quit India movement
But Periyar was not the only one who opposed Gandhi. Dr BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution and one of the most articulate voices of the time, also made scathing observations on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He vociferously opposed Gandhi’s decision to launch the Quit India Movement in 1942, declaring that it was the “patriotic duty of all Indians” to prevent such movements from creating “anarchy and chaos that would unquestionably help powers desiring of subjugating this country’.
On the Quit India Movement, Ambedkar witheringly said, “The Quit India Movement is both irresponsible and insane, showing bankruptcy of statesmanship. Freedom Struggle led by the governing class, from the point of view of the servile class, is selfish and a sham struggle. Gandhi is the prophet of a Dark Age.”
Ambedkar’s criticism of Gandhi did not just stop at the latter’s inclination to organise public movements without having objectives in sight. The first Law Minister of India also talked about how Gandhi’s politics was hollow and noisy. He said, “The politics of Gandhi is hollow and noisy. It is the most dishonest politics in the history of Indian polity. Gandhi was the man responsible for eliminating morality from politics and instead introducing commercialism into Indian politics. Politics has been denuded of its virtue.”
Ambedkar wrote an article titled “Is Gandhi a Mahatma” for a Marathi Magazine Chittra to deconstruct the undue veneration accorded to Gandhi. In the 1,800+ word article, Dr Ambedkar extensively talked about why he had a problem with Gandhi being referred to as Mahatma. He said he was sick of the question ‘Is Gandhi a Mahatma’. Explaining why the question annoyed him, he said, “Firstly, I hate all the Mahatmas and firmly believe that they should be done away with. I am of the opinion that their existence is a curse to the nation in which they are born. The reason why I say so is that they try to perpetuate blind faith in place of intelligence and reason. Secondly, I do not know what exactly people understand by the word Mahatma.”
Dr Ambedkar expressed his confusion why people fussed over Gandhi over the teachings like ‘Satya’ and ‘Ahimsa’ that originally came from Lord Buddha. “Nobody except an ignorant fool or congenital idiot would give credit to Gandhi for originality in this matter. There is nothing new in the pronouncement that ‘Truth and Non-violence’ are necessary for the preservation of human civilisation. There is nothing new that Gandhi has added to the maxim,” he said.
Dr Ambedkar also blamed Gandhi for the hostile relationship between Hindus and Muslims. He said, “Hindu-Moslem hostility is the result of the deceitful action on the part of Gandhiji. This immensely pained me. There is an old saying that benefits the occasion (Bagal mein chhurri Munh mein Ram): ‘God’s name on the lips and dagger under the armpit.’ If such a person can be called a Mahatma, by all means, call Gandhi a Mahatma.”
The Quit India movement and Gandhi also saw opposition from the Muslim League and the Communist Party of India
Besides Periyar and Ambedkar, the Quit India Movement also saw opposition from the Muslim League, the Communist Party of India, and the Hindu Mahasabha, although the motives for each one of them varied profoundly. The Muslim League opposed the movement because they thought without having agreed to the creation of a separate nation for the Muslims, the country’s independence would leave the Muslim minority at the mercy of the Hindu majority.
On the other hand, the Communist Party of India, which today proclaim its allegiance to Gandhi, had also opposed the Quit India movement launched by it. The exchanges of letters between PC Joshi, then general secretary of CPI and Sir Reginald Maxwell, then a home member of the Government of India, revealed that they acted as the lackeys and spies of the British Government.
Savarkar and the Hindu Mahasabha’s rationale for not lending their support to the Quit India Movement
Savarkar, one of the top Hindutva voices of the era, also opposed the Quit India movement. But his opposition to Gandhi and the Quit India movement stemmed from the lack of planning and preparedness or any clear sense of strategy before the launch of the programme spanning the entire country and devoted to the liberation of the country from the British crutches.
Author Vikram Sampath, who authored a two volume-memoir on Savarkar, mentioned in his book ‘Savarkar: A Contested Legacy’, that though the Hindutva ideologue agreed with the ‘Quit India’ slogan if it implied independence in the truest sense, he found its interpretation by Gandhi as being ‘wholly inadequate and unsatisfactory’. He dismissed the movement as a ridiculous jail-seeking programme that was not about ‘Quit India’ but about ‘Split India’.
The Congress and the Left would seldom acknowledge that Gandhi and his movements were opposed by many leaders, including those belonging to the Congress fold. Instead, they would sweep under the rug the critical remarks made by their leader and continue to harp on opposition from the Hindu Mahasabha and Savarkar to bolster their propaganda efforts to discredit the Hindu organisation and paint the freedom fighter as a British accomplice.
The Maharajganj Police of Uttar Pradesh Monday arrested Mubarak Ali, a youth who threatened to blow up the famous Gorakhnath temple in the city. The accused had reportedly made a fake Facebook ID in his friend’s name and posted a threat message to blast the Gorakhnath temple with a bomb.
The Maharajganj police said on Monday (22 August 2022) that Ali had created the Facebook ID while using a SIM in his friend Basalat Ali’s name and making the controversial post. He did it after Basalat asked him to return the money he had loaned him.
फर्जी facebook id बनाकर गोरखनाथ मंदिर को बम धमाके से उड़ानें की धमकी देने वाला एक अभियुक्त गिरफ्तार कब्जे से घटना में प्रयुक्त ०२ मोबाइल बरामद करते हुए थाना कोतवाली में सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत कर विधिक करवाई करते हुए चालान मा० न्यायालय किया गया। pic.twitter.com/JeGKje8Z2Y
A joint team of Cyber Cell and the local police probing the matter arrested Mubarak Ali on Monday and recovered two mobile phones from Ali.
Speaking about the incident, the Additional Superintendent of Police Atish Kumar Singh said that a week ago the accused had posted a message on Facebook threatening to blow up the Gorakhnath temple with a bomb. He also made objectionable comments on Hindu gods and goddesses through the fake Facebook account.
फर्जी facebook id बनाकर गोरखनाथ मंदिर को बम धमाके से उड़ानें की धमकी देने वाला एक अभियुक्त गिरफ्तार । थाना कोतवाली में सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत कर विधिक कार्यवाही किया गया। प्रकरण के संबंध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक महराजगंज द्वारा दी गई बाइट ? pic.twitter.com/wqpoaAPh1X
A joint team of the Cyber Cell and the Kotwali police investigated the case and arrested Mubarak Ali, a Matihania resident.
According to media reports, Mubarak Ali had borrowed Rs 40,000 from his friend Basalat Ali, a resident of Kota Mukundpur village under the Kotwali police station limit. Soon, Basalat Ali started asking him to return the money. Mubarak Ali did not want to return the money so he hatched a conspiracy to implicate Basalat Ali. He took a SIM in the name of Basalat Ali and made a fake Facebook ID and posted the threat message to implicate him in a police case, but he was caught in the investigation.
On August 23, Bharatiya Janata Party suspended its Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh for an alleged post on Prophet Muhammad. Raja Singh was earlier arrested on Tuesday after severe protests broke in Hyderabad last night at South Zone DCP office, where protesters demanded immediate action against Singh and chanted ‘Sar Tan Se Juda,’ an Islamist chant calling for his beheading for ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad.
The decision to suspend Raja Singh by the BJP has drawn the ire of even the party supporters online, very similar to the reaction following Nupur Sharma’s suspension from the party.
Raja Singh posted a comedy video on Monday, August 21, in which the demonstrators claim that he used abusive language toward Prophet Muhammad. Multiple people filed a complaint against Singh and said that he had hurt the religious sentiments of the Islamists. Calls for his beheading were also made at the police station as per reports. The Police then booked the BJP MLA under IPC section 153A (Promoting enmity between two groups) and similar sections at the Dabeerpura police station.
Interestingly, Raja Singh had shared the video in protest against alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui and his show in Hyderabad. Raja has been protesting against Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad and was even taken in preventive custody on August 19 to ensure he doesn’t disrupt the comedian’s appearance in Hyderabad.
Singh had released a video that went viral over social media to reveal that the ‘comedian’ had cracked jokes on Hindu gods and should not be permitted to perform in Hyderabad. “Let them see what will happen if he is invited to stage a show in Hyderabad. Wherever the program is held, we shall beat him up. Whoever offers him a venue, we shall set it afire,” Singh had allegedly said in the video.
Munawar Faruqui’s anti-Hindu comments
Munawar Faruqui drew the ire of the public for his abject mockery of Hindu victims of the Godhra train burning incident, a tragedy in which 59 people were burnt alive when Sabarmati Express carrying karsevaks from Ayodhya, was set on fire allegedly by a Muslim mob near Godhra station. In one of his stand-up gigs from the year 2020, Faruqui was seen downplaying the Godhra tragedy and ridiculing the victims.
In addition to this, the outrage against Munawar is also powered by his unsavoury remarks against Hindu deities. Faruqui, in one of his stand-up performance, used lyrics of a popular Bollywood score to mock Lord Rama over his 14 years of exile, and portrayed Sita as an insecure wife suspicious of her husband Lord Rama’s loyalty towards her.
Munawar Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad got special police protection
The Telangana government went out of its way to ensure that Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad went ahead as smoothly as possible. The venue was turned into a fortress by the heavy police presence and anyone protesting against the comedian infamous for his anti-Hindu comments was arrested.
Over 50 BJYM members were taken into custody at the venue, while others like Raja Singh were already in police custody.
Secularism- Difference in treatment of Raja Singh and Munawar Faruqui by Telangana government
Raja Singh, accused of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims, is now behind bars in Hyderabad, a city where he is the MLA, an elected public representative. He has been suspended by his own party, and will most likely get expelled as well. There are mobs on the streets of Hyderabad calling for his beheading and the state will much rather take action against him than act against the people publicly calling for violence.
In the same city, someone like Munawar Faruqui, accused of hurting Hindu sentiments, gets a red carpet welcome. His show gets more security than the most high-profile VVIPs, dozens get arrested to ensure nobody ruins his performance. This double-standard in the treatment of people who offend Muslims versus people who offend Hindus is what passes for secularism in this country.
While Munawar Faruqui will continue to enjoy his fame and freedom, taking part in reality shows, and performing around the country, Raja Singh will forever be a marked man now. His political career is all but over, you can’t be a public figure if you can no longer go out in public safely, and he will always be looking over his shoulder for an attack.
On Tuesday, August 23, a threat letter was sent to Asansol SPL CBI court judge Rajesh Chakraborty, demanding bail for TMC leader Anubrata Mondal. The letter threatens the judge with implicating him and his family in a false NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) case in grave allegations of commercial quantity if he does not grant bail to the TMC leader, reports ANI.
Asansol SPL CBI court judge Rajesh Chakraborty claims of getting a threat letter demanding bail for Anubrata Mondal or else his family will be implicated in an NDPS case with a commercial quantity
TMC Birbhum dist pres Anudata Mondal is arrested by CBI in a cattle smuggling case
The judge, Rajesh Chakraborty has written to the District Judge and High Court seeking redressal. It is alleged that a person named Bappa Chatterjee wrote the threat letter.
“With great anxiety, I do hereby forward to you a letter by one Bappa Chatterjee addressed to the Officer-in-charge of this court threatening that if Anubrata Mondal is not released, my family members would be implicated in NDPS Case with commercial quantity. For that, I pray before Your Honour to take note of the fact and transmit the same to the Ld, Registrar, Judicial Service, Appellate Side, Hon’ble Calcutta High Court,” Rajesh Chakraborty wrote in his letter addressed to the District Judge of Bardhaman.
Letter written by Asansol CBI Judge Rajesh Chakraborty to the District Judge and High Court (source: @tamaghnaTOI)
Notably, Rajesh Chakraborty had on Saturday, August 20, rejected Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal’s bail plea in the alleged cattle smuggling scam and extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
Mondal’s lawyers, Sandipan Ganguly and Anirban Guha Thakurta have appealed for his bail citing his poor health as the reason, but the CBI counsel opposed his bail application saying that since Mondal is a “very powerful and highly influential person” he could “influence witnesses and tamper or manipulate evidence if granted bail”.
The CBI lawyer said that Mondal has been “non-cooperative from the very beginning” despite being issued summons 10 times. The counsel also claimed that Mondal had “pressurised” a doctor to prescribe “complete rest”. “Mr Mondal has good contact with the state government. He has used his bodyguard Saigal Hossain as a mediator. He used to take money from Enamul Haque. This entire business does not belong to a single man, but it is a chain. There is a conspiracy behind it. Anubrata Mondal has an important role. So he should be in CBI custody,” the CBI lawyer said in the court, after which Judge Rajesh Chakraborty extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
TMC leader Anubrata Mondal arrested by CBI
Notably, the CBI, in a rather dramatic arrest, picked up the heavyweight leader of Trinamool Congress (TMC) from his house in Bolpur, West Bengal, at around 10 in the morning of August 11 in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling case. The TMC leader, prior to his arrest, had skipped 10 CBI summons citing ill-health as an excuse. As per reports, a team of the CBI went to his residence with the CRPF being deployed outside and arrested Mamata Banerjee’s top aide. The CBI team was accompanied by a team of 100 CRPF personnel, who had surrounded the residence while the CBI officials entered the house and arrested the TMC leader.
A new political storm erupted in the state of Bihar after CM Nitish Kumar took a Muslim minister from his Cabinet to a temple in Gaya which bars entry of non-Hindus. Kumar offered prayers at Gaya’s iconic Vishnupad temple on Monday, escorted by Mohd Israil Mansuri, a cabinet member from his new ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
According to the reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that Kumar had deliberately insulted the Hindu community by taking along a Muslim Minister to an old temple where entry of people of other faiths is prohibited. ”We demand a public apology from the chief minister. Can he think of setting his foot inside Mecca? Why must Hindus always adjust their religious sensibilities in the name of tolerance”, said Bihar BJP President Sanjay Jaiswal.
He added that if the CM failed to apologize for the incident, he shall be ready to face severe protests by the BJP workers in the state and elsewhere including the state assembly. However, the temple authorities stated that they were not aware of the Muslim Minister’s entry inside the temple but notice outside the temple gate clearly states that ‘only those believing in Sanatana Dharma’ would be allowed in the temple. The temple has formed a committee to look into the incident.
BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul also condemned the incident and said that it was a heretic act of Mansuri to enter the temple. “When it is clearly mentioned that non-Hindus are prohibited from entering the temple, how did he do that? CM Nitish Kumar is answerable for it. He has hurt the sentiments of Hindu community and insulted the temple”, he was quoted.
Further, Nikhil Anand, the national general secretary of the BJP’s OBC wing and spokesperson of Bihar BJP alleged that the state CM never believed in Hindu religious texts and never followed the Hindu traditions. “The way Nitish Ji has deliberately tried to pollute the temple premises by breaking the ancient religious norms as well as rules and regulations, he must apologize to the Hindu faith and all those who believe in Sanatan Dharma globally. If Nitish Kumar Ji is suffering from secular-itis, he should better go to Mecca and Madina to offer Namaz”, he said.
Meanwhile, Mansuri, a Pasmanda Muslim who holds the Information Technology portfolio in the current Bihar cabinet said that he felt blessed after he visited the temple with CM Nitish Kumar. ”I feel blessed to have got the opportunity for a darshan of the temple with the honorable chief minister”, he said.
