PM Narendra Modi spoke with journalist PR Ramesh of the Open magazine on the occasion of completing two-decades in electoral politics. While discussing an array of issues, the PM also talked about his humble background and how the trajectory he has traversed, from a tea seller to the Prime Minister of India, has never floored him.
On being asked whether he has ever gotten awed by his trajectory on life, PM Modi replied that it is not his own life trajectory that has awed him but the “kind of country we are and our people, who can pick a poor child and make him reach where I have”.
‘I consider myself fortunate that the people of this country have entrusted me with such enormous duties and continue to put their faith in me. This is our democracy’s strength,’ said PM Modi.
When asked how he perceives his journey from hawking tea to seeing his mother labour in other people’s homes, to becoming the most popular Prime Minister, PM Modi said that he sees it very differently from how others perceive it.
‘My individual experiences do not matter, what matters is this shows any Indian can achieve anything’: Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi said that he feels that what he has achieved can be achieved by anyone. “I feel that the 130 crore people of India have the same capabilities that I have. If I can, anyone can! remarked the Indian Prime Minister, adding that India, which has a 130 crore population of highly competent people, can make a significant contribution to humanity.
“And so, where I started, where I reached, what I did, what my individual experiences are, these things do not matter much. What matters is that this shows that any Indian can achieve anything”, said Modi.
PM Modi’s key takeaways from his interview as he completes 20 years in public service
Besides, PM Modi spoke on numerous issues, from India’s ‘satisfying’ performance at the Tokyo Olympics to the existence of a few critics and their pre-conceived notions. While highlighting that it takes courage to accept one’s mistakes, he emphasised, “And it is because of this that one forms notions about a person even without a meeting, knowing or understanding him. And even if they meet you in person and observe something different (as compared to their notion), they will still not accept it just to feed their ego. This is a natural tendency.” PM Modi cited his tenure as Chief Minister as an example to substantiate his point.
While lambasting the Congress party for not differentiating between ‘political’ and ‘economic thought’ and condemning the political nexus between the farmer protestors and the opposition parties, the India Prime Minister remarked that the Indian government is committed to empower small farmers and discuss issues with them in case of disagreement.
PM Modi went on to outline how India fought the Coronavirus pandemic and emphasised on how the government used digital technology to reach the masses and roll out the vaccination drive in different phases.
The RJD has cautioned Congress’ central leadership that picking Kanhaiya Kumar to revive a moribund Bihar Congress will be a disaster. Since Kanhaiya Kumar is the pick of Rahul Gandhi, hence leaders of the Bihar Congress are tight-lipped. But many in the party believe that CPI student leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the Congress to secure his future in electoral politics in the 2024 parliamentary election.
But the RJD, which is the senior alliance partner of the Congress in Bihar, has cautioned that Congress leadership has imported another Navjot Singh Sidhu who will demolish the party.
The Congress friendly media created hype over the joining of Kanhaiya Kumar as the masterstroke of Rahul Gandhi. Some even commented that the rise of Kanhaiya Kumar in Bihar politics is a threat for Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad.
However, this is too early to conclude but the bubble of Kanhaiya Kumar was burst first by RJD’s Maner MLA Bhai Virendra when he asked ‘who is Kanhaiya Kumar.’
Now, senior RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari has said that he sympathizes with the Congress if the leadership believes that Kanhaiya Kumar has the potential. Shivanand Tiwari said that there was a time when the CPI too had a similar illusion about the potential of Kanhaiya Kumar.
“If the Congress leadership feels that Kanhaiya Kumar can sail the sinking boat of the Congress then he should be appointed as president as the post has been vacant from the past two years,” Shivanand Tiwari.
Shivanand Tiwari wondered if Kanhaiya Kumar was inducted into the Congress party just because he is a good speaker as the Bihar Congress lacks a leader with such a good oratory skill. “So Kanhaiya Kumar is such a good orator that he termed the Congress as a sinking vote,” he said.
Shivanand Tiwari further said that the political worth of Kanhaiya Kumar was tested during the 2019 parliamentary election. Kanhaiya Kumar had contested Begusarai parliamentary seat as the CPI candidate. While he emerged in the third position, Shivanand Tiwari alleged that he was instrumental in the defeat of the RJD in Begusarai.
Rahul Gandhi seemed to be in a hurry for a grand induction of Kanhaiya Kumar in the party, apparently to counter the narratives that leaders are leaving the party. The central leadership wants to create a perception that those who left the Congress were useless and those who are joining are young and dedicated.
After former chief minister Jagannath Mishra the Congress in the last three decades has not invested in any leader to ensure pan-Bihar acceptability. And if Kanhaiya Kumar is the new investment venture, many in Congress fear that it will be a success.
Kanhaiya Kumar, who was even rejected in his village during the parliamentary election, has no personal vote bank. He even can’t inspire voters of his caste (Bhumihar) to flock behind him. He may be best at rhetoric but will be equally bad when the question of the revival of the Congress is taken up. Highly ambitious Kanhaiya Kumar knows that CPI can’t give wings to his electoral dream hence he landed in the Congress.
“This is an internal matter of the Congress. But we would ask the Congress to be careful about its choice,” said Mritunjay Tiwari, another senior RJD leader.
On the occasion of completion of his two decades in electoral politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an interview to journalist PR Ramesh from the Open magazine. PM Modi talked about an array of issues, starting from his reluctance to join electoral politics to governance.
On being asked about his ‘accidental’ entry to the political arena, the Indian Prime Minister remarked, “In a way, you are right…let alone reluctance to join electoral politics, I had nothing to do with the political domain itself. My surroundings, my inner world, my philosophy—these were very different. Right from my younger days, my bent was spiritual. The tenet of ‘Jan Seva Hi Prabhu Seva’ (Serving people is akin to serving the divine), which was propounded by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda always inspired me. It became a driving force in whatever I did.”
PM Modi emphasised that he had no remote connection to politics and only joined after being forced by circumstances and friends. “Twenty years ago, the circumstances became such that I had to enter a completely unchartered territory of heading an administration. And this happened in 2001, when Gujarat was adversely affected by one of the most devastating earthquakes our nation has seen. Having closely seen the deep trouble people were in, I had no time or opportunity to even ponder what the new turn in my life meant. I immediately got into relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding Gujarat,” he remarked.
Screengrab of the article in Open Magazine
PM Modi on India’s ‘satisfying’ performance at Tokyo Olympics
On being asked to recount a satisfying moment in his career, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was pleased with the performance of the Indian athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He stated, “Tokyo 2020 has been India’s finest so far. Yet, naturally, there were several athletes who did not win medals. When I met them, they were lamenting their inability to win medals. But each of them only had praise for the efforts of our nation in supporting them in their training, facilities, and other kinds of assistance.”
The Indian government had supported the athletes through the TOPS programme. PM Modi remarked, “Earlier, our sportspersons used to worry about lack of facilities, support, etcetera. These were things they could not do anything about. But now they feel that part is sorted and their whole focus is on things they can control and their thirst for a medal has taken centre stage. They had a sense of satisfaction that the county has supported them and the determination to do something extraordinary for the nation and bring home more medals in the times to come. This change is satisfying.”
The Indian Prime Minister also underlined how sportsmen and athletes from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are now competing in the playgrounds. “Like everyone thought that sport was restricted to a certain class of society, but we have extremely talented people in poor and backward regions. If we reach them, sport can go a long way in the country and results have shown that he concluded.
On the existence of a few criticis and pre-conceived notion
PM Modi noted that opponents tend to judge him and his party based on their pre-conceived mindset. While highlighting that it took courage to accept one’s mistake, he emphasised, “And it is because of this that one forms notions about a person even without a meeting, knowing or understanding him. And even if they meet you in person and observe something different (as compared to their notion), they will still not accept it just to feed their ego. This is a natural tendency.” PM Modi cited his tenure as Chief Minister as an example to substantiate his point.
While dismissing claims that he is abhorrent to criticism, PM Modi opined, “I feel, and this is my conviction, that for my own healthy development, I attach big importance to criticism. I, with an honest mind, respect critics a lot. But, unfortunately, the number of critics is very few. Mostly, people only level allegations, the people who play games about perception are more in number. And the reason for this is that, for criticism, one has to do a lot of hard work, research and, in today’s fast-paced world, maybe people don’t have time. So sometimes, I miss critics.”
Pro-Poor and pro-business policies need not be mutually exclusive: PM Modi
On being asked about his pro-poor and pro-business policies, PM Modi emphasised that the two need not be mutually exclusive. “Our country is not a developed country yet, we are still grappling with poverty. Every person in society should get opportunities according to his needs and ability…The poor need one type of opportunity and wealth creators need another type of opportunity. When the Government believes in ‘Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya’, then its approach can never be unidirectional; rather it becomes multidirectional,” he said.
The Indian Prime Minister added, “The things in which you see a contradiction, I see an inter-linkage. Why are pro-poor and pro-business mutually exclusive categories? Why should we divide policies into one or the other of these buckets? According to me, policymaking should be pro-people. By creating these artificial categories, you are missing out on interdependence in society. Business and people are not working with opposing objectives.”
Criticism of the Congress party
The Indian Prime Minister lambasted the Congress party for not differentiating between ‘political’ and ‘economic thought’. He lamented, “The politics of our country is such that till now, we have seen only one model in which governments are run to build the next government. The tradition has been to run the government to make your party win but my purpose is to run the Government in a way to make our country win.” While hitting out at the grand old party, PM Modi made it clear that he followed Gandhi’s talisman to see the impact of the government’s decision on the poor.
He also added, “The things that people of India are entitled to, those benefits that they should have received decades ago, have still not reached them. India shouldn’t be put in a situation where it has to wait any longer for the things that this country and its citizens are entitled to, we should give it to them. And for this, big decisions should be taken and if need be, tough decisions should also be taken.”
Without mentioning Congress he said, “If a political party makes a promise and is unable to deliver on that promise, then that is one aspect which the political class must improve upon. But there is another aspect which is completely different from this and is a particularly undesirable and, I would say, detestable trait in certain sections of the political parties. This trait I am talking of is the trait of intellectual dishonesty and rajneetik dhokhadhadi.“
PM Modi on anti-farm law protests
“If you look at those who are opposing the pro-farmer reforms today, you will see the real meaning of intellectual dishonesty and rajneetik dhokhadhadi. These were the same people who wrote letters to chief ministers asking them to do the exact same thing that our Government has done. These were the same people who wrote in their manifesto that they would enact the same reforms that we have brought,” PM Modi spoke out about the political nexus between the farmer protestors and the Opposition parties.
He said that the Indian government is committed to empower small farmers and discuss issues with them in case of disagreement. “Many meetings have also been held in this regard but no one till now has come up with a specific point of disagreement that we want this to be changed. You can see the same rajneetik dhokhadhadi when it comes to Aadhaar, GST, farm laws and even crucial matters such as arming our security forces. Promise something and make arguments for it but oppose the same thing later without any moral fibre,” Pm Modi remarked
While hinting at the doublespeak of the rival parties, he also said, “Just because some other political party, blessed by the will of the people, is enacting the same reforms, they have made a complete U-turn and in a brazen display of intellectual dishonesty, completely disregard what will benefit the farmers and only seek what they think will benefit them politically….When analysts look at these matters, they also seem to only see it as a political matter and not as a matter of moral and political consistency.”
PM Modi outlined how India fought the Coronavirus pandemic
At the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, India witnessed reforms in several sectors including agriculture, labour, insurance, healthcare and so on. “Imagine if our country had not come up with a vaccine. What would be the situation? We know that a large population of the world doesn’t have access to Covid vaccines. Today, our success in vaccination is thanks to India being Atmanirbhar,” The Indian Prime Minister said.
He emphasised how the government used digital technology to reach the masses and roll out the vaccination drive in different phases. “The biggest lesson for us from the Covid-19 fight has been that India has an unparalleled ability to unite, find a common purpose, come together, and a tremendous capacity to deliver when a need arises. From being a net importer of PPE kits, we have now become one of the biggest manufacturers across the globe,” Narendra Modi upheld India’s spirit to fight against all odds.
On September 30, authorities finally demolished the illegal mosque in the Khand-Khala Koti Colony that was in close proximity to the Tehri Dam. However, there were some media reports and social media posts that claimed that the mosque has been ‘shifted’ and not ‘removed’.
A report published by News18 on September 30, claimed that the mosque was being shifted to Baurari. The report said that the decision to shift the mosque was taken on the basis of mutual consent between the administration and the mosque committee.
The report published by Hindi News 18 on September 30
According to Hindi New18, the decision to demolish the illegal mosque, which was built in 2001 by illegally seizing the land, is now in the hands of the minority commission, which will decide whether the structure will be demolished or not. For the time being, however, an exercise to relocate this mosque has begun in order to maintain social harmony.
The report added that the goods and tin-shed structures etc. are being removed from the mosque, pictures of which are also coming up on social media sites.
Many social media users reposted the same news, believing that the mosque had not been razed but had been relocated to Baurari.
A Twitter user @UltimateGuruJi, tried to call out OpIndia for reporting that the authorities finally demolished the illegal mosque in the Khand-Khala Koti Colony that was in close proximity to the Tehri Dam.
सत्य पूरा काहे नहीं बता रहे हो कि उत्तराखंड के टिहरी डैम पर बनी अवैध मस्जिद को वहां से हटाकर बौराडी टिहरी में अब अधिकारी रुप से शिफ्ट किया जा रहा।
The Tehri Gharwal Police of Uttarakhand has, however, confirmed that the mosque was fully demolished and that no new mosque has been built in its place. In a Facebook post, Tehri police said that owing to the joint efforts of the District Tehri Garhwal administration and the state police, the Khand-Khala Masjid issue, which was illegally built by encroaching the land allocated to the tourist department, was peacefully resolved. The structure, which was in close proximity to the dam, was completely removed and no new mosque has been built anywhere else at the moment.
Screengrab of the Facebook post by Tehri police Uttarakhand
The Tehri police, in its Facebook post, warned people to not fall for misleading messages being spread on social media.
The OpIndia impact: hashtag #RemoveTehriMosque started trending on social media
It may be noted that OpIndia was the first news portal to raise the issue. On September 27, OpIndia had reached out to the locals and brought to the fore the problems being faced by them because of the mosque. We spoke to Akshat Biljwan, the person leading the protests, to know more about the case. On September 6, Akshat and other members of the Hindu community of the Khand-Khala Koti Colony area started protests against the illegal mosque that has been built near the Tehri Dam by encroaching the land allocated to the tourist department.
Since the report was published in OpIndia, hashtag #RemoveTehriMosque had started trending on social media. The netizens echoed the demand of the locals to remove the illegal mosque and tagged Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take swift action in the case.
On September 30, Akshat Biljwan, the person who had lead the protests launched by local Hindus against the mosque, called us up and said that the coverage caused a nationwide uproar over the illegal mosque, and finally, the administration decided to remove it.
He also shared videos of the demolition process in which the temporary structure that had been standing there for the last 20 years was being removed from the site. The structure was encroaching upon government land and locals have been objecting to it for a long time.
The Tehri Dam illegal mosque case
In the early 2000s, during the construction, the company (JP) that was building the dam built a temporary mosque for the Muslim workers. After completing the project, the company and the workers went away, but the temporary mosque was not removed. Local leaders, Hindu organizations and locals have raised their voices against the mosque several times in the past, but no action was taken to remove the structure.
The locals claimed that on namaz days, the structure caused a large gathering in the area and several incidents of harassment of school and college going girls have been reported.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a top law officer weakened the case against Anil Tuteja and Alok Shukla, senior IAS officers accused of money laundering in a multi-crore PDS scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told Supreme Court this week.
Challenging the High Court order, the probe agency submitted in the apex court that message conversations found in the mobile phones impounded by the Income Tax Department revealed shocking details of the connivance of successive chiefs of the prosecuting agency namely EOW-ACB, Chhattisgarh, one very senior law officer in the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Members of the SIT, and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh in weakening the case against main accused Anil Kumar Tuteja and Alok Shukla (senior IAS officers facing criminal prosecution in Scheduled Offences of corruption).
Vakalatnama
The ED said the case against the two IAS officers was enfeebled “by procuring favourable reports from the said prosecuting agency and SIT and by actively influencing and threatening witnesses of the predicate offences as well as the offence of money laundering.”
It further submitted to the top court that the transcript of messages distinctly uncovers the nature of the misuse of power in the State of Chattisgarh, fiddling with the evidence and manipulation of witnesses, involving some constitutional functionaries to boot.
In paragraph 10 of the submission, the ED specifically mentions that even the Chief Minister of Chattisgarh connived to weaken the case against the accused.
The submission says, “It is submitted that the message conversation found in the mobile phone seized by the Income Tax Department shockingly revealed both the main accused namely Anil Kumar Tuteja and Alok Shukla (Both senior IAS officers facing criminal prosecution in Scheduled Offences of corruption), in connivance with successive Chiefs of the prosecuting agency name EOW-ACB, Chhattisgarh, one very senior law officer in the High Court of Chhattisgarh, Members of the SIT and with the intervention of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chhatisgarh, have weakened the offence of corruption against them”.
Essentially, the submission says that the CM of the state, who belongs to Congress, along with a law officer of HC and other officers from the Economic Offence Wing and the SIT actively influenced and threatened witnesses to ensure that the accused IAS officers don’t get prosecuted for money laundering. The Chief Minister referred, in this case, is Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.
Vakalatnama
The ED demanded cancellation of anticipatory bail accorded to the two IAS officers and said the Chhattisgarh High Court did not consider the recovery of more than Rs 3 crore in cash in the raid conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Economic offences Wing on State Public Distribution Corporation, Raipur.
“It is submitted that the High Court failed to examine and scrutinize the material placed before it and failed to consider that a prima facie case is made out against the Respondents herein. The charge-sheet, including the supplementary charge sheet, is replete with material evidence substantiating the role played by the instant Respondents in their wide-scale scam of furthering corrupt practices for their own vested interests,” the agency told the top court.
Chhattisgarh HC grants anticipatory bail to two IAS officers accused in PDS scam case
On August 14, 2020, the Chhattisgarh High Court had granted anticipatory bail to two IAS officers accused in the PDS scam case.
The PDS scam case came to light in February 2015 after the Economic Offences Investigation (EOI) and Anti-corruption Bureau, Raipur, Chhattisgarh carried out raids in different district offices and residences of the officers of Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation and Chhattisgarh State Warehousing Corporation including its headquarter at Raipur. A case was registered against the officers of the corporation.
The ED took cognisance of the matter and registered a money laundering case in connection with the scam against two IAS officers.
On Thursday, September 30, Jaunpur police lodged a case against one Mohammad Shalik for assaulting and forcing his brother’s son and daughter-in-law to convert to Islam. The case was registered under IPC sections 504, 506 and sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, based on the complaint filed by the victim, Manita Prajapati.
Manita Prajapati is a resident of Majdeeha village, which falls under the limits of Shah Ganj Kotwali in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. Manita Prajapati approached Shah Ganj Kotwali with her written complaint on September 30. In her complaint, Manita alleged that her deceased’s father-in-law’s brother has been forcing her and her husband Jitendra Prajapati to convert to Islam.
At first, Mohammad Salik tried to lure Manita Prajapati and her husband into adopting the religion through immoral inducements. When they refused, he started torturing them mentally and physically. He also assaulted Jitendra Prajati frequently to exert pressure on the family.
The victim further alleged that Mohammad Salik had previously attempted to murder her husband for refusing to comply with his demands.
According to Manita Prajapati, her husband’s uncle had converted 25 years ago, when he moved to Saudi Arabia to earn a living. After he came back, he started exerting pressure on Manita Prajapati’s father-in-law Lorik Prajapati to adopt Islam. Lorik did not succumb to the pressure and blatantly refused to convert his religion.
After Lorik Prajapati’s death, Salik began to exert pressure on his brother’s son and his family. On many occasions, Salik threatened to grab the entire property. He also kept threatening them with life if they did not listen to him and adopt Islam.
Manita Prajapati, fed up with the pressure, approached the police with a complaint against Mohammad Salik. The victim alleged that initially, the police did not accept her complaint. They refused to take action in her case. However, after the intervention of the Superintendent of Police, Kotwali police sprung into action. A case was registered under relevant sections of the IPC and the Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion law and the accused was arrested.
2 October 2021 marks the 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, also known in India as the ‘Father of the Nation. Born into a Gujarati Hindu Modh Bania family in the coastal town of Porbandar, Gandhi completed his education from England and from there went to South Africa to practice law.
He later returned to India and joined the country’s independence struggle against the oppressive British rule. Among other things, he experimented with the organisation of daily prayer meetings aimed at achieving reconciliation between different communities, most notably Hindus and Muslims. During these meetings, Gandhi encouraged community singing of popular bhajans and religious hymns and discussed at length their lyrics and content.
Gandhi tampered with the lyrics of a Hindu religious bhajan to appease Muslims
One of the hymns that became a common feature in Gandhi’s prayer meetings was “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram”. The bhajan was first used by Gandhi during his 241 miles march to Dandi during the Dandi March in 1930 to oppose a new law that the British enacted to restrict Indians from producing or selling salt. It was during this movement that Gandhi popularised the use of “Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram” as the marchers sang to keep their spirits up.
However, contrary to the popular imagination, Gandhi was not the creator of the hymn. The lyrics were taken from Shri Nama Ramayanan, an old religious text penned by Sri Lakshmanacharya, and modified by Gandhi. Another myth that became popular with the growing popularity of the hymn was that it is a patriotic song aimed to project a secular composite image of the Indian society; however, original composition as it was sometimes referred to as Ram Dhun, could be best described as an ode glorifying and praising Lord Ram. The original lines went:
Here’s a video composition of the original Hindu bhajan:-
Gandhi’s version, which was mainstreamed by him and his supporters during the Dandi march and later during his prayer meetings, runs:
Raghupati Raghava Rajaram, Patita paavana sitaram, bhaj pyaare tu sitaram Ishwar Allah Tero Naam, sabko sanmati de bhagwan.
This bastardised version of the religious hymn instantly became popular, partly because it was promoted by Gandhi himself and also because of its overtly secular connotation. The bhajan was composed into a tune by renowned musicologist Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, thereby making it ripe for mass consumption and in the process further popularising it.
Even Bollywood played its part in contemporising the adulterated version of the religious hymn, with Hindi films like Lage Raho Munnabhai and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai featuring the Gandhian edition of the devotional song. Besides, it was also the opening track on the Afrobeat band’s album Osibisa – Unleashed – Live in 1982.
With its lyrics manipulated, Muslims would have had no problems extending their support to Gandhi and joining him in his prayer meetings that were aimed at reconciling differences between the two communities and forging communal harmony. However, it was always the responsibility of the Hindu majority to accommodate the demands of the Muslim minority while expecting nothing in return.
Gandhi showed unmatched alacrity in distorting the lyrics of a Hindu religious song to address the reservations held by Muslims but never did he once denounce the verses in the Holy Quran that call idol-worshipping a sin and ordain capital punishment for idolatry.
The lyrics were distorted and the song bastardised by Gandhi to appease the Muslim community, who would have otherwise opposed the recitation of hymn during prayer meetings citing it to be a song extolling Lord Ram and therefore incompatible with the Islamic doctrine of the singularity of God.
Gandhi’s community praying rituals went so far as to include the chanting of the Muslim Kalma. But there are no reports or historical evidence that suggest Gandhi had tweaked Quranic verses to allay concerns of Hindus or fiddled with the Muslim Kalma to make it compatible with his avowed stand of mutual coexistence and communal harmony. It is perhaps because of this unabashed duplicity that Gandhi’s prayer meetings, in the run-up to the partition, became polarised as questions were being raised on his wisdom to include Muslim Kalma during the prayer meetings.
Gandhi’s repeated betrayal of Hindus to maintain the charade of composite unity
The adulteration of Ram Dhun was but one incident where Gandhi displayed little sensitivity towards the feelings of Hindus. For him, the sanctity of the Hindu scriptures and religious songs was a fair game, which could be violated if that helped in placating Muslim concerns. Of course, the opposite was not true as Gandhi studiously avoided asking Muslims to embrace modernism and shed their puritanical interpretation of Islam.
Similarly, there were other incidents too when Gandhi had displayed an abject lack of desire in upholding the interests of Hindus. In 1920, there was an uprising among Indian Muslims in support of the Islamic caliphate, in the wake of World War 1. Dubbed as the Khilafat movement, the aim was to establish Islamic dominion in India,l by destroying the British empire, with the support of the Ottoman Empire (which was eventually exterminated in late 1922). Despite its supremacist undertones, the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Gandhi backed the Khilafat movement in 1920, foreseeing it as a great opportunity to cement Hindu-Muslim ties.
Instead, it turned out to be the harbinger of destruction that followed in its wake. Due to Gandhi’s patronage, the Khilafat movement gained force in Malabar as well, which ultimately touched off the horrifying Hindu genocide in the region, also known as the Moplah riots 1921, one of the worst pogroms against Hindus recorded in the annals of Indian history.
At the time of partition, when Hindus and Sikhs were mercilessly butchered in Pakistan, Gandhi tried defending the massacre as fatalism and argued that Hindus who died in the attack had gained something since the killers were none other than their Muslim brethren.
He made similar comments to the Hindu refugees from West Punjab, asking them to return home, even if they die in doing so. Gandhi wanted Hindus who had successfully managed to escape their death by crossing over to India from Pakistan to return and embrace their fate. Thus, Gandhi’s application of ideals was not only patently unjust, radical, and misplaced, but also highly skewed, where Hindus were perpetually at the receiving end of communal bigotry, with atrocities committed against them either whitewashed or justified using moralistic explanations.
Gandhian secularism continues to afflict India even today
Unfortunately, this perverted version of secularism that Gandhi championed survived series of spectacular failures, most notably the country’s partition in 1947, and it continues to ail India even today. If anything, the perversion of secularism has only grown worse, with left-leaning intelligentsia going into overdrive to guilt-trip Hindus into believing that country’s pluralism is in danger because of their assertiveness of Hindu identity.
It is this farce of secularism that Gandhi’s bastardised version of a Hindu religious song is celebrated and glorified while a request for a frank discussion on Prophet Muhammad is met with calls of “sar tan se juda” or decapitation. Far from condemning people who issued such threats, the left-liberal secularists rationalised their intimidation saying they were provoked into doing so.
Similarly, earlier this year UP Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi had filed a petition seeking the removal of 26 verses from the Quran that he claimed supported terrorism. This triggered massive outrage, with hundreds and thousands of protesters gathering in the Jama Masjid to protest against the plea.
In a memorandum sent to the Centre and the State governments, Muslim participants demanded the ‘immediate arrest’ for his satanic act. They warned that inaction against Rizvi would imply that the current political dispensation was in support of the petition. “Waseem Rizvi has now indulged in insulting the Holy Quran, hence he is no more a Muslim in faith,” they emphasised. Furthermore, Muslim bodies demanded that he should not be appointed in any Muslim institution.
In this case, too, the self-appointed custodians of India’s secularism did not raise their voice in support of Waseem Rizvi or his demand for amending the Holy Quran. Instead, they passively watched over a large number of Muslims who took to the streets opposing the UP Shia Waqf Board chairman and calling for his arrest. For such pseudo-seculars, degradation of a Hindu religious hymn for accommodating minority concerns is a completely justifiable act but when it comes to supporting much-needed reforms brought about in Islam, they all lose their voice.
As the template set by Gandhi himself, secularism in India is a one-way street where the burden of preserving the pluralistic fabric of the nation rests solely on the shoulders of Hindus while the members of other communities are free to act as per their whims and fancies, having no obligation to uphold the ideals of communal harmony and societal unity.
On Friday (October 1), Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow while shooting for her upcoming film ‘Tejas’ in the State.
During the meeting, Yogi Adityanath gifted a silver coin to Kangana Ranaut that was used during the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ of Ram Mandir held on August 5, 2020. He also invited her to visit the Holy land of Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also appointed the actress as the brand ambassador of the State government’s flagship programme, ‘One District One Product’ (ODOP). The scheme seeks to promote indigenous products like rice, black salt, zara zardozi that are native to each district of Uttar Pradesh.
In a tweet, Additional Chief Secretary wrote, “Famous Actress Kangana Ranawat met Yogi Adityanath, Hon’ble Chief Minister of UP, who presented her with an ODOP product. Kangna ji will be our Brand Ambassador for ODOP.”
The Bollywood actress also took to Instagram to share her appreciation for the UP CM. She had shared a muted video of her conversation with the caption, “He is exceptionally vibrant, genuine and motivating in person…. What a pleasure and privilege to have an audience with this young, fiery and one of the most loved and popular leaders of this nation.”
The leading Bollywood actress had also shared the picture of the silver coin that was offered during the Bhumi Pujan held last year. She appreciated the work undertaken by Yogi Adityanath and wished him luck for the upcoming 2022 Vidhan Sabha polls. She wrote, “I thanked Uttar Pradesh government for their cooperation in our film ( Tejas) shooting and wished Honourable Chief Minister best of luck in his upcoming election…I emphasised that we had a tapasavi Raja from Uttar Pradesh Shri Ram Chandra and now we have Yogi AdityaNath…May your reign continue Maharaj ji.””
Kangana Ranaut added that she is making a new film titled, ‘Aparajitha Ayodhya’ on the ancient city and the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. “I am making a film called Ayodhya on Ram temple…This is a good omen aur how we call in Hindi Aashirwad…” she wrote on Instagram. Reportedly, the film on Ayodhya has been written by KV Vijayendra Prasad and will be directed by the actress herself.
In a statement, Ranaut said, “The plan wasn’t for me to direct the film. I started it as a project that I worked on from the concept level. I wanted to produce it and rope in another director for it. I was quite busy at that time to even think of a direction. However, the script that KV Vijayendra Prasad shared was that of a film set on a large canvas, somewhat on the lines of the history that I have directed before. My collaborating partners were also keen that I direct it. Eventually, even I felt that maybe it’s best if I helm this film. So, it all happened organically.” The actress is currently shooting for her film ‘Tejas’ and is directed by Sarvesh Mewara. It is based on the landmark decision of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2016 to induct women in combat roles.
On September 11, 2001, a group of 19 Al Qaeda terrorists orchestrated a total of four terror attacks, killing about 3000 people during the incident. The terror attack, committed by Al Qaeda terrorists and led by Osama bin Laden, marked the dawn of a new era in American history. It embarked upon a series of regime change wars in the name of ‘War on Terror’. Accordingly, Osama bin Laden was executed on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan’s Abbottabad, by the US Navy Seals. After staying for an additional 10 years in Afghanistan, United States withdrew all its troops from the country by August 31.
It has been 20 years since the deadly 9/11 attacks shook the conscience of humanity. However, it remains a matter of intrigue as to why Osama bin Laden chose to name his terror outfit as ‘Al-Qaeda’, despite not holding any significance in the Arabic/ Islamic context. An article published in The Guardian on August 24, 2002,sought to unravel the mystery behind the nomenclature. It was titled, ‘What is the origin of the name al-Qaida?’
Penned by Giles Foden, author of ‘The Last King of Scotland’ that inspired a critically acclaimed movie of the same name, the article claimed that the inspiration behind naming the terror organisation as ‘Al-Qaeda’ came from the groundbreaking 1951 sci-fi novel ‘Foundation’ by Isaac Asimov.
Screengrab of the article published by The Guardian
While attributing the findings to a scientist named Dmitri Gusev, the article claimed that the classic by Asimov was translated into Arabic and titled, ‘al-Qaida.’ Foden stated that the word ‘Qaida’ meant foundation/base or groundwork. Asimov (1920-1992) was a Russian author who lived a considerable part of his life in the States. He is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction writers. Dmitri Gusev argued that Laden not only borrowed the name of the book but the plot of the classic as well.
Plot of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation
The ‘Foundation’, which was eventually converted into a series, revolved around the supremacy of a 12000-year-old Galactic Empire. The protagonist, Hari Seldon, is the creator of a branch of science known as ‘psychohistory’. He is resolute in his mission of protecting future generations from ignorance, warfare and barbarism and predicted the fall of the Empire.
To accomplish this, Seldon created a group of scientists and scholars and named it ‘The Foundation’. “But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun — or fight them and be destroyed,” read the summary in Goodreads.
Edward Gibbon’s ‘Fall of the Roman Empire’ exerted significant influence on the Sci-Fi saga.
The link connecting Osama bin Laden and the science fiction series
Foden said, “Science fiction has often featured “evil empires” against which are set utopian ideas whose survival must be fought for against the odds by a small but resourceful band of men.” The author Giles Foden argued that such ‘evil empires’ (supposedly under President Ronald Reagan who initiated the war in Afghanistan) can only be fought by intelligent idealists-cum-psychopaths (referring to Osama bin Laden), who might draw inspiration from fictional sci-fi characters such as Hari Seldon.
Just like the protagonist, Laden sent pre-recorded video messages to his followers and crafted his geopolitical strategy in a similar fashion. Seldon took into account the intergalactic megatrends and local reactions to them. The strategy bore uncanny resemblance to the one adopted by Osama bin Laden against the growing phenomenon of ‘globalisation’ and an interconnected world. “So did Bin Laden use Foundation as a kind of imaginative sounding-board for the creation of al-Qaida? Perhaps reading the book in his pampered youth, and later on seeing his destiny in terms of the ruthless manipulation of historical forces?” Foden inquired.
Plausibility of the ‘Foundation theory’ and its influence on the slain terrorist
Since his ‘pampered’ childhood, Osama bin Laden had access to Western media and products. His biographer Yossef Bodansky argued that he was born and raised in an affluent family. Bodansky pointed out that Laden steered away from the ‘Muslim lifestyle’ and spent time in bars, casinos and amongst women in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut. However, all of it changed after he met a radical Islamist preacher from Palestine named Abdullah Azzam. It is assumed that the slain terrorist perhaps read an English copy of the book during his time in Beirut or the US or Wembley in London.
Russian author and Sci-fi novelist Isaac Asimov, image via QZ
Interestingly, the Arabic version of the Foundation was not reprinted after 1972 due to Asimov’s religious affiliation to Judaism. This brings back the spotlight on the timing of Laden’s potential exposure to the science fiction series. Citing an expert in Middle Eastern affairs, popular novelist China Miéville claimed that the ‘Foundation’ theory was the only plausible explanation behind naming the terror outfit ‘Al-Qaeda.’ He added that the word had no political precedent in Arabic and had continued to baffled experts.
The sci-fi writer, Isaac Asimov, died at the age of 72 in New York City in 1992. About 9 years later, Osma bin Laden engineered the most deadly terror attack of the 21st century in the same city. Foden noted, “One can’t blame Asimov for fueling the swollen fantasies of the murderous. It is the last thing this committed pacifist (“violence is the last refuge of the incompetent”) would have wanted. He may not be the only famous sci-fi author to have been taken up by lunatics, anyway.”
‘Foundation’ has influenced a great many others, in great positions of power. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are two of the most prominent individuals that come to mind. Along with Frank Herbert’s Dune, ‘Foundation’ has been one of the ‘foundational texts’ of modern Sci-Fi. Apple TV has created a TV adaptation of the series, two episodes of which have been released so far, with the 3rd to be released on the 1st of October.
David Villeneuve has directed the most recent Big Screen adaption of Dune, to be released across theaters on the 22nd of October.
Other theories suggesting the origin of ‘Al-Qaeda’
Foden claimed that the term Al-Qaeda was first used by an American newspaper in 1996 to refer to terror outfit of Biden Laden (known as Islamic Salvation Foundation until then.) It alleged that the term gained prominence following the US embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998. At that time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also began using ‘Al-Qaeda’ as an ‘umbrella term’ for several terror outfits run by Laden.
According to researcher Rohan Gunaratna, the name of the terror organisation was derived from the concept of ‘al-Qaida al-Sulbah’ (loosely translated as the solid base). He stated that the concept featured in an essay authored by the ‘mentor’ of Osama Bin Laden i.e. Abdullah Azzam, who was killed in a car bomb attack in Peshawar (Pakistan) in 1989. Other theories include claims that the father of Osama bin Laden owned an estate named ‘al-Qaida’ in Saudi Arabia or Yemen. Another theory suggests that it was the name of a construction firm owned by the family. One of the other stories that gained prominence recently was that ‘al-Qaida’ was a ‘protected region’ in communist-ruled Afghanistan.
As Shiva Sena declared to field candidates in 22 to 25 seats in the upcoming Goa elections, MP Sanjay Raut, while addressing the press promised to shut down the casinos in the state if the party is voted to power.
With the 2022 Goa Assembly Elections, there are several smaller parties that have thrown their hat in for the electoral race. Shiv Sena is not the only regional party that has decided to contest in Goa with AAP and TMC also hoping the make a dent. Regarding AAP and TMC’s entry into the political scene in Goa and contesting elections, Raut said “Have heard that TMC is also fighting the polls in Goa. The political parties from Delhi and West Bengal are contesting in Goa. So many leaders are switching sides. What we are currently witnessing in Goa is a political carnival,”
Sanjay Raut seemed optimistic about the chances of Shiv Sena and spoke about Shiv Sena’s emotional and cultural connection with Goa and its strong presence in the state, “We are emotionally and culturally connected to Goa. We have our own base and we are sure to win majority seats with it”.
Earlier this year, Sanjay Raut gave an interview to Aaj Tak where he had suggested that UPA should be led by Sharad Pawar to regain its dominance in national politics. He also added that UPA needed restructuring and support of all the regional parties to take the BJP head-on. The Shiv Sena MP Raut also sent a warning to the Kannadigas in Mumbai over the enduring linguistic disputes in Belagavi and the bordering districts that are a bone of contention between Maharashtra and Karnataka. He claimed that when Marathi-speaking people were attacked in the border district, Shiv Sainiks retaliated by vandalising transport buses belonging to Karnataka coming into their state.
