As the Kamal Nath led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh continues to face lots of heat over unfulfilled poll promises, not just from opposition parties but also from senior leaders of the Congress party, an old tweet by CM Kamal Nath has come back to haunt him.
On Wednesday, it was reported that a guest lecturer of a college in Bhopal got her head tonsured as a protest against the state government. A woman named Shahin had shaved her head as a protest as the government has not agreed to their demands of regularisation of jobs. Shanin said, “we have been protesting for the last 72 days. The state government has no mercy for teachers. Chief Minister Kamal Nath is behaving like a dictator.” She said that if the state govt does not agree to their demands, then all the women sitting in the protest will tonsure their heads.
The guest lecturers are demanding regularisation of their jobs, which was promised by the Congress party before the assembly elections. Another protestor Ruchi Tiwari told ANI, “Did we elect the Congress for this day? He calls us sisters. Still, he is not paying a visit to us.”
Reacting to the news, former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan tweeted addresing CM Kamal Nath, ‘CM sir, even today the hair is a symbol of women. Guest lecturer sisters have sacrificed their hair to wake up your sleeping government. Did the state felt ashamed today in your view? Will you take any step for their welfare?
मुख्यमंत्री जी, आज भी केश नारी के सम्मान का प्रतीक हैं।
अतिथि विद्वान बहनों ने आपकी सोती हुई सरकार को नींद से जगाने के लिए अपने केश त्यागे, क्या आज आपको उनकी पीड़ा का अंदाज़ा है?
With the tweet, Shivraj Singh Chauhan added a two-years-old tweet by CM Kamal Nath, when he had slammed the BJP government for the exact same reason. On February 12, 2018, Kamal Nath had posted the tweet, reacting to news about guest lecturers shaving their heads demanding regularisation of their jobs. On a day before, several guest lecturers, including four women, had got their head tonsured as a mark to protest against then BJP govt’s inability to fulfil their demands.
Kamal Nath had tweeted, ‘hair is a symbol of beauty and respect women and if a woman sacrifices it for the fight for her rights, then the level of her misery and suffering can be estimated. Tonsuring, done by guest sisters, is a shocking step. The entire state is ashamed of this incident.’
केश नारी के लिये श्रृंगार व सम्मान का प्रतीक होते है और नारी यदि अपने हक़ की लड़ाई के लिये उसका ही त्याग कर दे तो उसके दुःख व पीड़ा का अन्दाज़ लगाया जा सकता है….
अतिथि विद्वान बहनो द्वारा कराया गया मुंडन,दिल को झकझोरने वाला क़दम है…
पूरा प्रदेश इस घटना से शर्मशार हुआ है.. pic.twitter.com/SJjWGxcszT
In the election manifesto for the assembly elections in 2018, the Congress party had promised to regularise the jobs of temporary teachers. But like many promises, the Kamal Nath government failed to fulfil this promise also, which had prompted the contact teachers to resume their protests.
In November last year, the state government appointed 3,418 permanent faculty members in government colleges, which had the position of 2,300 guest employees, including assistant professors, librarians and sports officers, uncertain who faced the risk of removal from their jobs. Although the govt had promised the temporary jobs in other places, they are demanding permanent postings, as promised by the party before elections. The teachers are reminding the government about Section 17.22 of the Congress manifesto, which had said, “We will create a policy to regularise guest faculty members according to the roster. In case they are not selected by the MPPSC, they will not be removed.”
In the last week, senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia had reached the protest site and had said that he will stand as their “sword and shield” if promises made by the Congress party in its poll manifesto were not fulfilled by the government. He had assured the protesters that their demand is included in the party’s manifesto and they will be implemented. He had even said that he will hit the streets if the demand is not realised. But CM Kamal Nath had snubbed Scindia, saying let him hit the streets. He had also added that the manifesto is for five years term of the government which had not completed yet.
While the anti-CAA detractors have offered myriad reasons to express their opposition to the Amendment in the Citizenship Act, the most pressing concern surrounding the CAA, NPR and NRC for actor Sushant Singh is that it will deprive the Muslims held in detention centres of their right to have sex and procreation.
“If all the members of a Muslim family are found to be illegal immigrants, will they be kept in the detention centres together? Will that family have the right to reproduction? Because the space in the detention centres is limited. You can’t increase the population there. So those people who will be sent to the detention centres just because they happen to be Muslims, will not be allowed to procreate,” Singh said while haranguing against the Citizenship Amendment Act, NRC and NPR.
Singh continued his fear-mongering regarding the CAA, NRC and NPR by peddling half-truths and lies about them. Despite Amit Shah and PM Modi explicitly denying of a country-wide NRC in the near future, Singh claimed that NRC will not only disenfranchise Muslims but it will also affect Hindus alike. He added that the non-Muslims who would fail to prove their citizenship will still have the chance of applying for India’s citizenship through CAA but Muslims will not have that advantage.
Raising apprehensions about those who are left out of the NRC, Singh said that genuine Indians who couldn’t prove their Indianness will have to apply through CAA for India’s Citizenship and falsely admit that they are not Indians and have migrated from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan if they want their application to be considered.
“What about your history? Since you have already admitted that you are not an Indian, will your job be considered legitimate? Will your marriage be considered legal? What will be the citizenship status of your children?” Singh asked.
Singh also spoke against the NPR, claiming it is the first step towards the implementation of NRC. “There is a lot of confusion over NRC and NPR. The government has denied that NRC will be implemented but the Home Minister had announced in several of his rallies that NRC is coming. The NPR document says it is the first step towards NRC,” Singh added.
Prime Minister Modi today visited the ‘Hunar Haat’ exhibition in New Delhi organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The ‘Hunar Haats’ are a way to provide employment and income generation opportunities with platforms to craftsmen and artisans belonging to minority community.
Hunar Haat is popularly understood as something which is exclusively for Muslims.
Not if my poor Hindu artisans are kept out of it!
What is their fault?
That they are Hindus? https://t.co/1U5FPN3JpH
‘All = Only minorities’ here. ….Sir, what sins Hindus have done, to be excluded. #HunarHaat is a blatantly discriminatory scheme benefiting only minority artisans. https://t.co/K3iZZ6ENyy
Is Hunar Haat only for Muslims? Can Hindus also take part? Here is the truth.
Hunar Haat exhibitions are organised under under the USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
USSTAD brochure
As per the USTTAD guidelines [pdf], the trainees under the USTTAD scheme will be from minority community (viz. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains). However, about 25% of the beneficiaries could also be from other community who belong to the BPL (below poverty line) families.
Hence, ‘Hunar Haat’ while provides support and employment opportunity to artisans and craftsmen from minority communities, people from non-minority community who fall under the BPL category also benefit from the same.
The Supreme Court-appointed mediators on Wednesday met with the Shaheen Bagh protesters, who have been staging a sit-in vigil against the CAA for over two months now. The protesters are blocking one of the arterial roads of the national capital and causing grave inconvenience to the commuters. The Apex court has appointed the mediators to convince the protesters to shift to a different location so that the road can be re-opened.
However, the mediation on Wednesday remained inconclusive as court-appointed interlocutors Sanjay Hegde and Sadhana Ramachandran claimed that they will come back tomorrow again for taking forward the mediation. “We met them and listened to them. We asked them if we should return tomorrow as it is impossible to complete the talks in a single day. They said they wanted us to come back tomorrow so we will,” Ramachandran said.
“The Supreme Court has said that you have the right to protest. The law (CAA) has been challenged in the Supreme Court. But like us, others too have their rights, like the right to use roads, open their shops,” Sadhana Ramachandran said.
Earlier today, one of the interlocutors, Sanjay Hegde, addressed the packed crowd of protesters at Shaheen Bagh. Hegde asked the protesters to shift the protest site as it was causing inconvenience to the travellers. However, one elder protester opposed this suggestion saying, “When the government is not listening to us while we are protesting, they won’t even care if we vacate this place.”
#ShaheenBagh ki daadis open their heart out to SC mediator Sanjay Hegde.
“Before asking us to clear the road, ASK POLICE TO open their needless blockades.
We open this road for school buses, ambulances, bikes & emergency services”
The elder women protesting at Shaheen Bagh also asked Hegde to first request the police to open their barricades before asking them to clear the road. As the mediation did not yield any tangible outcome today, the demonstrators at Shaheen Bagh offered the interlocutors to continue the mediation till Sunday, one day before the Supreme Court hearing in the matter resumes.
Earlier, the apex court had expressed concern on the obstruction of one of the busiest thoroughfares of Delhi in Shaheen Bagh and asked that the anti-CAA protestors shift to another protest site. The court-appointed the senior advocate Sanjay Hegde to act as a mediator to convince protesters to move their protest to an alternative site where no public place is blocked.
The historic decision to abrogate article 370 and finally integrate Jammu and Kashmir completely with the rest of the country has been seen as one of the landmark decisions taken by the Modi government at the centre. At the heart of it, while there are several arguments for it, the reason most often spoke about to hail the abrogation, and rightly so, is the emancipation of minorities, whether those minorities be Kashmiri Hindu, women, or the LGBTQ+ community.
The proponents of this outcome of Article 370 abrogation got a rude shock when slogans, that can only be called deeply against the very fabric of India were raised at the Mumbai Pride March. “Sharjeel tere sapno ko manzil tak pahunchayenge,” was amongst the many slogans raised at the Mumbai queer pride parade in Mumbai on Saturday, 1st February. Sharjeel Imam has been arrested and is currently behind bars for being a radical Islamist and wanting to break India up.
For a long time, the support for the Left and Islamist coteries by the LGBTQ+ community has baffled most Hindus. While the Modi government and the Hindu community has supported the LGBTQ+ community with the Modi government facilitating the striking down of Section 377, the Islamists have generally been religiously predisposed to persecuting the LGBTQ+ community.
While the outward impression one gets is that the entire LGBTQ+ is against not only the Modi government but also Hindus and Dharmics on the whole, there exists a strong, well-funded Leftist coterie that is most vocal, marginalising and persecuting the sane sections within the LGBTQ+ community. The coterie at the same time is using prestigious platforms to lobby against the interests of India not only within the country but also globally.
An article headlined “The False Link Between Article 370 and Queer Rights”, published in the Left propaganda website The Wire was recently quoted at the US House Foreign Affair’s Committee Hearing on South Asia Human Rights on the Kashmir issue by deeply anti-Hindu Nitisha Kaul, who, under the garb of being a Kashmiri Hindu, lobbies for the Islamists of Kashmir.
The article was written by one Anish Gawande, an LGBTQ+ activist. The article essentially shames the people within the LGBTQ+ community who have supported the Modi government not only after Section 377 was struck down but also for the abrogation of Article 370 leading to the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir.
Anish writes, “Newly-inducted BJP member Jay Panda, on a debate on NDTV with Shashi Tharoor, claimed that Article 370’s removal was a breather for marginalised sections of society. Journalist Abhijit Majumder went as far as to say that this was one of “two great leaps” for India’s LGBTQ+ community in the past year (the other being the striking down of Section 377). The troll army followed swiftly after: soon, “gay rights” were used as bait to target every voice decrying the changes to Article 370. Now, those with red dots as profile pictures on Twitter were not only against Dalit rights and women’s rights; they were also homophobic”.
Calling the debate around Kashmir and Section 377 as “pinkwashing”, Anish goes on to talk about the so-called Human Rights atrocities that are being heaped in Kashmir. Quoting another activist, Anish says that the BJP is using the queer community for “violent and undemocratic objectives”. Anish further talks about how the LGBTQ+ community is being used to fuel Islamophobia and oppress Muslims. He says, “What’s worrying is that this is a global phenomenon. From Marine Le Pen cosying up to the queer community in France to the Republicans using the Pulse Orlando shooting to fuel Islamophobia, there has been a slow yet steady move to use LGBTQ+ rights to wash over discrimination against other minorities”.
Ending the article, Anish writes, “Therefore, there’s an urgent need to call out the propaganda around Kashmir and Section 377. Our fight for equal rights needs to push back against all forms of discrimination: on the grounds of caste, class, religion and gender. We simply cannot afford to remain silent”.
The entire article written by Anish Gawande was based on the premise that the BJP government is perpetuating “Hindu fascism”, is against the LGBTQ+ community and is oppressing Muslims not just in Kashmir but as a matter of policy. The article even termed people from within the LGBTQ+ community who disagree with this blatant propaganda as a “troll army”.
With this lie-laden article being quoted at the US House Foreign Affair’s Committee Hearing on South Asia Human Rights, which was an exercise in genocide denial, it becomes imperative that one looks at the antecedents of Anish Gawande and understands why this narrative found a global platform.
Anish Gawande is first and foremost the founder of ‘Pink List India’. ‘Pink List India’ is basically a platform that managed to google and lists the parliamentarians who support or oppose the cause of the LGBTQ+ community. His contribution to the fight for equal rights of the community starts from googling names of parliamentarians to writing articles that almost always compromise the cause of the nation.
Pink List India, which is founded by Anish Gawande displays blatant anti-India sentiments. The official handle of this initiative on Twitter came out in support of Kris Chudawala, one of the activists who was charged with sedition for the Sharjeel Imam supporting slogans raised at the Mumbai Pride March.
Kris has been publicly outed, deadnamed, and shamed on national media. They have been unfairly targeted by the police under baseless charges because of political pressure. This needs to lead to a larger conversation around media ethics on trans* issues.#JusticeForKris
Anish Gawande himself has made and endorsed several other problematic statements. He has blatantly come out in support of Sharjeel Imam, a radical Islamist who wanted to break India.
Retweet by Anish Gawande
He has also come out in support of Aishe Ghosh, who is one of the people responsible for inciting violence in JNU.
2000+ women. Men standing on the sidelines. Ambedkar above. Uddhav Thackeray on the left. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the edge. We live in interesting times. pic.twitter.com/NMX4vsV0Or
Anish has supported Shah Faesal, now booked under PSA. Faesal had vowed to take revenge against India and was detained while travelling to Turkey in order to file a case against India in the ICJ.
This is a joke.
The biggest critique of Shah Faesal was that he was India’s agent in the valley. By keeping him in jail for almost six months, the government has proved only one thing: that it has no bloody clue about what it is doing in Kashmir. https://t.co/PQrOuzV78d
Anish Gawande has also spoken up against the Indian Army.
Do not celebrate women being allowed to serve in the armed forces.
Do not celebrate queers being allowed to serve in the armed forces.
Do not celebrate the armed forces.
While his writing and social media posts are littered with severe hatred not only for the Modi government but also for India, Anish Gawande is being espoused and furthered by several powerful men in the country, on whose funds he furthers his dangerous agenda.
Anish Gawande is promoted and espoused by the Head of Godrej Culture Lab Parmesh Sahani. According to the website, “The Godrej India Culture Lab acts as a catalyst to challenge existing notions of culture and encourages dialogue and experimentation through innovative programming. We started in 2011 as a space for cross-pollination of ideas, and have branched out into multiple fields over the years. We curate diverse cultural programmes – be it thematic pop-ups, film screenings, exhibitions or discussions – to expose people to diverse ways of thinking. We also conduct an annual Leadership Programme for humanities students where Fellows gain perspective on the cultural industry through masterclasses, walk-throughs and by assisting us on events. Apart from that, we act as knowledge generators and have released white papers on trans inclusion in the workplace and digital media usage in Mumbai’s cultural landscape. We are also working on a project of mapping Mumbai’s cultural spaces”.
Parmesh Sahani has regularly displayed proximity to Anish and has promoted him.
Anish Gawande is also the Director of the Dara Shikoh Fellowship program. According to the website, “The Director of the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, Anish is currently pursuing a degree in Comparative Literature and Economic History at Columbia University. He is also Senior Editor for the Columbia South Asia Review and heads Voices from the Valley, a multidisciplinary initiative that seeks to globalise conversations around Kashmir. When not settled into an armchair writing essays over cups of hot chocolate, he spends his time horseback riding in the hills”.
Dara Shikoh Fellowship as a partner of Harvard US-India Initiative
In 2018, the Dara Shikoh Fellowship organised a panel on Kashmir. In his own words, Anish believes that the conversation around Kashmir leaves the Kashmiri out of the conversations and from his past posts, it is evident that ‘Nationalism’ is a concept deeply repulsive to Anish.
Harbouring views that border on anti-India is regularly espoused by Godrej Culture Lab.
An Alum of Godrej Culture Lab, Anish Gawande was featured in the Lab’s latest video inviting people to join them and as an alum, one can only assume that his proximity to the Lab head helps greatly.
What is most concerning, however, that in this ad for Godrej India Culture Lab, towards the end, Anish says that among other things, if one wishes to learn how to speak up for Kashmir through ‘digital humanities’ then Godrej Culture Lab is the place to join. This, after mentioning the Aarey protests which were spearheaded by nefarious NGO elements.
Given the views of Anish Gawande, it does not take much to understand what aspect of Kashmir that he has invited individuals to research on using digital humanities. One fully expects that the aspects of research would be heavily biased towards, if not limited to, the alleged ‘human rights violations’ in the valley by the army (since he has widely spoken against the very existence of Indian army) and the “Islamophobia” of the Indian state, considering his rampant support for Azadi slogans and Sharjeel Imam.
When OpIndia tried to reach Mr Anish, unfortunately, our phone went unanswered. We will try to get in touch with him again and update this story with his response.
It is rather intriguing that Godrej knowingly or unknowingly seems to be espousing and promoting toxic elements like Anish Gawande and Parmesh Sahani who regularly undermine the interests of India.
Using influence and clout to silence opposing voices from the LBGTQ+ community
The LGBTQ+ community is as diverse in opinions as to any other socio-cultural group. While the most vocal, powerful, visible and well-funded group identifies with the Left and the Islamists, there is a larger community that consider themselves deeply dharmic.
An example of one such activist is Gopi Shankar Madurai. He is an Indian equal right and Indigenous rights activist. Shankar was one of the youngest, and the first openly intersex and genderqueer, candidates to contest in 2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election. Shankar is also the founder of Srishti Madurai Student Volunteer Collective. Shankar’s work inspired the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) to direct the Government of Tamil Nadu to order a ban on sex reassignment surgeries on intersex children. In December 2017 Shankar was elected to the Executive Board of ILGA Asia.
Shankar and trans woman S. Swapna staged a protest in Madurai collectorate on 7 October 2013 demanding reservation and to permit alternate genders to appear for examinations conducted by TNPSC, UPSC, SSC and Bank Exams. Later, Swapna successfully moved the Madras High Court in 2013 seeking permission to write the TNPSC Group II exam as a ‘woman’ candidate.
Gopi Shankar Madurai does not endorse the anti-Hindu narrative that is vocalised by this limited, powerful coterie. Shockingly, Gopi Shankar Madurai, a prominent voice of the LGBTQ+ has been de-platformed from a major event promoting the community and its causes simply for the views he holds.
On the 4th of February 2020, Gopi Shankar Madurai tweeted that the golden era for LGBTQIA+ rights, women rights and indigenous faiths rights has been ushered under the Modi government.
The Golden era for LGBTQIA+ Rights, Women Rights & Indigenous faiths rights is @BJP4India. In India there is no LEFT & RIGHT politics exists, it all about Anti Indigenous lobby & Pro Indigenous politics. Rest of the lip stick activists shut your mouth.
It is for this tweet that Madurai was de-platformed from an event called RISE being held at the Lali Hotels. After Madurai was de-platformed, he had even sent an email and messages to the organiser expressing regret that he was being silenced because he held a different opinion.
SMS sent by Gopi to RISE organiser without any acknowledgement
Interestingly, according to Gopi Shankar Madurai, the organiser told him that if he were to be a part of it, several others would back out, given the views expressed in his tweet, in support of BJP.
Even after de-platforming Madurai, the RISE event continued to use the ILGA logo, which was later removed after Madurai raised concerns.
OpIndia reached out to Mr Ram Sinha, the organiser of RISE. When asked, he first said that Mr Madurai had not been de-platformed. When he was told that OpIndia was in possession of the email and messages sent by Mr Madurai to him, he became cagey and said that he will not comment further and that his PR team will get in touch with us. Till the time this article was published, the PR team had not gotten in touch with Opindia.
OpIndia also reached out to one Sharif Rangnekar who was on the conference call when Gopi Shankar Madurai was de-platformed. Confirming that he was indeed on the call, Sharif confirmed that he is not the organiser of RISE, however, the extent of his association with the event stays unclear. However, Rainbow Lit Fest, which is organised by Rangnekar, is also listed as a ‘supporting organisation’ of the RISE event.
The Gopi was set to speak at RISE and has now been dropped is evidenced by this poster, which has now been deleted from everywhere.
Poster of RISE with Gopi Shankar Madurai
The event RISE from which Madurai has been de-platformed is supported and is to be attended by the Canadian High Commissioner Nadir Patel.
#CelebratingPride?️?: Canada is excited to participate in India’s largest #LGBTQ2 career fair in Delhi! Don’t miss Cdn speakers incl. HC @nadirypatel, ?? booth & art exhibit showcasing 50yrs of LGBTI rights history in Canada.
The shocking intolerance towards a member of their own community seems to have an interesting backstory to it.
One of the partners of Pride Circle, that organises the RISE event is Godrej, as evidenced from their home page.
Partners of Pride Circle
As one recalls, Parmesh Shahani is the head of the Godrej Culture Lab and shares close proximity with Anish Gawande.
Our sources tell us that RISE is already busy covering its tracks by removing the evidence of Parmesh and Anish’s involvement with RISE. However, that they are closely linked to the event is evidenced by the fact that Anish had tweeted about RISE extensively in July 2019 and Parmesh was a speaker at that event.
Tweets by AnishTweets by Anish
Godrej’s active involvement in RISE can also be seen from a 2019 post by Parmesh.
2019 post by Parmesh
When OpIndia got in touch with Mr Parmesh, he said that the Culture Lab has nothing to do with the RISE event but he confirmed that he did speak at their events. Further, Mr Parmesh said that he has been in New York for the past week and is unaware of the de-platforming of Mr Madurai. He also suggested that we get in touch with Godrej HR. When we did, the phone went unanswered.
Considering the extent of influence that Parmesh and Anish exert and the fact that Godrej is a partner of Pride Circle one does not need to guess the part they have played in de-platforming Gopi Shankar Madurai.
OpIndia has also learnt that the same coterie, that includes Anish Gawande has been writing to ILGA, of whose elected member Madurai is, urging them to “fire” Madurai for his “Hindutva fascist” views.
With the extent of blatant intolerance displayed towards Gopi Shankar Madurai, one wonders if Godrej as an organisation is aware that its influence is being used to silence voices who work tirelessly for the cause of the LGBTQIA+ community. Apart from Godrej, it is also to be noted that the Canadian High Commission to India is supporting an event that is silencing the voice much like fascists, simply because an LGBTQIA+ activist doesn’t support their anti-Hindu, anti-India cause.
While Gopi Shankar Madurai has been de-platformed and ostracised, there are several anti-India voices that have still found a platform in RISE.
One of those voices is Faraz Arif Ansari.
Faraz has often displayed blatant anti-Hindu stance and sheer hatred for BJP, even endorsing Islamists.
Tweets by FarazTweets by Faraz
He had also come out strongly in support of the seditious statements raised at Pride March 2020 in support of Sharjeel Imam and the Shaheen Bagh Islamists.
It is intriguing that someone as blatantly partisan and hateful as Faraz is still a part of RISE while Gopi Shankar Madurai has been de-platformed for a generic tweet where he supported the government for their progressive decisions as far as policy is concerned.
If merely being “partisan” is a criterion for de-platforming, then the association with Faraz and even Anish should have ended a long time ago.
While Madurai simply expressed his support for a policy, Anish has actually officially worked with Congress for the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha Elections as evidenced by Milind Deora’s Facebook post.
Milind Deora FB post
Anish has also displayed his blatant hate for “right-wing” parties on several occasions.
Anish’s post
The dangers of Godrej sponsoring anti-India elements
In 2018, Godrej Aerospace, a unit of Godrej & Boyce, handed over the first of the 100 orders for the airframes for the air-launched version of the prestigious BrahMos missile systems to Defense Research Development Laboratories (DRDL). Godrej had won the orders for 100 sets of airframes for the air-launched missile in December 2017 from the DRDL.
According to a report in the Economic Times, congratulating Godrej Aerospace for manufacturing the first airframe, Dashrath Ram Yadav, programme director for BrahMos at the DRDL, had said: “the delivery of the first airframe assembly for the air-launched version of the BrahMos missile in such a short time frame goes a long way in showcasing Godrej’s commitment towards the project as the delivery comes in the span of just eight months.”
Sudhir Mishra, director general and CEO of BrahMos Aerospace said, indigenous manufacturing of defence equipment brings down costs and enhances the know-how about critical technologies while ensuring the reliability of spare parts. Jamshyd Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej & Boyce had said, it is a matter of pride that today we have handed over the first airframe assembly of the prestigious air-launched version of the BrahMos missile in just eight months. “Our partnership with BrahMos and DRDL is unique as it brings together the planning of defence units and the innovation of private enterprise to robustly achieve one strategic goal of securing the nation,” he said.
Godrej Aerospace has been associated with the BrahMos programme since the inception in 2001 manufacturing most of the metallic sub-systems in the BrahMos missile system.
Godrej has thus been associated very closely with the Defence Ministry and involved in the BrahMos programme since 2001. For a major Defence contractor to be funding and promoting anti-India elements holding deeply problematic partisan views should ideally be seen as a breach of good faith.
While their association with anti-India elements is problematic, what is even more concerning is that a Defence contractor is supporting the de-platforming of an activist simply because he spoke for the policies affected by the current Indian government. While defence comes under Godrej & Boyce which is run by Jamshyd Godrej, as chairman of the Godrej Group which includes Godrej & Boyce, Adi Godrej has a responsibility to clarify why he is funding an organisation that compromises national interest, while another part of his conglomerate is happy taking funds from the same military and state he is undermining
Thus, Godrej cannot escape the responsibility of promoting elements like Anish and neither can it stay silent while pro-India voices are de-platformed, whether knowingly or unknowingly as a result of the influence the company holds.
As per the recent research study about the status of poverty in India, there is a remarkable decline in the number of people living in poverty from 2011 to 2017. The number of people living in poverty in India had come down to 8.4 crores in 2017, as against 27 crores in 2011, the research claims.
As per a report in the New Indian Express, The study claims that as per the Tendulkar poverty line it, poverty in India reduced from 14.9 % in 2011 to 7.0 % in 2017, the fastest decline in poverty the country has ever seen. The research which is part of the joint paper titled ‘Poverty, Inequality and Inclusive Growth in India: 2011/12-2017/18‘ by Surjit S Bhalla, Former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Virmani, and the economic researcher Karan Bhasin was presented to the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
Last year the NSSO survey had implied that poverty in India is increased. The NSSO survey suggested that rural poverty rose nearly 4 percentage points between 2011-12 and 2017-18 to 30 percent even as urban poverty fell 5 percentage points over the same period to 9 percent.
The NSSO data had also claimed that while there is a 12% decline in per capita consumption, the national accounts data, in contrast, shows an increase of 5.5%.
The current study has included data from the NSSO survey, night-time lights data and other data points to conclude that between 2011 and 2017, poverty reduction may have been much better than anticipated.
The Authors concluded that the record pace of poverty reduction was due to certain government measures like MGNREGA, Direct Benefit Transfer, PM Kisan Yojana, LPG subsidy and others.
The authors noted that asset transfer such as houses and toilets has played a major role in poverty reduction, “All these estimates reveal that poverty in India was in single digits as per the Tendulkar poverty line and that India experienced one of the fastest paces of poverty reduction between 2011-2017.”
As per the World Bank poverty line report, poverty in India has declined with the fastest rate ever, from 58% in 2011-12 to 37% in 2017-18. The world bank classifieds India as a lower-middle-income country.
The intelligence agencies have revealed that the Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from the Labour Party, Debbie Abrahams, was in contact with an ISI conduit Raja Najabat Hussain, the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Self Determination Movement International (JKSDMI). The agencies suspect JKSDMI to be an ISI-funded organisation. The revelation came after Debbie was deported after arriving in India as her visa was already cancelled by Indian authorities.
#Breaking | TIMES NOW newsbreak explodes.
Pak proxies exposed. Intel sources reveal sensational details of UK MP’s link to Pak ISI ‘unearthed’.
According to the intelligence agencies, Hussain was in touch with Debbie on many occasions and the Pakistani spy agency has been financially supporting activities of the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir, led by Debbie.
The intelligence agencies believed that ISI had planned to use Debbie’s India trip for propaganda purposes by claiming that she met with disgruntled Kashmiris who were victimised by the Indian state. Debbie is currently on a visit to Pakistan with one of her staff members- Harpreet Uppal. The agencies claim that Debbie’s Pakistan visit, her travel and stay arrangement, logistics and other support is allegedly done by the Pakistani government.
Debbie has been vocally critical of India’s move to abrogate Article 370 in August last year and had written letters to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and India’s High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam raising concern over “additional deployment of 8,000 troops in India occupied Kashmir”.
In Septemeber 2019, Debbie along with several other British Parliamentarians presented the JKSDMI Kashmir Petition in London where its chairman Raja Najabat Hussain was also present. Debbie also met with leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference-Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter who had reportedly asked her to intervene by visiting both sides of Kashmir and stopping the alleged human rights violations of Kashmir in Jammu and Kashmir. Debbie had reputedly assured them her personal support as well as of her group for self-determination of Kashmiris. Hussain had allegedly expressed his gratitude to Debbie for working with the JKSDMI team.
Earlier, Debbie was denied entry to India by the government after her e-visa was cancelled. However, the British MP feigned victimhood over the rejection of her visa, saying she was not allowed to visit India for “standing up for the rights of Kashmiris”. According to the authorities, Debbie was informed of the cancellation of her e-visa well ahead of her journey. “She was informed of the revocation on Friday. The status of her e-visa communicated to her clearly says ‘rejected’. She can apply at the nearest Indian mission or apply online for a regular visa”, said the government officials, as per reports.
Debbie took to Twitter to peddle her victimhood, saying she was surprised and shocked that the Indian government has denied her the visa. Although initially she was claiming that she was deported despite having a valid visa, later she had agreed that her visa was revoked, and questioned why it was done. She had also asked why she was not issued a visa-on-arrival, even though India does not extend this facility to UK citizens. Citizens of only Japan, South Korea and UAE are eligible for visa on arrival in India, all other foreigners must come to India with a prior valid visa.
However, the government sources claim that Debbie’s independent criticism was not the sole reason behind denying her the visa. They stated that the reports from the intel agencies suggesting Debbie operating in cahoots with the ISI posed a serious national security concern to the country and therefore she was denied the visa.
Filmmaker Farah Khan has revealed that she made sure that the villain of her debut film, Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Main Hoon Na’ is not a Muslim character. As reported by Hindustan Times, Khan made the revelation on a podcast ‘Picture Ke Peeche’ by Audible Suno.
The role of antagonist in the film was played by Suniel Shetty who was an ex-Major in the Indian Army named Raghavan Singh Dutta who was court-martialed for killing ‘innocent Pakistanis’ because he believed them to be spies. Not just that, his second-in-command villain, played by actor Murli Sharma was ‘Ex-Captain Khan’ who ‘proves loyalty towards India’. She made the character a Muslim who realises that he was being ‘misled’ and ends up chooses his country over being a terrorist.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to the ‘Hunar Haat’ organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the India Gate lawns of Delhi. PM Modi interacted with artisans from all across India and relished the Bihari dish ‘Litti-Chokha’ with a Kulhad (earthen cup) tea.
Reportedly, PM Modi had headed to Rajpath where the Hunar Haat is being organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs soon after a cabinet meeting. The officials of the Ministry were surprised when they came to know about the PM Modi’s visit.
PM Modi, who was there for 50 minutes, ate Bihari dish Litti-Chokha and paid Rs 120 for it. The dish is popular in Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. He later had tea served in a Kulhad with Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and paid Rs 40 for two cups. The food stalls at ‘Bawarchikhana’ section in the Haat were for a range of traditional dishes from all over India.
PM Modi even tried his at traditional chimes and tweeted, “Trying my hand at some music in #HunarHaat…”
PM Modi also met and appreciated various artists for their exemplary work who had assembled at the Hunar Haat to showcase their talents with traditional handicrafts and textiles. “Efforts such as #HunarHaat have given a platform to many talented individuals. I met some of them earlier this afternoon,” tweeted PM Modi.
Efforts such as #HunarHaat have given a platform to many talented individuals. I met some of them earlier this afternoon… pic.twitter.com/foJzBdRldE
‘Hunar Haat’ is an initiative by the Government to provide employment opportunities as well as promote India’s indigenous traditional legacy, several of which are on the verge of extinction. More than 250 such stalls have been set up at India Gate lawns. Also, more than 50% of the artisans participating were women.
The Hunar Haat is based on the theme of ‘Kaushal Ko Kaam’ and will be held till February 23. Master artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts, a majority of whom are women, from across the country are participating at the Haat.
As per reports, about 3 lakh master artisans, craftsmen & culinary experts have been provided employment and employment opportunities through ‘Hunar Haat’ in the last 3 years. Similar events are being organised across India as part of an effort to empower master artisans.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs had last year announced that over 100 Hunar Haats for promoting traditional arts and crafts will be held in the coming five years. The ministry had stated that Haats will be organised in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Dehradun, Patna, Indore and other places. The first Hunar Haat was organised in Jaipur last year.
Before I went to Europe as a young adult to build my competence, pedigree and career in metropolitan cities like London, Paris, Zurich, Munich and Milan, my first introduction to Parampujaniya Shri Golwalkar Guruji happened at the age of seven. I was first introduced to Guruji during a 5:30 am talk delivered by the Mukhiya Shikshak of my shakha in Bhopal.
Since then, whenever I hear the term Guru, I remember just one person- Shri Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar. For everybody who has directly or indirectly been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Guruji just means him. He was the second sarsangchalak after Doctorji KB Hedgewar and his 33-year long tenure took RSS to great institutional strength, especially after independence. Today is his 114th birthday.
Guruji was born on February 19, 1906 in a small village called Ramtek near Nagpur. He was the only son who survived among the nine children in his family. He earned his MSc degree from Banaras Hindu University where he was influenced by the founder, the great nationalist leader Shri Madan Mohan Malviya. He then went on to teach zoology in BHU, and that is when he earned the name “guruji” from his students who loved and respected him so dearly. Doctorji or Keshav Baliram Hedgewar came to know of Guruji through a student of BHU, and he met Guruji in 1932 and appointed him as the sanghchalak of BHU. In 1936, Guruji went to Sargachi in Bengal in search of spirituality and served Swami Akhandananda of Ramakrishna Math for two years. When he returned, Doctorji convinced him to dedicate his life for the service of the Sangh, and in 1940, Guruji took over as the Sarsanghchalak, at age 34, after Doctorji passed away.
The task at hand for Guruji was huge: First, he had to make RSS a mighty cadre-based organisation panning over the entire country. And secondly, he had to train himself to lead such an organisation. Many objected to him being appointed as he was relatively a new entrant, but Guruji proved his capabilities as a leader through his grit, sheer hard work and perseverance.
The leftists often blame Guruji for sympathising with Hitler. This is a ridiculous attempt by them to paint RSS as a fascist organisation. But this cannot be further away from the truth. It is only through Guruji’s endeavours that Kashmir is now a part of India.
Let’s go down the lanes of history now. The issues in Jammu and Kashmir started the moment the partition was announced. Pakistan eyed Kashmir as a jewel for their crown as it indeed is the “Heaven on Earth”. Due to the tireless efforts of the then Home Minister Sardar Patel, the Iron Man of India and his secretary VP Menon, over 500 princely states were merged into India, but Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to deal with Kashmir himself and instead of solving the issue, he complicated it.
Jinnah was building pressure on the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir to sign the accession with Pakistan. Adding to this was the pressure from Sheikh Abdullah who was supported by Nehru. In fact, the pro-Pakistan movement in Kashmir intensified, and there was a large-scale smuggling of arms into the state to prepare for a rebellion. Even Lord Mountbatten flew to Kashmir and asked Hari Singh to join Pakistan. However, RC Kak, the them Prime Minister of Kashmir asked Hari Singh to remain independent. All this confused Maharaja Hari Singh, and he was in a fix.
So, Maharaja Hari Singh was left with three options,
1. Join Pakistan
2. Join India
3. Remain Independent
Hari Singh was not in favour of joining Pakistan and neither was he in favour of joining India as he had sufficient doubts about the attitude of Nehru who supported Sheikh Abdullah. But he couldn’t remain independent as he feared aggression from Pakistan, and he did not have sufficient security apparatus.
When the efforts of all the leaders failed to convince Hari Singh, Sardar Patel sent an urgent message to Guruji asking for his help to persuade Hari Singh. Guruji left for Srinagar immediately cancelling all his other engagements. It is Guruji who then convinced Hari Singh to accede to India. Following this meeting, Hari Singh sent the accession proposal to Delhi. But, Guruji could sense that this accession would not be easy. So, he directed all RSS workers in Jammu and Kashmir to fight till their last drop of blood for the safety and security of Kashmir. That is Guruji for you!
Guruji would later go on to establish the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh which made the Sangh Parivar broader and more inclusive. He ensured that the core value of all these organisations always remain the same: Unwavering love for our Motherland. Guruji is one of the most influential sarsanghchalaks of all times and has influenced many generations of swayamsevaks, thanks to his ideas, leadership and excellent management skills. Happy Birthday PP Guruji. We remain indebted to you forever!
