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The quest for Bhartiya Asmita and the war against imperialist narrative

windsofchange72
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The quest for Bhartiya Asmita and the war against imperialist narrative

Colonialism doesn’t just happen on land but also on our minds by hijacking our entire mental perspective, history, narrative and identity. Deracination gradually increases the possibility of disunity and chaos. It can also lead to balkanization, states within the state, increasing presence of destructive fifth column and weakening of national identity. A person with healthy self-esteem and a strong sense of self-identity is harder to break or abuse and in a similar vein, one can hypothesize that a nation with a strong national identity is more robust and less vulnerable to external and internal threats.

The imperial narrative and the imperial hegemony are inseparable. For the colonialist hungry for regime changes, it is essential to establish a ‘supremacist’ and ‘saviour’ narrative. Enormous propaganda affecting every sphere of life is done to make people believe that almost all the good things that happen, whether it be science, technology or economy, the mother country (colonizers land) is responsible for it all.

Malcolm Gladwell said “the tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured.” However, this truth is of no importance to the imperialists who have only a singular goal of establishing supremacy. Frantz Fannon mentioned in his famous book ‘The Wretched of the Earth’, that “you’re rich because you’re white and you’re white because you’re rich.” For the Imperialists, all achievements happen in their mother country and that’s why they are the supreme and also because they’re the supreme all achievements happen in their country.

The supremacist narrative requires constant depredation of native values and cultures because the idea that other cultures can and also did contribute historically, threatens their supremacist narrative.

Supremacist narratives are absolutist and hence the native is considered to be progressive only to the degree he fits the mould of Western Progressive values, he becomes intellectual when he graduates from the hallowed premises of top-ranking Western universities and his tastes are considered refined based on the extent to which he is Westernized. Modern in the imperialist context almost always means Westernized. At the same time to further the shtick of ‘prized Western ideas of individualism,’ the Westernized native is allowed to indulge in token displays of affection for his country which ‘prove’ that there is no colonialism at work and that he is genuinely a ‘proud native’. However, these masks come off from time to time and it is in these moments that one can see whether it is a native speaking or a colonized native.

All cultures have flaws and truly progressive people will work on finding unique solutions to their own unique cultural problems. The native attacks his culture and presses for unique reforms however the native realizes that the problem is a part of the culture. This is when the masks come off for the colonized natives. For them CULTURE IS THE PROBLEM and apart from hollow tokenisms which serve as quaint reminders of their native past they want nothing to do with it. Their culture is good to the extent it is validated by the imperialist establishment and the rest must all be done away with if the country or individual ever wishes to progress.

People in the west sign petition after petition to stop the Chinese from eating dogs, obviously, eating dogs isn’t part of Western values and thus it must be frowned at. Hilarious that the self-proclaimed guardians of freedom don’t see the irony in their interfering with other people’s food choices. The same people who frown at the Chinese for eating dogs, very condescendingly mock devout Hindus who abstain from eating beef. This I can live with but when I see colonized Indians mocking their own countrymen and patronizing them with terms like “cowbelt Indians” and “cow urine drinkers”, it does strike a raw nerve. Slowly I realize that they’re not the US.

Recently a politician made a jibe stating that vote for us if you wish to send your kids to Oxford and not Ayodhya. A statement like that speaks volumes about the ongoing war of narratives. That an entire camp of people believes that going to Oxford is somehow antithetical to being a devout Hindu shows again that for them the problem isn’t a part of the culture but the culture is the problem. These same hypocrites are the ones who indulge in tokenisms (like writing ‘I’m a temple-going Hindu’ in their Twitter bio — check Ashok Swain) but expect their entire existence to be validated by Western values.

The more I noticed such internalized racism among the “intellectuals” of India, the more I searched to find answers, only to unearth my own hypocrisy in the past. I remember as kids in school we use to make fun of a particular teacher who spoke English incorrectly and with a peculiar thick accent. To mock in jest is harmless but it wasn’t just jest, there were underlying tones of superiority and a marked condescension in our laughter. In our laughter, we were different from them. No one taught us that condescension, it just happened.

Why do some of us mock people for speaking bad English & derisively call those who speak native languages “vernies” or “ghaati”? When I read Frantz Fannon’s work I noticed a conspicuous similarity to the same internalized racism in Africa where some ridicule those who speak Creole. Some people in India are ashamed of their Indian-ness. Fannon’s said “One avoids Creolisms. Some families completely forbid Creole and mothers ridicule their children for speaking it.” As pointed out increasingly by scientists most of our behaviour is habitual and therefore unthinking. The law of inertia in physics also probably applies to our behaviour and thus till I really questioned this I never could’ve changed my behaviour without deliberate introspection.

I wondered if this sort of internalized racism and colonization of mindsets is restricted to India or widespread. Unsurprisingly I discovered the extent to which colonization plagues people globally and found interesting perspectives which enabled me to understand India through a wider lens.

Given below are some quotes by Thomas Sankara who was a former President of Burkina Faso and Pan-Africanist with strong Marxist leanings. Unlike most pseudo-Marxists in India who are actually just imperialists with brown skin, I discovered that some Marxists can actually be really admirable people and Sankara is definitely one among them.

“The greatest difficulty we have faced is the neocolonial spirit that exists in this country. We were colonized by a country, France that left us with certain habits. For us, being successful in life, being happy, meant trying to live as they do in France, like the richest of the French.” I recently used this quote in one of my articles and with it I added “Suffice to say, India will write it’s own destiny, and not the west”, and almost everyone who read my entire article said that it was this line about India writing it’s own destiny that resonated most with them.

“We have to work at decolonizing our mentality and achieving happiness within the limits of sacrifice we should be willing to make. We have to recondition our people to accept themselves as they are, to not be ashamed of their real situation, to be satisfied with it, to glory in it, even.”

“Comrades, there is no true social revolution until the woman is liberated. May my eyes never see a society where half of the people is maintained under silence. I hear the racket of this silence of women, I suspect the roar of their storm, I feel the fury of their revolt. I wait and hope for the fertile irruption of the revolution for which they will translate the force and rigorous righteousness coming from their oppressed bowels.”

This soulful writing is the not only beautiful but also denotes the truly progressive nature of Sankara, who wished to fix the problems in his culture but didn’t see any reason in succumbing to the trite “Western enlightenment values” narrative. He focused on understanding the roots of gender inequality in his country and worked on feasible solutions. Unlike many so-called social activists in India whose only achievement in life consists of coming on TV and crying hoarse about social evils, Sankara focused on solving problems and his initiatives resulted in doubling of school attendance of females in a short span of 2 years.

Interestingly it was during Sankara’s time the country’s name was changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means “the land of upright men.”

“Homeland or death, we will triumph!” Unlike pseudo-Marxists intellectuals in India who scoff at patriotic Indians and keep writing about the dangers of non-existent jingoism, Sankara was a truly patriotic man. India has some really messed up pseudo-intellectuals. Patriotism in a developed country can be dangerous because it leads to people unwittingly endorsing regime change wars which benefit only the military-industrial complex. For someone to mock patriotism in a country like India which has a historical no-first-use policy shows only how shackled their thinking is. It seems to me for them the world begins and ends with the west.

“Never be ashamed of being Afrikan” Every time I see people call themselves, ‘Unapologetic Hindu’, ‘nationalist Indian’ etc. I know they understand without knowing, the deep import of this statement.

“When the people stand up Imperialism trembles.” After the Pulwama attack, this was clearly visible, in every part of the country crowds gathered to respect our martyred soldiers. On Delhi airport, a group of army men went past a crowd which cheered and clapped for them and chanted patriotic slogans. And we also saw the trembling pseudo-Indian imperialists complaining about the rising jingoism and the dangers of war.

Very rarely do I come across literature that brings an almost tectonic shift in my mental perspective and reading Frantz Fannon’s work was one such experience. Sharing below some of his quotes which help me see India with an unblinkered vision.

“To speak a language is to take on culture.” Little wonder as to why Macaulay passed an Act to make English compulsory in India. It only makes sense that nationalists in India (including me) love to use the ‘Macaulayite’ jibe for the colonized elite.

“The oppressed will always believe the worst about themselves.” This symptom of internalized racism is unbelievably common amongst colonized Indians who waste no time in reminding us natives that Hinduism is casteist, patriarchal, ritualistic, violent etc but don’t ponder even for one minute as to why Hindus worship goddesses and even female saints like Mirabai but we’ve not yet seen a female Pope or Mullah. Critiquing religion is beneficial but it must be done with utmost sincerity like Christopher Hitchens did, without selective bias and based purely on logic and facts. The same people who criticize Hinduism don’t mention that Vedic culture itself teaches that everything must be evaluated in context and the essence of Dharma is eternal but everything else must be interpreted with intelligence and with respect to time, place, country, culture, context etc. They also fail to mention that some of the greatest anti-casteist forces were Indian Brahmin saints like Narsi Mehta, Tulsidās, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura, Srila Prabhupada and so many others. They fail to mention the contribution of Naga Sadhus who fought against British rule in India. Only the worst facets of Indian culture are given utmost publicity. Sometimes it seems the entire establishment has but one job and that is to continuously publish atrocity literature which assaults our culture and undermines our identity. The result of this can be summed up by what Fannon said — “the Negro enslaved by his inferiority, the white man enslaved by his superiority alike behave in accordance with a neurotic orientation.”

“The colonized is elevated above his jungle status in proportion to his adoption of the mother country’s cultural standards.” The colonized elite of India must feel a compulsive need to make Hinduphobic slurs and separate themselves from cow belt Indians, lest they become less Western and more heathen.

Fannon’s thoughts on missionaries preaching in countries with a history of colonialism are astoundingly visionary. “I speak of the Christian religion, and no one need be astonished. The Church in the colonies is the white people’s Church, the foreigner’s Church. She does not call the native to God’s ways but to the ways of the white man, of the master, of the oppressor. And as we know, in this matter many are called but few chosen.”

When I see people critiquing America’s multiple regime change wars, Fannon’s words echo is my ears. “Two centuries ago, a former European colony decided to catch up with Europe. It succeeded so well that the United States of America became a monster, in which the taints, the sickness, and the inhumanity of Europe have grown to appalling dimensions.”

Anand Ranganathan said that the left ‘liberal’ ecosystem in India is more scared of @TrueIndology (Twitter handle that posts about India’s history based on facts and with citations of all information sources) than of BJP or Modi he was very right because by distorting history the colonialists destroy national cultural identity. Fannon wrote “The claim to a national culture in the past does not only rehabilitate that nation and serve as a justification for the hope of a future national culture. In the sphere of psycho-affective equilibrium, it is responsible for an important change in the native. Perhaps we haven’t sufficiently demonstrated that colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic, it turns to the past of the oppressed people and distorts, disfigures, and destroys it. This work of devaluing pre-colonial history takes on a dialectical significance today.” I learned from @JoeAgneya on Twitter about how a Kerala based school of Mathematics discovered the infinite series some 250 years before Newton. Due to my love for Ayurveda, I found out that Sushruta performed nose surgeries 2500 years ago. But these things are never part of mainstream media’s discourse, busy as it is with imperialist agendas.

Ruchir Sharma recently wrote an article (‘The Hypocrisy Of The Indian Elite And The Reactionary Brutality Behind Their Liberal Veneer’ published in Swarjya) about how thoroughly deracinated Indian elite is, therefore, they identify with a Westernized Idea of India but not India itself. Fannon explains this beautifully. “(Educated blacks) Society refuses to consider them genuine Negroes. The Negro is a savage, whereas the student is civilized. “You’re us,” and if anyone thinks you are a Negro he is mistaken because you merely look like one.”

In the end, I’d like to conclude with my favourite quote by Fannon —

“Imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land but from our minds as well.” It is precisely these germs that I intend to clinically detect and remove firstly from my mind and then from my country. And when not just I but all of us successfully do so, I am certain that India will write it’s own destiny and not the West.

10 things Narendra Modi needs to do in his second term to reaffirm his support among the electorate

K Bhattacharjee
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10 things Narendra Modi needs to do in his second term to reaffirm his support among the electorate

Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi in 1971 to return to power with an absolute majority in the Parliament for his party for two consecutive terms. As many political commentators have pointed out, it reflects a profound cultural change in the country.

With such a resounding mandate comes great expectations. And there’s a dedicated group of people on the ground who expect definite actions from the party on certain fronts now that it has secured a second term in power with an even greater majority.

While these supporters waited for two years before criticizing Narendra Modi for lack of action on the Hindutva front, they appear to have started a bit early this time around as criticism has started flowing in even before the Narendra Modi has taken oath as Prime Minister. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the BJP delivers on certain core fronts to prevent disenchantment among the ideological electorate.

Here is a list of 10 things the BJP must deliver on in its second term:

1. Constitutional Protection for Hindu Traditions

In light of the attempted desecration of the Sabarimala with Judicial sanction, the BJP in its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections promised to ensure that such traditions are constitutionally protected.

Not just Sabarimala, various Hindu festivals have been curtailed and threatened by the Judiciary as well. Therefore, especially considering the fact that it’s a promise made in their manifesto, the BJP must enact a law to protect Hindus traditions and festivals from attacks through the Judicial route.

2. Judicial Reforms

In recent times, the Judiciary has become a tyrannical institution that is invading territories which ought not to be its concern. As the Parliament was weakened considerably by coalition politics, the Judiciary used the circumstances to expand their own powers. In recent times, they have been running amok, bringing the country on the brink of a Judicial Tyranny.

Thus, now that power appears to be secured for the BJP for a significant period of time, it ought to tame the beast that the Judiciary has turned itself into. The Collegium has become a means for institutionalized corruption that has no constitutional mandate whatsoever apart from the ones created by the Judiciary itself. As a consequence, it has led to dynasties in the institution which must be brought down for constitutional principles to prevail.

Moreover, certain Justices appear to have taken upon themselves the mantle of prophets tasked with the responsibility of deciphering the message of the lord from the pages of the Constitution. Of course, most often, it’s only their own personal ideologies that they project onto the Constitution to bring about social changes which they believe is the mandate of the lord.

The Parliament must remind the Judges that it’s not their job to bring about social reforms and must assert its authority. For far too long, the Parliament has only ceded space as the Judiciary has continued to accumulate more and more power for itself. While the BJP has displayed the willingness to take on the monster in its first term, it must take things to its logical conclusion in the second.

3. Articles 370 and 35A

Repeal of Article 370 has long been a manifesto promise of the BJP. While it could be argued that it did not have the political power necessary to fulfil its promise all these years, the argument now no longer holds.

The settlement of the Kashmir problem, among others, could very well prove to be the lasting legacy of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. He does have the will of the people behind to force such a move. While much resistance can be expected from the radical elements in Kashmir, Narendra Modi during his first tenure displayed the inclination to overrule such protests.

The return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley, too, ought to be coupled with the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A. If Narendra Modi does not deliver in this regard now, it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of a lot of people.

4. NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Bill

The BJP risked major electoral loss in the North East with its commitment towards the CAB. However, the results have proved that such concerns were misguided. The last time the Bill was tabled, it relapsed in the Rajya Sabha. With the BJP expecting to secure a majority in the Rajya Sabha sometime in 2020, it is of great importance that the Bill, which gives persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries a path to automatic citizenship in the country, is enacted into law.

The NRC, too, has kept the North-Eastern states on a boil for quite some time. It has been a longstanding demand of Assam for the peaceful resolution of the matter. The BJP displayed great commitment towards it in its first term and in it’s second, things must be taken to their logical conclusion.

These are manifesto promises which must be delivered to reaffirm people’s faith in Narendra Modi’s leadership.

5. Deportation of Rohingyas

Throughout its first term, the BJP has maintained that Rohingyas are a security threat to the country. Some of them were even deported from where they came. That has been the official stand of the BJP, that the Rohingyas must be sent back to Myanmar.

India cannot bear the burden of the more demographic shift. It will lead to further chaos and might even spark a civil war in the country. The social stability of our country cannot be sacrificed for radical groups whose members are known to slaughter Hindus. Therefore, in the second term of the NDA government, the process ought to be quickened.

6. Bhavya Ram Mandir at Ayodhya

The Ram Janambhoomi debate has been going on for far too long. It has been on the BJP’s manifesto for far too long as well. With the mandate that Uttar Pradesh has given them in the Assembly Elections and again in the Lok Sabha Elections, it is of paramount importance that the matter is resolved once and for all in the next five years.

For a New India to emerge, it must make peace with the ghosts of its past. Only the construction of the Ram Mandir will see to that. It will also be the final coffin in the nail of secularism in this country.

7. Education Policy

For the entirety of its first term, the NDA government put the matter of new education policy in the back burner. This time around, there are great expectations that the foundations for an India-centric education will be laid. It is no great secret that the education syllabus is still littered with Marxist distortions. New India must do away with the baggage of the current education policy.

Higher Education needs some serious reform as well. Research in STEM fields and advanced technology needs to be given a boost. Social Science subjects need to accommodate Indic principles rather than apply Western philosophies mindlessly to the India context.

There are great expectations regarding the new education policy from the Modi government. And it is of great necessity that he delivers on it in his second term.

8.  ‘Lock Them Up!’

Narendra Modi and other leaders of the BJP have spoken a great deal of the alleged scams perpetrated by senior leaders of the Congress party. There are numerous cases currently ongoing against politicians from the top echelons of the Congress.

The mother-son duo of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are currently out on bail. Chidambaram and his son are accused in multiple cases. Robert Vadra is facing heat from various investigative agencies as well. Ahmed Patel is on the spotlight too.

Thus, there must be closure in at least some of these cases with the guilty party ending up in jail. If the corrupt do end up in prison, it will be a great boost to Narendra Modi’s credibility as a leader.

9. The RTE Act

Much has been spoken of the 93rd Amendment that discriminates against Hindu-run private schools and makes them unable to compete effectively with minority-run institutions. It has led to the closure of a great many Hindu-run schools that has translated into them ceding ground to minorities in this regard.

The inaction on this particular issue riled up a significant section of the BJP support base on social media. While it does not find any space in BJP’s manifesto, the discriminatory needs to be repealed by the BJP in its second term to assuage its own voter-base.

10. Government Control of Hindu Temples

Another issue that has great support among a certain niche of BJP supporters is the matter of government control of Hindu Temples. It is certainly one of the most evocative ones. The continued control of Hindu Temples by the Secular State has led to immense corruption, theft of antique idols and Temple Wealth and the loss of Temple land by illegal occupation.

On certain occasions, the HRCE department has even interfered with the ritual practices of Hindu Temples. There have been instances when non-Hindus have been appointed to the department to manage the affairs of Hindu Temples. It’s a grave insult to the faith of millions and millions of Hindus. There have also been reports of Temple money being used for secular purposes and objectives other than the preservation and propagation of the Hindu Faith.

Moreover, it’s only Hindu religious institutions that are managed by the secular state. A secular state by its very definition has no business running religious institutions. Prime Minister Modi claimed that 2019 Elections marked the end of secularism as we know it. However, secularism can be said to have died for certain only when the numerous discriminatory laws against Hindus have been repealed. Therefore, the Prime Minister is expected to carry through on his own words.

Here are the false, convoluted media narratives that were peddled in 2019 and failed miserably

Ullas
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Here are the false, convoluted media narratives that were peddled in 2019 and failed miserably

If one is following mainstream electronic news media, it would be surprising to see many anchors behaving as consultants to the Congress party than journalists. The shock of the mandate to PM Modi is evident in their shows. These liberal news anchors have taken it upon themselves to ensure Rahul Gandhi gets all the advice he can to “come of age”.

This free consultancy is not surprising considering that they tried all they could to ensure Modi does not get a second term. These very journalists were lamenting that the media is being favourable to the incumbent government and the opposition is not being given a fair treatment. Here we try to dismantle this claim. Here is the false narrative the media thrust upon people during the election season.

People unhappy about the “Ujjwala” scheme

It was evident that the Ujjwala scheme was a key driver in ensuring BJP’s win in UP assembly elections. So, the media tried to discredit this scheme right from the outset. There could have been some logistical issues, which is normal in any scheme. However, to paint the entire scheme as being a failure was beyond the pale. They even cooked up a reason that the cost of the subsidized cylinder itself was so high that women returned to cooking using their traditional ways like wood or kerosene.

The way in which women in general and women in UP, in particular, voted in favour of BJP was a clear indication that these stories were just that – stories.

Raj Thackeray will ensure BJP’s decimation in Maharashtra

The liberal intelligentsia even tried to take Raj Thackeray’s refuge in trying to defeat BJP. Apparently, his speeches were so well received that his team found it difficult to accommodate requests for rallies that pour in every day. Marathi channel showed his speeches live – well, entertainment channels also need higher TRPs. There was no basis for their sudden support to the man who, according to them, is instrumental in creating the cultural divide between Maharashtra and UP/Bihar.

This despite Raj Thackeray – not once in his speeches did he ask people to vote for Rahul Gandhi nor did he field any candidate in the state.

 

UP happy with Modi, but angry with Yogi

During the course of the long election season, some people in media may have realized that there is indeed an undercurrent and this undercurrent is in favour of PM Modi. Now, they had to find a way to ensure that this message does not percolate to the people. So, they came up with a new theory – Modi is still popular in UP, but they are increasingly angry with Yogi”. And what did they blame Yogi for – cattle menace and farmer unrest? Assuming that the election results had some verdict on Yogi’s administration too – this theory also falls flat.

One can safely guess that this theory was primarily floated to ensure Priyanka Gandhi gets a favourable field when she begins her campaign for UP assembly in 2022. After all, she herself has said that her focus is for that election and not the 2019 general elections. This very media is in for another surprise in UP in 2022.

Priyanka Gandhi is the Brahmastra for Congress

The entire media world experienced professional orgasms when it was announced that Priyanka Gandhi was going to join active politics. Many began to write how this could be last missing trick that could ensure Modi and BJP would be decimated in UP. Well…

When the media resorted to comparing Priyanka’s nose to Indira’s – the writing was already on the wall. Even when Priyanka resorts to gimmicks like wearing sarees during the election season, it was not this Priyanka – but another Priyanka’s (Chopra) wardrobe that made more news is a testament to her abysmal failure in this campaign.

Election Commission is in bed with the BJP

All one needs to ask is does M K Stalin agree? Does Capt Amarinder Singh agree? Does Naveen Patnaik agree? Hell…does Rahul Gandhi of Wayanad agree?

They even wrote Editorials that EC is complicit in its silence.

The funniest argument was that EC did not chide PM Modi, despite numerous complaints against him. Do these Editors imply that quantum of complaints is the yardstick for action?

Even the former President Pranab Mukherjee praised the EC for running a perfect election. Post counting, the tallying of VVPAT did not reveal one discrepancy. Enough said.

Chandrababu Naidu meeting leaders to give finishing touches to the coalition

Subtleties are not lost here. He was made the joker run around to give the impression to people, that Mahagathbandhan is indeed winning – to show how much traction the alliance is getting. The results have clearly shown that he may have done his job as a traveller quite well – but, did miserably as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Hardik Patel is the next big thing in Gujarat after Dhokla

For a novice news consumer, Hardik Patel would have been the biggest political export from Gujarat after Mohandas Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. His contesting elections was in itself a big question mark. But when has reasoning been the strength of liberal media? Not only did Congress not win a single seat in Gujarat, BJP gained more than 50% votes in the state.

Alpesh Thakor will ensure BJP downfall in Gujarat

Just before the Gujarat assembly elections, we were fed that Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mavani and Alpesh Thakor were the “Trimurtis” to ensure BJP’s downfall. Alpesh Thakor continued to be the liberal darling, till he decided to quit Congress. There were rumours of him joining BJP. But, BJP may have decided that he needs to atone for his sins before he is given a formal entry into the party. Till then, he is a “dhobi ka…”.

Rift in BJP

Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Arun Shourie were all stale. They had done their acts. Enter a new player – Udit Raj. The advantage was that he is a Dalit too. So, him not given the ticket to contest in Delhi, was the ammunition media needed. Rahul Gandhi has shown his expertise in taking discarded politicians under his wings. No sooner did Udit Raj join Congress, than he started behaving like another BJP discard Navjot Siddhu.

The NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Bill will backfire

Northeast was one of the brightest spots for BJP. However, the media – more than the opposition – would ensure it would not be a cakewalk. The NRC and the Citizenship amendment bill were supposed to be the Waterloo for the NDA in the region. Not only the minorities but even others were also supposedly against its implementation. There may be some truth to this regarding the implementation. However, in many instances before the campaign season, Modi and Rajnath Singh had reassured people, that there would not be any indiscriminate implementation. Thus, the Eastern divide was finally broken by the BJP.

Rahul as PM of South India

Apparently, Rahul decided to contest from Wayanad, because Modi and BJP do not treat South India well – “South feels hostility from Modi”. Media joined the chorus. The loudest in the chorus – Rajdeep Sardesai even claimed that the North-South divide is so deep that Rahul Gandhi has a chance to become the Prime Minister of the Republic of South India. Whether it was said sarcastically or in truth, is anybody’s guess.

But the election results clearly showed that BJP emerged as the largest party with 30 seats in South India – followed by YSRCP, DMK and Congress. So much for BJP’s neglect of South India…!

Kanhaiya/Prakash Raj/AAP

How much coverage does AAP continue to get? Just for contesting in 7 seats in Delhi, where it is ruling. It manages to lose deposits in some of the seats. Yes – we know that Bhagwant Mann won in Punjab. Today he has more leverage in national politics than the darling Arvind Kejriwal.

As mentioned earlier, the media continuously also lamented that BJP was given wider coverage. One needs to just look at the evidence: Kanhaiya contesting from one seat and Prakash Raj contesting from one seat get more national coverage than YSRCP – that swept Andhra Pradesh. It is a different story that both of them lost – with Prakash Raj losing his deposit too. As an intellectual once said: “Kuch Bhi…?!”

It is quite evident that the media needs to introspect its behaviour, especially in its criticism of Modi and his government. Having said that, one tweet always comes back to me (by @dhaval241086):

In 2014, Modi stream rolled the opposition, because they were dead on arrival. He won 282 seats. In 2019, opposition and media had more ammunition to attack him. He wins 303 seats.

Gujarat categorically and vehemently rejects Congress second time in a row in Lok Sabha elections. Here is why

Aarti
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Gujarat categorically and vehemently rejects Congress second time in a row in Lok Sabha elections. Here is why

2019 Lok Sabha elections have concluded and TsuNaMo has swept over the country and Gujarat has given all 26 seats to their sons. The state did not let down the sons Prime Minister Modi and BJP President and now Gujarat MP Amit Shah.

When it comes to Gujarat things are different compared to other Hindi heartland states. It is Narendra Modi’s janmabhumi and karmabhumi. It’s here that he began his successful journey as an able administrator and made Gujarat a truly global state.

Gujarat state continues to repose its faith in BJP, Congress heavyweights lose

Congress party’s dream to revive its performance in Gujarat especially after seeing a bit of improvement in Gujarat state election 2017 didn’t materialise. It lost all 26 seats and failed to translate its state election performance into 2019 Lok Sabha votes for many reasons.

To begin with, the total voting turnaround for the state locked at 64.11%. Congress party’s heavy-weights, Paresh Dhanani from Amreli lost to BJP’s Naranbhai kachhadia in Amreli, Bharat Sinh Solanki former state party president from Anand lost to BJP’s Mitesh Patel.

Miffed by the poor performance state party president Amit Chavda, Hardik Patel, Siddharth Patel and Arjun Modhawadiya even contemplated of challenging Anand constituency’s results. However, if there’s anything that Congress party should be challenging right now is party’s way of working.

Another seat that held people’s interest from the start was Gandhinagar seat. After L K Advani announced not to contest, Amit Shah decided to contest from Gandhinagar. It was a landslide victory for him with more than 4.5 lakhs votes in Gandhinagar. In Rajkot BJP candidate Mohan Kundariya won with more than 3.5 lakhs vote against Congress’s Lalit Kagathara. BJP’s Darshana Vikram Jardosh from Surat, Rathva Gitaben Vajesingbhai from Chhota Udaipur, Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam from Jamnagar, Hasmukhbhai Patel from Ahmedabad East, Dr. Kirit Solanki from Ahmedabad West, Ranjan Bhatt from Vadodara all recorded a landslide victory.

Congress party’s myopic views on the state

Gujarat state assembly election 2017 was different from other state elections. It was for the first time in last fifteen years that BJP was fighting state election without Narendra Modi as the Chief Minister.

There was a rise of the local youth politicians in Jignesh Mevani, Alpesh Thakore (who later contested from Congress ticket) and Patidar leader Hardik Patel (who recently joined Congress. The BJP government in the state was facing over two decades of anti-incumbency where an entire generation had never seen a non-BJP government in the state.

The state’s entrepreneurial spirit was a faced with a change of acceptance with GST and demonetisation. It wasn’t anti-incumbency of over 20 years that was a cause of worry for BJP but the absence of an able administrator like Narendra Modi. These factors may have helped congress party but to interpret this as the state is warming up to Congress is debatable. The friction in congress party’s state leadership is known to all. Their leadership in the state was best displayed in their rifts and personal interest. Congress party in Gujarat from last fifteen years has even failed to come up as a strong opposition party.

National interest over state issues

Gujarat is a peace-loving state known for its inimitable entrepreneurial spirit. At all given times it wants peace and harmony in the state to prevail. Security and stability comes first and when it comes to national security state’s choice remains unquestionable.

They trust Narendra Modi that he will protect people’s interest and guard the nation. When Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps was destroyed people cheered for him. People chose to go with the national interest over the issues picked up during state election also because the intent of the local leaders was now known.

People could see through the young faces interest and what they were trying to achieve by joining hands with congress. It comes as no surprise that most patidars in the state care zilch about reservation and most of them have given up on Hardik Patel, especially after he joined Congress. People of the state are disenchanted with local young leaders after their intent came out clear.

It is also interesting to note how Congress party’s both campaigns, Vikas gando thayo che – vikas has gone mad (used in state assembly elections) and Chowkidar chor hai (Lok Sabha elections) gave BJP their two campaigns that echoed the pride of Gujarat (Hun Chu Vikas) and (Mein bhi Chowkidar Hoon).

To sum up, the people of the state have reposed their faith in BJP and national interest and security remains the top priority for the people of Gujarat. And, when it comes to protecting their interest who better than Narendra Modi, who they know, love and believe in.

‘Clouds prevent radar from detecting accurately’, after Army Chief, now Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar defends PM Modi’s Radar remark

OpIndia Staff
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‘Clouds prevent radar from detecting accurately’, after Army Chief, now Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar defends PM Modi’s Radar remark

Today a top Air Force official came forward to defend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments about clouds affecting the efficiency of radars. During an interview with a TV channel on 11th May, PM Modi said that on the day Indian Air Force conducted the air strike on terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan, it was a rainy weather. While deliberating on whether to go ahead with the strike in such weather, Modi had said the weather may beneficial for Indian Air Force jets as the clouds may disrupt the radar of Pakistan.

This comment by Modi was widely mocked by so-called intellectuals, left-liberal commentators and opposition parties. It was asserted that radar signals are not affected by weather, and PM was displaying his ignorance about this technical aspect. But after that several people with knowledge about the field had clarified that Modi was absolutely right, and radar signals are in fact disrupted by cloud.

Now Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, the Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command, has said that it is true that strong clouds can prevent radar from detecting aircraft accurately. He said, “That is true up to some effect that very strong clouds and very strong convective conditions in clouds prevent the radar from detecting very accurately”, while speaking to news agency ANI.

The Air Marshal was responding to a question on remarks made by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat who had defended Modi’s comment in this matter yesterday. The General had said, “there are various kinds of radars working with different technologies. Some have the capacity to see through, some don’t have the capacity to see through. Some kinds of radar cannot see through clouds because of the manner in which it is operating. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can’t.” The Army chief had made the comment while talking to media in Kerala on 26th May. He had added that the Balakot air strike was conducted to ensure that terrorists being trained across the border do not survive to carry out action against India.

On February 26th, Mirage 2000 fighter jets of Indian Air Force had entered Pakistan and bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp located at Balakot. It was done after the terror attack on a CRPF convoy at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on 14th February, which was conducted by a Jaish suicide bomber.

More humiliation for Congress: Salman Khurshid, Raj Babbar amongst those who lost their deposits as only Sonia Gandhi wins in UP

OpIndia Staff
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More humiliation for Congress: Salman Khurshid, Raj Babbar amongst those who lost their deposits as only Sonia Gandhi wins in UP

The humiliation for the grand old party just does not seem to end. 21 out of the 22 candidates who fought the elections on Congress ticket in Western UP lost their deposits. As per the Election Commission, any candidate who fails to secure 1/6th of the total votes polled (around 16.67%), loses the deposit of Rs 25,000.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Raj Babbar and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid lost their deposits. The only candidate in western Uttar Pradesh who managed to save his deposit was the Imran Masood, who once wanted to ‘chop Modi into pieces‘.

Congress candidates from Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras, Bareilly, Badaun, Aonla, Shahjahanpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Gautam Budh Nagar, Moradabad, Sambhal, Bijnor, Nagina, Amroha Rampur and Kairana have all lost their deposits. Congress-backed candidates who fought on Pilibhit and Etah seats also lost their deposits.

Congress candidates lost their deposits even in Prayagraj and Phulpur constituencies. Phulpur was first represented in the parliament by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Rahul Gandhi’s great grandfather. His great-grandaunt, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, too held on to Phulpur seat after Nehru’s death. In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, except for former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, every other Congress candidate has lost.

Prayagraj seat, which was once represented by film actor Amitabh Bachchan, a close friend of Rahul Gandhi’s father Rajiv Gandhi, was also lost by Congress. Bachchan had won Allahabad seat after defeating former UP chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna. Twenty-five years later, his daughter won it back for the BJP.

Earlier we had reported how the Congress had emerged as a ‘vote cutter‘ party in Uttar Pradesh, which was once considered to be its stronghold. In as many as 9 seats in UP, the victory margin was less than the votes won by Congress and its allies.

Amusingly, Congress in-charge for Uttar Pradesh West, Jyotiraditya Scindia, too lost his seat in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna.

Congress has made grave mistake in not showing Rahul Gandhi the door

Ashish Shukla
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Congress has made grave mistake in not showing Rahul Gandhi the door

Congress has made a big mistake by trying to swim ashore for 2024 on the shoulders of Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi stays as Congress president when his party lost 170 out of 180 seats it was in a direct contest against the BJP in 2019 General Elections.

In the Hindi heartland where it has state governments, it bagged none in Rajasthan, one in Madhya Pradesh and two in Chattisgarh.

Flushed down the drain in 18 states.

Most of its biggies—Jyotiraditya Scindia, Salman Khurshid, Shiela Dikshit, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Harish Rawat, Digvijay Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Veerappan Moily, Mallikarjun Kharge—cast aside like garbage. Salman Khurshid, Raj Babbar and others in Uttar Pradesh even lost their deposit.

Even Gandhi himself locked out of doors of Amethi.

On Saturday, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) prostrated at the feet of Rahul Gandhi and vowed rather the dust gathers over them than Gandhi scion walk s out of the room. A.K. Antony didn’t “agree that it was a disastrous performance! P. Chidambaram became emotional that his Tamil Nadu and South, in general, could feel betrayed; and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who history would remember less as an economist and more as a sycophant, urged Gandhi not to make a hasty decision.

Today, you ask people of India, even those within the Congress fold, and 9 out of 10 would say Rahul Gandhi must go. We don’t even need to bother—the 2019 verdict says it. Only 54 lakh votes in Uttar Pradesh which Gandhis call their home, say it (damn, they couldn’t beat even Apna Dal). Allies like Jignesh Mewani and Chandrashekhar Azad and not Mamata, Akhilesh or Mayawati say it. But the CWC is the presiding deity. They alone can blow the conch. They alone distribute the Prasada (prayer-sweets).

Think about it. Why would Rahul Gandhi and all the President’s Men (read CWC) act as a coterie? Quite a few of them have been defence, finance or home ministers of this country. They know they are an object of derision in the country. Know that the party is on reed sticks in the high tide of times. Know that it’s on way to becoming irrelevant in Indian politics. Why then stick to the man who symbolizes everything which is bad for the Congress?

The answer is simple. Survival. Not of the Congress or the Country but self. Quite a few are on bail. Sons and sons-in-law are a call away from lockups. Together they could at least be heard. The Congress ecosystem would at least give them space in compromised Lutyens Media. Without Rahul or Priyanka or Sonia, who do you think would reserve front page for Anand Sharma or Ghulam Nabi Azad? How would P. Chidambaram have his column in Indian Express? Who would hear to their swagger on “saving democracy” or “freedom of speech”? Where would they find favourable judges or bureaucrats? Who would rustle up mombati-gangs or award-vapsi brigade?

Let’s look at the CWC composition. It has 25 members, three being Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul himself. Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni etc are hardly credible. You wouldn’t have heard of Avinash Pande or Dipak Babaria. Have you? Ok so what about Gaikhangam or Tamradhwaj Sahu? Congress could call it CWC, India views it as rubber-stamp.

The only people rejoicing in Rahul Gandhi staying put must be Lutyens Media. They need Gandhis for survival. Some of you would jump on the names of Shekhar Gupta or Sagarika Ghose; Rajdeep Sardesai or Barkha Dutt; Ravish Kumar or Vir Sanghvi etc. But singling them out is unfair. It’s the ecosystem, the filth which breeds fleas, pests and cockroaches.

That’s why I feel we would only get more of 2014-2019 in the next five years. A floating Rahul Gandhi is good for the bugs. Be prepared to read the same muck in your newspapers. As long as you buy the newspaper which has Rahul Gandhi on its front page every day, this fraud would survive. When you call them out, Rahul Gandhi would lose his spell over his men. India can then attend to its business.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s myopic excuse for loss: Rahul was left alone, other leaders didn’t chant ‘chowkidar chor hai’ enough

K Bhattacharjee
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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s myopic excuse for loss: Rahul was left alone, other leaders didn’t chant ‘chowkidar chor hai’ enough

In the aftermath of the 2019 Lok Sabha Election results, not much has changed within the Congress party. In a series of events that appears to have become the norm in the party, party president Rahul Gandhi offered to resign from his post, however, all the senior leaders rejected his resignations.

Scam accused P Chidambaram, even claimed that party workers from the South will commit suicide if Rahul Gandhi resigns from the post. The Congress President, on the other hand, blamed senior leaders such as Gehlot, Kamal Nath and Chidambaram for prioritizing their sons over the party.

Priyanka Vadra, too, shared similar sentiments. According to a report by Hindustan Times, the Congress President’s sister believes her brother was left alone to fend off for himself. She also appears to believe that the reason the party suffered such a disastrous loss is that other senior leaders did not chant ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ with enough conviction.

“Where were you when my brother was fighting all by himself and alone?” Priyanka is reported to have said. She said further, “No one supported Congress President in taking forward the narrative of Rafale and ‘chowkidar chor hai’.”

Priyanka appears to be accusing the senior leaders of the party of undermining the leadership of her brother by not backing him up. The success rate of Rahul Gandhi’s rallies was indeed woeful, to say the least. He held 124 rallies in 115 constituencies, the Congress party won a mere 19 of those seats.

Source: India Today

The success rate of Priyanka’s own rallies, the great game-changer according to the Lutyens Club, was even worse. She campaigned in 38 constituencies, her party lost in 36 of them. The only two seats where Congress did win was Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi’s constituency, and Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi’s constituency. Therefore, apart from the extremely safe seats, the Congress party lost every constituency where Priyanka Gandhi campaigned.

Source: India Today

One can attribute the pitiable performance of the Congress party where the Nehru-Gandhi parivar campaigned to a myriad of factors. However, both Rahul Gandhi and his sister appear to believe that they were hard done by the senior leadership of their own party.

One wonders at this point if the siblings suspect deliberate sabotage. While the Congress President directly accused the senior leaders of prioritizing their own sons over the affairs of the party, his sister claimed that her brother was left alone to fight the BJP on his own.

It does reveal the lack of authority Rahul Gandhi has over his own party. It is a sad reflection of his utter inability to take control of affairs. It also reveals that Rahul Gandhi and his sibling do not command the same degree of respect and obedience from senior leaders like their mother used to command.

In any military, the Commander has to earn the loyalty of his soldiers on his own merit. The same is the case in political parties. BJP President Amit Shah has earned the trust and respect of the cadres of his party by proving it to them that his strategies and plans work on the ground. Rahul Gandhi cannot boast of such a feat. Hereditary privilege can earn one a position of power but it can’t help one secure the loyalty and trust of his followers. That has to be earned by his own merit.

It appears clear that the senior leaders of Congress do not trust the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Under such circumstances, his continued hold over the reigns of the party seems tenuous. The only reason he continues to be party president is that there appears to be a consensus that only a Nehru-Gandhi could hold the party together. Only when the consensus no longer has any legitimacy will there be a change of leadership at the head of the party.

Love Jihad in Meerut: Minor Hindu girl forcefully converted to Islam and married off, police arrests three accused

OpIndia Staff
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Love Jihad in Meerut: Minor Hindu girl forcefully converted to Islam and married off, police arrests three accused

A minor Hindu girl residing in Brahmpuri area, Meerut Uttar Pradesh, who was abducted a fortnight back had been forcibly converted and married thereafter, reports Patrika.

As per the report, the minor girl Lata (name changed), daughter of a businessman, after being abducted was taken to Deoband, where she was forcibly converted and then to Prayagraj, where she was later married off.

The Uttar Pradesh police recovered Lata from Prayagraj on Saturday. They have also arrested the accused along with two others involved in the crime. Fearing that the incident might take a communal angle the Uttar Pradesh police had swiftly taken up the case as soon as Lata’s family lodged a missing complaint. Before apprehending the accused the police had already arrested 15 people related to the case.

However, after the incident came to light communal tension prevailed in Brahmpuri area in Meerut.

The incident surfaced when Lata went missing from her house on 4th May 2019. The police who were in the hunt for the youth and the missing girl recovered her from a hotel room in Prayagraj where she was kept forcefully. The police arrested the youth along with his brother and brother-in-law. Fearing arrest, the youth was preparing to file for an anticipatory bail in Uttar Pradesh High court, but before he could, the police apprehended him.

According to SSP Nitin Tiwari, Lata confirmed that she was first taken to Deoband where she was forced to convert and then to Prayagraj where she was married. After this, she was sometimes kept in Hyderabad and sometimes in Mumbai. In-between she was also confined to a hotel in Chandigarh, confirmed Lata.

Since the girl belonged to the Hindu community, many Hindu organisations and Lata’s relatives protested outside the Brahmpuri police station. Communal tensions prevailed in the area, confirmed SSP.

Though rampant conversions in the recent past have been one of the prime reasons, Uttar Pradesh has also witnessed several incidences of communal disorder for a host of various trivial reasons.

Recently in another incidence, communal tension had erupted in Meerut after a video showing Muslim men beating up shopkeepers went viral.

Dear Gautam Gambhir, just like in cricket, in politics, timing is everything

Editorial Desk
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Dear Gautam Gambhir, just like in cricket, in politics, timing is everything

Prime Minister Narendra Modi came back to power with a thumping, blinding majority begging 303 seats. And as soon as the verdict was out, the usual suspects started their blinding fear mongering. The ‘Minorities under threat’ narrative as a sweeping generalisation was back.


This narrative is not new. Since Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, minorities, as a general class of people, have been under constant “threat”. Just to further the narrative, several false cases were also reported, with the media firmly an active participant is furthering the narrative.

Just recently, India Times turned a simple case of road rage into an anti-Muslim hate crime.  The journalist reported that one Dr Narul was told that Muslims should leave India. It was not true. After an OpIndia fact-check, the headline and the story was changed by India Times.

On April 2, a law student named Umam Khanam had started a controversy after she had alleged that she was harassed by fellow students for being a Muslim during a college trip. That turned out to be false. In fact, fellow students described Umam as a Muslim fanatic with hate in her heart. 

In 2016, Barun Kashyap, a creative director with a production house, had made headlines when he claimed that he was abused and threatened by some gau-rakshaks (cow protectors) after they mistook his bag as made of cow leather. This was a lie. He admitted that he made up this story because he hated Hindus. 

One can imagine why most people while condemning violence, don’t endorse the “minorities under threat” narrative. Just like the “Muslims under attack” narrative, the “Church attack” narrative was also a farce.

This line of propaganda that has been going on for over a decade, has raised its ugly head yet again after PM Modi, despite the best efforts of the Congress ecosystem was re-elected recently. The minority fear mongering started yet again.

Amidst this, news surfaced that a Muslim man was beaten up and made to allegedly chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ in Gurugram. The incident inspired widespread outrage, as it should have. The violence of any kind must be condemned unequivocally.

Gautam Gambhir, BJP’s winning candidate from East Delhi took to Twitter to condemn the incident too.

He tweeted, “In Gurugram Muslim man told to remove skullcap,chant Jai Shri Ram”.
It is deplorable. Exemplary action needed by Gurugram authorities. We are a secular nation where @Javedakhtarjadu writes “ओ पालन हारे, निर्गुण और न्यारे” & @RakeyshOmMehra gave us d song “अर्ज़ियाँ” in Delhi 6.


This tweet by Gambhir inspired widespread outrage from several quarters. While he was simply condemning a deplorable incident of violence and nobody should fault him for that, one must understand why Gambhir’s tweet did not go down well with several people who have been fighting the vilification of Hindus as violent, anti-Muslim “terrorists”.

Recently, several incidents of violence, even murders have been reported where BJP workers and leaders have lost their lives. After the people delivered their mandate, Smriti Irani’s close aide was brutally murdered in Amethi, a constituency where Smriti Irani defeated Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi in his own bastion.

BJP workers were also killed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh (where Congress is in power as the state government), and Barrackpore, West Bengal (where ruling TMC regularly indulges in political violence).

Let us move away from political violence, because the incident mentioned by Gambhir was not political in nature, as such. The Gurugram man Gambhir mentioned was beaten up, deplorably so. Just hours ago, three Muslim men shot dead children of the hosts because they were not invited for an Iftaar party.

Recently in another incidence, communal tension had erupted in Meerut after a video showing Muslim men beating up shopkeepers went viral.

There are several “hate trackers” which are dedicated to peddling the same agenda that Gambhir, unknowingly and in good conscience perhaps, peddled with his tweet. They further the ‘Muslims under attack” narrative while being extremely biased.

Abhishek Banerjee, a columnist with OpIndia, had written about how IndiaSpend have regularly indulged in peddling this narrative. They had earlier filed a report how 87 people had died in cow-related violence since 2010, of which 97% of the crimes happened after Modi came to power.

We had earlier reported how Hindustan Times had also launched a biased ‘hate tracker’ which had similar biased reporting and factual flaws. IndiaSpend’s ‘fact-checker’ website also launched a ‘tracker’ which tried to track ‘cow-related’ crimes‘. That data was also equally flawed and biased.

One Babu Khan was beaten up in a mosque for participating in the Kanwar Yatra. But it was not included in ‘hate tracker’ because the religion of the victim as well as perpetrators is Muslim. However, when a Dalit man was allegedly slapped and harassed for converting to Islam by Hindus, it is still a hate crime.

In January 2018, the severed head of one Palakuri Ramesh Goud was found on a flagpost near a mosque, in an area thickly populated by Muslims. His body was traced about a kilometre away. This does not get included in the ‘hate tracker’ because ‘police did not find any communal angle to crime’. However, when Junaid was killed over seat dispute in a train, it gets included in ‘hate crime’ despite the fact that the court had given a verdict that it was not a hate crime.

What does it say when a person of substantial standing like Gambhir tweets about one stray incident to further the “secularism under threat” narrative when all of these other incidents don’t find mention at all? Forget the incidents that happened in the past, the murders after PM Modi was re-elected on 23rd also have not found a mention on Gambhir’s Twitter timeline.

Gautam Gambhir then said that his definition of ‘secularism’ comes from PM Modi himself who said ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’ and that he was not limiting himself just to this incident but violence in general. However, it is a fact that other recent incidents have not inspired the same reaction from him.


The ‘secular nation’ rhetoric falls flat when only violence against one group is outraged against and even murders, when not of Muslims, goes unnoticed. The cries for justice, become a little duller.

In politics, just like in cricket, timing is everything. Gambhir’s tweet using one stray incident to further the same fear-mongering that the Left-Liberals do does not bode well when the entire ecosystem is trying to peddle the same narrative based on nothing but conjecture. The fact that he condemned the incident is not contentious. He should have. Everyone should. But the fact that he used it to further a faulty narrative and also did not bother condemning the other incidents of violence and even cold-blooded murder is problematic.

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