#Bjp Manifesto

[bhaskarlive]

BJP’s J&K election manifesto promises Rs 18,000, two free cylinders for women

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday released the BJP’s manifesto for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections and detailed the future plans of the party should it come to power.

The BJP’s manifesto pays special attention to the interests of all sections of the Valley. The Home Minister urged the people of the Valley to give BJP five years, after which they would experience a remarkable transformation in their lives.

Source: bhaskarlive.in

[saveralivehindi]

जम्मू कश्मीर के लिए भाजपा का संकल्प! 100 खंडहर मंदिरों का जिर्णोंद्धार किया जाएगा

जम्मू कश्मीर और हरियाणा में चुनाव के दिन अब ज्यादा दिन नहीं बचा है. राजनीतिक दल घोषणा पत्र के जरिए वोटरों को लुभाने का काम कर रही हैं. कांग्रेस औप पीड़ीपी ने अपना संकल्प पत्र जारी कर दिया है, वहीं आज यानी 06 सितंबर 2024 को बीजेपी के नेता और केंद्रिय गृहमंत्री अमिस शाह ने अपनी पार्टी का घोषणा पत्र जारी कर दिया है. देखते हैं बीजेपी के संकल्प पत्र में क्या है खास: 1: श्रीनगर की डग झील को विश्वस्तरीय…

[kimskashmir]

Assembly Elections: BJP announces manifesto committee for J&K

SRINAGAR — The BJP on Thursday announced the formation of a committee which would reach out to the people in Kashmir to get their feedback for the framing of its manifesto. “The announcement for the assembly elections in J&K is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India. They will decide when to hold the polls, But, as a political party, we have to be ready and we are making preparations…

[that-was-a-bit-stupid-of-you]

i don't understand so much of the manifestos someone help I'm crying

[news-trust-india]

Haryana BJP Manifesto : हरियाणा में भाजपा ने जारी किया घोषणा पत्र; हर अग्निवीर को सरकारी नौकरी, 5 लाख आवास

चंडीगढ़। Haryana BJP Manifesto : गुरुवार को भारतीय जनता पार्टी ने हरियाणा विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए घोषणा पत्र जारी कर दिया है। भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष जेपी नड्डा ने रोहतक में हरियाणा विधानसभा चुनाव के लिए पार्टी का ‘संकल्प पत्र’ (घोषणा पत्र) जारी किया है। बीजेपी ने अपने घोषणा पत्र को नॉनस्टाप हरियाणा का संकल्प पत्र का नाम दिया है। इसमें भाजपा ने जनता से 20 वादे किए हैं। Delhi CM Oath Ceremony :…

[rightnewshindi]

भाजपा ने जम्मू कश्मीर चुनाव के लिए जारी किया अपना संकल्प पत्र, फ्री जमीन, लैपटॉप, सिलेंडर समेत यह किए बड़े वादे

भाजपा ने जम्मू कश्मीर चुनाव के लिए जारी किया अपना संकल्प पत्र, फ्री जमीन, लैपटॉप, सिलेंडर समेत यह किए बड़े वादे #news #viral #trending #update #newspaper #breakingnews #currentaffairs #dailynews #newsletter #newspapers #newsupdate #People #Media #info

BJP Manifesto For Jammu Kashmir Assembly Election 2024: जम्मू-कश्मीर विधानसभा चुनाव 2024 के लिए राजनीतिक दलों ने अपनी तैयारियां तेज कर दी हैं। पार्टियों की ओर से उम्मीदवारों के नामों की घोषणा की जा रही है। भारतीय जनता पार्टी (BJP) ने जम्मू कश्मीर चुनाव के लिए अपना संकल्प पत्र जारी कर दिया। इस घोषणापत्र में जनता से 25 वादे किए गए हैं। भाजपा ने जनता से क्या वादे किए? हम आतंकवाद और अलगाववाद को…

[townpostin]

BJP Launches 'Sankalp Patra' Campaign in Jharkhand

Former CM Arjun Munda outlines initiative to gather public input for election manifesto BJP seeks public suggestions via ‘Sankalp Patra’ to shape its vision for Jharkhand’s future development. JAMSHEDPUR – BJP initiates ‘Sankalp Patra’ campaign across Jharkhand to collect public input for its election manifesto. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a comprehensive campaign to gather…

[newspatron]

Lok Sabha Elections: The Verdict

Thank you for following our Lok Sabha Elections series. Your engagement has made this analysis a meaningful dialogue. Stay tuned for more insightful content on newspatron.

Unravelling the Election Saga Welcome to the concluding chapter of our insightful journey through the Lok Sabha Election Results Analysis of 2024. As we’ve navigated through the intricate narratives of political strategies and voter tides in our previous four parts, we now stitch together the final threads of this election’s story. Lok Sabha Elections: The VerdictUnravelling the Election…

[reasonsforhope]

"It was widely described as the week that India’s beleaguered democracy was pulled back from the brink. As the election results rolled in on Tuesday [June 4, 2024], all predictions and polls were defied as Narendra Modi lost his outright majority for the first time in a decade while the opposition re-emerged as a legitimate political force. On Sunday evening, Modi will be sworn in as prime minister yet many believe his power and mandate stands diminished.

For one opposition politician in particular, the humbling of the strongman prime minister was a moment to savour. Late last year, Mahua Moitra, one of the most outspoken critics of Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), found herself unceremoniously expelled from parliament and kicked out of her bungalow, after what she described as a “political witch-hunt” for daring to stand up to Modi.

The murky and allegedly undemocratic circumstances of Moitra’s expulsion from parliament was seen by many to symbolise Modi’s approach to dissenting voices and the steady erosion of India’s democracy. She was among several vocal opposition politicians who were subjected to investigations by government crime agencies.

But having won a landslide re-election in her home state of West Bengal, Moitra will return once again to parliament, part of the newly empowered opposition coalition. “I can’t wait,” said Moitra. “They went to egregious lengths to discredit and destroy me and abused every process to do it. If I had gone down, it would have meant that brute force had triumphed over democracy.”

While he may be returning for a historic third term, many have portrayed the results as something of a defeat for Modi, who has had to rely on coalition partners to form a government. The BJP’s campaign had been solely centred around him – even the manifesto was titled “Modi’s guarantee” – and in many constituencies, local BJP candidates often played second fiddle to the prime minister, who loomed large over almost every seat. He told one interviewer he believed his mandate to rule was given directly by God.

“Modi’s aura was invincibility, that the BJP could not win elections without him,” said Moitra. “But the people of India didn’t give him a simple majority. They were voting against authoritarianism and they were voting against fascism. This was an overwhelming, resounding anti-Modi vote.”

During his past decade in power, Modi and the BJP enjoyed a powerful outright majority and oversaw an unprecedented concentration of power under the prime minister’s office, where key decisions were widely known to be made by a select few.

The Modi government was accused of imposing various authoritarian measures, including the harassment and arrest of critics under terrorism laws, while the country tumbled in global democracy and press freedom rankings. Modi never faced a press conference or any committee of accountability for the often divisive actions of his government. Politicians regularly complained that parliament was simply reduced to a rubber-stamping role for the BJP’s Hindu-first agenda.

Yet on Tuesday [June 40, it became clear that the more than 25 opposition parties, united as a coalition under the acronym INDIA, had inflicted substantial losses on the BJP to take away its simple majority. Analysts said the opposition’s performance was all the more remarkable given that the BJP stands accused of subverting and manipulating the election commission, as well as putting key opposition leaders behind bars and far outspending all other parties on its campaign. The BJP has denied any attempts to skew the election in its favour.

“This election proved that the voter is still the ultimate king,” said Moitra. “Modi was so shameless, yet despite them using every tool they had to engineer this election to their advantage, our democracy fought back.”

Moitra said she was confident it was “the end of Mr Modi’s autocratic way of ruling”. Several of the parties in the BJP’s alliance who he is relying on for a parliamentary majority and who will sit in Modi’s cabinet do not share his Hindu nationalist ideology...

Moitra was not alone in describing this week’s election as a reprieve for the troubling trajectory of India’s democracy. Columns heralding that the “mirror has cracked” and the “idea of India is reborn” were plastered across the country’s biggest newspapers, and editorials spoke of the end of “supremo syndrome”. “The bulldozer now has brakes,” wrote the Deccan Chronicle newspaper. “And once a bulldozer has brakes, it becomes just a lawnmower.” ...

“This was not a normal election, it was clearly an unfair and unlevel playing field,” said Yadav. “But still, there is now a hope and a possibility that the authoritarian element could be reversed.”

Harsh Mander, one of India’s most prominent human rights and peace activists who is facing numerous criminal investigations for his work, called the election the “most important in India’s post independence history”, adding: “The resilience of Indian democracy has proved to be spectacular.”

He said it was encouraging that an “intoxication of majoritarian hate politics” had not ultimately shaped the outcome, referring to Modi’s apparent attempts to stir up religious animosity on the campaign trail as he referred to Muslims as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”.

“The past decade has seen the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience and dissent taken away,” said Mander. “If this election had gone fully the BJP way, then India would not remain a constitutional secular democracy.”"

-via The Guardian, June 9, 2024

[meetdheeraj]

What we are having is a farce in name of elections. This is by no means a free and fair elections.

Most of the opposition leaders including two CMs who could pull in crowds and influence voters are in jail. On the other hand, those close to RSS-BJP with rape charges even are either not arrested or are out on bail or on parole.

Modi has freezed bank accounts of Congress. Opposition already has significantly low bank balance than BJP owing to electoral bonds but now even what they have couldn't be utilised. It's not at all level playing field.

At many places opposition candidates are being forced or bribed to withdraw their nominations. Case in point, Amit Shah's constituency. It's well documented how multiple candidates were forced to withdraw from there. Surat and that other place are again blots.

For ages India has had a decent election with no overt rule breaking. Asking votes on religious lines is illegal but BJP has done this openly. There are tweets with "vote on Ram" etc from official handles. Modi has openly asked vote on Ram from his rallies. Election commission refuses to act.

Modi has also been openly divisive and given communal speeches. He has stooped to so low that even imagining as much was difficult years ago. Opposition has complained to election commission but spineless three who Modi himself appointed remain as cold and reaction-less as Modi was in that Karan Thapar interview after that glass of water.

Mr Modi has been blatantly lying in his speeches. Mangalsutra, buffalo, Muslims - vary many things have been attributed to Congress Manifesto. None of which exists in their Manifesto. But media has not once called out Mr Modi's speeches. His voters, most of who celebrate Ram, whose entire story is based on a life lived around ideals of truth, seem to care less. You then wonder about them. For example, his voters dislike Gandhi who all his life stressed on speaking truth and was a great devotee of Lord Ram. Modi's voters hate Gandhi. But they love Modi who keeps on lying as if it's not oxygen he lives on but lies. What's word for someone who's more than a habitual lier? Fraud? Even fraud feels like a good word compared to the amount of lying Mr Modi has done. And he does his politics in name of Ram. And somehow worshippers of Ram (or so these people claim) love Mr Modi. I fail to understand this hate of a true follower of Ram and love of a daylight fraud.

This election is not being fought between INDIA alliance and BJP. That's unfair comparison. It's between INDIA versus BJP plus media. If it was minus media then for opposition this would have been a cakewalk. There's ten years of anti-incumbency. That alone has routed govts in past. Plus, just think of the catastrophe if media went after Modi govt like it did with UPA 2. Unlike in 2G, in electoral bonds, there's clear quid pro quo. There's Brijbhushan, Sengar, Ram Rahim, Baba Ramdev, Revanna and others that Modi has shielded. Mr Modi's 2ab, doland, strenhh, radar clouds, gutter gas and umpteen stupid comments - these are real and not out of context clipped bites like Rahul's potato one. Media has created Modi's image. Again a fraud. If Modi gave a single interview to say, Ravish Kumar, forget Karan Thapar - what do you think would happen?

[mohabbaat]

i have said it irl and I'll say it here; the construction of the ram mandir was thier duty. ppl voted for bjp to get it built. once it was done, ppl had nothing else to look forward to in their manifesto, and no other developments were made in up, so ppl didn't vote for them again. compare it to working a 9-5. if you complete a difficult task, you're gonna get praise, maybe your name will be in for a promotion, but if you keep being consistent with your work, ppl will applaud you. If you just do the difficult task and nothing else, ppl will praise you, but you won't get a promotion

the ram mandir argument doesn't make much sense anyway. for one, ram mandir is in ayodhya but ayodhya itself is not a lok sabha constituency. the constituency is faizabad which is much bigger than ayodhya and have multiple other cities too. by all accounts, while work has been done to "better" ayodhya (which itself is debatable), the other cities have been ignored with no development for the past decade. so, the "hindus betrayed bjp" and "hindus betrayed hinduism and ram" argument would make a little bit more sense during the up elections when ayodhya is its own assembly constituency. and even then, it would be very weak cause who the fuck are you to decide how people follow their own religion? why do you think you know better than the people living there? you see the temple as the restoration of your faith, but the people who live there have lost their homes and their livelihoods so that the temple can be constructed. i highly doubt they love the temple or see it as god's kingdom when it came with that steep a price. also, in the words of certain people, the temple is about faith and religion. so why should people make a political decision based on its construction? religion and politics shouldn't go hand in hand. although most right wing people often forget this simple fact.

[timetravellingkitty]

thoughts on the bjp and congress manifestos? (if you read them, I didn't understand half the shit sadly)

I didn't read the entire thing but from what i know bjp is still doing the whole "one nation-one election" and uniform civil code crap which is fun (I've also heard of citi economists criticising it for lack of meaningful structural reforms - I have to look more into that)

congress is well. congress. with their whole "ending unemployment" and "giving j&k statehood" thing like in theory it sounds amazing and way better than what the bjp offers but opposition is frankly weak and pathetic they're too pussy to meaningfully oppose hindutva (they're anyways very soft hindutva)

[mariacallous]

India’s election calculus is tricky. When Narendra Modi led the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in 2014, he increased his party’s parliamentary seat tally to 282 from 116, essentially by gaining 12 percentage points of the popular vote. It was the first time since 1984 that a single Indian party won enough seats to form a government on its own.

The Indian National Congress party led the ruling coalition that Modi and the BJP defeated in 2014; the party’s vote share fell by 9 percentage points, but its seats dropped from 206 to a mere 44. Five years later, the BJP’s vote share rose again, to 37 percent, giving Modi’s party 303 seats. Congress increased its number of seats to 52, but as in 2014, that wasn’t even enough to merit a formal leader of the opposition in parliament.

In the six-week national election that concluded this month, the BJP’s vote share dropped only marginally, to around 36 percent, but its number of seats fell dramatically, to 240—causing the party to lose its majority. Although Congress’s vote share rose modestly to around 21 percent, its seats increased to 99. As a result, India will have an official leader of the opposition for the first time in a decade. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party leader and heir to India’s most illustrious political dynasty, may well play that role.

That may seem like a small achievement for India’s beleaguered opposition—and the election result was still the third-worst performance for Congress since India’s first vote in 1952—but it represents a change surprising and seismic enough for some analysts to conclude that Modi’s latest victory was “Pyrrhic,” and that the opposition now has a foundation to win in 2029. As the former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson quipped, “A week is a long time in politics”—and five years an eternity.

In 2029, Modi will be 78 years old, but this year, he still ran a campaign based on his own record and personality. The BJP’s manifesto included more than 50 photographs of Modi. Much commentary about the results has focused on Modi’s declining popularity. Given his political dominance, it is natural for his critics to enjoy a moment of schadenfreude. On the campaign trail, Modi’s rhetoric sounded more shrill, critical of minorities, and insulting toward his opponents; during the election, he even implied that he was divinely ordained to lead India.

This year’s election has also undermined the argument that Modi’s main rival, Rahul Gandhi, is a political lightweight overwhelmed by India’s complexities. Gandhi is descended from three former prime ministers, including India’s first, Jawaharlal Nehru. (His mother, Sonia, serves in the upper house of parliament.) Now 54, Gandhi has been a member of parliament since 2004, winning six of the seven elections that he has contested. Yet the BJP has carried out a relentless and remarkably effective propaganda campaign against him. Modi has described him as a shehzada, or crown prince, while BJP ministers have dismissed him as Pappu, a pejorative term for a young boy of limited intelligence.

Unlike Modi, Gandhi does not assert that he has all the answers; he listens, an approach that may have helped him during the election. He likes to engage the public, and since September 2022 he has led two long marches across the country—the Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Unite India for Justice March)—that electrified the masses and transformed his image. According to some estimates, Gandhi wrested 41 parliamentary seats from areas where he marched. He talked to constituents, listened to voters, and spoke about social justice, women’s emancipation, empowering the weak and the dispossessed, and bringing people together.

Those topics may seem mawkish, but India’s last decade has been a period of considerable strife. Discrimination against Muslims has grown, with mosques targeted or claimed by Hindus, homes bulldozed, and interfaith marriages discouraged. The triumphal inauguration of a Hindu temple—sanctioned by the Indian Supreme Court—on the site of a mosque razed in 1992 only further alienated Muslims. The BJP’s policy of imposing the Hindi language in states where it is not spoken widely has fueled animosity. Youth unemployment has risen in many parts of the country, along with inequality.

As in the past, Modi’s campaign focused on divisive issues—but more voters than in the last two elections seemed to listen to Gandhi this time around. These voters likely don’t care about more Indians being listed in global rankings of billionaires; they are uninterested in gleaming high-rises and malls, speedier trains, superior airports, or toll roads connecting long distances. Their concerns are for more access to water, food, electricity, jobs, and justice. Gandhi seemed to fashion the Congress manifesto to respond to those concerns.

This is not to suggest that, if elected to power, the Congress party would meet these perennial needs. Having ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence, Congress must bear the blame for India’s lack of development. The party deserves credit for introducing economic liberalization in 1991, but its support for free-market reforms has often been cautious rather than enthusiastic. Furthermore, although Gandhi speaks of harmony, there have been several disturbances under Congress party rule in India—the most notorious being the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 in retaliatory violence after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rahul’s grandmother.

Nonetheless, Gandhi’s spirited campaign, decency, and collegiality stood in marked contrast to Modi’s personalized and abrasive style. Gandhi seemed to avoid a personality cult by building a consensus-driven campaign and not projecting himself as the face of the opposition alliance. In the leadup to the election, he continued to be ridiculed as an entitled politician, but he focused on his message. And wherever he marched, he chipped votes away from the BJP. One analysis showed that between 600,000 and 700,000 votes going the other way in 30 constituencies would have led to a different outcome.

The BJP has portrayed itself as pro-business, and analysts sympathetic to the BJP have described Congress as leftist, with BJP leaders reinforcing the link. Indeed, Congress introduced many welfare schemes for the poor—but the BJP has not canceled any of them during its time in power and has increased support for some programs. Historically, Congress was a centrist or center-left party reliant on the support of Indian businesses that pursued a prudent fiscal policy. The party was distrustful of private capital and free-market economics. But it was also Congress that took early steps in liberalization, invested in technology, and boosted India’s telecoms network.

For Congress, the road ahead remains long, but its rejuvenation raises interesting possibilities. Most Indian voters are too young to remember a Gandhi—or Nehru—as prime minister. Now, there could soon be three Gandhis in parliament: On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi’s sister, Priyanka, announced that she would contest one of the two seats that her brother won during this election. Some observers see Priyanka as more charismatic and savvier than Rahul.

Furthermore, a sizable segment of India’s population is under the age of 30, and this generation has rising expectations and aspirations—including an impatience to get rich. Can Congress reinvent itself as India’s so-called banyan tree party that includes everyone under its shade? The BJP offers a muscular nationalism with angry overtones; Gandhi promises that he wants to revive an older idea of India, based on equality and tolerance. Do these younger voters want a calmer, gentler India?

Indian politics has entered a new phase, and the time to ignore Rahul Gandhi may be over. He may still never become India’s prime minister—after all, it seems unlikely that someone from the Gandhi family would want to lead a shaky coalition. But even if he simply persists in emphasizing equality, justice, and empathy, Gandhi will have played a transformative role in Indian politics.

The last decade has shown India’s angry and assertive side, but its founding fathers built the country’s reputation as a soft power that punched above its weight. Reclaiming such moral authority has its virtues. The rules are changing in India, and Gandhi may not only be the son who rises, but also the son who surprises.

[warningsine]

Most pundits and exit polls predicted a big win for Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India’s massive six-week election that just came to a close.

They were wrong. Instead, many voters in key battleground states cast their ballots for opposition parties, cutting the BJP’s tally of seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower hour of parliament, from 303 to 240.

Together with their coalition partners, the BJP should retain power with a slim majority of 21 seats. Modi will serve a rare third term as India’s prime minister. But for the first time in a decade, both the prime minister and his party no longer look invincible.

So, what went wrong?

It will be a while before detailed post-election surveys are published, with robust data on why Indians voted as they did. But from what we already know, we can identify a few factors that might explain why support for the BJP has waned.

The BJP went into the election campaign claiming great successes in economic management. Under the stewardship of the Modi government, as the party’s manifesto declared, India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy in the world. It is currently ranked number five and Modi had set the ambitious goal of rising to third by the end of the decade.

The BJP had made other big promises for a third Modi term: to make India more self-reliant and resilient to global shocks, as well as to improve its infrastructure, generate more power and attract more foreign investment in manufacturing.

Yet, what it lacked – and what may have swayed some voters – was a credible plan to boost employment and curb inflation. The BJP’s track record in both areas is not good.

India needs to create jobs for tens of millions of young and ambitious Indians entering the workforce ever year, but it has struggled to do that in recent years. This has led many to move abroad, even to countries in conflict zones.

Moreover, it needs to stabilise prices, which have increased at annual rate of 5–6% in recent years.

Fear and favour

Another issue that likely swayed some voters was the possible fate of positive discrimination schemes for education and public sector employment known as “caste reservations”.

Designed to improve social mobility for historically marginalised caste groups and communities, these schemes have become politically contentious in a society where good schools and good jobs are scarce.

The BJP has long been ideologically sceptical about reservations, arguing – among other things – they are socially divisive, pitting caste against caste and community against community.

Some Hindu nationalists also see these schemes as standing in the way of consolidating all Hindus into one unassailable social and political bloc.

During the election campaign, these arguments were highlighted by opposition parties, which claimed the BJP planned to abolish reservations or even amend India’s Constitution to ban them outright.

And it seems that fear this might have prompted many lower caste Indians to switch their votes to parties pledging to defend reservations, like the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi fatigue

A third factor shaping voter behaviour may well prove to be a loss of enthusiasm for Modi himself.

Modi’s personal popularity has remained very high by both Indian and global standards for more than a decade – and for good reason.

He is a charismatic and effective communicator, but his capacity for reinventing his image has arguably been his greatest asset. At different points in his career, he has been able to project himself as a firebrand, a technocratic moderniser, a humble servant of the people and an adroit diplomat.

Recently, however, Modi has cast himself as a distant, almost priestly and otherworldly figure. In the days before the election results were announced this week, the prime minister withdrew to a beach to meditate for 45 hours. In interviews, he has spoken of being chosen by god for his role.

These actions led at least one opposition leader to comment that Modi was saying “all kinds of things that made no sense”. Some voters may have shared that view.

Modi’s broader Hindu project in doubt

For ten years, the BJP has also worked hard to establish a dominant position in India’s political system. To win over voters, it has improved infrastructure in the cities and extended India’s rudimentary welfare state to improve the lives of women and the rural poor.

Ultimately, however, the BJP aims not just to develop India, but to ensure all aspects of Indian society reflect what it sees as the values of the Hindu majority.

To do that, the Modi government has tried to unite all Hindu voters – around 80% of the population – with high-profile religious and cultural appeals, like the construction of a much-vaunted new Ram temple at the holy city of Ayodhya.

The result of this election suggests this project has not – so far, at least – succeeded. In a striking development, the BJP failed to hold the parliamentary seat (Faizabad) where Ayodhya is located.

It is not yet clear what lessons Modi and the BJP will take from this election. Tethered to coalition partners with more leverage than before, the incoming government will be more constrained than its predecessors. As the dust settles, one thing is clear: this election has transformed India’s political landscape.

[therewasabrowncrow]

Life Update

This is part of a witness report I made to the local MSP about the Ram Janmabhoomi event I witnessed at the local Mandir in Leith. I first took this to the local councillors along with another person from SFI- the councillors know something is up but they don't have the tools to investigate Hindutva in their constituencies. The Leicester riots in 2022 was a defining moment but frustrating that it's got tagged "community tension between two populations". Taking the binary approach to things is maybe very British (see the Brexit vote!)

Nonetheless, the MSP I took this to later knows more about BJP's anti Muslim politics, as he is a British Muslim and had first hand experience seeing Hindutva on steroids on his visit to the Indian parliament.

One of the difficult things was trying to prove why this cultural event is actually political in nature- as most are not aware of the history behind the destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque, the anti-Mandal agitations in the 90s. The BJP manifesto released this week has been useful- as the Ram mandir is a key part of their global expansion plans.

I reference toolkits created by the South Asian Scholar Activist Collective and Ayaan Institute, glossary of terms, timelines, everything. I share the concerns of the 22 diaspora organisations that have come together to condemn this event and the precedent this sets for the largest Muslim minority in the world.

I am not an activist, not a long time resident, not even a British citizen so I had to make this formal looking report. Usually if you go on your own people think you're on a personal agenda. The thing that really angered me was that the Mandir is housed inside a church while churches were getting vandalised in MP the very day of the event. I was told not to use this framing as it's not a church anymore- a lot of churches in UK are repurposed into other things so they cease to exist as one.

The good news is that the MSP is keen to investigate but told me to come back with more evidence etc, hence the report.

This is the article that my neighbour wrote who I found out lived close by thanks to twitter

[news-trust-india]

Salim Khan threat : सलीम खान को धमकी; बुर्का पहनी महिला ने कहा 'लॉरेंस बिश्नोई को भेजूं क्या'

मुंबई। Salim Khan threat : बॉलीवुड स्टार सलमान खान (Salman Khan) के पिता सलीम खान को गुरुवार सुबह धमकी मिली। सुबह मॉर्निंग वॉक पर निकले सलीम खान जब बेंच पर बैठे आराम कर रहे थे उसी समय गैलेक्सी अपार्टमेंट की तरफ से बैंडस्टैंड की तरफ स्कूटी पर एक शख्स जा रहा था। Haryana BJP Manifesto : हरियाणा में भाजपा ने जारी किया घोषणा पत्र; हर अग्निवीर को सरकारी नौकरी, 5 लाख आवास उसके पीछे एक बुर्का पहने महिला…