#babri demolition day

[shehzadi]

more accounts of hindutva terrorism in india in the last 2 days:

beat a muslim youth and paraded him naked in telangana

razed another 40 muslim-owned shops in mumbai after previously razing 15 other muslim-owned shops on a different street in mumbai the day before

vandalised the store of an elderly muslim man in mumbai

brutally attacked the imam of a mosque in chattisgarh while chanting ‘jai shree ram’ and ‘hindustan mein rahna hoga jai shree ram kahna hoga’ (translates to ‘if you want to live in india, you will have to say glory to lord ram’)

attacked a 17-year-old dalit student because of his whatsapp status and forced him to chant ‘jai shree ram’ (translates to ‘glory/victory to lord ram’) in karnataka

beat up a christian couple for allegedly forcing people to convert in karnataka

police have also made a case against 62-year-old muhammad salim for ‘inciting riot’ because he protested alone during the live broadcast of ram mandir in kerala

and on top of all that (and these are only the recorded/reported crimes i could find), expect indian news channels and hindu nationalists to begin pedalling the ‘there was a temple there centuries ago before!!!!’ narrative again so they can repeat the babri masjid demolition with gyanvapi masjid, also in uttar pradesh because today (25.01.24) the archaeological survey of india (ASI) found ‘evidence’ of a pre-existing hindu temple. how interesting and not at all coincidental with the fact that elections are looming ahead and ram mandir was just inaugurated!!!

[ultfreakme]

Freeing Palestine is India's fight

I've seen lots of posts about how Western countries and their populations should be concerned for stopping the genocide in Palestine but Indians are involved in this as well.

India has a HUGE Islamophobia problem, from the day India became what it is, this country exists the way it does through conflict regarding religious majorities and it is a problem we must acknowledge.

Collective punishment has often been carried out indiscriminately against Muslims in India- Muslim people's houses in Madhya Pradesh have been demolished without warning. This has also happened in Uttar Pradesh and in 2023, Haryana(300 businesses and homes). These were all normal innocent civilians who had proper legal paperwork showing their purchase and ownership of their home and land, but the police did not care. In many of these instances the police stood by and were involved in demolition and all of these were under BJP-majority and ruled areas. The recent Ram Mandir was built on the demolished land of Babri Masjid(it was built in the 14th century before India as it was even a THING, its destruction & demolition on the claim that it was Ram's birth place is unfair). Hate crimes against Muslims run amok and there are multiple cases of violence against Muslims in India.

PM Modi of the BJP party has been consistent in maintaining positive relations with Benjamin Netanyahu and the occupying force of Israel. A majority of the military equipment for India comes from Israel, and India has constantly been neutral in UN council meetings when decisions regarding Israel are brought up. A spyware called Pegasus, developed by the occupying force of Israel was used to surveil politicians, journalists, activists etc severely breaching right to privacy and threatening freedom of speech.

Worse; India has been using the Israeli strategy of colonizing Palestine with Kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir is a union territory which basically means they are allowed to function independently on most fronts but India has been seeking to integrate J&K into itself and has been extremely hostile to its Muslim citizens and are currently intensifying their occupation efforts. There have been consistent internet and communication blackouts since 2018 and it is STILL ongoing.

India invited Israeli officials to Kashmir to open 'Centers of Excellence' which are supposedly for agricultural innovation but everyone in J&K are concerned and see it as India taking an opportunity to intensify its occupation with Israeli help.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several Kashmiris told Middle East Eye the Israeli agriculture hubs would deepen India's occupation in the region and accelerate its settler-colonial project. "Earlier, we would draw the parallels between Kashmir and Palestine or India's intimate alliance with Israel. But now they are bringing Israel to the Valley in the form of these institutions - which will be "agro-oriented" in name - but we all know that Israel will physically help India in Kashmir to turn it into a proper Palestine," a Kashmiri academic based in Istanbul told Middle East Eye.

In 2016 Coalition of Civil Society said there are more than 8000 'disappearances' of people in J&K. There are mass graves with over 2000 bodies being found with these unlawful activities being attributed to the Indian Security Forces. That's just scratching the surface of decades of violence and human rights violations enacted by India.

BJP is not shy about its ties to the RSS and promotes Hindutva(I've seen people citing the literal meaning of the word as evidence that it is harmless but the word is a label given to an embraced by extreme right-wing groups who are open about their Islamaphobia. Meaning of the word becomes pointless when actions speak otherwise).

India is an occupying force on J&K, it's suppressing Muslims, demonizing them and further marginalizing them in the name of 'Hinduism'. It buys from Israel and endorses them. As Indians, it is key that we do whatever we can to stop the genocide because we are unwittingly being used to fuel this and are being radicalized to hate on our neighbors, the people we share our land and history with.

Even outside of the ways in which the current government is shamelessly supporting Israel, India's history is rife with colonization. The British had occupied us, forced us into fighting each other, into prioritizing meaningless differences to suppress each other. We were once starved by occupying forces, violated, killed. Our land is also covered in blood shed by colonization.

What are we doing if we don't speak up? If we don't stop this? Do not follow the propaganda conflating extreme right-wing ideologies with the identity of being Indian. Don't buy into the idea that India is "for Hindus", we are so ridiculously diverse, there are 100s of languages and religions in this country.

Free Jammu & Kashmir, free Palestine, stop Islamophobia.

[mariacallous]

Much of India came to a standstill on Jan. 22, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi consecrated a temple in the northern city of Ayodhya commemorating Rama, a warrior-king worshipped by Hindus as a god. Schools, colleges, and offices closed and central government offices gave a half-day off to all employees. Some expectant parents even cajoled obstetricians to schedule cesarean sections on the day so that their children are born at the auspicious moment coinciding with the temple’s opening.

Such a public display of religiosity by the Indian government and its leadership may seem peculiar, particularly to those who cherish secularism. But India moved away from the state’s traditional interpretation of secularism a decade ago, when Modi led the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power. With the next national elections only a few months away, Modi has choreographed the Ram temple consecration to consolidate his Hindu vote (about 80 percent of the country’s population is Hindu). The political intent is clear: Cutouts of Modi grace lampposts on the airport road in Ayodhya, with similar images of Rama added almost as an afterthought. In an audio message on social media this month, Modi said, “God has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India.”

The ongoing construction of Ram Mandir is very controversial in India. From the early 16th century until 1992, a mosque known as Babri Masjid stood on the site—built during the time of the emperor Babur, the first Mughal to rule India. Many Hindus say that Babur destroyed a temple honoring Rama that previously stood on the land, which they believe is Rama’s birthplace. In the 1980s, Hindu activists began a movement to reclaim the site and build a temple there. In December 1992, they razed the mosque, an act that shocked the nation.

But in the past two decades, India has changed, and Hindus clamored for the land to be restored to them. In 2019, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that although the initial act of demolition was illegal, it would offer the site to a Hindu trust to build a temple and grant land elsewhere to a Muslim trust to rebuild a mosque. Although the construction of the Ram Mandir is not yet complete, Modi needs the imagery for his election campaign, and so the consecration will go ahead. Some opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India, did not send their top leadership to the ceremony; however, some Congress leaders were divided over the boycott and at least two attended.

Rama, for many Hindus, is maryada purushottam—the ideal human being who sacrifices himself for others. His is the kind of life to which lesser mortals should aspire; his heroism is based not simply on battlecraft, but upon his ability to put others’ interests before his own. In the Sanskrit epic��Ramayana, Rama is the prince of Ayodhya who is about to become king when one of his father’s wives demands that Rama go into exile, and the succession passes to her son instead. Rama leaves with his wife, Sita, and brother Lakshmana. The king of Lanka, Ravana, abducts Sita, and Rama mobilizes an army of monkeys to invade the island fortress, defeating Ravana and rescuing Sita. After 14 years, Rama finally rules Ayodhya, leading to a golden age.

The BJP sees the construction of the Ram Mandir temple as evidence of its single-minded determination, no matter how long it takes. Formed in 1980 by some members of the former Janata Party, the BJP initially struggled electorally. It briefly held power in the 1990s and led a coalition government between 1999 and 2004. In 2014, Modi projected himself as committed to development and boosted the BJP’s vote share to win a majority of seats in parliament with 31 percent of the national vote; five years later, the party increased its tally to 303 seats out of 542, winning 37 percent of the vote. The temple project follows other promises kept by Modi’s government: revoking the special autonomous status of Indian-administered Kashmir and introducing a citizenship act that created a pathway to Indian citizenship for asylum-seekers from neighboring countries but excluded Muslims. Modi has shown that he is the man who gets things done.

The BJP capitalized on three major changes that occurred in India in the 1980s to build its identity and increase its vote share. First, many Indians bristled at how India practiced secularism, perceiving the government as granting special favors to religious communities, such as subsidies for Muslims to perform the Hajj and curriculum exemptions for faith-based schools. Second, Indians were tired of living in an economy beset by sluggish growth and shoddy products due to socialist policies that restricted foreign investment and trade. (That changed in 1991, when the Congress government deregulated the economy.)

Finally, India was a leader in the Non-Aligned Movement, but the appeal of nonalignment was fading with the decline of Soviet influence and the eventual disintegration of the Soviet Union. The Congress party ruled India for most of its first 49 years post-independence, and it was instrumental in developing India’s secularism, socialism, and nonalignment. The BJP took advantage of public disenchantment and stepped into the void, promising “equality for all, appeasement to none,” to promote a market-based economy, and to reset its foreign policy, often aligning with Western interests. (Still, the BJP pursues strategic autonomy in many respects, such as its continuing trade ties with Russia despite Western sanctions.)

Most politicians have the next election on their mind; Modi and the BJP leadership have the next generation in mind. After all, more than 40 percent of Indians have no living memory of the Babri Masjid mosque. Even in the early years, the party began influencing India’s younger generations in the states where it came to power first, changing textbooks and rewriting history to downplay the roles of Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (and his family members who later came to power) and project alternative heroes who were more militant and outwardly Hindu. By promoting Rama as the warrior-king who ruled over an ideal state, the BJP aims to create a constituency of voters who see their identity primarily in religious terms and equate the Hindu faith with the nation of India.

To the BJP’s core voters—the hardwired Hindu nationalists—the party has promised to restore Hindu glories, embodied by the Ram Mandir temple. The events in Ayodhya have set a precedent: Some party activists want to transform more mosques (and, in some instances, churches), claiming they were also built where Hindu temples once stood. The triumphalism around the temple construction is so vicious that not only is it the opposition leaders boycotting the event who are facing criticism, but also four seers of the Hindu faith who have raised a range of objections—including the choice of Modi to perform the ceremony, which they say should be presided over by a priest.

The Hindu nationalist movement’s elevation of Rama over other Hindu deities is also strange. Hinduism is polytheistic, and its literature does not rest on one book. Many interpretations are liberal, and some contradict each other: Skepticism and atheism are also part of certain strands of Hinduism. In the late 1980s, I interviewed Morarji Desai, who had served as India’s prime minister representing the Janata Party. I asked him what he thought of the movement to build the Ram temple on the site of Babri Masjid, and he suggested that the BJP’s ultimate goal was to undermine Hinduism’s pluralism and turn it into a faith with one book (the Ramayana), one place of worship (Ayodhya), and one god (Rama). The slogan now reverberating through Ayodhya and much of India is Jai Shri Ram, or “Victory to Lord Rama.”

Rama is an exceptionally interesting and nuanced literary figure and well-loved outside of India, especially in Southeast Asia. But many Indians do not take kindly to works that present Rama in a different light, such as the late poet A.K. Ramanujan’s celebrated essay, “Three Hundred Ramayanas,” which shows how the epic’s characters appear in different forms and offer different interpretations in India and beyond. Nina Paley’s charming 2008 animated film that draws on the Ramayana, Sita Sings the Blues, was also controversial. The latest victim of this outrage is a Tamil film released on Netflix last month, Annapoorani, about the daughter of a Hindu priest who wants to be a chef; her Muslim friend encourages her to pursue her dream, correctly citing a verse from the Ramayana that shows that Rama ate meat. Some Hindus who practice vegetarianism for religious reasons were offended; Netflix withdrew the film, and the actor who played the protagonist issued a public apology on a “Jai Shri Ram” letterhead.

India is no longer a land of nuances. A significant part of its population wants an assertive government and a black-and-white narrative where subjugated Hindus are reclaiming their identity, and the foreigners who colonized the country in the past—the British and, before them, Muslims—are cast as villains. Such an approach risks turning a multidimensional country into a cardboard caricature of itself. The Ram temple consecration marked another milestone on that path—which Modi walks in the hope of getting elected once again.

[j4r-of-flies]

abt Ram Mandir:

So many people are saying Hindus are getting happy the mandir was built over a mosque and that’s really not the case.

I’m happy for a mandir literally anywhere but in the end of the day no one talks about how the Mughal invasion caused temples to be ripped down only to have mosques placed. This has happened in multiple places, not just in India but all over the subcontinent

People complain about the demolition of Babri masjid but what about all the demolition to Hindu places of worship?? Weird huh

Of course riots occurred after and innocent lives were lost which is horrible but the point still stands. No one ever talks about how Dharmic culture was wiped out in the invasions, we are just reclaiming it, don’t see how it’s so controversial

[singinginthecar]

hi im tamil but im not familiar with the ram mandir thing what is it?

hi i'm so sorry but I've had a long day and therefore don't have the bandwidth to answer this in detail... but you're free to google things like "1992 babri masjid demolition", "2019 ayodhya case verdict" and other similar things from reputed news sources. thank you for asking me and I'm sorry that i can't discuss this in detail today.

[kewalkapoordilse]

Can someone Explain The Reasons For The Babri Masjid Demolition?

The demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, was a deeply controversial and polarizing event in Indian history. The reasons behind this incident are multifaceted and involve a complex interplay of historical, religious, political, and socio-cultural factors. It's important to note that the following explanation aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the key reasons that contributed to the Babri Masjid demolition:

Babri Masjid

Historical and Religious Dispute: The site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, where the Babri Masjid was located, has been a point of contention for centuries. Hindu nationalists claim that the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Rama, a revered deity in Hinduism. This belief led to tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities over the years.

Rise of Hindu Nationalism: The late 20th century saw the emergence of Hindu nationalist movements, particularly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political arm, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These groups advocated for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site, aligning with their vision of a Hindu-centric India.

Political Opportunism: In the 1980s, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement gained momentum, with calls for the construction of a Ram temple at the Babri Masjid site. This movement capitalized on religious sentiments to garner political support. Various political parties, including the BJP, used the issue to consolidate their voter base.

Ayodhya Movement: The Ayodhya movement gained traction in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with large-scale rallies, protests, and marches demanding the construction of a Ram temple. These events escalated tensions between religious communities and brought the issue to the forefront of national discourse.

Demolition as a Symbolic Act: For some, the demolition of the Babri Masjid represented a symbolic assertion of Hindu pride and supremacy. It was seen as a way to rectify perceived historical injustices and reestablish a Hindu identity at the heart of Indian culture and governance.

Lack of Resolution: Despite legal battles and attempts at negotiation, a lasting resolution to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute was not achieved. The inability to find a peaceful solution contributed to growing frustration and radicalization among certain groups.

Media and Propaganda: Mass media played a significant role in shaping public opinion and influencing events. Biased reporting and the dissemination of provocative narratives intensified communal tensions and contributed to the escalation of the conflict.

Failure of Law and Order: The Babri Masjid demolition occurred amidst a failure of law and order, as authorities were unable to prevent the destruction despite being aware of the potential consequences. This failure highlighted weaknesses in governance and security.

International Context: The Babri Masjid demolition also had international ramifications, affecting India's image on the global stage. It raised concerns about religious tolerance, communal harmony, and the protection of minority rights within the country.

In summary, the demolition of the Babri Masjid was the culmination of long-standing historical, religious, and political tensions. The event exposed deep-seated divisions within Indian society and underscored the challenges of reconciling religious sentiments with the principles of secularism and social harmony. The repercussions of the demolition continue to influence socio-political dynamics in India to this day.

[newslobster]

On Babri Demolition Day, Many Arrested Amid Call To Recite Hanuman Chalisa At Mathura Mosque

On Babri Demolition Day, Many Arrested Amid Call To Recite Hanuman Chalisa At Mathura Mosque

Security was heightened at Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Idgah complex since Monday. (Representational image) Mathura: An Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader was arrested on Tuesday while allegedly going to recite Hanuman Chalisa at the Shahi Masjid Idgah on the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi complex, officials said. They said seven-eight other leaders of the organisation were also detained in their houses…

[latestbreakingnewsupdates]

Veteran BJP Leader LK Advani Deposes Before CBI Court in Babri Masjid Demolition Case

Veteran BJP Leader LK Advani Deposes Before CBI Court in Babri Masjid Demolition Case

A particular CBI courtroom on Friday recorded the assertion of veteran BJP chief LK Advani in the Babri mosque demolition case. The assertion of the 92-year-old former deputy prime minster was recorded by means of video conferencing in the courtroom of particular Judge S Okay Yadav.

On Thursday, the courtroom recorded the assertion of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi in the case.

[hulnews]

Veteran BJP Leader LK Advani Deposes Before CBI Court in Babri Masjid Demolition Case

Veteran BJP Leader LK Advani Deposes Before CBI Court in Babri Masjid Demolition Case

[ad_1]

A special CBI court on Friday recorded the statement of veteran BJP leader LK Advani in the Babri mosque demolition case. The statement of the 92-year-old former deputy prime minster was recorded through video conferencing in the court of special Judge S K Yadav.

On Thursday, the court recorded the statement of BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi in the case.

[ad_2] Source…

[bbbnews]

Asaduddin Owaisi on Babri Masjid Demolition: 'याद रखेंगे और अगली पीढ़ी को भी बताएंगे', बाबरी विध्वंस की बरसी पर बोले ओवैसी

Asaduddin Owaisi on Babri Masjid Demolition: ‘याद रखेंगे और अगली पीढ़ी को भी बताएंगे’, बाबरी विध्वंस की बरसी पर बोले ओवैसी

[ad_1]

Asaduddin Owaisi on Babri Masjid Demolition: बाबरी मस्जिद की बरसी पर ओवैसी ने किया ट्वीट

नई दिल्ली:

Babri Masjid Demolition 2020: बाबरी मस्जिद के विंध्वंस की बरसी पर ऑल इंडिया मजलिस-ए-इत्तेहादुल मुस्लिमीन (AIMIM) के प्रमुख असदुद्दीन ओवैसी (Asaduddin Owaisi) ने ट्वीट कर अपने समर्थकों से कहा है कि वो अपनी आने वाली पीढ़ियों को याद दिलाएं कि 400 साल तक बाबरी मस्जिद अयोध्या में खड़ी थी.…

[newscafe-asifistan]

New York’s Time Square lights up for Kashmir Siege Day

Kuala Lumpur, 06 August 2020: New York’s Times Square has lit up with words for Kashmir on Wednesday, marking one year of stripping the Jammu & Kashmir of its statehood with plans to change the Muslim majority demographics in the valley.

According to media reports, the Indian American Public Affairs Committee earlier had planned to advertise images of the Hindu deity Lord Ram as well as 3D images of the Ram Temple scheduled to be built on the land of the demolished Babri Mosque on August 5.

The same day, the Bhoomi Pujan was held in India, which started with India’s Prime Minister setting a silver brick into the ground of Babri Mosque, marking the ground-breaking ceremony of the Temple’s construction. 

For displaying the advertisements, a giant NASDAQ billboard was leased, along with a 17,000-square-foot wrap-around LED display screen.

However, the ads did not run as planned when the day began.

The billboards lit up with “Kashmir Siege Day”, “Kashmiri Lives Matter” and the hashtag “#KashmirisWantFreedom” instead, as booked later by the Kashmir-affiliated activists.

The activist groups also wrote a letter to New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, asking him to stop the “brazen celebration of hatred and Islamophobia.

After few hours, the Lord Ram Temple’s ads did appear briefly for every 15 minutes, but was stopped on the early afternoon.

While the ads were running, a minivan circled around Times Square with counter-ads with vivid descriptions on the background of the Lord Ram Temple and Babri demolition, according to sources.

Later on, multiple protests broke out at the scene against the ads, led by various groups. Pro-Hindutva groups were also present there, who clashed with the Anti-Hindutva Sikh groups later on.

The ads for Kashmir were not taken off when the day ended, sources have said.

Media reports have later confirmed that the billboards will run for a week to protest the abrogation of Article 370 on its first anniversary.  

06 August 2020, 03:30 PM 

[digitaldawahhd]

Inna lillah winna ilayhi rajioon🖤 He returned to his creator 2 days back This is Mohammed Amir (Formerly Balbir Singh), once a karsevak and also a Sangh leader who participated in the demolition of Babri Masjid. When I look at him, these words of Umar ibn khattab(R) words reverberate in my ear : "Sometimes the people with the worst past have the best future".❤️ Consumed by hate against Muslims, Balbir Singh was part of the Hindu fanatic mob that demolished the 16th-century Babri Mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya on Dec. 6, 1992. Soon after the demolition, Balbir along with another kar sevak (Hindu volunteers who demolished mosque) Yogendra Pal went into deep introspection. Six months later, they converted to Islam. Twenty-eight years later, Singh rechristened as Mohammed Amir, has already built 90 mosques. He had vowed to build 100 mosques to atone his participation in the demolition. This is absolutely amazing! It's astonishing to see how profoundly people can change. His life is a proof that regardless what what sins you committed, regardless of where you are in life, it's possible to change. To shift your focus by undertanding the truth.🌟 #babrimasjid #amir https://www.instagram.com/p/CRs-LLPNXO_/?utm_medium=tumblr

[kingweaslee]

The problem with people saying Modi doesn’t want to weed out all Muslims, only Muslims who have entered after 2014 i.e. illegal immigrants, please try to understand this in context.

1. The bill specifically promises reintegration to immigrants from all other communities EXCEPT Muslims. The problem isn’t really with immigrants, illegal or not, it specifically with Muslim immigrants.

2. This is coming from a political party which literally rose to popularity banking on Hindu religious sentiments at a time when communal disharmony was ripe and caused it as well (the Babri Masjid demolition case: BJP claimed the grounds of Babri Masjid to be sacred Hindu ground with no historical basis to it, leading to riots led by BJP which propelled it to popularity)

3. Modi and BJP have had a long history of hatred for Muslims. He engineered the 2002 Gujarat riots in which a large were Muslims were massacred by BJP mobs. “Sending all Muslims to Pakistan” was part of his 2015 election agenda. Not officially of course but there are video records of him saying it in speeches.

4. The Babri Masjid verdict which came out last month, which gave the Babri Masjid land to the Hindus. The Masjid authorities were given land elsewhere, but that is not the point, the point is that a historically and religiously important Masjid (it was built by Babur, the first Mughal emperor, hence the name) is demolished and a Hindu temple is going to be built in its place.

5. Dividing Kashmir into three union territories had a lot to do with the fact that united Kashmir was the only state in India with a Muslim majority. By allowing other Indians to buy land in Kashmir Modi probably hopes to undo that. Let’s not pretend all the hatred against Kashmir has a whole lot to do with his hatred against Muslims. Kashmir is blocked for 139 days now, they have no internet, we have no idea what is happening there.

6. Students protesting in Jamia Milia and Aligarh University (both Muslim universities) were attacked, arrested and beaten up by the Delhi Police. Girls were molested. One student was killed.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT MODI HATES MUSLIMS AND ANYONE WHO DOES NOT SIDE WITH HIM. HE IS DANGEROUS. HE IS A FASCIST. THE INTERNET AND MOBILE NETWORKS HAVE BEEN SHUT OFF IN A LOT OF PARTS. THEY MIGHT BLOCK INTERNET OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY TO KEEP NEWS FROM GOING OUT. THEY HAVE BUILT DETENTION CAMPS WHICH ARE LIKE THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN NAZI GERMANY, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE THOSE CAMPS.

WE ARE AFRAID. WE ARE VERY VERY AFRAID BUT WE ARE ALSO ANGRY.

[kalyan-gullapalli]

Post # 128

Bharat's Ratna...

If Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao were alive today, he would be 99 years old. On 28th June, 2021, he would have turned 100. So this year, the Telangana government is celebrating his birth centenary year. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao led the bandwagon of people demanding Bharat Ratna for PV (as he was fondly known), with BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy supporting this demand. Reports appear that Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to give him a Bharat Ratna when he was Prime Minister.

Glowing tributes flew from all and sundry, even from Congress, whose party he belonged to, and who conveniently chose to ignore him since 1996, when he stepped down as PM.

No matter how significant PV Narasimha Rao's life was before 1996, it probably must have been hell since then, till 2004, when he died of a heart attack. First of all, he got no credit from his own Congress party for the path-breaking economic reforms he instituted and pulled the country out of the deep shit it had been pushed into by former governments and their policies. Dr. Manmohan Singh, instead, got all the credit.

Next, he was blamed for the party's 1996 electoral defeat, dumped and replaced by Sitaram Kesari. He was excluded from every Congress Working Committee meeting since.

To rub salt on wounds, he was charged with many corruption cases, some of them by his own party colleagues. He supposedly went through a very bad phase financially and had to sell his Banjara Hills house in Hyderabad to pay for his lawyers.

When he died, while undergoing treatment in AIIMS, his family requested that being a former PM, he should be cremated and his remains buried in Delhi. But Sonia Gandhi and her cronies didn't even allow his body to enter the AICC building in Delhi. That's when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy intervened, flew the body back to Hyderabad, and had it cremated with state honors.

But why was PV, a freedom fighter before Indian independence, a career Congress-man, an Indira Gandhi loyalist even in Emergency days, a State Chief Minister, a cabinet minister with Foreign and Home ministries and an ex-Prime Minister, treated with such disdain in his last few years? And now, why this drama about a Bharat Ratna? Therein lies a tale...

In 1991, PV Narasimha Rao had practically retired from politics. He had by then, seen it all, done it all. Renowned as a scholar - he was fluent in 17 languages - and known to be indecisive - a requisite for survival in the Indian National Congress in those Indira days - he was cooling his heels, when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, in the midst of electoral polling.

Congress emerged as the largest party in those elections, but didn't have majority. Sonia didn't want to enter politics just as yet. So PV was persuaded to head a minority government, simply because he was deemed harmless, and asked to lead a nation rocked by the worst economic crisis in its history - the country was bankrupt and had to pledge 68 tonnes of gold in return for aid from IMF, and was grappling with political uncertainty - this was the third government in as many years.

To put it mildly, to survive 5 years - 5 eventful years - and produce the results that he did, was nothing short of miraculous. If a Prime Minister's performance is to be measured by the difference he made to the country while in office, PV Narasimha Rao was probably the most significant Prime Minister India has ever had.

1. Economic reforms:

PV Narasimha Rao was the true father of Indian economic reforms. He brought in a technocrat - Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister of India, and backed him 100% to implement necessary reforms. He himself headed the Commerce and Industries ministry to dismantle the socialist policies of the License Raj. His ability to steer unconventional, unpopular reforms through opposition, while heading a minotity government gave him the title Chanakya of Indian politics. Dr. Manmohan Singh says PV was "his friend, philosopher and guide".

2. Nuclear testing:

Today, the world credits Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for India's nuclear testing programme, which culminated in the Pokhran tests of 1998. However, the tests were actually planned in 1995, during PV's term in office. They were dropped under American pressure when the US intelligence got the whiff of it. In 1996, when PV stepped down and Vajpayee became PM, PV met Vajpayee and updated him on the progress of the nuclear programme. Vajpayee said later, "Rao told me that the bomb was ready. I only exploded it." APJ Abdul Kalam described PV Narasimha Rao as a "patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system". 

3. Foreign policy:

He decided in 1992 to bring into the open India's relations with Israel, which had been kept covertly active for a few years during his tenure as a Foreign Minister, and permitted Israel to open an embassy in New Delhi. Today, Israel is one of India's best friends.

He ordered the intelligence community in 1992 to start a systematic drive to draw the international community's attention to Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in India and not to be discouraged by US efforts to undermine the exercise.

Rao launched the Look East foreign policy, which brought India closer to ASEAN. Subsequent governments have pursued this policy as well. Today, Narendra Modi is a strong advocate and practitioner of this policy.

He decided to maintain a distance from the Dalai Lama in order to placate Beijing, and made successful overtures to Tehran. These policies paid rich dividends for India in 1994, when Benazir Bhutto's efforts to have a resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir failed, with opposition by China and Iran.

4. Crisis management:

After the 1993 Bombay blasts, PV personally visited Bombay and after seeing evidence of Pakistani involvement in the blasts, invited the intelligence agencies of the US, UK and other West European countries to examine the facts for themselves.

It was during his term that terrorism in Punjab was finally defeated.

He also directed negotiations to secure the release of Doraiswamy, an Indian Oil executive, from Kashmiri terrorists who kidnapped him, and Liviu Radu, a Romanian diplomat posted in New Delhi in October 1991, who was kidnapped by Sikh terrorists.

He also brought the occupation of the Hazratbal holy shrine in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists in October 1993 to an end without damage to the shrine.

In 1993, a strong earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra killed nearly 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. PV Narasimha Rao was applauded for using modern technology and resources to organise major relief operations.

Okay. By now, I am convinced he has done enough to have become a high-performance Prime Minister, despite his inaction during the Babri Masjid demolition and the pan-India rioting that happened after that. But why the disdain, especially from within his own party?

Some commentators say that his shabby treatment largely owed to the fact that, in the dusk of his career, he refused to serve as a seat-warmer to the next generation of Gandhis. Once he became the PM, this previously indecisive, harmless, grand old man acted like the buck stopped with him. He stopped visiting Sonia Gandhi regularly, which she resented. In him, the Gandhi family detected a rival power centre that could diminish their centrality to the party and its fortunes.

Some others say that Sonia Gandhi was unhappy with the pace at which Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case was progressing. A few others say that Congress ‘punished’ Rao for his failure to safeguard the Babri Masjid and jeopardise the party’s long-nurtured Muslim vote bank.

Whatever be the real inside story, I feel compelled to reproduce the most glowing tribute to PV Narasimha Rao I read in the past few days.

“Rao is to India what founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are to the United States; Friedrich List to Germany; Hayato Ikeda to Japan; Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius to Singapore; and Deng Xiaoping to China.”

In my book, Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao is 100% a Bharat Ratna - a Jewel of India.

[dispatchesfrom2020]

2020

Week 32: August 3-9

3: Microsoft is in talks to buy Tiktok from its Chinese owning company ByteDance. And in California, wildfire season has begun with a large-scale blaze. The Apple fire has singed up 20,500 acres near Los Angeles - by the end of the summer, much of the coast will be engulfed with smoke as fires rage throughout the Pacific Northwest in the driest, smokiest season in recent memory.

Hussein Malla/AP

4: A large shipment of long-neglected ammonium nitrate warehoused in the port city of Beirut goes up in flames, igniting a large-scale explosion that levels city blocks and kills at least 204 people. Buildings up to 10km away sustain damage - and shockwaves are felt as far away as Cyprus. Photos of the city capture blocks upon blocks of blown-out apartments, strewn glass and roads clogged with rubble. Lebanon, already facing down a flagging economy, defaulted loans and a looming health crisis, now faces the struggle to house the 300,000 newly-homeless residents displaced by the eruption. Three hospitals were completely destroyed - killing at least 4 nurses and 15 COVID patients. Two others were damaged - and all are strained to capacity with the incoming wounded. Grain silos in the city’s port are destroyed, sending the country into food shortages in coming weeks.

5: Isaias - the 2020 Atlantic storm season’s second hurricane - finally peters out over Quebec. It raked along the eastern seaboard causing flooding, high winds and even low-grade tornados over Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Millions of homes are left without power across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Falling trees, flooding, rip-currents and lightning-strikes claim 18 victims during the storm. In India, Prime Minister Modi lays the ceremonial first stone at a new temple in Ayodhya. The Babri Mosque previously occupied the site. Built in the 16th century, the mosque was destroyed during religious violence and riots during the 1990s. Archaeological reports indicated that, beneath the mosque, there was an earlier Hindu shrine, marking the birthplace of the god Rama. The country’s Supreme Court ruled that the land be returned to Hindu hands while a replacement mosque was built elsewhere. The country has seen dramatic swing towards Hindu nationalism under Modi’s leadership, accompanied by a distinct uptick in violence towards Muslims, a religious minority.

Hyderabad’s Muslim MP Asaduddin Owaisi says that Modi’s participation in the ceremony is a violation of the country’s secular structure and constitution. Muslim journalist Rana Ayyub calls the temple’s inauguration, at the site of a crime against Muslims, is an “ugly dance of fascism” - Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

6: Allan Lichtman, a historian who has successfully forecast every election cycle since 1980 including the upset 2016 contest, claims that his unique model bodes well for Biden. It’s welcome news because the Democratic hopeful has just cancelled his upcoming Milwaukee trip due to rising numbers. Campaigning during coronavirus - when door knocking, canvassing, and rallies are seen as dangerous and virus-spreading - presents its own rich mosaic of challenges.

7: Bubonic plague is back. I’m not kidding. China shuts off the Inner Mongolia village of Suji Xincun after a herdsman becomes ill and dies of the illness. In Thailand protests continue as people demand new elections, reforms to the monarchy, and a new constitution to replace the one drafted by the military after the 2014 coup. 

8: Frustrated protesters clash with security forces in Beirut as they rally against the government mismanagement and corruption. The ammonium nitrate that sparked Tuesday’s explosion had been stored in an insecure warehouse in the city’s port for six years, despite custom officials frequent appeals to government officials and the Lebanese courts to allow them to dispose of the material, transferring it to the army or selling it to local demolitions companies. For many Lebanese people, the blast is the latest embodiment of government negligence and incompetence.

Sergei Grits/AP

9: It’s election day in Belarus, following weeks of brutal government crackdowns on independent journalists, activists, protesters, and opposition leaders. The long-time incumbent, Alexander Lukashenko, is being challenged by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an English teacher and translator unwillingly thrust into the political limelight after the arrest of her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Siarghei, a politician and entrepreneur, was detained two days after announcing his own intention to run for president on trumped up charges of assaulting a police officer. Late in the night, state-controlled media report that Lukashenko is leading exit polls with nearly 80% of the vote - which Tsikhanouskaya denounces as a rigged and unfair election. Spontaneous protests erupt across the nation - in at least 20 cities. In Minsk, the national capital, police batter protesters with pepper spray and rubber bullets. A police van barrels into a crowd, injuring a protester and another demonstrator is shot dead by security forces. Thousands are arrested - and the city is thrown into an internet blackout. 

[yesroyalrumble]

🕉 🚩🏰🕌⁣ ⁣ Is it a temple or a mosque? 🤔⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ This is Gyanvapi Mosque, built on demolished Kashi Vishwanath Temple i.e.one of the Twelve Jyotirling of Lord Shiva. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Photography of the site is not allowed but I took this photograph yesterday as the area was not as busy as it is on normal days. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ As you can see in the area highlighted in the picture, half of the premises can clearly be seen as ruins of a demolished temple. It’s not as complicated as Ram Janma Bhoomi to ascertain if there was a Temple or not. If you go closer to the site, you’ll be able to see that ‘Nandi’ is facing towards the mosque, not current day Kashi Vishwanath Temple. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ My grandmother & other ladies used to worship ‘Mangla Gauri’ on the wall of Mosque before demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. ⁣ This demolished temple & Mosque over it is what Ganga Jamuna Tehzeeb of 🇮🇳 is all about. They’ll demolish your temples, build mosques over it, boast about 800 years of rule over Kafir Hindus & you’re supposed to keep quiet. Else, Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb & Secularism will be under severe threat. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Credits 📸 - Vaibhav Singh ji. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #LostKnowledge #templearchitecture #templephotography #templesofindia #templelife #templephotos #instalike #INSANE #Varanasi #LostTemples ⁣ #ancientbrand #Ancientculture #ancientteachings #ancientfuture #ancientstones #ancientIndia #ancientsymbol #ancientplace #AncientSoul #ancientbeauty #ancientmonuments #GyanvapiMosque #KashiVishwanathTemple #Varanasi #benaras⁣ ⁣⁣ (at Kashi Vishwanath Temple) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9oO4J2F-wF/?igshid=h4l8yxfzuemh