Secularism in India
While India claims to be a secular country, with a secular Constitution, the truth is that the vast majority of Hindus are communal, and so are the vast majority of Muslims ( though they may not say so openly ).One proof of this is that when Muslims are lynched or attacked in India only a minority of Hindus are horrified at this, while the vast majority
are indifferent, and many even approve of this as ' putting the Muslims in their place '. The same attitude would be of most Muslims in Pakistan when some atrocity is committed on Hindus there
Secularism is a modern value which arose in Western Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries with the growth of modern industry. But India is still backward,  semi feudal, and only partially industrialized.
After Independence the Congress party was in power for several decades. It professed secularism, but this was really for getting the Muslim vote bank in elections. Now with the BJP in power even the fig leaf of secularism has been removed.
Dark days are ahead for India

Bhim Army
I have always condemned the atrocities and discrimination against dalits.
Nevertheless, I am against formation of a Bhim Army, BAPSA, or such other separatist organizations of dalits, as that is a serious mistake, and is against the interests of the dalits.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…/articlesh…/58768048.cms

http://indianexpress.com/…/from-one-paathshala-to-350-bhim…/

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/saharanpur-violence-on-the-run-bhim-army-chief-appears-at-jantar-mantar-says-will-surrender-4667069/

Such separate organizations of dalits only play into the hands of the rulers who want to divide and rule. Dalits must not isolate themselves, but should join hands with the enlightened sections of the upper castes and OBCs.

In America separate organizations of blacks like The Nation of Islam, whose leaders were Elijah Muhammed, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, etc, and the Black Panthers, etc failed to achieve anything

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party

India must make one of two choices
Logically, India must make one of two choices now :
Either
1. Continue recognizing Pakistan as a legitimate country by accepting the validity of the two nation theory ( i.e. that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations ) on the basis of which India was partitioned in 1947. 
If we excercize this option, we must logically hand over Kashmir to Pakistan since the overwhelming majority of Kashmiris were, and still are, Muslims. A single individual, the Maharaja, cannot decide the fate of a people.
Or
2. Reject the two nation theory as bogus and reject the validity of that historical British swindle called Partition, in which case we must logically derecognize Pakistan as it is a fake, artificial entity, recall our diplomats from Pakistan, throw out theirs, declare to the world that Pakistan is part of India and must be reunited with it under a secular government, and withdraw from the United Nations unless it throws out Pakistan
Did President Abraham Lincoln recognize the Confederate States of America ?
Did President Ho Chi Minh recognize South Vietnam ?
Did China recognize Taiwan, and did it sit in the U.N. until Taiwan was thrown out ?
It is time we took the logical step

Jobless Growth
The expression 'jobless growth', which is sometimes used for the Indian economy, to my mind is an oxymoron. Either there is growth or there is high unemployment, but there cannot be both. Let me explain.
There can be no doubt that unemployment has increased after the BJP came to power in May 2014. 
According to the Indian Labour Ministry, 9.5 lac jobs were created annually in the organized sector of the Indian economy in the years 2009 to 2011. But in the years 2015 and 2016 the jobs created annually were less than 2 lacs.
In the quarter October to December 2016 2.5 lac small units closed down. In the I.T. sector there have been massive lay offs, and according to Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys, half the I.T. jobs will become redundant in a few years.
Can there be growth of the economy without increasing the number of jobs ? I submit there cannot, because if production increases there must be an increase in sales. To increase sales there must be more people with purchasing power to buy the increased amount of products, and this implies increase in jobs. A jobless person has little purchasing power.
It follows that 'vikas' was an empty slogan, a jumla, like Indira Gandhi's 'garibi hatao', useful for winning elections, but after which people are left high and dry.
In this connection see my blog http://justicekatju.blogspot.in/search?q=unemployment

A new interpretation of a Ghalib sher

Zulmat kade mein mere shab-e-gham ka josh hai
Ek shama hai daleel-e-sahar, so khamosh hai
Mirza Ghalib

Great Urdu poets often write not in direct language but in indirect language, using hints, suggestions, allusions or indications. So to understand their real meaning the reader must go behind the plain literal and superficial meaning, and try to find out the deeper real meaning which the poet is trying to convey. To find out this deeper real meaning you have to often use your head to find it out, and often it may not be evident to you initially.
 Also, Urdu poetry has the quality that several meanings can be given to many shers ( couplets ). Sometimes a meaning can be given by the reader which even the shayar ( poet ) may not have contemplated.
So let us interpret the above sher of Ghalib, the greatest Urdu poet.
Zulmatkade means place of darkness, shab means night, gham means sorrow, shamaa means flame, daleel means proof or argument, sahar means dawn, khamosh means silent.
My own interpretation of the sher, which reflects the present conditions in India is this :
" Even in these dark miserable times there is a passionate fire of optimism in me
When the candle which has burnt all night gets finally extinguished it increases the darkness
But it is also proof that the dawn ( i.e. the beginning of a new prosperous era ) is shortly coming "
In other words, the greater the suffering of the Indian people, the nearer is the Revolution

Rajnikanth
I have a high opinion of south Indians, but I just cannot understand their stupid deification and idolization of filmstars.
I remember when I was in Annamalai University ( 1967-68 ) I once went with some Tamilian friends to see a movie starring Shivaji Ganesan. At the very beginning of that movie the feet of Shivaji Ganesan were shown ( and only the feet ) and the audience went hysterical. 
Now it seems many south Indians are crazy about Rajnikanth, and some even want him to enter politics and be the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu
http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/rajini-will-not-disappoint-7-cr-tamils-says-his-friend/article18475206.ece?homepage=true
But what is there in Rajnikanth ? Has he any solutions to the massive problems of poverty, unemployment, malnourishment, lack of healthcare, farmers distress, etc ? I think he has none. Then why do people want him in politics ? Like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth has nothing in his head.

Lunch with a pro-Modi NRI in California
Had lunch in a Chinese restaurant in Fremomt, California with an NRI friend who is settled in the Bay Area ( Silicon Valley ) USA for over 30 years and has his business here. He is pro-Modi, like most NRIs in America.
He was the host of Prime Minister Modi's visit to the Silicon Valley in September 2015, and spent 2 days with him, and they had long conversations.
He has a very good opinion of Modi, whom he regards a man with a vision, the vision being of developing India.
I told him that at present there was no credible opposition to Modi, and that is why BJP won 4 of the 5 states in the recent elections. He agreed, and said that AAP too was now discredited.
He asked about Congress, and I said in my opinion it was finished as long as Sonia and Rahul are its leaders. He said why do Congressmen then not choose another leadership instead of sticking with them. I said India is a feudal country, in which the son/daughter of a king becomes the next ruler, even if he is incompetent and undeserving. The Nehru-Gandhi family is regarded by the Congress party as the royal family, and it is this binding force which keeps the party united.
He asked whether Modi was corrupt. I said that I had not heard of any personal corruption of Modi. For whom will he take money ? He has no family. But of course one has to take money for the party because politics is an expensive affair in India, elections are expensive, and it costs a lot of money to run an organization.
In contrast, I am convinced Sonia Gandhi was personally corrupt. She looted India, and took away a huge amount of money which she has parked in foreign banks or secret havens. Scam after scam ( e.g. 2G scam, coalblock scam, CWG scam, etc ) was taking place, not of crores of rupees but of lacs of crores, when UPA, of which she was the Chairman, was in power. Where has all this loot gone ? Everyone knows that Manmohan Singh was a dummy, and the real ruler was Sonia. So one can put two and two together. There may not be direct evidence, but there is also a thing called circumstantial evidence.
He asked why BJP won even in Muslim majority areas in U.P. I replied that I had no idea, but normally Muslims do not vote for BJP, and that is why no Muslim was given a BJP ticket in the recent U.P. Assembly elections.
He asked whether the Muslims were feeling alienated. 
I replied that was so. I also told him of the fear of Muslims who are feeling insecure after the attacks on some Muslims in Dadri, Alwar, etc. The appointment of Adityanath as C.M. of U.P. has also sent a wrong message.
He did not deny that, but hoped the extreme elements will be controlled.
He said that he told Modi to have a substantial number of his Secretaries, Addl Secretaries and Jt. Secretaries from the private sector, instead of from the I.A.S.
To this Modi replied that the bureaucracy was very powerful in India, and he did not want a confrontation with it at present, but may consider about it later. However, my friend said he did not believe Modi will ever change the state of affairs in this connection.
My friend said that most jobs are created not by big business but by small businesses, but in India before Modi the climate was hostile to small businesses and Start Ups. For instance, in notices inviting applications for contracts it was usually mentioned that parties having a turnover of less than a certain amount in past years will not be considered, and this turnover amount was fixed so high that new Start Ups could never be considered.
According to him this has now changed by the DIPP. I am not sure this is true. As far as I know, small businesses are having an even more difficult time.
I told him people voted for Modi thinking that vikas meant millions of jobs will be created, but in fact jobs have been further reduced. 12 million youth are coming into the Indian job market every year, but last year only 140, 000 jobs were created in the organized sector of the Indian economy.
The divide between the rich and the poor has increased, and now 57 individuals in India control 70% of India's wealth. How long will this situation be tolerated ?
We also discussed the media. He said that TRP rating of anti-establishment media goes up, and so in USA the TRP rating of CNN, which is regarded as anti-Trump has gone up, while that of Fox News, which is regarded as pro-Trump has gone down.
I said that as far as the Indian media is concerned most of it is presently pro-establishment. Many mediapersons who were perceived as anti Modi have lost their jobs. Most of the media has been taken over by corporates, and these corporates are all pro-Modi.

Chitto Jetha Bhaypurno
Where the minds of the people are always in fear of losing their livelihood or not being able to make two ends meet, and the head is stooped low
Where the leaders of the country are shameless gangsters, crooks, looters, deceivers and gundas who have amassed fortunes
Where crony capitalists have cornered most of the country's wealth, while the masses are living in abject misery
Where most people are servile and kowtow, crawl and do shaashtang before the corrupt leaders 
Where cows are worshipped and minorities lynched on false charges of cow slaughter
Where a Ram Mandir is built not only in Ayodhya but also in every town, and even in every mohalla and village, in India
Where Muslims are thrashed if they do not say ' Jai Shri Ram ' and are forced to eat gobar and drink gomutra
Where people raising their voice against oppression, exploitation and corruption are branded as Naxalites and shot like partridges
Where bollywood, cricket, fashion parades and astrology is given to the poor masses instead of food and jobs, the way the Roman Emperors gave circuses to the people
Where people demanding bread are told to eat cake
Where the largely corrupt, sold out and shameless media keeps diverting attention of the people from the real socio-economic issues to trivialities
Where every virtue has decayed and vanished, and honesty regarded as stupidity
Where wealth replaces character and conduct. Might becomes right, might alone determining dharma and justice.
Where trade and fraudulent practice become synonymous.
Where the law favours only the rich, and has no regard for justice. 
Where he that can curse and swear best will be considered the finest scholar.
Where poverty will be sufficient cause to establish guilt in the eyes of the law, while wealth and ostentation will be indices of character.
Where he who maintains his family by the foulest means will be considered most respectable. 
Where dharma is observed only for exhibition.
Where whoever is crooked and daring becomes the political leader, and rules like greedy lustful bandits, with plunder and rapine of the citizens
Where exhausted by cruel taxes, deprived of rains in the land, the people subsist on wild vegetation, roots, and leaves
Where the political leaders, when the people complain they have no food, tell them, like Foulon before the French Revolution, to eat grass `.
Where the rulers are mere robbers, and men, driven by despair, poverty and unemployment will become thieves, murderers or suicides.
Where arrogance, hypocrisy, deception, dishonesty, sloth, somnolence, cruelty of every kind, delusion, terror and wretchedness will rule 
Where the vilest men become the foremost traders, making cheating and thievery the common practice of the marketplace. 
Where seated upon the sacred thrones of great and holy gurus of yore, babas that are masters only of vice will expound dharma to the gullible populace.
Where depleted by dreadful taxes, tormented by drought, starved, owning none of the bare necessities of life---homes, clothes, food and drink, a bed, a bath,etc. --men will seem more like bhutas and pisachas.
Into that hell of slavery, Father, let my country awake
Hari Om

The Intellectual bankruptcy of the Indian 'critical thinkers'
After reading the discussion between the self styled 'critical thinker' Romilla Thapar and Siddhartha Varadarajan in thewire.in, I thought a response is really called for.
These ' critical thinkers ' in our Universities, media, etc cry hoarse against the sins of the present regime in India, denouncing it as fascist, anti-democratic, and what not. But, to use a Hindi proverb, ' kabhi inhone apne girebaan mein jhaank ke dekha hai ? '.
I accuse the Indian self styled 'liberal',and 'critical' thinkers of totally letting down the nation, by hankering for lucrative posts and sinecures in Indian academia and elsewhere, and of being totally superficial while posing to be profound thinkers. It is indeed fashionable today to be a 'leftist' 'intellectual' in India, as long as your comfortable lifestyle is not adversely affected.
Let me ask a few questions to these ' critical thinkers ' ?
1. When I denounced Gandhi as a hypocritical, feudal minded, reactionary British agent in a series of blogs ( see the blogs on Gandhi in justicekatju.blogspot.in ), for which I gave my reasons, but for which I was condemned by both Houses of the Indian Parliament, without even considering my reasons, where were these ' critical thinkers ? '. Did anyone of them come to my defence ? Or if they thought I was wrong, did any of them consider my reasons and seek to refute them rationally ? No, they maintained the 'noble silence ' of the Buddha, probably thinking the topic too hot and dangerous for a rational discussion. But surely critical thinking means application of reason to every phenomena, even it results in personal discomfort.
2. Similarly when I denounced Tagore, Syed Ahmed Khan, Allama Iqbal, Savarkar, Tilak, Bankim Chandra etc as British agents, and Subhas Chandra Bose as a Japanese stooge and lackey, for which I gave my reasons in my blogs, where were they ? Again, maintaining the ' noble silence '.
3. How many 'critical thinkers' came to my support when I condemned the irrational, feudal laws, customs and practices of beef ban, sharia, burqa etc and called for their abolition ? Not one.
4. Have Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, or other 'celebrated' historians in India said, or even realized, that communalism in India is an artificially created phenomenon which did not exist before the Mutiny of 1857 in which Hindus and Muslims jointly fought against the British, and which was created craftily and systematically by the British after suppressing the Mutiny of 1857 ( see my article ' The Truth about Pakistan ' and B.N.Pande's speech ' History in the service of Imperialism ' online ), and by certain vested interests after 1947 ?
5. Has any of these ' critical thinkers ' ever said, or even realized, that Pakistan is a fake, artificial country which was created by the British on the basis of the bogus two nation theory, using as their agents Gandhi and Jinnah ? ( see my blogs ' The Truth about Pakistan ', ' We are one ' , and my blogs on Gandhi, etc), that we are really one nation sharing the same culture, that we were one country since Mughal times, and that we are bound to reunite under a truly secular govt. which does not tolerate religious bigotry or extremism of any kind, whether Hindu or Muslim.
6. Has any of these 'critical thinkers' ever considered what is India ?
I did, and after deep investigation found that India is largely a country of immigrants, like North America, with about 93-94% of its present inhabitants having ancestors who came from abroad, mostly from the north west ( see my post ' What is India ? ' online and on my blog), and this explains our tremendous diversity.
Now I am a man with a legal background. This discovery should really have been made by the academicians. But where were they ? Enjoying their comfortable lives ?
I have pointed out in several posts on facebook and my blog that the solutions to the massive problems India is facing---poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, lack of healthcare and goof education, etc---do not lie within the present Constitutional and political system, but outside it, and hence India is inevitably heading for a revolution.
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/…/reforms-will-not-do-india-a…/

But every great revolution has to be preceded by an ideological revolution.
For instance, the French Revolution of 1789 was preceded by several decades of struggle in the realm of ideas, in which great thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, the French Encyclopedists, and thinkers of the Enlightenment bravely fought ideologically against the feudal system and religious bigotry. in France. Without this long drawn ideological struggle the Revolution of 1789 would have been difficult, if not impossible.
Similarly, before a revolution can take place in India to establish a modern, just, political and social order in which all Indians can have decent lives, a powerful ideological struggle is needed to attack and sweep away the centuries of backward, feudal filth, e.g. casteism, communalism and superstitions which has accumulated, and which still pervades and persists in Indian society, and spread rational and scientific ideas widely
This was the job of our 'critical thinkers'. But where are they ? What have they been doing so long ?

We are one
Two Indian jawans were killed and mutiliated, but by whom ? Indians blame the Pakistani army, but Pakistan has denied the charge. Now whom to believe ?
The TRP driven Indian media paints Pakistanis as devils, and the TRP driven Pakistani media reciprocates the compliment.
What is the truth ?
The truth is that India and Pakistan are really one country, sharing the same culture. We were one since Mughal times, but were befooled by the Britishers into thinking that Hindus and Muslims are each other's enemies, and temporarily divided on the basis of the bogus two nation theory. 
But how much longer must we remain befooled ? How much longer must blood flow between us ? We are bound to reunite one day under a secular government. 
99% Indians are good people, and so are 99% Pakistanis, 99% Hindus are good people, and so are 99% Muslims.
To say that Partition took place 70 years ago and hence reunification is not possible as much water has flown, overlooks the fact that Germany was reunited in 1990 after 45 years separation, Vietnam was reunited after 30 years separation, and China has still not recognized Taiwan since 1945 when they were separated.
To say that reunification is not possible as there is too much hatred on both sides, overlooks the fact that this hatred is artificially created ( see my article ' The Truth about Pakistan ' online ). When Indians go to Pakistan they get overwhelming love and hospitality from Pakistanis, and the same happens when Pakistanis come to India. We are really one, and so must reunite

Justice Karnan
Contempt is discretionary jurisdiction. Hence even when contempt has in fact been committed, the Court is not bound to take action for contempt of court.
Justice Karnan is no doubt a bit crazy, but he is retiring on 10th June this year. Hence in my opinion it would have been best for the Supreme Court to have avoided taking contempt of court action against.
However, in its wisdom, the Court has sentenced him to 6 months jail.
Now the problem is of implementing this order. Justice Karnan has elluded two state police in 3 states for almost a week. I am reminded of these lines :
" They seek him here, they seek him there
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere
Is he in heaven, is he in hell ?
That damned elusive Pimpernal "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Pimpernel

When a person against whom there is an arrest warrant absconds, the police may attach his properties, moveable and immoveable under section 82/83 Cr.P.C.
Will the Supreme Court direct the Tamilnadu police do the same in respect of Justice Karnan ?
And are the Tamilnadu police sympathising with Justice Karnan in their hearts, and helping him in certain ways, since they too are Tamilians ?
It seems like an Agathie Christie mystery scenario, which requires a Hercule Poirot to solve
The Supreme Court may also consider asking the Indian Govt. to seek help from Interpol or Scotland Yard to trace the whereabouts of our own Scarlet Pimpernal.
Hari Om

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Wikipedia

, first published in 1905. The novel was written after Orczy's stage play of the same title enjoyed a long run in London and popular success earlier in 1905, after a first run in Nottingham in 1903.

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

The Belt and Road Forum

The Belt and Road Forum Summit, being held in Beijing on 14th and 15th May, should be renamed the ' Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Summit ', because it is reminiscient of that euphemistic phoney organization created by the Japanese fascist Imperialists in the 1930s and 1940s as a cover to seek out new avenues for investment, and to capture the markets and raw materials of Asian countries for the needs of the growing Japanese industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_East_Asia_Co-Prosperity_Sphere

People should not have any illusions about today's China, and should not be misguided by the Cheshire Cat grin President Xi Jinping gives.. China today is not a socialist but a ravenous imperialist country, whose leaders are a gang of big time dacoits and mafia.
China has a huge foreign change reserve of over 3 trillion dollars, which is hungrily seeking new economic fields for investment in foreign countries, like a vampire seeking victims from whose bodies it intends to suck blood. It has already spread its talons and fangs in many Asian, African and Latin American countries to enslave and loot them, and bring them under the heels of its its colonial empire, by various devious methods, including giving huge bribes to the corrupt leaders of those countries.
OBOR ( One Belt, One Road ) is nothing but Chinese neo-imperialism. Only shameless lackeys & bootlickers of the crooked rulers of China are supporting it
It is the time this seemingly 'benevolent' mask of the Chinese imperialists is torn off, and the whole world is made aware of the truth, so that it unitedly puts up a determined resistance to the Chinese Dragon's imperialist ambition to swallow the whole world, beginning from the underdeveloped countries, otherwise a great calamity shall fall on all of us

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere - Wikipedia

. It also declared the intention to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers". It was announced in a radio address entitled "The International Situation and…

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

The Problem for Indian Muslims

When Indian Muslims go to vote, they have only one aim in mind--to defeat BJP.

For a long time after Independence they voted for Congress, as Congress leaders told them " If you dont vote for Congress, Jan Sangh ( now BJP ) will eat you up ". So they voted en masse for Congress.

After demolition of Babri Masjid in December 1992, Muslims became angry with Congress, and broadly joined Mulayam Singh in U.P. and Lalu Yadav in Bihar. But then too they resorted to 'tactical voting', i.e. voting for the strongest non BJP candidate in a particular constituency. So in some constituencies they voted for BSP, Congress.etc

In Delhi at one time there were only 2 strong parties, BJP or Congress. Obviously Muslims would not vote for BJP, and so they voted for Congress. When Congress became discredited and AAP was formed, they became AAP supporters.

And now that AAP too is discredited, where are the poor Indian Muslims to go ?

Shashi Tharoor
In his book ' Era of Darkness ', Shashi Tharoor writes that British industrialization was based on looting India and other colonies.
But what is so original about this ?
Primitive accumulation of capital, on whose foundation British industrialization took place, was based on expropriation of the peasantry and looting of the colonies, as Marx had explained almost 150 years ago. So what is new in what Tharoor says.
Talking of return of the Kohinoor in his book shows the shallowness of Tharoor's mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Primitive_accumulation_of_capita…

Tharoor says there is nothing wrong in democracy, only the manner in which it is practised--another of his platitudes.
He refuses to acknowledge the truth that Indian democracy is a farce, largely based on caste and communal vote banks, our state institutions have become largely hollow and empty shells, and the only way out for the Indian people from their massive poverty, unemployment, etc is by a revolution.
Tharoor is a totally superficial thinker pretending to be very original.

Primitive accumulation of capital - Wikipedia

In Marxist economics and preceding theories,[1] the problem of primitive accumulation (also called previous accumulation, original accumulation) of capital concerns the origin of capital, and therefore of how class distinctions between possessors and non-possessors came to be.

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG