Nepal blockade

It is disgraceful how India is treating Nepal, a small, landlocked country, dependant heavily on imports from India. Our government has stupidly imposed an undeclared blockade for about two months on supplies of fuel and other goods to Nepal, causing great hardship to the Nepalese people.

Some Nepalese people have sent me messages on facebook requesting me to post something on this critical situation.

The official Indian Government stand is that the Madheshis are blockading... supplies to Nepal because of their alleged underrepresentation in the proposed Nepalese Parliament. and India can do nothing about it.

However my own opinion is that the matter is directly connected with the ongoing Bihar elections, which is regarded as a life or death struggle by the BJP. Many Madheshis live in Bihar ( as well as in Nepal ), and so their votes are regarded crucial by the BJP.

The blockade can easily be ended within a few hours by taking strong action against the blockaders, but then what would happen to the Madheshi votes in Bihar ?

So after the results of the Bihar elections are declared on 8th November the Indian Government will probably take action and end the blockade.

And how does it matter to the BJP if the people of Nepal suffered for two months ? All that matters to these politicians is getting votes by any means.

http://www.firstpost.com/…/still-smiling-and-uncomplaining-…
http://scroll.in/…/how-indias-economic-blockade-of-nepal-ma…

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Nothing wrong in eating beef or pork

At Qatar I also said that there is nothing wrong in eating beef ( cow meat ) or pork, and I have myself eaten them several times, wherever legally permitted.

 As regards beef, most of the world eats it ( Americans, Europeans, Arabs, Africans, Japanese, Australians, Thais, and many of our own countrymen like people of the North East, Bengalis, Goans, Keralites, etc ). So are they all wicked people, and we Hindus alone are sadhu-sants  ? To call a cow ' gomata' ( mother cow ) is nonsense. How can an animal be a mother of a human being ? And people also drink milk of goats, buffaloes, yaks, camels, etc. Are they all our mothers ?

 Moreover, most cows are driven out when they cannot produce milk and left to starve or eat garbage on streets etc.Do you drive your mother out and leave her to starve when she is old ? Is death by starvation not cow slaughter ? The cow lovers are not bothered about that.

 As regards pork, Islam rightly banned it at a time when there were no modern dairies with proper hygiene and sanitation, and pigs ate filth which could cause diseases like tape worm etc if one ate its flesh. But now there are modern dairies and the pigs are bred in a clean environment. I myself have been eating ham and bacon, which i enjoy, for over 50 years, but have never got tape worm or any other disease by it.

 I am not compelling anyone to eat beef or pork. But i see nothing wrong in eating it

Why Muslims are backward

I was asked at Qatar, where I went recently,  by some people (mostly Keralite Muslims ) why most Muslims in India are relatively backward.

 I replied that it is because they are still under the grip of their clerics whose vested interest is to keep Muslims backward. These clerics have a large grip over the Muslim votes, and so politicians pamper them. They will not allow Muslim community to modernize by abolishing burqa and the outdated, archaic, feudal sharia law, particularly oral talaq.

 Half of Muslims are women, and every married Muslim woman has a damocles sword hanging over her head, the sword of oral talaq.

 So if Muslims want to progress they must persuade their women not to wear the burqa, which is a stupid feudal custom, and demand uniform civil code, as in all modern countries

Munawwar Rana

I had a lot of respect for the Urdu poet Munawwar Rana. I have met him several times, and heard him in many Mushairas. I found his ' Muhajirnama ' so moving that it brought tears into my eyes. When he was unwell, I went to AIIMS, Delhi to see him.

 However, his recent statement, as reported, that he can happily carry Modi's shoes is shocking. If the report is true, I lose all respect for him.. It is sycophancy at the lowest. I wonder what came into him.

Intellectuals are the eyes of the society and without them India would be blind

More than a hundred Indian scientists, an equal number of sociologists and social scientists, 50 historians, dozens of award-winning writers, artists and film makers have raised their collective voice against the growing atmosphere of intolerance in the country. Some have returned awards they had received from state bodies while others have signed statements. All are united in their sense of disquiet at what is going on in India today. What is the significance of this ?

These intellectuals are not rich or powerful people. Some among them may well have been surviving on some kind of patronage, as their critics contend. However, to my mind their action is brave and commendable.

It is worth reminding ourselves that under the fascist regimes which came to power in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, most intellectuals fell in line and either did not oppose the fascists, or became positive collaborators. India should take pride in the fact that its own intellectuals have not behaved in this manner. On the other hand, the response of the government’s spokespersons and apologists has revealed the ideological bankruptcy of the BJP and sangh parivar.

One and a half year into Modi’s rule, the failure of governance is manifest. Far from the vikas, or development, which was promised, the prices of essential foodstuffs like dal and onions have gone through the roof, and unemployment remains intolerably high.

What is the Modi government – and sangh parivar – doing to tackle this problem? They are diverting attention in a totally reactionary direction, spreading communalism and trying to throttle rational thinking. The brutal killing of Govind Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi,  the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq and others over motivated rumours of cow slaughter, the escalation of beef politics – these are ominous signs of the times to come.

No doubt some of the intellectuals who have returned awards ought to have spoken out earlier but at least they are doing something to keep the spirit of rationalism alive in our country.

The historians issued a joint statement saying that “differences of opinion are sought to be settled by using physical violence. Arguments are met not with counter arguments but with bullets.”

They allege that appointments to various positions are being made of people who have some connection with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.  “What the regime seems to want is a kind of legislated history, a manufactured image of the past, glorifying certain aspects of it and denigrating others, without any regard for chronology, sources or methods of enquiry that are the building blocks of the edifice of history” their statement said.

We have a Prime Minister who made a laughable comment that in ancient India we had genetic engineering and head transplants. We have a Finance Minister who calls the protests a “paper revolt” and a Culture Minister who has asked writers to stop writing. It is significant that hardly any scientist, sociologist, social scientist, historian, writer, artist of film personality has come out in support of the government – other than Anupam Kher, who is close to the BJP. That itself is proof of the depth of feeling amongst the intelligentsia in India.

In my opinion, the revolt of Indian intellectuals is of tremendous importance. The message it sends is that a regime that seeks to create an atmosphere of fear and hate everywhere will only bring about its own downfall. In a country like India with its massive socio-economic problems,  the role of ideas is of great importance. India will have no future if it is going to be governed by reaction and hate, and not reason and scientific thinking. It is intellectuals who are the eyes of society, and without intellectuals a society is blind.

Nitish Kumar will sweep the Bihar Elections

I am not in the satta business, but I do not agree with their analysis. The Nitish-Lalu alliance will not just win by a narrow margin, as predicted by the satta dealers but will sweep the polls in Bihar by at least a two third majority. I have given my reasons in my post ' Modi's Waterloo '.

 And after that Modi's fortune will decline rapidly. There was really nothing in the man in the first place, except his capacity to befool people, particularly the gullible youth who were carried away by his magic slogan called ' vikas '. Allready he has become very unpopular. With dal selling at Rs.200 a kilo and unemployment rising , only the hardcore right wing upper caste Hindus remain his supporters.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/bihar-elections-2015/news/Bihar-polls-Grand-Alliance-displaces-NDA-in-satta-race-punters-give-Nitish-Lalu-127-129-seats-NDA-110/articleshow/49604867.cms

Modi's Waterloo

The Bihar elections are almost certainly going to be Modi’s Waterloo, after which his fortunes are going to rapidly decline. Let me explain.

 In most of India, including Bihar, most people vote on caste and religious lines. The exception is when there is a wave, which cuts through these lines.

The BJP had won the May, 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a Modi wave. This wave was due to three main reasons.

One, Modi’s magic slogan of ‘vikas’ (development), which was perceived as the creation of millions of jobs. The Indian youth, whose voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1988, and who are facing the dreadful future of unemployment (10 million youth enter the job market in India every year, but only half a million jobs are created in the organised sector of the economy), voted en masse for Modi, cutting through caste and religious lines, in the belief that they would all get jobs.

Two, unfortunately the communal virus is still deeply entrenched in society. Most Hindus are communal, and so are most Muslims. Modi was perceived as a ‘Muslim basher’, who had put Muslims in their place in Gujarat in 2002. Many Hindus believe that there has been too much ‘Muslim appeasement’, and so voted for Modi to put Muslims in their place on an all-India basis.

Three, people were simply disgusted with Congress and the UPA under whose rule various scams were unearthed.

Now the Modi wave has largely dissipated, except among hardcore, mainly upper-caste Hindu fundamentalists.

There are no jobs despite the victory of the BJP. Jobs cannot be created by slogans. They are created when the economy is rapidly expanding. And the Indian economy is practically stagnant. So the youth who were expecting jobs have realised they were taken for a ride.

Those who talk of GDP growth ( assuming the figures are real and not cooked up, as they often are ) overlook the more important question : who is getting the fruits of this growth, the Indian masses or only a handful of big businessmen ?

The hope that foreign investments would come into India and create jobs has proved to be illusory. In fact Jim Rogers, a leading American investor has withdrawn his investments in India and exited, saying that one cannot invest in mere hope. Who will invest or set up factories in India in most parts of which there is lack of infrastructure, massive corruption and red tape? (despite Modi’s tall claims of ‘na khaoonga na kanedoonga’). As one foreign businessman said " There is a lot of sizzle, but where is the steak ? ". When even Indian businessmen are not investing in India, why should foreigners do so ?

On the other hand, prices of essential food items like daal and onions have gone through the roof. For instance, dal is selling at about Rs.200 a kilo. This means that the real incomes of most people in India have gone down drastically, because incomes are relative to the price index. Is this vikas ?

No doubt the communal card is still sought to be played – Dadri and the beef ban politics – but it is not having much effect. Food and jobs are more important to people than religion or talk of Digital India and visits to foreign countries.

So voting in the Bihar elections is following the traditional pattern of caste and religion, and we can therefore forecast the results with almost mathematical precision.

As per the 2011 Census of India, Scheduled Castes constitute 16 percent of Bihar’s 104 million population. The census identified 21 of 23 Dalit sub-castes as Mahadalits. The Mahadalit community consists of the following sub-castes: Bantar, Bauri, Bhogta, Bhuiya, Chaupal, Dabgar, Dom (Dhangad), Ghasi, Halalkhor, Hari (Mehtar, Bhangi), Kanjar, Kurariar, Lalbegi, Musahar, Nat, Pan (Swasi), Rajwar, Turi, Dhobi, Pasi, Chamar and Paswan (Dusadh).

The Paswan caste was initially left out of the Mahadalit category. Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) constitute around 1.3 percent of Bihar’s population. Tribals include Gond, Santhal and Tharu communities in Bihar.

Extremely Backward Class (EBCs) is also sometimes referred to as Most Backward Class (MBCs). There are 130-odd EBC castes in Bihar.

Yadavs and Kurmis, constituting 19 percent, and Muslims – about 17 percent – will solidly vote for the Lalu-Nitish alliance, which makes it 36 percent of the vote. Muslims will vote for the alliance despite Owaisi, who is regarded as a BJP vote splitter by Muslims, and who will therefore not be misled by him, because Muslims are feeling very insecure after issues such as ‘love jihad’, ‘ghar wapasi’, speeches of Adityanath, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and incidents like those in Muzaffarnagar, Ballabhgarh, and the latest one at Dadri.

A section of the other backward castes, say 8-10 percent, will also vote for the alliance, as Lalu has successfully described it as a fight between the backwards and the forward castes.

Thus the tally of the Nitish-Lalu alliance comes to about 45 percent votes, which represents a sweep (the BJP got a majority in the Lok Sabha with only 31 percent votes).

The NDA’s support is from the upper castes, and a section of the EBCs (or MBCs) and a section of Dalits.

The upper castes in Bihar are altogether only 15 percent. Paswan does not have the support of all the Dalits (who are divided into a large number of sub-castes and Paswan is only one of the dalit sub-castes), in Bihar, unlike Mayawati who has the support of almost all the Dalits in UP. So he may get the NDA about 6-7 percent votes. Manjhi may get 7-8 percent MBC votes, and Kushwaha may get three percent of the votes.

Thus the total tally of NDA votes is at most 33 percent.

These figures show that there is clearly going to be a sweep in favour of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. In the Indian system of democracy, seats in elections depend not on percentage share of votes but on being first past the post. With 31 percent votes the BJP got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Getting 45 percent votes means a massive victory for the Nitish-Lalu alliance
.
And after that, the deluge for the BJP. Massive agitations against price rise, unemployment, etc will begin almost immediately after the Bihar elections, and these will not be quelled by phoney slogans of vikas, and stunts like,Swatchata Abhiyan, Yoga Day, etc You can fool the people for some time, but not for all time.

The Kerala Guest House beef episode

   There has been an uproar over the alleged serving of beef in the Kerala Guest House in Delhi, and the entry of the Delhi Police and Hindu Sena activists inside the Guest House. I will here only discuss the legal issues about this, and not go into the political aspect.

   Section 11(1) of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 1994 ( hereinafter referred to as the DACP Act ) states :

"  For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act the Competent Authority or the Veterinary Officer in writing in this behalf, shall have power to enter and inspect any premises ".

 ' Competent Authority ' has been defined by section 2(b) of the Act to mean the Director, Animal Husbandry, Government of Delhi.

 Veterinary Officer has been defined in section 3 to mean the person appointed by the Competent Authority.

 Thus only the Competent Authorit or the Veterinary Officer could have validly entered the Kerala Guest House to investigate whether an offence under the Act had been committed. The police had no power to do so.

 It may be noted that the DACP Act is a special law, and its provisions will hence prevail over the general law i.e. the Criminal Procedure Code, as it is well settled in law that the special overrides the general. Under the Cr.P.C a policeman can validly enter a premises to investigate a crime under the India Penal Code like murder, dacoity, rape or robbery. But he cannot do so if the crime alleged is under the DACP Act..Here section 11 permits only the two authorities mentioned in section 11 to enter the premises. As regards section 11(5) of the Act which makes section 100 Cr.P.C. applicable, it may be noted that section 100 only lays down the method of investigation, not the person entitled to investigate.

 It follows from the above discussion that the entry of the Delhi police into the Kerala Guest House was totally illegal.

It may also be mentioned that the activists of the Hindu Sena had no legal right to barge into the Guest House and create a ruckus there. Legally one cannot enter into anyone's premises without the permission of the owner or occupant. In fact such an act is criminal tresspass under section 441 I.P.C.

Gandhi and Caste

Gandhi repeateid in the 1920s that ' Hindus must follow their hereditary professions ' and that ' prohibition of intermarriage between people of different varnas was necessary for a rapid evolution of the soul '. In the 1930s he changed his tune and started saying that he was opposed to caste but supported varna and hereditary professions, as if there is a difference between the two

 This hypocrisy was typical of Gandhi. Whenever he found his stupid feudal ideas unacceptable he tried to obfuscate.

 Thus in 1921 he said in his journal Young India " I am a sanatani Hindu. I believe in varnashram dharma. I believe in protection of the cow "

 He also said " I believe that caste has saved Hinduism from disintegration. One of my correspondents suggests that we should abolish the caste system but adopt the class system of Europe, meaning that the idea of hereditary castes should be rejected. I am inclined to think that the law of heredity is an eternal law, and any attempt to alter it must lead to utter confusion. Hindus believe in transmigration of the soul, and Nature will adjust the balance by degrading a Brahmin if he misbehaves to a lower caste, and upgrading one who lives the life of a Brahmin to a Brahmin in his next life. "

He also wrote " The beauty of the caste system is that it does not base itself upon distinctions of wealth-possessions. Money, as history has proved, is the greatest disruptive force in the world C aste is but an extension of the principle of the family. Both are governed by blood and heredity. Western scientists are busy trying to prove that heredity is an illusion andthat milieu is everything. The.experience of many lands goes against the conclusions of these scientists; but even accepting their doctrine of milieu, it is easy to prove that milieu can be conserved and developed more through caste than through class. As we all know, change comes very slowly in social life, and thus, as a matter of fact, caste has allowed new groupings to suit the changes in lives. But these changes are quiet and easy, as a change in the shape of the clouds. It is difficultto imagine a better harmonious human adjustment.Caste does not connote superiority or inferiority. It simply recognizes different outlooks and corresponding modes of life.But it is no use denying the fact that a sort of hierarchy has been evolved in the caste system, but it cannot be called the cre-ation of the Brahmins. When all castes accept a common goal of life, a hierarchy is inevitable, because all castes cannot realize the ideal in equal degree."

 Again in 1921 Gandhi said : “I believe that if Hindu society has been able to stand, it is because it is founded on the caste system. A community which can create the caste system must be said to possess unique power of organization.To destroy the caste system and adopt the Western European social system means that Hindus must give up the principle of hereditary occupation which is the soul of the caste system.The hereditary principle is an eternal principle.To change it is to create disorder. It will be a chaos if every day a Brahmin is to be changed into a Shudra, and a Shudra is to be changed into a Brahmin. The caste system is a natural order of society.... I am opposed to all those who are out to destroy the caste system.”

 In 1926 Gandhi writes ": In accepting the fourfold division I am simply accepting the laws of Nature, taking for granted what is in-herent in human nature and the law of heredity.... It is not possible in one birth entirely to undo the results of our past doings."

 Gandhi's hypocrisy can again be seen by the following statement in 1927 :

 : " In my conception of the law of varna, no one is superior to any other.... A scavenger [.a rubbish-collector or a latrine- or street-sweeper] has the same status as a Brahmin "

 Is this not ridiculous and farcical ? Do Brahmins regard shudras as their equals ?.It is like the devious doctrine of  'separate but equal ' propounded by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. Gandhi does not want abolition of the caste system, he says all castes have the same status, which is nonsense.

 In 1925 Gandhi says: " There is no harm if a person belonging to one varna acquires the knowledge or science and art specialized in by persons belonging to other varnas. But as far as the way of earning his living is concerned, he must follow the occupationof the varna to which he belongs, which means he must follow the hereditary profession of his forefathers.The object of the varna system is to prevent competition and class struggle and class war. I believe in the varna system because it fixes the duties and occupations of persons.Varna means the determination of a man’s occupation before he is born. In the varna system no man has any liberty to choose his occupation."

 This statement is again obfuscation. Why will anyone acquire a skill unless he can use it to earn his bread ?

  In 1931 Gandhi said: " I do not believe in caste in the modern sense. It is an excrescence and a handicap on progress. Nor do I believe in inequalities between human beings. We are all absolutely equal. But equality is of souls and not bodies. We have to realize equality in the midst of this apparent inequality. Assumption of superiority by any person over any other is a sin against God and man. Thus caste, in so far as it connotes distinctions in status, is an evil

.I do however believe in varna which is based on hereditary occupations. Varnas are four to mark four universal occupations – imparting knowledge, defending the defenceless, carrying on agriculture and commerce, and performing service through physical labor. These occupations are common to all mankind, but Hinduism, having recognized them as the law of our being, has made use of it in regulating social relations and conduct. Gravitation affects us all whether one knows its exist or not "

 The above statement really takes the cake. On the one hand Gandhi says he does not believe in caste, on the other hand he says that he believes in hereditary occupations, and says it is like the law of gravity.  But hereditary occupations is the basis of caste ( see my blog on caste system on justicekatju.blogspot.in ). Does this contradictory statement require any comment, except to say that this man can wriggle around and say that 2+2=4 and 2+2=5 in the same breath ?

In 1932 Gandhi said:  "My own opinion is that the varna system has just now broken down. There is no true Brahmin or true Kshatriya or Vaishya. We are all Shudras, i.e. one varna. If this position is accepted, then the thing becomes easy. If this does not satisfy our vanity, then we are all Brahmins. Removal of Untouchability does mean root-and-branch destruction of the idea of superiority and inferiority "

  Does the above statement make any sense ? At least I cannot make any head or tail out of it.

 In 1933 Dr. Ambedkar  said "There will be outcastes as long as there are castes, and nothing can emancipate the outcaste except the destruction of the caste system.". This was a logical argument of Dr. Ambedkar.

 But see how Gandhi replies. He said "  Dr. Ambedkar is bitter. He has every reason to feel so. Yet I do not believe the caste system, even as distinguished from varnashrama [the scheme of duties traditionally linked to the caste system], to be an “odious and vicious dogma. It has its limitations and defects, but there is nothing sinful about it, as there is about Untouchability; and if Untouchability is a by-product of the system, it is only in the same sense that an ugly growth is of a body, or weeds of a crop ".

   Thus Gandhi is not against the caste system but only against Untouchability.

Gandhi admitted that his ideal of a varna system with everyone enjoying equal economic and social status probably had no historical warrant:
: But when asked whether in ancient India there was much difference in economic status and social privileges between the four varnas Gandhi replied " That may be historically true. But misapplication or an imperfect understanding of the law must not lead to the ignoring of the law itself. By constant striving we have to enrich it  ".
So Gandhi is not against the caste system but only its  'misapplication.' ( whatever that may mean )..

 The contrast between Gandhi’s and Ambedkar’s views was heightened by their respective relations to the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal, a new organization which was dedicated to promoting a casteless Hinduism. Gandhi told its secretary:in1932:  "If eradication of castes means the abolition of varna I do not approve of it. But I am with you if your aim is to end the innumerable caste distinctions ".

Dr Ambedkar corrrectly analysed  the cause of Gandhi's  contradictory statements and obfuscation regarding caste as " the double role which the Mahatma wants to play – of a Mahatma and a politician. As a Mahatma he may be trying to spiritualize politics. Whether he has succeeded in it or not, politics have certainly commercialized him. A politician must know that society cannot bear the whole truth. If he is speaking the whole truth, it is bad for his politics. The reason why the Mahatma is always supporting caste and varna is because he is afraid that if he opposes them he will lose his place in politics.... Whatever may be the source of this confusion, the Mahatma must be told that he is deceiving himself and also deceiving the people by preaching caste under the name of varna ".

  This is the man who has been thrust down the throats of Indians as the ' Father of the Nation '

Only a nigger

In the great American novel ' Huckleberry Finn ' by Mark Twain, about whom Ernest Hemingway ( a favourite author of mine ) said that all American literature starts from it, Aunt Sally asks about a steamboat accident " Was anyone hurt ?"

To which Huck replies " No'm. Only a nigger killed ".

Dalits were attacked in Faridabad recently, and 2 dalit children burnt alive, but most Indians would similarly say ( or at least say in their minds, if not openly ) about th...e incident " Only some dalits were killed ".

Does this not show how backward and inhuman we are ? Does this not vindicate my statement that 90% Indians are idiots, full of casteism, communalism and superstitions ?

It was declared as far back as in 1776 in the American Declaration of Independence ' We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal..."

. But 239 years thereafter most of us stiil believe that a section of our own people, the dalits, are inferior or not even human. Is this not shameful ?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/…/story-BiShOEAMSbGL8gz5Lcsb8…

http://uwch-4.humanities.washington.edu/…/Only%20a%20Nigger…

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Only a Nigger

This short satirical essay was published in the Buffalo Express while Mark Twain was co-owner and editor of that newspaper. It appeared unsigned but has been attributed to Mark Twain in Philip S. Foner's Mark Twain: Social Critic (New York: International Publishers, 1958), and is included in Mark Tw…

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