Reduced public tolerance level in India - where are we heading?

During the last few months, there has been an alarming increase in physical and verbal attacks on people expressing political disagreements, especially against the BJP. Any difference of opinion or alternate view is not welcomed, any negative comment is not taken in the right spirit, and even constructive criticism is ridiculed or attacked for no reason. There are organized efforts not to allow discussion on any topic which raises some uncomfortable questions, every attempt is made to shoot the messenger. Recent physical and verbal assaults of some people opposing BJP's policies are examples of such extreme intolerant behavior. Many people justify these actions, they try to justify these violent physical and verbal assaults by using whatever reasoning they can come up with. This attitude is not only dangerous but also harmful for any civilized society, it is especially bad for a country like India which is aiming to become a superpower or a developed nation. Without a free and fearless society, it will be impossible to achieve real development and progress. Without an open and fair exchange of thoughts, and debates on every subject it is impossible to become a developed nation.

These types of incidents have become very common during this election season, especially because supporters of the BJP are very aggressive in attacking people who oppose their ideology or question their leader (Mr. Modi). Respective parties do condemn such incidents if the issue gets too much media attention but no apology is offered or warning is issued to perpetrators not to repeat such mistakes. Maybe they think this helps their campaign that's why they provide their tacit approval as they can't support such attacks openly. This time I also experienced such verbal attacks on a few occasions on social networking forums like Facebook. Some of my comments questioning BJP's agenda or Mr. Modi's performance as CM in Gujarat received some hateful comments from some BJP supporters. They used derogatory language and called me various names (sickular, pseudo intellectual, communist, AAPtard, etc.), and their tone was threatening and insulting. I deleted many of these comments from my wall after warning them not to use such language. I deleted these things because I didn't want such filth to stay on my Facebook wall, but their tone was alarming and threatening. I stopped engaging in such types of discussions as I realized the futility of engaging in such useless conversations. Then I read many reports in the media about many such attacks in the cyber world and even many physical attacks on people. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in those attacks but the occurrence of such incidents is very alarming. In the past none of the political discussions I was involved in reached to threatening or derogatory level. This is a very organized effort to silence political opponents.

Tolerance and patience are very necessary attributes of any civilized society. Without free and fair discussion about various topics and issues, we can not find proper solutions to our problems. Differences of opinion should not only be tolerated but also be encouraged, it's always good to see both sides of any issue before making any conclusions. The role of opposition is very crucial in any functioning democracy. Such political violence should not be encouraged, everyone has the right to express their opinion and share their ideas. People involved in such acts of violence should be charged and punished for violating the right of freedom of expression of other people. True democratic society debates over issues and chooses the path of discussion and peace over violence to solve political problems or to settle differences of opinion. When such people don't get punished by law, don't get reprimanded by their own party's top leaders they get encouraged to repeat such acts. Top leaders don't engage in any such acts, they are not affected by these things but their silence and willful ignorance of such acts is considered as tacit approval. If such incidents are so rampant before the elections then people have every reason to be concerned about what will happen if such parties (BJP in this case) come in power. Such attacks are especially dangerous for minorities and people who choose to voice disagreement against the majority. Bullying in any shape or form is wrong, everyone in society should be treated with equal dignity and respect. I hope that better sense prevails among people and they show more mature behavior. I hope that political leadership in respective parties take all necessary steps so that their party workers and followers don't engage in any such acts in the future. There is a serious concern that such attacks may increase if the BJP and its allies come into power in the center, I hope these concerns and worries don't become a reality. I want them to prove me wrong and demonstrate that no matter which party forms the government differences of opinion, and alternate views are always welcomed, and freedom of expression won't be curbed for anyone.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Communal politics and hate speech

During the past month or so countless speeches have been delivered in India by various leaders from various political parties. 2014 general elections for Lok Sabha are still going on, and many political parties are engaged in a fierce political battle to win seats in the lower house of the Indian parliament. Mostly these political speeches are full of emotional calls, crude jokes, and personal remarks, rarely they contain anything substantial or useful. The main aim of these speeches is to highlight their party's agenda, engage the audience, and challenge them emotionally to vote for their party. Even though these speeches don't contain much authentic data and are normally full of impossible promises they influence voters. Many people get inspired after listening to them, and it can also mobilize the masses if required. That is why any hate speech or inflammatory speech is very dangerous, because like other inspirational speeches that can have a positive influence these speeches can have a negative impact on people. It doesn't matter who is delivering that speech and where it is delivered, such speeches can instigate feelings of hatred among people against certain castes, religions, genders, communities, or groups. This feeling of hatred then can manifest in some ugly forms like communal tension, social boycotts, or even communal riots killing innocent people.

I wrote a blog post somewhat related topic after that infamous hate speech by MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi. BJP leader Amit Shah and SP leader Azam Khan have been already warned for the hateful remarks they made during election campaign speeches, note these are some of the top national leaders. Recently few more similar instances happened, surprisingly most people involved in these incidents were related to BJP or its allies. In one recent incident, Mr. Praveen Togadia from VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) talked with some groups about how to get rid of Muslim neighbors, the content of his speech was disgusting and full of hatred towards Muslims. This was not the first time he delivered such hateful speech, he is a serial offender in this area and so far no action has been taken against him in any case. Another instance was when Giriraj Singh, BJP's candidate from Bihar, told all Modi opponents to leave India and go to Pakistan. In another instance, Saharanpur Congress candidate Imran Masood threatened to kill the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The most recent one that I saw was the more serious incident where in the presence of Mr. Narendra Modi Shiv Sena leader Mr. Ramdas Kadam threatened revenge against Muslims and also said that Modi would destroy Pakistan within six months of assuming power. All these speeches have something in common, a feeling of hatred towards some community or person, such a deep hatred that people are willing to go to any extent to attack that person or group. This is not a democracy but fascism, in a democracy, people criticize each other, argue, and debate but don't threaten to kill each other just because of differences of opinion. Another common thing among all these incidents is that none of these people faced any action from their own party for making such statements. Rather, they became more popular and prominent faces in their respective parties. There is no strong deterrent that can stop them from making such statements or using such tactics. Freedom of expression should not be curbed under any situation, all these people have the right to express their opinions, and it's up to voters to respond to such statements. Obnoxious statements like these should be challenged as shutting these people up is not an option. Freedom of expression comes at a cost but communal violence is not that cost. People need to decide if they want such people to represent them in the assembly or parliament. As long as voters vote for such people even after delivering such speeches they will use such dirty tactics to achieve their goals.

Words like "secular" and "communal" are used very frequently and casually in Indian politics. Every party claims to be secular and accuses its opponent of being communal. BJP, Congress, or any other regional party (like BSP, SP) all play this game with each other. They all try to fool voters by playing this game. AAP is a new entrant in this field and it will be too soon to say anything about them in this area, so I will wait and watch before making any conclusions about them. According to me, there is no real secular political party in India, some are less communal than others, that's the difference, they all use equations of caste or religion at their own convenience. Some even don't hesitate to use means of communal violence to achieve their political goals which is more dangerous. In fact, I don't even expect any party to be completely secular. In a society like India where religion plays such an important role in people's lives, it is practically impossible to keep religion and politics completely separate. But to spread feelings of hate and animosity between different groups purposely, and create division among people for political benefit is a dangerous exercise. Communal tension, frequent riots, rampant gender discrimination, casteism, and regionalism, are the results of such divisive politics. Because of a lack of awareness about these things political parties make use of these ugly tricks to fool people. There can be several other reasons for this lack of awareness about this divide-and-rule policy, after all, the British used a similar policy to rule India for many years. Because of the proven track record of divide and rule policy in India, these political parties can't avoid the temptation of using it for their own political gains. It is for people to recognize this trap and avoid it.  Only voters can diffuse this deadly weapon, these parties are not going to stop on their own.

Hate speeches are as dangerous hateful acts, they deserve strong condemnation and people should demand answers from respective political parties for such statements. We cannot ignore these things anymore, these things have already done enough damage to our society, and now the time has come to put an end to such divisive politics. This type of politics already resulted in the division of our country in the past, if we can't stop it now then we don't know what problems it might create in the future. Politics should be based on issues and topics related to development and governance, it should not be based on hate and revenge. Religion should not be mixed with politics as much as possible, and hate speeches should not be encouraged at any cost. Communal politics and hate speeches are different sides of the same coin and they should not have any place in civilized political discourse. I hope all political parties and voters understand the danger that lies behind the use of such tactics and behave accordingly. The time has come to change the direction of political discourse in India and only we the people of this country can do it. Let's hope we recognize this and act responsibly before it's too late.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links: 

3. Saharanpur Congress candidate threatens to chop Narendra Modi into pieces

1. Hate politics..let's not encourage it anymore..

2. Praveen Togadia's recent hate speech

3. Shiv Sena leader Kadam shares stage with Modi, makes hate speech against Muslims

4. Hate speech: Election Commission censures Amit Shah, Azam Khan
5. Saharanpur Congress candidate threatens to chop Narendra Modi into pieces

The power of symbolic acts

Champaran or Kheda satyagraha were not very big events in history when they happened in the 1920s. Dandi march or salt march was also not that big deal when it actually happened in 1930 After all, how important was the salt law to the British Raj? Their empire didn't depend on that tax money for survival that's why they didn't bother to stop a political leader from breaking it. With all the power and force in their hands why the administration chose to be a mute spectator even after knowing what Gandhi was capable of doing? When Mahatma Gandhi marched for around 240 miles to break that law what did he achieve by breaking such trivial law? But today this event is considered an important event of the Indian independence movement. This salt march in a way was responsible for initiating the civil disobedience movement on a national level. Through this long and unusual salt march and by breaking a simple law like salt law, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi showed to the common people of India that the British empire could be challenged by using nonviolent protest. He proved to them with an example that such a mighty empire with all power in its hands could be challenged by nonviolent, unarmed common people. This was the power of that symbolic act. Symbolism plays a very important role in every society. It inspires people, gives them hope, and encourages them to dream the impossible. But why I am suddenly talking about this subject today? This is because of some incidents that happened in India and around the world during the last few months which reminded me of a few of these incidents from Indian history that had a huge impact on the thinking and behavior of common people. People may or may not agree with my views but I see many parallels between some incidents that happened recently and with few pivotal incidents from the Indian freedom movement.

When people from all over India and across the party line stood behind a group of people who started the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement, it resulted in a unique movement. It was one of the scenarios which India never witnessed in a long time. There was no caste, no religion, and no common hatred for any single person or party that united all these people. It was their anger against rampant corruption and the failure of the system to deliver which united them. This movement resulted in the formation of a new and very nonorthodox political party called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It won 28 seats in the Delhi assembly elections and even formed a government in the presence of two big and powerful national parties. Then we witnessed some unseen incidents like ministers of the AAP government traveling by public transport for a swearing ceremony, Delhi's chief minister (CM) sleeping on the roadside to protest against the central government, people doing their own sting operations against corrupt officials, etc. These scenes were never witnessed by people before. Delhi CM even resigned after he realized that he could not fulfill the main promise made by their party in their election manifesto. Many people were shocked by these things, and many were angry because they thought CM should never do such things. There is no doubt that these incidents created varied responses and a lot of controversy.

Many of these acts were very symbolic, this was the first time a CM was protesting against the nonaccountability of the police force in his own state. This was the first time in many years any political leader visited his attacker to know the reasons why that person attacked him. But these actions can be considered political stunts or drama by some people, and maybe they are right, only time will give answers to these doubts and concerns. Mahatma Gandhi himself was criticized and ridiculed not only by Britishers but people from his own country for many of his actions, even for his appearance (especially his dress). Some called him a naive politician who didn't know the ground reality in India, a dreamer who was trying to fool people by showing some impossible dream of achieving independence through a nonviolent movement. They called his dressing like the poor of India a political stunt. He also failed in many of his initial endeavors, many times movement took totally unexpected turns and he had to retreat (like the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922). But finally, his struggle helped to achieve India's independence. Along similar lines this movement against rampant corruption in India may take many twists and turns, there may be some failures and setbacks but I hope that finally it achieves its goal.

Symbolism is of great significance in every society. Symbolic acts have the power to inspire millions. These acts can mobilize the masses, and inspire many to participate in the struggle. One simple step like wearing khadi inspired millions to spin charkha during the independence struggle. But the truth is it's relatively easy to start a movement but very difficult to sustain the intensity of movement. It is very difficult to maintain the same level of commitment and transparency. It will be interesting to see in which direction this anti-corruption movement goes, whether it will progress slowly and steadily towards its goal, lose its way and flounder on its own, or these big and powerful parties successfully crush it before it becomes too big and create problems for them. When you don't have money and muscle power to support your cause such symbolic acts can help you to deliver your message. The power of symbolic acts is amazing and currently, we are seeing its effect in India.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Criminalization of politics - do we care?

The criminalization of politics in India is a very serious issue and is debated very often, but very little has been done in this direction. Candidates with serious criminal charges contest elections and win and become lawmakers. They become ministers and control administrators who are supposed to interrogate them, such is the irony. For some people, it might sound impossible scenario or something happening in some third-world undeveloped country with a volatile political environment. No. I am talking about the world's largest democracy, India. What? You don't believe me? Please check the published data yourself. Please check candidates with serious criminal charges contesting from major national parties. If anyone argues that sometimes numbers don't tell the real story, I totally agree with them. We should not just go only by numbers sometimes data can be deceptive, that's why we need to carefully analyze it, study it, and then come to a conclusion. Fortunately, the Election Commission (EC) of India comes to our rescue in this case. Most candidates need to submit an affidavit while filing their nomination which contains details about their financial assets and criminal cases. This is the data we need to carefully look into and decide who is facing what type of criminal charges. This is the real piece of document that can help voters decide whether criminal cases pending or filed against candidates contesting in their constituency are serious or not. I also agree that after being in Indian politics or in any agitation movement one can get slapped with some type of criminal case but the nature of a criminal case is what matters not just the case itself. As a voter, it is our duty to study the background of candidates, after all, they are applying for a job to represent us and we need to analyze their application carefully.

Most parties talk about decriminalization of politics, they all say that they are not the ones who started it. They all say that they are not the ones who are making the political environment dirty, it's always other parties who are doing the wrong stuff and because of others, they are forced to give tickets to such people as they also have to win the seats to get those numbers. I wonder who are these "others" who are doing these things and our poor national parties are forced to follow? They all shamelessly give tickets to tainted people and people with serious criminal charges are openly welcomed in these parties. By serious charges, I mean charges like rape, murder, corruption, forgery, kidnapping, etc. Some candidates have multiple charges of these crimes and their affidavit looks like the CV of some seasoned criminal. After giving tickets to such people these parties even try to justify their actions by using whatever excuse they can find. They offer some lame excuses like these are only allegations, nothing is yet proven, these people are not convicted by any court, they are out on bail so should not be considered guilty, lower court or some committee acquitted them, etc.

Why do these political parties do such things that too so openly and shamelessly? Why they are not scared that voters can punish them for such actions? If every party is interested in cleaning the system then why do these people with serious criminal backgrounds keep on getting tickets from these parties? There are many questions like these, mainly this is happening because people (voters) still vote for these candidates. Even after knowing the criminal history of these candidates people vote for them, they fall for the false propaganda of these parties. These parties make use of casteism, religion, money, muscle power, or whatever other way they can to win the voters. As long as people fall prey to these tricks, as long they keep on voting for such candidates these parties will keep on offering tickets to such objectionable candidates. They are not going to stop on their own.

As a voter, we need to educate ourselves about the candidate who is contesting from our constituency. We need to know their background, qualifications, and other related things. We need to ask them questions from whatever forum we get a chance to interact with them. We should treat them like we treat any candidate who is asking for a job in our company to work for us. Based on all this information we should take our decision. Democracy is not useful without the informed decisions of the people involved in it. We need to bring the culture of open debates and discussion into our election process. Information brings knowledge, and knowledge brings power, voters need to empower themselves using all the information that is available to them. Once voters become empowered and realize the value and importance of their vote I don't think they would like to waste their vote on some criminal or nonqualified person who is not going to do a good job. We all need to be concerned about the criminalization of politics, we cannot afford to ignore it. Based on data available around 1/3rd MPs in the current parliament have criminal records. If this is not alarming then I wonder what else is. These traditional political parties are not going to clean up the system on their own, we citizens of India have to do this. It is our responsibility to give our vote to the right candidate who respects and follows the law. I request all the voters use all the information available to make informed choices. If we don't act now then these political parties will continue with their current strategy. If we want to act we need to act now before it's too late. After all, the vote is ours and the choice is also ours.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Candidates facing criminal cases in these elections
2. http://loksabha.adrindia.org/lok-sabha/reports
3. Lok Sabha 2014 Consolidated Analysis (Phase 1 to 5) of Criminal and Financial background details of contesting candidates 
4. Nearly 1/3 Lok Sabha MPs from 2009 have criminal records

How Mr. Modi is going to stop rise of another Modi?

The general elections of 2014 are going on in full swing, their results will be declared very soon (May 2014). Based on several opinion polls BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is expected to emerge as the single largest party in this election. All credit for this performance is supposed to be given to the spectacular leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi, who also happens to be its prime ministerial candidate. Mr. Modi's name came into national news for the first time because of the infamous 2002 Godhra riots. These riots happened in Gujarat during his first year as chief minister and he faced a lot of criticism for the way he and his administration handled that incident which resulted in the killing of more than 1000 people in his state. He won three consecutive assembly elections in Gujarat since then, but his role in those riots is still debated and some survivors are still pursuing cases against him. These riots gave him a certain image that he hardly tried to change, he never even apologized to riot victims. He emerged as a conservative, right-wing politician, and a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist leader. A very aggressive and well-planned media campaign, support of the organizational network of BJP, and lots and lots of money helped him to build this image. Now please don't ask about the source of all this money that these big national and regional parties use in India as political parties don't need to declare the source of all their donations. These organized efforts and extensive propaganda have a created certain image of him in people's minds. This campaign tried to maintain his image as a conservative Hindu leader but added another dimension of developmental messiah based on some recent economic developments in Gujarat. Based on the very much debated Gujarat model he is projected as a leader who can solve all the problems that India is currently facing. The dismal performance of the UPA-2 government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the anti-incumbency factor along with the number of scams and corruption charges on some ministers helped Mr. Modi to become the front-runner for the next PM's post. 

No one can deny the role the 2002 Godhra riots played in helping Mr. Modi to emerge on the national scene of Indian politics, at least I heard about him for the first time after those riots. I also heard a lot of praise for him from many people for the way he handled those riots, most of the praise was from Hindu conservatives. They were happy that he gave time to Hindus to vent their anger about the killing of Godhra train burning incident victims by delaying any strict action against rioters. We all know that this cannot be proven in any court, but this was my personal experience while interacting with these people and I am writing it based on that, not based on something that I read. These riots helped him a lot to win the 2002 Gujarat assembly elections. Now the question that comes to my mind is how Mr. Modi is going to stop the emergence of another Modi, who might want to use a similar strategy to achieve political gains? And I am not talking here about something that never happened in Indian politics, there are some examples from the recent past where people from the same party (or same family) tried to use a similar formula used by their seniors to achieve their own political goals. Maybe these people thought why design any new strategy when they have something that has already been tested and proven to work. This happened with the firebrand leader of Maharashtra Mr. Bal Thackeray, he couldn't stop his nephew from becoming another firebrand leader and launching his own political party using a similar strategy that Balasaheb used to launch his own political career. Mr. Modi also used tactics similar to what his political guru and mentor Mr. L.K. Advani used in the past. Mr. Advani was a leading political figure in the Ram Mandir movement. That movement polarized India at that time and created a lot of disturbance and violence but it also helped BJP to gain power in center for the first time in 1996. The Ram Mandir movement polarized the country and so did the Godhra riots, both incidents helped a political leader to become a national figure. Recently even a young leader like Mr. Akhilesh Yadav (CM of UP) is also using similar political tricks that his father used to stay in power.

When aspiring leaders see that a particular formula worked very well for someone to achieve their political ambitions in a short time then at least some of them cannot avoid the temptation to reuse that same formula for their own political benefit and that's where lies the biggest danger. This creates a real possibility of the emergence of many such leaders who are ready to travel the same path to reach the same goals. Maybe Mr. Modi is a good administrator, maybe leaders like him or Mr. Thackeray are really good in decision making, maybe they know how to control their cadre but the question is, do we want to encourage others to use similar methods to become another Thackeray or Modi? If not, then how are we going to stop this from happening? Just hoping that nothing like this will happen in the future is not going to help. Why don't we question these leaders and make them come clean before they occupy any public office? Minority or majority appeasement both are wrong, there should not be any appeasement politics at all. We need to object whenever it happens no matter which party is playing such politics.

No one likes to remember these unfortunate incidents and argue about them again and again. This is not a very pleasant experience at least for me and memories of these incidents are also very painful for the victims, survivors, and their relatives. But if perpetrators of these types of crimes are not punished and worst if there is no hope that they will ever get punished then how come someone can forget these incidents? Because of this passive attitude of many people, these types of crimes repeatedly happen and every time people who complain or protest are targeted. They are advised to forget and move on or they are reminded that this is not the first time it happened so it's not a big deal that it happened again. Have we become so insensitive? Have we totally lost faith in humanity? Do we value human life only based on religion, race, caste, and political affiliation? Has politics become more important than human life to us? What is the reason that these types of incidents keep on happening and no big politician accused in these riots has ever been convicted? Do all these victims lie or there is a serious flaw in our investigating agencies and law system that allows the culprits to escape easily?

No one can undermine the need for economic prosperity for any nation, it is required for any country to remain competitive but it should not come at the cost of injustice to riot victims. Economic progress without humanity is no progress at all. This post is not about Mr. Modi, Mr. Thackeray, or Mr Yadav, I am using them just as examples because they are from the recent past. This is about our passive mindset which makes us keep quiet and ignore such crimes. We behave as if the death of 100s of people is not a big deal at all, it's politics and development that only matter. Maybe it is not a big deal for some people but for me, it's a big deal, and the fight for justice needs to continue until justice is done to Kashmiri Pandits, 1984 victims, 2002 victims, or any other riot victims. This is not about some individual or party or some election but about people who suffer in these incidents. If we can't protect them then at least we can fight for their justice and apologize to them so that their pain becomes bearable. No one can understand their pain but at least we can try to reduce it to as much as possible. Let the best candidate or party win this election but let's not try to trivialize serious incidents like riots which affect the lives of many people. Please remember what George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:

1. The remaking of Narendra Modi- Shiv Visvanathan
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_violence

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_anti-Sikh_riots

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Muzaffarnagar_riots
5. BJP declares war on India

This is blatant and shameless display of male chauvinism

It seems there is some sort of competition among some Indian political leaders about making more derogatory comments about sexual violence against women. This blatant display of male chauvinism is sickening, unfortunately, this is not a new or recent phenomenon. Apart from Samajwadi Party leaders like Mr. Mulayam Singh, who said that young boys do these types of mistakes (rapes) in youth rage and should not be punished very harshly for this, or Mr. Abu Azmi, who said that women who have sex outside marriage should be punished, there are many whose outrageous statements are ignored for the lack of media coverage. There are some who suggest that Mr. Modi's wife must be happy that finally he accepted her publicly. These are not some isolated incidents, there are many people across the party lines who share similar views. Please remember that these leaders are not some new entrants in politics they are experienced and seasoned politicians who very well know the meaning of these statements and also know the political benefits associated with them. Such statements not only reflect the male chauvinist nature of society but also show the misogynist society that tolerates such behavior.  

Rape is a heinous crime, it hurts the victim not only physically but also emotionally, and it leaves a permanent scar on their minds, not taking this crime seriously is another crime. Only insane or insensitive people can trivialize it. Offenders who commit rape must be given harsh punishment by law, at the same time awareness should be spread among youths which can help to minimize these incidents. Strong and effective law along with aggressive awareness campaigns is the only way to tackle these types of problems. These politicians are not helping this cause by making these types of statements. Politicians can go to any extent to gain political benefit, they can justify riots, rapes, or any other heinous crimes, there are ample examples of these incidents. 

What prompts these people to make these types of statements? Why do people allow such politicians to win the elections even after making such misogynistic statements? The reason has to be that there is a large section of society that still agrees with these statements. They still believe in male superiority and support male chauvinism. These people don't come from some backward areas or belong to an uneducated class but there are highly educated or literate folks also who believe in all this. These are people who cite examples from mythology or from history to justify Mr. Modi's action of leaving his home which resulted in the abandonment of his wife. No matter for what purpose Mr. Modi left his house and what he achieved I wonder how people can justify his action of abandoning his wife, not bothering about her for so many years, and still, not providing any legal rights as a wife. I also feel dismayed over these people now telling that woman that she should feel honored and lucky that a person of Modi's stature finally accepted officially her as his wife. It is true that whatever happens between husband and wife is their personal matter but when anyone is running for public office then their past and present actions are scrutinized by the media and public, this is a common practice all over the world. Any such act by a prominent public figure can send a wrong signal to people. The same people who get influenced by such actions then try to justify rape as some trivial mistake committed in youth rage. These people might even expect the victim to pardon the offender if for whatever reason the rapist offers to marry the victim after a brutal rape and might even expect her to feel lucky that the rapist is doing this huge favor to her. 

This type of mindset is not only disgusting but also very dangerous, it not only tries to trivialize the crime but also encourages it. If people cannot stop these incidents at least they can try not to encourage them. Yes, sometimes some of these laws are misused for some selfish gains, this should not be encouraged and all such cases should be dealt with equal seriousness and sincerity. Sometimes people misuse certain laws but that does not diminish the need to have strict laws, we just need a more efficient, sensitive, and transparent system to deal with such cases so that these laws are effectively implemented. Women's issues are important in any society but they are more important in societies where male chauvinism is so predominant. If people like us don't oppose such actions then these people won't stop making such statements and demeaning women. Women need all the support and help to deal with these problems. No doubt that women need to empower themselves to fight this battle on their own but the support from all sections of society is equally important and crucial. We all can help to deal with these types of problems at least by strongly raising our objection to such statements and not voting for such people. These politicians also should not get away easily after making such mistakes or statements, at least they should face some electoral loss. Display of male chauvinism is always shameless but now it's becoming so blatant and widespread that we cannot afford to ignore it.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. India’s pro-rapist lobby
2. Mulayam says ‘wrong’ anti-rape law should be amended
3. Women who have sex outside marriage should be hanged: SP leader Abu Azmi
4. Meet India's league of insensitive politicians

Silence is an enemy of social justice

We all must have seen something wrong happening around us sometime in our life, either directly or indirectly we all witness such things. Sometimes we choose to protest or object to these things and many times we decide to ignore them and move on for various reasons. Many times we are scared to protest or think that it's none of our business to interfere in these matters as they are not directly related to us. We all might have our own valid reasons for opposing or not opposing these things. But it is true that sometimes we do ignore social evils like bullying, discrimination, and harassment happening around us. One of the most common excuses people offer is that one person can not bring change, so what's the use of protesting? They think if these incidents don't directly affect us then why should we interfere? Many people also think that keeping quiet and not interfering in others' business is a good habit (yes, it is a good habit but not when some injustice is being done right in front of your eyes). I agree that losing patience is not a way of addressing any problem but that doesn't mean keeping quiet or ignoring them are any good options, rather I think they are worse. We must register our protest in some form whenever we witness injustice, we need to voice our opposition to such incidents in a very strong and clear voice. Many times silence is considered as an indirect approval for such acts, it encourages perpetrators to commit these crimes again and again. 

Ignoring such incidents purposely or choosing to keep silent is as bad as committing those crimes. This bystander approach is very dangerous. When we choose to remain silent we give a message to perpetrators that people are okay with such behavior. We tell them that they can do such nasty things and get away with it. They get the impression that they can bully others, harass others, or trouble them and no one will dare to protest or confront them. The bystander approach provides encouragement to them. In private many people express their displeasure and concern about such things but this doesn't really matter if they ignore these things when they personally witness the real incident. As I said different people have different reasons for not reacting or ignoring these things, but I believe there is a strong reason and duty not to ignore them. Many times, perpetrators of such crimes try to physically intimidate the victims and because of this other people also get scared of them, they do this to spread fear with the hope that no one will protest, and many times they succeed. But if even some of us show little courage to speak up they might not get away so easily and will think twice in the future before committing the same crime. No one likes confrontation or enjoys any unpleasant scenario but many times that's the only option we have to stop social evils like bullying, discrimination, or harassment. If anyone remains silent even after facing some unjust due to lack of support from their surroundings they offer themselves as easy targets for similar incidents in the future. Such silence is an enemy of social justice. 

We should raise our voices against any injustice or harassment. Nationality, race, religion, caste, political affiliation, gender, or anything else should not be the criteria behind criticizing any such crime. Mahatma Gandhi said once, "Hate the sin, not the sinner," we need to oppose injustice, not individuals, that individual is just a representative of that sick mindset we need to fight that mindset. So let's fight social evils together, silence is not an option, silence is an enemy of social justice.  

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Democracy depends on informed electorate

Nowadays it is election time in India, a very charged atmosphere with political emotions flying high. All political parties are trying their best to woo the voters. India is considered the largest democracy in the world with a population of around 1.2 billion people. Politics and democracy are two different things according to me. Politics is played in almost every country, but there are very few places where true, healthy, and well-functioning democracy exists, the question here is, is India one of them?

True democracy doesn't only mean the right to vote, this is just one part of it (no doubt a very important part). True, healthy, and functioning democracy depends on the informed voting decisions of people involved in the democratic process. The process includes candidate selection by political parties, policy development, voting, governing, etc. All eligible citizens should be able to participate in every step directly or indirectly. There are very few countries in this world that have such a robust and transparent democratic process in place. India is a democratic country for sure, citizens have the right to vote but most voters have very limited information or knowledge about the policies of political parties or even about candidates contesting from their constituencies. This information is deliberately not provided to them. Until recently there was no Right to Information Act (RTI). Even now political parties and their funding sources are not revealed under this act, they don't even come under this act. Most political leaders prefer to deliver emotionally charged speeches rather than talking about their policy road map which will allow them to achieve promises they are making. There is no culture of debate or discussion between major political parties or their candidates which can allow voters to understand what they really stand for. People with serious criminal charges (like murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.) are given tickets by almost all political parties. All these political parties unite whenever there is an attempt to bring any reform or act that can minimize the criminalization of politics or make political funding transparent in any way. These things normally happen in the background, most voters/citizens are not even aware of these things and most political parties don't want voters to know about these things. The more ignorant and ill-informed voters are, more better for these political parties.

Because of tremendous development in information and technology in recent years and the presence of active media, nowadays people are receiving a lot of information from various sources. There is so much information inflow that it's really difficult to grasp all of it. Along with very useful information, there is a lot of junk also, people need to filter it and educate themselves about real issues and problems. Once voters get informed they realize the real power of their vote, and they get empowered. Without information and awareness, the votes of voters can be purchased or voters can be fooled by creating some wrong perception. All these things have been happening in India for so many decades. People are really frustrated and disillusioned with this system. This is the major reason for all the support that inexperienced parties like AAP (AAm Aadami Party) or any other new regional parties are getting. Whenever some group tries to reform the rotten system, major political parties don't appreciate such efforts. They all want the same old system in place, the same old style of opaque politics as it is very beneficial to them. People who are trying to bring these changes are targeted. Actually, these people are not that important but the reforms that they want to deliver are important. Some people are trying to shoot the messenger in the hope that the message doesn't get delivered. I hope voters of India look beyond personalities and try to understand the message. Who is delivering the message is not at all important, the message is important. If major national parties like Congress and BJP are willing to decentralize power, bring strong legislation against corruption, bring total transparency and accountability in political funding and governance, and encourage job growth then there won't be any need for any anti-corruption movement or any new party. Whenever the establishment neglects a certain section of society, corruption, and crime become rampant in society, some new movement starts, and some new political party is formed to fight against this injustice.

Informed voters are more powerful, they are aware of their rights as well as responsibilities. Informed voters are equipped to make informed choices, and political parties, and leaders can not fool them all the time by giving false promises. Democracy is not very useful for its citizens without well-informed voters. I hope this scenario changes in the near future. I hope candidates participate in civilized debate because these types of debates are very necessary and are essential parts of any democratic process. India never had them so far as a part of the electoral process I hope in future they try to conduct them. After all, democracy depends on an informed electorate, and without that, it's just a democracy for the namesake. I think most of us want true and functioning democracy, not something that just looks like it but doesn't feel or work like a true democracy. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Mr. Modi, I wish it was only one party's fault

I heard the slogan "Congress mukta Bharat" (Congress-free India) during this year's (2014) general election campaign by BJP leader Mr. Narendra Modi. Many BJP supporters liked the idea, after all, who doesn't like to wipe out their political rival from the picture? Somehow every other problem that India is facing today is blamed upon the Congress party and its ideologies. This is because the Congress has ruled India for most of the time since independence (1947). Superficially, this claim looks very legit, but if we analyze it closely it doesn't look only one party's fault. BJP itself has been in national politics in some form or another for the last 40 years or so. They also got a chance to run the central government for ~ 9 years in between (six years on their own and three years as a part of the Janta Party govt). They have been a major opposition party for the last few years and also have their government in some states of India. So, part of the blame also goes to them, but they may not accept this as they want to put all the blame on Congress. No doubt Congress cannot escape the responsibility, they have to accept responsibility for their mistakes but there is more than one culprit who is responsible for all this mess.

Over the years India has developed a very corrupt, unaccountable political and bureaucratic system. Our politicians hardly tried to modify the structure of the police or the bureaucratic setup that the British designed for the rulers. India got the new constitution which promises so many great things but they didn't support it with system reforms which was required to deliver those promises to every citizen. This system is still running but it failed to deliver the expected results. Lack of transparency and accountability are major salient features of this system. This system also heavily depends on the people who are running it, if they are honest and sincere system might produce some desired results but if not then there is ample scope for corruption, and if they are caught there are many loopholes to escape. So, the failure of Congress or even the BJP to deliver great results is in part because of the nature of this system. As this system is very beneficial for rulers, it allows them to have complete control over the judiciary, investigating agencies, and police (after all British designed it to control India), so these parties are very reluctant to change it. Whenever they got the opportunity Congress or BJP both never showed any intent to introduce desired reforms to make this system more transparent and accountable. They both made many promises which were not fulfilled mostly because of widespread corruption in the entire system. 

This so-called Congress-free India promised by the BJP is not going to be any different with this same system. I wish a solution was so simple to all the problems that India is facing today. Actually, no matter which party comes into power, with the same system in place, and with the same loopholes, not many things are going to change for the common people of India. India needs independent agencies that can implement existing laws impartially and effectively to protect people's interests. India lacks truly independent government branches, almost everything is under the control of the government. There are many laws and rules that protect the interests of political parties and their leaders, they all fight for it and these rules are effectively implemented but similar treatment is not offered to common people. They are at the mercy of these leaders or parties to get anything from the government. In a true democracy, it's the government of the people, by the people, for the people but we don't see that picture in India. That's why people are frustrated with the current system. This is the main reason why new and inexperienced parties like AAP are getting so much support and attention. It's easy to blame one single party and it's easy to put all the blame on them, but actually, it's the fault of the whole system which involves all political parties and voters. We need some reforms in every sector, it doesn't matter who brings them but we need them for sure. I think all political parties are aware of this demand but somehow they are not willing to take any action as the current system suits them. After all, who wants to dilute their share in power, who wants to lose their control over each agency including the judiciary. Congress-free India is not an appealing idea Mr. Modi, I don't even want it because I know it is not going to change anything, but yes, corruption-free India is desirable. A transparent and accountable system is very appealing and if you want to talk about that then I am listening. Another request to you and all leaders from other parties is it would be great if you all could support your promises with some concrete actions because, for the last many decades, we have only listened to false promises, especially about dealing with corruption. So far it is just talk but no walk from all political parties and I expect to see some change this time.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Do Dr. Swamy really want to disenfranchise Indian Muslims?

I watched some of the interviews of Dr. Subramanian Swamy sometime back, and I didn't think that they were worthy of any serious attention. These interviews were largely ignored by mainstream media also and even all major political parties gave it a pass, no one really made any big deal out of it. But on second thought, I think these types of views should be questioned, especially when they come from some political figure who might play a key role in the major national party. I think Dr. Swamy gave these interviews as a part of a promotional campaign for a book he wrote recently. I can understand his desire to popularize his book to boost its sales, but any sane person with a rational mind would have thought twice before making any statements like the one he made during these interviews. Dr. Swamy is a well-known politician and educated person, nowadays he is also a prominent member of the major national party like BJP. There is a very high probability that if BJP comes into power he might hold some crucial ministerial position in the future government. It is really unfortunate to see that such a person is saying that all Indian Muslims (or all non-Hindus including Sikhs, Christians, etc.) should first acknowledge their Hindu ancestry to get their voting rights.

Only Dr. Swamy knows why he said these things and what he really meant, but his statements clearly display his intolerant attitude toward other religions and faiths. I wonder on what basis he links Hinduism with being Indian. I don't think there is any relation between these two things. Why does anyone have to accept or even acknowledge their ancestors if they don't want to? I personally don't care who were my ancestors, or what religion they followed. I am very happy with my present and willing to work hard for a better future. Does this make me any lesser Indian than others who prefer to acknowledge their ancestors? Being a law-abiding citizen who respects the law of the land is not enough to get a voting right? Why acknowledging my ancestry is important for my voting rights? Why government is interested to know my or my ancestors' religion? Can Dr. Swamy give any satisfactory answers to all these questions? Dr. Swamy's aim behind the insistence of this ancestry acknowledgment is clearly to create some unnecessary controversy. Imagine what will happen if a person with so much bias against a particular community or religion gets some cabinet portfolio that designs policies for the citizens of India. Will he be fair to all communities? I hope people who are going to vote in this election ask these questions to concerned people.

I believe this is an intentional move by Dr. Swamy to create polarization of votes during this election. He is a very clever and shrewd politician. I think he is playing this card to please the gallery, to make traditional BJP supporter happy, and to make them feel assured that their pro-Hindu ideology is not all lost in this development saga. I think Dr. Swamy himself knows that this policy is impossible to implement in India, but this is a political move to reap some short-term political benefits and some money by boosting his book sales by creating some controversy. But by doing this, he created a really pathetic image of himself. The government has no business to interfere in the private matters of law-abiding citizens. Citizens should be free to choose whatever religion they want to follow, they should be free to change it at any time, and any religious affiliation or acknowledgment of ancestry should not be a prerequisite for citizenship, voting rights, or any other fundamental rights of citizens. I hope Dr. Swamy understands this and will correct his mistake.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVm-BhvKZw0#t=271
2. Swamy to head BJP’s action panel