Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Modi government, accusing it of being vindictive and targeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar ahead of the Maharashtra polls.
Pawar has been named in a money-laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a scam at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank.
The NCP chief has said that he will visit the ED office, even though it has not summoned him yet.
“Sharad Pawar Ji is the latest Opposition leader to be targeted by a vindictive Government. The timing of this action, a month before elections in Maharashtra, reeks of political opportunism,” he said on Twitter.
Sharad Pawar Ji is the latest Opposition leader to be targeted by a vindictive Government. The timing of this action, a month before elections in Maharashtra, reeks of political opportunism. https://t.co/XCW0GsdXjj
Gandhi has been critical of the government targeting opposition leaders. The Congress has said that cases are being slapped against opposition leaders ahead of elections in states.
27th September is celebrated as World Tourism Day to promote awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes and it has now become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism is the engine of economic growth. Tourism helps in women empowerment and youth employment. This day help us to spread the word of both the importance and immense benefits universal accessibility has and can bring to society at large. It is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tourism to global well-being. We all know that when tourism has become the continuously growing and developing economic sectors worldwide because of the occurrence of various attractive and new destinations for the tourists, it has become the main source of income for the developing countries. The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicraft, agriculture, construction and even poultry.
Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. Almost 20 million people are now working in the India’s tourism industry.
Tourism today plays a vital role in bringing the world closer as it has been a major social phenomenon of societies all over the world and it is driven by the natural urge of every human being for new experiences, and the desire to be both educated and entertained. Every time we travel, for whatever reason, we are part of a global movement; a movement that has the power to drive inclusive development, create jobs and build the sustainable societies we want for our future. Perhaps every citizen can do the role of city ambassador and play courteous hosts. Each one of us is responsible for contributing our bit to protect the natural resources of our planet. India has innumerable attractions for tourists. Throughout the country there are numerous beauty and scenic spots. Terrorism nowadays has become a global problem. Our country is also not an exception. The terrorist attacks agitations and separatist movements hinder the growth of tourism.
We live in such a country that others dream of visiting and becoming wiser by the experience. Can’t we help them with right directions, authentic fares, uniform pricing and respect for the personal space of tourists while maintaining basic facilities that we ourselves are comfortable using? We must remember that the tourism is an ever-evolving and thriving industry that contributes to the economic wellbeing of every nation and generates lakhs of employment opportunities besides focusing on environment-friendly measures. As we celebrate World Tourism Day, let us recall that all of the world’s citizens have the right to experience the incredible diversity this planet has to offer. Tourism in India can become a viable industry if effective and concerted steps are taken. It promotes national integration, international understanding, harmony, friendship and goodwill. Diversity, unity and assimilation have always been the hallmark of the eternal India and these make India the ultimate tourist destination.
India has a composite culture. India has fascinated people from all over the world with her secularism and her culture. Let us take adequate steps to protect and preserve the flora and fauna, the historical monuments and heritage sites of this great country.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
After around a decade, Kerala has once again hit the headlines on account of Love Jihad. This time, Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) George Kurian has alleged that there are many cases of organised conversion of Christian women in Kerala. He said that these conversions are not into Islam but Islamic terrorism as in many cases, women were used as courier for terror activities. George Kurian has also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding a probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA) into these cases. He further added that Muslims are also objecting to it. George Kurian received two complaints about conversion of Christian women. He alleged that the ruling CPI(M) led LDF government is protecting the accused.
On the other hand, LDF government has rejected these allegations and criticised the NCM Vice Chairman for being part of a politically motivated campaign. The LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan said, “Love Jihad is a terminology used by Hindu fundamentalists. If National Commission for Minorities has used this term, it means there is a politically motivated campaign going on in our country,”
It is remarkable that in Love jihad Muslim men woo non-Muslim women and compel them to convert to Islam. It rose to national attention in India in 2009 with alleged conversions first in Kerala and subsequently in Karnataka. In a query raised in Kerala Assembly debates, the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said that a total of 7713 persons were converted to Islam between 2006 and 2012. As per the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference’s Commission for Social Harmony and Vigilance around 4000 girls have been subjected to religious conversion from 2005 to 2012 after they fell in love.
Kurian said that according to another study, more than 2,600 women were converted to Islam between 2006 and 2009. He said that he got reports that around 40 or 50 of these women were from Kozhikode district. NCM Vice Chairman George Kurian and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a protest march towards Kozhikode Commissioner’s office on September 23. Kurian said that Love Jihad is very much active in Kerala.
On being asked about Love jihad, Ashok Pandey, National spokesperson of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha told Afternoon Voice, “It is Love Jihad. Hindus are being targeted on large scale across the country. We have been raising this issue for long time. Now Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) George Kurian has raised this issue. It is good. The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha is against any religious conversion. Government should come out with strict law to curb it.”
As per reports, a student of a Kerala polytechnic institute was arrested for allegedly raping his classmate and compelling her to convert to Islam. Kozhikode police arrested Mohammed Jasim under charges of rape, extortion and criminal intimidation. He is also charged of insulting a religion or its beliefs. She was involved in a two-year relationship with the accused. According to the girl, he had compelled her to convert to Islam if she wanted to marry.
In another incident, a Malayali Christian girl from Delhi was allegedly abducted to a West Asian country by Mohammad Siddiqui. The girl’s parents have expressed fear that she could have been misled or cheated of brainwashed or abducted and led astray with very nefarious designs such as joining an outfit such as the Islamic State (IS) or being used as a slave.
Kerala Congress leader PT Chacko said, “One or two incidents of conversion have happened in northern Kerala. Right now, it is not a big issue in the state. It is not going to affect the bypolls in the state. Congress party will take proper decision into this matter.”
A 19-year-old student of a Kerala polytechnic institute was arrested for allegedly raping his 18-year-old classmate and compelling her to convert to Islam. Mohammed Jasim was arrested under charges of rape, extortion and criminal intimidation, as well as deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious sentiments by insulting a religion or its beliefs. According to the girl, who was involved in a two-year relationship with the accused, he had compelled her to convert if she wanted to marry. The girl is a Christian. Two grown up adults who were in relation for two years, something went wrong and the guy dumped the girl.
They were classmates. However, according to the girl’s statement, the boy insisted she convert to Islam if she wanted the marriage to happen. Immediately, there is political intervention and matter got flared everywhere.
Love Jihad is actually a political issue. In general most people in India do not care or even have any relation to it. In India we have two main national parties. One is Congress that comes across as a party that is influenced by socialism and the other is BJP that is sympathetic towards Hindu Right wing.
But if you notice randomly, every Love Jihad story has a Hindu girl falling prey to Muslim guys. Few good people are there but there are few bad flags as well. There are many such incidences where, society or political leaders brought these issues on surface with Love Jihad tag, even the so called lovers are opportunists, they fall in so called love, exchange emotions, share bread and bed but when fall apart cry accusing men for rape or atrocities. Why these girls fall in such relations, why can’t they stick to their own religion knowing that they have to get converted if they get lured by another religion guy.
India is a country of many religions; each religion has its own norms and values. The politicians and custodians believe that a person can make rational choices when it comes to selecting and following a religion. They believe that one can marry anyone from any religion but they don’t talk about the consequences. For them, marriage is between two people, religion should not be a factor. They don’t consider other social factors like family systems, economics and the impact such marriages have on social stability and family stability.
In India, Hindus and the converts (people who still carry values of Hinduism) consider daughters as their pride, when someone from the other faith marries their daughter; it destabilises their life till their death. The parents, the siblings and other members of the family are isolated in their community and then the frustrating life if compromises are not made. The women (and men) all over the world are capable to make their own choices; both have a rational mind. But, why is that, it is the women which have to compromise on religion? The media which should not have any tags, has not pointed out to this, they known to empower women is silent on women compromising on their religion, especially in the Hadiya case. Isn’t it wrong that women have to compromise on their religion, whenever they marry outside their religion?
These religious custodians also ignore the fact that Islam, Christianity and other religion convert people from other religion before marriage to an individual from their religion. No one has raised this point, which is against freedom of faith. If A falls in love with B, A wants B to convert because the religion demands B (most cases women) to convert because she is from other religion. This is against love if you are in love with the other person, why do you want him/her to compromise, let the other person follow their religion. Even the B (a female) knowing all these repercussions chose a relation that is practically not possible. Hindus, Muslims, and Christians are completely different culturally from each other. All the three religions don’t like people from their religion being converted to the other. The Constitution allows religious propagation; this has been used as religious propaganda in India. This propaganda wants people from other religions to convert into their religion. Most of the hate against any religion happens during religious gatherings of any kind. Hindus and the converts consider their daughters as their pride and when the female child switches religion, the family especially the parent’s face a lot of hardship. The first one is psychological, at home the situation will be worst than anyone passing away when one passes away people may feel sad for few days. But, when a boy/girl switches religion the parents are dying every day, even the strongest minds collapse. This is worst than living in a state were terrorism is dominant. The parents will raise many points but this one is the main point: Why can’t the guy switch his religion when he marries a woman from another religion? If his love his so great ask him to compromise…
The second hardship which parents face in the society is that they will be labeled as those people.. Whose daughter ran away with another guy of another religion! This will also lead to social isolation of the family. Something which liberals never speak off! Thirdly, they will be tortured for money or any physical asset, if the man is incapable of anything in life except love. The parent’s side will only come out in the open when they speak out; normally the case is that they keep quiet because of their pride and the shaming they have to face from others. If you don’t speak out, the media will hide your side!!! The parent’s side should be documented so that young individuals think about their parents.
The law will go by the written sections and by the version of the adults. It will never consider the parent’s side. Lastly, marriage in India is between two families and this marriage will not go well if unknown people marry unknown people from other faiths. It is in the public domain, what people do to save their ‘honour’ in the society. I said before, daughters are the pride of Indian families. In the end, one should ask that is it worth it? All will not be good after such marriages in your future family or your past family which you are ready to abandon. It can be the other way round also, that family can also abandon you in the future. But, if you are going for an inter-religious marriage, be smart and do things properly, don’t trouble others, especially the ones who have fed you, trusted you and have given everything, to see that you do well in life.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Is our money safe in the bank is a million dollar question that comes to everybody’s mind after RBI imposes restrictions on PMC Bank. Government wants every citizen to have a bank account and encouraging digital transactions but is the banking infrastructure in place to safeguard people’s hard earned savings which gets deposited in Banks and FD’s is confusing scenario which is puzzling for all of us when banks are going bust at regular intervals.
Banking frauds has become common as people’s hard earned money is lent to fraudsters who enjoy an elite lifestyle with people’s money. The likes of Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi as well as many industrialists including Anil Ambani in India are living luxuriously while people with savings in banks struggle to make both ends meet when RBI puts restrictions on banks to just withdraw Rs.1000 which is a joke. Government should punish the guilty and not the poor and the elderly. Governance in India has failed and we are heading towards a banana republic if no action is taken to protect citizens by punishing the guilty.
S.N. Kabra
Newly designed portal www.pgportal.gov.in not working properly
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (Government of India) has on September 25, 2019 introduced a new-designed version of www.pgportal.gov.in for lodging complaints about listed public-authorities in the option-list, but only with cosmetic changes. But the new-designed portal is not working properly because option-list of listed public-authorities is not appearing. The department should immediately resolve the problem.
This portal should be made more user-friendly by auto-emailing responses on lodged complaints without requiring to visit the portal to know the response. Bar on special characters used in posted submissions should be removed for ease of commoners not having much knowledge of internet and typing. This portal should restore resolution of suggestions posted on the portal as was in initial days of launch of the portal, to make members of public important part of governance-system like the system exists on similar portal on website of Prime Minister.
Since submissions posted at portal www.helpline.rb.nic.in at President-website get auto-transferred to Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, duplication of having same or similar portal at President-website should be removed. Otherwise also very few submissions are posted at www.helpline.rb.nic.in. Instead it should be made compulsory for every public-authority to have similar portals to minimize time in electronic-transfer of posted submissions to concerned public-authorities.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
At least 12 people were killed in various incidents of flooding and wall collapse after heavy rains battered Maharashtra’s Pune district, officials said on Thursday. Nearly 10,500 people from several water-logged areas were shifted to safer places so far following heavy showers in the district on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he was pained to know about the loss of lives due to heavy rains in Pune. He said that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in the city and Baramati tehsil, and all necessary assistance was being provided in the affected areas.
Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram has declared a holiday in schools and colleges of Pune city, Purandar, Baramati, Bhor and Haveli Tehsils for Thursday.
Five people sleeping at a dargah in Khed-Shivapur village, located on the Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway, were washed away after the heavy downpour, Superintendent of Police Sandip Patil said, adding that two persons from Purandar area were reported missing.
Besides, five people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed in incidents of wall collapse in the flooded Arneshwar area, chief fire officer Prashant Ranpise said.
Also, one person was found dead near a school in an inundated locality in Sahakar Nagar while another body was found in a car washed away near Sinhgad road, he said.
“Over 10,000 people from low-lying areas in Baramati were shifted to safer places after water was released from Nazare dam, built on the Karha river near Jejuri,” Patil said.
Deeply pained to know about the loss of lives in Pune due to heavy rains.
My deep condolences to the bereaved families.
State government is taking all the measures to assure that all possible assistance is provided on time.
Besides, more than 500 people stranded in low-lying areas of the city were also rescued, Ranpise said.
“Rain stopped on Thursday morning, but many houses and residential societies in low-lying areas were still inundated. There were several reports of wall collapse and uprooting of trees in those places,” another fire official said.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis expressed grief over the deaths and assured all help from the government.
“My deepest condolences to the families. We are providing all possible assistance needed. State disaster management officials and control room in continuous touch with Pune collector and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC),” he said in a tweet.
“2 NDRF teams are deployed in Pune and 2 in Baramati. One more NDRF team is on way to Baramati. State Government is also closely monitoring the dam discharge,” he added.
Pained to know about the loss of lives in and around Pune due to heavy rains.
My deepest condolences to the families. We are providing all possible assistance needed.
State disaster management officials & control room in continuous touch with Pune collector and PMC.
A number of low-lying areas in and around Pune were flooded after heavy showers lashed the city on Wednesday. Water-logging was reported in Sinhgad Road, Dhanakwadi, Balajinagar, Ambegaon, Sahakar Nagar, Parvati, Kolhewadi and Kirkatwadi, Ranpise said.
In a major setback for NCP chief Sharad Pawar, the Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against him and his nephew and former deputy chief minister and Ajit Pawar and about 70 former functionaries of the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) to probe an alleged Rs 25,000 crore scam. The case has been registered at a time when the state is heading for assembly elections.
When our correspondent Nikhil Sagare spoke to Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam he said, “Without going into the merit of the case I would like to make a statement that prima facie it looks like a politically motivated action. Because elections are around the corner before election such action are nothing but to throttle the opposition.”
Officials said an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) the equivalent of police FIR has been registered by the central agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against all the accused. Enforcement Directorate has launched the probe on the basis of an FIR lodged by Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police following a Bombay High Court directive on August 22.
NCP Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Majeed Memon said, “Sharad Pawar is not involved in this case. Neither was he the member nor director of the bank. He has not taken any loan and has not given any surety. Look at the timing of the case. Since last eight days Sharad Pawar has been getting good response from rural Maharashtra which had created worries among Sena and BJP. ED and Income Tax department should work independently.”
The case is based on Mumbai Police FIR that had named the then directors of the bank former deputy chief minister of the state Ajit Pawar and 70 former functionaries of the co-operative bank. Sharad Pawar a former chief minister of Maharashtra has been named in the ED FIR on the basis of the police FIR. It is understood that the accused will soon be summoned by the agency to record their statements.
The money laundering case has been registered against the then chairman, managing directors and directors of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank along with Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, Diliprao Deshmukh, Isharlal Jain, Jayant Patil, Shivaji Rao Nalvade, Anandrao Adsul, Rajendra Shingane, Madan Patil and others, said an agency official.
The Mumbai Police last month had registered an FIR against Ajit Pawar and other functionaries in the MSCB scam case on the directions of the Bombay High Court. The accused were allegedly complicit in causing losses to the tune of Rs 1000 crore to MSCB between 2007 and 2011.
It is alleged that the then top executives and managerial staff of the bank conspired with office bearers and directors of cooperative sugar factories and Soot Girnis to give out loans in a fraudulent manner. There were irregularities in the loan disbursements to co-operative sugar factories and loans were sanctioned despite them having weak financials. In many cases loans were sanctioned without any collateral. The cooperative sugar factories were allegedly sold to close relatives of certain politicians. The loans were provided to the factories despite their weak financials and negative net worth whose owners had alleged links with the bank officials.
An inspection by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) as well as chargesheet filed by a quasi judicial inquiry commission under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies (MCS) Act had earlier blamed the “decisions, actions and inactions” of Pawar and other accused for losses.
The NABARD audit report revealed breach of several banking laws and RBI guidelines by the accused in distribution of loans to sugar factories and spinning mills and subsequent default on repayment and recovery of such loans.
After hammering Raj Thackeray, now the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in connection with the Maharashtra State Co-operative (MSC) Bank fraud case against Sharad Pawar and his nephew and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and 70 other officials of MSC Bank. It is alleged that MSC Bank had sanctioned loans in a fraudulent manner to office bearers and directors of local co-operative sugar factories (CSFs), spinning mills and other processing units, and also to the bank’s then top executives. The scam is pegged at Rs 25,000 crore. The second rung of the NCP, mostly those controlling co-operatives and education institutes, sees advantage in being on the ruling side since they not only have to safeguard their own turfs, but also safeguard their own future as many of them have been accused of irregularities and are facing cases at various levels. Added to this, are the financial problems facing the cooperative institutes that they have been running?
From cornering a 23 per cent vote share and 58 seats out of 288 in the 1999 Maharashtra assembly polls, the NCP had a good start. However, excessive reliance on one community– the numerically strong Marathas–became a handicap for the party as the community switched its allegiance to the BJP in 2014. As a result, the NCP did not just lose Marathwada, but also western Maharashtra, its stronghold where the Marathas are in large numbers.
Pawar, who is now old yet active on the ground may once have taken pride in grooming the second rank leadership? These days Sharad Pawar has been underlining one thing categorically. That he is still young and ready to take on the BJP-Sena in the assembly polls. The message is clear – Pawar does not want the cadre to be demoralised further especially after the series of desertions.
At 79, Pawar, who has been Maharashtra’s chief minister for a record four terms, is fighting a lonely battle with some of his senior-most associates and staunch supporters like Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, Padmasinh Patil and Madhukar Pichad, leaving him. If the consecutive defeats, one after another since 2014, have reduced his political power in Delhi to an insignificant level, another drubbing in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls may cast an end for his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), for which survival without power is difficult. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), formed by Pawar in 1999 after rebelling in the Congress, has spent 15 out of 20 years of its existence enjoying power. The party that enjoyed fruits of being in government at various levels – starting from major local bodies, state and Centre – is now in uncharted territory. Frankly speaking Sharad Pawar is one of the wisest politicians in India. Now if that wisdom is really being used for the welfare of society or not is a different topic. But he surely has best managerial skills. His political ambitions and his next generation’s marginal contribution made it difficult for him. He is corrupt or not that court has to decide. But Sharad Pawar, once said, “It is wrong on part of banks to demand the return of the loan in 12 months because sometime sugarcane matures in 12 months or sometime in 15 months”.
He is never found or never has been prosecuted for engaging in corruption. Whether he is honest or corrupt, in the absence of the irrefutable evidence, is difficult to be contended. But the fact remains that, while he was working as the Central Cabinet Minister, and being the senior most, always was offered the No. 2 or 3 posts in the cabinet, but he always choose the one that connected him with his roots. His roots always were with the agriculture and farmers. All political leaders in India agree that Pawar is only a tall leader who knows in and out of the agriculture, from crop growing to the crop processing, from prominent farmers in a village to the prominent merchants selling the agricultural produce, many he knows personally. When he travels to remote villages in Maharashtra, he would know at least ten farmers in that village by name. Farmers in Maharashtra call him ‘Jaanta Raja’ a term reserved in Maharashtra for King Shivaji. His contribution to farmers in last five decades has been immense. The farmers need credit; he established thousands of cooperative societies and banks. The farmer needs subsidies to make the cost of production viable he introduced many. The farmers need expertise to guide them on good agricultural practices he established agricultural extension centers. The farmers needed a market for their products he established many. If farmers have milk, he established thousands of dairies and milk processing centers. The farmers needed someone to buy his raw sugarcane; he established hundreds of sugar mills. The farmers needed someone to buy his raw cotton; he established thousands of ginning and pressing units to make the cotton bales for exports. The farmers needed the marketing centers near his reach; he established hundreds of marketing federations.
His political rivals always call him royal enemy, better to be with than with wicked friend. He always lived with principles. He is someone who is hated as well as loved, whether it is Shiv Sena, Congress or the BJP. He is most vocal about himself and that is one of the reasons, which again evokes popularity. Who knows controversies better than me? The controversies always chase people who are active and decision makers.
Anna Hazare had his campaign running successfully. Someday somebody slapped Sharad Pawar. Anna made a public comment “Ek hi gaal pe mara kya!”. Sharad Pawar retorted him with saying “May be that’s what an ideology Anna carries about non-violence.. “. That day hence Anna’s popularity started decreasing. And we all know what happened to his hunger strike on Azad Maidan Mumbai. It was a complete failure. Sharad Pawar has a great presence of mind. During 1993 Bombay blast, Pawar announced on Doordarshan that the Masjid Bunder was the 12th placed where explosion happened. Actually there wasn’t any explosion at Masjid Bunder at all. But after this announcement Hindus and Muslims thought that the blasts were not targeted at any particular community and the government was able to restore normal life fast. On the grounds of riots happened earlier after Babri demolition, this one bomb explosion, which Sharad Pawar exploded, actually saved many lives and public property. I am not a fan of Sharad Pawar and not a follower or member of NCP at all. There are lots of rumours especially in Maharashtra about this person’s personal wealth, his past, his political strategies and games he plays. But I must say one thing. This man really could have made a huge difference to this country if he had acted accordingly.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Over a week ago Home Minister Amit Shah pitched for Hindi as One Language of the country on the occasion of Hindi Diwas. Shah stressed on the ability of Hindi as a widely spoken language in uniting the country and said that it is necessary to have one language which could represent India in the world.
“India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India in the world. Today, if one language can do the work of tying the country to the door of unity, then it is the most spoken Hindi language,” Shah wrote on Twitter.
भारत विभिन्न भाषाओं का देश है और हर भाषा का अपना महत्व है परन्तु पूरे देश की एक भाषा होना अत्यंत आवश्यक है जो विश्व में भारत की पहचान बने। आज देश को एकता की डोर में बाँधने का काम अगर कोई एक भाषा कर सकती है तो वो सर्वाधिक बोले जाने वाली हिंदी भाषा ही है। pic.twitter.com/hrk1ktpDCn
His statement created a controversy and evoked howls of protest all over the country as many people have gone against him in his view. In as much as language unities people it can also be a source of strife, Shah never has thought of it. Maharashtra, Assam, and Tamil Nadu have always been among the sites of violent linguistic agitators as there have erupted many conflicts based on Maratha language in Maharashtra.
Opposition parties, particularly from the South, accused Shah of running a divisive agenda and foisting the RSS agenda on the country. Leaders like the DMK‘s Stalin and the Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor, condemned the move to impose Hindi.
Demanding retraction of his statement, DMK president MK Stalin said ‘Shah’s remarks will affect the unity of the country. We have been continuously waging protest against imposition of Hindi. Today’s remarks made by Amit Shah gave us a jolt, it will affect the unity of the country. We demand that he takes his statement back.’
But, above all aforesaid, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that diversity is the foundation of India’s democracy and the country’s various languages are an important identity of its liberal and democratic society.
Addressing the audience at the historic event ‘Howdy Modi’ in Houston PM Modi said, “India has progressed for centuries with dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects.”
PM Modi won millions of hearts of Indian people when he said, ‘all is well’ in multiple Indian languages from Punjabi to Bengali to Tamil among others. Actually he found the perfect setting at Houston’s NRG stadium to end the controversy generated by his home minister Amit Shah who had called for one nation on language.
India has two official languages – Hindi and English – and 22 scheduled languages but the country does not have any national language. In spite of this, it is fact that multiple languages of India are not the problem for the country rather they encapsulate the beauty of our country. Unity always lies in diversity in India. This is why our constitution clearly respects India’s diversity as it recognizes 22 languages spoken by a large number of people. Although Hindi is spoken by the majority of India but, based on this factor, other languages can’t be ignored as they are also spoken at large such Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil and Urdu. So we also, open heartedly, should respect all the languages.
A language should connect us with each other not to divide us in groups. In a democracy, especially in a knowledge economy like India we must not foster the tendency to discriminate between people based upon their ability or inability to speak a particular language.
By Faheem Usmani Qasmi
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Ab Ki Bar Trump Sarkar’ sounded Prime Minister Modi in Houston as Indo-US relations were further strengthened at the ‘Howdy Modi‘ event which was watched by billions across the globe. PM Modi is making all the right noises and today certainly is the most popular political figure in the world. India under Modi’s leadership is being heard at global platform on every parameter and eliminating terrorism as well as corruption are right on top of that list which is the reason for his growing popularity as these subjects are global phenomenon that affects all countries.
However, Modi has a constituency back home and hope his friendship with global leaders also attracts investments from foreign countries into India. Our economy is in the doldrums which should be revived at the earliest and Modi seems to be the only leader who can transform India’s fortunes in the days to come. Hope Modi’s US visit culminates into a lot of deals that are beneficial for our country not just on defence pacts but economic business deals as well. Citizens are hopeful of better days in the coming years and let’s keep our fingers crossed that it happens sooner than we expect!
The hefty fines imposed by the traffic department to motorists and to those driving two-wheelers across the country have triggered several debates. Sometimes, we think that the rules are just useless. The attitude is that if everyone can break rules, why can’t I? Most people do not carry or do not have a driving licence. They must always carry a driving licence with them while travelling. Those who break the law, must be booked and fined heavily so as to discourage them from repeating the act again. Another case is haste. People try to cross the road while the signal is still red. They argue that there was no one on the road and chose to cross it because they were in a hurry to reach their destination. But they should know that rules are rules and everyone has to follow them. Those driving a car must always wear a seat belt and those driving a two-wheeler must always wear a helmet. It is for their safety and it reduces the chances of death.
Jubel D’Cruz
NN Vohra report on politicians-criminals nexus should be made public
Enforcement Directorate under present Central Government is acting freely in right direction by boldly acting against top-ranking politicians of the country to expose open secret of their ultra-richness which till now was hided by investigating agencies because of their hi-fi status.
It is high time that Central Government approaches Supreme Court for lifting stay on making public annexures to report submitted by NN Vohra Committee set up to probe nexus of criminals and politicians. Presently only final report but only with recommendations has been published. But annexures which contains names of several hi-fi politicians was not done by the then Central Government. Subsequently a stay-order was obtained from Supreme Court on publication of the annexures under the changed era of transparency and good governance.
It is noteworthy that once CIC ordered publication of annexures of NN Vohra Committee Report, but officials of Union Home Ministry were even not aware of any such annexures, what to talk about their knowledge about stay-order on its publication. Spokesperson of a particular political party was visibly uncomfortable in TV debates on the said CIC-verdict, whose founder was supposed to be figuring in the said annexures.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Monorail mid-air miseries
Monorail services were disrupted, leaving passengers stranded between Mysore Colony and Bharat Petroleum stations. Finally, passengers were safely evacuated by the Mumbai Fire Brigade, with the help of a ladder. The snag was reported after one of the monorail lost power. Although the monorail technical team tried to ensure that Phase 1 operations resume early, it was a futile exercise. Frequent failures in Monorail is such a pathetic experience. It spoils your travelling plans and sheer waste of time. When will monorail technical safety and quality be ensured. After experiments and live experiences we could not correct the snag and make the passage risk free. This is not the first time that the passengers are having mid-air problem and it is high time the snag is rectified without frequent breakdowns.
Nikhil Mani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
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