Month: March 2023

Embarrassment for AAP Govt as Amritpal Singh Dares Police Yet Again in a Second Video

The Sikh hardliner, who is still at large, claimed that he is not in police custody. In the latest video, he said, “Gurus kept me free so far for a greater reason”, adding that he would “soon appear in public”.

Chandigarh: Even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government recently told Punjab and Haryana high court that they were too close to arresting fugitive Sikh hardliner Amritpal Singh, he again challenged state agencies through a second video in less than 48 hours.    

His earlier video on Wednesday, March 29 evening, the first since he gave Punjab police a slip two weeks ago, was pre-recorded. 

This time he used a phone and went live on the Facebook page of a UK-based Sikh Channel around 9 pm on Thursday, March 30. This page has been blocked in India. Before his video message, he also released an audio message.  

Amritpal claimed in his latest video that he was not in “police custody”. He then justified his escape from security agencies, saying that “Gurus kept me free so far for a greater reason”. He also said, “I would soon appear in public.”   

Several in Punjab, like Professor Manjit Singh, believe that the way Amritpal is involved in high-voltage propaganda freely through his videos, there are enough signals that he is “playing in the hands of powerful forces outside Punjab”, who, they say, are trying to “exploit” political and religious faults in the state to their advantage.   

But the entire security fiasco around Amritpal – first the delay over action against him and then the “over the board” police crackdown that did not spare even journalists – is now catching up with the AAP government.  

“No matter in whose hands he is playing, the entire spectacle around Amritpal without his arrest has become a huge embarrassment for the AAP government,” said Professor Harjeshwar Singh, a political observer and a history teacher. “This has only confirmed the growing perception that chief minister Bhagwant Mann is no longer in control of his government.” 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks during the ongoing session of Punjab Legislative Assembly, in Chandigarh, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. Photo: PTI.

It appears that the AAP government’s plans did not materialise as envisaged. It initially thought that a massive operation against Khalistani elements would neutralise the anti-government agenda of the opposition parties as well as the media that the current government is weak on law and order.

But the same action has now become a major headache for the government given that Amripal is still at large. Even the high court slammed the AAP government for its intelligence failure earlier last week.

On top of it, the police action led to the confrontation between AAP and top Sikh clergy Giani Harpreet Singh after his 24-hour ultimatum last Sunday to release Sikh youths arrested in the Amritpal operation and to even revoke National Security Act (NSA) against his aides.  

AAP government finally blinked after it quietly released most of those arrested under preventive custody in the Amritpal operation. 

Also read: In First Video Since Giving Police the Slip, Amritpal Singh Says ‘No One Can Harm Me’

But the question that has been troubling the AAP government is where is the “fugitive” hardliner now, and how long will he continue to incite religious sentiments to keep the state on the tenterhooks?

What did he say in the second video?

Starting his video by saying that many people had a suspicion that his earlier was recorded in police custody, Amritpal stated, “I request the Sangat (community) not to consider everything a conspiracy. We should have faith in the almighty and consider him supreme and not the Indian government or police.”

He then said, “Those who think I am a bhagoda (deserter) or that I have deserted my friends. Please don’t think that way. I am not afraid of dying. I will accept it when death comes. No one can escape it. But Satguru Sache Patshah has kept me free for a reason so that I can do something for the youth and the community.” 

He then said, “I will appear before the public very soon and be with the community. I am not one of those who leave the country, go abroad, and then send messages to the public through video.”

“We need to understand that this is like how Guru Gobind Singh lived in the forests of Machhiwara. These are obstacles…need to go through on the path of religion,” he added. 

Amritpal again nudged Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to call Sarbat Khalsa, a huge meeting of religious Sikh congregation, a custom that dates back to the 18th century, to discuss the political, social and religious issues of great importance to the community. 

“I have given an appeal for a Sarbat Khalsa. This is a test for Jathedar sahab as well. I am already going through my test. Your test is how steadfastly will you stand for our community’s rights,” he added. 

Commenting upon Jathedar’s call to start Khalsa Vaheer, a Sikh tradition of a religious procession, he said, “I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a Vaheer. The Vaheer should take place. But to say that we will create awareness among people living in the villages, that is superficial. People are already aware. The need is to mobilise the community through Sarbat Khalsa.” 

Akal Takht Jathedar has yet not reacted to his repeated calls, even as he, in an address, maintained that the recent police action has created a sense of terror in Punjab and allowed national forces to brand Sikhs as terrorists.

‘Rules out surrender’

Ruling out surrender before the police, Amritpal then said, “I didn’t put any conditions for surrendering. Baseless rumours are being spread that I laid down three conditions for surrendering such as that I shouldn’t be beaten up in the police station.”

He said, “Beat me up as much as you want to. I am not afraid of torture or imprisonment. I appeal to the Sangat not to believe these rumours. I am in Chardikala. I have left everything to the almighty. He will judge my actions, not any court.” 

Observers say that the intention behind Amritpal’s repeated videos is to link his wrongful action to the cause of the Sikh community and seek their endorsement of whatever he has done. 

So far, there is no major protest in his support in Punjab, giving an indication that people are mindfully watching the whole situation.

Anand Teltumbde Explains the Genesis of His Articles on Bhima-Koregaon

Instead of addressing the pathetic condition of Dalits, many Ambedkarites are busy promoting a devotional cult of Babasaheb, hollowing out his radical content and helping the ruling classes exploit his legacy.

In view of the controversy my article in The Wire of January 2, 2018 created – which I did not have an occasion to respond to with an explanation due to my entrapment in the case that paradoxically pivoted on the allegation that I was the main organiser of the Elgar Parishad – this note is intended to explain the factual background and motive for my writing the article.

Incidentally, it was not the only article I wrote on the topic; there were two more pieces which were completely ignored by those seeking to attack me. On the basis of whatever happened to me thereafter, it may not be difficult to guess the source of this controversy.

However, with a hope that many Dalits who fell prey to the motivated propaganda of some police agents masquerading as Ambedkarites would want to know the truth, I am writing this explanation. Far from being apologetic, I will additionally demonstrate how the so-called Ambedkarites have – not unlike the Sanghis – inverted the meanings of what Babasaheb Ambedkar actually meant and stood for.

It all began thus

I was in an important academic meeting of my institute in Goa in late 2017 when Justice P.B. Sawant telephoned me. By the time I went out to speak, Justice Kolse Patil was on the phone and he informed me about their plan to observe the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in a contemporary context. He said a meeting of all progressive intellectuals and activists of Maharashtra was planned at Pune to discuss the plan and I was invited to attend.

Since I was quite immersed in my new programme, India’s first, in big data analytics, I politely regretted. He then requested me to be on the convening committee along with Justice Sawant and himself and many other intellectuals and activists, which I happily accepted with the proviso that I might not be in a position to contribute much or even attend meetings/programmes. It is thus that I, the only non-resident of Maharashtra, came to be included in the convening committee for whatever was to be planned to observe this event.

No one contacted me thereafter on this matter. Suddenly, I noted pamphlets flashed on WhatsApp, which gave an idea that many cross caste-community organisations and individuals had joined the organisation of the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. Significantly, these included some prominent Maratha organisations, which to my memory had never joined Dalits on a political agenda.

I was extremely pleased with this historic development. But then came some more pamphlets –which created the impression that the Bhima-Koregoan battle was won by the Mahar soldiers as though to avenge the oppressive Brahminic rule of Peshwas. I saw this as the usual stereotype of Dalits making the battle their identity marker, which could potentially jeopardise the incipient unity of Dalits and non-Dalits that was being achieved perhaps for the first time. For, if the victory was projected solely due to Mahar valour, why would others join them?

As I pointed out, the facts too did not bear this out – there was a majority among the martyrs (as engraved on the obelisk) who were not Mahars. Moreover, it was perhaps anachronistic to attribute the valour of Mahar soldiers to the consciousness against caste oppression in 1818, which as a matter of fact would take almost a century to germinate. It was, in my opinion, important to commemorate the victory against the debauched Brahminic rule of Peshwas which was oppressive to all non-Brahmin castes so as to inspire them to rise against its contemporary incarnate – the BJP’s rule.

It is from this anxiety that I wrote my fateful piece in The Wire, which annoyed a section of Ambedkarites and which came handy for some to whip up a campaign against me that I was ‘anti-Ambedkar’.

Babasaheb Ambedkar expected his disciples to be prabuddha (enlightened), which is much more than being educated and being able to scribble nonsense on WhatApp or Facebook. Photo: PTI

And the article happened

The precise context of that article may also be necessary to explain. As I told Justice Kolse Patil, I never had a plan to attend the commemorating event. However, nearer the date, one of my classmates in IIM-Ahmedabad and a friend who lived in Switzerland invited me for the marriage of his son which was to be solemnised in Pune on December 31, 2017 at 10 am.

In view of our family relations over many years, I just could not decline his invitation. Consequently, my wife and I engaged a driver and started off from Goa for Pune on the previous day. On the way, Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of The Wire, called me to solicit a piece on the impending event on December 31, 2017, to which I agreed.

Nearer Pune, we noticed the treading on two tyres of our car had given way, creating an anxiety in us to change it at Pune before starting off for Goa the next day. We reached Pune and checked in to the hotel our friend had booked. After dinner, I began writing the article on my laptop which always accompanied me. I decided to give expression to my fond theme that Dalits should shun their identity obsession and strive to build a broad unity with others along class lines using the context of the anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle. I left the skeleton of the article and retired for the night.

The next day, we attended the marriage in the hall just across the road, had lunch and hurriedly checked out of the hotel to search for tyre shops on our way. None of us knew the exit roads to Goa. As we started off from the hotel, we saw Shaniwarwada, where the Elgar Parishad was to take place. On the fly, we decided to stop for few minutes and saw some friends at the stall of Prabuddha Bharat. The stage was being set up and we did not find anyone known to us there. We soon resumed our mission of finding a tyre shop.

Having made unsuccessful attempts at a couple of shops, we reached the highway petrol pump, where we fueled our car and learned that we could get tyres only at Satara fata. We changed two tyres there and reached Goa at midnight. On the way, as I am wont, I finished the article in the car.

The next morning, i.e., January 1, 2018, amidst my academic chores, I mailed the article to Varadarajan and got busy with my routine. When I went home at around 2 pm, my wife informed me about the attack of the Hindutva goons on the Dalit congregation at Bhima-Koregaon. The TV was on and I could see footage of saffron flag waving crowds attacking Dalits. It was shocking. In the evening, I had a meeting but the horrific scenes on TV haunted me all along and I forgot about the article, which was published the next day in The Wire.

Also read: On the History and Memory of the Battle of Koregaon

What is it to be Ambedkarite?

Though I received quite a few congratulatory messages, my detractors had a field day. They created a chorus that I was anti-Ambedkar or that I insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar by calling Bhima-Koregaon a myth. None refuted the facts I had mentioned or touched the theme of the article. Instead, they reveled in suicidal irrationality, ignorance and abuse – all un-Ambedkarite depravities.

Babasaheb Ambedkar expected his disciples to be prabuddha (enlightened), which is much more than being educated and being able to scribble nonsense on WhatApp or Facebook. As for the meaning of following Babasaheb Ambedkar, these worthies should read his Ranade, Gandhi and Jinnah wherein, more than any of his contemporaries, he elucidated the relationship between the master and disciple. I know they would never read it in original and hence give here the requisite extract from it to open their eyes:

All Liberals I know will say our duty is to follow the master. What else could be the attitude of a devout band of disciples?  It means that a great man works by imposing his maxims on his disciples. It means that the disciples should not be wiser than the master. Both these conclusions are wrong. They do injustice to the master. No great man really does his work by crippling his disciple by forcing on them his maxims or his conclusions. What a great man does is not to impose his maxims on his disciples. What he does is to evoke them, to awaken them to a vigorous and various exertion of their faculties. Again the pupil only takes his guidance from his master. He is not bound to accept his master’s conclusions. There is no ingratitude in the disciple not accepting the maxims or the conclusions of his master. For even when he rejects them he is bound to acknowledge to his master in deep reverence “You awakened me to be myself: for that I thank you.” The master is not entitled to less. The disciple is not bound to give more. [Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches,Vol. 1, p. 240 (Govt. of Maharashtra),]

A sincere Ambedkarite would be disturbed seeing the pathetic condition of Dalits, and of the institutions Babasaheb established and left behind. He would invest his or her intellectual energy to addressing what went wrong and not promote a devotional cult which Ambedkar detested. They would be able to see that what I have been doing is the former – analysing the past and trying to contribute to strategies for future, and not showing off my scholarship for any gain whatsoever, unlike most others.

While this is what a true follower of Ambedkar ought to be doing, many are doing the latter – promoting a devotional cult of Ambedkar, hollowing out his radical content and helping the ruling classes exploit his legacy. This is precisely what his followers ought not to be doing. In terms of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s assessment in the above quotation, all those engaged in shouting ‘Ambedkar ki jai’ and variously showering encomia on him are actually eulogising their own identity and not necessarily upholding Ambedkar and his ideas.

Only those few who have adopted the arduous path of critical analysis, unbeknownst to them, are the true followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar. I leave the task of judging who is insulting Babasaheb Ambedkar to discerning readers.

The other articles I wrote

My piece in The Wire was not the only article that I had written on the topic. Actually, after the attack on January 1, 2018, I had written an article which was carried by News18, which historically situated the Bhima-Koregaon battle in the Dalit universe. It was not in any way a contradiction of what I wrote in The Wire, nor was it written out of ‘fear’, as some of my ignorant detractors have tried to suggest.

In response to their abuses, I had in fact also written a strong rejoinder –‘Bhima–Koregaon: Myth, Metaphor and Meta-Mission’ –  in my column in the Economic and Political Weekly. This article was a response to the critique from an unlikely person, my scholar friend Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd.

The purpose of writing this explanatory note is not as much to clear my own position vis-à-vis my detractors, for I really do not care about them, as to clear the thickening dirt being spread by them and their ilk in the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar which is disorienting emancipatory movements in the country.

Anand Teltumbde is former CEO, PIL, professor, IIT Kharagpur and GIM, Goa; writer and civil rights activist.

In ‘Selective’ Demolition, Muslim Structures Razed But Temple Spared in Gujarat’s Dwarka

The Gujarat coastline has seen multiple demolition drives in recent months. Opposition parties and locals allege that the administration is making it a point to displace Muslims and disrupt their livelihoods.

New Delhi/Dwarka: On March 28, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel visited Porbandar’s Harsiddhi Temple with the state’s home minister, Harsh Sanghavi. In October 2022, the same coastal city of Porbandar saw a massive demolition drive which set out to raze ‘unauthorised structures’ – under the banner of which the district administration demolished the Muradsha Pir Dargah.

Following this demolition, local Muslims protested. Prohibitory orders were issued in the jurisdiction of four police stations in Porbandar after the police used tear gas to prevent Muslims from marching to a site in the Udyognagar area where an ‘unauthorised’ religious structure was razed.

On Gujarat’s coast, demolitions made a comeback when on March 12 this year, villages across Devbhumi Dwarka district saw drives to expel ‘illegal occupants’ from the district.

More than 200 structures have been razed so far at the Gandhvi fishing harbour near the Harsiddhi temple – these include homes, mosques, Islamic shrines and shops owned by locals. A majority of the population in Gandhvi is Muslim and practice fishing as their livelihood.

The Dwarka administration has maintained that the unauthorised structures which now stand demolished were built on government land, the Harshad Harbour in the Mendha creek near the Harsiddhi Temple. The administration also added that the properties and warehouses located along the seacoast could be used as a landing point for smuggled drugs.

Mosques razed, temple spared

Gafur Daud Patel, a local from Harshad, has had to pack all his belongings from his 35-year-old home overnight. From Harshad harbour, his family of eight fled to Gir Somnath district after the government issued a 24-hour demolition warning.

“Muslims were fleeing, packing their things in a rush, piling their belonging on their heads and trying to make sense of what was happening. But the Shankar Temple near our demolished homes was left untouched,” alleged Patel.

Imam Sharfuddin, a cleric from the village, told The Wire that no mercy was shown to Islamic shrines and structures in the village. “Our Dargah Ghaus Paaq, our Madina mosque were demolished in one go,” he said.

The demolition in Harshad village. Photo: Special arrangement

Locals have alleged that the Shankar Temple in Harshad had also received the notice declaring it as an illegal structure and yet it was spared.

Community leader Haji Hanif explained that the village now wore a deserted look and nothing except the temple survived. “We are being targeted in the garb of security and drug peddling; how can an entire village be emptied due to the government’s suspicion?” he asked.

Though the government had served them notices in January asking them to vacate the premises because it wanted to demolish them, at least 69 fishermen of Gandhvi and 122 from 20 km away, Navadra, had petitioned the high court seeking regularisation of their homes constructed on the government land.

Fishermen ousted for capitalists’ settlements

The demolitions, allegations of drug peddling, and concerns for national security create an environment of hostility for those fleeing the affected villages. Congress’s Nusrat Panja views the targeted ouster of Muslims as nowhere related to any of the concerns expressed by the government.

“Hindus also live in settlements across the coast, their villages can also pose as a potential avenue for the dangers highlighted by the government. But you do not see them being pushed to homelessness. Veraval is one such village,” Panja said.

Also read: A Single Factor Is Common to All Communal Riots During Religious Processions in India

Panja also added that if the government found these locals to be residing on illegally occupied land, they should have been rehabilitated first and then their illegal homes could have been brought down. “These fishermen have been living here for decades and generations, how can the administration uproot them without offering alternate housing facilities?” he asked.

On March 28, chief minister Patel and state home minister Sanghavi took stock of the demolition of illegal structures carried out in Bet Dwarka in Devbhumi Dwarka district. With most Muslim fishermen displaced, the chief minister asserted that no illegal construction will be allowed along the coastal belt and the campaign against illegal encroachments will continue.

With hundreds of structures reduced to rubble, Mujahid Nafees, convenor, Minority Coordination Committee, Gujarat understands this as a two-pronged attack on the fishermen. “For one, the administration is trying to clear the coast of these fishermen in the garb of national security, only to hand this coast to capitalists, and secondly, they want to further the fake narrative that it is Muslims who indulge in all kinds of illegalities, be it settling illegally or drug peddling as the government alleges,” Nafees said.

Demolition in Navadra. Photo: Special arrangement

Nafees also added that the Muslim fishermen whom the government is trying to remove from the coastline are actually the first line of defence in case of any intrusion or suspicious activity along the coast. Yet they were being painted as criminals.

“Musalmaan ka makaan, masjid, madarsa, mazaar, sab gira dia, magar mandir waheen hai abhi bhi,” said Nafees, referring to the fact that while the temples have received notices to vacate the premises, but they have neither been forcefully evicted nor the premises demolished.

Demolition and drugs

Congress’s V.T. Sida from Junagadh has been working to get the expelled fishermen into rehabilitation camps. Sida, who personally met with chief minister Patel, said that he was assured that the government would investigate the matter. But he says assurances are not enough to house those who have lost their livelihoods and places of living.

Sida explained, “If the government feels that drug peddling is happening, they have ample amount of intelligence to nab the culprits, why kick out the Muslim fishermen in this manner? If their residence is illegal, they should be shifted to rehabilitation camps, why is the government making it look like it is freeing an area from Muslim occupation?”

This is the second major demolition drive along the Devbhumi Dwarka coast in about three months. The previous demolition happened merely months before the state’s assembly elections. In October 2022, the government undertook a massive demolition drive razing at least a hundred structures in Bet Dwarka, an island off the Okha coast, famous for the Dwarkadhish Mukhya Mandir, a shrine for the Hindu deity Krishna. Currently,  120 structures in Navadra, 80 structures in Harshad, 65 structures in Bhogat and 120 structures in Bet Dwarka sit broken. This tally is inclusive of the four broken mosques and four toppled dargahs in all the four villages.

Gafur Daud Patel, one of the petitioners, told The Wire that the high court disposed of the matter after the government assured the court that the affected families will be rehabilitated according to existing policies of the government, paving the way for the demolition. Yet, many like Patel from the coast’s emptied villages have fled fearing being flattened under the rubble that their decades-old houses have been turned into.

The Wire has reached out to superintendent of police, Dwarka Nitesh Pandey to ask about the allegation that Muslims were being selectively targeted through the demolitions. This article will be updated if he responds.

Tarushi Aswani is a freelance journalist based in Delhi. She tweets at @tarushi_aswani.

MHA Decision Strips Six Prominent Disability, Human Rights NGOs of FCRA Licences

Licences of the organisations expired in March this year as the Union home ministry did not allow them the conventional six-month extension to apply for renewal. Over the last three years, the MHA has revoked or cancelled FCRA licences of 1,828 organisations.

New Delhi: Amidst the Union home ministry’s spree of cancelling, revoking, or suspending Foreign Contribution Registration Act licences of non-governmental organisations – which allow them to accept foreign grants – six prominent non-profits which work on disability and human rights have also lost their licences.

The Economic Times reported that Blue Cross Blue Crescent Society, Good Earth Education Foundation, India Eye International Human Rights Observer, Deaf Cricket Society, Bidirectional Access Promotion Society and Behaviour Foundation of India lost their licences ahead of the March 31, 2023 deadline. Officials informed the ET that the FCRA licences of these NGOs are “deemed to have ceased”. 

According to the report, the FCRA licences of the organisations expired in March this year as the Union home ministry did not allow them the conventional six-month extension to apply for renewal. Usually, the ministry grants an extension to NGOs of “certain categories” so that they could apply for renewal of their FCRA licences. Every FCRA licence lasts five years before they need to be renewed. 

The Blue Cross Blue Crescent Society is affiliated to United Nations-DESA and has accreditation with the European Union. The Good Earth Education Foundation is steered by the Eicher Group and imparts education to the rural poor, with special emphasis on the girl child. The Deal Cricket Society and Behaviour Foundation of India engage with differently-abled children and persons through various intervention activities. 

Speaking with the ET, Mithilesh Kumar Karn, the founder director of the Blue Cross Society, said, “My FCRA licence was issued in the name of Blue Cross Blue Crescent while the NGO’s name is Blue Cross and Blue Crescent Society. I have been running from pillar to post and applied for a name change in January this year but, so far, have not received any updates from the ministry. I am not able to receive any foreign grants due to this.”

The Union home ministry has been cancelling or revoking the FCRA licences of several NGOs, including prominent non-profits like Oxfam India and Centre for Policy Research (CPR). Two NGOs headed by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi – Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation – also lost their FCRA licences last year. 

Over the last three years, the Union home ministry revoked or cancelled FCRA licences of 1,828 organisations for allegedly violating the FCRA, which requires each licencee to submit annual audit reports and detailed balance sheets to the ministry. The Act empowers the government to inspect and carry out an audit of organisations which receive foreign grants. 

Gujarat HC Sets Aside CIC’s Order Asking GU to Provide Info on PM Modi’s MA Degree

The court has also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, based on whose letter the then CIC issued the order.

New Delhi: The Gujarat high court has set aside a 2016 order of the Central Information Commission to the Gujarat University, asking it to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degrees to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the latter.

Justice Biren Vaishnav ordered Kejriwal to submit the penalty with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority within four weeks.

The Gujarat University had challenged the CIC’s order on the grounds that it was passed without a notice having been served on it by the CIC, LiveLaw reported.

The university claimed that Dr Sridhar Acharyulu, then the CIC, had suo motu issued the order while considering an application on Kejriwal’s electoral identity card, even though no proceedings were pending before him.

Kejriwal, reported LiveLaw, wrote to the Commission and said that while he is ready to furnish required information, Prime Minister Modi too should be asked to disclose details on his degree.

The Aam Aadmi Party, especially at around 2016, would be vocal in its distrust of Modi’s claims about his educational qualifications.

Acharyulu considered Kejriwal’s note an “application under RTI in his capacity as a citizen” and directed the Public Information Officer of the Prime Minister’s Office to provide copies of Modi’s Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees. Gujarat University, from where Modi has claimed to have done his Masters in ‘Entire Political Science’, was also directed to provide a copy of the degree to Kejriwal.

The Delhi University authenticated Modi’s Bachelor’s degree. “We have checked our records and it has been authenticated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree is authentic. He cleared the examination in 1978 and was awarded the degree in 1979,” The Wire had quoted Tarun Das, then DU registrar, as having said.

The DU has challenged another 2017 CIC order asking it to allow inspection of BA records of 1978, the year Modi is said to have passed the exam. The case is ongoing at the Delhi high court.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued on behalf of Gujarat University that the RTI Act was being “misused to settled scores and taking a childish jab at opponents,” reported LiveLaw.

SG Mehta also said that the university had already placed the degree in the public domain.

Court arguments focused on whether the RTI Act can be used to “satisfy someone’s curiosity.”

Mehta also cited Section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act which encapsulates that information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual, cannot be got unless the authorities are convinced that the larger public interest is satisfied through its disclosure.

He said the university was holding the degree records in its fiduciary capacity and thus was exempted from disclosing this information under the above Section of the Act.

Proposed Digital India Bill Shouldn’t Give Govt Power to Block Online Content: Think Tank

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in its note on the Digital India Bill has said that the IT Act, which it will replace, lacks ‘distinct regulatory approaches for harmful and illegal content.’

New Delhi: The Broadband India Forum, a think tank, has warned against the Union government having power to block online content under the proposed Digital India Bill, 2023.

The Bill will replace the Information Technology Act, 2000. Under Section 69A of the Act, the government has power to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource. The government can cite reasons like the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence, security, friendly relations with foreign states and public order behind the decision.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in its note on the Bill has said that the IT Act lacks “distinct regulatory approaches for harmful and illegal content.”

Its draft has not been prepared yet.

The BIF, reports Financial Express, represents companies like Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft. In the report, jointly written with xKDR Forum, a non-profit research organisation, it has called for an independent and neutral body to adjudicate on blocking requests in a transparent manner.

The BIF report says that blocking orders issued to intermediaries – social media platforms, internet services providers and others – by the government is censorship and directly affects the rights of the content creator to freely express opinion and that of the public to receive information.

The government recently announced the formation of Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs) which became operational on March 1, 2023, where intermediaries can file appeals against the decisions of the Grievance Redressal Officer of platforms or their failure to act on complaints made to them.

Although noble in concept, in their analysis for The Wire, Prateek Waghre and Tejasi Panjiar write, “Any faith in the GACs also fails to consider that rather than an independent adjudication mechanism, it would be subservient to the Union government.”

The BIF report notes that the government had asked Twitter to take down 248 tweets in 2017 but by 2020, the number had risen to 10,000.

News reports note how the government has periodically blocked certain YouTube channels and mobile apps.

Recently, the government asked YouTube and Twitter to take down videos and links to a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“In any event, the explosion of content on the Internet requires improved state capacity to make correct, time-sensitive decisions regarding blocking online content. Currently, however, the legal framework lacks any clear accountability standards that allow us to assess whether the procedural safeguards have proved effective,” the report said, according to FE.

China Seeks to Woo Foreign Investors Even as Tensions With the US Loom Large

“The dynamism and momentum of China’s economic growth is strong,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the Boao Forum for Asia, while criticising “unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction by the US”.

New Delhi: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, March 30, said that he was committed to opening up and reforming the world’s second-largest economy, as Beijing emerges from its long pandemic isolation.

“The dynamism and momentum of China’s economic growth is strong,” Li said at the Boao Forum for Asia, a four-day gathering of international business leaders and politicians on the Chinese island of Hainan.

He also criticised “unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction by the US”, CNN Business reported.

He further said that China will roll out new measures to boost domestic consumption and increase market access for foreign business while ensuring the stability of the financial sector.

This comes against the backdrop of Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma’s return to China, a week ago. He reportedly stayed overseas for more than a year.

Li, a trusted ally of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, took office earlier this month. This was his first speech since then.

“We’ll join hands to build a more dynamic growth centre and inject more certainty into the global economic recovery,” the South China Morning Post reported Li as saying.

His audience comprised hundreds of attendees, including visiting Singaporean and Malaysian leaders, ex-officials and business leaders.

“We oppose trade protectionism and supply chain decoupling, and want to ensure smooth global industrial and supply chains.”

Investment concerns

The comments indicate China’s efforts to boost business confidence as foreign companies are pulling capital out of the country.

Nikkei Asia reported that investment by foreign firms in China tumbled to its lowest level in 18 years in the second half of last year.

In fact, over the last six months, foreign direct investment into China has gone negative, Forbes reported.

Further, CNN Business reported, citing the American Chamber (AmCham) of Commerce in China, that for the first time in 25 years, fewer than half of the respondents in the survey regarded China as one of their top three investment destinations.

Additionally, the number of business saying they plan to leave in the next three years has nearly doubled, as per another survey by AmCham in Hong Kong.

Also read: China Should Woo Global South Under BRI to Counter West, Shape New Order: Chinese Magazine Editor

Taiwan-China dispute

Separately, Li slammed “group confrontation” and a “new cold war”, a day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen made a stopover to New York on her way to Central America.

China has condemned any such meeting – and says if it goes ahead, it could lead to a “serious confrontation”, BBC reported.

According to the report, Tsai may meet with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on her return leg.

“We oppose the misuse of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction,” he said, referring to US sanctions on China.

“No matter how the world changes, we will always adhere to reform and opening up and be driven by innovation,” the South China Morning Post reported him as saying. “It will not only inject new impetus and vitality into global economic development, but allow countries to share the opportunities of China’s development.”

He also pledged to widen market access and create a favourable environment for state-owned, private and foreign investors.

Employees at ACC, Ambuja Cement Uneasy as Key Roles Shifted From Mumbai to Ahmedabad: Report

Both companies – which the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate bought last year – are headquartered in Mumbai. But ever since they were purchased, the focus has been shifting to Gujarat.

New Delhi: Employees at the Adani-owned ACC and Ambuja Cement have reportedly found themselves confused and worried as the companies’ owner decided to move several key roles to Ahmedabad.

According to The Hindu Business Line, both companies – which the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate bought last year – are headquartered in Mumbai. But ever since they were purchased, the focus has been shifting to Gujarat. “For instance, Ajay Kapur, Chief Executive Officer of the Cement Business of Adani Group, operates out of Ahmedabad, while other leadership roles, including the heads of divisions such as procurement, supply chain, health and safety have also been shifted out of Mumbai,” the newspaper reported.

This is creating a situation where employees reporting to the division heads are having to either relocate or go back and forth between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which is not easy for those who have other responsibilities as well (such as familial ones). Many, therefore, are on the lookout for other opportunities.

“The two companies between them have an employee base of over 10,000 and Mumbai, being the headquarters, has a significant number of them. At the end of FY22, ACC had over 6,000 permanent employees on its rolls of which the management staff is about 60 percent, while the remaining staff were shop floor workers, deployed at its various plants and sites. Ambuja Cements has 4,700-odd employees with roughly 70 percent of them in the management cadre,” the newspaper stated.

When asked about this move, an Adani Group spokesperson said, “We do not comment on our employee related matters.”

The Group had last year acquired Swiss-based Holcim’s cement businesses in India – Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd – for $10.5 billion (around Rs 85,000 crore). This was the conglomerate’s largest-ever acquisition, and per the company at the time, it was India’s largest ever M&A transaction in the infrastructure and material space.

The shift to Gujarat is not the only worry for ACC and Ambuja Cement employees. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Adani Group is seeking more time to repay debts related to Ambuja Cements and ACC. Reports said the Group is seeking to renegotiate the terms of the outstanding loans which are worth $4 billion. The huge debt has led to a fear of job cuts within the company, The Hindu Business Line reported.

The entire Adani Group has been mired in controversy ever since the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report on January 14, accusing the group of large-scale accounting fraud and stock manipulation. The Group has denied any wrongdoing.

Hindenburg Research’s main charge is that it has traced entities in tax havens, “which held huge stakes in listed Adani firms, and were related to Gautam Adani’s brother, Vinod.” But as “these facts were not disclosed. In effect, the promoters’ stakes in several listed firms exceeded the legal limit of 75%.” If investigations find that these entities are related to Adani, it could spell trouble for the Adani group.

Earlier, The Morning Context had reported that ACC and Ambuja Cement are owned by entities that are controlled by Vinod Adani.

Violence, Arson Mark Ram Navami Processions Across States; Rally Held in Delhi Without Permission

In Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat, incidents of stone pelting and arson were reported to have triggered communal tension around the Ram Navami celebrations. Both police and the public were injured.

New Delhi: After Delhi Police denied permission to hold a Ram Navami procession in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area – which had witnessed communal violence last April – as many as 1,000 people clad in saffron walked with religious flags and raised slogans for about half a kilometre on March 30.

In Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat, incidents of stone pelting and arson were reported to have triggered communal tension around the Ram Navami celebrations.

Both members of public and police personnel were said to have been injured in the incidents, leading police to make arrests in at least one case. 

Delhi

As per newspaper reports, the Deputy Commissioner Of Police (Northwest) had denied permission to a right wing outfit, Akhil  Bharatiya Hindu Yuva Morcha (ABHYM) for a Ram Navami event to be held at a local park. Other Hindutva groups like Bajrang Dal and Hindu Sena were to be present at the event. Police had denied permission to hold Friday Ramzan prayers at the park too, citing law and order issues in the communally charged area. 

However, violating the prohibitory orders, men in saffron and yellow took out a procession from the park in the K block area of Jahangirpuri to its B block, before police eventually put a stop to it.

“Senior police officers said they asked the men to celebrate at the park but they demanded to walk 4-5 km in the area with flags,” reported The Indian Express. The report quoted DCP Jitendra Meena as having said, “We couldn’t allow them to do so. They were allowed to walk on a 100-metre stretch, which they did. As of now, we have not arrested anyone or lodged a case.”

He also said, “There was no violence. It was a peaceful celebration for both communities,” adding, “Keeping in mind law and order situation, the order against Ramzan prayers still stands. If they do show up, we will make security arrangements accordingly. However, nobody has pushed for the prayers.” 

The news report said the men in saffron and yellow, prior to taking out the procession, gathered at the park to protest against the police order, placed idols at the park and carried out a puja after setting up a stage there. “Organsiers also set up loudspeakers and a makeshift temple.”

After the puja, the organisers took out a rally in which participants raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Jai Siya Ram’, ‘Hanuman Ki Jai’ and ‘Dilli Police sharam karo (Delhi Police have shame).’ ABHYM president Shivom Mishra told the newspaper, “Why do we need permission from police? It is a free country”.

The organisers said that they had planned a gathering of 7000 people for the occasion but expressed disappointment that only 3,000 could come “due to the heavy barricading”.

Maulana Abdul Kalam, a senior clergy at the Jahangirpuri mosque said, “We also wish to hold prayers (at the park) but they (police) didn’t allow us. Rules are only for minorities.”

Aurangabad

Meanwhile, two incidents of Ram Navami-related violence were reported from Maharashtra. As per a report in The Hindu, “A riot-like situation prevailed in Sambhajinagar city (formerly Aurangabad) of Maharashtra in the wee hours of March 30 following clashes between two groups, with a number of police vehicles torched during the incident.”

The report said the incident took place at Kiradpura locality of the city on the occasion of Ram Navami and ahead of the opposition Maha Vikas Agadhi’s rally on April 2. 

“According to police, the clashes between the groups happened between 12.20 am and 1 am on March 30 when a group of bikers, passing through the Kiradpura area, raised slogans that reportedly provoked the other group. Heated arguments soon snowballed into full-blown violence, with stone pelting and vandalism in tow,” said the news report. 

As per police, the arson continued for about three hours. As many as 15 vehicles, including private owned ones, were set on fire. Police thereafter resorted to baton charging and tear gas to bring the situation under control.

Since the opposition rally was set for April 2, there ensued a war of words between the opposition Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party and the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The opposition has accused the ruling BJP and Shinde faction of Shiv Sena to have fomented communal tensions to get their rally cancelled.

Calling the Aurangabad clash a failure of the Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told media, “This government has only one intention, that is to create disturbance in the state and to ensure that riots take place, adding, “that Fadnavis’ home ministry appeared “invisible” all throughout the incident.

Jalgaon

Elsewhere in Maharashtra, pre-Ram Navami related violence was reported from Jalgaon. News reports said a clash ensued between two groups after a religious procession accompanied by loud music was taken out in front of a mosque in Paldhi area of Jalgaon. “The police have registered two FIRs and arrested 45 people so far for the violence that broke out on March 28,” said The Hindustan Times. The report quoted Jalgaon superintendent of police M. Rajkumar as having said that four persons were injured in the violence. He called the present situation peaceful and “under control”. 

Mathura

In Mathura, on Thursday, a viral video of men waving saffron flags from roofs near the Jama Masjid during a Ram Navami procession led to communal tension, reported Indian Express.

The procession was stopped for 30 minutes and concluded amidst police presence.

Mathura SSP Shailesh Pandey said that police are in the process of verifying details and that the situation is peaceful.

Howrah

Meanwhile, a Ram Navami-related incident of violence was reported from West Bengal’s Howrah area. As per a Times of India report, several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in Howrah amid the celebrations. As per the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Ram Navami procession organisers took a route which was not authorised by the police, leading her to state, “They have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?” 

Issuing orders to police to take strict action against the perpetrators of the clash, she told media, “Those who have not done any wrong will not be arrested.” Meanwhile, the BJP has accused Banerjee of the violence.

State BJP leaders and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members took out processions on Ram Navami in different parts of the state. The Times of India report said it counted to “about 1,000 small and large rallies across the state.”

“Drumbeats, saffron flags and large cutouts of Lord Ram featured prominently in these processions. Some of those participating in the procession were allegedly carrying swords and trishuls,” the report said.

Vadodara

An incident of stone pelting during the Ram Navami celebrations was reported from Gujarat’s Vadodara city too. “While some vehicles got damaged, no one was injured in the incident and the procession passed along its planned route under police protection,” deputy commissioner of police Yashpal Jaganiya told the Times of India. 

Book Review: How Urban Slums Shape City Politics

The book ‘Migrants and Machine Politics’ provokes an interesting discussion on slums. How is political authority crafted within the growing cities? How, if at all, do urban residents have a say in who leads their local community?

The distributive politics of urban slums is a dynamic process, where a bottom-up mobilisation seeks to gain material benefits. This goes against the conventional understanding of Indian slums, that “these neighbourhoods are often understood to be governed by ruthless gangs, or rendered the playthings of politicians, who dangle handouts during elections to amass support from desperate residents.”

Against this understanding, the book titled Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness authored by Adam Michael Auerbach and Tariq Thachil formulates: “Against these narratives, we find slums communities engaging in sustained, bottom-up claim making to improve local conditions. They actively select their informal leaders through deliberate meetings, informal elections, and day-to-day decisions over whom to follow and whose door to knock on to ask for help.”

This book is the culmination of eight years of research in the slums of two cities, Jaipur and Bhopal.

Adam Michael Auerbach and Tariq Thachil
Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness
Princeton University Press (January 2023)

Before I proceed with the review, a caveat. Words used to describe people in the slums and their connections with the political parties and leaders is alien to the vocabulary that we normally find being used in India.

Take for example, client, broker, and patron are words used for a slum dweller, slum representative/leader, and political leader (ward councillor or higher up), respectively. Likewise, machine politics is the politics of slums, which sounds like a mechanical process built into the governance structure. For the sake of convenience, I will use the same words though I do not subscribe to this vocabulary.

Phenomenal exercise

This book is a phenomenal exercise based on research on primary data collected from these two cities. A total of 110 slums were surveyed; 663 party workers (brokers), who held distinct positions within a committee at one of the party organisational levels, were interviewed; 343 party patrons; and over 4,000 respondents/slum residents. The survey and research work was conducted from 2012 to 2020.

The book provokes an interesting discussion on slums. How is political authority crafted within the growing cities? How, if at all, do urban residents have a say in who leads their local community? Once local leaders have taken on this role, how do they decide whom to help in the neighbourhoods where resources are limited? What guides the flow of resources? What are the relations between the brokers and the patrons?

Let us try to explore some of these questions as generated through the research data.

How does the political authority of an individual emerge in a slum? Is it rooted in ethnicity, caste, region or something else? There is interesting data which reveals that the slum dwellers chose their first priority on the basis of the education of the leader and someone who can represent them and connect them to the bureaucracy. The findings exhibit that residents in slums will not simply assemble behind members of their own ethnic group, as is commonly assumed. Residents greatly value brokers whom they see as well-positioned to effectively solve their everyday problems.

Five key features emerge from the research work as laid out in the book. There is persistent underdevelopment in the slums that leads to low-income voters making claims; sending resident requests to local brokers rather than high-level politicians; prioritising effective problem solvers over solely ethnic considerations by residents; brokers privilege building inclusive reputations over monitoring and punishing voters; and the pervasive political competition across and within party organisational networks.

Also read: Book Review: Working Lives in the Shadows of the Global City

What does this mean?

First, based on the research, local brokerage network formation is crucial for bottom-up demands in the slums. These demands primarily concern the physical infrastructure, sewage management, paving of roads, etc. This sort of citizen agency is critically important to meet the persistent conditions of underdevelopment in the slums.

Second, the requests or demands compel the residents to seek assistance from local political actors, who then relay these demands to higher-level elites, mainly bureaucrats and politicians. This is an another interesting feature of this study. “Such mediated access to political elites is a key organisational feature of machine politics.” Instead of elite politicians, the citizens seek assistance from politically connected leaders. Only 1.5% of the residents said that they would approach MPs for assistance and just 8.3% would approach the MLAs, according to another study (APU-Lokniti), mentioned in the book.

Third, and this one is quite a revelation. The slum residents prioritise effective problem-solvers when seeking assistance, and they do not ‘reflexively’ support members of their own castes. “Education was in the top two responses in both the surveys (Jaipur and Bhopal), while shared ethnicity was not.”

Four, brokers privilege building inclusive reputations over monitoring and punishing voters. An interesting manifestation is the how brokers display indifference to ethnicity, in cultivating multi-ethnic clientele. One of the plausible reasons for this could be the tremendous social diversity observed in Indian slums.

Five, the book highlights how these processes of selection are ‘undergirded’ by considerable political competition at every level of machine politics. Voters often change which party they support. Brokers are willing to flip parties. Patrons are in search of upward mobility and even party elites switching partisan allegiances.

No wonder that a 2019 election survey of national elections found that over 60% of respondents did not report feeling close to any single party.

The major upshot of the study is that the urban poor are thus architects of the political networks that connect them to the state. Politicians have little choice but to engage with slum leaders chosen by residents. And, during the allocation of party positions, they need to prioritise those slum leaders with attributes that will ensure their continued popularity among residents.

The most important attribute is the one that boosts efficacy in problem-solving, i.e., a slum leader’s education.

Is that so simple? 

I find the authors think of ‘slums’ as an ecosystem fully contained within themselves, with little connection with the outside world. But that is not true. The belief that slum residents are the driving force in today’s world of distributive politics would be naïve. The book does not explore the various aspects of the new form of urbanisation taking place since the 1990s. Though there are references to informality, how this informality links to peoples’ lives is hardly ventured into.

Further, the binary between slums and the patron elite is not as unambiguous as it appears to be. It is quite blurred. Take for example, a slum leader who becomes the mayor of the city! Likewise, the role of organised movements or unions is not taken into consideration, even if this is not always visible. Does it create any new architecture or is it meaningless for slum residents?

Threat of majoritarian politics in Indian cities 

However, the epilogue in the book very correctly points out the transition of local politics into a centralising democracy. With the advent of Hindutva politics, the sheer diversity prevalent in slums is also getting marginalised. It rightly points out that “a constant drum beat of Hindutva politics might fundamentally alter realities of ethnic diversity in slums. It may become increasingly difficult for slum leaders and politicians to credibly commit to assisting those of a different faith. …..India’s cities already face systematic marginalisation in the distribution of public services. The breakdown of multi-religious segregation in political networks corrodes a buffer against communal conflict.”

For the Indian cities what is being witnessed is a) greater political and fiscal centralisation and b) unleashed Hindu majoritarianism and growing intolerance of dissent against the Modi government.

Contentious politics is being altered, which is a bedrock for distributive politics!

Tikender Singh Panwar was once directly elected deputy mayor of Shimla. He was linked with the Leh Vision document and has written vision documents for a dozen cities. Author of two books, he is an urban specialist working in the design of inclusive cities.