Resolution – 3 Centenary of anti “Banga-Bhanga” Movement

Resolution – 3

The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha pays its homage to the celebrated leaders on this inspiring centenary occasion of the successful Vande Mataram Movement against the partition of Bengal. In pursuance of their devious ‘divide and rule’ policy the British, through Lord Curzon had announced the Bengal partition plan on 20 July 1905. It was a sinister move to infuse the poisonous Two-Nation Theory into Bharat’s harmonious national life. Fortunately the alert nation had opposed it vociferously. Resistance to this divisive plan was not confined to Bengal alone but it acquired an all-Bharat dimension under the leadership of Maharishi Aurobindo, Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur, sister Nivedita and Sri Bipin Chandra Pal. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra and Lala Lajput Rai from Punjab had also joined the anti partition movement. Leadership trio of Lal-Bal-Pal became popular during this movement. Even in deep South leaders like Sri V.O.Chidambaram Pillai in Madras Presidency had raised a banner of revolt against the partition of Bengal and led a massive movement. This movement had made the immortal song ‘Vande Mataram’ from the “Anand Math” novel of Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya a major source of inspiration for all freedom fighters. It was at this time that the Swadeshi Movement assumed an all-Bharat proportion and became identified as struggle for freedom. Nationalist Muslims like Moulana Liaquat Hussain had also joined this chorus in opposing the deviousness of the British. Finally nationalism of Bharat had won and divisive policies of the British were defeated. King George ‘V’ had to undo the partition of Bengal in 1911.

The ABPS would like to remind the country that the integral national spirit that was strengthened by our leaders during the movement against partition of Bengal between 1905 and 1911 was reversed by the separatist deviation that occurred when the ‘separate electorates’ for the Muslims on the lines of Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 was accepted by the Congress in 1916 as Lucknow Pact. This deviation reached its zenith when it supported the Khilafat movement in 1921. As a result, over time the Muslim separatist psyche got more virulent and the victory that we had achieved in 1911 was lost in 1947. Bharat was partitioned on the spurious Two-Nation Theory.

The ABPS calls upon the countrymen in general and Swayamsevaks in particular to organize programmes commemorating the centenary of anti-partition movement between 20 July and 15 August 2005. This effort will strengthen our integrated national life and pave the way for the Bharatiya nationalism to march towards its cherished goal of Akhand Bharat.

Resolution 2- No Reservation on Religious Basis

Resolution 2

The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) unequivocally expresses its disapproval of the attempts to seek reservations for the converts from SCs. We are against reservation on the basis of religion.

It may be recalled that the Apex Court has, on numerous earlier occasions, rejected the PILs seeking reservations to converts from SCs. The court has clearly stated that reservations were intended to undo the damage caused to a section of the Hindu Society due to caste discrimination resulting in their social disability. The moment a person embraces Islam or Christianity, he ceases to be a part of the Hindu caste system. While converting people, Christian proselytizers proclaim that there will be no caste discrimination in Christianity. How can then they demand reservation for such converts? Will the heads of Christian denominations declare that caste discrimination exists in their religion?

All the Acts – right from the Government of India Act 1935 to SC & ST Act 1950 amended till date – have been very clear on this issue. Founding fathers of our Constitution have discussed and rejected this proposal in the Constituent Assembly. Even the British had rejected similar demand in 1936 for reservation to converts from SCs.

If this demand of the converts from SCs is conceded it will render great injustice to SCs as a large share of the benefit for which they are rightfully entitled will be grabbed away by the converts. Another serious implication will be a steep rise in religious conversions among SCs since it will remove a major obstacle for the foreign funded Christian missionaries who are engaged in religious conversions by hook or crook. There is already a large section of converts from SCs who continue to hold on to Hindu names and enjoy reservation benefits. These crypto-Christians, who constitute about 2.1% of our population, are depriving SCs of their opportunities.

Hence the ABPS unequivocally demands that the Central Government should fulfill its constitutional obligation of protecting the interests of the SCs by squarely rejecting this demand for reservations to converts from SCs.

The ABPS appeals to all the representatives and leaders of the SCs and their institutions to understand the sinister game plan of the proselytizers behind this demand and render a death-blow to their designs.

The ABPS is gravely concerned about the proposal for 5% reservation for Muslims in State Government services and educational institutions by Andhra Pradesh Government and large scale recruitment of Muslims in state police force by the Assam Government.

Recently published list of newly recruited police constables in Assam discloses that about 60% of those employed were Muslims, many of whom are alleged to be infiltrators from Bangladesh. This was a blatant violation of the existing recruitment policy. The state Deputy Home Minister’s statement that it was in line with the population pattern of the state is most reprehensible.

These pronouncements are tantamount to succumbing before the vocal minorities for narrow political ends.

The ABPS demands that the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Assam refrain from pursuing such blatantly communal policies in the larger interest of the unity and integrity of the nation.

The ABPS compliments the people of Andhra Pradesh and Assam for mounting a powerful popular movement against these acts of their respective state governments.

Resolution – 1 Declining Hindu Population – Call to Religious and Social Leaders

Resolution – 1

The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) feels that continuous decline in the proportion of Hindu population all over Bharat is an issue of grave concern. From 1881 onwards every census showed decline in Hindu percentage, and 2001 census figures have further shown that Hindus have turned into a minority in some parts of Bharat and are on the verge of turning into a minority in some other parts. The disastrous consequences of the decline in percentage of Hindu population are revealed in many ways. The dangers posed due to this decline to democracy, secularism, pluralistic social order, respect for other religious faiths which are the highlights of Hindu ethos are well known. Separatist and terrorist activities have mushroomed in areas where the percentage of Hindu population has declined.

The ABPS wishes to draw the attention of Hindu society towards one of the main reasons behind all this, namely, religious conversions.

The ABPS is of the opinion that although the elements which believe in religious conversions are behind this, the tendency of Hindu society to neglect this perilous problem is also responsible for this. The apathy towards conversions and indifference towards the issue of home-coming are the symptoms of this tendency. There is an urgent need for a shift in the Hindu mindset over this issue, and all Hindus be awakened to work towards this.

The ABPS appeals to the heads of all religious sects and institutions such as Mutts and Mandirs, Vihars, Gurudwaras etc. to play a vital role in this shift. Emphasising the need for awareness against conversions among the disciples and earnestness in promoting systematic efforts for the home-coming must become a regular part of their socio-religious activities. We also appeal to them to take initiative in inviting the converts from their respective faiths to return to the faiths of their great ancestors. We call upon the leaders of various caste and other social groups to come forward to encourage those who got alienated from them for whatever reasons, to come back and extend a warm welcome to them as their own blood-relatives.

Porn tag on Taslima work

Taslima writes pornography, alleges the West Bengal government. She is a pervert, agree her detractors.

The state on Tuesday in its petition defended its ban on Dwikhandito, terming her writings as “pornographic” and “perverted”. Outside the court, Jamiat-i-Hind activists said Taslima was “immoral”. They demonstrated during the hearing, saying she should be told to quit India immediately.

Taslima had gone there to back social activist Sujato Bhadra, who has filed a petition challenging the ban on Dwikhandito. A three-judge special Bench of justices DK Seth, AK Basu and Soumitra Pal commenced hearing.

Opening his argument, Bhadra’s advocate Joymalya Bagchi said: “Similar expressions as the ones used in the two pages of allegedly offending passages are present in Taslima’s earlier writings, which have not been banned and are available in the market. Therefore, banning Dwikhandito is an illegal exercise of power to suit the convenience of the state.”

The state affidavit countered: “In Dwikhandito, Taslima has vividly described the reasons for her sexual dissatisfaction with her husband, Rudra and her sexual co-habitation with three other persons – Milon, Naime and Kaiser – who were not her husband.”

“On other occasions, the Indian democratic society have ignored Taslima’s perverted and pornographic descriptions of her personal life as attempts to champion women’s movement for unlimited free sex against marriage. But the state has to react sharply to forfeit Dwikhandito, in which she has tried to draw a parallel between her own passionate sexual life and the life of Prophet Mohammad, merely to justify her misdeeds,” the affidavit said.

Countering this, Bagchi said the reasons mentioned in the affidavit for banning the book are different from the reasons mentioned in the government ban order dated April 30, 2004. The ban, he said, should be quashed on this ground alone.

Rejecting Bagchi’s plea, the bench said: “We will examine the ground mentioned in the ban order issued by the Governor and not in the affidavit filed by a deputy secretary of the state home department, Timir Kanti Bhaumik.”

The state had issued a notification on April 30, 2004, ordering the forfeiture of Dwikhandito on the ground that the publication of its contents would insult the religious feelings of Muslims of India and of those who accept Muhammad as their prophet. This is an offence under Section 295A of the IPC, punishable with three years in jail.

Bhadra challenged the ban on the ground that he had already purchased a copy of the book and that he had the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution to read the same, collect information from there and disseminate it by expressing his views.

Dwikhandito is a part of a series, coming after Aamar Meyebela and Utal Hawa.

Why does MODI look invincible?

Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt examines the rise and rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a two-part special series.

Part I: The Talented Mr Modi

Narendra Modi thinks a detergent named development will wash away the memory of 2002. In his speeches in the last year, he says, ‘Gujarat is the growth engine of India that is why the Planning Commission, while fixing the growth target for the current Five Year plan, has given Gujarat a target of 10.2 per cent against the country’s target of 8 per cent. Gujarat has surpassed even this and has registered 15 per cent growth.’

Modi wants to compete with Asian economies, not just with other Indian states. He has been spectacularly successful in bridging the revenue deficit of Rs 4,000 crore. Gujarat has impressive figures to show because of its contribution to exports (21 per cent), industrial output (20 per cent), market capitalisation (30 per cent) of the country.

Modi or no Modi, Gujarat is unmatched in India in chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, plastic goods, salt, ceramics, diamond processing and milk products. And hold your breath! To appeal to a larger section, Zaheera Sheikh will become ‘the Muslim face of Modi’s BJP.’ If and when necessary she will be inducted into the BJP and will be given a ticket to fight an election. Surely, the Hindus of Baroda will vote for her, says Mohammad Vora, a social worker.

But what about new investment? Is it coming?

Modi is seriously trying to take the state economy in a higher gear. He has dreams of making Gujarat a gas-based economy. Gas is economical, efficient and environment friendly.

He has already started his efforts, if he shows some concrete results within 5 to 7 years, Gujarat will be enviable and may be unbeatable in infrastructure and industrial development. Modi wants to supply gas-based electricity instead of coal that will make Gujarat attractive for industrialists.

One hundred and twenty million tonnes of new reserves of fuel were discovered in the state. Gujarat has two LNG terminals, in Dahej and Hazira, to handle imported gas. It already has 500 kms of gas pipeline connecting its big cities. A 1,500 km laying of pipeline has awarded to the Adani group. The state has got e-governance in place. Its labour laws are not strictly implemented.

The rest of India is still talking about it, while Gujarat has already linked its rivers. It is heartening to see the Sabarmati river that passes through Ahmedabad carrying the waters of the Narmada. In the last six years, more than 200,000 check dams and farm ponds have been created to preserve water.

A comprehensive soil survey has been carried out for the first time in India. Farmers are being given a soil health card that helps them to understand the suitability of the land for a particular crop. Even though, Gujarat is not on the map of India’s IT sector, it boasts of the State Wide Area Network (GSWAN) — the second largest in the world and largest such network in Asia.

Modi exploits this connectivity to reach out to the nooks and corners of 18,000 villages. All 25 districts and its talukas are connected live to the state headquarters. The state has set up SWAGAT (State-wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology) which is one of its kind.

If investments are not coming it is not because of the communal situation in Gujarat. Foremost, Gujarat does not have the lifestyle of Bangalore or Mumbai. The state’s prohibition policy is a psychological barrier to attract highly talented young professionals.

Gujarat has entered an advanced stage of development, so freebies available to industrialists are much less say compared to West Bengal, Orissa, Goa or Kerala.

Will he win the game in the end?

It is difficult to forecast at this stage. He can control corruption just marginally. He can provide water, but not cheaply, which will not go down well with farmers. As it is, farmers are the only class in the state which has been expressing their displeasure against Modi. He can make gas supply available but can’t control its price that will affect his voters. He can build highways but not lanes and by-lanes which are in a mess. He doesn’t have money to plan and implement largescale stable employment schemes. Seen as the hero of the middle class, Modi hasn’t been able to make any headway as the saviour of the poor.

Eventually, all the negatives of privatisation and reforms will put Modi in his place, believe his opponents. Nevertheless, he is trying hard to achieve Ram Rajya, the way the BJP envisages. The unwritten message is that ‘the Muslims will have to be kept in control.’

To win the game Modi has entered the fast lane of development, liberalisation and globalisation. Also, whatever he does he hypes it much more. When he talked about gas-based terminals and building a distribution and supply system within Gujarat, he said the state will become another Saudi Arabia!

The hype about his achievements will create a gap between him and his administration on one side and the have-nots of the state on the other side. Since the Congress is unable to exploit the underprivileged class in Gujarat, Modi’s political risk factors in implementing liberalisation are a little less.

He himself admitted at a Confederation of Indian Industry function recently that ‘those taking the path of economic reforms risked brickbats.’ He said, ‘Everybody talks about economic reforms. But nobody comes forward to support them. Gujarat is leading in the energy sector reforms. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praised my efforts when I met him but his own party (the Congress) is staging protests against my reforms.’

Modi is on the way to revolutionising sectors like electricity management and water management. His government will announce a scheme soon under which whistleblowers will receive 10 per cent of the fine amount on reporting power theft. Lakhs of farmers and small-scale industrialists who thrived on ’stolen’ electricity are now upset.

Similarly, within his party, many MLAs and fixers had been involved in corruption but Modi is blocking their way. Rather, they are humiliated by him. They will bounce back when Modi will be on a weak wicket. He has attacked the politician-bureaucrat nexus. But as a result the bureaucrats are having a field day. Modi’s party members claim that bureaucrats have sided with Modi and as a result they have more opportunity for corruption and are unchecked by any democratic body.

As one state minister puts it — “Now black money is not even in circulation. Bureaucrats are hoarding it. We were at least spending it on our political activity.” A day will come when contradictions will emerge out of the complexity of the current situation. Modi’s loyalists will have to say that development is above Hindutva. At that point, Modi watchers believe, he will lose his USP. How can any state have all-round prosperity without the meeting of minds of the minority and majority communities?

Why does Modi look invincible?

There are many reasons:

Because senior BJP leaders in Delhi are ageing and weakening. The BJP’s second rank of leaders at the national level is full of individuals who are not in a position to win their own seats in an election. The BJP’s meeting in Jharkhand recently showed that senior leaders acknowledge that Modi is their sole success story and is still popular amongst voters who elected him in 2002.

Second, his opponents in the state are in disarray. In Gujarat, the Congress doesn’t have a single leader to match Modi’s charisma and his crafty handling of the state assembly. Congress veterans like Krishnakant Vakharia are talking about the concept of ‘collective leadership’ in Gujarat because in the absence of a single leader a one-on-one fight with Modi seems unlikely.

Modi is sitting pretty, also because the media has fallen into a trap. After the 2002 riots, the media positioned Modi in such a manner that now an attack on him is conceived as an attack on Hindutva by BJP voters. That forces the RSS to give him protection. How can Modi’s survival be as serious an issue as ‘aggressive Hindutva’ for any activist who is fighting communal politics and secular values?

His ministers say Modi can smell trouble well in advance. That gives him an advantage of planning to outsmart his rival camps. At the ground level, Modi is positioning himself as if he is a victim of the ‘pseudo-secularist” movement outside Gujarat.

One state cabinet minister asked mischievously: “Why are secular activists like Teesta Setalvad not as good in understanding the Hindu mind as they understand the Muslim mind?”

Modi is clearly positioning himself to encash these sentiments. The politics of the riot cases is his battleground. Ask any BJP leader and he will tell you that the Congress is behind the ‘anti-Gujarat’ campaign outside Gujarat. Re-investigations of some 2,000 cases will upset Hindus and will also harm the BJP’s political interest but at the same time his party will claim that the Manmohan Singh government’s ‘anti-Hindu’ political stance has worsened the situation and Modi is helpless.

Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has instituted a departmental inquiry into the Godhra carnage but at ground zero, BJP activists claim it is a ‘anti-Hindu’ inquiry. If the railways departmental inquiry concludes the burning of the Sabarmati Express was an accident, Modi will activate the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to launch an aggressive campaign.

Within Gujarat, the issue of who burnt the Sabarmati train is a highly sensitive and political one. Most secularists, Muslims and Congressmen believe the Sabarmati train was burnt only after VHP members humiliated Muslim tea vendors and teased a Muslim girl. BJP supporters believe the police investigation — that it was a pre-planned attack by Muslim from the Ghanchi community belonging to the Tablighi Jamat living in nearby Signal Falia.

A BJP officebearer thinks “the battle is between Chief Minister Modi and his face of Hindutva.”

The Talented MR.MODI

Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt examines the rise and rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in a two-part special series.

On the evening of December 12, 2004, Smriti Irani, star of the popular television programme Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi had egg on her face. Before that, Teesta Setalvad suffered a severe jolt.

Best Bakery Case: Supreme Court orders orders probe

That is what Gujarat’s controversial Chief Minister Narendra Modi is capable of.

After the Godhra carnage and the bloody communal riots in 2002, which killed more than 1,000 people, Modi remains unshakeable. A hyperactive Modi is consolidating his political position both inside and outside of Gujarat with the help of the ‘development card.’

How is Modi making it possible? What is he up to? On the basis of discussions with some of Modi’s confidantes and his team of officers, rediff.com presents the guide to the latest on Modi and Gujarat.

What is Modi doing?

He is obsessed with three issues.

1. The brand building of his own image;

2. Fast-track development of Gujarat via liberalisation and;

3. Hindutva

In the last two years, he has done a huge amount of groundwork in all three directions. He is building a brand called Narendra Modi and is emerging as the unrivalled autocrat of the state. In his speeches, he invokes regionalism.

Within his party, dissidents are a fast vanishing tribe because Modi hates criticism and doesn’t allow internal debate on issues that question his ideas, style of functioning or decisions. News reports about the functioning of various government ministries are difficult to come by because he has tightened security around government offices in Gandhinagar. Party veterans like Ashok Bhatt and Vajubhai Vala, who have been with the BJP for four decades before Modi arrived on the scene, are now his mute partners.

Within Gujarat, Modi is politically stronger than before because he has segregated his dealings with the party and the general public, he hardly needs the party apparatus to communicate with the people. Then, it also adds to his image that even bureaucrats and police officers repeatedly claim that Modi is not corrupt.

In an attempt to enhance his image, he launched a massive self-publicity drive after the riots. Millions of rupees have been spent in the publication of diaries, calendars and such materials which carry Modi’s pictures along with information about a given government ministry. In India, most chief ministers misuse this but Modi is doing it skilfully and aggressively like probably no chief minister has ever done.

Like, to exploit the visibility factor, besides posters and hoardings, lakhs of booklets on quality paper have been printed by various ministries carrying his picture prominently. Modi has made sure that in Gujarat no one can escape noticing him.

He is hostile to the local media and has adopted a strategy to keep silent on police cases of the Gujarat riots and on the legal battles going on in various courts. He didn’t even react when the Supreme Court admonished him and called him Nero. Modi is buying time. He thinks time is the most important factor in his game plan, even in his future ambitions.

His camp believes that the legal activism of non-government organisations, Teesta Setalvad, Harsh Mander and the National Human Rights Commission will ultimately manifest in such a manner that it will strengthen his image as a strong leader of the Hindus. His party believes that when the Gujarat riots cases reach its logical conclusion, he will be the gainer. If the Hindu accused lose high-profile communal riots cases like the Best Bakery, Bilkis Banu, Gulmarg Society and Naroda Patia their discontent will deepen the division between Hindus and Muslims.

How can Modi not benefit from this?

And if the accused of these cases win, it will again give him winning points to argue with the secularists.

As the Shah Bano issue had helped the BJP and L K Advani to emerge stronger, Modi will turn Teesta Setalvad into Gujarat’s Shah Bano. The only difference is that Modi is using the power of the State to fight his battle with the ’secularists.’ His calculation is that a faster trial is Gujarat BJP’s best bet. No one can predict either way about these cases but Modi is able to see a political lifeline in the stiff opposition to the ‘biased’ police inquiry in his rule. The Modi camp thinks ’secularists have stretched things too far and it is again advantage BJP in Gujarat.’

The Modi camp revealed that if he is cornered politically because of the riots cases, he is all set to raise the issue of the federalism of India, messy investigations of past riot cases and its shamefully low conviction rates, the situation of ‘jihadi outfits’ in other parts of India and ‘foreign support’ to secularists and NGOs’ legal movement.

What about development?

The riots were very shameful but to say that Gujarat’s development will be stunted because of it is far from the truth. Gujarat is a ‘baniya state.’ Once a Gandhian labour union leader complained that even Gujarat’s Dalits are rightist. The riots were severely violent and unprecedented in scale but the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims is not an overnight phenomenon.

Gujarat has the tenacity to struggle about social and communal issues while carrying on with businesses and development. Gujarati society is highly monetised. After a temporary setback, agriculture produce and sectors like pharmaceuticals and chemicals are booming. Modi has been successfully staging publicity stunts to bury the memory of violent days. His opponents may not like to accept it but a large section of society has left the riots behind and moved on. No one talks about the riots and few respond to Teesta Setalvad’s activism.

Few turn up at the Nanavati Commission to hear the arguments. It is embarrassing to see that many Hindus behave as if the riots never happened. And Muslims who were not directly affected are back to their normal life, rather, many of them don’t want to revoke the memories of the riots and debate over it because it ‘vitiates’ the atmosphere with their neighbours.

Has Modi done anything to bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims?

A heart-shattering fact is that the blood of 1,000 innocent men, women and children has gone in vain. After the torturing and burning of hundreds of human beings, the situation remains unchanged. Here in some areas and in some sections hearts are polarised, not just minds.

But a point to remember is that the Muslims of Gujarat are Gujaratis first. They are very pragmatic and know the value of silence. The level of fear in the Muslim community has largely reduced because a large number of Gujarati Muslims are traders and have got engaged in the market as before. However, the psychological divide remains the strength of Modi’s game.

They are very pragmatic and unlike many secularists and legal activists, they don’t want to ’stretch the issue of legal justice’ beyond limits because there is a life beyond the courts and issues raised by Zaheera Sheikh. Gujarati Muslims understand Modi’s communal politics better than the secular activists of New Delhi or Mumbai. The most relieving aspect of their attitude is that even after so much suffering in 2002 Gujarati Muslims are not looking outside for better options. For them ’samajik samadhan’ (settlement of disagreement over social issues) is the guiding mantra and they will find it out within society. It may take a decade.

Muslim woman constructs Shiva temple

March 13, 2005 17:32 IST

A devout Muslim woman has constructed a Lord Shiva temple in the Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi as ‘ordained’ by God.

“The Lord appeared in my dreams late last year and asked me to undertake the project,” Noor Fatmi, a widow and a practising lawyer, said.

“Now my task has been accomplished, I can relax and be at peace with myself,” she said.

The Rudreshwar Mahadev temple in Gangeshpur locality was thrown open to the faithfuls during Maha Shivratri last week.

Recalling initial hiccups in undertaking the project, Fatima said she was thankful to Hindu religious leaders and locals, who chipped in with monetary contribution, for building the temple in a record three-month.

Muslims, too, offered both moral and material support, she said.

Fatima said she had a mere Rs 5,000 with her when she started the project.

Even the death of her husband, an employee of the Diesel Locomotive Work, last year could not weaken her resolve as her daughters whole-heartedly stood behind her in accomplishing the project, she said.