Like a bold hypnotizer, he tests the degree of insensibility of the hypnotized subject. He touches his skin with a red-hot iron; the skin smokes and scorches, but the sleeper does not awake.
Tolstoy writes this about Kaiser William II of Germany, a good twenty years before the outbreak of the World War I. Sage words of caution from the wise man. Any resemblance to other persons, living or dead, is what it is.
/In Germany, where compulsory service first originated, Caprivi has given expression to what had been hitherto so assiduously concealed–that is, that the men that the soldiers will have to kill are not foreigners alone, but their own countrymen, the very working people from whom they themselves are taken. And this admission has not opened people’s eyes, has not horrified them! They still go like sheep to the slaughter, and submit to everything required of them.
And that is not all: the Emperor of Germany has lately shown still more clearly the duties of the army, by thanking and rewarding a soldier for killing a defenseless citizen who made his approach incautiously. By rewarding an action always regarded as base and cowardly even by men on the lowest level of morality, Wilhelm has shown that a soldier’s chief duty–the one most appreciated by the authorities–is that of executioner; and not a professional executioner who kills only condemned criminals, but one ready to butcher any innocent man at the word of command.
And even that is not all. In 1892, the same Wilhelm, the ENFANT TERRIBLE of state authority, who says plainly what other people only think, in addressing some soldiers gave public utterance to the following speech, which was reported next day in thousands of newspapers: “Conscripts!” he said, “you have sworn fidelity to ME before the altar and the minister of God! You are still too young to understand all the importance of what has been said here; let your care before all things be to obey the orders and instructions given you. You have sworn fidelity TO ME, lads of my guard; THAT MEANS THAT YOU ARE NOW MY SOLDIERS, that YOU HAVE GIVEN YOURSELVES TO ME BODY AND SOUL. For you there is now but one enemy, MY enemy. IN THESE DAYS OF SOCIALISTIC SEDITION IT MAY COME TO PASS THAT I COMMAND YOU TO FIRE ON YOUR OWN KINDRED, YOUR BROTHERS, EVEN YOUR OWN FATHERS AND MOTHERS–WHICH GOD FORBID!–even then you are bound to obey my orders without hesitation.”
This man expresses what all sensible rulers think, but studiously conceal. He says openly that the soldiers are in HIS service, at HIS disposal, and must be ready for HIS advantage to murder even their brothers and fathers.In the most brutal words he frankly exposes all the horrors and criminality for which men prepare themselves in entering the army, and the depths of ignominy to which they fall in promising obedience.
Like a bold hypnotizer, he tests the degree of insensibility of the hypnotized subject. He touches his skin with a red-hot iron; the skin smokes and scorches, but the sleeper does not awake.
This miserable man, imbecile and drunk with power, outrages in this utterance everything that can be sacred for a man of the modern world. And yet all the Christians, liberals, and cultivated people, far from resenting this outrage, did not even observe it./
Many seem to think it is an unexpected and unprecedented crisis and the government is doing the best it can and we should not be too hard on it. Without criticism, things would be worse.
It is certainly a catastrophe. But India, unlike many other countries, had more time to anticipate it and plan for it. We had the opportunity to learn from others’ mistakes and successes. Right from February and early March, many who were tracking the worldwide developments were anticipating a lock down of some sort in India. Even I was personally alerting my sister to go cautiously on her company’s aggressive plans for ads and meetings in March/April…I now tell her I told you so. In fact, some who I follow on Twitter were even advising against airlifting people from Wuhan and other places, saying we will not be able to control the spread and that China would handle them better in a closed area…whether it is right or not, the risks were pretty clear.
If individuals with limited visibility and knowledge gained through media reports could anticipate this much, I would expect the central government, with its huge battery of diplomats, bureaucrats, advisors and strategists and information, to have been prepared better. They should have been ready with the plan for economic relief and the modalities for delivering it, long before the lock down. They should have checked our readiness of doctors, equipment for them and our ability to do testing. They should have known that there are 100 million migrant workers and a lock down cannot be announced dramatically without addressing their concerns. Those who wanted to go home should either have been allowed to home after screening/testing, or massive shelters and food and compensation should have been arranged in advance.
Modi should have announced the economic relief and the plan for the homeless workers (whether it is enough or not is another question) along with the announcement of lock down. The government might still be given the leeway to slip and blunder in some aspects as it is impossible to get everything right but here they did not even try to plan. The task force was not formed for a full three or four days after Modi announced it. A lock down without telling people how to face it and equipping them to face it created more panic than it would have done otherwise.
Many state governments have somewhat saved the day for us so far, keeping other things under reasonable control. They have also made mistakes but at least they were seen to be trying. However, in our current structure where much money, power and information lie with the central government, they failed us. This migrant exodus is a disaster that could have been anticipated and averted to a great extent. It is not just the wisdom of hindsight but what many of us feared and warned before the lock down.
We are yet to see the commotion that could be unleashed when the relief measures are implemented. I don’t yet see a proper plan for that too….how will the food materials be delivered, how will people go to the banks, how will the crowd management be done at the banks, how will migrants who haven’t reached home benefit from these measures, and other such logistics.
If our data is correct (which is also suspect given our low levels of testing), it looks like corona has been kinder to us so far than our central government. And I hope it stays that way.
An important paper from the Imperial College on the impact of various interventions on the spread of corona. It is important for two reasons. One, it has helped change the approach of the British government in handling the crisis, which dallied with the dangerous idea of herd immunity so far. Two, it has shown that governments can be and should be made to change their course, though late, if people stand up to it and present contrary evidence. The paper shows, without any suppression strategy the resultant deaths could be in the order of 510,000 in Britain and 2.2 million in the US (peaking at 15-22 deaths every day for a population of 100,000 in May-June).
/Boris Johnson has urged the British public to take unprecedented peacetime measures, including avoiding all unnecessary contact and travel and staying away from pubs and theatres, following expert modelling which suggests the approach could cut the estimated coronavirus death toll from 260,000 to 20,000./
This is a research specific to Britain and directly applicable to the US and other rich countries to an extent. It assumes vaccines are not going to be available for at least 18 months. It states that the economic costs have not not been considered. We need more such informed research for India that will help shape public policy and action. We need localized strategies that draw direction from international experiences. The efficacy of various suppression strategies like case isolation at home, voluntary home quarantine, social distancing of older people, social distancing of entire population and closure of schools/universities have been considered alone and in combination.
Should cities and villages practice the same level of social distancing? What will be the impact if we have community quarantines of villages with focus on maximum self-reliance instead of household quarantine of families? What happens if we add the economic and health impact of a full/partial shutdown for a year on the poor to this model? There are many more questions and possibilities which we have not raised or considered yet.
Buried deep in the paper is this idea on surveillance: “Technology –such as mobile phone apps that track an individual’s interactions with other people in society –might allow such a policy to be more effective and scalable if the associated privacy concerns can be overcome.”
This is the undesirable by-product of scientific research. We need to be wary of what we sign up for. It may seem essential during this emergency but might get normalized after we get past it.
20, March, 2020
சுவரில் எந்த ஆணியும் அசைக்கப்படாமல் பத்திரமாக இருப்பது மகிழ்ச்சிக்குரிய செய்திதானே, மித்ர.
March 20, 2020
The critics are those unrealistic people who expected him to put money in the pockets of those who need it to survive the crisis. But people know he is in a league of his own and has set searing standards.
They are praising him because a sense of dreadful anticipation gave way to a sense of double relief: 1) he is only asking you to stay at home and not stand in any queue. 2) he has not taken any money from our pockets. If you are relieved and you know it, clap your hands.
22, March, 2020
We are at the village. Thanks to the rains last night, there was a power-cut and it has not been restored. Unlikely that it will be today. My laptop and phone will soon run out of charge. You’ll be spared of live updates.
The early mornings after rainy nights are always most lovely. The birds and squirrels are at their squeaky best. The sun comes out slowly. We don’t have to be confined within four walls. We just have to step out into the patio and the wall-less farms engulf us. The young pups, Ponnan and Pongo, jump up our legs. But as the day progresses, I foresee a sweaty day. And no power, no fans. We could seek a shadow under the mango tree and do some reading.
The person who works at the farm where we stay has turned up for work. He can’t hear but he too was aware of the ‘curfew’. He just gave an indifferent shrug. The cows and goats had to be taken care of and fed and grazed. The milkman had told him he would come early. So he had come to the farm at 5 and lay down for a while on his rope cot in the cattle shed, awaiting the milkman. He talked of meeting a neighbouring farmer from Pollachi who had come early to collect milk. ‘He gets 30 litres of milk – how can he let all that milk go waste. He’d deliver it to his neighbours at Pollachi before 7.’ Many others in the village were not so lucky…their milkmen had said they wouldn’t be able to collect the milk. Most of them won’t have refrigerators. There are giving away the milk to other houses in the village free.
Our good leaders have forgotten that half of India still lives in villages. And that you need different strategies, different instructions for villages. A hardworking villager probably has less chances of contracting corona while working alone at a farm than being at his cramped house with his drunkard son/father. Ways to achieve physical distancing and isolation at villages may not be the same as in cities.
I am going to rat on my wife now. She has walked down to our farm. She wouldn’t want to miss the day after the rain – some weeding may be possible, she can be away from us and she can be alone with her birds. And you are thinking I am the rebel in the house.
(This is not a call for defying the curfew. We have completely isolated ourselves in our own way. Please stay isolated and safe, not just today but as much as possible in the coming weeks. I’ll never forgive myself if I become a carrier of the virus due to carelessness. That’s the fear that bothers me most when we have to go out shopping for provisions and vegetables.)
23, March, 2020
Can this be real? Shouldn’t we instead be converting all the Rashtrapati Bhavans and Raj Bhavans into quarantine centers now?
23, March, 2020
We were reasonably quick in bringing those stranded in foreign countries to India though we ran the risk of spreading the virus here.
But, with a longer shut down seeming inevitable, we have cared little for the millions of migrant workers in India. With their livelihoods lost, they can’t afford to stay in their cramped quarters in cities. With trains cancelled they can’t head back home. If they go back to the villages, they (and those who already left – link in comments) risk being carriers. If the relatively fewer people who returned from abroad could not quarantine themselves properly, how can we expect these millions to quarantine themselves after they return to their villages. What is better – it is a difficult decision and a catch-22 – to have them in cities or let them go to villages? Anyway, wherever they are, they need help – food and money and healthcare – to survive days of unemployment and potential illness.
Same is the case with daily wage earners and contract workers and anyone with uncertain incomes and no savings. The certainty of incomes in organized sector will also be tested soon. Even during milder business downturns, corporate sector has responded with workforce reduction and pay cuts.
Small businesses are going to be hit unimaginably hard. If their immediate revenues and cash flows are going to be impacted, how are they going to pay their salaries and rents?
We have to provide them all quick financial relief and it has to reach the last person. Unless relief measures and assistance packages are announced immediately, I’m afraid we are going to see bigger trouble than corona. Relief has to precede a shut down.
Some states have announced some measures but will it be enough? The centre has to step in.
Money can be and has to be found, at least for a few months. We can suspend all fancy projects like bullet trains and statues and temples. We can defer all defence procurement. The superhighways can wait. Airlines and big corporates can wait. Hang the recreation centres for Rashtrapathi Bhavan. The entire budget can be reworked by any task force at its own pace to make room for relief measures. But relief must have been announced much earlier and must reach people immediately and the poorest first.
மறுபடியுமா/மீண்டுமா/அடக் கடவுளே/once again?/not again/OMG போன்ற சொற்களும் உணர்வுகளும் இன்று எத்தனை பேர் மனதில் தோன்றின?
24, March, 2020
We finally have the inevitable lock down. We will survive it. Some of us may even relish it.
Whatever the central government does or doesn’t do, we all hope the state governments would take care of their people to an extent (yesterday’s colossal mismanagement in TN notwithstanding).
I am still thinking of migrant labourers. No mention about them in 30 minutes, unless I have missed anything.
The local people do not care about them much. The state governments would not look at them as priority. There are no family support systems for them wherever they are. There are deep-rooted biases against them, whoever and wherever they are…linguistic, racial, religious, national.
At the moment we don’t know how many of them have a roof over their heads. How many of them are stranded in transit? What will happen if there is an outbreak amongst them? Where will they get food from? How will any financial assistance reach them?
The central government has to do more to ensure they are taken care of. Arrange accommodation and food. So far, they are failing miserably on this front. This could become a huge humanitarian disaster, with or without the spread of corona, if it is not managed properly.
25, March, 2020
On P.Chidambaram’s statement:
It shows all that was right with the Congress rule and all that was wrong.
If MNREGA workers are going to get Rs.3000 and farmers Rs.12000, why should the government pay/refund the corporate employees their inflated salaries? If a CEO earns a few crores p.m. should the govt refund it?
If I am given my monthly salary that I was earning in 2012 when I quit, our family can live comfortably (with internet, laptop and car) for well over an year.
You will not share your riches. But at least when there is a distress, the distress has to be shared. The privileged cannot continue to roll in their luxury, rain or shine.
Surely, businesses, especially small businesses, also need support, but only to keep their businesses running and not to keep their privileges intact.
Th first priority has to be to help the poor daily wagers and migrant workers and small farmers survive.
P.S.
Response to a comment (No 6 clearly refers to wages. And not salaries. Certainly not for all sections of ‘registered’ sector employees. Only blue collar workers.) :
You are right, he says wages. But I doubt if a technical difference between wages and salary was implied here and if he meant only blue collar workers.
Whatever be the case, the wage reimbursement by the government, if any, has to be a fixed amount for all (or all eligible employees, if there are eligibility criteria) and not dependent on the actual wages paid to individual employees by companies and not more than what is paid to the urban poor.
I too welcome his other suggestions. At least he has quickly tabled a workable plan as against the inaction we have seen so far.
25, March, 2020
It has become increasingly clear (for the states) during this crisis that all we need from the centre is money. Basically our money. A weaker center and stronger, more autonomous states and local bodies should be the top priority for all of us, after this crisis is over.
Not just state autonomy but local autonomy at a panchayat and corporation level.
March 26, 2020
The only reason one can hail a rags to riches story is if that person shows some understanding and concern for the poor.But if he starts behaving as if the poor don’t exist even during a dire crisis, then that story is also void. Now don’t ever brag about your humble beginnings.
A logistical question: If a privileged rich/upper middle class Indian living in a posh apartment complex in a posh locality, wanting to do everything his leader says, decides to feed 9 poor families, how will he reach them now? Digitally? Just donate? At least make that clear.
Archiving my notes in Facebook on the Delhi pogrom
24, Feb, 2020
Even as Modi and Trump have been posing with the three monkeys and the spinning wheel of Gandhi, mob violence has been unleashed on Muslims in Delhi. The protests have been largely non-violent so far. Still I was fearing a police backlash after the Delhi elections on the lines of the violent police suppression of jallikattu protests. But this mob violence is quite shocking though enough dog whistles have been blown by BJP leaders all along. They have done it before and they are doing it again. There are very disturbing videos being posted on Twitter.
There are already reports of clashes but I hope the protestors remain non-violent despite these grave provocations. Meeting violence with violence begets more violence. Easy for me to say from a remote village but it is difficult for people literally facing the fire.
Whether you are for or against the protests, we should all raise our voices and demand that this calculated, pre-meditated mob violence is brought under control. Don’t allow more blood to flow with your name on it.
24, Feb, 2020
Even Yogendra Yadav individually has done more than what Arvind Kejriwal and his government have done on the CAA issue. Kejriwal cannot be hiding behind the Home Minister and Lt. Governor any longer. Elections are no more an excuse. He is the Chief Minister of that city, whether he has a police force or not. He has earlier created much bigger ruckus without the police force on much smaller issues. Youth of his state are burning shops and houses on the street and shouting Goli maaron and actually shooting golis. How are his fancy looking schools (with cameras to monitor the children) going to educate or reform them who are setting fire and those who are fleeing burning houses?
I am happy that AAP beat BJP in Delhi. They must be doing something right at the governance level to get such a huge mandate. (The SDG numbers don’t reflect it though – will post it another day.) But I have been deeply disappointed with their stance and actions on most of the important issues of our time – NEET, surveillance in schools, Kashmir, Ayodhya, CAA protests and now the attacks.
Of course, they are not the main culprits today and we should be focussing on the real forces – BJP leaders – who have perpetrated this. But as the Chief Minister with a huge mandate, it is not wrong of us to expect him to be doing more than ‘sincerely urging Hon’ble LG n Hon’ble Union Home Minister to restore law and order.’
25, Feb, 2020
I posted this quote in the morning. It did mean something of this sort then but I didn’t quite expect the day to be like this.
“Away, and mock the time with fairest show. False face must hide what the false heart doth know. ” – Macbeth, Shakespeare
25, Feb, 2020
What can Arvind Kejriwal do now, ask some friends. Here are some small things that come to my mind.
Form peace committees/Shanti Senas under his 60+ MLAs. Get them to roam the streets. Talk to protestors, talk to the mobsters and the police who indulge in violence. Offer to mediate. Gandhi has done this before, when he had no police or organization with him. Lohia had done this. JP and Vinoba had done this. People have given their lives to bring peace.
Knock on the doors of the HM. Offer to sit with him and travel with him and stay with him till this is ended. Gandhi did this too. You used Gandhi’s methods of protest to come to power. Use his methods to bring about peace in your city. You are not an anonymous blogger to plead helplessness. You are the CM.
Use the prosection and Tihar jail, which are under your government, to counter the central government’s wrong cases. Don’t ill-treat people like Chandra Shekar Aazad.
Visit Shaheen Bagh and other protest sites. Listen to the people. They trusted you. They voted for you. They hoped and still hope you will serve them. Don’t betray them. Be with them. If you can’t guide them, allow them to guide you.
Go to court, go to the streets, knock every door. Rest not till CAA is repealed, NRC is dropped, peace is restored. Schools can wait.
25, Feb, 2020
Horrible stories keep coming out. The enormous bravery of numerous women in these grave times is the only solace.
26, Feb, 2020
‘Hey Ram’ put off the disintegration of India by 72 years. ‘Jai Shree Ram’ is accomplishing it.
This thread throws a glimmer of hope amidst all the gloom. We need more such people standing up to this mob who have been voted to power.
(9.20 p.m., 26-2-2020) I am at a protest site in Coimbatore , termed as Coimbatore’s Shaheen Bagh. There could easily be around a couple of thousand people…men, women and children. The crowd kept growing since 5 p.m. when I came in. Most of them are Muslims but there are a few from other communities too – some of them from the Communist party and the DK. It is the 8th day of protest here. It is 9:20 p.m. The crowd is staying intact. I am told many of them are staying for 24 hours. Quite a few women gave fiery speeches fluently and passionately. They are clearly not just a front for the men, as some friends accuse. When entire families and especially women are here, children are bound to be here. Many of the elder children are listening intently. The younger children are playing. The crowd is largely composed, clapping occasionally and never once booing anyone even when they spoke some uncomfortable truths.
There were no ad-hoc slogans. They were raised only at specific timeslots. Not all slogans were to my liking but were by and large unobjectionable.
Some of the Muslim youngsters spoke quite well. A young man spoke of the need for a library at the protest site and dialogues on religion and politics for the future. They were all claiming that their religion might have come from outside but they have been on this land from much before those who have brought this act. This assertion of ownership by Muslims over this land and nation is an unintended positive fallout of this sinister move by the government.
I went there to just participate and not to preach, but I was asked if I would like to speak and I gladly agreed. I spoke for about 20 minutes, covering many points I have been writing here. I spoke about my two favorite prominent Muslims in Pakistan who were persecuted there and had to live in prison/exile but would not fall under the ambit of CAA – Ghaffar Khan and Malala. I spoke of the nonviolence of Kudai Khitmatgars and Garhwal Rifles. I emphasized on the need to continue to keep the protests nonviolent, whatever be the provocation. When I mentioned that an unnamed BJP councillor saved a Muslim family, and even to see one such heart transformed is a victory for their peaceful protests, people welcomed it.
People want peace. And they want to assert their rightful claim over this nation and their citizenship in this nation. Any respectable government should reciprocate positively to this fair demand.
As for expenses to keep the protests going, you must be here to see and believe what is happening here. People spontaneously keep donating money. Children come and give away their savings in piggy banks. When the collection buckets were brought around, everyone put in 50s and 100s or what they could. I heard that women dropped their jewels in collection boxes. These are tales out of books on Gandhi though there is no such old man to coax the women and children. There is no greater slander than to say people are at these protests for money.
If we are to save Delhi and avoid Delhi-like violent mob attacks elsewhere, people of all communities should step out of their homes and stand shoulder to shoulder with the protesting people once and you may do it again. Or at least break your silences. Injustice for one is Injustice for all.
One may not agree with all that is said by so many different people with different ideologies in such leaderless mass protests and there are bound to be a few historical/factual errors in such emotional impromptu speeches. But what is important is I could see and sense that this is a determined, disciplined and nonviolent gathering making a just demand. There is no shame for a government in listening to the voice of its own people and rolling back an unpopular and unjust law. It is way better than sending mobs to provoke retaliation and use that as a pretext to destroy them. It will go a long way in creating a harmonious country. Else we will be left with radicalized populations on both sides.
28, Feb, 2020
Aruna Roy: / When it is stated that “Delhi is burning”, evidence points to a systematic and planned pogrom-like situation by Hindutva right-wing forces against Muslims. This is not simply a “communal clash between two communities” – the state and those it emboldens have been actively complicit in encouraging “Hindutva” attacks against Muslims. It is even worse that this is being done in the name of Hinduism. The violence of the last few days is reminiscent of the 1984 Sikh riots, it is reminiscent of 2002 Gujarat genocide, of the 1992 Bombay riots; and we have witnessed only too vividly how communities can be turned against one another by the state’s rhetoric and mainstream media’s biased narratives./
29, Feb, 2020
Headlines on the same day: 1. Sedition case: AAP government gives nod to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar 2. Nalini files new writ petition against Governor’s ‘inaction’
Action and inaction are conscious political choices.
29, Feb, 2020
I just had a look at OpIndia. Scary. The likes of it may have more readers/viewers than all the other websites I have been seeing/people on twitter I am following. The majority of this country inhabit a parallel universe that is diametrically opposite to the one I experience.
OpIndia terms the violence and killings in Delhi as anti-Hindu riots. There is, understandably, a lot of coverage on the gruesome death of Ankit Sharma, whose dead body was found in a drain with multiple stab wounds.
Ankit Sharma is called in different reports on OpIndia as an IB sleuth, IB officer, IB official and IB constable. The photo ID card given in one of their own reports says ‘Security Assistant’. Every life matters. In life or death, a Security Assistant is no less important than that of an officer. But why create fake narratives with such glaring internal inconsistencies within their own reports?
Their reports are filled with news from unnamed sources. But for the lack of names and sources, some of the reports in OpIndia look like mirror images of reports in other sites critical of the BJP.
A person fed on reports from OpIndia and others of their ilk will be believing there are massive pre-planned anti-Hindu riots happening in Delhi and Hindu shops are being targetted and burned.
Do they actually believe these or pretend to believe these? Which is worse?
—–
Then the editor of Swarajya, in a much circulated hate-tweet, calls upon all Hindus to commit to do their bit for a long term civilizational war. This is a website in which many Hindutva and ‘neutral’ intellectuals write and recommend.
—–
Some friends ask me on what basis I conclude that news blaming the BJP is true. I try to verify with different sources. There are sites like AltIndia which expose fake news from both sides. But more often than not, as seen in the above cases, the best way is to hear it from the horse’s mouth.
I wasn’t sure if CAA-NPR-NRC-throwing into Bay of Bengal is evil till I heard a few speeches of Amit Shah, explaining the chronology.
B.L.Santosh, BJP’s general secretary, apparently posted a tweet, deleted and later posted a corrected tweet. He is said to be the point-man for RSS in BJP, and is high enough in the party to threaten Bernie Sanders and America, “How much ever neutral we wish to be, you compel us to play a role in Presidential elections.” Putin should learn from him. (Though Santosh later deleted the tweet.)
Take a look at these two old tweets and come to your own conclusion. Whatever it was, it was no game. But yes, he is right…it seems well-planned.
5, Mar, 2020
Once we brand, smear and put away the finest people in our nation as being seditious, where do we go from there?
Do courts have the right to refuse to listen to those who criticize its actions? Even if it is seen as contempt of court, can they refuse to hear a different case brought up by that person? If it is legally permissible, it is a vengeful, regressive provision which must go. Courts are there to deal out justice and not personal vengeance.
“Yet fraternity remains the least understood, least discussed, and doubtlessly the least practiced of the four pillars of constitutional morality spelt out in the preamble of India’s Constitution: justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. It is forgotten not just by those chosen to uphold our Constitution, it is lost even in our public and social life, in which the aggressive use of oppositional identities remains, for most political parties, the most reliable instrument to harvest votes with. And prejudice and inequality are produced and reproduced in our hearts and homes.”
(9.20 p.m., 26-2-2020) I am at an anti-CAA protest site in Coimbatore, termed as Coimbatore’s Shaheen Bagh. There could easily be around a couple of thousand people…men, women and children. The crowd kept growing since 5 p.m. when I came in. Most of them are Muslims but there are a few from other communities too – some of them from the Communist party and the DK. It is the 8th day of protest here. It is 9:20 p.m. The crowd is staying intact. I am told many of them are staying for 24 hours. Quite a few women gave fiery speeches fluently and passionately. They are clearly not just a front for the men, as some friends accuse. When entire families and especially women are here, children are bound to be here. Many of the elder children are listening intently. The younger children are playing. The crowd is largely composed, clapping occasionally and never once booing anyone even when they spoke some uncomfortable truths.
There were no ad-hoc slogans. They were raised only at specific timeslots. Not all slogans were to my liking but were by and large unobjectionable.
Some of the Muslim youngsters spoke quite well. A young man spoke of the need for a library at the protest site and dialogues on religion and politics for the future. They were all claiming that their religion might have come from outside but they have been on this land from much before those who have brought this act. This assertion of ownership by Muslims over this land and nation is an unintended positive fallout of this sinister move by the government.
I went there to just participate and not to preach, but I was asked if I would like to speak and I gladly agreed. I spoke for about 20 minutes, covering many points I have been writing here. I spoke about my two favorite prominent Muslims in Pakistan who were persecuted there and had to live in prison/exile but would not fall under the ambit of CAA – Ghaffar Khan and Malala. I spoke of the nonviolence of Kudai Khitmatgars and Garhwal Rifles. I emphasized on the need to continue to keep the protests nonviolent, whatever be the provocation. When I mentioned that an unnamed BJP councillor saved a Muslim family, and even to see one such heart transformed is a victory for their peaceful protests, people welcomed it.
People want peace. And they want to assert their rightful claim over this nation and their citizenship in this nation. Any respectable government should reciprocate positively to this fair demand.
As for expenses to keep the protests going, you must be here to see and believe what is happening here. People spontaneously keep donating money. Children come and give away their savings in piggy banks. When the collection buckets were brought around, everyone put in 50s and 100s or what they could. I heard that women dropped their jewels in collection boxes. These are tales out of books on Gandhi though there is no such old man to coax the women and children. There is no greater slander than to say people are at these protests for money.
If we are to save Delhi and avoid Delhi-like violent mob attacks elsewhere, people of all communities should step out of their homes and stand shoulder to shoulder with the protesting people once and you may do it again. Or at least break your silences. Injustice for one is Injustice for all.
One may not agree with all that is said by so many different people with different ideologies in such leaderless mass protests and there are bound to be a few historical/factual errors in such emotional impromptu speeches. But what is important is I could see and sense that this is a determined, disciplined and nonviolent gathering making a just demand. There is no shame for a government in listening to the voice of its own people and rolling back an unpopular and unjust law. It is way better than sending mobs to provoke retaliation and use that as a pretext to destroy them. It will go a long way in creating a harmonious country. Else we will be left with radicalized populations on both sides.
Facebook has been throwing up memories of Jallikattu protests three years ago, during which I participated passively and wrote actively. My interest in and ardent support for the jallikattu protests was based on one key aspect:
It united and politicised the entire student community in Tamil Nadu. It brought a generation of students and parents who had become selfishly career-oriented to come to the streets for a common social cause. From what I saw during the protests, I hoped it could lead to a larger awareness and involvement of students in green issues.
The protests did create a certain level of interest in farming and environmental issues. Many youngsters may have got themselves deeply involved in such activities. It maybe regarded as an important milestone in the environmental movement in Tamil Nadu. But it did not lead to or become a sustained movement by itself, partly because the protests were ended prematurely by some of the key mobilizers of the protests, saying their demands were restricted to jallikattu, while the protests all along focussed on larger issues. It subsequently led to the brutal, bloody, orchestrated attacks by the police on the remaining students, thereby crushing any scope for the protests becoming an organized movement or for that set of students coming back to the streets again for any other cause. I conjecture that the lukewarm participation from the student community in protests against NEET or the current anit-CAA/NRC protests is a result of the deadly scars inflicted then. It also exposed our lack of understanding and training in non-violent movements.
It was also claimed that jallikattu will lead to renewed interest in native cattle. The prices of native cows went up after jallikattu protests. But I do not see any enhanced interest in native cattle among traditional farmers, at least in our area, where jallikattu is not present. It may be different in areas where jallikattu is held. But at best, it is only an artificial means to keep the interest alive. It doesn’t address the real economic factors needed to make the farmers go back to native cows.
The jallikattu protests were also important on another count. They served to assert the rights of local communities to practice their customs, and resist the hegemonic hand of Delhi or international organisations from dictating terms. However, while I remain sceptical about external interference in the practices of local communities, I firmly believe people from within the local communities must question and evolve their practices and customs on a continuous basis.
As a sport or as a ritual, I am personally not drawn to jallikattu. Looking at it dispassionately now, I do not feel any enthusiasm for it. I have not seen jallikattu live in person – seen it only on TV. But that shouldn’t quite disqualify me from saying I personally see no aesthetic merit or a higher purpose in the sport that has contemporary relevance.
If it is a celebration of bravery, we have to question the place of such bravery in the contemporary world. One need not run after raging bulls to learn the bravery needed for democratic governance or non-violent resistance or just simple living. Jallikattu has not given the participants the courage to tread away from the beaten path. It is certainly an important heritage. But not all heritage needs to be continued perpetually. Do we still need a sport that injures and kills people on such regular basis? It deeply saddens me to see these deaths and injuries and the deep insensitivity we are showing towards these inevitable mishaps by drawing parallels to other events and sports. Jallikattu, in the current age and form, is unfair to both man and the animal. Oh yes, I am all for calling boxing and wrestling and all forms of violent western and oriental sports as barbaric too.
Native breeds of cattle – not just cows but buffalos too, need saving. For that we have to make organic farming using native cows attractive and financially sustainable. Else, no amount of props like jallikattu will help in the long run.
Now that we have asserted our right to determine our course of action, we have to exercise that right wisely.
Shaheen Bagh protests are historical in many ways. The protests have been on for over a month in the winter of Delhi. Women have been at the forefront, and many of them are Muslims. When Muslims in India are part of sustained non-violent protests, the government repression is brutal, making it doubly hard for them. Though Shaheen Bagh seems to have transcended the religious barrier to a great extent, drawing people of all religions there, we live in a country where the PM identifies protestors by their clothes. We saw how the presence of Muslims was twisted and cited as an excuse to bring down the heavy and crooked hand of the police machinery on the peaceful jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu. We witnessed the same in Jamia Millia and Uttar Pradesh in the last two months.
I heard glowing first-hand accounts of Shaheen Bagh from some of the senior Gandhians from Delhi, during a meeting last week. While my Twitter timeline is abuzz with news about Shaheen Bagh, my Facebook wall is relatively quiet about it. Here are some articles that give a sense of what Shaheen Bagh is about.
The jallikattu protests were crushed in a hurry in time for a ‘peaceful’ Republic Day. Another Republic Day is nearing. We and the people of Shaheen Bagh should be concerned about and prepared for what could be in store for them this week.
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/The anti-CAA-NRC protests in Shaheen Bagh began on 15 December. For the last thirty days, women have been peacefully protesting on the road. Their resistance has inspired many more Shaheen Bagh-like protests to mushroom in Kanpur, Allahabad, Nagpur and Kolkata. The leaderless movement has been supported by a team of volunteers, locals and students. They work in shifts to provide bedding, food, medicines and security./
/A woman protester had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital with Nazir Ali Khan, a doctor, and his friends. On the same evening, they formed a WhatsApp group, pooled in all their resources, and set up a free medical camp at the protest site the following day. “My friends and I pooled in our resources for the camp. Some people also made donations. But we don’t ask people for money. When someone expresses their desire to help, we hand them a list of medicines,” Nazir told The Quint. Khalid, an IT professional and a local, was also present at the protest with a box of Frooti. He has come to the protests for 24 days out of 30. And he makes sure to get biryani, biscuits, snacks and water./
/In the beginning, a major question that popped up was: for how many days would the Shaheen Bagh protesters be able to leave work, home and hearth, and sit on the roads? “The women told the men: go to work, earn the bread and butter, we’ll carry the torch of protecting the Constitution; we’ll carry the burden of fighting for a just India,” Shabina says. “No doubt it’s insanely cold, but in light of the barbarity we have seen, this cold is not being felt. We don’t feel it because we are fighting for our kids.” /
/The leaderless, self-discipline of the Shaheen Bagh satyagraha is almost unique in our history of dissent and protest. Comparisons with the Gandhian movement immediately spring to the mind. But Shaheen Bagh has no charismatic leader, nor have its members been given the training in self-discipline that Gandhi enjoined on his satyagrahis. They sit with self-possession and patience, as they approach the two-month mark in the ravaging cold of this Delhi winter./
/When asked about funds, Mustaqeem waves a dismissive hand. “No one gathers funds collectively,” he says. “Whatever we have in our pockets at the moment, we give. Be it a 100 rupee note or a 500. We trust the volunteers here to put it to use.” Nizar, a doctor at the 4-10 PM medical camp says something similar about medicines: “People come and ask us what we need and we hand over a list. it’s as simple as that,” he shrugs, adding that they’ve never run short of medication. /
Religion is no test of nationality, but a personal matter between man and his God. In the sense of nationality they are Indians first and Indians last, no matter what religion they profess.
– Gandhi (Harijan, 29-6-1947)
It seemed relevant when I posted this 6 years ago, and sadly, even more pertinent now.
This probably is a great antidote to the Godse-eulogizing seen on FB and elsewhere.
Ram Manohar Lohia, not exactly an unquestioning acolyte of Gandhi, and a bitter critic of Nehru, on Hindu fanaticism and Partition :
‘Opposition of fanatical Hinduism to Partition did not and could not make any sense, for one of the forces that partitioned the country was precisely this Hindu fanaticism. It was like the murderer recoiling from his crime, after it had been done.
Let there be no mistake about it. Those who have shouted loudest of Akhand Bharat, the present Jan Sangh and its predecessors of the curiously un-Hindu spirit of Hinduism, have helped Britain and the Muslim League partition the country, if the consequences of their acts and not their motivations are taken into account. They did nothing whatever to bring the Muslim close to the Hindu within a single nation. They did almost everything to estrange them from each other. Such estrangement is the root cause of Partition. To espouse the philosophy of estrangement and at the same time, the concept of undivided India is an act of grievous self-deception, only if we assume that those who do so are honest men. […] The opponent of Muslims in India is the friend of Pakistan.
‘We are not a nation built just by laws, or even by just laws, but by concord, no matter how difficult the times.’
When students across the world are going on climate strikes and fighting for their futures, our students have been forced to fight for their present. It doesn’t matter who is affected and who is not. This fear is real. The rage and tears are real. The fight is for everyone. This government has bared its fangs. So has everyone who supports it, directly or indirectly.
(19-Dec-2019)
Modi supporters need more saving from Modi-Shah than Muslims. They can only delay or deny citizenship to Muslims. But, Modi supporters, they are stripping you of your humanity. Save yourselves.
What would have happened/would happen if India had a state religion?
The statement of objects and reasons as given in the CAB, 2019 inadvertently paints this picture [Bold letters, mine]:
“The constitutions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh provide for a specific state religion. AS A RESULT, many persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities have faced persecution on grounds of religion in those countries. Some of them also have fears about such persecution in their day-to-day life where right to practice, profess and propagate their religion has been obstructed and restricted.”
He cleverly plays with the words refugees and infiltrators, and often openly spews hatred. How can only Muslims from abroad (and those who can’t prove their citizenship) be infiltrators while all the rest are refugees?
The link between CAA and NRC is not an imaginary fear of the protestors. It is the stated objective of this government.
I am seeing BJP supporters updating their profile picture on FB with the slogan ‘I support CAB and NRC”. Not just CAA but ‘CAA and NRC’. In their minds the core BJP supporters are pretty clear on what their party is trying to achieve with this devious act.
It is not about inclusion. It is about exclusion. There is no doubt about it either for the protestors or for the core supporters. Those purporting to be in the middle are the ones who are attributing a certain goodness to this government, which it doesn’t even pretend to possess.
Democracy is as much about dialogue, disagreement, dissent, civil disobedience and protest as it is about voting once in 5 years or supporting the government. Any government which suppresses dissent with brute force is just fearful and nowhere close to being courageous or democratic.
11-Jan-2020
The animated movie ‘The Point’ from the 1970s, now showing on Mubi, is a good, light philosophical musical for children and adults.
It is about a village where everyone/everything is pointed. A boy is born without a point. He rubs the conceited Count of the village the wrong way. The Count brandishes an old law which provides for expelling anybody without a point, and the boy is banished to a pointless forest as per that law. His faithful pointed dog is also banished for being a traitor in supporting him. The boy returns to show the pointlessness of the law.
A good way to initiate a discussion on CAA/NRC with children.
2-Jan-2020
It is repeatedly said that NO Indian Citizen will be affected by CAA-NRC-NPR. A case can be made to show how all Indians will be affected. But really, should it matter only if Indian citizens are affected?
Even if not a single Indian citizen is affected but it discriminates against a section of immigrants, it should be opposed. Why is it so hard to get this?
Why only Hindus? Let us follow due process and help as many as we can irrespective of their religion.
Pakistan has declared themselves as Islamic. We haven’t declared ourselves as Hindu. We can criticize what they do, we should influence them on how they treat their citizens; but within our country we have to treat all people, whether they are our citizens or immigrants or refugees, equally. I think it is a fair demand.
Yes, there are no simple solutions, especially in Assam where the problem is not religious. It needs patience, statesmanship and a participative approach. Which is why many people don’t trust this blatantly partisan government to do the best for everyone.
Combined with NRC, CAA is totally discriminatory, especially in the immediate context of Assam. As it is, we had an almost unsolvable problem in Assam, which demanded great statesmanship and patience, and not hasty laws and diktats. This complicates the situation there. And it could be replicated everywhere.
But by itself also, CAA is discriminatory. Persecution can be based on race, colour, religion, sect, language, caste or even ideology. To have a law only for religious persecution and to choose only specific neighbours and to leave out only a specific religion from the scope, beats me. Once a certain law is enacted, it becomes a precedent for future laws.
15-Jan-2020
Too much media attention is on fixing the blame for JNU attacks on young students from ABVP. They could be mere tools. It does not help explain why the police were mute spectators and facilitators. Exposing the role of govt/police is more important.
9-Jan-2020
If there is normalcy in Kashmir, you don’t have to spend so much time and money in taking diplomats to Kashmir to showcase it. Just turn on the internet, and they can see it for themselves from wherever they are.
10-Jan-2020
Free Kashmir is ultimately about the right to self-determination. If internet and pizza are what they want, any govt would give it to them. But is that why Kashmiris have been shedding blood? If we have the courage to put this up on a placard, have the courage to own it up.
10-Jan-2020
Indian SC has delegated the responsibility of stopping the accused to the victims, and that of determining the sentence to the convicts.
My phone was stolen (yet again) 2 weeks ago. But this time, the sting was milder because much more is being stolen from under our feet. We are quickly losing what we grew up thinking of as our nation.
The good thief, probably a young boy who had to drop out of school due to public exam pressure, did me a favour. I have been, by and large, forced away from the social media during this time, insulated from all the depressing news. I am on my old no-internet Nokia, wondering if I should continue with this blissful existence in a remote village. But wouldn’t it be selfish not to share the anguish of my fellow people?
I come back this week to realise that the prime minister has shared and endorsed the arguments of a quackish guru in favour of CAA. Yes, a man who has built a vastly expanding tourist empire in our own Coimbatore, allegedly flouting all laws, should indeed be a constitutional expert and the fount of compassion.
P.S. 1: The tourist operator seems to be gunning to take over the Vellingiri hills in entirety, moving up from its encroached foothills and has launched a new product line, a 42 day sadhana to climb the hills. I have fond memories of trekking up the seven hills on a full moon night during my childhood days and taking a bath in a cold stream on the sixth hill, without the help of any charlatan. So have many of my family members who cherish the spiritual experience, and the people of Coimbatore who have always flocked to the hills in April-May. Hope our children don’t lose that joy.
P.S. 2: I wouldn’t have cared much for him but for the ads on this Vellingiri scam that are taking over my timeline. After much struggle I had muted his other channels. Now this! How can I permanently avoid seeing this man and the grotesque statue he built? I am not saying his name or his titles anywhere on my post, only because I do not want Mark to mistakenly take it as an excuse to flood my timeline with more of his ads.
P.S. 3: அறத்தாறு இதுவென வேண்டா….Don’t tell me, my phone got stolen because I deserve it for writing such posts.
Masked goons in JNU: The goons who gave them a free run are wearing no masks. If those who voted for them continue to support them, continue to overlook all the violence unleashed by the police, continue to blame only the protestors for the burnt buses and stones, continue to hide behind lack of a credible opposition, continue to wait and watch, we shall surely beget the country we deserve.
If this can happen in Delhi, and at the most vocal university, one can imagine what must be happening in UP (and Kashmir for 5 months).
(6-Jan-2020)
More than all the blood we saw on JNU, this message disturbed me.
Someone is having fun.
It’s not blind hatred that is driving them.
They are actually having fun.
Patriotism is an excuse.
They are just having fun.
The sight of blood and the screams of pain are giving them maza.
These are also young people. I would hate to call them psychopaths.
But we have given power to those who drive them to do this.
Posted by Kannan 
Loud Thoughts 