Godman in and out of jail, Bilkis Bano case, ‘narrative terrorism’ and more. political line

(The Political Line newsletter is the political landscape of India explained every week by Varghese K. George, Senior Editor of The Hindu. You can subscribe. Here To get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every Friday.)

Jail Diary, and what it says about Indian democracy

Godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a jail term in Haryana after being convicted of murder and rape, has been granted parole for 40 days – and it coincides with the Adampur bypoll in BJP-ruled Haryana , which is due on November 3. He had also easily walked out on parole for the earlier elections. In a video message from the sect’s Uttar Pradesh ashram on Saturday, soon after the release, He told his followers not to exercise their free will And follow the instructions of the elders of the sect. “You have to act as told by the elders of the sect. Don’t use your free will. Don’t create panic. Please follow it. You always follow what you say. We are proud of you. We are proud of our children. Singh said that he would continue to interact with his followers on parole.

Gujarat government is strongly defending its decision To release 11 people convicted of rape during 2002 riots, Upon their release, the convicts were garlanded and felicitated in their village. An affidavit by the Gujarat government in the Supreme Court showed that the special judge in Mumbai and the CBI had opposed it. Premature release of 11 convicts life sentence Bilkis Bano gang rape case Whereas the officials of the Center and Gujarat went ahead and approved the proposal to release them early. Elections are soon going to be held in Gujarat, and the BJP wants to take some political mileage out of its generosity towards these rapists.

Letting some people out is politically beneficial, while keeping others in prison may have the same effect. The Supreme Court of India acted promptly and was suspended operation of Bombay High Court’s decision to acquit GN Saibaba and others In an alleged Maoist conspiracy case. Hindu editorial explains This is “quite unusual and raises important questions.”

‘narrative terrorism’, and who tells our stories

We’ve heard of different types of terrorism, and now there’s a new one – “narrative terrorism.” Or so we’ve been told. The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has recently filed a charge sheet In a case of “narrative terrorism”, describing journalist and editor Fahad Shah and scholar Ala Fazili as “corrupted and compromised media persons”. According to the SIA, the two were involved in “narrative terrorism” as part of a criminal conspiracy to spread terrorism and create a false narrative. “Their (Shah and Fazili’s) ultimate aim was to create, maintain and spread discontent, hatred and enmity against the Indian state. Their interim aim was to tamper with the facts and subtly or brazenly, without reference or out of context or Pakistani influence was to be preserved by selective reporting or by selective exaggeration or by undermining or muting others and by cunningly and cunningly enforcing the legal rights of the press. Freedom and political dissent were guaranteed by the very Indian state they wished to undermine were,” the SIA statement said.

Controlling the narrative is an important part of politics – and controlling the state. It is worth mentioning here that the right to decide what is a ‘fact’ is being claimed by the SIA. Battles over fiction are often based on who decides what is fact and what is not. ‘Fact checking’ is a new field of journalism, and parallelly the state asserts its right to have the final say on what a fact actually is.

Who tells our stories? Upper caste groups hold nearly 90% of the leadership positions in the Indian media According to a new report, not a single Dalit or Adivasi Indian is leading the mainstream media. The second edition of the Oxfam India-Newslaundry report ‘Who Tells Our Stories Matters: Representation of Marginal Cast Groups in Indian Media’ shows that around 90% of leadership positions in print, TV and digital media are occupied by general caste groups in which there is no scheduled caste. (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST) are leading the mainstream media outlets, as reported by the agencies.

federalism path

Sourav Ganguly – the mascot of Bengali nationalism

Cricketer Sourav Ganguly did not get a second term as BCCI chief, leading to reactions based on regional pride in West Bengal. Mr Ganguly was seen walking closer to the BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had come to his house a few months ago to have a meal. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen was the first to notice this modest Bengali pride. He called it political vendetta on Twitter and said Mr Shah’s son Jay Shah has been retained as the secretary of the BCCI. Mr. Ganguly remains a hero of Bengalis and has shown ambition to spread his wings beyond cricket. But the BJP seems to have gone with him, at least for now. Later, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Center should sponsor Mr. Ganguly as head of the ICC, and the BJP is now on the defensive in the state, where it was pushed back by the rise of Bengali regionalism in last year’s assembly elections. was given. This is not the first time that Mr. Ganguly has been the flag bearer of Bengali nationalism, although he may not have directly sought to do so. It may be recalled that in 2005, when Mr. Ganguly was dropped from the Indian team, political parties in West Bengal made it a prestige issue. The CPI(M), which was supporting the UPA government from outside, made public statements against Mr. Ganguly’s ouster from the team.

Counting Heads, and Votes

Infiltration and conversion are causing population imbalance in India and to control it, The country needs a comprehensive population policyAccording to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale. “Infiltration and conversion are also the main causes of population imbalance. The laws made to prevent this need to be implemented effectively.” They said,

Connecting Tamils ​​with Varanasi

We discussed the power of narrative earlier in this paper. The central government has announced a new scheme To bring 2500 Tamils ​​for cultural tourism of Varanasi which is part of the new education policy. The program aims to “reinforce” and “rekindle” the cultural and civilizational bond between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi, according to the government. The program, named ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangam’, will run from November 16 to December 16 this year. The tour will include seminars, lectures, group meetings and visits to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and the important Tamil cultural heritage center in Varanasi. The “360 degree” cultural interaction will also include a slice of Tamil Nadu’s culinary traditions.

During this, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution Urged the Center not to implement the recommendations made in the report of the Committee on Official Language submitted by its Chairman to the President of India.

Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians

Recently, the central government set up a three-member inquiry commission headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice KG Balakrishnan, to examine whether Scheduled Castes (SC) status can be given to Dalits who have for years. He has converted to religions other than Sikhism. and Buddhism. question is discussed here, with Sukhadev Thorat, former Chairman of the University Grants Commission and Professor Emeritus at JNU; Subhajit Naskar, Assistant Professor, Jadavpur University.