sanjayramansinha

POLITICS OVER SUSHANT SINGH'S DEATH

2020-09-06T23:21:00.000-07:00

On June 14, the death of a promising actor sent shockwaves throughout India, especially in tinsel town. The media splashed headlines which depicted a life cut short prematurely of a star who blazed in the firmament briefly.

Sushant Singh Rajput, or SSR as he was popularly called, was found dead at his plush Bandra residence on that day. The mysterious circumstances in which his body was found gave rise to a host of uncomfortable questions and spawned many conspiracy theories. More than two and a half months after his death, the mystery has only got deeper and murkier. The crucial question is: Was Rajput’s death a murder or suicide?

Rajput’s life was a dream come true. A small town boy from Patna, he dreamed big and made it big. His fairy tale life followed a rainbow trajectory till it got mired in rumours of depression and drugs and led to his untimely death. Like many middle class boys, Rajput initially chose the tried-and-tested path to a better life and studied engineering in the prestigious Delhi College of Engineering. However, his dreams of stardom tugged at him and he left his studies midway to go to Mumbai.

Here he struggled and toiled. He did bit roles in TV till he made it big in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil (2008), followed by soap opera Pavitra Rishta (2009-2011). He endeared himself to the masses with his screen persona and made a place in their hearts with his boyish charm and winning smile.

From television, Rajput moved on to films. Here also, he encountered success and became an upcoming star. He earned in crores and lived life king-size. If Rajput lived royally, he loved regally too. His first lady love was Ankita Lokhande, his co-star in Pavitra Rishta. Later, he moved on and started living with Rhea Chakraborty, another starlet, till they apparently fell out a few days before his death.

Rajput’s death is now inextricably meshed with Chakraborty, who has been accused of abetment to suicide, drug administering and money laundering. Following his death, national hysteria gripped the nation and accusations and counter-accusations flew fast.

Immediately after his death, charges of nepotism against a faceless, heartless Bollywood cabal emerged. Conspiracy theories gained currency. It was insinuated that, stung by Rajput’s success, a group of well-entrenched Bollywood bigwigs closed in and refused to give him work, which led to his death.

Meanwhile, Rajput’s family suspected Chakraborty of having a hand in his death. His father, KK Singh, asked for transfer of the case from Mumbai to Bihar (he resides in Patna) and demanded a CBI inquiry. With the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) now investigating the death, there is a parallel media trial going on as well. The story was too salacious to miss.

TV channels got leaks from the investigating agencies and every day kangaroo courts were set up to declare Chakraborty and other accused guilty. In the midst of this spectacle, Rajput’s family too found itself in the eye of the storm. As the family demanded justice for itself, it was at the receiving end of a probable legal action by Chakraborty herself.

The most tragic part of the whole story is how vested interests took over the case and how different narratives were spun to serve individual parties. These narratives are as follows:

KANGANA RANAUT

The actress is the enfant terrible of Bollywood. Her vitriolic outbursts in the past have often seen her being isolated. In the Rajput case too, her statements have led to the muddying of waters. Years back, Ranaut as a 16-year-old girl with no financial or emotional support, left her small, sleepy town in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh to make her way to the “big bad world” of Bollywood.

Her debut film was Mahesh Bhatt’s Gangster (2006). From here on, she proved her mettle in films and bagged three National Awards. She even co-directed a movie (Manikarnika) and set up her own production house. She has often made controversial statements about her colleagues and the alleged manipulation and exploitation she suffered at the hands of some big star or the other whom she dated and then broke up with.

She had also alleged how she was drugged and exploited by a self-appointed mentor (a character artiste) with whom she was forced to share part of her initial life in Mumbai. This lent credence to her tirade against the drug culture of B-town.

After the death of Rajput, as reports of alleged nepotism started gaining currency, Ranaut jumped on the bandwagon and started a veritable crusade against the so-called Nepotism Gang. She zealously pushed the insider-outsider theory and linked it with Rajput’s death.

The conversation around nepotism was first started by Ranaut on Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee with Karan in 2017, where she called the filmmaker the “flag-bearer” of nepotism. Apparently, Johar had been promoting young faces from filmi families in his movies and thus had displeased many outsiders, including Ranaut.

She was openly snubbed by Johar at a public function where he asked her to leave Bollywood if she didn’t like its personalities. This flashpoint led to more bile from Ranaut and she has ever since been attacking entrenched film moghuls.

Today, she stands alienated from mainstream Bollywood. Big producers are averse to signing her and big stars steer clear of her. Bollywood is divided into camps and Ranaut has attacked one and all. Her only hope of surviving and shining again is to make films and star in them herself, or work with indie producers. She has launched her own film production company.

With the Rajput case being the talk of the town, Ranaut has hitched herself to this issue. As people bay for the blood of the so-called manipulative gang of B-town bigwigs and drug-taking stars, Ranaut, by supporting Rajput, has gained sympathy, support and goodwill. Naturally, her image has improved. This will go a long way in cornering brand endorsements and film projects. Her personal attacks have also found a platform. Coincidentally, Ranaut has a pro-BJP leaning and found the setting perfect to unleash a tirade against actresses Deepika Padukone, Swara Bhaskar and Tapsee Pannu who had supported the anti-CAA protests.

POLITICAL PLAY

The tragic death of Rajput is also being exploited to the hilt by political parties and has created a standoff between Bihar and Maharashtra. The demand for a CBI inquiry has created a fissure. The demand was spearheaded by BJP leaders like actor-turned-BJP MP Rupa Ganguly and Rajput’s cousin, Neeraj Singh, an MLA in Bihar. Subramanian Swamy had also written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a CBI probe. BSP supremo Mayawati too jumped onto the bandwagon. Disillusioned with the Congress over developments in Rajasthan, she too urged a CBI probe.

The controversy has also given a handle to the BJP to attack the Shiv Sena, part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. The state has a Shiv Sena Congress-NCP government which was formed after worsting the BJP in a power struggle. The BJP has not forgotten or forgiven this and political slander is one way to get even and also gain eventually from it.

The politics of death has become a full-blown issue, with the name of Aditya Thackeray, Maharashtra’s environment minister and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son, being dragged into the whole affair.

Meanwhile, former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane linked Rajput’s death with that of Disha Salian, his former manager. “Both Sushant and Disha were murdered…the post-mortem reveals that Disha was raped and murdered,” Rane thundered. He alleged that a “Maharashtra minister” was present at the site of the crime. Rane’s son Nilesh insinuated Aditya Thackeray’s involvement.

In the face of these direct attacks, Aditya was forced to respond. He said:

“I have relations with many people in Bollywood, but that is not a crime. The Thackeray family, and I personally am being targeted with slander by disgruntled political elements. This is low-level dirty politics.”

Another storyline is that the BJP is trying to soil the clean image of Aditya. Of late, he has emerged as a sane and sanguine figure in the Shiv Sena. A leader of the youth and a moderate, it is alleged that the BJP wants to sully this image and is using Rajput’s death as a handy tool.

Bihar elections are another reason for politicians from this state to wade into these waters. As the polls will be held by the year-end, politicians have found ammunition to lead the charge for the hustings. Emotions are high in Bihar over the death of Rajput. Politicians know this well. Hence, it was no surprise when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar personally intervened and asked the centre for a CBI inquiry.

Parties, cutting across the political divide in Bihar, have demanded a CBI probe in this case. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav held a press conference with another actor-politician from Bihar, Shekhar Suman, over Rajput’s death.

NDA constituent Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan and Jan Adhikar Party president Pappu Yadav also asked for a CBI probe. Clearly, the son-of-the-soil issue is going to be encashed by political parties in the Bihar hustings.

CASTE FACTOR

Caste politics has also fired the sympathies of politicians over Rajput’s death. He belongs to the Rajput caste. However, he dropped Rajput from his name in 2017 to protest against the Karni Sena’s attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavat. But the caste label has not been forgotten by state politicians.

Rajputs form about four percent of Bihar’s population, but they are one of the dominant communities there. In the last assembly election in 2015, the grand alliance of the JD(U)-RJD-Congress had fielded 39 upper caste candidates, of whom 12 were Rajputs. The BJP had given tickets to 65 upper caste candidates, 30 of them Rajputs. There are 19 Rajput MLAs in the current Bihar assembly. As a community, the Rajputs can influence results in 40 of the 243 constituencies in the state. No wonder politicians are leaving no stone unturned to cash in on Rajput’s name.

POLICE FORCES

Rajput’s death and the resultant controversy have cast a shadow over the Mumbai and Bihar police too. There have been accusations that both the police forces were serving their political masters.

The Mumbai police began investigations on June 14 when the actor was found dead. At the very outset, without any solid evidence, it proclaimed that it was a case of suicide. In fact, right after Rajput’s death, charges of manipulative film producers crafting biased film contracts and snatching away deals from him emerged on social media. Twitterati and many celebrities concluded that his death was in some way connected to nepotism in Bollywood.

It speaks volumes about the gullibility of the Mumbai police that it followed the social media trails in its probe and completely lost itself. As days went by, it became clear that it was totally at sea and not following investigative norms.

The police began its inquest by registering a case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Under it, a case of suicide is not subject to investigation. Rather, the police is supposed to ascertain the cause of death, and the process is called an inquest, not an investigation.

However, despite registering a case under Section 174, it proceeded to question bigwigs of the film industry on charges of alleged nepotism. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mahesh Bhatt, Apoorva Mehta (CEO of Dharma Productions) and several others were grilled by the police.

Meanwhile, a parallel media trial was going on with TV journalists ferreting out evidence and a guest panel dissecting the case every night. Clearly, pressure was building up on the Mumbai police to stick to its basic premise of suicide, which it had so confidently proclaimed. The way it botched up the case led to charges of it being biased.

As Aditya Thackeray’s involvement in the death of Disha Salian is being insinuated, each effort of the Mumbai police to handle this complex case is being seen as a way to “manage” the probe and protect those in power. With overtones of drug peddling and the complicity of top politicians and Bollywood honchos in this case, the Mumbai police is finding it hard to earn back its credibility.

Matters became worse when Bihar IPS officer Vinay Tiwari, who came to Mumbai for the probe, was quarantined by the BMC. As leaders of all political parties condemned this act, the Mumbai police and the administration were in a quandary. As the police squirmed under the spotlight, the Sheena Bora case was recalled.

When that case made headlines, Mumbai’s then police commissioner Rakesh Maria was promoted and transferred as director general of the Home Guards. It was speculated then that Maria was transferred as the Maharashtra government led by Devendra Fadnavis was unhappy with his role in the Sheena Bora murder case. This was yet another case which showed how strongly the Mumbai police’s reins were in the hands of the political establishment. Interestingly, Fadnavis has now cast aspersions on the role of the Mumbai police.

Meanwhile, the Bihar police was up in arms against the treatment meted out to its police personnel who had gone to Mumbai for the probe. DGP Gupteshwar Pandey slammed the Mumbai police on TV and even condemned Rhea Chakraborty for her alleged complicity in the case. Pandey was seen asking for justice for Rajput. He also became the talking point on social media with questions being asked about the propriety of a uniformed police officer indulging in televised wrangling.

Pandey, apparently, has strong political ambitions. In 2009, when the Lok Sabha elections were to be held, he positioned himself to contest them from Buxar on a BJP ticket. To do this, he took VRS on March 14, 2009, as no serving officer can contest elections. However, things couldn’t materialise accordingly. Now with the Bihar assembly elections approaching, it is rumoured that Pandey may enter the polls once again. His tenure as DGP ends in February 2021, but the grapevine says that he may resign before that and contest on either a JD(U) or a BJP ticket.

MULTIPLE investigating AGENCIES

Rajput’s death has now become a very high-profile case. After the Supreme Court’s verdict ordering the CBI to investigate this case, the FIR filed in Patna was transferred to it. Also, the ED has suo motu initiated a probe into alleged suspicious transfers of funds from Rajput’s accounts. The NCB is also probing the drug angle.

The only federal investigative agency that has not launched an investigation is the National Investigation Agency, which inquires into terrorism cases.

As powerful investigative agencies probe the case, each is zealously protecting its turf. Snippets of investigation are religiously fed to the media. Clearly, each one is looking at its own gains and breakthroughs.

SOCIAL MEDIA & FRINGE PERSONALITIES

Not surprisingly, absolute strangers hogged the limelight in this ensuing media circus. Sample this: Claiming foul play, Karni Sena member Surjeet Singh Rathore claimed to know that Rajput’s friend Sandip Singh was in touch with someone from Dubai. He was called as a prime time guest on major TV channels. It is altogether a different matter that as a producer, he has a movie lined up for release and some publicity won’t harm the film’s prospects.

Social media, especially YouTube and Facebook, are also awash with perfect strangers coming up with salacious gossip. Many have turned into arm chair Sherlock Holmes and are spending hours dissecting crime scene photographs and analysing autopsy reports. Countless YouTube channels are garnering millions of “likes” and subscriptions and minting revenue. Fringe B-town actors, out of work models and social media geeks are making hay while the sun shines.

As charges fly thick and fast about Bollywood nepotism, suppression of outsiders, drug abuse by stars and the operation of a sinister cabal, hardly any representative voice is being heard to counter all these calumny. However, some old actors have voiced their concerns; Shatrughan Sinha, Shekhar Suman and Mukesh Khanna, to name a few.

One way to explain their vocal stand is that they have now nothing to lose or gain from filmdom. At the most, they stand to shine once again, maybe in the political firmament.

The Rajput death probe is at once an indictment of the media, the police, politicians and the film world. The web of events has brought to the fore the way our society operates. The stress and strain of such a death probe has laid bare a dysfunctional social structure and vested interests. It has also shown a society which resists change and strives to maintain status quo.

AYODHYA RAM MANDIR CASE

2020-08-06T22:57:00.005-07:00

The outcome of one of the thorniest and longest standing legal contest over a place of worship, which occupies a special place in hearts of two religious communities of the country, climaxed on August 5.

Amidst sacred ceremonies, mantra chants and gala festivities, the Ram Mandir shilanyas was finally soleminized in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narender Modi sat in the pooja and performed the ground breaking ceremony.

The 1500 square yard plot of land, situated in the city of Ayodhya, had witnessed prolonged legal tussle for over more than 125 years. Religious groups, devotees and even gods contested for ownership of the sacred spot. From lower court to the highest court of the land the case wound its way up. In the process many Hindu and Muslim petitioners rallied along and the ensuing legal wrangle made the case increasingly complicated.

Successive courts pronounced divergent verdicts on the Ram JanamBhoomi-Babri Masjid case. Finally on 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court announced its verdict and awarded the disputed place to Hindus to build the Ram Janambhoomi Temple. Muslims were given a piece of land away from the site to build a mosque. The judgement led to an uneasy situation. Jubliation in one quarter, resignation in another.

At the centre of the row was the 16th-Century mosque , apparently built during the reign of Babar. The disputed site was revered by Hindus as the birthplace of Lord Rama. The Muslims held that they worshipped in the mosque for generations, and hence it rightfully belonged to them. They also held that there was no transfer of land ownership right.

ROOTS OF THE LEGAL TUSSLE

The roots of the legal battle can be traced back to 1958. Herein we find the first legal record of the case registered in Faizabad . On November 30, 1858, an FIR was filed against a group of Nihang Sikhs who had apparently installed their nishan and written “Ram” inside the Babri mosque. Police had recoreded that on December 1, 1858, a chabutra (platform) has been constructed by the Sikhs. This became the first documentary evidence that Hindus were present not only in the outer courtyard but also inside the inner courtyard.

The case initially had three main contending parties - two Hindu groups and the Muslim Waqf Board. The Hindu litigants were Hindu Mahasabha, Nirmohi Akhara.

In January 1885, Raghubar Das, the mahant of the Nirmohi Akhara, instituted a suit against the administration of Faizabad. The suit, sought to restrain the administration from interfering in the construction of a temple over a platform or chabutra in the outer courtyard of the Babri Masjid

For several decades the dispute was in limbo , till a group of Hindu activists illegally placed the idol of Ram in the disputed area in 1949.

An FIR was filed in the case and the gates were locked the same day.

Meanwhile, more parties joined the proceedings in the 1950s, including the Sunni Waqf Board and the Nirmohi Akhara.

Time passed, in 1984, Vishva Hindu Parishad adopted a resolution demanding the `liberation' of the site of the Babri Masjid.

In January 2, 1986, Faizabad district judge passed an order to open the locks of the main gate of the Babri Masjid.

That was a turning point in Ayodhya dispute .After the locks were opened, the Muslim leaders met in Lucknow and Babri Masjid Action Committee was formed to spearhead fight for ownership of mosque.

DEITY BECOMES PARTY

How a diety became a legal party is also interesting.

After the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi’ movement, spearheaded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad gathered momentum in the late 1980s, a fifth suit was filed by the ‘deity’ itself.

Both the deity and the birthplace are represented by a “friend” in the title suits. Since the 1980s, there have been three such “friends” or ‘’sakha’’ of Ram.

Two years later, in July 1989, Deoki Nandan Agarwal, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, filed a petition seeking to become the “sakha” or friend of the deity and its birthplace in the title suits.

The legal position is quite complicated. The deity is the owner of the land only in an ideal sense. The deity is considered a perpetual minor under the law, which is why it requires a friend to run the case on its behalf.

When the Allahabad High Court delivered its judgement in September 2010, it divided the disputed site three ways, with one-third going to the deity and Ram Janmasthan.

FROM ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT TO SUPREME COURT

On July 12, 1989, the Allahabad High Court passed an order transferring all the suits to a three-judge bench of the high court.

On September 25, 1990, BJP leader L.K. Advani started a Rath Yatra across several States. This led to communal violence and bloodshed. Finally , the aggressive mobilisation resulted in the destruction of the masjid on December 6, 1992.

Thirteen years after the Allahabad High Court took the case in March 2002, hearing began for the title suit of the Ayodhya dispute. In July 2003, the Allahabad High Court ordered excavation at the disputed site. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) led excavation concluded that “recoveries were suggestive of a structure of Hindu religion origin”.

The ASI report though important was not the sole deciding factor in the judgement. The Supreme Court in its final judgement said “a finding of title cannot be based in law on the archaeological findings which have been arrived at by ASI.Title to the land must be decided on settled legal principles and applying evidentiary standards which govern a civil trial,”

Taking the story further, on September 30, 2010, the three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court gave its judgment in the title suit. It divided the disputed land into three parts, giving one each to Ram Lala, Nirmohi Akhada and Sunni Waqf Board. All the parties appealed in the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court judgment.

On 8 January, 2019, the apex court set up a five-judge bench to hear the title suit in Ayodhya.

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi formed a constitution bench . The then CJI Gogoi headed the bench, other members were Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer.

ADVERSE POSSESSION LOGIC

One question that the bench had to answer was whether the board had gained title to the Ayodhya land by adverse possession. The Muslim side argued that even if the mosque was built on temple ruins, as stated by the Hindu parties, they had adverse possession as the Babri Masjid had existed on the plot since the 16th century.

However, court rejected the claim and concurred with the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 ruling, which stated that there was no adverse possession as it was an open space where “anybody could have built anything” for prayers.

n The court assessed the disputed site from the perspective of the outer courtyard, where sites related to Ram is situated, and the inner courtyard, where the Babri Masjid stood.

n In its verdict, the bench noted that the evidence of Muslim side did not establish that the entire plot was used by Muslims for worship purposes.

n The court cited ASI report that states that the structure underneath was “not an Islamic structure”, and the artefacts excavated from the site suggested the presence of a Hindu structure.

n One of the primary characteristics of a mosque is that it hosts prayers. the court noted that the Muslim side had presented “no account” to show possession, “use or offer of namaz in the mosque between the date of construction and 1856-7”.

ARGUMENTS BY CONTENDING PARTIES

Supreme Court Bench was often witness to emotionally charged argument between Hindu and Muslim parties' counsel.

Sharp words were exchanged and the bench had to often intervene to bring discipline in court room.

From ancient religious texts to ASI reports , piles of documentary evidence were used to bolster the rival claims to the disputed site.

The Hindu parties strategy was to establish two vital points before the Supreme Court to claim possession on the disputed land.

The first being Ram Janmabhoomi -- the land below the central dome of the disputed structure as the birthplace of Lord Ram as a juristic entity, which is subject to law.

Second, the credibility accorded to the ASI report by the Allahabad High Court in its judgement in 2010 to support their arguments.

Hindu parties thus backed their arguments from the High Court judgement, and raised points related to faith and divinity from a legal perspective before the Supreme Court.

The deity, or Ram Lalla, was represented by veteran lawyers K Parasaran and CS Vaidyanathan.

K Parasaran made submissions on treating land as a juristic entity, which is subject to law. “Everything belongs to the deity,” Parasaran declared in the Supreme Court.

The Akhara’s case rested on adverse possession.

Parasaran and Vaidyanathan used historical records and ASI report to argue that there had been a temple under the mosque since the second century.

Muslims contested this argument and claimed that the place under the central dome of the Babri Masjid was not the birthplace of Lord Ram

Muslims contented that report by ASI concluding that there was a temple at the site is inconclusive and riddled with inconsistencies.

Travelogues by Western gazetteers made over years are mere stories.

Possession of Ram Chabutra and Sita Rasoi by the Hindu site only gives them right to pray and not possession, said Muslim party lawyers.

Hindus have only exercised prescriptive right (by offering prayers), but never the title. The Muslim side has not lost the title, they contended.

Represented by Rajeev Dhawan, the Sunni Waqf Board and the other Muslim parties, argued that the entire disputed land belonged to them as per the law, judgement of courts and records recognised by the British-era administration. They stated that they had possession of the area since 1528 when the mosque was built and the land was never claimed by Hindus till 1989.

“If they had possession, why was one dome of the Babri Masjid knocked down in the 1934 riots and trespassers installed the idols in 1949 if they already had the title,” senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan asked.

The Muslim side said they have only sought title over the disputed area and not the land acquired by the government, and that it would allow Hindus to worship in the outer courtyard.

MEDIATION EFFORTS UNSUCCESSFUL

On March 8, 2019 Supreme Court refered the Ayodhya dispute for mediation. The mediators were former Supreme Court judge FMI Kalifulla, religious leader Sri Sri Ravishankar, and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.

On August 2, 2019 the mediation panel admited failure in resolving differences between the contending parties.

The court then decided to conduct daily hearings from August 6..

High drama was witnessed on the last day of hearing when senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing Sunni Waqf Board, tore papers and maps handed over to him by the counsel of All India Hindu Mahasabha in the Supreme Court. On October 16, 2019 after 40-day marathon hearing the Supreme Court reserved Ayodhya verdict .

MOULDING OF RELIEF

On October 19, both sides jointly submitted their note of ‘moulding of relief’ to the Supreme Court. The note addressed alternate relief that the Supreme Court may provide in case the title or ownership is not given.

The Muslim side said in the note that since the judgment would have “far-reaching implications it is for the court to consider the consequences of its historic judgment by moulding the relief in a fashion that will reflect the constitutional values that this great nation espouses".

Akhil Bharatiya Sriram Janam Bhoomi Punruddhar Samiti, in its moulding-the-relief statement suggested a decree in favour of Ram Lalla after taking into consideration the mediation report.

THE HISTORIC JUDGEMENT BROKE TRADITION

The unanimous Ayodhya judgment, broke three long held traditions of the Supreme Court: the verdict always bears the name of the author, author reads it in open court and the main judgment isn’t accompanied by an “addenda”.

Though CJI Ranjan Gogoi read out the judgment, it did not carry the author’s name. Same was for the addenda. However the judgment’s printed version bore the unmistakable imprint of Justice D Y Chandrachud. This surmise was based on styles and use distinct fonts peculiar to Justice Chandrachud.

ROLE PLAYING BY JUDGES

The five judges of the bench played distinct roles during the hearing of Ayodhya dispute.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi gave free-hand to counsels to argue their case and setup a time frame wherein counsels of various parties were assigned time limits to complete their arguments

Justice S.A. Bobde asked probing questions on the belief and faith as related to both parties. He handled high pitched arguments with a stoic calmness .

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud assessed the faith aspect from a legal perspective, and often tested both parties arguments on the touchstone of jurisprudence. He asked the most questions. He plainly told the Muslim parties that the ASI report has been prepared by "studied minds, and can’t be summarily dismissed.

Justice Ashok Bhushan seemed well versed with the High Court judgement, and asked pointed queries. He meticulously tracked the cross-examination of the witnesses.

Justice S.A. Nazeer patiently heard the counsels in the case. He reprimanded the Muslim parties'' counsel on their comments on ASI report.

UNDERPINNINGS OF THE JUDGEMENT

The 1,045 pages judgement was a legal treatise of sorts. It held that there was a non – Islamic structure underlying the Babri Masjid. Babri Masjid demolition a violation of the rule of law, and this wrong must be remedied. Title to the land should be decided based on settled legal principles, and not on faith or ASI findings.

Muslims have no evidence to show possessory title. There is evidence on a preponderance of probabilities to establish worship by Hindus prior to 1857, no such evidence is in favour of Muslims.

That is, the Hindu litigants were able to establish their case that they were in possession of the outer courtyard. It added that the Muslim side was unable to prove their exclusive possession of the inner courtyard

The disputed site spreads over 1500 sq yards. Dividing the land will not secure a lasting peace. Trifurcation of the disputed land by the High Court was legally unsustainable.

The mere presence of pujaris does not vest in them any right to be shebaits ( thus nullifying Akhara’s claim)

Supreme Court in the exercise of its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution must ensure that a wrong committed must be remedied..

After establishing the underpinnings of the judgement thus the Bench proceeded to deliver its judgement.

THE AYODHYA VERDICT

The Supreme Court Bench upheld the title rights of Ram Lalla Virajman over the disputed property, ordering the Centre to develop a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple within three months from its ruling.

The court held that the Nirmohi Akhara is not a shebait(manager of the temple) or devotee of the deity Ram Lalla and the Akhara's suit was barred by limitation.

The court ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land in another place to the Sunni Waqf Board for building of a mosque.

CONCLUSION

The Ayodhya verdict broke new grounds in Indian jurisprudence.

After more than a century of legal tussle the Supreme Court cleared the nebulous fog over the Ayodhya dispute by its verdict.

The courtroom fight which led to the verdict was fierce and dramatic. No quarter was given without forceful legal combat.

The arguments were intense, emotional and loaded with reference from diverse sources. History, spirituality, faith, Hinduism, Islam, Sharia, law and constitution were invoked by contesting parties to put across their point .

The Ayodhya issue was legally complicated. Probably for the the first time Faith was pitted against Law. Historical facts contended with mythological beliefs. It was a fight between religious convictions and rationality.

Though the Apex court initially approached the matter as a land dispute as time went on its social underpinnings were realized and ultimately to do complete justice the Supreme Court invoked Article 142 of the Indian Constitution.

All said, the decision proves to be a milestone for Indian jurisprudence law. It gave primacy to ‘’wisdom over cold legal logic’’ ( Justice Venkatachaliah ) . The verdict embraced an Utilitarian philosophy which proclaims “the Greatest Good for the Greatest Number” as the summon bonum of social existence.

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RSS THINK TANK MEETS IN VARANASI

2018-02-14T10:23:00.001-08:00

A three day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) is being held in Varanasi from February the 15^th. Top RSS functionaries are expected to be present in the meeting. The agenda is to steamline the coordination between the state BJP and the RSS. BJP party president Amit Shah, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, and his two deputy chief ministers are expected to be present in the meeting.

The meet will also give thought to the 2019 election strategy and on ways to bolster the image of Modi government.

The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will also address 21 thousand swamsevaks.

Mohan Bhagwat is being housed in Deen Dayal Upadhaya Trade Facilitation Centre, a building officialy being used for the promotion of interests of artisans.

This is being objected by the state Congress. The party is opposing the use of state institution building for political ends.

Clearly, RSS is putting its might behind the BJP to give it a push before the 2019 hustings.

With a strong think tank and an army of dedicated workers RSS will give the necessary political push, and this is creating jitters in the opposition.

THEATRICS OF NARESH AGARWAL

2018-02-11T10:30:00.001-08:00

The Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Aggarwal has stirred a hornet's nest by targetting prime minister Narender Modi by a casteist comment. In a function organized by The Vaishya Samaj in Lucknow the Samajwadi Party leader called Modi by his Teli caste.

The mention of Modi by his caste name created a furore in the congregation. People hooted Aggarwal and asked to tender apology. However, Naresh Aggarwal was adamant, and held that caste is a reality in India and one can't avoid it.

Obviously, Aggarwal's comment is going to provide grist to the political wheel, and BJP is not going to waste any time in cashing in on the comment to rake up caste sentiments and make Modi a scapegoat.

Earlier during the Gujarat elections Mani Shankar Aiyyer's comment on Modi had changed the discourse of the election campaigning. Aiyyer had referred to Modi as 'neech jati ka aadmi' and 'neech aadmi'.

BJP then had gone full throttle to get as much miieage from the comment. It had put Congress in the dock, so much so, that Congress had to suspend Aiyyer from the party.

It is strange that politicians are wont to issue such comments, knowing fully that it is going to be reaped politically by the other party. It is such apprehensions that is putting a question mark on the theatrics of such politicians.

MODI ON MISSION TRIPURA

2018-02-07T18:13:00.001-08:00

Prime Minister Modi is on an election campaigning tour of Tripura. The north east state is going to polls on 18 th of February, and BJP has sets its sight on capturing this one more citadel. Modi will be addressing two rallies over here. In the district adjoining the Dhanpur constituency of four time chief minister Manik Sarkar, Modi will raise the campaign decibel.

So far the Modi juggernaut has been going all well in the north eastern region. The party has taken control of three states; namely Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. Now its sight are set on Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

Of the three, the battle of Tripura has already begun. The state has been under the Communist rule since the last 25 years, and the austere chief minister Manik Sarkar has been the favourite of masses for the last two decades. No doubt, dislodging such a well entrenched party will be some task. Anti incumbency doesn't seems to be a factor here.

Congress jitters has also come to the fore. Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has said that that the Congress’ chances of winning Tripura polls are bleak. The Congress leader claimed that the BJP is using black money to fund the election campaign.

On the other hand, the Sangh Parivar has already begun on its job of mobilizing the masses. A door to door campaign has been initiated. The focus is more on educating people about issues, than insisting on voter turnout. The voter turnout percentage is well around 90 percent.

As compared to other north east states the population is predominantly Hindu. The tribal populace is also Hindu, and the reach and penetration of Sangh is fairly good. Around 200 shakhas operate in the state with an attendance of around 10 people in each shakha.

BJP is aiming not at Hindutva issues, but development concerns will be highlighted.

Since coming to power the Modi government has aggresively pushed and pursued a look 'north-east' policy, which included infrastructural development and fund allocation for overall growth.

Few days back, inaugurating the two-day ‘Global Investors Summit’ hosted by Assam, Modi had asserted that India’s growth story will further pick up speed when there is an all-round development of the north-east.

Clearly, BJP will be going at the hustings with development as a plank.

The opinion polls have also been merciful to the saffron party.

Recent polls indicate that BJP and its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura will corner 31 to 37 seats while CPI (M) will win 23 to 29 seats.

In the coming days BJP is going to step up the campaigning. Fourty senior BJP leaders', including Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defense Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath will be pushed in action.

Clearly, BJP is going to strain its might to seize the Red Fort of Tripura.

MALDIVES MALADY

2018-02-06T17:15:00.001-08:00

In crisis ridden Maldives the unfolding political drama took yet another twist late Wednesday night. The Maldives Supreme court revoked its own order to release nine high profile political prisoners . This came hours after the former president Md. Nasheed made a plea to India for military intervention.

In a late night development three judges of the Supreme Court passed an order quashing the terrorism charges against the nine main opposition leaders.

Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested after President Yameen declared a state of emergency on Monday.

“On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and political detainees. We request a physical presence,” Nasheed, who is currently in Colombo, said in a Twitter post. He also urged the US to block financial transactions of Yameen’s government.

Reacting to these developments, the United States said it was troubled and disappointed by the declaration of a state of emergency by Yameen and asked him to comply with the rule of law and implement the Supreme Court ruling.

The Ministry of External Affairs showed its concern . In a statement in New Delhi the Government said : "We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in the Maldives following the refusal of the government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on February 1, and also by the suspension of constitutional rights of the people of Maldives,"

However, Indian stand was non committal over the plea for military intervention in the trouble torn nation.

GAMEPLAN PAKISTAN

2018-02-05T18:19:00.002-08:00

Intransigence from across the border has reached a new high. Pakistan is showing no signs of mending its ways. Attacks and cross border firing has been continuing unabated since the last one month.

On Monday an army camp in south Kashmir’s Kakapora area was attacked by militants. The militants lobbed grenades towards the army camp. Though there has been no casualities the district administration has closed down all the 84 schools in the area. The army is on alert.

The attack on the army camp comes a day after four soldiers were killed in a cross-border firing by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Tarkundi and Sunderbani areas of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Sarath Chand said that the Army will give a befitting reply to Pakistan’s actions.

Pakistan has seemed to stepped up its attack from across the border. In the past 35 days, there were 240 incidents on the LoC and the International Boundary together, higher than the 228 for the entire 2016.

Apparently there is a strategic shift in Pakistan’s strategy. Till some time back the cross border firing were resorted to in an intermittent manner. More stress was on low-key attacks by terrorist outfits and stand alone desperadoes. In this low intensity warfare, guerrilla tactics were employed and damage to strategic areas and unto the armed personnel were aimed at.

A case in the point is the way in October 2016 militants had attacked an Indian army camp in Baramulla , Kashmir with gunfire and grenades, killing one border guard and wounding another.

Such attacks kept happening at regular intervals. This served the Pakistani strategy of low intensity warfare well. The cross border attacks made heavy force deployment by the Indian Army alongside the border a necessity.

However, Pakistan could well spread its army thin across the border and use the additional manpower in troubled areas alongside the Afghan border and in interior hotspots.

However, with India resorting to surgical strikes into the Pakistani side the war strategy got changed. First it was denial of any such surgical attacks by Pakistan. But when confronted by regular surgical attacks by India which were then buttressed by video and other proofs, Pakistan had to change it’s strategy.

It went into a more manifest attacking mode, and the frequency of attack has kept on increasing.

Furthermore, in a deliberate attempt to malign India it has stepped up its anti –India propaganda.

Recently , Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has informed Gilgit-Baltistan government in the disputed PoK territory that India has made a plan to attack the installations of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to sabotage the multi-billion project.

This is an clear attempt to raise the India bogey in Pakistan.

The Pakistani establishment, especially the Army, is under pressure from the United States to mend its ways in its policy of nurturing terror groups. There has been a fund squeeze from the side of America. Trump had tweeted his displeasure against Pakistan providing safe haven to terrorists,and of foolishly providing $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years.

Trump didn’t stop here. On January 24, this year he ordered a drone attack on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and wiped out two Haqqani network commanders and two terrorists.

Clearly it was revist of the Osama Bin Laden type of attack where the territorial sovereignity of Pakistan was compromised, leaving it humiliated.

The surgical strikes by India and direct intervention by the United States had left Pakistan with no option but to go on an offensive against India. If for nothing else, then to salvage its pride.

Thus with building up of pressure from the United States on both the strategic and diplomatic level, it is wont that the Pakistani Army is going for diversionary tactics, and indulging in India baiting.

The time tested tactics of anti-India tirade will make the Pakistani Army and the Establishment buy time, before new game plans are devised.

MAYAN CITY DISCOVERED

2018-02-03T10:33:00.001-08:00

It's a discovery on which science fiction and Hollywood movies thrive.

The dense jungles of Guatemala has finally revealed its innermost secrets to the nosy and arrogant mankind.

Beneath the thick,impenetrable canopy of lush green trees ruins of an intricately build Mayan urban civilization has been revealed.

A cluster of cities, fortifications, farms and highways have been laid bare. The ruins clearly show that a highly developed society flourished some 1200 years ago. A mysterious Mayan dynasty named Snake Kings ruled the community.

Some 60,000 previously unknown structures, including a seven-story pyramid has been uncovered by the laser technology.

Using a technology called LiDAR, scientists were able to strip away the tree canopy from aerial images and reveal the ancient civilisation underneath.

The technique uses pulses of laser light to create 3D representations of targets.

Historically, archaeologists have assumed that Maya cities were isolated and self-sufficient, but this discovery provides evidence for a complex, interconnected society flourishing deep in the jungle.

The population estimate of the community have been upgraded from 2 million to 20 million.

The team mapped a 810sq-mile area around the ancient city of Tikal, a popular tourist destination located in the heart of the Guatemalan rainforest.

The civilization flourished in cities and was connected by a network of highways. The site was four times larger than previously assumed.

There was also irrigation and terracing systems suggesting farming and food production systems to feed its millions.

So far, the scientists have only mapped a fraction of the archaeological area and they think there is a lot more to be discovered.

Scientists had used a similar scans to unearth a network of ancient cities in Angkor, in Cambodia that includes the famed Angkor Wat.

DGP COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET

2018-02-02T09:34:00.001-08:00

What colour is Khaki ? This question inadvertently got raised in Uttar Pradesh when an Indian Police Service officer of the rank of Director General of Police openly championed the cause of Ram Mandir construction in Ayodhya. Surya Kumar Shukla is posted as a DG , homeguard in the state.

In a event organized on Ram Mandir at the Lucknow University the DG took a pledge to get the Ram Mandir constructed at the earliest. The video of this pledge has gone viral ever since.

Many people took the oath alongside him and riased the slogan of Jai Shri Ram .

The viral video shows the 1982 batch IPS officer taking the pledge.

Shukla, however, has stuck to his guns and has maintained that his comment were edited off and shown in bits that were out of context.

The DG held that his comment was more related to creating an conducive environment for the construction of Ram Temple, rather than building the temple itself.

He also hinted that he was being targetted and people were creating a controversy where there is non.

Espousal of a religious cause and display of partisan stand by a serving officer is a clear violation of service rules. It goes against the grain of impartiality and neutrality which is binded as a norm for a officer of the government.

The DG's stand, his clarification, notwithstanding, has brought him in the direct line of fire of the opposition parties.

Shukla is due to retire in August. Opposition is insinuating that he is working towards making his post-retirement period rosy by cosying up with the state's BJP government.

This is not the first time in recent times that bureaucray has worn its leaning and political colours on its sleeve.

Recently, on the eve of violence in Kasgang, the district magistrate of Barielly Raghvender Vikram Singh, had made headlines by posting religiously loaded comment on his facebook.

The Yogi government has now asked the DG to explain his stand. However, it remains to be seen what action will follow. If tackled leniently, this trend can make more bureaucrats come out the closet and show their political colours

SURAIYA - SINGING SENSATION

2018-01-31T05:16:00.002-08:00

She enthralled thousands by her honey-voice. Millions swooned over her beauty. She was anointed by fans as 'Malika-e-Husn' (queen of beauty), and 'Malika-e-Tarannum' (queen of melody). She was Suraiya. The sovereign actress-singer of yesteryears.

Suraiya was born at Gujranwala ( Pakistan) on 15 June 1929. She came to Bombay along with her mother, maternal uncles and grandparents. Here she studied and entered the filmdom as child artiste in 1937 film Usne Kya Socha.

Thereafter in 1941 she bagged a role as a heroine in filmTaj Mahal. At the tender age of 13 Suraiya made foray into playback singing. Her first song was for film Sharda. She didn’t had any formal training in singing.

Her untrained voice had a peculiar charisma which caught the fancy of music director Naushad. Bollywood legend has it that Nuashad saw her in Kardar Studio where she had gone to watch film shooting and recommended her for playback. As Baby Suraiya her first song was for Kardar's Nai Duniya ( 1942). She ostensibily used to stand on a stool in order to reach the mike for singing.

After her initial phase Suraiya made her debut as a leading lady in Nanubhai Vakil’s 'Taj Mahal' .
In the early part of her career Suraiya got the support of Naushad. Under his tutelage she blossomed as a singer. Under the baton of Naushad Suraiya delivered some of her biggest hits in the early part of her career.

In Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi Naushad gave Suraiya three solo songs to sing. In the movie Suraiya was pitted against the colossal of her times, Noorjehan. During the making of the film Noorjehan gave a hard time to Suraiya. But Suraiya proved her mettle by her voice, and Naushad stood by her strongly. The film completed silver jubilee in Mumbai. Anmol Ghadi paved the way for Suraiya to become a singing superstar.

Hoever, Suraiya came to her own after Noorjehan married and migrated to Pakistan during Partition.
Suraiya was at the height of her popularity between 1947 and 1950.

This was the phase when Suraiya co-starred with Dev Anand in several block busters. Their proximity brought them emotionally close and they became romantically involved. However, their affair wasn't destined to see the light of the day. Suraiya's grandmother opposed the match and that was the end of the story. Suraiya was heartbroken and she never married. Dev kept Suraiya's love aflame in his heart till his last days. Thus tragically ended Bollywood's one of the most popular love stories.

In the 1950s, Suraiya faced competition from Lata Mangeshkar. However, sadly, her career was on the decline. The phase of actor-singer was on the wane. Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum had also joined the bandwagon. Suraiya sang her last song “Yeh kaesii ajab daastaan” in the Rustom-e-Sohrab ( 1953) At the age of 34 she said adieu to the film industry. She breathed her last on 31 January 2004 after a long battle with cancer.

THE 'LOIN'OF BOLLYWOOD

2018-01-27T10:26:00.002-08:00

His tone was soft, tenor sweet but undercurrent was undecidedly menancing. He spoke with firm persuasiveness, and the threatening message was not lost to whom it was intended.

In the firmament of thundering,threatening and terrorizing villains of Bollywood there will always be a safe and special niche for the Ajit. The quintessential villain of Hindi films.

Ajit, born Hamid Ali Khan, celebrates his birthday on 27 January. His dialogue delivery was his raison d'être. Long before Prem Chopra made the genteel dialogue delivery his trademark, Ajit spewed menace on silver screen by his studied nonchalance and pseudo sweetness.

When he spoke it was always with a deadpan face. His double meaning quips made him all the more famous.

Remember the Loin of Kalicharan, where he famously quipped

'Saara Saher Mujhe Loin ke Naam Se Jaanta Hai'

( 'Whole town knows me as Loin')

Mona Darling was his ever loyal sidekick to whom he purred his lines aside. Years after his passing Ajit jokes are still a favourite. People love to emulate his speaking style and his ribaldness. His character is a font of double meaning jokes.

Ajit's den was set designer's dream. Menacing hoodlums hanged around , secret doors slid open and closed and multi coloured lights blinked to create an aura of the underworld.

In a career spanning nearly four decades Ajit acted in over 200 films

Ajit was born in 1922 near Golconda in Andhra Pradesh. Attraction of films drew him to Mumbai. He started his film career in 1946 with Shahe Misr.

1946 to 1956 was a period of struggle for Ajit where he tried to make his place in the industry. Around this time he acted in Patanga, Zidd, Sarkar, Taranag , Mahal and some other films. But none of these fared well at the box office.

To break the jinx he was advised to shorten his name. So he changed his name from Hamid Ali to Ajit. The move proved auspicious and he bagged the film Bekasur as a hero.

In K Asif's 1960 magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam Ajit played a supporting role, sharing screen with thespian Dilip Kumar.

Then followed a spew of films like Shikari, Prince, Aadmi Aur Insaan where his villany got finally recognized.

1973 was a watershed year for Ajit. With blockbusters like Zanjeer, Yadoon Ki Baraat, Kahanai Kismet Ki and Jugnu, Ajit tasted unprecedented success as a villain.

In 1976 Subhash Ghai cast him in the role of the formidable Don Lion. They way he twisted his name to Loin in a sarcastic drawl became his hallmark.

After Kaalicharan Ajit never really looked back and scaled new heights in villany.

Ajit stopped acting in the early 1980s after heart surgery and moved back home to Hyderabad.

But Bollywood couldn't have enough of Ajit and again he was offered films. In 1985 he made a comeback with Police Officer. His last film was Ganster after that he returned to Hyderabad where he breathed his last on 22 October 1998

NATION BOILS OVER PADMAVAT

2018-01-26T04:20:00.002-08:00

The storm over Padmavat has brought to the fore faultlines in the community. Unbridled rampage by hitherto unknown Karni Sena has again underlined the fragile times in which we live.
But more importantly, violent protests over the film despite the stern ruling of the apex court has omnious omen . The constitution itself has been challenged. Freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the constitution and ensured by the Supreme Court rulings have been encroached upon. The defiant stand of the four Indian states is also worrisome.
The violence on Padmavat began on 14th April in Jaipur when Karni Sena members rampaged the sets of Padmavat and slapped the director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. As the film got ready for release spordiac violent protests became a permanent fixture and finally the effigy burning and hooligansim left a trail of unrestrained parochial frenzy over the film.
As Karni Sena made headlines by wanton violence and protest, and state after state writhed and broiled in the fires of violence, the central government maintained a stoic silence. The government held that policing is a state subject and unless the violence striken states ask for help the Centre can do nothing.
As protestors indulged in mindless violence and broke law with impunity, people squirmed and suffered. Gurugram saw a brutish display of terror. Protestors jammed the streets and highway, and wrecked havoc. Even school bus carrying children were not spared. Other states were also no stranger to hoodlumism.

Government of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana played shy of getting the film a safe release in their respective states. All this despite the fact that the Supreme Court has directed the state governments to ensure a safe and secure release of the film.
In Gujarat the multiplex owners out of sheer fear and retaliation have publicly announced that they wont screen the film. Still the vandals played havoc with multiplexes and tore into malls and smashed shops. The government was found wanting in preventing the lunacy.
The Supreme Court had cleared the release of Padmavat and overturned the decision of four states to ban its screening.

The film was given a screening certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification ( CBFC) but was oppeosed by Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh’s law officer had argued that his government has the right to invoke Section 6 of the MP Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1952, to suspend the exhibition of any film to maintain law and order.
Other three states have also, in their own way, cocked a snook at the apex court. This amounts to contempt of court. Petitions have already been filed at the court to take cognizance of the offence.

But the matter is serious. The way the Court's order has been publicy flouted by a show of unbridled defiance can set dangerous precedent. More so because the state and its elected representatives have chosen to challenge the law of the land. This is a clear case of institutional anarchy and can cleave the nation.
Moreover, fringe groups can take the cue and confront and disregard the rule of law . This can lead to anarchy and breakdown of administrative machinery.

YOGI IN A HARDSELL MODE

2018-01-24T10:22:00.003-08:00

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath is in a hardsell mode. The product is his state, and he is wooing investors and tourist with a vengeance. Treading the Modi path, Yogi in his marketing man avatar is organizing meetings and symposiums for investors and asking for their munificence. With proposal over 2.7 lakh crore Yogi government is all set to initiate a new timeline for development.

Yogi has met investors in five cities of India. Of these the Mumbai meet was most fruitful. It yielded proposals worth around 1.25 lakh crore.

Now government has changed its gears and is promoting Uttar Pradesh as a brand. In these days of marketing when everything is being passed off as a product, it is no wonder that to promote a state it is being positioned as a lucrative product.

Theme song has been crafted and launched and for the first time foundation day of Uttar Pradesh is being celebrated.

Districts are being identified with a traditional saleable commodity. Marketing strategies are being finetuned .

The industry on the other hand is placing its own demands on the table. It is demanding responsive administration, cheaper electricity and better sops.

Law and order is a major problem in the state. Rise of Hindu brigade is also being seen as a disruptive force. The ball, then, is in Yogi’s court. He has to set his house in order before investment starts rolling in .

CREAMY LAYER POLITICS

2017-08-23T18:40:00.001-07:00

The Modi government has decided to hike the creamy layer ceiling from Rs. 6 lakh to 8 lakhs per annum and has announced the formation of a committe to decide on the sub categorization of OBC categories.

The decision is fraught with political connotations. The move is being viewed as Mandal 2.0. To divide the spoils of benefits, Other Backward Castes will be further fragmented and sub cateogorized. This will cater to the ever increasing demands from different OBC groups for more handouts.

Political mobilization of OBC seems to be the prime mover behind the move. BJP is no stranger to dalit politics. In Uttar Pradesh hustings it has proved its stategy correct by fielding non Yadav’s and backwards and garnering a comfortable majority.

In the year end Gujarat is going to polls. OBC mobilization can work wonders for BJP here. The threat from Patidar movement can be effectively neutralized.

In Bihar BJP can consolidate its ground. Though the party has tied up with Nitish, still it is in effort to create its own mass base. Nitish had created the Maha Dalit category and appropriated a section of backwards. He had undercut Lalu’s dominance. BJP is set to do a course correction here.

Some other states are also in the electoral fray. General elections are not far away. Like other moves of Modi this policy manoeuvre is also loaded politically.

TRIPLE TALAQ : HIDDEN AGENDA OF MODI

2017-08-23T18:38:00.001-07:00

The Supreme Court is to finally give its verdict in the Triple Talaq case. The legal adjudication of the triple talaq issue has been pushed unto the court by the Modi government. It has been on the agenda of the BJP for a long time. However, now with Modi going strong politically, and the need of muslim votes being vetoed in the hustings, the agenda had gained imminency and urgency.

Before the Modi era BJP’s stand on triple talaq was seen as an extension of its pro Hindu posturing. It also was seen as a move to establish the party’s credo of opposition to pseudo secularism, of which legal -religious codes were seen as an extension.

However, Modi has given the whole issue a new inflection.Modi government is now pursuing its agenda of abolishing triple talaq as an progressive move of gender equality and women’s rights. It has been holding that the personal rights of Muslim women are being trampled by instant talaq, and that the practise is very much against the grain of Indian Constitution.

The Muslim community, on the other hand is very defensive. All India Muslim Personal Law Board has rather cautiously enunciated that the practise is bad, but that the courts and the government should not meddle in the affairs of the community. It has promised to institute measures to give women rights to counter the evils of triple talaq.

But now the matter is in the court, and once the judgement is pronounced it will open a Pandora box of litgation for polygamy and nikaaah halaala. This is sure to put the Muslim community, especially the orthodoxy on the backfoot

LIFELINE OR DEATHLINE ?

2017-08-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

The lifeline of India is turning out to be a deathline. Oft bragged as the biggest transporter of Indian population, the Indian Railways has become a threat for the common man who chooses to travel in it. Khatauli rail accident has brought to the fore the lackadaisical attitude of railway authorities in security and track maintenance.

Initial investigation has revealed that track was being repaired without following the norms. No deadline was being followed, and the maintenance work was being done on an ad hoc basis. Ideally, repair time should be blocked and en route trains should be informed in advance. Red flags should be put in place. No such measure were taken.

Clearly the accident was a travesty of human judgement. In fact it was blunder which cost a score of lives. A recent Niti Aayog study has pointed that 87 percent of Railway accidents are due to `human failure.’ Clearly the Railways are no stranger to such human errors. Inspite of spike in accidents the Railways have yet to take serious measures to curb mishaps.

The government is trying to bring sea changes in the functioning of the Railways, but has failed to initiate ground level changes which can stem such tragedies. Focus is too much on profit building moves and less on safety measures.

It is no wonder that the accident has given the political parties and people to question the Modi government moves to operate bullet trains.

ARNAB - GLADIATOR OF THE NEWS ROOM

2017-05-25T11:06:00.001-07:00

India is good at adopting franchise. The most popular reality shows on television are franchise of American originals. Now news channels are replicating the trend.

The niche created by Arnab Goswami as the face, voice, anchor and editorial head of Times Now is now a story of the past. Arnab in his new avatar is pushing aggressively his new channel Republic along this less trod, despised-and-still-liked path.

The brash and pugnacious style made so familiar by Arnab is a take off on Fox News. Fox made its currency by branding its anchors as opinionated and combative. It chose to challenge the moderate and liberal apostles of the old school journalism.

In India Arnab decided to cultivate a similar cult of journalism. He cocked a snook at his colleagues and challenged the established copy book norms of conservative news presentation.

The more the journalist tribe raised hue and cry about his style of operating the more mileage Arnab garnered in terms of TRP's.

His base of viewers were a captive audience who bayed for blood of studio guests. Arnab went along and did a mayhem.

Apparently his erstwhile employer, The Benett and Coleman Ltd., faced heat from somewhere high up and eased the star anchor out.

Arnab has now started his new innings at the Republic. It's tone is more raucous and rough. It embraces strident nationalism as before, but has become viciously belligerent and malicious. The reporting borders on yellow journalism. Sample the unbridled attack on Shashi Tharoor. He has got embroiled in a lawsuited for 'stealing' content from this previous employer, The Times Now.

It is a begining of a tumultous innings. Long ago he has thrown to the winds the polite fiction of being a middle of the road liberal journalist. Now he is a performer, who dabbles in the art of making a good profit from the days news.

WAKE UP YOGI

2017-05-23T11:29:00.001-07:00

The Yogi cabinet has taken a slew of decisions that impact on a narrow few. Special diesel and petrol coupons for the privileged legislators and construction of Mansarovar House at the cost of 50 crore are two such decisions that have been taken.

A giant statute of Lord Shiva is to be erected in Varanasi's Dasamedh Ghat in which is going to face the famed Kashi Vishwanath mandir.
These decisions again raise the uncomfortable question that to what constituency is the Yogi government focusing. What exactly is the priority of the government and why development projects are not given preeminence ?

The government seems to be follwing an unashamed saffon agenda. Peripherial Hindu concerns are getting their pound of flesh from the government, and tokenism is replacing policy formulation.
On the law and order front, situation is fast slipping out of hand. Saharanpur is case in the point.

Caste violence is again rearing its ugly head. Sporadic communal clashes are happening off and on. The government is busy shuffling and reshuffling its bureuacratic and setting deadlines for setting the house in order.

Sad part is that the signals emanating from the most high in the state are soft. They don't augur hard business for trouble mongers. Empty sloganeering won't do. This Yogi has to understand. He should mean business at the policy level. Hard nosed policy making is required. Strong measures are needed. Religious rhetoric should be done away with and ''a government for all' should urgently show its work on the streets.

DIGVIJAY'S WINGS CLIPPED

2017-04-29T11:08:00.001-07:00

Digvijay Singh has been stripped of his post of general secretary of Goa and poll bound Karnatka. The move is seen as a punitive and corrective action on part of the Congress party set its house in order prior to the 2018 Karnataka hustings.

It is also seen as a reprimand to the Dijvijay Singh under whose helms the party was unable to form the government in Goa despite becoming the largest party.

There was much hue and cry when party lagged behind the pro active BJP in taking initiative to form the government in Goa. It also became a butt of jokes of BJP on this count.

With Congress political fortunes fast dwindling the party high command is unwilling to take any chances in the forthcoming polls. It wants to be seen as a strong, decisive party and hence the imperative to make correct moves.

It also desperatively needs to win and thus sacrificing the old guard Digvijay was a decision that the High Command was wont to take. The action has come in rather belatedly, but better late than never.

Clipping the wings of a senior leader like Digvijay Singh is also a sign of climatic change within the party. Actions are now started to be taken against senior leaders which doesn’t bode good for entrenched party functionaries. Though it is a fairly good signs for the party and its fortunes.

A decisive Sonia and Rahul is needed to change the prospects of the party for the better. Digvijay shouldn’t be the full stop but rather the comma in the ongoing internal narrative of the party.

THE YOGI GAMBIT

2017-03-19T11:08:00.003-07:00

Some would call it a bodyblow to secular politics of the country, others would assert it as the demand of democracy. The anointment of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of India’s largest state has shocked millions. It has upset the sage predictions of political pundits, who had earlier reeled names of various favourites for the top post. Yogi’s appointment is also being seen as a risky gambit by Modi, whose penchant for wagering political bets is ever increasing.

The fear of saffronization of politics has again cast its ominous shadow on the body politic. It may well act as a catalyst, a rallying point for diverse and dispersed political parties to huddle together in a umbrella front against the BJP. This may augur well for opposition unity, who are yet to cast aside petty issues to hammer a common united front.

Seen from the point of view of Modi, Mahant’s appointment is an tribute, a homage, to the RSS, the mother font of all primal ideological ideas that feed the BJP. It is a reminder to the core constituency of BJP that the party has not lost its way in its bid of modernization. That the agenda of economic growth in no way detracts from the ancient injunctions of the Sangh.

The crowning of Yogi is also an calculated effort to keep the flame of Hindutva steadily burning amdist all the brouhaha of development, so to speak. It can be banked upon to be cashed during the 2019 hustings.

All this is sure to endear Modi to the Pasha’s of RSS, and their goodwill will surely come handy to Modi in times of need.

Holding the Hindutva flag aloft , along with the New India mantra, way well bring some extra votes in the upcoming Gujarat,Chattisgarh and Delhi MCD elections.

The subtext of Hindutva was there all along during the last phase of Modi’s campaigning. All that talk about graveyards, differential electricity supply during religious festivals is suddenly making sense. Fighting the UP elections without giving a single ticket to the Muslims now can be fully understood.A lead up to the consecration of the Yogi as the ruler of Uttar Pradesh.

MISSION DELHI MCD

2017-03-17T11:10:00.001-07:00

With MCD hustings round the corner, parties have started to streamline their election activities. Candidates have begun to cast their hawk eyes on the ticket of their respective parties. Hushed tone parleys have given way to boisterous wrangling and lobbying for ticket.The Congress and BJP offices are bustling with activity. It’s going to be a triangular fight this summer. Congress,BJP and Swaraj Party have girdled their loins. Strategies have been chalked out and battlelines drawn.

BJP Delhi Chief Manoj Tiwary has novel plans to field the candidates. New faces will be fielded he asserts. This is creating heartburn for senior party functionaries and prospective older candidates.

It’s a ten year rule that is at stake for BJP at the city’s civic elections. So the gambit is being viewed with trepidation.

Congress on the other hand is trying to hold strong to the Punjab victory. Sources hold that Congress is going to field Capt. Amrender Singh to lead the election campaign. It’s a do or die situation for Congress and a tried and tested hero from the Punjab battlefield is but a natural choice for the embattled party.

Aam Aadmi Party naturally has thrown its hat in the ring and its bitter foe Swaraj India Party is also in the election ring.

Fifty percent seats are reserved for women in the three civic bodies. Thus seat allocation is going to be an interesting exercise in intra party management too.

BATTLEFIELD UTTAR PRADESH

2017-02-20T10:00:00.003-08:00

It's a bare all, dare all in the fourth phase of electioneering in Uttar Pradesh. Standards of civility and public correctness has been thrown to the winds in gay abandon. In a rush to grab the headlines the thrusts and parries of politicians across the party line has touched a new meanness.

On Monday suddenly the donkey epithet was sprung on the unsuspecting populace, who just grinned and beared. The suspense lingered till the last as to who the special personage was on whom the venerable title was conferred.

While Akhilesh played on with the donkey turn of phrase, others generously let loose their verbal quiver on their opponents.
Mayawati took a leaf out of Modi's book and coined a acronym for the Prime Minister.
Manohar Damodar Das Modi to her meant 'Mr Negative Dalit Man.'

Modi played his game well again and christened the Bahujan Samaj Party as 'Behenji Sampatti Party.'

The new found creativity of political leaders is writ large with desperation. With the third round of polling safely in the box, almost a third of the game is out of the hand of political parties.

As the polling moves on to the fourth phase politicians are on the edge.

On Sunday, Modi blatantly played the communal card and positioned himself as a well wisher of Muslims and demanding proper electricity supply during Ramzan as well. The pains of Muslims seems have touched the bosom of Modi in election time. Hope it lingers on well beyond too.

Fourth phase is going to be interesting fight in one more than one sense. 189 crorepatis and 116 candidates with criminal cases are in the fray.

Fourth phase will cover 53 constituencies in 12 districts, including Bundelkhand.

So no wonder that Modi shed tears for the poor state of affairs of the region.Largesse were promised
if voted to power.

AICC President Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency will be covered in this phase.
The other districts going to polls in the fourth phase are Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot and Fatehpur.

SALUTE TO ISRO

2017-02-15T09:53:00.001-08:00

ISRO has created a record by launching a bunch of 101 satellites in 600 seconds. The total payload of the lauch vehicle is 664 kg. Launched at very high speed of about 27, 000 km/hr or 40 times the speed of an average passenger liner, the launch exercise was a showcase of expertise garnered by Nations's space organization over the years.

In the field of satellite lauch ISRO has broken the world record set by Russia. In 2014 Russia had launched in space 37 space satellites in one go. Now, in the current spectacular feat by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV, India has managed to lauch 101 foreign satellites and one indigenous satellite

Space technology development is a pet idea of Prime Minister Narender Modi. In the recent budget an hike of 23 percent was accorded to the Space Department. The Prime Minister had been inteacting with space scientists and applauding them for their achivements.
Now the sights of ISRO is set even higher. It has planned a trip to Mars and Venus.

BATH IN THE RAINCOAT

2017-02-08T15:51:00.002-08:00

Prime Minister Narender Modi is past master in the art of political oneupmanship. In a dexterous move he very skilfully deflected the oppostion's attack on demonetization, and changed the script of the political discourse of the day.
In Rajya Sabha when Modi rose to reply to motion of thanks the Congress expected some rivetting verbal fireworks and dribble of caustic comments. Little did they anticipitate a frontal attack on their icon of propriety, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The 'bath with raincoat on' comment which Modi made not only painted Congress and its rule with tar, it also laid the onus of misrule, to an extent, on the erstwhile prime minister.
Known to be the leading light of the economic reforms of 1991, Singh steered the country from a period of 2004 to 2014. He has impeccable credentials as a leading economist of international standing. Along with PV Narasimha Rao he snapped the mesh of License Raj and ushered economic liberalization.

Economic laissez faire had been the crown of pride of Congress government. The latest buzz word of Modi - minimum government - is a new age term for the same. As with many other concepts, Modi has succeeded in recoining and then cashing on political philosophies of Congress.

It is a war that he has waged against the old order, and against order of things, which are entrenched with a Congress world-view and proprietorship. In an effort to cast the institutions in a new mould Modi has sharply stepped on the toes of die hard votaries of yesteryear glories of the Congress Raj.
It is a clash of political ecosystems, of worldviews. Seen in this light, Congress is again and again bought into the limelight with its policy paralysis malady.

Demonetization had been proposed to Mrs Gandhi who shirked to implement it. The quote was taken out of a memoir and flashed with impunity across the face of Congress. Holding back no punches Modi moved in swiftly and struck humiliating at Congress.

Much is at stake for Modi. He is under attack for his demonetization move. The present elections are being fought on demonetization agenda, among others. BJP's loss in elections will be seen as a verdict against Mod's demonetization. Hence the need to strike vulnerably at Congress.An attack which would change the pace and mood of political parrying, atleast for some time as necessary.

PANEERSEVLAM BARES HIS FANGS

2017-02-07T18:29:00.002-08:00

The crisis in AIADMK has overnight escalated. Late night in a sharp move Shashikala had removed O Paneersevlam from the post of party treasurer, and had threatened other severe measures against him.

Events moved swiftly after Paneersevlam showed his rebel face and charged Shashikala with pressurising him to tender his resignation and supporting Shahsikala as the chief minister candidate.
High drama unfolded as Paneersevlam paid obeisance at the memorial of Jayalalitha. He meditated there for about 40 minutes and then spoke belligerently about the raw deal meted out to him. The memorial moment was symbolic. The timing well calculated. The bellicose tone well measured. The admixture of hurt and aggression is probably planned to garner supporter from party members.

The crisis has brought to the fore the simmering discontent in the party. It has also cast a shadow on the smooth transfer of power unto the hands of Shashikala.
If followed to the end, the stand off has all the ingredients for a constitutional crisis. It remains to be seen if Paneersevlam can muster enough MLAs if a show of strength is required.

BJP is a wait and watch mode, so is DMK. The case of disproportionate income has cast its its shadow on the swearing in of Shahsikala. Deepa Jaykumar, niece of Shahsikala has opened a front against her aunt.

The situation is fluid. Other political actors can make the scene messy. It remains to be seen if Paneersevlam's belligerence will create a breakup of AIADMK.