Radhika Barman

I recently came across this debate in YouTube, on the topic whether, secularism is essential to democracy or not, where the opposition justified it’s stance on the grounds, that historically theocratic states have been the most successful and the proposition ‘defended’ it saying, that while it is understandable that the concept of secularism does make life more complicated, but considering we are not a monarchy, it is rather unfortunate that we cannot be a theocracy anymore.

I mean, I do not know whether I should laugh or maintain a rather condemnable silence hearing this argument. And this was aired in NDTV. No, am not surprised, you too please don’t be for this is where we have reduced ourselves to, both as a country and a civilization.

You see secularism in the Indian context is denounced on three grounds, firstly, on the foreign origin of the word, secondly, the applicapability of the term and thirdly, the way secularism has paved it’s way through the dubious journey of politics.

Now the common argument given against the necessity of secularism, is that the term ‘secularism’ is not responsible for our growth as a plural nation. This addition of the term secularism with it’s laiden western input is deemed unessential, as India is at the end of the day, a ‘Dharmic’ nation, and the term Dharm isn’t synonymous to bigotry.
Now while that isn’t untrue, but it is, however, the idealistic interpretation of “Dharm”, ignoring the disadvantages of a theocratic state and it’s possible falliability as a form of government.  Reason being so, is firstly, if India were a theocracy today, it would be the Hindu religion considered as the state religion. But is India a hindu country? Is it only Hinduism, that has had a long journey of it’s own through various reformation, culture exchange in the land? Have the other religions, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism not have had a journey? When you talk of the Kedarnath, Kashi, how can you forget Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Hazhartal Shrine?

Most importantly who is to define Dharm? What is Dharm? We require to understand Justice and Morality are relative terms, and cannot be absolute in its sense.

Hinduism indeed has dominated a larger portion of Indian mythology, but that same mythology has also the mention of the entitlement of Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ coming to India, Waheguru, preaching humble doctrines of Sikhism, and even the discovery of a new sect called Sufism during the Bhakti period. We cannot justify the need of religious domination, out of our ignorance. Did children of Jesus and Allah also not receive innumerable mercy and miracles in India?

This brings us to the question – which religion is appropriate to be put in the pedestal? Is there an answer to this? Why should members belonging to other religions (whom we deem as minority) be treated as second class citizens?
During the independence struggle people across religions were part of it.

Kazi Nazrul Islam, an atheist, wrote innumerable albums of Shyama Sangeet. When these Indians at a time, when the world was not living in a much socially progressive condition, could choose to consciously overlook religion, why can we not today?

The very scriptures that we today boost about, without having actually read them, speaks of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” meaning the world is a family. Thereby, promoting the concept of inter-nationalism it makes it clear, that the dream of Akhand Bharat (Ram Rajya) is not only falliable but a dishonour to the very essence of Hinduism that is, universal tolerance regardless of geography and religious faith.

Hinduism is often said to be not a religion but ‘a culture’, with the name of the initial Aryan religion being referred as Sanatan Dharm. So what does this word Sanatan mean, it means infinite, something that neither has a beginning nor an ending, thus, Hinduism can anyway not be having any existential threat at all, at first place. If something is indeed under “khatra” (danger) then that is our own moral conscious.

In the 21st century with countries across the world discussing globalization, we as the largest democracy cannot be debating on which religion has the larger share of contribution in history.

See there are two versions of secularism. With one being an Indian version of secularism, as India as a great civilization which goes back to the dawn of time, and the other being the modern version of secularism with western connotation added to it.
The framers of the Indian constitution, had a lot of conflicts amongst themselves regarding this, reason being the rigid separation of the church and the state was not applicable in the Indian context, for the functioning of a democracy, which is multi-cultural , multi-religious and plural. Therefore, the default definition of secularism, stood as “respect for all faiths”. Now you may give it a label- secularism , or anything else you wish to, but we certainly cannot and must not cease away the idea behind it.

However, we forget and/or fail to realize, that by limiting the definition of secularism to simply “respect for all faiths”, we are not defining anything different than a common principle of a particular religion. This is something we have heard in every scripture be it of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam etc:. What we as citizens of modern democracy (being the majority) need to realize that as a country we are not doing any favour upon any community, by letting them ‘exist’ in harmony.
It is the primary and fundamental responsibility of the government to see it’s citizens as citizens and not as an Indian Muslim, or Indian Hindu. As humans, it should be part of our subconscious nature to respect all faiths, (even if it has not a religious connotation).
Have we degraded so much as a civilization that we have forgotten to differentiate between what is normal and what is not, or at least should be!?

Years back, when Mrs.Indira Gandhi had visited the Indian parliament for the 46th amendment, L.M. Singoi, a noted jurist and parliamentarian went to her and said that in the Indian context, you cannot use the word “Dharm Neerpeksh” because you cannot do without religion; so it has to be ‘Panch Neerpeksh” in other words you are not favouring any one religion, but you must respect all religions.

So there is a constitutional obligation, there is an Indian context, there is a civilizational history and above all a moral obligation. Thus, secularism in the Indian context agrees that respect for different faiths is inherent in the foundational aspects of religion, if not the vital separation of the state from religious affairs.

For example, in Hinduism there is
“ इंद्राम मित्रं वरुणमग्निमाहुरथो स दिव्यो सुपर्णो गरुत्मान्र ।
एकं सद्विप्र: बहुधा वदनित अग्निम यमाम मातरिश्वानमाहु: ।। “
(Truth is one, wise interpret it in many ways.) - Rigveda

The very concept of religion is absent in Vedic literature, so there is no mention of ‘religion‘ in any Vedic scripture, instead, the difference in various philosophies and thought processes is highlighted in them.
So for a faith, that doesn’t (in the textual sense) acknowledges the presence of a Hindu ethnicity and/or civilization, perhaps, the presence of the concept of religion, it is rather laughable as to how we have framed it, over the centuries of socio-religious strives.

Nevertheless, man is a spiritual being. He cannot live or possibly exist without any interaction or acquaintance with religion, in complete denial of a supernatural cosmic presence. This is the human nature, that has been nourished and shaped over millennia.
We can say “ohh you see, it doesn’t matter, religion doesn’t exist”, no it does, and refusing to acknowledge that, is like living in a paradoxical world of delusions. It does exist; it’s presence is not for us to control, but it’s prevalence is upto us.

The answer, lies in the conscious choice of humankind to wilfully rise above religion. Utopia connotation, is simply an excuse, often used, to ignore our roles and responsibilities, as sapiens of humankind, if not citizens of a state.

This comes from an innate tendency to dominate everyone possible, who is in some way inferior to us. All of us are in a search of an opportunity to oppress someone less privileged then us. For, social hierarchy is nothing but a food chain of predators.
This trait is coming from a deeper human anxiety of ‘who am I‘(from our individual personal insecurities) !? Fear is only a distraction, from the truth, and magic nothing less than a ploy.

Thus, in a time when insensate right wing populists are busy debating on religion, it lies on us, whether we choose to subscribe to hate or whether we decide to convert ourselves from sheeplians to civilians, for ours is not a democracy but a viscous circus.

With a powerful leader like Narendra Modi at the helm of Indian democracy, my last words belong to B.R. Ambedkar. Speaking at the concluding session of the constituent assembly on November 24, 1949, the lawmaker invoked John Stuart Mill to warn citizens against placing their liberties at the feet of a great leader. Indians, he said, were particularly susceptible to Bhakti (or devotion) This was fine in religion, but in politics it is “a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship”.

The latest clampdown in Kashmir by the Indian government that started on August 5, 2019, completes 500 days today, with life far from normal for 12.5 million Kashmiris.

The controversial move to withdraw Kashmir’s special legal status fulfilled a longstanding goal of Narendra Modi to yoke the disputed northern territory more closely to the rest of India.

How the BJP government has changed the status of Jammu and Kashmir by rendering Article 370 ineffective and bifurcating the state is revealing its true character. This is a state for whom the only currency that matters is raw power. This is a state whose psychological principle is fear. This is a state that will make ordinary citizens cannon fodder for its warped nationalist pretensions.

Nevertheless, life remains hard in occupied Kashmir, with hundreds of checkpoints still in place and internet coverage patchy and slow. Kashmir is being destroyed. There is severe destruction in Kashmir. Intolerance which is a parasite has been acting as a catapulting edifice.
Officially intended for the ‘protection’ of lives but designed to instill fear and submission, the siege has choked not just the freedom of expression, communication, and association but also the economy. No aspect of daily life remains unaffected.

Tourist arrivals in Kashmir fell after the Centre abolished its semi-autonomous status on August 5, 2019, and followed this with a communication clampdown in anticipation of unrest.

Prisoners in Kashmir have been subjected to abuse and torture, including “water-boarding, sleep deprivation, and sexualized torture”, according to a report by two rights bodies, till today.

Security operations against Kashmiri fighters have accelerated, putting 2020 on course to be one of the bloodiest years for some time. According to a rights group report in July, Kashmir had seen at least 229 killings during more than 100 military operations since January. It also saw the destruction of 48 structures, the report by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society said.

Residents of remote villages in Jammu, populated mostly by Dalit families, alleging that their children are not receiving any mid-day meal since the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed.

A striking growth in anemia among small children has been reported in the NFHS data, from 53.8% (figures as per the last survey conducted by NFHS 4) to 72.7% in Jammu and Kashmir; and from 91.4% to 92.5% in Ladakh.

There is also an increase in underweight and wasting (low height for weight) among young children. Children under 5 years who are wasted has increased from 12.2 to 19% in Kashmir. Wasting in children is caused by acute food shortages. There has also been an increase in underweight children in both regions.

A week back, a Kashmiri man with $120,000 in debt advertised his kidney for sale, calling it an ordinary thing. “I would not have faced this load had Kashmir not been shut for a year. I would have done something.”, we’re his concluding comments.

With regards to health, hard data is difficult to come by, but local medical professionals say they are seeing a rise in suicides and an increase in already disturbingly high rates of domestic abuse.

According to medical professionals, the coronavirus lockdown has worsened the situation in Kashmir.
Police officers block roads with coils of glistening concertina wire. Any residents who step out of their homes, especially in Kashmir’s towns and cities, risk getting beaten up. Health experts say that the continued presence of extra troops on the streets of the world’s most militarized zone and mass arrests of civilians has led to an increase in trauma and anxiety, particularly among women and children.

Imagine the family of a person whose loved one has either been killed or detained or the families whose houses get damaged or entirely burnt down during the militant-military encounters.
Nearly 1.8 million Kashmiris, or nearly half of all adults, have some form of mental disorder, Doctors Without Borders estimated after surveying 5,600 households in 2015. Nine of 10 have experienced conflict-related traumas. The figures are much higher than in India, according to other surveys.

“In any conflict, women are more likely to suffer from mental health trauma,” said Dr. Arif Magribi Khan, a renowned physiatrist based in Srinagar whose women patients mostly suffer from PTSD. “It is always the women who are more likely to be on the receiving end.”

Security forces have also, cut off roads, shut down landlines, cellphone lines, and arrested thousands of Kashmiris, from students to top elected officials. Some have been released, but many remain in jail.

India shuts off the Internet more than any other democracy in the world, and the government has been turning to the tactic more regularly in recent years. It’s the longest internet blackout in history that has been shamelessly justified by the pretext of the court’s argument that Internet access is not a fundamental right.
many Kashmiris, who used social media to socialize because it was dangerous to hang out in the streets, now feel completely isolated. Children have remained out of school for months. Because of the military crackdown and then the coronavirus lockdown, students have been in school only a few weeks. Though some phone and internet services have been restored, they remain nothing close to pre-crackdown levels.

Doctors say the Internet restrictions are having a negative effect on public health, too, as they must rely on slow 2G connections to download the latest medical studies and advice. “Because of COVID-19, everything is about new research,” says one doctor in a district hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because doctors have been threatened with jail time for speaking to journalists.

Even a simple file like a 10-page PDF document can take hours to download, the doctor says. “It’s very difficult if you want to access new research.” Doctors say they now rely heavily on messages forwarded by colleagues through WhatsApp for information on the virus. There, misinformation is rife, making it hard for them to know which messages are reliable and which are not.

Doctors are also unable to join live webinars, which have become a helpful tool for research professors in labs to share the latest information on the virus with doctors working on the front lines. “You cannot join them because of the low Internet speed,” says Dr. Suhail Naik, President of the Doctors Association of Kashmir. “Right now our hospitals are functioning normally, but if the crisis deepens, we don’t know if we can handle it.”

Over a period of time, the Kashmiri resistance movement has seemingly undergone a substantial transformation. The Kashmiri youth is the pivot of this movement. Holding street protests is a common activity, and social media is their most powerful weapon. Therefore, in addition to clamping a curfew, media blackout and suspension of mobile and internet services for varying periods are essentially part of the Indian strategy to impose a lockdown in Kashmir.
Kashmir’s new generation, long accustomed to violence and bloodshed, is the hardest hit.

At times, the authorities also resorted to intimidation. Reporters were detained without reason with a deliberate attempt to suppress the press.

The world will not care about what India does in Kashmir. That seemed to be the key assumption of the Narendra Modi government (and its supporters) when it set out to change Kashmir’s special status and impose a communications blockade on the Valley. The belief was that India’s stature as a big market for weapons, goods, and services would elicit no more than murmurs abroad – contracts always trounce ethics in a Realist universe, we are often told.

The hyperbole elites who supported the government’s move in the year 2019 in the name of national interest must realize now that India is beyond demographics, it’s an ideology, but it has been pillaged.

Azad Kashmir is a paradise of utopian dreams. This is not just a statement but a stiff truth. Our ignorance of hiding from this truth for the sake of pseudo-nationalism is the fundamental root cause of totalitarian destruction.

The populism latching on to the politics of winners and losers is to mobilize psychically potent resentments & anger against the “outsiders” responsible for the pain of the “people”.While the true terrorists of democracy are the ones heading the country. People believe this was revenge for what happened with the Kashmiri pandits, but no, this was just state-sponsored persecution of the idea of India, just to establish the intensity of the authority the government of India holds.

With minorities been attacked, communalism increased, lynchings genocides normalized India is paying the price of hatred.

The New Education Policy has recently been in the center of attention in our country today. This policy has been created after 34 years. For some, this is the annihilation of the last 34 years of education fragmentation or just another brick in the wall.

Now I would like to provide an analysis of this. (Before reading any further, please note, taking in consideration of the attention span of our readers, this analysis is going to be in series, and not a single piece, hence, this article is a prologue, tune in for further articles )

The policy asks for regional language/mother-tongue to be used as the medium of instruction till class 5. And then they can either drop or take English in middle school.

Why such sudden glorification of regional languages? Hindi imposition and disdain accept political failure.

Why and how?

Hindi is not the only regional language that exists. But, certainly, the most well known. Hence, Hindi shall be the most preferred once, assuming the most default familiarity for any language other than English is Hindi, for a teacher and a student.

Mother tongue isn’t Hindi by default. Perhaps, imposing once mother tongue, whether socially familiar or not, is morally incorrect and unfair , for a diverse democracy.

Thirdly, there have been more efforts to promote the language Sanskrit particularly than any other language (English is an exception here). Thus, balancing between understanding of language skills and conceptual knowledge would be difficult. Perhaps, this risk is ferocious.

Fourth point, Sanskrit should be promoted by the logic of preserving ancient languages, then Pali, Prakrit too should be promoted.
Historically, Sanskrit is prominent among the Brahmins, and the latter was prominent with the lower classes.
Ignoring the relevance and adaptability of the other languages and highlighting Sanskrit being aware of its history is instead an ignorance, and is of casteist nature too.
Pali Prakrit, etc; have less archaeological remains as compared to Sanskrit. Hence, restoring Sanskrit isn’t an immediate need.

Fifth point, if students learn everything in their regional language, then move to different states will not be possible by their parents as kids would have to learn a new language too. Then Hindi will come to rescue.

Sixth point, the policy wants academics to be established for each of the eight languages. The academics of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Sindhi will be created by the center and others by the respective state government
Sounds great, right? But let us not forget the jurisdiction of the Centre lies throughout, and jurisdiction of the state lies within itself. So basically an academy of the four above mentioned languages can be created in say WB, TN or Maharashtra but Bengali, Tamil or Marathi academies are not allowed in the Hindi heartland, why should Bengali language which has given us our national song and national anthem not have academies outside WB, why should Tamil which is older than Sanskrit and Marathi which is older than Hindi not have their academies in the North? Why should North not have academies other than Hindi, Sanskrit, and Urdu? Besides, there are many states which state language is none of the 22, Mizo, for example, is the language of Mizoram so that either Mizoram will be compromised of a quality language institution or it will have either of the three and not their mother tongue?

7th point: India has six classical languages, besides Sanskrit, we have Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, and Sanskrit, why should the others be optional taught in online mode? Besides, why is it mandatory for the South to read a completely different language when theirs is the oldest? Why should we, say the students in Bengal, in that case, be deprived form learning a new language, say Tamil at school, and be made to read the same old that we have been? The answer is simple, Sanskrit is the language that the Sangh has always used to push forward their divisive communal narrative, the way they are making people of India look down upon the Dravidian languages as something inferior and insulting Sanskrit for their petty narrative is shameful.

8th point, The policy says that teachers must be grounded to Indian values, languages, knowledge, ethos, and traditions
Some very good worda, but the question is in which part of India did the teachers not follow traditions? What exactly is Indian tradition btw?
The culture of Bengal and Gujarat are not the same, Kashmir and Tamil Nadu are not the same, UP and NE are not the same, so how can Indian tradition be defined? There is no answer to that, but what is clear is the fact that this is a move made to establish what Sangh believes to be the Indian culture.

Now let me provide you some examples to explain this further,

Example 1:
Suppose a person is living in Kerala and has a kid who learns in Malayalam, i.e., a kid learns Science, Maths and Social Science in Malayalam. When the kid is in say 4th or 5th, she moves to Maharashtra for work. Now the mother takes the kid along; kid will have to continue his/her education in Marathi, a new language. I’d be separated from my family if she chooses to work.
How is this going to affect migration and employment within the country? Prospects of employment or employability of the kid? Movement of people was possible because schools taught in English. Now we need an alternative language that can be used across the nation, enter Hindi.

Example 2:
A kid has done his primary schooling in Bengal. His father does a transferable job. He is transferred to Gujarat when he is in class 5. The kid, too, goes along. Now he his command in English is anyway not strong because that wasn’t the medium of instruction till his standard. Moreover, for a Bengali to understand Hindi would be easy but certainly not Gujarati. That will be problem 1. Problem 2 starts, when he will reach 6, and given the option to either drop or choose English. Here in this situation, what will he do? If he drops his communication skills, which were any way of having being associated with a very different community, which increases more. But, he can’t take up English too. Why? Because he didn’t do it for the rest of seven years. Hence, taking it up would be a risk for his marks.

Example 3:
Suppose a person is Tamil but raised up in Assam. Married a Kashmiri lady who is raised up in Orissa. Had kids, shifted to Bengal. Kids are ready for school now. Kindly enlighten what is the mother tongue here of the kid?
Moreover, this, too, proves that the regional language is not necessarily the mother tongue. So the logic of emotional touch given by the government gets repudiated. Another thing, how will the parents teach the kid Bengali while having not much experience in it?

Example 4:
Since MPhil is discontinued. People teaching this subject will lose their jobs. And won’t find any other. Because teachers teaching, this has an academic background in philosophy only. Hence, the options for employment in the corporate world get cast-off.
Moreover, what do you think the age will be when one gets terminated from this profession, assuming he is a professor teaching MPhil for ten years. More job options get away because of age reasons. The pre-existing unemployment problem adds another disadvantage.

Example 5:
Students who have already been studying for MPhil will have more challenges ahead of them now. Their hard works get wasted, as this is no longer going to land them a good job. Now don’t say to me just because the subject has got discontinued, its significance won’t get ceased. It will, because then his degree won’t have any legal acknowledgment. His efforts, hard work, and even expenses will get wasted.

Example 6:
A student is passionate about philosophy. He took up philosophy for BA and PG and then MPhil. His education is over. Now he is looking for jobs. What job is he going to get? Can’t take up teaching because the subject is ceased. The corporate world will reject for not having academic experience with the business. The guy who could have done a lot in life with an educational qualification like this is now confused as to where to look for a job.

(The discontinuation of a subject like MPhil helps in propagating the preexisting disdain towards critical thinking and intellect and is even an act of revenge for political refutations, done by men of intellect, like writers and students)

Also, this raises another question, NEP is proposing that we build a new generation who learns science, maths, and history in their regional languages instead of English, does that mean every kid needs to be in their own state and cannot move to another state before completing their education?

Hindi will be made the primary medium of education and communication, the common link across the nation. This is nothing but a move to make Hindi the national language and execute One Nation One Language policy of BJP. Do not even think it’s okay because English will be taught as a language. The objective is so very different, and the agenda is already set.

It’s clear, therefore, that this is nothing but a plan of imposing Hindi and self – propagated Hindutva culture upon the present and next generation. The glorification is purely for electoral gratification. There was a repercussion for imposing Hindi and hence this sudden change. Get the voters by hook & crook.
Most importantly, language should be a choice, and no social constructs should be created for it.
Creating such is denying liberty!!

Apparently, a global leader doesn’t want to promote a global language because he can’t pronounce ‘global.’

Corporatization of Education
The policy states that HEIs will have full autonomy, academic, administrative, and FINANCIAL with no external interference in the HEIs, and the private HEIs will be empowered to set the fees of the programmes.
Independently within a limit, with 20% getting freeship and 30% through additional scholarship.
Now the point is financial autonomy will allow the private universities to charge students in their own terms, 50% of the students who will be paying the abnormally high fees, will have no say even if the institutes loot them according to this norms, besides the amount of scholarship to be offered to the 30% is not mentioned either, 10% relaxation on 10 lakh rupee let’s say for a middle-class youth is equivalent go no relaxation, the financial autonomy will badly hurt many middle-class youths and in the process may not even opt to pursue their studies.

Having said so, the policy provides financial assistance to students who need financial support will be made available, Private HEIs will offer scholarship ranging from 100% to 25% for half of their students
The first question is, who will decide whether the student is fit for the scholarship or not? Definitely, with no external influence it will be the institutions, secondly many middle-class students not just the poor need scholarship for their daily necessities, not everyone who pursues higher education has the financial backing to continue relying on their parents for financial assistance, this will prevent many aspiring students for pursuing higher education and research in the coming days.

The problem with foreign universities
The policy says that foreign universities will be permitted to operate from India and will be given special dispensation on par with the other autonomous institutions of India.
Now the foreign universities conducting classes from India might seem good. Still, the fees for each course counts to millions, not everyone can afford to pay, and with the autonomy, the hat has been allowed, it is clear that the regulation has been included keeping the rich and wealthy in mind.
There will be no uniform scholarship, and the University will decide your requirement.

The problem with higher education
According to the policy, the present nomenclature of HEIs will be replaced by a single entity, the deemed Universities and others will cease to exist, and it will, as it seems, be a complete centralized system with the state having a very less say and regional culture comprised.

Some aspects of the New Education Policy sound good, but BJP Govt’s past policies and politics indicative of real intent (funding cuts, centralization, ideological coercion, ideologically committed mediocre VCs, assessments). Operational details key, too early to comment without Read different versions of National Education Policy to see how ad-hoc this is. The bulk of the document is anodyne motherhood and apple pie crap, but a sea change in proposed governance structures (which is where the real substance is)—no indication of any evolution of thought NEP 2020. Also, the height of incompetence: there are multiple versions of the New Education Policy floating around (without date or version number). See the big difference between them to know how ad-hoc policymaking under BJP is. Also, the MHRD website is down.

So even though this may add brownie points to Bjp’s pocket, the NEP is a propaganda machine that aims to centralize education and applies a homogeneous narrative of “Indian culture” to the curriculum. It furthers the autonomy to private institutions, seeks to digitalize education, thus rendering education inaccessible to the marginalized.

The policy does not account for its primary stakeholders – students and teachers. There are passing, misogynist references on the subject of gender. Oh, and the privileging of languages, especially Sanskrit.

But one conclusion that can be drawn is that NEP is Brahmanism, given its attempts to centralize, communalize education besides corporatism of education.
At an overview, the NEP seems to encompass some bits of progress, but the real devil is in the details. The policy only serves the privileged. It helps the interests of the present government, and it’s ideology.

It’s known fact, that our beloved travel agent, Narendra Modi loves doing world tours, but at a time when India is having a tough time with its neighbouring countries it’s important to acknowledge the result of his world tours.

Result of world tour in last 6 years:
⏺Maldives stopped hiring India
⏺Pakistan relation worsened
⏺Global reputation destroyed
⏺The Economist called out Intolerant India
⏺Middle east cornered
⏺USA retaliates
⏺Ladakh gone to China
⏺Nepal includes Indian territories in it’s revised map
And recently,
⏺️20 soldiers killed by Chinese armies in the borders.

People ask after so many world tours by the PM, why has India failed repeatedly on it’s foreign diplomacy ground?
Well, the answer is simple.
It’s because they have wrong definition of country and patriotism.

India is more than just geography and nationalist sentiments. This pseudo nationalist government does everything for consumption of its domestic audience and is bankrupt as far as a vision & it’s implemented is concerned. Our neighbors have learnt this very well and concluded that the emperor is just a gasbag, and there’s no risk in giving a tit for tat .

Apparently, Adam and Eve, are responsible for the present condition at the borders.
Wait no! Were they Indians? Then, must be those @ssh*le mughals, aided by Nehru’s great grandfather’s British friends. Yeah, that’s the case.

However, on a serious note, what Nepal did is not an act of betrayal but an apt response to India’s bully.
It’s better to move on from a toxic relation you see, & sometimes if takes the course of retaliation, let it be so.
Anyway, East India was always deliberately neglected.
We deserve no better than this. People being saying how could this happen, Nepal firing at Indian borders was unacceptable, we had such good relations and etc; Trust me Nepal has no intention to BETRAY India. Let’s not give ourselves so much significance.

Outrage over Nepal & China is an act of hypocrisy. Hold the govt accountable instead, and particularly the naked emperor with 56inch chest.
The entire north east, south India and Kashmir has always being neglected.
India deserves no better, than foreign aggression & such losses.

The Hindu nationalist government, came to power in 2014, with the mission of creating Akhand Bharat and giving the Hindu sect, the ownership of it. Well, that’s not how it’s going to work. Diplomacy is not about ownership and control, be it geographically or ideologically. And that’s not just limited to foreign relations, please note. But, relations with citizens too. How can a country that doesn’t has good relations with its own citizens have a good relation with other countries?

The government has set an narrative in past few years, is that we are under threat, other countries are our enemies, India is great, nationalism is important and anyone who is against the government is anti-India. But this nationalism theory pauses, when other countries like Nepal and China actually respond with aggresion. Now we can’t find those nationalist statements calls for war and genocide by the government, like how it reacts when it comes to Pakistan and the ignorant attitude during Pulwama terror attack.

You might be wondering why? It’s because of a 8 letter word called RELIGION. You see, I can say it with conviction that the only reason Nepal hasn’t being called out a terrorist country, is because majority of it’s population are Hindus. And as far as China is concerned, the fact that it is economically empowered and is an atheist state is all the good luck we have.

This right wing populism has invigorated in recent years. It is a kind of politics that denies democracy’s ideal of equality for citizens but in by historical inequality, abandoning them to the neoliberal remedy of social darwinist struggle for survival in a borderless world. Populism latches on to the politics of winners and losers to mobilize psychically potent resentments and anger against the “outsiders” responsible for the pain of the “people”. And this is advantage, the real outsiders take, when it comes to diplomacy, as they know, we will still be busy in our internal divisions of the society, and India can easily be manipulated for a pawn. Hope we haven’t forgotten Trump’s talk of retaliation, in case India turned down Covid drug request.

The desire to impose a singular ideology will get you nothing but ruins. For example, we don’t consider our own people as our OWN, and yet expect residents like Kashmiri Pandits, to not want a separate country of their own, as Azad Kashmir. As a fact of bhakts outraging over Nepal and China are the same morons who call north eastern people by Nepali, Chini & etc names.
If you can’t acknowledge your citizens as Indians, then don’t you dare claim over mere plots of land.
Losing 60km (Ladakh) & 3 territories is as egalitarian as annihilating a country’s ethos.

Another thing , a country is made by it’s people and their ethoes, therefore, if Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, goes away ultimately, let it go so. At least, they will get better treatment in Nepal, than this morally dead society.

Actually, the government thinks the glorification of a country lies in it’s aggression, hyper masculinity and imposition of ideology. But, that’s not how it works. You can’t run a country without having compassion and humility. Even if you work 18 hours a day. We haven’t asked for leader with a heart, not a robot having a silicon heart. Acha, where is GD Bakshi, btw, the war Craver? 😏

We are a country that labels our countrymen as anti-nationals, yet we expect to hold a claim over the plots of land they belong to! I mean, are we serious? But where does this come from? It comes from a false idea of nationalism. The nationalism that firstly, contradicts itself from dissent and intellect, has it’s definition only with geographically roots belonging to it. To us, a country implies a mere plot of land, with a book of rules and borders. And our nationalism is only limited to borders and has only purpose, and that is to create enemies.

However, you know what the irony. The irony is that we are still busy blaming the opposition for it. We are busy shifting the blame to the opposition for ‘not having done enough’ to secure it’s relations with the neighbouring countries during their past tenure. The fact that Modi considers the Opposition & free press as a bigger enemy than foreign aggression merely shows that all this insecure man cares about is himself.

After all if not Hitler, then who? After all we have elected a government, only to held the opposition accountable for it’s failures and itself for the successes (yes, I know it doesn’t exit). The king can never be wrong, you see. No wonder, horse trading is considered as an element of Chanakya Neeti.

Nevertheless, having said so, there’s also another part of the media. The ex- army lovers, have now started blaming the army, for having failed to SECURE themselves and CAUSE the clash in the borders. Only to glorify the government and interpret them as per perfection convictions of a naked nationalist, the media even went on to the extend of humiliating our soldiers.

And please note, this incident was not even highlighted immediately as the prime minister was silent about it and since, the fact it has happened in Indo- Chinese borders, the scope of communal politics too goes away. In fact, having said so before also, the fact that China is an atheist country and is economically empowered is all the good luck we have.

This is what being ‘nationalistic’ means these days. Being ‘nationalistic’ necessitates that you become part of a herd which never questions, and blindly accepts anything that they’re fed. Any departure from this goes into the realm of ‘anti-nationalism’.

Nationalism that is primarily insecure in it’s nature, has an obsession in creating enemies. Tukde Tukde gang, Khan market gang, urban naxal, librandu and what not, we have created by the justification of national interest. But I ask who is real Anti National? Who is the real threat to India? Isn’t it the government? You can’t expect diplomacy from a government that has always wanted to put an ownership over its people.

This fact that this government even didn’t officially declare them as martyrs and is planning about an International Yoga Day programme, says Narendra Modi cares about is himself. Acha, btw, where he is he? He has disappeared again. 😑

Meanwhile, the common people are throwing their tv sets from balcony to show there SUPPOSED protest against China’s brutal attack on our soldiers. And guess what , people who actually care of the nation and did protest to reflect the incompetence on the part of our government, got arrested today (Reference: Srinivas BV, President, Indian Youth Congress). Oh I think I missed the announcement. When did Modi ji make the announcement that we should throw Chinese goods from our balcony and then jump on it? After Thali bajao to fight Corona, another novel idea.

I even heard a bhakt saying that we didn’t lose Galwan valley but we gave it away for tactical reasons to trap Chinese. 😂😂😂😂

I would perhaps, also like to highlight one more very important thing here, it’s been 14 months of the Pulwama attack, however, we still don’t know who’s been held accountable for the death of 40 CRPF personnel. We haven’t been told how 300 kilos of explosives were sourced and transported. Who leaked the route that CRPF convoy was going to take? No answers.

The media doesn’t ask these questions despite all the claims of putting ‘Nation first’. That’s because for them, ‘Nation first’ = ‘Government first’. Those who ask these questions are declared anti-national, and rest will wait for a figure of how many of ‘theirs’ could we kill. Eventually, a friendly news agency will quote ‘sources’ and put out some figure of the number ‘we’ killed, and it will be diligently broadcasted by every media org, again without any questions asked. In case of Balakot, till date we haven’t seen a single image of the 300 dead.

The army that was on glorified as the epitome of saintliness and used as deterrent in several instances by highlighting their supposed hardships (despite the fact that they chose this profession out of their own choice, and weren’t forced into) has now turned into a mere scapegoat who is sacrificed at the edge megalomaniac nationalism. Actually, you know what we Indians have the perception of considering obligations as favours, and that’s the psychology the government exploited well.

Over-the-top media coverage of ‘how many we killed’ will satisfy the collective blood thirst of the population, and no one will ask the question as to how did the Indian soldiers die in the first place, and what were the failures at our end. Their death won’t matter anymore. I mean how much shameless does a government has to be , to say that “yes, the attack has happened, it’s sad, but more Chinese soldiers have died and that’s a masterstroke”.

India was caught napping by China’s rapid change of status quo in Ladakh, but efforts are on to downplay the aggression. Indian defense minister says, “Such things have happened in the past too.” Let’s be clear: The scale, intensity and number of concurrent incursions are unique. China moved troops to occupy areas where not only Indian and Chinese claim lines overlapped but also where there was no dispute. In other words, through a swift aggression planned months in advance, China has changed the status quo in both disputed and undisputed borderlands.

Despite that, we don’t even bother to think that how did the country send unarmed men , in a country with whom we are having political conflicts. Although, here I won’t blame the army for having agreeing to this, because they too have no choice except for bowing down to the instructions of the radar theorist emperor.

The sense of identity never dies in human society, it only mutates like a virus and changes its form. Caste and religion remained an influential mobilisational category in Indian politics since independence. In the decade of ’90s, with India opening up the economy, other social categories like LGBTQ started acquiring a new voice. In a post-Coronavirus world, these identities may either be diluted or acquire new shapes and forms.

Even in Lockdown 4.0, where stores have opened & lot of precautions being followed, several houses aren’t allowing maids to come home. Why? They live in dirty environments! They can cause Corona.
Well, didn’t they live there before the pandemic also?
Corona comes from only poor people?

The supposed educated, are not even giving paid leaves to the maids as they are suspectibly responsible for spreading corona. That’s racist. That’s not fair. We are a deeply prejudiced nation, it’s not regarded with a political spectrum but India’s historical hierarchy.

Now, you may place the counter argument too, to this that it is the other way round as well. Agree, because as a matter of fact , coronavirus doesn’t discriminates between rich & poor. But, highlighting someone’s circumstances as the touchstone of suspicion, is not fair. They are subjugated to a more difficult situation than us. Your apprehension is understandable, but not immortality.

We privileged buffoons have taken everyone for granted that’s why we don’t think twice and even unintentionally end up practicing untouchability and racism.
Our ignorance, doesn’t makes us realise this.

Social distancing signals a separation, an alienation, founded on nearness and farness, inclusion and exclusion, inside and outside, purity and pollution, home and world. So, don’t you think, after coronavirus pandemic is over, the idea of untouchability won’t be established?

There have been cases, where the labour class has complained, of being humiliated and thrown out of their existing jobs. You ask why? It’s because, we have become more suspicious of people in our surroundings, especially those coming from environments that are polluted. Well, not all sub urban areas and homes of labourers are not that dirty as we assume it to be.
Perhaps, being well aware of their circumstances, we had hired them at first place. Didn’t we? Moreover, are our urbanized municipalities or colonies, absolutely unpolluted? And if labourers have the risk of adding fuel to fire, then didn’t we too have a contribution to it? Didn’t we too decided to adopt racism, in order to secure ourselves and even the decision of justifying racism?
This shows humanity comes only when danger knocks at our own doorsteps and not before that.

And trust me, you are not going to live a happy life, even if it’s protected from a deadly virus, because you went on to the extend of adopting racism to secure yourself. Highlighting someone’s circumstances and social status, to procure your adversity, is not going to help you long run.

And these same people, who have so much problem with labourers working in their homes, followed the whistle of the naked emperor and banged thalis for the doctors and labourers in frontline. The problem is that we don’t ask the right questions. People said that doctors and labourers are in frontline hence, should be appreciated. That’s the point. Why are they in Frontline at first place? Why are they working? Because they have to. For doctors it’s out of obligation and for labourers it’s out of the absence of privilege. Why are the labourers working and not getting paid leave? Why? Can’t they get coronavirus? This just shows are class differences. To appreciate them out of privilege. We were just showing of our privilege. And this narrative further nurtured, the prejudice withing ourselves towards people belonging to the lower strata of the society. After all, privilege conceives ignorance. Being in position of a daily waged labourer, the world would seem different.

Globally, nations are paying a price, through recession and degradation of human resources, by the spread of this virus. But you know what’s the bigger price, nations have to give, well that’s the execution of the idea of social distancing, that can even destroy the mindsets of an entire generation.

Few weeks back, it was shown in news, that local people in areas of isolation wards, are not liking the presence of it, particularly in their localities. Even the families of coronavirus patients are being socially boycotted. Even coronavirus patients in the isolation wards aren’t being treated well, and are being emotionally abused in the wards.
If this is not a perfect trailer for the upcoming untouchability episode then, I don’t know what is.

All it needed for a nation to yet again prove they were idiots and come out on streets and bang thalis was a voice. One voice. The voice of the Prime minister. The voice that was however, silent, when Asifa was raped, when India was declared the most unsafe country for women, when lynchings became new normal, when kashmir was destroyed, when intolerance became a default human habit, when students were hostiled, when the court asked them to build a temple in a secular country, when people were treated like untouchables and sent to Detention centres, and most importantly when it’s government didn’t think twice, before executing a pogrom as a response to an election defeat. The Prime Minister coining the concept as social distancing instead of physical distancing, was another disaster itself.

In India, ‘social distancing’ invokes, and mirrors, distinct social histories of preservation and upholding of caste hierarchies. Social distancing has for long been a central principle and key weapon in the coercive regulation of caste. The discriminatory treatment meted out to Dalits (formerly ‘untouchables’) repeatedly bespeaks the ‘social distancing’ followed by savarnas (so-called ‘non-untouchables’) long before the pandemic

There have also been several instances in March, especially after the Janta Curfew, where Chinese Indians, and North East residents have being subjugated to street humiliation, bully and even physical violence. Why? Because, this pandemic has taken the shape of a war with bodies instead of virus. We need to find the enemies first, blame them, held them responsible, we can think of the rest important things, later. This is the idea, India has subscribed to, in present times. Nothing can be more disturbing than this.

Just like, the government that is surveillancing bodies instead of the virus, we are taking precautions against suspicious humans. It’s high time we ask ourselves are we reawakening untouchability or not?