राँची/गिरिडीह: बाबूलाल मरांडी, झारखंड के पहले मुख्यमंत्री रहे और इस वजह से वो झारखंड की राजनीति में भाजपा छोड़ने के बाद भी महत्वपूर्ण कहलाए। 2006 में जब बाबूलाल ने नयी पार्टी झारखंड विकास मोर्चा (जेवीएम) बनाई तो लगा के वो कोई बड़ा बदलाव झारखंड की राजनीति में ला सकेंगे, पर 14 साल बाद धनवार विधायक फिर एक बार बीजेपी में वापस जा रहे हैं और अपनी पार्टी का विलय भी भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) में करा रहे हैं।
2009, 2014 में भी गए जेवीएम के विधायक भाजपा में
पिछले 14 सालों में, जेवीएम ने 3 विधान सभा चुनाव लड़ा- 2009, 2014 और 2019। 2009 में बाबूलाल की पार्टी के 11 विधायक बने, पर कुछ ही दिनों में उनमें से 8 एमएलए जेवीएम छोड़ कर भाजपा में शामिल हो गए। किसी भी राजनीतिक दल के साथ इस तरह का मामला पहली और आखिरी बार हो सकता है, पर फिर 2014 में जब जेवीएम के 8 एमएलए चुन कर आए, तो उनमें से 6, बीजेपी में शामिल हो गए।
फिर 2019 के विधान सभा चुनाव में पार्टी के 3 विधायक बने, पर इस बार 62-साल के बाबूलाल न सिर्फ खुद भाजपा में जा रहे बल्कि, अपनी पार्टी का भी विलय करने वाले हैं।
बाबूलाल के भाजपा में जाने को लेकर कमेंट के लिए ईन्यूज़रूम ने उनके गृहजिला से दो विधायक से बात की। सीपीआई-एमएल के विनोद सिंह और जेएमएम के सुदिव्य सोनू से। दोनों विधायकों के राजनीतिक जीवन की सबसे खास बात ये रही कि दोनों ने कभी पार्टी नहीं बदला।
झारखंड की दुर्दशा के लिए बाबूलाल भी जिम्मेदार
“बाबूलाल और उनकी पार्टी ने हमेशा झारखंड के लोगों के साथ धोखा किया और आज अगर झारखंड की तरक्क़ी, झारखंड बनने के बाद भी नहीं हो पायी तो उसमें बाबूलाल सबसे ज़्यादा ज़िम्मेदार हैं जिसने हमेशा सेकुलर ताकतों को कमज़ोर किया। वैसे अब अच्छा हुआ, नक़ाब उतर गया। वो सही कह रहे हैं कि वो अपने वास्ताविक जगह वापस जा रहे हैं। वो हमेशा बीजेपी और आरएसएस के लाइन पे ही रहे। अब झारखंड की जनता के मन में कोई शंका नहीं रहेगी,” विनोद सिंह ने कहा।
सुदिव्य सोनू कहते हैं, “बाबूलाल के भाजपा में जाने से झारखंड की राजनीति में कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा। इस बार के चुनाव में ही 28 अनुसूचित जनजाति के सीटों में से 26 पर जेएमएम या उसके गठबंधन को सीटें मिलीं, जो ये बताने के लिए काफी है के बाबूलाल जी आदिवासियों के नेता नहीं हैं। और 81 सीटों पे लड़ कर सिर्फ 3 सीट जीत पायी जेवीएम”।
“वैसे बाबूलाल जी राजनीति में बहुत शिष्टाचार की बात करते हैं, तो उन्हें एमएलए पद त्याग कर दोबारा चुनाव लड़ना चाहिए, क्योंकि आखिरी चुनाव वो सेकुलर वोट्स से जीते हैं,” सोनू ने कहा।
डूबती नाव की सवारी
विनोद सिंह तो यह भी मानते हैं कि बाबूलाल का केस सूप्रीम कोर्ट के रुलींग्स के अनुसार एक फिट केस है, उनकी सदस्यता जा सकती है, ये फैसला स्पीकर को लेना है।
वहीं गाण्डेय के विधायक और लगभग 40 सालों से राजनीति में सक्रीय सरफराज अहमद का मानना है, “बाबूलाल जी डूबती नाव में सवार हो रहे हैं, अब भाजपा का छदम राष्ट्रवाद देश जान चुका है, नफरत की राजनीति करने वालों की अब हर जगह हार हो रही है।” सरफराज पिछली विधान सभा चुनाव के दौरान जेएमएम में शामिल हुए हैं।
भाजपा का अजेंडा सांप्रदायिकता और कॉर्पोरेट लूट, नहीं शामिल होंगे
सामाजिक कार्यकता दयामनी बरला, जो आदिवासियों के हक़ की लड़ाई के लिए झारखंड में सबसे आगे रही हैं और विधान सभा चुनाव में जेवीएम की टिकट पे चुनाव लड़ी थीं बाबूलाल के साथ भाजपा में शामिल नहीं हो रही हैं।
“पिछले 14 सालों में कई ऐसे मौके आए जब लगा के बाबूलाल मरांडी जल-जंगल-ज़मीन के सवालों को लेकर आदिवासी समाज के साथ खड़े हैं, पर भाजपा की राजनीति न सिर्फ आदिवासियों की जल-जंगल-जमीन लूटने की रही बल्कि समाज को बांटने के भी काम करता है, दलित और अल्पसंख्यकों के बीच जाति और धर्म के नाम पे फूट डालने का भी काम किया है। भाजपा के एजेंडा में सांप्रदायिकता और कॉर्पोरेट लूट को बढ़ावा देना है। इसलिए हम कई सामाजिक संगठन जिनमें खूंटी, तोरपा और सिसई छेत्र के लोग हैं, भाजपा में शामिल नहीं होंगे और हमारा संघर्ष भाजपा के खिलाफ जारी रहेगा।”
[dropcap]“D[/dropcap]on’t panic!” The two-word immortal life lesson from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has come to my rescue when it matters the most. At a time, when the novel coronavirus pandemic and the usual info-demic associated with it, unleashed a reign of fear psychosis in my mind as well as the people around me, my hesitant mind and hapless soul, while staying put in the Chinese capital of Beijing and 1000-odd kilometre away from the epicentre of Wuhan, had no other option but to remember the comforting words from the Douglas Adams cult in order to thwart the ever-dangerous panic-demic.
The Early Days of Ignorance
Believe it or not, it was life as usual for most of us in Beijing until the third week of January. Even though the reports of the sporadic outbreak of a SARS-like mystery virus in the provincial capital of Hubei started trickling through the city’s firewalls in early January, the celebratory countdown for the biggest jamboree in the Chinese calendar, the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival prevailed over our unsuspecting mind. With the entire ‘Middle Kingdom’ and the city in its middle, despite silently detaining and reprimanding Li Wenliang and seven of his fellow doctors for prognostically blowing the whistle of a potential pestilence, gearing up for welcoming the Year of Rat, Chunyun or the biggest human migration for the Spring Festivals was already underway.
Crackdown over Corona
The closure of Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which virtually sold the meat of everything that has four legs but not a chair, everything that flies but not an aeroplane and everything that swims but not a submarine raised the alarm but once the number of deceased or the increasing numbers of infected persons both in China and outside the country started percolating to mainstream media, all hell broke loose on January 23. With the majority of the Beijingers heading homewards to spend the new year with their near and dear ones and leaving the city almost deserted, the Chinese top leadership officially cracked the whip, putting Wuhan and several other cities in Hubei province on complete lockdown. Incidentally, the same day saw a special Indian Republic Day reception, hosted by the Indian Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, and was attended by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui as the Chief Guest along with a slew of top diplomats from many countries, including the US and Russia in attendance. That lavish luncheon with a sumptuous Indian buffet was probably the last public gathering that many of us in the Chinese capital attended before going into the government-guided self-imposed en masse quarantine.
Masks became the national armour against the wrath of a never-seen-before virus strain while the hazmat-clad doctors and their support staff became the vanguards of an ailing nation. Thermal scanning also became one of the first lines of defence for the administration with almost every residential complex, each of Beijing’s 400-odd subway (metro) stations and the handful of operational offices, banks, convenience stores, supermarkets and shopping malls admitting people based on their body temperature
Melancholy and the Indefinite Sadness
Thereafter, it has been an experience that can better be described as unsettling, unnerving, and uncertain. Life has come to a sudden standstill in the most populous nation on earth. The number of infected has been multiplying manifold while death tolls have been rising thick and fast. Wuhan, the burgeoning Chinese metropolis that came into prominence with the headline-grabbing heart-to-heart summit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, was back in hogging the global limelight with its heart-wrenching tragedies and its appalling transformation into an apocalyptic necropolis.
I have witnessed and undergone the largest mass quarantine and sanitizing exercise in human history. A mass seclusion and sanitization process kept us safe, sound and secured. If Wuhan and several cities of Hubei were put into a state of large-scale lazaretto, the rest of China, including Beijing, were placed under a self-quarantine phase through a repeatedly extended Spring Festival holidays.
World’s Largest Medical Emergency Mission
Even though the world’s largest student and the working-class population kept under a residential recluse with the schools, colleges and most of the offices being shut down for a longer period, the deserted public places, remaining functional offices and the massive public transport system along with a slew of convenience and grocery stores being kept open to give the capital its much-needed lifeline in a medically menacing time. Masks became the national armour against the wrath of a never-seen-before virus strain while the hazmat-clad doctors and their support staff became the vanguards of an ailing nation. Thermal scanning also became one of the first lines of defence for the administration with almost every residential complex, each of Beijing’s 400-odd subway (metro) stations and the handful of operational offices, banks, convenience stores, supermarkets and shopping malls admitting people based on their body temperature.
A Chinese policeman interacts with a family. Credit: Yahoo Finance
The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), the world’s largest political behemoth with its highest number of members, efficiently mobilized its committed cadres and dedicated volunteers to one of the biggest peacetime countrywide emergency operations ever. The party’s well-oiled publicity and communications machinery quite swiftly played a pivotal role in preventing panic and pandemonium through precautionary pamphlets, posters, and publications both online and on-site in a praiseworthy precision, covering every precinct in their remarkable outreach.
WeChat and Wistful Us
Meanwhile, WeChat, China’s most popular multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment APP has come to our rescue while being stranded in an extraordinary situation. We have not only remained in touch with our friends, fellow expats, and the Indian Embassy through the WeChat groups and direct messages but kept ourselves updated and well-apprised of the extraordinary circumstances around us. In fact, the Tencent APP helped the Embassy to reach out to the panic-stricken, high and dry Indians in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei before they were evacuated back to Delhi in an emphatically intricate process, apart from sending us regular updates and safety notifications.
On a personal front, being at the right place at the right time (mentally not quite right though), has already made me a sought after on-the-ground reporting face and an accessible free-of-cost talking head for many news channels. However, much to my surprise, while busting many frivolous rumours about the pathogenic pandemic and blabbering about the situation with a brave face, I also saw myself being on-air as a victim with visuals of my parents shedding tears for my well-being and dramatically holding my photographs. Yes, sentiment and emotion sell on Indian television while I have been staying put here (as if I have an option to leave my job and rush back to India) with another motivational pearl of wisdom from the Hitchhikers. “Protect me from knowing what I don’t need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don’t know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen.”
Kolkata: Amidst the slogans in favour of Hindu- Muslim brotherhood, Student Federation of India (SFI) and JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh on Thursday said that the BJP -RSS is afraid of students protest as everyone is aware that only students can bring revolution across the country.
Speaking at an event outside the main gate of Calcutta University (university authorities did not allow outside persons to hold any event inside the campus), Ghosh said that no one ever thought of differentiating between Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam and alleged that the BJP is forcefully trying to instill ‘communalism’ in the minds of common people of the country.
“Even when Nazi government tried to destroy the harmony of Germany, it was the students who had protest. Similarly students protest against CAA,NRC and NPR will also work wonders and the BJP led central government will have to rethink over implementation of the same.
Giving the slogan ‘Azadi’, the SFI leader also rued that she did not get permission to hold the event inside the University campus.
“Our protest and fight is against the fascist BJP government and not against any university. We thought of holding the event inside the campus so that more students could join us.”
Taking further dig at the RSS cadres for unleashing terror in JNU campus on January 5, Ghosh said that the SFI was protesting against the fees hike in several universities but the RSS workers unnecessarily attacked the students.
“The unity of India can be seen everywhere now. RSS wanted to kill Aishe and now in protest all the women of the country have hit the streets. See the hypocrisy, on one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi says that only IIT produces best students on the other hand BJP has reduced the subsidy given to the IITs,” said the JNUSU president taking part in Jan Gan Man rally from CU to Shyambazar.
Ghosh also applauded the way Bengal is protesting against CAA, NPR and NRC.
Urging the students to unite and demonstrate more protest against the price hike and NRC, Ghosh said that until the BJP gets the real picture of the unity of the students they will not rectify their ‘evilish’ bill.
“Not just CAA and NRC, the students should also protest against the fees hike at the universities, as the price hike is taking away the right to education from many students who cannot afford to pay much, claimed the JNUSU president.
Taking part in the rally senior politburo member Biman Bose and Surya Kanta Mishra said that only the Left has the power to bring back the democracy in the state and also that when students starts protesting, it can be understood that the government in power will face a turbulent situation in future.
Kolkata: The governor of West Bengal – Jagdeep Dhankhar, might come a long way since September 2019, when he refused to meet the representatives of Joint Forum Against NRC to meeting them on February 10, 2020.
On Monday, a five-member delegation of the Forum met the governor to submit a memorandum opposing the NPR, NRC and CAA 2019 and have a brief discussion on issues raised by the Forum.
Governor backtracks on State Assembly Speech
Speaking to eNewsroon, Prasenjit Bose, one of the conveners of the Forum, said, “We had met the governor with the sole intention of seeking an assurance from him that the state government employees would not cooperate with the NPR exercise which is going to commence from April 1, 2020. His recent speech in the State Assembly, where he was critical of NPR, NRC and CAA, had perhaps made us approach him.”
He then paused and said, “However, during the interaction, the governor made it clear that he had merely read out the speech handed over to him by the state government and that he personally didn’t endorse with certain sections of the speech and that sometime soon he would be sharing his personal views in the public. As a custodian of the Constitution, we feel that that this was improper and partisan conduct on the part of the Governor, who is bound by the views of the democratically elected State Government on policy matters. However, we will wait for him to make his opinion public.”
On February 7, inside Bengal assembly, the governor had read out speech which was critical of CAA. In his 25-page long speech, prepared by Mamata Banerjee government, Dhankhar had even read out that, “There is a general air of intolerance, bigotry and hatred in the country.”
SC has powers to strike down CAA
Interestingly, the governor during this meeting even tried convincing the delegates to accept the law (CAA) passed in the Parliament. Reacting to this, Deborshi Chakraborty said, “It seems like our present governor, is not very much aware of how the law of the land works. If he feels that every Indian is bound to accept the law passed by the Parliament, then he is wrong. For the Apex Court has special powers to strike down laws that don’t seem apt. Also, when he should get a grip on his knowledge on how a federal government works. The state definitely has its own set of powers and say. The centre can’t enact any law forcefully, if the state government doesn’t feel the need of that law in its region.”
During the meeting the Forum delegates highlighted the hundred odd petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the law, and people across the country are protesting on the streets. The representatives even asked him to peruse the memorandum submitted, to which he has assured a written response.
Writ Petition questions legality of NPR
Chakraborty, when asked about the recent writ petition filed by him before the Apex Court questioning the constitutionality of the NPR exercise (Deborshi Chakraborty Vs. Union of India, Diary No. 5348-2020), he said, “NPR breaches the privacy of Indian citizens, that apart, there is no data protection clause to protect the data that will be collected by the government in the name of NPR exercise. The information collection can be used by anyone for any purpose, hence we want SC to intervene and stop its implementation.”
He then added, “NPR has no statutory status, as no legislation has been passed in the Parliament to have it implemented. NPR is a rule of CAA 2003, to facilitate olxslot the better implementation of NRIC, which till date has not been announced by the government. So, technically there is no legal binding to have NPR 2020 implemented.”
The writ petition filed also legally challenges the validity of Sections 14A and 18(3) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (as amended in 2003); the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003; Union Home Ministry notification initiating NPR dated 31.09.2019 and the Instruction Manual for Updation of NPR 2020.
Meanwhile, the Forum is all set to launch an intensive mass campaign against NPR, NRC and CAA 2019 through a Village to City Padyatra in the last week of February.
Ranchi: A fact-finding team which returned from Burugulikera village, West Singhbhum district where 7 villagers had been beheaded on January 22 has refuted the claims being made by local media and administration that the killings were the outcome of opposing Pathalgadi practice.
Initial media reports had hinted at the possibility of a pro-pathalgadi faction of the village having murdered the members of the anti-pathalgadi faction for opposing their movement.
However, the fact-finding team under the banner of Adivasi Adhikar Manch (AAM) discovered that over half of the total families present in the village were followers of the AC (ante-Christ) kutumb pariwar (also known as satipati) cult. The cult was headed by Ranasi Budh and a few others, accused of killing James Budh and six other villagers.
The cult practitioners, active in the village, since the past year had asked people to surrender their ration card, Aadhaar card, voter card and also to stop availing government schemes such as Public Distribution System, social security pension, PM Awas Yojana and so on. The team discovered that over half of the families present in the villages had surrendered their documents, while James and many others did not. The documents were not forcefully taken but people were sometimes told that they would not be considered Adivasis or would be expelled from the village if they did not surrender. They had even been asked to submit their khatiyan (land documents) too, which many like James did not.
James Budh, upmukhiya of the Gram Panchayat, used to get government schemes implemented and had objected to the call for giving up schemes. Ranasi Budh’s wife Mukta Horo was the ex-Mukhiya. They also used to get schemes implemented earlier. However, the satipati cult supporters not just asked people to surrender their documents and to not avail of government schemes but also forbid them from visiting Churches and celebrating Sarna (Adivasi) festivals. The clash of ideology often caused friction between the two factions.
On 16 January, a day after local Maghe Parv (an Adivasi festival), James Budh and his friends attacked the houses of Ranasi Budh and four others. The attackers broke their cycles, motorbikes, television and ransacked their houses. They also allegedly took away two persons – Lodro Budh and Roshan Barjo with them. According to the families whose houses were attacked, the attackers were also accompanied by armed members of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) (a Maoist splinter group, known to have initially received state support). Some villagers shared that James Budh was close to a local PLFI leader, Mangra Lugun.
On 19 January, Ranasi Budh and other satipati cult supporters brought the attackers from their homes for a meeting to discuss about the alleged attack on their houses. This meeting was mainly attended by satipati supporters. From the testimonies of satipati supporters and family members of the victims, it has emerged that the seven people were beaten to death during the meeting and then beheaded.
Siraj Dutta, a member of the fact-finding team mentioned, “We believe that it’s not just a simple case of mass murder, where the victims had been killed for not supporting satipati cult. We believe that the Special Investigation Team during the investigation will dig up more.”
According to the fact-finding team, there is a need to differentiate between the Pathalgadi ritual and satipati. The former is a traditional practice of Munda Adivasis, during which stone slabs (pathals) are erected in honour of their ancestors or to announce important decisions of their families and villages or to simply mark the village boundary. Since 2017, pathals painted with Constitutional provisions for Adivasis, judicial orders and their interpretations have been erected in several villages of Jharkhand.
“Pathalgadi ritual was first done by former IAS officer BD Sharma and Balli Uraon between the years 1996-2003 in Jharkhand. But when the Adivasis began practising it again post 2014, it got termed as a seditious act, in the eyes of former Raghubar Das government,” informed Aloka Kujur, an activist and member of the fact-finding team to eNewsroom.
She further said, “Almost all the villagers we met at Burugulikera, said that satipati organization functions in the village. They also mentioned that after the killings, none of the reporters visited the village but reported on the information provided by officials.”
“Significantly, where the incident took place, villagers do not speak Hindi. So, how did the journalists without visiting the spot and talking to the villager conclude that the Pathalgadi supporters killed the non-supporters?” questioned the activist.
Kujur added, “I believe that it was an administration sponsored killings. Now it is Hemant Soren government, which has to reach to the truth and identify the officials in the administration, wanting to malign Pathalgadi practice.”
Kolkata: The anti-NRC, CAA protests, which had been marking its presence at 44th International Kolkata Book Fair since its beginning in a muted way, took a violent turn on Saturday when a bunch of protesting students clashed with VHP, BJP supporters and later, were lathicharged by the police.
Eyewitnesses said trouble started when BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha was visiting the Janabarta stall in the evening. At the time few students, chanting slogans against the implementation of CAA passed through the stall. The protesters alleged that some of the BJP-VHP supporters came out of the stall and pushed them aside, leading to jostling and fisticuffs. Later, cops arrived from the nearby control room and lathicharged on the two feuding factions. The protesters were taken away to different police stations in Salt Lake area by the police.
On the incident at the fair in front of the VHP stall, BJP’s Sinha said that the fight over CAA and NRC is between two political parties, The BJP and the TMC. “The students’ forum has nothing to do with this. They are trying to steal the limelight and create more chaos.” On the violence, the BJP national general secretary said, “It will be dealt by the state administration and the party has nothing to do with it.”
A senior lawyer, who was an eyewitness, said that the police on one side was asking the students to talk out the differences but when they did, the policemen reigned blows on them.
No policemen on the spot were willing to talk on the issue.
Anti-CAA and NRC protesters at Kolkata Book Fair site
While the protests were on, Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor was holding fort inside the SBI auditorium on the other side of the fair. The hall was choc-a-bloc with interested listeners lapping up all the former civil servant had to say about his latest book, The New World Disorder and the Indian Imperative. Earlier, the author took part in a discussion with filmmaker Aparna Sen and others on We Are Who We Elect.
Tharoor said, “We were very proud of whom we elected but in the last six months many might have changed their mind as the reality of what the government has turned to has sunk in. We know people changed their mind between 2014 and 2019 and yet they got more votes, more percentage. We have come across many people who in 2014 voted for this government for its promise of ‘sabka saath sabka vikas’, who in 2019 said not again. I don’t know many voted for brazenly for the Hindutva agenda, this kind of majoritarian ‘triumphanism’. We are seeing extreme level of polarization in our politics. When we say, ‘who are we’, we are currently a bunch of divided people.”
Talking further on the present national narrative of dividing people on the basis of religion, Tharoor said, “The great magical thing about India was that you can be many things and one; you can be a Bengali, a Muslim and an Indian at the same time. The fact that you are secure in each of the identities because of the overall space of the Indian identity. To take India to the primordial idea of Hindu Rashtra, is an assault on the freedom struggle. There was no division on ideological differences. Mahatma Gandhi, (Jawaharlal) Nehru, (Maulana) Azad, they all said our struggle for freedom is for everyone and write the Constitution with equal rights for everyone. That to me in the fundamental difference of idea of 1940-50 and what is being propagated today.”
[dropcap]सं[/dropcap]विधान के मुताबिक ‘लोकतांत्रिक गणराज्य’ बनाने के लिए बराबरी, न्याय, स्वतंत्रता और बंधुता मूलभूत मूल्य हैं। लेकिन शिक्षा व्यवस्था गैर-बराबरी और भेदभाव की बुनियाद पर खड़ी की गई है जबकि सबको समतामूलक शिक्षा मुहैय्या करना संवैधानिक तकाज़ा था। विडंबना है कि जितनी परतों में समाज बंटा हुआ था उतनी ही परतों में बंटी शिक्षा व्यवस्था खड़ी करके शिक्षा की परिवर्तनकामी धार कुंद कर दी। वैश्वीकरण के तीस सालों के दौर की नीतियों ने तो सार्वजनिक शिक्षा व्यवस्था को ही ध्वस्त करने का काम किया ताकि शिक्षा का बाज़ारीकरण तेज़ किया जा सके। आज प्रायवेट शिक्षा, वैश्विक पूंजी के लिए कुशल लेकिन गुलाम मज़दूर तैयार कर रही है, न कि लोकतांत्रिक नागरिक।
इस संदर्भ में शिरीष खरे की यह पुस्तक नई रोशनी लेकर आई है। लेखक ने पांच राज्यों के दूरदराज के इलाकों में सरकारी स्कूलों के बेहतरीकरण के लिए शिक्षकों, पालकों, समुदायों व पंचायतों द्वारा की गई पहलकदमियों की प्रेरणादायक कहानियां दर्ज़ की हैं। ये कहानियां, बदलाव की तीन अहम संभावनाओं को उजागर करती हैं। पहला, सरकारी स्कूलों में शिक्षा की गुणवत्ता सभी तबकों के बच्चों के लिए बेहतरीन करना मुमकिन है। दूसरा, बहुजन (आदिवासी, दलित, ओबीसी, मुस्लिम, विमुक्त व घुमन्तू जाति) बच्चे कभी भी ‘ड्रॉप-आऊट’ नहीं होते वरन् पूरी स्कूली व्यवस्था और माहौल के द्वारा वे ‘पुश-आऊट’ या बेदखल किए जाते हैं। तीसरा, यह मिथक है कि प्रायवेट स्कूल बेहतर होते हैं और सरकारी स्कूल घटिया। जब स्कूलों में बदलाव लाए गए तो न केवल पालकों ने बच्चों को प्रायवेट स्कूलों से निकालकर सरकारी स्कूलों में भेजा लेकिन बहुजनों के बेदखल किए गए बच्चे-बच्चियां भी स्कूल आने लगे यानी पूरे गांव या इलाके का सरकारी स्कूल पर भरोसा लौट आया।
एक और सबक। बदलाव के सब दरवाजे बंद नहीं हुए हैं, कम-से-कम खिड़कियां अधखुली हैं। चुनौती है कि हम देशव्यापी सामाजिक हस्तक्षेप के ज़रिए लाखों सरकारी स्कूलों में जहां ज़रा-सी भी गुंजाइश दिखे वहां स्थानीय जनचेतना के ज़रिए अधखुली खिड़कियों को पूरा खोल दें ताकि सबको समतामूलक गुणवत्ता की शिक्षा मिले और भारत को उसकी ऐतिहासिक गैर-बराबरी व भेदभाव से मुक्त किया जा सके।
पुस्तक से एक स्टोरी :
यहां कैसे बच्चों ने बदल दिया अपना ‘टाइम‘
एक सरकारी शिक्षक ने पढ़ाने की एक नई पद्धति के सहारे बच्चों के लिए समय-सारणी से जुड़ी कुछ गतिविधियों को अमल में लाकर महज छह महीने में स्कूल की तस्वीर बदल दी है। इस दौरान यहां बच्चों की उपस्थिति एक तिहाई बढ़ गई है। यही वजह है कि महाराष्ट्र के दूरदराज के गांव का यह स्कूल इन दिनों ‘समय के सदुपयोग’ के मुद्दे पर दूर-दूर तक चर्चा के केंद्र में है। यहां के शिक्षक ने सप्ताह में दो से तीन बार अतिरिक्त सत्र आयोजित किए और ऐसी गतिविधियों को अंजाम दिया कि अधिकतर बच्चों में पढ़ाई के प्रति रुचि जाग गई। और तो और, उनमें अपने सहपाठियों के प्रति ऐसा लगाव भी पैदा हो गया कि आज पूरे स्कूल का वातावरण मैत्रीपूर्ण नजर आता है।
शिक्षक के कौशल और उनकी लगातार कोशिशों का ही नतीजा है कि बच्चों में आत्मविश्वास तो बढ़ ही रहा है, वे अपनी दिनचर्या के कई काम समय पर पूरे कर रहे हैं। बात हो रही है औरंगाबाद जिले से करीब 50 किलोमीटर दूर के शासकीय प्राथमिक शाला बनशेंद्रा की। वर्ष 1914 में स्थापित इस मराठी माध्यम की शाला में कुल 143 बच्चे और प्रधानाध्यापक सहित छह शिक्षक हैं। शिक्षक योगेश रिंदे के मुताबिक, इस प्रयोग का नतीजा यह हुआ कि आज 80 प्रतिशत से अधिक बच्चे अपना होमवर्क पूरा करके कक्षा में आते हैं, जबकि पिछले सत्र में 40 प्रतिशत बच्चे ही होमवर्क करते थे। इसी तरह, पिछले सत्र में 19 बच्चों ने स्कूल छोड़ दिया था। पर, इस सत्र में अब तक किसी बच्चे ने स्कूल नहीं छोड़ा है।
उनकी मानें तो बच्चों में पढ़ाई की गुणवत्ता पहले के मुकाबले काफी बढ़ गई है और वे एक-दूसरे से भी काफी कुछ सीख रहे हैं। फिर, घर और खेत के कामों में भी समय देने से उनकी इस आदत को बनाए रखने के लिए उन्हें शिक्षक के साथ ही परिजनों का भी सहयोग मिल रहा है। योगेश की मानें तो इस परिवर्तन के पीछे की वजह यह है कि उन्होंने पढ़ाने के पारंपरिक तौर-तरीके से अलग कुछ विशेष तरह की गतिविधियां कराईं। इसमें उन्होंने बच्चों को उनकी सुविधा से खुद उनकी समय-सारणी बनवाने में मदद की। इसलिए, ज्यादातर बच्चे अच्छी तरह से अपनी-अपनी समय-सारणियों का पालन कर पा रहे हैं। खास तौर से चौथी और पांचवीं के बड़े बच्चे अधिक अनुशासित हुए हैं।
उम्मीद की पाठशाला
शिरीष खरे
अगोरा प्रकाशन, बनारस
पृष्ठ: 136
मूल्य: 150 रुपए
पहले बच्चे थे ‘सिरदर्द’
बता दें कि करीब ढाई हजार की जनसंख्या के इस गांव में अधिकतर मजदूर और किसान परिवार हैं। लिहाजा, इन बच्चों के परिजन खेतों में मजदूरी करने जाते हैं। स्कूल में आयोजित इन सत्रों से पहले वे अपने कामों में हाथ बटाने के लिए कई बार बच्चों की जरूरत से ज्यादा मदद लेते थे। इसके लिए वे बच्चों को अक्सर अपने साथ या तो खेत ले जाते थे, या फिर उन्हें घर पर रखवाली के लिए छोड़ते थे। कुछ लड़के गाय, भैंस और बकरियां चराने गांव से बाहर निकल जाते थे, जबकि कुछ लड़कियां घर पर या तो खाना बनाने में मां की मदद करतीं, या फिर अपने छोटे भाइयों को संभालने जैसे कामों में पूरा समय बितातीं। ऐसे में ज्यादातर बच्चों का स्कूल से कोई विशेष लगाव नहीं था। ऐसे बच्चे कभी-कभार स्कूल आते भी थे तो देरी से और आमतौर पर होमवर्क नहीं करते थे, इसलिए शिक्षकों को कक्षा में दुबारा पढ़ाना पढ़ता था।
योगेश के मुताबिक इन गतिविधियों को कराने के करीब तीन महीने बाद तक सिर्फ एक चौथाई बच्चे ही समय पर स्कूल आते थे और अपना होमवर्क पूरा करते थे। दूसरी तरफ, ज्यादातर बच्चे पढ़ाई में पीछे रहने की वजह से हीनभावना का शिकार थे। वे कहते हैं, ‘बच्चे अव्यवस्थित रहते थे। वजह, हमारे बच्चों ने खेलकूद या घर, स्कूल और खेत के कामों को करने के लिए समय प्रबंधन की कोई योजना नहीं बनाई थी। इसलिए, वे कोई भी काम अच्छी तरह से नहीं कर पाते थे। कई बार बहुत सारे काम वे खुद नहीं कर पाते थे। इसलिए, हमें उन्हें अलग-अलग बताना पड़ता था। इससे हमारा काम और मुश्किल हो जाता था। फिर, हमारी कक्षा के बच्चे भावनात्मक रूप से एक नहीं थे।’
उम्मीद की पाठशाला का कवर पेज
राजू की दिनचर्या से लिया सबक
योगेश के लिए यह स्थिति चुनौतीपूर्ण बन गई थी और वे बच्चों को अच्छी तरह से पढ़ाने के लिए इस तस्वीर को हर हालत में बदलना चाहते थे। उसके बाद, योगेश ने कक्षा चौथी की पुस्तिका में ‘राजू की दिनचर्या’ और ‘मेरी दैनिक समय-सारणी’ जैसे पाठ पढ़े तो विचार किया कि राजू की तरह यदि उनकी कक्षा के बच्चे भी खुद अपने समय का सही उपयोग करना सीख गए तो उनके स्कूल की स्थिति बदली जा सकती है। फिर, उन्होंने इन पाठों को पढ़ाने की बजाय बच्चों के साथ एक मंनोरंतक गतिविधि कराई। पहले योगेश ने बच्चों को पुस्तिका से राजू नाम के बच्चे की समय-सारणी दिखाई। फिर उन्होंने बच्चों से राजू की दिनचर्या से जुड़े कुछ प्रश्न पूछें। फिर, बच्चों की जोड़ियां बनाकर इन प्रश्नों पर चर्चा करने के लिए कहा कि क्या राजू अपने समय का सही उपयोग करता है? क्या उसकी समय-सारणी में कुछ सुधार की जरूरत है?
फिर, चर्चा के बाद हर जोड़ी से राजू की नई समय-सारणी बनाने के लिए कहा। इसमें बच्चों ने खुद बताया कि यदि राजू टीवी कम देखे तो उसे खेलने के लिए पर्याप्त समय मिल सकता है। बच्चों ने ही बताया कि राजू को खेल और पढ़ाई के लिए कब-कब और कितना-कितना समय देना चाहिए। इसी तरह, उन्होंने यह भी बताया कि यदि राजू को चित्र बनाने की कला सीखनी है तो उसे चित्र बनाने में कितना समय देना चाहिए। उसके बाद, बच्चों ने खुद अपनी समय-सारणी बनाईं और एक-दूसरे की समय-सारणियों को मूल्यांकन करके उनमें आवश्यक सुधार लाने के लिए सुझाव दिए।
योगेश के अनुसार, ‘करीब एक महीने बाद कुछ बच्चों में शुरुआती बदलाव दिखने लगे।’ जाहिर है बच्चों ने अपनी समय-सारणी खुद अपने हाथों से तैयार की थीं। इसलिए, इसका पालन करना उनके लिए अधिक आसान था। योगेश की मानें तो अपनी कक्षा में ‘राजू की दिनचर्या’ और ‘मेरी दैनिक समय-सारणी’ जैसी गतिविधियों को कराने से पहले उन्होंने खुद अपने लिए समय-सारणी बनाई थी और करीब एक सप्ताह तक अपनी बनाई समय-सारणी के हिसाब से अपनी दिनचर्या तैयार की थी। वे कहते हैं, ‘जब मेरे दिन के सारे महत्त्वपूर्ण काम समय पर अच्छी तरह से होने लगे तो मुझे आत्मविश्वास आया कि इस तरह की गतिविधियां बच्चों पर भी लागू कराई जा सकती हैं।’
पूरे गांव के लिए डिजाइन किया ‘टास्क’
प्रश्न है कि क्या बच्चों की समय-सारणी बनने भर से स्थिति बदली जा सकती थी? उत्तर है- नहीं। यही वजह है कि इस शिक्षक ने इस बात को ध्यान रखने के लिए एक विशेष रणनीति पर काम करना शुरु किया। वे कुछ दिनों तक सुबह स्कूल लगने के पहले और शाम को स्कूल छूटने के बाद बच्चों के परिजनों से मिलते। उन्हें शिक्षा का महत्व बताते हुए उनके बच्चों की समय-सारणियों का पालन कराने के लिए समझाने का प्रयास करते। उसके बाद, योगेश ने बच्चों और परिजनों से चर्चा करके मुख्य समस्याओं की एक सूची तैयार की। इसमें ‘बच्चों की समस्याएं’ और ‘पालकों की समस्याएं’ नाम से दो खाने बनाएं और उसे वर्गीकृत किया। इस दौरान कई तरह की बातें उभरकर आईं। जैसे कि कई बार बच्चे सुबह समय पर नहीं उठते हैं। इसलिए, न घर के काम ही कर पाते हैं और न ही समय पर स्कूल ही पहुंच पाते हैं। इसलिए, उन्हें घर और स्कूल दोनों जगह डांट झेलनी पड़ती है।
योगेश बताते हैं कि कुछ दिनों बाद उन्होंने बच्चों और परिजनों के बीच एक बैठक आयोजित की। इसमें तय हुआ कि बच्चों से परिजनों की अपेक्षाएं क्या हैं और उसके लिए बच्चे किस हद तक मदद करने के लिए तैयार हैं। इसके बावजूद, ज्यादातर बच्चों को शुरुआत में समय-सारणी का पूरी तरह से पालन करना मुश्किल हो रहा था। पर, करीब तीन महीने बाद ज्यादातर बच्चों ने खुद को समय-सारणी के अनुरूप ढाल लिया। इसका नतीजा यह है कि उनके ज्यादातर काम समय पर पूरे होने लगे। कक्षा चौथी की समृद्धि मोलिंगे बताती हैं, ‘मेरी कक्षा में बीस बच्चे हैं। इसमें अठारह बच्चे तो समय-सारणी का अच्छी तरह से पालन करते ही हैं।’
उसके बाद, शिक्षक के लिए सभी बच्चों को एक साथ पढ़ाना आसान हो गया। यदि कोई बच्चो पढ़ाई में पीछे रहता तो दूसरा बच्चा उसकी मदद करता। इससे पढ़ाई में कमजोर कई बच्चों का आत्मविश्वास बढ़ने लगा। इस स्कूल में पढ़ने वाली प्रिया सोनवाने नाम की बच्ची के पिता राजेन्द्र सोनवाने चर्चा में बताते हैं कि उनकी बेटी ने दो तरह की समय-सारणी बनाई हैं। पहली समय-सारणी में उसके दिन भर की योजना होती है। दूसरी समय-सारणी में महीने भर की योजना होती है। इन समय-सारणियों में उसने स्कूल और स्कूल बाद के समय में किए जाने वाले कामों को लिखा है। आकाश घाडगे के पिता भारत घाडगे के मुताबिक, ‘आकाश अब समय पर नहाने में आनाकानी नहीं करता। वह साफ कपड़े पहनता है। सफाई का बहुत ध्यान रखता है।’
योगेश बताते हैं कि यह हमारी छह-आठ महीनों की मेहनत और उनसे लगातार संवाद करते रहने का नतीजा है कि ज्यादातर बच्चों के परिजन अब बच्चों से बहुत ज्यादा काम नहीं कराते हैं। स्कूल द्वारा बच्चों के परिजनों को विभिन्न कार्यक्रमों में आमंत्रित किया जाता है तब उनसे बच्चों की प्रगति के बारे में चर्चा की जाती है और इस दौरान दोनों तरफ से बाधा डालने वाली बातों को सुलझाने की कोशिश की जाती है। ज्यादातर बच्चों से बातचीत से यह स्पष्ट होता है कि पढ़ाई के मामले में उनमें किसी तरह की कोई हीनभावना नहीं है। अंत में आदित्य खैरनार नाम का बच्चा कहता है, ‘अब हम परीक्षा में पास तो हो ही सकते हैं। इसके अलावा भी बहुत कुछ कर सकते हैं!’
Shi-Yomi: Mechukha Valley in the newly formed Shi-Yomi district, west Arunachal Pradesh is over 200 km from Pasighat. The constituency comprising 20 villages with mostly Memba and Adi tribes. The village has changed over the years in terms of livelihood. The once farm-based society now banks on tourism, business and other petty jobs to eke out a living.
The main reason for agriculture being shunned is its infertile soil. Khandu Philley, who runs a home stay in Mechukha town, says that the rocky terrain is unsuitable for most crops. “Earlier, people grew millets and a few vegetables in the town. But it involved hard work as we had to spend a lot of time digging the fields and manuring them,” he said.
Philley is originally from Yorko village but has shifted to the town to venture into tourism business.
Tenzing Sharjo, who is in his sixties, runs a restaurant in the town. His land in Chorling village lies unattended. “My children refuse to farm as they say it is too much of hard work. So they have either taken up government jobs or are into business. When I was young, I helped my family in farming. Now the land is there but no farming is done,” he said.
Home stay is a popular business option for many in Mechukha. With the valley becoming popular among travelers, earning is consistent. Tasa Chenna and his wife, Tsering Lhomu Chenna, are running Bazashree Homestay for over two decades now. According to Tasa, agriculture was once the main source of livelihood for his family. “My father was also a farmer. Even I did it for some time but shifted to the town for better earnings,” he adds.
The Chennas also have tourist transport business and their Sumos run from Mechukha to Aalo. Even their sons and daughter are reluctant about taking up farming.
Millet is the main food crop in the mountainous Mechukha. Besides being used as food, millet is also used to make popular local brews like chhang and ara.
Mechukha, a village in Arunchal Pradesh’s Shi-Yomi district
Most of the vegetables in the local market and other essential food like rice and lentils come from Assam. “This definitely increases the cost of living but there is no other option,” says Tasa.
Tashi Sona, who works in the office of the additional deputy commissioner in Mechukha, has never done farming. Sona, whoa is in his thirties, says he never considered farming as a lucrative option. He is among several youth in the valley who have shifted to the new way of life.
Besides tourism, government job is a popular choice. Many educated youth are shifting to the town or even outside Mechukha for a secured livelihood.
“People here are hard-working and get easily hired by the army as porters. It is a temporary job but they earn substantially to get food and clothes. This is a better option than laborious farming,” says Philley.
Some home stay owners like Philley maintain kitchen gardens for daily consumption. They grow tomatoes, leafy vegetables and chillies, among other things, to feed guests and families. “The small garden in my backyard takes care of our daily need. For bulk buying, I have to depend on the market,” Philley adds.
Many villagers, both men and women, are also taking up work under MGNREGS. They are employed to build roads and earn Rs 500-250 a day depending on the volume of work and the project.
Agriculture is a problem due to changing climatic conditions. The untimely rain often destroy crops after months of hard work. “It is raining in winter, which is usually not the time. It sometimes rain during harvest time. Climate change has, in many ways, affected farming. Also, maintaining livestock becomes a problem as there is nothing to feed the animals in winter,” says Sona.
Tenzing Sharjo (left) in his restaurant
Another mode of earning livelihood is the handicrafts. The state government’s handicrafts emporium promotes local weaving and knitting. Local carpets, bedsheets, cushion covers and gali (skirts) are sold at the emporium outlet. Trainer Drema Naksang says she has four workers under her in the knitting section. The carpet weaving section has five workers. The wool used for the handicrafts comes from Ludhiana.
“All these workers come from the villages. They work from Monday to Friday and go back to the villages in the weekends,” says Naksang, who got training in knitting in Ziro and has a government job for the last 25 years.
The emporium also promotes carpentry and wood work. Women take up knitting and weaving, men go for carpentry. The handicrafts are sold outside Mechukha and fetch good price.
“Farming is no more an option when so many livelihood opportunities are available in today’s world. Our children can earn better and have a better future if they go for government or private job or start-up. True that we have to buy food from outside at a higher rate but this is the way of life now,” says Sharjo, sitting comfortably near the hearth inside his restaurant.
Kolkata: Kolkata has always been known for its ability to soak in all kinds of forces positive, negative and also neutral. It is unique. On one hand it has been the hotbed of social activism, where homemakers and students are protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR), which tries to draw religious lines in the social firmament of the country. The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair, on the other hand, has proved to be a platform to exercise religious harmony and an understanding for other religions.
Showing no signs of any religious divide, the book worms are thronging the fair with renewed gusto.
Many famous book stores have put up stalls, either standalone or inside one of the two halls. Competing with them are stalls, which are of religious nature, propagating their faith or of the government stalls like the government of West Bengal, department of mass education extension and library services etc, or of the religious variety, like the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Seva Sadan Trust, Sri Sarada Math & Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, The Bible Society of India.
One can easily get an abridged free copy of the holy Quran or the holy Bible, being distributed by the faithful followers of Islam and Christianity.
But in these turbulent times, one of the stalls, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamat, (No. 401) instantly draws attention for its position. It is placed opposite Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) stall (No. 370). One wonders if their placement is by design or plain coincidence. This, at a time when there is so much social upheaval over religious prosecution of minorities in neighbouring countries or targeting of minorities within the country over CAA.
But the stall occupants do not think so. They are not much perturbed with their placement. In fact, one of them thinks that it is good that they are placed opposite each other. If a visitor is visiting one of the stalls, he or she will be drawn to the other stall out of curiosity.
Talking about the stall, which has been a regular feature at International Kolkata Book Fair over the years, Mubashir Ahmed Munir, a missionary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, said the special feature of them has been the wide subjects on display. “Apart from our regular books, we have a prominent section of our wall dedicated to the Quran. Here we have showcased the holy Quran displayed in 56 languages. Though we have the translation of the holy book in 76 languages, we could not put up all on display for paucity of space,” said Munir.
Ask him about the placement of the stall, raising eyebrows of visitors, opposite to the VHP stall, who follow a very different ideology, Munir is not bothered. “This is not in our hands and I do not think this is deliberate. We have all been allotted spaces through lottery. But, there is no harm if the two stalls are facing each other. The placement can be beneficial for us as people visiting one stall will also visit the other out of curiosity,” said Munir. Later, the missionary was seen explaining to the handful of visitors at the stall about the ideals of Mirza Gulam Ahmed of Kadian, whose principle the sect follows.
Munir was joined by other missionaries, who said, “The stall and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad have gained significance more so in present times as the country is in turmoil. Islam has been projected wrongly and we have to understand the religion better.”
On being asked about his organization’s stall facing the Ahmadiyaa Muslim Jamat stall, Sourish Mukherjee, spokesperson, state VHP, said, “The state government has given the stall through lottery and we had no say over it. Moreover, the BJP is completely prepared to tackle any inadvertent situation caused by anyone. The people’s response to VHP despite all odds by the state government and other opposition is noteworthy as people in large numbers are visiting our stall. Even the student and resident of Burdwan, who had misbehaved with Union minister Babul Supriyo visited out stall on Wednesday.”
In keeping with the religious bonhomie, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, who was visiting the VHP stall on Thursday, also visited the Ahmadiyaa Muslim Jamat stall and was presented the book ‘World Crisis and the pathways to Peace’ by Mirza Masroor Ahmad.
Coincidence or not, book lovers will not mind the placement and cut across ideologies to just concentrate on the teachings of the faith and unity in diversity theme.
Kolkata: One would expect an exciting discussion when actress Swara Bhaskar, radio jockey Jimmy Tangri, actress Saayoni Ghosh, film director Arnab Middya and author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu came together for a talk show at the 44th International Kolkata Book Fair on Tuesday. And they did not disappoint!
The session– Media, Literature and Society, was a successful one. Though the discussion was, how media and literature affect the society and the vice versa, the panelists could not but talk about how the media and the literary world is affected by what is happening in the society presently.
The Nil Battey Sannata actress Swara Bhaskar, who has been very vocal against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and visiting different forum campaigning against it, did not mention CAA issue, and remained focused that the media is being muzzled by the people in power. Bengali actress Saayoni Ghosh too was forthcoming with her version on how the people from the acting fraternity are being sidelined for expressing their opinion against the government.
First to speak at the show, Saayoni said today it is being told that poets are not real, they live in fantasy. She said she could rather wake up to a dream than to a bitter reality. She rued the fact that people, in general, are happy with what they have and not move out of their comfort zone. “We see students being compelled to protest, they are not studying. If people are not literate, how can they be literary?” she asked. She pointed out at another problem the society is facing today is that children are more interested in information than knowledge, more interested in getting updated than being educated. “The media is supposed to give us a true narrative of the society. But it has changed. There is yellow journalism. People who have an opinion are being showed aside. The society is getting drifted from the truth and the more the drift, the more it will hate the people who speak it. Today, there is an historian who is being heckled on the streets, a professor in Varanasi who is being boycotted from teaching Sanskrit because of his religion. What is going to make India rich is its homogeneity that binds us together, said the actress.
Continuing from where Saayoni left, the Bollywood actress, who has a strong voice of her own and has raised it against injustice in the society, said media does the job of amplifying stories for the society. The stories are powerful. But, the system feels the need to control the stories the media show.
What binds the three aspects of our lives, she asked. “Society is where strong stories are born, literature tells those stories. We do something similar. Literature sometimes takes the form of cinema. Media does the job of amplifying those stories. But we live in a time when people in power feel the need to control even the stories being told. That is the power of stories. We have all our lives being told of Ravana from someone else’s perspective. When we hear Supranakha’s story from her mouth and not from a man recording the story, it makes us wonder if what happened to her is completely unjust and unfair. Stories teach us empathy and humanity. We live in a time when in the society where there is a paranoia of such powerful stories being disseminated. Today, our country is being mired with protests by common citizens who come to the streets to stand up for our constitution. Standing at the literary platform I must say the first set of protests started, when this government came to power, was when authors refused and returned awards by the government. That was a powerful gesture, rejecting hate,” she said.
But before making her thoughts known she gave a disclaimer that she is a polite person at heart. “I have to keep proving myself as on Twitter I come across as being possessed by some ill-mannered spirit,” she said.
Author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, whose latest book Status Single: The Truth About Being Single Woman in India is being sold out well at the fair, she has tried to bring out voices of the people to the fore, be it the topic of sedition or the story of a young girl, who was being brutalized by a godman in the pretext of teaching her how to become a mother. RJ Jimmy Tangri talked how using a medium of radio he was able to save people from committing suicide and connected 26 couples on air. For him that is the power of the media, while director Arnab Middya talked about how telling a story on cinema is so difficult.
Prof. Ujjwal K. Chowdhury, pro vice-chancellor Adamas University moderated the show.
