Ranchi: Now it’s clear that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has not only to contest with opposition candidate at Jamshedpur East assembly constituency, but also his own party leader and former minister – Saryu Roy in the Jharkhand assembly polls.
On Monday, November 18, both Raghubar Das and Saryu Roy, a former cabinet minister in Das’ cabinet filed their candidatures from Jamshedpur East seat.
Three times MLA, Roy, was BJP legislator from Jamshedpur West. However, he was denied party ticket in this assembly polls. Roy has been constantly raising corruption and other issues of Raghubar government. Now, the rebel BJP leader will contest against Jharkhand CM on Jamshedpur East seat, where Das is a sitting MLA. Roy will also be contesting from Jamshedpur West.
Before filing his papers, Roy has resigned both from minister-ship as well as legislator’s position. However, so far, neither has he left BJP nor has the party taken any action against him.
Before filing his nominations, former Jamshedpur West MLA addressed a gathering and said, “I started my political career from JP Andolan. Party says there should be a movement against corruption, PM also says that there will be zero tolerance against corruption, but when I say that there should be a movement against corruption, then my statement goes against the government.”
Roy further said, “Whatever issues I have raised, only 5 per cent has been reported by the media, 95 per cent resides in the files only. I believe all those information should be made public.”
“There is an environment of fear in Jamshedpur. And there is pollution too. These issues should not be ignored. But saying so, my ticket has been put on hold. So the person who made it all this happen, I decided to stand against him. I will file nominations from both Jamshedpur East and West Assembly segments as an independent candidate,” he added.
A good number of supporters followed Roy as he went to file his nominations, but this time they were all sporting the Tri-Colour, instead of BJP’s saffron flag.
Post nominations, Roy was more harsh and claimed that he would get the fourth chief minister of Jharkhand jailed. Roy has been credited with exposing scams which sent former chief ministers—Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jagganath Mishra and Madhu Koda, behind the bars.
However, Raghubar Das is yet to react to Roy contesting elections against him.
But this is not the only challenge that the Jharkhand CM has to face, Congress candidate Gourav Vallabh too, looks all set to give the CM a tough fight. Gourav, a professor of XLRI, Jamshedpur is also Congress’ national spokesperson.
Gourav is the joint candidate from gathbandhan. The grand old party has an alliance with Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for the Jharkhand elections.
Kolkata: Not many would know about the Hunter Commission set up by the British to prepare a report on why Indian Muslims were revolting against their regime, just like the Sachar Commission was asked to study the issues that plague the Muslims community. And after the report was filed, the British aligned with progressive Muslims and encouraged the community to embrace English education, unlike the governments of today, who are yet to act on the recommendation made by the Sachar Commission.
Also, many of us wouldn’t have also thought for a second, about the complete absence of Bengali Muslims in Bangla Films and serials. This comes as surprise, given the fact that Tollywood is considered as progressive, while the negligible presence of Muslims in government jobs in Bengal, no longer is a secret.
These and many more thought provoking topic was discussed for the first time in Kolkata, during a two-day international conference Bengali Muslims at a crossroad. The conference was organised by Aliah University in association with Bengali Academia for Social Empowerment (BASE) at the Park Circus Campus of Aliah University. The event had a number of Bengali Academics presenting their research papers to academically reclaim the lost status of the Bengali Muslim in both West Bengal and India.
Over 50 academic research were presented before the audience, covering issues like Unemployment among the Muslims in West Bengal, Representation of Bengali Muslims in Bangla Films in Contemporary West Bengal, A Peep into the Jenana Mehfil: Bengali Muslim Women and their Wedding Centric Songs, Faith, Food and YouTube: Bengali Muslim Identity and Food Videos During Eid in Kolkata, The Identity Crisis of Bengali Muslims (West Bengal): After Partition and more.
Dr Maidul Islam added, “During my on-going research, I was even amazed to see, even sensitive filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Tapan Sinha, have failed to the Bengali Muslims a decent place in Bengali Cinema.” Citing examples he said, “While Tapan Sinha’s film never had a Bengali Muslim character. Those who will remind me about Kabuliwala, need to understand, that the Kabuliwala was an Afghan Muslim and not a Bengali Muslim. Ghatak’s film made films on Hindu Bangladeshi refugees but chose to neglect the Bengali Muslim, while Ray, in his film Hirak Rajar Deshe had a character called Abu Fazal, who was a peasant.
Dr Maidul Islam, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, presented an interesting paper, stressed upon – Representation of Bengali Muslims in Bangla Films in Contemporary Bengal. While presenting the paper, he said, “Post partition, Bengali Muslims have been conspicuously missing from Bengali Cinema. If you scan through the history of Bangla Films, you will see there are no films with Muslim characters as the protagonist. I call this phenomenon as Missing Muslims. Also, I have observed, during my research that Muslim characters if any in the film are increasingly being depicted as anti-social or terrorist. Also, there are specific stereotypes while representing Muslim characters. Like they must sport a beard and wear a skull cap.” Then he went on to add, “Such sketchy or biased representation only helps in creating a wrong perception about Muslims in general.”
Participants at the two-day event
He added, “During my on-going research, I was even amazed to see, even sensitive filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Tapan Sinha, have failed to the Bengali Muslims a decent place in Bengali Cinema.” Citing examples he said, “While Tapan Sinha’s film never had a Bengali Muslim character. Those who will remind me about Kabuliwala, need to understand, that the Kabuliwala was an Afghan Muslim and not a Bengali Muslim. Ghatak’s film made films on Hindu Bangladeshi refugees but chose to neglect the Bengali Muslim, while Ray, in his film Hirak Rajar Deshe had a character called Abu Fazal, who was a peasant.
The trend continues in present Tollywood cinema, where the filmmakers might introduce a Muslim character, but often they are non-Bengali Muslims. For example, Nandita Roy’s Haami had a Muslim character – Chacha Jaan, who was shown as skull cap-wearing, Hindi speaking Muslim. In Mishwar Rohoshyo, the Muslim character was an Egyptian Muslim, in Rajkahini, Rituparna Sengupta was Hindi speaking prostitute, while Kabir had a Muslim terrorist.”
According to Maidul, Hoi Choi Unlimited’s Azam Khan – a car mechanic, Mrinal Sen’s Amar Bhuban, Nobendu Chatterjee’s Monsur Miyaar Ghoda are some of the Bangla Cinema that can have been kind enough to give realistic celluloid representation to the Bengali Muslim.
Dr Mosarraph Hossain Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Presidency University, drew a parallel between the present time and the 1870s when the British government commissioned the Hunter Commission, just like the decade-old Sachar Committee Report to understand what was making the Muslim to revolt against the regime. “It was after this report that the British aligned with the progressive Muslims and encouraged the community to embrace English education. However, post-partition, most of the Muslim intellectuals moved on to Pakistan and Bangladesh (East Pakistan). The Bengali Muslims who stayed back were poor and not intellectually sound and lacked a proper middle-class community. However, with time, a middle class is emerging among the Bengali Muslims who stayed back in India, when Partition happened. This is the right time for us to reclaim our identity.”
A similar presentation by Samiya Roshni, a PhD scholar from Vidyasagar University, tried to highlight the Representation of Muslims in Bengali Television Serials. “After the partition, in the post – Independence era, Bengali Muslims never acquired a prominent space on Bengali silver screen, unlike Hindi cinema where Muslims were represented adequately both on-screen and off-screen. And whenever Muslims were represented in the narrow cinematic space, they were depicted mostly as a marginalized section of the society. This representation is the outcome of certain cultural hegemony, religious identity and its power structure and market economy,” noted Samiya.
Meanwhile, Dr Mosarraph Hossain Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Presidency University, drew a parallel between the present time and the 1870s when the British government commissioned the Hunter Commission, just like the decade-old Sachar Committee Report to understand what was making the Muslim to revolt against the regime. “It was after this report that the British aligned with the progressive Muslims and encouraged the community to embrace English education. However, post-partition, most of the Muslim intellectuals moved on to Pakistan and Bangladesh (East Pakistan). The Bengali Muslims who stayed back were poor and not intellectually sound and lacked a proper middle-class community. However, with time, a middle class is emerging among the Bengali Muslims who stayed back in India, when Partition happened. This is the right time for us to reclaim our identity.”
A woman participant asks question during the event
Sabir Ahamed, research coordinator of Pratichi, in his presentation Unemployment among the Muslims in West Bengal, chose to highlight, how even today, Bengal, despite its higher Muslim population, has very few Muslims as flag-bearers in government institutions. “Despite people accusing Mamata Banerjee of Muslim appeasement, I am unable to see its reflection in number of Muslims being employed in government sector,” said Ahamed, while talking to eNewsroom.
He then went on to explain, “Look at the data revealed through one of my RTI application. The latest Staff Census of Bengal government shows percentage of Muslims employed in Government sector is as little as 5.3, 4.24, 2.66, in Kolkata, Howrah and Purulia, to name a few. I won’t deny that female recruitment has improved and so has the female percentage for higher education. But what about a huge chunk of Bengali Muslim men who migrate from Bengal on a regular basis, in search of better work? No data is being maintained by the government on the huge number of these Bengali Muslim men, who are drop outs.”
He then asserted, “There is a huge need for Bengali Muslim representation in Bengal Politics, and so is the need to increase the number of job openings. In KMC alone the percentage of Muslim appointment has shrunk to a mere 5.29 per cent in the year 2019.
Meanwhile, speaking to eNewsroom, Abdul Matin, treasurer, BASE and co-convener of the conference, said, “This is a way of academically recording the issues, problems or development of the Bengali Muslims in India and also to offer a platform to researchers, where they can present their academic findings.”
Kolkata: In this exclusive interview, popular actor Sujan Mukhopadhyay (Neel) who has traversed the world of theatre, serial and cinema talks about his experiences of playing the titular role in the forthcoming docu-feature – Jete Nahi Dibo – a tribute to ‘Mahanayak’ Uttam Kumar. He also shares why November 22 will be a special day for him.
eNewsroom: Let’s start with November 22, 2019. It is going to be a special day for you…
Sujan: (Smiles) Oh! Absolutely. I am avidly waiting for November 22. It is indeed going to be a very special day for two reasons. Reason one: Jete Nahi Dibo a docu-feature, based on the life of our beloved ‘Mahanayak’ Uttam Kumar will be releasing on that day. It is directed by Prabir Roy and I have had the good fortune of playing ‘Uttam Kumar’ on screen for the first time. Reason two: Our theatre group Chetana will be celebrating its 47th birthday on that very day. To mark this occasion, we will be putting up a special show of our new play Rani Creusa, written by Bratya Basu and directed by me. I would also like to share some wonderful news with regards to Rani Creusa, but will inform the readers about it during the course of this interview.
eNewsroom: Well, before we talk in detail about the docu-feature and Rani Creusa, allow us to congratulate you for winning this year’s Ramaprasad Banik Memorial Award at the recently concluded Purba Paschim Theatre Festival.
Sujan: Thank you so much. It was definitely an emotional moment for me. Although, I did not get the honour to share the stage with Ramada, but it was an enriching experience to attend the voice modulation workshops that he conducted for our theatre group – Chetana, founded by my father Arun Mukhopadhyay. Interestingly, I got the opportunity to work with him in the immensely popular megaserial – Janmabhumi. Ramada had also directed the television adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s short story, Goyenda and he had asked me to join this venture. I was in awe. We had a wonderful time during its making.
During the filming I learnt that Uttambabu was not allowed to smoke during the later years of his life. Cigarette was a big ‘NO’ for him, so, instead of lighting one, he would simply smell it. He used to play the harmonium and also sing a particular Rabindrasangeet whenever he was sad. As his friend and confidant, Prabirda has been a treasure trove of information. For example, he informed us how Uttambabu had the habit of changing punjabi (kurta) several times during the course of an evening since he disliked sporting sweat-stained punjabis. The audience will have to watch the docu-feature to learn more.
eNewsroom: Tell our readers about Jete Nahi Dibo.
Sujan: The director of this docu-feature, Prabir Roy was very close to Uttam Kumar during the last ten years of his life. Prabirda was with him till his death. This venture is his tribute to Uttam Kumar. It is not a biopic and this docu-feature which has been in the making for two years now has been made on a very limited budget, but Prabirda has incorporated many unknown information and myriad facets of the Mahanayak as much as one can in this format. During his lifetime, Uttam Kumar enjoyed a larger-than-life stature. He still does. To the world, he was an iconic actor, but he was a real person whose life was laced with happiness, sadness, success and downfalls. This docu-feature will enable fans of the Mahanayak to see the the human and humane side of both the man and the actor.
eNewsroom: Share with our readers a few information about Uttam Kumar that you learnt during the making of the docu-feature.
Sujan: Let’s see. There are so many… Okay, during the filming I learnt that Uttambabu was not allowed to smoke during the later years of his life. Cigarette was a big ‘NO’ for him, so, instead of lighting one, he would simply smell it. He used to play the harmonium and also sing a particular Rabindrasangeet whenever he was sad. As his friend and confidant, Prabirda has been a treasure trove of information. For example, he informed us how Uttambabu had the habit of changing punjabi (kurta) several times during the course of an evening since he disliked sporting sweat-stained punjabis. The audience will have to watch the docu-feature to learn more.
Sujan Mukhopadhyay in a scene of Jete Nahi Dibo
eNewsroom: Will one get to see you right from the very beginning of the docu-feature?
Sujan: No. I play the mature Uttam Kumar. My role starts from the day when he arrived at Surpriya Devi’s house in his trademark punjabi and pyjama. Except for the clothes on his back, he had left everything else behind.
eNewsroom: Have you ever met Uttam Kumar in real life?
Sujan: There is a photograph of me with him. I was very young then. Uttambabu had come to see a play of our group -Chetana – but I do not remember much about that meeting.
eNewsroom: Were you surprised when you were asked to play Uttam Kumar?
Sujan: (Laughs) More than you can imagine! There is actually an interesting story behind this. There was a ‘fun contest’ going on Facebook where one had to recreate Uttam Kumar’s famous ‘sunglass look’ from one of his all-time greatest hits – Nayak, directed by Satyajit Ray. Out of the four photographs, one was original one, the remaining three were ‘lookalikes’ and one had to guess which one is the original photograph. Well, like a true blue Uttam Kumar fan, I had taken ‘part’ in this contest and many had pegged my picture as the original one! Prabirda had seen this photograph and decided to approach me.
eNewsroom: As an actor, this must have been an immense challenge for you. Before you Prosenjit Chatterjee had donned the mantle of ‘Uttam Kumar’ in the serial Mahanayak, directed by Birsa Dasgupta and recently Jisshu U Sengupta played him in Mahalaya, directed by Soumik Sen…
Sujan: …I think that both Bumbada (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Jisshu have done an amazing job. See, every time a biopic or a docu-feature is made – be it on Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy or Rabindrabath Tagore or any other great personality, the actor portraying them has to brace himself or herself for the audience’s comparison and eventual verdict. But despite all that, it is an honour to get selected and essay the role of an icon. There is no way you can replace the original person, but you can play him or her in the best manner possible. I am not ‘the’ Uttam Kumar. I will never be, but as an actor I have tried to do justice to the role and portray certain nuances of his character and characteristics to the best of my ability. For me, it was both a challenge and a fulfilling experience.
eNewsroom: Why do you think that the serial – Mahanayak -which was based on his life did not work?
Sujan: It is difficult to state as to why certain serials work and certain don’t. It is the peoples’ decision. All the makers can do is abide by their verdict. I have not seen all the episodes, but I feel that the vision of the serial got a bit blurred. I have heard people say that the serial had too much masala and that did not go down well with the masses. There is always a tussle when one is making movies or serials or even documentaries based on the lives of the great people. For a filmmaker who wants to be true to the character and also to his or her craft, this becomes a challenge. There can be problem with too much glorification and he or she can be hauled up for showcasing the character with all his or her flaws. This is indeed a tightrope walk.
A poster of Jete Nahi Dibo in Kolkata. Sujan/FB
eNewsroom: The TRP factor also comes in…
Sujan: Yes, it does, However, I feel that when a serial has a good storyline, fantastic cast and is trying to be different from the milieu, one should see its intrinsic value and not its TRP rating. You remember the serial – Gaaner Oparey- created by late legendary director Rituparno Ghosh. The serial was highly appreciated, it had immense value but it had a short run on television since it was not a frontrunner in the TRP race. Isn’t that unfortunate?
eNewsroom: Tell us about Rani Creusa now which has been directed by you.
Sujan: As stated earlier, Rani Creusa has been written by Bratya Basu is based on a Greek mythology, but Bratyada has added many contemporary facets. It questions the notion of democracy. It showcases its fallacy. There are shades of Karna-Kunti, there is struggle between gods and human being – power struggle for existence and it also discusses what happens in a society when religion threatens to take over when order and ideology fails. Composer Prabuddha Banerjee has done a marvellous job with the music. The entire star cast that includes Shaheb Chattopadhyay, my wife Nibedita Mukhopadhyay, Rishav Basu and other members of Chetana have given their very best and made the play a grand success.
eNewesroom: And now how about sharing that piece of ‘wonderful news’ about Rani Creusa that you promised to share with our readers?
Sujan: Ah! Yes! Rani Creusa has been selected at the 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsav, 2020, organised by National School of Drama, New Delhi. It was selected from a bouquet of 800 plays! After Don — Taake Bhalo Laage, this will be my second outing at the festival as a director. What’s more the play has also been selected for the 5th National Theatre Festival 2020, organised by Minerva Natya Sanakriti Charcha Kendra, Department of Information & Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal.
eNewsroom: Well, you have lots going on… So, will your fans get to see you in movies?
Sujan: Absolutely. I am part of Indraadip Dasgupta’s Agantuk starring Abir Chatterjee and Sohini Sarkar. Next there is Tonic – a social drama – helmed by debutant director Abhijit Sen. I will go back to directing a new play in May-June 2020.
Kolkata: Is the age-old star system in the Hindi film industry staring down the barrel? Or in other words, are we turning our backs on stardom in our pursuit of ideas or content with meat? Over the last few years, thanks to the emergence of actors like Irrfan Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and the multi-talented Rajkummar Rao and the occasional failures of magnum opuses, opulence seems to have faced a jolt and small films with stories that strike a chord with the audiences have stirred up interests of the film goers. But in an industry that runs on crores, is it pragmatic enough to shun stardom?
To get things in perspective, it’s in the negative. Co-existence is the need of the hour and a Mardaani 2 can be conceived only if the production house has a War. The Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff starrer raked in crores at the box office and for the producers Yash Raj Films, it only accentuates its strive towards experimenting.
Similarly, a Salman Khan can launch newcomers under the aegis of his banner if he has a couple of blockbusters to his credit. Aamir and Shah Rukh too can promote talent from the scratch, if they have bucks to back them. That’s reality!
For a film industry to sustain, the numbers are imperative. And we cannot ride piggyback on small and medium-budget films – we need potboilers with superstars that can ensure initials. In 2019, Akshay Kumar has had a dream run with Mission Mangal and Housefull 4. Can we state with utmost conviction that the movies hit it right at the ticket corners only because of the storylines? No, to be precise! A Akshay Kumar matters, so do the likes of Salman, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Ajay Devgn. At the end of the day, it is all about packaging with the appropriate ingredients. Versatility triumphs and a superstar like Hrithik can churn out two different films like Super 30 and War. Beat that!
Looking back, every film industry has banked on the star system. In Bollywood, it was matinee idols who ruled the roost before the advent of parallel cinema in the mid-‘70s that introduced actors like Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah and others who catered to a niche circuit. But the provocations of the glamour world were alluring and Puri and Shah too forayed into the mainstream genre. However, their rise was no impediment for commercially-viable actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty and others who had their committed and unwavering fan base.
The coveted Rs 300-crore club has Ranveer, Ranbir, Hrithik, Salman and Aamir in it. And add to it, the newest star on the block Tiger whose high-octane action sequences are soaring the temperature. A dull year for the Khans as they had in 2018 spells crisis for the film industry.
An SRK, dilly-dallying on his next has the viewers go berserk with impatience. Discussions and speculations on the 2020 Eid clash between Salman’s Radhe and Akshay’s Laxmmi Bomb are hitting headlines ad nauseam. What do these signify? Do we still carry on advocating the precedence of substance over stardom?
Looking back, every film industry has banked on the star system. In Bollywood, it was matinee idols who ruled the roost before the advent of parallel cinema in the mid-‘70s that introduced actors like Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah and others who catered to a niche circuit. But the provocations of the glamour world were alluring and Puri and Shah too forayed into the mainstream genre. However, their rise was no impediment for commercially-viable actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty and others who had their committed and unwavering fan base.
With utmost reverence for Ayushmann and Rajkummar, it is still early days for them to be larger-than-life. Years of perseverance and tenacity have made megastars out of the Khans, Kumars and Devgns.
Even in 2000’s when the demarcation between art and masala entertainers was abridged, there was no imminent threat to stars who continued to entertain the audiences in their own imitable way.
Heterogeneity makes audiences go spoilt for choice. The success of one genre does not take a toll on another and mutual trust and admiration for each other is what opens the road to the pinnacle.
With utmost reverence for Ayushmann and Rajkummar, it is still early days for them to be larger-than-life. Years of perseverance and tenacity have made megastars out of the Khans, Kumars and Devgns.
Producers and exhibitors should refrain from falling prey to creative divergence at the expense of revenues.
The current scenario in Bollywood provides a room for a level-playing field where variety dictates terms. And when we say variety, it should not be confined to only the ‘metier’section. Does this suffice without ruffling feathers?
Kolkata: “Today you all are watching me not because I am smarter than any of you, or I am more talented than any of you, no, certainly not! I am speaking here in front of you because I have made more mistakes and perhaps seen more failures, rejections, humiliations than any of you!”
An ex-army officer, an actor, a motivational speaker and a theatre artist, Mohammed Ali Shah visited Kolkata for a few days when eNewsroom caught him and talked to him about his life and career. A complete changed person from his childhood, he is now one of the most famous motivational speakers in the country. “In my childhood I was very underconfident, shy and timid and in other words they would call me a very sissy character,” shares Agent Vinod actor.
Being a faculty member of the Whistling Woods International Institute of film, art and media, in Mumbai, Ali Shah has also delivered speeches at reputed platforms like the TEDX talks, Josh talks among others. Technically, Ali is one of the highest paid motivational speakers in the country.
Listen to Mohammed Ali Shah, the motivational speaker
“You know, I was never chasing money or commerce, I was chasing art, I worked on my skills, being better than the best,” he said. Failing is not a mountain on the way of success but just another step of it is what he believes in. With this belief he has faced and conquered all rejections in life, emerging as one of the as successful men.
Ali fell in love with the army uniform at the age of 5, his father Lieutenant General Zamir Uddin Shah was in the army and he had huge respect for him. But his failures dimmed his chances to join the army as a child, but his hopes did not die. He kept on working hard and through many mistakes and appreciations, he made it. “This guy who failed consistently in his marching tests, the parade tests and was not allowed to participate in the passing out parade was selected to lead the Assam Rifle’s Marching Contingent on Rajpath, New Delhi, on January 26, 2008, which was the very last year of my Short Service Commission,” he confessed.
The nephew of legendary actor Naseeruddin Shah, Ali is also a Dastango, a storyteller.
Kolkata: The roars have been silenced and the Bangla Tigers have been decimated at Indore. Virat Kohli’s men have added another victory to their tally and with it, additional points in the table for the World Test Championship. Bravado at its best! Can you imagine India with 300 points, are way ahead of second-placed New Zealand who only have a meagre 60? Now, for a layman, it is a testament to India’s sheer supremacy so far so good. But, without undermining or taking anything away from India, let’s not have the final verdict!
Since the beginning of the ICC World Test Championship, India’s six victories on the trot have come against weak opponents on benign tracks. Be it against a beleaguered West Indies on their soil or a struggling South Africa and a Bangladesh handicapped in the absence of two of their star players in Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal (they wouldn’t have made any difference though) on placid Indian tracks – it has been a one-sided show propelling Team India to the top. In every department of the game, Kohli and team have upped the bar –batters are toying with bowling, seamers are lethal and spinners are just turning it left and right. Well, an absolute decimation of opponents for sure!
Former India skipper and the current president the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Saurav Ganguly has always reiterated that a team should be assessed on the basis of its performance overseas especially outside the sub-continent (if it’s an Asian country). Ganguly would know it the best as his record at the helm abroad is enviable.
Kohli as captain has already attained legendary status and is hailed as the best ever. But aren’t we rushing through?
Former India skipper and the current president the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Saurav Ganguly has always reiterated that a team should be assessed on the basis of its performance overseas especially outside the sub-continent (if it’s an Asian country). Ganguly would know it the best as his record at the helm abroad is enviable.
Following the same logic, it is too early to go into raptures about Kohli and team.
Outside Asia, we were beaten 2-1 by South Africa (2017-18) and 4-1 by England (2018) but managed to rewrite history by winning a Test series Down Under in 2018 for the first-time ever. And then we scripted a Test series win over a much-maligned West Indian side – will it go down the annals of history as worth talking about? Now, with due respect, wouldn’t the Aussies have come all guns blazing had they had Steve Smith and David Warner in their ranks? Patriotism runs high when Indians simply destroy opponents but with a tweak. Don’t we expect this team to show the same ruthlessness under challenging conditions abroad? Can’t we look for double hundreds from our batsmen at ease on bouncy tracks at the Gabba or WACA? Can we envisage Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja making a mockery of batsmen at Lord’s?
Team India’s skipper Virat Kohli applauds the Indore audience after defeating Bangladesh
Looking back, one team that had opponents on their feet with its weaponry, was West Indies under Clive Lloyd. With its menacing pace battery and deadly batting lineup, they were invincible in the true sense. No other team in Test matches has rendered its rivals so redundant and pusillanimous like Lloyd’s men. They were invincible everywhere irrespective of the conditions. A Malcom Marshall or a Michael Holding was 140-145 km/hour even on innocuous pitches in Asia.
Such was the strength of the team. Down the road, Steve Waugh’s Australian team had the same wherewithal to annihilate teams all over.
The interesting part is that both the teams’ run were somewhat stymied by India – West Indies were beaten by Kapil’s Devils in the 1983 Prudential Cup and Waugh’s men were taken aback by the zeal of Ganguly’s boys in 2001. But their unconquerable run cannot be rebuffed. As an avid cricket watcher, it would be an absolute delight to witness Kohli’s men making merry of their opponents all across the world in all the formats. Without an iota of bias, this team has the potential to be indestructible. Apart from its depth in batting, the success of the pacers on not-so-friendly Indian tracks gives us hope. Here’s signing off with a message for King Kohli – Sheer dominance against all odds is what separates the best from the rest (Kohli would second that)! So, let’s not get carried away, the best is awaited!
Bhopal: For over 30 years, activist Abdul Jabbar struggled to get medical and economic rehabilitation for the victims of Bhopal Gas Disaster of 1984 which had claimed an estimated 20,000 lives over the years and afflicted over a lakh of persons with a variety of ailments. Whatever has taken place in the two fields is mainly due to his efforts. But he left this world on Thursday night (November 14) without his own medical and economic rehabilitation.
Himself a victim of the world’s biggest industrial disaster, he was diabetic, had partially lost his eyesight (treated in a Tamil Nadu hospital with the funds collected through the efforts of senior journalist Hartosh Singh Bal) and was also suffering from heart and kidney problems. Sometime back his left foot was injured in an accident and the injury had developed gangrene. He was admitted to Kamla Nehru Hospital meant for the gas victims. Later he was taken to the so-called super speciality Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) which was constructed under the direction of the Supreme Court to provide specialised treatment to the gas victims.
Senior journalist and a close friend of Jabbar’s Aashutosh Shukla wrote in the Times of India two days ago that the two hospitals could not provide the required treatment to Jabbar. Shukla quoted Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Gas Relief, Ravi Verma as admitting to a shortage of expert doctors in the various Gas Relief hospitals and adding that Jabbar had been admitted to a private nursing home and the total expenditure on his treatment would be borne by the Gas Relief Department.
Whenever there was another programme like holding a rally or undertaking a march, the survivors made their own contributions to defray the expenses. This all had a disastrous effect on his family life as well as on his personal health.
Of the dozens of voluntary organisations which had sprung up in Bhopal in the wake of the tragedy, only Jabbar’s Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan (BGPMUS) remained active and completely dedicated to the victims’ rehabilitation. When Jabbar was not busy finalising a petition or appeal to seek relief for the victims, he was running around Gas Relief hospitals or dispensaries pleading the case of some survivor who had earlier been turned away. At other times he was trying to find some soft employment for those whose physical strength had been shattered by the effect of the MiC gas inhaled when the tragedy had occurred. His assistance had been sought by almost every one of the survivors either for getting medicine or for processing his papers for compensation or for pleading with a claims court judge who had rejected the papers on flimsy grounds.
Jabbar was shy of seeking funds. The advice by his friends to create a corpus (for which many of his well-wishers had expressed their eagerness to contribute) was always dismissed by him with cynicism. His belief was that fund collection led to various ills. Matters were arranged on ad hoc basis. Some public spirited advocates, Prashant Bhushan mainly, helped in preparation of petitions and appeals and some friends contributed for the paper work.
Whenever there was another programme like holding a rally or undertaking a march, the survivors made their own contributions to defray the expenses. This all had a disastrous effect on his family life as well as on his personal health.
With Jabbar’s death, it gets urgency. For those who wish to contribute, here are the details: Sayra Bano; Account No. 062510029807; Bank of Baroda (formerly Dena Bank); IFSC Code BKDN 0810625; T T Nagar Bhopal Branch.
After the Gas Relief hospitals had failed him and he was admitted to the private nursing home, the State Government had become aware of the gravity of his condition and taken the initiative to shift him to Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai, for better medical care. While the logistics were being worked out, Jabbar had two massive heart attacks, one after the other and that was all.
Some of his friends had, meanwhile, decided to seek public contributions to support his family comprising his wife Sayra and three young children. An account was also opened in a nationalised bank in Sayra’s name and an appeal was issued for contribution. With Jabbar’s death, it gets urgency. For those who wish to contribute, here are the details: Sayra Bano; Account No. 062510029807; Bank of Baroda (formerly Dena Bank); IFSC Code BKDN 0810625; T T Nagar Bhopal Branch.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he five-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court began their 1045 page verdict by aptly calling the Ayodhya dispute almost as old as the idea of India. Then the bench reminded us of our ancient civilisational values of assimilation, inclusion and harmony as well as modern constitutional principles of secular democracy that our founding fathers had followed despite the counter-currents in the stormy days of Partition. At the fag end too, the court stressed on the constitutional principle that ‘all forms of belief, worship and prayer are equal’ and those who ‘interpret the Constitution, enforce it and engage with it can ignore this only to the peril of our society and nation’.
Explaining further in the ‘conclusion of title’ of the 1500 square yards of the disputed land in Ayodhya, the bench insisted that ‘the court does not decide title on the basis of faith or belief but on the basis of evidence’. Nevertheless, the bench noted several times that the Muslim side did not question the Hindu faith about Lord Rama’s birth in Ayodhya. They had only contested the claim that he was born precisely under the central dome of the demolished Babri mosque and denied that the mosque came up over the ruins of an earlier temple dedicated to the deity.
The bench rigorously examined the findings of Archeological Survey of India and its earlier scrutiny by the Allahabad bench of Lucknow High Court. Though the ASI excavations (sans the area where the idol of Ramlala is ‘virajman’ since 1949) in 2003 found elaborate ruins of earlier non-Islamic structures of different periods of our history, the SC bench did not find categorical confirmation or conclusive proof of an ancient Rama temple underneath. So the purported original sin of the founder of the Mughal dynasty or his henchmen; construction of a mosque on the man-made ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the popular icon of Hindu faith and glory, was not established.
ASI report was inconclusive
The bench rigorously examined the findings of Archeological Survey of India and its earlier scrutiny by the Allahabad bench of Lucknow High Court. Though the ASI excavations (sans the area where the idol of Ramlala is ‘virajman’ since 1949) in 2003 found elaborate ruins of earlier non-Islamic structures of different periods of our history, the SC bench did not find categorical confirmation or conclusive proof of an ancient Rama temple underneath. So the purported original sin of the founder of the Mughal dynasty or his henchmen; construction of a mosque on the man-made ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the popular icon of Hindu faith and glory, was not established.
The contest over possession
However, the bench noted the long-drawn communal contest over the piece of land during the colonial period. “On the balance of probabilities, there is clear evidence to indicate that the worship by the Hindus in the outer courtyard continued unimpeded in spite of the setting up of a grill-brick wall in 1857. As regards the inner courtyard, there is evidence on a preponderance of probabilities to establish worship by the Hindus prior to the annexation of Oudh by the British in 1857.”
So, despite the lack of evidence of total and continued possession by the Muslims, the existence of a functioning mosque was accepted.
In contrast, “The Muslims have offered no evidence to indicate that they were in exclusive possession of the inner structure prior to 1857 since the date of the construction in the sixteenth century. However, there is evidence to show that namaz was offered in the structure of the mosque and the last Friday namaz was on 16 December 1949”.
So, despite the lack of evidence of total and continued possession by the Muslims, the existence of a functioning mosque was accepted.
Violation of rule of law in between 1949-1992
Moreover, the bench noted the reasons for intermittent discontinuity. “The exclusion of the Muslims from worship and possession took place on the intervening night between 22/23 December 1949 when the mosque was desecrated by the installation of Hindu idols. The ouster of Muslims on that occasion was not through any lawful authority but through an act which was calculated to deprive them of their place of worship. ”
Commenting on more recent development, the bench noted: “During the pendency of the suits, the entire structure of the mosque was brought down in a calculated act of destroying a place of public worship. The Muslims have been wrongly deprived of a mosque which had been constructed well over 450 years ago.” Observing that,’ there was no abandonment of the mosque by the Muslims’, the lordships pointed to the court’s constitutional duty. “The Court in the exercise of its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution must ensure that a wrong committed must be remedied. Justice would not prevail if the Court were to overlook the entitlement of the Muslims who have been deprived of the structure of the mosque through means which should not have been employed in a secular nation committed to the rule of law.”
The twist in logic
However, the logical underlining of verdict took unexpected twists and turns at the remedial order. First, bench set aside the ‘three-way bifurcation’ of disputed land ordered by the High Court in 2010 as both’ legally unsustainable’ and ‘not feasible’ in terms of ‘maintaining public peace and tranquility’. As the ‘disputed site ad-measures all of 1500 square yards’, it’s division ‘ will not sub-serve the interest of either of the parties or secure a lasting sense of peace and tranquility’, the bench argued.
So, the lack of evidences for continued and total possession, particularly before and after 1857 (year of first Hindu-Muslim joint struggle for Independence) when both Sunni Mughal power and Shia Nawabs in Oudh were powerless and the mutiny-struck colonial Raj had unfolded it’s divide and rule policy, became crucial for the denial of the land title or part of it to Muslims. Perhaps this the first time, the law on adverse possession or lack of it as well as religious texts and colonial historiography have been used to this extent to buttress majority faith-based claims.
True, hawks at both sides have succeeded in stalling an out of court consensus, thus binding the hands of the court. But the invocation of article 142 of the constitution empowered the court to find a more imaginative and equitable way of sharing based on the syncretic tradition of Ayodhya, still practiced despite marginalization by the excluvists in both communities as well as letters and spirit of the constitution.
But the claims of the majority faith were accepted because ‘on a balance of probabilities, the evidence in respect of the possessory claim of the Hindus to the composite whole of the disputed property stands on a better footing than the evidence adduced by the Muslims’. So the bench decided to hand over ‘the disputed site comprising of the inner and outer courtyards’ to Ram Lala Virajman, a party to legal contest as a ‘juristic person’ or a rightful holder of the property in law.
Further, the deity is granted human agency of his ‘next friend’, or VHP-controlled Ram Janan bhoomi Nyas to represent Him and maintain his rights. The claim of Nirmohi Akhara, a much older Monk order of Ram-Sita bhakta but not controlled by the Sangh parivar for traditional sevait rights stands rejected, though it has been given a berth in a government-run trust.
The bench first condemned ‘egregious violation of rule of law’ and ‘calculated’ crimes against the Constitution by the Hindu zealots in between 1949-92. But in queer turn in their infinite acumen and wisdom, finally awarded the criminals what they had asked for; exclusive right to the disputed land, simply because the latter claimed to be the rightful representatives of the presiding deity and in turn, the majority faith. The logic only legitimises the postmodern vandals and de facto acceptance of their misdeeds.
So, the lack of evidences for continued and total possession, particularly before and after 1857 (year of first Hindu-Muslim joint struggle for Independence) when both Sunni Mughal power and Shia Nawabs in Oudh were powerless and the mutiny-struck colonial Raj had unfolded it’s divide and rule policy, became crucial for the denial of the land title or part of it to Muslims. Perhaps this the first time, the law on adverse possession or lack of it as well as religious texts and colonial historiography have been used to this extent to buttress majority faith-based claims.
What does it mean?
The bench first condemned ‘egregious violation of rule of law’ and ‘calculated’ crimes against the Constitution by the Hindu zealots in between 1949-92. But in queer turn in their infinite acumen and wisdom, finally awarded the criminals what they had asked for; exclusive right to the disputed land, simply because the latter claimed to be the rightful representatives of the presiding deity and in turn, the majority faith. The logic only legitimises the postmodern vandals and de facto acceptance of their misdeeds.
Nonetheless, the bench found it ‘ necessary to provide restitution to the Muslim community for the unlawful destruction of their place of worship’. “Having weighed the nature of the relief which should be granted to the Muslims, we direct that land admeasuring 5 acres be allotted to the Sunni Central Waqf Board either by the Central Government out of the acquired land or by the Government of Uttar Pradesh within the city of Ayodhya.” But again, it is almost in the line of what the Sangh Parivar spin-masters had been selling for long: there is only one Ram Janamsthan, so vacate it and make a mosque elsewhere.
This Devil’s bargain, now legitimised in law, may be less sinister than the Partition but still gargantuan. With the zombie’s appetite is now being whetted, it’s not likely to stop at Ayodhya but march forward to Kashi and Mathura.
Kolkata: With slogans like CBCS Manchi Na, Manchi Na (We don’t want the CBCS system), We want more time and banners, hundreds of Calcutta University (CU) students protested in front of the university against Choice Based-Credit System (CBCS) on Wednesday.
The protest comes at a time when students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) are protesting against fee hike. However, here in Kolkata, students of CU have also started a movement against the recently introduced CBCS.
This system of marking introduced in 2018 by CU, aimed at cutting down of the system, allowing students to select their papers and above all introducing grade point system for the result declaration.
Under this system, to graduate, an honours student needs to have a CGPA of 4 and a general degree student needs to have a CGPA of 3. It is claimed that the system also make revaluation and reappearing for the students easier. Adding to this, 20 marks are allotted to internal exams that are conducted by the colleges and attendance respectively, the total being 80 marks, laboratory-based subjects will have 30 marks in practical tests and 50 in the theoretical paper. On the other hand, in the cases of other subjects, 15 marks will be allotted in the tutorials and 65 in the written.
Large number of students protesting before CU
However, this year the CBCS format could not function properly, thereby leading to discontent among the students, who gathered in large numbers in front of the university, to express their resentment through protests which remained between 11 am till 7 pm on November 13.
“We are not against the entire system. We are standing united against the system which puts our future at stake. We want justice,” said Rajni Kumari Singh, a second-year student of Journalism. She further informed that they had filed a petition before the Vice-Chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, in which all their disappointments have been listed.
According to the protesting students, the breathing period between two semesters is less than six months. As a consequence, the students are being unable to complete the syllabus for the third semester within three months.
CU students with posters and placards
“Half of the colleges affiliated to CU lack the infrastructure to carry on with the CBCS format, they lack in faculty, gadgets and proper administration is not there for which it is we, the students, who are suffering”, said Sapnapriya Ghosal, a 2nd-year student of CU.
The protest banners and the placard were carried out by students. “The CBCS system was installed for the welfare of the students only. But as it is, CU sees the faces of revolts now and then. I would suggest them to study instead of wasting time in protesting,” said a professor at CU, but seek anonymity.
Declaring examination dates, at the fag end, was an issue that the students need to flag. Sanjana, a Mass Communication student said, “This movement is not to disrupt the system but to fight for our rights. We have a huge syllabus to cover within a very short time and this cannot be how an educational institution should work.”
Chanting of slogans and the rally did not show any violence or did not hinder the formal duties and chores of the officials. The VC sympathized with their problems but refused to do anything about it. Despite all, students are clear on the fact, their demands need to be fulfilled and they would keep protesting till those in authority provide a solution to their problem,” said the Mujahiudil Siddique.
Shillong: Meghalaya government announcing that tourists and other visitors would need to go through a mandatory registration process has sparked a debate over the move’s exclusivity and rigidity. There is also apprehension on its effect on Meghalaya tourism industry.
About a fortnight back, the state cabinet approved the amendment of Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016, which now makes it mandatory for visitors to make online registration, before visiting the state.
The move looks potentially threatening for the tourism sector. Concerns have already been raised by RG Lyngdoh, the founding chairman of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum.
In 2017, 9.89 lakh domestic and 12,051 foreign tourists visited Meghalaya, higher than most of the northeastern states. At present, there is no restriction on the movement of tourists. But a section of the transporters feels the number of tourists will be substantially hit if the registration rule is implemented.
eNewsroom when contacted Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, he said, “Absolutely, it has to be sent to the governor. We are trying to do it (implement) at the earliest. We have to do multiple things apart from the ordinance. We also have to work on this software and a strong technology platform so that minimum inconvenience is caused to people visiting the state.”
The chief minister further said, “We will try to finish as early as possible but the starting point was the cabinet clearing it and now it has started and we will implement it as soon as possible.”
Simple process, nothing to fear?
He then went on to explain the idea behind taking such a stand. “The whole idea and whole purpose is to ensure that people entering the state as well as the people here in the state are safe. It is to ensure that we have all the information about people entering the state. The database will be interconnected. We will have the information from the hotel which will be interconnected with the database,” he explained. According to him, the software, which will be used for this purpose will be a simple one.
According to the CM, registration has to be done once, either before or after entering the hotel. And the entire registration procedure would take only 20 seconds. “A QR code will come in 20 seconds of one registering. For people who are working with private companies in the state just have to inform us (the government), they are working here. It will again be a simple process. This is not meant to cause inconvenience. Entry and exit points will have facilitation centres for people who do not use smartphones. Also, there will be scanning of QR code and if you don’t do there you can do it in the hotel.”
Tourism sector feels the heat
However, those in the tourism industry are sceptical of this scheme. “The new rule is the topic of discussion among us these days. The tourist flow in states like Arunachal, Aizawl or Nagaland is much lower than that in Meghalaya. With this registration thing, many will be discouraged to visit the state and this will hamper our business,” says a local tourist cab driver in his thirties. He drives his car and shuttles between Guwahati and Shillong.
His apprehension is shared by a Shillong city taxi driver who feels it is a dichotomy in the part of the state government that is trying to leverage tourism. The chief minister, Conrad Sangma, led a delegation to Bangladesh to have talks on tourism.
The Shillong Times, a local newspaper, recently quoted RG Lyngdoh as saying, “Firstly, it is not spelt out how the government will determine whether a visitor wants to stay for 24 hours or longer. Secondly, the infrastructure required to carry out the exercise should have been put in place and tested before the announcement was made.”
Some associated with the tourism sector in the state feel the announcement was made to appease the pressure groups, like the Khasi Students’ Union, which have been demanding inner line permit and stringent rules to put a check on migration.
Is a permit needed?
“It’s unfortunate that the states of this country are becoming more and more exclusive instead of being more inclusive. One of the most beautiful things about India is you can experience a lot of variety without visas. Some northeastern states have had these permits in the past but it was good to see Meghalaya didn’t have one. Why tourists need this permit is beyond me. The government could have collaborated with hotels if they wanted whereabouts of tourists. Almost everything is online these days. The state government can have everything on its fingertips. As a tourist I feel this procedure is not needed,” says Pratik, who visited Shillong two years ago.
It is already mandatory for hotels, guest houses and homestays in Shillong to submit details of tourists staying with them.
Another tourist, Subroto Maitra, said he loved Shillong and the people’s hospitality there and wanted to come back to the place. “But if registration and all start, then I think I will avoid a second visit. I avoid coming to the North East because of this. Shillong was the only place where you could visit without hassles,” said Maitra.
Another setback for business
After a ban on mining coal, the state’s revenue has suffered tremendously and tourism has become the only big source of income for the state exchequer. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has called for making the amended Act public followed by a debate involving civil society members.
But there are many who support the move.
“While debating on the issue, one has to keep in mind that the state belongs to them and if the people there are happy with the move and they feel secured then what’s the problem in implementing it. As far as tourists are concerned, those who want to go will go. Our tribal communities are small and they should be protected,” said Arnab, a Kolkata-based media person. He is among those who are supporting the move.
Citing an example of Italy, Arnab said, “Italy has a lot of rules for tourists, but does it mean people are not visiting Italy?”
“Being too inclusive may dilute tribal identity and outsiders will find ways to usurp land like many have done in Meghalaya by marrying Khasi women,” he pointed out.
The amended Act exempts non-tribals who are permanent settlers of Meghalaya. This is as inclusive as it gets for now considering Shillong’s violent past.
