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Son of Jharkhand lynching victim dies after complaining of headache, mother alleges foul play

Ranchi: The elder son of Alimuddin Ansari, who was lynched by a mob in Ramgarh on suspicion of carrying beef died today at a private hospital in Ranchi after complain of headache.

Twenty-two-year-old Shahzad Ansari was looking after the family after the brutal killing of his father, on June 29, 2017.

“Yesterday, he complained of headache. We did not take him to a government but private hospital, Lake View, in hope of availing better treatment for him. He wasn’t into any form of addiction. After the CT Scan, doctors told us that there was no issue and that he would be fine,” said Mariam Khatoon, the grieving mother told eNewsroom.

Mariam, however, suspects foul play in the part of hospital. She added, “The hospital killed my son. He was given so many injections, saying that it would help him to sleep. But my son never woke up again.”

The family on not being satisfied with the replies from hospital authorities had got discharged Shahzad and took him to RIMS, Ranchi, where he was declared brought dead.

Alimuddin’s second son, Shahbaj is also unable to understand how his brother died. He said, “Three years back, he had complain of a headache but it was never so serious, and he had got well soon after.”

Alimuddin, is survived by three sons and three daughters. Among the six, only eldest daughter had been married off. Sahzad along with her mother had fought a tough battle to get justice after his father’s killing. However, it had not last for long, as within a few months of the conviction (11 accused given a life term), all got bail by from the Jharkhand High Court.

Union Minister and MP from Hazaribagh, Jayant Sinha, who openly issued a statement in favour of the killers, had also garlanded them at his Hazaribagh residence when they got bailed.

The Minister, who never got the time to meet Alimuddin’s family, had to express regret for his action only after a worldwide outrage.

Shahzad’s death comes as another setback for the family, who has been a victim of India’s new found mob lynching culture.

When eNewsroom contact the Bablu Khan, the administrative head of Lake View Hospital, he claimed that there is negligence in the part of hospital. “We were not aware that Shahzad was son of Alimuddin Ansari, still on assessing economic situation of patient we did not take Rs 4600, the bill of the medicines.”

The treating Neurosurgeon, Dr Waqar told eNewsroom, “I had no idea that Shahzad was son of a lynching victim. He had a serious accident in 2013. And most probably had some internal injury. But his condition was not so serious yesterday when he was brought here. And the CT Scan was also not life threatening. But today morning, he was feeling drowsy and it was a matter of concern for me. Then I had suggested the family to shift the patient to ICU, but they did not get ready for it due to their financial condition. They wanted to take him to a government hospital for further treatment. I request the same to them in the afternoon, and when they again shown helplessness I agreed to discharge him.”

How a start-up from Kolkata saved the life of a leukemia patient from Bangladesh

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Kolkata: Twenty-seven-year-old Rima Begum, a resident of Chittagong, Bangladesh, was diagnosed with leukemia (blood cancer) almost a year ago. Rima had lost all hope of undergoing the bone marrow transplant recommended by doctors in Bangladesh.

“Lack of resources was the primary reason. We didn’t have enough funds for the life-saving treatment,” recounts Shafiqul Islam, Rima’s husband. He adds, “I was devastated when I learned that my wife had leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant. We decided to come to Kolkata for the treatment, but we were clueless about how to make the necessary arrangements.”

Despite the odds, they began searching for healthcare facilitators who could guide them toward proper treatment. That’s when they came across GlobalMedin India Healthcare Private Company, which helps Bangladeshi citizens access healthcare facilities in India.

“We immediately contacted MedInIndia officials, who were very approachable. When we explained our financial crisis, the company’s partners helped us secure the best medical treatment, logistics, and medication. They not only raised funds to support my wife’s bone marrow transplant but also guided us throughout the five months we spent in Kolkata,” Islam shared.

Rubayat Kadir, Managing Director of MedInIndia, elaborated, “We realized that they needed immediate help to save Rima. Honestly, we were just a few months old as a company when Shafiqul approached us. We are committed to helping those in need of medical treatment in India. When they shared their case with us, we initiated a crowdfunding campaign. Contributions from people in Bangladesh and India covered 50% of the total treatment cost. For the remaining 50%, MedInIndia stepped in to assist. Dr. Joydeep Chakrabartty, a top haemato-oncologist and bone marrow transplant expert, successfully performed the transplant at AMRI, Kolkata.”

Rima remains deeply grateful to her saviors. “We stayed in Kolkata for five months for the complete treatment. The company not only helped us secure appointments, meet doctors, undergo tests, and obtain medicines at discounted prices, but they also assisted us in renting an apartment for the recovery period. I successfully underwent the bone marrow transplant at AMRI and have now returned to Chittagong, healthy and grateful,” said Rima.


भाजपा एक छिपे हुए एजेंडे पर काम कर रही है, झारखंड सरकार विकास कोष का उपयोग पार्टी आधार बनाने के लिए कर रही है, यह एक बहुत बड़ा घोटाला है: हेमंत सोरेन

रांची: झारखंड के पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री और नेता प्रतिपक्ष हेमंत सोरेन ने eNewsroom को दिए एक विशेष साक्षात्कार में रघुबर दास द्वारा झारखंड में भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) के नेतृत्व में किए जा रहे घोटाले के बड़े आरोप लगाए। 17 जनवरी को, जब झारखंड के सभी विपक्षी दलों के नेताओं ने महागठबंधन के भविष्य के बारे में चर्चा करने के लिए अपने रांची निवास पर पहली बार मुलाकात की, उसके तुरंत बाद झारखंड मुक्ति मोर्चा (झामुमो) नेता ने हाल ही में संपन्न संघर्ष यात्रा (तीसरे चरण) के बारे में ही बात नहीं की बल्कि कैसे बीजेपी विधायक पर यौन उत्पीड़न और जबरन वसूली का आरोप होते हुए भी भाजपा ने कोई कार्यवाही नहीं की, मंडल डैम पर बहस करने की चुनौती स्वीकार की और झारखंड के मुख्यमंत्री के रूप में अपने कार्यकाल के दौरान झारखंड की जीडीपी बेहतर थी, वर्तमान रघुबर दास की नेतृत्व वाली सरकार से।

बातचीत के अंश निम्नलिखित हैं:

eNewsroom: आपकी संघर्ष यात्रा का उद्देश्य क्या है?

हेमंत: झारखंड में संघर्ष यात्रा के संचालन के लिए हमारे पास दो कारण थे – एक संगठनात्मक और अन्य राजनीतिक। पहले कारण के लिए, इस यात्रा का आयोजन पार्टी को मजबूत करने और हमारे कैडरों को सक्रिय करने के लिए किया गया था। दूसरी बात, इसके माध्यम से हम आम आदमी से मिलना चाहते थे और उन्हें यह बताना चाहते थे कि वर्तमान सरकार द्वारा किए जा रहे कामों के बारे में और यह भी कि जब हम सत्ता में थे तब हमने कैसा प्रदर्शन किया था।
विपक्ष होने के नाते, हमारा कर्तव्य है कि हम न केवल विधानसभा के अंदर बल्कि बाहर भी सवाल करें। जनता के साथ यह बातचीत निश्चित रूप से विपक्ष को आगामी चुनावों में सत्ता में लाने में मदद करेगी।

eNewsroom: संघर्ष यात्रा के तीसरे चरण को जनता से अच्छी प्रतिक्रिया मिली है, लेकिन इसने भाजपा की आलोचना को भी आकर्षित किया है। उन्होंने आरोप लगाया है कि आप अपनी यात्रा के माध्यम से झूठ फैला रहे हैं। यहां तक ​​कि उन्होंने मंडल डैम के मुद्दे पर खुली बहस के लिए आपको चुनौती दी।

हेमंत: मैं एक सार्वजनिक बहस के लिए उनकी चुनौती स्वीकार कर रहा हूं। हालाँकि, जब मैंने मुख्यमंत्री को बहस के लिए चुनौती दी थी, तो उन्होंने कभी तारीख तय नहीं की।
वे मंडल डैम के बारे में लोगों को सच्चाई क्यों नहीं बता रहे हैं? बांध का लगभग 70 से 80 प्रतिशत पानी बिहार को जायेगा। मंडल बाँध से बिहार की डेढ़ से दो लाख हेक्टेयर भूमि को लाभ होगा, लेकिन झारखंड में केवल 10000 से 12000 हेक्टेयर भूमि सिंचित होगी। वे इसे आम आदमी से कहने से परहेज क्यों कर रहे हैं? मैं उन्हें सूचित करके क्या गलत कर रहा हूँ? मैं कोई गलत सूचना नहीं फैला रहा हूं, बल्कि उन्हें मंडल बांध परियोजना के दस्तावेज के बारे में बता रहा हूं।

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XHDhyC2ViU[/embedyt]

 

eNewsroom: यह सिर्फ मंडल डैम नहीं है, अडानी के गोड्डा पावर प्लांट में बनने वाली बिजली को बंगलादेश भेजा जाएगा।

हेमंत: यह सभी जानते हैं कि भाजपा कुछ बड़े उद्योगपतियों और व्यापारियों के लिए काम करती है। वे राज्य की कीमत पर उनकी सेवा करते हैं। राज्य बर्बाद हो इससे उन्हें कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता
अडानी और मंडल डैम का मुद्दा पूरी तरह से पब्लिक डोमेन पर है। लेकिन अगर आप ग्रामीण झारखंड में होने वाली घटनाओं को स्कैन करेंगे, तो आप देखेंगे कि कैसे विकास निधि के पैसे रणनीतिक और असंवैधानिक रूप से अपनी ही पार्टी (भाजपा) के कार्यकर्ताओं की बेहतरी पर खर्च किए जा रहे हैं ग्रामीण इलाकों में पार्टी का आधार विकसित करने के लिए। ग्राम विकास समिति, कमल क्लब और भाजपा से जुड़े कई अन्य छोटे संगठन इसके वास्तविक लाभार्थी हैं। यह एक बहुत बड़ा घोटाला है, और दुख की बात है कि जवाबदेही पूरी तरह से शून्य है।
सरकारी धन का उपयोग उनके राजनीतिक प्रतिष्ठान को मजबूत करने के लिए किया जा रहा है।

eNewsroom: पिछले चार वर्षों में, झारखंड में कई भूख से मौत, भीड़ द्वारा हत्या के मामले और बलात्कार और हत्या में वृद्धि हुई है। क्या आप उन्हें आगामी लोकसभा चुनाव में एक राजनीतिक मुद्दा बनाने जा रहे हैं?

हेमंत: मुझे इसे मुद्दा नहीं बनाना है, लोग बना रहे हैं। अपनी यात्रा के दौरान मैंने महसूस किया कि आम जनता इसके बारे में बहुत जागरूक है।
उनके (भाजपा) विधायकों पर जबरन वसूली और यौन उत्पीड़न के आरोप लगाए गए हैं, लेकिन कोई कार्रवाई नहीं की गई है। जबकि हमारे विधायकों ने जनहित के मुद्दों को उठाए पर उनकी विधायकी छीन ली जा रही है।
यौन उत्पीड़न सहित कई गंभीर आरोपों का सामना कर रहे झारखंड के कई अधिकारी भाजपा के कैडर बन गए हैं।

eNewsroom: यह पहली बार है कि किसी गैर-आदिवासी व्यक्ति को झारखंड का मुख्यमंत्री बनाया गया। जिस तरह से सीएनटी / एसपीटी एक्ट में संशोधन किया गया है?

हेमंत: आप इस (रघुबर दास) सरकार के बारे में जो कुछ भी कहते हैं, चाहे वे आदिवासी या मूलनिवासी के खिलाफ हों, लेकिन एक बात बिल्कुल स्पष्ट है – एक सरकार में जो मानसिकता और रवैया होना चाहिए, वह वर्तमान सरकार में कमी है। सरकार कल्याणकारी राज्य की तरह व्यवहार नहीं कर रही है। एक सरकार सभी के लिए होनी चाहिए – एक जिसने उन्हें वोट दिया और दूसरा जिसने नहीं दिया । लेकिन आप इस सरकार के बारे में ऐसा महसूस नहीं कर सकते।
जब से झारखंड अलग हुआ, भाजपा राज्य के लिए सत्तारूढ़ दल बना रहा है, जबकि आदिवासी नेता मुख्यमंत्री रहे, लेकिन इन चार वर्षों में जो कुछ हुआ, इस तरह के बड़े पैमाने पर अपराध कभी नहीं हुए थे।
जीडीपी वृद्धि जो झारखंड ने मेरे कार्यकाल के दौरान देखी थी और वर्तमान सरकार में बहुत बड़ा फर्क है। यह सरकार सिस्टम को चलाने में विफल रही है। सुशासन की बात को छोड़ दें, झारखंड में तो कोई शासन ही नहीं है।

BJP is working on a hidden agenda, Jharkhand government is using development funds to build party base, it’s a huge scam: Hemant Soren

Ranchi: Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and Leader of Opposition Hemant Soren in an exclusive interview to eNewsroom made major allegation of scam being run by Raghubar Das led Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand. On January 17, when leaders from all the opposition parties of Jharkhand met for the first time at his Ranchi residence to discuss about the future of the Mahagatbandhan, the Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha (JMM) leader not just talked about his recently concluded Sangharsh Yatra (third phase), how BJP is saving its MLA accuse of sexual harassment and extortion, him accepting the BJP challenge to debate on Mandal Dam and how the GDP of Jharkhand was better during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand in comparison to the present Raghubar Das led BJP government. Following are excerpts from the conversation:

eNewsroom: What was the purpose of your Sangharsh yatra in Jharkhand?

Hemant: We had two reasons for conducting the Sangharsh Yatra in Jharkhand – one being organizational and other political. Coming to the first reason, this yatra was organized to strengthen the party and energise our cadres. Secondly, through this we wanted to meet the common man and tell them about the anti- people work being done by the present government and also how we had performed when we were in power.

Being the opposition, we have duties to perform not just inside the assembly but also outside too. This interaction with the masses will definitely help the opposition to uproot those in power in upcoming elections.

eNewsroom: The third phase of the Sangharsh Yatra has received good response from the public but it attracted criticism from BJP too. They have alleged that you are spreading falsehood through your yatra. They even challenged you for an open debate on the issue of Mandal Dam.

Hemant: I am accepting their challenge for a public debate. However, when I had challenged the chief minister for a debate, they never fixed a date.

Why are they not telling the truth about the Mandal Dam to the people? About 70 to 80 percent of the dam’s water will be going to Bihar. Between one and half to two lakhs hectares lands of Bihar will be benefitting from the Mandal Dam, but in Jharkhand only 10000 to 12000 hectares of land will get irrigated. Why are they refraining from telling this to the common man? What wrong am I doing by informing them? I am not spreading any misinformation, but telling them about the documented details of the Mandal Dam project.

Watch the interview of Hemant Soren:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XHDhyC2ViU[/embedyt]

 

eNewsroom: It is not just the Mandal Dam, the power generated in Adani’s Godda power plant will be sent to Bangaldesh.

Hemant: It’s known to all that BJP works for some big industrialists and businessmen. They serve them on the expense of the state. They are least bothered about the state getting ruined.

The issue of Adani and Mandal Dam is completely on the public domain. But if you will scan the happenings in rural Jharkhand, you will see how the development funds are strategically and unconstitutionally being spent on the betterment of their own party (BJP) cadres, which in turn is helping in developing the party base in rural areas. Gram Vikash Sammitti, Kamal Clubs and many other small organizations affiliated to the BJP are the real beneficiaries of these funds. It is a huge scam, and sadly enough the accountability is completely zero.

They (cadres) have been deployed and the government funds are being used to strengthen their political establishment.

eNewsroom:  In the last four years, Jharkhand has witnessed several hunger deaths, lynching cases and rise in rape and murder. Are you going to make them a political issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha election?

Hemant: I do not have to make it an issue, people are making it. During my yatra I realised that the general public is much aware about it.

Extortion and sexual harassment allegations have been made on their (BJP) MLAs, but no action has been taken. While our MLAs raising public interest issues are being stripped off their legislatorship.

Several Jharkhand officers, facing serious charges including that of sexual harassment, have become BJP cadres.

eNewsroom: This is the first time that a non-tribal person was made the chief minister of Jharkhand. Given the way the CNT/SPT Act has been amended, it has become dangerous for the tribals or in other words, do you think that the policies of the BJP government have become a threat for the tribals?

Hemant: Whatever you say about this (Raghubar Das) government whether they are against tribal or indigenous people, but one thing is quite clear – the mindset and attitude, which is should be in a government, is lacking in the present government. The government is not behaving like a welfare state. A government should be is for everyone—the one who voted for them and the others who did not. But you cannot feel the same about this government.

Since the time Jharkhand got separated, BJP has continued being the ruling party for the state, while tribal leaders were chosen as the chief minister including my tenure. But what has happened in these four years—lynching cases and crime, had never happened in state at this large a scale.

The gap between the GDP growth that Jharkhand had witnessed during my term and the present government is huge. This government has failed to run the system. Leave aside good governance, there is no governance at all in Jharkhand.

Now Achchey Din will not come for BJP, they missed the opportunity – Mamata

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Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, Mamata Banerjee not only hosted leaders of 23 political parties including some chief ministers, but also exhibited her strength before an ocean of people assembled at the Brigade ground to listen to leaders from different political parties. Mamata moderated the rally too, like a good hostess.

Lok Sabha polls will be like that of 1977 – India voting against the dictatorship of Indira Gandhi, says Dipankar Bhattacharya

Bagodar/Giridih: The All India General Secretary of Communist Party of India- Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML), Dipankar Bhattacharya, while addressing the humongous crowd assembled at Bagodar claimed that the 2019 General Election will be like of 1977 when India rose against the dictatorship of Indira Gandhi and Emergency. This fight, he claimed is bigger than that of 2004 when the general public voted against the falsehood of India Shining. He recalled how the common man removed the NDA government after the Gujarat genocide.

Dipankar, for the uninitiated, was addressing the huge number of people, who annually gather on this date (January 16) to pay tribute to their beloved leader and former Bagodar MLA Mahendra Singh, a three times legislator belonging to CPI-ML party, was killed in 2005. This was the 15th Martyr Day celebration of the slain leader, however, till date; the CBI has failed to nab the assailants.

Dipankar, while addressing the meet said, “They (Narendra Modi led NDA government) have neither to do anything with Supreme Court, CBI, RBI nor with the university, education, farmer, youth, labour, farming, business. It has only one thing to do – how to disturb people, they want to ruin India. They seem to have a contract to ruin the country.”

He added that “It (2019 Lok Sabha election is important) as at every Republic Day, on January 26 we talk about the constitution, but today Indian constitution is being attacked. Modi (Narendra) government has made the constitution (Indian) seem like a mere piece of paper.”

While addressing the crowd, former Bagodar MLA and son of Mahendra Singh, Vinod Singh said, “In the coming Lok Sabha and assembly polls, you people have to affirm how Jharkhand has witnessed the highest number of hunger deaths, and how people have been protesting against it. Right from Latehar to other parts of Jharkhand, people were killed for their eating habits, in the name of child lifters. You have to avenge for every single death that took place in our state in the name of mob lynchings and hunger.”

Rajkumar Yadav, MLA from Dhanwar, once again alleged that it was during the BJP government that Mahendra Singh was killed. He also accused the present Member of Parliament from Koderma (Ravindra Rai) of being directly involved in the murder. Till date, the killers of Mahendra Singh have not been arrested.

After the killing of three times MLA Mahendra Singh, his wife Shanti Devi had lodged an FIR against the then Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Verma and minister (a BJP leader) Ravindra Rai for conspiring the killing. However, CBI could not reach any conclusion in the high profile murder case.

Kanak Sarkar, the ‘misogynist’ professor barred from entering and teaching at Jadavpur University campus

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Kolkata: Teachers and students committee of International Relations (IR), Jadavpur University conducted a meeting today and jointly decided that Professor Kanak Sarkar would be barred from teaching at the university from January 16 onwards. The meeting presided by the head of the department (International Relations), Prof Omprakash Mishra was conducted in the presence of other professors and students’ representatives.

Students revolt against Prof Sarkar

Sarkar has been vehemently criticized after his obnoxious Facebook post, in which he compared a woman’s virginity with that of a bottle’s seal, went viral. In the post, Sarkar had questioned people would purchase a bottle with a broken seal? The post had caused public outraged on social media.

In response to his post and public outrage, a two-hour meeting had been organized within the department. Students were seen protesting against the professor, making it very evident that they would be boycotting Sarkar’s classes.

Sarkar, the misogynist

Many of the protesting students even raised questions over his credibility as an accomplished teacher. “He keeps on staring at us if we wear a short dress or hot pants to his class. He even passes snide remarks. We feel utterly uncomfortable during his classes,” said Sohini Dutta of IR.

The girl students also complained about Sarkar’s lecherous behaviour. Most maintained that the professor would not just make snide remarks in the classroom but would also ask his female students to come over to his quarter if they needed score higher marks.

A habitual casteist too

The students accused Sarkar of not only being a misogynist but also a casteist, who would demoralize students who hailed from a vernacular background.

“During the admission process, he had a doubt regarding my capability as a student. He blatantly said I wouldn’t be able to study IR as I am not from an English medium background. I was so demoralised,” revealed Ekta Dutta, another student of IR.

Students and teachers approach VC

But it is not only students; teachers too have had to bear the brunt of his behaviour. “Sarkar has the habit of naming and shaming. He would discuss often discuss the personal lives of other teachers with the students. This not only unacceptable but also repulsive,” said Rachana Das, associate professor of IR.

Based on the outcome of the discussion, Prof Mishra submitted the decision of the teachers and students committee before Vice-Chancellor Professor Suranjan Das. The students too submitted their deputation at VC’s office.

Later, Sarkar has also been barred from entering university campus.

“We have got the recommendation submitted by teacher student committee of International Relations. He has been debarred from enter the university campus” said the VC.

Using Freedom of Speech to escape criticism

In the opinion of doing fair journalism, eNewsroom’s correspondent went to the Sarkar’s JU quarter, to seek his response to the criticism he has been receiving. On being questioned about his Facebook post, Sarkar expressed no remorse. On the contrary, he confidently defended himself by saying, “Freedom of speech and expression is for everyone. I had said what I felt.” Having said so, he closed the door on the face of the reporter, before she could ask any further questions.

Makar Sankranti and the intriguing politics of Bihar

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Patna: Political chitchat and discussion along with traditional food—dahi (curd), chura (flattened rice) and tilkut (a sweet item made of sesame seed) were part of this year Makar Sankranti. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presented a united face with all three constituents (JDU, BJP and Lok Janshakti Party) holding separate feasts marking the day, however, there was no dahi-chura feast at RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s 10 Circular Road residence this year.

The feast is an annual ritual when people from across the state visit their leaders’ residences to enjoy the delicacies apart from meeting their leaders. With Lalu behind the bars and Jharkhand High Court, rejecting the bail petition of RJD president in cases of multi-crore fodder scam, Lalu family and his supporters deciding not to host grand celebrations.

This is second year in row that no Dahi chura feast was held at 10 Circular Road residence. Last year too there was no Makar Sankranti festival at RJD camp due to death of Lalu’s elder sister Gangotri Devi.

However, RJD leader and former chief minister Rabri Devi said that party has not decided to celebrate the festival due to death of their leader and party MLC Khurshid Ahmad Mohsin.

A senior RJD leader requesting anonymity said: “The beauty of Lalu feast is that Lalu used to personally supervise everything, serving people and ensuring that nobody went home without eating. There used to have separate stalls for VIPs and supporters with no difference in food for VIPs and common people.” He further said: “Though this year there is no feast, but we are optimistic that next year our leader Tejashwi Prasad would host a grand Makar Sakranti feast as days of Modi government is numbered.”

At most places the feast is held for just one day but at Lalu’s house, Makar Sankranti was always a two-day ritual. On Day One, Lalu used to play host to Hindus and on Day Two to Muslims.

Sources said that the other reason behind RJD not hosting feast is that RJD senior leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav not in state capital. Lalu ‘s son Tejashwi Yadav was in Lucknow meeting Samajwadi Party chief and Uttar Pradesh former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav with an attempt to forge an understanding among regional forces in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that are opposed to BJP. On Sunday, Tejashwi met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati. Tejashwi’s Lucknow visit assume importance as Akhilesh and Mayawati bitter rival recently went for an alliance for Lok Sabha elections.

While there was silence at RJD camp, NDA all three constituents organized separate Makar Sakranti festival.

nitish kumar Lalu prasad makar sankranti ramvilas paswan
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar celebrates Makar Sankranti with LJP Supremo Ram Vilas Paswan, Deputy CM Sushil Modi and Chirag Paswan were also present. Picture by Roshan Kumar

The state JD(U) president, Bashishtha Narayan Singh hosted a grand feast at his Harding Road residence which was attended by chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, ministers from Nitish’s cabinet and LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and his son Chirag Paswan.

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan too hosted Makar Sakranti feast at party office Pir Ali Marg. LJP parliamentary board chairman and Jamui MP, Chirag Paswan talking to media said: “The alliance between SP and BSP is alliance of compulsion and though two leaders have joined hands there will be no tie-up between supporters of both the parties.” Chirag also attacked Akhilesh and Mayawati for dumping Congress from their alliance. Chirag son of Ram Vilas Paswan also expressed confidence that after JDU returning back to NDA camp, the alliance has become stronger with NDA set to win more than 35 seats in Bihar out of total 40 Lok Sabha seats. As per NDA seat sharing alliance, both JDU and BJP are going to contest 17 seats each while six seats have been left out for LJP in state.

BJP MLC Rajnish Kumar also hosted Makar Sakranti feast which was attended by Nitish, Sushil Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Makar Sankranti, a Hindu festival that marks the end of the month with the winter solstice and beginning of longer days, falls on January 14.

It is a day dedicated to Lord Surya and devotees mark this day by taking a holy dip in river Ganges. According to the Hindu calendar, this day is also celebrated as the harvest festival.

Dhaka is now the hub for Bengali language, says Amitav Ghosh

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Kolkata: In his latest book The Great Derangement, Climate Change and the Unthinkable, the Jnanpith Award 2018 winner, author Amitav Ghosh talks about the absurdity of politics globally where subjects like religion, language, ethnicity, casteism are given manifold importance but issues related to environment don’t get the limelight or the importance.

Generation of the deranged?

Keeping in sync with the core issue highlighted in the book, Ghosh, during an interactive session organised at a Kolkata bookstore said, “Our future generation will call us deranged.”

During his session, the author stressed up on the need to awaken the collective conscious of the society so that a collective action can be taken to avert the inevitable doom. “Cities like Delhi or Bangalore have been worst hit by water scarcity. It eventually is leading to disruptions in the social structure or weakened social fabric. Needless to say, it is unfolding disasters. I get really frightened when I see rain bombs or cyclones devastating human civilisation. For example the rain bombs hitting Mumbai or Chennai. If such a calamity strikes Kolkata then we are finished. We all know, Kolkata is a low lying area,” said Ghosh.

Wrath of the nature

Speaking about environmental refugees, who are quite common these days, he mentioned, “It’s a phenomenon that we are witnessing not just across our nation but globally. So we need to think seriously about environment now.”

In his novels like The Hungry Tide or Sea of Poppies, nature comes alive in such a way that it can’t be ignored.

Environment and Bengali Literature

Meandering to pre-modern Bengali Literature, the writer talked about Manasamongol Kabya and Padma Puran. “If one reads carefully one would see how natural phenomena like cyclones, storms, tsunamis etc have been brought alive in these literary works. Pre-modern Bengali literary works were enmeshed with environment,” he said.

However, the much popular author, disappointed his Bengali fans when he said that he had no plans of penning a book in Bengali. He pointed out that, “The Hungry Tide has been translated into Bangla and it’s quite popular with the readers.” Four of Ghosh’s books have been translated into Bengali.

Newage Bengali influenced by Hindi

However, while answering one of the questions posed by a reader, Ghosh said, “I read Bengali books all the time. But I cannot recall names of young Bengali writers. However, I am well aware of the literary works of Sunil Gangopadhyay, Mahashweta Devi but that generation is gone. I grew up reading them. They were my close friends. I had a very long engagement with them.”

He however maintained that Bangladesh, at present is the citadel of Bengali literature. The author said, “It will be a mistake if we think that the mantle of Bengali culture is still here in Kolkata. I don’t think so. On the contrary, it is Bangladesh, where a lot of Bengali writing is happening. The leadership and stewardship of ‘Bangalee Sanskriti’ is in Dhaka. Very recently a scholar of Bangla sent me an article which was very interesting. Bengali in Kolkata is heavily influenced by Hindi. The fundamental Bengali language is now in Bangladesh.”

Greed puts us at the mercy of nature

Bringing him back to issues of environment was a question propped by eNewsroom, concerning his view on the rise of the Far Right and their environment policies India and outside, like the present fascist regime of Brazil. Ghosh answered, “Yes it’s devastating. They are destroying the Amazon, which is not only arrests the carbon emission of Brazil but of the entire world. Similarly the palm oil cultivation in Indonesia is causing negative environmental impacts like water and air pollution, which in turn are harmful to human health. The cultivation is causing severe damage to the landscape of Sumatra and Borneo leading to soil erosion and polluting of rivers. Here in India we have cut down on mangroves of the Sunderbans so cyclones and tsunamis are bound to happen. We have to succumb to our greed and be at a mercy of nature.”

Bengali poet attacked by right wing extremists in Silchar, event cancelled

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Kolkata: Poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay came back to Kolkata on Sunday morning after facing the wrath of Hindutva forces in Silchar, Assam. On Saturday, right-wing activists of Silchar, Assam protested against the poet, who was there to participate in a recitation programme called Esho Boli.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee come forward in support of the poet. Srijato has been assured of every possible help by the chief minister. She personally called up the poet and assured to be by his side and had even inquired about his well-being.

CPIM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has condemned the incident and stated that incidence of intolerance is on rise, which is not acceptable at all.

The poet had been in the wrong book of the right wing protestors after he had penned a poem – Abhishap, just after Yogi Adityanath’s inflammatory speech, in which he talked about raping dead Muslim women in their graves.

Amake dhorshon korbe joddin kobor theke tule (till the time you rape after digging me out of my grave)
condom porano thakbe, tomar oi dhormer trishule! (Till then the trident of yours will be seen wearing a condom)

– (Abhishap, Srijato Banerjee)

These two lines of his poem had courted controversy and invited the ire of Hindu extremists.

Recalling the moment, while speaking to eNewsroom, Srijato, said, “After about 45 minutes, we saw few people coming towards the stage and demanding the reason for my presence. The organisers tried to pacify the protestors saying no controversial comments will be made during the event. This got them so agitated that the verbal altercation intensified to such an extent that even the hotel had been vandalised. These right-wing activists even staged a protest outside the hotel, which eventually forced the organisers to cancel the event.”

A visibly disturbed Srijato added, “This has happened with me in my country, right outside my state. For the past four years, we have been witnessing similar intolerant attitude.”

The literary world has condemned the incident. Indologist Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri condemned the incident. “This form of extremist nationalism was never an Indian thing,” said Bhaduri.

Poet Subodh Sarkar said, “This is the true face of the Central government. For the past four and a half years, this is what they have been doing – propagating fear. Government at the centre is anti-intellectual so we have witnessed the assassinations of Gauri Lankesh, Pansar and many others. They are trying to erase the voice of the dissent, the voice of plurality. What happened in Silchar is a part of the whole mechanism.”

This is not the first time that Srijato has earned the ire of the Hindu extremists. Unhappy with his poems, Hindu extremists had filed FIR twice in Bengal, itself.