Many may be surprised to learn that Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan was not originally meant for real brothers and sisters. Rakhis were reserved throughout history for non-related or strategic brothers and sisters.
The oldest story about Rakhi is that of Indra mentioned in the Bhavishya Purana, where after repeated humiliation at the hands of demons, the gods led by Indra were advised by Sage Brihaspati to tell Sachi to tie a divine protective thread around Indra’s wrist on an auspicious date and time This ensured his protection and final victory on Shravan Purnima day, which explains the date.
The Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana further inform us that Vishnu was also victorious over Maha-Bali but it compelled Vishnu to leave his own home and occupy Bali’s palace. Lakshmi was so upset that she went to Bali and made him her brother by firmly tying a Rakhi. Then, she got her new brother to revoke his condition and get her husband back home.
We do not see any real sister in action and even in the Mahabharata, Draupadi tore her sari’s ‘pallu’ to bandage a wounded Krishna, as her adopted brother. Kunti, however, tied a Rakhi around her own grandson, Abhimanyu, before the deadly war began.
In medieval India, we hear that Rani Karnavati the widowed ruler of Chittor pleaded with her Rakhi-brother Humayun to save her kingdom against the invasion by the Sultan of Gujarat. She lost, as Humayun could not send troops in time and though 1535 is mentioned as the exact year, the whole story is doubted by historians.
But Rakhi was quite a legitimate instrument for invoking unpredictable political partnerships, much before “fronts” and “alliances” came on the scene.
This full moon of Shravan has also traditionally been celebrated in western India as Nariyeli Purnima, when coconuts are gifted to the waters to please Varun. In north India, it is however, called Kajri Purnima when farmers sow wheat and barley, after seeking the blessings of mother earth.
The hills have their own version and we find that Kumaonis celebrate it as Jano-Punya and the word janeu stands for the sacred thread. Fairs are held in different parts and the one at Devidhura Bagwal is the most important. The Nepalese also call it Janeu Purnima and tie sacred threads on their relations. while in Jammu, Raksha Bandhan is the day for flying kites, like Bengal has on Biswakarma Puja, about a fortnight later.
Southern Brahmans change their holy thread, upavita, on this day and and Raksha Bandhan is also celebrated as Vish Tarak, the destroyer of venom.
As many know, Rabindranath Tagore distributed Rakhis among Muslims and Hindus in 1905, as his unique poetic protest against Banga-Bhanga, the Partition of Bengal. He thus took it to new heights through his Rakhi Mahotsav as a festival of universal brotherhood.
The point is: when did real, not adopted, brothers enter Raksha Bandhan? One cannot be too sure and there is every likelihood that the custom of real sisters praying for their brothers during this dangerous part of the rainy season (full of snakes) entered the Raksha festival later on. Sisters soon replaced the wives, widows and master strategists of the earlier stories.
After urbanisation had scattered blood relations to distant places, so newer methods had to be devised to get them together — with food and gifts. Custom follows need and human society comes up with solutions.
Nowadays, when meeting is also difficult, sisters have found some solace in sending Rakhis by courier to brothers — just as my sister Sarojoini sends from Mumbai and my cousin Debolina invariably sends from Surat. God bless sisters.
The successful soft-landing of Chandrayaan3 undoubtedly marks a historic achievement for ISRO. This is the first time a lunar mission has landed in the Moon’s south pole which is expected to open up further prospects of study and exploration of the lunar reality. A major milestone of India’s scientific prowess like this also has the potential to inspire India’s overall forward march in the realm of science and technology in general and space exploration in particular. It is also heartening to note that this success has been achieved at a modest cost of 600 crore rupees which, going by the latest CAG report on India’s road construction, is less than the expenditure that has been incurred for every three kilometres of Dwarka Expressway. Members of the Chandrayaan3 mission and the entire staff of ISRO and other organisations that have contributed to the success of this mission definitely deserve our hearty congratulations.
The Modi government is busy claiming credit for the success of Chandrayaan3, but a closer look will tell us that the mission has actually succeeded in spite of the government’s neglect. To take one example, employees and engineers of Heavy Engineering Corporation, Ranchi, who prepared the mobile launching pad for Chandrayaan3 and delivered it before the scheduled time limit, have not been getting their salaries for eighteen months. The HEC has been the mother plant which has also contributed immensely to the construction of India’s public sector steel plants. Today it has been pushed into a state of sickness with the Modi government denying it the necessary infusion of working capital and even the salaries of the staff. Yet when the mission succeeded, Narendra Modi was all over the TV screen hogging the limelight and delivering a speech when millions of Indians were glued to their mobile phones and computer and TV screens to witness the historic moment of India’s Moon landing.
In its desperate attempt to milk the lunar mission for political propaganda and electoral dividends, the Modi government is treating it not just as a publicity platform for the Prime Minister, but also creating a strange admixture of religious superstition and modern science. Instead of using the lunar mission as an inspiration for the promotion of scientific temper, every attempt is being made to link it up with religious superstition. PM Modi lost no time in naming the landing point of the Vikram lander (named after Vikram Sarabhai, the founding spirit behind India’s space research) Shiv Shakti point, to give it a clear Hindu religious overtone. While Modi stopped at invoking Lord Shiva, a Hindu Mahasabha leader has taken the cue to demand that the Moon be declared a Hindu Rashtra with the Shiv Shakti point as its capital! If this sounds too extreme, take a look at the patronising projection of the women scientists associated with the lunar mission that highlights their religious beliefs and presents them as ‘ideal Indian women’ to whom science is firmly linked, nay rooted in religion.
The breakthrough made by ISRO is the result of decades of research and perseverance. Not all missions have resulted in success, but scientists have taken their lessons from failures. The failed Chandrayaan2 mission paved the way for the success of Chandrayaan3. Most of the members of ISRO’s scientific community are products of the system of public-funded education and research that modern India started building in the first few decades after independence. Like the public sector, the system of public-funded education is also being systematically neglected and weakened today with the increasing push for privatisation of education and research. And almost across the spectrum, the spirit of enquiry, academic freedom and campus democracy is being stifled to promote the culture of superstition, sycophancy, fear and silence in institutions of higher education and research. No wonder that scientific temper is being sacrificed at the altar of bigotry and hate, and the alarming result is staring us in the face.
The Muzaffarnagar video of a classroom where the principal of a primary school is instructing pupils to beat up a seven-year-old Muslim fellow pupil for apparently not doing his Mathematics homework, while the principal verbally abuses Muslims in general, can only remind us of how Jewish children used to be humiliated and persecuted in the classrooms of Hitler’s Nazi Germany. From trains to streets to television studios and digital platforms to classrooms and campuses, hate is threatening to overtake the whole of India after seventy-five years of independence. Muzaffarnagar was the epicentre of the 2013 riots orchestrated by the Sangh brigade in the name of combating ‘love jihad’. The farmers’ movement succeeded in overcoming that hate and divide and forging renewed ties of unity and solidarity. Today once again, that unity is being challenged by the forces of hate and violence in western UP and Haryana and the farmers’ movement and all peace and justice-loving forces will have to put up a determined resistance to foil this conspiracy.
BJP leaders have openly sided with Tripta Tyagi, the offending principal of the school that became a theatre of hate and torture. The school has now been closed down and students are reportedly being absorbed in other nearby schools. The family of the traumatised and tortured student is however under pressure from the dominant social and political forces, and unfortunately also some dubious farmer leaders, to avoid litigation and arrive at a compromise. Reconciliation in such matters can only be achieved on the basis of, and certainly not at the cost of, truth and justice. While the dispensers of hate and perpetrators of violence are being protected, once again fact-checker Mohammad Zubair is being targeted for drawing public attention to this horrific incident.
We should understand that the children who were encouraged to participate in this violence or watch it are also victims of this fascist horror along with the traumatised and tortured child who found himself subjected to it. The hate campaign conducted daily by fascist propagandists, whether operating under political or religious banners or as television anchors or opinion builders or influencers on various social media platforms, has now reached classrooms in primary schools to vitiate the impressionable minds of India’s children. Ignoring this alarming sign can only invite much bigger perils in the days to come.
Kolkata: Wing Commander (Retd) Shamim Akhtar, who has taken voluntarily retirement (VRS) from his job 14 years ahead to motivate youth for armed forces jobs, will start coaching the candidates who want to apply for Indian Air Force ‘s Airman in Medical Assistance Trade openings.
The 15-day crash course will begin on Monday, August 28. However, they will enroll students even if they want to join a few days after the beginning of the course.
Significantly, the vacancy by Indian Air Force does not come under Agnipath or Agniveer Scheme by armed forces.
What is Agnipath Scheme?
Agnipath is a new scheme under which the government recruits young personnel (Agniveers) to the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy for a period of four years, with a provision of permanent employment for some. The centre on June 14, 2022 announced the new scheme replacing the legacy system of recruitment in these services with an aim to lower the age profile and ensure a fitter, technically skilled military, reports Hindustan Times.
The selected youth will get a chance to serve IAF for a period of a minimum 20 years. Or he can work till his retirement.
The next big surge in the world of innovations will be powered by Deep Tech – A set of technologies pushing the frontiers of Science and Technology, solving some very complex problems of society and unlocking new markets. This includes Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Technologies, Synthetic biology, Cyber-physical Systems, and Blockchain among others. India which has seen a wave of start-ups emerge will have its second wave on the foundations of these technologies. Whether it’s the field of defence and the modernisation agenda being driven there, the pressing problem of climate change and the technological solutions that will give us the hope of minimising its effects or the digital transformation we are seeing in almost every organisation in every sector, deep tech will fuel it.
Technology allows humanity to address its most complex problems and often unleash its greatest potential. Today, technologies from many domains are converging, dramatically enhancing the transformation potential in almost every sector of human activity. This diverse work, focusing on complex technological innovation or significant scientific discovery, is the world of deep tech. The pervasiveness of technological convergence, the rise of cloud computing, lowered cost of computing are all driving the wave of deep tech that we are witnessing and about to see its surge.
Excellence and innovation will fuel the Indian economy in the next 25 years. Every day, a diverse range of companies spur growth producing high-quality products that are sought after by consumers around the world. Leaders in innovation from India are emerging.
While each company followed a unique path, they will all have one thing in common: access to India’s world-class R&D and new wave of manufacturing. These competitive advantages will long fuel Indian innovation and will only grow stronger. Today, the Indian start-up ecosystem has leapfrogged to the third largest ecosystem in the world.
The world has noticed. Global businesses and investors are flocking to India over the past few years and seeking to turn those competitive advantages in their favour. Bolstered by the country’s political stability and market access, factor inputs being in place and complementary assets being connected, along with the benefits of India’s highly skilled workforce along with the reverse brain drain that is happening and innovation prowess- a deep tech hotspot in India is emerging.
According to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Survey, India’s advantages across business-friendly policies, strong talent and high productivity—especially in technology and advanced manufacturing— will continue to drive inbound FDI flows over the next three to five years. Policy and regulation often stifle innovation. Yet with the right adjustments, they become catalysts. India’s future-focused approach to business collaboration fosters an environment where the public and private sectors can champion innovation together. Invest India the national investment facilitation and promotion agency has recently launched the Emerging Tech and R&D investment unit focussed on driving Emerging Tech investments in India along with ensuring India turns into an R&D hub in the years ahead. A wide range of initiatives and incentives make it easier than ever for foreign companies to make India’s advantages their own. The government has recently put for discussion the national deep tech policy which is a work in progress and implementation mechanisms need to be deliberated upon and clarified; however a step in the right direction.
Invest India has been driving innovation agenda in the country, helping agencies and its partners engage deep tech effectively, mitigate risks associated with it, helping push the Atma Nirbhar agenda at the forefront along ensuring the capturing of the value of the Indian Innovation and Technology base. Talent availability is always a function of the environment which the latter, which Invest India is helping build and acting as a catalyst for building synergy among the stakeholder groups. Challenges of Funding, convening the right set for creating infrastructure, developing frameworks for standardisation, advocating the right set of regulations in the domain of emerging and deep tech along ensuring co-creating, co-investing opportunities amongst friendly countries remain the pivot of this new endeavour. Supporting Tech diplomacy, interlacing existing mechanisms and strengthening pipelines of adoption remain crucial and this unit intends to do that.
In turn, India is fast becoming the leading destination for the world’s innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders to unlock new opportunities for enduring value creation.
The video of a Muslim student being beaten up, slapped and humiliated in front of the entire class in a school in Uttar Pradesh, has only shown how much the hate propaganda against Muslims in India has reached inside our hearts and minds. That a teacher in the primary school is sadistically enjoying when the poor boy is being humiliated in front of the entire class reflects the power of the poison that has been injected in our minds for years and has become the hallmark of the Noida channels. Remember, the teacher is not beating the boy herself but ordering each student in the class to beat him up. She encouraged and said that all Muslim children should be dealt with like this.
The criminal and thuggish teacher identified as Tripta Tyagi is actually the head of the Neha Public School of a village in Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh. This clearly reflects how much poison has been spread in our hearts across the nooks and corners of the country and it should not merely make us feel ashamed of ourselves but worry us. Should we allow such things to happen or do they need a strong socio-political and cultural response? Often BJP and the Sangh Parivar promote their agenda on a ‘non-political basis’ using common prejudices and cultural practices as if they are the sole guardians of the society.
The most atrocious part of these hate crimes is that they are being recorded and spread across the internet by the perpetrators of the crime. In most such cases when there is a huge outrage, the state apparatus acts like it acted in the Manipur case, to punish the person who posted the video on social media. The person who brought it to the notice of the nation becomes a criminal while the criminals who commit such heinous crimes are carefully pushed in the background for some time till someday some outfit of the Hindutva makes the person their leader. Tripta Tyagi actually does not deserve to be a teacher but for certain she is the product of the ‘jahar kee pathshala’ of various outfits of the saffron propaganda militia.
We all celebrated India on the moon yesterday. The G-20 summit is scheduled to happen in the second week of September. The prime minister Narendra MODI has already got an ‘international award’ for his ‘contribution’ but the crisis in India is much bigger than even the BJP can think of now. The poison of hatred has spread across. The Sangh Parivar outfits, and Noida Propaganda channels all have worked hard during the past 10 years. Remember, it is not merely the act of committing the hate crime but justifying it through the vilifying of those who speak up against such hatred. The vilification of the opponents is justified through whataboutery in the prime time. Criminals get normalised on TV. Media will wait for a couple of days till they find some Muslim criminal to have committed a heinous crime to deflate the story. The continuous vilification of Muslims in our media is the biggest achievement of the present dispensation.
India’s ruling party and its Ministers rarely speak on the issue. The officers will wait for the orders of the highest authority and the media will begin to cover up the incident. The Darbaris and loudspeakers on prime time will not allow ‘Hindus’ to be ‘targeted’ for some ‘isolated’ incident and blame the opponents for conspiring to ‘defame’ India when the country has landed on the Moon and G-20 is happening. The ruling party’s response to this will be on conspiracy theory while their ground staff will continue to feed the hatred against Muslims as well as the Bahujan Samaj of India.
Good thing is that the people are speaking. Many political leaders have spoken including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. It was essential for them to speak against hatred. I am still waiting for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar Netas to speak up on the issue and call for a full-fledged battle against hatred. More than anything else, India does not merely need a ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukan’ but complete demolition of the hate factories built up so powerfully with the help of the power elite. Hate crime flourishes on the strength of distortion of history and fake news. So, the biggest priority of our political parties today in INDIA should be to unite against the culture of violence, prejudices and hate crimes. Do not legitimise news channels that spread fake news and justify hate crimes. Speak up against hatred as otherwise, it will engulf you. You can’t build a stronger and united India on the edifice of falsehood and hatred.
Remembering Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s powerful lines here
‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depths of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action,
into that heaven of freedom, my father,
Let my country awake
Let my countrymen awake against this culture of hatred which will ultimately affect us as a society and as a citizen of India.
Bhopal, Jabalpur, New Delhi: The entire stretch from Karbide Karkhana (Union Carbide Plant) to Hamidia Asptaal (Gandhi Medical College – largest hospital of the Indian state – Madhya Pradesh) facing Taj-ul-Masajid one of the largest mosques in India was split over with hundreds of people struggling to breathe and bodies with froth and foam settled on the mouth, burst eyes and swollen abdomen lying in the hospital premises following the 2-3 December Bhopal Gas Tragedy. On the backside of the same Hamidia Asptaal, facing Dhai Seedhi Ki Masjid, one of the smallest mosques in India a team of doctors were taking a different shot on hundreds of mangled bodies.
Today’s android-fixated generation may not even be aware that the scene was much worse than a war scene that changed the lives of many for generations and even shaped the state capital’s political and cultural history. But there was a time when the area was Bhopal’s lifeline.
On the day of the leak, Dr Chandra (Dr Hireesh Chandra, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal) and a team of doctors from the Gandhi Medical Center began performing autopsies and quickly discovered that many of the victims had been poisoned not only by MIC but cyanide as well; the reaction that led to the leak of MIC produced cyanide and several other toxic chemicals, writes Derrick Jensen in his book titled The Culture of Make Believe.
That afternoon, Chandra recommended injecting victims with sodium thiosulfate, a universally recognized antidote for cyanide poisoning, wrote Jensen in his 285-page book.
The presence of cyanide on the bodies gave a little more significant revelation than it should. In all this, a telex message titled ‘Treatment of MIC pulmonary complications’ travelled from Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) West Virginia plant. In his message, Dr B H Avashia wrote: “If cyanide poisoning is suspected, use amyl nitrate. If no effect, sod. nitrite -0.3 gm. and sodium thiosulphate 12.5 gm. I.V. for two to four minutes. Can be repeated [half dose] as a prophylactic measure.” His message is published on page no 5 The Hazards Bulletin & Bhopal Newsletter, dated November 1987, February 1988, published by Bhopal Group of Information Action, c/o Eklavya organisation.
Picture by Prakash Hatvalne
Chandra’s recommendation and message from Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) West Virginia plant turned out to be the saviour both for the hundred and hundreds of children, women, pregnant women, parents, and grandparents struggling to breathe lying in semi-unconscious states in the Hamidia hospital premises and to the stressed and exhausted health care workers treating them.
The question with which I charge myself is, can UCC, now owned by Dow Chemicals, be a little prompt to send this message? A day after the autopsy reports, two -days after the arrival of the telex message and five days after the Bhopal Disaster, eminent German toxicologist Dr Max Daunderer reached Bhopal from Berlin. Max was not alone. He landed with a large supply of sodium thiosulphate, the only known antidote for cyanide poisoning.
After the briefing and the autopsy reports Dr Max made a demonstration before the healthcare officials and team.
‘With the help of a Drager Tube, he demonstrated successfully a cyanide level of about 2 ppm in the blood of dead victims (Hankinson, 1986). Until the end of December the dead bodies showed a pronounced Cherry Red Colour of the blood, and some a pink colour thereafter (Figure 3.9)’, says the 151-page report titled Health Effects of the Toxic Gas Leak from Union Carbide Methyl Isocyanate Plant in Bhopal Technical report on Pathology and Toxicology [1984 -1992] published by Director-General Indian Council of Medical Research Department of Health Research.
The hypothesis seemingly worked. Dr Chandra, Dr Avashia and Dr Max were able to find a path of recovery for the victims.
Picture by Prakash Hatvalne
Dr NR Bhandari the Medical Superintendent of the State-owned Hamidia Hospital (attached to Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal) and the first clinician to attend to the victims found victims regaining visibility and relief to distention.
In his book titled “25 Years of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Inside Story and Untold Truths,” Dr Bhandari wrote that both (Dr Max and Dr Chandra ) had found that sodium thiosulphate, when administered intravenously, led to improvement in the patients affected by the gas with no side effects. However, Dr Bhandari was quick to make another startling revelation.
In that case, UCC was aware that MiC could decompose into cyanide once it entered the body, Dr Bhandari wrote.
Activists working among the gas victims feel that both UCC and the Indian establishment underplayed the magnitude and grievousness of the disaster in properly assessing all its ramifications.
“There was an obvious harmony of interests between Carbide officials and the Indian Establishment. The most telling instance in this regard relates to the denial of sodium thiosulphate (NaTS) therapy to gas victims because UCC was desperate to hide the presence of the highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN – one of the reaction products of MIC) and NaTS was a known antidote for cyanide poisoning,” says paper titled “The path to sustainable development: Lessons from the Bhopal disaster”, presented at the Right to Development Anniversary Event organised by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Organisations, Geneva on December 2, 2014, the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. The paper was presented by ND Jayaprakash, joint secretary, of Delhi Science Forum and co-convenor, Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (Coalition for supporting the cause of gas victims).
Picture by Prakash Hatvalne
However, on the background of grief and despair, medical treatment and the intended purpose of such treatment, another development was taking its own course. The Union Health Ministry abruptly banned the use of sodium thiosulphate when it was found that sodium thiosulphate, injected intravenously, had started providing relief to victims.
Subsequently, Dr Max was told to pack up and leave. Before leaving, Max met Indian officials, and explained about his works, supposedly findings and suggestions.
He met the officials of the Union Health Ministry and placed all the evidence before them, says a report titled Bhopal Gas Disaster – Mockery of Relief and Rehabilitation appeared in the Economic and Political Weekly.
A news report quoting KN Pradhan [late], the then Member of Parliament, Bhopal says that of the over one lakh needing sodium thiosulphate, only five per cent have been lucky enough to get the injection.
The fine print which has received very little media attention is that three months later in March 1985, the government reversed the treatment by recommending Sodium Thiosulphate injection only to be disrupted again in June 1985.
A regrettable feature of all this is that instead of a more favourable international environment, one more rejection and suspicion stuck with the gas victims.
The government should take up the case as one which mirrors many of the issues relating to the failure of the treatment of the gas victims to uphold law and order and protect the vulnerable. In both the cases, a good administration (both the centre and the state) would have commenced the legal process of charge and prosecution.
Indeed, asking the question is as powerful as dealing with the answer- that if streets of Bhopal were stained by bodies oozing foam, burn & burst eyes and swollen abdomen, the question with which I charge myself (not swayed by the emotion) is that the Act was Bad (deletions mine).
Of course, there are setbacks, but let us return to the key issue that needs to be reviewed: first, what the Governments (the Centre and the State) did upon receiving the telex message from UCC? What questions have the Governments (Centre and the State) slapped before the UCC for sending the message so late? Secondly, why was the use of sodium thiosulphate allowed, then stopped, restarted again and stopped finally?
The gas victims had many disappointments for not living by the truths they were told. On this one, they definitely want to hear facts and truth and doesn’t our Constitutional order guarantee them this?
Anup Dutta is a fellow of Vikas Samvad Constitution Fellowship 2022.
Kolkata: In the 2024 election (Lok Sabha), if the fight takes place on one-on-one (1:1) basis in 70 to 80 percent of the seats then BJP can be limited to 100 seats, claimed Trinamool Congress’s member of parliament Sudip Bandyopadhyay. There are a total 543 seats in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.
The five-time MP was speaking at a felicitation event organized by the Muslim Institute, Kolkata for the newly elected Rajya Sabha members of TMC and others who have been appointed as the heads of the Haj Committee and the West Bengal Minority Commission.
Among those felicitated were Samirul Islam for becoming a Rajya Sabha Member, Khalilur Rahman as the chairman of the Haj Committee and Ahmad Hasan Imran as Minority Commission chairman.
Samirul Islam (36) is one of the youngest Rajya Sabha members. Only Raghav Chaddha (35) of the Aam Aadmi party is younger than him. In his ten-minute-long discourse, the assistant professor-cum-social activist gave an inspiring speech about his modest background, journey as a social activist and the present scenario of India.
After the initial speech, the founder of Bangla Sanskriti Mancha warned and reminded the audience, “The situation has become such that wherever BJP has come into power, everything has become difficult, including offering namaz. When I went to Nuh, Haryana, a Muslim from Assam questioned us – has it become a crime to be a Muslim in India now.”
“The time has come to decide, do we want to live on the terms dictated by BJP or want to live freely as we used to live earlier,” he asked.
The leader of TMC members in Lok Sabha, Sudip in his speech also mentioned how they gave a united fight to BJP in both houses of parliament in the recent Monsoon session after the formation of INDIA- an alliance of 36 opposition parties in India.
The North Kolkata MP narrated in detail about the Monsoon session, “We were happy when Rahul Gandhi returned to Lok Sabha, whose membership was cancelled. And we also stand with everyone who was suspended during the parliament session. They also suspended Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.”
“Being the opposition leader, I got the opportunity to sit just in front of PM Narendra Modi. We have not seen such a PM, as Manipur was burning and more than 150 people died but the PM did not speak. To make him speak, we have to bring a No Confidence Motion. We know that the Modi government has enough majority but to make him talk, we brought No Confidence,” Sudip said.
He mentioned, “This time we did good floor management. As Samirul bhai was saying, the BJP has divided India. Our country has become the largest populous country. People of every caste, creed and religion to live together. BJP has divided everyone in recent here. So, we want to tell the countrymen to bring whoever they want but do not bring BJP and Modi in power again,” he added.
On the occasion, Amiruddin Bobby and Iqbal Ahmed, ward councillors as well as Haj Committee members, Khwaja Jaweed Yusuf and Talay Masood Siddiqui, Additional Government Pleaders for the Government of West Bengal were also felicitated
Rajya Sabha Member and President of Muslim Institute Nadimul Haque presided over the felicitation event.
Bhopal:The future of Ganga Jamuna School’s students looms in darkness as the recognition suspension continues for over two months. The school has been alleged of forcing Hindu girls to wear headscarves and sing the Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua poem written by poet Mohammed Iqbal during prayers.
Members of the Civil Society in Bhopal have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister’s Office for the immediate revoking of the suspension of recognition and re-opening of the school.
The private school at Damoh district came into controversy because of a poster highlighting high school board toppers wearing head-scarf. Far-right groups Hindu Jagran Manch, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and others protested demanding the derecognition of the school— alleging purported forced religious conversions and the imposition of hijabs on non-Muslim female students.
Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, home minister Narottam Mishra, and education minister Inder Singh Parmar gave statements escalating tensions on the issue. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo also joined in.
The recognition of the school was suspended since the incidents and an FIR was registered leading to the arrest of the school principal and two staff members.
Ganga-Jamuna School Hijab Controversy
Following the announcement of high school results by the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education on May 25th, a wave of achievement swept through Ganga Jamuna School with a passing percentage of 98.5 percent. To celebrate the success of these students, on May 27, the school displayed a congratulatory poster showcasing eighteen top-performing students in which four Hindu girls were donning Hijab or scarves. The poster triggered the spotlight and rage among right-wing organizations who began protests against the school.
The initial investigation by the Collector gave a clean chit to the school. However, the issue persisted as the Hindu outfits kept demanding suspension orders. On June 2, the Madhya Pradesh School Education Department suspended the recognition of Ganga Jamuna School for inadequate infrastructure. The Hindu Jagran Manch workers on June 6 threw ink on DEO (District Education Officer). Consequently, on June 7, the Kotwali Police Station filed an FIR (First Information Report) against the school management, and school teacher under various sections including hurting religious sentiments and criminal intimidation of IPC.
Ganga Jamuna School building
The contents of the FIR stated by Hindu girls include mandatory Hijab, Urdu imposition, being forced to sing the “Muslim prayer” lab pe ati hai dua, and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindu students. The police apprehended the school principal Afsha Sheikh, a math teacher Anas Athar, and a security guard Rustam Khan. And within three days of it, the administration bulldozed part of the school building.
The High Court on the petition of the school ordered the education department to submit the report on the suspension order within three weeks from July 1.
“Yesterday it came to my attention about daughters being compelled to cover their heads at a school, which was also teaching the poem of the man who got the country partitioned,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had stated in Chattarpur.
He was referring to legendary Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal who had a strong connection with Bhopal.
Abdul Kareem, an advocate representing the school, said that the police took action under political pressure. The education department suspended the school recognition mainly for inadequate infrastructure such as toilets, classroom space, and library. The committee of gazetted officers took statements of three girls then Kotwali Police Station filed an FIR against the management and teachers of Ganga Jamuna School. At least 17 teachers were forced by the police for a statement that they used as evidence that management had ordered the teachers to attract the children towards Islam.
“The security guard was a daily wage worker. His family is hand-to-mouth after his arrest. Should those teachers not be held accountable for keeping mum even after knowing everything? This whole matter is built on political narratives giving it a communal colour. In 2021, after inspection, the officers granted recognition to the school till 2024-25. Didn’t they realize whether the school has the proper infrastructure or not? Are they not guilty? The High Court had ordered the education department to submit the report within three weeks which is yet to be submitted. Isn’t it contempt of Court? ” asked Kareem.
Superintendent of Police Sunil Tiwari has issued a directive to attach the assets of ten school management members who according to the officer are dodging authorities.
Iqbal Shaikh, husband of Ganga Jamuna School’s principal denied any allegations of religious conversion. He said that his wife Afsha Shaikh and two other school staff members were wrongfully apprehended by the police. My daughter’s photo was among the toppers which created controversy. With so much disturbance around we did not think about her admission to another school. Both of the daughters are disturbed. “We are struggling mentally and financially. Those students have given false statements. Why was everyone silent if this has been happening for years,” Shaikh was emotional.
A chart in the school shows the sincerity of the authorities towards its students
School Principal Afsha Shaikh, Anita Khan, and Tabassum Khan (formerly Deepti Srivastava, Prachi Jain, Anita Yaduvanshi) belonged to different religions. They embraced Islam before joining the school. Backing the school administrator, the three of them came forward declining religious conversion by Ganga Jamuna School. They submitted their documents to the collector and superintendent of police, Damoh.
Afsha Sheikh told mediapersons that she accepted Islam in 2000 and joined Ganga Jamuna School a decade later in 2010. Tabassum Khan converted to Islam in 2004 and became part of the school in 2012. Anita Khan accepted Islam upon her consent in 2013 and joined the school in 2021. Ganga Jamuna School, on the other hand, awas established in 2009.
The fact-finding team disposes of allegations
A fact-finding team of collective organizations including Shiksha Adhikar Manch, Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch, and Bhopal Group for action and information visited Ganga Jamuna School in Damoh and spoke with more than 350 students and their parents. They made an open appeal to the chief minister to stop communalizing education and allow the functioning of Ganga Jamuna School.
“After speaking with locals and examining the available documents we have come to the conclusion that the biased mentality of certain groups and media trials has created a situation of crisis for hundreds of students and 57 staff members. All allegations were found baseless and unjust. The team has submitted the conclusions to the school education department and the chief minister’s office,” the report reads.
Maheen Mirza, a member of the fact-finding team speaking with eNewsroom said resembling the name Ganga Jamuna School, a minority-certified school is the epitome of communal harmony where students of different communities were learning together without discrimination. We found the reality on the ground contrary to what the media had propagated. It was a media trial more than anything else. It was not even a Hijab but a scarf. Rather than religious motives, wearing a scarf in many cultures is linked with the dignity of girls. The Hindu students confirmed that Hijab was not mandatory. Media has given it hype by spreading misinformation. Despite the majority of Muslim students non-veg including the egg was not allowed in order to comfort the minority Hindu students.
A step depriving the poor of education
Maheen said that the majority of students in Ganga Jamuna School belong to weak socioeconomic backgrounds. The children come from families of daily wage workers such as rickshaw drivers, general stores, and factory workers. Since the school fee is ten thousand annually paid in three instalments, the shutdown is affecting the poor who can’t afford private education. We need to stop looking at it through the lens of Hindu-Muslim and focus on what kind of children can be easily deprived of education, simply poor who don’t have enough resources for negotiation. This anti-poor step by the government is not just against a particular community but people who can’t afford education.
“The students are suffering in this unfair process. Board class students have lost three months of their learning period. The English medium students are recommended to get admission to Hindi medium schools. They should be focusing on mastering the subject but now they have to do it in a different language altogether. This is harassment of students at the hands of the state. They are on a losing part. Instead of helping them build a good career they are destroying children’s education,” stated Maheen.
Affect on girl students
Shivani Taneja of the fact-finding team said that the administration suspended the recognition of the school on the grounds of rumours jeopardizing the future of students. The claims of religious conversion are bogus. It is an English medium school with Urdu as a third language. It seems people have an allergy to Urdu not recognizing that Urdu is also a scheduled language in the constitution. There is nothing significant in FIR. The school has 98% passing results with only one Muslim student having a supplementary in Urdu. The average passing percentage in Madhya Pradesh is 65 percent.
“Not opening the school will lead to higher drop-out rates among students. We met many girls who are the first generation studying and scoring higher marks in class tenth. An orphan girl studying in school wants to become a doctor. What about the dreams of students from such backgrounds which is common in school? The government is concerned about the education of girl children, “beti to padh rahi thi na”. Government must allow the functioning of schools if they care about education. Meantime, they can continue inquiry under the supervision of a Nodal Officer,” commented Taneja.
Advocate Abdul Kareem said that the response obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) revealed concerning details about the recommended schools. These schools lack English teachers and do not offer Urdu as a subject. Maheen Mirza further emphasized that these schools are unsuitable for children due to their poor condition, including dilapidated walls. In contrast, the infrastructure at Ganga Jamuna School is good, with better classrooms, a library, a computer lab, and sports facilities including football and volleyball courts.
কলকাতা: যেহেতু ফাজান আহমেদের মৃতদেহ, ইন্ডিয়ান ইনস্টিটিউট অফ টেকনোলজির তৃতীয় বর্ষ, খাড়াগুর প্রিমিয়ার ইনস্টিটিউটের হোস্টেলের ভিতরে উদ্ধার করা হয়েছিল, আইআইটি কর্তৃপক্ষ এক অসাধারণ মেধাবী ছাত্রকে খুন করা হয়েছিল তা মেনে নিতে অস্বীকার করেছিল। তারা সবসময় বজায় রেখেছিল যে রেহানা এবং আসামের তিনসুকিয়ার বাসিন্দা সেলিম আহমেদের একমাত্র সন্তান 23 বছর বয়সী আত্মহত্যা করেছে। কর্তৃপক্ষের দাবি, ফাইজান মানসিক অবসাদে ভুগছিলেন এবং এই কঠোর পদক্ষেপ নিয়েছেন। তবে মৃত্যুর সময় থেকেই বাবা-মা দাবি করে আসছেন তাদের ছেলেকে খুন করা হয়েছে।
খড়্গপুর পুলিশ ও প্রথম পোস্টমর্টেম শোকাহত পরিবারকে সন্তোষজনক উত্তর দিতে না পারলে অভিভাবকরা কলকাতা হাইকোর্টে যান।
জ্য এবং আইআইটি খড়গপুর র্যাগিং বিরুদ্ধে দাঁড়ানোর কঠিন চ্যালেঞ্জ
হাইকোর্টে, অভিভাবকদের কেবল শক্তিশালী আইআইটি নয়, রাজ্য সরকারকেও মুখোমুখি হতে হবে, যারা সবসময় দাবি করে আসছে যে খড়্গপুর পুলিশের তদন্ত ন্যায্য। এখানে, সেলিমের বন্ধুর সাহায্যে, পরিবারটি রণজিৎ চ্যাটার্জি এবং অনিরুদ্ধ মিত্র সহ অন্যান্যদের মধ্যে একটি দুর্দান্ত আইনজীবী পেয়েছিল।
বিষয়টি হাইকোর্টে শুনানি হওয়ায় এখানেও বিচারপতি রাজশেখর মান্তের আদালতে মৃত্যুর কারণ জানতে পারেনি পুলিশ। আদালত দ্বিতীয় ময়নাতদন্তের নির্দেশ দেন এবং ফয়জানকে হত্যা করা হয়েছে বলে প্রমাণিত হয়। বিচারপতি মান্থা পুলিশের পরিবর্তে একটি বিশেষ তদন্তকারী দল (SIT) আরও তদন্ত গঠন করেন। শুনানির সময় বিচারপতি মন্থা আইআইটি আইনজীবীদের মৌখিকভাবে উল্লেখ করেছিলেন যে আদালত মামলাটি সেন্ট্রাল ব্যুরো অফ ইনভেস্টিগেশন (সিবিআই) এর কাছে হস্তান্তর করবে না। আদালত আরও বিশ্বাস করেছিল যে যেহেতু আইআইটি একটি কেন্দ্রীয় অর্থায়িত সংস্থা, তাই স্থানীয় পুলিশ এবং সিবিআইয়ের মধ্যে মামলাটি হস্তান্তর করা ভাল।
রাজ্য সরকার এবং আইআইটি উভয়ই আদেশ বন্ধ করতে ডিভিশন বেঞ্চে পৌঁছেছে
প্রধান বিচারপতি টিএস শিবগনাম এবং বিচারপতি হিরণমাই ভট্টাচার্যের সমন্বয়ে গঠিত ডিভিশন বেঞ্চের আগে রাজ্য সরকার এসআইটি গঠনের বিরুদ্ধে আবেদন করেছিল যখন আইআইটি খড়গপুর পুরো মামলাটি বাতিল করতে চেয়েছিল। রাজ্যের পক্ষ থেকে অতিরিক্ত অ্যাডভোকেট জেনারেল (এডিজি) হাজির হন এবং আইআইটি তাদের সেরা আইনজীবীদের মামলায় পূর্ণ বিরতি দেওয়ার জন্য রেখেছিল।
শুনানির সময়, রাজ্য এবং আইআইটি-র আইনজীবীরা ডিভিশন বেঞ্চকে তাদের পক্ষে বোঝানোর জন্য বিভিন্ন কৌশল প্রয়োগ করেছিলেন। আইআইটি আইনজীবীরা তাদের মৌখিক দাখিলে বারবার দাবি করেননি যে আইআইটি থেকে চাঁদাবাজির জন্য বাবা-মায়ের দ্বারা মামলাটি নথিভুক্ত করা হয়েছে তবে এটিও উল্লেখ করেছেন যে ফাইজানের মামলাটি র্যাগিংয়ের মামলা নয়।
আইআইটি খড়গপুর র্যাগিং, এসআইটি প্রতিস্থাপনের রাজ্যের দাবি বা আইআইটি আইনজীবীদের দাবি যে এটি আত্মহত্যা নয়, হত্যার মামলা, তা মানা হয়নি। ডিভিশন বেঞ্চের একমাত্র আদেশটি ছিল এডিজি কে জয়রামনের অধীনে থাকা দুই অফিসারকে সরিয়ে দেওয়া। আদালত বলেছে যে ADG, যিনি SIT-এর নেতৃত্ব দেবেন তিনি নিজের দল বেছে নিতে পারেন।
এখন, ডিভিশন বেঞ্চের আদেশের পরে, চূড়ান্ত ফলাফল নির্বিশেষে, কলকাতা হাইকোর্ট প্রতিষ্ঠিত করেছে যে ফাইজানের মামলা একটি ‘হত্যামূলক’ প্রকৃতির এবং আত্মহত্যা নয়, যেমন আইআইটি কর্তৃপক্ষ দাবি করেছে।
আদেশটি 10 মাস পুরানো মামলার নিষ্পত্তিকে ত্বরান্বিত করতে পারে, যার ফলে দ্রুত সিদ্ধান্তে পৌঁছানো যায় এবং শুধুমাত্র অপরাধীদেরই নয়, ভারতের সবচেয়ে মেধাবী তরুণ ছাত্রদের একজনের নৃশংস হত্যার পেছনের উদ্দেশ্যও খুঁজে বের করা সম্ভব হয়।
বিধ্বস্ত জীবনের মাঝে ন্যায়ের জন্য যুদ্ধ
যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে স্বপ্নদীপ কুন্ডুর কথিত র্যাগিং ও হত্যা মামলার একই প্রকৃতির সময়ে, বাংলা জুড়ে এবং কলকাতায় বেশ কয়েকটি বিক্ষোভ হয়েছিল। স্বপ্নদীপের জন্মস্থান নদীয়া জেলার মানুষ বিচারের দাবিতে যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে মিছিল করেছে। বিক্ষোভের চাপেই প্রাথমিকভাবে আত্মহত্যার মামলাটি দুদিনের মধ্যেই হত্যাকাণ্ডে পরিণত হয়। এই ঘটনায় দ্রুত ব্যবস্থা নেয় কলকাতা পুলিশ।
কিন্তু রেহানা এবং সেলিম আহমেদ গত 10 মাস ধরে রাজ্য সরকারের শক্তিশালী দলের পাশাপাশি আইআইটি-র বিরুদ্ধে একাকী লড়াই করছিলেন।
দ্বিতীয় পোস্টমর্টেমের সময় ফাইজানের মা মৃতদেহ নিয়ে ২১ দিন কলকাতায় ছিলেন।
“দিনে আমরা আদালতে যাই এবং আইনজীবীদের সাথে দেখা করি এবং রাতে আমরা ন্যায়বিচার পাওয়ার জন্য প্রার্থনা করি। রেহানার জীবন একেবারেই নষ্ট হয়ে গেছে। সে ভালো খায় না রাতে ঘুমায় না। কখনও কখনও সে সারা রাত জেগে থাকে এবং আমাকে বলে যে আমাদের ছেলে যে কোনও সময় ফিরে আসবে,” সেলিম বলেছিলেন।
ডিভিশন বেঞ্চের আদেশ শোকাহত মা রেহানা এবং আশাহীন বাবাকে বড় স্বস্তি দিয়েছে যে তারা শীঘ্রই ন্যায়বিচার পাবে।
