India: From RSS, ABVP, Bhagat Singh Krantikari Sena, BJP - the evolution of Bagga to 'Bagga Ji'

 National Herald

Importance of being a storm trooper: tracking the evolution of Bagga to 'Bagga Ji'

A school dropout like his leader and trained into “activism” at the RSS Shakha, Bagga's claim to fame is his ability to mobilise and lead vandals in the national capital. 

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/importance-of-being-a-storm-trooper-tracking-the-evolution-of-bagga-to-bagga-ji

 

India: WhatsApp messages regarding planning of violent attack in JNU traced to ABVP activists | report in scroll.in

https://scroll.in/article/948899/jnu-whatsapp-messages-planning-attack-traced-to-abvp-activists

India: RSS Indoctrination of adivasi young boys and adults in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh - Report by Neha Dixit on newslaundry.com

Reproduced from: https://www.newslaundry.com | May 9, 2019

Meet the boys, young adults and old men of RSS preparing for 2019 elections in Jhabua

Battling Christianity and Islam is a top priority.

By Neha Dixit


In January 2018, Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said all are “children of Adivasis”. Addressing a rally in Raipur, Bhagwat said: “When we say Adivasi, then that is our core identity. We are their children. Even though we see different pictures, our forefathers were the same … from 40,000 years ago."
According to the 2011 census, 21 per cent of the total population of Madhya Pradesh is Scheduled Tribe, known as Adivasi. The Malwa-Nimar region comprising the districts of Jhabua, Dhar, Badwani, Khargone, Khandwa, Dewas, and Ratlam has 22 out of the 47 seats reserved for STs in Madhya Pradesh. The area, of extreme political consequence, has been part of the RSS's pet project to draw the tribals into a pan-Hindu world through RSS-affiliated outfits like the Sewa Bharti, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Vidya Bharti, among others.
Despite that, since the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 up till 2015—a span of 17 elections—the RSS's political body, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has only won this seat once, in 2014.
The Ratlam-Jhabua parliamentary seat is set for polls in the last phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections on May 19. Newslaundry meets members of different age groups and outfits of the RSS to find out about their work, areas of focus, and preparations for the upcoming elections.

The RSS: old men and 'ghar wapsi'
“As of now, religious conversions of tribals by Christians is at an all-time high in Jhabua. Thirty-five per cent of the district is now Christian," says Ashok Verma, sitting in the verandah of his house in Antervelia village. Verma is in charge of the RSS unit of Antervelia in Meghnagar town in Jhabua district. A small-built man in his mid-50s, he runs a tent house and a local grocery shop, even as he’s otherwise employed in “spreading Hindutva”.
Verma attended a “Hindu Sangam” in 2008 in Jhabua and joined the RSS soon after. The Hindu Sangam is a platform to bring members, supporters of the RSS and its affiliate organisations—over 40 of them—together to exchange thoughts on building a Hindu nation. The RSS has been holding these Sangams, a congregation of Hindus in the tribal-dominated areas of Jhabua, for over three decades.

Ashok Verma, who is in charge of the RSS unit in Antervelia.

Verma's anti-conversion Hindutva rhetoric against Christians in Jhabua dates back to the 1990s. It first started when Sister Rani, a nun at a local church, was killed in the neighbouring district of Indore in 1995.  When Uma Bharti, the hardline BJP leader who came into prominence for her role in the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, was appointed as the Madhya Pradesh chief minister from 2003 to 2004, slogans like “Pehle Kasai, Phir Isai (First the Muslims, then Christians)” became commonplace in this tribal belt. These are the two communities that are perceived enemies in the Hindutva project of RSS.
In 2005, there was a spate of attacks on churches in Jhabua when a minor girl was raped inside a Christian missionary school. Since then, almost every year, anti-Christian violence picks up during the month of December. As a result, NDTV reports, in 2017, in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Christians chose to “forego Sunday prayers, carol singing and displaying crosses and rosaries through the year, fearing they will be accused of converting locals and persecuted”. In January 2018, two boys performing a "Christmas dance" in a primary school in Meghnagar were stopped by RSS members.
According to Verma, there are 400 “illegal” churches in Jhabua built to convert tribals to Christianity and to occupy government land. He estimates that at least 7,000 people have converted to Christianity in the last three years in the district. This year, on February 3, a statue of the Virgin Mary was set on fire in Ishgar village in Jhabua. He says: “They lure them with biscuits, cakes, money, non-vegetarian food. First, they get them to start lighting incense sticks in front of a picture of Jesus Christ on a weekly basis, and then get them to baptize. Are we going to be mute spectators?"
He says his local RSS unit has managed to do “ghar wapsi” of over 100 families over the past year in Jhabua.
“Ghar wapsi” is a series of “reconversion” activities initiated by the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the RSS to “facilitate” the conversion of non-Hindus to Hinduism. In December 2014, VHP leader Pravin Togadia had said the world was once inhabited only by Hindus, and that the VHP would ensure the Hindu population in India increased from its current 82 per cent to 100 per cent.
The reconversion process involves a hawan, a Hindu ritual of burning offerings to “purge” the converts, and a pledge to follow the tenets of Hinduism.
Verma believes there is a larger conspiracy behind the religious conversions done by the local churches. "The Indian Constitution guarantees reservation to STs in the government sector. By converting tribals to Christianity, they want to take over positions of power in the Indian administration and rule the Hindus."
His son Rohendra Verma, 24, nods at his father's statement. Currently unemployed, Rohendra believes that only “kattar” or “staunch” Hindus can save India. When asked if he knows of any cases of tribals converting to Christianity, he replies, "I have heard of them but don't know any in my own circles. They are taking away our jobs. We either save Hindus now or get rid of Muslims and Christians later. There are only two choices." He is yet to officially join the RSS.  
The 2011 census data negates the paranoia peddled by the RSS. According to these figures, 0.3 per cent of Madhya Pradesh's population of 77 million were registered as Christians and around 90 per cent were Hindus. The same census figures state that the Christian population in Jhabua is 3.75 per cent, 10 times less than the RSS’s figures. In fact, instead of an increase, the overall population of Christians in India has been on a decline in the past five decades: 2.60 per cent in 1971, 2.44 per cent in 1981, 2.34 per cent in 1991, 2.30 per cent in 2001 and 2.30 per cent in 2011.
Verma says the census data is “flawed”.
Apart from “saving” the tribal population from Christians, Verma also actively works towards propagating the Hindu religion among them. This includes distributing statues of Hanuman to all households, teaching them how to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, and how to conduct Hindu weddings. He says, “They didn't even know how to take seven rounds around the fire. We had to teach them."
In her book In The Belly Of The River, sociologist Amita Baviskar had written: “Adivasi religious life is built around animism and ancestor worship and evolved quite distinctly from the Hindu tradition. Their myths and rituals are located in their closeness to and reverence for nature.” Verma’s task is to appropriate these practices as Hinduism. “The kind of round stone the Bhil community worships as Bada Dev is actually like Shiv. Similarly, the foliage and the trees are part of the 'Mata Ka Van (Forest of the Goddess)’. We tell them their practices are all Hindu. They just don't know that.”
Another task is to repudiate local tribal practices and replace them with “upper-caste” Hindu rituals. The RSS started a drive here to stop the sacrifice of kadaknath—a rare breed of fowl available only in this belt—among tribals on Diwali and replaced it with the ritual worship of Ganapati and Goddess Lakshmi. Similarly, the tribal communities participate in a pre-Holi celebration called Bhagoria: a “festival of love” called pranayapurva where young women choose their life partners by applying gulal on the faces of the young men. Verma says this behaviour is a “blot on the character” of Indian women. “We have worked to stop this perversion.”
In this area, the RSS has a comprehensive network that follows a five-tiered structure of villages, mandals, khands, sankuls and jilas (divisions, segments, complexes and districts) parallel to the two-tiered government model. When asked what is the larger goal of Hindutva, Verma says, "I didn't think about it ever. I just want to see a society purged of Christianity. I hope Modiji will help us in his second term."
In the upcoming 2019 elections in the state, the BJP has fielded their local MLA Guman Singh Damor. Verma says, “We worked very hard to get Damor elected from the Jhabua Assembly seat. For the upcoming elections, our booth agents have been shortlisted. The booth tolis with 20 RSS members each are ready. Our slogan will be 'Hindu Jago, Kristi bhago (Hindus wake up, Christians go away)'."
The young men: battling Muslims and ‘deviant’ Hindu girls
Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal is also hard at work to save Hinduism in the area.
"We try very hard to work for Hindu unity. Our special focus is on ‘love jihad’ cases," says Devraj Singh Rathore, a 21-year-old member of the outfit. Tall, lean and well-built, he wears a freshly-applied red tilak on his forehead. Rathore is an undergraduate student of commerce at a local college. His area of concern, "love jihad", is a Hindu Right-wing theory that Muslim men “lure” Hindu women to marry them and convert them to Islam. Many police investigations have conceded in court that there is no evidence to prove the existence of this practice.
The Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP, formed in 1984 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, when the VHP was organising a “Ram-Janki rath yatra” in the town. Ayodhya is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram and the tense communal atmosphere at the time led the government to refuse the VHP permission to carry out the procession, citing security reasons. As a result, senior leaders of the VHP had called upon the Hindu youth to protect the procession—and Hinduism—from its enemies, resulting in the formation of the Bajrang Dal.
The group organises akhadas, training camps to teach martial arts, wrestling and Hindutva ideology. Like a lot of young men, Rathore was interested in bodybuilding and wrestling, and hence started attending the local akhada in the area three years ago. “I was initially just having fun. I really got interested in Bajrang Dal activities when Deepak Makwana, the RSS pracharak from Thandla tehsil, addressed us. He said that we should think of how Muslims are united all over the world. Then why not Hindus? That really struck a chord with me."

Devraj Singh Rathore and Gaurav Vikram, both members of the Bajrang Dal.

Rathore’s friend, 22-year-old Gaurav Vikram, sits next to him. He’s also a member of the Bajrang Dal. “There are one crore Bangladeshi Muslims and 11 lakh Rohingya Muslims in India,” Vikram says. “They run terrorist training camps inside madrassas. There’s an organisation by the name of Jaish even in Jhabua. This needs to stop or they will take over.”
However, he is unable to explain how an organisation called “Jaish” is necessarily a terrorist outfit. He says, "I will find out and tell you."
Vikram has been running a mobile shop for the last three years. He was unable to enroll for higher education because of financial constraints at home. “They are taking over jobs, our country and our women. For the last three years, I have actively done the Hindu religion's promotion to fight the Islamic threat," he says.  
On May 19, Rathore and Vikram will vote for the first time in a Lok Sabha election. Rathore says, “We want a government at the Centre that listens to us. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh under Shivraj Singh was here for 15 years. Even their administration rarely listened to us when we protested against Muslims taking out Muharram processions and against 'love jihad' cases. Now, with the Congress government in power, there is even less scope.”
Both young men firmly believe that they “show the direction to those who get lost or deviate from the Hindu way of life”. They regularly conduct vigils in Meghnagar town, especially on Fridays and during Ramzan because that is the time “Muslim shop owners in town get together to plan anti-Hindu activities”, according to them. This has often led to many reported skirmishes between the two communities.
Rathore says, "Two years back, we had a major breakthrough. We managed to separate at least five Hindu women from their Muslim husbands in town. It was a big achievement for us. But now, our Hindu girls are deviating from our traditions at a lightning fast speed."
To prevent “love jihad”, the local Bajrang Dal unit actively collaborates with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS, to keep tabs on every single girl in college to track whom they’re interacting with. “If we see them talking to boys, especially Muslim boys, we inform their families,” Vikram says. The girls are then stopped from coming to college regularly and only come to sit for the exams. That is one way of saving girls from ‘love jihad’ kind of situations.”
However, this tactic hasn’t been as effective as they’d hoped over the last year. When Rathore spotted the daughter of a well-known Hindu family in Meghnagar roaming around with her Muslim boyfriend, her family was informed. However, they paid no heed. When nothing worked, they tried to “explain” to the young woman that she should end the relationship immediately. Rathore says: “She was my college senior. She said, 'there is nothing illegal in having a Muslim boyfriend'. She even threatened us with a police complaint. Imagine! We want the central government to change this law in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections."
The boys: protecting the Hindu way of life
A few kilometres inside Khacchartodi village of Meghnagar in Jhabua, in the backdrop of hillocks, stands a building under construction in a huge compound. The plaque on the building identifies it as the  “Vanvasi Sashaktikaran Kendra/Forest Dwellers' Empowerment Centre” run by the Padma Keshav Trust.

The Sewa Bharti building.

The centre currently serves as a hostel for 26 boys in the age group of 5-17 monitored by Sewa Bharti, the welfare organisation of the RSS. "We have children from many tribal communities including Damoh, Bhil, Bhilala, and Katara. It takes up to three years to make a Bhil-speaking child learn Hindi. How will they learn Indian values and build a Hindu Rashtra if they don't learn Hindi?" asks Kailash Ameliya, the hostel’s coordinator. He is lean and wears a pigtail on his head—a tradition observed by upper caste Brahmins—and a pointy moustache. Ameliya has been associated with the organisation for the last 15 years.
Most of the boys are students of Class 2 to Class 11 in several local government-run (shasakiya) schools, Ameliya says. They are selected on the basis of a test that involves IQ, general knowledge and course-related questions. "Most of their parents are migrant labourers in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, so we get them here. The children of single parents are given priority."
Once they complete their school education, the students are made to stay at the hostel for four more years to, as Ameliya says, integrate them into the “mainstream” way of life and “serve Bharat Mata”.
At the hostel, the students wake up at 5 am. The shakha, an RSS assembly ritual, commences at 6 am. Mango Singh Katariya, the manager of this Sewa Bharti branch, says, “We teach them how to play Indian games like kabaddi and kho-kho. We have also come up with a game called Tank War to instill feelings of nationalism in the young boys so that they can protect Bharat Mata.” Tank War is a game where each group tries to make a chain and encircle the other group to capture it. The groups are often named “India” and “Pakistan”.

Mango Singh Katariya, the manager of this Sewa Bharti branch, and Verma.

As we talk, Satyanarayan Chakradhari, a member of Vidya Bharti, the educational wing of the RSS, steps in. He announces that he was just passing by. On his arrival, both Ameliya and Katariya stop answering further questions from this reporter. Instead, Chakradhari intervenes in the conversation.
“Our aim is to protect Indian culture and values, and we can only do that by catching the children young,” he says. According to him, there are 16 Christian schools in Jhabua which convert tribal children to Christianity. Chakradhari echoes what Ashok Verma had said earlier: “5,000 people were converted to Christianity last year.”
He laments, “Can’t you see the Christian influence? Children want to celebrate birthdays by cutting cake instead of going to temples. They want to study in an English medium school. And the girls! The Western clothes, such forthrightness instead of being docile. We believe in teaching them Indian values and culture from childhood itself so that they don’t lose their way when they grow up.”
When I ask to take a photograph, Chakradhari refuses. “We don’t engage with the media. You can take pictures of the boys.”

The boys who stay in this hostel.

The 26 boys are lined up in a huge hall in the backdrop of a large Bharat Mata poster. They’re all dressed in half-sleeved shirts and pants. I’m not allowed to speak to them. They greet me in chaste Hindi and begin with a war song followed by a hymn in praise of Bharat Mata.
In the upcoming elections, this Sewa Bharti branch plans to carry out a mass drive among the hostel children to “write pamphlets on Bharat Mata and the Hindu way of life” for distribution among the local population. "So that they vote for the sons of Bharat Mata and not the Kristis," adds Chakradhari.

Disclaimer : Newslaundry.com is determined to include views and opinions from all sides of the spectrum. This doesn't mean we agree with everything we publish. But we do support their right to the freedom of speech. In case of columnists and non-Newslaundry staff articles, the information, ideas or opinions in the articles are of the author and do not reflect the views of Newslaundry.com. Newslaundry.com does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

 The above report from https://www.newslaundry.com is reproduced here for educational and non commercial use

India: ABVP’s Delhi Uuniversity student union poll manifesto - points at "anti nationals" & wants “nationalism”

ABVP’s DU student union poll manifesto includes lectures to promote nationalism

The ABVP said if it wins the DUSU polls this time, it will “try to design programmes for students with a mix of strong Indian tradition and values combined with latest development and vision.”

delhi Updated: Sep 07, 2018 03:57 IST

HT Correspondent
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

 

https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/abvp-s-du-student-union-poll-manifesto-includes-lectures-to-promote-nationalism/story-EFn0OcAjyMogCJXJcmL0AM.html

India: Trouble at AMU campus over Jinnah portrait - Hindu Yuva Vahini and ABVP trigger violence - select news reports

 The Indian Express

Violence at AMU over Jinnah portrait, university registers complaint against Hindu Yuva Vahini activists

The university has registered a complaint against activists belonging to the Hindu Yuva Vahini for raising 'objectionable slogans' against the university near the administrative block.

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: May 2, 2018 10:12:34 pm

Uttar Pradesh Police personnel deployed outside Aligarh Muslim University gate during students’ protest in Aligarh on Wednesday. (Source: PTI)

Police on Wednesday lobbed teargas shells to disperse the students of Aligarh Muslim University demanding the arrest of outsiders who had barged into the campus, shouting slogans demanding removal of the portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from students’ union office.
District magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said two youths were injured in the police action. Photographs of injured students are doing the rounds on social media.
Earlier, members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing organisation, entered the campus in afternoon and clashed with university students. They were then taken away to a police station from where they were later “rescued” by other protesters, AMU student union members said.
Aligarh MP Satish Gautam has two days ago written to AMU Vice-Chancellor seeking explanation about the presence of Jinnah’s portrait in the campus.
Meanwhile, the university has registered a complaint against activists belonging to the Hindu Yuva Vahini for raising ‘objectionable slogans’ against the university near the administrative block. The complaint was registered with the Civil Lines police station just hours before a lecture was to be delivered by former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who is also the former Vice-Chancellor of the university.
As per the complaint, security guards posted at the university gate apprehended 4-5 activists and handed them over to the police. Soon after, another group of activists, allegedly carrying pistols and sticks, arrived at the scene and raised ‘objectionable slogans.’
(With PTI inputs)

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The Times of India

Violence at AMU over Jinnah portrait

PTI | May 2, 2018, 22:37 IST

Uttar Police personnel use gas shells to disperse the Aligarh Muslim University students protesting at the gate

 

ALIGARH/LUCKNOW: Violence broke out at the Aligarh Muslim University campus today as the row over Muhammad Ali Jinnah's portrait on the campus triggered a right-wing protest and sparring between two BJP leaders.

At least six people were injured when the police lobbed teargas shells to disperse AMU students, demanding the arrest of protesters who had earlier barged into the campus shouting slogans.

Hospital sources said about 20 students were treated with injuries, though a university official gave the lower mumber.

A function to grant life membership of the student union to former vice president Hamid Ansari, scheduled for this evening, was called off and he returned to Delhi.

The AMU students alleged that the protesters were from Hindu Yuva Vahini, and were allowed to leave a police station even after being initially detained.

Earlier today, a BJP MP demanded the expulsion of Uttar Pradesh Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya from the party for praising Jinnah, which the minister denied he ever did.

Media reports had said that the minister called Jinnah a `mahapurush' (a great personality) from the time of undivided India.

Maurya reportedly praised him when asked to comment on the row sparked by another BJP MP Satish Gautam, who had objected to Jinnah's portrait being displayed at AMU.

The minister told reporters today that he had not made any statement even as Harnath Singh Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member from his own party, targeted him.

"Government minister Swami Prasad Maurya who had called Muhammad Ali Jinnah -- a heinous criminal who trifurcated the country -- a great personality should retract his statement, apologise or be immediately removed from the party," Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

But when asked by reporters to clarify his remarks on Jinnah, Maurya said in Unnao that the media was wrong.

"Koi bayaan nahi hai, yeh bayaan aap log baat ka batangar bana ke badhaate hai (There was no statement. You are making a mountain of a molehill)," he said.

Yadav had also tagged his anti-Maurya tweet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath and party leader Sunil Bansal.

The Rajya Sabha MP from UP said in another tweet, "The photograph of Jinnah who trifurcated India can be put up at AMU but Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vandemataram cannot be said."

The violence erupted hours after Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi expressed hope that the portrait issue would be resolved with a "sensitive approach".

"The AMU administration and the students there are patriotic and there is no question of raising questions over their patriotism," the Minority Affairs Minister said.

AMU proctor Mohsin Khan said that a small group of Vahini activists arrived around 2 pm at the University Circle, a short distance from the vice chancellor's office.

The security staff managed to overpower the slogan-shouting group and took the protesters to Civil Lines police station and handed them over to the police.

But later, a large group arrived at the police station and managed to take away their supporters, according to the AMU.

This group then marched towards the Bab-e-Syed gate and the few policemen there failed to prevent them from entering the campus. City Superintendent of Police Atul Srivastava said security around the campus has been tightened.

AMU spokesman Shafey Kidwai had defended the portrait, apparently hanging at AMU for decades, saying that Jinnah was a founder member of the University Court and granted life membership of the student union.

"Traditionally, photographs of all life members are placed on the walls of the student union," he said.

Student union president Mashqoor Ahmad Usmani said they strongly opposed the two-nation theory and the creation of Pakistan, which was a result of the movement led by Jinnah.

"There is no question of being inspired by such a separatist ideology." He told PTI.


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Hindustan Times

Jinnah portrait protesters should also oppose Godse temples: Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar to twitter to voice his opinion on the Jinnah portrait controversy at the Aligarh Muslim university

india Updated: May 03, 2018 14:26 IST

Press Trust of India, Mumbai

Police tries control the situation after a clash between two groups at Aligarh Muslim University on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

Veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar on Thursday said it is “shameful” that the portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah hangs in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) but people, who are protesting against it, should also oppose the “temples made to honour Godse”.
The 73-year-old writer took to twitter to voice his opinion on the ongoing controversy at the Aligarh university which was triggered after Aligarh MP Satish Gautam objected to the Pakistan founder’s picture on the walls of the AMU student union office.

Jinnah was neither a student nor a teacher of Alig  Its a shame that his portrait is there  The administration n students should voluntarily remove it from there n those who were protesting against this portrait should now protest against the temples made to honour Godse.

— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) May 3, 2018

AMU spokesman Shafey Kidwai had defended the presence of the portrait, which has apparently been hanging there for decades, saying that Jinnah was a founder member of the university court and was granted life membership of the student union. Traditionally, photographs of all life members are placed on the walls of the student union office.
The row sparked violence at the campus on Wednesday which resulted in at least six people being injured when the police lobbed teargas shells to disperse AMU students, who were demanding the arrest of the protesters who had earlier barged into the campus shouting slogans.
The AMU students alleged that the protesters were from Hindu Yuva Vahini, and were allowed to leave a police station even after being initially detained.
(The story has not been modified from its original version, only the headline has been changed)

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The Wire

For Jinnah Portrait Hanging Since 1938, Hindutva Activists Attack AMU Students

As a result of the attack, which also saw the local police use tear gas and lathis against the students of the university, an event where former vice president Hamid Ansari was to speak had to be cancelled.

Ansab Amir Khan

Aligarh: Scores of students at Aligarh Muslim University were injured Wednesday afternoon after armed activists from the Hindu Yuva Vahini descended on the campus with police backing to violently demand that a portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah – which has been hanging inside the students’ union hall for 80 years – be taken down.

After Jawaharlal Nehru University, Hyderabad University and Delhi University’s Ramjas College, AMU has thus become the latest university to come under the radar of Hindutva groups protesting what they claim are “anti-national” activities on campus.

Jinnah was active in the Indian freedom struggle until his Muslim League developed the ‘two nation theory’ that eventually led to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.

Hours before the former vice president of India, Hamid Ansari, was to visit AMU for an event, some 30 activists of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, accompanied by uniformed policemen, came to Bab-e-Syed – the central gate of AMU. They shouted slogans like ‘We will not let such respect for Jinnah pass in India”, “If you want to remain in India, you must say Vande Mataram’, “Vande Mataram, Jai Shri Ram!’

The policemen made a pretence of trying to stop the march some 50 yards from the gate. The HYC activists then waved pistols and other weapons in the air, endangering the lives of students.

As students’ union office bearers and other students came to the gate, a mild altercation ensued and six of the HYV activists were handed over to the police. The police reportedly did not file an FIR, and released the accused.

Soon, a large gathering of students collected at the gate to protest what they said was the unwillingness of the police to uphold the law.

The police, in turn, returned with reinforcements, as did the Hindu Yuva Vahini, and what followed, say students, was a lathi charge on the AMU community with HYV activists pelting stones as well. The students ran as the police chased after them inside the campus. More than 65 students were severely injured, including the president of AMUS, Maskoor Ahmed Usmani, secretary Mohammad Fahad, and former vice president Mazin Zaidi, who were taken to hospital.

After being unconscious for more than two hours, Usmani said, “This was a pre-planned, organised attack by the police and Sangh parivar members, against the institution, as well as the students. The police could not handle 30 Hindu Yuva Vahini members, but had no qualms in brutally beating up hundreds of innocent students.”

Later in the day, the university said it had decided to cancel the program for which Ansari had been invited.

Jinnah portrait dates back to 1938

The ‘provocation’ for Wednesday’s assault was a manufactured controversy surrounding a portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah hanging in the Union Hall of the AMU Students’ Union. The portrait is not new, nor has it recently been unveiled, contrary to the disinformation being spread on social media, but dates back to before the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.

BJP MP Satish Gautam, who represents Aligarh, recently tried to stir up a controversy over Jinnah’s portrait and other leaders from the Sangh parivar leapt int the fray, accusing AMU of harbouring pro-Jinnah and pro-Pakistan views even today. The reality, as Mohammad Sajjad, a professor of history at AMU, explains, is that the portrait has been in the Students’ Union Hall since 1938, when Jinnah was awarded life membership of AMUSU. The first person to have been documented as a life time members, was Mahatma Gandhi. In later years, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, C.V. Raman, Jai Prakash Narayan, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad have also been awarded with the same among many others whose portraits still adorn the walls.”

“Those who are asking for removal of this portrait in the wake of the events of 1947 and Jinnah’s “two nation theory” do not know about the integrity of not changing historical facts and artefacts, as is clear by their attitude towards historical monuments, and modern syllabi. AMU, unlike the government, does not believe in distorting history to its favour.” he said.

Usmani said that those attacking AMU should remember that V.D. Savarkar, a revered figure within the RSS, was “head of the Hindu Mahasabha for years and boycotted the Non Cooperation movement and formed alliances in two provinces along with Jinnah’s Muslim League before partition.”

India: What's Behind the Acquittal of Swami Aseemanand in the Mecca Masjid Blast Case - An inexperienced lawyer with ABVP connection as the main prosecutor

The Indian Express

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/hyderabad-mecca-masjid-blast-nia-prosecutor-n-harinath-has-abvp-link-swami-aseemanand-5141754/

Mecca Masjid blast: NIA prosecutor N Harinath has ABVP link

 

On Monday, an NIA court in Nampally acquitted five accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the case. The NIA declined comment on the empanelment of Harinath — associated with only the Mecca Masjid bombing case — as a prosecutor.

Written by Rahul Tripathi | New Delhi | Updated: April 18, 2018 7:21:30 am

 Mecca Masjid blast: NIA prosecutor N Harinath has ABVP link The Mecca Masjid: the site of the blast (Express photo by Raaj Dayal)

NIA special public prosecutor N Harinath, engaged for the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a student in Hyderabad and said Tuesday that he has continued to help the RSS-affiliated student body organise events.

On Monday, an NIA court in Nampally acquitted five accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the case.

Harinath, who took over as the NIA prosecutor when the Mecca Masjid blast trial started in 2015, told The Indian Express: “When I was pursuing my second year in law I joined ABVP but have never been associated with the BJP. I have since been donating and helping them (ABVP) organise events.”

Read | Mystery red shirt found with unexploded IED at site never reached NIA

The NIA declined comment on the empanelment of Harinath — associated with only the Mecca Masjid bombing case — as a prosecutor.

Harinath also said he did not face any pressure from anyone to dilute the case. “From day one, we were working to secure the conviction in the case. When I joined in 2015, the trial was about to start and I was engaged by NIA after scrutiny of my application. I have provided them with the list of cases I have dealt in the past. I have been practising in criminal court since 1994 and have been a special public prosecutor for the Enforcement Directorate since 2011.”

Read | Five including Aseemanand acquitted, judge who delivered verdict resigns

According to Harinath, the NIA court while acquitting the accused observed that the confession of Aseemanand recorded before a magistrate in Delhi was not fair. “The entire prosecution case was based on the confession of Aseemanand, which was recorded before a magistrate in Delhi. In his deposition to court, the magistrate said Aseemanand was in police (CBI) custody when he was brought before him and after recording his statement he was taken into the police custody. The court concluded that it is not a fair confession.”

Under section 164 CrPC, the confession cannot be recorded before a police officer.

Aseemanand acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast case Aseemanand, one of the five acquitted Monday. (File Photo)

“The court observed that the case pertained to Hyderabad and the CBI could have got Aseemanand’s statement recorded before the magistrate here when he was in jail. The magistrate who recorded Aseemanand’s statement was a prosecution witness in the case,” he said.

Read | Among acquitted in Mecca Masjid blast: RSS leader convicted in Ajmer blast last year

Another reason they failed to secure the conviction, Harinath said, was witnesses turning hostile. “Had these witnesses supported the prosecution case, we would have secured a conviction,” he said.

India: Intimidation by far right student org'n ABVP prevents CJP workshop in Banaras; Police sides with ABVP

UP Police sides with the ABVP, prevents CJP’s workshop on How to Stop Fake News
Force used against students of Kashi Vidyapeeth deplorable: CJP

In yet another instance of gross intimidation, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), have threatened human rights activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad against conducting a workshop at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi. The workshop titled, “Mainstream journalism in the age of Social Media” was scheduled to take place at 2 pm on February 27, 2018. The move, is yet another example of bullying and strong arm tactics for which the ABVP, the purported ‘students’ wing of the BJP and RSS, has gained notoriety. But for the obvious and overt efforts of the UP police to physically intimidate Setalvad and students, the ABVP goons who were just a handful could not have succeeded.


CJP condemns this overt intimidation of free inquiry and questioning when permission was granted for the workshop many days in advance. A copy of the permission letter can be viewed below. It was on Monday, February 26, 2018 when ABVP first threatened to disrupt the workshop. But it was the student organizers and the Students Union who decided to go ahead nevertheless. This morning the administration orally took back the permissions.



A huge posse of policemen including the PAC was stationed, converting the Kashi Vidyapeeth into a war like zone. All gates were locked. Students gathered from all around to attend. Barely four-to five ABVP activists stood with college administration and planned the attack. There were no women police officers present at the time of the attack.

Suddenly, a large number of police personnel arrived when Teesta Setalvad, Secretary, CJP, arrived. Setalvad was stopped by the police. She decided to walk nevertheless, as students wanted her to garland a statue of Chandrashekhar Azad as it was his death anniversary. Setalvad was surrounded by the police and stopped even as an inspector suddenly started beating and abusing students. Among the hapless sttudents who were roughed up by the police for no reason, were Harish Mishra, Sooraj Yadav, Roshan Kumar, Gyanu Yadav, Ajit Yadav, Ravindra Verma, Ranjith Seth and many others. The police used force to push everybody out. It is only after the police action that the ABVP students started sloganeering.

Thereafter, Teesta spoke to the to media even as the police and administration stopped students from garlanding statue.



CJP condemns that amidst this sloganeering, the police present openly stood laughing with ABVP people who were barely 4 or 5, all the while being very aggressive with students who wanted to hear Setalvad. The workshop with students of Mass Communication and other social activists of Kashi Vidyapeeth continued at another venue.

The ABVP seems to be baffled by the book release function of Ms. Setalavad that took place yesterday, in which her autobiography “Samvidhan ki Sipahi” (Footsoldier of the Constitution) was released. In an attempt to cast aspertions about the motive behind the media workshop, Abhishek Mishra, District Co-ordinator of ABVP in Kashi and a youth worker of RSS, predictably labelled it as ‘Anti-national activity’ and said, “Aman ke Dushman Wapas Jao” (Enemies of peace, go back). In a post on Facebook, he alleged that after spreading ‘hate’ in various universities in the country namely JNU, BHU and others, “anarchic” elements are trying to instigate the University, right under the nose of the administration. Spreading more ‘FAKE NEWS’, the same post goes on to call CJP and Sabrang “banned” NGOs.



It is very clear that ABVP feels emboldened to issue such threats because of the political backing and support that it enjoys, not just from the state government, but also from the Centre. Condemning the impunity of the attack, Teesta Setalvad said, “It is extremely condemnable that the administration of an august institution like Kashi Vidyapeeth, inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi (founded Shiv Prasad Gupt and Bhagwan Das) is today succumbing to an ideology that killed the Mahatma. Only days ago, another large university, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) allowed the glorification of the killer of Gandhiji. A clear agenda is visible in both central and state universities where students, human rights defenders, those who speak for communal harmony the Constitution are intimidated by violence and threat, whereas a violent fascist ideology is given sanction. Kashi, Banaras and Indian belongs to us all. They cannot appropriate our heritage.”

India: AIFRTE Press Statement condemning the abusive and threatening public reference on Facebook by ABVP student against Prof. K. Laxminarayana

All India Forum for Right to Education

16 Jan 2018

AIFRTE Press Statement condemning the abusive and threatening public reference on Facebook by ABVP student against Prof. K. Laxminarayana, 

University of Hyderabad, and the partisan and criminal inaction of the University authorities

AIFRTE strongly condemns the abusive and threatening public reference on Facebook to senior Prof. K. Laxminarayana of the School of Economics, University of Hyderabad by a student, Kaluram Palsaniya alias Karan Palsaniya belonging to the ABVP, at the Department of History of the same university. Claiming to be a critique of an examination paper set by Prof. Laxminarayana for the elective option Economics of Education, the intemperate response of the ABVP student in fact targets a specific question on the impact of 'privatization and saffronization’ on higher education.

However, there is more to the highly politically motivated reaction of this student. Prof. Laxminarayana had published a critical analysis of the Justice Roopanwal Commision set up by MHRD to enquire into the circumstances leading to the 'suicide’ of Dalit Ph.D scholar Rohith Vemula [Why Justice Roopanwal’s Report is a Travesty? Economic & Political Weekly, vol. 52, issue no. 46, 18^th November 2017]. Vemula’s `suicide’ had set off a nation-wide protest and resistance against what was widely perceived as an institutional failure to prevent social discrimination against Dalit research scholars, to address their genuine academic grievances and to prevent rank insensitivity and negligence such as not releasing scholarships for months on end to scholars from very deprived sections of society. In fact, the Supreme Court had asked universities to immediately enquire into the causes of the high number of suicides of students from these sections.

Prof. Laxminarayana’s article clearly showed the role of Susheel Kumar, (an ABVP student who posted abusive social media messages branding Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) members as 'anti-nationals’ and 'goons’ while accusing them of assaulting him), of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)  MLC Ramachandra Rao, and Central Ministers Smriti Irani and Dattareya in pressurizing the Vice- Chancellor and University authorities to reverse the original findings of the proctorial board and instead expel six Dalit scholars from the hostel. This expulsion was widely seen as a form of 'social exclusion’ routinely experienced by Dalits in villages. Consequently the expelled students referred to the open area they occupied as velivada, the traditional name for the excluded zone earmarked for Dalits.

The Justice Roopanwal Commision, as Prof. Laxminarayana’s article forcefully argues, was “appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) . . . when Rohith’s aggrieved friends lodged a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which was pending against the then HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, BJP minister Bandaru Dattareya and other prominent BJP functionaries and the Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile. Second, the Commission had no Dalit member in spite of it being mandatory to look into the facts surrounding the death of a Dalit scholar...”

It looked at no fresh or countervailing evidence, ignored the original proctorial report which recommended moderate disciplinary action against both sides, as also the medical reports that gave no evidence of ABVP’s Susheel Kumar either having been assaulted or injured as he claimed. The Commission’s Report merely repeated the conclusions arrived at by inquiries of subsequent committees which had been instigated by intense pressure from BJP leaders and ministers.

Further, the Report, as Prof. Laxminarayan’s article points out, far exceeded its mandate in taking up an issue that could only be examined by the revenue department and not in civil court, i.e. the caste status of Rohith Vemula. In concluding that Rohith was a non-Dalit, the Roopanwal Commission’s Report was therefore both “illegal and unethical”. From the age of three years, Rohith was raised along with his siblings by his Dalit mother on her meager earnings as a domestic help, as her OBC husband had deserted her because of her caste status.

However, the Report `saved’ the BJP ministers and members, and the University’s V.C. and other officials from prosecution under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Against this background, the abusive facebook entry acquires a menacing aspect. We have seen how the Sangh Parivar’s Hindutva groups, of which ABVP is a prominent presence within the institutions of higher education, have politically, ideologically and even physically targeted intellectuals and scholars who hold different views which are secular, constitutional and democratic. In an earlier case of use of abusive language on a poster of Dr. Ambedkar, the enquiry committee had felt it necessary to suspend a student for one-and-a-half years as this use of uncivilized language by the ABVP is sought to be made a regular form of assault and public humiliation against any persons who oppose their ideology and misconduct on the campus.

As a faculty member, as a member of the University’s Executive Council and as former President of the Hyderabad University’s Teachers Association, Prof. Laxminarayana’s contribution to the development of the University is well-established. As such, we are shocked that the University has failed to respond to or take any action on his complaint which was submitted to the University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Proctor on 30^th November 2017.

As an active member of the Save Education Committee of united Andhra Pradesh and as the current Organizing Secretary of the Save Education Committee of Telangana, and as member of the National Executive of the AIFRTE, Prof. Laxminarayana is also a leading figure in the all-India education movement. Scholars like Prof. Laxminarayana, who promote and advance democratic struggles for social justice, have been viciously targeted by the Hindutva forces. As such we take this intellectual and personal threat to Prof. Laxminarayana with all the seriousness that it deserves.

AIFRTE demands that

• Kaluram Palsaniya alias Karan Palsaniya, Ph.D student of the Department of History, University of Hyderabad, be suspended immediately for abusing, seeking to defame and humiliate a senior Professor of the University of Hyderabad;
• Authorities should conduct an enquiry as per University policy and rules to decide the quantum of punishment that Kaluram Palsaniya alias Karan Palsaniya should receive;
• University should explain why no action was taken against Kaluram Palsaniya alias Karan Palsaniya following the offence and even after receiving the representation of Prof. K. Laxminarayana on 30^th November 2017; 
• Criminal proceedings should be initiated against Kaluram Palsaniya alias Karan Palsaniya for seeking to promote ill-will, enmity and hatred towards Prof. Laxminarayana with a view to threatening his life and liberty.

 AIFRTE Presidium

Dr. Meher Engineer, Chairperson, AIFRTE; Ex-President, Indian Academy of Social Science; Kolkata,

Prof. Wasi Ahmed, Bihar, Former Joint Secretary, AIFUCTO; Patna

Sri Prabhakar Arade, Maharashtra, President, AIFETO; Kolhapur

Prof. G. Haragopal, Telangana, Visiting Professor, NLSIU, Bengaluru

Prof. Madhu Prasad, Delhi, Formerly Dept. of Philosophy, Zakir Husain College, Delhi University

Prof. K. Chakradhar Rao, Telangana, Dept. of Economics, Osmania University, Hyderabad

Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Madhya Pradesh, Former Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University; Bhopal

Prof. K. M. Shrimali, Delhi, Formerly Dept. of History, Delhi University

Dr. Anand Teltumbde, Goa, Senior Professor, Goa Institute of Management

India: Court raps Delhi university for not taking action against ABVP rowdies who terrorise teachers

 Hindustan Times

Terrorising teachers unthinkable, high court tells Delhi University

DUSU President Satender Awana, pursuing LLB from the Faculty of Law in Delhi University, had allegedly threatened a female professor who caught him cheating during the semester exams

Oct 22, 2017 10:51 IST

Press Trust of India, New Delhi

 

The court pulled up the university for not taking action against a law student who threatened the professor. (File)

“Terrorising” teachers is an “unthinkable” and “shocking” act, the Delhi High Court said after it was told that a Delhi University law student had threatened a female professor who had caught him cheating during exams.
Anguished by the incident, a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Najmi Waziri said it was an “anathema” to call such institutions schools or refer to such persons as students.
“Terrorising teachers is unthinkable. Shocking. It is an anathema to call them schools or such students as students,” the bench said.
It made the strong remarks after it was told that former DUSU President Satender Awana, pursuing LLB from the Faculty of Law in Delhi University had threatened a female professor who had allegedly caught him cheating during the semester exams in May-June this year.
He had also allegedly tried to intimidate the members of the unfair means committee of the varsity which was looking into the alleged incident.
The court pulled up the university for not taking action against the student with regard to the incident.
The incident was brought to the court’s attention by senior advocate N Hariharan, appointed by the bench as an amicus curiae in a matter concerning the standards of legal education in India.
The amicus was asked by the court to file a plea seeking contempt action against the student. The main petition by SN Singh, an advocate and a former DU law professor, was listed for further hearing on October 26.
During the hearing, Rahul Mehra, the standing counsel for Delhi Police, also told the court that the agency had received a communication from the lady professor regarding the alleged threat by the student.
The bench directed the police to ensure protection to the professor and told it not to “plead helplessness”.
The court has already ordered protection for the law faculty’s dean, Ved Kumari, in another matter pertaining to threats to her by some students, allegedly including Awana, in connection with attendance shortage for giving the LLB semester exams.

India: Delhi University college teacher assaulted for awarding zero marks to student with ABVP links

SRCC teacher assaulted for awarding zero marks to student with ABVP links

While the principal of the college, R P Rustagi, said he was given zero because he never attended classes, the student, Pradeep Phogat, has alleged that he was being discriminated against because he was “politically active” and was from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)

Written by Aranya Shankar | New Delhi | Updated: July 17, 2017

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/zero-marks-in-assessment-abvp-denies-link-srcc-teacher-beaten-up-assaulter-says-from-abvp-4753826/ 

India: BJP’s spectacular success in Northeast; in 1995 RSS and affiliates had 650 units, in 2017 over 6000

The Indian Express

Behind the BJP’s spectacular success in Northeast, years of silent work by Sangh
Back in 1995, the RSS and its affiliated organisations had about 650 such units in the Northeast; today there are over 6,000.

Written by Samudra Gupta Kashyap | Updated: March 27, 2017 8:15 am

To form N Biren Singh’s government in Manipur, the BJP has risen meteorically to win 21 seats. (Source: Express Archive)

What do T Thangzalam Haokip of Henglep, Vungzagin Valte of Thanlon, V Hangkhanlian of Churachandpur, Samuel Jendai Kamei of Tamenglong and Nemcha Kipgen of Kanpokpi have been common? They are all tribals, members of the new Manipur Assembly, elected on BJP tickets. More significantly, they are all Christians, and have been elected from constituencies where almost 99% voters are Christian. The elections in Manipur have dismantled the myth that the BJP is a party that belongs to and works only for Hindus.

In Manipur, the BJP has risen meteorically to 21 seats; less than a year ago, it had swept the Assam elections, increasing its strength from 5 to 60 in the Assembly. While credit for the success in Manipur is due to a team led by Northeast Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, the young strategist Rajat Sethi, party secretary in charge of Manipur Prahlad Patel, and Assam BJP secretary Jagadish Bhuyan among others — the party also owes is remarkable showing to the work carried out silently by a number of organisations of the Sangh Parivar, some of whom have been working in 100% Christian areas in the Manipur hills.

“It is a fact that the BJP worked hard. But one must also remember that various Sangh wings have been working very hard for years, both in the Imphal Valley as well as the surrounding hill districts,” Jagdamba Mall, a veteran RSS organiser who has spent 40 years in Nagaland and was deputed to Manipur for the elections, said. “Tribal people, irrespective of their religious faith, particularly trust and respect our welfare programmes. This trust was definitely converted to votes,” Mall said. As many as 15 organisations affiliated to the Sangh have been active in Manipur, some for over three decades. “All the good work these wings have done have paid dividends,” said Shankar Das, prachar pramukh of the RSS’s Uttar Assam prant, which covers most of Assam, and the whole of Nagaland and Meghalaya. Instead of openly campaigning for the BJP, the RSS wings focused on getting people out on polling day. “When you go from door to door, house to house and village to village asking voters to come out early, the message not only becomes clear, it also gets translated,” Das said.

Organisations like Sewashram, Ekal Vidyalaya, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, Sewa Bharati, Kisan Sangha, ABVP, Vidya Bharati, Friends of Tribal Society or Van Bandhu Parishad, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Jan Seva Sansthan, Bharat Kalyan Pratishthan, Bal Sanskar Kendra, and the Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh have been running formal and informal education units across Manipur, and have had some impact, especially on the parents of children attending these centres. “You should not be surprised if you find children of some so-called extremist leaders of Nagaland attending English-medium schools run by a Sangh wing,” said one RSS worker who belongs to Maharashtra but has spent over 20 years in the Northeast.

Back in 1995, the RSS and its affiliated organisations had about 650 such units in the Northeast; today there are over 6,000. The number of Ekal Vidyalayas is said to have crossed the 3,000 mark. The RSS has over 120 shakhas and mandalis in Manipur alone, and its Ekal Vidyalayas — though restricted to the Imphal Valley — have touched a large number of families. “We have not only promoted Indian culture, but have also successfully driven home the point that Manipuri culture is an inseparable part of it,” said Kedar Kulkarni, who has recently moved to Manipur after having served for several years in Nagaland. And while the illegal influx of Bangladeshis resonates across the region, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had, during a recent visit to Manipur, declared that the problems of the state were the problems of the entire nation.

The BJP’s alliance with the Naga People’s Front (NPF) in neighbouring Nagaland — which had not gone down well with the Meiteis because the NSCN (IM) includes parts of Manipur in its Nagalim map — too contributed to the BJP’s victory. Although the Congress initially gained some ground among Meitei and non-Naga voters of Manipur underlining the central government’s signing of the Framework Agreement with the NSCN (IM), a sizeable section of Meiteis later changed mind, with the RSS playing a role in persuading them. “We have been focusing for long on the patriotism and nationalism of the Manipuri people,” Mall said. The membership of the RSS has been increasing in the Hindu-majority areas of Assam. In the Imphal Valley, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, the Sangh’s organisational structure has grown from 2 divisions until 2013 to 4 now.

Veterans in the RSS strongly believe that Manipur is just the beginning of the realisation of their potential in the hill states, and more is in store. The number of workers in Tripura has doubled in just a year, and with Assembly elections likely in February 2018, the BJP could give the ruling Left Front a run for its money. The RSS is also working to prepare the ground for the BJP in Meghalaya, another Christian-majority state that goes to polls early next year. Various Sangh wings are fast adding units, and last year, over 300 RSS cadres — mostly from the Khasi and Jaintia communities — paraded through Shillong in khaki shorts and white shirts, holding sticks. The BJP already has an ally in Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party, which has a strong base in western Meghalaya — what it needs now is the help of the RSS’s wings to reach out rapidly in the eastern region of the state.

India: ABVP waves saffron shawls at burkhas on campuses

The Hindu - Sunday Special, March 11, 2017

ABVP waves saffron shawls at burkhas on campuses

 Raghava.M

Muslim women wear the dress to be able to attend college in Karnataka, but Hindutva activists see it as a violation of the existing code

A saffron shawl is not part of the prescribed uniform at the Government First Grade College in the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka. But Jayant Naika, a second year undergraduate student of Arts, was assaulted earlier this month by four of his college mates for not wearing one.
The incident marked an aggressive turn in the burkha-versus-saffron shawl battle over dress codes reported from colleges in Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts.
These districts made news for communal skirmishes, vigilante attacks and moral policing.
The saffron shawl appeared in colleges after right wing groups objected to Muslim women being allowed to wear a head scarf or burkha in college. Students (many affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) decided to wear saffron shawls in protest.

Rule cannot change

The saffron group argues that one section of students cannot be allowed to break the norm on uniforms on the ground that it is a cultural or religious right.
Insisting that there was nothing communal about their stand, Mangaluru taluk unit of ABVP convenor Sujith Shetty said the State government should issue a non-negotiable dress code in schools and colleges.
“I will continue wearing a saffron shawl as long as they wear a head scarf,” said a student at the Government First Grade College, Bellare, Dakshina Kannada, which witnessed a confrontation six months ago.
Even though protests against head scarves or burkha on campuses have been reported since 2009 in Dakshina Kannada, boys wearing saffron shawls as a counter is recent. There have been four major instances since August 2016; in Bhatkal, Jayant Naika’s attackers said he was not wearing a shawl “despite being a Hindu”.

Passport to college

In all this, the voice of Muslim women has remained muted. “I wear a burkha because my family will not let me go to college without one. If they ban it, I might have to drop out,” says a student of the Sahyadri Science College in Shivamogga.

The town has no all-girls government science college and the government-aided girls’ science college does not offer as many subjects.
A teacher in a government first-grade college in Bhadravati, Shivamogga district, says: “Some of my students are comfortable in burkha and some may not be, but it is part of their negotiation with their families to continue education.”
Most of her students are from poor families and first generation college-goers. They often have to contend with boys of the community who report back to families if a girl is seen without a burkha or speaking to boys of other communities. The saffron shawl protests are “threatening, aggressive and leave no room for negotiation” and can potentially block a girl’s education, the teacher says.

Women helpless

“Women are unfortunately caught between fundamentalist groups,” says Sara Aboobacker, senior Kannada writer who has been vocal in her protest against imposition of burkha and hijab on women.
There have been instances where Muslim groups too refuse to engage in a debate and view the burkha as a religious issue.
For instance, in Shivamogga, some girl students, supported by the Campus Front of India, demanded protection from authorities, alleging that their rights were being violated in the name of a dress code.
Professor at Hampi Kannada University and a well-known culture critic Rahmat Tarikere said there are four clear stakeholders — the government, the Muslim community, progressive activists and the Hindu right.
“The government is being badgered for not imposing uniforms, the Muslim community for being conservative and progressive activists for being selectively silent. Clearly, only one group gains politically from this,” says Prof. Tarikere. “The Muslim community would be seen as defeated if it accepts the argument of the Hindu right, but branded regressive if it does not.”

Like Sara Aboobaker, Prof. Tarikere said the victims in all this are students, especially Muslim girls who want education and have to face conservative attitudes.

India: The rise of ABVP and why it attracts the youth (Smriti Kak Ramachandran)

Hindustan Times - 9 March 2017

The rise of ABVP and why it attracts the youth

Smriti Kak Ramachandran
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

After the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) helped orchestrate the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide win in the 2014 parliamentary election, and its subsequent victories in various state assembly polls, it turned its focus on another bastion for its ideology to penetrate — campuses.
Considered a stronghold of communist ideology, breaching the campuses for the RSS — the BJP’s mentor — has been a long-time objective. While the BJP contests political adversaries of all shades in the electoral sphere, the Sangh’s main opponent remains the communist ideology. And this is where the Sangh’s offshoot the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) emerged as a natural choice to take forward the fight against the Left ideology. The recent campus skirmishes involving ABVP are not a new phenomenon. The students’ wing of the RSS has since its inception been in the front lines of agitation moored by the Sangh. The Sangh, which runs a large chain of schools across the country, including at remote locations, sees campuses as potential areas to expand its reach. It depends on its ABVP foot soldiers to wean the youth from the so-called Left ethos.
“The Left-backed students’ bodies had been dominating the campuses across the country for long. With the growing numbers and victories in elections everywhere, the ABVP is challenging their domain. That is precisely what explains their (Left leaning groups) desperation, says Sunil Ambekar, national organising secretary of ABVP.

History

 

From the time it was established in 1949 as an arm of the then banned RSS, the ABVP has charted its journey on campuses covering the same ground as its parent—nationalism, character building and volunteerism. The only deviation from the RSS was its foray into electoral politics. “Over the years, the ABVP has remained rooted to the Sangh’s principles, even as it mirrors the BJP’s electoral ambitions,” says Jatin Mohanty a former ABVP member who is now a state secretary of the BJP in Odisha. So, what led to the ABVP morphing into an aspiring political unit?

Former ABVP leaders such as finance minister Arun Jaitley, sports minister Vijay Goel, transport minister Nitin Gadkari rising to prominence in the political firmament is seen to have stoked ambitions of the younger lot. “It is a more recent phenomenon. Like the BJP, the ABVP’s focus now is on winning elections and repeating the feat the next year. Earlier, the fight was more ideological than electoral,” says Mohanty who contested as an ABVP candidate in the Left fortress of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Sangh offshoot

 

Their affinity towards electoral politics notwithstanding, the ABVP’s trajectory of growth across campuses has been dotted with landmarks shaped by the Sangh ideology. Starting with their role during the Emergency, to their participation in the Ram Temple movement in Ayodhya, to the more recent resurgence of nationalism on campuses, the ABVP has largely stuck to the script.
“ABVP takes cue from the prevalent political situation. If it was again out on the streets during the Mandal agitation, it mobilised support for the Ram Temple in 1990s. While it raises issues of students’ relevance such as revisiting the four-year graduation programme that was introduced in Delhi University, it is not cut off from the contemporary politics,” said a former ABVP member.

Unlike the BJP, which has partnered coalitions with ideologies diverse from its own (the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir for instance), the ABVP has faithfully implemented at the macro levels the agenda shaped by the RSS. This is evident from the synchronisation of responses to events that unfolded at the Hyderabad Central University following the alleged suicide of a Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula; the unrest in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University where students affiliated to the Left were accused of raising anti-India slogans; and now Ramjas College in DU, where disagreement between the two sides over the choice of invitees for a lecture spilled into violence.

Expansion

 

With the BJP in power at the Centre and in many states, and the Sangh in a stronger position, the ABVP too has seen an exponential rise in its numbers. From 11 lakh members in 2003, it now claims a membership of 32 lakh, of which a significant nine lakh were added post the 2014 victory.
What draws students to the ABVP, especially at a time when it has been roiled in controversies and seen as pursuing a dogma?
BJP leader and a former DUSU president Sudhanshu Mittal explains that the ABVP’s adherence to its core values has been a draw for those who believe in nationalism. “From the participation in JP Movement to the Emergency to taking up the Kashmir issue, all nationalistic and idealistic movements the ABVP has shown consistency on its fundamental issues. It is not guided by political expediencies.”
Academic and activist Kamal Mitra Chenoy, however attributes the rise of the ABVP to the “obsoleteness of the Left” and the inability of the Congress and Socialists to groom their offshoots.

“Left organisations are suffering from obsoleteness of Marxist ideology…it can’t attract (youth) anymore,” he says. The Sangh, differs and says it is popular because of the resurgence of nationalism among the youth.
“The youth have realised that the Left has been marginalised as far as electoral politics is concerned. Barring Tripura and Kerala, where the Left is in power, its numbers have reduced in Parliament as well as in a handful of state assemblies. On the campuses, too, its presence is getting limited to the faculty. Other students’ unions don’t sway sentiments the way ABVP does,” said a senior RSS functionary, not wishing to be named.

Violence 

 

The student’s outfit, groomed by RSS , got its first political exposure when BJP came to power with Atal Behari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. But now it makes headlines for unflattering reasons.
Take the episode of violence at Madhav College in Ujjain during the student elections in 2009. Six ABVP students were accused of manhandling a professor who later died. All six were subsequently acquitted, but the case led to outrage and raised questions on the ABVP’s tendency towards aggression. RSS functionaries are quick to pin the blame on the “biased media narrative of the English press”. They allege that not only do the Left cadres push the ABVP counterparts into a confrontational position, but the reportage is prejudiced against the Right.
“The Left recognises its space is shrinking. It has taken a tactical stand of positioning itself as supporter of ‘liberal values’, so what is an ideological clash with the ABVP is presented as a fight for freedom of speech or rights for minorities,” says the RSS functionary. Chenoy, however sees the surge in violent outbursts as a manifestation of the state’s tacit support. “Vajpayee was a liberal within the framework of the Sangh. He kept them under check. Now with BJP in power, the police have been asked to go soft on the ABVP,” he says.

India under Modi: Why do students get jailed but RSS leaders who issue vile threats walk freely? - A letter to Arun Jaitley by Kiran Nagarkar

scroll.in - 9 March 2017

A letter to Jaitley: Why do students get jailed but RSS leaders who issue vile threats walk freely?
Do you really believe that our beautiful, strong and ancient country is in danger from a few students who express dissatisfaction with the state of the nation?

 

Kiran Nagarkar

Dear Mr Arun Jaitley,
Pranam, greetings, As-Salaam-Alaikum. I trust you are well and as usual, fighting fit.
As a lawyer you know better than most denizens of this country that the breath and heartbeat of democracy are openness, dissent, civility and non-violence. One other quality that Gandhi had in plenty, but is sorely missing these days, is a sense of humour about our follies. It ensures that we are not only self-aware but are able to internalise the notion that it is the bonds of brotherhood that are the foundation of this marvellous potpourri called India. It is in the light of this background that I find it incomprehensible and disturbing that a seasoned lawyer like you, who is also our finance minister, keeps talking about the imminent dangers to the polity just because a university student spoke openly about her desire to defend the right to freedom of expression and drew a fine but thoughtful line between the people of Pakistan and war.

Who is the real enemy?

A few weeks ago, I had written an article asking how we don’t know who the enemy in the North-West is even after decades of being victimised. The enemy is definitely not the majority of Pakistanis who, like us Indians, are busy making ends meet. The enemy is the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence who control not just the terrorist organisations in Pakistan like the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al-Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed, but also mastermind the planning and execution of terror attacks in India, and even in Pakistan itself, destroying the holy sites of Sufi saints and killing hundreds of their own people. We know that the Pakistani Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence control that country’s prime minister himself and dictate policy. General Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistan President, was happy to admit to this just a few days ago.
Who should know this better than you? After all you and Amit Shah are one of the triumvirate headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We know that while your portfolio is finance, you often speak on behalf of Modiji and the Bharatiya Janata Party. You express your wrath often on every conceivable subject, especially the country’s territorial integrity and the student community. But starting with your daily reversals and revisions in diktats during the demonitisation tsunami, why does almost everything have to boil down to a mantra of nationalism and patriotism? Why are you constantly fuming and conjuring up sedition fantasies? Why are you suffering from so much insecurity? Do you really believe that our beautiful, strong and ancient country, which weathered 250 years of foreign rule and many other disasters, is so shaky that it is in perpetual danger from a few students who express dissatisfaction with the state of the nation?

India’s strength

Come on Jaitleji, you too were a firebrand in your youth with perhaps a different bee in your bonnet. India is unlike any other country. We have deep roots that go back all the way to Mahavir and the Buddha and to Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Rabindranath Tagore, Gandhiji, his colleagues and the foot soldiers of our freedom struggle. Surely you and your party do not need to be reminded that this is how we are still the only country in the world that stood up to the might of the British Empire and won independence with the most unique weapon on earth, non-violent civil disobedience.
On the other hand, not for a moment do I underestimate the appalling danger that ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] poses to the free world. But there is a cure for ISIS. It is democracy at its best where every citizen has the same rights, the same superb education (not doctored texts by ideologues of any variety), the same opportunities and the same rights and duties. In short, a binding inclusiveness where everyone has an intense feeling of belonging to this land.
I hope to God that the citizens of our country will never permit the highly inflammable and barren hate campaigns of Donald Trump in the US, Marine Le Pen in France, Nigel Farage in the UK and so many others to find fertile ground in India.

‘Talk to the youth’

Jaitleyji, if you want to win over the minds of youngsters, then “chill out”, as they put it, and sit amongst them minus your overheated rhetoric. Instead of talking down to them, talk with them about their ambitions, literature, idealism, the intense need for a wide open and enlightened educational system, listen to their opinions. You will be amazed at how knowledgeable many of them are. Show them that the oxygen of democracy is freedom of expression and inclusiveness. Show them that you would have cared deeply about Gurmehar Kaur even if her father had not been a military man who lost his life. Show them that you would protect anyone – young women or men, the elderly or the middle-aged – because that is where this country’s honour lies. That anybody who threatens a woman with rape, verbal or physical harm will be arraigned instantly and punished under the law. The same will hold for the threat of violence against anyone. And if it is not too much to ask, put an end to the glib doublespeak. Cut out the platitudes. Mean what you say. Insist on actual action, and show the people that our democracy is in top shape and functions for every single person.’’

‘Remember the Constitution’

As a highly-respected lawyer, perhaps you and Ravi Shankar Prasad, our minister of law, should remember that the only sacred – but areligious – text in our polity is the Constitution of India. Forgive me for putting the matter in such a tentative manner but the two of you and even our much-revered Prime Minister often have memory lapses and seem to be unaware of a document of such enormous importance. We must, however, grant that every now and then your memory is active enough to invoke the Constitution. For instance, we watched you flare up last year on the issue of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Kanhaiya Kumar, who was jailed on the charge of sedition, or regarding Rohith Vemula, the doctoral student from Hyderabad Central University who committed suicide after he was thrown out of his hostel room. In Vemula’s case the government asked his mother to prove her Dalit antecedents within 15 days. Are we to understand that the Dalit label has overnight become so highly prized that Vemula and his mother would claim to belong to the much-maligned “wretched of the earth”, as the psychoanalyst and philosopher Frantz Fanon called the poor and depressed classes?
Here’s another instance. How could one forget that Mohammed Akhlaq of Dadri village in Uttar Pradesh was lynched by a mob, and his young son brutalized, because a Brahmin priest from the village temple claimed that there was beef in the family fridge? Police investigations and the forensic probe proved that there was no beef in the house. But months later, it turns out that the tested substance had changed its chemical or other components and gone back to being beef. So now Akhlaq’s bereaved family is once again in serious trouble with the law.
How come you and Ravi Shankar Prasadji are so incensed when students voice their opinions that you hold forth on the danger to the nation from these young people, but seem utterly indifferent to the law transmuting Akhlaq’s victimised family into criminals? It is incomprehensible how the government can alienate our minority communities with such abandon.

The case of Kashmir

And here’s one more egregious case of antagonising our own people. I am talking about what happened in Kashmir a few months ago. Let us grant that things got out of hand. Was that so unusual? Our relationship with that former jannat (paradise) has been dicey from the time we won independence. Could you two senior ministers at the Centre, the honorable Prime Minister, the home minister and the chief of the Army not see the horrendous consequences of firing pellets that blinded so many people, especially children? How have we become so callous and blind? Surely there are many other less dangerous but effective methods of controlling mobs. Can’t you see that you are not just making lifelong enemies, you are ensuring that the next 50 or 100 generations will keep these terrible crimes and injustices alive, and never forgive us? Can you not see that the Indian State is turning into the most efficient recruiting agency for ISIS in India?

Bounty on Vijayan

Then on March 2, Kundan Chandravat, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sah pracharak pramukh (joint head of dissemination for RSS ideology) announced a Rs 1-crore bounty for anyone who murdered Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala. According to Chandravat, Vijayan was responsible for the deaths of 300 RSS activists in the state. Were these alleged murders a clandestine operation by Chief Minister Vijayan that even the Centre was unaware of, or was this just routine Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh political hyperbole? But Chandravat had more poison to share with the public. He said he was willing to “offer a garland of 3,00,000 human skulls to Bharatmata in revenge”.
As expected, the RSS leadership announced that it was disassociating the institution from this statement and its source. However, there was total silence from the Union government. Modiji, Jaitleyji, Prasadji, and Singhji, there was not a peep out of you. When it comes to India’s youngsters, you hector people, you spew extreme disapproval and your diatribes get louder and more intolerant and more hostile, all in the name of sedition. But you take zero note and action when someone from the RSS, in full public view, using the most obnoxious words, threatens death to a chief minister and three lakh citizens. Is silence all you can offer to such vile threats? While students get jailed, Chandravat gets to walk freely and spread his deadly talk without the police or the leadership of the ruling party doing a thing.
So, does our country now have two Constitutions – one for the ruling party and its affiliates, and another for the rest of the country? This also raises another question: why has the judiciary not issued a suo moto notice to Chandravat yet?
I will take my leave now. Do remember that there is no malice here, just what the French call “a cry from the heart”.
Warm regards, and may God keep all of you safe and in good health,
Kiran Nagarkar
PS: One simple question: How come we, the people of this land, cannot have a conversation with you, Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and most of your leaders and spokespersons? The slightest disagreement and all of you come down on us as if we were traitors. Is it not possible to lower the temperature and talk to each other instead of being constantly slammed down? Is dialogue with all of us outside the pale of Hindutva? It might come as a shock to you but we are not the enemy. We too belong to the same country as you and are Indians.