“The Earth has enough resources for our need but not for our greed.”
This most often quoted phrase by Mathma Gandhi depicts his concern for nature and the environment, which initially gives a warm idea of how he envisioned the future generations to tend Mother Nature. Through the eyes of a man whose primary focus is development, it is condescending to believe he would even consider the existence of nature, wildlife, or anything that disturbs or is an obstacle to his developing habitat.
By: Gaurpriya Singh Roy
“The Earth has enough resources for our need but not for our greed.”
This most often quoted phrase by Mathma Gandhi depicts his concern for nature and the environment, which initially gives a warm idea of how he envisioned the future generations to tend Mother Nature. Through the eyes of a man whose primary focus is development, it is condescending to believe he would even consider the existence of nature, wildlife, or anything that disturbs or is an obstacle to his developing habitat.
Let’s talk politically.
In 1991, in his budget speech, finance minister Manmohan Singh declared: “We cannot deforest our way to prosperity, and we cannot pollute our way to prosperity”. These were his prescient words. While India had strong environmental legislation even in the pre-1991 era – the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, Water Act of 1974, Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, Air Act of 1981, and the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 – this ‘Environment vs Growth’ debate has become much more salient in post-reform India.
For instance, problems, and thus environmental issues, have entered the mainstream. As the pressure on the environment has increased with development, environmentalism has evolved from an ‘elite’ issue discussed in seminars and conferences to a real issue affecting people’s daily lives, health, and livelihoods. Consider the water table declines and extended droughts in Vidarbha and Bundelkhand.
For example, water logging in Punjab’s Malwa region has harmed the livelihoods of over 2 lakh farmers, or the pollution caused by unrestricted mining and thermal power generation using low-quality coal in Chandrapur, Maharashtra which causes 10,000 people to become ill with respiratory conditions each year. Also, considering the pollution of the Ganga, where effluent and sewage treatment capacity cannot treat even half of the flow.
Second, there has been a surge in organized environmental advocacy. The Rio Convention (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the subsequent ritual of annual climate change summits culminating in the Paris Agreement (2015) have elevated the environment’s global profile. In India, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have used Public Interest Litigation (PILs) and Right to Information (RTI) as practical effective tools for mobilizing action. As a result, no self-respecting government can now be accused of being soft or insensitive to environmental issues, at least in rhetoric.
Third, judicial activism has gained traction. The Supreme Court established a quasi-judicial body called the “Central Empowered Committee” (CEC) in 2002 to “monitor the implementation of the Hon’ble Court’s orders and place reports of non-compliance before the Court” concerning forestry issues, giving the committee broad powers. Since then, CEC has been an active watchdog on forestry issues, working quietly and efficiently. In popular perception, it was judicial action that forced the government to convert the entire fleet of buses in Delhi to CNG in 2001. A series of impromptu interventions by the court culminated in establishing a National Green Tribunal in 2011 as a professional empowered judicial body to adjudicate environmental and forestry-related cases.
As a result of these developments, the latest fad is “balancing” growth and environmental protection. This is a breath of fresh air in vocabulary. But have we discovered the proper mechanisms for striking such a balance?
Not yet: Environmental issues are hotly debated, from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant to Kanpur’s polluting tanneries. Over the last few years, the National Green Tribunal has heard over 1,600 cases, which is only the tip of the iceberg.
Thus, at what cost do we proceed with our buildout?
Toward a brighter future for the upcoming generations to look at should be our prime focus rather than handing them a world full of concrete and rust, we should keep our center of attention towards providing them with a new and nourishing environment where their minds and body thrive with health and joy rather than forcing them into a world where they know no humble but only brutal growth.
September 11, 1893. Swami Vivekananda graced the audience in Chicago, thanking them for the welcome extended to him by the Parliament of Religions. While representing Hinduism on a global stage, Swamiji spoke about pervasive “Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism” and how they have “long possessed this beautiful earth.….filled it with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilizations, and sent whole nations to despair.” He talked about a religion that “taught the world tolerance and universal acceptance.”
One hundred and twenty-eight years later, on September 10, 11, and 12, a virtual conference titled “Dismantling Global Hindutva” is being organized in the United States, with the sole purpose of condemning the same Hinduism in the name of Hindutva. The official website of the conference boasts of having the support of more than 40 elite universities and 60 departments in the US.
Several Hindu advocacy groups such as the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and Coalition of Hindus in North America (CoHNA) launched a massive grassroots campaign to reach out to these universities and seek clarification on whether or not they were sponsoring this event. As a result, logos of several universities and other PR material had to be taken down from the website. No wonder, the official website is “under construction” at the time of writing this article.
Any political activist, or a journalist, or an intellectual worth his salt must investigate, debate, and discuss every idea in an unbiased manner to form an opinion; for no idea is worth rejecting without due academic process. The organizers of this conference, on the other hand, have not once judged the scholarly work available on Hindutva. The conference, in its infinite wisdom, has already passed the verdict that Hindutva must not only be rejected but ‘dismantled’ altogether. According to its website, this conference will “examine the historical development of Hindutva, the fascist dimensions of the ideology, and its perpetuation of violence against religious minorities and other marginalized communities.”
At this point, it is important to understand the difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. The term Hindutva was coined by Chandranath Basu in 1892. As seen later in the works of Savarkar, the biggest proponent of Hindutva, the term ‘Hindutva’ was used to describe the “quality of being a Hindu” in strictly ethnic, cultural, geographic, and political terms, not religious. He defined a ‘Hindu’ as someone who considered India their motherland (Matrubhumi), the land of their ancestors (Pitrubhumi), and their holy land (Punya bhumi). Hinduism (Sanatan Dharm), on the other hand, is a religion and has nothing to do with politics.
Therefore, the remainder of this article will focus on how this hatred against Hindutva is already transitioning into Hinduphobia, and can further transition into hate crimes against the Hindus. For this, we will be analyzing if this conference, and largely those who attack Hindutva, fail the 3D test developed by Natan Sharansky. Sharansky was an Israeli politician who developed this test to determine if a person or an organization is anti-Semitic. While this test was initially developed to expose anti-semitism and differentiate it from genuine criticism, it can also be extended to anti-Hindu hatred. The three Ds of this test are Delegitimisation, Demonization, and Double Standards.
Delegitimization – This term refers to the denial of the Hindus’ right to self-determination. The organizers call Hinduphobia fictitious and say that it “rests on the false notion that Hindus have faced systematic oppression throughout history and in present times […] anti-Hindu bias […] cannot be easily linked to casualties on such horrific scales.” The organizers should perhaps tell this to the lakhs of Hindus that were targeted during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war, or the hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Hindus who were forced out of their homes in the 90s, or the Hindus that were specifically targeted in the Moplah Massacre (1921), the Noakhali riots (1946), and on Direct Action Day (1946).
Another method of delegitimization is linking the entire Hindutva movement and Hinduism with caste. They present Hinduism as a casteist religion, with caste supremacy at the core of Hindutva. In reality, Savarkar identified seven weaknesses of the Hindu society that Hindutva must address. These were untouchability, no interdining, no intermarriage, no occupational mobility, selective ritual permission, no seafaring, and no reconversion. In fact, the PM’s new cabinet consists of 27 OBCs, 12 SCs, and 8 STs. In the 2014 and 2019 elections, OBCs and SC-ST constituted 60% of NDA’s total vote share. So, this claim of caste-based discrimination is simply untrue.
Demonization – This refers to the portrayal of certain groups as evil, demonic, or satanic. Hindu scriptures and revered symbols like ‘Om’ and ‘Swastik’ are often attacked in the name of attacking Hindutva (anti – CAA protests). Meena Kandaswamy, a panelist of this conference compared RSS with the Taliban. Christophe Jaffrelot, another panelist of the conference went on to declare RSS as India’s ‘deep state’ in his book ‘Majoritarian State,’ an assessment that Kavita Krishnan (CPI-ML member and a panelist of this conference) found accurate.
Wanton demonization of the Hindu diaspora across the world is also quite rampant. The conference states that BJP has been “adept at building connections with the vast Hindu diaspora” which has “contributed materially and ideologically to the strengthening of Hindutva in India.” This indirectly calls every NRI Hindu a brainwashed BJP – RSS agent with an ulterior motive of attaining Hindu supremacy in India. These allegations sound eerily similar to the Russian anti-Semitic propaganda from the 18th and 19th century which claimed that Jewish organizations were coordinating an internal Jewish conspiracy. The most enduring of these claims was a book titled ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,’ a fabricated text describing a Jewish plan of global domination by taking control of media, politics, financial institutions, etc. Sounds familiar? Are you sure they’re not talking about Marvel’s Hydra?
Double Standards – This is the application of different sets of principles in similar situations, also known as hypocrisy. We don’t see elite universities and intellectuals holding a conference to dismantle global radical Islam or Christianity, nor do we see them attacking the Jewish diaspora across the world. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is an economic and political organization that consists of 57 member states, 49 out of which are Muslim majority countries. They also enjoy a permanent status in the UN and EU. In India, we have PFI in Kerala, AIUDF in Assam, and AIMIM in Hyderabad. Muslim activism by such political parties and organizations is acceptable to people (and rightly so), but when it comes to Hindu activism, people turn a blind eye to facts, logic, and reason; and all we see is blatant hypocrisy.
Therefore, this conference clearly fails Sharansky’s 3D test. Based on their website, promotional materials, and their listed speakers’ past statements, this conference seems to be a calculated attempt by the radical left to spread fear-mongering about Hinduism more than anything else. Reasons for this sudden emergence of hatred and negativity I do not know, but what I do know is that Hindus need to unite, now more than ever. Hinduism has always been a religion of peace. In this battle of ideologies and cultural identity, the strongest weapon that we have against them is our voice.
Rummel, Rudolph (1998). “Chapter 8: Statistics of Pakistan’s Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources”. Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900. p. 544. ISBN978-3-8258-4010-5
It was a regular day. Just as normal as the other days. I came out of my house to meet my friends. But there was a commotion outside and people gathered around. So even I went to see what the commotion was about. It was the man in white. By the man in white I mean, the municipal chairperson. He always wears white kadhi, so I gave him that name. He came to interact with the locals. He goes to a different locality once every week. This week he came to my locality. You might think – why are the people so hyped up? Well, he is a bit different from other politicians we see these days. He made many changes in our municipality. He made our municipality the best in the entire state. He is all ears when people tell him their problems, so they were eager to meet him.
A man approached him and asked something, then he abruptly said “I want you to grab me by the collar and ask me – why aren’t you doing any development to my locality?” I wondered – what is wrong with him? Why is he saying such unusual things? Then the man in white continued, “But you have lost the right to ask me such things because you have sold your vote to me.” I was curious to know what his reply would be. Unsurprisingly, the man agreed that he sold his vote and added that he even took money from the other party. It got me thinking – what did he mean by ‘that statement?’ It was him who bought the votes by distributing money during the election campaign! Why is he making such statements now?
After racking my brain, I understood what he tried to convey by saying so. We do lose our right to ask or question our representatives when we sell our vote instead of casting our vote to those who are best qualified to govern us. Candidates who purchase votes consequently overturn the scale of evaluation – their purchasing power masks their inadequacies. He criticized that man for selling his vote. He wanted us to cast our vote genuinely without selling it or taking freebies from any political party even if we are in dire need of it. He wanted us to realize that our vote is not for sale, but it is there for us to select the best-qualified person to represent us and our interests.
I will start this piece, as I always do, with a disclaimer. This article is not an expression of my personal opinion regarding the farmer’s protests and if I support them or not. I am still educating myself on the exact nature of the proposed policy reform, and while I do have strong opinions, this piece is not about that at all.
Sarah Marshall, a podcaster I adore, once said in one of her episodes of the podcast “You’re Wrong About” that every historical movement was explained in two ways – the story of facts and the story of the media. And she said this about journalism in the 70s. The media has now evolved from reporters behind desks to people behind smartphones. While it is easy to dismiss social media activism, it is true that a lot of people do consume their news on these platforms. And several others rely on social media for context and analysis of that news as well.
However, social media – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook – seamlessly blur the boundaries of tabloid culture, memes, and political propaganda. These platforms are dominated by celebrities, and there is a lot to unpack from just that one word – celebrities. When we celebrate someone, look up to them, and admire them, we need their opinion on everything. We are hungry for their politics, for their world view, and whether or not that aligns with our perspective. And the appeal of that is sometimes problematic yet understandable. Yet, most celebrities feel the duty of speaking out for causes they believe in because they have the platform, the following, and the resources. Sometimes their silence can be just as harmful to their reputation. Taylor Swift, for the longest time, was adopted by the white supremacist movement in the States as their alt-right pop icon. This was mostly a product of the fact that Swift rarely ever expressed herself politically, and it was easy to manipulate her silence into something ugly. She did clarify her stance eventually and strongly denounced white supremacy.
But this is how social media platforms are – they are difficult to navigate and perhaps not as easy to use as we make them out to be. A conversation about a particular event or agenda on a platform like Twitter quickly devolves into something ugly and nasty or completely spirals out of the scope of the original discussion. It is easier to retort than listen. It is easier to offend than eventually apologize. There is no authority regulating the debate, which is both good and terrible. And everyone has an opinion – not that that is necessarily a bad thing, citizens having a political opinion is one of the founding principles on which a democracy runs, but this opens a can of worms – censorship rules and freedom of expression retorts.
If you have been following the news recently, it would be pretty easy to guess what all of the past 400 words have hinted at. Recently, several high profile international celebrities, including Rihanna, Meena Harris, and Greta Thunberg came out in support of the farmer’s protests currently ensuing in India. Mia Khalifa also echoed that sentiment. In response to all of this, self-proclaimed conservative model Kangana Raunat attacked Rihanna and Thunberg blatantly, using extremely derogatory language.
Rihanna tweeted, “Why aren’t we talking about this?”, in regards to the protests, and Thunberg expressed her support by writing, “We stand with the farmers in India.”
The tweets were, to say the least, very typical celebrity tweets bringing light to a sensitive global issue. At the most, they were mildly sensationalist. (mildly, is the operative word)
Kangana Ranaut was incredibly displeased with the foreigners empathizing with Indian farmers and immediately retorted by saying that Rihanna was unoriginal, provocative with her clothing, uncreative, and indecent. She pitted herself against the pop icon using two images of herself and Rihanna and proclaimed that while she was a decent woman, Rihanna was a scantily clad untalented pop star. Sighs.
She made other such comments about Thunberg and Mia Khalifa.
If you’re yet to read these poorly worded sad tweets, there will be a link to an article attached below. And while I could dwell on how slut-shaming a pop icon is not only offensive but hardly a valid argument, I’ll instead take the time to explain how this manipulates the story of the farmer’s protest.
This is the problem I ultimately have with social media activism – it is real while simultaneously being enshrined in a small bubble. Even if we shame celebrities for not speaking up or for speaking up, they are such huge entities themselves that the story becomes about them. I started this article by stating this is not about the farmer protests, but about how they are being treated in the media – and isn’t that problematic? This story is now about Rihanna and Kangana, and hardly about the original discussion itself.
But truly, I have no answers. If powerful people expressing their opinion is harmful, so is their silence. It is real and yet not real – a true paradox. In part, this is a product of the insanely complicated and toxic celebrity culture we’ve built, especially on social media platforms. When idolized, celebrities stop being people. So you can hate on them in the most horrible ways and follow them till the very end in equally vile forms. Their statements are powerfully but ultimately symbolic.
And this will be the story told by the media. Twitter threads, Instagram rants, celebrity tweets, activist stories, political reels – they’re all recording the politics as it is happening. Even if it isn’t the most conventional form of history, they will still contribute to the narrative. All of the multiple threads will weave themselves together to form the tapestry of our modern political landscape.
It might mean everything to the future generation, it might mean nothing to them.
This thought exhilarates me.
It also terrifies me.
There are always two stories – the story that is happening and the story that is told. The latter will have multiple flourishes, deviations, dips, and peaks. It is not about abandoning one story for the other. It is about being aware that both of them exist, and that they are both playing with preconceived notions in our heads. It is about thinking, processing, accumulating, and rejecting ideas. It is about consuming media, but not being enslaved by it.
Right from the start, the farmers’ protest was peculiar. Whether or not the protests were justified is a different issue, what we saw was an uprising that set an example of how people could voice their dissent peacefully without resorting to violence. It was a breath of fresh air after the mindless means of protesting that we saw in February last year. But unfortunately, all of that goodwill was lost on the 72nd Republic Day of India when farmers decided to carry out a peaceful tractor rally in Delhi and NCR to promote their cause – a written assurance of the MSP and cancellation of the three farm laws.
During the Supreme Court hearings on the ongoing protests, the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde expressed his concern that allowing a tractor rally on Republic Day could spark violence. The Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had said that maintaining peace and order on the congested roads of Delhi will be difficult if 5000 tractors are brought in. Even the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had urged the SC to ask farmer unions to put off the tractor rally because “extraneous and outside elements and ideologies have taken over the agitation”. Despite these legitimate concerns, advocate Prashant Bhushan assured the Court on 20th Jan that the tractor rally will be on the Outer Ring Road to celebrate Republic Day and will not breach the peace. How the event unfolded, however, was there for the entire world to see.
Delhi Police and farmer unions mutually agreed upon certain rules to be followed during the rally, 37 in total. And almost all of these rules were violated. The timing of the rally was supposed to be from 12 pm to 5 pm, after the Republic Day parade. A cap on the number of tractors was also put in place and a designated route was set for the rally. It was also decided that no display of force or brandishing of weapons will be tolerated. However, all these rules were thrown under the bus. The protesters began clashing verbally with the police as early as 6:30 am on the 26th in Ghazipur. What followed was a slew of violations wherein protestors forcefully barged in through Ghazipur, Singhu, and Tikri borders while the Parade was still going on.
It continued to go downhill as the so-called farmers continued to march ahead, leaving destruction in their wake. Mobs carrying lathis, rods, swords, stones, etc destroyed over 40 DTC buses, uprooted railings, and broke road dividers. One protester lost his life as his tractor toppled upon colliding with a barricade. Fake news about him being shot by the police was also propagated fervently. The aggravated assault against policemen led to 300 personnel being hospitalised. Even female police officers were not spared. The ITO turned into a battleground as the police restricted the mob from heading towards the parliament. The mob then split into two parts, with one marching towards the Red Fort and the other staying on Vikas Marg.
The rioting on the Red Fort was a sight to behold. It was unlike anything the country had ever seen. As pointed out by the Prime Minister in his recent Mann Ki Baat radio address, “India was saddened by the insult to Tricolour on Republic Day”. The rioting mob barged into the Red Fort, vandalised some of its rooms, and forcefully hoisted the Nishan Sahib on a minaret beside the Tricolour. While the Nishan Sahib flag is sacred and venerable, Republic Day is all about the Tricolour since it captures the spirit of the entire country like none other. Hoisting any other flag near it on Republic Day is an insult to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for freedom and national integrity. What was even more shocking was that some of the rioters were seen carrying Khalistan flags, communist flags, etc which clearly showed that the Solicitor General’s assessment was accurate. What started as a protest against farm bills had now turned into something entirely different.
There is a section of the media that is arguing that there is nothing wrong with hoisting a different flag since it is sacred to the Sikh community. First of all, the incumbent government did not bring a law against the Sikh community particularly. The laws were about the farmers, and so were the protests. It is surprising how even an agricultural issue could transition into a religious issue so smoothly. Secondly, the same media which says that there is nothing wrong with hoisting a sacred flag on a national monument calls people fascists whenever the Bhagwa is brought into the limelight or when “Jai Shree Ram” chants are heard. I seriously wonder if these media houses would defend the rioters similarly had they been Hindus.
Another popular narrative doing rounds is the alleged hypocrisy of Hindus who supported climbing atop the Babri Masjid and its eventual demolition but are opposing the march towards the Red Fort. What I fail to understand is that when did this become a competition? Some media houses showed how the rath yatra in 1992 did “greater damage to the nation” than the recent protests. While that may be true, this information is simply irrelevant and the only reason why it’s being fed to us is to fuel the “us v/s them” mentality and somehow downplay the mess created on the 26th.
The thing that hurt the most was that none of the major political or farmers’ leaders were to be seen either at the Red Fort or at any other place where the violence was rampant. The law and order situation of the city needs to be questioned thoroughly. Delhi Police, which reports to the centre did not look in control of the situation until it was too late. It is the responsibility of the central government to ensure that law and order are maintained properly in Delhi, a job that they’ve been consistently failing at.
Amid this absolute pandemonium, a section of farmers led by Yogendra Yadav marched on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, Masani, and Nuh peacefully, sparking hopes that the actual agenda is still alive. Even if the mob in Delhi consisted of some bad elements who had nothing to do with farmers’ protests, it should have been the responsibility of the farm leaders to calm the mob down since the followers were, in most cases, misguided youths. I believe that the reason why no major leader came forward was to save themselves from any future probe into their possible involvement in the riots. Therefore, they decided to steer clear of it.
While the aggressive and coercive law-making nature of the government should not be condoned, it is the fundamental duty of the protestors “to safeguard public property and to abjure violence” as per Article 51A of the constitution. Also, as per Article 19(1)b, the protestors must gather peacefully and without arms. This, however, was blatantly violated in the recent protests, especially by Nihang Sikhs who waved swords at people fearlessly.
In the wake of recent violence and maligned image of the protests, farmers have decided to put off the march towards the parliament, earlier scheduled to take place on 1st February. Protesters must realise that violence and vandalism only discredit a legitimate mass movement. They help neither the agitators nor their cause. Therefore, leaders must take responsibility and ensure that the fellow protesters don’t go haywire. It can only be hoped that the farmers will once again earn that trust and goodwill as time goes on. A recent clip of Rakesh Takait breaking down and threatening to hang himself if the laws are not repealed may look like a publicity stunt, but it seems to have struck a chord with the farmers all around the country. The overwhelming support for him has led to more and more farmers flocking towards Delhi and swelling up the borders. Prime Minister has reassured the farmers that his government is still open for dialogue and is willing to suspend the farm laws for 18 months, but the farmers seem to be relentless. With several state elections lined up, it will be interesting to see how everything plays out.
8.08 crore total cases and over 17 lakh deaths. The pandemic is real, and so is the threat. In these tumultuous times, news of daily cases dropping rapidly and successful vaccine trials, as well as their rollout, bring in the much needed ray of hope. The United Kingdom became the first country to start vaccinating its citizens earlier this month. The US, Canada, Israel, Qatar, and some countries in Europe have followed suit. With concerns regarding discovery of a new strain and questions about efficacy of vaccines on it, the tension seems to have descended once again. In the middle of this conundrum, just add a little religion to the mix and what you get is a brand new controversy.
Speculations ran rife that coronavirus vaccines contain Gelatin which is widely used as a stabiliser. It keeps the vaccines safe and effective during storage and also increases their shelf life drastically. Gelatin is derived from Pork, which is considered Haram and its consumption in prohibited in Judaism and Islam. Major pharamceutical corporations like Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazenca have given assurance that their vaccines are Gelatin-free but limited supply and a surge in demand means that a lot of muslim majority companies like Indonesia might be given vaccines that have not yet been certified to be gelatin-free.
Islamic scholars have long debated on the use of Gelatin in medicines. While some claim that it is haram to consume such vaccines, the majority consensus seems to be that it is okay to get it administered for a greater good such as “treating sickness”. Even the Jews have clarified that it is okay to consume pork so long that it is injected and not eaten directly, especially for medicinal purposes. Also, since Gelatin undergoes a lot of chemical reactions after it is derived, its consumption is permissible. Yet, there seems to be conflicting opinions and in the wake of widespread rumors, there could be a lot of apprehension among poor people who don’t have access to correct information.
Taking the example of Indonesia which has the world’s largest Muslim population (225 Million), The Indonesia Ulema Council, a muslim clerical body in 2018 decreed that the vaccines for rubella and measles are Haram because they contain Gelatin. Due to this, religious leaders began to urge parents to not allow their children to be vaccinated. As a result of this, Measles cases subsequently spiked, making Indonesia’s rate of Measles third highest in the world. Later, a decree was issued by the council saying it was permissible to get the vaccine administered, but cultural taboos still led to continuation of low vaccination rates.
“He has only forbidden you ‘to eat’ carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—they will not be sinful. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 2:173)
These are perhaps the most deadly times which should steer clear from any sort of controversies. Misinformation could actually be a matter of life and death. As mentioned in the Quranic verse above, various muslim clerics and institutions of authority have stated around the world that consumption of Haram food items in times of absolute necessity such as for treating a sickness is permissible. But, partial knowledge and lack of education among the second biggest religion in the world continues to be a problem. Expecting staunch supporters to fact check every rumour that they hear is too big of a stretch.
Misinformation has not spared anyone. Back in June 2020, Baba Ramdev claimed that Patanjali has developed an ayurveda medicine called Coronil which indeed cures Corona. Following backlash regarding its effectiveness, Balakrishnan, the CEO of Patanjali changed the narrative and said that Coronil just helps build immunity.
Holding them responsible for spreading misinformation, an FIR was registered against Ramdev and four others for misleading people and trying to sell the medicine without getting approval from Union AYUSH Ministry. The accused were booked under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and Section 4 and 7 of Drug and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954
As vaccine trials start picking up the pace around the world, educating people about vaccines is of utmost importance. The role of healthcare organisations has increased two-fold as they are responsible for acting as the clearing house of information and give out facts to counter any rumours that may be doing the rounds. With 2020 coming to a close, people around the world are hopeful that 2021 is the year when things will finally get back on track. With news of successful vaccine trials and low positivity rates around the world, the human race will definitely succeed in defeating Covid-19 together.
While the BJYM President Tejasvi Surya has been showing his magic in our country’s politics, other young leaders like Chirag Paswan are not too behind. Treading on these lines, BJYM VP, Aijaz Hussain, won Srinagar’s Balhama constituency from BJP. This is the victory in the name of development and pluralism and not party politics. And now, BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the very first DDC elections of Jammu and Kashmir. It has even managed to open its account in the Kashmir Valley.
Although the BJP did face an afflicting opposition against making Jammu & Kashmir a Union Territory, its nationwide canvassing seems to have struck a chord with people. All the protests and furore had led everyone to believe that BJP would meet with mass criticism, and people will reject their mandate. But surprisingly, BJP won 75 seats in total in the recent elections whereas the Farooq Abdullah-led Gupkar Alliance of 7 parties witnessed diminishing vote shares with 110 seats until now. It is important to note that 72 of these seats are of Jammu. Earlier, BJP only had 3 seats in total.
The vote shares for the 278 seats respectively are: Independent candidates- 50, Congress- 26, Apni Party- 12, PDF-2, National Panthers Party -2 and BSP-1.
The poll results imply that the BJP has secured control of around 6 DDCs in Jammu (and none in Kashmir) while the Gupkar Alliance has a majority in nine DDCs (all in the valley). The independent candidates are likely to play the role of kingmakers in the rest of the DDCs including that of Srinagar. This win also stresses on the fact that the people trust their local leaders more than the major political parties to put an end to their miseries and pave the way for development. To sum up, it is not about the victory of one or the other party, but of democracy, especially in Kashmir Valley and a tight slap on the face of all those who questioned the power of democracy or those who believed that the Chinese would rather rule the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, democracy wasn’t able to curb the regional and communal divide in and between J&K which was once again witnessed in the results.
Although Kashmir hasn’t wholeheartedly welcomed the abrogation of Article 370, the electoral results suggest that Jammu & Kashmir are no different from the rest of the country. Owing to the amazing turnout of more than 50%, the election results suggest a lot. Kudos to the authorities for conducting the elections in 8 phases as it would have been a very tedious job especially in a sensitive UT like Kashmir. (Pondicherry elections still seem to be a far cry though.)
People have not only reposed their faith in the process and chosen their representatives but have specified that the people at the grassroots want nothing more than development and integrity. It was like a litmus test for all the political parties and against the rule of dynasties. Setting a benchmark in the history of elections at J&K, West Pakistan refugees and Valmikis got to vote for the first time with no boycott or separatist threats.
After constantly charging BJP with allegations of booth capturing and monopolising the elections, the Gupkar alliance is very hypocritically celebrating its win. It has a comfortable lead over the BJP- irrespective of claiming for months that the elections have been rigged by the BJP. This seems more like political rhetoric promoting people against the system- portraying a gloomy picture of democracy and the BJP of course. Ironically, PDP Candidates have won from behind bars while Mufti hailed the elections. In my opinion, Mufti can either prove the narration of Kashmir alienation, say that the elections were rigged and discount the verdict or accept the victory of democracy again.
But apparently “elections are not gonna solve the Kashmir’s issues”, let’s see what’s more to come.
In countries like India where transgenders are celebrated and homosexuality is well portrayed in ancient history and arts, colonialization has severely ruined the culture. On the other hand, the world right now has leaders legalizing homosexuality and gay marriages and still having a sense of transphobia or homophobia.
Here are some positive news headlines that caught my attention:
->Ellen Page- the Oscar-nominated star of “Juno” recently come out as a transgender, and introduced himself as Elliot Page. He came out as a gay in 2014 and since then has been the flagbearer of the handful stars from LGBTQ community.
->On the human rights day, Bhutan became the latest country to approve a bill that decriminalizes homosexuality.
-> Surprisingly, the top-most official of the Mexican Catholic Church agreed with Pope Francis’s comments that are concerned with the welfare of LGBTQ+ children.
->Clément Beaune, the French European Affairs Minister came out as gay recently and became the representative of a mass change in face of the conservative ideologies of EU.
-> Mara Gomez, 23, made her debut as the first trans player to play for the highest division of Argentine soccer.
-> Northern Ireland legalised abortion and same-sex marriage a year ago. Now the legislation has come into effect which enables couples to convert their same-sex civil partnership to a marriage.
Then there are some headlines which broke my heart:
->A Turkish group of 19 people at Ankara’s MET University will face a trial for staging a peaceful protest during the annual pride march, which was violently broken up by police and over 20 students were arrested.
->Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party made “LGBT-free” zones making them vulnerable to face discrimination. It also supports organizations that spread homophobia.
->JK Rowling faced backlash for allegedly insulting the transgender community through her comments. Controversies sparked when she was called a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) for using “people who menstruate” instead of women.
So, clearly, there’s an upstanding majority which is trans/ homophobic. In fact, the statement is an undertone if it had to indicate the hostility faced by the transgender community all over the world. The hostility isn’t restricted to jokes or hatred but severe violence and invasiveness.
In the most progressive countries of the world, there are politicians and influential people rallying to criminalize health care for transgenders- denying their right to exist.
It’s the transphobes and homophobes who have blood on their hands, their demeaning rage and insulting comments which are responsible for the four times higher rate of suicide attempts of the trans community as compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
Factually, our lived experiences indicate our complex histories thereby guiding our opinions and often creating the prism of our biases. But the mainstream media continues to ignore the adversities faced by the trans community and keeps us devoid of all such experiences which is why we fail to realise the gravity of the situation.
The LGBTQ youth face more bullying, cyberbullying, stigma, anxiety, attention deficit disorders, abject rejection, mistreatment, homelessness and substance abuse. While the people belonging to LGBTQ+ community are more resilient and soldier through all the adversities, they face poor mental health outcomes like increased risks of depression and self-inflicted injuries due to their cisgender peer victimization and non-supportive family members. Their medical needs often remain unmet. Sadly, they are not even safe in their own homes. Repulsion, pity and social rejection are all forms of homophobia. This not only compromises their integrity but inhibits them from making intimate bonds with the ones who they love.
The broad contention of the LGBTQ+ community and human rights activists is that- biological sex and gender identity should be recognized distinctively. And No! In differentiating these terms, discrimination against women is not being perpetuated while it is possible that the cis-identity and its majoritarian privileges are confounding in the face of the odds that the transgender community has to face, their voices remain unheard.
Transphobia and Homophobia are rooted in sexism. It has been ingrained in our minds that males and females are two mutually exclusive rigid sexes, and possess unique and non-overlapping abilities, traits and desires. Traditionally masculinity was considered superior to femininity which further fueled insecurities in people about gender norms.
Flaws in teaching and the lack of education on sexual drives and experiences of the non-binary genders also incite sexual violence towards transgenders.
Well, in simpler words, having a gender preference that discriminates against the transgender community, makes you transphobic and claiming for the rights of cisgendered doesn’t. But claiming the rights of just the cisgenders and undermining those of the transgenders does. One thing that we need to understand is that they are not “confused” about their sexuality and are in no way “wrong” or “unfortunate” or “outcasts”. And there’s no “real” or binary gender as such. Social acceptance is primary and foremost to let go of our homophobia or biphobia or transphobia! There’s nothing wrong in embracing who you are.
Saisha took deep breaths, trembling as she uploaded her video on Instagram. The debate that was raging in her class today had her hurt her deeply. She decided it was time to speak up. She wrote the song lyrics for this particular video. She had spent nights scribbling and changing lyrics, even rehearsed the song in front of the mirror. Her storage is brimming with drafts of the same song, she seems to find a flaw in every one of them.
Saisha is not used to speaking out or taking a stand. In fact, no one in her school even knew she could sing. Her mother thinks people might find her taking a stand a little hard to digest, she worries. Saisha is too pumped to think about it. The video is uploaded, 1-second 1-minute Saisha stares at her screen, the likes increase to 20. She shuts her screen, no she is not going to keep thinking about it. Ting notification sounds, “wow I didn’t know you could sing :)))” comments a girl from school, the knot in Saisha’s stomach unclenches a little.
15 more comments, all positive, 200 likes. Saisha smiles a little now, she didn’t even know these many people in her school knew she existed. “Thank you for taking my side,” writes the grateful bullied kid, for whom Saisha wrote the song. She is sure nothing can go wrong now.
Ting comment notification, but this time she does not smile as her heart breaks reading it, “You b***h, you s**k.” She braces herself that it will stop. Ting! , “You should have stayed shut, f**k you”, It doesn’t matter she tells herself. 600 likes 2 hurtful comments they don’t matter. Saisha cannot stop thinking about the hurtful statements. She wonders who made those comments, of course, they were using a fake account “MynxKing”.
She wakes up to 10 new comments, 7 heartwarming ones, 3 from “MynxKing”. She feels horrible. She doesn’t want to go to school. She decides to soldier on. Her friend Raina is shrieking “OMG, finally, you are amazing.” Saisha tells her about the comments, Raina decides to argue with them in the comment section, and then she reports the comments. Saisha seems to have found peace. The next day she goes to school and people are staring at her and whispering. She tries to fix her clothes, her phone keeps ringing, she finally looks at her phone.
She finally checks her phone, an edited video of her, which seems to have been recorded in the girl’s gym changing room, was going viral. She cannot move, someone walks past her snickering and saying “Nice bod girl.” She cannot think, everything seems a little hazy. She rushes to the washroom crying. No one comes to look for her. She finally comes out, fretting. Should she tell her parents? But they are very conservative! What if they think it’s her fault? She decides to ignore everyone. Even though tears are rolling down her cheeks and she is shaking, no one comes near her; she is the pariah. She goes home and refuses to come out of her bed. She misses school, but online bullying doesn’t stop. Grotesque editing and misleading videos continue to circulate. Comments flood in on her original video “S**t”, “Girls like you deserve this.”, “Why did you get involved, you stupid girl.” and the scariest ones from “MynxKing”, “This is what happens when you fight with me, you a**”
She deletes the original video, tries to keep her head down in school and on social media, hoping for the storm to pass. She cries daily, her parents are worried, she refuses to tell them. The videos are not dying out, she decides to complain, she tells the principal. She expects help. He doesn’t understand what happened and continues to ask if maybe she provided someone with the video, maybe an ex-boyfriend. She sighs, I don’t have friends, ex-boyfriends don’t exist in my world. The principal continues questioning her, unable to breathe, she sees a new video of hers, she runs out. She locks the bathroom stall from inside and swallows a bunch of pills she stole from her mother. The last thing she heard was the sound of people screaming and banging on the stall door.
The United Nations Organisations has been playing the global fireman, putting fires out for years now. Our fireman completed 75 years on 24th October. The organisation also pledged to “ upgrade the UN. A new thought made its way to minds, “Is the UN still relevant in present times ?” The reason behind the thought – UNO’s ability to prevent the pandemic.
Now, there are two schools of thought, one which still finds the UNO relevant and another, which doesn’t.
Let’s talk about the relevance and then we’ll address the irrelevance.
Talking about the relevance, UNO has been actively working to maintain international peace. Moreover, not only has it promoted the economic development of countries, but it has also helped in building good relations among countries. How? UNO gave countries the idea of international trade which kept the countries on good terms along with spiking the economic graphs quite a bit. The organisation has also tackled many global challenges, along with spreading the spirit of democracy and protecting human rights. Also, UNO is still very much needed as the countries are turning to Nationalism and are preferring it over international co-operation, which can lead to conflicts.
Flipping the card, let’s look into the irrelevance. Now, as we know, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has five permanent members – the USA, Great Britain, Russia, China, and France. These countries have veto power, and on many occasions, are claimed to have misused it. Also, there is no representation of developing countries, and thus, more often than not, a blind eye is turned to their issues. The pace of UNO’s change also hasn’t been up to the mark as compared to the world’s pace, being a backlash in the addressing of many issues, which becomes a major problem coupled with UNO’s bias pertaining to the influences of the funding country. The list becomes worse with the addition of sovereignty encroachment, as complained about by many countries.
The major reason behind contemplating and assessing the abilities of such a big organisation, as stated earlier, is the inability and lagging of the organisation to prevent or control the pandemic. Even though it is too idealistic to expect an organisation to succeed in every given situation but then again, it is only normal to expect something like this out of an organisation like UNO, which has been bestowed upon with the power and responsibility of keeping worldly problems at bay. Declaring the UNO irrelevant due to one failure might be a little too harsh, but backed up with the consequences and the other reasons making up a list, it might seem a fair decision to do so. I guess time will give us the answer for the same.
Fifth Pillar - VIT 