It was one Saturday one time and a Sunday the following week and every week almost, the people of India were hooked to television sets waiting to listen to the future leader of the country, none other than Modi. That was 2013 September onwards when Narendra Modi got elected as the head of campaign committee of BJP who was addressing rallies in various parts of country. There was euphoria all over with the expectations soaring as the then dispensation had failed miserably having been accused of one scam after another. It was a movement that began with Anna Hazare fasting for the cause of Lokpal bill which eventually got passed by parliament. Arvind Kejriwal gave the political touch for the movement with his Aam Aadmi Party that eventually got Delhi to rule.

History was created on 16 th may 2014 when BJP got a historic mandate of 282 seats and people started celebrating with joy the advent of a non congress dispensation in full majority for the first time after Independence. The mood was palpable as the expectation that Modi rallies with its slogan of Achhe Din had generated tremendous response from public. By then the public was reeling from the effects of not only from rampant corruption, but also with higher fuel prices, inflation with high cost of living, high interest rates and lack of job opportunities.

So what did BJP promise that got them to 282 in 2014? The main catch was bringing black money back and putting it into every Indian account an amount of Rs 15 lakh. Come 2018 almost after 4 and half years of the Modi Government, where do we stand? The petroleum minister says he is helpless to bring down fuel prices as the Global factors are responsible for it. If that is the case why didn’t you bring down the prices when the global prices were falling between 2014 and 2016 the people are asking. What happened to the wind fall gains by the government during that period. You are claiming that the oil marketing companies have become profitable, what about people, a big hole in their pockets?. Is this what Achhe Din all about?.

When Demonetization was announced, there was a promise “Give me 50 days, you will see happiness forever. What happened later? The Govt has not even bothered to listen to people, when some people lost lives, not an iota of sympathy was shown towards them. Let alone that, when some people could not exchange their old currency sought one more opportunity, they were denied suspecting them to be black money hoarders.

So what has demonetization brought our life to as on today. The so called perceived black money did not come in thousands or lakhs of crores. All that RBI ended up was just a difference of 0.7 percent in the currency not returning after demonetization. The economic chain of activity got cut. Jobs were lost. Just walk on the main commercial streets in your city, you will see only the staff of a shop seen inside with occasional visits by customers. This was prevalent even during festive season. The only exceptions have been eateries.

The BJP is claiming that with demonetization the tax base has enhanced and unaccounted money has been unearthed. But at what cost? Imagine the cost of New currency printing, jobs lost, economic chain of activity getting hit. We are not privy to some of the statistics that the government claims to have benefited due to Demonetization. The better way to describe this situation is, for a professional, the money flow is badly hit, payments are not given on time even after completion of the job due to cascading effect. People are not spending money but postponing their decisions in the private sector. Orders even after confirmation is either getting cancelled or deferred due to money crunch. To add insult to injury increase in petrol price, interest rates remaining the same for old customers and essential commodities remain where they are with respect to price.

One more hit came from GST. It was a brave and bold move by Modi government but what is the benefit to common man. The prices have not come down, they have increased on some goods and more shocking has been the irrational entry of GST into certain goods where none existed earlier. Like for example, people are paying for GST for the premium they are paying for Insurance. This has lead to a perception that Modi has started punishing his voters for having voted him to power.

There is a clear perception that has set in the minds of public especially amongst the middle class that Modi government has shut all the doors for them. What used to be the safe source of income thro’ Bank interest rates has come down drastically. Any scheme that you invest in does not offer more than 7 percent returns. Let alone the FDs, keeping money in Bank Account has become scary with frauds of Nirav Modi & Mehul Choksi coming to light and the way the customers are being fleeced with various charges. Besides this, the middle class has also seen the commitment of this Government on fighting corruption and black money. It was only symbolic of them to join Anna Hazare for Lok Pal bill as an opposition party. After coming to power there is no word on instituting Lok Pal except a few meetings to have been called to discuss it being reported in the media.

The point here is where do people stand after 4 and half years of Modi Govt? they feel disheartened, let down. Imagine the optimism they had when the Government took over and see where they are today. Miserable is what you can describe it as. Some of the spokespersons of BJP are so vocal in suggesting that “look at the number of subscriptions to EPF, they are a big indicator of employment generation. But in reality what is the picture? When a Government undertakes such measures as demonetization and GST, it is like a scientist conducting a test before certification. What people are asking is why don’t you listen to them when it has gone horribly wrong and hurt them. Probably a dialogue will help in achieving the success. Come February every year, for the last 4 years, people have been looking forward to the Union Budget for some initiatives, measures that will address the needs of the common man. Where are they? One of the regional channel chief post this year’s budget was commenting, has this BJP government lost a golden chance? After all the Government has still not ensured basic necessities of food, shelter and education to one and all. It makes the people ask the Government why do an animal test on us when you cannot provide an alternate to our present state of affairs?

So in Summary, after 5 years our lifestyle has not improved but deteriorated with same old issues of higher prices, lesser income and more difficulty. If the recent assembly election results have not served alarm bells to BJP, then they may end up ceding the space back to Congress despite arguing in Television channels that Congress does not stand a chance.

(writer is a media and communication professional and a supporter of Cultural Nationalism)

Amnesty International has published a report “Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir“. The title of the report indicates that security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir are committing human rights violations and there is no accountability for such violations. But, as the organization admits that five security force personnel were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Machil extra-judicial execution where Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmand Lone and Mohammad Shafi Lone died in a single incident. This incident is one of the 13 case studies that report cites and three of the fifteen people allegedly killed by the Army. The fact that life imprisonment was awarded to the security force personnel indicates that due procedures are followed in alleged illegal killings.

This is not an isolated instance even among the 13 incidents that the report cites. In the case of Sixteen-year-old Zahid Farooq Sheikh was killed in 2010 by the Border Security Force personnel as he was walking home from playing cricket with friends in Srinagar, a court martial was conducted by the Indian Army. Many of the relatives of Zahid attended the court martial and gave witness. The Indian Army submitted to the court that Zahid was involved in stone pelting against the BSF personnel and in a retaliatory fire was killed. It is quite possible that the inflammatory propaganda material he received against the Indian Army provoking Zahid to act against the Army.

In yet another incident, Mushtaq Ahmad Hajam who was returning from prayer was killed by a CRPF peronnel. He was moving suspiciously as stated by the CRPF personnel and when challenged, did not stop. CRPF personnel responded to his disobedience and he was killed. A court martial was initiated in this case too, which were attended by family members of Mushtaq.

In the case of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, whose mother Aahaz Dar has created the petition hosted by Amnesty International, it is observed that Mustaq Ahmad Dar was an informer of terrorists, harbored arms and ammunition. He was identified by local Muslim informers and the Army reached him only after confirmation. There are many other cases among the fifteen cases that are highlighted in the report. Some people were previously arrested for terror liks and a few others were picked up for interrogation after identified by local informers and elaborate intelligence information.

At least the above incidents are sufficient to say that Indian Army and other security agencies have initated investigation into many allegations and followed procedures before closing the case. Thus, the title is definitely of “failure in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir” is wrong and misleading. The language used in the Amnesty International report is not supportive of neutral point of view (NPOV) and is biased against security personnel.

Officially the Indian Army is committed to high standards of compliance with Human Rights issue by announcing “zero tolerance” for human rights violations as reported in the report. But, having acknowledged the policy of the Indian Army, the Amnesty Report claims

“more than 96% of all complaints brought against the army in Jammu & Kashmir have been dismissed as “false and baseless” or “with other ulterior motives of maligning the image of Armed Forces.”The small number of cases in which complaints against personnel have been investigated and military trials conducted are closed to public scrutiny.   Few details of investigations conducted by the security forces are available to the public. The military are notoriously reluctant to share substantive information about how they conduct inquiries and trials by court-martial into human rights violations. There is even less information publicly available about investigations and trials conducted by paramilitary forces. “

The Amnesty Report fails to provide the context and the background for the dismissal of complaints. The Amnesty Report describes the Indian Army as “notoriously reluctant”. Throughout the report a repeated allegation against the Army is that the investigations are not open for public scrutiny. While the Army has allowed family members to participate in the investigations, the constituents of general public, as per Amnesty Intenational, is not clear.

The report makes astonishing statements about prevailing legal provisions.

“With the continued existence and enforcement of legal provisions like AFSPA, access to effective legal remedies for victims of human rights violations and their relatives in J&K remains as limited today …”. Further, the report states its aim as “to expose the government’s complicity in facilitating impunity for security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, and challenge the de jure and de facto practices it uses to block justice for victims of human rights violations. This report challenges the use of sanction provisions under the AFSPA; demonstrates how the denial of sanction or permission has been routine and entirely lacking in transparency; and argues that the continued use of the AFSPA violates India’s constitutional guaranteed rights to life, justice and remedy”

Further the report concludes “By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own Constitution.”

This report claims to

“military justice system (of India) violates international standards for fair trials. Further, it demonstrates how security forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir have exacerbated this situation by routinely failing to cooperate with criminal investigations, civilian courts and government-ordered enquiries, and subjecting those pursuing complaints to threats, intimidation and harassment.”

These objectives and observations clearly indicative of misrepresentation of role of the Indian Army in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Further, it also indicates that Amnesty has a myopic approach in dealing with the issue of human rights. The report is silent about the role of a systematic misinformation campaign that is complicating the situation or implications of its demand of state police investigating the allegations against the Army. While making allegations of threats, intimidation and harassment against Indian Army, the Amnesty Report is consciously neglecting the role of civil administration in declaring an area as disturbed and the gravity of situation in the disturbed area to be faced by the security agencies.

In essence, the Amnesty International is failing to provide a soothing effect to the families of Kashmir who have lost their dear ones in an inevitable situation. Instead, the organization is irresponsible in unleashing a malicious propaganda against the security agencies and inciting the population against the government. The Amnesty International has an objective of working towards repealing death sentence and harmonizing the laws of India with the theoretical recommendations of UN. In order to achieve these objectives, it is creating pressure on Indian Government through these devious methods.  Stopping Amnesty International is a first step in dealing with the underlying causes for Kashmiri unrest that the Government of India should implement on a priority basis.

The numbers equal to powers of ten are frequently used in economics and other fields to represent large values.  United States uses numbers million, billion, and trillion to represent 10⁶, 10⁹, and 10¹² respectively.  But, intermediate powers of ten have no unique name.  In India, presently, 10^3, 10^5, and 10⁷ are referred as Sahasra, Laksha, and Koti.  Other powers of ten are referred through three three numbers.  For example, 10¹⁰ is referred as one thousand crore.  Bigger numbers such as Indian GDP are represented by using trillion unit.  In the present year budget, the Indian GDP was estimated as twelve lakh crores.  That is equal to 132 trillion rupees.  There is some kind of confusion in India about the use of names for these numbers.  Interestingly, there is systematized list of names for each power of ten in Sanskrit and we are not making use of the existing terminology.  Even terms ‘lakh’ and ‘crore’ are english version of ‘laksha’ and ‘koti’ taken from the same list.  Rigveda provides some of these names.   The Ramayana and Mahabharata provides names of numbers equal to powers of ten.  References to names representing many powers of ten are also seen in Panini’s Ashtadhyaayee, Lilaavathi, Aryabhateeya, and Vishnupuraana.  By considering two important sources from this perspective, Ramayana and Vishnupurana, the following detailed table is prepared.

It is interesting to note that million is called prayuta, billion is called abja, and trillion is called Shanku. As an example, the size of economies of different countries are listed below with Jaladhi as a unit for the year 2014.

This is a resource page for issues related to 16th Lok Sabha maintained by media syndicate. Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 May 2014. The Bharatiya Janata Party (of the NDA) achieved a simple majority with 282 seats out 543. Its PM candidate Narendra Modi will take office on the 26th of May 2014 as the 14th prime minister of independent India. The Indian National Congress(of the UPA) won 44 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party from Tamil Nadu won 37 seats.

General Elections 2014:      Party wise results      Constituency wise results       State wise results        Vote Share

An indefinite road blockade on National Highway (NH) 53 and NH 39 that link the northeastern state with the rest of the country blockade began Aug . They are demanding that the Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur be upgraded as a full-fledged district. The blockade was called by Kuki community led Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) in demand that the Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur be upgraded as a full-fledged district. The United Naga Council, the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, has also been organising a counter-road blockade in all Naga-inhabited areas in northern Manipur, demanding that these areas should not be carved out without their consent. The people of the state continue to suffer in this tussle.

 Home Minister P. Chidambaram has appealed to groups demanding a separate district in Manipur to suspend their 92-day-old economic blockade, which has led to prices of various commodities sky-rocketing in the north-eastern state. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Governor Gurbachan Jagat have also repeatedly urged the agitators to withdraw the blockade. 

Seriously ill patients have been turned away from Manipur hospital because of lack of life saving drugs and oxygen cylinders. Manipur does not have a medical gas plant of its own and relies on the nearby state of Assam. As a result of the stir, the price of oxygen cylinder has therefore gone up – by four-five times. The price of fuel and household commodities have also shot up. Although there is a general scarcity of goods, most of the things are available at higher prices. Officially, Petrol will be available from 7 am and from midnight people start queuing up their vehicles outside the fuel station. Next morning the fuel will not be available after about two hours. However the fuel will be available in the market but at a higher price. It means that the black marketers are getting their supply and exploiting the people. while in other states, the price of petrol is around Rs67 a litre, in Manipur it is being sold at around Rs200 in the black market. An LPG cylinder can cost anywhere between Rs1,800-2,000. Then again, a kilo of potatoes will cost around Rs40-50 and onions at Rs60-70. Many people have stopped using gas cylinders and are using home grown vegetables and fish from the local pond.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, known for teaching Yoga and having millions of followers, has drawn church’s criticism for his ties with Right-wing groups infamous for attacking Christians.

Delhi’s Catholic Archbishop Vincent Concessao condemned the yoga teacher’s ongoing mass campaign which seeks to curb corruption as it is being supported by Hindu groups. The Archbishop, who actively participates in civil society movements, said he was sad to see and hear a known anti-minorities baiterSadhvi Ritmbara sharing the stage with Ramdev. “One also saw a large number of saffron clad men adorning the dais, raising questions in our minds whether it was a national movement or political and/or a religious movement”, Concessao said in a statement.

The Archbishop condemned the police crackdown but justified the questioning by police who had given permission to the yoga guru only to conduct a yoga camp. Concessao said he did not “support arm twisting methods or the agenda of clean governance to be usurped by politicians for their own political gains.”

“The incident shows the unholy mix of religion and politics” UCANEWS quoted Catholic Church spokesperson Dr. Babu Joseph as saying.

Samuel Jaikumar from the National Council of Churches in India, a body representing mainline Protestants, said Ramdev’s protest had a communal element to it as it was reportedly supported by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the country’s largest and most influential Hindu nationalist organization. “Real issues like corruption and black money have taken a back seat,” Jaikumar added.

Ritmbara is a prominent member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the World Hindu Council. The RSS is the ideological mentor of India’s main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is aimed at promoting Hindu values. VHP is a religious wing of RSS and is active in opposing fradulent means adopted by Christian missionaries to lure Hindus to convert. VHP is also spearheading Ram Janmabhoomi movement to build a Ram temple at the birth place of Ayodhya.

Christian Rights groups say on an average around 200 incidents of attacks on Christians are reported each year and a majority of them can be attributed to groups like the World Hindu Council.

Ramdev, who has assets worth millions of dollars, is a Hindu leader promoting Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedas. He is demanding Indian government to bring back the illegal money to India and enact law providing for death penalty for corrupt officials. Over 100,000 people joined Ramdev’s fast-unto-death against illegal money stashed in banks abroad by corrupt politicians and tax evaders on June 4 in New Delhi. However, a police crackdown forced his followers to return in the night. Police also detained Ramdev. Hundreds of Indian-Americans followers across the United States also observed fast in support of Ramdev, who claims to give health and happiness to his followers and cure cancer and AIDS through yoga. Friday, 10th June 2011, was the seventh day of fasting by the 46-year-old yoga guru.

Source: Christian Post

Starting today, March 15, The Hindu offers its readers a series of unprecedented insights into India’s foreign policy and domestic affairs, diplomatic, political, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual – encountered, observed, tracked, interpreted, commented upon, appreciated, and pilloried by U.S. diplomats cabling the State Department in Washington D.C.

The range of subjects, issues, and persons covered by the India Cables is extraordinary. While the trained diplomat’s eye is almost always on the ball – the developing Indo-U.S. strategic relationship and everything that helps or hinders it – the range includes India’s relations with its neighbours, with Russia, the European Union, East Asia, Israel, Palestine, Iran, and the rest of West Asia, Africa, Cuba, the United Nations. It covers issues and actions relating to defence cooperation, nuclear policy, arms control, terrorism, intelligence sharing, export control, human rights, Indian bureaucracy, environment, AfPak, and much more. There is a special focus on 26/11, Kashmir, India’s policy towards and dealings with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, and where the Indian polity is headed.

Politicians of all shades, diplomats and other officials, sleuths, businessmen, journalists, busybodies, bigwigs and smallwigs figure in the WikiLeaks India Cache – which comprises 5,100 U.S. Embassy and consulate cables relevant to India (not all of them originating in India) and aggregates an astonishing six million words.

These American diplomats have been trained to listen, probe and prod, massage egos, milk sources, report, and write (supplying accessible and, at times, witty and elegant headings and sub-headings) to inform, analyse, and amuse – as though they were full-time journalists. Many of them work like wire service beavers: long lunches, yes, but very often, same day reports of important meetings. Few things escape their notice. Most of the time, they see Indian men, women, and matters through the reflected mirror of U.S. strategic interests and policy.

The India Cables have been accessed by The Hindu through an arrangement with WikiLeaks that involves no financial transaction and no financial obligations on either side. As with the larger ‘Cablegate’ cache to which these cables belong, they are classified into six categories: confidential, confidential/noforn (confidential, no foreigners), secret, secret/noforn, unclassified, and unclassified/for official use only.

Our contacts with WikiLeaks were initiated in the second week of December 2010. It was a period when Cablegate had captured the attention and imagination of a news-hungry world.