MyVoice: Views of our readers - 04 Jan

We all are to be blamed for continuing anti-CAA protests

Despite BJP's political and electoral dominance, there were lots and lots of Hindus, Christians and Sikhs and atheists who refused to accept that Muslims should, either de jure or de facto, merely live on the grace or mercy of the majority community.

Amidst all of this, the stated obduracy of the present dispensation is more poignant than ever before going by the palpable firmness not to backtrack on Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The fact is BJP government which deems the faith of the minority as offensive even considers their fight for justice unfair.

Due to this, we are witnessing applauded throttling of India, scalding of her soul, gnarling of her body, perversion of her mind, poisoning of her voice and lastly mutilation of her crown.

Indian rejoicing the plunder of another Indian with whetted wickedness. The rushes of what was to come had been screened ahead of 2020. The sectarian lynchings and the recurrent commendation of crime.

The spur to `Go to Pakistan!' and the oft-repeated rhetoric of shamshaan- kabristaan, as naked a trope for minority-flogging as it gets.

The showcased dishonouring of sacred customs and symbols. The deification of Nathuram Godse and the flagrant belittling of Nehru. Sniper attacks on the Constitution from the ruling ramparts.

Laws are being mutilated, shredded and discarded overnight to suit their political objective.

The promotion of Adityanath, hate monger and avowed chauvinist, as potentate of our most populous province. Any surprise that the paragon of uncouth prejudices, Pragya Thakur, followed suit into Parliament on a record vote?

Having got a majority in the Lok Sabha and hence obtained access to State power, it had unashamedly used this power to enfeeble every single pillar of democracy.

Such is the thing we have made of what classical metaphors named paradise. Ayodhya was ceded, by the fiat of a judiciary that cannot bring to effect the fundamental writ of habeas corpus, with no apology, much less punishment, for the unembarrassed vandalism of December 6, 1992.

And then comes the toxic triple-antigen called CAA-NPR, NRC, a separator vaccine administered to the body politic with no intent other than to render it rabidly torn.

Organised violence by uniformed men in select localities. Targeted arrests and torture of Muslims and their sympathizers. Unlawful, and showcased, collection of protection money from the community.

The replay of human power and prejudice in a transferred geography, in transferred times, is shudder-worthy. And yet we seem to be, largely, at peace with what transpires around us, quietly pleased, if not merely indifferent.

All of this, the vocal excess of the people of India validated and voted for, let there be no mistake. This is of our making. This nation endorsed it; the consequence of that endorsement this nation must bear. Or denounce.

Javvadi Lakshmana Rao, Visakhapatnam

Nation's progress affected

The ongoing pro and against rallies against CAA, NRC and NPR has needlessly put the nation behind by several years at a time when we should be debating talking about what India has achieved in 2020 and what more needs to be done make life of next generation better and bright.

If this was not enough even the poem "Hum Dekhenge" composed by Faiz Ahmad Faiz has take us back to the past. It was a poem written by Faiz against Pakistani military rulers and the then Pakistani government went on to ban and even prohibited its rendition in public which forced another legendary singer Iqbal Bano to sing the song in the presence of huge crowd wearing black saree.

It is unfortunate, in the year 2020 the song in India got a twist by some one claiming that it is "anti Hindu" has been hijacked by BJP so much so that even UP's DY CM also joined the bandwagon.

The citizenship controversy is turning out to be resurrecting the dead issues and personalities. Now instead of thinking about the people who are alive, the government is spending more time and money on dead without realizing that by bringing in the so called "persecuted" non Muslim minorities from BAP (Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan), further divide would emerge.

Earlier the government had to deal with only Hindu and Muslim disunity, now it can turn into "Swadeshi" and "Videshi" Hindu.

The people of the country has no idea how the government would deal with migrated population excepting that it may add more votes for BJP in the long run. Lakhs of poor and downtrodden living has proper livelihood, how will migrants stay and live in India.

Will they be allowed to shift to less populated states which are mainly in north East or will Gujarat show the magnanimity ruler of Nawanagar Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinh who offered refuge to hundred of Polish orphans.

If BJP wanted to find a solution to regularise the entry of illegal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh inside Assam, they should have found some other way instead of spreading division across India. We don't want to see India a country of ghosts.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

Why this scaremongering?

Yes ,the Bill passed in both the houses of Parliament becomes an act and the CAA, NRC are to be implemented without any hesitation braving all odds.

Due to the wrong, selfish and vote bank politics of earlier Congress Party, the implementation is thrown in to dust bin. India is infested with tens of thousands of infiltrators from the neighbouring poverty-stricken Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and especially the unauthorised influx of Rohingyas form Myanmar posing a great threat to the national unity.

India is overcrowded with migrants depriving the genuine citizens of enjoying the benefits extended by government , now the time has come to clear the nation of unauthorized settlers who made India their home posing threat to the security of nation .

BJP has popular and solid mandate to implement CAA,NRC and the promise forms the part and parcel of the manifesto of BJP, the bill has the blessings and backing of all patriotic Indians ,if not Modi Shaw Nationalists duo , who else can implement it?

The Congress party which committed the historic blunder of splitting vertically the Hindus and Muslims instead of voting in favour of bill shamelessly opposed it as the party lost the great opportunity of atoning their piled up past sin, rest of the parties who opposed the bill are doing so for votes of minorities, it's simply a vote bank politics played by parties at the cost of Nations security and progress.

Whoever opposing the implementation of enacted acts be termed unpatriotic and the parties inciting the violence are just have no love for the country in which they are born and brought up.

No genuine citizen of the county torches the public and private properties to express his opposition to the Bill, the arson and destruction caused by the anti-social elements and the people belonging to a particular religion has been exposed thread bare.

The steps taken by UP chief minister are laudable, the hooligans indulged in the destruction of prosperities are identified and the government rightly collecting the losses from them and many thugs are imprisoned.

All state chief ministers must emulate his example .The statistics clearly establish how the Muslims born in the land enjoy the special benefits extended by the Government of India. Whosoever says that the Indian Muslims are oppressed are lying.

At the time of Independence the population of Muslims in India are 35million and their number steeply increased to about 175.million.

The genuine Muslims born in India should not fall prey to the false orchestrated propaganda of opposition parties and the self- styled religion leaders Like Asaduddin Owaisi and belligerent maverick Mamata Banerjee.

It's really a deliberate blunder committed by earlier Congress government as the Muslim minority population was all along treated by them as captive vote banks without providing them any education and kept them forever in poverty and ignorance.

We got independence 72-years ago but till to date there is no system in force to identify the legal citizens. For a strong and united India, the time is ripe now to segregate the population by citizens and migrants or mere residents'.

Any resistance will endanger the very existence of the Nation, it is time to protect the India's great cultural, biological and demographic identity.

it's honest implementation surely could get rid the country of unauthorized occupants and unpatriotic millions of dubious citizens.

Go ahead Modiji, all Indians stand behind you like a rock. Let us all in unison give a clarion call that" Mera Bharat Mahan and India is for Indians'

Rama Krishna M, Kakinada

CAA and Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister's effort to elicit the support of the Chief Ministers of other states to urge the centre in scrapping the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 is certainly ridiculous and inappropriate.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 has provided much comforts and relief for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afganistan.

However it does not pose any threat to the Indian Muslims and never endanger their genuine and natural flourishment.

India being a democratic and secular nation provide freedom of expression to all individuals irrespective of gender, caste, religion and language. The peculiar feature of our country is the special provision and privilege accorded to the minority.

Very few countries in the globe are as considerate as India in endowing free and unfathomable opportunities to the people of minority to live and flourish availing innumerable and boundless constitutional leniance.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 is introduced foreseeing the ensuing trouble and chaos due to the infiltration from the neighbouring countries, especially from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It doesn't create any hazards to the Muslims in India.

Our country has the largest Muslim population in the world. This law is introduced with an intention to provide citizenship to the people facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Unfortunately the issue has been distorted and manipulated by some of the morally blemished politicians , religious fundamentalists and factionalists.

If we realise this phenomena wisely, much of our chaos and confusion will be shunned. Since the central government assured the safety of the minority and reiterated that the Indian Muslims need not to be concerned over the bill, we need not to worry much.

If the life and existence of the minorities are found under the verge of threat and extinction during the practical implementation of this bill, they have the right to protest and even seek justice from the apex court.

Under such circumstances it is quite irrelevant and unworthy of making such a hue and cry by wasting the precious time and energy.

Prabhakaran Vallath, Vatakara, Kozhikode Dt

Status of minorities in Pakistan

In a country consumed by Islamist extremism and militancy and where anti-Indianism is all pervasive, the latest mob attacks on Nankana Sahib, one of the holiest sikh shrines near Lahore only reveals its intolerance towards other faiths.

As it is unfortunate that due to fear of more attacks, the worshippers were confined forcibly inside the gurudwara, it only tells the sad tale that there is a plan to evict all minorities systematically from the country.

Thus it is clear that as long as military rulers and religious fundamentalists are controlling the nation, the task is not difficult to finish off minorities whose numbers have already been dwindling at a faster pace than expected.

While it is shocking that an unpleasant and disturbing incident coming close within a year of opening up of Kartarpur Sahib corridor with much fanfare by Imran Khan to facilitate easy access of Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the most sacred Gurudwara, what is baffling is the conspicuous silence maintained by Congress and other opposition leaders over an incident which has deeply perturbed not only Sikhs the world over but even people belonging to other faiths have voiced thier concern.

It also clearly reveals Pakistan's unwillingness and inability to co-exist with people professing other faiths in thier country.

The prime minister instead of condemning the incident and initiating action against all guilty involved in the attack on the Sikh shrine tried to share a fake video of UP Muslims on Twitter by pasting a six- year- old Bangladeshi video by captioning "Indian police's pogrom against Muslims in UP".

Imran Khan must understand that he cannot fool people always with such wrong narrative. As Pakistan's duplicity stands exposed, it is time, Imran protects minorities and their shrines and at the same time advises the religious and fundamentalist forces to stop forcible conversion of minorities and also desist harming them.

As enough is enough, India should take a harder line and make the whole world know about Pakistan's lies and systematic elimination of minorities.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

SC judgement

It is interesting to go through a recent Apex Court judgment, interpreted in respect of Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child marriages Act 2006,ruling that the law was NOT to punish a child for contracting a child marriage as the Act is meant for only punishing a male adult marrying a minor girl.

The very premise of penalising child marriages is in shambles with the instant interpretation, setting aside a High Court order, and instructing not to punish a boy of a 17- year- old boy marrying a 21 year old woman. The Act seems insensitive to a boy's minority age.

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

Promote cycling aggressively

Walking and cycling form an important part of mobility activity apart from improving one's fitness levels. The Non-motorised transport push across several cities is very low owing to huge presence of private vehicles and lack of adequate use of public transport.

While one is compelled to use private transport owing to lack of adequate planning of transport systems, safety as a concern has hindered many users to refrain from cycling and walking as a primary mode of transport.

United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is striving hard to enforce climate change implications through policymakers associated with it.

UN IPCC encourages people to embrace climate friendly actions through its 'Act Now' voluntary initiative. The program encourages any individual to take necessary steps and act accordingly to contribute to climate action campaign.

Amongst them include cycling and walking and certain changes in day to day lifestyle.

Local governments at grass roots level should now adopt the call given by UN IPCC to encourage the people to walk and cycle extensively.

The agencies should promote initiative aimed at better health and living and ensure affordable, quicker mobility options.

Popular initiatives such as Cycle Day, Cycle To Work, Walk to School, Bus Day etc. should be extensively promoted to reach various audience and thus embrace climate friendly measures to save the environment.

Varun Dambal, Bengaluru

DMK stages a comeback

The DMK surpassed the AIADMK in rural local body elections. That the DMK finished ahead of the AIADMK in both Panchayat unions and district Panchayats was a good gauge of the M K Stalin-led party's winning chances in next year's Assembly elections.

The DMK has claimed its victory as an endorsement of M K Stalin's leadership. The AIADMK could not capture a majority of the local bodies despite having the advantage of being the party in power with a lot of money power.

The voters' electoral preference for DMK is attested by the fact that it did better than AIADMK even in areas considered to be the strong voter base of the ruling party.

On the credit side, the AIADMK did not perform dismally in the absence of Amma. It is significant because the AIADMK owed its existence to one unchallenged supreme leader and revolved around him or her; first MGR and J Jayalalithaa.

It can also take comfort from the fact that its alignment with BJP did not turn out to be its undoing.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, Kanyakumari Dt