Christophe Jaffrelot writes: A new Rahul Gandhi, an old Congress Christophe Jaffrelot February 9, 2023 https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/christophe-jaffrelot-writes-a-new-rahul-gandhi-an-old-congress-8431128 Bharat Jodo Yatra has helped Rahul Gandhi's image. But electoral success for his party is another matter

Can Rahul Gandhi now compete with Modi? He’s certainly a leader for some people. But Modi’s power relies on other pillars. First, there’s the so-called mainstream media’s saturation of the public sphere with his image, the G20 story and so on. Second, Modi’s political resilience is also due to the Sangh Parivar, an organisational backing that Rahul misses given the condition of the Congress party.

While the Bharat Jodo Yatra may not translate to electoral gains in the near future, by returning to the roots of the Congress — as a people’s movement — Rahul has prepared the ground for a different future, something others may (or may not) help him to build, before it’s too late. 

The Curious Case of the Democratic Party of India https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/s-jaishankar-indian-embassy-covert-us-lobbying-article-370-kashmir URVASHI SARKAR 10 February 2023
Indian embassy in Washington engaged lobbying firm to run obscure entity to influence US lawmakers after abrogation of Article 370

On 1 December 2019, (https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6401-Exhibit-AB-20191204-11.pdf - filing under US law-FARA) Cornerstone Government Affairs began to work on behalf of the government of India. On the very same day they “acquired a new foreign principal”, the Democratic Party of India. (https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6401-Supplemental-Statement-20200228-6.pdf)

‘Be crucial vote bank to save Sanatan Dharma’: Kalicharan Maharaj appeals to Hindus to vote for Hindutva at Hindu Janjagruti Rally in Baramati https://www.opindia.com/2023/02/be-crucial-vote-bank-to-save-sanatan-dharma-kalicharan-maharaj-at-hindu-janjagruti-rally-in-baramati/
Thousands of Hindus participated in the Hindu Janjagruti Morcha in Baramati and demanded stringent laws against Love Jihad, cow slaughter, and illegal forceful conversion

9 February, 2023

The mainstream media has been trying to avoid entering the debate triggered by the ongoing Shudra rebellion against the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, a Brahmin, for pleading with his God Rama to punish Shudras, Dalits and women, and equating them with animals and drums.

https://thewire.in/caste/mohan-bhagwat-ramcharitmanas-shudra-insult-caste 

Bihar education minister Chandrashekar and Swami Prasad Maurya of the Samajwadi Party (SP) have opposed the inclusion of such texts in the school and college curriculum – something the BJP regime in its ‘New Education Policy’ is pushing with a view to teaching students about India’s ancient culture and heritage. The debate they have triggered has introduced a ‘Shudra vs Brahmin’ dimension to the caste question in north India, hitherto confined to reservations and the economic accommodation of the oppressed castes in the governance.

Earlier, in a 2014 meeting in Kerala, Bhagwat himself said, “The Sangh should not get into eradicating or opposing caste. Caste is a system that exists in society. It would remain until the society believes in it.” But who really believes in it? Surely, the Shudra/Dalit/Adivasi society is not interested in the caste system. In fact, it is ‘Dwija’ society which is still interested in this system because it is the source of its power, privilege and spiritual authority.

It is from this perspective that Akhilesh Yadav has challenged Mohan Bhagwat to take his recent statement to its logical conclusion. “You have clarified [there is no caste] in front of God. Please also make it clear what is the reality regarding the caste system for human beings.” In other words, what are Bhagwat and the RSS doing at the ground level to remove caste inequalities? This is a serious and genuine question which cannot be ducked.

A major political party in a big state like UP is asking why a Brahmin author sought to humiliate Shudras, Dalits and women – the main wealth creators of society. In Tulsidas’s time, Birbal, a Brahmin and Todar Mal, a Kayastha, were among Akbar’s top administrators.

by Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd

09/02/2023

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To put the matter baldly: It is not the politics of class that gives the right-wing bad dreams. The politics of caste does. https://thewire.in/politics/caste-is-the-achilles-heel-of-hindutva-politics 

Those that owe allegiance to the politics of “social justice”, unlike leftists, do not characterise religion as merely a “superstructural” construction that will inevitably disappear as class inequality ends. They remain ensconced within the majority community as devout Hindus themselves.

Their agenda is one that seeks an end to discrimination at the hands of those who proclaim themselves custodians of Hinduism. 

It is often a defensive Brahminical claim that the Varna Vyavestha, or caste system, accords caste status not according to birth but attainments. Thus, if a Shudra acquires learning of a high standard, he becomes a Brahmin, and so on.

Alas, however, this sleight-of-hand is never in evidence as a discernible reality on the ground in Hindu society.

And, proponents of class analysis are right when they point out that this social-religious hegemony is kept in place largely through class domination; this is the reason why the bulk of all positions of authority – be it in the bureaucracy, in higher and high-skilled education, in controlling religious pulpits and practices – remain preponderantly with the ‘upper’ caste Hindu, and why Hindutva feels so threatened when Hindus designated ‘socially unequal’ seek parity in accordance with their ratio in Hindu population.

Caste Census

No wonder then that the RSS-BJP opposes tooth and nail the idea of a census that might tell the country how Hindu society is actually divided.

by Badri Raina

10/02/2023

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Why Maharashtra journalist’s murder reflects poorly on status of press freedom in India https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/02/09/why-maharashtra-journalists-murder-reflects-poorly-on-status-of-press-freedom-in-india
Shashikant Warishe was mowed down by a vehicle driven by a criminal allegedly linked to the BJP.
ByKalpana Sharma09 Feb, 2023 

His last report, which appeared on the front page of Mahanagari Times, had images of posters showing Amberkar with Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and prime minister Narendra Modi. In the report, Warishe mentioned that Amberkar, who actively campaigned for the refinery, was accused of “serious offences”.

For his journalism, and for reporting on this local struggle against the refinery, Warishe fell afoul of those who would benefit from it being located in the region. One of those was Amberkar, a land dealer who is also a member of the local unit of the BJP.  

At a time when political parties are getting into election mode, the fetters on journalists and independent media are unlikely to feature in any election campaign because no political party is vested in ensuring that the media is really free. More reason then that those of us, even if we are a minority, who believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental right, continue to write and speak out for that right.

https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/father-frazer-mascarenhas-they-were-dead-although-they-were-walking-out-free/20230209.htm

We had 110 Adivasis who were languishing in jail for nearly five years because it was claimed they were responsible for some blasts. When the time to give the proof came, they had no proof to show.

Then the people are let free, totally exonerated, but their lives are totally shattered.

Not only their lives, but the lives of their families. Their reputations are shattered.

So these 110 Adivasis who came out were not jubilant at all. They came out very cowed down, they didn't think anything good had happened to them by being released because they have lost their lives.

After the Bhima Koregaon case enabled governments to keep people behind bars indefinitely, only on accusations, the same has been applied to hundreds in Delhi, in UP and in other parts of the country. It has just proliferated.

I think political leaders cannot now be believed. This is the age of 'post truth'.

Didn’t give Warishe a byline as I was doubtful of the backlash, says Editor Sadashiv Kerkar
BYFREESPEECHCOLLECTIVEON FEBRUARY 9, 2023 https://freespeechcollective.in/2023/02/09/didnt-give-warishe-a-byline-as-i-was-doubtful-of-the-backlash-says-editor-sadashiv-kerkar/   Warishe covered local issues, from politics and crime to education and health. “He used to write a lot about the agitation by the locals against the refinery project. He knew how much it would affect their lives,” he added. Warishe had covered the agitation and the MVA government decision to scrap it from Nanar and shift it to Barsu-Salgaon, 20 kms away from Nanar. He was the lone voice covering the manner in which the land acquisition process was going on, the use of threats and intimidation and the resistance of the locals.

“He always had concrete evidence. People would ask me why we are publishing his news reports of the refinery project but I would always reply that he had the evidence and I won’t stop him. Lekin thoda sa doubt tha, so I didn’t give him the byline. I thought that would protect him,” Kerkar said.

Most newspapers in the area shied away from covering the agitation of local residents. Environmental activists, angry at the killing of Warishe, told FSC that local media was sold out or frightened into silence. Not Warishe, who wrote a number of reports on the protests by the local residents in Mahanagari Times.

Why Maharashtra journalist’s murder reflects poorly on status of press freedom in India  By Kalpana Sharma https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/02/09/why-maharashtra-journalists-murder-reflects-poorly-on-status-of-press-freedom-in-india 
Shashikant Warishe was mowed down by a vehicle driven by a criminal allegedly linked to the BJP.
 09 Feb, 2023 His last report, which appeared on the front page of Mahanagari Times, had images of posters showing Amberkar with Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and prime minister Narendra Modi. In the report, Warishe mentioned that Amberkar, who actively campaigned for the refinery, was accused of “serious offences”.

For his journalism, and for reporting on this local struggle against the refinery, Warishe fell afoul of those who would benefit from it being located in the region. Struggles like the one in Nanar, and now in Barsu, are taking place across this country with local people questioning the location of polluting industries, mines, and many other infrastructure projects. Their voices are barely audible in the cacophony that dominates mainstream media. Yet, ultimately, these struggles ought to be recorded by the media for they give us a true picture of what is going on in the rest of this country beyond the metro cities. 

Democracy was 'cremated' in Lok Sabha: Congress on expunging of Rahul Gandhi's remarks
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/democracy-was-cremated-in-lok-sabha-congress-on-expunging-of-rahul-gandhis-remarks/article66485764.ece  In his remarks in Lok Sabha, Rahul had alleged that the meteoric rise in Gautam Adani's fortunes happened after the BJP came to power in 2014 and he rose from the 609th to the second spot in the global rich list
February 08, 2023 07:15 pm | Updated 07:15 pm IST - New Delhi