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Archives for March 2016

Dear Javed Akhtar, good luck pandering to fascism: Asad Zaidi

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javed-akhtar

I don’t care to know whether saying ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ is my duty or not but it is my right

(Javed Akhtar in his final speech in Rajya Sabha)
He then chanted ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ a number of times.

* * *

Same day Waris Pathan, MLA, was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for refusing to chant ‘Bharat mata ki jai’. He apparently did not have the right to not chant it.

* * *

For those who remember the period when the Salim-Javed team ruled the roost in Bombay, Javed Akhtar’s latest rhetorical flourish in the Parliament comes as no surprise. One can only quote ill-fated Mughal ruler Jahandar Shah’s immortal line:

pahunchī vahīn pe khāk jahān kā khamīr thā

Dust rose, flew to other places, to finally settle back at the place of its origin

The loutish duo of Salim-Javed was primarily responsible for constructing the undemocratic ‘angry young man’ avenger figure and the subsequent rise of proto-Fascist cinema in India in the 1970s and the 80s. For the twosome, who still remain unrepentant, there could be no forgiveness. This screenplay and dialogue writing team cynically exploited the political disillusionment and mass social discontent to create a popular demand for authoritarian and extra-constitutional solutions for the problems of the day. Taking the law into one’s own hands and wreaking vengeance were the main characteristics of their hero figures. Theirs was a cinema tailored to fit the needs of Sanjay Gandhi’s brand of politics. It took more than one and a half decade for their stranglehold over the Hindi film to loosen. In the meantime the team broke up. Javed, clearly cleverer of the two, carried on along the same line for some time, looking for an opportunity for a make-over.

The made-up secular icon, litfest fixture, re-formed messenger of peace and amity, and an all-purpose son of India we know today as Javed Akhtar belongs to this late period.

But another transformation may soon be coming. As Allama Iqbal said:

Sitāron se āge jahān aur bhī hain abhī ishq ke imtihān aur bhī hain

Other worlds exist beyond the stars—
More tests of love are still to come.

Asad Zaidi is a Hindi poet. He runs Three Essays Collective, an independent publishing house.

Two Indians among 62 killed in FlyDubai plane crash in Russia

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FlyDubai

Moscow: At least 62 people were killed on Saturday when a passenger jet crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, media reports said.

The Dubai Media Office says those killed in the crash of the FlyDubai airliner in Russia include two Indians.

Flydubai flight FZ981 was en route from Dubai and crashed while trying to land, RT News reported.

Air-traffic control and local emergency services confirmed that the Boeing 737-800 jet crashed near the runway during a second approach in conditions of poor visibility killing all 61 on board — 55 passengers, six crew members.

“During the landing approach a Boeing-737 crashed. It had 55 passengers on board. All of them died,” a regional official told TASS news agency.

CCTV camera footage posted on YouTube claimed to have captured the moment of the explosion as the aircraft impacted the ground. However, its authenticity could not be immediately verified.

Emergency crews have already put out the fire, according to an airport source.

The airport has closed until further notice.

(Agencies)

Digvijaya slams Centre’s clause for Urdu writers

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Digvijaya Singh

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday slammed the union Human Resource Development ministry’s proposal asking Urdu writers to declare that “the content in their books will not be against the government or the country”.

“It is condemnable. If they have introduced such a clause then it should be there for the writers of all the languages. Why are they only targeting Urdu writers. It is being done because their (BJP) only agenda is to divide the country on communal lines and rule,” said Singh.

The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) has recently introduced a form, requiring authors of the books that it acquires annually, to declare that the content will not be against the government or the country.

NCPUL, that provides monetary assistance to Urdu writers, comes under the union HRD ministry-led by Smriti Irani.

The form handed out to the writers reads: “I son/daughter of confirm that my book/magazine titled which has been approved for bulk purchase by NCPUL’s monetary assistance scheme does not contain anything against the policies of the government of India or the interest of the nation, does not cause disharmony of any sort between different classes of the country, and is not monetarily supported by any government or non-government institution.”

Asked about the controversy over the ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ slogan, Singh said: “One should not be surprised. To hide their failures in governance and development they keep raising such issues of love jihad, ghar wapsi, ramzada-haramzada and now Bharat mata ki jai.”

(Agencies)

It’s a direct fight against dictatorship: Kanhaiya Kumar

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Kanhaiya-Kumar

New Delhi: In fresh attack on the NDA government, JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday vowed to wage a “direct fight” against “dictatorship” as he accused it of targeting universities across the country and sought support of all democratic forces saying it was about saving the country.

He said those talking about Constitution should allow law to take its own course in the sedition case in which he as well as JNU PhD scholars Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested, noting delivering justice on street was not acceptable.

“You may not agree with my politics. It is not about JNU only. The universities are being attacked across the country. Now our fight is direct against dictatorship. All democratic people will have to come together. This unity is required in the country,” he said at the India Today conclave here.

Kanhaiya said while the question confronting the people today was about saving the country, the whole JNU episode was given a national versus anti-national spin. “The whole episode has been portrayed as a case of national versus anti-national. The job of a patriot is not to use a black law like sedition against people of the country, against youngsters and students.

“You are behaving with them in a way as if you have become the British and we are the soldiers of Bhagat Singh. If you don’t hesitate to use a black law like sedition, then we don’t have any problem in becoming the sepoys of Bhagat Singh,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, JNUSU Vice President Shela Rashid said the very idea of India which stands for accommodation and acceptance is under threat. “Since politics decides our future, we will decide our own politics. Universities are democratic places. We need to protect them from RSS,” she said.

During her short but passionate address, Shela, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, said she grew up watching a very violent image of India but JNU gave her the democratic space. She said the ABVP raises very violent slogans as well which are specially directed at women but students largely do not complain against them respecting the spirit of free speech.

“We do not want to see you behind the bars,” she said looking at ABVP’s JNU leader Saurabh Sharma who was also part of the discussion. She said since the NDA government came to power, the ABVP has been misusing the political power to frame students.

Earlier, Kanhaiya said the sedition law must be scrapped. Welcoming bail granted to Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, he said all parties and people supporting democracy must come forward to demand abolishing the British-era law.

(PTI)

Court grants bail to SAR Gilani in sedition case

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SAR Geelani

New Delhi: Former Delhi University lecturer SAR Gilani was today granted bail by a Delhi court in a sedition case related to an event conducted at the Press Club here last month.

Additional Sessions Judge Deepak Garg granted the relief to Gilani on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the like amount.

Gilani’s counsel, Satish Tamta sought bail for him, claiming there is nothing on record that Gilani shouted anti-India slogans or asked others to do so. It was a meeting of intellectuals to discuss the Kashmir issue, he said.

“There was nothing in the event which led to any violence as there was nothing that could be called incitement,” Tamta said, adding that as per the Supreme Court order, shouting slogans merely doesn’t amount to offence under section 124-A(Sedition) of IPC.
However, Delhi Police had opposed the bail plea saying the event was “an attack on the soul of India” and it was “contempt of court.”

“The incident was in the continuation of what had happened in JNU a day earlier. As per the statements of Press Club of India officials, anti-India slogans were shouted and Gilani was also involved in it. Gilani had violated the law of the land and the offence was grave,” the prosecution added.

Earlier on February 19, a magisterial court had dismissed the bail plea of Gilani, who was arrested on February 16, after the police had alleged that “hatred” was being generated against the government.

Police had told the court that an event was held on February 10 in which banners were placed showing Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat as martyrs.It had also said the hall in the Press Club was booked by Gilani, through his associate Ali Javed by using his credit card and another man Mudassar was also involved.

At the Press Club event, a group had allegedly shouted slogans hailing Afzal Guru, following which the police had lodged a case under sections 124A (sedition), 120B(criminal conspiracy) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC against Gilani and other unnamed persons.

The police had claimed to have registered the FIR taking suo motu cognizance of media clips of the incident. Following registration of the FIR, the police questioned DU professor Javed, a Press Club member, who had booked the hall for the event, for two days.

Gilani was arrested in connection with the 2001 Parliament attack case but was acquitted for “need of evidence” by Delhi High Court in October 2003, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2005.

(PTI)

2 Muslim cattle traders tortured, hanged to death by Hindutva extremists

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hang-muslims-cattle

Ranchi: Two Muslim men herding eight buffaloes on their way to a local Friday market were bashed up and hanged to death from a tree by unknown assailants at Balumath forests in Latehar district, 100km from here, in the wee hours on Friday. The buffaloes were freed by the men and locals claimed the assailants were Hindutva radicals.

The deceased Muhammad Majloom, 35, was a relative of Azad Khan alias Ibrahim who is around 15-years-old. The two had their hands tied together behind and their mouth was closed with a cloth. “The sight suggested that the two of them were subjected to extreme levels of brutality. It means that the assailants were moved by extreme hatred,” a police officer said.

In Jhabbar village of Balumath the sight of the hanging men engaged in cattle trade, sparked protests by locals. The protests turned violent when police tried to take down the bodies. SDO Kamleshwar Narayan and six cops were injured when locals pelted stones at officials who arrived in the morning to manage the situation and ensure that it does not take communal turn.

Injuries to senior officials forced police to resort to firing and baton charge. “The policemen resorted to air firing, but it did not hurt anyone,” Latehar SP Anoop Birthary said.

According to sources protesting locals claimed that the assailants targeted them because they were engaged in cattle trade. “Four months ago a group of men had tried to kill a cattle trader in Gomia village of Balumath. The man managed to escape,” Latehar MLA Prakash Ram said.

Locals blocked Latehar-Chatra National Highway 99 for hours. They demanded immediate arrest of the assailants and refused to clear the blockade unless the criminals were arrested and hanged to death.

A large number of armed forces were deployed in the village to thwart possible villagers’ attempts to create communal disturbance. “A meeting of the peace committee was held in the evening to develop a climate of calm in the area,” DIG Saket Singh said. The police were asked to check rumor mongers and locals were appealed not to monger rumours.

The investigation into the murder has not progressed much. An FIR was lodged against unknown for murder and another FIR was lodged against unknown persons and a few known locals for hurting the SDO and other officials. “It is not yet known if business enmity or other motive was behind the murder,” SP Birthary said.

(Agencies)

New Zealand beat Australia to win second straight World T20 match

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New Zealand

Dharamsala: New Zealand won their second consecutive match of the World Twenty20 after beating Australia by eight runs in a group phase clash here on Friday.

New Zealand sored 142/8 after winning the toss and taking first strike and then restricted their opponents to 134/9 at the HPCA Stadium. The Kiwis beat hosts India in their opening game by 47 runs.

Fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan was the star of their neat bowling performance, taking 3/17 and derailed Australia’s innings.

New Zealand picked up wickets regularly to restrict Australia from gaining enough momentum.

They needed 19 runs from the last over, bowled by Corey Anderson and then 12 from the last three balls but came up short.

Earlier, Australia recovered from a Martin Guptill (39) blitz to restrict New Zealand to 142/8.

Guptill belted 39 runs as the Kiwis powered to 58 in six overs.

But a collapse, losing three wickets for 15 runs, jolted their charge.

Guptill, skipper Kane Williamson (24) and Corey Anderson (3) all were caught in the deep while attempting big shots.

Glenn Maxwell (2/18) claimed two wickets in the slump. All-rounder James Faulkner also contributed with identical bowling figures.

The wickets kept tumbling, including two run-outs in the final over, as New Zealand’s run-rate continued to drop.

Colin Munro steadied in his own style, switch-hitting throughout a knock of 23.

But Munro also handed over his wicket meekly.

Veteran batsman Ross Taylor managed only 11.

Brief scores: New Zealand 142/8 (Martin Guptill 39, Glenn Maxwell 2/18);

Australia 134/9 (Usman Khawaja 38, Mitchell McClenaghan 3/17)

(IANS)

Movie Review: ‘Ek Yodha Shoorveer’, even in its dubbed, is literally like spectacular visual treat for cine goers

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Ek Yodha Shoorveer

Producer: Muvoz Creation & Glamour Still Presents
Director: Santosh Sivan
Star Cast: Prithviraj, Prabhu Dheva, Arya, Genelia D’Souza, Nithya Menon, Tabu, Amol Gupte, Alexx O Neal & Vidya Balan

Kelu (Prithviraj) wants to avenge his father’s death. His father is murdered by the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama. His personal fight transforms into a war against the Portuguese conquest of India. Ek Yodha Shoorveer is a simple story about unsung heroes who have got lost in the pages of our history books.

Santosh Sivan’s direction is flawlessly picture perfect and adding to the bonanza is the entire seasoned actor’s towering performance, barring Tabu of course, as she has been grossly wasted in one inane dance sequence. Besides the lush filled greenery of Kerala landscape is a visual treat to the eyes for which full credit goes to its cinematographer.

Incidentally speaking Ek Yodha Shoorveer is a dubbed version of Santosh Sivan’s earlier Malyalam superhit film named Urumi. But being dubbed in Hindi has lost just a little bit of its charm as its Hindi dubbing is not as picture perfect as Santosh Sivan’s directorial skills.

Tail Piece: The dubbed version may have a restricted appeal but the overall word of mouth publicity may work wonders for Ek Yodha Shoorveer.

Minor girl molested in public; police search for accused

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rape

Ballari: The police are on the lookout for an unidentified person who allegedly molested a minor girl as she was returning home from school in Ballari on Thursday.

As per police sources, the 8-year-old girl was on her way home at around 5 pm. As soon as the stranger approached her and touched her inappropriately, she raised an alarm. The man immediately fled the scene.

The girl’s parents filed a complaint and the police looked through CCTV footage from nearby establishments but were not able to identify the man. Investigations are on.

(Agencies)

Umar Khalid, Anirban get six month interim bail

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Umar Khalid

New Delhi: A court here on Friday granted six months interim bail to JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested on charges of sedition.

Both have been asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs.25,000 each.

Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh also asked the two Jawaharlal Nehru University students not to leave Delhi without the court’s permission.

Both had sought bail on the ground of “parity”, saying that JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who was also arrested on the same charge, was already granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court.

Granting six-month interim bail to them on parity with Kanhaiya Kumar, the court noted that there was no previous criminal record against them and “nothing has been brought on record which could indicate that they are likely to abscond from jurisdiction of the court”.

“No submission has been made (by police) to the effect that both the applicants Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya have been involved previously in any criminal case. No record has been placed by the state regarding any such past conduct of both these persons.

“Although the allegations levelled against Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are per se serious in nature, but as claimed by police themselves, the video footage of the incident has been sent to the forensic science laboratory. Its analysis and final report will certainly take some time,” it added.

Delhi Police had opposed the bail plea saying their case was different from that of Kanhaiya Kumar as they were the organisers of a controversial event on the varsity campus on February 9 where anti-national slogans were raised and he was not.

Both the students surrendered before police last month. A case was registered against Khalid and Bhattacharya at the Vasant Kunj police station in south Delhi, soon after Kanhaiya was arrested on the same charge on February 12.

(Agencies)

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