Beant Singh, CM Punjab, was killed by terrorists in 1995. Dilawar Singh was the first human bomb who strapped 1.5 kg of explosives and triggered it in the portico of Punjab & Haryana secretariat. The car, the terrorists (3) used to goto the secretariat, was later found and the conspiracy was exposed.
India is a unique case where the police that fought militancy and terrorism in the most challenging politico-legal landscape suffered at the hands of the state.
SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu, who cleared the Majha region of Punjab of militants, was accused of human rights violations.
He was charged in 16 cases, and the last one was related to the abduction and death of Jaswant Singh Khalra.
The Supreme Court took cognisance of the case, and a CBI enquiry was instituted.
SSP Sandhu was suspended and forced out of Tarn Taran and Amritsar. He was put behind bars in January 1997 and was assaulted by the Khalistani terrorist whom he had put behind bars. Post-assault, he was granted bail.
It is established that SSP Sandhu committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train and died in 1997.
Militancy continued unabated till 1992 and started waning after that. Since then, civil rights activists started waging legal battles against the policemen. Thousands of policemen were in the line of fire and faced legal charges in different courts.
The Punjab Police demanded that the state and Central governments institute a law to protect policemen for any of their acts during 1984–1992, but this legal shield was not provided.
KPS Gill, the then DGP of Punjab, had said that if the state was not willing to protect its officers who fought against militancy, then who would fight this war in the future?
India is a unique case.
Before discovering “who ‘Pakistani’ really is?” in terms of identity, Pakistan has to figure out a consensus on “who is a ‘Muslim’?” Munir commission set up to enquire the anti-Ahmadia riots of 1953 categorically stated that an agreement on the definition of a non-Muslim did not automatically translate into one on the definition of a Muslim.
So, even till today the sectarian chaos of Pakistan is soul-serching to define who is a ‘Muslim’ in Pakistan. Is it only Sunnis, excluding the Twelver Shias, Ismailias and Ahmadiyas? Or is it still narrow in terms of philosophical doctrines i.e. Deobandi sunni or Barelwi sunni.
A region, enmeshed in the search of identity to fabricate a meta-narrative about existence and durability of the state, has to first deal with its Islamic mind before jumping to claim Harappans.
A state, that has always defined its meta-narrative around extra-territorial allegiences to build & sustain, is now trying to root its existence in the current territorial boundary. chickens have finally come home to roost.
Pakistan is a palimpsest with multiple layers of conflicting and cross-purpose identities minted in every decade to solve its then-existing ideological and political problems. But as a Fast Breeder Reactor, the exercise always breeds more problem than any solution to the state.
Problem with Islamic Republic of Pakistan trying to own up the Harappan civilisation (2500 BCE) is its insistence on not disowning Islamic mind which explicitly proclaims that before the arrival of Islam there existed a world of Jahiliyat, forcing them to disown the excellence achieved by the Harappans.
Aitzaz Ahsan, one of the proponents of the idea of forcing Pakistanis to own up the legacy of the ‘Indus Man’ and Harappan civilisation, insists that a ‘Pakistani’ must embrace his ‘Indian-ness’ in order to claim his identity. He argues that by denying the Indian-ness, the Pakistani denies the Indus.
But to accept the Indian-ness, a Pakistani will essentially dilute the existential identity built around the binary of two nation, enemity to India and place of Islam. Thus this newfound love for Harappans is a gimmick which a confused state of Pakistan and its confused identity wants to play around with no major outcomes.
So all this facade of Pakistani being the Indus Man and Pakistan being the inheritor of Harappan legacy is a manufactured myth for temporary show.
The doors of the Jagannath Temple remain closed after Snana yatra..
So where do devotees seek Prabhu’s darshan?
The answer is Alarnath where Prabhu reveals His presence during Anavasara.
Alarnath is His four-armed black stone form holding a conch, chakra, gada and lotus.
#WATCH | Surat, Gujarat: On the day of the procession, Lord Jagannath will wear special designer attire worth Rs 3 lakh. The journey, spanning over 20 km, will feature a high-tech chariot equipped with hydraulic systems, power steering, and power brakes.
Today, the Lord of the Universe is coming out to bless His devotees.
The Pahandi ritual of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is underway at Puri, on the auspicious occasion of Deba Snana Purnima. (DD Odia)
Jai Jagannatha! 🙏
The way congress and other sickukar parties stand delegitimised on the Muslim questions in politics, the embezzlement of money in Ram Mandir Trust and the nefarious struggle for control is delegitimising BJP’s cause of Hindutva. Supporters may not want to accept and electoral victory may seem to shield their vision for now, but the damage has been done.
Shah Bano and firing on Kar sewaks defined the opposition and its muslim politics, the ‘Ayodhya Kand’ is doing the same for BJP. They will not be able to raise this banner without mockery and laughters from the other side.
Looking at the excitement of people to know about what constitutes citizenship document, I believe they now seem open to NRC exercise now. Govt should take a note and conduct such an exercise and handover a card to citizens.
The uninformed opinions on citizenship, passports & Aadhaar expressed by many influential voices across the Left, Right, and Centre have compelled me to recommend some basic academic reading before they open their loud mouths on the subject. Do read and rely less on WhatsApp forwards.
Its shameful that during the CAA/NRC debate too many influential voices were just throwing template arguments and they are doung the same now.
Citizenship regime is highly sensitive and politically contested issue.
Basic reading of Constitutional provisions (Art 5, 6 & 7), Indian Citizenship Act 1955, CAA 1986, CAA 2003 will tell you that India has chosen, since independence, non-documentary based citizenship regime and Vajpayee govt changed the paradigm to documentary regime by CAA 2003, but the latter has not been implemented.
Those who are anxious about what constitutes citizenship document, my advice is please ask the govt to implement CAA 2003, conduct NRC and issue NRIC or Citizenship document.
But if state goes for that, the same gentleman will have another set of arguments saying why govt will force everyone to show their document. They will say that this govt is trying to change the citizenship regime.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: On meeting the DGP at the Police Headquarters in Dehradun, Baba Ajeet Singh, Jathedar Booda Dhal says, "Today, we met the Chief Minister. He assured us that the matter related to Karnprayag is under investigation. After a proper investigation, appropriate action will be taken. We were assured that those who wish to participate in the Sangat on the 25th should come and carry out their pilgrimage. The pilgrimage should continue. Those who wish to participate in the Sangat on 25th June should not hold any protests. After that, we met with the DGP. He also assured me that an investigation is underway. After a proper investigation, appropriate action will be taken..."
“TINA” Factor is not something new that analysts or supporters keep repeating during Modi govt. It was oft spoken jumla of 1988 that “There Is No Alternative” and we saw what happened in one year.
Arrogance of BJP today is not new, the same fever existed in congressmen, as well, in their golden period.