The central government continues with its fascist measures

The Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has consented to prosecute Booker prize winning author and activist Arundhati Roy, and the University of Kashmir professor Sheikh Shaukat Hussain in a case registered in 2010 accusing them of having engaged in illegal activities. The move underlines the fact that even in the new situation there is no change in the Modi government's undemocratic and unjust measures. They are charged with Section 13 of the draconian UAPA for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against national integrity, promoting sectarianism. The move comes without heeding the Supreme Court ruling that criticism against the government never falls within the ambit of anti-national activities. Needless to say, the Act UAPA is being used to suppress dissenting voices and silence those who rarely speak up. The Modi regime is going ahead completely ignoring the fact that the people of the country have exercised their democratic rights against such totalitarian measures.

Home Minister Amit Shah's new policy announcement of banning a large number of people from government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir exposes extreme prejudice and the horrendous form of racial discrimination. The government has decided not to give jobs to the families of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territories. Alongside, the announcement seeks to close the doors of government offices not only on those labeled as terrorists but also against those who are distantly related to them and those who throw stones at the security forces. No court has termed all the tens of thousands shot dead by the police and army as terrorists. Similarly, there have been no trials or court verdicts against those who were accused of stone pelting. There is no point in expecting reconsideration, even as the PDP and other Kashmiri outfits have protested against this gross denial of justice which could deny government jobs to at least 50,000 families. The central government must be thinking to implement such unilateral measures before the time, given by the Supreme Court to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, expires. Even after the Modi government removed the special status to Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, declaring the region as Union Territories, there has been no letup in terrorist activities. Given this, the paradox in the Union Home Ministry pursuing extreme measures now should not be overlooked.

On the other hand, the process of contaminating the education of the new generation with false and misleading narratives continues unabated. The most recent example for it is the Politics textbook prescribed by NCERT for class 12 th. Now on students will learn about the Babri Masjid in Faizabad, which the Karsevaks destroyed, as a building with three minarets built in the birth place of Lord Rama ,not a mosque built by Babur's general Mir Baqi in the 16 the century. The Supreme Court has pointed out in the Babri Masjid case judgment that there was never a temple at the place where the Babri Masjid is located and it has not been proved that the mosque was built after demolishing the temple. The National Archaeological Survey has also not been able to prove it. Only because of the fact that Hindus believe it, the Supreme Court gave away the Babri Masjid land to Hindutva outfits to build the Ram temple. Dismissing all historical truths and the court verdict, now the VHP's lame arguments are being passed into the brains of the young generation as historical truths! The Modi-Amit Sha team is under the impression that they can pursue such fascist actions unrestricted with the secular parties propping up the government will turn a blind eye to it. It is up to JDU's Nitish Kumar and TDP's Chandrababu to prove they are wrong.