कांग्रेस नेता दिग्विजय सिंह बाटला हाउस मुद्दा सोनिया गांधी के समक्ष रखेंगे।

वरिष्ठ कांग्रेस नेता दिग्विजय सिंह ने जामिया मिलिया इस्लामिया यूनिवर्सिटी के छात्रों और शिक्षकों से कहा कि बाटला हाउस मुठभेड़ जांच का मुद्दा वह पार्टी अध्यक्ष सोनिया गांधी के समक्ष उठाएंगे।

मुठभेड़ के दो साल पूरे होने के अवसर पर सिंह को हालांकि छात्रों के एक तबके की ओर से विरोध का सामना भी करना पड़ा। विरोध करने वाले छात्रों का आरोप था कि जब दिग्विजय आजमगढ़ गए तो उन्होंने कुछ और कहा तथा दिल्ली में कुछ और।

ज्ञात हो कि दिल्ली के जामिया में मंगलवार को जर्नलिस्ट यूनियन फॉर सिविल सोसाइटी ने जामिया विश्वविद्यालय में आतंकवाद विषय पर हो रहे सम्मेलन में दिग्विजय सिंह को काले झंडे दिखाए।

जेयूसीएस के पचासों नेताओं और दर्जनों कार्यकर्ताओं ने साजिद-आतिफ के हत्यारे दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, आजमगढ़ को आतंक की नर्सरी के नाम से तब्दील करने वाले कांग्रेसी दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, साजिद और आतिफ की हत्या पर विजय मनाने वाले काग्रेंसी दलाल वापस जाओ, बाटला हाउस आंदोलन को तोड़ने वाले दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, हमारा मानवाधिकार आंदोलन जिंदाबाद, इंकलाब जिंदाबाद के नारे लगाते हुए दिग्विजय वापस जाओ के पर्चे फेके।

कार्यक्रम में मौजूद लोगों ने भी समर्थन में नारे लगाए।दिग्विजय सिंहं के आने का जमकर विरोध किया गया। सम्मेलन में शिरकत कर रहे कार्यकर्ता इस बात से बेहद नाराज थे कि बटला हाउस एनकाउंटर के मसले पर दिग्विजय सिंह और उनकी पार्टी के विचार अलग-अलग है।

'समय लाइव डॉट काम' के संपादक पाणिनी आनंद ने बातचीत में कहा कि कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा दिग्विजय सिंह के प्रति ऐसे विरोध के संकेत पहले से मिल रहे थे। उन्होंने कहा कि इस मसले पर उनका विरोध होना लाजिमी था।

उन्होंने कहा कि जिस वक्त ये घटना हुई थी तब राज्य में और केंद्र में कांग्रेस की सरकारें थी उसके बावजूद इस मामले को गंभीरता से नहीं लिया गया और ना ही इसकी कोई गंभीर जांच हुई।

जेयूसीएस के संयोजक शाह आलम और विजय प्रताप ने कहा कि आजमगढ़ आज पूरे देश में आतंकवाद के नाम पर बेकसूरों के उत्पीड़न के आंदोलन का केंद्र है। बटला हाउस के बाद बने जामिया टीचर्स सालीडैरिटी एसोशिएसन फोरम पर हम आरोप लगाते हैं कि वह इस आंदोलन को दिग्विजय सिंह जैसे कांग्रेसी दलालों को बुलाकर कमजोर कर रही है।

जेयूसीएस ने कहा कि दिग्विजय को काला झंडा दिखाकर हमने आजमगढं के आदोलन की परंपरा को बरकरार किया। जिसने इसी तरह फरवरी में आजमगढ़ जाने पर दिग्विजय को काले झंडे दिखाए थे।

इस यात्रा का विरोध जामिया टीचर्स सालीडैरिटी एसोशिएसन फोरम ने भी किया था वो बताए कि क्या दिग्विजय ने बाटला हाउस फर्जी मुठभेड़ की न्यायिक जांच करवा दी है जो उसे इस तरह मंचों से वो नवाज रही है।

इस मसले पर कांग्रेस नेता दिग्विजय सिंह ने कहा कि मुझे पता था कि मैं वहां जाउंगा तो लोगों की नाराजगी झेलनी पड़ी। उन्होंने कहा कि मैं काले झंडे दिखाने से नहीं डरता। विरोध के दौरान दिग्विजय सिंह चुपचाप बैठे रहे या मुस्कुराते रहे।

उन्होंने कहा कि हमारी भी सीमाएं है और हम लोगों को सोनिया जी और प्रधामंत्री से मिलवा सकते है लेकिन बाटला हाउस एक इमोशनल मुद्दा है जो एनएचआरसी का भी मुद्दा है लेकिन हम पार्टी में इसकी चर्चा फिर से करेंगे।

Digvijay shown black flags over his flip-flop on Batla encounter.

New Delhi: It was a reception no politician would like to have. But senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh couldn’t have avoided this. Black flags and slogans welcomed him, the moment he entered Center for Information Technology conference hall to address a gathering on the issue of “The Politics of Terrorism and Suspicion: Two Years since the Batla House ‘Encounter” organized by Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association on Tuesday at Jamia Millia Islamia.
Before Mr. Singh’s arrival could have been announced by the organizers, protests and slogans received him. The protesters were taking slogans like “Digvijay hi, hi”, “Digvijay Murdabad” and “Vapas jao, vapas jao, Digvijay vapas jao”.

They were showing their anger, first of all, at the alleged flip-flop by Mr. Singh over Batla House ‘encounter’ which happened on September 19, 2008. Reportedly he had doubted the genuineness of the ‘encounter’ when he had visited Sanjarpur in Azamgarh in February this year, the place Atif and Sajid belonged to (the duo was killed in that ‘encounter’).

He had also dropped the hint that the ‘encounter’ might be fake. Many media reports had quoted him saying "there were five bullets on top of his head. How can you get bullets on top of the head in an encounter?”
His visit was in the context of branding of Azamgarh as factory of terrorists. His visit to Azamgarh and subsequent defense for its contribution in the Indian freedom struggle and in the larger secular ethos of India, had created a hope among a section of Muslims. Many considered it as ‘healing touch’ of the Congress party towards the Muslims of Azamgarh. But it was youth essentially- a class which gets targeted by the investigative agencies on the name of terrorism- which had got hopes that something will be done about the ‘encounter’ at least in terms of a judicial enquiry.
But what disappointed Muslims and social activists, was his subsequent denial of his statements about the ‘encounter.’



The protests was also an expression of the frustration felt by the Muslim youth at the fact that apparently they cannot do anything about the injustice being done to them. What is most depressing for them is that even the political class which pretends to stand for their causes ends up being completely ineffective.
Mr. Singh later pointed out that he was expecting this kind of ‘welcome’ but he preferred this to staying away from the community. In his defense he invoked his ‘limitations’ and ‘compulsions’ in the political establishment of which he is directly or indirectly a part.



Mr. Singh rejected the idea that the Congress is using him as a tool to placate Muslims’ anger before elections.
Source:TwoCircle.net)

दिग्विजय को दिखाए गए काले झंडे.

बटला हाउस एनकाउंटर के मुद्दे पर दिग्विजय सिंह को काले झंडे दिखाए गए।
दिल्ली के जामिया में मंगलवार को जर्नलिस्ट यूनियन फॉर सिविल सोसाइटी ने जामिया विश्वविद्यालय में आतंकवाद विषय पर हो रहे सम्मेलन में दिग्विजय सिंह को काले झंडे दिखाए।
जेयूसीएस के पचासों नेताओं और दर्जनों कार्यकर्ताओं ने साजिद-आतिफ के हत्यारे दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, आजमगढ़ को आतंक की नर्सरी के नाम से तब्दील करने वाले कांग्रेसी दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, साजिद और आतिफ की हत्या पर विजय मनाने वाले काग्रेंसी दलाल वापस जाओ, बाटला हाउस आंदोलन को तोड़ने वाले दिग्विजय वापस जाओ, हमारा मानवाधिकार आंदोलन जिंदाबाद, इंकलाब जिंदाबाद के नारे लगाते हुए दिग्विजय वापस जाओ के पर्चे फेके।
कार्यक्रम में मौजूद लोगों ने भी समर्थन में नारे लगाए।दिग्विजय सिंहं के आने का जमकर विरोध किया गया। सम्मेलन में शिरकत कर रहे कार्यकर्ता इस बात से बेहद नाराज थे कि बटला हाउस एनकाउंटर के मसले पर दिग्विजय सिंह और उनकी पार्टी के विचार अलग-अलग है।
'समय लाइव डॉट काम' के संपादक पाणिनी आनंद ने बातचीत में कहा कि कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा दिग्विजय सिंह के प्रति ऐसे विरोध के संकेत पहले से मिल रहे थे। उन्होंने कहा कि इस मसले पर उनका विरोध होना लाजिमी था।
उन्होंने कहा कि जिस वक्त ये घटना हुई थी तब राज्य में और केंद्र में कांग्रेस की सरकारें थी उसके बावजूद इस मामले को गंभीरता से नहीं लिया गया और ना ही इसकी कोई गंभीर जांच हुई।

जेयूसीएस के संयोजक शाह आलम और विजय प्रताप ने कहा कि आजमगढ़ आज पूरे देश में आतंकवाद के नाम पर बेकसूरों के उत्पीड़न के आंदोलन का केंद्र है। बटला हाउस के बाद बने जामिया टीचर्स सालीडैरिटी एसोशिएसन फोरम पर हम आरोप लगाते हैं कि वह इस आंदोलन को दिग्विजय सिंह जैसे कांग्रेसी दलालों को बुलाकर कमजोर कर रही है।
जेयूसीएस ने कहा कि दिग्विजय को काला झंडा दिखाकर हमने आजमगढं के आदोलन की परंपरा को बरकरार किया। जिसने इसी तरह फरवरी में आजमगढ़ जाने पर दिग्विजय को काले झंडे दिखाए थे।
इस यात्रा का विरोध जामिया टीचर्स सालीडैरिटी एसोशिएसन फोरम ने भी किया था वो बताए कि क्या दिग्विजय ने बाटला हाउस फर्जी मुठभेड़ की न्यायिक जांच करवा दी है जो उसे इस तरह मंचों से वो नवाज रही है।
इस मसले पर कांग्रेस नेता दिग्विजय सिंह ने कहा कि मुझे पता था कि मैं वहां जाउंगा तो लोगों की नाराजगी झेलनी पड़ी। उन्होंने कहा कि मैं काले झंडे दिखाने से नहीं डरता। विरोध के दौरान दिग्विजय सिंह चुपचाप बैठे रहे या मुस्कुराते रहे।
उन्होंने कहा कि हमारी भी सीमाएं है और हम लोगों को सोनिया जी और प्रधामंत्री से मिलवा सकते है लेकिन बाटला हाउस एक इमोशनल मुद्दा है जो एनएचआरसी का भी मुद्दा है लेकिन हम पार्टी में इसकी चर्चा फिर से करेंगे।
19 सितंबर को बटला हाउस एनकाउंटर के दो साल पूरे हो गए।

Digvijay shown black flags on Batla issue

Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Tuesday was shown black flags by section of students and activists in Jamia Milia Islamia University in the national capital. They accused him of double speak on the Batla House encounter case.
Singh was in Jamia University to participate as one of the speakers in the seminar on 'The Politics of Terrorism and Suspicion', held in the university on Tuesday.

The group of students and activists, wearing black arm bands showed him black flags. They even raised slogans like “Digvijay go back”.

Our channel Samay’s special correspondent Panini Anand spoke to some of the students and social rights activists, who participated in the seminar. They pointed out several big loopholes in the police version of the events in Batla House encounter case.

They further reiterated that the youths of the community won’t take the oppression by the state any longer and they will continue to protest at the top of their voice, until they get justice.

Meanwhile, Singh assured students and teachers of Jamia Milia Islamia of taking forward their concerns over the Batla House encounter probe. to party president Sonia Gandhi.

"It is true that when I was in Azamgarh I said that I will not like to speak about the case but I said that I will raise the issue of clubbing of cases at the highest level when I get back to New Delhi," Singh said.

He pointed out he and his party had sought for a judicial probe into the encounter and even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was approached concerning this.

"I can assure you that if a delegation of yours is keen, I can arrange for a meeting with the Congress president so that you may raise all your issues before her," Singh said.
He told the students that he faces opposition from his own party men on the issue.

"Whether you believe it or not, I face opposition from within my own party over this issue but still, I am ready to stand by your side and come where ever you want to raise your concerns," the Congress leader said.
Singh denied any claims from the section of agitated students that Congress was using the Batla House issue for its political gains and reminded that it was the only party that "stood by the community".

Meanwhile, a huge torchlight procession was held in Jamia Nagar on Saturday under the banner of All India Student’s Association (AISA).

Students and faculty of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University and JNU participated in the procession, demanding the judicial probe in the Batla House shootout.

On September 19, 2008, two suspected terrorists allegedly involved in Delhi serial blasts, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajed were killed in an alleged encounter in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi. Both of them were students of the University as well.

A Delhi police officer Mohan Chand Sharma was also killed in the shootout.(source:Sahara Samay)

Delhi CM Dikshit visits Jama Masjid shootout injured in LNJP Hospital .

New Delhi, Sept.20: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit paid a visit to the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash (LNJP) Hospital on Monday morning to inquire about the health and welfare of two Taiwanese tourists who had been shot at and injured near Gate No.3 of the Jama Masjid in the Walled City on Sunday.

The hospital’s medical superintendent and other senior doctors reportedly briefed Dikshit about the victims’ injuries and their present medical status. She urged medical staff to provide the victims’ with the best of care and to ensure their early recovery.

The injured Taiwanese — Zewei (40) and Chiang (38) are said to be out of danger.

On Sunday, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram visited the hospital to see two injured Taiwanese nationals.

A red alert has been sounded in Delhi and Mumbai following the shootout as the attack comes barely two weeks ahead of the Commonwealth Games to be held here between October 3 and 14. Security has been tightened around at least 400 ‘sensitive’ sites in the wake of the incident. Orders have issued not to allow cars or other vehicles to be parked within 100 meters of these sites.

Taking serious note of the Jama Masjid shooting incident the Home Ministry has reportedly sought a detailed report from the Delhi Police about it.

Two persons riding a motorbike shot at the two Taiwanese who were traveling in a tourist bus. Police and witnesses said eight to ten rounds of fire were directed at the bus before the attackers escaped.

One of victims was injured in his skull and the other in his abdomen.

Delhi Police said that it is still questioning the eyewitnesses in relation to the incident.

Chief Minister Dikshit has urged the people not to panic as proper security arrangements were being taken in the wake of the incident.

It couldn’t be assumed at present that the attack was “a terrorist activity”, she added.

Delhi Commonwealth Games village seriously compromised, says Fennell .

New Delhi, Sep 21: Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennell has expressed grave concern about the athletes’ village in New Delhi, saying that the facility is “seriously compromised”.

Fennell said that the state of the village has “shocked” many team officials ahead of the October 3-14 Games.

“Many issues remain unresolved,” The Age quoted Fennell, as saying in a statement.

“Many nations that have already sent their advanced parties to set up within the village have made it abundantly clear that ... the Commonwealth Games village is seriously compromised.”

“The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority ... significant operational matters remained unaddressed,” he added.

Fennell has also written to the Indian government, and has called for immediate deployment of resources to fix problems.

According to reports, there is still a large amount of post-construction clean-up to be completed, along with issues surrounding cleanliness, plumbing, wiring, internet and mobile phones.

It is also believed that six nations- New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Wales and Canada – are assessing preparations for the Games.

80% probability of terror attack on Delhi CWG, finds new security assessment report.

Sydney, Sept 19: A new security risk assessment report has indicated that there is an eighty per cent chance that the Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG), beginning on October 3, will come under some form of terror attack, putting athletes and officials in the firing line.

The report, prepared by private counter-terrorism and security consultants Homeland Security Asia-Pacific, identified improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and terror strikes on the CWG Games'' convoys as the biggest threats, reports News.com.au.

"After preliminary examination of the layout of Delhi Games venues and facilities, it would still be easier and more likely for an attack to be staged in an area close to, but not in, the actual Games precinct… Such a bombing, using an IED or VIED, would generate the same massive propaganda results worldwide as bombing a venue, or the Games Family Hotel," the report said.

One of the report authors, counter-terrorism expert and security consultant- Roger Henning- said the biggest threat to athletes would be while travelling by road "from the airport to the village and from the village to the venues".

"This is when they will be at their most vulnerable outside the security nets that have been set up," he said.

Pointing out that in a densely populated city like Delhi the opportunity for a terrorist strike in the city''s choking traffic and among homogenous crowds is obvious, he said, "Facial recognition and biometric systems typically fail in mass humanity situations."

"A huge amount of human resources have been thrown at security for the Games and the American, British and Australian intelligence have been helping the Indians,” he noted, adding that Australians - with Britons and Canadians - could be specifically targeted by Islamic terrorists because of their nations'' support in the Afghanistan war.

Henning also accused the Australian government and sports officials of not taking security threats during the Delhi Games seriously enough.

However, Australian Commonwealth Games Association CEO- Perry Crosswhite-claimed the risks in Delhi had been over-emphasised by the media.

"The Indian authorities have done an immense amount of work on security at the Games and I have a lot of confidence in the steps they have taken," he said.

"We are confident the Indian Government is putting in every effort into ensuring a safe Games," said Australia’s Sports Minister Mark Arbib.

While up to 550 Australian athletes and officials prepare to leave for the Games this week, Indian security officials have said they cannot guarantee the safety of tourists and have flagged the use of armoured vehicles and unmanned aircraft as security measures.

Flood situation in Delhi, alert sounded.

New Delhi, Sep.21 : Chairman of the Standing Committee Yogender Chandolia on Tuesday said that all concerned departments, particularly health and sanitation, have been directed to remain on alert, even though adequate precautions have been taken to the situation arising out of release of 7.7 lacs cusec water in Yamuna from Hathni Kund Barrage in Haryana.

He said that the areas of Usmanpur, Model Town, Garhi Mandu, Kashmere Gate, ISBT, Yamuna Pusta, parts of Mayur Vihar, Okhla and Jamia Nagar may be affected. Mr. Chandolia said that MCD has made elaborate arrangements to pump out water from low-lying areas.

The Health Department has been directed to depute Mobile Dispensaries with doctors and adequate stock of medicines. The Sanitation Department has been directed to keep clean likely areas to be affected.

Ceiling of CWG weightlifting venue collapses .

Delhi, Sep 22: Part of the ceiling of the weightlifting venue at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium collapsed on Wednesday.

According to TV reports, no one is injured in the incident

On Tuesday an under-construction foot overbridge collapsed outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

As many as 26 labourers were injured when the elevated pedestrian crossing the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed.

Five of the injured are still in critical condition.

According to sources, the 95-metre long bridge was being built along with another overbridge at the cost of Rs 10.5 crore by Chandigarh-based company PNR Infra.

Metro rail is an effective system of transport: President Patil .

Kolkata, Sep 22: President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said in a city, the metro rail is an effective system of transport, giving people a convenient, comfortable and an affordable mode of travel.

Speaking after laying the foundation of a new metro line that will connect South Kolkata with centre of the city, Patil said: " As the urban population has been increasing, the metro service will substantially reduce the pressure on other modes of transport.

"It is essential to have mass transport and transit systems that facilitate movement within city. In their absence city dwellers would depend on private transportation leading to congestion, pollution and more fuel consumption," Patil added.

She underlined the need for timely completion of the project and execution of it in a manner that does not disrupt the normal life.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the extension of metro railway in Kolkata will be carried out in four phases at an estimated cost of 12 thousand crore rupees.

He informed that the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure headed by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already cleared all these expansion programmes of the Kolkata metro.

The Joka Metro Rail project will connect large areas of neighbouring South 24 Parganas district with BBD Bagh and is part of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee''s plan to expand the network.

The 16.72-kilomtre new stretch will help lakhs of people commute from the extreme south to the central business district. The Metro Railway in Kolkata is the first underground mass rapid transit system in the country and the only one under the Ministry of Railways.

The total estimated cost of the Joka-BBD Bag project that was sanctioned in 2010-11 is Rs 2,619.02 crore. This new route will run overground along Diamond Harbour Road.

The Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd entrusted with commissioning the project has completed the survey and soil testing of the stretch between Joka to Majerhat through RITES.

The tendering process for the project has begun and it should be completed by 2013-14.

CWG 19 Days To Go: OC Using the Media for Good Measure.

This might seem like an ongoing rant on just how ill-prepared we are to host a world class event as we count down to the Commonwealth Games, but that’s what most people are talking about, including the media.
1) In latest news that has come in from the CWG site, traffic trials for the Games gave Delhiites a harrowing time this morning in the capital.
This was the first time that Delhi Police conducted trials on reserved lanes during peak hours. “It was frustrating. I was in a rush to reach my office but was stuck in the traffic from 8:15 am,” said Anurag Chatterjee, a software professional.
Don’t tell us we didn’t warn you about this well in advance.
2) Delhi Police is yet to prepare a detailed plan of the athletes’ movement from the hotels to their respective venues depending on the discipline they compete in. The athletes and delegates, nearly 7,000 of them from 53 participating countries are scheduled to trickle in from September 20.
“We haven’t received the plan from the OC. We need the schedule to see where the athletes would be going for training sessions and how many buses would be required for that. A final traffic arrangement can be made only when the OC hands us the schedule,” Ajay Chadha, special commissioner, traffic, told IANS.
3) The unfazed CWG Organising Committee is trying hard to cover up the ‘bad’ and highlight the ‘good’. And to do that it must blow its own trumpet. OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the venues were ready and Delhi is all set for the Games.
4) On Monday, the OC took the media on another round of venue visits for the second consecutive day. While Nehru Stadium looked plush green with its lawn bowls, the Talkatora Indoor stadium (boxing), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex, Thyagaraj Sports Complex (netball) and Siri Fort Sports Complex (badminton and squash) looked competition ready as well. Photos
OC vice chairman Randhir Singh said, “Everyone has worked hard to overcome problems, caused mostly by the monsoon, but now the time has come to look at the positives. The facilities are world class and we need to showcase them through media.”
In more hopeful news:
1) The Commonwealth Games had its first kitchen trial yesterday. Australian firm Delaware North Corporation (DNC) and Taj SATS, which were awarded the catering contracts for the CWG, cooked vegetarian fare for the workers and officials at the venues yesterday. The trials will run for up to five days when the caterers will serve up a variety of cuisines.
During the Games, there will be a new menu everyday at the Village, which will have multi-cuisine and specialised food items.
2) Freshly crowned world wrestling champ, Sushil Kumar hopes to repeat his feat and win a gold for his country in the CWG.
3) The handicraft industry is also looking forward to making some good money riding on the Games’ wave. They are stocking up to parade their unique stuff to visitors during the mega event.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed and try to bring you more ‘positive news’ in the last few days to the countdown.

Mumbai: Land of the Slumgods.

So it was with some trepidation that HeRa took his first Indian student, Simon Talukdar's advice to move to Mumbai. The private school educated Talukdar, whom HeRa had randomly encouraged to start breaking in a coffee shop late one evening in Dehra Dun, had gone onto become India's first breaker.
Talukdar used his precious Sunday outings from the nearby Doon boarding school to learn the dance form from HeRa.
The two initially took classes and workshops together for the city's rich kids and Bandra's middle class college students. But something felt wrong.
They were going against the original grain of hip-hop "being an alternate urban secret. It's a ghetto thing, where I come from. Not something suburban kids did," Singh explains.
Succor came in the form of a random jaunt to Dharavi, to check out visiting European graffiti artists. Talukdar and HeRa started breaking and right there the kids around them just jumped in.
Breaking, doing handstands, flips and freestyle rap. These kids, completely removed from American hip hop culture, had it down pat. And it struck him. This was it. The real deal.
These were India's ghetto kids, HeRa realized. They had the music in their souls.
So the duo started teaching them a couple of times of a week. Sadly, many of the kids have jobs, and can't stick to the dancing.
But sometimes they do, and the luckier ones even make some money out of it. Some of the dancers even starred in the music video of crash metal Mumbai band, Scribe.
For Dharavi's young prodigies this complicated dance routine is their daily prayer and mantra, and its complicated nuances their escape from the drudgery of living life ghettoized in what's infamously become Asia's largest slum.
Going beyond TinyDrops, Simon, HeRa, a young breaker from Dharavi Akash Danghar and Indian American rapper Mandeep Sethi have also started an artists' collective called SLUMGODS, which brings together rappers, deejays, breakers, film-makers and photographers from India and America to promote artists.
Turning the euphemism Slum'dogs' on its head, because as Danghar puts it "we aren't dogs!" SLUMGODS is a crew which recognizes slums and the culture of poverty as being the roots of hip hop.
Whatever their reason to join, whether it's a Bollywood dance competition dream or just an artistic outlet that makes money on a curb, TinyDrops promises to shatter the limitations of everyday urban life.
Sadly, many of the kids have jobs, and can't stick to the dancing, but sometimes they do, and the luckier ones even make some money out of it.

Slumgod breakers: Dharavi dancers battle Bronx style.

In 1994 a 12-year-old illegal immigrant desi boy walked his way home from public school along a sidewalk in Queens, New York City.
At the street corner as a deejay jocked, prolonging each rhythmic break of the record, wide-eyed, mouth agape Netarpal Singh watched the b-boys break, doing unbelievable stuff with their bodies and he was mesmerized.
"'Yo, teach me I said.' Yeah, they pretty much told me to get lost."
Despite the last decade or so spent in India, Singh's conversation is conspicuously peppered with colloquial NYC street slang and an overarching Yankee twang. From 28-year-old HeRa, as he's known to his "NYC peeps" and "Dharavi homies," I get the 101 on breaking. Lesson one: don't call it breakdancing.
B-boying, down-rock, freeze, power-moves -- these terms are alien to me, but they're everyday parlance for a group of Dharavi's breaker kids now under HeRa's tutelage.
Kids from the ages of 10 to 21 are breaking to forget the stress and rut of lives lived as rag pickers and apprentices, electricians, tailors and carpenters. They become the dance, like the original breakers, underpriveledged youths from the Bronx in the 1970s.
Upping the amp on their inherent oomph are the blueprints of HeRa's soon-to-be opened community center on the outskirts of Dharavi, TinyDrops.
India's first breaking organization for lower income group children, this attention-grabbing mix of street dance and athletics is infiltrating their lives and bringing positive change to their communities.
"No one teaches you," Singh says. "All you can do is watch, and never, never imitate."
NYC backstory: 'Like a Kung Fu movie'
But this story begins many oceans away, where a young, confused sirdar found his groove at a neighborhood community center in Queens.
One street-corner rejection already under his belt, HeRa stumbled upon groups of breakers, deejays and graffiti artists, all looking for an outlet. Here he found inspiration, an identity and answers.
These hiphoppers met under one roof and practiced routines for hours on end. For most of them, Singh says, it was simply something to do, to stay off the streets and out of gang fights and drugs.
They spent hours innovating and reinventing their craft and mixing self-discipline with a deep understanding of themselves. It was the strong push for individuality that HeRa hopes to instill in his boys from Dharavi -- to set their own movement, and form their own identity based around the dance.
In the visceral world of niche street-culture hip hop, predominated by rapping, breaking, graffiti and deejaying, Singh explains, "There are no tutorials, no videos and no classes. It is like a Kung Fu movie, with apprentices and a master-pupil style of teaching."
This educational style inspires his relationships with the young boys of Dharavi and echoes years of young peoples' movements from Cuba and Brazil to South Africa and Palestine, giving impoverished youngsters an opportunity to come into one room, together with a similar purpose.
In America, as his mother sewed on buttons at a sweatshop and his father fulfilled his role as the ubiquitous Indian cabdriver, HeRa found a sense of structure at the local community center that he hopes to replicate at TinyDrops.
"No one teaches you," he says. "All you can do is watch, and never, never imitate. You just have to prove you're dedicated. And as you experiment, you slowly find your identity."
In 2001, when the world watched the twin towers of the WTC come crashing down, the aftershocks that reverberated through thousands of illegal immigrant families unceremoniously sent HeRa and his family back to India. His search for an identify began all over again.
During his next few years working with various NGOs and a layover at Greenpeace, HeRa felt there was no scope for hip hop in India, especially in the days before YouTube it its stride.
HeRa stopped dancing. There was no context or reference to the dance here, and sans Bollywood's nod, it wasn't going percolate into popular culture.
"You just have to prove you're dedicated. And as you experiment, you slowly find your identity," says Singh.

Omar Abdullah didn't threaten to resign.

For the first time since the Kargil War, all flights in and out of Srinagar have been suspended for the next three days. Since the 2nd of this month, flights have been moved to the Awantipura air base because the runway at the Srinagar airport is being renovated. Sources say flights were cancelled because the state government couldn't assure airlines of the security of staff and passengers.

The rarest of rare conditions like that underscore how desperate the situation in Kashmir is - 70 civilians have been killed in the last 3 months. The crisis will be discussed threadbare at Wednesday's meeting, which will be attended, among others, by the BJP and Sonia Gandhi. The most controversial part of the discussion will undoubtedly be the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Omar Abdullah has been pushing for the Act's withdrawal, at least in areas where militancy has declined. The Act is often criticised for being "draconian" and giving the Army sweeping powers without any accountability. Home Minister P Chidambaram wants the Act to be amended to make it more "humane." His blueprint for a new Act was discussed at yesterday's meeting with the PM.

The Army is opposed to either withdrawing the Act, or amending it. Defence Minister AK Antony has stressed that the Act is critical in the legal immunity it provides officers who are fighting a "proxy war" in states like J&K. Chief of Air Staff P V Naik, who is also Chief of the Armed Services, said on Tuesday, "Whatever decision the government takes on AFSPA will be done only after ensuring legal protection to the Armed Forces."

Sources in the government say that AFSPA is not a single-point solution to the Kashmir problem. At the meeting, it will be stressed that the dilution AFSPA should be a starting point for dialogue. They also confirm that lifting AFSPA in some parts of Kashmir is being seriously considered.

Splits in Silicon Valley.

They were college sweethearts who seemed happily married. Three years after they tied the knot, Mayuri (name changed) says she felt all knotted up. Even her husband Rakesh (name changed), an architect, felt that the duo's relationship was radically altered. As Mayuri felt that Rakesh was more attached to his laptop, the young man himself attributed the broken marriage to deadline pressures at work. Both, in their early 30s, feel they are mature enough to take their own decisions.
In fact, soon after filing for a divorce petition at one of the four family courts in Bangalore, the couple headed to the coffee joint Koshys on St. Marks Road to celebrate their separation over a quick south Indian kaapi. "It was separation by mutual consent," says Rakesh, "we couldn't make it as husband and wife, but will remain friends."
Not all cases of marital problems dogging India's Silicon Valley end in such civility. On August 13, the police arrested top Infosys executive Satish Gupta, 32, for killing his wife Priyanka, 28, who was a schoolteacher. The police claim that Satish, in jail now, told them they developed serious differences after she forced him to separate from his parents. When he told her he wanted a divorce, she threatened to drag him and his parents to jail with a dowry harassment case. That is allegedly when he decided to act in cold blood: strangling her first, and then slitting her throat with a kitchen knife.
Though extreme, it does reflect the kind of marital stress ambitious professionals are facing in their high-pressure jobs. As if the suicide-capital tag was not enough, officials are now grappling with ways to stamp out the new virus eating away at healthy homes. In the last two years alone, nearly 4,000 divorce petitions were filed-a huge jump over previous years: 1,200 in 2004 to a three-fold jump in 2008 and rising. The IT sector and it-enabled services like BPOs are the biggest employer of youth, aged between 20 and late 30.
Worse, there is the wait before a divorce is finalised. Stockbroker Kumar Jahgirdar, agitating for greater legal rights for divorced fathers, points out that on an average it takes four to five years for each case to be decided. He estimates there are nearly 10,000 cases still pending in the local courts of the city, some since 2008. "Our office got a call from a senior it executive working at an mnc saying his wife suddenly decided to leave him," he says, adding, "The ambitious wife in question earned more and did not feel the need for this man in her life".
The backlog continues to grow. Almost 25 to 30 petitions involving matrimonial disputes are filed in a day. Three more family courts are being planned in months to come to cope with the load. Karnataka Law Minister Suresh Kumar, shocked by the divorce statistics, is travelling to Chennai to study the evening courts that have lessened the number of pending cases. "Cases hanging fire only cause more damage to the already affected parties, elders and the children," says Kumar. He is also planning to introduce weekend courts to address the problem.
Seven years ago there were less than 300 cases in the family courts. Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari often plays marriage counsellor. He says: "While the concept of nuclear families, a direct import of the West, has steadily made inroads into our societies, we have also witnessed the lack of respect for elders or their intervention in the lives of youngsters. It is fine that most couples take their own decisions but when there are periods of social turbulence, inputs from elders or priestly figures are helpful. Sometimes both sides are adamant which leads to breaking up."
Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy's wife Sudha says: "Right in the beginning Murthy made it clear that one of us can work and the other had to run the family. Not that I was any less qualified but am glad I made the decision to stay at home. The choice was intentional." Sudha is a qualified computer science engineer and the first woman to join the all-male Tata auto plant in Pune before she and her husband settled in Bangalore. With both men and women earning well, women sometimes earning more, pressures on marriage start early and often end in an early divorce.
A young globetrotting software executive says her marriage is on the rocks because she is unable to spend time with her husband. Both travel a lot and one of them has to cut down on work. And both are not sure who will do that-and that inevitably drives them to lawyers like P.B. Appiah, whose hands are full. "We simply have no clue how to deal with the rising number of disputes. Today's generation faces a new kind of challenge both in terms of work schedules, relationships and life in general," says Appiah.
Psychologists like Hannah Samuel feel stress kicks in during the early years of the marriage when couples in IT jobs have to confront the challenges of juggling two or three careers and balancing family and work. "There is simply no time to communicate. They just get married to their jobs; drag on till the D-word hits them." Bangalore's Family Welfare Centre Director Father Martin Anthony makes marriage classes compulsory for couples waiting to get married, where they are counselled on how to manage money, in-laws or work-life balance. District Judge and director of Bangalore Mediation Centre, Justice K.N. Phaneendra, whose centre has handled nearly 5,000 divorce cases since 2007, throws his hands up as couples have no qualms about divorce now.
Jahgirdar, fighting for custody of his daughter (from his first wife Chethana who is married to cricketer Anil Kumble), also blames the rising number of divorces to laws that seem to favour the women. So he and other "affected fathers" founded a group, Children's Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting, to tackle the effects of parental alienation on children due to single parent families on account of divorce or separation. He is fighting the patriarchal mindset that suggests fathers are not capable of nurturing the children.
India's Silicon Valley may be the country's showpiece sector but what's not shown enough is the troubles of young married techies trying to juggle high pressure careers, deadlines and a normal marriage. Clearly, no software has been written yet to protect them from the marital virus.
"To cope with the increasing rush at the family courts we have decided to launch weekend courts, perhaps for the first time in India."Suresh Kumar, Karnataka law minister
Picture imperfect
Forget the suicide capital tag already dogging the Indian Silicon Valley of Bangalore. Its newest problem on hand is on the family front.
Four family courts are seeing close to 30 new cases every day. In just the last two years, nearly 4,000 divorce petitions have come up before the local family courts, showing a sudden increase.
- From a low of about 1,200 divorce petitions in 2004 to a high of about 3,300 in 2008, it is almost a three-time jump.
Court officials indicate there are approximately 10,000 cases pending before the four family courts as on date.
- Mediation Centre Judge K.N. Phaneendra, whose centre has handled nearly 5,000 divorce cases since 2007 till now with the settlement rate of a high 80 per cent, is also pushing for evening or weekend courts, perhaps for the first time in India. Most are it professionals who find it difficult to balance work and marriage.

CBI, IAS officer under CVC scanner for alleged corruption.

The Central Vigilance Commission has advised prosecution proceedings against 17 officers, including an IAS, working in different government organisations for their alleged involvement in corruption.
After conducting preliminary inquiries, the CVC has found that Sanjiv Kumar, a 1985-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, working with Ministry of Personnel, PG and Pensions and Bose Partha Sarathi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Special Crime Branch, in Central Bureau of Investigation were allegedly involved in corrupt practises.
The anti-corruption watchdog has written to departments concerned to issue sanction for prosecution to these personnel, CVC said in its performance report for July. The Commission imposed severe disciplinary action against 132 officers, including a highest of 29 from Railway Ministry, followed by 26 from Municipal Corporation of Delhi and 12 from Central Board of Excise and Customs.
It recommended major penalty against seven officers from UCO Bank, six each from Canara Bank and Ministry of Defence, five each in Indian Bank, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and four from Department of Telecommunications.
The CVC has also effected recoveries of over Rs five crore after conducting technical examination of different procurement and work being done by various organisation, the report said. The Commission has received 1,574 complaints from people and whistle blowers during the month.
"The Commission is deeply concerned over continuing delays in filling the post of Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) in several key organisations like Hindustan Shipyards Ltd, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Delhi Transport Corporation and National Aluminum Company Limited (NALCO)," it said, adding "the Government is being regularly reminded."

Salman's family is patriotic, says Shiv Sena.

Just two days after slamming Salman Khan's remarks on 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as anti-national, Shiv Sena today said there was no reason to harbour anger against the actor as his family is patriotic in the true sense.
"There is no reason for us to harbour anger against Salman. His family is nationalist and patriotic in true sense," Sena chief Bal Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ''Saamana''.
"Salman apologised after the furore in the country (over his remarks). He must have realised that the furore was not by the rich but by the common masses," Thackeray said, in an apparent jibe at Salman's remarks about ''hype'' over the terror attacks because the rich were targeted.
It is good that Salman was not adamant like Shah Rukh Khan, the editorial said. In February, Shah Rukh Khan had apologised for the controversy over his remarks favouring inclusion of Pakistani players in IPL but made it clear the regret was not directed towards the Shiv Sena, which staged violent protests against screening of the movie ''My Name Is Khan''.
"Salman's family is patriotic and it is with this responsibility that he should speak and avoid talking on anything but movies," the editorial added. Salman Khan had come under fire for claiming during an interview to a Pakistani channel that the 26/11 attacks were hyped because the "elite" were targeted. He had later apologised, saying he did not mean to hurt anyone's sentiments.

Four killed, 20 injured as bus overturns.

Kozhikode, Sept 15 (PTI) Four persons were killed and 20 others injured when a bus overturned after colliding with a lorry near here this morning, police said. The injured had been admitted to the medical college hospital here.

Manmohan Singh to preside over all party meeting on Kashmir today.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will preside over an all-party meeting on Kashmir here on Wednesday.
The meeting, which will see the participation of Jammu and Kashmir's opposition People's Democratic Party, but not that of the state's ruling National Conference, is likely to discuss a whole range of issues, including the decision to withdraw or amend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
The Union Government is hoping to use today's meeting to evolve a consensus on restarting dialogue with different sections of people in Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, the Cabinet Committee on Security met and then decided to convene an all-party meeting.
Prime Minister Singh is expected to make an opening statement at the start of Wednesday's deliberations, and then open the floor to other leaders to make their points of view on the situation prevailing in the state.
Wednesday's meeting is likely to be followed by another meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, where participants are likely to discuss and evolve a series of confidence-building measures for Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister A K Antony has stressed that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is critical for ensuring legal immunity to officers and troops, who are fighting a "proxy war" in states like Jammu and Kashmir and the North East.
He also said a decision on the situation in the Kashmir Valley will be taken by the Centre after Wednesday's all-party meeting.
"Important decisions have to be taken after carefully assessing all aspects," he said.
Antony also appealed to all sides to show restraint.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, said: "Whatever decision the government takes on AFSPA will be done only after ensuring legal protection to the armed forces."
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti and two other party members - Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari are being flown into the capital by special flight to facilitate their participation in today's meeting.
The series of meeting held both in New Delhi and Srinagar over the past several weeks is because of the violence and rising death toll in the Kashmir Valley. At least 75 people have died in the last three months. The valley has also been subjected to a series of shutdowns and frequent curfews during this period.

Manmohan Singh to preside over all party meeting on Kashmir today.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will preside over an all-party meeting on Kashmir here on Wednesday.
The meeting, which will see the participation of Jammu and Kashmir's opposition People's Democratic Party, but not that of the state's ruling National Conference, is likely to discuss a whole range of issues, including the decision to withdraw or amend the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
The Union Government is hoping to use today's meeting to evolve a consensus on restarting dialogue with different sections of people in Jammu and Kashmir. On Monday, the Cabinet Committee on Security met and then decided to convene an all-party meeting.
Prime Minister Singh is expected to make an opening statement at the start of Wednesday's deliberations, and then open the floor to other leaders to make their points of view on the situation prevailing in the state.
Wednesday's meeting is likely to be followed by another meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, where participants are likely to discuss and evolve a series of confidence-building measures for Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister A K Antony has stressed that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is critical for ensuring legal immunity to officers and troops, who are fighting a "proxy war" in states like Jammu and Kashmir and the North East.
He also said a decision on the situation in the Kashmir Valley will be taken by the Centre after Wednesday's all-party meeting.
"Important decisions have to be taken after carefully assessing all aspects," he said.
Antony also appealed to all sides to show restraint.
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, said: "Whatever decision the government takes on AFSPA will be done only after ensuring legal protection to the armed forces."
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti and two other party members - Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari are being flown into the capital by special flight to facilitate their participation in today's meeting.
The series of meeting held both in New Delhi and Srinagar over the past several weeks is because of the violence and rising death toll in the Kashmir Valley. At least 75 people have died in the last three months. The valley has also been subjected to a series of shutdowns and frequent curfews during this period.

UID Project: Identity Crisis.

He was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's choice to number India's teeming millions. Nandan Nilekani was the rock star of corporate India delivered to Yojana Bhavan as if by FedEx to head the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The UPA Government had taken inspiration from Nilekani's own thinking-which he espoused in his book Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century-on the need for a unique identity number for citizens. Nilekani quit his much-respected job as co-chairperson of Infosys last year to take up the new assignment with a sense of duty for the larger cause.
But as he moves beyond the rhetoric of Imagining India to the task of Imaging India, the UID project is coming under the scanner for its utility in a country that has already become a house of identity cards. Though the authority is all set to roll out the process this month, the UID's ability to give a massive jolt to the flawed public delivery system based on identity numbers is being questioned. Many social activists, thinkers and even leaders like the Congress's Mani Shankar Aiyar are wondering whether the project is worthwhile.
The UID will assign a unique number (Aadhaar number) to each enrolled individual. Various registering agencies like banks or insurance companies will be appointed to identify the person in case of his dealings with a public organisation, regulatory authority or law enforcement agency. The information on the UID database will be basic-name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, the name and UID numbers of both parents, address, and photograph and fingerprints.
"UID is an important part of public service delivery reforms. Its benefits will be far greater than its cost."Nandan Nilekani, UIDAI chairman
Unlike the pan card or the voter's id card, the UID number will not ensure any benefits or rights. It will only help in identifying the person while opening bank accounts or enrolling for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) jobs. The Government has approved a budget of Rs 3,170 crore for the first two phases spread over five years. It is selling the new UID number as a system that will uniquely identify each person and enable it to target and deliver services effectively, especially in the Public Distribution System (PDS). With a network of over four lakh fair price shops selling commodities worth more than Rs 15,000 crore to about 16 crore families every year, the PDS is one of the largest distribution networks of its kind in the world.
One of the key challenges most Indians face is the difficulty in establishing their identity. The UID claims to end the menace of having to hold more than one ID card to access entitled benefits. According to the UIDAI, "The singular problem that it will seek to solve is of 'identity'. Once a person has a UID number, their basic identity, linked to their biometrics, is established and can be used to uniquely identify the individual."
But many think that the scheme is a step behind social realities that reduce the access of needy sections to welfare schemes in spite of a series of identity cards. Questions are being asked about introducing a new number-based identity when several identity proofs already exist. "The Aadhaar number will not do away with all the other cards. Over time, it will be the unifying number across various cards. It will enable online authentication of identity and will be a proof of identity, especially for those sections of society that have no such form now," says Nilekani.
The recurring problem with the PDS is not that above poverty line families creep into the system but that many worthy BPL families are out of the ambit of the scheme. A 2005 Planning Commission study found that about 58 per cent of subsidised foodgrain does not reach BPL families. The UID in no way guarantees benefits and the new law doesn't prevent various service providers from seeking other background documents even if an applicant has a valid UID number.
"Hi-tech without Panchayati Raj is just a bogus stunt for geeks and nerds."Mani Shankar Aiyar, Congress leader
Thus, it is no guarantee for an immigrant worker from Bihar to get a ration card in Delhi. In effect, the number may add to the existing set of worries. Nilekani agrees that it is still the responsibility of the state governments to determine the eligibility for benefits. But he insists that the Aadhaar number will facilitate the process. Others argue that the UID is a wrong solution for a bigger problem.
"The problem with our social investments is not duplication of cards but exclusion of a large number of citizens. Instead of pouring money to remove duplication, which is only a minor part of the problem, the Government needs to expand the schemes to include more needy people," says R. Ramkumar of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
When the Planning Commission first decided on the scheme, it was not about numbers being assigned to people but smart cards, much like a multi-storied building where each scheme is "housed" in one floor. Now the idea of the card has been abandoned and the UIDAI's purview will be limited to issuing unique identification numbers. If you are asking for a job under the MGNREGS, the authorities will send your number to the UIDAI centralised office and a message will be sent saying yes or no. This will verify whether you are the person you are claiming to be.
UID for Dummies
Five-year plan: Over five years from this year-end, the authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs through various "registrar" agencies across the country, which include both Government and private sector agencies like insurance companies and banks.
Database: A resident will have to go to an enrolling agency, fill up a form and provide the supporting documentation, including a photograph, all 10 fingerprints and iris scan. The enrolling agency will collect this data that will be passed on to the UID database.
Reaching the masses: If the individual is not already in the database, a UID number will be issued and sent to him at his home by speedpost. The tear-away portion in the letter can act as a card to reference the number.
Not proof enough: The UID number will not be proof of citizenship. It will include all residents who are in India and want to use public services.
Single window: It has been marketed as the single source of identity verification. People would be spared the trouble of repeatedly providing identity documents. They need to give their number as residence proof, which will be verified with the centralised data.
A FULL DECK
India has already become a house of ID cards
CARD - COVERAGE
PAN Card - Every person with taxable income.
Election Photo Identity Card - Indian citizens above 18.
Employee Provident Fund Organisation - Employees in the formal sector.
Multi-Purpose National Identity Card - Citizens of India. Is issued by the Central Government.
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana Card - Provides insurance cover to all BPL families.
MGNREGS card - Citizens of India seeking employment under the scheme.
Driving Licence - Citizens who are 18 and above.
Passport - Citizens of Indiawho travel abroad.
Ration Card - Cards issued to those families who use the PDS system. Only BPL families qualify.
"UID will not remove the pitfalls of the PDS. The exclusion that denies people access to food cannot be corrected by electronic identity. In fact, it will deepen the exclusion and criminalise the excluded," says social activist Vandana Shiva. The UID also cannot address two major sources of leakage in the PDS and MGNREGS. First, the diversion of grains and pulses happen on the way to the ration shops. Second, the dealers only sell part of the entitled food to the poor and testify on official documents that they have got their full quota.
On the MGNREGS front, wages are being paid through banks and post offices since 2008 (83 per cent MGNREGS workers have an account), reducing the possibility of corruption. The workers in some cases are forced to share the wages with extortionist middlemen and politicians. In other cases, they collude with middlemen to share inflated wages. The introduction of the UID number cannot address any of these concerns despite its claims to stop leakages.
To tackle over 600 government departments and state governments, which would prefer to carry on with their control over the cards, is easier said than done. The resistance from these agencies, especially when the UIDAI plans to use them as registrars who will act as enrollers, may prove costly for the project. Aiyar warns that the UIDAI will meet the fate of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's Panchayati Raj initiative which failed because of the refusal of state governments to devolve power to the grassroots.
"The UID substitutes a name with a number. Nilekani's authority is not empowered to enforce the use of UID on every central Government ministry, agency or state Government. I fear our prime minister's UID initiative will flounder on the same rocks that a previous prime minister's panchayat initiative had," says Aiyar. He argues that modern technology can hugely improve the delivery of social security schemes but only if it embraces the country's three lakh village panchayats.
Apart from the technological challenges, the costs involved in such a project are enormous and need to be weighed against the limited benefits. "Even after the commitment to such expenditure, the uncertainty over technological options and the ultimate viability of the scheme remains. Add to this the recurring costs for maintaining a networked system necessary for ID cards to function effectively," says Ramkumar.
But Nilekani counters the arguments, saying the scheme's benefits will be far greater than the costs involved. "The UID number has a transformatory potential in the delivery of public services. It will help in eliminating duplicates in the system as well as provide an effective platform for better delivery of services," he says.
"The innocuous application of UID to social policy does not diminish the danger of state control."Jean Dreze, Economist
The UIDAI says there will not be any pressure on citizens to enroll for the number. The registrars-who will enroll people in the database and will be both private operators and from government agencies-may insist that they will extend services to those who have enrolled. "The measures towards ensuring that the number is truly voluntary needs to be provided in the proposed legislation. A prohibition against denial of goods, services, entitlements and benefits (private or public) for the lack of a UID number should be made an offence under the Bill," says Sunil Abraham, director, Centre for Internet Society, a Bangalore-based research organisation.
But there are bigger worries that the project may completely change the norms of privacy, confidentiality and security of personal information. There are currently various pieces of information available separately and held in discrete "silos" by the government departments. The citizen usually gives information that is necessary for any agency to do the job. While telephone companies may not know about your health details, your hospital need not know your income details. Its critics argue that the personal information of citizens is rendered all the more vulnerable to misuse in an atmosphere that encourages private participation in social service delivery.
"It is this that makes some privacy possible in a world where there are so many reasons and locations where we give information about ourselves. The ease with which technology has whittled down the notion of the private has to be contained, not expanded. The UID, in contrast, will act as a bridge between these silos of information and take control away from the individual about what information we want to share and with whom," says Usha Ramanathan, a noted law researcher based in Delhi. There is a difference between people tracking a state, and the state and the "market" tracking people.
"The UID is clearly not what it is presented as being: it is not benign, nor a mere number which will give an identity to those who the state had missed so far," adds Ramanathan. Economist Jean Dreze has yet another concern. "This scheme is being introduced at a time of growing state authoritarianism, and opens the door to an unprecedented degree of state control. The possibility of innocuous applications of the UID scheme to social policy does not significantly diminish this fundamental danger," he says. Nilekani says that the draft bill addresses many concerns of data security and confidentiality, and that a larger data privacy framework is needed to fully address these issues.
The UID is not just about Nilekani's head-counting skills. It is about considering the subordinate question of duplication-there is only 2 per cent duplication in Tamil Nadu's PDS rolls and Chhattisgarh's hologram-enabled cards eliminated 8 per cent of the duplication-rather than the broader question of greater access for the poor.
Foreign Hands
Privacy concerns have made ID cards a non-starter in many countries
European CountriesMost European Union members have voluntary and compulsory ID cards, except Denmark, Latvia and Lithuania. In Sweden, information is stored on a chip in the card and not in any central database.
United KingdomThe government's attempts to impose compulsory ID cards sparked off fury early this year. The Home Affairs committee shot down the idea as its benefits outweighed the increased data protection risks.
United StatesThe Social Security programme number is also used as the national identification number. But attempts at introducing biometric national cards have come under fire from rights groups.
ChinaEarly this year, China began issuing smart cards to its citizens. The cards can also help identify those who use ATMs, enter a building with an electronic guard system or even pick up their children from kindergarten.
AustraliaIn 1985, the government proposed Australian cards, mostly to curb tax evasion. Following a vigorous opposition campaign, the proposal was withdrawn in 1987.
The project throws up crucial issues relating to profiling, tracking and surveillance, both by the state and the market. The possibility of data theft is a worrying scenario. The Government seems to have sugar-coated the idea with Nilekani's impeccable image and its supposed benefits to the social sector. But before the numbers game reaches a point of no return, the nation needs to give it a closer critical look.
Tech Troubles
UID faces the biggest challenge from its focus, the rural poor
Identity parade: Nilekani will bank on unique patterns on our fingers to identify 1.14 billion people. While two metrics will be used in issuing the UID number-an iris scan and a photograph-fingerprinting will be the metric used in authentication.
Quality check: Worn-out fingers of farmers and manual labourers have made the task tough for UID technicians. These fingers, euphemistically referred to in technical literature as "low-quality" fingerprints, exist precisely in the demographic segment the UID aims to help.
Blind reality: An iris scan can't be done on people with corneal blindness or corneal scars. The number of people with corneal blindness alone is estimated at six to eight million. Only a photograph can be used for identity determination until competent technology is developed.
No minor issue: Children's fingerprints, iris scans and photographs will be updated every five years till the age of 18. Till then, either of the parents will need to provide their biometric information for authentication.

India Finally Tackles Its Cities.

Traffic jams. Delayed flights. Crowded trains. That is the reality of any big city in India. The future could be much worse. The country's cities are expected to grow by an additional 250 million, mostly young people, over the next two decades. Without massive investment and thoughtful planning, chaos will ensue.
Or not. McKinsey, in an unprecedented nearly two-year study of Indian cities, envisions a way for India over the next 20 years to turn that influx of young population into a quadrupling of per-capita income. This growth hinges on adequate investment in cities so they can handle the surge in people and the simultaneous increased demand on services. The urban migration, if properly handled, could generate 70% of net new jobs and produce 70% of India's GDP.
To meet their needs, McKinsey suggests that India must build--every year for the next 20 years--between 7 billion and 9 billion square feet of real estate (the equivalent of one Chicago) a year; 220 to 250 miles of metros and subways (more than 20 times what it has built in the past decade); and between 12,000 and 15,000 miles of road lanes (nearly equal to all the road lanes constructed in the past decade).
That's a pretty ambitious task, given India's infamous bureaucracy, corruption and a sketchy track record on accomplishing large-scale projects. Ajit Mohan, the lead author on the McKinsey report, says for the first time there's some recognition in India that urban development has to become a priority. It could take one success in a single city to create the momentum for a national push, he says, comparing the current lack of infrastructure investment to the way the IT sector was developed in India. "When Bangalore became successful, other cities started to emulate it," he says.
The major changes will happen, adds Chetan Vaidya, head of the National Institute of Urban Affairs in New Delhi. "We can already see bits and pieces of that falling into place," he says.
Multiple infrastructure investment programs have launched in the last handful of years. One is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which is putting $28 billion into 65 cities over a seven-year period starting in December 2005. Once it runs its course, it could be replaced by a similar program. The government of India is also in talks with the World Bank for a $3 billion infrastructure loan.
India's federal treasury is increasing its grants to cities and states from the $960 million they received annually for the past five years to $5 billion each year over the next five years as long as they meet a nine-point agenda. The conditions attached to receiving funds in both programs are similar and focused on land and tax reforms, among other mandates. The idea is to improve governance and creditworthiness of cities, says Vaidya, and lead to commercial or market-based financing in urban investment.
Multinationals like Aecom, Veolias and Bombardier are in the process of bidding for various projects, including building portions of metro rails in Chennai and Kolkatta and supplying rail cars to Delhi's expanding metro network. Aecom was recently awarded a contract to do the master plan for two of the six satellite industrial cities India plans to build along the 1,700-mile Delhi-to-Mumbai corridor. Each city will house 5 million people.
"This is a huge investment opportunity, but you need to cherry-pick your cities," says Vaidya. He recommends focusing on tier-2 cities like Pune in Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat and investing in projects like ports and special economic zones (which typically build sector specific manufacturing or research hubs), and in affordable housing, as 90% of the demand is for those. He expects an average investment period to range from three to five years before investors can exit and move on to the next batch of cities.
Mohan, the author of the McKinsey report, too sees opportunity for the private sector (and multinationals, to boot) to provide services like water supply and waste management. "But," he admits, "the question is will we do it fast enough--and that's a political choice. That will determine how dramatic the pace of the change will be and up until now no one has stepped up to champion that."
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U.S. Koran Tensions Erupt in Kashmir.

NEW DELHI — Kashmir erupted on Monday in the worst violence since separatist protests began sweeping through the disputed Himalayan region three months ago, with the authorities partly blaming reports of Koran desecration in the United States for the inflamed tensions.
The bloodshed, which came as Indian leaders were searching for a way out of the Kashmir crisis, left at least 14 civilians and two security officers dead and at least 60 people injured in clashes, the authorities said. In one town, Tangmarg, the authorities said officers opened fire after protesters set a school and other government buildings ablaze.
Kashmir has had almost daily Muslim demonstrations since June, with angry crowds defying strict government curfews to throw stones or voice their anger. Protesters range from separatists who want an independent Kashmir state to others demanding that India’s central government remove thousands of Indian paramilitary troops, release political prisoners and lift laws that grant immunity to security officers. Before Monday, at least 73 people had been killed as officers fired live ammunition against stone-throwing protesters.



On Monday, state authorities sought to differentiate the new violence as separate from the other protests, linking it to the reports of the desecrated Koran. Indian authorities had fretted over the planned Sept. 11 burning of a Koran by a Florida pastor, Terry Jones. Officials had asked Indian television channels not to broadcast such an inflammatory act, and Mr. Jones ultimately canceled his plans.

But S. S. Kapur, chief secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir State government, said reports by an Iranian state-run English language news channel, Press TV, of Koran desecration in the United States may have inflamed passions in Kashmir. Mr. Kapur denounced the alleged desecration and said authorities had since banned Press TV cable broadcasts in Kashmir. Later in the day, the state cabinet released a statement asking for calm.

It was unclear whether the protesters were responding to Press TV’s television broadcasts or its Internet accounts of the desecration. Press TV later confirmed on its Web site that local cable operators in Kashmir had restricted its broadcasts.

“Today was the spontaneous religious reaction over the issue of burning of the Koran, which was on television,” Taj Mohi-ud-Din, a senior spokesman in the Jammu and Kashmir government, said in a phone interview.

The sequence of events remained unclear late Monday. Angry protesters are said to have burned a Christian school in Kashmir. In the state of Punjab, a strict curfew had been instituted in an area with a large Muslim population after angry protesters, responding to rumors about the desecrated Koran, attacked a church and a police officer.

In New Delhi, the United States ambassador, Timothy J. Roemer, cited news reports that “one misguided individual” had torn pages out of a Koran in the United States and condemned the attack as “an abhorrent act.” He also expressed dismay over the reported attacks against churches in Kashmir and Punjab.

“We strongly support local authorities’ appeal for calm and an end to the violence,” he said in a statement.

The escalated mayhem in Kashmir further complicates efforts to bring stability back to the region, long a source of conflict between India and Pakistan.

In New Delhi, top Indian officials convened to weigh proposals to reduce the powers of the armed forces and ease tight security measures in some districts of the region as steps to defuse the crisis. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered a conciliatory message, promising talks with groups that reject violence.

On Monday, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, a moderate Muslim leader, condemned the attack on the Christian school and called on Kashmiris not to be provoked into violence. “It is a very confused situation here,” he said in a phone interview. “Nobody knows which agency is doing what.”

State authorities have blamed Mr. Farooq for violent protests on Saturday during Eid al-Fitr, the festival that ends Ramadan. But Mr. Farooq said those protests were modest compared with the largely peaceful observation of the holiday.

Thirteen dead in Kashmir, Christian school torched.

SRINAGAR, India – Indian police shot dead 13 people in Kashmir on Monday as stone-throwing rioters defied curfews and torched a Christian school in a surge of anger stoked by the desecration of the Koran.

The death toll was the highest for a single day since a wave of anti-India demonstrations began three months ago, with 84 civilians now killed in unrest in the disputed Muslim-majority region. One policeman also died Monday.

In New Delhi, the cabinet met to discuss steps to defuse the tension, but decided against heeding calls from some in the government to partially lift a 20-year-old emergency law that is despised by many in Kashmir.

The cabinet said it was "deeply distressed" by the unrest, but offered no new initiatives besides an all-party meeting for later in the week to discuss solutions.

Some of Monday's worst rioting was reported in Tangmarg village, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the region's main town of Srinagar, where a crowd chanted anti-US and pro-Islam slogans before burning down a missionary school.

No one was injured in the fire at Tyndale Biscoe School, but at least five civilians were killed when security forces opened fire on the crowd as it attempted to set fire to government buildings, local police said.

"The loss of property has been huge," top state police official Kuldeep Khoda told reporters in Srinagar, detailing the day's unrest which saw at least one mob attack a camp of heavily armed paramilitary forces.

He confirmed that 13 civilians had been killed and one policeman had also died. He said 45 protesters and 130 policemen had been injured, while 52 people were arrested.

"We are taking necessary measures to prevent loss of life and property all over the Kashmir valley," he added.

Khoda and other local officials blamed Iran's state-run Press TV for fanning simmering anger in Kashmir with a report on a group of Christians who tore pages from the Koran in a demonstration outside the White House on Saturday.

Local authorities later banned the station from broadcasting on local cable channels.

The US ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, said he was "dismayed" to see the reports of violence and repeated President Barack Obama's condemnation of the Koran-ripping.

Hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Geelani, who has orchestrated recent anti-India demonstrations, also called for calm and for Christians to be protected.

"I urge the Muslims to protect the members of minority community and their religious places. We should at any cost maintain the age-old communal harmony and brotherhood for which Kashmir is known the world over," he said.

Kashmir is a disputed territory held partly by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.

Since 1990, an anti-India insurgency has raged in the part ruled by New Delhi, claiming an estimated 47,000 lives. A majority of Kashmiris favour independence for the region, according to a recent poll.

The escalating violence, which also saw a local minister's house attacked at the weekend, has raised pressure on the central government to try a new approach to solving the conflict.

It remains committed to dialogue with peaceful separatists in Kashmir, but faces political pressure from right-wing Hindu nationalists not to accede to any of their demands for autonomy.

"The youth of Kashmir are our citizens and their grievances have to be addressed," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told military commanders in New Delhi.

"We are willing to talk to every person or group which abjures violence, within the framework of our constitution."

He later held talks with senior ministers on whether to lift the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in four districts of the region, but decided against taking any action.

The act was passed in 1958 and extended to Kashmir in 1990.

Human rights groups and local politicians have long campaigned against it, saying the law encourages abuses by the security forces and adds to a sense of occupation in the highly militarised region.

It gives Indian army and paramilitary troops sweeping powers to open fire, search houses, detain suspects and confiscate property, as well as protecting soldiers from prosecution.

Under-fire Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has urged the federal government to withdraw the act, but has met with strong resistance from the Indian military.

15 dead, 36 survive Venezuela plane crash: official toll.

CARACAS (AFP) – Fifteen people were killed and 36 survived a plane crash in southeast Venezuela, according to the official toll released late Monday by the transport and communications ministry.

"In total we have 36 survivors and 15 dead. The survivors are being looked after," said Transport and Communications Minister Francisco Garces.

Most of the survivors had sustained burns and were traumatized by the event, but none were in life-threatening condition, he added.

The Conviasa airline plane had taken off from the resort city of Isla Margarita when it went down inexplicably about six miles (10 kilometers) from its destination of Puerto Ordaz.

Teach-VIP Injury Prevention and Control Curriculum Now Available as Online Course .

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched TEACH-VIP E-Learning, online and CD-ROM version of TEACH-VIP. Anyone with an internet connection can access a full range of lessons covering violence, unintentional injury and disability. Individuals who have limited or no access to the internet can also order the TEACH-VIP E-Learning material in the CD-ROM version through WHO free of charge.
The training material has been adapted specifically for online use, allowing for self-paced, self-administered training. It includes mechanisms for individuals to test their knowledge and track progress as well as a range of additional resources. TEACH-VIP E-Learning has received extensive pilot testing during its development phase and prior to release.

IPPNW Indian Leaders Organize Series of Events for Global Week of Action against Gun Violence.

IIPDEP (Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament & Environmental Protection) led by Drs. Balkrishna and Nalini Kurvey highlighted a health message and urgent need for arms control at a series of 6 important events throughout India as part of worldwide activities for the Global Week of Action against Gun Violence.

The first was a consultation/briefing and meetings with parliamentarians and political leaders on May 14, 2010 at Amravati, Maharashtra in west India. The topic for deliberation was "SALW in India and the Arms Trade Treaty.” Politicians were not aware of the impact of SALW and need of the government to adhere to ATT. They have promised to take this issue in parliament. The IANSA Documentary "Arms, Dealing and National Interest" was screened and IANSA materials were also presented to them.

Three events took place on May 15th:

The "Human Rights, International Humanitarian Laws and Arms Trade Treaty" roundtable was held. Parliamentarians were briefed regarding the work of IANSA groups including IPPNW on the illegal trade of small arms, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), and related topics. It also featured the screening of the IANSA documentary on arms. The presidents of the Indian Medical Association, the Association of Medical Women in India, and other prominent doctors attended.

In Southeast India that same say Nav Bharat Nirmal Sangh (New India Construction Association) and IIPDEP arranged the "Culture of Violence, Culture of Peace” event at Hyderabad, South India. Andhra Padesh is hot bed of violence due to Maoist militant groups and other factors. Indian doctors and Red Cross delegates discussed violence prevention and political solutions with parliamentarians.

The third was organized by the Manipur Committee for Social Concern, Manipur, Northeast India and IIPDEP, "Proliferation of Small Arms and ATT" at Imphal, Manipur, Northeast India. Delegates from all parts of Manipur attended the event. Manipur is one of the North Indian states also rife with small arms problems, due to the to porous border with Myanmar among other things. More than 10 militants groups are active in this state. Members of parliament, government officials, NGOs, youth, religious leaders, women, and victims attended the event. IANSA materials were distributed to the delegates and arms documentary was screened. The Red Cross of Manipur as well as many medical doctors participated and addressed the delegates on medical aspects

Two events on May 16th were held, one in northeast India in Nagaland, a border area that is also a hot bed for arms and drug smuggling. IIPDEP in conjunction with the Rural Peoples Welfare Society organized “Small Arms & North East India: International Humanitarian Laws and Need for Arms Trade Treaty" at Kohima, Nagaland. It was well attended by parliamentarians, Secretary of the Government of Nagaland, Deputy Commissioner, government officials, social workers, NGOs, religious leaders and others including prominent medical doctors and the Nagaland Red Cross.

Also that day the Landmine Victims Association of India and IIPDEP member arranged the "Effects of Small Arms on Society" at Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. Parliament leader Mr. Shankar Pannu addressed the delegates including medical doctors, parliamentarians, policy makers, military, para-military, and NGOs. Small arms victims narrated their stories and hardships due to spreading of a gun culture in Punjab and ask the government to work fast to work to stop the menace of small arms and light weapons in the border states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

For 8 years IIPDEP has been working for Culture of Peace in Northeast India and pleading and requesting the NSAs (militants) groups to settle their differences through dialogue rather than by guns and violence. Due to their work the two most powerful NSAs, National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) and Kuki National Organization agreed and signed the Deed of Commitment banning use of anti-personnel mines. Some more NSAs will also sign in this year.

Making a difference on the ground in India .

IPPNW’s Dr. Balkrishna Kurvey, Coordinator of the Indian Campaign to Ban Landmines, and a leader of the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament & Environmental Protection, helped organize Making a Difference on the Ground - marches & a public rally of landmines survivors and others in Sri Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan (a landmines affected state) India, in February 2009. The events marked the 10th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty and were held during the global week of action on landmines. 128 landmine victims marched to raise awareness of the human suffering inflicted by these devastating weapons, and served a petition to local administrators and legislators that was also sent to national government leaders asking for physical and economic rehabilitation support for victims of landmines and cluster munitions, and strongly urged the government of India to sign the Mine Ban and Cluster Munitions Treaties to prevent more casualties and suffering. Over 150 states have signed the Mine Ban Treaty, and 96 the Cluster Munitions.

Session on Global Health held at Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran.

During the Students' International Conference on Biomedical and Interdisciplinary Research (SICOBAIR) in Tehran, Dr. Suheir Khajuria (on right), Leila Moein (in middle) and Fatemeh Bahmee(on left) coordinated a session on Global Health.

The session included descriptions of IPPNW's campaign Aiming for Prevention and the health effects and consequences of small arm injuries and violence. Fatemeh Bahmaee also gave a presentation on health effects of chemical weapons used during the Iran-Iraq war.

‘गाँधीवादी समाजवाद’

अयोध्या मसले पर जनमाध्यमों में आ रही सांप्रदायिक खबरों को राकने के
जर्नलिस्ट यूनियन फॉर सिविल सोसाइटी (जेयूसीएस) और मीडिया स्टडीज सेंटर
के अभियान के तहत हम फैजाबाद से निकलने वाले जनमोर्चा के पत्रकार रहे
कृष्ण प्रताप सिंह के लेख को प्रसारित कर रहे हैं। यह लेख उन पत्रकार
साथियों के लिए है जो उस दौरान अयोध्या में मीडिया की भूमिका को नहीं समझ
पाए या फिर उसके बाद पत्रकारिता की दुनिया में आए।

कृष्ण प्रताप सिंह -
यह एक संयोग (कायदे से दुर्योग) ही था कि उधर विश्वहिन्दू परिषद ने
अयोध्या को रणक्षेत्रा में बदलने के लिए दाँत किटकिटाए और इधर मेरे भीतर
सोये नन्हं पत्राकार ने आँखें मलनी शुरू कीं. जिस फैजाबाद जिले में
अयोध्या स्थित है उसके पूर्वांचल के एक अत्यन्त पिछड़े हुए गाँव से बेहद
गरीब बाप के दिये नैतिक व सामाजिक मूल्यों की गठरी सिर पर धरकर यह
पत्राकार चला तो उसका सामना विश्वहिन्दू परिषद द्वारा दाऊ दयाल खन्ना के
नेतृत्त्व में सीतामढ़ी से निकाली जा रही रथयात्रा से हुआ ‘आगे बढ़ो जोर से
बोलो, जन्म भूमि का ताला खोलो’ जैसे नारे लगाती आती यह यात्रा अन्ततः, आम
लोगों द्वारा अनसुनी के बीच, तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्राी श्रीमती इन्दिरा
गाँधी की हत्या से उफना उठे सहानुभूति के समन्दर में डूब गयी थी. और
डूबती भी क्यों नहीं, श्रीमती गाँधी ने अपने प्रधानमंत्री रहते इसकी बाबत
कोई टिप्पणी तक नहीं की. उन्हें मालूम था कि उनकी टिप्पणी से व्यर्थ ही
इस यात्रा का भाव बढ़ जायेगा. संघ परिवार इससे अति की हदतक निराश हुआ.

फिर तो इस परिवार की राजनीतिक फ्रंट भाजपा भी ‘गाँधीवादी समाजवाद’ के घाट
पर आत्महत्या करते-करते बची. लेकिन राजीव गाँधी के प्रधानमंत्राी काल में
इन दोनों ने ‘नया जीवन’ प्राप्त करने के लिए नये स्वांगों की शरण ली तो
असुरक्षा के शिकार प्रधानमंत्राी और उनके दून स्कूल के सलाहकार ऐसे
आतंकित हो गये कि उनको इन्हें मात देने का सिर्फ एक तरीका दिखा. वह यह कि
अपनी ओर से ताले खोलने का इंतजाम करके तथाकथित हिन्दू कार्ड छीनकर इन्हें
‘निरस्त्रा’ कर दिया जाये. फिर क्या था, मुख्यमंत्राी वीर बहादुर सिंह ने
इसके लिए अपनी सेवाएं प्रस्तुत कर दीं और इस बात को सिरे से भुला दिया
गया कि यों ताले खुलना विवाद का अन्त नहीं, नये सिरे से उनका प्रारम्भ
होगा. फिर तो उनमें से ऐसे-ऐसे जिन्न निकलने शुरू होंगे जिन्हें किसी भी
बोतल में बन्द करना सम्भव नहीं होगा.

विहिप और भाजपा को तो यों भी ताले खुलने से तुष्ट नहीं होना था. इसलिए
इन्होंने वही किया जो उन्हें करना चाहिए था. जैसे-जैसे राजीव गाँधी को
मिले जनादेश की चमक फीकी पड़ती गयी और वे राजनीतिक चक्रव्यूहों में घिरते
गये, ये रामजन्मभूमि पर भव्य मन्दिर के तथाकथित निर्माण के लिए अपनी
कवायदें तेज करती गयीं. यहाँ रुककर ‘रामजन्मभूमि’ का अयोध्या-फैजाबाद में
प्रचलित अर्थ जान लेना चाहिएः बाबरी नाम से जानी जानेवाली कई सौ साल
पुरानी एक मस्जिद, जिसमें (पुलिस में दर्ज रिर्पाट के अनुसार) 22/23
दिसम्बर 1949 की रात फैजाबाद के तत्कालीन जिलाधीश के के. नैयर और हिन्दू
सम्प्रदायिकतावादियों की मिलीभगत से जबर्दस्ती मूर्तियाँ स्थापित कर दी
गयी थीं और कह दिया गया था कि भगवान राम का प्राकट्य हो गया है. फिर यह
तर्क भी दिया जाने लगा था कि ऐसा करना किसी भी दृष्टि से अनुचित नहीं है
क्योंकि यह मस्जिद एक वक्त मन्दिर को तोड़कर निर्मित की गयी और गुलामी की
प्रतीक थी. बिना इस अर्थ को समझे पत्राकारों के वे विचलन दिखेंगे ही नहीं
जो ऐसे तर्कशास्त्रिायों की संगति ने उनमें पैदा किये. इस अर्थ की कसौटी
पर तो उनमें विचलन ही विचलन दिखायी देते हैं.

किस्सा कोताह, 1986 में ताले खुले और 1989 में राजीव गाँधी ने फिर
हिन्दूकार्ड छीनने की कोशिश में ‘वहीं’ यानी गुलामी की प्रतीक उसी मस्जिद
की जगह पर मन्दिर निर्माण के लिए शिलान्यास करा दिया. उनकी और
मुख्यमंत्री नारायण दत्त तिवारी की समझ यह बनी कि शिलान्यास से हिन्दू
फिर खुश होकर कांग्रेस के खेमे में आ जायेंगे. फिर ‘निर्माण’ रोक देने से
मुसलमान भी तुष्ट ही रहेंगे और कांग्रेस के दोनों हाथों में लड्डू हो
जायेंगे. तब शाहबानो और बोफोर्स मामलों में फसंत के बावजूद चुनाव वैतरणी
पार होने में दिक्कत नहीं होगी. मगर हुआ इसका ठीक उलटा. विहिप भाजपा ने
शिलान्यास को अपनी बढ़ती हुई ताकत से डरकर सरकार द्वारा मोर्चा छोड़ देने
के रूम में देखा और हर्षातिरेक में नये-नये दाँव पेचों की झड़ी लगा दी.
फिर तो लोकसभा चुनाव में राजीवगाँधी का अयोध्या आकर प्रचार शुरू करने व
रामराज्य लाने का वादा भी कुछ काम नहीं आया. 1989 के आम चुनाव में
कांग्रेस फैजाबाद लोकसभा सीट भी नहीं जीत सकी. आगे चलकर विश्वनाथ प्रताप
सिंह, मुलायम सिंह यादव और पी.वी. नरसिंहराव/ कल्याण सिंह के राज में
1990-92 में कैसे ‘अयोध्या खून से नहायी’, ‘सरयू का पानी लाल हुआ’ और
बाबरी मस्जिद इतिहास में समायी, यह अभी ताजा-ताजा इतिहास है.

हिन्दू कार्ड की छीना झपटी वाले इस इतिहास को वर्तमान के रूप में झेलना
और पत्राकारीय जीवन का अब तक का सबसे त्रासद अनुभव था. मोहभंग के कगार तक
ले जाने वाला. हालांकि इसके लिए मेरी नासमझी ही ज्यादा जिम्मेदार थी
जिसके झाँसे में आकर मैं मान बैठा था कि पत्राकार होना सचमुच वाच डाग आफ
पीपुल होना है. सच को सच की तरह समझने, कहने और पेश करने का हिमायती
होना, मोह लोभ राग-द्वेष और छल प्रपंच से दूर होना, देश व दुनिया की
बेहतरी के लिए बेड रूम से लेकर बाथरूम तक में सचेत रहना और जीवन में
नैतिक, व प्रगतिशील मूल्यों का आदती होना भी. मुझे तो यह सोचने मे भी
असुविधा होती थी कि कोई पत्राकार लोगों को स्थितियों और घटनाओं की
यथातथ्य जानकारी देने के बजाय किसी संकीर्ण साम्प्रदायिक या धार्मिक जमात
के हित में उन्हें गढ़ने व उनके उपकरण के रूप में काम करने की हद तक जा
सकता है. मुझे तो पत्राकारिता की दुनिया भली ही सिर्फ इसलिए लगती थी कि
यहाँ रहकर मैं जीवन के तमाम विद्रूपों का सार्थक प्रतिवाद कर सकता था.
पूछ सकता था कि दुनिया इतनी बेदिल है तो क्यों है, लाख कोशिशें करने पर
भी सँवरती क्यों नहीं है और कौन लोग हैं जो उसकी टेढ़ी चाल को सीधी नहीं
होने दे रहे हैं?

इसलिए विहिप भाजपा की कवायदों में धार्मिक साम्प्रदायिक, व्यावसायिक और
दूसरे न्यस्त स्वार्थों से पीड़ित पत्राकारों को लिप्त होते, उनके हिस्से
का आधा-अधूरा और असत्य से भी ज्यादा खतरनाक ‘सच’ बोलते-लिखते पाता तो
जैसे खुद से ही (उनसे पूछते का कोई अधिकार ही कहां था मेरे पास) पूछने
लगता: भारत जैसे बहुलवादी देश में कुछ लोग धर्म का नाम लेकर युयुत्सु
जमावड़े खड़े करने और लोकतंत्रा में प्राप्त सहूलियतों का इस्तेमाल उसे ही
ढहाने, बदनाम करने में करने लगे हों, न संविधान को बक्श रहे हों न ही
उसके मूल्यों को, दुर्भावनाओं को भावनाएं और असहिष्णुता को जीवन मूल्य
बनाकर पेश कर रहे हों तो क्या पत्राकारों को उनके प्रति सारी सीमाएं
तोड़कर सहिष्णु होना, उनकी पीठ ठोंकना, समर्थन व प्रोत्साहन करना चाहिए?
क्या ऐसा करना खुद पत्राकारों का दुर्भावना के खेल में शामिल होना नहीं
है?

दुख की बात है कि प्रतिरोध की शानदार परम्पराओं वाली हिन्दी पत्राकारिता
के अनेक ‘वारिस अयोध्या में दुर्भावनाओं के खेल में लगातार शामिल रहे
हैं? सो भी बिना किसी अपराधबोध के. उनकी ‘मुख्य धारा’ तो शुरुआती दिनांे
से ही इस आन्दोलन का अपने व्यावसायिक हितों के लिए इस्तेमाल करती और उसके
हाथों खुद भी इस्तेमाल होती रही है. 1990-92 में तो इन दोनों की परस्पर
निर्भरता इतनी बढ़ गयी थी कि लोग हिन्दी पत्राकारिता हिन्दू पत्राकारिता
कहने लगे थे. भय, भ्रम, दहशत, अफवाहों और अविश्वासों के प्रसार में अपने
‘हिन्दू भाइयों’ को कदम से कदम मिलाकर चलने वाले हिन्दू पत्राकारिता के
अलमबरदार चार अखबारोंµआज अमर उजाला, दैनिक जागरण और स्वतंत्रा भारत-की तो
भारतीय प्रेस परिषद ने इसके लिए कड़े शब्दों में निन्दा भी की मगर उन्हें
इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ा. ऐसा नहीं है कि प्रतिरोध के स्वर थे ही नहीं?
मगर वे नक्कारखाने में तूती की आवाज बनकर रह गये थे. एक वाकया याद आता
है: 1990 में विश्वनाथ प्रताप मुलायम के राज में दो नवम्बर को अयोध्या
खून से नहायी (जैसा कि हिन्दू पत्राकारिता ने लिखा) तो मैं फैजाबाद से ही
प्रकाशित दैनिक जनमोर्चा के सम्पादकीय विभाग में कार्यरत था जिसके चैक,
फैजाबाद स्थित कार्यालय में ही संवाद समितियों ने अपने कार्यालय बना रखे
थे. एक संवाद समिति ने कारसेवकों पर पुलिस फायरिंग होते ही मृतकों की
संख्या बढ़ा चढ़ाकर देनी शुरू कर दी तो दूसरी के मुख्यालय में ‘दौड़ में
पिछड़ जाने’ की आशंका व्याप्त हो गयी. वहाँ से उसके संवाददता को फोन पर
बुलाकर कैफियत तलब की गयी तो उसने चुटकी लेते हुए कहा ‘देखिए, फायरिंग
में जितने कारसेवक मारे गये हैं, उनकी ठीक-ठीक संख्या मैंने लिख दी है.
बाकी की को उस संवाद समिति ने कब और कैसे मार डाला, आप को भी पता है.
लेकिन कहें तो इसका मैं फिर से पता लगाऊँ. वैसे मृतकों की संख्या बढ़ाना
चाहते हैं तो प्लीज, एक काम कीजिए. बन्दूकें वगैरह भिजवा दीजिए. कुछ और
को मारकर मैं यह संख्या प्रतिद्वन्द्वी संवाद समिति से भी आगे कर दूँ.
लेकिन कार सेवक पाँच भरें और मैं पन्द्रह लिख दूँ, यह मुझसे नहीं होने
वाला’

दूसरी ओर से बिना कोई जवाब दिये फोन काट दिया गया. लेकिन आत्मसंयम का यह
बाँध ज्यादा देर तक नहीं टिका. मारे गये कारसेवकों की संख्या को बढ़ा
चढ़ाकर छापने की प्रतिद्वन्द्विता में पत्राकारों व अखबारों ने क्या-क्या
गुल खिलाये, इसे आज प्रायः सभी जानते हैं. आमलोगों में परम्परा से
विश्वास चला आता था कि अखबारों में आमतौर पर पन्द्रह मौतें हों तो पाँच
ही छपती हैं. कारसेवकों पर पुलिस फायरिंग ने इस भोले विश्वास को भी तोड़कर
रख दिया. पत्राकार खुद मौतें पैदा करने में लग गये. सच्ची नहीं तो झूठी
ही सही.

लखनऊ से प्रकाशित एक दैनिक ने तो, जो अब खुद को विश्व का सबसे ज्यादा पढ़ा
जाने वाला अखबार बताता है, गजब ही कर दिया. दो नवम्बर को अपराह्न उसने
अपने पाठकों के लिए जो स्पेशल सल्पिमेन्ट छापा उसमें मृत कारसेवकों की
संख्या कई गुनी कर दी और लाउडस्पीकरों से सजे वाहनों में लादकर चिल्ला
चिल्लाकर बेचा. मगर सुबह उसका जो संस्करण अयोध्या फैजाबाद आया उसमें मृतक
संख्या घटकर बत्तीस रह गयी थी. जानकार लोग मजाक में पूछते थे कि क्या शेष
मृतक रात को जिन्दा हो गये? बेचारे अखबार के पास यह तर्क भी नहीं था कि
अयोध्या बहुत दूर थी और हड़बड़ी में उसे गलत सूचनाओं पर भरोसा कर लेना पड़ा.
गोरखपुर से छप रहे एक मसाला व्यवसायी के दैनिक ने भी कुछ कम गजब नहीं
ढाया. उपसम्पादकों ने पहले पेज की फिल्म बनवायी तो पहली हेडिंग में 150
कारसेवकों के मारे जाने की खबर थी. सम्पादक जी ने उसमें एक और शून्य
बढ़वाकर 1500 करा दिया ताकि सबसे मसालेदार दिखें. वाराणसी के एक दैनिक से
इन पंक्तियों के लेखक की बात हुई. पूछा गयाµसच बताइए, कितने मरे होंगे.
मैंने बतायाµ30 अक्टूबर और दो नवम्बर दोनों दिनों के हड़बोंग में सोलह
जानें गयी हैं और यह बहुत दुखदायी है. उधर से कहा गया छोड़िए भी. हम तो
छाप रहे हैं सरयू लाल हो गयी खून से हजारों मरे. नहीं मरे तो हमारी बला
से! मैं फोन करने वाले को यह समझाने में विफल रहा कि सरकार को ठीक से
कटघरे में खड़ी करने के लिए फायरिंग में हुई जनहानि की वस्तुनिष्ठता व
सच्ची खबरें ज्यादा जरूरी हैं अफवाहें नहीं.

मारे गये कारसेवकों की वास्तविक संख्या का पता करने का फर्ज तो जैसे
पत्राकारों को याद ही नहीं रह गया था. कोई पूछेµकितने मरे? तो वे
प्रतिप्रश्न करते थेµहिन्दुओं की तरह जानना चाहते हैं कि मुसलमानों की या
फिर... और जो लोग ‘हिन्दुओं की तरह’ जानना चाहते थे, उनके लिए पत्राकारों
के पास ‘अतिरिक्त जानकारीयाँ भी थीं.µ ‘पुलिस ही गोलियाँ चलाती तो इतने
कारसेवक थोड़े मरते! पुलिस तो अन्दर-अन्दर अपने साथ ही थी. वह तो पुलिस की
वर्दी में मुन्नन खाँ के आदमियों ने फायरिंग की और जमकर की. फिर लाशों को
ट्रकों में भरकर सरयू में बहा दिया. मुसलमान पुलिस अफसरों व जवानों ने
इसमें उनका सहयोग किया.’ मुन्नन खाँ उन दिनों पूर्वी उत्तर प्रदेश में
समाजवादियों के मुलायम गुट के उभरते हुए नेता थे और उनकी बंग छवि के नाते
विहिप-भाजपा ने उनमें भी एक ‘मुस्लिम खलनायक’ ढूँढ़ निकाला था और हिन्दू
पत्राकार इसमें जी-जान लगाकर सहयोग कर रहे थे. उनको इस सच्चाई से कोई
मतलब नहीं था कि अयोध्या में उस दिन किसी मुस्लिम पुलिस अधिकारी की
तैनाती ही नहीं थी. फिर वह मुन्नन खाँ के कथित आदमियों को सहयोग क्या
करता? लेकिन कहा जाता है न कि झूठ के पाँव नहीं होते लेकिन पंख होते हैं.
इसीलिए तो कारसेवा समिति के प्रवक्ता वामदेव कह रहे थे कि दो नवम्बर की
फायरिंग में उनके बारह कारसेवक मारे गये हंै. और अखबार... कैसा विडम्बना
थी कि आन्दोलन का नेतृत्व करनेवाली संस्था अपनी जनहानि को ‘कम करके’ बता
रही थी. अखबारों की ‘सच्चाई’ पर भरोसा करने पर यही निष्कर्ष तो निकलेगा.
कोई चाहे तो यह निष्कर्ष भी निकाल ही सकता है कि ‘हिन्दू’ मानसिकता वाले
जिस पुलिस प्रशासन ने प्रदेश सरकार द्वारा आरोपित यातायात प्रतिबन्धों को
धता बताकर लाखों कारसेवकों को 30 अक्टूबर को शौर्य प्रदर्शन के लिए
अयोध्या में ‘प्रगट’ हो जाने दिया था, उसी ने मौका मिलते ही उन्हें
बेरहमी से भून डाला. पुलिस है न, उसने भून देने के लिए ही उन्हें वहाँ
इकट्ठा होने दिया था. लेकिन तब भारत तिब्बत सीमा पुलिस का ‘वह’ अधिकारी
सिर्फ इतनी-बात के लिए अखबारों के स्थानीय कार्यालयों का चक्कर क्यों काट
रहा था कि कहीं दो लाइन छप जाए कि उसकी कम्पनी गोली चलाने वालों में
शामिल नहीं थी, जिससे वह ‘लांछित’ होने से बच सके. पता नहीं वह बचा या
नहीं लेकिन ‘जो भी सच बोलेंगे मारे जायेंगे’ की इस स्थिति की सबसे ज्यादा
कीमत एकमात्रा दैनिक जनमोर्चा ने ही चुकायी. उसने मारे गये कारसवकों की
वास्तविक संख्या छाप दी. तो उग्र कारसेवक इतने नाराज हुए कि सम्पादक और
कार्यालय को निशाना बनाने के फेर में रहने लगे. इससे और तो और कई
‘हिन्दू’ पत्राकार भी खुश थे. वे कहते थे, ‘ये साले (जनमोर्चा वाले) पिट
जाएं तो ठीक ही है. हम सबको झूठा सिद्ध करने में लगे हैं. मुश्किल है कि
ये सब भी ससुरे हिन्दू ही हैं. वरना...और सारे प्रतिबन्धों को धता बताकर,
यथास्थिति बनाये रखने के अदालती आदेश के विरुद्ध, कारसेवा करने लाखों
कारसेवक उस दिन अचानक अयोध्या की धरती फोड़कर निकल आए तो इस ‘चमत्कार’ में
भी हिन्दू पत्राकारों का कुछ कम चमत्कार नहीं था. पत्राकार के तौर पर
मिले व्यक्तिगत और वाहन पासों को मनमाने तौर पर दुरुपयोग के लिए इन्होंने
कारसेवकों को सौंप दिया. कड़ी चैकसी के बीच जब अशोक सिंघल का अयोध्या
पहुँचना एक तरह से असम्भव हो गया तो दैनिक ‘स्वतंत्रा भारत’ (लखनऊ) के
सम्पादक राजनाथ सिंह उन्हें ‘प्रेस’ लिखी अपनी कार में छिपाकर ले आये. उन
दिनों पत्राकारों में ‘कारसेवक पत्राकारों’ की एक नयी श्रेणी ‘विकसित’ हो
गयी थी जो कारसवेक पहले थी और पत्राकार बाद में. ‘जनसत्ता’ के सलाहकार
सम्पादक प्रभाष जोशी तो बहुत दिनों तक अपने लखनऊ संवाददाता के लिए
‘जनसत्ता’ के ही अपने ‘कागदकारे’ में ‘कारसेवक पत्राकार’ शब्द इस्तेमाल
करते और इसकी पुष्टि करते रहे. जैसे कारसेवक पत्राकार थे वैसे ही कारसेवक
अफसर व कर्मचारी भी और ‘रामविरोधी’ पत्राकारों व नेताओं से निपटने को
लेकर इनमें अभूत पूर्व तालमेल था. बहुत कम लोगों को मालूम है कि अयोध्या
में बाबरी मस्जिद में मूर्तियाँ रखी जाने की तिथि पर जो ‘प्राकट्योत्सव’
होता है, उसकी बुनियाद भी स्थानीय दैनिक ‘नये लोग’ के दो सम्पादकोंµ
राधेश्याम शुक्ल और दिनेश माहेश्वरी ने रखी थी. राधेश्याम शुक्ल अब
हैदराबाद से प्रकाशित ‘स्वतंत्रा वार्ता’ दैनिक के सम्पादक हैं. ज्ञातव्य
है कि मन्दिर निर्माण के आन्दोलन की बुनियाद मोटे तौर पर यह हिन्दू
पत्राकारों द्वारा प्रायोजित प्राकट्योत्सव ही बना था.

लेकिन यह समझना नादानी के सिवाय कुछ नहीं होगा कि कारसेवक पत्राकारों की
जमात अचानक 90-92 में कहीं से आकर ठसक के साथ बैठ गयी और अपना ‘दायित्व’
निभाने लगी थी. कहते हैं कि 1977 में लालकृष्ण आडवाणी सूचना और
प्रधानमंत्राी बने तो उन्होंने अपने दैनिक कृपापात्रों को विभिन्न
अखबारों में उपकृत करा दिया था ताकि वक्त जरूरत वे काम आ सकें. बाबरी
मस्जिद के पक्षकारों को तो हमेशा ही शिकायत रही है कि विहिप से दोस्ताना
रवैया रखने वाले हिन्दी मीडिया ने भी उनको इन्साफ मिलने की राह रोक रखी
है. वे कहते हैं: (1) इस मामले में हिन्दी मीडिया ने पीड़ित पक्ष से
सहानुभूति की अपनी परम्परा 22/23 दिंसम्बर 1949 से ही छोड़ रखी है जब
मस्जिद में जबरन मूर्तियाँ रखी गयीं. पीड़ित हम हैं और यह मीडिया पीड़कों
के साथ है. (2) 1984 में विहिप ने सरकार पर मस्जिद के ताले खोलने का दबाव
बढ़ाने के लिए रथयात्रा शुरू की तो इस मीडिया ने उसे किसी जनाधिकार के लिए
‘जेनुइन’ यात्रा जैसा दर्जा दिया. हर चंन्द कोशिश की कि लोगों में यह बात
न जाए कि यह एक द्विपक्षी मामले को जो अदालत में विचारधीन है, और गैर
वाजिब तरीके से प्रभावित करने की कोशिश है. (3) एक फरवरी 1986 को ताले
खोले गये तो भी इस मीडिया ने यह कहकर भ्रम फैलाया कि राम जन्मभूमि में
लगे ताले खोल दिये गये. ताले तो विवादित मस्जिद में लगाये गये थे. जिसको
मीडिया बाद में शरारत ‘विवादित रामजन्मभूमिµ बाबरी मस्जिद’ कहने लगा और
अब सीधे ‘जन्मभूमि’ ही कहता है. (4) ताले खोलने के पीछे की साजिश कभी भी
इस मीडिया की दिलचस्पी का विषय नहीं रही. ताले दूसरे पक्ष को सुने बिना
हाईकोर्ट के आदेश की अवज्ञा करके खोले गये, मगर यह तथ्य मीडिया ने या तो
बताया नहीं या अनुकूलित करके बताया. (5) भूमि के एक टुकड़े पर स्वामित्व
के एक छोटे से मामले को विहिप ने धार्मिक आस्था के टकराव का मामला बनाना
शुरू किया तो भी इस मीडिया ने तनिक भी चिन्तित होने की जरूरत नहीं समझी.
(6) 1989 में विवादित भूमि पर राममन्दिर के शिलान्यास और 1990 में
कारसेवा का आन्दोलन विहिप भाजपा से ज्यादा इस मीडिया ने ही चलाया. इससे
पहले विहिप की ‘जनशक्ति’ का हाल यह था कि लोग उसके आयोजनों को कान ही
नहीं देते थे और उसे अयोध्या में लगनेवाले मेलों की भीड़ का इस्तेमाल करना
पड़ता था. (7) 1990 में इस मीडिया ने लोगों में खूब गुस्सा भड़काया कि
मुलायम सिंह यादव की सरकार ने अयोध्या के परिक्रमा और कार्तिक पूर्णिमा
के मेलों पर रोक लगा दी. मगर विहिप यों बरी कर दिया कि पूछा तक नहीं कि
क्यों उसने अपने संविधान व कानून विरोधी दुस्साहस के लिए इन मेलों का
वक्त ही बारम्बार चुना? (8) मुुख्यमंत्राी मुलायम सिंह यादव के इस बयान
का भी मीडिया ने जानबूझकर लोगों को भड़काने के लिए अनर्थकारी प्रचार किया
कि वे अदालती आदेश की अवज्ञा करके ‘बाबरी मस्जिद में परिन्दे को पर भी
नहीं मारने देंगे.’ जब 30 अक्टूबर 90 को कारसेवक मस्जिद के गुम्बदों पर
चढ़कर भगवा झंडा फहराने में सफल हो गये तो एक कार सेवक सम्पादक, (राजनाथ
सिंह, स्वतंत्रा भारत) आह्लादित होकर बोले ‘परिन्दा पर मार गया. परिन्दा
पर मार गया.’ (9) कई अखबारों ने जानबूझकर नवम्बर की फायरिंग में मृतकों
की संख्या बढ़ाकर छापने में एक दूजे से प्रतिद्वन्द्विता बरती. बाद में
गलत सिद्ध हुए तो मृतकों के फर्जी नाम पते भी छाप डाले. ऐसे लोगों को भी
फायरिंग में मरा हुआ बता दिया जो कभी अयोध्या गये नहीं और अभी भी जिन्दा
हैं. इनके लिए विहिप की प्रेस विज्ञप्तियाँ ही खबरें होती हैं जिसके बदले
में ये भाजपा द्वारा उपकृत होने की आशा रखते हैं. ऐसे कोई उपकृत चेहरे
राज्यसभा में भी दिखते हैं. (10) 1992 में जब कल्याण सिंह सरकार ने विहिप
और कारसेवकों को पूरी तरह अभय कर दिया कि उनके खिलाफ गोली नहीं चलायी
जायेगी तो उन्होंने सिर्फ बाबरी मस्जिद का ही ध्वंस नहीं किया. उन्होंने
23 अविवादित मस्जिदों को नुकसान पहुँचाया, कब्रें तोड़ीं और मुस्लमानों के
267 घर व दुकानें जला दीं. इतना ही नहीं, उन्होंने सत्राह लोगों की जानें
भी ले लीं. कजियाना मुहल्ले में एक बीमार मुस्लिम स्त्री को उन्होंने
उसकी रजाई समेत बाँधकर जला दिया और उसके उस विश्वास की भी रक्षा नहीं की
जो उसने उनमें जताया था. जब अन्य मुस्लमान अयोध्या से भाग रहे थे तो उसने
जाने से मना कर दिया और कहा था कि भला वे मुझको मारने क्यों आयेंगे. तब
कहर ऐसा बरपा हुआ था कि कोई छः हजार मुस्लमानों में से साढ़े चार हजार
अयोध्या छोड़कर भाग गये थे. अपवादों को छोड़कर किसी भी हिन्दी अखबार को
कारसेवकों के ये कुकृत्य नहीं दिखे . इनके लिए आज तक किसी को भी कोई सजा
नहीं मिली क्योंकि सरकार ने मुकदमा चलाने की ही जरूरत नहीं समझी. आज की
तारीख में कोई हिन्दी पत्राकार या अखबार इसे अपनी चिन्ताओं में शामिल
नहीं करता. (11) हिन्दी मीडिया इस मामले में मुस्लिमों को खलनायक बनाने
का एक भी मौका नहीं चूकता और इस तथ्य को कभी रेखांकित नहीं करता कि इस
विवाद के शुरू होने से लेकर अब तक मुस्लिम पक्ष की ओ से गैर कानूनी उपचार
की एक भी कोशिश नहीं की गयी है.

कई लोगों को उम्मीद थी कि छः दिसम्बर 1992 को कारसेवकों के हाथों अपने
कैमरे और हाथ पैर तुड़वा लेने के बाद ये पत्राकार खुद को थोड़ा बहुत अपराधी
महसूस करेंगे और आगे की रिपोर्टिंग में थोड़ा वस्तुनिष्ठ रवैया अपनायेंगे.
मगर अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी के राज में मार्च, 2002 में हुए विहिप के शिलादान
कार्यक्रम की रिपोर्टिंग ने इस उम्मीद को भी तोड़ दिया. विहिप भले ही इस
कार्यक्रम में 90-92 जैसी स्थितियाँ नहीं दोहरा सकी मगर मीडिया में 90-92
जैसी स्थिति पैदा ही हो गयी गयी. प्रामाणिक खबरें देने के बजाय यह मीडिया
फिर विहिप का काम आसान बनाने वाली कहानियाँ गढ़ने और प्रचारित प्रसारित
करने में एक दूजे से आगे बढ़ने के प्रयत्नों में लग गया. पत्राकारीय
मानदंडों को पहले जैसा ही रोंदते हुए. इस बार कारसेवक ‘रामसेवकों’ में
बदल गये थे. वे आने लगे तो रेलों में डिब्बों पर अनधिकृत रूप से कब्जा कर
यात्रियों को साम्प्रदायिक आधार पर तंग करने उनसे जबरिया जय श्रीराम के
नारे लगवाने और लगाने की स्थिति में मारपीटकर ट्रेन से नीचे फेंक देने
जैसी घटनाएं (जिनमें मौते भी हुईं) रुटीन हो गयीं. उन्होंने जगह-जगह
महिलाओं से बदलसलूकी भी की. लेकिन --
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