EDITORIAL: ANOTHER YEAR OF MODI AND BJP: HAVE THE “ACCHHE DIN” ARRIVED?
Vinod Mubayi and Raza Mir
Prime Minister Modi made many promises of “acchhe din” (good days) after gaining power but all he has shown so far is an acumen for keeping his political opposition divided and winning elections, gaining “acchhe din” no doubt for himself and his cohorts.
The public meanwhile has been treated to various “tamashas” (spectacles) such as demonetization which according to official economic data has resulted in a setback for the economy. The latest debacles of BJP rule include: (1) the tragedy in the pediatric hospital in Gorakhpur, the constituency of the Hindu fundamentalist BJP chief minister of UP, Adityanath, where more than 70 children died allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply and where a Muslim doctor hailed as a hero for saving lives is instead being targeted for his religious identity, and (2) the riots in Haryana (also ruled by BJP) that has led to 38 deaths after the godman of the Dera sect, strongly supported by BJP, was convicted of multiple counts of rape. According to news reports in Jantaka Reporter “there has been a phenomenal increase in the incidents of communal riots since Adityanath became the state’s chief minister in March this year.” In the first 100 days of Adityanath’s rule, the state recorded 2317 incidents of riots between 16 March and 31 May this year, an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the last year.
Among the other articles we carry in this issue, one exposes the perversion of language perpetrated by the Hindutva crowd, another points out the surprising release on bail of the alleged Hindutva terrorist, Col. Purohit, and another contains an interview with the Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani on a strategy to unite caste and class issues to oppose the Manuvadis.
Meanwhile, two recent judgments of India’s Supreme Court promise a little ray of light in the pervading gloom. A majority judgment ruled the utterly obnoxious and anti-Muslim women practice of “triple talaq” illegal. The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the right to privacy as a fundamental right turning aside the legal arguments of the Modi regime, which is trying to erect a “surveillance state” mandating use of the Aadhar card for all kinds of transactions and purposes. How this will play out in future remains to be seen.
The intrepid journalist Rana Ayyub, who exposed the dastardly crimes of the 2002 pogrom in Gujarat, is visiting Canada and we carry an account of her talks in Montreal and Vancouver.
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