The debate in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi led BJP government lasted three days. The debates were marked by incisive speeches by several members from the opposition and the treasury benches. Several blazing topics including the communal violence in Haryana and Manipur are raised by members.&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMm1Wz5F3yfLC5ljbkbUKf0fL6N8shWqP">here</a> to watch on YouTube.<ul style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:20px;orphans:2;padding:0px 0px 0px 20px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/live/y1VHXLv_4Pk?feature=share">Day 01</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/live/CCclkJFeXpw?feature=share">Day 02</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:17px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.8;list-style:disc;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtube.com/live/QWFKYZXifjI?feature=share">Day 03</a></li></ul>&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://ksfe.com"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/600x600_1024x1024_c712ed611e.jpg" alt="600x600-1024x1024.jpg"></a>

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The debate in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi led BJP government lasted three days. The debates were marked by incisive speeches by several members from the opposition and the treasury benches.

Discussion on No-Confidence Motion in Lok Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s blunders over the past week have set in motion a political churn that is pregnant with possibilities. First, recent developments have proved to be a boon for Rahul Gandhi in that it has established the scion of the Nehru dynasty as a leader in his own right. Secondly, it has brought together the Opposition forces like never before. And lastly, it has galvanised the Congress party. To sum up, recent developments indicate that change is in the air. Delhi’s political circles are abuzz with an energy seldom seen in recent times.Hemmed into a corner over the Adani issue, the BJP at first tried to tide over it with its trademark arrogance. But when that failed to dam the barrage of negative publicity and speculation around government-corporate nexus, the BJP decided to isolate Rahul Gandhi. The Narendra Modi-led government was already seething with anger over the success of Rahul Gandhi’s vibrant Bharat Jodo Yatra. Despite naysayers and a media blackout of the yatra, it showed Rahul Gandhi in a new and favourable light. His stamina and fitted white T-Shirt only added to his newfound charisma. Even a biased media that used to regale their audience by taking cheap potshots at Rahul Gandhi stopped calling him Pappu. Images of the man with just a T-Shirt under biting cold did not give them a chance to mock him.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/RG_in_parli_768x418_1_e23bedfe40.jpg" alt="RG-in-parli-768x418 (1).jpg"> Rahul Gandhi speaking inside Lok SabhaThreatened by Rahul Gandhi’s growing street cred [acceptance by the general public], the BJP tried to put him down by other means. The Delhi police reached his house to question him about his statement in Kashmir during the yatra about women “still being sexually assaulted” in that region. They apparently wanted to know the names and identities of the affected women so that they could take appropriate steps for their safety. Coming 45 days after the yatra ended, Congress leaders termed the police action as unprecedented, and said it was sheer harassment. Even leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, a direct political rival of the Congress in Delhi, had to concede that misusing probe agencies against Rahul Gandhi was wrong.Next came the conviction of Rahul Gandhi by the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Surat and his subsequent disqualification as a Lok Sabha member from Kerala’s Wayanad. The conviction is largely seen as one obtained under mysterious circumstances and the kind of sentence he has been given is perceived as peculiar. This has had an unintended impact as far as the BJP is concerned — that of uniting Opposition parties. In the direct aftermath of this, 14 political parties approached the Supreme Court with a petition alleging that agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were targeting only opponents of the BJP. Judges led by the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud took note of the submission of senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and listed the case for April 5. In Feburuary, the Chief Justice had described the basic structure of the Constitution, laid down by the Supreme Court in the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment, as the North Star that guided and given direction to the implementers of the Constitution when the way ahead was convoluted. This is being held by the detractors of the current regime as a metaphor for the current times and the kindling of a hope that the Supreme Court will act as a North Star when the time comes.The parties which filed the case in the Supreme Court include the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Janata Dal-United, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), the National Conference, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Left parties and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Each of these parties has had to face the wrath of the BJP in one way or the other. The fact that Arvind Kejriwal joined the Opposition ranks is significant as his former deputy Manish Sisodia was the latest victim in a growing list of Opposition leaders being intimidated, raided or harassed by central agencies.Stalin backs RahulLast week, in a closed door meeting at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin declared that he would stand up for Rahul Gandhi and invited the views of senior party leaders on his decision. According to a DMK insider, an overwhelming majority of the leaders vehemently supported his stand. Stalin warned them that if they take this position, they might have to face retaliatory action from the BJP and its government at the Centre _ fund cuts to the State, the ED and CBI raids against party leaders, and so on. But according to the senior DMK representative, the party leaders were firm that they would stand up and fight unmindful of the BJP’s aggressive response. This meeting reflects the determination that is spurring many Opposition parties to join ranks and stand together. There is a recognition that it is no longer a fight for electoral gains but one for saving India’s democracy.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/rg_stalin_768x384_c02d314cc9.jpeg" alt="rg-stalin-768x384.jpeg"> Rahul Gandhi with MK StalinDemocracy and political survival at stakeThere is also an all-round admission that the Surat judgment was biased and unfair. Political leaders have begun to feel that if this could happen to a leaders like Rahul, then anything can happen to anybody. Responses expressing solidarity with Rahul Gandhi have created a newfound camaraderie even amongst rivals at the regional level as there is a serious apprehension about the survival of the non-BJP political class. The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi is seen by the Opposition leadrs as a sign of the crisis of democracy. It is still unclear what will happen to Rahul’s appeal against the Surat judgment and whether he will be able to context election. But these have taken the back seat because of the fact that he has emerged as a big political force around whom various political parties are rallying.A weak caseAs far as the case is concerned, even lawyers who are not strong supporters of the Congress or Rahul Gandhi have raises eyebrows. Whether the petitioner in the Surat case, Gujarat BJP MLA and former Minister Purnesh Modi, satisfies the conditions of being the aggrieved person in the defamation case is not clear. His petition argued that Rahul’s statement on Modis was an act of defamation against the Other Backward Community. Purnesh Modi is neither an OBC nor was he the intended target of the remarks made by Rahul Gandhi during an election rally in Karnataka in 2019 wondering why all thieves have the surname Modi, “Why do all these thieves have Modi in their names? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. And if we search a bit more, perhaps many more such Modis will come out,” he had said.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/rahul_1_24b2cae3ed.jpg" alt="rahul (1).jpg">In a significant move, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD held meetings in Uttar Pradesh denouncing this charge. RJD leaders pointed out that it was preposterous to consider Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi as members of the OBC community.What has baffled the legal community is the fact that the petitioner himself had asked for a stay on the proceedings in March 2022. Some lawyers have pointed out that the case picked up momentuu only after Rahul started talking about a possible nexus between Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani in Parliament. Whatever the case may be, all these twists and turns are working to the advantage of Rahul and the Opposition. Rarely has a court order brought so much joy in the Opposition camp. It has also thrown the Adani issue into a fresh perspective. No matter how much the government wishes to move past the issue, the Adani scam has become a mainstream issue. Once Hindenburg Research broke the story around Adani, different media outlets have published stories that show Adani in a poor light. For instance, the latest story on the exposure of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s exposure to the Adani group shows that the Adani scam goes way beyond the stock market and affects the common man.The Adani scam has also put Indian corporate and political activities on the global scanner. International media is keeping a watchful eye on the goings on in India. Foreign perception may or may not play a role in domestic affairs but there is no denying that foreign media have begun to join the dots. Columnists working in big papers, including the New York Times, have been making connections between Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and his criticism of Narendra Modi. His disqualification from Parliament is being seen as a direct result of his warning abroad about India’s democracy being under threat.The BJP is in a bind. The only way it can wriggle out of it is by giving up the fight against the Congress. But it is too late now for any rethink. Any move to arrest Rahul is likely to lead to a mood of popular resistance reminiscent of the Emergency times. Nationalit arguments equating Adani with India are wearing thin. The narrative around this issue has reached a point of no return. Whether the momentum continues until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections remains to be seen. But there is no denying that the BJP is strengthening its main adversary at this point in time.<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">WhatsApp</a>

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The Bharatiya Janata Party’s blunders over the past week have set in motion a political churn that is pregnant with possibilities.

Rahul Disqualification : The blowback Puts BJP in a Bind and Galvanises the Opposition

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On September 9, 2022 the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique Kappan, a Malayali journalist who has been in jail for more than two years in a case filed against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in Uttar Pradesh.&nbsp; The bail has indeed brought a great relief to the journalist , his family and friends . However, if the signals emanating from the Uttar Pradesh government is anything to go by, there are some concerted moves to trap the journalist once again and push him back into prison .&nbsp;&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">On June 10, 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Siddique Kapan while he was traveling to Hathras to report a case of rape and murder.<figure class="image"><img alt="kappaan.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg 234w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_kappaan_601763cd1c.jpg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A clear indication of these moves had come up during&nbsp; the hearing on the bail petition itself, when the prosecution informed the Supreme Court that efforts are still progressing to find an approver against Siddique Kappan. Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who appeared for the prosecution, told the Supreme Court that this would be possible and a fresh trial would begin within two months. Beyond this blatant statement, the information The AIDEM gathered from administrative and legal sources in the Uttar Pradesh government points to continuing sly attempts to fix an ‘approver’ . The identity of this person is not yet clear.&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A significant number of&nbsp; observers point out that the very fact that the prosecution is looking for an approver is proof of&nbsp; the failure of the nearly two-year investigation&nbsp; against Kappan.&nbsp; It goes to prove that the Uttar Pradesh police couldn’t find any solid evidence against Kappan. Supreme Court Chief Justice U.U. Lalit also had pointed out this failure of the police while hearing the bail plea.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Commenting on this case, Thulasi K. Raj, a practising Supreme Court lawyer, said: “No court has convicted Kappan. It is doubtful how much evidence has been found in the investigation. That is why when the Chief Justice asked how far the investigation had progressed while considering the bail plea, the prosecution said they are still trying for an approver. Many questions have been raised against the police investigation. It is clear that despite investigating the case for almost two years, no evidence has been collected against Kappan. The charges against Kappan are hard to believe. The charge-sheet alleges that Kappan wrote in such a way that portrayed Muslims as victims and provoked them to violently protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. It is highly doubtful how true these allegations are.”<figure class="image"><img alt="WhatsApp-Image-2022-09-10-at-17.52.31-768x572.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 209w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_10_at_17_52_31_768x572_7ea8830c87.jpeg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Adv. Thulasi K Raj<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:justify;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the prosecution to produce an approver in cases. The approver must be a direct or an indirect participant in the crime or should have knowledge of the crime. The information provided by him should also help in the investigation of the case. Section 306 provides that at any stage of the inquiry or the trial, the magistrate may pardon the person who shares vital information and willfully turns approver. Only the court of a First-Class Judicial Magistrate has the power to admit a person as approver. The approver shall be kept in custody until the end of the trial, unless he is already on bail.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Despite the submission of&nbsp; charge-sheet that runs into over 5000 pages, the trial has not yet started. Siddique Kappan approached the Supreme Court after bail was denied earlier by the Mathura Trial Court and the Allahabad High Court.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:justify;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">NCRB data<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) , 7,714 cases had been registered in the country in the last eight years under the UAPA, which came into force in 1967. It was amended in 2019.&nbsp; In the same year, 1226 cases were registered under the Act, the highest number in any year. The NCRB report says that 814 cases were registered in 2021. The highest number of cases under the UAPA is in Jammu and Kashmir. The number was 289 last year: the figure for Kerala is 18. The NCRB data shows that, even though many cases were registered, only 523 of them reached the trial stage. If one includes the 2,384 pending cases of the previous year, a total of 2,907 case had reached the trial stage in 2021. Among them, the trial was completed only in 68 cases; of them 27 had been initiated in the previous years.&nbsp; As many as 39 cases had been disposed without trial. The court acquitted the accused in 39 cases. As of end-2021, 2,800 UAPA cases are still pending in the courts. The conviction rate in UAPA cases is 39.7 per cent and the pendency rate is 96.7 percent. That means, a large number of accused persons remain in detention without trial or as undertrials.<figure class="image"><img alt="WhatsApp-Image-2022-09-13-at-11.22.24-768x768.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 156w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2022_09_13_at_11_22_24_768x768_0dcafaca24.jpeg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Says Thulasi K. Raj:&nbsp; “Trials getting delayed is a problem. The trial in Kappan’s case has not even started. That is one common problem with our criminal justice system, especially when it comes to cases filed under laws like&nbsp; the UAPA. There is no problem for the police or special investigation agencies even if the investigation or the trial get delayed. It’s a fact that even the courts have not been able to put an end to the problem.”<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The figures show that more number of cases have been filed under the UAPA after the Narendra Modi government assumed office. The number of UAPA cases filed in the States are also increasing. Journalists, social activists and people from the Muslim community are the most haunted sections under the draconian law.<figure class="image"><img alt="SK-768x454.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_SK_768x454_55515dc265.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Endless prolongation of the cases and the trials violates the fundamental rights of those accused and detained. Siddique Kappan has been granted bail in the UAPA case, but he can be released only if he is granted bail in the money laundering&nbsp; case filed against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the Enforcement Directorate, which comes under the Union Ministry of Finance&nbsp;

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On September 9, 2022 the Supreme Court granted bail to Siddique Kappan, a Malayali journalist who has been in jail for more than two years in a case filed against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in Uttar Pradesh.  

Relief is elusive for Siddique Kappan as attempts are under way to ‘fix’ an approver to fix him

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The newly built Indian Parliament is starting it starting full fledged business from today, September 19, 2023. The day also marks the last sitting in the old Parliament built in 1927. The AIDEM follows this historical transition through this live coverage. &nbsp;<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Special Session in the new Parliament&nbsp;

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The newly built Indian Parliament is starting it starting full fledged business from today, September 19, 2023. 

The Hopes and Concerns as Indian Parliament moves to a New Building

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Renowned, award winning filmmaker Joshy Joseph, delves into his personal experiences in Manipur and thinks aloud on the idea of justice for the trouble torn region.

Idea of Justice to a journey for Justice at Imphal

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_6_770x470_6aebd7637a.png" alt="image-6-770x470.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_6_770x470_6aebd7637a.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_6_770x470_6aebd7637a.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_6_770x470_6aebd7637a.png 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">320, 400, 250, 270, 390. As our big electoral jamboree kicks in, everyone who claims to be someone is trotting out numbers, and it feels for me a lot like a Tambola table at a kitty party my aunt had in her home in Patiala in the 1980s. You randomly call up numbers based on who you’ve spoken with last. “Oh now that the Rashtriya Lok Dal in UP is with the BJP, the Jat votes are all going to go one way,” says someone and you do the math – UP – the ruling BJP will win 70 out of the 80 parliamentary seats. “Oh but I just spoke to XXX in Karnataka and you know, in all of the South, the BJP won’t cross 10.” And you subtract some.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_7_768x432_7e1436dcb4.png" alt="image-7-768x432.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_7_768x432_7e1436dcb4.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_image_7_768x432_7e1436dcb4.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_image_7_768x432_7e1436dcb4.png 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Thirty-odd years ago, calling an election was a new and fascinating discovery for most of us. We were enthralled by the idea of election forecasting with the academically poised, slow deliberations of the psephologist-economist Prannoy Roy and an animated, funny Vinod Dua to contrast that. Elections seemed to define that moment in time when people exercised their choice. It was post-the-emergency and a time when India was becoming a market economy. The word ‘choice’ started to mean many new things. The middle class discovered that they had a voice and they could use it to buy things that until now, they only saw the elite bringing back from abroad. Even plastic bags with Lufthansa on it were folded neatly and kept at the back of one’s cupboard with foreign things in it – pencils and erasers in the shape of robots and bunny rabbits that PEOPLE WHO WENT ABROAD brought as gifts.In 2024, you look around and the dullness of the election hits you like a dead ringer. There is no noise. There is no colour. There is no conversation around the political rallies. The usual screeching on TV PR shows is also passe. So now what? Now, nothing. And that’s what it looks like to me, sitting in a small town, provincial Uttar Pradesh, in the district Shamli, where I live and work. For the first time ever, I am studying this election as someone who’s a provincial-local and not a big-city reporter air-dropped into a place to make sense in one day and then hop to the next place.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2024_04_11_at_13_23_09_cc9e2f3daa.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp-Image-2024-04-11-at-13.23.09.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2024_04_11_at_13_23_09_cc9e2f3daa.jpeg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2024_04_11_at_13_23_09_cc9e2f3daa.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2024_04_11_at_13_23_09_cc9e2f3daa.jpeg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Whats_App_Image_2024_04_11_at_13_23_09_cc9e2f3daa.jpeg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">In 2019, the last general election, the place I am now a resident of, the Lok Sabha seat of Kairana, was the springboard for some fiery polarising speeches from our chief minister Yogi Adityanath. This time, my colleague Ashvani pointed to me that whatever has to be done is happening in WhatsApp forwards online. And in Uttar Pradesh, amongst us provincials, no one is excited at all. It feels like this is a game, set and match. The same government will come back and all of us minions waiting in lines at election booths or cynically studying things from behind our laptops really don’t count for much. I realised how much of a story this actually is, when I talked to other journalists in big cities who live in liberal bubbles and are still shocked by ten years of Modi and think this election isn’t a foregone conclusion.And I therefore have a lot to say. It’s a view that has come to me by having moved from the ever-diminishing bubble of Delhi to Shamli. It’s afforded me a new lens on power – how it gets made and unmade. Sometimes, it changes from one election to the next, as it did, surprisingly and unexpectedly when the Congress-led alliance won in 2004 when everyone expected it to be the BJP. But every election isn’t the same. Power doesn’t always transfer in five-year time spans because an electoral exercise is being carried out. And those of us who write about these things should be able to tell the difference.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2024_03_09_at_17_13_25_3a83dc3393.jpeg" alt="WhatsApp-Image-2024-03-09-at-17.13.25.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Whats_App_Image_2024_03_09_at_17_13_25_3a83dc3393.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Whats_App_Image_2024_03_09_at_17_13_25_3a83dc3393.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Whats_App_Image_2024_03_09_at_17_13_25_3a83dc3393.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Sometimes, when there is a creeping authoritarianism, it comes not from fixing the electronic voting machines but from the long-term vision and work done each day, by the machine seeking to shift power. Once in power, of course, it’s easier to magnify this every day into an avalanche via the paid media and messaging armies, via draconian laws and menacing cops and the retreating of dissent from the ordinary spaces that make people feel like they really don’t have any real power to do anything anymore. They see how the opposition is frozen into inaction by allied agencies working at the behest of the government.So now, power is no longer seen as residing in each person’s vote. This is the most effective way of making a democracy come apart. The disease is on the inside, like COVID. It doesn’t display itself in the official spaces and can’t be taken down there until it is first attacked similarly, at the cellular level.It’s like the independent think tank (based in Washington DC) <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.statecraft.co.in/article/85-indians-support-authoritarianism-pew-survey">Pew research study showed</a> us recently – that 85% of India wants an authoritarian at the helm. At the individual family unit, this has broken down in provincial India, decade upon decade into each family receding into feudal, patriarchal spaces with no room for dissent. Fewer people can look their fathers in the eye on an everyday basis. More and more people marry as their parents and grandparents wish. TV serials and movies have for quite some time, reflected these choices. And the BJP is most effective here. It is an ally of the patriarchs and the families lurching backwards in constant feudal aspiration, to make the bahus of the house polish more silver thalis and everyone paste five million perfect pictures on Holi of thalis with perfectly shaped Gujjiyas and Ganesh idols, tables set like hotels and homes homogenised into market conformity.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_23_344ba6b8b7.jpeg" alt="images-23.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_23_344ba6b8b7.jpeg 208w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_23_344ba6b8b7.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When dissent goes from here, how can it suddenly make an appearance in our national election, once in five years? What people want is their fathers telling them what to do, how good they are, how to invest, how to marry, what car to buy and at the apex – a father-figure demagogue who can take the pressure off them.No one expects a government to deliver. That’s not why they vote. Voting in 2024 isn’t about the delivery of goods or promises. Unlike 2014 which was about change and drama and a massive transition, and even unlike 2019 which was about a renewed fervour, this election is like a droll, soundless tic. Many may not even turn up. Those that go will be tunelessly pressing a button in support of the great patriarch not hoping for any big change but because, just, or as they say in the south (that is supposedly filled with dissent) – simply. For no reason at all.That is how a dictatorship works in the garb of a democracy. On auto-pilot. No expectations. Like many relationships and marriages of today. People coming home to a couch, a fan, a set of bodies, devices, and routines.There is however, reason to laugh, hope, even dance, despite this. Or that’s how I see it. It just requires us to look in different places and do different things. I take you back to the 1940s. Did you know that the RSS set up one of its first shakhas in states across the North East, from Assam to Meghalaya in that decade? So, what was one man, who positioned himself atop a lonely hill, on the Assam-Bangladesh border doing in 1946? Where did his hope come from? I’ll tell you. It didn’t come from an expectation of an electoral victory for the Jan Sangh (the BJP’s predecessor) any time soon. It came from the everyday. From wanting to build cadres one at a time, causing slow, very slow but deliberate structural shifts in power. It’s taken the RSS and its political face – the BJP almost a hundred years to cause a total shift.In a digital era, reversing this tide may not take that long. But it requires us to see where power lies and where it needs to be worked on. Not in a big fat election which is a foregone conclusion. Power will shift when we work on the everyday. We have to do the work of making people believe in other ideas. Give Ambedkar’s ideas legs to walk on. Show how equity and equality can be built by destabilising our middle-class lives and enclaves of existence where the privileged live amongst other privileged and no one is willing to get up, walk out and live amongst the under-privileged.Where are the brahmins waking up and saying, let’s go live amongst the Dalits and Muslims? That would be a shift towards a redistribution of power, resources, ideas, lived realities and it would make the urban liberal elite do what they say but don’t put into practise.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240411_WA_0084_3746075a78.jpg" alt="IMG-20240411-WA0084.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240411_WA_0084_3746075a78.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240411_WA_0084_3746075a78.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When and if we do decide to make those structural adjustments, I can tell you from first-hand experience, it’s a game changer. You can get people to co-habit. You can get Valmiki-hating Muslims to get past their prejudice and OBC Muslim-hating Hindus to celebrate Eid. Only when there is a masala mix of communities at the everyday level and dissent in our families, can we expect change at the apex.Power does not shift in regular electoral intervals unless the cellular, deep work in the every day is done. And that needs us to get up from where we are and go elsewhere. On that note, Eid Mubarak. Don’t wait for June 4. Get up and get moving. It’s positively liberating.Revati Laul is a journalist and activist and author of the non-fiction narrative, ‘The Anatomy of Hate,’ published by Westland books. She founded the NGO Sarfaroshi Foundation, based in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, where she lives and works.<hr>This article by Revati Laul was originally published on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://thewire.in/">The WIRE</a>. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://thewire.in/rights/those-who-think-2024-is-a-done-deal-must-know-power-doesnt-change-hands-merely-in-an-election">here</a> to read.</div></div>

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Those Who Think 2024 Is a Done Deal Must Know Power Doesn't Change Hands Merely in an Election

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">In this PollTalk senior journalists and political commentators Sheetal P Singh and Suvojit Bagchi focus on the polling trends in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal respectively in the fifth phase of polling, held on May 20, and point out field reports indicate a continuing decline in the BJP’s electoral fortunes. PollTalk anchored by Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM.

5th Phase Polling Too Signals BJP’s Steady Decline

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">TreIn this “PollTalk” Political Activist Yogendra Yadav analyses the polling trends in the five phases of the seven phased Lok Sabha elections and observes that BJP and its allies in the NDA would suffer significant losses in the seats where elections have been concluded. Yadav has been travelling across the country during these polls and points out that the BJP is bound to suffer losses in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Yadav also asserted that these losses would lead to a situation where the BJP will not have a majority on its own in the next Lok Sabha. Watch the full interview here.

BJP Will Not Get A Majority On Its Own: Yogendra Yadav

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A detailed multidisciplinary analysis of the 2024 election figures carried out by the ‘Vote For Democracy’, (VFD) a Maharashtra based collective of academics and social activists, has revealed shocking discrepancies in the polling and counting processes. The VFD’s 266 page report titled, ‘Conduct of Lok Sabha Elections 2024’, ‘Analysis of Vote Manipulation and Misconduct during Voting and Counting’ points out that the discrepancies in terms of tabulation and addition of votes as well as polling and counting are evident in as many as 538 seats out of the total 543.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The Report, prepared under the watchful eye and data expertise of retired IAS Officer and transparency activist, Shri. M.G Devasahayam and Dr. Pyara Lal Garg also pointed out that the victory of the BJP led NDA in as many as 79 seats across 15 States is directly related to the vote mismatch.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Here, academics Professor Sebastian Morris and Professor Harish Karnick, who were part of the team that carried out the analysis, join with writer and Social Activist Teesta Setalvad to discuss the salient points of the VFD Report. The full Report can be accessed <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://votefordemocracy.org.in/">here</a>.

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Vote Mismatch in 538 Seats, Reveals Detailed Multidisciplinary Analysis of 2024 Polls

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Will an Overreach Strategy Help Congress Revival in Uttar Pradesh? 

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<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg" alt="images-9.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_9_45ef5452cd.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">The following article is part of the Trailblazing Women of India series. A series presented by The AIDEM, exploring the lives and ideas of women who played a decisive role in shaping India’s social, political, and intellectual history.The AIDEM underscores the enduring contemporary relevance of revisiting the lives of these women leaders and the ideas they championed. Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://youtu.be/G_sxvcXO0tg">here</a> to watch the video.<hr>Picture this: It’s 1930. A 27-year-old woman stands before Mahatma Gandhi, telling him he’s making a historic mistake.Gandhi is planning the Salt March. His vision? Men march and women stand on street corners selling salt and singing songs.Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay says: No.“Women have stood shoulder to shoulder with men, building the Congress party. They deserve to march,” she insists.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:654px;" id="attachment_42087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42087"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyaya-Leading-a-Congress-march-in-the-early-1930s.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyaya_Leading_a_Congress_march_in_the_early_1930s_a72f010da1.jpg 491w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42087">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading a Congress march in the early 1930s</figcaption></figure>Gandhi concedes. But she’s not finished. “Issue a formal call to action.”“Why?” Gandhi asks. “Don’t you know your sisters?”Her response? Pure political genius: “Because history will record that YOU called them to participate.”&nbsp;History did record it. Women marched beside Gandhi, breaking salt laws. Kamaladevi became one of the first women arrested for civil disobedience. She auctioned “freedom salt” at the Bombay Stock Exchange for Rs. 501. On January 26, 1930, she clung to the Indian tricolour during a scuffle with authorities, refusing to let go.Who was this woman bold enough to challenge Gandhi?Born in 1903 in Mangalore, married at fourteen, widowed at sixteen. She remarried—scandalous. She divorced—one of India’s first civil divorces. In 1926, encouraged by Margaret Cousins, she became the first woman to contest a legislative office, losing by just 55 votes. In 1927, she founded the All India Women’s Conference as its organizing secretary.In 1936, she became a founding member of the Congress Socialist Party, working alongside Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. Yet when we celebrate Indian socialism, we remember only the men.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_42084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-Chattopadhyay.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_Chattopadhyay_aa0f5dde3b.jpg 113w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42084">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay</figcaption></figure>Her ideas were revolutionary. She connected capitalism, imperialism, and women’s subjection: “This imperial capitalist system encourages endless wars and expects women to produce children who become soldiers.” She challenged glorified motherhood itself.In the 1930s—decades before global women’s liberation—she championed bodily autonomy and birth control. Not for population control, but for women’s choice. She traveled to America, worked with Margaret Sanger, and in 1951 established India’s first family planning commission centered on women’s autonomy.She championed what we now refer as feminist economics, preceding the Feminist Care Ethics Debate by decades. She documented sexual division of labor, wage discrimination, and systematic underpayment of women workers in industrial and agricultural sectors—when labor movements barely acknowledged women as workers.Interestingly, she refused the label “feminist,” understanding that in her hostile patriarchal environment, strategic pragmatism mattered. But her ideas? Profoundly feminist.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg" alt="Kamaladevi-4.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kamaladevi_4_58727afc75.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">After Partition, heartbroken, she resettled 50,000 refugees from the North-West Frontier Province, helping create Faridabad—independent India’s crucial early industrial township. In 1948, she founded and led the Indian Cooperative Union for the rehabilitation of the refugees.Her greatest legacy? Reviving India’s dying crafts as economic empowerment. As chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board for twenty years, she understood that handicrafts meant livelihoods for millions, grassroots democratic participation, and India’s answer to exploitative industrialization.Her institutions still stand: Indian National Theatre established in 1944, which later became National School of Drama, All India Handicrafts Board established in 1952, Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953, Crafts Council of India in 1964, and Delhi’s Crafts Museum in 1967. She made Indian handicrafts a major export, serving as an Advisor to the World Craft Council and first President for the Asia-Pacific Region.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:555px;" id="attachment_42085" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42085"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg" alt="Leading-Their-Imperial-Highnesses-to-the-dias.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 216w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Leading_Their_Imperial_Highnesses_to_the_dias_60795d4aa2.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-42085">Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya leading their Imperial Highnesses to the dias</figcaption></figure>From UNESCO Awards to the Padma Vibhushan, her legacy endures in every artisan earning a dignified living today.Kamaladevi died in 1988, but her question echoes: What does freedom mean without bodily autonomy, economic independence, and cultural sovereignty?As you explore her work—and I hope you will—ask yourself: What would Kamaladevi be fighting for today?<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G_sxvcXO0tg" title="Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and the Idea of Cultural Sovereignty by Priyanka Jha | New Series | EP 02 " frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div>

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Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Woman who taught Gandhi a Lesson

<div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Shuruart Foundation has been using art to make education more joyful and effective since 2017. Does your child often draw the same thing again and again? Should parents be worried if this happens? In this episode of Child and Art: Myths &amp; Facts, we talk about why children repeat drawings and what it really tells us about their confidence and emotional growth. Learn how your positive feedback and encouragement can help your child express freely, think creatively, and build genuine self-confidence. Watch the video to learn more.</div></div>

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Same drawing again? Is that good or bad for your child’s growth?

<div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png" alt="Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Wearing_My_Face_Before_a_Media_that_Has_the_Power_to_Make_and_Unmake_4_optimized_100_f65d7f55f3.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><div class="post-featured-image" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px 0px 50px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">As advocates, our lives are consumed by briefs and arguments, leaving little room for leisure. For me, the finest pastime is research and writing, a legacy I proudly inherit from my late grandfather, Shri S.A.A. Rizvi, IAS (Retd.). He was a gold medallist and a remarkable scholar of his times. His example instilled in me the conviction that the pursuit of knowledge is not merely an adornment, but a discipline that enriches both profession and personality.</div><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">It was in this spirit that a casual exchange with my colleague Nadeem Murtaza at the High Court rekindled this passion. His query, whether I had ever heard of “Douglas” or “Kinnaird Hospital” of Lucknow was not a passing remark, but a spark that illuminated a forgotten chapter of Lucknow’s medical heritage. His mother, Zahida Auntie, had often spoken of it, pointing to the site near today’s Lari Cardiology Centre, where the geriatric and mental health departments of KGMU (King George Medical University) now stand. That conversation became the bridge between my inherited love for inquiry and the living memory of our city, compelling me to delve into archives and dissertations, and to uncover the remarkable story of a hospital that once stood shoulder to shoulder with Queen Mary and Lady Dufferin Hospitals in Lucknow.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:426px;" id="attachment_41918" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41918"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png" alt="Kinnaird-Memorial-Hospital-1-1-1024x666.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 240w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_Kinnaird_Memorial_Hospital_1_1_1024x666_2b0c4cee0d.png 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41918">Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital</figcaption></figure>The story begins in 1875, when Elizabeth Bielby, a nurse sent by the Zenana Mission Society, began her medical mission near Lucknow. Though beset by tragedy, her sister Alice died soon after arrival, and Bielby herself fell gravely ill, the mission still endured. By 1891, through the efforts of Dr. Grace Mackinnon, the Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital was established on government-granted land, named after Lady Kinnaird. She was a devout Presbyterian philanthropist remembered for founding the YWCA.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:416px;" id="attachment_41915" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41915"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg" alt="CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007-cropped1.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_CMS_CRL_IW_1899_08_0007_cropped1_7b434dba61.jpg 244w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41915">England Zenana Missionary Society</figcaption></figure>In 1910, Dr. Ethel Douglas took charge, and for the next 36 years she transformed the institution, expanding facilities, raising standards, and establishing training protocols that led to the North India Board of Examiners and State Registration Councils. Her dedication earned her the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in Gold in 1927, and government grants that enabled new wards and modern equipment. As Beth Bullock Spencer’s dissertation records, Douglas’s “extraordinary influence” kept the Lucknow hospital “overflowing,” even as she grappled with challenges ranging from reluctant purdah patients to the infamous monkey menace.“Even the veteran doctor Ethel Douglas struggled to find a solution to the monkey problem, for some of the local people regarded the monkeys as sacred; harming the monkeys was out of question. Douglas resorted to shouting and shaking her rifle at the monkeys, but with little effect.”Snakes, too, were a recurring hazard, and cultural beliefs often complicated medical practice. Patients observing purdah resisted operations, some postponed surgeries at the last minute deeming the hour “inauspicious,” while others consulted village elders who determinedhe hospital became a sanctuary for women’s health, normalizing dental extractions, eye surgeries, and maternity care in a city where traditional practices often prevailed.The British contribution to Lucknow’s health system was profound. Alongside Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital, the Lady Dufferin Hospital was established in 1889 under the Countess of Dufferin Fund to provide safe maternity care. Later, the Queen Mary’s Hospital arose in the early 20th century as a centre for women’s medical education. Together, these institutions marked the colonial effort to embed Western medicine into the city’s fabric, particularly for women and children. They were not merely hospitals but symbols of reform, philanthropy, and the gradual acceptance of modern medical practices in a society negotiating tradition and change.<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:396px;" id="attachment_41916" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41916"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg" alt="Lady_Dufferin_Hospital-_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing-768x432.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Lady_Dufferin_Hospital_Virabijee_Katrak_Maternity_Wing_768x432_4cbd6e4487.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41916">Lady Dufferin Hospital, Lucknow</figcaption></figure>By 1965, however, Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital succumbed to financial constraints and closed its doors. In 1971, the site was absorbed into King George Medical College, now popularly known as KGMU, housing its neurosurgical and mental health departments. Today, its memory lingers only in archives and recollections, overshadowed by its contemporaries. Yet, its legacy remains unique – a Christian missionary hospital that combined philanthropy, medical progress, and social reform. A place where doctors braved not only disease but monkeys, snakes, and cultural resistance to bring care to the women of Lucknow. An institution that has produced some of the world’s finest medical professionals, researchers and administrators. The pictures of these alumni are featured below.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:276px;" id="attachment_41910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41910"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_4_26ce212e58.png" alt="download-4.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_4_26ce212e58.png 235w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41910">Dr. BM Hedge – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:293px;" id="attachment_41911" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41911"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/download_5_c239ac1c62.png" alt="download-5.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_download_5_c239ac1c62.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41911">Dr. Sanduk Ruit – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:300px;" id="attachment_41912" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41912"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_d076bb83d3.png" alt="images-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_d076bb83d3.png 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41912">Dr. Naresh Trehan – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;width:211px;" id="attachment_41913" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-41913"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png" alt="images-1-1-300x300.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_1_300x300_b57c8c7015.png 156w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-41913">Dr. Anil Kohli – Alumni of KGMU</figcaption></figure>As I reflect upon this heritage, I am convinced that Lucknow’s medical history is incomplete without acknowledging the forgotten jewel that was Lady Kinnaird Memorial Hospital. Its story is not merely of bricks and mortar, but of pioneering women doctors, missionary zeal, and the evolution of healthcare in colonial and post-colonial India. Remembering it is essential to preserving the dignity of our city’s cultural and medical legacy.</div></div>

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