By Abhishek Pandey

Rahul Gandhi is the man of the series of Indian Political League (IPL) 2009. Congress performed well and stunned all in the political sphere, even its own people by its magnificent performance in this Lok Sabha elections. And, many political pundits believe that credit goes to Yuvraaj. It is said in media that it was Congress wave across the nation but no one can deny Rahul’s charismatic and innovative campaigning, which brought sweet fruits for the party. A Harvard and St. Stephens’ alma mater Rahul entered in the political arena in March 2004 by declaring to contest from Amethi. His performance is really appreciable with in the five years of his political career.

Rahul started his pan India journey to swung votes in favour of the congress and held maximum number of rallies during canvassing amounting to 106 rallies across the nation. Rahul did not leave any stone unturned and reached every nook and corner to impress every section of the people. He went to university campuses, attended Muslim, Hindu and Sikh worship places; and worked with the labourers under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Rajasthan. 

In the start of campaigning, political intellects believed that Rahul is a naïve and would be of no use for congress in the elections. Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were adorable for the Aam Aadmi. This love and affection for the dynasty turned in to votes and resulted in congress’ bravura victory in the elections over National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and other political fronts. But, love for the dynasty was not the only reason. Congress performed well in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) on its development plank.

Youth factor of Rahul worked nicely in the country with more than 200 electorates aged between 18-35. He proposed his idea in congress meetings to give more tickets to young leaders. The effect of this can be seen in the results. India have more young MPs like Rahul, Sachin Pilot, Naveen Jindal, Jiten Prasad, Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda, Sandeep Dikshit, Ahmad Hamdullah Sayeed, Mausam Noor, Nilesh Rane and Dr. Jyoti Mirdha.

It is expected that Rahul would propose few names to be included in the cabinet or at least for MoS (Minister for State) seats to encourage youths in the politics. But his youth magic was limited to the son and daughters of the politicians. Most of the youth candidates came from political families. It would be more motivating for the youths if he would have thought beyond political families. Whatever, youth factor paid well to Congress party.

Rahul Gandhi went from one village to another village in the far flung areas of UP and MP and dined Dal, Roti and Chatni with Dalits. Despite Mayawati’s claim that Rahul Gandhi washed his hands with a ‘special soap’ and took bath after visiting any Dalit family, Dalits turned in to support the party. Frankly speaking, I don’t know that how accurate she was about Rahul’s bathroom affairs. Her accusations did not seem to work in the state. State registered a swift of Dalit and Muslims votes towards Congress.

Rahul decided to go alone in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand after its allies offer them a few seats to contest in these states. Rahul’s political intuition was right and congress performed very well in Uttar Pradesh by doubling its figures. The fair weather friends of Congress had to repent for their mistake to not go with Congress. Lalu Prasad Yadav of Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) accepted his blunder after the declaration of the results. It was the victory of Rahul over the big political mascots.

Rahul gave some controversial statements including about Babri Mosque demolition and division of Pakistan. He said "if anyone from the Gandhi-Nehru family had been active in politics then, the Babri Masjid would not have fallen". His statement was offensive to many congress men and also demeaned then Prime Minister Narshima Rao. He came in to controversy when he ignorantly uttered politically incorrect statement on Pakistan division, “Gandhi family decides on something, it makes sure that is accomplished - whether it is throwing out the British, breaking up Pakistan or taking India into the 21st century.”

His statement about Pakistan’s braking up was unacceptable for many diplomats and also angered Bangladeshis. It raised eyebrows of political stalwarts with in and outside the congress.  His name was dragged in to a controversy of Sukanya Devi gang rape case on the unconfirmed articles on Internet. This was not confirmed by any main stream media or any government institutions.

His love affair with Spanish girlfriend Veronique, an architect whom he met in England, make us remember the clamour on her mothers’ foreign origin. Some website reported and also published the pictures of Rahul with, as called in media, Juanita, a Venezuelan or Colombian waitress. His educational profile was also doubted by some main stream media houses. He has proved his calibre and political competence by swinging votes in favour of United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Kuch bhi ho, Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar. 

Amidst the demands from his supporters to see him on higher profile in the party, Rahul was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007. He was also given charge of the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. Despite Manmohan Singh’s offer to any cabinet post for him, he chose to strengthen the party. This might be the indication that he is not interested in cabinet post or he has the aspiration to become the PM.

Rahul Gandhi is the ‘successor’ of political lineage of Gandhis. Since, Priyanka Gandhi has humbly refused to come in to active politics, at least not now. It is anticipated that Manmohan Singh would set aside after two or more years as PM, may be by citing health reasons, and Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister of India. 

|

By Abhishek Pandey

Speculations are over with the counting of votes. People of India have given the clear mandate for the stable government at the center by saying no to hung parliament. Indian National Congress (INC) has emerged as the largest single party. Congress has come back to power at center with the startling victory on 206 seats in the 15^th Lok Sabha elections.

After people’s verdict, many political and poll analyst dropped their jaws and their eyes widened to see the caricature of the next government drawn by the electorates.  Even, Congress party men and spoke person were not anticipating the victory on 206 seats by their party on its own. Congress has helped UPA to touch the tally of 262 seats and is very near to the magic number of 272 needed to form the government. This is the congress’s notable performance in last two decades since 1989.

BJP lost the elections in many states, even in its strongholds. BJP is limited to 116 seats in this General Election, which is less than its 2004 performance, 138 seats. BJP performed badly in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Right wing Party has gained little in Bihar, Karnataka and Gujarat, where they wee expecting a clean sweep. Though, its ally in Bihar, Janta Dal (United), has done a very good job by winning 20 seats out of 40 seats.

Not only BJP but its allies also performed poorly in many states except JD (U). Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) decreased from 8 to 4 seats. In Punjab, ‘weak prime minister’ tag to Manmohan Singh cost dearly to BJP and its ally SAD in Sikh dominated Punjab. Contradicting BJP’s view about a Sikh prime ministerial candidate Manmohan Singh, Indian National Congress secretary general Rahul Gandhi coined a term ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ for him which possibly swung the votes in the favour of the party in the state.

In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena and BJP alliance came down from 25 seats in 2004 to 20 seats in 2009.  Metropolitan cities Mumbai and Delhi was swept by Congress party, despite BJP’s strong Internet campaigning. BJP’s campaigning on the Internet to do ‘Obama’ in India was a failure because Internet penetration in India is just 5%. BJP did not think that most netizens would not go to vote in the scorching heat of April-May.

This is the victory of Rahul Gandhi. Aam Aadmi has accepted Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and possibly, Manmohan Singh as their leaders. BJP’s poll plank and the tag ‘weak PM’ gifted to Manmohan Singh proved to be a disaster for the party. Negative campaigning backfired BJP badly in the elections. They talked more about terrorism, failures of UPA government; black money in Swiss banks, Bofforse scam and Ram Temple instead of any development plans in the future. But nothing worked for them and party seemed to be confused on its agenda. Electorate also could not understand that what BJP would do for them after coming to power.

Youth factor of Rahul Gandhi worked for Congress in this lection. Rahul Gandhi’s canvassing in slums, villages and in tribal areas brought fruits for the grand old party. His canvassing and ability to mix up with the youths in the universities campuses and in his rallies worked well. Uttar Pradesh, which has given six prime ministers to the country, is known for caste based politics. But voters voted for congress and it shattered Mayawati’s dream to become the prime minister of the country. Dalits, who constituted approx 23% of the state population, get attracted in large numbers to the Congress. It seems that they have also fed up by seeing Mayawati’s statue and memorials on almost every cross-road and park.

Mayawati was expecting a big swell in her seat share in the state but congress maimed her party by attracting Muslims and Dalits to its court. Not going with Samajwadi party in the election helped Congress to increase its seat share from 9 in 2004 to 21 seats in 2009. Samajwadi party (SP), Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) repented for not going with Congress in the last general elections. Congress wave across the nation crushed the ambitions of many parties.

It was the wrong notion among the political intellects that Narendra Modi can swing votes any where in the country with his unbeatable vibrant Gujarat dream for every state. Actually, Narendra Modi’s charisma did not work in any pocket of the country. In Bihar, where he did not campaign because JD (U) did not want to annoy its Muslim voters, BJP and JD (U) performed well by winning 32 seats in comparison to 11 seats in 2004 elections. Modi proved to be ineffective in cowbelt also. Varun Gandhi, a new Hindutava face of the right wing party did not do any benefit to the saffron party, not even in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh was also hopeless for the BJP and party’s number dwindled from 25 seats in 2004 to 16 seats in 2009. They did not get the expected gain in Karnataka and Gujarat and gained marginally by one seat and touched the tally of 19 seats and 16 seats respectively. BJP got worst news from Rajasthan and came down to 4 seats from its 21 seats’ tally in 2004. Congress swept Uttarakhand by winning all the five states, where BJP is ruling in the state.

Congress and UPA have significantly improved their performance in many states. Congress have challenged the regional parties like Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Telgu Desham Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and Left parties in their strongholds. Congress with its allies has done a good job in West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Punjab, J&K and Maharashtra. Kerala and West Bengal results have threatened the red brigade. Trinmool congress (TC) won 19 seats in west Bengal. Congress restrained Left parties to a low score of 4 seats in Kerala.

Left parties and BJP conceded its victory and stated that they failed to convey their message to the electorates effectively. This election has brought many changes for many parties. LK Advani has been rejected as the prime minister of the country. BJP has to think about the acceptable candidate for the higher post in the party. Since, Advani is not in the mood to lead the party anymore. It is the right time for senior BJP leaders to replace him and choose someone else as the opposition leader of the party in the lower house. Left should also think about their stand on economical and development issues, which cause their defeat in their strongholds.

The election has also given a message to the next government that the people of India have shown their faith in stability by not giving fractured mandate. But, It is still uncertain that did they vote for the dynasty or for development? 

|

By Abhishek Pandey

Train to Delhi has started its journey and May 16 would reveal who would reach the parliament through which route. Uttar Pradesh has been always a major junction for all the trains which have reached Delhi. This trend is going to sever this time as there are more than four parties are sharing the big chunk of seats of UP in this general elections. And all of them are having different leanings. Elections for the world’s largest democracy have started and results would be out on May 16. Each and every big party is trying to get the maximum fuel to their engine to reach Delhi.  

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has started a pan India train journey through a special election express train to cover general elections. More than 50 reporters are filing the stories in 12 languages to BBC news service. So it’s a good start to cover a train journey through train. Train journey in India and India political ride are like roller coaster ride for the common people. This time, Train to Delhi would go through potholed tracks or reach their smoothly, no one knows. Because, there is not one but several deciding factors in the form of regional players have emerged. Whatever, government is likely to be a coalition government. And, it is quite difficult to handle for the driver and to appease all the travelers. 

Colotics (Coalition-politics) is really not cup of tea of even experts, this time. Many allies are breaking their bonds with their traditional alliance. Left has clearly stated that they will support the non-BJP and non-Congress government. Third front led by Left parties is also flexing its muscles and expecting that it would be able to woo other parties to their bandwagon. Lalu-Paswan-Mulayam has made another front within the UPA. BJD has broken 11 years long relations with the BJP led NDA.

Colotics is awfully fiddly this time. In recent times, power-shift to regional players has made the situation difficult. No one can take lamb and lion in the same coach of the same train. Bihar coach is a typical example of this trend. Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad can not board on the same coach. In UP, Mulayam and Mayawati can not get on the same train. In Tamilnadu, Jayalalita and Karunanidhi can not come together. Mamta Banerjee’s Trinmool Congress and CPI (M) are allergic to each other in West Bengal.

There are many parties which can not go with NDA o UPA because of the fear of losing vote bank. Samajwadi Party (SP) can not go with NDA and Akalis can not go with congress led UPA for the same reason of losing their traditional vote bank of a particular community. The trend is also true in the case of personal hostility with the individuals. UP chief minister Mayawati, who came to power by raising the issues of Dalits, marginalized sections and criminalization of politics, have given the tickets to crorepatis, turncoats and criminals. 

One of them Arun Kumar Shukla alias Anna Shukla, BSP candidate from Unnao, is the main accused of attack on her in state guest house in Lucknow in June 1995. The list does not stop here. It includes Mukhtar Ansari, Dhananjay Singh, DP Yadav, Kadir Rana, Rakesh Pandey, and Rizwan Zahir. All of them have serious criminal cases against them. Dhananjay Singh is allegedly behind the murder of Indian Justice Party Dalit candidate Bahadur Lal Sonekar, who was found hanging from a tree. She is not the only victim of this ill trend. All the parties have set the influential candidates to win the maximum number of seats and have say in post poll scenario.

NDA and UPA both alliances have declared their prime ministerial candidates but both are not sure of post-poll picture. It is possible that big parties may have to compromise with their ideological stance to form a government. The scenario would change its face when results are out. Political tantrums of the parties have started. Mulayam Singh is saying that he would support the government which would dismiss Mayawati’s government. Mamta Banerjee has said in the response of Rahul Gandhi’s comment on Left Support that she would not join hands with Congress if they welcome Left Parties in the UPA. The hunt for the allies is on for the NDA and UPA. Both the alliances are remaining their doors open for the allies. Everything seems uncertain. 

All the parties and big fish are waiting for the May 16. It is also sure after the alliance is decided to rule the country the war would start for choosing the right candidate for the driver of the train (Prime Minister). The power sharing would be decided on the basis of the seats won by the parties with in the coalition though both the major alliance NDA and UPA have declared their prime ministerial candidate.

At the time when all our neighbours including Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are facing menace of braking down, India needs a stable and decisive government. We must hope that train to Delhi would reach on time and there would be no separate compartments for the different class of people. All of us expect that Indians would enjoy the bump less journey for five years without halting on unknown junction. 

|

By Abhishek Pandey

Villupillai Prabhakaran started the violent movement against Sri Lankan government for demanding equal rights for the Tamilians in 1972 by founding LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). He would have not thought that his efforts would not bring any fruit for Tamilians. As we all know, LTTE is on the verge of dying. V. Prabhakaran, the chief of LTTE is trying to escape from the No Fire Zone (NFZ). A 30 year old war seems to be ending in Sri Lanka with the death of LTTE militants and thousands of civilians. If sources are to be believed then 300,000 Tamils are sandwiched between the LTTE and Sri Lankan Armed forces.

The matter of concern is that civilians are on the chopping bloc in the war between government and LTTE. Many innocent civilians are forced to live in the camps and many are starving and genocide is waiting to take place. Why, we Indians should care about it. Indian should care about them as it is happening in our neighbor country. Indians should care because it is inhuman atrocities. Sri Lankan Government is not in the mood to step back and also mocked on the call of LTTE’s demand of cease fire. It is expected that with in few days, the war against LTTE would be over.

According to the filtered news coming from Sri Lanka, the political headquarter of LTTE, Kilionchchi, is not in control of the organisation. And the organization has been limited to 8 square kilometer area or less. Anytime, the chief of LTTE can be arrested or killed. Indian supports the cause of LTTE but not the method. Even, the Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in suicide bomb attack orchestrated by LTTE, understands the problems of Tamils in Sri Lanka but she is against any type of killings.

The issues of Tamilians have been politicized in Tamilnadu to earn votes in the elections. Tamil Politicians love LTTE’s cause but not its methodology. But they have done nothing to negotiate with the LTTE or Sri Lankan government to solve the issue. As one saying in Hindi goes, ‘Saanp bhi mar jaye aur Lathi bhi na tute’ (Get the advantage without paying anything). It is true in the case of Tamil politicians. In this election also, Jayalaita, Muthuvel Karunanidhi and Vaiko have extended their support for the Tamil Cause through lip service and demanded for a ceasefire to save innocent Tamil Civilians in Sri Lanka from the army attacks.

A Website supporting Tamil cause, Tamil Guardian writes, it is often forgotten that the demand for an independent Tamil Eelam emerged and was democratically endorsed by the Tamils several years before the LTTE's first major attack. After the independence from the British Rule in Feb 4 1948, Sri Lanka - then known as Ceylon - had majority of Sinhala speaking people with more than 70% of population. But during the British rule Tamils, which constituted about 15% of the population were on most of the civil posts because of their command over English. After the independence Tamil speaking populace were deprived of their basic rights in the island. ‘Sinhala only’ act also caused a stir in the nation for implementing Singhalese as national and official language of the country. Many Tamil officials in the administration had to resign because of their unawareness to the Singhalese language. Tamilians can not forget the Galoya riots of 1956 when several Tamilians were killed by the Sinhala hoodlums.

According to an article ‘A struggle for Justice’ published by a LTTE publication in 1997, in the early sixties, many Tamilians adopted Gandhi’s Ahimsa formula to raise their voice against the state. The Sinhala Government crushed the non-violent peaceful campaigns of the Tamils by using military power. Article further explains that the event that broke the limits of the state oppression against the Tamils was the new Republican constitution of 1972 which was a deliberate attempt to legalize and institutionalize Sinhala chauvinism at the cost of alienating the minorities from the politics. And, this was the time when the political struggle of Tamilians took a u-turn and started violent movement under the umbrella of militant organisation named LTTE.

As the supporters of the Tamil cause say that the birth of the LTTE is the result of injustice with the minority Tamilians in the region. As the saying goes, One man’s terrorists is another man’s freedom fighter’ may be justified in this case also. Sri Lankan government and Indian government have banned LTTE for its terrorist activities.

Whatever, the way LTTE choose to bring peace for the Tamilians who are living in north-eastern provinces of the island has been proved a catastrophe for the common people. Thousands of them, including women and children, have been killed in the ending combat. Will this war would end with the arrest of Prabhakaran or demise of the LTTE. It is doubtable because any community or group can not be suppressed for long. Sri Lankan government must take this in consideration and should give the minority population a platform to raise their voice in the democracy. It is up to government that they don’t leave any stone unturned to give birth to any other Prabhakaran. Justice should be done to the Tamilians.

The death of LTTE is not the solution to bring peace among the Singhalese and Tamilians. It would erect a wall of hatred and divide the two groups unless justice is done to the both parties. Killing of the people can not be justified whether it is done by the Sri Lankan Army men or by the LTTE. The struggler for justice started by LTTE and then retaliated by Sri Lankan government has not done justice to common people and humanity. Justice must be done but with non-violent and democratic means. The end of the LTTE is not the end of the war in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan government must give fundamental rights to all the citizens of the country. If it is done then there would be no Prabhakaran in the coming future because the militants would not be supported by the common people by invoking ethnic sentiments. This is the right time to welcome the Tamilians in the Sri Lanka to the mainstream. This move would bring long-awaited peace in the region. Not only Indian government but also International community should interfere to stop the killings of innocent people.

|

By Abhishek Pandey

New media helped Barack Obama to be the president of United States of America. Now, it’s the time for Indian politicians and electorate to get the benefits of the digital media.

Information is the power and technology has enabled this power to be shared with the common people. And, Internet is one of the finest tools in the hands of the people these days. There are many websites which are encouraging electorates to use their voting power to decide the fate of the nation. Jaagore – one billion votes - is one of the initiatives. This website has Narayana Murthy, Chairmen Infosys Technologies ltd, Rakeysh Mehra, Film Maker, TS Krishna Murthy, former chief election commissioner and Tariq Ansari, MD Mid-Day Multimedia on the advisory board for expertise suggestions.

Voters from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Pune can search their names in the voter lists of their constituencies on its website. Website also clarifies voting related myths among the voters. ‘Jaagore’ website also gives details on eligibility of registration in voting lists, correction in the list and other important information. Electon commission websites also provides this facility to the voters of many states on state specific websites.

There is another website ‘Vote India’, which is started by bureaucrat turned political scientist, Dr JP Narayan. This website asks people to not vote for politicians with criminal background and encourages people to make their vote count in this general elections. There are many similar websites and blogs on cyberspace to encourage and inform people about the importance of ballot power. ‘Votedeindia’, ‘Mission Jagruti and ‘Vote to Change’ are some of the prominent initiative on the web to update and persuade people for voting in this election season.

This time technology is playing a wonderful role in campaigning and informing people. Technology has been used by the political parties, social activists and also by election commission of India for different purposes. Now, the days are gone when booth capturing and looting of ballot boxes in remote areas go unheard. This is the first time that the voice of normal voters from the far lung areas can reach to the masses. There is a very unique website called ‘Vote Report’ on Internet to inform people about the wrong doings in the election. This is a collaborative citizen-driven election monitoring platform for 15^th general elections.

Any citizen of India can report an incident related to general election on the website. ‘Vote Report’ accepts reports on different categories vary from forged voting, voter bribing, violence in elections, voting machine problems and other election related problems. Engage voters is another website with lot of interesting features. It is also having vote in and vote out widgets to scale the popularity of the leader in coming elections. Profiles of many eminent leaders are also can be accessed on the same website to judge their competence.

Many websites are specially designed to explain the election history of India including voters turn out from 1952 to 2004 and seats won by different political parties. If any electorate is interested to fin out the details, he/she can go to Indipepl.com. There is no dearth of information on any information and detailed information of contesting candidates, their agenda and for that matter, any thing related to elections are just a click away.

All the aforementioned initiatives are made to bring a 180 degree change in the national politics. We hope, Indian voters will turn out in large numbers this time. And every Indians should vote because their future would lie on their decision to push a particular button of an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Indian voters would decide the fate of the politicians in five phases from April 16 to May 13. Until the elections results are out on May 16, the outlook of the election result will keep haunting the politicians. Here, new media can hardly help them.

|

By Abhishek Pandey

Are children safe in this world from atrocities? The answer is no. They are not safe from sexual abuse from their neighbors, teachers, and even from their guardians in some cases.

Recent shocking news stories have painted the stark picture of the children conditions. A villainous Josef Fritzl of Australia kept his daughter hostage for 24 years in the basement of his house and fathered 7 children with her. It is one of the dreadful cases appeared in the newspapers in recent days. Traditionally, Indians believe that sexual abuse with the children is not our problem. These things exist in west but not in our country. This is a wrong notion altogether. This is because sex is considered a taboo in our society. Even in the families, it is not a worthy topic to be discussed among children. And we don’t know what is happening behind us with the children.

The atrocity against a daughter is also repeated in India in a slightly different form. Kishor Chauhan, a business man was arrested in Mumbai for raping his own daughter for nine years. He has been doing such a heinous crime when she was just 12 years old. His astrologer Hasmukh Rathod had suggested him to do so for getting richer quickly. The daughter opened her mouth when astrologer forced her younger sister also. The same kind of case appeared in the Singapore court few years back in which, a father was accused of raping her five teenaged daughters with the help of his multiple wives.

There are some incidents which have defeated even shame. A 2-year old girl was raped by her neigbour in one of the Mumbai suburban areas. In a similar case, a drunken father raped her four year old daughter in Delhi when no one was at home. A 14 year old girl was raped and strangled to death by her home tutor in Delhi. Teacher lured his student and killed after raping at his residence. A step-father of two girls used to rape his daughters in the absence of the mother. And, who can forget the Nithari killings of children? Nithari case was one of the worst reported cases of child abuse. These are the few examples of reported cases in the media. There could be thousand unheard cases in the society. There is no end to such terrible cases in our country.

The definition given by Ministry of women and child welfare in a report, Sexual abuse is inappropriate sexual behaviour with a child. It includes fondling a child's genitals, making the child fondle the adult's genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and sexual exploitation. To be considered ‘child abuse’, these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for the care of a child (for example a baby-sitter, a parent, or a daycare provider), or related to the child. If a stranger commits these acts, it would be considered sexual assault and handled solely by the police and criminal courts.

According to the 2007 report on child abuse tells that more than 53% children are sexually abused. And more than 70% children did not report the incident to any one. Report also reveals that 50% of the abusers were known to the child. Children are sexually abused by their neighbours, teachers, and relatives and now, even by parents in few cases. Where are children safe?

These atrocities with the children are not limited to particular social strata of the society. It is happening in low, middle and high class society. Children are vulnerable everywhere. Children often remain silent because of fear. Even if he/she speaks then it is not taken seriously or ignored to avoid ‘bad name’ to the family and child.

If the parents are silent then who would speak for the poor child? This moral question can annoy and worry any civilized person. Parents, especially mother, can not be silent on the issue of child abuse unless she is remorseless and heartless. Parents must encourage the children to speak to them for anything, they feel uncomfortable. And, if child trusts the parents to share his/her problem then parents must help him/her by extending positive support.

According to a report prepared by NDTV team of doctors, in the case of child abuse the physical force is rarely necessary because children, who seek for love and approval from elders, believe that they are always right and thus become vulnerable at the hands of such people.

Parents or guardians must be vigilant towards their children since there are certain general behaviour changes that may occur in children if they are experiencing such a problem.

The behavioural change may include sleep disturbances, withdrawal from usual activities, displaying sexual knowledge, unexplained pain, swelling, urinary infections and sexually transmitted diseases. An abused child may avoid to be left alone with a particular individual. A sexually abused child may feel different emotions like fear of the abuser or of being different; anger at other adults around her who did not protect her; isolation, sadness, guilt, confusion and shame.

Parents should be vigilant and must tell the child about the difference between the ‘safe touch’ and ‘unsafe touch’. If parents can teach them societal behaviour, manners and other necessary things so why not educate them about their safety. Individuals should also take initiative against child abuse. It does not matter that child is from your family or from your neigbour. It is the moral responsibility of every citizen to save the vulnerable children from the hands of perpetrators.

Government should also make a separate act to execute the convicts of child sexual abuse. In present context, child abuse cases are handled under various section of India penal code which are meant for adults like Section 376, and 377. The Offences against Children Bill, 2005, is a good initiative by the government. We should make all efforts to make the protective environment for the children. As the saying goes, children are the form of God on earth. So, it is the need of the hour to save the God on earth.

[Note: This article is not written to create unnecessary threat among the parents and guardians about the safety of their children. But this is to create awareness among parents to take better care of the children and save them from these heinous criminals around them in disguise of their closed relatives. The symptoms of the victim children have been taken from the authentic sources which are checked by professional doctors. Sometimes, these above symptoms could be because of other reasons also.]

|

By Abhishek Pandey

Politicians often shook our belief in democracy and secularism by making silly comments to gain attention or perhaps the prime goal, votes. The ongoing drama of Varun controversy is the recent example of this trend. Mr. Gandhi is not the first politician to make comments dipped in ‘hate-sauce’, which he claims are doctored in the compact disc (CD). Hate campaigning is the technique to come in the news headlines in recent times. And, our media fell prey to these techniques every time. Whether, it is Raj Thackeray calling shots against north Indians to become the messiah of Marathi ‘manus’ or it is Varun Gandhi abusing Muslims to make targeted electorate feel his political presence as aggressive ‘Hindutava’ face in the saffron party. Everything is done to elevate own stature in the cesspit called politics.

The whole India watched Varun Gandhi’s venomous statements against Muslims through video footages of his rally, which were repeatedly shown on the news channels. He was seen on the idiot-box saying, “This is not the ‘hand’ (of the Congress), this is the hand of the lotus. It will cut the throats of Muslims after the elections,” It is ironical that the son of animal right activist Maneka Gandhi is hurting the sentiments of the human beings. This incident is a slap on the face of his great-grandfather and first Indian Prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who fought for the formation of secular India unlike Pakistan, after several years of freedom struggle.

We may think that Varun Gandhi is a beginner in the politics and bound to commit stupid mistakes. But he is not an exception in the Indian politics. The List is long. Senior politicians have also made such statements. Former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said in Goa after post-Godhra Gujarat riots, “Wherever Muslims live, they don’t like to live in co-existence with others, they don’t like to mingle with others; and instead of propagating their ideas in a peaceful manner, they want to spread their faith by resorting to terror and threats.” Later, Mr Vajpayee justified that he was talking about extreme faction of Muslims and he meant ‘such’ Muslims in his speech, not Muslims in general.

In 2003, Praveen Togadia, General Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) committed the same mistake by ejecting hatred in the minds of the people against a community. Togadia reportedly said, “…Muslims, you are orphans, you are alone. You are being given the illusion that people are with you. The kind of abuse we had to suffer after Gujarat, both the BJP and the VHP. I issued a challenge to Sonia Gandhi publicly. There have been riots before also in Gujarat. I challenged Sonia Gandhi, saying that there must be one Congress worker at least in every village in Gujarat. Name a single village where during communal violence a Congress person has saved the life of Muslims. Ahsan Jaffri (former MP) was phoning all Congress workers desperately. How many Congress workers came to protect him? Not even one. Oh, Muslim brothers, if the Congress can give me the name of even five villages in Gujarat where congress workers saved Muslims or protected Muslims, I will give you the name of hundred villages where Congress workers have worked under the bhagwa jhandha (saffron flag) of the VHP.”

Ashok Singhal of same party was also reported saying in a rally in September 2002, “Godhra happened on February 27 and the next day, 50 lakh Hindus were on the streets. We were successful in our experiment of raising Hindu consciousness, which will be repeated all over the country now." The list does not end here. It also involves other politicians of different faith.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Imam of Jama Masjid reportedly expressed apprehension that the country may witness 1947-like agitation, if those arrested in the blasts case are not released. Mohammed Yaqoob Qureshi, Former UP Minister for Minority Welfare and Haj, announced on record that he would award 51 crore rupees to any person who behead the Danish cartoonist for making cartoon of Mohammad. The head of religious institutions and political parties are not supposed to utter these crap speeches which may lead to violent aggressions. Don’t they respect the Indian constitution?

Region, language and caste are also used for garnering votes. Balasaheb Thackeray, who was punished and barred from voting and contesting in the elections for six years, reportedly said in Shivsena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ after the Babri mosque demolition, “Muslims revolt in their own areas. They beat Hindus, demolish temples and attack the police. The government is appeasing these traitors. It is learnt that Pakistan has manufactured seven bombs. But the bomb that has been made in India with the blessings of Pakistan is more dangerous. Now Pakistan need not cross the borders for launching an attack on India. Twenty-five crore Muslims loyal to Pakistan will stage an insurrection. One of these seven bombs made by Pakistan lies hidden in Hindustan.” Bal Thackeray was also involved in campaigning against south Indians in sixties by raising slogans like “Bhagao Lungi Bajao Pungi (Chase out south Indians from Mumbai and blow bugles).”

Last year, Raj Thackeray also adopted the legacy of his cartoonist uncle Bal Thackeray to acquire votes by hate politics. Raj Thackeray commented on Biharis, ''Biharis should remember that if they abuse us, our hands will rise. We'll hit them every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner" Udhhav Thackrey also said that non-Maharashtrians would be “packed off” if they were given jobs in the mega project for modernisation of Mumbai airport. Though, Indian constitution allows any Indian to live anywhere in the country.

The bandwagon of these leaders also includes Narendra Modi, Imam of Jama Masjid Ahmed Bukhari, Yogi Adityanath, Mukhtar Ansari, Abu Azmi, Vinay Katiyar, and many more. The space is not enough in this article to mention the name of all champions of this trade.

Leaders, who command a significant supporter base, don’t understand that their comments can end in a bloody communal clash. India has stringent laws to shut the mouths of such communal zealots. India penal code has the different sections for executing the accused of causing social disharmony by his or her word or expression. Section 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, and section 505 of Indian Penal code prohibit any person to spread enmity or fear in the society and can put these fire-spewing politicians behind the bars. Though, most of these politicians are still amidst of us not in the jails. They were booked under these sections of IPC, but not punished. The case is pending in the courts or they have been acquitted because of lack of proper evidences. It seems that these politicians don’t give a damn to these laws.
Few sections of Representation of peoples (RPA) act, like 123a and 123B, restrain politicians to seek votes on the grounds of religion or caste. Remarkably, Bal Thackeray was debarred from the voting and contesting elections in 1999 by Bombay High court under Sections 123A and 123B of the RPA related to seeking votes on grounds of religion and spitting venom against one section of the Indian population.

‘Inheritance of hatred campaigns’ should be dumped in the dustbin by electorates in this general election. Voters should tell these factions of politicians, “You can not fool us any more and we are going to through you out from the ‘sacred’ parliament, this time’. Justice will take its course on the ‘right’ time but this would be the verdict of people for the people. We hope, it will dwindle the brigades of these politicians and no politician would dare to claim the ‘heritage of hatred’.

|