OPINION

Today marks the 100th anniversary of one the goriest episodes in human history and the darkest chapter of the British rule in India when an unarmed peaceful gathering of thousands of people was fired upon at Jallianwala Bagh on the instructions of General Reginald Dyer, leaving several hundreds dead and many more wounded.

It was Baisakhi on April 13, 1919, and the thousands who assembled, including children and women at Jallianwala Bagh, were apparently unaware of the restrictions imposed on such gatherings. Without any warning, the gathering was fired upon, which continued for 10 minutes and till the ammunition was exhausted.

The genocide shocked the entire world and marked a turning point in India’s freedom struggle by creating an upsurge of nationalist sentiments across the country. Deeply anguished by the British brutality, Gurudev Rabindranth Tagore addressed a letter to Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India, renouncing the Knighthood conferred upon him.

Elections in India, and the associated campaigns have several repercussions. The poll curry in this country is made of several and many a times unusual condiments. Thus, Battle of Lok Sabha’2019 has thrown many interesting contests and their allegorical interpretation.

One such interesting battle is being fought in the northern Bihar town of Begusarai. The polling in Begusarai would be in the fourth phase on April 29. Thus, the month-long political fisticuff is in the offing.

Bihar is a political state, its often stated. This point gets reiterated further from the fact that of all the contests being held across the 40 seats in the state, its Begusarai which has come to garner all the attention. Despite the state capital’s prestigious seat of Patna City having Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha and Modi government’s heavyweight minister Ravi Shankar Prasad being locked in a classic battle, it’s Begusarai which is garnering all the attention.

Begusarai’s script has an stimulating line-up. The motor-mouth Minister of Modi government, Giriraj Singh has “very reluctantly” entered the contest. While Giriraj belongs to a political party which claims to be largest not only in India but globally, his main opponent Kanhaiya Kumar, who is giving Giriraj a run for his money, belongs to Communist Party of India, which is on its deathbed having polled less than one percent votes nationally during the 2014 elections.

No political move in India is driven without a caste consideration. Similarly, no analysis of an initiative, administrative, social or political is complete without putting it through the prism of caste. Social scientists, known for their overt anti-BJP bias, have once again gone to town ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push, this time for appearing in ‘chowkidar avtar’ in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

 These social analysts chosen the oft repeated line of upper caste and backward caste divide. Identifying the rich with the upper castes, they have tried to paint the initiative as mocking at the Dalit and other backward caste communities. In their premise they have concluded that the poor lower castes have been reduced to playing doormats for the upper caste rich.

This is a faulty premise, coloured as is the world view of these scientists with their anti-Modi bias. A random survey of the security guards in the national Capital would show that nine of the 10 ‘chowkidars’ belong to the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. More telling is the further finding that if not more about seven out of these 10 ‘Chowkidars’ are either upper caste Rajput or Bhumihar or Brahmin and in some cases even Baniya and Kayastha.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has released its campaign song for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, which focusses on the statehood for the national Capital. This song makes amply clear that AAP supreme leader Mr Arvind Kejriwal has for now shelved his national aspirations and wants to focus just on Delhi. Given the abysmal performance of party in assembly polls in several states, Kejriwal knows that political survival is call of the hour.

In pursuance of this goal, Kejriwal has set an agenda which he hopes would make him reap rich political harvest. It is difficult to believe that Arvind Kejriwal, is asking for full statehood without understanding that its grant is only next to impossible.

He is making statehood into a sentimental issue, as he did in the case of the Jan Lokpal Bill during his earlier 49-day stint as the Chief Minister in 2013-14. He never implemented the promise of giving Delhi the public ombudsman. By raising the issue of statehood, Kejriwal is creating a counter to the anti-incumbency which his government may have generated in past four years.

The Congress led UPA Government from 2004 to 2014 ran a terrible Government. From 2014 to 2019, it was even a more terrible Opposition.  There are occasions in history where the nation speaks in one voice.  Politicians and leaders rise to the level of statesmanship. They rise above narrow partisan interest. Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s and the Jana Sangh’s support to the Government during the 1971 war is a case in point.

The terrorists attack at Pulwama on 14th February, 2019 was planned and hatched across the border.  Several Pakistani nationals were involved in it. Some have already been liquidated. There is enough evidence which points to this direction. It has been shared with Pakistan.

The attack generated a sense of revulsion against terrorists and its sponsors in India. The nation was determined that the blood of our martyred Jawans will continue to inspire us to eliminate terrorism.

The pre-emptive attack by our Air Force at Balakot across the border was intended to defend India’s sovereignty. It was a perfectly executed pinpointed operation.  No civilian or military installations were targeted – only terrorists were.