Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a roadshow, in support of BJP candidate Ved Prakash Gupta for the ongoing UP Assembly elections, in Ayodhya, Thursday, Feb.
This ‘chauka’ analogy has been used by other leaders earlier – today’s election spiel is invariably crafted in some IT backroom and passed on like a virus from leader to leader; teleprompter to teleprompter.
In the nearly eight years since 2014, the BJP systematically set out to achieve two central objectives: consistent aggregation and expansion of its media presence and the normalisation of its politics of hatred for the Muslim Other.
Election reportage, even by more independent entities, have never sufficiently reflected upon the fact that this UP election is taking place under the shadow of genocidal calls .
The Wire article, ‘UP Polls: Students, Political Parties Take On BJP With Puns, Hashtags, Memes and Spoofs’ , notes the regular use of “issues such as cow slaughter and ‘love jihad’” which are then shared through WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The BJP, incidentally, has several accounts on Instagram given its ambition to bag first-time voters and the youth segment in general.
The large number was itself unprecedented, making a mockery of the Supreme Court’s “rarest of rare” guideline for the award of capital punishment – but the celebratory manner with which the verdict was received was particularly bizarre and decidedly genocidal in intent.
Modi used it as a way of warning voters that voting in the Samajwadi Party would be a surefire invitation to terrorists to wreak havoc.
The hijab ban controversy roiling distant Karnataka was made to travel across half the length of the country at lightning speed to stir up the BJP campaign cauldron in UP.
Workers show saree printed with BJP slogans and portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, in Surat, Tuesday, Jan.
Once again both Modi and UP chief minister Adityanath, capitalised on the hijab issue, speaking time and again about how deeply they cared for the “freedom” of Muslim woman and how their rivals failed to do so because they didn’t want to alienate their Muslim “vote banks”.
Adityanath was so carried away by his alleged concern for Muslim woman that he even slipped in a repulsive anti-Muslim slur during an interview with Aaj Tak interlocutor, Anjana Om Kashyap.
In an interview to The Wire, Gregory Stanton, founding president of Genocide Watch, talks about the ten processes of genocide .
There are many concerned Indians who are witnessing with great trepidation their leaders pushing the country “down this horrific path of hate, fear and blood” .
It is shocking to learn that Bharat Biotech, instead of defending its record publicly, has taken recourse to defamation charges in order to silence The Wire through an ex-parte court order.
Many news organisations in India have had their brushes with such defamation bullies.
This, for instance, was a tweet from Praveen Gopal Krishnan: “The Wire’s coverage on Bharat Biotech has been an act of incredible, award-winning science-backed journalism.
This column has often argued that ordinary, and invariably silent, citizens of the country – who are sometimes referred to as constituting civil society – must speak out when conflicts like the hijab ban are deliberately created for political dividends.
One of the areas this group has turned its attention to is the nature of media coverage of the entire hijab issue.
Students talk to a police officer as they leave after not being allowed to enter the PU College while wearing Hijab, in Udupi, Wednesday, Feb.
It reported back that Abhinandan and Ajith Hanamakkanavar, the channel’s input editor and head, News and Programs, respectively, expressed regret over the conduct of their reporters and undertook to ensure that they will not resort to such offensive behaviour in future.
Aliya Assadi, a student petitioner filed a police complaint in Udipi district against an Asia Survarna News correspondent barging into her home, and an FIR has been filed against the reporter of Asianet Suvarna for breach of her privacy.
These developments flag the importance of civic response.
“The notice issued by the office of the dist judge, Huzur, to judicial officers and staff posted with them to clean a temple situated by the side of Circuit House, Buxur, as per the direction of the Chief Justice, Patna High Court has engaged the attention of all sensitive and right thinking people almost across India.
“You have attempted to defend a thoroughly illegal and unconstitutional action of the CJ, Patna by quoting a certain Tiwari, an employee of the court.
Unfortunately, the present CJ doesn’t seem to have any respect for any aspect of the Court and its administration.
“Can critics tell me why 30 per cent of the Indian population live below the poverty line even after 70 plus years of Independence, why our then leaders after winning freedom did not invest in building schools and colleges in every district with compulsory education for all, They should have built rail/road networks across India; built hospitals and medical colleges in every district; provided electricity to every part of India; focused on agriculture for food security.
‘How the Brahmin Conception of Leather as ‘Untouchable’ Segregated Dalits and Weakened India’ indicates you negative mindset and attempts to encourage people to hate Hindus.
What an inspiration to the world! We can beat neo-liberalism and demand our own future! With deep gratitude and respect I send you my new music video called ‘Move On’, greatly inspired by the farmers of India! It is linked below.