The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea challenging the state's directive mandating the display of QR codes on all eateries along the kanwar yatra route, which reveal the names and identities of the owners.
A faculty member in the Hindi department, Jha has been invited to speak at a seminar, titled "The University Under a Global Authoritarian Turn", as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the India China Institute at The New School, New York, scheduled from April 23 to May 1.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said it was not going into the other issues over display of names of the hotel or dhaba owner and the QR code, Tuesday being the last day of the Kanwar Yatra.
The Opposition had dubbed the directives issued by the three states as divisive and discriminatory against Muslims, and the apex court's order effectively ensured that the Yatra was held without their orders being enforced.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday defended its directive requiring eateries along the kanwar yatra route to display the names of their owners and staff, saying the idea was to bring in transparency, avoid 'potential confusion' and ensure a peaceful yatra.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said it won't issue any clarification on the July 22 order as "We have said what needed to be said in our July 22 order. Can't force anyone to disclose names."
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.
The CBI has registered a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against human rights activist Harsh Mander and his NGO, and searched his premises on Friday, officials said.
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
For this dispensation, ideas are dangerous. Those who propagate liberalism and democratic traditions are even more dangerous, observes Rashme Sehgal.
They have been accused of asking anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters to go to 'any extreme', spreading discontent in the community by calling CAA/National Register of Citizens anti-Muslim, and organise demonstrations to 'malign the image of the Government of India'.
Dominic Xavier asks if Umar Khalid's arrest is part of a fresh campaign to crush all dissent against the Modi government
Hindu festivals are now becoming occasions when anti-Muslim hatred is expressed freely through slogans and songs that are full of abuse against Muslims or calls to either kill them or humiliate them, observes Apoorvanand.
'Why were they silent when over 128 temples and shrines including Shivlings were broken down at the time of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor?' a Varanasi resident asks Rashme Sehgal.
'Whatever is left of all institutions will also go away.'
'In India, the establishment not only endorses, but many a times instigates anti-Muslim hatred.'
The fight over FYUP is between a highly controversial decision taken during the United Progressive Alliance rule and how the National Democratic Alliance government perceives it and how it is determined to resolve it in its own way, reports Sheela Bhatt.
'I don't think there will be any problem for Hindus to accept Adityanath as the leader, since they have already chosen Modi.'
'A Muslim is lynched somewhere, and you forward the video of the lynching through WhatsApp.' 'So, you participate in that lynching without actually doing it. You endorse it without being a party to it.'
Yashwant Sinha's worry is actually not about the discourse being marred by the spurious communalism-secularism debate, it is in actuality, a fear of the BJP being devoured by Narendra Modi and consequently leaving mortals like Sinha lost in oblivion, says Apoorvanand
'The Hindu electorate is more or less in the BJP defined space now.'
A believing reporter is no reporter. He is a propagandist and an apologist. He also loses the right to write the first draft of history. Ashutosh may like to look back at the 13 heady days of Ramlila Maidan and review his book himself, says Apoorvanand.
'In his first speech in Parliament, Modi spoke about the slavery of 1,400 years, and though he didn't say in so many words, the meaning was that he had come to re-establish a Hindu Rashtra.'
Let us not create 1,500 or more institutions, which are world class but disconnected to the socio-cultural milieu, which houses them, says Apoorvanand.
This moment would be remembered as the lowest to which the collective intelligence of a people can descend to, says Apoorvanand
'By taking on the BJP, is Nitish rewriting the rules of identity politics, more sophisticated than his predecessor Lalu Yadav?'
Mobs are being unleashed on politicians. The element of spontaneity is being used by organised groups as an excuse to defend and rationalise these acts. It would really be sad day for Indian democracy if the parliamentarians fail to resist this onslaught, says Apoorvanand.
'If the judgment succeeds in nudging Hindus and Muslims to find a compromise ensuring peace, who am I to question it?'
Apoorvanand reflects on the element of inconsistency in the Indian judiciary, taking the case of activist Binayak Sen who was let off on bail on Friday by the Supreme Court months after he was sent to jail for a life term by the Raipur sessions court for colluding with Naxals
'The speeches of Modi in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Baghpat and the border areas of Bihar, overplaying the themes of terrorism, izzat of mothers and sisters, are to be read carefully to understand that he is trying to keep the fear of Muslims alive in the Hindu masses,' says Apoorvanand.
The JNU student leader said, "There is an atmosphere of fear in the country and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened."
'They must take the bull of conservatism within their own ranks by its horns as much as they need to speak out against the fallacies of the non-Hindutva (or 'Muslim-friendly') political forces as well,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
A time comes when the distance between words and meaning becomes unbridgeable. Or, words become shells, which hide the real intent of the speaker. To understand how language works in the case of a person like the present prime minister, you'll have to analyse the way language is practiced by the RSS, says Apoorvanand.
'The mobilisation is nothing but a political ploy -- a sort of a fixed match between Hindu and Muslim communal forces, towards polarisation, in a run-up to the next election,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
Apoorvanand pays tribute to much-loved and admired Hindi literary great who passed into the ages on Monday.
'The only narrative before India is what Modi and the BJP is presenting.' 'Nationalism has been taken as a serious plank by the BJP and RSS.' 'They want to keep the nationalism thing alive to make people forget the economic reality.'
'For Nitish Kumar the message is to be democratic. With the support of the BJP, he had suppressed criticism in Bihar. He would also need to change his highly authoritarian way of governance.' 'The Grand Alliance, given the decisive mandate in its favour, cannot afford to fail the people. They have a duty to make it a model for the rest of India,' says Apoorvanand.
Now that the Aam Aadmi Party has uploaded 'evidences' in the form of videos, it has sought to democratise the legal process as now the public can also judge. Do we find this method acceptable? Are you free to enact a trial online or publicly, placing, propagating, popularising 'evidence' to prove your point? We know that this 'evidence' may not stand in a court of law. But that does not worry the moral brigade known as the AAP, argues Apoorvanand.
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