Rahul is the new Jinnah and Congress the new edition of the Muslim League which is laying the foundation stone of another partition of the nation. In the Uttar Pradesh elections, the Congress first used every trick in the book to win the elections, now they are leaving no stone unturned to sacrifice the country to serve their self-interests. First they sowed the seeds of fundamentalism in the Muslims of the country by offering them the sop of reservations, and then they sowed the seeds of hatred in them by falsifying the Batla House encounters, which resulted in solidifying the hatred that the Muslims already harbour towards judiciary and the police in their eyes. (Slight change mine. Now they are inculcating the same hatred and feelings towards the Hindu organisations that the Muslim League had done under Jinnah. It seems they are raring to go into taking the final step of annihilating the Hindus, for the moment, it seems they are only waiting for the final orders of some Congressman, someone like Digvijay Singh could easily issue those orders anytime. It will be difficult to stop another partition of the country after that.
The kind of rhetoric that the Crown Prince of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, indulged in, while addressing the Editors of the Urdu newspapers on January 27, were of the same tone and tenor that Jinnah used to portray prior to 1947. What Rahul said that day, is exactly what Jinnah used to say about the Congress. Jinnah used to hold Congress responsible for all the ills of the Muslim society, now Rahul has levelled the same allegations on the Sangha. Both of them first tried to prove that the Muslim society was backward and then held the Hindu society responsible for their backwardness and thereafter sowed the seeds of hatred in the minds of the Muslims for the Hindus. Now, if Rahul and Jinnah’s logic are the same, then the results should also be the same. It was well-known that even Jinnah wanted to use this logic only to meet his political ends and therefore when India was partitioned he had said that this was not what he had intended. This is what Rahul and his sycophants will say later. But the hatred that these people have sowed in the minds of the Muslims will result in separatism, the same separatism that came about after Jinnah’s poison had percolated in them.

Today, India is celebrating its 63rd Republic Day. It was today that the Constitution had been adopted. The constitution makers had proclaimed India, a republic, that is, a mechanism had been brought into being to govern the country and its masses. The preamble of the constitution mentions, “We the citizens of India…” the constitution makers did not want the Indians to be known by any other name. In their thought, India could become powerful, only when the people of the country looked upon themselves only as Indians. Caste, creed, language, province, colour would be secondary in front of the nation. But, unfortunately, in that same constitution, were made provisions to keep the idea of caste and creed alive. Though these provisions had a temporary status, because of political expediency, these provisions have now solidified, so much so that even if the constitution were to be discarded tomorrow, these provisions that can only bring about separatism would still stay. It is now a no-holds-barred race among all the political parties to outdo each other in offering more and more sops on the basis of caste and religion which can only lead to separatism. Earlier, it was said that no law can be against the basic structure of the constitution. Because of this, many laws were even changed. Now, it seems that if there is a law which does not conform to the basic structure of the constitution, the law will not be changed, however, the people at the helm of affairs will have no qualms in changing the constitution itself. (The Shah Bano case, Muslim Reservations or the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission) The people of India have been sliced in so many ways, that now they find calling themselves an India, a loss-making proposition. He seems to be profiting out of identifying himself with some state, linguistic group, caste or creed, this has now become his identity. It is quite possible that some people have benefited out of this arrangement, but at the end of the day, India seems to have lost out, because the people for whom the constitution was enacted now do not seem to be ‘only Indians’ as the constitution makers had envisaged and for which they had worked hard for so many years. Also seem to be losers, the freedom fighters, who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation or even Mahatma Gandhi, in whose name January 30 was declared as ‘Independence Day’ and under whose leadership, the masses of the country took a vow to liberate the country. Today the republic has become so meaningless that even the ones who give a thought for its betterment, are regularly punished for doing so. It was because of this crisis of identity that India was partitioned in 1947. Now some selfish interests are creating conditions for another partition of the country.
The meaning of republic, which is called ‘gan-tantra’ in Hindi, is that the ‘tantra’, ‘mechanism’ takes the right decisions according to the wish of the ‘gan’, that is the ‘people’. However, after independence, no one ever wished to know what the people’s wish was, leave alone, working according to their wishes. Therefore the ‘gan’ has now made itself irrelevant and even stopped expressing its wish. It has now come to be accepted that once the government has been chosen by the people, which gives the government every right to act in all sorts of arbitrary manner and that too in the name of the very people who elected it in the first place. One has to accept the wrongs of the government for five years. There were some instances, when the ‘gan’ did try to offer its suggestions to the government. Unfortunately, not only were these suggestions criminally neglected, but decisions that were completely opposite were taken in its place. Even if we forget the history of this and concentrate on the last year alone, the ‘gan’ tried to make its voice heard many times. It is very important to know what decisions the government took on the 63rd Republic Day. After the verdict of the Hon Judiciary on the Raam Janmabhoomi issue, many news channels and newspapers tried to find the views of the people on the verdict. If one was to find an average of the survey, it can be seen that 75%of the ‘gan’ wants that a Raam temple only should be built at the disputed site. But, the government seems to be standing with the people who want to make a mosque at the disputed site, instead of what the ‘gan’ wants. Every mouthpiece of the ‘gan’ is solidly behind a powerful ‘lokpal’, they think that this will curb corruption and corrupt politicians should be sent behind bars, however, today, the government seems to be standing firmly behind the corrupt and seems to be encouraging corruption. Similarly, in the case of Muslim reservation, Ranganath Mishra Commission, Afzal Guru Case, the government seems to be working against the wishes of the ‘gan’. It seems that this government does not work according to the wishes of the people, rather it is hell bent upon working against their wishes.
There were some mechanisms in the constitution to safeguard the interests of the ‘gan’. The Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, Judiciary, Central Vigilance Commission, Central Election Commission and apart from these, there were dozens of other provisions, by which the ‘gan’ and its importance could be safeguarded. Unfortunately, to sub serve their selfish interests, the politicians of the country either destroyed these institutions or devalued their importance to the extent that they became useless and ineffectual. Both the houses of the Parliament are no longer in a state where they could perform their functions with any credibility. Since Nehru’s times, the opposition has been threatened with complete subjugation by the majority. Now any decision that is taken is done with a view of the powers-that-be and the ‘gan’ has been relegated to the back burner. The role of the opposition is now limited either to making a walk-out or creating a ruckus in the houses. When the parliamentarians are bought and sold openly in the market, the ‘gan’ is shamed. The ‘gan’ of the country is made to see the loot of his own wealth at the hands of the politicians and yet there is nothing he can do about it. It does see a ray of hope emanating from the judiciary sometimes, but even here the ulterior motives of the politicians take precedence over the good. Long gestation periods of the judicial process has instilled a sense of defeatism in the masses. The judiciary has become so handicapped that more than 3 lakh cases are pending in the judiciary at the moment. To add to the woes, even the judiciary is now under scrutiny for corruption. The Election Commission has to work under the limits that are imposed on it by the legislature. Even the election commission’s powers have been devalued by making it a multi-member body. Everyone knows that kind of interference that the Central Vigilance Commission had to endure. The kind of corrupt act the government indulged in, in trying to instal a corrupt bureaucrat on the seat is too recent to be forgotten. All such constitutional posts are now standing on the verge of extinction. Disappointed with this, the ‘gan’ looked up to the media as it is called the fourth pillar of democracy. But, even the media seems to lack the mettle to take on the system. It does not show what is in the interests of the ‘gan’, rather it is busy showing what is in its own interests. After the Radia Tapes and the relations of the journalists with Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, the ISI agent, the belief of the credibility of the media has also taken a beating. This is a big blow on the credibility of the ‘gan’.

It is important that today on the Republic day, every intellectual of the country sits down to chart a path as to how the country can establish a true ‘gantantra’. This is not only important for the country and society but also for the leaders and the bureaucrats. When the society becomes restless, it can have far reaching repercussions on the country and the world is witnessing the consequences of the same. If the Indian ‘gan’ also takes recourse to those means, then it wont be in their (leaders and bureaucrats) interests either.

राहुल गांधी अब जिन्ना के नये अवतार बन कर सामने आये हैं और कांग्रेस मुस्लिम लीग का नया संस्करण बन कर देश के विभाजन की आधारशिला तैय्यार कर रही है। उत्तर प्रदेश के चुनावों में कान्ग्रेस ने पहले अपना सब कुछ दांव पर लगा दिया । अब वे देश को भी दांव पर लगा रहे हैं। पहले मुस्लिम आरक्षण का कार्ड खेलकर मुस्लिम समाज में कट्टरता को बढावा दिया, उसके बाद बटला मुठ्भेड को नकली करार देकर मुस्लिम समाज के मन में देश की पुलिस और न्यायपालिका के प्रति नफरत के बीज बोये गये। अब वे मुस्लिम समाज के मन में हिंदू समाज और हिंदू संगठनों के प्रति वही भाव भर  रहे हैं जो जिन्ना के नेतृत्व में मुस्लिम लीग नें भरे थे। अब केवल हिंदू समाज के विरोध में सीधी कार्यवाही कर उनके कत्ले आम का आह्वान करने की कसर रह गई है ,जो दिग्विजय सिंह जैसा कोई भी कांग्रेसी नेता कर सकता है। उसके बाद देश के एक और विभाजन को रोकना आसान नहीं होगा।

कांग्रेस के युवराज, राहुल गांधी ने २७ जनवरी को उर्दू अखबारों के  संपादकों को संबोधित करते हुए जो उदगार प्रकट किये ,वे उसी श्रेणी के थे जो १९४७ के पूर्व जिन्ना के हुआ करते थे। राहुल ने जो बात संघ के बारे में कही, जिन्ना वही बात कांग्रेस के बारे में कहा करते थे। मुस्लिम समाज की कथित दुरावस्था के लिये उस समय जिन्ना कांग्रेस को जिम्मेदार मानते थे। अब राहुल नें उनकी तथाकथित दुरावस्था के लिये संघ को जिम्मेदार घोषित किया है। इन दोनों ने पहले मुसलमानों को पिछडा घोषित करने के लिये तर्क गढे, फिर उसके लिये हिंदू समाज को जिम्मेदार ठहरा कर उसके प्रति नफरत के बीज बोये। जब जिन्ना और राहुल के  तर्क समान हैं तो उनका परिणाम भी समान ही होगा।  यह सभी जानते हैं कि जिन्ना भी इस खतरनाक  कुतर्क का केवल राजनीतिक उपयोग करना चाहते थे। भारत का विभाजन होने पर उसने कहा था कि उसने यह तो नहीं मांगा था। यही  बात राहुल और उसके चारण भाट कहेंगे। परन्तु इन दुष्टों नें मुस्लिम समाज के मन में अलगाव के जो बीज बो दिये हैं उसका परिणाम वही होगा जो जिन्ना के विषवमन का हुआ था।

आज भारत अपना ६३वां गणतंत्र दिवस मना रहा है। इस दिन भारत का संविधान लागू किया गया था । संविधान निर्माताओं नें  भारत को गणतंत्र घोषित किया था, अर्थात गण(समाज) के लिये बनाया गया तंत्र। गण की पहचान के लिये संविधान की भूमिका में स्पष्ट रूप से लिखा गया था,” हम जो भारत के नागरिक हैं….”  भारत के लोगों की कोई और पहचान संविधान निर्माता नहीं चाहते थे। उनके अनुसार भारत तभी सशक्त बन सकेगा जब भारत के लोगों की केवल एक पहचान होगी कि वे केवल भारतीय हैं।  पंथ, भाषा, प्रांत, जाति,वर्ण आदि व्यवथाएं उनकी भारतीयता के सामने गौण होंगी। परन्तु दुर्भाग्य से उसी संविधान में  अपनी पांथिक या जातिगत पहचान को बनाये रखने के लिये कुछ व्यवस्थाएं भी रखी गयीं। हालांकि उनको अस्थायी रूप दिया गया, परन्तु राजनीतिक स्वार्थों के चलते अब वे अस्थायी व्यवथाएं इतनी सशक्त हो गयीं हैं कि चाहे संविधान समाप्त हो जाये उन विभाजनकारी व्यवथाओं को कोई हाथ भी नहीं लगा सकता। उसके बाद तो सभी राजनीतिक दलों में होड लग गई है कि अपने वोट बैंकों को मजबूत करने के लिये वे कितनी अधिक विभाजनकारी व्यवस्थाओं का निर्माण कर सकते हैं। पहले कहा जाता था कि कोई भी कानून संविधान की मूल भावनाओं के विपरीत नहीं होगा। इस आधार पर कई कानून बदले भी गये। अब यदि कोई कानून संविधान विरोधी लगता है तो वह कानून नहीं बदलेगा, उसके लिये संविधान को बदला जा सकता है(शाहबानो प्रकरण, मुस्लिम आरक्षण मामला या रंगनाथ मिश्र आयोग की अनुशंसाओं को लागू करने का मामला)। अब भारत के लोगों को इस कदर बांट दिया        गया है कि अब उनको भारतीय के रूप में अपनी पहचान बताना घाटे का सौदा लगने लगा है। किसी पंथ, प्रांत, भाषा या वर्ण के साथ जुडकर उसे लाभ मिलने लगा है  और धीरे-धीरे वही अब उसकी पहचान बन गई है। इससे हो सकता है कि कुछ लोगों को लाभ मिलने लगा हो परन्तु घाटे में तो भारत ही रहा क्योंकि उसका “गण” तो लुप्त हो गया जिसको पाने के लिये संविधान निर्माताओं नें वर्षों तक मेहनत करके इस संविधान को बनाया। घाटे में तो वे स्वतंत्रता सेनानी रहे जिन्होंने इस गण को पाने के लिये अपना बलिदान दिया या वे महात्मा गांधी रहे जिनके नेतृत्व में २६ जनवरी १९३० को स्वतंत्रता दिवस मनाने का संकल्प लेकर देशवासियों ने बलिदान की परम्परा को आगे बढाया था। आज यह ” गण” इतना निरर्थक हो गया है कि इसकी चिंता करने वालों को भी दंडित किया जा रहा है। इस पहचान की अनुपस्थिती के कारण ही १९४७ में भारत का विभाजन हुआ था। अब कुछ स्वार्थी तत्व इस पहचान को भुलाकर भारत के कई और विभाजन कराने की तैय्यारी में जुटे हैं।

गणतंत्र का मतलब है कि गण की इच्छा के अनुसार तंत्र निर्णय ले। स्वतंत्रता के बाद गण की इच्छा जानने की कभी कोशिश नहीं की गई, उस पर पालन करने का  विचार तो  दूर की कौडी बन गया है। इसलिये” गण ” ने अपने आपको अप्रसांगिक मानकर अपनी राय बताना बंद कर दिया। यह माना जाने लगा कि एक बार जनता ने सरकार को चुन लिया तो उस सरकार को मनमानी करने का अधिकार मिल गया और उस पर तुर्रा यह कि वह ये मनमानियां जनता की इच्छा के नाम पर करेगी। वोट देकर पांच साल तक चुनी गई सरकार की मनमानी चुपचाप सहना जनता की मजबूरी बन गया था। कुछ  ऐसे भी अवसर आये जब भारत के “गण ” ने अपनी राय सरकारी तंत्र को बताई। दुर्भाग्य से न केवल इस राय की अपराधिक उपेक्षा की गई अपितु इस राय के विपरीत निर्णय लिये गये। पुराने इतिहास को अगर भुला भी दें तो पिछले १ वर्ष में” गण” ने कई बार अपनी राय बताई। उन विषयों पर सरकार ने क्या निर्णय लिये  ६३ वें गणतंत्र दिवस पर यह  जानना  बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। रामजन्मभूमि मामले में मा. न्यायालय के निर्णय के बाद अधिकांश समाचार पत्रों और टी.वी. चैनलों द्वारा  इस विषय पर जनता की राय जानी गयी। अगर सब रायों की औसत निकाली जाये तो ध्यान में आया था कि देश की ७५% जनता चाहती है कि रामजन्मभूमि पर मन्दिर ही निर्माण होना चाहिये। परन्तु सरकार “गण” की राय की उपेक्षा कर मस्जिद निर्माण करने वालों के साथ खडी हुई दिखाई दी। जनता की राय जानने वाले हर माध्यम का यह कहना है कि सशक्त लोकपाल व अन्य माध्यमों से भ्रष्टाचार पर रोक लगनी चाहिये और भ्रष्ट नेताओं पर सख्त कार्यवाही होनी चाहिये जबकि इसके ठीक विपरीत सरकार  भ्रष्ट नेताओं के साथ खडी होकर भ्रष्टाचार को संरक्षण देती हुई दिखाई दे रही है। इसी प्रकार मुस्लिम आरक्षण, रंगनाथ कमीशन, अफजल गुरू मामलों में सरकार जनता की राय के ठीक विपरीत काम करती  हुई दिखाई दे रही है। ऐसा लगता है कि यह तंत्र गण की इच्छा के अनुसार नहीं उसकी इच्छा का दमन करने के लिये काम करता है।

भारतीय संविधान में ” गण ” का स्वरूप और उसके महत्व को बनाये रखने के लिये कुछ व्यवस्थाओं का निर्माण किया गया था।  लोकसभा, राज्यसभा, न्यायपालिका, चुनाव आयोग, केन्द्रीय सतर्कता आयोग के अतिरिक्त ऐसी दर्जन भर व्यवस्थाओं को बनाया गया जिससे भारत के गण का स्वरूप और इसके अधिकारों की रक्षा की जा सके। दुर्भाग्य से देश के स्वार्थी राजनीतिकों नें अपने स्वार्थों के चलते इस व्यवथाओं  को या तो ध्वस्त कर दिया या इनका इस कदर अवमूल्यन कर दिया कि वे निष्प्रभावी और निरर्थक बन गये। संसद के दोनों सदन अब कोई सार्थक भूमिका निभाने की स्थिती में नहीं रहे हैं। नेहरू के समय से ही विपक्ष को अपने बहुमत से कुचलने की धमकी दी जाती थी। अब तो कोई भी निर्णय “गण” का हित देखकर नहीं, शासक दल के हितों को देखकर किया जाता है। विपक्ष की भूमिका केवल शोरमचाकर या संसद का बहिष्कार कर अपने कर्तव्य की इतिश्री करने तक सीमित रह गई है। सांसदों की खुले आम मंडी लगते देखकर गण कितना भी शर्मिंदा हो रहा है, इसकी चिंता किसी को नहीं है। गण तो अपने चुने हुए प्रतिनिधियों द्वारा अपनी ही संपत्ति को बडी ही बेशर्मी के साथ खुले आम लूटते हुए देखने के लिये मजबूर है। न्यायपालिका से उसे कई बार उम्मिदों की किरणे आती हुई दिखाई देती हैं।  परन्तु वह भी इन स्वार्थी लोगों के प्रभाव और षडयंत्रों से प्रभावित होने के लिये मजबूर है। लम्बी न्यायिक प्रक्रिया के कारण “गण” न्याय की उम्मीद खो बैठता है । जब कभी न्यायापालिका गण के साथ मजबूती से खडी दिखाई देती है , कार्यपालिका या विधायिका उसे अपनी औकात में रहने के लिये धमका देती है। न्यायपालिका को इतना पंगू बना दिया है कि अब ३ लाख से अधिक मामले विभिन्न अदालतों में लम्बित पडे हैं। अब तो न्यायपालिका भी भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपों से घिरी हुई है। चुनाव आयोग को उन सीमाओं में काम करना पडता है जो सरकार निर्धारित करती है। अब तो उन पर लगाम लगाने के लिये बहुसदस्यीय व्यव्स्था बनाकर उनकी स्वतंत्रता कम कर दी गई । केन्द्रीय सतर्कता आयोग के साथ किया गया खिलवाड अभी ताजा ही है । एक भ्रष्ट परन्तु सरकार के लिये सुविधाजनक नौकरशाह को इस पद पर बैठाने के लिये सरकार नें किस प्रकार बेशर्म आचरण किया था, यह आसानी से भुलाया नहीं जा सकता। ऐसी सभी संवैधानिक संस्थाएं आज विनाश के कगार पर खडी हैं।इन से निराश होकर गण मीडिया की ओर आशाभरी निगाहों से देखता है क्योंकि उसे लोकतंत्र का चतुर्थ स्तम्भ कहते हैं।वह भी आशा पर खरा उतरता दिखाई नहीं देता। वह वो नहीं दिखाता जो गण के हित में है । वह वही दिखाता है  जो उनके हित में है। राडिया प्रकरण  व आई. एस.आई. के एजेंट डा. गुलाम नबी फाई से इनके सम्बंधों के उजागर होने के बाद कई कथित बडे पत्रकारों की कलई खुल लेकर समाचार देने के मामले से इनकी विश्वसनीयता पर गहरी चोट पहुंची है।गण के विश्वास पर  यह  चोट  बहुत गहरी है।

आज आवश्यक्ता है कि इस गणतंत्र दिवस पर इस देश का हर प्रबुद्ध व्यक्ति इस बात पर विचार करे कि भारत में सही गणतंत्र की स्थापना कैसे की जा सकती है।  यह देश और समाज ही नहीं , राजनेताओं तथा नौकरशाहों के लिये भी जरूरी है। समाज में व्याप्त असंतोष  के क्या परिणाम हो सकते हैं, यह आज सम्पूर्ण विश्व अनुभव कर रहा है। भारत का समाज भी उस मार्ग पर चल पडेगा तो यह उनके हित में भी नहीं होगा।

The nation has been shamed by the verbal calisthenics that were on display both by the the central government and the Rajasthan government in collusion with Islamic fundamentalists to stop Salman Rushdie from participating in the Jaipur Literary festival. Rushdie has visited India 5-6 times in the last 10 years but never was the kind of ruckus created that was evident this time. It is clear that this has to do with the fact that this time his visit coincides with the upcoming elections in UP. All secular parties need to exploit the muslim vote bank in this UP elections. To entice the muslim voters of UP, the reservation card was played first, but when it seemed that it had not brought in the desired dividends, this more imaginative ploy of disallowing Rushdie from participating in the litfest was made with the help of Dar—Ul-Islam, Deoband. They were told to issue a fatwa against the visit of Rushdie. The episode that the muslim society had almost forgotten has now been stoked again so that the Islamic fundamentalism can rear its ugly head once again. By doing this, not only have they nurtured the terrorist face of Islam but also managed to portray India in the wrong light as a weak nation which cannot ensure the safety of a litterateur and gives in meekly to the terror tactics of fundamentalists.
First of all, the organisers were intimidated by a false alarm of terrorist strikes. When Rushdie questioned this, the Maharashtra and Rajasthan police conceded that there was no such threat. Now the way the Rajasthan government is unashamedly trying to wipe off the shame of what it has done, it is not only bringing a bad name to the state government but the whole nation is having to bear the brunt of it. The fundamentalists are now feeling encouraged and the hindu society is feeling conned. At a time like this, the Mumbai police has claimed to have solved the Mumbai blasts. The way only three people have been held responsible for the blasts, it is difficult to fathom if they have solved the case or are rather trying to hide the culprits. People have already started wondering why Digvijay Singh has not yet fired the name of any hIndu involved in the blast. He would be more into the good books of the muslims if he blames a Hindu organisation for the blasts. Both these incidents are intertwined with one another. This proves that the secular parties of the country can go to any extent to win over the muslim votes.
This incident also brings to the fore the two-tongued nature of the Indian intellectuals. It was these same people who had gone to town crying wolf when the notorious painter M F Hussain who had painted sleazy naked images of Mother India and Hindu goddesses did not come to India, then they had left no stone unturned in criticising the Hindu organisations, this, despite the fact, that no threat to his life was ever made and the Indian government was regularly asking him to come back to India. The Indian government was looking forward to taking back the cases that Hussain had been facing in the country. It is true that Husaain had fled the country only because he was scared of the Indian judiciary. Despite, there was no dearth of people shedding crocodile tears for him. But it seems that they have already shed every drop of tears and there is nothing left to shed for Rushdie. Paralysis seems to grip the proponents of ‘right to free speech’ when it comes to dealing with the Muslim and Christian fundamentalists, we now seem to have an answer to it actually. The illicit nexus of the these so-called intellectuals with the ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai is getting exposed. Have they sold their souls to these people to safeguard the interests of these terrorists and fundamentalists only for a few currency notes, one is at a loss to understand.