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Why do people love to hate?

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Bengal Riots

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ranjona Banerji

And once again, India is heading towards what journalists of old used to call a “communal tinderbox”. Sectarian hatred, which sadly simmers below the surface across pockets of India, has once again started to find violent expression. This expression is usually related to political patronage – some Hindus feel that majoritarian rule is the answer for India whenever the BJP is in power. And in Bengal, there are claims that Mamata Banerjee’s Muslim appeasement policy has given strength to Islamist feelings in some areas of Bengal. Kerala is also going through some churn between the CPM and the BJP and once again the accusation is that various Islamic groups have free rein there: Hatred growing on hatred to destroy us all.

It is convenient for us to get stuck in the politics of it. That as if, had politicians not existed or did not pit one cause against the other, we would have loved each other desperately. The politics of it allows us to escape from the reality: That there is hatred, there is fear, there is a sense of historical injustice and there is insecurity. Almost all of it is illogical and unreasonable, almost all of it stems from ignorance and bigotry and all of it makes a mockery of our humanity.

History will show us that there is no one answer, there is no easy answer. Anthropologists will point to ancient atavistic impulses. Archaeologists will find old bones with evidence of extreme violence. Sociologists and psychologists will examine chinks in our relationships with others and with ourselves. They will all be correct. There is hatred in us and it will continue.

Do upbringing and experience play a role? Yet there are people who have suffered after the Partition riots and have tried to build bridges and there are those who have suffered and become filled with thoughts of revenge. The way some soldiers who have seen fighting and death become pacifists and others become even more dogged about military solutions to a conflict over all other ones. Does education make a difference? Clearly it does not, when you consider the number of educated terrorists of all political hues. Does being religious make a difference? This is the most tragic of all human beliefs when you consider that most extremist behaviour is justified in the name of religion.

We can accept that this is how we are and move on. Let law and order take each individual case and let the human constructs of evidence and justice deal with the consequences of human iniquity. Small individual steps to offset our human flaws. But this does not work on any grand scale.

The only thing that will make a difference is if law is matched with societal determination. Look at how Germany has tackled its anti-Semitic past. It was not the only nation in Europe which has persecuted Jews. The word “pogrom”, used loosely today for rioting and ethnic cleansing, is a Russian word meaning to “wreak havoc, demolish violently”, was specifically used for attacks on Jews. Across Europe, Jews faced everything from social discrimination to outright violence. Every kind of justification and lie to persecute any minority group today was used then.

But what happened in Nazi Germany with the cruel genocide of 6 million Jews in concentration camps was so bad, so horrific, that it became too much for the collective conscience of the Germans and of much of the world. Germany more than any other nation follows a very strict policy when it comes to anti-Semitism because it is always aware of its past. No solution is perfect but this is the one solution which has stood out as a beacon of hope and so it must.

Racism has not found such an easy solution nor has gender equity. Here in India, apart from the anger with minority religions that some of the majority Hindus have, we have still not managed as a society to acknowledge the terrible damage done to our fellow humans by the strictures of caste. We still look for justifications for dehumanisation, against and above the law of the land.

There is no easy answer and as long as we don’t honestly search for some as a society, we shall continue to be victim to politicians, religious clerics and other vested interests, to those whose power flows from creating and fostering hatred amongst us. We have reached that crossroads yet again. The last time someone tried to appeal to our collective conscience, we killed him. There is no Mahatma Gandhi today. There is only us. And we don’t look pretty.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats

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Maharashtra Assembly election: Uddhav Thackeray expels 5 Sena members for not withdrawing nominations

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief on Tuesday expelled five rebel leaders for anti-party activities after they failed to withdraw nominations filed for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

The expelled leaders include Bhiwandi East MLA Rupesh Mhatre, Vishwas Nandekar, Chandrakant Ghugul, Sanjay Awari and Prasad Thackeray. Reportedly, 14 leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP had filed nominations, defying party command. 

Among those who withdrew their nominations by the Monday deadline was Congress’ Mukhtar Shaikh, who withdrew from the Kasba Peth assembly constituency in Pune and announced his support to the party’s official candidate Ravindra Dhangekar.

In addition, royal scion Madhurima Raje Chhatrapati’s withdrawal as Congress candidate from Kolhapur North minutes before the deadline left the party without representation in one of its western Maharashtra strongholds. Madhurima Raje was nominated in place of ex-corporator Rajesh Latkar after a party office was vandalised by those opposed to the latter.

Hemalata Patil from Nashik Central, Madhu Chavan from Byculla and Vishwanath Walvi from Nandurbar are among the seven Congress rebels who withdrew their nominations. Only two NCP(SP) rebels are in fray.

Furthermore, among those to withdraw from the electoral race was Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who has held on-and-off hunger strikes and protests to demand reservation for the community in education and jobs over the past year. The activist said that the Maratha community will decide on its own whom to defeat and whom to elect. He also announced he would support two candidates from Parvati and Daund in the state assembly polls, though he said their names will be disclosed later.

Following the withdrawal of nominations, around 4,140 candidates were left in the fray for 288 Maharashtra assembly seats, while 2,938 candidates withdrew their papers. The figure is a 28 per cent increase from the 3,239 candidates who fought the 2019 assembly polls.

This year, the Maharashtra Assembly election will see major regional parties NCP and Shiv Sena contesting after a split down the middle. The factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP have joined hands with the BJP to form the Mahayuti. The Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

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India News

Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary.

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Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies

The Centre on Tuesday has issued a notice to Wikipedia over multiple complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform. The government in its letter to Wikipedia highlighted that a small group of editors appears to have significant control over the contents, particularly influencing its neutrality. 

Reports said that the government also questioned why Wikipedia should not be classified as a publisher, rather than an intermediary. However, neither Wikipedia nor the government has issued an official statement on the matter so far. 

Wikipedia, popularly known as free online encyclopedia, allows volunteers to create and edit pages on a wide variety of topics, including people, issues and various fields of knowledge. This recent development follows two months after the Delhi High Court slammed Wikipedia and also warned it of a potential ban in India during a case filed by news agency ANI, which alleged that its Wikipedia page contained inaccuracies and defamatory content. 

In the last hearing, Justice Subramonium Prasad further observed that Wikipedia might not be entitled to defend the defamatory edits since it claims to be only an intermediary. The Delhi HIgh Court also questioned if Wikipedia is an intermediary, why is it bothered? It added that if somebody else has edited and that addition is without basis, then it comes down.

It further stated that Wikipedia is not here to protect the editors but is a mere wall. The court opined that it will only see whether the opinion given in the encyclopaedia does not depict the correct picture, as not true representation of the article. However, Wikipedia clarified that it was not defending the statements or edits made on Wikipedia’s page about ANI. It further sought to assist the court in the matter, particularly with regard to the architecture of the platform. 

Notably, Wikipedia has faced growing criticism for alleged bias and inaccuracies, especially amid the ongoing US presidential elections. Elon Musk, owner of X, has publicly accused Wikipedia of supporting far-left ideologies. He also urged the public to stop donating to Wikipedia, claiming it is controlled by far-left activists.

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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