Agnipath and bulldozer justice to history rewrite to celebrating Kalam and Narang

In its editorial on June 18, headlined “Agnipath tashaddud, kiya ab bhi bulldozer chalega? (Agnipath violence, will bulldozer roll this time too?)”, the Hyderabad-based Siasat writes that the youths’ countrywide protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme have led to widespread violence, destruction of public properties and torching of trains in several states, which have caused losses running into hundreds of crores. “These protests mark the country’s unemployed youths’ agitation as the Narendra Modi government is playing with their future by offering them a short-term contractual recruitment (in armed forces),” it states. The ensuing violence, it says, has sparked a question: “Will the government recover the damages caused to public properties in the wake of these anti-Agnipath protests?” It writes that in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Yogi Adityanath-led BJP, Muslims have paid a price for their every protests over crucial issues. “They (Muslims) have been arrested and sent to jails on grave charges, notices have been issued to them to recover damages, bulldozers are being used to raze their houses and shops…and virtually all BJP-ruled states have been targeting the minorities… Now that youths from all sections have hit the streets expressing their anger and frustration over unemployment and resorting to violence, the question is, will similar notices be issued against thousands of such youths and will they also be subjected to recovery proceedings,” it states. Asking whether the government will pay for the Agnipath stir-related damages, the edit says, “If not, then it will have to answer how could the same party have double standards for different sets of protesters,” adding that the government should remember that a protest is every citizen’s democratic right reflective of public concerns, although it has to be held within the legal and constitutional boundaries.

The daily on June 14, in an editorial headlined “Tareekh badalne ki baatein (Talks of reversing history)”, writes that the Modi government seems to be making attempts to change the country’s history. It says that in its first term, the government had “targeted” universities, made changes in textbooks and “distorted and bent” history as per its ideological requirements. “In the middle of its second term now, this government instead of focusing on efforts to boost development, strengthen the economy, generate jobs, raise the country’s global standing and preserve its historical and cultural heritage, is again talking about reversing history. Union Home Minister has said the country’s history has been written in a selective manner and so a new history will be written. This is just to impose a particular ideology on the country that must be opposed. The trajectory of India’s history over thousands of years has been periodically marked with glorious milestones acknowledged across the world. The country is dotted with monuments showcasing it on a global stage, and yet the government is talking about changing this history which is incomprehensible,” it states. Evidently, the edit says, the BJP and its affiliates have been in a denial mode vis-a-vis Muslim rulers, who had played a key role, especially the Mughals, in “scripting India’s golden history”. “It is also inscribed in history as to who had been at the forefront of the country’s freedom movement against the colonial British,” it says, asking the government to refrain from taking a bigoted approach towards history and instead “take measures for preservation of the country’s shining historical and cultural heritage”.

Inquilab

In its editorial tribute to Prof Gopi Chand Narang, headlined “Narang: Ek Charagh aur bujha (Narang: one more light has gone out)”, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab on June 17 writes that his demise has come at a time when the country’s alarming communal situation demanded that the Urdu language and literature as well as our “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture)” should continue to get the guidance of a towering writer and secular personality like Narang. His formidable literary and academic heft could be gauged from the point, it says, that no one dared to point fingers at him for being given Pakistan’s “Sitara-i-Imtiyaz (star of excellence)” award besides being conferred with India’s top civilian honours such as Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. It points out that Narang had been a distinguished ambassador of Urdu across the globe for five decades. It quotes Narang as saying that “One of the names of Urdu is also secularism…Urdu has set purposeful examples in this regard for centuries and kept a remarkable front against all kinds of narrow-mindedness and obscurantism.”

The daily says the entire Urdu world is today finding itself an orphan by the passing away of Narang. “This is a tough time for the Urdu language and literature that in a short span of time its leading lights like Gulzar Dehelvi, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Shamim Hanfi, and now Narang have departed,” it notes. Narang established himself as a literary theorist, scholar and critic through four dozen books. He also wrote on complex subjects related to linguistics, structuralism and stylistics, breaking them down for students of the Urdu literature, it says, highlighting that “Notably, Urdu was not Narang’s mother tongue, but the way he engaged with Urdu his entire life gave the impression as if both have chosen each other”.

Roznama Rashtriya Sahara

The Kolkata edition of Roznama Rashtriya Sahara on June 15, in an editorial “ED ki karwai Congress ke liye shar mein khair (ED’s action a blessing in disguise for Congress”, writes that the government has now “unleashed” the Enforcement Directorate to proceed on a 10-year-old complaint lodged by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and that the ED has been subjecting Rahul Gandhi to marathon questioning in a National Herald money laundering case. “This cannot be denied that the ED’s move at the behest of the government is an act of political vendetta, but it seems to have given a new lease of life to the Congress as the ED’s action has woken up the sleeping, shrinking party, whose leaders and workers hit the streets across the country in protest along with the members of the party’s frontal organisations,” the daily says, adding that several senior leaders even faced police high-handedness while being detained in Delhi. It points out that in the wake of a spate of debacles in elections, including the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many Assembly elections, analysts were proclaiming the Congress’s endgame maintaining that the faction-riven party is bereft of its public support base as well as leadership, even as some political pundits were invoking the BJP’s “Congress-free India”. The ED’s action against Rahul has however galvanised the Congress with even G-23 dissident leaders joining the street protests, the edit claims. “The ruling camp was of the view that the appearance of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi before the EC for their questioning will damage the Congress’s image… but it seems to have given an opportunity to the party to set aside its internal differences and press ahead unitedly.”

Urdu Times

The Mumbai-based Urdu Times on June 16, in an editorial on “Sadr bane ga kaun (Who will become the President)”, writes that in the run-up to the 16th Presidential poll scheduled for July 18 the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has taken the lead in the Opposition camp in holding meetings with leaders to decide the name of their Presidential candidate. Echoing the view of a major Opposition section, she also urged her NCP counterpart Sharad Pawar to become their Presidential nominee, which he turned down politely, it says. “Although Pawar is a very suitable candidate for the Presidential position, but his decision is right as Maharashtra and the NCP need his leadership. To keep Maharashtra strong and free from hate politics, keeping it on track of development and progress, and ensuring a peaceful atmosphere are his top priorities now,” it writes, adding that as an ace practitioner of politics “Pawar may agree to become the Prime Ministerial candidate but not a Presidential nominee”. “There has not been any President since A P J Abdul Kalam who stepped out of Rashtrapati Bhavan with just a few clothes and piles of books after demitting the highest office… The Muslim community should recall his contributions to the country. Rolling out a bulldozer is easy, but the development of missiles was done by a Muslim scientist who went on to become the President of India. Will there be a President like him?” the daily asks.