Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath used the term, ‘Modiji ki Sena’ very recently while commenting upon the achievement accomplished by the Indian army in hitting hard the terrorists’ camps inside the Pakistan territory.
However, in some respect, there seems to be no difference between Modi and Adityanath. And, that’s the main reason as to why Modi handpicked him to sit on the throne of Chief Minister-ship of Uttar Pradesh. It is beyond any doubt that both of them are majoritarians and majoritarianism is a progressive condition. The more it wins, the more feral it becomes. It must be kept in mind that they have produced a generation of cadres who have been taught to accept that murderous vigilantes should be lionised and felicitated. It is not hard to imagine where things went from here and would move on if the march is not thwarted with full might.
While expressing his valued views about the Congress government and comparing it with the BJP government, Chief Minister of U.P. boldly uttered that the former government proved to be rather weak whereas the present government run by Narendra Modi proved to be very strong. He justified his assertion by citing the example of Indian army’s attack on the terrorists’ camps well inside the Pakistan territory. He is reported to have said that ‘it is the Modi Sena’ which performed such chivalrous act. I wonder if calling ‘Modi Sena’ instead of Indian Army is not a sign of infected mentality and also a sort of denigrating the Indian army.
Our beloved Prime Minister never feels fatigued of making big talks about the valour of our army. There is nothing wrong in it. But to use the valour of Indian army for simply achieving political gains is totally wrong. It is also that he sometimes appears to have jumped over the limit of making false claims and exaggerations. A burning illustration can be given of his speaking of the ‘Rafale Jet’. He has continuously been saying that the necessary documents relating to this fighter jet are kept secret. How far this claim proved to be correct is known to all.
A report has appeared in the daily Telegraph of 11th April, 2019 which speaks as follows: “The first batch of pilots trained on the Rafale fighter jet for Qatar in November 2017 were Pakistani Exchange officers, a US-based aviation industry news website noted in a report that a Pakistani defence website highlighted on 10th April, 2019. It is to be noted that some social media users contrasted the February report in www.ainonline.com – which, if verified, would mean Pakistani pilots were flying Rafales well before the IAF has even got its first jet from Dassault – with the Indian government’s insistence on secrecy on the Rafale deal.”
However, my main intention behind writing this article is to focus upon the painful strategy adopted by the Prime Minister and other distinguished leaders connected with the Bhartiya Janata Party to win the general election and remain firmly stuck to the throne at the centre. Instead of speaking about the economic development, employment generation, farmers’ plight and poverty alleviation measures, their talks revolve round the issues connected with foreign countries, especially Pakistan as well as dragging the Indian Army while campaigning for the party (BJP).
It is no secret that at least eight former chiefs of staff and scores of other veterans have appealed to the President of India – the Supreme Commander of the armed forces – to direct all parties to ‘forthwith desist from using the military’ and ‘any actions by military formations or personnel’ for political purposes’. I quote a few sentences of the letter: “We refer, Sir, to the unusual and completely unacceptable practice of political leaders taking credit for military operations like cross-border strikes, and even going so far as to claim the Armed Forces to be ‘Modiji ki Sena’. (The Telegraph of 12th April, 2019)
It is still fresh in memory the appeal our Prime Minister made to the first-time voters on 9th April, 2019 to dedicate their votes to the soldiers who had carried out the Balakot air strikes. Further, he speaks, as Ishrat Hashmi, a social activist, told this scribe over phone, that ‘we (BJP Govt.) have established our supremacy on land, air and sky, and have successfully destroyed the satellite in the space by our rocket’. In fact, in this connection our technological advancement should have been kept secret. Instead, our Prime Minister went on revealing it rather boldly, and in this connection whatever he uttered is scientifically incorrect. Hashmi, who has a profound knowledge of science in this regard, added.
It would be quite relevant if I quote some points expressed by Dr. Mushtaque Ahmad, Principal, C.M.(Arts) College, Darbhanga, Bihar in his Urdu article, “Mulki Intekhab Mey Ghair Mulki Mauzoo Kayu’n” (Why foreign topic in the country’s election?), published in the daily Inqualab : April 07, 2019, Muzaffarpur. Apart from highlighting issues assuming different colours, he has specifically pointed out that during the election campaign in 2014 how the public mind was poisoned, and atmosphere vitiated through sentimental and hateful speeches delivered by some political leaders belonging to Bhartiya Janata Party. And it is but an irony that that mental trend leaning toward mob violence in different forms has been continuing un-abated even now.
Dr. Mushtaque, in his article, further states that because of Pakistan’s conspiracy our soldiers are being martyred since long and on this heinous act of barbarism our expression of lamentation knows no bounds. We must look at it from a different political angle. Well-conceived political game is being played in the name of the soldiers martyred in Kashmir, but not even a mention is made of the soldiers being martyred in the terrorist attacks in Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh and in other parts of the country. Why this dual policy?
I would like to share the views expressed by Dr. Mushtaque that ignoring and discarding the problems and ardent issues being faced by the common masses of our country, inflammatory speeches fomenting communalism are being delivered to win elections. He continues that it is a matter of much concern that the fourth pillar of democracy “media”, in full support of the ruling government, are engaged in spreading unauthenticated news to hurt the sentiments of some particular communities as well as eliminating the opposition parties through a well-hatched plot. And if this takes a concrete form then a question mark stands on the very existence of the greatest democracy of the world.
Na samjhoge to miT jāoge ai hindostāñ vaalo / tumhārī dāstāñ tak bhī na hogī dāstānoñ meñ (O! Indians adopt the course of sense lest you are non-existent / (and then) Narrative about you will not remain in the book of tales). At last, but not the least, we desperately need to address real challenges confronted by the general masses, not indulge in inhuman activities fomenting communalism and dividing people on grounds of caste, creed, religion and language.