2021 Strategic and Political Analysis-1

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 23 Mar 2021 05:33

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 245_1.html

Secret India-Pakistan ceasefire, peace roadmap brokered by top UAE royals
The next step in the process, the official said, involves both sides reinstating envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in 2019

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 23 Mar 2021 05:39

chetak wrote:
Ambar wrote:Remember around 40000 Rohingyas were settled in Okhla DL alone. This on top of the existing illegal Bangladeshi population and a very large desi peaceful population. What is happening in Delhi will play out in every large Indian city in the years to come. Shaheen Bagh, Jaffrabad etc are borderline no-go area for hindus and cops already.
hence the vehement local and international opposition to the CAA and the NRC

the rohingiyas, specifically, are being trafficked into India by the BIF

no citizenship == no voter id cards and no voting rights

I have literally seen the change in demographics in many neighborhoods in what used to once quiet and peaceful Bangalore. The number of Bangladeshis, Rohingyas, Nigerians and Somalis who have entered the city in the last 8 to 10 yrs is just staggering . I sometimes struggle to understand the economics, everytime i need a mason or a plumber or maid the response is from some Bangladeshi who claims to be from "Assam or Bengal", where did the locals go all of a sudden ? The Nigerian population too has mushroomed and many are into illicit drug and prostitution and very violent. Many agricultural farms and coffee estates in Karnataka are now openly hiring Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, its a ticking timebomb.

sajo · Post by **sajo** » 23 Mar 2021 13:11

Fadnavis tears through the MahaVasooliAghadi in this press conference on 23-03-2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFCAEG2Y00c

Press conference is a mix of Hindi and Marathi , but with the cream explained in Hindi. He is off today to Delhi to submit his proofs to Home secretary. Will there be enough DhotiShivering at "Matoshree" today ? Baramati would be unfazed for sure.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 23 Mar 2021 14:53

vimal wrote:https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 245_1.html

Secret India-Pakistan ceasefire, peace roadmap brokered by top UAE royals
The next step in the process, the official said, involves both sides reinstating envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in 2019

so now we will have to allow these gulfie royals to shoot ~~b@$t@rd$~~ err bu$tard$ in India for their sport

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 23 Mar 2021 16:56

Megha Prasad
@MeghaSPrasad
BIG BREAKING : Devendra Fadnavis releases the incriminating state intelligence dept report containing audio intercepts of large scale corruption in police transfers and postings #Devendrafadnavis #AnilDeshmukh

Shaktimaan · Post by **Shaktimaan** » 23 Mar 2021 17:32

Fadnavis is on fire on this issue. He is coming up with document after document every day and leaving the MVA flat-footed scrambling to respond.

HOWEVER

I am a Marathi manoos from Mumbai. When talking to my Marathi friends and family, I am getting the feeling that this Maha Vasooli issue is not moving anyone from pro-MVA sentiment to anti-MVA sentiment. The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

I am not seeing this issue getting much traction on the ground or generating much outrage among my circle.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 23 Mar 2021 19:30

Shaktimaan wrote:He is coming up with document after document every day and leaving the MVA flat-footed scrambling to respond.

Which also means Fadnavis has still got his loyalists in the police department. And they are supplying him documents which other wise would not have gone out of the police offices.

The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

This issue is about corruption at very high levels (bars & pubs) and threats on lives of people way above the common man (Ambani et. al). For the common Mumbai/Marathi Manoos they are just not effected by any of these. Life just remains the same for them. Unless MahaVasoolAghadi does their vasooli in a way it impacts the common man, no one will be overtly bothered.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 23 Mar 2021 19:35

vimal wrote:https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 245_1.html

Secret India-Pakistan ceasefire, peace roadmap brokered by top UAE royals
The next step in the process, the official said, involves both sides reinstating envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in 2019

So all this shindig of Saudi Arabia/UAE being angry with Pakistan, getting extra pally with India was just a play for the duo to start playing a Quasi-Boss/Arbitrator role to give directions and indulge in equal-equal between India and Pakistan?

If so then India is punching way below its class. Simply Pathetic.

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 23 Mar 2021 19:54

Attempt to open another front

Make former Gujarat IPS officer's letters public, initiate probe: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday asked why the then Gujarat government had not been dissolved based on Gujarat-cadre former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhutt's written letters levelling allegations over the then Gujarat government and politicians. Referring to Bhutt, Raut speaking to the media said, “The allegations made by Bhutt were more serious than Parambir Singh’s allegations. Will you (centre) take action against the then chief minister or the current CM of Gujarat?” questioned Raut.

and cue..

Sanjiv Bhatt to file bail plea in Supreme Court next week

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt will be filing for bail in the 30-year-old case in the Supreme Court next week. He has been in jail since September 14, 2018. Bhatt, who took on then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged complicity in the 2002 riots, was given the life sentence in June by a sessions court in Jamnagar. On October 8, 2019, the Gujarat High Court rejected the plea of former state police chief Sanjiv Bhatt for suspension of his sentence because he has “scant respect for the courts” and “scant regard for the truth”.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 23 Mar 2021 21:38

Live Law@LiveLawIndia

Breaking: Delhi Court sends AAP MLA Somnath Bharti to 2 years imprisonment in AIIMS case under sec. 147, 149 IPC and sec. 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The said order came in an appeal preferred by Somnath Bharti against the order dated 23rd January 2021.

sanjayc · Post by **sanjayc** » 23 Mar 2021 22:58

Shaktimaan wrote:Fadnavis is on fire on this issue. He is coming up with document after document every day and leaving the MVA flat-footed scrambling to respond.

HOWEVER

I am a Marathi manoos from Mumbai. When talking to my Marathi friends and family, I am getting the feeling that this Maha Vasooli issue is not moving anyone from pro-MVA sentiment to anti-MVA sentiment. The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

I am not seeing this issue getting much traction on the ground or generating much outrage among my circle.

Most Indians (Hindus) cannot be bothered about any issue till there is a personal loss (like someone setting fire to their house or molesting them personally).

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 23 Mar 2021 23:36

Shaktimaan wrote:Fadnavis is on fire on this issue. He is coming up with document after document every day and leaving the MVA flat-footed scrambling to respond.

HOWEVER

I am a Marathi manoos from Mumbai. When talking to my Marathi friends and family, I am getting the feeling that this Maha Vasooli issue is not moving anyone from pro-MVA sentiment to anti-MVA sentiment. The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

I am not seeing this issue getting much traction on the ground or generating much outrage among my circle.

Agreed. It is pretty much what i said few days ago -

Ambar wrote:NCP will weaken after Sharad Pawar passes , same with JDS after Devegowda. Unfortunately some of our most corrupt politicians are blessed with really long lives, Pawar is 80 and Devegowda is pushing 90 and both look good to last another 10 yrs. BJP wont have the numbers in MH even if elections are called next week, the only way is to grab MLAs from other 3 parties and form the government , be it tomorrow or 3 yrs from now. Better still if there's a way to orchestrate throwing out the Thackerays from Shiv Sena that would be great, but that's like saying remove aloos from samosas. To understand the dynamics of MH , look at the 3 general elections between 1996 and 1999 in India, despite all the shenanigans of regional parties and Congress, BJP still did not have the numbers to form the government on its own, it is quite similar today in MH. People have short memories and even shorter attention span. Does one really think a farmer or a small business owner in Sangli or Solapur cares about Ambani or Sushant Singh ? No, they look at what benefits their communities will get from NCP after the next elections.

Bottomline, MVA sarkar is safe and sound for few more years. If BJP does poorly in the coming state elections then they'll spin a narrative saying BJP ploy to sully the image of MVA govt has failed and the public has rejected their politics. MVA govt will fall when 10 Janapath decides its time and not until then. Ambani/Sushant Singh/Republic TV/Arnab/Kangana etc. don't matter to voters especially outside the metros in MH. A sugarcane growing community in Kolhapur wont change their vote from NCP to BJP because of Arnab Goswami or Mumbai police being turned into a bribe collecting agents, for them what matters is the ecosystem NCP provides to flourish.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 23 Mar 2021 23:41

Shaktimaan wrote: I am getting the feeling that this Maha Vasooli issue is not moving anyone from pro-MVA sentiment to anti-MVA sentiment. The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

Agree. The sense I have is that all of these parties have similar positions on issues. Maratha reservation comes up in conversations, but every party supports it. INC continues to have a soft on terror image, so there's that. There was a brief moment following the Telengana/AP split where restructuring the state was talked about as an issue, but that was quickly put to rest.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 24 Mar 2021 08:12

https://www.kooapp.com/koo/VinodSharma-2EEP5/HKC9A

Punjab news ... not sure how much it is true

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 24 Mar 2021 08:25

The frustrated Indian channel is deeply pro BJP and is prone to wild exaggerations.

So what that report means is that the BJP's vote share is expected to be 15 to 20%. They have presented it to mean that BJP is getting 35 to 40% votes.

The only way it can happen is when at minimum 15 % of the agricultural brokers break away and use the opportunities provided by the agricultural reforms laws and make the other brokers follow them.

At the moment no evidence of that taking place.

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 24 Mar 2021 10:56

Thalaivi | Official Trailer (Telugu) | Kangana Ranaut | Arvind Swamy

Wow I don't even understand Tamil/Telugu and this looks promising. Based in life of Jaya.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 24 Mar 2021 12:06

Verdict in Tarun Tejpal rape case on April 27

Given his letter to his employees regarding his lapse in judgement and lacerating repentance his conviction seems to be a foregone conclusion.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 24 Mar 2021 12:24

Pratyush wrote: Given his letter to his employees regarding his lapse in judgement and lacerating repentance his conviction seems to be a foregone conclusion.

You can never be sure with our judges.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 24 Mar 2021 12:28

You have a point.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 24 Mar 2021 13:15

I have a different opinion on the MVA thing..while it is true the coalition is safe for now, the vote share is not. NCP vote share remains constant in their strongholds, however the Sena vote will be cannibalised by both the NCP and the BJP. Remember that Sena reached 56 when it was with BJP and that too with a very poor conversion rate. Mumbai and surroundings will move to BJP while interiors will move to NCP. The next election, Sena will struggle to cross 30. The NCP will be the bigger gainer in this rather than BJP.

prasan · Post by **prasan** » 24 Mar 2021 16:10

Ambar wrote:
Shaktimaan wrote:Fadnavis is on fire on this issue. He is coming up with document after document every day and leaving the MVA flat-footed scrambling to respond.

HOWEVER

I am a Marathi manoos from Mumbai. When talking to my Marathi friends and family, I am getting the feeling that this Maha Vasooli issue is not moving anyone from pro-MVA sentiment to anti-MVA sentiment. The Sena fans are still Sena fans, Pawar fans are still Pawar fans and BJP fans are still BJP fans.

I am not seeing this issue getting much traction on the ground or generating much outrage among my circle.
Agreed. It is pretty much what i said few days ago -

Ambar wrote:NCP will weaken after Sharad Pawar passes , same with JDS after Devegowda. Unfortunately some of our most corrupt politicians are blessed with really long lives, Pawar is 80 and Devegowda is pushing 90 and both look good to last another 10 yrs. BJP wont have the numbers in MH even if elections are called next week, the only way is to grab MLAs from other 3 parties and form the government , be it tomorrow or 3 yrs from now. Better still if there's a way to orchestrate throwing out the Thackerays from Shiv Sena that would be great, but that's like saying remove aloos from samosas. To understand the dynamics of MH , look at the 3 general elections between 1996 and 1999 in India, despite all the shenanigans of regional parties and Congress, BJP still did not have the numbers to form the government on its own, it is quite similar today in MH. People have short memories and even shorter attention span. Does one really think a farmer or a small business owner in Sangli or Solapur cares about Ambani or Sushant Singh ? No, they look at what benefits their communities will get from NCP after the next elections.
Bottomline, MVA sarkar is safe and sound for few more years. If BJP does poorly in the coming state elections then they'll spin a narrative saying BJP ploy to sully the image of MVA govt has failed and the public has rejected their politics. MVA govt will fall when 10 Janapath decides its time and not until then. Ambani/Sushant Singh/Republic TV/Arnab/Kangana etc. don't matter to voters especially outside the metros in MH. A sugarcane growing community in Kolhapur wont change their vote from NCP to BJP because of Arnab Goswami or Mumbai police being turned into a bribe collecting agents, for them what matters is the ecosystem NCP provides to flourish.

Well this was known from beginning. BJP is very poor in mobilising or creating public opinion.
There media propaganda is very bad. They needed someone like Anna Hazare movement to create a opinion.
If bjp was in similar situation , all channels would have shown it multiple times that it is registered in public memory.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 24 Mar 2021 17:05

Pratyush wrote:Verdict in Tarun Tejpal rape case on April 27

Given his letter to his employees regarding his lapse in judgement and lacerating repentance his conviction seems to be a foregone conclusion.

nothing is forgone with this snake.

the BIF lobby has protected him so far.

I will believe the verdict when I see it

sajo · Post by **sajo** » 24 Mar 2021 20:22

For all these years, the Shiv Sena was viewed only as one of the lesser evils as compared to INC and NCP, atleast outside Mumbai and pockets of Konkan. Whatever vote share they received was largely as they were seen as a part of Saffron alliance.
Since we did not have social media then, the 1995-1999 where SS was the majority partner AND had the chief minister's post was similarly full of utterly crass corruption and in general succeeded in alienating the urban voters from non-Mumbai completely till about a decade later. What we are seeing is just an extension of that, and one would think they would have learnt some finesse from Kaka Pawar, but it seems its not the case.
It would be interesting to see how the next faceoff pans out, whether it would be mid-term or after a full term remains to be seen.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 24 Mar 2021 20:52

Contrast this with dharmics who value lives. Dharmic fundamentalists vs non dharmic ones.

Merkel drops Easter shutdown plan for Germany, apologizes
https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-an ... 76b92222cb

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 24 Mar 2021 21:15

Tanaji wrote:I have a different opinion on the MVA thing..while it is true the coalition is safe for now, the vote share is not. NCP vote share remains constant in their strongholds, however the Sena vote will be cannibalised by both the NCP and the BJP. Remember that Sena reached 56 when it was with BJP and that too with a very poor conversion rate. Mumbai and surroundings will move to BJP while interiors will move to NCP. The next election, Sena will struggle to cross 30. The NCP will be the bigger gainer in this rather than BJP.

It depends on how the election is fought. NCP cannibalizing SS votes will happen only if they fight separately. But if the MVA government actually lasts the full five years, I am pretty sure they will fight the elections together in a pre-poll alliance. SS will get wiped out if they fight alone and UT knows that too well. They need a partner to survive and another alliance with the BJP is out of the question now. UT has to hold on to Pawar for dear life and Pawar in turn will use that to his full advantage.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 24 Mar 2021 21:21

Thinking of the MH situation, it strikes me that a lot of their acts of venality are targeted at extracting protection money from 'large fishes' so to speak. I believe this is not without basis - they want to avoid popular discontent, and squeezing the wealthier sections of society is till more politically palatable than general corruption that affects the mango man. I'm not making a good vs bad corruption distinction here - just that there are actions that more directly affect the mango man and those that don't. Of course this is somewhat foolish of the public, since the costs will be passed on to them.

But, by doing things this way, this coalition can try to thread the needle of running at least one term unhindered in their effort to accumulate loot. This Ambani episode can potentially derail that, and hopefully once the state elections are done, presidential rule can be considered for MH.

vijayk · Post by **vijayk** » 24 Mar 2021 21:49

Suraj wrote:Thinking of the MH situation, it strikes me that a lot of their acts of venality are targeted at extracting protection money from 'large fishes' so to speak. I believe this is not without basis - they want to avoid popular discontent, and squeezing the wealthier sections of society is till more politically palatable than general corruption that affects the mango man. I'm not making a good vs bad corruption distinction here - just that there are actions that more directly affect the mango man and those that don't. Of course this is somewhat foolish of the public, since the costs will be passed on to them.

But, by doing things this way, this coalition can try to thread the needle of running at least one term unhindered in their effort to accumulate loot. This Ambani episode can potentially derail that, and hopefully once the state elections are done, presidential rule can be considered for MH.

Also they are attacking people like bar owners etc. who are out on the field and exposed to criminals who can be controlled by police.

Actually Jagan in AP used it very effectively to intimidate business men when his father was CM. Go to a business with their tax papers and ask them to invest in business of Saakshi media or real-estate business.

Here they just used thugs in police to collect hafta

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 24 Mar 2021 21:53

Suraj wrote: But, by doing things this way, this coalition can try to thread the needle of running at least one term unhindered in their effort to accumulate loot. This Ambani episode can potentially derail that, and hopefully once the state elections are done, presidential rule can be considered for MH.

This story will die down by the time the elections are done. If they are thinking of president's rule, they will have to act now. But to what end? If there are elections again and the SS-NCP-Cong fight together, they will win easily.

I feel there is much more to be gained by letting the MVA government continue while mercilessly attacking them on every misstep, corruption scandal and missed promise much like Fadnavis did this time. The Metro depot fiasco in Mumbai has already ensured that the Metro is going to be severely delayed and Mumbai residents will only blame the SS for that unforced error. Fadnavis and other members of the BJP should keep an eye out for other such problems and highlight them at every opportunity and try to sow dissension among the 3 partners wherever possible. The image of the govt. should become like that of the incompetent and scam ridden UPA-II in 2014. That way BJP can give themselves a decent chance to win by themselves in 2025.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 24 Mar 2021 22:34

I hope a price can be extracted from the MVA to let the MAHSR project continue on schedule. National infrastructure programs cannot be held hostage to petty nonsense. They're enabling the construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur Mahamarg and also going forward with the Mumbai-Nagpur high speed line work, so there's no reason to block Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed line construction on the MH side, when GJ side work is going on at full pace.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 24 Mar 2021 23:00

Suraj wrote:I hope a price can be extracted from the MVA to let the MAHSR project continue on schedule. National infrastructure programs cannot be held hostage to petty nonsense. They're enabling the construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur Mahamarg and also going forward with the Mumbai-Nagpur high speed line work, so there's no reason to block Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed line construction on the MH side, when GJ side work is going on at full pace.

I think that will depend on how much arm-twisting the central government can accomplish, because rest assured, UT and co. will do everything they can to delay and hold up not only the HSR but also the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway (part of Mum-Delhi expwy) packages which lie within MH borders out of sheer bloody mindedness.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 25 Mar 2021 02:17

The projects will proceed since they want the money. However, the alignment will change to account for concerns the previous government didn't take into account, and to enable some profit making activity using the standard modus operandi of arranging deals before alignment changes are announced.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 25 Mar 2021 03:54

nachiket wrote:
Suraj wrote:I hope a price can be extracted from the MVA to let the MAHSR project continue on schedule. National infrastructure programs cannot be held hostage to petty nonsense. They're enabling the construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur Mahamarg and also going forward with the Mumbai-Nagpur high speed line work, so there's no reason to block Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed line construction on the MH side, when GJ side work is going on at full pace.
I think that will depend on how much arm-twisting the central government can accomplish, because rest assured, UT and co. will do everything they can to delay and hold up not only the HSR but also the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway (part of Mum-Delhi expwy) packages which lie within MH borders out of sheer bloody mindedness.

UT is a C H U T I Y A who will end up hurting Maharashtra's economy and competitiveness. There is bureaucracy and road blocks for constructing WDFC (portion in Maharashtra upto JNPT). Guess what - The freight corridor would just push all the business to the ports in Gujarat. JNPT will be the net loser.

Similarly another project that Maharashtra may lose due to politicking is the Big Refinery project by Saudi Aramco/Abu Dhabi with the project moving from Ratnagiri to Raigad and still facing issues. Raj Thackeray has already warned that again Gujarat is standing by to relocate this project.

BT had similarly hurt Maharashtra when he had put the condition of appointing 30% Maharashtrians as staff for approving the Proposed Indian Business School in Navi Mumbai. Chandra Babu Naidu was only too happy to say 'Thank You Maharashtra', the school moved to Hyderabad and Mumbai lost out from having what is today the best rated business school in India.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 25 Mar 2021 05:12

Vips, that is the game plan of UT, rather of Raut. By these actions he wants to strengthen a narrative that Modi is the PM for Gujarat and not India. It is because of Modi that Maharashtrians are losing out on jobs as companies are relocating. The same narrative is being peddled by Jihadidi as well. If employment situation in Maharashtra becomes desperate then this narrative will find takers..

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 25 Mar 2021 05:31

But unlike our Delhi ke Sirji or Jihaadan in Bengal, Sr Thackeray has no base in MH. He cannot even dream of SS getting an absolutely majority on its own, and NCP and INC are strong enough independently that they wont need this guy after the next elections. Now it is entirely possible that the MVA will fight the next elections too together but i am fairly certain if they win Uddhav Thackeray won't be the CM.

The arithmetic in MH is such that oddly enough only INC can come back to power on their own, the other 3 parties will need someone else to form the government. For BJP, the best option is to break SS and NCP from within, it may still be possible if Pawar kicks the bucket soon. Ofcourse, SS would have already crumbled by now if Raj Thackeray had more than 2 functioning gray cells, but he seems to be happy doing mandwali in Mumbai and Pune to take politics seriously.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 25 Mar 2021 07:19

Ambar wrote: The arithmetic in MH is such that oddly enough only INC can come back to power on their own, the other 3 parties will need someone else to form the government.

How did you arrive at that conclusion? In 2014, all four parties contested separately and INC managed to win only 42 seats. In 2019 INC and NCP fought together and INC only increased that tally by 2 to 44. The NCP got 10 more than them. The only party to hit three figures in either of the elections is the BJP.

Ambar · Post by **Ambar** » 25 Mar 2021 08:11

You need to look at the state's history before Modi and think about after Modi. In states where the Congress ecosystem is intact, they will remain a force to be reckoned with. MH was a bastion of Congress, NCP has weakened them but not eliminated them completely. Pawar is 80 yrs old, both BJP and INC will benefit after he is gone but the later more than the former because they have the same roots and have been in coalition for 3 governments now. The history, the intact infrastructure, the deep pockets , the ability to still draw dividends from decades of corruption is the reason INC came so close to winning GJ in 2017, won MP in 2018, will almost definitely win KAR, PJ and HR in 2023 and 2024. GJ 2017 and MP 2018 should be a wake up call for Amit Shah, if you want to completely eliminate INC then destroy their infrastructure from APMC to zilla panchayats to the assembly. If not then be prepared for them to rise their head again.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Mar 2021 11:48

In Belgium families even owned black children to provide entertainment to white kids in 1955.

And they give us gyaan and lower our ranking index.

via@snehasneha173

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 25 Mar 2021 11:55

Update on Nikta Tomar murder case. Adding a note here, as this issue was often discussed here mainly on the slowness from Haryana Govt and state police.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Mar 2021 12:06

Rahul Gandhi recently shared a biased report from one Swedish institution on our democracy but these idiots don't see how these European countries are flagbearers of so many atrocities & conveniently hide their past mistakes and current issues by using brilliant marketing skills

via@aimingforlight

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 25 Mar 2021 12:16

These are the sorry examples of the degenerate descendants, who are, even today, culturally vicious and morally depraved colonial gangs lecturing us on democracy today.

In their black little hearts and with their dark dank souls, a great many people in these countries continue to feel the same about "non aryans", even now.

A ‘human zoo’ in Belgium in 1897. Photograph: photo R Stalin (Inforcongo), 1958, RMCA Tervuren

Belgium comes to terms with 'human zoos' of its colonial past

This article is more than 2 years old

Sixty years ago, Belgium set up a live display of people from Congo for the 1958 world fair. Now the country is rethinking that legacy

Sixty years ago on Tuesday, Belgium staged the opening of the 1958 world fair, a glittering 200-day celebration of postwar social, cultural and technological advances.

It is said to retain an “important place in the collective memory of the Belgian nation”. A series of events are being held in the Atomium, the futuristic landmark built for the spectacle, in recognition.

Yet as the Belgian capital indulges in nostalgia, one exhibit staged at the time is not being revisited: a live display of black men, women and children in “native conditions” laid on for the education and amusement of white Europeans.

It was the world’s last “human zoo”.

As of 1958, Belgium still ruled Congo, a piece of territory some 80 times its own size, and a source of great pride to the country. The mineral-rich central African state was not only hugely economically rewarding but garlanded Belgium, a small European nation in the shadows of Britain and France, with standing in the world.

Expo ’58 was seen by Belgian politicians as a chance to burnish this achievement, sealing what was seen as a special bond with Belgian Congo.

At the foot of the Atomium, a rejoinder to Paris’s Eiffel Tower, and the centre piece of the exhibition, eight hectares of land peppered by seven pavilions were dedicated to the themes of mining in Congo, its arts, transport and agriculture, among others. It was known as the Kongorama.

In its three hectares of tropical gardens, Congolese men, women and children were put on show day-after-day, in “traditional” dress behind a bamboo perimeter fence.

Human zoos were in no way a novelty to the west and had been held regularly earlier in the century in London, Paris, Oslo and Hamburg. In New York in 1906, a young Congolese man with sharpened teeth was given a home in the monkey house in the Bronx zoo.

In the summer of 1897, King Leopold II had imported 267 Congolese to Brussels to be on show around his colonial palace in Tervuren, east of Brussels, paddling in their canoes on the royal lakes; 1.3 million Belgians, out of a population of 4 million, visited, walking over a rope bridge to get the best view.

That summer was bitterly cold and seven of the Congolese died of pneumonia and influenza, their bodies dumped in an unmarked mass grave in the local cemetery. But such was the popularity of the zoo and other exhibits that a permanent exhibition was to be later established at the site. Initially called the Museum of the Congo, it is now the Royal Museum for Central Africa.

The 1958 exhibit was smaller in scale, but similar in content. A “typical” village was set up, where the Congolese spent their days carrying out their crafts by straw huts while they were mocked by the white men and women who stood at the edge.

“If there was no reaction, they threw money or bananas over the closure of bamboo,” one journalist wrote at the time of the spectators.

Another report told of people gossiping about “seeing the negros at the zoological gardens”.

The Congolese on display were among 598 people – including 273 men, 128 women and 197 children, a total of 183 families – brought over from Africa to staff the wider fair.

The colonial office was “very nervous about what this stay of such an unprecedented number of Congolese in Belgium might do”, according to Dr Sarah Van Beurden, a historian of central Africa.

But housed in a dedicated building isolated from the Expo from which they could be bussed in and out, the Congolese complained of cramped accommodation, the strict limitations on visitors or excursions from the building, and, of course, daily abuse at the fair.

By July, the Congolese artists and artisans, and their families, could take no more and some went back home. The human zoo, as the Congolese recognised it to be, closed down, and the rest of the fair carried on.

Such a zoo was not to be staged anywhere again, and in June 1960, Congo won its independence. But for Guido Gryseels, the director general at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), the permanent exhibition that grew from 1897, combating the prejudices that were at the core of the zoo and still, he says, persist, is the focus of his working life.

On 1 December, following a €75m renovation, the RMCA will reopen five years after it last opened its doors to the public. There is a new visitors centre and a vast underground space that has doubled the museum’s exhibition area to 11,000 sq metres. But beyond the physical transformation, a much more significant change is about to be undertaken.

When Gryseels took over the museum in 2001, the permanent exhibition had barely changed since the 1920s, he said. Along with Leopold II’s double L motifs looking down on visitors in almost every room, and the royal quotations celebrating the higher moral plane of the colonisation, the story that was told was of Belgium bringing light where there was darkness.

“For 100 years we have been a colonial institution”, Gryseels said. “For most Belgians their first encounter with Africa is our museum. The initial impression of Africa by most Belgians was made here in this museum, and that is that the white person is better than the black person. We were there to civilise them. The Africans we portray here are naked with a spear without a culture of their own.”

A reason for the inertia at the museum, he believes, is that in reality Belgian society has not wanted to rethink its colonial past. “It is very emotional here because every Belgian family has a family member who worked in Congo. All of them. A missionary, a teacher, an administrator. You ask any Belgian and they all have. So it is a very emotional debate.”

Gryseels said discussions about the colonial past didn’t start in Belgium until the publication of the Adam Hochschild’s book King Leopold’s Ghost in 1998. “Bit by bit there was more discussion”, Gryseels said. “But, [the] curriculum in Belgian schools until recently was ‘we brought civilisation’.”

There are some voices from the Congolese diaspora calling for the “decolonisation” of his institution, and its closure. But Gryseels says his job in the next nine months is to tell a new story about Belgium in the Congo.

On the opening day, the minister of foreign affairs is expected to give a speech on Belgium’s colonial past in the presence of the royal family. “We have a responsibility for cultivating an attitude that a lot of Belgians have of being superior to black people”, Gryseels said. “And that is changing. But it is going to take a while.”

This article was amended on 17 April 2018. Congo gained independence in June 1960, not January 1959.