Protesting Tamil farmers !

Humra Quraishi

Protesting Tamil Nadu farmers strip in front of the PM's office There is anger not just on the streets of Srinagar but also on the roads of New Delhi. What, with farmers from Tamil Nadu stripping in full public view in sheer agony !Imagine, providers of our daily bread reduced to such a pathetic condition that they are squatting in Lutyens' Delhi to plead to the political rulers for the very survival of their fields and families. Parched lie not just their lands but also their lives.
And if you talk to meat -suppliers and dairy - owners they tell me of that age old theory: if you force a man to go hungry he will either die or else he will start eating your flesh! What, with hundreds sitting jobless there is every possibility of hunger related deaths going up the graph.
Also, crime is sure to go up as frustration levels are mounting …Added connected dimension is the new ruling on food consumption. The Government is now even 'fixing' the amount you can get to eat at restaurants. Order only this much and not that much! In fact, this brings me to quip: doesn't this government have to deal with many more serious issues than control the spread on my platter! All this rationing of food portions could have been legitimate if it was free supply of food from government -run canteens or community kitchens but not where private run restaurants and hotels are concerned. This bizarre move reeks of dictatorship cum policing of the weirdest sorts. Soon paunchy police -wallahs will be seen loitering around restaurants, keeping a watch on your intake!
Frequent flyers are left fuming after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's wings weren't clipped. Can a parliamentarian assault and then get away as though nothing really took place !Also,let us not overlook the possibility of the likes of Gaikwad rushing into cock pits, assaulting the pilots and co- pilots. Or else breaking the window glass by the sandals in their grip and flinging out babies and just about anybody who comes in way.
Romantics have begun to doubt the very intentions of the government of the day in Uttar Pradesh.Imagine, these rulers do not know the difference between romance and rape! Have they heard of Romeo and Juliet! If they had heard or read those heart touching lovelorn tales they wouldn't have formed the notorious anti – Romeo squads that go killing love! Mind you, Romeos cannot be thrown in the 'eve- teasers' category, because they are teenaged romantics and with that a harmless lot. Why kill romance! Why are efforts on to push and pull us towards some dark ages where only the brute cum fake cum heartless can survive! Have the rulers of the day heard of something called emotions or romantic notions or those fragile feelings tucked in the heart ? In fact, the truth is that women love romance, romantics and Romeos, so why the hell should the State turn killer of emotions!

Sorrow in refugee camps !

The plight of Rohingya refugees And there's sorrow spreading out in the refugee camps as news reports suggest that the Government of India is planning to forcibly deport thousands of Rohinga refugees from the different states of India. It will be human rights violation as these hapless men and women and children fled Myanmar in the worst of conditions and are living here in sub – human conditions , yet even that seems getting snatched . To quote Amnesty International India on this -
" Any measures taken by Indian authorities to forcibly return Rohingya refugees and asylumseekers to Myanmar, where they are at risk of serious human rights violations, would be a flagrant violation of international law…Sending Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar - where the community has faced horrific abuses - would not just be a violation of India's commitments under international law, but also a blemish on India's history of supporting those fleeing persecution… Rohingya Muslims, who are among the most persecuted minorities in the world, have faced years of discrimination, repression and violence in Myanmar. In December 2016, Amnesty International documented a brutal campaign of violence against the Rohingya by security forces in Myanmar, which could amount to crimes against humanity. The organization found evidence of a wide range of human rights violations in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, including unlawful killings, multiple rapes, and the burning down of hundreds of Rohingya homes and buildings. Forcing Rohingya asylum-seekers and refugees back to Myanmar would violate the international principle of non-refoulement - which is recognized in customary international law and is binding on India - that forbids states from forcibly returning people to a country where they would be at real risk of serious human rights violations. India is also a state party to other international treaties which recognize this principle, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Indian authorities know very well the abuses the Rohingya community have been facing in Myanmar. Deporting them and abandoning them to their fates would be unconscionable."

Violence against Africans

African nationals recuperate at Kailash Hospital in Noida after being beaten up by a mob. Muscle power seems to hold sway. Unleashed it is on a daily basis. On us Indians. And also on the Africans living in our midst. In fact, last month there had been two reported cases of violent attacks on Africans residing in GreaterNoida.
Look where we stand reduced to. Such pathetic lows that even our very existence seems to be in the grip and control of the political mafia .
Imagine , there was that blissful period in our very recent history where poets of the likes Ali Sardar Jafri and Sahir Ludhianvi wrote verse after verse in solidarity with leaders from far –away lands: these lines of of Ali Sardar Jafri written in 1960s relay much bonding between Indians and Africans -
"This African, my brother / Picks flowers, in forest after forest / My brother,whose feet are red /Red as roses." Or these lines of Sahir Ludhianvi written when Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo and who also a staunch anti - imperialist was deposed from office and then murdered - "Tyranny has no caste , no community , no status nor dignity /Tyranny is simply tyranny , from its beginning to its end /Blood however is blood , it becomes a hundred things /Shapes that cannot be obliterated /Flames that can never be extinguished /Chants that can never be suppressed."

Top meat exporters

Amidst all the meat politics , its relevant to know that out of the six top meat exporters in India, four are non – Muslims. Here go the details – Al Kabeer Exports Pvt .Ltd( owners Satish and Atul Sabharwal, Mumbai), Arabian Exports Pvt .Ltd (owner Sunil Kapoor , Mumbai ), MKR Frozen Food Exports (owner – Madan Abbott, New Delhi), PML Industries (owner A.S. Bindra , Chandigarh. Incidentally, A.S. Bindra happens to be the father of ace shooter Abhinav Bindra .



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY MARCH OF AYODHYA INDIAN PRESIDENCY REALPOLITIK FOR CREDIBLE OPPOSITION A GAME CHANGER DEFENCE MODERNISATION STATE OF EDUCATION DELHI MCD POLLS FRANKLY SPEAKING SACRILEGE IN PUNJAB KASHMIR WATCH CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN POLL-YEAR HIMACHAL KERALA UNDER LDF CHANDIGARH DIARY U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AMERICAN DIARY JADAV ISSUE INDO-BANGLADESH TIES CIVIL AVIATION HITS & MISSES TEST CRICKET SPORTS BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES MIGRATION & WOMEN'S RIGHTS YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-XIII ART OF LIVING Issue:May' 2017 Subscribe Now	SIGNS OF THE TIMES Protesting Tamil farmers ! Humra Quraishi Protesting Tamil Nadu farmers strip in front of the PM's office There is anger not just on the streets of Srinagar but also on the roads of New Delhi. What, with farmers from Tamil Nadu stripping in full public view in sheer agony !Imagine, providers of our daily bread reduced to such a pathetic condition that they are squatting in Lutyens' Delhi to plead to the political rulers for the very survival of their fields and families. Parched lie not just their lands but also their lives. And if you talk to meat -suppliers and dairy - owners they tell me of that age old theory: if you force a man to go hungry he will either die or else he will start eating your flesh! What, with hundreds sitting jobless there is every possibility of hunger related deaths going up the graph. Also, crime is sure to go up as frustration levels are mounting …Added connected dimension is the new ruling on food consumption. The Government is now even 'fixing' the amount you can get to eat at restaurants. Order only this much and not that much! In fact, this brings me to quip: doesn't this government have to deal with many more serious issues than control the spread on my platter! All this rationing of food portions could have been legitimate if it was free supply of food from government -run canteens or community kitchens but not where private run restaurants and hotels are concerned. This bizarre move reeks of dictatorship cum policing of the weirdest sorts. Soon paunchy police -wallahs will be seen loitering around restaurants, keeping a watch on your intake! Frequent flyers are left fuming after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's wings weren't clipped. Can a parliamentarian assault and then get away as though nothing really took place !Also,let us not overlook the possibility of the likes of Gaikwad rushing into cock pits, assaulting the pilots and co- pilots. Or else breaking the window glass by the sandals in their grip and flinging out babies and just about anybody who comes in way. Romantics have begun to doubt the very intentions of the government of the day in Uttar Pradesh.Imagine, these rulers do not know the difference between romance and rape! Have they heard of Romeo and Juliet! If they had heard or read those heart touching lovelorn tales they wouldn't have formed the notorious anti – Romeo squads that go killing love! Mind you, Romeos cannot be thrown in the 'eve- teasers' category, because they are teenaged romantics and with that a harmless lot. Why kill romance! Why are efforts on to push and pull us towards some dark ages where only the brute cum fake cum heartless can survive! Have the rulers of the day heard of something called emotions or romantic notions or those fragile feelings tucked in the heart ? In fact, the truth is that women love romance, romantics and Romeos, so why the hell should the State turn killer of emotions! Sorrow in refugee camps ! The plight of Rohingya refugees And there's sorrow spreading out in the refugee camps as news reports suggest that the Government of India is planning to forcibly deport thousands of Rohinga refugees from the different states of India. It will be human rights violation as these hapless men and women and children fled Myanmar in the worst of conditions and are living here in sub – human conditions , yet even that seems getting snatched . To quote Amnesty International India on this - " Any measures taken by Indian authorities to forcibly return Rohingya refugees and asylumseekers to Myanmar, where they are at risk of serious human rights violations, would be a flagrant violation of international law…Sending Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar - where the community has faced horrific abuses - would not just be a violation of India's commitments under international law, but also a blemish on India's history of supporting those fleeing persecution… Rohingya Muslims, who are among the most persecuted minorities in the world, have faced years of discrimination, repression and violence in Myanmar. In December 2016, Amnesty International documented a brutal campaign of violence against the Rohingya by security forces in Myanmar, which could amount to crimes against humanity. The organization found evidence of a wide range of human rights violations in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, including unlawful killings, multiple rapes, and the burning down of hundreds of Rohingya homes and buildings. Forcing Rohingya asylum-seekers and refugees back to Myanmar would violate the international principle of non-refoulement - which is recognized in customary international law and is binding on India - that forbids states from forcibly returning people to a country where they would be at real risk of serious human rights violations. India is also a state party to other international treaties which recognize this principle, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Indian authorities know very well the abuses the Rohingya community have been facing in Myanmar. Deporting them and abandoning them to their fates would be unconscionable." Violence against Africans African nationals recuperate at Kailash Hospital in Noida after being beaten up by a mob. Muscle power seems to hold sway. Unleashed it is on a daily basis. On us Indians. And also on the Africans living in our midst. In fact, last month there had been two reported cases of violent attacks on Africans residing in GreaterNoida. Look where we stand reduced to. Such pathetic lows that even our very existence seems to be in the grip and control of the political mafia . Imagine , there was that blissful period in our very recent history where poets of the likes Ali Sardar Jafri and Sahir Ludhianvi wrote verse after verse in solidarity with leaders from far –away lands: these lines of of Ali Sardar Jafri written in 1960s relay much bonding between Indians and Africans - "This African, my brother / Picks flowers, in forest after forest / My brother,whose feet are red /Red as roses." Or these lines of Sahir Ludhianvi written when Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo and who also a staunch anti - imperialist was deposed from office and then murdered - "Tyranny has no caste , no community , no status nor dignity /Tyranny is simply tyranny , from its beginning to its end /Blood however is blood , it becomes a hundred things /Shapes that cannot be obliterated /Flames that can never be extinguished /Chants that can never be suppressed." Top meat exporters Amidst all the meat politics , its relevant to know that out of the six top meat exporters in India, four are non – Muslims. Here go the details – Al Kabeer Exports Pvt .Ltd( owners Satish and Atul Sabharwal, Mumbai), Arabian Exports Pvt .Ltd (owner Sunil Kapoor , Mumbai ), MKR Frozen Food Exports (owner – Madan Abbott, New Delhi), PML Industries (owner A.S. Bindra , Chandigarh. Incidentally, A.S. Bindra happens to be the father of ace shooter Abhinav Bindra .