Bangalore: Opposing the anti-people CAA and NRC, a state level convention was organized by AIDSO, today in Gandhi Bhavan, Bangalore. People from all walks of life and students and youth from various districts of the state had participated. Many eminent personalities addressed the gathering.
Zaheeruddin Ali Khan speaks at the convention
Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Director of Siasat, a renowned Urdu daily, spoke at the convention and said thus: “A garden will be boring if it has only one flower. The BJP is trying to fill the whole country with just one flower and we should wholeheartedly oppose it. The solidarity and opposition being shown by the citizens of Bangalore is commendable. This movement is not just discriminatory against Muslims but is a criminal conspiracy against the Dalits, street dwellers and illiterate people who cannot provide the proofs required and also, cannot fight a legal battle bearing all the financial odds that come in the way. I thank and congratulate the people of Bangalore for opposing such a discriminatory policy.”
Speaking at the convention, Professor Ravivarma Kumar, Former advocate general , Govt. of Karnataka, said, “Freedom movement is evident to the fact that India choose to be a democratic country instead of a theocratic one. India ensures citizenship to everybody irrespective of their caste, creed, community and religion. Here religion-based citizenship is not just against the constitution but also against the ethos of this country”.
Columnist KC Raghu expresses his views
Renowned columnist KC Raghu was at the convention and spoke that “When the whole country is in tantrums due to an appalling economic and social situation, the government wants to distract us from these issues. But ironically, the government is not in unison on whether they are clamping NRC-CAA in the whole nation or not. While GDP rates are dwindling and necessary goods are getting skyrocketingly expensive on one hand and farmer suicides, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment and a myriad of such problems are wreaking havoc on the other, the government is conspirating against the commoners of the nation. This shall not be accepted and shall be opposed stringently”.
K Uma, State secretary of SUCI(C) addressed the gathering thus: “We have braved all odds and have adjusted with every new problem that arises, but if the problem is the one related to our very existence, we will not tolerate it. This is why people are amassing on the streets to call out the government against such anti-people policies. ‘If you can’t convince them, confuse them’ has become the tactic of this government. They say that we don’t have detention camps and we are not clamping NRC throughout the country. Then what about the detention camps and the talks of the home minister doing rounds in the Media? Secondly, why citizenship on the basis of religion? The great Hindu saint Swami Vivekananda says,
‘Hands off religion from social issues’ , ‘First bread and then religion’. Rabindranath Tagore and many others upheld plurality in this country. That is our heritage. When 5000 children die everyday in this country due to malnutrition, millions dwell on the streets, unemployment and job loss is wreaking havoc in every nook and corner of life, what should be the preference of a government? Are they not stepping the ‘Divide and rule’ path of the British?
Let it be so, but the secular fabric of this country will not shatter with such attacks. The agitation that started in few universities is now a nation-wide movement. Women and children, students and youth, farmers and workers, even a new mother with her 20 days old child are jumping to the streets to show what this country is really about. The government is trying to mellow down the protests with their draconian laws. Be it the curfew, jailing, shooting and even hunting down the protesters. But history gives us strength. The great French writer Voltaire says, “I may not agree with you, but I will defend your right to say it till my last breath’, with that spirit, let us close our ranks to vehemently resist such derogatory and discriminatory acts cooked up by the government”.
Ex-IAS officer speaks on current situation
Former IAS officer Sasikant Senthil said, “When all the tricks to fool people fail, this system comes up with a mythical past where everything was glossy and rosy, while accusing a section of society for the downfall of the system in the present day. If you oppose their hyper-nationalist narrative, you will be branded as a traitor, the free voices will be gagged and everyone will be hoodwinked to believe in their narrative. This Majoritarianism is made to believe as Democracy through their propaganda Machinery. We can find their parallels in this country too. Many journalists are resigning, autonomy of universities is being taken away and independent institutes are being jeopardized. No institute of the country today is worth the trust of people as they all have lost their credibility. As if that is not enough, they are bringing CAANRC. Fascist forces can confuse a homogenous crowd like Germany for a while, but in a country which believes in Plurality, where multiple faiths and ethnicities thrive throughout the stretches of the land, in a country like India, their games won’t last long. No amount of trickery will help them. But in their desperate attempt, they are resorting to various draconian moves. If there is one thing they are afraid of, it is the public opinion. That is why they try to distract us from real issues and bring policies such as NRC-CAA. But let’s bank upon the same ‘Public Opinion’ and start speaking up for what this country needs.
All India President of AIDSO
All India President of AIDSO, Com. V N Rajshekhar spoke thus: “A narrative is being spread that only Muslims are protesting CAA and NRC. But that’s a profane lie. People belonging to all faiths are on the streets and they all are committed to save the secular fabric of this country from draconian attacks. People are frustrated by the many twisted ploys of the government and hence they have gathered strength and are uniting to save the basic ethos of this country. They are all echoing that our real identity is not in our religion but in our Indianness.Being inspired by the lofty ideas of democracy, the India of workers, farmers and common people will crush all divisionary tactics and demand solutions for the burning problems of the country”.
At the end, a resolution on NRC and CAA was passed in the convention. Ajay Kamath, State Secretary of AIDSO presented the keynote address. Ashwini K S, State President of AIDSO presided over the convention.