क्रांतिभिलाषी कामरेड कन्हैया, यह क्रांति नही, तुम्हारे मन की भ्रान्ति है.

क्रांतिभिलाषी कामरेड कन्हैया, 

क्या करें ‘क्रांतिभिलाषी’ लिखना पड़ेगा न ? मज़बूरी है. क्रांति की इतनी बड़ी अभिलाषा जो है तुममे. मानता हूँ तुम्हारा क्रांतिकारी भाषण सुनने में थोड़ी विलंब हो गयी. माफ़ करना, ‘भाषण’ नही तुम्हारा ‘क्रांतिकारी अनुभव’. परन्तु, तुम्ही उसे कहीं पर ‘अनुभव’ कहते हो, और कहीं पर ‘भाषण’. जेल से लौटने के तुरंत बाद जेएनयू में दिए गए अपने शुद्ध बनावटी भाषण को तुमने ‘अनुभव’ बताया और NDTV के रविश कुमार को दिए अपने साक्षात्कार में उसी ‘अनुभव’ को भाषण. हालांकि, चाहे वह जो भी हो, अनुभव या भाषण, था तो ‘बहुते क्रांतिकारी-बहुते क्रांतिकारी’. का बतायें कि कितना क्रांतिकारी ? हालाँकि, मेरी ऐसी भाषा के कारन स्वयं को दिल्ली चुनाव के पूर्व वाला अरविन्द केजरीवाल और मुझे अपुण्य प्रसून वाजपेयी समझने की भूल मत करना. ऐसी कोई बात नही है. एकदम नही. कोई बराबरी नही है तुममे और केजरीवाल में कामरेड. दूर-दूर तक नही. तुम शुरू से ही केजरीवाल से दो कदम आगे दिख रहे हो. इसका जीता-जागता प्रमाण है कि तुमने मिलने के लिए उन्हें घंटे भर का इंतज़ार तक करवा डाला. इतने कम समय में इतनी तरक्की ? वाह कामरेड ! वाह !! केजरीवाल महोदय ने ट्वीट कर तुम्हारे भाषण की प्रशंसा भी की थी. करनी भी चाहिए. किसी को भी अपने क्षेत्र के अपने से ज्यादा योग्य आदमी की अवश्य ही प्रशंसा करनी चाहिए.

तुम्हारी वह दिल्ली पुलिस के एक सिपाही के साथ बातचीत वाली और जेल में तुम्हे मिली ‘लाल और नीले’ कटोरे वाली कहानियाँ सुनकर तो मुझे पक्का यकीन ही हो गया कि बात बनाना तो तुम्हे बिलकुल भी नही आता है, ठीक उसी प्रकार जिस प्रकार से केजरीवाल महोदय को बिलकुल नही आता. ऐसी सत्य-आधारित कहानियां हम पहले से ही उनसे सुनते आ रहे हैं. कभी उन्हें कोई रिक्शावाला मिल जाता है, तो कभी कोई ऑटोवाला, और कभी तुम्हारी तरह कोई पुलिसवाला भी जो उन्हें चुपके से बताता है, कि कैसे वह आलाधिकारियों के दबाव की वज़ह से चाह कर भी ईमानदारी से काम नही कर पा रहा . प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय तक में उनके गुप्तचर मौजूद हैं जो उन्हें समय-समय पर बताते रहते हैं कि कैसे प्रधानमंत्री दिन-रात उनके खिलाफ षड़यंत्र में जुटे रहते हैं, और यही प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय का काम भी है. तो कामरेड, तुम्हारी कहानियां भी उन्ही की कहानियों की तरह बिलकुल सत्य घटनाओं पर आधारित प्रतीत होती हैं. तुमने यह भी कहा कि 'जब तक जेल में चना रहेगा तब-तक आना-जाना बना रहेगा'. तो एक बात इधर से भी कान खोल कर सुन लो कामरेड कि 'जब तक जेएनयू में देशद्रोह बना रहेगा, हमारा-तुम्हारा ठना रहेगा'. हाँ, एक बात और, वह तुम्हारी ‘लाल और नीले’ कटोरी वाली कहानी सुनकर मुझे भी एक बार तिहाड़ घूम कर आने का मन करने लगा है. देखना चाहता हूँ ‘लाल और नीली’ कटोरियाँ होती कैसी हैं, आज तक अपने जीवन में मैंने ऐसे रंग की कटोरियाँ नही देखी.

चलो, अब थोड़ी तुम्हारी ‘क्रांति’ पर आते हैं. तुमने कहा जेएनयू का विद्रोह ‘स्पोनटेनीयस’ था और यह भी कहा कि बदलाव ही सत्य है और इसी ‘स्पोनटेनीयस विद्रोह’ को तुम अपने भाषण में ‘क्रांति’ का नाम दे रहे थे और मुमकीन है कि ऐसे ही ‘स्पोनटेनीयस क्रांति’ के सहारे तुम बदलाव का सपना भी देख रहे होगे. मुझे हंसी आती है तुम्हारी ‘क्रांति’ के भ्रांतिपूर्ण समझ पर. ‘क्रांति’ और ‘स्पोनटेनीयस’? कहाँ से सीखे हो बंधू ? चलो, जिनके नाम पर स्थापित विश्वविद्यालय में पढ़ते हो और पता नही कब तक पढोगे, उनके ही विचार के बारे में बताता हूँ कि ‘क्रांति और बदलाव’ के बारे में उनकी क्या समझ थी. राष्ट्रकवि ‘दिनकर’ की अनुपम कृतियों में से एक, (जिनकी एक कृति ‘कुरुक्षेत्र’ की एक पंक्ति तुमने भी अपने भाषण के दौरान उधृत की थी, जिस पर मैं बाद में आऊंगा) ‘संस्कृति के चार अध्याय’ की प्रस्तावना’ लिखते हुए पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरु ने 30 सितम्बर 1955 को, ‘क्रांति और बदलाव’ के सम्बन्ध में अपने विचार इस प्रकार रखे थे. उन्होंने कहा था –

“असल में, हमारा ध्यान उन्ही परिवर्तनों पर जाता है, जो हिंसक क्रांतियों या भूकंप के रूप में अचानक फट पड़ते हैं. फिर भी, प्रत्येक भूगर्भ-शास्त्री यह जानता है कि धरती की सतह में जो बड़े-बड़े परिवर्तन होते हैं, उनकी चाल बहुत धीमी होती है और भूकंप से होनेवाले परिवर्तन उनकी तुलना में अत्यंत तुच्छ समझे जाते हैं. इसी तरह, क्रांतियाँ भी धीरे-धीरे होने वाले परिवर्तन और सूक्ष्म-रूपांतरण की बहुत लम्बी प्रक्रिया का बाहरी प्रमाण मात्र होती हैं. इतिहास में कभी-कभी ऐसा भी समय आता है जब परिवर्तन की प्रक्रिया और उसकी तेजी कुछ अधिक प्रत्यक्ष हो जाती है. लेकिन, साधारणतः, बाहर से उसकी गति दिखाई नहीं देती. परिवर्तन का बाहर रूप, प्रायः, निस्पंद ही दीखता है.”

अब जरा स्वयं के ‘स्पोनटेनीयस क्रांति’ वाली समझ को ऊपर के विचारो से सम्बंधित कर देखना और सोचना, फिर पता चलेगा ‘क्रांति’ के बारे में तुम्हारी समझ की पहुँच कहाँ तक है. 
तुमने अपने भाषण में संविधान की बहुत बाते की. अच्छा लगा सुनकर, विशेषकर 'न्यायिक हत्या' वाली पोस्टर देखने के पश्चात, यह एक भ्रामक मगर सुखद अनुभव था. मेरा एक सुझाव है, राजनीती और नारेबाजी से समय मिले तो सबसे पहले ‘जवाहरलाल नेहरु विश्वविद्यालय अधिनियम 1966’ को एक बार जरुर पढना क्योंकि तब तुम्हे पता चलेगा कि जेएनयू की स्थापना के पीछे का मुख्य उद्देश्य ‘राष्ट्रीय एकता और अखंडता’ है, न कि भारत की बर्बादी और कश्मीर की आज़ादी.’ तुम जिस विश्वविद्यालय में पढ़ते हो, यदि उसके उद्देश्य पर ही खरा न उतर पाओ और उसकी ही रक्षा न कर सको, तो बाकी गरीबी और भ्रष्टाचार हटाने के उद्देश्य के बारे में तो सोचना भी उर्जा का अपव्यय है, सोचो ही मत, वही उत्तम होगा.

तुमने अपने भाषण में समानता-असमानता के ऊपर राष्ट्रकवि रामधारी सिंह ‘दिनकर’ द्वारा रचित उनकी अनुपम कृति ‘कुरुक्षेत्र’ की एक पंक्ति भी उधृत की, पर काश तुम भारत के एकता और अखंडता के बारे में भी उनके निम्नाकित विचार को पढ़ और समझ पाते, जिसे उन्होंने ‘हिमालय का सन्देश’ कविता में निम्न रूप से व्यक्त किया है :-

“भारत है संज्ञा विराग की, उज्ज्वल आत्मउदय की,
भारत है आभा मनुष्य की सबसे बड़ी विजय की,
भारत है भावना दाह जग-जीवन का हरने की,
भारत है कल्पना मनुष्य को राग्मुक्त करने की !
जहाँ कहीं एकता अखंडित जहाँ प्रेम का स्वर है,
देश-देश में खड़ा वहां भारत जीवित, भास्वर है ! “

तुमने मनु और मनुवाद को भी जी भर की गालियाँ दी. नारे लगा-लगा कर गालियाँ दी. परन्तु, जानते हो ‘मनु’ और ‘मनुपुत्र’ पर रामधारी सिंह ‘दिनकर’ के विचार ? चलो, वह भी बता देता हूँ कि उन्होंने ‘चाँद और कवी’ शीर्षक नामक अपनी कविता में इस विषय पर क्या कहा था –

“मनु नही, मनु-पुत्र है यह सामने, जिसकी,
कल्पना की जीभ में भी धार होती है !
बाण ही होते विचारों के नही केवल, 
स्वपन के भी हाथ में तलवार होती है !!

मशहूर कथाकार 'शैवाल' ने अपनी आत्मकथा में माउंटेन मैन ‘दशरथ मांझी’ के बारे में, लिखते हुए यह कहा है, जो दूसरी बार तुम्हारी ‘स्पोनटेनीयस क्रांति’ के कांसेप्ट को स्पष्ट करने में पूर्ण रूप से मदद कर सकेगा और तुम्हारा असली आइकॉन चुनने में भी, कि -

“ये पहाडी रास्ता क्रांति का रास्ता प्रतित होता है क्योंकि समूह का प्रेम ही क्रांति है. तुम सोचते हो बोल देने से होता है प्रेम, मैं सोचता हूँ जो उदित हो रहा है तुम्हारे अन्दर उसे चढ़ने दो आसमान पर, चुप रहो और बोलो अपनी चुप्पी में, लड़ो पर प्रेम करो सारी सृष्टि से, सारे समुदाय से, प्रेम नही बोलता. क्रांति महज इतना नही है कि उठालो शस्त्र या बोल दो नारा, प्रेम करना सीखो जैसे ये श्वेत पुष्प जीना सीखता है रक्त के समुदाय के साथ मेरे भीतर.”

My Pledge, In Response to Traitors' Pledge of Breaking India into Pieces

Jawaharlal Nehru University’ has been named after the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Therefore, in the light of ongoing controversy in JNU relating to ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pakistan’ slogans shouted by few students by organizing the death anniversary of the executed terrorist Afzal Guru, it is imperative to discuss what views Pt. Nehru carried about India’s Unity, sovereignty and Integrity. Pt. Nehru, while writing the prologue to ‘Sanskriti Ke Char Adhyay’ a magnum opus of Nation Poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, on September 30, 1955, had opined that, “In the entire history of India, we witness the working of two mutually-opponents and competing powers. The one is which tries to yield coordination and rapprochement among humans by accepting the outer elements, and the other is that encourages separation. We are still fighting this battle in a different context. Today also there are many powerful establishments, which not only fight to bring political unity rather cultural as well. But, there are such powers too, which try to divide humans and fosters separation on different grounds.”

This is indeed extremely unfortunate that what Pt. Nehru had opined in 1955, we still stand there, rather the circumstances have drastically reached a dangerous notch. The way few students in JNU shouted ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pak’ slogans,  openly and flagrantly inside the campus hiding behind the indefensible pretext of ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression’ and declared the executed terrorist Afzal Guru convicted in Parliament attack case as a ‘Martyr’ is not only bothersome rather it is an alarming bell for the Nation’s unity, Integrity and Sovereignty. There is no reason to tolerate such kind of ‘Anti-National’ activities inside the JNU campus in the name of a different ideology and dissent, nor should this kind of ideology be permitted to flourish anymore. No ideology can be licensed to strike at the root of India’s cultural unity and integrity, by permitting it to go against the Nation’s interest and chanting ‘Pro-Pak’ slogans. This Nation has provided such a golden and magnificent opportunity to flourish those ideologies on its own soils and has offered all good ambience and fertility to those seeds of thoughts. But, today the same ideology has become so venomous that their products are openly and brazenly chanting ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pak’ jingles and pledging to break it into pieces and continue their battle till the downfall of the Indian State? What kind of ideology is this? In fact, this doesn’t fit within the definition of any ideology albeit this can only be categorized under ‘Stagnancy of thought’.

This sort of ‘Anti-national’ activities in a university which runs on the ‘hard-earned’ money of taxpayers are not only ignominious rather criminal and ‘Anti-Constitutional’ as well. I heard some of these participating students including Umar Khalid, on a television debate, claiming that they had organized the death ceremony of Afzal Guru, because they are ideologically opposed to the idea of Capital Punishment. Well, as per valid statistics of leading human rights NGO ‘Amnesty International’, one hundred and forty countries of the world have abolished death penalty as of now. Therefore, keeping such demand to abolish death penalty from the rule-book is not problematic per se. But, the point is that this demand of abolition of death penalty must be kept within the Constitutional and democratic framework and not by chanting ‘Anti-India’ and ‘Pro-Pak slogans’ and by organizing the death ceremony of an executed terrorist and by declaring him as a ‘Martyr’. However, in my opinion, the organizing of this ‘Anti-national’ event had no express or implied connection in any way with their demand of abolition of death penalty because what relation can exist there between demand of abolition of death penalty and shouting of  ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘India Go-back’? I mean, is there any meaningful logic behind this? Has Pakistan abolished death penalty that they were shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’? Have all those countries which have abolished death penalty, have done so because few students in any of its Countries’ central university have sweared to break the respective country into pieces and have shouted ‘Anti-National’ slogans? The answer is a resounding ‘No’. This depicts, that these ‘Anti-nationals’ camouflaged in a pseudo ideology, are interested in the destruction of India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.  Their precarious motive is to destroy the Country and break it into pieces which they themselves are flagrantly accepting.

The renowned French Philosopher Voltaire had once said that, ‘God, save me from my friend and I can defend myself from my enemies.’ I understand, that this is quite a relevant statement in the ongoing context. These ‘Anti-India’ elements are the traitors of same kind camouflaging themselves as Indian citizens, from whom we need to be highly cautious and they are required to be dealt with high-handedness and without mercy. Doing so, is proper and essential from numerous perspectives because non-action may lead to the formation of thoughts on International level that if India is not able to fight ‘Anti-India forces’ within its own territory then how can it fight with its ‘enemy nations’ ? This thought, if produced, shall certainly enhance the confidence of its ‘enemy nations’ which for obvious reason, is inimical to India’s sovereignity and territorial integrity.

The right to freedom of speech and expression emanates from our Constitution and our Country is also run by the same Constitution but isn’t it an extreme paradox that some people vow to destroy the nation, hiding behind the nation’s Constitutional principles itself? What can be more treacherous than this? Shall all those not be categorised as the renegades of this nation who are biting the hands that feed them?

So, finally I come to ‘My Pledge’ in response to their pledge of breaking India into pieces and their continuing battle till the downfall of the Indian state. Since my childhood, I have seen my mother paying obeisance to the 'Mother Land’ immediately after leaving the bed but I had not understood the 'Sacred Secret' behind her doing so. But, now the 'Anti-India' slogans shouted by some 'Anti-India elements' of 'So called' reputed University J.N.U, hiding behind the pretext of 'Freedom of Speech and Expression' has offered me a 'Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious' and has immensely helped me understood the salience and significance of My "Mother Land". Therefore, In protest of the 'Anti-India’ slogans shouted by some 'Anti-India Elements' , I swear in the name of 'My Motherland' to emulate my Mother's routinely activity of paying obeisance to 'My Motherland' immediately after leaving the bed, daily. Let us come and take the 'Similar pledge'.

"Jai Hind-Jai Bharat!!”

                

The Passport and My Principle: The Story of Getting My Passport without Kickback.

Though, I did not take birth in a ‘Well to do’ family and thus received no affluence in inheritance but what I did receive during my upbringing, very few fortunate ‘New lives’ get the opportunity to be nurtured with. Yes, I am talking about the values and ideals of life without which in my opinion, it is humdrum and futile. I have been one of those fortunate beings to receive principles in my patrimony. I was brought up in an ambience where there was no culture of corruption in my family and my father has had always a stern stance against it. This tenet, however has been the reasons of a seamless turbulence in my life and applying for an Indian passport is one out of them, the story of which I am going to share with you all in this article.

Being deeply familiar with the corroded system and its functioning, I have had this strong conviction in mind that getting a passport without grafting the Police officials during physical verification process is not a child’s play. But, I too was determined not to knuckle under their prospective illegal demands. My numerous experience of dealing with the corrupt system, were wise enough to surmise the huge delay in getting a passport issued, if I were to receive it without kickbacking the Police officials. Therefore, I decided to apply for it, long before I genuinely required it.

Though, I basically hail from a small village under Bihta Police station in Patna District of Bihar, but the moment I applied for the Passport, I used to stay in the temple city of Odisha as I have been perusing my Law course from School of Law, KIIT University in Bhubaneswar. I applied online for the Passport in Bhubaneswar itself by paying the requisite fees of Rs.1500/- through transaction reference No.IGO5239900 dated 4th of December 2013, which consequently generated an application reference No. 13-1010817503. I was allotted a slot in ‘Passport Seva Kendra’ Bhubaneswar, dated 23rd of January 2014, upon my request. I reached the Passport office on time, produced all the required documents, went through all the prescribed procedures and then was finally issued an ‘Acknowledgement Letter’ bearing File Number BH1067450906514. This ‘Acknowledgement Letter’ contained an instruction that ‘Application Status- Granted’ but subject to ‘Police verification’. Now, the bottom line of my story comes into the picture. The fact of my double-dwelling, created a legal necessity for double Police verification, one by the concerned Police station of my temporary residential jurisdiction and one by the concerned Police station of my permanent residential jurisdiction. The Passport office, Bhubaneswar, transferred my passport application for Police verification to both the jurisdictions and consequently the story of my real struggle in getting a passport issued starts therewith.

Few days after the Passport office transferred my application to both the Police stations, one evening I received a phone call from Bihta Police station. However, I was in Bhubaneswar that time and my internal examinations were going on. The person who was on the other side of the phone directed me to physically appear in the Police Station by tomorrow’s morning as if I possessed some necromantic power to surreptitiously disappear from Bhubaneswar and appear in Bihta Police Station next moment. I politely conveyed to the informing official that it is not possible for me to reach Bihta from Bhubaneswar on such a short notice and pleaded him to extend the date of my physical presence but he refused to entertain my request claiming tomorrow is the last date for sending the report to the Passport office. He said if you don’t turn up by tomorrow an ‘Absent Report’ shall be sent to the Passport office. I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t understand how a state agency can be so slapdash in its duty which informed me just few hours before the report is to be sent. For the obvious reason, I couldn’t turn up and the Police submitted an ‘Absent Report’ to the passport office, Bhubaneswar.

Let me come to the other side of the story now. The Bhubaneswar Police, did neither come for physical verification at my temporary address nor informed me through any medium to appear in the respective Police station even after the expiry of more than one and half month. This is particularly observable because as per ‘Odisha Right to Public Services Act 2012’ the police verification in passport matters is to be completed within a maximum period of 30 days. Finally, I went to the concerned Police station in Bhubaneswar to trace the status of my application but in a bizarre response the officials told me that no such application had come to them for verification.

Thereafter, I wrote a letter to regional passport officer, Bhubaneswar, dated 18th of March 2014 requesting her to direct Bhubaneswar Police to complete the verification process in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulations and to direct Bihta Police, to initiate a re-verification process. Almost a month passed but I received no response from regional passport officer. As a matter of last resort, I filed an RTI application dated 24th of April 2014, seeking detailed ‘Action taken report’ upon my letter of complaint. This trenchant tool immediately set the stagnant system into the motion and I got a reply from CPIO dated 7th of May 2014 that an ‘Absent Report’ has been received from Patna police but no report has been received from Bhubaneswar police yet. The reply said that a reminder has been issued to Bhubaneswar Police and the passport to me will be issued on receipt of clear police report from DCP Bhubaneswar and SP Special branch Bhubaneswar. It meant that there was no necessity for re-verification by Bihta Police.

However, the problem did not stop there. Few days after I received the RTI response through which Passport officer claimed to issue a reminder to Bhubaneswar Police, I went to the concerned Police station in Bhubaneswar, though I had yet not received any correspondence from them. They said no such reminder has reached them. I returned despondently. Then, I started visiting the Police station intermittently to trace the status of my application but failed to get any clue. At this stage, I decided to file a second RTI and kept visiting Police Station simultaneously. After a month long incessant visit to Police Station, one day I finally got a good news, perhaps due to the effect of my RTI application. One lady in the Police Station who was in charge of dealing with the Passport issues told me that your passport application is with us for last 4 months. When I wished to know that why the same was not processed accordingly, she immediately quipped “There are so many applications being transferred by Passport office on a regular basis and it is not possible for us to deal with each of them in a definite time frame. Your application was there in a bundle of documents, so it took time for me too find it out.” Realizing that any counter comment by me may create a further adverse situation, I politely requested her to complete the process now at least and send it to the Passport office as soon as possible. Upon this request of mine she gave a knee-jerk reaction that “There are so many passport applications already pending before us and if you want your application to be processed expeditiously then you will have to pay Rs.1000/- to me.” When I responded that this is illegal she reacted “Then you wait for your application to be processed through the legal procedure”. She outrightly rejected my any further requests in this regard.”

Then, I decided to complain to the higher Police officials and contacted DCP over phone stating him the full story. He patiently lent me his ears and asked me to visit the Police Station tomorrow where he said my work will be done without bribe. I reached concerned Police station next day where the same lady was sitting in the Passport section. She started staring at me with her eerie eyes, though she reluctantly completed all the prescribed procedures in no time. I returned from the Police station with a sort of feeling as if I had conquered an invincible enemy. My Passport was subsequently issued on 2nd of September 2014, around more than 7 months after I applied for it.

During this entire period of fight with the evil system, what kept me inspired and motivated, were the synergy of principles which I had received in patrimony and an inspiring quote by Swami Vivekananda that, “Those who grumble at the little things that has fallen to their lot to do will grumble at everything. Always grumbling they will lead a miserable life but those who do their duty putting their shoulder to the wheel will see the light and higher and higher duties will fall to their share.” 

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Judgments on the Roads: A Trending Culture of ‘Frontier Justice’ in India

The concept of ‘Frontier Justice’ is as old as human civilization itself. The mob becoming judges is not a newly emerged phenomenon. It has a long and tragic past and almost predates recorded history. No part of the globe can claim itself to be entirely untouched with this brutal phenomenon of vigilante justice. Lynching had once become so rampant and pervasive in the United States that one of the most prolific American writers Mark Twain had sarcastically noted that “America had become the United States of Lyncherdom.” According to a report by ‘Equal Justice Initiative’ around 4000 blacks were lynched in the American South between the end of the civil war and World War II.  In Lynch-Law, the first scholarly investigation of lynching, written in 1905, author James E. Cutler stated that lynching is a criminal practice which is peculiar to the United States. However, after observing an alarming rise in the vigilante justice over a decade, I am of the opinion that this peculiarity is gradually shifting to India, though not for similar reasons as that of the United States.

On January 24 this year, when the Nation was gearing up to celebrate the auspicious day of adoption of its own Constitution, a maniacal mob was involved in lynching its Constitutional values and sanctity. This day, a young man accused of robbing and stabbing a truck driver was tied to an electric pole and beaten to death in the capital city of India. On January 20, a furious mob chopped off a hand of a bank robber in the capital city of Bihar, Patna. On January 6, another young man was beaten to death in the Indian capital city by a frenzied crowd who mistook him for an apple thief. On September 28, 2015 a religiously fanatic mob lynched a man to death on the grapevine of eating beef in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh which stormed the Nation. A month before this gruesome incident, on 2^nd of August 2015, three suspected cattle thieves were beaten to death in Dadri itself. In another jaw dropping case in March 2015, a crowd of about 8000 people barged into the Central Jail of  Dimapur, dragged out an accused suspected of committing rape and beaten him to death. In another ill-fated instance of jungle justice a psychotic crowd in Kaliabazar village of West Bengal, mercilessly beaten a man to death accused of raping and hanging a seven year old girl. In July 2015 a serial rapist killer was attacked in Court premises when he was produced before a Delhi’s Court. In May 2015, an angry mob lynched a man for allegedly beheading a 5 year old child. In October 2014, a lynch mob chopped off a male’s genitals who was caught trying to rape a teenage girl in Ganganagar town of Rajasthan. 

As per the statistics available on the official website of ‘National Crime Record Bureau’ the riotous mobs caused maximum injuries (41.7%) to the police personnel in the country in the year 2014. These instances of jungle justice are only the tip of the iceberg as most of these kind of mob actions which occur in the remote part of the country go unreported.

Such an unprecedented rise in vigilante justice indicates an alarming state of affairs for the democracy of the country. This mob justice is certainly against the quintessential spirit of rule of law, which if not stopped may put the nation’s democracy in danger. In order to bring these ugly episodes to a total halt, the reasons behind these incidents are required to be seriously looked into. One of the major reasons for a mob taking law in its hands flows from the peoples’ perpetuating belief about the State’s incompetency in delivering justice to the masses. The deep-naked corruption in the law enforcement agencies, unprecedented delay in disposal of cases by the Judiciary, undue advantage to the rich and dominant in the justice delivery system are among other reasons of peoples’ complete loss of trust in the system. This horrific situation is certainly a high time to introspect blatant failure of Criminal justice delivery system in the country. It is true that a nation can’t be run on emotionally driven mob’s idea of justice but it is equally true that a violent mob doesn’t understand the principle of Audi Alteram Partem as well. Therefore, the bigger responsibility lies on the State’s machinery to rebuild trust in its citizenry that everyone is equal before law and that each and every offender shall be brought to justice. It is in the interest of the State to maintain trust in its people if it doesn’t want the ‘State of Nature’ to prevail in society otherwise the Status Quo of jungle justice is hardly going to change.

Note: The picture used on this blog has been taken from Internet with due credit to its owner. 

"पाकिस्तान से एक के बदले दस 'सर' लाने वाली बात भी एक 'चुनावी जुमला' थी क्या साहब ?"

इस तस्वीर को देखिये. पिछले कुछ दिनों से इस तस्वीर पर जब भी नज़र पड़ती है तो रोम-रोम सिहर उठता है. मैं अक्सर न्यूज़ चैनलों से चिपके रहने वाला इंसान हूँ, परन्तु इस 'महान शहादत' से सम्बंधित कोई भी खबर देखने की हिम्मत नही जुटा पाया. इसका कारन यह रहा कि संपूर्ण धरित्री के अतुल श्रृंगार 'भारतवर्ष' की पावन मिट्टी के 'कण-कण' का रक्षक परमवीर हुतात्मा लेफ्टीनेंट कर्नल निरंजन के डेढ़ वर्ष की बेटी विस्मया के नासमझ मगर करुण चित्कार, अपने प्रियजनों के अनंत आकाश के सन्नाटे को चीरने वाली आर्तनाद की वो तीखी ध्वनियाँ मेरे कलेजे को अन्दर तक बेध रही थी. निस्संदेह, असंख्य देशप्रेमियों के साथ-साथ मेरे लिए भी यह एक असहनीय क्षण था जिसके कारन मैं शुतुरमुर्ग की भांति सच से साक्षात्कार करने की स्थिति में नही था. यह तस्वीर पठानकोट हमले में शहीद हुए लेफ्टीनेंट कर्नल निरंजन, उनकी डेढ़ वर्ष की बेटी विस्मया एवं पत्नी राधिका की है. इस चित्र में वीरगति प्राप्त शहीद लेफ्टीनेंट कर्नल निरंजन का चेहरा उनके पत्नी राधिका एवं बेटी विस्मया के केंद्र में स्थित है, शायद इसलिए कि वह दोनों के जीवन के केंद्रबिंदु थे. परन्तु, आज वह केंद्रबिंदु इन दोनों के जीवन से प्रस्थान कर चूका है. आज राधिका और विस्मया 'केन्द्रविहीन' हो चुकी हैं. परन्तु, इनके केंद्रविहीन होने के 'केंद्र' में कौन है, इस प्रश्न पर गंभीरता से विचार किये जाने की आवश्यकता है. 

वर्तमान में इतिहास का प्रतिबिम्ब होता है और साथ ही भविष्य का दर्पण भी. क्या मोदी जी कारगिल युद्ध की पृष्ठभूमि  को भूल गए थे या जानबूझकर उन्होंने इसे नज़रंदाज़ किया ?? क्या वह यह भूल गए थे कि जब-जब हमने स्वयं पहल कर सीमापार से रिश्तों में मिठास लाने की कोशिश की है तब-तब हमें बदले में इसी तरह का रक्तपात भेंट किया गया है जैसा पठानकोट में हुआ ?? ऐसी क्या नौबत आ गयी थी कि भारत के बाद उन्हें पाकिस्तान में भी 'चाय पर चर्चा' करने की अविलंब जरुरत जान पड़ी ?? भारत लौटने के बाद यहाँ के सरकारी एजेंसियों के द्वारा यह सुचना फैलायी गयी की नवाज शरीफ ने नरेन्द्र मोदी को फोन कर उन्हें यह कहते हुए आमंत्रित किया था कि चूँकि आप पाकिस्तान के ऊपर से होते हुए नयी दिल्ली जायेंगे इसलिए कुछ देर के लिए यहाँ रुक जाएँ. यधपि, यह सुचना इसलिए विरोधात्मक प्रतीत होता है कि नवाज-मोदी के मुलाक़ात के तुरंत बाद नवाज के निवास पर मीडिया को संबोधित करते हुए पाकिस्तान के विदेश-सचिव एजाज अहमद चौधरी ने यह कहा कि नरेन्द्र मोदी ने स्वयं नवाज शरीफ को फोन कर पाकिस्तान में कुछ देर रुकने की इच्छा व्यक्त की थी. यदि इसमें सच्चाई है तो यह एक गंभीर प्रश्न खड़ा करता है कि आखिर भारतीय अधिकारीयों एवं सरकारी एजेंसियों ने इस सन्दर्भ में झूठ प्रचारित क्यों किया?? यधपि यथार्थ चाहे जो भी मगर प्रश्न यह उठता है कि पकिस्तान में आयोजित इस 'चाय पर चर्चा' का परिणाम आखिर क्या रहा?? परिणाम रहा हमारे सात वीर सपूतों का शव, कुछ अनमोल बचपनो का पिताविहीन हो जाना, कई माँ-बापों का पुत्रविहीन हो जाना और इन वीर सपूतों की पत्नियों का सदा के लिए श्रृंगारविहीन हो जाना. आज भारतीय सेना दिवस पर हमें अत्यंत ही गंभीरता से यह आत्मावलोकन करने की जरुरत है कि आखिर कब-तक हम दो-कौरी के जिहादी कीड़े-मकोरों  के बदले हम अपने अमूल्य वीर जवानों के शवों को कंधे पर ढोते रहेंगे?? यह सिलसिला आखिर कब और कैसे रुकेगा ??

सबसे बड़ी विडम्बना की बात यह है कि चुनाव-पूर्व पाकिस्तान से एक के बदले दस सर लाने की डींगे हाकने वाले एवं अपने परन्तप व्यक्तित्व का दावा करने वाले वर्तमान भारतीय प्रधानमंत्री का पाक के 'नापाक' सरजमीं पर उतरने के लिए तो कार्यकर्म मात्र दो घंटे में ही तय हो जाता है लेकिन आतंकवादी हमले का शिकार हुए पठानकोट एयरफोर्स बेस पहुँचने में उन्हें हफ्ते भर का समय लग जाता है. उन्हें जवाब देना चाहिए कि आज 5 आंतकवादियों के बदले 7 वीर सपूतों का शव हमने अपनी कन्धों पर क्यों उठाया? क्या यही उनके लिए एक के बदले दस का फार्मूला था ? प्रश्न यह भी उत्पन्न होता है कि आपके सरकार में भी यदि पकिस्तान को करार जवाब देने का पौरुषत्व एवं सामर्थ्य नही था तो चुनाव-पूर्व आपने लगभग हर चुनावी सभा में इसका जिक्र ही क्यों किया, इसे मुद्दा क्यों बनाया?? क्या आपने और आपकी पार्टी ने राष्ट्रीय अस्मिता और राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा के मुद्दे पर भी राजनीति की ?? क्या आपका राष्ट्रवाद मात्र चुनाव-प्रचार और वोटबैंक की राजनीती तक सिमटा हुआ है?? तब तो इससे बड़ा देशद्रोह भी मेरे नज़रों में कोई नही हो सकता. खैर, आपके सपनो का राष्ट्रवाद तो उसी वक्त वसनविहीन हो गया था जब आपने खुलेआम पाकिस्तान समर्थित नारे लागने वाले एवं पाकिस्तान के झंडे फहराने वाले मसरत आलम के साथ सहानुभूति रखने वाले लोगों के साथ मिलकर जम्मू-कश्मीर में सरकार बनायीं. जिस राजनितिक पार्टी का उद्भव ही अनुच्छेद 370 हटाने की बाल-रट के साथ हुआ हो, आज उनके लोगों का इस मुद्दे पर पूर्णतः मौन साधे रखना , आपके स्वार्थपूर्ण राष्ट्रवाद के वसनविहीन हो जाने का दूसरा अप्रतिम उदहारण है. आपसे तो दस लाख गुना राष्ट्रवादी मैं मनमोहन सिंह को मानता हूँ जिन्होंने कम से कम 10 वर्षों तक पाक के उस "नापाक" धरती पर कदम तक नही रखा. आपने तो कहा था पाकिस्तान से एक के बदले सर लायेंगे परन्तु सर लाना तो दूर की बात आप तो बदले में 'नवाज के घर' घूम आये साहब. इससे पहले कि अमित शाह जी किसी दुसरे इंटरव्यू में यह रहस्योद्घाटन करें, मैं अभी ही यह पूछ लेना चाहता हूँ कि पाकिस्तान से एक के बदले दस 'सर' लाने वाली बात भी कहीं एक 'चुनावी जुमला' थी क्या ??

आपने स्वयं कहा था कि 'ये लव लेटर लिखना बंद करो, पाकिस्तान को उसी कि भाषा में जवाब दिया जाना चाहिए.; यधपि विगत दो वर्षों में लगातार 150 से अधिक घुसपैठों और सीमा से आये जाबाज़ सैनिकों के सैकरों शवों के बावजूद पाकिस्तान को उसी की भाषा में जवाब तो नही पिल पाया परन्तु साड़ी-शॉल के आदान प्रदान के रूप में एक नयी पहल की शुरुआत जरुर हुई. जहाँ तक 'लव लेटर' का सवाल है तो आपके नेतृत्व वाली सरकार में यह पता करना मुश्किल नही अमूनन नामुमकिन है कि 'लव लेटर' का आदान-प्रदान अभी भी जारी है अथवा नही क्योंकि आपकी सरकार ने 'सुचना का अधिकार कानून' का गला घोंटने में कोई कोर-कसर नही छोड़ी है. चौबीस घंटे पूर्व इंटेलिजेंस इनपुट मिलने के बावजूद भी गृह मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह का यह कहना कि इसी के कारन कोई बड़ी वारदात नही हुई है, शर्मनाक तो है ही साथ ही साथ यह भी इंगित करता है कि सुरक्षा के क्षेत्र में हम किस हद तक असुरक्षित हैं. मेरे समझ में, हो सकता है कि आपका शेष वादों पर पलटना जनता माफ़ भी कर दे परन्तु राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा और अस्मिता के मुद्दों पर जनता को बेवकूफ बनाने की कोशिश का विपरीत परिणाम हो सकता है.  वैसे भी 2014 यदि आपके उत्थान के वर्ष के रूप में याद किया जायेगा, तो 2015 आपके पतन के घोर शुरुआत के रूप में. सावधान हो जाइए, विकल्प की तलाश शुरू हो गयी है.

और अंत में, पठानकोट आतंकवादी हमले में वीरगती को प्राप्त हुए लेफ्टीनेंट कर्नल निरंजन सहित अन्य वीर सपूतों को निम्नांकित शब्दों में अश्रुपूरित नेत्रों संग भावभीनी श्रधांजलि कि................

"मरते हैं डरपोक घरों में, बांध गले रेशम की फीता,

समर यहाँ मुट्ठी भर मिट्टी जिसने चूमी वह जीता"       (अज्ञात)

पूर्ण विश्वास है कि आपसब भारतीय जन-मानस के दिलों में सदा जीवित रहेंगे !!http://www.asianage.com/india/pm-modi-springs-pakistan-surprise-165

The Honesty, Integrity and Altruism are what Kirti Jha Azad has inherited in his blood.

The vigorous and dynamic personality of Kirti Jha Azad may appealingly be described and characterized as a worthy son of a worthy father. His father, Dr. Bhagwat Jha Azad, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, is well known for his integrity and ideals who never made any compromise with his principles all along his protracted political career. The spirit of a conscientious politician of his father does entirely reflect in Kirti Jha Azad as well. He too like his father is an ingenious and a true-blue politician who possesses an out of the ordinary morale to stand, speak and fight against the evil and unrighteous affairs of his own Party too. He is honest to the core having no ignominy attached to him in his long political carrier as of now but at the same time remains combative, tenacious and a rebellion as well. He is modest but is not so shy to be a mute spectator where he sees something wrong happening. He has recently become talk of the town after he alleged heavy financial irregularities in Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) for which he has been fighting for last 8 years.

Kirti Jha Azad was born on January 2, 1959 in Purnia, a north-eastern district of Bihar. He attended ‘Modern School’ in Delhi and studied history at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He has been a member of the 1983 Cricket world-cup winning team. He had played a significant contribution as a bowler in defeating England in the World Cup semi-finals. His genuine love for Cricket may be supplemented by the fact that he has always been vocal against the presence of ‘Politics in Sports’. This is not new when Kirti Azad has raised his voice against corruption and politics in sports rather he has been doing it for quite a long time. He had sat on a hunger strike in 2012 in Delhi demanding a complete ban on the ‘Indian Premier League’. He has always advocated for transparency and accountability in Sports. He is a founding member of the ‘Karma Social Welfare Association’ (KSWA) an NGO which launched an extensive hunt for cricketing talents in the slums of New Delhi around 1996 in the times when there was a dearth of talent in Indian Cricket. He was largely successful in eliciting out cricketing talents from the slums of Delhi by organizing a month-long day-night cricket tournament in Gole Market, New Delhi. This organisation was previously also involved into educating slum children and women on hygiene, health and other issues related to the life in ghettos. This all he did and continues to do even by risking his own political carrier and interest because he believes that “he must pay back to the game which has given him so much in life.”

Few years back I was going through a Hindi Daily of Patna edition, the complete and accurate content of which, has dismissed from my mind but I do remember that it carried the report about the failure of Bihar Govt. in delivering the announced prize to Kriti Jha Azad which the State Govt. had proclaimed after he returned as a member of 1983 world-cup winning team. The News report stated that, the then Govt. of Bihar had announced certain prize in the form of land to Mr. Kriti Jha Azad for gleaming the glory of the State by being member of 1983 world- cup winning team. This News report further went on to state that the said land was earmarked in Patna to deliver its possession to Kirti Azad but for the reasons unknown it was not approved and consequently not delivered to him. Later on, when his father Dr. Bhagwat Jha Azad became Chief Minister of Bihar he was advised to approve the same, but he outrightly rejected such advice and declined to do so arguing that such a step may send a wrong signal in the peoples’ mind and may shake their trust in the system. The logic of such advice that prize was already announced by previous Govt. and he only needed to approve it, failed to leave any impression on his thought. He was not ready to alter his stance and went on to say that if the previous Govt. didn’t approve it then it must be done by the next Govt. as it is not proper for this Govt. to  approve it.

I was deeply moved by this story and consequently filed an RTI application dated 2^nd of July 2013 in the CM Secretariat of Bihar asking the full details of prize announced, its present status etc. but the response I received was jaw-dropping. The response to my RTI application which was transferred to “Art, Culture and Youth Department” under section 6(3) of R.T.I Act left me totally stunned. The response mentioned that no record/documents relating to any such prize announced were available with the Government. I have recently written to Chief Minister of Bihar in this regard and is willing to fight even judicial battle to ensure that the justice be served to him thinking he must not suffer for his and his father’s honesty. I have never heard that Kriti Azad has ever raised his voice for his own right of receiving the prize announced to him by the Govt. which of course carries huge economical values in today’s time. But, I have certainly heard of his constant gallantry battle against corruption in DDCA for last eight years without bothering of its any adverse consequences which in fact he had to face in the form of suspension from his party recently. 

Today, when I relate all these stories of his and his father’s honesty and integrity to the recent revolt of Kirti Azad against corruption in DDCA, I can’t help but to allow this impression to rule my mind that the honesty, integrity and altruism are what Kriti Jha Azad has inherited in his blood.

Note: The part of the pictures used on this blog has been taken from Internet with due credit to its owner.