Finally, BJP nominates Sushil Kumar Modi for Rajya Sabha polls

The long friendship between JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi is often regarded as legendary and compared to Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L K Advani bond.

New Delhi: So it is final, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Nitish Kumar's longtime associate, Sushil Kumar Modi, will now shift to the central politics.

The BJP on Friday decided to field Sushil Kumar Modi as the party's candidate for Rajya Sabha polls. An announcement made by BJP general secretary Arun Singh said the saffron party's central election committee has decided to make him the party candidate for elections to the Upper House of Parliament.

Now all eyes will be on the possible expansion of the Modi cabinet in the centre and perhaps Sushil Kumar Modi will also perhaps make it.

In a surprise political decision after recently held Bihar polls, the BJP central leadership decided to nominate two other leaders as Deputies to the state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar - Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.

It was then speculated that probably Sushil Kumar Modi would be shifted to Delhi.

The long friendship between JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi is often regarded as legendary and compared to Atal Bihari Vajpayee-L K Advani bond.

However, there has been a difference, according to observers --- that in most instances it has been Nitish Kumar who walked away with glamour and prized positions while Sushil Kumar Modi readily played second fiddle.

Of course, during the height of the debate, Sushil Kumar Modi had tweeted to say: "The BJP and the Sangh Parivar gave me so much in the political life of 40 years. I will discharge the responsibility that will be given to me. No one can take away the post of the party worker".

Perhaps, Sushil Modi provoked high command's unhappiness when he had tweeted in support of Nitish after demands were made from within the BJP to replace the chief minister after the Bihar elections - wherein BJP has won more number of MLAs than its partner Janata Dal (United).

“Nitish Kumar is the Captain of NDA in Bihar & will remain its Captain in next assembly elections in 2020 also. When Captain is hitting 4 & 6 & defeating rivals by inning where is the Q of any change,” Modi tweeted on 11 September.

There has been talk about internal conflict within BJP as a number of state saffron party leaders did not agree to Sushil Modi's decision to openly bat for Nitish Kumar when the JD(U) suffered huge number of loss of seats in the 2020 state assembly polls.

It is said the row was initially kicked off by Sanjay Paswan, who wanted Nitish Kumar to shift to Delhi.

Senior BJP leader Dr C.P. Thakur, a Bhumihar, countered his party colleague and said - “The decision to ally or not to ally or who will be the CM face is to be decided by our central leadership".

Mritunjay Tiwari, a Brahmin legislator and state BJP vice-president, also said that Sushil Kumar Modi’s views are his personal opinion and not of the party’s.

Union minister Giriraj Singh also reportedly does not share a very warm relationship with either Nitish Kumar or Sushil Kumar Modi. 

ends 

"I have lost a dear friend.... One day, we will play soccer together in the sky" - Pele on Maradona

He was football’s archetypal troubled genius, a world-beating player whose life and career scaled the most dazzling heights but also plumbed the darkest depths. - AFP story from Buenos Aires

..he was not a squeaky clean idol like Pele, and made little attempt to hide his fiery personality and many vices.

No controversies could overshadow his talents on ground which was supernatural. 

"I have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a legend. One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky."
-Pele on Maradona

(Reuters) - World soccer great Diego Armando Maradona, who died on Wednesday less than a month after his 60th birthday, was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball, but his demons almost destroyed him.

Maradona possessed sublime skill and led a troubled personal life. - 'The Guardian' 

#Maradona won the #WorldCup with #Argentina in 1986, having knocked #England out of the tournament in a match which saw him score the infamous #HandofGod #goal and another - widely considered to be one of the greatest goals of all time.

My hero no more ..my mad genius rest in  peace ..I watched football for you..
Saurav Ganguly 

In 1994 he was thrown out of the World Cup in America after failing a drugs test, before retiring from football in 1997.

After Maradona retired in 1997, he went into coaching and managed the Argentina national team between 2008-2010.

Argentina's president has declared three days of national mourning following the death of Diego Maradona

"Reports from Argentina that Diego Armando Maradona has died. By some distance the best player of my generation and arguably the greatest of all time. After a blessed but troubled life, hopefully he’ll finally find some comfort in the hands of God. #RipDiego". - Gary Lineker, an English former professional footballer and regarded as one of the greatest English strikers; also a BBC broadcaster on 'kicking a ball' about.

Great Expectations From Team Biden: Antony Bilken all set to be new Secretary of State

If the Biden administration will also have 'no tolerance' for terrorism in South Asia, India has a clear advantage vis-a-vis its western neighbour Pakistan and its 'guide and patron' China.

 Great Expectations: 

Not long back Antony Blinken in August had said -- "In a Biden administration, we would be an advocate for India to play a leading role in international institutions that includes India getting a seat in the UNSC". 

“I think you’d see Joe Biden as president investing in ourselves, renewing our democracy, working with our close partners like India, asserting our values and engaging China from a position of strength. India has to be a key partner in that effort,” Blinken, now set to be new Secretary of State, said in response to a question in August this year from former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma.

Biden's probable Secretary of State also had said: “During the Obama administration, we worked very hard to establish India as a key contributing member of the Indo-Pacific strategy. That includes India’s role in working with like minded partners to strengthen and uphold a rules-based order in the Indo Pacific in which no country, including China can threaten its neighbours with impunity. That role needs to extend even beyond the region". 

The task for new US Secretary of State under Joe Biden - probably Antony Blinken - will be to "repair" relationships with some close allies across the globe, many of whom have "bristled" at President Donald Trump's confrontational style and his "America First" campaign.  

Those who welcome the possible move to make Blinken replace Mike Pompeo says the new man would an "effective leader" especially for cleaning up the stables after the worst president and secretary of state we have ever had".

Professionalism: New Guide to US Foreign Policy 

Former career diplomat James Melville told CNN : "Tony was a terrific deputy secretary. He is brilliant and kind and would be a wonderful and very effective leader of what will have to be one of the most monumental tasks in diplomacy, cleaning up the stables after the worst president and secretary of state we have ever had".  

As the delayed 'transition' exercise has begun, a Biden official said the most urgent need was for the new team to be given access to Covid-19 data and the vaccine distribution plans.

"....the delay in ascertainment meant that Biden's team was locked out from government data and could not make contact with federal agencies, nor could it spend $6.3 million in government funding now available for the transition," said CNN, known for anti Trump tilt over for last four years.

A BBC report said - besides Blinken, Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Jake Sullivan are also set to get high positions. All three are of course "alumni of the Barack Obama White House" and are considered Biden loyalists and foreign policy centrists.

Mr Blinken, 58 - likely to be nation's top most diplomat had worked with Joe Biden for nearly 20 years. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, one of the most high-profile black female US diplomats who worked for years on African affairs, has been nominated to serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Jake Sullivan is a former state department official and Hillary Clinton aide who played a key role in negotiating the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. He served as Mr Biden's national security adviser when he was vice-president. Sullivan is the leading contender to be national security adviser.

From Indian context, nothing much would change as closer and enhanced Indo-US ties is more than just the flavour of the season. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President elect Joe Biden have already held a formal tele talk.

It goes without saying that there has been "bipartisan consensus" in the White House and US State Department on retaining India as a "strategic partner". 

Of course, things could change if Biden himself makes the first move and tries to embarrass New Delhi on issues such as 'Kashmir' and related human and religious rights issues. Of course, Modi detractors always believed that President Trump had given almost a freehand to the pro-Hindutva BJP-led dispensation.

Nevertheless, we ought to remember that former President Barack Obama, also a democrat like Biden, had greeted Indian Prime Minister at White House with the Gujarati salutation - "Kem Chho". Modi returned the gesture with closer and affectionate address calling Obama by his first name "Barack" - in fact not many international leaders have done so !

Tea session: Jan 26, 2015, New Delhi 

Experts maintain that Biden has always remained a 'strong believer' of the argument that the US and India could be effective natural partners. As such, this school of thought says there is no government in the US that would afford to ignore New Delhi and the Modi-led dispensation. 

 

"From his early days as senator till recently Biden has been espousing India’s cause in the US and lobbying for Indian interests as an admirer of the world's largest democracy," says Brig (Retd) Anil Gupta in 'Organiser'. 

What could happen elsewhere?

Between Modi and Biden, the tele conversation has been warm.

The leaders also discussed their priorities, including containing the Covid-19 pandemic, promoting access to affordable vaccines, tackling climate change, and importantly the enhanced "cooperation" in the Indo-Pacific Region.

Of Course, the 'Indo-Pacific' brings in China element on the table. However, it remains to be seen - what really changes under Biden vis-a-vis the Washington's policy towards Beijing.

Joe Biden would more actively seek areas of cooperation with a rising China, says one school of thought.

Others, however, say Biden would continue President Trump's policy of countering China's "abusive" economic practices but may not tread a solitary path and jointly take allies along.

 

Meanwhile, what happens on Pakistan front too would be of academic interest as US will have a somewhat nuanced and new policy towards Islamabad's trusted friend and 'guide' China!

"The umbilical cord that has kept US and Pakistan connected for the past two decades, for good or bad, is Afghanistan. Afghanistan was close to Biden’s heart when he was vice president. But he had a different approach. By all accounts, he took an active interest in developments in Afghanistan. As Bob Woodward reported in his book, Obama’s Wars, Biden was opposed to the surge. He tried to convince Obama that a major surge would mean “we’re locked into Vietnam.” He wanted a narrow, ‘counterterrorism-plus’ approach: contain the Taliban, neutralise Al Qaeda (AQ) and get the troops home", says a write up in 'Dawn' penned by Ejaz Haider. 

 

Was 'Trump Sarkar' a mistake ??? 



Biden in the run up to the Presidentials elections has said: "We have a common challenge which is to deal with an increasingly assertive China across the board, including its aggression toward India at the Line of Actual Control, but also using its economic might to coerce others and to its advantage, ignoring international rules to advance its own interests....". 

Joe Biden is likely to walk in to 'Paris Climate Accord' - something Trump had come out of. 

Fox News, a known pro-Trump media outlet says: "Here is Paris in nutshell: We put our (US) coal miners out of their jobs and cripple our $1 trillion oil and gas industry while China and India keep polluting and laugh at us (America) behind our back?

ends 

Consequences...will be disastrous, NSCN (IM) says perhaps in ref to 'military operations'

 Frustration and desperation seem to be the flavour of the season after much efforts to ensure an early agreement to end the Naga peace talks.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN - Isak Muivah) faction issued a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, Nov 24, stating "our patience (perhaps in reference to military operations in certain pockets) should not be translated as weak and helpless".

"The consequences...will be disastrous for both the parties (NSCN-IM and Govt of India). This is never in the interest of ceasefire across Naga areas".

The militant group, which is engaged in peace parleys with Centre since 1997, says: "Naga people believe in solution based on mutual respect of each other's position. But we not believe in force union bereft of any political wisdom. Nor do we believe in carrot and stick policy that will only complicate what has been achieved all these years of negotiation".

The statement from NSCN (IM) whose leaders were provided with 'Z-Plus' security by the Government of India lately makes lot of sense and has wide ranging implications.

All these happened on a day, Chief of army staff. Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane arrived state capital Kohima as part of his three-day vital visit to various formations under the army’s eastern command to review security and operational preparedness. 

It was given out locally that the army chief will be 'guest'of the Governor R N Ravi, who is chief negotiator to Naga peace parleys but is not in very good relations with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.

However, sources on Tuesday said the army chief merely "called on Nagaland Governor" at the Raj Bhavan and also later met chief minister Neiphiu Rio.

The meetings also with senior  security related officials including commanders from para military force Assam Rifles were held to mainly review the security situation in the state.

Signals Tough stance amid 'peace bonanza' 

On 24 November, the chief of army visited various Army and Assam Rifles Headquarters in Nagaland and Manipur to make a firsthand assessment of the ground situation. The COAS interacted extensively with the troops deployed in the remote areas and appreciated their state of operational preparedness, morale and conduct of people friendly operations. 

Later in the evening, General Naravane called on the Hon’ble Governor of Nagaland, Mr RN Ravi and Chief Minister, Mr Neiphiu Rio to discuss prevailing security situation in the state and assured the wholehearted support of the Army and Assam Rifles in maintaining peace and tranquility in the state and ensuring security along the Indo-Myanmar border, said a Defence statement.

As part of Indian Army’s efforts in contributing towards development and equitable opportunities to all sections of the society, a new residential facility at Kohima Orphanage to be run by Assam Rifles will be inaugurated by the COAS on 25 November 2020 prior to his return to New Delhi.

Recently security forces conducted a high profile military operation at the Tamenglong region in Manipur wherein a big NSCN(IM) militant camp existed. The crackdown assumes significance since the Assam Rifles along with the Nagaland Police had in July busted an 'extortion racket allegedly operated by the NSCN(IM)' in Dimapur.

A key NSCN(IM) leader Rayilung Nsarngbe and his two associates were also arrested on July 5. In fact, the Governor subsequently issued a strong statement provoking angry reactions from NSCN (IM) and its mercurial leader but now aging Thuingaleng Muivah.

The NSCN (IM) 'insistence' on Naga Flag and separate Constitution has been categorically rejected by the Government of India. Even former Mizoram Governor Swaraj Kaushal, who was also a negotiator in Naga peace talks in 1998, has counseled Muivah and his group to desist from such demands.

In the meantime, of course the government negotiators have made significant progress in talks with NNPG, the umbrella organisation of Naga militant groups operating within the state of Nagaland.

Recently, the Home Ministry in the centre issued strict orders to Assam Rifles to intensify all security-related operations.

The NSCN (IM) latest statement thus says - "The MHA issuing directive to the Assam Rifles to intensify operations against NSCN (IM) has come as a rude shock".

It has also counseled that "the Government of India must handle with great sensitivity and not prodded the Indian security forces and other security agencies to ruch amok against the NSCN (IM)".

The Tamenglong encounter has added new dynamics to the entire game. According to Manipur Police, one NSCN(IM) insurgent was killed and three were injured in the encounter.

This forest area is about 10-12 km south of Khoupum police station in Tamenglong district. 

 

Tricolour has to triumph 

Security forces had in July found Rs 1.59 crore in cash and 2 kg of RDX explosive with a large number of guns and ammunition from the possession of a top NSCN(IM) leader. The case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency as part of its probe into terror-funding cases. 

Assam Rifles sources in Manipur have said more 'Tamenglong type operations' would be carried out targeting other such militant 'hideouts' in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, where NSCN(IM) camps are said to be "illegal". 

NSCN (IM) wanted the ceasefire to be extended beyond 'Nagaland state', but such a plea has been rejected by the Government of India over last two decades.

ends 

Mala Adiga to be First Lady's policy director: Kannad connection in Biden's first appointment orders

New Delhi: The future 'First Lady' Jill Biden's Policy Director will be Mala Adiga, an Indian American and who has also served during the erstwhile Barack Obama administration.

"Adiga will work for a First Lady who has said she intends to prioritise education and military families," CNN reported. 

In fact, there is a Karnataka connection to Ms Adiga.

She hails from Kakkunje Adiga family of K Suryanarayana Adiga, founder of the erstwhile undivided Dakshina Kannada district’s private sector bank, Karnataka Bank Ltd.

No wonder, the appointment has brought cheer to Kakkunje village in Kundapur taluk in the southern state. 

Ms Adiga was a senior adviser to Jill and senior policy adviser for Biden's 2020 campaign and

she also previously worked for the Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families.

Under Obama's Democratic party administration, she was deputy assistant secretary of state for academic programmes at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and worked in the State Department's Office of Global Women's Issues as chief of staff and senior adviser to the ambassador-at-large.
According to official sources in the US, Ms Adiga also served in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues as chief of staff and senior advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large. 

She was also Director for Human Rights in the National Security Staff’s (NSS) Multilateral and Human Rights Directorate. Prior to joining NSS, she was an attorney at the Department of Justice, where she served as Counsel to the Associate Attorney General.

The appointment may not have direct strategic and foreign policy significance. But given the backdrop of lot of noise vis-a-vis President Donald Trump's personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the debate over how would Joe Biden-regime formulate its India policy, this can have some meaning.Experts maintain that Biden has always remained a 'strong believer' of the argument that the US and India could be effective natural partners. As such, this school of thought says there is no government in the US that would afford to ignore New Delhi andthe Modi-led dispensation. 

 

"From his early days as senator till recently Biden has been espousing India’s cause in the US and lobbying for Indian interests as an admirer of the world's largest democracy," says Brig (Retd) Anil Gupta in 'Organiser'.

Mala Adiga's father Dr Ramesh Adiga, 84, who graduated from Bangalore Medical College, had migrated to the US six decades back. He is a naturalised citizen of the US Dr Jaya Adiga, Mala’s mother is also a medico.

Ends 

Pak education policies slam Sikhs, Hindus are repeatedly cast as 'eternal enemies' of Islam and Hindu culture "unjust & cruel"

 "The Sikhs … have been presented as highly warlike people … and Jihad is glorified as a way to drive them out," says a study report by Catholic Christians on Pakistan government, its education policy and the fate of the minorities - Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in that country - which often gets all sympathies by liberal-sickular army in India !!

According to the report, the Hindus are repeatedly described as the eternal enemies of Islam and their culture portrayed as unjust and cruel. 

The Catholic bishops’ body 'the National Commission for Justice and Peace' published a study claiming that blasphemy allegations and violence against minorities and liberals in Pakistan were increasing in educational institutions.

Nuclear physicist and activist Pervez Hoodbhoy raised concerns about academic freedom in the country. “Forbidden topics include the nature of religious belief, any aspect of the blasphemy law, anything considered critical of certain notions of security and national interest,” he states.

Of some 250 universities, only three offer an option to study other religions, he claims, adding “No constitutional clause guarantees academic freedom in Pakistani educational institutions. Instead, the stated purpose of education is centered on a certain set of values: religion, ritual, tradition and submission to authority. The study of religions other than Islam is a controversial matter in Pakistan.”

According to a report by Catholic news website UCA News,  "Religious minorities are either invisible or portrayed negatively in Pakistan's textbooks, educational researchers revealed as they highlighted incorrect statements on blasphemy laws."

It says - Article 298 of the constitution was amended to the effect that anyone found guilty of blasphemy towards the Righteous Caliphs, the family of the Prophet [Muhammad] and the Companions of the Prophet could get up to three years of rigorous imprisonment or a fine or both,” states page 13 of the book of Pakistan Studies for Class 10 used in schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

However, Tahira Abdullah, a women’s rights activist, disputes the claim, according to UCAN. 

“The passage contains incorrect statements, distortions and personal biases. The term 'blasphemy' is neither mentioned in the constitution nor in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC)," she states.

Similar findings were shared in the latest study by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) titled "Quality Education vs. Fanatic Literacy" launched on Nov. 16 in Lahore. The authors shared their analysis of the textbooks approved by federal and provincial governments for classes and subjects of grades one to 10. 

Abdul Hameed Nayyar, educator and scholar, slams schools for violating Article 22 (1) of the Pakistani constitution, which reads, “No person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or take part in any religious ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own.”

He explained that the rights of religious minorities are always violated and asks that non-religious subjects not contain religious lessons. Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, who is dean of the Department of Social Sciences and Education at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), reiterated the need to introduce sensitivity, acceptance and tolerance towards other religions in school textbooks, according to another report in 'AsiaNews.it'.

Meanwhile, other reports also say that there is something wrong in Pakistani education system and how they promote fundamentalism among Muslim youngsters.

According to Abdul Hameed Nayyar, a retired academic, the study is an indictment against the country's educational officialdom and holds it responsible for poisoning youth against religious and ethnic diversity.

"Pakistan has suffered immeasurably on account of the mishandling of young minds for about four decades. Successive generations have slowly turned into social pariahs on the global scene. They are not only devoid of any useful social skills but are also easily attracted to destructive ideologies and movements," he stated.

Iftikhar Mubarik, a child rights activist, said the way young people are taught in Pakistan's schools and colleges need a complete overhaul to change mindsets.

"Minority children are forced to hide their identity in schools. Content from other faiths should be included in textbooks. The government is still in denial mode. Even my daughter in fifth grade knows that her classmates do not sit with Christian students," he said.

Reports also say a Christian teenager Sharoon Masih was beaten to death by Muslim classmates for drinking from the same glass as a Muslim at MC Model High School in Burewala, Punjab province.

In 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a former English lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University, was arrested after being accused of posting derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad on social media. His lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was later shot dead in 2014 for representing him.

"Identifying fundamentalism and hate material in textbooks is like attempting a failed paper. No measures have been taken so far to implement the instructions of a 2014 judgment to reform the curricula."

On June 19, 2014, Pakistan's Supreme Court, ordered the federal government to create a national council to promote the rights of minorities and provincial governments to create task forces to push religious tolerance, develop appropriate curricula in schools and colleges, protect places of worship and a crackdown on hate speech, among other measures. 

Chhath fest canceled in Delhi after a decision 'not to allow' any public gatherings due to pandemic

Thousands of people, particularly women, stand on holy rivers, ponds and water bodies early in the morning to worship the rising Sun on the festival days. The festival is mostly celebrated in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
An estimated half of New Delhi's 20 million people are migrants from these states, making the festival a major event in the capital.

The 'popular' festival that usually attracts thousands of people to riverbanks for ritual baths passed off unnoticed on Nov. 20 in New Delhi after a court banned gatherings amid spiraling Covid-19 pandemic cases.

Delhi High Court upheld a government decision not to allow any gatherings in public places when Hindu group Durga Jan Seva Trust challenged the decision of Delhi Disaster Management Authority to cancel Chhath Puja festival gatherings. The festival, dedicated to the sun god, is also to thank Shashthi Devi, the benefactor and protector of children. It gives thanks for the bounties of life on earth while praying for the granting of certain wishes.

The bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad dismissed a petition by a community-based organisation Durga Jan Seva Trust challenging the November 10 order of chairman of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) stating this was being done as the "third wave" of the pandemic Covid19 has hit the national capital. 

The court said allowing a large gathering would result in people becoming super spreaders of the deadly infection.

The Chhath Puja celebrations are held at public places with 'married women devotees' gathering in large numbers like ponds and riverbanks.

The women folk from Bihar and eastern UP offer prayers to Sun God for long life of their husbands and well being of the family and children. In a city of 20 million population and a large number of them thronging from rest of India, more than 9,000 people were hospitalised in the city suffering Corona infection on Tuesday, Nov 16, officials said.

The trust had sought permission to hold a gathering of 1,000 people for Chhath Puja. To their plea, the High Court said, “In today’s day and time, such a petition is belied by the ground reality". 

The prayer to allow gathering of about 1000 devotees was dismissed by the court with a rather sarcastic remark: "Oh really! Today when the Delhi government is not allowing marriages with over 50 persons, you want only 1,000 persons. How come?"

The bench said the the petition did not have any 'merit' to be considered or taken cognizant. Many citizens have expressed their anguish on some organisations challenging the government's decisionto enforce restrictions on people'e movement due to pandemic.

"It is ridiculous that some people want their festival at the risk for entire capital city and thousands of lives. This is an ideal case of misuse of public sentiment or democratic spirit. Entire Europe was locked during Good Friday and Easter, no one protested," said Sheetal Mukherjee, a Hindu woman adding, "Even we Bengali Hindus compromised during Durga Puja and no Durga puja was organised in East Delhi".

  

She said churches had suspended Sunday Mass in several cities for months. Mumbai resumed Masses only last week. Catholics and Protestants have also advised against receiving Holy Communion directly on the tongue.

She further said: "Among Christians, the Church of England has also advised against placing of holy wafers directly on the tongue by those administering Eucharist".

Moreover, most churches and temples and places of worship in various parts of the world have already advised people not to shake hands or embrace each other so that the pandemic is not spread. 

India's national capital, Delhi, on November 12-13 reported 104 new deaths and 7,053 new infections. Infections in the country rose by 44,789 in about 24 hours time span taking the total to 8.73 million, only behind the US tally.

At the national level, India saw jump of 38,617 fresh Corona cases and 474 deaths in a day.

Total cases shot up to 89.12 lakh and there have been already 130,993 total deaths. On Nov 18, Wednesday, Delhi recorded  its highest covid related death toll at 131 and there were 7486 fresh cases.

Total cases in Delhi has jumped 0.5 million mark and total casualties due to pandemic, as on Nov 18 has been 7943. However, Mumbai so far has highest deaths due to Corona with the figures being 10, 615. 

Making things worse for citizens of Delhi and adjoining areas, there is also huge deterioration in air quality due to pollution and annual smog. Medical experts say PM2.5 pollutants, fine particles in high concentration, in Delhi’s air can harm the nasal passage barrier and also damage the inner lining of lungs.

Perhaps these have led to 'faster spread' of coronavirus infection, they said.

Arvinder Singh, a medico in a city hospital, tweeted - "the festive surge has only just begun".

Appreciating the gravity of the Covid19 situation in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trusted aide and federal Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to help authorities to deploy 10 mobile testing labs for coronavirus with total capacity of 20,000 tests in phased manner. 

The city government under Arvind Kejriwal has proposed introducing new restrictions to reduce the number of people at weddings to 50.

ends 

part 2: Excerpts from Barack Obama's new book 'A Promised Land'

WHETHER IN SPORTS or politics, it’s hard to understand the precise nature of momentum. But by the beginning of 2004 we had it. Axe had us shoot two television ads: The first had me speaking directly to the camera, ending with the tagline “Yes we can.” (I thought this was corny, but Axe immediately appealed to a higher power, showing it to Michelle, who deemed it “not corny at all.”)

The second featured Sheila Simon, daughter of the state’s beloved former senator Paul Simon, who had died following heart surgery days before he’d planned to publicly endorse me.

We released the ads just four weeks before the primaries. In short order, my support almost doubled. When the state’s five largest newspapers endorsed me, Axe recut the ads to highlight it, explaining that Black candidates tended to benefit more than white candidates from the validation. Around this time, the bottom fell out of my closest rival’s campaign after news outlets published details from previously sealed court documents in which his ex-wife alleged domestic abuse. 

On March 16, 2004, the day of the Democratic primary, we ended up winning almost 53 percent of the vote in our seven-person field—not only more than all the other Democratic candidates combined, but more than all the Republican votes that had been cast statewide in their primary.

...foreign policy argument arose just a few days later, when during a
speech I mentioned that if I had Osama bin Laden in my sights within Pakistani
territory, and the Pakistani government was unwilling or unable to capture or kill
him, I would take the shot. This shouldn’t have been particularly surprising to
anyone; back in 2003, I had premised my opposition to the Iraq War partly on
my belief that it would distract us from destroying al-Qaeda.

But such blunt talk ran counter to the Bush administration’s public position; the U.S. government maintained the dual fiction that Pakistan was a reliable partner in the war against terrorism and that we never encroached on Pakistani territory in the pursuit of terrorists. My statement threw Washington into a bipartisan tizzy, with Joe Biden, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican presidential candidate John McCain both expressing the view that I was not ready to be president.

In my mind, these episodes indicated the degree to which the Washington foreign policy establishment got things backward—taking military action without first testing diplomatic options, observing diplomatic niceties in the interest of maintaining the status quo precisely when action was called for.

ends 

Excerpts from Barack Obama's new book 'A Promised Land'

Excerpts from Barack Obama's new book 'A Promised Land' 

 

"Both of us (he and his wife) were drained, physically and emotionally, not only by the labors of the previous eight years but by the unexpected results of an election in which someone diametrically opposed to everything we stood for had been chosen as my successor.

....Perhaps most troubling of all, our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of crisis — a crisis rooted in a fundamental contest between two opposing visions of what America is and what it should be; a crisis that has left the body politic divided, angry, and mistrustful, and has allowed for an ongoing breach of institutional norms, procedural safeguards, and the adherence to basic facts that both Republicans and Democrats once took for granted.

I’m convinced that the pandemic we’re currently living through is both a manifestation of and a mere interruption in the relentless march toward an interconnected world, one in which peoples and cultures can’t help but collide. In that world—of global supply chains, instantaneous capital transfers, social media, transnational terrorist networks, climate change, mass migration, and ever-increasing complexity—we will learn to live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize the dignity of others, or we will perish. 

Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, meanwhile, had engineered the modernization of his nation’s economy. 

A gentle, soft-spoken economist in his seventies, with a white beard and a turban that were the marks of his Sikh faith but to the Western eye lent him the air of a holy man, he had been India’s finance minister in the 1990s, managing to lift millions of people from poverty. 

For the duration of his tenure as prime minister, I would find Singh to be wise, thoughtful, and scrupulously honest. Despite its genuine economic progress, though, India remained a chaotic and impoverished place: largely divided by religion and caste, captive to the whims of corrupt local officials and power brokers, hamstrung by a parochial bureaucracy that was resistant to change.

And then there was China. Since the late 1970s, when Deng Xiaoping effectively abandoned Mao Zedong’s Marxist-Leninist vision in favor of an export-driven, state-managed form of capitalism, no nation in history had developed faster or moved more people out of abject poverty. Once little more than a hub of low-grade manufacturing and assembly for foreign companies looking to take advantage of its endless supply of low-wage workers, China now boasted topflight engineers and world-class companies working at the cutting edge of advanced technology. 

Its massive trade surplus made it a major investor on every continent; gleaming cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou had become sophisticated financial centers, home to a burgeoning consumer class. Given its

growth rate and sheer size, China’s GDP was guaranteed at some point to surpass America’s. When you added this to the country’s powerful military, increasingly skilled workforce, shrewd and pragmatic government, and cohesive five thousand-year-old culture, the conclusion felt obvious: If any country was likely to challenge US preeminence on the world stage, it was China.

And yet watching the Chinese delegation operate at the G20, I was convinced that any such challenge was still decades away—and that if and when it came, it would most likely happen as a result of America’s strategic mistakes.

OF ALL THE BRICS leaders in attendance at the G20, I was most interested in

engaging with Medvedev. The US relationship with Russia was at a particularly

low point. The previous summer—a few months after Medvedev had been sworn

into office—Russia had invaded the neighboring country of Georgia, a former

Soviet republic, and illegally occupied two of its provinces, triggering violence

between the two countries and tensions with other border nations.

For us, it was a sign of Putin’s escalating boldness and general belligerence, a

troubling unwillingness to respect another nation’s sovereignty and a broader

flouting of international law.

(Obama rakes up 'divisive nationalism' of BJP)

"At dinner that night, Sonia Gandhi listened more than she spoke, careful to defer to Singh when policy matters came up, and often steered the conversation toward her son. It became clear to me, though, that her power was attributable to a shrewd and forceful intelligence. 

As for Rahul, he seemed smart and earnest, his good looks resembling his mother’s. He offered up his thoughts on the future of progressive politics, occasionally pausing to probe me on the details of my 2008 campaign. 

But there was a nervous, unformed quality about him, as if he were a student who’d done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject.

....it was getting late, I noticed Manmohan Singh fighting off sleep, lifting his glass every so often to wake himself up with a sip of water. I signaled to Michelle that it was time to say our goodbyes. The prime minister and his wife walked us to our car. 

In the dim light, he (Manmohan) looked frail, older than his seventy-eight years, and as we drove off I wondered what would happen when he left office. Would the baton be successfully passed to Rahul, fulfilling the destiny laid out by his mother and preserving the Congress Party’s dominance over the divisive nationalism touted by the BJP?

Somehow, I was doubtful. It wasn’t Singh’s fault. He had done his part, following the playbook of liberal democracies across the post–Cold War world: upholding the constitutional order; attending to the quotidian, often technical work of boosting the GDP; and expanding the social safety net. 

Like me, he had come to believe that this was all any of us could expect from democracy, especially in big, multiethnic, multi religious societies like India and the United States. 

Not revolutionary leaps or major cultural overhauls; not a fix for every social pathology or lasting answers for those in search of purpose and meaning in their lives. Just the observance of rules that allowed us to sort out or at least tolerate our differences, and government policies that raised living standards and improved education enough to temper humanity’s baser impulses.

Onetime 'secular' & anti corruption crusader Kejriwal turns to Temple politics::: why ??

 When gimmicks beyond a point is bound to fail, onetime disciple (read Chela) of Anna Hazare, resorts to India's most influential gimmick-games. It's called Religion and temple hopping !!

Hindu by politics ??? 

Religion has graduated in India beyond the Marxian definition of being opium. In the politics of a country paradoxically billed as the world's largest democracy, religion has become a powerful tool.

Ideologically, almost all Indian politicians now look committed to the pro-Hindu ideology of accepting India as Hindus' nation. But a very few like Arvind Kejriwal, the current chief minister of Delhi state, stood out. That was until recently.

Kejriwal emerged as a politician in the last decade after his long campaign against corruption. Between 2015 and 2019, he presented himself as the chief apostle of Indian secularism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hardline pro-Hindutva politics.

But in 2020 Kejriwal has been busy walking barefoot to temples and offering prayers.

Who in India would have bothered about someone doing that in his personal capacity on a festival day?

Kejriwal has decided to make a public spectacle of his newly found religious devotion to Diwali, India's biggest festival of lights. Political compulsion is the mantra of pragmatism.

On the auspicious moment of the festive day of Diwali on Nov. 14 evening, he led - in his own words - Delhi's 20 million people to virtually join him and his ministers for prayers at the city's opulent Akshardham Temple.

"I, along with my ministers, will start the Lakshmi puja [worshiping goddess Lakshmi] at the time at Akshardham Temple, which will be telecast live by TV channels. I urge all Delhi people to turn on your televisions and sit down with your family to conduct Lakshmi puja," Kejriwal said in an audiovisual appeal before the mega show which was also televised live.

The 'change' in Kejriwal has stunned most of the more than 2 million Muslims in the city. Trader Naushad Ali in East Delhi used his cricket lingo to express the feeling: "It's a case of the fall of another secular wicket. A one time anti-corruption crusader should have avoided such political trappings."

                           Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) is illuminated with 10,000 oil lamps on the eve of Diwali. 

In February 2020 elections to the Delhi state legislature, Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (common man's party) won 62 seats in the 70-member house, defeating Modi's pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kejriwal's poll mandate showed that the new leader and his party could challenge and defeat the seemingly invincible BJP and Modi with secular ideologies and transparent politics.

As expected, Kejriwal overnight became the 'talk of the town' and stalwarts like former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and other opponents of the BJP such as Sharad Pawar - heading NCP in Maharashtra - had hailed Kejriwal's hard owned victory.

A Muslim legislator Shoaib Iqbal, an enthusiastic confidant of Kejriwal, had told this writer: "The mandate in Delhi shows, Arvind Kejriwal is the new leader who can take on the hitherto considered invincible power of Narendra Modi".

Others had said that Kejriwal's winning performance in 2020 and also five years back in 2015 showed that the 'secular polity' something different from Modi's pro-Hindutva tilt too was good enough to deny the BJP the much sought after

electoral win in Delhi.

But within a few months, Kejriwal has now decided to 'appease' Hindus. This is the flavour of the season. In other words, the right wing politics is here to stay 

This phenomenon has attracted the erstwhile apostles of 'secular polity' like Kejriwal and also communists and a few more provincial leaders. 

In Delhi polls, five assembly segments - with about 30 per cent of Muslim voters - came to the AAP rather easily.

In Okhla - where falls the epicentre of the anti-new Citizenship law protest Shaheen Bagh - AAP's Amanatullah Khan recorded a convincing win. The AAP also easily won other Muslim stronghold assembly segments such as famous Chandni Chowk. 

The Modi government critics say the law is discriminatory towards Muslims. The CAA row had fetched some 'bad names' for the Modi government even overseas as a number of European Parliamentarians had moved a resolution against the new law. 

The 'Hindu appeasement' card did not came to Kejriwal and his leadership for the first time. In fact in the run up to the Delhi assembly polls, Kejriwal's colleagues and Ministers went to Hanuman temples more than once, made a public view of the same and even spotted 'red marks' on their forehead following the well known Hindu tradition.

Analysts also felt that Kejriwal has brought a different brand of politics and temple visits or conducting rituals did not matter to the voters.

It was believed till February 2020 that while Prime Minister Modi, his party BJP and their poll managers made 'a lethal combination' of hardcore Hindutva and development; the AAP on the contrary had the image of a doer - that is 'development' and tried to play a politics as a catalyst of the 'soft-Hindutva'.

But the Diwali puja programme or rituals along with all ministerial colleagues prove Arvind Kejriwal has decided to give up the 'mask' of a protagonist of a secular-polity or soft Hindutva.

A Game-changer Temple at Ayodhya 

Kejriwal also wants to play the real game. "Do not forget, we were the first party to welcome abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir," said an AAP leader 

in February itself. 

On the other hand, trying to strike a soft balance, Kejriwal's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia even had said - "True nationalism is working for people's welfare and giving them education".

  

But Akshardham temple visit on Diwali evening and bringing in television cameras for the puja ceremony (offering prayers) is hardly a kind of 'nationalism' that Indians cherished for last six decades and more.

Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, known for her pro-Muslim stance, has started wooing Hindus by reciting Sanskrit mantras worshiping Hindu gods and goddesses during public meetings.

In other words, the majority's Hindu religion continues to play political roles in India, and no one finds it a problem.

Kamal Nath, a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and secular Congress party leader, organized a recitation of religious discourse in Bhopal on Aug. 5 and sent 11 silver bricks to Ayodhya, considered the birthplace of Hindu Lord Ram, for construction of the grand temple there.

On several occasions, the Congress party has tried to describe its top leader Rahul Gandhi as an ardent worshiper of Hindu lord Shiva.

During the Delhi riots in February, mobs shouted the slogan "Hinduon ka Hindustan" (India belongs to Hindus).

In some places, thousands marched shouting "Shoot down the traitors." The word traitor has somehow become synonymous with Muslims as historically they are seen linked with Muslim invaders. In the current politics, Muslims are generally projected as more loyal to Pakistan, the Muslim-majority nation carved out of British India in 1947 for Muslims, which turned out to be India's arch-rival.

Politically and socially, it is easy to target or neglect Muslims in India just because they are an electoral minority. Some 200 million Muslims, 10 percent of all Muslims in the world, live in India. But they are only some 14 percent of India's 1.3 billion people, more than 80 percent of them Hindus.

Is Kejriwal then the last wicket of Indian secularism falling?  

If there is polarisation in politics, its reason lies with the people of India. The stream cannot be different than the source. Hence, the correction ought to come from the common masses — their ability to see reason in actions.

Are they being counted ?? 

ends