"It's a fight Modi has to win if he wants to beat the Status quo curse" :::: Naga Issue :::: Who stalled the Peace talks and how ??? ==== The longer the disappointment, the more aggressive the hunt for scapegoats

The longer the disappointment, the more aggressive the hunt for scapegoats. 

It's true, PM Narendra Modi has done a lot for the north east. 

However, the inability to grapple with the problems thrown by the Status quo club vis-a-vis tribalism and radicalisation with regard the Naga will be the sorriest part of the NDA legacy ... the Moditva phenomenon itself. 

Now, the time to take the first call. Identify and punish the wrongdoer. As we ponder - we may not know who is the Sabotage Club gang-leader.  

It would be unfair to say that the Modi Govt did nothing to 'achieve' the milestone - the Solution to the Naga issue. There was one serious lapse. 

And .... as so often, the BJP-led NDA found the right path perhaps only by exploring the wrong one first. How much Ram Madhav has to be blamed ? But his wings were clipped and he was shunted out. Ram Madhav had a say in 2018 decision. 

The BJP by default or otherwise trusted the 'richest' politician in the state. Memories are like cage. The BJP repeated the same formula for 2023 -- trusting the same tested methodology. 

But that strategy had failed earlier and the BJP high command looked the other way. While criticising BJP, we also soon realise that the regional partner too had a major say in not delivering the Solution.

It is hard to sell something with sincere passion when someone does not really know what it’s for. 

The 'metaphysical disease' outsourced to some others have caught up with the NPF now. They can no longer hide it. The confusion on what NPF is ... a political party or an evangelist-run NGO must be made clear.  

“It is a historic issue built on the sacrifices and hopes of generations of Nagas. At this stage, we must not create more divisions through blame and criticism. We must work with wisdom, maturity, and unity to find an honourable, acceptable, and inclusive political solution”, the Naga People’s Front (NPF), Central Headquarters, Kohima, said. 

Former NPF president Shurhozelie has been an academician and a scholar. If someone is trying to 'ape' him; it may only bring a catastrophe. 

The prescription made by NPF vis-a-vis wisdom, maturity and unity -- is something missing in its entire approach. 

Even a 12-pass student from northern hills around Kohima and a bit far before Rengma region will tell -- NPF's approach especially after the merger with NDPP -- has been -- 

'minus wisdom', absence of maturity and a totally partisan approach. Only one faction matters to the NPF and now it is clear --- yet again -- that faction is not the NNPG.  

The claim that the NPF was responsible for the exit of former interlocutor R.N. Ravi is also baseless, the NPF further clarified. “The appointment, continuation, or transfer of the Government of India representatives is decided only by the Government of India”, it stated.  

This denial is a sign of weakness. Naga leaders know who took the credit of shunting out of R N Ravi. Even jokers in the pack - including Mani Shankar Aiyar (local version) used to take delight when Ravi faced criticism from DMK leaders in Tamil Nadu. 

Now that Ravi is West Bengal governor; his detractors in Nagaland (especially Kohima) realise that Ravi has the confidence of Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi.

There is some panic reaction; maybe ! Post-West Bengal polls, the BJP is pulling rug underneath the feet of regional parties. The is a purpose and a plan behind all these. 

Sadly, Nagas too may not approve another round of merger. 

Ends 

France recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago :::: UK records its hottest June day and France its hottest day ever as heatwave sweeps Europe

UK records its hottest June day and France its hottest day ever as heatwave sweeps Europe

People taking shelter from Sun: Vatican city -- as they wait Pope Leo's weekly session 

As the UK and France registered record-breaking temperatures, the World Health Organization warned that the extreme temperatures are “putting lives at risk”.

Temperature of 36.1C (97F) recorded in Hampshire, while two-thirds of Europe’s population experience temperatures above 30C  

Europe bakes under deadly ‘Omega’ heatwave as temperatures shatter records, death toll rises

The previous June record for the UK of 35.6C (96F) was set in Camden Square in London in 1957 and was reached again in Southampton in 1976. The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK is 40.3C (104.5F), reached on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

Much of western Europe continued to swelter under extreme heat. At least 94 million people, most of them in France and Spain, were expected to experience temperatures above 35C (95F).  

In France, which on Tuesday recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, authorities sought to restore electricity to thousands of homes hit by power cuts in the northwestern region of Brittany.   

France, Britain, Italy and Spain remained among the worst-affected nations, with authorities warning that extreme heat could pose serious risks even to healthy adults. 

Meteorologists said more temperature records could be broken in the coming days.  

In Spain, the national weather agency said the daily average temperature on Monday was 28.08C (82.5F) and 28.17C (82.7F) on Tuesday – the highest ever recorded for June, while France expanded the number of departments under red alert.  The city of Paris said it was launching a “level 4 heatwave plan” that included measures such as keeping most parks and gardens open all night and extending the hours of municipal swimming pools. Outreach teams were also being deployed to contact people living on the streets, it said in a statement.

Across Italy, 16 cities including Rome were under red alert for heat, and construction workers and delivery riders were told not to work between 12.30pm and 4pm. In the Netherlands, an extreme heat warning led to the cancellation of outdoor sports, scaled-down ​public transport and the shortening of school days, while local authorities in Switzerland offered free daytime cinema screenings in air-conditioned theatres.

Across Europe, schools, hospitals, care homes and workplaces have struggled to handle sweltering temperatures that stress organs and push people beyond what their bodies can handle.

ends 

Gopal Mukherjee, a Hindu butcher, who fought against Muslim League's agenda to 'snatch Calcutta by force' :::: Sickularists, Leftists and Congress are unnerved by Suvendu Govt

The renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road by the Suvendu Govt in West Bengal has led to a flood of scholarly and unscholarly argument ...

pointing out that the Suhrawardy in question was not the “Butcher of Kolkata" who instigated the August 1946 killings of Hindus and later became Prime Minister of Pakistan, but his uncle.  

A typical  Hindu or the correct way of response should be so what ?  

Gopal Mukherjee's role in 'Calcutta's history' rose to prominence much ahead of the Partition. He met with force the Muslim League's agenda to snatch Calcutta by force. Armed with sticks, spears, knives, guns, or whatever his men could arrange, he led an army that stood like a wall against surrendering the city. 

The sickular argument is only an argument and guided by propaganda spirit. How ? 

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was certainly reflecting the majority opinion when he concluded his comment on the renaming.

“It’s time West Bengal remembers, corrects and honours the Real Heroes," said the chief minister. 

He reasoned that, “For decades, a major artery of our city bore the name of someone who wilfully misused state power as a weapon, orchestrating the massacre of innocent citizens for sheer political gain. 

By renaming it after Shri Gopal Mukherjee, the fearless soul who stepped up as a protector-in-chief to defend and save thousands of innocent lives, finally restoration of historical justice will be achieved by honouring a true guardian and saviour." 

The CM, acknowledging what most Kolkatans probably believe, associated the former name of the road with a particularly bloody, unpleasant period of Bengal’s history. 

The so-called academician Suhrawardy was no academician. He was a military medico with the Railways and was made VC by the Britishers as they wanted to set an unhealthy tradition by appointing a Muslim to the post. 

No right-thinking Indian today would dispute that a family whose members went "en masse to Pakistan"—and whose ancestral home on that very street now houses a department of the Bangladesh mission in Kolkata because it was formerly East Pakistan— cannot  deserve a road name.

The incident is about 1932. Suhrawardy was also given Knighthood for helping British cops arrest one freedom fighter. 

Hassan was the uncle of the infamous 'Suhrawardy'; - that is Huseyn. They were devout Muslim League members and whose loyalties were certainly not with post-British Raj India. 

One ended up as Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the other’s notable contribution was the setting up of the East London Mosque in the middle of the Second World War, in 1941— a strange priority for a supposedly eminent man of medicine. 

If anything, both men were very useful to the British and thus were rewarded for it adequately.  

Hence, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's decision and the endorsement of the move by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari ought to be appreciated.  

The Muslim League was worried about the demographics of their dream nation that came with an economic challenge. While the eastern part of then Bengal province was Muslim-majority, it lacked industrial hubs, which were concentrated in cities like Calcutta and Howrah, on the western side.

The League then came up with a plan that left the region burning. Jinnah announced 'Direct Action Day' on August 16, 1946, to ensure Calcutta fell to the League by a show of muscle power. The day marked the beginning of violent events, with fiery speeches being given from local mosques at the instruction of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, a League leader who then held the post of Bengal's Prime Minister.

Hindu houses were burnt and shops looted by Muslim League supporters. There were killings and rapes.

By August 17th, Hindus started organising. Gopal Mukherjee was among the musclemen who mobilised their forces. The Vyayam Samitis, who were instrumental in the freedom struggle, chipped in, armed with rods, knives, and even revolvers that they had sourced from American soldiers in the aftermath of World War 2. Funding for counteroffensive poured in from the Marwari traders of Burrabazar.

Mukherjee, fearing that Calcutta would turn into Pakistan, gave strict orders to his men to retaliate. In response to one murder, you kill 10 of the attackers, he told them. 

This is how Calcutta was protected for India.  

British historian and journalist Andrew Whitehead illustrated Mukherjee's role as, "Calcutta was in flames and Gopal Patha, in effect, took the opportunity to douse the city in kerosene." But for Mukherjee, it was his "duty to help those in distress".

A year after the killings started, in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi visited Calcutta. Many turned up to his message of peace and laid down their weapons. But Mukherjee was adamant. 

"Where was Gandhiji, I said, during the Great Calcutta Killing?" he had recalled, refusing to surrender even a nail.

ends 

West Bengal has come out of "feudal structures" where to be rich was an offence ::::: "The CPI-M also had the same policy, as TMC ... if people are poor then it is good for us" -- says Himanta

Addressing Republic TV Summit, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated he was more delighted and excited about electoral victory in West Bengal than his own victory in Assam.

In May - when votes were counted for assembly polls in Assam and Bengal and other states; Himanta Biswa Sarma-led returned to power with a massive mandate. 

"Assam and West Bengal have so many rivers. West Bengal also has sea. So our potentiality ... whether blue economy or white economy .. we were never backward. But Mamata Banerjee had though that she would keep Bengal under a feudal system," Himanta said. 

"The CPI-M also had the same policy, if people are poor then it is good for us. People thought emergence of neo-middle class will go against us," he said adding "in Bengal this was deliberately done (ruka gaya tha) that neo-middle class should not emerge".  

The idea was Bengal should remain a "feudal" kind of society. 

"So I think, the manner attention has been given to Good Governance in Bengal after BJP came to power; I presume in three to four years, Bengal will turn around".  

The cascading impact of the same will be seen in north east and also in Jharkhad and Bihar. 

"We wish every success for the government in Bengal. And so we think, the eastern India and the north eastern India - a kind of prestigious position of pride we were suppsed to get ... that time has come now".   

Himanta Biswa Sarma 

Himanta said -- "Our priority now will be to bring positivity in Bengal and other parts in east and north east India. We always felt that because we have been deprived so much, there came in a strong Negativity in our blood stream itself. In Assam, there was some positivity in last five years and we have seen that kind of change that we have not seen in 75 years".  

"I feel if we can bring in Positivity in Bengal and the entire region, then we will be the bright spot of the economy," he said, adding "we will not remain dependent states and instead constribute for the growth of the nation". 

  

Narendra Modi gets "invite" from Iranian President to attend funeral for Ali Khamenei

Iran President invites PM Modi to attend funeral for Ali Khamenei: Sources

Iran's former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of Israeli and US strikes against Tehran on February 28. His funeral will begin on July 4 and end with his burial in his hometown in Mashad on July 9.  

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian and Modi

The 86-year-old was killed on February 28, the first day of Israeli and US airstrikes on Tehran. He had served as the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic for 36 years.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has invited PM Narendra Modi to the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Khamenei's funeral rites will begin on July 4 and conclude with his burial in the holy northeastern city of Mashhad, his hometown, on July 9.  

The state media reported that funeral arrangements for the former Supreme Leader will include ceremonies in Qom, another holy city in the south of Tehran, on July 7.

Though Islamic law requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible, and ideally within a day of death, exceptions are permitted, particularly in time of war. There have been speculations regarding the date of Ali Khamenei's funeral since his assassination in February.

Reports said initially that he could be buried at the end of June before being confirmed by state media that it would be in July.

The funeral, which is expected to witness nearly 20 million mourners in Tehran, Mashad and Qom, will also see Pakistani officials, including PM Shehbaz Sharif. If the numbers turn out to be accurate, it could break the 10-million record set by the 1989 funeral of the Islamic Republic of Iran's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

BJP wants to capture power in Punjab .... like they did in another 'border state of West Bengal' ::: But hurdles may come from Christian lobbies and 'growing numbers of converted Christians'

Religious polarisation helped BJP to a large extent in a tough election in West Bengal. But in Punjab; there are no Muslims in such numbers to disturb the saffron party.

Instead various dynamics vis-a-vis local Christians may create hurdles. 

Addressing a pre-election rally on March 14 in Moga town, Home Minister Amit Shah said that Punjab had been destroyed by debt, drugs, religious conversions, corruption and the terror of gangsters.

He said that only the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could rid the state of these challenges.   

Religious conversion has become a central and highly active issue for the BJP in Punjab, serving as a primary plank in its campaign strategy for the assembly elections by March 2027.

The party is utilizing the issue to build a broader base in the Sikh-majority state and a province where BJP's growth journey always faced a limitation.

Shah formally launched the party's election campaign at a rally in Moga, explicitly promising that the BJP's first legislative act if voted to power would be to introduce a strict anti-conversion bill.

Three BJP-ruled states Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam have already passed the Bill. 

In Punjab, BJP frames conversions by evangelical and Christian groups as a "major social anxiety," alleging that vulnerable groups and Dalits are being targeted through coercion or financial inducement.

The Lotus party argues that unregulated religious conversions in a sensitive, border state carry wider security and demographic implications. The BJP leaders have also raised concerns about potential foreign funding.

In 2023, a section of the Pentecostal community has launching a political outfit — the United Punjab Party — announced from inside Pastor Harpreet Deol’s church in Khojewal village. A Pentecostal Christian Parbandhak (Managing) Committee — modelled on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which acts as the apex governing body for Sikh shrines, had already been floated.

 
The Punjabi language press framed the Christian political assertion in more combative terms — of communities historically at the margin staking a claim to the political center.

The RSS’ reading of the Punjab situation is even sharper as it treats Christianity’s spread among the Dalits or formerly untouchable communities not as a spiritual movement but as a demographic threat and a foreign intervention.

Punjab BJP Vice President Subhash Sharma has written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging the state  government to enact a stringent law to prevent religious conversions in Punjab. 

He said the increasing reports of religious conversions in the state are a matter of concern and require immediate attention.

In his letter, Sharma stated that several states in India have already enacted laws regulating religious conversions, but Punjab is yet to introduce similar legislation. 

He urged the government to frame a law aimed at preventing forced or inducement-based conversions.

The BJP is preparing to go solo across all constituencies. 

Kewal Singh Dhillon, a prominent Jat Sikh from the politically crucial Malwa belt, is the new Punjab BJP chief.

The party has aggressively expanded its base by inducting influential leaders from rival factions, including former Congress state heads and prominent AAP architects.

Dalit and Dera Outreach: 

With Scheduled Caste voters making up nearly a third of Punjab's population, the BJP is actively courting major socio-religious sects (Deras)—such as paying high-profile respects at sacred pilgrimage sites like Sachkhand Ballan Dera.

To counter lingering farmer distrust from previous farm law agitations, the party promises crop diversification and Minimum Support Price (MSP) assurances for 21 crops to help farmers transition away from the saturated wheat-paddy cycle.

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Shah and other BJP leaders have been able to strike at the right raw nerve -- the legacy of the Sikh Gurus.

The Sikh Gurus had all fought and sacrificed their lives against forcible conversion by Muslims. Therefore, the BJP's new electoral plank is banking on an old RSS line --- the Hindu-Sikh unity is the bedrock of Punjab’s peace and progress. 

The BJP is actually able to drive people to seek "alternatives" to institutions that have failed them. This has left Christian organisations exposed and unnerved and all sorts of distortion campaign is on now by Church-related NGOs and a political section to discredit BJP. 

The local media gave the Moga rally of Amit Shah extensive coverage and this upset the AAP too. 

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who has been in power in Punjab since 2022, called BJP's game-plan a vote-bank politics.

Daljit Singh Cheema, a senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a Sikh-centric regional political party, noted that Sikh scripture upholds religious freedom.

Religious conversions have always emerged as a key and a major political plank in Punjab.

Amritpal Singh, a self-styled Sikh preacher, made news in 2023-24.

He was also detained under the National Security Act. But he was elected to parliament in 2024.  He is a member in the Lok Sabha representing the constituency of Khadoor Sahib. 

Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali's move to align with Waris Punjab De ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections next year is being seen as a marked shift in the state's politics. 

His decision not only marks a break from the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) faction but also deepens the crisis within the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), signalling a steady erosion of its traditional Panthic base.

Ayali, once among the most trusted lieutenants of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal during the party's peak, had already been distancing himself from the leadership.  

India has always faced "pull" by two different religious-ideological camps: one a Hindu majoritarian -- that wanted the new nation to be 'civilisational' and the other was pro-Muslim. 

Punjab has offered a new dimension. In the eighties it saw violence and Khalistani-related violence hat hit Punjab and various parts of north India.

The election in Punjab in 2027 will be more than just exciting. It will have a geo-political impact too.

ends 

"Khabi Na ... Khabo lagey toh" is the new mantra" ::::: Naga Ceasefire and post 1997-August ::: How things progressed towards a Dead-end and Confused stage ::: "Can I blame only one or two persons. But is that so ? Is the society ready or keen for a Solution ? Or society is enjoying this 'free-for-all' dispensation ?

 

Three individuals with different backgrounds agreed to discuss and debate the issue at a closed door meeting recently. But given their candid observations and frank outbursts; it was later decided that we should not share their identities.

Hence we are keeping things anonymous -- participants were --- one, a social activist following Naga matters intensely

Second, a retired Govt of India official - who is aware of the issues involved. 

And third a fulltime Naga politician 

Participant A ::: 

Ordinary people think politicians have plans until suddenly everyone realises that they haven’t a clue. Perhaps something like this happened. Or there was deliberate 'derailment' attempts and sabotage vis-s-vis the final Solution.  

Participant B -- A Govt of India (retired individual) : 

One might have distinct memories of that : there was a sense of Hope but also Confusion.

First 'confusion' was the roadmap was not clear. The 1998 assembly election was boycotted by all parties including BJP and then a principal opposition party NPC. Today, NPC is NPF. The BJP is in power in Kohima and New Delhi but what about the clearer roadmap? Is it ready to walk on ? 

Participant C :::: Naga politician :  

You may have your opinion. But we could find even the Govt of India was not clear as a matter of policy. Confusion may be a mild word.

One group of people and even underground leaders felt they were talking about facts. But there were others - more vocal and they were talking about their anger and frustration.  

There was no practical approach. It was not realised that certain demands were easy to ask ... like 'Naga unity'. People joining one mainstream state without 'land' was never thought of. 

This was one kind of immaturity but this was the fact.

Participant A ::  Confusion only increased by the day. The defeat of Congress in 2003 and the emergence of NPF-headed government again raised hopes.

The level of confusion, I can tell you ... I remember a friend joking that he was sleeping with the window closed and doors open.... 

He was extra cautious about something, some one should not hurl stones; but did not realise the door had been kept open. When doors are open; you not only welcome your own people, you are also inviting your enemies ... 

Moreover, you may not know; how and when he would come with arms. bombs, whether as a drug addict or a saint .... ?  

Participant B:

Slowly, we realised some old problems have surfaced again. From Delhi, we could see - the base form of tribalism working. The Meitei-Naga conflict in 2000 was most unfortunate thing but it happened and everyone had to be blamed. 

Participant C :: 

Two or more people often started saying the 'same thing' and the good thing.

Everyone started saying, we need peace and we need development. The 2003 election was important. The Congress was ousted. The BJP won seven MLAs ... but the saffron party did not plan it well. They left regionalists to run the show not only because of higher numbers but also the make-shift manner. 

The issues of good governance and corruption were never considered. 

The BJP high command should have conditioned their support and made Hokishe Sema chief minister.

The BJP has been doing/making mistakes. Trusting wrong partners. It was repeated in 2018 and 2023 was the worst calculation.  

Participant A : 

Oh ya .... 2023 elections ... the BJP scored a self goal and in the process; they defeated and divided the Naga people. The 'eastern areas' were given some promises.

The NDPP made it worse by 2025 and went for a so-called merger. It was like a business deal. The NPF leaders were too weak to resist the influence of power games. 'Cock' .... was it for auction ? Everyone will have to be made accountable.

But (smiles) things have come a full circle. Today, BJP is not happy with NPF and some players in the NPF are clueless on how to work on a futuristic formula with the BJP. At least another round of merger cannot come.

I find it the saving grace for Nagas. 

Participant B : 

So, as you so shall you reap. Why blame someone 'outside' the system ?  And, believe me ..... New Delhi is loving it !

Participant C : 

Let me come here; certain things must be mentioned. What really struck me or many people like me ... that those in the supposedly know of things had no clue what they were going to do ... or what they were saying. Slowly,  business like approach came into political matters. 

People were striking deals, cash deals, land deals etc etc ... Once people used to joke - we want Naga version of communism .... but in 2026, what we have is our unique dimension of Naga Capitalism. 

"Khabi Na ... Khabo lagey toh" is the new mantra.

Pfutsero town

Participant A : 

Frustration is no answer to the problem. If these negative aspects are to prevail; we need not have a debate.  The truth of the matter is the Naga issue is a political issue. 

We cannot run away from it. Even New Delhi should not try to run away from it... But politics has changed over the years -- last 29 years for Nagas and especially last 12 years for India ---- today Naga political matter involves highly technical decisions, we have to understand these properly.

Participant B :::  At times, I feel I really may blame only one or two persons.

But is that so ? Can I ask some hard questions? Is the society ready or keen for a Solution ? Or the society itself is enjoying this 'free-for-all' dispensation ? Is this system the best option ...

If not; why there is no general sense of anguish yet ? Why allowing the present system to continue ?

Participant C : 

No one is in favour of giving a blank cheque to the present system. The Naga issue and Peace and Solution are interlinked to general improvement of things around us in the north east... An early and successful Solution to Naga issue will have positive impact in Manipur and also make PM Narendra Modi's Act East Policy more result oriented. 

It is sad, a youth rally or more such gatherings are being sabotaged. 

The Solution is actually about the future of entire region and our people.  

Participant A : 

Can I have the final words?  Someone misled the experts and authorities in Delhi that implementation of Solution before resolution to ethnic war in Manipur will become bloody in the region. 

Manipur issues are mostly ST privilege issues and internal ethnic and territorial conflicts. In these, New Delhi or the BJP is also a vested interested party. Nagaland is a political issue yet to be addressed effectively by Delhi.

If Naga issue is resolved political and insurgency problem in the region can be phased out; we will have solved many problems. 

Your bosses in Delhi must appreciate that all issues in this region are in one way or the other connected with the protracted political conflicts

(text - by Nirendra Dev/blogger) 

ends