by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Lokendra Singh Kalvi
By Archana Sharma,
Jaipur : Shree Rajput Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi on Saturday dismissed reports that his outfit has withdrawn protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmaavat” and said it must be some “fake news” circulated by a “fake Karni Sena”.
He also said that his group has made the BJP pay – via its loss in the Rajasthan bypolls – for not respecting the sentiments of the protesting Rajputs.
“There are many fake Karni Senas emerging in India. At present there are eight such entities operating in the country with vested interests,” Kalvi told IANS.
The Rajput leader, whose group has been at the forefront of massive protests against “Padmaavat”, said there has been a “duplicacy” in matters pertaining to Karni Sena’s functioning.
He stressed that there was “only one Rajput Karni Sena operating in India and I proudly say that I am the founder of that organisation”.
He also asked people to “beware of such similarly named organisations functioning and operating in the market”.
The Shree Rajput Karni Sena has been protesting the Deepika Padukone starrer since its inception, claiming the film distorts history.
“We started the initial protests against the release of the film, which we still continue to do,” he said.
“However, the other duplicate Karni Senas are creating a dubious situation by releasing contradictory and fake news,” Kalvi added.
Speaking on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss in the Rajasthan bypolls, the Rajput leader said: “Around 17 organisations have joined hands and declared that they will make sure that BJP loses elections on each and every seat.”
“And we proved what we said. Congress won with a big margin while BJP was a loser on its home turf.”
“Jauhar ki jwala mein bahut kuchh jalega. Aur bhi bahut ghatnayen hongi (The fire of Jauhar will burn down many things, there is more to come). ‘Padmaavat’ will decide many things in future.”
Kalvi said: “We want the government to understand via political loss how it has hurt the sentiments of people here.”
“We have hit hard on notes as well as votes. Bhansali was expected to get Rs 500 crore return, however, we scuttled his dreams and cut the profit margin to Rs 150 crore.
“Similarly, the vote share of the BJP was reduced,” he added.
“I have met 21 Chief Ministers and am looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon. I have got the call from PMO asking about my schedule and have given them my schedule.
“Will see when can I meet him and apprise him on the present situation,” Kalvi added.
The Rajput leader strongly denied having any political aspirations.
“None of us have any dream of floating a political party,” he said.
The Rajput Karni Sena on Friday had announced that it had decided to end the protests against Bhansali’s “Padmaavat” stating that the film “glorifies the valour of the Rajputs”.
Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena’s Mumbai leader, Yogendra Singh Kartar said that a few members of the outfit watched the film on the directions of the organisation’s national President Sukhdev Singh Gogamadi and found that the “film glorifies” the valour and sacrifice of Rajputs, and “every Rajput would feel proud” after watching it.
(Archana Sharma can be reached at arachana.g@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Amulya Ganguli,
Even as Narendra Modi was waxing eloquent on India as a “humanising and harmonising force” in Davos, none of these laudable attributes was on display in the country as rabid outfits with ideological links with the Prime Minister’s party were vandalising cinema halls and malls and attacking a school bus with children crying inside.
The most virulent of these marauding groups currently is the Karni Sena, which claims to represent the Rajput community, and the reason for its violent onslaughts on convenient targets is its anger about the supposedly distorted portrayal of the 14th century Rajput queen, Padmini or Padmavati, who may well have been a mythical figure, in the Bollywood film “Padmaavat”.
Although another Rajput group as well as professional film critics have rejected this charge and one of the latter has even said that the valour of the Rajputs and the self-immolation of the queen have been excessively glorified, the vandals have not been assuaged.
One reason why they have continued with their rampages is that the governments run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan, the traditional home of the Rajputs, and in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have been reluctant to act against the goons.
The official and political unwillingness to rein in the marauders is explained by their ideological affinity to the BJP, which identifies them as representatives of the community which is a potential vote bank. There have been others of their kind who have also indulged in murder and mayhem with impunity because of their awareness that a BJP government will treat them with kid-gloves.
The Karni Sena, therefore, is not the only Frankenstein reared by the right-wing Hindutva brigade. There are also those who assault and even kill anyone suspected of eating beef or transporting cattle and still escape punishment because of lack of evidence as in the case of the beating to death of Pehlu Khan in Rajasthan although he had a permit for taking cattle through the state in his truck.
Over the period when the BJP has been in power at the Centre and in several states, the boldness of these thugs has grown because of their immunity from any legal action. Nothing showed this defiance of the constitutional order better than the refusal of the Rajput activists to accept the Supreme Court’s clearance of the film, which had earlier been certified for release by the censor board.
The decision of some of the BJP-ruled state governments to appeal to the Supreme Court against the screening of the film (which was summarily rejected) must have also emboldened the brigands for it showed that the rulers sympathised with them just as when the governments had banned the film even before its release.
The vandals must have also been encouraged by the support which they have received from the saffron brotherhood’s formidable army of online warriors who have blamed Muslims for the attack on the school bus. As is known, these Hindutva netizens have a remarkable talent for spreading disinformation.
Despite the judicial negation of the ban, the prohibition is still virtually in force because the theatre owners are too scared to show the film lest their property is destroyed. Evidently, there is little faith in the ability or willingness of the BJP-led governments to maintain law and order.
Given this inability or disinclination, it is not surprising that the Karni Sena has not been called to account by either the Centre or the states for the threats which the organisation has held out against the leading actress in the film, Deepika Padukone, and the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, about beheading them and boasting that their graves have already been dug.
Considering that these dire warnings have been issued with great gusto on television, there is obviously scope for legal action. When the government’s opponents have been booked for sedition on charges which haven’t passed muster in the courts, the Sena activists should also have been arrested. Yet, the number of arrests that has been made are few and far between and hasn’t helped in dispelling fear.
It is possible that even these arrests would not have been made but for the presence in India of the 10 ASEAN leaders for the Republic Day celebrations. What impression they will carry back about the arson and depredations being shown on television is not known. But foreign investors cannot but be perturbed about their prospects in India despite the promised cutting of red tape and the rolling out of the red carpet.
What the rampant lawlessness in the BJP-ruled states have revealed is the divide between Modi’s promise of development and the frightening ground reality where institutional authority, like that of the Central Board of Film Certification, is ignored and its chief is told by these anarchists not to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival in Rajasthan, and judicial orders are ignored. Yet, political considerations palpably hinder any serious attempt to bridge the gulf.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com )
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Jaipur : Acclaimed tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on Thursday underplayed the “Padmaavat” controversy, dubbing it is as media hype, over-emphasised for “TRPs and to sell the newspapers”.
“There are more important issues at hand like environment that deserve more coverage,” he said on the sidelines of Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, while also urging people to concentrate on the issues of hygiene and healthcare.
Hussain participated in a session titled “A life In Music” where he spoke at length about his early days as well as his tryst with music and the core values that have gone into shaping his perspectives on life as well as music.
He said that the “Padmaavat” controversy will die down in once the film goes out of the theatres but crying issues of environment, health and hygiene are not receiving the emphasis from the media that they should.
“If we believe in ‘Saare jahan se acha Hindustan hamara’, we should keep our homes and our country clean. We must keep our entire country clean because it is our home. We should ensure that when our children go out, they are not infected by germs and this can only happen when the country is clean,” he maintained.
He also cited several examples from his own life to stress that the practitioners of arts and culture should not be distracted by financial issues. “There will be ups and downs but ultimately he (God) will provide,” the 66-year-old Hussain said.
“Musicians cannot change the world but once you go to a concert, you forget all the worldly tensions. You are at peace. Music is the connecting dot between the aatma and the parmatma (the soul and the god),” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what is happening around, no matter what chaos we are living in, but there is no place more serene and peaceful than the world of arts and culture. We should all uphold it,” he added.
He also urged the people to enjoy everyone’s success as their own. “Only then can there be joy for everyone,” he concluded.
—IANS
