Democracy under house arrest
Terrorism and extremism are the biggest problems plaguing the world. Terrorists and extremists didn’t descend from the skies. Terrorism is a result of excesses of the rich countries. Similar realities are the reason for the genesis of Naxalism in north east and other parts of India. The attack and assault unleased on them made them lose faith in the democratic system, and reach out to weapons to protect themselves.
Inequality, poverty and hunger are the main causes behind Naxalism having found its root in the nation. Another reason for this could also be Army was used against these people to uproot them from their natural habitats. This contributed greatly to the growth of Naxalism. But any fight that uses weapons is not an acceptable way of expression even if it is for the people. Today we can seek justice only through democratic means. This has been proved time and again through the pages of history in India. But the state is committing a huge mistake in identifying the organisations/agencies that are creating a rift or trouble through extremist activities.
Earlier, all the anti-social activities and extremism would be attributed to muslims and the rest was easy to set the narrative. Soon after the destructive activities were carried out, the accused would be held and even punished for the crime. Media and investigative agencies didn’t deem it important to run a detailed investigation into the matter. It was always seen as ‘people of a particular faith being arrested for whatever crime’. As a result of this thousands of muslim youths went into jails never to come out. Their future was lost. This damaged the country’s internal security in two ways. The actual culprits were scot free. And this encouraged them to cause more destruction. The others who were wrongfully jailed, ended up being disillusioned by democracy that didn’t do them justice and got into the path of crime since they were already branded as criminals. Innocent muslims were turned into terrorists.
Investigations of Malegaon, Ajmer, Mecca Masjid, Sanjhota blasts were carried out with Muslims being the focal point. But many years later, the truth was revealed that Sangh Parivar members had executed these blasts. Irony is, the government is not showing any interest in curbing the Hindu terrorism that is raising its wide hood. This double standard followed by the government continues into elaborating on the term ‘terrorism’ to suit the narrative set by themselves. While all the destructive forces were called ‘terrorists’ earlier, the Modi-led government calls all those thinkers and progressive intellectuals as ‘urban naxals’.
On one hand, the governments are asking the naxals to drop weapons and come into mainstream; and on the other, they are branding thinkers as ‘urban naxals’. The government is trying to close all options of a dialogue by saying criticizing the government is equal to criticizing the country. This has caused major damage to the democracy and this is dangerous.
We have already seen people who turn away from democracy take to destructive paths. Democratic fights have taken a different route now. Hardly anybody speaks against labourers or farmers. The government isn’t even taking cognizance of democratic demonstrations. Instead, the ones who participate in such demos are branded as terrorists, and they are arrested. All those human rights activists under house arrest are deeply respectful of democracy. They have been speaking against anti-democratic forces. Unfortunately, anti-constitutional forces are right around us and they are let free while the democratic activists are being hounded. People are looking at activists with suspicion owing to these anti-democratic forces. And it could be owing to the pressure exerted by anti-constitutional elements that the government is arresting the activists and progressive thinkers.
This is a direct message the government is sending to the minorities, muslims and exploited communities of the nation, informing them that if they continue to speak against the government, they would also be meeting the same fate. Hence, the anti-constitutional people according to the government are guardians of culture, and all those who are protesting are naxals. To declare them as thus and then eliminating them is the motive of the government. The terrorist organisations will reap total benefit of this, is beyond doubt. To close the routes of protest, which is a constitutional right, is to deny democracy. Hence, the whole of democracy is under house arrest today.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
