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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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
