Dalit activists thrust with Naxal tag
Government seems to have decided to make a organized effort on silencing the dalit movements in the country, especially after the stupendous response Koregaon and Una marches drew. Politicians are restless over the steam Dalit and minority movements are gathering. Chalo Una march finally gave a totally new MLA to the country in the form of Jignesh Mevani. This is probably sounding like a warning bell to the upper caste and class people. When Dalits took to streets opposing attempts to weaken the the act to protect dalits and minorities, police and upper class goondas tried silencing them forcefully, thus claiming lives of 10 dalits in the clashes that ensued.
Though police firing was ordered to contain the mobs, some of them were allegedly killed by the gunshots fired by upper class local leaders, in this pretext. BJP leaders are also said to have assaulted Dalits and other members. Many Dalit leaders still live under fear owing to this, and they are forced to attend to multiple hearings of court cases that were filed with the sole intention of systematically harassing them. During the celebration of Koregaon Vijay Diwas, Sangh Parivar and Police machinery attacked dalits simultaneously. This occasion has been troubling the upper class/caste society in Maharashtra since long because this is the day when Dalits joined hands with British and defeated the Peshwas who are also Brahmins. The Dalit Mahad soldiers opposed the discriminatory attitude of Brahmin Peshwes and stood with British to end their rule, and secured their self-respect. RSS has always fired its shots while placing the gun on Maratha shoulders.
Brahmin Peshwes are quite alike the RSS form of nationalism. So, to celebrate a day of victory over Peshwes by Dalits is like hitting the RSS where it hurts the most. Though this celebration was on since many years, RSS didn’t have the courage to oppose it. But now since the organization functions like a quasi government, it would rather clinch the opportunity and make its point known. Even the cops have joined hands with them. With this confidence, RSS tried destructing the Jignesh meet. Things spiraled out of control and violence spread like wildfire. Though it has been months since this happened, efforts are on to assault Dalits and push them into silence through institutional routes. Government has withdrawn many cases against Sangh Parivar activists who were involved in Koregaon violence, but the Dalits continue to be arrested under various charges. Ironically, the ones who consolidated Dalits for this Vijay Diwas are being given the tag of ‘Naxals’ and a serious allegation has been levelled against them of having plotted the assassination of Prime Minister Modi.
As the elections draw close, numerous ‘conspiracy theories’ attributed to Indian Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba get published in the media. The ‘intelligence sources’ float these theories themselves, and push people into a state of emotional distraught owing to delicate nature of the rumours. They try to create the ‘lone protector’ image pertaining to BJP. Media sell colourful stories to ensure this version is bought effectively. Many innocent muslims would be taken into ‘preventive custody’ too to ensure the projection of ‘culprit’ image gets a boost. Whenever Muslims have tried to come together, they have been called extremists or their organisations have been identified as national threats or are called terrorist organisation, thus ruining political consolidation of this community.
Now the same plan is being adapted for Dalits. Recently farmers and laborers held a long march to Mumbai. This gathered much media space. But the farmers and labourers were called ‘naxals’ and there were futile attempts to silence them. But now, with bigger conspiracy of ‘plotting the assassination of Modi’ is being attributed to them, the naxals. With this cops have tried to aim at two aspects. One is to ensure dalits stay off any movements, especially that of Koregaon kind of movements. Second one is to erode sympathy among dalits about their own counterparts. This may also put an end to Koregaon kind of marches and celebrations. Later, if Dalits are blamed for plotting Modi’s assassination, the PM would naturally claim a good share of sympathy votes, making significant contribution to 2019 elections. More than this, activists and others would be arrested without any particular reason, because they are turning into quite a challenge for the current ruling dispensation. All this is a preparation for that. If this continues, hundreds of dalits will have to join many muslims who have been rotting in jail for no reason at all. However Dalits and other communities have to ensure they protest against such immature allegations that are made with mala fide intentions.
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Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar, four others killed in plane crash
Baramati (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons on board an aircraft were killed after it crashed near the Baramati airport in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Wednesday.
The 66-year-old leader’s death has not only left a vacuum in the BJP-led state coalition government, but also cast a shadow on the future of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which he headed.
His uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar said the plane crash was an accident which shouldn't be politicised.
The "black box" (comprising the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder) from the aircraft, will be analysed after recovery to determine the cause of the accident, an official said.
Ajit Pawar had taken off from Mumbai in the morning to address four rallies in the day in Pune district for the February 5 zilla parishad elections.
The others killed in the tragedy were Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours, co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying, Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
The government released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Pawar's death.
The aircraft, a Learjet, was cleared for landing in Baramati on Wednesday morning after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance it did not give any read-back' to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames on the edge of the runway.
In aviation parlance, a go-around is a standard procedure where a pilot discontinues a landing attempt and initiates a climb to fly another approach. It is used when a landing cannot be completed safely due to factors like poor weather, an unstable approach, or traffic on the runway. It is a proactive safety measure rather than an emergency.
A readback is a crucial safety procedure where a pilot repeats back the essential parts of a message or instruction received from Air Traffic Control (ATC). It acts as a "closed-loop" communication system, ensuring that the controller's instructions were heard and understood correctly by the flight crew.
The 16-year-old chartered aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed while attempting a second landing approach at Baramati airport which is an uncontrolled airfield where traffic information is typically provided by instructors and pilots from local flying training organisations.
V K Singh, owner of VSR Ventures, said the pilot apparently could not see the runway and carried out a "missed approach", a standardised procedure in such cases.
Terrifying eyewitness accounts have emerged from the site of the aircraft crash as residents near the Baramati airport described a scene of chaos as the plane appeared to lose control before erupting into a series of big explosions.
An eyewitness described watching the aircraft circle the airport, noting it appeared 'a bit unstable' before its final approach. According to her, the plane 'hit the ground hard and exploded' upon impact, with the blast being heard in homes throughout the area.
Later, the Civil Aviation Ministry, quoting the person manning the Air Traffic Control at Baramati, issued a statement about the sequence of events indicating that the flight encountered visibility issues during its landing attempt despite reports of calm weather.
The statement said that at 8.18 am, the aircraft first established contact with Baramati air traffic control after being released by the Pune approach at 30 nautical miles (around 55 km) inbound to Baramati.
The crew was advised to descend at their discretion under Visual Meteorological conditions and were also informed that winds were calm and visibility was approximately 3,000 metres.
Upon reaching the final approach for the runway, the crew reported that the runway was not in sight and initiated a go-around to reposition for a second attempt on the runway.
After initially stating the runway was still not visible, the crew reported "runway in sight" just seconds later and the ATC cleared the aircraft to land at 8.43 am.
However, the crew did not provide the mandatory readback of this final clearance and at 8.44 am, exactly one minute after the last communication, ATC personnel observed flames erupting near the threshold of the runway.
Emergency services reached the scene immediately following the explosion and the wreckage was located on the left side of the runway.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is currently analysing why the crew struggled to maintain visual contact with the runway despite the reported 3,000-metre visibility.
According to eyewitnesses, the force of the explosion was so great that parts of the aircraft were hurled through the air, landing near residential structures. "The plane tilted before coming down. We saw the explosion and it was frightening," an eyewitness said.
Another eyewitness reported that the aircraft appeared to be losing control from an altitude of approximately 100 feet above the runway.
"The way the plane was coming down, we felt it was going to crash... As we rushed towards it, we saw flames, followed by four to five consecutive blasts, which prevented us from going anywhere near the aircraft".
Pramod Madurikar, a witness at the scene, said the victims were identified shortly after the crash and were shifted to ambulances. Fire brigade personnel reached the spot shortly.
The aircraft was trying to land amid poor visibility, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told reporters in Pune.
VSR Ventures’ fleet includes seven Learjet 45 aircraft (including the one involved in the crash), five Embraer 135BJ aircraft, four King Air B200 aircraft and one Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, the statement said.
Superintendent of Police, Sandip Singh Gill, said that after the crash, there was a fire. "People onboard were immediately taken to the hospital," he said.
Ajit Pawar is survived by wife Sunetra, a member of the Rajya Sabha and two sons, Parth and Jay.
His Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had contested the recent municipal corporation elections in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad in alliance with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP).
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders expressed grief over Pawar's demise.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who reached Baramati and met Ajit Pawar’s family members, described the NCP leader’s tragic death as unbelievable, and said he had lost a good friend.
Maharashtra government declared a three-day state mourning till January 30, during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings.
Ajit Pawar’s last rites will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati.
Modi and Shah are expected to attend the funeral, which will be held at Vidya Pratishthan ground at 11 am, the Nationalist Congress Party said.
