What’s the contribution of Nehru family?
BJP president Amit Shah has put forth a very ignorant question before Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Shah apparently would like to know ‘what is the contribution of Nehru family to this country’. This question has been answered long ago by senior BJP leader and Union Minister Sushma Swaraj in the United Nations, when she was condemning the terrorism that has been breeding in Pakistan. While listing the achievements of India in the last 70 years in various fields of excellence including science and space, Swaraj had said: “Pakistan didn’t achieve anything except for offering support to rabid terrorism”. This sentence was said before the world leaders. The growth and progress of post-independent India was mainly owing to Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv. While union minister Sushma Swaraj goes about presenting the accomplishments of India, the fact that a Gujarati leader such as Amit Shah goes about asking ‘what is your family’s contribution’ is not only a testimony to his eroding intelligence, but also the kind of divisive politics this person who is facing charges of fake encounter deaths in Gujarat all through his political career.
This is clearly an insult to the nation. BJP came to power using the pretext of engaging in a war with China and often referring to the days of emergency, and often stating Nehru family did nothing for the country. Now, the current ruling dispensation at the central level is using the Nehru family name to defend and cover for its failed administration. One can make a long list of contributions made by Nehru, Indira and Rajiv. But can we make a similar list about the contributions BJP has made for the progress of the country?
Today, Narendra Modi constantly refers to the accomplishments of ISRO with great pride. ISRO has benefited great deal from the rich vision Nehru had for the nation. And BJP leaders have absolutely no share in this at all. It was during Nehru’s time that the nation that was broken into provinces, was brought together, and thus India became a federal nation. While BJP focuses on creating a rift between communities with communal clashes in the name of temples, Nehru had declared reservoirs and dams are the temples of modern India. Every aspect including IIT and AIIMS mentioned as India’s achievement by Sushma Swaraj before the United Nation, was created during the time of Nehru owing to his far sightedness.
Nehru laid the foundation stone for mega industries. He did not push the nation into the trap of either communism or imperialism but treaded the mid path to take the country on the road to progress by focusing on providing impetus for both agriculture and industries.
We need to realize this. If we cannot compare the India that existed in 1947 to the India that we live in today, then the whole credit goes to visionary leaders such as Nehru and his family members. Nehru did not surrender the country before any international agency. Instead, India came to be known as a non-aligned equal partner and a nation that would lead other countries on par. This direction of leadership continued during Indira Gandhi’s time as well. India had a definite foreign policy during the times of Indira Gandhi and Nehru. This had elevated India’s position in the international arena. Indira Gandhi is not just synonymous with the period of emergency, but also with the love and respect she could receive from the people across classes and creed. She was loved by all. People from even the lowest strata of the society would find strength in her, and they saw her as their mother. She was very familiar in even the most remote villages. She never resorted to doing politics on emotional basis. It was Indira Gandhi who nationalized the banks and made them accessible to the poor. Land tenancy act was another massive and bold decision she made. This decision ensured that even the poorest of the poor who endlessly worked in the lands of the rich and mighty, could possess land property for themselves. She had to earn the wrath of the powerfully rich owing to this. The Billavas in coastal Karnataka who were working as bonded labourers in the fields of rich Bunts, could possess land thanks to this act. The ‘Green Revolution’ and ‘White Revolution’ took place during her tenure. Her entire focus was on eradicating poverty. Hence her political decisions revolved around ‘Garibi Hatao’. She did not fool people in the name of mandir, masjid or Gods. Her strategy earned Bangladesh its independence, She could defeat Pakistan and set Bangladesh free for its own future. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had called her the ‘Durga’ with great appreciation. And the ‘age of computers’ was initiated by Rajiv Gandhi. Today if we see every household possessing a computer and every individual possessing a mobile phone, it is thanks to the vision of Rajiv Gandhi and his close friend Sam Pitroda’s unstinting farsightedness.
Today if Narendra Modi and Sushma Swaraj are boasting of India’s accomplishments n international platforms, all credit goes to the most significant prime ministers of this country. More than this, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi put down their lives for this country. When the fact remains thus, it is rather very comical that Amit Shah should come all the way to Karnataka and ask this question of what’s the contribution of Nehru family in building the modern India. Nehru not only took part in the freedom struggle, but also steered the nation towards bright future with his vision.
While Sushma Swaraj referred to the Pakistan representative in United Nations, she made a list of all the successes of India’s agencies and said “we built universities, ISROs, and reservoirs. What did you do? You built terrorist organisaitons,” she needs to remember all those dreams are going to be razed to dust by Modi government. They are demolishing every sign of modern India and are replacing it with saffron elements such as fake babas, terrorist organisations, massive statues, etc. Instead of science and technology, we have this government trying to fill people’s head with mythology and superstition. Temples have taken the place of development. Nehru family prepared the nation for 21st century, but Shah and team will take the country right back to stone age.
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Kunal Kamra asks BookMyShow to not delist him, share contact of audiences from his shows
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Monday wrote an open letter to BookMyShow requesting the online ticketing platform to either not delist him or to hand over the contact information of audience members he has earned through his solo shows over the years.
The letter, which he shared on his X page, comes days after Shiv Sena claimed BookMyShow had taken Kamra off the sale and artists list from its platform amid ongoing controversy around his 'traitor' jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
"Dear BookMyShow, I understand that you need to maintain a cordial relationship with the state, and I know that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment. Without the state's cooperation, iconic shows like Coldplay and Guns N' Roses wouldn't be possible...
"I request one of the following: Do not delist me, or provide me with the data (contact information) I've generated through your platform from my audience," Kamra said in his two-page letter.
On April 5, the Mumbai-born comedian -- who is now a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu -- had asked BookMyShow whether the reports of him being delisted from the platform were true.
"Hello @bookmyshow can you please confirm if I have your platform to list my shows if not it’s fine. I understand… (sic)" he wrote on X.
On Monday, the comedian also addressed his audiences calling for a boycott of the platform over the news of Kamra being delisted as an artist.
He said he was "not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business".
"BookMyShow is well within their right to do what's best for their business (sic). However, the issue at hand isn't about whether you can or will delist me-it's about your exclusive right on listing our shows. By not allowing artists to list their shows through their own websites, you've effectively prevented me from accessing the audience I've performed for from 2017 to 2025," he further stated in the letter.
According to Kamra, BookMyShow takes a 10 per cent cut of revenue for listing shows.
"However, this raises an important point: No matter how big or small a comedian is, we are all compelled to spend between 6,000 to 10,000 rupees a day on advertising to reach our own audience. This cost is an additional burden that we, as artists, must bear."
Kamra said one might argue that data protection is a concern, but the question of "who protects what data, and from whom, is a much broader conversation".
"What I'm requesting is simple: please ensure that you hand over the contact information of the audiences you've collected from my solo shows so that I can continue living my life with dignity and work towards a fair livelihood. As a solo artist, especially in the world of comedy, we are both the show and the production.
"For instance, if I performed at the Pune Comedy Festival with 30 other artists, that would be considered comedy's collective data. But my solo shows-that's my audience. The least I deserve, should you choose to delist me, is access to them," he wrote.
Kamra's letter comes the same day the comedian moved the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash an FIR lodged against him by the city police for his alleged remarks against Shinde, with the Madras High Court extending his interim anticipatory bail in relation to the case till April 17.
The comic also claimed he has been receiving death threats after the show and hence, requested the police to question him via video conference.
Some social media users have expressed support for Kamra and said they would delete the BookMyShow app if he is delisted as an artist on the platform.
A social media user wrote, "I have decided to #BoycottBookMyShow. What kind of an app tries to hold responsibility for the show content. To whoever tried to force you on Kunal Kamra, @bookmyshow just had to say 'we are not responsible for show content'. You couldn't do that much!"
Another said, "If BookMyShow removed Kunal Kamra from its app. Why don't we all uninstall the BookMyShow app from our phones? 1.They are exercising their freedom; we must exercise ours. 2.If they censor what we like, we should censor what we dislike. #boycottbookmyshow #istandwithkunalkamra."
Kamra is at the centre of a major political controversy in Maharashtra for his comments about Shinde, which he made during a stand up show titled 'Naya Bharat' last month, which led to Shiv Sainiks vandalising the venue, hotel and multiple FIRs against the comedian.
His new stand up show, however, has garnered over 1.3 crore views on his YouTube channel.
Dear @bookmyshow - I still don’t know if I have your platform or no.
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) April 7, 2025
Below is humble view -
To the audiences I’m not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business…
Book my show is well within their right to do what’s best for their business | pic.twitter.com/TXaB22sfxI
