Arnab Goswami misquotes Ambedkar, calls Mahatma Gandhi – “Mohanchand” Karamchand Gandhi
In a familiar high-pitched hyperbolic monologue, another episode of Arnab Goswami’s Daily Newshour ‘The Debate’ wrapped up on August 22. The topic chosen for the hour-long debate was – “What’s wrong with chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai?” in the wake of former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah being heckled by a crowd in Srinagar two days after he chanted the slogan in Delhi. The show started with Goswami urging everybody to shout ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ended with a lecture on the Indian Constitution by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra. In between, there were comical moments like Abdullah accidentally referring to Goswami as ‘pagal’ and hastily correcting his faux pas. However, the gaffes were not limited to Abdullah and this article is about the ones that Goswami made during the length of the show. These were originally pointed out by Shuddhabrata Sengupta, an artist, curator and writer with the Raqs Media Collective.
“Mohanchand Karamchand Gandhi”
While exposing so-called “pseudo-nationalists”, Arnab Goswami said that these are the people who have floated the false rhetoric of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ being an “RSS conspiracy”. Posing a question at Prof Visweswara Rao he asks, “Was Mohanchand Karamchand Gandhi a member of the RSS?” He can be heard making the statement from 35:03 to 35:11.
Goswami’s intention was to portray Mahatma Gandhi’s nationalism by citing that he had inaugurated the Bharat Mata temple in Varanasi in 1936. However, while doing so, he mispronounced the name of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
Misquoted Dr B.R. Ambedkar
“We don’t have to shout ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ to prove our patriotism,” said Prof Rao 40 minutes into the debate. Interjecting, as always, Goswami accused him of “appropriating Ambedkar”.
“You, who dismissed ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ as jingoistic, what will you say to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who you tried to appropriate at every leg and opportunity, when he wrote and I quote – The slogan Bharat Mata Ki Jai electrified the whole nation whereas if one were to raise the slogan as India Mata ki Jai, it would look fanciful and uninspiring,” shouted Goswami (from 40:00 to 40:24), concluding that Ambedkar supported the ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogan.
As it turns out, the quote was actually not made by Dr B.R. Amdebakar. A basic Google search reveals that the lines Goswami attributed to Ambedkar are a part of a book written by Dr Raj Kumar, titled “Ambedkar and His Writings: A Look for the New Generation” and published in 2008.
The book, which is the author’s study of Ambedkar’s work for the Depressed Classes, mentions the lines in the context of India being referred to as “Bharatvarsha”. He writes that “the name India was given to the country by foreigners” and that “a proper noun is never translated”. The difference between “India” and “Bharatvarsha”, Dr Kumar writes, is visible when the two are interchanged in the slogan. Therefore, it is clear that the statement was never made by Ambedkar but was the author’s opinion.
While calling Mahatma Gandhi “Mohanchand” Karamchand Gandhi might have been a slip, it is ironical that Goswami was browbeating his panelists on nationalism and history and ended up attributing a factually incorrect quote to Ambedkar.
courtesy : courtesy
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
