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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 10:20:16 am

Selective Memory

The decision by censors to withhold the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj from Indian audiences scarcely forty-eight hours after its release has elevated the film into a political cause. The controversy is now about how India chooses to remember one of the bloodiest chapters in its post-Independence history, and whether memory can survive when it becomes selective. The film chronicles the work of Jaswant Singh Khalra (played by Indian-American singer Dosanjh), the activist who investigated...

Selective Memory

The decision by censors to withhold the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj from Indian audiences scarcely forty-eight hours after its release has elevated the film into a political cause. The controversy is now about how India chooses to remember one of the bloodiest chapters in its post-Independence history, and whether memory can survive when it becomes selective. The film chronicles the work of Jaswant Singh Khalra (played by Indian-American singer Dosanjh), the activist who investigated allegations of thousands of unlawful killings and secret cremations during Punjab’s counter-insurgency campaign. Drawing upon municipal cremation records from Amritsar, Majitha and Tarn Taran, Khalra had claimed that large numbers of unidentified bodies had been cremated without due process. His own abduction and murder by policemen in 1995 remain among the darkest stains on the state’s record. That state excesses occurred is beyond dispute. Yet, neither should the opposite distortion become acceptable. Punjab’s tragedy did not begin with police excesses. It began with an insurgency that sought to replace constitutional politics with the gun. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, militants transformed Punjab into a landscape governed by fear. The Hindu community was a particular target of the separatists. Civilians, journalists, teachers, public servants and political leaders became targets. Music, cultural expression and even the national anthem were denounced. The campaign was profoundly totalitarian in instinct. More than 11,000 civilians lost their lives. The men who ultimately defeated the insurgency were hardly outsiders; Chief Minister Beant Singh, assassinated in a suicide bombing, was a Sikh. So was K.P.S. Gill, the police chief whose methods remain deeply contested but whose campaign broke the back of militancy. Their legacy, like Khalra's, belongs to Punjab's history. To elevate one while erasing the other is historical reduction. That is why Satluj has generated such polarised reactions. Its defenders see a necessary reckoning with abuses committed by the state. Its critics argue that it presents an incomplete account by marginalising the terror that created the extraordinary circumstances in which those abuses occurred. History is rarely served well by narratives that divide participants neatly into heroes and villains. There is an added political irony. The Congress presided over much of the period in question, while the Bharatiya Janata Party had little role in the conduct of Punjab’s counter-insurgency. Yet contemporary politics has inverted those associations, turning historical memory into another battlefield of partisan identity. Punjab deserves better than competing mythologies. A mature democracy must possess the confidence to acknowledge both the crimes of terrorists and the excesses of the state that defeated them. Justice demands accountability for unlawful killings. It equally demands remembrance of the thousands murdered by those who sought to carve Khalistan out of blood and intimidation. Memory that honours only one set of victims is not remembrance but politics masquerading as history.

‘I am abuse-proof, but don’t defame Maharashtra’

CM Fadnavis tears apart Opposition over Connecting Link tragedy

Mumbai: Mounting a fierce counteroffensive in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis aggressively retaliated against the opposition for their relentless criticism of the Mahayuti government following a landslide near the Mumbai-Pune Expressway’s ambitious ‘Missing Link’ project.


The incident, which occurred two days ago, had briefly disrupted traffic and provided the opposition with ammunition to target the administration. However, while issuing a detailed statement on the state’s rain situation and the expressway project on July 8, Fadnavis turned the tables, accusing his political rivals of spreading malicious disinformation and attempting to tarnish the state’s image.


Taking aim at the previous administration’s lack of political will, Fadnavis declared that the aftermath of the incident had actually exposed the opposition’s falsehood. He reminded the House that the original proposal for the Missing Link was prepared during the tenure of the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, but was swiftly abandoned.


According to the Chief Minister, the head of the government at the time had penned a mere two-page noting that cited 14 reasons why the project was impossible before permanently closing the file. “We discussed it with officials and experts. They told us the project was feasible, and we made it happen,” Fadnavis stated, adding, “The Mahayuti government had the courage, which is why we successfully completed this project.”


Historical Parallel

To contextualise the challenges of executing monumental infrastructure projects, the Chief Minister drew a historical parallel to the Konkan Railway. He reminded the assembly that the railway project also faced intense opposition over the risk of landslides during its construction phase. He praised former Railway Minister Madhu Dandavate for showing the courage to see it through, noting that while landslides did occur in the initial years, lessons were continuously learned, leading to improvements that ultimately brought the problem under control.


“Just think today, what would the situation be if the Konkan Railway hadn’t been built out of that fear?” he questioned the opposition benches. Driving his point home, Fadnavis recited a famous Urdu couplet in the Assembly: “Girte hain sheh-sawar hi maidan-e-jang mein... Wo tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale..” (Only the brave horsemen fall on the battlefield... How can a child fall who crawls on their knees).


Structural Damage

Addressing the specific nature of the recent mishap, Fadnavis dismissed the apocalyptic narratives being peddled by his detractors. He clarified that the landslide from above had merely fallen onto a water arch, breaking a portion of it and creating debris, but firmly asserted that neither the state-of-the-art cable-stayed bridge nor the tunnel had suffered any structural damage.


‘This is not merely a road; it is a wondrous marvel of engineering,’ Fadnavis proudly remarked, highlighting that the project features one of the widest tunnels in the world and the highest cable-stayed viaduct in India, all built under extremely difficult geographical conditions. He added that the incident actually proved the efficacy of the tunnel’s emergency systems, noting that citizens praised the fact that a crane reached the spot within just three minutes of the emergency button being pressed, ultimately saving lives.


Misleading Videos

The Chief Minister reserved his harshest words for those spreading fake news on social media. He alleged that certain individuals had deliberately circulated misleading videos and visuals to create a false illusion that the entire connecting link had collapsed. Calling them “Tondphudi”—a Vidarbha colloquialism for shameless loudmouths—he systematically dismantled their claims. “False propaganda was spread as if Rs 7000 crore had gone down the drain. But traffic was resumed in just 18 hours. And that too, right in their faces... That is the answer to the critics’ allegations,” he declared.


Concluding his fiery address, Fadnavis made it clear that while he was impervious to personal political attacks, he would not tolerate deliberate attempts to malign the state. “Go ahead, abuse Devendra Fadnavis... he is used to it. I am abuse-proof... because I have learned only one thing in life.. 10 years from today, these abusers won’t be seen anywhere. But that connecting link will be there, and Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde’s names will be on it,” he stated. Issuing a stern final warning to those orchestrating the online smear campaigns, he added, “Some hired mercenaries (bhadyache tattu) were taking money and writing lies about the Missing Link. Defame me, but if you insult Maharashtra, I will not spare you.”


High-level inquiry into suspicious transfers of British-era Church missionary lands

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced in the state assembly on Wednesday that a comprehensive inquiry will be conducted within three months into all lands held by Church Missionary organizations during the British era that were suspiciously transferred following independence. Bringing substantial relief to approximately 5,000 families in Nashik, the minister declared the formation of a high-level committee, chaired by the Divisional Commissioner, to resolve the escalating disputes surrounding the Nashik Diocesan Trust and Company.


The matter was brought to the floor of the house by MLA Devayani Farande through a calling attention motion. Highlighting a historical agreement dated August 12, 1949, between ‘The Church Missionary Trust Association Limited, London’ and ‘The Nashik Diocesan Trust Association Limited, Nashik’, she explained that the British government originally allocated these land parcels for the establishment of schools, colleges, and hospitals for the Christian community.


According to Farande, following the demise of the original trustees, land documents were systematically forged and manipulated to transfer absolute rights to a private individual. This has led to large-scale, questionable real estate transactions. Local citizens are now facing severe hardships, as they are being coerced into paying hundreds of thousands of rupees to this private company to obtain mandatory ‘No Objection Certificates’ for basic construction work or the buying and selling of property. Furthermore, the MLA leveled a serious allegation that the original property records, including the 7/12 extracts predating 1932, along with crucial files, have mysteriously vanished from the District Collector’s office.


Acknowledging the gravity of the accusations, Minister Bawankule assured the assembly that the government is fully committed to protecting the rights of the citizens. He clarified that while the matter is currently sub-judice in the Bombay High Court, there are no legal hurdles preventing an administrative probe. The specialized high-level committee will feature a multi-departmental team, including representatives from the Settlement Commissioner’s office, the Divisional Commissioner, officials from the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) department, and senior police officers.


Expanding the scope of the investigation, the minister promised a statewide crackdown rather than limiting the probe to Nashik. Relying on the official records of the Settlement Commissioner, the government will scrutinize church missionary lands across Maharashtra, specifically citing areas like Nandgaon and Aurangabad, to produce a detailed, actionable report within the stipulated three-month timeframe.


The state government is also exploring the possibility of confiscation. The legal framework will be examined to see if these lands can be freed from the private company’s grip and officially vested back into the government, particularly if it is proven that the original purpose of the land grants was completely bypassed during these transactions.

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