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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Edited Patriotism

Edited Patriotism In its decision to stick to the 1937 resolution and sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, the Congress party has once again exposed its deep discomfort with the vocabulary of Indian nationalism. The Congress Working Committee’s reaffirmation of the 1937 position came even as the Central government moved to accord the National Song a stronger legal status. The uncomfortable question is why Congress remains so eager to preserve a concession made...

Edited Patriotism

Edited Patriotism In its decision to stick to the 1937 resolution and sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram at party events, the Congress party has once again exposed its deep discomfort with the vocabulary of Indian nationalism. The Congress Working Committee’s reaffirmation of the 1937 position came even as the Central government moved to accord the National Song a stronger legal status. The uncomfortable question is why Congress remains so eager to preserve a concession made in an era when Muslim League opposition and the politics of communal appeasement exerted enormous influence over the national movement. Vande Mataram was not some obscure religious composition dragged into politics by the BJP. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s hymn is one of the great battle cries of India’s freedom struggle. Generations of freedom fighters embraced it as an expression of devotion to the motherland. Yet Congress leaders chose to dilute its public rendition after objections that references to Hindu deities could be considered objectionable or exclusionary. The present controversy has stripped away the pretence that this is merely about historical precedent. Rahul Gandhi was caught on a hot mic referring to the Congress rendition as “our version” of Vande Mataram. This is a breathtaking assumption. Vande Mataram is not Congress property, neither is it a Gandhi family possession. It is not a party anthem to be edited according to the sensitivities of its political managers. It belongs to the Indian people. What exactly does “our version” mean? Is there a Congress Mother India distinct from the India to which millions of Indians owe their allegiance? The answer lies in the Congress’s larger political ecosystem that has repeatedly treated Hindu cultural expression as something to be negotiated, diluted or apologised for, while accommodating the most regressive forms of identity politics in the name of secularism. The party, throughout its political history, has practiced appeasement dressed up as pluralism. The result has been a grotesque asymmetry where Hindu civilisational symbols were expected to become less Hindu so that nobody else would be offended, while Congress politicians cultivated constituencies through precisely the kind of communal calculations they publicly claimed to oppose. The Vande Mataram controversy is not really about whether Congress sings two stanzas or six. It is about whether the oldest national party can finally shed the political reflex that made Hindu sentiment the easiest currency of compromise. The Congress claims the legacy of the freedom struggle. It should remember that the freedom struggle was not fought to create a nation permanently apologetic about its own civilisation. India does not need Congress’s permission to love its motherland. And Vande Mataram certainly does not need Congress’s edited approval.

Shilphata road widening cleared

Mumbai: The long-pending widening and concretisation of the Kalyan-Shilphata Road has cleared a major hurdle, with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) taking a decision to provide compensation of around Rs 138 crore to landowners affected by the project.


The decision is expected to pave the way for the resumption of stalled work on the crucial road, which connects Kalyan-Dombivli with Thane and Navi Mumbai and serves as an important link for daily commuters and commercial traffic.


The widening project had been delayed for several years because of disputes over land acquisition and compensation. Several affected landowners had opposed the terms of compensation for land acquired for the project, resulting in work remaining incomplete at various stretches.


The issue was taken up in the presence of Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Dr Shrikant Shinde. Following discussions, MSRDC Vice Chairman and Managing Director Anilkumar Gaikwad handed over letters regarding compensation to the affected landowners. The MSRDC has approved approximately Rs 138 crore as compensation for the land acquired for the road project.


The decision is significant as the Kalyan-Shilphata Road is one of the region’s busiest arterial routes. Incomplete widening work and bottlenecks along the road have been contributing to severe traffic congestion, particularly around Kalyan, Dombivli, Ambernath and Badlapur, affecting motorists travelling towards Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai.


Dr Shinde and local people’s representatives had been following up on the issue of compensation with the authorities. The latest decision is expected to facilitate the acquisition of the remaining land required for the project and enable MSRDC to accelerate the pending civil works.


According to officials and local representatives, once the compensation-related issues are resolved, work on widening and concretisation can progress at a faster pace. Completion of the project is expected to significantly improve traffic movement along the corridor and reduce congestion at key junctions.


The improved road will also provide better connectivity to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is expected to complement the upcoming Metro Line 12 and Metro Line 12A projects. The development of supporting infrastructure along the corridor is expected to further strengthen connectivity between Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai.


The project had faced opposition from farmers and landowners because of disagreements over compensation for land acquired for road construction. With the MSRDC now approving the compensation package, officials expect the principal obstacle to the project to be removed.


Local residents and commuters have long demanded completion of the widening work, pointing out that unfinished stretches, narrow sections and bottlenecks have resulted in persistent traffic snarls. The latest decision is therefore being viewed as an important step towards completing the long-awaited Kalyan-Shilphata Road upgrade and easing pressure on the region’s road network.

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