Lakshadweep – Another Victim of the Hindutva Agenda

Mafazah Sharafuddin
May 28, 2021

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Several controversial legislative proposals in Lakshadweep have given way to protests by the indigenous population of the island. The legislation are said to attack their livelihood and lifestyle, and the locals of the island are fighting back. 

Praful Patel was appointed administrator of Lakshadweep in December 2020. Unlike what is customary, he is not an IAS officer and was formerly a BJP MP. He served as Home Minister of Gujarat while PM Modi was Chief Minister. He replaced Amit Shah after he resigned following the accusation of Sohrabuddin Sheikh Shah’s alleged extra-judicial killing. 

Prior to this, he was also Administrator in Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Like the legislations being protested in in Lakshadweep at the moment, they, too, saw a series of attacks against the livelihood of the indigenous people. 

A few of the legislations being implemented in Lakshadweep are the ban of cow, bull, calf slaughter and the ban of storage and selling of beef, the legalization of alcohol, the inability for anyone with more than two children to contest elections etc. There are also some very contentious policies about land ownership and modification. 

When taken individually, while they are still arbitrary and unnecessary, they seem almost innocuous. The sinister idea is visible only when one looks at them all at once. The big picture, as it has been since 2014 for Indian Muslims, is grim. 

Lakshadweep has an overwhelming majority of Muslims, standing at over 95% of the total populace. In addition to this, over 94% come under Scheduled Tribes. 

Keeping this in mind, it is not surprising that the archipelago does not see the sale of alcohol, and sees no issue with the consumption of beef. With the current push for a Brahmin-centered Hindutva ideology, mainland India’s obsession with homogeneity has not quite reached the island yet. 

Praful Patel’s policies have been called ‘anti-people.’ The people of Lakshadweep have accused him of taking advantage of the fact that people are unable to mobilize at the moment due to COVID to implement policies that hurt the indigenous people of Lakshadweep. They say that it not only destroys their livelihood, but also their culture. The internet has been taken by a storm of activists tweeting #SaveLakshadweep and demanding the recall of Praful Patel. 

The BJP does not keep their biases a secret. From the changing of the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj, the whole fiasco surrounding the destruction of Babri masjid, the various open statements by Pragya Thakur to the CAA-NRC conflict, their stance is clear. It has been clear for decades, now. 

When Article 370 was abrogated and Kashmir was put into lockdown, India expected it to be an exception to the rule. That the same could not occur in the rest of India. After all, Kashmir has been disputed land right from the time of independence. The atrocities committed in Kashmir, internationally acknowledged as human rights violations, seemed disconnected from India to a huge number of Indians. 

The jailing of student activists fighting against the CAA-NRC, the suppression of dissent, the lathi charges during protests, the existence of UAPA are all symptoms of a larger problem. The legislations in Lakshadweep are the latest in a long line of a bigoted pattern falling into place. 

When British colonizers went to America, they had several ways of suppressing the indigenous people, the Native Americans. One of the lesser known of them was bison hunting. Since bison, or buffaloes, were the primary food source for the Native Americans, the colonizers took to large scale hunting of bison. A slogan popularized by the colonizer army was “Kill every buffalo you can. Every buffalo dead is an Indian [Native American] gone.”

The act of genocide does not only involve brutal massacre. It is larger than that. It a systemic thing. It is an attempt to rewrite history and omit a community’s existence in that land. Erasure of culture is the first step to genocide. 

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News Network
December 26,2024

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The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says the northern part of the Gaza Strip has been going through “the hell of the hell" amid Israel's bombing campaign on civilian facilities and blockade of aid for almost three months.

In an interview with Irish state media RTE on Wednesday, UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma said northern Gaza has witnessed “heavy, heavy bombardment," as well as loss of life among civilians and attacks on hospitals and shelters.

She was also asked about the situation in the Kamal Adwan hospital, which is still barely functioning in northern Gaza despite an Israeli order to shut down and evacuate.

Touma said the evacuation orders of medical centers and raids on them "have become commonplace in Gaza" since last October, when Israel unleashed its genocidal war on the Palestinian territory.

“We shouldn’t become numb, though, to the fact that this happens all the time. Because, at the end of the day, this is a violation of international law," she added.

"This is crossing a very thick red line and way too many times the rules of war have been broken in Gaza, and those responsible must be held accountable."

Over the past few months, Israel has used tanks, snipers and quadcopters to attack the Kamal Adwan hospital, where over 400 civilians have sought medical care and shelter.

On Wednesday, Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHRI), an Israeli NGO that advocates for medical rights, filed an urgent petition with the regime's top court to end the ongoing attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital.

The petition calls for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to deliver medical supplies, fuel, and for the safe evacuation of patients and staff.

“The relentless attacks on Kamal Adwan hospital have caused catastrophic harm to medical infrastructure, claimed the lives of patients and staff, and denied access to essential healthcare services," it said.

"Under international law, Israel is obligated to protect the safety and security of patients, medical personnel, and healthcare facilities—even in times of conflict.”

Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the occupying regime has killed at least 45,361 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 107,803 others, in Gaza. 

Since early October, Israel has intensified its attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, cut the area off from the rest of the territory, and blocked nearly all food aid from entering the region.

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News Network
January 2,2025

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Mangaluru, Jan 2: The coastal city of Mangaluru witnessed yet another alarming car fire incident last evening, marking the latest in a series of similar mishaps in recent months. Fortunately, quick action by the driver and passengers prevented any injuries.

On January 1, a moving Volkswagen car caught fire on the road leading to the helipad at Maryhill. The passengers noticed flames emanating from the front of the vehicle. Acting promptly, the driver pulled over, and all four occupants exited safely.

Local residents attempted to douse the flames using water, and personnel from the Kadri fire service soon arrived to manage the situation. Despite their efforts, the car's engine was completely destroyed.

This incident adds to a growing list of car fire cases reported in Mangaluru recently:

December 16, 2024: A Hyundai car caught fire near City Centre Mall. The driver narrowly escaped.

November 15, 2024: A car was gutted within minutes near Kadri police station, though the driver escaped unharmed.

November 10, 2024: A Maruti 800 waiting at a petrol station caught fire and was completely burnt.

September 28, 2024: A parked BMW at Adyar was destroyed in a fire.

September 5, 2024: Another BMW caught fire near NITK.

In all these incidents, timely evacuation ensured that no injuries were reported. However, the frequency of such cases raises serious concerns about vehicle safety and the need for preventive measures.

Authorities and vehicle manufacturers must investigate the underlying causes of these fires to prevent future occurrences. Public awareness about vehicle maintenance and safety measures is also critical to avert such mishaps.

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News Network
January 3,2025

Karnataka's Urban Development Minister, BS Suresha (Byrathi), has initiated a detailed investigation into ₹5,527 crore worth of projects executed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission in six cities of the state.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of work in Belagavi, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, and Tumakuru. To ensure accountability, Suresha announced the formation of a committee comprising experts from universities and the Indian Institute of Science. The committee will assess the projects and submit its findings within three months.

Bengaluru, however, is excluded from the probe as it falls under the jurisdiction of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Launched in 2015, the Smart Cities Mission aims to enhance urban infrastructure across 100 cities in India, funded jointly by the central and state governments. Karnataka has spent ₹6,405 crore under this mission, including ₹877.72 crore in Bengaluru.

"Most of the funds have been allocated to roads, drainage, and park maintenance," Suresha lamented in a statement. "The focus should have been on creating permanent infrastructure such as smart schools, hospitals, libraries, and bus stands."

Suresha pointed out that, on average, each Smart City in Karnataka received ₹990 crore, with spending patterns revealing 36% on roads, 8% on energy, 2% on education, 2% on healthcare, and 5% on sports. He criticized this distribution, emphasizing that projects under the mission should have developed long-lasting government assets instead of temporary solutions like roads and drains.

With the mission slated to conclude in March 2025, Suresha urged the remaining funds to be directed towards constructing world-class smart schools. "This will enable children from economically weaker sections to access quality education," he said.

The minister also revealed that he had received multiple complaints from elected representatives about substandard work, particularly in Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Shivamogga. The probe, he assured, will prioritize transparency and accountability.

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