Opinion Modi vs Bhatt

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Daawat,in a front-page commentary (October 7) writes: “Modi’s vengeful actions against IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt seem to be endless. Bhatt is displaying courage and determination… He is fully aware of the hardships and problems that he has to overcome.”

Noted Urdu poet and columnist Hasan Kamal writes in Rashtriya Sahara (October 8): “By arresting Bhatt,Modi has in fact,tried to stop him from deposing against him… But he is not the only officer willing to come out with the truth… Two other officers have also made the same allegations,that Modi not only did nothing to stop the mass killings of Muslims in 2002,he also instructed police officers to ‘allow Hindus to vent their anger this time.’ It will soon be known how politically beneficial or harmful Modi’s revenge against Bhatt will be.”

Delhi-based Nai Duniya,edited by former MP Shahid Siddiqui,on October 10,describes Bhatt’s arrest as “murder of justice” and asks: “where are the protectors of the Constitution sleeping?”

Jai Telangana?

Urdu dailies from Hyderabad and others with southern editions are much exercised by what they term the Centre’s “policy of silence” on the demand for bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Angry at the dithering,Hyderabad’s leading daily Munsif (October 8) writes in its editorial: “It won’t be incorrect to say the Centre and Congress have been constantly deceiving the people of Telangana. In 2004,votes were gathered with a deceptive alliance with the TRS,and then they pretended as though the problem was nonexistent. When KCR sat on a fast and his condition started deteriorating,Home Minister P. Chidambaram made a midnight announcement in Delhi accepting the Telangana demand. But what really happened? When local Congress leaders explained to the party that nothing would be gained through this,they broke their promise and the group of ministers did not take any decision on this sensitive matter. The government must take some concrete initiative before the Telangana movement is further intensified.”

Riots and wrongs

Recent incidents of communal violence and skirmishes in Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra,West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have been extensively reported. Reports and editorials talk of “alarm” and “restlessness” amongst minorities,but unlike the usual rhetoric,this time the tone is restrained and moderate.

In a prominent signed editorial on the front page on October 10,Rashtriya Sahara editor Aziz Burney speaks of “an organised conspiracy to inflame Muslim sentiment,desecrate the Quran and create a pretext for a riot… but we have to keep our sentiments in check and not allow the conspiracy to succeed. Muslim representatives,along with their Hindu brethren,should appeal to local chief ministers and draw immediate attention to this problem.”

In a statement published widely on October 4,the usually unrestrained Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid,Maulana Ahmed Bukhari,has urged Muslims to “not respond violently to efforts to arouse passions,because a riot harms the lives and properties of Muslims and helps communal elements succeed in their conspiracy to harm Muslims.”

Delhi-based Hamara Samaj asks in an editorial (October 10): “Why are political parties opposing the bill to prevent communal violence? Do these parties want the country to always burn in the fire of communal violence? Do they not understand the meaning and spirit of democracy?”

Rest in peace

Rich tributes have been paid by most papers to ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh,who passed on this week. “Jag ko jeet kar,Jagjit ne chhori duniya” (After conquering the world,Jagjit leaves) is Rashtriya Sahara’s headline for an elaborate feature. A large photo is captioned with a line from one of the ghazals he sang,‘Kahan Tum Chale Gaye’,in Hamara Samaj.

Former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi also got many moving tributes,including editorials on his cricketing feats. According to a report in Siasat (September 26),Bombay cinema’s tragedy king Dilip Kumar “regained his fading memory when he received news of (Pataudi’s) death on TV. He dictated a letter addressed to Tiger’s wife,Sharmila Tagore,saying that he could well understand the intensity of Sharmila’s loneliness now.”