South Asia Citizens Web

A crusader against fraud godmen and irrational beliefs, Narendra Dabholkar’s brutal death has shaken the establishment to the core, much more than his lifelong struggle to eradicate superstitions from society

KKM lived upto its promise. They began with a song they dedicated to the memory of Narendra Dabholkar. It was the Ambedkar inspired song against superstition “Amhi Devhara Bajula Saarlay” (We have set aside all our gods). The entire audience was captivated. People were elated and milled around in the NFAI premises for a long time afterwards. Some students sent for chai, others wanted to take group photos. Suddenly I saw Deepak Dengle surrounded by an animated group of about a dozen people. Suddenly the group revealed its identity by chanting ABVP slogans and shouting “Down with Naxalites”. Out of nowhere orange flags and sticks appeared and began to be brandished. Finally as people walked away from them the group seemed to disperse and we got on with our tea and photos. But the group had merely retreated into the darkness and not dispersed. Outside the NFAI compound they physically attacked and injured 5 FTII students, one of whom was hospitalized with a head injury that needed stitches.

Can we please stop the nation worship, glory-talk and world class mumbo-jumbo for a few minutes and think about the people in factories, slums and villages? What is a nation less its people?

THE cowardly assassination of a leading rationalist near Mumbai on Tuesday is a grim reminder of the threat faced by those that question the brazen political patronage the Indian state bestows on vendors of blind faith and obscurantism.

What we have to remember is that BJP as a party cannot and should not be compared with any other party, as BJP is not just and electoral party, it is basically the electoral wing of RSS, whose agenda is opposed to the agenda of secular democratic India