Nationalists must repose faith in Modi government’s J&K policy which is gradually reaping dividends, cynicism and skepticism will only hurt the nationalistic cause

Talk about the separatist lobby in Kashmir gradually losing their mojo and becoming irrelevant in the larger scheme of things! The current scenario reflects a conspicuous representation of the same. 

Oddly enough, despite having tasted electoral success in the District Development Council (DDC) elections - the first-ever democratic exercise post the abolition of Article 370 and 35A and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir - there has hardly been any resuscitation of the wily secessionist agenda which the mainstream separatist politicians in Kashmir have been running overtly and covertly for years. 

One could attribute this oddness to a host of factors but arguably one of the biggest factors is the clarity and efficacy with which the Modi government has approached its Kashmir policy in the last two years, giving a clear-cut answer to detractors and antagonists. 

image source : peoplesreview.in

In his address to the Parliament earlier in February, National Conference Chairman and Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah invoked Nehru and Patel while playing the Muslim card like a broken record and condemning the scrapping of J&K’s special status as an effort to estrange Kashmir’s majority Muslim community. Abdullah’s rant was a reiteration of duplicity which India has witnessed for decades - stating how “faithful” and “loyal” the NC and other Kashmiri political birds of the same feather are to the Union of India. 

However, his speech reeked of the desperation of a stalwart Kashmiri political leader who has now reduced to a shadow of his former self, sending out a strong impression those in the valley with separatist and anti-establishment leanings have resigned to the fact that the times of treating Kashmir as a cottage industry to ensure its delineation from the rest of India are long gone. 

image source : greaterkashmir.com

The Modi government and those working towards the nationalistic cause can take heart from the fact that even after managing 110 seats in the DDC polls as against the BJP’s 75 although the former failed to cross the halfway mark of 140, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) looks lacklustre and deterred by the manner in which J&K is amalgamating with the Indian mainstream in this new chapter in the region’s modern history.

NC, which is the principal party in the Gupkar alliance, and other frontline players such as the PDP are languishing in the same old boat of separatism while masquerading as political parties pledged to the Indian constitution, without having a fresh narrative to offer to their voter base in Kashmir. 

The alliance has turned itself into a bunch of cats on a hot tin roof, whose anxiety to maintain political relevance is easy to gauge. In the absence of a new blueprint, the alliance is having to resort to the old tricks in the book which have become obsolete in the Modi era. It is fair to argue, therefore, that despite having consolidated themselves as a unit and done reasonably well in the DDC polls, the Gupkar lobby is at its weakest today. 

If the current scheme of things does not beckon the advent of a new era in J&K's political landscape ensuring unadulterated allegiance to the Indian Constitution, it is difficult to tell what does. If this does not infer that the Modi government’s renewed Kashmir policy after the abrogation of Article 370 is slowly but steadily reaping the desired harvest, it is difficult to tell what does. 

The restoration of 4G internet services in all parts of J&K and the passing of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2021 in February, which brings around 170 central laws in the UT, are developments that demonstrate the return of not just political normalcy in the region but also stability in a holistic sense.

Speaking in favour of the bill in Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated and reassured in unambiguous terms that the government was committed to restoring J&K’s full statehood “at an appropriate time”. Shah made it abundantly clear, as he and PM Modi always have, that the union territory status of J&K is temporary and the region will return to its earlier status of a state once the government is convinced of a conducive and harmonious atmosphere in Kashmir. 

image source : newsonair.com

Delimitation and resentment among separatist Kashmiri leaders 

NC’s refusal to associate with the Delimitation Commission hints at the broader strategy of the Gupkar lobby to create roadblocks in process of J&K’s political recovery. In February, NC Members of Parliament - Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi informed the Delimitation Commission about their inability to be a part of the commission and urged against the delimitation exercise, as the J&K Reorganization Act 2019 is under judicial scrutiny in the Supreme Court of India. 

Delimitation has been high on the agenda for a long time as far as the Modi government is concerned and for the right reasons. It is an exercise that is imperative to put an end to years of dichotomy in political representation between Jammu and Kashmir wherein the former has perennially been treated as the lesser, with its seat share almost always less than its share of population and electorate. All the chief ministers in the erstwhile state of J&K, barring Ghulam Nabi Azad, have been Kashmiri-speaking Muslims belonging to Kashmir. 

Through delimitation, the government hopes to address longstanding concerns about Jammu’s political underrepresentation and guarantee adequate representation to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). An increase in the number of assembly constituencies, the introduction of reservation for STs, the extension of the right to vote in assembly elections to West Pakistan refugees in the region and border alterations have led to the indispensability of a timely delimitation. 

Delimitation will ensure that the regions of Jammu and Kashmir attain political parity. Naturally, the idea of delimitation does not go down well with the Muslim-majority separatist political fraternity in Kashmir and hence the resentment. 

But despite the clarity of purpose in the government’s J&K roadmap - 

there seems to be a growing trend of pessimism and mistrust regarding the same among a section of cynics and skeptics in India’s nationalistic circles, not just within the lobby and the united political opposition. This sudden surge in dislike for the Modi government’s Kashmir blueprint, particularly among Kashmiri nationalists who have adopted a critical tone against the administration’s approach, is misplaced.

This is the time for Kashmiri nationalists and nationalists spread across India and everywhere in the world to repose faith in Modi’s Kashmir vision, although with constructive criticism wherever necessary. However, reckless and unwarranted criticism unleashed by nationalists will only play into the hands of the pseudo-secular lobby who lick their lips at any opportunity of creating rift and confusion among the ones devoted to Indian nationalism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfazed by lobby’s intimidation and propagandist commentary by western activists and celebrities, the Modi government stands resolute in its push for agri reforms

 

Two weeks since the unprecedented Republic Day violence hit the streets of the national capital at the hands of extremists and arsonists masquerading as farmers fighting for their rights, the so-called farmers’ agitation has witnessed plenty of new twists and turns. 

Following the Government’s decision to clear the protest sites in the aftermath of the mayhem that erupted in Delhi on Republic Day - from a despondent and whimpering Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) - one of the principal protagonists of the protest that has often turned belligerent - to some American pop stars, even porn stars and teenage climate activists intriguingly tweeting their support to the protesting farmers to a flop ‘Chakka Jam’ call by agitating farm unions on February 6 amid a simmering resurgence of protests activities - the extraordinary saga of the Modi government’s three reformist farm bills will be remembered for decades, especially for the unwarranted chaos and pandemonium that was unleashed against the progressive legislation.  

image source : PTI

A disturbing reality to have emerged from the ongoing propaganda movement is the efficacy with which the leftist-extremist lobby has been able to arouse anti-establishment emotions within a small section of the vast population of Indian farmers and amalgamate this minuscule faction with rowdy trouble-mongers in order to achieve the obnoxious goal of creating instability and anarchy in India through unruliness and disinformation. Unfortunately, it would not be wrong to admit that the lobby has been successful in their evil endeavour to a great extent. 

By now it is crystal clear that the rancour witnessed in and around Delhi is anything but a movement started and sustained by farmers. Foreign hand, working in collusion with India’s political opposition and the lobby at large, in the orchestration of a vicious anti-Modi anti-India campaign is more conspicuous than ever.

Considering all that has transpired in the last two months vis-a-vis the sham agitation against agri reforms, it is fair to argue that the present commotion is only a precursor of a malignant anti-India movement that is to follow, aimed at wreaking havoc in the country through whatever means possible. 

Sadly, this battle against a global syndicate that is constantly engaged in a virulent exercise of dishonouring and subverting India comes at a time when the Modi government has devoted itself to the task of remedying more than six decades of apathy and misgovernance. 

The hostile forces are aware that India is on the cusp of a major social, economic and political revolution. With CAA and farm laws being mere curtain raisers, some of the biggest reformist legislation in the form of uniform civil code, population control/regulation among others are in the pipeline. Therefore, the underlying motive is to blackmail and pressurise the government into pursuing a non-reformist agenda in the name of secularism and liberalism.  

However, the resolute Modi government has always been up to the task. The government was determined to stand by the Citizenship Amendment legislation when the bloody anti-CAA protests rocked Delhi and it is just as unwavering in its approach now while dealing with the farm laws protests. 

PM Modi has time and again reiterated his administration’s commitment to the farmers’ cause while at the same time standing his ground as far as the legitimacy and benefits of the three farm laws are concerned.

The government is aware that if they surrender to undue pressure now, it will become a precedent that imperils the practice of bold lawmaking aimed to reinvent India. 

A silly attempt that backfired 

Misguided commentary of backing the farmers’ agitation by American pop singer Rihanna, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and porn star Mia Khalifa has exposed the ill-intent of the international lobby against India. With speculation being rife that these self-proclaimed advocates of human rights were paid a huge sum by extremist Khalistani groups to add fuel to the fire, it is only heartening to find out that the dirty ploy has backfired for them badly. 

image source : Wikimedia, News18, Rihanna/Facebook

When India comes to the aid of the impoverished and the underprivileged world in pandemic times by supplying them the COVID-19 vaccine while rich countries indulge in hoarding vaccine doses, these celebrities do not come forward to admire and congratulate India for its humanitarian effort. But when it comes to tarnishing India’s image through false anti-establishment narrative, some of them are always at the forefront.

Although less could not be cared about the opinions of foreign pop stars and porn stars or media-hyped child activists over India’s internal matters, the brazenness with which the lobby has endorsed their misplaced and critical views hints at the level to which the lobby can stoop to satisfy its visceral hatred for the Modi government. 

image source : countercurrents.org

However, the one good thing that the controversy counterintuitively did was that it galvanised all right thinkers, patriots and nationalists of India into action. Hashtags such as #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda trended massively on Twitter with some of the biggest Indian celebrities pledging support to India’s unity against all extraneous and propagandist elements and calling out the western world for its hypocrisy and duplicity with regard to India. 

image source : thequint.com

The controversy also exposed political trouble makers - the Congress party and other UPA members. In a bid to express solidarity with the ill-informed western commentators, the united opposition ended up insulting the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who incidentally was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the same Congress party under the Manmohan Singh government, only because Tendulkar chose to stand for the unity of India in response to the divisive tweets sent out by Rihanna and the like supporting the farmers’ agitation. 

If that was not despicable enough, Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government earlier this week followed it up by ordering a probe into the pro-India tweets by Mumbai-based personalities - Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Akshay Kumar and others. The purpose of the investigation is to ascertain whether the Modi government coerced the personalities into tweeting their nationalistic feelings and condemning the agenda-driven foreign commentary on India’s domestic matters. 

As shocking as it gets - the Maharashtra government, in its attempt to make petty political gains, has stooped to a new low by hailing foreign commentary on India’s internal affairs while humiliating India’s Bharat Ratnas - Tendulkar and Mangeshkar - for expressing their nationalistic spirit. It is nothing but indicative of how deep and dirty the game of dividing and destabilising India is. 

The same Congress party, along with its allies, which takes the unmerited credit for being the chief architect of India’s independence despite having done precious little to prevent the country’s bifurcation, is now trying to promote disunity in the country using the anti-farm laws protests as a tool.

In the wake of the current turbulence, PM Modi’s recent “andolanjeevi” remark in the Rajya Sabha reflects the lobby’s ulterior aim to push India into a constant state of agitation and disharmony. Make no mistake, the jibe was not targeted at the farmers but the lobby-extremist nexus which has been shooting off the farmers’ shoulders. 

It also reaffirms that the Modi government stands as firmly to push agri reforms in India as it did before the protests had started and that it will not be swayed away from its primary objective of pursuing an overall reformist and progressive agenda in times to come.

Stay order on farm laws followed by Republic Day violence: Supreme Court must take notice of malignantly growing anarchy; Judiciary must avoid manipulation by anarchists in the name of dissent

It would be euphemistic to state that millions were taken by surprise when the Supreme Court of India decided to stay the implementation of the constitutionally passed three farm bills introduced by the Modi government. 

Shocked, rather than surprised, would perhaps be a more befitting expression - as some may like to put it - after the Apex Court temporarily laid off the reformist agricultural laws that have evoked a caustic anarchist movement in India backed by extremists and the left-liberal lobby. 

In effect, the Government of India is forbidden for the time being from proceeding with any executive actions to enforce the three laws: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act. 

Be that as it may, the flip side to the Supreme Court’s take - calling its stay order “extraordinary” and a “victory for fair play” - on a matter that has escalated rather acrimoniously in the last couple of months, a majority public mood finds itself in favour of the new agricultural laws. Not to mention that the ongoing ruckus and blackmail is an absolute travesty of the farmers’ movement. 

image source : livelaw.in

The bona fide Indian intelligentsia with a nationalistic leaning is worried about the onset of a vicious pattern following the anarchist camp’s attempt to portray the SC’s decision as a vindication of their demands and the victory of their so-called protest. So does this signal the ushering in of a new era in which any progressive law passed by the Parliament will be forced to get a nod from the judiciary merely because certain legislation is not palatable to the agents of self-serving propaganda?… Should it become a pattern, it would be unbecoming for the world’s biggest democracy. 

Whether it is appropriate for experts and commentators to question or criticise the judiciary’s wisdom on the farm laws is debatable. But it is significant to understand the series of events that led to such unprecedented rancour on the borders of the national capital due to which the highest court of the country may be have deemed it right to shelve the legislation for now to ensure public harmony. The devil, as they say, is in the detail and one simply cannot afford to overlook these details which reek of deceit and duplicity. 

A sham agitation sponsored and supported by the left-liberal lobby, the united anti-Modi opposition and the Khalistani extremists which was subsequently echoed by the Award-Wapsi brigade left no stone unturned to accomplish the malicious job of holding the government to ransom in a chaotic display of obstinacy and intimidation. So much so that the protesting farmers' groups such as the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) refused to participate in any proceedings of an appointed committee to resolve the crisis over the three farm laws, as suggested by the Supreme Court. 

Republic Day mayhem

For weeks the clouds of a potentially disruptive tractor rally, organised by agitating farmers’ groups and meant to bring New Delhi to a standstill on Republic Day, hovered over the national capital. On the day, absolute mayhem unfolded on the streets of Delhi and its borders. Scores of tractors, carrying hundreds of mobsters brandishing swords and rods, broke barricades and invaded into prohibited zones in New Delhi. Policemen were attacked and public property was damaged. There was pandemonium everywhere. 

It is as audacious as it is ridiculous that the demonic ambassadors of anarchy could muster the courage to threaten India on a day that marks the very identity and essence of this country. This naked display of criminality by the so-called peaceful protestors on India’s Republic Day is a watershed moment. It is an open provocation to India and the Indian Government. What can be more disconcerting than witnessing a section of the country’s own people jeopardising their own Republic Day in a bid to continue blackmailing the government into accepting their unreasonable and egotistical demands?

image source : opindia.com

Therefore, at the cost of sounding preachy, one could argue that the morbid Shaheen Bagh developments up to the progressing farmers’ agitation/anarchist chaos beckon the courts of the country to take note of the unabated spread of anarchist movements in India. The looming fear is that with a gamut of reformist laws, just like the farm laws, expected to be introduced by the Modi government in near future - the leftist-extremist lobby could see misusing the judiciary as a catalyst to realise their malicious goals. A dangerous pattern has emerged in the post-Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA era by virtue of which propagandists expect undue latitude from the judiciary and see it as a vindication of their “right to dissent”, even if the dissent is based on flimsy grounds.

The idea behind the above argument is not to suggest that the Indian judiciary is vulnerable to connivance and chicanery. But it cannot be denied that when a propagandist movement - masquerading as a peoples’ protest - gains momentum by garnering support through fake emotional appeal, it may deliver an undue impact even on the greatest and the brightest of legal minds engaged in finding a relevant solution that puts the acrimony to rest and ceases the stalemate between the government and the agitators. The last thing this nation wants is the employment of indirect pressure tactics to manipulate the judiciary. 

The lobby, which has been shooting off the protesting farmers’ shoulders, has been relentless in its effort to present the Supreme Court’s stay order as an affirmation of their ‘farm laws brought by the Government of India are anti-farmer in nature’ theory. Although nothing could be further from the truth as the Supreme Court’s stay order has nothing to do with the constitutionality or legality of the farm laws, the situation has only deteriorated since then. 

image source : indiatvnews.com

In the aftermath of Republic Day violence at the hands of the anarchists, it will be interesting to see whether the Supreme Court takes suo moto cognizance of the matter and keeps a tab on the perpetration of violent activities by the agitators, as normality has not restored at all following the Apex Court’s stay order on the farm laws. The situation could escalate in the coming days after an announcement made by the protesting groups to march to the Parliament on February 1. 

Those who cherish the idea of a stable India, a reformist and a nationalistic India - expect the Supreme Court and the higher courts of India to lend attention to the great disservice being done to Constitutional practices through protests which are choreographed to destabilise the government and undermine the sanctity of the Parliament.  

 

Ahead of the Legislative Assembly polls, this is an opportune period for the Modi govt to strengthen the nationalistic wave and target historic electoral achievements in J&K

Arguably the biggest political vindication of the otherwise tumultuous 2020 was the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the single largest party in the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir District Development Council (DDC) elections. 

It took 17 months after the scrapping of the erstwhile J&K state’s absurdly special status for the democratic process of elections at the civic level to return to the new union territory of J&K.

For the separatists in Kashmir, the leftist lobby in New Delhi and the pseudo-secular club spread across India, who had prophesied BJP’s drubbing in the DDC polls, the reality check came in the most glorious manner possible. It was an egg-in-the-face moment for the wily proponents of the restoration of Article 370. Hence, a political vindication for the Modi government’s momentous August 5, 2019 decision.  

image source : ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Naya Kashmir has gone from strength to strength since the revocation of the discriminatory law and the bifurcation of the former state of J&K into two UTs - J&K and Ladakh. The advent of a new era of hope has majorly contributed to the rise of a strong nationalistic wave in the UT of J&K and the BJP’s stellar performance in the DDC polls, which is a shot in the arm for the resurgent nationalist movement in J&K, is testimony to it. 

Not only has the region amalgamated into the Indian mainstream constitutionally, but it is now also witnessing a remarkable catharsis with the baggage of separatism slowly but steadily losing weight and a spirit of nationalism taking over. This is not to suggest that the entire Kashmiri populace has wholeheartedly accepted India’s unambiguous sovereignty over the region. The gulf still exists but it is narrowing down like never before, which is reflected in the civic poll results. 

The DDC polls have traced a smooth-sailing and largely peaceful journey after J&K received its new identity in August 2019. The cozy partnership of anti-nationals and secessionists, the anti-Modi political class and the India-bashing international media had predicted mayhem and bloodbath on the streets of Kashmir if Article 370 were to be dumped by the Government of India. As pleasant as it sounds, it was the exact opposite that happened and the valley has seen some of the most tranquil times in recent history after the abrogation of Article 370. Barring the killings of some grass-root level political workers and leaders, primarily those belonging to the BJP, zero incidents of stone-pelting and other forms of violence in Kashmir have ensured peace in a way never seen before. 

A conspicuous picture of democratic normality in J&K has emerged courtesy of the two historic democratic events (Article 370 revocation and DDC elections) that have taken place between August 2019 and December 2020, indicative of a future of political clarity and stability in the region within the sacrosanct framework of the Indian Constitution. The two events have created the perfect platform for the Legislative Assembly elections, expected to be held sometime in 2021, to define the course for J&K and push it along the path of growth and development. Principally, what the DDC polls verdict coming in the favour of the BJP has done is that it has established that with regard to the nationalism vs separatism battle, the former stands miles ahead with the UT approaching the forthcoming Legislative Assembly elections.  

On the back of the DDC elections, the writing on the wall is clear. The era of an appeased Kashmir and an ignored Jammu is over. J&K is now seen as one entity comprised of two equally important regions, unlike in the past. The growing revival of Jammu as a region of political vibrancy is due to a nationalistic undercurrent that rewarded the BJP handsomely in the civic polls. BJP’s stellar performance in Jammu and the fact that the party was able to make strong inroads in Kashmir is a telltale sign of things to come. Despite the unholy Gupkar alliance managing to amass big numbers in the DDC polls, it is apparent that the supremacist demeanour of the Kashmiri secessionists has been dented.

A renewed political direction

The moot question is: what does the future hold for J&K and where does the region’s politics go from here?… In all probability, a positive phase beckons. Indian nationalists can draw comfort from the fact that pro-India developments in the last two years have left physical and ideological secessionist strongholds in Kashmir dispirited. These developments have also allowed all nationalists - especially the BJP on the political front - to consolidate themselves in J&K fundamentally, both on the political and ideological fronts. Therefore, emerging as the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly polls or, in the best-case scenario, forming the government will be the real game-changer in the process of building Naya Kashmir. 

However, the journey before J&K goes to the polls again is equally as significant, if not more. BJP stealing the show in the DDC elections has made it incumbent upon the party and the Modi government to give J&K a renewed political direction, which will happen only if the BJP manages to form the first government in the UT in the post Article 370 revocation era. 

image source : financialexpress.com

Meanwhile, one of the greatest challenges that J&K faces in the run-up to the Assembly elections is the security situation of regional political workers and leaders, particularly from the BJP, which leaves much to be desired. From the cold-blooded murder of Kashmiri Pandit Sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti in Anantnag in June 2020 to the assassination of BJP leader Sheikh Wasim Bari, along with his father and brother, in Bandipora in July 2020 - J&K has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the killings of political representatives in recent times. 

The need of the hour is for the Modi government to leave no stone unturned in creating an atmosphere of security and trust that bolsters uninhibited participation from democratic representatives at the rudimentary and higher levels. Not only will it help strengthen the fabric of the Indian democracy in J&K, but it will also impart more power to the region’s growing nationalistic spirit. 

Well begun is half done! And the BJP is off to more than just a good beginning, thanks to how well it fared in the civic polls. Hence, this is the most opportune time for the Modi government to bring about a holistic transformation in the political and security situation in J&K.

For anti-India forces, such as the Gupkar gang supported by the united opposition and the leftist lobby, to be rendered weaker against the nationalist voices, lives of political workers need to be safeguarded and the BJP must commit itself to make landmark electoral accomplishments. These two aspects must be covered in tandem and take central priority in the Modi government’s blueprint of Naya Kashmir. 

After anti-CAA protests, the ongoing farmers' agitation is an alarming indicator of the rapidly rising anarchist tendencies in India

 

An attempt to bring the nation to its knees, an attempt to establish anarchy in the country - this is what best defines the ongoing farcical agitation, touted as a farmers' movement. So deep-rooted are the nefarious motives behind this anti-government theatre that it can be called anything but an honest protest started and sustained by the farmers against the three farm laws introduced by the Modi government.

The antagonistic manner in which the choreographers of this so-called movement have hijacked the borders of Delhi and around is a grim reminder of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests that rocked the national capital and several other Indian cities earlier this year, leading to a precarious law and order situation in the country. 

What is being projected as a collective display of dissent by the farmers against the reformist farm laws is in reality a murky yet macro reflection of the dubious Shaheen Bagh campaign, make no mistake, and what Shaheen Bagh was about is no secret at all. 

In the aftermath of the Shaheen Bagh showdown in February-March, the problem for all seasons that seems to have entangled India is the rapid rise of anarchist campaigns masquerading as movements of the Aam Aadmi backed by the self-proclaimed civil society, the wily leftist lobby and several extremist groups.  

image source : hindustantimes.com

Support from extremists 

The farmers' agitation received widespread support from pro-Khalistan outfits like Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) shortly after the Khalistan-sympathising Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed a diplomatic blunder by meddling in India’s internal matter through his statement that promised support to the protesting farmers. The ripples were soon visible in several major global cities such as London, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Toronto and Washington DC where Khalistani flags were openly waved and threats of closing the Indian consulates were issued if the demands of the Indian farmers were declined by the Government of India. 

Incidentally, 16 individuals from Canada, the US and the UK were recently chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their alleged involvement in sparking a campaign for the creation of Khalistan. Three among those accused were listed as terrorists by the Home Ministry of India. 

The picture could not be clearer. When extremist organisations that nurture the goal of breaking India lend their support to what is being referred to as an “indigenous movement”, it infers that the movement is fundamentally flawed and morally questionable. These protests have rendered a sense of deja vu, refreshing the memories of the anti-CAA protests in which Islamic fundamentalist groups and Hindu-haters massively pumped both spirit and logistics.

The lobby’s shenanigans 

India is witnessing an era wherein anti-administration stirs carrying leftist overtones find abundant appeal within celebrity circles - sportspersons and artists alike. As far as people such as Diljit Dosanjh, Vijender Singh and the like are concerned- one wonders whether they indulged in any intellectual research about the farm laws before recklessly taking a critical stand, merely because of the sentimental value attached to the protest which is predominantly centred in Punjab and Haryana. The celebrity photo opportunity has been used only to add a little bit of flavour to this misguided movement. 

On the other hand, there are self-proclaimed leftist scholars and the so-called civil society members such as Yogendra Yadav who pop out of nowhere and make flagrant attempts at stealing the spotlight by projecting themselves as the voice of the farmers. For people like Yogendra Yadav, who received an absolute drubbing in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and even ended up losing his security deposit, the only way to maintain relevance and stay in the news is to oppose everything under the sun that the Modi government brings to the table. 

It is fair to argue that amid a relentless endeavour to present the commotion at the Delhi borders as purely a farmers movement, the intervention by ill-informed celebrities and self-serving propagandists -coupled with the flabbergasting arrangements at protest sites entailing open theatres, foot massage facilities, makeshift gymnasiums, pizza langar and what not - has stamped the fact that forces conniving to destabilise the government’s developmental and reformist agenda are firing from the farmers’ shoulders. 

This agitation, fuelled by extremists and the anti-Modi political class on one side and the fake civil society and ignorant celebrities on the other, has become a travesty of the idea of ‘expressing dissent in a democracy’. 

image source : deccanherald.com

The nature and motive of the farmers' agitation and the anti-CAA/Shaheen Bagh protest may be different but how they have been carried out and the nature of the forces behind these upheavals is the same. 

This unfortunate and unpleasant inference drawn from the reality of the matter in no way amounts to the disparagement of the farmers of India or their cause. The Government of India has always pledged unconditional support to the Indian farmers and so has the right-thinking citizenry - irrespective of their political or ideological leanings. 

The grace and sensitivity with which the Modi government has tackled the ongoing crisis are commendable. Not a single episode of insult or intimidation of the protesting farmers at the hands of the Government of India has been recorded despite the administration and PM Modi himself found at the receiving end of threats, abuse and curse multiple times during the course of the agitation. On the contrary, the government, while upholding the benefits of the three farm laws, has maintained extraordinary composure and consistently maintained a stand that favours farmers' rights. 

With strong backing from extremist outfits, the leftist lobby comprising of the Congress party, other key UPA members and former allies of the BJP like Akali Dal, as well as pseudo activists, are using farmers as pawns in the game of anti-Modi advocacy in order to fallaciously link draconian attributes to the new laws which were framed to bring about agricultural reforms in the country. 

The concern, therefore, is the frequency at which anarchist campaigns have started to affect India. Camping on city roads and blocking highways to alienate one state from another is fast becoming a norm. This simply cannot be allowed to metamorphose into a sustained phenomenon aimed at destabilising the nation in the name of fake dissent.

The farmers' agitation seems to be far from over although it will ideally die down with time before eventually getting over. But should one anarchist campaign following another become a trend and challenging reformist laws passed by the parliament by holding the government to ransom turn into a habit, it will be detrimental to the stability and development of India. Hopefully, the Modi government is up to the task of putting an end to this menacing trend.