1.#OPINION : Saturday, August 28, 2021. 7:04.PM.2493. 1.#Taliban Takeover Pulls Off Many Masks : Aug 23, 2021 : Prafulla Ketkar : Organiser " Media Report. NOTE :2.##The Dangers of ‘Changed Taliban’ : Aug 09, 2021 : Prafulla Ketkar : Organiser : Media Report. + More...

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1.#OPINION : Saturday, August 28, 2021. 7:04.PM.2493.
1.#Taliban Takeover Pulls Off Many Masks : Aug 23, 2021 : Prafulla Ketkar : Organiser " Media Report.
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*Taliban Takeover Pulls Off Many Masks

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"The Security Council, stressing its determination to ensure respect for its resolutions, Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, 1. Insists that the Afghan faction known as the Taliban, which also calls itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, comply promptly with its previous resolutions and in particular cease the provision of sanctuary and training for international terrorists and their organisations, take appropriate effective measures to ensure that the territory under its control is not used for terrorist installations and camps, or for the preparation or organisation of terrorist acts against other States or their citizens, and cooperate with efforts to bring indicted terrorists to justice”  – RESOLUTION 1267 (1999), Adopted by the Security Council at its 4051st meeting, on October 15,  1999

The sudden and dramatic takeover of Kabul by the Taliban shocked some and exposed many. Rather than the Taliban takeover, the surrender by the Afghanistan Government and the US-trained forces surprised the world. The Afghan people are abandoned and left to their fate under a terrorist organisation is a fact. The unprecedented scenes of people trying to get out of the troubled region came out, putting entire humanity to shame. In the process, this terror coup has exposed many faces. To tackle the future scenario, we need to address the deal with different shades of terror.  

Besides the Afghan people, the *United States is the *biggest loser in this great game, and there are obvious reasons for it. From the Soviet intervention in 1979 itself, the US handling of Afghanistan has been disastrous. Building the entire force of Mujahiddins, which has taken the shape of Al-Qaida and Taliban to defeat Communism, has fuelled the Frankenstein monster in the form of Islamic Jihadism. After the Soviet collapse, the same guns and Mujahiddins turned towards the US. After 9/11, the so-called war on terror was focused on Afghanistan while neglecting the actual terror ground of Pakistan. Despite finding Osama bin Laden in Pakistani territory, the US forces continued to remain in Kabul. The approach of using Pakistan as a frontline state against the war on terror was a fundamentally flawed proposition. The American pull-out and Pakistan supported Taliban taking over significant parts of Afghanistan has exposed the United States’ sham called war on terror, yet again.

**Pakistan has been unmasked on the terror issue multiple times; now, the **notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is flaunting its position on Jihadi terror openly. ##China and ##Russia are the other two players who proudly continue their missions in Kabul, giving sanctity to the still unsettled terror regime. Are they repeating the same mistake of aligning with the terror groups to gain brownie points in the great power game?  

What is going to happen to the United Nations and its human rights mechanism is another *big question. The *efficacy of this post-Cold-War mechanism has been under the scanner for a long time; the hopeless situation in which the international organisations are finding themselves is a matter of concern. Will United Nations be in a position to execute the sanctions articulated against the Taliban in earlier resolutions? The answer to this will decide the fate of the Afghan people and the future of the United Nations.

The celebratory mood of global Islamists after the Taliban takeover was tough to hide, and they are never apologetic about it. The so-called liberals and communists, who are in the business of white-washing the Taliban mindset with the false equivalences, are busy with the changed Taliban narrative, claiming inevitability and invincibility of terror groups. Now, ‘the Taliban has also done a press conference’, is their cliché. Rapes, slavery and killings of women happening on the ground do not matter to them. Even in Bharat, celebrities who are always ready to demean and desecrate Bharat and Bharatiya traditions are observing a tactical silence or bashing Hindutva in the name of Taliban takeover, as per their usual obsession.  The tactical connivance of various forces vis-à-vis Taliban mindset is the root cause of Jihadi terrorism.  

Of course, what will happen to the people of Afghanistan and the implications for Bharat, especially from the cross-border terrorism point of view, are the primary concerns for us. This uncertainty or instability is not new to Afghan people, and they will find a way to deal with it. But at the global level, the ideology of terror is the core issue. The global menace of terrorism cannot be dismantled without calling out the roots of the Taliban mindset and unmasking the forces that are directly or indirectly nurturing it.  

Continued below :

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NOTE :2.##The Dangers of ‘Changed Taliban’ : Aug 09, 2021 : Prafulla Ketkar : Organiser : Media Report.
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*The Dangers of ‘Changed Taliban’

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"Good terrorist, bad terrorist, good Taliban, bad Taliban, this won’t work. A decision has to be taken: Are you with terrorism or humanity?” – PM Narendra Modi in his speech at Dubai Stadium on August 17, 2015."

In July 30, 2021, the United Nations compound in Herat, Afghanistan, was attacked. A few days before, a comedian from Kandhar, Nazar Mohammad, better known as Khasha Zwan, known for his comic social media posts, was abused, beaten up and then killed. A journalist of Bharatiya origin was brutally killed after verifying his nationality. Many working women, ranging from journalists to judges, have been killed or attacked in the last few months. Taliban does this and accepted the responsibility for such incidences. Still, ‘Taliban is changed’, ‘there is no option but to talk to Taliban’, is the talking point worldwide. Unless we understand the nature of the ‘changed’ Taliban, we cannot address this global threat.

After almost a two-decade war in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, the US entered into negotiations with the Taliban and came up with a peace deal on February 29, 2020. A similar agreement was signed with the Afghanistan Government in May 2020, and false hope was created about peace and stability in the war-torn country. A timeline for the withdrawal of all US and Coalition forces from Afghanistan and a political settlement through negotiations between the Taliban and an inclusive negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were the key points of this peace deal. Since then, the US-led forces have been in the withdrawal mode, while the Taliban is back to its basic ideology and methods. The Afghan forces are attacked. The demands for removal of the President and the release of the Taliban terrorists are pushed for. Pakistan sees this as a victory, while China is happy to negotiate with the radical group to gain space in the troubled region. While the ‘changed’ and, therefore, inevitable, Taliban is being talked about by the so-called liberals.

Yes, the Taliban has changed. It is no longer a naïve force of a few radicals as it used to be in the 1990s. They now have a special force, assessed to be around sixty-five thousand radicalised soldiers, a standard police force, and learnt few tricks of diplomacy. They have captured national TV stations and are in a position to run their propaganda through various media platforms. They see the real opportunity of establishing their Emirate in Afghanistan, making a mockery of intra-Afghan dialogue for power-sharing. Getting into negotiations with the Taliban without elected Afghanistan Government on board was itself a wrong beginning. Unless essential human, gender and religious rights for the people are ensured, and the Taliban recognises the legitimacy of the elected Government, no peace is possible on Afghan soil.

The Taliban rule is not new to the Afghan people. Besides the bombing of Bamiyan Buddha, burning of schools and restrictions on women in the areas they have overrun are still fresh in the memory of masses and revised again in the newly controlled territories. Therefore, ordinary people of Afghanistan are out on the streets in support of the Government and security forces which cannot be brushed aside. In any case, a free run to the Taliban is not a guarantee for peace. At the most, it is just an excuse for the NATO forces to withdraw. The UN peace-keeping forces with a clear mandate to oversee negotiations and elections can be a possible alternative to the same.

Bharat has been part of the negotiations and is ready to talk to the Taliban without compromising the people’s interests. Until Pakistan stops providing safe havens to senior Taliban leaders and their families, Afghanistan can never be a stable, peaceful nation. It is our stated national position, and we should stick to it. Taliban, Al-Qaida and the Islamic State all are part of the same mindset, the same set of ideas that led to the creation of Pakistan. Democracy and peace is anathema to those fundamentals. The changed Taliban is a more lethal and disastrous force with the same objectives of creating an emirate based on stringent Islamic laws led by the emir of Ummah, the global Islamic community. Giving it a free run means recognising growing radicalisation as a new normal. Glorifying such a ‘changed Taliban’ is a sure recipe for the many more 9/11 like attacks worldwide.

End.

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NOTE : 3.### Swaraj@75: What to celebrate? : Aug 16, 2021 : Prafulla Ketkar : Organiser : Media Report.
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#Swaraj@75: What to celebrate?

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August 15th, 1947 is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a new age. But we can also make it by our life and acts as a free nation an important date in a new age opening for the whole world, for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity”. – The August 15, 1947 Message by Sri Aurobindo, [Sri Aurobindo wrote this message at the request of All India Radio, Tiruchirapalli, India, for broadcast on the eve of India’s independence)

 A period of seventy-five years is not supposed to be a significant one for a civilisational Rashtra like Bharat with thousands of years of history. Still, we are going to celebrate seventy-five years of Independence as a festival. What to celebrate and why to celebrate this year-long event are the natural questions that would crop in the minds, especially millennials.  

The Independence of Bharat was a momentous occasion in many ways. On the one hand, it was a long struggle of colonial onslaught and resurrection of the Old Civilisation in a new form after a struggle for centuries. The nature of colonial aggressions changed over the period from Greeks to Huns to Islamic to European powers. Greeks were defeated, but some damage was done. Huns were accommodated in the Bharatiya milieu. Islamic aggression was violent, brutal and more ‘religious’ in nature and ultimately led to the partitions of Bharat on religious lines. It was challenging for Bharatiya society to understand the nature of this threat, and persecution on the way of worship was alien to us. Still, we eventually tried to address it through both military and spiritual means.

The European colonisation was comparatively subtle and more damaging. In the name of the trade, they not just executed the political subjugation but also systematically carried out cultural and intellectual colonisation. Right from the Portuguese time agenda of spreading Christianity was clear; the British played it very shrewdly. As the weapons of colonisation changed, whether military, intellectual, political, legal or economic etc., our response also became multidimensional. But the crux of this historical struggle was reestablishing ‘Swa’ (selfhood) while renegotiating with the colonial and imposed modernity. Swa-Dharma, Swa-deshi, Swa-Bhasha and Swa-Raj were different expressions of the same urge. The struggle was not certainly for just political Independence but much more than that.   While celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence, this is the opportune time to revisit the content of ‘Swa’ and evaluate how far that selfhood has been realised in the last seventy-five years.  

The colonial rule, structures and processes are entrenched, and our intellectual colonisation still persists. There are many myths perpetuated about the nature of our freedom struggle and most of them were created by the colonisers. As Acharya Dharmapala tried to understand Bharatiya social institutions in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we should research what sustained us for centuries of the onslaught.  Unfortunately, we have eventually lost those institutional structures. What can be done to revive the spirit behind those structures is another challenge that we should take up. It is not about going backwards but learning from the past that enabled us to be the longest surviving civilisation.  

The tragedy of partition divided the great ancient land and people based on religion. Though we had different systems of Governance, the geo-cultural entity was one for all. People were never divided because of who ruled the state or the religion of the ruler. What went wrong with this age-old Rashtra and what can be done to undo those mistakes is also a critical question.

After seventy-five, Bharat is again trying to regain its position on the world stage. The whole world is also turning towards this spiritual land to solve the imminent contemporary challenges to humanity. To realise that deserved stature, the sons and daughters of Bharat would have to take a pledge of ‘Nothing Is Dearer than Her Service’, as Sri Aurobindo expected. Many sages, satyagrahis, revolutionaries, literary figures, educationists, lawyers, scientists etc. did the same through different means during the freedom struggle. Celebration of the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence is to resolve to fulfil their dreams. Revisiting their contributions and recontextualising their vision for the present circumstances can be the best tribute on the occasion of the seventy-five years  of Independence. 

End.

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 NOTE :4.####The necessity of a family planning act for national development and retention of religious demography : Aug 28, 2021 : Dr Bipin B Verma ; Organisr : Media Report.
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#The necessity of a family planning act for national development and retention of religious demography

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Muslim leaders dream is Ghazwa-e-Hind, i.e., the Islamisation of India by becoming the majority, changing demography and their population of India is projected to grow to 311 million by 2050 and surpass Indonesia to become the world's largest Muslim population.

Muslims are the fastest-growing community in the world. The growth rate of the Muslim community has been consistently higher than that of Hindus and other non-Muslims in India. It is gradually changing the religious demography of the nation. A family planning act is immediately required to restrain the unconstrained population growth, retain demography, and protect the culture of India. In this article, a formula is suggested to enhance the quality of population, essential for the rapid growth on the health, academic and economic front.

1.#Global Population Scenario :

Based on the recent data of the UN, the estimated population of India in 2019 was 1.37 billion. It is estimated that the population density has reached 417 persons per sq. km as compared to 382 persons per sq. Km in 2011. China has a population density of around 145 per sq. Km and the USA has just 34 persons per sq. Km. The overall population growth rate in India is 1.1% per year. In contrast, the population growth rate for China and the USA is 0.6 and 0.7, respectively. The Chinese government has effectively used several methods to control the population explosion. On the other hand, the population of India has doubled in just 40 years, and it is expected to upset China as the world's most populated country by 2050. 

2.#Effect of population growth :

A large population puts pressure on the existing resources and becomes a liability rather than an asset. It also results in the growth of a physically and mentally weak section of society. Such population growth usually contributes uneducated, unhealthy, and financially weak people to society. The lack of education and poverty are closely linked to the size of the family.

The uncontrolled population growth also engulfs most of the national development projects and poverty eradication schemes. Such population growth is responsible for overexploitation of natural resources and causing pollution at all levels. It is also responsible for shrinking land for cultivation and forest. It is worth mentioning that the country is facing changing religious demography. It is a serious national concern and should not be ignored to maintain harmony and protect the culture of the land.

3.#World Muslim Population :

Globally, 2.4 billion (29% of the world population) people follow Christianity, 1.9 billion (24%) are Muslims, and 1.2 billion (15.4%) are Hindus. The religious profile of the world is changing rapidly. The total world population is expected to rise to 9.3 billion by 2050, a 35% increase between 2010- 2050. Over the same period, Muslims are projected to increase by 73%. It is because Muslims have the highest fertility rate, 3.1 children per woman. It is also predicted that by 2050, Christians and Muslims will make up a nearly equal share of the world population. Globally, the Hindu population is projected to increase from a little over 1 billion to 1.4 billion, a growth rate of 34%, and roughly keeping pace with the global population rate.

Muslim Population in India :

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in India too. The growth rate of Muslims has been consistently higher than the growth rate of Hindus and other non-Muslims. Muslims in India are much more resistant to modern contraceptive measures compared to other Indians. As a result, the fertility rate among Muslim women is much higher than that of non-Muslims. The religious population distribution of India is presented in Table 1, and the Muslim population growth per census from 1951 to 2011 is given in Table 2. 

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                           Table 1 Population trends for major religious groups in India (1951–2011)

Population% →

Religious group 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Hinduism 84.1 83.45 82.73 82.30 81.53 80.46 79.80

Islam 9.8 10.69 11.21 11.75 12.61 13.43 14.23

Christianity 2.30 2.44 2.60 2.44 2.32 2.34 2.30

Sikhism 1.79 1.79 1.89 1.92 1.94 1.87 1.72

Buddhism 0.74 0.74 0.70 0.70 0.77 0.77 0.70

Jainism 0.46 0.46 0.48 0.47 0.40 0.41 0.37

Zoroastrianism 0.13 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.06 not

counted

Others/ Religion not

specified 0.43 0.43 0.41 0.42 0.44 0.72 0.9

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                       Table 2 Muslim population growth per census

Year  Total population Muslimpopulation Percentage

 1951 361,088,090 35,856,047 9.9

1961 439,234,771 46,998,120 10.7

1971 548,159,652 61,448,696 11.2

1981* 683,329,097 77,557,852 11.4

1991* 846,427,039 102,586,957 12.1

2001 1,028,737,436 138,159,437 13.4

2011 1,210,726,932 172,245,158 14.2

1981 Census: * Parts of Assam were not included. 1991 Census: ** J&K was not included

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The Hindu population to the total population proportion (PP) in 2011 has declined by 0.7 percentage points (Table 3). In Table 4 growth rate of different communities in the decade 2001-2011 is cited.

Table 3. The proportion of population to population (PP) in 2011 (India), in Percentage Point

Hindu Muslim Sikh Buddhist Christians and Janis

-0.7 0.8 -0.2 -0.1 0.0

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            Table 4. The population growth rate in the decade 2001-2011 (India)     

Total Hindu Muslim Christians Sikhs Buddhist Jain

17.7 16.8 24.6 15.5 8.4 6.1 5.4

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The Muslim population of India is projected to grow to 311 million by 2050 and surpass Indonesia to become the world's largest Muslim population. However, India will remain as a Hindu (about 77%) majority country.

As mentioned, the PP of Muslims is the highest in the nation, and it is nearly 1.6 times higher than Hindus. The Muslim community is a closed society, and they prefer to settle in segregated quarters of cities and towns. The population growth of a specific community will widen such pockets in towns, cities, and rural areas, causing more conflicts. It is also important to mention that such conflicts are already occurring in certain provinces, cities, and localities of the nation. 

4.#Spread of Islamism :

Though many theories exist on the spread of Islam, it is well established that the main factors are military action and invasions. In Islam, religion is practised for all components of life and society.

Dr Peter Hammond says Islamisation occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called religious rights. He has systematically explained the changes in the approach and behaviour of the community with the population rise. According to Nicolette Incze, an Islamic expert, the Islamisation of the country cannot be stopped once the Muslim population reaches 16% of the total population. Incze, in her study, pointed out that Muslim countries are relatively more prone to conflicts. In recent years, almost all civil wars have taken place in Muslim countries, and most civil wars involve Islamist insurgencies.

The presence of some 4.9% Muslims in the 28 countries of the European Union is currently sparking debate, controversy, fear, and hatred. It is predicted that even if all migration into Europe is stopped immediately and permanently, the Muslim population of Europe will still rise from the current level of 4.9% to 7.4% by 2050. This is because the Muslim population is 13 years younger and has a higher fertility rate. In the West, the growing population of Muslims and radical groups causes more concern than any other international issue, viz., climate change and the global economy.

In India, the situation is even worse. It is unfortunate that a group of religious and political leaders openly plead the Sharia law over national law and interests. The only dream of Indian Muslim leaders is Ghazwa-e-Hind, i.e., the Islamisation of India. They dream of becoming the majority, changing demography, and their obvious means is population explosion. It is also true that several foreign agencies, especially from the Muslim world and some of the forces within the nation, are actively involved in their mission. It is generally believed that Muslims deliberately deliver more children to outnumber Hindus. It is also believed that the population growth of the country, especially the Muslim population, is a threat to the social fabric, social harmony, and development of the country.

5.#Introduce population control policy :

It is necessary to adopt a population control policy similar to China. In 1979, China started the one child per family policy. The citizens were offered special benefits for adhering to this policy. Citizens who did have more than one child were either taxed heavily or punished by loss of employment or other benefits.

Hon'ble Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi, in the 73rd Independence Day speech (15th Aug. 2019), referred to the need for the implementation of family planning [11]. It is high time to introduce an act to restrain the unconstrained population growth. My views on this issue are briefly mentioned as follows:

*i. I propose to implement "A family two children" policy in the whole country for all the communities. The families who do not adhere to this policy may be taxed heavily, penalised with the loss of employment, no benefit of government subsidies, as well as no voting rights for the entire family, including offspring. The government may coin impressive slogans such as, "A family two children key to happiness, prosperity, and pride". In Hindi, “एक परिवार दो संतान सुख, समृद्धि और सम्मान”.

*ii. A section of society is mainly responsible for the population explosion in India. As discussed, Muslims are the fastest-growing community in the world, and the scenario is not different in India. It is also observed that low-income and uneducated families are responsible for uncontrolled population growth. Therefore, any corrective measure should start from them. Parents (father, mother/s) from families of more than four siblings should limit their families to a child. Giving birth to more than a child should be considered an offence for those families. Such a measure will curb the population of uneducated, unhealthy, and financially weak people in society. On the other hand, defence personals may be permitted even for the third child.

*iii. Taxpayers' money is used to run the nation and offer subsidies. Unfortunately, their consents and views are ignored by policymakers. It is also true that they (taxpayers) believe in small family size. Their views on family size and different welfare schemes must be honoured. 

Implementation of the proposed measures will increase the percentage of healthy, wealthy, cultured, and educated people in the country. It is of utmost necessity for the nation's rapid development on the educational, economic and cultural fronts.

(The writer is a Retired Professor of NIT Rourkela, and his field of interest is in sustainable rural development.)

End.

 

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JAI HIND

JAI BHARATHAM

VANDHE MADHARAM 

BHARAT MATHA KI JAI.

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