By Allika Naresh:
When NDA won in the 2014 elections, many people were so happy. The rule under the Congress party was not a happy one with too many instances of scams and corruption. So people were hopeful about our new PM Narendra Modi. He has announced a number of times that India will receive “acche din” in his rule. People believed in him because he is so energetic and happens to have a good vision. But the current situation in India is very different from what we expected.
A main issue is about the cow. Since many people in India belong to the Hindu community, the cow happens to be holy for most of them. But Dalits eats beef and that is common in their lives. But after BJP came in to rule, many people affiliated to RSS, including but not limited to the VHP and Bajrang Dal, who call themselves as ‘gau rakshaks’ have begun attacks on those who consume beef, including Dalits.
In Gujarat, a villager contacted a few Dalits to take the carcass of his dead cow which was killed by a tiger. When they were extracting the skin from that dead cow, some of the people came and started beating them while calling them ‘cow murderers’. This issue was used strongly by the Dalits to raise their concerns. Similar incidents have occured in many places of India. But PM Modi had not responded to any of these incidents. Many BJP leaders, MPs and RSS leaders openly said that they will not spare any one who eats beef. Not only Dalits, even minorities live in fear over the increasing attacks.
Recently, some women were sexually assaulted because they ate beef. The RSS and BJP seems to think that all are cow-worshipping Hindus. India consists of different religions and our diversity has always been unique. Issues like “ghar vapasi” have created doubts in the minds of many people about this government.
When the state of Andhra Pradesh was split, it was given assurances for a special status. However, today, they don’t seem to want to give special status to AP which is highly unfortunate. PM Modi should have been involved in this matter to help AP.
In TRS-ruled Telangana, people were so hopeful after the state divide. But many decisions taken by the state government have been called into question. A burning issue in Telangana is about the Mallanna Sagar project. The government wants to take away farmers’ land to build a reservoir by following a special Government Order (No.123) and not by the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Because of this new GO, people will lose their land for a lesser price in addition to their livelihoods. Even the High Court has given a stay on this GO. But government issued two more GOs for this land registration. The people have been on strike for more than 100 days here. The PM should look in to this matter, because the Centre should know what is happening in our country.
The dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu regarding the use of Cauvery river water also persist. In the recent protests, many people got beaten and hotels and vehicles were damaged in both the states. What were the state governments doing? The Central government is not involving themselves enough in this issue. They should be talking to both states.
The attacks on innocent tribal people in Maoist-affected areas is truly appalling. Many innocent people are being killing by the CRPF.
In Kashmir, many citizens have died but the state is still burning. The government has to tackle this issue very sensitively. In North East states (of which not many know about), the main issue has been about the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). Because of this, the Army has gotten away with widespread killings and sexual violence. Leaders like Irom Sharmila are demanding that the Central government revoke this Act. But even our new government doesn’t seem to care about that.
Do tell me, when will “acche din” will come in to our lives?