COALITION MATTERS
Only once has a government been formed, which commanded over 50 per cent of the polled vote — Indira Gandhi’s in 1971. This merits a “serious consideration” of the proportional representation system. It adds that such “fine-tuning” is necessary as Indian democracy matures further and regrets that the president did not make such a reference in his speech.
RACIST POLICY
The editorial in the CPI(ML)’s ML Update touches upon the issue of racism and xenophobia prevalent in the capital, in the context of the death of Nido Taniam from Arunachal Pradesh. It argues Taniam’s death is the latest in a “long line of racist prejudices and attacks against people from the Northeast in Delhi” and says that the “prejudices” of the Delhi police towards people from the Northeast is “nothing new”. ML Update points out how such discrimination is linked to the Indian state’s policy towards the Northeast, which “fosters bias and violence against people from the region. The draconian AFSPA continues to shield murder and rape of people from the Northeast by the Indian army — marking off people from the Northeast as second-class citizens…”
The editorial points to other instances of racism and xenophobia and says, “Bias and police harassment of Kashmiris and people from African countries have also been common in Delhi. Kashmiris are branded as ‘anti-national’, and the BJP has been known to fan up xenophobia against Bengali-speaking labourers (branded as ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’).” It also sees Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti’s “racially motivated ‘raid’ of African women in Khirki” as a signal of support for “racist policy”.
APPEASEMENT TOOLS
“Farce of Minority Appeasement” is the editorial’s title in the CPI’s New Age. It states how the “ruling classes” have always tried to treat minorities as their “votebanks” and how, on the eve of elections, there is always a spate of announcements for minorities. It cites Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s presence at the function organised to launch the National Waqf Development Corporation last week as a part of that “game”. The editorial claims the UPA government released just Rs 1 crore to the Maulana Azad Education for promotion of education among minorities, as against its claims of allocating Rs 100 crore. It goes on to question the government’s claims on opening new schools and implementing other policies for minorities.
Compiled by Ruhi Tewari
