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When Rahul Gandhi met Kalawati Bandurkar - a widow of a Vidarbha farmer in the summer of 2008 - and later spoke of her as a symbol of how the nation’s poor lived, little did he know he was raising a bogey that could hurt Congress’ prospects in Maharashtra. A year-and-a-half later, Kalawati is contesting Assembly polls as a candidate for the Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), which has decided to use the election as a tool to highlight farmers’ suicides. Kalawati filed her nomination papers on Friday after being brought to the office of the Assistant Returning Officer at Wani in an ambulance accompanied by a doctor. According to VJAS Secretary Kishore Tiwari, who has been fighting for over 13 years on the issue of farmers’ suicides, Kalawati had to be hospitalised late on Thursday night with a cardiac condition. “There is tremendous pressure on Kalawati to withdraw, and as a result, she has developed this condition. Dr Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International, who had promised to deposit Rs 30 lakh to help her, sent her three letters yesterday asking her not to contest. Kalawati now fears she may lose the monetary aid, if she contested against Congress and is therefore under tremendous duress,” he said. Rahul’s passionate speech during the parliamentary debate over India’s nuclear deal with the US put Kalawati on the national map, and also moved Sulabh International Chairman Dr Bindeshwar Pathak so much that he offered to deposit Rs 30 lakh in her name. In June 2009, he offered to deposit the money in a nationalised bank and said that Kalawati would continue to receive monthly interest on it for the next 20 years - and that the deposit could be claimed by her or by her nominee after the term was completed.
Tiwari now says Pathak never fulfilled his promise. “He only gave her a token cheque. In reality, he deposited just Rs 2.8 lakh into her account. Kalawati now fears that he may not deposit the Rs 30 lakh at all if she contested. She has filed her nomination because she doesn’t want a wrong message to go out. But I am now doubtful if she will contest at all. We have asked another widow Babytai Bais to file her nomination as well, just in case Kalawati withdraws,” Tiwari said. Dr Pathak, whose NGO Sulabh works in the field of sanitation, insisted he never said he would not continue his aid to Kalawati if she contested Assembly polls. “I only suggested that it is better if she engaged herself in social service, rather than engage in politics. I gave her Rs three lakh twice. It’s true that I have been unable to deposit the Rs 30 lakh as promised, but that’s because we were through with our yearly budget and the promise was made afterwards. But we will definitely keep our word, regardless of whether Kalawati contests the polls or not,” Dr Pathak said. Dr Pathak, in his letter to Kalawati, has said but for Rahul’s reference about her in his speech, he would not have come forward to help her. “Nor would it have been possible for you to perform the marriage of your daughter, or for you to discharge the debt incurred by your husband. “I fail to visualise you being able to face the embarrassing situation where you may be forced to oppose the very person who has helped you attain economic wellbeing and its consequent comforts. To take help from someone and then work against them is dishonourable. I am writing this to you, lest you take a step, which will lead people to lose faith in goodness and altruism,” Dr Pathak added in his letter.
When asked if he had written the letter at the behest of the Congress, Dr Pathak insisted that there was no such pressure on him. “I genuinely felt she should not do it to the person who has helped her so much. I still insist I am not against her contesting elections. But it’s not as simple as she thinks it is,” said Dr Pathak who is a Rajya Sabha MP himself. Kalawati was not accessible for comment. Kishore Tiwari claimed she was still being treated at the Yavatmal district hospital and her sons-in-law, who were Congress supporters, didn’t want her to comment. |
Monday, October 5, 2009
Pressure on Rahul’s Kalawati not to take on Congress in polls
Rajya Sabha MP, who promised her aid, now writes asking her to desist from contesting elections against Rahul Gandhi’s party
Friday, September 11, 2009
Terror will not help Muslims, ‘Dr Bomb’ says
Dr Jalees Ansari, now in Ajmer Jail for masterminding several blasts, writes in Urdu daily that death and destruction serve no purpose
File photo of Ansari being escorted out of Sessions Court in 1994Endless violence unleashed by terrorists seems to have touched the heart of ‘Dr Bomb’ Jalees Ansar
i, himself the mastermind of around 60 blasts across the country in the early nineties. Ansari, 52, now serving a rigorous life term in Ajmer Jail, has written a two-part article in the Urdu Times about the futility of terrorism
and how it contradicts the very essence of Islam.After over 15 years in jail, Ansari now feels that Muslims can’t rule the world using terror as a weapon. “If we Muslims say that we want the good of humanity, while on the other hand blasts occur on trains, public places and temples, and innocents are killed, then who will even listen to the correct things we say?” he writes in the mainstream Urdu newspaper. “Can anybody justify the 26/11 terror attacks? Has any Muslim in the world benefited out of 26/11? No, because this militancy will only harm Muslims. We should strictly follow the Quran and the prophet’s teachings, and all misunderstanding about Islam will disappear.”Ansari, an MBBS from Mumbai University, was deemed the ‘father of terror’ in Mumbai for training teams that carried out blasts in several cities. In his first outspoken response since his arrest in January, 1994, he dwells on the consequences of Islamic terrorism in articles headlined ‘Ek dehshatgard doctor ki aap beeti’. He talks about the three main triggers of ‘Muslim terrorism’-Jammu & Kashmir dispute, communal riots and Babri Masjid.Ansari was arrested in January 1994, along with his three brothers, who were discharged after nine months. Ansari says that even after that, blasts kept happening across India. This got him thinking-on one hand, Hindus were being killed in blasts at Ayodhya, Akshardham temple, Raghunath temple, Sankatmochan temple, etc, while on the other, Muslims were dying in blasts at Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Jalna, Parbhani, Jalgaon, and Ajmer Dargah. The battery of blasts in the recent past-from the Parliament attack to 7/11 train blasts to 26/11 attacks-brought about a transformation in him. “These continuous, destructive, terrorist acts forced me to seriously think, what will all these terror acts take us? How will such militancy help Muslims to attain their goals which the almighty has sent them to do?” he questions.Recounting his first brush with the ‘anti-Muslim feeling’ while he was a student at Mumbai University between 1976-82, he writes, “Some Marathi teachers and students would talk strange things about Islam. I felt that a deep conspiracy was being hatched to make Muslims second class citizens, so that they would remain backward socially, financially and politically.”He recalls participating in relief work for Bhiwandi riot victims in the 1980s, and only shedding tears for their trauma. “At that time, I selected some youngsters and trained them in martial arts and stick-wielding. Our aim was to defend ourselves during riots. We didn’t want to form any armed organised group, as we were afraid that once armed, we would ourselves become evil and inflict damage on others.”Calling himself ‘aaraamdil’ (soft-hearted), Ansari blames both the Congress and the BJP for creating the Babri Masjid issue and exploiting it to garner Hindu votes. He says fanaticism crept into his soul with the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. “That scene of demolition, no proud Muslim can forget till he breathes his last,” says Ansari, calling it the birth of Muslim militancy.He points out that though innocent Hindus also suffered in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, Muslims suffered maximum losses with even the police stacked up against them. “I have personal experience of the police’s one-sided role. During these riots, lakhs of Muslims were forced to live in relief camps, while Hindus didn’t face such problems. I couldn’t tolerate such insult and sadness. I decided to embrace militancy. I knew that the basic character of militancy would not bring justice, but I thought that for every role, some emotions are also involved. Aur is tarah ek doctor terrorist ban gaya,” Ansari rues.
i, himself the mastermind of around 60 blasts across the country in the early nineties. Ansari, 52, now serving a rigorous life term in Ajmer Jail, has written a two-part article in the Urdu Times about the futility of terrorism
and how it contradicts the very essence of Islam.After over 15 years in jail, Ansari now feels that Muslims can’t rule the world using terror as a weapon. “If we Muslims say that we want the good of humanity, while on the other hand blasts occur on trains, public places and temples, and innocents are killed, then who will even listen to the correct things we say?” he writes in the mainstream Urdu newspaper. “Can anybody justify the 26/11 terror attacks? Has any Muslim in the world benefited out of 26/11? No, because this militancy will only harm Muslims. We should strictly follow the Quran and the prophet’s teachings, and all misunderstanding about Islam will disappear.”Ansari, an MBBS from Mumbai University, was deemed the ‘father of terror’ in Mumbai for training teams that carried out blasts in several cities. In his first outspoken response since his arrest in January, 1994, he dwells on the consequences of Islamic terrorism in articles headlined ‘Ek dehshatgard doctor ki aap beeti’. He talks about the three main triggers of ‘Muslim terrorism’-Jammu & Kashmir dispute, communal riots and Babri Masjid.Ansari was arrested in January 1994, along with his three brothers, who were discharged after nine months. Ansari says that even after that, blasts kept happening across India. This got him thinking-on one hand, Hindus were being killed in blasts at Ayodhya, Akshardham temple, Raghunath temple, Sankatmochan temple, etc, while on the other, Muslims were dying in blasts at Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid, Malegaon, Jalna, Parbhani, Jalgaon, and Ajmer Dargah. The battery of blasts in the recent past-from the Parliament attack to 7/11 train blasts to 26/11 attacks-brought about a transformation in him. “These continuous, destructive, terrorist acts forced me to seriously think, what will all these terror acts take us? How will such militancy help Muslims to attain their goals which the almighty has sent them to do?” he questions.Recounting his first brush with the ‘anti-Muslim feeling’ while he was a student at Mumbai University between 1976-82, he writes, “Some Marathi teachers and students would talk strange things about Islam. I felt that a deep conspiracy was being hatched to make Muslims second class citizens, so that they would remain backward socially, financially and politically.”He recalls participating in relief work for Bhiwandi riot victims in the 1980s, and only shedding tears for their trauma. “At that time, I selected some youngsters and trained them in martial arts and stick-wielding. Our aim was to defend ourselves during riots. We didn’t want to form any armed organised group, as we were afraid that once armed, we would ourselves become evil and inflict damage on others.”Calling himself ‘aaraamdil’ (soft-hearted), Ansari blames both the Congress and the BJP for creating the Babri Masjid issue and exploiting it to garner Hindu votes. He says fanaticism crept into his soul with the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. “That scene of demolition, no proud Muslim can forget till he breathes his last,” says Ansari, calling it the birth of Muslim militancy.He points out that though innocent Hindus also suffered in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots, Muslims suffered maximum losses with even the police stacked up against them. “I have personal experience of the police’s one-sided role. During these riots, lakhs of Muslims were forced to live in relief camps, while Hindus didn’t face such problems. I couldn’t tolerate such insult and sadness. I decided to embrace militancy. I knew that the basic character of militancy would not bring justice, but I thought that for every role, some emotions are also involved. Aur is tarah ek doctor terrorist ban gaya,” Ansari rues.Dr Jalees AnsariAccording to Ansari, today’s Muslims shouldn’t be depressed with the ‘anti-Muslim’ atmosphere. “Aaj ke daur ki Muslim dehshatgardi daawat ke kaam main badi rukaavat hai, jisey door karna bahut zaroori hai (Today’s Islamic terrorism prevents others from listening to the correct things we say, which must be stopped),” Ansari says. He quotes the holy Quran to state that god sent Muslims to do good things on earth, look after others, restrain them from doing wrong, and believe in the almighty.“Maine dehshatgardi se tauba kar lee hai (I have quit terrorism),” proclaims Ansari, “If thousands of terrorists quit terrorism like me, will it come to an end? I don’t think so. Terrorism is a symptom, not the real disease. In the name of Jihad, terrorism is growing.”Donning the cloak of a Muslim scholar, Ansari says, “Every Muslim must understand that the Godhra train burning episode was not right. We must follow our educated, sincere and honest leaders and scholars, and listen to them. We must be wary of those who provoke our emotions. Education should be our top priority, after which we must become strong financially and politically.”Interestingly, Ansari has avoided any reference to his role in the blasts, perhaps because his appeal against conviction is pending before the SC.
By Anand Holla
(Mumbai Mirror)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
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