In Uttar Pradesh, girls are fighting hard to keep their education boat afloat

Saurabh Sharma and Faiz AbbasDespite a volley of pandemic-induced challenges, they’re finding means to try to stay up to date with their classes — all while lacking access to the digital mode of educationLucknow/Raebareli: “I just want to be a doctor,” said 15-year-old Roshni* Gupta. She was willful but had to put education on the back burner, for it was food that was her primary concern at that moment. In a two-room house she shared with her parents and two brothers, Gupta lives in the labyrinth of Daliganj, a congested, impoverished locality in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of lockdowns, Gupta had to drop out from her private school in the neighbourhood as her father could not afford the fee. The only breadwinner of the family, he was a streetside chaat seller in Daliganj.“He was without a job for months, and we didn’t have money to even afford three square meals a day,” said the Class 5 student who couldn’t continue her education.To run the household, her father Ashok turned to selling vegetables, earning far less than he did as a chaat seller. The debts were mounting, given his downward spiralling income, making it unaffordable to send his three children to school.Lean, with bulging eyes, he recalled how it was “a struggle to keep his three kids and wife alive during the lockdown”. So to balance this out, Gupta had to drop out, while her brothers continued their education. She couldn’t get any updates on classes from her friends either, as the family couldn’t afford to constantly recharge their prepaid mobile phone connection. Gupta had tried her best to convince her parents to let her continue with school, but her repeated pleas fell on deaf ears.“If the government had ordered private schools to waive our fees, there could have been some hope for students like me from economically weaker sections,” she rued.Huma Firdaus, a volunteer with Sadbhavana Trust — a Lucknow-based NGO working to develop leadership among marginalised groups of young girls and women — highlighted that Gupta wasn’t alone in her plight in the Uttar Pradesh capital. With her team, Firdaus had worked out a list of 140 girls who had to either abandon their education midway or get married — or both — due to income losses and debts. The data sample, she said, “was only of a few areas of the city”.“I believe there are more girls who had to quit studies or were forced into early marriage,” she added.According to Census 2011, Uttar Pradesh ranks 31 among all the states and union territories of India, with female literacy rate at 57.18% — 7.54% lower than the national average of 64.63%. The pandemic further worsened these numbers: the Right to Education Forum found that almost 10 million girls were at the risk of dropping out of schools due to the pandemic.Ashok had wanted his 15-year-old daughter to study, but said he wanted to wait till he earned as much as he did earlier.“I had thought that once the lockdown would be lifted, things would be back to normal. But after the second wave hit, we feared for our lives much more,” explained the father of three, who feared for his family when "innumerable deaths were being reported in Lucknow". Amid this chaos, his daughter’s education was not at the forefront of his mind.He had resumed selling chaat but said that “it’d take a lot of time to repay debts and equalise his incurred losses”. When asked why he let his daughter drop out while his sons continued their classes, he added after a momentary pause: “Once things are back to normal and I get back in business, I’ll seriously think about my daughter’s education.”However, contrary to her father’s assurances, Gupta felt that her parents had been planning to get her married early. “A few of my family acquaintances had got their daughters married. My parents might, too,” said the 15-year-old, much younger than the 18 years she was required to be legally wed, though she couldn’t shake the possibility.Around 80 km from Lucknow, in Raebareli, Priya* Sonkar, a Class 8 student of UPS Raipur School, also dreamed of being a doctor. Her father Rajesh Sonkar, a tonga rider, earned Rs 200 as daily wages and had to double as a labourer at a local furniture shop during the pandemic. He was the sole breadwinner of the family of four — Priya has a younger brother studying in the same school — and also had to feed their livestock (it cost Rs 100 every day). Rajesh and his wife Ruby, both illiterate, were hoping to get out of poverty by educating their daughter.“We want her to become a teacher, or anything that could fetch her a respectable salary, to run our family,” 32-year-old Ruby said.In the absence of face-to-face academic guidance from teachers, Priya was dependent on her aunt to cope with studies. The teenager had also been struggling to manage her time between studies and gender-dictated household chores, unable to dedicate more than an hour to academics.The lack of smartphones, unstable internet connection and the difficulty in adapting to digital education were adding to her struggles. But Ruby said that occasionally, “her teachers would come home to give her homework”. At times, they “went to school and collected study material”, somehow keeping the academically sound Priya’s education afloat. In another Raebareli village, Fatima* Bano was a Class 9 student at a government school for girls. When the lockdown was imposed and the digital education model was adopted, Fatima, despite being a top performer, was forced to miss her classes. She neither had a smartphone nor a television to access the government-run education programmes on Doordarshan.“My teacher had said if we lacked a smartphone, we didn’t have to study,” she shared. But to continue, she depended on her classmates who owned smartphones and copied her homework from their device — in the two hours she was able to dedicate to academic activities.Her mother Hameeda Bano rolled bidis to earn Rs 60 for every 1000 she made. Fatima assisted with the job, and the mother-daughter duo rolled around 4000 bidis a week to earn Rs 240. Bano’s husband Mohammed Mukeem had passed away three years ago, leaving behind four daughters: Fatima, Rukh*, Sana* and Zira*. Bano was the only earner in the family.Sana and Rukh had been studying in Class 8 and Class 6, respectively, in a government-run school in Beliganj. They, too, visited friends who “owned a digital device to be up to date” with their classes.Dr Vivekananad Tripathi, an assistant teacher at the Beliganj school, had been concerned about the education of his female students. He recognised Sana and Rukh, as well as their “plight in lacking access to education due to unavailable resources”.“We are putting in the effort to make online education feasible for marginalised children, especially girls, but we’re still unable to give quality education,” he added.Zira, the youngest of Bano’s four daughters, couldn’t read nor write despite being enrolled in Class 1 in a government school, Poore Kallu. Moreover, unable to meet their mounting expenses and continue the education of her four daughters, Bano wanted to get Fatima and Rukh married when they turned 18. “After their marriage, I’ll be able to feed my other daughters better,” she said, helpless.Suman Devi, the principal of Zira’s school, acknowledged how online classes had failed to facilitate the education of students of her school. “Of the 153 students enrolled at the school, only 12 students had been attending classes through smartphones,” she pointed out.To mitigate this problem, mohalla classes were introduced where a Prerna Sathi — a teaching volunteer chosen by the headmaster of the local school — would run offline classes for rural students. For Shivendra Pratap Singh, BSA (Basic Siksha Adhikari or Primary Education Officer) of Raebareli, these mohalla classes were the valid alternative for “those who lacked resources, for uninterrupted education”, though he didn’t have any data on the ratio of students without access to online education.But Kavita, one such volunteer, said she was “on her own in this whole process”.“I had broken the screen of my phone and had to manage Rs 700 to get it repaired. I also bore the monthly internet recharge expense. I didn’t get any support for these out-of-pocket expenses from the school administration,” she shared her distress.*The names of all minors quoted have been changed to protect their identity

Brightening Up Lives: UP Administration Finds Unique Ways to Bring Kevat Community into Mainstream

Barabanki: Chayanpurva village, situated about 60 kilometres from Barabanki district headquarters of Uttar Pradesh, is home to the Kevat community (SC), who have been associated with bootlegging. As most of the villagers and the community members indulge in the illegal trade, the district administration found a new way to bring the villagers out of this darkness.The Barabanki district administration with the help of a non-profit organisation is trying to help the villagers earn a livelihood by making diyas (earthen lamps).Over 12,000 people have been killed across India owing to illicit liquor in the last ten years, as per a news report. In May 2019, 15 people died from consuming spurious alcohol in Raniganj, a neighbouring village.Arvind Chaturvedi, Superintendent of Police, Barabanki, told 101Reporters that Chayanpurva village was infamous for its hooch racket for the last two decades.The brainchild behind this programme, Chaturvedi added that they held several rounds of discussion with the officers and came up with this. Several people from the village have lost their lives to hooch and many of them have become handicapped, so it was important to bring them into the mainstream and they are earning money and leading respectful lives presently, he said.New lease of lifeFor Chayanpurva village resident Ramkali, who only goes by her first name, it’s the first time that she is engaged in a trade other than preparing hooch to earn money.Ramkali, who is in her late 20s, is a mother of three. She stated that she started making diyas about a month ago and has been earning Rs 100 per day. She mentioned that her husband, who works as a daily wage labourer, had failed to find work since the COVID-19-induced lockdown was imposed.“In the last Diwali, my husband was jailed for three days when he was caught by the police for selling liquor in a market nearby,” she added.She explained that members of the community are neither educated nor skilled enough to take up other jobs. This made making and selling of hooch a lucrative job and that's why it ran across generations. However, Ramkali said that they always wanted to shift to another trade, because of the risks involved, but now finally it’s behind them and they can lead a happy and prosperous life.“Jab galat kaam karte the na tab police ko dekh kar bhaagte the lekin ab police ke saath baith kar baat kar lete hai ham log (Earlier we used to run from police as we engaged in illegal trade, but now we sit and converse with them),” commented Ramkali.Another resident Basanti, 29, who also goes by her first name, stated that she works with six other women in the village to make diyas. She narrated that she prepared hooch for three years after her marriage to sustain.She said she earns about Rs 150 per day, and she received a payment of Rs 2,600, a fortnight ago.The work of diya making in the village is being supervised by non-profit Makkhiwala, which is providing wax and other raw material to these women and is responsible for its marketing.Speaking to 101Reporters, Nimit Kumar Singh, director of Makkhiwala, stated that they wanted the locals to start beekeeping as it’s a profitable business and requires minimum effort at first. However, as Diwali was nearing and the women residents were in dire need of money, they decided to make diyas.He explained that for the programme, they have hired one woman from each family in the village. Each woman from the 98 families in the village is paid Rs 1.50 for each diya and they have manufactured over 2.2 lakh diyas, he added.He mentioned that they are not earning a huge profit as the production cost for one piece comes at around Rs 5, and they sell it for Rs 5.50 per piece. However, he clarified that making a profit was not their motive. He added that they have a target to sell 5 lakh diyas by Diwali.Green initiatives across stateThe Uttar Pradesh administration is not leaving any stone unturned to make this Diwali environment-friendly. The Lucknow administration has begun selling cow-dung diyas through the ‘Lucknow One’ application, which is used to solve sanitation and water problems. Speaking to the media, Lucknow municipal commissioner Ajay Dwivedi stated that the step to make and sell cow-dung diyas is being taken to promote an eco-friendly festival and it would also bring in money. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh prison department is also getting cow-dung diyas manufactured by the prisoners in Mathura jail, according to the official sources.

With New Hopes Of Getting Govt Jobs, Valmiki Community Overjoyed With Repeal Of Article 35A

Lucknow: “This is one of the biggest steps taken in favour of Valmikis by any Prime Minister. The Valmikis were brought to the state as scavengers, and now this decision is going to change the fate of educated Valmikis living in Jammu and Kashmir,” said Jung Bahadur, who is a Valmiki (Dalit) by caste, and members of his family have been employed as scavengers for four generations. After the abrogation of Article 35A was announced, Bahadur, 48, celebrated by bursting crackers, dancing to the tune of dhol (musical drum) and distributing sweets. With the revocation order of Article 370, Article 35A also ceased to exist with 34 other articles passed since 1954 by the presidents of India. Article 35A was incorporated in the Indian constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954 and it conferred special rights and privileges upon the citizens of the state and prohibited people from outside the state from applying for government jobs, scholarships and other public welfare projects. Bahadur said the younger generation would now be able to vote in local elections, get better jobs and finally leave sweeping. “Now our children will be able to join the police, they will become doctors in the state or even become an MLA,” he stated. He added that their demands for citizenship was due for a long time and the step taken by the Centre is comparable to getting freedom from colonial rule. According to a media report, in 1957 over 70 families of sweepers were relocated to the hilly state to fill in for their posts of striking sweepers and ever since they have lived in the state, but without basic rights. According to the Section 35-B of J&K state service rules, only a hereditary state subject can get a government job and the Valmiki community members brought in from Punjab are still treated as migrants. The former government of the state had formed a committee to look into the matter but nothing fruitful has been achieved till date. The Valmikis (Dalits) were brought to Jammu and Kashmir in 1957 by the state government when the state was reeling with an acute scarcity of scavengers. They were given the Permanent Resident Certificates on the condition that they and their future generations could stay in the state only if they continue to be scavengers and most of them till date are safai karamcharis. A senior Jammu-based advocate A K Swahney said, “With the revocation of Article 370, Article 35A no longer exists in the state and now minorities will be able to enjoy the reservations which minorities get in other parts of the country.” “Now the minorities will also have citizenship rights and other benefits they get across India. This move will definitely help them in improving their living standards. The only problem I see with this is that in future if the government changes then this law can be changed again as the changes have not been made in the constitution but changes have been made using the clauses of Article 370 of the Indian constitution which gave special status to the state,” he added. Labha Ram Gandhi, the president of West Pakistani Refugees Action Committee, said, “Extreme discrimination was meted out to us [West Pakistani refugees] by successive Kashmir-centric state governments in the state. While we were not allowed to own land in the state, the government did not even allow us to vote in the state assembly.” “We were literally invisible people who have become visible after the abrogation of the discriminatory Article 370,” he added. In September 2017, the West Pakistan refugees also moved a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Article 35A. With inputs from Arjun Sharma

Indian efforts paid off, Jadhav’s death sentence put off, ICJ slams Pak for breaching Vienna Convention

In what comes as a major diplomatic win for India, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday asked Pakistan to review the capital sentence awarded to the 49-year-old retired Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.The court has also asked the Indian counterpart to provide consular access to Jadhav. But, the court rejected a number of Indian demands including Jadhav’s release and safe passage to India.The Government of India believed that Jadhav was falsely charged by Pakistan. Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Chaman in Balochistan—which is close to the Iran border—while New Delhi was informed about it on March 25. He was awarded death sentence by a Pakistani military court—Field General Court Martial—after a closed-door hearing under the charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. The death penalty for Jadhav was endorsed Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.On May 8, 2017, India instituted proceedings in the ICJ against Pakistan for “egregious violation” of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963.New Delhi maintained that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, where he was part of a business post-retirement. India had claimed that Jadhav was denied the right to be defended by a legal counsel of his choice and his conviction and death sentence was based on “confessions” taken in captivity.As per the judgement of the ICJ, the verdict swung in India’s favour 15 to 1, and it was also found that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to Jadhav.Allegations by IndiaIndia argued that Pakistan is in breach of Article 36(1) (b) of the Vienna Convention which obliged Pakistan to inform India of the arrest of an Indian national “without delay”.Earlier, India had accused Pakistan in the ICJ of violating the provisions of the Vienna Convention in case of Jadhav by not allowing consular access to him. India argued in the court on two points that included breach of the Vienna Convention and process of resolution of the case. New Delhi believed that the entire trial and sentence by Pakistan’s military court was based on confession taken under custody, without adequate legal representation was farcical. It was in brazen defiance of the rights and protections provided under the Vienna Convention and the International Law, including International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).According to Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, Pakistan was bound to inform Jadhav of his rights to communicate with, and access to India’s consular officers. Any communication addressed by Jadhav to India’s consular post, while under arrest, in prison, custody or detention, was liable to be forwarded by Pakistan to India’s consular officers without delay. India’s consular officers had a right to visit Jadhav, to converse and correspond with him and to arrange for his legal representation.India had argued that Pakistan’s attempt to carve out an exception to the rights under the 36 of the Vienna Convention suggesting that such rights are not to be made available in the context of an individual against whom there is a prima facie case of espionage is not tenable.Pakistan’s allegationsPakistan had also claimed that Jadhav was a spy under India’s Research & Analysis Wing, which India claims is Pakistan’s way of using the Jadhav case to blame India for its problems in Balochistan.Pakistan’s claim during the trial that the ICJ had no jurisdiction was overruled.Pakistan had consistently maintained that the Vienna Convention does not apply to the case of Jadhav since he was held under suspicion of espionage. The court concluded that Pakistan breached its obligation to inform Jadhav of his rights under that provision. Pakistan had not contested the first point where India alleged that Jadhav was not informed of his rights.Pakistan claimed that at the time of his arrest, Jadhav was in possession of an Indian passport bearing the name “Hussein Mubarak Patel”. The Court considered that there were sufficient grounds at the time for the arrest.On June 22, 2017, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations issued a second confessional statement by Jadhav, where he had confessed to carrying out subversive activities in Balochistan, but New Delhi dismissed the confession by saying it was a farce.India delighted with verdictNitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, hailed India’s victory at the ICJ and commended the efforts by the Indian contingent, “It’s a big diplomatic win for India. I Congratulate our Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Former EAM @SushmaSwaraj ji, and Senior Advocate Harish Salve for their tireless efforts in the matter of Mr Kulbhushan Jadhav.”Shobha Karandlaje, a Member of Parliament from Karnataka, took the opportunity to hit out at former United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, “Humongous win for India & PM Sri @narendramodi Ji’s govt in ICJ. Major set back for Pak, as the #KulbhushanJadhavCase verdict was 15-1 in favour of India. I just wonder, what would have been the case if we had UPA in Power.”Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also announced his delight over the verdict on Twitter, “Great victory for India. Great news from International Court of Justice in #KulbhushanJadhav case! We Salute the efforts by our Hon PM @narendramodi ji in taking this case before ICJ & successful representation by Harish Salve ji! Big relief to Jadhav family!” Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhary also hailed ICJ verdict that went in favour of India. His argument is that the ICJ has upheld Pakistan’s rights to try Kulbhushan Jadhav in a military court. He took to Twitter to announce his view on the subject, “Apparently news reports from Hague suggests that not only Indian case for acquittal, release, return stands rejected but apparently Int Court also upheld Jurisdiction of Mily Court in #Kulbhushan [sic] case, Indeed a great outcome, Congs to Pak legal team for putting up great fight.”

Caste influences what voters decide in UP, Bihar

Bihar: As the first phase of voting for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections concluded across eight constituencies in Western Uttar Pradesh and four in Bihar on Thursday, caste was an important factor in both states. From poll alliances to caste-based voter preferences, the elections saw a good turnout. The elections were also marked by minor incidents like faulty Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), spurts of violence and allegations of voters being bribed.Voting in eight constituencies  of western Uttar Pradesh concluded on a peaceful note on Thursday. An hour into polling, allegations began to emerge around faulty EVMs, voting malpractices and attempts being made by political parties to bribe voters with ‘ NaMo’ food packets being found in vehicles.Late start, faulty EVMsturnout in Kairana stood at 60 per cent, in Saharanpur  63.76 per cent, in Muzaffarnagar 60.8 per cent, Bijnor 60.60 per cent, Meerut 59.40 per cent, Bagpat 60.40 per cent, Ghaziabad 55.20 per cent and Gautambudh Nagar 58 percent.Polling in several booths in Gautambudh Nagar, Saharanpur and Meerut began much later thanscheduled. The district magistrate of Saharanpur informed the media that over 100 EVMs were quickly replaced because of technical snags.Violence erupted in Kairana when security personnel stopped around 25 people, who were forcefully trying to enter a polling booth to cast their votes without proper identification. Security personnel resorted to aerial firing and mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. A Dalit person alleged that he was prevented from voting because of his caste. However, the additional district magistrate, Anand Shukla in his enquiry found this to be untrue, where the man had not been allowed to vote as he failed to furnish valid identification.The eight constituencies that went to polls on Thursday could pose a challenge to BJP, by supporting the coalition (SP+BSP+RLD). In Kairana, BJP had denied a ticket to Mriganka Singh, who had lost the 2018 by-elections by a small margin. In Muzaffarnagar, which has a larger Muslim population the battle was between Jat leaders  Sanjiv Baliyan and Chaudhary Ajit Singh. The coalition candidate, Ajit Singh seemed to have the support of Jatavs, Muslims and the Jats of a particular khap.With more than 42 per cent of the population comprising of  Muslims, Saharanpur is one of the highly polarised constituencies in UP. Here, the battle was between Congress’s Imran Masood, BJP’s sitting MP Raghav Lakhanpal and the coalition candidate Haji Fazlur Rehman.In 2014, Raghav Lakhanpal had defeated Imran Masood by 65,000 votes. BJP had a 39 per cent vote share, followed by Congress at 34 per cent, BSP with 19 per cent and the SP with 4 per cent. Meerut has been BJP's stronghold for the past two decades.The BJP has again fielded twice-elected MP, Rajendra Agrawal, who represents the constituency in the Parliament against Congress' Harendra Agrawal and the coalition's Haji Yaqoob Quraishi.Bihar records lowest turnoutFirst phase of polling concluded in four Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar. Initially, people turned up in large numbers to cast their votes but malfunctioning EVMs, and minor incidents of violence hampered the total voters' turnout. The four seats which went to polls on Thursday were Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad and Jamui. According to the Election Commission, Bihar recorded the lowest turnout at 50 percent.In select booths, polling was delayed due to security reasons.  This is likely to be a challenging election season for the NDA though they had won all the seats in the 2014 elections. This time the Mahagathbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM-S) and Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) has given tickets based on caste calculations.Former chief minister of Bihar, Jitanram Manjhi is contesting from Gaya as part of the Mahagathbandhan. The BJP's Hari Manjhi won the last two consecutive elections in 2009 and 2014 in Gaya. This time the seat went to JDU's Vijay Manjhi. Gaya recorded nearly 56 per cent voting.. Gaya had polled at 53.93 per cent in the 2014 elections. The caste equation is not favourable to JDU, as they had come third in the last elections and RJD had secured the second position.Since JDU is aligned with the BJP, they are likely to lose the lower caste voters, which could favour RJD that has been campaigning using the social justice platform.Another key element that could impact the elections, is the liquor ban that had impacted the backward community in the region. Most of the backward communities depend on local liquor trade. They were faced with police action following a liquor ban. Jitanram has assured voters in Gaya about withdrawing the ban, if he gets elected.Jamui will also prove to be a challenge for LJP candidate, Chirag Paswan, the Bollywood actor-turned politician and son of Ram Vilas Paswan, who is contesting from this seat for the second time.RJD has given this seat to RLSP candidate Bhudeb Chaudhury, who had won this seat in 2009 on a JDU ticket. Bhudeb is from the Pasi community and has a good hold on the Musahars, Koiri (Kushwaha), Bind and OBCs, which together comprises around 3 lakh voters. Apart from that RJD's MY (Muslims and Yadavas) combined vote is over 4 lakh, which is likely to go in favour  of (if not full then a sizeable number) to Bhudeb. Local sources state that the Rajput leader, Nagendra Singh is upset with the NDA and will not be supporting Chirag.There are around 9 lakh voters in Jamui.  In 2014, the RJD candidate had secured 19,9407 votes while Chirag had got 2,85,352 votes. JDU had not fielded any candidate.In 2014, despite the Narendra Modi wave, this seat had recorded low voting turnout at only 50.01 per cent. Jamui, which has around 19 lakh voters, had recorded 54 per cent votes this time.BJP's Giriraj Singh had previously announced that if he were not given a ticket from Nawada, he would not be contesting the 2019 elections. Giriraj had won this seat in 2014 by a remarkable margin of around 1,40,000 votes. According to political experts, Nawada has a large population of Bhumihar voters. Since Giriraj belongs to that community, he was expecting an easy victory. But, this seat went to LJP's Chandan Kumar, the younger brother of Bahubali leader Surajbhan Singh. RJD's ticket went to Vibha Devi, wife of tainted leader, Rajballabh Yadav.Incidentally, Nawada has never had a local leader in a while. All candidates who have so far won from this seat were parachuted here from other districts and present candidates Vibha and Chandan are also outsiders.In 2014, the constituency had recorded 52.78 per cent voting. In 2014, JDU had fought the elections alone and secured 1,68,217 votes in Nawada. If these votes get transferred to LJP, then it would be an easy win for Chandan.Nawada had witnessed communal violence during Ramnavami in 2018. The scale of the violence was such that Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar had to warn people to maintain calm.Aurangabad is called as the Chittorgarh of Bihar because it has a large Rajput population. They hold a lot of political clout such that not a single non-Rajput has won from this constituency. Sushil Kumar Singh, who belongs to the Rajput community has won three times on different party tickets. This time, he is contesting on a BJP ticket. The Mahagathbandhan has given this seat to HAM's (Secular) Upendra Kushwaha, who is from the Koiri (Kushwaha) community. Upendra was earlier with JDU.According to sources local Congress leader, Nikhil Kumar was demanding a ticket from Aurangabad but was denied. So his supporters are angry with the Congress decision and this is likely to harm the Mahadaghbanghan candidate.Aurangabad had recorded 49.85 per cent votes, the lowest among the state’s constituencies this time, although  it stood at 52.78 per cent in 2014. In 2018, Aurangabad was in the news because of incidents relating to communal violence during Ramnavami. Several minority-owned shops were ransacked by miscreants and shopkeepers had alleged that BJP had a role in these incidents, which the party had denied. Since the shopkeepers continue to be angry with the BJP, this will impact their ally the JDU candidate too.

Why Neemuch’s farmers rejected the Congress

Bhopal, Maddhya Pradesh: Will waive farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh within 10 days if voted to power, was Rahul Gandhi’s promise. It got Congress the farmers’ vote in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. But not in Madhya Pradesh, if the party’s dismal performance in the eight assembly seats of Mandsaur parliamentary constituency, is any guide. The BJP won seven of these, with increased margins as compared to last time. The lone Congress victory having a margin of just 350 votes.The BJP victory assumes significance as the region hit the headlines when on June 6, 2017, six farmers were killed in police firing during a farmers protest in Malhargarh assembly constituency. Yet the BJP won this seat by a more than 11,000 votes, thrice its victory margin of 2013. With the lone Congress victory margin in Suwasra seat dropping from thousands in 2013 to hundreds this time.Though rural voters in MP did acknowledge the various public welfare schemes and policies of the BJP government, anti-incumbency and farmers anger did pull down the BJP’s vote share in the state. But apparently not in the same measure as in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. Particularly so among the farmers and other rural folk of Neemuch and Mandsaur. In the end, MP voters did vote for a change from the BJP’s 15-year rule. But the wafer-thin margin of the Congress victory makes it clear that the party has to deliver on its promises if it is to retain the farmers trust in 2019 too, in Mandsaur and elsewhere.Shuffling candidates goes antiObservers credit the BJP sweep in Mandsaur-Neemuch to groupism and infighting in the Congress and wrong choice of candidates. For instance, at the eleventh hour, Congress shifted Satyanarain Patidar from Jawad to Neemuch and the candidate from Neemuch, Umrao Singh Gurjar, was told to contest from Manasa. This last-minute shuffling of candidates resulted in BJP’s Dilip Singh Parihar defeating Satyanarayan Patidar in Neemuch by 14,727 votes. In Manasa, BJP’s Anirudh Maru trounced Umrao Singh Gurjar by 25,956 votes. The Jawad seat, considered extremely safe for Congress, was sabotaged by rebel Congressman Samandar Patel, who took away more than 33,000 votes from the Congress pie. BJP’s Om Prakash Saklecha triumphed in Jawad for the fourth consecutive time with a 4,271 margin over Congress’s Rajkumar Ahir.Of the four seats in Mandsaur – Mandsaur, Malhargarh, Garoth and Suwasra – BJP pocketed the first three, while Congress barely managed to win Suwasra, where despite being burdened by the choice of a weak candidate, Hardeep Singh Dang and dissension and infighting, the party scraped through. In Mandsaur, Congress fielded outsider Narendra Nahta, who was supposed to contest from Manasa. He lost to BJP’s Yashpal Singh Sisodia by 18,370 votes. Malhargarh, the scene of the violent 2017 farmers protest, returned BJP’s Jagdish Dewda by a nearly three fold increase in the victory margin---from about 4000 votes in 2013 to 11,872 this time. In Garoth, Congress placed its bet on aged leader Subhash Sojatia while BJP replaced Chandrasingh Sisodia with RSS-linked Devilal Dhakad, who won by 2,108 votes. The Jaora seat, part of Ratlam district and parliamentary constituency, went to BJP’s Rajendra Pandey, who defeated Congress’s K.K. Singh by 500 votes.BJP's damage control saves the dayThe reasons for BJP’s triumph in the Mandsaur region is varied, depending on whom you talk to. Karanpal Singh Paramal, member of BJP working committee, claimed that “no state government in the country has done the kind of work that the BJP government did for farmers in Madhya Pradesh. We lost some seats because we could not implement farmer-friendly schemes in other regions”. While Neemuch Congress district president Ajit Kathod claimed the party got the support of farmers and ascribed the losses to “not getting the expected response from urban voters, voters were also put off by the intimidatory stance of the BJP on the issue of release of payments of beneficiary-oriented schemes in BJP-ruled civic bodies”.The state government’s swift response after the farmers protest to implement farmers compensation and crop insurance schemes did benefit the BJP, as the results indicate, said Arjun Singh Borana, district president, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Neemuch. “At one stage, farmers had become disillusioned and had by and large decided to dump the BJP,” admitted Arjun Singh Borana. “However, BJP managed to preserve its farmers’ vote bank by offering a slew of farmer-friendly schemes and implementing them at the grassroots level”.Neelesh Patidar, treasurer, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Neemuch, offered other reasons besides the state’s farmer-friendly schemes and quick redressal of grievances. “The Shivraj government was the first in the country to have bestowed the status of ‘martyr’ on farmers killed during the agitation,” said Patidar. “Besides ensuring government jobs for one member of each family, the government also provided Rs 1 crore compensation to the families of farmers who died in the agitation”.The question now is whether the new Chief Minister Kamal Nath can reverse this mood in Mandsaur.

How internet ban in Kasganj affected press and police

Agra, Uttar Pradesh: Reporting live from a conflict zone earlier this year, a reporter observed first-hand how suspension of internet to check rumour-mongering restricts government servants as well as media from going about their job.Kasganj town in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh division was in grip of violence and rioting after a Republic Day rally went wrong. A motorcycle rally of Hindu youth had ventured into a Muslim colony and provocative slogans were raised. In the chaos that ensued, a bullet was fired and a Hindu youth was killed. This had sparked arson and loot in the hitherto-unknown town.When this Lucknow-based reporter reached Kasganj to report from there, messages fomenting communal trouble had already started floating on social media and messaging apps. As a precautionary measure, the district magistrate (DM) had snapped internet in the region on the night of January 27 so that no provocative messages were circulated to aggravate communal tension. Police vans patrolling the town's streets had announced as much a few times.The same night, at a media briefing at his office, the DM Rakesh Singh appealed that people don't heed rumours that are circulating on social media and maintain peace and harmony. Internet remained suspended in Kasganj for three days, starting from 10 pm on January 27. Even as the clampdown was enforced, incidents of vehicles and shops being set afire did not abate. In absence of WhatsApp, reporters' preferred communication tool, journalists had to rely on SMSes and phone calls to connect with each other to gather news.  To send their news report to their bureau, journalists in the trouble-torn town were frantically searching for households with broadband connection, since the internet ban was applicable only on cellular networks and not on broadband. Kasganj being a small town with its population barely exceeding a lakh, finding a broadband connection proved tough. This reporter himself had to cross district border a few times to get access to internet so that he could send inputs to his newsroom. Since vehicles were not plying owing to violence, finding a ride was a task in itself. This reporter had to request police, anti-riot forces deployed there and a local leader to help with travel for work's sake.BBC correspondent Sameeratmaj Mishra was one of the many journalists in Kasganj who found themselves high and dry owing to the internet ban."I was like a fish without water," he said as he recalled how he had to keep travelling to the adjoining district of Etah and back regularly to send inputs to his bureau. He recounted how this travel, necessitated by the internet ban, cost him on the reporting front. He said he couldn't cover some major developments because he was in Etah at that time, sending inputs. Considering all the vandalism that unfolded in Kasganj after the Republic Day clash, including in the days following internet ban, Mishra opined that internet ban did not work. 'Ban was needed'The DM disagrees with this verdict. He told this reporter snapping internet was necessary to control the situation. He claimed that the move helped them defuse tension and check violence from spiralling out of control. "Every time the relaxation [on internet ban] was given, we got to know that someone torched a small shop, vehicles or whatever these anti-social, notorious elements found, which not just increased tension in the area but also hate among both the communities. The hate messages circulating on social media added fuel to the fire and controlling this was very necessary," he said, conceding that the ban affected the officers too.Circle offices BS Veer Kumar, who was escorting the DM in Kasganj during the riots, was one of those who suffered the most owing to internet suspension as he had to bring the printed copy of orders that were coming from the Lucknow state headquarters."You have seen how I was bringing the printed copies of the order after travelling to Mirhachi in Etah district, which is almost 40 kms from the city headquarters. The broadband connection available at the district magistrate office was of no use and such a travel was real pain. I was getting phone calls from people, seniors, sub-ordinates and whom not! But I was assigned for this duty so I had to do," he said."Ye sab toh theek tha lekin doosri taraf parivaar se bhi phone aa rahe theh. Unhe bhi meri chinta sata rahi thi jiska ham us samay kuch nahi kar sakte thhe. Aise to WhatsApp par photo bhej do toh kaam chal jaata tha lekin un dino toh baar-baar phone aata tha aur pick karna padta tha," he added.(Everything else was fine but then the family members were also worried for me and they were calling me regularly. Usually, I send my pictures on WhatsApp but on that day I had to answer their calls every single time they called me.)Snapping mobile internet affected not only journalists and policemen on duty, but also the students and young professionals in the town, who rely on internet for many daily activities.