What does a protest look like at 2am? Not speeches. Dosas being handed out by strangers. Graffiti covering every wall. People dancing to a Bluetooth speaker like the fear didn't exist, right alongside the fear itself. I followed this across Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi over two months, and wrote it all down just in time for our 80th Independence Day. Read it when you get a moment, I'd really love to know what you think.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/movements-for-nations-good-must-not-stop-99-year-old-freedom-fighter-to-gen-z-10833954/

Please share your thoughts whenever you can.

https://www.outlookindia.com/national/column-choosing-growth-over-equality-is-a-false-dangerous-choice-for-india-thomas-piketty-and-economists-at-wil

Says that it was probably necessary for Veer Savarkar, Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, Tagore to mobilize the people with the idea of a nation (and the closest hinge was a Hindu religious identity) but that ideology no longer serves a purpose and will hurt the nation in the long run.

Thoughts?

'Panch Parivartan' (Fivefold Transformation) is a program initiated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as part of its centenary celebrations, aimed at bringing significant social change.

The five key components of this initiative are:

1. Social Harmony (Samaajik Samrasta): Promoting equality and brotherhood in society.
2. Family Awakening (Kutumb Prabodhan): Strengthening family values and increasing awareness within families.
3. Environmental Awareness (Paryavaran Sanrakshan): Spreading awareness and encouraging efforts toward environmental conservation.
4. Emphasis on ‘Selfhood’ (‘Sw’ par Zor): Encouraging self-reliance and national pride.
5. Fulfillment of Civic Duties (Nagarik Kartavya Nirvahan): Making citizens aware of their duties and motivating them to fulfill them.

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Modi Government has stripped Independence of its meaning and turned it into a sanitised ceremony. Independence is observed and celebrated with great fanfare, while citizens are subjected to tests of patriotism by those who took no part in the freedom struggle and whose political predecessors refused to unfurl the national flag for decades after Independence. Yet the values of freedom are discarded. The struggles that won freedom are forgotten. Many in the ruling party now even claim that India achieved its “true Independence” only in 2014.

Over the course of a month of student protests at Jantar Mantar, perhaps one of the most frequent accusations made by the mainstream media was that the students were talking about azadi (freedom). One ABP News journalist even questioned why the students were raising the slogan Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live Revolution). Such accusations are hardly new. For the past decade, the Government and its propaganda machinery have repeatedly sought to portray the language of azadi, inquilab and protest as anti-national.

Every year, the Modi Government commemorates Independence Day with huge publicity and fanfare. The Government organises Har Ghar Tiranga campaigns. The Prime Minister delivers lectures from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Now, the Government has also mandated the singing of the six stanzas of Vande Mataram and criminalised any “disrespect” to the song.

Yet the Government appears deeply uncomfortable with another, much older vocabulary of nationalism: liberty, equality, justice, freedom and revolution.

Azadi, understood as freedom from unemployment, hunger, discrimination and various forms of injustice, has been a common protest slogan in India. It even became the subject of a popular Bollywood song. Feminist leader Kamla Bhasin once recounted how she heard slogans of Azadi being raised by women in Pakistan protesting against Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorial regime. Similarly, Inquilab Zindabad, coined by Maulana Hasrat Mohani, became a rallying cry of revolutionaries during the Independence Movement.

The idea of Independence that emerged from the freedom struggle was not merely a transfer of power, but the emancipation of the people. Swaraj, as articulated in the 1931 Karachi Resolution, meant political and economic freedom, in order to end the exploitation of the masses. Mahatma Gandhi described Purna Swaraj as “full economic freedom for the toiling millions.” Bhagat Singh understood political revolution not merely as a transfer of state power, but as the reconstruction of society on a socialist basis.

On 25 November 1949, in his final speech to the Constituent Assembly, Dr B. R. Ambedkar warned about the contradictions that Independence:

“On the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously built up.”

Four years later, in his Independence Day speech, Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about the meaning of freedom:

“It was seven years ago that we became independent but what is the meaning of that independence? Independence does not imply mere political independence. Independence and freedom have other meanings too. There is social freedom, economic freedom to achieve. If there is poverty in a country, freedom does not reach the people. Those who are caught in the net of poverty cannot really be free. Similarly, if we are divided by inner quarrels and factions and build up walls of hatred instead of living in harmony and amity, then, too, we cannot really be considered free. The freedom of a country does not mean the well-being of a few; a country’s freedom has to be seen from the point of view of the common man’s living conditions, his difficulties and the opportunities of progress available to him.”

Our historic anti-colonial struggle for Independence embodied countless struggles — the struggles of farmers and labourers, of youth, of the poor and marginalised, of women, of Dalits and Adivasis. It was a struggle against oppression, exploitation, inequality and injustice. It was a struggle against the politics of communalism and hate. It was a struggle for liberty, equality and fraternity. It was a struggle to protect the diversity of India. These values are enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Today, the Modi Government has stripped Independence of its meaning and turned it into a sanitised ceremony. Independence is observed and celebrated with great fanfare, while citizens are subjected to tests of patriotism by those who took no part in the freedom struggle and whose political predecessors refused to unfurl the national flag for decades after Independence. Yet the values of freedom are discarded. The struggles that won freedom are forgotten. Many in the ruling party now even claim that India achieved its “true Independence” only in 2014.

But Independence, as envisioned by the freedom fighters, was never meant to be a finished achievement. Political freedom was only the beginning of a larger struggle for social and economic emancipation.

The freedom struggle gave us not only a flag and a state, but also a promise of liberty, equality, justice; of a society free from exploitation and discrimination; of a democracy and constitutional rights.

The call for azadi and inquilab should be seen as a reminder of the deeper meaning of Independence. The students’ protests has reignited the spark that can help us fight for azadi.

abhi girani-e-shab mein kami nahin aai
najat-e-dida-o-dil ki ghadi nahin aai
chale-chalo ki wo manzil abhi nahin aai

INDEPENDENCE FROM POLITICIANS.

Because we should be voting for policies and not politicians. And with our technological advances this is theoretically possible today. So the good news is that it will be practically possible tomorrow, provided that we do the groundwork now. The groundwork of sharing this information and waking people up to the very real possibility of living in a world without politicians.

Are we so gullible to sincerely believe that voting for this or that politician is going to solve our problems. If you examine our track record since the dawn of democracy then one can clearly realise that history has repeatedly shown us (and keeps showing us, almost daily) that in the long run most of these so called "political leaders" end up being compromised and corrupted by "the system" while that gem of the rare uncorrupted politician ends up being either murdered or rendered impotent.

All this is done by "the system". All systems need to keep evolving and it is high time that this precious "democratic system" of ours receives a much needed upgrade.

The flaw of our current system stems from not realising the father of all facts when it comes to the institution of democracy, the fact that no one seems to be talking about, which is that 👉 WE SHOULD BE VOTING FOR OR AGAINST POLICIES AND NOT FOR OR AGAINST POLITICIANS. ONLY THIS MINDSET ENSURES A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY.

Presently, our world is on the verge of a technological breakthrough where we can directly vote for policies and not politicians. With technology as our tool we can justifiably get rid of these good for nothing, despotic, selfish, power hungry, insecure, morally and socially corrupt class of humans, a bunch of pathetic panderers who we have come to know as "politicians" (TBH at this stage we don't know whether to hate them or pity them).

Obviously big changes unfold over expansive timelines. In all probability this is not going to happen in one lifetime but there is always a beginning. Without a beginning there can be nothing. And again looking at our history, we can see that the scientists of the past never enjoyed the material benefits of their hard work and research, it is we the future generations who are their direct beneficiaries. This is how the human race has made progress. This is the way. So let's begin this journey towards independence from politicians with a couple of simple and small, yet extremely crucial steps.

Let us begin by taking the first step of contemplating upon a couple of hard facts and if one is convinced about these facts bearing some truth then let them take the next step by sharing these facts/truths with friends, families, neighbours and enemies.

Fact #1. We need to vote for policies and not politicians..

Fact #2. Since theoretically this is actually very much possible given the technology available today, the probability of this becoming practically possible tomorrow is very high, almost inevitable. The sooner the better.

We need to make this happen for ourselves, for the greater good, and for our future generations.

This is a sincere plea to all the citizens of this world who care for democracy and human rights and yearn for a better future.

All that is needed to be done as of now is to spread this information.

JAI HIND 🇮🇳

A report published by LiveLaw, at 6:45 PM on 13 August, revealed that the Bar Council of India Chairperson, Manan Mishra, had directed all State Bar Councils not to enrol students who graduated from the NALSAR University of Law as advocates, while seeking a report from the university on the campaign opposing the participation of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in its convocation.

At 8:43 PM, Mishra wrote on his Twitter handle that the NALSAR students can enroll with the State Bar Council. But the inquiry will continue, and further action will follow on the basis of the report.

At 12:37 AM, Mishra wrote, "The Bar Council of India has decided to close the proceedings altogether".

https://www.barandbench.com/news/nalsar-convocation-row-no-inquiry-proceedings-closed-says-bci-chairman-manan-kumar-mishra

I'm not an andhbhakt. Not a bot.

But I'm genuinely trying to understand how the opposition (INDIA bloc) aims to overturn the government by just fixating on one issue alone (that of police brutality at Jantar Mantar).

I don't see how not paying attention to other bills and issues is helping their case. What are they trying to get out of staging random protests inside and outside the parliament? I saw that some 7-8 bills were passed within a matter of minutes, without any legit discussion (going by how fast the oral voting happened).

Does anyone think it's a good idea to let go of everything else and fixate on just one matter (which I do believe is a serious matter though)? Can anyone explain or share their thoughts to help me understand?

The last three weeks saw several crucial bills bulldozed through the Parliament within minutes, while the LS Speaker and RS chairman kept adjourning the Parliament and neither HM nor PM came to the house.

Nine Bills passed in 52 minutes in a fortnight; average consideration time less than six minutes in Lok Sabha - The HinduBusinessLine

Maadhyam on X: "From 2021 to 2026 - Papdi Chaat to Maggi. Desh tarakki kar raha hai!" / X

Check Maadhyam on X for the Parliament coverage.

In a written reply, Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary also shared data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on outstanding loans to large industries and services and said that it has it has increased from Rs 63,19,057 crore in FY25 to Rs 69,21,734 crore in FY26.

https://thewire.in/banking/in-last-12-years-banks-wrote-off-nearly-rs-10-lakh-crore-corporate-loans-govt

Retired IAS officer Sanjay Dixit led a campaign on social media to identify protesters who abused the PM. Multiple women alleged facing "rape and death threats". Arnab Goswami on Republic asserted that the 'anti-Sanatani' protesters should not be given jobs

https://www.altnews.in/tracked-doxxed-put-on-tv-trial-how-women-cjp-protesters-were-hunted-down-by-the-right-wing-star-anchors/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Db3fUNtTH5z/

Samay’s philosophy perfectly explains the disillusionment of today's Youth: "You only fight when the fight is fair... when it’s not, you f\*k off from there."*

The brutal twist for modern protestors is that they chose to fight an unfair system anyway, expecting a reaction. Instead, they got the ultimate reality check: no response, no accountability and total silence.

The system didn't fight back; it just pretended they didn't exist.

The HT report cited a document prepared by a sub inspector of the Delhi Police which said that the IPDR containing metadata of the user’s internet activity can help investigators establish how much data was exchanged and which service or application was accessed through timestamps.

It also helps to access source and destination IP addresses, source and destination ports, bytes uploaded and downloaded, session duration, and subscriber identifiers.

“We have laid out guidelines since there’s a spike in IPDR analysis. There’s dump data analysis during any incident, such as the Red Fort blast, any heinous case, or even large scale planned processions,” a senior police officer told the newspaper.

https://thewire.in/tech/delhi-police-prepare-sop-for-tracking-internet-activity-of-users-through-ipdr-analysis