Category Archives: Government Oppression

Random arrests, imprisonment and even torture felt all too common before Khin Win's family left Myanmar for Australia in 2004.

Today, he worries the persecution of the Rohingya population could become even worse.

Following the military coup on 1 February, there have been growing fears amongst the Burmese community both in Myanmar and Australia that persecution against the Rohingya people will escalate.

I am worried, I have family members living in Burma, they cant sleep all night, the military occupied the mosques, they occupy schools...Even I cant sleep here, all night Im just watching to see what happens, once they take you, you cant imagine what theyll do, Mr Win said.

Security forces killed at least 39 anti-coup protesters in Myanmar on Sunday, marking one of the deadliest days of the coup so far.

There are fears this widespread violence will soon be shifted to the Rohingya, an ethnic minority that live mostly in the northern regions of Myanmar's Rakhine state.

More than one million Rohingya were forced to flee military persecution in Myanmar between 2016 and 2017, in what the UN has described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Mohammed Junaid from the Burmese Rohingya Community organisation in Australia said there were fears the military could use the coup to further persecute the remaining Rohingya population.

The community is afraid, eventually whatever is happening in the capital will be shifted to the Rohingya, he said.

Persecution against the Rohingya people escalated in 1982 when the military junta introduced a law stripping the minority group of their citizenship.

The policy is based on a view held by the military government, the Rohingya are not citizens of Myanmar, as not being citizens, they dont have a legitimate place in Myanmar, Professor Damien Kingsbury from Deakin University said.

Now the military has seized power again, Professor Kingsbury says its very likely a crackdown will be launched against the Rohingya community once the protests calm down.

Those who are still in the country will likely face further persecution by the military because the military policy is still in place, Mr Kingsbury said.

There are also fears the violence could be much worse this time around.

The remaining Rohingya in Rakhine state could be eradicated or possibly detained in IDP camps.

As someone who lived under the militarys oppression for the first 20 years of his life, Mr Win has experienced firsthand the militarys governments oppressive regime.

In 1977, my entire family was arrested, I was very young at the time, they tortured them. I went to visit them, my uncle said all night they dont only torture us, they keep us in a black room and attack us, he was just crying when describing what they had done.

Now he hopes the juntas current crackdown on protestors will encourage the rest of the population to stand with them.

People can now understand, before people didnt realise what the military were like but now theyre treating everyone poorly. The reality is the military doesnt want to give power to anyone, they want to rule the entire country, Mr Win said.

Rohingya communities both in Myanmar and in Australia have been actively involved in the current protest movement against the military government, but many say this wont help their cause in the long run.

Im more than happy to unite but every time we get involved in an issue related to Burma, its us who get affected at the end of the day, Mr Junaid said.

Mr Junaid says this is because the Burmese population, like the government, have always persecuted the Rohingya community.

In the long persecution weve been facing, it was not primarily under the government, we were persecuted by the public first and secondly by the government

It was not the government that committed genocide it was the public and the government was cooperating, Mr Junaid said.

With investigations into past abuses by the military already underway by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, the Rohingya community in Australia is now calling on countries from across the globe to support them.

Because I suffered in my country, I dont want to see the same as what I faced happening now in my country in Burma, the dictatorship shall not be in this generation in this new century, no human should be killed as theyre doing now, and we are standing with the people in Burma, we are unified, we must bring down this dictatorship and find a solution to change this nasty regime," Mr Win said.

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Why the Australian Rohingya community is worried the Myanmar coup will backfire on them - SBS News

The Middlebury chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has created a website that helps us understand the extent of the suffering of the Palestinian people currently and in the past. In this op-ed, I do not deny the merit of their arguments for the rights of the Palestinian people, but I do draw attention to a harmful blind spot in their activism.

The 21st century is, without a doubt, a frightening time to be Jewish. Antisemitism has increased exponentially in recent years; the FBI reported in 2019 that out of 1,521 anti-religion hate crimes in the US, 953 (62.7%) incidents were anti-Jewish. Taking into account the fact that Jews make up about 2% of the U.S. population, it is safe to say that American Jews face a dire threat. White nationalists use American Jews as an explanation for the growing agency and social equality of racial minorities in the U.S. Antisemitism in America fuels the fire of white nationalism like oxygen, hence the inherent antisemitic ideology of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and the swastikas and other anti-Jewish hate symbols among many insurrectionists and domestic terrorists who broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Jews suffering is not limited to the contemporary US, however; in the pogroms of the 19th and 20th centuries the leaders of tsarist Russia suppressed the Bolshevik Revolution by redirecting the peoples anger toward Jews, which led to a catastrophe in which hundreds of thousands of Jews were wounded, raped, mutilated and slaughtered. As a result, millions of Jews were forced to immigrate westward. Out of the need to protect the Jewish people from such objectively horrific atrocities formed the movement known as Zionism. As if Jews hadnt suffered enough, the Nazi regime in the 1930s blamed their social and economic quandaries on Jews, leading to the genocide of 60% of the worlds Jewish population, roughly equating to six million. Countless Jews were left without a home, for their communities from before the Holocaust were either occupied or demolished; This existential crisis for the Jewish people led to the heightened urgency of Zionism among Jews and those who sought to protect them. Any explanation of Zionism that doesnt account for Jews indescribable torment in the past and present constitutes complacency with the forces of brutality and oppression.

Due to historical and present-day anti-Jewish violence, my description of which barely scratches the surface, the need for a safe haven for the Jewish people is more relevant than ever before. This, naturally, does not mean that we may not criticize the government of the State of Israel (in which I find appalling flaws); in fact, constructive criticism is especially beneficial in this area for the purpose of creating a more peaceful and equitable Israel/Palestine for all.

However, it is of the utmost importance that any critics of the State of Israel explicitly state their support for a safe haven for Jews because of the prevalence of antisemitism and anti-Jewish violence in the world. To my great dismay, the organization called Students for Justice in Palestine not only disregards the need to protect Jews in their condemnations of the State of Israel, but they also actively advocate for the dismantling of the Jewish safe haven with their support of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), whose co-founder (Omar Barghouti) claimed that [Palestinians have a right to] armed resistance [Jews] are not a people.

I argue that although criticism of the Israeli government does not necessarily equate to antisemitism, the unconditional criticism of the State of Israel without the explicit acknowledgement of Jews right to a safe space demonstrates a frightening lack of regard for the lingering effects of genocide and oppression against Jews. Additionally, by referring in their title to the entire area at hand simply as Palestine, SJP insinuates utter illegitimacy of the Israeli state. By extension, they perpetuate the antisemitic notion that Jews be denied a safe space, demonstrating complacency in aforementioned oppression and genocide.

The state of Israel was meant to provide a safe space in which Jews could flourish free of ethnic cleansing. However, I struggle to find the words to express my lamentation for the manner in which this was carried out; rather than creating a land of emancipation and equal opportunities, those who wished to protect Jews fought fire with fire, protecting the well-being of Jews at the cost of that of Palestinian Arabs who had largely inhabited the region beforehand. The rights of those Palestinian Arabs who did not flee in many manners were infringed upon, and these people have suffered unspeakable inequality and maltreatment for decades under various Israeli administrations. Notably, the current administration, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, has continued building settlements in Palestinian territory, disturbing the precarious situation and violating Article 49 of the Geneva Convention. Because of this, the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, Netherlands, has rightfully opened a formal investigation regarding war crimes committed by the Israeli government in Palestinian territories.

By extension, I also deem rightful the objective of Students for Justice in Palestine to put an end to systemic discrimination against Palestinian Arabs in the land of Israel/Palestine by promoting peaceful activism against the Israeli government. That being said, SJPs positions take into account neither the lingering effects of the Holocaust nor the anti-Jewish hatred which has persisted throughout the fabric of history SJP claims that Zionism is nothing more than a colonialist ideology, going as far as entertaining the proposal that Jewish nationals return to the lands of Eastern Europe, whose peoples had so horrifically slaughtered their Jewish populations. As a result of this complacency and lack of consideration for the implications of their own demands, even if it is not their intention, SJP harmfully aligns itself with those who hope to cause the further oppression of Jews.

This brings me to my denunciation of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, a campaign which lies at the foundation of SJP. The third tenet of BDS calls for the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties. If Palestinians Arabs inhabited the land of Israel/Palestine before 1948, and all Palestinian Arabs and their descendents are to return to their original homes, where are Jews to go as the cycle of anti-Jewish violence and antisemitism persists? As Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the BDS movement said: If the [Palestinian] refugees were to return, you would not have a two-state solution, youd have a Palestine next to a Palestine.

SJP does not even attempt to address this question; while their intention is righteous and ethical, the result of the policies it promotes is tolerant (or, dare I say, encouraging) of the hate that has universally plagued the Jewish people. The fulfillment of SJPs demand for BDS, therefore, de facto amounts to the utter destruction of the state of Israel. Additionally, BDS completely disregards the fact that more than a fifth of the current population of Israeli territory identify as Palestinian Arabs; this tenet, were it to be fulfilled, would expropriate the land not only of Jews but also of countless Palestinian Arabs. The notion that Palestinian refugees be granted equal access to their homeland is a virtuous and respectable demand that I would support; the notion that Palestinian Arabs return to the exact residences in which they used to live, however, is logistically inconceivable and demonstrates an incomplete understanding of the situation at hand.

Finally, Middlebury SJPs justification for their unconditional support of BDS that Zionism consists of a pernicious instance of European colonialism merely comprises a red herring designed to allow them to justify their harmful ideology by misleadingly comparing it to the malicious intentions of European colonizers. Although the British Empires presence in the Middle East may have embodied colonial interests to a certain extent, this explanation ignores the fact that the League of Nations precisely gave the British a mandate to administer the region. While Middlebury SJPs definition of Zionism briefly mentions antisemitism, they fail to acknowledge the Holocaust or any form of anti-Jewish violence; ignoring these Jewish existential crises and by extension the humanity of the Jewish people exhibits blatant antisemtism. In short, the notion that Zionism is merely an embodiment of colonialism allows SJP to turn a blind eye to the need to protect the Jewish people, which is incompatible with SJPs political agenda. In its current state, Middlebury SJP strays far from its pledge to advocate for the rights, freedoms, and dignity of all people, as promised on their official Facebook page.

In its neglect for the necessity of a Jewish safe haven and its support of the BDS movement, the organization called Students for Justice in Palestine treats the Israeli/Palestinian conflict like a zero-sum game: their demands imply that only one of the two peoples may inhabit the area known as Israel/Palestine. I urge activists for Palestinian rights, and anyone reading this article, to reject this misleading and injurious idea. The claim that anti-Zionism may not be equated with antisemitism is an utter falsehood, for it ignores the indelible fact that the two ideologies time and again come hand-in-hand. To those who virtuously fight for the human rights and equity of the Palestinian people: let us all unite against the structural inequality and atrocities committed by the Israeli government! I cannot stress enough, however, that in order for this cooperation to be feasible, I and many other Jews must know that we all agree on the legitimacy of the Jewish State and its reason for existence. As long as you support the BDS movement, which effectively advocates for the destruction of the Jewish State and thus constitutes an existential threat to the Jewish people, neither progress nor peace will ever be within reach.

Editors Note: Although Max Shulman-Litwin is a member of the Middlebury Hillel Board, he speaks only for himself in this article.

Max Shulman-Litwin is a member of the class of 2022.

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Why Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) worries me - The Middlebury Campus

Judas and the Black Messiah, directed by Shaka King, tells the story of Black liberation activist Fred Hampton, and the undercover informant who ultimately aided in his murder. It comes as no surprise that a movie about the conflict between the Black Panther Party and the US government has a lot of relevance to our society today. The film sheds light on the FBIs targeting of Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. The brilliant writing, production, and performances highlight both the changes in our country since 1969, as well as its failures to evolve.

Judas and the Black Messiah centers around Hampton, the messiah of the title, played by Daniel Kaluuya, and William ONeal, Judas, an FBI informant played by LaKeith Stanfield. Both portray their roles intimately and expressively, giving form to detailed characters that in a film constructed by other writers could have been formed only in broad strokes. Their beautiful portrayals increase the difficulty of identifying which of these characters is the main focus of the film. The story alternates between the twos personal conflicts: Hamptons difficulty in upholding both his public and personal duties, and ONeals brewing internal conflict as he grows to distrust his FBI contact, played by Jesse Plemons.

The tensions and tenderness are grounded in the phenomenal scripting of relationships, trust, and fear. Theres minimal use of exposition, creating certain minor gaps in the story that are left to be filled in by ones imagination. This adds to, rather than detracts from, the story, as it allows the film to focus on crucial events and character interactions.

With this additional space to breathe, we can see Hamptons love unfolding for activist Deborah Johnson, known today as Akua Njeri, and played by Dominique Fishback, as he garners the support of and builds alliances with other groups sharing similar aims to those of the Black Panther Party. Throughout the film, we can see ONeal being slowly torn apart as his allegiance to the Panthers grows while the community devolves into chaos.

Viewing the crux of this film, the murder of Fred Hampton in a nighttime police raid of his apartment, one clearly sees its reverberations today: in the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others, in the targeting of Black people by the police, and in the systemic oppression of movements for the rights and lives of Black people.

Additionally, we can see yet again how it has invariably led to tragedy when there are singular persons leading the charge for Black rights. Perhaps this is why we see fewer of these figures leading modern challenges to systematic racism and oppression. The role of the Judas in this film highlights the betrayal and the tragedy that can come from political disenfranchisement.

While not easy to watch, as all stories based on, and coming from, the harsh reality of our society are, Judas and the Black Messiah is an important film, especially in the current political climate.

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'Judas and the Black Messiah' Is a Crucial Movie for Current Times - berkeleyhighjacket.com

With the assembly elections fast approaching Uttar Pradesh, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday attempted to polarise the society, in his bid to consolidate the Muslim votes. Owaisi raised the bogey of Muslim oppression to allege that Muslims are unfairly targeted under the rule of Yogi Adityanath.

Speaking at Uttar Pradeshs Balrampur, Owaisi tried to cast the Yogi Adityanath government as anti-Muslim by alleging that out of 6,475 encounters of the criminals that took place in the state between 2017 and 2020, about 37 per cent of them were Muslims.

6475 encounters took place between 2017 & 2020. Of those who were killed in encounters, 37% were Muslims. Why this oppression? Is govt working as per the Constitution? This will be decided by the people of Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi said.

However, Owaisis assertion that 37 per cent of those killed in encounters are Muslims means that the remaining 63 per cent of them were non-Muslims. Despite the overwhelming number of criminals eliminated in encounters belonging to the non-Muslim fold, Owaisi scare-mongered about the Muslim Oppression and alleged that Freedom of Expression has been grievously assaulted under the Yogi Adityanath rule.

The AIMIM chief also stated that Yogi Adityanath has left no stone unturned in tearing apart the Constitution of India during his reign in Uttar Pradesh. Owaisi also targeted Yogi Adityanaths unflattering remarks for secularism.

If secularism is preventing India from achieving its position in the whole world, then I want to ask Yogi and Modi how petrol and diesel prices are close to 100 rupees? Is it because of secularism? Owaisi asked.

Owaisi was in Uttar Pradesh for attending meetings scheduled as a part of Sankalp Morchas campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. AIMIM had gotten into an alliance with the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party under the banner of Sankalp Morcha to fight the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh to be held in 2022. Through his campaigning, Owaisi is seeking to rally the support of the Muslims and wean them away from SP and BSP.

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Uttar Pradesh: Asaduddin Owaisi alleges Muslim oppression even as he admits 63 per cent of the criminals killed in the encounter are non-Muslims -...

By Charlene Somduth, Nadia Khan Mar 17, 2021

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Durban - Feeling oppressed in their own countries due to wars, political infighting and poverty, foreign nationals travelled to South Africa for a chance at a better life. Before they arrived, they heard that the country would provide them with job opportunities, safety and equality.

However, in recent months, the foreign traders have come under threat, allegedly by members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA). Last Monday, a group of men, allegedly belonging to the association, damaged and set alight trading stalls belonging to foreign street vendors in the Durban Central Business District.

Many street vendors who trade on Bertha Mkhize (Victoria) Street, Ingcunce Road (Albert Street) and near The Workshop on Samora Machel (Aliwal) Street have had their stock and equipment either stolen or destroyed. They say their human rights were violated.

Some did not feel safe returning to their homes and instead sought help at the Refugee Social Services at the Diakonia Centre. Others are sleeping in parks. They feel if they remain together, they will be stronger. With nowhere else to turn, they are pleading with the South African government to intervene.

* Gracia Nyenge Benazau, 29, said she left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2010 because of poverty and oppression faced by women. She came to South Africa on a work permit at the age of 18.

"My family were poor and I needed to make my own way to help them. I heard that South Africa was a good place to find a job and make a better life for myself. In the DRC, women seem to have no rights They are raped, killed and used as sex slaves by militant groups. I did not want such a violent life."

Benazau said she always wanted to start her own business a hair salon.

"In the DRC, I knew I would never be able to achieve my dream. When I came to South Africa, I got a job at a salon run by another foreigner. I made enough money and opened a salon. I operate from a tent (near The Workshop)."

With the money she earned, she rented a room on South Beach for R1 500 and also sent money home to her family.

"Everything was going well. Then the attacks started last Monday. They broke my tent and took my equipment because they did not want me as a foreigner to have a business. I tried to stop them but I was punched in the stomach. I am still sore.

Now, I have no money and I have not had a proper meal in days. I am sleeping in a park with some of the other traders. We are living in the park together because we are afraid to go back to our flats in case the locals attack us again."

Benazau said she did not report her attack to the police.

"I don't have faith in the police. They just watched us being attacked and did nothing. They instead used pepper spray on us. I know that if I go to them, nothing will be done to assist me. I did not go to my embassy either, but I sought help from the Refugee Social Services."

* Manasee Amissi, 30, of St Andrews Street, is also from the DRC. He arrived with his guardian parents almost 20 years ago.

"We ran away for a better life and to have peace and security, but now we are always being attacked and told to go back to our home. But South Africa is also home for us. We have our legal papers to stay and work here. Some of us even have South African identity books."

Amissi sells glasses and perfumes on the roadside at Denis Hurley (Queen) Street. He said last Monday, he was told to close his business and go home.

"We are always being chased. We have no peace. Every time these attacks happen, our goods are damaged and stolen. How do we survive? After getting our paperwork in order, we have had no help from the government. Why are we being stopped from working?"

Amissi said he was shot several times by the police with rubber bullets in his torso and arms while at the Diakonia Centre.

"We feel there is no protection for us from law enforcement. I even tried to open up a case but was turned away without a reason."

* Eric Ndayitwayeko, 40, of South Beach, a hairdresser, left Burundi 12 years ago.

"We are one of the poorest countries and getting a stable job is difficult. At times, we went to bed hungry. I heard about others who travelled to Durban and had successful businesses selling cosmetics and clothing. So I applied and my work permit was granted.

"I worked for a friend before I opened my own stall near The Workshop cutting men's hair. I rented a room near Durban Station and was able to send money to my family."

He said he had been previously attacked previously, but this time, everything was stolen.

"They stole my life my money, everything. I have nothing. The police and government cannot help us. If they could, this would not have happened. The locals believe we are taking jobs away from them so they attack us. We are creating our own jobs to give our families a better life. Many of us have fled our countries because of the violence but the same thing is happening here. We are people oppressed."

Ndayitwayeko said he has not returned to his flat.

"All us foreigners are staying together at a park. I don't want to separate from the group in case we are attacked again. We are stronger together. It is difficult but I have no choice if I want to remain safe."

He said he did not report the matter to the police.

"I have lost faith in the police. We are foreigners here and our well-being is not a priority. I have only sought help from the Refugee Social Services. I am not even sure where my embassy is."

* Abdul Ali, 40, said he left Bangladesh in 2015 because of political instability, corruption and inequality.

"I wanted a fresh start and an opportunity to provide for my wife and two children who are still in Bangladesh."

Ali, of Durban Central, has a shop on Bertha Mkhize Street, selling lotions and perfumes.

"I was told this is a peaceful country where foreigners are welcomed. But now we are being taken advantage of. No one wants to help us.

During the attacks, we closed our shops and ran to our homes. We were lucky our businesses were not looted or destroyed. Previously this happened to us too."

He said foreigners have provided job opportunities for South Africans.

"We are not taking their jobs, we are helping build the economy. We treat them like our brothers and sisters but some of them have turned on us. The government has not stopped us from working, so why should this group prevent us from earning money?"

Ali said he had not reported any of the attacks to the authorities because nothing would be done to help.

* Aben Kaleb, 27, of Overport, and his family own a clothing, handbag and shoe shop on Bertha Mkhize Street. He arrived in the country in 2019 to grow the business, which his brother started 16 years ago.

"When we came here, it was for a better life. Instead, we are faced with so many problems. We feel the government is allowing people to attack us all the time. We never know when we are going to be attacked. We have to keep watching over our shoulders."

Kaleb said he had considered returning to Ethiopia, but there were no job opportunities.

"We will not survive as there is too much poverty. Working in South Africa allows us to take care of our families back home."

* Kaamil Mohamed Abdi, 30, of Ingcunce Road, works at a mini superette on the same road. He left Somalia 12 years ago to study and work in South Africa.

"I did not come from a wealthy home. I knew that to have a better life, I could not stay in Somalia. When I came to South Africa, I did not have money or many belongings. I did not receive any help from the government, either. I lived in a flat in the CBD where I met fellow brothers from Somalia. They helped me start a small business.

"The little money I make helps me to survive. I can pay my rent and buy food. I send any extra money to my parents and grandparents. I am the first-born grandchild and it is my duty to help look after my family, but it is becoming more difficult.

"We are afraid to walk in the street because we don't know when we will be attacked. The locals come up to us with knives and take our cellphones and money. We don't fight back because they will kill us. They say we are foreigners and we don't belong here.

"Members of the government must come to the CBD to hear our pleas for help. Many of us are here legally and have permanent residence. Why should we be treated any different? We are all from Africa and brothers and sisters.

"There are many times I feel like going back home but there are no jobs or money. I won't be able to survive and take care of my family."

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'I heard that SA was a good place to find a job and make a better life for myself' says foreigner attacked in Durban - Independent Online

The spectre of identity politics is haunting West Bengal. Unlike in the past, the ongoing identitarian electoral pitch by the two main contenders for power, Trinamool Congress and BJP, has started resembling the political rhetoric of other states, undermining the claim of Bengali exceptionalism. The latest example is the competing promises to include the Mahishyas, along with three more castes, in the OBC list. In fact, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of copying from the TMC manifesto the idea of extending reservation to these backward Hindu castes.

This warrants the question: How did identity politics acquire such prominence in Bengal? Two states, Bengal and Odisha, had the distinction of not letting social identities around caste and community translate into the political realm, unlike in the majority of Indian states. While Odisha is still holding onto the broader distinction between identities in the social and political realm, the same cannot be said about Bengal anymore. An attempt to map this identitarian trajectory in the last decade since the electoral demise of the Left in 2011 reveals broad shifts that have reconstituted political faultlines in the state.

TMCs 2011 victory was a combination of Banerjees charisma, intense anti-Left incumbency and coincidence, wherein forces opposed to each other like the Naxalites and the mainstream, Dalits, Muslims and others supported it significantly. However, having captured power, TMC made a significant departure from the Left in mobilisational strategy. The party abandoned any pretence of class politics and embraced the language of caste and community. Peoples material, cultural or linguistic aspirations were accommodated into the sectarian communitarian frameworks.

Slogans were crafted to appeal to the Rajbanshis, various castes of the Gorkha community were approached by constituting separate boards with flow of funds from the state government. The Matuas, a sect of Namasudra Dalits in Nadia and North 24 Parganas district, were reached out to by utilising the agency of Boro Maa, the late matriarch of the Matua Mahasangha. The Muslim community was wooed with measures like allowance for imams and muezzins as early as April 2012. Religious leaders like Siddiqullah Chowdhury, president of Bengal Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and Toha Siddiqui, the Pirzada of Furfura Sharif, were roped in for luring minority votes away from the Congress and Left. These communitarian outreach measures by the TMC preceded the emergence of BJP as a potent political force in Bengal.

They also reveal the political mind of Banerjee before 2018, wherein, oblivious to any possibility of the BJPs emergence as her nemesis, she went on to vanquish the Left support base under the assumption that with nearly 30 per cent Muslims in her kitty, while she would have the decisive edge, the CPM and other constituents would be rendered electorally insignificant. She succeeded in her mission, but in the process created ground for the emergence of a new alternative, BJP.

With the emergence of BJP, the community-centric narrative became intense and competitive. By then, facing the image of being soft on Muslims, Banerjee went for the balancing act of making overtures to Hindus by announcing measures like the pujari allowance and granting Rs 50,000 to Durga Pujo pandals. These measures were running parallel to the massive welfare outreach, albeit with an unprecedented level of corruption and partisanship. The identity politics intensified while the welfare schemes lost their primacy.

The interplay between BJP and identity politics in Bengal took place in the conducive ambience created by TMC. With class identification taking a backseat and caste and community-centric identity being privileged in policy and political discourse, BJP ratcheted identity politics to a higher level. Lacking an entrenched organisational base, the saffron party employed the approach of appealing to the sectarian interests of the individual Hindu castes while reconciling them with the framework of Hindutva. This was done, primarily, by an aggressive investment of political rhetoric which aimed to bridge the intra-Hindu contradictions and forge a single Hindu identity. In Banerjee and TMC, they had got a popular other who could be targeted both materially and culturally.

In popular perception on the ground, particularly after the 2018 panchayat election, the incumbent was already synonymised with corruption, oppression and being pro-Muslim. BJP, by the familiar approach of glorifying individual Hindu caste identities, particularly subaltern communities, succeeded in creating a sense of Hindu-ness in the political realm, thereby putting TMC on the backfoot. This explains how the majority of the Namasudras in northern Bengal who happen to be refugees from East Pakistan and a majority of Rajbanshi Dalits claiming to be the Bhumiputras, dont differentiate between the NRC and CAA. To them, these policies are coupled with the desirable aim of putting an end to illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh.

Interestingly, Hindu refugees dont qualify as illegal infiltrators despite the community constituting the bulk of the people who have been crossing the border from Bangladesh. Similarly, the flirtation of the saffron party and the Matuas is an open story. In Purulia, through the plank of Jai Shri Ram, the BJP has succeeded in fetching electoral support of three significant castes/communities, the Mahto-Kurmis, the Kumbhakars (the potter caste) and the tribals, who otherwise compete for political dominance. This strategy has also reconciled the majority of non-Kolkatan bhadralok, peasant castes like the Mahishyas, Aguris and Gwala Ghosh, among others, with Hindutva.

In areas like Asansol and Durgapur, a majority of Hindi-speakers and Bengali Hindus share the same sentiment. The only bastion in which BJPs Hindutva-centric identity doesnt find popular resonance is the spatial and cultural mosaic of Kolkata bhadralok who are still holding on to the logic of Bengali exceptionalism.

That is why Bengal is the perfect case of Subaltern Hindutva Hindu subaltern castes embracing the saffron discourse with active agency rather than through the logic of cooption. What could explain the phenomenon more aptly than the fascination of the Poundra Khatri Dalits for Modi and Hindutva in S-24 Parganas where BJP is extremely weak in terms of their organisational presence and where the writ of TMC and Abhishek Banerjee still runs deep.

In this polarised ambience, having lost its place in the imagination as a credible alternative, the Lefts alliance with a rabble-rouser Muslim cleric has pushed them further into the whirlpool of identity politics wherein they compromised on their hard-earned moral high ground on secularism. Irrespective of the outcome on May 2, identity politics has acquired centrestage in Bengal. This grand transition would not have been possible without the political choices of Mamata Banerjee.

This column first appeared in the print edition on March 20, 2021 under the title Courtesy TMC. The writer is a political analyst associated with Peoples Pulse.

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How TMC has eased BJPs way in Bengal - The Indian Express

Kolkata: In a first, a political party in India in all likelihood is making use of foreign land in order to influence a state assembly election in the country. And no less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the exercise.

On March 26, Modi will be visiting Bangladesh for a two-day trip to commemorate the 50th anniversary celebration of the Independence of Bangladesh, and pay homage to Bangladeshi founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birth centenary.

However, the most noticeable part of the prime ministers itinerary is the stopover at Orakandi, around 190 km from Dhaka, where he is scheduled to pay respects to Harichand Thakur, who was born there on March 11, 1812.

Thakur is the founder of a Hindu sect known as the Matuas. The Matuas are a closely-knit group in the state belonging to the Namashudra (Dalit/SC) community, who migrated from Bangladesh during and after Partition.

The main pond at Orakandi, where Matua followers hold religious bathing every year. Photo: Special arrangement

They have a significant presence in four parliamentary seats in West Bengal, making them one of the biggest vote banks in the state. Although no official count exists, it is estimated that there are about one crore Matua voters.

The idea of offering citizenship based on religious identity paid huge dividends to the BJP in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The saffron party bagged 18 of the 42 seats from this eastern state and clocked over 41% vote share.

Matuas are heavily dependent on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The community sided with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last Lok Sabha elections which resulted in a win for the saffron party in the seats of Bongaon and Ranaghat which have the highest concentration of Matuas.

Fifteen months after the passage of the citizenship Bill in parliament, the Central government has failed in framing, ruling and implementing the law. Now, the BJP is deliberately side-stepping from the CAA issue and dropping the National Register of Citizens for the time being.

Also read: Can Abbas Siddiqui Dent TMCs Poll Prospects and Propel BJP to Victory in South Bengal?

Speaking at a rally in West Bengal on February 11, Union home minister Amit Shah said that implementation of the law had to be kept in abeyance after the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As soon as the COVID vaccination process ends, the process of granting citizenship under the CAA will begin. All of you [Matua community] will be respected citizens of this country, he said, addressing a rally in Thakurnagar, the bastion of the Matua community.

This change of stance by the BJP has irked many among the community. A recent visit to Matua-dominated pockets like Bongaon and Thakurnagar suggested that many in the community feel betrayed by the BJP government at the centre.

Earlier, Shantanu Thakur, BJP MP from Bongaon who belongs to the Matua community, openly expressed his disappointment with the partys position on the roll-out of the CAA and said, No political party should play with the Matuas. I am not talking about Mamata Banerjee alone. The Matuas are not begging. The CAA must be implemented at the earliest.

A senior BJP leader from Bengal, on the condition of anonymity, told The Wire, A section of the Matua community are disappointed with the present status of CAA implementation. The prime ministers visit to Bangladesh at their (Matuas) sacred place is a positive development for the community at large. This event could certainly help us during the election.

Many political analysts believe that Modis visit to Orakandi is surely an attempt by the BJP to quell the Matuas anger over CAA implementation.

A Matua devotee praying at a temple at Orakandi. Photo: Special arrangement

Dhaka-based journalist Nazmul Ahasan said, Bangladeshis tend to react emotionally if India is seen interfering in Bangladeshi affairs or using Bangladesh as a political punching bag. However, very few people in Bangladesh heard of Orakandi or were aware of its significance until now. So the reaction to Modis decision to visit the place is timid, although such a visit risks Bangladesh being used as an Indian electoral campaign stopover.

For Modis visit, four helipads were constructed at four different locations two close to the Orakandi Thakurbari, and the other two a little far from the religious sight. Police deployments were already made, confirmed a journalist from Bangladesh.

A senior journalist said Indian prime minister will pray at a temple at Orakandi Thakurbari and make a public address from there. The journalist travelled to the holy sight a couple of days back and observed that custodians of the temples are preparing for Modis visit.

They were highlighting Modis logo-like image and his time in some of the sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites in the Himalayas, added the journalist.

Watch: In Bengal, We Do Poojas and Also Celebrate Eid: TMC Leader Dola Sen

Temple authorities told me Modi wanted to travel to Orakandi last time also but it did not happen for some reason. This time he is coming here and the organisers are happy about it, the journalist said. He further said, Temple authorities and Matuas perceive the Indian prime minister as a devout Hindu, who is visiting his sacred land. They are not as aware of the political/electoral aspect of it.

Left-leaning student groups protesting in Dhaka against Modis visit. Photo: Special arrangement

Left-leaning student groups and Islamic parties staged demonstrations and took out separate rallies in the Bangladeshi capital in the last couple of days against Modis visit. According to Bangladeshi media reports, protesters criticised their prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, for inviting Modi whom they accused of crimes during the Gujarat riots of 2002 and of the continued oppression of minority Muslims in India.

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A Stop in Bangladesh May Be Part of Narendra Modi's Plan to Woo Voters in West Bengal - The Wire

Dancehall artist Popcaan was apparently up to his usual antics, over the weekend, when he removed his mask and mockingly shouted mi nah wear nuh mask! on his Instagram Story, in reference to Buju Bantons viral anti-mask rant last year.

Buju, however, finds no humor in the situation in Jamaica and unleashed yet another Instagram video on Sunday, expressing disappointment in his fellow rich Jamaicans for ridiculing those, like himself, who have been speaking out. He also, again, declared his opposition to the Governments COVID-related restrictions and policies.

In an almost 5 minute clip, Banton is seen reading the updated mandates and the consequences for breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act, citing them as oppression and tyranny.

Bujus video comes after the recent viral video and arrest of a St. Catherine man, who was later charged with breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act, disorderly conduct, indecent language, obstructing the police, and using abusive and calumnious language, according to the Jamaica Gleaner.

The Jamaican constitution does not allow the Government of Jamaica to use the Office of the Prime Minister or any other office to oppress and pressure any citizen, any citizen at all. You Jamaicans better wake up before them come kick oonu door one one and do like what dem a do all ova di place, Buju said in the video.

Despite the backlash that he received for his initial rant of rebellion from his colleagues, Ministers, and even daughter and social media influencer Abihail Myrie, Banton is still standing firm behind his beliefs. Mi notice a thread, mi notice everybody weh come out inna Jamaica and vent the way dem feel either the Jamaican populace come down pon dem like we suppose to be sheep, he said.

He moved onto address Jamaican politicians.

Memba ah we vote oonu in, oonu supposed to run the country fuh we, dont gwaan like oonu wan switch it pan weand have the people dem think dem work for politicians. No! Politicians work for the country

Do not use the office of the Prime Minster or the office of whichever politician it is..to pressure the citizens. You are creating tyranny. You are tyrannical.

Buju accused those in power of not setting the example as it pertains to vaccinations. Oonu a tell we bout shot and none a oonu na tek no shot, a who oonu a try fool bout ya. Here what guh gwaan, we want see oonu a tek what oonu want the people to get.

The Jamaica Gleaner reported on Friday that Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton are not scheduled to take the COVID-19 vaccine until April 2021, unless the pace of the current roll-out significantly improves.

Buju is not the only disgruntled deejay voicing his concerns, as the internationally known King of Dancehall Beenie Man took to his Instagram to share his own personal grievances.

Buju do a ting todeh weh mi respect, Beenie said while on a family vacation at the Pegasus Hotel. Mi nuh like how dem a deal wid d law a Jamaica, because police ketch yuh 9 or 10 you haffi pay them. he shared about his resentment for the latest lockdown directives.

Last month, Beenie Man pleaded not guilty to charges that he breached the COVID-related Disaster Risk Management and Noise Abatement Acts in Jamaica. His trial will begin on April 19.

Meanwhile, Jamaican actor/comedian @slick_whiteline has made light of Bujus comments in a video making the rounds.

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Buju Banton Calls Out Jamaican Government For Oppression And Tyranny - DancehallMag

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is sworn in before her Senate confirmation hearing to be interior secretary last month. Her confirmation makes her the United States' first Native American Cabinet secretary. Jim Watson/AP hide caption

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., is sworn in before her Senate confirmation hearing to be interior secretary last month. Her confirmation makes her the United States' first Native American Cabinet secretary.

Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo, has become the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

The Senate voted 51-40 Monday to confirm the Democratic congresswoman to lead the Interior Department, an agency that will play a crucial role in the Biden administration's ambitious efforts to combat climate change and conserve nature.

Her confirmation is as symbolic as it is historic. For much of its history, the Interior Department was used as a tool of oppression against America's Indigenous peoples. In addition to managing the country's public lands, endangered species and natural resources, the department is also responsible for the government-to-government relations between the U.S. and Native American tribes.

"Indian country has shouted from the valleys, from the mountaintops, that it's time. It's overdue," Sandia Pueblo tribal member Stephine Poston told NPR after Haaland was nominated.

It's not the first time Haaland has made history. In 2018, she became one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Her nomination by President Biden to lead the Interior Department was celebrated by tribal groups, environmental organizations and lawmakers who called the action long overdue. But her nomination faced opposition from Republican lawmakers and industry groups that portrayed Haaland's stance on various environmental issues as extreme.

"I'm deeply concerned with the congresswoman's support on several radical issues that will hurt Montana, our way of life, our jobs and rural America," said Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, who worked to block Haaland's confirmation.

As a congresswoman, Haaland was a frequent critic of the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda and supported limits on fossil fuel development on public lands. She opposes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. She was also one of the first lawmakers to support the Green New Deal, which calls for drastic action to address climate change and economic inequality.

Republican lawmakers grilled her over those stances during her confirmation hearing in an effort to portray her as a radical choice to manage the nation's public lands, but Haaland struck a moderate tone, repeatedly saying that as interior secretary she would aim to accomplish Biden's environmental goals not her own.

Biden has not supported the Green New Deal or bans on fracking, and he has taken a more balanced approach to fossil fuel development on public lands. He put a temporary pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands while his administration reviews the broader federal leasing program.

"There's no question that fossil energy does and will continue to play a major role in America for years to come," Haaland said during her confirmation hearing, before adding that climate change must be addressed.

Haaland has called the climate crisis the "challenge of our lifetime," and as interior secretary, she'll play a key role in the Biden administration's efforts to address it. Biden has pledged to make America carbon neutral by 2050, an effort that would require massive changes to the industrial, transportation and electricity sectors.

The Interior Department manages roughly one-fifth of all land in the U.S., as well as offshore holdings. The extraction and use of fossil fuels from those public lands account for about one-quarter of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.

"The department has a role in harnessing the clean energy potential of our public lands to create jobs and new economic opportunities," Haaland said during her confirmation hearing. "The president's agenda demonstrates that America's public lands can and should be engines for clean energy production."

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Deb Haaland Confirmed As 1st Native American Interior Secretary - NPR

On March 15, 2011, the people of Syria began marching in the streets demanding an end to the government's oppression. Three days later, President Bashar al-Assad's regime killed five protesters at a march in Daraa. Nobody knows how many have been killed since then. The most recent estimate from a U.N. official was 400,000. It was a number that Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, had come up with on his own it was a guesstimate. That was five years ago.

The story of Syria has been one in which everything that could have gone wrong did. Hindsight is meant to be 20/20; with enough distance, it's supposed to be easy to see the path that should have been taken or the wisdom of the choices that were made. Looking back at just a small sample of the "what ifs" of Syria doesn't lend much credence to that idea.

For example, what if the NATO air campaign that would help oust Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi hadn't begun four days after the first Syrian protest? Maybe the Russians wouldn't have dug in their heels so hard to defend Assad. And maybe the U.S. wouldn't have hesitated to turn its military attention to stopping Syria's atrocities including forced disappearances, rape and torture had it not still been defending the intervention in Libya domestically.

Or what if the Gulf states hadn't sent money and guns to jihadi groups? Would there have been less concern about what Syria post-Assad would look like? And then maybe if the rise of ISIS hadn't provided the perfect cover, the Russians wouldn't have militarily intervened in 2015 against the militants and the remaining Syrian protesters.

What if the U.S. had armed the rebels sooner, rather than give space for the Assad government to wipe out any moderate opposition? Maybe Assad would have been forced to resign. Or then again, what if the U.S. had never tried to arm them at all? Assad still would have remained in power but without so high a death toll, as the hope of intervention may have prolonged the fighting.

Looking back at just a small sample of the "what ifs" of Syria doesn't lend much credence to the idea of hindsight being 20/20.

What if the Obama administration had followed through on its threats after a chemical weapons attack killed 1,400 men, women and children in Ghouta? Could Assad have been cowed into ending his war on his own people? Or was there really no combination of diplomatic pressure and military force that the U.S. would have been willing to exert in the name of protecting civilians?

The only thing that's clear is that there have been no winners after all these years, only those who have lost less. And nobody has lost more than the Syrian people. The U.N. may have stopped counting the dead, but it still keeps track of the living. And as of today, 5.5 million Syrians are refugees, decamped to neighboring countries like Turkey and Lebanon. Another 6.2 million Syrians are internally displaced within Syria. Together, that's over half of Syria's 2011 population, scattered and driven from their homes. And of those still in the country, 80 percent live in poverty. Over 12.4 million Syrians are food insecure, and a further 1.8 million are at risk.

As the war seems nearly won, the question is turning to what to do with the next 10 years. I spoke with Kieren Barnes, Mercy Corps' country director for Syria, about how the NGO is looking to that future. While previously the focus has been on providing immediate humanitarian needs, Barnes told me, now the question will be how to help local partners get the economy back up and running so Syrians can provide for themselves and their families.

Barnes lavished praise on the Syrians whom Mercy Corps works with "'you give us the chance, we will then deliver,' and I've seen that proven time and time again" while still being clear about the difficulties that remain, given the pandemic and the global economic downturn it has caused.

Despite that cautious optimism, it's hard not to feel cynical as we hit this milestone year. I've been covering this war since before it was a war my early days of blogging in 2011 were spent tracking the U.N. Security Council's movements on Syria, parsing draft resolutions in hope of finding the key to the end of the crisis. That day never came, not through years of declining interest, not after Ghouta, not after ISIS's rise and fall.

Maybe this isn't the darkest timeline maybe the alternative choices, the other possible futures for Syria, were worse. Maybe the U.S. would be struggling with another occupation, like in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe skirmishes with the Russians would have escalated into a full-on war. Maybe ISIS would still be in control of Syrian territory.

But there's no way to know that for sure. It's the not knowing that's going to eat at me.

Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.

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Syria's 10 years of crisis offer little optimism and fewer lessons - MSNBC