26 May 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
12 Aug 202112 Aug 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
19 Nov 202017 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
2 Nov 202025 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
26 Oct 20192 Mar 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
26 Jul 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
4 Feb 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
9 Nov 201725 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
9 Oct 201725 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
Undergraduate Student at the American University of SharjahMajor: International Studies
Minors: History, Economics, and Environmental Policy
Why did I start The Vigilant Mind?
The name represents people who think for themselves and don’t just go with the flow of society, for only dead fish go with the flow. I seek to establish an environment that is not fooled by the propaganda and coercion of the systems that seek to abuse us. Overall, I want to write about my thoughts, experiences, and advice on matters of youth relevance. Some of the topics I cover are:
History of The Vigilant Mind
I never gave much attention to a world outside my PlayStation prior to 2014. Greater exposure to the Palestinian crisis was a turning point in my life. It was what showed me that AK-47 holding computer bots in games weren’t the only issues I had to fix. My activism and opinions mostly circled around in Google+ and Instagram. Eventually, as I noticed that readers liked the content and a few recommended that I should ‘preserve’ it, The Vigilant Mind came to be in October 2017.
More About My Work
Workshop Facilitation 
COVID-19 didn’t stop me from leading and conducting training and mentoring sessions 
Secretary General – Our Own Warqa’a Model United Nations 2019 
Gave a workshop to the faculty of Crescent English High School on ‘How to conduct a flip class?’ (2018) 
Public Speaking & Model UN 
National Leader of the Year Award Holder 2020
To read more about the National Leader of the Year Award, click here.
Gave a workshop to hundreds of students about Introductory Model UN at Pace International School 
All-Rounder award in High School (2019-20 & 2017-18)
To learn more about me and connect with me, follow or contact me on my socials
To receive email updates every time a new vigilant post is published here, follow from below!
To support the blog and motivate me to do even more!
Donate and Stay Vigilant!
10 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
26 May 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
4 Mar 20225 Dec 2022 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
30 Sep 202130 Sep 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
16 Sep 202117 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
2 Sep 20212 Sep 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
23 Aug 202124 Aug 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
12 Aug 202112 Aug 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
1 Jul 202117 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
3 May 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
23 Aug 202124 Aug 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
21 Jan 202125 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
18 Oct 201725 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
[Written by: Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui and Siva Nanda Rajesh]
It’s India’s 77th Independence Day, but for whom? India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru famously proclaimed, “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” But who is awake today? Who is free? And who is drowsing everyone else?
The Indian government is criticized for many issues. Unfortunately, their failures to protect women have been less discussed, and discussions unfruitful as BJP clocked substantial votes from women in 2019, despite their safety, rights, freedoms, and respect reducing over the last decade.
This Independence Day article discusses the women’s plight in today’s India. While many of us want to celebrate today, how can we expect people to celebrate a day that is not? Nevertheless, if you take a break and celebrate traditionally, tune back into reality and also celebrate by exercising your rights and duties.
Critical thought, dissent, and reflections like this article are intended to guide us into being more active citizens who will contribute to a better-functioning democracy and espouse its constitutional rights, duties, and values as initially intended.
In the famous first Independence Day speech, J. Nehru also said, “It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India, and her people, and to the still larger cause of humanity.” So when will we live up to this pledge, speak, act, and serve India?
There have been some improvements but many developments are inevitable in a somewhat stable country (education levels and rights on paper), subject to debate (women’s autonomy in employment), or are offset by harsher changes that are hidden from public discourse.
“…during the BJP rule, cases of violence and rapes have gone up by leaps and bounds.”
– Dr. Roop Rekha Verma, Professor at Lucknow University.
Did you know most of India’s mainstream channels are directly, fully, or partially owned, funded, controlled, or influenced by BJP members or their aides? To learn more: When Journalism is Sold: Lessons from India.
BJP won its 2019 elections with a substantial proportion of women voting for BJP. If BJP is harming women, why are they voting for them?
The Disney fairytale analogy of Rapunzel’s relationship with her abductor, who she believed all her life was her mother, describes the fate of women under BJP. In the story, Rapunzel was gaslighted to believe that her mother knows best. However, Rapunzel was a victim as her mother (abductor) used her to stay young, and of course, she used Rapunzel’s long-luscious hair as a ladder.
Similarly, on Independence Day in 2014, Modi assured that his party vowed zero tolerance for violence against women; however, intimate partner violence increased by 27% after 2016, and the abduction of women increased by 14%. The statistics on other violence against women (rape and dowry-killing) would only horrify you further. Thereby, women voters formed the strands of Rapunzel’s magical hair that elected her witch-mother BJP.
They win elections not by delivering outcomes but by making the public think they delivered the best. Elections diverge little from marketing gimmicks. To protect democracy, we must be more vigilant and avoid being fooled by the politicians who need our votes. BJP has a lineup of influential speakers, but we need to put facts over influence, and the opposition parties need to level up their campaigning and delivery, too.
Unfortunately, the voters also politicize human rights issues. For example, as people opposed abhorrent crimes against Women in Manipur and BJP’s inaction, the mainstream effectively turned the conversation into whataboutery and pointed fingers at Congress. While many have identified this as spineless and immoral election campaigning, such vilification of opposition parties has earned BJP votes.
Overall, even as BJP’s strategies have involved misappropriating data, hiding real data, and feel-good statements with poor implementation, ideological and information propaganda forms a core of their hold over voters.
BJP applauds itself for being a feminist figure. In reality, they use patriarchial and imperial tropes. Rampant Islamophobia and ignorance were prominently visible during ‘triple talaq’ discussions and Karnataka Hijab bans, where BJP constantly linked Islam with oppression. There is little feminism about a party that imposes blanket opposition to core religious tenets of other faiths while supporting all decisions of its community.
Moreover, BJP’s legal feminism is only to the extent that they want to raise women but never equal to the upper caste Hindu man. Legal analysts analyzed even supreme court cases and right-wing activists’ demands and found negligible feminism.
Similarly, the BJP intelligently appointed Droupadi Murmu as the second-ever woman president of India – a token act.Suppose the BJP was espousing equality and democracy. Why would they replace the tradition of inaugurating the New Parliament building with the president with himself, a monarchical symbol (sengol), and Hindu priests?
The government’s “feminism” is riddled with contradictions. While the Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smriti Irani, began an uproar over a disputed action of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s wink in parliament, she remained silent over the country’s larger issues, including major outcries from the currently deeply conflicted Manipur until very recently.
BJP’s officials make unequivocal misogynist remarks every other day and often defend those accused and convicted of sexual assault. The government has been on the side of Brij Bhushan, BJP MP and President of the Wrestling Federation of India, who has been accused heavily of sexual assault by many women wrestlers. Even in his case, the mainstream response was to attack the integrity of the wrestlers and take immediate lawfare action against them. The government’s wilful inaction or incompetency is also evident in several other cases.
The misogynist and communal ethos established by their politics has resulted in the development of virtual auction simulators where users pretend to buy Muslim women (bulli bai, sulli deals), “processions” chanting slogans like “taj nagar me jayenge, burqe wali layenge” (“we will go into taj nagar and bring back burqa-wearing women”), events where Hindu men are commanded to “go home and make babies” and find Muslim women to marry into Hindu households. Many of these are bolstered by lies around alleged ‘love-jihad’ problems, of which no verified evidence outside far-right media houses with a track record of false news and hate speech exists.
While feminism needs attention nationwide, and all parties display drawbacks, the BJP performs the worst because their actions have impacted aggregated indicators, lived experiences, and misused religious tenets for political ideology. Besides, when they form the central government and in many states, why shouldn’t the focus be on them first?
Hindutva is a one-sided, carefully crafted narrative that serves its interest groups like BJP, RSS, and Sangh Parivar. ‘Hindutva’ literally translates to ‘the Hindu way of life.’ BJP reformed its party ideology in the 1980s to ‘Hindutva’ to gain support through communal politics. But the dangers of the single-sided story are detrimental, especially for the unsuspecting voter.
Regarding women’s rights, Hindu nationalists misappropriate scripts likeManusmriti to justify gender discrimination, altering historical context and romanticizing an idealized past. This ancient Hindu law sparked debates and academic discussions around many aspects of a woman’s life, such as her independence and sexual agency. Manusmriti and many other vedas place the male at the center of society, marginalizing women’s agency. Period taboos, honor killings, and gatekeeping education for women are normalized. It not only influenced the society of the Indian Sub-Continent for a few thousand years but also continues to influence society even now/ Rising right-wing Hindu nationalism is perpetuating oppressive narratives, endangering India’s political stability and the rights of many marginalized/minority groups. The propagation of misused religious scriptures amidst rising Hindu nationalism sets back gender equality and social justice.
Despite Manusmriti placing women at the bottom of the social ladder and enforcing the four-fold varna system, one of the instances we can see the collision between religion and politics is when Khushbu Sundar, a BJP leader in 2020 attempted a protest against the remarks made on Manusmriti’s discriminatory practices by the Tamil Nadu Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thirumavalavan in both his webinars as well as his awareness campaign by distributing the Tamil version Manusmriti among civilians. Another instance is during the rituals of the Bhoomi Puja for the Ram temple building on the land of the demolished Babri Masjid, the RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat cited a verse from the Manusmriti that has clear connotations of Caste Hierarchy. In the past, the Sangh Parivar had also condemned the terms socialist and secular on India’s preamble as it wanted a constitution based on Hindutva drawn narrowly from the Manusmriti.
In the 21st century, India must combat challenges like violence against women and ensure women an equal position in society outside the theoretically stated rights in the Constitution., Unfortunately, the government has encouraged one-sided communal tactics, detrimental to the nation. In the marathon for appeasing the vote bank, parties intentionally forget the consequences of extreme religious ideologies, such as the case of Hindutva and the promotion of Manusmriti. Vulnerable groups such as women, scheduled castes, and tribal communities suffer the most, as this religious text considers these groups at the bottom of the ‘ideal’ social hierarchy. It also comes with flavors of the paradox between the actions of the ruling party BJP. ‘The Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ (‘Save the girl child, educate the girl child’) initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a scheme that aims to promote the education of the girl child. The scheme predominately targets the clusters of India, such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Punjab, and Haryana, where female literacy rates are extremely low. However, the irony is that these regions witness substantial propagation of political Hindutva because of the larger vote banks.
Conversely, Manusmriti contradicts the true nature of Hinduism in many cases. It is also important to note that Manusmriti is a man-made legal text in ancient India to serve their interests. In reality Hinduism glorifies Narishakthi (Strength of women) and has multiple goddesses in its books to represent this. Goddess Saraswathi, for instance, is the goddess of knowledge and and forms a core of Navrathri for blessings in education. Many subjects like consent, respect, education, and free will are transmitted through many other religious texts of Hinduism. All in all, communal politics cherry-picks Hinduism’s patriarchal and oppressive elements, harms the nation’s welfare, and misleads unsuspecting believers.
Ultimately, a true Hindu would stick closer to the original and holistic tenets of dharmic values and religious texts, learned through faithfulness, not inherited from politically charged speeches and processions. The fight to reclaim Hinduism from politicians is the same as Martin Luther’s attempt to spread Christianity among the people, not controlled by the Church, and also likens the bastardization of Islamic texts that justify crimes occurring under ISIS, Taliban, and others. These ethos are well supported by the crafters of our constitution, like B.R. Ambedkar.
Unfortunately, authors like us, other activists, journalists, and many, are told by “nationalists” that these issues don’t exist and accuse us of propaganda peddling. Ironically, their responses are always accompanied by hate, threats, insults, and rape comments toward the women of our family. It is a pattern – complain about women’s safety issues in India, and the safety issues instantly worsen.
In 2015, Amir Khan and his wife vocalized concerns about India’s safety issues but were met with more threats and stern remarks from the ruling government. These issues are far larger regarding women journalists critical of the government. Although the volume of hate, in-person and virtual, is large from the conservative nationalist voter base, even elected officials engage in degeneracy. S.V. Shekher, a BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, attacked a woman journalist’s integrity because of her critical questions, claiming she is an “illiterate scoundrel” who “slept with big shots” to become a prominent anchor. Hundreds of women journalists have faced physical violence, abuse, hate, stalking, revenge porn, and more for criticizing the post-2014 Indian government. In an independent democracy, these issues should not persist.
In 2020, an incident that gained global attention was the Hathras case, in which a 19-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and murdered by four upper-caste men. However, some BJP leaders victim-blamed and supported the perpetrators instead. While one decided to host a rally to support the accused, another urged that we teach the daughters ‘proper values.’ Ranjeet Bahadur Srivastava, a leader from UP, accused the victim of having an affair and claimed that the sexual assault occurred because she invited her partner. Subsequently, the government misused legal provisions to jail journalists for about two years with false accusations.
With the aforementioned problems, abuse of law to silence activists, and much more, even we authors were unsure if this should be published. As a Hindu woman, how can I safeguard myself from the potential “nationalist” bigotry that will follow? As a Muslim, for how long do I have to keep trying to wake up my neighbours till they realize it’s us they have to unite with, not elected governments, should they want to maintain the India that was envisioned 77 years ago? Is the government really maintaining democracy and feminism if two actual nationalists have to fear so much to do what is beneficial for all of India, and not just legal but also recommended under its constitutional rights, duties, and values?
This independence day, we need to commit to being more active political citizens. That is the first step to making democracy work and keeping its constitution alive. Instead, many of us have been pawns in parties’ political games. This must change. Secondly, being aware of your rights and responsibilities as a citizen. By no means can a political party violate your fundamental right to live without the fear of persecution and your right to practice and profess any religion. At the same time, it is also your responsibility to choose your leaders wisely and protect your fundamental rights as a citizen.
Like what you read? Enter your email to subscribe for new post updates and commit to staying vigilant!
10 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
4 Mar 20225 Dec 2022 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
30 Sep 202130 Sep 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
2 Sep 20212 Sep 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
23 Aug 202124 Aug 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
3 May 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
1 Apr 202110 Apr 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
1 Mar 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
19 Jan 202125 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
1 Jan 202125 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
11 Jun 202211 Jun 2022 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
21 Apr 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
20 Feb 202117 Aug 2023 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
6 Aug 202025 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
28 Mar 201825 Feb 2021 Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui
India’s Supreme Court (SC) recently struck down the country’s ‘electoral bond’ system that parties leveraged for political funding, introduced in 2017 under the majority of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Under this system, individuals and corporations could purchase electoral bonds with the State Bank of India (SBI) and anonymously donate funds to political parties.
The standard route for political party donations did not guarantee anonymity for donations exceeding 20,000 rupees. However, electoral bond purchases are anonymized no matter the donation amount. Consequently, most parties, especially the BJP began acquiring funding through this mode.
In the bill that introduced electoral bonds, a series of other changes were also made, such as:
The BJP-led government essentially “institutionalised corruption” and “backroom lobbying.”
The electoral bond infrastructure has been highly criticized since its inception in 2017. Several entities responsible for protecting fair elections and democratic values in the country warned the government against implementing such a scheme from the beginning.
One would not want to rely solely on an appeal to authority. Still, is it likely that the BJP, known for pushing legislation through with brute force and poor consultation with stakeholders, was right in implementing the electoral bond scheme despite warnings from experts in the country’s apex legal, regulatory, and financial institutions?
Just like this question, many other questions can be raised that tackle the significance of the verdict and released data. In sum, despite the media’s ignorance of the issue, we, the common public, must understand its significance and popularize it.
An important caveat is forgotten in the discussion of the system’s transparency. While the public cannot see who donates and to whom, the SBI can, which means so can the elected government.
In a country where financial rules and office raids have been performed for political motivations for over three decades now, such access to data is bound to encourage donors to donate to the BJP to gain privileges and are dissuaded from donating to other parties lest they have their offices and warehouses raided.
Thus, SC demanded the SBI the data release. Even in this request, albeit dismissed, the SBI attempted to protect the BJP by stalling the decision to the point where it would not matter—they requested time till 30th June for them to release the information. However, India is set to face its national elections in April-May. Releasing such information a month after the elections is nonsensical.
The partial data that has been revealed so far show the unfair advantage BJP has been racking up—amounting to 47-55% of all donations, far ahead of its second and third-place competitors by over three times. Access to such funding inherently gives them an advantage over other parties. Unsurprisingly, concepts like “Brand Modi” come up, shedding light on the spending and marketing of the party and prime minister.
(Source)
Such spending trumps making meaningful promises and progress, many of which have not been met since 2014. Alternatively, the strength of the marketing diverts voters’ attention to the perceived failures of other parties and jingoistic nationalism. Much of this funding also propagates more intimate propaganda through WhatsApp group networks and widespread control and ownership over India’s major mainstream media outlets.
These developments have self-reinforcing effects. The funding allows them to consolidate power in ways that trump free media. Under normal circumstances, an independent media would have dragged the government through the mud by now. However, control over media houses and funding dynamics explains why they are not as loud as they were during the previous government’s scandals.
The main finding of the data and other chronological events shows that income tax and Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids are politically tied to the BJP. It is not that in all cases the BJP knocked at their doors to acquire money; such dynamics also create a political economy where companies feel compelled to make donations to protect themselves or extract favours. This is not just a theoretical argument but one that plays out in practice dozens of times. A few examples are highlighted ahead.
“Contributions made by companies are purely business transactions made with the intent of securing benefits in return” [Supreme Court]
| Company | Purchase of Electoral Bonds | Significant Event |
| Future Gaming and Hotel Services (“Lottery King”) Other Notes: many have also pointed out that their reported net profits have been lower than their donation amounts. |
Top buyer, purchased on several occasions. 07 April 2022 – Rs. 100 crore
October 2023 – Rs. 65 crore |
Several instances of income tax, ED, and corruption problems. 02 April 2022 – ED raid
October 2023 – income tax raid |
| Vedanta (mining company) Other Notes: Vedanta is a subsidiary of a London-based company that was not allowed to donate to political parties until BJP’s amendment of financial rules. |
Purchased on several occasions. Acquisitions and awards closely followed or were followed by bond purchases. |
Several instances of income tax, ED, and corruption problems. Acquired several national projects under BJP state/central governments. |
| Haldia Energy | Purchased on several occasions, with significantly increasing amounts and frequencies in recent years. | Purchases are closely timed with acquisitions of state projects and awards, as well as corruption scandals. |
| Megha Engineering Infrastructure | Purchased on several occasions. April 2023 – Rs. 140 crore. |
Secured key projects with the Ministry of Defence and other government objectives. April 2023 – secured the important Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel project. |
| Jindal Steel & Power | 7 October 2022 – Rs. 25 crore | 10 October 2022 – secured a formerly government-owned coal mine. |
| Dr. Reddy’s | 17 November 2023 – purchased electoral bonds. | 13 November 2023 – income tax raid. |
| Aurobindo Pharma | 15 November 2022 – purchased electoral bonds. | 10 November 2022 – the managing director was arrested. |
| Torrent Power | January 2024 – purchased electoral bonds. | March 2024 – acquired a Maharashtra solar project. |
Many other companies also display these trends, with a propensity of companies that are facing ED and income tax investigations to donate more than others. This list excludes shell company-related corruption and is rather surface-level. Many other analyses combine data and timelines to produce more shocking revelations that should alarm us voters.
(Source)
Evidently, the BJP is aware of and uses corruption that is enabled through the electoral bond system. When the electoral bond system worked against them, their leaders lashed out, asking opposition parties and corporate entities to be public about their donations like in West Bengal. Yet, they maintain silence on their own end.
Ironically, the introduction of the electoral bond system was argued as a move that would curb black money, a similar argument resting on digitalization placed during the government’s demonetization in 2016 that failed to achieve its goal.
This itself functions as propaganda where BJP attempts to make itself seem like a monolith of hope against corruption when its actual work is no more than public relations, marketing, and window-dressing exercises.
A significant implication of such funding and election use is that it created a system that was no longer representative of “one man, one vote,” but rather, shifted the value to corporations and their contributions.
One would imagine that the public would recognize these issues and vote them out if they understood that they were not representing the common public. However, the BJP is fortunately placed as they fool the masses by appealing to their seemingly spiritual sides through divisive politics. It continues to gain votes by waving the saffron flag than by any other meaningful indicators. In reality, even Hindutva politics largely acts as a mask for the government in carrying out capitalism that harms the average Indian.
“I do Hindu politics openly. What’s the problem with that? […] What’s the problem in doing Hindu politics?”
[BJP Chief Minister of Assam]
Moreover, the volume of funding allows for a level of political marketing that effectively convinces an adequate voter base that the party appropriately represents them.
In reality, corporate votes start to influence the decisions more than the common public. This is already a peril that the American government faces because of its lobbying system, with a study highlighting that all or most of its policies are largely influenced by corporations rather than people or advocacy groups.
Many Indians hold back from criticizing India’s corporate environment because it feels like a nationalistic tenet to support and defend them. India is one of the largest countries to free itself from the clutches of harsh imperialism. In previous decades and even today, it is often categorized as a backward country and critiqued in often racist ways.
Among its many issues, economic problems persist. It is no surprise that we want to report hints of progress that we sense proudly. We have also grown up learning the powers and greatness of multinational corporations—although ironically, given their uncountable harms.
Combined with the BJP’s so-called fight against corruption, an atmosphere is also created that tries to make us believe that not only are Indian corporations growing but that they, especially the ones friendly to the elected government, are law-abiding, tax-paying, ethical businesses. Otherwise, even national companies that criticize the government are accused of corruption.
It essentially seems as though the BJP’s voter judges whether a company is corrupt based on whether it supports the government. Countless examples can elucidate this. Some recent ones include the nationalist backlash at the reports of Hindenburg Research about the Adani Group, Panama Papers, and more. In contrast, most of their voters have uncritically supported raids against BBC after its documentary on Modi’s role in Gujarat and Amnesty International for alleged financial issues.
(Source)
It is also not infrequent for me, a student voicing critical thoughts, to be accused of having an agenda, propaganda, and sometimes even funding for opposing the BJP. Ironically, this blog runs on a loss, and funding getting paid to do the right thing would actually have been helpful.
Donate to Staying Vigilant
The Vigilant Mind is a non-profit blog devoted to spreading knowledge, advocacy, and the author’s personal experiences and tips. You can support the blog with your donations or sharing the articles forward! Thank you for your consideration and contributions.
However, this SC verdict should be a wake-up call to understand that being Indian, post-colonial, and pro-government is in no way an indication of ethics or anti-corruption. Like every other country, the growing corporation and political competitor are bound to form alliances toxic for the common person.
Identifying these tenets and voicing concerns against corporations and the BJP needs to be the immediate next step for the common public. With the elections coming up, we must understand that the information we see about parties is not an objective review but a function of their funding and existing power in spreading certain information over others.
Much explicit (through other articles) and implicit (through articles like this one) work strongly makes a case for the undemocratic and unfair nature of BJP’s operations. So, no matter how appealing its marketing may sound, it’s time to ask: Why is this true? Why are they trying to convince us of this? What can I do to find the truth?
It’s time to realize that the party claiming to fight corruption all these years has repeatedly resorted to and kept itself in power through well-hidden and unique forms of corruption marketed to its fanbase as innovative or misunderstood strategies.
It’s time to raise our voices accordingly. It’s time to vote accordingly.
Like what you read? Enter your email to subscribe for new post updates and commit to staying vigilant!
India achieved a remarkable milestone by successfully landing on the moon’s south pole. It is a matter of pride for the state and many others as India is the first country to make such a landing and fourth overall for a moon landing. A wave of nationalist sentiment has thus emerged. Such moments, likening sports, are moments of unity for Indians within and beyond its borders. They are also celebratory moments for the scientific community at large. Chandrayaan-3’s success was also interestingly cheaper than some movies’ budgets.
However, while celebrating such feats is warranted, reflecting on its broader elements and their implications to prioritize meaningful celebrations is also essential. A major problem with contemporary celebrations of national achievements is that people heavily draw on abstract nationalism, celebrating the facets of the achievement itself less and the abstract idea of the state more. Some right-leaning news channels even emphasized their reporting not to honour science but to compare with Pakistan and highlight nationalist fervour.
This article nudges redefining nationalism to celebrate India’s recent moon landing more meaningfully. Broadly, this applies to many other national feats, too, no matter the country in question. The focus should be redirected from sloganeering and extremist nationalism to celebrating and discussing scientists, workers, research, and other productive elements.
Moreover, as dull as it may sound, achievements in outer space do not directly affect the material realities of most people. Thus, moments like these are not worthy of celebration for all, leaving room for dissent. Unfortunately, extremist nationalists react negatively to such people, violently enforcing “nationalism” down their throats. If celebrations are accompanied by silencing those with different views, then it’s not science being celebrated but something else, as no scientific culture would entertain such myopia.
Lessons from Science: Challenging and Questioning Beliefs
When Chandrayaan-3 launched several weeks ago, there were similar celebrations and emerging nationalism. At the time, I was in India, annoyed by power cuts, infrastructure conditions, population density, safety concerns, and stories of unpleasant political experiences.
It was hard to celebrate the launch; it simply did not change my material realities. The beginning or even a successful end to a moon landing mission does not give me stable electricity or safety. I was vocal about this, and, unfortunately, it resulted in even more hate. “Nationalists” were incredibly upset that I did not celebrate the launch.
And my experience is still a very privileged one. If we ask, “Does Chandrayaan-3 affect the bottom 50% of society that collectively holds only 6% of national resources?” the answer is much more disturbing.
It’s not that we should ignore the space feats, but we shouldn’t force people to celebrate them. When people’s experiences lead them to prioritize things differently, having a space open to discussing them is a right and essential to developing as a society. That is what the scientific method should teach us—being open to constant learning and questioning.
It is ironic that “nationalists” celebrate a major scientific feat but ignore scientific tenets itself. Would science have yielded such developments if self-proclaimed experts and “nationalists” prevented questioning so they “don’t be such a buzzkill!”?
The Dilemma of Resource Allocation
Beyond theoretical retorts, some consider space exploration as wasteful spending. After all, why should money be blasted into outer space when your neighbours sleep hungry, roads remain broken, and many economic crises persist?
There are some valid considerations against such a blanket statement, though. Other countries strive for success in outer space, so ignoring them could leave us behind. There is also the question of how much such competition even matters, but that is for another day.
The most sensible rebuttal is that spending is not an either/or thing. Focusing on space exploration does not mean social concerns are ignored. However, this point stands if it is enforced as such. It seems that currently, this allocation is guided by capitalist tenets. Funding is diverted to avenues that yield profit and not necessarily public good.
In part, the political public relations campaign that builds nationalism around Chandrayaan-3 could be propaganda that seeks to silence the common public’s demands to meet their more pressing needs.
These issues are even close to the heart of space exploration, with engineers at the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) being unpaid for 14-18 months despite assisting Chandrayaan-3.
Alternatively, critics raise questions about India’s other infrastructures that are underfunded and highly unsafe for workers. A prominent field in the discussion has been the sewer systems, where safety concerns are disregarded by governments as workers are left to die.
If it is possible to spend money across different sectors, why are some areas where the question is of life and death significantly underfunded?
How Capitalism and the Government Corrupt Science and Academics
The toxicities of capitalism don’t spare space and research. A full exploration of this connection is beyond the scope of this article, but a further critique of capitalism is necessary for more meaningful and productive funding in scientific endeavours, including space research and exploration.
Understanding and exploring space adds to scientific discussions around several concepts. Moreover, these developments can provide more accurate data about environmental considerations and other factors that influence the existence of our planet. Such work can guide decisions to enhance sustenance.
However, capitalist operations can subordinate those objectives by engaging in space research for avenues to exploit more resources and workers. After all, exploring the ‘New World’ was also done not for scientific or artistic endeavour but plunder.
Admittedly, this scepticism is not as vivid as in other interactions of capitalism with society. This string of thought merely seeks to inculcate a culture of healthy scepticism and is not villainizing scientists and engineers. In fact, these core cogs of the space industry are often exploited.
We must ensure that science is done for the sake of science, not profit or politics. A healthy critique of contemporary society needs to keep systems in check so that knowledge production remains honourable and is not subjugated by profit maximization or nationalism.
The Indian government has also created a culture that encroaches upon the academic space unethically in the name of nationalism. Often, it misuses laws to bully academics it disagrees with. These actions have resulted in academics resigning from institutions. Broadly, extremist nationalism and the resultant myopic views and security threats push highly educated people outside the country for safer living and more respectable employment.
Apart from encroachment, the Indian government has also been criticized for reducing funding for academic and scientific endeavours. It is noted that the government reduced funding for the Department of Space by 32% in the 2023-24 Union budget.
Despite these issues, the success of Chandrayaan-3 and other scientific achievements reinforce the possibilities in formerly “impossible” things. However, India requires an environment more conducive to education, research, funding, and safety should it want to maintain and enhance its scientific development and avoid losing skilled workers to other countries.
Pivoting Toward Meaningful Celebrations
In conclusion, India’s moon landing is indubitably an achievement to be proud of. However, it’s equally important to channel our appreciation not to the abstract idea of ‘India’ and definitely not to politicians but to the scientists, engineers, and workers who made it possible, and use this as an opportunity to call for increasing emphasis on developing and funding scientific and academic work.
If abstractions are to be used, they should celebrate cultures like the scientific method, openness to criticism, flexibility, and togetherness. We must take nationalism away from those who weaponize such achievements to silence dissenting voices.
At the very least, if one does not want to drop their abstract nationalism, they should be open to other ways of celebrating. It has barely been 48 hours since the news and “nationalist” pages, and individuals are already storming comment sections and profiles of those not celebrating the achievement. The “nationalist” reactions are not intended for logical debate but use only insults, misogynist threats, and identity-based slurs.
“Nationalists,” per usual, are not shying away from using communal slurs. In a comment thread where I noted that hating on those who do not celebrate Chandrayaan-3 is meaningless nationalism, critics replied by insulting my Muslim identity instead of being logical.
Establishing open, critical, and healthy ethics and discussions will truly celebrate these achievements, create cultures of scientific curiosity and unity, and build a future with even more potential.
Like what you read? Enter your email to subscribe for new post updates and commit to staying vigilant!
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough”
Greetings fellow readers,
I had attended my second Model United Nations conference last weekend, from the 1st to the 3rd February in Dubai Scholars Private School, Dubai.
All praise and thanks be to God, the second conference brought home the second Best Delegate award! 🙂
To sum up, this blog will focus on my experiences and feedback regarding the DSMUN and will put forth my strategy in this victory.
First of all, kudos to the Dubai Scholars organizing team for the wonderful organization, planning and topic selection in their first ever MUN.
It was surprising to see a huge number of repeated delegates coming to the DSMUN who I had first met in the Winchester MUN and honestly was great meeting them again.
I hope to meet them again in future MUNs and make these delegatory alliances last life long!
Moving on to the widely asked question, how do I manage to win best delegate in both my first MUNs with considerable competitors?
1. My Will and Determination:
I do not attend MUN conferences just because it gives +1 MUN exp but because It’s my passion to discuss world crises, political, economic, social etc. situations and bring about solutions.
and admittedly, I go for the MUNs with a will to win them and make the best out of my opportunity.
Thus, with this intention comes strong determination and with that comes the passion to actually put in the effort. There is research done on personal stance, the stance of major countries and a little extra about the topic besides what the organizers provide.
Moreover, since MUNs are three days long, day one is always handy to see what the other delegates propose for their stance and the next two days at home are spent researching against potential enemies.
And also, I do not see any statements that go against me during the debate as offensive, as the whole purpose of MUNs are to oppose and self-promote, and thus obviously, I myself do not hesitate in placing allegations on other countries as long as they are backed by references and statistics.
Most importantly, all these things are fun and entertainment! I do not take any of this as pressure or stress as that, I feel, completely breaks the purpose of MUNs then.
2. No compromise on the battlefield
You’re in the war zone, you see a pretty girl or an innocent-looking soft-spoken soldier wielding a gun, you decide to leave them alive and do nothing, the very next second- they shoot you and you’re dead.
It is important to realize, in MUNs you must have information against every country, even if they are an allied country or a friend- always have questions to raise against them, being straight-forward is not a crime.
The best way to play passive-aggressive while racking up points is to be your human personality outside the war zone and be friendly to all, but inside the battlefield- spare none and go forth to show the power of your delegation.
Phrasing questions inside the committee room will make a difference and so will your effective research, your question might sound rude but do not hesitate, the whole purpose of MUNs are to be straight-forward and put forth your superiority. You might get called rude for it, but that’s just a compliment because the rude countries always dominate.
Be sure of the flaws of the country that you represent and have responses ready at all times, even of those who are in your alliance so at times you can answer for them. I did this twice in the conference, one to defend my bloc’s resolution and the other to protect the stance of United States.
However, contradictory to the title, you must be open to changes and adapt a little to the surroundings, complete opposition is not a good stance as then you would simply lose support. The opposition I had towards my allies was in a passive-aggressive manner and was based on facts. But while drafting resolutions and coming to solutions, I did not oppose my allies even one bit.
Fun fact; Germany has an ongoing government crisis which can lead to huge political instability and breakdown of the government, It was a fear in me that someone may mention this and flip the tables but luckily no one did- but don’t get your hopes too high, I was prepared with responses to that eitherways 😉
These are two major points that I find important to iterate here, however, a few more points were mentioned in the earlier post in October after the Winchester MUN so feel free to check it out if you need more points!
Winchester MUN Blog Post (Click here to open in new tab)
How Can I join?
Check with your school teachers whether or not your school attends MUNs, if yes, stay updated on selections and other things whichever seem fit.
Besides that, You can always stay self-aware about MUNs that happen around the country and attend them individually (as long as your school hasn’t signed up and excluded you) by signing up from their website.
However, you must know that these are United Nation simulations and hence are very formal and the language used as well is in third-person and that of United Nations. Your identity is not your name, nor your school, but a country that you represent (which will be notified to you post-registration) [eg. I represented Germany]
Author extends you support!
In order to help many of you readers since the demand was high on what exactly MUNs are and how do they work, following are some links that might come in handy.
Winchester MUN Blog Post (Click here to open in new tab)
The following link contains;
i) Germany’s country profile so you can see the basics of what you need to know about your country (excluding topic information)
ii) Two files on rules and regulations of how the MUN actually works and goes on.
Documents Website (Click here to open in new tab)
Lastly, thank you to everyone’s support, love and motivation for helping me continue and stay happy with what I am doing! What really touched me was that even my enemies on the battleground were good friends outside the battleground. The world needs more people like these! Cheers!
Hope this helps, any and all further questions are welcomed! (Raise POIs! MUN reference)
