As the British decided to exit India, Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir, aspiring to keep the Jammu and Kashmir as an independent nation, did not accede to either of the newly formed nations. Pakistan laid claim on Kashmir since it is a Muslim majority region. It ignored the fact that the criterion of division along religious majority applied only to the regions directly colonized by the British and not to princely states like J&K.

The Indian troops on the other handset foot in Kashmir to counter the perpetrators of violence on Kashmir only after the Maharaja signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ on 26 Oct 1947.

IMPORTANCE OF KASHMIR

Kashmir is a very strong symbol for both India and Pakistan, even if their views on the state conflict ideologically. While India considers Kashmir essential for its secular identity, for Pakistan, its acquisition is necessary to complete the division of India on religious basis. For Pakistan, the merger of Kashmir remains an unfinished agenda of partition. Without including Muslim majority J&K, in its core, Pakistan considers itself incomplete as a nation which may fail or even collapse. Apart from religion Pakistan also quotes ethnicity, geography, and legality for Kashmir to be its part. This lofty romanticism about Kashmir’s cause and solidarity with their Muslim brethren of J&K is nothing but a smokescreen to grab Kashmir for economic and military reasons. The Pakistani historian, Ishtiaq Ahmed has called it a Hydro-Political problem of Pakistan.

STRATEGIC (PAKISTANI) PUNJAB

As is the case elsewhere, Pakistan views the merger of Kashmir through the narrow prism of the prosperity of Western (Pakistani) Punjab. Pakistani writings have highlighted the need for having Kashmir, not so much for honoring the wishes and safety of the Kashmiris but for getting strategic depth to Pakistani Punjab and also for ensuring non- interference with river waters coming from Kashmir. Maj Gen Akbar Khan, who was part of the Kashmir liberation Committee and the self-proclaimed Commander-in-chief in Kashmir in 1947-48, brings out the military and economic importance of Kashmir to Pakistan in his book Raiders in Kashmir: “Our own safety and welfare (read Western Punjab) demand that the state (Kashmir) should not go over to India. If Indian troops came to be stationed along Kashmir’s western border (with Pakistani Punjab), she (India) could establish its forces within a few miles of the 180-miles-long vital road and rail route between Lahore and Pindi (the entire stretch he speaks is in West Punjab). From an economic point of view, the position was equally clear. Our agricultural economy (again in Punjab) was dependent particularly upon the rivers coming out of Kashmir.”

SOCIAL FABRIC OF KASHMIR

Prior to dwelling further into the unscrupulous attempt of wresting Kashmir as it unfolded during Oct 1947, it would be worth recalling the social fabric as it existed in Kashmir of those days. In her book ‘Between the Great divide’, Pakistani author Anam Zakaria has given innumerable examples of traditionally secular and tolerant practices of Kashmiris, both Muslims and Hindus. “The degree of homogeneity was such that manyHindus and Muslims went to the extent of only consuming halal mutton instead of beef or pork to respect each other’s traditions and sensibilities,” Zakaria writes.

Such inter-communal harmony is also documented in the book Wounded Memories, written by Muhammad Saeed Asad, an author who hails from Mirpur in POK. He says that it was important for the residents of Kashmir to be Kashmiri rather than Muslim, Hindu or Sikh. “The Sikhs and Hindus,” writesAsad, “were familiar with and able to recite the verses of the Holy Quran just as much as Muslims could read Holy Granth.”

THE GRAND DESIGN

Within days of coming into being, Pakistan formed a ‘Kashmir Liberation Committee’ led by Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan with Colonel (later Maj Gen) Akbar Khan as the military member. This committee decided to launch a tribal aggression into Kashmir to force a dithering and militarily weak maharaja into joining Pakistan. The objective of the dubious plan was to arouse communal passions, assassinate important leaders and capture power in Kashmir. The prevalent impression from a few incidents in Jammu and Poonch is that Muslims of the state had risen against the Government and wished to join Pakistan. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There is enough evidence to suggest that the Kashmir operation was not a spontaneous uprising by the tribesmen but a clandestine operation deliberately designed by Pakistan for annexation of the state by force. Mr Prem Shanker Jha in his book Kashmir, 1947, Rival Version of History states that the raiders were to be the real spearhead of the Pakistan Government’s annexation plan. According to him, “The instigation of insurrectionary activity and communal mayhem in Poonch and Jammu was a diversionary tactic designed to disperse and pin down the state forces and prevent them from regrouping at the mouth of Uri gorge which raiders had to pass before entering the Kashmir Valley.”

The uprising, according to the Pakistani conspirators, would be passed off as an act undertaken by irregulars on their own and that these lawless tribesmen could not be controlled by the newly established Pakistani state. However, there are enough pieces of evidence to prove that the irregulars were extensively supported by Pakistan’s provincial and federal governments.

WAS IT HOLY WAR?

Pakistan has spread a narrative that the tribesmen were incited to a ‘holy war’ by the stories of atrocities which fleeing Muslims brought with them to the market place of Peshawar. But waging a ‘holy war’ was never on the agenda of these primitive tribesmen.

They were lured with a promise of Zar (wealth), Sar (head) and Zan (women) of the innocent Kashmiris irrespective of his religion, gender or position, they did not differentiate between Hindus, Muslims or Sikhs. Anyone, who stopped these savages from indulging in plunder or pursuing their carnal pleasures were subjected to unprecedented violence. These tribal raids significantly altered the very fabric of the tolerant Valley.

EVIDENCE OFPAKISTAN’S OFFICIAL SUPPORT

Notwithstanding Pakistan’s continuous denial of any involvement in tribesmen’s invasion into Kashmir, there are substantial pieces of evidences to prove Pakistan’s whole hearted assistance. The details are as follows:

(a) The leading Maliks (leaders) of the tribes who participated in the raid were secretly interviewed in Rawalpindi as early as 2nd October and tasked to organize Lashkars. These Maliks were rewarded handsomely.

(b) There was a serious shortage of arms and ammunition as most of it still lay in India. As Director of Weapon and Equipment at GHQ, Colonel Akbar Khan knew that available weapon meant for the Pakistan Army could not be used without the permission of the Commander-in-Chief General Messervy. Akbar Khan, however, managed to locate 4000 rifles which were to be handed over to the Punjab Police. A large stock of old ammunition was also discovered, which was to be transported to Karachi and disposed off at sea, as it had gone beyond its expiry date and therefore was deemed too dangerous to be used. These arms and ammunition were diverted to band of irregulars.

(c) Petrol, (which was a scarce commodity in those days), food and camp administrative services were organized and provisioned by the Pak Army to the raiders.

(d) A secret “Kashmir Fund” was set aside by Nawab of Mamdot, the Chief Minister of West Punjab.

(e) The Chief Minister of the Frontier Province, Abdul Qayyum Khan, who hailed from Poonch in Kashmir, gave his blessings and unqualified assistance including provisioning of 300-400 buses and lorries, without which the operation might not have been possible.

(f) According to George Cunningham ‘Jinnah himself heard of it (the plan) but said ‘Don’t tell me anything of it. My conscience must remain clear’’.

(g) VP Menon, who was the right hand of Sardar Patel in his book Integration of Indian States says that the raiders had a free transit through Pakistan, and that they were in possession of “modern military equipment which could only have been obtained from Pakistani Army sources; mortars, artillery, and Mark V mines are not the kind of armament which tribesmen possess”

(h) A large number of Army officers had joined the tribesmen and organized the attacks on the state and Indian Army. The professionalism displayed could not be expected of any untrained personnel.

IF RAIDS HAD NOT HAPPENED

It is worth pondering over the scenario in case the invasion by the raiders had not taken place. Possibility of Maharaja joining Pakistan existed. Indian Home Minister Sardar Patel had left the choice to the Maharaja. Lord Mountbatten too advised the Maharaja to join one of the two dominions, as two bigger nations in its neighbourhood would not let it remain independent. Mr VP Menon states: “We had no territorial ambitions in Kashmir. If the invasion had not happened, I can say in the face of any contradiction that the Government of India would have left Kashmir alone. Lord Mountbatten on his return to England publicly stated that he had, on the authority of the Government of India, informed the Maharaja that he was perfectly free to accede to Pakistan if he chooses to do so.”

The slaughter of innocent women and children belonging to all faiths by the invaders probably lost Pakistan any faint communal co-operation they might have expected in the Valley of Kashmir.

CONCLUSION

Pakistan was in a hurry to grab Kashmir. Its leaders got impatient and apprehensive that the Maharaja may not be inclined to join them. In order to present a fait accompli to the Maharaja, Pakistan unleashed unruly and undisciplined tribesmen on innocent Kashmiris who had never heard or seen such savagery in their lives. Lord Cunningham, the Governor of NWFP noted, “…because of the excesses of the tribesmen, many Muslims of Kashmir would have adhered to India and not to Pakistan, if a plebiscite had been held.”

The writer has had an illustrious career in the elite Intelligence Corps of the Indian Army for over three decades. Views expressed are the writer’s personal.

An interesting endorsement of the regional security meet on Afghanistan, held in New Delhi on Wednesday, came from unexpected quarters—from the Taliban. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told the media in Kabul that their “Islamic Emirate” was optimistic about the regional meeting being hosted by India. He said this even though the Taliban government was not invited for the meeting, as India and the other countries attending the meeting do not recognise the “Islamic Emirate”. It looks like that even the Taliban, at least in public, are unwilling to toe the Pakistani—and thus automatically Chinese—line that India does not matter in Afghanistan. The meeting hosted by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval saw participation from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, apart from Russia and Iran. Pakistan did not participate, with its NSA, Moeed Yusuf dismissing the possibility of attending the meeting by stating “a spoiler (India) cannot be a peacemaker”, while China stayed away citing scheduling problems. Obviously, the two coordinated the move, especially since the very next day, on Thursday, China is scheduled to attend a meeting being hosted by Pakistan on Afghanistan. The meeting is also being attended by the US, Russia and a representative of the Taliban government.

In fact, information is that attempts were made by the Chinese side to dissuade Russia from participating in the meeting and thus stop Afghanistan’s Central Asian neighbours, on whom Russia has a huge hold, from visiting New Delhi. The plan was clear—to ensure that no one participated and thus India was humiliated. But the fact that Russia and the Central Asian republics, as well as Iran participated in the conference, proves that they are willing to carve a foreign policy independent of Chinese-Pakistani interests and influence. It also showed that they believe that there is no solution to the Afghanistan problem without India playing a part in bringing peace to that war-torn country.

The message from the Delhi meeting was clear: that there should be “close consultation, greater cooperation and coordination” among these countries to ensure a “peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan”. There was strong condemnation of terrorism and consensus that Afghan territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist activities; that there should be “collective cooperation” against “radicalisation, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking”; that any government in Afghanistan should be inclusive, with representation from “major ethno-political forces”; that the Afghan population, which is facing a humanitarian crisis, should be provided with help in an “unimpeded, direct and assured manner”.

Importantly, the joint statement emphasised on the need to have “respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its (Afghanistan’s) internal affairs”. It was a message to both Pakistan and China to stop treating Afghanistan as their backyard to nurture terrorists and use it for their own strategic goals. That the Taliban are in power in Kabul today is because of Pakistan, which has been quite open about the role it played in defeating the United States in Afghanistan by using the Taliban. Its role in harbouring and nurturing the Taliban on its own territory has been an open secret; or how it provided the Taliban with both men—read, terrorists—and materiel to fight the Afghan government, and later the Resistance force at Panjshir valley. In fact, post the fall of Kabul on 15 August, Pakistan went to the extent of derailing the US choice for Prime Minister, Mullah Baradar, apart from installing its pet terrorist, Sirajuddin Haqqani as the Interior Minister. Observers will not easily forget the trips that the ISI chief, Faiz Hameed, undertook to Kabul to calm things down after the clash between the followers of Baradar and Sirajuddin Haqqani, in which Baradar himself was injured; while also ensuring that Pakistan’s “proteges” get important portfolios in the Taliban government. From all accounts, the government in Kabul is controlled by the Haqqanis, and is thus under the thumb of Rawalpindi General HQ. However, there is also speculation that the Taliban are not completely trusting of Pakistan and their “overtures” to India asking Delhi to resume commercial flights to that country, apart from reinstating scholarships for Afghan students, would not have gone down well with GHQ. Whether or not India decides to have diplomatic relations with the Taliban government in the future will be a matter of discussion and debate, but at present it should try and provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan and take the lead in ensuring that the aid is distributed under international supervision. It is in this context, that the emphasis given by the NSA meeting to a United Nations role in Afghanistan assumes importance.

As for China, it is obvious that the countries that participated in the New Delhi meeting recognise that the Chinese are getting into Afghanistan to serve their own interests—to ensure that the Uyghur militants operating from the northern parts of Afghanistan do not foment trouble in Xinjiang province, home to China’s Uyghur population; and to extract the $1 trillion worth mineral reserves that Afghanistan has including possibly the world’s largest deposit of lithium, which is the most important mineral needed for batteries for IT devices. China has offered $31 million in aid to the Taliban government. It is not known how much of that aid reached the people of Afghanistan. The cash starved Taliban, who apparently do not even have fuel to run their vehicles, have been saying that China is one of their most important allies and have been largely silent about China’s ill-treatment of the Muslim Uyghur population. It is expected that the Chinese will take this opportunity to walk into Afghanistan in the name of providing aid and building the BRI, and in the process turn that country into their vassal state, whose sole reason for existence is to provide tribute to the “emperor” in Beijing.

The NSA meeting also has to be seen in the context of the meeting in Islamabad the very next day, which is one way of telling the US in particular that without Pakistan there cannot be peace in Afghanistan. It is also an attempt to send out the message that the Delhi meeting is at best a side-show, and the “big boys” will be in Islamabad. However, the Islamabad meeting may have attendance, but will it be able to chart out a road map for peace? However much the arsonist may claim to be the firefighter, it will still remain the arsonist. Left to Pakistan, and China, Afghanistan will become an even bigger security threat not only to the region, but also to the rest of the world. It is to pre-empt such a situation that New Delhi hosted the security meet and found resonance from other countries in the region.

Virtually every school in the nation closed in March 2020, replacing in-person schooling with online piecemeal education programmes. The learning setbacks over the last one and half years range from grave for all groups of students to catastrophic for poor children. As a parent of two school going kids, from the start I have felt that the elected officials had been more concerned about reopening bars and restaurants than safely reopening schools that hold the futures of millions of children in their hands. This continues to be painfully evident as the states enter yet another pandemic school year without enforcing public health policies for post COVID mental wellbeing that would bring in its much-needed presence to in-person schooling. These policies were needed all the more when the highly infectious variants are still doing the rounds and the coronavirus seems likely to become a permanent feature of life which in most likelihood will push and pull the school life years to off and online mode every now and then.

Our kids have come out of the toughest times on the planet and have been doing the best they possibly can, physically and mentally, for the little time they’ve been on this earth. Now that the kids are returning to school, we must know that the role of schools need to be reimagined and enhanced. School in a student’s life is not just academic, it’s also about overall development— life skills, social and emotional intelligence. The COVID control measures have taken a toll on the children, and we have the mental health statistics from WHO which paints a bleak picture.

WHO stated that 20% of children and adolescents suffer from a disabling mental illness worldwide. Epidemiological studies from India suggest nearly 10-15% of those aged 16 or below suffer from a diagnosable psychiatric disorder. Suicide rates in Indian adolescents appear to be several-fold higher than anywhere else in the world accounting for 25% of deaths in boys and 50-75% deaths in girls aged 10- 19 yrs.

Schools have an unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of young people and the authorities should recognize this strength of schools as a change-maker in the young world. It is progressively becoming necessary to expand their role in providing services for overall development and wellbeing. Authorities governing schools must recognize and respond to the diverse mental wellness needs of the students accommodating both different styles/rates of learning and different states of mental health they’re in. Thereby ensuring not only quality education but guiding them develop mental resilience to counteract stressors of life; and these all should be enabled through an appropriate curriculum, teaching strategies and resource support.

What students missed during COVID waves are not only academic classes but, sports activities, field trips, musical activities, while handling anxiety and economic precarity all throughout. Now, they must leap into the future, with the school’s help. We now need professionals or trained personnel to teach the children ways to improve their moods/minds— practicing yoga, meditation and most importantly teach them the concept and ways to bring in mental resilience to stressors of life. Schools should make available a space within the school premises where youngsters can immediately find a counsellor or trained adult to talk with who can identify problems such as depression and anxiety.

There’s a need for a mission/drive to provide help to middle and high-schoolers deal with challenges and build social connections. Community programs of both government and non-govt agencies must mobilize helping hands to repair the damage kids have suffered during the pandemic.

Schools have the role and opportunity to contribute to development of children and adolescents and provide room and scope for interventions at all levels of the schooling span. There’s a need to train manpower in school for child/adolescent mental health at various levels of schooling especially the teachers and student peer groups on screening and preventive aspect of the mind management.

The government agencies and NGOs have an important role to play in advocacy, awareness and comprehensive and continuous training of man power for the wellbeing of the future generation.

As a powerful socializing agent schools play a crucial role in the transformation of cognitive, linguistic and psychosocial competencies and creating happy, healthy and harmonious schools for mental health wellness of children, who are crucial demographic dividend and the most important national asset.

Lastly, about policy and practices of mental health, India is yet to develop a comprehensive approach to school mental health promotion. Currently child mental health policy is non-existent in spite of the dire consequences of the COVID times.

The five year plans until recently, have set aside only a few crores for mental health of the entire country with the child’s mental health promotion receiving a very low priority. Lot of complexities exist in multiplicities of laws related to mental health and the associated disabilities.

What students missed during Covid-19 waves are not only academic classes but, sports activities, field trips, musical activities, while handling anxiety and economic precarity all throughout. Now, they must leap into the future, with the school’s help. We now need professionals or trained personnel to teach the children ways to improve their moods/minds— practicing yoga, meditation and most importantly teach them the concept and ways to bring in mental resilience to stressors of life.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was recently given prime importance when he was asked to move the political resolution at the BJP National Executive held last weekend. The move is significant because the resolution has earlier been moved by party stalwarts like Rajnath Singh (who moved it in 2017 and 2018) as well as the likes of Nitin Gadkari. That Yogi was given this honour shows his entry into the top echelon of BJP leaders. Interestingly Yogi Adityanath attended the meeting in person though at first, he was to attend it digitally. Other state chief ministers like Shivraj Singh Chouhan joined the meeting digitally. While speaking to the media, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman parried the question `Why Yogi’, with a `Why not?’. He is heading the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh that is slated to go to the polls early next year. The resolution also talked about Covid handling and Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, all of which will be key issues during the coming elections.

Interestingly, the posters in Uttar Pradesh show more of Yogi than Modi, making it clear that the mandate will be fought largely on the UP Chief Minister’s track record. However, as Home Minister Amit Shah told the people of UP on a visit to the state, if you want Modi in 2024 then you have to vote for Yogi in 2022. There is a link between the two, between India’s largest state that sends Prime Ministers to the Centre and the Prime Minister’s own image. Added to that is the fact that the PM’s constituency Varanasi is also in Uttar Pradesh.

Some have been speculating, after Modi whom? Who will head the BJP in a post-Modi era? The answer to this question invariably has Yogi Adityanath as one of the candidates, along with others such as Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and Amit Shah.

There has also been speculation about a Yogi Vs Modi faceoff. Around June there was a buzz that the PM may change the UP Chief Minister and replace him with someone who is more dependent on the Centre for survival. Unlike the other chief ministers appointed during the Modi era, Yogi Adityanath has his own mass following and does not need the PM to campaign for him. Instead, it is Yogi who is often called to campaign for the BJP outside the state. Again, on the Hindutva turf, if the PM is known as the Hindutva Hriday Samrat, the monk in saffron is not far behind on the Hindutva branding. Yet the PMO was quick to scotch any talk of the PM being displeased with the firebrand chief minister, and the BJP top brass let it be known that Yogi would continue to be Chief Minister and the face of the party for the 2022 state election. (Compare this with the way Congress handled Captain Amarinder Singh). Keeping this in mind, giving Yogi prime importance to the national executive was another way of scuttling any buzz that the PM was not backing the UP Chief Minister. So at least until the state elections that speculation has been laid to rest. What happens after that will depend on the showing at the hustings. If the BJP sweeps Uttar Pradesh once again under Yogi’s leadership then it would be difficult to replace him. But if the numbers fall then perhaps the party’s top brass will have the excuse they need — should they want to replace Yogi as the party’s face in the Hindi heartland. But before they take such a drastic step, they would also keep Amit Shah’s words in mind— the link between the 2022 Uttar Pradesh state polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Again knowing the BJP it is understood that both of which will be fought on a strong plank of Hindutva which makes Yogi Adityanath’s position all the more secure.

The journey from general to particular, and again from particular to general is the main means of sharpening knowledge in the human mind. Immersion, concentration, and utmost enjoyment in the work we do is the general introduction of yoga. One who concentrates his entire attention and power on the game, then that is Yoga of player. If a cobbler prepares shoes by stitching meticulously, then that is the Yoga of his level. Doing any work with full power and focus is yoga of its own level. The yoga of Kshatriya is the protection of his border. This yoga of different levels is itself a leveled yoga as well as a means of Magayoga. Because unless there is efficiency, dedication, and attention in one’s work, then yoga will not be proved. Some say that he is a student, he does not like studying, or does not like playing or does not like in any work. So he cannot prove lifelong yoga. Even if such a person performs asanas etc., then his action will be called physical exercise, it cannot be called yoga. Today the Yoga imported from and influenced by the western world is partial and only physical. Because the cultivation of Mahayoga cannot be accomplished without practice. If someone thinks that he does not feel like doing any work, nowadays yoga is on a lot of fame regarding the same; people think that they can become yoga instructors after taking a yoga course, so there can be no bigger deception to them and their students because the first step is of Yoga is to control of senses and mind through practice. If you keep cutting hair, making shoes, teaching without a controlled mind, then the senses keep running somewhere else, and fail in the first step of yoga. The definition of yoga for a simple beginner level trainee is ‘Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam’.

When you get engrossed in your work, you will automatically reach the second stage of yoga. Because skill in tasks means that you have learned to use your senses and mind in tasks, that means you have learned to control your senses according to your mind in the work of your interest. Now the second step of yoga practice is that the control of the senses which you have learned in the activities of interest, that control should become stable, that is, even if the work is not of your interest, you can control your senses by force. This action will force you to practice sense control. This is what was named Sham, Dam, Uparati etc. in Shataksampatti. You have to practice this forceful sense of control for a long time. Till now, you have been controlling your senses and your mind by force. This long-term practice will make your sense control quite easy, glib, and without force. You will no longer need any object of interest, nor any external force to restrain your senses and mind. You will be able to do this restraint effortlessly. In this stage, you are on the third stage in the accomplishment of Mahayoga.

In this third step, you will be able to focus your senses and mind on any subject without any effort without any force, and also on any unpleasant subject. The only thing left in your practice now is the subject. Keeping in mind the object, idea, or element that you are practicing on, in the next step you have to discard. That will be the fourth stage of your spiritual practice. If you are concentrating on something tangible or material, then control your senses and mind by removing that object or meditating on emptiness or your vision. In the fourth stage, when you concentrate on that subject, then that subject will become like your mind with your attention power and sense control. There will be unity in your meditation and that goal. Now the object will also be shaped by the size of your mind. Now the object is finished but the mind remains. Pride is remaining in your practice in form of Chittavritti. You gradually removed the interest first, removed the restraint by force, removed the object, and reached some abstract entity, you also brought the abstract being to the mind. Chitvritti is your ego, you have slowly finished everything. Now you are absolutely at the door of MahaYoga. All you have to do is to control your Chittvritti, and this final and the fifth step is what will happen with constant practice and eventually, Sampragyat and Asamprajnata Samadhi. You started with the work of your interest and reached the cessation of the Chittavritti. The definition of Mahayoga is also revolving around Yogah Chittavritti Nirodhah.

The idea is that gradually leave all means and move towards self. A small child rides a bicycle with a supporter-wheels for the first few days— removing the supporter-wheels and falling for a few more days, proves the essense of learning riding a bicycle without any support, the journey from the ordinary to the special— that’s an analogy we can use to understand the practice of Yoga. The means in the process of this Mahayoga is Ashtanga Yoga. Some moral rules are Yama, some physical exercises are Asanas, focusing one’s attention on one’s breathing is Pranayama. And thus the journey to Samadhi through the paths of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana is an auxiliary part of the. process. Yoga is not rocket science, just a climax of practice.

The writer is an assistant professor at the Tilkamanjhi Bhagalpur University. Views expressed are writer’s personal.

The idea is that gradually leave all means and move towards self. A small child rides a bicycle with a supporter-wheels for the first few days— removing the supporter-wheels and falling for a few more days, proves the essense of learning riding a bicycle without any support, the journey from the ordinary to the special— that’s an analogy we can use to understand the practice of Yoga. The means in the process of this Mahayoga is Ashtanga Yoga. Some moral rules are Yama, some physical exercises are Asanas, focusing one’s attention on one’s breathing is Pranayama. And thus the journey to Samadhi through the paths of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyana is an auxiliary part of the learning process. Yoga, essentially, is not rocket science, just a climax of practice. There are plenty of benefits to be had from embarking on the yogic journey, and deciding to commit to a regular practice is an exciting step. Luckily, in the 21st century, there are resources galore to support you on your path, help you connect with the yoga community at large, and help you find your personal community.

It is a sad day for India when political parties start believing that invoking Mohammad Ali Jinnah will get them the vote of the minority community. What else explains Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s sudden love for Jinnah, when, at a recent rally he said that Jinnah, along with Gandhi, Nehru and Patel got independence for India? He reiterated his stand on Sunday by urging those criticising him for his statement, to “read history books”. It is not known which history book Akhilesh Yadav read, but the books that the rest of us read did not mention Jinnah as the man who got India independence, but as someone who worked with the British to partition India—the man who ingrained the two-nation theory in the minds of his countrymen to such an extent that 75 years later, in 2021, their descendants, instead of growing up believing in inclusivity and universal values, justify their own existence as a sovereign country by parroting Jinnah’s line that Hindus and Muslims are separate nations and can never live in harmony. This is ironic, considering that the majority of Indian

Muslims showed their disdain for Jinnah’s two-nation theory by staying back in India post Partition. By praising Jinnah, is Akhilesh Yadav also praising the two-nation theory? The problem is the thought process, where a modern-day “young” politician thinks that praising Jinnah will make the minority community happy because the Pakistani leader was their co-religionist and by implication they endorse what he stood for. Could there be a graver injustice to any community, where they are painted as the “other” and aspersions are cast on their loyalty to the country, and they are made suspect in the eyes of the majority? This plays into the hands of Pakistanis like Sheikh Rashid, who make outrageous statements such as Indian Muslims are happy that Pakistan defeated India in the cricket T20 World Cup.

The Akhilesh incident reminded one of Lalu Prasad Yadav addressing rallies in minority dominated areas with an Osama Bin Laden lookalike next to him ahead of the 2005 Assembly elections in Bihar. This was post the 9/11 attacks and by 2005 the hunt for Bin Laden was going on in full swing. But that did not stop Lalu Yadav, apparently one of India’s biggest “secular” politicians, to identify one of history’s most dreaded terrorists with a particular community. It was one of the most cynical attempts of appeasement that India has even seen, apart from being unfair to a community.

But then appeasement politics is a sword that cuts both ways. The more they try to “appease” in their own crude way, and try to consolidate a vote bank, the counter consolidation is also swift. This is one of the reasons why the SP has lost ground in Uttar Pradesh, and even Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar to a large extent. Also, no attempt has been made either by SP or RJD to rise above identity politics and work for the uplift of even the community they say they speak for. As the Rajinder Sachar committee report had shown in the 2000s, the condition of the minorities was worse than even Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes—such was their neglect by successive, so-called secular governments, both at the national and state levels.

The world over, identity politics and vote banks are an intrinsic part of electoral democracy. There is no escaping them. The problem starts when development politics is forced to take a back seat and politics is made all about identity. From there the descent to the talk about Jinnah can be rather fast. Add to this the scaremongering of the minority community by the so-called “seculars” against a government and a party that do not hide their Sanatani credentials, and the result is a lethal cocktail, as we saw during the anti CAA protests. A whole community was scared into believing that they would be disenfranchised and made second class citizens by the current “Hindu nationalist government”. As a result, they were up in arms and out on the streets in protest. But then the “seculars” will lose their grip on the minorities once logic prevails and the latter realise that no government or party can ever come after them in a country that has democracy in its DNA. Once different voting groups—could be religious, could be caste—start demanding that development be made the main focus of our political discourse, and not identity, the positive fallout will be swift.