Why Justice Markandey Katju Rejects Claims That the Jantar Mantar Movement Has Weakened the BJP or Solved India's Paper Leak Crisis
DescriptionFormer Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju responds to Prof Apoorvanand's article on the Jantar Mantar protests, arguing that the movement is unlikely to alter the BJP's electoral prospects or end paper leaks in India. The article examines political polarization, the legacy of Partition, Hindutva politics, corruption, electoral trends, and the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, presenting Katju's perspective on the broader implications for Indian democracy and governance.
Prof Apoorvanand's article
By Justice Markandey KatjuI was motivated to write this article after reading an article titled 'India's youth have broken Modi's spell' written by Prof Apoorvanand of the University of Delhi.
Reading the article only confirmed my long-held opinion that most of the so-called 'intellectuals' of India, particularly in the academia, are superficial, shallow, and inane sophists and pseudo-intellectuals, having at most pedantic, bookish, sterile, and half-baked knowledge, but strutting around on the stage like peacocks, with the gullible hoi polloi and riffraff applauding.
A reading of the article shows that the writer has indulged in a lot of praise, baloney, twaddle, claptrap, and blah blah blah for the youth gathered at Jantar Mantar, but has not addressed two vital questions : (1) will the events at Jantar Mantar affect the prospects of Modi and the BJP in coming elections ? (2) has the Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar, and the resignation of the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stop paper leaks ?
My reply is in the negative to both these questions. Here are my reasons :
Many people say that the BJP’s graph will go down in the future, as more and more Indians will get disillusioned with the party as it has failed to solve the huge socio-economic problems of India. I beg to differ. In my opinion, the BJP will keep growing in India, and even south Indian states will soon come under its sway. These are my reasons :Partition of India in 1947, on the basis of the bogus 2 nation theory ( that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations who cannot live peacefully together ) was a British swindle, whose purpose was to keep Hindus & Muslims fighting each other even after Britain exited from India, so that united India should remain weak and backward, and not emerge as a modern industrial giant, like China, for which it has all the potential.
Partition was the greatest tragedy for India in its 5000-year-old known history. Though its main proponent was Jinnah, ultimately the Congress leaders like Gandhi, Nehru and Patel acquiesced to it, so they too are culpable.
Once India was partitioned on the basis of the bogus 2 nation theory, and Pakistan declared an Islamic state, it logically followed that India should be declared a Hindu state ( as 80% of its population is Hindu ). That it was not so declared, and instead declared a secular state, was because Congress leaders had an eye on the large Muslim vote bank in India.
For instance, UP, the largest state in India, has about 18% Muslims. To win elections, one requires about 31-32% votes ( one does not need 50% because others are divided ). So 18% is a big chunk, and when combined with another chunk ( e.g. of Dalits) it is a winning combination.
So for several decades after Partition in 1947, Congress kept winning election after election in India. But this winning spree could not continue forever. In 2014, the BJP, which does not rely on Muslim votes, got a majority in Parliament, and came to power. It has remained in power in the Centre since then, and has even expanded into other states where it was earlier not in power, e.g. West Bengal, which was known as a bastion of secularism, and Odisha. I foresee its capturing power in south Indian states too, which has about 90% Hindus, in the near future.
All this has its roots in the Partition of India in 1947 on the basis of the bogus 2 nation theory, which ultimately was agreed to by Congress leaders too, and hence they too are criminals.
Today, polarization has increased exponentially in Indian society. More and more Hindus have become BJP supporters. The BJP has played its cards excellently, with ‘Hindutva’ as its slogan, while the opposition parties are in the doldrums.
Those who say that the Indian economy is going downhill, that unemployment and prices have soared to record levels, and therefore the Indian people are getting increasingly disenchanted of the BJP, forget that these issues are irrelevant to over 90% of Indian voters. When voting, they do not see the condition of the economy. They do not see the merit of the candidate, whether he is a good man or bad, educated or uneducated, etc. They do not keep in mind rise in prices or the rise in unemployment. They only see the caste or religion of the candidate ( or the caste or religion which his party claims to represent ).
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, almost half the MPs elected were found to have criminal backgrounds.
What does this prove? It proves that when 90% of our voters go to vote, they do not see whether the candidate is a criminal or not. They only see his caste and religion.
Earlier, caste was more important in elections, but in view of the increased religious polarization since 2014, when the BJP came to power, religion has become more important. The Hindu upper castes, who are very influential, are solidly with the BJP, and even large sections of OBCs ( except Yadavs ) and Dalits ( except Jatavs ) have gone over to them.
Apart from that, state institutions and many educational institutions have been largely ‘saffronized’, in particular the Election Commission of India, which is in charge of holding elections in India. The Election Commission, like the judiciary, was meant to be a neutral, independent body, but everyone knows it has come under BJP control, and will rig elections to ensure BJP victory.
But will that stop paper leaks? It will not. Paper leaks are because of corruption, and corruption is rampant at every level, and in almost all matters in India, not just in paper leaks.
The Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement in 2011 got a huge following, but eventually fizzled out, achieving nothing ( except making Arvind Kejriwal Chief Minister of Delhi, who himself turned out to be corrupt ). So paper leaks will continue, and laws made against it will only give the police another opportunity to extort money by framing false charges and manufacturing false evidence, as experience has shown.
As for the cockroaches, these buffoons, dolts, and halfwits gathered at Jantar Mantar, who followed Abhijeet Dipke, like the rats and children following the Pied Piper of Hamelin, they can now go home after their picnic, merrymaking, jollification and revelry.
As the Urdu poet Aatish said :
”Fasl-e-bahaar aayi, piyo sufiyon sharaab
Bas ho chuki namaaz, musalla uthaiye.''
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own.)
Today, polarization has increased exponentially in Indian society. More and more Hindus have become BJP supporters. The BJP has played its cards excellently, with ‘Hindutva’ as its slogan, while the opposition parties are in the doldrums.
Those who say that the Indian economy is going downhill, that unemployment and prices have soared to record levels, and therefore the Indian people are getting increasingly disenchanted of the BJP, forget that these issues are irrelevant to over 90% of Indian voters. When voting, they do not see the condition of the economy. They do not see the merit of the candidate, whether he is a good man or bad, educated or uneducated, etc. They do not keep in mind rise in prices or the rise in unemployment. They only see the caste or religion of the candidate ( or the caste or religion which his party claims to represent ).
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, almost half the MPs elected were found to have criminal backgrounds.
What does this prove? It proves that when 90% of our voters go to vote, they do not see whether the candidate is a criminal or not. They only see his caste and religion.
Earlier, caste was more important in elections, but in view of the increased religious polarization since 2014, when the BJP came to power, religion has become more important. The Hindu upper castes, who are very influential, are solidly with the BJP, and even large sections of OBCs ( except Yadavs ) and Dalits ( except Jatavs ) have gone over to them.
Apart from that, state institutions and many educational institutions have been largely ‘saffronized’, in particular the Election Commission of India, which is in charge of holding elections in India. The Election Commission, like the judiciary, was meant to be a neutral, independent body, but everyone knows it has come under BJP control, and will rig elections to ensure BJP victory.
So the BJP is bound to grow and keep winning elections in the years to come.
As for the Cockroach Janta Party, Prof Apoorvanand has waxed eloquent and rendered fulsome praise on it, but what has it really achieved? The answer is NOTHING. All that it has achieved is the resignation of the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and his replacement by another Education Minister.But will that stop paper leaks? It will not. Paper leaks are because of corruption, and corruption is rampant at every level, and in almost all matters in India, not just in paper leaks.
The Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement in 2011 got a huge following, but eventually fizzled out, achieving nothing ( except making Arvind Kejriwal Chief Minister of Delhi, who himself turned out to be corrupt ). So paper leaks will continue, and laws made against it will only give the police another opportunity to extort money by framing false charges and manufacturing false evidence, as experience has shown.
As for the cockroaches, these buffoons, dolts, and halfwits gathered at Jantar Mantar, who followed Abhijeet Dipke, like the rats and children following the Pied Piper of Hamelin, they can now go home after their picnic, merrymaking, jollification and revelry.
As the Urdu poet Aatish said :
”Fasl-e-bahaar aayi, piyo sufiyon sharaab
Bas ho chuki namaaz, musalla uthaiye.''
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own.)
