New Delhi: Urdu newspapers this week focused on India’s Independence Day celebrations, with one of the editorials praising the celebrations in Kashmir in particular, saying that “the change in Kashmir and Kashmiris has come after years of hard work and efforts”.
In its editorial on 16 August — a day after India celebrated its 77th Independence Day — Roznama Rashtriya Sahara said the celebrations in Kashmir signified that an atmosphere of trust has been restored between the administration and the public.
“In order to sustain this change in Kashmir and Kashmiris, there’s a need to take more steps and empathise with common Kashmiris to ensure their development and to solve their problems,” the editorial said.
Other topics that Urdu newspapers covered extensively were Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s “secret” meeting with his nephew and rebel leader Ajit, activities in the Monsoon Session of Parliament before it was adjourned sine die last week, and political parties’s preparation for the upcoming assembly elections in five states this year.
Here’s a roundup of all the news that made front-page headlines and editorials in Urdu newspapers this week.
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Independence Day
All three Urdu newspapers — Sahara, Inquilab, and Siasat — prominently covered Independence Day celebrations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort being a focal point.
The newspapers also covered Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s criticism of the Modi government. In his speech after hoisting the Indian Tricolour at the Congress headquarters, Kharge claimed the government was “threatening democracy, the Constitution and traditions” and that the voice of the Opposition “was being suppressed”.
In an editorial on 16 August, Siasat said that while the prime minister had resolved to make two crore women in the country “lakhpatis”, he hadn’t said how he plans to stop the “atrocities and injustice against women and girls” in the country.
India, it said, is growing to be a major economy. And yet, women in the country are concerned about “protecting their izzat” (honor), while those who “play with them” — a reference to sexual harassment of women — roam freely, Siasat added.
Monsoon session
The goings-on in Parliament took up significant space, with newspapers giving special coverage to the central government tabling three important bills — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Indian Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 — on the last day of the session.
The bills, which seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1973, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, were sent to a Standing Committee for scrutiny.
In an editorial on 13 August, Sahara said that much like the previous sessions, this Monsoon Session too saw the government’s agenda dominate the discourse, while the Opposition remained unsuccessful in pushing their own cause. The editorial said that each has accused the other of wasting precious parliamentary hours but no one wants to talk about what the public has and has not gained from the session.
In its editorial the same day, Inquilab wrote about the extreme polarisation of India’s politics. In the past, there existed a degree of harmony between the ruling and opposition parties that transcended their political differences, the editorial said. This was a sign of understanding and tolerance, it said, rueing that this sense of harmony no longer exists.
BJP, Congress & MP elections
News of internal squabbles of political parties and alliances dominated the front pages of of all three Urdu newspapers and editorials, with the newspapers focusing both on the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition grouping, INDIA.
In an editorial on 14 August, Inquilab wondered if there was something more to last week’s meeting between NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his nephew and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
The meeting — which came nearly two months after Ajit Pawar led a group of NCP MLAs in a rebellion against his uncle to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra — has sparked off speculations of the senior Pawar being offered a Union cabinet post in the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
An editorial in Sahara on 14 August wondered what the meetings were about. “Everyone’s wondering why, if the two leaders are so close, was there a revolt in the party at all? Why did the two break away to join two separate alliances? And more importantly, why are the meetings being held,” the editorial asked.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is a part of the INDIA bloc.
Political parties gearing up for the upcoming assembly elections in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were also discussed in editorials.
On 15 August, Siasat’s editorial said that the Congress was making alleged corruption in the incumbent BJP government its main political issue in Madhya Pradesh, as it did in Karnataka.
The Congress has been accusing Madhya Pradesh’s BJP government of claiming that contractors pay 50 percent commission to get money released for projects. This strategy mirrors the “40 percent commission” allegations that the Karnataka unit of the party had leveled against the former BJP government in the state.
In its editorial, Siasat said that Madhya Pradesh Congress is planning to corner the state’s BJP government under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The strategy had initially put the state government on the back foot but it is now threatening to file a defamation case, the editorial said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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