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A Proposal to use laws to effectively neutralize Hindutva's lawlessness
The Need to Neutralize Hindutva
Hindutva is lawlessness. It is not just corrupt. It is criminal. It is an extremist philosophy that doesn't respect rule of law.
Without rule of law, no country can achieve prosperity. Hence, India must deal with Hindutva by establishing and strengthening rule of law.
While "rule of law" is a broad concept and requires hundreds, thousands, or millions of rules, laws, acts, regulations at various levels of democracy, there is a rather urgency to stop Hindutva. Accordingly there are a few key laws that if passed and enforced by states and/or center could stop Hindutva in its tracks.
Why NOW
Any extremist philosophy thrives on hatred and lawlessness. Extremism is hurtful for progress. Hindutva unchecked, will turn India into a chrony capitalism at best or a totalitarian state at worst. India has already lost 10 valuable years and possibly $2 trillion in lost GDP growth that could have been possibly if India kept growing at the same rate as under UPA government between 2004-2014.
India can't afford to wait another 5 years and lose a few more trillion dollars in GDP. Or worse, it can't possibly withstand and eventually disintegrate if extremist philosophies like Hindutva are not neutralized.
We must act now, with whatever power we have, at whatever level.
HOW
By creating following four laws in states run by non-BJP governments, it is possible to significantly arrest Hindutva in its tracks.
Those four laws should target four main vehicles that Hindutva has been using.
1) Youth and young adults of India who are directly indoctrinated.
2) General population that is indirectly indoctrinated through social media and television.
3) Businesses that are forced to donate to Hindutva under the name of CSR.
4) Bureaucracy that is compliant / complicit with Hindutva
PROPOSED LAWS
1) Protection of Youth and Young Adults
Objectives
Youth and young adults are India's national wealth. Every state and center must pass laws that ensure that this wealth is protected and nurtured the right way to build them into responsible citizens. The laws must require following.
Provisions
A) Require all youths under the age 21 to get an annual consent from parents to attend any non- commercial educational, cultural, or political activity. The concerned organization must provide a list of what skills the child will build by attending such organization. It should maintain a log of all under 21 children in a government registry. All commercial classes should be exempt from such requirements.
B) Make it mandatory for schools and colleges to teach how government functions at local, state, and center level and test children on it. It should also require each child to write an essay on how to improve local government as part of graduation requirements at 10th , 12th and degree level.
C) Build child protection services as a government department to take care of children subject to harmful environments and prosecute and legally punish parents and organizations involved.
2) Truthfulness and Transparency in Media
Objectives
Citizens must be protected against biased media reporting. They should have a right to know when an information piece they are consuming is an advertisement vs real news.
Provisions
A) Require all media companies and social media website / companies to highlight a paid/promoted content clearly as a paid/promoted content.
B) No media company should advertise without knowing verified identity of the advertiser. All media companies and social media website / companies must publicly publish an annual report containing names of their biggest advertisers and the dollar amount and purpose of advertisements.
C) Ban all hate speech from media. Define hate speech.
D) Build / strengthen state level agency to deal with hate speech. The agency should have power to ban media companies that are found guilty of hate speech.
3) Protecting businesses against extortion and/or supporting unlawful activities
Objectives
Businesses must be protected from any kind of extortion. They must not knowingly or unknowingly support unlawful or unethical activities.
Provisions
A) Requires all CSR donations to be published publicly once a quarter.
B) Requires all banks to show in the customer statements who paid / donated / sent the money.
C) Each business must have an ombudsman who ensures that the money being donated is lawful and ethical.
B) State should establish an agency to provide oversight to CSR donations and protecting businesses against extortion.
4) Ensuring independent, clean, and effective bureacracy
Objectives
Bureaucracy must act in a politically neutral way. Businesses must be protected from any kind of extortion. They must not knowingly or unknowingly support unlawful or unethical activities.
Provisions
A) All government servants must swear to be free of influence from a political party, business money, or ANY foreign influence or connection that could jeopardize their duties.
B) All government servants' salaries and family net worth must be public information.
C) Government must maintain a system that provides such information for public view.
D) No government servant class one or above should send their kids abroad for education or have any business connections with foreign entities.
E) States must abolish exams based officer level entries. All employees must start at the junior most levels and progress to higher level (just like senior executive service in the USA).
F) States should assert the right to have state officials lead all civic bodies, institutes, and state police. If an IAS wants to join a state service - s/he must relinquish the federal service commission.
Hindutva is lawlessness. It is not just corrupt. It is criminal. It is an extremist philosophy that doesn't respect rule of law.
Without rule of law, no country can achieve prosperity. Hence, India must deal with Hindutva by establishing and strengthening rule of law.
While "rule of law" is a broad concept and requires hundreds, thousands, or millions of rules, laws, acts, regulations at various levels of democracy, there is a rather urgency to stop Hindutva. Accordingly there are a few key laws that if passed and enforced by states and/or center could stop Hindutva in its tracks.
Why NOW
Any extremist philosophy thrives on hatred and lawlessness. Extremism is hurtful for progress. Hindutva unchecked, will turn India into a chrony capitalism at best or a totalitarian state at worst. India has already lost 10 valuable years and possibly $2 trillion in lost GDP growth that could have been possibly if India kept growing at the same rate as under UPA government between 2004-2014.
India can't afford to wait another 5 years and lose a few more trillion dollars in GDP. Or worse, it can't possibly withstand and eventually disintegrate if extremist philosophies like Hindutva are not neutralized.
We must act now, with whatever power we have, at whatever level.
HOW
By creating following four laws in states run by non-BJP governments, it is possible to significantly arrest Hindutva in its tracks.
Those four laws should target four main vehicles that Hindutva has been using.
1) Youth and young adults of India who are directly indoctrinated.
2) General population that is indirectly indoctrinated through social media and television.
3) Businesses that are forced to donate to Hindutva under the name of CSR.
4) Bureaucracy that is compliant / complicit with Hindutva
PROPOSED LAWS
1) Protection of Youth and Young Adults
Objectives
Youth and young adults are India's national wealth. Every state and center must pass laws that ensure that this wealth is protected and nurtured the right way to build them into responsible citizens. The laws must require following.
Provisions
A) Require all youths under the age 21 to get an annual consent from parents to attend any non- commercial educational, cultural, or political activity. The concerned organization must provide a list of what skills the child will build by attending such organization. It should maintain a log of all under 21 children in a government registry. All commercial classes should be exempt from such requirements.
B) Make it mandatory for schools and colleges to teach how government functions at local, state, and center level and test children on it. It should also require each child to write an essay on how to improve local government as part of graduation requirements at 10th , 12th and degree level.
C) Build child protection services as a government department to take care of children subject to harmful environments and prosecute and legally punish parents and organizations involved.
2) Truthfulness and Transparency in Media
Objectives
Citizens must be protected against biased media reporting. They should have a right to know when an information piece they are consuming is an advertisement vs real news.
Provisions
A) Require all media companies and social media website / companies to highlight a paid/promoted content clearly as a paid/promoted content.
B) No media company should advertise without knowing verified identity of the advertiser. All media companies and social media website / companies must publicly publish an annual report containing names of their biggest advertisers and the dollar amount and purpose of advertisements.
C) Ban all hate speech from media. Define hate speech.
D) Build / strengthen state level agency to deal with hate speech. The agency should have power to ban media companies that are found guilty of hate speech.
3) Protecting businesses against extortion and/or supporting unlawful activities
Objectives
Businesses must be protected from any kind of extortion. They must not knowingly or unknowingly support unlawful or unethical activities.
Provisions
A) Requires all CSR donations to be published publicly once a quarter.
B) Requires all banks to show in the customer statements who paid / donated / sent the money.
C) Each business must have an ombudsman who ensures that the money being donated is lawful and ethical.
B) State should establish an agency to provide oversight to CSR donations and protecting businesses against extortion.
4) Ensuring independent, clean, and effective bureacracy
Objectives
Bureaucracy must act in a politically neutral way. Businesses must be protected from any kind of extortion. They must not knowingly or unknowingly support unlawful or unethical activities.
Provisions
A) All government servants must swear to be free of influence from a political party, business money, or ANY foreign influence or connection that could jeopardize their duties.
B) All government servants' salaries and family net worth must be public information.
C) Government must maintain a system that provides such information for public view.
D) No government servant class one or above should send their kids abroad for education or have any business connections with foreign entities.
E) States must abolish exams based officer level entries. All employees must start at the junior most levels and progress to higher level (just like senior executive service in the USA).
F) States should assert the right to have state officials lead all civic bodies, institutes, and state police. If an IAS wants to join a state service - s/he must relinquish the federal service commission.