Is Modi becoming a dictator?

PM Modi has some dictatorial trails but he is still way behind congress leaders like Nehru, Indira and Sanjay Gandhi’s dictatorial attitude.

According to documents released by the Australian government, in the 1949 meeting British Prime Minister Clement Attlee pitched for a strong anti-communist bloc within the Commonwealth. Both Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan had concurred with most of what they were told. Nehru dismissed India’s first elected communist government of Kerala. In 1957, Nehru's Congress Party lost power in Kerala in the Elections that year to a Communist led coalition. The formation of such a coalition scared him. He used the sycophant Governor of the State to dismiss the Kerala Government quite illegally.

In a labour union rally Majruh Sultanpuri, a Bollywood lyrists, recited this poem...

Aman kaa jhandaa is dharti pe

kisney kahaa lahraane na paae

ye bhii koii Hitler kaa hai chelaa,

maar le saathii, jaane na paae!

Commonwealth ka daas hai Nehru

maar le saathii jaane na paae!

Translation – (Such unease with our flag of peace! Is it some protégé of Hitler, or a mere slave of the Commonwealth? It’s Nehru, my friends. Take him by the collar lest he gets away)

Nehru sent him to jail for one year for calling him ‘Hitler ka chela’, ’slave of commonwealth’ etc. It is true that Majruh Sultanpuri was a leftist and leftists can call anybody ‘Hitler’ whom they don’t like and these days they are calling Modi as Hitler. But Modi despite so many gaalis and abuses never acted like Nehru. Nehru banned many books, magazines, films during his tenure (1947-64) as PM. One such Bengali film was ‘Neel akasher neeche’ (Hindi translation – Nele aasman ke neeche) directed by Mrinal Sen for showing a pro-left political plot and a Chinese street hawker in the film which was released just after 1962 China war. Nehru himself had a pro-Soviet, pro-China left leaning and his most trusted person VK Krishna Menon was an ultra-leftist. Despite this he attacked many leftist because he had to obey British leadership who were providing economic grants.

Things didn’t change much after Nehru. In 1965, congress government was there at the center and Bengal state. Bengali actor Utpal Dutt (who did many Bollywood Hindi movies also) was jailed for a play called Kallol which highlighted significance Indian Navy mutiny at Bombay and Karachi port for India’s independence and downplayed Gandhi ji and Nehru’s efforts like quit India movement which fizzled out much before independence. It is natural that congress govt did not like the content of the play Kallol. Congress tried to stop the exhibition of this play. It was reported in the first-class newspapers of Bengal that advertisement of Kallol play should not be published in their newspapers. All newspapers stopped advertising Kallol play. But every show of Kallol play was house full at Minerva Theatre despite this. The Congress realized that the situation was getting out of hand. On September 23, 1965, the Bengali playwright Utpal Dutt was arrested under the 'Bharat Raksha Act'. But within a few days, the cultural circles of Bengal as well as the world raised their demands for his release. On March 23, 1966, a grand march was held on the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata) demanding his release, with Satyajit Ray, Madhu Basu, and Manmath Roy in front. The playwright was finally released after being in jail for seven months under public pressure. This is another example how congress supressed freedom of speech.

During emergency days, Congress, Indira and Sanjay Gandhi were unpopular due to forceful ‘nasbandi’ campaign imposed on common people. The Bollywood movie Andhi was released in Feb, 1975 and after Indira Gandhi declared emergency it was banned for the main character having similar mannerism and dressing as Indira. In June when emergency was declared Indira Gandhi banned the film and the director was coerced to make changes. Director added a scene in which the main character looking at Indira Gandhi’s portrait says “she is my ideal.”

The ministry, headed by Indira Gandhi’s aide V C Shukla, wanted Bollywood to help promote on All India Radio and Doordarshan the 20-point program Indira had declared after imposing Emergency and had called top filmmakers to see how their ‘co-operation’ could be obtained. Kishore Kumar, whose popular voice the regime sought to support its actions, wasn’t budging. one of Bollywood’s biggest producers, G P Sippy was asked to bring Kishore Kumar in line but he failed and told them “Kishore Kumar isn’t willing to co-operate. You should speak to him directly.”

An I&B officer, telephoned him, told him what the government wanted and suggested they meet at the singer’s residence. He refused, according to the report of the Shah Commission later set up to probe Emergency excesses, saying he was unwell, had heart trouble, and was advised by his doctor not to meet anyone. He told the officer he didn’t want to sing for radio or TV ‘in any case.’ That was a blunt message by Kishore Kumar to government officials symbolizing that he is not afraid of Indira or Sanjay Gandhi.

Offended, officer told his boss, the singer was ‘curt and blunt’ and called his refusal to meet ‘grossly discourteous.’ The boss with minister Shukla’s sanction, then passed an order banning all Kishore Kumar songs AIR and Doordarshan, listing / release films he was acting in for ‘further action,’ and freezing sales of his gramophone records. Decades later, Kishore Kumar’s son Amit Kumar also narrated the event in a comedy show (Kapil Sharma comedy show). The dictators of Sanjay Gandhi gang justified this action stating that blacklisting of Kishore Kumar had a “tangible effect on film producers” showed it was meant not only to “teach Kishore Kumar a lesson” but to coerce others into submission and they succeeded on that.

It is important to understand how Kishore Kumar worked. He had an assistant who will signal that payment for the song has been received. On one film Kishore himself was film director, producer and singer (probably the movie was ‘Door gagan ki chao mein’). He was daily delaying singing the song. He spent whole day in studio wasting time with colleagues but did not sung the song. In evening while going home, his assistant asked the reason for not signing the song. Kishore said he did not received signal that payment for song has been received. Upon hearing this, his assistant said that the producer of this film is Kishore himself and hence there is no question of payment for singing the song.

This shows how particular Kishore was regarding payment for songs. So, there is no way, he may have agreed to government’s proposal to sing free of cost to promote a congress political agenda.

PM Modi while addressing a general election rally at his hometown Khandwa in 2019 said ‘At the mention of Khandwa, people are reminded of Kishore Kumar. He was among the people who refused to fall in line during the Emergency, when every dissident against the government was thrown into jail. But Kishore Kumar refused to buckle under pressure, which resulted in his songs being banned from the All India Radio (AIR). If you ask the Congress about that episode now, the answer you will get is 'hua toh hua',’ said Modi, in a snide reference to Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remark on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

When writing poem against Jawaharlal Nehru lend Majrooh Sultanpuri in jail

Noted poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri has won the hearts of the people with his poems and songs.  Besides writing many popular son..|News Track

https://english.newstracklive.com/news/when-writing-poem-against-jawaharlal-nehru-lend---majrooh-sultanpuri-in-jail-sc17-nu-1011326-1.html

List of books banned in India - Wikipedia

Date Work Author Notes 1924 Rangila Rasul Pandit M. A. Chamupati or Krishan Prashaad Prataab [1] In May 1924, this Urdu booklet was published in Lahore . The booklet purportedly described Prophet Muhammad 's relationship with women. The publisher, Raj Pal, [2] was charged under 153A of the Indian Penal Code for hate speech by the Punjab government. The final disposition came in May 1927. [2] The court declared that law does not prohibit satirical writings about the deceased and the publisher was acquitted with a warning. [1] [3] On 6 April 1929, the publisher was murdered. [3] [4] The murderer, a Muslim youth named Ilm-ud-din , was sentenced to death and the sentenced was carried out on 31 October 1929. [5] Ilm-ud-din's defence lawyer was Muhammad Ali Jinnah . 1934 Hindu Heaven Max Wylie It cannot be brought into India. [6] Max Wylie, the creator The Flying Nun TV show, researched this book while teaching in Lahore . [7] The novel questioned the work of American missionaries in India. [8] [9] It also dealt with the harsh effects of the climate on the missionaries. [10] 1933 Angarey Various This collection of stories by Sajjad Zaheer , Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan and Mahmud-uz-Zafar was published in 1932. It drew protests from Muslim religious leaders. [11] In 1933, it was banned by the British colonial government. [9] 1936 The Face of Mother India Katherine Mayo It cannot be imported into India. [6] This illustrated book was famously called "the report of a drain inspector" by Mahatma Gandhi . [12] 1936 Old Soldier Sahib Frank Richards The book cannot be imported into India. [6] The book is a memoir of the author's time in British India as a veteran soldier. [9] 1937 The Land of the Lingam Arthur Miles It cannot be imported into India. [6] The book is about Hinduism , caste and phallicism . [13] 1940 Mysterious India Moki Singh The book cannot be imported into India. [6] The book purportedly contained stereotypes. [14] 1945 The Scented Garden: Anthropology of the Sex Life in the Levant Bernhard Stern This book cannot be imported into India. [15] This is a book about sexual practices and marriage rites of the people of Middle East ( Levant ). [16] The book was allegedly sexually explicit. [14] 1950 Pakistan-Pasmanzarwa Peshmanzar Hameed Anwar This book, originally in Urdu , cannot be imported into India. [15] 1950 Cease-Fire Agha Babar This book, originally in Urdu, cannot be imported into India. [15] 1950 Khaak aur Khoon Nusseim Hajazi This book, originally in Urdu, cannot be imported into India. [15] 1952 Chadramohini This book, originally in Urdu, cannot be imported into India. [15] 1952 Marka-e-Somnath Maulana Muhammad Sadiq Hussain Sahab Sadiq Siddiqui Sardanvi This book, originally in Urdu, is a Pakistani treatise on Somnath and it cannot be imported into India. [15] 1954 Bhupat Singh Kaluwank Ravatwank This book, originally in Gujarati , cannot be imported into India. [15] 1954 What has Religion done for Mankind This book cannot be imported int

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_in_India

A small video on Nehru nepotism