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Wrestler and activist Vinesh Phogat transitions to politics by joining Congress for the upcoming Haryana elections. Her activism and family dynamics add complexity to her candidacy for the Julana constituency.

The pipeline from sports to politics is a well-trodden path in India, with several celebrated athletes transitioning from stadiums to political offices. Vinesh Phogat, a celebrated wrestler, is the latest to make this leap. In a bold move, Phogat joined the Indian National Congress on 6th September, emerging as one of the party’s prominent faces for the upcoming Haryana elections. Since then, Phogat has submitted her candidacy for the Julana Assembly constituency. While adding a fresh dynamic to the Congress campaign in Haryana, her entry into politics has also sparked debates and controversies, drawing attention to her wrestling accolades and the circumstances surrounding her political journey.

Athletes entering the political arena are not unique to India. Globally, several high-profile sports personalities have successfully made the switch to politics, often leveraging their popularity and influence to garner public support. A prime example is Imran Khan, the legendary Pakistani cricketer who transitioned from being a World Cup-winning captain to serving as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Khan’s political journey, marked by his determination and public charisma, is a testament to how athletes can reshape their image and career beyond the sports field. Similarly, Vinesh’s accession into politics signifies a shift in her career trajectory, aiming to translate her on-field grit into political clout and her fandom into a voter bank.

Closer to home, the comparison to her cousin, Babita Phogat, is inevitable. Babita, also a wrestler of repute, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019 and even contested in the Haryana state elections. Although Babita did not win her seat, her move was seen as a strategic decision by the BJP to leverage her appeal among Haryana’s youth and sports communities. This parallel entry into politics, albeit on opposing sides, has created a controversy within the Phogat family, with the cousins now split between rival parties. The tension between the two has raised eyebrows, particularly in Haryana’s political circles, where the familial discord could impact public perception and voter behaviour. In a recent statement, Babita accused senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda of “creating a rift” within the Phogat family by bringing Vinesh into the party, suggesting that his move was a calculated effort to weaken the BJP’s support in the state by playing on internal family dynamics. The accusation has only deepened the perception of a widening chasm between the Phogat sisters, who were once united in their journey to promote women’s wrestling in rural India.

Adding fuel to the fire is the ongoing scandal surrounding the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and its former president, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Earlier this year, Vinesh Phogat emerged as one of the leading voices in a dramatic protest against Singh, accusing him of sexual harassment and mismanagement within the sport. The explosive allegations sparked a nationwide uproar, igniting demands for Singh’s resignation and significant reforms within the WFI. In a surprising twist, Singh has openly mocked Vinesh’s political ambitions, dismissing her candidacy as nothing more than a “Congress-scripted drama.”He accused her of using her political platform to undermine the BJP’s influence in Haryana, suggesting that her activism was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Congress rather than a sincere commitment to public service. This contentious backdrop raises eyebrows, as the public speculates whether Vinesh’s political ambitions are merely a tactical maneuver by the Congress party to exploit her sportsperson/celebrity status in a bid to challenge the BJP and its allies. The tension has deepened, with Singh’s scathing remarks not only polarizing public opinion but also framing Vinesh’s candidacy as a potential pawn in the BJP vs INC conflict.

Furthermore, Vinesh Phogat’s recent disqualification in the 2024 Paris Olympics finals cannot be ignored. As one of India’s top wrestling talents, she faced a technical disqualification that abruptly ended her Olympic aspirations, igniting widespread sympathy and support among fans and the general public. Vinesh was anticipated to be a strong medal contender, and her disqualification was perceived as a significant blow not only to her personally but also to the reputation of Indian wrestling as a whole. As disheartening as the setback was, it could inadvertently bolster her political campaign. The Congress party may be counting on her ability to convert this wave of sympathy into votes, leveraging the emotional resonance of her story to rally support in the Julana constituency. With her public persona now intertwined with this narrative, Vinesh’s campaign is uniquely positioned to tap into the electorate’s sentiments, which could prove pivotal in the upcoming elections.

In her campaign, Vinesh has embraced the “rustic bahu” image, aiming to connect with the people of Julana. This persona seems to resonate particularly well with local women, who have been welcoming and supportive of her candidacy. However, one can’t help but question the authenticity of this image, with some speculating that it may be a calculated effort to cultivate a voter bank rather than a true reflection of her character. The dichotomy of being both a celebrated athlete and a down-to-earth figure is a delicate balance, and as the election approaches, it remains to be seen how voters will perceive her true self.

With polling in Haryana set to commence on 5th October, all eyes will be on Vinesh Phogat as she embarks on her first election as a candidate. Will her performance in the elections mirror her spectacular performance on the mat? The outcome of this election could redefine not only her political career but also her legacy as an athlete cum social activist in India. As voters consider their options, the question remains: can the ‘rustic bahu’ make a lasting impact in the political arena, or will she remain a star confined to the world of wrestling?

Read Also: Beyond the Fields of the Olympics: A Transcend into the Ball-Park of Humanity

Featured Image Credits: The Times of India

Ashita Kedia

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Gandhi continues to be regarded as one of the greatest visions in texts, facts and figures of history to all but few, Godse and Godse’s Children, here on Martyrs Day we trace back the underlying significance of it.

Is death often quoted for remembering the dead or the murderer is an equal participant in the remembrance? The Modern Indian Politics lends its current stature to many significant instances that shaped parliaments, identities and political heroes and villains of Indian discourse. I strongly believe and advocate that the entire political stigma since 1947 is therefore based on the three Gandhi(s) (Mahatma, Indira and Rajiv) and their assassination(s), which if not wholly has substantially formulated the most of it.

Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination is one of the most important markers of history, documented in numerous forms and writings. Perhaps, no non-literary Indian after Vishnu’s Dashaavtaara has contributed for the inspiration of Indian literature as much as Mahatma Gandhi; his murder escalated writers to preserve his teachings and ideas in whatever available form and the news of this murder spread like a plague, where Nathuram Godse became the point of rage.

On 30th of January 1948, Godse plotted for Gandhi’s life at Birla House with Narayan Apte and 6 others holding the latter guilty for appeasing the minorities especially the Muslims. In his justification of the act, Why I Killed Gandhi, Godse is seen as a devout of Gandhi who respected his thoughts on untouchability and Swaraj, but it was the overshadowing of Savarkar’s influence that clouded his ideology.

By the end of his defence on 5th May 1949 at Punjab High Court, Peterhoff, Simia, Godse wrote, “To my mind, there could be only one reason for Gandhiji and his followers to give their consent to the creation of Pakistan and it is that these people were accustomed to make a show of hesitation and resistance in the beginning and ultimately to surrender to the Muslim demands.”

This whole expression captivates the premise of Godse’s utterance of defence akin to what Brutus did in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, but a closer look at this does remind us of the similar fallacies on Brutus’ part as we might find in Godse; an undetectable but crucial assumption that Gandhi’s claims and testimonies regarding this issue needs to be dismissed as hypocritical, idiosyncratic or nonsensical- describing them as meticulous lies or ideas with no reality.
Asghar Wajahat’s ‘Godse @ Gandhi Dot Com’ reiterates an important question how crucial are Gandhi and Godse to each other and if survived what grandeur or downsize would have poured on their parts if the play’s conversation between Gandhi and Godse did actually give a chance to the political players in reality.

Where millions offer their condolences to the Father of the Nation on 30th of January, many celebrate Godse as a martyr and reject Gandhi as the Father of the India we know, they believe him to be Father of Pakistan, describing his assassination as vadh of a demon. In a meeting in Bombay in 1993, ‘Gandhi was even called a traitor’ by Nathuram’s younger brother, who was an RSS Kaaryakarta, although the RSS sides itself from accepting Godse as a Sangh Karyakarta opposed to Godse(s) claim.
The Gandhian vision seems incomplete without addressing the questions of many like Godse that Gandhi himself provides in his study, Godse’s entire identity and those of his followers are based as an antithesis of the Gandhian philosophy.

Image Credits: Youngisthan
Faizan Salik
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Six former Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) Presidents will be competing against each other on the day of Delhi Assembly Elections 2020 that is 8th February. Among these six former Presidents, three have been fielded by the Congress and the remaining three by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

Delhi University Students Union elections had unanimously paved way for some of the former DUSU Presidents into mainstream politics of our country. For Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, the Congress has given tickets to Rocky Tuseed, Alka Lamba, and Neetu Verma Soin. In addition, Tuseed, 25, is the youngest candidate this time and he claimed to have gained recognition all over the country when he became the DUSU President in the session 2017-2018.

Tuseed has around 500 people working for his campaign currently. During his tenure as DUSU President, he faced many obstacles that were finally resolved when he was reinstated as the union’s President after being disqualified over a pending inquiry against him.

Ashish Sood, Rekha Gupta, and Anil Jha are the three former DUSU Presidents that have been fielded by the BJP for Delhi Assembly Elections 2020. Jha was DUSU President in 1997-1998, contesting from RSS-affiliated ABVP, which acted as a stepping-stone for his mainstream political career. He stated that the Varsity politics helped him in gaining insight and trained him for mainstream politics.

Alka Lamba and Rekha Gupta were DUSU Presidents in 1995-96 and 1996-97 respectively. Lamba, a member of the Congress, will be contesting the elections from Chandni Chowk.  Also, the DUSU President of 2008, Nupur Sharma, will be contesting from New Delhi constituency. Neetu Verma Soin, Congress’ candidate from Malviya Nagar had won DUSU polls and was a student of Miranda House College. In 2002, due to her political achievements within DU, she served as the councillor from Civil Lines as well as DUSU President.

The DUSU elections have given us several infamous political leaders as their journeys began from the University itself. Some of these leaders are Arun Jaitley, Nupur Sharma, Alka Lamba, and Vijay Jolly.

 

Featured Image Credits: Scroll

Suhani Malhotra

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This article talks about the political environment and our stake in it.

The 2019 elections are one of the most anticipated and crucial elections for our country. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power by making use of the failures of Indian National Congress (INC), and by using the ‘Modi wave’ to raise hopes of growth in a developing country like India. But in its term, the BJP has also hit several lows. As students, the important question to ask remains- what is the position of the youth in such a political scenario?

This will be the first-time some students presently in college will get to vote. With the current political environment and the youth comprising a huge part of our population, of which college students form an important part, it becomes essential for us to become aware of the power we hold. We must make efforts to learn what have been the promises made and the promises kept, to be able to critique the wrong-doings, and to learn from our decisions. The tag of ‘millennials’ stands for several values but it also includes the idea of being liberal, taking one’s own decisions, standing for justice and rights, and challenging the prevalent archaic thinking.  But if we do not act upon these values, they simply remain tokenistic.

Indian polity works more on leaders and the image they create; this election Modi becomes our most obvious contender. With this, the focus should not just be on the achievements of this government but also on the big blunders such as Demonetization and the questionable Rafale deal. The latter is seen to be becoming a rallying point for the INC, but scams on both sides, as it tries to suggest, should not be a metric for Congress to win the elections rather than re-analyse the party’s own policies.  While it has recaptured important states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, a pattern of elections we should break is winning on the blunders of the most popular party. Mistakes by others does not guarantee no mistakes of our own.

Furthermore, unfortunately, what also wins elections is the culture of cult figures. It is for us to decide to not get swayed by charismatic and powerful speeches by any party leader, to try to remove these biases, and to look beyond these to see where “achhe din” truly lie.

In these elections, the regional parties play a major role as well, and can prove to be tough competition to these national parties. It therefore becomes pertinent to not lose sight of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP), Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TNC), CPI, CPM, Aam Aadmi Party, PDP, JDU, DMK, Asom Gana Parishad among several others.

These past few months, several important judgements have been passed, with regards to the Section 377, Adultery and Aadhar, which have been in sync with the public sentiment and speak volumes about how the Indian society is ready to move forward. We need to no longer restrict our influence on the sidelines but take the center stage. With this, hopefully, at the end of the next term, the scenario will no longer remain in a turmoil.

Image Credits: DU Beat

Shivani Dadhwal

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