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What is the Enemy Property Act 1968?
Although the name “Enemy Property Act” sounds a bit ominous, it means all the properties left behind by people who migrated to Pakistan and China forfeit their rights to the properties and these properties should not belong to the government of India.
As this Swarajya link explains, the Enemy Property Act, 1968, was enacted by the government of India after the Chinese invasion in 1962 and the war with Pakistan in 1965.
Lots of Pakistani, Chinese and Bangladeshi citizens who moved to these countries from India left behind their properties (of course, they couldn’t take them).
Right now there are over 16,000 such enemy properties left behind and they are worth 1.1 lakh crores according to some estimates.
When they left for these countries, all the movable and immovable assets came under the guardianship of the “custodian” that is, the State.
Properties left behind by Indians in Pakistan were taken over by the Pakistani government without any brouhaha, unlike in India where communal politics, primarily championed by the Congress party, doesn’t allow this bill to be enforced. The properties are still disputed and the government of India hasn’t still been able to take over.
In Pakistan, people who had to leave their properties, could neither sell the properties nor exchange them. Further, Pakistan promulgated the Evacuee Property Ordinance (1949), even the property belonging to an individual who stayed back in Pakistan but his distant relatives migrated to India, got marked as “evacuee property”.
Pakistan, China and Bangladesh all have been able to settle their enemy property disputes within their borders and have been able to use those properties for whatever.
India on the other hand, still has been struggling.
The above Swarajya link mentions the case of the kin of Pakistan’s 1st Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan who has claimed his right over half of the Muzaffarnagar city. Another person claims nearly one-third of Agra and the “disputed” land also covers the Taj Mahal.
Why can’t the Indian government pass the Enemy Property Bill?
Of course, the Congress thinks the Muslims will get offended.
Some things never change.
They only understand one language
This message I received in WhatsApp and it is obviously addressed to the “liberals” and the journalists who have an ear for only “communal-sounding” statements from Narendra Modi. First, here is the English translation of the message that I got (it’s in Hindi):
When he said “Digital India” you didn’t understand
When he said “Make in India” you didn’t understand
When he said “Start-up India” you didn’t understand
When he talked about the “Jhan-dhan yojna” you totally didn’t understand
When he talked about “demonetization” you didn’t get it
And then just once he talks about “shamshaan aur kabristan” you immediately understand
So, from now onwards, he is going to talk only what you understand
It’s a gripping reflection of our reality. Our news media, our intellectuals, the so-called liberals, they are so deeply entrenched in the politics and sociology of communalism that they can see nothing beyond that.
If you hear this portion of the speech by Narendra Modi, it’s up to you to understand how you perceive it. If you feel giddy about the fact that Modi has mentioned “Muslim and Hindu” and hence, he is giving a communal speech, well, then, nothing can be done, and you can perceive this statement as communal. In fact, I’m pretty sure people like you have been waiting like vultures for him to utter “Muslim and Hindu” in the same sentence so that you can cry “communal”.
I think in the name of minority appeasement, lots of shit has been going on in the country and it’s high time someone called a spade a spade. In fact, Modi had been losing his grip over the stark reality of the country and had been trying to turn into another “chacha”. Read Chacha Returns – 2 by Mediacrooks. Many states have special privileged schemes and financial aids for Muslims but not for Hindus. Hindu festivals are cancelled lest they offend delicate Muslim sensibilities. For vote bank politics, even the exodus of Hindus is being constantly swept under the carpet.
Once Manmohan Singh said that Muslims must have first claim to our national resources, and that was a secular statement. But when Modi says that people from all religions must be treated equally, he is playing with communal politics. If you want to experience perverted secularism, spend some time listening to our leftist… anyway, what to call them? I don’t want to use words like liberals, intellectuals, journalists, for them.
With this speech, whether given for political gain or whatever, he has brought a simmering issue to the front.
Besides, what’s wrong in demanding equal treatment for all religions?
Why isn’t Narendra Modi taking any action against the corrupt?
During his campaign speeches in 2013 and 2014, multiple times he said that he would put corrupt politicians, especially from the ruling UPA, behind bars after coming to power. Forget about politicians, not even a bureaucrat has been arrested and put behind bars even after 3 years of the Narendra Modi government, although in every speech, he berates the level of corruption in different states that are not ruled by the BJP.
The situation is so bad that the Congress party has the temerity to stage a walkout and boycott his presence when he says that one can learn the art of bathing with a raincoat from Manmohan Singh. It’s not a secret what monumental corruption went on during the UPA rule led by the Congress. In fact, Congress and corruption have become synonymous expressions in the country. So, why hasn’t even a single politician of this most corrupt dispensation, been punished?
This Scroll.in article gives examples from Pakistan and Bangladesh on how even the mightiest politicians and their kith and kin often have to face jail time but in India, politicians are never punished because politicians in power don’t want to cross the line just in case…
The last straw to break the camel’s back was of course when Modi began to cozy up with the pinnacle of corruption, Sharad Pawar. Even Modi’s supporters have been quite upset over this sudden closeness. Although the article above tries to draw parallels between different politicians and political parties, I don’t think Modi is “looking away” so that they don’t come down upon him heavily when he is out of power and they are in power (perils of democracy).
No matter how hard they tried they couldn’t tarnish him with the Gujarat riots, although an entire national and international machinery was involved in the exercise that lasted for more than a decade. Similarly, as far as corruption goes, they won’t be able to charge him for corruption. Of course, he may try to pull a Manmohan Singh by letting his party run amok while remaining clean personally, but then, Narendra Modi is not Manmohan Singh that’s for sure.
The main problem is, and many people have said this, politically and influence-wise, Modi isn’t as strong as he seems. He often talks big but in the background, he has inherited a totally tattered system. Our bureaucracy is totally corrupt. None of the institutions work properly. Politicians even from his own party are constantly working against him. People who are loyal to him can be counted on fingers. Everybody is trying to pull the rug from under him. He is constantly vulnerable.
Since all the corrupt, no matter to which political party they belong, protect each other like a herd, and since almost everybody’s connected with each other, he cannot take down people from the Congress without taking down people from the BJP and that would be a political suicide.
To do good, Modi needs to remain in power for at least a decade. He cannot go on a suicide mission. On the other hand, he is overhauling the system that sustains corruption. Punishing the guilty would of course mean justice and it would also give some adrenaline rush to many, but he doesn’t take these things personally. By the time he goes and god forbids, somehow the Congress comes back, he will leave such a system the Congress won’t be able to exploit much.
Then it will be like in other, 1st and 2nd world countries. In those countries, no matter how corrupt politicians are, some level of development is constantly taking place. There is some semblance of civilization. For example, in America, despite corrupt and demotivated bureaucracy, their entire administrative machinery constantly works and there are automatic checks and balances. He will create something similar in India too.
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