How did the Punjabi media judge the Prime Minister’s Independence Day address?

Addressing the countrymen from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi enumerated the works of his government, talked about Manipur and gave a new address to the countrymen as a family member. Recently, the Supreme Court issued a handbook, taking a big step towards using dignified language for women. The name of this handbook is ‘Combating Gender Stereotypes’. Prime Minister Modi’s 90-minute speech from the Red Fort and the handbook issued by the Supreme Court have featured prominently in Punjabi newspapers this week.

The Punjabi Tribune, published from Chandigarh, writes on the Prime Minister’s address from the ramparts of the Red Fort – The political message contained in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the Red Fort is clearly visible, these messages are about the Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. The Prime Minister used the special word ‘family’ instead of ‘dear brothers and sisters’ or ‘dear countrymen’. This change is not natural. The Prime Minister and the BJP are aware of the fact that they have to deal with opposition parties moving towards unity, protests born of ten years in power, and rising inflation and unemployment. In such a situation, each and every vote is important. The newspaper further writes, the speech given on August 15 is usually meant to point out the collective achievements of the country as well as the challenges facing the country, but the political grammar of the Prime Minister’s speech was clear, in it nepotism, It was announced to wage war against corruption and appeasement politics. Obviously, these allegations were made on some opposition parties. The Prime Minister is right in saying that corruption has completely destroyed the country’s system and its capabilities like a mite, it is very important to remove it, but the results of the inefficient economic development model adopted by the present government are also in front of everyone. Are. Economic inequality in the country is growing rapidly, which has led to a wild increase in the wealth of the top rich and a decrease in the income and purchasing power of the less fortunate. The political rhetoric in the Prime Minister’s speech clearly pointed to the state assembly elections this year and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the paper writes.

Nawaan Zamana, published from Jalandhar, writes – According to the lessons learned from the RSS, the Prime Minister does not forget to mention Muslim rulers. Even while referring to the period of slavery, he did not refer to the 200 years of British rule but to the Muslim rule. Calling upon the countrymen to win in 2024 as well, he said that the steps they will take will decide the direction of India for a thousand years. Earlier the PM used to talk about 25-30 years, but this time he took a long jump and directly said about 1000 years. According to the newspaper, Modi may pat his back as much as he wants, but in fact, the work of boosting India’s economy has been done between 2004 and 2014. The newspaper writes, in his speech from the Red Fort, the PM called for fighting the three evils of corruption, nepotism and appeasement. The kind of fight Modi has fought against corruption during his nine-and-a-half-year rule has become clear from the recent CAG report. Scam in old age pension, scam in Ayushman Bharat scheme and 250 hundred crores spent on construction of one kilometer highway means every page of CAG report is exposing a new scam. The newspaper writes that even though the Modi government is claiming to make the country the third largest economy in the world, the real economic picture of the country is revealed by the per capita income, in which India is not even in the top 10 countries, but Modi has Never discussed it. The Prime Minister in his speech did not mention the promise of doubling the income of every person and farmers of the country by 2022. He didn’t even mention employment to two crore people every year and unemployment. Overall, the Prime Minister’s speech was like an election rally, in which he addressed his supporters.

Chaddikalan, published from Patiala, writes – The message received from the Prime Minister’s address from the Red Fort is that he will continue his activities in the future as well. The newspaper writes, globally inflation is being seen as a serious challenge and India is also grappling with it. Tackling the problem of terrorism in the country is a major achievement. An important aspect in the last few years has been the programs aimed at empowering women. At the same time, counting corruption, nepotism and appeasement as three evils can also be seen as preparation for political challenges.

Aaj Di Awaz, published from Jalandhar, writes – Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a big relief for the common people in the health sector from the ramparts of the Red Fort. According to the Prime Minister, the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras will be increased from 10,000 to 25,000 to provide cheap medicines to the people. The Prime Minister says that Jan Aushadhi Kendras have given new strength to the people, especially the middle class. The newspaper writes further, but it can be said to be the misfortune of the country that the government’s efforts to open Jan Aushadhi Kendras and to provide generic medicines to the patients are being crushed by the responsible officials.

Punjabi Jagran, published from Jalandhar, writes on the release of a handbook by the Supreme Court, taking a big step towards curbing gender discrimination – Undoubtedly, this initiative of the Supreme Court is commendable because in the male-dominated Indian society, there are many such words which are used for the dignity of women. is done against. These words have also been used during the implementation of the legal process, but probably never noticed. That’s why the booklet was issued to convince the judges and lawyers and avoid using stereotypes towards women. After the launch of the handbook, gender stereotypical terms will no longer be used in Supreme Court judgments and arguments. The language used for women in different sections of society and at workplaces is also sometimes not very respectful, writes the newspaper. Not that such words are used intentionally. In our unconscious mind, such words are used casually, but their meaning is serious and irreverent. We keep using such words from generation to generation. They themselves are not aware of the words commonly used for women. In such a situation, the launch of this handbook by the Supreme Court to stop derogatory words used for women may seem like a minor thing at a cursory glance, but if we look at its nuances, it hits the conservative thinking deeply.

Chaddikalan, published from Patiala, writes – There are many levels of gender discrimination in our society, language being one of them. Various provisions have been made from time to time in the Constitution to eliminate the distinction between women and men, but no attempt has been made to refine the language used for them. Thus the latest initiative of the Supreme Court is proper linguistic justice towards women.

-Dr. Ashish Vashisht

(The author is a freelance journalist)