I have before me the following documents:
- A letter written by K.P. Sasi, associate editor and adviser to Countercurrents.org (CC) dated 28.12.2019 wherein he had made an impassioned appeal to all concerned for contributions to CC. (Quote):
“Why should Binu Mathew while struggling day and night to make the voices for justice heard, struggle even today with appeals for subscriptions?”
K.P. Sasi is no more.
- A tribute to K.P. Sasi dated 27.12.2022 written by Satya Sagar wherein Sasi expressed his last wish – as it were – in conversation with Satya Sagar about a month before his death. (Quote):
“Boss, I have been waiting to discuss with you about what we should do to make sure that Hindutva fascism is defeated in the 2024 elections!”
- An annual fund raising appeal by CC made in December 2022. That this appeal is now carried on a daily basis in CC’s newsletter proves that collectively CC supporters/authors/readers have not risen to the occasion to meet the target amount needed for the current year.
At CC’s ‘birth anniversary’ in March 2023 one learns that every day the worry lingers in the editor’s mind about how the next day’s issue will see the light of the day. So the CC editorial team is facing the uncertainty and insecurity of a casual worker.
A simple step to resist Fascism
One of the simple steps to resist fascism which ordinary citizens could take is to save a progressive journal/newspaper from dying by making donations/contributions. While the radical pieces being contributed by authors abound, there is no corresponding urgency to ensure economic viability of CC in consonance with CC’s principles about funding.
Countercurrents.org I feel is the beacon of hope since it has taken head on communalism – which historian Dilip Simeon reminds us is India’s version of fascism. In 2015 Binu Mathew, CC Editor visited Kandhamal, Orissa in eastern India and extensively reported about the worst communal violence against Christians in 2008 there. In December 2002 Binu Mathew wrote a piece in CC when Narendra Modi was re-elected as Chief Minister of Gujarat even after the horrific carnage of Muslims in Gujarat that has turned out to be prophetic. He had cautioned: “The Fuhrer is here”.
All the same the killings of Sikhs in 1984; that of Muslims in 2002; and of Christians in 2008 could be construed as fascist acts undertaken by different ruling class parties of the day.
Personal is Political
As a member of the minority Sikh community I feel secure as I see CC in the forefront of taking up cudgels on behalf of every minority group. As India descends into a fascist state, CC offers a protective shield.
I would like to do my bit to make CC economically sustainable. This would be a step to ensure K.P. Sasi’s last wish which should be the dream of every concerned citizen. I am making a contribution of Rs. One Hundred Thousand (Rs. 100,000) from my savings in memory of my parents who witnessed and suffered the trauma of communal partition of India in 1947. My grandparents – paternal and maternal – had managed to leave safely their respective hometowns in what now constitutes Pakistan. The partition of India resulted in mass killings, rapes, suicides and unprecedented displacement of people from both sides of the border. The local Muslims of the village ensured that my grandparents suffered no harm till the Indian military arrived and transported them to the railway station from where they – along with unending number of people – boarded a train to Delhi. Overnight they had become refugees and paupers too! My parents had however migrated to Delhi much earlier as my father was employed here. The day Indian independence was declared on 15 August 1947, my youngest sister was born bringing some cheers in our family. She was nicknamed ‘Azadi’ – a Persian word that means freedom or liberty.
Long live CC!
Indian readers can support here https://countercurrents.org/subscription/
All others can do so here https://buy.stripe.com/7sI6pW3nTgDofEQ5kk
[P.S. Sahni is a qualified orthopaedic surgeon. He has worked extensively at India-Bangladesh border during the Bangladesh Liberation War resulting in 1971 Bangladesh Genocide of Hindus; the victims of Sikh Genocide in 1984; and amongst victims of 1992 anti-Muslim violence.
Email: [email protected]
