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You are here: Home / Archives for Hindus

BJP’s strategy is to make Hindus, Muslims fight each other: Rahul Gandhi

October 10, 2015 by Nasheman

Rahul Gandhi

Mandya: Launching a direct attack on Prime Minister and BJP in the wake of Dadri beef lynching, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that they have a “strategy” to polarise the country by pitting Hindus and Muslims against each other as he remarked that Narendra Modi has a “history”.

“The BJP and the Prime Minister have a strategy of polarising this country. They have a strategy of making Hindus and Muslims fight against each other.

“You can see that in every election, polarisation taking place, riots taking place. There were BJP people involved in the Dadri incident,” the Congress vice president alleged while talking to reporters here.

Dismissing the Prime Minister’s pitch yesterday for communal harmony, he said that while it was very nice of Modi to make such comments, “the Prime Minister has a history and the PM has a party that is behaving in a completely different way, which he doesn’t seem to want to stop”.

Modi had yesterday pitched for communal harmony, saying Hindus and Muslims should not fight each other but together fight poverty.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit of party-ruled state during which he will meet farmers affected by drought and other agricultural problems, also accused the Centre of neglecting farmers’ interests.

“The central government does not think that agriculture or the farmer is important. Whether it is the issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP) or crops being destroyed by bad weather, the government does not seem to have a strategy. It does not give priority to farmers,” he said.

Ruing that farmers are committing suicide in large numbers, he insisted the central government needs to do something about it.

“The Prime Minister has to take a look at it and help the farmers of the country,” he said.

Contrasting the functioning of the previous UPA government with that of the present dispensation, Gandhi said the Congress-led government had given a loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore to the farmers.

He will also undertake a ‘padyatra’ tomorrow and hold interactions with farmers, students and women workers in Haveri district.

(Agencies)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Beef, BJP, Congress, Hindus, Muslims, Rahul Gandhi

Hindu Mahasabha leader calls for forced sterilisation of Muslims, Christians to restrict growing population

April 13, 2015 by Nasheman

Hindu_Mahasabha

Jind: A leader of Hindu Mahasabha on Saturday stoked a controversy saying Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population which was posing a threat to Hindus.

“The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can’t increase their numbers,” vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha, Sadhvi Deva Thakur said.

She also exhorted Hindus to have more children and increase their population so as to have an effect on the world. In another controversial remark, she said idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Christians, Hindu Mahasabha, Hindus, Muslims, Sadhvi Deva Thakur, Sterilisation

VHP, RSS force Muslim to sell off his bungalow in Hindu neighbourhood

April 8, 2015 by Nasheman

Praveen Togadia

Bhavnagar: The atrocities of the VHP and RSS groups have grabbed the headlines again after the Hindu right-wing activists forced a Muslim scrap dealer to sell off his bungalow in a Hindu neighbourhood.

As per a report published in a national daily, a Muslim scrap dealer Ali Asgar Zaveri had bought a bungalow worth Rs 49 lakhs in Bhavnagar, a Hindu locality.

However, Zaveri was not welcomed by the Hindus living in that area and they protested against him.

Gatherings were held outside Zaveri’s bungalow and VHP leader PraveenTogadia was invited to address the gathering.

A senior RSS leader, who had participated in this protest, told The Indian Express that the Muslim scrap dealer tried everything possible to sort out things, but all in vain. They pressurized him to sell of his bungalow to Bhumiti Associates, a real-state firm owned by Jains.

Confirming the same, president of VHP’s Bhavnagar city unit, S D Jani, as quoted in The Indian Express, said, “Due to our agitation, the vidharmi (one from another faith, Zaveri) realized he would not be able to settle in and eventually gave in.”

(Agencies)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Ali Asgar Zaveri, Hindus, Muslims, Praveen Togadia, RSS, VHP

India to have largest Muslim population by 2050; Hindus to be third largest in world: Report

April 3, 2015 by Nasheman

indians-muslims

Washington: Hindus will become the world’s third largest population by 2050, while India will overtake Indonesia as the country with the largest Muslim population, according to a new study.

According to the Pew Research Center’s religious profile predictions assessed data released today, the Hindu population is projected to rise by 34 per cent worldwide, from a little over 1 billion to nearly 1.4 billion by 2050.

By 2050, Hindus will be third, making up 14.9 per cent of the world’s total population, followed by people who do not affiliate with any religion, accounting for 13.2 per cent, the report said.

The people with no religious affiliation currently have the third largest share of the world’s total population.

Muslims are projected to grow faster than the world’s overall population and that Hindus and Christians are projected to roughly keep pace with worldwide population growth, the report said.

“India will retain a Hindu majority but also will have the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia,” it said.

“Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion,” according to the report.

The report predicted that by 2050 there will be near parity between Muslims (2.8 billion, or 30 per cent of the population) and Christians (2.9 billion, or 31 per cent), possibly for the first time in history.

There were 1.6 billion Muslims in 2010, compared to 2.17 billion Christians.

“The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world,” it added.

If the trend continues, Islam will be the most popular faith in the world after 2070, it said.

By 2050, Muslims will make up about 10 per cent of the Europe’s population, up from 5.9 per cent in 2010.

Over the same period, the number of Hindus in Europe is expected to roughly double, from a little under 1.4 million (0.2 per cent of Europe’s population) to nearly 2.7 million (0.4 per cent), mainly as a result of immigration, it said.

In North America, the Hindu share of the population is expected to nearly double in the decades ahead, from 0.7 per cent in 2010 to 1.3 per cent in 2050, when migration is included in the projection models. Without migration, the Hindu share of the region’s population would remain the same.

Buddhism is the only faith that is not expected to increase its followers, due to an ageing population and stable fertility rates in Buddhist countries, such as China, Japan and Thailand.

The projections considered fertility rates, trends in youth population growth and religious conversion statistics.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India, Indian Muslims Tagged With: Christians, Hindus, Indian Muslims, Muslims, Pew Research Center

Karnataka government may withdraw bill on mutts

December 25, 2014 by Nasheman

Cautious over the bill raising controversies, CM Siddaramaiah told reporters "Now we are planning not to pursue with bill. We will take it back.." Photo: The New Indian Express

Cautious over the bill raising controversies, CM Siddaramaiah told reporters “Now we are planning not to pursue with bill. We will take it back..” Photo: The New Indian Express

Koppal: Facing resistance from Hindu seers and reservations within cabinet, Congress government in Karnataka Wednesday said it would withdraw a bill which religious mutts fear is an attempt to take over their institutions.

Developing cold feet as the bill raised a storm of controversy, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters here “Now we are planning not to pursue with bill. We will take it back.”

The Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill of 2014 was introduced in the Assembly during the session at Belagavi last week, amid stiff opposition from BJP which termed it as an attempt to interfere in the affairs of Hindu religious institutions.

The bill has raised the hackles of seers across the state who say it is needless interference and question why only Hindu religious institutions are being “targetted”.

Siddaramaiah said the JDS-BJP coalition government in 2007 had given an undertaking to Supreme Court stating they would bring an amendment to the law, following which the bill was introduced. The bill was also recommended by a high powered committee headed by Rama Jois, a former Supreme Court judge who was also a BJP Rajya Sabha member.

“BJP is playing politics on this issue now, while they are the ones who had given such undertaking,” he said.

“Now we are planning not to pursue with the bill….We will take it (bill) back; ….We will inform the court about it, the undertaking was given by the previous government….”

At the cabinet meeting yesterday, several ministers as also the Chief Minister himself, had reportedly expressed reservations about the bill.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Hinduism, Hindus, Karnataka, Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Amendment Bill, Siddaramaiah

We will raise Hindu population in India to 100%, says Praveen Togadia

December 22, 2014 by Nasheman

Praveen Togadia

Bhopal: A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat described India as a “Hindu rashtra”, senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia on Sunday said efforts will be made to “increase” the percentage of Hindus in the country, but skirted the issue of religious conversion.

He also said Bhagwat’s assertion of “Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation)” at the Kolkata convention is like a “gospel” for VHP.

“We are going to take percentage of Hindus to 100 in country. Currently there are 82 per cent Hindus in India, and we don’t want this number to be halved. We won’t tolerate Hindus becoming a minority in the country,” Togadia, who is also international working president of VHP, said while addressing a function here.

Togadia however skirted the issue of religious conversions during his address.

Alleging that innocent Hindus are “being converted” to other faiths by “allurement”, including cash, Togadia said VHP will provide security to Hindus in the country besides whatever help they may need in foreign countries.

Reiterating VHP’s opposition to “Love jihad”, Togadia said that his outfit wants to “eradicate the social evil of caste from Hindu society”.

In his address to a Hindu convention in Kolkata yesterday, Bhagwat had defended the current controversial campaign of the Sangh Parivar and dared the opposition to support a law banning religious conversions. He had also described the country as a “Hindu rashtra.” To a query on the issue of religious conversion, Togadia refused to comment, saying, “a raging debate is already going on in Parliament on this issue.”

“VHP is awakening 100 crore Hindus of the country so that each one of them will get food, education, medicine and employment,” Togadia said replying to a query whether the focus on religious conversions by various Sangh Pariwar outfits is at variance with the talk of development by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India, Indian Muslims Tagged With: Hindu Rashtra, Hindus, Hindutva, Mohan Bhagwat, Praveen Togadia, RSS, VHP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad

Report on incidence of communal violence in Patan-Somnath town in Gujarat

December 13, 2014 by Nasheman

Representational Image

Representational Image

Alliance for Peace and Justice and All India Secular Forum decided to investigate the incidence of communal violence that occurred on 25th November 2014 in Patan-Somnath town in Gujarat between Hindus and Muslims and was reported in the press.

A team of Adv. Irfan Engineer, All India Secular Forum and Rafi Malek, Alliance for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Jagdish Bamaniya (APJ) was constituted. The team visited Somnath-Patan on 7thand 8th December 2014. They met Assistant Sub-Inspector of Shiv Police Chowki, Shri Babariya, Yusuf Hussain Kachara, President, Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Dadabhai, Secretary of Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Mohammed Haji Yakub, Treasurer of Patan Ghanchi Samaj, Suleman Kapadia, victim whose shop was attacked, Sarman Solanki, Presidant, Veraval Taluka President of BJP and Nusrat Panja. The team also tried to meet Hindu Victims and their representatives but they were not prepared to talk to the team officially. We also tried to meet Kanabhai, leader of the Koli community but he refused to meet us and even scolded the member of the team contacting him stating that he was under pressure and could not talk to the team.

Background:

Patan is a small town in Southern Saurashtra. Patan and Veraval are under a joint municipal body called Patan-Veraval Sanyukta Nagar Palika. Somnath temple in Patan is well known for two reasons – 1) it is one of the Jyotirling of Lord Shiva and therefore auspicious for Hindus, and 2) in 1992 L. K. Advani, the then president of BJP commenced his campaign against Babri Masjid on a rath yatra from this temple town which ultimately led to the demolition of the Masjid in Ayodhya. The Hindu nationalists use Somnath temple as a symbol of “aggression of Muslims” over Hindus as Mohammad Gazni, a Muslim warlord attacked the temple several times for looting its wealth. The Hindu nationalists represent the aggression as Muslim rulers desire to attack Hindu faith and idol worship.

Total population of Patan is around 60,000 with Muslim communities constituting roughly about 25-30% of the population. The two major communities that inhabit Patan are the Ghanchi (Muslims) – about 1,000 to 1,200 houses and Koli (Hindu) – about 1,500 to 2,000 houses. Besides the Ghanchis, there are other communities as well. The other Muslim communities are Patnis, Syeds, Pathans, Sheikhs, Memons etc. There are about 14 Muslim Jamats (communities). The Ghanchi and Koli communities are backward educationally and socially. Literacy rates are lower than the national average and dropout rates high. Roughly on 5% of them complete schooling. There aren’t three professionals – lawyers, doctors or engineers in both the communities. The other dominant communities in the Gir-Somnath and Junagadh are Kharwas, Karadia, Ahir and Patel.

Large number of people inhabiting Patan town are daily wage earners employed in Patan GIDC, in the fishing industry, port, ice factories etc. Every morning, labourers largely belonging to the Ghanchi and Koli communities travel in shared auto rickshaws hailed from Shiv Police Chowki junction to work. Ghanchis and Kolis live in wadis (residential neighbourhoods). The wadis belonging to both the communities are peculiarly interspersed and to reach any destination, they have to pass through each other’s wadis. The wadis are linked through common roads that are poorly illuminated and extremely narrow. We were told that one of the reasons why there were no communal riots in Patan is that any access to the town is passage through each other’s wadis.

The only communal incidence that occurred was in 1983 which began in Veraval between the Sindhis and Muslims and Patan was also affected. Hussain Kasam Kachra, the then Vice-President of Municipal Council had sustained 7 fractures. Other than the 1983 incident, there is no history of communal violence in Patan. People of Patan live peacefully in wadi area and share common culture and identity, exchange of food and participate in each other’s functions and festivals. The Hindu Muslim fabric was strong in this town but in last couple of years the bonds seem to have weakened.

The Ghanchi community leaders told us that the community did not take political stance either way. Both parties – Congress as well as BJP had opened their electoral offices with the help of members of the community to campaign within the community. They gave liberty to their members to vote for any candidate of their choice. However, informally the leaders preferred to ally with the BJP, particularly as the BJP candidate was Jasabhai Barad who was formerly from the Congress. The Ghanchis, in order to get even their routine and easiest work done, have to align with the ruling party without which they have to suffer. Kolis and Ghanchis – both are politically with BJP.

Port, fishing and allied industries, particularly ice factories and ship building are the major industries in Veraval and Patan. There are two gangs of anti-social elements operating in these areas – the Magra Gang and Farookh Maulana gang. They often compete with each other.

The Koli community leaders in Gujarat have been asserting and organizing themselves with the objective of increasing their political representation. The dominant community in Gir-Somnath and Junagadh Districts are Kolis. Until recently they were with the Congress. Their strong organization and political assertion led to bagging large number of tickets from the BJP. In the last state assembly election unprecedented number of Koli MLAs had been elected. The Kolis are demanding 95 tickets for their community members and should that happen, they would decide the Chief Minister of Gujarat, however, that does not seem probable. BJP for the first time gave MP ticket to a member of Koli community – Rajesh Chudasama – elected in the 16th general election from Junagadh constituency in which Patan town falls. The renewed assertion Kolis is impacting on their social interactions. Every two or three months, there have been disputes between members of Koli and Ghanchi community over petty issues of payment to a rickshaw drivers etc. with potential of widening the conflict. However, the leaders of both the communities immediately intervened in the past and settled the dispute amicably. Mostly the Ghanchis would be made to pay some minor compensation.

Incident:

The team did not find material difference in the narration of the incidence of communal violence that had occurred on 25th November 2014 by various people they talked to. The ASI Babariya was present during the communal incidence on 25th November as the violence broke out near Shiv Police Chowki at about 8.30 am. The Police personnel of the Chowki had just resumed their respective duties when the violence occurred and they were completely unprepared. According to the ASIthere was a dispute about a Rs. 10 currency note belonging to a “Mohammedan” which was claimed by a Koli.

According to Yusuf Kachara, Muslim passengers were sitting in an auto rickshaw being driven by a Muslim. A Rs. 10 currency note belonging to Muslim passenger fell down, but was claimed by a Koli. According to Suleman Kapadia, who owns several shops, including a cold drink shop, youth had written his cell number to pass it on to his girl friend for her to call him. Girls are not allowed to keep cell phones with them so they exchange cell numbers in this way and use someone else’s phone to call. When the currency note was claimed by a member of Koli community, there was heated argument.In the scuffle, the Muslim passenger was hit bya tiffin box.This injured the Muslim youth and his head and started bleeding. SulemanKapadia further informed the team that the wound was deep and there were three stitches. The Ghanchi neighbourhood and the Koli neighborhood is separated by Veraval-Una Highway and the Shiv Police Chowki too issituated on the Highway. According to the ASI and all others the team talked to, elders of both the community intervened and separated those fighting.

However, after about half an hour, the Kolis from Shanti Nagar reassembled and started pelting stones on Muslim neighbourhood across the highway. We observed the shop facing the road located on the Muslim side had been damaged. ASI further informed the team that the bikes on the road were also burnt.In the attack by Koli youth, one fruit stall, and two refrigerators of cold drink shop owned by SulemanKapadia were damaged. They looted the chocolates, biscuits and other eatablesin the shop. SulemanKapadia claims that he suffered a loss of about Rs. 4-5 lakhs and has no insurance. One motorbike(pulled out from house by breaking doors) and two fruit stalls and a fruit shop were damaged in the attack led by the Koli youth.

Muslim youth too gathered and retaliated by pelting stones from the roof top. They burnt 8 motorbikes, damaged two fruit stallsand one fruit shop and 10 to 15 Kolis suffered minor injuries while 8-10 Muslims also were injured.

Yusufbhai informed the team that once every 2 – 3 months such scuffles happen over some minor issue or another, including payment of rickshaw fare. Elders of both sides intervene and do not let the violence escalate even if sometimes they have to compensate in order to settle the dispute. However, this time the Muslim youth did not listen to them. Yusufbhai along with the ASI and his team of two constables that were available at the time were trying to keep stone pelting mobs separate. The ASI was injured too as a stone hit him behind his right year causing swelling. Yusufbhai too was injured. The police team of three was hopelessly outnumbered and ill equipped, without even helmets for their protection. Half an hour later, police reinforcements came along with Dy. SP and Mamlatdar and they brought the situation under control. The police had to burst teargas shells near Vadli to disperse the Muslim mob. In the melee, someone snatched a mobile worth Rs. 500/- (five hundred only) of a policeman.

None from any community lodged any complaint with the police pertaining to the incident. Police suomoto registered an FIR. Later, the police arrested 42 Muslims and 14 Koli youth who were still in their custody. The police have charged all the 56 persons, amongst other sections for rioting, with S. 395 of IPC (dacoity) for loss of a mobile of the policeman.Ghanchi community members told the team that police arrested by-standers and innocents who happened to be there during the incident on both sides – Muslims as well as Hindus. The Ghanchi Community was taking care of all the expenses of the Muslims who were arrested and providing them food from a hotel. They also paid the family of the poor among the 42 who were arrested as their earning members were in police custody. The office bearers of the Patan Ghanchi Muslim Samaj were appreciative of the role of the BJP MLA Jasabhai Barad who promptly intervened when the police were arresting large number of Muslims. This stopped the police from being hostile to the community. Jassabhai Barad crossed over to BJP from Congress as he could not get any work done while in his former party. Jassabhai had polled votes from Muslims too.

A Hindu shopkeeper on the Muslim side of the Highway, who was sympathetic to RSS, talked to a team member but did not want to be identified. He derived satisfaction from the police action arresting large numbers of Muslims compared to Hindus.

Shops in the Patan area were closed on the day of the incident. However, the leaders of both the community met and decided to open their shops next day. Hindus were still afraid of opening their shops though Muslim shops had opened. Yusufbhai then called Kanabhai, leader of Koli community to open their shops as well. Similarly, the workers working in the GIDC from both the communities were afraid of getting out of their homes and travel to the GIDC area where factories are situated as they would have to negotiate “hostile” territories. However, here too, the elders of both the communities got together to persuade the workers to come out and go for work.

Our Findings and observations:

The communal riots in Patan seem to be spontaneous however, the root cause of the riots is continuous communal discourse in media and by communal organizations that is deepening communal consciousness. The Hindu communal forces have considerably succeeded in deepening Hindu communal identity based on “othering” of Muslims who are at best perceived as a problem to be tolerated and from time to time reminded that they are second class citizens living at the sweet will of Hindus. It is because of this that smallest and most insignificant conflict of daily occurrence takes communal turn and mobilizes non-Muslims against them. Patanriots is an excellent example of that. Why should ordinary dispute over payment of rickshaw fare or anything else become a cause for communal mobilization? The state and civil society both will have to do a lot neutralize these communal feelings, particularly, the “othering” of Muslims. Such propaganda are also an offence under s. 153A of IPC but the section has remained mute witness to offences committed against Muslims in Gujarat and indeed in India without being invoked ever. This time the riots could be easily controlled, but the violence may escalate and may be uncontrollable in future.

As we were tracking through the narrow lanes of Patan, on the surface peace seems to have been restored and everything normal. Women belonging to the Ghanchi community and Koli community were treading on the street together and conversing with each other. Women belonging to both the communities were sitting next to each and hawking fruits and vegetables. However there is a deeper division below the surface and communal divisions are widening with each such incident. RSS affiliated organizations are active in the area resorting to communal discourse which “others” Muslims. Though the Muslims had voted for the BJP in the last elections, but as the BJP Taluka President SarmanSolanki told the team, they (the BJP) would not change their ideology and Muslims could not be trusted just because they voted for them. Solanki said he personally did not believe in casteism of communalism.

Though the police could control communal violence this time, their post riot action of arresting 42 Muslims and 14 Hindus seems to be arbitrary. We were told that the Muslims in custody were sharing their food with the Hindus. The real culprits may still be free on both sides. Police need to do thorough investigation of the incident and marshal evidence to see that the guilty of violence on both sides are punished as a deterrence for future such escalations. It appears that police are not investigating the offence with the degree of seriousness it requires. The signals it is sending to both the communities is that the police are taking some action for records and soon everybody will be out of the custody and go scott free. Community members too seem to be relieved that no one from “their” community would be punished, and indeed innocent bystanders seem to have been arrested. The real instigators of the riots and stone pelters should not be allowed to go unpunished.

Civil Society organizations would have to promote harmony and understanding between various communities respecting differences and learning and benefiting from the rich diversitythat prevails in India. Urgent and serious attempts are needed here.

Filed Under: Human Rights, India, Indian Muslims Tagged With: All India Secular Forum, Alliance for Peace and Justice, BJP, Communal Violence, Communalism, Gujarat, Hindus, Indian Muslims, Muslims, Riots, Somnath Patan

Are all Indians Sons of Ram?

December 8, 2014 by Ram Puniyani

Rama

During the anti colonial movement, Mahatma Gandhi emerged as the tallest of leaders and was called, ‘Father of the nation’ Rashtrapita. This term was first used by Subhash Chandra Bose in a Radio address in 1944 and later approved, accepted and upheld by majority of Indians. Of course he was not accepted as Father of the Nation by Muslim and Hindu communalists. For Muslim communalists, Muslim Nation began from eight century with the rule of Mohammad bin Kasim in Sindh. For Hindu Communalists this has been a Hindu nation from times immemorial. Gandhi was accepted as Father of the nation by majority of Indians and all those who were with freedom movement led by him for his role in bringing together all the people of India. The nation was seen as ‘Nation in the making’ not as a ready made nation as presented by religious nationalists.

Gandhi’s marathon effort was to bring in fraternity amongst all the Indians and so Hindu-Muslim unity was central to his enterprise. This was the logical central point of his effort as these were two main religious communities. He anchored himself to morality of all the religions and could bring the bonding of different religious communities under the overarching identity of ‘Indian’. He faced the strong resistance to his efforts from the propaganda and deeds of the communal forces, that’s also what led to his murder in 1948.

Despite his murder; the communalists and their hate propaganda and divisive thinking continued and kept changing its language in different guises. While majority Muslim communalists went over to Pakistan, the leftover of this communalism did produce the likes of Akbaruddudin Owaisi and his clones indulging in hate speech against Hindus. On a much larger and bigger scale the head of Hindu communal organization, kept harping on creating social common sense picked from the British introduced communal historiography, where Muslim kings were demonized, labeled as aliens etc. around which stereotypes and myths were constructed. This demonization reached its peak in the slogan Babar ki Aulad jao Kabristan ya Pakistan (sons of Babar go to Pakistan or graveyard) The latest in the line is that all those who do not identify with Lord Ram are Haramjade (Illegitimates) and the country belongs to Ramjade’s (Sons of Ram) only, others are to be treated like aliens.

This formulation is the culmination of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement that all of us are Hindus, this is Hindustan. By inference Lord Ram is the symbol of India that is Hindustan and so Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti the BJP minister in central cabinet stated “Modi has given a mantra that we will neither take bribe nor let others take bribe. Now you have to decide whom to choose. Will you choose the sons of Ram or those who are illegitimate),” Just a small recap; Indian Constitution calls it as “India that is Bharat’.

Now while the collective opposition is demanding the suspension of the Sadhvi from Minister ship and initiating the legal proceedings against her, the BJP is hiding her under the pretext that she has already apologized and that she is new to the ministry. Also that she is coming from a poor dalit background. The opposition argument is that she has taken oath under the Indian Constitution, while her statement is not only an attempt to create a divide between religious communities, it’s a blatant hate speech and such a person is already guilty of violating the Indian Constitution. The criminal action demanded by opposition ranks against the minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti relates to the hate speech provision, Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code, which prescribes a maximum sentence of three years of imprisonment.

One can be charged under this section only with the government’s sanction. Hate speech is widely understood to be an exception to the freedom of speech, Section 153A also holds to account anybody who is “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion … and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”. There are many in this gallery, prominent amongst them being Akbaruddin Owaisi, Raj Thackeray, Praveen Togadia, and Varun Gandhi, to name the few who came out with scathing statements against the ‘other community’. Hiding behind the fact that Sadhiv Jyoti is a dalit holds no water as she is fully indoctrinated in the ideology of Sangh Parivar. Also the argument that even Sonia Gandhi used the word ‘Maut ke Saudagar’ (Merchants of Death) is not relevant here, as Sonia was talking about a political tendency of communalism, not against any particular religious community.

Overtly BJP leadership is not much supporting this statement, but this is the logical outcome of the politics of their Parivar, which brought them to power and whose agenda of Hindu nationalism they are pursuing. How do we deal with such divisive agenda and Hate speech? One recalls Akbaruddin Owaisi was taken to task for his Hate speech. If one recalls right Dr. Pravin Togadia was also the guest of the prison for Hate speech once. Dr. Togadia has probably set the bench marks more than once in clever use of divisive language. His video of how to get rid of Muslim neighbors by throwing tomatoes on them was also seen but most of the time he has escaped the punishment. A similar comment, like the one now of Sadhvi Jyoti was also made by another BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh by Ram Pratap Chauhan in Vijay Shankhnaad Rally in Agra on 21st November 2013 as well. That one got unnoticed. IT only goes on to show, Sadhvi’s statement is a part of the thinking in the wider Parivar circle.

BJP leadership faces the dilemma. In Parliament and for the global consumption it has to keep the face of ‘Development’, while to keep its political power it has to go with the divisive agenda of its parent organization as unfolded by its associates and many elements within the party. So a clever balancing act is always in order, to hide under the apology of A Sadhvi and to turn a blind eye towards such tendencies. For them the same divisive agenda has to be operationalized with some variations in places where elections are to be held.

Then the question comes, as Indian nation who is our Father; Gandhi or Ram? Ram is a mythological reality with whom large section of Hindus identify. He was King of Ayodhya. The criticism of the prevalent version of Ram Story by Dr. Ambedkar seems to have been ignored in the din of communal hysteria. In ‘Riddles of Hinduism’, Ambedkar takes up the issue of Ram upholding caste and gender hierarchy amongst others. Rams’ murder of Shambuk, as Shambuk was a Shudra who was doing penance has come under heavy criticism from Ambedkar. Similarly banishing his pregnant wife Sita is a serious issue. One more point Ambedkar raises is also about Ram’s killing of Bali Raja, that too from behind. Bali was a popular king revered by dalit bahujans. Similarly Periyar Ramasami Naicker also took many of these issues about the Lord.

While there are claims that we are a Hindu nation from times immemorial, as a matter of fact India became a nation state through the anti colonial struggle led by Gandhi. So the very formulation that all Indians are sons of Ram has no grounding. Surely many Hindus identify with Ram but as Indians, it is Gandhi who is the ‘father of the nation’. Ram is symbol of Hindu nationalism while Gandhi is symbol of Indian nationalism.

After Modi came to power in 2014, the assertion of RSS agenda is going on uninhibited and intimidating those who uphold the Indian Constitution and values of freedom struggle. Assertions like Ramjade as synonymous with Indian-ness are revival of the forces which killed and went on to celebrate this dastardly act, which was the first attack on values of our freedom movement.

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: BJP, Communalism, Hindus, Hindutva, Indian Muslims, Muslims, Rama, RSS, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sangh Parivar

Janwadi Lekhak Sangh condemns police raid on FORWARD Press

October 12, 2014 by Nasheman

New Delhi: The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, the city based writer’s forum, the Forum for Freedom of Expression and other organisations came in support of the ‘Bahujan- Shraman’ issue of FORWARD Press, and condemned the police raids against it today.

On the evening of October 9, the special branch of the Delhi police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station which claims that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about the Hindu deity Durga, on the basis of which students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Terming the raid by Delhi police as a “matter of deep concern”, the forum said that the police took these actions without order of any court or competent authority and said it deserves outright condemnation.

The latest issue of FORWARD Press, an independent Delhi based anti-caste magazine is focussed on Bahujan-Shraman tradition. The issue carries articles that interpret the Puranic story of the killing of Mahishasur by Durga as a struggle between the Aryans and the non-Aryans. “This may have angered the Hindutvadis, who have been routinely indulging in vandalism in the name of hurting religious sentiments,” the forum claimed.

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press. Photo: FORWARD Press

“The Janwadi Lekhak Sangh strongly condemns the action against the magazine without any proper court order and views it as a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of expression. We also condemn the violence indulged in by the ABVP activists during the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’ at JNU.”

“The Delhi police action and the ABVP vandalism are closely interlinked and manifest the growing assertiveness of the reactionary, communal-fascist forces since the Modi government coming to power and the aid being extended to them by the government machinery,” alleged the Forum in its press address.

The Forum demanded that action should be taken against police officials who ordered and conducted the illegal raid on FORWARD Press. It also called for “action” against those who do not “believe in expression of dissent while sticking to democratic norms.”

“VHP leader Praveen Togadia’s recent statement that history books written by Romila Thapar and Bipin Chandra should be burnt is an example of such tendencies.”

Om Sudha, the Convenor of ‘Forum for Freedom of Expression’,  has asked the Home Ministry to immediately withdraw the FIR lodged against FORWARD Press.

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Caste, Dalits, Delhi, Delhi Police, Durga, Forum for Freedom of Expression, FORWARD Press, Freedom of Expression, Hinduism, Hindus, Janwadi Lekhak Sangh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mahishasur, Mahishasura, Praveen Togadia

Delhi Police raids Dalit magazine FORWARD Press for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments

October 11, 2014 by Nasheman

Photo: Forward Press

Photo: FORWARD Press

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday raided the offices of FORWARD Press, the independent city based anti-caste magazine focusing on issues concerning the Dalit and other ‘backward class’ communities and reportedly confiscated copies of its October issue on grounds that it carried objectionable material about Hindu deity Durga.

Pramod Ranjan, the Consulting Editor of FORWARD Press said, “We strongly condemn the vandalism indulged in at the Nehru Place, New Delhi office of FORWARD Press on Oct 9 by Delhi Police. He said that the Delhi police illegally detained four staffers of the magazine on Thursday and now it is confiscating copies of the magazine from stalls in Delhi without any order of any court or competent authority. He claimed that the action was being taken ‘at the instance of fundamentalist forces, which is not only a blatant violation of the Freedom of Expression granted by the Constitution but also an attempt to stifle any logical-intellectual discourse”.

It may be mentioned here that two groups of students had clashed on Thursday on JNU campus over the observance of ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’. Earlier, the police had raided the office of FORWARD Press on the basis of a complaint made in the Vasant Kunj police station of East Delhi. In the complaint, it has been claimed that FORWARD Press had published objectionable material about Goddess Durga, on the basis of which students of the JNU were organising ‘Mahishasur Martyrdom Day’.

Ranjan said in this regard that “The October 2014 issue of FORWARD Press was a special number devoted to ‘Bahujan-Shraman tradition’ and carries well-researched articles of leading writers and professors of prestigious universities. The Bahujan rendition of the story of ‘Mahishasur and Durga’ has been presented in words and through sketches and paintings.

“There is absolutely nothing in the issue that can be described as objectionable under the Indian Constitution. Our objective was not to humiliate or hurt the sentiments of any community or group. We are only trying to identify and rejuvenate the symbols of Bahujan culture and civilization. Anyway, Bahujan renditions of popular texts have a long tradition, starting from Jotiba Phule and going up to Ambedkar and Periyar.”

While condemning the raid as an attack on freedom of expression the magazine issued a press release claiming, “the action has been taken at the behest of the Brahamanical forces in the BJP,” the press note said. “Forward Press – a magazine of Dalits, OBCs and Tribals – has always been an eyesore for these forces. In the last couple of years, Forward Press has faced many attacks from these forces. The attacks have only strengthened our moral force. We are hopeful that we will be able to emerge with our head held high from this latest crisis too.”

Both the Editor-in-Chief and Consulting Editor of the magazine, have reportedly gone underground since the raid.

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Caste, Dalits, Delhi, Delhi Police, Durga, FORWARD Press, Freedom of Expression, Hinduism, Hindus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Mahishasur, Mahishasura

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