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One year of Modi sarkar: Hate speech galore

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modi-hate

The coming to power of Narendra Modi in a way gave an open license to all the affiliates of RSS combine to indulge in open hate speech against the religious minorities. The current agenda behind the hate speech is to consolidate the communal polarisation of the society along lines of religion. The well-known case of MIM’s Akarbar-uddudin Owaisis’ hate speech has been despicable and very rightly Akbarudin Owaisi had to be in jail for some time. The case against him should be pursued and the legal course of action must be followed. At the same time, what about the hate speeches indulged in by the likes of Pravin Togadia, Subramaniam Swami, Giriraj Singh, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Sadhvi Prachi, Sakshi Mahraraj, Yogi Adityanth, Sanjay Raut and company?

Apart from these associates of Hindu right wing patriarch RSS, who are reported in the media, there are many more indulging in the divisive speech and worsening the communal situation. During this year, they have started feeling emboldened as they know it is ‘their’ Government and they can get away with it. Day in and day out they are becoming more aggressive and vicious in their language. The hate speech against religious minorities has been stepped up.

One recalls even before Modi Sarkar assumed the seat of power, the divisive activities of ‘BJP associates’ in the form of propaganda of love jihad and Ghar Vapasi were on, and they continued without any respite during this year. Soon after this Government came to power, Mohsin Sheikh, a person working in IT was hacked to death by activists of Hindu Jagran Sena in Pune, in the aftermath of morphed pictures of Bal Thackeray and Shivaji being posted on the social media.

The attack on Churches was very glaring and the process which was dominant in Delhi and Haryana was also witnessed in places like Panvel near Mumbai, Agra in UP amongst other places.

Sakshi Maharaj not only said that Godse was a patriot; he also went on to say that Hindu women should produce four children, as Muslims are overtaking the population. Sadhvi Prachi went to prescribe eight children for Hindu women. She also gave a call that Muslim film actors, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan should be boycotted. Pravin Togadia has been the leading person in making hate speeches; he has the highest number of cases regarding hate speech against him. Yogi Adityanath, BJP’s MP keeps making very derogatory remarks, said that in ‘love jihad’ if one Hindu girl is converted, then 100 Muslim girls should be converted to Hinduism. The propaganda around love jihad keeps simmering and various small and big leaders keep using it to divide the society. Same Yogi went on to say that Mosques should be converted into den of pigs and that Muslims should not be allowed to come to Hindu holy places.

Two central ministers of Modi Sarkar, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Giriaj Singh made very insulting and humiliating remarks about non-Hindus and the colour of the skin of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Niranjan Jyoti stated that all those who are non-Hindus are illegitimate, Haramzade. Giriraj Singh had earlier said that those not voting for Modi should go to Pakistan. Interestingly he said this before the elections and despite such a record, he was elevated to the level of minister in the Modi sarkar. He made racial comments about Sonia Gandhi recently. Sakshi Mahraj also held Godse as a patriot, while his another party colleague from Kerala, one Gopal Krishnan, wrote in RSS mouth piece Keasri that Godse chose a wrong target in killing Gandhi, he should have killed Nehru instead.

Subramaniam Swamy, one of the very senior leaders of BJP, said that God lives in temples alone, not in mosques and Churches. The hidden implication of this statement is fraught with danger. These are few of the samples from what all has been stated during this year. Its impact in increasing the sense of fear amongst religious minorities is more than obvious. BJP ally Shiv Sena’s MP Sanjay Raut went to the extent of demanding that the voting rights of Muslims should be revoked.

As such one realizes that ‘Hate speech’ is the outcome of the politics of divisiveness, it is the concentrated expression of the ‘social common sense’ prevailing in the society, it is the forthright and blunt way of putting things, which communal parties propagate anyway. It is not out of the blue that these formulations suddenly crop up, their infrastructure, the base of these has already been made by a section of political outfits.

Also ‘Hate Speech’ in case of India is an accompaniment of the politics in the name of religion and language, and also many times it precedes the violence or helps in polarization of communities for electoral benefits. While BJP was on the upswing during Ram Temple campaign; one recalls that Sadhvi Ritambhara was propped up for pravachans (religious discourses) by RSS combine. She was bluntly talking anti-minority things, duly endorsed by communal political organizations. This took place around the Babri demolition period.

One has been hearing similar things from many a sadhus of VHP, small and sundry members of communal gang, some Muslim communalists and the ilk of Togadia. There has been a more sophisticated presentation of the similar formulations by many others. Modi, in his initial rise to power, talked divisive language, but kept changing the form in a very subtle way to suit the needs of his political strategy. When he said that post-Gujarat refugee camps should be shut down as they have become factories of production of children, he was reinforcing the propaganda about Muslims having more number of children.

In the wake of Mumbai riots, Bal Thackeray had indulged in Hate speech, inciting his Shiv Sainiks to undertake violence. He also got away with it due to clever way of putting his vitriol and due to the lack of adequate laws which can distinguish the Hate speech from freedom of expression, which can distinguish between one’s political opinion and painting the ‘other’ community in a negative light.

Incidentally, it is important to distinguish between criticizing a community and criticizing a political organization. While political organizations can and must be criticized, communities should not be humiliated or insulted. Also no political organization can be synonymous with the religious community, whatever its claims.

It is not only disturbing but totally against the values of our democratic society that such ‘hate other’ ideology and speeches have become the weapon in the hands of a type of politics, which thrives on exclusion, which identifies a particular religious community as synonymous with the nation state. Again this ‘hate speech’ is the language of a section of those who thrive on identity politics far away from the real issues of the society.

As such Hate speech in India entered the political arena with the rise of communal streams in politics, like Muslim League on one side and Hindu Mahasabha and RSS on the other. These streams believed in the nation based on one religious community. These streams came from the sections of earlier rulers, landlords, Nawabas and Rajas etc. The ideology of religion based nationalism is narrow and it excludes ‘other’ from its notion of nationhood. These beliefs then get converted into Hate other, and later turn in to ‘Hate speech’. This did form the basis of many a communal violence in pre-Independence era and also during the last two decades.

Varun Gandhi, allegedly said ‘he will cut the hands’, is a BJP MP. In this atmosphere once in a while, the BJP spokespersons will say that the view expressed by the particular leader are ‘personal’ and stop at that. For BJP another escape clause is that its associated organizations like VHP, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Bajrang Dal are formally different organizations though they are also part of RSS controlled Sangh Parivar. They all are working in tandem with BJP for actualization of agenda of Hindu Rashtra. So while BJP is not directly responsible for their actions, the direction of the actions is the same. Many a people call these organizations as fringe elements, while as a matter of fact, there is a division of labour between these organizations. These have become more aggressive during current time. And surely, after the Modi Sarkar coming to power their vitriol has become more intense.

Cow slaughter ban for scientific animal husbandry or for cultural nationalist state?

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REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

by Irfan Engineer

In the previous articles we saw that the campaign by the Hindu nationalist organizations for cow protection is merely instrumental to achieve their political objective, establish cultural hegemony of the upper caste and declare the hierarchical and feudal culture privileging the upper caste as the national culture. The amendments passed by the Maharashtra Assembly in 1995 to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act, 1976, and which received Presidential assent in 2015 (hereafter referred to as “the 2015 Act”), too are not to protect the cow and its progeny despite the stated objectives couched language of scientific organization of agriculture and animal husbandry. The political objective of the 2015 Act is instrumental – to impose the hegemony of upper caste culture and empower extremist, anarchic and fringe Hindu nationalist groups to intimidate the marginalized sections, in particular, the Muslims on one hand, and to construct a hegemonic and authoritarian culture monitoring state.

While the 1976 Animal preservation Act, as amended in 1988 prohibited only cow (including male and female calves) slaughter, with Section 4 providing, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or any usage or custom to the contrary, no person shall slaughter cause to be slaughtered or offer for slaughter any cow, in any place in the State of Maharashtra” and provided for punishment which may extend to six months with or without fine upto Rs.1,000/-. The other provisions of the 1976 Act provided for regulation of slaughter of scheduled animal by appointing competent authority.

The 2015 Act transforms a democratic constitutional state into an authoritarian cultural state with immense powers and a machinery to peep into the kitchens, refrigerator and dining tables of the citizens of the country. To include bulls and bullocks along with the cow in the animals that cannot be slaughtered is only a side objective. What has been missed is that the 2015 Act is as draconian as say the UAPA or TADA or POTA and the recent GujCOCA. The 2015 Act will encourage the vigilante actions of the fringe and mainstream Hindu nationalist organizations in stopping vehicles transporting cattle (not necessarily for slaughter), wherein either the owner/deliverer/seller of the cattle or receiver/buyer of the consignment of the cattle or the driver or the owner of the vehicle is a Muslim. The vigilante group, mostly consisting of 4-6 men, then pull out the driver if he is a Muslim, demand the documents, tear them into pieces, loot the cattle (even if not cow or progeny), beat up the Muslim driver, call the police, get a false case registered and the vehicle confiscated and finally get the media to cover that Muslims were taking cow to slaughter house. This writer was told about such cases in Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra by the victims of the vigilante action. The vigilante action increases around Eid-uz-Zuha (bakri Eid). That is how media regularly “reports” which feeds into the stereo-typical relation between Muslims and cow slaughter. The 2015 Act will encourage this vigilantism.

The state and the holy cow:

The state relies on Article 48 of the Constitution of India in support of the 2015 Act. Article 48 is in Part IV of Constitution which is on Directive Principles of State Policy and non-justiciable. Art. 48 states – “The State shall endeavour to organize agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” The state submitted to the Bombay High Court that it brought in the 2015 Act to protect the cow and its progeny due to their many benefits like milk, dung and urine in making pest repellents and medicinal products. (Thomas, 2015) However, despite the claim of the state, there are no credible studies and research to back its claim. As far as use of bullock as draught animal is concerned, and milk and dung are cited as useful product, then, on that ground slaughter of most mammals should be banned, including buffaloes, goats, horses, camels, etc. Reliance is placed on ancient Vedic texts. Even the Report of the National Commission on Cattle heavily quotes from Vedic texts and Smrities to “prove” that cow is a useful animal (Justice Lodha, 2015)! It is very difficult, if not impossible, to justify ban cow slaughter without bringing in religious traditions followed by the upper-caste elite.

If the only objective of the 2015 Act is to preserve the cattle wealth of Maharashtra for its milk, dung and urine products, and utility of bullocks as a draught animal, why penalize even possession of meat of cow and progeny imported from outside the state (Sec. 5D)? Surely importing meat from outside Maharashtra does not deplete the cattle wealth or the milk, dung and urine within Maharashtra! On the other hand, why the export of cow and its progeny outside Maharashtra should be permitted for all other purposes except for slaughter (sec. 5A)? Whether the cow and its progeny are exported for slaughter or for any other purpose, Maharashtra would lose its cattle wealth along with its milk, dung and urine.

The objective of the 2015 Act goes beyond preservation of cow, its progeny and the milk, dung and urine. The real objective of the 2015 Act is to become an instrument of oppression in the hands of police and the executive objective. Consider some of provisions of the Act, e.g., sections 5A, 5B, and 5C of the 2015 Act which outlaws transportation of cow and progeny for purpose of slaughter, trading cow and progeny for the purpose of slaughter and being in possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock. After outlawing the aforesaid activities, the 2015 Act authorizes any police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector, or any person authorized in this behalf by the State Government to enter, stop and search or authorize any person to enter, stop and search any vehicle used or even intended to be used for the export of cow and progeny; seize or authorize seizure of cow and progeny in respect of which it is suspected that they are in contravention of Sec. 5A, 5B or 5C; and in order to effect search and seizure operations, can even break open any premises as per Sec. 100 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The vigilante groups functioning illegally but with impunity could now be legally authorized by a compliant police officer. As the police officer can effect seizure or authorize seizure of even those cows and progeny which were intended to be sold or purchased or transported for slaughter. The allegation of “intention” can be freely made but is difficult to defend.

The quantum of punishment for contravention of the provisions has also been increased 10 times – from six months to five years, with a minimum punishment of six months and fine has been increased by ten times too – from one thousand to ten thousand with minimum fine to be rupees one thousand. The maximum punishment in the law before amendment would now be the minimum punishment. If you are in possession of small quantity of narcotic or psychotropic drugs, the chances are that you may be send to a rehabilitation centre and let off. However, if you are in possession of flesh of cow or progeny, chances are that you may be sentenced to a jail term upto one year! To be in possession of flesh of cow and progeny is no less serious offence than being in possession of contraband drugs, and perhaps more serious! The Hindu Nationalist vigilante groups are less concerned about Hindus getting addicted to drugs and concerned more with citizens of Maharashtra being in possession of flesh of cow and progeny. Their flesh would now be considered contraband substance! The offence is non-bailable.

The most draconian provision of the Act is that the burden of proving that the slaughter, transport, export outside the State, sale, purchase or possession of flesh of cow, bull or bullock was not in contravention of the provisions of the 2015Act, would be on the accused! In Indian criminal jurisprudence, the accused is always presumed to be innocent till proved guilty. The exception to this rule is only in very serious offences and under special laws or exceptional circumstances, e.g. in UAPA or in counter-terrorism legislations. Even in cases of murder or defending oneself against the charge of sedition, there would be presumption of innocence and it would be for the prosecution to prove the guilt. How would an accused from very poor background and who is accused of slaughtering, transporting, exporting out of state or selling or purchasing or possessing flesh of cow and progeny prove his/her innocence? The state or vigilantes so authorized can break open your house, enter your kitchen, dining table (or floor in most cases) peep inside your refrigerator and seize “contraband” substance – flesh/meat and put you behind bars and for the prime of the accused life s/he would be fighting from within the prison walls to prove her/his innocence! The draconian legislation is a powerful tool in the hands of vigilante groups and state to target any individual, group or community.

As soon as the 2015 Act came into force, Hindu nationalist vigilante groups became even more active. The vigilante groups having little respect for rule of law and the Constitution of India, immediately tested the law by launching complaints targeting Muslims in Malegaon, a Muslim majority town in North Maharashtra. Police acted upon the complaint and arrested the accused. Malegaon police told Tabassum Barnagarwala (2015) (Cows Say Cheese) “After the ban came into force, Hindu groups were after us to investigate Muslim households… Also, people may try to settle their personal battles by registering false complaints. A Hindu can come and say that a Muslim is keeping cows for slaughter. What do we do in such a case?” Malegaon police directed the Muslims of the town who kept cows as their pets to register their animals with a photograph of the owner and all the cows. The police started maintaining an additional register titled – Gaay, Bail, Bachhara (cow, bull and calf) Register. The police in Malegaon are busy carrying out a census of Muslims possessing cows and monitoring trade and movement. Hindus owning cows are not required to register as the presumption is the only Muslim sell cows and progeny for slaughter – Hindus do not!

Police in Maharashtra despite their extremely limited numbers and challenging task of fighting anti-dalit violence, terrorism, drug proliferation, land mafia, increasing sexual assaults on women, domestic violence, communal violence, and other organized crimes, will be busy securing the ministers, Hindu nationalist instigators and the cows. The victims of the 2015 Act, we are given to understand, would be primarily Muslims. The victims of the 2015 Act is foremost our criminal jurisprudence, democracy, and our Constitutional values. The 2015 Act in the hands of police and vigilante groups can become instrument of oppression of not only Muslims, but also dalits and other marginalized sections of society. Dalits will not only be affected as they will lose their cheap source of proteins or suffer economically as they are involved in manufacturing of leather goods. Police or vigilante groups may enter any house having meat of lamb or any other animal or in a shop of meat vendor, seize the flesh and produce the person before court. Then it would be on the accused to prove her/his innocence. Let us watch whether the police use the 2015 Act to renegotiate their hafta!

Secular movement has also opposed the 2015 Act on the terrain of defending the rights of minorities, particularly Muslims. The 2015 Act is more than that. The state ruled by followers of Hindutva ideology are today prescribing and monitoring the food we eat. What next? Prescribing and monitoring clothes we wear? Films we see? Performing and fine arts we are allowed to watch? Occupation we are allowed to be in? Areas we can inhabit and reside in? Muslims are being targeted initially so that opposition comes primarily from Muslims and not from larger society. Every citizen of India who has a stake in democracy should see herself as a potential victim and stand up to resist.

Barnagarwala, T. (2015, April 19). Cows Say Cheese. Indian Express , pp. 12-13.

Subramanian Swamy launches Hindutva outfit – Virat Hindustan Sangam

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Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

Subramanian Swamy (Photo credit: Jagran)

New Delhi: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday announced the formation of an organisation that would push for Hindutva issues like securing the disputed Ram Mandir area for building a temple by persuading Muslims to accept an alternative site.

The outfit Virat Hindustan Sangam will empower the youth to articulate the “values” of Hindutva, like scrapping of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Ram temple and beef ban, he told a press conference.

Indicating that the new body will also act as a pressure group on the ruling BJP, he said it would provide a list of candidates to the party for consideration and work closely with the Sangh parivar.

Asked what will be his priority issue, he said it would be construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“We will take up from January 1, 2016 the Ram temple issue. I will want the government to follow the Saudi Arabian example of offering the Waqf Board a site across the Saryu river for building a mosque…And leave the Ram temple premises completely for temple.

“We hope to complete it by the end of 2016 because of our activism both in courts and in terms of pushing the government,” he said, adding that he would have finished most of his legal work in the Supreme Court by then.

He also batted for scrapping of Article 370, an issue put on the back burner, saying it is in the party’s manifesto and it would have to do it by 2019 when next Lok Sabha election is scheduled.

His organisation, he said, will be open to Hindus or those Muslims and other Indians who acknowledge their Hindu ancestry.

(PTI)

Accept India as pluralistic nation, says Azim Premji at RSS event

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azim-premji

New Delhi: Wipro Chairman and philanthropist Azim Premji on Sunday addressed a convention of nearly 800 RSS-backed organisations and gave a call for accepting India as a great pluralistic nation.

“The test of our social commitment and humanity is how we treat the most powerless of our fellow citizens, the respect we accord to our fellow human beings. That is what reveals our true culture. As a great pluralistic nation, we must accept our differences. It is vital we accept them and find a common ground to work together. Negative people only focus on differences,” he said.

Addressing the event in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Premji said some had been apprehensive about his participation in the function. “They felt I would be seen as endorsing the ideology of the Sangh by addressing a forum like this. I did not follow their advice because, firstly, I am not a political person. I am, however, deeply interested in and concerned about my country. So I see no issue in speaking at an occasion where people have gathered to discuss how to contribute to the country,” he said.

“Also, I believe that merely speaking at a particular forum does not in any way mean one endorses all, or any, of the views that might be expressed at the forum, or held by the organisers,” he added.

He said it was an “honour” to have been invited by the RSS chief to speak at the Rashtriya Sewa Sangam, amongst people who were not only dreaming of a “better India” but actually dedicating their lives to it.

“While I may not know many of you here, some of my colleagues do know some of you, and, more importantly, are acquainted with the good work being done by many present here for the genuine betterment of our country, and I did not want to miss this opportunity of speaking with you,” he said.

“And most importantly, having met Bhagwat, I realised how many people like you all over India are dedicating your lives to the genuine uplift of our country. And I thought, all those working towards a better India should attempt to join hands where they can,” he added.

(Agencies)

 

Asaduddin Owaisi denied permission to hold meeting in Agra

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asaduddin-owaisi

Agra: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been denied permission to hold a meeting here on March 29.

The district administration of Agra took this decision on the basis of intelligence reports which suggested this could lead to trouble after Hindutva organisations had openly declared they would not allow Owaisi to hold his meeting at the scheduled Kothi Meena Bazar ground.

A memorandum by the Bajrang Dal, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Hindu Jagran Manch workers forced the administration to take the step.

However, district administration official Rajesh Srivastav said permission cannot be granted in view of the ongoing final examinations.

AIMIM’s district chief Idrish Ahmad said the district administration had accepted his affidavit a few days ago to consider permission for the meeting, but changed its mind under pressure from some organisations.

(Agencies)

Holy cow-beef and Indian political games

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A group of lawyers in Chennai staging a ‘beef eating’ protest in the Madras High Court campus, in the wake of ban on cow slaughter by Maharashtra Government.

A group of lawyers in Chennai staging a ‘beef eating’ protest in the Madras High Court campus, in the wake of ban on cow slaughter by Maharashtra Government.

Can the dietary practices, the animal which is worshipped as a mother by section of population, be brought in on the political arena? While all this sounds surreal, its true as far as the role of cow is there in Indian political firmament. Recently Maharashtra Government got the Presidents assent to the bill “Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995 which will now ban the slaughter of bulls and bullocks as well. The defaulters will face a prison term of five years and a fine of Rs. 10000. When I first read ‘Animal Preservation’ part of the title of the bill, I thought this is some bill related to all the animals which are used for human consumption or deals with the use of animals for different purposes by the society. Contrary to that it turned out that this applies only to Cow and its progeny. A decade ago I was shocked to read that one of the outstanding scholars of ancient Indian History Professor Dwijendra Nath Jha received regular threats on phone telling him not to publish his book, ‘Holy Cow Beef in Indian Dietary tradition’. This scholarly work traces the place of beef in Indian diet from centuries.

The idea is to target the minorities for beef eating, and cow slaughter. One recalls that one of the slogans which rent the air in the run up the 2014 General elections was “Modi ko matdan, gai ko jeevadan [Vote for Modi, give life to the cow], BJP ka sandesh, bachegi gai, bachega desh [BJP’s message, the cow will be saved, the country will be saved]”. This slogan was propped up ‘Cow Development Cell’ of BJP.

As such emotive-identity issues are the hall mark of the politics in the name of religion. BJP built itself up on another identity issue, that of Ram Temple. The cow has always been accompanying and a parallel issue for political mobilization by RSS-BJP. It has also been the point of triggering violence in many cases all through. With the formation of VHP by RSS in 1964, cow issue has been systematically propped up time and over again. Many a misconceptions about cow, beef eating have been constructed. Building of misconceptions has also been extended to the dietary habits of the ‘Muslim’ community in particular. The profession of section of Muslims, Kasai (butcher), those in the trade of beef selling has been brought in to the ‘Hate other’, ‘social common sense’ in particular. The result being that it is perceived at broad layers of society as if beef eating is compulsory for Muslims. The notion which has been popularized is that Cow is Holy for Hindus: Muslims kill her! The perception is that the Muslim invaders brought beef eating into India. These misconceptions are by now the part of ‘social common sense’ of the large number of people in the society.

All the components of this are myths and stereotypes have been constructed over a period of time. Time and over again one hears about some small communal violence, killing of dalits and traders of cows leading to communal polarization. Many a dalits dealing with cow hide have been killed in places like Gohana in Hariyana and the VHP leaders had justified such acts.

Contrary to this the beef eating and sacrifice of cows was prevalent here from Vedic period. The sacrifice of cows in the Yagnas (ritual around fire) is extensively mentioned in the scriptures. There is mention about beef eating in various books. There is a phrase in Taitreya Brahmin which states ‘Atho Annam Via Gau’ (Cow is in veritably food) Different gods are mentioned to be having their choices for particular type of cow flesh. Prof D. N. Jha quotes innumerable examples of this in his masterpiece.

The preaching of non violence in India came with the rise of agricultural society. Jainism called for total non violence, while Buddhism talked non-violence; preventing of wasteful animal sacrifice in particular. It was much later that Brahmanism picked up cow as a symbol for Brahmanism in response and as a reaction to non-violence of these religions. Since Brahmanism has asserted itself to be the Hinduism it projects as if Cow is holy for Hindus overall. The matter of fact is that many sections of society, more particularly Dalits and Tribal have been eating beef all through. It is another matter that lately with the rising assertion of Hindutva, many a communities which are dependent on beef as a rich and cheap source of protein are gradually being forced to either give it up or do a rethink on that.

In contrast to what is being asserted by BJP and company, Swami Vivekanand had a different take on the issue. He points out speaking to a large gathering in USA said: “You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.”

[Vivekananda speaking at the Shakespeare Club, Pasadena, California, USA (2 February 1900) on the theme of ‘Buddhistic India’, cited in Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol 3 (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1997), p. 536.]
This is corroborated by other research works sponsored by the Ramakrishna Mission established by Swami Vivekananda himself. One of these reads: “The Vedic Aryans, including the Brahmanas, ate fish, meat and even beef. A distinguished guest was honoured with beef served at a meal. Although the Vedic Aryans ate beef, milch cows were not killed. One of the words that designated cow was aghnya (what shall not be killed). But a guest was a goghna (one for whom a cow is killed). It is only bulls, barren cows and calves that were killed.”[C. Kunhan Raja, ‘Vedic Culture’, cited in the series, Suniti Kumar Chatterji and others (eds.), The Cultural Heritage of India, Vol 1 (Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission, 1993), 217.]

In response to this bill thousands of workers of Devnar abattoir (Mumbai), who will be losing their jobs came on the streets to protest against this move of the government (March 11). Many traders, from different religion also came to Azad Maidan in Mumbai to protest this communal act of the Maharashtra Government. In a PIL filed in the Bombay High Court the petitioner argues that this ban on beef infringes on the fundamental right of citizens to choose meat of their choice is fundamental. The hope is that the society overcomes such abuse of ‘identity issues’ for political goals and lets the people have their own choices in matters of food habits, and let those who are making their living from this trade do so peacefully.

 

Hate rant: Case filed against Balika Saraswati

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Balika Saraswati

Mangaluru: Four days after she addressed the massive Virat Hindu Samajotsava at Nehru Maidan, a case has been registered against Sadhvi Balika Saraswati for allegedly making a provocative speech.

The complaint has been filed by Suresh Bhat Bakrabail, president of Dakshina Kannada unit of Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike.

The complaint alleges that Sadhvi Balika Saraswati made provocative statements by saying that love Jihad should be countered by chopping off the heads of Muslim boys who look at Hindu girls.

The complaint urged for suitable action against Sadhvi Balika Saraswati and the organizers of the Samajotsava.

Based on the complaint, Pandeshwar police registered a case under Sections 153 (A) and 295 of the IPC.

Hate rant: Stone ‘them’ and deport to Pakistan says Balika Saraswati at the Virat Hindu Samajotsava

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Balika Saraswati

Mangaluru: Calling upon the Hindus to be united and fight for the cause of Hindu Rashtra, Sadhwi Balika Saraswati said that it should be everyone’s priority to protect the interest of the Hindu nation.

She was delivering the keynote address that the Vishwa Virat Hindu Samajotsav organized as part of the golden jubilee celebration of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad at Nehru Maidan in the city on Sunday evening.

The young Sadhwi, who did not allow the saffron brigade to feel the absence of VHP supremo Praveen Togadia on the stage of Samajotsav, made several indirect attempts to compare Indian Muslims with Pakistanis throughout her Desi accent Hindi speech.

Spurred by the positive response of the thrilled crowd, the firebrand speaker exhorted the Hindus to take an oath to re-establish the Hindu Rashtra in India and protect their ‘nation’, ‘religion’ and ‘women’ from ‘enemies’.

Balika Saraswati

Lashing out at AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, she said that the former lacks the guts to speak in front of Hindus. Recalling the controversial statements of Owaisi brothers, she said that they are the enemies of the nation.

“He (Owaisi) is still alive in this country because he took the name of Ramji or else it would be difficult to recognize him even with an autopsy,” she said.

The Sadhwi went on to claim that ‘such people’ live in India but praise and support Pakistan. “They must be stoned and deported to Pakistan,” she said.

Not only Akbaruddin Owaisi, but the whole Pakistan cannot stop us from building Ram Mandir. “He should remember that Hindus can build Ram Mandir even in Islamabad,” she said.

She said that laws apply only for Hindus. “In Kerala and Assam, I have seen people performing Namaz five times a day on roads against law. They don’t follow the order of the Supreme Court.

They get subsidy for Haj pilgrimage, but we get nothing for Amarnath Yatra. Ghar Wapsi is being depicted as a big crime in media, but one can understand the pain only when our girls get converted into other religion overnight. Conversion is still going on in Jharkhand and many other states.”

She opined that the community can stop cow slaughtering by not selling cows and treating them as mother. Every woman should take care of at least one cow to stop cow slaughtering in the nation.

Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade said that Vishwa Hindu Parishad played a major role in uniting Hindu society in the past 50 years. It organised several activities for the financial and religious equality of people. Meanwhile, Heggade opined that Samajotsava was not just a celebration, but a forum to decide the future. The rituals and culture of the community should be developed.

Meanwhile, Dr Heggade released ‘Amruta Sinchana,’ a souvenir of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

‘Police thinking of booking Sadhvi’

The Mangaluru police have admitted that Balika Saraswati, the main speaker at Virat Hindu Samajotsav held at Nehru Maidan in the city, made apparent attempts to communally provoke the mob through her speech.

The police are thinking of filing a case, he added. “The speech is indeed provocative. We are considering action,” Mr. Murugan said. The police have also taken note of the organisers extending the programme beyond 5.30 p.m., the allotted time of closure, he said.

(Agencies)

PFI clarifies on Shivamogga rally, blames Sangh Parivar for clashes

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(Representative image)

(Representative image)

Mangaluru: Popular Front of India (PFI) has issued a press statement clarifying on its recent Shivamogga rally and the subsequent clashes that resulted in the death of one person and injuries to some, and arrest of a few.

“We want to state the truth. With the help of a small group of media, communalists are trying to spread wrong news and the Sangh Parivar has been adding fuel to the fire,” the PFI media release states.

“Shivamogga convention which was scheduled for February 17 was postponed on account of Shivaratri festival and was held on February 19 instead. Around 15,000 people who participated in the procession rally were shouting slogans against communalists, anti-people policies of government and human rights violations. When the rally reached Gandhi Bazar, some Sangh Parivar activists started pelting stones and bottles. PFI volunteers tried to prevent people from getting incited. But when the stone-pelting continued, police resorted to lathi charge to control that but the participants of the rally were also targeted later without any warning. Police need to give explanation for the same.

“But the volunteers handled the situation well and the convention started peacefully at 6 pm. But during the convention goons from Sangh Parivar set fire to vehicles, shops and a house. Twelve persons were injured when stones were pelted at a mosque. The people who came from Chikkamagaluru, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada were targeted and in the ensuing clashes, 17 were injured and one person died. As many as 35 cars, three mini buses and nine buses were damaged. It is not yet certain as to who were involved in the clashes,” the statement reads.

“BJP leaders have influenced the police to arrest innocent Muslim youths. They wanted to target PFI leaders. Police have illegally arrested people from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and other places. A similar type of convention was held on February 21 in Chamarajanagar which went on peacefully. Police also handled the situation well there. We request everyone to support us to counter anti-national elements. We also urge the state government to show no mercy to these anti social powers.

“We demand justice in the Shivamogga incident. There is no doubt that it was a pre-planned attack. The state government should not show any mercy to such forces. We will continue to fight against communal forces and we stand by the people affected by the incident.” the statement from PFI concludes.

Seven PFI activists taken into custody from Bantwal taluk for Shivamogga violence

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(Representative image)

(Representative image)

Bantwal: As many as seven activists of Popular front of Indian have been taken into custody in different parts of Bantwal taluk by the police in connection with post-PFI rally violence in Shivamogga.

At least two persons were killed and several injured in the aftermath of a communal clash that erupted after miscreants pelted stones at a PFI rally on February 19.

Police sources said that they picked up the PFI activists in Bantwal on Tuesday night after watching the video footage of PFI rally and the clashes.

A team of police from Shivamogga rural station searched for them for two days at Kelaginapete, Kalladka and Farangipet in the taluk, it is learnt.

According to police, around 60 PFI activists from Bantwal were present during the clashes in Shivamogga.

The arrested accused are Muhammed Mushar (21), son of Pakeer Saheb from Posat in M Kody Kundapur, Asheed Ahmed (32), son of K A Hussain from Posat in M Kody, who is an interior designer by profession, as well as Arshad Ahmed (27), son of K Ibrahim, and Muhammed Hanif (43) from the same village. They were arrested on Tuesday February 24.

(Agencies)

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