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Sangh Parivar activist arrested for desecrating temples to create riot

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Muzaffarnagar police have arrested a Hindutva activist for a number of incidents of temple desecration, which had led to tensions in Budhana.

Muzaffarnagar police have arrested a Hindutva activist for a number of incidents of temple desecration, which had led to tensions in Budhana.

Muzaffarnagar: A 35-year-old Sangh Parivar activist has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police for desecrating two temples last week near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh with the intention of creating communal riots.

The riot monger has been identified as Deshraj Singh. His aim, he told police, was to ensure that “koi masjid na rahe, sirf mandir rahe (no mosques should remain, only temples should remain)”.

The miscreant had confessed to have desecrated two temples at Parsauli village in communally sensitive Budhana near Muzaffarnagar by leaving buffalo carcasses inside and writing hate messages on the wall.

Parsauli had remained tense last week after a few temple desecration incidents came to light. In one instance on the 15th of December, animal skin was found outside a newly constructed temple, while on the night of 20th an idol went missing from another temple.

Following the incidents BJP leaders including Union Minister Sanjeev Baliyan had visited the village.

There was a string of two or three incidents. A person had placed heads and other parts of buffaloes at two temples. The idols had also been stolen. An attempt had also been made to place an idol at a different spot. Following our efforts, we have arrested Deshraj Singh, who has confessed to committing these acts,” said HN Singh, SSP, Muzaffarnagar.

“We are in the process of ascertaining in what state he had committed these acts. We cannot yet say for certain why he had committed these acts. We have also sent a team to his house in Delhi. Because of this incident, there was tension in the village. Communal tension also prevailed in nearby villages,” he added.

Police said that Deshraj also revealed he stole some items from a mosque earlier as well.

Deshraj is a native of Parsauli but had been working in Noida. He had returned to Parsauli about two months back.

Budhana had been one of the areas affected by the riots in Muzaffarnagar last year.

Vajpayee, Malaviya to get Bharat Ratna

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (file photos)

Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya (file photos)

New Delhi: A day ahead of their birth anniversaries, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the late freedom fighter-educationist and the initial leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha, Madan Mohan Malaviya were named for India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

“The president has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthmously) and to Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said.

Incidentally, both Vajpayee and Malaviya were born Dec 25 — the former in 1924 and the latter in 1861. Their birthday has also been declared as “Good Governance Day” by the government.

The honour for Gwalior-born Vajpayee, who was the country’s prime minister first in 1996 and then again from 1998 to 2004, came after years of demands from people across party affiliations and the public at large.

The 90-year-old veteran politician had re-started the Bharatiya Jan Sangh as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 and was the first head of government from outside the Congress party to serve a full five-year term.

He served the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, for 10 terms that began in 1957 and concluded in 2009.

An orator par excellence, Vajpayee had earned much fame as India’s external affairs minister in Prime Minister Morarji Desai government during which tenure he delivered a widely acclaimed speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.

Allahabad-born Malaviya was the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms and was also among the first leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha. Besides being a freedom fighter and politician, he was also an eminent educationist.

The Banaras Hindu University was founded by him in 1916. He died a year before India’s independence Aug 15, 1947.

Congress welcomes decision

The Congress Wednesday welcomed the decision to confer the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and late freedom fighter and educationist Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Congress general secretary Ajay Maken tweeted a congratulatory message after the announcement was made.

“We welcome the conferring of Bharat Ratna on Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We congratulate,” Maken said.

(IANS)

40 killed in Bodo terrorist attacks in Assam

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Assam-bodoland

Guwahati: At least 40 people were killed when Bodo militants fired indiscriminately at villagers in Assam’s Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts, police said.

An Assam Police spokesman confirmed that 40 people, including four women, were killed in four incidents of firing by cadres of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) faction opposed to peace talks.

The attacks began around 6.15 p.m. Tuesday, almost simultaneously.

The first attack took place at Pakhiriguri in Kokrajhar district of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), where the militants killed four people and injured four.

In another attack at Ultapani, in the same district, they killed three people.

Police said 27 people were killed in Maitalubosti in Sonitpur district. The rebels also attacked Jungle Bosti village in the same district, killing six people.

“The toll is likely to increase as there are reports of more bodies being recovered from all the violence-affected areas,” a senior police official said.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S.N. Singh said the NDFB faction opposed to peace talks was behind the incident.

The militants attacked the villages as a response to the intensified operation by the security forces, he said.

A joint team of Assam Police commandos and the army had Sunday killed two Bodo militants in neighbouring Chirang district, close to the Bhutan border.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Tuesday said termed the attack a cowardly act of the militants and said his government will not bow down to any militant threat.

Killings condemnable

The killing of unarmed civilians by Bodo militants in Assam “is highly condemnable and shows contempt for human lives”, Amnesty International India said Wednesday.

“The men, women and children killed and injured in these attacks were mostly members of the adivasi community who traditionally work in the tea gardens of the region,” it said.

“It is the fundamental right of every person to live free from violence and discrimination. Authorities in Assam must take action to protect the rights of all communities and bring those responsible for the attacks to justice,” Amnesty said.

The CPI-M on Wednesday urged the government to take “firm action” and dismantle Bodo militants after they massacred over 40 tribals, including women and children.

“Firm action should be taken to curb and dismantle the NDFB extremist group,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said, referring to the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.

“It is the responsibility of the Assam government and the (central government) to ensure the safety and protection of non-Bodo communities in the BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District) area.”

(IANS)

Exclusion and untouchability remain widespread and only 5% marry out of their caste: Survey

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caste

by International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)

Report findings recently released from the India Human Development Survey, the India Exclusion Report and the Nepal Multidimensional Social Inclusion Index, document that caste discrimination is very far from being history. In almost all aspects of every-day life statistics indicate that caste discrimination is deep-rooted and widespread.

Merely five percent of Indians said they had married a person from a different caste, and 27 percent of households self-reported engaging in untouchability practices, according to the pre-released findings of The India Human Development Survey, conducted by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Maryland University. When Brahmins (dominant caste) were asked, 52% self-reported to not allow a Dalit to use their kitchen utensils, a common practice of untouchability.

The survey also found that only 5% marry outside their caste, which is a clear indicator of the perseverance of caste segregation. The survey found that there had been no increase in this number since the survey was last conducted 10 years ago. In Madhya Pradesh state less than 1% reported marrying outside their caste.

The survey findings on untouchability were particularly stark in some states where untouchability across castes was found to be almost 50% in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Bihar and just over 40% in Uttar Pradesh. As the survey only documents self-declared practices of untouchability, the true figures are thought to be even higher.

These findings will not come as a surprise to the authors of the comprehensive and highly collaborative India Exclusion Report 2013-2014, by the Centre for Equity Studies. The report analyses discrimination across labour, education and housing in India. Within all these areas Dalits, and particularly Dalit women, come out at the bottom of the tables.

“India is inherently prone to exclusion practices that make large quantities of people extremely vulnerable to a sliding path towards destitution. The excluded almost exclusively belong to the suppressed castes, religious minorities and tribal groups. Within these categories, women are perhaps the worst off.”

In relation to discrimination in the labour market the report states,

“Caste remains a key determinant of a person’s future. This is perfectly reflected in India’s labour market, which is more governed by laws of social origin than by statutory legislation. Moreover, violation of caste rules by Dalits seeking to break caste-related employment barriers is prone to severe punishment from dominant castes, including economic boycotts and even physical violence.”

Findings on bonded labour also echo clear links to the caste system,

“Traditional caste rules mandate forced labour from certain communities. Caste is one of the foundations of the bonded labour system and remains a key feature of bondage even in non-agricultural industries today. The lack of access to their own land, combined with this expectation to perform free labour and the threat of violence and economic boycott against those who challenge their expected social roles, keeps many Dalit families in bondage and a perpetual state of poverty.”

According to the India Exclusion report the Musahar Dalits are among one of the most vulnerable groups with less than 10% of Musahar Dalit children studying, a female literacy rate of just 2% and a school drop-out rate of nearly 100%.

Across the border in Nepal, Dalits also reign at the bottom of all tables in the recently published Nepal Multidimensional Social Inclusion Index, by Tribhuvan University’s Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology. The Index attempts to encompass all aspects of life and is a composite derived from six other indices: social, economic, political, cultural, gender, and social cohesion.

Across all counts Dalits are faring very poorly in Nepal and gender discrimination is also high across castes. There is a glaring gap between especially Tarai Dalits, and their dominant caste countrymen from the same region when it comes to all dimensions of the index. Muslims and other ethnic minorities are also represented at the bottom of the ranks.

The findings of these three recent reports counter popular assertions that caste discrimination is a thing of the past, or on the retreat, and beckon that all those with an interest in equality and inclusion take the caste dimension very seriously when engaging with caste-affected countries.

More information

Read caste-related selected extracts from the India Exclusion Report or download the full report

Read about the pre-released statistics from the India Human Development Survey

See the Nepal Multidimensional Social Inclusion Index and an article on the Index

Protests over conversions set back reform agenda

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india-parliament

New Delhi/Reuters: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform agenda suffered a setback on Monday as protests erupted in parliament and in the streets over a campaign by Hindu hardliners linked to his party to convert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.

Opposition members threw papers and swarmed to the centre of the upper house of parliament, forcing the suspension of the session and effectively preventing the government from tabling a bill to increase foreign participation in the insurance sector.

The long-pending insurance legislation to raise the cap on foreign investment to 49 percent from 26 percent, and another bill to replace a decree to overhaul the coal sector, were considered low-hanging fruits that Modi hoped to push through parliament’s winter session, which ends on Tuesday.

But comments by the head of the right-wing Hindu group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, that India was a “Hindu nation” provoked a storm of criticism, snuffing out any chance of opposition support for government business in the upper house of parliament, where Modi lacks a majority.

“This is an attempt to divide the society,” Nitish Kumar, an opposition leader from the state of Bihar told hundreds of people at a protest in New Delhi, referring to religious conversions.

“The government is not capable of resolving the core issues of our country, so they want to divide the society and distract people.”

Modi is facing a backlash for not doing enough to rein in hardline affiliate groups that have become emboldened in their pursuit of a Hindu-dominant agenda, threatening India’s secular foundations, critics say.

Trouble erupted this month after a group of Muslims complained they had been tricked into attending a conversion ceremony by Hindu groups. A Hindu priest-turned-lawmaker of Modi’s party had planned a mass conversion ceremony on Christmas Day, but that has been put off.

About a fifth of India’s 1.2 billion people identify themselves as belonging to faiths other than Hinduism. Conversion is a sensitive issue with Hindu groups saying many poor Hindus were forced over the ages to give up their faith, or lured into Christianity and Islam.

On Monday, opposition Congress party leader Anand Sharma urged Modi to make clear where he stood on conversions.

Modi actively communicates via social media and addresses the nation every month on radio, but has not commented on conversions, letting colleagues tackle the criticism.

"Not getting any reservation benefits, hence converted to Hinduism"

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home-coming-Hinduism

Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala Police began a probe into reports of 35 people in two districts converting to Hinduism, two families Monday said they did it on their own and not under any pressure.

The families of Babu and Joy, siblings from Cheppad in Alappuzha district, told the media that in official records they were classified as Christian Cheremars, but they had been practising Hinduism right from childhood.

They said that despite being classified as Christian Cheremars, they were not getting any reservation benefits.

Hence, they decided on their own to convert to Hinduism to enjoy the benefits.

They also said they had approached the local leadership of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and it was they who made arrangements for their conversion rituals.

A total of 35 people from Alappuzha and Kollam districts had Sunday converted to Hinduism, following which state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had ordered a probe.

Additional Director General of Police A. Hemachandran has been asked to conduct a detailed probe and submit a report, Chennithala’s office told IANS.

“He has constituted a team of officials and they are trying to find if there was any forced conversion. The report is awaited,” the office said.

The VHP leadership Monday continued to maintain that there was no attempt on their part to woo people to convert to Hinduism.

Fr. Paul Thelekkat, spokesperson of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, told IANS that there exists a problem in Kerala where reservation benefits are there for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Hindus and not for SC/ST Christians.

What happened Sunday was probably to enjoy those benefits, he said.

“Moreover, the Bharatiya Janata Party, through this could look to polarisation of Hindu votes,” Thelekkat said.

(IANS)

Jammu & Kashmir heading for hung assembly; BJP to form Govt in Jharkhand

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BJP

Srinagar/Ranchi: Jammu and Kashmir today appeared headed for a hung assembly with BJP making gains in Jammu region while the party is all set to form government in Jharkhand, the trends coming from both the states in assembly elections show.

The PDP, headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and the BJP were leading in 25 seats each. The ruling National Conference was ahead in 16 seats and the Congress in 14 of the 87 seats for which the trends were available.

JKPC led by Sajjad Lone was ahead in two seats while JKPDF and CPI-M were leading in one seat each while Independents were leading in three seats.

The BJP’s spectacular performance, the best in the state so far, was however limited to the Jammu region where 37 seats are up for grabs. The party has not bee able to make any dent in the Valley which has 46 seats in all.

Going by the trends, unless any two of the four major parties–BJP, PDP, NC and Congress–come together government formation would not be possible.

In the last elections, National Conference had won 28, PDP 21, Congress 17 and BJP 11 seats.

In Jharkhand, the BJP was well on the road to forming a government of its own by leading in 38 seats including four of ally AJSU in the 81-member assembly. Ruling JMM is leading in 20 constituencies, Congress 4, JVM (P) 8, RJD 5 and others 5, the trends show.

(PTI)

Janata Parivar targets Modi government on black money, conversions

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The leaders of the Samajwadi Janata Dal, a bloc of six parties, in Delhi on Monday. Photo: PTI

The leaders of the Samajwadi Janata Dal, a bloc of six parties, in Delhi on Monday. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Leaders of the Janata Parivar raised the issue of black money both inside and outside parliament Monday, hitting out at the NDA government for failing to fulfil its promise of bringing back illegal cash stashed abroad. They also accused it of fomenting communal tensions.

Political heavyweights from the Janata Parivar, comprising the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) gathered in the Jantar Mantar area in the heart of the capital to address a rally denouncing the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

“Why has the NDA government failed to fulfil its promises made before the (Lok Sabha) election?” asked JD-U leader Nitish Kumar.

“Where is the black money it promised to bring back (from abroad)?”

“The prime minister has campaigned across the nation. He had said that he would bring back black money; what happened to the promises he made? They are spending money on religious conversions, they made false promises during poll campaign, and now they are diverting people’s attention,” said the former Bihar chief minister.

He accused Modi of not acting tough against right-wing Hindu groups charged with religious conversion of Christians and Muslims and said the country should not be divided on religious grounds.

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad were equally critical.

Mulayam Singh said: “They promised jobs to all the youth and Rs.15 lakh to everyone (from the black money they would bring back). They even asked people to open bank accounts. But where is the money?”

“The BJP’s conspiracy is to engineer riots so that attention is shifted away from the government’s failures,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

“The Agra incident was just a beginning. They will do such things across the country,” Mulayam Singh said, referring to the conversion of 300 Muslims families in his state.

Lalu Prasad alleged that Modi was attempting to cause religious divide in the country by tacitly encouraging religious conversions.

“The minorities have also fought for India’s independence and the Modi government engages in ‘ghar vapsi’ (home-coming),” he said.

JD-U chief Sharad Yadav said: “Janata Parivar is protesting at the venue (Jantar Mantar) against the government over black money. You promised good days, employment”.

The issue was raised again in both houses by members of these parties. In the Lok Sabha, they also staged a walkout over the issue. Members of the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress also held protests in the parliament premises.

In the lower house, Mulayam Singh accused the government and Prime Minister Modi of not fulfilling the promises made to people who voted him to power.

Members of the RJD and the JD-U also demanded a statement from the prime minister over the issue.

The SP chief said promises were made that farmers would get money in their accounts and that land encroached by China and Pakistan would be taken back. But “these promises have not been fulfilled”.

Both houses of parliament have debated the issue of black money during the winter session.

(IANS)

Indologist Koenraad Elst says "…make it uncool to be Muslims" at the Goa conclave of the Hindutva Right, draws flak

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Koenraad Elst

Utorda: Former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali Saturday walked out of the India Ideas Conclave 2014 held in Goa protesting the anti-Islam remarks by Belgian Indologist Koenraad Elst.

“I am appalled at what I heard from the platform about insulting Islam and insulting the Prophet. One can criticize this, that and the other but don’t insult. To try to destroy the whole faith is wrong”, Abdelsalam al-Majali said while walking out of the event organised by India Foundation whose directors include Union Minister Suresh Prabhu and Shaurya Doval, son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

“We came here to understand each other and try to be peaceful. It is very sad to be at such a conference to hear insults on a religion which is followed by over one billion people”, he added.

According to the Indian Express, Elst while addressing the session on ‘Religion — Tolerance and Terror’ at the India Ideas Conclave 2014, said: “On the whole, you should make it uncool to be Muslims. That will help them. You do not forcefully need to convert them. Through this, they will themselves outgrow Islam.”

Referring to the row over the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ campaign, Elst said: “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is coming under criticism for the one thing that they are doing very well which is Ghar Wapsi. We need to liberate Muslims from Islam. Every Muslim is an abductee and must be brought back.”

Elst anti Muslim rant was also criticised by Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, former secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Countries, who lodged a protest with the organisation.

“We are hearing a speech of hatred. You cannot use your freedom of speech to hurt others. I was very happy being here until I heard this speech of hatred”, Dr. Ihsanoglu said.

Gunnar Stalsett, Bishop Emeritus of Oslo, and others also questioned the “demonization” of an entire faith.

Recalling his role in 2002 riots, Economist says Modi is follower of Savarkar, an "immensely divisive" figure

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Narendra Modi pays homage to Hindutva ideologue Savarkar on his birth anniversary at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Narendra Modi pays homage to Hindutva ideologue Savarkar on his birth anniversary at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

by Counterview

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a gap of about six months, top British journal, The Economist’s latest issue (December 20) has once again reminded its readers that Modi remains a controversial leader for his “failure” in 2002, when as chief minister of Gujarat, he failed to “avert a massacre of Muslims.” Insisting that the hostility is born of the ideology that militant freedom fighter Vinayak Savarkar “spawned”, the influential British journal says, Modi “has never apologised for the massacre.” Taking a dig at Modi, the journal recalls how he sought to “regret” the riots once – telling a news agency interviewer that he is as sorry for the killings as he is while “seeing a puppy run over in the street”.

Pointing out that Modi is inspired by Savarkar, the journal suggests, after Modi came to power, RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat has become more aggressive by increasingly referring to Savarkar for inspiration. Like Savarkar, Bhagwat now says that “all who live in Hindustan are in fact Hindus, whatever Muslims, Christians or secular Hindus might say”, the journal says, underlining, “The group has become an enthusiastic and effective actor within (the BJP). The RSS’s millions of members and volunteers played a big role in electing the BJP by a landslide in 2014. At least 19 ministers in government, including Modi, have a background in the RSS.”

Even as saying that Modi is “India’s strongest leader since Indira Gandhi”, the journal contends, the Prime Minister has made no attempt to “distance himself from the RSS”. It adds, “Those who promote Hindutva and echo Savarkar whip up stories of ‘love jihad’, alleging, Muslim men convert large numbers of Hindu women by seducing them.” Pointing out how earlier this month “a BJP parliamentarian praised Godse as a ‘patriot’ equal to Gandhi”, it says, things have gone so far now that “members of the increasingly influential RSS feel emboldened” and are promoting “majoritarian politics” in order to “absorb or flatten a minority” in “utterly destructive” way.

Pointing out that “India’s tolerance and moderation” may be “at risk”, the journal notes, this is clear the way Modi has been promoting Savarkar. “In 2008 Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, inaugurated a website (savarkar.org) that promotes a man ‘largely unknown to the masses because of the vicious propaganda against him and misunderstanding around him that has been created over several decades’.” While a “previous BJP-led government put Savarkar’s portrait in parliament… on Savarkar’s birthday this year, May 28, the Prime Minister paid homage to him there. Modi tweeted about Savarkar’s ‘tireless efforts towards the regeneration of our motherland’.”

While calling Modi a firm follower of Savarkar, the journal refers to how Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi differed from each other ever since they met for a meal in England in 19065. “Savarkar offered Gandhi some of his meal; Gandhi, a vegetarian, refused. Savarkar allegedly retorted that only a fool would attempt to resist the British without being fortified by animal protein”, The Economist says, adding, “The meeting is said to have begun hostilities between the two young Indian nationalists. Gandhi was a pacifist with an inclusive attitude towards Muslims and Christians. Savarkar, who would lead the Hindu Mahasabha, was a right-wing majoritarian who spawned the idea of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness…”

Pointing towards how “Savarkar remains immensely divisive”, the journal recalls how he called Gandhi a weak, a “sissy”, and far too willing to collaborate with Britain. “Gandhian talk of man’s common humanity he regarded as utopian to the point of naivety. In articles from the 1920s to the 1940s Savarkar lambasted Gandhi as a ‘crazy lunatic’ who ‘happens to babble…[about] compassion, forgiveness’, yet ‘notwithstanding his sublime and broad heart, the Mahatma has a very narrow and immature head’. Gandhi promoted ahimsa, a Buddhist rejection of violence which Savarkar called “mealy-mouthed”.

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