Evening NEWS
DIGEST
INDIA: DALIT
STIR, ATROCITIES, LAWLESSNESS
Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar, thousands of Dalit activists assemble
at Delhi's Jantar Mantar to protest against caste-based violence
New Delhi: Protests have intensified against caste disturbances in
Saharanpur, UP and thousands of Dalit activists led by Bhim army gathered at
Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday. Various Dalit groups and their members
gathered at the protest site on Sunday, despite being denied permission by the
Delhi Police. Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar, who is wanted by UP Police for allegedly trying to instigate
people, was also present at the event.Slogans were raised against casteist
exploitation and atrocities on the basis of caste.News reports further claimed
that Gujarat youth Dalit leader Jignesh Mawani and former JNUSU president
Kanhaiya Kumar were among those who joined the protesters.Security in New Delhi
has been increased after Dalit activists threatened to launch a protest in the
National Capital despite the denial of
permission by Delhi Police. "They have not taken prior permission but we
will not remove them forcefully. We will wait and watch until they do it
peacefully," DCP New Delhi told media on Sunday. In preparation of the unlikely unrest, Delhi
Police has imposed prohibitory order in New Delhi. Barricades have been put in
and around Parliament. Paramilitary force along with armed police and district
unit deployed. Top leaders of Bhim Army have been running a mass mobilisation
effort in Western UP to ensure that thousands reach Delhi on May 21 to protest
against alleged atrocities against Dalits. Chandrashekhar Azad, wanted for his
alleged involvement in the clashes between police and Dalit protesters on May 9
released a short audio message where he appealed to all "fellow
advocates" and those who believe in Ambedkar's ideology to be present at
Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Sunday. According to officials in
Delhi, permission has been sought for a crowd of 50,000, but that many more are
expected, due to which permission could not be given.In a letter, the deputy
commissioner of police of New Delhi district BK Singh expressed fears that more
than 50,000 would be present while he denied permission for holding the
protest."Jantar Mantar for dharna or demonstration cannot accommodate such
a large gathering (50,000 people). There is some intelligence that the
gathering will be higher than the intimation given by you," the letter
addressed to the organisers read.News Nation
Saharanpur violence: Jantar Mantar turns into sea of blue as thousands
of Dalits gather to protest
Thousands of Dalits protest near Parliament House
Dalits rally up at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to protest against UP govt's
'inaction' in Saharanpur caste violence
UP: Dalits allege biased police action after caste clashes, threaten
conversion to Islam
Aligarh: About 49 Dalit families of a village in western UP threatened on Sunday to embrace Islam in
protest against alleged partisan police action after violent caste clashes that
wounded more than 10 people. These families in Keshopur-Jafri village of
Aligarh district immersed idols of Hindu deities in a public pond in a symbolic
step to highlight their intention to switch religion should the alleged
harassment by upper-caste Thakurs and police continue. Dalit villagers alleged
that police were harassing them after the confrontation with Thakurs. “Though
we lodged complaints with the district administration, officials failed to take
action. So we decided to embrace Islam. Today we immersed idols of deities in
the village pond in protest,” said Chandra Veer Jatav.Fellow Dalit Hari Singh
Jatav accused Thakurs and police of harassing them together. “Our children and
women are not going out in fear. So we decided to convert. Police have slapped
wrong sections of the IPC on Dalits. If this injustice is not stopped, we will
embrace Islam on Friday.” hindustantimes
Dalits in Lucknow protest, threaten to embrace Buddhism
Karnataka tribe, long forced to eat leftovers from upper-caste homes,
with hair, nails, arrived at beef out of need
The kuchcha house with its brick tile roof in Hosadu village of
Karnataka’s Udupi district stands out for the BR Ambedkar poster that covers
almost half its length. On the night of April 24, though, it wasn’t the poster
that led the attackers to it. A girl of the house was getting engaged the next
day and, post-midnight, the preparations were still on. As the bride-to-be sat
surrounded by giggling cousins discussing the mehndi and other festivities, in
another corner, men were preparing beef to be served at the next day’s meal.
More than 40 people hung around. Eventually the party would be scaled down, to
a hundred people, from the 300 they were expecting. Around 12.30 am that night,
a mob attacked the house and beat up three tribals for killing a cow at their
home.But, says Shakuntala, the owner of the house, for Koraga tribals like her,
the festivities couldn’t have been complete without beef. A total of eight
families live in Hosadu’s Ganadamakki Koraga Colony. “Initially, we Koragas ate
the meat of dead cows. But later the Govt banned this. Now we purchase cow or male calf
and sometimes people from other castes give them to us as gifts to eat. On
April 24, we were preparing the cow meat for engagement, as it happens at
functions organised by our families, when they attacked,” says
Shakuntala.However, the 42-year-old, of a tribe that has long lived on the
scraps of upper castes, at the edges of villages and towns, decided not to let
the attackers get away.On the basis of her complaint, police filed a case
against a gang of 13, including Sunil Poojari, Chandrakanth Poojari, Gururaja
Acharya and 10 others, for attacking the tribals. ‘Gau rakshaks’, in turn,
filed a complaint with police against the residents of the Hosadu house for
slaughtering a cow. All, including the cow vigilantes and tribals, are out on
bail.Karnataka’s Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act says a
cow can be slaughtered in the state only if it is certified as suffering from a
disease, or for research at a Govt-recognised institute. It also prohibits
anyone from selling or disposing of a cow, if they have knowledge it would be
slaughtered. Koragas, in turn, say that they stumbled upon beef more out of
necessity. For long, like many other aspects of their lives, what the Koragas
eat has been determined by their place in the social hierarchy.One of the most
neglected tribes in India, they are on the Centre’s list of primitive tribal
groups. The 2011 Census put their numbers at 14,794 in Karnataka, with around
2,000 more in Kerala. Very few among the community are educated, and most of
them work as daily wagers or sweepers or weave baskets for a living. Many
Koragas, including Shakuntala, have grown up with the memory of collecting food
mixed with human hair, nails and other such material from upper caste homes.
The upper castes forced this superstition, called Ajalu, on the Koragas as they
believed that any illnesses in their families would be transferred to the
tribals if they consumed the food. In 2000, Govt banned the practice through a
legislation.Bogra Koraga, the head of the Koraga Samiti in Udupi, says the
practice still continues since police turn a blind eye to it. According to him,
beef became a part of the Koraga diet when they started to migrate into hamlets
around Dakshina Kannada and Udupi from the forests a few centuries ago.
Shakuntala says that over the years, mixing of human hair and nails by upper
castes in their food stopped as the younger Koragas revolted. But the practice
of collecting food from upper caste homes continued. indianexpress
We’ve suffered their slavery, why should our children? Dalit of Sagga
village in Haryana’s Karnal district
“Hamne to ghulami sah li, par bachche kyon karen jab bhagwan ne unhe
rojgar diya hai (We have suffered slavery, but why should our children tolerate
this when they have jobs, with the grace of God)?” says Phool Singh, 65, a
Dalit of Sagga village in Haryana’s Karnal district.He has been emboldened by
that one act of his son Somvir Singh — to ride a mare on his wedding day on
March 3 and do the ghurchari, a pre-wedding ritual where the groom sets off on
a procession to the village temple or the well to pray. The procession had
turned violent that day, with the upper-caste Rajputs of the village clashing
with the Dalits, an incident that was raised in the state Assembly and led to
police being deployed in the village for a month after.Sagga, 15 km from Karnal
town, is a village of 6,500 people, with the Rajputs making up 60 % of the population. Like in other villages in
these parts, there is a separate well for the Dalits while the other villagers
share a common well. “Two years ago, the upper castes had thrown a Valmiki
youth off the mare. After that, no Dalit had dared to perform the ghurchari,”
says Phool Singh.Then his son Somvir decided to challenge that. So at 7 pm on
March 3, 29-year-old slipped into a black suit, wore a red turban, straddled a
white mare and set off in a buggy to the community well of the Dalits.Somvir,
who works as an executive assistant in a govt-administered cooperative society
in the neighbouring town of Kurukshetra, says the upper castes started
threatening the buggy owner much before the procession set off, telling him the
Dalits were not allowed to perform ghurchari. “They did not want me to ride a
horse up to our well, which is just 200 metres from our house,” he says. “When
our procession finally began, a Rajput youth jumped at me with a stick in his
hand, but our community members stopped him. Then, they cut off electricity to
our part of the village. After some elders intervened, we decided to postpone
the ghurchari for following morning.”Next day, with members of Dalit
organisations rushing to Sagga to support Somvir, his ghurchari procession set
off under police protection. “But when I was returning after the ghurchari, the
Rajputs attacked us again. Some of our vehicles were damaged and the DJ party
ran away,” he recalls.Somvir’s mother Chanderpati says, “I hid my son in our
Ravidas temple to protect him.” Later, Somvir went to the house of his bride
Meenu Bhoria, in Ambala, accompanied by a police team, and completed the
wedding rituals.On March 6, his father Phool Singh named 42 Rajputs for
attacking their family and stopping them from performing Somvir’s ghurchari. indianexpress
Bhopal: Widow tries to kill self after Dalit BJP leader’s suicide over
'humiliating by local party leaders'
Bhopal/Raisen: Rinki Poriya, the widow of a local Dalit BJP leader in
Raisen district tried to end her life on Saturday over the delay in
investigating the charge that her husband killed himself after being
embarrassed by local party leaders.Sharad Poriya (32) had committed suicide a
fortnight ago after a video of him apologizing and touching feet of a rival BJP
leader was widely shared on social media. Sources said the BJP was
faction-ridden in Udaypura area of Raisen district.Poriya had allegedly fought
with Manish Singh Rajput, another BJP leader and others over a religious
procession in April. Later, local MLAs and the BJP high command tried to sort
out the issue and reportedly asked Poriya to apologise by touching the feet of
the leaders in a room secretly. Some party members shot a video of it and later
posted it on social media and WhatsApp which embarrassed Poriya.For the past
15-days, Rinki was trying to register a case against the BJP leaders for
abetment to suicide but police allegedly did not take any action.HT
BJP Leader Yeddyurappa Orders Food From Hotel At Dalit's Home, Faces
Untouchability Charge
Karnataka BJP leader,
BSYeddyurappa, has been mired in a controversy after ordering food from outside
during his visit to a dalit's home.Yeddyurappa along with some other party
leaders had visited Hanumanthaiah's home in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district on
May 18 where the latter had prepared breakfast for the guests, however, the
leader ordered idlis and vadas from a nearby hotel, reported TOI. He has now
been accused of practicing untouchability. A man named D Venkatesh from Mandya
has filed a police complaint against him.outlook
Hyderabad HC junks orders cancelling land given to Dalit farmers
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad high court has come to the rescue of 3 Dalit
farmer families who were being harassed by the revenue authorities for the last
4-and-half decades. The revenue officials had been trying to take back the tiny
extent of five acres allotted to the farmers in 1961, but the court held that the
land rightfully belongs to the three families and termed invalid all the
cancellation orders. timesofindia
Jharkhand lynching: Anger brews in village of dead, Muslim protesters
clash with police
Haldipokhor: Men gathered in a huddle well past midnight, family members
debating what to do next, dark and deserted lanes, and no policemen or
political leaders in sight — there is fear and anger in this Muslim village 18
km from Jamshedpur city. In the mayhem of Thursday night when tribal mobs went
on a rampage over rumours of child snatching, three men of Haldipokor and a
visitor were among the 6 lynched. Cattle traders Naim (35), Sheikh Sajju (25),
Sheikh Siraj (26) and Sheikh Halim (28) were chased for close to 2 hours before
being beaten to death in the tribal-dominated area of Rajnagar. The family
members received their bodies on Saturday. “Had police listened to us and taken
action, this would not have happened. I kept calling them,” says Syed
Zabiullah, the gram panchayat pradhan of Haldipokhor, pointing out that the men
who managed to escape were caught later and beaten up by the mob. On Saturday,
Muslim protesters clashed with police in different parts of Jamshedpur town, and
have called for a shutdown. Police had to resort to lathicharge and teargas
shelling, as agitators pelted stones and bricks, blocked roads and tried to down
shutters of shops and business outlets. Zabiullah asked why no arrests had been
made. “We gave pictures and videos of those involved in the killings to the
police. They are known faces and we have identified some. But we do not know
why they have not been arrested. This incident will create a divide in the
society,” he warns. The four dead were Muslims, while the accused are all
tribals. Community members have refused Rs 2 lakh compensation offered by the Govt
and submitted a long list of demands,
including Rs 25 lakh each as relief, Govt jobs to families of the victims, a ration shop
and anganwadi centre in the village, houses under Central Govt schemes, apart from immediate arrest.No
political leaders have visited Haldipokhor so far, and the villagers submitted
a memorandum to the CM through the
district administration on Saturday. indianexpress
Jharkhand lynching: Communal tensions prevail in Jamshedpur region,
curfew remains in some parts
Jharkhand lynching: Community leaders, activists blame ‘curse of social
media’
Jharkhand lynching: Amid WhatsApp rumours, tribals stopped school,
outdoors for kids
UP: Exodus of Sambhal Nandrauli’s Muslims continues
Nandrauli:25-year-old Arif Ali is unable to come to terms with the fact
that people he has spent his whole life with, burnt down his house and all his
possessions.Along with many other Muslim houses in the small hamlet of
Nandrauli in Sambhal district of UP, Ali’s house was attacked by a mob of from
the Yadav community after a Muslim youth and a Yadav girl eloped on May 10.“It
is understandable that one would get angry in a village when a recently married
girl, who was about to leave for her in-laws place, elopes with a man of
another religion. But why would you attack, loot and burn houses of people who
had nothing to do with the elopement?” wonders Ali, a daily wage labourer.A
week after the incident fear still stalks the Muslims in this small village where
they are an extreme minority. The number has dwindled further as a majority of
them fled after the May 11 attack. Ali said out of 50 Muslims households, only
around 10-15 were staying due to pressure from the police, who have been
deployed in the village. “All of us are planning to leave because there can be
more attacks. The Yadavs are extremely angry as 14 of them have been arrested
on charges of rioting, looting and arson,” he added.Ansar Ali, in his late
forties whose house was not attacked, told The Hindu that “Muslims had lived in
peace and there had not been a single communal clash in the village. But this
elopement and also the patronage of the local BJP MLA Raju Yadav, to the angry
Yadavs has something to do with the attack,” he alleged. thehindu
‘Jungle Raj’? UP’s Bijnor sees Muslim exodus, police torture cited as
reason
“We were sipping our tea. Suddenly we heard gunshots and the next
moment, 3 people were lying in front of us. Dead. We did not even throw a
single stone at them. How could they come and kill us like that?” says Zareena
of Paida village of Bijnor in Western UP. Zareena’s father, brother and
brother-in-law, all were killed by Jat community last year. The village is
seeing an exodus of Muslim families, and at least on first impressions, the
blame does not lie on right-wing parties. This step taken by the families is
more due to the continuous police torture, especially the way they handled a
small violent incident last year. When one enters the village, it can be seen
clearly that several homes belonging to the Muslim community are marked as –
“This house is for sale. We are leaving the house because Police tortures
us”.In September last year, Bijnor faced violence over a eve-teasing case in
the aftermath of which goons from Jat community killed three Muslim men from
the Paida village. Those who got killed belonged to the family of girl who was
allegedly harassed. Mausam Chadhary, a BJP worker and husband of current Bijnor
MLA Suchi Chaudhari, wereput behind the bars in this case with several
others.During UP election in February, a boy named Vishal from accused Jat side
was killed, and Muslims were blamed for his death. Seeing the complexity of matter,
the then Akhilesh govt gave the whole case to CBCID. In CBCID’s probe, 8
individuals from Muslim community were named in FIR.And the story of exodus
starts from here.In just last 5 days, after the named FIR was lodged, the
Police administration has pressurised the common residents of the Paida village
so much that there are new stories of harassment on a daily basis. It must be
pointed out that the police’s pressure for arrest is not the issue here, rather
it is the way they are dealing with the rest of the village that shows a clear
case of ‘anti-community’ action.As per the allegations of the residents of
Paida, the Police took 3 bikes parked outside the houses. A young women
Khurshida was beaten mercilessly by a lady constable when she refused to hand
out the key to one of the bikes. TwoCircles
OTHERS
'Ghar Wapsi' for 22 Muslims in UP's Faizabad:ANI
Faizabad (UP): Nearly 2 dozen
people, all of them Muslims, from Uttar Peadesh's Faizabad have accepted Hindu
religion following proper rituals and traditionAll those Muslims who have
accepted Hinduism belong to Ambedkar Nagar district. The crowd includes women
and children as well. It is being said that their ancestors were Hindus, and
about 20 to 25 years ago, all these people had adopted Muslim religion for some
reason.After performing all the required rituals, these people have been given
the initiation of Hinduism.The entire program was done in a very secretive
manner at an Aryasamaj Temple.RSS Kailash Chandra Srivastava performed the
process of conversion."All those, who were converted to Hindu religion,
left Islam without being lured," Srivastava said.ANI
Over 250 Muslim prisoners on hunger strike in a MP jail for restricting
home food during Ramzan: freepressjournal
Ujjain : Over 250 Muslim inmates of Bhairavgrah jail went on a hunger
strike from Saturday after the Govt of
Madhya Pradesh restricted the practice of bringing in home food for prisoners
during the month of Ramzan. Jail authorities tried to talk it out with the
prisoners till late evening, but the prisoners refused to eat until their
demands were met. Muslim prisoners will also observe ‘roza’ or fast during
Ramzan.Jail superintendent Gopal Tamrakar said “we tried to calm them down, but
they were adamant and threatened that their demands must be met before the
Ramzan started or they would continue their strike.”
Restrictions imposed in parts of Srinagar ahead of separatists rally
Srinagar: Authorities on Sunday imposed restrictions in parts of
Srinagar ahead of a rally by the separatists.Most of the separatist leaders,
including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani are under house
arrest.The restrictions have been imposed in 5 police station areas of the city
as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incident, DM , Srinagar,
Farooq Ahmad Lone, said in Srinagar. The separatists called for a march to the
Eidgah to commemorate the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, father
of moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and another
Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone. Meanwhile, normal life was affected elsewhere
in the Valley due to a strike called by the separatists. PTI
NIA quizzes 3 Hurriyat leaders
Srinagar: NIA questioned three Hurriyat leaders on Saturday to
investigate the role of Pakistan-based terrorist organisations in fuelling
unrest in the Kashmir valley.Sources said that the NIA team questioned Nayeem
Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba, who had
featured in a news channel sting operation where they allegedly confessed that
Lashkar provides funds to Hurriyat to carry out subversive activities in
Kashmir. Timesofindia
Govt will find permanent solution toKashmir issue:Rajnath
New Delhi : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the ruling NDA Govt
will find a permanent solution to the
Kashmir issue. His assertion came amid continued unrest in the valley.“Despite
our several efforts to build friendship with them, Pakistan did not understand
our initiative. Today also, they try to destabilise India by fomenting trouble
in Kashmir,” said Singh according to news agency ANI.
4 militants killed, 3 soldiers lost their lives in J-K's Naugam encounter:
PTI
Srinagar: 4 militants were killed in a fierce encounter that began along
the LoC in the Naugam sector in north Kashmir on Saturday in which 3 Army
jawans also lost their lives. The gun battle had ensued when alert Army jawans
had foiled an infiltration bid by the militants.“2 more terrorists were killed
today while another soldier attained martyrdom,” an Army official said.Overall,
the number of militants killed in the encounter had risen to 4, while 3
soldiers attained martyrdom in the operation, he said.“The sanitisation
operation is on along the LoC,” the official said adding that four weapons and
other war-like stores had been recovered from the encounter site.Two militants
were killed and two soldiers had lost their lives on Saturday in the encounter.
J&K: Locked out — NIA seeks US help to crack militant’s iPhone
Srinagar:iPhones are not a fad only among wealthy youth, they are also
prized possessions among militants in Kashmir Valley. These high-end mobile
phones, with their near-foolproof security features, enable them to elude
security forces.The security forces realised this while pursuing LeT
operational commander Abu Dujana.LeT commander, in his late twenties, is
believed to be a “skilful gadget freak”, dodging the round-the-clock cyber
monitoring of counter-insurgency operations. Dujana is the brain behind
introducing the iPhone as “a security cover for LeT’s inner circle” in the
Kashmir Valley.On Valentine’s Day this year, a special team of the security
agencies came close to nabbing Dujana when the car he was travelling in was
intercepted in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. However, militant, with his
hallmark Balti haggard-and-thin beard and long flowing hair, got down from the
car, opened fire at the special team and managed to escape, sources
said.However, Dujana left his iPhone7 behind, a window for the security
agencies into LeT’s command-control structure within and outside the Valley.
However, that window is firmly shut.“For days, we used every local techie’s
help to break the phone’s lock. We failed because the phone provides layers of
security cover for consumers. We could see an emerging trend among militants to
avoid other brands of phones but not iPhones due to its security features,”
said a counter-insurgency top official.Sources said the local police then
turned to the NIA for help to break into the phone.“In March, the iPhone7 was
sent to New Delhi and Hyderabad to the lab so it could be unlocked. the hindu
Sabarmati blast Truth prevailed, says acquitted Wani’s father
New Delhi: For Ghulam Mohammad Wani acquittal of his son Gulzar Ahmad
Wani in a terror case after spending 16 years in jail is a ‘victory of
truth’.“Today’s verdict means justice is still alive in India,” 62-year-old
Ghulam said over phone from Lucknow, after a sessions court in UP absolved Gulzar of all charges in the
Sabarmati Express blast case. “Truth has finally prevailed.” Ghulam had come to
Barabanki in UP from his village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district to
attend the court proceedings that declared his son a free man. hindustantimes
India ranks below Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, in healthcare
index, says report: indianexpress
New Delhi: A report published on Thursday by Global Burden of Disease in
The Lancet has revealed that India has recorded a poor health care index than
several neighbouring Asian nations, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and
China in last 25 years. Data, in the report, takes a look at 195 countries,
between the years 1990-2015, and assesses the measuring mortality rates from 32
diseases which should not be fatal in presence of effective medical care. The
results have revealed that India, in spite of socio-economic growth in the
given time-period, has not managed to achieve its goals in health care dept.As
per the report, India’s health care index has seen an increase of 14.1 in last
25 years, going up from 30.7 in 1990 to 44.8 in 2015, but the numbers are much
lesser than Sri Lanka (72.8), Bangladesh (51.7), Bhutan (52.7) and Nepal
(50.8). The report shows that India has performed the worst in preventing
deaths by Neonatal disorders, with an index rate of 14.
Kerala: Muslim girl who scored 1180/1200 in HSS exam commits suicide
Kannur: It was a proud moment for the Maloor village in Kannur when
Rafseena of Sivapuram Higher Secondary School scored a record 1,180 marks out
of 1,200 in the higher secondary results published on Monday. However, now the
villagers are mourning her as she was found hanging in her house at 4.45 p.m.
on Wednesday unable to bear the humiliation of a different kind that she
suffered from the publicity she gained.She left a suicide note which, according
to the police, hinted at the fact that she was depressed by the reports of her
poor background which she had hidden from her classmates.Rafseena was living in
a single-room house at Maloor Nittaramb Laksham Veedu colony along with her
mother Rahmath, a daily wage labourer, and 2 siblings.Abootty is her father. deccan
chronicle
About 5% of the students in Bengal's madrasahs are Hindus or non-Muslims
Kolkata: In the 2017 batch of the West Bengal Board of Madrasah
Education's (WBBME) Class XII Board exam, 2,287 or about 4.38% of the total
number of 52,115 students were Hindus. Between 2013 and 2017, on average, 4.8%
Hindu students took the exam.“We have 512 High Madrasahs [up to Class X] and
Junior High Madrasahs [up to Class VIII] affiliated to the WBBME, which have
about seven to eight lakh students. I can tell you about 5% of the students are
Hindus,” Abid Hussain, president of the Madrasah Board, told The Hindu.7
subjects are taught in these madrasahs — Bengali/Urdu, English, Maths, Physical
Science,Life Science, History and Geography — apart from Arabic and Islam
Parichat. thehindu
Maharashtra Waqf Board increases salary of imams threefold to Rs 1,500
Maharashtra State Board Of Waqf has finally increased the remuneration
given to all Imams of the registered mosques by threefold. Earlier, the Imams
across the state were earning a meagre sum of Rs 500, but following the
decision, it has been increased to Rs 1,500. timesofindia
NCTC: 5 yrs on, Centre takes first step towards reviving controversial
umbrella anti-terror body
New Delhi: Union Govt has taken
its first concrete step towards reviving the controversial National Counter
Terrorism Centre (NCTC), an all-encompassing body of Indian security agencies,
to counter terror threats.Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi held an hour-long
meeting with IB chief Rajiv Jain and NIA head Sharad Kumar on Thursday to
discuss the structure and legal framework of the NCTC.Sources said the new body
may be designed as an umbrella outfit encompassing all intelligence agencies –
such as IB, NIA, RAW, NTRO, National Intelligence Grid and NSG.Agency chiefs
will report to the NCTC head, who could be a four-star general.“The home
secretary sought the views of IB as well as the NIA because they will play a
pivotal role in the NCTC when it is formed,” said a home ministry official on
the condition of anonymity. States would be consulted after negotiations with
central stakeholders are completed, he added.The official said having the NIA
under the NCTC’s ambit would allow the new body to prosecute terror suspects
without having to depend on a separate legal framework. “NIA is already
empowered to investigate and prosecute terror suspects across the country.
Making a 4-star general NCTC head is one of the proposals under discussion.”However,
IB was reportedly uncomfortable with the idea of a new Govt body usurping its position as the country’s
main internal counter-terror agency. Hindustantimes
Milk, milk products-only iftars by RSS Muslim wing in UP
Lucknow RSS’s Muslim wing will organise iftars on Fridays in UP this Ramzan and serve only cow milk and its
products to drive home message of ‘save the cow’ and that consumption of its
meat invites diseases. Mahiraj Dhwaj Singh, co-convenor of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) for UP and Uttarakhand, said it is for the “first
time” that people who observe roza (fast), will be ending it with a glass of
cow’s milk. PTI
Lakhs of Muslims ready for Kar Seva, Ram Temple; Govt should
bring out rule on triple talaq, polygamy, maintenance, excessive children: Indresh Kumar
Ask Indresh Kumar why the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), an affiliate of
the RSS, is headed by a Hindu, and the MRM head insists that he is “just a
patron”. “A team of 35 central officebearers are Muslims. Even the national
convener is a Muslim. The whole committee is Muslim.” Founded in Dec.2002, MRM
calls itself a group of nationalist Muslims with a presence in 25 states with
some 10,000 active karyakartas and aims at bringing the Muslims closer to the
RSS. Its activities include convincing Muslim religious leaders to hoist the
national flag from madrasas on Republic Day, felicitating Muslims who own and
rear cows and plans to start a “No beef party – now cow milk party” campaign
during Ramzan beginning May 26. In an interview with ET, Kumar throws light on
various issues concerning the community, including Muslim participation in
construction of the Ram temple and MRM’s campaign to get rid of triple talaq.
On triple talaq, Kumar said, "MRM had in the Congress led UPA regime,
after a lot of thought and deliberation, talked about the uplift of Muslim
women and ending practices such as triple talaq, nikah halala, mehr, polygamy
and excessive kids. Muslim women feel they are not babymaking machines. Muslim
men are opting for divorce not on the basis of any need but out of lust. The
first wife does not receive due maintenance. When the Shah Bano verdict came in
1985, had the Congress not appeased the Muslims then, the Muslim women would
have got justice. Now, the women are ready for a struggle. MRM has opposed
triple talaq, halala, polygamy and excessive kids that have nothing to do with any religion but are social problems."
He added, "I appeal to the Govt to bring out a rule on triple talaq,
polygamy, maintenance and excessive children as soon as possible." On
Uniform Civil Code, Kumar said, "Already there is a national law in
existence that is called the common civil code in this country. The
Constitution does not interfere in religious matters, in the way marriages,
birthdays and festivals are celebrated by people from different religions. It
is only a conspiracy of a handful of hardline leaders. They do not want that
India should get united. They get money from foreign countries. If we
scrutinise the account of these maulanas, clerics and related organisations, it
would become obvious why they are patronising such an inhuman approach. Look at
the Muslim Personal Law Board:it was registered in 1975 and does not exist in
any other country. From an Islamic point of view it is unIslamic. It is laden
with evils and vices. From a judicial point of view, it is
unconstitutional." On whether Muslims will agree to a Ram temple, he
replied, "All the Muslims of Hindustan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are
converted — their ancestors are Hindus. So many Muslims are discussing that a
temple must be built there and that no mosque must be established, arguing that
such a masjid will be impure.” He added, “Hence today lakhs and lakhs of
Muslims are ready to do kar seva and cooperate in building a Ram temple. If you
want a build a mosque, you build it somewhere else. A time has come when all
religious places must be kept open for all. I have been to all such religious
places. Hence we are acting as facilitators... Participate in each other’s festivals.
In this way neither will there be conversions, riots, terrorism, Naxalism,
partition nor hatred." ET
Govt will end female Khatna if Bohras don’t: Maneka
New Delhi:The custom of female genital mutilation (FGM), practised by Dawoodi
Bohra community, is a criminal offence and if the community does not stop it
voluntarily, the Govt will bring in a
law to ban the practice, Union women and child development (WCD) minister
Maneka Gandhi told HT.On May 8, the SC sought response from the Centre and four
states on a PIL seeking ban on female genital cutting, which is mainly
practised by Dawoodi Bohras, a Shia Muslim sect. Dawoodi Bohras are a
two-million strong business community and they reside mostly in western cities
including Mumbai.HT
Ram temple should be built by 2018, Article 370 removed by 2019, says
Swamy:
Agra: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy emphasised that
the Ram temple in Ayodhya should be built by 2018, and Article 370 imposed in
Kashmir should be dropped by 2019..“ASI experts have found remains of the
temple at the site where the Babri Masjid stood. Even those contesting in court
against the Ram temple say that the mosque was there only for the last 500
years,” he said, adding that he would knock on the doors of the Supreme Court
in July with regards to his right to worship.“40,000 temples were demolished
during the rule of invaders. We have settled for constructing temples at three
sites only, including Mathura, Ayodhya and Varanasi. This should be amicably
allowed by the Muslims,” he added.In his address, Swamy also heaped praise on
Dr Ambedkar and ex-PM PV Narsimha Rao, but was severy critical of the country’s
first PM Jawaharlal Nehru.Calling Article 370 a temporary provision of the
Constitution, Swamy said it could be removed by the president on union
cabinet’s recommendation. Lauding the Indian Constitution for envisaging
equality between genders, he said provisions like ‘triple talaq’, which were
against Muslim women, could not be allowed to continue.
India wrongly claiming victory in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case: Pakistan
lawyer Qureshi
India cannot claim victory in
Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case at the International Court of Justice as the court has
issued “just a procedural order”, the lawyer who represented Pakistan in the
case has said. Khawar Qureshi said Jadhav’s case is more about political point
scoring than about the law.“Order issued by the ICJ is just a procedural order
to enable full hearing. It certainly is not a victory for India by any means,”
Geo TV quoted Qureshi as saying.“It was very clear that the court didn’t want
to hear about the merits or the jurisdiction. Court wanted to be satisfied
whether commander Jadhav had been denied consulor access, which he had,” he
said. PTI
Naroda Gam case: Court rejects accused plea to examine public
prosecutors
Ahmedabad: A special designated court, hearing 2002 Naroda Gam riots
case, on Saturday rejected the plea of the accused to examine 2 special public
prosecutors, calling it “strange and unreasonable”.The lawyer of the accused
had sought for the examination of the public prosecutors as they had argued
that there was anger among the Hindus in Gujarat following the Sabarmati
Express train carnage that triggered widespread riots in the state. The defence
lawyer had also sought to examine “entire Hindu community of Gujarat” to
ascertain if there was anger among the Hindus.“…I do not know how such a vague
relief, seeking and examining entire community came to this sort, and further
in case of examination of the other two special public prosecutors. Such a relief
came to be sought by the defence on mere presumption… if every question posed
by a cross-examiner elicits the response of examining an entire community, then
there would be no end to the proceedings and it would be nothing but an abuse
of the process of law,” the judge said. “It is neither reasonable, nor valid
nor legally maintainable,” the judge added. indianexpress
New AMU VC Revokes Professor Zaidi's Suspension Order
Newly appointed AMU V-C, Professor Tariq Mansoor, in exercise of the
powers vested in him under section 19 (3) of AMU Amendment Act has revoked the
suspension order of Associate Professor S Mustafa KQ Zaidi and reinstated him
on his post with immediate effect.V-C has taken this decision considering the
observations made by High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in writ petition
number, 9487 of 2017 in its judgment dated, April 6, 2017, said statement from AMU. ndtv
WORLD
Trump seeks to win over Muslims with Islam speech
Donald Trump is set to deliver a major speech on Islam during his visit
to Saudi Arabia, just two months after he signed revised orders to halt people
from six Muslim-majority nations from entering the US. During a lunch with up
to 50 Muslim leaders in Riyadh on Sunday, Trump is expected to express his
"hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam", a day after Washington took
issue with Iran. The speech has been touted as a major event along the lines of
a landmark address to the Islamic world given by his predecessor Barack Obama
in Cairo in 2009. It will be especially sensitive given tensions sparked by the
Trump administration's attempted travel
ban. During his campaign, Trump floated the idea of putting mosques in the US
under surveillance while calling for a
"total shutdown" of
Muslims entering the US "until our country's representatives can figure
out what the hell is going on".His words shocked many Americans, with
Trump's detractors noting that the US Constitution prohibits religious
discrimination."I think Islam hates us. There is a tremendous hatred
there. We have to get to the bottom of it," Trump said in a March 2016
interview with CNN.Sunday's address comes a day after the US and Saudi Arabia
signed agreements worth more than $380bn - almost a third of that
military-related."That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the
United States," Trump said on Saturday at talks with Saudi King
Salman.Secretary of State Rex Tillerson set the tone on Saturday when he urged
Iran's newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani to dismantle his country's
"network of terrorism".Tillerson also said the new arms deals signed
between Riyadh and Washington aim to help Saudi deal "with malign Iranian
influence".According to excerpts of the speech released by the White
House, Trump will call on Arab leaders to confront "Islamist
extremism", and portray fighting "terrorism" as a battle between
good and evil."This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to
obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect
it," the excerpts said."That means honestly confronting the crisis of
Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. And it means
standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of
women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians. "Nations
of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them.
The nations of the Middle East will have to decide what kind of future they
want for themselves, for their countries, and for their children," Trump
was expected to say.Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Riyadh, said
Trump would be treading carefully as he addresses the Islamic dignitaries.
Aljazeera
Trump’s address urges Muslim unity in fight against terror
Top Saudi cleric says Trump-Muslim summit ‘blessed’
US, Gulf sign MoU to combat terrorism financing
Israeli statistics do not give real number of Palestinians in Jerusalem
Israeli Municipal Water Association, Gihon, has said that official
Israeli statistics did not give the real number of Palestinians living in
occupied East Jerusalem, Quds Press reported.According to Quds Press, Israeli
daily Haaretz wrote on Thursday that Gihon is to publish data about the numbers
of Arab and Jewish residents in East Jerusalem which differs to the numbers
published by Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Israeli official statistics
show that there are 542,000 Jews living in Jerusalem, to a total of 63% of the
population, as compared to 324,000 Palestinians. middleeastmonitor
New French Prez ‘will not recognise Palestine’
Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron has
reiterated that he will not recognise Palestine as a state as it would hinder
good relations between Israel and France. Prior to his election win, Macron
said he backs a 2-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that
recognising Palestine would cause instability and he would not risk France’s
relationship with Israel to serve Palestinian agenda. middleeastmonitor
Syria rebels leave last Homs neighbourhood: AFP
The last Syrian rebels and their families are being taken out from the
last opposition-held neighbourhood of the central city of Homs, according to
the provincial governor.Talal Barazi said on Saturday that 3,000 people,
including 700 rebels, were due to leave Waer district by end of the day or dawn
on Sunday.
Hamas sentences 3 Israeli agents to death over Gaza assassination
Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement delivered death sentences on Sunday to 3
Palestinians it ruled had taken part in what it said was an Israeli-directed
assassination of one of the group’s senior commanders.A Hamas security court
said the three men had confessed to the killing of Mazen Fuqaha, a Hamas
military wing commander, who was shot in the head and the chest in his car on
March 24. middleeastmonitor
Turkey's state of emergency will not end soon: Erdogan
Turkey’s president said Sunday that the country’s ongoing state of
emergency will not be lifted until Turkey achieves peace and welfare.At a
congress of the ruling AK Party set to return him to the party helm, Tayyip
Erdogan cited casualties from last July's coup attempt by the Fetullah
Terrorist Organization . "In my country, they tried to overthrow the
state, and we gave 249 martyrs, and had 2,193 injured," said Erdogan."How
dare you ask us to lift the state of emergency?"
Erdogan prepares to regain leadership of party he founded
FLASH: NEWS & VIEWS
‘These people do not know hunger’: An author struggles to make sense of
the Jharkhand lynchings: Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Muslim women’s plight in Assam – 48 lakh facing arrest, deportation to
Bangladesh: M. Rizwi, ViewsHeadlines
Calling Mughals invaders is Adityanath's way of othering Indian Muslims:
Lubna Irfan, scholar at AMU
NDA-3 years: Achhe din: P Chidambaram
Is Modi true saviour of Muslim sisters?:A G Noorani
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:44 PM)
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