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Maharashtra: Raj Thackeray, Aurangabad rally organizers booked for inciting public; police on alert ahead of his deadline to take down loudspeakers from mosques

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Raj Thackeray, Aurangabad rally organizers booked for inciting public; police on alert ahead of his deadline to take down loudspeakers from mosques

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Police registered a case against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray over his public rally at Aurangabad on the foundation day of the Maharashtra state, on 1st May. The Police have also registered a case against the organizers of the rally where Thackeray warned the state government to take down the loudspeakers from the mosques in the state before May 4.

According to the reports, the Maharashtra Police had imposed 16 terms and conditions before giving permission to the organizers of the rally. The Police revealed on May 3 that the organizers violated 12 out of 16 terms, and that the MNS chief had incited the public to instigate violence in the state. Earlier, on Sunday, Thackeray called the loudspeakers a nuisance and said that he was firm on the May 4 deadline for the removal of loudspeakers from the mosques. He also said that if the loudspeakers were not taken down by May 4, then his party workers would play Hanuman Chalisa outside these religious places.

The MNS chief further lauded UP CM Yogi Adityanath for his decision to remove over 40,000 loudspeakers from the religious places and reduce the sound of around 55,000 loudspeakers to permissible limits. He said that if the Uttar Pradesh government could remove loudspeakers, what was stopping the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government.

“I won’t be responsible for what happens after the May 3 deadline to remove the loudspeakers from the mosques,” he had said, adding, “loudspeakers is a social issue, but if it is being made a religious one, then we shall give a reply in the same manner. Eid will be celebrated on May 3. We don’t want to vitiate the atmosphere. But from May 4, we’ll not listen to anyone. Loudspeakers have no place in religion. If they (Muslims) don’t understand nicely, we will show them the power of Maharashtra.”

According to the reports, on May 2, Thackeray also canceled the ‘Maha aarti’ that was scheduled to be held at Prabhadevi on the occasion of the Akshaya Tritiya festival. He also requested his supporters and activists to not perform ‘maha aarti’ on Tuesday. “To Maharashtra Sainiks (MNS workers), tomorrow it’s Eid. In yesterday’s Aurangabad rally, I have already spoken about that. Please don’t do maha aarti on the festive occasion of Akshaya Tritiya as decided earlier. We don’t have to bring any obstacles to anyone’s festivities. The issue of loudspeakers is not a religious matter, but it’s a social issue. What we have to do about it will be decided in the future. I will put forth my views about this through a tweet tomorrow. Only this much for now”, he tweeted.

Reportedly, the Maharashtra Police booked Thackeray under various sections of the IPC after watching the videos of the rally that went viral over social media. The state administration is also looking into the law and order situation. “CM Uddhav Thackeray and State Home Minister Dilip Valse Patil held a review meeting regarding the law and order situation. Maharashtra police are capable of handling any kind of law and order situation. SRPF and Home Guards have been deployed in the state. I appeal to everyone to maintain peace”, said Maharashtra DGP Rajnish Seth on May 3.

Earlier today, a court in Maharashtra’s Sangli district also issued a non-bailable warrant against Raj Thackeray in connection with a 14-year-old case. In 2008, Thackeray was booked under sections 109 and 117 (abetment of offense) of IPC for allegedly making inflammatory speeches. While issuing the non-bailable warrant on April 6, Judicial Magistrate, First Class at Shirala in Sangli district had asked the Mumbai police commissioner to arrest the MNS chief and present him before the court.

In 2008, MNS workers staged a protest in Shirala against the arrest of Thackeray in an agitation seeking priority for local youths in jobs. The court has asked police to implement the warrant before June 8 and produce Thackeray and MNS leader Shirish Parkar before the court.

AAP criticises BJP’s demolition drive against illegal encroachment in Delhi, supports the same in the State of Punjab

OpIndia Staff
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AAP criticises BJP’s demolition drive against illegal encroachment in Delhi, supports the same in the State of Punjab

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been displaying a dual-faced behaviour over the ongoing demolition drive against illegal encroachment in the National Capital.

In a tweet on April 29, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had boasted about ‘stopping’ such a drive by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). AAP had shared a News18 video on Twitter wherein a shopkeeper could be heard thanking the party’s MLA for saving his ‘illegal shop’ from demolition.

“All other shops were demolished in a line. The Municipality had brought a bulldozer. After destroying those shops, the bulldozer was about to take ours down. At that time, AAP MLA had intervened and saved our roadside shop. He and other AAP workers also forced the Municipality workers to flee,” a boy informed.

He also informed that the illegal shops that were razed by the MCD were being rebuilt by their owners, after being bolstered by the support of the local AAP legislator. “Aam Aadmi Party will not let BJP to continue its hooliganism in Delhi”, the Twitter handle of AAP wrote.

Interestingly, AAP Minister Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal has been advocating action against illegal encroachment in the State of Punjab.

On May 2, he told news agency ANI, “We have decided to remove encroachments from panchayat land. We decided to start this drive this month. First, we’ll request all those who have constructed illegal houses or structures to vacate them or pay for them otherwise be ready for the bulldozer.”

Screengrab of the tweet by ANI

While the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been trying to rid the city of illegal encroachments, AAP has been actively hindering its efforts. However, in Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab, the same party is calling for the removal of illegal houses and structures.

Bhagwa flag in Berlin: Dhol-Tasha celebration on Modi’s arrival in Germany faces Hinduphobic vitriol

Suyash
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Bhagwa flag in Berlin: Dhol-Tasha celebration on Modi’s arrival in Germany faces Hinduphobic vitriol

On Monday, 2nd of May, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Berlin to kick off his 3-day Europe visit, he was warmly welcomed by the Indian diaspora excited to greet him. The Indian community wore their culture on their sleeves to celebrate the occasion of the Indian Prime Minister’s arrival. The Marathi community in Germany geared up in traditional attire, organized a Dhol-Tasha celebration at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate square, proudly waving the Bhagwa flag – representative of the Maratha Empire.

When the video of this celebration was shared on Twitter by the official handle of The Prime Minsiter’s Office (PMO), it faced a barrage of trolling and criticism for waving the traditional Bhagwa flag instead of the tricolour during the cultural presentation. In what later transpired into a systematic online hate campaign, many verified accounts including those of Congress spokespersons called the auspicious Saffron flag symbolic of Maratha empire an alleged ‘RSS supremacist flag’ and started denouncing the gesture.

It all started when members of the ‘Marathi Mitra’ group in Berlin organised a Dhol-Tasha presentation to welcome the Indian Prime Minister to the city. Dhol-Tasha is a traditional art of playing percussion instruments to rhythmic taals, invoking the spirit of courage and valour. The drum-beating style was a practice among the Maratha troops and owes its evolution to the Peshwa times. The central figure of Dhol-Tasha is unfurling the Bhagwa Dhwaj or the Jaripatka (two-tail saffron flag with a golden border) which was the official flag of the Maratha Empire founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The waiving of the flag is choreographed to the tunes played by the drummers who gather around it in a circle.

Male and female drummers equally participate in Dhol-Tasha, which has become a shorthand for Marathi and Hindu cultural Pride. These celebrations are common during Ganesh Utsav, Shiv Jayanti and Gudhi Padwa Shobha Yatras carried out by Marathi communities across the globe. When PMO India’s Twitter handle shared a glimpse of the presentation, a host of Congress workers, leftist historians, journalists and Dravidian handles complained about the unfurling of the ‘Saffron flag’ in Berlin.

Congress Spokesperson Ragini Nayak went on to ask why the Bhagwa Dhwaj was unfurled at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin instead of the Indian tricolour. “This is not the ‘Indian’ ‘National flag’, Modi Ji?” she asked. Leftist Historian Irfan Habib, who has been caught spreading lies previously, complained, “Is this an Indian tricolour?” As if cultural celebrations by regional communities are in any way bad.

Dhol-Tasha Pathaks waiving Saffron flags is not a new sight in the country. Yet some commentators on the left were spinning a narrative of pitting the Hindu Saffron flag against the Indian Tricolour. The question that needs to be asked is whether Dharmic symbols and characteristics have become antithetical to the so-called pluralist and secular vision of India? While the tricolour holds its significance in the minds of Indians and will be waved proudly at all official Indian functions, why did a community waving the traditional flag of the Maratha empire attract so much hate?

Screengrab of tweet from @NayakRagini
Screengrab of tweet from @irfhabib
Screengrab of tweet from @pankhuripathak

Perhaps, inside the minds of these ’eminent personalities’, waiving a cultural flag is fine, but it being Saffron is problematic. In the Article 370 era, the liberal ilk championed the cause of a separate Jammu and Kashmir flag that represented the Kashmiri Islamists. Furthermore, when Khalistani separatists went on a rampage at the Red Fort during the January 26 riots, the same people justified the incident by saying that “the tricolour was not removed, but only the sacred Khalsa flag was hoisted at its place.”

The trolling attack went further with the mischaracterization of the Jaripatka with the alleged ‘orange flag’ of the RSS. For India’s liberals to whom the BJP and the RSS are an anathema, even waving a cultural flag by an Indian community becomes a crime if the colour is not to their liking. While this was no political event, the online targeting that transpired is a classic case of how Hinduism is targetted in the guise of targeting saffron and the RSS. Furthermore, there have been instances when apolitical Hindus living normal lives outside India, have been cancelled after being branded as RSS/BJP stooges in the West. With the online lynch mob on a Maharashtrian Dhol-Tasha presentation, the Indian ‘secularists’ have contributed to the growing Hinduphobia in the west in their own no-so-subtle manner.

Screengrab of tweet from @MrinalPande1

The online attack crossed levels of xenophobia against Hindus when the incident was compared to waiving of Hakencruz flags showcasing ‘Aryan supremacy’ at the Brandenburg Gate in Nazi Germany. A Twitter user wrote that the Bhagwa ‘will also be relegated to the trashcan of history soon’.

Screengrab of the tweet from @quorosensei

The tweet shared by PMO India has caught the attention of Dravidian handles as well who have started coordinated attacks against the event asking ‘Where is the national flag’. With behaviour like this that spreads hatred beyond national boundaries, the Marathi community living in Germany will be vilified now, for just waving their traditional flag. In a bizarre way, Indian leftists tried to convince the Dhol-Tasha presentation was anti-national. It is convenient for Dravidians who get fanned by ‘Tamil pride’ readily whenever a contested linguistic issue is discussed; but when the Maharashtrians through their culture assert their Hindu pride, suddenly the soft-separatists start caring about Indian symbols.

Screengrab of tweet from @paramporul
Screengrab of tweet from @geechugalu

The waiving of the sacred Saffron at the Brandenburg Gate, and the online gaslighting that followed indicate that the mere presence of the Hindu identity and its symbols offend many. Those who see the Saffron as an antidote to the tricolour, need to realise that when in the annals of history rose the Bhagwa, it led to us holding the tricolour with pride today. In medieval times, the Maratha Jaripatka became a symbol of resistance against the tyranny of the invading dynasties. Today, it has risen as a symbol of assertion and cultural pride talking about a civilization that refuses to cease.

Rahul Gandhi is in Nepal to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, a rabid anti-India propagandist who supported anti-CAA rioters, and attacks on Indian sovereignty

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi is in Nepal to attend the wedding of Sumnima Udas, a rabid anti-India propagandist who supported anti-CAA rioters, and attacks on Indian sovereignty

On May 3, videos of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went viral where he was seen attending a party in Nepal. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala raised objections over the controversy that erupted around Gandhi and said he had gone to attend the wedding of a friend. Reportedly, Gandhi has gone to attend the wedding of former CNN journalist Sumnima Udas.

Udas was associated with CNN before she left the post in 2017. Born in Nepal, Sumnima grew up in various countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia and Jordan. She got her bachelors from Washington and Lee University and did a master’s from Oxford University. Udas started her career with CNN in 2001 and continued her association with different chapters of the Media organization. From 2010 to 2012, she worked as a producer at CNN’s Delhi office.

Udas has a controversial past when it comes to reporting about India. Here are a few tweets that raise questions about Rahul Gandhi’s friend.

‘Nepal should have issued new map decades ago’

In May 2020, the Nepal government sparked controversy by issuing a new map in which it had declared parts of India as its own. The friendship between Nepal and China, followed by the new map issued by Nepal, attracted sharp criticism from the Indian government. Amidst the controversy, Udas had shared a report from CNN penned by CNN Senior Editor Sugam Pokharel and said, “Nepal issues a new map… should have been done decades ago. Thank you for the write-up Sugam.”

Source: Twitter

Notably, after Nepal issued the map in May 2020 and then later in June 2020, when they passed the bill in the lower house to update the country’s map, India had issued a statement and rejected its claims on Indian areas of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani in the updated map. Then-External Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated, “We have noted that the House of Representatives of Nepal has passed a constitution amendment bill for changing the map of Nepal to include parts of Indian territory. We have already made our position clear on this matter.”

Udas alleged India faced a vaccine crisis due to ‘PM’s mind-boggling reluctance to buy vaccine’

In 2021, Udas shared a report of Time written by Debashish Roy Chowdhary. She quoted the report that suggested, “The vaccine crisis that stares at the world’s most vulnerable countries today is rooted in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mind-boggling reluctance to buy enough vaccines in time.”

Source: Twitter

In reality, India has administered over 180 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Apart from Covishield and Covaxin, many other vaccines have been approved by the Indian government to ensure every eligible citizen gets the vaccine and the booster shot.

When the report was published, India was in its fifth month of the Covid vaccine drive and speculating that a nation with such a vast population would not be able to complete targets was farfetched at that time. Instead of waiting for the right time, many media houses and journalists, including Udas, had targeted the Indian government and had even spread blatant speculative pieces spelling doom and disaster.

As of now, India has administered more doses compared to all Western countries and is providing support to other developing nations to complete their vaccination drives.

She had also shared a report by propagandist author Arundhati Roy in which she had called PM Modi a dangerous man and alleged that the Indian government failed to manage the Covid pandemic. As is usual with Arundhati Roy, the write up was low on facts and high on rants.

Source: Twitter

Udas targeted the Indian govt on CAA with propaganda-filled reports

In December 2019, she shared NDTV’s propaganda-filled report to target India on Citizen Amendment Act. Notably, the act was passed by the Indian government to facilitate persecuted minorities that are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The left-liberal section of the society and media spread lies claiming that India has passed the bill to stop Muslims from getting Indian citizenship.

Source: Twitter

Udas raised objections over S Jaishankar’s statement on Buddha

In 2020, she raised objections when External Minister S Jaishankar called Buddha ‘one of the greatest Indians of all times’. She said, “It is a matter of great significance that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, present-day Nepal and that he attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya, present-day India. Both Nepalis and Indians should feel honoured and humbled by this incredible shared heritage and legacy.”

Source: Twitter

She added, “Any attempt to singlehandedly “own” the Buddha seems futile as, for hundreds of millions of Buddhists, the Buddha is universal. Rather than making this a cause for controversy, we ought to try to understand and embrace the true power of this shared sacred legacy.

Udas’s husband is a China-based businessman

Udas is reportedly getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa.

He is a China-based businessman who runs a company in Guangzhou by the name SML Holdings which is a fashion company according to Sherpa’s LinkedIn profile.

Vivek Agnihotri lashes out at Foreign Correspondents Club for cancelling ‘The Kashmir Files’ presser, calls it a hate campaign

OpIndia Staff
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Vivek Agnihotri lashes out at Foreign Correspondents Club for cancelling ‘The Kashmir Files’ presser, calls it a hate campaign

On Tuesday, the Foreign Correspondents Club in New Delhi reportedly cancelled the press conference of the ‘The Kashmir Files’ director, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri. The conference that was scheduled on May 5 in the capital city, was to discuss the truth about the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide and the film ‘the Kashmir Files’. The Club stated that ‘some powerful media houses’ have strongly objected to the event and have threatened against the scheduled presser on Thursday.

The matter came to light after Agnihotri said on Twitter that he has become the victim of a ‘hate campaign’ and that his ‘right to free speech is being tampered with. “The President of the Foreign Correspondents Club called me yesterday and informed me about the press conference cancellation. He said that some powerful media persons have objected to the event and have threatened that they would resign on mass if the conference is held”, Agnihotri tweeted. He called out to the Club for surrendering to the agenda-driven, anti-free speech and anti-truth media houses.

“The cancellation of the event is undemocratic and a part of a hate campaign. The watchdogs of free speech, the media houses are banning the free speech”, he added. He said that the Foreign Correspondents Club had decided to host a press conference as many of the foreign media persons were keen to know the truth about the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide. “The Global Kashmiri Diaspora informed me that foreign media persons also wanted to talk to me about the film the Kashmir Files. But as a part of a hate campaign the Foreign Correspondents Club has canceled the Press Conference”, the director stated.

He added that the Foreign Correspondents Club had also made unusual demands for food and cocktails at the press conference and on their request, the team of Zee Studios had made all the arrangements for food and logistics. “This is undemocratic. My conscience does not allow me to pass this incident. Many foreign correspondents have called me and are still willing to attend the conference. I’ll host an open house conference now”, he added.

He shared a video on social media and announced that he would hold an open house press conference on May 5 at 4 pm in the Press Club of India, New Delhi. “I invite all the media persons to attend the conference and get all the doubts cleared about the film The Kashmir Files and the truth of the Kashmiri Hindu Genocide”, he tweeted.

The film ‘The Kashmir Files’ is based on the true incidents and takes the viewers back to 1989, when due to rising Islamic Jihad, a huge conflict erupted in Kashmir, forcing the great majority of Hindus to flee the valley. Though the film has been hailed all over the world for being a huge commercial success and showing the truth, it has got some standard responses from the leftist, agenda-driven, anti-free speech, and anti-truth ecosystem who deny the fact that thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were killed and lakhs were forced to leave the valley during the year 1990 by Islamists.

According to estimates, roughly 100,000 of the valley’s total 140,000 Kashmiri Pandit inhabitants migrated between February and March 1990. More of them fled in the years that followed until just about 3,000 families remained in the valley by 2011.

Russian President Vladimir Putin to undergo surgery for cancer, will hand over power to Secretary of the country’s Security Council: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Russian President Vladimir Putin to undergo surgery for cancer, will hand over power to Secretary of the country’s Security Council: Report

According to media sources, Russian President Vladimir Putin will undergo surgery for cancer and will temporarily delegate authority to the country’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. Patrushev, 70, is a secretive person who is widely regarded as the key architect of the ongoing war strategy.

Putin has been advised by physicians that he must have surgery, as per a Telegram channel allegedly operated by a retired Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Lieutenant General. The assertions were made on the notable Telegram channel General SVR, according to which the source is a high-ranking Kremlin executive.

Putin, according to General SVR, has both abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s disease. The administrators of the Telegram group said in early April that Putin’s physicians had advised surgery for later that month, but it did not take place. Patrushev allegedly had a two-hour “heart-to-heart” talk with Putin, according to a Telegram post published on Thursday.

According to the post, Putin signaled to Patrushev that he considered him to be basically his single trusted partner and buddy in government. “Patrushev is an outright villain,” stated the administrator of the Telegram channel that made the claim about Putin’s cancer operation. “He is no better than Vladimir Putin. Moreover, he is a more cunning, and I would say, more insidious person than Vladimir Putin. If he comes to power, Russians’ problems will only multiply,” the post added.

The channel also said that Putin is unlikely to agree to hand up authority for an extended length of time, adding that Patrushev’s rule would only last a few days.

Meanwhile, a US official stated that the media allegations could not be confirmed, with Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby stating on Monday, “I have seen nothing that could help us corroborate it.”

The news comes amid speculation that Putin would declare full-fledged war on Ukraine and push for massive military mobilization, creating considerable political concern.

Congress in turmoil and Rahul Gandhi partying abroad, what more proof is needed that the Congress prince is not interested in politics

Amit Kelkar
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Congress in turmoil and Rahul Gandhi partying abroad, what more proof is needed that the Congress prince is not interested in politics

On the 3rd of May, a video went viral on the internet allegedly showing Rahul Gandhi partying in Kathmandu, Nepal. While every politician can have a personal life and can party as much as they want, the timing of this video reflects really badly on the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi.

Less than 2 months ago, Congress suffered a humiliating loss in 5 states in the assembly elections. While their main rival on the national stage Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) coasted to a win in 4 of the states, the one state Congress had won comfortably in 2017, Punjab, Congress suffered a crushing loss to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Such a humiliating loss forced even the staunchest Congress supporters to pause and reflect on where the party is going wrong, but apparently, it didn’t affect Rahul Gandhi in the slightest. His usual foreign trips continued as usual, while the party struggles for relevance in Indian politics now.

Since the humiliating loss, dissenting voices in Congress have started gathering steam, with the infamous G-23 group making their discomfort with the Gandhis’ leadership clear. However, they are still not powerful enough to do anything about the leadership of the party as the dissenting group mostly consists of ex-Rajya Sabha MPs who have no public connect, but then who has a public connect in Congress these days.

The Congress response to the defeat was typical of the party these days. They forced all state presidents to submit resignations, took disciplinary action against any leader warning them of the loss, and Gandhis who led the campaign were left untouched.

Congress was recently trying to induct poll-strategist Prashant Kishor into their party, he even came and gave a long presentation to Congress leadership on how to improve themselves. Eventually, nothing worked out as Kishor didn’t want the responsibility for the 2024 elections on his head, while Congress is looking for anyone other than Gandhis to take responsibility for their inevitable 2024 loss. However, the interesting thing to note here is that while Congress was trying to finalize its strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi was finalizing the tickets for his next foreign trip.

PM Narendra Modi has already beaten Rahul Gandhi decisively twice, first time in 2014 and then again in 2019, Congress has been humbled in various state elections as well during the last 8-9 years but even if we ignore them, on the national stage there is no contest. Every time Congress pits Rahul against Modi, Modi will triumph. Everyone in the whole world knows that except Congress members who keep promoting Rahul Gandhi as the face of the party.

Even Rahul Gandhi keeps dropping hints that he is not really interested in politics but just like Indian voters, even Congress members don’t take him seriously and ignore his hints. He disappears during Lok Sabha sessions, he goes abroad when there is an opportunity to attack the Modi government, he is out partying in Kathmandu while Congress is facing internal dissent and has no roadmap for 2024.

Compare this to the 24×7 politicians on the other side like Modi and Amit Shah. Before one election gets over, they are in the next state facing elections. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi comes for election campaigning like a government employee approaching retirement comes for work, just for formality. At the age of 71, Modi shows more energy than Rahul Gandhi does at 51.

To be fair, Rahul Gandhi has dropped enough hints during his political career that he doesn’t want to be here, he would much rather live his life abroad away from the Indian media and Indian politics. However, the Congress party still doesn’t accept it and keeps forcing him to be their face every election. If they continue to follow that path, 2024 can also be declared a foregone conclusion.

Significance of Akshaya Tritiya for Jains: The day when current cycle’s first Jain Tirthankara, Lord Rishabhdev, broke his 400 days of fasting

Jinit Jain
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Significance of Akshaya Tritiya for Jains: The day when current cycle’s first Jain Tirthankara, Lord Rishabhdev, broke his 400 days of fasting

On May 3 this year, India is celebrating Akshaya Tritiya, one of the most widely celebrated festivals across the country, with followers of different religions having special significance attached to the festival.

For Hindus, the occasion includes a string of important rituals, including those related to worshipping Lord Vishnu. Hindus consider it as an auspicious occasion that brings good luck and therefore, celebrate it by buying gold and properties on this day, which they believe would bring them prosperity and wealth in the future.

The significance of Akshaya Tritiya for Jains

However, the festival of Akshaya Tritiya holds special significance for Jains, for it is the day when Lord Aadinath or Rishabhdev, the first Jain Tirthankara of the current cycle, ended his 400 days long fast. On the day of Akshaya Tritiya, a shravak(an adherent of Jainism) named Shreyans Kumar offered Lord Aadinath with Ikshu juice(sugarcane juice) and ended his rigorous fasting of 400 days, immortalising the festival for Jains.

The story behind this rigorous fasting by Lord Rishabhdev and its end on Akshaya Tritiya is fascinating. After his initiation into monkhood, Lord Rishabhdev, as a Jain monk is ordained to do, wandered from one place to another as part of his penance. But after his renunciation of the worldly life, Lord Rishabhdev has also taken the difficult vow of maintaining absolute silence. He would not speak with anyone and remained in meditation to shed his Karma and bring an end to his Karmic cycle.

Jainism is a millennia-old religion. It existed long before Lord Rishabhdev’s birth but had gone extinct from the earth because of the vicissitudes of the time. Therefore, Lord Rishabdev, with the aim of reestablishing the religion and salvaging the living-kind, gave up his kingdom and embraced asceticism. However, he realised that the path ahead would not be easy and would test his resolve. So, he began his penance of fasting and maintaining absolute silence.

When, after his penance, he went out to seek food, he did not get anything to eat. As he had taken a vow of maintaining absolute silence, he would not say what he needed. Since there was ignorance about Jainism in the masses, people, even well-meaning ones, did not know what they should offer to Lord Rishabdev. People at that time were not aware of the practice of giving food as alms. They were ignorant about what the Jain monks needed, not jewellery or worldly gifts but food for their sustenance.

How Shreyans Kumar acquired Jati Smaran Gyan and offered Lord Rishabhdev Ikshu juice to break his 400-days long fast

In awe of his exacting standards of personal rectitude and conduct, people started offering him what they considered worthy of gifts during that period—gold coins, silver ornaments, diamond-studded jewellery etc. Some even offered him their vast tracts of land, as people did then to a king, but he would not accept anything. As the time passed by, the other ascetics accompanying Lord Rishabhdev decided to eat fruits and vegetables naturally available and drifted away from the true ascetic way of life.

After undertaking demanding spiritual practice for more than 13 months, without eating a morsel of food or drinking a gulp of water, Lord Rishabhdev decided to once again seek “Gochri“, which in English means seeking food as alms. He reached Hastinapur, where King Shreyans Kumar saw him following the commotion caused by happy masses who had seen Lord Rishabhdev enter the town.

Thousands of citizens of Hastinapur made a beeline toward Lord Rishabhdev with gifts and valuables. However, He did not glance at these things and continued his dignified walk in the direction of the palace. When Shreyans Kumar saw Lord Rishabhdev, who was his grandfather, approaching, he rushed to the gate of the palace to welcome him. When he saw the serenely gleaming face of Lord Rishabhdev, he went into a state of meditative thoughts and instantly acquired Jati Smaran Gyan, the manifestation of divine knowledge that opens up one’s memories of the previous births.

Struck with this epiphany, he soon realised that Tirthankaras and Jain Monks seek nirdosh gochri, food that is not explicitly prepared for them. He offered Lord Rishabhdev the Ikshu juice or sugarcane juice to break his 400-days long fast. According to Jain scriptures, Lord Rishabhdev extended his cupped palms, and Shreyans poured the sugarcane juice into it. The power of a Tirthankara is such that not a single drop of sugarcane juice fell on the ground. 

Jains celebrate Akshaya Tritiya to mark the exacting penance of Lord Rishabhdev by breaking their year-long Varshi Tap

In the memory of this incident, Jains started celebrating Akshaya Tritiya on the third day of the bright half of the month of Vaishakh. As a mark of reverence to Lord Rishabhdev and his strict penance, thousands of Jains around the world, celebrate this day as “Parna Diwas” after the penance of Varshi Tap, the year-long alternative fasting(one meal and fast on alternate days for over one year).

According to Jainism, fasting is one of the forms of penance that helps purify the body and the mind and drives humans toward forbearance and asceticism. It also aids in maintaining self-control through abstinence felt from the five senses and contributes immensely toward the shedding of karma through sacrifice.

Gujarat: Banners of Lord Parshuram torn in Ahmedabad ahead of Maha Aarti, four including minor arrested

લિંકન સોખડિયા
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Gujarat: Banners of Lord Parshuram torn in Ahmedabad ahead of Maha Aarti, four including minor arrested

On wee hours of May 3, 2022, some miscreants were caught on camera tearing banners announcing the Maha Aarti for Lord Parshuram in Vasna area of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The image of Lord Parshuram was also attacked by sticks and broken. Around four banners near it were also torn down. The entire act was caught in CCTV camera.

Speaking to OpIndia, Hitesh Trivedi, President of Ahmedabad district of Shri Samast Gujarat Brahmasamaj said that a police complaint in this regard has been lodged. Trivedi said that on occasion of Parshuram Jayanti, they had organised a function at Ambaji temple near Jivraj Park, Vasna. At around 2:30 AM, they all finished their work and went home. At around 3:30 AM they got a call that some miscreants were vandalising the posters.

Damaged signboard

Some vandals had damaged the signboard that read ‘Bhagwan Shri Parshuram Chowk’. The banners place around it were also torn down and damaged.

The police arrested four miscreants at around 9 am on Tuesday. One of the accused is a juvenile. Trivedi informed OpIndia that after the celebration of Lord Parshuram Janmotsav, the miscreants would be brought there and would be made to apologise in public.

Recently, on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, attacks were carried out, mostly by Islamists, on the procession carried out by Hindus. ‘Liberal’ media and apologists of fundamental Islam put the blame on Hindus and accused them of chanting ‘provocative slogan’ of Jai Shri Ram when the processions were passing through ‘Muslim areas’.

Note: Report originally published in OpIndia Gujarati. You can read it here.

‘A dilapidated wall or a platform cannot be considered a mosque,’ Supreme Court rejects Rajasthan Waqf Board’s appeal against a mining contract

OpIndia Staff
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‘A dilapidated wall or a platform cannot be considered a mosque,’ Supreme Court rejects Rajasthan Waqf Board’s appeal against a mining contract

The Rajasthan State Waqf Board’s appeal against a Rajasthan High Court judgment from September 2021 has been rejected by the Supreme Court of India. An appeal against a High Court ruling allowing Jindal Saw Limited to demolish a structure from a property given to it for mining, which the Board said was a holy site including a mosque, was dismissed by a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian.

“A crumbling wall or a platform cannot be given the status of a holy venue for the purpose of conducting prayers or Namaaz”, the bench observed, since there is no record of commitment or usage.

“There is no evidence at any given point of time that the structure was being used as a mosque. In the absence of any proof of dedication or use, a dilapidated wall or a platform cannot be conferred the status of a religious place for the purpose of offering prayers/Namaaz”, the Supreme Court said in its judgement.

SC noted that there were no revenue records to substantiate that the edifice was a mosque. It further stated that the structure is decrepit, without a roof, and is overgrown with plants and that there was no evidence that it was being used to offer Namaz.

The Survey Commissioner, Waqf of Rajasthan, undertook a survey in 1963 and declared the structure as ‘Qalandari Masjid of Tiranga’ and made it a property of waqf. The Anjuman Committee then wrote to the Chairman of the appellant-Board in 2012, stating that there is a wall and Chabutrah (platform) on the so-called Qalandari Masjid on Tiranga Hill in Village Pur, but no one has been seen giving namaz there for many years.

Following that, the Board alerted the local authorities, as well as the Superintendent of Police, that the Anjuman Committee was acting for their personal gains. As a result, an FIR was registered and money was recovered from the Committee.

Following that, Jindal Saw Limited petitioned the High Court, which established the Expert Committee to assess whether the structure on the mining site was a mosque or not. The High Court eventually authorized Jindal Saw Ltd. to continue mining under the terms of the lease granted to it in December 2010.

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