Two days after Aaditya Thackeray, son of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray was found Covid-19 positive, his mother Rashmi and wife of CM Uddhav Thackeray has also been tested positive for Chinese coronavirus. Rashmi, Editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, is home-quarantined at Varsha and is being treated for Cocid-19.
She had received first dose of Covid-19 vaccine along with CM Thackeray on March 11 at JJ Hospital. Rashmi’s Covid-19 tests reportedly came out positive on Monday night. The entry to Varsha, their official residence, has reportedly been restricted and Covid protocols will be followed during all the official meeting scheduled to take place at Varsha.
Maharashtra CM may announce lockdown in view of rising Covid cases in the state
Maharashtra has been struggling with surging cases of Covid-19. There are speculations that a statewide lockdown may be announced by the Chief Minister anytime. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that CM Thackeray was concerned about the Covid-19 situation in the state. “He has requested people to behave responsibly to avoid Covid, otherwise, the government will have to resort to imposing a lockdown. People must adhere to the guidelines”, Tope was quoted as saying.
Maharshtra is currently the worst affected state in the country with 2,30,641 active Covid-19 cases as on Tuesday. The state reportedly recorded 28,699 new Covid-19 cases and 132 deaths in the 24 hours. Maharashtra is followed by Kerala with 23,880 active Covid-19 cases.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body that is responsible for the maintenance of standards of higher education in universities, has published a draft [pdf] History syllabus for B.A. History, undergraduate programme. The main aspect of the draft is that it covers every aspect of Indian history.
The Idea of Bharat
The first paper of B.A. History deals with ‘The Idea of Bharat’. It covers a vast array of topics ranging from the Concept of Bharatvarsha, Indian Knowledge Tradition, Art and Culture, Dharma, Science, Medieval Science, Indian Economic Traditions and more. It will cover Vedas, Upanishads, Epics, Jain and Buddhist Literature, the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, Indian numeral system and Mathematics, Maritime Trade and several other subjects.
New proposed syllabus talks about ‘Idea of Bharat’ (Image: UGC)
The draft says, “Students will acquire knowledge regarding the primitive life and cultural status of the people of ancient India.” It further added that these subjects would enable students to gather knowledge about the society, culture, religion and political history of ancient India. “They will also acquire the knowledge of changing socio-cultural scenarios of India,” it added.
The mention of Indus-Saraswati Civilisation
The third paper covers the historiographical trends and interpretations of historical sources of ancient India. It will cover information about the Vedic period, the rise of Jainism and Buddhism and several other topics. What is the most interesting aspect of this section is the mention of “Indus-Saraswati Civilisation” and its continuity, fall and survival. It will also cover the debunked Aryan invasion theory that some alleged historians still use to create differences among Hindus.
Saraswati civilization and myths of Aryan invasion (Image: UGC)
Calling a spade a spade – The mention of Invaders
Till now, the history books of the undergraduate programme often fail to use the word ‘invaders’ with Babur and Timur. In the draft, these rulers are mentioned as invaders.
The new syllabus calls Babur an invader (Image: UGC)
Opposition by leaders
However, some political leaders and ‘intellectuals’ see it to be aligned with the RSS’ belief system. Leftist portal Telegraph has quoted unnamed teachers and students saying that it is an attempt to “saffronisation and distortion” by playing up the Vedic period and Hindu religious texts. The unnamed ‘students and teachers’ also alleged that the new syllabus would diminish the ‘importance of Muslim’ rule.
In fact, it even quoted one unnamed student from Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College who was upset that the Idea of Bharat “glorifies ancient Indian civilisation by equating it with ‘eternity'”. Jeetendra Meena, assistant professor of History at Delhi University’s Shyam Lal College was quite upset that the new syllabus ‘glorifies’ religious literature and ‘dropped secular literature’. Meena was also upset that the Mughal history is ‘sidelined’.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was also furious. He has alleged that BJP is using syllabus to introduce its own Hindutva ideology into textbooks. In a tweet, he said, “Education is not propaganda. BJP is using the syllabus to introduce its own Hindutva ideology into textbooks. There is a place to study mythology, religious texts, oral traditions, etc., but it is not in undergraduate history courses.”
Demonising our Muslim past & sidelining historical texts like Arthashastra. Removing chapters on pre-1857 rebellions, Dalit politics & reducing attention on people like Ambedkar, Gandhi, Nehru, Patel should tell you everything about what the real purpose of this effort is 2/2
Police on Tuesday have identified the shooter who opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, that left 10 dead. The suspect, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, is currently taken into custody. He was injured in the shooting and is currently undergoing treatment. He is expected to be booked on murder charges and be sent to jail later in the day.
Earlier on Tuesday, Al-Aliwi opened fire in a crowded supermarket in Boulder and ten people including a police officer were killed. Investigators have not yet established a motive but believe he was a lone attacker. He used an AR-15 rifle, a lightweight semi-automatic rifle. The officials are trying to trace the weapon.
It is believed he lived ‘most of his life’ in the United States but authorities have not yet elaborated on it.
United States Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece Meena Harris had earlier blamed a ‘white man’ for the terror attack.
Meena Harris’ now deleted tweet
In a series of tweet, Harris had claimed that ‘violent white men’ are the greatest terrorist threat to US. However, when his identity was revealed, Harris deleted the tweet and claimed that she had assumed the terrorist was a violent white man because of his skin colour.
Meena Harris on why she deleted her ‘violent white men’ tweet
The American Vice President’s niece claimed that she made the assumption Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was a ‘violent white male’ based on the fact that ‘he was taken taken into custody alive’, casting aspersions that the authorities are soft on white male shooters/terrorists.
Meena Harris has turned out to be quite an embarrassment for her famous aunt Kamala Harris. It was reported that the White House has asked her to stop using her aunt’s name for personal benefit.
As West Bengal gears up for the much-awaited Assembly elections, political violence in the state continues unabated. Today, an 80-year-old ailing mother of a BJP karyakarta was assaulted, in Chelidanga, Asansol since the latter was leading BJP’s wall painting campaign in the area. BJP Bengal took to its official Twitter handle to share the news.
The attack comes at the heels of the upcoming West Bengal State Legislative elections, where the ruling TMC has been projecting the incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as ‘Banglar Meye’ (daughter of Bengal).
Amit Malviya also took to Twitter to share the details of the incident. He slammed Mamata Banerjee for the atrocities being inflicted on other daughter’s of Bengal by her party goons.
In the video, shared by BJP Bengal, the 80-year-old mother of the BJP Karyakarta is heard saying that she was alone in the house when she was assaulted by the local TMC goons, led by Moloy Ghatak’s brother.
Moloy Ghatak is a senior member of the Trinamool Congress party, serving as the Minister of Labour and Law in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet.
Recalling the incident, the elderly lady said that around 6:30 pm when her son and his friends painted BJP’s poll graffiti on her house walls, some local TMC goons gathered there. “They at first got into an argument with my younger son, after which they manhandled me, pulled me asking me to get out of the locality.”
The 80-year-old elderly lady furthers that despite knowing that her kidneys are damaged, the local TMC youths assaulted her, vandalised her house and broke her son’s motorcycle. The ailing lady recalls that the goons threatened her by saying: “Ekhane tumaderke thakte debona” (we will not allow you all to stay here).
The lady tells the journalist that her sons have been on the hit list ever since they have joined the BJP. “They are scared that BJP leader Krishnendu Mukherjee would win from our constituency. This has compelled them to attack my family since my sons are working for him”, asserts the BJP karyakarta’s mother who was attacked in broad daylight by Mamata Banerjee’s goons.
The lady claims that the TMC goons have been eyeing her property for very long. “They have been trying to forcefully occupy my house and convert it into their party office”, alleged the BJP worker’s mother.
Politics and violence have always gone hand-in-hand in West Bengal
Politics in West Bengal has long been marred with violence and ever since BJP has gained significance in the state, the ruling Trinamool Congress led by CM Mamata Banerjee has waged a bloody campaign against the party.
In the beginning of the year, we reported how BJP leader, Krishnendu Mukherjee, narrowly espaced an onslaught of bullets in Asansol, West Bengal. As per reports, the incident took place on January 3 (Sunday) night when three unidentified men, allegedly from the TMC, open fired at the BJP leader’s convoy near his residence in Hirapur in Asansol.
According to Mukherjee, he was returning home from Kolkata and had stopped his car outside his residence. When his driver stepped out to open the gate, three armed gunmen fired bullets at his car, the marks of which are clearly visible on the vehicle.
In February, it was reported how a BJP worker and his aged mother were brutally thrashed allegedly by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons. BJP Bengal had then to shared details of the horrific incident on its Twitter handle.
Stan Swamy, an influential Jesuit priest and activist, was refused bail by the National Investigation Agency Court with prima facie evidence suggesting Stan Swamy being a member of a banned Maoist organization. The 83-year old is charged in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
NIA Special Judge DE Kothalikar rejected Stan’s bail application, asserting that based on the material on record it is apparent that Stan Swamy, “hatched a serious conspiracy to create unrest in the entire country and to overpower the Government, politically and by using muscle power”.
“The material placed on record thus prima facie denotes that the applicant was not only the member of banned organisation CPI (Maoist) but he was carrying out activities further in the objective of the organisation which is nothing but to overthrow the democracy of the nation,” the Special Judge added.
The NIA court also took into consideration Stan Swamy’s communication with his co-accused via e-mails, his reference to his co-accused as “comrades”, and receiving a sum of Rs. 8 lakh from a fellow “comrade” named Mohan, allegedly for the furtherance of Maoist activities.
“Prima facie it can be gathered that the applicant alongwith other members of the banned organization hatched a serious conspiracy to create unrest in the entire country and to overpower the Government, politically and by using muscle power”, the NIA judge states clearly in his order.
Stan Swamy was arrested in October 2020 from Ranchi and since then has been lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai. Stan Swamy’s lawyer, Mr. Sharif Shaikh attempted to secure bail for Stan, saying that Stan suffers from Parkinson’s disease and has lost hearing in both ear. However, the NIA Court refused this plea, and instead issued instruction for Stan Swamy to be shifted to a prison hospital.
On refusal to grant bail on health grounds, the NIA court cited Supreme Court precedents and observed, “If seriousness of the allegations made against the applicant are considered in proper perspective, in that case there will be no hesitation to conclude that the collective interest of the community would outweigh the right of personal liberty of the applicant and as such the old age and or alleged sickness of the applicant would not go in his favour, so that the discretion to release the applicant can be exercised in his favour.”
The Special Public Prosecutor had opposed Stan’s bail, citing Stan’s involvement with the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The Prosecutor told the NIA court that Stan Swamy was staunch supporter of organization involved with the Maoists. The NIA Court accepted the Prosecutor’s contentions and rejected Swamy’s bail application.
Arrest of Stan Swamy and his role in Bhima Koregaon violence
According to the NIA, Stan Swamy was a key conspirator in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case of 2017, which witnessed violence, stone-pelting, and arson at Shaniwar Wada in Pune. He was arrested on October 8 and produced before the Special Court in Mumbai the following day. Interestingly, he was never put under police custody and was instead remanded to judicial custody at Taloja Central jail. The NIA had informed that all legal formalities, including medical examination, were undertaken.
As per the Central investigative agency, Stan Swamy is a ‘hard-core CPI (Maoist) activist’ who had received funds from other Maoists for furthering the activities of the banned outfit. He is also the convenor of PPSC. “Incriminating documents related to communications for furthering the activities of the banned terrorist organisation CPI (Maoist) were seized from his possession,” the NIA emphasised.
Dr. Abhijit Sarkar, the Oxford faculty member who led the Hinduphobic campaign against Rashmi Sawant, found himself embroiled in controversy today with several old misogynistic tweets resurfacing in light of the recent controversy. The campaign resulted in the resignation of the first female Indian student to be elected as President of the Oxford University Student’s Union
In his misogynistic tweets, Dr. Sarkar targets famous Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut with his weird and vulgar tweets. In a tweet dated January 3, 2021, Sarkar accuses Kangana Ranaut of sending “special pictures” to a fellow actor with whom Ms. Ranaut has publicly feuded with. Sarkar then goes on to accuse Ms. Ranaut of sending the same “special pictures” to the “leader of your political party”.
Understanding Sarkar’s motivation and the context behind this tweet, it is an obvious assertion to make that Sarkar was indirectly accusing Ms. Ranaut of trafficking disrobed pictures of herself, not only to an actor, but also to political figures. However, this highly vulgar tweet can be considered “mild” when compared to another tweet he targeted towards Kangana Ranaut.
In another tweet dated September 22 last year, Sarkar dropped all pretense of decency and decided to target Kangana for a tweet exposing the behavior of big actors towards actresses in Bollywood.
In her tweet, Kangana was showing support to fellow colleague who bravely spoke out against sexual harassment by a Bollywood director. On such a sensitive tweet focusing on the important issue of sexual abuse, Dr. Abhijit Sarkar smugly sent a shockingly vile and vulgar reply to Ms. Ranaut’s tweet.
Sarkar also directly attacked Payal Ghosh herself during this time, sending her a tweet accusing her of being paid off by a political party. Sarkar held no regards for the feelings of Payal Ghosh, and even if being critical of Ms. Ghosh was somehow justified, Sarkar did not use his scientific mind to question what exactly was wrong with Payal’s story. What Sarkar did was to rely upon his innate misogyny to smear women whom he knows nothing about.
Source: Twitter
Source: Twitter
Dr. Sarkar is also a noted Hinduphobe. He considers the act of eating beef, a very strict religious and cultural prohibition for Hindus, as an act of “progress”. A person who believes that Hindus need to eat beef in order to “progress” forward.
The reference to 1857 is also very interesting, possibly signaling that Dr. Sarkar does not take issue with the cow and pig fat in the use of British muskets, which was one of the primary catalysts for the 1857 War of Independence.
Furthermore, on February 16, he shared a post in Bengali with Goddess Saraswati photo in it and wrote, “I remember when I was a kid I broke several Saraswati idols by thrashing them on the floor. I have been aggressively anti-religion from childhood you see.”
The Rashmi Sawant inident
Rashmi Samant – the woman from Karnataka who had become the first female Indian elect of Oxford University Student’s Union, had to resign her post after being abused, bullied and targeted for being a Hindu and over her views against colonisation.
In a coordinated attack by leftists and the anti-Hindu propagandists, Rashmi Samant’s old social media posts were dredged up, accusing her of being racist, anti-semitic, Islamophobic, transphobic. Her Hindu roots were attacked too.
Even her parents were dragged into it and she was painted as an anti-Muslim just because of her place of residence and faith. Samant was elected to the prestigious post on February 11 and within a week, she had to tender her resignation after facing a barrage of online criticism and abuse.
The controversy erupted after Cherwell, a weekly student newspaper published by Oxford, reported that Rashmi had commented on an image on Instagram of herself in Malaysia with the words “Ching Chang”, a pun involving the Holocaust. In another post, Rashmi had allegedly drawn a comparison between Former Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (present-day South Africa) Cecil Rhodes and Adolf Hitler in a Student Union presidential debate. Bizarrely, Samant was also accused of separating ‘women’ and ‘transwomen’ in a caption.
Besides this, Rashmi was also targeted for being a devout Hindu. One of the faculty members in Oxford – Dr Abhijit Sarkar had even dragged Rashmi’s parents into the controversy, attacking them for having a Lord Shri Ram display picture on their social media accounts while claiming that Rashmi’s student council elections were funded by Prime Minister Modi.
He had even accused Rashmi of being Islamophobic by alleging that she came from coastal Karnataka, which the faculty member termed as “a bastion of Islamophobic far-right forces”.
Following the controversy, netizens from across the world had demanded the dismissal of Hinduphobic faculty Abhijit Sarkar and had trended hashtag #DismissAbhijitSarkar on Twitter.
Sachin Vaze met a mystery woman during his stay at Mumbai’s luxury 5-star hotel Trident, Republic TV reported. As per its sources, the woman carried a cash counting machine with her. NIA (National Investigation Agency) is currently examining the CCTV footage from Trident hotel to search for the woman who visited Vaze from Gujarat.
Sachin Vaze had checked into Trident Nariman Point at 7:30 pm on February 16 as ‘Sushant Sadashiv Khamkar’ and produced a fake Aadhaar card as ID proof. The picture on the Aadhaar card produced by Vaze is from his younger days and mentioned ‘June 15, 1972’ as the date of birth whereas Sachin Vaze’s original date of birth is February 22, 1972.
Fake Aadhaar card produced by Sachin Vaze at the time of check-in. Image source: Republic World
The CCTV recording of the hotel seized by the NIA, reveals that Sachin Vaze checked-in in an Innova on February 16 but left in a Land Cruiser on February 20. Another car linked to Sachin Vaze was seized this morning by Maharashtra ATS in Daman.
It is also reported that Vaze carried five bags with him at the time of check-in with one containing a jelly-like substance suspected to be gelatin, while the other bags were full of currency. The x-ray images of the bags retrieved from the hotel confirm the presence of currency, Times Now has reported.
#NewsAlert | Antilia probe: Forensic team examines Volvo car in Thane. 2 boxes, mobile charger, clothes found.
As per reports, it is suspected that multiple meetings were held while Sachin Vaze was at the hotel to give shape to Ambani’s Antilia bomb-scare conspiracy. NIA is currently investigating the CCTV footage seized from the hotel to establish who else did Sachin Vaze meet during his stay, apart from the mystery woman from Gujarat.
In a recently concluded press conference by the Maharashtra ATS Chief, Jaijeet Singh stated that they will soon approach the court for Sachin Vaze’s custody from the NIA. Maharashtra ATS’s initial 10-hour interrogation of Sachin Vaze resulted in him denying all the allegations against him. Though Mansukh Hiren’s murder case was transferred to the NIA on March 20, the ATS is still continuing the investigation.
The Maharashtra ATS Chief said that they have evidence that the accused accessed CCTV footage at some places and destroyed it.
We are still in the process of collecting evidences from various sources; Jai Jeet Singh, Maharashtra ATS chief said on Hiren Death Case. @vinivdvc brings a report. pic.twitter.com/zVBmW0ftVa
Sachin Vaze is right in the middle of a huge storm in Maharashtra politics. Param Bir Singh has accused state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh of instructing Vaze to extort Rs. 100 crore from business establishments every month. Since Vaze’s arrest, new revelations have been surfacing in the matter with every passing day.
AAP MLA Somnath Bharti has decided to compare himself to Bhagat Singh after he was sent to jail for two years by a Delhi Court earlier in the day. The AAP MLA was found guilty under section 147, 149 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of the Damage to Public Property Act.
Somnath Bharti said in a post on Twitter that it was on the 23rd of March when “people in power” with assistance from Indian politicians hanged ‘Shahid-e-azam’ Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. And again, it was on March 23 that he was “sent to Jail for my struggle for rights of people” in a “false case”.
Somnath Bharti compares himself to Bhagat Singh
Earlier in January, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey found Bharti guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including assaulting a government employee and obstructing his work and damaging government property.
Bharti was subsequently sent to 2 years in jail for assaulting the AIIMS security staff in a case registered in 2016. A fine of Rs 1 lakh was also imposed on the AAP leader by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey.
A Delhi Court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and sentencing order passed of a magistrate that had announced 2 years of imprisonment to AAP leader Somnath Bharti in connection with the 2016 AIIMS assault case.
After the recent incident where a Muslim boy was slapped by a man after he was found inside the Dasna temple, the Muslims in the region had expressed their displeasure over the incident, stating that their ancestors had helped in the construction of the temple. However, this assertion was summarily rejected by the head priest of the Dasna Temple Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, who said that the ancestors of the Muslims might have helped in the construction of the temple when they were Hindus 200 years ago.
Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati also claimed that he has all the records of the donations made to date and none of them was from the local Muslim population.
“The ancestor of the local Muslims were Hindus and they might have contributed to the construction of the temple 200 years back, nobody has a record of that. I have details of each donation made to this temple and I can guarantee that none of them was from the local Muslim population,” said Narsinghanand.
The head priest of the Dasna Devi Temple also said that most parts of the temple was constructed by him.
When asked about the new board that prevents Muslims from entering the temple premises, Narsinghanand unflinchingly said, “This board will stay forever. Nobody who has faith in Hinduism will be barred from entering the temple, only those who have nothing to do with the religious activities are banned.”
However, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati’s statements have not gone down well with the local Muslim community members, many of whom have accused him of sowing discord between Hindus and Muslims of the region.
One of the village residents as quoted by India Today said, “Our forefathers had also helped in the construction of the temple, though we don’t have any records of it. The mahant of the temple is making unnecessary hateful statements. We live in peace in this locality.”
Another one said, “The Muslim youth was there to drink water and that’s why he was slapped. All allegations against him made by the temple priest are false. Nobody wants to deface the temple.”
However, if the priests of the temple are to be believed, the temple was suffering from the menace of Muslim goons who would harass Hindu women, steal valuables and desecrate idols of Hindu Gods.
Muslim youth beaten up by a man after he was found inside the temple compound
A few days back, a video of a man beating a Muslim boy inside the temple compound had gone viral on the internet. The video was widely circulated on social media, following which the police had arrested the man who was seen beating the Muslim youth.
The left-liberal media created a fuss over the incident, trying to turn the issue into a matter of hate crime against the Muslims. However, they saw a fierce pushback from the priests of the temple, many of whom came forward in the defence of the man who was arrested by the police. The priests also recounted how members of other community in the region have been caught stealing valuables, desecrating the idols and harassing the Hindu women inside the temple compound.
According to one of the priests of the temple, the Muslim boy was not beaten up inside the temple compound for drinking water. He was inside the temple premises for stealing something and harassing the Hindu women, he said.
Muslim goons targeted Hindu female devotees inside the temple compound: Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati
In an interview with The Quint days after the incident, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati pointed out that the Muslim population in the area is around 95% while Hindus comprise only 5% of the population. He said that the Hindu temple, where the incident took place, is frequented by several female devotees from nearby villages who are often targeted by Muslim goons. He added that whenever a complaint was lodged against the harassment meted out to the female devotees, the Muslim society would come out in support of the accused.
The mahant emphasised that incidents of theft, assault and sexual harassment of female devotees went on to such an extent that the temple management was forced to bar the entry of Muslims in the temple premises.
A Muslim woman is under investigation in Malaysia for uploading a 12-minute hateful rant against the Christian population of Malaysia on Facebook. The video, uploaded to a FB page named, “Puteri Mujahidah Wan Asshima Kamaruddin”, depicts a woman pledging to “destroy Christians” if they use the term “Allah” to mean God.
This hate-fueled rant comes in light of the Malaysian High Court’s decision to repeal a 35-year old government ban on the usage of the term “Allah” and three other Arabic terms by Christian publications.
The bigoted video managed to amass hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of shares on Facebook before it was taken down. In the video, the woman makes her beliefs clear. “We don’t want to share the word ‘Allah’ with people from other religions,” says the woman, further going on to refer to all non-Muslims as “heathens”.
“Please don’t make me come and destroy the Christian community,” the woman adds in her video rant, in what is being viewed by many people as a call for violence against local Christians, who comprise a little over 10 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million citizens. The reactions to the video were polarizing and mixed, with reactions ranging from support to strong condemnation.
According to an official at Malaysia’s Federal Crime Investigation Department, several elements in the Muslim woman’s video violate Malaysian law especially the incitement of racial or religious hatred. The decision from the Malaysian High Court raised concern for at least two ethnic Malay political parties, who urged to government to intervene and change the ruling.
Christian leaders in Malaysia have long advocated for a repeal on government’s ban on the usage of term “Allah” for non-Muslims. They argue that the term “Allah” has been incorporated into the Malay language and means God, and therefore is used as translation word for God in Bibles, Christian prayers etc. in the Malay language. In its ruling, the Malaysian High Court deemed the government ban on the usage of “Allah” by non-Muslims as unconstitutional.
“The court has now said the word Allah can be used by all Malaysians. Today’s decision entrenches the fundamental freedom of religious rights for non-Muslims in Malaysia” said Annou Xavier, the lawyer for the Plaintiff. However, this decision is expected to be challenged by the Government in a higher court.
In 2014, the Federal Court of Malaysia upheld the government ban following a legal challenge by the Roman Catholic Church, which had used the word Allah in its Malay-language newsletter. Therefore it remains to be seen whether the decision by the High Court, which is being considered as a landmark judgement for religious freedom in Malaysia, will be be upheld in a higher court or reversed.
