On Monday (February 7), novelist Salman Rushdie uploaded a selfie on Twitter, months after being stabbed by a 24-year-old Islamist named Hadi Matar.
The development came hours after the American weekly magazine, New Yorker, published an article on the novelist titled ‘The Defiance of Salman Rushdie.’
“The photo in New Yorker is dramatic and powerful but this, more prosaically, is what I actually look like,” he had tweeted while attaching of a picture of him wearing a tinted glass over his non-functional right eye.
On February 6, New Yorker published an article on Rushdie’s new book ‘Victory City’ and added a black-and-white image of the novelist.
“A Profile of the author Salman Rushdie, whose new book, “Victory City”—his 16th since a fatwa was issued against him—is an affirmation of the power of storytelling,” it had tweeted a day later.
The novelist wanted to cut the drama and point out to his global readers that the reality is not as scintillating as the featured image of the American magazine.
A Profile of the author Salman Rushdie, whose new book, “Victory City”—his 16th since a fatwa was issued against him—is an affirmation of the power of storytelling. https://t.co/I7wcVqGImF
It is noteworthy that 34 years ago, then Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Rushdie, calling on Muslims to kill him. The fatwa was issued in response to the release of the controversial book “The Satanic Verses.”
The Islamists deemed some of the passages in the book about the Prophet Muhammad to be blasphemous. The book was banned in India in 1988 by the Rajiv Gandhi government.
On August 12 last year, a 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey stabbed Rushdie just before he was to start his lecture at a literary event at Chautauqua Institution in western New York.
He sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital. As per reports, the nerve in his arm got damaged in the attack. He also sustained liver wounds, and eventually lost an eye in the process.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed petitions challenging appointment of advocate LC Victoria Gowri as a judge in Madras High Court. The dismissal came around same time as she took oath as the judge. The case was being heard by a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud. Prior to that, bench of justices Sanjeev Khanna and MM Sundresh was to hear the matter.
Victoria Gowri is appointed as an additional judge along with four others inside the library room of the Madras High Court. During the hearing, the court observed that this was not the first time a person with a political background was chosen as High Court judge. The SC noted that she was chosen as an additional judge and there have been cases where persons have not been permanently appointed. The SC further noted, “I don’t think we’ll be in a position to say it’s a question of eligibility, and secondly, we can’t direct the Collegium.”
Earlier, lawyers had cited Gowri’s alleged statements against minorities in the past and had claimed that her becoming the judge would ‘dent in independence of judiciary’.
Gowri, along with four other lawyers was elevated to high court judge was recommended by a collegium, comprising Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and KM Joseph. The recommendations were made on January 17. Later Madras High Court Bar Council had objected to the recommendation of the Collegium and wrote letter to the SC Collegium as well as President Murmu.
Financial fraud accused Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub’s plea challenging summons issued to her by a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad have been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court dismisses the plea of journalist Rana Ayyub challenging the summons issued to her by a special PMLA court in Ghaziabad in a money laundering case lodged against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). pic.twitter.com/BhGeKp1fO4
A case of money laundering has been lodged against her by the Enforcement Directorate in Ghaziabad. Earlier in January, the Supreme Court had reserved its judgement. Advocate Vrinda Grover appearing on behalf of Rana had claimed that the Uttar Pradesh court had no jurisdiction since no part of offence was committed in the state.
The ED had submitted before the Supreme Court that donation fraud accused Rana Ayyub had used money sought for slum dwellers, COVID-19, and some work in Assam for “personal enjoyment, luxuries and pleasure”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), opposed a writ petition filed by Ayyub before a bench consisting of Justices V Ramasubramanian and J B Pardiwala. The writ petition was against the summons issued by a Ghaziabad court in connection with a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In a series of planned attacks overnight on Sunday in northwest Bangladesh, at least 14 Hindu temples were damaged and vandalised. According to reports, attackers damaged nine temples in the Sindurpindi region of the Dhantala union, four in the Collegepara area of the Paria union, and one temple in the Sahbajpur Nathpara area of the Charol union.
After the attack, Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, the superintendent of police in Thakurgaon, stated that officers are searching for responsible parties. He guaranteed that truth would surface after a detailed investigation into the incident.
Islamist radicals attack 14 Hindu temples in Bangladesh, vandalise idols, police has launched probe. A group of unidentified Islamist miscreants have attacked 14 Hindu temples and vandalised the idols in northwestern Bangladesh. Police says it has launched probe to nab culprits. pic.twitter.com/Vted2B3gY7
According to the reports, it is believed that the attacks occurred between Saturday night and Sunday morning. The attacks come amid pro-Khalistani gangs’ frequent attacks on temples in Australia and Canada which have left the Hindu community anguished. Now the attack on the temples on Bangladesh is also being criticized by the Hindu community.
Hindu community leader Bidyanath Barman in Baliadangi stated that some of the idols had been damaged and others had been discovered submerged in ponds near the temple locations. Since members of the Hindu community are calling for justice, the miscreants’ identities have not yet been made public. “The attackers have not yet been identified and arrested. I demand justice for the Hindu community,” he said.
Samar Chattarjee, a union parishad chairman and a prominent member of the Hindu community, meanwhile asserted that the area has always been recognised for its good interfaith cooperation as no such horrible act had happened here in the past. “It seems as if the attacks were planned as at least 14 Hindu temples have been attacked in a row,” he added.
“The (majority) Muslim community does not have any dispute with us (Hindus)… we just cannot understand who could be these culprits,” he said. According to Jahangir Hossain, the police chief in Thakurgaon, the incident appeared to be an example of a planned attack intended to disturb the nation’s tranquilly. He also said that a police inquiry has been launched right away to find the suspects.
“This attack is the manifestation of a conspiracy against peace and communal harmony…this is a serious crime and the perpetrators will face the music,” Thakurgaon’s deputy commissioner or administrative chief Mahbubur Rahman said. According to reports, the idols’ heads, limbs, and legs have been severed. Some idols were destroyed and tossed into the pond.
Tapan Kumar Ghosh, general secretary of the district puja celebration parishad visited the Haribasar temple in the Sindurpindi area at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and revealed that all the idols in this temple had been vandalised. “This is very sad and appalling. We want a fair investigation into this incident,” he added. Meanwhile, a local resident named Kashinath Singh also demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. “We are in a state of panic. Those involved in this incident should be arrested quickly,” he said.
It is important to note that in the year 2022, Islamists attacked 319 temples in Bangladesh. At that time, incidents of encroachment on the land of 51 Hindu temples had also come to the fore. Not only this, 66 Hindu women were raped, 154 Hindus killed and 333 people were forcibly fed beef.
Punjab power minister Harbhajan Singh has said in a statement that compared to January 2022, the monthly power consumption in the state has gone up by 12 per cent. The minister added that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) met the demand successfully by optimum utilisation of the resources. As per reports, 54,237 million units were consumed in January 2022 which rose to 60,762 units million units this year.
As per the officials, the rise in consumption can be attributed to two reasons. First, there was an intense cold wave and second, the government of Punjab under the Aam Aadmi Party is providing 600 units of free electricity in a billing cycle.
PSPCL met the requirement by arranging electricity from outside the state. Punjab’s thermal and hydropower generation capacity was also increased. Notably, the thermal power generation from PSPCL-owned plants in Lehra and Ropar was increased by 128 per cent. These two units produced 2,736 million units in January 2022. However, in January 2023 the power general was clocked at 6,229 million units.
Similarly, the power generation in hydro projects owned by PSPCL and BBMB increased by 21 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. In PSPCL-owned hydropower units, the power generation was upped from 2,946 million units to 3,567 million units. In BBMB, it increased from 3,067 million units to 3,454 million units.
There has been a sharp increase in the banking of power with other states. As per reports, compared to 1,917 million units in January 2022, 3,487 million units of electricity were consumed that were banked from other states.
The real test is yet to begin
The power consumption in winter is comparatively less in the state. The real test will begin as the temperature will soar in the coming months. Since the government of Punjab announced free 300 units of electricity per month, consumption has consistently increased compared to previous years. For example, in September last year, the power demand rose by 22 per cent.
With the increased demand for power, scheduled and unscheduled power cuts have become more frequent in the state. At the beginning of this year, the state saw a rise of 27 per cent in the demand, that too when historically power consumption is at its lowest during January. There were frequent power cuts reported in the state but the authorities maintained they were just “technical snags”.
Recently, the power engineers in the state warned the government that the state may face power shortages or blackouts in the upcoming paddy season if immediate corrective and timely actions are not taken. The PSEB Engineers’ Association wrote to the Chief Minister saying the “costly indecisions” including mounting subsidy bill, widening expenditure gap and no substantial increase in power generation will cause problems in the coming month.
Subsidy and non-payment of the subsidy bill by the government were stated as prominent reasons in the letter. “Punjab Government’s annual power subsidy bill in this financial year is expected to cross Rs 19,000 crore in 2022-23, which includes free and subsidized power to industries, agriculture, and domestic consumers, that too without considering the backlog subsidy payment of Rs 9,020 crores,” said the association.
Furthermore, the association accused the government of “deliberately underestimating the expenditure” on power subsidy by almost Rs 7,000 crore. The association said, “Now, with no budget provision for this big gap in expenditure, PSPCL is being forced to arrange funds on its own by loans from banks and financial institutions at high-interest rates and this lending will increase the overall cost of power for the ordinary consumers.”
The association also alleged that some politically backed elements in the state are using “every mean possible” to keep their consumption “below the 600 units threshold”. Such elements, according to the association are creating trouble for the corporation staff and stopping them from conducting vigilant activities to stop electricity theft.
In the wee hours of Monday, February 6, unknown miscreants broke into a Hanuman temple in Narapat Pur village, Chairaigaon Block, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, and vandalised the Lord Hanuman idol. A Shivling, Trishul, and a Nandi idol were also found to be uprooted and desecrated. The donation box was also broken and looted.
आज हमारे गाँव नरपतपुर चौबेपुर वाराणसी के शिव मंदिर पर किसी अराजक तत्वों द्वारा सभी मूर्तियों को तोड़ दिया गया है pic.twitter.com/1PjUSQbfuH
The incident came to the fore when devotees reached the temple and saw the idols kept in the sanctum sanctorum desecrated. The locals informed the local police who immediately reached the spot and started a probe into the matter. The CCTV footage was collected based on which the police said the miscreants would be identified and nabbed.
The police pacified the angry locals who gathered in the temple and protested against the attack on their temple. The police assured that the idols would be restored in the same place in the temple and the miscreants would be apprehended and punished.
In fact, the Varanasi police also took to Twitter to inform that a case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered in the case at the Choubepur police station and the police are taking proactive steps to resolve that case and nab the accused at the earliest.
उपरोक्त प्रकरण में थाना चौबेपुर (9454404380) में अभियोग पंजीकृत कर अग्रिम कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
As per reports, the incidentoccurred at around 3 am on Monday, February 6. The miscreants broke the Hanuman idol kept in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum. The Shivling was missing. The Nandi statue and the Trishul were uprooted, vandalised and strewn around the floor.
In the morning, when a local villager named Sitaram Yadav arrived at the temple to pay his obeisance, he was horrified to see the temple vandalised. In no time several other devotees gathered at the temple. Angered by the vandalism at the place of worship, the locals protested and demanded strict action against the unknown accused.
On receiving the information, Chaubepur police station in-charge Rajesh Singh, along with the heavy police force, reached the spot. The police assured the devotees that the miscreants would be identified through the CCTV footage.
“During the investigation, it was also found that the miscreants took away the money from the donation box. “The miscreants will be identified based on CCTV footage. The idols will be installed in the temple with immediate effect. Search is on to arrest the miscreants,” said Chaubepur police station in-charge Rajesh Singh.
Prior to this, unknown miscreants robbed the Dih Baba temple in the Shivpur police station jurisdiction, which is apparently very close to the Chairaigaon Block where the aforementioned incident occurred. According to reports, miscreants stole around ten lakh rupees by breaking ten donation boxes placed at the temple. The thieves had also uprooted the DVR connected to the temple’s CCTV on their way out.
Last year, local Hindu worshippers caught a youth named Yakub red-handed vandalizing an idol of a deity placed in a Shiv temple in the Titawi village in Baghara Block in Muzaffarnagar District of Uttar Pradesh. Angry locals caught hold of Yakub, who was trying to flee after vandalizing the idol and handed him over to the police.
2278 accused, including 60 Qazis, were arrested till Sunday, 5th February 2023, from districts of central and lower Assam having a large population of illegal Bangladeshi Muslims. These arrests took place as the police acted on more than 4,000 FIRs regarding child marriage cases in Assam.
The step was taken after the Assam government’s decision on January 23 to arrest and punish men who have married minor girls, that is, girls below the age of 18 years.
The Assam government instructed police to round up men who married girls below the age of 14 years under the POCSO act and apprehend those who married girls between the age group of 14 to 18 under the prohibition of the child marriage act.
More than 8000 accused were named in the 4074 cases registered in such cases. Most of these child marriages took place in the lower and central Assam districts having a large population of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Assam’s chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “More than one lakh underage girls were married off and many of them became child mothers in the recent years including a girl who was just nine years old when she delivered a baby. Action will also be taken against the parents as well as priests or Qazis who performed these illegal marriages.”
According to reports, more than 100 weddings were canceled in the Barak Valley district alone as the police undertook this massive crackdown. Meanwhile, the wives of the arrested men have started a protest demanding the release of their husbands. They have said that their husband is the only earning person in the family so he may be excused.
In a horrific incident of targeted killing by left-wing terrorists in Chhattisgarh, a Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Neelkanth Kakkem was brutally hacked to death in the state’s Bijapur district on Sunday, February 5. According to reports, three Maoists, who came armed, dragged the BJP Mandal president of Usoor Block out of his house and beheaded him in front of his family members.
The leader had reportedly gone to his ancestral house in the Awapalli village in Usoor Tehsil in the Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh to attend the wedding of his sister-in-law when he was attacked with axes and knives by left-wing terrorists.
On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem. A case has been registered under relevant sections and a probe into the murder was initiated.
“It has been learned that the armed cadres of the proscribed CPI (M) attacked Neelkanth with axes and other sharp weapons till he collapsed and died on the spot,” Chandrakant Gavarna, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ACP) said.
The ACP further said, “We received news that Maoists have killed a civilian in Paikram village under Awapalli police station limits, following which a police team immediately rushed to the spot and seized the video.”
The ACP further added that according to information received, over 150 armed Maoists had arrived in the village to carry out the attack, but only three reached the BJP leader’s house and attacked him. The Maoists were in plain clothes.
Meanwhile, Lalita Kakkem, Neelkanth Kakkem’s wife, stated that three individuals forcibly pulled Neelkanth outside the home and brutally hacked him in front of family members and other locals before fleeing the scene.
According to authorities, the Maoists had already issued an ultimatum to the deceased BJP leader.
Notably, there is a long and endless list of security personnel and civilians killed in the attacks carried out by left-wing terrorists in Chhattisgarh. These attacks have been a grim reminder of the menace of Maoist terrorism afflicting the state.
On Sunday (February 5, 2023) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat delivered a speech in Marathi at an event organized to mark the birth anniversary of Saint Ravidas. After this, the media, without understanding his point, ran reports saying that he had said something against the Brahmins. ANI and Aaj Tak were the first among those who made such mistakes. Mohan Bhagwat used the word ‘Pandit’, which means ‘scholar’ in Marathi.
Mohan Bhagwat did not name the Brahmin caste, rather, he meant ‘scholars’
Pandit is a word that has now gone into the English dictionary and is extensively used by people across the world. For example, those who understand politics are also called ‘political pandits’ in the western world.
ANI first quoted Mohan Bhagwat as saying this statement – “We also have a responsibility towards society. When everything is for society, how did one become higher, one lower, or different? God has always said that for me everyone is equal, there is no difference based on their caste or creed. But, the classification that the Pandits created – was wrong.”
Later ANI itself admitted its mistake and said that the tweet was deleted due to an error in translation. Then ANI re-translated and published this statement of Mohan Bhagwat – “Truth’s God, says he’s omnipresent. Whatever the name, ability & honour the same; no differences. What some Pandits say on basis of Shaastras is a lie. We’re misled by the caste superiority illusion. Illusion has to be set aside.”
CORRECTION|Truth’s God,says he’s omnipresent.Whatever the name,ability&honor same;no differences.What some Pandits say on basis of Shaastras is lie.We’re misled by caste superiority illusion.Illusion has to be set aside: M Bhagwat
It is clear enough that Mohan Bhagwat was talking about uniting Hindus here and giving a message to see and respect everyone equally. He did not name the Brahmin caste. RSS’s all-India publicity head Sunil Ambekar shared a video and told what Mohan Bhagwat actually said. According to this, Mohan Bhagwat said, “The truth is that He resides in all beings. Therefore, whatever His name, the merit being addressed is the same and the respect is also the same. There is a sense of belongingness about everyone. No one is high or low. On the basis of scriptures, scholars talk about caste-based highs and lows – they are lies.”
This is how the media published RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement.
What did the RSS chief say?
While talking about Saint Ravidas, Mohan Bhagwat said, “Seeing all the neglect, it came to Saint Ravidas’ mind that ‘I should find the truth’. He asked what is the path of eternal happiness? Saint Ravidas was wondering if the path really was like that. He decided not to go by what he had earlier heard and take first-hand experience. Sant Ravidas attained the closeness of Swami Ramananda. Then he realized that the truth is God.”
Mohan Bhagwat further said, “The truth tells us that He resides in all beings. Therefore, whatever His name, the merit being addressed is the same and the respect is also the same. There is a sense of belongingness about everyone. No one is high or low. On the basis of scriptures, scholars talk about caste-based highs and lows – they are lies. We have been confused by being trapped in the idea of caste. This confusion should be removed. Society must be told that our knowledge and tradition do not tell us anything like this. Our tradition states that truth, religion, and karma should never be abandoned. Even if I die, I will not leave give up my Dharma. One such incident happened in his (Saint Ravidas) life.”
The RSS chief explained how Sikandar Lodi first fraudulently called Saint Ravidas and asked him ‘explain to us what is your religion?’ Mohan Bhagwat said, “Saint Ravidas ji told him about his Dharma. To this, Lodi replied saying ‘your religion is useless, our Islam is better than this, you become a Muslim.’ No one had any grudge against Muslims. Saint Ravidas also didn’t even have hatred.”
Mohan Bhagwat added, “Saint Ravidas also told Lodi that whether it be Hindus or Muslims truth is one and all are children of God. The truth is the same, but that doesn’t mean that one has to change his belief. Stay firm on your own faith. All the paths are going to go to the same place. Choose yours according to your own nature, whether the path is good or bad is not a matter. What matters is what is your nature.”
Mohan Bhagwat was quoting Saint Ravidas here. The saint told Sikandar Lodi and said that he will not give up his Dharma. According to Mohan Bhagwat, Sant Ravidas told Sikandar Lodi that the religion of the Vedas is the best, even better than Islam.
मीडिया ने #MohanBhagwat के बयान का अर्थ का अनर्थ कर दिया। RSS प्रमुख मराठी में बोल रहे थे। गलत अनुवाद किया गया। उन्होंने कहीं ब्राह्मण जाति का नाम नहीं लिया।
“शास्त्रों का आधार लेकर पंडित (विद्वान) लोग जो (जाति आधारित ऊँच-नीच की बात) कहते हैं – वह झूठ हैं।” – ये है असली बयान। pic.twitter.com/8RGtpV0gSK
Mohan Bhagwat further said, “The debate was going on, so he had to give such an argument. Sikandar Lodi locked him in jail. But what happened in prison? He had a Darshan of Saguna Krishna. On the other hand, the people of Delhi, Fatehpur Sikri, and Sikandar Lodi started seeing Ravidas ji everywhere. They panicked and surrendered to the Saint. Sikandar Lodi’s plan was to crush him under the elephant’s foot and kill him. Even if life is in danger, he told society with his example ‘do not give up your Dharma’. That Dharma is eternal Dharma.”
On Sunday, 5th February 2023, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev was booked on charges of inciting hatred and upsetting religious sentiments. This action was taken against him due to his alleged ‘controversial’ comments before a gathering of seers in Rajasthan’s Barmer region.
According to the Rajasthan police, Pathai Khan, a 42-year-old local, submitted a complaint on Sunday at the Chohtan police station in Barmer over the Yoga Guru’s remarks during a meeting of seers.
Baba Ramdev compared Hinduism with Islam and Christianity, asserting that the other two religions were conversion-obsessed whereas Hinduism encouraged its adherents to do good. In his complaint, Khan said that Baba Ramdev had made his remarks “deliberately… so that a spirit of animosity and hatred is formed against Islam” and that they had “hurt the feelings of crores of Muslims.”
Baba Ramdev is booked under sections 153 (promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), and 298 (uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the IPC.
On 2nd February 2023, Baba Ramdev lambasted Islamists and Christian evangelists for forcibly converting people to Islam and Christianity.
During his recent visit to the Barmer district in Rajasthan, the Hindu spiritual leader addressed a religious gathering and remarked, “Ask any Muslim what does his religion say? He will tell you that you offer Namaz 5 times and then do whatever you like – be it abducting a Hindu woman or committing any evil.”
Baba Ramdev said, “Some say they will convert the whole world into Islam, some say they will convert the whole world into Christianity, but they have no agenda regarding what to do after that. This is not the case in Sanatan Dharma. It has been said in Sanatan Dharma that wake up in Brahma Muhurat. Remember God. Do yoga, meditation, and service. This is Sanatan Dharma. Stay aware of your Dharma and always be ready for the call of Dharma Gurus. Stand up wherever the Dharma Gurus say.”
