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As Subramanian Swamy targets Modi govt for not repealing Places of Worship Act, read how he had supported it in parliament while BJP had opposed

OpIndia Staff
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As Subramanian Swamy targets Modi govt for not repealing Places of Worship Act, read how he had supported it in parliament while BJP had opposed

With the discovery of a Shivling and several other Hindu idols and symbols inside the disputed structure of Ghanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the debate over the legitimacy of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 has again taken the centre stage. As Hindu organisations increase efforts to reclaim ancient Hindu temples destroyed and replaced with mosques by Muslim invaders, demands to repeal the controversial act has gained momentum.

Disgruntled BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who these days does not leave an opportunity to attack the Modi govt, today decided to use the act to criticise the BJP govt at the centre. In a tweet, he commented that “Even after 8 years as PM with absolute majority in Lok Sabha and de facto majority in Rajya Sabha, Modi has failed to withdraw the 1991 Places of Worship Act by moving Parliament for its deletion. It was expected of him.”

For last few years the controversial politician has been opposing the Places of Worship Act, last year he had even filed a petition at the Supreme Court of India against the act. He had filed the plea challenging the constitutional validity of the act enacted by the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1991.

However, his recent stand on the act is a massive U-turn, because before the act was passed by the parliament, Subramanian Swamy had enthusiastically supported the bill. During the debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha on 12 September 1991, he had said that this was the best way of solving the problem. The problem was, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement across the country at that time.

Screenshot from Rajya Sabha debate text

Supporting the bill and insisting that the Babri structure must be preserved as a mosque, Subramanian Swamy had even suggested that the central government should take action if the BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh tries to change the situation of the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. “If necessary, they would be prepared to dismiss the Government of the BJP in U.P.” he had added in his address in Rajya Sabha.

Screenshot from Rajya Sabha debate text

Blaming the BJP and the Ram Mandir movement for the act, Swamy had said, “This Bill has been essentially brought because of the BJP and for the BJP. Had it been known in 1947 that such a situation is going to arise after 44 years, I am sure, such an enactment would have been passed in 1947 itself.”

During the debate, Swamy had claimed that ‘idols and the pictures were brought into the Babri structure in a sneaky manner’, and had claimed that there was never any Ram Mandir at that site.

While Swamy criticised BJP for not repealing the act he had supported, the party had strongly objected to the bill inside and outside the parliament. BJP leader Uma Bharti had led the party’s objection to the bill during the debate in parliament, saying that the matter of religious places can’t be settled in courts.

Objecting to locking the status of religious places as on 15th August 1947 under the Places of Worship Act, she Uma Bharti had said that the provision was pigeons closing their eyes to advancing cats. “This maintenance of status-quo of 1947 will mean preservation of tension for the coming generations”, the BJP leader had correctly predicted in her speech.

Interestingly, during her speech, Uma Bharti had commented on Gyanvapi, and had said that the Aurangzeb had deliberately kept some part of the ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple in the disputed structure of the mosque, to remind Hindus about their fate. “Was not the intention of Aurangzeb behind leaving remnants of the temple at the site of the mosque, to keep reminding Hindus of their historical fate and to remind coming generations of Muslims of their past glory and power?” she had said.

It is true that after coming to power, BJP could have taken steps to repeal the act the party had opposed when it was passed three decades ago. While ordinary citizens, especially Hindus who want restoration of ancient Hindu temples, can complain about BJP not taking any step in this regard in the last eight years, Subramaniam Swamy lacks any moral authority to criticise BJP over the matter. Swamy had completely supported bill as seen in parliamentary records, and he had also objected to the Ram Mandir movement. Therefore, he can’t be taken seriously when he opposes the Act now.

‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’: Ajmer’s oldest mosque stands over the ruins of a Sanskrit pathshala with Hindu and Jain temple features

Anurag
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‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’: Ajmer’s oldest mosque stands over the ruins of a Sanskrit pathshala with Hindu and Jain temple features

The rich culture of Indian civilization was destroyed by the Islamic invaders for centuries. One of the oldest examples of the atrocities that were faced in the hands of Mughals is Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, which literally means ‘Shed of two and half days. In the city of Ajmer, Rajasthan, the mosque ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ stands tall under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Though it is visited by hundreds of tourists, the structure is still used by Muslims for Namaz. To understand how it is clear evidence of Islamic atrocities, it is essential to tell its story and what one may find on visiting the site.

History of Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

Originally a magnificent Sanskrit College (Saraswati Kanthabharan Mahavidyalay) with a temple dedicated to Mata Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom, the building was commissioned by Maharaja Vigraharaja IV. He was a king of the Shakambhari Chahamana or Chauhan dynasty.

As per several documents, the original building was square-shaped. It had a tower at each corner. There was a temple of Mata Sarawati on the western side of the building. In the 19th century, a tablet was found at the site that dated back to 1153 CE. Experts believe that based on the tablet, it can be inferred that the original building was constructed sometime around 1153.

Some local Jain legends, however, state that the building was commissioned by Seth Viramdeva Kala in 660 CE. It was constructed as a Jain Shrine and celebrated Panch Kalyanaka. It is noteworthy that the site has elements of both Jain and Hindu architecture of that time.

The conversion into a mosque

As the story goes, in 1192 CE, Muhammad Ghori defeated Maharaja Prithviraj Chouhan and took over Ajmer. He ordered his slave general Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak to destroy temples in the city. The legend said he had ordered Aibak to construct a prayer section of the mosque on the temple site within 60 hours so that he could pray. That attributes to the name ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’. However, some experts believe that it was just a legend, and it took several years to complete the construction of the mosque. The name, according to them, came from the two-and-a-half-day fare that takes place in the mosque every year.

There is an inscription at the central mihrab of the mosque that mentions the date of completion as Jumada II 595 AH that converts to April 1199 CE of the English calendar. Later, Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak’s successor Iltutmish beautified the mosque in 1213 CE. He added a screen wall in the mosque. There is an inscription of his name on the northern minaret along with the construction supervisor Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Arid’s name on the south arch.

Notably, it is not easy to differentiate which part of the mosque was originally a Saraswati Temple and Sanskrit School as ruins from around 25-30 Hindu and Jain temples were used in the construction of the mosque.

Sita Ram Goel’s report on the mosque

Famous Historian Sita Ram Goel mentioned the mosque in his book ‘Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them’. He attributed to the book ‘Asar-Us-Sanadid’ by author Syed Ahmad Khan in which he had mentioned that the mosque of Ajmer, i.e. Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, was constructed using the materials from Hindu temples.

Alexander Cunningham’s report on the mosque

Alexander Cunningham, who was commissioned as Director-General of ASI in 1871, presented a detailed account of the mosque in ‘Four Reports Made During the Years, 1862-63-64-65’. He mentioned that upon inspecting the site, he found that it was built with the ruins of many Hindu temples. He said, “Its very name ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhopra would seem to point directly to the astonishing rapidity of its erection, and as this could only have been affected by the free use of the ready dressed materials of prostrated Hindu temples.”

Four Reports Made During the Years, 1862-63-64-65, Volume 2 By Alexander Cunningham/Google Books

Cunningham further attributed James Tod, a Lieutenant-Colonel of the British empire who had visited the mosque, in the report. Tod had said that the whole building could have been originally a Jain Temple. However, he also found many pillars with four-handed figures on them that could not have been Jain by nature. Beside those sculptures, there was a single figure of Goddess Kali.

Four Reports Made During the Years, 1862-63-64-65, Volume 2 By Alexander Cunningham/Google Books

He added, “Altogether, there were 344 pillars, but each of these represented at least two of the original pillars. The actual number of Hindu columns could not have been less than 700, which is equivalent to the spoils of from 20 to 30 temples.”

Four Reports Made During the Years, 1862-63-64-65, Volume 2 By Alexander Cunningham/Google Books

‘Conservation’ of Hindu sculptures

As per reports, till the 1990s, there were several ancient Hindu sculptures scattered inside the mosque. In the 90s, the ASI moved them to a secure location to preserve them. How the sculptures were preserved was explained by a Twitter user who recently visited the place.

In a tweet thread, Twitter user Dharmik Stance clicked a few photographs of a closed room inside the premises. He said, “Some rooms have been sealed by ASI on the premises. Have a look at what I saw from the cracks.” The photographs and video added by the Twitter user show the sorry state of the ancient sculptures inside those rooms.

The video and photographs were clicked in March 2022. Upon zooming the photographs, one can clearly see the sculptures of Hindu origin. One of the stones in the room can be seen marked by ASI as AJR5 AJP/92/99.

Other mentions by netizens

In 2015, the popular handle ‘Reclaim Temples’ posted about the mosque and wrote, “Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra, Ajmer was a magnificent Jain temple, until Islamic invader Ghori converted it into a Masjid.”

Another Twitter user neutr0nium published a thread on the mosque. He mentioned that it was ignored for a long time after conversion into a mosque and renovated by Maratha king Daulat Rao Sindhia in the 18th century. However, it remained a mosque. In 1947, ASI took control of the site.

He mentioned that the site does not have any information boards placed by ASI explaining its history. He said, “ASI board just stats that it’s a mosque constructed by Qutubdin and the oldest surviving monument of AJMER.” It is unfortunate that despite being clearly a site that was previously a Sanskrit School and a Hindu and Jain temple, ASI failed to mention the history anywhere at the site and attributed it just to a mosque.

Author Sanjay Dixit wrote, “Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque in Ajmer is an early instance of demolition of temples. Built at the instance of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, allegedly peaceful and secular, by razing a temple of goddess Sarasvati and a Vidyapeeth by Qutubuddin Aibak after Prithviraj’s defeat.”

The painful history of Hindu temples razed to build mosques

There are thousands of sites across India where mosques and other Muslim structures were built after destroying temples. These structures were built using temple materials and/or stand on temple sites. Babri Mosque (handed back to Hindus to build Bhavya Ram Mandir), Gyanvapi Mosque (disputed structure in Varanasi), and Shahi Idgah (disputed structure of Mathura residing inside Krishna Temple complex) are some of the prime examples. Historian Sita Ram Goel has documented around 1,800 such sites in his book Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them. A brief about the book can be read here.

‘Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman’: Mathura district court reverses civil court order, allows petition seeking removal Shahi Idgah disputed structure

OpIndia Staff
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‘Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman’: Mathura district court reverses civil court order, allows petition seeking removal Shahi Idgah disputed structure

Coming as a major development in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah mosque case, a Mathura court Thursday allowed the plea to remove the disputed structure of the Shahi Idgah Mosque near Krishna Janmabhoomi for hearing. Lucknow resident Ranjana Agnihotri had filed the lawsuit as the “next friend of the infant Lord Krishna” of the Keshav Dev temple.

The suit had been filed in the name of Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman. The civil court in Mathura had on September 30, 2021, dismissed a lawsuit filed asking for the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque and transferring the 13.37 acres of land to Bhagwan Sri Krishna Virajman. With today’s order, the plea by Ranjana Agnihotri can be restored.

According to reports, the Court ruled that the suit to remove the Mathura Shahi Idgah Mosque is maintainable on the ground that it was built over the Krishna Janmbhoomi land. The matter has been sent back to the civil court to be heard on merits.

On May 16, after a Shivling was unearthed in the disputed Gyanvapi structure in Kashi, a plea was filed in a Mathura court, requesting that the Shahi Idgah Masjid be sealed and that security be deployed to protect Hindu sacred artefacts from being vandalised.

Advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, who represents five claimants in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid lawsuit, had referenced the retrieval of the Shivling from the Gyanvapi mosque in his appeal.

In his appeal, advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh argued that there are remnants of Lotus, Sheshnag, Om, Swastik, and other Hindu religious symbols in the actual sanctum sanctorum. He added that some of them have already been destroyed, and the defendants are currently attempting to vandalise the others.

He stated that if the evidence is eliminated, the basis for the dispute would be lost, and the petitioners will suffer tremendous damage. As a result, he asked the court to prohibit individuals from visiting the mosque property.

In another key development pertaining to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute, the court had agreed to hear a plea seeking videography of the disputed Shahi Idgah mosque. Notably, after the Varanasi court ordered a day-to-day survey of the disputed structure Gyanvapi Masjid, a similar application has been filed in the court of civil judge (senior division) in Mathura on Friday seeking the appointment of a commissioner to survey the structure, Shahi Idgah masjid, built on Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi.

Notably, on May 5, the Mathura court had also reserved its verdict in the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi – Shahi Idgah Mosque dispute case of Mathura and said that the case would be decided on 19th May 2022. A petition had been filed in a Mathura court seeking ownership of 13.37 acres of land of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, which also sought removal of the Shahi Idgah Mosque built in Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi.

In the recent past, there has been a growing demand among Hindus to reclaim Kashi and Mathura, along with Ayodhya. Taking back the Muslim-occupied sites of Kashi Vishwanath temple and Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at Mathura has now become a priority for various Hindu groups in the country.

Krishna Janmabhoomi land dispute case

According to the petitioners, a part of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple which was spread on 13.37 acres of land was demolished and the Shahi Idgah mosque was constructed. They have demanded the removal of the mosque and the return of the land for the temple.

In the case of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah dispute, nine cases have been filed in the Mathura court so far.

Supreme Court awards one-year jail term to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu in 1988 road rage case

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court awards one-year jail term to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu in 1988 road rage case

In a big blow to Congress leader and former cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Supreme Court of India today sentenced him to one year of imprisonment for a 1987 road rage case. The apex court overturned its 2018 judgement reducing the punishment for Sidhu in the case, after a review petition was filed by the family of Gurnam Singh, the victim who had died in the incident in 1988.

In 2018, a Supreme Court bench of Justice J Chelameshwar (retired) and Justice SK Kaul had ruled that the offence of Sidhu didn’t amount to Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder, and had let him go with just a fine of Rs 1000, reducing the sentence from 3 years imprisonment imposed by the High Court.

Accepting the review petition by the family of Gurnam Singh, a Supreme Court bench of Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul has now sent Sidhu to jail for one year. The bench said, “We have allowed review application on the issue of sentence. In addition to fine imposed, we impose a sentence of imprisonment of one year to be undergone by respondent 1”.

The court had reserved its verdict in the case in March this year.

Saying that Sidhu had knowingly caused the death, the bench said, “The material on record leads us to the only possible conclusion that we can reach that the first accused voluntarily caused hurt to Gurnam Singh punishable under Section 323 IPC”.

On December 27 1988, Sidhu and one of his friends had beaten Patiala resident Gurnam Singh for allegedly blocking his vehicle. While Gurnam Singh was taken to a hospital, he was declared dead. Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu were booked in the case.

In 1999, the Patiala district and sessions court had acquitted them citing lack of evidence. The state govt had appealed against it, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court found them guilty in 2006, and had awarded three-year jail term. In 2007, the Supreme Court had stayed the conviction on Sidhu’s appeal, and in 2018, the apex court had reduced the term to Rs 1000 fine, while Sandhu was acquitted.

Yasin Malik convicted by special NIA court for terror funding activities in Jammu and Kashmir, charged under UAPA

OpIndia Staff
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Yasin Malik convicted by special NIA court for terror funding activities in Jammu and Kashmir, charged under UAPA

Kashmiri separatist terrorist Yasin Malik has been found guilty in a terror funding case. While convicting Malik, the NIA court has stated that the quantum of punishment in the case will be decided on 25th May 2022. Malik had pleaded guilty earlier in the case, admitting that he has been associated with terror funding activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

On 10th May 2022, Yasin Malik pleaded guilty to all charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA), before a Delhi Court in a case related to terrorism and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir that convulsed the Valley in 2017. Yasin Malik had admitted that he was involved in terrorist activities, had also hatched criminal conspiracies, and that the sedition clauses against him were also correct.

Yasin Malik told the court that he did not wish to challenge the charges against himself under Sections 16 (terrorist activity), 17 (raising funds for terrorist activities), 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist activity), 18 (conspiring to commit a terrorist act), and 20 (being a member of a terrorist group or organization) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code.

Under the sections under which a case is registered against Yasin, he can get a maximum punishment of lifelong imprisonment. Yasin Malik has been active in Kashmir politics. He is one of the key instigators and secessionist leaders in the Kashmir valley.

Malik is in jail since 2019 as a part of the crackdown against the anti-India and secessionist elements in the Valley in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. He was later remanded to the NIA custody and was shifted to Delhi’s Tihar jail from Jammu’s Kot Balwal jail.

He is the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), an outfit that was banned shortly after the Pulwama terror attack.

Malik is also accused of kidnapping former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Saeed’s daughter Rubiya Saeed in 1989 and of killing 5 IAF personnel in early 1990. He is also allegedly involved in the killing of Justice Neelkanth Ganju, the judge who had ordered the death sentence for JKLF terrorist Maqbool Bhatt, and the murder of the former director of Doordarshan Kendra in Srinagar, Lassa Kaul.

Former CEA Dr KV Subramanian schools Rajdeep Sardesai for negative portrayal of India’s macroeconomic situation, cites inflation numbers

OpIndia Staff
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Former CEA Dr KV Subramanian schools Rajdeep Sardesai for negative portrayal of India’s macroeconomic situation, cites inflation numbers

India Today news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai, who has a rich history of facing humiliation on live television, had to confront a similarly embarrassing situation on Wednesday after former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India KV Subramanian schooled him for cherry-picking specific data sets to portray India’s macroeconomic situation in a negative shade.

On Wednesday, Rajdeep Sardesai hosted former CEA and economist Dr KV Subramanian on his show to discuss the Indian macroeconomic situation amidst the ongoing global economic crisis that emanated from the Ukraine-Russia war.

Discussing the issue of rising inflation in the last few weeks, Rajdeep Sardesai claimed that the inflation rates have skyrocketed in the previous 13 months and asked whether it was due to global factors or if something was wrong with the policies of the government. However, instead of citing the Consumer Price Index data, the global benchmark index to measure inflation, Rajdeep Sardesai put out the Wholesale Price Index data to fearmonger about the price rise.

However, former CEA Dr Subrmanian was quick to politely correct the controversial news anchor saying it was incorrect to cite WPI data to suggest that the inflation was high in the country. Citing the data, Dr Subramanian said that the CPI is very much controlled in India compared to advanced economies. He also pointed out how CPI was at around 6 per cent in December, compared to 7.5 per cent at present, an increase that is not that substantial compared to the advanced economies.

Dr Subramanian also noted that the inflation rate in the United States is at a 40-year-high of 8.5 per cent, which traditionally has 2 per cent inflation. He also put out similar facts pertaining to the inflation rates in advanced economies such as the United Kingdom, where inflation is at a 30-year-high and in Germany, where the rates have spiked to a 26-year high.

According to the former CEA, the expansionary monetary and fiscal policy in these economies post-Covid pandemic was one of the major reasons for the high inflation, which added to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. He suggested that such global factors have been majorly responsible for the rise in the inflation rates, contrary to the claims put out by Rajdeep Sardesai that the inflation spike is due to the local factors and policies of the Modi government.

Dr Subramanian clarified to the viewers saying that the retail inflation is basically in food and energy, especially in pulses and edible oils. He suggested that the factors such as a ban on the export of palm oil by Indonesia and the supply side glut in the wheat market due to the war in Ukraine, a major producer of wheat, as the causes responsible for the sudden spike in retail inflation, which is measured through CPI in the country.

He repeatedly stressed that the global factors are causing the rise in price values of certain commodities as against the perception portrayed by Rajdeep Sardesai that it is more intrinsic. However, Rajdeep Sardesai continued to pin the blame on the government for the inflation rates spike, leaving the economist infuriated.

“I have done interviews with you over the last several years; you tend to focus only on the negatives even when there are many positives. The current inflation is primarily due to global factors,” quipped Subramanian as he stressed the fact that India was the only country in the world that was successfully managing the supply-side shock. The economist also stressed that there are global factors over which India has no control.

As Rajdeep Sardesai kept persisting that macroeconomic fundamentals were in bad shape and demanded the host to provide some good news about the economic growth, Dr Subramanian put out data to show how the economic situation in the country during the UPA rule had deteriorated compared to the strong fundamentals during the Modi era.

“During the global financial crisis, Rupee had depreciated by 56 per cent, retail inflation was in double digits for over 18 months, the fiscal deficit was 2.5 times more than the peer economies, the Current Account Deficit was at 6 per cent, and we were in fragile five. In contrast, what have we delivered is a fiscal deficit at 90 per cent of the peer economies and a Current Account Surplus. So how much good news do I need to give you so that you stop portraying in a negative manner in the last six-seven years?” Dr KV Subramanian schooled Rajdeep Sardesai.

The former CEA also cautioned the viewers about the negative portrayal of the Indian economic situation and added that the prices of commodities have eased up in the last few days and added that the global factors contributing to the higher inflation would eventually start to ease out, giving some relief.

Yet again, Rajdeep Sardesai picked up selective data on foreign exchange reserves to suggest that there was a decline in the reserves in the last few months. Responding to cherry-picking of the data, Dr Subramanian once again schooled Rajdeep Sardesai, asking him to focus on the fact that the foreign exchange reserves are at a historic high.

The former Chief Economic Advisor also assured that the macro-economy has done really well in the recent weeks and added that these are external shocks, when they ease-out, the situation will be better.

‘Hinduism is no religion’: Says Maulana Sajid Rashidi, justifies social media mockery of Shivling in Gyanvapi case

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hinduism is no religion’: Says Maulana Sajid Rashidi, justifies social media mockery of Shivling in Gyanvapi case

Adding harsh, invalid, and distorted ‘facts’ to the ongoing Gyanvapi-Shivling row, Maulana Sajid Rashidi, the President of All India Imam Association, on May 19 stated that the Hindu religion is no religion in the first place and that people were unnecessarily being happy over the Shivling discovered in the disputed structure of Gyanvapi Masjid. He blatantly termed the Shivling as a ‘fountain’ and made several attempts to demean the Hindu culture and belief.

In an exclusive interview with activist Amber Zaidi, the Maulana accused the judiciary of issuing a biased order in favour of Hindus. “No court in India has the right to interfere in the religious places existing since the year 1947 and no court can allow petitions that defy the Places of Worship Act. In this case, the court allowed the petition, allowed a videography survey, and has now interfered in the religious practices of mosques by barring entry of Muslims in Wuzukhana. Wuzu is the most important part of Namaz and Court is responsible for ruining the Islamic religious practice here”, he alleged.

Maulana Sajid Rashidi also criticised the Supreme Court and Justice Ranjan Gogoi for delivering the Ayodhya verdict in favor of Hindus. He said that the Court did not deliver the judgment on the facts, it used the special powers and gave away the land to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. “The decision was biased. Gogoi had his eyes on Rajya Sabha then. The decision was not based on the ASI survey or other relevant facts”, he alleged.

He also added that the Gyanvapi Masjid has been in existence since the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar and was not built by Aurangzeb by demolishing a temple. “No temple was demolished. There is no Shivling there. The structure recently discovered is part of an old fountain and not a Shivling”, he claimed. Supporting his belief, he said further, “Why would older Islamic rulers act so dumb to destroy the temple and preserve the Shivling for more than 100 years? If they had plans to destroy the temples, why would they keep the Shivling!”.

When activist Amber Zaidi asked ‘why were people from the Muslim community mocking the Shivling and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus over social media’, Maulana Rashidi claimed that Hindus had themselves attracted the mockery. “Calling fountain a Shivling is in itself a big joke. Why won’t people make fun of it? They (Hindus) should understand that every dome-shaped structure cannot be a Shivling”, he said blatantly reiterating that Hinduism was never a religion. (Time stamp: 17.10)

Maulana Rashidi’s warning Hindus in past-

Maulana Sajid Rashidi is known for his ‘scholarly’ opinions that mostly are anti-hindu and difficult for the civic society to acknowledge. On January 8, he had passed several warnings that Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir might be demolished by some Mohammad Bin Qasim in future. He had tried to articulate mythical fantasy that leftists in India continue to peddle in order to whitewash the crimes of tyrannical Muslim rulers who invaded India.

Rashidi had said that Muslim kings who ruled India in the past were benevolent and secular rulers, who not only built mosques for their Muslim subjects but also built temples and generously donated for the upkeep of existing Hindu religious places. He had made similar controversial remarks during the Bhumi pujan of the Ram Temple in August 2020.

He had then said that a mosque will be rebuilt after demolishing the Ram Mandir. He also had claimed that Prime Minister Modi had ‘violated the constitution’ by visiting the Ayodhya temple event. A complaint was later filed against the Islamic cleric for making provocative statements against Hindus and for issuing threats to demolish the under-construction Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

Shivling found in disputed Gyanvapi structure-

A court-monitored survey of the disputed Gyanvapi structure found a Shivling inside the Wuzukhana of the mosque. The Wuzukhana is a place inside a mosque where Muslims wash their hands and feet before offering namaz. The apex court on Tuesday issued orders to protect the site from where the Shivling was discovered from the disputed structure. The order also denies entry of Muslims in Wuzukhana, disallowing washing of their feet and spitting on the Shivling. Supreme Court however also maintains that the order in any manner should not restrict or impede the right of the Muslims to use the Mosque for religious purposes.

Freudian slip of the century: Former US President George Bush says invasion of Iraq was wholly unjustified, ‘corrects’ it to Ukraine a second later

OpIndia Staff
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Freudian slip of the century: Former US President George Bush says invasion of Iraq was wholly unjustified, ‘corrects’ it to Ukraine a second later

Former US president George Bush, in a speech, was seen making virtue signalling sermons against ‘one man’s decision to invade a country’, in an attempt to criticise Vladimir Putin. However, Bush mentioned that country as ‘Iraq’ in an apparent slip of the tongue, only to correct it later and say that he meant Ukraine.

Bush was reportedly speaking on the issue of election integrity at the Southern Methodist University’s George W. Bush Institute. While criticising Russia’s election process, he said, “Russian elections are rigged. Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from the electoral process”.

“The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq”, the ex-President of the USA blurted out. Then, a moment later, he corrected himself adding ‘I mean of Ukraine, heh”.

Noticing that the audience has laughed, he then muttered, “Iraq too, .. anyway, 75, huh” conveying that the apparent gaffe was because of his age.

US invasion of Iraq under Bush

While Bush was the President of the USA, the USA had claimed that the Saddam Hussain regime had harboured weapons of mass destruction and terrorists and had started a brutal invasion of the country in 2003 while trying to justify the barbaric attacks and hundreds of civilian deaths as a ‘fight for democracy’.

No weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. The US invasion and carpet bombings had destroyed the country, caused hundreds of civilian deaths and plummeted the region into chaos. Over 250,000 people died as a result of Bush’s war on Iraq, including over 5000 us soldiers.

The USA, UK, Australia and Poland had started a massive war that involved ‘shock and awe’ bombings against Iraqi installations, both military and civilian. Saddam Hussain was captured and executed 3 years later. The then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had called the invasion illegal and a violation of the UN charter.

The resultant unrest and chaos fanned widespread conflicts in the region.

After his father had stopped Hindus from doing puja at Gyanvapi Shringar Gauri temple, Akhilesh Yadav insinuates that it’s a make-belief temple: Watch

OpIndia Staff
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After his father had stopped Hindus from doing puja at Gyanvapi Shringar Gauri temple, Akhilesh Yadav insinuates that it’s a make-belief temple: Watch

Akhilesh Yadav, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the Samajwadi Party chief has gone on to mock Hindu beliefs while disregarding claims that a Shivling has been unearthed inside the disputed Gyanpavi premises. Speaking at a press conference in Ayodhya, the SP chief insinuated that it is a make-belief temple within the disputed Gyanvapi mosque premises.

“In our faith, if you place a rock beneath a peepal tree and put a red flag on it, Hindus start worshipping it, believing it to be a temple,” the Samajwadi Party supremo stated, belittling the Hindu faith and beliefs.

“As far as the court is concerned, the SC had earlier ruled that such old matters cannot be raised. Even after this, the BJP is spreading hatred between Hindus and Muslims so that core issues are not discussed,” Yadav told reporters here.

The SP supremo, who had in 2020 declared that Shri Ram belongs to his party and he and his party men are Ram Bhakts and that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya would have been built in one year had there been a Samajwadi Party government in the state, went on to further cast doubts on the Ram Mandir alluding that the Hindus have acquired it by force. He said that “There was a time when idols were kept in Ayodhya in the dark hours of the night. BJP can do anything, the party cannot be trusted. The BJP is attempting to destabilise the atmosphere. The party is deliberately attempting to immerse people in issues of religion, caste, and religion to divert their attention from the real issues.

The SP chief also attacked the Center, claiming that the central government is striving for ‘One Nation, One Businessman’. He alleged that the government is selling off companies to big businessmen, banks are being merged, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is being privatised, airports are being sold, state wheat is being sold to a handful of industrialists and being exported abroad and the BJP is using the Gyanvapi issue as a smokescreen to draw away the attention of the public from such genuine concerns.

He accused the current dispensation of using a ‘divide and rule’ policy to stay in power. There has never been such widespread injustice and oppression of the people as there is now under this administration. This regime simply uses religion and caste to intimidate people, said Akhilesh Yadav.

In an apparent reference to the drives against encroachments in the state, Yadav also attacked chief minister Yogi Adityanath and said bulldozers are running in the state but a hospital inaugurated by him was “illegal”. The CM had inaugurated a private hospital in Nirala Nagar on Monday.

Mulayam Singh, the father of Akhilesh Yadav had stopped Hindus from doing puja at Gyanvapi Shringar Gauri temple

Well, Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks against Hindus do not come as a surprise considering the political legacy Akhilesh Yadav has inherited from his father Mulayam Singh Yadav who had earned the sobriquet ‘Mullah Mulayam’ by the Muslim community for issuing brutal orders to fire at Hindu karsevaks who had gathered at the then disputed Babri structure site to reclaim the Janmabhoomi(birthplace) of Lord Rama.

At the height of his power, as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, he felt emboldened enough to order firing upon Karsevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement resulting in the death of innumerable Ram Bhakts. This episode, which was one of the worst cases of human rights violations in Independent India, was not the only instance where one could openly see Mulayam Singh Yadav’s animosity against Hindus.

In fact, in 2004, the Samajwadi Party patriarch had barred Hindus from worshipping at the Mata Shringar Gauri temple while he was the chief minister of the state. In fact, BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla had recently revealed how Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was then the CM of Uttar Pradesh, ordered to halt regular puja performed at the Maa Shringar Gauri Temple which was in violation of the Worship Act 1991. He had said that prior to his order, puja was performed in the Mata Shringar Gauri Sthal round the year. 

Shukla accused Mulayam Singh Yadav of Muslim appeasement, stating that his government banned worship at Mata Shringar Gauri in 2004 due to their vote bank politics. He added that prayer in this temple had even continued after the Babri building was demolished in 1992.

As law and order deteriorates in Punjab, CM Bhagwant Mann focuses on swiftly getting rid of pet dogs from govt accommodation within a week: Details

OpIndia Staff
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As law and order deteriorates in Punjab, CM Bhagwant Mann focuses on swiftly getting rid of pet dogs from govt accommodation within a week: Details

In a new order, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has banned government employees from keeping pet dogs in govt accommodation. The Punjab Government has asked Police officers residing in Government bungalows and quarters to move their dogs out within a week.

In an order dated May 13, The Additional Director General of Police, Patiala has categorically asked police officers to remove pet dogs from their government residences if they do not have permission for the same. “Those employees who have adopted pet dogs at their homes, do they have permission for the same as per PPR 3.32?” the letter asks. The ADG has asked that the officers who have not complied with the same should move their pet dogs out of the residential quarters within a week.

The order issued by ADG Patiala over the removal of Dogs from Government quarters. Image Courtesy: Dainik Tribune

According to the order, any employee who refuses to do so will be prosecuted. Battalion Quarter personnel and Line Officers have been asked to ensure compliance with the above orders. A follow-up report on the action will be taken in this regard.

BJYM National Vice-President Tajender Pal Singh Bagga has lashed out at the AAP government in Punjab who has said that Bhagwant Mann is going after the dogs. In a tweet, he wrote, “All the issues are over in Punjab, where helpless CM Bhagwant Mann has gone after dogs. When you bring an animal into the house, it eventually becomes like a family. Only an insensitive person can ask for the removal of dogs within a week.”

Deterioration of law and order in Punjab

While Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is concentrating on getting rid of pet dogs, the law and order situation in the state has been on a steady decline every since AAP came into power.

After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won a thumping victory in Punjab absolutely destroying Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjab has seen a spike in murders in the state, with even famous Kabaddi players not immune to the violence, videos of the open sale of drugs in the state are going viral, and the state even witnessed communal violence after many many years. 

Within the first 3 weeks of the AAP government coming to power, the state saw 19 murders, including 3 targeted killings. The rising crime graph in the state drew sharp criticism from all quarters but didn’t matter to Punjab Police. Even ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s supporters are not safe in the state right now as Dharminder Singh, president of the kabaddi club at Daun Kalan village, and an AAP campaigner, found out when he was brazenly killed.

Just recently, a couple was brutally murdered in Ludhiana while their daughter could hear their shrieks. These are hardly isolated cases in Punjab over the last 2 months as criminals are getting more and more brazen, and openly executing their activities.

While the law and order slips in the state and even Khalistanis get emboldened, there are questions now being raised about the AAP government’s priorities as it concentrates on separating families from their pets.

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