The Kozhikkode Akashvani radio station has refused to play a drama on Veer Savarkar which was scheduled to go on air this Friday. According to a Janmabhumi report, the Kozhikkode radio station master has informed the Thiruvananthapuram radio station about the decision.
Reportedly, the station head gave the ‘rise in coronavirus infections amongst employees’ as the reason to cancel the broadcast.
The All India Radio had issued directives to all state units of Akashvani to broadcast a drama on Veer Savarkar in the ongoing national drama festival. While the main script was given by the AIR, the stations were supposed to translate it into their local language for broadcast.
Kerala has eight radio stations, and each was to prepare the drama on a rotational basis.
The dislike for personalities like Veer Savarkar and MS Golwalkar in Kerala is not new. Earlier this month, Kerala Students Union, the student wing of Congress, had taken out a march and had burnt copies of the Kannur University syllabus that carried extracts from Savarkar’s “Hindutva: Who is a Hindu” and others.
The student wing also accused the University of implementing and enforcing the Sangh Parivar or RSS agenda.
The controversy arose after extracts from Savarkar’s book, Golwalkar’s “Bunch of Thoughts” and “We or Our Nationhood Defined” and portions from Deendayal Upadhyaya’s “Integral Humanism” were included in the syllabus of MA Governance and Politics at Kannur University.
However, Prof Gopinath Ravindran of the University had rubbished the allegations and stated that the students must learn about all ideologies. “We have included the works of Gandhiji, Nehru, Ambedkar and Tagore. The syllabus also includes the works of Savarkar and Golwalkar. Let students learn and understand the basic text behind all ideologies,” he said, asserting that there is nothing wrong in learning about Savarkar and M S Gowalkar.
‘Comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura has been accused of sexual harassment by a woman in her early 20s. The woman has taken to Instagram to accuse the comedian of sexual abuse. Rajoura is a member of the comedy collective ‘Aisi Taisi Democracy’.
Screenshot of Tara’s Instagram post dated September 23
On September 23, the woman, who used the alias ‘Tara’ in her posts, revealed that Rajoura had reportedly coerced her into having oral sex in a public place despite her reservations. She also accused him of requesting nudes from her and posting an unsolicited nude image of a woman, proposing a threesome.
Screenshot of Tara’s Instagram post dated September 23
The woman wrote that for months she kept overlooking the advances since she admired the comedian for his work. His public persona clouded her judgement, she admitted. She was intimidated by the fact that Rajoura knew a lot of influential people from the film fraternity. In the post, the victim opens up on how she also kept overlooking the sexual advances made by Rajoura because she looked at his public persona as a “feminist man”.
She alleged that Rajoura would ask her to send him “unsafe” and naked pictures. “Even when I told him that it was too soon or made excuses expressing hesitancy, he was persistent and found loopholes to my excuses.”
The victim goes on to reveal how the comedian coerced her into performing oral sex at a public place. “He put his hand on my shoulder and guided me on my knees to perform the act,” wrote Tara.
Screenshot of Tara’s Instagram post dated September 23
Tara further said that the next day, Rajoura met someone he was professionally associated with at the gate of his building while taking out his car from the parking. She said that Rajouri “made a very weird hand gesture at the man while having a naughty smug smile on his face. That translated to me as him telling the man at the gate ‘You’re man has been having fun with this young lady’, very similar to ‘Aaj mein karke aaya hu'”.
Screenshot of Tara’s Instagram post dated September 23
She added that even after their meeting she continued to entertain his calls and interact with him. “It took me more than a few months to come to the painful realization that what had happened between us was toxic, overpowering, and problematic. Adding that she felt intimidated by him, his influence and power, the woman said she couldn’t walk out.
Screenshot of Tara’s Instagram post dated September 23
“So why am I speaking up now? I am doing this for MYSELF, to unburden this weight I have been carrying for so long. It is not on me to convince the world of my experience, hence I am not attaching any proof. I am doing this for closure,” she wrote
She ended that post by saying: “The instances I have mentioned are only the tip of the iceberg of my traumatic experience. I have lost all my friends since, after having several breakdowns and anxiety attacks. The things I went through almost drove my mother to the point of insanity. At this moment I do not have the emotional bandwidth to initiate a formal complaint. I want to move on to a better life, this ends here.”
Rajoura has not responded to the allegations yet.
Derogatory comments against Hindu Gods, casteist slurs: Sanjay Rajoura’s idea of ‘comedy’
Prior to this, the ‘comedian’ Sanjay Rajoura was in trouble after a complaint was filed against him on May 4, 2020 for mocking Hindu gods and goddesses and hurting religious sentiments.
Rajoura had made derogatory remarks against Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva after which a complaint was filed against him with the Mumbai Police by Hindu activist Ramesh Solanki.
Rajoura also has a history of abusive behaviour on social media. He has resorted to name-calling and threatening other Twitter users only because they don’t agree with his views. He has also displayed his casteist behaviour on Twitter by abusing the Brahmin and Rajput communities.
On September 20, a 10-second video emerged on social media platform in which staff of a restaurant named Aquila in Delhi was seen stopping a woman identified as Anita Choudhary from entering as she was wearing a saree. The staff member in the video was seen saying, “saree is not a smart casual” dress.
The footage drew strong criticism from across sections, and the restaurant started to get negative reviews on all platforms. On the other hand, some netizens stood by the restaurant and said being a private entity, they have the right to admission on their premises. The incident took place on the night of September 19.
The incident triggered a wide social media debate, where many people denounced the restaurant for its colonial mentality and denying entry to a patron wearing Saree. Aquila is located in Delhi’s upscale Khel Gaon Marg. After Wednesday’s social media buzz, it started receiving a barrage of negative reviews on food delivery platforms.
Later on Wednesday, Aquila issued a statement on its Instagram profile. In the statement, the restaurant said that the 10-second video is just a snippet of what had happened on the day of the incident. They also published a couple of videos to show their side of the story.
In one of the videos, the patron who claimed she was stopped from entering the restaurant because of saree as attire was seen slapping one of the staff members of the restaurant.
The restaurant said that the excuse their staff member gave for not allowing them to enter was not in sync with the restaurant’s policies. However, they could not have allowed someone on the premises who had allegedly assaulted a staff member. The statement reads, “To all our Dear Stakeholders, We chose to stay silent till now and have been patiently watching the situation related to the incident that took place at Aquila on September 19 unfold.
At Aquila, we believe in honouring our Indian community and have always welcomed our guests in all dress codes, from modern to traditional. Currently, a 10-second clip has been circulating in the media showing only a small snippet of what happened during a period of 1 hour here on Sunday.
A guest visited the restaurant and was politely requested to wait at the gate, as there was no reservation under her name. However, while we discussed internally where we could seat them, the guest entered the restaurant and began to fight and abuse our staff. What unfolded after was beyond our imagination, with the guest slapping our manager, as you can see in the CCTV video footage attached in our post above.
We believe in utmost transparency and are hence attaching snippets of people who have visited our restaurant in a traditional dress code previously. To tackle the situation and request the guest to leave, one of our gate managers made a statement on sarees not being a part of our smart casual dress code and our whole team apologies for the same.
Aquila is a home-grown brand, and each member of the team stands tall as a proud Indian. Our gate managers statement in no way is a representation of the entire teams view on the dress code. Nowhere in our company policy does it say that we will refuse entry to anybody in ethnic wear.
While we have all the right to take grated steps for the violence by the guest against our staff, we have chosen to maintain peace so far, but in accordance with our policy of maintaining transparency with our stakeholders, we are now issuing this statement.”
The restaurant stated that the 10-second clip where a staffer was seen saying Saree is not smart casual wear, does not reflect the establishment’s policy as they have multiple instances of Saree-wearing guests being welcomed. They stated that the guests in the video had created a nuisance after being told that no reservation was available and as seen in the CCTV footage, had even slapped the manager.
Counter statement by the patron
A Twitter user named aryaminii, has claimed that the lady in the saree was her mother. She claimed that her mother had only pushed the staff members and not ‘slapped’. She had also acknowledged that they had arrived late, past their reservation time and were told that no seats were available. She also alleged that her mother was confronted by ‘bouncers’ and was misbehaved with by staff.
Tension erupted in the Sambhal region of Uttar Pradesh after posters of All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) called it the land of “Ghazis”, referring to the Islamic invaders. Bharatiya Janata Party strongly objected to the language used in the posters. After the controversy, the posters were removed by the workers of AIMIM.
The posters were reportedly spotted ahead of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s public rally in Sirsi. Rajesh Singhal, Vice President, UP West Unit, BJP, raised objections on the posters and said Sambhal was never the land of ‘Ghazis’. He said, “This is an election stunt of Owaisi, and we will not allow them to succeed in their intentions. None of the cities in India belonged to the ‘ghazis’, and we will not allow them to become one.”
He further asserted that Sambhal finds its place in the mythology as well. He said, “In the Puranas, Sambhal finds mention in connection with the Kalki incarnation (of Lord Vishnu). If Sambhal is mentioned as the land of the ‘Ghazis’ in the Quoran, then I will quit politics.”
The poster politics of AIMIM
A similar controversy had erupted earlier when a poster of AIMIM had called Ayodhya by its old name Faizabad. At that time, Owaisi was to attend a political rally in Ayodhya. Paramhans Das, Mahant, Tapasvi Chavni had warned AIMIM to remove the posters else they would not allow Owaisi to enter Ayodhya. Iqbal Ansari, who was one of the parties in the Ayodhya Land Dispute, had warned Muslims of Uttar Pradesh not to get lured by Owaisi. He urged Owaisi not to play with the sentiments of the Muslims.
Owaisi targeted SP and BSP for poor performance in Lok Sabha elections
During his rally in Sirsi, Owaisi claimed that the people of UP would not choose Yogi Adityanath for the second term as Chief Minister of the state. Targeting CM Yogi for his ‘Abba Jaan’ remark, AIMIM Chief called himself “the father of the poor and weak, the brother of women.”
Owaisi also targeted Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party and questioned them on their poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. He said, “In the Lok Sabha elections, we did not field a single candidate, yet we are blamed that they (SP-BSP) got only 15 seats. They should come on a stage and have a one-to-one debate on this.”
AIMIM is planning to contest 100 seats in upcoming Assembly Elections in UP next year in alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha.
The Hindustan Times on Thursday used a representational image that showed a Muslim man wearing a skull cap being tested for Covid-19 for its report on new coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu.
Original report by Hindustan Times
However, within minutes, the media house swiftly changed the featured image to a picture where the religion of the person being tested cannot be identified.
Updated report by Hindustan Times
HT changes image without facing any attack
The move by Hindustan Times to change the representational image without any provocation or apparent public attack has raised several questions, especially because an earlier incident where NDTV had used the same image and was threatened by Islamist Sharjeel Usmani.
Did HT receive objections from Islamists through private communication?
A possibility arises of the media house receiving ‘private attacks’ through phone calls or emails over the image. However, this can be confirmed or denied by the media house itself.
Is HT editorial team admitting that the previous image was ‘Islamophobic’?
India being a secular country offers equal healthcare facilities for every citizen irrespective of religion, caste or creed. Precisely why citizens of every state, community, religion and gender were clicked getting tested or vaccinated for Covid-19 without any ‘biased lens’.
However, there are high chances that the media house must have considered the harmless act Islamophobic and willingly changed the representational image without any prodding. The NDTV incident had clearly implied that for some Islamists, and their over-secular friends, even a representational image of a Muslim man that has no comments on religious lines can be termed ‘Islamophobic’.
Pressure groups/ hyper-sensitive Islamist factions within media?
Not long ago, NDTV had faced severe backlash for using the same image as used by Hindustan Times. The media house was accused of Islamophobia and was bullied into deleting the tweet and changing the featured image.
The hate attack was furthered by the likes of Usmani who made threat-like Tweets to pressure the media house.
Usmani had openly enquired about the NDTV employee who had chosen the same picture to go with the Covid-19 report in August. “Who in NDTV decided to use this picture with the report? Employees may reveal the name if they wish to. DM is always open,” read Usmani’s provocative Tweet.
Image Source: Twitter
Hence, the plausibility of the likes of Usmani playing the same cards cannot be ruled out either.
The interesting thing was, NDTV actually got bullied by a Twitter Islamist and changed the image, despite its daily claims of being the flagbearer of fearless journalism.
Such pressure groups within media houses are not uncommon and are always on the lookout to launch an assault on any media outlet that deviates from the dictate even in the slightest manner. So much so that the media houses do not bat an eyelid to mention the name of the Hindu perpetrator in the headline but even a Muslim occult practitioner accused of gang- rape is referred to as a ‘Tantrik.’
India’s self-proclaimed ‘secular media’ houses even use featured images of Hindu rituals and Hindu words/symbols to whitewash when the crime involves Muslims. Such is the fear.
Remember how alleged comedian Kunal Kamra had temporarily deactivated his Twitter account in 2018 after users started retweeting his old jokes on Muslims? Now whether that was because of the fear of appearing Islamophobic or probable expulsion from his current left-Islamist group is unknown. Currently, Kamra is enjoying cracking jokes on Hindus and their deities without the fear of having to deactivate his account.
Interestingly, this admission of ‘pressure groups’ within the media fraternity was made even by journalist-turned-YouTuber Abhisar Sharma, a known Modi hater, in the year 2013.
Seemingly upset with the one-sided Godhra riots coverage, Sharma had Tweeted, “My problem with Muslim journalists is that somehow they cease to be journos and become “Muslims” when they question Modi on 2002 genocide.”
Image Source: Twitter
In yet another Tweet from the same year, Sharma had revealed, “Still remembr whn I ws in BBC, a muslimJourno reactd 2 GodhraTrain burning by sying: Ye To hota hee rehta hai.Tone chnged whn muslims killed.”
Image Source: Twitter
Yet again Sharma was slammed by the Islamists in the comments who even called him a ‘right-wing propagandist.’
Like NDTV, and now Hindustan Times, there are a plethora of examples where individuals or organizations are seen being too careful of even indirect, remote accusations of Islamophobia while openly shaming Hindus and their lifestyles without the slightest consideration for religious sentiments.
Even a harmless image of a Muslim man being tested for Covid-19 is apparently unacceptable to the community who preaches ‘tolerance’ and ‘inclusiveness.’ The irony is, the self-proclaimed ‘secular liberal’ media bows down to such elements, being extra cautious lest they ‘offend’ the Islamists.
Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook has expressed concerns over crucial company information being leaked by insiders. The head of the tech giant, which is known to be extremely secretive about its product development, has come down heavily on those employees who help leak confidential information and said that they do not belong at Apple.
Ironically, Cook’s internal email to his employees warning against leaking company information was also promptly leaked.
Cook, in his email directed towards all the Apple employees, said that the company would do everything in its power to hunt down these disloyal employees and initiate action against them.
The email, which was leaked to the press and subsequently acquired by American technology blog, The Verge, read: “I’m writing today because I’ve heard from so many of you were incredibly frustrated to see the contents of the meeting leak to reporters. This comes after a product launch in which most of the details of our announcements were also leaked to the press. But they only work if we can trust that the content will stay within Apple. I want to reassure you that we are doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked. As you know, we do not tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it’s product IP or the details of a confidential meeting. We know that the leakers constitute a few people. We also know that people who leak confidential information do not belong here.”
According to The Verge, Tim Cook was infuriated because two announcements he made at an all-hands meeting last week about the company’s policy for unvaccinated employees — who will have to be tested for covid-19 on a regular basis — and the Epic v. Apple antitrust case were leaked to the media shortly afterwards the meeting took place on September 17.
Apple would not accept the exposure of confidential information, whether it was product IP or the contents of a confidential meeting, sternly wrote an enraged Cook to his employees.
It may be noted that in recent months, Apple Inc has been cracking down on employees who are believed of leaking crucial business information. The tech giant has sent legal notices to tipsters earlier in June. One of the ‘leakers’ who received a legal letter from the company was the noted tipster Kang. Apple had told Kang and others not to reveal information regarding undisclosed Apple projects. According to Kang, the letter stated that leaking information before an official announcement might provide important knowledge to Apple’s competitors and “mislead customers because what is disclosed may not be correct.”
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a press meeting on Wednesday revealed that around 94 of 100 Malayalis who joined ISIS from Kerala till 2019 were Muslims. Speaking on ISIS recruits, Vijayan revealed, “The government verified the facts. Of the 100 Malayalis who joined ISIS, 72 had gone abroad for professional purposes but got attracted to ISIS ideology and joined it. Only one out of the 72 was a Hindu while the others were from the Muslim community.”
“The other 28 had left Kerala specifically to join ISIS after being attracted to the ideology. Of the 28, only five were converted from other religions to Islam,” he said further.
In the same conference, the CM also called the “organized controversy” around “Love Jihad” and “Narcotics Jihad” baseless and slammed the Pala Bishop for ‘damaging the secular fabric of the state’.
Further, in a bid to reject the allegations leveled by the Bishop on ‘narcotics Jihad’, the CM cited government data on drugs to claim that there was no relation between drug trafficking and religion.
“In 2020 under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) 1985 Act, 4,941 cases were registered in Kerala. Of the 5,422 accused 2700 (49.80 per cent) were Hindus, 1869 (34.47 per cent) were Muslims and 853 (15.73 per cent) were Christians,” informed the CM.
Putting forth a poor argument, Vijayan further said, “The ratio does not suggest that drug trafficking is based on any particular religion. Also, no cases of religious conversion by forced drug use have been reported.”
What is the controversy?
Earlier this month, Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt of the Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church had stated that young Christian boys and girls of Kerala are being targeted for not just ‘Love Jihad’ but for ‘Narcotics Jihad’ too.
Going a step ahead, the Bishop added that there are specific groups operational in Kerala that are targeting non-Muslim youngsters and even providing assistance to carry out targeted exploitation of non-Muslim youth.
“Their aim is to destroy non-Muslim religions without fighting with weapons,” he had alleged further adding that Kerala has become a recruitment centre for terrorists, and such groups are trying to use the youngsters as their sleeper cells.
However, on Tuesday, Vijayan condemned the Bishop and said, “Those holding respected positions like him should have never used words like ‘Narcotic Jihad’. Our secular society didn’t support it. Nobody was willing to side with it barring a few with a vested interest.”
Syro-Malabar Church defends Bishop
On the other hand, the Syro-Malabar Church issued a statement calling the controversy unfortunate. Those who are consciously campaigning to isolate & attack him by accusing him of preaching religious rivalry are requested to withdraw from it. While context & motive of his speech are clear, we recognise that call for action against him is deliberate,” the Church said.
Such moves will only serve to destroy brotherhood & co-existence that exists in Kerala society… We are making clear that we will stand against this & will stand united with him(Pala bishop): Syro-Malabar Church, Kerala (22.09)
Claiming that the intention was not to attack any particular community, the Church further said, “Such moves will only serve to destroy brotherhood & co-existence that exists in Kerala society… We are making clear that we will stand against this & will stand united with him (Pala Bishop).”
Prajna Pravah, an organisation affiliated with the RSS, has demandedthat the 1921 Moplah Massacre be termed as genocide. It has also demanded that a memorial should be made in its memory. J Nandakumar, the all-India convenor of Prajna Pravah said on Wednesday that the government should erect a “genocide memorial” to commemorate the 1921 deaths in Malappuram, Kerala, and proclaim September 25 as “Malabar Hindu Genocide Day.”
Until now, the incident has been remembered as a Muslim peasant insurrection against British rule and Hindu landowners. Sangh members have been advocating for a “correction” in the incident’s description, as it was “targeted killing of Hindus” by Muslim fanatics.
“Annie Besant and C Sankaran Nair, who was the president of the Indian National Congress, called it a genocide. But after 1975, it was illegally deemed as part of the freedom struggle,” Nandakumar said.
He added that the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala has not taken their request into consideration, but they are optimistic that the Central government would.
On September 26, the RSS-backed organisation will hold exhibitions and memorial sessions for the victims in Delhi and every block in Kerala.
Moplah Massacre leaders removed from dictionary of Indian freedom fighters
Last month, on the 23, a three-member panel, constituted to review the fifth volume of the dictionary published by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) had removed the names of Variamkunnath Kunhamed Haji and Ali Musaliar, the leaders responsible for the Moplah Massacre of Hindus, from the dictionary. Along with them, 387 others who died during the Moplah Massacre was also to be removed.
The panel had recommended the deletion as it came to the conclusion that the massacre was a fundamentalist movement bent on religious conversion and not a part of the freedom struggle.
The wounds of one of the worst communal pogroms recorded in the annals of Indian history remain fresh in the Hindu conscience even after 100 years of the infamous 1921 Moplah massacre. OpIndia has published a detailed report on the Moplah genocide of Hindus and 25th September 1921, the day when 38 Hindus were slaughtered and thrown in a well by a Muslim mob demanding a Caliphate in Malabar. The report can be viewed here.
A shocking incident has come to light from Surat, Gujarat where the Disturbed Areas Act was circumvented and permission to construct building was obtained through seemingly deceitful means. In Surat’s Adajan area, a permission to construct a building was obtained by one Raihan Heights project, next to a temple by ‘temporarily’ bringing up a Hindu partner in a Muslim owned enterprise in what appears to be a bid to hoodwink the law.
Raihan Heights in Adajan Surat: How Hindu partner was brought in ‘temporarily’ only for transfer of property
Elaborating on the details of the case, Surat-based activist Asit Gandhi said, “On 14th March, 2020 Rander area in Surat was brought under the Disturbed Areas Act. In this particular case, where the sale of land took place, there are three huge residential societies where residents are predominantly Hindus and there is a temple nearby. On 16th March, 2020, just four days after the area was notified under the Disturbed Areas Act, ‘Evergreen Corporation’, a partnership firm with Maqsood Godil (50%) and Mohammad Irfan Chamadiya (50%), brought in new partners, Shabnam Junaid Motiwala (10%), Ahmed Junaid Motiwala (10%) and Prakash Dholariya (10%) and diluted their own share to 35% each.”
Gandhi informed that the firm then applied to purchase land from Dhansukh Bejanwala, Mahesh Bejanwala, Arvind Bejanwala and Hasmukh Bejanwala. In the said application, they said that the buyers were Prakash Dholariya ‘and others’, thereby hiding the religious identity of the other partners, informed Gandhi. On 24th March, 2020 nationwide lockdown was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic, so all procedures were put on hold. Owing to this, the due process that needs to be done in such cases which fall under the Disturbed Areas Act, were not carried out.
Raihan Heights, Adajan, Surat
Gandhi informs that the Disturbed Areas Act is wrongly interpreted that it applicable where at least one party between buyer and seller are either Hindus or Muslims. The thing is, any such transactions in such areas would require to follow due process. This is to preserve the religious and community value and identity of the areas which are susceptible to demographic change. A Collector would carry out formal inquiry after any such application is made and police and district magistrate have to carry out the inquiry. He said that in such cases, the authorities have to physically go to the property and take information that is publicly available and even take written approval from people affected. This includes those who live nearby that particular property as well. Only once the procedure is followed and Collector is satisfied will he approve the transfer of property.
In this case, when the coronavirus pandemic related lockdown ended and the unlock was being phased in, on 20th June, 2020, the Deputy Collector approved the sale of immovable property without any formal inquiry. Further, what is interesting is that even before the transfer of property was done on 20th June, on 11th June, 2020, the builders had already applied for construction permission on the said land.
Gandhi further said that Surat Municipal Corporation, without approval from the Collector approved the construction activity to take place on the property. One of the conditions of transfer of such property is that if in future it comes to light that facts were hidden, the deal is liable to be cancelled. If false information is provided, it becomes a case for cancellation of deal.
Interestingly, after the permission for construction was cleared, Prakash Dholariya was removed as partner from the firm. On 29th August, 2020, as per a notarised agreement, the partnership firm ‘Evergreen Corporation’ removed Dholariya from the firm. Now, Maqsood Godil (35%), Mohammad Irfan Chamadiya (35%), Shabnam Motiwala (15%) and Ahmed Junaid Motiwala (15%) are the partners.
Raihan Heights, in what appears like a deceitful transaction, started constructing 5 high rise buildings with 260 flats. After the facts came to light, the Deputy Collector City Prant Surat has now cancelled the original transaction of sale of land between Evergreen Corporation and the Bejanwala family.
Surat Deputy Collector cancelling the original land deal
With this order, all the construction activity now stands halted. The rule states that once the cancellation of transfer of property order comes in, the seller has to return the amount received as payment within 3 months and the buyer has to return the property. If not, then the Collector gives judicial order of 5 years of rigorous imprisonment and fine of 10% of Jantri value.
Raihan Heights not an isolated incident
What is unfortunate is that this is not an isolated incident. Asit Gandhi tells OpIndia that these kind of property deals are rampant in various parts of Gujarat as people exploit the legal loopholes. In this case, they were able to get the deal cancelled and action taken because of support of people with political will like Purnesh Modi, Surat West MLA.
Describing how the deceitful transactions are taking place, Gandhi said that there are three major ways these deals take place. “One, they don’t go through the regular route but just go ahead with notarised documents which circumvents the entire process ahead of transfer of property. Then sometimes they don’t wait for transfer of property and start construction on the land already. The flats would be constructed and sold off and buyers would be left cheated as the land ownership was not transferred. And third method is setting up a middleman who takes permissions in his names and then eventually leaves,” he said.
Many areas in Surat in recent times have had a change in religious identity. “In Gopipura area, there are 44 Jain temples and it had sizeable Jain population. However, now only few Jain families live there and the area has become a Muslim dominated area. Similarly, in Nanavat area, there is a very old Radha Krishna temple. Now, with demography change, the temple structure remains but the idols have been moved to another temple in Piplod area. The temple is left without the deities,” Gandhi lamented.
“This is not just in Surat, but similar things are being done in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Kalol and other places in Gujarat, using same modus operandi,” he said.
Disturbed Areas Act in Gujarat
It must be noted that Adajan in Surat falls under the Gujarat Disturbed Areas Act where transfer of immovable property can take place only after the Collector signs off an application made by the buyer and seller of the property. The seller, in the application, must mention that the seller is selling the property by their own free will.
Essentially, the Collector is the peacekeeper of the district and it is his/her responsibility that the communal harmony is maintained. To make sure things don’t escalate and communal riots do not break out, the Collector has the responsibility of keeping peace.
Through this Act, the government is trying to keep a check on the polarisation of communities in sensitive parts of the state.
Ahmedabad’s Varsha Flats in Paldi: What went wrong
Similar case had happened in Ahmedabad’s Paldi area where the Disturbed Areas Act is in place. In June 2019, Varsha Flats in Jankalyan Cooperative Housing Society in Paldi landed in controversy after mandatory sanction sale was withdrawn. When the society went for redevelopment, many Muslim families purchased the property. However, because the area falls under Disturbed Areas Act, the due process including Collector’s permission would be needed for the deal to be concluded.
Subsequently, Collector asked the 13 residents of Varsha Flats to vacate the apartments as they were in violation of the Disturbed Areas Act. An FIR was filed against the builders and owners of Varsha Flat for violation of the Disturbed Areas Act. The residents had then approached the High Court which asked them to approach Special Secretary Revenue (Appeal and Revision) against the District Collector’s refusal to sanction sale.
Dwarka and Somnath, the holy Hindu pilgrimage sites
Mumbai resident Anand narrates his brush with subtle change in demographics and says during his recent week-long trip to the holy places of Somnath and Dwarka in Gujarat. He said that one of the places for pilgrimage was ‘Beyt Dwarka’, which was the residence of Lord Krishna during the time he ruled Gujarat. It is a small island off the coast of Dwarka and one needs to take about 30 minute boat-ride from Okha.
Anand says, for Dwarka-darshan, a bus-conductor cum guide, a practicing Brahmin, enthusiastically talked about the rich heritage of Gujarat and Shri Krishna’s Dwarka. “He told us about the families which inhabit the island now. As of now about 7,000 families live on the island, of which about 6,000 families are Muslim families. I was shocked at such demography of a place of Hindu pilgrimage in a Hindu majority country,” he said.
However, his guide explained that the entire region has salty water and fertility is very low. The Muslims in the area engage in fishing and fisheries related activities for livelihood. “Brahmins on the island are dependent on the very little money they make from Puja at temple and other rituals. Since Hindu population on the island is decreasing, demand for rituals in homes is also decreasing,” the guide told Anand.
Anand, describing his journey from Okha to Beyt Dwarka, one of the holy sites for Hindu pilgrimage, said that his first visuals were of a mosque. “You will see hundreds of fishing boats along the way and most of these boats would have two flags, one flag would be an Indian flag, perhaps for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, and the Islamic flag. Similar sights are there throughout Dwarka as well. The mosques and dargahs are strategically placed on the western coast of India.
For example, here is a map of Shree Somnath temple, the first Jyotirlinga and one of the holiest sites for Hindus.
Somnath temple
In one kilometre radius of Shree Somnath temple, there are at least three dargahs/masjids.
Beyt Dwarka map
Beyt Dwarka was once the residence of Lord Krishna and Somnath has a history of attacks and looting and destruction by many Islamist rulers. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and looted Somnath 17 times.
While every Indian citizen has the right to reside in any part of India and the constitution ensures no discrimination is carried out, constitution also provides for safety and security of every Indian. If the history of India, especially in places like Kashmir is anything to go by, the demography change has resulted into Hindus having to flee to protect their lives as well as religious identities.
That the demography change in these areas is subtle, it is real and should act as a cautionary tale.
The Uttar Pradesh government headed by CM Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday recommended a CBI probe into the death of Mahant Narendra Giri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) who was found dead in Baghambari Math in Prayagraj.
The state home department of Uttar Pradesh informed through a tweet that on the order of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a CBI probe of this case has been recommended.
“On the order of the Chief Minister a CBI probe into the tragic death of Mahant Narendra Giri, president of Akhara Parishad has been recommended,” the tweet reads.
प्रयागराज में अखाड़ा परिषद के अध्यक्ष महन्त नरेन्द्र गिरि जी की दुःखद मृत्यु से जुड़े प्रकरण की मा. मुख्यमंत्री जी के आदेश पर सी.बी.आई. से जाँच कराने की संस्तुति की गई l
Yogi Adityanath, who had visited the Baghambari Math on Tuesday to pay homage to Mahant Narendra Giri had said that the culprits would not be spared and they will receive strict punishment. He had further said that several pieces of evidence were collected regarding the incident.
The seer was found hanging from the ceiling with a nylon rope inside his room at the Math on Monday evening. Police also recovered 7-8 pages of a handwritten suicide note supposed to be written by the sheer where he has mentioned the reason behind his alleged suicide.
Indian Express quoted sources stating that a panel of five doctors conducted an autopsy to confirm that the cause of death was “antemortem hanging”.
Three people have been arrested
The recommendation for the CBI probe has come a day after Uttar Pradesh police arrested three people Anand Giri, Adhya Prasad Tiwari, and Tiwari’s son Sandeep on the charge of abatement of suicide whom the deceased seer in his suicide note had blamed for blackmailing and torture.
Anand Giri was Narendra Giri’s favourite protégé until they fell out in May after the latter was expelled from the Niranjani Akhara over accusations of financial irregularities. He was arrested from Uttrakhand.
Narendra Giri in the suicide note had written that he always lived with dignity in society, but Anand Giri defamed him in a wrong way.
But questions were raised on the genuineness of the suicide note as some media reports claimed the suicide note contained different signatures of Narendra Giri as compared to his previous documents, indicating a conspiracy behind his death.
