The Central government has decided to transfer the criminal cases related to the violent riots in Bengaluru to the National Investigation Agency. About 280 people in the case have been booked under the stringent UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). The central agency will investigate if the accused persons had links with terror organisations.
Representing NIA, counsel P. Prasanna Kumar submitted before a Division Bench of Karnatana High Court comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi that a decision to transfer the cases involving incidents of violence in DJ Halli and KG Halli localities of Bengaluru has been taken by the centre and orders in this regard are expected to be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The submission was made during the hearing of PIL petitions seeking transfer of probe to NIA, payment of compensation for damage caused to properties during the violence, etc.
A man named Samiuddin was arrested by the Central Crime Branch, who is said to have links with Al-Hind organisation, a claim which is being probed.
Riots sparked off in Bengaluru over an allegedly derogatory post on Prophet Muhammad
Last month, the southern metropolis of Bengaluru was convulsed with violent riots when a rampaging Muslim mob unleashed extreme violence in Bengaluru over a Facebook post that was allegedly derogatory to Prophet Mohammad. As per the reports, the Muslim mob hit the streets near DJ Halli and KG Halli police station areas on August 11 evening and attacked a Congress MLA’s house after one of his relatives had allegedly made a derogatory Facebook post.
More than 60 police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting and the subsequent riots unleashed by the irate Muslim mobs. At least 10 vehicles, including Innovas of two DCPs, were damaged in front of the stations. The mob also set fire to the vehicles in front of the DJ Halli police station.
During the pre-planned attack, the Muslim mob, carrying petrol bombs and other weapons, also barged into the nearby police quarters and attacked the premises. The Muslim mob was seen raising Islamic slogans like ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ and ‘Nara-e-Taqbeer’ outside the police station.
As many as 300 people, including Arun Pratap, the personal assistant of the former city mayor and local civic ward corporator Sampat Raj of the Congress, were accused of fanning the riots and indulging in vandalism.
Days after the violent riots swept the city, the Karnataka government had decided to invoke the stringent UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) law and the Goonda Act against those responsible for carrying out the violence. About 280 accused in the case were slapped with charges under UAPA Act.
In yet another shocking addition to the Kanagna Ranaut- Shiv Sena episode, Mumbai police has arrested a man from Kolkata after he threatened Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut allegedly over a phone call. The Mumbai police traveled all the way to Kolkata to arrest the man.
The man identified as Palash was reportedly offended by the comments made by Raut against Kangana and had allegedly threatened him of dire consequences on the call. Palash is said to belong to Tollygunge. He was arrested by a team of Mumbai police in Kolkata and is set to be produced in Alipore court today for transit remand. Palash, who is said be to a gym instructor, had allegedly made two calls one each to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut.
Palash was reportedly picked up by the Mumbai ATS.
A war of words had been going on for a long time between Ranaut and Raut which even resulted in the demolition of the latter’s office by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The Bombay High Court in its stay order on the demolition had termed BMC’s action as mala fide.
Raut has earlier passed derogatory remarks on Kangana after she had questioned the misplaced priorities of the Mumbai Police. Another Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik had threatened to ‘break her mouth’ if she sets foot in Mumbai.
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) – the apex decision-making body of the 13 recognised Hindu monastic orders has come out in support of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut against the Maharashtra government.
According to the reports, Mahant Narendra Giri, the Akhara Parishad president, expressing his solidarity with Kangana Ranaut hailed Kangana Ranaut as a ‘brave and courageous daughter’ of the nation who exposed the drug mafia and its links with Bollywood.
Mahant Narendra Giri said that the fearless voice of the actress against a particular community in Bollywood and drug mafia has caused ripples that have scared the drug mafia. He added that Kangana Ranaut’s action has threatened the Maharashtra government of being uprooted.
“This is the reason why the Uddhav Thackeray government has demolished Kangana Ranaut’s office to intimidate her,” Mahant stated.
The Mahant further said that the bravery with which Kangana Ranaut faced the drug and Bollywood mafia in the Sushant Singh murder case, has made many people angry, who are now targeting her.
Mahant Narendra Giri also expressed his gratitude towards Himachal Pradesh government and the Centre for providing a security cover to the actress. The actress was given Y-grade security by the central government after she was threatened and abused by senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.
“The law and order situation in Maharashtra is very bad. The Maharashtra government has not taken any action in the case of mob lynching of two saints in Palghar. The Akhara Parishad demanded a CBI inquiry in the Palghar case, but the state government has failed to act,” he added.
VHP, Ayodhya seers backs Kangana Ranaut
The support for Kangana Ranaut by the Akhada Parishad comes after Hindu seers of Ayodhya and Vishwa Hindu Parishad had backed the national-award-winning actress for her fight against the Maharashtra government.
Earlier in the day, Hindu seers of Ayodhya had slammed Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for carrying out vendetta against the actress and had announced that the Shiv Sena chief was no more welcome in the holy town of Ayodhya.
Questioning the action of Maharashtra Chief Minister against the actress, Mahant Raju Das, priest of the Hanuman Garhi temple on Thursday had said that if Maharashtra Chief Minister visits Ayodhya, he will face stiff opposition from seers of Ayodhya.
Extending their support to the national award winning actress, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said that the action against Kangana Ranaut is very clear that the Shiv Sena is deliberately targeting the actress because of her support to nationalist forces, who has raised her voice against drug mafia of Mumbai.
Susarshan News said on Friday that a group of Muslims gathered outside the headquarters of the news organisation and attempted to forcefully enter its premises. It was also claimed that stones were pelted at the headquarters of Sudarshan News. One of them said that the person is from Ghaziabad.
#BREAKING सुदर्शन मुख्यालय के बाहर मुस्लिमों का जमावड़ा.
Noida Police apparently reached the spot after 20 minutes. Sudarshan News claimed that slogans were also raised for its Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke to get outside to, presumably, meet the protesters. Chavhanke said, “Fundamentalists have come to attack Sudarshan. Attack on security guards for preventing entry into the studio. Despite repeated requests to “Naved Khan”, head of the Sector 58 police station, Noida Police Has not installed a single policeman here.”
सुदर्शन पर हमला करने पहुँचे कट्टरपंथी। स्टूडियो में घुसने से रोकने पर सुरक्षा रक्षकों पर किया हमला। सेक्टर 58 थाने के प्रमुख “नावेद ख़ान” को कई बार निवेदन देने के बावजूद @noidapolice ने यहाँ एक भी पुलिसवाला नहीं लगाया है. ट्विट लिखते समय हंगामा जारी है @myogiadityanath@Uppolice
— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) September 11, 2020
Sudarshan News had become embroiled in a huge controversy after it decided to air a report on what it called ‘UPSC Jihad’. On Thursday, it finally received a nod from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to broadcast their programme. The broadcast of the programme was earlier stayed by an order of the Delhi High Court. The order was passed on the petition of some students of Jamia Millia Islamia University in which it was alleged that the programme could incite hatred against Muslims.
Defending the right of the free press, Suresh Chavhanke had written to the Ministry of I&B, “You have received lacs of fake complaints against us in last 15 years but none of them could prove us guilty… Those who file such frivolous complaints have a long history… Take strict action against them for wasting your time, our time and for trying to tarnish the image of a 15-year old reliable news media organisation (Sudarshan News).”
He had said, “You had asked us about our promos on social media but this does not fall in the domain of your Ministry. We don’t know what has been sent to you. We stand by our promo… There are no unconstitutional or objectionable words in that promo.”
Nilesh Rane, Maharashtra BJP leader and son of former CM Naraya Rane has shared some social media posts claiming that Aaditya Thackeray, the Maharashtra Environment Minister and son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had visited a Cambodian street infamous for drugs and prostitution.
The junior Rane claimed that Aaditya Thackeray had posted on his Instagram account an image from PUB street in Cambodia, the place infamous for narcotics and underage prostitution.
@AUThacks हे private instagram account दिसत असून गेल्या अनेक वर्षांपासून काही मोठया स्टारच्या आणि युवासेनेच्या अनेक पोस्ट मध्ये या अकाऊंटला टैग करण्यात आलेले आहे.. त्यामुळे Pub_Street_Combodia चा अर्थ जोडलेले फोटो बघून कळेल आपल्याला, पेंग्विन किती बरबटलेला आहे. pic.twitter.com/OhNi8jbKND
“@AUThacks is a private Instagram account of Aaditya Thackeray and has been tagged by several celebrities and in several posts made by the official Twitter account of the ‘Yuva Sena’. Therefore, you can understand the reason behind penguin’s frustration by looking at what the PUB street of Cambodia is known for in the attached image,” the English translation of Nilesh’s tweet in Marathi read.
Rane’s allegations were based on a social media user’s tweet, who had shared a screenshot of the Maharashtra CM’s son’s Instagram account, saying that the display image was from Cambodia’s infamous Pub Street. Rane then shared screenshots of tweets by the Twitter account of Yuva Sena in which Aaditya Thackeray’s Instagram account was tagged, in a bid to lend legitimacy to his claim that it was Aaditya and not an imposter, who had shared the controversial image.
Screenshot of Aaditya Thackeray’s alleged private Instagram account(AUThacks) posted by Nilesh Rane
Bollywood celebrities follow Instagram account AUThacks
Though it is not confirmed whether the AUThacks account indeed belongs to the CM’s son, the Instagram account AUThacks is also followed by celebrities such as Riteish Deshmukh, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandes, and Karan Johar. Rane had also shared pictures from Jacqueline’s Instagram account where the account AUThacks was tagged by the actress in a picture where she is seen with Aaditya Thackeray.
AUThacks followed by Bollywood celebrities on Instagram
Until the time of publishing this report, Aaditya Thackeray had not responded to the allegations levelled by Nilesh Rane. We will update the article, if and when the Maharashtra Environment Minister issues a clarification on the matter.
It is notable here that Aaditya Thackeray’s Instagram account @adityathackeray is a public, verified account and the said picture mentioned by Rane is not there.
Pub street, Siem Reap, Cambodia
The Pub Street, or street no 8 in Cambodia’s northwestern Siem Reap city, is a popular tourist destination for the party-loving crowd. Though frequented by tourists from around the world, many nations have travel advisories warning travellers about the crimes, rampant prostitution, sexual assault, robbery and drug spiking happening in Pub Street. Drug hauls and cases of street crime are rampant in this area. The Pub Street was popularised in the early 2000s, especially after actress Angelina Jolie visited a bar there during the shooting of her Lara Croft movie.
On the 127th anniversary of the famous address of Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, let us look at another iconic speech of the 19th century Hindu saint. In a speech titled, “The great teachers of the world’ delivered on February 3, 1900, at the Shakespeare Club in Pasadena in California, Swami Vivekananda talked about the significance of Messengers and their importance in the context of religion.
My Prophet is the only true Prophet is not correct, stated Swami Vivekananda
In his speech, the Hindu saint emphasised, “Now, as regards those of you that think that you understand Truth and Divinity and God in only one Prophet in the world, and not in any other, naturally, the conclusion which I draw is that you do not understand Divinity in anybody; you have simply swallowed words and identified yourself with one sect, just as you would in party politics, as a matter of opinion; but that is no religion at all.”
Swami Vivekananda was of the belief that not a single Prophet could embody the ‘Truth’ of the world. Every Prophet had a task to fulfill in the world and that all Messengers together taught the message of God to the people. “So, when each man stands and says “My Prophet is the only true Prophet,” he is not correct — he knows not the alpha of religion. Religion is neither talk, nor theory, nor intellectual consent. It is realisation in the heart of our hearts; it is touching God; it is feeling, realising that I am a spirit in relation with the Universal Spirit and all Its great manifestations,” he stated.
“This very moment let everyone of us make a staunch resolution: “I will become a Prophet, I will become a messenger of Light, I will become a child of God, nay, I will become a God,” he concluded.
We are bound to worship personalities, contrary to Islamic teachings
The Hindu saint added that while such Prophets had been worshipped and admired by every religion, Mohammedans (Muslims or followers of Mohammed) were different from the rest. But, he added that, as humans, we were bound to worship and revere individuals on a higher spiritual level that us. Swami Vivekananda said, “The Mohammedans from the beginning stood against any such worship. They would have nothing to do with worshipping the Prophets or the Messengers, or paying any homage to them; but, practically, instead of one Prophet, thousands upon thousands of saints are being worshipped. We cannot go against facts! We are bound to worship personalities, and it is good.”
Swami Vivekananda pointed out the dangers of sectarian beliefs of ‘some’ Muslims
In his speech, the Hindu monk emphasised, “Now, some Mohammedans are the crudest in this respect, and the most sectarian. Their watchword is: ‘There is one God, and Mohammed is His Prophet.’
Highlighting the dangerous implications of such a belief that had wrought havoc on the lives of disbelievers (Kuffars), Swami Vivekananda said, “Everything beyond that (in Islam) not only is bad, but must be destroyed forthwith; at a moment’s notice, every man or woman who does not exactly believe in that must be killed; everything that does not belong to this worship must be immediately broken; every book that teaches anything else must be burnt. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, for five hundred years blood ran all over the world. That is Mohammedanism!”
Swamiji was a visionary in the sense that the notion of killing every man or woman who didn’t believe in Islam by some Muslims turned out to be true, years later in 2001. On this day, 19 years ago, Islamist terror outfit Al-Qaeda orchestrated four different terror attacks, hijacked planes, and killed 2977 people in the United States.
The Hindu saint believed in the notion of ‘equality’ in Islam
Swami Vivekananda believed that Islam, though it spread through bloodshed, could not have survived the wheels of time if there was nothing good in it. He opined, “How could Mohammedanism have lived, had there been nothing good in its teaching? There is much good. Mohammed was the Prophet of equality, of the brotherhood of man, the brotherhood of all Mussulmans.”
He stated that a lot could be learnt from the life of Prophet Mohammed. “So we see that each Prophet, each Messenger, has a particular message. When you first listen to that message, and then look at his life, you see his whole life stands explained, radiant,” Swami Vivekananda stated.
He further added, “Mohammed by his life showed that amongst Mohammedans there should be perfect equality and brotherhood. There was no question of race, caste, creed, colour, or sex. The Sultan of Turkey may buy a Negro from the mart of Africa, and bring him in chains to Turkey; but should he become a Mohammedan and have sufficient merit and abilities, he might even marry the daughter of the Sultan.”
Comparing it with the ‘orthodoxy’ of some Hindus, Swamiji clarified, “Notwithstanding our grand philosophy, you note our weakness in practice; but there You see the greatness of the Mohammedan beyond other races, showing itself in equality, perfect equality regardless of race or colour.”
However, the great Hindu monk was unaware that years later, the notion of equality will turn out to be a farce. Sunnis will fight the Shias and vice-versa in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and vice-versa, Ahmadis will be deemed as non-Muslims and Hazaras will face persecution at the hands of Sunni ‘brothers’ in Pakistan.
In recent years, we have seen the rise of certain Islamist organisations abroad which work overtime to slander India’s reputation abroad. In the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and the passage of the CAA, there was a surge of anti-India propaganda in the West, fuelled usually by dubious Islamic organisations in collaboration with leftists.
Such propaganda and protests eventually led to an attack on the Indian High Commission at London. A webinar, organised on “Islamizing the West: Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-I-Islami, and Tablighi Jamaat” by the Usanas Foundation on the 10th of September, exposed the manner in which such organisations operate and fuel anti-India propaganda.
The speakers at the event were the Director of Research at the Investigative Project on Terrorism Abha Shankar, Director of the US-based think tank Washington Project-Middle East Forum Clifford Smith and Director of the Islamist Watch – Middle East Forum Sam Westrop.
Webinar by Usanas Foundation
The discussion was moderated by Abhinav Pandya, the founder of Usanas Foundation. Abha Shankar spoke on the Islamic charity organisations in the United States of America that indulge in anti-India activities. She said, “The first major organisation is the US Council of Muslim Organisations (USCMO) – an umbrella group of Islamist organisations across the US. It was launched in 2014 and has a political agenda. Every year it organises the National Muslim American Advocacy day that attracts young Muslim American activists to lobby policymakers on the Hill.”
Abha Shankar also elaborated on the manner in which a delegation of the USMCO met the president of the Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in order to “exert maximal pressure on the Indian government to lift its lockdown on Kashmir” and “commit to massive humanitarian assistance for the people of Kashmir.” USMCO representatives also met UN officials to highlight the “dire humanitarian crisis” in J&K.
Then there are organisations such as the Council of American Islamic Relations and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) who are intimately linked to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamist and terror organisations. CAIR has been providing platform to Kashmiri separatists. Recently, Hafsa Kanjwal, a Kashmiri separatist who happens to be one of the co-founders of ‘Stand With Kashmir’, featured in a webinar organised by the Philadelphia chapter of CAIR.
As for the ICNA, convicted Pakistani spy and lobbyist Ghulam Nabi Fai regularly speaks at their events. Together, they were very active in furthering propaganda against the CAA at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Abha Shankar concluded ssaying, “If these efforts to change the narrative on Kashmir and push an anti-India agenda remain unchallenged, it will only embolden the Islamists and their allies to spread more lies and will come back to haunt India, its international stature, and US-India relations in the years to come.”
Sam Westrop spoke on the rising influence of Islamic Charity Organisations in the West. He said, “Charity is a key to advancing ideology. Helping Hands for Relief and Development has also organised events with LeT. India finds groups like Helping Hands and Muslim Aid not just on the Pakistani side of the LOC, but also within India itself. The key for the Indian government is to study what they have been doing and what they are doing in India. They must be proscribed and banned in India. Muslim Aid is directly linked with radical charitable organisations in India like the Zakat Foundation.”
We at OpIndia have highlighted the links of the Zakat Foundation to Islamist international organisations abroad including radical islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Westrop mentioned that such organisations are becoming actively involved in spreading the radical agenda of Islamists and are working towards demonising India and provoking terrorism.
He further stated, “We have the ‘Engage’, working for Joe Biden, which connections with radical Islamist outfits. The outfit has also been involved in a lot of anti-India campaigns on Kashmir. The Council on American Islamic Relations is actively supporting Biden. Across the country, Islamists are setting up donors clubs and Political Actions Committees (PACs) and sponsoring legislation not only in Congress but in state legislatures as well.”
Westrop also mentioned that Islamist and terror organisations often moved their money through mosques and third parties. In this context, he mentioned that the UK Charity Commission provides a lot of scope for channelling money people deem fit. Even when evidence was found against Muslim, the members were not prosecuted and instead let off with a warning. He also remarked that cryptocurrency is now being used by terrorists worldwide due to the anonymity it provides.
Commenting on the Tablighi Jamaat, which played a critical role in the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirusand behaved in outrageous fashion with the medical fraternity, Westrop said, “I follow the activities of Tablighi Jamaat in the US and UK very closely. In the 1970s black Salafist mosques were emerging in the US and they used the black identity for promoting Islamism. Their process of indoctrination is really amazing. In terms of membership, it is really the biggest Islamic group in the world. Unlike India, where it has recently become very famous, its name is only known by the law enforcement agencies in the US, as most of the terrorists rise through the ranks of Tablighi Jamaat.”
He added, “There are far too many terrorists coming from that ideology. The problem with Tablighi Jamaat is that it is so shadowy and the inability to track who they are makes it difficult to find who they are and how they operate. They don’t even maintain records and papers. They are groups of extremists that motivate youngsters to resort to extremism and later to terrorism. Countering its influence, the only people which can help the West are the Indians, as India is the place where they have all the infrastructure and base. India was also troubled by the charity from the West and elsewhere by the Islamists in a similar way. So, as we deal with charity organisations for you, you need to deal with Tablighi Jamaat for us. It is a global ideology and requires a global stance.”
Clifford Smith said there are broadly three groups of anti-India elements in the United States of America. Firstly, there are the Islamists of Indian origin. Then there are the Islamists of South-Asian origin. Finally, we have the Islamists of Middle-Eastern origin. The far-left, he argues, aligns with all these three groups.
According to Smith, the Middle-Eastern faction are far ahead in terms of numbers and organisational strength. He argued that such Islamists will weaponize every grievance against India. And that was why a Congressional hearing was organised on human rights issue in South Asia, which primarily focused on the Kashmir issue.
On the matter of terror financing through Islamic charity organisations, he said, “How does that matter if a charity is being directed by groups with a theocratic agenda and has connections with terrorist outfits? The money would find a way if the ideology is the driving force. If you help Hezbollah build homes, you help Hezbollah build bombs. The fundamental issue is to look at who you are giving money to. In this, neither America nor the other countries have not been hesitant to take action.”
Smith also said that although gloom was not necessary with regards to the relationship between India and the US at the moment as ordinary Americans still perceive India to be a decent country, he was not quite sure how things might turn out if Democrats managed to capture the presidency in November. He speculated that Joe Biden would not be as far-left as Bernie Sanders but it was hard to figure where he will land at the end.
He said that under the Bush administration, there was a concerted effort to break the network of Islamic charities. That policy changed under Barack Obama as they believed prosecution of Muslim charity organisations to be fuelled by Islamophobia. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has other priorities. Smith believes that Joe Biden is likely to be better than Obama but it is unlikely that he will able to fix the problem.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken has moved the Supreme Court challenging the court’s order of removing 48,000 slum clusters located along the railway line in the national capital.
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken today moved the Supreme Court challenging the directions passed by a bench headed by former Justice Arun Mishra wherein the Court had directed demolition of about 48,000 jhuggis along-side railway tracks in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/HWZYg3mO84
Last week, the Supreme Court had passed the order making it clear that there should be no interference political or otherwise in the removal of the illegal slums in Delhi. The court has also said that if any court passes any interim stay order against the removal, that will be considered ineffective. The court had ordered the slum dwellings along 140 km of railway tracks to be removed with three months.
Maken termed the Supreme Court’s order of removal of slums as ‘inhuman’. Citing an order of Delhi High Court passed in 2019, he said that slum dwellers have a right to the city and they cannot be removed unless prior arrangement for their rehabilitation is made.
I have petitioned the Hon’ble Supreme Court against inhuman Order of large scale demolition of slums in Delhi.
In a 2019 detailed Judgement, Delhi HC in my PIL, laid down the law that Slum Dwellers have ‘Right to the City’ & cannot be Removed without prior Rehabilitation. 1/2
He said that the Central government and the State government did not inform the Supreme Court about the Delhi High judgment of 2019 on slum dwellers. He accused both the governments of “playing a fraud upon the court” and fooling the people.
2/2 Unfortunately, the BJP & AAP Governments have misled the Supreme Court by not informing them about the HC Judgement (Ajay Maken Vs. UOI) and obtained the Order for removal of slums by playing a fraud upon the Court.
Now, both of them together are fooling these poor people!
Maken claimed that the order could not be sustained because the slum dwellers or their representatives were not heard by the court before passing the order. The plea has been filed by advocate Aman Panwar and Advocate on Record Nitin Saluja. His petition also mentioned that in the current situation of Coronavirus pandemic, demolition of the slums without arrangement for rehabilitation will be highly risky as the people living in the slums will be moving place to place in search for shelter and livelihood
In a horrific incident, three priests of Arkeshwara temple in Mandya, Karnataka were brutally killed by unknown miscreants on Thursday.
Police said the bodies of Ganesh (55) Prakash (58) and Anand (40) were lying in a pool of blood in the temple premises situated in Guttalu on the outskirts of Mandya town. The miscreants had brutally stabbed the three priests, smashed their heads with boulders and decamped with currency notes in the temple hundi (donation box), leaving the coins behind. The miscreants had allegedly also ransacked the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in search of valuables.
The three priests, who also worked as the caretakers and lived on the temple premises, were asleep when the miscreants broke into the temple, the police said.
The horrific incident came to the fore when villagers went inside the temple early on Friday morning after finding the main door ajar. After they found the priests brutally hacked to death, lying in a pool of blood in the temple premises, they informed the police.
All senior police officials, including the Inspector General of police, reached the spot and initiated an investigation into the case. Forensic teams and sniffer dogs were also brought in to investigate the crime scene.
Karnataka CM announces exgratia of Rs 5 lakh next to the kin of the deceased priests
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has offered condolences the death of the priests and announced an exgratia of Rs 5 lakh next to the kin of each of the deceased. The CM said: “It is very disturbing to learn that the priests of the Arakeshwara temple in Mandya Ganesh, Prakash and Anand have been murdered by the burglars. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh per family of slain temple priests will be given. Immediate legal action will be initiated against the guilty.”
We saw how much power can be achieved in just five words when Swami Vivekananda stood up to respond to the warm reception he received at the first World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago on the 11th of September 1893. He started his speech with these words – “Sisters and Brothers of America” addressing about seven thousand people who had assembled from around the globe under one roof. His speech was followed by applause which lasted for more than two minutes.
These claps were for the monk who came from a slave country and faced troubles in adjusting in America till a day ago. He was racially discriminated, struggled with his eating habits, and didn’t have enough clothes to wear during cold days. Even after suffering all this, not a word of hatred or a word of complaint was expressed by Swamiji. Despite all this, words that came from his heart while addressing the crowd was, “My dear Sisters and brothers of America”, which became one of the most prominent or historic events of the 19th century.
In a letter to his Madras disciple, Alasinga Perumal, on 2 November 1893, in reference to his 11 September 1893 speech, Swamiji writes “All the rest of the delegates had prepared the speeches and I was without preparation. I bowed down to Devi Sarasvati and stepped up”. [1]And everything else became history. Swamiji became famous throughout America. In his speech, Swamiji thanked each and everyone present there on behalf of all the Hindu people of all classes and sects.
Swami Vivekananda placed before the audience the age-old tradition of acceptance of all religions to be true. He said “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.I am proud that I am from the country which gave shelter to the oppressed and the refugees of all religions and all countries. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation.’’ He reminded the audience what narrow religious ideas can do. He said, “Sectarianism, bigotry, and it’s horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now.”[2]
According to the book, ‘A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda’ by Sailendra Nath Dhar, the Parliament of World’s Religions had representatives of 10 major religions from around the world which includes – Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Tao, Confucianism, Shinto, Parsi, Catholic, and Protestant. But, Swamiji’s statement was the most successful one. Parliament’s President John Henry Barrows said “India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors”[3]
Why Swamiji’s 11 September 1893 speech is still relevant
It was a coincidence that on the same day in the year 2001, around 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked airlines and caused enormous destruction in the United States of America. Known as the 9/11 attacks, this event killed approximately three thousand people and injured more than 6,000.[4]
It was the same land where Swamiji delivered his lecture, but it seems the gift was not opened by the world. Even today, when the world is divided into different religions and sects, and when people impose their belief on each other – Swamiji’s message of universal brotherhood is perceived as a way forward for the welfare of the world. It is a message to everyone – ‘not to tolerate but to accept everyone with wholeheartedness’.
Swamiji, who spoke about the ‘’Hindu thought of acceptance’’ at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, is appreciated and followed by every Hindu in India today. It is our country ‘Bharat’ that has celebrated secularism in the true sense and has not only remained in constitutional papers. Even after 1947 partition, when Hindustan was divided into three parts India, West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan), and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), out of the three only India remained secular.
It is noted that the majority Hindu religion has declined from 84.1 percent in 1951 to 79.80 percent in the 2011 census, whereas the Islamic religion has grown from 9.8% in 1951 to 14.23 in 2011 (according to the 1951 census and 2011 census).[5] Not only the population but in every field – from cricket to business, music to acting, the minority communities in India are growing in every field. However, the picture is not the same in Pakistan and Bangladesh. East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) had 22 percent Hindus in 1951 and 8.3 percent in 2011 (according to the census).[6] In Pakistan, religious fanaticism has increased since the days of partition.
On one hand, India gave its ancient cultural heritage – ‘Yoga’ to the world which is celebrated every year on 21st June from 2015 onwards as International Yoga Day world. While, Pakistan erased the thousand years old cultural heritage by breaking a hundred years old temples, gurudwaras, and churches resulting in religious fanaticism throughout the country. It was once this same land Lahore, Pakistan (then Hindustan) where Swami Vivekananda delivered his famous lecture, “The Vedanta”, on 12th November 1897. [7]
So it’s time for the world to open the gift of Universal brotherhood given by Swamiji 127 years back. India must show the way. For centuries with diversity in custom and rituals in religion, in the language in appearance and diversity in every other way comprehensible, without having any central authority this Nation of ours have remained united till today. India must give that mantra to the world’. We see the earth burning in the fire of communalism more than global warming today and every sect is vying to show itself over the other.
Onecountry is engaged in grabbing the land of another. In the midst of this situation, this message of universal brotherhood by Swamiji looks like a path to the world which excludes human society from bitterness and gives the vision to see the whole world as one family. I would like to conclude this abstract with Swamiji’s words which he spoke while addressing the final session of Parliament of World’s Religions on 27 September 1893 – “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.” [9]
Author: Nikhil Yadav is a State Youth Head at Vivekananda Kendra, Uttar Prant. He obtained his Masters in History from the University Of Delhi and is pursuing COP in Vedic Culture from the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
