The persecution of religious minorities is rampant in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In a shocking decision, the Lahore High Court has ruled in favour of a Muslim perpetrator who abducted, forcibly converted to Islam and married an underage Christian girl called Maria Shahbaz.
Reportedly, a 14-year-old Christian girl, Maria Shahbaz, was abducted in Faisalabad in Pakistan in April 2020 by Muhammad Naqash and his accomplice while she was travelling to her workplace. The Lahore High Court has recently overturned the verdict of a Sessions Court in Faisalabad which had directed that the victim is rehabilitated in a woman’s shelter home. Ruling in favour of Muhammed Naqash, the Lahore High Court ordered that the 14-year-old girl should be returned to the man who abducted her.
This is the story of Maria Shahbaz. Lahore High Court orders that 14-yr-old Christian girl kidnapped, forcibly converted and married to a Muslim man, should be returned to her abductor. Overturning an earlier order by Faisalabad sessions court to place Maria in a women’s shelter. pic.twitter.com/2Q0omDHV6v
— Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) August 7, 2020
The Court ruled that Maria Shahbaz had willingly converted to Islam and married her abductor. Therefore, she must live in his custody and be a “good wife,” WION reported. The Lahore High Court refused to accept documents that revealed that Maria was a minor at the time of her abduction and marriage. As per the report, she was in tears when the judges proclaimed the judgment in favour of her abductor.
Reportedly, 1000 girls belonging to the minority community are abducted, forcibly converted, and married each year.
#Gravitas | A 14-year-old Christian girl, who was abducted at gunpoint and forcibly married, has been ordered to stay with her captor by the Lahore High Court. @palkisu tells you how fear has become a daily reality for Pakistan’s Christians@ImranKhanPTIpic.twitter.com/0kWOJ3Ab2R
The case of Maria Shahbaz: Abducted, forcefully converted to Islam and married to her abductor
Eye witness accounts by Pervez Masih, Younas Masih, and Naeem Masih state that Maria was forcibly abducted in a car while she resisted. The men were armed and as such the eyewitnesses could not help the victim. The accused also fired shots in the air. Speaking to International Christian Concern, her mother, Nighat, expressed fears of rape, forceful conversion to Islam, and even murder.
She was indeed married off to her abductor and forcibly converted. While Maria’s marriage certificate stated her age as 18, it contradicted her National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) certificate. As a part of the modus operandi, a typed statement that she had left her home willingly was also produced.
Persecution of Religious Minorities
This is not the first time that such a case has come to light. Earlier, Huma Younus, a Christian girl who was kidnapped from her home in Karachi on October 10 last year, was reported to have become pregnant due to the incessant sexual violence perpetrated by her abductor Abdul Jabbar. As per the report, she was confined to the four walls of one room in the abductor’s house and was not allowed to meet her parents.
An Air India Express flight from Dubai skidded of the runway while landing at Kozhikode airport, causing the fuselage of the aircraft to disintegrate. According to initial reports, the flight number IX1344 had 191 passengers on board, apart from 6 crew members. The flight was operating under the Vande Bharat mission during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Two persons have died in the crash, while several others are injured. The Boeing 737 aircraft overshot the runway while landing, and crash-landed on the valley below the runway. Images posted by media houses show that the aircraft was broken into two, with its cockpit part separated from the main fuselage, and was lying several feet ahead. The incident took place amid very heavy rainfall in the area around 7:40 pm. The Kozhikode airport has a tabletop runway like Mangalore airport.
Early visuals from the crash site | Air India Express flight accident in Kerala's Kozhikode
According to a statement issued by DGCA, the airport was receiving heavy rains and the visibility was 2000 meters. After landing on runway 10, the aircraft could not stop due to heavy rain and water on the surface. It skidded on the runway and continued to move ahead to the end of the runway, overshot it and fell down the valley approximately 35 feet below. The Boeing 737 plane broke down in two pieces due to the impact of the steep fall. Its front section, which was separated from the rest of the plane, was damaged the most. The plane broke just in front of the wing section, and the middle and the rear part of the plane was intact. The aircraft did not catch fire after crashing. The plane had circled over the airport before landing.
Approximate location of the crashed plane on the eastern end of the table top runway
According to reports, one of the two pilots in the aircraft died in the crash. Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, a former Indian Airforce pilot, has been identified as the deceased pilot. As per latest reports, 16 people have lost their lives. Several dozen injured passengers have been admitted at hospitals. Most passengers on the flight were people returning home after losing their jobs in the gulf due to Coronavirus pandemic.
By 11.30 PM, the rescue operation was over, as informed by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The evacuation was done by an NDRF team and local emergency services. All injured passengers have been shifted to hospitals in Malappuram and Kozhikode. DGCA has ordered a probe into the accident.
A day after China raised the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Security Council, India said that it has been a victim of terrorism across the border. Referring to the crimes perpetrated by D-Company operated by mafia don and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian envoy said that India experienced first-hand cruel linkage between transnational organized crime and terrorism.
An organized crime syndicate, D-Company, that used to smuggle gold & counterfeit currencies transformed into a terrorist entity overnight causing a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. It resulted in the loss of more than 250 innocent lives: India at High-Level Debate of UNSC
Citing the terror activities in the past, the Indian envoy said, “An organized crime syndicate, D-Company, that used to smuggle gold and counterfeit currencies transformed into a terrorist entity overnight causing a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. It resulted in the loss of more than 250 innocent lives.”
The Indian envoy accused Pakistan of being a sanctuary for India-centred terrorists, asserting that the mastermind of 1993 Mumbai attacks continues to enjoy protection from the Pakistani government.
“The perpetrator of 1993 Mumbai blasts, unsurprisingly, continues to enjoy patronage in a neighboring country, a hub for arms trafficking and narcotics trade, along with other terrorists and terrorist entities that have been proscribed by the United Nations,” the Indian envoy said at the UNSC debate.
India also suggested United Nations to step up its coordination with bodies like Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which have been playing an important role in setting global standards for preventing and combating money laundering & terrorist financing.
“India strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. There can be no justification of any form of terrorism. And looking for root causes for terrorism is akin to finding a needle in a haystack,” India said.
Activists belonging to various Hindus organisations took to the streets in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur-Kheri district, demanding the arrest of a few Muslim youths for their communally charged posts on Facebook on the day of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan event, reports Live Hindustan.
The protestors allegedly created a ruckus in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri’s Mohammadi town and blocked the Lakhimpur-Bareilly NH 370A after one Banne, Mohammad Arif, Mohammad Shadab, and three-four others, who had written the anti-religious post on Facebook on the day of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan event, escaped police custody.
Vehicles coming from Delhi and Bareilly got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours due to the massive protest. MLA Lokendra Pratap Singh, SDM Swati Shukla and CO Pradeep Yadav reached NH 370A to pacify the protestors and extra police force was deployed in Mohammadi town to gain control of the situation.
In what transpired one Sagar Kapoor, a resident of Bazar Ganj town falling in Muzaffarnagar municipal limits, had filed a complaint on 5 August, against one Mohammad Fayyaz Mansoori’s son Banne, for posting a communally charged posts on his Facebook page and also aginst Banne’s friends, including Mohammed Arif, Mohammed Shadab and three-four others for allegedly supporting Banne. Based on the complaint, the police had registered an FIR against the accused, but somehow the accused managed to escape police custody.
Enraged by this incident, the Hindus had taken to the streets, demanding immediate arrest of the accused.
OpIndia tried contacting Kheri police for more information on the incident, but could not get through.
Three linked to radical Islamist outfits PFI and SDPI arrested for sharing communal posts on Bhoomi Pujan Day
In a similar incident, earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh police had arrested three people associated with radical Islamist outfits Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for their communally charged posts on social media on the day of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan event. As per reports, one of them is a doctor.
After the Second World War that saw the Allied powers winning a trouncing victory against the Axis, ideological differences began to emerge between the USSR and USA. While the Soviets pushed Communism and Socialism in countries, the US spread democracy and capitalism through proxy civil wars in various countries.
The end of World War II led to the sun finally setting on the British Empire, with countries such as India gaining independence from the British Raj and many other colonies also being freed. The end of the Second World War also witnessed the grand era of espionage led by CIA and KGB; espionage agencies of the two powers.
Vasili Mitrokhin, a KGB spy who later defected to the United Kingdom, revealed many secret documents and information to the world through his archives called ‘Mitrokhin Archive’. In the archives, there are several chapters dedicated to India and the Gandhi family.
After India gained independence in 1947, attention of the two espionage agencies diverted to India. Both the countries wanted to gain indirect control of the country, since it would give them control over a potential regional power. In the chapter ‘The Special Relationship With India’ (Part 1: The Supremacy of the Indian National Congress), Mitrokhin reveals that Joseph Stalin had a rather poor opinion of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
According to the archives, Stalin regarded Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi as “imperialist puppets” who bowed before the British and betrayed their people, helping the British tighten their hold over India. Despite his harsh words for the PM, Nehru often praised the Communist revolution of Soviet Russia and took inspiration from it.
After becoming Prime Minister, Nehru paid a diplomatic visit to the USSR, where each incident was ‘carefully staged’. According to Mitrokhin, the Soviets were eyeing India as a ‘playground’ for CIA and KGB agents. After Indira Gandhi (given the codename ‘Vano’ by Mitrokhin) became Prime Minister, the KGB managed to infiltrate deeper into the Indian government.
Mitrokhin reveals that Indira Gandhi was given 20 million rupees in exchange for crucial information, and to the surprise of Soviet chiefs, didn’t even return the bag in which she received the money. Like Nehru, Indira Gandhi too was made to believe that the Communist revolution of Russia was a ‘beaming light’ for the world, and often praised the ‘revolutionary’ principles followed in Soviet factories which were carefully staged during her visits.
The concerns arise when Mitrokhin claims that 7 cabinet ministers from the Congress party were elected due to Soviet funding during the regime of Indira Gandhi, while the defense minister during Nehru’s tenure (V. Krishna Menon) was also given Soviet backing. Mitrokhin Archives claim that due to Soviet backing and influence, former defense minister V. Krishna Menon purchased Soviet MiGs instead of British lightnings after his election campaign got funded by KGB in 1962 and 1967.
The archives also reveal the Soviet connections of the Communist Party of India. According to Mitrokhin, the CPI was funded in multiple ways by the Soviets; and had received funds in several bizarre ways including through car windows during Delhi traffic! At several instances, the Intelligence Bureau of India had intercepted transfer of funds to the Party treasury of CPI from USSR, to which Nehru chuckled saying that the Soviets had “underestimated” India’s intelligence.
However, he didn’t realise that the Soviets had penetrated deep into Indian embassies and were extracting information via their agents. As per Mitrokhin, many Indian diplomats abroad were seduced (and later blackmailed into revealing classified information) by female KGB agents called ‘sparrows’.
By 1972, the KGB had over 10 Indian newspapers under their payroll and had apparently planted over 3,500 articles in Indian newspapers.
The Archives of Mitrokhin also claim that in the 1977 elections, campaigns of 21 non-communist leaders were financed by the KGB. Under the Nehru-Gandhi regime, espionage wasn’t uncommon in India and the country had become a playground for foreign espionage agencies.
While countries like the UK and USA formed special committees to investigate the claims made by Mitrokhin, the UPA-1 government led by Congress party dismissed the claims and didn’t form any committee to investigate his claims. While the world looks at the archives as the most sensational counter-intelligence document, India did not perform a single enquiry into the archives.
The Congress party dismissed the claims without any investigation or enquiry. There is much to be revealed about the dark history of the Grand Old Party of India, and Mitrokhin’s archives show us the tip of the iceberg of the dirty history of India’s opposition party.
Like every other religious festival, Eid al-Adha is one of the most important and symbolic Islamic festivals to commemorate the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Prophet Ismail. Billions of Muslims across the world celebrated the religious festival by sacrificing animals and meeting their family members and also by wearing new clothes, jewellery and shoes.
In Balochistan, Eid has a totally different meaning than the rest of the world. Since 2006 almost every Eid brought more pain and agony to the people of Balochistan. For the last 10 years on every Eid, the families of Baloch missing persons have been protesting on the first days of Eid to remind the Pakistani state, its judiciary, its media and military and the international human rights organisations that thousands of Baloch missing persons are still languishing in the secret torture cells of Pakistani army and their secret services.
One woman cries during protest against missing Baloch people in Quetta
Similarly, on this Eid al-Adha when the people of Punjab were shedding the blood of the animals on the streets to remember the sacrifice of prophet Ibrahim and his son Ismail. The people of Balochistan, the families of Baloch missing persons were on the streets of Quetta, demanding the immediate release of their loved ones or at least an answer whether they are still alive or not. It seems that Pakistani military and the elite of Punjab enjoy when they see the Baloch women on the street crying and telling their heart wrenching stories and urging them to “Please release our loved ones or at least give them a chance of a free trial”.
Likewise, the people of Sindh were also on the streets of Karachi and demanding immediate release for their abducted family members who were abducted by the Pakistani state forces.
Images from the protest against missing Baloch people in Quetta
Instead of listening to the voices of the protesters, the Pakistani state forces and other state machinery were busy in more abduction and killing the innocent abducted people even on the time of the Eid.
On the eve of the Eid al-Adha, five previously abducted Baloch men of Bugti tribe were killed by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab in Rajanpur area in a fake encounter. All five men were previously abducted by the Pakistani security forces from different places. The victims were identified as Dost Mohammad Bugti was abducted eight months ago from Karachi, Ghulam Hussain Bugti was abducted five months ago from Kandhkot, Master Ali Bugti abducted on 6th, Nov, 2019 from Rajanpur, Ramzan Bugti was abducted a year ago from Patfeedar and Atta Mohd Bugti was picked up by Pakistani security forces a year ago from Bahawalpur city of Punjab.
On the other hand, one Baloch woman was also abducted by the Pakistani security forces from Awaran region she was identified as Shalli Baloch. Her whereabouts remain unknown to this time.
The Pakistani (Punjabi) extremist state has no morality or humanity left. The Punjabi dominated army call themselves Muslims and shed tears for Kashmir and Palestine. Surprisingly when someone talks about the injustices and humanitarian crisis of Balochistan, Sindh and KPK the same Pakistani army starts picking up these people and their whereabouts remain unknown for years and many return as mutilated dead bodies.
On this Eid, the daughters, mothers and sisters of Baloch and Sindhi missing persons urged the international community and the free media to show solidarity with them and become their voice in their struggle, supporting their cause globally.
Since the Pakistani judiciary and media and other institutions have failed the Families of the abducted people. Now this is the responsibility of the United Nations and other major global organisations and civilised countries to ensure that these women and children who are protesting against these inhumane actions will get the justice and their loved ones will return home from the dungeons of Pakistani security forces.
Twitter user Sunaina Holey, who had recently received bail following her arrest for allegedly making ‘offensive’ comments against Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray on social media, has been arrested yet again. This time, she has been arrested by the Tulinj Police.
Vivekananda Gupta, lawyer of Sunaina Holey, has dubbed the arrest illegal. He has said that without notice for appearance before the police under section 41A, she cannot be arrested as per law. He said that the arrest was in violation of Supreme Court guidelines. The law also mandates that a woman cannot be arrested after sunset.
The lawyer said that as per the bail order she was to visit the Bandra Kurla Complex Police Station for three consecutive Fridays. At 3 pm today she went there as per the bail order to cooperate with the investigation. But police officers from Tulinj PS were already there and they took her into custody. Sunaina Holey will be produced at the Wasai Magistrate Court tomorrow.
It is double jeopardy since she is being arrested in the same offence, the lawyer said. According to 41A(1) of the CrPC, any offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years, police have to issue a notification for an appearance at the police station instead of arresting such a person. Moreover, as long as a person is cooperating, the police can not arrest the said person, as per section 41A(3). The lawyer said that in both cases, notice under section 41A was not served.
Sunaina Holey released by Mumbai police
After Vivekananda Gupta pointed out multiple irregularities by Mumbai police again after she had obtained bail in the same case, she was released by police. The news of hew second arrest had caused an outrage on social media, accusing the Maharashtra government of being intolerant and misusing police force to shut down criticism. Moreover, Mumbai police also served a notice to Sunaina Holey under 41A of the CrPC, as required under the law.
Shiv Sena against Sunaina Holey
Maharashtra Police had arrested one Twitter user Sunaina Holey, who goes by the ID @SunainaHoley, on Thursday after a complaint was filed against her by Rohan Chavhan, a leader of the Shiv Sena’s youth wing Yuva Sena. In his complaint, Chavhan wrote that Sunaina had posted objectionable content on the microblogging website against CM Uddhav Thackeray and Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray.
The complaint was filed at Tulinj Police Station, Nalasopara. The user also runs a backup account @NidarNaari, and both these accounts were mentioned in the complaint. Chavhan mentioned that Sunaina used extremely offensive against the Shiv Sena chief and his son to defame their image on social media. He urged police to take action against her under section 294 (using obscene language in public place), 499 (defamation), 506 (criminal intimidation) and other relevant sections of the IPC and Section 66A of the Information Act 2000 within 48 hours.
Sunaina Holey was granted bail after first arrest
Sunaina Holey was granted bail after the BJYM intervened in the matter. Advocate Vivekananda Gupta arranged for the bail of Sunaina Holey. BJP spokesperson Hitesh Jain also helped in the matter. People on social media were outraged by the highhandedness shows by the Shiv Sena. The party was criticised heavily for attempting to curtail an individual’s right to freedom of speech and expression.
The memoir of late Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar – ‘Chandra Shekhar And The Six Months That Saved India‘, written by Roderick Matthews has made some interesting revelations regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute. The shocking disclosures made by the author could now stir up fresh controversies, exposing Congress party’s vile intentions and dishonesty in dealing with Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.
According to the yet-to-be-released book, the excerpts of which has been published in Jansatta, the then Prime Minister Chandrashekhar had almost resolved the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute and had even proposed a plan to settle the dispute between Hindu and Muslim groups, with Muslims giving up their claim over the site. However, the settlement did not come to fruition, thanks to Rajiv Gandhi, who withdrew Congress party’s support to the Chandrashekhar government leading to its collapse.
The book reveals that Rajiv Gandhi did not want the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute to be resolved as he did not want Chandra Shekhar to take credit for the same. The author writes that Rajiv Gandhi played ‘petty’ politics by denying Chandra Shekhar government to peacefully settle the Ram Mandir issue.
“He thought that if Chandra Shekhar settles the Babri Masjid, he’ll become so popular in the country. He didn’t want the credit to go to him. Very petty, if you ask me. Had that thing been settled, Hindu-Muslim relations today would have been much better,” Roderick Matthews writes in his book according to the Print report.
The settlement of the temple dispute by others, according to Matthews, would have threatened to damage Rajiv politically. The author writes that Rajiv Gandhi could not stand by and let others boost their prestige. Resolving the dispute was a card he still hoped, one day, to play for himself, the memoir recounts.
Chandra Shekhar had carried out confidential negotiations
The book states that PM Chandra Shekhar had, in fact, started a series of confidential negotiations with both the parties as a process to resolve the age-old dispute. The tough negotiations between the leaders of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (RJN), a trust formed by the VHP to supervise the construction of a temple at Ayodhya and the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee (AIBMAC) began, which was supervised by Sharad Pawar, who spoke to the Hindus, and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a personal friend of the PM, and considered a BJP moderate, who dealt with the Muslims.
These confidential meetings were held in the PMO, with Prime Minister meeting leaders of both the community, in his attempt to find a solution to Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
“First, these VHP people came. So Chandra Shekhar starts off very casual—he’ll put you off guard, actually. He asked them: ‘Tell me, what is to be done about this Ayodhya?’ This question is so casual that the [VHP] fellow took it that he could bully him. He replied: ‘Ayodhya—what is the issue? It is a Ram mandir, everybody knows it. It’s already a Ram mandir’,” the book states.
Cover of the book
To which, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar said, “OK. Now, let’s be serious. I am prime minister today, I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but while I am prime minister nobody will touch that structure…I am not VP Singh, who will depend on the state chief minister. I will give orders to shoot anybody who touches that mosque. India is a poor country. We are spending so much money on this—we can’t have it. And why should you bother? If 500 sadhus die, they are dying for God’s cause and going to heaven.”
Days later, the Muslim delegation met Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. He said, “Listen, I have told them. Your structure is safe, till I’m sitting here. But, there are five lakh, six lakh villages in the country. There are Hindus and Muslims living side by side everywhere. If tomorrow there are nationwide riots, I don’t have enough police to control them. So, tell me what you think.”
Muslims wanted to hand over site to Hindus, claims author
Two days later, both Hindus and Muslims were prepared to settle. According to the memoir, Chandra Shekhar made some ground rules before starting the negotiations.
“Bhairon Singh and Sharad Pawar will sit with you. Whatever you two sides and they agree [on], my government will implement. This is my promise. But there are conditions. About the negotiations, nothing is to be told to the press, except that we are talking. No contents to be leaked to the press till the final agreement.”
The talks, however, went on for about fifteen-twenty days. According to the book, Chandra Shekhar had expressed hope, saying that both the sides were saying that the matter can be settled, but raised concerns regarding how supporters of both sides would react to such a huge development.
“Both the sides are saying that the matter can be settled, but they are worried they have pumped up their supporters so much, now they don’t know how to bring them down!” Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said to Chandra Shekhar.
Days later, the two sides came up with a settlement. The broad agreement was this. The Muslims said, “We agree to hand over the structure to the Hindus, in keeping with their sentiments. But this structure we hand over on two conditions. First, you give us some other land, to make our masjid. Second, you pass a law, that after this no other issue will be reopened. As of 15 August 1947, what is a masjid is a masjid, what is a temple is a temple.”
It may be noted that in the historic verdict awarding the site to Hindus, the Supreme Court had granted 5 acres of land at an alternate site to the Muslims to build a mosque, and accordingly the UP govt has allotted land to the UP Sunni Waqf Board. And, the The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was passed by the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1991, which seeks to maintain the “religious character” of religious places as it was at Independence. Therefore, both the conditions put forwarded by Muslims in 1990 have actually been fulfilled.
Sharad Pawar leaked confidential information to Rajiv Gandhi
The author claims that both sides had agreed to these conditions. However, once news of the discussions got leaked from the PMO, political pressures began to surface.
Sharad Pawar, one of the negotiators, had apparently leaked information to Rajiv Gandhi. Pawar had updated Rajiv Gandhi on the progress of the talks and told him that a deal was about to be done.
“Sharad Pawar told Rajiv, so Rajiv rang up Chandra Shekhar. I am very happy that you have done this. Give me two days. He wanted two days to read the deal and think about it. And then he brought down the government in two days. He thought that if Chandra Shekhar settles the Babri Masjid, he’ll become so popular in the country. He didn’t want the credit to go to him. Very petty, if you ask me. Had that thing been settled, Hindu-Muslim relations today would have been much better,” the author Roderick Matthews wrote in his book.
The book is scheduled to be released on 10th August on both printed and e-book formats. Roderick Matthews is a London based writer specializing in Indian history.
At first, it may seem that the Hagia Sophia, a historical site of a dispute between Muslims and Christians all the way in Turkey is of little relevance to India. But it most certainly is. There are certain sympathies that extend well beyond national boundaries. Which is why Muslim majority Turkey wants to intervene in Kashmir. And the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) talks about the Hagia Sophia even as it wags its finger at the Supreme Court.
On a side note, one wonders what would have happened if a common citizen had dared to describe a Supreme Court judgement as “unjust, oppressive, shameful and majority appeasing.”
On the face of it, Hagia Sophia seems like a typical symbol of Islamist triumphalism. A Christian emperor built a church there. Then, a medieval Muslim emperor converted it into a mosque. As Turkey remained relatively secular (by standards of the Muslim world) for most of the 20th century, the site became religiously neutral, serving as a museum. Now, Turkey has reclaimed the Hagia Sophia as a mosque.
One may therefore be confused by the comparison drawn by the AIMPLB between the Hagia Sophia and the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The Hagia Sophia used to be a church. Those who converted it by force are getting to keep it. In the case of Ram Janmabhoomi, the Hindus are taking back one of their most sacred places. How then are they similar?
To understand, you must read the reasoning of the AIMPLB carefully.
“…where a mosque comes up once, it remains a mosque till eternity“
Get it? It is not about natural justice, not about right or wrong. Once a mosque, always a mosque. End of argument.
The Hagia Sophia case is relevant both for the reasons that everyone is talking about and for reasons nobody is talking about. We already heard about the church vs mosque dispute. But what they don’t tell you is that there is a third party to the Hagia Sophia dispute.
Except that the third party is not around to argue its case either in Turkey or elsewhere in the world. They are unseen. They are forgotten. And it is this unseen third party that is most relevant to the Hindus of India.
Britannica topic
One side says the Hagia Sophia is a church. Another side says it is a mosque. But the reality is that the Hagia Sophia is built on a pagan temple.
Where are those pagans who originally worshiped at the spot where Hagia Sophia stands today? What became of their culture?
Today the two powerful Abrahamic religions, Islam and Christianity are clashing over who owns the site. The elephants are fighting. The grass has been forgotten.
This is where we have to realize something. We Hindus are the last standing major pagan culture in the world. Many centuries ago, a project began to bring all of humanity under the God of Abraham. One by one, the inheritors of the world’s great ancient civilizations: the Greeks, the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians, the Romans, fell under the swoop of this imperial project. They signed a truce with Communism, which mimics the structure of Abrahamic religions by replacing “one true god” with “one true state.”
We Hindus are still here, worshiping our land, the forces and bounties of nature, our ancestors. Our beliefs and practices are diverse and colorful.
We are building a temple for Ram, but we have temples for Ravana too. In Uttar Pradesh, in Madhya Pradesh, in Rajasthan, in Gujarat, in Andhra Pradesh, everywhere. There are temples where Lord Ayyappa is worshiped as eternally celibate. Young women are not allowed in there. There are also temples where Lord Ayyappa is worshiped as a householder, with not one but two wives. And there are also temples where men are not allowed to enter.
The imperial project sees us as people who should not exist. Our loosely organized religion, infinitely adaptive to local and personal beliefs, free from moral absolutes, is anathema to them. And above all, they see it as weakness.
They want that we should be broken up and made to surrender to one of the brands of Abrahamic religion.
At this point, you will inevitably come up against some standard objections from Indian liberals. First, how could a billion Hindus ever be wiped out? What do we have to fear?
You should turn that argument on its head. There are one and a half billion Muslims in the world and they control 57 countries. How could 1.5 billion people with 57 countries under their control be marginalized? Then, how come we have to deal every day with the sob story about this thing they call Islamophobia?
Second, they will say : Muslims did not convert all of India in 800 years of rule. How can you say they will do it now?
Well, Hindus of India just happen to be the exception. The Abrahamic religions have wiped out pagan cultures all across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These cultures were not extinguished in a day, but step by step. We Hindus of India are the last remaining step. Don’t forget that the imperial project has already swallowed up Pakistan and Bangladesh. The tiniest remnants of Hindu culture have been scrubbed from there.
But the most important question you would face would come from within. The empires of the past are all gone. India is a secular democratic republic today. You have rights. What do you have to fear as a Hindu?
This is where you must come to the most devastating conclusion of all. Secularism is a scam and it does not protect you.
What is secularism? Secularism is the principle that establishes a free market of religion. It insists that all exchanges and trades in religion should be voluntary. And it puts the state in charge of making sure that nobody can use force.
It sounds great. But only if your religion is similar to a for profit corporation. You have these rules to ensure fair competition, to protect your profits and secure your investments.
But what happens if your religion has an altogether different orientation? What if your religion is not about delivering dividends to existing shareholders in terms of the quarterly number of new converts? What if your religions measures its success in terms of celebrating a cultural identity, history and traditions to be passed to the next generation?
I used the word “orientation” very deliberately. Here is a thought. What if I told you that every country in the world, including Saudi Arabia, already gives gay people the right to get married?
Think about it. Saudi law already allows all men (including gay men) to marry women. And Saudi law already allows all women (including gay women) to marry men. Fair enough?
No, not fair at all. Because gay people have an altogether different orientation. They have no use for their rights under Saudi law, which is fair in a literal sense but not in a meaningful sense. It’s the same thing when Indian secularism offers Hindus an equal right to convert members of other religions. We have no interest in it and no use for it. This “equal right” is a joke.
Secularism was set up for Abrahamic monopoly religions to carve out territory for themselves. Secularism does not protect the Hindu way of life.
You can observe this phenomenon easily. In secularism, the iron clad protections are reserved for the freedom to spread religion. It took decades for the judiciary to decide that a Ram temple could be built at Ayodhya. But if you want curb ways in which people celebrate Holi, Diwali, Janmashthami, or a practice such as Jallikattu, you can get a judgement on your PIL in a few afternoons.
It is important to divorce your feelings about individual cases from the general principle here. You may well be concerned about pollution caused by Diwali crackers and be happy that the courts are clamping down on them. That’s not the point. The point is how easy it is for the Indian legal system to curb practices of Hindu religion. Today it may be a practice you don’t like, tomorrow it could be something that is close to your heart. The Hindu religion is a diverse bundle of cultural practices. And the scary thing is that none of these is protected by law. That’s why secularism is a scam.
Let me make this formal. There is a legal term called “essential practice of religion,” which the judiciary uses to test whether some form of religious expression is protected by secularism. The Supreme Court defines it as “the core belief upon which a religion is founded.”
Do you see the problem here? What is the core belief upon which Hinduism is founded? Does Hinduism have one god, one book and one prophet? Can you show me something that actually qualifies as “essential practice” of Hinduism?
So which aspect of Hindu religion does secularism protect? In short, nothing.
Let’s say that again. Secularism does not protect Hindu religion in any way, shape or form. Secularism is a scam.
A month after denying bail, the Kottayam Additional Sessions Court on Friday granted bail to the rape-accused Bishop Franco who is the prime accused in the nun rape case in Kerala.
According to the reports, the court granted bail to the rape accused Bishop after he furnished fresh bail sureties. The court will now hear the case on August 13, 2020, when the charge-sheet will be read out in the court.
The rape-accused Mulakkal was also present in the Court on Friday. The courtalso directed him not to leave the state until the charge-sheet is read out to him on August 13. The court has also ordered the rape-accused to be present court on the dates of hearing of the case.
The prosecution also submitted that the accused, who had allegedly tested positive for coronavirus in July in Jalandhar, Punjab, had not submitted a coronavirus negative certificate before the court. The court directed that the issue be looked into by the health department.
Supreme Court dismisses Bishop Franco’s petition
On Wednesday, in a big setback for the Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the Supreme Court had also dismissed his petition seeking to clear rape charges against him. Bishop Franco, who is accused of raping a 44-year-old nun will now have to face trial in the rape case.
Bishop Franco Mulakkal had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to quash Kerala High Court’s order that had dismissed his discharge plea in the rape case. The Kerala High Court had ruled that the rape-accused Bishop must face trial in the case after the prosecution had argued that there was enough evidence against him.
Franco Mulakkal had moved Supreme Court after a trial court in Kottayam had cancelled his bail on grounds that he had failed to appear before the court several timings despite several warnings. Earlier, on July 13, the Additional Sessions Court had cancelled the bail granted to the rape accused Bishop Franco of failing to appear for the trial and had issued a non-bailable warrant against him.
Franco Mulakkal’s counsel had claimed that the accused had tested positive for coronavirus and hence was not able to appear before the court.
Franco Mulakkal, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar, was accused of raping a 44-year-old nun at a guest house in Kuravilangad in May 2014 and subsequent sexual exploitations afterwards. The nun had registered a complaint in June 2018 and has also claimed that despite her complaints, the church took no action on the bishop.
