Disharmony? 'Allowed' namaz in Mathura temple area, Gandhian activist arrested

By Our Representative

Gandhian social activist Faisal Khan, who claims to have revived the historic Khudai Khidmatgar, an organization established by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi, during the hedays of the freedom movement, has been arrested in Delhi four days after he offered namaz at the Nand Baba temple in Mathura. The arrest took place close on the heels an Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma, criticising Khan and his team, said, “Legal action will be taken against the culprits who are trying to create disharmony in the society.”
A Khudai Khidmatgar source said, Khan was on a five-day pilgrimage (yatra), from October 24 to 29 in the “holy land of Krishna, Braj” and was “participating in ancient Chaurasi Kosi Yatra of Govardhan”, adding, during his yatra, “He met with several peoples as well as priests of various temples”, the source said, adding, “There were great discussions about the philosophy of Hinduism, verses of Tulsidas, Ras Khan and Rahim Das.”
On the last day of his pilgrimage, Faisal Khan visited the Nand Baba temple (see video), where he paid his obeisance. As it was afternoon prayer time, he asked the temple priest for a for suitable place for namaz. “The people who were there in the temple allowed him to offer prayers in the temple compound itself by saying that he was in the Home of God, so why he should go anywhere else?”, said Pawan Yadav, spokesperson, Khudai Khidmatgar.
“Khan completed his prayers. After that he and other members stayed in the temple for some more time and had their lunch in the temple. Everything was fine. On October 29 the yatra was completed and he returned to Delhi with all. After three days he got the information from some local media people that some people who were not happy with the incident and they had decided to lodge a complaint with the police”, Yadav said.
On November 2, Khan was arrested by UP Police under sections 153A, 295 and 505 and was taken to Mathura, said Yadav, insisting, “Khudai Khidmatgar believe in peace, love and communal harmony. Faisal Khan as an individual is working for the last three decades on these issues and the objective of Khudai Khidmatgar is also the same. We focus to counter the any forms of religious extremism in society. Many Hindu religious institutions have appreciated and acknowledged the work of Faisal Khan for his uncompromised work for peace and brotherhood.”

Comments

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Delhi HC rules in favour of retired Air Force officer 'overcharged' for Covid treatment

By Rosamma Thomas* In a decision of May 22, 2023, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of petitioner Group Captain Suresh Khanna who was under treatment at CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, between April 28 and May 5, 2021, for a period of eight days, for Covid-19 pneumonia. The petitioner had to pay Rs 3,55,286 as treatment costs, but the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) only reimbursed him for Rs 1,83,748, on the basis of government-approved rates.

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra* The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Religious divide 'kept alive' with low intensity communalism in Gujarat's cultural capital

By Rajiv Shah A fact-finding report, prepared by the Mumbai-based non-profit, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), has cited the Vadodara Ram Navami violence of March 30 as yet another example of how, after the BJP consolidating its hold on political power in Gujarat post-2002 riots and at the Centre in 2014, the nature of communal riots has changed, underlining, as opposed to high-intensity violence earlier, now riots have become “more sub-radar and at a smaller scale, more localized”.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Caste, impact on Ayodhya area 'halting' BJP rulers to act against Brij Bhushan Singh

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Finally, the #WrestlersProtest has got international attention. The United World Wrestling (UWW), condemning the treatment and detention of wrestlers and expressing its disappointment over the lack of results of the investigations against Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers, has urged the "relevant authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation."

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

76% Odisha govt school infrastructure in dilapidated state, 'undermine' RTE norms

By Our Representative As many as 75.86% (5,421) elementary schools in Odisha do not possess a playground, depriving students of physical activity opportunities. Also, 75.68% (5,408) of schools require minor or major repairing, undermining the norms and standards stipulated in the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Can India's water management infrastructure address gender vulnerability issues?

By Monami Bhattacharya, Megha Gupta, Mansee Bal Bhargava* The climatic pattern of the earth is evolving and changing for a very long time, but in the recent times spanning this century, the change has been drastic which has raised serious concerns to all. Climate criss is also clearly manifested as gender crisis where women are more vulnerable besides being more voiceless to raise the issue. India is marked as a highly climate-vulnerable nation. In addition, the gender disparity in the patriarchal society seems deeply and naturally ingrained among all.

Search This Blog