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1. Forum News
All India Secular Forum congratulates Dr. Suresh Khairnar for being awarded Mukundan C. Menon Award (2016). The award is in recognition of Dr. Khairnars work for rights of religious minorities in particular. His work in investigating the cases of Hindutva terror network had a major impact on our understanding about this phenomenon. He is constantly engaged with the issues which undermine the secular ethos and upholds the secular values through his interventions. We wish him all the very best in his endeavors.
N E W S L E T T E R D A T E
SECULAR ACTION NETWORK
V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1
C O N T E N T S Editorial 1. CSSS News - Report of conference on Sufism and Social harmony
2. Articles Finding small Rays of Sunshine 16 years after the darkness of the 2002 Gujarat Riots
By J.S. Bandukwala 3. Harmony Imam asks Mosques to delay Namaz so Hindu Brothers can play Holi 4. Poem BJP and Separatism 5. Mourning Press Release Candle Vigil at Jamia Nagar in Solidarity of Ankit Saxena killed in Delhi. 6. Tribute NAPM salutes the life and relentless work of Neelabh MIshra for journalistic justice and human rights. 7. Asma Jahangir: In death, as in life 8. Protest Caste Wall in Kerala: Civil Society condemns police brutality in Annihilate Caste/India 9. The Business of the Hindutva Militias 10. Interview Rise of Hindutva ensures clash between classes gets sidelined. 11. Resources Kashmiri Muslism celebrate Shivratri want Pandits toreturn. Shashi Tharoors Why I am a Hindu
----- - -------------------------------- Ph. 022-26149668, 022-26135098 E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Ram Puniyani, [email protected], www.pluralindia.com Advisory Board: L.S. Hardenia, Irfan Engineer, Dhirendra Panda, Mohammad Arif.
Newsletter of All India Secular Forum
Volume. 13 No.3 March 2018
V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1
Correspondence Address: CSSS, 602 & 603, New Silver Star, Santacruz (E), Mumbai: - 400 055
From the Editors Desk The major scams are coming to surface in Modi regime. The peculiarity of the scams during Modi regime is that most of the scamsters have cleaned the banks of large sums and are now sitting pretty in foreign countries, safe and away from the reach of Indian agencies. While Mr. Modi promised to be the Chowkidar, right under his nose a large sum of Indian money has been taken away by entrepreneurs like Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi, Neerav Modi, Kothari among others. Mr Narendra Modi had claimed that neither he will indulge in corruption nor he will let others do so. His inefficiency and failure, like in other areas of governance, are writ large with the coming to surface of these scams. Interestingly Modi had given these promises in the wake of Anna movement, which had shaken the nation. Anna, along with Kejriwal, Baba Ramdev, Ravishanker, Kiran Bedi and others had taken the anti corruption hysteria to the sky, targeting primarily Congress Party, the corruption of BJP was kept away from public gaze. Corruption as such a disease of the system where gross social equality, along with lack of transparency and centralization of authority has created havoc and public money is being siphoned off by those who are close to power. There is news of Nerav Modi giving heavy donation to BJP also. This seems to be Robin Hood Syndrome in reverse. While Modi took heavy advantage of the anti corruption spectacle, which was backed up by RSS to the hilt, currently all the anti corruption warriors are either in deep slumber are have achieved their personal goals of power in the system. One needs to give a detailed look at the system where such things are possible and expose hoax of promises offered by the likes of Modi!
Ram Puniyani (Editor)
mailto:[email protected]://www.pluralindia.com/
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1. CSSS News
Report of Conference on Sufism and Social Harmony
Neha Dabhade
Sufi tradition cant be viewed as an instrument or vehicle to some social end
or social solution, said eminent Carl
Ernst. Prof. Carl Ernst was asked if Sufi
tradition could counter global terrorism
fuelling Islamophobia and if Sufism
could represent a softer face of Islam.
Resonating with other scholars, Ernst too
pointed out to the complexity of such a
premise and problematized Sufi school
of thought.
Sufi thought was critically discussed in
its various facets at a two day conference
at Mumbai organized by Centre for
Study of Society and Secularism on 22nd
and 23rd
February 2018.The conference
sought to understand Sufism in all its
complexity. The Sufi doctrines were
discussed through the journeys, lives,
anecdotes of celebrated Sufi figures in
India; the thrust of the conference was
on the interaction of Sufi thought with
the other mystical traditions in India and
the impact it had on social harmony and
culture in India. What is perhaps most
significant and relevant is that the
conference discussed the challenges
facing present day society and explored
if Sufism offered any solutions to
address them. In that regard the
discussions were nuanced, multilayered
and also went a long way in dispelling a
rather nave understanding of the scope
and capacities of Sufism as a philosophy
and tradition.
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Dr. Syeeda Hameed very lucidly in her
keynote address touched upon the rich
journey of Sufism in India by revisiting
Maulana Azad and Shaheed Sarmad.
Maulana Azad who stood for composite
nationalism and pluralism was greatly
influenced by Sarmad. In the story of
Sarmad lie the seeds of doctrines of
Sufism- simplicity, humility and love.
Sarmad was an Armenian Jew who came
to India and became a tutor to Prince
Dara Shikoh, son of the Mughal king
Shahjahan and brother of Aurangzeb.
Sarmad with his eclectic thoughts was
perceived as a threat to the
establishment. His critical thinking and
simplicity (he used to roam the streets
naked) posed a challenge to puritan and
dogmatic Islam.
Dr. Hameed highlighted the doctrine of
Wahadatul Wajood (oneness with God)
and how the Sufis in India through their
mysticism and devotion sought direct
relation with God. The Sufis seek this
unity with God and devote all their love
to seek this union. She also quoted Rabia
al Basri to build upon this idea. Rabia
says,
If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn
me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.
Thus God should not be sought out of
fear or for want of favor/paradise but for
love for the sake of love for the God
alone. This spells the complete devotion
for God and losing ones identity to seek
a higher truth and beauty in God.
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Dr. Hameed while quoting the most
celebrated Sufi in India, Moinuddin
Chisti, explained what the highest form
of devotion according to Chisti was-
Develop river like generosity, Sun like
bounty and earth like hospitality. Thus
Sufism propounded a certain detachment
from material world and serving to the
needy. This idea was expanded by Prof.
Ilina Sen who spoke about the Baul-
Fakir tradition in West Bengal.The Bauls
who follow the teachings of Lallan
Fakir, a Muslim Sufi Saint, live in
akharas and denounced family and
private property. The Bauls believe in
equality and reject barriers in the forms
of caste, religion or gender. The tradition
has followers both, Hindus and the
Muslims, reflecting the syncretic culture
of West Bengal. The tradition has been
enriched from its interaction with the
Bhakti movement. Ironically the puritans
from both Hindu and Islamic traditions
reject the Baul tradition terming it as
heresy. The Sufi saints in Bengal,
historically engaged with the
marginalized like the peasants in
undivided Bengal and thus had a large
following in the rural areas. The Bauls
express their ecstasy through songs and
in this way have contributed
significantly to the literature and music
in Bengal.
The syncretic culture in India that is
reflected in Baul tradition is blooming in
other parts of India as well. In her very
interestingly titled paper, Needles that
Darn, not Scissors that Cut- Two Sufi
festivals in Delhi, Rana Safvi, argues
that Sufism is the needle that has woven
the social fabric in India with
inclusiveness and thus been a
contributing factor in its harmony. She
cites examples of two festivals in Delhi
to elaborate- Basant celebrations in
Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliyas dargah and
Phoolwaalon ki Sair in the Dargah of
Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.
Basant celebration in Auliyas dargah
has a beautiful story to go with it. To
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bring a smile on the lips of his grieving
teacher, Nizamuddin Auliya, who had
lost his nephew to a fatal illness, Amir
Khusro dressed up in a yellow sari and
sang a song he heard some women sing.
The women were carrying mustard
flowers and singing on the road near the
Khwajas khanqah. The women told
Khusro that they were going to the
temple to offer these flowers to God and
that would make God happy. In his
pursuit to make his teacher smile, an
inspired Khusro dressed up similarly and
sang the same song to his teacher.
Auliya finallysmiled when he recognized
his favourite follower. Since then basant
is celebrated at the Dargah wherenon-
Muslims participate in large numbers. In
an electrifying atmosphere the visitors
don yellow and go in an ecstasy listening
to the soulful qawwallis.
Similarly the festival of Phoolwallo ki
Sairis celebrated in spirit of syncretic
tradition. Mughal emperor Akhbar II and
his queen Mumtaz Mahal offered a
chaddar of flowers to Dargah of Hazrat
Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli
after their beloved son was released by
the British officials from prison. The
Emperor, for whom all subjects were
alike, also sent a floral offering to the
ancient and nearby temple of Yogmaya
Devi, the sister of Lord Krishna. Every
year the Emperor ensured that he and his
courtiers went to both, the Dargah and
Mandir. If he could not go to the temple
for some reason he would not go to the
dargah either. The festival even today is
celebrated with the same spirit. Similar
traditions are existent in Rajasthan. Rose
growers in Pushkar still send an offering
(chaddar) of roses from the first harvest
to Ajmer for the shrine of Ajmer dargah
and Hindu musicians sing at the dargah
as explained by Dr. Varsha Joshi.
In order to elaborate the harmonious
exchange of traditions from different
religions, Prof Jafri dwelled on the
adaptations and more of an exchange in
rituals and traditions which took place
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between the Chisti Sufis and other
sections of the society. He pointed out
that the Sufis contributed in
development of some dialects into full
fledged languages due to their use as
vehicles for transmission of ideas. This
led to writers producing some significant
literature which mirrored social and
political realities. The Chisti Sufis also
adopted certain ritualistic traditions such
as making sandal paste and ceremony of
Gagar. This to some extent led to
strengthening of a plural Awadhi culture.
Literature is an important component of
Sufism and vice versa. The Mughal
kings facilitated translations of important
Hindu Sanskrit texts in Persian language.
Prof. Shankar Nair cites the example of
the translation of Laghuyogavashista by
Nizam al-din Panipati. Though the
translations are attributed to the liberal
and tolerant attitudes of the Mughal
kings, Prof. Nair argued that the
Mughal interest in Sanskrit texts
stemmed from their desire of gaining
local Indian credentials and legitimacy.
Also the rulers were looking for new
models of local governance to
consolidate their power. Sufi
philosophy provided a conceptual
framework to the rulers to understand
such translations and thoughts.
Panipatis eclectic thoughts shouldnt
be misconstrued as aiming at religious
conversions but so that the Hindus can
be true to their own philosophy.
It is no wonder that given the richness of
Sufi traditions and its influence on
culture, Sufi music and festivals are
becoming increasingly popular across
the globe. According to Carl Ernst, due
to globalization and rise in consumerism,
there is a shift towards mass
consumption, making Sufi thoughts
more accessible in various forms like
music and festivals, which may not be
necessarily undesirable.
While revisiting the doctrines of Sufism
and also its contribution to composite
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culture, the question that hung large was
that if Sufism can counter the
fundamentalism not just in Islam, but in
other religions too. Sultan Shahin in his
paper sounded a cautionary note on the
wahabbization of Islam and increasing
radicalization taking place amongst the
youth. In such a scenario it is important
to explore if Sufism can present a softer
face of Islam. The responses to such
fundamental questions at the best are
complex as indicated by the discussions
in the Conference.
As pointed out by Prof. Sana Aziz, Sufi
Islam was contested by a more puritan
form of Islam which the orthodoxy
found as heretic. Thus there was a
demand of reform in Islam. Her paper
which dwelled on the historical context
of Sufism explored the connection
between reforms in Islam in the early
19th century and its seeds in Sufism. The
paper argued that most of the reformist
pioneers had strong Sufi antecedents and
thus the binary of Sufism and reformism
may be a fallacy. Sufism in this way
impacted reforms in Islam as well.
However Mehru Jaffer in her paper
raises the point that Islamic history
doesnt take into account pre Islamic
history and denies that tradition. This
was vehemently challenged by other
scholars who explained that Islam has
incorporated traditions before Islam.
Islam has validated the other prophets.
Although having had such a complex
journey, what is the prominent discourse
on Sufism in present day? Irfan Engineer
narrated two incidents which may be
instructive. One was about the institution
of Pir in Bashirhat in West Bengal and
other, the ban on the entry of women in
the sanctum sanctorum at Haji Ali
Dargah in MumbaiThe Haji Ali Dargah
Trust argued that women cant enter the
sanctum sanctorum of the Dargah
because women appear naked to the
souls in the graveyard and hence they
cant visit the grave of any saint! The
courts eventually settled in the favour of
womens entry into the sanctum
sanctorum of the Dargah. Irfan Engineer
argued that Sufi dargahs are losing their
inclusive character and getting steeped
into misogyny, hierarchy and
conservatism. Sufi spaces were most
inclusive transcending the barriers of
caste, religion and gender. Khanqahs
were spaces of inclusion. However the
trusts entrusted with the care and
management of Dargahs are leaning
more towards orthodoxy and losing its
radical and egalitarian character.
Similarly during a visit to Bashirhat in
West Bengal which was also an
epicenter of communal violence between
Muslims and Hindus in 2017, Irfan
Engineer described how the institution
of Pir was become dynasty influenced.
The Pir had a son who was using the
influence and following of the Pir to
gain support of the Muslim community
and as means towards his own vested
political ends. Instead of playing a role
of peace building in times of conflict, the
institution of Pir was being manipulated
for political ambition which is a far call
from the position of the most influential
Sufi saints in India like Nizamuddin
Auliya. This signals the decadence even
in the Sufi tradition in India. The
tradition is getting corrupted and
misused for vested interests. Irfan
Engineer ended on a note that, Sufism is
too serious a business to be left to the
Sufis. The Sufis alone dont have a
monopoly over the tradition and all
progressive and liberals should reclaim
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this tradition and also look for other
liberal traditions from non religious
traditions too to ensure social harmony.
The trend mentioned above in
dargahsand institutions related to Sufi
has been in contrast to teaching of the
most well known and celebrated Sufis in
India and also what has been a
cornerstone of Sufi philosophy.
Nizamuddin Auliya maintained his
distance from the State and power
though there were other schools of
thought in Sufism like Naqshbandi
which were close to the State and thus
enjoyed royal patronage. Nizamuddin
believed that one can either serve the
State or God. To him, it was important to
bring happiness to a human heart. But in
contemporary times, in contrary to
teachings of Auliya, Sufi thought is
being appropriated and in the pursuit of
power in socio-political sphere.
Having considered the various
dimensions, the contribution of Sufi
thought to the composite culture and
social harmony from a historical
perspective cannot be undermined. It has
shaped the social ethos and culture in so
many aspects that its core cant be
ignored. It is a resource for social
harmony. It is imperative to reiterate that
what Sufism offers at large is a healing
touch. In a multi cultural society like
India which sadly has been witnessing
manipulation of religious identities to
polarize communities, Sufism offers the
biggest value- love. As Rumi believed
and taught that love is inclusive of all
identities, since it embraces all. That is a
valuable lesson for us in conflict ridden
societies of present times.
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2. Articles
Finding Small Rays of Sunshine 16 Years After the Darkness of the 2002 Gujarat Riots
BY J.S. BANDUKWALA ON 27/02/2018
After watching his life crumble in Vadodara during the 2002 riots, one man recounts how the chances of a brighter future havent dimmed despite Indias steady march towards
saffronisation.
Memories of that fateful afternoon of February 27, 2002, can still send a chill through me.
I was in my Physics lab at Baroda University when a peon rushed in to say that a train carrying karsevaks from Ayodhya had been attacked at Godhra, about 100 km from Vadodara (formerly
called Baroda). Many karsevaks had been burnt alive. Their dead bodies were to be shifted to Ahmedabad, for a huge Vishwa Hindu Parishad funeral procession through the city the next day.
A terrible fear gripped me. I feared a mass hysteria in the procession,
https://thewire.in/author/jsbandukwala/https://thewire.in/227733/16-years-after-2002-gujarat-riots/https://thewire.in/112462/gujarat-riots-victims-apathy/
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followed by the killing of Muslims and the loss of property. It could be a blow from which the community would never recover. After all, Gujarat was the most saffron among all states in India. It is a paradox that Gujarat could have produced an angel of non-violence. But it was also the fortress of the VHP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party.
I had joined Baroda University right after I finished my studies in the United States in 1972. My first impressions were of a city polarised along communal lines. Minor fights between Hindus and Muslims had the potential to disturb city peace. The police too was partial in maintaining law and order. This drove me into social activism and protests. It resulted in a few jail stays, combined with mob attacks on my house. This proved too much for my wife who soon
lapsed into depression. She died in 2001.
I had no relative in the city or in all of Gujarat. My only son was far away in the US. My 23-year-old daughter was alone with me, awaiting her marriage to her fianc, a Gujarati Hindu.
As a matter of principle, I prefer to live in a plural locality. I still believe that
true national integration can only occur when people of all castes and faiths live in proximity to each other. Unfortunately in India, people live in areas clearly marked as belonging to their caste and religion.
I must confess my heroes have been Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, who paid a heavy price for their belief that blacks and whites can live, eat and work together. But the flip side is that I
Survivors look at the pictures of the Godhra riots victims at a photo exhibition held to commemorate its 10th anniversary in Ahmedabad in February 2012. Credit: Reuters
https://thewire.in/49580/bjp-uniform-civil-code/
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could easily become a target of mob attack, anytime the communal temperature would start to simmer.
That is what happened the day after Godhra train burning. My neighbours turned their backs on us. The mob had brought gas cylinders which they lit up, and within 15 minutes, the beautiful memories of that house had been turned into rubble. The only saving grace was that both my daughter and I were saved in spite of attempts to kill us. My world had collapsed.
The sun was shining brightly on the new avatar Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat. The communal violence in 2002 was the first step in his drive to win absolute power in India. My big worry was whether the era of Mahatma Gandhi was over in Gujarat. Would the Hindus of Gujarat abandon the greatest figure to emerge from this state?
Fortunately, my fears were misplaced. That very night, a senior colleague, soon to be vice chancellor, volunteered to take my daughter to our destroyed home to retrieve any valuables that could be lying in the rubble. He went around midnight to an area where tensions were high. It was risky. Yet he wanted to help me at a critical phase in my life.
Early the next morning, TV news anchor Barkha Dutt located my hideout, and interviewed my daughter and me. During the interview, my daughter finally realised the enormity of losing
her house and her mother in a short time, and she started crying. To my surprise, Barkha also started crying and the taping of the interview had to be stopped.
The sight of a nationally-known face breaking down at the plight of a young Muslim girl was the ultimate proof that there was an India beyond the reach of Modi and his saffron supporters. To escape from the tensions in Gujarat, we went to Mumbai. The very next evening, I was invited to speak to a hall full of activists, most of whom I had never seen before. Needless to say, they were all most sympathetic.
We proceeded on to our son in the US. The very first visit we had was from the daughter and widow of an IAS officer friend, living about 500 km from my son. They were worried about me. Incidentally, they were Bhumihars from Bihar. In the days to follow Indian Americans would ring expressing concern. Among the callers were Rajmohan Gandhi, Sam Pitroda and Prof. Ramakrishnan, the father of Nobel laureate Venkatraman Venki Ramakrishnan. They later sent me return plane tickets so I could spend a few days with him at their home about 3,000 km away.
On my return to Vadodara, 85-year-old Jinabhai Darji, a leading Gandhian came to my new university flat. He saw me and just began to sob in an uncontrolled manner. I mention these cases only to show how these prominent Indians here
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and abroad, viewed the actions of the saffron forces in destroying my house.
The coach of the Sabarmati Express train which
was torched. Credit: PTI/Files
The impact this had on me was huge. My faith in Gandhi and my fellow Hindus was restored. I had to see beyond my own loss and pain. Bridges had to be built both to my own community and also to the Hindus of Gujarat. The dreams of our icons from Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru, from Rabindranath Tagore to Subhas Chandra Bose, from Gopal Krishna Gokhale to C. Rajaji Rajagopalachari cannot be allowed to bite the dust before hate and bigotry.
Rekindling hope
The crisis facing the community was very huge. About 2,000 Muslims had been killed. Many women were raped.
Boys and girls had become orphans, many in front of their own eyes. The loss in property was in thousands of
crores. But the community itself was paralysed due to the migration of thousands from their own established homes. This resulted in a loss of jobs, business and the education of children. Police would harass the youth who were the victims of the riots. To make matters worse, some of our activists saw greener pastures in shifting loyalties to the BJP. It is indeed a miracle that we pulled through this ugly phase.
Credit goes to many Hindus who went out of their way to help Muslims. Gandhians, socialists and human rights activist became active. It is impossible to mention all the noble souls involved. But I must say Kirit Bhatt and Jagdish Shah in Vadodara, and Mukul Sinha, Indu Jani, Prakash Shah and Gagan Sethi did sterling work. Scholarships were
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started to prevent boys and girls from giving up studies. Islamic Relief Committee built a number of housing colonies to resettle the refugees.
The one at Kalol helped the victims of nearby Derol, where the killings were among the highest in Gujarat, and as far as I know, no one was ever convicted for that crime. Fortunately, Gagan Sethi set up a school there. Among the students of Kalol were three bright orphan girls, whose performance in school and board examinations was good. The Vadodara-based Zidni Ilma took over the responsibility of their education. They are today chemists and microbiologists who work at a nearby pharma plant.
Sixteen years later, one can safely say that the fears of 2002 permanently ruining the community have proved totally wrong. In terms of quality education, wealth generation and womens upliftment, Muslims are far better off than ever before.
Every year in May and June, the newspapers are full of photos of Muslim boys and girls who have excelled in the board and university examinations. It is quite standard to see photos of Muslim girls standing first in their batch. This year, a Saiyed girl topped the boards in all of Gujarat. Another young girl made four attempts to clear the NEET medical exam before she succeeded. Her parents never gave up, neither did she. There is one small locality in Vadodara, called Taiwada, which has the highest concentration of chartered accountants.
Yet we are worried about the high rate of failure in the board exam. While our middle class and upper class students are doing well, the load on poorer Muslims is high. Gujarat education has become money oriented, and the poor simply cannot cope. Their numbers are so high that the community too finds it difficult to help out. Inshallah, some solution will come soon. We have started reading rooms in a few poorer areas to encourage boys and girls to study there, as it is difficult to do so in crowded homes with poor lighting and lots of noise filtering in from the outside.
One of the positive effects of 2002 has been the concern our elite have shown for the uplift of the community. Medical camps on Sunday mornings have become standard in Vadodara. The best of medical experts offer free service and free medicines are provided. This needs to spread to other cities.
Finally, on the political front, Muslims have become non-entities. Gujarat has not sent any Muslim to the Lok Sabha in the last three decades. Our population is just under 10%, yet our strength in the assembly is barely three out of about 180. Modi has succeeded in making Muslims politically disappear.
But does it really matter? I would rather focus all our energies on quality education, wealth generation and womens upliftment. After all, that was the path taken by the Jews of the US.
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3. Harmony
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/imam-asks-mosques-to-delay-namaz-so-hindu-brothers-can-play-holi/
Imam asks mosques to delay namaz so Hindu brothers can play Holi
We understand that the festival comes once in a year for our Hindu brothers. Thus, to ensure that our Hindu brothers can play Holi and we can also offer namaz, we have decided to change
the timings. Many people I have spoken to so far, have agreed"
Written by Maulshree Seth | Lucknow | Updated: February 28, 2018 4:14 am
The Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah in Lucknow on Tuesday said he has urged all mosques in the city to postpone the timing for Friday namaz in view of Holi festival on March 2. The festival of Holi will fall on Friday thus, I have urged all mosques to postpone the timing of the Friday namaz. Holi is played at its peak between 12 pm to 1 pm, when jumme ki namaz is also held, said Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, a Sunni cleric. He added that he has already changed the timings of Friday prayers at Aishbagh Eidgah from 12.45 pm to 1.45 pm.
We understand that the festival comes once in a year for our Hindu brothers. Thus, to ensure that our Hindu brothers can play Holi and we can also offer namaz, we have decided to change the timings. Many people I have spoken to so far, have agreed as all of us want to ensure that the right message goes out
to the community, said Mahali. He added that this was the first time that timings of Friday prayers has been changed for Holi.
This comes a day after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a law and order review meeting in regard with preparations for Holi. At the meeting, he had instructed officials to ensure peace during the festival. According to a government spokesperson, Adityanath had asked officials to ensure that peace committees comprising members of different communities meet and the festival is celebrated cordially.
The chief minister also instructed officials to ensure continuous power supply during Holi on March 1 and March 2, as well as proper arrangements for water supply in rural and urban areas.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/imam-asks-mosques-to-delay-namaz-so-hindu-brothers-can-play-holi/http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/imam-asks-mosques-to-delay-namaz-so-hindu-brothers-can-play-holi/http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/imam-asks-mosques-to-delay-namaz-so-hindu-brothers-can-play-holi/http://indianexpress.com/profile/author/maulshree-seth/
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4. Poem
BJP and Separatism
, ...
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" "
""
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" NLFT "!
, !
(From Face book)
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5. Mourning
Press Release
Khudai Khidmatgar Organised Candle Vigil at Jamia Nagar in Solidarity of
ANKIT SAXENA Killed in Delhi
04th
February 2018
New Delhi
Khudai Khidmatgar organised a candle
vigil cum Prayer Meeting at SABKA
GHAR, located near Jamia Millia
Islamia, Okhla in solidarity of Ankit
Saxena, who was killed by a Girls
family with whome his affair was.
As soon as Khudai Khidmatgar saw this
painful news, about the killing of Ankit,
the organization decided to convene the
condolence and prayer meeting against
this brutal incident at Khudai
Khidmatgars Sabka Ghar, (This
Sabka Ghar dedicated to all those who
are killed by the name of Religion,
Caste, Gender, Linguistic and
Boundaries differences). Khudai
Khidmatgars gathered in this venue,
shared condolence message to Ankit
Saxena and condemned the inhuman
attitude committed by the Muslim
family.
Khudai Khidmatgar National Convenor
Faisal Khan while addressing the
participants gathered during this
occasion said that, Religion never allows
anyone to kill, if a religious believer kills
anyone in this earth as if he kills the
whole human being and he is no more
belongs to that belief. Now-a-days the
trend of polarization, Killing and
spreading hate has become the new
forms of politics and popularization. It is
the prime duty of all the social activists
and individuals, that we should stop
these forms of incidents happening in the
society by promoting proper
understanding about humanity, real
sense of religion, need for peace and
love.
Khudai Khidmatgar National Leaders
Council Member Dr. Kush Kumar Singh
paid homage to Ankit Saxena by saying
that Ankit killed for his love, but the
love he gets from the society is
invaluable, with which the light of love
and harmony will spread across the
society.
Khudai Khidmatgar Leader Inamul
Hasan, after paying the homage
expressed that, We had the similar case
of killing across the country in recent
years by the Religious and political
Institutions and Cadres. The case of
Ankit is shocking to see that the
individual and the families are filled
with hatred and involved in killing,
which is the similar case of Honour
Killing. Khudai Khidmatgar always
stands to raise voice against inhuman
incidents and discrimination occurs in
the society.
Khudai Khidmatgar Domestic Workers
Forum Co Ordinator Tanzeela and
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
16
Afsana, NLC Member Rizwan Khan,
Delhi State Co Ordinator Sushil Khanna,
Supreme Court Lawyer Manoj Kumar,
Jamia Student Unit lead by Sahil Ahmed
and Murari Singh, University of Delhi
Students lead by Raj Shukla and various
others participated in this gathering.
It is also decided that a delegation of
Khudai Khidmatgar will meet the
parents of Ankit and will work with their
family, as the Parents have no other
children apart from Ankit.
For Further Details Contact:
9999746196, 9092137718
***
6. Tribute
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS
National Office:6/6 Jangpura B, New Delhi 110 014 . Phone :011 2437 4535 | 9818905316 E-mail: [email protected] | Web :www.napm-india.org
24th Feb, 2018
NAPM salutes the life and relentless work of Neelabh Mishra for journalistic
justice and human rights
National Alliance of People's Movements is deeply saddened to know of the untimely demise of our dear friend, veteran journalist and human rights activist, Neelabh Mishra, today in Chennai, after a prolonged battle with liver failure. In so many ways, Neelabh reflected the true spirit of an Indian citizen who believed in, lived and breathed the constitutional values and constantly challenged, through his words, work and wisdom, the narrow confines of 'nationalistic', divisive and unjust politics. As the Chief Editor of National Herald and Navjeevan and subsequently as the Editor of Outlook (Hindi) from 2005, Neelabh worked
relentlessly and meticulously to bring forth numerable stories that mattered to the masses and marginalized people of the country. With over three decades of commendable work on a wide range of issues, he groomed and guided an entire generation of journalist-activists. A true feminist and partner of multiple people's platforms, he was deeply committed to truth, fairness and secular values. A widely-read and well-informed person, with command over many languages and also an equally abiding interest in literature, culture and politics, he carried his wisdom very lightly, with immense humility and responsibility.
mailto:[email protected]://www.napm-india.org/
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
17
With the passing away of Neelabh, the world of journalism and conscientious citizenry has lost a brave, self-effacing comrade who had an unflinching faith in the values of constitutional democracy, justice and equality of all beings. In the times that we are living in, where sections of the media shrill-mouth only the interests and prejudices of corporates and fascist political forces, Neelabh stood out like a rock and never for once drifted away from the spirit of progressive politics and journalistic ethics of pro-people, secular values. On behalf of all saathis in NAPM, we extend our most sincere condolences
to human rights activist and long time co-traveller, Kavita Srivastava, who has constantly been by Neelabh in the past many months, as he fought bravely against his illness. We will sorely miss him and his brilliance, but re-commit ourselves to the values he cherished and lived, all his life. His work has been and would be a guiding spirit to a generation of young journalists and activists who we know and hope would carry and keep the torch aglow.
Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM)
***
7. Asma Jahangir: In death, as in life
Written by Zahra Hayat | Published on: February 14, 2018
As I walked into the stadium for Asma
Jahangirs funeral, I initially couldnt
spot any women. I hesitated, and tried to
remember the logistics of death: do
women even attend public funeral
prayers? What if they ask me to leave?
Then quickly, sanity returned. Would
Asma Jahangir be having these
thoughts? Never, shed charge right in.
So I channeled her, then, as I know I will
many many times after today, stood up a
little taller, and walked in. And of
course, there were so many women.
Many were lawyers. A sense of
solidarity. We asked each other where
the womens enclosure was, expecting
any minute to be directed away from
where her body was kept, to a separate
female enclosure. There was none. Of
course. As we crowded around the front,
women and men, announcements began
about starting the namaz, and again, we
expected to finally be told to step back
and form lines behind the men. But
instead, the men were asked to move to
the back, and the women called to the
front.
https://sabrangindia.in/articles/zahra-hayat
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18
We prayed like that, standing next to
some men, in front of others. No one
objected, how dare they? It was
beautiful, so fitting. I shouldve known -
how could the woman who charged
alone, quite literally, into all-male bar
rooms, courtrooms, into all sorts of
hyper male spaces, countenance that the
women who came to say farewell to her,
their hero, be shunted to the back? Such
beautiful subversion, in death as in life.
Farewell, Asma. Rest in power.
Posted on an Indo-Pak peace group.
***
Tribute
How She Became Asma Thursday 15 February 2018, by I.A. Rehman
HER death was the top news in all media
outlets. Tributes to her from national and
international leaders have been pouring
in large numbers. Millions of people
across the country, in jhuggis as well as
in posh bungalows, are numb with grief
because the voice that was unfailingly
raised in their support has gone quiet
forever. Many at her funeral agreed that
she had touched more hearts than any
other living Pakistani. How did Asma
Jahangir attain this stature?
Quite a few have tried to sum up Asmas
character in a single word such as
courage, commitment, leadership,
love and so on. None of these words
fully defines Asma, and even a
Photo credit: Geo TV
http://www.alterinter.org/spip.php?auteur10713
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
19
combination of all of them might be
inadequate.
Courage she was threatened by mail
and verbally from many a platform.
Some young men scaled the walls of her
house with the intention of causing her
harm. Shots were fired at her vehicle in
Balochistan. She was warned of having
been put on the hit list of privileged
gunmen. But nothing could deter her
from standing up for the peoples rights.
Courage for her did not mean merely
absence of the fear of death, it meant
essentially an ability to say whatever
needed to be said in any situation, on
any issue. It meant resistance to
oppression, dictatorship and injustice,
regardless of the consequences. It also
meant determination to stay firmly on
course in the struggle for fellow
Pakistanis entitlements.
Many agree that she touched more hearts
than any other living Pakistani.
Commitment Asmas reservoir of
courage was a measure of her
commitment to the causes of the fellow
beings she chose to uphold. She fought
for Samias freedom from an unwanted
marriage and for other girls right to
marry boys of their choice. Journalist
Jugnu Mohsin says women in her village
tell their husbands to behave otherwise
they will seek Asmas help. She was
among the women who defied Zias
police on the Mall in Lahore in February
1983, and many were the occasions
when she stood at the barricades and
faced police baton charges while
condemning violence against women
and lawyers.
While establishing gender justice was
her first ideal, she never failed to defend
men in distress. She fought for Gilgit-
Baltistans popular hero, Baba Jan, and
also for Okaras peasant leader, Mehar
Sattar, both victims of the abuse of law.
She fought for the freedom of bonded
workers at Punjabs brick kilns and in
Sindhs agriculture, and she fought since
2007 till her death for the recovery of
missing persons and for an end to
enforced disappearances.
For the last many years, she had been
concentrating on defending the peoples
right to democratic governance, rule of
law, due process, and protection against
illegal detention and torture.
She began rejecting authoritarianism in
her teens when her father was thrown in
jail for resisting it and had her name
entered in Pakistans law records as the
petitioner in the Asma Jilani case, the
only case in the countrys history in
which a dictator was declared a usurper.
No one in Pakistan has rejected
authoritarian rule so firmly and so
consistently as Asma Jahangir did. Even
when some of the civil society stalwarts
were deceived by Pervez Musharrafs
rhetoric, Asma declined to accept
authoritarianism under any garb.
Such a strong commitment to defend
democracy, even at the risk of being
misunderstood by the morality brigade,
could come only from an absolute clarity
of vision and rejection of halfway houses
on the path to democratic freedoms.
As a firm believer in the independence
of the judiciary and the legal profession,
she was in the vanguard of the lawyers
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
20
movement for the restoration of the
judges thrown out by Pervez Musharraf.
She was disappointed like the original
leaders of the French Revolution at the
post-victory behaviour of the young
cavaliers and the beneficiaries of the
victory. But she did not allow frustration
on this account to affect her resolve to
do her bit for the Supreme Court Bar
Association.
Leadership many years ago,
according to Shahid Kardar, seasoned
politician and one of the principal
leaders of the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan, Dr Mubashir
Hasan, declared that Asma had the
qualities of a leader who could put the
state back on the rails. This opinion was
perhaps based on the way Asma had laid
the foundations of HRCP and guided its
destiny directly for its first six years and
indirectly till the last working day of her
life.
Her success lay firstly in persuading,
with the help of Munir Malik and the
late Sabihuddin Ahmad, the
incomparable Justice Dorab Patel to be
the HRCPs first chairperson. And,
secondly, in running the commission by
consensus without compromising on its
principles and its strategy. She also
succeeded in bringing into the HRCP a
galaxy of jurists, senior lawyers and
trade union leaders, from all the four
provinces, reflecting the countrys
cultural diversity. She did all this while
maintaining the commissions federal
and democratic character.
The Supreme Court Bar Association was
another institution where Asma
demonstrated her leadership qualities.
The standards of personal integrity and
commitment to fellow lawyers welfare
she set will be remembered for long.
Besides, says a senior colleague and one
of the leaders of the Pakistan Bar
Council, so long as Asma was there they
were sure she would sort out whatever
mistakes were made by them.
One of Asmas greatest services to
Pakistan, which is often not recognised,
is that as a UN special rapporteur she
raised Pakistans prestige not only in
international councils but also among the
people of the countries she visited.
Everybody is saying that the void caused
by Asma Jahangirs passing can never be
filled. The gap indeed appears to be hard
to bridge. But Asma has left a legacy of
hope. Who knows how many from
amongst the young men and women she
inspired, trained and worked with
women paralegal workers, human rights
activists, interns at the legal aid
organisation AGHS and HRCP, and
young lawyers guided by her may
learn to speak for all the disadvantaged
who Asma loved.
Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2018
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1389434/how-she-became-asma
***
https://www.dawn.com/news/1389434/how-she-became-asma
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21
8. Protest
https://countercurrents.org/2018/02/07/caste-wall-kerala-civil-society-condemns-police-brutality/
Caste Wall In Kerala: Civil Society Condemns Police Brutality in Annihilate Caste / India by Press Release February 7, 2018
Social activists, writers, film makers,
academicians and members of the civil
society have condemned the police
brutality unleashed by the Kerala Police
against the Dalit Atmabhiman
Convention organized by the Dalit Bhoo
Avakasha Samara Munnani (Dalit Land
Rights Organisation) in Vadayampadi,
Kochi on 4th February. Prominent
signatories include Aruna Roy, Prafulla
Samanthra, Kavitha Srivasthava, Teesta
Setalvad, K. Sachithanandan, Paul
Zakharia, Javed Anand, John Dayal,
Sarah Joseph, BRP Bhaskar, M.
Geethanandan, Sunny Kapikkad, Anvar
Ali, K.P.Sasi, TT Sreekumar, B. Ajith
Kumar, C.R. Neelakandhan among
many others.
Full Text of the Statement
We the following activists, writers, film
makers, academicians and members of
the civil society, hereby express our
deep concern on the police brutality
unleashed by the Kerala Police against
the Dalit Atmabhiman Convention
organized by the Dalit Bhoo Avakasha
Samara Munnani (Dalit Land Rights
Organisation) in Kochi on 4th February.
The convention was taking place
peacefully while it was suddenly
attacked by the police in the morning. As
the police broke-in, many activists
including the Chairman of Samara
Munnani, C.S. Murali (also the President
of Kerala Dalit Masabha) and Gomathi
from Penpillai Orumai, were injured.
Activists present at the protest site were
dragged through the road and arrested.
For the last few days the NSS (Nair
Service Society) has been occupying the
public ground surrounding the
Vadayambadi Temple in Vadayambadi
in Ernakulam district, Kerala. Fortifying
their occupation, NSS has built a caste
wall in order to prevent the Dalits
entering the temple. A protest has been
going on for the last few weeks by Dalit
Bhoo Avakasha Samara Munnani to
make available the property for public
and to demolish the caste wall. The
ongoing events are on air and many
organizations and individuals have
expressed their support to the movement.
On Ambedkar Jayanti last year (2017), a
similar wall erected by the Society was
pulled down by the protesters. The NSS
then went on occupying the land
producing fake land records and
promptly built a huge arch entrance
including a wall. The present protest
programme, demanding the demolition
of the wall, has been continuously facing
threats from the government and police
since its beginning. The activists till now
have confronted all such threats and
continued with the protest.
https://countercurrents.org/2018/02/07/caste-wall-kerala-civil-society-condemns-police-brutality/https://countercurrents.org/2018/02/07/caste-wall-kerala-civil-society-condemns-police-brutality/https://countercurrents.org/2018/02/07/caste-wall-kerala-civil-society-condemns-police-brutality/
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
22
This uncompromising attitude, we feel,
has resulted in successive attacks on the
protest site and arrest of the activists,
and even the media persons. During a
similar incident on 21st January, two
journalists Abhilash Padacheri and
Ananthu Rajagopal Asha, along with one
of the leaders of the movement, Mr.
Sasidharan (KPMS Taluk Secretary),
were arrested on false charges.
Following their arrest, activist V.K. Joy
was also put into custody.
Todays convention was organized to
protest these recent happenings,
particularly against the anti-Dalit attitude
demonstrated by the Kerala government
and the Police-Raj going on the state.
However, the protesters were
continuously harassed by the state
officials in order to suppress the voice of
dissent. Last day the Collector denied
the permission to conduct the
convention. In a way, he threatened the
protesters for any possible
circumstances. In the morning of the day
of the convention, the goons of the
Sangh Parivar and other right-wing
fundamentalists approached the protest
site and created ruckus by manhandling
and threatening the protesters.
As of now, police seems to be silent and
not ready to take any action against the
perpetrators. In contrast to the lawful
duty entrusted upon a public servant,
The SI of the concerned police station,
Sajan Saviour has been trying his best to
suppress the movement with different
means including public caste
defamation. Eventually, he is same
person who led the force today to the
arrests. Among the activists, Gomathi,
has been badly injured during the police
action and was denied the hospital
facility. Dr. P.G Hari, who questioned
this discrimination at the police station,
had to face their rage and he was
physically manhandled by the
policemen.
We strongly feel that these incidents are
a clear indication of the growing fascist
and anti-dalit attitudes in Kerala State as
much as elsewhere. We appeal to all
secular and democratic individuals and
organizations to express their concerns,
support and solidarity in this grave social
movement.
We also appeal to all sections within the
left and secular forces in Kerala to
maintain the values against casteism and
communalism that is enshrined by
Babasahib Ambedkar in our Indian
Constitution, since this is the only
document to bring together all sections
of people as citizens of this country. The
political leaders have an additional role
to preserve these values since they have
taken an oath to protect the Indian
Constitution before becoming any State
or Central Minister.
We hereby demand that all the arrested
persons should be released immediately
and the charges against the arrested
persons should be cancelled
immediately. We also demand that
immediate actions are taken against the
police officials who are responsible for
such brutality.
We also condemn the attack by the
Sangh Parivar on Keralas peoples poet,
Kureeppuzha Sreekumar for supporting
the Vadayambadi struggle. We appeal to
the public consciousness in Kerala to
isolate all forces which build caste and
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
23
communal violence through their own
ideological terms.
Aruna Roy
Prafulla Samanthra, Activist/NAPM
Kavitha Srivasthava, PUCL
Teesta Setalvad, Social Activist
Sachithanandan, Poet
***
9. The Business of the Hindutva Militias
Written by Shafeeque Salman K | Published on: February 13, 2018
The growth of the criminal groups that
are part of the Sangh Parivar is related to
the economy that the Sangh has
managed to develop around them.
The RSS chief has made claims about
his organisation being battle-ready.
Earlier, news about the film Padmavati,
and gau rakshaks had become hot topics
of discussion. The militia of the Sangh
Parivar continues to make news.
In this context, probably it is apt to talk
about the billion-dollar business that is
Hindutva, and how riots and violence
helps it to grow. We are often engaged
in debates on Hindutva as an idea, but it
is often felt that attempts to study it as a
mass movement are limited. An idea,
after all, does not spread without reason.
For that to happen, it needs to turn into a
material force. To understand this better,
we need to understand how this material
force operates. Here the material force is
the RSS itself, and the Sangh Parivar
https://sabrangindia.in/articles/Shafeeque%20Salman%20Khttps://newsclick.in/sites/default/files/2018-02/RSS7_0.jpg
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
24
which includes hundreds of
organisations which are linked to it,
whether they are formally affiliated to
the RSS or not.
Let us look at a simple example of how
the economy of Hindutva works. South
Karnataka, which includes the
Mangalore belt, is a region where the
Bajrang Dal, the criminal gang of the
Sangh Parivar, is active and strong. The
Bajrang Dal grew in this region by
unleashing violence against the minority
communities, especially the Muslims.
The Muslim merchants of Mangalore
city are among the biggest victims of the
Bajrang Dals violence. To escape from
this continuous street violence, the
Muslim merchants are these days forced
to hire the services of a major security
agency in Mangalore city.
The owner of this security agency
Eshwari Manpower Solutions is
Sharan Pampwell. The amazing irony is,
this very Sharan Pampwell is the South
Karnataka convenor of the Bajrang Dal!
In other words, the communal violence
of the Bajrang Dal becomes the fodder
for their own business. The situation is
such that whoever is targeted by the
intimidation and violence by Sharan and
his followers have to pay for the services
of their own enemy. Sharan himself says
that the Muslim commercial
establishments of Mangalore are his
clients. (For details, see Shadow
Armies: Fringe Organisations and Foot
Soldiers of Hindutva by Dhirandra K
Jha.)
Something thing that underworld dons
and gangsters used to do illegally is
being done here legally. It is their
politics which is enabling the Sangh to
do this. And they are doing it using an
ideology which they use to justify their
acts and a narrative they have developed
in support of these acts.
The Sangh rallies people into their
networks not just by injecting ideology,
but also by making those people the
beneficiaries of such networks at a
material level.
For example, the workers of Eshwari
Manpower Solutions are mostly activists
of the Bajrang Dal. The common
activists of the Bajrang Dal are often
people who face caste discrimination
and economic backwardness. Being a
Sangh Parivar worker not only gives
them some social legitimacy, but also
a means of livelihood. People need both
of these to survive. This is a major factor
behind the growth of the Sangh Parivar,
which is ideologically non-inclusive, and
which justifies caste relations on the
basis of an antiquated worldview, as a
movement with major support among
the Dalit-Adivasi-OBC sections. It has
been able to do so by corrupting people
ideologically as well as materially. Its
entire machinery tries to bring both these
elements together. It is not easy to
-
Secular Action Network, March 2018
25
destroy the support base it gains in this
manner.
The anti-Padmavati riots have this
dimension. There is speculation that
groups like Karni Sena have been used
for the movies publicity. But the
relevant thing to note is the legitimacy
that several fringe groups like Karni
Sena has received. This is what the
Sanghi government helped them gain by
blindly encouraging the violence they
unleashed. Thus an opportunity arose for
them to engage in perfectly legal
business. This is also a shortcut to build
an economy, to rally people and to retain
them in the fold. By letting such groups
to control the law and order of a region,
they are being given a free hand to bring
the region in their grip. That is
something that should concern us the
most in the entire episode.
Courtesy: Newsclick.in
***
10. Interview
Rise of Hindutva ensures clash between classes gets
sidelined
AS HL IN M AT HEW Published: Feb 25th 2018, 08.33 AM
Social Media
Malayalam writer KP Ramanunni
Malayalam author, KP Ramanunni, who
gave Junaids mother his Sahitya
Akademi prize money, believes there will
be a clash between religions because
they want to sideline the clash between
classes
How do you differentiate a writer from
his activism? You dont and you cant.
For KP Ramanunni, winner of the
Sahitya Akademi award from Kerala,
activism is an extension of his writing.
He writes to express his conviction and
his writing comes from the agony that
the world should have been a better
place. Why does the world still have all
the crimes and why do people follow
ahimsa. The lives of people should have
been better. My writing is a struggle to
make the human life better, says
Ramanunni.
The author, who won the award for
his Daivathinte Pusthakam (Gods Own
Book), gave his prize money of 1 lakh
to the mother of Junaid Khan, the teen
stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound
train from New Delhi in June 2017 on
the eve of Eid. In this book, the author
has Prophet Muhammad and Lord
Krishna as protagonists and he also
brings in Jesus Christ, Karl Marx and
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/author/378057
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Secular Action Network, March 2018
26
Adolf Hitler. All of this is in the
backdrop of a blackhole, which is on its
way to consume our planet. But, this is
not the only book where he has theorised
his concept of communal harmony
Ramanunni has done it since his first
book, Sufi Paranja Katha (What the Sufi
Said). It was the love story of a Muslim
boy and a Hindu girl. He followed it up
in his other books and even in a recent
article he wrote in a
weekly Madhyamam. This led to
fanatics even sending him a letter
threatening to chop off his limbs.
Excerpts from the interview he gave to
National Herald on Sunday:
Q. Your book falls in the category of
sci-fiction with time travel; the
characters have been taken out of our
religious and historical contexts to
become protagonists. What made you
make these characters (Krishna and
Mohammed) the protagonists?
A: The pressing need of the time made
me choose the novels plot and theme.
Those who read me will certainly know
that the vision in Deivathinte Pusthakam
is not imported; it had grown and
matured in the fertile soil of Ponnani. I
acknowledge that Lord Krishna and the
Prophet were never featured together in
any of the worlds languages, but both of
them are represented in the text neither
for the creation of a strange plot nor for
the love of narrating a tale of yore. Past
comes into every literary work to face
and address the present. So it is in
Deivathinte Pusthakam too. The
character of Lord Krishna critiques the
demonised Hindu culture. The Prophet
declares a pact-less war with Islamic
terrorism. This is the contemporary
political mission of Lord Krishna and the
Prophet in Deivathinte Pusthakam.
My work was in fact, avenging the
western modernity that never took into
account the democratic and
revolutionary faces of religion, but
treated the religious prophets
mechanically, cutting their feet as and
when required to fit them into the shoes.
Q. How do you see this novel of yours
vis--vis your other novels?
A: This novel is totally different from
my other novel and also different from
other novels in Malayalam. Time, space
or place always forms the core of most
works. In my novel, the time is from
Dvapara Yuga of Krishna to the 21st
century. And the place is all the
countries India, America and Iraq. The
whole universe is coming as the place in
my novel. In these 700 pages, it is the
trial of human history. The notion of
Hindu and Muslim harmony is also there
in my earlier books What the Sufi
said and Jeevithathinte
Pusthakam (The book of Life). In this
book, Im theorising the communal
harmony concept.
Q. Two years ago, many Sahitya
Akademi winners returned their
awards protesting the atmosphere of
intolerance in the country. Do you see
any change now?
A: Two years ago, it all began with the
killing of MM Kalburgi, who was a
Sahitya Akademi Award winner. The
first to return his award was Hindi writer
Uday Prakash and it was followed by
many others including Malayalam poet
K Satchidanandan, who resigned from
the Executive Council. Even last year
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27
Gauri Lankesh was killed. That
intolerance continues. Writers are now
accepting different ways of protest.
People are saying there will be a clash
between religions because they want to
sideline the clash between classes. The
actual clash is between haves and the
have-nots. Samuel Huntingtons Clash
of Civilization theory, where he argues
peoples cultural and religious identities
will be the source of conflict, only added
to the chaos. People should realise, all
the religions have the same belief at the
core of it. The novel warrants communal
harmony, so when I get an award for that
novel, it is my moral responsibility to
bring out that idea.
Q. By giving your award money to
Junaids mother, did you make a
political statement?
A: The award I have been conferred has
actually been given to me by using the
taxpayers money. So, it has actually
been given by the people of the country.
So, me giving the money to Junaids
mother is a message to the country and
the writers community, more than a
protest. There is no point fighting over
these things.
Junaid was killed only because he was a
Muslim. There was no other accusation
against him. According to Hinduism,
when a sin is committed, a penance has
to be done. When Junaid was killed by
fanatic Hindus, the sin falls on all
Hindus. I am a true Hindu, a believer.
So, I have to do my penance. I also want
to show what the character of a true
Hindu should be. In that way, I am
making a political statement in this
prevailing atmosphere of intolerance. I
am reminding what is Bharatiya
civilisation it is one of tolerance, co-
existence. Some fanatics are trying to
destroy that tradition to make it very
intolerant. By showing love to people of
other religion, it is a political statement.
Q. Is humanism at the core of your
literary creation?
A: Yes, human values are there at the
core of my writing. The term has a
misleading meaning though. It is a
western concept without taking in
consideration the different identities of
third world countries. In that western
concept of humanism, the real human is
an aristocratic white man in the model of
a real human being. In that concept, men
of other races and women are not
present. Humanism, in those terms, is
limited and exclusive. I am not
interested in that concept of humanism.
According to my concept, it is extremely
inclusive. Everyone has their liberty to
have their own different cultural
identities. With all their different cultural
identities, they should be treated equal.
Q. What are the core beliefs of the
Hinduism you follow and what do you
think Hindutva has done to
Hinduism?
A: Hinduism is a way of life and is
plural and inclusive. Swami
Vivekananda said Hindu culture is the
mother of all religions. That is its true
nature. Vivekananda declared that what
India needs is a Muslim body and a
Vedanta mind. Probably, Mahatma
Gandhi had this in mind, when he stated
that he is a Muslim because he is a
Hindu and if one of his eyes is Hindu,
the other is Muslim. Ramkrishna
Paramahansa practiced Islam too. Sree
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28
Narayana Guru also considered the
Prophet as a great man. Hindutva
followers are now trying to distort it;
they are going against the grain of the
religion. They want to make it
monolithic. There are different types of
Hinduism and Hindutva is killing it.
Q. You received a letter threatening to
chop off your limbs. What led to
people sending you such a letter?
A: It was my long article
in Madhyamam titled Priyappetta
Hindukkalodum Musleengalodum Oru
Viswasi (To my dear Hindus and
Muslims, from a believer) that triggered
the extremists. In fact, that article was
written in a very humble tone. There are
no historical or factual reasons for
Hindus and Muslims to quarrel. It was
the British who created conflicts
between Hindus and Muslims, creating
the misconception that Muslim is the
antonym of Hindu. This act was
necessary for their survival. It is suicidal
on our part to retain the Hindu-Muslim
rivalry even after the British left India.
Never in the history of the world did a
nation that fostered communalism and
racism prosper. See for instance, the
plight of Iraq.
Philosophically, Hinduism and Islam
have much in commonvalue of a
word, a sinless approach to sexuality,
purity and lent. With all its the multiple
deities, Hinduism retains its belief in a
single God. The puranas predict a
coming of Mohammed, giving hints
about Islam. Pandit Vedprakash
Upadhyaya, a Bengali Brahmin, says
that Prophet Mohammed is Kalki
himself.
Q. Do you think if this book is
translated, it would lose its essence
and context?
A: It is without doubt that a translation
will lead to a loss of many merits of the
source text. Translation can especially
harm culture-specific writings like that
of mine. The crux of translation lies in
appropriating the target language into
the soul of the language of the source
text. English Language has this ability,
probably due to its universality. It is not
just Indian-English that is evolving, but
Malayalam-English and Tamil-English
as well. Though there are limitations,
translations serve as the passport and
visa for the source text to visit other
countries. There is a reader eagerly
waiting. The writers chance of meeting
him/her should not be denied.
Im embarrassed to claim that my book
is a great work that deserves to be spread
universally. It is not up to me to evaluate
the worth of the novel. But setting aside
all personal considerations, I strongly
feel that the themes dealt with in
Deivathinte Pusthakam are nationally
and internationally relevant.
Many who have read the novel have
enthusiastically discussed the
possibilities of translating the text into
other languages. Lets see.
***
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29
11. Resources
Watch: Kashmiri Muslims Miss Pundits, celebrate Shivratri in their absence.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kashmiri-muslims-in-bandipore-celebrate-shivratri-want-pandits-to-return-1663275
***
Shashi Tharoors Why I Am A Hindu is a timely
reminder of why Hinduism must retain its pluralism Reading this book is a handy way to reacquaint oneself in 2018 with what Hinduism
was and is, and what it wasnt meant to be.
As one of Indias most adored
intellectuals and public figures, Shashi
Tharoor is subject to much scrutiny by
the media and the junta alike. His
erudition, coupled with his attractive
public persona, makes him an easy and
constant talking point. Indeed, people
have even coined the term Tharoorism
to refer to the words that emerge when
his supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
vocabulary gets too much for normal
language skills. So when his latest book
turns out to be called Why I Am A
Hindu, the choice of title appears a little,
well, un-Tharoorian.
But whats in a name?
Of course, Why I Am is a title
format that has been used by many an
author. Why I Am Not A Communist, by
Karel apek (1924), Why I Am Not A
Christian, an essay by Bertrand Russell
(1927), Why I Am Still A Christian, by
Hans Kng (1987), Why I Am Not A
Muslim, by Ibn Warraq (1995) are well
known globally. Closer home, we have
Bhagat Singhs Why I Am An
Atheist (1930), and the explosive Why I
Am Not A Hindu by Kancha Illiah
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kashmiri-muslims-in-bandipore-celebrate-shivratri-want-pandits-to-return-1663275https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/kashmiri-muslims-in-bandipore-celebrate-shivratri-want-pandits-to-return-1663275
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30
(1995). In fact, the title of Tharoors
book seems like a purposeful inversion
of the last one, and consequently
perhaps, even of the subject.
That said, the choice of such a title is
important in our current context, given
how weve acquired a penchant for the
literal. It is too much to expect any
appreciation of subtlety or metaphor at a
time when our leaders defiantly offer
instances from Indian mythology as
proof of concept in conferences of
science. A book like Tharoors, with an
affirmative title, is what is required to
state what most liberal Hindus like him
think this religion truly represents, and
in no uncertain terms.
A brief history of Hinduism
The current state of brazen religious
politics led by a chest-thumping
menagerie of leaders has been a cause of
mortification for many Indians, Hindu
and otherwise. When Hindutva is often
mistaken for or sold as Hinduism, it is
time to set the record straight.
Why I Am A Hindu, running close to
300 pages, is divided into two sections,
the first of which offers a brief history of
Hinduism. The first chapter is titled My
Hinduism, presented in what can be
called the Devdutt Pattanaik mode. It is a
clever and necessary disclaimer
underscoring subjectivity especially
useful for times when religious
sentiments are easily hurt. Tharoor
acquaints us with the kind of Hinduism
he was raised with, and, along with a
sprinkling of anecdotes, gives an
overview of the religion.
The writer touches upon the ideas of
many Indian gods and their multifarious
Puranic stories, but also how they are
united by the principle of the supreme
Brahman. He stresses on the fact that
Hinduism has no doctrinal absolutism,
which is what makes it such a
delightfully democratic faith. He
impresses upon his reader that Hinduism
is and can only be experienced and
interpreted subjectively, using this
lovely metaphor: Hindu thought is like
a vast library in which no book ever goes
out of print; even if the religious ideas a
specific volume contains have not been
read, enunciated or followed in
centuries, the book remains available to
be dipped into, to be revised and
reprinted with new annotations or a new
commentary whenever a reader feels the
need for it
The second chapter, titled The Hindu
Way, deals with common Hindu
concepts such as paramatma, brahman,
dharma, karma, maya, mukti,
varna, ashrama and yugas. Tharoor
describes the six philosophical traditions
of Hinduism (shad darshanas) and its
textual tradition, starting from
the Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas, to
the Agamas,
Sutras and Shastras. Moving on from
the esoteric to the ritualistic, he briefly
explains the ideas of utsavas, yatras,
pujas and even the relevance or the
lack of them to vegetarianism and
alcohol in the Hindu way of life.
The chapter offers a comprehensive yet
succinct view of Hinduism, and could
serve as a great starting point for anyone
interested in knowing more about this
religion. It helps that he peppers it with
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31
easy and recent references from real life,
which makes it immediately relatable for
a lay reader. Even as he curates portions
from Hinduisms extensive theoretical
base, the author remains aware that not
all, indeed very few, are familiar with
the many faces of Hinduism. He writes
Every Hindu may not be conscious of
the finer points of his faith, but he has
been raised in the tradition of its
assumptions and doctrines, even when
these have not been explained to him.
His Hinduism may be a Hinduism of
habit rather than a Hinduism of learning,
but it is a lived Hinduism for all that.
The third chapter, titled Questioning
Hindu Customs, gets into the sticky
territories of caste, superstition, and
godmen. Tharoors career as a
politician enriches his perspective on
these subjects, for nowhere else do the
three converge so vividly. He posits that
this largely unjust social system of
classification, an undue dependence
on gurus, and excessive belief in signs
and omens, are not just rooted in the
Hindu religion but are also unfortunate
corollaries of a poverty-ridden and
directionless society. A classic example,
says Tharoor, is the recent Dera Sacha
Sauda movement, where one can see all
the elements at work.
In the fourth and last chapter of section
one, titled Great Souls of Hinduism,
Tharoor profiles some of the greatest
spiritual personalities, who either
created, challenged or transformed the
religion. From the sages Vyasa,
Yagnavalkya and Patanjali to Mahavir
Jain and Gautama Buddha; from Adi
Shankaracharya and Ramanuja to the
Bhakti saints; from Kabir, Nanak and
Mirabai to Raja Ram Mohun Roy and
Osho, the author tells the stories of many
of the major religions of India in the
process. As an adherent of Swami
Vivekanandas teachings, Tharoor
affords a special place for him in this
chapter.
For those unacquainted with the subject,
the story of the evolution of Hinduism is
particularly fascinating. The reader will
get to know how it went from ritualistic
Vedism to becoming an idol-
worshipping religion, how it responded
to the challenge of Buddhism and
practically subsumed it, and how it faced
Islamic and Christian waves. The
insecurities and failings of the faith are
also chronicled here.
Religion and politics
The second part of the book is titled
Political Hinduism. This is where
Tharoors meticulous context-building
through the history of Hinduism is
particularly useful. He starts building his
case with the idea of secularism, which
becomes a moot point when viewed
through the prism of Western political
theory. The right term in the Indian
context, he argues, is pluralism, for
India is and has long been a land of
many religions. Further, he says, religion
when defined as dharma is impossible
to divorce from the Hindu way of life.
Tharoor contrasts this with the idea of
Hindutva as first suggested by VD
Savarkar and perpetuated by his RSS
counterparts and successors like MS
Golwalkar and Deendayal Upadhyay.
Tharoor takes his time to critique
Upadhyays ideas of Integral
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32
Humanism (thinly-veiled
Hindutvavaad) in the light of the fact
that the current ruling party in New
Delhi upholds this as its formal party
ideology. That he does it ever so gently
despite belonging to the Opposition is
worth noticing.
The author explains the BJPs brand of
Hindutva politics as being based on a
victim-turned-avenger complex, a
narrative of failure and defeat, and
hatred for the Muslim community. Even
if one were to turn a blind eye to the
clear lack of Muslim representation (at
least in the Lok Sabha) in this
government, one can hardly ignore
visible and worrying trends such as
lynching and cow vigilantism. Ideas
like ghar waapsi and love jihad, and
groups like gau rakshaks and Anti
Romeo squads operate and thrive under
the aegis of the ruling party, and Tharoor
correctly echoes the alarm of peace-
loving Indians in this context.
He also critiques the cultural project of
Hindutva, which aims to nationalise
and spiritualise. By all means
acknowledge the great accomplishments
of ancient Indian science, but keep fact
and fiction separate, he enjoins.
We should take pride in what our
forefathers did but resolve to be inspired
by them rather than rest on their laurels.
We need to use the past as a
springboard, not as a battlefield. Only
then we can rise above it to create for
ourselves a future worthy of our
remarkable past.
He also strongly condemns the
whitewashing, or saffronising, of Indias
cultural past vis--vis the actions of
vigilante groups such as the Bajrang Dal
and, most recently, Karni Sena. Not just
tolerance, but acceptance, is the
hallmark of Hinduism, he reminds the
reader again and again.
Tharoors voice is firm and gentle, in
equal parts. He alternates between
reminding the reader of Hinduisms
pluralistic glory and warning her of the
perils of confusing it with the narrow
and bigoted notion of Hindutva.
Notwithstanding the last chapter, titled
Taking Back Hinduism which reads as
though it was written in a hurry, Why I
Am A Hindu is as balanced a book on
religion as one can hope to write in these
tumultuous times. It is also a necessary
reminder to all Hindus that plural is the
way they were, and plural is what they
should continue to be.
Why I Am A Hindu, Shashi Tharoor,
Aleph Book Company.
***
From Vidya Bhushan Rawat
I would like to thank all the friends for
their good wishes on publication of my
book : Rise and Role of Marginalised
Communities in Indian Freedom
Struggle by the Institute of Objective
Studies, Delhi. It was really a hard work
and many friends supported me in that. I
would say that it is not a new history but
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33
my attempt was to analyse the history
from a different perspective and that is
why it has chapters on Adivasi Revolt in
Santhal including Siddho Kanho
brothers and Birsa Munda's rebellion.
Further study is needed to highlight the
role of the Dalits, Pasmanda Muslims in
revolt of 1857. It is also essential to
demystify the role of Gandhi in
Champaran, Chauri Chaura as well as
Avadh Kisan movement and how he
virtually killed the leadership of the
Dalits-OBCs and pasmanda Muslims in
the movement and imposed a
brahmanical leadership on them and
converted their issues to non issues
under the garb of 'nationalism'.
RSS's history project is known to us. It is
converting mythologies to history and
hence these mythologies need to be x-
rayed from Phule-Ambedkarite
perspective. Historical role of Jyoti ba
Phule, Shahu Ji Maharaj, EVR Periyar
and Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar has been
missing from the 'mainstream' history
projects and relegated to 'social
reformers'. I have tried to analyse their
work and role in freedom movement. A
movement cant be called freedom
movement if it deny role and rights of
the over 85% of the Dalit Bahujan
population.
Adidharam movement as well as Gadar
movement which played a very
important role too are part of my
analysis. The sacrifices of Shaheed
Udham Singh need to be brought to
common people. Unfortunately, attempt
are made to deny more material on him.
At the time when the Hindutva right
wing are glorifying the feudal Raja
Maharajas who never challenged the
caste based social order and secular
liberals were countering them with
protecting other feudals who were
Muslims, there is time to expose this
binary suitable to ruling elite. We have
tried to explain the issue of Peshwai and
the Travancore state and the caste
legitimacy provided by the power in
these states.
I am happy with the cover of the book:
Dr Ambedkar leading the struggle and a
revolutionary Birsa because history
books have denied them their legitimate
space.
Frankly, there is a whole lot of work is
needed. I am not a historian but have
bee