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Allahabad HC strikes down inclusion of OBC jaatis in SC list

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Allahabad HC

In a major development, the Allahabad high court has cancelled three government orders issued between 2016 and 2019 through which 18 sub-castes from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) were notified as Schedule Caste (SC) in Uttar Pradesh.

The Allahabad high court ruled that the Central government alone has the power to include a caste in the list of SC.

Allowing a PIL filed by B.R. Ambedker Granthalaya Evam Jan Kalyan, Gorakhpur and others, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice J.J. Munir quashed the three notifications dated December 21, 2016, December 22, 2016, and June 24, 2019.

The first two notifications were issued by the Samajwadi Party (SP) government while the BJP government issued the third one during its previous tenure.

By these notifications, 18 OBCs were placed in the category of SC. High court had already intervened to stop both the governments from action on these notifications.

The two notifications issued by the SP government were challenged through the above-mentioned PIL on the ground that they were without authority as provided under Article 341 of the Constitution.

Article 341 empowers the President to specify castes, races or tribes that will be classified as ‘SC’ under the Constitution.

While hearing the PIL, the court had passed an interim order in favour of the petitioner and directed the state government not to issue any caste certificate on the basis of these notifications.

However, during the pendency of the PIL, another notification to the same effect was issued on June 24, 2019, by the Yogi Adityanath government. This notification was also challenged and, in this case, too, an interim order directing the state government not to issue any caste certificate on the basis of the notification was passed.

On Wednesday, after hearing the counsel for the parties, the court was of the view that “it is the Central government which is empowered to bring a caste in the ambit of SC and the state government has no power in this regard”.

The detailed verdict is awaited.

The sub-castes which the SP and BJP governments intended to include in the SC category were Majhwar, Kahar, Kashyap, Kevat, Mallah, Nishad, Kumhar, Prajapati, Dheevar, Bind, Bhar, Rajbhar, Dhiman, Batham, Turha, Godia, Manjhi and Machhua.

Among these, sub-castes like Kevat, Mallah, Bind, Nishad and Manjhi broadly come under the Nishad community, which has been demanding SC status for a long time.

Nishad Party, which claims to be representing the community, is part of the NDA alliance since 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, it was an ally of the SP.

Similarly, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, claiming to have the support of Rajbhars, was an ally of SP in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections and prior to this, it was part of the NDA and its leader O.P. Rajbhar was also a Minister in the Yogi government.

The issue of inclusion of certain OBC sub-castes in the SC list has been lingering for the past 18 years. It was in 2004 that the Mulayam Singh Yadav government amended the Uttar Pradesh Public Services Act, 1994, to include as many as 17 OBC sub-castes in the SC category.

The Allahabad high court, however, quashed the decision declaring the move unconstitutional and void as it was taken without the consent of the Central government.

The issue was revived when the SP came to power again in 2012.

“In their OBC outreach bid, both SP and BJP have been trying to take certain sub-castes out of the backward bracket, where the competition for the quota pie is much stiffer, and put them in the SC category where fewer strong sub-castes like Jatavs and Pasi vie for the reservation,” says a political analyst.

Attacking the BJP on the HC decision, SP said that the reservation to the 18 most backward communities got cancelled due to ineffective action in court by the BJP government.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline)

Communists to support TRS in Munugode by-election

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CPI Maoist

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has decided to extend support to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the upcoming by-election to Munugode Assembly seat.

CPI-M Telangana unit secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram announced this on Thursday.

Veerabhadram said their party discussed the proposal of contesting the elections in alliance with the Communist Party of India (CPI) but decided to extend support to the TRS to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He told reporters that the CPI-M welcomed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s fight against the BJP.

The CPI-M leader said there was a need to check BJP which was using institutions for its political interests. He alleged that the BJP was working to destabilise non-BJP state governments by resorting to horse-trading and threatening its political opponents with raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other central agencies.

Veerabhadram said union Home Minister Amit Shah had stated that if BJP wins Munugode seat, the TRS government will be dethroned in a month. He asked the BJP how it can pull down a government which enjoys an absolute majority.

He, however, clarified that their decision to support TRS was limited to Munugode bypoll.

The decision by the CPI-M came nearly two weeks after the CPI declared its support to the TRS. The CPI leaders had shared dais with CM KCR at a public meeting organised by the TRS in the constituency on August 20.

The CPI decided to extend unconditional support to the TRS as it believed that the ruling party had the firepower to defeat the BJP.

CPI National Secretary K. Narayana had alleged that the Munugode bypoll was not necessitated due to any genuine or natural reason but was being enforced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s encouragement.

Slamming BJP for dethroning state governments of other parties, Narayana had called for defeating BJP in Munugode to send a strong message to the nation.

The Assembly seat fell vacant following the resignation of Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. He also resigned from Congress party and joined the BJP at a public meeting addressed by union home minister Amit Shah in the constituency on August 21.

The by-election is likely to be held towards the end of the current year.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline)

Terrorists shoot Bengali man in J&K’s Pulwama

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Terrorists on Friday shot and injured a non-local in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police sources said.

The victim has been identified as Muneeb-ur-Rehman from West Bengal. The incident took place in Ugergund village.

“He has been shifted to the hospital for treatment. Attending doctors described his condition as stable. The area has been surrounded for searches,” the sources said.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline and minor edits to conform to HinduPost style guide)

Internet Hinduphobia trends monitored in real-time available in monthly reports

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As more anti-Hindu incidents are reported across the US, artificial intelligence has been deployed to monitor Hinduphobic tweets and the results, which can be viewed in real-time, are also collated and published in monthly reports, according to Ramesh Rao, the editor of India Facts, a US-based publication.

Hindumisia.ai collects Hindu-related tweets and analyses them for Hinduphobic content and presents them online as a real-time barometer of sentiments against the religion and those affiliated with the faith.

The tweets are graded for their “anti-Hindu intensity” as “moderate”, “severe” or “toxic”.

For example, during 24 hours on Wednesday, Hindumisia found 1,358 tweets it classified as anti-Hindu and during all of August it found 45,057 such tweets, of which, it said, in their “anti-Hindu intensity” 69 per cent were “toxic”, 25.7 per cent “severe” and 5.4 per cent “moderate”.

It also analyses tweets submitted by readers in a transparent manner and rejects as “not Hindumisic” those that don’t meet its strict criteria.

“It is time for us to do such reporting in a consistent and systematic manner so that we can present to the world that slice of the social media world that is rife with hatred of Hindus and Hinduism,” said Rao, whose publication produces the monthly reports partnering with Hindumisia to publish the monthly reports.

He added that Hindumisia has been checked for false positives and its builders “are now confident about the veracity, reliability and validity of the data collected, leading to the publication of the monthly reports”.

Ramsundar Lakshminarayanan, a Chicago-based IT executive with experience in Data Analytics, who created the app monitoring Hinduphobia on Twitter, said, “The next step in this process is to use this AI model to analyse data from other social media platforms.”

He added that “more sophisticated network analysis” needs to be done “to understand how these Hinduphobic tweets or messages are shared among groups across the world and who might be involved in spreading this hatred against Hindus and Hinduism”.

“Much of this hate might potentially be enabled if not encouraged, insidiously or indirectly, by mainstream media and by some scholars is a very much a cause for concern, and India Facts will continue to highlight such attitudes and such messages,” Rao said.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed)

Kalash girl Reena’s husband booked for her murder, a forcible conversion from 2016 that media helped whitewash: Pakistan

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Reena was allegedly murdered by her Muslim husband in Chitral valley, Pakistan (Image: Twitter)

A murder case was registered after a Kalash woman was found dead in her house in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan with bullet injuries. Initially, her husband had claimed she had committed ‘suicide’ and police and Pakistani media accepted this at face value.

However, rights activists from Chitral district took up the issue after the Kalash woman identified as Reena died due to bullet injuries in her house in Hazarkhwani. They contested the husband’s claim and stated that Reena was murdered. They also moved the court to lodge a murder case. Finally, the murder case was lodged in the Rehman Baba Police Station against the suspect, and police have finally woken up to investigate the matter.

Reena had got married to one Saifullah of Hazarkhwani in 2016 after converting to Islam. Activists at the time had alleged that she was yet another victim of the forceful conversion and marriage of minority women epidemic that plagues Pakistan. However, once Reena gave a statement that she converted to Islam “of her own free will”, the entire episode was labelled a non-issue and put to rest.

The Kalash are a micro-minority, numbering just a few thousands, who live in the Chitral valley. They follow a polytheistic religion which has many elements in common with Hindu Dharma; some consider them descendants of Gandhar who fled once that region fell to Islam. The neighbouring Nuristani people of the adjacent Nuristan (historical Kafiristan, i.e. land of the kafirs) province of Afghanistan once had a similar culture and faith as the Kalash, before the Nuristanis were forcefully converted to Islam in 1895-96. Almost half of the Kalash community have also been converted to Islam since Pakistan was formed.

The ugly truth is that non-Muslim Pakistani women are intimidated to issue statements declaring ‘voluntary conversion to Islam’ all the time. They are threatened and told that their entire family will be eliminated if they do not do as told. Often, gun-toting Muslims are allowed to pack courtrooms when such women are giving statements to magistrates, and loud cheers for Islam are raised when the frightened woman does as she is told. The first such case of abduction and forced conversion of Rinkle Kumari which made news in 2012 followed exactly that pattern, yet 4 years later Reena’s case was declared a voluntarily conversion and accepted as such by media in both Pakistan and Bharat.

A quick look at the headlines from 2016, and recent ones about Reena’s tragic death shows how media has failed the minorities of Pakistan, by time and again failing to grill the Pakistani state and its institutions over the horrendous state of minority human rights.

Media headlines shows how the press fails Pakistani minority women like Reena

Human rights activist Naveed Murtaza, who lives in PoJK (Gilgit Baltistan), tweeted on Reena’s death –

The inhuman crimes committed each day in Pakistan against its Hindu and other minorities, and even against the general population that resists the brutality of the Army-ISI-mullah nexus, would shock the world if even a fraction of the news was reported honestly. But the Western media, which acts as a thinly veiled extension of the Western establishment, considers Pakistan an important ally in the project to maintain Western hegemony. This allows Pakistan to get away with crimes against humanity that should ideally have made it an international pariah by now.

The least Bharat can do is to show the way for the rest of the world by a complete boycott of Pakistan until it verifiably mends its Islamofascist ways.

Mera Baccha Abhiyan, how singing bhajans inspired people to come together and fight malnutrition

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nutrition

Datia District has highlighted how victory can be achieved in the fight against malnutrition. As PM Modi lauded the efforts, one point that came to the fore is creating awareness regarding malnutrition among the residents using bhajans.

“Bhajans did play a part and to understand that one needs to understand what was happening in Datia. To bring public awareness about nutrition, nutrition songs, bhajans and “Poshan Gurus” were used. In all Anganwadi centres, women were mobilized through bhajans and through them, the understanding of nutrition was conveyed to every household. Even in schools, after the morning prayer and the national anthem, Poshan Gurus discussed nutrition”, tweeted Sunil Oza. Oza was replying to TRS leader KTR who used the PM’s speech to show his Hindu hatred.

Scheme to fight malnutrition

The success of the scheme can be gauged by the fall in the number of malnourished children. Available data says when the scheme was launched in 2019, there were 994 highly malnourished and 11,604 malnourished children in Datia District. Today, the number has fallen drastically and stands at 217 highly malnourished and 836 malnourished children in the district.

As per the scheme, children are adopted by officers, employees and public representatives. The role of these persons or officers is to fill the knowledge gap by creating awareness regarding nutrition among the residents. AYUSH department enlists public participation in the scheme. To encourage officials, Poshan Veer Samman is awarded to any person who makes a malnourished child healthy in three months.

Suposhan melas are held every three months when health check-ups of children are done. Medicines, hygiene, and nutrition kits are distributed. As part of the Poshan Matka program, every woman in the village brings a handful of grain from their home that is collected in the pot (Matka). The grain thus collected is used to cook Baal Bhoj every Saturday. Nutrition gurus visit schools to explain about healthy diet to children after morning prayers and the national anthem. They also give detailed information to women and children in anganwadis.

Singing bhajans and songs is merely a tool to create awareness and not a substitute for nutritious food or other items of the kit. These bhajans are aimed at giving information to the public regarding the importance of good nourishment. The attendance of women and children in these sessions has also increased as bhajans and songs help convey the message in a simple and understandable manner.

On April 21 this year, PM Modi gave the Award for Excellence in Public Administration to Datia District. A team of 526 officials was formed to run the campaign in the district. They don’t just provide information and conduct the campaign but also solve nutrition-related problems.

In his Mann ki Baat, the PM only highlighted that bhajans and songs were being used to create awareness. However, one can expect the likes of Hinduphobic KTR to give their own spin. The cabal never loses an opportunity malign Hindu Dharma. Just because PM Modi made mention of bhajans, the Hinduphobic cabal began peddling their agenda using half-truths and twisting the PM’s statement as per their convenience.

राही मासूम रजा: महाभारत धारावाहिक में युधिष्ठिर के चरित्र को नीचा दिखाने के बहाने श्री कृष्ण एवं धर्म की अवधारणा को नीचे दिखाना

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कल के हमने अपने लेख में देखा था कि कैसे द्रौपदी को महाभारत धारावाहिक में नीचा दिखाकर विमर्श की वह धारा आरम्भ कर दी गयी, जिसमे नायक को खलनायक बनाने का खेल किया गया एवं प्रतिनायक को नायक। खलनायकों के प्रति सहानुभूति उत्पन्न की गयी एवं नायकों को संकुचित सोच का बता दिया गया। सबसे बड़ा शिकार इसका कोई हुआ था तो वह थे युधिष्ठिर!

ज्येष्ठ पांडु पुत्र को निर्बल एवं द्युत के प्रति आग्रही क्यों दिखाया गया? यह एक गंभीर प्रश्न हो सकता है, क्योंकि युधिष्ठिर धर्म के वाहक थे, तो क्या वही वामपंथी एजेंडा डाला गया कि धर्म के जिन्हें प्रतीक बताया गया हो, उन्हीं पर प्रहार कर दिया जाए।

द्युत क्रीडा में जो हुआ उसकी ग्लानि में युधिष्ठिर भी रहे, परन्तु हमने पिछले लेख में देखा था कि कैसे दुर्योधन को नायक बनाने के लिए एवं दुर्योधन के प्रति संवेदना उत्पन्न करने के लिए द्रौपदी वाला दृश्य डाला। अब देखते हैं कि कैसे युधिष्ठिर को कायर दिखाने के लिए वह राजसूय यज्ञ के उपरांत का महत्वपूर्ण दृश्य गायब ही कर गए, जो युधिष्ठिर के चरित्र की सबसे बड़ी विशेषता को दिखाते है एवं यह स्थापित करते है कि क्यों उन्हें धर्मराज कहा जाता है और क्यों वह न्याय के प्रतीक माने जाते हैं। और क्यों वह एक दो नहीं बल्कि पूरे तेरह वर्षों तक शांत रहे, मौन रहे, जो हो रहा था उसी प्रवाह में बहते रहे!

राजसूय यज्ञ में शिशुपाल के वध के उपरान्त युधिष्ठिर चिंतित हैं। जब महर्षि वेदव्यास उनसे विदा लेने के लिए आते हैं, तो युधिष्ठिर उनसे प्रश्न करते हैं कि

“हे पितामह! भगवान नारदमुनि ने स्वर्ग, अन्तरिक्ष एवं पृथ्वी के ऊपर होने वाले तीन उत्पात कहे हैं। अब चेदिराज शिशुपाल की मृत्यु में उत्पातों का भय दूर हुआ या नहीं?”

उसके उपरान्त महर्षि वेदव्यास ने जो कहा, वह सहज किसी को पता नहीं है। वेदव्यास जी कहते हैं कि

“हे प्रजापालक युधिष्ठिर! तेरह वर्षों की अवधि तक उत्पातों का बड़ा भयानक फल होना रहेगा और उसका परिणाम सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रियों का विनाश में होगा! तात्पर्य हे भरत श्रेष्ठ! तेरे ही कारण और दुर्योधन के अपराध हेतु तथा भीम एवं अर्जुन के बल से सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रिय युद्ध भूमि ए इकट्ठे होकर विनष्ट हो जाएंगे। हे नृपश्रेष्ठ! प्रभात काल में स्वप्न में तुम देखोगे कि वृषभध्वज, नीलकंठ, भव, स्थाणु, कपाली, त्रिपुरातक, उग्र, रूद्र। पशुपति, महादेव, उमापति, हर, शर्व, वरिश, शूल पिनाकी, कृत्तिवास कैलाश शिखर समान श्वेत शिव वृषभारूढ़ होकर पितृराजाश्रित दक्षिण दिशा में निरीक्षण कर रहा है।

हे प्रजापालक! यह स्वप्न तू देखेगा, परन्तु उस कारण तू चिंता न करे, क्योंकि काल का उल्लंघन करना अत्यंत कठिन है! तेरा कल्याण हो!”

यह सुनकर युधिष्ठिर दुखी हो जाते हैं। वह व्यक्ति जो धर्म का प्रतीक है, वह व्यक्ति जो सदैव दूसरों के हित के लिए खड़ा रहा, वह व्यक्ति जो सपने में भी किसी का बुरा नहीं सोच सकता था, उनके सम्मुख यह कहा गया कि काल में यह लिखा है, तो उनके चित्त की स्थिति कैसी रही होगी? यह अजीब स्थिति थी। युधिष्ठिर ने अपने भाइयों से कहा कि यदि मेरे कारण क्षत्रियों का विनाश होगा तो जीवित रहने में कौन सा लाभ है? जब आने वाला समय मुझे क्षत्रियों के विनाश का कारण ठहराएगा!”

महाभारत- सभापर्व

उसके उपरान्त जब भाई उनसे बात करते हैं तो युधिष्ठिर कहते हैं कि “आप सबका कल्याण होवे। अब मेरी प्रतिज्ञा सुन लो! तेरह वर्ष जीवित रहकर भी मुझे क्या करना है? न आज से मैं अपने भाइयों के साथ तथा अन्य भ्राताओं के साथ कठोर भाषण नहीं करूंगा। ज्ञानियों की आज्ञा के अनुसार व्यवहार करता हुआ जो कुछ करना होगा उन्हें बताकर करता रहूँगा। इस प्रकार मैं पुत्रों एवं अन्य सम्बन्धियों से व्यवहार करूंगा, इसमें मतभेद ही नहीं होगा, और मतभेद के अभाव के कारण कलह भी कभी नहीं होगा, क्योंकि जगत में कलह का कारण ही मतभेद हैं। हे मनुष्यों में श्रेष्ठ पुरुषों! इस ढंग से मैं कलह में दूर रहकर जनों का प्रिय कार्य ही करना लगा तो लोगों में मेरी निंदा नहीं होगी!”

उसके बाद दुर्योधन की पीड़ा का वर्णन है, कि कैसे वह युधिष्ठिर के ऐश्वर्य को लेकर जला जा रहा है, कुंठित है और उसे हर मूल्य पर युधिष्ठिर का राज्य चाहिए, उसे हर मूल्य पर युधिष्ठिर को बर्बाद करना है, क्योंकि वह देख नहीं पा रहा है कि जिसे उसने मारने के इतने प्रयास किए, फिर भी वह समृद्ध हो गए। उसके बाद शकुनि उससे कहता है कि हम छल से ही पांडवों को परास्त करेंगे, इसलिए उन्हें द्युत क्रीडा के लिए आमंत्रित किया जाए!

जो महाभारत और जो द्युत क्रीडा दुर्योधन के लालच का परिणाम थी, उसे महाभारत धारावाहिक में बहुत ही चतुराई से द्रौपदी एवं युधिष्ठिर के कंधे पर डाल दिया। जो द्युत क्रीडा पूरी तरह से दुर्योधन के छल के कारण हुई थी, उसे बहुत ही सहज तरीके से यह कहते हुए स्थापित कर दिया कि युधिष्ठिर को जुआ खेलना पसंद था। युधिष्ठिर ने जो किया उसे लेकर महाभारत में भी धिक्कारा है, एवं आज तक हिन्दू समाज खुलकर इस कृत्य की निंदा करता है परन्तु इसका यह अर्थ तनिक भी नहीं है कि हम विमर्श ही ऐसा बना दें कि दुर्योधन निष्पाप एवं निष्कलंक था।

महाभारत धारावाहिक से दृश्य

युधिष्ठिर को निर्बल दिखाकर एवं जुआरी दिखाकर सीधे प्रभु श्री कृष्ण पर चोट की गयी है, क्योंकि युधिष्ठिर का पक्ष ही कृष्ण का पक्ष था। यह जनता के मन में डालने का महाभारत के माध्यम से कुप्रयास किया गया कि प्रभु श्री कृष्ण तो जुआरियों के पक्ष में थे, और जो जुआरियों के पक्ष में हो वह कैसा “भगवान?” और फिर जो भगवान है ही नहीं, उसके विषय में कुछ भी लिख दिया जाए, क्या फर्क पड़ता है!

परन्तु युधिष्ठिर जुआरी नहीं थे! उनकी छवि यह जानबूझकर बनाई गयी, हाँ! उन्होंने वनवास के समय अवश्य द्युत विद्या का ज्ञान ग्रहण किया था, जिससे शकुनि जैसे लोग उन्हें छल से परास्त न कर सकें! हिन्दी साहित्य की हम बात यहाँ पर इसलिए नहीं कर सकते हैं क्योंकि साहित्य की पहुँच इस समय कम है, जबकि ऐसे धारावाहिक जो सन्देश देते हैं, वह त्वरित जनता के मस्तिष्क में चला जाता है!

इस महाभारत में दिखाया गया कि द्रौपदी ने अंधे का पुत्र अंधा कहा, तो लोगों ने द्रौपदी को ही महाभारत का दोषी मानते हुए कविताएँ लिख दीं!

इस महाभारत में अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से युधिष्ठिर को कायर दिखाया गया, जबकि वह तेरह वर्षों तक ऐसा कुछ न करने की प्रतिज्ञा ले चुके थे, जिससे आने वाले समय में होने वाले विनाश के लिए उन्हें न उत्तरदायी ठहराया जाए। और उन्हीं युधिष्ठिर को लोगों ने कायर, द्युत व्यसनी आदि आदि क्या नहीं कहा!

दरअसल यह हिन्दू धर्म के उस स्तम्भ पर प्रहार करने का कुत्सित प्रयास था, जो असुरों को दंड देने के लिए स्वयं अवतार लेते हैं, अर्थात विष्णु भगवान! विष्णु भगवान ने कृष्णावतार में कहा है कि जब जब धर्म की हानि होती है, तब तब वह अवतार लेकर स्वयं आते हैं!”

परन्तु यहाँ पर ऐसे धारावाहिक एवं कथित वैकल्पिक लेखन में उस पक्ष को जो धर्म का है, जो न्याय का है, जो सत्य का है, जो त्याग का है एवं जो हिन्दू मूल्यों का है, उसे ही अधर्मी या ग्रे शेड में प्रस्तुत कर दिया गया एवं यह दिखाया गया कि प्रभु श्री कृष्ण जो धरती पर धर्म का साथ देने आए हैं, दरअसल वह तो एक जुआरी के पक्ष में खड़े हैं!

यह सत्य है कि युधिष्ठिर का वह कृत्य निंदनीय था, एवं जिसकी आलोचना बार बार की गयी, परन्तु परिस्थितजन्य किए गए किसी कृत्य एवं आदतन किए गए छली कृत्य में बहुत अंतर होता है, एवं दुर्भाग्य से ऐसे धारावाहिक एवं वामपंथी तथा बाद में कथित निष्पक्ष एवं राष्टवादी लेखकों ने भी उसी विचार पर चलना उचित समझा जो मानक वामपंथ ने नियत कर दिए थे!

यह दिमागी खेल था, जिसमें कर्ण जैसे प्रतिनायकों के प्रति संवेदना उत्पन्न की गयी, दुर्योधन जैसे खलनायकों को युधिष्ठिर के सम्मुख लाया गया एवं साथ ही कहीं न कहीं प्रभु श्री कृष्ण को भी पक्षपाती दिखाते हुए पूरी की पूरी उस अवधारणा पर चोट की, जो हिन्दुओं का सबसे बड़ा विश्वास है, अर्थात विष्णु जी के अवतार!

अब जब एजेंडा समझ में आता है, तो बार बार वह धारावाहिक देखने से प्रतीत होता है कि राही मासूम रजा, इसमें भी वापमंथी एजेंडा खेल गए हैं, और जिसका अंतिम उद्देश्य हिन्दू धर्म को विमर्श रहित बनाना ही है!

Is Pakistan replacing Turkey in Qatar’s strategic calculus?

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Image: The Express Tribune

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has wrapped up his Qatar visit with a sense of achievement. The cash-strapped debt and terrorism ridden country, now battling devastating floods and 24.9 per cent inflation has extracted a promise of three billion dollars in investments, two billion US dollars to be disbursed in the next 12 months, and a contract for allowing the Pakistani army to provide security to the gas rich country for the FIFA World Cup 2022. Not everyone in Pakistan is happy about the latter but there is little they can do about it. Pakistan’s economic dependence on Qatar overrules their fears. Sharif’s visit took place days before the IMF board decided to release $1.2 billion in financing to Pakistan. In fact, the meeting between Pakistani and IMF officials for a $ 6 billion bailout package for Pakistan took place in Qatar’s capital too.

At a time when Pakistan badly needs an IMF loan to bail it out from its dire economic straits, its traditional allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have committed to one billion dollar each only. Qatar has come to its rescue with its promise of two billion in addition to the already pledged 3 billion dollars earlier in 2019, though some warn that these may overlap. Pakistanis are also seeking a deferred payment plan for the LNG bought under a long term deal. And there are also some 150,000 Pakistanis who live and work in Qatar, remitting back more than 2 billion US dollars to their home country.

Recently, Qatar’s navy donated its entire fleet of 10 WS-61 Sea King helicopters to the Pakistani navy, which had faced a shortage of maritime utility helicopters.

Then there is the personal angle – it was Qatar that had intervened to bail out the Sharifs during the infamous PanamaGate scandal. Therefore, Shahbaz Sharif may not be in a position to heed popular outrage, in any case Pakistan’s parliament has approved of the deal.

What explains Qatar’s embrace of Pakistan? Could Pakistan be replacing Turkey in Qatar’s strategic calculations?

Of course, the two have always shared cordial relations and Pakistan has provided security services to the sheikhdom even earlier, with at least 600 Pakistani security personnel stationed in the country serving in the different security services. And Qatar has always hosted a large Pakistani expat community working there.

A closer reading, however, will reveal that ties further blossomed since 2017, when Qatar fell out with its fellow GCC members, and Saudi Arabia, followed by its allies UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt imposed a blockade on the former, levelling allegations of supporting interference and terrorism on their territories. Pakistan took a neutral stand, its trade with Qatar actually increased during this time growing by official estimates to over 230 per cent to $2.6 billion in 2018, as Qatar looked to forge extra-regional partnerships with countries like Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan.

A direct shipping line between them was inaugurated in 2017 to connect Hamad Port with Karachi Port, contributing to this increase. An irate Saudi King Salman even asked which side of the divide Pakistan was. High profile visits also characterised this period, with Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani visiting Islamabad in 2019. Following the visit, Qatar announced that it would invest $3 billion in Pakistan, in the form of deposits and direct investments. In 2018 Pakistan became the largest beneficiary of Qatar’s initiative to educate 10mn out-of-school children around the world, as Qatar supported the Federal Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to launch a programme to educate 1mn out-of-school children in Pakistan. In February 2021 Qatar Petroleum signed a long-term 10-year agreement with the Pakistan State Oil Company to supply Pakistan with up to 3mn tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas. And Qatar is interested in participating in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Even as Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to do a balancing act, he was forced to choose to side with Qatar and Turkey when India reorganised Jammu and Kashmir, and its Gulf allies Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain responded with understanding. Turkey took a stridently anti-India stand and together with Qatar the three tried to forge a parallel Islamic bloc to the existing Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Conference. Pakistan also helped facilitate Doha’s hosting of the Taliban.

Now with Shehbaz Sharif in the driver’s seat in Pakistan’s politics, ties with Qatar are expected to forge ahead, given the Qatari royal family’s help to the Sharif family. This will be helpful for Qatar, which with its $445 billion sovereign wealth fund and the world’s largest natural gas reserves needs those like Turkey and Pakistan – with the Muslim world’s largest armies – to be its foot soldiers. This, even as the former’s covert rivalry with its GCC fellow members continue in spite of the Al Ula rapprochement in early 2021.

While Doha also presented Turkey with a $15 billion bailout package in 2018, and expanded Turkish military presence on its territory, economic mishandling has forced Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mend fences with Qatar’s rivals Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as re-establish diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. While Erdogan’s political grip over Turkey turns increasingly shaky, Pakistan’s turn towards Islamism – converging with that of Qatar’s – remains stable, despite whichever party is in power.

Turkey also remains less dependent on Qatari energy resources, unlike Pakistan, which is heavily dependent on them. While Qatar acts as the conduit between the Taliban and the international community, Pakistan’s hold over the group or at least over some factions within the Taliban, remains strong, while Turkey’s relationship with the Taliban is lukewarm. Finally, Pakistan is the only nuclear Muslim country. All these may make Pakistan both more accessible and desirable a partner for Qatar. India should be watching carefully.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed)

Bail to action choreographer Kannan who had called for demolition of anti-Hindu EVR’s statue in front of Srirangam temple

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The Madras High Court on Thursday granted bail to Tamil action choreographer, ‘Kanal’ Kannan, alias V. Kannan, after a case was lodged against him for a provocative speech calling for demolition of the statue of Tamil rationalist and Dravidian ideologue, ‘Thanthai’ Periyar located outside the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, Srirangam, Tiruchi district.

While granting him bail, Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan directed Kannan (59) to submit an affidavit swearing that he would not indulge in further fiery speeches of provocative nature.

The court also directed the petitioner to appear before the investigating officer of Chennai Crime Branch Police in the morning and evening on all days for four weeks besides cooperating with the investigation.

In his bail petition, ‘Kanal’ Kannan argued that he had not done anything wrong in calling for the demolition of the statute of rationalist just opposite a temple visited by lakhs of people. He also contended that police should have arrested those who have erected the statue and not him.

Kannan, in his argument, said that he was a member of the Hindu Munnani and that the Sree Ranganatha Swamy temple was frequented by at least one lakh people a day and that the statue had inscriptions stating that those indulging in temple worship were barbarians and fools.

“Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple is a holy place where at least one lakh Hindus worship a day. The petitioner said that he does not believe in what he said was against any law of the country. On the other hand, the existence of the statue with those words is certainly an offense punishable under Sections 153 ( promoting enmity between different groups0, 505(1) (b) ( disturbing public tranquility ), and 505(2) ( promoting enmity between classes) of Indian Penal Code,” the petitioner said.

‘Kanal’ Kannan also said that many videos were circulated on social media insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses as well as the faith of the Hindus, but no action has been taken yet against the perpetrators.

He also said that police did not register a case against those people who were insulting Hindus on social media.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline)

Kerala HC says ‘can protest’, but cannot obstruct work at Vizhinjam Port

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The Kerala High Court on Thursday held that the right to protest does not grant the right to obstruct a legally permitted project – the upcoming Vizhinjam Port.

Justice Anu Sivaraman while giving an interim order pointed out that “I have no doubt in my mind that the right to agitate or protest any matter, including the apathy or neglect of the government, cannot confer any right to any of the protesters, to contend that they have the right to obstruct the activities which have due permissions or to trespass into the construction site and cause damage to public property…This Court has time and again considered the issue of competing interests in the grant of police protection and has held that a right to protest can only mean a right to protest peacefully and that there can be no right to obstruct a legally permitted project or activity in the guise of a protest, whatever be the reason for the protest” read the interim judgment.

The Court has ordered police protection for the workers and other officials of Adani Ports engaged in the construction of Vizhinjam port.

The Court passed the order on two petitions moved by Adani Ports and by its contracting partner Howe Engineering Projects, seeking police protection in the light of the ongoing protests by fishermen against the construction of the port at Vizhinjam in Kerala.

Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd. was selected as the concessionaire for the Vizhinjam Seaport Project and construction began on December 5, 2015.

However, the project has been opposed by the fishermen community which, under the leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum, are demanding, among other things, proper environmental impact studies, rehabilitation of families who lost their homes to coastal erosion and repairing coastal damage.

The petitioners pointed out that the protesters have been blocking the entry and exit points to the construction site and that on some occasions, thousands of protesters actually managed to enter the site which is a high security zone.

The petitioners submitted that all construction work has been stalled since August 17 due to the protests.

According to the petitioners, the environmental clearance for the project was granted in 2014, before Adani Ports entered the fray, after several environmental studies were conducted.

The court has now directed the state government and police to ensure that necessary police protection is granted to the petitioners to carry out the activities permitted in accordance with the contracts entered into by them.

“All necessary protection for providing free ingress and egress to such persons for carrying out the activities in accordance with the law shall be afforded by the police. The public protest can go on peacefully but without causing any obstruction and without any trespass into the project area,” the court observed.

It ordered that in case the state government and police are unable to maintain law and order in the locality, necessary steps should be taken to seek assistance from the Central government.

Reacting to the verdict, Rev Fr Eugene Perriera representing the Latin Dioceses, said this is a protest which has been taken up by the local fishing populace and the court has also agreed that the protests can go forward and they will continue.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline)