Rajiv Gandhi set the ball rolling for Ayodhya Temple

New Delhi: With the Supreme Court washing its hands off the Babri Masjid – Ram temple tug of war in Ayodhya history in a way has come full circle.

The story of this controversy will probably go down in the annals of Indian history as the turning point which changed the destiny of the whole sub continent – almost tragically.

How the brave and modern path chartered for the newly independent country by its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who abhorred the mixing of Religion and Politics and told his country men that “dams, bridges and factories are the temples of modern India” was sabotaged by none other than his grandson Rajiv Gandhi when he became P.M. after his mother’s assassination.

The beans have been spilled by none other than our current President Pranav Mukherjee in his memoirs called ‘The Turbulent years – 1980 to 1986’.

He recounts how Rajiv Gandhi won the general elections with a land slide victory immediately after Indira Gandhi’s death due to the polarization that took place after her assassination at the hands of a Sikh bodyguard.

Writes Mukherjee –

Source

Cow Terrorists Brutally Thrash Man in Ujjain

In what seems to be an another case of cattle vigilantes turning violent in Madhya Pradesh, cow vigilantes assaulted a man in Ujjain district of the state. 

Bhopal: In what seems to be an another case of cattle vigilantes turning violent in Madhya Pradesh, cow vigilantes assaulted a man in Ujjain district of the state. 

A video of the incident, released by ANI, shows a group of men brutally thrashing, kicking the victim repeatedly. 

According to the report, the police have arrested at least four persons in connection with the case whereas search for others is underway.

Terror in Udaipur

UDAIPUR: Verbal spat between tribal and Muslim groups over a long-standing issue on Thursday night turned violent as tension brewed up in Banswara on Friday afternoon.

Situation remained tensed at Kalika Mata and Khaatwada area as two warring groups pelted stones at each other and set some vehicles, shops and houses on fire. Attack at several places were reported and the mob damaged police vehicles and cameras. Many people including 8-10 policemen suffered injuries during the scuffle. The mob also hurled stones on police which compelled them to use tear gas. Additional forces were pressed into services from Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Dungarpur along with imposition of curfew for situation control .

IG Anand Srivastava, SP Kaluram Rawat, collector Bhagwati Prasad and many officials took stock of law and order in these areas. Normalcy was restored by evening, however, internet services were barred to prevent any untoward incident.

There had been a long standing dispute since 1998 between these two communities at Kalikamata area over a temple place. A Sarva Samaj meeting was organised to find solution for the dispute a fortnight back. However, during a procession of Shab-e-Baraat on Thursday night, members of both groups messed up. They set two bikes ablaze and attacked with swords which intensified the situation and police swung into action.

Fury of the mob continued on Friday as miscreants created disturbances in several patches. " We have rounded up few people. Extra battalion from Udaipur, Dungarpur, Chittorgarh, Mewar Bhil Corp (MBC), RAC have been deployed and things are getting better gradually," Banswara SP Kaluram Rawat said.

Source

Hindu Farmers and Cattle Traders, Angry with Gau Rakshaks

Those who buy and sell milch cows and oxen for farm work say cow vigilantes have made it impossible for them to conduct their business.

Watch Video

Cow vigilantism has been portrayed as a blowback against the Muslim community’s insistence on consuming beef, unmindful of the fact that slaughtering cows hurts Hindus who worship the animal. This depiction has framed the cow as an incendiary issue between Hindus and Muslims, an irreconcilable clash of cultures, so to speak.


This narrative was challenged during a three-day dharna that civil society groups and a clutch of political parties organised in Jaipur from April 24 to protest the killing of Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer who was waylaid in Alwar on April 1 while transporting milch cattle to his farm.
“We insisted it was not a Muslim issue,” said Kavita Srivastava, president, Rajasthan People’s Union for Civil Liberties, who was one of the organisers of the demonstration. “Lynching is unacceptable because it does away with the rule of law.”

Srivastava said the dharna was also a protest against criminalising the victim. “The Rajasthan home minister [Gulab Chand Kataria] continues to defend those who killed Pehlu Khan,” she said. “They are gau goondas, not gau rakshaks.”

It is very likely that some readers will dismiss Srivastava’s remark as typical of the irreverence Left-liberal activists have for religion and its symbols. But Srivastava’s sentiment is shared by many Hindu farmers, dairy owners and traders who are simmering with anger against thugs masquerading as cow protectors.

Their anger is reflected in six separate clips made from a lengthy video that a journalist friend sent to this writer. He filmed it at the cattle market held every week in Jaipur. The footage was shot on April 8. The journalist-friend’s questions to a cattle trader triggered a passionate debate in which both Hindus and Muslims participated, belying the claims that the two communities have been divided because of their contrarian sentiments on the cow.
Each of the clips in the story is followed by a synopsis for those who do not understand Hindi.

Read Full