TAUQEER RAZA KHAN VISITS DARUL ULOOM DEOBAND, SAYS ATTEMPTS ON TO MALIGN MUSLIMS
In an unusual and extraordinary move, Tauqeer Raza Khan, a noted Barelvi scholar and great grandson of Ala Hazrat Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, on 7 May visited Darul Uloom Deoband and met rector of the leading seminary of Deobandi sect Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani and emphasised the need for unity to fight what he said the “common enemy”.
“Officers influenced by RSS ideology are trying to malign the image of Muslims and Islam by arresting Muslim scholars in unfounded terror charges. But, they will not succeed in their design”, Tauqeer Raza Khan said. He said the Muslim leaders are against all sort of violence and acts of terrorism. His visit to Darul Uloom Deoband is significant amid the reports that continuous efforts are on to divide Muslims on sectarian lines.
COW VIGILANTE GROUPS BENT ON CIRCUMVENTING LAW: HC
Stating that senior police officers were “indolent” and the district magistrate had “failed” to perform his duty, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 9 May ordered a CBI probe into the death of Mustain, 27, a Saharanpur resident allegedly killed by members of Gau Raksha Dal in Kurukshetra. He was allegedly caught by members of ‘Gau Raksha Dal’ near Shahabad in Kurukshetra district of Haryana on the night of March 5, 2016.
The HC observed that “a so-called vigilante group constituted with the backing of political bosses and senior functionaries governing the state, including police, under the name and style of Gau Raksha Dal has sought to take law in its own hands”. The court also said, “It has also come to the notice of this court that such groups are bent upon circumventing law and fleecing poor persons ferrying their animals, be it for any personal domestic use or otherwise.”
RAJASTHAN TEXTBOOKS HAVE COW’S ‘LETTER’ TO KIDS!
The Vasundhara Raje regime in Rajasthan, the only state government in the country which has a ministry dedicated to cows, has now revised textbooks for government schools to include a chapter in which the cow “writes” a letter to students as a “mother”, a report said on 10 May.
Introduced in Hindi textbooks for class V students, the chapter has images of Hindu gods within a bigger picture of a cow, each signifying the benefits humans can earn if they consider cow their “mother”. Addressing students as “my sons and daughters”, the letter says: “I give every individual strength, intelligence, long life, health, happiness and prosperity. Those who feel (my importance) consider me as their mother and I love them like my offspring.” This chapter is meant for reading only and no weightage has been given in exams.
REMOVAL OF NEHRU ‘S NAME FROM RAJASTHAN TEXTBOOKS FLAYED
The news of removal of Pandit Nehru ‘s name from the books of Rajasthan is a matter of serious concern and condemnation. Pandit Nehru was not only a very important leader of the struggle for India ‘s Independence but was also one of the major contributors of policies in Independent India. He laid down the foundation of Modern India and is truly an Architect of Modern India. It is due to those policies that India could take long strides in the arena of industry, science and technology. The coming generations will acknowledge his immense contribution in building of Modern India.
“This act of BJP Government reveals its narrow approach and sectarian mindset and its agenda of agenda of Hindu nationalism. We condemn this act of Rajasthan Government and also appeal to all the progressive, secular friends to take up this issue through media and social media to put pressure on the Rajasthan Government to restore his place in the textbooks of the state,” said L. S. Hardenia and Ram Puniyani, of All India Secular Forum.
COMMUNAL FORCES DEFEATED IN U ‘KHAND: SP
Branding the outcome of the Uttarakhand Assembly floor test as the ‘defeat of communal forces’, the Samajwadi Party on 10 May said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre should learn a lesson from the entire episode and mend its ‘unconstitutional ways’.
“The Samajwadi Party is principally opposed to the President Rule. But the recent events had led the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter and it is being said that in the floor test, communal forces have been defeated,” Samajwadi Party spokesman and Minister Rajendra Chowdhary reportedly said. “Now the SC will open the envelope and decide the matter. Communalism has harmed this nation a lot, no matter how powerful the government is they cannot go against the Constitution,” he added.
CONSUMING INTOXICANTS NOT A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT: GUJARAT HC
Gujarat High Court has ruled that addiction to a drug or a narcotic substance can never be claimed as fundamental right because this concept is divorced to the concept of right to live as per Article 21 of the Constitution.
A Division Bench of the High Court observed so while turning down petitions filed by poppy capsule addicts, who were opposing absolute ban by Gujarat government since April 1 on poppy capsule and straw. The state government claimed it was imposing ban as per the Centre’s guidelines by stopping earlier arrangement of supplying poppy capsules to addicts under licence system.
PM MODI’S DEGREES FAKE AND FORGED, ALLEGES AAP
Moments after Amit Shah flashed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BA and MA degrees at a press conference and demanded an apology from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for raking up a false issue, the AAP hit back, claiming that the degrees displayed by the BJP president are fake, a report said on 9 May.
“PM Narendra Modi’s degrees shown by Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley are fake and forged,” senior AAP leader Ashutosh said as he asked how the two degrees have two different names. “The BA degree has Narendra Kumar Damodardas Modi while the MA degree says his name is Narendra Damodardas Modi,” he said.
SC AGREES TO EXAMINE PLEA FOR CBI INVESTIGATION IN PANAMA PAPERS
The Supreme Court on 9 May agreed to examine a plea for ordering a CBI investigation against Indian offshore bank account holders named in the Panama Papers, published by The Indian Express after an eight-month investigation in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh issued notices to the Centre and the CBI, seeking their replies within four weeks. The court also issued notices to the Reserve Bank of India and market regulator Sebi on a PIL filed by advocate M L Sharma.
A group of various probe agencies has been formed by the government to go into disclosures made in the list, which includes about 500 Indian entities.
NOIDA TENSE OVER USE OF BURIAL GROUND
Tension prevailed in Ilabas village under Phase II police station area of Noida on 8 May over the use of a burial ground by the Muslim community. According to a local resident, he has an ancestral plot where Muslims were allowed to bury the dead for some time. He recently won a legal battle which confirmed that he was the real owner of the plot, he said.
On 8 May, a group of Muslims arrived at the site with the body of a 65-year-old man. They wanted to bury his body at the plot but its owner and others refused them entry. According to members of the Muslim community, they were using the site as a burial ground for several years. The owner of the land said, “There was a court battle and we won the case. Now they can’t claim the rights of burial anymore.” The situation became tense and the village elders held a meeting. Rajender Pradhan, a former village head, then reportedly donated a piece of land for the burial ground and resolved the issue.