JIH HOLDS WORKSHOP ON PROTECTION, UTILISATION OF AUQAF
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s Community Affairs Department organised a two-day workshop on the protection, development and proper utilisation of Waqf (Muslim endowments) Properties in India. The workshop, which was organised at JIH HQRS on December 11 and 12 aimed to create awareness and develop a roadmap for the protection and systematic development of the properties under the Auqaf (Muslim endowments) all over the country. Various participants from across the country attended the workshop, which was addressed by a number of prominent experts and speakers.
‘A WASTE OF TIME’: DELHI HC ON REMOVING PASSAGE ON MUGHALS
The Delhi high court on December 15 refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) asking for a section of the Class 12 NCERT history textbook to be removed. The section talks about how Mughal rulers Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan had given grants for temples to be repaired. Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh came down heavily on the petitioners, saying they were attempting to waste the court’s time. The bench also talked about imposing costs on the petitioners for filing a frivolous lawsuit, but stopped after it was told that the petitioners were students. “You people have such free time. You have deliberately made the students as petitioners. Seems like you guys sleep at night and file PIL on whatever issues that comes to your mind,” the chief justice said. The court then allowed the petitioners to withdraw the application.
HC GRANTS TIME FOR GETTING GOVT ORDER IN ROHINGYA CASE
The Gauhati High Court on December 16 granted time sought by the Assam government counsel to get the views of the administration about a petition in which 10 Rohingya community people, lodged in jail for seven years, prayed for refugee status by India or deportation to their country, Myanmar. These 10 people belonging to two related families were arrested in 2014 for entering the country without valid documents and have been lodged in Tezpur Central Jail. During a hearing earlier this month, a division bench comprising Justices Kotiswar Singh and Malasri Nandy said, “The plea of the petitioners is that they are allowed to remain in India by granting them refugee status or be deported to their country of origin i.e., Myanmar. The authorities, however, are not taking any decision in this regard and they are languishing in jail.” The matter will be heard again on January 10 next year.
8.8 LAKH INDIANS GAVE UP CITIZENSHIP IN PAST 7 YEARS: CENTRE
Around 8,81,254 Indians have given up their citizenship in the past seven years until September 30, the Centre said in the Lok Sabha on December 14. Earlier, on December 1, Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai had said that 6,08,162 Indians renounced their citizenship in the past five years till September 20. Of this 1,11,287 Indians gave up their citizenship in 2021, he said. On the other hand, around 10,645 foreigners including 7,782 from Pakistan and 795 from Afghanistan applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020. Rai said 1,106 people were given Indian citizenship in 2016, 817 in 2017, 628 in 2018, 987 in 2019 and 639 in 2020. Citing data available with the Union Home Ministry, Rai said around 1,33,83,718 Indian nationals are living in foreign countries now.
GURUGRAM: CONTEMPT PLEA FILED AGAINST HARYANA TOP OFFICERS
Former Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb has moved the Supreme Court with a contempt plea against top officers of the Haryana government over the Gurugram namaz controversy. Adeeb alleged that the police and administration did not take action against hate speech over the namaz controversy. He also alleged that the administration failed to stop “identifiable hooligans” from creating communal tension by repeatedly blocking namaz in Gurugram. He sought contempt action against Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) PK Agrawal and Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal in the case. Adeeb in his petition reiterated that permission to hold Friday namaz in the open was specifically given due to lack of space and facilities. The plea said that “continuous inaction, apathy of the state machinery and failure of the local law enforcement agencies and administration to prevent such incidents or to find a solution to the crisis before it spirals into a monstrosity, is precisely what had been indicated by this Hon’ble Court in Tehseen S Poonawala judgment”.
TENSION IN KANGRA AFTER LOCALS PROTEST DEATH OF A COW
Tension continues to prevail in Himachal Pradesh’s Indora sub-division of Kangra district days after the dead body of a cow was found in the Surdwan panchayat on December 9. With the local right-wing groups protesting and the region being home to a sizeable Gujjar population (nomadic Muslim community), the local administration is on tenterhooks. After the dead body of the cow was found under “mysterious conditions” on December 9, the local unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been protesting, pointing to “brutal” injuries on the cow’s body at multiple places. While the post-mortem report had confirmed that external injuries were not responsible for the cow’s death, local VHP leaders continue to exert pressure on the local administration for “justice to be done in the case”.
SCHEDULED CASTE YOUTH KILLED IN MOB LYNCHING
A scheduled caste youth of Mirkan village of Hisar district in Haryana was killed by villagers by beating him on December 14. Police said that 32-year-old Vinod along with Bhal Singh and Sandip alias Peepu were picked up by villagers on the suspicion of a submersible pump motor theft and taken to fields and beaten up mercilessly. Vinod died and Bhal Singh and Peepu injured seriously. Police, on the basis of the statement given by Bhal Singh and Peepu, has filed a case against the 5 known and other unknown accused on the charges of murder and sections of SC/ST atrocities Act. Family members of Vinod staged protests at civil hospital and refused to take body of a youth for the cremation till the accused are arrested. Dalit rights activist and advocate Rajat Kalsan has appealed to DIG to form an SIT for the investigation.