An Excellent Example of Communal Harmony
At one hand people are witnessing communal flare-up in our country and on the other hand two Hindu sisters Mrs. Anita and Mrs. Saroj fulfilled the wishes of their late father Lala Brajnandan Rastogi posthumously by donating 2.1 acres of land worth Rs.1.2 crore to an Eidgah Committee in Uttarakhand days ahead of Eid al-Fitr prayers. Late Rastogi, a farmer by profession, and his daughters set an excellent example of communal harmony.
On behalf of the entire Muslim community, I am so grateful to both the sisters (Anita ji and Saroj ji) daughters of late Shri Lala Brajnandan Rastogi for their kind gesture by donating 2.1 acres of land free of cost to the Eidgah Committee in Uttarakhand for a particular cause. The Muslim community would remember late Rastogi and his daughters for a long time.
Syed Amjad Ali
Secunderabad
Telangana State
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on Mr. Gandhi
Recently I was reading the book “Pakistan or the Partition of India” by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. While going through the book, I found Gandhi’s name as many as 80 times in the book but I did not find Mahatma prefixing his name by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Another stalwart of pre-partition days, Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah always addressed Gandhiji as “Mr. Gandhi” and not Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi.
Will any of the readers throw some light as to why these two gigantic personalities did not address him as Mahatma?
Farooq Abdulgafar Bawani
Rajkot, Gujarat
Media Trial
The Apex Court is quite right in stating that TV debates on court matters amount to interference in administration of justice, as reported in a section of the press.
Nowadays, media houses are run by political parties directly or indirectly, and they have been making judgments where an accused is socially ‘convicted’ before he is proved guilty by the court.
I think the SC should ensure that no sub-judice matters are discussed on TV channels.
We have also seen that matters discussed in court have been made public instantly by the media without approval of the court, which should be stopped as well.
Abhijit Chakraborty
Bally, Howrah
West Bengal
Meat Ban is Retrograde
Please refer to the news published in print media “Meat shops to stay shut during Navratri: South Delhi Mayor” and a letter published under the caption “Meat Ban Unwarranted” by Mr. Sanjay Chopra (Punjab) vide issue of Radiance 17-23 April 2022. The directive by the mayor of the BJP ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on shutting down meat shops during the nine days of Navratri is retrograde and deeply damaging. In a series of rulings, several High Courts as well as the Apex Court have held that the right to choose one’s food is an intrinsic part of the right to privacy and personal liberty.
The State cannot prevent citizens from possessing and consuming a particular type of food which is non-injurious to health.
In a country of many religions and festivals, the SDMC mayor’s directive seeks to cramp fundamental rights and freedoms.
The row can be seen as the latest part of a dismal and spreading pattern of majoritarian excess, and the targeting of the minority community – a line runs through the attempt to proscribe the Hijab in the classroom in Karnataka, disallow a Muslim dancer in Kerala temples, and the proposed ban on meat in Delhi.
The mayor’s directive must be snubbed by the BJP which rules Delhi’s three civic bodies. If they fail to do the right thing, the court must step in. As the custodian of citizens’ rights and liberties in a diverse democracy, the court has played a seminal role in expanding the space for freedoms.
Khokan Das
Kolkata, West Bengal