After Madhya Pradesh now the Karnataka govt introducing Gita in School

From: Deccan Chronicle
Gita: From home to school?
First the government allowed the Swarnavalli Maha Samsthanam Sonda of North Canara district to give discourses on Bhagvad Gita in schools to “enlighten” students. When faced with violent protests by student organisations in Kolar, Haveri and other places, it quickly assured them that attending the discourses was optional. But it has now gone a step further and wants to make the Gita a part of the state syllabus. Accusations that the ruling BJP was trying to saffronise state education while ignoring many of the real problems besetting it have been flying thick and fast since Chief Minister D.V.Sadananda Gowda announced on Sunday that the government was ready to make Gita a part of the syllabus.

Many feel the move could boomerang. Dr. S R Keshava, an economist and professor at Bangalore University (BU) warns that if the government goes ahead with its plan to introduce the Gita as part of the syllabus it could affect the secular nature of society and lead to demands for study of other religious books too in schools. “I do not want to diminish the importance of the Gita. It is respected the world over. But I cannot support making it a part of the curriculum. Tomorrow the government could come under pressure to introduce texts of other religions too,” he says, wondering what the need is to go down this controversial path when the state's students are struggling to make a mark in national admission tests and Karnataka’s contribution in the fields of science, technology, research and development is nowhere near satisfactory. “Also government schools dont have enough students. The state should be trying to find a solution to these problems, instead of talking about introducing the Gita in the curriculum,” Dr Keshava argues.

Senior officials of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) too do not support the idea of making Gita a part of the syllabus as they fear it could lead to divisions among children from different backgrounds studying in state schools. “What we need is upgrading of the syllabus to prepare students for future challenges at a time when the education sector is undergoing rapid changes. But the state government has failed to tackle this. We still don't have answers how to prepare students for the Central curriculum, how to increase the enrollment in government schools or introduce the Right to Education (RTE) Act," points out an officer.

Love Jihad hate campaign: Kerala police lodges case against Hindutva website

From TwoCircles.net
By Abdul Basith MA
Thiruvananthapuram: With the facts behind the ‘Love Jihad’ finally being officially out, as the cyber cell of Kerala police have now registered cases against the hate campaign organised by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti through its website http://www.hindujagruti.org/. Cyber cell with the help of cyber forensic department have started probing into the details regarding the activities of the website and the ones behind it. At present an FIR has been registered without naming any suspects.
The cyber cell sought details from the service provider Yahoo, on the website and the ones who registered this site. Besides Hindu Janajagruti Samiti’s site, cases under section 153 were taken against other five websites as well on similar charges for pressing on with the hate campaigns even after the Police reports and court terming it baseless. The cyber cell said that details will be sent to the central agency as well because investigations need to be carried out beyond the Kerala, Karnataka region.

The website seems registered by a north Indian named Margaret Krishna and now investigations are mainly focussed on him. The police sources said that the site carried out those hate campaigns targeting the Muslim youths even after the court rejected all those allegations based on the Love Jihad. The website besides seemed like making obvious attempts to deny Sanathan Sanstha’s involvement in those series of blasts including Ajmer and Malegaon and its contents featured articles and editorials propagating Hindutva ideologies of Sanathan Sanstha.
The site highlights campaigns and programmes organised by extremist Sangh organisations like Sri Ram Sene, VHP, RSS, Hindu Maha Sabha and Shiv Sena. The website featured hate campaigns hurting sentiments of other religions. The website contained fake intelligence reports with the intension of accusing terror on a specific community and this website through its contents seems to have played a vicious role in the campaign against MF Hussain as well.
The site had earlier published fake posters and notices under the name of Popular Front of India [PFI]. The pretention was that, they are exposing the Love Jihad carried out by Muslim organisations in Kerala and Karnataka. Based on this PFI had earlier registered a complaint in the cyber cell. With the news spread regarding the case taken against the website, the contents and pictures regarding Love Jihad were soon removed from the website but were later restored.
Link:
http://www.hindujagruti.org/

The BJP in Karnataka is fanning communal fears to consolidate the Hindu vote

From Thehelka,

EVER SINCE the BJP government in Karnataka started crumbling from within, following the unseating of BS Yeddyurappa from the chief minister’s post, the state has witnessed subtle attempts at raising the communal temperature.

In the past, the attempts were crude — like desecrating religious centres. On New Year’s Eve, a Pakistani flag was hoisted at Sindagi town in Bijapur district, leading to communal tension in this Muslim-populated area. When the flag was discovered in the morning, several Hindu organisations called for a bandh. A prayer hall belonging to the minority community was stoned. Five days later, the police arrested six alleged Sri Ram Sene members on charges of hoisting the flag to create communal tension. While Sene chief Pramod Muthalik has denied that the arrested men belong to his outfit, JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy pointed a finger at the BJP-RSS.

Whichever Hindutva group they belonged to, there seems little doubt that communal politics is becoming more Machiavellian. The flag could have been aimed at hinting at the supposed secret loyalty of Muslims to India’s arch-rival. In Mangalore, RSS leader Prabhakar Kalladkar has been openly giving vitriolic statements against the Christian community.

If Yeddyurappa breaks away from the BJP and forms his own party or joins another, the party is unsure of retaining the Lingayat votebank. With B Sriramulu also forming his own party, the loss of the backward class vote is also looming large. Communal tension could consolidate the Hindu votebank. Even former Bajrang Dal state president Mahendra Kumar says, “The hoisting points to the desperation to divide voters on communal lines. Since the BJP is politically dead in the state, it has resorted to its old strategy.”

Certainly, the silence maintained by the state government about the incident was eerie. In an earlier incident, Home Minister R Ashok had called a press conference and blamed the radical Muslim outfit Karnataka Forum for Dignity. This time, he did not issue any statement. Nor did any senior BJP minister, including Industries and district in-charge minister Murugesh Nirani visit the place, giving room for more suspicion. As Congress MPH Vishwanath puts it, “What is the government doing? Stringent action should be taken against the accused. If the act was done by Muslims, the government would have made it an issue.”

In spite of a string of violent attacks on innocent people, the Sene continues to operate in Karnataka with impunity. On 17 December 2011, Muthalik and Sene activists went on a rampage at the Bangalore Central College and attacked Niranjan BR, director, directorate of correspondence courses and distance education, for the delay in conducting exams.

With cows dropping dead, and more likely to die due to neglect, TN is poised for a leather revolution

Muthalik shot to fame during the infamous pub incident in Mangalore on 24 January 2009, when 40 Sene men attacked women customers, claiming they were denigrating Indian values. During the probe, the police also found out that Sene had links with the perpetrators of the 2008 Malegaon blasts. Incidentally, at a Dharm Jagruti Sabha in 2009, Muthalik had claimed, “Malegaon was a jhalak. A lot more is possible if every woman picks up bombs like Sadhvi Pragya.”

Since then, the Sene’s name has cropped up in the Hubli blast (2008) and communal clashes in Mysore (2009). “We have arrested Muthalik for abetting the throwing of a pig carcass near a religious school that led to clashes in which three people were killed,” Mysore Police Commissioner Sunil Agarwal had then said.

Imran Khan is a Senior Correspondent with Tehelka.com.

Bajrang vigilantes cry cow-slaughter, beat, humiliate Muslim trader

From Indian Express

A Muslim cattle trader’s son was beaten and part of his head, one eyebrow and half his moustache shaved off by alleged Bajrang Dal workers in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh after he refused to give them money to allow him to ferry cattle which the attackers alleged were meant for slaughter.


Police rescued the 25-year-old victim, Anish Aslam Kureshi, but charged him with unlawfully transporting cattle for slaughter under a state law for preserving cattle, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A sessions court in Chhindwara ordered his release on bail today.


His attackers, whom the police identified as Bajrang Dal workers, were also arrested, but were charged with minor offences. They were released almost immediately by the Bichhua police station.


On December 22, a tough new Madhya Pradesh anti-cow slaughter law providing for seven years in jail for eating beef, empowering police to carry out raids on mere suspicion, and putting the burden of proving innocence on the accused received presidential assent.

Muslim and Catholic groups question secular credentials and tactics of the Anna Hazare movement

Indian Express

Minority groups question secular credentials

Mumbai : A day after Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal met Muslim community leaders here seeking their support and trying to dispel the impression of the movement’s “RSS links”, Muslim and Catholic groups questioned their secular credentials and tactics.

While the Catholic Secular Forum slammed Anna Hazare’s decision to protest outside the residences of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra said that while they were also against corruption, the activist’s ways were “like Hitler”.

Gulzar Azmi, general secretary of the Jamiat, said Hazare was undermining the authority of Parliament. “We do not support the movement and feel that the Bill should be debated in Parliament and then passed... No one should dictate terms,” said Azmi.

He also questioned the threat to protest outside houses of leaders who do not agree with them.

“These are tactics Adolf Hitler used... Team Anna is forgetting that they got Parliament to debate a Bill which was in the pipeline for more than four decades. It is now time to step back and let Parliament function,” said the Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra leader.

A few members of the community who met Kejriwal too said they had not committed to support the movement. “All we did was speak to him about certain issues,” said Farid Shaikh, president of the Bombay Aman Committee.

Catholic Secular Forum general secretary Joseph Dias said Hazare must clarify allegations that he backed Hindutva and questioned his decision to protest outside Sonia and Rahul’s houses.

“The Congress alone cannot be blamed for corruption. Why doesn’t Anna speak out against Narendra Modi, B S Yeddyurappa, the BJP...? He has not demonstrated against attacks on minorities,” said Dias.

Activists of Hindu right wing arrested for hoisting Pakistan flag

From Newzfirst

SINDHAGI (KARNATAKA) - Sindhagi Police of Bijapur district in Karnataka have arrested six people alleged to be associates of right wing Hindu outfit in connection with hoisting Pakistan flag on the flag post at the mini Vidhana Soudha premises - which houses the offices of the tahsildar and government departments.

Police have arrested, Rohit Ishwar Navi (18), Sunil Madivalappa Agasar (18), Arun Vagmore(20), Rakesh Siddaramaiah Mata(19), Mallan Gowda Vijay Kumar Patil (19) and Parashuram Ashok Vagmore (20), all are alleged to be members of student wing of Sri Rama Sene.

The flag was allegedly hoisted on Saturday midnight during New Year celebration in the Sindhagi, a small town 60 km away from Bijapur district headquarters. Subsequently, the town was turned tense resulting series of protests by Hindu right wing outfits across the state, alleging it as an act of men belonging to the minority community.

Moreover, surprisingly, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajarang Dal and other saffron groups had observed town-bandh protesting the hoisting of Pakistan flag. In an effort to exploit the incident, several local political leaders of BJP too had entered the scene by holding processions and cleaning exercise of flag hoisted area.

Now these arrests have exposed the ugly face of right wing Hindu groups, who have been in forefront of protests, say the people.

The same kind of incident had taken place in Bijapur town three years back, but police have failed to book the culprits so far.

 

MP law: 7 yrs in jail for eating beef, cops can raid on mere suspicion

From Indian Express

Cow slaughter is now a serious offence and could invite a jail term of up to seven years in Madhya Pradesh.

Cow slaughter is now a serious offence and could invite a jail term of up to seven years in Madhya Pradesh. Consuming, keeping or transporting beef of any cow progeny will invite the same punishment. A police official not below the rank of a head constable — or any person authorised by a competent authority — has the power to enter, inspect and search any premises “where he has reason to believe that an offence (under this Act) has been, is being or is likely to be committed and take necessary action’’.


These stringent provisions will be notified after the Madhya Pradesh Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Bill, 2010 received the President’s assent on December 22.


Citing public interest and communal harmony, the BJP government argued that existing legislation provided for only a three-year jail term for cow slaughter and had several flaws. The state government amended it in July 2010 and sent it to the President. The new provisions will enable authorities to punish transporters, their employees and drivers with jail terms from six months to three years.

The Centre felt that raiding premises merely on the assumption that an offence is “likely” could be misused and recommended that such power be limited to cases when an offence had taken place or was taking place. The amended legislation has disregarded the recommendation.