BJP ex-MLA among 17 held for V-Day attacks in name of ‘love jihad’
“Based on the complaint and all those who were identified, we have arrested 17 people, including ex-MLA Surendra Nath Singh,” Bhopal DIG Irshad Wali told The Indian Express.
|
Showing posts with label Bhopal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bhopal. Show all posts
February 15, 2021
May 11, 2019
India 2019 Elections: Saffronisation of the Bhopal Elections Is in Full Swing
The Inevitable Saffronisation of the Bhopal Elections Is in Full Swing
While Digvijaya Singh appears to have the upper hand and the backing of several religious leaders, BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur and her supporters are literally painting the city saffron.
Sadhus offer ritual for the victory of Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal on May 7, 2019. Credit: PTI
It’s a day before polling and Bhopal is a sea of saffron.
Its almost all Digvijaya Singh’s doing. There have been yagnas and havans, hath yog kriya and sadhu road shows in the past week and it would seem that Digvijaya, a former Madhya Pradesh Congress chief minister and a declared pariah by the BJP, is aiming to become the new “Hindu Hriday Samrat” of the state.
That post had been lying vacant ever since nationalist ideas filled the minds of the supreme leadership of the BJP. It appears that Pragya Singh’s candidature from Bhopal has ignited the race for the leadership of the Hindus.
[ . . . ]
https://thewire.in/politics/saffronisation-bhopal-elections-digvijaya-singh-pragya-singh
April 13, 2015
India: Hint of saffron in Bhopal locality names
Hint of saffron in Bhopal locality names
Shruti Tomar, Hindustan Times, Bhopal| Updated: Mar 18, 2015 19:53 IST
Besides generating political heat, the proposal has been opposed by historians, who said it could destroy the legacy of the rulers of Bhopal and the city’s history. (Praveen Bajpai/HT file photo)
Three years after the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh rolled back a move to rename the state capital Bhopal as Bhojpal, the local civic body has framed a proposal to name 19 newly created zones primarily after Sangh Parivar figures and leaders without any close association to the city.
The proposal by the newly elected mayor-in-council led by mayor Alok Sharma of the BJP has drawn the ire of the opposition Congress, which has described it as another move to “saffronise” the city.
Detractors of the proposal have pointed out that none of the zones will be named after personalities from the minority communities. Late President Shankar Dayal Sharma, who was born in Bhopal, and nawabs and begums from the royal family that once ruled the lake city too do not find a place in the list.
The proposal for naming the 19 zones is part of the agenda for a meeting of the mayor-in-council of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) scheduled for March 19. Hindustan Times accessed a copy of the agenda, which lists Veer Savarkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Kushabhau Thakre and Vijayaraje Scindia among the personalities after whom the zones will be named.
Senior Congress corporator Mohammad Sagher said, "This move clearly shows that the BJP wants to saffronise the city. They have ignored the begums, nawabs and even eminent personalities like former president Shankar Dayal Sharma while giving names to zones.
“As the BJP doesn't have problems with Rani Kamlapati, Sant Hirdaram and Raja Bhoj, they have included their names. Their bias is clear."
Sagher said the BJP had also ignored those who developed Bhopal. “They have brought all the personalities and leaders of the Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha and are naming zones after people who had nothing to do with Bhopal. We will oppose this step in the council," he said.
Besides generating political heat, the proposal has been opposed by historians, who said it could destroy the legacy of the rulers of Bhopal and the city’s history.
Noted historian Syed Akhtar Hussain said, "It is an insult to the walled city which has many heritage sites and historical monuments named after different historical personalities.
“In Bhopal, areas are identified after historic buildings and rulers like Imami Gate, Peer Gate, Fatehgarh, Hamidia, Shahjehanabad, Jehangirabad, Moti Masjid and Jumerati. They want to distort historical facts. At least they shouldn't interfere with the identity of the city.”
Mohammed Saud, an independent coporator, said, "Earlier, they used to show an indifferent attitude towards citizens of old Bhopal, but now they are heading towards ending the identity of the city. Through this type of conduct, they have shown they are biased towards one particular religion.”
Senior BJP corporator KM Soni, also a member of the mayor-in-council, dismissed the charges by the opposition.
“Our motive was not to insult anybody. Earlier, we wanted to change the name of the city but the Congress was in a majority and so we failed. This time, the mayor showed his concern and we support him. We are not changing names of areas. We have just given names to new zones," he said.
The BJP has a clear majority in the 85-member BMC with 55 corporators, while the Congress has only 26 seats. Four seats were won by independent candidates in polls last month.
On March 1, 2011, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had proposed that the name of Bhopal be changed to Bhojpal to honour Raja Bhoj, a ruler of the Malwa kingdom of the 11th century who founded the city of Bhojpur. Later, the centre rejected the proposal.
In 2006, then chief minister Uma Bharti too had tried to rename Bhopal.
Zone 1 Sant Hirdaram Nagar, a sant of the Sindhi community
Zone 2 Maharaja Agrasen, king and religious guru of Vaishya community
Zone 3 Maharishi Valmiki, a poet
Zone 4 Veer Savarkar, right wing leader during the freedom struggle
Zone 5 Rani Kamlapati, ruler of Bhopal before the nawabs
Zone 6 Bhim Rao Ambedkar, social reformer and Dalit leader
Zone 7 Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maratha king and warrior
Zone 8 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, freedom fighter and politician
Zone 9 Kushabhau Thakre, RSS leader
Zone 10 Lord Mahavir, last Jain teerthankar
Zone 11 Subash Chandra Bose, freedom fighter
Zone 12 Vijayaraje Scindia, BJP leader
Zone 13 Swami Vivekanand, spiritual leader
Zone 14 Raja Bhoj, medieval period ruler of Malwa kingdom
Zone 15 Chandrashekhar Azad, freedom fighter
Zone 16 Maharani Laxmi Bai, freedom fighter
Zone 17 Bhagat Singh, freedom fighter
Zone 18 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of Bharitiya Jan Sangh
Zone 19 Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay, one of the founder leaders of the BJP.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/bjp-wants-to-saffronise-bhopal-by-naming-19-zones-after-sangh-parivar-figures-cong/article1-1327495.aspx
Shruti Tomar, Hindustan Times, Bhopal| Updated: Mar 18, 2015 19:53 IST
Besides generating political heat, the proposal has been opposed by historians, who said it could destroy the legacy of the rulers of Bhopal and the city’s history. (Praveen Bajpai/HT file photo)
Three years after the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh rolled back a move to rename the state capital Bhopal as Bhojpal, the local civic body has framed a proposal to name 19 newly created zones primarily after Sangh Parivar figures and leaders without any close association to the city.
The proposal by the newly elected mayor-in-council led by mayor Alok Sharma of the BJP has drawn the ire of the opposition Congress, which has described it as another move to “saffronise” the city.
Detractors of the proposal have pointed out that none of the zones will be named after personalities from the minority communities. Late President Shankar Dayal Sharma, who was born in Bhopal, and nawabs and begums from the royal family that once ruled the lake city too do not find a place in the list.
The proposal for naming the 19 zones is part of the agenda for a meeting of the mayor-in-council of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) scheduled for March 19. Hindustan Times accessed a copy of the agenda, which lists Veer Savarkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Kushabhau Thakre and Vijayaraje Scindia among the personalities after whom the zones will be named.
Senior Congress corporator Mohammad Sagher said, "This move clearly shows that the BJP wants to saffronise the city. They have ignored the begums, nawabs and even eminent personalities like former president Shankar Dayal Sharma while giving names to zones.
“As the BJP doesn't have problems with Rani Kamlapati, Sant Hirdaram and Raja Bhoj, they have included their names. Their bias is clear."
Sagher said the BJP had also ignored those who developed Bhopal. “They have brought all the personalities and leaders of the Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha and are naming zones after people who had nothing to do with Bhopal. We will oppose this step in the council," he said.
Besides generating political heat, the proposal has been opposed by historians, who said it could destroy the legacy of the rulers of Bhopal and the city’s history.
Noted historian Syed Akhtar Hussain said, "It is an insult to the walled city which has many heritage sites and historical monuments named after different historical personalities.
“In Bhopal, areas are identified after historic buildings and rulers like Imami Gate, Peer Gate, Fatehgarh, Hamidia, Shahjehanabad, Jehangirabad, Moti Masjid and Jumerati. They want to distort historical facts. At least they shouldn't interfere with the identity of the city.”
Mohammed Saud, an independent coporator, said, "Earlier, they used to show an indifferent attitude towards citizens of old Bhopal, but now they are heading towards ending the identity of the city. Through this type of conduct, they have shown they are biased towards one particular religion.”
Senior BJP corporator KM Soni, also a member of the mayor-in-council, dismissed the charges by the opposition.
“Our motive was not to insult anybody. Earlier, we wanted to change the name of the city but the Congress was in a majority and so we failed. This time, the mayor showed his concern and we support him. We are not changing names of areas. We have just given names to new zones," he said.
The BJP has a clear majority in the 85-member BMC with 55 corporators, while the Congress has only 26 seats. Four seats were won by independent candidates in polls last month.
On March 1, 2011, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had proposed that the name of Bhopal be changed to Bhojpal to honour Raja Bhoj, a ruler of the Malwa kingdom of the 11th century who founded the city of Bhojpur. Later, the centre rejected the proposal.
In 2006, then chief minister Uma Bharti too had tried to rename Bhopal.
Zone 1 Sant Hirdaram Nagar, a sant of the Sindhi community
Zone 2 Maharaja Agrasen, king and religious guru of Vaishya community
Zone 3 Maharishi Valmiki, a poet
Zone 4 Veer Savarkar, right wing leader during the freedom struggle
Zone 5 Rani Kamlapati, ruler of Bhopal before the nawabs
Zone 6 Bhim Rao Ambedkar, social reformer and Dalit leader
Zone 7 Chhatrapati Shivaji, Maratha king and warrior
Zone 8 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, freedom fighter and politician
Zone 9 Kushabhau Thakre, RSS leader
Zone 10 Lord Mahavir, last Jain teerthankar
Zone 11 Subash Chandra Bose, freedom fighter
Zone 12 Vijayaraje Scindia, BJP leader
Zone 13 Swami Vivekanand, spiritual leader
Zone 14 Raja Bhoj, medieval period ruler of Malwa kingdom
Zone 15 Chandrashekhar Azad, freedom fighter
Zone 16 Maharani Laxmi Bai, freedom fighter
Zone 17 Bhagat Singh, freedom fighter
Zone 18 Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of Bharitiya Jan Sangh
Zone 19 Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay, one of the founder leaders of the BJP.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/bhopal/bjp-wants-to-saffronise-bhopal-by-naming-19-zones-after-sangh-parivar-figures-cong/article1-1327495.aspx
December 12, 2014
Sectarian clashes singe Bhopal, 75 critically injured
Dec 12 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Sectarian clashes singe Bhopal, 75 critically injured
Bhopal
TIMES NEWS NETWORK TNN
Sectarian violence erupted in Bhopal with over 60 houses of a minority community torched by a mob on Thursday .
Aman Colony in Karond resembled a war-torn site with thick smoke billowing from gutted houses, women screaming and injured being rushed to hospital. At least 75 people, including women and children, suffered critical injuries. The area was cordoned off by police and RAF, and prohibitory orders have been imposed. Over 12 fire tenders have been rushed to douse fires and 12 ambulances were pressed into service.
Victims said thousands of attackers, wielding firearms, petrol bombs, sharpedged weapons and stones attacked the colony from all sides. For close to two hours, the marauders wreaked havoc and police were nowhere to be seen. Despite simmering tension the previous night, only a few cops had been deployed.
Over 35 two-wheelers and household goods were set ablaze. Victims claimed that the attack had been planned at the behest of a local politician for over a fortnight. By the time police finally arrived, the mob had wreaked mayhem. Cops lobbed teargas shells, fired in the air and lathicharged the attackers to bring the situation under control. Residents of Aman Colony have been shifted to their relatives' homes at Irani Dera near Bhopal station. Police asked residents of neighbouring localities to remain indoors. Officials said the immediate trigger was a scuffle on Wednesday night over a trivial issue.
2 dead in clash near Mirzapur temple
Firing during a clash between rival groups of `pandas' (priests) over a minor dispute claimed two lives and left a priest seriously injured near the highly sensitive Vindhyachal Temple in Mirzapur district on Thursday. According to reports, the argument was over some pilgrims parking their private vehicle on the premises of a parking zone the priest was running in his residential premises. As the argument heated up, the priest opened indiscriminate fire from his licensed gun, killing two in the process.
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Sectarian-clashes-singe-Bhopal-75-critically-injured-12122014012005
Sectarian clashes singe Bhopal, 75 critically injured
Bhopal
TIMES NEWS NETWORK TNN
Sectarian violence erupted in Bhopal with over 60 houses of a minority community torched by a mob on Thursday .
Aman Colony in Karond resembled a war-torn site with thick smoke billowing from gutted houses, women screaming and injured being rushed to hospital. At least 75 people, including women and children, suffered critical injuries. The area was cordoned off by police and RAF, and prohibitory orders have been imposed. Over 12 fire tenders have been rushed to douse fires and 12 ambulances were pressed into service.
Victims said thousands of attackers, wielding firearms, petrol bombs, sharpedged weapons and stones attacked the colony from all sides. For close to two hours, the marauders wreaked havoc and police were nowhere to be seen. Despite simmering tension the previous night, only a few cops had been deployed.
Over 35 two-wheelers and household goods were set ablaze. Victims claimed that the attack had been planned at the behest of a local politician for over a fortnight. By the time police finally arrived, the mob had wreaked mayhem. Cops lobbed teargas shells, fired in the air and lathicharged the attackers to bring the situation under control. Residents of Aman Colony have been shifted to their relatives' homes at Irani Dera near Bhopal station. Police asked residents of neighbouring localities to remain indoors. Officials said the immediate trigger was a scuffle on Wednesday night over a trivial issue.
2 dead in clash near Mirzapur temple
Firing during a clash between rival groups of `pandas' (priests) over a minor dispute claimed two lives and left a priest seriously injured near the highly sensitive Vindhyachal Temple in Mirzapur district on Thursday. According to reports, the argument was over some pilgrims parking their private vehicle on the premises of a parking zone the priest was running in his residential premises. As the argument heated up, the priest opened indiscriminate fire from his licensed gun, killing two in the process.
http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Sectarian-clashes-singe-Bhopal-75-critically-injured-12122014012005
December 01, 2012
NAPM condemns attack on Swami Agnivesh by VHP in Bhopal - Pres release
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE'S MOVEMENTS
National Office : A Wing First Floor, Haji Habib Building, Naigaon Cross Road Dadar (E), Mumbai – 400 014. Phone - 09969363065; Delhi Office : 6/6 Jangpura B, New Delhi – 110 014 . Phone : 09818905316
E-mail: napmindia@napm-india.org | Web : www.napm-india.org
NAPM condemns attack on Swami Agnivesh by VHP in Bhopal
New Delhi, December 1 : Vishwa Hindu Parishad once again showed its casteist and communal colour by assaulting Swami Agnivesh yesterday in Bhopal, where he was attending a meeting of Balmiki Samaj.
This attack by VHP on Swami Agnivesh, a spiritual leader and rights activists is extremely condemnable and only shows the conitnuing intolerance and contempt for any differing opinion in a democratic country and the rise of communal and fascist forces under state protection.
VHP terms its objectives as to organise - consolidate the Hindu society and to serve - protect the Hindu Dharma but what it did yesterday once again shows its anti dharma actions and only adds to growing number of such actions against minorities, dalits, women and many others.
Swami Agnivesh met Dr. Sunilam in Bhopal Central jail and extended support to his fight for justice for 24 farmers and his families killed in Multai police firing in 1998. During meeting with MP Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, he also requested him not to oppose bail to Dr. Sunilam. Later he was attending a meeting of Balmiki Samaj along with CM and Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. He joined them in taking a pledgethat members of Balmiki Samaj will not carry human waste manually any more, which has been banned only in government laws. When he touched the feet of an old Balmiki lady to show his respect, VHP people attackedhim and tore his clothes.
We are anguished by this growing presence of VHP and other communal outfits in Madhya Pradesh under BJP regime, who have been involved in similar cases across the state. We urge Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to take stern action against the culprits and as a democratically elected CM abide by the Consitution and uphold the rule of law and uphold the values of justice and secularism.
Medha Patkar, Gabriele Dietrich, Prafulla Samantara, Sandeep Pandey, Arundhati Dhuru, Gautam bandopadhyay, Sister Celia, Maj Gen (Retd.) S G Vombatkere, Vimal Bhai, Suniti S R, Akhil Gogoi, Sarasvathy Kavula, Ramakrishnan Raju, Bhupinder Singh Rawat, Anand mazgaonkar, Geo Jose, Rajendra Ravi,Mahendra Yadav, Suhas Kolhekar, Madhuresh Kumar
National Office : A Wing First Floor, Haji Habib Building, Naigaon Cross Road Dadar (E), Mumbai – 400 014. Phone - 09969363065; Delhi Office : 6/6 Jangpura B, New Delhi – 110 014 . Phone : 09818905316
E-mail: napmindia@napm-india.org | Web : www.napm-india.org
NAPM condemns attack on Swami Agnivesh by VHP in Bhopal
New Delhi, December 1 : Vishwa Hindu Parishad once again showed its casteist and communal colour by assaulting Swami Agnivesh yesterday in Bhopal, where he was attending a meeting of Balmiki Samaj.
This attack by VHP on Swami Agnivesh, a spiritual leader and rights activists is extremely condemnable and only shows the conitnuing intolerance and contempt for any differing opinion in a democratic country and the rise of communal and fascist forces under state protection.
VHP terms its objectives as to organise - consolidate the Hindu society and to serve - protect the Hindu Dharma but what it did yesterday once again shows its anti dharma actions and only adds to growing number of such actions against minorities, dalits, women and many others.
Swami Agnivesh met Dr. Sunilam in Bhopal Central jail and extended support to his fight for justice for 24 farmers and his families killed in Multai police firing in 1998. During meeting with MP Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, he also requested him not to oppose bail to Dr. Sunilam. Later he was attending a meeting of Balmiki Samaj along with CM and Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. He joined them in taking a pledgethat members of Balmiki Samaj will not carry human waste manually any more, which has been banned only in government laws. When he touched the feet of an old Balmiki lady to show his respect, VHP people attackedhim and tore his clothes.
We are anguished by this growing presence of VHP and other communal outfits in Madhya Pradesh under BJP regime, who have been involved in similar cases across the state. We urge Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to take stern action against the culprits and as a democratically elected CM abide by the Consitution and uphold the rule of law and uphold the values of justice and secularism.
Medha Patkar, Gabriele Dietrich, Prafulla Samantara, Sandeep Pandey, Arundhati Dhuru, Gautam bandopadhyay, Sister Celia, Maj Gen (Retd.) S G Vombatkere, Vimal Bhai, Suniti S R, Akhil Gogoi, Sarasvathy Kavula, Ramakrishnan Raju, Bhupinder Singh Rawat, Anand mazgaonkar, Geo Jose, Rajendra Ravi,Mahendra Yadav, Suhas Kolhekar, Madhuresh Kumar
February 13, 2012
India: Move by the right wing Hindutva Govt to rename Bhopal scuttled for now
[Since renaming is an obsession for Mr. Chauhan of BJP, Why doesnt the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister rename himself Bhojpal Singh? See the news report below about renaming of Bhopal.]
From: The Times of India
Centre rejects MP govt's proposal to rename capital as Bhojpal
PTI | Feb 13, 2012, 03.38PM IST
BHOPAL: The Centre has rejected Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to rename the state capital as Bhojpal, after the great warrior king Raja Bhoj of Parmar dynasty.
Officials said here on Monday that the Centre had on Sunday announced changes in names of 25 towns and cities across the country but rejected the move to change the name of Bhopal.
The two towns in Madhya Pradesh whose renaming have been accepted are Mhow in the Indore district and Gotegaon in the Narsinghpur district.
While Gotegaon would now be known as Sridham, Mhow would henceforth be known as Ambedkar Nagar.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had proposed to change the name of Bhopal to Bhojpal while unveiling a statue of Raja Bhoj in the Upptar Lake during a function in March last year, a move that was opposed by majority.
From: The Times of India
Centre rejects MP govt's proposal to rename capital as Bhojpal
PTI | Feb 13, 2012, 03.38PM IST
BHOPAL: The Centre has rejected Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to rename the state capital as Bhojpal, after the great warrior king Raja Bhoj of Parmar dynasty.
Officials said here on Monday that the Centre had on Sunday announced changes in names of 25 towns and cities across the country but rejected the move to change the name of Bhopal.
The two towns in Madhya Pradesh whose renaming have been accepted are Mhow in the Indore district and Gotegaon in the Narsinghpur district.
While Gotegaon would now be known as Sridham, Mhow would henceforth be known as Ambedkar Nagar.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had proposed to change the name of Bhopal to Bhojpal while unveiling a statue of Raja Bhoj in the Upptar Lake during a function in March last year, a move that was opposed by majority.
January 29, 2012
Madhya Pradesh: Non veg food dropped and dress code in university after pressure from Hindu Right student group
From: Times of India
MPBOU takes back decision
TNN Jan 19, 2012
BHOPAL: In yet another incident of moral policing by the activists of Akhil Bhartiya Vidharthi Parishad (ABVP) , the Bhopal based Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open University (MPBOU) has decided to drop the non-vegetarian menu from the list of the canteen.
The ABVP workers demonstrated in protest against the non vegetarian meals being included in the university canteen menu.
When contacted, vice-chancellor of MPBOU, Prof SK Singh said that the university has decided to take back the decision of including non-vegetarian meals in the menu of the canteen. "A tender regarding the catering was floated by the university. It was just a routine practice of floating the tender for catering service in which non-veg was also included. However, we have decided to drop it from the menu after a section opposed the step," Prof Singh said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the ABVP said that " non -vegetarian food is served no where in the campus. Such institutions are the temple of education and serving such food is against the ethics." In a release on Wednesday he said, "this act should condemned."
On Wednesday ,the ABVP threatened to continue its agitation and succumbing under the pressure, the VC dropped the non-veg dishes from the menu.
In Bhopal, a dress code was introduced in MLB girls college after a move initiated by the ABVP last year. Amidst resistance from students, the dress code was implemented from January 2 this year.
MPBOU takes back decision
TNN Jan 19, 2012
BHOPAL: In yet another incident of moral policing by the activists of Akhil Bhartiya Vidharthi Parishad (ABVP) , the Bhopal based Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open University (MPBOU) has decided to drop the non-vegetarian menu from the list of the canteen.
The ABVP workers demonstrated in protest against the non vegetarian meals being included in the university canteen menu.
When contacted, vice-chancellor of MPBOU, Prof SK Singh said that the university has decided to take back the decision of including non-vegetarian meals in the menu of the canteen. "A tender regarding the catering was floated by the university. It was just a routine practice of floating the tender for catering service in which non-veg was also included. However, we have decided to drop it from the menu after a section opposed the step," Prof Singh said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the ABVP said that " non -vegetarian food is served no where in the campus. Such institutions are the temple of education and serving such food is against the ethics." In a release on Wednesday he said, "this act should condemned."
On Wednesday ,the ABVP threatened to continue its agitation and succumbing under the pressure, the VC dropped the non-veg dishes from the menu.
In Bhopal, a dress code was introduced in MLB girls college after a move initiated by the ABVP last year. Amidst resistance from students, the dress code was implemented from January 2 this year.
July 28, 2009
Madhya Pradesh: VHP and Bajrang Dal raid on Bhopal church
The Telegraph
July 27 , 2009
VHP raid on Bhopal church
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Bhopal, July 26: Bajrang Dal and VHP activists today stormed a church during Sunday service, saying people were being forcibly converted, before being persuaded to leave by police who didn’t book them.
The raid on Assemblies of God Church in the heart of Bhopal ended a lull in attacks on Christians in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, which has seen over 100 such incidents during the party’s reign that began more than five years ago.
Bajrang Dal leaders claimed that missionaries at the church, in the Bittan Market area and only 100 metres from the Habibganj police station, were trying to “forcibly convert” two women.
But Kunti, one of the women at the centre of the allegation, denied the claim, saying she had only come for prayers. She said since most of her family members had converted to Christianity, she decided to start attending Sunday service.
Vinita, the other woman, also denied the allegation and accused the attackers, numbering around 20, of being ignorant of “customs”.
“They (Bajrang Dal-VHP) do not seem to know anything about customs and traditions. I usually come to the church for prayers on Sunday and will continue to do so. We have nothing to do with religious conversions,” Vinita said.
The Bajrang Dal, however, insisted a special ceremony had been organised for the conversion of the two, prompting an angry rebuttal from a senior church official.
Abraham George, the secretary of Assemblies of God Church, said: “They entered raising slogans that conversions were taking place in the church. It is clear they know nothing about Christianity and Sunday service. In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, we seem to have lost our right to religion.”
July 27 , 2009
VHP raid on Bhopal church
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Bhopal, July 26: Bajrang Dal and VHP activists today stormed a church during Sunday service, saying people were being forcibly converted, before being persuaded to leave by police who didn’t book them.
The raid on Assemblies of God Church in the heart of Bhopal ended a lull in attacks on Christians in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, which has seen over 100 such incidents during the party’s reign that began more than five years ago.
Bajrang Dal leaders claimed that missionaries at the church, in the Bittan Market area and only 100 metres from the Habibganj police station, were trying to “forcibly convert” two women.
But Kunti, one of the women at the centre of the allegation, denied the claim, saying she had only come for prayers. She said since most of her family members had converted to Christianity, she decided to start attending Sunday service.
Vinita, the other woman, also denied the allegation and accused the attackers, numbering around 20, of being ignorant of “customs”.
“They (Bajrang Dal-VHP) do not seem to know anything about customs and traditions. I usually come to the church for prayers on Sunday and will continue to do so. We have nothing to do with religious conversions,” Vinita said.
The Bajrang Dal, however, insisted a special ceremony had been organised for the conversion of the two, prompting an angry rebuttal from a senior church official.
Abraham George, the secretary of Assemblies of God Church, said: “They entered raising slogans that conversions were taking place in the church. It is clear they know nothing about Christianity and Sunday service. In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, we seem to have lost our right to religion.”
April 22, 2007
Hindu-Muslim marriages give saffronites in MP an excuse for 'righteous' upheaval
(Outlook
April 30, 2007 Issue)
BHOPAL
Civil Code, De Facto
by Saba Naqvi Bhaumik
Bhopal's Hour Of Marital Crisis
* The city came close to a riot last fortnight over a Muslim boy marrying a Sindhi-Hindu girl.
* The Bajrang Dal has formed a Hindu Kanya Suraksha Committee.
* The Sindhi panchayat wanted their girls to stop using mobiles or riding two-wheelers and to abandon the city's fashion of covering their heads and faces Islamic style.
* The state CID keeps tabs on all Hindu-Muslim marriages.
* According to one list distributed by the Bajrang Dal, 341 such marriages have taken place between 1997-2004.
* Families of Muslim boys who run away with Hindu girls are harassed by the police.
* The Muslim community has responded to the latest uproar with a dignified silence.
***
Are Hindu-Muslim marriages made in heaven too? Perhaps, but if you happen to be in Bhopal, capital city of Madhya Pradesh, that saccharine-sweet cliche is swiftly turned sour by a vicious form of saffron vigilantism. Hindutva's brigadiers unleash mayhem on the streets each time such a marriage takes place, the state cid keeps a list of such couples, and the parivar's propaganda machine spews uninterrupted venom about predatory Muslim men luring innocent Hindu maidens.
Over the last one month, the state home department has recorded six inter-religious marriages in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Indore and Bhopal. But while the Indore marriages provoked no stir, Bhopal came close to a riot on April 14 over the issue. Of the three Bhopal couples, one Neetu and Rehan quietly returned to their respective homes after they were tracked down. Since they claimed they had got married already, their families are now believed to be thrashing out the details. One couple is yet to be traced.
It is, however, the elopement of Priyanka Wadhwani, a girl from a wealthy Sindhi family, and Umar, also from a leading Muslim family in Bhopal, that triggered the biggest storm in the city. Incensed, the Sindhi community convened a panchayat. Much deliberation later, the elders concluded that it was mobile phones and two-wheelers that were leading their daughters astray and perhaps a curb was required on these. A "distinctly Islamic" influence was also discerned in the practice of Bhopal girls covering their heads while riding. "They say they do it to protect themselves from heat and dust," said Madhu Chandwani, general secretary of the Sindhi panchayat. "But it's clearly a fashion picked up from some Muslim girls. We Sindhis left Pakistan to protect our daughters, and here in India they are moving around with their heads covered."
The girls, however, did not take kindly to the panchayat's diktat and took out a procession. Sindhis in Indore too expressed reservations. Confronted with all the opposition, the panchayat backtracked and said these were just views and not a firman on the community.
As for Priyanka and Umar, they are in hiding in Mumbai and are said to have contacted activist Teesta Setalvad. Umar's family thinks it would be foolish for them to return as Umar could be attacked or even thrown into jail in bjp-ruled Madhya Pradesh. Never mind if the court has ordered that the couple be given protection.
Priyanka and Umar's troubles have been compounded by the fact that Priyanka's family has close links with the parivar. Outlook met her uncle Lajpat Rai Wadhwani in the company of known parivar activist Bhagwandas Sabnani, who is also said to be a close aide of Uma Bharati. Uncle Wadhwani was categorical that "Priyanka is dead for us". More vocal was Sabnani who was not only instrumental in organising the panchayat but was also behind the creation of the Hindu Kanya Suraksha Samiti, another parivar front organisation that will largely be run by the Bajrang Dal.
Love doesn't enter into the picture for Sabnani; it's all part of a larger conspiracy to convert Hindus to Islam. He outlines the diabolical design Muslim boys perpetrate: wear tilaks to disguise themselves as Hindus and hang around girls colleges; threaten and force the girl to run away with them and then abandon them since they can marry many times.
Bhopal girls cover their heads against the dust, but for Sindhis it’s Islamic
That both Umar and Rehan have converted to Hinduism is not enough to wash their sins. "It's meaningless," says Sabnani. "Done under pressure." With the families of both boys under attack in Bhopal, the Hindu conversion could indeed have been a tactical move. For Sabnani, there is no doubt: "In no time, they will reconvert." The most sensible thing for the couple to have done was to marry under the Special Marriages Act, but it's a long bureaucratic process that requires a month's notice during which anyone can object to the proposed marriage.
Incidentally, of Umar's eight brothers, the eldest too is married to a Hindu, Aparajita Sharma, daughter of a police DG and an IAS officer herself. Reports in the media said the second daughter-in-law too was a Hindu but she is in fact Muslim, and goes by the name of Zeba. The rest of the brothers are unmarried. When Umar disappeared with Priyanka, it was Zeba's husband and Umar's brother who was picked up by the police and questioned repeatedly for five days.
All their connections and wealth can't stop Umar's family from feeling nervous, enough for them to refuse being photographed or be directly quoted. They say people who tried to help them were asked to lay off by the highest authorities in the state. The police would land up at their house at odd hours and without warrants. Umar's conversion is hardly an issue for them. As a family member says, "He is a 22-year-old child. We are worried only about his security and health." Currently the family has round-the-clock police protection.
Hardly surprising, as many think that the state government would have allowed a riot had the regime in Delhi been friendly. But as Sajid Ali, a senior lawyer and Congressman, says, "We recently complained to the minority commission in Delhi how there have been 112 incidents of communal tension since the BJP came to power." Ultimately, the BJP dispensation decided to back off and told its Bajrang Dal/VHP cadres not to agitate further. Even the devout doubted the intentions of the agitators. The general secretary of the All India Sindhi Sadhu Samaj, Mahant Baba Ramdas Udaseen, told Outlook: "Social outrage is not surprising in such cases. But these days such issues are also highlighted for the political agenda of dividing communities."
And no one did it better than the parivar outfits in Bhopal. They made political capital out of the state's practice of tabulating such marriages, something it has no business doing. The Bajrang Dal went to town distributing an 'official' list of 341 Hindu-Muslim marriages in Bhopal between 1997 and 2004. Hardly an alarming figure but enough to reinforce parivar lore of venal Muslim characters pursuing innocent Hindu damsels. Some years ago, VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore had gone on record to tell this correspondent: "There is a physical reason Muslims can seduce Hindu girls. They give them more sharirik anand (physical pleasure) because they have a surgery, Hindus don't." In Kishore's view, circumcision is the Muslim's secret weapon. In the face of such seductive logic, can reason have a chance?
By Saba Naqvi Bhaumik and K.S. Shaini in Bhopal
April 30, 2007 Issue)
BHOPAL
Civil Code, De Facto
by Saba Naqvi Bhaumik
Bhopal's Hour Of Marital Crisis
* The city came close to a riot last fortnight over a Muslim boy marrying a Sindhi-Hindu girl.
* The Bajrang Dal has formed a Hindu Kanya Suraksha Committee.
* The Sindhi panchayat wanted their girls to stop using mobiles or riding two-wheelers and to abandon the city's fashion of covering their heads and faces Islamic style.
* The state CID keeps tabs on all Hindu-Muslim marriages.
* According to one list distributed by the Bajrang Dal, 341 such marriages have taken place between 1997-2004.
* Families of Muslim boys who run away with Hindu girls are harassed by the police.
* The Muslim community has responded to the latest uproar with a dignified silence.
***
Are Hindu-Muslim marriages made in heaven too? Perhaps, but if you happen to be in Bhopal, capital city of Madhya Pradesh, that saccharine-sweet cliche is swiftly turned sour by a vicious form of saffron vigilantism. Hindutva's brigadiers unleash mayhem on the streets each time such a marriage takes place, the state cid keeps a list of such couples, and the parivar's propaganda machine spews uninterrupted venom about predatory Muslim men luring innocent Hindu maidens.
Over the last one month, the state home department has recorded six inter-religious marriages in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Indore and Bhopal. But while the Indore marriages provoked no stir, Bhopal came close to a riot on April 14 over the issue. Of the three Bhopal couples, one Neetu and Rehan quietly returned to their respective homes after they were tracked down. Since they claimed they had got married already, their families are now believed to be thrashing out the details. One couple is yet to be traced.
It is, however, the elopement of Priyanka Wadhwani, a girl from a wealthy Sindhi family, and Umar, also from a leading Muslim family in Bhopal, that triggered the biggest storm in the city. Incensed, the Sindhi community convened a panchayat. Much deliberation later, the elders concluded that it was mobile phones and two-wheelers that were leading their daughters astray and perhaps a curb was required on these. A "distinctly Islamic" influence was also discerned in the practice of Bhopal girls covering their heads while riding. "They say they do it to protect themselves from heat and dust," said Madhu Chandwani, general secretary of the Sindhi panchayat. "But it's clearly a fashion picked up from some Muslim girls. We Sindhis left Pakistan to protect our daughters, and here in India they are moving around with their heads covered."
The girls, however, did not take kindly to the panchayat's diktat and took out a procession. Sindhis in Indore too expressed reservations. Confronted with all the opposition, the panchayat backtracked and said these were just views and not a firman on the community.
As for Priyanka and Umar, they are in hiding in Mumbai and are said to have contacted activist Teesta Setalvad. Umar's family thinks it would be foolish for them to return as Umar could be attacked or even thrown into jail in bjp-ruled Madhya Pradesh. Never mind if the court has ordered that the couple be given protection.
Priyanka and Umar's troubles have been compounded by the fact that Priyanka's family has close links with the parivar. Outlook met her uncle Lajpat Rai Wadhwani in the company of known parivar activist Bhagwandas Sabnani, who is also said to be a close aide of Uma Bharati. Uncle Wadhwani was categorical that "Priyanka is dead for us". More vocal was Sabnani who was not only instrumental in organising the panchayat but was also behind the creation of the Hindu Kanya Suraksha Samiti, another parivar front organisation that will largely be run by the Bajrang Dal.
Love doesn't enter into the picture for Sabnani; it's all part of a larger conspiracy to convert Hindus to Islam. He outlines the diabolical design Muslim boys perpetrate: wear tilaks to disguise themselves as Hindus and hang around girls colleges; threaten and force the girl to run away with them and then abandon them since they can marry many times.
Bhopal girls cover their heads against the dust, but for Sindhis it’s Islamic
That both Umar and Rehan have converted to Hinduism is not enough to wash their sins. "It's meaningless," says Sabnani. "Done under pressure." With the families of both boys under attack in Bhopal, the Hindu conversion could indeed have been a tactical move. For Sabnani, there is no doubt: "In no time, they will reconvert." The most sensible thing for the couple to have done was to marry under the Special Marriages Act, but it's a long bureaucratic process that requires a month's notice during which anyone can object to the proposed marriage.
Incidentally, of Umar's eight brothers, the eldest too is married to a Hindu, Aparajita Sharma, daughter of a police DG and an IAS officer herself. Reports in the media said the second daughter-in-law too was a Hindu but she is in fact Muslim, and goes by the name of Zeba. The rest of the brothers are unmarried. When Umar disappeared with Priyanka, it was Zeba's husband and Umar's brother who was picked up by the police and questioned repeatedly for five days.
All their connections and wealth can't stop Umar's family from feeling nervous, enough for them to refuse being photographed or be directly quoted. They say people who tried to help them were asked to lay off by the highest authorities in the state. The police would land up at their house at odd hours and without warrants. Umar's conversion is hardly an issue for them. As a family member says, "He is a 22-year-old child. We are worried only about his security and health." Currently the family has round-the-clock police protection.
Hardly surprising, as many think that the state government would have allowed a riot had the regime in Delhi been friendly. But as Sajid Ali, a senior lawyer and Congressman, says, "We recently complained to the minority commission in Delhi how there have been 112 incidents of communal tension since the BJP came to power." Ultimately, the BJP dispensation decided to back off and told its Bajrang Dal/VHP cadres not to agitate further. Even the devout doubted the intentions of the agitators. The general secretary of the All India Sindhi Sadhu Samaj, Mahant Baba Ramdas Udaseen, told Outlook: "Social outrage is not surprising in such cases. But these days such issues are also highlighted for the political agenda of dividing communities."
And no one did it better than the parivar outfits in Bhopal. They made political capital out of the state's practice of tabulating such marriages, something it has no business doing. The Bajrang Dal went to town distributing an 'official' list of 341 Hindu-Muslim marriages in Bhopal between 1997 and 2004. Hardly an alarming figure but enough to reinforce parivar lore of venal Muslim characters pursuing innocent Hindu damsels. Some years ago, VHP leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore had gone on record to tell this correspondent: "There is a physical reason Muslims can seduce Hindu girls. They give them more sharirik anand (physical pleasure) because they have a surgery, Hindus don't." In Kishore's view, circumcision is the Muslim's secret weapon. In the face of such seductive logic, can reason have a chance?
By Saba Naqvi Bhaumik and K.S. Shaini in Bhopal
April 18, 2007
Act of vigilantism: preventing inter-faith marriages
(Indian Express
April 18, 2007)
Act of vigilantism
When the law for inter-faith marriages is so reluctant, how can the government fight orthodoxy?
by Coomi Kapoor
The recent marriage of a Sindhi girl with a Muslim boy against the wishes of their families has created a storm in Bhopal. The Sindhi panchayat pronounced a fatwa which would do the Taliban proud. The nervous Muslims of Madhya Pradesh are treading on eggshells. The secretary of the Majlis-e-Shura emphasised that when the couple came to the Shura for the girl to convert they were turned away, and he advised the boy, who had converted to Hinduism, to remain loyal to his new faith.
Earlier this week Surat was brought to a standstill because of a bandh called to protest a Hindu trader’s daughter fleeing to Bombay with her Muslim lover. The Star News television channel which acted as saviour to the beleaguered couple — less, one suspects, due to altruism than an attempt to hike its viewership rating — attracted the ire of vigilantes. Lathi-wielding members of a group styling itself as the Hindu Rashtra Sena went on a rampage, ransacked the channel’s office, beat up employees and generally created mayhem.
In a conservative society like ours mixed marriages generally raise hackles and bring out society’s bestial side. Primeval passions are aroused when people are led to believe that one religion is asserting hegemony over another. Every now and then one reads about eloping couples who opt for conversion in order get married, leading to heightened communal tensions. The way it works in our country is that if a marriage has to be solemnised speedily and without red tape, both bride and groom have to be of the same religion. Conversion is an easy way out. At times, for convenience, both even convert to a third religion.
So why don’t couples from different religions apply to get married under the Special Marriage Act 1954, which was specifically drafted with people like them in mind? I am something of an expert on the way the legislation works, having gone through the cumbersome procedure twice for my two daughters, who chose partners from different faiths. Even in the national capital, the act is administered in a manner so that as many obstacles as possible are placed in the way. You either end up hiring a lawyer familiar with the working of the marriage office or muster enough determination, time and patience to go through the lengthy rigmarole.
Just a few months back a JNU professor swore to me proudly that his daughter would be married only under the act — although she and her fiancé were both Hindus, they did not believe in religious ritual. After a few trips to the marriage office in South Delhi, and his enthusiasm for a secular ceremony waned. The couple got married with the traditional Hindu rites.
At the marriage offices in Delhi it is usually the clerks who interpret the law since they have been at the desk much longer than the young IAS officers who are additional district magistrates and burdened with numerous other duties, from riot control to elections. The trick in getting your way is not to be intimidated by the clerk, but to out-shout and out-reason him, quoting the relevant law. When I presented the forms of my would-be son-in-law, duly filled out and attested by the New York consul general’s office, I was told they would have to be sent back and attested by a notary in New York. My daughter quoted the law — I still have no idea whether correctly or incorrectly — to say it was illegal for an Indian document to be attested in a foreign country. The clerk, who spoon-fed the officer, struck a compromise allowing the forms to be attested by the notary public on the pavement outside. For a fee, the notary made no fuss about attesting a document datelined New York when she had not even seen the face of the signatory. A retired senior diplomat’s wife was less fortunate. She was informed firmly that she would have to fly her daughter and her foreign fiancé to India a month prior to the wedding to complete the formalities. In addition, the fiancé had to procure an affidavit from his embassy to confirm that he had not been married previously.
When applying for permission to get married under the act, you have to work against a deadline, so that the considerable paper work is completed in at least a month, and not more than three months, before the scheduled date of the wedding. Be prepared to be scrutinised and sneered at by sceptical clerks and marriage officers who believe that there has to be something dubious about your intentions or you would not be in their office in the first place. A colleague recalls how minutes before her wedding the marriage officer called her aside, bolted the door and told her she was making a terrible mistake. He laboured under the delusion that his role was that of a marriage counselor, not a marriage officer. When I presented my daughter’s fiancé’s documents with the column for religion left blank, the marriage officer took great offence and snapped that he had never heard of anyone doing such a thing in all his years.
One of the most retrograde provisions of the act is the column enquiring about religious affiliation. Since the entire form — with addresses, photographs and religious affiliation of the couple — is pinned on the notice board for a month, couples from different religions become easy prey for fundamentalist outfits who demonstrate outside their homes shouting slogans. The need for publicising the details a month in advance is so that anyone can voice objection to the marriage. In contrast, for a religious ceremony no notice whatsoever is required. And no elementary verification is considered necessary of the pundits, maulvis and granthis who officiate. The provision (19) in the Special Marriage Act, which states that those who marry under it, whether Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain, will effectively be severed from their families, implies that they are to be penalised for marrying outside their religion.
Bigotry and religious prejudice can be eradicated from society only when the government leads the way. But when the guardians of the law themselves have ambivalent feelings on the subject, is it any wonder that eloping couples almost invariably keep their distance from the marriage office and the Special Marriage Act?
April 18, 2007)
Act of vigilantism
When the law for inter-faith marriages is so reluctant, how can the government fight orthodoxy?
by Coomi Kapoor
The recent marriage of a Sindhi girl with a Muslim boy against the wishes of their families has created a storm in Bhopal. The Sindhi panchayat pronounced a fatwa which would do the Taliban proud. The nervous Muslims of Madhya Pradesh are treading on eggshells. The secretary of the Majlis-e-Shura emphasised that when the couple came to the Shura for the girl to convert they were turned away, and he advised the boy, who had converted to Hinduism, to remain loyal to his new faith.
Earlier this week Surat was brought to a standstill because of a bandh called to protest a Hindu trader’s daughter fleeing to Bombay with her Muslim lover. The Star News television channel which acted as saviour to the beleaguered couple — less, one suspects, due to altruism than an attempt to hike its viewership rating — attracted the ire of vigilantes. Lathi-wielding members of a group styling itself as the Hindu Rashtra Sena went on a rampage, ransacked the channel’s office, beat up employees and generally created mayhem.
In a conservative society like ours mixed marriages generally raise hackles and bring out society’s bestial side. Primeval passions are aroused when people are led to believe that one religion is asserting hegemony over another. Every now and then one reads about eloping couples who opt for conversion in order get married, leading to heightened communal tensions. The way it works in our country is that if a marriage has to be solemnised speedily and without red tape, both bride and groom have to be of the same religion. Conversion is an easy way out. At times, for convenience, both even convert to a third religion.
So why don’t couples from different religions apply to get married under the Special Marriage Act 1954, which was specifically drafted with people like them in mind? I am something of an expert on the way the legislation works, having gone through the cumbersome procedure twice for my two daughters, who chose partners from different faiths. Even in the national capital, the act is administered in a manner so that as many obstacles as possible are placed in the way. You either end up hiring a lawyer familiar with the working of the marriage office or muster enough determination, time and patience to go through the lengthy rigmarole.
Just a few months back a JNU professor swore to me proudly that his daughter would be married only under the act — although she and her fiancé were both Hindus, they did not believe in religious ritual. After a few trips to the marriage office in South Delhi, and his enthusiasm for a secular ceremony waned. The couple got married with the traditional Hindu rites.
At the marriage offices in Delhi it is usually the clerks who interpret the law since they have been at the desk much longer than the young IAS officers who are additional district magistrates and burdened with numerous other duties, from riot control to elections. The trick in getting your way is not to be intimidated by the clerk, but to out-shout and out-reason him, quoting the relevant law. When I presented the forms of my would-be son-in-law, duly filled out and attested by the New York consul general’s office, I was told they would have to be sent back and attested by a notary in New York. My daughter quoted the law — I still have no idea whether correctly or incorrectly — to say it was illegal for an Indian document to be attested in a foreign country. The clerk, who spoon-fed the officer, struck a compromise allowing the forms to be attested by the notary public on the pavement outside. For a fee, the notary made no fuss about attesting a document datelined New York when she had not even seen the face of the signatory. A retired senior diplomat’s wife was less fortunate. She was informed firmly that she would have to fly her daughter and her foreign fiancé to India a month prior to the wedding to complete the formalities. In addition, the fiancé had to procure an affidavit from his embassy to confirm that he had not been married previously.
When applying for permission to get married under the act, you have to work against a deadline, so that the considerable paper work is completed in at least a month, and not more than three months, before the scheduled date of the wedding. Be prepared to be scrutinised and sneered at by sceptical clerks and marriage officers who believe that there has to be something dubious about your intentions or you would not be in their office in the first place. A colleague recalls how minutes before her wedding the marriage officer called her aside, bolted the door and told her she was making a terrible mistake. He laboured under the delusion that his role was that of a marriage counselor, not a marriage officer. When I presented my daughter’s fiancé’s documents with the column for religion left blank, the marriage officer took great offence and snapped that he had never heard of anyone doing such a thing in all his years.
One of the most retrograde provisions of the act is the column enquiring about religious affiliation. Since the entire form — with addresses, photographs and religious affiliation of the couple — is pinned on the notice board for a month, couples from different religions become easy prey for fundamentalist outfits who demonstrate outside their homes shouting slogans. The need for publicising the details a month in advance is so that anyone can voice objection to the marriage. In contrast, for a religious ceremony no notice whatsoever is required. And no elementary verification is considered necessary of the pundits, maulvis and granthis who officiate. The provision (19) in the Special Marriage Act, which states that those who marry under it, whether Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain, will effectively be severed from their families, implies that they are to be penalised for marrying outside their religion.
Bigotry and religious prejudice can be eradicated from society only when the government leads the way. But when the guardians of the law themselves have ambivalent feelings on the subject, is it any wonder that eloping couples almost invariably keep their distance from the marriage office and the Special Marriage Act?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
