Bajrangbali faces identity crisis: Is Hanuman a new political tool?

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December 24, 2018

Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, sparked off a controversy claiming that Lord Hanuman, the Hindu deity was a Dalit, starting a tail of controversial comments tagging religious and communal identities to the deity, followed by varying opinion of sorts, such as while to some, he appeared as a Muslim, to some he was a Jat, and to some, a sportsperson. Thus, the question arises as to whether Lord Hanuman has been turned into a political tool to gain votes with parties trying to use Bajrangbali’s massive popularity in their advantage.

While campaigning for the Rajasthan polls in Malakheda of Alwar district on November 27, Yogi Adityanath commented that Lord Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit who tried to connect all the communities from the North to South and the East to West urging all the fellow listeners belonging to the caste to vote for Yogi’s party. Following Yogi’s path, former Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Savitribai Phule also agreed that the Lord was a Dalit and a slave of the Manuwadi people. She asserted that Hanuman was a human but further questioned, when Hanuman gave his all for Lord Ram, why was he given a tail with face blackened and made into a monkey?

In the midst of all this, Union Minister Satyapal Chaudhary asserted that Hanuman was an “Arya”.

Bukkal Nawab, a member of the Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh, BJP member, commented that the deity was a Muslim according to his beliefs. He stated this belief on the basis that names in the Muslim community — Rehman, Ramzan, Farman, Zeeshan, Qurban, rhymes with Lord Hanuman’s. However, Congress MP Husain Dalwai in a conversation with AV regarding the issue, commented, “Islam started around 600 years ago, thus, it’s literally impossible to tag Lord Hanuman as a Muslim. Dragging religious figures into politics is not at all a right thing to do. Tagging them like this is a sign of divisive mentality.”

Hari Om Pandey, MP from UP’s Ambedkar Nagar constituency claimed that according to his own research, Hanuman was a Brahmin, the ruler of the ‘Vanars’ – Sugriva, happened to be a Kurmi, while his elder brother Bali was tagged a Yadava, Jatayu being a Muslim and Nal and Neel, who helped to construct the bridge to Lanka, the Ram Sethu, were from the Vishwakarma community.

The broth was further brewed as Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, UP Minister of Religious Affairs, Dairy Development, Culture , Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj commented that the Lord was ‘Jat’, his arguments being Hanuman in the epic showed traits of a ‘Jat’ — jumping in to help in someone’s troubles without knowledge of the issue or the people.

In turn, the Shiv Sena, in their daily Saamana, refuted the debate to be pointless, sarcastically commenting that the BJP is trying to write a “new Ramayana” in Uttar Pradesh and that the Ramayana characters should keep their caste certificates ready. Keeping in line, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande told AV, “All these discussion happening over caste and creed in our country is foolish. It has become so easy to talk anything about Hindu Gods and Goddesses that people are taking liberties. Lord Hanuman will be remembered as a symbol of gallantry and one should not forget that he has destroyed Ravana’s Lanka. So, according to me, people should remember and discuss and praise his gallantry rather than discussing his caste and creed.”

The controversy didn’t seem to slow down or die a natural death. Recent developments include ex-cricketer and UP Minister of Youth and Sport, Chetan Chauhan, who labelled the God as a “sportsperson” who used to wrestle his enemies and that caste and creed should not be attached to him. Others include BJP MP Kirti Azad who joked that Lord Hanuman was Chinese while another MP Udit Raj said that the deity was a tribal.

With the Lok Sabha polls nearing, this public debate is gaining grounds with more and more comments pouring in, increasing chances of politicising religious heroes among whom, Lord Hanuman, is indeed a name to reckon with in the country. With caste and religion playing a major role in the politics of this country, such debates might be of the polarising sorts, such that may overturn powers. In fact, this debate did not go well with many groups such as the Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha, Rajasthan who sent a notice to Yogi Adityanath accusing him to drag Lord Hanuman’s name for political gain in the elections he was campaigning for. Namdeo Das Tyagi, also popularly known as Computer Baba, also demanded an apology from the Uttar Pradesh CM and his Cabinet Ministers for their remarks. Evidently, this topic is not going down well with all sects of the society, and has high potential to hurt religious sentiments.

With the controversy still brewing, People’s Republican Party President Jogendra Kawade commented, “Now that the 2019 election is knocking on the door, Lord Hanuman will be tagged with a lot of contradicting identities. This is outright harmful for the society. There might be debates on whether Lord Hanuman existed or not, but debates on his religious or communal identity does not make sense.”

When AV tried to contact the BJP leaders, a few leaders refused to comment on this topic, while Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir stated being unaware of this issue. However, BJP MP Amar Sable said, “Lord Hanuman is God. I have respect for him. Nothing else than that!”

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Lord Hanuman knows no politics

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Vaidehi Taman

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December 24, 2018

These days, Lord Hanuman is getting new castes and religions by the politicians of India. One of the BJP MP Hari Om Pandey claims that the Lord Hanuman was a Brahmin and Jatayu was a Muslim. BJP’s Religious Affair Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary dubbed Lord Hanuman as a Jat, saying that like Jats, the deity never tolerated injustice to anybody, anywhere. Another BJP leader dubbed Lord Hanuman as a Muslim on the ground that his name rhymed with Islamic names like Rahman, Arman, Qurban etc. All the politicians of the ruling party are hell-bent on, sticking caste and creed labels on Lord Hanuman but that would displease the voters. There should be stringent action against those making such unsavoury remarks about God. The politicians must not drag God’s name to reap political dividends. So far, BJP was playing politics on Lord Rama and they won with the majority on several occasions, but now the BJP leaders have gone one step ahead by labelling Hanuman with different caste and community for their own publicity. Incidentally, a Jain priest Acharya Nirbhay Sagar Maharaj, who heads a Jain temple in Samasgarh, nearly 25 km from Bhopal, claimed that according to Jain scriptures, Lord Hanuman was a Jain. He was one of the 169 great persons identified in Jainism.

Maybe, Lord Rama was the erstwhile political agenda of the ruling party, and now they are trying to hijack Hanuman, his ardent devotee and one of the central characters in the various versions of the epic Ramayana. Several later texts also present him as an incarnation of Shiva. Hanuman is the son of Anjana and Kesari and is also the son of the wind-God Vayu, who according to several stories played a role in his birth. His theological origins in Hinduism are unclear. Alternate theories include him having ancient roots, being a non-Aryan deity who was Sanskritised by the Vedic Aryans, or that he is a fusion deity who emerged in literary works from folk Yaksha protector deities and theological symbolism. In the modern era, his iconography and temples have been increasingly common. He is viewed as the ideal combination of “strength, heroic initiative and assertive excellence” and “loving, emotional devotion to his personal God Rama”, as Shakti and Bhakti. But these days he is a central character of Indian politics too. Till now he was purely worshipped as GOD having no caste, but yes, the religion as Hindu. In the recent time BJP leaders are trying to change his religion for political advantage.

One of the BJP leaders Yogi Adityanath who is the CM of UP said that Hanuman is Sudra. Maybe his logic was of those days (even until 1,000 years ago), only Shudras addressed themselves as ‘das’ of so and so. Vaishya would refer to themselves as either ‘Shresti’ or ‘Gupta’ (occupational). Kshatriyas would refer to themselves as ‘Raja’ or ‘Verma’. Hanuman constantly referred to himself as das of Shri Rama in Valmiki Ramayana. When Shri Rama approaches him with his hands on one occasion, he also backs away sort of refusing to be touched by Shri Rama as Rama was of a higher caste than him (in those days Sudras hesitated in such cases due to Varna respects). There are other examples in Valmiki Ramayana. His achievements defined him and they are the reason why all four castes held him to a godly status since then, not his caste. Poor pandits/purohits, all of whom they worship are born in other caste households, Kshatriya (Shri Rama) or Sudra (Hanuman, Matangi, Shri Krishna, Balaji) or Dalit i.e. not fit into any caste (Shiva). Heck, even the three main scriptures/Puranas they hold most sacred and read and preach to masses, Mahabharata, Bhagavatam and Ramayana, are written by (ST) Vyasa and an (OBC) Valmiki in today’s caste hierarchy. But let’s blame pandits/purohits for “writing the history of winners only in our Puranas” and other such nonsensical fabrications about “evil brahmins” and their imagined “casteism”, because it feels good to blame someone else when we are lazy and don’t bother to know the truth. He is a servant of Lord Shri Ram. In all the worlds he is most powerful. In all the Times he is known. If you surrender to him then he can lead you to the supreme truth. If you are connected to him then you are connected to all the supreme powers and you are free from all the dangers of this world, which may obstruct your path in moving towards the SUPREME.

Caste is nothing but the classification for human according to their way of living and their occupation. A person who is aware of the supreme knowledge, who has Brahma Gyan is Brahamin. Hanuman is not a “normal person”, he is the attainee of all eight Siddhis, means merging with the supreme. He needs no religion or caste. This is absolutely wrong and simply despicable. Lord Hanuman is worshipped by a large section of the society cutting across religious lines. Those leaders making such frivolous remarks must be punished. How can we categorise God as belonging to one or the other religion, when the five elements of nature – fire, water, earth, space and air have none? Just like the people of all caste and creed inhale air, his followers from various religions too worship Lord Hanuman.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Sena chief targets BJP over Rafale deal, recent assembly poll results

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday targeted senior ally BJP by raking up the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and said the party’s perception of being a “world winner” had been shattered with the results of the just-held state assembly polls.

Thackeray, who had visited Ayodhya last month to push for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in the holy town, said he may soon visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi.

The Sena leader, whose party is a constituent of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and state, was addressing a public rally in Solapur district here.

Thackeray, who has consistently attacked the Modi government on a range of issues, said he has already taken the decision on whether to form an alliance with the BJP for the upcoming General Elections.

The Sena chief in January had announced his party would contest all future Lok Sabha and assembly elections on its own.

In the last six months, the BJP leadership has been consistently stressing on an alliance with the Sena for the upcoming polls.

The Amit Shah-led party has regularly insisted that the Maharashtra-based outfit is its natural ally and they will resolve their differences amicably.

However, at the Pandharpur rally, Thackeray appeared to be in no mood to spare the lead NDA constituent.

“The BJP’s perception of a ‘world winner’ has been shattered by the results of the assembly elections in the five states.

“The outcome of Mizoram and Telangana assembly elections has given a clear message that voters have rejected national parties and chosen strong regional options,” he said.

In the just-held polls, the BJP was ousted from power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by the Congress, while regional parties did well in Mizoram and Telangana.

“The Chhattisgarh assembly election has also given a strong message against the BJP. People were fed up with the BJP government and hence they rejected it,” said Thackeray.

He also took on the Modi government over issues like allegations of irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal and implementation of crop insurance scheme for farmers.

“There have been several allegations over the Rafale fighter jet deal and I do not know how the Supreme Court has given a clean cheat. But I know the Modi government has refused pay hike for jawans,” the Sena chief said.

Commenting on the finalisation of seat-sharing in Bihar between the JD(U), the LJP and the BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he asked chiefs of the two regional parties to clarify their stand on Ram mandir and Hindutva.

“Nitish Kumar (the JD-U chief) and (LJP president) Ram Vilas Paswan should declare their views on Ram mandir and Hindutva,” the Sena leader said.

By

Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Surud Eak Kalangan, an NGO from Badlapur organised discussion on Provisions of RTI Act 2005, to spread awareness of the Act and it’s different provisions. RTI Activist Anil Galgali and Prof. Subhash Athavale explained the depth, provisions and how information can be sought through RTI Act. Prof. Nitin Arekar put forward the questions which made activists to give clear insight of the Act.

Anil Galgali gave good examples about how this can be effective and how fraud can be detected and curbed. He also explained the responsibility of the citizens and how they can solve the problems. The stress was on consistency in following up the issue.

Information on delay in discharge of duty Act 2006, citizen charter and many such issues were discussed which were still unknown to citizens. Athavale stressed on necessity to understand the policy and resolution which was issue by the Government to solve the problems. “If citizens are alert then no babu can dare to cheat the society at large,” said Anil Galgali.

Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima violence a deep-rooted conspiracy: Bombay HC

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

The Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima violence, in which several rights activists are being investigated by the Pune Police, was a “deep-rooted” conspiracy which had “extremely serious repercussions”, the Bombay High Court has said.

The observation was made by a Division Bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and S V Kotwal while dismissing a petition filed by Anand Teltumbde, one of the activists accused in the case, seeking to quash an FIR against him.

Teltumbde had claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the case.

In his plea, the activist denied all the charges against him even as the police opposed the same and claimed that they have ample evidence implicating him.

The Bench had dismissed the activist’s plea on December 21, the order for which became available Monday.

The Bench observed that there was incriminating material against Teltumbde.

“The offence is serious. The conspiracy is deep-rooted and has extremely serious repercussions. Considering the nature and magnitude of the conspiracy, the investigating agency is required to be given sufficient opportunity to unearth the evidence against the accused,” the bench said.

Expressing its satisfaction with the probe agency, the Bench said that Pune Police had sufficient material against Teltumbde and that allegations against him were not “baseless”.

The HC further noted that initially the probe by the police was limited to the violence that had erupted on January 1 this year, a day after the Elgar Parishad event was held at historic Shaniwarwada in Pune.

“However, now the scope of the investigation is not restricted to the Koregaon-Bhima incident, but the activities leading to the incident and subsequent activities as well are the subject matter of the investigation,” the Bench said.

Therefore, Teltumbde’s connection with the banned organisation, Communist Party of India (Maoist), will have to be probed into, it said.

“In the present case, the allegations and material against the petitioner (Teltumbde) travel beyond mere allegations of him being a member of the banned organisation. His participation and active role is spelt out in the material collected by the police,” the judges said.

While opposing Teltumbde’s plea, Additional Public Prosecutor Aruna Kamat-Pai had submitted to the HC five letters allegedly written by the accused to each other in which Teltumbde’s name was mentioned as an active participant.

Teltumbde’s counsel Mihir Desai claimed that the letters cannot be relied upon to prove his complicity, as they name a person ‘Anand’ or ‘Com. Anand’ and hence it cannot be conclusively said that the person referred to in the letters is, in fact, the petitioner.

However, the Bench said it was satisfied that the police has the material to establish the identity of Teltumbde as ‘Anand’ or ‘Com. Anand’, as referred to in the documents and letters submitted, which also form part of the charge sheet.

Pune Police had last month filed a charge sheet in a local court against ten activists and absconding Maoist leaders in the Elgar Parishad case.

It named ten accused including activists Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut and Sudhir Dhavale, who were arrested in June.

Other five accused named in the charge sheet are Maoist leaders Dipak alias Milind Teltumbade, Kishan Da alias Prashant Bose and Prakash alias Rituparn Goswami.

The police had alleged that inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made by several activists during the Elgar Parishad conclave had contributed to the violence that broke out around Koregaon Bhima village the next day, January 1.

January 1, 2018, marked the bicentennial celebration of the 1818 battle of Koregaon Bhima.

Several activists were named in the FIR lodged on January 8.

Eight more activists, including Teltumbde, were named in another FIR filed in October.

Some of the activists– Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, P Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha– have already been arrested by the police.

According to police, the Elgar Parishad event was funded and supported by Maoists.

Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan makes Rs 50 cr contribution to CM fund

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust on Monday made a contribution of Rs 50 crore towards the Chief Minister’s relief fund.

The amount has been earmarked to provide timely assistance to the needy.

The Trust chairman Suresh Haware handed over the cheque of Rs 50 crore to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an official release said.

Fadnavis took to twitter to thank the Trust for its contribution.

Meanwhile, the Trust has decided to keep the Saibaba temple open the entire night on December 31 anticipating huge rush of devotees to the temple on New Year day.

Mumbai court reserves order on Alok Nath’s anticipatory bail plea

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Mumbai’s Dindoshi Sessions Court on Monday reserved the order on the anticipatory bail application filed by actor Alok Nath in the Vinta Nanda rape case for December 26.

The actor had filed the bail application in the Mumbai court on 14 December.

On November 21, a rape case was registered against Nath by the Mumbai Police, based on a complaint filed by the writer-producer, who accused him of raping her 19 years ago. The FIR was booked under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Amidst the #MeToo movement, Nanda had narrated her horrifying ordeal in a Facebook post in October. She was the writer and producer of teleserial ‘Tara’ in the 90s, in which Nath played a lead role.

In the wake of these allegations, the 62-year-old ‘Vivah’ actor was recently expelled from the Cine and TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA).

Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Congress-NCP pact on 40/48 seats sharing

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Congress party and National Congress Party (NCP) have reached a consensus on sharing 40 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.

Speaking to an agency, NCP president Sharad Pawar, stated on Monday, “In Maharashtra, NCP and Congress will together contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections along with Peasants and Workers Party of India. Till now, we have decided the seat-sharing on 40 seats, still, eight are left. If any consensus is not reached on remaining eight seats then the final decision will be taken by the two party chiefs in New Delhi.”

During 2014 general elections, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress had fielded political contenders for 27 constituencies in Maharashtra, while the Pawar-led NCP had contested on 21 seats. Earlier, the seat sharing was fixed at 26:22, but later the NCP decided not to contest from the Hatkanangale constituency as it did not have any contender. This seat was later contested by the Congress.

CM Fadnavis seeks Chinese investment during meeting with China Foreign Min

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday sought Chinese investment in infrastructure and tourism development to strengthen cultural exchanges and boost tourism between India and China. Fadnavis was speaking at a meeting held here with a Chinese delegation led by visiting Foreign Minister of that country, Wang Yi.

The Chief Minister discussed tourism, cultural partnership and industries with the Chinese team, a statement from Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said. Inviting Chinese companies to invest in the tourism infrastructure, Fadnavis said the trade and industry will get a boost due to tourism.

France submits techno-commercial offer for Jaitapur nuclear power project

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Web Team

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December 24, 2018

French company EDF has submitted a techno-commercial proposal to the government for the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP), in a significant step towards the progress of the project, sources said.

A techno-commercial offer is an important step in the negotiations process as it helps the two parties determine the cost of the project and tariff of the electricity generated from it.

The offer comes less than a week after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian agreed to expedite work on the project.

“Both countries are working to start the Jaitapur nuclear energy project as soon as possible. We are glad that NPCIL and EDF have made progress based on the Industrial Way Forward Agreement. Today, we have adopted the Status of Progress for Implementation of Industrial Way Forward Agreement,” Swaraj announced after holding talks with visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on December 15.

Sources said the proposal has been submitted to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), an atomic power plants operating public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy.

The government will now study the techno-commercial offer, sources added. This includes the cost of the project, loan to be given by France and overall tariff of the electricity.

The Indo-French deal was signed in September 2008. Negotiations first began with French company Areva, but last year, French utility company EDF took over its nuclear reactor business after the former faced financial issues.

There have been several factors that were hindering the power plant, which includes the “reference plant”.

Since Areva, and now EDF was bringing in new technology, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the country nuclear watchdog, asked for a reference plant.

A reference plant is a functional power reactor and the Areva had then cited a power reactor at Flamanville.

The JNPP, proposed to be the largest nuclear park in the country to be built in coastal Maharashtra, will have six reactors with a capacity of 1650 MW each.