Remarks by Congress and NCP (SP) leaders in Maharashtra suggesting the term 'Sanatani terrorist' have sparked a controversy, drawing strong criticism from the BJP, which accuses them of 'Hindu hatred' and 'appeasement politics'.
'In today's India very few would, of course, stand Basavanna's test. This led Professor Kalburgi to not only take on casteist and conservative forces in general, but also some powerful conservatives among Lingayats.' 'Conservatives found him polarising and some researchers disagreed with his speculations while admiring his scholarship, but he posited that culture studies and historians have to perforce join the dots, speculate, interpret, interpolate, extrapolate and take leaps to make progress even if some of them later turn out to be wrong.' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Professor M M Kalburgi, the scholar who was assassinated in Dharwad on Sunday, August 30.
The Bombay High Court has discontinued its monitoring of the investigation into the 2015 murder of communist leader and rationalist writer Govind Pansare, directing the sessions court to expedite the ongoing trial. The decision comes after a report by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) indicated that the investigation has been thoroughly conducted, with only the arrest of two absconding accused remaining. The court has ordered daily hearings for the trial, which has already begun and has seen 28 prosecution witnesses examined as of December 16, 2024.
Additional sessions judge A A Jadhav of the special court for cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is likely to pronounce the judgement on Friday, said special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi.
Dabholkar (67), an anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead while on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge here on August 20, 2013.
Judge S S Tambe on Monday framed charges against Sameer Gaikwad, Virendra Sinh Tawde, Amol Kale, Vasudev Suryawanshi, Bharat Kurane, Amit Degvekar, Sharad Kalaskar, Sachin Andure, Amit Baddi and Ganesh Miskin.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation whether there was any "common thread" in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar M M Kalburgi.
'Religion has divided our country like it never had done.' 'I can't remember a time of such focused hatred.'
Shah also said that such murders have taken place in Pakistan too, mentioning the violent deaths of politician Salman Taseer and rights activist Sabeen Mehmood.
The Mumbai police arrested a man from Bengaluru for allegedly threatening Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray, an official said on Thursday.
'One after the other, they have committed four murders (Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh)...' 'They feel they will not have to face the consequences of their actions as it is a favourable time for them.'
The official said the organisation, composed of people drawn from Hindu right groups, had around 60 members spread across at least five states but had no name.
The two -- Amit Raghavendra Baddi and Ganesh Miski -- both residents of Hubballi, were arrested on Sunday, special investigating officer M N Anucheth said.
Rushikesh Devdikar alias Murali, 44, who was absconding was arrested on Thursday from his hideout at Katras in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, the SIT said in a statement. According to the probe team, Devdikar was part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. He is accused number 18 in the case.
Ria Vithasha, 17, known by her pen name Muddu Thirthahalli, returned her Karnataka Sahitya Akademi award.
In a letter to Secretary of Sahitya Akademi on Wednesday, Bhardwaj, also attached a cheque of Rs 50,000 which he got with the award in 2004.
An unidentified body with two bullet injuries has been found at a village in Belagavi district and police were verifying if it resembled the sketch of one of the two killers of writer M M Kalburgi, who was gunned down at Dharwad in August.
The Delhi HC asked the Centre to produce record related to writers who returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.
Facing heat over a long list of writers who have returned Sahitya Akademi awards or resigned from their posts in the literary body, Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday denied that it was being soft on the issue of "intolerance" and said the ideological inclinations of the writers should be looked into.
'If timely action was taken by the CBI, the other three murders could have been prevented.'
'Why she was killed? Because she believed in a certain ideology, she wrote and spoke on that'
Kalburgi's wife, in her plea, said that the investigation in Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases was in a "sorry state" and no progress has been made in bringing the killers to book.
The noted writer, who was awarded D.Lit (Doctor of Letters, honoris causa) by the Central University of Hyderabad few years ago, said the institution has "acted against human dignity and knowledge."
The issue of intolerance is set to reverberate in Lok Sabha on Monday with the Speaker accepting notices of CPI(M) member P Karunakaran and Congress MP K C Venugopal for a discussion on the matter.
The unidentified body found with two bullet injuries at a village in Belagavi district was not of one of the two killers of writer M M Kalburgi, but a criminal who was killed by his two brothers and his friend, a senior police official said here on Sunday.
Another senior officer of Karnataka CID conducted some preliminary enquiries regarding the possible links the hardline outfit with murder of Kalburgi.
It also said Guha had made similar statements in an article.
'...when the time came and not face them with a gun in hand.' 'Gauri was a bold journalist in her life and death.'
Rama Sene chief detained in Mangaluru on Thursday in connection with the murder of progressive Kannada scholar and researcher Prof M M Kalburgi.
CBI lawyer B P Raju sought further custodial interrogation of the accused, saying he was not cooperating with the investigating agency.
The bullets in both cases 'have been fired through a single country made pistol chambered for 7.65 mm caliber pistol cartridges', a source said quoting the report.
Voicing displeasure over the Dadri lynching incident and a string of killings of rationalists, he also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continued silence on these.
"Are you pursuing it? How can an agency like CBI which falls under the Centre cannot procure the report?" the Bombay HC asked.
Gulzar said communal harmony is being harmed to such a level that people are not allowed to even talk with freedom.
The sketches have reportedly been drawn based on the inputs from CCTV footage and description by eyewitnesses.
Four teams have been formed by police as part of its probe into the murder of noted Kannada progressive thinker and scholar M M Kalburgi, who was shot dead at his residence at Dharwad in north Karnataka on Sunday.
Noted Kannada scholar and researcher, M M Kalburgi, who often courted controversies with his outspoken stand on various issues including idol worship, was shot dead at point-blank range by two unidentified men at his residence in Dharwad, Karnataka on Sunday.
'They killed one Gauri, but now there will be lakhs of people who will continue to do Gauri's work.'
Voicing concern over incidents of intolerance, including the killing of Kannada thinker M M Kalburgi, a group of scientists has petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee, urging him to initiate "suitable actions".
Eminent author Vikram Seth on Friday came out in support of the Sahitya Akademi statement denouncing the recent killing of writers, saying it has condemned the "atmosphere of fear" sought to be created by such acts and acted as an "independent body".
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