The appointment of Yogi Adityanath as UP CM, the revival of the Ram Temple movement, the elevation of a ban on cow slaughter as a national priority, and the targeting of any social behaviour deemed contrary to a set of narrowly prescribed Indian values point to a social regression that contradicts the inclusive and forward-looking impulse that underlies Modi's vision of a modern India.
The best thing we can pray for is that the courts give a quick judgment in favour of Fundamental Rights so that the government can worry about other things than what it will not let young women wear, hopes Aakar Patel.
Cheap milk prices, rising fodder cost and the difficulties in buying new cattle and selling old ones on account of cow vigilantism have cast a triple shadow on this sunshine sector in Indian agriculture, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis faces the challenge of ensuring that Dalits and Muslims -- who are likely to be most affected by the beef ban -- do not drift away towards the opposition.
Sadhvi also said "there is no such thing as saffron terrorism," adding that "saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma."
Hindu community was facing a "conspiracy" and it should strengthen itself and "set an example", Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria said in Agra at a condolence meeting for a dalit VHP leader, who was shot dead on Thursday.
As CM, he took decisions that confirmed his image as a Hindutva mascot. Early in the first term, he banned illegal slaughterhouses and the state police cracked down on cow slaughter. But the menace of stray cattle created disquiet among farmers, presenting the Adityanath government with a new challenge.
'The BJP had won elections when the Akhlaq issue and award wapsi happened and the party will win this time too,' he said.
According to reports, Amit Shah has warned all of them and told them not to make controversial statements.
Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party government, Hindu religious leaders have said that they will construct the Ram temple at the "Lord's birthplace" in Ayodhya without any political assistance if the Supreme Court gives order in their favour.
'In normal procedure, policemen wear helmets to protect ourselves from lathi, sticks, poles, bamboos of a rampaging mob - but how do we protect ourselves from bullets?'
"This wasn't an attack over meat. He has been killed in the name of religion. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident," said Owaisi.
Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and Kerala are up in arms against various measures initiated by the Administrator of the group of islands, terming them as 'anti-people' and have sought his recall.
'According to CMIE data, employment in manufacturing saw a reduction from 51 million in the country in 2016 to 27 million in 2021. 'That is, it has halved in just 5 years. 'At the same time, the national lockdown resulted in reverse migration to rural areas, and an increase in the number of workers in agriculture. 'It also means joblessness has increased in agriculture because there are too many workers; the number of workers went up from 200 million to 232 million.'
'The previous (Congress) government at least did not veto provisions of the cattle laws.' 'The BJP is actively weakening the provisions.' 'The BJP government tried to export goats from Nagpur for slaughter to the Middle East.' 'The whole country was aghast and offended. We are a country of Ahimsa.' 'The BJP has incentivised the butcher industry so meat export has gone up, live animal export has gone up, leather export is on the rise, smuggling has gone up.'
Pehlu Khan, the man who died after gau rakshaks beat him and four others for allegedly smuggling cows, was a dairy farmer and had the receipts of the cow purchase.
Communalising law and order situations is fraught with danger; we need to tread cautiously. Interjecting a communal angle into what is purely a law and order issue does nobody good; it muddies the picture, fuels unrequited passion and distracts us from the core issue, says Vivek Gumaste.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the state on the plea filed by the Akhil Bharat Krishi Goseva Sangh.
Although much loved amongst the right wing in India, few Indians know of and about Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Respected by Mahatma Gandhi, Malaviya was a long standing member of the Congress party, and was one of the founding members of the far-right party the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. So here's a rundown of top ten things you didn't know about Madan Mohan Malaviya.
Given Narendra Modi's trust in him, Praful Khoda Patel is unlikely to back down in Lakshadweep.
Of the 27 named, at least four are workers and functionaries of right-wing organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, officials said.
'The real danger in India right now is that identity politics is being stoked in extremely dangerous ways.' 'The narrative you get about churches in the mainstream Indian media and the narrative you get in the social media is very different.' 'Many Americans today want to appropriate Indian culture. They want yoga, but they say yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism. They want Ayurveda, but they say it's got nothing to do with Hinduism.' 'Hinduism has been failed by political constituencies in India -- seculars and the right-wing.'
'If majority of the country's population is sentimental about a certain species, why are we so ashamed to say that we want to give it statutory protection?'
'One minute and 45 seconds of that clip are on Modi praising gauraksha.' 'In the last 30 seconds he speaks about violence, but says only that killing is unacceptable.' 'We don't need the prime minister to tell us that.' 'We need him to tell us why the killing is happening and what he will do to stop it,' says Aakar Patel.
Amid the pandemonium and chaos, which many senior members termed as a "black mark" and "unprecedented" in the House's century old history, it was adjourned sine-die within minutes after it met for the day.
Feroz Bharucha on what the Bombay high court judgment, which decriminalised the possession of beef even while upholding the ban on slaughter, means.
'One can understand this prejudice in the minds of policemen against Muslims, without accepting it. But what tilts the balance disproportionately is the police's blind eye to offences committed in the name of the majority.' says Jyoti Punwani.
Indian politics, held captive in one way or the other by Ayodhya, may now well seek its emancipation from this issue, and the pursuit of welfare, asserts Congress leader Salman Khurshid in this excerpt from his latest book, Sunrise over Ayodhya.
2015 is finally coming to an end, and it is that time of the year when we collectively reflect on all that has transpired in Indian politics during the last 12 months.
The session, which will continue till August 11, is likely to discuss issues like lynching incidents and vigilantism, the Kashmir situation and the border stand-off with China.
Urging the people not to make a "religious and prestige issue" out of the ban on slaughter of cows, bullocks and bulls in Maharashtra, the Bombay high court on Monday refused to grant relief to beef dealers in the city.
'The idea behind the new rules is that slaughter markets must buy directly from the farms as is the case in the bloody world.' 'The cattle markets have become centres for the organised beef mafia.'
'We have Hindu values, Hindu customs, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of looking at all religions as acceptable.' 'These are all great assets of India.'
Maharashtra's beef ban has led to heated arguments on social media, but when a protest against the ban was held in Mumbai, only a few thousands turned up. Perhaps it is easier to outrage online than join an actual protest, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Muslims eat beef, some Hindus and poor people also eat, so why should we stop them from eating?'
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has warned the people against the "communal designs" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party and urged them not to lose their cool in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
'We want Muslims to go about their work and business unhindered.' 'They should not get victimised and that will only come through the process of reconciliation.'
The Bombay high court has posted for final hearing on Wednesday a bunch of petitions challenging the beef ban legislation in Maharashtra.
'Nowhere in the country, except perhaps Jammu and Kashmir, do extremist groups enjoy political patronage as they do in Kerala. Terrorists are exported from Kerala to Afghanistan, Syria.'
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