News Analysis India

Tag: VHP

  • ‘Just one isolated incident…’, says Tripura minister as Jamiat claims vandalism of 12 mosques

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: At least a dozen mosques were targeted in Tripura during the bout of violence which started about a week ago, the Tripura State Jamiat Ulama (Hind) alleged on Thursday.

    Even as there seems to be an atmosphere of fear with everyone, including a retired judge who heads a rights organisation, refusing to comment on the incidents, the Tripura State Jamiat Ulama said while one mosque was set on fire, 11-12 others were vandalised and damaged.

    “A portion of the Ichacherra mosque was damaged following arson. Elsewhere, the mosques were vandalised or their signboards etc damaged,” Mufti Tayebur Rahman, who is the president of Tripura State Jamiat Ulama, told The New Indian Express.

    Stating that some of the attacks were carried out at night, he said the Hindus helped repair one or two mosques. The last of the incidents occurred in Panisagar on Tuesday during a procession taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

    The state’s Minority Affairs Minister Ratanlal Nath played down the violence, claiming that there was just one incident and it was “not an attack”.

    “It was an isolated incident which occurred at a particular place. Section 144 of the CrPC has been already clamped (in Panisagar and Dharmanagar sub-divisions of the North Tripura district). Other steps were also taken immediately,” Nath told this newspaper on Thursday.

    He said political and administrative steps were taken side by side. He also said that a team had visited the violence-hit area to thwart the escalation of the problem.

    “It was not like the incidents taking place in Bangladesh and not an attack. Only one person had hit (a mosque) during a procession. A shop was put on fire but it was doused soon after by the firefighters,” the minister said.

    ALSO READ | Section 144 clamped in Tripura’s Panisagar and Dharmatala sub-divisions after violence

    He was referring to the incident in Panisagar. Violence was also reported from Dharmanagar.

    The BJP’s Panisagar MLA, Binay Bhushan Das said three shops were torched and three to four houses damaged. He said a mosque was also “partially vandalised”. “The attack was carried out during a VHP procession by elements participating in it or by others. Since the Opposition parties have been for long looking for opportunities to tarnish the BJP’s image, I don’t rule out their involvement,” the MLA said.

    He said Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had insisted on the maintenance of peace and communal harmony and directed him to talk to the administration and ensure that the culprits were punished early.

    The Tripura Police said, “Old videos are being circulated on social media regarding the Panisagar Masjid” and fake IDs created on the social media to spread rumours.

    The police said the situation was normal and meetings were being organised among communities for the maintenance of harmony.

    “The situation is perfectly normal. We have deployed sufficient manpower. A peace meeting was held yesterday (Wednesday) at Dharmanagar and another at Panisagar today (Thursday),” a senior police officer said.

    The CPI-M and the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of supporting the right-wing organisations to gain political mileage in the civic polls next month and the Assembly elections in 2023, a charge which the BJP trashed.

    The Congress staged a sit-in demonstration on Thursday in protest against the “attacks on the houses of the Muslims and arson at the mosque by BJP goons”.

    State Congress president Birajit Sinha alleged the right-wing organisations were attacking mosques and torching the houses and shops of Muslims during processions.

    “We are a secular country but the BJP doesn’t understand secularism. It tries to secure votes by fanning communal passions but the people of Tripura are now politically conscious. They are fed up with the BJP for looting the state and failing on its commitments,” Sinha said.

  • Section 144 clamped in Tripura’s Panisagar and Dharmatala sub-divisions after violence

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The authorities in BJP-ruled Tripura clamped Section 144 of the CrPC in two sub-divisions after a procession, taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday against the series of attacks on the religious institutions of minority communities in neighbouring Bangladesh, turned violent.

    Official sources said that the measures were taken as there was a strong apprehension of breach of peace and public tranquility. The violence was reported from Panisagar and Dharmatala sub-divisions in North Tripura district. The protestors allegedly pelted stones at a mosque and torched some houses and shops.

    1/4Some vested interests are trying to disturb the peaceful communal situation of Tripura. Tripura Police requests every citizen of Tripura to help it in maintaining law and order and peace in Tripura.#Tripura
    — Tripura Police (@Tripura_Police) October 27, 2021
    In a series of tweets, the Tripura police said some elements were spreading rumours. “Certain persons by using fake social media IDs are spreading fake news/rumours on Tripura. It is informed that law & order situation in the State is absolutely normal,” the police tweeted.

    “We request people of all communities not to support & subscribe to such fake IDs and do not spread such fake pictures. We have already registered cases and Legal action will be taken against all those spreading fake news and communally sensitive rumours,” another tweet reads.

    Two cases were registered in connection with the violence. One was registered suo motu by the administration while the other was registered based on an FIR filed by some minority organisations, demanding action against the perpetrators of the crime.

    The Left parties and the Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of supporting the right wing organisations to gain political mileage in the civic elections to be held next month and the Assembly elections in 2023. The BJP rubbished the charge. The party said action would be taken against all those involved in the violence.

    For the past few days, the VHP has been staging protests in parts of the state against the incidents in Bangladesh. 

  • ‘Non-Hindus not allowed’: Men from minority communities denied entry into Garba venues in MP 

    Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Right-wing Hindutva outfits are up in arms against the entry of non-Hindus at Garba pandals during the ongoing Navratra in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

    While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has put up posters at Garba-Durga Puja pandals banning entry of non-Hindus in communally-sensitive Ratlam district, at least four youths from a minority community were taken into preventive custody by police after the Bajrang Dal activists raised hue and cry over their presence at a Garba pandal in Indore.

    In Indore’s Gandhi Nagar area, the Bajrang Dal men, led by Tannu Sharma, created ruckus on Sunday night at a Garba venue in Oxford College located in the Gandhi Nagar area.

    “While the administration had granted permission of Garba at the venue for maximum of 800 visitors, the numbers present there were multiple times higher than the permissible limit. Also, non-Hindu youths were present inside the Garba venue. We caught hold of them and handed them over to the Gandhi Nagar police. We won’t allow Garba venues to become ideal breeding grounds of love jihad,” local Bajrang Dal leader Tannu Sharma said.

    The Additional SP (ASP-Indore West) Prashant Chaube confirmed to The New Indian Express that four youngsters (aged between 20-25 years) were taken into preventive custody under Section 151 CrPc and sent to jail, before being released the next day.

    ALSO READ | Modi @20 invokes political Hindutva tandav on secularism

    “The sub-divisional magistrate of the concerned area had given permission for Garba at the venue for one day (Sunday) till 9 pm for maximum of 800 visitors. But the numbers present at the venue were found to be around 5,000-7000, owing to which the local SDM Parag Jain cancelled the permission at 8.30 pm on Sunday. A case has been registered against the Garba organiser Akshay Tiwari under Section 188 IPC,” the ASP said on Tuesday.

    Importantly, owing to the possibility of the third Covid wave, the state government has allowed Garba Utsavas only in residential townships/colonies/localities, while permission from the administration is necessary for commercial Garba festivities.

    In Ratlam district, meanwhile, the VHP put up posters outside Garba pandals (venues) banning entry of non-Hindus. The posters read: ‘Gair Hindu ka Garba prangan mein Pravesh varjit hai’ (entry of non-Hindus is banned at Garba venues).

    Justifying the move, the VHP’s local Dharma Prachar Vibhag secretary Chandan Sharma said, “The incidents of love jihad happen like this. Many non-Hindu men come under disguised identities, make friendships with Hindu girls, then begin love jihad. If the non-Hindu men really want to watch the Garba, why don’t they come with their sisters and mothers, instead of coming alone,” Sharma questioned.

    While confirming about posters being put up outside Garba pandals, the Ratlam SP Gaurav Tiwari said, “We came to know about it from the local media sources. None of the Garba pandal owners/organisers have any objection to the posters. No one has complained against the putting up of posters.”

    Opposition to the presence of non-Hindu men at Garba pandals by saffron outfits isn’t new. In September 2014, the then ruling BJP MLA from Indore-III constituency Usha Thakur (presently state’s tourism and culture minister) had cautioned Garba organisers not to allow non-Hindus into the venues. She had then demanded visitors be allowed entry at Garba venues only on the basis of their valid identity proofs.

  • Ram temple foundation in Ayodhya to be completed this month, consecration by December 2023: VHP

    By Express News Service

    PUDUCHERRY: The foundation of the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya will be completed by the end of October this year and it is expected that ‘Bhagwan Sri Ram Lalla’ will be consecrated in the ‘garbhagriha’ (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple by December 2023 when devotees can take darshan, said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) National General Secretary Milind Parande.

    A huge foundation of 400 feet by 300 feet by 50 feet has been created underground and the actual construction of the temple has started, he said at a press conference on Wednesday. Thousands of people are already coming to visit the temple premises, despite the COVID-19 situation, he added.

    The VHP leader demanded that the government relinquish its control over temples and hand them over to  Hindu society. Stating that churches or mosques are not controlled by the government, he charged the government of adopting discriminatory attitudes towards temples. “Only when certain issues like disputes arise, the government should interfere, otherwise Hindu society should control temples,” he said.

    Alleging that temple donations are being misused in many states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, he said that the funds are diverted by the government for non-religious work. Often the funds are used by the government for ‘secular purposes’ or government work. The donation has not been given for such purposes by devotees and hence the funds should be used for ‘seva of deities or dharma prachar’, he said. Till a Hindu societal body is formed, temple funds should not be touched by the government, he said, adding that the government should use their own funds for developmental activities.

    The VHP leader urged the Puducherry government to bring in an anti-conversion law to prevent forced conversion of Hindus to other religions. The law should also include provisions to outlaw conversions through marriages in the name of love jihad, he said. Minor girls were abducted and forced to convert in the name of marriage. At present there is the Special Marriage Act to deal with mixed marriages, but stringent provisions are required to establish that the marriage and conversion is not a forced one, he said.

    The Supreme Court has given clear directions, based on which the anti-conversion law should be framed, said Parande. Already, some states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have passed such anti-conversion laws in their respective states and Puducherry should also come up with such a law. He said that he will approach the administration in this regard. The VHP has been demanding a central anti-conversion law for the entire country, he said.

  • VHP presses for ‘national book’ status to Gita, mandatory inclusion in school curriculum

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: A move is afoot under the banner of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to persuade the government to accord the status of national book to the Bhagavad Gita and make it mandatory in the school curriculum.

    The national secretary of the VHP Radha Krishna Manodi on Thursday said that a delegation of 15 MPs will soon call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to submit a memorandum in support of according the status of national book to the Gita and making necessary changes in the school syllabus. Stating that lessons of the Gita are religion neutral, Manodi said that the utility of its teachings is well known and documented.

    “Vishwa Gita Sansthan seeks to draw attention of the government on the usefulness of the Gita in providing intellectual prowess to society. We have sought time from the President and Prime Minister for wider discussions on our key points in gaining recognition for the Gita,” he said.

    The VHP leader, who is also the founder of the World Gita Foundation, argued that the lack of a sense of duty among teachers despite being paid adequate remuneration is a cause of concern. “The decay in moral values and a similar trend in education are insults for the organised intellectual heritage of India. The Gita should be made mandatory for teachers’ training to sensitise them about their duties to the students,” said Manodi.

    He also stated that each teacher must study chapters of the Gita and impart their lessons to students. The VHP leader also suggested that Gita weekly recitations be organised in each government department to help foster moral values among bureaucrats.

  • Senior VHP leader Triloki Nath Pandey passes away

    By PTI

    AYODHYA: Triloki Nath Pandey, the decree-holder of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra and senior VHP leader, died at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in Lucknow on Friday due to a prolonged illness, his son said.

    He was 75.

    Triloki Nath’s younger son Amit Pandey, a Delhi-based software engineer, said his father breathed his last around 8 pm at the hospital in Lucknow.

    He was admitted there a fortnight back, he said.

    His mortal remains will be brought to Ayodhya and his last rites will be performed at his ancestral village in Baliya district, Pandey said.

    On Triloki Nath’s death, the secretary of the Ayodhya Mosque Trust (Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation), Athar Husain, said, “There was warmth of the culture of Ganga-Jamuna Tahzeeb in him which was the basic essence of Awadhi culture.”

    “I know that he used to regularly visits some Muslims in Ayodhya on Eid festival to greet them,” Husain said.

    Triloki Nath was affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his student days, from where he was sent to the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

    On 1 July, 1989, Devki Nandan Agrawal first lodged the Ayodhya dispute case, on behalf of Ram Lalla Virajman (the deity), in the Faizabad court.

    After his death on April 8, 2002, Thakur Prasad Varma , a former professor of the Banaras Hindu University, took up the legal battle.

    In 2008, Verma applied for retirement from the status of “fast friend”, citing old age and ill health.

    Then Triloki Nath took over as the “fast friend” of the diety in 2010.

    The top court in 2019 decided the case in favour of the Ram temple.

  • Ram temple foundation to be ready by October, ‘garbhagriha’ by December 2023: VHP

    VHP leader Parande said the construction of the temple will take a little time but the #39;garbhagriha #39; (sanctum sanctorum) will be in place by December 2023.

  • VHP demands central laws to free temples & mutts from government control, curb religious conversions

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday appealed to the Union government to bring in a law to free temples and religious institutions of Hindus from government control in states, and also pressed for the enactment of a “strong” central law to stop illegal religious conversion in the country.

    The saffron outfit passed two separate resolutions in this connection as a two-day meeting of its board of trustees and governing council concluded in Faridabad.

    In view of a possible third wave of coronavirus pandemic hitting the country, the meeting also resolved to roll out a nationwide mass awareness campaign and organise Covid management training programs for volunteers.

    “The two-day meeting concluded today with resolutions for protection against corona pandemic, prevention of illegal religious conversions and freedom of Mutt-Mandirs from government control,” the VHP said in a statement.

    Addressing the media, the working president of the outfit Alok Kumar said several temples and religious institutions of Hindus are under the control of the government in various states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttarakhand.

    “The government can take care of law and order as well as security, but the management of the temples should be left in the hands of the Hindu society.

    Why should the government decide who would be the pujari of a temple, how should a puja be organised in the temple,” he questioned Hence, a resolution was passed at the meeting for freeing Hindu temples and religious institutions from government control, he said.

    “The VHP appeals to the central government to make a central law to handover Hindu temples and religious institutions to the Hindu society so that saints and devotees could refurbish and do up their religious and administrative systems and their traditions oriented towards ensuring the spirituo-socio-cultural dynamism of Mrityunjayi Bharat,” read the resolution.

    In another resolution passed at the meeting, the VHP appealed to the central government to soon enact “a strong law against religious conversions so that Bharat can be free from this anti-national, anti-Hindu and anti-humanitarian agenda.”

    “The central board of trustees and governing council of the VHP is confident that the Government of Bharat shall definitely complete this long pending work too,” read the resolution, which also called upon the Hindu society to remain “ever watchful about the conversion conspiracies and put a stop to it through all constitutional measures.” 

  • Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje steps down, Rabindra Narain Singh becomes VHP president 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Rabindra Narain Singh, an orthopaedic surgeon and a Padma Shri awardee, was elected as the president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday.

    Singh, who hails from Bihar, was serving as the vice president of the saffron outfit so far.

    He had received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, in 2010 for his contributions to the field of medical science.

    “Our board of trustees today unanimously elected Padma Shri Ravindra Narain Singh as our president,” VHP’s joint general secretary Surendra Jain said at a press conference.

    Singh replaced Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje, who had been serving as the VHP president since his election to the top post in April 2018.

    “Kokje ji is now 82 years old. He wanted to be relieved of his responsibilities as the VHP president. The election has been conducted as per his wishes and our constitution,” Jain said.

    Singh is a renowned orthopaedic surgeon.

    He is known for his contributions in social, religious, medical and various other fields, Jain said.

    “Election of such a person to the post of VHP president is a matter of pride for all of us,” Jain said.

    The newly appointed president of the VHP was present during the press conference and shared the dais with Jain and other VHP leaders.

    Elections were also held for the post of the general secretary and Milind Parande, the outfit’s current general secretary, was unanimously re-elected, Jain said.

    The polls for the president and general secretary of the VHP were held amid a two-day meeting of the outfit’s governing council and board of trustees in Faridabad on Saturday morning.

  • VHP asks Yogi government to remove one-child norm from its draft population control bill

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/PATNA: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday faulted the “Uttar Pradesh population (control, stabilization and welfare) Bill, 2021” on the grounds that the proposal to promote the one-child norm will lead to imbalance among various communities. It stated that this has been a failed project even in China, where it was adopted three decades ago. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also lent a cautionary note to the proposed legislative proposal, saying that more than law, educating women can better achieve the aim.

    While the VHP welcomed the legislative proposal for its overall objective, its international general secretary Alok Kumar said that the fertility rate target of 1.7 per cent and encouraging one child through incentives should be reconsidered. In suggestions sent to state law commission of Uttar Pradesh, the VHP has argued that the proposal to incentivize government functionaries for having one child needs a relook. 

    “The population stability objective is achieved with a fertility rate above two per cent. Even with infant mortality, a fertility rate of 2.1 per cent can give the desired result of the population stability. The state should rather stick with a two-child policy,” said Kumar in his suggestions to the state law commission, arguing that there could be social and economic repercussions in the event of women on an average bearing less than two children.

    The VHP also claimed that the one-child policy can lead to imbalances among communities within the state by citing the example of Kerala and Assam, where Muslim fertility rates are 2.33 and 3.16, respectively, against less than 2.1 per cent of the Hindus. Meanwhile, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, while quoting the state’s model of population control through women education, said that only awareness can help lower the fertility rate, leading to population control in a natural way.

    “What the other states want to do, they should do it but we believe that population cannot be controlled by law alone. Unless women are educated, it is not possible to control the population,” he said.The chief minister stressed that women’s education has helped significantly in checking fertility rate in Bihar. Drawing a parallel with China, he said: “A policy of one child was adopted by China, but we all know the prevailing situation and the consequent course correction in the state policy.” 

    Nitish cited an example of how education can help bring down fertility rate. “Surveys that have been conducted so far have shown that if the woman is educated, then the fertility rate also decreases. Fertility rate has been found to be low in matriculate and inter-educated women in Bihar,” he stressed.In Bihar, he said, adequate attention is paid to education of girls and the results are encouraging. “Of late, fertility rate in Bihar has come down to three per cent from about four per cent. Our understanding is, fertility rate will start declining after 2040, leading to better and more effective population control.” 

    Notice for discussionBJP Lok Sabha MP Ravi Kishan has given a notice of private member Bill on population control notice. Another BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena wants the Rajya Sabha to consider a private member Bill on uniform civil code. In 2019, BJP’s Rakesh Sinha gave a notice of a private member Bill on population. Overall, the two Houses of Parliament have seen 35 private member Bills on the issue, so far.