‘No Communal Discord in Kashi, But Truth Must Come Out’

Dinesh Dubey, a mahant in Varanasi, says pushing the truth in the Gyanvapi mosque case under the carpet may have adverse impact in the long run

I have been serving Ma Ganga since childhood on the Ghats of Varanasi and also the devotees who come to pray at the temples of this sacred Hindu city. Kashi residents are spiritual and charitable. And you cannot find even the slightest discrimination or ill-will among Hindus and Muslims here.

As far as the Gyanvapi mosque issue is there, even a young child here knows that it is a 350 year old structure built after razing down parts of the Vishweshwar temple devoted to Lord Shiva. But this has not spoiled the togetherness of its people. It was only recently that a survey by archaeologists was conducted in the mosque and we hear that some Hindu relics and a Shivling have been discovered there.

The matter is subjudice, so it is not upon me to tell you what to do. But the common sense says that if an object of value is found somewhere, it must be returned to its rightful owner. Therefore, if Hindu relics are found in a mosque, these should be given to Hindus. Where is the role of Court-Kachehari in this?

Many Hindu holy structures were brought down in our chequered history. Now, if there is archaeological evidence that a structure belongs to Hindus, there is no harm in reclaiming it. This happened in Ayodhya, although at the intervention of Supreme Court.

ALSO READ: Varanasi An Icon Of Harmony, Don’t Destroy Over A Shivling

Hindus and Muslims of Varanasi are tolerant and peace-loving people. However, of late a misconception is being spread that something unpleasant is going to happen in Varanasi. The media also has a major role in spoiling the harmony. Special episodes are being run on TV channels that have created an atmosphere of fear.

If you try to hide the truth, it will naturally give grist to the rumour mill. That is why I feel allow the truth about religious relics found in the mosque be brought into public domain. Brushing the truth under the carpet will only create distrust among the Kashi residents.

About 600 meters of the Gyanvapi mosque site, which has other temples also, has been cordoned off. This barricading has affected the footfalls of visitors in Varanasi. Devotees from south India usually throng Kashi in summer months every year. However, the numbers have gone down visibly. People are asking among each other anxiously when things will be ‘normal’.

We, locals, do not want any kind of dispute. We have been living in harmony for centuries and pray to Lord Siva. Let truth prevail and let everyone live a peaceful life and witness the development of Bharatvarsha!

As told to Rajat Rai

Gyanvapi mosque ASI

Supreme Court To Hear Gyanvapi Mosque Case On Friday

Supreme Court on Thursday asked the trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case till Friday. The apex court further said that it will hear the case on Friday at 3 pm.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, the advocate appearing for the Hindu side, told the apex court that senior advocate Hari Shankar Jain is not well and requested it to hear the case tomorrow.

In a conversation with reporters today, Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “Advocate Hari Shankar Jain is unwell and will recover by tomorrow. The Trial Court will move forward after the hearing of the Supreme Court.”

“Two proceedings can’t go on simultaneously. I had given an undertaking that since Hari Shankar Jain is unwell and will recover by tomorrow, the matter may be adjourned till tomorrow. Let Supreme Court decide and we will proceed accordingly,” the advocate said.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Muslim side told the Court that there are multiple litigations across the country, there is urgency and it should be heard today itself. Proceedings before the trial court pending for today.

Following this, the Supreme Court asked the trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi mosque case till Friday, May 20.

On May 17, the top court had directed the district magistrate of Varanasi to ensure the protection of an area inside the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex where a ‘Shivling’ is said to have been found during a survey and allowed Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ and perform “religious observances”. (ANI)

World Boxing Championships: Nikhat Clinches Gold

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen made her way into record books by clinching a gold medal at the 12th edition of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships with a dominating 5-0 victory.

Living up to the expectations, Nikhat thrashed Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas on Thursday without breaking a sweat in the 52kg final with judges scoring the bout 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28 in the Indian’s favour.

The Nizamabad (Telangana)-born boxer became the only fifth Indian woman to secure a gold medal at the World Boxing Championships after record six-time champion Mary Kom (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2018), Sarita Devi (2006), Jenny RL (2006) and Lekha KC (2006).

It was also India’s first gold medal since boxing great Mary Kom won it in 2018.

Nikhat got off to a lively start and hit some sharp punches to quickly take the upper hand in the opening three minutes against confident Jutamas, who came into the match defeating the three-time World Championships medallist Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova.

The 25-year-old Indian took full advantage of her long reach and maintained her dominance against the Thai boxer, whom she had beaten in the 2019 Thailand Open semi-final–the only meeting between the two, enroute her silver medal finish.

Jutamas tried to fight back in the second round with a counter-attacking display but hardly managed to cause any trouble for the swift-moving Nikhat, who looked in complete control.

Hitting straight, clear and powerful punches proved to be a boon as Nikhat threw caution to the wind in the final round and kept attacking relentlessly before securing the gold quite comfortably.

With Manisha (57kg) and Parveen (63kg) signing off with bronze medals after their semi-finals finish, Indian contingent concluded its campaign with three medals at the world’s biggest boxing event in Istanbul. The tournament witnessed exciting competition in presence of record 310 boxers from 73 countries and also marked the 20th anniversary of the Women’s World Championships.

Out of 12 participating Indian boxers, eight made it to the quarter-finals in this year’s tournament–the joint highest alongside Turkey.

With the addition of three medals in Istanbul, India’s overall medal tally in World Women’s Boxing Championships has gone up to 39, including 10 gold, eight silver and 21 bronze in the 12 editions of the prestigious event. This is third highest behind Russia (60) and China (50). (ANI)

SC Grants Azam Khan Bail, Wife Says Victory Of Truth

After Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan was granted bail in the case of cheating relating to Kotwali police station on Thursday, his wife Tanzeem Fatima welcomed the court’s verdict and called it ‘the victory of truth’, adding that the apex court has delivered justice.

While talking to ANI, Fatima said, “This is the victory of truth. Court has done justice. I want to thank everyone who stood by us in these trying times. “

Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in another case of cheating, relating to the Kotwali police station in Uttar Pradesh.

A bench of justices L Nageswara Rao, BR Gavai, AS Bopanna granted interim bail to Khan, and also granted him the liberty to apply for regular bail before the concerned court within a period of two weeks.

The Supreme Court also assured that the interim bail will be continued until the regular bail is decided by the competent court.

Earlier on Tuesday, the apex court had reserved the order on Khan’s interim bail plea in the aforesaid case, as opposed by the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Uttar Pradesh state.

Khan is currently been lodged in judicial custody in another matter pertaining to Kotwali in Rampur.

The Supreme Court had earlier expressed displeasure with the prolonged delay in the announcement of judgment by Allahabad HC on his (Khan’s) bail plea and called it a ‘travesty of justice’.

Last week, the Allahabad HC had granted Khan interim bail in the case related to wrongful possession of land.

The present application filed by Lzafeer Ahmad stated that Khan was arrested in another FIR which appears to be nothing more than a means to subvert justice and to prevent the petitioner from coming out of his prolonged and politically engineered incarceration.

“The State has, in order to satisfy political vendetta, adopted all means available, to purposefully delay and deny the right to personal liberty to a senior opposition leader and a legislator who is an incumbent and ten term Member of the Legislative Assembly, two-time member of the Parliament, and an erstwhile Cabinet Minister of the State of UP across multiple terms,” the application said.

The petition sought to quash the proceedings and grant interim bail to the petitioner during the pendency of this petition.

According to the application, the case dated 18 March 2020, registered at Rampur’s Kotwali Police Station under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was a false and frivolous FIR wherein some alleged deficiency in the affiliation process of one of the schools being run by a trust is given a criminal colour.

“The said FIR was registered after the petitioner, his wife and son were already taken into custody, for a completely false and frivolous case where the petitioner was not named. The said FIR neither mentioned the date and time of offence nor disclosed the offence, alleged to have been committed (by Azam Khan),” the petition said.

Khan has been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 last year as many cases are registered against him. (ANI)

Indonesia To Lift Ban On Palm Oil Exports From Monday

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday announced the lifting of the country’s three-week-long ban on Palm oil exports from coming Monday following protests by farmers in the capital Jakarta on Tuesday.

The decision was announced by President Joko Widodo, who cited an improvement in the domestic cooking oil supply situation as the reason for lifting the restrictions, Bangkok Post reported.
The decision to lift the ban was taken despite the price of bulk cooking oil not reaching the targeted IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) 14,000 per liter price, as the government considers the welfare of 17 million workers in the palm oil industry, the report said citing a video statement by President Widodo.

Palm Oil farmers in Indonesia staged a significant protest in the country’s capital on Tuesday due to a fall in the domestic edible oil prices following the export ban.

Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association (Apkasindo) chairman Gulat Manurung said on Wednesday that, if the ban was not reviewed within the near future, the organization had plans to bring 1 million palm kernels to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, where the kernels would be processed into red palm cooking oil then sold, as a form of protest, Jakarta Post reported.

On April 28 last month, the Indonesian President suspended exports of cooking oil, and the raw materials used to make it, “until further notice,” in a bid to secure local supplies, CNN reported.

The Southeast Asian country is the world’s biggest palm oil producer, and the announcement sent prices of the commodity soaring. This also came at a time when food prices across the world were already on the rise due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting hiccups in the supply of wheat. (ANI)

Sri Lanka PM Assures Parliament Of Sufficient Fuel Stocks Till Mid-June

Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday assured the country’s lawmakers that the island nation has been able to secure sufficient stocks of diesel and petrol which will last till mid-June.

Wickremesinghe made the remarks during the ongoing first session of the Sri Lankan parliament since a change of guard that took place last week following the resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The new Sri Lankan PM stressed that the stocks of fuel will reduce the long queues at the fuel stations, however, stressing that “the queues for fuel will not completely disperse”.

Wickremesinghe also explained to the house, the delay in the shipment of natural gas by the country’s premier gas supplier Litro.

He has called for an immediate explanation from the Chairman while also requesting the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises to summon Litro Gas officials for an explanation, an official statement said.

The prime minister separately added that the reported orders to shoot violent protestors on sight had not been officially conveyed to the security forces during the unrest. He explained that all security forces have been instructed to follow standard procedures.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests which culminated in the resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa last week. (ANI)

Pak Delegation Pays Respects At Hazrat Nizamuddin: Delhi

A religious delegation from Pakistan accompanied by the country’s charge d’affaires in New Delhi Aftab Hasan Khan visited and paid their respects at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in New Delhi on Thursday.

A 110 member religious delegation is visiting New Delhi to participate in the 718th death anniversary of Sufi poet Amir Khusro.

“Today, Pakistani Zaireen accompanied by Cd’A Aftab Hasan Khan placed the traditional chaddar at the shrine of Hazrat Amir Khusro on behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan,” Pakistan’s High Commission in India said in a statement on Twitter.

The charge d’affaires and Zaireen were greeted by Sajjadah Nasheen Dewan Syed Tahir Nizami and other members of the Dargah Committee. After laying the Chaddar at the shrine, prayer was offered, the statement said.

The charge d’affaires and the delegation then visited the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, located in the same compound, and offered prayers.

The Pakistani delegation is visiting India under the 1974 India-Pakistan Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. Pakistani Sufi religious delegations have been travelling to India to visit their religious sites for many years. (ANI)

Navjot Singh Sidhu Gets One-Year Jail In 3 Decade-Old Road Rage Case

In a major setback, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a road rage case that is three-decade-old.

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the review application on the issue of sentence against Sidhu, saying,”We have allowed review application on the issue of sentence. In addition to the fine imposed, we impose a sentence of imprisonment of one year to be undergone by respondent Sidhu.”
The order was delivered by a bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul.

Earlier the court had reserved the review petition in a three-decade-old road rage case filed by the family of the victim.

Sidhu opposed the plea seeking to enlarge the scope of the road rage case against him citing earlier order of the apex court which held that there was no evidence that the death of the victim was caused by a single blow in the road rage case.

Sidhu’s submission came while replying to an application filed by family members of the victim seeking to enlarge the scope of notice in the review petition in a three-decade-old road rage case against him.

Sidhu, responding to the application filed by the petitioner seeking to enlarge the scope of notice, submitted that the application was devoid of any merits and ought to be dismissed.

Sidhu was acquitted in connection with the culpable homicide charges but was convicted of the offence of voluntarily causing hurt. The court had slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu. The court had also acquitted Sidhu’s associate, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, in the case.

The case has gone through Session Court, High court and Supreme Court.

The Sessions Court Judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu and his associate, due to a lack of evidence in the case and giving the benefit of the doubt.

It was then challenged by the victim’s families before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had in 2006, convicted and sentenced Sidhu to three years imprisonment. Sidhu then filed an appeal before the apex court challenging this order.

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu allegedly beat Gurnam Singh on his head, leading to his death. (ANI)

Manushi Chillar Opens Up On Debut Film ‘Prithviraj’

Ahead of the release of her debut film ‘Prithviraj’, former Miss World Manushi Chillar opened up about her hectic preparation schedule for the film.

“The preparation schedule for me was long and intense. Adi sir and my director Dr. Chandraprakash ji wanted me to go through the drill before I even gave my first shot and, looking back, I’m thankful that I put in the hard work. I’m a trained classical dancer and this film made me brush up my dancing skills because I have three songs in the film! I had to nail the choreography, especially in Hadd Kar De. It is a beautiful Holi song and it needed me to be precise and also exhibit the fact that I could dance well. I hope that I have been able to show people that I’m a hard-working actor who is seeking perfection from my first film,” Manushi revealed.

Helmed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, ‘Prithviraj’ revolves around legendary warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan. Akshay Kumar will be seen playing the titular role.

Speaking more about her character of Princess Sanyogita, Manushi added, “I have miles to go and lots to learn but my eyes are on the prize. I had to also pick up some interesting skill sets like archery and horse-riding! I have to admit that I had a lot of fun learning these. I have learned horse riding as a kid because my father used to take me and my siblings for horse riding so I kind of knew the basics of it but I never had to hold the reign or gallop with the horse. I have a horse riding sequence however I am sitting behind sir. So, it was interesting to do that sequence. I’m a student of art. So, every day was special on the sets of the film because I could learn so much and return the next day, hungry for more.”

‘Prithviraj’ is set to release on June 3 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. (ANI)

Vaani Kapoor Wants To Promote Balnced Living

Actor Vaani Kapoor is looking forward to creating a platform that helps people to understand the true meaning of a balanced living.

“I cannot wait to share my fitness journey with like-minded individuals. I hope to create a platform that enables us to learn from each other and understand the true meaning of holistic and a balanced living. I want to share my fitness secrets and learn what others are doing so that I can incorporate them into my daily life. Hope people will find this collaboration beneficial. More on this in the next few months,” Vaani said.

She added, “I’m deeply passionate about health and wellness. Being from a different city and living all alone trying to become an actress, I learnt very early on that I have to be extremely disciplined about my life and what I eat because that essentially adds up to how fit I am. I’m actually a big foodie and I love to indulge occasionally but I ensure that while I love to eat, I also have to take care of my health and well-being.”

Meanwhile, on the film front, Vaani will be seen sharing screen space with Ranbir Kapoor in ‘Shamshera’, which is scheduled to release in theatres on July 22. (ANI)