Do not Mix Religion and Party talks

Religion is a strictly private matter of every citizen in which the state has
no role to play except to foment discord when its spokespersons make
disparaging comments about a holy prophet. The relationship between
man and God is "very personal" and should be "nobody else's business",
the 43rd Chief Justice of India T. S. Thakur declared while he was in
office. More lives have been lost in religious wars than due to political
ideologies, he explained six years ago.

He is right. Religion is divisive and polemical which is why the former

Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju declared in 2015 that politicians
from all political parties were “rogues and rascals” who exploited religion
as they “had no love for the country” and “should be hanged.” As always,
his utterances were intemperate – and were like a preview of Nupur
Sharma five years before she put her foot-in-her-mouth to dent India’s
trade with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries
amounting to 87 billion dollars with 8.5 million expatriate Indian workers
sending home millions of dollars.

But Justice Katju has a point because the Indian state is ruled by
politicians who wantonly interfere in the private lives of its citizens by
propagating myths about minorities to enact anti-conversion laws and
regulate what we eat, drink, or who we choose as our spouse. Jumping
into the fray is the Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan who has now
rubbished Qatar’s demand for an apology and said Indians should focus
on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s
vision of inclusiveness.

Faith and reason are irreconcilable foes which is why a spokesperson can
point out paragraphs that defy reason in every holy text. But Article 25
guarantees every person the right to freely profess, practice and propagate

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any religion of his choice subject to the curbs of public order, health and
morality. This right to propagate a religion even extends to atheists who can
publish pamphlets to disprove God’s existence.

But to denigrate a revered holy prophet who is seen as the perfect man by
billions of Muslims around the world constitutes creating enmity between
citizens of India on the grounds of religion or ethnicity which carries a jail term
of up to three years. This is why the OIC has flayed India for its alleged
Islamophobia which after the two Dharam Sansads in 2021 at Raipur and
Haridwar was waiting to happen.

What causes consternation is the state has furnished her with 24x7 police
protection after Nupur Sharma received death threats for her remarks. She
could be made to pay for this police protection. She and her colleague,
Naveen Kumar Jindal claim to be proud Hindu nationalists. But they are
responsible for Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, the UAE, Jordan,
Oman, Indonesia, and the Maldives condemning India for its alleged so-called
Islamophobia. This row provoked by these two so-called nationalists proves
that nationalism and religion do not go together.

No less a person than the former Vice President of India, Abdul Hamid Ansari
pointed out in an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai on Tuesday that Nupur
Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal were official spokespersons of the ruling
political party which did not condemn those who called for ethnic cleansing of
the minorities during the Haridwar and Raipur Dharam Sansads in 2021.
Hence, by no stretch of the imagination could they be described as “fringe
elements” by the ruling political party which has dumped them for damage
control.

What we forget is the Constitution creates a social contract between the

government and its citizens. This social contract comes into effect when a
new government is sworn in to maintain law and order and govern as per the
diktat of the Constitution which nowhere declares the government–of-the day
is charged with stereotyping citizens by their religion to enact laws which
infarct Constitutional morality.

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Constitutional morality is the antithesis of religious morality which is based on
the holy texts of different religions as interpreted by the high priests of those
religions. Unlike Constitutional morality, religious morality is not gender-
neutral because it is based on what the prophets declared in various holy texts
aeons ago.

Changing climes ensure new governments invidiously support crimes against

minorities so that the motto of one nation-one religion-one language-one
culture is insidiously introduced through the backdoor while the state
temporarily dumps its spokespersons like Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar
Jindal to mitigate the backlash from the OIC.

As the ex-Vice President Hamid Ansari pointed out, spokespersons of the

External Affairs Ministry always make the right noises to defend India and
condemn those who condemned India. But the Hindutva values propounded
by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar permeate this government’s policies as
reflected in its laws having pitribhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holyland)
at its hushed core. Savarkar had his plus points because unlike Mahatma
Gandhi, he was against casteism which is the core of the Manusmriti.

This is why religion is best left to the choice of the individual with the mandate
of the government being to preserve law-and-order. The government must not
sermonise its citizens on religion and culture which is why Nupur Sharma
ended up denigrating the holy prophet of Islam. And just as we have the right
to freedom of speech and expression, so do the 57 OIC members who profess
to represent the voice of global Islam.

It is inconceivable that the State will allow us to decide which God we choose
to worship, how we choose to worship Him - within the privacy of our homes
or even allow some of us to deny His very existence. There is not a single
declared atheist among the 32 Supreme Court judges which would have
resulted in developing a non-conformist jurisprudence. For it has often been
said, the Supreme Court has never declared something which was never
declared before. Religion camouflaged as nationalism has become an
explosive concoction as Nupur Sharma has learnt to her chagrin.

*****

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Analysis of violence across India over Nupur Sharma controversy

What has happened in the country today has never happened before. In 14
states, thousands of people took to the streets at the same time after Friday
prayers. And they did whatever they wanted for a few hours. They pelted stones,
set vehicles on fire and even threw bombs at the police. Miscreants even
hanged an effigy of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma from an
electric wire resembling a public execution near a mosque in Karnataka. A
curfew has been imposed in several parts of Jharkhand's Ranchi after some
policemen, reportedly the SP as well, were injured while trying to control an irate
mob near Hanuman Temple, situated on Ranchi's Main Road.

In today's DNA, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary analysed the violent
protests that took place across the country after Friday's namaz.

Famous writer Saadat Hasan Manto once said,. "When religion comes out of
the heart, it becomes poison" and this is what is happening in our country right
now. Today, there were protests at more than 90 places in 14 states. And there
were 8 such protests in which there were incidents of violence and stone
pelting. The protests were held simultaneously at more than 90 places in 14
states of the country and the biggest similarity among them is that all these
protests took place after Friday prayers in mosques.

This cannot be a coincidence at all. There must have been some big conspiracy
and plan behind this as the issue started with a TV debate on 26th May. And
today, 15 days have passed since then. But today, suddenly a violent mob
across the country came out on the streets and demanded the hanging of Nupur
Sharma.

The maximum violence was seen in Prayagraj, where a violent mob pelted
stones at the police and some vehicles were also set on fire.

Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has waded into the ongoing row over
remarks on Prophet Muhammad by the Bharatiya Janata Party's now
suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Taking to Twitter, Taslima Nasreen
denounced the violent protests that have erupted over the remarks on Prophet

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Muhammad. The Bangladeshi author tweeted, "Even if Prophet Muhammad
was alive today, he would have been shocked to see the madness of the Muslim
fanatics around the world."

Taslima Nasreen's remark follows as protests erupted across several states in

India, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, over Nupur
Sharma's remark. The demonstrators demanded arrest, and in some case
capital punishment, for Nupur Sharma.

The controversy has spilled over to the neighbouring Bangladesh as well. On

Friday, thousands marched in Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka today in protest
against BJP leader Nupur Sharma's comments on Prophet Mohammad in a TV
show.

The protestors in Bangladesh raised slogans against the Indian government

and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave a call to gherao the Indian
embassy on June 16. The protesters also called for a boycott of Indian products
and India

The remark on Prophet Muhammad by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal also
drew widespread condemnation from several Gulf countries.

Prophet row blows up, after Nupur Sharma, Owaisi booked for 'inflammatory
remarks'

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has been named in an FIR registered by the
Delhi Police over alleged inflammatory remarks yesterday. Swami Yati
Narsinghanand's name has also been mentioned in the FIR. This comes as the
row over the comments on the Prophet by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur
Sharma has blown up, leading to global outrage.

Protests erupt across the country after Friday [10/6] namaz over prophetic
claims made by former BJP leaders. A violent protest was reported in towns
such as Prayagraj and Ranchi. Meanwhile, a startling update came in from
Ahemdabad, where protestors screamed 'Sar-Tan-Se-Juda' slogans while
explicitly threatening former BJP leaders with death. Protests were also held in
Srinagar's Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Tengpora, and other parts of the city. Men
and women waved placards and protested after the Friday congregational

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prayers, according to officials. They maintained that the protests were peaceful
and that no negative incidents had occurred. Authorities in Srinagar have
disabled internet access on mobile phones as a precautionary move to prevent
rumor-mongering.#NupurSharma #ProphetRemarksRow #LatestNews

Several parts of the country witnessed massive protests against inflammatory

remarks on Prophet Muhammad made by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma
and expelled party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal.

A massive protest took place at Delhi’s Jama Masjid after Friday prayers when
people began protesting against the inflammatory statements. Delhi police on
Friday said that they have identified some miscreants behind the Jama Masjid
protest. The police added that legal action would be taken against those
behind the protest. Several incidents of violence including sloganeering and
stone-pelting were reported during protests in different parts of Uttar Pradesh.

A clash erupted in Prayagaraj between police and protesters. Stones were

also hurled during clashes in the Atala area of Uttar Pradesh’s
Prayagaraj.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed to take strict action
against hooligans after incidents of stone-pelting broke out in various parts of
the state.

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, the protest over the controversial

remarks by suspended BJP leader Sharma turned violent. Vehicles were
torched and vandalised and incidents of stone-pelting were also reported from
several places. Injuries were reported in the capital city.

Prophet row: Owaisi among 31 booked for ‘promoting enmity’

11-6-22: 6:58 am Delhi Police has booked at least 31 people, including All
India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP
Asaduddin Owaisi, for allegedly making inflammatory remarks that allegedly
promote enmity between different groups. Expelled BJP spokesperson Naveen
Jindal is also named in the same FIR. During social media monitoring, the
intelligence fusion & strategic ops unit of the special cell noticed that multiple
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Twitter handles, Facebook profiles, TV debates and other social media handles
were posting material that was allegedly spreading hate and against the
"maintenance of public tranquillity".

"One such tweet was posted by Naveen Kumar Jindal from his handle
'@naveenjindalbjp' which used words and language against Prophet
Muhammad. These words which were used by Jindal were highly provocative
and more than sufficient to incite feeling of hatred amongst people which could
be detrimental to maintenance of public tranquillity.

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The row over the alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad
escalated after protests from countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar
and Iran, prompting the BJP to take action against its functionaries and
assert that it respects all religions. As the row intensified domestically and
abroad, the BJP on Sunday suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled
Jindal.

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against 31 people, including

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati
Narsinghanand, and filed a separate case against former BJP
spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly spreading hate and hurting
religious sentiments.

The two FIRs were registered on Wednesday after a social media

analysis, the police officials had said. Former Delhi BJP media unit head
Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his alleged
remarks against Prophet Mohammad, and journalist Saba Naqvi have
been named in the FIR.

Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma, at the centre of the ‘blasphemy

controversy’ that has caused some unease in India’s diplomatic
relationships across West Asia, is being publicly shunned by her party.
However, she has found a spokesperson in one of Europe’s most
polarising political figures. Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma, at the
centre of the ‘blasphemy controversy’ that has caused some unease in
India’s diplomatic relationships across West Asia, is being publicly
shunned by her party. However, she has found a spokesperson in one of
Europe’s most polarising political figures.

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Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician who has long advocated a ban
on the Quran and action to limit Muslim immigration, has made
multiple appearances on Indian media, in Sharma’s support.

“I support Nupur Sharma because I believe that nobody should

be punished or apologise for speaking the truth. We might like it,
we might dislike it, but she spoke the truth about Muhammad,”
said Wilders in an interview to India Today Wednesday.

“If Nupur Sharma can be targeted, so can you,” he sought to

warn viewers in an interview to Swarajya magazine Thursday.

Wilders, who founded the anti-immigration Party for Freedom

(PVV) in the Netherlands in 2006, has, among other things,
suggested measures such as imposing a tax on wearing the
hijab (calling it a “symbol of oppression“), and pulling the
Netherlands out of the European Union.

The bleach blond politician’s hardline views on Islam and

immigration policies have earned him the nickname “Dutch
Donald Trump” in some sections of the Western media.

In August 2019, Wilders appeared to celebrate the Narendra

Modi government’s decision to revoke the special status (Article
370) of Jammu & Kashmir by calling India a “full democracy” and
Pakistan “a 100 per cent terror state”.

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Wilders, who founded the anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) in the
Netherlands in 2006, has, among other things, suggested measures such
as imposing a tax on wearing the hijab (calling it a “symbol of oppression“),
and pulling the Netherlands out of the European Union.

The bleach blond politician’s hardline views on Islam and immigration

policies have earned him the nickname “Dutch Donald Trump” in some
sections of the Western media.

In August 2019, Wilders appeared to celebrate the Narendra Modi

government’s decision to revoke the special status (Article 370) of Jammu
& Kashmir by calling India a “full democracy” and Pakistan “a 100 per cent
terror state”.

India is a full democracy.

Pakistan is a 100% terror state.

So, the choice is easy.

Welcome home #Kashmir. #IndiaForKashmir 🇮🇳

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) August 5, 2019

He also hailed former Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s ouster this

April, calling the cricketer-turned-politician an “Islamic extremist”.

President and Islamic extremist @ImranKhanPTI is removed

from office. Good riddance.

He was a supporter of terror and an enemy of freedom,

democracy and India. #khan #ImranRiazKhan

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