Page 150 - Religion Belief
Christians did not participate in freedom struggle: BJP MP
A controversy erupted today after a video clip emerged purportedly showing North Mumbai BJP MP Gopal Shetty claiming that Christians were "angrez" and did not participate in the freedom struggle. This prompted the Congress to seek an apology from the BJP for the "condemnable" comment made by its parliamentarian, while the NCP saw the remark as a "deliberate attempt to polarise people" in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the video clip, which went viral on social media and was telecast on TV channels, Shetty is heard saying: "Every person should feel that the country belongs to him/her. This country belongs to each of us". The recording is apparently from an Eid-e-Milad gathering organised by the Shia Kabrastan Committee at Malvani in suburban Malad last Sunday. Apparently referring to a Muslim cleric who spoke before him at the event, Shetty added, "Maulana sahab said Hindus did not free this country, nor did Muslims. "Christians were angrez (British), they were not part of .
SC notice to Centre on no headgear for Sikhs in sports events
The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Central government on a plea seeking direction to formulate guidelines exempting turbaned Sikhs from wearing any headgear during sports events.
BJP MP claims remark on Christians was 'misrepresented'
After facing flak for his controversial remark on Christians, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mumbai North Gopal Shetty claimed that his quote was misrepresented.Speaking to ANI, Shetty said he is ready to resign from the post and will discuss the same with the state party president."My statement has been misrepresented. I have never discriminated against anyone. Still, I have informed state party president about my decision to resign to which he has asked me to meet him," he said.The BJP leader stoked a controversy recently by stating that Christians did not contribute to the freedom struggle.He also called them 'angrez' (foreigners).Furthermore, Shetty claimed that it was only the Hindus and Muslims who played a role in India's freedom struggle."Christians were British; hence they didn't participate in India's freedom struggle. India was not freed by Hindus or Muslims, we fought as one for our independence," he was caught on camera saying.Shetty made the controversial remark ...
Christians had no role in freedom struggle: BJP MP
Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Gopal Shetty has stoked up a controversy by saying that Christians are 'angrez' (British) and did not contribute to the Indian freedom struggle.
Rewalsar to be developed as tourist destination: HP CM
Rewalsar town in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district would be developed as a tourist destination as it was a religious place for the followers of three religions, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said. He said this while addressing a public meeting at Rewalsar in Balh assembly segment of Mandi district yesterday. Thakur said Rewalsar will be developed as a tourist circuit as it is a religious place for followers of three religions. "The state is blessed with immense tourism potential but nothing was done by earlier Congress governments in this direction. It is for the first time that a budget provision of Rs 50 crore has been made for the tourism sector, " he said. Rewalsar is sacred to adherents of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The Chief Minister said that airport would be constructed in Balh as he had already taken up the matter with the Centre and the land for the same had already been selected. He said steps had been taken for protecting cows in the state besides generating revenue ..
Christians played no role in India's freedom struggle: BJP MP
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mumbai North Gopal Shetty has stoked a controversy recently stating Christians did not contribute to the freedom struggle.He also called them 'angrez' (foreigners).The BJP MP also claimed that it was only the Hindus and the Muslims who played a role in India's freedom struggle."Christians were British, hence they didn't participate in India's freedom struggle. India was not freed by Hindus or Muslims, we fought as one for our independence," he can be heard as saying in the video.Shetty made the controversial remark while addressing a gathering during the Eid-e-Milad organised by the Shia Kabrastan Committee at Malad's Malvani here on Sunday.
Tokyo sarin attack: Japan executes cult leader Shoko Asahara
Shoko Asahara, the leader of the doomsday cult which carried out a fatal nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995, has been executed, Japanese officials confirmed on Friday.Cult leader Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, had been in prison for 22 years before he was executed this week, reported CNN.It should be noted that the sarin attack claimed the lives of 13 people and wounded thousands more.Meanwhile, six other senior cult members have also been executed.According to the report, Asahara was one of seven members of the cult hanged this week.The others were Tomomasa Nakagawa, Tomomitsu Niimi, Kiyohide Hayakawa, Yoshihiro Inoue, Seiichi Endo and Masami Tsuchiya, according to Japanese Justice Minister Yoko Kawakami.The death penalty for the guru of the now-disbanded cult was first handed in February 2004 before it was finalized by the Supreme Court in September 2006, as per the reports.Furthermore, Shoko Asahara and his followers were also accused of several
Can religious acts be allowed on govt land: SC refers plea to larger bench
The Supreme Court today referred to a larger bench the question whether religious activities can be allowed on government land or property in a secular State like India. A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Indu Malhotra framed the question and referred the petition filed by an organisation - Jyoti Jagran Mandal - to the Chief Justice of India for setting up of a larger bench. The organisation has moved the top court after being denied permission by civic authorities to hold 'Jagran' and 'Mata ki Chowki' at a park in south-west Delhi here. While hearing the petition, the bench said the issue was related to an important question whether such religious functions can be allowed on public properties in view of the fact that India is a secular nation. The organisation, in its appeal, has said that earlier the National Green Tribunal had allowed it to perform religious activities at Chanchal Park in Lajwanti area of Mayapuri here. However, later the permission was withdrawn that forced the ..
Prayers mark Dalai Lama's 83rd birthday celebrations
Special prayers were held in this mountainous district of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir for the long life of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who turned 83 on Friday.
Mutual accommodation and respect help democracy: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that the contribution of Asian democracies to global discourse needed to enhance rapidly with their rise in economic and political stature as he stressed that democratic values were rooted in Hindu and Buddhist civilisations. Modi made these comments in a video message he posted on Twitter for the fourth edition of 'Samvad', a symposium being held in Tokyo on the theme of "Shared Values and Democracy in Asia". Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke at the programme. "Openness, and not dogma, and engaging in philosophy, and not ideology, were among our shared heritage of democratic spirit. This philosophical and cultural heritage of dialogue in the two most ancient Asian faiths, Hinduism and Buddhism, helps us promote better understanding," Modi said. Mutual accommodation and respect help democracy, he said. Core values of Asia, including consideration for others, self-restraint and mutual respect, find their historical origin in emperor ...
Cong downplays Khurshid's remarks on Naik
The Congress today sought to downplay as "individual opinion" the remarks made by party leader Salman Khurshid on controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, and said the party maintains that the law will take its own course in the case. Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said there should be no politics on the basis of religion and an accused in any case should be viewed as an individual and not as one belonging to a particular religion, caste or association. "Our stand has been made clear earlier also that in this country maintaining peace and unity is very important and there should be no politics on the basis of religion," he told reporters. "We have internal democracy and our party is not like the BJP where voices are shut. One can have an individual opinion," the Congress leader said. In an apparent reference to Zakir Naik, Khurshid had yesterday said the country could not afford to have question marks on people in important positions in public, but if there was no ...
Pope to reach out to other Christians during Baltics trip
The Vatican says Pope Francis will have two ecumenical meetings during his trip to the Baltics in September. The Vatican today released details about the previously announced September 22-25 pilgrimage. In Lithuania, where Catholics are the majority, the pope will visit a Marian sanctuary. Then after being driven from the capital of Vilnius to Kaunas, Francis will celebrate Mass in a park on September 23. Many of Latvia's Christians are Orthodox or Protestants. Francis on September 24 will have an ecumenical encounter in Riga and will also visit the city's Catholic cathedral. In Tallinn, Estonia, Francis will young people in a Lutheran church before celebrating Mass in the city's Freedom Square. Last month, Francis went to Geneva to further strengthen ties with other Christian churches.
The mystery endures: Burari deaths put spotlight on occult practices
The whodunit might be solved but the mystery of how and why 11 members of a family died in their home in north Delhi's Burari locality will endure, with its suggestion of occult practices spotlighting bizarre rituals ending in human sacrifices that exist in many parts of the country. Blurring the lines between delusion, superstition and blind faith, it's a narrative that cuts across lines of class, religion and literacy, say experts. Many of these cases are related to child sacrifices. Last month, for instance, a man from Rajasthan admitted to slitting his daughter's throat to appease Allah during Ramzan. In January 2016, a Chhattisgarh father confessed to beheading his son for the "well-being of his family". The several instances of women being killed or tortured in the belief that they are witches, the hypnotic influence of men passing themselves off as babas and mystics, and bizarre cult practices only add to this chronicle. How does a parent kill a child? How does an entire ...
Kerala CM to leave for US tomorrow
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is leaving for the US tomorrow, on a 13-day tour to attend various programmes. One of them is a reception organised by the Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, in recognition of the steps taken by Kerala to prevent the spread of Nipah virus that claimed 17 lives in the state in May this year. State Health Minister K K Shyalaja would also attend the reception scheduled for July 6, an official press release here said today. Vijayan would attend, among others, a meeting organised in Philadelphia by the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America. The Chief Minister would return to Kerala on July 18, the release said.
Muslims donate land, money to build temple in Bihar
In a display of communal harmony, people from the Muslim community donated money and land for constructing a temple in Bihar's Gaya district of Guraru area.Mansood Ahmed, one of the locals, contributed six decimal land while another donated Rs. 3.5 lakh for the construction.Elated locals from the Budhpur village said, "We all live together here. This message should go across the country. The whole village came out to help in building this temple for which we are very happy."The Budhpur village consists of Muslims in majority and was earlier recognized as a Naxal dominated area too.The village had a mosque but not a temple in the area, which brought concern to the Muslim community as the Hindu rituals used to be practiced in the open.
Australian leader calls on convicted archbishop to resign
Australia's prime minister today called on an Australian archbishop to resign after becoming the most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced in a Newcastle court yesterday to 12 months in detention for failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a pedophile priest in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was born a Presbyterian but converted to Catholicism his wife's religion in 2002, said he was surprised that Wilson had not resigned when he was convicted in May. "I'm surprised that he has not resigned. Clearly, given the outcome of the ... prosecution, he should resign," Turnbull told reporters. The Adelaide Archdiocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment today. The 67-year-old cleric stood down from his position as archbishop days after he was convicted in May. He has not said whether he will ...
Bengal CM remembers Swami Vivekananda on death anniversary
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today remembered Swami Vivekananda on his 116th death anniversary and urged the people to live up to the ideals the spiritual leader espoused. "On this day, the great philosopher, Swami Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi. Remembering him on this solemn occasion. Let us strive to live up to the ideals he espoused, Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle. Swami Vivekananda, who passed away on July 4 in 1902, played an important role in the spiritual enlightenment of the masses. He spread the Vedanta philosophy in the West and established the Ramakrishna Math and Ramkrishna Mission to serve the poor. "He taught the world the true meaning of Hinduism: universal brotherhood," Banerjee said.
Donning this look made Gaurav feel at home
Actor Gaurav Sareen, who hails from Punjab, will dress up like a Sikh person for a show. He says the look made him feel at home.
UP: Muslims demolish parts of mosques for road development
Ahead of the Kumbh Mela here, Muslims have demolished parts of various mosques built on government land to ensure smooth developmental activities.Speaking to ANI, one of the workers at a mosque here said the decision to demolish parts of mosques was taken to assist the government in their project."The sections which were built on government lands have been demolished. The government is widening the roads ahead of Kumbh Mela and we support it. We have done this by our own will," he said.For the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the state government has started widening roads and is undertaking various developmental activities, owing to the volume of devotees visiting every year.However, some sections of religious buildings in various parts of the city were creating obstructions to the road work and thus had to be demolished.In an effort to not hurt the religious sentiments of people, the Allahabad Development Authority, which is responsible for the road widening, interacted with the ..
Police thoroughly probing sexual abuse case of Kerala nun
A special police team probing the allegation levelled by a Catholic nun that she was repeatedly sexually abused by a bishop is investigating the case thoroughly before they question the high-ranking church official, said informed sources.