Dadri killing a blot on India

This is with reference to the news report “Murder over beef: Two more arrested.” (Oct. 4)

The brutal killing of the 55-year-old Muhammad Ikhlaq over rumors that he ate/stored beef in Dadri, a small town on the outskirts of the national capital Delhi has come as the most shocking event in recent times.

This is beyond imagination that people can go to this extent by killing their fellow human beings on the issue of one’s personal beliefs on what to eat and what not to.

I learned some of those involved in the murder were friends of Ikhlaq and would cook and dine together. Members of both the communities would join each other’s festival and celebrate festivals like Eid, Diwali and Rakhsha Bandhan for decades.

Then how come the same man though of a different faith is dragged out of his house by a frenzy mob of 200 Hindus and beaten to death for allegedly consuming beef, which is banned? It is not yet confirmed whether he ate beef or mutton, which in any case is under police investigation.

This heinous crime brings to the fore the simmering communal tension prevailing among communities and should be condemned by all sane people of the country.

However it looks like part of a very sinister but disturbing pattern that is out to tear apart the fabric of communal harmony. This takes us to another logical question: Are we moving from democracy to a state of mobocracy?

If India is to be a respectable and developed country, we have to stop all this nonsense of religions bigotry. Religions must be confined to one’s personal beliefs and should not be imposed on others. If not restrained, such madness will have a very serious impact on social lives as also on the economic sector.

The governments — both the center and provincial — must ensure that such incidents are not repeated and offenders are brought to justice even if that needs fast-track courts.

 — Ramesh G. Jethwani, Bangalore, India


 http://www.arabnews.com/letters/news/815886

Will Take Up Dadri Mob Killing With UN

Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan today sought intervention of United Nations to look into the "miseries" of minorities in India.

Citing the lynching of a Muslim man following rumours that he ate beef in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri area, Mr Khan said he was disturbed by a series of incidents against minorities and would urge the UN to take up the matter with the Indian government.

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mr Khan also attacked RSS accusing it of working to turn secular and pluralistic India into a majoritarian theocratic nation as 'Hindu Rashtra'.

"Facist forces are attempting to create a divide in the society by launching a hate campaign against Muslims and Dadri incident is an example of this," the Uttar Pardesh minister told reporters in Lucknow.

In his letter, the minister said there had been sporadic incidents of ethnic or communal clashes, but the real essence of freedom and secularism has never been under question or threat as it was for last one and half years.

"The new government took oath in the name of Constitution of India, but its motivation, inspiration and guiding light also comes from some other fundamentalist and extra constitutional authority named RSS," he said.

"The government provides tacit support to those campaign or programmes that create fear among minorities and intimidate them," he alleged.

Azam Khan said that to form government in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states, RSS certainly needed an issue on which two communities come face to face.

"After Babri Masjid incident, Dadri was held as it is close to Delhi and the BJP-ruled central government found it easy to use its influence and create tension," he alleged.

"I humbly request to the highest international body to look into our miseries and take care of us and impress upon the Indian government to stick to international agreements and allow to flourish secularism and plurality in the country and not to push the agenda of extra constitutional authorities to turn India into theocratic majority Hindu nation," Mr Khan said.

The minister also said he wanted President Pranab Mukhrjee and PM Modi to call a round table conference and discuss campaign against Muslims in the name of beef and attempts to turn India into a Hindu nation.

Accusing the NDA government of keeping double standard, he said, "They talk something before the world leaders and the UNGA, but do opposite and provide tacit support to RSS and its affiliates to intimidate minorities in the country to convert India into majority Hindu nation."

To a question, he said that narrating his pain before the UN should not be taken as a statement against India. "The UN was constituted to ensure that human rights were not violated in the world and it is viewed equally, therefore I have narrated my pain before it (through the letter)," he said.

A week ago, Mohammad Akhlaq, a resident of Greater Noida, was dragged out of his house after a mob alleged he had killed a cow in his house.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/will-take-up-dadri-mob-killing-with-un-says-minister-azam-khan-1226291?utm_source=taboola

Mob in Indian village kills man over cow slaughter

Bisara, India (CNN)By and large, Hindus and Muslims live side-by-side in relative peace across India. But every now and then, the calm is punctured by moments of madness — and deadly violence. The sleepy, dusty, mostly Hindu village of Bisara, near the country's capital, became such a place this week.

According to eyewitness accounts, this blood-curdling sequence of events unfolded in a matter of minutes Monday night: A Hindu temple announced sacrilege; villagers formed an angry mob; and normal people, fueled by each other's presence, became assailants.

A Muslim blacksmith, Mohammad Akhlaq, and his son Danish were battered by people who knew them. The father died, and his son was has been hospitalized with critical injuries.

What triggered the bloody assault? A rumor that a cow was slaughtered in that nondescript neighborhood, home to mostly Rajputs — a high-ranking valiant Hindu caste meaning "sons of the kings."

In Hinduism, cows are deemed sacred and their killing a sin.

'It was blood all over my son's face. He is gone'

"Two young men came to me that night and asked me to announce on the loudspeaker that there's a carcass of a cow lying nearby," the temple priest, Sukhdas Mahatma, told CNN.

"They pressured me to make that announcement. What could I do? I had to make that announcement," he said, moving his fingers on his flowing white beard.

Asghari Begum sits broken and bruised after Monday's mob attack.

Soon after his broadcast, villagers crowded around the temple compound, and decided to set out for Akhlaq's home through the winding, narrow and broken lanes. They believed the 50-year-old blacksmith was the culprit because his faith doesn't prohibit eating beef. And his was one of the two Muslim households in that neighborhood of more than 6,000 people.

"I heard loud bangs on the front door of our house," said Asghari Begum, the mother of Mohammad Akhlaq. "Then I heard them shouting expletives," she said. Before she could react, a group of men scaled the walls and jumped into the house.

The victim's brother, Jameel Ahmed, grieves and demands justice.

"They pushed me, then punched me on my face, in the abdomen," Begum said, pointing to her bruised and swollen eye.

The mob then ran to the first floor of Akhlaq's home and dragged him out, along with 22-year-old Danish. Both were beaten with "whatever they (attackers) could lay their hands on," police superintendent Kiran Sivakumar told CNN.

"It was blood all over my son's face. He is gone," moaned Begum, sitting on a cot in her dark, ground-floor room.

Read: Murder of Hindu man sparks killing of three Muslims

Six arrested

Upstairs, the telltale signs of the raid were still everywhere. A refrigerator that stored meat lay down broken on the floor. The ransacked rooms were still strewn with shattered vases and sewing machines.

A corner of Akhlaq's ransacked room is pictured.

Police have so far arrested six of the 10 men Akhlaq's family has named in their initial police complaint. These were people they knew. More arrests are likely, Sivakumar said.

Unease was palpable in the village as the murder drew widespread media attention. No one in the village admits to being part of the mob.

"My son is innocent. He has been falsely implicated," said Ombir Sisodia, father of one of the jailed men. "He was sick and sleeping when mobs gathered around after the temple announcement," Sisodia said.

Police have seized meat samples from Akhlaq's home for testing. The family says the meat is goat and not beef. Regardless of what kind of meat it is, "it doesn't absolve (the attackers of) the crime," police superintendent Sivakumar said.

Read: Hinduism Fast Facts

Sacredness of cows

Cow slaughter is banned in most of Hindu-majority India, including in Uttar Pradesh.

This year, the western state of Maharashtra, home to Mumbai, became one of the latest to outlaw beef.

"The sacredness of cows in India might be a cliché, but it is deeply felt, rooted in the history of Hinduism," said novelist Manil Suri in a New York Times column.

But "imposing ideals from a mythic past is not the answer," he wrote in the April op-ed. "The true lesson to take away from history is how utilitarian goals can shape religious custom. Hinduism has always been a pragmatic religion; what today's India needs is accommodation."

Read: 9 myths about Hinduism -- debunked

Rishabh Pratap and Roshni Majumdar contributed to this report.

An initial version of this story incorrectly stated the number of people killed in the attack. 

 http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/asia/india-mob-murder-beef/index.html

They're drowning

They're drowning

We can't bring little Aylan back, but we can get Europe to agree on an ambitious plan that stops children from drowning in rickety boats, or suffocating in trucks in their desperate search for sanctuary. Let’s show every leader that the public demands urgent ambitious action NOW -- sign and share on Facebook, Twitter, email...everywhere: SIGN NOW Dear friends, This image of a tiny baby lying lifeless on the shore is, like so many, too heartbreaking to watch. What’s really appalling is that instead of being shocked to take urgent action, our leaders are stuck in a fighting match on whose problem this is. But for the first time ever, there’s a glimmer of hope for a solution. After massive public calls to welcome refugees, German Chancellor Merkel is leading efforts to deliver a new, strong European Union plan that would give refuge to people fleeing war and hunger. France is on board, but shamefully the UK, Hungary, and other Eastern European countries have been blocking this emergency action. Whether EU politicians lead the world to a humane 21st century refugee plan, or turn their backs, depends on how much they feel the public demands it. That’s where we come in. Right now we are at a tipping point. It’s time for us to lead our leaders. EU Ministers are meeting in the next few days to set their positions, so there’s no time to lose. Join the call for a plan to give these terrified families safe haven now -- Avaaz will deliver our proposal to all key decision makers before their summit: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/no_more_drownings_us/?bBeiKhb&v=64438 Every day, hundreds of traumatised and persecuted families are crossing to Europe. With no peace in sight to wars like Syria, their choice to board a boat may be the only one they have. All they want is safety. The UN says nearly one million people need urgent help, and increasing safe and legal routes is the best way to reduce the numbers risking their lives, and curb violent people trafficking. There is a viable emergency plan: 1. urgent and massive increase in relocation and resettlement of refugees, that shares responsibility across the EU, and reunites families, 2. financial and technical support to countries on the frontline of the crisis like Greece, and 3. ensuring no security actions hinder rescue efforts or put those seeking sanctuary at risk. Germany is opening its doors and championing this line, but Hungary is building a razor-wire fence, other Eastern European countries are refusing to take more than dozens of families, and the UK has completely refused to take part in any EU emergency package. We know massive public support can influence politicians -- when the Icelandic government said it would only take 50 asylum seekers earlier this week, 10,000 Icelandic people said they would house them. Now the government is reconsidering their commitment. Thousands of ordinary citizens are choosing compassion and rejecting the closed-door policies some leaders are pushing. Let’s supercharge this wave of humanity and ensure narrow political interests and fear don’t define how Europe and the World respond to the crisis of our time. Join the urgent call to EU leaders and tell everyone: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/no_more_drownings_us/?bBeiKhb&v=64438 This heartbreaking human drama is beyond many of our worst nightmares and Avaaz members have been rallying to help refugees since the crisis started -- nearly 2,000 signed up to volunteer in assistance programmes, we gave 500,000 USD to a crucial rescue operation in the Mediterranean, we ran a massive aid mission to the Greek islands, and then lobbied fiercely until Europe signed an initial deal. But the magnitude of this crisis means we have to push for more, NOW! Let's raise history's loudest ever "Refugees Welcome" cry before the leaders meet. With hope and determination, Luis, Alice, Mia, Mais, Luca, Spyro, and the whole Avaaz team Sources: A dead baby becomes the most tragic symbol yet of the Mediterranean refugee crisis (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/02/a-dead-baby-becomes-the-most-tragic-sym... Europe's halting response to migrant crisis draws criticism as toll mounts (New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/29/world/europe/europe-migrant-refugee-crisis.html EU ministers to meet in two weeks to find solution (The Guardian) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/30/migration-crisis-germany-france-britain-demand-urgent-m... Migrant crisis a failure of European policy, UN says (Aljazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/migrant-crisis-failure-european-policy-150806172330199.html Europe 'must open official channels for migrants' (BBC) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34049512