The Telegraph – Hindu prayers to continue in Gyanvapi cellar, Allahabad High Court rejects petition challenging Varanasi court order

The high court has dismissed the Gyanvapi mosque management committee’s appeal challenging the Varanasi district judge’s January 17 order

Worship will continue in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, the Allahabad High Court said on Monday while dismissing an appeal that had challenged the district court’s order to this effect.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal dismissed the mosque management committee’s appeal that had challenged the Varanasi district court’s order allowing “puja” to be performed in the “Vyas Tehkhana” or southern cellar of the mosque.

The high court dismissed two appeals filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee challenging the district judge’s January 17 order that appointed the district magistrate as the receiver of the “Vyas Tehkhana” and January 31 order by which he allowed “puja” to be performed there.

The high court said worship in the “Vyas Tehkhana” will continue.

Dismissing the appeals, Justice Agarwal said, “After going through the entire records of the case and considering the arguments of the parties concerned, the court did not find any ground to interfere in the judgment passed by the district judge on January 17, appointing the Varanasi district magistrate as the receiver of the property, as well as the order dated January 31 by which the district court permitted puja in the tehkhana.”

The high court judge had reserved his verdict in the matter on February 15 after hearing the counsel for the parties.

The Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque. It moved the high court on February 2, hours after the Supreme Court refused to hear its plea against the district court order and asked it to approach the high court.

The district court ruled on January 31 that a Hindu priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the mosque.

The prayers are now being conducted by a “pujari” nominated by the Kashi Vishwanath temple trust and the petitioner, who has claimed that his grandfather offered puja in the cellar till December 1993.

The district court had directed the local administration to make arrangements within seven days for prayers in the cellar. This would have involved “proper arrangements” with metal barricades at the complex.

A survey conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on the court’s order had suggested that the mosque was constructed during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s rule over the remains of a Hindu temple.

The January 31 order was delivered on the plea of Shailendra Kumar Pathak, who had claimed that his maternal grandfather, priest Somnath Vyas, offered prayers in the cellar till December 1993.

He had said the “puja” was stopped during the tenure of then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav after the Babri masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992.

During the hearing, the Muslim side to the dispute had contested the petitioner’s version. It had said no idols existed in the cellar and hence, there was no question of prayers being offered there till 1993.

The Muslim side had also countered the petitioner’s claim that the basement was under his grandfather’s control.

The petitioner had claimed that his family had the control of the cellar even during the British rule.

In an earlier order on January 17, the Varanasi court had directed the district magistrate to take charge of the cellar, but not given any directions then on the right to offer prayers there.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/hindu-prayers-to-continue-in-gyanvapi-cellar-allahabad-high-court-rejects-petition-challenging-varanasi-court-order/cid/2003001

The Print – Delhi LG says air pollution situation extremely worrisome, calls meeting with CM

New Delhi, 03 November, 2023. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena Friday said the air pollution situation in the city is “extremely worrying” and called a meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Environment Minister Gopal Rai at Raj Niwas.

In a series of posts on X, Saxena appealed to people to remain indoors and not to expose themselves and espec ially children and elderly to the hazardous ambient conditions.

The LG has also cancelled his public engagements at Yogmaya Mandir and Urs of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya.“The situation arising out of air pollution in the City is extremely worrying.

I have asked Hon’ble CM & Hon’ble Minister (Environment) for a meeting at Raj Niwas at 06:00 PM today, to take stock of the situation,” he posted on “I appeal to the people to remain indoors as much as possible and to not expose themselves- especially children & elderly to hazardous ambient conditions wherein AQI has reportedly crossed 800 at places,” he said in another post.

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

The Print – 06 November 2023

Scroll.in – Hindu plaintiffs seek survey of entire Gyanvapi mosque alleging a temple existed there.

Scroll.in Staff

The plea has been moved by four out of five women who had earlier demanded rights to worship inside the complex claiming the presence of a Hindu deity’s image.

Hindu plaintiffs in the Gyanvapi mosque dispute case have moved an application in the Varanasi district court seeking a survey of the entire premises to find out whether it had been constructed over a Hindu temple, Live Law reported on Tuesday.

The application has been moved by four of the five Hindu women who had earlier filed a plea seeking rights to worship inside the mosque compound. In the earlier plea, they had claimed that an image of Hindu deity Shringar Gauri exists at the mosque.

The new petition comes days after the Allahabad High Court held that a scientific survey can be done of the oval-shaped object found in the mosque premises which Hindu plaintiffs claim to be a shivling.

In May last year, the oval-shaped object was found during a survey of the mosque premises ordered by a Varanasi civil court. The Hindu litigants in the case claimed that the object was a shivling, an idol to depict the Hindu deity Shiva. However, the caretaker committee of the mosque claimed the object was a defunct fountainhead in the wazu khana, or ablution tank.

In the new application, the petitioners have claimed that the object depicting the Hindu deity has been existing at the site for “lakhs of years”, and had been damaged several times by Muslim invaders who had “hatred against infidels and idol worshippers”, reported Live Law.

The plea also claimed that the structure of the Gyanvapi mosque suggests that it is the remains of an old Hindu temple. The application contended that the present structure cannot be deemed to be mosque by any stretch of the imagination given its history.

“The petitioners have also stressed on a dome that was found under the mosque’s dome during the survey last year,” Special Counsel Rajesh Mishra, who is representing the state in the case, told The Indian Express.

“There are three domes of the mosque, and another was found underneath them. The petitioners are saying that it is the dome of the temple that existed there. There is also a staircase which they are saying should be investigated by the different scientific methods.”

The court has called for objections against the application before 19 May and listed the case for hearing on 22 May.

https://scroll.in/latest/1049233/hindu-plaintiffs-seek-survey-of-entire-gyanvapi-mosque-alleging-a-temple-existed-there

The Tribune – SGPC seeks President’s help on release of ‘Bandi Singhs’

Tribune News Service – GS Paul

Amritsar – Panjab – India, 09 March 2023. The SGPC has raised the issues of “Bandi Singhs” and the “illegal occupation” of Haryana Sikh shrines and institutions by the ad hoc Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) with the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, during her visit to Amritsar.

The SGPC has been demanding the release of the Sikh prisoners through democratic means for a long time, Harjinder Singh Dhami said in the memorandum.

The SGPC has shortlisted a total of 21 Bandi Singhs, but it submitted to the President the names of nine convicts who had been behind the bars from 17 to 32 years.

“We demand from you to take cognisance of this important issue of release of Sikh prisoners and give necessary directions to the Government of India and the state governments concerned for their release. We feel that by not releasing them, they are being discriminated against and their human rights are being violated grossly in the world’s largest democracy,” Dhami wrote to the President.

Another memorandum pertained to the setting up of a separate HSGMC for management of affairs of gurdwaras in Haryana.

The SGPC said that in February 2022, using police force, the Haryana government-nominated ad hoc HSGMC took possession of eight historic gurdwaras in the state, which are still notified under the management of SGPC under Section 85 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.

“Nowhere, in its order, the Supreme Court gave liberty to the Haryana Government to forcibly take over the management of the gurdwaras of the state under SGPC management, we request you to intervene in this matter and instruct the Centre to ensure that the managements of the gurdwaras of the state, which are still notified under the Sikh Gurdwaras Act are returned to the SGPC besides repealing the HSGMC Act,” read the memorandum.

In the visitors’ book at the Golden Temple, the President wrote, “I am happy to visit and pay obeisance at the holy temple. This holy place with its beautiful architecture and the divine serenity around it evokes feelings of calmness and harmony.
I prayed for peace, progress and prosperity of the country. It was great to see the volunteers working tirelessly in the spirit of service and devotion. May the teachings of Sikh Gurus continue to inspire us to practice brotherhood and unity.

Later, she visited the Jallianwala Bagh and paid homage to the victims of the 1919 massacre. She penned down her experience in the visitors’ book in Hindi.

She also paid obeisance at the Durgiana Mandir where she was received by Durgiana Committee members, led by Laxmi Kanta Chawla. This was followed by her visit to the Bhagwan Valmiki Ram Tirath Sthal before she returned in the evening.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/sgpc-seeks-presidents-help-on-release-of-bandi-singhs-486487

The News – Afghanistan must live up to its promises made to world: Pakistan

Kabul asks Islamabad not to blame Taliban for recent bombing in Peshawar

Azaz Syed

Islamabad – Pakistan, 02 February 2023. Afghanistan must live up to the commitments it has made to the international community and Islamabad, including ensuring that Kabul’s soil isn’t used for terrorism, Pakistan stressed on Thursday.

The response came after Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told Pakistan that the recent bombing in Peshawar, which claimed at least 100 lives and left more than 200 injured, had nothing to do with Afghanistan.

Taking to their Twitter handle, the Afghan Foreign Office said: “Foreign Minister Molavi Amir Khan Muttaqi: Pakistan should investigate the latest explosion in Peshawar and not blame Afghanistan.”

The bomber struck as hundreds of worshippers gathered for noon prayers in a mosque that was purpose-built for the police and their families living in a highly fortified zone, with authorities saying that a member of a militant network was behind the attack.

“It is time the commitments made to the world and Pakistan are fulfilled with sincerity and in had nothing to do with Afghanistan, good faith with concrete actions,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly press briefing.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan expects sincere cooperation from the interim government in Afghanistan to address the challenge of terrorism and hopes that Kabul would live up to the commitments.

“We take the loss of innocent lives very seriously and would expect our neighbours to do the same,” the spokesperson stressed, as the country battles a rise in terrorism.

Terror attacks have increased especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the banned TTP – which has safe havens in Afghanistan – ended a ceasefire with Islamabad in November last year and began its operations, targeting security forces mostly.

In this regard, the spokesperson said that terrorism is a common threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We must take a strong stance against entities that use violence against innocent citizens and law enforcement agencies.”

The spokesperson said that Pakistan remains firm in its resolve to root out the evil of terrorism and safeguard the security of every citizen.

“We do not believe in accusations or finger-pointing; however, we would reiterate our expectation that no country would allow its territory to be used for perpetrating terrorism against Pakistan.”

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1036786-afghanistan-must-live-up-to-its-promises-made-to-world-pakistan

World Sikh News – Religious Sanctity versus Tourism Fantasies: Jains Cried Out and Won

Jains – Jharkhand – Palitana – Sammed Shikarji

Jagmohan Singh

The peaceful, pious, generally inward Jain community has successfully brought the state government of Jharkhand and the Union government to its knees. They were suddenly up in arms.

Literally. Jain religious preachers and followers of Jainism did not take lightly the move by the Hemant Soren’s Jhark­hand People’s Party government in Jharkhand to designate the historic Jain pilgrimage centre Sammed Shikarji, located in the serene environment of the Parasnath hills in Jharkhand as a tourist centre.

After protesting in large numbers across the country, the Jain people gathered in thousands in Mumbai, vowing to ‘fight till their last breath’ and ’till the last drop of blood in their veins’.

Men, women, the devout, and the religious chiefs descended onto the streets ruing the fact that during the Christmas celebrations, the youth descended on their pilgrimage centre and sullied the area in the name of “Christmas celebrations.”

To read the full article click on the link below.

Religious Sanctity versus Tourism Fantasies: Jains Cried Out and Won

India Today – Pakistan fundamentalists lock Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh, call it a ‘mosque’

Satender Chauhan

Lahore – Panjab – Pakistan, 07 De3cember 2022. Pakistan’s ETPB, along with some fundamentalists, has put a lock on Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh and claimed that the structure is a mosque.

Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has closed Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh, located in Lahore, for worship, claiming that it is a mosque.

Pakistan’s ETPB along with some fundamentalists has put a lock on the Gurdwara which has angered the Sikh community in the Islamic nation.

A dispute has been going on for a long time regarding the Gurdwara situated in Lahore, Dawn reported. A large number of devotees visit this Gurdwara everyday and recite Guru Granth Sahib, the report said.

The Gurdwara, located in Shaheed Ganj Naloukha area, has a long and tumultuous history, having been a bone of contention between the city’s Sikhs and Muslims.

This is not the first time when Pakistan has locked a Gurdwara and claimed it to be a mosque. A similar incident was reported two years ago, when a prominent Gurdwara was declared a mosque, prompting the Indian authorities to intervene in the matter and lodge a protest.

India had then stated that a Gurdwara is a place of reverence and the Sikh community considers it as ‘sacred’.

The gurdwara is located a little outside the walled city of Lahore, in an area called Nalaukha that is believed to have once housed the fabled palace of Prince Dara Shikoh. Shikoh served as governor of Lahore before his assassination at the hands of his younger brother, Aurangzeb, the report stated.

The Sikhs believe that it was at this site that hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children from the community were massacred on the orders of Mir Mannu, the governor of Lahore and representative of the Mughal Empire.

The Sikhs claim Mir Mannu himself allowed them to set up a gurdwara here after they agreed to help him in the conquest of Multan at the behest of Diwan Kaura Mal, who was consequently given charge of Multan by Mir Mannu, the report mentioned.

Muslims, however, maintain the Sikhs forcibly took over the mosque, which was functional, after they came to power in Lahore following the demise of the Mughal Empire.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/pak-fundamentalists-lock-gurdwara-shaheed-bhai-taru-singh-calls-it-a-mosque-2306165-2022-12-07

The Tribune – Amritsar: Day after attacks, Christians appeal for peace

To hold candlelight march in Amritsar tomorrow – Appeal to police to find truth

Tribune News Service

Amritsar – Panjab – India, 01 September 2022. Seeking adequate security, the Christian community under the banner of Masihi Maha Sabha today appealed for peace after attacks on social gatherings and vandalisation of statutes in front of a church at Thakarpura village in Tarn Taran district.

The heads of Roman Catholic Church, Dioceses of Amritsar and Chandigarh, Salvation Army and Methodist Church held a meeting in Amritsar today in this regard and decided to hold a candlelight march in the state on September 3.

Meanwhile, all convent schools under the Diocese of Jalandhar and Roman Catholic Church remained closed today.

Bishop Agnelo Gracias, Apostolic Administrator, Diocese of Jalandhar, said he visited Tarn Taran to take stock of the situation.

He said it would be too early to conclude that this particular incident happened due to some religious issues.

“Such incidents divide people on the basis of religion. It is the job of the police to bring out the truth,” he said, adding that the miscreants had tried to vitiate peace. “We have been living without fear. We urge people not to take law into their own hands,” he said.

Dr PK Samantaroy, Bishop, Diocese of Amritsar (DoA), Church of North India (CNI), who is also a chief of the Masihi Maha Sabha, termed these attacks as a clear attempt to divide people and said the miscreants should be dealt with sternly.

Major Makhan Masih of Salvation Army and Rev Ilyas Masih of DS Methodist Church also echoed similar views.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/day-after-christians-appeal-for-peace-427613

UCANENEWS – Mob vandalizes Pieta statue, priest’s car in India

Attack in the northern state of Punjab follows allegations of conversions by ‘fake pastors’

Bijay Kumar Minj

Patti – Panjab – India, 31 August 2022. A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus and a car belonging to a parish priest in India’s northern Punjab state were vandalized in the early hours of 31 August.

Father Thomas Poochalil, parish priest of Infant Jesus Catholic Church in Patti, said an unidentified mob held the security guards at gunpoint and vandalized the Pieta statue in front of the church. They also set his car on fire.

The mob chanted “We are Khalistanis [Sikh separatists],” said the priest, adding that the police had been informed and an investigation is underway.

“Let’s seek the intercession of Our Patroness, Our Lady Queen of Peace, so that peace and tranquility may prevail as early as possible and the culprits be brought before the law,” Father Poochalil added.

“I spoke to Father Thomas Poochalil, the parish priest of the Patti church and will assess the situation there. It is too early to say anything at this moment. It is obviously sad and shocking,” Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias, apostolic administrator of Jalandhar diocese, told UCA News.

The latest attack on the church comes as Sikh leaders have condemned alleged conversion attempts by Christian missionaries in the state. In June, a Sikh head priest* in the state called for an end to conversions of his community members to Christianity.

“Christianity is being spread in Punjab on a large scale to weaken us religiously. Churches and mosques are being built in large numbers in the villages of Punjab, which is worrisome,” Giani Harpreet Singh, the acting jathedar of Akal Takht, said.

However, local Christians have denied allegations that they are carrying out conversion activities.

According to media reports, the incident occurred on the day Akal Takht, the chief center of religious authority of Sikhism, issued a statement against forced conversions by Christian missionaries.

Meanwhile, the Nihang Singhs, an order of warriors, also protested against religious conversions in the state. The Akal Takht, backing the Nihang order, said “fake pastors” are misleading Sikhs and converting them.

There are about 25 million followers of Sikhism around the world and Punjab is a Sikh-majority state.

Conversion to Christianity has risen in recent decades and Christians are now estimated to constitute 10 percent of Punjab’s population of 28 million.

https://www.ucanews.com/news/mob-vandalizes-pieta-statue-priests-car-in-india/98606

The Tribune – Tension in Tarn Taran village after four masked men vandalise church

Suspects also set ablaze car of administrator parked on premises

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran – Panjab – India, 31 August 2022. High tension prevailed in the Patti area of the district today after four masked miscreants vandalised the statutes in front of a church in Thakarpura village and set ablaze a car parked on the premises.

Agitated, members of the local Christian community staged a dharna on Khemkaran Road. Senior civil and police officials met the community leaders to diffuse the situation.

IG PK Yadav, Deputy Commissioner Monish Kumar and SSP Ranjit Singh Dhillon held a meeting with Thomas Poochalil, parish priest, Infant Jesus Catholic Church, Thakarpura.

The officials assured the community that stern action would be taken against the culprits. The SSP said a case under Section 295A, 427, 452 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act had been registered.

Thomas Poochalil, in the press statement, said some unidentified persons held security guards on gunpoint and vandalised the Pieta statue of Jesus Christ and mother Mary. He said a car belonging to the administrator of the church was also set ablaze. “The miscreants were shouting that ‘we are Khalistanis’,” claimed Thomas Poochalil.

The church is also running a Sacred Heart Convent School in the village. It is being stated that parents of a few students could be behind the incident.

Meanwhile, Harpal Singh Baler, national general secretary, SAD (Amritsar), condemned the incident. He said members of the Christian community approaching Sikh families, with an objective to convert them, too was objectionable.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/tension-in-tarn-taran-village-after-four-masked-men-vandalise-church-427255