Page 17 - Religion Belief
BJP permitting all religions to co-exist: Nominated Anglo-Indian MP George Baker (IANS Interview)
Religion is a private matter and the BJP is allowing all religions to co-exist, unlike previous dispensations that had divided the people in the manner of the British colonial rulers, says actor George Baker, one of the two nominated Anglo-Indian members of the Lok Sabha.
Amazon under fire for 'hurting' Hindu sentiments
E-commerce website Amazon faced a major backlash on Twitter on Thursday and #boycottAmazon trended on the micro blogging site after users started tweeting out against the retail giant for "hurting" Hindu sentiments and selling floor mats and toilet seats with images of Hindu deities.
Dubai Crown Prince, his two brothers marry on same day
The Crown Prince of Dubai and two of his brothers - all sons of UAE Vice President and ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, were married in a private religious ceremony here. Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan, 36, was married to Sheikha Sheikha bint Saeed bin Thani Al Maktoum on Wednesday, according to Dubai Media Office on Thursday. On the same day, Deputy Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, 35, married Sheikha Mariam bint Butti Al Maktoum and Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed, chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, 32, married Sheikha Midya bint Dalmouj Al Maktoum. The brothers, who share the same mother, Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma, signed an official marriage contract on Wednesday. A wedding ceremony is expected to follow, local media reports said.
Court takes cognisance of complaint against Kamal Haasan for 'Godse first Hindu extremist' remark
A Delhi court Thursday took cognisance of a complaint against actor-politician Kamal Haasan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by terming Nathuram Godse, who killed Mahatma Gandhi, a "Hindu extremist". Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand posted the matter for August 2 when the statement of complainant Vishnu Gupta will be recorded. The complainant has sought Haasan's prosecution for alleged offences punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, language etc) and 295-A (outrage religious feelings by insulting religion etc). The offences are punishable with three-year imprisonment or fine, or both.
82-year-old Gujarat woman ready to embrace death, begins 'Santhara'
Kanchan Devi Baid, an 82-year-old Jain woman, has decided to embrace death by opting for the practise of 'Santhara'.Santhara is a practice by which an individual embraces death by not eating and drinking water. This practice is regarded as a festival of death by the members of the Jain community, and the 'tapasvis' are hailed for their penance.Baid is willing to end her life and hence, began fasting on May 11, her family said.Speaking to ANI, Baid's granddaughter Nivedita Navlakkha said, "She (Baid) is doing 'Santhara' which is a part of our culture. This is not new for us as I have heard about the elders of our family doing this. However, when I see this happening in front of our eyes, it is not easy to accept. We are happy as she will attain 'moksha' (salvation)."She went on to explain that Santhara, which is an essential part of Jain community's belief and culture, is based on the philosophy that an individual's soul leaves the body willfully, which becomes a burden at old ...
Doctor arrested for sharing derogatory post on Sadhvi Pragya
Mumbai Police have arrested a 38-year-old homoeopathic doctor for allegedly posting derogatory content on BJP's Bhopal candidate Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on a social media platform.The doctor, identified as Sunil Kumar Nishad, was arrested on May 15, police said.Based on the complaint filed by an activist Ravindra Tiwari, the Parksite Police in Vikhroli registered an FIR against Nishad under the section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code.A resident of Vikhroli West, Nishad was arrested for posting objectionable posts against Thakur and Brahmans, the FIR registered in the matter mentioned.
Attack on religious procession kills 4 in Burkina Faso
Four people were killed when a Catholic procession was attacked by unidentified armed men in Zimtenga here, church authorities said on Wednesday.Paul Ouedraogo, president of the Episcopal Conference of Burkina Faso and Niger told CNN that a statue of the Virgin Mary was also burned by the assailants during the attack.Even though the children in the procession were set free by the attackers, four adults were killed.This comes a day after gunmen opened fire on worshipers in a Catholic church in Dablo, killing six people, including a priest."We will not be bogged down by the religious attacks," Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo said at a conference here on Tuesday.Crimes against people from the Christian faith are on the rise in the land-locked African country, with five churchgoers having lost their lives during an attack in Burkina Faso's Silgadji in April this year.International NGOs have reported that thousands have fled their homes due to rising attacks by armed groups this year.
Can't interfere with religious beliefs: HC on plea against TN govt circular on yagna for good rains
The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking it to quash a Tamil Nadu government circular asking officials to perform 'yagna' for good seasonal rains, observing it cannot interfere with religious beliefs. V Anbazhagan, who said he is the editor of a web magazine, had filed the plea against the circular issued in April by the commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, a government department which manages the temple administration in Tamil Nadu. In the plea, he said promoting yagna for rain without saving rain water, growing trees and removing encroachments on waterways, the state government was causing financial loss to the general public and religious institutions. "The circular is without jurisdiction," he said, adding it is creating a situation whereby the rituals prescribed by the authority will spread irrational thinking. The petitioner said the government can only indulge in secular activities and not profess to enforce the beliefs of a particular ...
Tensions rise over Ukraine's new independent church
Bitter divisions among Ukraine's religious leaders were laid bare Wednesday when honorary Patriarch Filaret accused the young head of the newly created united church of governing single-handedly despite earlier agreements. For more than 300 years, Moscow controlled part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church but Kiev last year won religious independence in a huge coup for the ex-Soviet country's pro-Western authorities. The 90-year-old Patriarch Filaret had been widely tipped to become the head of the united church but Metropolitan Yepifaniy, 40, was then suddenly chosen to the post last December. Filaret, who headed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate independent of Moscow, called a news conference Wednesday to claim that Metropolitan Yepifaniy had reneged on agreements to lead the newly-created church together. "There was an agreement that I continue to govern the church in Ukraine together with Yepifaniy while he will represent the church abroad," he told reporters. He
Amarinder Singh promises memorial for Behbal Kalan firing victims
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced a memorial in or around Bargari for those who lost their lives in the police firing in Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura in 2015.Ridiculing BJP leader Parkash Singh Badal's claim of Bargari and other sacrilege cases being bygones, the Chief Minister said people never have, and never will forget the desecration of their holy scriptures, and the Shiromani Akali Dal supremo should be ashamed of even suggesting the same."How can anyone forget what happened during the rule of the Badal's? Not one or two but 58 Sri Guru Grant Sahibs were desecrated, not to count the Gutka Sahibs. Bhagwad Geeta, the Bible and the Quran were burnt or torn," he said at an election rally here."What happened in those months, including at Bargari, and the incidents of police firing on those protesting peacefully against sacrilege, right under the nose of Badal is not something that Punjab can ever forget," he said.The Chief Minister was addressing a public ...
Nita Ambani thanks Lord Ganesha for IPL win
Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani on Wednesday offered thanksgiving prayers at the famed Siddhi Vinayak Temple here.
'Godse was a first Hindu extremist' remark: HC refuses to entertain PIL against Kamal Haasan
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL which referred to actor-cum-politician Kamal Haasan's remark about Mahatma Gandhi's assassin being a Hindu terrorist and had sought directions to the Election Commission (EC) to "restrict" misuse of religion for poll gains. A bench of Justices G S Sistani and Jyoti Singh said the cause of action for the PIL by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay was the remarks by Haasan which was made outside the jurisdiction of the high court here and therefore, it cannot hear it. The court, however, asked the EC to expeditiously decide Upadhyay's representation against Haasan's remark. The petition, filed by Upadhyay, has also sought debarring of candidates and deregistration of parties that "misuse" religion for electoral gains. Upadhyay, also a lawyer, has alleged that Haasan "deliberately" made the statement in the presence of a Muslim majority crowd for electoral gain. The petition contends that this was clearly a corrupt practice under the ...
Bangladesh Christian poet arrested over writing on priests
Police in southern Bangladesh arrested a prominent poet Tuesday after he was accused of hurting the religious feelings of the country's minority Christian community, police said. Henry Sawpon, a Christian himself, was detained in Barisal, south of the capital Dhaka, after a priest filed a case against him for a series of defamatory writings about the clergy. "He was arrested under the country's digital security law for hurting religious sentiments of the Christian community," Barisal Metropolitan Police commissioner Shahabuddin Khan told AFP. Sawpon, whose poems and rhymes are regularly published in leading Bangladesh newspapers and magazines, was sent to jail after a court rejected his bail application. Police said Sawpon had posted slanderous remarks against Barisal's Catholic fathers on his Facebook profile since 2016. He also accused the city's Bishop of embezzling funds. Days before his arrest, Sawpon told local media that two unidentified men entered his home after midnight and .
TN police file FIR against Kamal Haasan for remarks on Godse
The Tamil Nadu police Tuesday filed an FIR against actor-politician Kamal Haasan for his controversial "free India's first extremist was a Hindu" remarks referring to Nathuram Godse, as saffron organisations moved the courts in Delhi against the actor-politician. Makkal Needhi Maiyam and a Minister who wanted the actor's tongue to be chopped off for his remarks entered into a war of words, even as the MNM chief found support from Asaduddin Owaisi, the firebrand AIMIM leader. "The one who killed Mahatma Gandhi, whom we regard as Father of the Nation, what do we call him? We call him Mahatma or 'rakshas' (demon)?Call him terrorist or assassin?" he said. "If not calling the person who killed Bapu as terrorist, what else will you call him?" he told reporters at Hyderabad. Stoking a controversy, Haasan had said on Sunday that "free India's first extremist was a Hindu", referring to Nathuram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi. "I am not saying this because this is Muslim-dominated
PIL filed in Delhi HC against Haasan for Godse remark
A PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday seeking action against actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan over his recent statement terming Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as the first Hindu terrorist of free India.
UK to take up Christian persecution in India
The UK government on Tuesday said that it would take up the issue of the alleged persecution of Christians in India, with a British minister pointing to a "worsening" of such cases in the country. During a scheduled session of oral questions for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the House of Commons, UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field said the British government would raise all specific cases of such alleged religious persecution in India with its counterparts. "India of course is one of many countries where there has been an increased worsening in recent years and we will obviously at a consular level take up all the cases [of Christian persecution]," Field told the Commons. He was responding to a specific intervention by Scottish National Party MP David Linden, who raised the case of a group of Christians allegedly being beaten during a prayer meeting in India in early May and asked for government action over the escalating cases in the country. Earlier, UK foreign ...
Lord Ayyappa temple opens for five day monthly pooja
The famed Lord Ayyappa temple here opened for the five day monthly poojas this evening to mark the Malayalam month 'Idavam' . Chief priest V N Vasudevan Namboothiri opened the sanctum sanctorum of the hill shrine in the presence of 'tantri' Kandararu Rajeevaru. Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A Padmakumar, board member K P Sankardas, Sabarimala Special Commissioner and district judge Manoj were among those present when the temple was opened. A large number of Lord Ayyappa devotees climbed the sacred 18 steps and offered prayers on the initial day, a TDB release said. There was no special poojas on Tuesday and the shrine would witness customary pujas and rituals, including 'neyyabhishekam', 'kalabhabhishekam' and 'padi puja' in the coming days, the release added. After the five-day poojas, the shrine would be closed on May 19.
Vaghela condemns Dalit discrimination, urges societal harmony
NCP leader Shankersinh Vaghela Tuesday condemned recent incidents in Gujarat of Dalit wedding processions being stopped by some groups, saying such discrimination was a blot on Hinduism. He urged people as well as Hindu seers to take up a campaign to establish harmony among all castes and communities. "I condemn such acts of not allowing Dalits to take out wedding processions. This is blot on Hinduism. Law alone cannot deal with this. The entire society needs to come together to fight this evil and establish harmony," he said. "I urge Hindu seers and saints to focus on this issue and spread awareness among the masses in order to end this discrimination of Dalits," Vaghela told reporters here. He went on to warn that such discrimination would eventually force Dalits to leave Hinduism and convert to other religions. "Dalits also serve in our armed forces and protect our nation. But, when they visit their villages, they become subjects of discrimination for being a Dalit. ..
Gunmen kill four at Catholic parade in Burkina Faso: church
Gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession in north Burkina Faso a day after a priest and five parishioners were murdered at mass, church officials said Tuesday. The parade with a statue of the Virgin Mary was moving through the town of Ouahigouya on Monday when "a group of terrorists intercepted the procession, killing four worshippers and burning the statue," said a spokesman for the Ouagadougou Cathedral. According to the Burkina Faso news agency AIB, the assailants stopped the procession. "They let the minors go, executed four adults, and destroyed the statue," it quoted a local person as saying. Paul Ouedraogo, president of the Episcopal Conference of Burkina Faso and Niger, told a meeting of bishops in the capital Ouagadougou the attack had claimed four lives. The killings came a day after a group of 20-30 armed men, according to witnesses, burst into the Catholic church in Dablo, also in the Nord Region of Burkina Faso, shooting dead five parishioners and their ...
Complaint filed against Kamal Haasan for 'Hindu terrorist' remark
A complaint was Tuesday filed before a court here seeking prosecution of actor-politician Kamal Haasan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by terming Nathuram Godse, who had killed Mahatma Gandhi, a "Hindu terrorist". The matter is likely to be listed before a Metropolitan Magistrate on May 16. The complainant has sought Haasan's prosecution for alleged offences punishable under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, language etc) and 295-A (outrage religious feelings by insulting religion etc). The offences are punishable with imprisonment of three-year jail term or fine, or both. The complaint was filed by Vishnu Gupta who claimed to be the president of an organisation Hindu Sena. Haasan "deliberately and maliciously" made "absolutely derogatory comments to outrage religious feelings of Hindus by associating terrorism with the Hindu religion", he alleged. The comment was made with the sole intention "to promote
