Page 29 - Religion Belief
Mamata slams BJP for armed rallies on Ram Navmi
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party for taking out armed rallies on the occasion of Ram Navmi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the BJP was using religion to seek vote and incite violence.
Ali-Bajrangbali row: BJP asks Azam Khan to 'mind his language'
The BJP Saturday slammed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan for his controversial "Bajrang Ali " remark, accusing him of trying to flare up communal tension and asking him mind his language. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain asked Khan to choose his words wisely. "With his 'Bajrang Ali' comment, he has insulted both Hinduism and Islam. The only suggestion I have for him is 'zuban sambhal ke' (mind your language). Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav have been taught lessons for his comments in the past," he said at a press conference. "The fear of defeat in their (opposition's) language is very much visible. All they serve to the country is lies," he added. Khan waded into a controversy Friday, saying "in place of Ali and Bajrangbali, it should be Bajrang Ali. Bajrang Ali todd day dushman ki neli (Bajrang Ali will destroy our enemies' bones)." Khan made the remark after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath compared the Lok Sabha elections to a contest between Ali', a revered ..
Goa Cong complains against BJP chief's remarks on infiltrators
The Goa Congress Saturday filed a complaint with the state's Chief Electoral Officer against a speech by BJP president Amit Shah which the opposition party claimed was a "grave intimidating threat against minorities especially Christians and Muslims in Goa". Shah, during a rally in Darjeeling in West Bengal on April 11, had reportedly said minorities, especially Christians and Muslims, will be removed from the country as infiltrators, claimed Goa Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawathankar, who has filed the complaint with the CEO. "He had said the BJP will remove every infiltrator except Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. If the BJP leader had said that he will remove infiltrators, that was okay but giving it a religious colour has created communal discord and fear and anxiety in the minds of people of minority communities," Kawathankar's complaint reads. The Goa Congress leader has further alleged that Shah, by stating that the BJP would implement the National Register of ...
Word 'Mujahid' should not be linked with terrorism: Srinagar Deputy Mayor
Sheikh Muhammad Imran, the Deputy Mayor of Srinagar, said on Saturday that the word 'Mujahid' is often used in a negative sense and appealed to the people to prefix the word to their names to highlight its actual meaning.
Goa Congress demands police complaint against Shah
In a complaint to the EC, the Goa Congress on Saturday demanded to file a police complaint against BJP President Amit Shah, accusing him of making a communal statement by "threatening" to weed out all infiltrators in India, barring Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.
Hatred speech spreads like wildfire via Internet: UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that hatred speech has been spreading like wildfire through the Internet, saying attention should be given to "physical aggressions" as the recent attacks against the Jewish, Christian or Muslim centres.
Adityanath, Mayawati respond to EC notice on model code violation
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BSP supremo Mayawati Friday responded to the show cause notices issued by the Election Commission for prima facie violating the model code of conduct by invoking religious feelings. While Adityanath handed over his reply to the chief electoral officer in Lucknow, Mayawati sent her reply to the Election Commission here, sources said. The poll panel had on Thursday issued notices to the two UP leaders. Mayawati was issued the notice over her speech in Deoband appealing to Muslims not to vote for a particular party, finding that the BSP chief had prima facie violated the model code of conduct. The commission, in its notice to Mayawati, had said prima facie it is of the opinion that the BSP chief has violated provisions of the model code of conduct. During the rally on Sunday, Mayawati said the Congress was busy dividing the votes and cautioned the gathering to guard against any such attempt. "In western UP, where people of all communities .
Thousands of Pakistanis form human chain in image of Christchurch mosque
Thousands of Pakistanis clad in white gathered in the central city of Jhang Friday to make a human image of Christchurch's Al Noor mosque, where 50 people were killed by a white supremacist four weeks ago. Drone images showed worshippers standing in formation, their snow-white traditional shalwar kameez and prayer caps in stark contrast to the emerald green of a public field, as a second group formed the words "Islam is peace" nearby. Huge New Zealand and Pakistani flags were also displayed along with a giant banner which read: "Solidarity with the martyrs of Christchurch from Pakistan". The tribute was organised by the Muslim Institute, a non-government organisation aimed at promoting peace and stability in the Muslim world, which also released the drone footage. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian and self-avowed white supremacist, has been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 of attempted murder after opening fire at the Linwood and Al Noor mosques on March 15. Nine of the
Over 2,200 Sikhs from India arrive in Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi
Over 2,200 Sikh pilgrims from India arrived here on Friday to celebrate Baisakhi festival at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Rawalpindi district. The pilgrims, who arrived at Wagah railway station by two special trains, were received by Secretary of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Tariq Khan and Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Sardar Tara Singh. The ETPB looks after the holy places of the minority community in the country. Gurdwara Panja Sahib has a handprint of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, on a boulder of the shrine. "A total 2,206 Sikh pilgrims have arrived here from India on two special trains. After immigration they left for Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hasan Abdal(in Rawalpindi)," ETPB spokesman Amir Hashmi told PTI. Baisakhi is celebrated to mark the beginning of a new harvest season. Under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974. Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe ...
Will win with or without you: Maneka tells Muslim community while appealing for votes
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said that her win from the Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency is certain "with or without" the support of the Muslims and the community should realise it since they will need to get their work done once BJP is in power."You have to recognise that this victory is sure without you and even with you, and you will have to spread the word," she said while addressing a rally in Sultanpur.Emphasising that she had distributed Rs 1000 crore for Muslim institutions to flourish, she said: "You came to seek our help at the time of your need. But, if you say during election time that we will not vote for the BJP and instead vote for any other party which can defeat BJP, then it breaks our heart"."I have already passed this election. But now if you have to lay the foundation for getting help then this is the right time to do so," Maneka Gandhi added while indirectly calling upon the Muslim community to vote for her.Polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held in all seven ...
Brunei: Controversial Sharia law aimed at 'prevention'
Brunei has defended its move to implement Sharia law, saying it was "about prevention rather than punishment", after global condemnation of its decision to implement the strict Islamic code under which adultery and sex between men is punishable by stoning to death.
Goa Dy CM asks EC to relax alcohol sale deadline
In a letter to the Election Commission (EC), Goa's Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday sought a relaxation in the 11 p.m. deadline for the sale of alcohol in Goa's bars and clubs, saying the measure would have an adverse impact on the state's tourism-driven economy.
Sense of oneness brings greater life satisfaction to people: Study
People who believe in oneness -- the idea that everything in the world is connected and interdependent -- may have a significantly greater life satisfaction than those who don't, regardless of whether they are religious or not, according to a study. "The feeling of being at one with a divine principle, life, the world, other people or even activities has been discussed in various religious traditions but also in a wide variety of scientific research from different disciplines," said Laura Marie Edinger-Schons from the University of Mannheim in Germany. "The results of this study reveal a significant positive effect of oneness beliefs on life satisfaction, even controlling for religious beliefs," said Edinger-Schons, author of the study published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Edinger-Schons conducted two surveys involving nearly 75,000 people in Germany. In the first survey, over 7,000 participants were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to ...
Goa CEO asks parties not to use religious events to woo voters
Poll authorities in Goa have asked political parties and their candidates to desist from using socio-religious functions to woo voters ahead of the April 23 election in the state. They have also directed political parties not to hold any public meetings in religious places. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kunal Thursday held a meeting with political parties with regards to hindrance caused while performing religious activities due to the restrictions imposed under the model code of conduct (MCC). The MCC is currently in force for elections to the two Lok Sabha seats and bypolls to three assembly seats in Goa on April 23. The meeting was called following a series of complaints from temple committees that the EC's flying squads are forcing them to stop religious activities post 10 pm citing the MCC. Goa is currently witnessing feasts at various temples in rural areas. Speaking to PTI, Kunal said directions have been issued to political parties and their candidates, asking ...
Ex-Pope breaks silence on church's sex abuse crisis
Retired Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence on the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalisation of the church's moral teaching.
71.81 pc polling in AP's Krishna dist
A total of 71.81 per cent of polling was registered by 6 PM in Andhra Pradesh' Krishna district Thursday, the district election officer said. At a press conference here Thursday night, district collector A.Md. Imtiaz said the highest polling percentage of 84 in the district (16 assembly segments) was reported in the Kaikaluru parliamentary constituency and the lowest percentage was 60 in the Vijayawada West and Mylavaram assembly segments by 6 PM. Still the voting was continuing in some polling centres in the district, he added. The polling has been delayed for hours in many locations, including Vijayawada (East), Vijayawada (west) and Tiruvuru segments due to technical glitches of the electronic voting machines. The polling was completed peacefully and no untoward incident was reported across the district. The voters, who were standing in queues by 6 PM, were being allowed to cast their votes. All the EVMs were being sent to the counting centres - Vijayawada and Krishna University ...
EC sends notice to Yogi, Mayawati for 'violation' of Model Code of Conduct, seeks reply within 24 hours
Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday sent notices to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and UP CM Yogi Adityanath over their speeches delivered in Deoband in Saharanpur on April 7 and 9 respectively, which allegedly violated the Model Code of Conduct.Both the leaders have been asked to submit their response within 24 hours.The two leaders have been issued notice under Sub-Section (3) of Section 123 of the Representation of the People's Act. The commission in its notice to them also reminded that the Supreme Court through a judgement in 2017 had ordered that religion and caste cannot be used by anyone while making any statement during electioneering or otherwise."The EC is prima facie of the opinion that you have violated the aforesaid provisions of the MCC and also wilfully disobeyed the order of the Supreme Court by making impugned statements," the Commission said in the notice issued to both the leaders.Mayawati while addressing a rally in Deoband on April 7 had ...
Election Commission issues notice to Mayawati
The Election Commission on Thursday issued notice to BSP chief Mayawati over her remarks exhorting the Muslim community to vote only for SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidates in Uttar Pradesh and said it violated the Model Code of Conduct.
Polling on at some booths in Andhra even after 10 p.m.
Polling continued in some polling centres in Andhra Pradesh past 10 p.m. Thursday as voters stood in long queues waiting for their turn to exercise their franchise.
Hindu sisters not forcibly converted: Pak HC
A Pakistani High Court on Thursday declared that the two Hindu sisters from the country's Sindh province were not forcibly converted to Islam.The court permitted them to reunite with their husbands.According to Dawn, the two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15) and their spouses had filed a petition in the Islamabad High court on March 25, against the alleged harassment by the police.In their plea, the girls maintained that they willfully converted to Islam.The incident came to light after a video went viral on social media, showing the girls' father and brother claiming the two girls were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.In a separate video, however, the girls claimed that they accepted Islam out of their own free will, as they were impressed by its teachings.Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah had constituted a five-member committee to probe the matter.During an earlier hearing, the court had directed the state to take over the custody of two girls and ensure ...