'Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked people to read the Bhagavad Gita for half an hour every day over the remaining lockdown period, triggering fears that such advice could alienate sections of the society... This wasn’t the first time Kejriwal had resorted to religion in recent times. Ahead of the Delhi elections last month, he had invoked Hanuman — a popular deity especially in North India — in what appeared to be an attempt to undercut the BJP’s narrative of projecting the AAP as anti-Hindu for its opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act...'
'The Kashi Vikas Samiti has taken objection to actress Sara Ali Khan’s visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi complaining that her attendance at the ‘Ganga Aarti’ was not acceptable as she is a non-Hindu. The Samiti has demanded an investigation into her visit and action against those responsible, News 18 reported. Also seeing her visit to the temple through communally colored lenses were some Deoband clerics.
'In an apparent bid to avoid a 'Hindu' backlash, especially, when the next assembly polls in the state are due in two years times, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has given a go-ahead for the 'Ram Navami Mela' in Ayodhya dismissing concerns against its own advisories against large gatherings in view of the Coronavirus outbreak. According to some estimates, around one million devotees from across the country would be congregating in Ayodhya to take part in the 'Mela, which would be held from March 25 to April Two...'
'The festival of colors, Holi is here and soon all over one message is set to boom across – ‘Bura na maano, Holi hai (It’s Holi, take no offense).” However, we have been slow to realize what a travesty of consent the above slogan is. Starting by being normalized through Bollywood, the idea of a woman’s consent washed off faster that the color on her. From then to now has come such a time that this festival is now been given a communal colour by the right-wing saffron brigade. We tell you why the celebration of Holi in its current form is a threat to women throughout India...'
'A separate toilet for Brahmins in Kuttumukku Mahadeva Temple in Thrissur district has raised a storm on social media. As the controversy raged, Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) initiated a probe into the issue...'
'About 20 kilometers east from Delhi’s border with Uttar Pradesh lies Dasna, a small town in Ghaziabad. Muslims are a majority in Dasna but it is also home to one of the shrillest voices in the Hindutva ecosystem - Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati. The chief priest of Devi Mandir at Dasna, Narsinghanand is also the leader of a Hindutva organisation called Hindu Swabhiman and president of the Akhil Bharatiya Sant Parishad... On number of occasions, his name has come up in connection with raising the communal tensions in western Uttar Pradesh, including the areas adjoining Delhi.
'A tribal leader was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly referred to mythological sage Parashuram as a “terrorist from Greece” who tried to destroy local indigenous communities. Ramkrishna Jalmi was arrested by Crime Branch officials after multiple complaints were filed accusing him of offending religious sentiments of Hindus in his speech at an anti-CAA rally held on Saturday in South Goa district. “He has been arrested and booked under Sections 295 (insulting religion) and 153A (promoting communal disharmony).
'Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday stoked a fresh controversy alleging that children who study in missionary schools lack "sanskaar" and end up in practices like "beef-eating" when they go abroad. Addressing a religious function at his Lok Sabha constituency in Begusarai of Bihar, the firebrand BJP leader also advocated, as an antidote, teaching of "shlokas" of Bhagvad Gita and the verses Hanuman Chalisa at private schools.
'If you eat food prepared by a menstruating woman even once, then your next avatar will definitely be that of a ‘balad’ (ox). A menstruating woman who cooks food for her husband will certainly be reborn as a ‘kutri’ (bitch). These are the preachings of Swami Krushnaswarup Dasji of Swaminarayan Bhuj Mandir ((Nar Narayan Dev Gadi) that exposes the misogynistic mindset of the sect and its followers, who run the Bhuj institute where 68 hostellers were forced to strip for a menses check...'
'The assault on Dalit gender equality activist Bindu Ammini, by a fervent Ayyappa devotee, reveals the fragility of the Hindu nationalist male ego and a deals a chink to the Hindutva armour... Like other nativist and anti-pluralist projects, Hindutva is premised upon the restoration of a primeval order that involves the dominance of man over woman, father over son, savarna over avarna, avarna over Dalit, fair skin over dark, state over subjects, religion over law, priest over devotee, teacher over student.
