A team comprising of Dr. Mrigank (Delhi Committee, Indian Federation of Trade Unions, IFTU), Poonam Kaushik (Gen. Secy. Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan, PMS), Rajeev (Convener, Progressive Democratic Students’ Union, PDSU) visited JJ Colony Bawana and made investigations into the reports of alleged planned cow slaughter and intimidation of Muslims.
"The situation in Bawana area of North-West Delhi remains sensitive after some anti-social elements are continously trying to instigate Hindu-Muslim violence. A few days back on 2 October, some 200 Hindu youths riding motorcycles and cars paraded the area with police protection in the name of preventing cow slaughter. Muslims will be observing Eid-ul-Adha on 6 October, Monday, but no one in Delhi sacrifices cows, respecting the sentiments of the Hindu community. The next day, on 3 October, Hindu youths observed road jam. Posters appeared in the area calling for war to protect cow...
"Narendra Modi’s first official visit to the United States, which ended on Sept. 30 was quite a spectacle. There was a campaign-style appearance before 18,000 adoring fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Jumbotrons in Times Square broadcast an extravaganza that featured Bollywood dancing, convention-style balloon-drops, and a receiving line of dozens of U.S. congressmen. Modi was working hard, it seemed, to introduce himself favorably to Americans and the Indian expatriates who live among them.
"The police in Madhya Pradesh have declared a marriage between a Christian man and a Hindu woman invalid, after protests by right-wing groups. Joseph Pawar, who is in his 20s, and Ayushi Wani, 19, reportedly eloped and married at an Arya Samaj temple in Bhopal on September 28. They were traced by the police to Pavagadh in Gujarat after the girl’s parents filed a complaint and the Hindu Jagran Manch and other right-wing organisations threatened to launch an agitation. The two hail from Jobat town in tribal-dominated Alirajpur district.
" Religious motifs like the swastika and trishul (trident) have found their way on to the white, yellow and orange flower elephants and other animals that have been installed at many vantage points in the Capital, the Rail Bhawan roundabout being one of them. While some questioned the logic behind using religious symbols on exhibits being put up for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan due to start on October 2, the authorities insisted that the likes of the calf elephant, seen holding a garland with its trunk, had only been decorated this way for aesthetics and nothing else..."
'...Recently, a video surfaced in which he allegedly exhorted Hindu men to convert 100 Muslim girls to Hinduism for each Hindu converted to Islam. Yet, the BJP appointed him the star campaigner for the bypolls in 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. In the past few years, Adityanath’s political presence had remained almost dormant. But after the BJP’s sweeping victory in the recent General Election, he is back with a bang. His rising fortunes became clear when he represented the BJP in the Lok Sabha debate on the sensitive issue of communal riots.
"South Asia Solidarity Initiative joins hundreds of millions throughout India and millions in the diaspora that refuse to go along with Modi and his hateful agenda. Modi came to power with support of only 30% of the popular vote. We stand with the other 70% that voted against Modi and his fundamentalist, anti-people ideology.
The Sangh Parivar is intensifying its drive to polarise voters across India on communal lines, encouraged by the presence of Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs at the Centre. The style and content of the campaign vary from State to State, but the goal is victory in the next round of Assembly elections. A survey of the ground situation...
"Several posters prohibiting ‘non-Hindus’ from entering garba venues came up in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar town Thursday, the first night of Navratri festival. Police removed the posters hours after they were put up at the entrance of several venues in the town. BJP MLA Usha Thakur had started the campaign to ban Muslim men from attending garba events from Indore, 75 km from Dhar. Dhar SP Bhagwant Singh Chouhan told The Indian Express that the posters — which stated, “Non-Hindus are not allowed inside garba pandal” — appeared to have been put up by the same group.
"It may be an 89 year old organisation, identified as representing a more conservative set of values. But the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is witnessing steady growth. With more shakhas, online recruits, and mainstreaming of their agenda, the Sangh - ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - is on the upswing. In July 2012, the Sangh had 34,761 shakhas; this number swelled to 37,125 shakhas the following year; and this year - by July 2014 - RSS was holding 39,396 daily shakhas.
