'Twenty-three years after it was banned following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the Bajrang Dal on December 6 this year renewed its pledge for a Ram temple at the mosque site. The anniversary of the demolition is technically a day of “valour” (Shaurya Diwas) for the Hindutva outfit. This year, however, Shaurya Diwas wasn’t subdued as in many past years. There were elaborate press releases and there was heightened activity on right-wing Twitter handles in support of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
'Forensic analysis of bullet cartridges found at the scene of murder of Kannada scholar M M Kalburgi in Dharwad in August this year and comparison with cartridges recovered from the spots where communist leader Govind Pansare was killed in Kolhapur earlier this year, and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013, has provided evidence of the probable involvement of a common set of killers.
'A leader of the Punjab unit of the Shiv Sena has offered Rs 1 lakh to anyone who slaps Bollywood actor Aamir Khan for his comment on ‘growing intolerance’ in the country. The Shiv Sena, however, said on Thursday the remark was not the official view of the party. “Any person who slaps Aamir Khan will be rewarded Rs 1 lakh by the Shiv Sena. This is important because no one living in our country should dare to say anything against India… Anyone from the hotel staff or the film crew can slap him and take the reward,” Punjab Shiv Sena chief Rajeev Tandon said on Wednesday...'
'A Kashmiri trucker was attacked by a mob shouting anti-Kashmir slogans in the volatile Jammu region, sparking condemnation from a prominent business body in Jammu and Kashmir. Police and family sources said Farooq Ahmad, a resident of Keegam in south Kashmir's Shopian district, was injured when "miscreants" attacked his Srinagar-bound oil tanker near Nandini Tunnel on Srinagar-Jammu Highway Saturday night and later assaulted him. The victim was left in a bleeding state by the six assailants, who were shouting anti-Kashmir slogans and travelling in two cars, sources said...
'In a shocking incident at Allahabad University on late Thursday night, students belonging to the BJP’s youth wing ABVP physically attacked, harassed and intimidated Richa Singh, the president of the students union and other students including women. The incident took place during a peaceful hunger strike that was being led by Richa.
Shri Pranab Mukherjee
President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi - 110 004
Honourable President of the Republic of India,
We, the signatories to this representation, members of the IITKanpur community (past and present) in different capacities, join the nationwide call of artists, scientists and various intellectuals who have been registering their protest against growing intolerance in India.
As UK academics researching development in India, we are deeply concerned about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to the UK from 12-14 November, and call for the human rights abuses on his watch to be questioned in the public domain (Opinion, 10 November).
'Last year, just before Narendra Modi's victory in India's general election, I had written in an article, Gender violence and Narendra Modi, about what life might be like in the country if he were elected. Now, some eighteen months later, it is clear that my fears were more than justified. If the run up to the election was horrifying in its violence, today things are infinitely worse.
'A local BJP leader has dared Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to eat beef at Gopi Circle here but gave an ominous warning: if he did so, he would be beheaded. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is behaving like a dictator. He has stated he would eat beef if he chooses to do so and nobody could stop him. Let him eat beef at Gopi Circle in Shivamogga. If he does so, he will be beheaded. We won’t think twice about that...'
