Four arrested in Hubli for links with PFI

Bengaluru, Apr 11: The coronavirus-driven lockdown will continue for another 15 days, but relaxations will be allowed in a graded manner, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said after a four-hour-long video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

“Agriculture and industrial sectors will be given relaxation. Government offices will be allowed to work with partial strength. But the PM said detailed guidelines will be issued in two days,” Yediyurappa said, briefing reporters. 

“Importantly, the lockdown for the next two weeks will be different than how it was in the past three weeks. The Centre, keeping in mind economic activities, especially agriculture, industry and employment of labourers, the Centre will tell us what needs to be done,” the CM said.
 
According to Yediyurappa, PM Modi told all chief ministers that the next 2-3 weeks will be critical. “The next few weeks will decide whether or not we have succeeded. If the situation worsens, we have to face the crisis,” Yediyurappa said, quoting Modi. 

Apparently, Modi sought details on the COVID-19 situation from 12-13 states where the situation is grave. “He did not take a report from Karnataka,” Yediyurappa said. “This morning, seven new cases were reported in the state, taking our tally to 214. Nationally, we were in the third place; we’re now 11th,” he said, hailing the efforts of officials involved in fighting the pandemic. 

The CM said it was “inevitable” to continue the lockdown for another 15 days. “But for citizens to get essential supplies, there’s no bar on them going by walk alone. Also, we will see to it that agricultural activities are not affected anywhere,” Yediyurappa said.

Forthcoming Census and RSS campaign

Currently massive protests are going on against NPR, NCR and CAA. At the same time we are going to begin the process of decadal census in 2021. Already RSS is active in promoting NPR, NCR and CAA. At the same time RSS wants that Adivasis should register themselves as Hindus rather than ticking the column of ‘Others’. As per their spokesperson in the 2011 census many Adivasis groups ticked that column because of which the population of Hindus came down to by 0.7 percent point to come down to 79.8 %. This has sent signals to this Hindu nationalist organization and is planning to ensures that Adivasis tick the column of Hindus in this census.

As such RSS has a very clever attitude in defining the term Hindu. The first formulation was by Savakakar who said that all those who regard the land east of Indus as their Holy land and Father land are Hindus. This left out Muslims and Christians, and brought all others in the ambit of Hindu fold. From the decade of 1980s due to electoral compulsions they have been trying to articulate that all those who are living in India are Hindus. Murli Manohar Joshi stated that Muslims are Ahmadiya Hindus and Christians are Christi Hindus. Recently there was a controversy when they restated that Sikhs are not a separate religion but are a sect of Hinduism. Many Sikh organizations stood up to say that Sikhism is a religion by itself and recalled the book of Kahan Singh Nabha, “Hum Hindu Nahin”

As far as Adivasis are concerned in contrast to what is being planned by Hindu nationalist RSS, many Adivasis groups have been meeting from last couple of years to demand just the contrary. As per them there should be a column where they can tick their identity of Adivasis.  There are active campaigns among Adivasis groups to uphold their Adivasi identity in Census. As per them in the first census which was conducted in Independent India, the column, Aborigines, was there, which was later removed forcing them to club themselves with other religions.

After 1951 in addition to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain and Buddha, the column ‘others’ was also there which was removed in 2011. Even during British period if you look at the censuses of the British era (from 1871 to 1931); there was provision for tribes to choose Aborigine as an option. There are nearly 83 religious practices being followed by Adivasis. Few major of these are Sarna, Gondi, Punem, Adi, and Koya. What they share in common is that they are animists, worship nature and spirit of ancestors; do not have priestly class or Holy Scriptures and Gods and Goddesses characteristic of the broad Hindu pantheon.

RSS as per its political agenda of Hindu Nation regards them as Vanvasi. They pontificate that they have been part of Hindu society who were driven away to forests to escape the forcible conversion being done by the Muslim invaders. This concoction is contrary to the interpretations based on the studies from population genetics. The Hindu nationalist argues that Aryans have been the original inhabitants of the country from where they spread to other parts of the World. The book by Tony Joseph, ‘Early Indians’ tells us that away from the race theory, we are all mixed up. The first inhabitants in our land were the ones who emigrated from South Asia over Sixty thousand years ago.

The Indo-Aryans came here nearly three thousand years ago and they pushed the aborigines to the forests and hills and that’s what constitutes the Adivasi community of India.

Hindu Nationalists like all the nationalists who construct their nationalism around their religion claim to be the most original inhabitants of the land, and their interpretations of past are molded according to that. RSS right from beginning has not been using the word Adivasi, it calls them Vanvasi. As per its agenda it wants them to be part of Hindu fold, despite Adivasis themselves saying that they are not Hindus, they have beliefs and practices which are far away from Hinduism in whatever form.

To enhance its political reach from the decades of 1980s in particular its work in Adivasis areas has been intensified. While ‘Vanvasis Kalyan Ashram’, part of RSS Combine which was formed much earlier, it was in the decades of 1980s that their work was jacked up by sending more Pracharaks in Adivasi areas. We see that in Gujarat, Dangs and nearby area, Swami Aseemanand, in MP, centered around Jhabua-the followers of Asaram Bapu and in Orissa Swami Laxmananad stationed them. They saw Christian missionaries working in the field of education and health as an obstacle to Hinduization of Adivasis. Their propaganda against Christian missionaries led to the ghastly murder of Pastor Graham Stains. It was this propaganda which led to anti Christian violence in various forms, the most horrific being the Kandhamal violence of 2008.

In order to culturally co-opt them into the fold of Hinduism they began series of religious congregations, Kumbhs. Shabri Kumbh in Dangs and many other Adivasis predominant areas created an atmosphere of fear, Adivasis were asked to be part of it, saffron flags were distributed and they were made to put it in their houses. Two religious icons were popularized in these areas, one was Shabri and other was Hanuman. To cap it all, Ekal Vidyalayas, started spreading RSS’s interpretation of history in these areas. The other angle of the whole thing is that Adivasis are living in the areas rich in minerals, which the BJP supporter Corporate World wants to take over.

World over aborigines have similar pattern. They are animists and what they practice is a culture as such. Many have converted to other religions out of their choice for sure, but finally in these matters what is important is the self perception. Hemant Soren the Chief Minister of Jharkhand pointed out that “Adivasis are not Hindus. ”Keeping that in mind; the column of Aborigines needs to find its place in our census forms.

Mangaluru, Apr 23: An astronomical phenomenon, ‘Zero Shadow Day', will be observed in Mangaluru on April 24 and in Udupi on April 25. 

According to a press release from Poornaprajna Amateur Astronomers’ Club, the wonder will commence and people will see their shadows disappear for a few moments at 12:28 pm.

The phenomenon is called as Zero Shadow Day. If a person takes a candle in a dark room and use it to create a shadow of one’s palm on the wall, the hand will cast shadow on the wall as one moves the hand. But when one places the palm on the wall, there will be no shadow.

In the phenomenon, the sun at these times shines exactly above the heads on these days. In astronomy, this point is called as Zenith. The point in the sky directly above an observer at any given location. So it is quite clear now that on Zero Shadow Day, the sun passes through the Zenith as a result of which, all objects will have minimal or no shadow if they are on the ground.

The reason for this happens on some specific days is concerned with astronomy. The earth spins around on its own axis and causes days and nights. It also revolves around the sun causing a year. But the seasons are caused because the axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees. It is because of this tilt that the sun rises every day in the east gradually moving towards the north till June 21st and then slowly proceeding towards the south till December 21st every year. “We call these days solstice. This means the sun shines between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn every day passing by the equator on the days we call equinox,” the release stated.

As the earth moves around the sun and revolves on its own axis, for all the people between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, the Sun at noon moves father and closer to the zenith passing through zenith twice causing two Zero Shadow Days per year. People at Mangaluru will observe this on April 24 and August 18 every year and People in Udupi will observe this on April 25 and August 17 every year.

Places with same latitudes will observe the same days of Zero Shadow but the time would vary with longitude. For example, people of Bengaluru as they share the latitude with Mangaluru will also observe it on April 24. While the people of Mangaluru will observe their shadows disappear at 12.28pm, people of Bengaluru will observe this at 12:17pm. Places like Moodabidri, Bantwal, Sakleshpur and Hassan will also observe Zero Shadow on April 24.

Places like Brahmavar, Karkala, Sringeri, Kudremukha, Chikkamagaluru will observe the Zero Shadow Day on the same day as Udupi on April 25.