Police commissioner P S Harsha appeals to people to send videos of riots for investigation

During last couple of decades we have been witnessing the coming up of various statues in different parts of the country. There is diverse political logic and different set of political tendencies for erecting these statues. When Mayawati was UP CM, she got multiple of her own statues made, in addition to many statues of major dalit icons, irrespective of the criticism against that act. As per her strategy it was a symbol of identity of dalit assertion. The biggest statue to come up was that of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, a lifelong Congressman, whom RSS combine is trying to appropriate. This statue of Unity was ‘Made in China’. The clever trick was that the same forces were behind this statue, which was banned by Patel in the aftermath of Gandhi murder. Interestingly while currently BJP is blaming Congress for Partition of India, ironically it was Sardar Patel who was in the committee which gave final stamp of approval for the partition of India.

There is also a talk in UP, where the Ram temple campaign yielded rich electoral dividends for BJP, to have tallest statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. In a state where children are dying in hospitals due to lack of Oxygen cylinders, a huge budgetary allocation will be required for such project. While on statues one should also remember that in Maharashtra a tall statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is underway in Arabian Sea, near Mumbai. Only few voices of protest against it came up, e.g. that of renowned journalist, now, MP, Kumar Ketkar, whose house was vandalised for his opposing the move on the grounds that same massive amount can be utilized for welfare-development activities in the state.

On the back of this comes a comparatively low budget 114 feet tall statue of Jesus Christ in Karnataka, in Kappala hills Harobele village, where Christian pilgrims have been thronging from last several centuries. The land for this has been donated by Congress leader Shivaprasad and his brother, a Congress MP. It is planned to be carved out from a single rock. The plan of this statue is being opposed by those who have been behind most of the statue projects so far. Hindu Jagran Vedike, VHP, RSS are up in arms saying that they will not let this come up. There are various arguments cited for this opposition. It is being said that this was a place of worship of Lord Munnieshwara (a form of Lord Shiva).

More than this it is being argued that Shivakumar is trying to please his Italian boss in the party. Also that this will bring back the period of slavery of foreign rule, the colonial rule of British. As such this opposition is more in tune with the ideology of RSS combine, which has been for a statue here and a statue there. Their politics regards Christianity as a ‘foreign religion’! It is true that in Citizenship Amendment Act, they have not excluded Christianity while other religion, which they regard as ‘Foreign’ i.e. Islam. Here they are using a different logic, that the countries from where persecuted minorities are coming, are Muslim countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangla Desh.

In India the major targeting by RSS combine has been against Muslims, but Christians are also not spared. Starting in the decade of 1980, an intense propaganda has been going on that Christian Missionaries are converting. As RSS affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram became active in Adivasi areas, the likes of Swami Aseemanand, Swami Laxmanand and followers of Aasaram bapu spread out in Tribal areas. They started their programs to popularise Shabri and Hanuman, with congregations like Shabri Kumbh being regularly organized in these areas. The aim was to Hinduize the people in those areas.

The first major anti Christian violence came up in the ghastly form of burning alive of Pastor Graham Steward Stains along with his two minor sons Timothy and Philip. RSS affiliate Bajrang Dal's Dara Siingh aka Rajendra Pal was behind this and he is serving the life term for that. At the same time Wadhva Commission was appointed to investigate this crime which shook the country and President K.R. Narayan termed it as the one belonging to the inventory of the black deeds of human history.

The Wadhva commission report pointed out that there was no statistical significant change in the region where the pastor was working. Similarly the national figures tell us that the Christian population, if at all, has marginally declined in last five decades as per the census figures. They stand like this, percentage of Christians in population, 1971-2.60, 1981- 2.44, 1991-2.34, 2001-2.30 and 2011-2.30. There are arguments that some people are converting to Christianity but are not revealing their religion. This may be true in case of miniscule percentage of dalits, who may not reveal there conversion, as they stand to loose reservation provisions if they convert.

The anti Christian violence is scattered and is below the radar most of the places. There was massive valence in Kandhamal, Orissa, when on the pretext that Christians have murdered Swami Laxmananand, a massive violence was unleashed in 2008. On regular basis prayer meetings of Christians are attacked on the pretext that these are attempts at conversion. While there is a huge demand for the schools and colleges run by Christian groups, in Adivasis areas and remote areas the work of Swamis is on.

Now the trend is to dump Christian traditions. Since Ramnath Kovind became President, the usual practice of Carol Singers visiting Rashtrapati Bhavan has been stopped. In the army retreat so far ‘Abide with me’ by Scottish poet, Henri Francis Lyte, a Christian song, a favourite of Gandhi, has been dropped. The Christian minorities have perceived the threat in various forms. Currently they are as much part of the protests against CAA, NPR and NRIC as any other community.

While statues and identity issues cannot have primacy over the social development issues, it cannot be selective. To oppose Jesus Christ statue while spending fortunes for other statues is a part of the agenda of RSS combine, which is unfolding itself in various forms. opposition to Jesus Christ statue being yet another step in the direction.

Bengaluru, Feb 25: Opteamix LLC (Opteamix), a digital technology firm, announced today that they have been awarded as a 'Dream Company to Work For' by the World HRD Congress.

Opteamix was ranked 11th in this category which had companies from multiple industries across the globe vying for the title.

In addition to the Dream Company ranking, Opteamix was also recognized for its innovative HR practices and Corporate Social Responsibility practices. The event took place at Taj Land's End in Mumbai on February 16.

Opteamix presented their concept 'Happiness at Work - When Culture drives Performance' that elaborated upon the methodology behind the enhancement of employee happiness.

"We have taken a holistic approach to help our people stay happy at work. While we knew that EQ and IQ were critical to the growth of people, we also believed that it is the Spiritual Quotient (SQ) which our in-house NGO - Right To Live caters to, that helps our people experience next-level career growth," said Varsha Dubey, Lead - Happiness and Learning Activator, while explaining the theory behind the happiness at work during the 30-min presentation before delegates from 65 countries.

"We have empowered our people by equipping them with the right set of tools to help them excel in their performance based on OKR (Objectives and Key Results), CFR (Communication, Feedback, and Review) and Competency Mapping. The optimum blend of these performance management tools has resulted in making a significant impact on the careers of our people and therefore, happy people and 100 per cent innovation and efficiency at work," added Shalu Priya - Director, People Experience.

Now in its 28th year, the World HRD Congress presents awards to organizations that promote innovative human resources practices. The award categories include leadership, talent management, employer branding, training and development, employee engagement, and more.

In the recent past, Opteamix had been recognized for its commitment to employee excellence with numerous awards and recognitions including 'Dream Companies to Work for' in 2017 and 2018.

World HRD Congress is billed as South Asia's largest HR event, featuring an eminent panel on international and local speakers from across public and private sectors.

The conference serves as a platform for the HR fraternity to deliberate on the insights, initiatives and implications of people management practices. The theme this year 'Happiness at work', recognized individuals and companies for their exceptional people management practices.

"We strongly believe in creating a culture of happiness at Opteamix. To us, happiness is as important as revenue and profits. The culture of happiness has been the Opteamix way of life since inception, which has led us to achieve our ultimate goals - higher career growth for all members and richer customer experience," said Raghurama Kote - Founder and COO of Opteamix, on being asked what a happy organization meant to him.

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.