Hangal challenged Sena’s might

August 27, 2012

Hangal

Mumbai, August 27: In 1998, when German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s birth centenary ceremony was organised by 14 progressive cultural groups and numerous other left, secular individuals in Mumbai, veteran actor and activist AK Hangal inaugurated the programme.

Hangal placed Brecht as an example for artists to fight against fascist powers that encroach on people’s freedom.

“It is Brecht’s work against the fascists in Europe that encourages artists to stand against such forces,” he had said, in the programme which was held in Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan, Prabhadevi.

Hangal was the member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and his association remained till his last breath on August 26.

“Apart from being active in the party’s cultural wing, he had keen interest in other activities as well. His comradely nature and belief in progressive values remained intact till the end,” said AB Bardhan, former general secretary, CPI.

Hangal worked as a tailor in Karachi and came in contact with the Communist movement there. He moved to Mumbai after partition, where he came in contact with other veteran actors like Balraj Sahni and the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

It was his secular and progressive ideology for which he suffered a boycott from the entire film industry for two years, after his encounter with Sena chief Bal Thackeray over accepting an honour given by the government of Pakistan. Hangal told Thackeray that he did not need a certificate of patriotism from anyone to prove his love for India. Fearing that casting him will draw the Sena chief’s ire, he was not signed on for any film for two years.

“He was the last of that league of actors, who thought of art as a tool for social change,” said Subodh More, one of the organisers of the programme on Brecht. Prakash Reddy of CPI remembered Hangal as a party member who even at the age of 95 would discuss the party’s activities with the enthusiasm of a youngster.

CM Prithviraj Chavan offered his condolence to Hangal, and said he was a person who never lost faith from secularism and Marxism.

Datta Iswalkar, leader, the mill workers’ union, said, “Hangal walked with us in a number of rallies. He believed that the worker is the real tool of revolution.”


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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: An IPS officer's thumb was bitten by a woman protester when he was pushing back agitators, who were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan here on Thursday, police sources said.

The protesters had gathered after a call was given by JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh to march towards President's House to demand the removal of University's Vice Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar.

Ingit Pratap Singh, a 2011 batch officer, who is currently posted as the additional deputy commissioner of the southwest district, was injured in the attack.

According to sources, Singh was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in a bid to shield her friend, bit Singh's left thumb.

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Agencies
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: With Saudi Arabia indefinitely suspending visas for visit to Islam's holiest site for the Umrah pilgrimage in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, more than 10,000 people in the state who are awaiting their turn this year for the annual Hajj pilgrimage are a worried lot.

"This year more than 10,000 people in Kerala have been cleared by the Hajj committee," said C Muhammed Faizy, chairman, Kerala State Hajj Committee.

"There is no cause of worry. We hope that during the time of the pilgrimage, the travel restriction by Saudi Arabia will be lifted," he said.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to the holy site that can be undertaken at any time of the year, while the annual Hajj pilgrimage has specific months according to the lunar calendar.

"The move by the Saudi Arabian Government to impose travel restriction was due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is a preventive step to contain it. In such large gatherings, if one person is affected, it will spread to others. So we fully understand the concerns of the Saudi Government," Muhammed Faizy added.

He said that the Hajj Committee only processes the requests of annual Hajj visit pilgrims and not Umrah.

"This year we expect the Hajj pilgrimage season to be from June to August after Ramzan. But it may vary according to the Ramzan date. We are yet to get any official correspondence from the Saudi Government regarding travel restrictions," he added.

The Saudi Arabian Government suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the coronavirus, with many having to cancel their Umrah pilgrimage at the last minute.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Kanpur, Jan 18: Kanpur has witnessed an Unnao-like incident as the out on bail accused in rape case attack the family members of the victim. The mother of the victim, who later died in the hospital, was brutally attacked by the accused. The accused reportedly attacked the victim's mother and her aunt on January 8.

The actual rape case goes back to 2018 when a group of men abducted a minor girl from her own society. The accused had reportedly raped her and also beaten up her mother.

A video of mother being beaten up reportedly went viral soon after.

The mother of the victim had reportedly filed a complaint against one of the accused for abducting and molesting her daughter two years ago at a tannery falling under jurisdiction of Chakeri police station. The main accused along with five others was booked under section 354 of the IPC (sexual assault of children) and sent to jail. Around two weeks ago, the accused got bail and on January 9 they attacked the deceased and her sister.

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