Violence reported from West Bengal’s East Medinipur district where two security personnel were injured in a firing incident
NEW DELHI — As many as 79.79 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the first phase of polling in 30 Assembly seats in West Bengal on Saturday, while the turnout was a little over 77 per cent in Assam where 47 seats went to the polls in the first phase, as per the data released by the voter turnout app of the Election Commission of India.
More than half of the 73-lakh electorate in Bengal’s 30 Assembly constituencies have cast their ballot and sealed the fate of 191 candidates who are in the fray on the first day of the eight-phase elections in West Bengal where polling is underway in five districts.
At least 21 female aspirants are contesting elections in West Bengal while 23 in Assam.
In Bengal, the serpentine queues showed people are aware of the importance of the crucial poll that is seeing a bitter battle between the ruling Trinamool Congress-led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the BJP that has pitched every high-profile leader into campaigning in West Bengal.
As per the figures from Bengal, the approximate voter turnout trend till 5 p.m. in Bankura was the highest at 80.03 per cent, Jhargram at 80.55 per cent, Purbo Medinipur at 82.42 per cent, Paschim Medinipur at 80.16 per cent and Purulia at 77.13 per cent, according to the Election Commission’s voter turnout App.
“The turnout of voters is estimated at over 77 per cent. The percentage may increase a bit after the final compilation of reports from all the returning officers,” a senior election official told IANS over the phone on Saturday night.
Data also showed 72.14 per cent voting in 22 districts in Assam till 5 p.m. There was 77.16 per cent voting in Biswanath, 71.10 per cent in Bokakhat, 73.29 per cent in Charaldeo, 72.85 per cent in Dhakuakhana, 70.76 per cent in Dhansiri, 71.10 per cent in Dhemaji, 70.14 per cent in Dibrugarh, 71.34 per cent in Gohpur, 75.16 per cent in Golaghat, 72.49 per cent in Jonai, 71.49 per cent in Jorhat, 74.19 per cent in Kaliabor, 70.43 per cent in Lakhimpur, 77.19 per cent in Majuli, 70.67 in Margherita, 78.20 per cent in Nagaon, 64 per cent in Nazira and 71.63 per cent in Sadiya. The voting percentage in Sivasagar was 77.72 per cent, 67.91 per cent in Sonitpur, 70.63 per cent in Tinsukia and 70.92 per cent in Titabor, till 5 pm.
In Bengal’s East Midnapore, two security personnel were reportedly injured in a firing incident that took place early Saturday at the Satsatmal, Bhagwanpur Assembly constituency ahead of voting. Tension prevailed in the Tulsidi village where the incident took place. Security forces are keeping a close vigil in the area, surrounded by forests that were once Maoist hideouts.
There were reports of EVM malfunctioning at 20 booths in Bankura district, eight in Jhargram and 39 in Purulia. EVMs in various booths had stopped working temporarily due to a technical glitch. People said they had to wait for more than two hours to cast their ballot.
Assam recorded around 72.14 per cent voter turn out in 10 hours.
In Purulia, allegations were raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against a former minister and Trinamool candidate of purportedly distributing cash among voters. The BJP has filed a complaint with the poll body.
Suvendu Adhikari’s brother and BJP leader Soumendu Adhikari accused Trinamool Block President Ram Govind Das and his wife for poll rigging at three polling booths, saying “my arrival here created a problem for them to continue with their mischief, so they attacked my car and thrashed my driver”.
Dibyendu Adhikari, another of the Adhikari siblings, told the media he got to know that his brother’s vehicle was attacked in Contai with the help of Trinamool Block President Ram Govind Das. “Soumendu isn’t injured. The driver was beaten up. I’ve informed the Police Observer.”
There are seven seats in high-stakes Purba Medinipur — home ground of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. These seven — Patashpur, Kanthi Uttar, Bhagabanpur, Khejuri, Kanthi Dakshin, Ramnagar and Egra — are perceived as sensitive.
Polling began at 7 a.m. amid tight security for the first phase when the Jungal Mahal area in the south-western fringes that is said to be Maoist-affected, also voting. The polling will end at 6 p.m.
The polls are being closely watched because of the prestige battle between Suvendu Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congress man, who is now facing his erstwhile supremo Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram.
West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh cast his vote at a polling booth in Jhargram during the polling.
Compared to first two hours in the morning, the number of voters increased manifold in the afternoon on polling booths with all section of citizens seen enthusiastically exercising their franchise. Women, particularly first-time voters, carrying voter slips and Aadhaar cards were seen standing in long queues. Special police officers deputed for election duty helped the aged and the physically challenged voters at the polling stations.
Of the five assembly elections scheduled in four states and one Union Territory, West Bengal has the most number of seats and voting spread over eight phases, a maximum. The other seven phases to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held on April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. Results will be declared on May 2.
In Assam, voting began across 11,537 polling stations mostly covering eastern Assam’s 12 districts at 7 a.m.
The balloting will continue till 6 p.m as the Election Commission extended the time by an hour in view of the Covid-19 induced situations.
A total of 8,109,815 voters, including 4,032,481 females, are eligible to cast their ballots.
Covid-19 protocols for the voters, including social distancing and thermal screening, are being maintained.
Election officials said that to avoid crowding, the number of voters for every booth has been brought down to a maximum of 1,000.
As a result, the number of polling booths has been augmented by 34.71 per cent to 33,530 from 24,890 in 2016.
To avoid direct contact with the EVM, every elector is being given a hand glove.
In the 2016 elections, the ruling BJP-led alliance secured 35 of the 47 seats, while the Congress won nine and the remaining three seats by other parties.
According to the election officials, over 30,000 Central Armed Police Forces along with thousands of state security forces have been deployed to maintain law and order during this phase.
The officials said that to maintain social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols and due to technical snags of the EVMs in some polling stations, the casting of votes caused little slow.
No untoward incident has been reported so far from any of the 12 districts where balloting is underway.
Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. — Internet photo
Pope Francis’ early March visit to Iraq what must be counted among the Pontiff’s most epoch-making journeys.
SAEED NAQVI
PARDON my Lucknow chauvinism, but the benighted city once had intimate links with the centre of Shia Islam, Najaf, in Iraq, which Pope Francis visited early March in what must be counted among the Pontiff’s most epoch-making journeys. His 50-minute conversation with Shia Islam’s highest spiritual authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, in his modest, rented house in a Najaf alley, must have enriched both.
“A humble and wise man,” the Pope said of Sistani. “It felt good, for my soul, this meeting.” This was no hyperbole; this seemed to reflect the tenor of the conversation, where only interpreters were present.
Yes, that Lucknow link: in 1850, the Begums of Oudh (Awadh) established what came to be known as a Bequest, a trust, of Rs six million to be spent on the maintenance of the shrines at Najaf and Karbala. Stipends for Indian scholars were also established. After the first war of independence in 1857, the British administered the bequest, which gave them leverage over the Shia clerical authority from Najaf to Teheran. By default or deliberation, the system continued until 1979 when Saddam Hussain consolidated power in Baghdad. Saddam’s Ba’ath atheism would have been uncomfortable with Indian indulgence of Shia sectarianism. What would Pope Francis have made of the fact that “Allah-o-Akbar” was inscribed on the Iraqi flag only after Operation Desert Storm in 1992?
Khomeini’s ancestors
Another Lucknow link would have come up tangentially: Awadh antecedents of Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Iranian revolution. Khomeini’s ancestors migrated from Kuntur, a qasbah not far from Lucknow, known for a line of Shia theologians.
The Pope would have been briefed on the vast difference between Sistani and Ayatollah Khamenei (Khomeini before him) on the role of the clergy in the affairs of the state. The issue had divided the Shia clergy down the middle. How can the Iranian revolution of 1979 be deemed to be an “Islamic revolution” without the second coming of the messiah who, in Shia theology, happens to be the 12th Imam who had “disappeared” in Samarra, Iraq. He would appear only on the Day of Judgement.
The clergy in Qom were on sixes and sevens. I was in Qom to meet Ayatollah Montazeri when this was a common topic of discussion. A revolution had come their way, pending Roz-e-Mahshar, Judgement Day. What label was to be pasted on the great happening? That is when the theory of Vilayat-e-Faqih or Vali Faqih, the Intermediate Imam, was enunciated. Pending the return of the Imam, an Intermediate system, under the Supreme leader, would govern, guided by the teachings of Islam.
Sistani and a section of the clergy even in Qom see their role differently — as spiritual guides only. Was Francis comfortable with Sistani on this score? The different circumstance of Teheran and Baghdad must have been part of the briefs prepared for Francis.
The Shah of Iran
In 1979, the Shah was eased out and the Ayatollahs ushered into Teheran. Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been moved from Najaf to the suburb of Neauphle-le-Chateau on the outskirts of Paris, was that very year flown to Teheran. Why this complicated trapeze act?
In the mid 70s, the US had Communist parties coming out of their ears in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Chile, why, even in Afghanistan. Post Shah fervour in Iran would cause Persian Communist parties, Tudeh and Mujahedin-e-Khalq to surface from the underground. The Ayatollahs, the mosques filled with their cadres, would pounce on the Communists. That the Ayatollahs would be no friends of the Americans became apparent only when the siege of the US embassy in Teheran lasted 444 days, an embarrassment on a scale the Americans had never experienced.
1979 also happened to be the year in which Saddam Hussain consolidated himself in Baghdad. Neither the Ayatollahs nor Saddam were buddies of the US, but each could easily be tempted to seek US help against the other. This suited US officials like Martin Indyk, former Ambassador to Israel, who devised dual-containment — supply arms to both and make them fight. The monkey-between-two-cats policy lasted eight long years.
More to the point for the Pope would have been the aftereffects of the post 9/11 wars thrust on Iraq, Syria, Libya, leading to the trek of millions looking for havens in Europe which, in this instance, was fighting xenophobia at home, a creeping aversion to the outsider, resulting in avowedly illiberal politics. Two of the world’s highest religious leaders must have exchanged views on this frightening trend. True they are religious leaders whose mission was not to discuss politics, but rampaging identity politics are nothing but putrefied religious ideas.
Islamophobia by politicians
Islamic terror, for instance, is cited as a cause for increasing Islamophobia by politicians like, say, Marine Le Pen in France. Such examples are strewn across Europe and other parts of the world. What was at fault was a one-sided media focus on Islamic terror, fuelling a Muslim sense of helplessness and anger, there being no outlet for his point of view.
Some of this Sistani must have addressed during their conversation. I hope he reminded the Pope that the first act of occupying forces was to vandalise the National Museum, the great storehouse of artefacts, books, scrolls representing one of the world’s great river civilizations.
It might be something of a hyperbole that his meeting with Sistani, laden with peaceful intent, reversed the Jehad or crusade launched in 1095 by one of his earlier predecessors, Pope Urban II. The eleventh century Pope was rattled by the Muslim occupation of the holy lands. Also, within a hundred years of Prophet Mohammad’s death, the Muslims had established their rule over Spain and beyond. The pace of Muslim spread was unnerving. Pope Francis’ expedition, on the other hand, provides a soothing touch to a people battered and bruised, having been on the declining side of the civilizational giant wheel for too long, a far cry from the days of Pope Urban.
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Saeed Naqvi is a senior journalist, television commentator and columnist. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com
The objection to the loudspeaker volume by the Uttar Pradesh minister came days after a similar complaint was made by Allahabad University Vice Chancellor Prof. Sangita Srivastava.
BALLIA — After the Allahabad University Vice Chancellor Prof. Sangita Srivastava’s complaint to the district magistrate urging him to take action on the use of loudspeakers for Azaan as it was ‘disturbing’ for her, now a Uttar Pradesh Minister has raised objection to the volume of amplifiers used by the mosques to call for prayers.
Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Swaroop Shukla has sent a letter to the Ballia district magistrate, saying the volume of loudspeakers at mosques should be fixed according to the court orders since he is facing difficulty in discharging his duties, reports IANS.
“Namaz is offered five times in a day. As a result of it, I face problems in doing Yoga, meditation, puja (worship) and discharging government duties,” Shukla said in the letter, referring to the Kajipura Madina Masjid in his constituency.
The minister also mentioned that there are a number of schools in the vicinity of the mosque and the ‘azaan’ hampers their studies.
“Religious publicity takes place through loudspeakers. Information regarding donations for the construction of mosques is disseminated in an extremely loud volume. This has an adverse impact on students, elder citizens and the health of patients. The common public is facing extreme noise pollution,” he said, according to the report.
He urged the Ballia district magistrate to fix the volume of loudspeakers at the mosques in Ballia according to orders of the Allahabad High Court while unnecessary ones should be removed.
He, however, failed to mention the use of loudspeakers at other places of worship as we are a part of diverse culture where every religious community enjoy freedom to practice their religion and temples and mosques are generally found side by side.
Earlier, similar complaint was made by Allahabad University Vice Chancellor Prof. Sangita Srivastava objecting to the use of loudspeakers for Azaan in mosques.
Srivastava had complained to the district magistrate that she is forced to wake up too early everyday due to ‘azaan’ on a loudspeaker, urging the official to take action. Srivastava had also said the sleep disruption leads to headache through the day, impacting her work.
Asserting that she is not against any religion, the vice chancellor had suggested that it can be recited even without a loudspeaker so that it does not cause discomfort to others.
She had also referred to an Allahabad High Court order in this regard, requesting the district magistrate to take prompt action in the matter.
Her complaint letter to the District Magistrate demanding curb on the use of loudspeaker for Azaan drew sharp reactions from various quarters including Islamic scholars of Shia and Sunni school of thoughts.
Sunni cleric Sufyan Nizami questioned her claim saying that how does a 2-minute Azaan disturb his sleep while the use of loudspeaker in temples and during Hindu festivals does not disturb her?
In a country of diverse culture, people from different religions use loudspeakers for religious purposes but Muslims never opposed that, he said.
Accidental death of Santram Valmiki, husband of a Sarpanch, triggers police action
Waquar Hasan
NEW DELHI – Dozens of houses belonging to poor Muslims have been demolished in Madhya Pradesh’s Murwas village in Vidisha district. Several Muslims from the village have also been arrested by the local police following a fight with Vishwa Hindu Prishad activists.
This happened after Santram Valmiki, husband of a Sarpanch, was mowed down by a tractor on Tuesday, which many say was an accident. The accused reportedly belong to the minority community, who were arrested soon after the killing.
Talking to Clarion India over the phone, community leader Anisurrahman said that after the death, local people helped the police in getting the accused arrested. “We searched and gave the accused to the police in order to avoid any problem,” he said.
He said that hours after the incident, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Umakant Sharma gathered a crowd and abused Muslims as well as the police. The following day, the administration with 50-60 vehicles, bulldozers and other machines descended in the village and started demolishing the houses belonging to poor Muslims without any notice. The local administration claimed that the demolition was part of an anti-encroachment drive.
“When houses were being demolished, the victims were mourning and distressed with their luggage sitting helplessly. At that time, people from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) reached there in four or five vehicles. They are saying that no house should be left out and all of them should be demolished,” said Anisurrahaman.
The distressed people, whose houses were being demolished, got angry seeing the VHP activists asking to demolish their houses. This led to a clash between the two groups. During the clash stones were pelted and fires opened. Later, locals blocked roads to register their protest against the VHP activists. At night, the police raided and held 22 Muslims for clashing with the VHP activists and blocking roads. Some of them were later released. Seventeen are still in police custody, he said.
Isamail is one of those whose house was demolished. He is a farmer and father to 5 children. He told Clarion India that his house was demolished without serving any notice. Currently, he is living in the open surrounded by debris of the razed house. He rejected the accusation of encroachment of land saying that he has papers of the land he has been living.
However, the administration claimed that the notice to vacate the land was served on March 14 to them.
Currently, section 144 has been imposed in the area by the police. On Tuesday, Congress leaders went to visit the family members of the deceased Valmiki. Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath reportedly formed a team and sent them to visit the family members of the deceased. But the police did not allow them citing curfew. They were detained.
After being denied opportunity to meet them, Congress leaders held a protest in front of the police and questioned as to why people from the other side were allowed to go and even have a fight with the locals when the accused were already arrested.
This is the second time in six months that the SIMI prisoner serving life term has resorted to this method of protest; his mother appeals for his safety
NEW DELHI — SIMI activist Safdar Nagori who is serving life term in Bhopal Central Jail is on hunger strike since Sunday. According to his mother Fatima Bi, Nogori has taken this step to protest against the excesses that he is facing in the jail. He is especially disappointed that even after more than one year he has got no relief from the torture that he was subjected to on January 1, 2020.
This is the second time in six months that Nagori has gone on hunger strike. In October 2020, the Hindustan Times reported that Nagori and five other prisoners in the Bhopal Central Jail have been shifted to the jail hospital after their health deteriorated on October 3. The Hindustan Times broke the news quoting jail superintendent. The newspaper also reported that they have been on hunger strike for the past one week protesting against inhuman treatment being given to them in jail.
Haider Nagori, brother of Safdar Nagori, had told Clarion India at the time that jail authorities have not informed his family about the well-being of Safdar. He said he came to know about the development through newspapers. Apparently, families of other five prisoners, too, are unaware of the situation inside the jail.
This time around, Nagori has gone on hunger strike with similar complaints. According to his mother, he is demanding end to continued mental torture, end to desecration of Quran in front of him; availability of newspaper and pen, permission to write letters; and access to legal remedies.
In a press statement from her home in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Fatima Bi has sought protection to her son’s life in the jail.
Safdar Nagori has been convicted for a 2008 case in Indore. His appeal against his conviction is pending before the High Court. Nagori is former general secretary of the SIMI or Students Islamic Movement of India, an organisation banned since 2001. Bhopal Central Jail hosts ten convicted as well as 21 undertrial prisoners allegedly belonging to the organisation.
Last September a letter written by Nagori was sneaked from inside the jail. It revealed that SIMI prisoners were facing torture and inhuman treatment at the hands of jail authorities.
In the undated letter, which was made available to Clarion India by elder Nagori, Safdar gave a chilling account of the treatment the jail authorities were giving to its inmates classified as ‘SIMI prisoners’. They are denied “almost all human rights which, otherwise, are available to all other prisoners as mandated by the Jail-Manual-Rules,” read the letter. It said threats, expletives and religious slurs are routine because of which, Nagori said, he is living in constant phobia.
In 2017, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) conducted two investigations into complaints torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in the Bhopal Central Jail. Both investigations concluded that the prisoners were facing physical and mental torture at the hands of prison authorities, and even highlighted the illegality of their continued solitary confinement. Four years have passed, neither the jail authorities nor the state government of Madhya Pradesh has taken note of the findings of a statutory body formed under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
In October 2020, the NHRC issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Inspector General of Prisons, Madhya Pradesh, seeking a detailed report on the present health status of all the SIMI prisoners and their medical treatment records, within 4 weeks. No one took note of the notice. Even NHRC did not pursue. Meanwhile, Safdar Nagori and other SIMI prisoners in Bhopal Central Jail continue to suffer.
