by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
Villagers at the Hindu temple in Budhupur
By Imran Khan,
Budhupur (Bihar) : After Mansoor Ansari donated land and Mokhtar Alam donated money to build a temple while other Muslims helped in its construction. The villagers also got together to play host to Hindu seers and devotees at inauguration of the temple here earlier this week.
Budhupur is largely a Muslim-populated village with less than a dozen Hindu families.
At a time when hate crimes are increasing, many see it as a shining example of communal harmony. Cousin brothers Mokhtar and Mansoor had come forward to help build the temple to Goddess Durga. Other Muslims joined them by contributed in different ways and also by supervising its construction.
Mansoor donated 2.5 katha land (One Katha is 750 sq ft, at least) for the temple and Mokhtar gave Rs 3.5 lakh for construction. Both are resident of Budhupur.
After helping build the temple under Ghatera panchayat in Guraru block in Gaya district, 140 km from Patna, mostly Muslim villagers welcomed Hindu seers and hundreds of devotees from neighbouring villages as guests during a “Yagna” to mark the inauguration of the first temple in the village.
“We had played hosts to Hindu seers and devotees earlier too when “Chandi Yagna” and special prayers were offered,” Mokhtar told IANS here. Mokhtar recalled that his family had also donated land for a madrassa and a mosque in the village. Mansoor said they had been living together with the Hindus for for years and taking care of each other. “It is a gesture for communal harmony,” he added.
The villagers used the madrassa as a guest house for the invitees and the mosque acted as a service centre.
Dozens of Muslims in this village donated foodgrains, milk, edible oil and LPG cylinders for the the week long rituals. The temple was opened for prayers and worship after installation of the idol of Goddes Durga following the “Yagna” which concluded on Thursday.
Hindu villagers have been lauding and praising the Muslim villagers for their act. “It was not possible without their help,” Umesh Manjhi, a Dalit villager, said. He was particularly impressed that the youth worked as volunteers and women chipped in to help.
Kailash Yadav said earlier they would offer prayers and performed rituals on a platform under the open sky. “Contribution of Muslims is something historical for us,” he added. The head of the village body, Ranvijay Das said the temple had now become a “matter of pride” for them.
Bhagwan Bhaskar, a political activist in Gaya, said the development would send a strong message of harmony and peace. “People active in public life should propagate how Muslims helped build a temple,” he said.
Dr Roomi, a homeopathic practioner, said such a cooperation should be encouraged. “If Muslims can help build a temple, Hindus should now come forward to help Muslims in their projects,” he said.
This is not the first such case. Last year, a Muslim family donated its land for the upgradation of a temple in the state’s Gopalganj district. Three years ago, some Muslims in Bihar’s east Champaran district donated land to help build one of the largest Hindu temples with a capacity to seat 20,000 people. “Without help of Muslims, it would have been difficult to realise this dream project,” Acharya Kishore Kunal, secretary of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust, that is undertaking to build the ambitious project, said.
Muslims form 16.5 per cent of Bihar’s 105 million population. In the Seemanchal region, they account for nearly 67 per cent in Kishanganj, 37 per cent in Purnea, 43 per cent in Katihar and nearly 40 per cent in Araria.
(Imran Khan can be contacted at imran.k@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Employment, Government Jobs
Patna : Nearly five lakh candidates, mostly engineering and Ph.D degree holders, have applied for 4,257 posts of guest teachers in the government-run schools of Bihar, officials said on Tuesday.
“We have received nearly five lakh applications for 4,257 posts of guests teachers in schools. It is much beyond our expectation,” an official of the Education Department said.
According to the officials, nearly 80 per cent of candidates who have applied are from engineering stream, mostly B.Tech and M.Tech degree holders.
The state government decided to appoint guest teachers to cope with the shortage of teachers in its schools.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Nitish Kumar
Patna : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said climate change has been affecting the state over the years and its impact is visible, with monsoon getting delayed every year and the volume of rain also showing a downward trend.
Although the state had hardly contributed to the phenomenon of global warming, it had to face the impacts of climate change, he said.
“Climate change is affecting Bihar and its impact is bad for the state. Not only monsoon arrival is getting delayed year after year, the rain volume during the season has also declined,” Nitish Kumar said in his inaugural address at a two-day East India Climate Change Conclave that began here on Sunday.
Nitish Kumar said climate change was posing a new challenge to Bihar’s agriculture and water resources.
“We have been working to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the state,” the Chief Minister added.
Nitish Kumar and Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan together inaugurated the climate change conclave.
He also raised the issue of increasing siltation in the river Ganga and urged Harsh Vardhan to take up this issue on priority.
“Centre’s ambitious National Waterway-1 (NW-1) project will not succeed unless the issue of siltation is addressed to ensure free and adequate flow of water,” Nitish Kumar said.
According to him, siltation in Ganga is the result of construction of several dams, including Farakka dam, which are interrupting the river’s natural flow at the bottom, leading to deposition of silt.
Ministers and officials from six eastern states — Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Assam — also attended the conclave. They will discuss issues related to the impact of climate change in the region.
“The eastern part of the country is prone to disasters like floods, drought and earthquakes, and climate change has increased the threat of such disasters,” Harsh Vardhan said.
The Union Minister said that personal initiative in addition to global initiative was important to save the world from the perils of climate change.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said that the state government had set a target of either generating or buying 2,000 MW of solar power by 2022 in order to cut carbon emission.
The conclave has been organised by the Bihar Environment and Forests Department in association with two think tanks — Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and Action on Climate.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Patna : Communal tension gripped Bihar’s Nawada town on Friday after a religious idol was found damaged, police said.
Nawada District Magistrate Kaushal Kumar said that as soon as the news spread, a protest erupted, leading to violent clashes between two communities.
Angry mobs damaged vehicles, torched shops and pelted stones at police.
However, the situation was soon brought under control, Kumar added.
Additional security forces have been deployed in the town to maintain law and order.
The Nawada parliamentary constituency is represented by Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is known to be a vocal champion of Hinduvta politics.
Communal tension had also erupted in Nawada last year and in 2013.
In the past week, communal tension that first started in Aurangabad district during Ram Navami processions, spread to Samastipur, Munger, Nalanda, Sheikhpura and Gaya districts.
The opposition parties have slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for what they called his “failure to handle the situation”.
Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Friday blamed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the communal tension, saying he planned the trouble during his recent 14-day visit to the state.
Tejashwi, a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and also former Deputy Chief Minister, alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cadres were given training for violence during Bhagwat’s visit.
However, Union Minister Ram Kirpal Yadav refuted Tejashwi terming his allegations baseless.
In a related development on Friday, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Anil Singh, who was arrested in connection with the recent communal clashes in Aurangabad town, managed to escape from police custody.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Arijit Shashwat
Patna : A case was lodged against Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwani Choubey’s son in connection with communal clashes during a procession in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, police said on Monday.
“Two cases were lodged in in connection with the clashes two days ago. The first was against taking out the procession without permission, inciting communal sentiment and roaming on roads with displaying arms in which Choubey’s son Arijit Shashwat and 20 others were named as accused,” police officer Md Janeefuddin told.
Janeefuddin said that an investigation has begun into Shashwat’s role in the clashes that took place in Nathnagar on Saturday.
The procession was organised by the Bharatiya Navvarsh Jagran Samiti on the eve of the Hindu New Year.
However, Choubey as well as local BJP leaders have claimed that rally organisers had been given permission by the district administration.
The minister also denied that provocative slogans were raised and objectionable songs were played in the procession.
Shashwat had unsuccessfully contested the last Bihar Assembly polls as the BJP candidate from Bhagalpur, considered a stronghold of Choubey.
Choubey was elected MP from Buxar Lok Sabha seat in 2014.
Tension still prevailed in Nathnagar and neighbouring Champanagar areas.
Additionnal security forces have been deployed and internet services have been suspended since Saturday night.
Bhagalpur is a communally sensitive place as it witnessed one of the worst communal riots in 1989 in which more than 1,000 people were killed.
—IANS
