1. Lynchings Will Stop if People Don’t Eat Beef: RSS’ Indresh Kumar
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Leader Indresh Kumar on Monday, 23 July, courted controversy when he claimed that lynchings across India would cease if people just stopped eating beef.
According to ANI, Kumar emphasised that cow slaughter was banned across religions like Islam and Christianity. “Mob lynchings are condemnable, but cow slaughter is a sin across religions,” he added.
On the same day, Rajasthan Minister Jaswant Yadav told ANI: “Appeal to Muslims to understand the sentiments of Hindus and stop smuggling cows. They must stop this business.”
Kumar and Yadav’s statements come days after a 32-year-old man, Akbar Khan, was lynched in Rajasthan’s Alwar. The lynchings have continued in India even as the issue is being widely debated in courts and in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament.
(Watch the full video here)
2. Van Set Afire in Aurangabad as Maratha Quota Protests Turn Violent
A van in Aurangabad’s Gangapur was set ablaze by Maratha Kranti Morcha workers on Tuesday, 24 July, as protests demanding reservation for the Maratha community in government jobs and education turned violent.
The agitation aggravated a day after a 28-year-old demonstrator took his own life by jumping into the Godavari river in the temple town of Kaygaon in Aurangabad’s Gangapur taluka. Two more people – Jayant Sonavne and Jagannath Sonavne – attempted to kill themselves while taking part in the demonstrations.
Some others in the demonstration resorted to shaving their heads in protest.
(Watch the full video here)
3. Assam NRC: The Citizenship Chaos That Has the State on Edge
These three letters are playing on the minds of people who have any connection whatsoever with the Indian state of Assam. It stands for National Register of Citizens. It is a massive administrative exercise aimed at identifying illegal foreigners – illegal Bangladeshi migrants to be specific.
The ultimate goal of the NRC is to identify Indians living in Assam. And for that there’s a critical cut-off date – 24 March 1971. If people can prove that they or their ancestors were living in Assam or were citizens of India on this particular day, they become eligible to be enrolled in the NRC.
(Watch the full video here)
4. This Pak Election, Hindu Dalit Women Brandish A Pencil for Rights
In 2016, a few members of the Dalit community started a movement called Dalit Sujaag Tehreek (DST) to highlight the issues and plight of the backward classes. The DST is primarily focusing on the social upliftment and political empowerment of Dalit women.
Three out of five candidates contesting elections under the DST banner are Dalit women. Lelan Lohar, who is eyeing a seat in the National Assembly, termed the child marriages and forced conversion of Dalit girls as the biggest problem for her community.
The DST uses a pencil as their election symbol as Radha Bheel (one of the Dalit women who started the party) believes only education can bring real change. Their slogan reads, ‘Ilmsaanmunjhonpyaar; qalammunjhonhathiyar’, meaning education is my love; pen is my weapon.
This is the first election of the DST, and both Bheel and Lohar are positive with the response their campaign received. They plan to register the DST as a political party after the elections.
(Watch the full video here)
5. Exclusive: Ex-ISI Chief Gen Durrani on Pak’s Civilian-Army Tussles
In his latest book, Pakistan Adrift, former ISI Chief General Asad Durrani has put forth his views on the tension between Pakistan’s former prime ministers – Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif – and the Pakistan Army. He has talked about the many tussles between the civilian government and the army.
His last book, The Spy Chronicles, had ruffled feathers at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Unmindful of the controversy, former ISI Chief is all set to regale readers once again.
Speaking to The Quint, General Durrani rues how military intervention has affected the growth of the democratic institutions in Pakistan.
(Watch the full interview here)
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