Karnataka school run by RSS man makes kids ‘demolish’ Babri Masjid in a play

Controversy

The Chief Guests for the event were Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, DV Sadananda Gowda; Puducherry Governor Kiran Bedi; and several Ministers from Karnataka.

Theja Ram

At least a hundred children are on stage – many of them in white shirts and white pants, and others in white shirts and saffron dhotis. They rush towards a huge poster of the Babri Masjid, as a narrator says on a loudspeaker: “They start demolishing the structure with anything they can get their hands on. With enthusiasm, Hanuman bhaktas with Hanuman’s anger, they bring down Babri structure. Bolo Shri Ramachandra ki, Jai!” As the proclamation of Ram’s name comes on the loudspeaker, the poster of Babri Masjid has been brought down by the students, and the children on stage are cheering and jumping in excitement.  This video is from Sunday, when a group of Class 11 and 12 students from Karnataka’s Sri Rama Vidyakendra High School located in Dakshina Kannada district’s Kalladka, were made to enact the demolition of the Babri Masjid. After the act described above, they put up a ‘Ram temple’ in its place, and throughout the “play”, there are chants hailing Ram, Sita, and Hanuman. The school is owned by RSS leader and the organisation's south-central region executive committee member, Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat. Prabhakar Bhat is a powerful RSS leader in the coastal belt of Karnataka. Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, RSS leader and the organisation's south-central region executive committee member The Chief Guests for the event were Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, DV Sadananda Gowda; Puducherry Governor Kiran Bedi; and several Ministers from Karnataka including H Nagesh and Sashikala Jolle were present at the School Day function at Sri Rama Vidyakendra, where the play was staged. When asked why a school owned by him would enact a communally-charged play, which goes against the Supreme Court’s observations on Babri Masjid demolition, Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat told TNM that he does not agree with the Supreme Court. “Even though the Supreme Court has said that what happened in Babri was wrong, we have questioned that part of the judgment itself. We cannot accept everything that is said in the judgment. I don't agree with it,” Kalladka Bhat said. Kalladka Bhat even said that he felt nothing was wrong in showcasing a play on what he believes is a historical event. “It is not a mosque. It is just a building. It is a historical event that we are depicting. We have depicted Jallianwala Bagh as well. Did anyone highlight that? There are hundreds of instances like this and we have to show the injustices that have happened in our country,” Kalladka Bhat said.  Kalladka Bhat maintained that he did not see anything wrong in showcasing such a play. “Who are Babur's children? We are not against Mslims. We are against terrorists. The play was done to show historical events and what is the problem with it? Our temple was destroyed and then the structure was built. We have said Babri structure. It was not a masjid,” Kalladka Bhat added.   When asked if he condoned the act of putting up a communally sensitive play, Union Minister Sadananda Gowda said that he was not present at the school when the play was enacted. “I don’t know. I was not there when the play was enacted. I arrived at the school only at 7.30 pm and I think it was over by then. I have to know more about this before commenting,” he said.  Other than the Babri Masjid demolition enactment, students also made huge formations in the shape of a lotus, star, om and the Ram temple that is envisaged to come up at Ayodhya. A picture shared by Kiran Bedi shows her waving at the students who had made the temple formation. Another formation d school children made was of the proposed Shri Ram Mandir at #Ayodhya. All such performances enabled d school ensure all of its 3800+ school children participate in d annual festival of Sri Rama Vidya Kendra, Kalladka Village, near Mangalore @PTI_News @ANI pic.twitter.com/IdaoySuBY4 — Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) December 16, 2019 Satish Bhat Shivagiri, the President of the school claimed that there was nothing communal about the play and they were simply depicting ‘developments’.  

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Four Bengaluru cops suspended for extorting bribes via Paytm from 'drunk drivers'

Suspension

According to higher officials, the officers were neither given the responsibility of checking for drunk driving nor were given alcometers by the department.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

Four police officers from Bengaluru have been suspended after it was found that they were taking unauthorised fines from drunk drivers via digital payments and letting them off without issuing receipts or seizing their vehicles. Top police officers in the city carried out a special undercover drive after receiving numerous complaints from the public. During this drive, four officials from Bengaluru’s Ashoknagar traffic police station were caught taking bribes. ACPs Sathish and Kavitha went to the spot as soon as they received the complaints where they were able to confirm the complaints. The suspended officers have been identified as Assistant sub-inspector Muniyappa, constables Gangaraj, Nagaraj and Harsha. The four stationed themselves at Srinivagilu Junction near Koramangala where they carried out their unofficial ‘checks.’ According to reports, the Joint Commissioner of Police B R Ravikanthe Gowda stated that the officers were not given the responsibility of checking for drunk driving and they were not given alcometers by the department. A complaint had been made to a senior police official, stating that the four were carrying out such inspections and had been collecting fines without issuing challans or receipts. Upon further investigation it was found that the four officers were using private alcometers which were not issued by the government or police department. The four officers stationed themselves near Srinivagilu Junction which falls under Ashoknagar traffic police station limits. In addition to the alcometers, a cash amount of Rs 32,000 and several drivers’ licences have been recovered from the suspended officers. According to the Times of India, the four men also allegedly employed individuals, who were not a part of the police force, to harass motorists. A case has been registered with the Viveknagar police station against the four traffic policemen for extortion and misusing an official position.

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Bengaluru citizens protest at Town Hall against Citizenship Act

Protest

Historian Ram Guha, MP Rajeev Gowda were among the prominent personalities who took part in the protests.

Soumya Chatterjee

Crowds of protesters gathered at Bengaluru’s Town Hall to voice their opposition against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Sunday evening. While there have been many smaller protests in the city over the past few days, Sunday's gathering was the largest in the city so far. Protests were held on Friday in other towns and cities across Karnataka. The protesters, many of whom waved the tricolour flag or held placards criticising the ruling dispensation, joined in shouting slogans against the Act, calling it divisive and discriminatory. Many said it was contrary to the Indian constitution and spoke about the pluralistic legacy of the country. We have another freedom movement to take part in. To free India from the real tukde-tukde gang dividing Indians on the basis of identity. Let us pledge to fight for an inclusive India & celebrate our diversity. I urge everyone to join the struggle to save the soul of our country. pic.twitter.com/qboQXs4O30 — Rajeev Gowda (@rajeevgowda) December 15, 2019 Prominent speakers which included historian Ramachandra Guha, Congress MP Rajeeev Gowda, MLA Sowmya Reddy and Siasat Daily Editor Amer Ali Khan, among others, criticised the BJP for bringing in new “divide and rule” policies like that of the pre-Independence British Raj. Addressing the gathering, Guha said, “This country was founded on the principles of diversity. But the people who rule us in Delhi now want to impose one language and one religion on each one of us. But we will resist this. We don’t want one language and one religion, but we want democracy and pluralism.” Calling it a “black” Bill, Bengaluru-based Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Gowda said, “I have come from Delhi with a heavy heart. I wanted to move amendments that would have annulled all the negative aspects of it. But the people in the last election has elected a party with majority and managed to push this ‘black’ Bill in both Houses of Parliament. But that does not mean we stop the fight.” He continued, “This is not a new fight. It has been going on near to a century. It is a conflict between two ideologies, one which divides India on the basis of religion and one that is ours which wants to celebrate the diversity of India. The one which wants to celebrate the uniqueness of one another regardless of gender, language, region, culture or race. That is the India which we have been building but trying and overcoming the hatred that was sown by forces of division. In 1947, those forces succeeded in dividing the country. Today, those same forces of division has brought the CAA.” A majority of those who gathered also protested against the equally controversial the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Divide among the protesters However, there was a significant number of protesters, mostly students and young professionals from Assam who spoke in favour of the NRC and their historical demand for such a policy. While the NRC exercise was recently carried out in Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that it will be carried out in the rest of the country by 2024. Situation in rest of country The protests in Bengaluru were held peacefully amidst police presence at the venue, but protests in many parts of the country took a violent turn. There were instances of police excesses against students of Jamia Milia and Aligarh Muslim University as well. Internet in Aligarh has been shut down for a day. Due to incidents of large-scale violence in Bengal, Internet services were shut in West Bengal's six districts -- Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas too. Assam and Tripura, which saw large-scale protests over the last couple of days, experienced an uneasy calm as internet shutdown continued for a third straight day.

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Bring coastal Karnataka region under South Western Railway, say users

Railways

Rail users claim that coastal Karnataka, being under a different railway zone, suffers from lack of development and addition of new trains.

Soumya Chatterjee

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In a renewed effort, rail activists based in coastal Karnataka held a tweetathon on Sunday demanding that Mangaluru and other coastal Karnataka stations be brought under the South Western Railway zone. Currently the coastal parts of Karnataka are partly under the Palakkad division of Southern Railway and partly under Konkan Railway, while the rest of the state is under South Western Railway. Using the hashtag #CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR, the activists tagged Minister of State, Railways Suresh Angadi, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal, local MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel (who is also the state BJP president) and Shobha Karandlaje among others to act on their pleas. The announcement of such a merger was made in 2003 but since then has been put on the back-burner. The activists now want the same proposal to be taken forward by the Centre in the next union budget, due to be presented on February 1. To argue for their cause, the rail users said although there was significant demand both in terms of passengers and freight, there has been no major overhaul of railway infrastructure in the region. They say that due to the lack of train services, there has been a decrease in freight over the last three years. Similarly, there are long delays in trains connecting the coast with Bengaluru due to the lack of infrastructural development. One rail user tweeted, “Karwar express reaches Mangalore@5.30 AM frm Bangalore & it reaches Udupi by 8.15 AM. Just to cover 70 KM from Mangalore to Udupi it takes 2 Hr 45 minutes. Our MP is not bothered to take this issue with ministry.” Karwar express reaches Mangalore@5.30 AM frm Bangalore & it reaches Udupi by 8.15 AM. Just to cover 70 KM from Mangalore to Udupi it takes 2 Hr 45 minutes. Our MP is not bothered to take this issue with ministry @SWRRLY@RailMinIndia @ShobhaBJP#CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR — Satheesh Amin (@Satheeshamin) December 15, 2019 Another tweet read, “One State One Rail network. Bring Dakshin Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada districts under @SWRRLY which will ease the operations and connect rest of the state with coastal Karnataka..” One State One Rail network. Bring Dakshin Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada districts under @SWRRLY which will ease the operations and connect rest of the state with coastal Karnataka. @SureshAngadi_ @PiyushGoyalOffc @nalinkateel #CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR — danielmaben (@danielmaben1) December 15, 2019 Mangalore has been deprived of basic facilities under SR (Palghat division), also there has been step motherly treatment towards coastal region.MAQ has been reduced as mere parking space trains originating from TN & KL @PiyushGoyal Ji @SureshAngadi_ Ji #CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR https://t.co/nSyCslQTxr — अजीत कामत (@ajithkamath588) December 15, 2019 Others also opined that bringing the coastal zone under SWR will also lead to train connections between north-western parts of the state. Yes. This train is very much required#CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR https://t.co/7B9FFDv2Ed — Vishwanath.J (@vishwa_bly) December 15, 2019 Yrs of negligence under SR @propgt14 and KR @KonkanRailway .Plagued by poor infrastructure and will power by local politicians leading to no trains running towards rest of Karnataka except the capital. Why this apathy towards Karnataka #CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR@SureshAngadi_ — danielmaben (@danielmaben1) December 15, 2019 A few activists highlighted the lack of development of major tourist and cultural towns and cities like Puttur and Mangaluru. @ShobhaBJP madam, Udupi being a cultural, traditional and historical city of Karnataka lacks proper railway facilities. Not a single pitline, stabling line is constructed by konkan railway in decades. No proper connectivity to Karnataka. #CoastalKarnatakaUnderSWR — Swaroophegde (@Swaroophegde4) December 15, 2019

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Bengaluru civic body gets ownership of 38 lakes, to supervise cleaning & rejuvenation

Civic

This brings the total number of Bengaluru lakes under BBMP’s purview to more than 200.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

File photo of Varthur lake

In Bengaluru, a problem many have been complaining about is that there is no single authority that takes care of the city’s lakes, which means activists don’t know whom to approach with their grievances. Over time, this has only resulted in authorities passing the buck and this could be one of the factors that led to the deterioration of the city’s water bodies. However, now, a new order from the Urban Development Department has moved several lakes under the purview of a single body. The Hindu reported that as many as 38 lakes in Bengaluru are now under the purview of the BBMP. This comes after the State government, led by Chief Minister Yediyurappa, took a decision in November to hand over all the lakes in Bengaluru to the BBMP. BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar has said, “We will conduct a survey of the lakes and perform demolitions of encroachments if necessary. After this, we will begin the process of rejuvenation of the lakes.” He went on to add that this brings the total number of Bengaluru lakes under BBMP’s purview to more than 200. However, two important lakes that have consistently been in the news — Bellandur and Varthur lakes —  will continue to be to the maintained and rejuvenated by the BDA. The Bellandur lake made international headlines last year when the effluents going into the lake caught fire and raged on for several hours. Meanwhile, marshals had to be deployed at Varthur lake to curb illegal dumping and encroachment activities. From one authority to another The BDA has previously held custody of several Bengaluru lakes to rejuvenate them. However, the Deccan Herald reported in November that they are facing a cash crunch and asked the government to let the BBMP take charge of the lakes. The Economic Times reported in 2017 that the BDA had restored 17 lakes halfway, but left the process incomplete before handing it over to the BBMP. The BBMP had initially not accepted the transfer of these lakes, however, they agreed to it once funds were earmarked for this purpose. Now, some more lakes have been transferred from the BDA to the BBMP. Previously, the city lakes were the responsibility of the BDA, BBMP, Forest department and the Minor Irrigation department in quick rotation. There are two lake which come under the BMRCL. In 2018, an order was passed that Bengaluru's lakes would come under the Minor Irrigation Department. In a move that environmentalists and activists dubbed as a step backwards, the state government of Karnataka handed over the city’s lakes, some of which are in deplorable condition, to the Minor Irrigation Department. In the process, the state government also repealed the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development authority (KLCDA) Act two years after the Siddaramaiah government brought it into existence. Read more: K’taka govt hands over lakes to Minor Irrigation Dept, repeals ‘progressive’ KLCDA Act  Karnataka government doesn't know how to save dried up lakes, so plans to disown them?  The lost lakes of Bengaluru: From Majestic bus stand to stadiums, they all have one thing in common

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#NirbhayaDishaMe: Protest at Bengaluru’s Town Hall over crimes against women

Protest

A large banner with the hashtag ‘#NirbhayaDishaMe’, covered with demands for better safety of women, formed the backdrop of the protests.

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari

On a warm Sunday morning in Bengaluru, citizens and activists converged at the city's Sir Puttanna Chetty Town Hall as it turned into a protest site against rising crimes against women. Citing the recent gangrape and murder of a 26-year-old Hyderabad women, and that Monday will mark seven years since the gruesome Nirbhaya gangrape and murder, the protesters raised their voices against rape and sexual assault on women and sought better action by authorities. A large banner with the hashtag ‘#NirbhayaDishaMe’ formed the backdrop of the protests. Activist Tara Krishnaswamy told TNM that this protest signified that any women could be the target of rape and that every person must stand up for justice. The large banner was soon filled with messages — women demanding fast track courts be set up with dedicated judges, emergency helplines be set up with guaranteed response times, 33% women in the police force as mandated, and hundreds of more demands. “It is a gathering of solidarity, but it is also a demonstration asking the government to be accountable and the states to be responsible. All the ministers that we have elected to power, you can mandate a coordinated and convergent action for safety, not advisories to women on what we should do and not do,” activist Brinda Adige said.  Actors Sruthi Hariharan, who was one of the actors who spoke out during the #MeToo movement and who accused popular actor Arjun Sarja of sexual harassment, as well as actor Chetan Kumar, were also present at the protests. “There is a case that has woken us up and that is why we are all here. But why do we need a case for us to wake up and start fighting against the system? I think we need our judicial system to start meting out punishment severely and more swiftly. We all want a better world for women to live in,” Sruthi said. “We saw that the #MeToo movement showed men what the right way to behave is and women their legal rights. Therefore such awareness programmes help tell women about their rights as well. There are structural problems like police reform, which need to be addressed. We need an objective police force, we need a gender sensitised police force. We need to talk about street sexual harassment both verbal and non-verbal. We also want swift justice,” Chethan told TNM.  The protest was also attended by social activist Meera Mukund, Dalit activist Ruth Manorama, author and social policy researcher Cynthia Stephen, Janaagraha head Sapna and many others who demanded better justice for women.

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Cab driver stabbed to death in public view in Bengaluru, cops yet to identify accused

Crime

The murder was witnessed by several people passing by on the road and a video of the crime scene has been shared widely, police said.

TNM Staff

In a gruesome incident, a cab driver was hacked to death on Saturday night in Bengaluru. The incident occurred at 10:30 pm on Saturday at Thimmaiah Road in Basaveshwara Nagar when Sadashiva Murthy, a cab driver was attacked with a knife in view of the public.  Basaveshwara Nagar police arrived on the spot after passers-by who witnessed the incident raised alarm. The police team conducted an inspection but is yet to identify the murderer. The incident took place close to a bar in Manjunath Nagar, a sub locality in Basaveshwara Nagar in the city.  "Our preliminary investigation suggests that it was a personal issue that led to the murder. We are investigating the incident and have collected CCTV footage from cameras in the area — from near the bar and in other establishments surrounding it," a police official at Basaveshwara Nagar police station told TNM. Police officials said Sadashiva Murthy was working as a cab driver in the city for the past year. He was a resident of Kamalanagar in the city and was present in Basaveshwara Nagar to along with a friend. "He had gone to a bar in the area and the incident occurred after there was an argument with a friend at the bar," a police official added.  However, police officials said that the attacker is yet to be identified. The murder was witnessed by several people passing by on the road and a video of the crime scene has been shared widely. Police officials said that they had come across the video and are studying it as well as speaking to witnesses.  Basaveshwara Nagar is a residential area located in western Bengaluru, between Mahalakshmi Layout and Vijaynagar. It is referred to as West of Chord Road as the locality lies to the west of Chord Road, a prominent arterial road in Bengaluru. 

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