Latest news with #Hindus'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Ambedkar statue defaced again in Punjab
JALANDHAR: Two months after a Khalistan flag and graffiti reading 'Sikhs are not Hindus' were placed on Dr B R Ambedkar's statue in the village of Nangal near Phillaur at the behest of Sikhs For Justice, the statue at the same place was defaced with black paint, stamped with 'SFJ', and a Khalistan flag was put around it. SFJ's General Counsel, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, released the raw footage of the defaced statue on Monday morning, while also calling for the blackening of Ambedkar's statues on June 6, alleging he 'weaponized the Indian Constitution, which is the backbone of the infamous Operation Blue Star .' He also pointed out that targeting Ambedkar's statues was timed to mark the 41st year of the army action at Darbar Sahib. Police cleaned the statue in the morning and started scanning through the CCTV footage around it. 'On 6 June 2025, Sikhs For Justice will carry out a coordinated campaign to deface statues of Ambedkar across Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh with black paint. This blackening is a direct message to the global Sikh community that the Indian Constitution — authored by Ambedkar — is the legal document that enabled the 1984 military invasion and subsequent genocide of Sikhs,' Pannun said. 'The Indian Constitution authored by Ambedkar legally reclassified Sikhs as Hindus under Article 25(b), which was the ideological foundation for the Indian Army's attack on Sri Darbar Sahib. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Ambedkar's Constitution was the weapon used by Indira Gandhi's regime to erase Sikh identity and justify state violence,' he added. He claimed that the statue defacement was aimed at exposing and confronting the Indian govt's constitutional and military crimes against the 'Sikh nation'. During the intervening night of March 30 and 31, a Khalistan flag and graffiti reading 'Sikhs are not Hindus' were placed on Ambedkar's statue at the same place at SFJ's behest. Later, Jalandhar Rural police arrested two accused - Sukhbir Singh and Avtar Singh from the village of Nurpur Chatha, near Nakodar - in the case. Police also added provisions of UAPA to the case while claiming that the accused received funds from abroad to vitiate the atmosphere in Punjab. Later, a new statue replaced the old one, and it was defaced this time.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Monks meet Amit Shah, raise issue of ‘violence against Hindus' in Bengal, cross-border infiltration
During home minister Amit Shah's visit to West Bengal, monks from several organisations met him raised their concerns regarding alleged 'violence against Hindus' in the state after an uptick in cross-border infiltration. As per reports, the monks cited the violence in Bengal's Murshidabad and Malda districts. During a meeting at Swami Vivekananda's ancestral home, the monks added that they raised their concerns while underlining the spiritual and cultural legacy of India. "We have raised the atrocities on Hindus in Bengal's Malda and Murshidabad districts and infiltration from Bangladesh but Shah did not respond to specific queries or any incident cited by monks," a monk, who was part of the meeting, told news agency PTI. "A central theme of the discussion was what is needed for collective effort. Participants reached a consensus emphasising the importance of working together as a single unit. Working together was the shared sentiment. This unified approach is aimed at benefiting the general public, specifically by exploring how spirituality can be applied in daily life for the welfare of people," International Vedanta Society joint general secretary Tejamayi Maa told PTI. During his visit to the eastern state, the Union Home Minister accused the TMC government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "opposing" Operation Sindoor. "Under Operation Sindoor, we conducted a deep strike 100 kilometers into Pakistan, targeting their headquarters. Numerous terrorists were killed, but this seems to trouble Mamata Ji" Shah said while addressing party leaders and workers. The BJP leader also accused the Bengal CM for "favouring" Pakistani terrorists. (With PTI inputs)
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pakistan's most powerful man holds the key to war with India
Dressed in uniform and cheered by the audience, the head of Pakistan's army in April echoed the nation's founder in declaring the disputed territory of Kashmir to be Pakistan's 'jugular vein'. Gen Syed Asim Munir told a convention of overseas Pakistanis that his country would 'not leave our Kashmiri brethren in their historic struggle that they are waging against Indian occupation'. He went further, saying that 'we are different from Hindus' in every possible way. Declarations of Kashmir's importance are a mainstay of Pakistan's nationalistic rhetoric, but in this case a recent terrorist attack quickly cast them in a different light. The remarks, six days before gunmen massacred 26 mostly Indian tourists in Pahalgam, have been condemned in India as inflammatory and a sign of a more aggressive stance by Pakistan's army, or even evidence that Pakistan was linked to the attack. Pakistan strongly denies any involvement and says decades of militant violence in Indian-administered Kashmir are home-grown. Gen Syed Asim Munir warned that any Indian action against Pakistan would 'be met with a swift, resolute and notch-up response' - Rehan Khan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Gen Munir's remarks, and his subsequent warning that any Indian action against Pakistan would 'be met with a swift, resolute and notch-up response', have now put him on the brink of conflict with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. The two nuclear-armed arch-rivals are in their worst confrontation for years. There were few signs of tensions easing over the weekend, as Pakistan carried out two missile tests after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India. Pakistan's army said it had tested a Fatah series 75-mile range surface-to-surface missile, two days after a successful launch of a 280-mile Abdali ballistic missile. Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan prime minister, said the successful test launch 'made it clear that Pakistan's defence is in strong hands'. Russia watching developments Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, urged restraint as he arrived in Islamabad to mediate between the neighbours, and Russia said it was watching developments with great concern. Airlines including Air France and Lufthansa were among carriers confirming they had diverted flights to avoid Pakistani airspace. Gen Munir will play a vital role in determining what happens next, as arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan and the head of an institution that has long dictated security policy to civilian politicians. The quiet former military spymaster also finds himself in the foreground after the army dented its image as the benevolent national protector by waging a three-year vendetta against the popular Imran Khan. Protesters holding posters of Gen Syed Asim Munir during an anti-India protest in Karachi on May 2, 2025 - AFP Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst, said Gen Munir's comments had 'triggered a firestorm in India', adding: 'The rhetoric was not new but the intensity of the rhetoric was striking, especially coming at a time – prior to the attack – when India-Pakistan relations were actually relatively stable. 'And the timing of the speech, coupled with Munir's reputation as a hardliner on India, have convinced many in India that the speech was foreshadowing the attack.' Gen Munir has until now mainly shunned the spotlight, but has become known in Pakistan for his alleged political duel with Mr Khan, the former prime minister. Mr Khan was forced from power when he was widely seen as falling out with the army, which once sponsored him. The former cricketer has since accused Gen Munir of trying to crush his PTI party. He is now imprisoned but is still popular, and his broadsides against the top brass have meant unwelcome attention for an institution that prefers an aura of deference. Gen Syed Asim Munir's remarks have put him on the brink of conflict with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi - Anadolu Agency The stand-off potentially gives Gen Munir the chance to once again cast the army as Pakistan's respected defender. Mr Kugelman said: 'As chief, he's presided over some of the strongest anti-army public sentiment in years. He likely hopes to reduce that through the army's efforts to help stabilise the economy, and in more recent days to assert Pakistan's readiness to push back against India.' Analysts have also described Gen Munir as taking a harder line on Indian policy than Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, his predecessor. Gen Munir is the son of a religious scholar and a school principal, and is said to view the long-running conflict with India in fundamentally religious terms. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety, and their dispute has poisoned neighbourly relations since independence. The territory is divided along a heavily militarised line of control and the neighbours often fire artillery at each other. Relations had appeared to improve significantly since the last flare-up in 2019, when a suicide bomb attack on troops in Indian-administered Kashmir led to Indian air raids. Mr Kugelman said: 'It's true that since the two signed a border truce four years ago, tensions had died down. But any observer of India-Pakistan relations will know that one can never be complacent, and that the relationship is always only one trigger event away from being plunged into crisis anew.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Pakistan's most powerful man holds the key to war with India
Dressed in uniform and cheered by the audience, the head of Pakistan's army in April echoed the nation's founder in declaring the disputed territory of Kashmir to be Pakistan's 'jugular vein'. Gen Syed Asim Munir told a convention of overseas Pakistanis that his country would ' not leave our Kashmiri brethren in their historic struggle that they are waging against Indian occupation'. He went further, saying that 'we are different from Hindus' in every possible way. Declarations of Kashmir's importance are a mainstay of Pakistan's nationalistic rhetoric, but in this case a recent terrorist attack quickly cast them in a different light. The remarks, six days before gunmen massacred 26 mostly Indian tourists in Pahalgam, have been condemned in India as inflammatory and a sign of a more aggressive stance by Pakistan's army, or even evidence that Pakistan was linked to the attack. Pakistan strongly denies any involvement and says decades of militant violence in Indian-administered Kashmir are home-grown. Gen Munir's remarks, and his subsequent warning that any Indian action against Pakistan would 'be met with a swift, resolute and notch-up response', have now put him on the brink of conflict with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. The two nuclear-armed arch-rivals are in their worst confrontation for years. There were few signs of tensions easing over the weekend, as Pakistan carried out two missile tests after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India. Pakistan's army said it had tested a Fatah series 75-mile range surface-to-surface missile, two days after a successful launch of a 280-mile Abdali ballistic missile. Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan prime minister, said the successful test launch 'made it clear that Pakistan's defence is in strong hands'. Russia watching developments Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, urged restraint as he arrived in Islamabad to mediate between the neighbours, and Russia said it was watching developments with great concern. Airlines including Air France and Lufthansa were among carriers confirming they had diverted flights to avoid Pakistani airspace. Gen Munir will play a vital role in determining what happens next, as arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan and the head of an institution that has long dictated security policy to civilian politicians. The quiet former military spymaster also finds himself in the foreground after the army dented its image as the benevolent national protector by waging a three-year vendetta against the popular Imran Khan. Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst, said Gen Munir's comments had 'triggered a firestorm in India', adding: 'The rhetoric was not new but the intensity of the rhetoric was striking, especially coming at a time – prior to the attack – when India-Pakistan relations were actually relatively stable. 'And the timing of the speech, coupled with Munir's reputation as a hardliner on India, have convinced many in India that the speech was foreshadowing the attack.' Gen Munir has until now mainly shunned the spotlight, but has become known in Pakistan for his alleged political duel with Mr Khan, the former prime minister. Mr Khan was forced from power when he was widely seen as falling out with the army, which once sponsored him. The former cricketer has since accused Gen Munir of trying to crush his PTI party. He is now imprisoned but is still popular, and his broadsides against the top brass have meant unwelcome attention for an institution that prefers an aura of deference. The stand-off potentially gives Gen Munir the chance to once again cast the army as Pakistan's respected defender. Mr Kugelman said: 'As chief, he's presided over some of the strongest anti-army public sentiment in years. He likely hopes to reduce that through the army's efforts to help stabilise the economy, and in more recent days to assert Pakistan's readiness to push back against India.' Analysts have also described Gen Munir as taking a harder line on Indian policy than Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, his predecessor. Gen Munir is the son of a religious scholar and a school principal, and is said to view the long-running conflict with India in fundamentally religious terms. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety, and their dispute has poisoned neighbourly relations since independence. The territory is divided along a heavily militarised line of control and the neighbours often fire artillery at each other. Relations had appeared to improve significantly since the last flare-up in 2019, when a suicide bomb attack on troops in Indian-administered Kashmir led to Indian air raids. Mr Kugelman said: 'It's true that since the two signed a border truce four years ago, tensions had died down. But any observer of India-Pakistan relations will know that one can never be complacent, and that the relationship is always only one trigger event away from being plunged into crisis anew.'
United News of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
Khalistanis in Toronto hold anti-Hindu parade, India conveys strong protest
Ottawa/New Delhi, May 5 (UNI) Pro-Khalistani extremists in Canada held an anti-Hindu parade outside Malton Gurdwara in Toronto demanding the expulsion of eight lakh Hindus in Canada to India. India has conveyed its strong protest to the Canadian High Commission here over the matter. Pro-Khalistani activists raised slogans like 'Go back Hindus' during the parade. The parade featured a large truck with a mock-up of a jail with the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar inside it, with their hands bound. 'We have conveyed our concerns in the strongest terms to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi regarding the parade held in the Toronto where unacceptable imagery and threatening language were used against our leadership, and Indian citizens residing in Canada. 'We once again call on the Canadian authorities to act against anti India elements who spread hatred and advocate extremism and separatist agenda,' sources said. Notably, the pro-Khalistani parade comes days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal Party won Canada's federal election on April 28. The election also saw Jagmeet Singh, a vocal pro-Khalistan advocate, step down from the leadership of the NDP after losing the elections. PM Modi was among the first to congratulate Carney on his election win. India will be hoping to better the relations with Canada that had gone rapidly downhill under the previous prime minister Justin Trudeau, who openly backed the Khalistani elements in order to keep his grip on power. UNI RN
