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Mother Of All Paradoxes: Muslims Indispensable For The Hindutva Project

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By: Saeed Naqvi 

The Hindutva project would come down like melting ice cream if there were no Muslims, no Kashmir and no Pakistan to hate. This is elementary. Muslims, in other words, are an essential requirement for the BJP to win elections. Results from Gujarat confirm this truth yet again. Why Congress has done better in the rural areas is because the Muslim population is thinly scattered – not enough to be a cluster or a “pole”. And Hindutva needs a pole to polarize.

Hindutva is also handicapped in the rural areas by the continued prevalence of caste identities. These are the identities in which rural folk are secure. Migration to the cities results in dilution and gradual erasure of caste. In normal course this would result in a cosmopolitan identity with a talent to accommodate many strands.

What disrupts this possible secularization process is the all enveloping growth of sects – Narayansawamy, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and so on. Unlike the Brahmo Samaj which reached out like a ballet dancer, the sects popular in Gujarat are inward looking. From this platform, it is not difficult to whip up communal polarization against those faceless Muslims in old cities and ghettoes – Pakistan’s fifth column, love jihadis, slaughterers of cows, terrorists.

Islamophobia riding a crest of terrorism is not Narendra Modi’s invention. Modi just happened to be lucky even as George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld ordered a post 9/11 global order custom made for Modi’s machinations.

US occupation of Afghanistan, accompanied by the world’s biggest fireworks, a televised war, created superb conditions for rampaging Islamophobia anywhere. Modi who became Chief Minister on October 8, exactly the day when the retribution for 9/11 began to be visited upon the hapless Afghans, took full advantage. The televised global war on terror reached a crescendo in February. On February 27, 2002, occurred the burning train mishap at Godhara. Ahmedabad was ablaze by way of retribution. Never was an anti Muslim pogrom mounted on this scale. The global din of terrorism and Islamophobia gave the pogrom a backdrop with which it merged.

The pogrom exorcised the city of another ghost. For decades, an underworld don Abdul Latif, had terrorized the political establishment in Gujarat on both sides of the aisle. Even though he was killed in a staged encounter some years ago, the scale of the pogrom was for Hindutva an equalizer.

From Aurangzeb, to Abdul Latif, Dawood, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar is a rapidly expanding rogues’ gallery. In the deepest recesses of their heart, Muslims are sympathetic to this gallery. It is against this growing fifth column, Hindus must consolidate towards a Hindu Rashtra in which the past shall be the future.

Just imagine, where would Hindu Rashtra be if the country’s Muslims by some superior incantation disappeared one day, vamoosed. The Hindu caste structure, exposed to electoral democracy, social justice, upward mobility, would be inverted in no time. Overwhelming numerical superiority would bring the base of the pyramid on top.

Muslims as a foil is therefore indispensable to the Hindu ruling class purpose.

Rahul Gandhi grasped this essential point to good purpose in Gujarat. He realized the BJP would communally polarize a situation if Muslims were visible on the Congress side. Muslims were therefore advised to steer clear of his line of vision. The Muslim Congress worker who navigated me to the Radisson Blu hotel where Rahul was holding his final press conference would himself not come up. “Ahmad bhai (Ahmad Patel) will also not be there”, he explained. Rahul was flanked by Ashok Gehlot and Randip Singh Surjewala. One spotted Rajiv Shukla and Jiten Prasada but no Ahmad Patel, who was in Ahmedabad though.

Even token visits to Muslim enclaves in the walled city or Juhapura were taboo for Rahul. The trick obviously worked. It drove the Hindutva think tank to distraction. They began to invent dark conspiracies with Pakistan. Poor Mani Shankar Aiyar came in handy for no fault of his. His friend former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri turned up for a wedding at the Nawab of Loharu in Jaipur. That evening Ambassador Surendra Kumar organized a high powered seminar on Pakistan at the India International Centre addressed by Gen. Deepak Kapoor, former High Commissioners TCA Raghavan, Sharat Sabharwal, whom Aiyar hurriedly enlisted to ginger up his guest list for Kasuri on his way from the Loharu wedding. Aiyar speaks Hindi but his control on the language can falter. He meant to describe Modi as “mean”, but the way he used the term “neech” or “low” lent itself to the interpretation that he had described the Prime Minister of “low birth”. There is an irony in the BJP targeting Aiyar as their most hostile Congress critic. Sonia Gandhi has not spoken to Aiyar for the past six years.

That Aiyar, out in the cold with his party, had to be resurrected by Modi to provide him with contrived themes for communal polarization shows that Rahul’s tactical aversion of Muslims is unsettling the opposition. Add to this the double whammy of incessant temple hopping and Rahul is well on the way to stealing the BJP’s platform.

So, cheer up Indian Muslims. What will the Congress not do for you?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Journalist files police complaint against Rahul Gandhi over push allegation

Journalist Richa Parashar has filed a criminal complaint against Rahul Gandhi and others, alleging that she was pushed while covering the Opposition’s march to the Supreme Court. The Congress has denied the allegation.

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Journalist Richa Parashar has filed a police complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over an alleged incident during the INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court in New Delhi on October 12. She has sought the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Gandhi and others, alleging that she was pushed while covering the protest.

Parashar submitted her complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi district, on Friday, seeking immediate action. She has said she was three months pregnant at the time of the alleged incident and accused those involved of mistreatment, threats and the use of force.

What Richa Parashar alleged in her complaint

Parashar alleged that she was reporting on the Opposition’s march when the incident occurred. According to her earlier account, she was waiting near a gate on the Supreme Court premises to seek a response from Gandhi when he allegedly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. She further alleged that his security personnel pushed her away, causing her to fall on the Supreme Court steps.

In her complaint, Parashar said she asked Gandhi questions before he allegedly pushed her towards a gate. She claimed that the force caused her to lose her balance and fall, and that her repeated requests not to be pushed were ignored.

Parashar has sought legal action against Gandhi and others whom she alleges were involved. The complaint reportedly seeks action under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 74, 115(2), 131, 125 and 3(5). These provisions concern alleged assault or criminal force against a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, assault or criminal force, acts endangering human life or personal safety, and joint liability for acts committed with common intention.

The allegations and the sections cited in the complaint do not, by themselves, establish criminal liability.

Congress disputes the allegation

The Congress has challenged Parashar’s account of the incident. According to report, the party said a video released by the journalist did not show the sequence of events she described.

Congress leader Alka Lamba also questioned the circumstances surrounding the incident and accused those raising the issue of attempting to manufacture propaganda.

The allegations remain disputed. The complaint and the competing accounts should not be treated as an established finding of wrongdoing.

Incident took place during Opposition’s Supreme Court march

The alleged incident occurred on October 12, when Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched to the Supreme Court to submit a petition concerning alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Opposition has raised concerns about the voter-list revision process and alleged irregularities.

Parashar’s police complaint adds a legal dimension to the controversy surrounding the march. Any further action will depend on the police process and the relevant legal proceedings.

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Delhi court orders release of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke

A Delhi court on Saturday ordered the conditional release of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who was detained and subsequently arrested ahead of a planned protest march at Connaught Place.

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Abhijit Dipke

A Delhi court on Saturday ordered the conditional release of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, a day after he was detained and subsequently arrested ahead of a planned protest march in the national capital. The march was scheduled to take place at Connaught Place as part of demonstrations against alleged electoral irregularities.

Dipke was asked to furnish a bond and undertake to maintain peace as a condition of his release, according to reports. The court’s order came after he was produced before a Special Executive Magistrate following his arrest on Friday.

Why Abhijeet Dipke was detained

Dipke had planned to participate in the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place, where participants intended to gather and wave the national flag. The proposed demonstration was part of ongoing protests over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

According to the Delhi Police, Dipke was taken into preventive custody before being formally arrested in a case related to the apprehension of a breach of peace. Police cited Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Neha Bora was also detained

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was also detained on Friday ahead of the planned march. She was released early Saturday morning after completing the formalities associated with her detention, according to the report.

Bora criticised the police action and called for the release of protesters who remained in custody. She also demanded an end to the SIR exercise and sought the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. These were her demands and allegations, rather than findings established by the court.

Protests over electoral rolls continue

The demonstrations involving CJP, student groups and opposition supporters have centred on allegations of irregularities in the voter-list revision process. Critics have questioned the exercise, while the Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were approved by the Supreme Court. The BJP has criticised the protests, describing them as attempts to spread anarchy, according to the report.

Dipke’s conditional release marks the latest development in the dispute over the planned Delhi protest. The court’s order concerns his release under specified conditions; it should not be interpreted as a judicial finding on the wider allegations surrounding the electoral-roll revision.

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Anirudh Ravichander to marry Kavya Maran in November, reception on November 21

Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran are set to marry in November, with their Chennai wedding reception scheduled for November 21.

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Music composer Anirudh Ravichander and Sunrisers Hyderabad executive Kavya Maran are set to marry in November. Their wedding reception is scheduled to take place in Chennai on November 21, according to an announcement by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s office.

The development followed a meeting between Revanth Reddy and Kavya’s parents, Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran and Kavery Maran, at the chief minister’s residence in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

According to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office, the couple’s reception is scheduled for November 21, with Kavya’s parents extending an invitation to the chief minister.

Telangana CM’s office announces reception date

The Telangana CMO shared photographs and videos of the meeting on its official social media account on October 16. The announcement stated that Kalanithi Maran and his wife had met Revanth Reddy to invite him to their daughter’s wedding reception.

The post specifically confirmed that the reception of Kavya Maran and Anirudh Ravichander would be held in Chennai on November 21.

The announcement provided an official confirmation of the reception date and venue, while details about the wedding ceremony itself have also been reported separately.

Who are Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran?

Anirudh Ravichander is a prominent music composer in the Indian film industry. He gained widespread recognition with the song “Why This Kolaveri Di” and has since composed music for several major films, including Leo, Indian 2, Vettaiyan, Vidaamuyarchi and Coolie.

Kavya Maran is the daughter of Kalanithi Maran, chairman of the Sun Group. She serves as an executive director at Sun TV Network and is widely recognised in cricket circles for her association with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the IPL franchise.

Wedding rumours and reported ceremony details

Speculation about a possible marriage between Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran had circulated before the latest announcement. Earlier reports in August 2026 discussed the possibility of a November wedding in Greece.

A subsequent report said the wedding was reportedly scheduled to take place in Greece on November 11. However, the couple had not directly confirmed their wedding plans in the cited report.

The Telangana Chief Minister’s Office has confirmed that the reception is scheduled for November 21 in Chennai. The reported wedding ceremony details should therefore be attributed to reports rather than presented as officially confirmed information.

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