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Padmavati Controversy: Fair Is Foul And Foul Is Fair

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Padmavati

By Saeed Naqvi

Padmavati, in a sense, is a neighbourhood story. My village, Mustafabad, happens to be in Rae Bareli, which embraces numerous Chishtiya Sufi shrines or places where the saints spent some time, including Khwaja Ashraf Jehangir Semnani, the saint Malik Mohammad Jaisi, the author of Padmavat, was devoted to. Jaisi would faint at the controversy surrounding his masterpiece.

From nearby, Salon, Naeem Ata Shah in his flowing orange robes and headgear often visited Mustafabad. Jaisi, who preceded Tulsidas, in the list of great poets of Awadhi, was an endless source of quotations. So was Tulsidas, whose correspondence with emperor Akbar’s premier courtier, Abdul Rahim Khan e Khana, on meter and structure of poetry one heard about later and which is something one would have expected more scholarship on.

To a most unexpected source I owed my acquaintance with the fact that Rahim, known for his dohas, wrote devotional poetry on Lord Rama in Sanskrit. The source happened to be Vishnu Kant Shastri, former Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Governor of UP. It always puzzled me how a man of such catholic interests – knew Jaisi as well as Akbar Allahabadi backwards – had actually emerged from the RSS stable.

If Jaisi’s flight of fancy can create so much mayhem, I shudder to contemplate the fate of the 1960 classic, Mughal-e-Azam in a similar circumstance. By today’s yardstick, that was the original, unadulterated case of “Love Jihad”. In fact the settled conventional wisdom in the 60s conceded Akbar victory at Haldighati. The national mood today has reversed the outcome of that battle in favour of Maharana Pratap. There have been suggestions that New Delhi’s Akbar Road be renamed “Maharana Pratap Road”. In other words revenge with retrospective effect is in order. To give this trend a more contemporary twist, Vishwa Hindu Parishad has demanded that an FIR be lodged against Mulayam Singh Yadav for ordering the police to fire on Kar sewaks in 1990. In that framework, it can be argued that producer K. Asif glorified Akbar’s love jihad. For that unforgiveable guilt, copies of the film must be consigned to the flames by way of historical revenge. Dilip Kumar, who played Prince Salim, is lying in coma otherwise he could have been brought into focus of public ire with great effectiveness on the eve of key elections with a singular purpose – polarize the poll.

At a time when logic has been crowded out by a rush of non sequitur, some pundits have attempted common sense. It will not work.

The new cultural brigade destroyed the grave of Wali Dakhni who showered adoration on this land with such verses as:

“Koocha e yaar ain Kashi hai

Jogiya dil wahaan ka baasi hain.”

(The lane where my beloved lives is like holy Varanasi;

The yogi of my heart has made it his dwelling place.) The sentiments the poet represents did not deter the vandals seething with anger against past historical injustices. 

Never will the bandish Munmohan Braj ke rasiya in Raag Paraj, steeped in Krishna lore, be sung better than by Ustad Faiyyaz Khan. They tried to desecrate his grave in Vadodara, regardless.

Rasoolan Bai’s plaintive appeals to Rama, in so many of her songs, did not protect her house from being gutted during the 1969 Gujarat riots. It did not matter that the Congress was in power then. What is being tapped into is something which gained a lease of life after Partition and which invites instant, angry, passionate response at the street level. In his very first speech in Parliament after the 2014 elections, this was precisely the nerve Narendra Modi touched: “the nation has to recover from the subjugation of 1200 years”. This is what differentiates the present government from previous regimes. Congressmen may have privately believed in “1200 year of subjugation”, but they considered it tactically proper to speak only of the British as foreigners.

Let us, meanwhile, revert to Jaisi’s purpose in Padmavati. The sentiment is common in western poetry too.

The “desire of the moth for the star, of the night for the morrow.

The devotion to something afar from the sphere of our sorrow”

Shelley’s lines are an ultra simplified version of the interplay between love and beauty which Jaisi is delineating. Padmini and Khalji are secular symbols of Jaisi’s elaboration of the theme on an epic scale.

Keat’s “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know” can also be tossed in to simplify communicating Jaisi.

Maulana Hasrat Mohani communicates the mood thus:

“Maslak I Ishq hai parastish e husn

Hum naheen jaante azaab-o-sawab.”

(Love’s purpose is adoration of beauty.

Gains and losses I do not measure.)

 Should the ever expanding tribe of the new cultural warriors run out of ideas, here are some on offer, gratis. They should denigrate with retrospective effect those Muslims who dared to take liberties with Hindu Gods. Remember, how India’s greatest modern painter, Maqbool Fida Hussain was exiled for his supreme guilt: excessive adoration of Goddesses. His “adoration” was considered lewd by the protectors of culture and faith.

Well, in like fashion, Maulana Hasrat Mohani deserves to be shamed retrospectively. He wrote a great deal about Krishna in Urdu, but in his Bhasha or Braj verses he takes liberties:

“Mose ched karat Nandlal”

(Krishna teases me all the time)

“hum hoon jo dei liptai ke Hasrat

Saari yeh chalbal nikaal”

(One day I shall embrace him tight and squeeze out all his mischief)

“Squeeze out”, in a tight embrace, has erotic connotations which should be unacceptable to the new cultural brigade.

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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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