There was a time when June meant copious rains. Lakes, rivers, and reservoirs would over-flow and politicians would take the opportunity to offer prayers to these water bodies. Called as offering of bagina, politicians used the occasion to get publicity in the media. This state-sponsored ritual has significance as it is a form of thanksgiving to the rain gods for their bounty which would help farmers’ carry out their agricultural operations smoothly, resulting in the overall economic prosperity.
What is going on now on the river fronts stands in stark contrast. This time, the state is sponsoring a ceremony to immerse the ashes of the Covid victims. Revenue Minister R Ashok who oversaw the arrangements for this ceremony recently on the banks of the river Cauvery claimed that he considered it his privilege to do this traditional post-cremation ceremony as it is a belief that when the ashes of the dead, preserved in small clay pots, are immersed in the flowing waters, the souls of the deceased attain their liberation. The cultural significance of the belief apart, the minister’s exuberance over his participation in an event of this nature is absurd. The government instead of lamenting the fact that a situation like this has arisen, primarily because of its own multiple failures, seems to be considering it as an achievement that it could organize the event.
As thousands of people fell victim to the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic in the absence of immediate medical attention, the relatives were too scared to perform the last rites of the victims or in some cases, they did not have the resources to do this. Instead of taking pride in the fact that the government could sponsor the ritual in which the unclaimed ashes of victims were duly released into the river, the government should have used the occasion to introspect over its all-round failures which had led to the death of so many people during the pandemic.
Earlier, ministers of this government had taken pride in the fact that they were able to put up temporary cremation grounds and to provide refreshments to those who brought bodies of their near and dear for cremation. This was when the existing crematoria in many parts of the state could not cope with the pressure of steady flow of bodies. Here again, the ministers instead of owning up the responsibility for the death of so many people, which is a direct consequence of gross inadequacy of health infrastructure, used the occasion as a publicity event. Nothing could expose the government’s insensitivity more than this.
Ever since the pandemic started playing havoc, local administration, various social organizations, and even individual volunteers have been disposing off hundreds of bodies, which remained unclaimed. Now, suddenly the minister sprang up to organize this post-cremation ritual and to publicize the event in the media. Generally, these rituals vary widely across castes and communities, and nobody demanded that the state should sponsor a standardized ceremony. Organizing events of this sort is not the primary responsibility of the government. This was obviously a ploy to divert the public attention from the failures of the government, which led to so many deaths in the first place. Second, the government also failed to take action against people who were capitalizing on the people’s misery by allotting hospital beds and life-saving medicines in black market.
More importantly, it is ironical that the state, which has been organizing caste-based vaccination camps privileging priestly classes over Dalits for administering Covid-19 vaccine, is now organizing post-cremation rituals for the dead according to Brahminical traditions disregarding the diverse social traditions that the people followed for this ceremony. The state deputy chief minister’s justification for caste-based vaccine camps, a gross discriminatory practice amidst a humanitarian crisis, was even more disconcerting. ‘Don’t priests have a right to get vaccinated?’ he asked in response to the criticisms. Of course, the priests have the rights but so do others. The question is why should people belonging to one caste be prioritized over others in the administration of vaccine? At least now, the Revenue Minister, who was so keen on organizing the ceremony for mass immersion of the ashes of Covid victims in accordance with Vedic Brahminical traditions, should take up the responsibility of arranging free vaccination for the less fortunate castes and communities.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
