Swami Agnivesh: Light without fire
If Swami Vivekananda were to be alive today, he would have been termed as ‘anti-Hindu’, attacked, or simply called ‘urban naxal’ by the government and sent to jail. The Sangha Parivar would not have definitely tolerated Swami Vivekananda who raised his voice against orthodoxies, and upper caste atrocities. When Swami Vivekananda visited Kerala and saw the caste practices of Namboodiris, he had burst out angrily that ‘this is a mental asylum’. When the country was in drought and the priestly class sought funds to protect cows, he rebuked them for doing so. He minced no words in criticizing the discrimination in the name of caste. Today, if saffron robes have got some dignity, it is due to the social reforms of Swami Vivekananda. But unfortunately, groups that use Swami Vivekananda’s photographs as a front but oppose his reforms have emerged. Those who try to implement Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts are labelled as ‘anti-Hindu’ and are beaten down. The same forces mounted an attack on Swami Agnivesh and are now publicly celebrating his death.
It is very easy to abuse religion and beliefs. Religions are born to reform societies but many use religions to exploit people. No religion is free of this, but Hindu religion has been especially abused in this way. Anyone can term himself as a seer. Playing some tricks, one can become a self-proclaimed godman. At one time, several seers had revolted against caste discrimination in Hinduism. If great souls such as Narayana Guru and Swami Vivekananda were not born, the society today would not have been so harmonious. However, several fake seers continue to exploit people. While the priestly class are robbing devotees of property and wealth, political leaders are enjoying power preaching lawlessness.
In the midst of all this, Agnivesh chose to wear saffron robes, identified many problems in the Hindu society, and fought against them by launching agitations. Though he was affiliated with Arya Samaj, he did not identify himself with it fully but remained a wandering monk. He travelled extensively for a progressive Hindu society. For someone clad in saffron, the extent of work he did and the issues he took up is simply mind blowing. Identifying himself as a seer, he responded to political developments in the country boldly. For a short period, he was also part of a political party and became a minister. He launched a major agitation against bonded labor in 1981 and mobilized people against female infanticide, alcohol, sati, and several such social evils. Perhaps, Agnivesh is the lone saffron-clad monk in post-independent India who identified himself actively with social movements. Agnivesh obtained several international awards for his social service. He was attacked several times by miscreants for opposing the politics of conservative, hardline Hindus, and the governments’ anti-people policies.
There are a few instances where Agnivesh faltered as well. Although he was part of the Anna Hazare movement, he distanced himself from it when he realized the political agenda behind the movement. He was mocked at for being seen in ‘Big Boss’ and courted controversy for his phone conversations with Kapil Sibal. Agnivesh’s prejudice against non-vegetarianism was a subject of intense debate. When he was organizing a movement against liquor, he had issued a statement like a Sangh Parivar leader that “gender atrocities increase due to consumption of liquor and non-vegetarian food…and this has been proved by research”. Undoubtedly, liquor harms our mind and sanity, but liquor and meat are not the same. Meat is the food of a majority of people, but liquor is not a type of food. Agnivesh’s statement suggested that all rapes were committed by people who eat meat. But if the country’s history pages are gleaned through, what one sees are instances of atrocities and rapes committed by those who are vegetarians against those who are meat eaters. It is not that Agnivesh was not aware of this but his statement against meat eaters was prejudiced perhaps due to the fact that he was born in a brahmin family. But for this, there is no doubt that Agnivesh had strong commitment to the country’s plurality.
Dayananda Saraswathi who founded the Arya Samaj was poisoned and killed. Similarly, Agnivesh, who associated himself with Arya Samaj was, in a way, killed by the priestly class. Agnivesh took seriously ill after an armed attack on him two years ago. He was battered emotionally and physically. The government did not take any action against the miscreants who attacked him because attacks took place with the covert support of the government. And today, a former official who worked in the top-most investigating agency of the country celebrated his death on Twitter. What then is to expect from the common people? The celebration of the death of a seer who spent his entire life working to realize the dreams of Gandhi and Vivekananda for the Hindu religion is not just the tragedy of the Hindu religion but reflects the extent of decay of the country’s moral compass.
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Trump threatens to bomb Iran if no deal by Wednesday amid uncertainty over peace talks
Washington/Islamabad (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to bomb Iran if they do not agree to a deal before the end of the two-week ceasefire on Wednesday, even as Pakistan urged the two sides to extend the truce and give diplomacy a chance.
Trump had indicated that his team of negotiators could reach Islamabad by Monday night for talks, while the Iranian delegation was also expected to travel to Islamabad, but so far, there was no sign of any peace maker in Islamabad.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday evening said his country was still waiting for a formal response from Iran regarding its participation in the second round of talks with the US.
Underlining that the ceasefire ends at 4:50 am PST Wednesday, he said, "Decision from Iran to attend the talks before the end of the two-week ceasefire is critical."
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Trump said that if the ceasefire ends without an agreement, he is prepared to resume attacking Iran. "I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with,” he told CNBC’s 'Squawk Box'.
When asked if he would extend the ceasefire with Iran to allow time for the peace talks to reach a deal to end the war, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that.”
“They have to negotiate. And, you know, the one thing I’ll say is this: Iran can get themselves on a very good footing. If they make a deal, they can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again,” he added.
The President said he thinks the US is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to end the weeks-long war.
"I think they have no choice,” Trump said when asked about his expectations from the second round of negotiations with Iran.
"We’ve taken out their navy, we’ve taken out their air force, we’ve taken out their leaders,” he said.
“We’ve taken out their leaders, frankly, which does complicate things in one way, but these leaders are much more rational,” Trump said. “It is regime change, no matter what you want to call it, which is not something I said I was going to do, but I’ve done it indirectly.”
The first round of the US-Iran talks held on 11 and 12 April failed to produce the desired results for the parties, leading to a flurry of activities by host Pakistan to cool tempers and raise hopes for another round of dialogue.
Amidst uncertainty over the US-Iran talks, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday urged the two sides to extend the two-week ceasefire and give diplomacy a chance.
Dar, who is also the Foreign Minister, met US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie A Baker in Islamabad and discussed recent regional developments.
Dar underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability, the foreign office said in a statement.
“He stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, and to give dialogue and diplomacy a chance,” it said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met the envoys of the US and Iran on Tuesday and discussed matters related to the peace talks.
Separately, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong called on Dar and discussed the latest regional developments, the FO said.
Jiang conveyed China’s full support for and appreciation of Pakistan’s continued efforts to facilitate engagement between the US and Iran for sustained peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Dar reaffirmed the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, underscored the strength of bilateral ties, and emphasised the importance of sustained high-level exchanges between the two countries.
He also held a telephonic conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss the latest regional developments.
They emphasised the importance of dialogue and engagement for peace and stability, and agreed to remain in close contact, according to FO.
Despite ambiguity, Trump expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead, and he wished for an agreement to prevent further oil price rises and stock market shocks, but insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon.
Pakistan launched preparations on Sunday by deploying over 10,000 personnel to provide security to the foreign delegates.
Though some reports suggested that security teams from the two countries were already in the Pakistani capital to oversee preparations.
Citing three US sources, American news outlet Axios earlier reported that Vice President J D Vance is expected to depart for Islamabad by Tuesday morning for talks with Iran over a potential deal to end the war. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are likely to join Vance.
Tehran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war, eases sanctions, but does not impede its nuclear program.
The situation remains fluid amid heated rhetoric from both sides. Still, there is hope that the second round would be held or at least the ceasefire would be extended, which is ending on Wednesday.
The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran was tested once again on Sunday when a US guided-missile destroyer fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship after it tried to get past the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, further angering the Iranians.
