Pandit who writes in Prophet’s praise
Mumbai, May 27: At a time of anxieties over prayer locations and portraits of historic figures, in a quiet, sea-facing flat in Mumbai’s Colaba, Pandit Ram Sagar Prithvipal Tripathi, or simply Sagar Tripathi, reverentially opens Saibaan-e-Rahmat (Tent of Mercy), his collection of 'natiya shairi’ or devotional poems penned in praise of Prophet Muhammad.
The 68-year-old, hailing from a family that patronises the Ram Lalla Vinyas, a temple trust in Ayodhya, is also world president of the Vishwa Brahmin Parishad. But that’s not what he’s well known for. He has become a famous face at mushairas (traditional soirees where Urdu poets recite couplets) for his poetry, and in particular for always opening his session with a 'hamd' (penned in praise of God) and a ‘natiya kalam,’ a panegyric extolling the Prophet and his message.
‘Prophet belongs to all of humanity, not just Muslims’
In his house, dozens of awards and citations that he’s won for his works jostle for space with copies of the Quran, biographies of the Prophet, the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana. Behind a huge sofa are placed several prayer mats that he spreads often for Muslim guests who want to pray if they wish to.
Tripathi’s collection of poems on the Prophet unambiguously declares not just his devotion to Islam’s founder,but also his yearning for peace and communal harmony. His verses, in Urdu and Devanagri scripts, epitomise India’s famed Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (composite culture). They celebrate a tradition where Ram inhabits space along with Rahim and where Hindus and Muslims don’t just tolerate each other; they co-exist and cooperate.
"Prophet Muhammad doesn’t belong to Muslims alone. He is for humanity, and there is nothing wrong if I seek some blessings from him," says Tripathi. He captures this belief in a couplet: 'Sirf ek quom ke nahin hain woh/Rahmate aalminee hain aaqa (He doesn’t belong to just one community/He is mercy for the universe).’ Such ‘shers’ predictably draw wide applause and appeals for an encore from the predominantly Muslim crowds at mushairas in India and abroad.
Born in a village in UP’s Sultanpur district, Tripathi says there was a lot in his background to prepare him for a career as a poet, though he earns from his business, properties investments and shares. While he was an undergrad and masters’ student at Allahabad University, he came under the tutelage of the famous Urdu poet Raghupati Sahai Firaq Gorakhpuri. His grandfather wanted him to become an IAS officer and had bought a house for him near Firaq’s place, but Tripathi never sat for the UPSC exams as he fell in love with poetry. His passion grew as he got dazzled by the leading lights of Urdu poetry.
"I would bring chai paani and listen to these greats," laughs Tripathi,who moved to Mumbai in the 1970s primarily “to make money”. "I earned loads of money but always found a hollowness within me. Poetry filled this gap as it became therapy, a way to get catharsis," he says. Tripathi donates the money from his book sales to fund the education of poor Muslim children.
"Sagar sahib is an important name in the contemporary Urdu mushaira scene and his contributions are admirable,” says noted Urdu poet Abdul Ahad Saaz.
As a member of a ‘pandit’ family from Ayodhya, what does he have to say about the long-delayed resolution of the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute? "I don’t want to say much on the dispute as it is sub judice," he says, "but it can be resolved if people stop making it an ego issue and politicians are kept away from it.”
Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Women's quota bill would have ensured defeat of democracy, Constitution: Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.
Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.
"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.
The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.
"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
