Remove 'secular' from Constitution, demands Sanatan Sanstha
Mumbai, Aug 27 : Under the scanner of various investigating agencies, the right-wing Sanatan Sanstha on Monday demanded that the word 'secular' be removed from the Indian Constitution.
Sanstha spokesperson Chetan Rajhans said the words 'socialist' and 'secular' were added in the Constitution by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
"So, if there is a provision to add words, these can also be removed by the same provisions," he told a media conference in Mumbai.
Facing a barrage of questions, Rajhans said that the issue is "nothing new" and that the organisation has been demanding this for long through constitutional means.
Although Sanstha as well as another outfit, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, are currently facing the heat of various investigating agencies, Rajhans said none of the two was involved in any terror activity. "These are purely religious organizations," he added.
"We are being defamed in a pre-planned manner. We do not support or approve of violence in any form. Our mission for the past 27 years is to propagate 'dharma and spirituality," Rajhans said.
He also brushed aside any involvement of Sanatan Sanstha in the killings rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Communist leader Govind Pansare (both in Maharashtra), and author M.M. Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh (both in Karnataka).
"As per our information, nine persons have been arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad and the Central Bureau of Investigation. None of them is the Sanatan Sanstha's sadhak (seeker). In fact, we have heard of the five names among the accused for the first time. So nobody should link them with us," Rajhans said.
Besides, he pointed out, neither the ATS-CBI chargesheets nor the remand applications have named Sanatan Sanstha. "It is only parties like the Congress, communists, some intellectuals and thinkers and progressive organisations who are targeting the small organisation," he said.
"Demanding a ban on us or arresting our leader, just because the accused are arrested, is ridiculous," Rajhans said.
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Bond between Assamese Muslims, Hindus very strong: Author Wasbir Hussain
Guwahati (PTI): The bond between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims is very strong and no one can easily break the traditional friendship between the two communities, Wasbir Hussain, author and executive director of Centre for Development and Peace Studies, has said.
Addressing the fourth anniversary celebrations of the Assamese Syed Welfare Trust, an organisation representing the Assamese Syeds, Hussain on Sunday urged Gauhati University to start a chair in the name of Azan Pir, a 17th-century Muslim reformer and Sufi saint, on the subject of 'inter-faith harmony or harmony of communities'.
Assamese Syeds are one of the five Muslim groups officially recognised by the Assam government as indigenous communities of the state.
Hussain said except religion, there is no difference between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims. Their language is the same, culture is the same, food habits are the same and they dress the same way, he said.
"I strongly believe that no one can easily break the traditional bond of friendship between Assamese Hindus and Assamese Muslims," he said.
Hussain, who is also the editor-in-chief of Guwahati-based Northeast Live, spoke about how the indigenous Muslims of Assam follow cultural Islam compared to religious Islam and live peacefully with the larger Hindu population of the state.
He complimented Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for taking initiatives for the protection of the heritage of the Assamese Muslim community and its overall growth.
Gauhati University Vice Chancellor Nani Gopal Mahanta, the chief guest of the event, said people or communities can have multiple identities that transcend religion.
He cited the example of Assamese Muslims and Syeds who are descendants of Sufi saint Azan Pir, saying they are part of the greater Assamese society.
Mahanta assured that he will push for the Assamese Syed Welfare Trust's proposal to introduce the Azan Pir chair in Gauhati University and that he will work towards republishing the works of renowned Assamese writer Syed Abdul Malik's 'Jikirs Aru Jari'.
Assamese Syed Welfare Trust president Syed Abdul Rashid Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
