UP Court orders Muslims to handover 600-year-old Dargah to Hindus
Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh: On Monday, the Baghpat District Court in Uttar Pradesh dismissed a decades-old petition filed by a group of Muslims seeking ownership of a site containing a graveyard and the dargah of Sufi saint Sheikh Badruddin Shah. Civil Judge Shivam Dwivedi, refusing to entertain the plea, issued an order directing the Muslim side to hand over the dargah to Hindus.
The dargah of Sufi saint Badruddin Shah, believed to be 600 years old, is located in Barnawa village of Baghpat district. Disputes surrounding the site began 53 years ago when a group of Hindus claimed it as the location of the 'Lakshagriha,' mentioned in the Mahabharata, a palace built by Duryodhana to burn the Pandavas to death.
In 1970, the dargah caretaker, Mukeem Khan, approached the court, alleging that a Hindu mob had trespassed inside the dargah and attempted to offer prayers. Seeking ownership of the land and legal protection against Hindu encroachment, Khan aimed to prevent desecration of graves and halt 'havan' ceremonies on the premises. The case was transferred to the Baghpat court from Meerut.
After five decades, the court's decision favored the 'Lakshagriha' claim reignited by Hindu nationalists in recent times. The court emphasized a technical loophole – whether the disputed site was designated as a 'waqf property' or a 'graveyard' in 1920, a point the Muslim side failed to establish.
Advocate Ranveer Singh Tomar, representing the respondents, stated, "We presented all the evidence of Lakshagriha in the court based on which the court rejected the petition of the Muslim side." Meanwhile, Advocate Shahid Khan, representing the petitioners, expressed their intent to move to a higher court to present their case.
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Youths, older adults in India 'flourishing' more than those middle-aged: Global study
New Delhi: In India, youths and older adults are flourishing more those middle-aged, a study of over 2 lakh people across 22 countries has suggested.
The 'Global Flourishing Study', conducted by researchers from institutes, including the US Harvard University and University of Bremen, Germany, is envisaged to understand factors that govern the well-being of an individual and a community.
Flourishing was defined as a state in which all aspects of a person's life are good.
In Wave 1 of the study, questionnaire responses from 202,898 people from 22 countries, spanning six continents, were analysed. Findings are published in the journal Nature.
"Flourishing tends to increase with age in many countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Sweden and the United States , but not in all. In India, Egypt, Kenya and Japan, patterns are somewhat more U-shaped," the authors wrote.
The questionnaires surveyed people about aspects of well-being, such as happiness, health, meaning and relationships, along with demographic, social, political, religious factors and childhood experiences.
While men and women around the world reported similar patterns, greater differences were found in certain countries men in Brazil reported more flourishing compared to women, and women in Japan more than
Further, those married were found to report a higher flourishing, compared to those single, in most countries.
However, in India and Tanzania, married people reported lower flourishing than those single.
The study also found that people employed reported higher flourishing than those not. Self-employment, retirement and being a student related with more satisfaction than being employed in countries, including India, Japan, Israel and Poland.
The authors also found that young people around the world "are not doing as well as they used to".
Despite country-wise differences in patterns of satisfaction with age, "the overall global pattern is troubling", they said.
They added that more data collected over time will help resolve if these patterns are an 'age effect' or a 'cohort effect'.
In India, housing, government approvals, political voice and city satisfaction are the country's strengths, whereas education, taking little interest in life, along with financial anxieties are areas that need attention, the analysis found.
The Global Flourishing Study is expected to help understand 'flourishing' in general, especially in non-Western contexts. It is also expected to uncover which patterns are culturally specific and which more universal.
The study is aimed at supporting and expanding upon findings from similar studies such as the World Happiness Report.
