sabrangindia staff | SabrangIndia

Love Letters like no other. Letters from Savitribai to Jyotiba

sabrang — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 10:16:17 +0000

Acclaimed actors Joy Sengupta and Tannishtha Chatterjee read out the letters written by Savitribai Phule to Jyotiba Phule. These letters written over a period of 30 years give insights into the minds of the revolutionary couple and also about the socio-political situations of that period.

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Despite efforts, three delegations from violence-struck Manipur failed to meet PM Modi

zahid maniyar — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 08:18:04 +0000

New Delhi: As many as three delegations, at least, of politicians from conflict-ridden Manipur – two from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and one from the state Congress – have failed to have an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi so far in spite of having camped in the national capital for close to a week now.

Manipur has seen a series of violent incidents since early May, leading to loss of over a hundred lives and property worth lakhs and tens of thousands displaced, PM Modi has not spoken a single word about the issue. Despite pleas and even taunts he has ignored both the people and the state.

Things have deteriorated to the extent that reports of armed civilian mobs belonging to Meiri and Kuki communities appear to be ruling the streets of Manipur, and hence, the PM’s continued silence on a state governed by his own party, the BJP, is being questioned by political opponents, civil society groups and locals.

Social media posts show that people’s anger with Modi’s studied silence and the state chief minister N. Biren Singh’s inability to control the law and order situation has manifested in posters decrying the PM as ‘missing’. In places, radio sets were broken as Modi’s programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ aired.

According to local news reports, two sets of BJP MLAs from Manipur have been camping in New Delhi since June 15 to meet the PM.

An Imphal Free Press report said at least nine Meitei BJP MLAs opposed to the Biren-led government over its handling of law and order in the state (the CM is also the home minister), sought an appointment with Modi on June 15. They received an acknowledgement on the same day, the report said.

“But, as the PM is leaving on June 20 for an international tour, in the larger interest of Manipur, the delegation submitted the (a) memorandum (to the Prime Minister’s Office) on Monday (June 19),” it said.

The MLAs included Karam Shyam Singh, Th. Radheshyam Singh, Nishikant Singh Sapam, Kh. Raghumani, P. Brojen, Wangjing Tentha, T. Robindro, S. Rajen, S. Kebi Devi, Naoriya Pakhnaglakpa and Y. Radeshyam.

Their memorandum has highlighted “the complete breakdown of law and order in the state, loss of faith by the public in the present state government and restoration of the rule of law so that the trust and confidence of the general public is restored”, it also pressed the government to not tamper “at any cost” with the integrity of the state and agree to the Kuki leaders’ demand for a separate administration of their areas.

Also, another set of BJP MLAs had also sought an appointment with the PM but were able to get a meeting instead with defence minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the party’s in-charge for the state, Sambit Patra.

Incidentally, this delegation too comprised of Meitei MLAs of the party besides including one MLA each from Janata Dal (United) and the BJP ally National People’s Party (NPP). One of the important appeals of this delegation too was to not consider a separate administration for the Kukis.

An Indian Express report quoting a delegation member said, “Sambit Patra spoke to home minister Amit Shah over the phone…the home minister has reiterated and assured [us] that the territorial integrity of the state will be maintained.”

This delegation, which also had MLAs that support the chief minister, sought the Modi government’s withdrawal from the tripartite talks with the Kuki armed groups under suspension of operation (SoO). Weeks before the Meitei-Kuki conflict broke out in Manipur, the Biren Singh government had unilaterally withdrawn from the peace talks and recommended the same to the Union home ministry. The latter refused to entertain the request.

One significant query that this delegation raised with the party’s Union ministers was about Kuki armed group UKLF chief S.S. Haokip’s claim. Haokip has said that the group had helped the BJP grab power in the state by winning the elections. This is a serious claim that has been ignored by the union government.

“This has been in conversation in Manipur and needed to be clarified,” an MLA told Indian Express, adding that, “They (the Union ministers) assured us that there is no such tactical understanding or arrangement between the party and SoO groups and that a clarification will be issued by the party in a day or two.”

In response to the Prime Minister not taking out time even for his own party’s MLAs coming from a violence-hit Manipur, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “Today, one group of BJP MLAs from Manipur met the Raksha Mantri. Today, another group of BJP MLAs from Manipur went to submit a memorandum to the PM, which said that the people had completely lost faith in the state administration – essentially saying the CM has to be replaced. He did not see them of course. The BJP itself in Manipur is not united. That is why the state is bitterly divided today. And the PM simply doesn’t care!”

Aside from the BJP delegations, a Congress delegation led by former state chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has also been camping in New Delhi for days now to have an audience with the prime minister. The PMO has not even thought it fit to give a response,

Functioning in parallel and ignoring the plight of all Manipuris, the PM has flown out of the country today for a four-day visit to the United States and Egypt. In the US, he is scheduled to meet not only the American president Joe Biden and top names from his government but also about two dozen “thought leaders” and CEOs including Elon Musk. He will also be meeting delegations from the Indian diaspora and celebrating International Yoga Day on June 21 at the United Nations headquarters in New York

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Family of Purola minor denies religious motive, says it never was a ‘love jihad case’, Uttarakhand

zahid maniyar — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 05:47:08 +0000

New Delhi: In a curious twist, the man whose niece was the target of an alleged abduction attempt in Purola has denied any religious angle or motive to the matter, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

“There were attempts from the first hour to make this a communal issue. Right-wing activists even prepared a police complaint for us on their own, but the police didn’t accept it. It was never a love jihad case, but a regular crime. Those that committed it, are behind bars. The judiciary will now decide,” he reportedly told the Hindustan Times. The identity of the man is being withheld to avoid identification of his niece, the report said.

The man also said he has been approached by several right-wing groups, but he is firm on not joining the agitation being led by the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). “I have turned them down every time. Their attempts to reach me have made my life hell. I can’t even go out. I understand all they want to do is to create communal tension and their only aim is raising slogans. I have stopped responding to calls from unknown numbers and have even bought a new number,” he said.

Close to a month ago, on the afternoon of May 26, the man’s niece sought directions from Ubed Khan, 24, and Jitendra Saini, 23, when they allegedly attempted to bundle her into an auto-rickshaw, the Hindustan Times reported. “They took the girl away from the main market area near a petrol pump and called an auto-rickshaw to the spot. Locals saw the girl being made to sit in the rickshaw and raised an alarm. The accused then fled from the spot,” Purola police station in-charge Khajan Chauhan said.

A case was registered on the same day at the Purola police station under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the POCSO Act, and the next day both men were arrested.

This act, a simple crime, was used to single out the identity of one of the perpetrators and unleash an unholy month of terror on the lives of Muslims of Purola and neighbouring towns.

While the man remains grateful to the police for the prompt arrest of the two men, the man said he was unhappy that the incident was “used” to make Muslims leave, the report said.

“I wanted to extend my support for Muslims but was afraid that it wouldn’t be taken positively in this atmosphere. Every time I open Facebook, most news-related videos say this was a case of love jihad. It makes me depressed. Nobody asks me what the real story is,” he said.

Over the past fortnight, over 40 of the 45 Muslim families among Purola’s 8,000 residents have either left for Dehradun or Uttar Pradesh, the Hindustan Times reported. “Those who left should have never gone. I want them back. The whole community shouldn’t be targeted for the offence of one,” the girl’s uncle said.

The motivated communal strife in Purola and neighbouring areas ensued after right-wing groups began calling the incident a ‘love-jihad’ case and forced Muslims to shut their shops or flee the town.

Uttarakhand police were stark in their inaction when these developments took place. In fact only after concerned citizens moved the Supreme Court and then the High Court, was Section 144 imposed to stop the potentially harmful and inflammatory Mahapanchayat planned and announced by extreme right wing groups on June 15.

According to media reports, at least 30 shops owned or rented by Muslims were attacked on May 29 and four days later, on June 3, another procession was carried out with at least 25 more shops attacked in Barkot, the Hindustan Times reported.

A letter by these organisations actually threatened and declared their intent. Besides, sinister posters warning Muslim shop owners to leave the town by June 15 or face consequences surfaced ahead of a proposed ‘mahapanchayat’. A case was registered on June 5 under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The mahapanchayat was not allowed to be organised but there have been no arrests at all so far, of those making hate speeches and promoting communalism, the report said.

The 40-year-old man also said that the law had taken its course but now believed that he may not even have filed a complaint if the accused had apologised. “We now keep her (girl) inside the house. It has left a psychological scar on her. She is good academically, but now remains concerned all the time about her future,” the girl’s uncle said.

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Complainant in Hate Speech case against UP CM Adityanath held for Gang Rape

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 18:39:58 +0000

His SC plea challenged an Allahabad High Court order accepting the state government’s refusal to prosecute Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a 2007 hate speech case.

Gorakhpur: Parvez Parvaz, an ex-journalist and activist, had filed a plea in Supreme Court against the then local MP and now Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for inciting violence through hate speech in 2007. He was arrested on Tuesday night on the charges of gangrape. His SC plea challenged an Allahabad High Court order accepting the state government’s refusal to prosecute Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a 2007 hate speech case.

The case against him was lodged at Rajghat police station on June 4. Speaking to Sabrang India, Parvez Parvaz’s lawyer Advocate Farman Naqvi said, “On June 4, the survivor had filed an FIR against a Jumman Mia and a man named Parvez. Please note, his last name Parvaz was not mentioned. She claimed that Jumman Mia called her to a secluded spot where both Jumman and Parvez raped her. Based on this an FIR was filed under section 376 (c) for gang rape.” An investigation followed and the Investigation officer filed a closure report on July 25, 2018. “The Investigating Officer filed a closure report stating the case was false. He based his conclusion on the fact that the scene of crime was not a secluded spot and that there were a few shops there, but the shopkeepers did not see anything. Moreover, the injury report did not conclude that a rape had taken place,” says Adv Naqvi. However, after this the survivor met UP CM Adityanath following which the police started looking at the case with renewed vigour. “The SSP passed an order rejecting the previous IO’s investigation and the case was handed over to a new IO Shalini Singh.” The petition challenging the FIR was filed on Monday, and on Tuesday Shalini Singh arrested Parvez Parvaz.

“The Gorakhpur police arrested Parvez late Tuesday night from Kotwali area of the city and produced him today before a local court, which sent him to jail,” said Additional SP, City, Vinay Kumar Singh.

When the petition seeking a stay on the arrests of Jumman and Parvaz was heard on Wednesday before a bench comprising of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice D K Singh, the court had stayed the arrest of Jumman. As Parvaz is in Judicial custody his legal team will now apply for his bail as that is the legal remedy available.

The entire order may be read here.

A brief background of Parvaz’s case against UP CM Adityanath

“Communal clashes broke out in Gorakhpur and adjoining districts after a Hindu youth was killed in a clash during a Muharram procession. As per an FIR registered, Adityanath allegedly delivered a provocative speech calling out for revenge against the minority community in retaliation for the death of the youth. The police initially refused to register an FIR and lodged it only after the HC intervened,” reported The Hindu.

Last May, after the BJP came to power in UP, the state government refused sanction to prosecute Adityanath, who by then had become the CM, on grounds that the prime evidence in the form of a CD had allegedly been tampered with.

“However, In February, 2018, the HC, too, dismissed the petition saying that it did not find any procedural error in the conduct of the investigation and remitted the matter to the sessions court in Gorakhpur to ‘pass an appropriate order in accordance with law’. The HC order was challenged in the Supreme Court, which in September 2018 refused to disturb the high court order. Now, as per the high court order, the sessions court has sent out notices to both the parties to appear before it on October 20,” reported Times of India.

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