An FIR has been filed against Ramdev Baba for his hateful and instigating speech and for outraging religious sentiments during a meeting in Barmer Rajasthan. The FIR has been reportedly filed at Chauhatan police station in Barmer, at the instance of a local resident Pathai Khan.

At the meeting held on February 2, he had said that Muslims pray 5 times a day and commit whatever sin they want; he also said that Christians are only taught to go to Church and stand before Jesus to get atonement for their sins. He also implied that Muslims are obsessed with converting the whole world to Islam.

The entire transcript may be read here.

As per the SHO, Bhutaram, the case has been filed under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 298 (uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person).

Ramdev is known to make misogynistic comments too. In November last year, Ramdev had received a lot of criticism for making misogynistic remarks. Addressing a free Yoga training programme for women in Thane, Ramdev had blurted the following without batting an eyelid before the gathering, “Women look good in saris, they look great in salwar suits, and in my view, they look good even if they don’t wear anything.” The blatant statements spurred calls to “slap, kick and tonsure” Ramdev from various quarters in Maharashtra and other parts of India.

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The post Case filed against Baba Ramdev for hate speech appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a desperate attempt to gain attention and fit in with his extremist counterparts, Yoga Guru Ramdev delivered a hate-filled and misinformed speech in Barmer, Rajasthan. Through this speech, Ramdev said derogatory and demeaning statements, attacking the Muslim and Christian communities. In order to depict Hinduism as the best religion out of all, Ramdev tried to goad the audience into accepting a prejudicial, anti-Muslim narrative.

From time to time, Ramdev makes anti-women and anti-minority statements. In November last year, Ramdev had received a lot of criticism for making misogynistic remarks. Addressing a free Yoga training programme for women in Thane, Ramdev had blurted the following without batting an eyelid before the gathering, “Women look good in saris, they look great in salwar suits, and in my view, they look good even if they don’t wear anything.” The blatant statements spurred calls to “slap, kick and tonsure” Ramdev from various quarters in Maharashtra and other parts of India.

The speech

“Kisi Musalman se pucho ki tumhara dharam kya kehta hai, woh kehta hai ki 5 baar Namaz padho aur fir jo mann mei aye who karo. Chahe hinduon ki choriyon ko uthake lao, chahe jo bhi paap karna hai karo. Woh Islam ka matlab sirf namaz samjhate hai. (Ask a Muslim what your religion says, they will say that read namaz 5 times and then do whatever comes to mind. Whether you kidnap Hindu girls, do whatever sin you want to commit. They think that the meaning of Islam is only namaz.)”

“Bohot paap karte hai humare Muslim bhai, lekin namaz zarur padhenge maine dekha hai. Kyuki unko yahi seekhaya gaya hai bas, namaz padho baaki jo karna hai karo. Aatankwadi bann gaye bohot, baaki aur jitne bhi apraadhi bohot bann gaye. (Our Muslim brothers commit a lot of sins, but I have seen that they will definitely pray. Because that’s what they have been taught, just pray, do whatever else you want to do. They became terrorists, and a lot of them become criminals.)”

“Namaz zarur padhni. Bas itna karo aur fir jo mann mei aye who karo. Aisa Hindu dharam nahi hai. (Must read the prayer. Just do this and then do what comes to your mind. There is no such thing in the Hindu religion.)”

“Isayi yeh seekhate hai ki bas woh church mei jao, mombatti jalao, aur Isah-mesaih ke saamne khade ho jao aur saare paap maaf. (Christians learn to go to church, light candles, and stand before Jesus and Messiah, and get forgiveness for all sins.)”

“Aur unke liye swarg ka matlab hai takne ke upar pajama pehno, mooch katwalo, topi pehenlo. Aisa koi quran kehta hai ya aisa koi islam kehta hai yeh mai nahi keh raha hu. Lekin aise hi kar rahe hai log. (And for them, heaven means wearing pajamas over their ankles, cutting their mustachs, wear their caps. I am not saying that the Quran or any Islam tell them to do this. But that’s how people are doing it.)”

“Ki bas, tumhari jannat mei jagah pakka ho, jannat mei yeh mile, jannat mei hoor mile, udhar daaru bhi mile. But aise jannat toh jhanum se bhi bekaar hai. Lekin fir bhi who mooch katwa rahe, sir par topi rakh rahe. Bas pagalpan hai. (That you will surely have a place in paradise, you will get it in paradise, you will get beautiful women in paradise, you will also get alcohol there. But such paradise is even worse than hell. But still, they cut their moustache, keeping a hat on their head. It’s just madness.)”

“Islam islam…bas saari duniya koi Islam mei tabdeel karna hai issi chakkar mei padhe hue. (Islam Islam…they just have to convert the whole world into islam.)”

“Aur isayion mei ek who idhar (points at his neck and throat) cross ka nishaan pehenlo. Fir kuch vesh-bhusha si bana rakhi hai, chote-chote kuch bana rakhe hai unhone. Jese humare sootr ya mantra hote hai, unke bhi kuch honge. (And Christians wear a cross mark here (points at his neck and throat). Then they have made some costumes, they have made small things. Just like our sutras or mantras, there have some of them too.)”

“Mai kisi se baare mei koi aloochna nahi kar raha ho. Yeh log bas ussi chakkar mei padhe hue hai. Koi kehta hai purri duniya koi Islam mei tabdeel karo, koi kehta hai purri duniya ko isaiyat mei badala jae. Lekin tabdeel karke karoge kya who toh batao. Koi agenda nahi. (I am not criticizing anyone. These people are just doing that. Some say turn the whole world into Islam, someone says the whole world should be turned into Christianity. But tell me what you will do by changing it. No agenda.)”

The video can be viewed here:

This is from #Barmer, #Rajasthan.#YogaGuruBabaRamdev delivers hateful speech targeting #Muslims and #Christians.#YogaGuru #BabaRamdev #HateSpeech pic.twitter.com/I1awWzvV3K

— Hate Detector ? (@HateDetectors) February 3, 2023

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The post Joining the anti-minority hate speech brigade, Baba Ramdev spews venom appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Mumbai: Barely 72 hours after his comments on women sparked a furore, a chastened Yoga guru, Swami Ramdev has expressed regrets and apologised for his remarks.

Ramdev has sent an email to the effect to the Maharashtra State Commission for Women Chairperson Rupali Chakankar, in response to her missive of Friday demanding an explanation for his utterances within 72 hours.

Confirming the developments, the MSCW head informed that Ramdev has sent the response to her, expressing both regrets and tendering an apology, but also claiming that his remarks were allegedly twisted out of context.

“We have received his reply to our notice…However, if there are any more objections or complaints, we shall conduct a full-fledged probe and get the full video recording of the programme held last week,” warned Chakankar, while speaking with IANS.

Addressing a free Yoga training programme for women in Thane, Ramdev Baba blurted out without batting an eyelid before the gathering, largely comprising women: “Women look good in saris, they look great in salwar suits, and in my view, they look good even if they don’t wear anything.”

At that time Ramdev was flanked by Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena Thane MP Shrikant Shinde, the son of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and singer Amruta Fadnavis – wife of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and other prominent personalities.

The blatant statements spurred calls to “slap, kick and tonsure” Ramdev from various quarters in Maharashtra and other parts of India.

Agitated top leaders of various parties including Sanjay Raut, Dr. Manisha Kayande, Kishore Tiwari, Mahesh Tapase, women activists like Aparna Malikar, Trupti Desai, and others pounced on Ramdev, seeking an unconditional apology, booking him for degrading womenfolk and other demands, even as the MSCW slapped a notice.

Courtesy: The Daily Siasat

The post After furore for slurring women, Ramdev regrets and apologises appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ramdev, co-founder of Patanjali Ayurved, a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand, has now decided that inflation and price rise can be matched by “working harder”. He has also openly threatened a journalist who bravely asked him to comment on the rising fuel prices in the country.

“Stop asking such questions now… else it won’t be good for you,” he threatened the journalist who had sought answers from the saffron-clad Ramdev, who had once famously campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) telling voters that Rs 40 per litre petrol was an achievable dream if the BJP was in power. Now that fuel prices, and inflation continue to soar, speaking at an event in Haryana’s Karnal, Ramdev has told people to “work harder” like he does in these difficult times. Taking the government’s side he said, “If fuel prices are low, they won’t get tax. Then how will they run the country, pay salaries, build roads?”

However, his temper exploded when a journalist asked him about his claims of the past on reducing petrol prices. Ramdev scolded the journalist, attuned him and then appeared to threaten him with dire consequences if he did not stop this line of questioning. “Yes, I said it, Ab kya kar lega (what will you do)? Don’t keep asking such questions. Am I your thekedar who has to keep answering your questions? Just shut up. If you ask again, it is not good.”

Yoga Guru Ramdev was seen on camera losing his cool and threatening a journalist, who asked him about his comments in the past on reducing petrol price. @ndtv pic.twitter.com/kHYUs49umx

— Mohammad Ghazali (@ghazalimohammad) March 30, 2022

The Patanjali brand boss had famously claimed in 2018 that people should vote for “a government that can ensure petrol for ₹ 40 a litre and cooking gas at ₹ 300 a cylinder.” 

unko bola jaaye ki ye 30 rs wala petrol khareed lein…Ramdev dilwa denge….inke paas poora plan hai pic.twitter.com/OaGAP24Gtn

— Prerna singh (@Prernas61769368) March 28, 2022

Ramdev now “appealed to people to work harder in difficult times” adding that the government needed to “run the country, pay salaries to the army, build roads etc? Yes, inflation should go down, I agree… But people should work hard. Even I, despite being a sanyasi, wake up at 4 in the morning and work till 10 at night,” Ramdev was cheered on by gleeful supporters. On Wednesday both petrol and diesel prices were raised by 80 paise a litre each, now according to NDTV the “total increase in rates in the last nine days to ₹ 5.60 per litre” and petrol in Delhi now costs ₹ 101.01 per litre diesel rates are ₹ 92.27, per litre.

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The post Stop asking such questions… else it won’t be good for you: Ramdev to reporter appeared first on SabrangIndia.

By claiming that his herbal concoction ‘Coronil’ is a cure for Covid-19, interestingly without any scientific data to corroborate his claim, Baba Ramdev has managed to upset many scientists and medical experts over the past few months.

Additionally, in a video circulated on social media, the Yogi allegedly criticised allopathy treatment and contentiously said, “Allopathy ek stupid aur diwaliya science hai, pehle chloroquine fail hogayi, phir remdesivir, phir anti-biotics fail hogaye, phir steroids inke fail hogaye, kal plasma therapy pe ban lag gaya aur fabiflu bhi fail hai..yeh kya tamasha ho raha hai? Laakhon logo ki maut allopathy ki davaiyaan khaane se hui hai”. (Allopathy is a stupid and bankrupt science, first chloroquine failed, then Remdesivir, then anti-biotics, steroids, plasma therapy was banned yesterday, and fabiflu failed too. Lakhs of people have died because of consuming allopathic medicines).

This statement by Ramdev did not go down well with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) that served a defamation notice on Ramdev for his disparaging remarks against allopathy and allopathic doctors, demanding an apology from him, failing which it said it will demand a compensation of Rs 1,000 crore. After a nudge from the Union Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan, Ramdev was forced to retract his statement against allopathy and modern science, and also tendered an apology. However, he went on to tweet an open letter of “25 questions to IMA” on lines of treatment on not just Covid-19 but also diabetes, hypertension, spondylitis, etc. One question posed to the IMA was about whether allopathy can find a cure for rudeness and violent behaviour!

मैं इंडियन मेडिकल एसोसिएशन व फार्मा कंपनियों से विनम्रता के साथ सीधे 25 सवाल पूछता हूँ- pic.twitter.com/ATVKlDc9tl

— स्वामी रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) May 24, 2021

Ramdev has also been solely responsible for triggering people for his insensitive remarks against Covid-19 patients, mocking them for complaining about oxygen shortage. During one of his live yoga sessions in the beginning of May, The Quint reported him saying, “People are looking for cylinders outside while God has given you two cylinders right here inside you (referring to one’s lungs). Use them, fool! Two cylinders are here (pointing to his lungs), the two doctors are your legs, and two nurses are right here (pointing to his hands). Have some courage, they are just dying. There are no beds, no hospitals, not enough doctors, not enough medicines, no cremation grounds…a negative environment has been created everywhere.”

Ramkrishna Yadav alias Baba Ramdev, has also made objectional statements against vaccines saying that he did not feel the need to get inoculated since he had been practicing yoga-Ayurveda for decades, reported the Scroll.in. In another video from May, Ramdev claimed that 1,000 doctors died even after getting two doses of the vaccine. But in June, he decided against his own preaching and said that he will take the vaccine.

Yoga guru’s legal troubles

Ramdev’s statements are not only unverified and misleading, but attracts criminal liability. Multiple FIRs have been filed against him and Patanjali’s CEO Acharya Balkrishna, in the states of Bihar and Chhattisgarh, alleging that his comments are likely to cause prejudice to Covid-19 control, and dissuade patients to take allopathic treatment.

In Uttarakhand, the High Court is seized with the matter filed against Patanjali Ayurveda for making claims about Coronil vis-à-vis treatment of the deadly Covid-19 virus, in the absence of requisite permission from the Government. According to LiveLaw, the court has already issued a notice to the to the Central Government. On June 23, 2020, Patanjali had reportedly launched “Coronil and Swasari”, what it claims is the Ayurvedic cure for treating Covid, which they said has shown “100 per cent favourable results” during clinical trials on some affected patients.

But the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy), jumped in on the subject refraining Patanjali Ayurveda Limited to advertise/publicise such claims till the issue is duly examined. The Ministry had also clarified those facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to it, and are uncorroborated. The company was also asked by the Ayush Ministry to provide at the earliest, details of the name and composition of the medicines being claimed for Covid treatment; site(s)/hospital(s), where the research study was conducted; protocol, sample size, Institutional Ethics Committee clearance, and results data of the studies

Is an apology enough?

The saffron robe clad Ramdev has amassed a lot of support and fan following including within the government over the years. As one of the most prominent faces of alternate medicines in India, his jibe at modern science and doctors has yet not gotten him into any trouble. Coronil, a traditional Indian medicine manufactured by Patanjali and launched in the presence of the Union Health Minister last year in June, was alleged to have been a cure for Covid-19.

Since it failed to scientifically substantiate its claim about Covid-19, the Central Government intervened to stop its marketing as an anti-Covid drug but allowed it to be sold as an “immunity booster”. As per a BBC report, on February 19 this year, Patanjali held another event in the presence of the health minister, at which claims were repeated that it could prevent and treat Covid-19.

Balkrishna told BBC, “It has treated and cured people”, while referring to the scientific trials, the results of which it says have been published in several peer-reviewed journals. It received AYUSH Ministry’s certification as ‘supporting measure’ for Covid-19 treatment in February. Patanjali’s statement read, “Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme.” With some emerging rumours about WHO certification, the international body was forced to issue a statement clarifying their stand against approving any traditional medicine for Covid-19.

.@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19.

— WHO South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) February 19, 2021

Despite the barrage of misinformation and unsolicited claims, Dr. Harshvardhan, who was the Union Health Minister at that time, thought its most appropriate to write him a letter asking him to withdraw all objectionable statements instead of prosecuting him. Is Ramdev above the law? Doesn’t law apply to everyone equally? An apology does not absolve an individual of legal liability, nor does it make the offence less punishable. Even as the medical community is fighting tooth and nail to contain the pandemic and misinformation, health authorities are not proactively taking a stand against the yoga guru.

According to an Indian Express report, the Maharashtra cyber police has arrested 342 people since the beginning of the pandemic last year for circulating misinformation, including in the form of social media posts, creating panic or peddling fake cures related to Covid-19. Self-proclaimed god man Ahmad Siddiqui who also called himself ‘Corona wale baba’ had put up a board outside his shop in Daliganj area, UP, claiming that he had a cure for the deadly virus. He was arrested by the Police in March, 2020 as per media sources. But Ramdev continues to enjoy immunity from arrests despite his scandalous and incorrect claims.

Brazen violations of the law

Some provisions under the Epidemics Act, Disaster Management Act, Indian Penal Code can be (and have been before some courts) easily invoked against Baba Ramdev. When last year, as discussed above, Patanjali had claimed that they have developed 100% cure for the Covid-19 through “Coronil and Swasari” medicines, the Ministry of Ayush had to refrain them for publicising the efficiency of this product. But why did it do so?

The answer lies in the April 21, 2020 directive, in which Ayush had imposed several conditions on the research for Covid-19 treatment using traditional means. As per these conditions, it was mandatory for the institution to apprise the Ministry of Ayush, the government of India about the research developments. An Ayush registered practioneer was also supposed to be a part of the research, but going by Patanjali’s declaration of finding a cure and Ayush’s intervention, it seems like Ramdev’s company missed a couple of steps.

Under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA), section 52 (Punishment for false claim) lays down that whoever knowingly makes a claim which he knows or has reason to believe to be false for obtaining any relief, assistance, repair, reconstruction or other benefits consequent to disaster from any officer of the Central Government, the State Government, the National Authority, the State Authority or the District Authority, shall, on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and also with fine; 

Section 54: Punishment for false warning states: “Whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic, shall on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine;

And section 60 states (Cognizance of offences), No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act except on a complaint made by— 

(a) the National Authority, the State Authority, the Central Government, the State Government, the District Authority or any other authority or officer authorised in this behalf by that Authority or Government, as the case may be; or 

(b) any person who has given notice of not less than thirty days in the manner prescribed, of the alleged offence and his intention to make a complaint to the National Authority, the State Authority, the Central Government, the State Government, the District Authority or any other authority or officer authorised as aforesaid. 

In addition to these, section 3 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, states that any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 188 of the IPC covers ‘Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant.’

All these provisions require prior sanction by the concerned public officer, state, centre, district or any other appropriate authority, making it the legal and moral responsibility of the State to initiate actions against Ramdev. He cannot take the defense under Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression), to push his anti-science agenda that can trigger a new level of public disorder. This is not an Ayurveda versus allopathy debate. It is about how the State decides to tackle false claims of thousands of doctors dying despite vaccine shots, or how allopathy has killed people!

Section 505(1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code, penalises people who make, publish or circulate any statement, rumour or report, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public. Arguably Baba’s statements do fall under this section, making him liable for a criminal offence. The Supreme Court has accepted the higher moral responsibility of people with influence, who are supposed to be careful with the information they disseminate. In Amish Devgan vs Union of India (W.P Crl. No. 160 of 2020), the court said:

“Persons of influence, keeping in view their reach, impact and authority they yield on general public or the specific class to which they belong, owe a duty and have to be more responsible. They are expected to know and perceive the meaning conveyed by the words spoken or written, including the possible meaning that is likely to be conveyed. With experience and knowledge, they are expected to have a higher level of communication skills. It is reasonable to hold that they would be careful in using the words that convey their intent.”

An upstart, so to speak, Ramdev helped launch Patanjali Ayurveda to initially sell herbal medicines, that eventually expanded as a huge business empire selling soaps, noodles, biscuits, diapers, vegetable oil, candles and even cow urine.

Prabir Purkayastha (engineer, science activist and President of Free Software Movement) explains his rise as someone who is not the first to have built an empire out of ‘babagiri’. “Many others have made religion a business, from Puttaparthi Saibaba to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Compare Sri Sri’s Rs. 50 crore annual revenue from his business to Ramdev’s Rs. 25,000 crore turnover from Patanjali Ayurveda, and we begin to see that the primary business of Ramdev is neither religion nor Yoga. It is leveraging his image as a ‘Yoga guru’ to become India’s latest billionaire”, he wrote for NewsClick.

Some people might even argue that Ramdev was one of the most televised Indian characters from hosting live yoga sessions with celebrities to being invited to the pro wrestling leagues and defeating Olympic medallists with his core strength. But Ramdev and Balkrishna preached much more than yoga and medicines. With Ramdev becoming an instant hit amongst the masses, his brand name helped Patanjali’s products to reach almost every household in the country. His rise as a yoga guru has been even more prominent after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s win in 2014. According to an investigative report done by Reuters, Baba Ramdev used to allegedly send his followers/supporters into the streets to campaign which ultimately helped propel Modi’s win.

Besides his exponential rise, this is about Ramdev’s slanderous attitude that is worthy of reiteration. This does not only demoralise the spirits of all health professionals, but also disrespects and degrades the efforts of all frontline workers who have been facing extraordinary circumstances since early last year.

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The post Do Baba Ramdev’s statements attract criminal liability? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Yoga teacher, businessman, televangelist, author Ramdev has a rather heavy bio-data but it still pales in comparison to that of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath, who heads both a religious congregation, as well as a state. Now the two saffron-clad men, will also be known as philosophers, the study of  whose thoughts will be included in the philosophy syllabus at the state government-run Chaudhary Charan Singh University.

The university, once known as Meerut university, will include books by Ramdev and Adityanath following a recommendation from the Uttar Pradesh government, reported The Telegraph. Uttar Pradesh  Governor Anandiben Patel is its Chancellor and  Prof. Narendra Kumar Taneja is the vice-chancellor. The university on its website describes its vision thus: 

“To produce such professionals who have global competence, vision, and skills as are necessary to meet the challenges of emerging global knowledge economy, by the power of innovation, creativity and efficient learning ability.”

Now, as reported by The Telegraph, the students reading philosophy at the university will have to study by Ramdev and Adityanath as well. According to the news report the addition to the  philosophy syllabus has been recommended by the Uttar Pradesh government. A quick internet search reveals that the two men have, to their credit, books mainly on Yoga. And according to the news report, the books that have made it to the philosophy syllabus include: Ramdev’s ‘Yoga Chikitsa Rahasya’, which reportedly ‘deals with yoga’s proficiency in curing illnesses’. The other book is Hathyoga: Swaroop evam Sadhana,  authored by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath. 

University authorities told the media that the recommendations to include these books had come last week. Patanjali boss Ramdev has been in the news for over a week now after he called allopathy a “stupid science” and was countered by The Indian Medical Association (IMA). The IMA filed a police complaint in Delhi and sought that an FIR be registered against Ramdev accusing him of “illegal and dishonest intention with a view of obtaining wrongful gain and consequently causing wrongful loss to the medical fraternity and general public in large”. The IMA stated that Ramdev “has committed cognizable offences and are liable to be prosecuted under all applicable and relevant provisions of the law, including Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Bisht alias Yogi Adityanath has been under fire for the spiraling Covid-19 situation in the state, and the shortage of oxygen which prompted the Allahabad High Court to observe that the death of Covid patients due to oxygen shortage was not less than genocide. The state has the highest percentage of rural population, with approximately over 15 crore people, constituting 18.62 percent of the country’s rural population, but has only 2,936 PHCs.  The Allahabad High Court criticised the affidavit submitted by the government while noting that albeit the portal showed availability of vacant beds, no hospital could offer any, “This state of affairs that we have come to know about the management of online portal created by the Government today casts shadow upon the Covid Hospital Management,” opined the court. Then there are regular reports of communal attacks in the state by cow vigilantes, or even by police themselves.

But then this is not a deterrent to the committee that recommended the two be now considered philosophers and their books included in the philosophy syllabus.  According to the TT report, Y. Vimala, pro-vice-chancellor of the university, said, “We didn’t take the decision on our own. We received a recommendation from the state government and included it in the undergraduate philosophy syllabus.” The report also quoted N.C. Lohani, Dean of Arts, who added that works by the two were added “keeping in view the need of the times.”

According to the news report, a few months ago, the university administration had its board painted saffron. A teacher at the university, who chose to remain anonymous, told the media that “asking people to practise yoga isn’t the same thing as forcing them to read the books of people with half-baked knowledge.” However, the news report added that the varsity academic panel also made sure that works by poets Bashir Badra and Kunwar Bechain of Meerut and Dushyant Kumar of Bijnore were also added to the list.

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The post What do Ramdev and Adityanath have in common? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has now filed a police complaint in Delhi and sought that an FIR be registered against Patanjali boss Ramdev. Signed by IMA General Secretary Dr Jayesh Lele, the complaint states that Ramdev, along with his associates “operated in furtherance of their illegal and dishonest intention with a view of obtaining wrongful gain and consequently causing wrongful loss to the medical fraternity and general public in large”, adding that “The accused has committed cognizable offences and are liable to be prosecuted under all applicable and relevant provisions of the law, including Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897.”

IMA takes if futher. Files an FIR against #Ramdev in New Delhi after health minister @drharshvardhan failed to act. pic.twitter.com/swZxT76HkD

— Dr. Srinivas (@srinivasaiims) May 27, 2021

The IMA has sought a “police investigation” saying it is needed to reveal who the other persons involved with Ramdev in the “conspiracy of making scurrilous and malicious statements in public and obtaining unjust gains from the promotion of unproved and unapproved treatment methods”. The medical association has sought that an FIR be registered against Ramdev under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, Disaster Management Act, 2005, Indian Penal Code, 1860. 

Meanwhile, the right-wing digital teams have spent an entire day targeting Prof. Dr. J.A. Jayalal, the National President IMA, accusing him of promoting Christianity by selectively quoting from an interview given to a magazine. Dr Jayal issued a video statement denying such accusations. 

#IMAIndiaOrg pic.twitter.com/N165CKLRyv

— Prof.Dr.J.A.Jayalal (@jayalal10) May 26, 2021

The Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Uttarakhand branch has already slapped a defamation notice of Rs 1,000 crore upon Ramdev, who was most recently seen and heard in a video circulated on social media, claiming that allopathy was a “stupid science” and medicines being used to treat Covid-19 patients, including Remdesivir, Faviflu, and other drugs approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), had have failed to do so. The IMA’s police complaint comes after another video clip of Ramdev surfaced where he says no one can dare to arrest him. The IMA’s Uttarakhand state unit, Dr Ajay Khanna told the media that the association had also  been sent to the state Chief Minister and Chief Secretary.

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The Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Uttarakhand branch has slapped a defamation notice of Rs 1,000 crore upon Patanjali boss Ramdev, stated media reports. Ramdev has been in the news recently after a video circulated on social media, where he reportedly claimed that allopathy was a “stupid science” and medicines being used to treat Covid-19 patients, including Remdesivir, Faviflu, and other drugs approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), had have failed to do so.

The post Covid-19: IMA slaps Rs 1,000 crore notice on Patanjali boss Ramdev  appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Dalit and tribal bodies have called for a boycott of the products of Patanjali after Ramdev, the brand’s founder, allegedly accused Dalits, tribal communities, Muslims and the followers of the late Dravidian leader Periyar of spreading “intellectual terrorism”, The Telegraph reported.

प्रिय, रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) आपने अब तक माफी नहीं माँगी, आपकी ये हिम्मत? ये हिम्मत आती कहाँ से हैं? सत्ता व हुक्मरानों से। ध्यान रहें, हम सबको झुकाने जानते हैं। पेरियार,अम्बेडकर, मूलनिवासी अस्मिता पर वाहयत टिप्पणी और हमें वैचारिक आंतकवादी कहना बर्दाश्त नहीं। #shutdownPatanjali pic.twitter.com/1ZrviDrOt1

— Hansraj Meena (@ihansraj) November 17, 2019

Ramdev made the statement on Republic TV during a show with Arnab Goswami on the subject of the ‘victory’ of the Hindus with regards to the Ayodhya land dispute. He had posted the same on Twitter too.

हमसब भारतवासियों को भारत का मूलनिवासी एवं सबको समान सबको महान मानते हैं,अपने महान पूर्वजों को आदर्श मानते हैं,
लेकिन कुछलोग भारतीयों कोही विदेशी कहकर व अपने महान पूर्वजों पर झूठे आरोप लगाकर उनको जूते मारते हैं यही डिस्ट्रक्टिव सोच वैचारिक आतंकवाद है,
एकभारत जातिमुक्त भारत बनाएं! pic.twitter.com/vKO7uhCXku

— स्वामी रामदेव (@yogrishiramdev) November 17, 2019

“Ramasamy Periyar, an atheist, described the followers of God as fools and labelled religion a poison. Their message is spreading. They are carrying out character assassinations of our saints. This is intellectual terrorism. This will divide the nation”, Ramdev had said during the interview.

The All India Ambedkar Mahasabha, All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation and the Bhim Army condemned his statement, describing him as a follower of the Manu Smriti, which codifies the caste system.

“The words used by Ramdev will not be tolerated. He has exposed himself as a believer in the Manuwadi philosophy. We have called for a boycott of Patanjali’s products,” said Ashok Bharati, president of the Ambedkar Mahasabha, which represents Dalit and tribal communities.His organisation has called for the burning of Patanjali’s products on the streets on Tuesday.

The Bhim Army, another champion of Dalit rights, has demanded an apology and a retraction from Ramdev, as has Employees Federation president Waman Meshram.

“The Baba has openly insulted the Dalits and the crores of Periyar’s followers. Like the RSS, the Baba does not believe in any alternative narrative about religious beliefs. We will boycott his products and protest everywhere,” Bhim Army spokesperson Kush Ambedkarwadi said.

यह देश बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर के दिये संविधान को मानने वाले लोगों का है जो संविधान को नही मानते है वो देशद्रोही है और उन्हें तुरन्त देश छोड़कर चले जाना चाहिए @BhimArmyChief भाई चंद्रशेखर आजाद के दिये हैशटैग #रामदेवभारतछोड़ो का मैं पूरा समर्थन करता हूँ।#रामदेवभारतछोड़ो pic.twitter.com/NpF79Z53fI

— कुश अम्बेडकरवादी (@Kush_voice) November 19, 2019

E.V. Ramasamy Periyar (1879-1973), a social activist and politician who had started the Dravidian Self-Respect Movement, had in his book The Ramayana: A True Reading provided an alternative narrative on the epic. He had interpreted it as depicting a conflict between a Brahminical, caste-ridden and Sanskritic north and a non-Brahminical south.

Taking to Twitter, Bhim Army and other Dalit organizations have asked Ramdev to apologize for his words.

Yesterday, as Dalit activists and members from the community trended the hashtag #BoycottPatanjaliProducts, today they are demanding stricter action with the hashtag #रामदेवभारतछोड़ो.

यह 21 वी सदी का भारत है और बाबा साहब ने कहा था कि 21 वी सदी हमारी है, हमारे भारत में पाखंडियो के लिये कोई स्थान नही होगा। यहां इस देश की अखंडता, एकता और बाबा साहब के संविधान को मानने वाले लोग रहेंगे। जो भी संविधान विरोधी बात करता है, उसे यह देश छोड़ना ही होगा।
#रामदेवभारतछोड़ो

— Chandra Shekhar Aazad (@BhimArmyChief) November 19, 2019

रामदेव-पेरियार विवाद पर अब तक की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण प्रतिक्रिया. DMK के अध्यक्ष एम. के. स्टालिन की ओर से.

रामदेव की दुकान तमिलनाडू में बंद. वैसे भी वहां चार शहरों में ही उनके स्टोर हैं. वहां के लोग पतंजलि के चक्कर में कभी पड़े ही नहीं. #पतंजलिकाबहिष्कार https://t.co/15lsunHUcV

— Prof. Dilip Mandal (@dilipmandal) November 19, 2019

#रामदेव_ठग_है #ArrestRamdev
Ramdev says anti caste, anti patriarchy, working class liberators Periyar, Ambedkar, Lenin are “intellectual terrorists”. Why? Because their social & political movements threaten caste, class, patriarchal oppression, exploitation!

— Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) November 18, 2019

This is not the first time that Ramdev has invited criticism for making casteist comments. In 2014, Ramdev was severely trolled for accusing Rahul Gandhi of visiting Dalit homes for honeymoon and picnic.

As the call for a boycott on Patanjali products was being made on social media, another video was widely shared Monday where Ramdev can be heard openly insulting Periyar.

प्रिय, बाबा (@yogrishiramdev) हम आपके विचारों से सहमत नहीं हैं इसका मतलब आपके अनुसार जुते मारने चाहिये। नहीं, बाबा नहीं। ये हमारे संस्कार और ज़मीरी सभय्ता में नहीं हैं। अंधभक्तों की ज़मात में आप फिर से बहुत गलत बोल गये। ये बिलकुल बर्दाश्त नहीं। #रामदेव_ठग_है pic.twitter.com/ggQZKpXvzH

— Hansraj Meena (@ihansraj) November 18, 2019

Ramdev’s repeated comments against Dalits and minorities have proved that he is a serial offender spreading hate speech and propagating communal disharmony. His links with the right wing party and now the sly repetition of their Hindutva supremacist narrative, has proved that he is anti-equality.

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The post Ramdev insults Periyar, calls followers ‘ideological terrorists’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A statement made by Ramdev on Periyar is on air and is being circulated. He calls Periyar and others, who spoke of Moolniwasi philosophy, as ‘intellectual terrorists’. One should not take Ramdev too seriously, as he has got exposed completely, and, if there was a neutral government, both the ED and the IT department would have arrested him. He is the man who uses religion to promote his products and gets huge tax rebate. The empire that he has built with the total support of politicians could not progress because, even if you can fool people some of the time, you cannot do that all the time.
 

The real issue here is that Ramdev is a clever politician, who plays different cards at different times. When the UPA was in power, he played the Yadav card and would visit Laluji and Mulayam Singh Yadavji . He remained in their good books for a long time. Even after the BJP came to power, Ramdev spoke as per his ‘strategy’ of not hurting the ‘sentiments’ of his own community and its various leaders, though none of his work can ever benefit his community because he is clearly playing in the hands of those who have exploited people for centuries through their caste privileges.

Playing his identity politics within the Sangh Parivar was important for Ramdev in order to extract the benefit, as the Parivar was in need of powerful Yadavs and other OBCs, who were solidly behind Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. For the Sangh, it was essential to break this unity. Somewhere he succeeded in many ways. Many felt that at least someone from the OBC community is such a powerful and successful business magnet. But can someone really says that Ramdev’s identity has really helped the OBCs?

This question emerged many times and every time I had to ask friends to ask him to support the OBC quota or ask the Sangh Parivar to agree for proportional representation in every sector or even go for a caste census.

Ramdev has abused almost every Dalit Bahujan icon. He spoke against Dr Ambedkar, he abused Dalits in the past. His infamous comment: “Rahul Gandhi goes to Dalit homes for honeymoon and picnic” triggered huge protests by the Dalits all over the country and some Dalit rights activists filed an FIR against him. Now, he has again fulminated against Periyar, one of the most powerful icons of India, who taught us that we can get social legitimacy and political power even without invoking Gods, religion and religious practices.

The North Indian OBC leadership has not really embraced Periyar and Phule as their icons. If these two great icons are not promoted and spread across the northern belt, there would be no understanding of social justice and alliance building with other Bahujan or non-brahmin parties. For a better understanding between Dalits and OBCs, it is essential for the OBC leaders of North India to understand Dr Ambedkar and follow the strategies and paths shown by Periyar and Phule.

There is a huge Ambedkarite intellectual community that we have today, which has demolished the brahmanical myth. Hence, they cannot take Ambedkar head-on or talk about him as they are talking about Periyar, because they know well that Ambedkarites will not tolerate any insult to Baba Saheb Ambedkar. The Sangh Parivar knows it, Ramdev knows it and hence they target icons like Periyar because, in this case, our response is meek and just not sentimental and emotional enough to raise a political storm.

All those who believe in social justice must understand that Periyar was powerful not just because he called God’s creation ‘stupid’ and those who believe in it as ‘barbaric’. We are witnessing everything that the bhoodevtas created in India, but more than that we need to understand Periyar’s huge social reforms in Tamil Nadu. The awareness and understanding among the backward communities in Tamil Nadu was remarkable. Periyar analysed the corrupt social order and responded to it socially and politically. North Indian political parties, who represent or claim to represent Dalit-OBCs, are not interested in intellectual inputs as they feel it is useless to speak about them as these things cannot get votes. Rather than starting some thought-provoking journals, they want mouthpieces. Most of them have no link with social and cultural movements. Most of the so-called ‘cultural wings’ are party propaganda machinery, which does not go beyond party supremos. It is important to develop an intellectual movement along the lines of the philosophy of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Birsa Munda and EVR Periyar. Their work and philosophy alone can bring India’s vast Bahujan masses together. We all celebrate Birsa Munda, but how many of us understand the Adivasi context today? Unless we understand their issues and cultural context, we will not be able to unite completely.

People have given a call for the boycott of Patanjali products. Well, most of these products, if honestly evaluated by the authorities, will fail to pass the scrutiny. If we respect our icons and heroes, who emancipated the vast Dalit-Bahujan-Adivasi masses and enlightened them, then people like Ramdev, his products and hidden agenda must be exposed and boycotted. Dravidian parties, too, must respond to Ramdev’s fulmination against Periyar, calling him an intellectual terrorist. It is shameful and disgraceful for people like Ramdev to speak about Periyar and other Bahujan icons in such a way without fully understanding them. Had he read Ambedkar and Periyar properly, he, too, would have benefited from it and would have understood that he is merely a tool in the hands of the powerful people, and once they have used him, they will just ignore him to languish in isolation. Ramdev must apologise for his shameless remarks and if does not do that, people who believe in social justice and self-respect must boycott his products.

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