Saintly sins: asaram bapu faces evictiona

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug162007/national2007081619452.asp
Saintly sins: Asaram Bapu now faces eviction drive

From Abhay Kumar, DH News Service, Patna:



In a major setback to the revered guru Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court has upheld the Patna High Court order to remove all illegal encroachments from the premises of the famous Bhikamdas Thakurbari located in Kadamkuan area of the State capital.

The two judge SC bench, comprising Justice H K Sema and Justice L S Panta, dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Asaram’s representative Mahant Sarvesh Das, after being convinced that the HC order was in public interest.

Deccan Herald had carried a report — Sinful acts land saint in soup on August 13, 2006 — which had described how Asaram, who had a huge following across the world, had usurped 13 kathas of land and property worth Rs 2 crore in Patna.



His ashram was being run in an unlawful manner as the Thakurbari was illegally occupied by Asaram Bapu and his disciples on the basis of the forged document obtained from the ousted Mahant Sarvesh Das.

Asaram’s representative had challenged the Patna High Court order in Supreme Court on the ground that the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction in a civil appeal by asking the Bihar State Board of Religious Trust (BSBRT) to take over the Bhikamdas Thakurbari and restore its lost glory.

As the Supreme Court upheld the Patna High Court order, Asaram Bapu and his disciples are now left with no option other than to vacate the prime land within a week.

Chairman of the BSBRT Kishore Kunal has said that Justice Uday Sinha (retired), whom he had appointed as the sole trustee of the Thakurbari, will take over the management of the temple.

Fourth child found dead in Asaram Gurukul

http://www.timesnow.tv/Newsdtls.aspx?NewsID=12519

One more student at Asharam Babu Ashram in Chhidwara of Madhya Pradesh was found dead under mysterious circumstances during the past 48 hours. The first death, of a four-year -old boy, was reported on Tuesday (July 29) evening. This has triggered a fresh controversy about the functioning of the Ashram.

In the first incident, the body of Ram Krishna Yadav a nursery student of residential school Ashram was found on Tuesday evening in the Ashram's bathroom. Krishna was enrolled in the residential school on July 11th this year. However Krishna's parents ruled out any foul play. His father, a practicing lawyer from Mumbai, said that that was their fate, probably Almighty wanted it this way.

The police also ruled out any foul play and said that the boy probably slipped over on the bathroom floor, injuring his head.
However, with the death of another boy, the Ashram is back in controversy. Four and a half years old Vedanta Manmore was found dead in Asharam's bathroom. But this time the body was found in small plastic tub full of water. The senior police officials have reached the Ashram. The police said that the exact cause of the death can be ascertained only after the autopsy report.

Earlier this month, two cousins aged 11 and 12 years, studying in a school run by the Asharam babu Ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances. The incident had triggered violent protests by the locals.

Meanwhile, situation is turning tense in the Ashram area. Thousand of curious people from the township thronged on the Parasia road Ashram when this news spread in the area like wildfire. These people gheroed the Ashram and shouted slogans against the Ashram demanding impartial inquiry into the deaths.

Another mystery death in Asaram centre

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080059422&ch=7/30/2008%2010:16:00%20PM
Asaram Bapu is one of India's most well-known spiritual gurus, but over the last couple of days he has been in the news for mysterious deaths of children at his spiritual centres.

After the bodies of two children from Asaram Bapu's centre in Ahmedabad were found in the bed of the Sabarmati river, close to the centre, another mystery death has been reported at a school run by him in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

A four year old nursery student was found unconscious by his fellow students and died on the way to hospital.The ashram says it's an accident but not everyone is believing that.

"Two children came running to us and informed that Ramkrishn Yadav has fainted in the bathroom , we went there and found him in unconscious state .We took him to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. There are 370 students in my school," Lavkesh Sharma, doctor in the gurukul.

No case has been filed yet. The body has been sent for post-mortem and the police say the cause of the death will be known only after it.

Unlike the Ahmedabad deaths, this time around the parents of the boy who live in Bombay have refused to press charges against the ashram.

According to them it's fate and have reposed their full faith in their guru.

"We are investigating the case , real cause will be known only after post-mortem," said Vinod Srivastava, the police inspector.

Last week there were angry clashes between Asaram Bapu's followers and those pointing fingers at him. Angry crowds also attacked journalists reporting the incident. This latest incident only adds another twist to the tale.

Another mysterious death of boy in Asaram Bapu ashram

http://india.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=138637
Ashram boy mysteriously dies again

Mysterious deaths of two little boys in three days at Asaram Ashram in Chhindwara, MP and four deaths in one month has drawn the probing eyes of police, administration and activists on Asaram ashram, supposed to be the haven for little boys..

FIVE-year-old Vedanta headed towards the toilet on Thursday ( July 31), thoughts of death were nowhere on his mind. He was found in the toilet by his fellow students at 6:15 pm. His head in a bucket of water. He was declared dead at the hospital.

It was the second death in three days at the Asaram Ashram in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. Two days ago four-year-old Ramakrishna Yadav was also found dead in the hostel bathroom. Vedanta was found next to the toilet in which Yadav was found dead. The door was bolted from the outside.

Mysterious deaths of students have become a way of life with Asaram Ashram. On July 3, two students of the Asaram Gurukul in Ahmedabad went missing. Their bodies turned up in the Sabarmati river on July 5. The deaths created a furore. The two dead boys were cousins and their fathers went on indefinite hunger strike, which they inexplicably withdrew.

The deaths are now being probed by the criminal investigation department (CID).

Surprisingly, Vedanta’s father has not lodged a police complaint because he is believed to have said he does not suspect foul play. This is the face of police statements that they have found evidence of foul play.

"Prima facie evidence has established it is a case of foul play," RK Shivhare, SP Chhindwara has been quoted in the media as saying; MR Krishna, IG Jabalpur Range has said that the police are waiting for the post mortem reports of both the deaths. "The matter is serious and will be probed at a high level," he was quoted as saying. A magisterial probe has been ordered by Chandrashekhar Neelkanth, additional district magistrate (ADM).

As the news of the death of the second boy in Chhindwara Ashram spread, the discerning public thronged to the ashram. A fight broke out between the supporters of the ashram and the protesters of the deaths. The police was forced to resort to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

Meanwhile, fearing for the lives of their children, a number of parents took their children away from the ashram. The ashram has a total of 371 students. Social and political activists are now baying for blood.

And all the parents of the dead boys want is justice. But, by the look of things the moon might be easier.

Reported in the media as an erstwhile mechanic in a cycle shop, Asharam is the spiritual guru of the chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi. This, by and large makes him god. And gods, as we all know, can do no wrong.

The reasons for the boy’s deaths could be political. They could very well be a ’teach you a lesson’ move. They could be something altogether different.

As the saying goes, ’darkness is thickest under the lamp’. Fundamentalism and perversion are two sides of the same coin. And paedophilia is no longer a banned word.

Minor found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram in MP

Minor found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram in MP http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Minor_found_dead_in_Asaram_Bapu_Ashram_in_MP/articleshow/3305976.cms CHHINDWARA: A four-and-half-year-old boy has been found dead on the premises of Asaram Bapu Ashram, barely a month after the mysterious death of two minor cousins in a school run by it in Ahmedabad. The body of Ram Krishna Yadav, a nursery student, was found last evening in the Ashram's toilet, police said on wednesday. "Information has been communicated to the parents of Yadav and we are awaiting their return from Mumbai to perform the post-mortem," Superintendent of Police R K Shivhare said. According to police, Ashram children could not go out and play last evening due to heavy rain. Some children then spotted Ram Krishna, son of one Mohan Yadav, lying in a nearby toilet. The children informed Ashram warden and the authorities took Yadav to a local nursing home where doctors declared him brought dead. A case has been registered and further investigations are on, they said. Early this month, two cousins, aged 10 and 11 years and studying in a school run by Asaram Bapu Ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances, sparking protests by the local residents. The protests by Ahmedabad residents had turned violent. The protesters had clashed with Asaram's followers, who had attacked media persons.

Boys die at asaram bapu ashram

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080801/jsp/nation/story_9631266.jsp Boys die at ashram

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Bhopal, July 31: Two children have died in three days in a school at Asaram Bapu’s ashram in Chhindwara, a Madhya Pradesh district 130km from Nagpur, less than a month after similar deaths in Ahmedabad. Ram Krishna Yadav, 4, was found unconscious in a school bathroom on Tuesday and died on the way to hospital. Chhindwara superintendent of police Rajendra Shivhare had ruled out foul play. Today, five-year-old Vedant was found dead, again in the bathroom. “It is not an accident or a coincidence. I am not in a position to say anything as investigation is on. The post-mortem report of the earlier incident has not come,” Shivhare said. The police are suspecting Vedant’s death to be murder because the bathroom door was bolted from outside. “It was not closed from inside,” an officer involved with the probe said. A large crowd of angry residents gathered at the ashram late tonight, and police had to use batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. On July 6, two students of a gurukul in Asaram’s ashram in Ahmedabad were found dead in mysterious circumstances. The boys’ family — the two were cousins — blamed Asaram, a former cycle shop mechanic who is now the spiritual guru of Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani.

Another schoolboy dead in asaram bapu ashram

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=f0d265ef-74a9-47e1-81c8-fc610ccdc82e&MatchID1=4736&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1194&MatchID2=4727&TeamID3=2&TeamID4=3&MatchType2=1&SeriesID2=1191&PrimaryID=4736&Headline=Another+ashram+schoolboy+dead&strParent=strParentID

Yet another student was found dead in Asaram Bapu Ashram school in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday. The ashram is already under the scanner due to the discovery of the body of a four-year-old boy, Ram Krishna Yadav, near the hostel toilet on Tuesday. Earlier this month, two more students of the ashram’s Ahmedabad branch were found dead.

Like Ram Krishna, Vedant Manmode, 5, was found in the hostel bathroom. Ashram inmates rushed him to hospital, where he was declared dead. School doctor Lokesh Sharma said Vedant was found with his head in a bucket of water, leading to suspicion.

The police haven’t lodged a complaint as the boy’s father, who hails from Maharashtra, said he didn’t suspect foul play.

But Chhindwara SP RK Shivhare said: “Prima facie evidence has established it is a case of foul play.” IG (Jabalpur Range) MR Krishna said post-mortem reports in both cases were awaited. “The matter is serious and will be probed at a high level.”

Additional District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Neelkanth has ordered a magisterial probe. As the news spread, a mob attacked the school and parents rushed in to get their children. Social and political activists were up in arms.

In Ahmedabad, the discovery of the bodies of Deepesh and Abhishek Vaghela, aged 11 and 12, from the Sabarmati riverbed had triggered widespread violence.

Asaram Bapu hostel officials booked for negligence

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/asaram-bapu-hostel-officials-booked-for-negligence_10078844.html

Bhopal, Aug 1 (IANS) A case of negligence was registered against a residential school run by spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara town Friday, a day after a five-year-old boy was found dead in a bathroom in the hostel premises, police officials said. A probe has also been ordered into the incident by Rewa’s additional district magistrate Chandrashekhar Neelkanth. A special medical team from Bhopal is meanwhile being sent to Chhindwara, 275 km from here, to look into the medico-legal aspects of the child’s mysterious death.

According to the police, Vedant Kumar was found unconscious in the bathroom of the ‘gurukul’ in Parasia Road locality in Chhindwara - the second death of a student in the school in the past three days.

On Tuesday evening, another five-year-old, Ramkrishna Mohan Yadav, was found dead in similar conditions in the gurukul.

The deaths of the two children sparked anger among Bhopal residents, who took to the streets Thursday demanding the ashram’s closure. They pelted stones at the hostel building and the police had to use force to disperse the mob.

On Friday, many parents came to see their children studying in the school and a few even took them back home.

Two students Deepesh Vaghela, 10, and his cousin Abhishek Vaghela, 11, of a gurukul run by Aasaram Bapu’s ashram went missing July 4 in Ahmedabad. Their bodies were found from the nearby Sabarmati riverbed July 6. Allegations of shoddy police probe led to widespread protests and clashes in the city.

Hindu priest becomes "impure" after travelling abroad

Conservative Hindu leaders in the pilgrim town of Udipi in Karnataka are seeking to prevent a monk from heading one of the country's most popular temples saying he had become "impure" because he had travelled overseas, according to a news report by Reuters.
The news report adds that even Gandhi was excommunicated when he went to England to study law....Read full news item here...

Woman tortured for not adopting husband's religion

source: http://www.indiaenews.com/religion/20070801/63477.htm

A Muslim woman in Orissa has alleged that she is being tortured for refusing to adopt her Hindu husband's religion.

Mana Khatun, 19, of Haladia village in Kendrapada district, about 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, married Kalindi Sethi, 25, a Hindu youth of the same village last month at a local temple.

'Soon after the marriage, my husband and in laws pressurised me to adopt Hinduism. When I refused to convert, they physically tortured me and drove me out of the house,' Mana said Tuesday.

The woman also alleged that she sat in front of her husband's house for hours asking to be let in but in vain.

'At the time of the marriage, the girl was aware of my son's religion. She has no right to remain a Muslim after marrying him,' said Kulamani Sethi, 53, Kalindi's father.

'On the occasion of the holy Ratha Yatra (chariot festival) last week, members of our community decided to change her name from Mana Khatun to Manasi Sethi after performing a purification ritual as per Hindu religious practice. But she did not agree to change her religion or her name,' he said.

Mana says that even after marriage she continued to offer the Namaz and perform other Muslim rites but her husband and father-in-law strongly opposed this and asked her to worship Hindu deities.

'My husband and father-in-law have been pressurising me to change my religion. Last week, they severely assaulted me after I refused to embrace Hinduism,' she said.

'I am ready to die. But I will not change my religion,' Mana added.

She is now in a very difficult situation as her father has also refused to let her stay in his house because she married a Hindu.

'On Monday, both Mana Khatun's father and her husband came to the police station to sort out the dispute. We are trying to resolve the matter peacefully,' said police officer S. Das.

Guruvayur temple allows entry of women wearing churidars

source: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200707261756.htm

Guruvayur, July. 26 (PTI): In a radical break from the centuries-old dress code of the Sree Krishna temple here, the shrine's management today decided to allow women wearing churidars to enter it.

Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee Chairman Thottathil Raveendran told reporters the change was made as part of the ongoing process of reforming the temple rules in the wake of the recent controversy sparked by the "purification ceremony" peformed in the shrine after a visit by Union Minister Vayalar Ravi's son.

The decision marks a major change in the custom which insisted that only women clad in saris or Kerala's traditional 'mundu' and 'veshti' could enter the shrine.

Men are also not allowed to enter the temple, known for its rigid customs and practices, wearing pants and shirts.

Some women's groups have demanded changes in the outdated dress code followed by the temple, which is visited by thousands from across the country every day.

Case against dera saint

Molestation Charge
Case against dera chief Shankaranand
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

source http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070726/punjab1.htm#20

Talwandi Khurd, July 25
The Mullanpur police has booked Swami Shankaranand, head of a dera by the same name in this village, for allegedly molesting a woman, besides beating her up along with her brother in the dera complex this morning.

The police registered the case against him and some of his followers late in the evening after a day-long tense drama. About 500 persons, including a large number of women, belonging to Mor Karima village laid siege to the Shankaranand dera for nearly seven hours today in protest against the incident.

The accused was booked under sections 323, 341, 354, 427 and 506 of the IPC on a complaint of the woman.

The dera head was granted bail in the evening.

According to Gurmail Singh, sarpanch of Mor Karima village, the woman and her brother had gone to pay obeisance at the dera. Some dera sewaks objected to the manner in which they parked their car. An argument took place at which the sewaks and the dera head allegedly beat them up.

The two were left with swollen eyes and torn clothes. They later called up their relatives in Mor Karima village. The entire village came to their help and staged a dharna.

The situation remained volatile and tense throughout the day. The police was present in large numbers along with the anti-riot squad and a CRPF battalion to control the mob.

The victims claimed their brother had died under mysterious circumstances in the dera three years ago. They had been demanding action against some sewaks.

Tirupati temple for Hindus only, says Andhra ordinance

 
Indo-Asian News Service

Hyderabad, June 8 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an ordinance prohibiting propagation of any religion except Hinduism at the famed Tirupati temple and also declared the seven hills surrounding the temple as a place of worship.

The ordinance also bans the conduct of local body elections in Tirumala hills surrounding the Lord Venkateshwara temple and imposes prohibition.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy made the announcement at a news conference here Friday.

About 50,000 devotees visit Tirupati, India's richest temple, every day and the number crosses 100,000 on special occasions.

The ordinance, signed by Governor Rameswar Thakur May 22, was issued following criticism by Hindu religious heads over propagation of other religions on the Tirumala hills, over 700 km from here.

The ordinance, which makes it clear that all seven hills form part of the temple, sets at rest controversy over the area. Some people were claiming that the jurisdiction of the temple was confined to two hills.

The ordinance also covered 19 other major Hindu temples in the state and prohibited the propagation of other religions in these places.

Reddy said places of worship of other religions would also be covered if specific requests were received by the government.

He said the move was aimed at ensuring that sentiments of religious groups were not hurt and public order at such places of worship was not disturbed. He said a legislation replacing the ordinance would be introduced in the next assembly session.

The state cabinet had in April decided to promulgate the ordinance after taking strong note of evangelical activity around the famous hill shrine.

Anybody found violating the provisions of the ordinance will be sentenced to three years of imprisonment or imposed a fine of Rs.5,000 or both.

Indo-Asian News Service

In India, 2,000 Hindus `reborn'

BUDDHISTS WELCOME LOW-CASTE CONVERTS
By Aijaz Ansari
Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/28/2007 02:48:30 AM PDT

MUMBAI, India - About 2,000 low-caste Hindu Indians bowed before orange-robed monks and recited prayers as they converted to Buddhism in a ceremony Sunday that they said would bring them dignity in a society that considers them "untouchables."

"I feel like I have been reborn," Mahi, a farmer who uses only one name, said at the ceremony in Mumbai. "This is my rebirth."

Organizers said the ceremony was conducted in the spirit of B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable, or dalit, who fought British colonial rule and injustice in Indian society. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution that outlawed discrimination based on caste, renounced Hinduism for Buddhism in 1956 because he believed it treated people equally. He died that same year.

Buddhists form a small minority in mostly Hindu India.  read full news here. http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_6004822

Thousands of Hindus convert to Buddhism to be treated as “human beings”

At least 5,000 people mass convert in Mumbai. They are Dalits and Tribals, members of groups at the bottom of the Hindu caste system, who hope to gain greater social and human dignity.

New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Thousands of Tribal Hindus and Dalits converted to Buddhism in a mass ceremony in Mumbai yesterday in order to escape from the rigid caste system and thus be treated as ‘human beings’.

Shravan Gaikwad, a representative of the Dalit group Samatha Sainik Dal, estimated that about 5,000 people took part in the ceremony, which was held to mark the 50th anniversary of leading Dalit leader Bhimrao Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism.

Delegates from several countries with large Buddhist communities, including Sri Lanka, Thailand and Japan, attended the event.

For many mass conversion appears to be only way to escape the rigid Hindu caste system, which places Dalits and Tribals at the bottom of the social hierarchy, and, as one Dalit activist put it, start being treated “as human beings”.

At least one sixth of India's 1.1 billion people are classed as low caste.

Despite job reservation (affirmative action) for members of Dalit and Tribal communities, their social status and economic conditions have not greatly improved.

Hindu nationalist are opposed to Hindu converting and in several Indian states (especially those ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party) laws against conversion have been adopted, in particular if it involves Hindus converting to Christianity or Islam.

Converting to Buddhism does not however elicit much negative reaction, since many in India believe Buddhism to be an extension of Hinduism. By contrast, two weeks ago two Catholic priests were publicly beaten after being accused of proselytising.

source : http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9389&size=A

Talks on reforms to allow non-Hindus into Kerala temples

Trissur (Kerala), May 28: A panel of Hindu priests is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon to discuss whether there is a need to change rules that prevent non-Hindus from entering Kerala temples.

The Yogakshema Sabha, a body of temple priests and those associated with the affairs of the temples in the state, is to discuss whether reforms are needed after a controversy erupted last week at the famous Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayoor.

Priests in Guruvayoor performed a cleansing ritual after the naming ceremony of Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi's grandson at the temple. Ravi's wife is a Christian.

Following the cleansing ceremony, progressive Hindus felt that a change in temple rules is needed so as to make the entry of non-Hindus into temples a smooth affair. However, organizations associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party did not agree.

A source close to the Yogashema Sabha said Monday's discussion would look into all aspects and the body would decide whether any changes are needed to be made in the tradition to keep up with changing times.

--- IANS
read full news here. http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=33453