No religion teaches atrocities – Attempts to curb democratic rights in BJP regime: Ram Puniyani

Hyderabad: Noted social activist and revolutionary writer, Mr. Ram Puniyani opposed atrocities in the name of religion and said that no religion teaches cruelty, atrocity and barbarism, be it the brutal killing of Hafiz Junaid in the running train at Ballabgarh or an attack on the Amarnath Yatris. He further told that for the past few years, the situations in the country are changing. Conspiracies are being hatched to curb democratic rights of the citizens. Anarchy is being created in the name of cow protection. In such a situation, Mr. Ram Puniyani appealed to the secular minded people to oppose all attempts which are meant to abandon Gandhian traditions. He was delivering a lecture on “The current political situation in India” organized by All India Secular Forum in Hyderabad. He said that opposing the Govt. and the country are two different things but in the present era, both are being clubbed. It is our democratic right to criticize or oppose the Govt. but those who do so are being charged with sedition. The treatment meted out to JNU student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar comes under this conspiracy. He said that media is also being targeted. He made a reference to the raid conducted on NDTV. A senior editor of a fortnightly magazine of Mumbai was forced to resign. These are the examples of the attempts that are being made to suppress the voice of the democratic values. He mentioned that ever since BJP Govt. took charge in the Center, violence in the name of cow protection and religion has increased. Referring to the survey conducted by an American University, he said that it was mentioned that wherever communal riots take place, BJP forms the Govt. after it. He pointed out that Minorities are living in this country under the conditions of fear and threat. Some people are resorting to violence in the name of religion and cow. Such people have no attachment either to cow or religion. He also told that not only Minorities but all the sections of society who are trying to promote secular views are being targeted by fascist forces. He pointed out that Pakistan was formed on the basis of religion whereas India remained secular. Although, Mahatma Gandhi was a staunch Hindu he opposed the ban on cow slaughter in secular India. He played an important role in the establishment of the secular country. This was the reason that Mahatma Gandhi was not acceptable to the people who profess the theory of Hindu State. He lamented that even today fascist forces are making an attempt to promote this theory. In order to achieve this goal “Muslim Munch” was formed. Attempts are being made to constitute “Christian Munch” also. Mr. Ram Puniyani mentioned that an attempt was made to spread hatred declaring Muslim rulers as the killers of cow whereas the reality is quite different. No doubt, Muslims ruled India but they never tried to transfer its assets to the other countries. The conflict of Masjid – Mandir was created by the British. –Siasat News