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Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
'Want to do business? Serve veg items only': Hindu Raksha Dal protests at Ghaziabad KFC; demands ban on non-veg food during Kanwar Yatra
A screengrab of the video that went viral on social media platforms. GHAZIABAD: Hundreds of members of the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD) staged a protest outside a KFC outlet in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram area, raising slogans like 'Jai Shree Ram' and 'Har Har Mahadev. ' The group demanded that non-vegetarian food not be served during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra. A video that went viral on social media showed HRD members pulling down the shutter of the outlet. Another video captured the protesters entering the restaurant while shouting religious slogans and asking staff to shut down operations or serve only vegetarian food during the month of Shravan. Pinky Chaudhary, the chief of the group, said, 'Our message is clear. We are asking all non-vegetarian food outlets to refrain from serving such food during the Kanwar Yatra. If they want to remain open, they should serve vegetarian items only.' Taking note of the incident, Nimish Patil, DCP Trans-Hindon, said Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been imposed in the district, and the protesters violated public order. A suo motu FIR has been registered against 10 unidentified individuals under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant. 'We are in the process of identifying the accused involved in the incident,' the DCP added.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Nehal Modi Arrested In U.S. Over ₹13,500 Crore PNB Scam; Extradition Hearing On July 17
'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' And 'Jai Shree Ram' Chants In Argentina As Indian Diaspora Welcomes PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora, with chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Modi-Modi', and 'Jai Shree Ram' echoing across the capital. This marks the third leg of Modi's five-nation tour after Ghana and Trinidad & Tobago, as he continues strengthening India's global footprint. The Prime Minister is set to meet President Javier Milei for key bilateral talks focusing on defence, agriculture, energy, mining, technology, and trade. India and Argentina are expected to deepen cooperation across critical minerals, renewable energy, and space tech, while expanding people-to-people and diaspora ties. This visit comes ahead of PM Modi's attendance at the 17th BRICS Summit in Brazil, showcasing India's assertive foreign diplomacy in the Global South.#pmmodi #narendramodi #modiinargentina #modidiasporawelcome #modiinlatinamerica #bricssummit2025 #bharatmatakijai #modi5nationtour #indialatinamerica #modimileitalks #jaiShreeRam #indiancommunityabroad #toi #toibharat #bharat #trending #breakingnews #indianews 4.5K views | 6 hours ago
Mint
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Meat-eating dilemmas and the one-pot approach
Last month in Mumbai, I met a Brahmin taxi driver from Uttar Pradesh. Within five minutes of getting into his car, he asked where I was from. When I said Goa, he peered in the rear-view mirror. 'Christian?" No, Hindu, I said. He beamed, 'Jai Shree Ram." Soon, he proceeded to excoriate Muslims, Christians and other Hindus who ate meat. When I pointed out that meat-eating Brahmins were not uncommon, he was dismissive of their faith. 'Eating meat is not in our religion, not in the natural course of things," he said. 'The Vedas tell you that." His religious and culinary prejudices aligned with his political worldview: Muslims were invaders who did not deserve respect; he respected Dalits but could not share a meal with them since, after all, he was a Brahmin; and India only began to progress after 2014. A long debate, sometimes heated, ensued. I agreed with almost nothing of what he said, but his rant about food reinvigorated a debate in my head about what I eat. Also read: Prawns, fresh herbs, and a door to Veracruz Like many meat-eaters, I have told myself that this is what nature intended; it is certainly true that we evolved into a meat-eating species about 2 million years ago. Humans are omnivores, and since we grew into the planet's dominant species, using our big brains to make choices, we have exercised that dominance to eat what we choose. Some chose to be vegetarians; others chose to remain meat-eaters. In recent years, I have felt a growing queasiness about industrial meat production. I understand that the term itself whitewashes what is effectively mass slaughter. I am always horrified when I see the conditions in which chickens are transported in India. I have not seen goats or pigs being slaughtered, so I cannot say what I may feel. Paul McCartney famously said that if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. Then there's global warming: there is little doubt that animal farms feeding the slaughterhouses play their part, as cattle belch methane in ever-rising quantities. Yet, razing forests and other ecosystems for food crops isn't exactly cooling the planet. In sum, there are too many of us, and although the vast majority are poor, too many of those who are not—that includes me—live lives that are not sustainable to our little dot in the universe. If I know the costs of eating meat, why do I not stop? After all, my wife did at age 13, after being traumatised while working with feathers and blood in the family's hotel kitchen. Habits and pleasures are not easily ended, and, as I said, it is far from certain that turning vegetarian is a panacea for our moral and planetary dilemmas. What I do is to be aware and scale back on what I eat. I do not claim this is adequate, timely, or even ethical recompense for my carnivorous ways, but it is what I do. The amount of meat I eat has fallen drastically from my younger years. I may borrow a piece or three from my daughter, primarily bone, because it limits the meat I eat and allows me the singular pleasure of gristle, marrow, and cartilage. Sometimes, I keep vegetables at the centre of what I eat and use a pork pickle or dried fish as a condiment that makes the meal as satisfying as a meal centred on, say a pan full of mutton fry or a big bowl of fish curry. I try to avoid fish in the breeding season, but overall, I've convinced myself—wrongly, perhaps—that it's less damaging to eat them. I am acutely aware of industrial trawlers and how they are emptying the oceans. I try to eat species that aren't very much in demand: of course, if more people do the same thing, then they will be in demand. This is the dichotomy of modern eating and living, and I see no easy solution. A recent family penchant for one-pot meals is at least more modest than most and consumes fewer ingredients and quantities. The wife creates these bowls for herself, and I am struck by the limited ingredients, vast range of flavours, and the ease in washing up after. My mother is not particularly acquainted with bowls, but last week she inadvertently produced one when her daughter-in-law asked for something nutritious and simple: methi or fenugreek rice. I was reluctant to consider a non-vegetarian version, but I caved. My mother ordered prawns, but you could easily replace them with a handful of leftover meat. The original version had only methi. METHI PRAWN RICE Serves 4 Ingredients 500g medium-size prawns 1 large bunch chopped fresh methi (fenugreek) 2 large onions, chopped 2 tbsp chopped garlic 3 tsp Kashmiri mirch powder or chilli powder One and a half tsp turmeric powder 3 tsp vegetable oil 1 cup rice Salt to taste Method Marinate the prawns in 1 teaspoon Kashmiri mirch powder (or chilli powder, depending on how spicy you want it) and half tsp turmeric with some salt for an hour. Fry the prawns lightly for 5 minutes and set aside. In a pan, heat the remaining oil gently and saute garlic till soft. Add onion and fry till it begins to brown. Add the methi and saute until it shrivels. Add the rice and mix well. Add the remaining turmeric and Kashmiri chilli powder and toss. Mix in the prawns and salt. Add water to cook the rice, cover and remove when done. Serve hot with a sambol, salad or pickle. Also read: Toddy shops and desi dive bars go hip Our Daily Bread is a column on easy, inventive cooking. Samar Halarnkar is the author of The Married Man's Guide To Creative Cooking—And Other Dubious Adventures. He posts @samar11 on X
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Who's afraid of Mysore Pak? The bitter taste of India's language wars
Languages can either foster peace and understanding or serve as tools for conflict and division. In India, they are increasingly being weaponised. For instance, amid tensions with Pakistan, some shopkeepers in Jaipur renamed sweets like Mysore Pak and Moti Pak to Mysore Shree and Moti Shree, erroneously assuming the word 'pak' (meaning 'sacred' in Persian) to be of foreign origin. Ironically, in the case of these sweets, 'pak' is rooted in the Sanskrit term 'pakva' (meaning 'cooked'), with cognates in several Indian languages, including Kannada. On the other end of the country, Hyderabad's Karachi Bakery faced vandalism for using the name of a Pakistani city, despite being founded by a Sindhi Hindu refugee who migrated from Karachi in 1947. Such acts of linguistic intolerance are not isolated but part of a larger pattern where language is being used to fuel differences. Kamal Haasan's remark that Kannada is born out of Tamil sparked a row Words of Arabic origin, such as jihad (spiritual struggle), halala (permissible), talaq (divorce), sharia (Islamic law), and hijab (veil), have been used by political groups to marginalise and discriminate against communities. Conversely, innocuous Sanskrit-derived terms like bhakta (devotee), gobar (cow dung), gaumutra (cow urine), and mandir (temple) are stigmatised by opposing groups to demean and trivialise cultural practices and identities. Jai Shree Ram (Victory to Lord Rama) and Allahu Akbar (God is Great), once expressions of devotion, have been twisted into polarizing war cries. Forget humans, even AI chatbots like X's Grok have been manipulated to abuse and dehumanize people, communities and organisations using the 'unhinged mode' feature. More worrying than the language conflicts on social media is what is playing out on the streets. Skirmishes have been reported in several cities with migrant workers becoming soft targets for these 'language vigilantes'. In a nation where languages are deeply intertwined with cultural identity and pride, these conflicts over language use, words and signage strike at the heart of personal and communal belonging. But why is India's linguistic diversity — it has over 424 distinct languages — under strain? Among the reasons are the continued distrust of multilingualism by central and state govts, inconsistent implementation of the three-language policy, and the push for a 'one-country, one-language' ideology based on a European model of a nation state. Moreover, state govts are implicitly supporting this ideology of linguistic homogenization. A 2024 Kerala govt order mandated exclusive use of Malayalam in public advertisements and notices, prohibiting multilingual signs. Govts in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan have been actively replacing names of villages and cities perceived as Islamic with those reflecting Hindu heritage. In MP, for instance, Mohammadpur Machanai village was changed to Mohanpur, and Hajipur was renamed Hirapur. Critics argue that such renaming erases centuries of coexistence and shared history, while proponents claim it restores a pre-colonial identity. So widespread is linguistic prejudice in India that regional variations of a widely spoken language like Hindi are stigmatised. Hindi speakers from eastern states like Bihar and Jharkhand often face mockery for their distinct accents, word choices, and oral expressions. Their mother tongues, such as Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Angika, are labeled as crude or vulgar. By linking the perceived vulgarity of Bhojpuri films and songs to the language itself, the entire Bhojpuri-speaking community is viewed through a prejudiced lens. Similarly, though Telangana Telugu and coastal Telugu share a common script and a unified cultural history, Telangana Telugu has been treated historically as inferior. In films, Telangana Telugu speakers were frequently portrayed as comical or foolish. These linguistic, cultural, and social differences contributed to the 2014 separation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In fact, there is a competitive race among linguistic groups to claim the antiquity of their languages. A recent flashpoint was actor Kamal Haasan's remark that Kannada was born out of Tamil which sparked a sharp backlash. The Indian govt's 'classical' tag for certain 'dominant languages' — the 2024-25 list included Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali — has also become a coveted badge of prestige. These languages already receive significant budgetary support from both Union and state govts. Such official labels often end up intensifying conflicts and further marginalising resource-scarce minority languages like Tulu, Bhili, Gondi, Santali, Dogri, Angami, Lotha, Mizo, Garo, Khasi, Badaga, Irula etc. Far from being a unifying force, languages have become tools of polarisation in electoral politics. If India is to uphold its democratic ideals, the embrace of multilingualism must be more than symbolic. It must be actively nurtured, through policy, education, and public discourse. Languages are not just a medium of communication; they are the essence of identity, culture, and coexistence. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
‘We say Allahu Akbar when in distress': Mehbooba Mufti on zipline operator's chant during Pahalgam attack
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday responded to the controversy around a zipline operator allegedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, saying the chant is a common expression among Muslims during times of distress, just as 'Jai Shree Ram' is for Hindus. She urged the central government to act against those fuelling communal tensions online. Mehbooba Mufti's statement comes amid suspicion expressed by a section of people over the zipline operator, which security agencies have not yet substantiated. 'There are some people on social media who are very communal... Like we say, 'Jai Shree Ram', Muslims say 'Allahu Akbar' and when we are in any difficulty, we say 'Allahu Akbar'... The government of India must take strict action against those who are spewing venom on social media...,' ANI news agency quoted Mehbooba Mufti. The April 22 terror attack took place at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, where terrorists fired at tourists, killing 25 Indians and one Nepali national, and injuring many others. In response, the Central government vowed harsh punishment for the attackers and those involved in plotting the assault. The family of Muzamil, the zipline operator heard chanting "Allahu Akbar" during the Pahalgam terror attack, has come forward in his defence. Muzamil's father, Abdul Aziz, told the news agency that his son was terrified after the incident and broke down in tears. "Right now, Muzamil is with the police. He was very scared, he started crying at that time. He said, 'Don't say anything to me, something happened here'," Aziz said. Responding to the viral video in which Muzamil was heard saying "Allahu Akbar", Aziz added, 'Even if the storm comes, we say Allahu Akbar. What fault do we have in this? Muzamil used to work only with the zipline; he didn't do any other work.' He insisted that Muzamil had no wrongful intentions and was simply carrying out his duties at the time. The controversy erupted after a video of Gujarat tourist Rishi Bhatt went viral, showing him ziplining just as the Pahalgam terror attack began. Bhatt alleged, 'nine people ziplined before me, but the operator did not utter a word. When I was sliding, he spoke, and then the firing started. So, I have my suspicions about that man. He said 'Allahu Akbar' thrice and then the firing started... He looked like a regular Kashmiri.' Bhatt recounted, 'Firing started when I was ziplining... After about 20 seconds, I realised that it was a terrorist attack... and people on the ground are being killed.' He said he witnessed 5–6 people being shot. Describing his escape, he said, 'I unlatched my belt and jumped down, took my wife and son and started running away. We saw people hiding in a spot that resembled a pit, making it difficult to spot them easily. We too hid there.' (With ANI inputs)
