Producer of incendiary song, “Jo na bole jai shree Ram,” claims its writer is a “patriot”

Source: caravanmagazine.in

These are the opening lyrics to a new song uploaded on YouTube on 23 July, on a channel called “Varun Bahar official.” The three-minute-long song, titled, “Those who will not chant victory to lord Ram, send them to the graveyard,” is by a Bhojpuri singer, Varun Bahar Upadhyay. The video features Bahar dressed in an all-saffron outfit, sporting rudraksh beads—seeds that are used as prayer beads, usually by followers of the Hindu god Shiva—against a fixed backdrop splashed with images of the Hindu god Ram. The video switches between Bahar singing, images of young men carrying swords and threatening bystanders, and groups of saffron-clad boys and girls dancing. An unidentified graveyard—the cemetery is dotted with Christian crosses—makes an appearance every time Bahar sings the chorus, accompanied by some fist-pumping for added effect. The hashtags accompanying the song are equally unimaginative: “#saffron#terrorist#varun.” The description has a single line in Hindi which translates as “after singing this song, the media has declared Varun Bahar as a saffron terrorist.” A casual search on Google did not reveal any such media reports.

The song has, however, been shared widely on social media, drawing sharp reactions, and scathing criticism for inciting lynching and mob violence against minorities. The unequivocal exhortations in the song’s lyrics are undeniable. Bahar’s YouTube channel, which had 549 subscribers as of 6 pm on 24 July, has been online since 2013, but the oldest video is from just a year ago. The channel is an absurd mix of devotional songs, Bhojpuri love songs, videos proclaiming and seeking support for the prime minister Narendra Modi and content that can only politely be termed titillating.

Bahar’s mobile phone has been switched off since the morning of 24 July, following the furore on social media, and I could not get in touch with Santosh Singh Yadu, the writer of the song and a co-curator of the channel. Rajesh Verma, who runs a YouTube channel called Janta Musical And Pictures, produced and directed the video. Verma told me that the video was originally uploaded on his channel “two or three days ago, but we removed it from Janta music because it became controversial.” He said that some “Pakistani channels and local channels” contacted him and told him that “it’s wrong to say ‘send them to the grave,’ and so we took it down.”

Verma denied that the lyrics were inflammatory and said that “the singer did not take names” of any religion. He argued that “both Hindus and Muslims use graves.” When I pointed out that Hindus are cremated and so the song targets minority communities who bury their dead, Verma claimed that “only married Hindus are cremated, unmarried and single Hindus are buried.” He appeared to have forgotten that the Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch, Atal Bihari Vajpayee—an avowed bachelor—was cremated with full state honours. “I am not anti-Muslim,” Verma told me, when I pushed him to explain the anti-minority lyrics of the video. “I visit dargahs every Thursday and do pranam whenever I go past a mosque.”

Verma’s Janta Musical channel has released 598 videos as of 24 June. One song is titled, “’If you don’t like saffron, get out of India” and boasts of 5.5 million views. Another is called “Every Hindu’s call: Temple first, government only after that,” and has 252,000 views. All the songs feature violent imagery of men dressed in saffron, carrying swords and other similar tropes of majoritarian assertion. The channel also contains several videos supporting Modi and the BJP.

“Bahar and Yadu came to me with the idea of the song,” Verma said. He added that Bahar hails from a village called Mankapur, “near Ayodhya.” He noted that he had heard the song before uploading it but justified the offensive lyrics and its call to violence. “Some people are saying we won’t let the Ram temple be built,” Verma told me. “We are devotees of Ram, so we have made a song in praise of Ram.”

Verma was puzzled by the objection to providing a platform to the song: “If it was a matter of hurting anyone, why would we upload it?” When I asked him who the video was addressed to, he blithely responded, “The writer of the song is a deshpremi”—a patriot—“and he may have had the stone-pelters in Kashmir in mind while writing the song.” Verma also denied any connection to a political party or group and said he was an “independent music producer.” Janta Musical has a Twitter account, which tweeted on 23 July, “We apologise for the rumours spread due to the song of one singer. It was not the intention of Janta Music to hurt the religious feelings of any group.”

While Verma claimed that he removed the video soon after uploading it, the song was available on the “Varun Bahar official” channel till around 6 pm on 24 July. It has now been removed but is still being shared widely on other social-media platforms. The singer and writer, though unavailable, seem to have no regrets about the song or its content. Just hours before the video was removed, at around 3 pm on 24 July, Bahar and Yadu posted this statement, from their official account, in the comments section:

Bihar woman claims she was abducted, confined and gang-raped for seven days

Source: timesnownews.com

Patna: A woman from Bihar has claimed that she was kidnapped, held hostage and gang-raped by a group of men in the state’s Nalanda district. In her complaint, the woman alleged that she was abducted by an acquaintance who managed to get her out of her husband’s home on the pretext of taking her to her parents’ home by deceiving her into believing that her father was unwell.

The woman, who got married about two months ago, claimed that she was abducted on July 16. A man known to her arrived at her husband’s home and told the complainant that her father was unwell. The accused then offered to drop her off at her parental home. After she took up the offer, she was taken to a residence where she was held hostage for a total of seven days and gang-raped by four men.

In her complainant, the woman further claimed that the accused also stole her jewellery and cash. On July 23, she managed to flee her captors and reached her husband’s home. She then narrated her ordeal before the police in Rahui who registered an FIR on the basis of her complaint. An investigation into the matter is underway by personnel attached with the Ghoswari police station. The survivor has identified one of the accused by name. More details are awaited as this is a developing story and the matter is under active investigation.

A similar incident has come to light from Samastipur where a woman has alleged that she was abducted and gang-raped by six men. The complainant also told police that the accused recorded illicit videos of her and the same are doing rounds on social media. The woman’s husband works in New Delhi and rushed back to his home in Bihar after the matter was brought to his attention.

Officials with the Hasanpur police station in Samastipur district arrested three people in connection with the alleged gang-rape of the 35-year-old woman. A preliminary investigation by police had revealed that she was going to meet her sister-in-law when she was abducted and taken to an isolated farm where she was gang-raped by six men. They even gagged her with a cloth to ensure that the sound of her screams does not alert locals. The accused were reportedly booked under sections 376 and 362 of the Indian Penal Code along with section 66E of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

NHRC issues notice to Bihar Police over JD(U) leader’s death; family claims Ganesh Ravidas was tortured in custody

Source: firstpost.com

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday sent a notice to the Bihar police chief over the death of a JD(U) leader in police custody, hours after he was picked up for interrogation in a kidnapping case. The family of the leader, identified as Ganesh Ravidas, alleged that he was tortured in police custody.

Ravidas was found hanging from the ceiling of a toilet at the Nagarnausa police station in Nalanda on Thursday night, sources earlier said. Three policemen have been arrested in connection with the case.

Ravidas, who was the block president of the party’s Mahadalit cell, was picked up for interrogation in connection with the kidnapping of a girl, wherein he was not named as an accused, the sources had said.

“The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that a local leader of the ruling JD(U) in Bihar, who was detained by the Nalanda police in connection with a kidnapping case, allegedly hanged himself inside the police station late on Thursday night,” the NHRC said in a statement.

The commission observed that the content of the news report, if true, amounted to a gross violation of the right to life. “Accordingly, the commission has issued a notice to the Director General of Police (DGP), Bihar, calling for a detailed report in the matter within six weeks,” the NHRC stated.

The police authorities had also been told to explain as to why intimation in this regard was not given to the commission within 24 hours of the occurrence of the incident, the rights panel said. Ravidas was detained by police on 11 July night in connection with an alleged kidnapping of a girl residing in his village.

He was suspected to have helped the girl elope, the NHRC said, quoting media reports. When police interrogation was on, he went to use a washroom, which was outside the lock-up, where he reportedly hanged himself, it said.

“The news report further reveals that the victim was killed by the police station in-charge and chowkidar. It is also stated that there were cut marks on the body of the deceased, suggesting it to be a case of torture in police custody,” the statement read.

Weather across India: Bihar heatwave claims 61 lives, rain brings respite for Northern states | 12 points

Source: indiatoday.in

The weather in India has been difficult for the population of the country with the heatwaves dominating the weather for the past few weeks. According to reports, there have been 32 heatwaves this year in India, the second-longest spell of high temperatures in the country’s recorded history. The heatwave conditions prevailing in most parts of the country has claimed at least 44 lives in Bihar in a day, even as rain brought down the mercury in some western and northern states on Sunday.

Here are the weather conditions in various states

1. Rain and thunderstorm has been predicted on Monday in Uttar Pradesh, where sweltering heat continued unabated with Allahabad in the eastern part being the hottest at 45.3 degree Celsius, six notches above the normal. Sultanpur, Varanasi and Basti in the state recorded 45 degrees Celsius, 44.2 degrees Celsius and 44 degrees Celsius respectively.

2. Blistering heatwave condition continued unabated in Bihar, where at least 61 people died on Saturday. The state government has ordered closure of schools till June 19. According to officials, 22 people died in Aurangabad, 20 in Gaya and two in Nawada districts due to the heatwave. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the deaths and announced an ex gratia of Rs four lakh for the next of kin of the victims.

3. In Delhi, traces of rain and strong wind reduced the daytime temperature which settled at 36.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal. The weatherman has predicted overcast conditions and thunderstorm accompanied with light rains on Monday.

4. Parts of Rajasthan witnessed rain since Saturday, bringing respite from the sweltering conditions. The state capital recorded 9.2 mm of rains on Sunday, the meteorological department said. Bhim in Rajsamand gauged 7 cm of rains followed by 4 cm in Tibi of Hanumangarh and 3 cm each in Chirawa, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Sangaria since Saturday.

5. Similarly, rainfall in Ahmedabad and rest of Gujarat brought respite from the scorching heat. The maximum temperature in Ahmedabad hovered around 37 degree Celsius, the IMD said. North Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch regions are likely to receive heavy rain on Monday under the influence of Cyclone Vayu, the MeT department said. On Sunday morning, the cyclone remained centred about 470 km west-southwest of Porbandar, 440 km southwest of Dwarka and 545 km southwest of Bhuj, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin.

Monsoon is expected to advance further up north as Cyclone Vayu loses intensity paving the way for the wind system to move towards the Arabian Sea, the weatherman said Sunday.

6. By now, monsoon should have reached the central India, including parts of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, but it is yet to reach Maharashtra. It still remains over Mangalore, Mysore, Cuddalore over the southern peninsula and Passighat, Agartala in the northeast, according to the India Meteorological Department.

7. The western coast – from Maharashtra to Gujarat – has been receiving rainfall due to the cyclone. Only coastal Karnataka and Kerala have received rains due to monsoon.

8. Monsoon is likely to set in in Telangana around June 20 and in Andhra Pradesh by June 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

9. The public in Tamil Nadu has been advised not to expose themselves to direct sunlight between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm to avoid sunstroke, a Regional Meteorological Centre has said. Chennai and its neighbouring areas and several other northern districts in Tamil Nadu have been reeling under heatwave-like conditions for the past several days with the mercury hovering over 41 degree Celsius.

10. This year’s heatwave has not even spared the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the weatherman said.

11. The weather remained mainly dry in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday even as the maximum temperature fell by 3 to 4 degrees from normal, Shimla MeT Centre director Manmohan Singh said.

12. Some states experienced pleasant conditions with little to moderate rain. Sirsa, Fatehabad, Mahendergarh in Haryana and Amritsar, Gurdaspur and a few other areas in Punjab received welcome showers.

According to meteorological department forecast, light to moderate rain is likely at a few places on June 16, 17 and 18 in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. Meanwhile, four people, including two brothers, were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike during rain and thunderstorm in northern part of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, police said.