Christian leaders in Pakistan have condemned Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s objectionable remarks about Christianity during his various public sermons in Pakistan when touring the country on a month-long state-sponsored visit in October.

Los blancos, liderados por el argentino, dominan de principio a fin al equipo de Ataman en la reedición de la final de Berlín / Paso al frente de Musa, Tavares y un gran Abalde Leer

Living in Anaikatti means being at close quarters with all kinds of creatures. Sometimes too close.

The Centre is to be established at a cost of ₹2.5 crore based on a detailed proposal sent by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Chennai

However, court says no issue with bronze used for statue as NITK has already certified it  

1. Ajit Doval showers praise on Kashmir forces for Riyaz Naikoo Op, then stern advice  Hindustan Times
2. Fearing retaliatory strike by India after Handwara terror attack, Pakistan increases aerial exercise  Times Now
3. Why Pakistan’s proxy war will now intensify  The Tribune India
4. Ajit Doval dissects Imran Khan’s terror moves in Kashmir, preps India’s counter  Hindustan Times
5. Indian Army retaliates to Pakistan`s ceasefire violation along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir`s Poonch  Zee News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Ajit Doval showers praise on Kashmir forces for Riyaz Naikoo Op, then stern advice  Hindustan Times
2. Why Pakistan’s proxy war will now intensify  The Tribune India
3. Indian Army retaliates to Pakistan`s ceasefire violation along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir`s Poonch  Zee News
4. Ajit Doval dissects Imran Khan’s terror moves in Kashmir, preps India’s counter  Hindustan Times
5. Sense of new geopolitics marred by old hostilities  Economic Times
6. View Full coverage on Google News

(ii) The applicant shall attend the concerned Police Station as and when called;

(iii) The applicant shall not tamper with the evidence or attempt to influence or contact the complainant, witnesses or any person concerned with the case.

SQ Pathan 3/4 ::: Uploaded on - 08/05/2020 ::: Downloaded on - 09/05/2020 06:03:51 ::: Apeal.196.20.doc 8 Stand over to 3rd July 2020. 9 All concerned to act on the copy of this order, digitally signed

New Delhi, May 09: A video of the outfit's ‘supreme commander' Syed Salahuddin has surfaced on the internet where he condoles the death of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo. Salahuddin also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based conglomeration of various

Naikon, a Chinese APT group that disappeared after its activities were disclosed in 2015, has been rediscovered and may have remained active but unrecognized since the 2015 reports. Researchers have uncovered evidence of a five-year stealth campaign against similar targets in the same geographical area that they believe to be conducted by Naikon.

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They said while the government is strictly enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown, the additional restrictions were imposed on Friday to ensure that the day passes off peacefully.

The global COVID-19 spread has gone from bad to worse, with over 3.2 million confirmed cases and close to 250,000 deaths, not only has this pandemic claimed innumerable lives, it has also destabilised economies by freezing trade and other economic...

Our colleagues at Checkpoint put together a fine research writeup on some Naikon resources and activity related to “aria-body” that we detected in 2017 and similarly reported in 2018.

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

It is common amongst Western scholars and their Westernised students to differentiate between the Vedic yagna and the Puranic puja, rituals that define the two major phases of Hinduism, one that flourished over 3,000 years ago and one that emerged 2,000 years ago. Of course, at the other extreme, we have the bhakta-Indologists who insist that Hinduism has no history, or phases, or evolution — that everything was homogenous and static, until Muslims came into the land 1,000 years ago. The truth is somewhere in between, as usual.

Vedic yagna is conventionally translated as 'sacrifice' and Puranic puja is translated as 'worship'. This translation is the basic problem. Both are based on Christian templates of religion where God of Abraham demands sacrifice (giving up something dear for the pleasure of God) and worship (adoration, veneration of God). Anyone who has actually performed the two rituals, or at least studied the two rituals carefully, will notice that the sacrifice and worship constitutes only part of the ritual, the first half — the second half is about asking for something in return, the fruit of the sacrifice or ritual known as phala-stuti, which is common to both yagna and puja. This makes yagna and puja essentially exchanges with the divine. There is the giving part (sacrifice, and worship, if one wants to call it that); this is followed by the receiving part, or at least the desire for something in exchange. Anyone who performs a yagna or puja knows that the ritual always ends with asking for something, material or spiritual, from the divine. This exchange makes it different from a prayer.

Yagna was designed by Brahmins 3,000 years ago as an elaborate ceremony to invite (avahan) celestial beings (deva) who rode celestial chariots (rathas). Communication was established using fire (agni) as medium, chants (mantra) and special offerings (soma). The yagna acknowledged through symbolic enactment and ritual role-playing the role the devas play in creating and sustaining and even destroying the universe. Having acknowledged the gods, and given them offerings to their satisfaction, a petition is made to them — for children, gold, grain, cattle, horses, power, fame, health — before they are allowed to go (visarjan).

But in yagna, the gods have no form. And they have no permanent residence. They come from the realm of the stars and so the yagna is performed in open air. Yagna could not be performed during rainy seasons, the four monsoon months (chatrumaas) which became linked to inauspiciousness. But, about 2,000 years ago, increasingly gods were seen as images and icons housed in caves and in temples. These sacred icons (archa) were venerated (archana). The ritual involved the same principles as the Vedic yagna – inviting the god to inhabit the image built, then bathing and decorating and feeding and praising and feeding and entertaining that image, before the petition is made. The devotee gives in order to get.  While humans were bound by debt (rinn), and had obligations, the gods were free of debt and so had no obligations. They were untouched by karma. And so what they gave was dependent on their grace! The devotee (bhakta) hence worshipped (bhaja) the divine being (bhagavan) and sought his grace (prasad). This is an exchange, a giving for receiving, unlike a covenant or a contract, which is about giving and taking and obligations that is cornerstone of Abrahmic religions. Exchange (yagna) connects (yoga) the world by establishing relationships (bandhu). Thus, through yagna and puja, we can theoretically connect with the infinite.

The author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt@devdutt.com

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Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

In the beginning, people said homosexuality is unnatural. Then scientists showed them that hundreds of species of animals do indulge in homosexuality. So people started saying homosexuality may be natural, but it is best restricted to animals. Amongst humans, it is a social disease. This unscientific understanding is popularised by many religious leaders, who are clueless about science, though they insist that the Vedas/Quran/Agama/Tripitaka/Talmud are essentially scientific.

These religious leaders fall into two categories. The first category is the 'liberal' guru who says sex is great for spirituality, provided it is heterosexual. The second category is the 'conservative' guru who says sex is not great for spirituality, and if you must indulge in it, do it for babies.

A gay man heard how a broad-minded Indian guru presented sexuality as an integral part of spirituality, and so decided to read a bit more of the guru's writings. He was suitably impressed, there was a lot of talk of how exploring sexual desires authentically enhances spiritual growth. But then came the horror! When the guru spoke of sexuality, he was referring only to heterosexuality and was essentially promoting orgies as a tool to liberate yourself. He saw homosexuality as a social disease resulting from heterosexuality being suppressed when men are locked with men in monasteries and prisons and women are locked with women in nunneries. This was his fantasy, which he marketed as mystical knowledge of the East!

A lesbian woman came upon a guru who gave her a sympathetic ear, and who confidently asserted that ancient mystical sages (all male, of course) had revealed to him that natural sexual activity is for making babies only, and that pleasure is just nature's way of incentivising you to make more babies. It is the human perversion to bypass the baby-making and focus on pleasure. Such value placed on pleasure comes from stress, hormones, and a lack of spiritual grounding. He insisted that homosexuality is a social pathology, not a natural physiology. She could stay a single woman if she did not wish to be a man's wife, but she had to engineer her life towards spirituality rather than sexuality if she sought fulfilment and happiness. Her libido, he insisted, was in dire need of fixing!

Most of these gurus do oppose the criminalising of homosexuality, and so appear to be modern. However, they do see homosexuality as a deviance (or its Sanskrit equivalent), or a 'fluidity' that needs explanation, management and re-alignment. They mirror the homophobia directed at queer people (pandakas, napunsakas) that we find in ancient monastic orders such as Buddhism and Jainism. Their discomfort with queerness is similar to their well-disguised discomfort with gender equality: 'Women are as good as men, provided they put the man's needs first.' Essentially, these gurus preach qualified equality, where their personal comfort zone (heterosexuality, celibacy, masculinity) remains privileged.

It is important to recognise gurus as political figures. They are today clearly political vote banks, with a vast number of followers who do whatever the guru tells them to do. Hence the power of their spiritual discourses to influence social and political direction needs to be acknowledged.

We must also recognise the power of followers over gurus. Gurus are expected to be superhuman, and 'pure and pious'. We don't mind them dancing to Bollywood songs or playing golf. But if they were to talk too much in favour of sex and pleasure, we will see them as less than spiritual. In our hearts, many of us are convinced spirituality is an adversary of sexuality. We see Shiva who burnt Kama to ash. We refuse to see Shiva who was enchanted by Kamakshi and Mohini.

The author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt@devdutt.com

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Illustration/ Devdutt Pattanaik

One of the unique features of Islam in South Asia is the veneration of five holy men, or saints (auliya), known collectively as pancha-pir. They are often represented by the palm of the hand, mounted on a mound. We find shrines of pancha-pir in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal. They are sometimes identified as the five pure ones of Shia Islam: the Prophet Muhammad, his daughter, his son-in-law, and his two grandsons. Other identify them as five Sufi saints, often the teacher with his five students. Still others say they refer to the Prophet Muhammad and the first four Caliphs. This veneration of five holy men in dargahs is however frowned upon by Islamic purists, who believe that veneration should be reserved for God, and none other.

In folklore, the pancha-pir often appear to bless heroes on quest, or to establish the greatness of a local king. In many Hindu temples, especially in Rajasthan, where folk-heroes are deified, as in the case of Ramdev baba, one finds pancha-pir endorsing their greatness, thus indicating syncretism of Hindu and Muslim ideas at the grass-root level. In Bengal, they are popular amongst sailors, who seek their protection before setting out into the sea, and thank them on their return.

Stories of pancha-pir often reveal much similarity with village gods and goddesses of India, who are known to help when appeased and harm when angry. So we learn how they gave their horse to a queen so that she could use the horse's blood to cure a husband. The queen later refuses to return the horse and so the pancha-pir destroy her kingdom. Sometimes the pancha-pir are paired with their five wives who disobey them and so are reduced to five piles of ash.

How did this idea emerge? It is possible that these five pirs were earlier the five tathagathas of Buddhism, found in Tantrik Buddhism, that flourished in eastern India during the Pala kingdom. There is the central Buddha, Vairochana, with four other Buddhas in the four directions, represented in four different colours, embodying four different principles, thus indicating universality. Such images are found in Buddhist shrines and Buddhist mandalas.

The idea of the five collective is found in Hinduism too: the Pandavas, for example. In Puri, Odisha, the five Pandavas take the form of five Shivas. There are images of Pancha-mukhi linga, where five faces, each in different mood, arise from a single pillar. There is also the concept of five chaste women: the pancha-kanya, which includes Sita, Draupadi, Ahalya, Mandodari and Kunti.

The most recurring concept in Indian mythology is that of a teacher with four students who take his knowledge in the four directions. One learns of Veda Vyasa and his four disciples, the Shaiva sage Lakulesha with his four disciples; the Jain saint Vajraswami who founded four orders (gaccha); the Sikh saint Sri Chand, the eldest son of Guru Nanak, who passed on the sacred fire (dhunni) of his order (akhara) of ascetics (udasin) to four disciples; the Vaishnava, Ramanuja also passed on his mantle to four disciples. This idea of the collective of five, best represented by the palm of the hand, clearly gave meaning and power to local faiths and also kept together various divisions that emerged in religious orders. Hence its enduring appeal.

Devdutt Pattanaik writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt@devdutt.com

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Naikoo was giving a slip to the security forces for the last three years but eventually, he was gunned down on Wednesday.

1. Riyaz Naikoo’s killing a shock, says Hizbul Mujahideen boss Syed Salahuddin  Hindustan Times
2. Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin claims responsibility for Handwara attack, says `India has upper ha...  Zee News
3. DSP among six injured in Budgam as cops, residents clash over lockdown violation  Times of India
4. View Full coverage on Google News

Watch: Hizbul Mujahideen chief holds condolence meet for terrorist Riyaz Naikoo

Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah said Hizbul Mujahideen commander Reyaz Naikoo's destiny was decided the moment he picked up the gun and adopted the path of violence and terror.

Patnaik, Dev, 1970- author

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Rotch Library - HD880.D4 V36 2020

Cyclone Phailin, the strongest to form on the Indian seas this year, moved closer to Orissa coast.

The Chief Minister was moved by the drinking water scarcity in the affected areas.

The situation in the valley, which has been witnessing lockdown since the third week of March due to COVID-19 pandemic, was generally calm barring a few local protests in some villages of Pulwama in south Kashmir.

Interview with Congress Rajya Sabha member

Top Hizb terrorist Riyaz Naikoo killed by security forces in J&K; private phones and mobile internet suspended in Valley

Rotch Library - DS423.P73 2016

Rotch Library - HD880.D4 V36 2020

He’s set up two charitable trusts — the Naik Charitable Trust for education and skill training and the Nirali Memorial Medical Trust, named after his grand daughter.

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The situation in the valley, which has been witnessing lockdown since the third week of March due to COVID-19 pandemic, was generally calm barring a few local protests in some villages of Pulwama in south Kashmir.