Prime Minister Narendra Modi has departed from India to attend the G20 summit, to be held on 15-16 November, in Bali in Indonesia.

He will join world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, UKs Rishi Sunak, Chinas Xi Jinping among others (Russia's Vladimir Putin has decided to skip the annual meet) and will seek solutions to the several global troubles on the Muslim-majority countrys mostly Hindu Island of Gods.

Interestingly, Indonesia, which is the worlds most populous Muslim country, has a historical and cultural connection to India through Hinduism, which reached the island nation between 1.000 and 1.500 years ago.

There are no visible restriction on the practice of Hinduism and several parts of the country have Hindu temples, which clearly shows that Hinduism peacefully coexists with Islam.

Hinduism in Bali

While Hindus comprise two per cent of Indonesias population, in Bali, where the G20 summit will be held, close to 90 per cent of the population practices Hinduism. However, the Hinduism practised in Bali is different from that practised in India.

Balinese Hinduism is a mix of years of contact with different cultures, most notably the Indian one.

According to the paper Hindu Rituals in India and Bali by Balinese Historian Ni Wayen Pasek Ariati, Hindu culture originally from the mainland of India is believed to have first been brought to the Indonesian Archipelago during the first millennium CE, a time when Buddhist monks and priests of the Shaiva form of Hinduism joined the voyages of seafaring merchants who travelled to and from the archipelago as part of the trading networks that connected China with India, the mid-east, and Europe via the archipelago.

Ariati says Hinduism subsequently prospered but took on its own form a fusion of Indian Hindu teachings/customs and local Balinese beliefs/traditions.

Balinese Hindus like their Indian counterparts believe in karma and reincarnation. The Balinese Hindu also believes that every aspect of existence has a presiding god or goddess that can and should be prayed to for the service they provide in the functioning of said aspect. Many Balinese deities are parallel in function to those worshiped in India. For instance, in Bali, the goddess of rice wealth and fertility is Dewi Sri, similar to Goddess Lakshmi in India.

Along with traditional Hindu gods such as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Balinese Hindus worship a range of deities unique to their branch of the religion. Sang Hyang Widhi is the designation for one God in Balinese Hinduism.

A tourist takes a photo at Lempuyang temple on Indonesia's resort island of Bali. The Lempuyang is considered one of the holiest temples in Bali and is dedicated to the supreme god. AFP

Such is the prevalence of Balinese Hinduism that it teems with temples devoted to various Hindu gods. These temples are mostly open air shrines, laid out in a particular style in an enclosed compound with characteristic Meru-pagoda like tiered roofs and split gate entrance. Hence, the name Hindu Island of Gods.

One of the most famous Hindu temples in Bali is Pura Lempuyang, which is also considered one of the holiest temples in Bali. Dedicated to the supreme god, it is situated 1,175 m above sea level because of which it is also called The Temple of Thousand Steps. One has to climb 1700 steps to get to the temple.

Pura Besakih, Pura Goa Lawah, Pura Taman Ayun and Pura Ulun Danu Bratan are just some of the other famous Hindu temples in Bali.

Hinduism in Indonesia

While Hinduism is the majority religion in Bali, it also is prevalent in other parts of Indonesia, including in Java, one of the main islands in the archipelago nation, home to the countrys capital, Jakarta.

The powerful Hindu kingdom of Majapahit flourished here from about the 13th to the 15th centuries, leaving its impact on culture, language and landscape. It is said that the power of Majapahit reached its height in the mid-14th century under the leadership of King Hayam Wuruk and his prime minister, Gajah Mada.

An Indonesian man cleans the country's symbol Garuda Pancasila, a mythical golden eagle with a heraldic shield on its chest, which is attached on a building roof in Jakarta. The Garuda is also a deeply respected symbol in Hindu mythology. AFP

Today, Indonesias national emblem is the Garuda, which is also a deeply respected symbol in Hindu mythology for being the mount of Lord Vishnu.

There are also several Hindu temples across Indonesia, one of the most famous is the Prambanan temple complex. Located near Bokoharjo, on the island of Java, it is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia and is dedicated to the Trimurti of Hinduism Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

In the main courtyard, Candi Shiva Mahadeva, dedicated to Shiva, is not only the largest of the temples but also the finest. The main spire soars 47-metre high and the temple is lavishly carved. The medallions that decorate its base have a characteristic Prambanan motif small lions in niches flanked by kalpatura (trees of heaven) and a menagerie of stylised half-human, half-bird kinnara (heavenly beings). The vibrant scenes carved onto the inner wall of the gallery encircling the temple are from the Ramayana they tell how Lord Ramas wife, Sita, is abducted and how Hanuman, the monkey god, and Sugriwa, the white-monkey general, eventually find and release her.

The Prambanan temple complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia and dedicated to the Trimurti of Hinduism Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. AFP

In 1991, Prambanan was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hinduism and Indonesias culture

Hinduism has also encoded into the Indonesian cultural fabric through the arts. The Ramayana ballet, performed in the Javanese style has been running continuously since 1961. In 2012, it was anointed by the Guinness Book as the most continuously staged performance in the world.

In fact, many of the performers of the Ramayana ballet conducted at the Prambanan temple complex are Muslim. But they say, Muslims are Muslims with Hindu influence.

Dancers perform the Ramayana on Bali island. The Ramayana ballet was given the title of the most continuously staged performance in the world. AFP

Wayang kulit, the traditional shadow puppet shows, also retell the ancient stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. These tales are brought to silhouetted life on a screen, using backlit figures cut from raw buffalo hide.

Apart from the arts, a large amount of Sanskrit loanwords are found in regional languages as well as in standard Indonesian.

Hinduisms cultural connect with Indonesia is also on display through the Arjuna Wijaya Chariot statue, situated in Jakarta. The imposing monument depicts a scene from the Mahabharata where Lord Krishna is riding a chariot with Arjuna holding a bow and arrow and the chariot is being pulled by eight golloping horses.

The horses as per Javenese tradition symbolise eight philosophies of leadership called Asta Brata, namely, Kisma (Earth), Surya (Sun), Agni (fire), Kartika (stars), Baruna (ocean), Samirana (wind), Tirta (rain) and Candra (month).

Built in 1987, the statue, standing just next to Monas, which is the National Monument of Indonesia, is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Jakarta.

All in all, Hindus have a peaceful existence in Indonesia, which dates back to many, many centuries.

With inputs from agencies

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PM Modi in Bali for G20 summit: The Hindu legacy of Indonesia and how the religion still thrives there - Firstpost

Sri Siddharama Swami of Gadga Tontadarya Math| Photo Credit: P.K. BADIGER

Hinduism is not a religion, but a way of life, Sri Siddharama Swami, seer of the Gadag Tontadarya Math, said in Belagavi on Wednesday.

It is a well known fact. Great scholars have elaborated on it. There is no dispute about that fact, the seer said, after a function organised by the Belagavi Zilla Lekhakiyara Sangha to felicitate women writers.

Reacting to the controversy over Congress leader Satish Jarkiholis statement about the origin of the term Hindu, the seer said that it is not a matter of dispute, as the term Hindu refers to all Indians and not to any religious group.

It is a Persian language term used to refer to residents of the region surrounding the Sindhu river. Since the Persian speakers use H instead of S, all people living on the banks of the Sindhu were called Hindu. In that sense, all people living in India, including Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and even Lingayats, should be considered Hindus, he said. The Sindhu flows even in Pakistan. Some residents of those regions are demanding that the area be called Sindhustan, the seer said.

The term Hindu should be used in its larger sense and not in a narrow sense to refer to caste or religion, he said. He said that the activists in favour of a Lingayat religion are trying to portray Lingayat as a non-Vedic religion. Hinduism is a Vedic religion. But Lingayat is not a vedic religion and definitely not a part of Hindu religion.

The seer, who spearheaded the agitation for recognition of Lingayat as a religion, said that the movement will be re-started soon.

We have not stopped it. We have suspended it temporarily as some of the 108 sub-castes among Lingayats are demanding reservation benefits. Once those agitations reach a certain stage, we will revive the movement for religion status, he said.

He said that he is not opposed to some Lingayat castes demanding reservation. It is between them and the government. We have nothing to say, he said.

See the article here:

Hindu term refers to all Indians and it should be used in its larger sense, says seer - The Hindu

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said that those who believe Bharat as their mother or motherland, and want to live in that culture of diversity, are Hindus, and that the country needs unity and unity in diversity is the core ideology of India.

Addressing an event of swayamsevaks in Ambikapur in Chhattisgarhs Surguja district, Bhagwat said the idea of Hindutva is acceptance and to unite everyone.

We have been saying this since 1925a person who believes Bharat is his mother and motherland is Hindu. A person who wants to live in a diverse country and attempts to live in this country of diversity is Hindu... He can follow any religion or ideology, can speak any language or can wear any attire, but will be considered a Hindu. There is only one ideology which believes in diversity in unity, Bhagwat said.

He said that when the RSS was founded, it had nothing but the belief in unity, which is why the organisation has gained the trust of the people of India.

We always believed that those who come to RSS shakha are from this motherland. We never ask the caste or class... We believe that those who attend shakha are from this country, he said, adding that when RSS was formed no one had supported the ideology.

Also read:In Chhattisgarh, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwats stay strong appeal to tribals

Hindutva is the only idea in the entire world that believes in unifying diversities because it has carried such diversities together in this country for thousands of years, the RSS chief asserted.

This is the truth and you have to speak it firmly, he said.

Bhagwat is on a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh. On Monday, he addressed a function to mark the Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas in Jashpur organised by Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.

This is his second visit to Chhattisgarh, which experts believe is crucial ahead of the state elections in 2023.

Bhagwat also unveiled the statue of late former BJP MP and Union minister late Dilip Singh Judeo, who began the Ghar Wapsi campaign to reconvert tribals from Christianity in Jashpur region.

State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years....view detail

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Those who see Bharat as their motherland are Hindus: Mohan Bhagwat - Hindustan Times

An estimated 500 inauthentic accounts that called for violence and promoted memes, as well as incendiary videos, were created on Twitter Inc. during riots in Leicester between late August and early September this year, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University.

Hundreds took to the streets in the days following a cricket match between long-held rivals India and Pakistan on Aug. 27, with some rioters carrying sticks and batons and throwing glass bottles as police were deployed to calm the masses. Homes, cars and religious artifacts were vandalised during the clashes, which went on for weeks and resulted in 47 arrests, according to Leicestershire police.

Social media was rife with videos claiming to show mosques being set alight and claims of kidnapping,forcing policeto issue warnings that people should not believe misinformation online.Many of the Twitter accounts that amplified the unrest originated in India,researchers said.

Anti-Muslim sentiment has been rising in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to a narrative that Hindus outside the country, some of whom are not Indian, subscribe to Hindutva, a kind of Hindu nationalism. An initial video purporting to show Hindutva Hindus attacking Muslim men sparked uncorroborated claims that local, politically motivated activists amplified, researchers said. The video sparked the interest of a foreign influence network, the involvement of which contributed to real-world violence, according to the findings.

US technology companies played a key role in fanning the confrontations, according to Leicester Mayor Peter Soulsby, numerous media reports and participants including Adam Yusuf, a 21-year-old who told a judge that he brought a knife to a demonstration and was influenced by social media.

Our research finds that both domestic networks of assailants and foreign actors now compete to use social media as a weapon in the midst of heightened ethnic tensions, said Joel Finkelstein, founder of NCRI. Our methods highlight a process and technology that democracies need to learn to take preventative measures and protect themselves and their communities.

Using data collected from Googles YouTube, Meta Platforms Inc.s Instagram, Twitterand ByteDance Ltd.s TikTok the NCRI report published Wednesday provides one of the most detailed views of how foreign influencers spread disinformation at a local level, transpiring intoclashes in one of the most diverse cities in the UK.

Mentions of Hindu exceeded mentions of Muslim by nearly 40%, and Hindus were largely depicted as aggressors and conspirators in a global project for international dominance, NCRIs linguistic analysis found. They found that 70% of violent tweets, using sentiment analysis from Googles Jigsaw service, were made against Hindus during the Leicester riot timeframe.

One particularly effective meme, eventually banned by Twitter,circulated under the hashtag#HindusUnderAttackInUK, researchers said. The cartoondepictedthe Muslim community as insects, alleging that different aspects of Islam werecombining together to destroy India.

Researchers also found evidence of bot-like accounts which disseminated both anti-Hindu and anti-Muslim messaging, each blaming the other for the violence. The bots were identified based on the time of account creationand the number of repeated tweets, with some tweeting 500 times per minute, accordingto the findings.

Its not Hindus versus Muslims its Leicester versus extremist Hindus who came here through fake Portuguese passports, they started coming here 5 years ago, before the Hindus and Muslims lived peacefully, wrote one account flagged by NCRI. Another, which has been banned, said that Hindus were trying to mobilise a global genocide.

Largely, the researchers found that UK-based assailants used social media platforms as a weapon to organise attacks and amplify conspiracies against British Hindus, which in turn caused a tit-for-tat relationship between these two forces, said Finkelstein.

After the first instances of fake videos spread on Twitter, ahighly orchestrated echo chamber,from India kicked into amplifytweets solely blaming Muslims for the events in Leicester, the report claimed, which in turned spurred even more violence against Hindus in Leicester.

This suggested thatlocal community tensions were ripe for exploitation on Twitter by external nationalist groups, the researchers warned. The BBC and disinformation research company Logically also found evidence that a lot of the social media posts during the unrest hailed from India, some 5,000 miles away.

Fiyaz Mughal, an author of the report and the founder of Tell MAMA,a service that allows people in the UKto report anti-Muslim abuse and monitors Islamophobic incidents, said he was shocked at how quickly social networks could jump on these issues. Mughal said the events in Leicester proved the risk to the national security of any country today.

Twitter didnt respond to a request for comment.

Claudia Webbe, the MP for Leicester East,told Bloomberg Newsthe riots were undoubtedly sparked by social media. Although hundreds of police were deployed to areas around the West Midlands to monitor the demonstrations, she said she believed most of her constituents within the Hindu and Muslim community had largely been affected through their phones.

Even the people who didnt take to the streets were in fear because of what they were receiving through WhatsApp and Twitter they were afraid to go outside for weeks, she said.

Youve got these overseas influences who are trying to drive political hate and the desire to sow division, she said.

See the article here:

India-based Twitter accounts fanned Hindu-Muslim unrest in Leicester UK, say researchers - The Indian Express

Acting on this complaint, the police launched a search for Shraddha, which led them to the revelation that Aaftab had murdered her in May.

Aaftab was arrested on 11 November and sent to judicial custody three days later. As per police, Aaftab told them that he strangled Shraddha in a fit of rage on 18 May.

To dispose of her body, he looked up the Internet and took inspiration from a web-series named Dexter. He bought a 300-litre refrigerator and chopped Shraddhas body into 35 pieces using a butchers knife.

He stored the pieces in the refrigerator, using a chemical named formaldehyde to preserve them. Every night after midnight, he would go out and throw some pieces in the jungle or feed them to stray dogs. This is how he disposed of the entire body in the next 18 days.

To keep up the pretence that Shraddha was alive, he would chat with her friends through Instagram.

The complaint by Shraddhas father says that while her family lost all contact with her for her refusal to break up with Aaftab, they got information from a friend of Shraddha on 14 September that for the last two months, she had been unreachable through phone.

The father lodged a missing person complaint at Manikpur Police Station of Vasai (West) in Palghar district of Maharashtra, where he lives.

The police told him that they had communicated about Shraddhas disappearance to Mehrauli Police Station in New Delhi as their investigation had revealed that she was currently living with Aaftab in Mehrauli.

The complaint offers some insight into the behaviour of Aaftab with Shraddha: It says that Shraddha had confided in her mother in 2019 that Aaftab used to physically assault her.

At that time, Shraddhas father was living separately from his wife and children while Shraddha had begun living-in with Aaftab. The father and the mother advised Shraddha to break up with Aaftab. She paid no heed.

In 2020, Shraddhas mother passed away. After a month, Shraddha came to her fathers house, telling him that Aaftab had assaulted her again. While her father advised her to leave Aaftab, she got back with Aaftab after he apologised to her. This episode led to total collapse in communication between Shraddha and her father.

As per the complaint, Shraddhas father did not know that she had left Vasai and moved to New Delhi with Aaftab.

The Delhi police told the media on Monday that they had recovered 18 pieces of Shraddhas body. Aaftab killed Shraddha as she was pressuring him to marry her, the police told the media citing Aaftabs confession.

However, The Times of India has quoted an unnamed friend of Shraddha, saying that it was unlikely that she was pestering him for marriage.

Shraddha was from Koli caste of Hindus while Aaftab is from Khoja caste of Muslims. Their families live in Vasai (West). Both Shraddha and Aaftab left their graduation course mid-way.

Shraddha studied at a convent school and joined BBM course at Viva Institute of Technology, but dropped out in final year. Aaftab enrolled in a Bachelor of Management Studies at a Santacruz college, but left mid-way.

After leaving college, Shraddha began working at a call centre, where she allegedly met Aaftab. He and his brother Ahan ran an Instagram account by the name Hungry Chokro, where they published their work in food photography.

This case is yet another addition to a series of cases where Muslim men trap non-Muslim women in relationships for purposes of conversion or sexual exploitation, often murdering them if they resist.

Various religious groups affiliated to Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and Hindus have termed this pattern of preying as love jihad.

Swarajyahasreported a large number of cases of a similar nature. Here is a brief list:

Ground Report: Hill TownIn Himachal Worried About Growing Radicalisation After Chilling Murder Of Hindu Girl

She Was Called Kaafir Ki Aulaad: Family Of Hindu Woman Who Committed Suicide A Year After Marrying Muslim Man Tells Court

Nepalese Man Living In India Using Fake Aadhaar Card Kills His Second Wife, A Hindu, Who Converted To Marry Him

Love Jihad Victim Shot Six Times After Her Wedding In Haryana, Continues To Battle For Life After Two Weeks

Sher Khan Killed Naina Kaur For Turning Him Down. So Which Family Left The House In Fear?

She Would Cry For Hours; Never Told Us Why. Two Years After Her Murder, Ekta Jaswals Family Has No Answers To HowSaqib Trapped Her

Before Killing Her, Tausif Kidnapped And Confined Nikita In HisHouse So She Would Become Unmarriageable

Hyderabad: Another SC Woman Killed By Muslim Boyfriend; Butchers Knife Used For Slitting Throat

Another Interfaith Love Ends Up InMurder: Shamshad Kills Priya And Her Daughter, Buries Bodies In Own House

My Daughter Fell Prey To Love Jihad, Say Parents Of Tribal Woman Found Dead Seven Months After She Eloped To Become A Mans Second Wife

Interfaith Love: Rachna, Who Eloped With Irfan And Accused Him Of Forcible Conversion, Is Dead

Five MonthsAfter Woman Was Found Murdered, Key Accused Surrenders; Hindu Outfits Were Demanding Arrest

Three Years Ago, Uma Eloped With Arif. Today, She Is Fighting For Her Life After Being Burnt By Him

-Hindu Woman Beheaded For Turning Down Stalker In UP; Accused Was Already In Relationship With Her Mother

-Minor Schoolgirl, A Hindu, Attacked With Blade By Stalker Danish Khan In Jhansi

-Protests Against Love Jihad In Rajasthan After Minor Girl Is Killed By Stalker She Met Through Instagram

-All Political Parties Visited Us, But We Got No Justice, Says Family, A Month After Their Daughter Was Allegedly Raped And Killed In UPs Lakhimpur

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Told My Daughter We Are Hindus, Aaftab Is Muslim, Cannot Accept Relationship. She Said She Was No More Our Daughter: FIR by Shraddhas Father -...

Religion is an important component of the modern life of every human being and plays an important role in the understanding of the world for both individuals and communities. Religious views and religious institutions have directed and dictated political, social, economic and other trends for centuries. With the passage of time, the dominant global religions have changed. Once upon a time, before the spread of Christianity, paganism dominated in Europe, and elsewhere religions domintated local religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Since its appearance more than two thousand years ago, Christianity quickly became the most popular Abrahamic religion in the world. And this has been convincingly since medieval times until the beginning of the 21st century. However, current trends show that Christianity will lose its position as the worlds most populous religion to Islam in the second half of the 21st century. Moreover, Islam is currently the fastest growing global religion.

Like other Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Christianity, Islam also appeared in the Middle East and is connected in a special way with the Holy Land (the areas of modern Israel and Palestine). There is a consensus among Islamic theologians, both Sunni and Shia, that the three holiest places in Islam are Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Depending on the theologians, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron alternate in the fourth holiest place. Muslims worship the same God, commonly referred to as Allah, as do Christians, Jews and Bah believers. While Muslims acknowledge that spiritual figures such as Adam, Moses and Jesus were prophets, they believe that the prophet Muhammad was sent to convey the final teachings of God. These teachings are contained in the Koran, the Islamic religious text, which Muslims believe is the literal word of God, revealed to Muhammad. Muslims follow a specific religious rulebook known as Sharia law, a faith-based code of conduct that includes guidelines for almost every aspect of daily life.

There are five fundamental pillars of Islam, or the practical duties of a Muslim: Shahadat (revelation of belonging to Islam), Salah (praying five times a day), Ramadan fasting, Zakat (giving part of ones wealth to charity) and Hajj (an individual must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life). In addition to obedience to one God, belonging to Islam also implies following the way of life (Sunnah) of the last prophet of God, Muhammad, as the first and inevitable interpreter of Gods Word.

Although the Muslim population continued to increase in large parts of the world in the modern era (the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia), its interesting that the political power of the Islamic-dominated states, from the Mughal to the Ottoman Empire, gradually weakened. Mughal power on the Indian subcontinent disappeared in the middle of the 19th century, while the end of the Ottomans came after the First World War in 1918. At the beginning of the 20th century, Christianity had the largest number of followers, numbering almost 560 million, while Muslims then numbered 200 million. In 1900, Christians represented 34% of the worlds population, while Muslims made up only 12% of all believers worldwide. However, the difference between the Christian and Muslim populations changed dramatically during the 20th century in favor of Islam as Islam became the worlds fastest growing religion. This trend continued in the 21st century.

Studies by the American Pew Research Center from 2015 and 2017 present interesting data on current trends. If current trends continue, by 2050 the number of Muslims will almost equal the number of Christians worldwide. If this happens, for the first time in history, both religions will have an equal population. The Pew report predicts that in 2050, 30% (2.8 billion) of the population will identify as Muslim, as opposed to 31% (2.9 billion) Christians. Muslims will grow in percentages in all regions of the world except Latin America and the Caribbean, where a small number of Muslims live. Between 2010 and 2050, in Europe, Muslims will increase from 5.9 to 10.2% of the population, in the Asia-Pacific region from 24.3 to 29.5%, in the Middle East and North Africa from 93 to 93.7%, in Sub-Saharan Africa from 30.2 to 35.2%, North America from 1 to 2.4%. In the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, Muslims will remain at 0.1% of the population.

Although migration flows are not the most important and only generators of Muslim population growth, due to political and economic instability, many Muslims from the Middle East, Africa and Asia tend to migrate to majority Christian countries in Europe and North America, where they increase the share of the Muslim population. The same thing applies to developed East Asia where immigrants from Muslim countries come. This is exactly why Islam is the fastest growing world religion and in some majority non-Muslim countries. Estimates that in 2050 as many as 10% of Europeans will be Muslim, while in the USA Islam will then be the second largest religion (2% of the population) do not leave anyone indifferent.

Predictions by the Pew Center say that in the period from 2015 to 2060, the number of Muslims will increase by 70%, from todays 1.8 billion to 3 billion. At the same time, Christianity will grow by 34%, and Hinduism by 27%. In that period, the total population of the planet should increase by 32%. In 2015, Muslims made up 24% of the worlds population, and in 2060, they are expected to make up 31% of the worlds population. Estimates are that sometime in the second half of the 21st century (around 2075), the number of Muslims will exceed the number of Christians. By 2100, about one percent more of the population will be Muslims (35%) than Christians (34%), concluded experts from the Pew Center.

According to data from 2021, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country with about 231 million believers. The top 10 countries with the largest number of Muslims also include Pakistan (212 million), India (200 million), Bangladesh (153 million), Nigeria (103 million), Egypt (90 million), Iran (82 million), Turkey (74 million ), Algeria (41 million) and Sudan (39 million). Estimates by the Pew Research Center say that in 2050, India will become the country with the largest number of Muslims, 310 million, although it will still remain a predominantly Hindu country.

The main reason for the rapid spread of Islam is demography. Namely, Muslims have more children than members of the seven other major religions. Muslim women give birth to an average of 2.9 children, which is quite a higher number than the next largest religion, Christians, whose believers give birth to 2.6 children. The other seven major world religions have an average of 2.2 children per woman. It is evident that the fertility of the Muslim population exceeds the fertility of non-Muslims. Apart from the larger number of children, the Muslim population is the youngest religious population, on average seven years younger than the non-Muslim population. The median age of Muslims in 2015 was 24 years, Christians 30 years, and Hindus 27 years. The median age of other significant religious groups exceeds 30 years.

The conversion factor also favors the spread of Islam. It is predicted that in the area of Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, in the period from 2010 to 2050, more people will convert to Islam than to other religions. The growth of Islam is also matched by religious indecisiveness or the decline of religiosity, which occurs primarily in the West, and not in the states that make up the Muslim world. The number of Christians is projected to continue to decline over the next several decades as a significant number of individuals who were born into Christian households cease to be practicing Christians or leave Christianity altogether. These individuals also tend to have fewer children. On the other hand, in Muslim countries, people from Muslim households very rarely stop being religious or convert to another religion. On the contrary, they continue to practice Islam all their lives.

The question of all questions is: why is Islam so attractive to Westerners and other people to whom Islam is not a close religion, given that they come from quite different cultural and social environments? It is well known that all the great religions of the world, including Islam, have laid the foundations for moral and ethical principles and beliefs that shape societies in a positive way. Essentially, Islam has enormous potential to solve problems such as social injustice, racism, social inequalities and national conflicts. Islam brings calmness and tranquility to its true believers, peace with God and other people. Its about the fact that as time goes by, people are less prejudiced, they are more willing to listen and explore what Islam is in its essence. It is the appeal and quality of the content that has made Islam the worlds fastest growing religion. The simplicity, rationality and universal character of Islamic teachings attract many people who are either disillusioned with Christianity or were previously not believers at all.

The data that Islam is the fastest growing religion in countries such as Japan and Canada is surprising at first glance, but when you look a little deeper, such trends are logical. In Japan, between 112 and 230 thousand inhabitants accepted Islam. Despite Japan not being so hospitable to Muslims in the past, in recent years Japanese people have become more tolerant of different religions and cultures and this is the main reason for the spread of Islam. For example many restaurants offer halal food. Muslims come to Japan from different civilizational environments such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran. Most often, these are workers from the construction sector or IT experts. Some Japanese Muslims strictly follow their traditions such as prayers and fasting, while others are more liberal. In Japan, approximately half of Muslims have started a family, suggesting that in the future the country will be home to authentic second and third generation Japanese Muslims.

The situation is similar in Canada. Official statistics confirm that Islam is the fastest growing religion in that western country. StatCan stated that the Muslim population has more than tripled from 1996 to the present. Until 1985, there were so few Canadian Muslims that Islam was categorized as other in a federal survey. The Muslim population in Canada is 4.9% in 2021, up from 3.2% in 2011. In total, about 1.7 million Muslims live in the country. Its interesting how Islam is spreading while overall religiosity in Canada is declining. In 2003, 71% of Canadians said that religious belief was important, while in 2019, only 54% of respondents said the same. Recently, there was an increase in anti-Islamic violence in the country, so Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself had to react, declaring that Canada is not a place for Islamophobia.

Despite Islamophobia and the often negative depictions of Muhammads faith in the Western media, the growth of Islam is steady and the faith is attracting new followers again and again. Islam is a religion that governs the entire life of the individual and the community, the private and public sphere. In a certain sense, it can be said that Islam doesnt know the division into sacred and secular. Besides, of course, religious beliefs and rituals, with its teachings Islam regulates the entire social life, starting with family, business, civil and criminal law, nutrition, clothing and personal hygiene. In the Islamic worldview, there are few (if any) aspects of individual and social life that are not considered an expression of Islam as a complex civilization in which individuals, societies, and governments should reflect the will of God. That is why it can be said that Islam is much more than a religion, in fact it represents the totality of human behavior and actions.

Islam is a religion that, unlike Christianity, doesnt try to adapt to current trends, but adheres to fundamental principles that have been in force for centuries. The principles of Islam such as strict rules, norms and prohibitions attract people who previously had no connection with Islam. Simple doctrine, equality of believers, practice of faith and clear religious hierarchy favor the attraction of new believers. Believers in Islam must follow the guidance of Gods law in order to get to heaven.

For many in developed countries, Islam can provide an attractive alternative because it gives meaning in this life and the afterlife. Such an alternative provides a new outlook on the world and spiritual peace in the modern world where uncertainty is the only constant. Islam, as a thoroughly elaborated religion, has a universalist character that can be accepted by people all over the world. With all the above, Muslim religious missionaries as well as ordinary believers strive to spread Islam more than Christians or Jews do in spreading their faiths. Also, Muslim communities are very happy to accept new members. All these are the reasons why Islam is the fastest growing world religion.

*Matija eri is a geopolitical analyst and journalist from Croatia and writes on foreign policy, history, economy, society, etc.

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The Rapid Rise Of Islam In The West: Will Islam Become The Leading World Religion? OpEd - Eurasia Review

The Supreme Court on Wednesday passed an order to try one of the accused, Shubham Sangra, in the Kathua case, who had claimed to be a juvenile, as an adult. The Supreme Court set aside the order of the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kathua and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that had held that one of the accused in the case was a juvenile. The order was passed by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Ajay Rastogi.

It is held that the respondent accused was not a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence and should be tried the way other co-accused were tried in accordance with law, Justice Pardiwala read out the operative portion of the order.

Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Pardiwala stated that a medical experts estimate regarding the age of the accused is not a statutory substitute for proof and is only an opinion.

In the order, however, the Supreme Court identified the perpetrators of the heinous crime as Hindus and the victim as a Muslim girl.

This litigation originates from the most unfortunate Kathua rape case. The Kathua rape case involved the abduction, gang rape and murder of an eight year-old Muslim girl by name X by six Hindu men and the respondent herein (claiming to be a juvenile) in January, 2018 in the Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir, the court said in the second para of the order passed on 16th November 2022.

While the court has chosen to identify the victim of the brutal crime as a Muslim girl and the perpetrators as Hindus, in 2018, the prosecutors who were assigned to the case were Sikhs so that communal division can be checked.

The Indian Express had reported in 2018 thatthe J&K Police want the Crime Branch case to be represented by Bhupinder Singh and Harminder Singh. The newspaper further quoted its sources saying the police want to have prosecuting officers from their own ranks but from a neutral faith to avoid further communal division. Eventually, the two had formed a part of the prosecution team along with Santok Singh Basra and one Mr Chopra.

While the police had reportedly wanted the inclusion of the Sikh lawyers to ensure that the communal divide was not depended, the Hindu-Muslim angle was reintroduced in the case as the court branded the victim as a Muslim and the perpetrators as Hindus.

When the case had come to light, of the brutal rape and murder of a minor girl from Kathua, the case was given a communal twist by several individuals who had chosen to focus on the fact that the heinous crime took place inside a temple rather than the barbaric crime itself. When the case was being used to tarnish the Hindu community, a debate had come to the fore, with several people condemning the communal colour given to the case.

The prevalent objection to the communal colour was that this was a heinous crime and should be viewed as such instead of trying to use it to show the Hindu community as a whole down.

Many individuals have questioned the need to mention the religion of the victim and the perpetrator in a brutal case of rape and murder such as that of the Kathua case. It is not often that the court mentions the religion of the accused and the victim unless there is a clear communal angle, like in the case of Delhi Riots, for example. In most cases, the court merely states the facts of the case, said one lawyer.

Even if the chargesheet says that there could be a possible motive of the crime could be community level discord, the order may mention the theories mentioned in the chargesheet, but there is no reason to identify the religion in this manner, he added.

The case relates to the brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua village in 2019. In June 2019, a Special Court at Pathankotsentencedthree men to life imprisonment in the case. The Court also sentenced three police officers to 5 years imprisonment for causing the destruction of evidence. The trial of Shubham Sangra was shifted to the Juvenile Justice Board. Shubham Sangra was the nephew of the main accused Sanji Ram.

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Kathua case: SC order to try the accused as an adult identifies the victim as a Muslim girl and the perpetrators as Hindus - OpIndia

Significance of number 108

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The number 108 has always been a highly revered number. The number 108 refers to spiritual completion. Even sun salutations are often completed in nine rounds of the 12 postures, which when multiplied, adds up to 108. The number 108 is considered important in mathematics, geometry, astrology, numerology as well.

Why do Japa Mala have 108 beads

There is a 109th bead that hangs at the bottom of a mala - guru bead. This often symbolizes the guru from whom the student received the mala or mantra, paying homage to the student-guru relationship. It is never counted among the repetitions but used as a marker for a start and end of a cycle.

108 types of feelings in a humanBoth Buddhism and Hinduism believe that every human being has 108 different types of feelings. 36 of these feelings revolve round their past, 36 revolve round the present, and the remaining 36 are based on their dreams and future ambitions.

108 in numerologyThe number 108 consists of the individual numbers 1, 0 and 8. The number 1 represents authority and leadership. The number 0 represents both nothingness and eternity, but when combined with other numbers it will amplify the vibrational influence of the other numbers. The number 8 is related to power and influence, abundance and achievement.

108 in astrologyThere are 12 zodiac signs and 9 planets and when multiplied, we get 108. Additionally, there are 27 lunar mansions, and they are divided into 4 quarters. When 27 is multiplied by 4, the result is 108.

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Why do Japa Mala have 108 beads? Is there a scientific significance of number 108? Read on - Times Now

Indonesia is a country with which India has had relations dating back millennia. The country is one of Indias maritime neighbours and is a strategic partner today, thanks to its vast geographic expanse from Banda Aceh, just a few hundred miles south of the Indira Point in Indias Andaman & Nicobar Islands, all the way to the island of Guinea, just north of the Australian territories of Northern Australia and Queensland. However, due to the stability in the relationship between the two countries, Indonesia hardly features in popular discussions domestically. Nevertheless, it is essential to look at Indonesia as a country that has gone beyond its Islamic identity to embrace its Hindu past and to the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, it has many lessons to offer. Although of late there has been a rise in radical Islamist elements, Indonesia has been able to thwart any such radical outfits from threatening the broader and tolerant Indonesian society.

Indonesia has had Hindu influence for more than two millennia now, with the religion and cultural practices arriving with trade. Hinduism encountered the local Javanese and Balinese religions in the region, leading to the emergence of a syncretic culture in the Indonesian Islands, even under the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. However, with the decline of these empires and the arrival of Islam, Hinduism got restricted to a few pockets, especially on the island of Bali, which has the largest Hindu population of more than 4 million in Indonesia.

Although Indonesia today remains the largest Islamic country in the world, Hinduisms influence in the society is immense. Hinduism finds place in the cultural ethos of the land and Hindu gods are still vastly revered in Indonesia. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata have a special place in the hearts of Indonesians and are viewed as sacred scriptures. Evidence for this can be found in the form of the magnificent Arjuna Wijaya chariot statue and fountain in Central Jakarta. The statue depicts a Mahabharata epic with Sri Krishna riding the chariot with Arjuna holding, who is wielding a bow and arrow, while the chariot is being pulled by eleven horses.

In the case of Ramayana, one of the most common female names in Indonesia even today are Siti (noble virtuous woman) and Dewi (Goddess). Apart from epics, ancient Indonesian site excavations show how Shiva Lingam and its worship were commonplace in the Indonesian archipelago. Apart from Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Kartikeya idols have also been excavated. Even today, in Hindu majority Bali, the islands major temple called Prambanan temple demands a must visit, to get a glimpse into the Hindu way of life in Indonesia.

The Hindu influence in Indonesia is far from over. Indonesias national air carrier is named Garuda Indonesia, after the mythical bird from Hindu scripture, called Garuda. A majority Islamic country with a flag carrier named after Garuda! Even as the debate in India rages on post Arvind Kejriwals suggestion of introducing the images of Hindu gods and goddesses, Indonesian 20,000 Rupiah banknotes already sport the picture of Ganesha.

The reverence for the Sanskrit language in Indonesia is immense and the word Bahasa for the Indonesian language comes from the word Bhasha. Sanskrit lines used as Motto are used by various government organisations. For example,

i) Indonesia National Police: Rastra Sewakottama (Serving the Nation)

ii) Indonesian National Armed Forces: Tri Dharma Eka Karma (Three services, one determination)

iii) Indonesian Army: Kartika Eka Paksi (Unmatchable Bird with Noble Goals)

iv) Indonesian Navy: Jalesveva Jayamahe (Victorious on the Sea)

v) Indonesian Air Force: Swa Bhuwana Paksa (Wings of the Motherland)

Many Indonesians, irrespective of their religion, use Hindu names such as Wisnu, Surya, Indra, Arya, Putra, Aditya, Sita, etc. This is very unique especially given the country is known to be the home to worlds largest number of followers of Islam. Indonesia is showing the world a path away from radicalised and violent Islam. Countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc, which were once homes to Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma are today far removed from it. What is worse is how even in India, the vast majority of followers of Islam do not identify themselves with the ancient civilisational ethos of India. How can Aftab meaning Sun find adoption so easily by practitioners of Islam in India, while the word Aditya with the same meaning cannot? How is Fatah okay while Vijay is not?

These questions are indicative of the deep generational brainwashing and deracination of the common Muslim in India. Just a few generations ago, the ancestors of most Indian Muslims must have been undoubtedly Hindu. However, for various reasons including fear for life under the Islamist tyrants have resulted in a situation where they inhabit a land, whose ethos they are not even aware of. Nehruvian secularism post-Independence has further kept them away from the mainstream. A Punjabi Hindu up North will not have any problem visiting a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu and will coexist with Hindus from other parts of India, without any issue. But a Punjabi Muslim in Pakistan and a Bengali Muslim from Bangladesh cannot coexist with Punjabi Hindus and Bengalis Hindus. This is precisely where the crux of the issue lies.

Time has come for Indian Muslims realise how they have been manipulated by so-called secular politicians for decades to be kept deliberately away from joining the larger mainstream of Indian society. These divisions are becoming starker, thanks to social media and propaganda-filled content from across the border. More importantly, it is necessary to break the mullah nexus for Indian Muslims to be liberated from the clutches of the clergy.

Indonesia, a neighbouring Islamic country with its respect for diversity, tolerance and cultural roots based in Hindu ethos, shines as a beacon of hope. After all, India is from where these unique ideas made their way to the Indonesian Islands. It is high time Indian Muslims learnt from their Indonesian counterparts and contributed positively to the development of India.

Zeba Zoriah writes on politics, policies, culture and womens rights. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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Opinion | What Indian Muslims Can and Should Learn from their Indonesian Counterparts - News18

For quite some time I have been getting requests to write a detailed account on Gopal Mukherjee (Gopal Pantha), in the context of the Direct Action Day, where his resistance against the Muslim League not only saved many Hindu lives but also stopped Jinnah and the Muslim League from getting their desired results. While researching on the internet it was pretty disheartening to find that not much has been documented about the man who had once singlehandedly saved the Hindus in Kolkata during Direct Action Day. Only in India and perhaps only among the Hindus (a large section of which has been systematically brainwashed by the Marxists to hate their own religion) it is possible to find such apathy, almost bordering on irreverence, towards their own savior heroes.

Gopal Patha (Mukherjee) making the idol of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Patha always addressed himself as an admirer & ardent supporter of Bose. Image courtesy Anuj Dhar/Twitter

The bloodied history of Indias Partition will remain incomplete without a mention of the Direct Action Day or the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946, when Calcutta was in the grip of fanatic Muslim mobs that ran riot killing and raping Hindu men and women. In retaliation a group was formed by the Hindus led by Gopal Chandra Mukhopadhyay that effectively managed to save Calcutta from falling to the well-chalked out plans of the Muslim League to separate the whole of Bengal from India; a plan that was indirectly backed by the British colonial government.

What led to the Direct Action Day

Uncontrolled and brutal communal violence in Calcutta, Noakhali, and parts of Bihar forced the Congress leaders to accept the partition of India based on religious lines. Prior to the partition, the British colonial government with their divide and rule policy helped in the formation of the Muslim League, and soon inevitably it led to the establishment of the Two Nation theory by the Muslim League. By the 1930s the Muslims in Bengal had already accepted the Two Nation theory as their political doctrine, and were ready for a division of Bengal based on religious lines. The Muslims in Bengal believed in the Muslim League propaganda which said by virtue of ones religious belief, a Punjabee or an Uttar Pradesh Muslim is closer to him than his next door neighbor who belonged to some other religion (Hinduism) (Barkat, et al., Deprivation of Hindu minority in Bangladesh: Living with vested property, 2008, p. 45).

The Muslim Leagues demand and stubbornness for a separate nation for the Muslims not only fractured India in 1947, but also caused a huge bloodshed in 1946 undivided Bengal and Bihar with the start of the Direct Action Day riots. The seeds of the Direct Action Day communal riots were sowed when the Cabinet Mission in India (1946) that was formed to arrange transfer of power from British authority to Indian leadership proposed a plan for the formation of the new Dominion of India, which failed to address the Muslim Leagues proposal to divide the country into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. To protest against this proposal exclusion, the Muslim League decided to call for a hartal (general strike) on 16 August 1946, and named it as the Direct Action Day, wherein the League decided to show its muscle power and assert its demand for a separate nation for the Muslims.

A Muslim League Council Meeting was held from 2729 July 1946 where a resolution was passed stating that the Direct Action Day aimed at unfolding a direct action to force the creation of a Muslim majority Pakistan. Jinnah was clear enough in his indications of his intentions when he boldly stated he will have India divided or India burned, and the Muslim League had said goodbye to Constitutional methods and was ready to create trouble. Adding further fuel to the already charged up Muslim communal sentiments were the pamphlet writings by the then Mayor of Calcutta, Syed Mohammed Usman, that declared, We Muslims have had the crown and have ruled. Do not lose hearts, be ready and take swords. Oh kafir! Your doom is not far (ref: Yasmin Khan, The Great Partition: the making of India and Pakistan, 2017, p 64). This was supported by Husseyn Shahid Suhrawardy, the then Bengal chief minister, who in his speech indirectly promised no actions were to be taken against the armed Muslims should they decide to unleash their activities in the city (Yasmin Khan, ibid, p 65). Jinnah specifically used the religious and communal symbols and idioms to charge up the Muslim community into starting violence for a forced carving out of a separate nation as a Muslim homeland. There are also claims that the Bengal Chief Minister Suhrawardy during the communal violence of 16th August forcibly removed Hindu policemen from their jobs (Yasmin Khan, ibid, p 184-185).

DN Panigrahi, the author ofIndias Partition: The Story of Imperialism in Retreat, also confirmed the inaction of police and army on those ghastly days, after speaking to a foreign journalist present in Calcutta on that day, when unabated killings and rapes were carried on by Muslim mobs for 48 hours. It is said that the army was brought in only after it was felt that the Europeans might be attacked, showing the collusion between the League and the British colonial government. It was this Direct Action Day or the Great Calcutta Killings on 16th August 1946 that finally marked a psychological break between secular Hindus and the communal demand by the Muslims for a separate Islamic state named as Pakistan.

As per Nishad Hajari, author on the Partition, no one knows the death toll in what would become known as the Great Calcutta Killings. Many bodies were washed down the Hooghly or consumed in fires. The generally accepted estimate is five thousand Calcuttans were killed, while another ten to fifteen thousand had their bones broken, limbs hacked off, or bodies charred (Midnight Furies: The Deadly Legacy of Indian Partition, 2015, p. 33). The entire objective of the Direct Action Day was to flex the muscle power of the Muslim League, and to show that Hindus and Muslims were incompatible.

Gopal Mukherjee

The killing of Hindus started with the murder of two Bihari milkmen in Beliaghata on Friday 16th August early morning, and soon Hindu owned movie theatres, hotels, and shops were attacked and set on fire by Muslim mobs. Motivated by Suhrawardys assurances in the Leagues Rally, violent Muslim mobs led by criminals like Munna Chaudhary and Meena Punjabi started widespread attacks on Hindu homes and shops. There were reports of rampant killings of Hindu men and boys while Hindu girls were kidnapped and raped or kept as sex slaves. As per the reports by a police officer, Golok Bihari Majumder, bodies of naked and hacked Hindu girls were seen hanging from a slaughterhouse in central Calcutta.

As the murders and rapes continued, on 18th August Gopal Chandra Mukhopadhyay (or GopalPatha) decided to stand up against this State sponsored Muslim violence on Hindus. He belonged to a family of freedom fighters and was the nephew of the revolutionary, Anukulchandra Mukhopadhyay. Gopal Mukhopadhyay was joined by Jugal Chandra Ghosh, Basanta (a wrestler), and Vijay Singh Nahar, and together they formed the Bharat Jatiya Bahini, an organization that armed Hindus with weapons like with pistols (sourced from American soldiers), lathis, spears, knives, swords, and also acid bombs. Hundreds of Hindus (Bengalis, Sikhs, Odiyas, Biharis, and UP-ites) from the various Vyayam Samitis of Calcutta and its adjoining areas, along with Arya Samajis and members of the Hindu Mahasabha came forward to take part in the resistance.

As the Hindu resistance gained ground, the numbers of Muslim casualties rose, and soon the latter panicked and started leaving the city, even though the clashes continued for nearly a week. From 18th to 20th August Gopal Patha and the other Hindu leaders specifically identified and killed the Muslims who had taken part in rapes and killings of the Hindus. Members of the Muslim National Guard, a militant body associated with the Muslim League, were killed in large numbers; however no Muslim women or children were touched by the Hindus during the resistance. By 20th August Suhrawardy realized he couldnt displace the Hindus from Calcutta, and his dreams of making the entire Bengal along with Calcutta a part of Pakistan would not be fulfilled.

In order to save himself and his government, Suhrawardy along with G G Ajmiri and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (the founder of Bangladesh and a member of the Muslim League), appealed to Gopal Mukherjee to end the killings. Gopal Mukherjee agreed on the condition that the Muslim League would first make its members lay down their weapons and promise to stop all killings of Hindus. Finally, on 21 August, Bengal came under direct Viceroys rule and the army was deployed in the city. To save his chair Suhrawardy had agreed to all of Gopal Mukherjees conditions; however on 21 August 1946, once the army was deployed, the British Viceroy, Lord Archibald Wavell dismissed Suhrawardy and his Muslim League government. Later Gopal Mukherjee also refused to surrender arms to Gandhiji, when the latter came and asked Hindus to surrender their weapons, few months after the riots. Gopal Mukherjee bluntly said he will not surrender his weapons to Gandhiji who was nowhere in sight when Hindus were being killed and raped during the Great Calcutta Killings.

Gopal Mukherjee

Gopal Mukherjee

It goes beyond saying that if Gopal Mukherjee had not spearheaded the Hindu Resistance from 18 August 1946 onwards against the State sponsored Muslim mob violence, the entire area now known as West Bengal would have become a part of Pakistan in 1947, and Calcutta would have been a city in the newly formed Islamic majority state of Pakistan, which was the desired objective of Jinnah and the Muslim league in their Direct Action Day plan.

(Note: There are interviews of Gopal Mukherjee and discussions on him on few Youtube channels. Do take some time out and check these videos. You just need to type Gopal Mukherjee or Gopal Pantha. While listening to these, please keep in mind the horrific situation at that time created by the Muslim League and the violent Muslim mobs, and understand why he was forced to create the Hindu Resistance, without which the Hindus in Bengal would have had no future).

Some personal details on Gopal Mukherjee as I found on the internet:

Gopal Mukherjee was born on 13th May 1913 in Malanga Lane of Bowbazar, Kolkata. His family was originally from the Chuadanga district of East Bengal (now Bangladesh), and had moved to Kolkata in the 1890s, where they owned a meat shop. Gopal Mukherjee died in Kolkata in 2005.

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Gopal Mukherjee: The man who led Hindu resistance and saved Calcutta from falling into Pakistani hands - Firstpost