SOCIETY
Divine Status for Living Chief Minister
Deification of Puratchi Thalaivi, Dr. J. Jayalalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was the highlight of her 48th birthday celebrated with eclat throughout the State today by her followers and members of the ruling AIADMK
Mr. Poovai Gnanam, district deputy secretary of the party, announced building of a Jayalalitha Temple at Poonamalee, a city suburb, on the lines of Kannagi Kottam Cabinet colleagues of Ms. Jayalalitha went temple crawling. Some pulled golden chariots in temples while others rolled on the floors. A few went abegging in supplication. Most ate "man choru" (rice served on unswept ground around temples).
Ms. Sakkubai, MLA, led a bevy of members of the women's wing of the party in the nude except for cover provided by neem leaves instead of the proverbial fig leaves to worship at the Vempuliamman temple in Thiruvellore, about 30 km from here, much to the delight of the cameraman.
At the Samayapuram Mariamman temple, 48 cocks were sacrificed. The cock, it may be recalled, was Ms. Jayalalitha's election symbol in the 1989 polls. All female children born today were given a silver anklet cach while 4,800 poor people were given free dhotis and saris. Orphans were given sweets.
At Pattiveerampatti, AIADMK intellectuals held a "pattimandram" (symposium) on the subject whether Ms. Jayalalitha was following in the footsteps of Gautama Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth or Mohammed the Prophet.
The consensus was she had imbibed the best in all three (and) that she had already ushered in Ram Rajya in Tar Nadu.
(Source: The Statesman, 25 February, 1996)
Human Sacrifice in Saurashtra
After a lull of decades, the bizarre ritual of sacrificing human beings in the name of 'god' has again surfaced in pockets of Saurashtra. In 1995 itself, four incidents have been reported in Jamnagar, Surendranagar and Amreli districts, where the zealously religious either killed themselves or their offsprings in temples seeking divine blessings. The fifth incident occurred at an isolated temple in a hamlet in Jasdan taluka in Rajkot district.
A 'Shiva' devotee, Lalji Arjan Patel, sliced off his head with a specially devised guillotine in a deserted temple, as part of a gory ritual called the 'kamal puja'.
The improvised sickle merely severed his Adam's apple, making for a slow and painful death on Mahashivratri night. Last year's incidents, which merely helped inspire awe instead of outrage in Saurashtra, were no less gory....In the latest instance, Lajli's body was buried in a samadhi in the fields... His father told visitors his son did not need a funeral as he had not died. (He left) behind his 24-year-old wife and three young children.
Cow Fat in Chewing Gum
All India Cow Protection Council Secretary Suresh Gupta... alleges that beef and cow fat was being added to the chewing gums and toffees manufactured by Pepsi Foods.
The Council would launch a nationwide awareness campaign against these food items (and) to demand a blanket ban on cow slaughter and the export of beef.
8-Month-Old Killed to Appease Peer
In a bizarre case of child sacrifice, Mohan Sargra, a Youngman brutally killed his infant nephew at village Samatipur in Jalore district in Rajasthan, on 2nd October, 1995.
Sargra was said to be in possession of a deity. After killing his nephew, he took out a knife and cut his body to taste his flesh and to drink his blood 22-year-od Mohan was observing fast during navratras to please the Gopapeer, a miracle god, worshipped in western parts of Rajasthan.
Sons Preferred in Punjab and Haryana
Statistics in "The Progress of Indian States", a 1995 report produced by UNICEF indicate that the fewest number of girls compared to boys are in the two North Indian States of Punjab and Haryana.
Of the country's 10 districts which the lowest child sex ratio, 8 are in Punjab and Haryana. Paradoxically. these are the two richest states in the country.
Preference for sons over daughters is not new in North India, nor are its gruesome manifestations. British administrators had mentioned the practice of female infanticide in Punjab in the Gazetteer of 1911.
Today, sex determination tests followed by abortion of female fetuses have sharpened the tools of patriarchy.
Predictably the two states have among India's lowest female-to-male ratios: 87.4 women to 100 men in Haryana and 88 women for every 100 men in Punjab.
(Source: The Pioneer, 17 January, 1996)
A View on Haj Subsidy
Giving doles in the name of Haj subsidy is certainly not permissible. The Hajis are advised not to accept any subsidy and if it is forced on them, they should give it away to some charitable institution and thus protect the sanctity of their Haj.
There is another aspect to it. The unsolicited amount of Rs. 40 crores is spent on 0.04 per cent of the Muslims of India, who are otherwise well to do to go to Haj by air at their own cost. Such a huge amount to be spent on a microscopic percentage of the population is ridiculous. It neither helps the giver nor the receiver. Also (the subsidy) is not a one- time but recurring annual payment.
(Source: The Hindu, 30 March, 1996)
