OU students observe ‘Narakasura Vardhanti’

Osmania University, the nerve centre for Telangana movement, has also become a centre for crazy or perhaps dangerous thoughts these days. In a bid to show their utter contempt for the ruling party or the ruling classes, a section of OU students have started denouncing the Hindu festivals and worshipping demons. This trend was never before in the university and it started only this year. During the Dasara festival, these OU students boycotted the Bathukamma festival as well as Vijayadasami; and instead mourned the killing of Mahishasura. They put up a big portrait of Mahisasura in the Arts College premises and worshipped him, saying he was killed by the so-called upper class Durga only because he was a Dalit.

Now on the eve of Diwali, the OU students observed “Narakasura Vardhanti,” the death anniversary of demon Narakasura, who was supposedly killed by Lord Krishna and Satyabhama. They made a similar allegation saying Narakasura was a Dalit and hence, the Brahminical character Krishna killed him to suppress the revolt by Dalits against upper castes. They said in a bid to cover up the killing, the Brahmin sections portrayed him as “Asura.” So, the students called him as “Naraka Shura” rather than Narakaasura.

Well, if Telangana state is given, the entire mythological characters may undergo a change: gods will become demons and demons will become gods!

http://www.greatandhra.com/viewnews.php?id=24677&cat=10&scat=25

 

Dalits observe ‘Mahishasura day’ in JNU

New Delhi: A group of Dalit students came together at JNU on Monday to honour Mahishasura, the demon killed by Goddess Durga, even as the varsity sent a showcause notice to a student on his role in circulating an “offensive” poster that caused a row on the issue earlier this month.

Members of the All India Backward Students Forum (AIBSF) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had clashed two weeks back over posters that were found “hurtful” by a section of students.

The posters were circulated by students of the AIBSF, based on an article on ‘Dalit viewpoint of Durga-Mahishasura’.

The students under the banner of AIBSF said today they were honouring the “martyrdom” of Mahishasura, who belonged to the backward caste and was a “just and a powerful king”.

The University, which was conducting an internal inquiry into the incident of the clash, has meanwhile issued a showcause notice to Jitendra Yadav, a PhD student of Center of Indian Languages and president of AIBSF.

The notice said Yadav had been found guilty of releasing an “offensive” poster depicting a deity “in a derogatory manner which created considerable unhappiness and resentment among a section of students” that led to violent incidents.

The notice asks him to explain his act of “serious misconduct and indiscipline” and asks him to submit his reply by October 27.

Yadav said the University was playing into the hands of right wing groups and said the article their poster referred to had not insulted any deity but had asked Dalit and OBC youth to know who their heroes were.

The students also organised a seminar on ‘Mahishasur & Macaulay: The Limits of Post-Modernity’ on the eve of the birth anniversary of Lord Macaulay, the 19th century British historian and politician who was instrumental in introducing the English language as a medium of education in India.

A new painting of ‘Mahishasura’ by artist Lal Ratnakar was also displayed on the occasion.

BSP to contest all 140 seats in Kerala

Kozhikode: The BSP will contest all 140 constituences in Kerala for April 13 assembly polls and will not have any understanding with any party or alliances, party’s National Secretary Pramod Kureel said on Saturday.

The decision was taken under the direction of BSP President and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, he told reporters.

“In this election, BSP, by achieving 10 per cent vote share, will establish itself as prominent political player in Kerala,” he claimed.

 

“The state has been ruled either by LDF or UDF all these years but it is a sad state of affairs that 50 per cent of Kerala’s population is without safe drinking water, roads and other basic infrastructure”, he alleged.

Mayawati will campaign in Kerala for three days, he said.

The names of 38 candidates were also announced at the press conference. Earlier, the party had announced the list of 70 candidates from Kochi on Saturday.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bsp-to-contest-all-140-seats-in-kerala/146550-37-64.html