Sunil Kumar Singh, a judge in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, has used newspaper ads to summon the Hindu gods Ram and Hanuman to "appear before the court personally". Earlier, he had sent them court summons through the mail, but the letters were returned. The postal authorities said that the addresses used had been "incomplete".
Singh is seeking Ram and Hanuman's testimony in a case that has remained unresolved for the past 20 years. It involves a land dispute concerning a Hindu temple dedicated to the two gods. Manmohan Pathak, the priest of the temple, says that the 1.4 acre plot the temple is located on belongs to him, as it was granted to his grandfather by a local king. On the other hand, local people assert that the temple belongs to the gods it is dedicated to. Singh wants to ask the gods their opinion on the ownership dispute.
According to Bijan Rawani, a lawyer in Dhanbad, "since the land has been donated to the gods, it is necessary to make them a party to the case" (BBC).
You can't make this stuff up! This should help the priest's case, though.
Showing posts with label Jharkhand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jharkhand. Show all posts
12 December 2007
27 August 2007
Tiny Dalit paper makes waves in India
The Din Dalit is one of the huge number of newspapers in India and it has some degree of influence: for instance, it helped a man get his social security, which the government had previously denied him.
However, the Din Dalit is also a newspaper with a difference: every week since 1986, its part-time editor, a Dalit (untouchable) man named Gaurishankar Rajak, has written most of it himself by hand, and then photocopied it into 100 copies. Nowadays, the paper also has a reporter. Over the years, the paper has developed a following in Dumka, Jharkhand. As Dhrub Rai, a rickshaw driver, observed, "Rajak has simply waged a war against corruption and social evils here" (BBC).
On the one hand, it is sad that so much effort on the part of one person -- and thousands like him elsewhere in India -- has to go into demanding rights the respect of Dalits' rights in modern-day India. On the other hand, the very fact that the Din Dalit has been published for 21 years and has not faced attacks from high-caste neighbours, shows that India has come a long way from the days of prevailing caste-based oppression.
However, the Din Dalit is also a newspaper with a difference: every week since 1986, its part-time editor, a Dalit (untouchable) man named Gaurishankar Rajak, has written most of it himself by hand, and then photocopied it into 100 copies. Nowadays, the paper also has a reporter. Over the years, the paper has developed a following in Dumka, Jharkhand. As Dhrub Rai, a rickshaw driver, observed, "Rajak has simply waged a war against corruption and social evils here" (BBC).
On the one hand, it is sad that so much effort on the part of one person -- and thousands like him elsewhere in India -- has to go into demanding rights the respect of Dalits' rights in modern-day India. On the other hand, the very fact that the Din Dalit has been published for 21 years and has not faced attacks from high-caste neighbours, shows that India has come a long way from the days of prevailing caste-based oppression.
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