Mangaluru: The second day of the Mangalore Lit Fest 2018, organised by the Mangaluru Literary Foundation at Dr TMA Pai International Convention Centre on November 4, was witness to some interesting topics. One of the topics, “Engineered Violence in Kerala and Kashmir”, stood out as it was relevant to the present scenario in our country, which is seeing a divide along the lines of religion and national security.
National Convenor of Prajna Pravah and Invited Member of RSS Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal, J Nanda Kumar and Defence Analyst Major Gaurav Arya were the speakers on this topic. While the former spoke about the Sabarimala issue, the latter spoke about the violence in Kashmir. The session was moderated by columnist and author Sandeep Balakrishnan.
J Nanda Kumar began the session and spoke about the Sabarimala row.
He slammed the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan for telling the devotees of Lord Ayyappa to ‘get lost’. “Because of this movement that was initiated by radical thinkers of other religions, people of all religions are now entering the temple without following the principles of ‘Vratha’ (48-day ritual),” he said.
He continued, “Three attempts were made to destroy the sanctum and the Christian missionaries believe that St. Thomas had visited Nilakka, Kerala in 1852, and had installed a cross, which has no history.”
He then said that Hindu traditions are weakening because of the vulnerable situation that has been created. “The anti-Hindu groups are polluting the sanctum of Sabarimala and humiliating the deity. The women get into the river Pamba and expose themselves to the deity. This is the mentality of communists, Christian missionaries, and Islamic groups,” he stated.
Narrative of ‘Jihad’ has changed: Maj Gaurav Arya
Major Gaurav Arya spoke about the long history of violence in the Kashmir region and how the meaning of ‘Jihad’ changed from ‘Aazadi’ to ‘fight for caliphate’.
Responding to a query from NewsKarnataka.com regarding the infiltration of Bangladeshis in cities such as Bengaluru, Major Arya said, “The Rohingyas and the Bangladeshis are supported by the local Kashmiri politicians and are settled in army camps near Jammu. God forbid, when the next attacks happen, it is going to be from this area.” He also said that they were being supported by the communists and the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee. “Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and PAN cards are waiting for them”, he added.
When asked if this could be controlled, he said, “The Centre can’t control it, as the law and order situation is to be looked after by the State. The infiltration has been going on for the last 47-48 years, since the 1971 Bangladeshi Separation War.” He then added that there was nothing much to stop this as there are waterways and areas where fencing is not possible. “Where fencing is done, they somehow break it and enter. We must just counter-attack,” he added.
During the course of the session, Major Arya dealt with the topics such as the establishment of Rashtriya Rifles, killings of Kashmiri Pandits, ‘Jihad’ and ‘Azadi’, ISIS and other terrorist activities.
He also appreciated the effort and support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the surgical strikes.
He concluded the session by taking a dig at the AICC president saying, “Even I am a devotee of Lord Shiva. My only prayer is for God to provide knowledge and some sort of maturity to Rahul Gandhi.”
