Best known for its 1880s-style faades and view of the trio of towering mountains its named after, Sisters is downright adorable but has probably always been a pit stop on your journeysnever the destination.

After all, you can gaze at the Three Sisters from Bend, a much larger city 30 minutes east thats packed with breweries, bike trails and boutiques. Over the past few decades, its grown into Oregons ultimate destination for outdoor adventure. Sisters, meanwhile, developed a sleepier reputation as a hub for quilt-loving grandmas (the town hosts the worlds largest outdoor quilt show) who would also be delighted by the sight of a Bi-Mart that looks like a Wild West mercantile, and public trash cans made of wooden barrels.

But thats all changing.

Thanks to the opening of a variety of new businesses, this town of approximately 3,000 has started to attract a livelier crowd. Last year alone saw the launch of a ski chalet-themed taphouse-hotel in the heart of downtown, an off-the-main-drag brewery specializing in wild-fermented ales, and an indoor-outdoor food cart pod anchored by a bar that looks like a rustic sanctuary. Thats not to mention the areas abundance of trails, shimmering lakes and rivers stocked with kokanee, whitefish and trout, as well as ranches where you can play cowboy by hopping on a horse and riding through ponderosa forests.

Better yet: Youre not in Bend, so youll rarely end up lingering in a line, and theres always an open picnic table or barstool. So when Central Oregon calls to you this summer, break tradition and embrace Sisters Old West charm.

Friday Night

Sleep Above a Ski Lodge-Themed Taphouse

Unless you once called Sisters home, youve probably never heard of the Ski Inn (310 E Cascade Ave., sisterstaphousehotel.com). The breakfast-and-burger cafe had been adored by locals since 1971, but it never achieved the status of tourist destination. However, with the Ski Inns relaunch, the out-of-towners are calling. There is no direct tie between the boutique hotel and taproom, which opened in June 2021, and the original diner, which was wiped out by a massive pine that toppled over in a windstorm. But Ski Inn owner and Bend-based builder Jim Yozamp did keep the name as a tribute.

Though only a year old, the reclaimed brick, rustic wood and distressed steel details authentically age the first-floor baran ambience Yozamp was aiming for. When people ask me if this was an old mechanic shop, he explains, I couldnt be more proud. Of course, your ultra-modern room upstairs gives away the ruse. Its still somewhat rare to find a bar-and-bed combo, but Yozamp says adding a second floor for overnight accommodations was the plan from the outset. Were just happy it all penciled out, giving Sisters its only lodging option in the center of the community and beer-loving visitors an easy route to stagger back to their rooms.

Oregon Summer Guide (ross chandler)

Eat All the Smoked Meats

After your lobbyless check-in (door codes are emailed), theres no need to travel far for dinner, particularly after a three-hour drive. Head downstairs to the Taphouse, where the menu centers on an industrial-sized smoker out back. When available, order the smoke shack sampler and be prepared to share. The massive platter of brisket, ribs, dry-rubbed wings, sweet potato wedges, and chips with queso is a substantial roundup of the pubs meats and snacks. Though that would mean missing out on the campfire-tinged, beer-braised pulled pork, which does wonders to a burrito smothered in cheese and verde gravy as well as a nacho plate. Vow to return and order more, then take a beer from one of the 16 taps up to your balcony, accessible to overnight guests only. Sink into one of the Adirondack chairs assembled out of actual skis and enjoy the impressive view of the mountains in the distance and Highway 20 traffic below you.

Oregon Summer Guide

Saturday Morning

Journey Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Distance: 5.4 miles Difficulty Level: Moderate Start Point: West Metolius Trailhead in the Lower Canyon Creek Campground Elevation Gain: 100 ft

Travelers drawn to water are always searching for the perfect blue, whether thats the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, Icelands sapphire lagoons, or the cobalt-colored lakes of the U.S. mountain ranges. Somehow, the Metolius River dazzles in each of those shades and more, making it perhaps the most stunning of all the states waterways.

Emerging near the base of Black Butte, the Metolius is one of the largest spring-fed rivers in the country, and the best route to follow a portion of its 29-mile path begins at a small campground 30 minutes northwest of Sisters. The trail never veers from the water, which is, at times, placid and teal, then moments later youll be strolling by a section of indigo-hued thundering rapids. The Metolius fickle nature attracts both fly fishers hoping to snag a kokanee or trout as well as turbulence-seeking kayakers.

About 2 miles in, the whitewater is split by a chain of small islands covered in wildflowers like lupine and Pecks penstemon, which grows only in the Sisters area. Soon, the trail climbs higher, placing you above the river instead of right next to it. Youll then reach the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery (7500 Forest Service Road 14, Camp Sherman, 541-595-6611), which raises spring Chinook and summer steelhead that end up in tributaries across the Deschutes River Basin. Since the 35-acre state-run site is open to the public, youre free to wander the grounds. Dont forget to bring quarters25 cents gets you a handful of pellets from a candy dispensing-style machine. Watch in glee as the fish whip themselves into a whirlpool as they race to get to the food.

Oregon Summer Guide

Saturday Afternoon

Have Lunch at a Butcher Block

This artisanal butchery is known for its top-quality cold case cuts, wide variety of brats, as well as an impressive lineup of smoked sausages and cheeses, all made in house. Some of those cured products can be placed between two slices of bread and eaten right then and there at Sisters Meat and Smokehouse (110 S Spruce St., 541-719-1186, sistersmeat.com), and since everybody knows sandwiches always taste better when somebody else makes them, refuel at the big red barn across from Ski Inn. Turkey shavings are piled high and barely held together by airy white bread slathered in mayo. Those craving red meat should order the tri-tip, which is covered in barbecue sauce and tucked into a toasted French roll. Each sandwich comes with a bag of chips and a warm cookie that is best enjoyed with draft beer on the covered patio or open lawn.

Look Rodeo Ready

If you want to go all in on the Western theme, youll need the right duds. Dixies (100 E Cascade Ave., 541-549-6451, dixies.com), downtowns apparel destination named after the owners mother, can have you looking like an authentic ranch hand or a gussied-up rodeo queen in a matter of minutes. The shelves are piled high with denim, there are rows and rows of boots (both practical and flamboyant), and Stetsons are stocked in colors other than traditional black and white. Even if youre not in the market for a dude ranch makeover, the store is still a handy place to pick up the hiking socks you forgot to pack.

Oregon Summer Guide

Take an Ice Cream Break

While licking your ice cream scoop outside Sno Cap Drive In (380 W Cascade Ave., 541-549-6151), you half expect Guy Fieri to roll up in his bright red convertible, film crew in tow. The simple yet charming 1952 cinder-block building advertising old-fashioned hamburgers looks exactly like the kind of greasy spoon that would attract the mayor of Flavortown during his unending American road trip. The griddles and fryers are always hard at work, but the goodies you came here for are of the frozen variety. While most ice cream parlors commit to either hard pack or soft serve, Sno Cap has both. On top of that, theres a menu of 30 milkshake flavors. As of spring, the compact dining room remained closed, but theres something pleasantly nostalgic about ordering from a walk-up window and then racing against the sun to finish your cone on the patio.

Oregon Summer Guide

Saturday Night

Sample Experimental IPAs

Any beer nerd who takes Highway 20 to Bend has made Three Creeks Brewing (721 S Desperado Court, 541-549-1963, threecreeksbrewing.com) a mandatory stop. Now that youre staying in town, theres time to linger, so sip your way through the Brewers Choice IPA Seriesthree experimental beers whose recipes will be continually tweaked until a winner is selected. Dankness on the Edge of Town lives up to its name thanks to a resinous West Coast-style, pine-sap flavor. Theres also the fruitier Gold Digger IPA that gushes with lemons and lychee. If youre eating dinner without kids, take a seat in the bar behind the Old West-style swinging doors. The room offers a peek into the brewhouse through windows on one wall and a view of Three Creeks trophy cases, which by now should be displaying the brewerys most recent plaque from the 2022 World Beer Cup.

Oregon Summer Guide

Watch Blockbusters in a Barn

Right across the parking lot from Three Creeks is a theater like no other in Oregon. Modeled after the high deserts many brick-red barns, Sisters Movie House (720 S Desperado Court, 541-549-8800, sistersmoviehouse.com) is one of the more conspicuous buildings lining the towns main arterial. Inside, the old-fashioned farm theme continues with decorative touches in the form of pitchforks, shovels and cast-iron tractor seats. However, the four screens with stadium-style auditoriums are quite modern. Like many Portland theaters, this one has an on-site cafe with a menu of burgers, pizza and wraps as well as $5 pints. And if you need help deciding what to see, the sandwich board out front includes not only movie titles and showtimes, but also their Rotten Tomatoes ratings.

Sunday Morning

Dig Into a Farm-Fresh Brunch

Since we live in one of the most agriculturally diverse and bountiful areas of the country, Oregonians are blessed with an abundance of restaurants and markets that source ingredients within a few miles radius of their location. Rainshadow Organics (72190 Holmes Road, 541-977-6746, rainshadoworganics.com) may just hold the record for shortest kitchen commuteits food travels only a quarter mile from farm to plate. Take a quick trip yourself 15 minutes northeast of Sisters for a three-course brunch highlighting the Certified Organic produce thats pulled from the dirt you can see from your seat on the farm stores sheltered porch.

Rainshadow originally added a commercial kitchen in 2016 to preserve its harvests by preparing sauces and fermented foods. However, it has been slowly ramping up the events side of the business by hosting weddings, leisurely midmorning weekend meals, and long-table dinners in the field. Should you happen to visit on a day without a meal on the calendar, stock up at the market, which sells homey, hand-labeled jars of jams, relishes and pickled vegetables all the colors of the rainbow.

Oregon Summer Guide

Take the Reins

The first thing youll notice as you approach the corral at Black Butte Ranch (13899 Bishops Cap, 541-595-2061, blackbutteranch.com) are, of course, the dozens of majestic horses. The second thing youll notice are the signs warning about injury and death. No horse, mule or pony is a completely safe animal, one reads. Horses, mules and ponies are 20 to 40 times more powerful than a human. The view of the gentle-looking giants doesnt really square with the notices urging caution, at least not until youre on the back of one, 6 feet off the ground. At that point, you realize youre behind the wheel of a car you (in my case) havent driven for years, the route is all off road, and the car has a mind of its own.

Fortunately, my horsea brown-and-white pinto named Lenniewas like an oversized dog. He was well trained, starting and stopping every time our guide didno prompting requiredand affectionate; every time our dude string paused, Lennie would nuzzle my boot.

Black Butte Ranch offers a variety of guided horseback toursfrom easy Lil Buckaroo Corral Rides to advanced daylong treks through Central Oregons backcountry. Since I last sat in a saddle a few years ago, I signed up for the Big Loop Ride, a 3.3-mile jaunt through a forest of red-trunk ponderosas and spindly, white alders. The route gives you the opportunity to take your horse down a shallow incline and up a hill. There are also several long, flat stretches, where youll shift into a higher gear and give trotting a try. Since Id forgotten how to post, or rhythmically rise in and out my seat for a smoother ride, I felt like a paddle ball, at one point convinced I was going to bounce out of my saddle. Somehow, I clung on, and neither Lennie nor I seemed worse for the wear by the end.

Oregon Summer Guide

Sunday Afternoon

Tackle a Mountain Bike Trail

If youre looking for a little more trail time, switch up your saddle and rent a bike from Eurosports (223 E Hood Ave., 541-549-2471, eurosports.us). A fleet of cycles beckons outside, which can be borrowed for a day or an entire week. From there, youre just blocks from the Peterson Ridge Trail, an extensive network of paths more than 20 miles long. Designed as a ladder system, riders can choose multiple rungs along the way when theyre ready to head back. Once youve returned to Eurosports, hydrate with one of the six beers or ciders on tap, then park your weary buns at a picnic table. Three food carts serving tacos, Thai noodles and Nashville-style hot chicken have turned the shops courtyard into a bustling pod that attracts cyclists and stationary customers alike.

Oregon Summer Guide

Bring in da Funk

When Funky Fauna Artisan Ales (211 Sun Ranch Drive, #101, 720-341-7480, funkyfaunabeer.com) opened in December 2021, it doubled the brewery population in Sisters. Three Creeks has long been the only game in town, and in general, its welcome news for all beer producers when new ones launch nearbydrinkers like to pub hop, and in many cities, that trend has spun off entirely new tourism pitches (see the neighboring Bend Ale Trail). It also helps that Funky Fauna sets itself apart by focusing on wild ales, which are fermented with foraged yeast, and then served in a sleek, modern taproom with black matte tile, vibrant green foliage, and oak barrels that double as a decorative barrier. The brewery leaves room on its tap list for Pilsners and IPAs, but the heart, soul and flavor of this business lies in the saisons, like An Ocean Warmed by the Sun, hopped with Oregon-grown Strata that tastes more like a peach than the actual fruit.

Sunday Night

Eat Like a Barnyard Piggy

By now, youve noticed that barns abound in Sisters, but this one may just be the most handsome. Opened in late 2021, The Barn (171 E Main Ave., 541-904-4343, thebarninsisters.com) is a 10,000-square-foot lot with four food trucks and a centerpiece bar that, given its soaring steeple and stained glass, looks more like a church than a shelter for farming equipment. Outside, the scenery is dominated by a giant dirt clod that attracts children despite the rope and keep off signs. Until whatever has been planted there grows in, turn your attention to the fire pit zones, whoevers playing on stage, and the food.

Time Travel in an Century-Old Bar

Most of the buildings in downtown Sisters are modern-day replicas of old-fashioned exteriors, but not Sisters Saloon (190 E Cascade Ave., 541-549-7427, sisterssaloon.net). The former hotel was built in 1912 and is said to be one of the most photographed properties in Central Oregon. That makes sense. You could easily imagine a quick-draw shootout taking place in the street out front. The restored bar is where youll want to hunker down if you like your ceilings covered in stamped copper and walls adorned with taxidermy.

Monday Morning

Boat Across a Glacier-Fed Lake

A Central Oregon trip wouldnt be complete without a visit to one of the sparkling, glacier-fed pools that are scattered across the Cascade Range. Suttle Lake (fs.usda.gov) is a crystal-clear, 253-acre beauty thats only about 18 minutes west of Sisters and on your way home along Highway 20. Stretch your legs before the long drive with an easy 3.6-mile shoreline loop hike, or get out on the water if youve brought a kayak. Suttle Lake Lodge (13300 Highway 20, 541-638-7001, thesuttlelodge.com) offers seasonal paddle board and canoe rentals, or for those who prefer to end a weekend getaway on a mellow note, the Boathouse bar and restaurant has gourmet coffee, cocktails and craft beerany of which are the perfect accompaniment to the magnificent views of the blue basin.

Oregon Summer Guide

More here:

Long Weekend Trip: Riding Through the Old West in Sisters - Willamette Week

BengaluruA Hindu priest who had announced his willingness to get converted to Islam has now changed his mind, fearing the circumcision practice.

I am suffering from diabetes. I got scared after knowing that khatna (circumcision) would be conducted at the time of conversion. I got scared about the consequences and finally decided to stay back in Hinduism, H.R. Chandrashekaraiah elaborated.

I was pained with the inheritance dispute. Relatives distanced themselves away from me. Since, I was an aged person, it seemed to me that they would not conduct my final rites as per the traditions; and I decided to get converted to Islam lawfully, the priest told media.

I didnt know anything about Islam. My house was located in the region where many Muslims lived and many friends stayed there. Hence, I decided to change my religion, he said.

The Sanatan Hindu religion is supreme. I realised that my decision to convert to Islam was wrong. The ignorance has gone away, there is no mukthi if religion is changed, Chandrashekaraish added.

He further said that he is at peace after being welcomed back to Hinduism by religious seers.

Chandrashekaraish asserted that since birth, his thought process and living pattern are in sync with Hindu religion and he felt let down by the hurried decision he had taken.

Meanwhile, some locals alleged that a JD(S) leader and others had influenced him to take the decision of religious conversion.

61-year-old Chandrashekaraiah, a temple priest, had earlier announced his decision to convert and had also issued an advertisement in this regard.

The priest even rechristened his name as Mubarak Pasha. Photographs of Chandrashekaraiah wearing a skull cap and offering namaz made it a communal issue.

Former BJP minister Sogadu Shivanna rushed to his house and held long discussions. Shivanna also arranged a ghar wapsi (re-conversion) programme for him through religious seers. (IANS)

The rest is here:

Circumcision fear stops Hindu priest from converting to Islam - India New England

This year, the independence we gained after Indias partition in the name of religion turned 75 years old. However, thethreatsposed by evangelical faiths, most prominently the virulent strain of Islam known as Islamism, are far from over. Being a Hindu and asserting ones Hindu roots results in tragically devastating consequences, often resulting in ones death.And there have been more than 75 Hindus who have endured the grim fate.

For years, the media has worked tirelessly to depict Muslims as largely the victims and Hindus as overwhelmingly the offenders, establishing a false notion among minorities that they are being attacked by fascist Hindus with active state cooperation. The grim fact is that Hindus have been disproportionately targeted by hate crimes in India. Hindus have been brutally killed and lynched for speaking out, in riots, especially by Islamists, and in other cases, simply for being Hindus.

They have the ability to attack at any time of day or night. They may enter shops and businesses disguised as customers and conveniently leave after stabbing or beheading the Hindu victim. They sometimes appear disguised in saffron and depart after ruthlessly attacking with sharp weapons. These perpetrators remain disturbingly undisturbed by radical Islam. They sometimes silently wait for their victim, whom they ambush and nonchalantly kill before walking away unfazed. No one is safe, neither sages, saints, nor ordinary Hindus. Neither house nor ashramas.

In the Kandhamal district of Odisha, a well-known and highly respected Hindu Sadhu named Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was brutally murdered by armed Naxalites and some Christian fanatics in 2008. The tribal-dominated Kandhamal district has long been the hotbed of forced conversions by evangelical organisations. Christian missionaries have been constantly targeting Hindu Sadhus working on the ground to prevent their rampant conversion efforts, with explicit help from Maoists.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, an 82-year-old cow-lover Sanyasi who had dedicated his life to the service of the Adivasis in the area, wasmurdered along with 4 of his associatesin the Jalespata Ashram on the day of Janmashtami in 2008, while the Ashrams devotees were getting ready for the festivities. His body was riddled with bullets and his dead body was brutalised further with sharp weapons by the murderers. The incident had sparked communal riots in the Kandhamal district, where tribal Hindus and Christians clash regularly, with the Naxalites supporting the Christians.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was a Hindu saint. For once we could assume that his love for his religion and habit of chanting Jai Shri Ram, considered a war cry by petty Bollywood nerds like Anurag Kashyap and Islamists like Muhammad Zubair, might have triggered the Islamists, but what about Sarbananda Kaul, one of the most secular individuals who used to keep Quran with him, yet Islamists murdered him along with his son and hanged him from a tree.

Sarbananda Kaul Premi was also a well-known Kashmiri poet, freedom fighter and a famous scholar. He was known for his secular values. Premi wrote in Kashmiri, Urdu, and Hindi.His grasp on Persian was as strong as his hold on Sanskrit. He used to keep a copy of the Quran in his house of worship.

On the evening of 2930 April 1990, three masked Islamic terrorists entered his home and kidnapped him and his younger son, Virendra Koul. The dead bodies of the father-son duo were found hanging on a tree on 1 May 1990. The Islamists had brutally scrapped off his forehead skin since Kaul regularly applied tilak.

Sarbananda Kaul was elderly. He was past his prime, but what about the ten children who were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002?

Twenty years ago, on February 27 2002, an enraged Muslim mobburnt59 innocent Hindus, including women and children, to avenge the demolition of Mughal-era Babri Masjid Ayodhya. A group of Hindus travelling from Ayodhya in Sabarmati Express were mercilessly burnt alive inside thetrain by a riotous Muslim mob. The raging mob of over 2,000 people had killed the innocent Hindus for the simple reason that they had visited Ayodhya to perform karseva for the Ram Mandir.

In the more recent incidents, Chandan Gupta was killed in a communal clash that erupted over a flag march in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, taken out on Republic Day in the year 2018.

Prashant Poojary (29) a flower merchant was brutallymurderedin broad daylight by six men atop two motorcycles who attacked him with sharp weapons at a market in Moodbidri when he was selling flowers as usual. Poojary, believed to be involved with the Bajrang Dal, was actively involved in stopping illegal cow slaughter and transportation.

A 50-year-old newspaper hawker Mannulal Vaishnav was hacked to death by his customer Rafique Khan with an axe in the Kho Nagoriyan area in Jaipur in 2019, after the former urged the latter to clear his long pending dues.

Similarly, a 27-year-old Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad was killed by Islamists on 25th January 2022, merely for being a Hindu. Kishan Bharwad hailed from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad. He was killed in the morning when he was passing by the Modhwada locality on a two-wheeler. Like other killings by Islamists, the reason behind his murder was that the Muslims claimed he had hurt their religious sentiments and committed blasphemy.

Many more Hindus, like Harsha, Umesh Kolhe, Kanhaiyalal, and Praveen Nettaru, have lately become victims of Islamic intolerance. This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. In actuality, there is a long list of people in independent India who were murdered solely for being Hindus. All of these Hindus were attempting to bring the Hindu society together. They were assisting anyone who desired gharwapsi (revert to Hinduism from Islam or Christianity of their own volition) or for simply wearing their identity on their sleeves. Many of them were selflessly working towards cow protection. None of them deserved to die, yet they were hacked to death just because they were Hindus.

Kala Devi, 70, was murdered while lighting a lamp at home to symbolise support for Indias fight against the global corona pandemic.

M Lavanya, a 12th-grade student, was told that if she wanted to study, she should convert to Christianity or clean the toilet. She couldnt bear the pressure and committed suicide. Some were killed as a result of love jihad, while others were killed as they were considered a threat to Islam.

As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its independence, we present 75 names from independent India who were murdered only because they were Hindus:

Such names and incidents cannot be summed up in 75 columns. This is a never-ending list with no end in sight. A new name is added to the list whenever the date changes. OpIndia has gone out to the relatives of several of the people on the list this year of Amrit Mahotsav. Well bring them to you one at a time.

We had not forgotten and will not forget these Hindus. You will be reminded of these as long as this threat exists. So long as youre a kafir. So that you are aware of the perils of Islamismand evangelical Christianity.

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Hindus killed for being Hindus series: 75 and still countinghere is a never-ending list of Hindus killed and brutalised in independent India - OpIndia

Please dont undermine yourselves, she says.

Please dont undermine yourselves, she says.

The Hindu community in Bangladesh has the same rights as she has, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said, asserting that the number of mandaps in Dhaka during the Durga Puja festivities were much higher than in West Bengal.

Ms. Hasina interacted with the Hindu community leaders on Thursday, August 18, 2022 on the occasion of Janmashtami and urged believers of other faiths not to think of themselves as minorities, saying everyone irrespective of their religions will enjoy equal rights in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country.

Also read: Fault lines grow deeper in Bangladesh

We want people of all faiths to live with equal rights. You are people of this country, you have equal rights here, you have the same rights as I have, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted her as saying.

You would always think that you are the citizens of this country and you will enjoy equal rights, the premier noted.

Ms. Hasina virtually joined the event at Dhakeswari Mandir in Dhaka and JM Sen Hall in Chattogram from her official residence in Gonobhaban.

We also want to see you in that way. Please dont undermine yourselves. You were born in this country, you are the citizens of this country, she noted.

The Bangladesh Prime Minister said the number of mandaps in Dhaka is higher than the number in West Bengal or Kolkata, and across Bangladesh during the Durga Puja festivities.

Ms. Hasina lamented that whenever an untoward incident occurs, it is propagated in such a manner that the Hindu community dont have any rights in Bangladesh.

Colours are given to that incident in a way that the Hindus have no rights here. And the actions of the government after the incidents dont get proper attention, Prothom Aalo newspaper quoted her as saying.

Ms. Hasina said her government and the Awami League did not believe in undermining people from any religion.

We can say it clearly. Our government is very cautious about it. I can assure you that, she added.

The Hindu community is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh according to the 2022 census, constituting approximately 7.95 per cent out of the total 161.5 million population.

Link:

Janmashtami | 'You have the same rights as I have', Bangladesh PM Hasina tells Hindus - The Hindu

On Friday (August 19), a Shivling was recovered by a fisherman, from the Kopotakkho river in Paikgachha Upazila in the Khulna district of Bangladesh. The fisherman was identified as Jagadish Biswas, the son of the late Satish Biswas. As per locals, Jagadish had gone to the river to catch fish when he saw a part of the Shivling floating above the water level.

An overwhelmed Jagadish brought the sacred Hindu figurine to his house. By that time, the news had spread in the neighbourhood. This prompted a rush of Hindu devotees to his house.

However, a local leader suggested that he hand over the Shivling to the police. On his advice, Jagadish and his wife Anjana Biswas handed over the Shivling to the police at around 11:30 am on Saturday (August 20).

This has created a feeling of unease among the local Hindu population, who now fear that the Shivling will not be returned to them. Hindu rights activist Avro Neel informed, As far as I know the Shiva idol is in police custody. If there is no protest, this statue will be placed in the museum.

While taking to Facebook, Goutam Halder Pranto remarked, Shivlinga embodies conveys our emotion, feelings, existence, faith, devotion, respect, and love. Only Hindus should have the right to its idols found in different parts of the country!

He added, Because these are not just precious metal statues, but are deities worshipped by Hindus. Only Hindus can protect the sanctity of these idols and ensure the existence of Sanatana Dharma.

If the idols of different Hindu gods and goddesses are kept in museums of the country, then Hindus will one day become limited to museums! Currently, the Shivling found in Khulna is under police custody, he emphasised.

Goutam Haldar Pranto is a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance.

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Bangladesh: Fisherman discovers Shivling in a river, local Hindus fear they will lose its custody - OpIndia

Hinduism should be practiced according to the laws of nature. This cultural heritage has been handed down from the sages. It is a good sign for the whole world that today the youth are attracted to these cultural things. Hindus should be able to live as Hindus.

Every Hindu needs to perform Panchamahayagya. Coming to one's Guru for spiritual enlightenment is the real Sravani. PadmashriVibhushitDharmabhushanSadguruBrahmeshanandacharyaSwamijienlightened all the Hindu religious people through his blessings that it is necessary to preserve this science-based spiritual tradition started by our sages over the years.

Sri DuttPadmanabhaPeetha, SrikshetraTapobhumiGurupeetha- Goa The "ShravaniVidhi" organized under the divine guidance and guidance of spiritual leader,PadmashriVibhushitDharmabhushanSadguruBrahmeshanandacharyaSwamiji successfullycompleted the occasion on Thursday 11th August 2022.

MLA of PatodaConstituency ShriVijay Sardesaiand MLA of MayeConstituency ShriPremendraShetwere present on this occasion. The aura of the festival was so blissful. Manydevotess had the divine feeling while many get to know more about the culture ofhinduism as well as theSanatanDharma.They also focused on the part of nature which is an intrinsic medium to connect with the One.

On the occasion of this Shravaniritual, Bhavikanahad the privilege of seeing thousands of Hindu devotees at Tapobhoomi.Thousandsof Hindu religious people from Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka as well as national and international levels gathered under thebanner of Main Hindu and Hindu representatives from various fields participated in thisShravani ritual. Rituals likeYajnopavitharan,Havan,Tarpan,Marjan,Sabhadeepdan werecompleted.The program concluded withAartiPasaidan and Mahaprasad.

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Hearing spiritual knowledge from the Guru is the real hearing - Sadguru Brahmeshanandacharya - The Week

A special ardas samagam (prayer congregation) was organised in memory of the people who lost their lives during Partition at Akal Takht.Prayers were also held at other major gurdwaras under Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) management. Earlier, Akhand Path (the continuous and uninterrupted recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) was also carried out and the hazuri ragis jathas Golden Temple performed Gurbani Kirtan.

Hindu and Muslim representatives also attended prayers at Golden Temple.

Gangveer Rathur, who had approached Jathedar with idea of offering prayer, said, It is big step in understanding the pain of partition and its impact on the present and future of Punjab. The future generations need to understand why partition took place.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh said that the governments of India and Pakistan should pass condolence resolutions in their Parliaments for the of people who lost lives during Partition. Visas should be granted to them so that they can easily visit their ancestral and religious places. Panjabis suffered the most in Partition followed by Bengalis. People of these two states fought the British fiercely but they were punished by dividing their states and their properties were seized, he said, adding that the pain is still there.

The people want to see their birthplace and want to visit the holy shrines. If stopping Muslims from going to Haj, Hindus from visiting Katas Raj is a crime, Sikhs should also not be stopped from visiting Nankana Sahib and other shrines in Pakistan. Both the countries should take up the matter and grant visas generously to people of every faith to visit their religious shrines, the Jathedar added.

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Hindus, Muslims take part in prayers in memory of lives lost during Partition - The Indian Express

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addresses mediapersons in Patna

Photo : IANS

It should be noted that the main entrance of the world famous Vishnupad temple of Gaya has a 'non-Hindu entry barred' written on it. But Nitish Kumar took the Muslim leader along with him.

The pictures triggered much outrage on social media while BJP attacked the Bihar chief minister for taking such a step. Vishnupad temple secretary Gajadhar Lal Pathak said, "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited the temple along with Muslim minister Mansoori which is against our law. It is clearly written that a non-Hindu is not allowed inside the temple premises."

"Nitish Kumar has hurt the sentiments of crores of Hindus. He should apologise to everyone, further action will be after meeting with temple committees," he added.

Taking an opportunity to hit out at its former alliance partner JD(U), BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul said that Mansoori should immediately resign for violating the rules of a holy structure. Nitish Kumar has committed a sin by allowing a Muslim to enter the temple."

At the same time, Mansoori told media said that he was fortunate to have entered the sanctum sanctorum of Vishnupad temple with CM Nitish Kumar.

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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes Muslim minister to temple that bars entry of non-Hindus; BJP accuses them of 'hurt - Times Now

With 20 months left for the general elections, a group of seers have drafted a new constitution for a Hindu rashtra, shifting the national capital from New Delhi to Varanasi and disenfranchising Muslim and Christian Indians. With the 11 convicts who raped a pregnant Bilkis Bano and killed her daughter walking out of Godhra jail, preceded in 2018 by former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani being acquitted after first being sentenced to 28 years in jail in the 2002 Narodia Patiya massacre of 97 Muslims, this new constitution may imply that religion overrides justice.

What is even more disturbing is a senior Supreme Court advocate and a so-called defence expert were part of those who drafted this constitution showing a map of akhand (=unified) Bharat which comprises Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar as a single entity. Drafting a Hindu constitution which deprives Muslims and Christians of their right to vote is a criminal offence which attracts three years in jail under sections 153 (a) and (b) of the Indian Penal Code, apart from other penal laws. But the police are keeping mum.

Although it seems farcical, the mechanism for replacing our Constitution with the Hindu one is mystifying. Under this Hindu constitution, Muslims and Christians can work, study, and enjoy all rights except the right to vote. Only the Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs can vote after turning 16 years or contest elections on turning 25. This Hindu constitution totally ruptures the basic structure of our existing Constitution, so those who drafted it have committed a criminal offence.

Criminalising triple talaq obliterated Islamic obscurantism, criminalising beef-eating and conversion to either Islam or Christianity, while allowing reconversion to Hinduism or ghar wapasi were further steps in making India a de facto if not a de jure Hindu state. The alleged dilution of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 by raising the Gyanvapi mosque dispute and the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra on the grounds he had jettisoned hardcore Hindutva already proved India of 2022 is not India of 1950. We are a Hindu state.

Apart from Nepal which was a Hindu monarchy till 2008, there has never been an official Hindu state in Asia. A Muslim has never become prime minister in India nor completed a five-year-term as a chief minister of any Indian state. But India has had a Muslim President and Chief Justice but never a Christian. In a Hindu rashtra, however, only a Hindu will be considered eligible for these top posts.

This Hindu constitution declares 543 members will be elected to the Parliament of Religions which will abolish the British parliamentary system of democracy so that government and parliament will be conducted on the basis of the varna system while the judiciary would have to follow the Treta and Dvapara yugas which seem absurd because all the law records will have to be rewritten in Sanskrit. The varna system is anti-thetical to our Constitution which ensures reservations for the deprived castes and classes. That is why Constitutional morality is the opposite of religious morality.

This new constitution may have the RSS tacit approval but Dr BR Ambedkar in his essay The Annihilation of Caste pointed out the impracticality of enforcing caste or varna in modern government as per the ancient Hindu texts like Manusmriti. This would prove detrimental to the Hindus themselves because not all are Kshatriyas or Brahmins. The ancient Hindu texts insist the Kshatriyas advised by the Brahmin sages must rule the people.

This Hindu constitution declares the Gurukul education system will teach ayurveda, mathematics, nakshatra, bhu-garbha (whatever that might mean) and astrology while it is not clear if western physics, chemistry, biology or medicine will be taught. Every citizen will get compulsory military training like Israel, just as the youth of the Bajrang Dal are trained to use weapons. Agriculture will be totally tax-free. Whether the penal law of this utopian Hindu state will follow that of the ancient dharmasastras or that of the law-giver Manu remains unclear.

What makes all this fascinating is the fact that an advocate from the Supreme Court had earlier petitioned the judges to delete the word secular from the preamble of the Constitution because it was introduced by Indira Gandhi in 1976. This petition is still pending in the apex court but this advocate has been rewarded by the Sanathan Sanstha at Ponda in Goa as a saint for working selflessly for the Hindu cause. His son is an advocate-on-record in the apex court which implies this father-son duo have a sound grasp of modern law.

There is no doubt that India is now a Hindu state, which has departed from Nehruvian socialism as the preamble proclaims, because the existing fundamental rights such as freedom of religion for Christians was diluted by criminalising propagation of their faith under the Freedom of Religion laws. Poor Muslims right to livelihood was effaced by banning cattle slaughter even before 2014 during the Congress regime. Today, the so-called secular Constitution with its laws and policies eroded the rights of minorities in innovative ways.

Theoretically, these changes are reversible because the basic structure of the Constitution remains intact. The emphasis on individual freedoms, civil liberties and fundamental rights has shifted away from the citizen contravening the wishes of the first Constituent Assembly. But with a Hindu government in power at the centre and in the states, the state has been given power to curtail even the fundamental right to life and liberty which is why the 11 rapists have had their life sentences commuted by the Gujarat government. They were seen being feted and garlanded.

We have to accept that Hindutva is a sinister species of Hinduism because it is Hindutva and not Hinduism which demonises Muslims as the eternal enemy within, followed closely by the Christians. This new Hindu constitution has done what our sovereign Parliament cannot do which is to override the Constitution enacted 75 years ago with 395 articles, eight schedules and 22 parts.

This is why religion is regarded by the poor as true, by the wise as false and by those who govern us as a useful tool to fool everybody.

The writer holds a PhD in law and is a senior journalist and advocate at the Bombay High Court

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Religion overrides justice in the Hindu constitution - Free Press Journal

In the Hindu majoritarian atmosphere of India today, liberals have been scorned as out-of-touch, Westernised elites, alienated and disconnected from the pulse of a country of nearly 1.4 billion people. They have been branded as being inauthentically Indian, hostile towards Hinduism, and anti-national.

Indian liberals have long suffered from crises of identity and legitimacy. Architect of the Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar wondered aloud whether liberal democracy would be only a top-dressing on an Indian soil, which is essentially undemocratic.

However, as India celebrates its 75th anniversary of independence, it is important to remember that the nation was built on a solidly liberal foundation. Liberalism constitutes modern Indias original political ideology.

Its champions were not self-serving elites: they constructed an increasingly universal and democratic vision of rights and freedoms which would bridge Indias religious, ethnic, and linguistic faultlines. These politicians nurtured liberal roots in Indian society, which are far deeper, stronger, and more pervasive than meets the eye.

To understand these roots, we must return to the 19th century, well before the generation of MK Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru which led India to independence. It was here that Indian leaders steered emerging politics onto a thoroughgoing liberal trajectory.

The 19th century was a moment of horror, humiliation, and hopelessness for most Indians. Indias textile manufacturing economy largely collapsed, leading to mass impoverishment. Indian political authority and agency crumbled as the British Raj consolidated its control of the subcontinent. Tens of millions died from a spate of devastating famines: the British journalist William Digby estimated that the death toll was at least 28.8 million for just the period between 1854 and 1901.

Yet Indias first modern political leaders did not throw up their hands in despair. Instead of hate, they offered hope, looking to contemporary Western politics for solutions. Reformer Rammohun Roy was the first to imbibe Western liberal ideas of rights and freedoms and put them in an Indian context. With the encouragement of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, he was even prepared to represent India as an MP in the British Parliament to pave the way for his countrymen. By the 1850s, Indians formed their first modern political associations, petitioning the British Parliament for political reform.

On paper, their demands could seem moderate, hemmed in with cloying language about the benefits of British rule. But it was clear that many of them had more ambitious goals in mind. As early as 1859, Bhau Daji Lad, a Bombay doctor and civic leader, declared at a public meeting that the time will surely come when that first principle of free governments shall be introduced with safety into India. India would be a nation of free men.

Indian liberals clamoured for representative government. Instead of marginalising certain groups or promoting majoritarianism, they sought out political systems which would reflect Indias diversity. Liberals therefore scrutinised governing models employed around the world.

In 1867, WC Bonnerjee, fresh from having qualified as a barrister from Londons Middle Temple, looked to the United States for inspiration. He suggested a bicameral Indian assembly which, per the American model, could have veto power over the executive branch in this case, the British viceroy.

Bonnerjee, who in 1885 would become the first president of the Indian National Congress, pointed to traditional panchayats to argue that ordinary Indians possessed the capacity for self-government. To understand the people, you must go to them direct, he stated. You will find that they possess a remarkable degree of intelligence.

He rubbished the idea, propounded by many colonial officials, that Indias religious diversity and Hindu-Muslim tensions in particular would make representative government unworkable. Indians, Bonnerjee maintained, were united by a common nationality.

While they did not advocate anything approaching universal enfranchisement hardly a mainstream idea in the 19th century Indian liberals envisioned a robust, expansive future electorate for the country. They did not simply advance the interests of their fellow English-educated elites.

Allan Octavian Hume the founder of the Congress, a Scotsman who identified as a native of India designed an electoral system for Congress representatives which incorporated a wide cross-section of the Indian peasantry and accommodated minority representation. By 1887, this electorate numbered three million more than the electoral turnout at British parliamentary elections, Hume was quick to point out.

At its 1889 session, the Congress included female delegates a radical departure, at the time, for any political organisation worldwide and featured a brief debate on Indian female suffrage. Despite deep-set patriarchal norms in India, many liberals expressed remarkably progressive ideas about womens rights.

Dadabhai Naoroji argued for gender equality in India and actively campaigned for female suffrage in Britain. In 1917, two years before the United States gave women the right to vote, the Congress selected as its president Annie Besant, the fiery Anglo-Irish matriarch.

The Congress advocated a multi-pronged agenda of comprehensive reform, keeping in mind the poverty and destitution of the average Indian. Its leaders railed against corruption in the police force, worked towards empowered municipal bodies, and fought against systemic discrimination in the judicial system.

Congress politicians championed universal education, vocational and industrial training, and policies to stimulate industry and commerce. They thought in big, bold terms, suggesting the establishment in India of cutting-edge educational institutions modeled on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the London School of Economics.

In contrast to India today, where the medias independence has eroded, liberals who cut their teeth as journalists and newspaper editors were staunch defenders of freedom of the press and freedom of speech. They pushed back against government censorship, and some of them, like Surendranath Banerjea, editor of the Bengalee of Calcutta, went to jail for their outspokenness. It was in newspaper columns that Indians spoke truth to power, attempting to hold their colonial rulers to account.

At the same time, liberals used the press to inform Indians about the rest of the world. While intensely proud of their country, they did not possess a smug satisfaction about Indias innate civilisational superiority.

Instead, they believed that India had much to learn from other societies. Sant Nihal Singh (who, with great literary flourish, anglicised his first name to Saint or St), became Indias first roving world correspondent, translating his travels into lessons for his fellow Indians.

Surveying Meiji Japans achievements, he impressed upon Indians the importance of universal education and womens rights. In the American South, he visited the Hampton Institute, the black college which counted Booker T Washington, a prominent Black leader and adviser to US presidents, among its alumni, and pleaded for a similar institution to be founded in India to promote agricultural and industrial education.

Liberals were not hostile towards Indias religions. Far from it: many were deeply religious, and several were authorities on Hinduism and Sanskrit literature. But they were, by and large, not bigots. They celebrated the glories of Indias past, but they could be quite clear-eyed and realistic about pseudo-historical fantasies, the kind of which have gained increased traction in recent years.

We cannot afford to be dreamy and self-contained, and turn back from our present opportunities to a past which cannot be recalled, judge and reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade, himself a noted expert on Maratha history, remarked in 1893.

Admittedly, Indian liberalism had numerous blind spots. Public enthusiasm for social reform and womens rights did not always translate into practice in their homes. Despite strenuous efforts to broaden their base, the liberals achieved nothing like Gandhis success after 1919 in generating popular enthusiasm for nationalism.

Most egregiously, liberals could be quite dismissive about caste discrimination and the plight of lower castes and Dalits. In my own research, I have been struck by the sheer absence of these issues in the writings and correspondence of many liberal leaders.

That being said, liberals did accomplish one remarkable achievement: setting out a vision for India which was inclusive, democratic, and relatively open-minded. This vision was further nurtured by Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar. It survived the horrors of Partition, the many unfulfilled promises of Indian independence, and lurches towards authoritarianism like Indira Gandhis Emergency.

On the 75th anniversary of its independence, however, it remains to be seen how much longer that original liberal vision of India will last.

Dinyar Patel is Assistant Professor, History, at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research.

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In the 75th year of Independence, let us not forget the deep liberal roots of modern Indian society - Scroll.in