ریاست کیرلہ ان ریاست میں سر فہرست سے جہاں خواتین کی ایک بڑی تعداداپنے محرم سر پرست کے بغیر حج ادا کرنا چاہتی ہیں۔ مغربی بنگال دوسری ریاست ہے جہاں سے ایسی درخواستیں 48 موصول ہوئی ہیں۔
وہ ریاستیں جہاں خواتیں بغیر محرم کے حج ادا کرنا چاہتی ہیں ان میں اتر پردیش سے 32 کرناٹک سے 28 درخواستیں موصول ہوئی ہیں۔
کیرالہ حج کمیٹی کے کوراڈینیٹر مطابق 'کیرالہ کی خواتین ہمیشہ سے ہی سب سے زیادہ بااختیار اورآزاد رہی ہیں۔ بغیر سرپرست کے سفر حج پر جانے والی خواتین کی جو درخواستیں ہمیں موصول ہو ئی ہیں ان میں 90 فیصد کیرالہ سے ہیں'۔
ان کا مزید کہناتھا":' عرصے سے مسلم خواتین اکیلے سفر حج کے لیے جانا چاہتی تھیں، تاہم ان کے سامنے کئی مسائل تھے لیکن اب اس قسم کی پابندیاں ختم ہوچکی ہیں'۔
تاہم پانچ رکنی کمیٹی کے ممبر سابق آئی ایس افیسر افضل امان اللہ نے بتا کہ حج کمیٹی نے ابھی تک اس قسم کی ایک بھی درخواست قبول نہیں کی ہے۔
واضح رہے کہ گذشتہ برس دسمبر میں وزیر اعظم نریندر مودی نے اپنے ریڈیو پر نشر ہونے والے پروگرام 'من کی بات' میں اس قدم کی ستائش کی تھی اور کہا تھا کہ وہ خواتین کی جو بلا محرم حج ادا کرنا چاہتی ہیں انھیں خصوصی زمرے میں شامل کیا جائے گا۔
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DMK revives Tamil self-respect plank, goes soft on rationalist platform
Vellore: The DMK which rose to power on a Tamil nationalist plank in 1967 has revived the Tamil self-respect campaign appealing to the people to save the self-respect of Tamils by defeating the AIADMK which is functioning as the ‘slaves of Delhi’. However, the party is going soft on its anti-Brahminical, rationalist platform and refuting criticism that it is an anti-Hindu party.
So far, the Tamil self-respect appeals were confined to the speeches of DMK president MK Stalin and other leaders. The party also stressed on the slogan in a series of advertisements to leading Tamil and English newspapers, besides party’s television channels. The advertisement titled ‘Aadhikkavaadhigalum Vendaam! Adimaigalum Vendaam!’ ended with the slogan ‘Save Tamils self-respect’. The party’s symbol ‘Rising Sun’ was displayed with the slogan ‘Self-respect, Social Justice and Fraternity’.
Accusing the AIADMK government of mortgaging the self-respect of Tamils to the Delhi rulers, it described the BJP as a symbol of religious, cultural and racist chauvinism. It listed the issues of NEET, Sterlite and Cauvery and cited them as examples of ‘Fascist BJP government’s arrogance’ against Tamil Nadu.
The DMK campaign under MK Stalin resembled that of the party’s propaganda in the fifties and sixties when his father M Karunanidhi as a young leader under CN Annadurai used to fire at the Central government on issues of Tamil language and culture. The party itself rode to power due to the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation with emotional appeals to save Tamil language and self-respect. The protest of youth and students against the ban on jallikattu two years ago too showed that the issues of Tamil language and culture carry an evergreen appeal in the state.
In the 2004 Parliament election when MDMK leader Vaiko was imprisoned under POTA for his speech supporting the banned LTTE, the DMK utilized the Tamil self-respect issue to rout its rival AIADMK in all the 40 seats. In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa tried to use the Sri Lankan Tamils issue raising allegations of Indian government supporting the island army to massacre the Tamils. But, the campaign was neutralized by Karunanidhi’s hunger strike and his claim that the military offensive had been stopped.
However, after the May 13 elections, the Mullivaikkal massacre occurred on May 17 and 18 and this was used by Jayalalithaa in the 2011 Assembly polls and the 2014 Parliament elections by the AIADMK leader. In both the elections, Jayalalithaa promised to support a referendum for separate Tamil Eelam and an international probe into the war crimes of the island government. She passed Assembly resolutions to this effect after assuming power and used the issue as a whip to beat Karunanidhi and stopped him from returning to power again.
Now, Stalin has taken up the issue to turn the tables on the AIADMK rivals. The ruling party on its part is trying to revive the massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils during the UPA regime. AIADMK co-ordinator O Panneerselvam is recalling the island Tamils issue and the alleged role of the Congress in it. He also claimed that Narendra Modi government responded to the jallikattu protests of Tamil youth and helped the revival of the cultural sport.
However, there is a major contrast between the campaign of Stalin and his father Karunanidhi on the rationalist plank. Reacting to the campaign of BJP and a few Hindutva groups that DMK is a party against the Hindus, Stalin explained how the DMK governments in the past had protected Hindu temples, renovated them, organized consecrations and arranged the temple festivals. He also reiterated that most of the DMK members are Hindus and BJP cannot claim to sole ownership of them.
The DMK is also alleging that the law and order situation had deteriorated and citing the Pollachi sexual torture incident and murders at Kodanadu as examples. It is also promising an enquiry into the ‘mysterious death’ of Jayalalithaa and the corruption charges against the AIADMK ministers.
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