MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE-JUNE 2021

NEW DELHI: Acronym BCCI has a history. Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier, planned a bank to play it big in international finance and funding. He started a bank way back in 1972, almost 50 years ago, with its registered office in Luxembourg with head office in London. Luxembourg is a tax haven. He had named it then as Bank of Credit & Commerce International (BCCI). Due to unhealthy and questionable financial practices and illegal transactions including money laundering, Bank of England withdrew its license to operate as a banking institution. In July 1991, in less than 20 years, it was forced to pull down its shutters. After that the acronym BCCI acquired a bit of notoriety, like Bank of Crooks and Criminals International, for its dubious record. Agha Hasan Abedi, did play it big in the international finance by roping in money from all sources including money from drug cartel. He wanted to make money from all possible avenues. He had a good run for almost two decades until his luck ran out. He didn’t live long enough to enjoy the money he earned, rightly or wrongly. He died in 1995 at the age of 73, after the bank was forced to close down in 1991. Nearer Home, we have another outfit with same acronym BCCI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Why such a name, including ‘control of cricket’ came to exist is unknown! In other words what was the need to control cricket in India came to be accepted and institutionalized, is little known. We have MCC, the Marylebone Cricket Club in England or Cricket Australia in Australia etc. They are supposed to govern the playing of cricket and cricket related affairs. But this ‘Control for Cricket in India’ is a bit misnomer. However, this BCCI was reportedly established in 1928 by some Delhi based players to counter the influence of British in cricket. But somehow, it was little know until recently, when IPL became a money spinner, since 2008, courtesy Lalit Modi. IPL was an out and out business venture, combined with cricket as entertainment and designed to rake in huge revenue. Revenue it did rake, unprecedented at that. But like Bank of Crooks & Criminals International got embroiled in huge controversies. The Chairman of IPL Lalit Modi who was also the vice president of BCCI was suspended in 2010 for all kinds of financial skull drudgery including money laundering. Before Enforcement Directorate could act, the horse had bolted to safer haven. Till now Lalit Modi couldn’t be made accountable by Indian laws for his acts of commission and omissions. So if anyone thinks that it is just as bad as Agha Hasan Abedi’s bank as Board of Crooks & Criminals of India, they can be excused. No wonder the last we heard of this BCCI is the news report datelined New Delhi-“BCCI set to incur losses of over 2000 crores”. Thus, it is very clear that BCCI is there in this business of so-called promotion of cricket only to rake in huge moolah. Big money to all concerned, from ground staff to players to officials and the bosses or BCCI coterie. Or else how can this BCCI have this IPL 2021, in the midst of Covid-19. Expectedly some players despite the so-called bio-secure bubble were found positive with the virus and the tournament suspended indefinitely. Report in the media tells “Worried foreign players seek way out of India” “Indian players head back home”. Under the prevailing pandemic circumstances was this IPL 2021 needed! Surely it was not the love of cricket but the attraction of real big money that lured the Board of Control of Cricket in India; go without control after the business of making money and more money. In business losses are part of the game. So BCCI shouldn’t complain about the loss of 2000 crores, which is truly speaking not a loss at all but reduction from the yearly earnings of close to Rs. 4500 crores. This is BCCI for you. NEW DELHI:There was this report in the print media “IMA to government: Act against Ramdev Covid Remarks”, wherein, the apex doctors body the Indian Medical Association (IMA) was urging the Ministry of Health to initiate action against Yoga Guru Ramdev for his anti- allopathy remarks. Citing a video circulating in the social media, IMA quotes that Ramdev is seen saying that “allopathy ek aisi stupid our divaliya science hai”, which could mean “allopathy is such a stupid and bankrupt science”. According to the report he had also stated that “lakhs of people have died after taking allopathic medicine. Remdesivir, Faviflu and all other drugs, which were approved by the Drugs Controller General of India, have failed in the treatment of Covid-19 patients”. Clearly, Ramdev is speaking beyond his brief. He is nobody to comment on the efficacy of allopathic medicine. He is not competent to talk on the subject, of which he has no knowledge. It is true that all medicines do not work as remedy for all people, at all times, for all maladies. This is so for all types of medical practices, be it allopathy, be it Ayurveda, be it Homiopathi, or be it Unani. But surely all of them have their strength which cannot be denied, again be it Allopathy or any other branch of medical practices. It is nobody’s case that, allopathy is 100% good in the treatment of all diseases so also there was no adverse reaction. But that simply does not give any right to Ramdev to mouth his ‘wise’ cracks. He must be pulled up by the Ministry of Health, government of India and must publicly apologise to IMA for the uncalled for comments, or else clearly IMA is duty bound to proceed against him to make amends to these meaningless barbs. UTTAR PRADESH: Syed Wasim Rizwi is a former chairman of Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board. He was waqf chief for over a decade. A college drop-out, he seems to know what he is talking about. Politically, he was a corporator many years ago, in Lucknow Municipal Corporation on Samajwadi Party ticket. Although he has been in news since sometime, the recent one was his PIL to the Supreme Court. In his PIL Rizwi alleged that ‘there are 26 verses in Quran which promote violence, which were not part of the original Quran, but were added to later revision and therefore should be removed from the holy book’. Earlier, he was publicly known to be against triple talaq and was in support of Mandir in Ayodhya etc. Clearly he had many baying for his blood for his ‘off-beat views’ on his own co-religionists and his religion. Naturally those who are not in agreement with him have condemned him. There were even those who were offering ‘supari’ in lakhs to ‘behead’ him, as if he is a kind of cattle. In January 2019, Rizwi was reported to have written a letter to PM Modi requesting him to shut down primary madrasaas alleging ISIS was funding these madrasaas to keep Muslim children away from main stream education, which will make these children radicals. He has reportedly waded into another sensitive issue like population with his statement “giving birth to children like animals” is harmful for the country. So controversy, they name is Wasim Rizwi! No wonder the latest PIL at Supreme Court has certainly raised expected hackles across the board. But where are the sentinels of freedom of expression, the liberals in general and Muslim liberals in particular! All are opportunists. They are tongue tied. Some weeks ago, the video informing about this PIL by Rizwi surfaced in the social media, although many in the print media did not publish the news, despite its significance. Someone asked a young Muslim advocate, who claims himself wanting to be a Sufi, about his opinion on the 26 verses in the PIL. He did not want to be drawn into the ‘quick-sand’ of controversy. He said, “My knowledge of Quran is not very deep and therefore cannot comment”. What Rizwi had stated in his PIL was “these 26 verses or suras violated the law of the land as were against the tenets of the constitution like sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country. According to him terrorist groups carrying out attacks on non-believers in Islam, justified their attacks using these 26 suras. In the PIL he proposed that a committee of experts be set up to get a proper opinion in the larger public interest. Now it is in the public space that Apex Court has rejected the PIL calling it “an absolutely frivolous petition”. Bench was chaired by Justice Rohinton F Nariman with justices BR Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy, who had reportedly cautioned Rizwi’s lawyer not to go ahead with the PIL. Not having agreed to withdraw the PIL, the court condemned him to pay Rs. 50,000/- as penalty. The plea reportedly states “On account of those verses of Holy Quran, Islam is drifting away from its basic tenets and nowadays is identified with violent behavior, militancy, fundamentalism, extremism and terrorism”, while focusing the petition on “unregulated indoctrination of children in Madrasaas, which radicalises young mind”. Were the learned judges of Supreme Court right in dismissing the PIL by Wasim Rizwi? Prima facie, the highest court of the land has erred in not hearing him out and his arguments, in support of the PIL. This Syed Wasim Rizwi, may be having his own personal agenda, an axe to grind, in taking a diametrically different views unlike his many co-religionists. But he has every right to express his views which looks completely rational. If the court is not prepared to hear his legitimate point of variance, why is the court there in the first place!? In the name of freedom of expression court has gone on record to remain quiet even when the Prime Minister of the country is called “Naked King”, with absolutely no justification and even came to the defense of people disagreeing with government and posting all kinds of disagreeable barbs, all in the name of freedom of expression! Under the circumstance, this rejection of Wasim Rizwi’s PIL and condemning him with a fine of 50000/- is patently wrong. This rejection has to be asked to be reviewed. And strangely nobody, I mean nobody came to the defense of Wasim Rizwi when, truly speaking he deserved support of every right thinking Indian! BIHAR: Pappu Yadav alias Rajesh Ranjan, a former MP, has rarely done any good to his electorates in Bihar, but this time round he has apparently hit a jack pot of public service by exposing the AMBULANCE SCAM of Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy of NDA. Saran, is the home district of Rajiv Pratap Rudy. There he has constructed a Skill Development Centre (SDC) for locals. Whether by accident or by design, this Pappu Yadav happens to visit the SDC at Saran and was ‘shocked’ to see some 60+ brand new ambulances parked inside the compound of SDC. Apparently parked, bumper to bumper, and inoperative, these ambulances were covered with a layer of dust, as if parked for quite some time. In a situation within the country, including Bihar, going through the rough and tumble of Covid-19, finding these ambulances lying idle was clearly incongruous if not outright criminal negligence. A quintessential politician that Pappu Yadav was, didn’t want to lose the opportunity of lambasting an opponent, a prize catch too, a national spokesman of the BJP, RP Rudy. He went to the market to make noise. He brought the media to the SDC premises and blasted RPR for using MPLAD funds for the purchase of ambulance which are lying idle when they are needed the most, on road, transporting Corona patients! Clearly RPR had no escape route. He blabbered, “non-availability of drivers”, while admitting, he indeed bought these ambulances for village Mukhiyas and that that he had written to District Magistrate / DC requisitioning the service of drivers. It was evident Pappu Yadav had scored a ‘pyrrhic’ victory. So it was time to pay back ‘rightly’ or ‘wrongly’. So RPR’s personal staff filed a complaint against Pappu Yadav for ‘trespass’ and ‘alleged damage to ambulances’. Police detained Pappu Yadav for violating the Corona protocol. And an old case of kidnapping, registered in 1989, was raked to make him submit to the shenanigans of BJP-MP from Saran, RP Rudy. That’s Indian politicians, same across the political spectrum. WEST BENGAL: Overconfidence can be devastating most of the time. Election to West Bengal (WB) assembly came and went into contemporary history. WB had an elected government of Trinamool Congress for 10 years. 2011/2021. It had 211 seats in 2015/2019 assembly. They had to cross only 147 and they reached 217, four short of 3/4th majority. It had no doubt, incumbency factor against it. But then those who vote are not necessarily those who are worried about incumbency. There are many reasons, why one wants to vote an individual or a party. It can defy logical deductions. That’s exactly what happened in West Bengal. BJP, the party ruling at the centre, probably had its calculation. But it was a calculation that went horribly wrong. It was the sheer overconfidence that did it in. Amit Shah, boisterous that he can be at times, made sweeping declaration in both Singur and Nandigram that BJP will bring about industrialization which both Left & TMC failed for all these years. ‘Didi is asking for minority votes openly’, said Prime Minister Modi while campaigning in Cooch Behar. They indeed voted for TMC. But Hindus were divided as they normally are. The simple fact was, you had only 3 seats in the outgoing assembly, how do you think you can leap-frog to a number of some 150, especially when there is a section fully committed against you! Then there are women who are fully committed to TMC, so its double whammy, for you to cross! Surely BJP must take comfort in the thought that it has won 77 seats from a mere 3 seats that by itself is a huge jump. May be next election they have every chance to visualise their government with some logic. But there are also accusation that BJP as the ruling party at the centre did influence Election Commission to spread the election to some 45 days, into 8 phases. Was it law and order issue that prompted EC to spread it so thin, or was it to accommodate the dates of PM Narendra Modi? The question is relevant. Of course in her victory Mamata Bannerji could have been more graceful. She accused “If EC was not to help BJP, it wouldn’t have got even 50”. Also her supporters seem to have gone berserk in some pockets after the victory and have attacked those of the opposition supporters, especially BJP ones. Reportedly these attacks are quite a few and glaringly violent. In fact according to Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar record of TMC on human rights is very bad and he seems to have some lurid accounts of what’s happening in West Bengal. He writes ‘on a visit in 2016 a group of journalists touring West Bengal had a meeting with top academics of Kolkata. Those academics fulminated accusing Mamata that not only seats in good colleges but even top academic posts were being sold or handed over to her cronies. They complained that academic excellence had ceased to matter and proximity to TMC was only that mattered in successes. Do you hearken Prof Amartya Sen! Hope both take their victories, TMC for being the 3rd time victor and BJP for doing so well, in their stride and try to perform to deliver to the citizens of West Bengal. MAHARASHTRA: Armando Dentamaro is an Italian, living in London. He travelled to India decades ago and was staying in Hotel President on the tip of South Mumbai, overseeing Arabian Sea. One evening he was taking a walk in the parking lot of the hotel. To his surprise, the entire parking lot was full with automobiles. But what amazed him out of his wits was the absence of any Indian car in the entire hotel parking lot. Every kind of imported limousine was there. From Japanese Lexus to Mercedes to exotic Lamborghini to handcrafted Maserati, besides all kinds of Toyotas, Datsuns, Range Rovers, Volvos and you name it! Our Italian friend was flabbergasted at the display of sheer opulence in the midst of squalor and visible poverty. He walks back to the reception to tell the Indian staff there, “Amigo! India is not poor, Indians are poor”. Indeed India is not poor; it has unimaginable riches in some pockets and unbelievable poverty among a large section of Indians. If the story of Dentamaro was some 4/5 decades old, the ground condition has not changed dramatically despite the redistributive exercise of over 60 years’ developmental plans, some 12 of them. No wonder, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) through its platforms helped corporate houses to garner Rs. 18,56,336,0000000 crores that is over 18.56 lakh crores during 2020-21 in the midst of Covid-19. Doesn’t this represent unprecedented riches among a section of Indians! According to BSE statement, these funds have been mobilized through a listing of equity, bonds, Real Estate Investors Trusts, Infrastructure Investment Trusts and commercial papers. Reportedly 2020-21 mobilisation was more by 53% than the amount mobilized in 2019-20, which was 12,14,680 crores or less than 12.15 lakh crores. Indeed India is progressing, as per the BSE index, with surging ‘bull’ indicating the growth, rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer. This is the inexorable story of our growth. Is there an escape from this unrelenting divide that continues to haunt Indians as we keep climbing on this so-called growth trajectory! MAHARASHTRA:RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat was reported to have stated the other day that “after the first wave of Covid-19, the government, administration and public dropped their guard which led to the current situation”. He is not far from the truth, like so many have stated in recent times. Addressing a lecture series “Positivity Unlimited”, he is reported to have made the above statement. While addressing he has also mentioned that “instead of pointing fingers at each other we should stay united and fight as a team in these testing times”. Indeed we all should unitedly fight to overcome this scourge Covid-19. But shouldn’t the initiative come from the top! The government at the centre has been doing many things, organizing vaccines, oxygen supplies, oxygen concentrators, ventilators etc. and working on and advocating necessary standard operating protocols. The government thinks it is doing its best. May be it is doing its best and maybe that’s not enough. In a country, as vast as India, both literally and figuratively, it’s not easy to manage even during easier times, let alone during trying times like Covid-19 pandemic. And in politics, it is quite normal, especially in India, to create misplaced doubts in the minds of gullible public and downright blame the government, just to politicize and score media marks. However with all the hard work, honest one at that, there have been instances where things were found to be off the mark. In governance, especially in a democratic milieu, it is very important that you get the opposition on board to share their ideas, their inputs, so that they are part of the solution instead of remaining a problem. For that the leadership at the top should have openness to suggestion so also open to learning, after all intelligence and commonsense can be sourced from all sources. This approach prima facie shall primarily reduce the negative fall outs, thus helping the ultimate delivery more successful, acceptable and result oriented. After all what is the expected end result of governance, if not delivery to the last man, the best possible service or the product. Yes, the leadership of the government at the centre must necessarily become more accommodative of opposition views and approach the pandemic management with positive mindset. RSS chief would do well to address this section within the governing apparatus so that the nation indeed galvanises to fight as one army. It’s possible, if only we think on these lines. Hope it happens. MAHARASHTRA:So, the cat is out of the bag! Its official! The fact that BCCI is only after money and there is no love for cricket or cricketers has been abundantly proved. We all know, the IPL 2021 suspension had reportedly caused the revenue hit of some 2000+ crores to BCCI. Surely BCCI would explore all possibilities to see that it does not lose this committed revenue from Star Sports and others for the tournament broadcasting rights. The report in the print media “It’s official: IPL Phase-2 in UAE” has said it all. Remaining 31 matches of IPL 2021, including four knock out games, is set to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between September and October. Report tells that BCCI would formally announce the phase-2 on 29th May at their Special General Meeting. So what happens to “Worried Foreign Players seek way out”! Or “Indian Players head back home”, who have already returned home! For sure BCCI will come up with another UAE model ‘Bio Bubble’ and entice players to take part. It’s true there are more than 3 months in the middle, from now to mid September. So things might improve. But then there is this 5 Test Series between India and England beginning on 4th August and set to continue up to September 14th as of now, that’s about 41 days. That leaves only 30 days between 15th September and 15th October. That would give BCCI 29 days for 31 matches including 4 knockout games if you take a day for players from England, after the test, to assemble at UAE. It’s known that there is always a break between 2 Tests. In this case, reportedly its 4 days each, but one test has 9 days gap. There is a possibility here of tweaking- may be 5 days. If that happens then some breathing time may be available for the tight scheduled IPL 2021 Phase-2. But this will be only if BCCI approaches the England & Wales Cricket Board, well in advance. But the question is why this high pressure-desire to have this IPL 2021 phase-2, if not for saving this huge money pot, 2000+ crores, at all cost!? What if Australians / South Africans / Afghans/ Bangladeshis refuse to come citing Covid, a possible force majeure-!? & what if Corona hits players inside the ‘UAE Bio Bubble’ will the 3rdPhase follow! Indeed it looks a big risk only for the sake of money! This is BCCI. GOA: Tejpal is a fairly common name, but Tarun Tejpal is probably one and the only, the notorious editor of a periodical called Tehelka. He was in the news sometime around 2001 trying to ‘expose’ defense deals and went on with his muckraking enterprise with his entrapment journalism, involving mainly NDA government at the centre, which lost power in 2004. It was clear then that he was working on behalf of some political God Fathers. During the period after 2004, with political patronage, of those who benefitted from his ‘expose’, his paper Tehelka grew and financially stabilized. He grew in clout and confidence. But confidence and over-confidence are two different things. When one ‘succeeds’ apparently without the due process of application and hard work, you take too many things for granted and a disaster could be waiting in the wings to happen. It struck him with devastating effect and no escape route. Tehelka was organizing a literary meet at the swanky up-market Grand Hyatt Resort in Goa in November 2013. On November 7, Tarun Tejpal was in the elevator accompanied by a young intern, a friend of his daughter of similar age group. Tejpal reportedly took liberty inside the elevator to ‘penetrate’ his daughter like young female, despite resistance, with utterances like “This is the easiest way for you to keep your job”. Yes, with the over confidence of his political clout he had stretched his luck too far. His luck ran out and he became the guest of Goa police. FIR followed, arrest, bail and court proceedings happened. On 21st May 2021, after over 7 years and almost 7 months, a session court pronounced him ‘NOT GUILTY’. Government of Goa immediately reacted shockingly to challenge the order in High Court. Women’s Rights Group felt utterly let down by the lady sessions judge Kshama Joshi, despite there being convictable evidence. Calling the judgment deeply disappointing and demotivating for victims to come forward to lodge complaint against bosses perpetrating sexual crimes in work place, questioned the grounds of acquittal of Tejpal, especially when he, on his own, had admitted it as a “drunken banter” “a bad lapse in judgment” “an appalling misreading of the situation” etc. Clearly, it appears to be a miscarriage of justice. How did a lady judge couldn’t see merit in the complaints of the youngster, is a very disturbing question. Report in print media informed that Tejpal’s daughter read out a statement issued by Tejpal to the waiting media. But nobody in the media asked, how did the typed letter was ready in such a short time with deliberate language immediately after the pronouncement of the judgment!? According to grapevine, the letter was ready 2 days earlier on the 19th itself. So, was Tejpal in the know of the judgment before it was delivered!? Therefore, was the judgment fixed?! It’s a disturbing question making its rounds? But, surprisingly, where is the media expressing its unease! Or, are the ‘who’s who’ in the media caught in the midst of “Me too”, like MJ Akbar! KARNATAKA:Some weeks ago there was this report in a Mumbai based paper datelined Bengalooru “Karnataka State Waqf Board retracts circular on loudspeakers”. Sometime in March, Karnataka State Waqf Board (KSWB) had sent out a circular to all mosques’ and dargahs’ managements informs the report. According to the circular KSWB had restricted the managements stating “Loudspeakers shall not be used between 10 pm onwards and upto 6 am during Aazaan call” citing Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules 2000, while adding “loudspeakers used during the day shall be as per ambient air quality standards”. After issuing the circular, it is strange that without citing any reason KSWB has withdrawn it. It is not difficult to surmise, why KSWB has done, what it has done. Long ago, British Member of Parliament, Edmund Burke had famously stated “All that is required for evil to triumph is for good man to do nothing”. It is a time tested statement and has universal relevance. All know that Aazaan call is a daily occurrence 5 times a day, starting as early as 4.30 am or around on 21st June every year, when the day is the longest. Islam has a history of close to 1400 years. But loudspeakers came in 1876, less than 150 years ago. So the question always asked was why is it necessary for mosques to give the Aazaan call on a loudspeaker, especially when it causes completely avoidable hardships to patients in the neighbourhood hospitals and to those who are not practitioners of Islam?! Would any God or whatever that goes by that term, accept this forcible hardship to people in the name of prayer?! Around the same time, acting general secretary and spokesperson of AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board) had written an article in Urdu exhorting community members advocating reforms while performing religious duties. He had suggested moderation in the use of loudspeakers and not to position loudspeakers directed towards hospitals and non-Muslim localities. He had gone further suggesting, that in places with multiple mosque only the big mosque use the outer loudspeakers etc. Thus clearly there are persons within the section of faithfuls who advocate things to change. But sadly he too was forced to state that “They were my personal views”. Then unfortunately there are self styled saviors of Islam among politicians, like DK Shivkumar or Siddaramaiah in Karnataka, who are always waiting in the wings to attack BJP as anti-Muslim. This particular class of politicians has already lost their relevance in the evolving India, despite their hard core vote bank politics. They need to see problems as issues of people in general without politics preceding their public posture. Here too the silence of liberals in general and Muslim liberals in particular, being mute & deaf, exposes their multiple standards of intellectual bankruptcy. This is Yeh Mera India. TAMIL NADU: Kalathur or is it V. Kalathur is a village in the district of Perambalur in Tamil Nadu state. Like all places in India, there is a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims in this village. Like all villages here too there are places of worship co-existing. India, as we all know, is a secular country not because the constitution of India says so, but because vast majority of Indians practice mutual tolerance of each other’s faith. India’s civilisational ethos allowed every religious faith to come into the country and practice. In all the up and downs of its long and chequered history, Indian customs, mores and traditions have been continuously evolving. Inspite of various foreign influences of thousand years, the roots of Indianness has remained strong and healthy. Christianity came to India from outside, so was Islam, Parsees driven away from their homeland, found refuge in India. All of them made India their home and flourished. India is the only democracy which does not have an official religion. It has enshrined in its constitution “Sarva Dharma Samabhava”. And yet after 73 years of being politically independent country, Sunnath Val Jamath, of V Kalathur had the audacity to challenge the Idea of India and asked the Madras High Court to stop and prohibit the temple procession of village festival of Hindus passing through on the roads and streets, where there is a mosque and Muslims are living. India has close to 80% Hindus spread across the country, with Muslims being around 15% and Christians and others being around 5%. Therefore it has to be recognized that most parts of India Hindus can be found in majority as compared to others. Of course, there may be some pockets in Kerala, UP, West Bengal and Kashmir and this village in Tamil Nadu where Muslims can be majority. But nowhere, despite differences and skirmishes anybody has gone to court to stop any activities related to festivities or festivals. But, Muslims of V. Kalathur in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu had gone to court in 2019 against the village deity’s processions in the night, for two consecutive nights. These processions have been an annual ritual since days into the unwritten history. These processions have been going on without any hindrance, but since 2011, there have been objections from Muslim residents of the village. With police intervention and judicial permission, it’s been going on with restrictions. Both were not happy. But Sunnath Val Jamath of V. Kalathur forced the issue head-on, to prohibit the procession altogether, claiming their majority in the village. Madras High Court Division Bench of Justice N. Kirubakaran and Justice P. Velmurugan heard the case and learned judges concluded that religious intolerance is not acceptable in a secular country like India and therefore temple procession will go on as before for 2 days, during some night hours. The Bench observed “India is a secular country and merely because one religious group is living in majority in one particular area, it cannot be a reason for not allowing other’s religious festivals or processions through that area. If the contention of the group (Sunnath Val Jamath) is to be accepted, then it would create a situation in which minority people cannot conduct any festival or take procession in most of the areas in India. If resistance is being exhibited by one religious group and if it is reciprocated by other religious groups, there would be chaos, riots, religious fights, causing loss of lives and destruction of properties”. By any stretch of thinking it is a landmark judgment in service of IDEA OF INDIA.