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Yogi calls Dailt, Kirti declares Chinese now Bukkal Nawab pronounce Hanuman a Muslim
Lucknow: Few days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed Hindu god Hanuman a Dalit and declared Chinese by other Lotus party leader Kirti Azad, another MLC from Saffron Party Bukkal Nawab claimed that biggest devotee of lord Ram is Muslim.
Weeks after UP CM Yogi Adityanath stimulated a huge controversy around the caste of the Hindu Lord Hanuman by saying he was a “dalit”, another BJP lawmaker has now commented on the religion of the God and has said that he was a “Muslim”. Bukkal Nawab, Member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, on Thursday said that Lord Hanuman was, in fact, a Muslim.
The political slugfest over Lord Hanuman’s religion got a new twist when state Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Bukkal Nawab on Thursday claimed that the deity was a Muslim.
To justify his statement, MLC Bukkal Nawab said, “Muslims have names like Arman, Rehman, Furqan, Zeeshan, Rehan. This proves that ‘Hanuman’ Ji was also a Muslim. All the names which are used in Muslims are derived from ‘Hanuman’; you will not find any similar sounding names in Hindus.”
“Lord Hanuman belongs to all, and as far as I think, Hanumanji was actually a Muslim,” Nawab, who left the Samajwadi Party to join the BJP when the Yogi Adityanath government came to power, told reporters here.
He argued that the deity’s name is very similar to the names among Muslims and many of them are named after him.
“Hamara manana hai Hanuman ji Musalman thhe. Isliye Musalmanon ke andar jo naam rakha jata hai… Rehman, Ramzan, Farman, Zishan, Qurban… Jitne bhi naam rakhey jaate hain, woh karib karib unhi par rakhe jaate hain,” he said.
Nawab, 64, who publicly offered prayers at a Hanuman temple last year, is the latest political figure to have weighed in on Lord Hanuman’s identity.
While campaigning during the recent Assembly elections, Adityanath reportedly said, “Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west.”
On December 4, BJP MP Savitribai Phule took exception to the manner in which the deity is depicted.
After Dalit, Jat, Chinese, now again BJP leader Bukkal Nawab declares Hanuman as Muslim:
“Lord Hanuman was a Dalit and a slave of ‘manuwadi’ people. He was a Dalit and a human. He did everything for Lord Ram, then why was he given a tail and his face blackened,” she asked.
A Jain priest in Bhopal has claimed Lord Hanuman was neither a Dalit nor a tribal, but a Jain.
Bukkal had given up his Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seat to pave the way for a BJP minister to become a legislator within the stipulated six-month period and continue in the government.
After openly supporting the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, the prominent Shia politician last year donated a 30-kg brass bell at a famous Hanuman temple.
He offered prayers there, prompting the SP to comment, “It is nothing but a publicity stunt. He is hopping from one temple to another to hog media limelight.”
When the BJP returned the favour and gave him an MLC ticket for the UP council’s biennial elections, he said, “My wish has been fulfilled by Lord Hanuman.”
During the 2017 UP Assembly election campaign, Bukkal had caused a stir by saying he would be happy to see a Ram temple come up at the disputed site.
The legislator had said he would help the cause by carrying the first brick for the temple at Ayodhya. He also promised to contribute Rs 15 crore towards the temple’s construction and a ‘mukut’ (crown) for Lord Ram.
Bukkal, who is president of the Rashtriya Shia Samaj or RSS, a different avtar for the acronym which is generally associated with the Hindu nationalist group, was subsequently ostracised by the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary for indulging in idol worship.
As an SP MLC, Nawab was considered close to party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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