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Hashtags like '<keyword id="22042294" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Boycott-Netflix" source="keywords">Boycott Netflix</keyword>' and '<keyword id="22042296" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ban-Maharaj-Film" source="keywords">Ban Maharaj Film</keyword>' trended on social media on Thursday with a section of users calling for a ban on "Maharaj", claiming the upcoming period drama hurts religious sentiments. The film, which premieres on <keyword id="19897536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Netflix" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Netflix">Netflix</keyword> on Friday, marks the debut of Bollywood star Aamir Khan's son <keyword id="20041937" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Junaid-Khan" source="keywords">Junaid Khan</keyword>. Hashtag "AamirKhan" was also trending on X. According to the makers, "Maharaj" is set in pre-independent India and is based on the <keyword id="22042673" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharaj-Libel-Case" source="Orion">Maharaj Libel Case</keyword> of 1862, which was ignited by "allegations of misconduct by a prominent figure". Directed by <keyword id="20558107" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Siddharth-P-Malhotra" source="keywords">Siddharth P Malhotra</keyword> and produced by <keyword id="19958176" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aditya-Chopra" source="keywords">Aditya Chopra</keyword> under <keyword id="22042672" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="YRF-Entertainment" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="YRF Entertainment" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="YRF Entertainment">YRF Entertainment</keyword>, the movie also stars Jaideep Ahlawat. In an unusual move, the movie is releasing on the streamer without any promotions. No teaser or trailers have been put out by the makers for the film, barring a poster featuring Jaideep and Junaid. They are standing side by side with Ahlawat's character sporting a 'tilak' on his forehead while Junaid's character, reportedly a journalist, is dressed in a waistcoat. VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi was one of the many X users who called for a ban on "Maharaj". "Won't tolerate the disrespect of Sanatan Dharma (Sanatan Dharma ka apmaan sehen nahin karenge). Ban <keyword id="22042295" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharaj-Film" source="keywords">Maharaj Film</keyword>. #BoycottNetflix," Prachi wrote on the microblogging site. According to a press release issued by Netflix last month, "Maharaj" follows Karsandas Mulji, a journalist and social reformer, who was a pioneering advocate for women's rights and social reform. A student at Elphinstone College in Mumbai and a protege of the scholar-leader Dadabhai Naoroji, Mulji wrote on widow remarriage, stood up for the oppressed, and sowed the seeds of reform in society. "It all came to a head in the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862, which was ignited by allegations of misconduct by a prominent figure, the case garnered widespread attention and scrutiny, setting the stage for what many consider to be one of the most significant legal battles of all time," the streamer said. Until when "Hindu saints" will continue to be insulted in films, asked another X user. Another alleged that Aamir was launching his son in a "Hindumisic movie creating a false image of Sadhus and the Vallabh Sampradaya, by quoting an incident during the British regime (sic)". Such content could alienate the Hindu youth from Sanatan Dharma, he said using '#BoycottNetflix' and asked people to demand a ban on "Maharaj". "#BoycottNetflix... Can they dare to do films on other communities, No...!!!! They know the consequences. Hindus are still in deep sleeping (sic)," a user wrote. One of the X users, however, pointed out double standards when it comes to movies on Hinduism and Islam. "Since the film is 'Maharaj'... it's on your gods and goddesses and religion, you are calling for a boycott. When it's about the other community, there is an attempt to sell as much hate as possible through films," the user said, referring to controversial movies such as "72 Hoorain" and "Hamare Barah". The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the June 14 release of Annu Kapoor's movie "Hamare Baarah" after taking note of allegations that the film is derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women. The film also underwent a title change (earlier called 'Hum Do Humare Baraah') as per a directive by the Central Board of Film Certification. The boycott calls for "Maharaj" appear to be a recap of what happened with Aamir's film "Laal Singh Chaddha". Many posts calling for a boycott of the 2022 movie recalled an earlier controversy in 2015 when Aamir had said he was alarmed by a number of incidents of growing intolerance in India. Nayanthara-starrer "Annapoorani" also courted controversy for hurting religious sentiments when it became available on Netflix after its theatrical run. The makers eventually pulled down the film from the streamer and the actor issued an apology on social media. "Maharaj" also stars Shalini Pandey with Sharvari in a special appearance. The film is part of the multi-year creative partnership between Netflix and Yash Raj Films' digital arm YRF Entertainment.

Hashtags 'Boycott Netflix' and 'Ban Maharaj Film' trend on social media ahead of Aamir Khan's son Junaid's debut

<keyword id="47181" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rishikesh">Rishikesh</keyword>, the place of spiritual importance as well as a dream destination for every water sports aficionado residing in Northern India, is in trouble. The conformist group, <keyword id="58549" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vishwa-Hindu-Parishad">Vishwa Hindu Parishad</keyword> (VHP) wants to put a ban on all water adventure activities in Rishikesh because “young people of both sexes come to these rafting camps, mingle, drink and indulge in objectionable activities on the banks of the holy river, where sadhus and saints gather to meditate.” 
 And this is not the first time when VHP, or shall we say the purported progressive reform party, has shown up their irrational side. Earlier they had screened remonstration against non-Hindus entering into holy city Kashi; objected to the use of loud speakers in mosques; and had issues with increasing consumption of Chinese products in the country. And this time around, they are asking the <keyword id="44522" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uttarakhand">Uttarakhand</keyword> state government to ban water sports in Rishikesh; something which facilitates the state with a huge chunk of its income. 
 
The big question that arises now is: Is VHP’s demand really valid? We tried to find out. 
 
Water Sports: What it offers to the state? 
No one can deny that Uttarakhand’s chief source of earning is Tourism and nothing else. The state is a large contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has also been providing employment at a large scale. As per the report published by Government Tourism Department, the state, in 2011-12 granted line of business to 11.49% of total employment of the country. Foreign tourist arrival observed a jump of 5.9% in 2013. Not just this, but a lift of 14% in the foreign exchange earnings were also observed in the same year. This clearly goes on to prove the kind of positive financial impact water sports activities in Uttarakhand have on national GDP. 
 
And it would have continued to do so if the newly-crafted state of Uttarakhand, which showed- a <a href="http://uttarakhandtourism.gov.in/utdb/app/webroot/files/market/2.pdf">mounting graph</a> of growth under the tourism business sector, hadn’t witnessed a terrible catastrophe two years ago. The state is currently on its way to regain its strengths (which is tourism and water sports), but the current criticism and demands by VHP will act as an inhibitor. 
 
Two sides of VHP’s claims 
While the liberal in us is finding it tough to accept the ban and the claims that VHP is making, the practical person in us is seeing the other side of the coin as well, which is: the wrongdoings and illegal activities that are taking place in the state under the veil of water sports. We are referring to illegal drug trafficking, illegal alcohol consumption, and the crimes people commit under the impact of alcohol and drugs. These are some of the issues, which everyone is aware of, but no strong action has been taken on it yet. When we discussed the matter with few tourists who visited Rishikesh recently, especially those who preferred sports activities, acknowledged that alcohol consumption on the banks of Ganges is being looked upon as an amusing activity by most of them. Not just this, illicit brokers supplying drugs to tourists in the state are also a dark reality. 
 
Ban is not the SOLUTION When it comes to finding solutions to the problems that are currently marring the state’s reputation, imposing a ban on a sports activity which stands for fun as well as adds to the state’s GDP is not an intelligent thing to do. Why can’t the state government come up with few check points to ensure that this highly lucrative business doesn’t get hit. For instance, we think that the <keyword id="173532" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Uttarakhand-government">Uttarakhand government</keyword> can consider this two-pronged strategy for their own benefit: 
 
1. Put a security check on local residents and dealers involved in illicit drug trading. 
2. Keep a close track on unauthorized rafting camps, which promote such activities and defame the holy city. A random audit check is a feasible and effective idea to begin with. 
 
However, at the same time, even citizens and tourists should behave responsibly and stay away from illegal activities; law and order is for their own benefit, isn’t it? 
 
<a href="http://www.exploita.com/devprayag/white-water-rafting/fhh/867">Image Credit</a>

Should VHP’s demand of banning water sports in Rishikesh be mulled over?

<keyword id="2520139" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cow-trafficking">Cow trafficking</keyword> and slaughtering are words which don’t exist for many Indians, but visit the east and you would encounter the harsh reality — it (cow trafficking) is a regular affair, and a lucrative business for smugglers and butchers. This is precisely the reason why the country’s total cattle population declined from 20.45 crore in 1992 to 19.90 crore in 2007. 
 It is sad that cows are battling for life in India, a country where they are regarded as sacred and worshipped by the majority population. Our Vedic scriptures, which refer to them as ‘mothers,’ attached great importance to cows, and encouraged people to value as well as preserve them. Even Mughal emperors such as Akbar were against <keyword id="2520140" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cow-slaughtering">cow slaughtering</keyword> — the fact was highlighted during a hearing on The <keyword id="2520142" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="West-Bengal-Animal-Slaughter-Central-Act">West Bengal Animal Slaughter Central Act</keyword>, 1950. “Mughal Emperor Babar saw the wisdom of prohibiting the slaughter of cows as and by way of religious sacrifice and directed his son Humayun to follow this. Similarly, Emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Ahmad Shah, it is said, prohibited cow slaughter,” the Supreme Court had said. 
 
Cow traffickers spreading their wings across India The network of cow smugglers is spread across different states. According to local estimates, about 20,000 to 30,000 cows are smuggled to Bangladesh every day. The smuggling reaches its peak during <keyword id="6417740" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Eid-ul-Zuha">Eid-ul-Zuha</keyword> (<keyword id="6622052" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bakrid">Bakrid</keyword>). From Bangladesh, they are exported all over the world, especially the Middle East, where beef is in huge demand. The route traffickers take for illegal export of cow is: cows from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and states as far as Haryana and Punjab are first transported to <keyword id="6357783" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="West-Bengal">West Bengal</keyword> from where they are smuggled to Bangladesh through <keyword id="55201" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Murshidabad">Murshidabad</keyword>, the bordering district of India and Bangladesh. 
 On August 29, about 2000 cows stuffed in 100 trucks were caught in Govindpur (Jharkhand). The trucks, which were carrying cows from the neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand for being sacrificed on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid), were on their way to West Bengal. These trucks, jam-packed with cows, were found by the volunteers of <keyword id="2520141" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Akhil-Bharatiya-Gau-Raksha-Mission">Akhil Bharatiya Gau Raksha Mission</keyword>, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and BJP activists. 
 
Holy cows facing the worst in West Bengal 
In Bihar, export of cows for any purpose is banned. In Muslim-dominated Jammu and Kashmir, there is a punishment of up to 10 years of imprisonment if someone is found guilty of cow slaughter. Even possession of flesh of slaughtered animals is a punishable offence with imprisonment up to one year. Transport of cows outside Jammu and Kashmir for slaughtering is also prohibitted. 
 
Sadly, the West Bengal police and administration isn’t taking any stern action in this regard. The Akhil Bharatiya Gau Raksha Mission activists allege that the West Bengal police behave rudely whenever they approach them to lodge complaint. According to them, when their activists rescued some cows in Kolkata’s Lalbazar, police threatened to arrest them under non-bailable sections. Now, the big question that arises is: Is the state police under some ‘external pressure’ not to act against the perpetrators? 
 
There surely seems to be some connection. The West Bengal government’s sheer apathy towards cow slaughtering has been witnessed on several occasions. For instance, the Bengal government used the provision granted in the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Central Act*, 1950, to allow cow slaughter on Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid). After this relaxation, more than one lakh young and healthy cows got slaughtered in Kolkata every year on this occasion. 
 
The Calcutta High Court intervened and struck down the exemption provided by the state government in 1982. The Bengal government and butchers took the matter to the Supreme Court, which upheld the High Court’s judgment. But, in spite of the court order, the West Bengal administration hasn’t taken any concrete measures; except for cosmetic steps like publishing advertisements in local newspapers. 
 
The Animal Husbandry Department of the Government of India says that in West Bengal, the contempt of the Supreme Court's judgment is going on since 1994. “Any amount of follow-up action by the animal welfare organisations to persuade the state administration have not achieved the desired results. On the contrary, some peaceful agitators pleading with the administration for compliance with the Supreme Court order were rounded up and put behind bars on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) in the year 2002.” 
 
Better fate awaits cows 
Except for West Bengal and the northeastern states, other states have been making effort to save cows. In 1982, the erstwhile Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, wrote a letter to chief ministers of 14 states, asking them to enforce the ban in letter and spirit. Sadly, the ban has remained only in ‘letters’ and never in ‘spirit.’ 
 
With the Narendra Modi-led government in power at the Centre, one can hope that stern action would be taken against the smugglers. After all, Modi had talked about the issue during his election campaign and promised to take care of farmers and their cattle. He ruthlessly attacked the UPA government for ‘pink revolution’ and increase in export of meat, including beef, while his supporters chanted Modi ko matdaan, Gai ko jeevandaan slogan. 
 
However, after coming to power, we have not seen any action from the BJP government on this front yet. Agreed, that government has several high-priority tasks at hand, but cow protection is also the need of the hour — not because of the religious sentiments attached, but for maintenance of the ecological balance. If slaughtering of cows goes on rampantly, they may get to the verge of extinction, which would disturb the ecological chain. 
 
* The West Bengal Animal Slaughter Central Act, 1950: The act was passed to “control the slaughter of certain animals with a view to increase the supply of milk and to avoid the wastage of animal power necessary for improvement of agriculture. Section 2 lays down that the Act applies to animals specified in the sched­ule. The schedule to the Act covers bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, male and female buffaloes, buffalo calves and castrated buffaloes.” However, the Act also has a provision for lifting the ban for religious, medicinal or research purposes.

With Cow Trafficking And Slaughtering On Rise, ‘Mother’ Cow Struggles For Existence

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Hashtags 'Boycott Netflix' and 'Ban Maharaj Film' trend on social media ahead of Aamir Khan's son Junaid's debut

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Should VHP’s demand of banning water sports in Rishikesh be mulled over?

Roohi Gupta

With Cow Trafficking And Slaughtering On Rise, ‘Mother’ Cow Struggles For Existence

Manish Kumar

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