Every restaurant had to make major changes in 2020 (thanks a lot Awan's Desi Cuisine's biggest change was moving from Oklahoma Avenue to South 76th Street into a much bigger space that allows for distanced dining Owner Khurum Awan's new space is three times the size of the old one; with tables 7 to 10 feet apart instead of the 100 it has room for. His wife is the chef; she grew up in a restaurant family in Pakistan The couple is from Punjab's capital city of Lehore.  most diners are taking their food to go these days and Awan's takeout game is strong The menu of Pakistani and Indian dishes stands up to travel and everything that could spell disaster if it were to tip over in the car is well packaged in microwaveable containers Awan's Desi Cuisine in October took over the space that previously was Shah Jee's another restaurant serving Pakistani cuisine The format remains counter service; phone ahead or order online for quicker carryout and pick up at the counter in the back pronounced day-see, means South Asian.) you could find the menu in the photos of the restaurant's Facebook page But what you won't see on those menus is one of my favorite dishes at Awan's It was an especially tender and moist rendition of the skewered and grilled ground beef warm naan and a particularly flavorful cilantro-mint chutney by Hina Awan The restaurant plans to begin offering kebabs with ground chicken Another terrific grilled meat was malai tikka boti ($9.99) chunks of chicken marinated in seasoned yogurt before grilling to ensure that it's tender and juicy the chicken haleem ($10.99) made a comforting dinner It was the first time I could recall seeing the wheat porridge on a Milwaukee menu with finely chopped chicken instead of beef — lighter but still savory the menu at Awan's obliges with curries was forthrightly spicy, like much of the menu Curries like that one and spinach with cheese ($9.99) are garnished with fresh ginger order the aroma rice (scented with cumin seed $3.99) and some bread (naan or garlic naan $1; usually paratha or potato-stuffed paratha is also available Awan's has  appetizers such as samosas the pastries filled with chicken or beef or vegetables ($3 or $4) and pakora the fritters made with chickpea flour and vegetables or chicken or fish ($4.99 or $6.99) If we've learned anything during this pandemic it's that fried foods don't take to travel as well So eat them in the car on the spot or crisp them up in the oven at home for best results It's worth ordering the shami tikki ($4 for two pieces) patties of finely shredded chicken and lentil bound with egg — it's the first time I've seen those on a Milwaukee menu I plan to head back to Awan's while winter is raging to try the two Pakistani soups the Awans hope to begin serving Pakistani breakfast on the weekends to noon — dishes including chana masala and aloo curry 3933 S. 76th St. (414) 616-1645. facebook.com/desicuisinemke Earlier versions of this story gave an incorrect address Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday. To order ahead: Online through DoorDash, or phone in orders for carryout; order at the counter if dining in Delivery is through DoorDash. Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carol Deptolla has been reviewing restaurants in Milwaukee and Wisconsin since 2008 accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers Contact her at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner Home Opinion The Heritage of Alvi Awans GROWING features of running century of time are economic migrations and expanding empire of the social media worldwide; economic migrants settled in foreign lands are an asset for their mother country by way of remittances historical research innovations learned from their host homelands; so fresh books writing/compilation social media news galore have become centre-stage of global intellectual pursuits In the research line appears a new Book titled “The Heritage of Alvi Awan” by Manchester settled Pakistani author Mahmood Khan; he has delved deeper into the remote past of the Alvi Awans in Pakistan and beyond in many lands published by MK and Sons Idara Tehqeequl Awan Manchester UK He himself belong to the great spiritual family of famous spiritualist Hazrat Baba Sajjawal Alivi Qaderi whose shrine is in Mansehra Abbottabad His book traces the Alvi Awans ancestral lineage to the 4th Caliph of Islam Hazrat Ali (AS) In the Book inclusion of Alvi Awans in the armies of Sultan Mehmood Ghazanavi during his celebrated seventeen armed invasion of Middle Ages India is elaborated in detail; rare pictures of bygone and living Alvi Awan personalities of lend charm to the reading of the book Voluminous written historic literature on Alvi Awans/Awans exist in world libraries; in famous Book Punjab Chiefs by renowned English historian Lepel Griffin elaborate references are made about Awans and their competitive social characteristics and their pushing forward tendencies Arabic writers’ writings hail the social status of the Alvi Awans/Awans being descendants of Fourth Caliph Hazrat Ali (AS) from his wife Khaula bint Jafar whom he had married at the time of historic conquest of Khaiber Fort situated near Madinah Munawwarrah Arab chief of Alvi Awans/Awans Hazrat Mohammad Al-Hanafiyya was the son of Hazrat Ali from his spouse Khaula bint Jafar Al-Hanafiyya stood firmly by his brother Hazrat Imam Zain Al-Abedin whenever any hostile circumstances erupted; when Hazrat Zain Al-Abedin fell Al-Hanafiyya performed the role of Imam Alvi Awans’ clannish social background is quite religious; because of this lineage connectivity majority of Huffaz-e-Quran and Mosque Imams everywhere are from this ethno-strength Material used in the book – The Heritage of Alvi Awans – is corroborated by the President/Vice President of Idara Tehqiqul Awan International Malik Mohammad Karim Alvi Awan Qaderi whose personal library contains thousands of books on different clans He is currently a senior officer in the AJK Civil Central Secretariat Muzaffarabad who has at his credit dozens of books well distributed within and out of Pakistan on Alvi Awans and their history of debut in South Asian sub-continent The book rewards the reader with historical researched material helpful to new researchers Book is available with famous author/publisher Malik M Karim Qaderi Alvi Awan © 2025 All rights reserved | Pakistan Observer © 2024 All rights reserved | Pakistan Observer Here is our best effort at ferreting out which allegations in this ongoing saga are plausible In February, BuzzFeed’s John Stanton reported that the U.S Capitol Police, at the request of members of Congress, were investigating five IT staffers working for multiple House Democrats. BuzzFeed said the staffers were being investigated for an alleged “procurement scam,” and Politico later reported their names as Awan; his wife Hina Alvi; relatives Abid and Jamal Awan; and family friend Rao Abbas Politico also wrote that investigators suspected the five of accessing the House’s computer network improperly and stealing equipment from more than 20 congressional offices The Daily Caller has additionally published several posts containing myriad allegations about Awan and Alvi Most of this information has yet to be corroborated by other media sources; for months the Daily Caller had been the lone outlet consistently probing the Awans But how much of the Caller’s dirt on the staffers amounts to a real scandal implicating Democratic members of Congress or Wasserman Schultz specifically No wrongdoing involving either has been proven the Caller and other conservative sites following their lead have taken a particular interest in an exchange in May between Wasserman Schultz and U.S Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa during an appropriations subcommittee hearing on the department’s budget Wasserman Schultz pointedly and repeatedly asks Vederosa what happens to equipment lost by members of Congress and found by Capitol Police officers: Wasserman Schultz: If the equipment belongs to the member they say it’s been lost and it’s been identified as that member’s then the Capitol Police is supposed to return it Vederosa: Well it’s not—I can’t give you a yes or no answer on that because I know— Wasserman Schultz: It’s a simple yes or no answer and it is found by the Capitol Police or your staff and it is identified as that member’s equipment and the member is not associated with any case and that is their equipment Wasserman Schultz: I don’t understand how that’s possible It is not—under my understanding the Capitol Police is not able to confiscate members’ equipment when the member is not under investigation The Daily Caller alleges that Wasserman Schultz and Verderosa were actually arguing over the Capitol Police’s seizure of a laptop used by Imran Awan When confronted about the exchange by the Daily Caller in person Awan and Alvi’s lawyer says Alvi and her children “had traveled to Pakistan to stay with family After speculation about the investigation started to appear online the family began receiving threats online and without work that Awan was “partying” with Seth Rich the night he was killed FACT - Wasserman-Schulz "IT consultant" Awan was partying with Seth Rich the night of his murder ! Eat it @TheAtlantic The day after Awan’s arrest, pizzagate theorist Mike Cernovich posted a video purporting to explain the case and claiming that Awan may have been responsible for leaking information about a botched special operations raid in February in Yemen that resulted in the death of Navy SEAL William Owens Sean Hannity and Geraldo Rivera assessed the story: This is my theory: Maybe Debbie Wasserman Schultz didn’t want to be exposed which is why they smashed the hard drives—remember what happened on the eve—because she knows she colluded against Bernie Sanders GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted about the Awans: It’s real life in Debbie Wasserman Shultz’s office President Trump retweeted a Townhall article admonishing the mainstream press for ignoring the story ABC, NBC, And CBS Pretty Much Bury IT Scandal Engulfing Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Office https://t.co/PjbZ2TGIKb That afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if Trump was aware of the Awan scandal “I haven’t had a conversation with him specifically about that,” she said “But I do think that is something we should fully look into and there should be a thorough investigation on that.” There is no reporting connecting Awan’s arrest for bank fraud to any of the more ludicrous allegations namely: Did the Awans really improperly access sensitive information on the House’s network and steal that equipment Did Wasserman Schultz really take measures to protect Awan Even if the answer to all the above is “yes,” that doesn’t necessarily implicate Wasserman Schultz or other members of Congress that these staffers are simply low-level scammers who exploited a lucrative job situation and that Wasserman Schultz handled it in her usual bungled way District Court for the District of Columbia for a preliminary hearing on the bank fraud charge on Aug Log in and download the free e-publication of the latest A&B The printed version is available for sale online in our store and press salons throughout Poland unique e-mail [will also be used as login in the portal] Only name - check the correctness of the data Only the last name - check the correctness of the data password must be at least 8 characters long * fields required for registration; data can be completed in account settings after logging in ** establishment of a student account follows verification of the validity of the student ID card Please try later or let us know: contact Technology: aitnet.pl Ⓒ AiB Publishing House 2025 The duo beat Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina and Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway 6-2 The 27-year-old Pole and the 38-year-old Taiwanese have two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles to their name they triumphed at the Wimbledon championships in London 🏆 Australian Open🏆 WimbledonSu-wei Hsieh i Jan Zieliński ✨ pic.twitter.com/jQf9ZuEJJO Poland's Iga Świątek has booked her place in the second round of the US Open women's singles competition 7-6 win over Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova 1 is set to take on Japan's Ena Shibahara for a spot in the third round at Flushing Meadows on Thursday Iga Świątek o awans do 3. rundy US Open zagra z japońską kwalifikantką. Ena Shibahara zajmuje 217. miejsce w rankingu, ale w tym roku w Nowym Jorku ma najlepszy wynik ze wszystkich startujących singlistek jeżeli chodzi o tzw. winnery WIĘCEJ🎾https://t.co/mmKBeX6nqa pic.twitter.com/hZ4tPYita1 Poland's seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz crashed out of the tournament in New York after being eliminated by Australia's Jordan Thompson in the second round on Thursday Hubert Hurkacz odpadł z US Open. Klątwa drugiej rundy trwa ⤵️#PAPInformacje #USOpen2024https://t.co/q91gsqR7R8 3. runda #USOpen znów nieosiągalna🇵🇱Hubert Hurkacz vs Jordan Thompson 🇦🇺 6:7(2), 1:6, 5:7 #USOpen WIĘCEJ https://t.co/MJrpJG23ZC pic.twitter.com/Co2j29gkmY ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Firdous Ashiq Awan was offloaded from a Dubai-bound flight for using a blue passport "illegally" sources within Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said Saturday The sources shared that Awan was flying to UAE from Islamabad International Airport via a private airline The official blue passport allows entry to some 70 countries around the world without the formality of a visa and only government employees and lawmakers are authorised to carry it who was a special assistant to Punjab chief minister during the Usman Buzdar government was offloaded from the plane for using the official passport for travelling the blue passport cannot be used without having any official status and has to be returned after quitting the government office They said that Awan had not returned the passport She was told by the immigration officials that she can not travel on this passport Awan has denied reports that she was escaping to Canada it is permissible to hold a blue passport and referred to a NA law regarding the matter “I obtained the Dubai visa through note verbal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the same blue passport through the official process and if there was any problem Awan said that she was going to participate in the Women's Peace Cup being held in Dubai on August 21 as a co-host Confirming the confiscation of her passport Awan said everything will be clear by Monday let us renew our resolve to protect and promote press freedom as an essential element of our democracy,.. Senior cleric and politician reportedly suffered heart attack North Waziristan and Mohmand; weapons and ammunition also recovered There are six bunkers in village for 1,500 people Met Office reports national average temperature for the month was 27.91°C Copyright © 2025. The News International, All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Authors Pakistan bans Indian ships in retaliation for New Delhi's port sanctions Four Pakistani mountaineers launch high-altitude missions in Nepal Indo-Pak tensions' fallout on Kabul Church of Pakistan leads march backing armed forces Rain, thunderstorm predicted in Karachi today: PMD Weddings go on in Pakistan's Kashmir border Prince Harry: No way home Russell Brand appears in court on rape charges The fragrance of music Knee-jerk reaction for Kneecap Netflix's 'Eternaut' depicts fight against tyranny Maybe Happy Ending' leads Tony nominees Trump proposes cuts to renewables Businessmen slam tax ordinance Govt decides to replace PARC head Gold reigns supreme in times of crisis Direct Karachi-Skardu flight launched Ride-hailing service for EV transition Santa Ono, University of Michigan president, leaves role amid controversies WWII Spitfire plane crash lands in Kent field ahead of VE Day events Cold war-era Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 to return after 53 years in orbit Measles surge signals post-herd-immunity era in North America, experts warn Apple opens door to external payments after Epic Games court ruling Iran’s FM visits Islamabad amid Pak-Ind tensions as he was up to his eyeballs in the House Democrat Caucus Awan Brothers Congressional IT Scandal By Katy Grimes Xavier Becerra is now running for California Governor because the “California Dream” isn’t what it used to be won’t self-reflect long enough to recognize that he his ideology and political party is a big part of the problem Becerra has been talking for one year about running for California governor, as we reported in April 2024: Biden Administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra let slip this week that he is considering leaving the administration to run for California Governor “I miss California,” Becerra said at the start of a talk at Manny’s in the Mission Becerra later smiled and nodded silently when someone in the audience yelled “governor!” as he paused between questions That didn’t happen, and instead, Becerra as HHS Secretary, doubled down on tyrannical COVID policies, including mandatory masking and vaccines for everyone including pregnant women and infants, as well as business and school lockdowns, and infamously said “it is absolutely the government’s business” to know people’s vaccination status Becerra’s appointment was purely political, as Becerra had no health related experience – he was a member of congress for 25 years before being appointed California Attorney General by Gov. Jerry Brown – which was also a strange appointment as well, as I reported in 2018: Members of the Awan family logged on to the Caucus server 7,000 times without authorization between October 2015 and August 2016 The unvetted Awans enjoyed unfettered access throughout the Democrat Caucus – and even had access to the accounts of members of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees Many believe Becerra departed Congress to become Jerry Brown’s appointed attorney general in California to put him in a position in which he could not be prosecuted But the scandal quietly disappeared thanks the mainstream media and Congress eventually looked the other way Does Becerra “miss California” or is the waning “California Dream” the lure for him in a run for governor Becerra wasn’t the most popular of the cool kids in the Biden administration Biden adviser Susan Rice referred to HHS Sec Becerra as a “bitch-ass” and privately called him an “idiot,” according to multiple sources Axios reported: Elex Michaelson with Fox LA News interviewed Becerra and couldn’t get Becerra to discuss how he would “scrub” California’s problems: Becerra says he’s running for Governor to make California more affordable I point out that Democrats have controlled the state for decades…so what specific Democratic policy is he going to change to make things cheaper He couldn’t point to a single example but repeatedly says he would “scrub” the state’s problems “You need to bring the problem right to the table with the best experts there We’ve not been willing to do that because of all the politics.”  Becerra is just one more mediocre professional politician with a shady past who needs a job Who is more detestable as the next California governor – Kamala Harris or Xavier Becerra “Who is more detestable as the next California governor – Kamala Harris or Xavier Becerra?” Katy Grimes is right that Xavier “bitch-ass idiot” Becerra is a professional Democrat politician with a shady past who needs a job He’s a slimy lawyer who would starve if taxpayers weren’t supporting him in some way The only way he gets elected is with massive Democrat voter fraud and rigged voting machines along with some help from the cartels The only way he or any other Demonrat can win is through Fraud I can’t wait until people are convicted of treason for all the massive fraud I gasped because I didn’t have a record of all the reasons I would Not vote for him; you have provided that list Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "a5dd9b39b49146005ce3a83d80fc81ac" );document.getElementById("b0150800dd").setAttribute( "id" it will go on to face the winner of Wales vs Finland in an away playoff final on March 26 PLAY-OFF PATH A:Wales vs FinlandPoland vs Estonia#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/J2qabW6etw A total of 12 teams will vie for the three remaining Euro 2024 spots in two-stage Wszystko już jasne! Wiemy, z kim reprezentacja Polski powalczy o awans na mistrzostwa Europy #Euro2024Qualifiers https://t.co/oVdTRNUEVR Tak prezentuje się ścieżka barażowa reprezentacji Polski #EURO2024 Najpierw Estonia 🇪🇪, a potem ewentualnie Walia🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿lub Finlandia 🇫🇮! Jeśli Biało-Czerwoni 🇵🇱 wygrają półfinał, finał zagrają na wyjeździe!WIĘCEJ ⚽️https://t.co/XHvynvhqck pic.twitter.com/28tJWCobQV The winners of the three playoff paths will complete the 24-team Euro 2024 lineup joining 20 teams that advanced from the 10 qualifying groups plus hosts Germany European football's governing body UEFA said The 6 play-off semi-finals will be played on 21 March 2024 🗓️The 3 play-off finals will take place on 26 March 2024 🗓️#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/F2WXObhZIE The Euro 2024 group-stage draw will be held in Hamburg Poland missed out on a chance to qualify directly for Euro 2024, after drawing 1-1 with the Czech Republic in their last qualifying game in Warsaw last Friday Poland won 11 points from eight matches in their qualifying Group E 🔝🇦🇱 Albania win Group E ✅🇨🇿 Czechia qualify in second#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/7OBVZJ9oSg The Euro 2024 tournament will be held from June 14 to July 14 in 10 cities in Germany with the final played at Berlin's Olympiastadion Source: PAP, AP, UEFA Emergency talks between unions and management at postal services provider Bpost on Sunday evening did not bear any fruit says union representative Christophe Romain For more than a week now Bpost employees in southern Belgium have been protesting against a reorganisation of their work Charleroi (Fleurus) and Brussels were blockaded by staff after the rejection of a new management proposal Union rep Christophe Romain said after the talks: ‘The company is sticking its position’ Strikes will affect several departments this week then it will be the turn of the mail transport department Some 800,000 parcels are reportedly being held in limbo A new meeting between unions and management is scheduled Tuesday To the anger of the unions Bpost management yesterday dispatched a bailiff to end the blockade of sorting centres in Charleroi and Liège In Brussels the activists voluntarily left the strike post The priority is to get parcels to people as soon as possible In what timeframe that can happen is not yet clear.’ The writer of this article is Arakere Jayaram (in picture) senior journalist and former chief of bureau of The Hindu The following is my response to the article by journalist P.T It has been proved genetically that most Indians irrespective of their religion belong to a single race The theory that Aryans and Dravidians are different races has been rejected as a myth It was propounded by British missionaries in particular and some Western scholars in Indology in the 19th Century to argue that Indians have always been ruled by invaders In recent years “right thinking historians” have come to the conclusion that there was in fact no such thing as an Aryan invasion of India Aryan and Dravidian are geographical expressions In support I can point out that there are dark persons among Hindu castes priding themselves with the Arya tag I have come across some Kodavas stating that they are descendants of Greeks To this I have to state that a section of Greek soldiers who had come to India with Alexander the Great remained in India and were assimilated with the local people There is a Muslim clan or tribe called Awans living in Pakistan’s Punjab province whose members are said to be  originally Greeks They are stated to be genetically different from other Pakistanis  Even here the renowned Pakistani archaeologist the late Dr.Ahmad Hasan Dani differed and had held the view that the Awans were an indigenous tribe Dalvi who was the first Muslim to graduate from the Benares Hindu University  was an authority on Buddhism in Pakistan and Afghanistan The Awans are to be found around Multan (original name Moolasthana) which Alexander had captured in 327 BC In fact Alexander was wounded in that battle and it was one of the factors leading to his untimely death at the age of 33 in Babylonia It is however believed that he fell victim to malaria Coming to the main question you have raised whether the Kodavas are Hindus or not I might say that you are among the first to broach this subject So far sections of the people of Kodagu District have openly demanded separation from Karnataka and creation of a new State They want revival of the erstwhile Part “C “State of Kodagu which was a chief commissioner’s province has approached a court of law pleading for declaring the Kodavas as non-Hindus or a religious or linguistic minority (covered by Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India- right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions) Nor have they approached the courts pleading for protecting their cultural rights (Article 29) Kodavas no doubt have a distinct culture and  customs  which have to be protected So far and after the adoption of the Constitution of India some of the Hindu castes have claimed minority status under Article 30 mainly to safeguard the educational institutions opened and managed by them The Kodavas are not into the business part of education I might here mention that I distinguish between the words community and caste In my opinion the first refers to religion or faith and the latter to the castes Very often people in general and journalists use the two words as synonyms Communalism and casteism are thus different for me I am presently placing before you what the courts have said about the minority status demanded by various castes or groups within the Hindu fold The Veerashaivas and Lingayats of Karnataka made such a demand when the Devaraj Urs government appointed the L.G.Havanur commission or the First Karnataka Backward Classes Commission Here again I am of the view that Veerashaivas and Lingayats are different There were Veerashaivas even before Basaveshwara was born I am of the view that Veerashaivas are the followers of the five Panchacharya maths located in Balehonnur (Rambhapuri) Kashi (Benares) and Srishaila (Andhra Pradesh) The heads of these maths do not recognize Basaveshwara and one reason might be because he was born into a Brahmin family However many scholars are of the view that the two are the same The name of the federation of Lingayat organizations is Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha  The Mahasabha then led by the civil servant  turned  politician the Late J.B.Mallaradhya  made a  concerted effort to get  minority status for Lingayats he and the Mahasabha feared that the Havanur Commission would declare them as a forward caste who was a brilliant parliamentarian and sports administrator joined hands with the Brahmins (who had formed the Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha) to oppose the Havanur Commission which had said that it would use caste as the main criterion  Both the Lingayats and the Brahmin Mahasabha (headed by a former civil servant P.H.Krishna Rao) raised a hue and cry about the Havanur Commission Till then Brahmins and Lingayats were traditional rivals Lingayats had much to gain from non-Hindu status Their maths are in the forefront in running educational institutions  Lingayats had been declared a forward caste by the Dr.R.Nagan Gowda Committee on backward classes set up by the B.D.Jatti government in 1958 There was an uproar against that conclusion of Nagan Gowda who was a US educated Kuruba Nagan  Gowda held a Ph.d degree in Agriculture from the University of Iowa in the United States He had declared even the Vokkaligas as a forward caste Chief Minister Jatti reversed the Nagan Gowda recommendation and continued Lingayats in the other backward class list The Lingayats and the Vokkaligas were the main beneficiaries of the Justice Sir Leslie Miller committee constituted in 1918 The committee had classified them as also many others as backward brother in law of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV implemented the Miller report and issued the famous GO on backward classes in May 1921 Leslie Miller was the Chief Judge (Justice) of the Mysore High Court those days He adopted the criterion of five per cent literacy in English among members of a caste to determine backwardness the two Brahmin members submitted  dissenting notes The Miller Committee GO related only to employment in the government and not in the field of education However the Maharaja’s government instituted scholarships for backward class students as also panchamas (SCs and STs of today) It was the GO passed by the Jatti government on the basis of the Nagan Gowda report which was challenged  in the Supreme Court a bench headed by the then chief justice of India P.B.Gajendragadkar struck down the GO as backwardness had been based only on the criterion of caste It also placed a 50 per cent ceiling on reservation including those for SCs and STs The judgment came in the cause célèbre Balaji Vs Chief Minister Devaraj Urs did not heed the Lingayat opposition and declared them as a forward class The two backward classes commission which followed Havanur-  T.Venkataswamy and Justice O.Chinnappa Reddy decided similarly with regard to Lingayats What more even the Vokkaligas were declared a forward caste  What the Courts Had Said about Lingayats  It is pertinent to go into what the Bombay High Court had said way back in 1943 about Lingayats and  Hinduism  Justices H.V.Divatia and  N.S.Lokur  (grandfather of sitting Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur)   had said that Lingayats are “Protestant Hindus” and rejected the contention that they were non-Hindus In the case Tirkanagouda Mallanagouda Vs.Shivappa Patil the Court held that Lingayats are really protestant Hindus having renounced image worship Brahminical rituals  and caste distinctions But they are believers in one of the Hindu gods whom they worship by means of an emblem if not an image There can be no doubt therefore that they are subject to Hindu law much more so than the Jains The judgment noted that the Privy Council in Somashekara Royal Vs Sugatar Mahadeva Royal (in 1935) had held that subject to proof of customs to the contrary Lingayats are governed by the ordinary Hindu law The case related to the adoption of an illegitimate boy born to a woman in the royal family (The Royals were the Rajas or zamindars of Punganur in Andhra Pradesh) the Supreme Court held that Lingayats are Shudras Justice Koka Subba Rao in the case Guramma Bharatar Channabasappa Vs.Mallappa Deshmukh went into the question whether Lingayats are Shudras or Dwijas Justice Subba Rao wrote for the Bench “We are constrained to see what the law by which they are governed ever since the 1879  ruling  in Gopal Narhari Safray Vs.Hanumanth Ganesh Safray They have always been subject to Hindu law as applied to Shudras The philosopher statesman and second President of India Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has disagreed with the view that Lingayats are non-Hindus while writing the foreword for the book “History and Philosophy of Lingayat Religion” by Prof.M.R.Sakhare Sakhare had written that image worship is the religion of the Hindus In respect of their worshipping one of the Hindu gods it could be said that worship of a god is no religion As “Lingayat Religion” has its own philosophy and practices distinct in themselves To this Dr.Radhakrishnan wrote that to say that Hindu religion is primarily based on authoritativeness of the Vedas and the Varnashrama Dharma Lingayats cannot be called non-Hindus merely because they repudiate distinctions of caste Similar was the view expressed by the Privy Council in 1924 in the case  Kalya Madappa Vs.Channabasappa  The Strange Stand of the Ramakrishna Mission  Of greater interest is the contention of the Ramakrishna Mission that it should be declared a non-Hindu organization The Mission has approached the courts more than once adding to docket explosion Though everyone says that Swamy Vivekananda held aloft the  greatness of Hindu religion to the world at large through his speech and interactions at the 1893 Parliament  of Religions held in Chicago (US) the Ramakrishna Mission had contended before the Supreme Court in 1995 that Vivekananda founded a new religion He was no doubt an aggressive Hindu monk when he went to Chicago “But on return he became a preacher of a religion basically different from Hinduism” The Supreme Court has told the Ramakrishna Mission more than once that “You are Hindus” A three judge Bench of the Court in “Brahmasri Sidheshwar Sahai Vs.State of West Bengal made it clear that the Mission was not entitled to fundamental rights under Article 30( 1) In the case which is better known as the Ramakrishna Mission case N.Venkatachala (former Lokayukta) and S.Saghir Ahmed set aside a judgment of the Calcutta High Court which had held that the R.K.Mission was a minority in West Bengal based on religion The Mission belonged to a religion which was distinct and separate from Hindu religion To this the Supreme Court said that the RK Mission established by Swami Vivekananda to propagate Vedanta values as expounded by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa “is not a minority religion separate and distinct from Hindu religion It is a religious sect or denominaton of Hindu religion and therefore not entitled to claim the fundamental right under Article 30(1) of the Constitution relating to establishment and administration of educational institutions of their choice “Sri Ramakrishna could be regarded as a religious teacher who expounded practised and  preached the principles of Vedanta on which Hindu religion is founded The Supreme Court upheld the 1995 judgment in 2011 in the case Bholanath Mukherjee Vs.R.K.Mission Vivekananda Centenary College speaking through Judges Sudarshan Reddy and Surinder Singh Nijjar Strangely in this case the Mission had pleaded that  the Mission be declared as non-Hindu in matters of religion But it wanted its members to be treated as Hindus or semi-Hindus in the matters of marriage and inheritance It was clear that the Mission wanted to escape discrimination against Hindus in the matter of education  It has been rightly said that there is no legal definition of the word Hindu under the Constitution No doubt the Supreme Court has said in one of its judgments that “Hinduism is a way of life” “Under the pretence of secularism” the Constitution allows Muslims Christians and Parsis to have separate personal laws Article 25 (2) has been described as an example of a credibility deficit in the matter of Indian secularism While the main Article deals with freedom of conscience and free profession the sub Article prohibits the State from regulating or restricting religious practices- wearing and carrying of kirpans by Sikhs for example sub clause (2) of the same Article relates to personal laws It says that reference to Hindus shall be construed as including reference to persons professing the Sikh It has also been interpreted to mean a person who is a Hindu by religion or in any of its forms “including a Veerashaiva When the Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the interim Parliament in 1951 by the then Union Law Minister Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Sardar Hukum Singh dubbed it as a dubious attempt on the part of the Hindus to absorb Sikhs Ambedkar told him that the application of the Hindu code to Sikhs Buddhists and Jains was a historical development and it was too late “sociologically” for the Sikhs to oppose it Hukum Singh later joined the Congress and became Speaker of the Lok Sabha One reason as to why Ambedkar embraced Buddhism was that he did not want to convert himself to an alien or non-Indian religion like Christianity or Islam Even in the days of the East India Company the Privy Council had held in 1830 that Sikhs were governed by Hindu personal laws In the Central Legislative Assembly an authority on Hinduism Sir Hari Singh Gaur had called the Jains as Hindu dissenters Justice Ranganath Misra of the Supreme Court held that the Anandi Margis were a Hindu denomination Another Hindu reformist movement which wants to be regarded as non-Hindu for convenience is the Arya Samaj Bhatinda Vs.State of Punjab the Supreme Court held that the Arya Samaj is part of Hinduism and not a separate religion Dayanand Saraswathi founded an organization –Arya Samaj and not a religion  As a footnote I might mention the type of pseudo scholars from the West who have influenced the minds of gullible Indians even to this day through the comment of a Christian missionary who is highly regarded by the Dravida Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu Bishop Robert Caldwell had called “Brahmins the cunning Aryan agents” Caldwell and another missionary G.U.Pope stand on pedestals (statues) on the Marina Beach in Madras While not questioning the great scholarship and contributions of  Dr.Friedrich Max Mueller it could be said that it was he invented the “Aryan Invention Theory” in  his magnum opus “The Holy Books of the East” Max Mueller wrote on India and the Vedas without ever visiting our land We belong to an entirely different and unique nationality There is no sect or sub sects in Codava race Codavas do recognise the existence of more than nine hundred clans and every clan has an individualistic existence of its own In Codava nationality each Codava clan/ Khandan/ Lineage /Okka are linked with each other like a long chain Codava nationality has got different clannish names which are similar to those like gothras of Hindus marriage is prohibited within the Codava Clan but it does not mean that we restrict any Codava individual adopting – any tenets and practices of any religion of his own personal choice; It is true that the old historians and people of letters not to mention the fact that the governmental organs for convenience sake included Codavas under general terminology of Hindu religious group It is a pity that we Kodavas have been very naïve in believing non-Kodavas to educate us about who we are I consider that we are the only tribe in India without schedule status because of our better education and financial status This author has admitted that “Kodavas no doubt have distinct culture and custom which have to be protected” We do not believe in caste system; instead we believe in Okka system We have our own language which is Indo-Iranian in origin and not Dravidan We perform our rituals ourselves and do not depend on Hindu priestly class Our weapons like Odi Kathi and pichekathi are different in design earth water etc as our God and treat our elders as our Guru) We need to get Minority status under the Constitution and special status for Kodagu which is our sacred homeland where we have our Ain Mane (ancestral House) The problem is we are small community and prone to exploitation which is going on since Kodagu merged with Karnataka in 1956 In fact all people who are not indoctrinated into dogmatic religions who have there own dicta/s or codes) and living in Indian Nation This broad designation covers even the tribes of Andamans who live in isolation in remote islands who may not have any inkling of what the Vedas are or have not heard any stories of Ramayana and Mahabharatas If at all Hindus have doctrines and dogmas there is a multiplicity of them one merging into the other and even encompassing tribal faiths into one wide fabric which can extend and cover any one who is otherwise unclassified All these are already included technically Hindu castes and tribes (all original natives of the subcontinent and theri descendents) or restricted to some tribes in remote mountains of yet the Hindu nation want to achieve unity in diversity The caste hierarchies remain a big enigma and a major blot on the society; it is more creation of selfish groups and is against the basic ethos of the country which welcomed through ages every group to be assimilated in the country It is not army or police that knit together the nation but the mutual respect for each other’s faith and seeking linkages of faiths withi a complex fabric cannot claim status as unique groups or religion I believe that the Kodavas must be accorded a scheduled tribe status and going by the arguments why Lingayats are not Hindus and website in this browser for the next time I comment ACTRESS NIDHI: INTOLERANCE TO COORG WOMEN MARRYING NON-COORGS ICONIC BMW BIKE: A COORG FAMILY’S PRICELESS POSSESSION AUTHOR P.T. BOPANNA’S NEW BOOK: ‘ARE KODAVAS (COORGS) HINDUS?’ DOES INTERMARRYING DILUTE KODAVA CULTURE? INDEPENDENCE & AFTER: WAS KODAGU (COORG) BETTER OFF UNDER BRITISH? MONUMENTAL: KODAVA COUPLE BRINGS OUT KODAVA TAKK DICTIONARY WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT COFFEE ‘OUT-TURN TEST’? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN 2000 CARS CONVERGE ON ONE-HORSE TOWN AMMATHI RICH PLANTERS IN COORG POCKET CRORES IN FLOOD RELIEF FROM GOVT BY DEPRIVING NEEDY FARMERS IS THEERTHODBHAVA AT TALACAUVERY A BLIND BELIEF? MUDDANDA CUP: KODAVA CULTURE GOES FOR A TOSS AT KODAVA (COORG) FAMILY HOCKEY FESTIVAL SWEET & SOUR: VIRAJPET MLA PONNANNA IS A ROLE MODEL FOR OTHER MLAs IN KARNATAKA MUDDANDA CUP: KODAVA FAMILY HOCKEY FEST RESEMBLED A CONGRESS PARTY CONVENTION ARE KODAVA SAMAJAS (COORG ASSOCIATIONS) MEANT ONLY TO SERVE AS GLORIFIED WEDDDING HALLS? HAS BANGALORE KODAVA SAMAJA EXCEEDED ITS LIMIT IN MEMO TO CM TO INCLUDE PONNANNA IN MINISTRY? OPEN LETTER TO CM OF TELANGANA FROM COORG-BORN TEENAGER JANYA KAAVERAMMA TO SAVE 400 ACRES OF FOREST KODAGU (COORG) LOK SABHA MEMBER YADUVEER WADIYAR IS A GENTLEMAN POLITICIAN MADIKERI MLA MANTAR GOWDA BOLDLY OPPOSES CLOSURE OF KODAGU UNIVERSITY. WHAT ABOUT THE STAND OF VIRAJPET MLA PONNANNA? AFTER GRAND KODAVA (COORG) MARCH, NOW IT IS TIME FOR INTROSPECTION HISTORIC KODAVA MARCH: DEMAND FOR ST TAG FOR KODAVAS (COORGS) IS ‘OUTDATED’ Powered by WordPress. Theme by Alx By Roona Uthappa Ballachanda The accusation by Facebook page ‘Connecting Kodavas’ that the article “Actress Nidhi: Intolerance To Coorg Women..