Tag: hindu

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-Top News Crime USA

Concerns Rise as 3 Hindu Temples Attacked in California

In view of the rising threat from pro-Khalistan elements, HAF urged temple leaders across the US to download its safety guide….reports Asian Lite News

 Three Hindu temples have been targeted by unknown miscreants in quick succession in the US state of California’s Bay Area region, leaving members of the community in shock.

The Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward was vandalised with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said in a post on X on Friday.

A few weeks earlier, the outer walls of walls of Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Newark were defaced with similar graffiti, and a theft was reported at the Shiv Durga temple in the same area, the Hindu advocacy group said.

“Another Bay Area Hindu temple attacked with pro-#Khalistan graffiti,” the Hindu American Foundation said in the post on X.

“The Vijay’s Sherawali Temple in Hayward, CA sustained a copycat defacement just two weeks after the Swaminarayan Mandir attack and one week after a theft at the Shiv Durga temple in the same area.”

Located at 20789 Garden Avenue, the graffiti spray painted with black ink targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and eulogised Khalistan.

The group said that is in touch with temple leaders, Alameda Police Department and the Civil Rights Divist of the Department of Justice to address the matter.

In view of the rising threat from pro-Khalistan elements, HAF urged temple leaders across the US to download its safety guide.

“The guide specifically discusses that temple graffiti qualifies as a hate crime and also the importance of installing working security cameras and alarm systems in view of the rising threat from #Khalistan proponents as well as the omnipresent risk from anti-Hindu actors,” HAF wrote and posted the safety guide on X.

Meanwhile, US authorities are investigating the attack on Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple, as a potential hate crime.

“We condemn the vandalism of Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in California. We welcome efforts by the Newark Police Department to ensure that those responsible are held accountable,” the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs had said in a post on social media platform X.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar condemned the defacing of the temple, and said that separatists should not get space.

“As you know that we are worried that… outside India the extremism and separatists should not be given space. Our Consulate there complained to the government and the police and I think an inquiry is underway.”

Mihir Meghani, co-founder of HAF, had told CBS News that the Indian-American community in the Bay Area is growing, and these political issues are now becoming a part of the division here.

These attacks on Hindu temples, occurring between December 2023 and the first week of the New Year, follow US indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to kill New York-based Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

According to US-based advocacy organisation, Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA), a thorough and urgent action is needed to address growing Hinduphobia in the region.

“Freedom of religion means little when sacred spaces that are meant to be an oasis of peace and calm, are vandalised with no consequences. We are sad but not shocked — authorities, media and other groups have regularly downplayed or ignored the growing #Hinduphobia in the region,” CoHNA said in an earlier post on X.

“People who put those symbols and names up…what they are promoting is a separate state of Khalistan… So if those people who did this want that, that’s something that I think most Americans, most Indians, most Hindus don’t want,” Meghani had said.

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-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

Afghanistan’s Hindu, Sikh Minorities Grapple With Taliban Curbs

Pakistan Taliban stay firm on demand for separate tribal area at Kabul meeting held to broker peace.(PHOTO:IN)

Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Hindus have faced severe restrictions, including on their appearances, and have been banned from marking their religious holidays in public, leaving many with no choice but to escape their homeland.

When Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, there were concerns that some of Afghanistan’s tiny non-Muslim minorities could vanish. Two years on, those fears are becoming realised a media report said.

While Afghanistan’s last-known Jew fled the country shortly after the Taliban takeover, the Sikh and Hindu communities are believed to have shrunk to just a handful of families, RFE/RL reported.

Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Hindus have faced severe restrictions, including on their appearances, and have been banned from marking their religious holidays in public, leaving many with no choice but to escape their homeland, RFE/RL reported.

“I cannot go anywhere freely,” Fari Kaur, one of the last remaining Sikhs in the capital, Kabul said.

“When I go out, I’m forced to dress like a Muslim so that I can’t be identified as a Sikh,” she said, in reference to the Taliban’s order that all women must wear the all-encompassing burqa or niqab.

Kaur’s father was killed in a suicide attack targeting Sikhs and Hindus in the eastern city of Jalalabad in 2018.

The attack reportedly led as many as 1,500 Sikhs to leave the country, including Kaur’s mother and sisters.

But Kaur refused to leave and stayed in Kabul to fulfil her father’s dream that she finish school, the RFE/RL report said.

In March 2020, 25 worshipers were killed when Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) militants stormed a Sikh temple in Kabul.

Following the attack, most of the remaining members of the minority left Afghanistan.

Again, Kaur refused to leave. But now, more than two years after the Taliban seized power, she said the lack of religious freedom under the militants has left her no choice but to seek refuge abroad.

“We have not celebrated our key festivals since the Taliban returned to power,” she said.

“We have very few community members left behind in Afghanistan. We cannot even look after our temples.”

There were up to 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But the war that broke out in 1979 and the onset of growing persecution pushed many out.

During the civil war of the 1990s, the Taliban and rival Islamist groups pledged to protect minorities. But many Sikhs and Hindus lost their homes and businesses and fled to India, the report said.

Taliban members inspect the site of a roadside bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua/IANS)

When the Taliban regained power in August 2021, it attempted to assuage the fears of non-Muslim Afghans. The militants visited Sikh and Hindu temples to try and assure the remaining members of the communities of their commitment to their safety and well-being.

But the Taliban’s draconian restrictions on Sikhs and Hindus have forced many to seek a way out of their homeland, RFE/RL reported.

Niala Mohammad, the director of policy and strategy at the nonprofit Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, said the situation for religious minorities in Afghanistan — including Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai’s, Christians, Ahmadis, and Shia Muslims — has deteriorated sharply under Taliban rule.

“The situation continues to deteriorate as political extremist factions that claim to represent Islam, such as the Taliban, ascend to power in the region,” said Mohammad, who was previously the South Asia analyst for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

“This exodus of diverse religious groups has left a void in the country’s social fabric.”

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London News UK News

Sadiq Khan’s appeal to Hindus, Muslims

London Mayor Sadiq Khan

Reflecting on his personal journey, Sadiq Khan, born to a British-Pakistani family in South London, wrote, “My grandparents were from India…reports Asian Lite News

London mayor Sadiq Khan appealed to Hindu and Muslim communities to “not allow the politics of the sub-continent to spill over” into the UK.

“We should be eternally on our guard against extremist forces who seek to stoke up tensions between our communities for their own selfish ends. Everyone in the UK and around the world should have the right to live in peace and to practice their religion without fear or threats,” the London mayor said.

The appeal came after a spate of violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities in the eastern England city of Leicester following an India-Pakistan cricket match.

Sadiq Khan urged against letting “current or past tensions, and the wider politics of the region, be used as a pretext to stir up trouble on our streets”. “British Muslims and British Hindus should always be allies, not adversaries,” he added.

Reflecting on his personal journey, Sadiq Khan, born to a British-Pakistani family in South London, wrote, “My grandparents were from India. My parents from Pakistan. I was born and raised in London and am proud to call Britain my home. But like many Londoners who can trace their family history to different parts of the world, I feel a strong connection with my heritage, which means both India and Pakistan are dear to me and hold a special place in my heart.”

ALSO READ-Hindu-Muslim joint statement appeals for peace in Leicester

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-Top News UK News

Hindu-Muslim joint statement appeals for peace in Leicester

Das said the recent violence and attacks on individuals was heartbreaking for the entire community and not part of their faiths…reports Asian Lite News

Days after violent clashes erupted in the eastern English city of Leicester over an India-Pakistan cricket match, leaders of the Hindu and Muslim communities in the city issued a joint statement appealing for harmony. Calling for immediate cessation of violence, the community leaders demanded that “inciters of hatred” leave the city alone.

President of Leicester’s ISKCON temple Pradyumna Das read out the joint statement outside a mosque.

“This is a statement of unity between the Hindu and Muslim community. We, the family of Leicester stand in front of you, not only as Hindus and Muslims, but as brothers and sisters. Our two faiths have lived harmoniously in this wonderful city for over half a century. We arrived in this city together. We faced the same challenges together.

Das said the recent violence and attacks on individuals was heartbreaking for the entire community and not part of their faiths.

“We fought our racist haters togethers, and collectively made this city a beacon of diversity. That is why, today, we are saddened and heartbroken to see the eruption of tension and violence, physical attacks on innocent individuals and unwarranted damage to property are not a part of a decent society, and indeed, not part of our faiths. What we have seen is not what we are about.”

“Our message to anyone that sows disharmony between us is clear: we will not let you succeed,” he said.

“We ask all to respect the sanctity of religious places, both mosques, and mandirs alike — whether provocation with loud music, flag bearing, derogatory chants, or physical attacks against the fabric of worship. This is not acceptable nor upheld by our faiths,” the statement read, adding the city has “no place for any foreign extremist ideology that causes division”.

On August 28, a series of violence triggered in Leicester city after India won the Asia Cup T20 match against Pakistan.

Several videos and reports have also been circulating on social media about Pakistani organised gangs seen vandalising and terrorising Hindus in the city.

According to the Leicestershire Police, a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon during clashes.

“The sentence is reflective of the fact that this was a serious offence and he has ended up with time in prison,” said Rob Nixon, Temporary Chief Constable at Leicestershire Police.

“We will not stand for this unrest in our city. There is an extensive policing operation ongoing, acting on information and reports of gatherings and offering community reassurance. Be reassured: we are working to keep you safe and to arrest and bring to justice those that are causing harm in our communities,” he said.

The Indian High Commission in London has condemned the violence and called for the protection of those affected. “We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian Community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion. We have strongly taken up this matter with the UK authorities and have sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks. We call on the authorities to provide protection to the affected people,” the High Commission’s statement read.

ALSO READ-Hindu-Muslim scuffles lead to communal tension in Leicester

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India News Lite Blogs

Tulu queen who united Hindus, Muslims against Portuguese

Ullal port was a prosperous port and hub of the spice trade to the outer world and the Portuguese, Dutch and British had clearly set their eyes on it…reports Asian Lite News

Rani Abbakka, the great Tulu queen regarded as the first female freedom fighter of India, is not only known for her valour who repulsed the Portuguese army, but also her strength to unite people of different faiths against the armed forces of a foreign state.

The queen hails from Karnataka, which is, currently, communally divided. A region witnessing revenge killings among Hindus and Muslims, this state has a great lesson to learn from the legacy of Rani Abbakka, when Muslims and Hindus unitedly fought under her leadership against the Portuguese.

Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva queen from Ullal province of the present Dakshina Kannada district. She represented the Chowta dynasty which ruled Tulu Nadu, comprising strategic regions of coastal Karnataka.

The Portuguese forces, after establishing their rule in Goa, turned their focus on capturing Mangaluru, Ullal ports. The brave Rani Abbakka, who left her husband and came back to her father, repulsed the Portuguese attacks for four decades, leading the army from the front.

She is regarded as one of the foremost woman warriors and bravest of the fighters. Historians say Rani Abbakka has not been given her due place in India’s as well as Karnataka’s history.

Abbakka’s uncle Tirumalaraya crowned her as the queen of Ullal. She married Lakshmappa Arasa Bangaraja II. However, the marriage did not last very long, as Rani Abbakka returned to Ullal.

Ullal port was a prosperous port and hub of the spice trade to the outer world and the Portuguese, Dutch and British had clearly set their eyes on it.

Knowing about the crouching foreign forces waiting for a chance to take over Ullal, the local chieftains united, forgetting their communal reservations.

Rani Abbakka gave equal representation to Hindus, Jains and Muslims. During her rule in the 16th century, the coastal region was an example of unity and integrity for the entire nation, as Hindus and Muslims stood shoulder to shoulder in every aspect.

When the Portuguese, unable to find traitors, came to know that Rani Abbakka’s estranged husband nursed a deep grudge against her, they launched attacks on Ullal from 1555 to 1568.

After Ullal was captured, Rani Abbakka took shelter in a mosque. She gathered an army and launched an attack on the Portuguese, in no time. Her army fought with valour and killed General Joao Peixoto after which the Portuguese had to retreat.

She forged an alliance with the Bijapur Sultan and the Calicut (Kerala) rulers. However, she was captured by the Portuguese army and sent to jail later.

Folklore has it that even in prison she revolted and died fighting. Her tale has been told through Yakshagana, the famous local art form of the region.

The Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava is held every year to commemorate her bravery and awards are given in her name. In 2003, the Indian postal department issued a special cover on Rani Abbakka. The bronze statues of the late queen are installed in Ullal and Bengaluru. The Indian Coast Guard Ship ICGS is named after Rani Abbakka.

Karnataka, which is presently in the news for Hindu-Muslim clashes, was once united and together repulsed attacks by foreign occupying forces.

The foreign enemies could not find internal enemies and destroy their local kingdoms as Hindus, Muslims and Jains were united. Patriots are still waiting for the day when people of different faiths will unite against the common enemy.

ALSO READ-US report claims rise in online Hinduphobia

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-Top News India News USA

US report claims rise in online Hinduphobia

The report found that in July, the signal on the Hinduphobic code words and memes reached record highs that could inflame real world violence, especially in light of escalating religious tensions in India….reports Asian Lite News

There has been a sharp spike, and rapid evolution, of anti-Hindu hate speech on social media, using even adapted white supremacist memes and coded language, with a potential for the violence to spill over into the real world, researchers in US’ Rutgers University have found.

“Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media”, prepared by members of the Network Contagion Lab at the varsity, chronicles the shocking trend, directed toward the Hindu community across numerous social media platforms, using artificial intelligence to analyse 1 million tweets to understand development of a disguised and coded language pattern shared on social networks.

The reports details how white supremacist and 4chan genocidal Pepe memes about Hindus are being shared within extremist Islamist web networks on Telegram and elsewhere, a varsity release said.

It found that in July, the signal on the Hinduphobic code words and memes reached record highs that could inflame real world violence, especially in light of escalating religious tensions in India.

Social media platforms largely are unaware of the code words, key images, and structured nature of this hatred even as it is surging, it said.

“There is, unfortunately, nothing new to the bigotry and violence faced by the Hindu population,” said John J. Farmer Jr., director of both the Miller Center and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

“What is new is the social media context in which hate messages are being shared. Our prior work has shown a correlation between the intensity of hate messaging over social media and the eruption of real-world acts of violence.”

According to the researchers, Iranian trolls disseminated anti-Hindu stereotypes to fuel division as part of an influence campaign to accuse Hindus of perpetrating a genocide against minorities in India.

Student analyst Prasiddha Sudhakar worked with high school students from the New Jersey Governors’ STEM Scholars programme to assemble and analyse the data and gauge dimensions of anti-Hindu disinformation.

“I appreciate the opportunity to bring awareness to this underrepresented subject matter,” said Sudhakar, who graduated from Rutgers in May with a double major in computer science and economics and minor in critical intelligence studies.

“Educating young people on how to detect open-source hate messaging is a vital first step in helping vulnerable communities prepare for and respond to emerging threats,” said Joel Finkelstein, chief data scientist at the NCRI and a senior research fellow at the Miller Center, who directed the student research.

The analysis follows a series of reports that NCRI and Rutgers Centers released since 2020 that examine the use of conspiracy theories and social media networks to instigate widespread, real-world violence.

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India News

SC seeks govt report on minority status for Hindus by Aug 30

The court allowed the central government to carry out consultations and was informed by Mehta that this exercise could take three months…reports Asian Lite News

Not happy with the Centre changing its position on whether minority status could be given to a religious community based on its population within a state, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the central government to consult stakeholders on this sensitive issue, and submit a report by August 30.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation by Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who challenged two laws – the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992, and the National Commission for Minorities Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act, 2004.

Upadhyay asked why minority rights and benefits of establishing educational institutions were only available to six notified communities — Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains — and contended that Hindus lost out on these benefits despite being minority in some states.

The ministry of minority affairs filed an affidavit on Monday, through which it withdrew its earlier stand taken on March 28, and submitted that the question has “far-reaching ramifications throughout the country” and, therefore, “any stand taken without detailed deliberations with the stakeholders may result in an unintended complication for the country”.

In the earlier affidavit, the Centre termed Upadhyay’s plea “untenable and misconceived in law”, and stated that Parliament and state legislatures have “concurrent powers to enact law to provide for the protection of minorities and their interests”.

“Another counter affidavit has been filed which seems to back out of what was stated earlier, something we do not appreciate,” a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh said.

Saying how the Centre “turned turtle”, the bench told solicitor general Tushar Mehta: “How can in a matter like this an affidavit be filed that both Centre and state have power, and then say Centre alone has power? We gave you a number of dates. Consultation should have taken place. One should be careful before such an affidavit is filed and put out in public domain as there is so much of diversity in our country.”

The court allowed the central government to carry out consultations and was informed by Mehta that this exercise could take three months. The bench posted the matter for hearing on August 30 and sought a status report before the next date.

Upadhyay told the court that his prayer was not just for seeking minority benefits for Hindus as there was a larger issue raised in his petition questioning the validity of the two laws. Section 2(f) of the 2004 law gave wide powers to the Centre to restrict benefits to only six notified religious communities, he contended. The Centre was wrong in suggesting that states too have power to declare a community as minority, he argued.

“Your prayer cannot be read in a vacuum,” the court said. “Due care must be taken wherever any community that is in minority is declared to be a minority.”

The new affidavit was filed after the central government undertook an interministerial consultation involving three ministries, which discussed the possible fallouts and decided to supersede its earlier affidavit with a fresh one, Mehta said.

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Community India News

‘Don’t buy gold from shops owned by Muslims’

Pramod Muthalik, founder of Sri Ram Sena, said on Monday that people should make purchases only from shops owned by Hindus on Akshaya Tritiya…reports Asian Lite News

With Akshaya Tritiya round the corner, Hindu outfits in Karnataka have urged people not to purchase gold from jewellery shops owned by Muslims on the day of the festival.

Akshaya Tritiya is a Hindu festival which is believed to bring good luck, and people believe that buying gold on this day will turn their fortunes. The festival will be celebrated on May 3.

However, the auspicious occasion has been given a communal tone this time with Hindu outfits urging people not to make any purchase from jewellery shops owned by Muslims. Posts and messages to this effect have gone viral on social media.

Pramod Muthalik, founder of Sri Ram Sena, said on Monday that people should make purchases only from shops owned by Hindus on Akshaya Tritiya.

“The money which you pay for gold jewelleries at Muslim shops will reach organisations working against Hindus. The money will find its way to organisations based out of Kerala, where scores of Hindus have been killed by fundamentalist groups. Your money will help them commit more atrocities on Hindus in Kerala,” he said.

T.A. Sharavana, the President of Karnataka Jewellers Association, said that the statements are being made to create unrest in the society.

“It should be left to the discretion of the customer to make purchase of their choice,” he said.

According to sources, about 30 per cent of gold merchants in Karnataka are Muslims and in Bengaluru, 50 per cent of reputed gold jewellery shops are owned by Muslims. The shops have already started making attractive offers for the upcoming festival.

The state government is yet to react to the development.

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Asia News

Hindu community in Karachi in long wait for justice

The apex court in November 2021 while hearing the plea of Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev, a welfare committee of the Hindu community, had directed the district administration and Sindh government to relocate the performing arts academy…reports Sanjeev Sharma

Despite court orders, Pakistans National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) remains unwilling to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana in Karachi, a protected heritage site that was rented to the NAPA in 2005, The Express Tribune reported.

The local Hindu community, represented by the platform of Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev, has been actively demanding the evacuation of the historic building from the hold of NAPA, for which they have also been praying to the court.

“We filed a petition in Sindh High Court claiming that Hindu Gymkhana lands spread over Artillery Maidan, Muslim Gymkhana and a plot occupied by Aligarh Muslim University too, but the court rubbished our petition with a direction to file a proper suit,” said Raj Ashok, who has been pursuing the case on behalf of his community, that became a party in the litigation to reclaim the property in 2014.

The apex court in November 2021 while hearing the plea of Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev, a welfare committee of the Hindu community, had directed the district administration and Sindh government to relocate the performing arts academy at an appropriate time, The Express Tribune reported.

In addition to that, the academy had also been instructed to demolish the auditorium that it has constructed within the premises of the heritage site, but so far all orders appear to have been in vain with the academy maintaining its illegal tenancy of the protected building.

“Although NAPA is our tenant, we have been complying with court orders and have found an alternate venue for the academy’s relocation. It is in the Jinnah Cultural Complex in North Karachi, but NAPA is sticking to its guns about being provided with a prime location in the city’s downtown area, which is too audacious,” said Pakistan’s Director-General Culture Abdul Aleem Lashari.

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-Top News India News

Rahul Gandhi: I am a Hindu but not Hindutvawadi

Before Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed the gathering and attacked the policies of the central government and the BJP…reports Asian Lite News.

Addressing a mammoth gathering in Jaipur during the national rally organised to protest against the price rise and inflation, veteran Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday fiercely attacked the central government’s policies and said that he is a Hindu but not Hindutvawadi.

Elaborating the difference between the two, he said, “Two words cannot mean the same thing. Every word has a different meaning. In our country’s politics today, the meaning of Hindu and Hindutva are the same. These are not the same thing, they are two different words and they mean completely different things. I am a Hindu but not a Hindutvawadi. Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and Nathuram Godse was a Hindutvawadi, he added.

“No matter whatever happens, Hindu seeks and spends his whole life in search of truth whereas Hindutva spends his whole life in search of power and getting empowered. He will kill anyone for the sake of power. The path of Hindu is ‘Satyagraha’ while the path of Hindutva is ‘Sattagraha.’

Attacking the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi said that the entire country has been left in the hands of a few industrialists and the country is being run by “Hum Do, Hamare Do”.

Rahul Gandhi further said that the government of the country says that no farmer has died during the agitation. “I gave them a list of five hundred people from Punjab and Haryana and asked them that the Punjab government has given compensation, you should also give it. But they didn’t.”

He also took a jibe at PM Modi for giving concessions to industrialists.

He said that the country belongs to the poor, farmers, small shopkeepers, only these people can give employment to this country. Adani-Ambani has a place but they cannot create jobs on a large scale. Small business people, farmers can generate large scale employment.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was unaware of the absence of Punjab CM Charanjit Channi from the rally. He kept calling his name but then Sonia Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot signalled him about Channi’s absence.

Before Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also addressed the gathering and attacked the policies of the central government and the BJP.

She termed the central government as the government of lies, greed and loot.

I know how roads are being built in Goa just for the sake of transportation of coals to benefit one industrialist, she said and termed Modi as Paryatak PM.

“Modiji travelled throughout the world but did not go to farmers who were protesting on the roads,” she said adding that “the state in which I work spends crores of rupees on advertisement but does not spend on fertilisers for farmers.”

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also spoke on the occasion and said that all state governments are facing the challenge of financial crisis as the central government stays mum.

He said that Narendra Modi is one such PM who has not replied to a letter from the CM.

“This government is being run with hubris,” he added.

Tributes were paid to late CDS Bipin Rawat and other soldiers who died in a chopper crash on December 8.

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