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Modi government empowering women: Read about how PM Modi has ushered economic development and health-related improvement in the lives of women

Debraj B
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Modi government empowering women: Read about how PM Modi has ushered economic development and health-related improvement in the lives of women

MK Gandhi famously said – “If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior.” Women empowerment and gender equality have been priorities for nations, developed and developing alike. Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals propounded by the UN, that form part of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal mentions that – ‘Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.’    

Guiding principles 

American Indologist Edwin Bryant, whose landmark work around Yoga and Sutras are acclaimed the world over, talks in ‘Krishna: A Sourcebook’ of the reverence accorded to women in Hinduism. Chapter 18 mentions – “Nowhere in the panorama of world religious traditions, from ancient times to the present, do we find such a strong presence of the feminine voice within the divinity as we do in the Hindu complex of religion”. Vedic literature profoundly espouses the reverence for feminism. In the 10th Chapter of Rigveda, Devīsūktam propounds that the feminine is the supreme principle behind all of the cosmos. 

The same guiding principles have pivoted present-day Central government to focus on ‘Nari Shakti’ across all walks of life. Women empowerment as envisioned by Centre can be bucketed under a few distinct heads:

  • Economic empowerment of women 
  • Health and infrastructural provisions 
  • Quality education for girl child 
  • Social progress of women

In this first of a two-part series, I will focus on the former two viz. Economic empowerment and health-related improvements for women and girl child, and how India has seen steady advancements in these over the past 10 years.  

Economic empowerment

Few notable schemes have helped women in this regard.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): This was launched in 2015 to encourage skill development via free short-duration skill training and incentivise this through monetary rewards for skill certification. This successful scheme has seen over 59 lakh women getting trained from 2015 to 20222. Not just training, 12.51 lakh women candidates have been employed under this scheme from 2015 to 2023. A positive testament to this is borne by the fact that e-shram portal has registered 2.67 crore domestic and household women workers. A notable fallout of this has been, the female labor participation rate has increased to 37% in 2022-23.   

1. PM Jan Dhan Yojana: This is one of the largest financial inclusion initiatives in the world, with 52.20 Crore beneficiaries banked so far since its launch in 2014, and INR 231,154.51 Crore balance created in beneficiary accounts. Out of 52.20 Crore beneficiaries thus far, 29.03 Crore are female. This means, that around 55.6% of beneficiaries of this landmark Direct Benefit Transfer program happen to be women. This, augmented by the fact that 13 lakh banking touchpoints have been mapped on the GIS-based Jan Dhan Darshak App, makes ease of access to banking for our women force easier and less tedious.

2. PM Mudra Yojana (PMMY): This is a flagship scheme launched by PM on April 8, 2015, for providing micro-credit/loans up to INR 10 Lakhs to income-generating micro-enterprises, facilitated by Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), that include PSBs, Private sector banks, MFIs, NBFCs, and others. For FY 2023-24, a total of INR 532358.35 Crore had been disbursed, out of which INR 222297.27 Crore was disbursed to women entrepreneurs. More than 69% of the beneficiaries under this scheme were women. This has significantly enhanced access to collateral-free institutional credit for women, aiding directly in their empowerment. Notably, NPAs in PMMY have reduced significantly from 3.17% in March 2022 to 2.68% in June 2023.

3. Udyam Sakhi Portal: To foster women’s empowerment, Udyam Sakhi is a network that was created to boost financial entrepreneurship, innovative business models, and access to finance for women. As of 2023, around 6 lakh women-owned MSMEs have turned into reality. Over 1.45 lakh women MSMEs have fulfilled 7.32 lakh orders amounting to INR 15,922 Crore through the Government e-marketplace.

4. PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi): This scheme aims to provide collateral-free working capital loans of up to INR 10,000 for one year tenure, to approximately 50 lakh street vendors. The 1st loan target up to March 2024 had been set at INR 74,96,503, and 43% of street vendors covered under this scheme are women.   

5. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme: In her budget speech 2023-24, FM Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Scheme, which will offer a maximum deposit limit of INR 2 Lakh in the name of women or girls. This is provided for 2 years of maturity duration, with a fixed interest rate of 7.5% pa. To date, around 14 lakh Mahila Samman Savings Certificate Accounts have been opened.  

6. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): This is a small deposit scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance, exclusively for a girl child. Inaugurated by Hon. PM on 22nd January 2015 as part of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, this scheme encourages parents to build a fund for the education of their girl child, as well as to meet marriage expenses. SSY accounts offer an 8.2% interest rate, and the maturity period is 21 years. As of February 2024, more than 3.77 Crore accounts had been registered, and more than INR 2.13 Lakh croredeposited.11

Lakhpati Didi Yojana: This is a self-help group member with an annual household income exceeding INR 1 Lakh. They inspire not only through financial independence but by adopting sustainable livelihood practices too. Through SHG, 1 crore+ women have become Lakhpati Didis. 1000 drones were distributed under Namo Drone Didi, and INR 7.68 Lakh Crore loans have been distributed under National Rural Livelihood Mission11.    

Health and infrastructure: A few snippets of information will set the stage for this conversation better.

Utilization of maternal health services improved substantially between 2005-06 and 2019-20, as evidenced by National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. 

Access to health facilities for giving birth has gone up remarkably over past 10 years. 

Sex ratio at birth (SRB), which is number of girls for every 1000 boys, notched up steadily from 918 in 2015 to 934 in 2022.

These have been possible owing to a few schemes that were introduced by the Centre. 

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) – This flagship program aims to reduce maternal mortality among pregnant women by encouraging them to deliver in Gov health facilities. As of date, more than 8.55 Cr women have benefited under this program. One key outcome that has been witnessed is a sharp decline in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), from 130/lakh in 2014 to 97/lakh in 2020.

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK): JSSK entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no-expense delivery, including Caesarian section. Free drugs and consumables, free diet, free provisions of blood, and free to-and-fro transportation from home to health institution and back – are features of this scheme. Newborn Care Corners (NBCCs) were established to provide essential newborn care at points of delivery, while for sick newborns, Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) were started across the country. 

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA): This scheme was launched to provide fixed-day assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care to all pregnant women (in the 2nd and 3rd trimester), on the 9th of every month. As of date, 20,752 facilities nationwide are providing PMSMA services, with 6,813 volunteers registered.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): This is a Centrally sponsored DBT scheme, with cash incentives of INR 5000, being provided directly to bank/post office accounts of pregnant women and lactating mothers. As of 15.07.2022, more than 2.89 crore beneficiaries have been enrolled, and INR 11,217.39 Crore disbursed under this scheme.    

The improvement in prenatal care for mothers aged 15-49 with alive children, and basic immunizations for children, have been remarkable over the past 10 years.

A key tenet of the BJP-led Centre has been to transition from a ‘Women-centric development’ to a ‘Women-led development’. As part of this mission, Interim Budget 2024-25 saw a substantial increase of the Gender Budget by 38.6% over 2023-24. This is also a whopping 218% increase over UPA’s allocation in 2013-14. 

Way forward

On 13th March 2024, UNDP came out with their Human Development Report 2023/2024. The Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2022 saw India ranked at 108 out of 193 countries, a jump of 14 notches over the 2021 ranking (122 out of 191 countries). Over the last 10 years, India’s rank has slowly yet steadily improved, up from 127 in 2014. This has been possible due to a razor-sharp focus on improving the condition of women and girl children through policy initiatives, around socio-economic and political development. 

“Women hold up half the sky” famously said former CCP Chairman Mao Zedong. As India’s skies open up to a glorious trove of opportunities, courtesy a set of bold and pragmatic decisions by the Central government over the past 10 years, women are taking wings in ways one could barely imagine a decade back. And, in the process, they are turning out to be the true harbinger of India’s Viksit Bharat dream of 2047!

Mamata govt to approach higher court after Calcutta HC cancels OBC certificates over the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the backward category list

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata govt to approach higher court after Calcutta HC cancels OBC certificates over the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the backward category list

On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared that her administration will seek a higher court’s intervention to overturn the Calcutta High Court’s decision to revoke all OBC certificates issued in the state since 2010.

During an election rally in Sagar, South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee stated that the government would file an appeal with the higher court after the summer break.

“We do not accept the ruling that nullified OBC certificates. We will challenge it in a higher court after the summer vacation,” Banerjee announced.

The Calcutta High Court had ruled on Wednesday that the OBC status granted to various classes in West Bengal since 2010 was illegal, igniting a political controversy amid the Lok Sabha elections. The court noted that including 77 classes of Muslims in the backward categories list was an attempt to use them as a vote bank.

Banerjee also appealed to voters to support the TMC and reject the BJP and other parties, stressing the need for the INDIA bloc to form a government at the Centre.

On Wednesday (22nd May), the Calcutta High Court cancelled an estimated 5 lakh Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates issued by the Mamata Banerjee-led-Trinamool Congress government since 2011.

Following the verdict, Mamata Banerjee has announced to not follow the verdict of the Calcutta High Court and continue to grant OBC reservations to groups that are now invalid.

“I don’t accept Calcutta HC’s verdict. OBC reservation will continue as it is,” the West Bengal Chief Minister was quoted as saying by the West Bengal CM.

In June 2023, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) found that Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants had received Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates in West Bengal.

NCBC also found that there were more Muslim OBC castes in the state compared to Hindus (although the latter constitute the majority in West Bengal).

NCBC chief Hansraj Gangaram Ahir informed that 118 out of 179 castes, which were granted OBC status in West Bengal, belong to the Muslim community. The matter came to light during field surveys conducted between February and May 2023.

Nupur Sharma murder conspiracy: More terrorists apprehended after Maulvi Sohail’s arrest, Pakistani links emerge

OpIndia Staff
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Nupur Sharma murder conspiracy: More terrorists apprehended after Maulvi Sohail’s arrest, Pakistani links emerge

Many more terrorists who were living in India and working for Pakistan were apprehended following the interrogation of Maulvi (Islamic scholar/cleric) Sohail Abu Bakar Timol, a terrorist who was recently caught in Surat, Gujarat. Now, one such terrorist by the name of Abu Bakar, who worked as a carpenter, was caught by the Surat Crime Branch in Rajasthan’s Bikaner. The authorities produced him before the court on 23rd May, which led to several shocking revelations. The court has now remanded him for 7 days.

Notably, he was a Hindu named Ashoka but converted to Islam after he met a Pakistani girl on social media who seduced him to change his religion under the pretext of marriage. Afterwards, he came in contact with Maulvi Sohail and started threatening Hindu leaders along with planning attacks on them at the behest of the Pakistani handler. It was further disclosed that the former was luring other Hindu youths to marry Pakistani girls and honey-trapping them. He eventually converted them and also involved them in anti-Hindu activities.

The police investigation has found more than 40 Pakistani numbers from Abu Bakar’s mobile, which he used to threaten Hindu leaders and was in constant contact with his Pakistani handler.

Co-accused arrested from Nepal has dual citizenship

Another man named Mohammad Ali from Muzaffarpur in Bihar was also arrested recently in this case, and many startling disclosures came to light during his interrogation. He was unveiled to be a dual citizen of India and Nepal. He was questioned about the same, and cops even travelled to the neighbouring country for inquiry.

Maulvi Sohail and his followers were using Pakistani numbers to threaten Hindu leaders like Sunil Rajput, Updesh Rana, Ishaan Sharma, Kuldeep Soni, Nupur Sharma and even Shabnam Sheikh, who went to Ayodhya to visit Ram Mandir. The police, in their statement, divulged that they are also looking at the terror funding angle in this matter.

Gujarat Police arrested 27-year-old Maulvi Sohail Abu Bakar Timol from Surat on 4th May. He is accused of conspiring to kill suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, party MLA from Hyderabad’s Goshamahal T Raja Singh, Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke, and Sanatan Sangh national chairman as well as social media activist Updesh Rana. The Maulvi considered them ‘gustakh’ (blasphemers). He maintained contact with supervisors living in Pakistan and Nepal to execute his nefarious plans. He was also using a foreign SIM card to evade security agencies. Now, further revelations are expected during his interrogation.

PM Modi’s big reveal on how Congress benefitted from Rajiv Gandhi’s death, how the ECI flouted rules and postponed entire polling process instead of just his seat

Shraddha Pandey
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PM Modi’s big reveal on how Congress benefitted from Rajiv Gandhi’s death, how the ECI flouted rules and postponed entire polling process instead of just his seat

On the 23rd of May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress recalling the 1991 Lok Sabha elections after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge recently said that the BJP is not providing a “level playing field” in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Kharge in a PTI interview asked why opposition leaders including JMM’s Hemant Soren and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal were arrested during elections. The Congress party recently accused the Election Commission of inclining towards the BJP.

In an interview with IndiaTV, the Prime Minister responded to the Congress party’s allegations pertaining to the “level playing field”. PM Modi while rejecting the allegations recalled the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. PM Modi recalled how the then-Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan postponed polling across the country for 22 days after Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi was killed in Sriperumbudur on the 21st of May 1991, with only one round of voting conducted. The elections were postponed until mid-June, and voting resumed on 12 and 15 June.

It is notable here that Rajiv Gandhi was not even the PM at that time, but a Congress leader and a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.

“Was that a level-playing field? Normally, when a candidate dies, the election in his constituency is adjourned and conducted on a later date. However, in 1991, election across the country was postponed, Congress was provided 21-22 days, and polling dates were given only after the funeral of Rajiv Gandhi and his ashes were toured across the country, what level playing field was it? And later he [the then-CEC TN Seshan] fought against [Lal Krishna] Advani ji on a Congress ticket,” PM Modi said.

“You [Congress] are talking about the election commission. And that’s why the justice being done will not seem a level playing field to Congress since they have so far taken the benefit of special category and favours…” the Prime Minister added.

How the Election Commission facilitated Congress’s poll campaign after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination

While the Election Commission of that time should have cancelled the polling on the Amethi seat from where Rajiv Gandhi was contesting, the ECI postponed the elections across the country flouting the rules. Thus, giving ample time to the Congress party to benefit from the sympathy wave across the country.

Such was Congress’s hold on the ‘system’ that the ECI cancelled the Lok Sabha election entirely instead of just in Amethi when Rajiv Gandhi was no longer the Prime Minister. At that time, Gandhi was just a Congress candidate contesting against BJP’s Ravindra Pratap Singh.

The exit polls of that time also suggest how Rajiv Gandhi’s death generated a sympathy wave in favour of Congress and the postponement of elections by the ECI allowed a window for the party to encash the outpouring of sympathy. Media reports from 1991 show the dramatic surge in voter turnout and swing towards the Congress. 211 seats were polled before Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and 332 seats after. The Congress(I) lost 5.7% of the vote in the first round of voting in May but gained 1.6% in the second round in June. Conspicuously, the assassination played a significant role in enhancing Congress(I) voter turnout.

Source: IndiaToday

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by LTTE terrorists, Bihar’s 6% swing against the Congress(I) in the first phase turned into a 1.8% swing in its support in the second phase. In Madhya Pradesh, turnout increased from 42% to 49%, and the Congress(I) gained more than 4%. Rajasthan had the most dramatic shift in Congress(I) fortunes between the two rounds of voting. From a minor 2% swing in its favour, the Congress(I) saw a tremendous 14% swing in the June round.

The Congress with its allies won 256 seats with 38.1% of the vote, followed by the Third Front with 133 seats (27.1%). The BJP and its allies with 124 seats (20.9%). Congress received the highest 36.4% vote share followed by BJP, Janata Dal, CPM, and so on.

Partywise vote share percentage in 1991 Lok Sabha elections (Source: IndiaVotes)

CEC TN Sheshan and Rajiv Gandhi

It is pertinent to note that the then-Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan was very close to Rajiv Gandhi. In his autobiography “Through the Broken Glass” Seshan talked about having been friends with Rajiv Gandhi. He had even advised Rajiv Gandhi to include former PMs and their families as protectees when the SPG Act (1988-89) was being drafted. Later, in 1999, TN Seshan contested on a Congress ticket against BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani from the Gandhinagar seat and lost.

The Congress party is now lamenting about “level playing field”, just because it is not them “controlling” the playing field anymore. While complaining about the arrest of Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal, who are out on bail for the election campaign, it should reflect on its own past conduct when the Gandhi family and the Congress party used the ‘system’ in their favour at their whims. While the Congress is accusing the ECI now of “not fulfilling its constitutional duty, was it ECI’s constitutional duty to countermand elections across the country instead of doing the same on just Amethi seat after Rajiv Gandhi’s killing?

PM when asked about the timing of the arrest and subsequent incarceration of Hemant Soren arrested in connection to an alleged land scam and Arvind Kejriwal who was arrested over his alleged role in the Delhi liquor scam, said that the two opposition leaders were sent to jail by courts. “We did not send them to jail. The courts sent the two chief ministers to jail. We do not have the power to send someone to jail or keep anybody in jail. Only courts have the powers. Look at what the Supreme Court said,” PM Modi said.

Notably, On 22nd May, the Supreme Court refused to entertain Soren’s plea challenging his arrest saying that Soren was pursuing parallel remedies by submitting this bail application while also appealing the HC ruling on the legal validity of the arrest.

Interestingly, much like the EVM-VVPAT blame game, the  Congress party’s attacks on the Election Commission accusing it of being biased only reflects the party’s frustration and fear of failing to defeat the BJP-led NDA.

SC refuses to consider a plea directing ECI to publish information on the total votes polled per booth

OpIndia Staff
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SC refuses to consider a plea directing ECI to publish information on the total votes polled per booth

On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to issue any interim order on a plea by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The plea sought directives for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to release final authenticated data on voter turnout at all polling stations, including the number of votes cast in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, within 48 hours of polling.

A Vacation Bench consisting of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma pointed out that the interim request in the current plea mirrored a request already made in a main petition pending since 2019.

“Compare prayer B of the 2019 plea with prayer A of the 2024 interim application. Previous Supreme Court decisions indicate this cannot be done, with one 1985 judgment stating it can only be done in exceptional cases. Why was this application not filed on March 16?” the Court queried.

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, representing ADR, responded, “We could only file after disclosures by the ECI.”

At the outset, Singh, appearing for ECI, challenged the validity of the petition filed by ADR, arguing that the issues had already been addressed in the EVM-VVPAT case judgment. Contradicting this, Dave argued that the EVM-VVPAT case dealt with post-counting issues, whereas the current petition concerns pre-counting matters.

Singh claimed that ADR’s petition was based on “unfounded suspicions” and “false allegations.” He noted that the petition, filed on May 9, did not mention the EVM-VVPAT case judgment from April 26. Referring to Article 329 of the Constitution, Singh asserted that it prevents judicial interference during the election process.

Singh also explained that the figures in the Voter Turnout App are provisional and based on secondary sources. He disputed ADR’s claim of a 6% discrepancy between the final data and the published figures, stating that the actual variance is only 1-2%.

Highlighting that the Supreme Court had questioned ADR’s credibility in the VVPAT case, Singh argued that the current petition, filed on the same day as the adverse judgment, deliberately suppressed this judgment. Singh further claimed that such petitions undermine voter turnout by continuously questioning the electoral process.

The Court, consequently, refused to grant interim relief, emphasizing the need for a non-interventionist stance during ongoing elections. “As responsible citizens, we must maintain a hands-off approach,” the bench noted.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the matter be scheduled for after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. “Prima facie, we are not inclined to grant interim relief as prayer A of the 2019 petition is similar to prayer B of the 2024 application. List the interim plea after the summer vacation,” the Court stated.

The Court clarified that no opinion was expressed on the merits, apart from the prima facie view.

On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to issue any interim order on a plea by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The plea sought directives for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to release final authenticated data on voter turnout at all polling stations, including the number of votes cast in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, within 48 hours of polling.

A Vacation Bench consisting of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma pointed out that the interim request in the current plea mirrored a request already made in a main petition pending since 2019.

“Compare prayer B of the 2019 plea with prayer A of the 2024 interim application. Previous Supreme Court decisions clearly indicate this cannot be done, with one 1985 judgment stating it can only be done in exceptional cases. Why was this application not filed on March 16?” the Court queried.

Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, representing ADR, responded, “We could only file after disclosures by the ECI.”

The Court, however, refused to grant interim relief, emphasizing the need for a non-interventionist stance during ongoing elections. “As responsible citizens, we must maintain a hands-off approach,” the bench noted.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the matter be scheduled for after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. “Prima facie, we are not inclined to grant interim relief as prayer A of the 2019 petition is similar to prayer B of the 2024 application. List the interim plea after the summer vacation,” the Court stated.

The Court clarified that no opinion was expressed on the merits, apart from the prima facie view.

Honoured to receive Guruji in Dubai: Emirati businessman Dr Bu Abdullah invites Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar for a Satsang

OpIndia Staff
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Honoured to receive Guruji in Dubai: Emirati businessman Dr Bu Abdullah invites Dhirendra Krishna Shastri of Bageshwar Dham Sarkar for a Satsang

A well-known businessman in Dubai named Dr Bu Abdullah of Bu Abdullah Group of Companies, which includes Real Estate, Legal Firm and Business Consultancy, has historically been inviting and meeting with prominent Hindu gurus, preachers and actors to Dubai. Now he has invited “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar” fame Dhirendra Krishna Shastri to organise a ‘satsang’ (Devotional programme) for the Hindus residing in the cosmopolitan city.

The businessman also tweeted a welcome message for the religious guru and wrote, “Dr Bu Abdullah was honoured to receive Guruji Dhirendra Krishna Shastri (Bageshwar Dham Sarkar) in Dubai. His presence is a special occasion that celebrates cultural connections and spiritual unity between India and the UAE (United Arab Emirates).” Devotees can also be seen touching his feet and taking his blessings in the video.

The two-day event is being held on 24 and 25 May as part of a large cultural celebration of spiritual discussions which will take place at the World Trade Center in Dubai.

Dhirendra Krishna Shastri also showered praise on the beauty, architecture and multiculturalism of Dubai. He stated, “I have reached Dubai. It is a wonderful place and has amazing natural beauty. The people here are also very polite, and it is a very safe place. The inherent respect for all cultures and beliefs is another incredible aspect of this place. This is a huge thing and they have a big and open heart. I will pray to Lord Hanuman for this country to prosper, become more prominent in the world and live in peace.”

The official handle of “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar” also gave information about the spiritual leader’s visit to Dubai and conveyed, “His two-day satsang program is going to be held on 24-25 May at the World Trade Center in Dubai. Please do not give in to anyone who approaches you requesting money or other assistance in the hopes of meeting him or receiving his blessings. It costs nothing to meet him to acquire his blessings.”

Pandit Dhirendra Krishna Shastri who was born as Dhirendra Krishna Garg is popularly known as Bageshwar Dham Sarkar or Maharaj among his followers. He is a Hindu Spiritual Guru and the peethadheeshwar (supreme pontiff or the head of a Hindu monastery or matha) of the Bageshwar Dham Sarkar, a religious Hindu pilgrimage site in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Dr.Bu Abdullah is an Emirati businessman who owns Bu Abdullah Real Estate, Bu Abdullah Business Consultancy, Bu Abdullah Investments and other ventures. He is known for his humanitarian works, and was widely recognised for the work he did during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Massive landslide kills over 100 people in Papua New Guinea, access to gold mine in Porgera blocked

ANI
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Massive landslide kills over 100 people in Papua New Guinea, access to gold mine in Porgera blocked

Over 100 people have died after a huge landslide struck a remote village in Papua New Guinea, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The landslide hit Kaokalam Village in Enga Province, about 600 kilometres northwest of Port Moresby, at 3 am.

The bodies are being recovered by the villagers, ABC reported.

According to the residents, the estimate of the death toll is above 100, although authorities have not confirmed the figure yet.

Elizabeth Laruma, the president of the Porgera Women in Business Association, said that the houses were flattened when the side of a nearby mountain gave way.

“It has occurred when people were still asleep in the early hours and the entire village has gone down,” Laruma added.”From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground.”

However, it is not yet clear whether emergency services have visited the remote area, as reported by ABC News.

Ninga Role, who is from Kaokalam but is attending university in Madang, said he received news of the damage this morning.

He highlighted that according to his estimates, at least four of his relatives had been killed in the landslide.

The videos shared on social media show residents scaling huge rocks and pulling bodies from rubble and beneath trees.

“But it is difficult work”, Role stressed.

“There are some huge stones and plants, trees. The buildings (have) collapsed,” he said.

“These things are making it hard to find the bodies fast.”

Moreover, the landslide has also blocked the access road to the Porgera town, where a large gold mine is located, ABC reported.

Laruma said that people in the area were concerned about access to goods and services.

“When this road is being closed off – and I don’t know how long it’s going to take – it’s going to have a really big impact on the people out there in terms of goods, fuel and services,” she said.

“It’s going to have a big impact on the lives of the people of Porgera and the mine as well.”

She further called on the PNG government and non-governmental organisations to provide aid with immediate relief to the area. 

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Salman Khan hit-and-run redux: Pune Porsche killer cries foul, claims family driver was driving the car that took young couple’s life

OpIndia Staff
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Salman Khan hit-and-run redux: Pune Porsche killer cries foul, claims family driver was driving the car that took young couple’s life

Days after a 17-year-old killed a young couple in Pune while overspeeding in his father’s unregistered Porsche car, he has blamed his driver for the deadly accident.

As per reports, the driver had also accepted that he was behind the steering wheel on 19th May when the luxury car ran over Anish Awadhia and Ashwini Kosta.

The accused’s friends have also testified that the family driver is responsible for the accident. The police have interrogated the said driver in connection to the hit-and-run case.

The case is reminiscent of Salman Khan’s infamous hit-and-run case, which dates back to 28th September 2002. At that time, the Bollywood actor’s Toyota Land Cruiser rammed into a bakery in the Bandra area of Mumbai.

The incident killed one person named Nurullah Mehboob Sharif and injured four others who were sleeping on the pavement outside the bakery.

Salman Khan was initially charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, drunk driving, and driving without a valid license. his defense team argued that it was his driver, Ashok Singh, who was driving the car at the time of the accident.

While a a Mumbai sessions court convicted Salman Khan of all charges, including culpable homicide, and sentenced him to five years in prison, the Bollywood actor was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in December 2015.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Salman Khan maintained that he was not driving the car at the time of the accident. His driver Ashok Singh testified that he was behind the wheel when the accident occurred. Singh claimed that the car’s tyre had burst, causing the vehicle to lose control.

Muslim portal ‘Maktoob Media’ tear-jerks about Rohingya illegals in India, bats for their citizenship even as they persecute Hindus, pose national security threat: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim portal ‘Maktoob Media’ tear-jerks about Rohingya illegals in India, bats for their citizenship even as they persecute Hindus, pose national security threat: Details

Maktoob Media, a website which focuses on creating a false narrative of Muslim victimhood on the 24th of May shared a video where they spoke to illegal Rohingya Muslims living in India. The video aimed to show how Rohingya Muslims deserve citizenship in India just like CAA extended expedited citizenship to those minorities persecuted in neighbouring Muslim-majority countries.

In the video, illegal Rohingya Muslims are talking about how they are losing hope that they will get citizenship in India. Playing victim, they say that they had fled “persecution” in Myanmar and come to India hoping they would get citizenship, but that dream seems to have shattered.

They further say that citizenship is essential for any individual, whether in India or Myanmar or anywhere. Because when one has citizenship, they can get jobs and amenities. One illegal Rohingya Muslim in the video says that because they don’t have citizenship, it is difficult for them to avail of benefits. He says that whenever he goes for a job interview or even to buy a SIM card, he is asked for his ID card and since he is not a citizen, he has trouble availing such facilities.

Maktoob Media has often been caught peddling anti-Hindu lies and regularly defends Islamists indulging in violence against non-Muslims.

While Maktoob Media is trying to tear-jerk and also further the false narrative against CAA, what one of the illegal migrants said in the video is accurate – citizenship is critical. It indeed is critical and therefore, citizenship is a privilege and not a right. Every country has to right to refuse citizenship to those who cross their borders illegally and set rules and regulations for acquiring citizenship. In fact, any country is well within its right to even set requirements for acquiring citizenship and also evaluate the threat perception of granting citizenship to an individual or a group of people.

In 2019, Amit Shah had clearly stated that Rohingya Muslims would never be granted citizenship in India. Home Minister Amit Shah also pointed out that India had not ratified any international convention on refugees and as such, international laws on refugees were not binding upon India as a sovereign country. He also said that India had never accepted any refugee policy.

It is important to remember here that India is not a party to the 1951 Convention on Refugees and neither the 1967 Protocol. Therefore, no international convention is binding on India. Even if we take into account the international conventions, the Rohingyas are clearly bypassing a safe haven in the form of Bangladesh to reach India for the purpose of gaining material benefits. Thus, quite clearly, it makes them economic migrants when they enter India and not persecuted minorities.

It is pertinent to understand that giving Rohingya Muslims citizenship comes with dangers that India must not succumb to.

In May 2015 a JSTOR research paper titled ‘Myanmar at the crossroads: Shadows of jihadi extremism’ informed about the upsurge flow of jihadi extremist ideology in Muslims of Myanmar aided by the network of terrorist organisations. The study mentioned the harsh sectarian conflict in Myanmar along with threats posed by local insurgent groups, including the probability that these groups might attempt to link up with jihadist terrorist groups like ISIS. JSTOR highlighted the emerging dangers deriving from the intensification of the use of social media networks by jihadist extremists to expand their influence and spread their caliphate ideology.

Along with this, in December 2016 a Crisis group paper reported the rise of a ‘new Muslim insurgency in the Rakhine state’ citing based on developments including militant attacks on Myanmar security forces on 9th October and 12th of November, 2016. The report called it violence ‘qualitatively different from anything in recent decades’ which, it added, ‘seriously threatens the prospects of stability and development in the state and has serious implications for Myanmar as a whole.’  Since 9 October, several hundred young Rohingya men from Bangladesh have joined the fight. However, the main fighting force is made up of Muslim villagers in northern Rakhine State who have been given basic training and organised into village-level cells to limit risks of compromise. These are mostly led by young Islamic clerics (known as “Mullahs” or “Maulvis”) or scholars (“Hafiz”) from those villages.

The Rohingyas – who are revered in India by the liberal, commie, Islamist brigade as innocent and hapless – are just another group of veiled jihadis who, at the right opportunity, would massacre every non-Muslim in their path. The quintessential practical example of this vindictive nature of Rohingyas is the recent massacre of innocent Hindus in Myanmar in 2017. Amnesty International in 2018 reported that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) – the militant terrorist wing of Rohingyas – massacred up to 99 Hindu women, men, and children as well as additional unlawful killings and abductions of Hindu villagers in August 2017.

Based on dozens of interviews conducted there and across the border in Bangladesh, as well as photographic evidence analysed by forensic pathologists, the organisation revealed how Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) fighters sowed fear among Hindus and other ethnic communities with these brutal attacks.

At around 8 am on 25 August 2017, ARSA attacked the Hindu community in the village of Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, in a cluster of villages known as Kha Maung Seik in northern Maungdaw Township. Armed men dressed in black and local Rohingya villagers in plain clothes rounded up dozens of Hindu women, men and children. They robbed, bound, and blindfolded them before marching them to the outskirts of the village, where they separated the men from the women and young children. A few hours later, the ARSA fighters killed 53 of the Hindus, execution-style, starting with the men.

Eight Hindu women and eight of their children were abducted and spared after ARSA fighters forced the women to agree to “convert” to Islam. The survivors were forced to flee with the fighters to Bangladesh several days later, before being repatriated to Myanmar in October 2017 with the support of the Bangladeshi and Myanmar authorities.

Bina Bala, a 22-year-old woman who survived the massacre, told Amnesty International:

“[The men] held knives and long iron rods. They tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us. I asked what they were doing. One of them replied, ‘You and Rakhine are the same, you have a different religion, you can’t live here. He spoke the [Rohingya] language. They asked what belongings we had, then they beat us. Eventually, I gave them my gold and money.”

According to a detailed list of the dead, given to Amnesty International, the victims from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik include 20 men, 10 women, and 23 children, 14 of whom were under the age of eight. This is consistent with multiple testimonies the organisation gathered in both Bangladesh and Myanmar, from survivors and witnesses as well as Hindu community leaders.

The same day, all of the 46 Hindu men, women, and children in the neighbouring village of Ye Bauk Kyar disappeared. Members of the Hindu community in northern Rakhine State presume the community was killed by the same ARSA fighters. Combined with those from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, the total death toll is believed to be 99.

The bodies of 45 people from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik were unearthed in four mass graves in late September 2017. The remains of the rest of the victims from that village, as well as all 46 from Ye Bauk Kyar, have not been found to date.

The bone-chilling report unearthed the dark hatred against Hindus in the minds of Rohingyas and gave voice to the dead. The dead man tells no tales as they say but they certainly tell about the killer who killed them. Dead Hindus of Rakhine are the testimony to the extent of extremism and terrorism Rohingyas can reach.

In fact, there are several research papers and reports that also point towards Rohingya Muslims’ links to Pakistani terror outfits and ISIS.

Days before the Maktoob Media tear-jerker, Rohingya Muslims had burnt 5,000 houses of Hindus and Buddhists in Myanmar

Less than a month ago, Rohingya Muslims had yet again persecuted Hindus and Buddhists in Myanmar. Tensions escalated into communal violence, with reports indicating that nearly 5,000 houses belonging to Buddhists and Hindus were destroyed in Buthidaung, located just 25 km from the Bangladesh border.

“These 5,000 houses were targeted because they belonged to Buddhists and Hindus. Many residents had fled to safer areas, leaving houses empty, but those who remained were forcibly removed, and their homes were looted and burned before their eyes. Conscripts, including young boys from Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, were used for this operation,” a source revealed.

The destruction occurred between April 11th and 21st 2024. Buthidaung is now under the control of the ethnic rebel group Arakan Army.

With the long history of violence against Hindus, it would be foolish for India to grant citizenship to Rohingya Muslims. CAA is a specific law aimed to right historical wrongs. India was partitioned based on religion and while India held up to its bargain of taking care of its minorities, neighbouring Islamic countries have regularly persecuted Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians. The CAA aimed to merely provide expedited citizenship to those minorities of Islamic nations who took refuge in India before 2014. The CAA does not affect the citizenship rights of Indian Muslims, however, platforms like Maktoob Media have played a significant role in disseminating misinformation about CAA, which eventually led to the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots of 2020.

Telangana: Statue of Saint Kanaka Dasa installed by Hindus on private land forcibly removed by Muslims in Gattu Mandal

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: Statue of Saint Kanaka Dasa installed by Hindus on private land forcibly removed by Muslims in Gattu Mandal

In Gorlakhandoddi, Gattu Mandal of Telangana, Muslims forcibly removed a statue of Saint Kanaka Haridas, as reported by Organiser. The statue, which was set to be unveiled on May 22, was installed on private land in Jogulamba Gadwal district in Telangana.

As per the report, devotees of the Kuruwa community revere Saint Kanakadas as their family deity. On the day of the unveiling ceremony, the community was doing Puja since 4 am. However, some local Muslims arrived at around 7 am in the middle of the ceremonies and forcibly removed the statue.

The local Hindus say that the statue was installed on a private plot of land with all proper documentation, and ownership papers in place. However, some Muslim families in the village opposed it, claiming the statue would obstruct the access path to their houses. The complainants say that there is a road on 2 sides for the houses of the Muslims, but still, they oppose the statue, adding that their main objection was for the installation of a ‘Hindu idol’ near their homes.

The local Hindus have named Mohammad, Mabusaab, Imam, Ranju, and Nawab as accused. The local Hindus have also alleged that the administration is surprisingly siding with the Muslims on the issue. The village has 20-25 Muslim families living alongside 800 other families, as per the Organiser report.

Reacting to the incident, Dr. Shashidhar, joint secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Telangana, said, “The act by Muslims of Gorlakhandoddi is condemnable and state police must arrest and punish the culprits. Every day,  the hate crimes initiated by Muslims are increasing, and it seems that the state Congress government is silently supporting these radical Muslims, who are found to be aggressors.

Shri Kanaka Dasa, initially known as Thimappa Nayaka, was born in present-day Karnataka in the days of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was a prominent figure among the saints of the Bhakti movement in the 16th century. He is a revered figure among many South Indian communities. Hindus and is celebrated for his spiritual, and literary contributions to the culture.

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