Citing the occasion of Independence Day, several leftist Islamists had claimed that a Tiranaga Yatra in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna carried out by some Muslims was ‘interrupted’ by the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal (BD) who later ‘provoked’ the Muslims and forced the nearby market area to shut the shops.
‘Journalist’ Meer Faisal posted the videos of the incident claiming that when Muslims were holding a Tiranga Yatra, the VHP and Bajrang Dal members brought their own Tiranga Yatra in front of them and raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ which provoked the Muslims. “The Muslims were provoked, and later When there was a scuffle between the two groups, the workers of the VHP and Bajrang Dal started forcibly closing the market. The shop whose shop was not closed was ransacked and closed by the Bajrang dal and VHP”, he alleged in the tweet.
He further added that the Muslim individuals reached the police station and lodged a complaint. According to Faisal, the police also began reviewing the matter based on the viral videos.
Muslims were taking out the Tiranga Yatra in Madhya Pradesh's Guna when the alleged Bajrang Dal and VHP workers brought the Tiranga Yatra from the front and shouted Jai Shri Ram slogans in the procession being taken out by the Muslims. The Muslims were provoked, and later When… pic.twitter.com/7OPrR85YVu
The said tweet was amplified by several Islamists who demanded serious action against the alleged members of VHP and Bajrang Dal who according to them engaged in a scuffle with the participants of the Tiranga Yatra organized by the Muslims in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna.
However, it was discovered that there was no scuffle between the two communities and that no members of VHP and Bajrang Dal were present on the spot when the incident happened. The incident is said to have happened on August 15 but the videos of the incident were posted by the Islamists on August 16.
No scuffle, no VHP or Bajrang Dal members involved; Here’s what actually happened
As per the reports, two Tiranga Yatras were scheduled to be conducted in Guna on the eve of Independence Day, one by Muslims and the other one by the other local Hindus. While the routes of both the scheduled Yatras were different, confusion erupted when some Hindus accidentally joined the Tiranga Yatra organized by Muslims. They thought they had joined the Yatra organized by local Hindus. On realizing this, the Hindus decided to move out of the place but their bikes broke down.
Meanwhile, some of the Muslims approaching on bikes towards the same spot also faced the issue of bikes breaking down. There was no scuffle but the market was made to assume that the two communities had engaged in a fight. Later, some more local Hindus who were conducting another Tiranga Rally in different areas came to know about the incident and reached the spot.
As per the Dainik Bhasker report, several active Muslims and Hindus asked the shopkeepers in the market to shut the shops. The police also immediately reached the spot after being informed about the matter.
Police pacified the matter, no FIR lodged
CSP Shweta Gupta, and PI Anup Bhargav pacified the matter in the market and allowed the members, Muslims and Hindus, to conclude their respective Tiranga rallies. Members from both communities then reached the police station and accused each other of starting the scuffle. Members of both communities were then heard and suggested to maintain peace, to which they agreed. Hence, no FIR in the case has been lodged.
‘No rally was organized by VHP or Bajrang Dal’, confirms VHP
OpIndia meanwhile talked to Rakesh Pandey who is the National Social Media Head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He confirmed that no member of VHP or Bajrang Dal was involved in the incident as is being claimed by Islamist journalist Meer Faisal.
सर पत्रकरिता छोड़कर झूठ फैलाने का काम शुरू कर दीजिए आज कल विहिप और बजरंग दल के खिलाफ झूठा प्रचार करने वालो को दुकान खूब चलती हैं।
“There was no such Tiranga Rally organized by the VHP or Bajrang Dal. If there would have been any rally, official permission would have been taken. Nothing of this sort happened. VHP and Bajrang Dal have nothing to do with this incident,” Pandey said.
On asking about the claims made by ‘journalist’ on social media, Pandey said that it has now become fashionable to defame VHP and Bajrang Dal. “This is sheer propaganda which is being run by the Islamists. They only know to spread lies. People like these should stop calling themselves as journalists,” he added.
On August 9, Allahabad High Court said that the right to construct a Temple on private land is protected under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India. The court further observed that such construction cannot “offend” the religious sentiments of any other community. The judgment by the bench of Justice Salil Kumar Rai and Justice Surendra Singh came in a 2016 matter where Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam Ji Maharaj was given permission to construct Kalki Bhagwan Temple on private plots without obtaining permission from the district administration. Notably, Acharya Pramod has made headlines for Muslim appeasement.
Acharya Pramod bought the land with a plan to build the Kalki Dham Temple in Achora Kambo village of Sambhal district in 2016, with the laying foundation stone scheduled in November 2016. However, the National President of the Muslim Kisan Union, Inamur Rahman Khan, objected to it, claiming the Muslims in the area did not want the construction to happen. He approached District Magistrate in the matter, after which the DM passed a stay on construction.
It is notable that at that time Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government was in power in Uttar Pradesh.
An application to recall the 2016 order was dismissed by the DM office in 2017, saying that Sambhal was a communally sensitive area and the temple’s construction might disturb law and order. The DM stated that Acharya Pramod could not claim Freedom of Religion under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India.
The District Magistrate further pointed out that if people visit the temple, they will encroach on the government land around the plots for parking. Furthermore, a mosque just 144 meters away from the proposed temple site led to opposition from the Muslim community. The DM added that a Kalki Temple already existed 20 KM away from the proposed site.
Also, any regulatory authority did not sanction the plan of the Temple and the Zila Panchayat of Sambhal or the Nagar Palika, which also became a reason for staying on the construction of the DM.
Acharya Pramod approached High Court against the DM orders. In the petition, Pramod’s counsel argued that the orders by DM were based on assumptions and not evidence. In its judgment, the court noted there was no dispute regarding the title of the petitioner over the land. Furthermore, the court observed the case was not of any religious group that would hurt the religious sentiments of any other religious group or community.
The court noted there was no evidence presented in the court on record that would show any substantial opposition by the Muslim community, and even if there was any opposition, “mere construction of a Temple by any person on his private property cannot offend the religious sensibilities of any other community.”
The court observed, “The right of the petitioner to construct a Temple on his private property is protected by Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, and there is no evidence that the construction would have disturbed public order or was against morality or would be inimical to public health. As noted earlier, there is nothing on record to show that the petitioner, by constructing a Temple intended to insult any other religious community, and mere objection by a few persons belonging to other religions cannot be a ground to restrict the rights guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India.”
The court said the district administration has the right to exercise its power under the CrPC, including the powers under Section 144 of the CrPC, if any communal disturbance happens after the temple’s construction. Furthermore, it is DM’s duty to protect the fundamental rights of every citizen.
Acharya Pramod and his Muslim appeasement
Interestingly, a controversial Congress leader, Acharya Pramod, once said, “Nahi hai jo Mohammad ka, humara ho nahi sakta.” (People who are not followers of Prophet Mohammad cannot be together with us). His statement came in 2017 while Muslims in Sambhal opposed Temple construction on his land.
वोट के लिए क्या क्या करना पड़ता है- लखनऊ से कांग्रेस के लोकसभा उम्मीदवार कह रहे हैं कि "नहीं है जो मोहम्मद का हमारा हो नहीं सकता " सुने @DrKumarVishwas के अंदाज़ में @AcharyaPramodk का आपत्तिजनक कविता पाठ। pic.twitter.com/qIdUNVqZ5H
In June 2017, while addressing an event, ‘Acharya’ Pramod made a shocking communal statement and said, “People who are not followers of Prophet Mohammad cannot be together with us”. Interestingly, these videos became viral in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh after ABP journalist Vikas Bhaduria shared them.
Pramod Krishnam is also known for his severe Muslim appeasement. Claiming to be an ardent follower of Hazrat Ali, son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad, Krishnam has also attempted to polarise the elections by seeking votes based on religion. As the Congress party has fielded him as a candidate from the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency, Pramod Krishnam has been busy appeasing Lucknow’s Shia community voters by reciting songs and prayers on Hazrat Ali during his campaigning.
On April 28th April, Pramod Krishnam speaking to Kabil Sibal-backed Tiranga TV, went on to question the Narendra Modi government for promulgating an ordinance three times on the issue of Triple Talaq and not once on Ram Mandir. By deliberately ignoring that Triple Talaq has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court and Ram Mandir issue is still being sub-judice, Pramod Krishna resorted to propaganda by falsely comparing a religious issue with a socio-gender issue of Triple Talaq.
Bharatiya Janata Party has released the list of 21 candidates for the assembly elections to be held later this year in Chhattisgarh. Vijay Baghel is one of the names on the aforementioned list who is a Lok Sabha MP from the Durg constituency. He is scheduled to contest polls from the Patan assembly seat which falls under the Durg district.
Interestingly, Congress leader and Chief Minister of the state Bhupesh Baghel is the present MLA from there. More importantly, there is an uncle-nephew relationship between the two leaders, as Vijay Baghel is the nephew of Bhupesh Baghel. Now, it would be intriguing to witness the electoral contest between the uncle and nephew in this seat.
The Patan assembly has long served as the district’s main political hub. There has been political consciousness among freedom fighters in the region since the beginning and the results of the awareness are regularly visible during the polls. This is the reason behind the change in results every time during elections because the voters have always voted with their discretion.
Bharatiya Janata Party had fielded Moti Lal Sahu in front of the Congress veteran from this seat last time and he had won by more than 27000 votes. This is the fourth time that Vijay Baghel will be in the fray against his uncle. He had first contested the poll in 2003 on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket from the Patan seat opposite the latter and was defeated.
He was defeated a second time in 2008 by the Congressman by a margin of 7,500 votes. Afterwards, the nephew and uncle faced off yet again in 2013 and the former failed to win for the third time. Vijay Baghel replied, “I will accept the party’s decisions if they send me to run from the Patan assembly constituency,” when asked if he would contest in the assembly elections from the Patan constituency, in an interview.
Ram Vichar Netam, the party’s most prominent tribal figure, has also had his seat transferred by the Bharatiya Janta Party. He has been now chosen to run for the Ramanuganj seat rather than Balrampur. He has been in politics for more than 30 years and has been a cabinet minister for 10 years. He has also served as the president of Scheduled Tribe Morcha. The party has given a ticket to former Chief Minister Raman Singh’s nephew Vikrant Singh from Khairagarh.
There are a total of 90 assembly seats in Chhattisgarh. The state currently has a total of 11 Lok Sabha and 5 Rajya Sabha seats. There are a total of 27 districts in Chhattisgarh. A total of 51 seats in the state are reserved for general, 10 seats for Scheduled Castes and 29 seats for Scheduled Tribes.
The BJP suffered a humiliating loss in the 2018 Chhattisgarh assembly elections. The party only succeeded in winning 15 seats whereas Congress was able to capture 68 seats and formed the government. It is currently preoccupied with addressing numerous concerns as well as determining the causes behind the seats it lost and formulating a future strategy.
Furthermore, Bharatiya Janata Party has also announced the names of 39 individuals who are set to contest the upcoming assembly election in Madhya Pradesh.
On Thursday, 17th August 2023, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that Aam Aadmi Party is a party of fools. He made this statement while backing party leader Alka Lamba’s remarks that the Congress party will contest all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the upcoming general elections of 2024, hinting at no alliance with AAP despite being part of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance.
In Delhi, a dispute arose between Congress and Aam Aadmi Party over contesting 7 Lok Sabha seats from the capital city. The Congress earlier rejected its leader Alka Lamba’s statement that the Congress party will contest on all these seats, but another party leader Sandeep Dikshit has now come ahead and defended her.
Sandeep Dikshit said that AAP is a party of fools. He asked if Lamba says Congress will prepare to contest all seven seats, then what is wrong with it.
Sandeep Dikshit said, “Aam Aadmi Party is an army of fools. Do they understand anything? What does preparation mean? Does preparation mean, we have decided on the candidates? I am not saying that there is an alliance with them. They (Aam Aadmi Party) live in lies. Lies, and blackmail – they do just that.”
Sandeep Dikshit added, “What can one do with a man who habitually says such a thing? We have made a plan to empower ourselves. So we will be strong in 7 Lok Sabha seats and 70 assembly seats. We will help a party in an alliance only when we are strong in the first place.”
Sandeep Dikshit said, “We have planned to empower ourselves in Delhi. Let me give you an example of what it means to prepare yourself for elections. We are in New Delhi seat, we decided that we will fight on New Delhi, we got an alliance with TMC, we got Chandni Chowk instead of New Delhi, we did not prepare, then what will we do?”
Sandeep Dikshit said, “When we prepare, it is obvious that there will be preparation on seven seats. If we prepare, then we will help the other party as well. Sometimes it feels like there is no understanding of anything, no trust in anyone else. The problem is just that the man who cheats on the world so much believes that every man cheats on him. He checks in every word the possibility of getting cheated because he himself is a fraudster. There is a tendency. As it is said, those who are on the border think that a bullet has been fired even if the tire bursts. They have that tendency.”
Earlier, Congress leader Alka Lamba stirred up a hornet’s nest by claiming that the party will fight all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi alone. This came after Delhi Congress leaders on Wednesday, 16th August 2023, met the Congress top brass to review preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections next year. This is significant because both Congress and AAP are parts of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, showing the continuing rift between the parties.
The statement by Lamba was met with a fierce response from Congress’ I.N.D.I.A. partner, AAP. After Lamba’s statement, AAP said that when Congress wants to fight elections alone, what is the point of making the alliance I.N.D.I.A.? Now, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit has come ahead in support of Alka Lamba’s statement.
A day after Congress leader Digvijay Singh said that there are a “few good people” in the Bajrang Dal adding that if voted to power, Congress will not ban the group, BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday, August 17, took a swipe at Singh saying that “someone’s” eye flu is getting cured now. Mishra asserted that forget actually banning, no one can even think of banning Bajrang Dal in Madhya Pradesh.
During a media interaction in Bhopal, today said, “Nobody can even think of banning Bajrang Dal in Madhya Pradesh. I also issued a letter on May 3 this year for the same. Someone’s (Digvijaya Singh) eye flu is getting cured now. Gradually, they are seeing good people in a nationalist organisation.”
The BJP leader further asserted that Bajrang Dal is an organisation comprising patriots.
In a few days, all the webs of eye flu will be cleared, and they will understand that Bajrang Dal is a group of rashtra bhakts. Those who are now seeing a few good people will see all the good people in the nationalist organisation,” Minister Mishra added.
राष्ट्र भक्तों के संगठन बजरंग दल पर मध्यप्रदेश में प्रतिबंध लगाना तो दूर की बात है, कोई इस विषय में सोच भी नहीं सकता।
दिग्विजय सिंह जी का आई फ्लू अब दूर हो रहा है और अब उन्हें बजरंग दल में अच्छे लोग नजर आ रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/u3m0Op5Z6o
Narottam Mishra in a conversation with ANI reiterated his statement that nobody can even think of banning Bajrang Dal in Madhya Pradesh. He taunted Congress over the party’s promise in its election manifesto in Karnataka to ban the Hindu rights group, saying that were they able to impose a ban on Bajrang Dal there. Mishra went on to point out that Congress is remembering Hindus as the elections are approaching saying that the Congress leaders are now attending Mahakal Sawari events, doing Kanwar Yatra and even organising Bhagwat Kathas.
“We had said earlier that nobody can think of a ban (on Bajrang Dal). Congress collects votes by spreading lies. Were they able to ban it in Karnataka? But it’s good that now they are remembering Hindus and realising their power. Someone is organising Bhagwat, someone is attending Mahakal Ki Sawari, someone is doing Kanwar Yatra, and now someone is seeing good people in Bajrang Dal. They are saying few good people but will soon say all…,” Mishra said.
#WATCH | Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra says, "We had said earlier that nobody can think of a ban (on Bajrang Dal). Congress collects votes by spreading lies. Were they able to ban it in Karnataka?…" https://t.co/FlxqpsjJzmpic.twitter.com/QMQdPa2WUQ
This comes after Congress’s Digvijay Singh on Wednesday said that there are a “few good people in Bajrang Dal” adding that if voted to power in the coming state assembly elections, the group will not be banned.
During a media interaction at Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office in Bhopal, Singh said, “We will not ban Bajrang Dal if we win elections in Madhya Pradesh as there can be some good people in Bajrang Dal as well, but we will not spare anyone involved in riots or violence.”
It is pertinent to recall that Congress in its manifesto for Karnataka assembly elections this year had vowed to ban Bajrang Dal, the party named the Hindu rights group alongside the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) which has been involved in terror activities.
Interestingly, Congress after receiving backlash over its vow to ban Bajrang Dal in Karnataka was compelled to resort to damage control as party leader Veerappa Moily said that Bajrang Dal cannot be banned by the state government. Moily back in May this year, also claimed that there was no proposal to ban Bajrang Dal.
On Wednesday, August 16, a woman from Mumbai, who claims to be a model, was detained by Karnataka police in connection with a honey-trapping case. A gang led by the model is said to have extorted huge amounts of money from around a dozen men aged between 20-50 by threatening them.
The accused woman, the prime suspect in the case, has been identified as Meher who would trap the men through the Telegram application in the name of Neha. After trapping the men, Meher and her aides also forced them to convert their religion to Islam and perform circumcision, apart from blackmailing them for money.
The incident is said to have happened within the jurisdiction of Bengaluru’s Puttenahalli police station.
According to the police, Neha, alias Meher, used Telegram to contact naïve people in Bengaluru between the ages of 20 and 50. She enticed them to have sex in her home in J.P. Nagar’s fifth stage. She would invite them home and welcome them inside her house wearing a bikini. She would then forcefully hug the victims and then would kiss them.
BENGALURU : A Model called Neha alias Meher has been arrested for honey trapping more than a dozen men. She used Telegram to trap, invited men home, had sex with them, made videos. Her gang then blackmailed these men to convert to Islam, marry her & get circumcised OR PAY MONEY
— Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj (@DeepikaBhardwaj) August 17, 2023
The other members of the gang meanwhile would hide in her home and capture derogatory videos of the victim men with the model. The gang members would then appear and steal the victim’s phone and make a list of all the contacts. They would then ask the victim for money and threaten to defame him in his family and friend circle if their demands would remain unfulfilled. The gang would also threaten to send the victim’s compromising photos and videos to his family and friends and ask him to marry the accused model woman.
They would insist that the victims marry the model. As she is a Muslim, they insisted that in order to get married to her, they must convert to Islam. Additionally, they would insist that circumcision be performed right away on the victims. These demands would frighten the victims, who would then hand over large sums of money to the accused.
The gang’s unchecked rampage came to an end when one of the engineer victims mustered the fortitude to call the police. According to the initial investigation, the group had forced 12 people to give them money. The authorities are looking into further cases where they suspect the gang’s involvement.
The police had earlier arrested Sharana Prakash Baligera, Abdul Khader, and Yasin in connection with the case. The accused model Meher was however absconding. She was arrested by the police on August 16. The Police are now looking for another accused involved in the case identified as Nadeem. Investigations underway.
More than 60 migrants are feared to have died after a boat carrying them from Senegal capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Senegal’s foreign ministry announced in a statement late on August 15 that 38 people, including children, have been recovered from the boat, which had 101 passengers on board when it departed Senegal on the 10th of July. The survivors were brought ashore on the island of Sal and some of them were on stretchers.
The exact time of the tragedy was not immediately known. According to the ministry, the survivors were on the Cape Verdean island of Sal, where Senegal is coordinating with the government to arrange for their repatriation.
The majority of individuals on board the vessel, which spent more than a month at sea are believed to be Senegalese. Some of the passengers also hail from Sierra Leone and one person was a native of Guinea-Bissau. Cape Verde officials have sought worldwide action on migration to help stop additional deaths. The container was reportedly first discovered on 14 August. It was found drifting, contrary to initial accounts that claimed it had sunk.
A Spanish fishing boat saw the wooden pirogue-style boat some 320 kilometres (200 miles) off Sal, in the Cape Verde islands and immediately contacted the authorities, according to the police. As noted by a representative for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the survivors include four adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16.
The boat had left from the Senegalese fishing town of Fass Boye. Nearly everyone on the boat had grown up in the area, as stated by elected official Moda Samb, who also pointed out that several local families were still awaiting word on whether their relatives were among the survivors.
The survivors are being cared for, mentioned Jose Moreira, a health officer on Sal, with an emphasis on rehydration and tests for ailments like malaria. Health Minister Filomena Goncalves said, “We know that migration issues are global issues, which require international cooperation, a lot of discussions and global strategy. We all, all the nations have to sit down at the table and see what we can do so that we don’t lose any more lives at sea, above all”
IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli reckoned safe migration routes were “sorely lacking” and their absence provides “room for smugglers and traffickers to put people on these deadly journeys.” It’s possible that the survivors wound up in Cape Verde, but it wasn’t their original location. She added that IOM is collecting information and did not yet have details about the latest incident.
The archipelago is 600 kilometres (370 miles) off the coast of West Africa and is a major migratory route to the Canary Islands, a Spanish enclave that many people view as a gateway to the EU. It is one of the most perilous voyages a migrant might undertake, per the IOM.
Natasha Tsangarides, Associate Director of Advocacy at Freedom from Torture highlighted, “This devastating loss of life demonstrates the continued failure of Europe’s hostile approach to refugee protection.”
At least 67,000 migrants came to the Canary Islands between 2020 and 2023, while precise numbers are difficult to come by as is usual with irregular migration, over 2,500 people died during that time. The IOM emphasised that this number included all registered deaths. The actual number may be far higher given the route’s erratic and covert characteristics.
Poverty is frequently considered to be a significant issue to motivate people to leave their homes and take such a risky endeavour. Many people view migration to Europe as a way to a better life and to send money back home to help their families.
In an undated video that went viral on social media, a man could be seen getting slapped with a chappal (slippers) by a girl in a village. As per reports, the video was allegedly shot during punishment handed over to the man by the village panchayat for leaking a WhatsApp chat with a girl. The incident took place in the district of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh.
On 13th August, a complaint was filed by the girl in Bahadurgarh Police Station of Hapur district against the young man. Circle officer of the Gurmukteshwar area in Hapur district said, “A case has been lodged based on the complaint filed by the girl, and an investigation is underway.” Another officer said the duo was in a relationship, and the young man allegedly leaked a WhatsApp chat between them on social media.
Sinha said, “When the family came to know about this, the girl lodged a complaint.” When the village Panchayat learned about the incident, the villagers nabbed the young man and presented him in front of the Panchayat. The girl was asked to punish the young man by slapping him with ‘chappal’. In the video, the villagers were seen tearing off his shirt as they demanded an apology from him to the girl.
The police asked the young man to lodge a complaint against the villagers for unlawful punishment, but no complaint has been filed yet. Sinha said the police could not authenticate the video where the girl was seen slapping the young man with a chappal. It is unclear when the Panchayat was called.
The incidents of preachers entering India on tourist visas and then engaging in religious activities continue to emerge in the country. Also, such persons who illegally engage in proselytization activities, further spread hate against one particular community, specifically to be Hindus in India.
One such similar case has come to the fore amid the ongoing unrest in the state of Manipur, where a Christian missionary, a US National named Daniel Stephen Courney, who was deported and blacklisted from India in the year 2017 entered the country recently on a tourist visa. He was further seen involved in proselytization activities in Manipur under the pretext of doing social service (distributing blankets and mattresses) and preaching Christianity. He later also distributed Bibles and delivered hate speech against Hindus and the BJP-led Indian government.
As per the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, a foreign national entering India on the strength of a Tourist Visa is not allowed to preach and propagate his religion in India.
The incident came to light after Daniel Stephen Courney posted a live video from Manipur on 5th August on Facebook saying that Christians were being persecuted and that the community was being deliberately targeted. “Christianity here is being deliberately targeted. There is a conflict between Meitei and Kuki people. So Kukis are tribal Christians and they are being systematically persecuted. They are being run out of their homes. Their villages are burnt due to their Christian identity,” he could be heard saying in the video.
Further in the 13-minute long live video stream, Courney called the Indian government a ‘radical Hindu government’ and blatantly accused it of allegedly fueling the violence against the Christians. “Several villages in the northeast are Christians. I have never seen so many churches in my life. There is a systematic attempt to expunge the growth of Christianity and expunge the rapid, exponential spread of Christianity here,” he added.
The US national also stated that the maximum population in the northeast is Christian and that it is the holy land of Christians. “Christianity is metastasizing here and the current ruling political party in India feels threatened and so they are attempting to exterminate and curtail the growth of Christianity.
‘Jealousy possessed by Meitis against Kukis is main reason for conflict’
Showering praises for the Kuki community, Courney said that the tribal Christians in Manipur are blessed by God and are prosperous. He also indicated that jealousy possessed by the Meiti people against the Kukis is the main reason for the ongoing conflict in the state. “Meities are Hindus and have a hold on Imphal valley which is the capital of the state. And the hilly regions of the state are inhabited by the Kukis who are Christians. Kukis are blessed. They have cars, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. When we think of tribals, we see bows and arrows, but these people are living the good life. Even those living in villages have all the amenities. And naturally, jealousy is growing. Meities are feeling threatened by the growth and prosperity of the Kukis,” he could be heard saying.
“Manipur issue revolves around a land dispute but this is mainly an identity crisis,” he stated accusing the BJP and PM Modi of deliberately persecuting the Christians and the Muslims in India.
‘Dr. BR Ambedkar repented of Hinduism, I wish he had become a Christian’
The US national also said that the current Indian government was making attempts to violate the Indian Constitution. He also broadly wished that the chief architect of India’s Constitution Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar should have converted to Christianity instead of Buddism. “The Indian Constitution guarantees the right for people to propagate their faith. The Constitution was written by Dr BR Ambedkar. He became a Buddhist. He himself repented Hinduism and became Buddhist. I wish he had become a Christian,” he said.
He pressed that Article 25 of the Constitution of India is not like the United States and allows the propagation of faith. He claimed that around 400 churches in several villages of Manipur had been burnt and many Kuki families have been forced to leave the villages and stay at the refugee camps.
Courney spread disbelief, hate against Indian Government in the minds of refugees
As per the information obtained by OpIndia, Daniel Stephen Courney went to several villages in Manipur and ‘preached’ Christianity. He also influenced the people negatively against Hinduism under the pretext of performing social service. He offered the people staying in the refugee camps mattresses, blankets, and cooking vessels and roped in their minds massive hate against the Hindu community. One such video was obtained by OpIndia in which the rabid Christian missionary could be seen delivering a hate speech against the Hindu community and spreading disbelief against the Indian government in the name of preaching Christianity.
“The Hindus many times tried to kill me for preaching about Jesus. They put ropes around my neck. They beat me with sticks. They threw me on the ground and stepped on my head. They say you must say Jai Shri Ram or else we’ll kill you. And I said I will not wear tika (kumkum on forehead), I will not praise your God. They hit me in my face as I refused to say, Jai Shri Ram. I am Christian. I follow Jesus. Once they hit me so hard that I fell unconscious for 15 minutes. The Government of India might not help you but Lord will,” he said.
The Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), a legal rights activists body from the state of Telangana took cognizance of the event and wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs demanding strict action against the US national who is a repeat offender. The letter written by LRPF on August 14 mentioned that the US national stays in Nepal and regularly sneaks into India for Christian evangelist activities.
“His visit to Manipur is fraught with serious risks to the fragile peace in place in Manipur at this point in time. He has joined hands with Christian evangelists from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in stoking the fire in Manipur. After visiting Manipur Daniel S Courney and his fellow evangelists are putting out social media posts and videos accusing one community of harming Christians. This is leading to a dangerous situation and developing hatred between Christians and non-Christians,” the complaint letter read.
Wrote to the MHA @DGPAssamPolice & @Manipur_Police against Daniel Stephen Courney (US) involving proselytization activities in Assam. Recently he visited Manipur & delivered hate-filled speech against Indian Govt & Hindus.
— Legal Rights Protection Forum (@lawinforce) August 14, 2023
About Daniel Stephen Courney and his evangelical activities in India
The American evangelist named Daniel Stephen Courney entered India on a “Tourist Visa” in the year 2009 and stayed for over ten years. He actively participated in and supervised conversions to Christianity throughout what was formerly Andhra Pradesh. He stayed with his pastor friend in Gantur who advised him that he would have to marry locally if he wished to stay in India forever. So he got married to a Guntur District Telugu local and managed to safeguard his “Conversion Mission.”
Following a sustained follow-up by members of the LRPF team with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) of Hyderabad and the Foreigners Division, New Delhi for more than two months, the missionary was deported in 2017 and placed on a blacklist by Indian immigration authorities.
His talks are highly vehement and outright offensive to other religions, specifically Hinduism, and they also criticize the Indian government.
Image- VSK Telangana
Once, he was found guilty on two charges of violating the public order with racial and religious motivations in 2018.
He has beenreported to have used a drone to spy on an abortionist in Englewood, Colorado in 2021. He was apprehended after being spotted using the drone, which had a microphone and camera, outside Metropolitan Medical Associates on Engle Street. In the past, Courney and other pro-life campaigners also frequently held demonstrations there. He also made an effort to keep individuals out of the clinic that provides reproductive health care. He was then forbidden to enter even a distance of 25 feet from the Englewood clinic.
He is also said to have been charged in 2021, along with two other Christians, for violating the state’s anti-bias intimidation law, specifically for “shouting homophobic rhetoric directly in front of Allure Salon,” following a sermon to the openly homosexual salon owner and an employee.
Christian Missionary’s Journey in Manipur
The Facebook page of the Christian Missionary reveals that he is a father of six children. His Facebook page further indicates that he flew to Assam in the first week of August 2023, and he has reportedly been travelling the North-Eastern states with the alleged assistance of the West Bengal Joint Secretary and the International Human Rights Council.
He announced on his Facebook page on August 3, 2023, that he had distributed 50 Assamese New Testaments on Platform No. 6 of the Guwahati Railway Station, Assam, with one M.S. Kumar, a man from Hyderabad.
Screenshots of Facebook posts obtained by OpIndia
On August 5, 2023, he travelled to Senapati in Manipur State and broadcast a live video criticizing the Indian government, branding it a “Radical Hindu Government,” and accusing it of continuing to persecute Christians in the region.
On August 10, 2023, he wrote on his Facebook page that at least 400 churches were burned to the ground and asked for donations from abroad for the ‘victims’ of the unrest in Manipur. “Hundreds of Christians kills. Countless families had their homes and entire villages razed to the ground,” he wrote.
Screenshots of the Facebook Post obtained by OpIndia
He also ‘preached’ religion to the people staying in the refugee camps and influenced them against the Indian Government saying that the Government of India might not help them but Lord will.
LRPF seeks a permanent ban on the US National
In its complaint, the LRPF stated that Daniel S Courney distributed Bibles (in the Assamese language) to people at Guwahati Railway Station. “Courney is a habitual offender, once deported from India but again visited India with the same objective of converting people to Christianity. He is making false accusations against the government of India and provoking the people of Manipur with his hate-filled speech,” the complaint read.
“Despite being deported in the past, Mr Daniel Stephen Courney has not mended his ways and continues to abuse the visitor visa granted to him. He is lurking on the Indo-Nepal border and sneaking into India regularly. Only permanent blacklisting of Mr. Daniel Stephen Courney will put an end to his nefarious evangelist and Christian conversion activities,” it added demanding a permanent ban on him from entering India by declaring him as ‘Persona non-Grata’ to the Government of India.
As per the Ministry of Home Affair, a foreign national entering India on the strength of Tourist Visa is not allowed to preach and propagate his religion in India.
Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, propagation and conversion
While Courney, as mentioned above, claimed that the Constitution of India allowed its citizens to propagate religion, the Supreme Court in the year 1977 had ruled that the right to “propagate” did not mean the right to “proselytize”.
“Subject to public order, morality, and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion,” says Article 25 (1), laying out the fundamental right along with reasonable restrictions.
The Supreme Court declared in Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Others (1977) that the freedom to propagate does not entail the right to proselytize. The top court then also rejected the Odisha High Court’s position that proselytism fell under the purview of Article 25 because it is fundamental to the Christian faith.
“The word ‘propagate’ has been used in the Article as meaning to transmit or spread from person to person or from place to place. The Article does not grant right to convert another person to one’s own religion but to transmit or spread one’s religion by an exposition of its tenets,” said the five-judge Supreme Court bench in Stanislaus (1977) verdict.
The court also emphasized that if a person is given the right to convert, then the other person’s freedom of religion would be affected.
Foreigners on Tourist Visa not allowed to propagate religion in India
In the given case, as complained by the LRPF, Daniel Stephen Courney arrived in India on Tourist visa and was seen involved in Christian proselytization activities across Indian states including in Manipur recently. He also distributed Bibles and delivered hate speech against the BJP-led Indian Government.
Notably, as per the Ministry of Home Affair, a foreign national entering India on the strength of Tourist Visa is not allowed to preach and propagate his religion in India. Hence, Courney is supposed to have violated the law by entering India on a Tourist Visa and engaging in evangelical activities.
MHA’s Reponse to RTI by LRPF (document obtained by OpIndia)
Ongoing unrest in Manipur
As reported earlier, the ongoing violence in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3 in protest against the proposed inclusion of people belonging to the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).
While the tribal groups have been opposing the demand of the Meitei community’s demand for ST status for years, the recent protests and violence were triggered by a Manipur High Court order on 27 March, directing the Manipur state government to submit recommendations to the union government for the inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list. The court had issued the order after several petitions filed by Meitei activists seeking the said direction.
The high court also criticized the state government for dragging the issue for over 10 years. The demands by Meities started with a memorandum submitted to the governor in November 2012 by the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee of Manipur Valley (STDCM). The committee then met Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in December 2012 with the demand and then met prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in July 2013 with the demand. However, the PM then asked them to discuss the matter with the state cabinet.
The recent violence however got massive attention after the horrifying viral video of women being paraded naked surfaced from Manipur. The video sent shock waves across the country attracting demands of strict punishment against such heinous crimes. The perpetrators were later arrested by the state police.
On 9th August, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of the Parliament. Amit Shah was replying to the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition. He spoke for 2 hours and 13 minutes, breaking a 58-year-old record of the longest speech in the house. One of the key highlights of his speech was the mention of a poor woman named Kalavati.
Launching a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, the Home Minister said, “There is a leader in this House who has been launched in politics 13 times and he failed every time. I have seen one of the launchings. He went to a poor woman named Kalavati to have a meal and describe the heart-wrenching condition of hers here. His party was in power for six years after that. What did Kalavati get from them? Nothing. She received a gas cylinder, toilet, tap water, and free ration during the tenure of the Modi government.”
Rahul Gandhi and Kalavati
The story dates back to 2008, the year Congress first “launched” Rahul Gandhi in politics. Following the tradition of electoral outreach to the poor, the Gandhi scion met a woman named Kalavati Bandurkar in Jalka village of Yavatmal in Maharashtra amid the surging agrarian crisis in the Vidarbha region. Her husband had committed suicide and she was left alone to fend for seven daughters and two sons. Rahul Gandhi met Kalavati and reportedly gave her a cheque of three lakh rupees.
Rahul Gandhi’s visit garnered widespread media attention and financial aid began pouring in for Kalavati. He mentioned his meeting with Kalavati and another woman named Shashikala in his speech during the no-confidence motion moved against the UPA government in 2008. However, Amit Shah in his address in the Lok Sabha, during the no-trust motion against the Modi government last week, alleged that no one from the Congress followed up with Kalavati after Rahul Gandhi’s visit. He said that the house, electricity, gas, toilet, food, and healthcare was all given to her by the Narendra Modi government. Notably, two years after Rahul met Kalavati, her daughter and son-in-law reportedly committed suicide owing to debt.
Kalavati, who last met Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, reportedly refuted the Home Minister’s claims. However, the entire episode has shed light on many such similar incidents from the past wherein the Congress dynasts met the poor only for photo ops, and political opportunism. While the Nehru descendants reap political benefits, the poor who get used are forgotten, to be lost in the pages of history in the following years. One such story is that of Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother, Indira Gandhi, and her ‘adopted daughter’ Sonkeshiya.
Indira Gandhi’s ‘adopted daughter’ Sonkeshiya
In the election year 1980, a bus accident in the erstwhile Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh created ripples in New Delhi. The death of a Dalit woman named Basarkaliya created an uproar among the locals of Narayanpur village in Kushinagar where she belonged. She was survived by her eight-year-old grandson Jaiprakash and six-year-old granddaughter Sonkeshiya. The government deployed Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) in the area in a bid to pacify the locals but this decision proved counterproductive.
Sonkeshiya (Source: Amar Ujala)
A bunch of Dalit women from the village accused the PAC jawans of gang rape. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself had to pay a visit to the village for damage control. It is during this visit that Indira announced that she has ‘adopted’ the deceased woman’s granddaughter Sonkeshiya. The six-year-old Sonkeshiya made national headlines once. Indira Gandhi went on to win elections and was eventually assassinated in 1984. Sonkeshiya lost her brother a few years later. She was never visited by any Congress leader ever after to take account of her life.
Sonkeshiya with her three children (Source: Amar Ujala)
Over 40 years later in 2020, the Yogi government came to the aid of Sonkeshiya, now a wife and a mother of three. With the efforts of Kushinagar MP Vijay Dubey, Sonkeshiya’s house got a toilet. Nebua Naurangia Block President Shashank Dubey also visited Narayanpur to take stock of Sonkeshiya and her village. The locals narrated their challenges and put forth their demands related to electricity, roads, drinking water, and drainage. The Yogi administration had also assured the provision of all government schemes for Indira Gandhi’s adopted daughter and her family.
Sonkeshiya (Source: Amar Ujala)
1985: Rajiv Gandhi met Phanas Punji in Odisha, a woman who had sold a family member for just Rs 40, to buy some food
As mentioned earlier, meeting the poor has been more like an electoral tradition in Congress historically. Phanas Punji became the poster woman of Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Amalapali village in the then Kalahandi district of Odisha in 1985. “I remain all about that visit. I am where I was when he met me,” she told Down To Earth in an interview in 2022. Her story reflected the extreme poverty that swept the district.
Phanas Punji (Source: Down To Earth)
In March 1985, Phanas Punji was in the news for having sold her 14-year-old sister-in-law for Rs 40, so that she could buy some food, owing to the severe drought that had struck the district bringing farmers to their knees. Then PM Rajeev Gandhi asked her, “Why didn’t you sell your baby daughter?” to which Phanas replied, “Who would have bought a baby?” It was after this encounter that Rahul Gandhi’s father delivered the infamous statement: “Only 15 paise from the one rupee meant for the poor actually reaches them.”
Rajiv Gandhi & Sonia Gandhi (Source: India Today)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2019 took a dig at the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi over this very remark. “You would remember the remark by one of our former prime ministers on corruption. He had asserted that whatever amount Centre government sends to its people, only 15% reached the recipients and 85% gets disappeared.” PM Modi said, “The remark was a confession about the plight that country was suffering from.”
He then slammed Congress for its inability to solve the issue of corruption. PM Modi said that even decades after the former PM’s remark, the governments did nothing to solve the issue and the 85% loot continued, and on the other hand the common man continued paying taxes.
Today, Phanas lives with her family including her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren in a one-room house. The house was constructed with the support of the Naveen Patnaik government in 2015. In an article from 2016, Phanas was quoted as saying, “Go away. You guys take my pictures and sell them for a price while I continue to wallow in poverty.” Such has been the condition of a destitute woman visited by Rajeev Gandhi, a visit to no avail. Her family continues to live in debt.
Sonia Gandhi’s adopted village in Rae Bareli
Sonia Gandhi too has taken the skill of garnering headlines. Under the PM Modi-launched ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’, Sonia Gandhi adopted a village named Udwa from Jagatpur block in Rae Bareli. However, a report from 2017 during the Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections shows the dismal state of the village. In April 2017, only 19 out of the 608 households who live in Sonia Gandhi’s adopted village had a toilet. Others have to go to farms to relieve themselves. The women have to make this trip before dawn. 40 Kms away from the city Rae Bareli, Udwa had fragile tin-roofed houses where one even has to bend to enter the house. “Villagers say she has hardly visited, neither has any Congress leader inquired about their requirements,” the report from 2017 read.
A report from 3 April 2018, reads that in Udwa village, the school students were found cleaning classrooms with brooms even as teachers sat there. The toilets were locked and opened only when students needed to use them. There was no running water and it looked as if it was not cleaned for months. Similar is the fate of the Jagdishpur village adopted by Rahul Gandhi. A primary school in Jagdishpur had only one teacher present. The Principal’s room was filled with sacks of ration food and classrooms had heaps of coal. Students roamed about as their food was cooked in their classrooms.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s tribal ‘wife’ and her tragic fate
The cause of every problem often lies at its roots. The same goes for Congress and its tendency to communicate with the poor for photo-op. On 6th December 1959, Nehru visited a West Bengal village to inaugurate a dam. The Damodar Valley Corporation had chosen a 15-year-old tribal girl called Budhni Manjhiyan for Nehru’s welcome. While Budhni was extremely happy, little did she know, that her life was about to take an extremely troublesome turn.
Budhni Manjhiyan of the Santhal tribe inaugurating the dam with then PM Jawaharlal Nehru
During the inauguration, since this was the first dam being inaugurated by a tribal woman, Jawaharlal Nehru gave Budhni a garland as a mark of appreciation. He had wanted the dam to be inaugurated by someone who had worked on the construction of it. That night, the Panchayat of the Santhali society was called to discuss these ‘developments’. Budhni, to her horror, was informed that according to Tribal traditions, she was now ‘married’ to Jawaharlal Nehru, since a garland was given. Also according to Tribal traditions, since Nehru, now declared her husband, was a non-tribal, she was boycotted by the Santhali community, for being the ‘wife’ of a non-tribal.
Budhni Manjhiyan years later
At that point in time, Budhni continued to work at the Damodar Valley Corporation but that didn’t last. She was soon, in 1962, thrown out of her job and found herself helpless. She later moved to Jharkhand and struggled to make ends meet there for 7 years. When asked in 2016 what her wishes were now, she said, “I appeal to Rahul Gandhi to get us a house and a job for my daughter, so we can spend the rest of our lives in peace.”
While there is no record of Rahul Gandhi heeding the tribal woman’s prayers, Congress leaders have continued to use the inauguration of the dam by Budhni to epitomize the Nehru-Gandhi name till as recently as in March this year.
Now @SupriyaShrinate, the lady version of @JhaSanjay, did not even know that it was in Odisha. Sings praises of #Nehru quoting someone who tweeted that it was Adivasi Lady inaugurating BARC. While the tweep deleted the tweet, our lady's pride paraphrase is still hanging around pic.twitter.com/2eaeQBTsnD
From photo-ops, and shifting blames, to ignorance and elitism, Congress has time and again used the poor to score political brownie points. In fact, elitism is at the center of it all, a sense of “us doing charity for them.” This very elitism was last visible even in the lower ranks when the party took a jibe at PM Modi for his English accent while addressing the joint session of the US Congress on 23 June 2023.
Their clear disconnect from the grassroots, and Indian and human values in general that showed when Nehru garlanded an Adivasi woman also reflected when Rahul and Priyanka smiled for the cameras while on their way to Hathras to meet the family of the gang rape victim.
बेहद शर्मनाक,हाथरस की बेटी के लिए ग़म और शोक मनाने निकले भइया बहना का असली चेहरा देख लीजिए,देखिए कि कैमरा देखते ही मातम मनाने वाले राहु़ल प्रियंका गाड़ी में कैसे हंसी ठहाके लगाते मस्ती करते हाथरस आ रहे,दरअसल ये ख़ुशी UP में नफरत की आग फैलाने को लेकर है,हाथरस बहाना है,UP जलाना है। pic.twitter.com/qZlCJg0Viz
The siblings came under intense criticism for their callousness. People pointed out how they were laughing and having fun while visiting the family of the bereaved. One would have expected the prevailing mood to be somber considering the circumstances of their visit, however, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi appear to be laughing and making merry on their way to meet the victim of a family which has only recently lost their daughter. It is ironic the number of times that Rahul Gandhi claims to speak up for the poor by casting aspersions against the Modi government accusing it of aiding “Adani, Ambani”.
This is the same Rahul Gandhi who in 2013 had made headlines for undermining the poor saying that “poverty is a state of mind.” “Poverty does not mean the scarcity of food, money, or material things. If one possesses self-confidence, then one can overcome it,” Rahul was quoted as saying. Every time Rahul Gandhi and Congress pretend to speak for the poor and against the Central government on poverty, it seems they attempt to convince themselves more of his claims than anyone else.
