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America can learn a lot from India: Former USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore on PM Modi’s Indian diaspora address

ANI
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America can learn a lot from India: Former USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore on PM Modi’s Indian diaspora address

Former Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Johnnie Moore has said that “America can learn a lot from India” adding that India is the most pluralistic country in the whole world.

Moore’s reaction came in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC held on Friday (Local Time). 

Speaking to ANI, the former commissioner of US Commission on International Religious Freedom said, “I met the Prime Minister. I thanked him for not only coming to the US but also bringing together Americans.”

“America can learn a lot from India. India is the most pluralistic country in the entire world. It is a laboratory of religions. I went to India to learn about religion and one of the remarkable things about India is, there are more languages and more religions and more diverse people in that single democracy that any example in human history – something we should be celebrating every chance that we can get,” Moore added.

US Congressman Shri Thanedar also hailed the Prime Minister’s address saying he was very proud of PM Modi.

After PM Modi’s address to the Indian diaspora, US Congressman Shri Thanedar, said, “Very exciting. I have never seen this kind of enthusiasm for any visiting PM. I am very proud of PM Modi. He is enormously popular. I am looking forward to working with him to broaden and deepen our relationship.”

Satnam Singh Sandhu, convenor of IMF (Indian Minority Foundation) also attended PM Modi’s event and underscored the Prime Minister’s efforts in strengthening India-US relations.

Sandhu said, “PM Modi has given new heights to the relationship between India and the United States. All Sikhs are extremely happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work in the last 9 years. We all want him to take India ahead always. The outcomes of this partnership will be beneficial for India.”

Following his interaction with the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Building, PM Modi emplaned for Egypt for a two-day visit to the Arab nation.

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

American singer Mary Millben touches the feet of PM Modi, sings the Indian national anthem. Watch

OpIndia Staff
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American singer Mary Millben touches the feet of PM Modi, sings the Indian national anthem. Watch

On Friday (June 23), popular American singer Mary Millben took everyone by surprise after she touched the feet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following her performance at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington DC.

Mary Millben sang India’s national anthem in the presence of PM Modi and the Indian diaspora. Thereafter, she greeted the Indian Prime Minister with a ‘Namaste’ and went on to touch his feet out of respect.

Amidst chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, the duo also exchanged a few words on the stage. The event was hosted by the United States Indian Community Foundation (USICF) during which PM Modi delivered his goodbye speech to the Indian diaspora.

Born in Oklahoma City, Mary Millben performed a soulful rendition of the Indian National anthem at the Ronald Regan Centre.

Prior to her performance, the American singer had tweeted, “I will rest in the end, knowing that anything I did of great significance is because He (God) did it through me. Tonight as I perform the Indian National Anthem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and distinguished guests, India and Indian communities across the world, you are in my heart and thoughts.”

She added, “We are family – ‘one earth, one family, one future. JaiHind and God bless the #USIndia alliance.”

Mary Millben also participated in the 9th International Yoga Day, which was held at the United Nations on June 21, 2023. Her videos went viral on social media after she sang the Hindu devotional song ‘Om Jai Jagdish.’ She enjoys a massive fan base in India.

‘Obama insults India because it’s a Hindu country’: what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Krauthammer said in 2015

OpIndia Staff
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‘Obama insults India because it’s a Hindu country’: what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Krauthammer said in 2015

On Thursday (June 22), former US President Barack Obama courted controversy by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record. He deliberately made these remarks at the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his tour to the USA.

Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, suggested that the Indian Prime Minister must be told by the Biden administration about protecting the ‘Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.’ He also hinted at another ‘partition’ of India under the Modi government.

However, Barack Obama’s bias is not just pro-Muslim, but it is essentially anti-Hindu. An audio clipping of a 2015 interview of Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Charles Krauthammer went viral on social media in which he clearly mentioned that Obama insults India because it is a Hindu country. Charles Krauthammer made these remarks in a radio interview he gave to the radio host Hugh Hewitt in 2015.

In 2015, during his visit to India, then-US president Barack Obama commented about the so-called religious intolerance in India. He also dragged India into a discussion where he was sermonising on intolerance with Syria and Iraq. Lambasting at his speech, Charles Krauthammer said that it was a combination of the banal and the repulsive.

Charles Krauthammer said, “What the hell is he doing bringing India into this? I mean, it’s the first time I’ve heard India drawn into this discussion. Here he is essentially insulting, and it’s because it’s a Hindu country. It’s not Muslim. I mean, he’ll say in the name of Christ. He won’t say in the name of Muhammad and in the name of Allah. He won’t use those words. And then he goes after India, which is probably our strongest, most stable, most remarkable, democratic ally on the planet, considering all the languages and religions that it harbours. It has the second-largest Muslim population on Earth. And yet he goes after it as a way of saying hey, everybody here is at fault. They are not at fault.”

He added, “This is a combination of the banal and the repulsive. The banal is the adolescent who discovers that well, man is fallen, and many religions have abused their faith and used it as a weapon. This is what you discover when you’re 12, or 17, and what you discuss in the Columbia dorm room. He’s now bringing it to the world as a kind of a revelation, and he does it two days after the world is still in shock by the video of the burning alive of the Jordanian pilot as a way of saying hey, what about Joan of Arc? I mean, this is so distasteful.”

Krauthammer virtually hammered Obama for underplaying the barbarism with which the Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh was burnt alive by the terrorists of the Islamic States of Iraq and Syria. An undated video of this heinous act was released on 3rd February 2015, days before Barack Obama’s speech to which the American journalist responded. Charles Krauthammer said, “He underplayed the barbarism we saw with the immolation of the Jordanian pilot, and made everybody believe that this is really nothing out of the ordinary. The Crusades ended 800 years ago. There’s not a big inquisition going on today. Joan of Arc was not yesterday. The Jordanian pilot was two days ago.”

These remarks of the American journalist came in response to Barack Obama’s infamous National Prayer Breakfast speech in February 2015 in which he passed unnecessary comments on India. Obama said, “Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often were justified in the name of Christ.”

Obama added, “Michelle and I returned from India – an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity – but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs — acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation.”

With Charles Krauthammer’s old interview clipping going viral, Barack Obama’s anti-Hindu bias has been exposed once again.

Did NYT just admit that its long-held ideals of liberal democracy have failed? When NYT fails to preach to India, they preach about how to preach to India

Pragya Bakshi Sharma
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Did NYT just admit that its long-held ideals of liberal democracy have failed? When NYT fails to preach to India, they preach about how to preach to India

On Friday, PM Narendra Modi became the only Indian Prime Minister and third global leader to address the Joint Session of the US Congress twice. “It is always a great honour to address the United States Congress. It is an exceptional privilege to do so twice. For this honour, I extend my deepest gratitude on behalf of 1.4 billion people of India,” PM Modi said.

He jestfully added, “Mr. Speaker, you have a tough job. (Congress erupts in laughter). I can relate to the battles of passion, persuasion, and policy. I can understand the debate of ideas and ideology. But I am delighted to see you come together to celebrate the bond between world’s two great democracies – India and the United States (Congress standing ovation). I am happy to help out whenever you need a strong bipartisan consensus (Congress erupts in laughter).”

In just 100 words, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inadvertently incarcerated The New York Times’s latest 1376-word rant.

Titled “The India Quandary”, NYT’s op-ed on Thursday was uncommonly politically correct. Of course, the article didn’t fall short of its traditional anti-Modi, anti-India, anti-Hindu bigotry, but seems to have preached a rather introspective gospel to the Biden administration instead of its general habit of preaching to India.

Keeping in line with its convoluted style of writing so as to leave an escape route open, the New York Times op-ed begins with an outright hypocritical stand as it questions the applicability of the ideals of the very liberal democracy it has been preaching to India.

“…but that chimera soon gave way to the more complex world we inhabit today, in which the ideals of liberal democracy — often in otherwise well-functioning democracies — sometimes seem to be in conflict with the popularity of strongmen leaders, the desire for security or the forces of xenophobia or grievance,” it reads.

The op-ed further reads, “For American presidents and policymakers, this poses a challenge; it is no longer enough to champion the ideals of liberal democracy and count on the rest of the world to follow.”

This is the same New York Times that has demeaned India by calling it “an increasingly illiberal democracy“. And now, the change of heart is such that it is preaching, twice in 24 hours, the US govt to use measures that are more tolerant than the ideals of liberal democracy.

An OpIndia report on another NYT blunder

In another one of NYT’s opinion articles titled ‘Democracy and Reality,” the author says that “an alliance made up only of liberal democracies would probably weaken global democracy.” The article is written by NYT senior writer David Leonhardt.

So what is it that has made the already politically correct New York Times now also politically correct towards its own coterie? It is the 1.4 billion people of India. Yes, you read that right. Here’s another part from the op-ed to tell you how.

It reads, “A public scolding from the White House, especially when the United States is wrestling with its own threats to democracy, would serve little purpose except to anger the Indian public.” After 9 years of the Modi govt, 6th visit as PM, and the first official state visit, the New York Times seems to have finally grasped the pulse of the Indian electorate.

The Prime Minister’s consecutive victory and his popularity among the Indian masses both at home and abroad have trampled the toolkit gang’s daydreams of stripping India of its Hindu identity. Here’s an excerpt that proves the same: “…senior American officials believe that India’s views of the United States have fundamentally improved in recent years. This is partly through the work of the dynamic Indian diaspora…”

It is surprising to note that NYT somehow mustered the courage to speak the truth in saying that “India is a democracy in which the world’s biggest electorate openly and freely exercises the fundamental right to choose its leader”. The Hindu-hating “news” organisation has otherwise often written off the role of the Indian voter in consciously bringing Modi to power and has attributed his victory to what it deems an “anti-Muslim narrative”.

NYT has a history of deeming every self-determining democracy as “autocratic”. Another OpIndia report on the same

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here for this is the notorious New York Times after all. In sugarcoated and seemingly intellectual words, the op-ed is basically suggesting that the Biden administration use more careful means of “engagement which can, at least sometimes, lead to further dialogue and space for diplomacy”. Why? Because “Mr. Modi, the prime minister since 2014, commands sky-high popularity ratings and a secure majority in his Parliament, and is in the enviable position of leading a country with a relatively young, growing population”.

The New York Times with this op-ed has sensationally elaborated that the United States of America should continue to meddle in India’s internal affairs while ensuring that Democrats remain in the good books of the Indian diaspora. An excerpt from the op-ed declares NYT’s fears in this regard:

“The administration also faces the problem that the United States’ democratic credentials have been tarnished by Donald Trump and the possibility that he may be back in the White House before long. Mr. Trump’s politics have been openly hailed as an inspiration by many an elected autocrat — including Mr. Modi, whose magnetism Mr. Trump likened to Elvis Presley’s at a rally in Houston on an official visit in 2019.”

The above excerpt also reveals the deep-seated fear among America’s left-liberal Democrats of losing power come the 2024 Presidential elections. “Hurry up! Quell the chorus for Trump among Indians” is the underlying desperate message.

For The New York Times to be so high-handed to think that it has any control over the Indian political and global sentiments is vainglorious, to say the least. From the pitch to “advance American ideals” at the beginning of the editorial to assuming that India gives two hoots about what “America admires” about us at the end of it, NYT itself is far from pragmatism; that America is no more the absolute and decisive world power.

At one point, the editorial quotes US govt officials as saying that “it’s far better to raise concerns (with Modi about Indian democracy) in private” because “India’s vital role on the global stage supersedes concerns about one leader”. As if Biden, of all people, who has made a faux pas on several occasions, has the skill to give a simple statement off the prompter, let alone raise concerns with Prime Minister Modi.

Exposé after exposé of the anti-India, Hindu-hating brigade has brought down the likes of NYT’s propaganda editors to conspire diplomatic means to push their narrative using their favorite jargons like “autocratic Modi!”, “fascist Modi!”, “anti-Muslim, Hindutva Modi”.

This New York Times op-ed is nothing but just another left-liberal whining about not being able to preach to India as India refuses to further their interests. Basically, when NYT has failed to preach to India, it is preaching its own govt on how to preach to India.

‘Shadi kariye, deri nahi hua hai, humlog baraati chalenge’: Lalu Prasad Yadav gives ‘marriage’ advice to Rahul Gandhi at opposition meet

OpIndia Staff
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‘Shadi kariye, deri nahi hua hai, humlog baraati chalenge’: Lalu Prasad Yadav gives ‘marriage’ advice to Rahul Gandhi at opposition meet

On Friday, June 23, RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav was seen giving a piece of parental advice to Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Addressing a joint press conference of the Opposition at Patna, Lalu urged the 53-year-old Congress leader to get married soon.

“Baat toh hum log ka salha toh aap mane nahi, biha toh nahi kiye aap, shaadi kar lijiye, abhi bhi samay hai, shaadi kariye aur hum log baraati challe (You didn’t listen to my advice. Did not get married. You should have married. It is not too late even today. Get married and we would all participate in your wedding procession),” said Lalu Yadav as other opposition leaders laughed.

Amused by the piece of advice given to him, Rahul Gandhi gamely replied: “Ab aapne keh diya toh ho jayega (Now, that you have said it, it will happen.)”

“Shaadi karna chahiye, baat maniye, ekdum pakka karna padega (You should get married, you must listen to us, you surely have to get married),” Lalu continued advising Rahul Gandhi.

Pointing out how upset his mother Sonia Gandhi was over it, Lalu further said, “pukka karna padega, aapki mummy bolti thi ki baat nahi maanta hai, shaadi karwaiye aap (you will definitely have to get married, your mummy told me that you don’t listen to her, she urged me to get you married).”

Notably, the Mahagathbandhan administration, led by Nitish Kumar, had hosted the opposition parties in Patna for the Unity conference scheduled on Friday. Notably, this is the first gathering of opposition parties to send a message of cooperation before the general elections of 2024. 17 opposition parties met to discuss the timeline and the roadmap for the approaching 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Prior to the meeting, the state of Bihar had reportedly witnessed a poster war on Thursday. The controversy arose after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chapter in Delhi displayed a poster calling for unity among the opposition while the chapter in Bihar referred to Nitish Kumar as the BJP’s ‘B team.’

Arvind Kejriwal was pictured on the poster, which was displayed throughout Patna’s streets, as a potential candidate for prime minister in the 2024 elections. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s picture was put up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him an alternate team of BJP.

Following this, the BJP mocked the opposition by calling them “Thugs of India” in a new poster. The poster featured images of opposition political leaders, including MK Stalin, Tejashvi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee, and Nitish Kumar. The poster had an inscription that said, “The grand meeting of the parties engrossed in dynasty politics and corruption.”

These posters were later taken down by the Patna Municipal Corporation.

Madhya Pradesh: Another institute in Damoh found involved in religious conversion, Hindu students forced to read Bible in the Aadharshila children’s home

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Another institute in Damoh found involved in religious conversion, Hindu students forced to read Bible in the Aadharshila children’s home

A case of preaching and attempting religious conversion has appeared in Damoh of Madhya Pradesh. After recently exposed similar religious conversion attempts in the Ganga Jamuna School of Damoh, this is the second case surfacing in the area this month. A church-controlled institute named Aadharshila is embroiled in the controversy this time.

Hindu children were found reading the “Bible” at the Christian institution, run by the church which claims to work in the interest of children. When asked about their eternal traditions or Hindu customs, they knew nothing but the festivals of Christianity and the Bible.

A delegation from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) reached Damoh on Sunday 11th June 2023 to investigate a complaint concerning a children’s home operated by Ajay Lal. The complaint alleges a case of sexual harassment of a girl by the children’s home staff member. On Sunday, members of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) arrived to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Upon their arrival, Dr Nivedita Sharma and Onkar Singh, two members of the Madhya Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), discovered several grave shortcomings and an alleged conspiracy related to conversion within the children’s home. Additionally, they uncovered numerous objectionable flaws in the ongoing investigation. The Commission has duly acknowledged and taken note of these findings.

An earlier surprise inspection at the “Aadharshila” institute had also found several shortcomings and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairman Priyank Kanoongo himself came here and told the administration about the irregularities. He had even lodged an FIR against the concerned accused.

NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo has once again come forward to bring to the notice of everyone all the shortcomings found in this regard and the complaint of the “Aadharshila” institute. He tweeted, “In Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, a case of the sexual alluring a girl child by an employee of a children’s home run by missionary mafia Ajay Lal has come to the fore, some documents have also been found. A team of members of the State Children’s Commission has reached Damoh for investigation. It is worth mentioning that this Children’s Home is not registered under the prescribed procedure of the Juvenile Justice Act and has been told by NCPCR to the government in the past and an FIR has also been registered, but there was criminal negligence of duty of some government officials/employees. The result of this is that adolescent girls are becoming victims of grooming and sexual misconduct.”

In another tweet, he wrote, “The government employees are conniving at many levels with people who execute illegal religious conversions. The employees of the department knew for 20 days that the girls were being sexually abused, but they did not tell the police, the whole matter was hidden. When talked on a phone call in this regard, Shaleen Sharma – an employee of the department – tried to intimidate me by recording the phone call.”

The commission’s team conducted a surprise inspection of the children’s home “Adharshila.” When asked about the inspection, they provided information about a criminal act committed by the institution. Dr Nivedita Sharma said, “When I went inside, I found all the girls reading the Bible. It is not right to tell the full name and address of the girls. Most of the children are from Jabalpur and Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh.”

Police verification of any teacher and other support staff has not been received in the “Aadharshila” institute. No one even has a joining letter, which can tell when they all have joined, and where they have come from. What is even more surprising is that they do not meet the essential educational qualifications, even the least qualifications associated with the necessity of teaching children.

Prima facie, it appears that children from Hindu or other non-Christian religious backgrounds are being retained and subjected to prolonged indoctrination. This action is a violation of Article 28 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of religious practices on a child that are inconsistent with their own religious beliefs.

The SCPCR member stated that the “Aadharshila” institution lacks the necessary legal permission to operate a residential children’s home. During the investigation, it was discovered that a signature from an education officer had been obtained, but upon inquiry with the department, they denied granting any such permission. It is important to note that the Education Department does not possess the jurisdiction or authority to authorize the operation of residential children’s homes, particularly concerning children. Consequently, the potential involvement of government officials and employees colluding in this matter cannot be discounted.

Both boys’ and girls’ children’s homes are operating together in the “Aadharshila” institute which is not sanctioned by any legal statute. Government directives stipulate the operation of separate residences for boys and girls at a certain distance, in accordance with the law. However, a clear violation of these regulations has been identified in this case. The children residing in the homes exhibit resistance towards returning to their own families and refuse to engage with their parents. Their psychological well-being remains poorly understood, leaving many questions regarding their experiences within the institution unanswered. Furthermore, the individual whom the commission brought along to investigate the original complaint of sexual harassment has already been forced out by the managers of “Adharshila.”

In November of the previous year, Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, conducted a visit to Damoh. During this visit, he conducted an investigation into major institutions operated by Christian missionaries. Subsequently, an FIR was filed against 10 individuals for alleged conversion activities following the discovery of significant irregularities. The NCPCR had been receiving reports of irregularities and alleged conversions taking place in children’s hostels operated by various individuals, including Ajay Lal, Rajkamal David Lal, Vivart Lal, and JK Henry of the Christian missionaries, for a considerable period of time.

In Madhya Pradesh, there exists a law against forced religious conversions, which forbids practices such as conversion by coercion, force, misrepresentation, undue influence, inducement, fraud, and conversion through marriage. Additionally, the law prohibits individuals from inciting and conspiring for such conversions. However, it appears that those involved in Christian conversions in the state do not seem to perceive any fear of prosecution under this law.

Notably, Aadharshila is the second institute in Damoh that is in the middle of a controversy over allegedly forcing children into religious conversion. Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, became embroiled in a significant controversy when allegations emerged that the school was compelling students to wear hijabs. The claims surfaced after an advertisement for the school, published on May 31, showcased accomplished students, including Hindu and Jain girls, wearing hijabs.

Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School is a private English-medium institution situated in ward number 4 of the Futera neighbourhood in Damoh. The posters featuring the names of exceptional students, both boys and girls, gained traction on social media. Among the eighteen students, four girls from the Jain and Hindu communities were depicted wearing hijabs.

On June 7, the police registered a case against 11 members of the school management committee, charging them under IPC sections 295 (pertaining to damaging or defiling objects considered sacred by certain groups), 506 (related to criminal intimidation), 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), as well as relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.

‘Many Hussain Obama in India, no need to go to Washington’: Assam CM slams The Wire journalist over suggestion that Assam police should arrest Barack Obama

OpIndia Staff
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‘Many Hussain Obama in India, no need to go to Washington’: Assam CM slams The Wire journalist over suggestion that Assam police should arrest Barack Obama

On Friday, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed leftist journalist Rohini Singh for mocking PM Modi, Assam CM and the BJP led government amid PM Modi’s visit to the US.

This is after former US President Barack Obama courted controversy on June 22 by virtue-signalling India about its ‘human rights’ record. Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal, advised that the Biden administration should inform the Indian Prime Minister about safeguarding the “Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India.” He also suggested that India under the Modi administration would see another “partition” if it did not change its ways.

The Wire ‘Journalist’ Rohini Singh then grabbed the opportunity and mocked the Assam CM over the issue. She indicated that Assam CM would make issue out of this and arrest Obama for hurting the sentiments. “Has an FIR been filed in Guwahati yet against Obama for hurting sentiment? Is Assam police on it’s way to Washington to get Obama offloaded from some flight and arrest him?” she tweeted.

It is not clear why Rohini Singh chose to specifically target Assam Police, suggesting that an FIR should be filed in Guwahati against Obama.

Responding straight to this, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there were many thinkers like Obama who needed to be dealt with. He also said that the Assam Police would work according to the set priorities and that would first consider ‘taking care’ of such thinkers existent in India.

“There are many Hussain Obama in India itself. We should prioritize taking care of them before considering going to Washington. The Assam police will act according to our own priorities,” the Assam CM tweeted.

Obama, who has a notorious record as a potential war criminal yesterday was interviewed by CNN news host Christiane Amanpour hours before PM Modi addressed the US Congress. During the interview, Obama said, “If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning. If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, then, part of the conversation would be that if you do not protect the rights of minorities, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…That would be contrary to the interests of India.”

Notably, it was reported earlier that the former US President, who is now mouthing platitudes about protecting the interests of Muslims in India, has been single-handedly responsible for the death of 100s of innocent people in Muslim-majority countries.

Barack Obama, who holds the distinction of being a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, reportedly launched airstrikes in at least seven Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Pakistan. The Presidential tenure of Barack Obama was also marked by the rise of the dreaded terrorist organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria aka ISIS.

And today, amid PM Modi’s visit to the US on the invite of the incumbent President Joe Biden, Barack Obama pontificated the Modi administration about human rights and peddled the distorted narrative of ‘Muslims being in danger in India’ which was further furthered by leftists Islamist journalist in India.

Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat engage in a war of words on Twitter after Dutt questions trial exemption given to the six protesting wrestlers

OpIndia Staff
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Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat engage in a war of words on Twitter after Dutt questions trial exemption given to the six protesting wrestlers

On Friday, June 23, Olympic medalist wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Vinesh Phogat entered into a heated argument after Dutt questioned the exemption granted to the six protesting wrestlers by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Yogeshwar Dutt questioned the IOA’s logic and criteria behind granting exemption to Sakshi Malik and her husband Satyawart Kadian, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and his wife Sangeeta Phogat and Jitendra Kinha from the Asian Games and World Championship trials. 

Following the exemption, the six wrestlers will have to win just one bout against the winners of trials in their respective categories to secure their place in the Indian team. The IOA ad-hoc panel went a step ahead in their generosity as they pushed the trials to August only for the six wrestlers involved in the protests against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in an alleged sexual harassment matter. Unlike these six wrestlers, the others will be having their trials in July itself. 

Yogeshwar Dutt questions IOA’s trial exemption for wrestlers who joined protests against WFI chief Brij Bhushan

In a video posted on Twitter, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt said that the protesting wrestlers were away from the mat for nearly a year adding that such an exemption would be unfair to the rest of the wrestlers. 

“I’m not sure what criteria the IOA committee used to decide on the trials, and that too for these six wrestlers only. Ravi Dahiya is an Olympic silver medalist as well as a CWG gold medalist, Deepak Punia is a CWG gold medalist, Anshu Malik is a World silver medalist, Sonam Malik is also there and many others. I don’t understand why these six wrestlers have been granted an exemption. This is utterly wrong. Even in the old WFI setup, this was not done,” Dutt said.

Moreover, Yogeshwar Dutt urged wrestlers of various categories to speak up against the alleged “discrimination”.

“I am requesting that all greco-roman, men’s freestyle, and women wrestlers raise their voices in protest of this unfairness. I’m not asking you to sit in protest but raise your voice through the media and write letters to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, Anurag Thakur, the Sports Minister, and the IOA,” Dutt said.

Furthermore, Dutt asserted that even when teams were sent without trials, the best teams were chosen; however, the protesting wrestlers have been away from the wrestling mat for around a year.

“Such a step has never been taken in the history of Indian wrestling. Even if they sent teams with no trials, the best team was chosen. Exemptions had been granted in the past, but not to everyone; only exceptional performers and in-form wrestlers were considered. These six wrestlers have been away from the mat for a year, so this is wrong,” he stated. 

Dutt also urged Khap Panchayats and farmer groups to pay attention to the recent developments and understand the “motives” of the protesting wrestlers. 

Vinesh Phogat hits back, accuses Yogeshwar Dutt of being a boot-licker of Brij Bhushan

Dutt’s video soon triggered a long and scathing response from Vinesh Phogat who in a long tweet accused him of licking the feet of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Calling Dutt “spineless” Vinesh alleged that he was insensitive to the female wrestlers as a member of the panel probing the complaints adding that he pressurized their families to take their cases back.

She further claimed that Dutt used to have a “cheap laugh” while hearing the ordeal of women wrestlers. 

“When I heard the video of Yogeshwar Dutt, his ugly laugh got stuck in my mind. He was a part of both the committees made for women wrestlers. When women wrestlers were narrating their ordeals before the committee, he used to laugh very badly. When two female wrestlers came out to drink water, he came out and told them that nothing would happen to Brij Bhushan. Go and do your practice,” Vinesh Phogat tweeted.

Phogat further accused Dutt of leaking the names of women wrestlers to Brij Bhushan and the media. She also alleged that despite giving statements against women wrestlers publicly, he was appointed to both committees.

Vinesh Phogat went on to claim that Dutt was trying to stop the wrestlers and coaches from joining the protests.

“The whole wrestling world understood that Yogeshwar was eating leftovers from Brij Bhushan’s plate”, she added.

In her tweet in Hindi, Phogat accused Yogeshwar of making derogatory remarks regarding Indian Army jawans, students, Muslims, and Sikhs.

“Earlier he made cheap comments about farmers, jawans, students, Muslims, Sikhs and now he is engaged in defaming women wrestlers.” Vinesh said Yogeshwar hasn’t been able to win any election because he is a traitor and a “poisonous snake,” Phogat tweeted. 

“Do not use force to break the resolve of female wrestlers; they are very determined.” You could get a broken back. You’ve already laid your spine under Brij Bhushan’s feet. “You are a very insensitive person who flatters a tyrant,” she continued.

It is worth noting that though Vinesh Phogat leveled serious allegations against Yogeswar Dutt, however, she did not respond to the questions raised by Dutt regarding trial exemption granted exclusively to the protesting wrestlers. 

Interestingly, in April, some protesting wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat had given statements demanding direct entry to the Olympics without competing for the nationals. Ideally, athletes who compete at the national level should get a chance to show their potential on the international platform.

In a media statement in April, Vignesh Phogat said a separate federation for wrestlers in Haryana has been created and none of the protesting wrestlers would compete in nationals. She claimed they are ready to compete at the Olympics directly.

Wrestlers protest against former WFI chief

The wrestlers have been protesting against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, demanding his arrest. Female wrestlers have alleged that Singh sexually harassed them. Two FIRs were registered against Singh on the complaint of seven female wrestlers, including one allegedly minor wrestler. Singh was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and POCSO Act. However, recently it was reported the minor wrestler withdrew her statement in front of the magistrate and recorded a new one under Section 164 of the CrPC.

Anti-Modi, anti-India rants: Meet Sabrina Siddiqui, ‘journalist’, born to Pakistani parents, who got a befitting reply from PM Modi about ‘minorities’ in India

Jhankar Mohta
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Anti-Modi, anti-India rants: Meet Sabrina Siddiqui, ‘journalist’, born to Pakistani parents, who got a befitting reply from PM Modi about ‘minorities’ in India

On Thursday, June 22, Indian PM Narendra Modi addressed a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden during his state visit to the United States. During the press conference, a journalist tried to insinuate that rights of Muslims and other minorities are under threat in India and consequently the democratic values. The journalist got a befitting response from PM Modi as he reminded everyone of the history of Indian democracy, which is rooted in valuing human rights and non-discrimination.

For the uninitiated, the journalist who went on to pose the cleverly manufactured question echoing the claims of Islamists and left-liberals; alleging persecution of Muslims in India, was none other than Sabrina Siddiqui.

Sabrina Siddiqui is a Muslim American journalist working for The Wall Street Journal. She is a White House reporter in Washington, D.C., where she covers the Biden presidency. She has also covered the White House and the 2016 presidential election while working at The Guardian before 2019.

Previously, she covered the Obama administration and Congress at The Huffington Post and also worked with the White House team at Bloomberg.

Siddiqui, the daughter of Pakistani parents, is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Washington with her husband. According to reports, her father was born in India but was raised in Pakistan. Her mother was a Pakistani, however, Siddiqui was born in America.

Asking the question, Sabrina Siddiqui said, “World leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy. What steps are you and your government willing to take to protect the rights of Muslims and other minorities and to uphold free speech?”

In response, PM Modi said, “I am surprised that you are saying that ‘people say’ India is a democracy. It is not about what people say, India is a democracy. And as President Biden said, both India and America have democracy in their DNA. Democracy is our spirit, democracy flows in our veins. We live in a democracy and our ancestors have put that into words in the shape of the Constitution and our government runs on the basis of the Constitution which is based on the basic democratic values.”

The question posed to PM Modi by ‘journalist’ Sabrina Siddiqui jibes perfectly well with the hackneyed liberal propaganda portraying the Modi government as the enemy of the Muslims. It also fits with the ‘rising Muslim intolerance’ narrative that the Western media has been pushing to sully Modi’s reputation in India and around the world ever since he came to power in 2014.

Sabrina Siddiqui’s attempt to disparage the Indian government on a global stage is, however, unsurprising, given that she has a history of demonstrating an unseemly eagerness to vilify India and the Indian government led by PM Modi. The social media accounts of Sabrina Siddiqui are littered with posts aimed at destroying PM Modi’s reputation and portraying him as a leader who has given the country’s Hindu nationalists carte blanche to act as per their whims and fancies.

The ‘journalist’ has also never shied away from claiming that the Modi administration is to blame for the rise of intolerance in the nation.

Motivated by her pathological hatred for PM Modi and India, ‘journalist’ Sabrina Siddiqui has regularly shared fabricated articles from Western liberal bastions like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters, and several other news outlets, which are always eager to give space to Modi’s criticism without critically evaluating its legitimacy; to meticulously paint a grim picture of Narendra Modi.

The Modi govt certainly takes great pride in its cultural identity and historical traditions, something that the previous UPA regimes and the Congress party had always scorned and despised. The only thing that the Modi govt has perhaps stopped is the appeasement of radical elements of the Muslim community that Congress did unabashedly. The Modi government has stopped the minority appeasement and called out the threat posed by the menace of Islamic radicalism. This has proliferated the ire of the left-leaning liberals and Islamists both in India and the West and prompted the likes of Sabrina Siddiqui to work overtime to project Modi as anti-Muslim.

Leftist liberals and Islamists are busy singing accolades for the WSJ journalist

Nevertheless, ever since Sabrina Siddiqui questioned the Indian Prime Minister about the steps taken by his government to improve the rights of minorities in India, insinuating that the rights of Muslims and other minorities are under threat in India, she is being hailed as a hero by the left-leaning liberal brigade.

Social media is replete with tweets from loyal members of this avid Modi-hater gang, who are lauding The Wall Street Journal ‘journalist’ for posing, what they are regarding as a gutsy question to India’s PM that left him speechless on a global stage.

One such ‘esteemed’ member of this liberal bastion going euphoric about the so-called ‘heroism’ exhibited by Sabrina Siddiqui is none other than AltNews’ Mohammed Zubair, the man responsible for unleashing the wave of Islamist violence in India that resulted in the death of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati.

Zubair inferred that PM Modi was caught off guard and started ‘beating around the bush’ when Sabrina Sidduiqui posed that question to him.

‘Journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani, who has never held back from promoting false claims to portray Muslims as victims in Modi’s India and thereby displaying her blatant hatred for Modi, also praised The Wall Street Journal ‘journalist’ by inferring that WSJ journalist left Modi tongue-tied with her ‘hard hitting’ question.

Tweeting the question Sabrina Siddiqui posed to Modi at the joint press conference with US President Joe Biden during his state visit to the US, she said, “The Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy standing on a global stage can not answer a simple question on how he plans to make things better for India’s Muslims.”

‘Journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi also retweeted a post by Jacqui Heinrich currently serving as a White House Correspondent for FOX News channel, to laud Sabrina Siddiqui for calling out Modi by raising ‘human rights’ issues.

The adulation being showered on Sabrina Siddiqui by this coterie of leftist liberals and Islamists is evidently because she, too, is a loyal member of this anti-Modi, anti-Hindu and anti-India brigade. Several of Sabrina Siddiqui’s old tweets clearly display her pathological hatred towards PM Modi, India and Hindus in general.

When Sabrina Siddiqui used the Covid-19 pandemic to spread fake news against Modi govt

In 2020-2021, when India, like every other country in the world, was dealing with the scourge of Covid-19, Sabrina Siddiqui reaped the opportunity to spread canards against Modi by questioning India’s preparedness in handling the crisis.

In another tweet, the WSJ journalist chose to use one of the several articles Reuters had published then, milking the humanitarian crisis to peddle lies, misinformation and propaganda against Modi.

On April 20th 2021, Reuters wrote about Prime Minister Modi being “scorned” over “reckless rallies, religious gatherings”. Sabrina Siddiqui shared the article and tweeted, “You hold rallies as people head to funerals,” in an obvious attempt to paint Modi as insensitive.

Likewise, when India was grappling with a formidable second wave of the Coronavirus outbreak, several leftist media outlets tried to fearmonger by spreading fake news about the shortage of oxygen and how the Modi government was doing nothing to resolve the issue. Sabrina Siddiqui had maliciously used an article published by the leftist website Scroll, titled: India is running out of oxygen, Covid-19 patients are dying – because the government wasted time, which squarely blamed the Modi government for the shortage of oxygen in the country.

The article published by Scroll on April 18, 2021, read that the Narendra Modi government took eight months to invite bids for new oxygen generation plants which caused the scarcity of oxygen at a crucial time when the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was sweeping through the country.

The truth was, however, that amidst the second wave of infection, the government of India had worked extensively to increase the production of oxygen in the country. According to the government’s data, the production of medical oxygen had risen by 500% since February 2021.

Additionally, to meet the very high demand for medical oxygen due to the then surging Covid-19 cases, the union government had taken proactive action in the first week of April 2020, before oxygen shortages started to appear in several hospitals mostly in Delhi and granted permission to industrial oxygen manufacturers to manufacture oxygen for medical use.

Sabrina Siddiqui used Aryan Khan’s arrest in drug case to peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics

Such is her hate for Modi that in 2021, when Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested in the cruise ship drug case, she quickly went on to use the news to peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics. She tweeted, “This is not just about Shah Rukh Khan, but about anyone the government resents for not prostrating before Modi and his nationalist vision. This moment in India should be a reckoning — unite and fight, or perish in fear.”

To peddle her anti-Modi rhetorics, Sabrina Siddiqui shared a vicious article penned by Islamist Rana Ayyub in Washington Post, wherein the latter raked Shahrukh Khan’s Muslim identity to insinuate that he and his son were being victimised by the ‘anti-Muslim’ Modi government for their religious identity.

Sabrina Siddiqui milked the farmers protest in India to berate Modi

Similarly, in February 2021, the WSJ journalist did not forget to capitalise on the farmers’ protest against the Modi government over new farm laws. It is not hidden how the farmer’s protest which was started under the guise of a peaceful demonstration against the three farm laws, took no time to devolve into a breeding ground of sorts for all kinds of criminal activities. The 12-month-long protests were overwhelmingly punctuated by incidents of chaos, rapes, murders, riots, vandalism and arson, as restless protesters unleashed their criminal tendencies. 

Various Khalistani organisations such as Poetic Justice Foundation, Khalsa Aid and others actively partook in the protests, providing monetary and emotional support to the protesters in their demands against the Centre. It cannot be discounted that the central aim of these organisations was to stoke Khalistani sentiments among the people and characterise the Centre as against the interests of Sikhs. Even banned foreign-based organisations such as Sikhs For Justice, a Khalistani outpost based out of the United States, voiced their support to the farmers, spurring them to continue stirring anarchy under the pretext of carrying out peaceful protests against the three farm laws.

On November 19, 2021, PM Modi announced that his government would take back the three farms after failing in their endeavour to convince a section of protesting farmers about its benefits. The announcement should have led farmer unions to call off the protests. Instead, they came up with a fresh set of demands, warning the government that if they don’t fulfil it, the protests would continue unabated. 

Despite all the information being available on the public platform, Sabrina Siddiqui went on to accuse the Modi Govt of not handling the farmers’ protest prudently. She tweeted, “Modi has drawn immense scrutiny for his handling of #FarmersProtests, Kashmir, treatment of religious minorities & crackdown on free speech. No specific mention of those issues in WH readout, but looks like some general prodding from Biden on democratc values and norms.”

These are just a few of the countless anti-Modi tweets that we found on Sabrina Siddiqui’s Twitter timeline as we scrolled down, clearly showcasing her profound hate for Modi.

Well, if one goes through Sabrina Siddiqui’s social media accounts carefully, one would know that her political bias quite evidently reflects her cultural and religious bias. Siddiqui has many times in the past clearly reflected her anti-India and anti-Hindu sentiments through her posts. So going by her past antecedents, it is plausible that Sabrina Siddiqui’s question to PM Modi during the joint press conference in the United States was not based on any actual information but rather driven by a sinister agenda to berate Modi and India on a global platform.

Muslim lover arrested after Muslim woman commits suicide, Islamists, including The Wire ‘journalist’ blame a Hindu in the name of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ conspiracy theory

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim lover arrested after Muslim woman commits suicide, Islamists, including The Wire ‘journalist’ blame a Hindu in the name of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ conspiracy theory

On June 19, late in the evening, a Muslim woman’s body was discovered hanging outside of her leased residence in the Aligarh region of Uttar Pradesh. According to preliminary evidence, the woman named Muskan, had eloped with and married a Hindu man named Deepak a few years ago.

The news of her death was quickly spread on social media under the hashtag ‘bhagwa love trap’, suggesting that the man had lured the woman into a relationship in exchange for her conversion to Hinduism and then killed her. However, the police discovered that the woman had split from Deepak a year ago and had been residing with a man named Mohammed Faizan ever since.

The tweets shared on social media by Islamist and left liberals falsely indicated that Muskan’s death was a result of some hoax concept recently developed by the Islamists named the ‘Bhagwa Love Trap,’ to counter the reality of love jihad.

Zakir Ali Tyagi, a journalist for the contentious website The Wire, Kashif Arsalaan, a Muslim activist with more than 34,000 Twitter followers, Shahin Khan, a student with 46,000 followers on Twitter, Sadaf Afreen, a journalist with more than 61,000 followers on Twitter, and Kavish Aziz, a user with 58,000 Twitter followers are among those who suggested Deepak as accused under the so-called ‘Bhagwa love trap’. 

According to the initial report by Swarajya, the woman died due to suicide. The station house officer (SHO) of Kotwali Nagar Police in Aligarh confirmed the suicide and stated that the man with whom the woman had been staying after Deepak had surrendered in the case. Faizan surrendered in court on June 22 and told the court that Muskan had been pressuring him for nikah while he had been avoiding it.

The officer reported that on the morning of June 19, according to Faizan’s landlord, Faizan left the residence and went to see a relative. The landlord discovered Muskan’s body hanging from the ceiling at 10 pm. 

“The landlord became suspicious when there was no sound coming from Faizan and Muskan’s room all day,” the SHO, Ramvakeel Singh was quoted as saying by Swarajya.

He gave the door a gentle tap at around 10, and it opened without any difficulty. He then discovered Muskan hanging from the ceiling of the room after which he called the cops right away. The ‘bhagwa love trap’ theory was triggered by initial suspicions of Muskan’s parents.

They also provided the Kotwali Nagar Police with a written statement outlining their allegations. The SHO, on the other hand, informed that Muskan’s parents had not spoken to her for a while and were not aware of the change in her life that had occurred when she settled in with Faizan and left Deepak.

Muskan’s mother talking to media. Allegation letter by Muskan’s family (Swarajya)

According to the SHO, Muskan eloped with Deepak in 2019 while she was still a minor. Her parents later filed a complaint against Deepak for kidnapping after which the girl was recovered by the Police. 

Muskan testified before the court that she had eloped and was not the victim of kidnapping, which led to Deepak’s release on bail from judicial custody. After some time, they fled together once again and started living together. The SHO stated that it is unclear if they were legally wed.

According to an initial investigation, Muskan moved in with Faizan, who is also from Aligarh, roughly 2.5 years ago after parting ways with Deepak. “They lived in several places including Delhi. In their current house, in which her body was found, they moved a couple of months ago,” the SHO said.

According to Circle Officer Abhay Kumar Pandey, Faizan is currently being held in judicial custody on charges of facilitating suicide. He stated that more inquiry may involve questioning Deepak as well. The officer also asserted that the claims of a “bhagwa love trap” in this case are absurd.

Conspiracy of Bhagwa Love Trap

A long-running belief among Muslim organisations claims that Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) particularly educates Hindu men to target Muslim women for relationships in order to persuade them to convert to their religion to Hinduism.

The conspiracy theorists refer to it as the “bhagwa love trap,” where “bhagwa” means saffron and refers to Hindus. Prominent clerics, adherents of particular political parties, influencers, journalists, and anonymous social media accounts are among those who are blindy promoting this propaganda.

With the increasing radicalization among Islamists in India, Hindu men are repeatedly being attacked if they even walk with a female Muslim colleague. At these times, Hindu men always end up at the mercy of law enforcement authorities.

A couple of months ago, Islamists began peddling the baseless theory, “Bhagwa Love Trap” to counter 100s of documented cases of impersonation, identity fraud, and forced conversions to Islam (popularly known as Love Jihad). While it started out as a social media hashtag, Islamists began sharing videos of random hijab-wearing Muslim women and their male Hindu friends/ acquaintances and partners without their consent.

Such incidents even happening today are followed by heated arguments, physical assault on the Hindu men, and even molestation of the Muslim women. The attacks are carried out under the pretext that a sinister plot is underway to convert Muslim women to Hinduism by luring them into a love trap.

It is not a new phenomenon for Islamists to come up with conspiracy theories that absolve them of any wrongdoing or project them as perpetual victims. This time they seem to use the conspiracy theory of the ‘Bhagwa Love trap’ to rationalize their act of moral policing and violence against the Hindu community.

Multiple videos have now come to light where rabid Islamist mobs are seen openly harassing, abusing, and manhandling inter-faith couples. These videos have been reported from different cities/States of India. The victims are targeted on roads, restaurants, eateries, and even hotels. Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled several such cases where Hindu men and Muslim women were attacked by extremists under the pretext of ‘Bhagwa love trap.’ Those reports can be accessed here and here.

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