On Thursday, 6th April 2023, the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated its 44th foundation day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the foundation day ceremony and gave his message to the party members. Mentioning Lord Hanuman, PM Modi said that India has now realised its power and everyone should now be as tough as Lord Hanuman while acting against evil.
PM Modi said, “Hanuman Jayanti is being celebrated across the country. The life of Hanuman Ji acts as a source of inspiration for the development of India. Before 2014, the country did not realise its potential. Today, India has realised its strengths like Bajrang Bali.”
Narendra Modi added, “Hanuman Ji had brought the mountain for Laxman Ji in the time of crisis. The BJP is also trying to solve the problems of the people with the same inspiration.” The PM also talked about being as tough as Hanuman ji in the fight against evil.
हनुमान जी के पास असीम शक्ति है लेकिन इस शक्ति का इस्तेमाल वो तभी कर पाते हैं जब स्वयं पर से उनका संदेह समाप्त हो जाता है।
2014 से पहले भारत की भी यही स्थिति थी… लेकिन आज भारत बजरंगबली जी की तरह अपने भीतर सूक्त शक्तियों का आभास कर चुका है।
PM Narendra Modi said, “Just as Hanuman Ji became tough while facing demons, the BJP becomes determined while dealing with corruption, law and order, and nepotism. In 2014, there was not only a change of power, but the people of India embarked on a new journey of the renaissance of the country. Coming out of more than 800 years of slavery, a nation has risen again to regain its lost glory.”
मां भारती को इन बुराइयों से मुक्ति दिलाने के लिए कठोर होना पड़े तो कठोर हों।
During his address, PM Modi further said, “In 1947, the British left India, but they left behind the mentality of keeping people enslaved. After independence, some people considered power as their innate right. People with a king-like mindset would consider the people of the country as their slaves. Gradually, such evils are weakening.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also targeted the Congress during his speech. He said, “The Congress and its like-minded parties celebrate small things and achieve even less, while the BJP’s political culture is to dream big and work hard to achieve even more. We have the courage to invest every bit of our body and time for this.”
हम शरीर का कण-कण और समय का पल-पल खपाने का हौसला रखते हैं।
The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980. BJP president JP Nadda hoisted the national flag at the party headquarters in Delhi and greeted the workers on the occasion of the foundation day. During his address, JP Nadda said, “Today we have to take a pledge that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, we will take the party ahead.”
A Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Binoy Viswam, has written to the Modi government expressing concern about the “deletion of Mughals” from National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks.
In his letter, Viswam wrote that ‘drastic changes are being made to NCERT textbooks’ and it reeks of an attempt to ‘omit information about certain periods of Indian history. He accused the government of “trying to curtail critical analysis of our society, polity and history.” He added, “Removal and reduction of content pertaining to the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire and the works of literature and architecture of that period prima facie appears to be communally biased. References to social movements are also omitted to a great extent”.
The Communist leader further urged the Union government to ‘rectify’ the biases in the NCERT textbooks to “preserve the spirit of critical inquiry and scientific temper in future generations.”
CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over “drastic changes” made to NCERT textbooks as part of “rationalising” exercise and urged him to take necessary action pic.twitter.com/dsCbZO4FZW
It was fake news. chapters on Mughals have not been deleted
First of all the chapters on the Mughals haven’t been deleted. OpIndia did a story debunking the lies surrounding the NCERT coursebook controversy. Several media reports had widely speculated that the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has amended its publications, notably the 12th-class History book, and removed certain chapters on the Mughal empire. After the rumour gained traction, the director of NCERT Dinesh Prasad Saklani addressed the issue and refuted the claims that were being spread by various news outlets.
The NCERT director told ANI that the chapters on the Mughals had not been removed. He stated that only the overlapping chapters had been dropped, alleviating the additional strain on children’s shoulders.
“It’s a lie, (Chapters on) the Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere”, he said.
Calling the debate unnecessary, the NCERT director said the expert committee recommended that if the chapter was dropped, it will not affect the knowledge of the children and an unnecessary burden can be removed. “The debate is unnecessary. Those who don’t know can check the textbooks…”, Saklani added.
#WATCH | Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director of NCERT says, “It’s a lie. (Chapters on) Mughals have not been dropped. There was a rationalisation process last year because due to COVID, there was pressure on students everywhere…Expert committees examined the books from std 6-12.… pic.twitter.com/647wdsPSSR
CPM govt had ordered the omission of atrocities by Muslim rulers on Hindus in West Bengal when in power
Ironically, it was the CPM government in West Bengal, which had ordered that there should be no mention of Muslim atrocities in textbooks during their tenure. In 1989, the WB government issued a circular and recommended the deletion of discussions about the medieval period because it was “too controversial.”
The circular explicitly read “Muslim rule should never attract any criticism. Destruction of temples by Muslim rulers and invaders should not be mentioned.”
Santosh C. Saha (Ed.), Fundamentalism in the Contemporary World: Critical Social and Political Issues, Lexington Books, Mary- land, US, 2004, p. 273
Author Santosh C Saha in his book ‘Fundamentalism in the Contemporary World: Critical Social and Political Issues’.mentions how the communist government in West Bengal had, in 1989, brought a circular bt the Board of Secondary Education (dated April 28, 1989) that any mentions of atrocities by Muslim rulers in Medieval India (of which Bengal was one of the worst affected states) should be omitted from state syllabus.
The current CPM leaders seem to have conveniently forgotten their own ‘history’.
Such measures to delete or whitewash the atrocities perpetrated by Muslim rulers upon Hindus ensure that the typical Hindu youngster grows up thinking that everything in India was completely messed up before the Mughal and British arrived and that the latter, especially the Muslim rulers did nothing particularly bad that hadn’t previously occurred in India earlier.
In fact, historical accounts written by Muslims themselves document in detail how Hindus were slaughtered and forced to accept Islam by various Muslim rulers, many of whom are supposed to be moderate rulers. The religious conversions from Hinduism to Islam are argued to be voluntary and triggered because Hinduism is an unjust religion.
Not only such chapters from history have been whitewashed, but they have also been glorified, too. Medieval history is virtually only Mughal history, the way the school curriculum is designed, and it appears as if every great thing about India happened in that period only.
While the Mughals are often wrongly credited with promoting arts, architecture, and literature, as well as fostering religious tolerance to some extent, there are documented accounts of atrocities and violence committed by Mughal rulers against Hindus. These atrocities included forced conversion to Islam, destruction of Hindu temples, imposition of discriminatory taxes, and violence against non-Muslims, among others.
Hanuman Jayanti or the occasion of the birth of Lord Hanuman is celebrated across the country with much religious fervour. Along with offering prayers to Lord Hanuman, people also greet each other on the auspicious occasion. However, in recent times it has been noticed that several people advocate that it should be called Hanuman Janmotsav, and not Hanuman Jayanti.
The argument presented to support their claim is that Jayanti is a term applicable to a mortal being while Lord Hanuman is immortal or Chiranjeevi. While it is true that over time, the term Jayanti has been used for several prominent personalities of the country, however, it does not mean that the term is supposed to be explicitly used for mortal beings only.
Jayanti in Sanskrit means holy birth anniversary, victory, and also a flag, while Janmotsav means the celebration of birth. Going by this logic, Jayanti is a term used for the ones who had a divya or holy birth while Janmotsav is a more generic term that simply is translated as a birthday celebration. Thus, we can Janmotsav for anyone but not Jayanti for everyone.
Image via Learn Sanskrit
Besides, as pointed out in the Lokgatha video, even the Hindu scriptures mention the word Jayanti for the holy births of Hindu deities and not Janmotsav.
The Jayanti word even finds mention in Skandpuran, Tithyaditatva as this shloka reads, “Jayam Punyam Cha Kurute Jayantimiti Taam Vidu” (जयं पुण्यं च कुरुते जयन्तीमिति तां विदुः) which means that the one who provides victory (Jai) and punya (virtue) is called Jayanti.
Regarding the birth of Lord Krishna, in the Bhavishya Purana there is a shloka outlining the importance of observing the Krishna Jayanti vrat.
“Jayantyam Upavasasch Mahapatakanashnam, Sarvo Karya Mahabhaktya Poojaniyascha Keshavah“
The quoted shloka states that the fast or Upvas of Lord Shri Krishna’s Jayanti destroys the Mahapatak, thus a devotee should keep this fast and with utmost devotion pray to Keshav (another name for Lord Krishna). It is notable that the great sage Yagnavalkya has described 21 Mahapataks or great sins including Brahma-hatya or killing of Brahmana, consuming liquor, etc.
Besides, in the Vishnudharmottara Purana which is a Upapurana and believed to be the second part of Vishnu Purana, there is shloka stating when the Ashtami tithi coincides with Rohini Nakshatra, it becomes Krishna Jayanti.
Rohini Sahitya Krishna Maase Cha Shravaneashtami
Ardharatrardadhschorghvam Kalayapi Yada Bhavet
Jayanti Naam Sa Prokta Sarva Paappranashini ||
In Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna also described his divine birth. In another instance, Lord Krishna told Arjuna that he is the supreme god that resides in the hearts of all living entities and that he is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all beings, as mentioned in Gita’s chapter 10, verse 20.
aham ātmā guḍākeśha sarva-bhūtāśhaya-sthitaḥaham
ādiśh cha madhyaṁ cha bhūtānām anta eva cha ||
Just like Lord Krishna, Lord Hanuman also had a divya or divine birth as mentioned in this verse from the Valmiki Ramayana’s Kishkindha Kanda (chapter 66)
sa tvam kesariNaH putraH kShetrajo bhiima vikramaH ||
maarutasya aurasaH putraH tejasaa ca api tat samaH |
tvam hi vaayu suto vatsa plavane ca api tat samaH ||
Meaning: “Such as you are, you are Kesari’s son through his wife, oh, frightful pugilist, and you are the lineal son of Air-god, and even by your gusting you are selfsame to Air-god or Lord Vayu also known as Pawan, and even by your flying also you are his selfsame to Air-god, in all respects.”
Thus, it is clear that Lord Hanuman had a divine birth and since the term “Jayanti” is used to honour the birth of divine beings, the name “Hanuman Jayanti” is entirely appropriate and is not necessarily meant to be used for normal human beings bound by the cycle of birth and death. At the same time, calling it Hanuman Janmotsav is also not wrong, since it is a day of celebration of the birth of Lord Hanuman.
Madras High Court judge GR Swaminathan has stated that the Constitution of India will no longer be in effect if the ‘demographic profile’ of the country as it was at the time the constitution was created, changes. As per a report in Indian Express, he stated that the Constitution will endure as long as individuals ‘who are under the Indian tradition and dharma’ did not change their affiliation.
On Sunday, Judge Swaminathan remarked that the Constitution is ‘ultimate for everyone’ while speaking at a book launch event in Chennai and asserted, “The Constitution written by BR Ambedkar. But if the Constitution has to be the same forever, I know it is unfortunate to say this, the demographic profile at the time of Constitutional formation is also to be maintained the same.”
“If the demographic profile is altered, the Constitution ceases to exist. So if the Constitution has to be there forever means the demographic profile also should remain the same. If that is to happen, people who follow the Indian tradition and the Indian Dharma should remain in the same tradition. Then only it (the Constitution) will be protected,” he noted. He continued that as a judge, he is unable to speak any further on the subject and hoped that people understood him.
The judge also expressed caution before delivering his comments. He addressed the audience, “It (the speech) can turn out to be a slightly controversial view but I don’t mind that.” In addition, he observed that many people who extol love for Tamil ‘often possess limited knowledge of the language.’
Suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh has said that the police arrested him in Hyderabad before he could join the Hanuman Jayanti procession in Goshamahal. Like every year, he stated, he was preparing to join the Hanuman Jayanti procession at the Ram Temple Goliguda Chaman in his district Goshamahal when the Hyderabad Police apprehended him.
Arrested by Telangana Police on the instruction of BRS Govt just before joining #HanumanJanmotsav rally in my #Goshamahal Constituency.
In addition, he remarked, “I want to ask the administration and the police department that I cannot even take part in the procession of Lord Hanuman in my constituency as a Hindu?” He complained that it is a plot to damage his reputation and announced that no one can prevent him from joining the celebrations in his own assembly area.
Earlier, last month, on March 30, the legislator had organised a large procession to celebrate Ramnavami. An FIR was filed at the time about his allegedly contentious statements. The former MLA was accused of allegedly inciting two communities against each other, according to the police The police claimed that an attempt to disturb the peace and harmony was made during the procession.
T Raja Singh represents the Goshamahal assembly seat in Telangana. In the most recent assembly elections, the politician, who began his political career with the Telugu Desam Party, won a seat as a state legislator for the BJP. Following his incarceration, he was suspended from the BJP for nine years due to the controversy surrounding his anti-Prophet Muhammad statements. In the year 2020, Facebook and Instagram had banned his accounts.
On April 5, Dawat-e-Iftar was organised on the campus of Presidency University in Kolkata, West Bengal to ‘uphold the spirit of plurality.’ As many as 750 people took part in the congregation held on Wednesday evening. According to reports, the iftar was organised by some boarders of hostels in the university for Muslim students.
Some students staying at the Eden Hindu Hostel of the Presidency University reportedly hosted the Iftar on the ground in the Hostel compound. Reportedly, the event was not restricted to only the Muslim borders of the hostel, rather students of Presidency University, Jadavpur University and Calcutta University also joined the Iftar feast, taking the total number of students congregated to almost 750.
The event was supposedly organised to ‘spread the message of communal harmony and show that the Presidency upholds the spirit of plurality,’ said Hindu students like Arpan Maji, Rajarshi Barman and Gobinda Barman who had hosted the event.
After the Iftar party was held at the university hostel, several people on social media pointed out how the same varsity had recently denied permission for the celebration of Saraswati Puja for allegedly ‘maintaining secularism’ on the campus. West Bengal BJP leader Keya Ghosh claimed that while the university allowed the iftar party, the same university didn’t allow Saraswati Puja in January this year.
Dawat-e-iftar in Presidency College’s Eden Hindu hostel. Plz remember, Presidency University did not allow Saraswati Puja within the compound citing it goes against “secular” nature of the institution. pic.twitter.com/5Q7LBSU9X3
However, while it is true that Saraswati Puja has never been celebrated on the university campus, it does not mean the university has allowed an Iftar party inside the campus. The university has been denying all religious events including Saraswati Puja on campus for a long time.
In January this year, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, the student unit of TMC, submitted an application to the Dean of Students seeking permission to perform Saraswati Puja on the premises of Presidency University.
They stated in the letter that they intend to celebrate Saraswati Puja on the university premises this year. They requested authorization to use the institution’s facilities from January 25 to 27. However, the authorities refused to grant the permission. According to reports, the institution endorses DeRozio’s approach of ‘maintaining secularism’ on campus by forbidding worship.
Image source: Hindu Post
Dissatisfied with the authorities’ refusal to provide permission, members of the TMC student wing staged a protest. After the Saraswati idol was denied entry to the institution, the students insisted on doing a Puja at the university’s main gate as a protest. As a result, a makeshift mandap was constructed on the footpath outside the Presidency University’s main gate, and the Puja was held there.
Therefore, it is true that Saraswati Puja is not allowed inside the university, but the story is different for hostels. In fact, the Eden Hindu Hostel, which organised the Iftar Party, had organised Saraswati Puja also this year. The hostel’s unofficial Facebook page has several photographs of the puja held in January 2023.
Saraswati Puja in Eden Hindu Hostel, Presidency University
After the hostel was questioned for organising the Islamic event, several users posted on the Facebook Page saying that while the university does not allow religious events, the hostel has its own separate culture, and just like it organised iftar, it had also organised Saraswati Puja.
Hence, the fact is that it is the Hindu hostel that organised the Iftar party, and Saraswati Puja was also held earlier in the same hostel. There is no report of any Iftar party held inside the University’s main academic campus. However, it is not clear whether the hostel boarders need to take permission to hold such events in the hostel compound.
Iftar in Eden Hindu Hostel, Presidency University
On the other hand, the students had requested to organise the puja at the Portic area of the university, which was not granted.
OpIndia talked to Presidency University for their comments on the iftar party, but the university official who received the call said that they are not authorised to say anything on the matter. The person also told us that nobody else will talk about it so we should not call them again.
Hindus celebrating Ram Navami stopped from entering Presidency University in Bengaluru
Notably, only a week ago, violence had erupted in the Bengaluru campus of Presidency University after Hindu students were denied permission to celebrate Ram Navami. According to local reports, on the occasion of Ram Navami on March 30, some devotees had gone to the Presidency University near Dibbur in Lahanka Taluk of Bangalore wearing saffron shawls in the afternoon to distribute Prasad. Some leftist students at the Presidency University stopped the devotees from entering the university, leading to the devotees staging a protest at the campus gate.
As the uproar increased, members of several Hindu organizations gathered and started protesting in front of the university. Later, Rajanukunte police reached the spot and the Hindu students were made to leave the spot.
West Bengal burns during Ram Navami celebrations while the administration looks away
On Thursday (March 30), stones were pelted on a Ram Navami procession from the terraces of the buildings in the Shibpur area of Howrah. This led to a clash between the Hindu and Muslim groups, leading to violence and arson. Vehicles and shops were also torched during the attack. Several disturbing videos of the incident went viral on social media.
Three days after Islamists unleashed mayhem during the Ram Navami procession in the Shibpur area of Howrah in West Bengal, on Sunday, April 2, a fresh bout of violence erupted in Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district.
The incident occurred when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taking out a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in the area. Miscreants pelted stones at the procession, leaving several people, including one of BJP’s local legislators, gravely injured. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed and the internet was suspended.
While West Bengal continued to burn, the ruling dispensation led by CM Mamata Banerjee was busy whitewashing Islamist atrocities in the state by first invoking their faith and second, blaming the violence on ‘outsiders.’ She insisted that Hindus should not venture into “Muslim areas” to carry out processions.
On Tuesday, April 4 (local time), Twitter designated the National Public Radio (NPR), which is known for its anti-India stance, as ‘US State-affiliated media’.
NPR now joins the ranks of other propaganda outlets such as Russia Today and Xinhua News Agency, that are also labeled as ‘State-affiliated media’ on the micro-blogging platform.
Twitter defines state-affiliated media as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”
Screengrab of the Twitter Profile of NPR
On Wednesday (April 5), NPR correspondent David Gura took to Twitter to cry foul over the development. He shared screenshots of Twitter policy, which previously recognised the National Public Radio as an exception amongst state-financed media organisations due to supposed ‘editorial independence.’
The micro-blogging platform recently removed NPR from the list of its exceptions and accordingly labeled the anti-India propaganda outlet as ‘US-state affiliated media.’
Yesterday, @elonmusk’s Twitter labeled NPR “state-affiliated media,” even though the company’s own policy stated the organization shouldn’t be labeled as such because it has editorial independence (left).
It must be mentioned that the media outlet has been at the forefront of peddling Hinduphobia and anti-India propaganda in the United States.
In September 2019, the then NPR producer Furkan Khan went on a vitriolic tirade against the Hindu community. “If Indians give up Hinduism, they will also be solving most of their problems with all the piss drinking and dung worshipping.”
The dehumanising language used by Furkan Khan was similar to the last video message of terrorist Adil Ahmed Dar, who orchestrated the Pulwama attack of 2019.
Screengrab of the deleted tweet by Furkan Khan
The ex-NPR producer had also tried to downplay the ethnic genocide of Kashmiri Pandits at the hands of Islamists as ‘normal conflict collateral damage.’ She also compared Hinduism to both Fascism and Nazism.
In January last year, the Indian correspondent of NPR, Lauren Frayer, resorted to insensitivity and racial stereotyping on the micro-blogging platform. She had attributed a random case of train burglary in Los Angeles to India without verifying the facts of the case.
Lauren Frayer had shared a ground report of the incident and claimed, “At first glance, I thought this was India.” The video, shot by photojournalist John Schreiber, showed how looted packages of UPS boxes, Amazon packages, and unused Covid tests were lying around the train tracks.
The gross generalisation, with a malicious intent to portray India as a ‘litter-filled garbage dump’ to a global audience, did not go well with Indian netizens. Following social media backlash, she deleted her tweet.
Screengrab of the tweet by Lauren Frayer
Popular Twitter user, The Hawk Eye, had pointed out how her Covid-19 reportage was heavily biased and relied on cherry-picking to tarnish India’s global image. She was also seen creating hysteria among the public by sharing pictures of burning pyres.
“All of her articles will give glimpse of any typical left media houses. e.g. Frayer observed that Protesters that carried out 26/1 riots at Red Fort is storm in capital and overshadowed traditional military parade,” the Twitter user pointed out.
All of her articles will give glimpse of any typical left media houses. e.g. Frayer observed that Protesters that carried out 26/1 riots at Red Fort is “storm in capital” and “overshadowed traditional military parade”. Check her other articles, just headlines are good enough! 8/ pic.twitter.com/DfTvohh1ly
Earlier, in September 2020, the US-State-affiliated media defended a paedophile movie on Netflix titled ‘Cuties’. In its review, NPR claimed, “The French film, Cuties, is being praised for its critique of the hyper-sexualisation of young girls – and the consequences of that – as they rush to become adults in the age of social media.”
In November 2021, a talk show by NPR courted controversy for disingenuously shielding ‘Gender Queer’ – a book banned by several US schools for illustrations of sexual encounters between children.
On Thursday, 6th April 2023, the Delhi High Court rejected the bail plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendra Jain and two other co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate. On March 21, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma had reserved the verdict on this bail plea.
In another case, Manish Sisodia, the leader of the AAP, filed a petition with the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court’s decision to refuse him bail in the CBI lawsuit concerning the Delhi liquor policy scam. The case will be heard next on April 20, as Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice to the CBI to file a reply within two weeks.
The court’s observations on Satyendra Jain
While pronouncing the order rejecting bail for Jain, the court observed that the broad probability indicates that the four companies concerned in this case were directly or indirectly controlled and operated by Satyendra Jain. The court emphasized the continuously changing pattern of the shareholdings of the company to deduce this conclusion
The court said, “The shareholding patterns also show that petitioner Satyendra Kumar Jain or his family is controlling them directly or indirectly. The petitioner Satyendra Jain is an influential person and has the potential to tamper with the evidence, as indicated by his conduct during the custody.”
Enforcement Directorate’s argument against the accused AAP leader
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju represented the ED before the court. He argued that when the trial court had rejected bail, it had said that the accused was a business partner and that the money clearly belonged to Satyendra Jain. ASG had further contended that the accused was controlling the people responsible for running the business. Furthermore, it was said that the transaction took place after the “entire sum had been stamped in the name of Satyendra Jain.”
ASG SV Raju said, “Money laundering is crystal clear. Their case is that Satyendra Jain has nothing to do with it. I have to establish that Satyendra Jain was in the thick of these things.” ASG SV Raju argued that the special treatment extended by the prison authorities to Satyendra Jain showed that the ED’s apprehension throughout was correct that being a former minister of prisons and health he was receiving favorable treatment from the prison officials including the prison doctors.
He added, “The above facts are borne out from the CCTV video footage of the Tihar jail premises submitted by the Directorate before the PMLA special judge.” He said that there is a strong chance that the petitioner will try to obstruct the Act’s processes after being freed.
Satyendra Jain’s lawyer claimed that he is not involved at all
Advocate N Hariharan appeared for Satyendra Jain. He had completed his submissions during a hearing on January 25. At that time, he submitted, “Where is Satyendra Jain involved? How is the money related to me? My (Satyendra Jain’s) assets before and after the cheque period remained the same.” He contended that the company’s assets cannot be called the assets of Satyendra Jain and that the company belongs to Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.
N Hariharan pleaded for Satyendra Jain’s bail. He said, “I (Satyendra Jain) have never been on flight risk, even the trial court had stated the same while dismissing my first bail plea. It was dismissed on the ground that at that time chargesheet wasn’t filed. Now chargesheet is filed. I clear the tripod test. I am liable for bail.”
The trial court denied bail to Satyendra Jain in November 2022
On November 17, Special Judge Vikas Dhull of the Rouse Avenue Court dismissed Jain’s request for bail in the case involving money laundering. Satyendra Jain requested bail in connection with his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on May 31, 2022, for a money laundering offence.
Assets related to Jain and his family worth Rs. 4.81 crores were attached by the ED in April. Based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jain and others under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, the ED launched an inquiry. The AAP leader is accused of using the Hawala network to receive up to Rs. 4.81 crores from shell companies while he was a public servant through companies he owned and controlled.
Manish Sisodia moves high court as the trial court denied bail
On Thursday, 6th April 2023, Manish Sisodia filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking bail in a case against CBI regarding the Delhi Liquor Policy Scam case. Senior Advocates Dayan Krishnan and Mohit Mathur appeared for Sisodia. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Anupam Sharma appeared for CBI.
Advocate Dayan Krishnan said while submitting Manish Sisodia’s plea, “This is the case where everyone has been granted bail except me by the trial court. Many of them have not even been arrested.” Advocate Mohit Mathur said, “In this case, 7 persons were charged, 5 have still not been arrested and 2 were granted bail before filing of chargesheet, another person arrested in February was again granted bail by the same court.”
Advocate Dayan Krishnan also said, “Public Servants against whom they say there are allegations are not even arrested. Request the Court to hear the matter at the earliest.” the court has issued notice to the CBI to file a reply in this case within two weeks. The court will hear this case again on April 20.
On March 31, Special Judge MK Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi rejected Manish Sisodia’s bail application in the CBI case. Sisodia had “the most essential and vital part” in the criminal conspiracy, and he had been “intimately involved” in the creation and execution of the abovementioned policy, the court had observed while rejecting the bail petition. On March 24, the court reserved judgment on the matter, in which the court called Manish Sisodia to be the architect of the conspiracy.
When Muslims throughout the world are fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramazan, China has released a propaganda video to cover up its abuse of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
A state-sponsored promotional video exposes Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to further erode Uyghur cultural heritage and obscure historical links to the Xinjiang area. In this video, a lady is seen performing dance moves in Buddhist attire in the Grand Kuqa Mosque, the second-largest in Xinjiang, to demonstrate how Uyghur Islam evolved from Buddhism.
The depiction of the Great Kuqa Mosque in a cameo as a Buddhist-Muslim holy site intricately entwined with Han Chinese history and culture, with a Buddhist dancer taking centre stage among the pillars of the major prayer hall, has enraged exiled Uyghurs.
According to exiled poet Aziz Isa Elkun, who is currently residing in the UK, this is not just another government initiative to further Sinicize the area, but it is also a heinous insult to their faith. He bemoans the destruction of their cultural heritage and the belittling of their religious beliefs.
The video features an arduous brick-stepped staircase from a 1930s restoration of the original sixteenth-century edifice that was destroyed by fire and adored by Uyghurs worldwide. There is a formidable double-gated entryway and a young Han Chinese woman wearing jeans explains the background and history of this religious facility, ‘with Chinese characteristics.’
She enters the building without a headscarf and casually steps through the doors into the pillared hallway. The Uyghur dancer dominating the prayer space begins to whirl to mild Chinese music in the next minute while wearing full Buddhist orange regalia.
The narrator uses subdued tones to describe how Buddhist and Islamic civilizations have been intertwined throughout history. She represents the ‘daughter of China’s history,’ and through history, one can comprehend the culture of the great Chinese nation, she says.
She concludes that Kuqa is indissolubly a part of China, the blood of the Western regions is braided together with the gentleness and beauty of the Central Plains. She says that ‘they unite to be as one.’ She exhorts the listener to remember that Kuqa the people and the religion are Chinese.
Aziz Isa Elkun reportedly holds a particular place in his heart for Kuqa. He used to pass by and visit the building every day when he was in the city in 1988 for his university admission tests.
He told Bitter Winter that his heart was crushed after watching the video. “There are so many sacred sites now that have been entirely demolished by the CCP,” he added, noting that the clip was one more humiliation to his people.
He said that he has seen videos of members of the British royal family entering mosques all around the world without shoes on, and the women, including Queen Elizabeth, donning scarf over their heads. He stated, “This desecration does nothing to glorify the so-called Chinese culture’s 5000 years of history. Their disrespect to our religion shames them.”
When Islam arrived in the thirteenth century, Kuqa, formerly known as Qiuci, was one of the most important Buddhist centres in the sixth century, expanding from India. Certainly, Uyghurs were Buddhists in those days and they were fervent believers who were keen to spread their religion, according to Elkun.
The city had a key location along the Northern Silk Road, which brought wealth and trade. Its surrounding hills and rocks are home to caverns and paintings that contain artefacts from the Buddhist era.
However, by the end of the fourteenth century, Buddhism had been fully subdued and Islam had established itself. Nowadays, the majority of Uyghurs identify as Muslims, but there is a tiny but increasing Christian minority among them.
Beijing has been actively destroying Uyghur and Turkic religious and cultural monuments recently, according to the 2019 report ‘Demolishing Faith, The Destruction and Desecration of Uyghur Mosques and Shrines’ commissioned by the Uyghur Human Rights Project. Many mosques, particularly tiny neighbourhood structures, have been destroyed or used for other purposes and leaders of these communities have also suffered the same fate and been imprisoned.
Further investigation, published recently in ‘The Complicity of Heritage: Cultural Heritage and Genocide in the Uyghur Region’ by Elkun and his wife Professor Rachel Harris, revealed that a number of intangible cultural treasures from the Uyghur, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh cultures have also been eviscerated and are in danger of going extinct under the prying eyes of Beijing.
The most recent video, along with other such CCP marketing gimmicks, is only the top of the cultural injustices that Uyghurs and other Turkic people are currently facing in the Uyghur heartland. The insults are intentional, complaints Elkun.
He asserts, that in addition to undermining us, they also want to mislead Chinese people who are less familiar with our history due to the subtitles and audio being entirely in Mandarin. He mentioned that assimilation, caricature, cultural cliches, and falsity were the purpose of the video. This is an act of shame and a blatant affront to our ideals, he remarked.
Sajid Khan, from the Chhattisgarh area of Sukma, released a video on social media with beef in which he denigrated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and Hindu organisations.
Sajid Khan declared that he would eat beef and challenged people to take him on in the video. In the video, he also abused BJP and the Hindu organisations. The incident took place in the City Kotwali police station area. Khan was turned over to the police by the members of his own community after the video gained traction on social media.
In the video, Sajid Khan said, “I will have beef. If you have the courage, do anything you want with me,” in a threatening tone. Hindu organisations in the area voiced their displeasure about the incident.
Following the release of the video, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Gau-Sevaks, and members of other Hindu organisations protested at the local police station up until late on Wednesday night. Following the protests, the police assured to take strict action in the case.
This matter reportedly has once again raised tensions in the city and the police are on high alert. The tension between the two communities has been brewing in the Sukma region for the last 10 days.
The two sides had been at loggerheads even before Ram Navami and the police even used lathi charge to try and gain control of the situation. The Hindu organisations even gave a call to shut the city down in protest against the police action. The day of Ram Navami was marked by the deployment of hundreds of personnel to avoid further deterioration of law and order.
