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Rahul Gandhi’s Operation Sindoor tirade: How the Congress leader’s outburst in Lok Sabha was aimed at sabotaging India’s US diplomacy and strategic sovereignty

Jinit Jain
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Rahul Gandhi’s Operation Sindoor tirade: How the Congress leader’s outburst in Lok Sabha was aimed at sabotaging India’s US diplomacy and strategic sovereignty

When Rahul Gandhi stood up in the Lok Sabha to speak on Operation Sindoor, one expected at least some semblance of national unity following a successful and widely applauded military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Instead, what unfolded was a brazen, meandering tirade, an attack not just on PM Modi, but on the very doctrine of Indian sovereignty, deterrence, and diplomatic stability.

Gandhi called Operation Sindoor a public relations exercise meant to protect Modi’s image, claimed the military’s hands were tied, and accused the government of lacking political will. But beneath the cluttered emotionalism and theatrical barbs lay a more sinister strategy: to provoke Modi into an uncalculated reaction and derail India’s carefully constructed, long-term foreign policy posture, especially with the United States.

Deliberate provocation: Rahul’s real target is Modi’s US strategy

One of the most revealing moments in Rahul Gandhi’s speech was when he dared PM Modi to call former U.S. President Donald Trump a “liar” on the floor of Parliament. This was not just political rhetoric; it was a trap. Gandhi was baiting Modi to react emotionally, to rupture the fragile but functional Indo-US equilibrium that the Modi government has sustained with patience and foresight.

With the mercurial behaviour Trump has demonstrated ever since he came to office for the second time, one can only imagine what a direct confrontation between India and the United States could mean for New Delhi, especially when India is eyeing to become the West’s favoured nation in terms of trade after their fallout with China. In fact, even Congress supportive media personalities like Rajdeep Sardesai called Rahul’s proclamations as “bravado”, highlighting that he wouldn’t have done anything he was suggesting if he were the Prime Minister.

However, Modi’s refusal to take the bait is emblematic of his broader strategy: engage the U.S. on India’s terms, not as a junior partner, but as an assertive, autonomous power. India simply cannot afford to play geopolitical roulette, especially when its domestic industries, digital infrastructure, and defense architecture are still transitioning toward greater self-reliance. Gandhi’s goading isn’t about accountability; it’s about sabotage. A deliberate ploy to undermine India’s interests so that he could later use them as props in his propaganda efforts to malign the Modi government for electoral benefits.

Modi’s approach: Restraint, leverage, and strategic patience

Contrary to the “lack of courage” slur Rahul Gandhi tried to attach, Operation Sindoor was a masterclass in precise, deliberate statecraft. Within 48 hours of the horrific Pahalgam terror attack, India launched a targeted military operation that destroyed multiple terror infrastructure hubs inside Pakistani territory. PM Modi revealed that the ceasefire was not due to international pressure but because Pakistan was on its knees, pleading for mercy.

As he told the House, no world leader asked India to stop. When U.S. Vice President JD Vance called Modi in the middle of a military briefing, Modi made it clear:

“If that’s their intention, it will cost them dearly. Goli ka jawab gola se denge.”

India didn’t need to bomb civilian cities to prove a point. It did exactly what was necessary: establish deterrence, avoid escalation, and preserve geopolitical capital. That is leadership. That is strategy.

In fact, a recent article in the New York Times titled “Flatter, Defer, Nudge: Europe’s Playbook for Trump Yields Some Results” underscores what world leaders are doing to keep themselves in good books of the US president and prising out best possible trade deals for their respective countries by employing a mix of cajolement, charm offensive, and measured disagreement. A hostile confrontation with Trump could threaten a country’s prospects, as witnessed after the fiery spat with Ukrainian President Zelensky following which the United States had temporarily halted weapons supply to the beleaguered nation embroiled in a conflict with neighbouring Russia.

Global South, Russia, and Redefining Independence

More importantly though, Modi’s broader foreign policy is not driven by the need for headlines but by the goal of reducing India’s historic dependence on Western hegemony. First, India is positioning itself as a voice of the Global South, deepening ties with Africa, Latin America, and ASEAN while reshaping BRICS into a geopolitical counterbalance to Western groupings.

Second, India’s relationship with Russia remains strong, not out of nostalgia but pragmatism. During the Ukraine crisis, while Europe and the U.S. expected India to fall in line with their sanctions regimes, India maintained a neutral, sovereign stance. This infuriated the Western deep state but proved India is no longer beholden to anyone.

Third, and perhaps most crucially, Modi has quietly but decisively begun building the foundation for tech and data sovereignty, an issue of immense geopolitical relevance that Congress either ignored or actively compromised.

Tech sovereignty: Lessons from the West’s censorship machine

The Ukraine war laid bare a reality that India can no longer ignore: Big Tech is an extension of U.S. foreign policy. From Meta and Google to YouTube and Apple, American platforms weaponised their algorithms to shape narratives, censor content, and enforce Washington’s geopolitical objectives.

If tomorrow, India were to have a disagreement with the U.S. on trade, tariffs, or Kashmir, what’s to stop these same companies from suppressing Indian voices or pushing anti-India narrative globally? This is not paranoia; it’s precedent. The Modi government has seen this and begun building its defenses.

India’s India Stack, Digital India Act, and Semicon India push are just the beginning. Localisation of data, tighter regulation of cross-border digital flows, and the emphasis on open-source public digital infrastructure are all designed to reduce the chokehold of American tech giants.

The Nayara case: India’s battle for sovereignty, one sector at a time

A key flashpoint that illustrates this battle is the Nayara case, involving India’s push to reclaim control over critical national infrastructure from foreign stakeholders. On the surface, it’s about a private energy deal, but at its heart, it’s about ensuring foreign capital doesn’t translate into political veto power. Whether it’s in energy, data, or defense, the message is clear: India must decide its future, not foreign investors or foreign governments.

Congress and the US deep state: A history of submission

Ironically, it is the Congress party that should be the last to question India’s current foreign policy posture. Under Nehru, India’s so-called non-alignment only succeeded in alienating the United States without gaining strategic depth. Indira Gandhi’s flirtation with the Soviet Union further entrenched American suspicion.

But it was under UPA-II that Congress fully surrendered to the U.S. deep state, overcompensating for decades of maintaining strategic distance. From surveillance cooperation to trade concessions, the Congress government was eager to please its Western handlers. Cables leaked by Wikileaks show just how embedded the U.S. embassy had become in India’s policy circles during that era.

Today, Modi’s government is trying to rebalance that unequal legacy. And what does Rahul Gandhi do? He parrots talking points that are indistinguishable from those pushed by hostile foreign media, Western-funded NGOs, and certain Washington-based think tanks funded by global disruptors and deep state agents like George Soros. Whether knowingly or as a useful idiot, Rahul is aiding the very forces that want to keep India dependent, reactive, and pliable.

Operation Sindoor was a message to the world, and so is this sabotage

In dismissing Operation Sindoor as a publicity stunt, Rahul Gandhi is not just attacking Modi; he is attacking the morale of our Armed Forces. He is ignoring the military’s tactical success, belittling the sacrifice of those who executed the mission, and emboldening the enemy by suggesting India blinked. As Modi very eloquently enunciated during his address to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, India achieved what it set out to during Operation Sindoor and our Armed Forces ensured Pakistan will remember this lesson for decades to come.

However, what Rahul is insisting is chaos dressed up as “lack of political will”. This is not dissent. This is treachery dressed up as debate. And his rhetoric is not born out of bravery but out of desperation to remain relevant, even if that means pushing India into reckless confrontations or back into the clutches of global hegemons.

As Modi builds a sovereign future, Rahul sells a colonial past

Operation Sindoor was not about Modi’s image; it was about India’s message. That we will retaliate, but on our terms. That we will fight terrorism, but not to please foreign capitals. That we will assert sovereignty, not surrender it for a handshake.

While Prime Minister Modi is building a long-term architecture of independence, be it technological, diplomatic, or economic, Rahul Gandhi is busy throwing tantrums on the Parliament floor, demanding that India shout slogans rather than shape policy. In doing so, he reveals not courage, but complicity.

He may win a few viral moments, with his supporters online going gaga over their leader’s posturing in the Lok Sabha, but India cannot afford to let its future be dictated by a desperate dynast reciting scripts prepared in Washington. The age of submission is over. India is rising, not with noise, but with strategy. And no amount of posturing by a flailing “prince” can stop that momentum.

What is the Pacific Ring of Fire, and why the earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula triggered Tsunami alerts thousands of miles away

Rukma Rathore
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What is the Pacific Ring of Fire, and why the earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula triggered Tsunami alerts thousands of miles away

The people in Russia were awakened to devastating scenes as one of the most powerful earthquakes in recent memory struck off its far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, in the early hours of 30th July. Initially, it was recorded at a magnitude of 8.0, however, the United States Geological Survey later revised it to 8.7 (8.8 per some reports).

The quake was registered at a shallow depth of 19.3 kilometres, roughly 125 kilometers southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. It is a city housing 165,000 residents along the coastline of Avacha Bay. The Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations announced that 3 to 4 metres tsunami waves had been observed in some areas of the Kamchatka region.

Countries across Pacific raise alerts

The catastrophe prompted tsunami alerts, warnings and advisories in countries which share the Paciific coast including Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and the United States, among others as Russian officials reported that the earthquake was the strongest in decades. It is tied for the sixth-strongest recorded earthquake and the greatest to shake the planet since 2011, when a 9.0 megaquake hit northeastern Japan.

US President Donald Trump urged Americans to be vigilant for tsunami warnings. “Due to a massive earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean, a Tsunami Warning is in effect for those living in Hawaii. A Tsunami Watch is in effect for Alaska and the Pacific Coast of the United States. Japan is also in the way. Stay strong and stay safe,” he expressed.

As tsunami waves lash over the shoreline and transportation is delayed statewide, over 1.9 million people in Japan have been asked to evacuate to safer ground. Furthermore, several South American nations including Chile, Peru, Ecuador and others also issued tsunami warnings alongside Mexico and Panama.

On the other hand, the first tsunami waves reportedly reached coastal regions in Japan’s northernmost big island, Hokkaido and Russia’s Kuril Islands. The epicentre of the quake in the shallow depths off the ocean off the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky area, falls in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Pacific Ring of Fire

The Kamchatka Peninsula is located on the famous Pacific “Ring of Fire” which is a chain of volcanoes and earthquake-prone locations around the ocean’s rim. It is home to around 75 per cent of all active volcanoes on Earth and nearly 90 per cent of all earthquakes originate in its vicinity.

Image via National Geographic

The ring isn’t exactly a circle and resembles a horseshoe. It is 40,000-kilometer (25,000-mile) long with a series of 452 volcanoes which run from the southern tip of South America to the North American coast across the Bering Strait down through Japan and into New Zealand.

It extends from southern Chile to the Philippines via the islands off Alaska, Japan, and the west coast of the Americas. A sequence of volcanoes in Indonesia is also included in the ring by some geologists. However, it is “closed” by a number of Antarctic volcanoes both active and dormant.

This belt traces arcs of islands, including the Kuril Islands, the Indonesian archipelago, the Philippines, Japan, the Aleutians, Tonga and the New Hebrides as well as other arc-shaped geomorphic features such as the Andes Mountains and the western coast of North America. It is framed by a sequence of deep ocean troughs with continental landmasses beyond, on the oceanic side.

Interestingly, a sequence of deep ocean trenches that mirror matching volcano arcs along the ring will be exposed if all the water in the Pacific Ocean is drained away. Both islands and continental mountain ranges are formed by these arcs.

The ring houses major volcanic activity

The sliding of a tectonic plate beneath a neighbouring plate, known as subduction, lowers the melting point of rock in the mantle and produces these volcanoes. A volcano is created when the rock transforms into magma, rises to the surface and erupts.

“What’s special about the Ring of Fire is that multiple oceanic plates in the Pacific have subduction boundaries there,” stated a volcanologist at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Loyc Vanderkluysen while talking to Live Science. He added, “About 90% of the 34,000 miles (55,000 kilometers) of subduction plate boundaries on Earth are found in the Pacific.”

He stated that “just due to sheer numbers, the Pacific region is an immense natural laboratory for volcanism, and explosive volcanism in particular” since the ring has approximately two thirds of all volcanoes that have erupted on Earth since 1960.

Plate tectonics formed the Ring of Fire. The mantle is a layer of solid and molten rock on top of which the plates are constantly shifting. They can occasionally slide adjacent to one another, clash or separate. The majority of the ring’s tectonic activity takes place in these geologically active areas. There have been more than 80% of earthquakes with a magnitude of 8.0 or greater there.

Significant locations in the ring

The United States has 65 historically active volcanoes 27 of which are in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Notably, the Aleutian Trench is parallel to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. As the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the North American Plate, both geographical features continue to take shape.

Likewise, the Peru-Chile Trench, formed by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, is parallel to the Andes Mountains of South America. Nevados Ojos del Salado, the highest active volcano in the world which is part of the Andes Mountains. It rises to 6,879 meters (more than 22,500 feet) at the Chile-Argentina boundary.

The East Pacific Rise is recognized as a prominent area of seafloor spreading in the ring while the San Andreas Fault, traversing the central western coast of North America is identified as one of the most active faults on the ring. It is situated on the transform boundary between the northward-moving Pacific Plate and the southward-moving North American Plate.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake which devastated about 500 city blocks, was caused by movement along the fault. Half of the city’s population was left homeless and almost 3,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake and the ensuing fire.

Hot spots and active volcanoes

Hot spots or places where heat rises from deep inside the Earth’s mantle, are also found in the ring. The Erebus hot spot in Antarctica has Mount Erebus, the planet’s most southern active volcano, situated above its eruptive zone. Since its discovery in 1841, this glacier-covered volcano has been continuously erupting, with a lava lake at its peak.

The western side of the Ring of Fire which stretches from the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia to the islands of Japan and Southeast Asia to New Zealand, is host to the majority of the active volcanoes. With minor eruptions every year and major eruptions around every 50 years, Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand is one of the more active volcanoes in the ring.

Indonesia’s Krakatau, also called Krakatoa, is an another island volcano. The largest and most well-known mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji, is an active volcano in the ring that last erupted in 1707.

The Aleutian Islands, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Andes Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains in the western United States are among the active volcanic regions found in the eastern portion of the ring. Mount St. Helens is an active volcano in the Cascade Mountains located in the Washington.

Popocatepetl ranks among the most perilous volcanoes in the ring. 15 eruptions have been documented since 1519, making the mountain one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes.

Currently, the earthquake in Russia and the subsequent alerts in other countries have drawn attention to the “Ring of Fire” and the risks associated with locations that are vulnerable to it.

Gujarat ATS nabs “highly radicalised” woman Shama Parveen from Bengaluru for running Al-Qaeda propaganda network online, fifth arrest in the case

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat ATS nabs “highly radicalised” woman Shama Parveen from Bengaluru for running Al-Qaeda propaganda network online, fifth arrest in the case

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a woman on Wednesday, 30th July, from Bengaluru for her suspected involvement with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a banned terrorist group. She is the fifth person to be held in the ongoing investigation.

ATS officials said the woman, identified as Shama Parveen, was “highly radicalised” and was running an online terror network. According to ATS officials, data recovered from her phone showed that she was in contact with several people in Pakistan.

The ATS collaborated with Bengaluru police to identify and locate Parveen. A joint team conducted a raid at Parveen’s residence in Manorayanapalya locality and arrested her. Parveen is a graduate degree holder and has been living in Bengaluru for three years with her brother, who is a software engineer. 

Before this, according to some reports, ATS had already arrested four accused in connection with the same case. These include Md Faiq from Delhi, Md Fardeen from Ahmedabad, Sefullah Kureshi from Modasa, and Zeeshan Ali from Noida.

They have been booked under sections 13, 18, 38, 39 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections 113, 152, 196, 61 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.

Investigators say all five were part of an online group that worked through Instagram to share provocative and violent content, including jihadi videos and messages supporting terrorism. The group is believed to have operated accounts like ‘sharyat-ya-shahadat’, ‘f4rdeen_03’, ‘mujahideen 3’, and ‘seffulah_muja_hid313’.

The ATS claims they aimed to spread AQIS’s radical ideology under the name ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’. They allegedly tried to incite Indian Muslims to take up arms against the Indian government and promote a Sharia-based Islamic rule in India.

They have been charged under several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

From one of the accused, Fardeen Shaikh, the ATS recovered literature linked to AQIS, which called for jihad in response to India’s “Operation Sindoor.” Another accused, Md Faiq, was allegedly in touch with a Pakistani Instagram user to coordinate anti-India propaganda.

Madhya Pradesh: Civil Judge resigns after a judicial officer she accused of harassment was elevated to the High Court

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Civil Judge resigns after a judicial officer she accused of harassment was elevated to the High Court

A female civil judge from Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh tendered her resignation after a judicial officer, whom she had accused of mental harassment, was elevated to the Madhya Pradesh High Court. District Judge Rajesh Kumar Gupta was elevated to the High Court through a central government notification on Monday (28th July). Hours later, civil judge Aditi Kumar Sharma wrote a resignation letter to the High Court Chief Justice expressing her disappointment.

“With every ounce of my moral strength and emotional exhaustion, I hereby resign from judicial service not because I lost faith in justice, but because justice lost its way inside the very institution sworn to protect it,” the judge wrote.

The judge expressed her despair over being let down by the judicial system. “But today, I write this with a shattered spirit and the ache of betrayal. Not at the hands of a criminal or an accused, but at the hands of the very system I swore to serve,” she said. “Let it remain in your archives as a reminder that there once was a woman judge in Madhya Pradesh who gave her all to justice, and was broken by the system that preached it the loudest,” the judge added.

She expressed resentment for not being given an opportunity to be heard despite citing documented facts against Gupta. “Shri Rajesh Kumar Gupta, who orchestrated my suffering, was not questioned, was rewarded, recommended, elevated, given a pedestal instead of a summons. The man I accused not lightly, not anonymously, but with documented facts and the raw courage only a wounded woman can summon was not even asked to explain. No inquiry. No notice. No hearing. No accountability is now titled Justice, a cruel joke upon the very word,” Sharma hopelessly wrote.

Wrote to the President and the Supreme Court Collegium

In July 2025, judge Aditi Kumar Sharma filed several complaints against District Judge Rajesh Kumar Gupta by writing to the President of India and the Supreme Court collegium, requesting them to reconsider Gupta’s elevation to the High Court. In her letters, she said that “a person against whom there are serious unresolved allegations must not be rewarded with elevation.” Apart from Sharma, two other judges had also reportedly submitted complaints regarding the conduct of Gupta.

Reinstated by the SC after termination

In June 2023, judge Aditi Kumar Sharma, along with 5 other judges, faced termination by the Madhya Pradesh government. The termination order was passed following the findings of an administrative committee and a full court meeting of High Court judges, which showed her performance as unsatisfactory. She moved the Supreme Court against her termination, which ordered her reinstatement after finding that her termination was “punitive, arbitrary and illegal”.

UNSC report names LeT offshoot TRF for Pahalgam terrorist attack, boosting India’s push for global sanctions

OpIndia Staff
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UNSC report names LeT offshoot TRF for Pahalgam terrorist attack, boosting India’s push for global sanctions

In a significant diplomatic victory for India, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has officially named Lashkar-e-Taiba’s offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF) in its latest monitoring report on global terrorism. In the report published on 24th July, the UNSC has linked the group to the 22nd April Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 26 innocent Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir.

The 36th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the 1267 Sanctions Committee, stated that TRF had twice claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terrorist attack and even published a photograph of the attack site. The claim was, however, retracted four days later, with no other group claiming responsibility since.

Source: UNSC

The inclusion comes despite Pakistan’s strenuous efforts to distance itself from TRF and have its name removed. Notably, Pakistan, a UNSC member, had earlier succeeded in excluding the group’s mention from an April press statement by the Council. However, the Monitoring Team report, prepared by consensus, marked a clear global rejection of Pakistan’s narrative.

Member states link TRF to Lashkar-e-Taiba

The report also carried the views of several member states on TRF’s operational links with the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba. According to the UNSC document, one state said that the Pahalgam attack “could not have happened without LeT’s support”, while another directly called TRF synonymous with LeT. Only one state, likely Pakistan, disputed this by claiming that LeT is defunct, a claim flatly contradicted by both evidence and ground realities.

Notably, these observations came after India’s classified briefings to the committee in April and May, which provided details of TRF’s emergence as a proxy to LeT and its increasing involvement in cross-border terrorism under a rebranded identity.

Pakistan’s plausible deniability under strain

Pakistan has repeatedly denied the fact that groups like TRF or the People Against Fascist Front are floated under neutral-sounding names to mask the involvement of banned outfits like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). However, the inclusion of TRF in an official UNSC monitoring report has now challenged Pakistan’s stance.

Earlier, Pakistan had bragged in its National Assembly about getting TRF’s name dropped from the UNSC press statement. The Monitoring Team report, however, now holds more weight than press notes, as it has formed the basis for future sanctions deliberations.

With this mention, India has moved a step closer to securing UN sanctions against TRF. The next round of deliberations will take place at the UNSC’s Sanctions Committee, where India is pushing for the group’s designation as a global terrorist entity. If successful, this would block international funding, arms supply, and travel access for TRF operatives and affiliates, while further isolating Pakistan diplomatically.

Notably, this is the first time since 2019 that LeT and its affiliates have been directly named in a UNSC terrorism monitoring report, pointing towards a renewed international recognition of Pakistan-backed terror in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking in Parliament, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had already highlighted Pakistan’s attempt to prevent TRF’s mention in official UNSC communications. The release of the Monitoring Team’s report now stands as vindication of India’s diplomatic efforts, by putting on record the role of the Pakistan-based group in cross-border terrorism.

Operation Shivshakti: Two terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch as Indian Army continues crackdown after Operation Mahadev

OpIndia Staff
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Operation Shivshakti: Two terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch as Indian Army continues crackdown after Operation Mahadev

Two terrorists were shot dead early Wednesday (30th July) in an encounter with the Indian Army in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. A large search operation is still underway in the forested areas near the Line of Control (LoC) to find if any more militants are hiding nearby.

According to media reports, soldiers who were on regular duty along the LoC spotted two people moving suspiciously near the border fence. When the soldiers challenged them, the suspects opened fire, which led to a gun battle. The Army responded quickly, and both terrorists were killed.

The Official Twitter Account of 16 Corps of Indian Army, the White Knight Corps, confirmed the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “In a successful anti-infiltration operation, alert troops of the #IndianArmy eliminated two terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the Line of Control. Swift action and accurate firepower thwarted the nefarious designs. Three weapons have been recovered. Synergistic and synchronised intelligence inputs from own intelligence units and #JKP led to a successful operation.”

The operation was started after suspected movement of two individuals was observed by army troops along the fence in gen area of Poonch Sector. This led to an exchange of gunfire.

This comes just two days after another major anti-terror operation was carried out in Srinagar. On Monday, 28th July, security forces gunned down three terrorists during a fierce gunfight in the Harwan area, close to Dachigam National Park. That operation, named “Operation Mahadev”, took place in the Lidwas region and involved the Indian Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police.

On Tuesday, 29th July, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the Lok Sabha and confirmed that the three terrorists killed in Operation Mahadev were the same ones behind the Pahalgam terror attack, where 26 civilians were brutally murdered in April this year.

“Innocent civilians were killed in front of their families for asking about their religion. I condemn this barbaric act. I express my sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones,” he added.

West Bengal Election Commission spots fake voter entries during sample checking, orders probe

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal Election Commission spots fake voter entries during sample checking, orders probe

During the sample checking of voter application forms (Form 6) for routine updates to the electoral roll, the West Bengal Election Commission discovered that a significant number of fake voter application forms had been accepted by Electoral Registration Offices (EROs) in some districts of West Bengal. According to the CEO, two EROs have admitted that they accepted a considerable number of fake voter application forms.

Image via X/Deccan Chronicle

“Sample checking of less than 1% Form 6 disposals by EROs during continuous updation has revealed that two (2) had accepted a considerable number of Form 6 for fictitious voters,” the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, wrote in a letter dated July 28, 2025, addressed to all District Election Officers (DEO).

The two EROs admitted that they gave the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers access to the ERO.net portal in the BDO Office, after which “casual data entry operators” disposed of Form 6 applications.

In the letter, the CEO said that the EROs also dispensed with the requirement of BLOs’ verification of the forms. “In all these cases, BLO’s verification was dispensed with, without any apparent urgency/requirement and similar documents were captured for a large number of application forms and their verification reports,” the letter stated.

The CEO ordered an urgent probe into the matter and directed the DEO to form a team of senior officials and conduct a sample check of all the voter application forms disposed of during the last year. The CEO gave the DEOs a deadline of August 14, 2025, to submit a report. “Whilst appropriate action in these and other cases is being contemplated, District Election Officers are hereby directed to form a team of senior officers and have the sample checking of all Form 6 disposals done during the last one year and send a report to the undersigned by 14th August, 2025, positively,” the CEO said.

Speculations of an electoral revision in West Bengal

The probe order coincided with the publication of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2002 data on the state election commission’s website. This has fanned the speculations of the state election commission conducting an electoral roll revision ahead of the state assembly elections next year.

Recently, the Bihar Election Commission conducted an SIR in the state, which goes to the polls in October-November this year. The opposition, including the Trinamool Congress, vehemently opposed the electoral revision in the state, claiming that it was a pretext to covertly implement the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC).

Several opposition leaders, including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, moved the Supreme Court challenging the electoral revision in Bihar. However, the Supreme Court refused to stay the exercise, citing that it was a routine exercise to update the voter list, which the Election Commission was empowered to undertake. Notably, after the SIR in Bihar, around 51 lakh voters were removed from the list, including 18 lakh deceased voters, 26 lakh voters who migrated, and 7 lakh duplicate names. Amid the electoral revision in Bihar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on July 21, 2025, that she would not allow SIR in West Bengal.

BJP raises concerns regarding fake voters in West Bengal

Recently, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged that there was a considerable increase in the number of voter applications in the districts bordering Bangladesh. Adhikari pointed out that this overlapped with the state administration directive to the district-level officers to issue domicile certificates. He said that he wrote to the ECI to ensure that domicile certificates issued on or after July 25, 2025, are not accepted if an SIR is conducted in West Bengal before the 2026 assembly elections.

For a long time, the BJP has been raising the issue of fake or duplicate voters in the state of West Bengal. In February 2024, a 6-member delegation of the BJP led by Suvendu Adhikari submitted a memorandum to the CEO of West Bengal alleging that there were 16 lakh fake or duplicate votes in the state. It urged the commission to take immediate steps to address the issue.In December 2023, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey pointed out the problem of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants in the country and demanded that the Central government implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as soon as possible. Dubey is an MP from Jharkhand’s Godda.

Air India under intense scrutiny after Ahmedabad crash, DGCA Audit flags 100 lapses including crew fatigue and training failures

OpIndia Staff
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Air India under intense scrutiny after Ahmedabad crash, DGCA Audit flags 100 lapses including crew fatigue and training failures

Air India is again in the dock over questions regarding its safety standards. India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has raised nearly 100 lapses of safety concern while conducting a recent audit of the airline. Of those, seven were Level 1 violations, which indicated serious threats and required immediate action.

The audit by the DGCA, which was conducted between 1st and 4th July at the main airport of Air India in Gurugram, examined the manner in which the airline manages operations such as crew training, duty and rest time, flight schedule, and overall safety procedures. The most troubling results had to do with overwork by the crew, bad training procedures, and having insufficient qualified personnel on flights.

Air India, in response, accepted that it had received the report and that it would reply within the timeframe. The airline further added that part of the process of enhancing operations is having regular audits. “We were completely open with the auditors and are already on the job regarding corrective measures,” it asserted.

These safety concerns have become more prominent following the devastating 12th June crash of Air India flight AI171. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was en route to London from Ahmedabad, lost both its engines shortly after takeoff and crashed into a medical college building, killing 241 passengers and crew members and 19 on the ground.

A preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) last month disclosed some startling facts. The engines instantly ceased receiving fuel within seconds of one another. Inside the cockpit, the pilots were heard confused and panicking, with one asking, “Why did you cut off?” and the other replying that he didn’t. The report suggested that both fuel switches were somehow moved from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ right after takeoff.

On 23rd July, the DGCA served four show-cause notices to Air India for breaches related to crew rest, training, and flight operations. These were issued despite the fact that the airline had itself reported these incidents. The regulator had previously acted in this regard on 21st June by removing three high-ranking officials who dealt with crew scheduling.

In one instance, Air India’s pilots received no special training before a flight to a high-altitude airport, which could be risky if mishandled.

“Despite repeated warning and enforcement action of non-compliance in the past, systemic issues related to compliance monitoring, crew planning, and training governance remain unresolved,” said one of the notices.

The increasing number of safety incidents, particularly in the wake of a deadly crash, has fueled new concerns about whether Air India is taking adequate measures to protect both its passengers and crews.

Washington Post admits to spreading misinformation about Operation Sindoor and using false claims to defame Indian media

Anurag
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Washington Post admits to spreading misinformation about Operation Sindoor and using false claims to defame Indian media

Operation Sindoor’s coverage was no less than a “festivity” for the Western media, something like Christmas in advance as they got a chance to relentlessly hit out at India. However, while doing so, they ended up spreading misinformation and fake news themselves. In its breathless attempt to hold Indian media guilty of spreading wartime misinformation, The Washington Post has ended up doing the very thing it accused Indian media of, that is, spreading misinformation, relying on dubious sources, mistranslating local language, and publishing unverified content.

A correction that says more than the original story

In a now-updated version of its original story, WaPo has quietly slipped in a correction that revealed far more about its own journalistic lapses than those it set out to highlight. The article titled “How misinformation overtook Indian newsrooms amid conflict with Pakistan”, authored by Karishma Mehrotra, was first published on 4th June. It painted a grim picture of India’s media ecosystem allegedly flooded with false reports during a tense military standoff with Pakistan.

Screenshot of corrections mentioned by WaPo. Source: WaPo

WaPo accused major Indian television channels of airing dramatic but false claims, which included fake footage and exaggerated declarations of victory. Interestingly, while WaPo’s journalist made grand claims of unchecked “hypernationalism” on Indian TV, they themselves forgot to verify their own WhatsApp forwards.

Yes, you read that right.

At the heart of its report was a sensational anecdote. A journalist allegedly received a WhatsApp message from Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster, claiming Pakistan’s Army chief had been arrested in a coup. The story took off from there and the author blamed Indian journalists for running with it.

Source: Washington Post

However, there was a slight problem. In its correction, The Washington Post has now admitted that the message did not come from the official channel of Prasar Bharati. The information was solely based on what the recipient claimed. There was no record, no verification, no second source. Just hearsay on an encrypted app. In the correction, WaPo now claims that the information was passed on by “an employee of Prasar Bharati”. Which employee? There is no information on that.

WaPo has also included a statement from Prasar Bharati where the broadcaster categorically denied putting out any such information during the conflict. The broadcaster “ensured that no unverified information [was] shared on any of its platforms” and stated that it has a “stringent in-house mechanism of fact-checking”.

False attribution to Indian channels quietly removed

From there, the article moved on to another falsehood. WaPo falsely attributed a claim to TV9 Bharatvarsh, suggesting that the channel reported that Pakistan’s Prime Minister had surrendered. This has been quietly scrubbed from the text. One would imagine a Pulitzer-contending newsroom might double-check before accusing another broadcaster of airing surrender declarations during a time of conflict. But perhaps that standard only applies to those being accused, not those doing the accusing.

Source: WaPo

Sudan scenes that never aired

The report also falsely stated that Indian news channels aired scenes from the Sudan conflict, which, again, turned out to be false. That line has now been removed in the corrected version.

Lost in translation – mistranslating Hindi phrases

Then came the most telling bit. The mischaracterisation of Hindi phrases. According to WaPo, Indian networks declared that “major Pakistani cities had been destroyed”. This, too, had to be corrected. Anyone with a working knowledge of Indian TV and even a basic grasp of Hindi would understand that phrases like “Karachi main tabahi” (destruction in Karachi) are colloquial expressions of chaos, not a declaration that the city has been razed to the ground.

However, for WaPo, it seems, “tabahi” translated directly to “complete destruction”. Either Google Translate was used or AI was asked to verbatim translate the reports by Hindi news channels. After all, WaPo cannot afford to hire someone familiar with Indian dialects, not even on freelance terms.

A lesson in irony

In short, the article that postured itself as a takedown of misinformation in Indian media during a crucial military episode stood as a rather ironic case study of how misinformation, disinformation and plain fiction can slip through even the hallowed halls of Western journalism. The story that was meant to shame Indian networks has ended up shaming its own editorial process.

Perhaps The Washington Post needs to introspect and work on its own journalistic ethics before pointing fingers at others.

New York Times finally admits their image of ‘starving child in Gaza’ was fake, in a deceptive, whitewashed post

Shraddha Pandey
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New York Times finally admits their image of ‘starving child in Gaza’ was fake, in a deceptive, whitewashed post

Peddle a false narrative, backtrack after outrage, issue ‘clarification’ instead of apology. This has been the modus operandi of The New York Times for quite a while. Days after using pictures of Palestinian boy Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, an emaciated child who suffers from a genetic disorder, and passing them off as the result of Israel-inflicted starvation in Gaza, the New York Times has issued a ‘clarification’.

A statement issued by an NYT spokesperson on the X handle of NYTimes Communication and not the main handle of the publication, says that they updated their story to add context about his pre-existing health problems. The New York Times did not apologise for passing off a child’s congenital medical condition, pictures of his protruded spine and skeletal boy as a consequence of Israel’s ‘blockade’ of aid into Gaza. Instead of apologising, the NYT went on to pat its own back for reporting from Gaza ‘bravely, sensitively, and at ‘personal risk’.

“Children in Gaza are malnourished and starving, as New York Times reporters and others have documented. We recently ran a story about Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians, including Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, who is about 18 months old and suffers from severe malnutrition. We have since learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records, and have updated our story to add context about his pre-existing health problems. This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation. Our reporters and photographers continue to report from Gaza, bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war,” the statement published on 30th July 2025 reads.

In a subsequent post, the NYT attached the article in question and said that the publication has added an editor’s note below the article headlined: “Gazans Are Dying of Starvation”.

“This article has been updated to include information about Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza suffering from severe malnutrition. After publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems,” the NYT editor’s note read.

Displaying peak shamelessness, the NYT has now removed the editor’s note.

The NYT editor’s note no longer appears below the said article although visible in the archived version of the same piece.

As reported earlier, other than the New York Times, several other Hamas-sympathising news outlets like NBC News, CNN, The Guardian, BBC, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Seattle Times, The Age (Australia), Osservatore Romano (official paper of the Vatican) among others also featured pictures of emaciated Palestinian boy Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, cradled in his mother’s arms, in their Gaza reports, passing the images off as a face of Israel-inflicted starvation in Gaza.

OpIndia pointed out earlier that while the media outlets picked Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq’s pictures with his mother, which aligned with their narrative, in one of the pictures, Muhammad Matouq’s older brother (as claimed by some reports) can be seen standing. In the picture, the other boy looks well-nourished, healthy and mentally sound. None of the propaganda outlets that used Matouq and his mother’s pictures used the picture featuring the other boy, reported to be Matouq’s brother, since the picture would have punctured their lies.

Matouq’s mother herself revealed to CNN that Matouq suffers from a rare muscle disorder. She added that her son receives specialised nutrition and physical therapy for his condition. OpIndia also predicted that given the past record of backtracking after outrage, NYT and other propaganda outlets may put up a ‘clarification’ and get away without apologising.

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