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Rajdeep Sardesai avoids naming accused Zubair Ahmad while discussing rape of 70-year-old woman in Pahalgam, resorts to whataboutery after being called out

OpIndia Staff
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Rajdeep Sardesai avoids naming accused Zubair Ahmad while discussing rape of 70-year-old woman in Pahalgam, resorts to whataboutery after being called out

On Monday (30th June), ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai stirred the hornet’s nest after he deliberately avoided naming the accused in the heinous rape case of a 70-year-old widowed woman in Pahalgam.

For the unversed, the victim was raped by one Zubair Ahmed during her family trip to Jammu and Kashmir. Zubair unlawfully entered the hotel room of the 70-year-old woman when she was alone.

He gagged the victim’s mouth with a blanket and then raped her. Zubair managed to flee the crime scene using the window of her room. The brutal nature of the rape left the elderly woman with severe injuries and pain for several days.

Rajdeep Sardesai posted a tweet, mentioning details of the incident and even included an excerpt of the court verdict denying bail.

However, the controversial ‘journalist’ omitted a key information from the tweet – The name of the man who committed the heinous crime.

This raised concerns among the netizens, who questioned Rajdeep Sardesai for leaving out the name of the accused. Instead of admitting his mistake, the propagandist resorted to brazen whataboutery.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday (1st July), Rajdeep Sardesai. “Semi-literate Right wing Hindu twitter army is agitated that I didn’t name rape accused in Kashmir case. His name is ZUBAIR BHAT. Note: name of prime accused in Kolkata case MONOJIT MISHRA. Note also: those arrested in Tamil Nadu dowry suicide case are husband Kavin Kumar, father-in-law Eswaramoorthy, and mother-in-law Chithradevi.”

The controversial ‘journalist’ couldn’t even speak about the rape case involving Zubair Ahmed without referencing to other cases. This gives us a hint that the ommission of the accused’s name was deliberate.

He did not conclude his tweet without going on a rant about how ‘crimes against women’ have nothing to do with religion, effectively ignoring cultural prejudices and religious outlook that contribute to atrocities against women.

“Moral of the story: crimes against women aren’t about religious identity of accused as much as a BRUTAL crime. Criminals exist in EVERY community. Focus on JUSTICE for victim, not religious identity of accused,” he claimed.

Earlier on 27th June, Rajdeep Sardesai courted controversy by comparing the Jagannath Dham in Puri town of Odisha to the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple in West Bengal’s Digha.

From the days of ‘jungle raj’ to becoming the hub of weapons manufacturing for the Army: Bihar set for a remarkable turnaround with the latest proposal

अर्पित त्रिपाठी
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From the days of ‘jungle raj’ to becoming the hub of weapons manufacturing for the Army: Bihar set for a remarkable turnaround with the latest proposal

‘Thok denge katta kapaar me, aaye na hamra Bihar me’ [I will shoot you in the head with a gun, if you come to Bihar]. This is a popular line in the title track of a web series, Khaki: The Bihar Chapter. While this web series shows the story of the era of crime in Bihar and how an IPS officer fights it, we bring up this line as even today, illegal ‘Katta’ (country made gun) and Bihar remain synonymous. However, this image of Bihar is going to change as an Ordnance Factory Corridor is going to be built in the state.

In these ordnance factories, spread across five districts, weapons will be manufactured for the Indian army and the police. In addition to supplying weaponry to the Indian armed forces, guns manufactured here will also be exported abroad. This would mark a paradigm shift as Bihar will produce guns, not for gang wars and street crimes, but to obliterate the enemies of India. This ordnance corridor will be built in collaboration by the PM Modi-led Central government and the CM Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.

Bihar ordnance factory corridor plan

Bihar’s Industry Minister Nitish Mishra has sent a proposal to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to build an Ordnance Factory Corridor in 5 districts of Bihar. As part of this plan, ammunition and weapon manufacturing factories will be set up in every district.

Minister Mishra said that if this ordnance corridor is built in Bihar, then weapons can be supplied across the country on time. He also mentioned that about 1 lakh people will get direct employment in the state with this.

Districts where the ordnance corridor will be built

This Ordnance Factory Corridor will be built across 5 districts in Bihar. The districts covered will be Munger, Kaimur, Banka, Jamui and Arwal. This corridor will have factories for manufacturing various types of guns and ammunition for Indian security forces. Reportedly, one factory will cost around ₹1500 crore.

The government aims to give a new identity to districts like Munger, who had become synonymous with illegal weapons for the past several years.

Earlier, cases of illegal arms manufacturing and their sale have been widely reported from Munger. In the last 3-4 years alone, dozens of illegal gun factories have been found in Munger.

Once, there were many legal factories in Munger which employed thousands of workers. However, due to ‘Jungle Raj’ era of the 1990s, these factories slowly closed down. Due to this, the skilled workers became unemployed, and some of them started making illegal weapons.

Which weapons will be made

The plan is to manufacture a wide range of weaponry, from small pistols to cannons, in the factories to be set up in these districts. Once the factories are set up, there is a plan to manufacture rifles, machine guns, FN-Minimi, Negev NG-5 and Browning machine guns. In addition, grenades and grenade launchers will also be manufactured in these factories.

Besides weapons, helmets, and protective clothing used by the army will also be manufactured here. These factories will get their raw material from neighbouring Jharkhand. With the setting up of ordnance factories, development in the nearby areas is also expected to be expedited.

How the ordnance factory corridor will benefit Bihar

Bihar is grappling with a migration crisis for the last 3-4 decades, since the Jungle Raj era. A new initiative can prove to be effective on a large scale for Bihar in terms of opening up employment opportunities. It is estimated that 1 lakh people will get employment in the ordnance factory corridor. Along with that, several ancillary industries are expected to come up which will boost local economy further. Along with this, the rest of the infrastructure in Bihar will also improve due to the establishment of big industries.

These factories will be set up in Bihar with government investment; however, later on, private investment will also be incorporated to bring in more skilled workers. Currently, private companies shy away from investing in Bihar; however, this proposed ordnance corridor can bring Bihar back on the path of economic progress.

Interestingly, this is not the first big step towards industrialisation in Bihar. Earlier in the 1970s, such an attempt was made during the tenure of Lalit Narayan Mishra. However, after that came the era of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Jungle Raj, due to which the industries that were running in Bihar also closed down.

Defence corridor has been built in UP-Tamil Nadu

This idea of an Ordnance Corridor in Bihar has already been implemented successfully in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. A defence corridor has been built in 6 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Reports say that more than ₹47 thousand crores have been invested here so far, and around 7 companies have now started manufacturing there.

Many big testing facilities are being built in the Defence Corridor in Tamil Nadu. Such development in Bihar will only reinforce Modi government’s strict stand on national security. Since the Modi government came to power, there has been a sharp increase in domestic manufacturing in the defence sector and export of defence products.

In 2014, defence products worth only ₹46 thousand crore were manufactured in the country, but now it has increased to ₹1.27 lakh crore. Along with this, India’s export of defence products has increased 34 times to ₹23,622 crore when compared to 2014. Bihar’s Ordnance Corridor has the potential to make a significant contribution to India’s defence exports while also bolstering the state’s economy and providing employment.

The original report can be read here.

Four Hindu siblings abducted, converted, and split by court in Sindh – Pak media calls it ‘willing embrace of Islam’

Anurag
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Four Hindu siblings abducted, converted, and split by court in Sindh – Pak media calls it ‘willing embrace of Islam’

In June 2025, another case of religious persecution was reported in the Sindh province of Pakistan where four siblings, three sisters and their 13-year-old male cousin, were abducted by their teachers, forcibly converted to Islam, and then presented in court. The court allowed two adults to stay away from their family while two minors were reluctantly handed back to their parents. Pakistani media, including the notorious ARY News, which is banned in India for its anti-India propaganda, whitewashed the incident as a “willing embrace of Islam”.

Source: ARY News

Siblings lured, abducted and converted

The incident occurred in Shahdadpur, Sindh. Twenty-two-year-old Jia Bai, 20-year-old Dia Bai, 16-year-old Disha Bai and 13-year-old Harjeet Kumar were abducted. The adults among them are reportedly medical students. Their mother publicly named Farhan Khaskheli, a local computer teacher, as the man who took away all her daughters and brainwashed them. The children were later traced to Karachi and produced before the Shahdadpur court.

Despite the family’s allegations of abduction and coercion, the court ruled that the two adult girls would stay in a shelter home in Karachi. The court asserted that the adult women were free to “decide” whatever they wanted to do. The minors, however, were returned to the family but only after recording statements that they embraced Islam “willingly”. The family of the four suspect those statements were made under duress and police pressure.

Courts shielding abductors in the name of ‘freedom’

The court discharged two accused, namely Farhan Khaskheli and Zulfiqar Khaskheli, from kidnapping charges based on the statements of the children. This is not the first time Pakistani courts have seemingly acted in favour of Islamists in cases involving Hindus being forced to convert to Islam. Past rulings have cited “Islamic law” to deny parents custody, especially when minor girls are married off to their abductors post-conversion. In this case too, a penalty of Rs 1 crore was imposed if the parents tried to re-convert the minors to Hinduism.

The judicial reluctance to apply child protection and minority rights laws is not new in Pakistan. Blasphemy and religious freedom laws are routinely misused to suppress minorities.

ARY News – media arm of Islamist propaganda?

Perhaps the not-so-shocking aspect of this case is the Pakistani media’s role in whitewashing the crime. ARY News reported the entire matter under the headline “Shahdadpur: Four Hindu siblings embrace Islam in Sindh”. The wording was not accidental. It mirrored the usual state-approved script used to sanitise coercive conversions to make it seem as if teenage minors woke up one day and voluntarily renounced their faith out of some divine realisation. There was no mention of trauma, grooming, or duress. The report simply said “willing embrace”.

Notably, ARY News is not unfamiliar with peddling religious propaganda. ARY Network has a long history of promoting Islamist narratives. According to Journalist Swati Goel Sharma, ARY exclusively partnered in Pakistan for Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s controversial film PK. They promoted it with the explicit label of being a “satire on Hindu Gods”. The film, which was already accused in India of mocking Hindu practices, was rolled out in Pakistan with pride. Ironically, the same group has now pushed the story of “willing” conversion of Hindu children.

Furthermore, the network’s ideological slant becomes clearer when we recall Waar, a 2013 production. It was a high-budget, anti-India, anti-Hindu propaganda film that glorified the Pakistani military while painting Hindus and Indians as notorious villains. Until 2019, Waar was shockingly available on Netflix India. Sanjeev Newar, co-founder of Gems of Bollywood and Agni Samaj, and others, ran a campaigns against it, leading to its removal from the platform.

The film’s lead actor, Shaan Shahid, is a vocal Hindu-hater. He was reportedly offered a major role in Aamir Khan’s Ghajini, further raising questions about Bollywood’s blind eye towards Pakistan’s extremist media ties.

ARY is closely aligned with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. It has repeatedly pushed anti-Hindu and anti-India narratives. In this case, it posed as a “source” of truth when Hindu children were abducted and converted. Disturbingly, international media houses often rely on these same biased Pakistani outlets for “ground reports”, which further whitewash the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan on global platforms.

Systemic persecution dating back to Partition

The case fits a long-standing pattern of religious cleansing in Sindh. Since Pakistan was created in 1947, the Hindu population in the neighbouring country has dramatically decreased, especially in rural Sindh. Abductions, forced conversions and marriages of underage Hindu girls are common and occur at an alarming frequency. Human rights groups estimate over 1,000 Hindu girls are forcibly converted and married every year, often with police protection for the perpetrators.

Despite reserved seats and constitutional assurances, the Hindu minority in Pakistan remains politically voiceless, socially ghettoised, and legally unprotected. Powerful religious clerics and Islamist groups act with impunity, while Hindu families are left to fight both the abductors and the legal system that enables them.

Horrifying past of forced conversions in Pakistan

In April 2024, it was reported that a Hindu girl was abducted and converted in Sindh.

In February 2023, 17-year-old Hindu girl was kidnapped and converted to Islam in Sindh. She had claimed to have converted on her own will.

In May 2023, a 9-year-old Hindu girl was kidnapped, converted to Islam, and married to a 55-year-old Muslim man in Sindh.

These cases are just tip of the iceberg.

Denial of basic rights and dignity

What unfolded in Shahdadpur is not just a family tragedy. It is a community trauma and a national shame, which Pakistan, sadly, promotes and prides itself on. Minors get brainwashed and separated from their families on a regular basis. They are declared converts with little regard for their age, safety and consent. And then, the media calls it a “willing embrace”. The courts sanction the atrocities. The system, repeatedly, stands with the abductors, not the victims.

Until Pakistan confronts this dangerous nexus of religious extremism, judicial double standards, and media complicity, its minorities will continue to be second-class citizens, denied the right to religion, dignity, and even childhood.

Andhra Pradesh HC judge K Srinivas Reddy grants relief to Jagan Mohan Reddy in brutal convoy death case, says ‘accidents happen even in Kumbh’

Shraddha Pandey
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Andhra Pradesh HC judge K Srinivas Reddy grants relief to Jagan Mohan Reddy in brutal convoy death case, says ‘accidents happen even in Kumbh’

In a recent ruling, the Andhra Pradesh High Court granted interim relief to former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and others in a hit-and-run case linked to the death of a YSRCP supporter named Cheeli Singaiah, during a roadshow in Guntur district on 18th June 2025. Singaiah was crushed to death by the car in which Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party leader was seated.

The court, in its order dated 27th June, restrained police from taking coercive action against Reddy and other co-accused until the 1st of July, while adjourning the hearing on their petitions to quash the FIR.

Singaiah, a 55-year-old supporter of the YSRCP, was crushed to death by the vehicle of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy during a road show on 18th June 2025. The incident happened near the Lord Anjaneya temple on the National Highway in Etukuru village, Guntur district when Reddy was returning from Rentapalla village in Palnadu district after visiting the family of a former sarpanch, who committed suicide.

55-year-old Cheeli Singaiah lost his life after being run over by Reddy’s car after he slipped and fell while trying to shower flowers on the former CM. The front right wheel of Reddy’s car ran over Singaiah’s neck, leading to his death. The horrifying incident was caught on camera, and the videos showing the man being crushed by Reddy’s car went viral on the internet.

Initially, the police claimed that the victim was run over by a private vehicle, which was not part of the official convoy of YSRCP. However, the videos of the incident surfaced on social media show that the victim was brutally crushed under the front wheel of a black car as Reddy was stretching out from the car window on the side of the passenger seat.

In this case, Jagan Mohan Reddy has been named as Accused No. 2 and his driver as Accused No. 1 under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In addition, YSRCP MP Y.V. Subba Reddy, former ministers Perni Venkatramaiah and Vidadala Rajini, and Reddy’s assistant K. Nageswara Reddy have also been named as the accused.

Andhra Pradesh HC drags Kumbh stampede into hit-and-run case: Is it appropriate?

Presiding over the case, Justice K Srinivas Reddy questioned the rationale behind charging the passengers in a vehicle for a road accident. The judge asked the Advocate General, Dammalpati Srinivas, to explain how those seated inside the car can be held responsible for the accident. Justice Reddy equated the present case with the Mahakumbh stampede to assert that such accidents happen, suggesting that such incidents happen even though preventive measures are deployed.

“Despite all precautions, accidents still happened even at the Kumbh Mela,” Justice Reddy said.

Justice Reddy’s reference to the Kumbh Mela, a once-in-many-years Hindu religious gathering of crores of people, comes across as an attempt to contextualise the present case as nothing more than an unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable accident. The court’s analogy implies that even well-planned events, be it Kumbh Mela or a political roadshow, can lead to unintended tragedies and may not essentially reflect criminal intent or negligence on the part of the accused persons, in this case, Jagan Mohan Reddy and others.

However, this comparison is deeply problematic. The Kumbh Mela attracts millions of people from various parts of the world to one place in a dynamic environment, where crowd management is inherently challenging. As seen during the Mahakumbh stampede earlier this year, sometimes the sheer size of the crowd, rumours and desperation of people also trigger a stampede. At a gathering like the Kumbh Mela, no amount of preparation is enough; however, Jagan Mohan Reddy’s roadshow, though crowded, was a controlled political event with a convoy of vehicles. While crowds growing passionate at such events is not unusual, however, equating a road ‘accident’ involving a specific vehicle to a massive religious gathering is unjustified and mires the question of accountability.

Perhaps inadvertently, but this analogy trivialises the incident by framing it as some sort of inevitable accident and also diminishes the value of the innocent life lost. While even a Kumbh Mela stampede does not absolve the authorities of accountability just because of the sheer scale of crowd, an alleged hit-and-run case, especially wherein a popular politician’s convoy is involved, warrants investigation into several specifics, including the driver’s conduct, whether the convoy adhered to protocols or not, the conduct of those seated in the car at the moment the car crushed the victim and after that, among others.

This oversimplified comparison of the present case with Kumbh Mela stampedes undermines the probe into whether recklessness or negligence contributed to the victim’s death. The court, invoking an unrelated example, downplays the seriousness of the allegations levelled against the accused persons before a proper investigation is conducted.

Not to forget, the police initially claimed that the victim was run over by a private vehicle, which was not part of the official convoy of YSRCP. However, the videos of the incident surfaced on social media show that the victim was brutally crushed under the front wheel of a black car as Reddy was stretching out from the car window on the side of the passenger seat.

It can be seen in the video that Reddy’s car did not stop and kept moving even after the victim was crushed under it. The family of the victim has demanded an investigation into the incident.

Besides, Guntur Range IG Sarva Shrestha Tripathi said that vehicles exceeding the permitted number were present in Reddy’s convoy. “It’s unfortunate that the victim died in such a manner. Preliminary findings indicate that around 30 to 35 vehicles were in the convoy, even though only three were officially permitted,” said IG Tripathi.

The rich and powerful always get away easy

However, it seems that the rich and powerful often get away easily, especially in cases involving allegations of hit-and-run. Jagan Mohan Reddy and others approached the court seeking the quashing of the FIR, and the court granted interim relief after invoking unrelated examples like Kumbh Mela stampedes, reeks of privilege and dilutes the seriousness of the matter even as an innocent man has lost his life.

Even in the 2024 Pune Porsche case, it was seen how a rich brat was granted bail within hours of ramming his Porsche Taycan car into a vehicle in an inebriated state and killing two people. Besides an unusually quick bail, the Juvenile Justice Board ordered the accused to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, working with Yerwada traffic police for 15 days and undergoing de-addiction counselling.

From the Jessica Lal Murder case (1999), Sanjeev Nanda BMW hit-and-run case (1999), the 2017 Punjab and Haryana Court verdict reducing jail term of rash driver who killed one, the 2016 Mercedes hit and run case, or the one involving a Bollywood actor, there are numerous such cases wherein the police response was sluggish, and punishments were minimal. Now the Sangaiah hit-and-run case, is further hinting that we have a two-tiered justice system wherein high-profile accused have the boon of the leniency of the ‘system’.

While the probe in the Sangaiah hit-and-run case is still ongoing, the court has not only granted interim relief to Reddy and others, but has already declared the incident as an ‘accident’ and likened it to deaths in a Kumbh Mela stampede. In a system where influence outpaces accountability, it remains to be seen whether the powerful are held accountable beyond interim reliefs and insensitive analogies.

‘The Kerala Story’ unfolds again: Dalit girl abducted from Prayagraj, taken to Kerala for forced conversion and prepped for Jihad

Rukma Rathore
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‘The Kerala Story’ unfolds again: Dalit girl abducted from Prayagraj, taken to Kerala for forced conversion and prepped for Jihad

The Kerala Story, a film grounded in reality which was criticized by Islamo-leftists has repeatedly manifested in different regions of India. The latest occurrence took place in Uttar Pradesh involving an underage girl who was trapped and brought from her hamlet to Kerala, where she was forced to embrace Islam and recruited for terrorist operations.

She finally found a way to break free from the nightmare as the authorities arrested 19-year-old Kahkasha Bano and 25-year-old Mohammad Kaif, who both reside in the same village. Meanwhile, a search is underway for another person identified as Taj Mohammad. Kaif even behaved inappropriately towards the girl and tried to violate her dignity.

A sinister objective

A 15-year-old Dalit girl from was lured from her village in the Phulpur area of Prayagraj and was then transported to Kerala where she was forced to convert to Islam and coerced into preparing for jihad. The shocking matter came to light on 28th June after Guddi Devi reported that a local woman named Kahkashan alias Darkasha Bano took her daughter in the name of better opportunities and money.

The authorities unveiled that the girl disappeared on the evening of 8th May after attending a local ration dealer’s wedding in her hometown of Lilhat. She was observed for the last time at approximately 10 pm. Bano who is also from the same neighborhood is accused of drawing the girl to the gathering by assuring her money and extolling Islam.

Afterward, she contacted Mohammad Kaif, who arrived via motorcycle and drove the two femles to Prayagraj Railway Junction. “During this, the victim was also molested in the Kaif,” informed DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) Ganga Nagar, Kuldeep Singh Gunawat. Bano and the minor caught a train from Prayagraj to Delhi and subsequently to Thrissur in Kerala while the former was in regular communication with a man named Taj Mohammad during the journey. Bano informed him that she was coming with the girl.

Bano had even threatened Guddi Devi. “On 28th June, a complaint was lodged at the Police Station Phulpur by Guddi Devi, resident of Lilhat village, in which she informed that on 8th May, 19-year-old Bano, daughter of Mohammad Ismail, also a resident of Lilhat, called from an unknown number and threatened to kill her,” the senior officer highlighted.

The complaint also stated that the adolescent was told that other Dalit girls in Kerala had already converted and were living happy lives while she was on her way there. Additionally, it was claimed that some of these girls had been moved overseas.

The victim escapes

The girl expressed that after arriving in Thrissur, she was guided to a property with multiple young girls and bearded males. She stated that they talked about preparing for jihad and put pressure on her to convert to Islam.

She felt scared and ran to the railway station in Thrissur where she was discovered by the local police, who then notified her family. She was placed in the custody of Kerala’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

Her family members escorted her to Prayagraj with the help of the Phulpur Police. The top cop conveyed, “After contacting her mother from Kerala, the girl was brought back to Prayagraj and is currently being housed at a One Stop Centre for protection. A case has been registered against Darkhsha Bano, Mohammed Kaif, and an unidentified person who allegedly issued threats to the victim’s family over the phone.”

He added, “A receipt for action was given at Phulpur police station, on which a case was registered under relevant sections.” The cops also went to the victim’s house, spoke with her and sent out security personnel for protection after the complaint.

A jihadi nexus

According to DCP Gunawat, the girl was exposed to dubious people who initially enticed her with money, then persuaded her to change her religion and later pressured her to participate in extremist activities. He mentioned that Bano seemed to be associated with a Kerala-based organization that uses compulsion and seduction to convert young females before preparing them for jihad.

He further pointed out, “From the above mentioned report, it is known that the accused Bano is a part of an organised gang also involved in terrorist and anti-national activities by luring poor and Dalit girls, brainwashing them and forcing them to convert their religion.”

Taj Mohammad who Bano called several times while travelling is under investigation by Prayagraj Police. Kerala Police have started looking for him and they suspect that he is based in Thrissur. The Prayagraj Police have sent their initial findings to their Keralan counterparts. The official verified that three police units have been established to look into the actions of the perpetrators related to the case.

The Prayagraj and Kerala police are working together to carry out a more extensive probe because they suspect an organized network is targeting poor and Dalit girls. “A thorough investigation is being conducted into the activities of Darkasha Bano. Strict action will be taken against others found involved. They will investigate this matter thoroughly,” he emphasised. 

More individuals have been questioned by the police as the inquiry is underway. The Prayagraj Police encouraged people with knowledge of similar events to come forward and notify the appropriate authorities. The cops had been making efforts to ensure that the girl is provided with the required support and protection.

An uncomfortable reality

Contrary to the assertions made by Islamists, liberals, and their entire ecosystem, these incidents are not exceptional but rather the norm, especially in Kerala which has noted an alarming rise in Islamic radicalism in recent years. Muslim youth in the state often entice Hindu and even Christian females at the urging of their religious leaders. These girls are married and converted to Islam before they are shipped to Middle Eastern nations like Syria and Iraq, where they are either utilized as sex slaves or as terrorists.

Kerala has been recognised as a significant center for ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) with its origins traced back to 2013 in the state. It established a foothold there, creating modules that encourage religious conversions, in early 2014. The prohibited terrorist group, Popular Front of India (PFI), is primarily responsible for turning Kerala into a hotspot for ISIS recruitments.

Kerala has seen a large number of conversions, particularly between 2008 and 2009. The females were transferred to ISIS along with their Muslim husbands. The horrifying tales finally gained attention in 2016 after they were first detained and then investigated in Afghanistan. The instance of the four girls who joined ISIS in 2016 with their spouses was one of the most infamous cases.

They were identified as Merrin Jacob Pallath alias Mariyam, Nimisha alias Fathima Isa, Raffaela and Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha. Nimisha was Hindu while other three were Christians. Nimisha wed an MBA graduate from Palakkad named Bexin Vincent. They took the names Fathima and Isa after their conversion.

Merrin Jacob was married to Bestin Vincent, also known as Yahiya, Bexin’s brother. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) identified the architect behind this entire plan as Abdul Rashid Abdulla, a resident of Kasargod, whom Sonia Sebastian married in 2011. Raffaela was married to a doctor from Kasargod named Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil.

Desire for Islamic caliphate

The young women were tricked into adopting Islam and departed India in 2016 with their spouses to join a group of 21 Keralan men as well as women in Afghanistan. They wanted to become members of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Khorasan branch of ISIS. They were brought to Iran and afterward entered Afghanistan.

They surrendered in 2019 after their spouses were murdered in joint Afghan-United States attacks against Islamic State (IS). They were imprisoned in a Kabul prison with their children and were liberated when the Taliban broke into multiple prisons in the city during their 2021 takeover of Afghanistan. All of them stated that they would like to return to India.

Yasmin Ahmed Jahid, who was apprehended by the NIA in 2023, also admitted during questioning in 2016 that she had recruited 22 Keralans, including six women and three children, into ISIS. They were dispatched to ISIS-controlled regions of Afghanistan. She asserted that Abdul Rashid Abdulla had indoctrinated 40 young individuals in Kerala by that time.

Yasmin herself regularly participated in the religious classes conducted by him and his wife. She was charged with recruiting 15 members of the terrorist group from the Kasaragod district. She further revealed that ISIS enlisted Keralans and transported them from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai airports to Kuwait, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi. They crossed over to Afghanistan from Iran. The goal was to support Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by establishing a caliphate.

Church raises alarm

Metropolitan Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany of Thalassery (previously Tellicherry) Archdiocese, Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala, voiced his fears about the issue of love jihad in a pastoral letter on Easter in 2023. The archbishop declared in 2022 that he is relying on reliable information to support his claims that these love traps prey on young women associated with the Christian community are real.

During his speech in the Kottayam district in September 2021, Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt discussed the twin problems of narcotic jihad and love jihad. He asserted that jihadis trick and then expose Christian women to exploitation, forced conversion to Islam and terrorist acts in the name of love. He also highlighted the names of Sonia Sebastian and Nimisha Fathima.

The church issued a statement in 2020 voicing concern over the growing number of love jihad incidents in the state and argued that they were part of the Islamic State’s larger scheme to undermine Kerala’s religious and social cohesion. According to the church’s synod (council of bishops), which was presided over by Cardinal George Alencherry, 12 Christian women who converted to Islam were among the 21 women who travelled to Syria after being recruited by the IS in 2016.

They attacked the Kerala Police for failing to prevent forced conversions and made the decision to teach the Christian community about love jihad. According to the Syro-Malabar Church, the authorities were notified of the sharp increase in love jihad cases, but they failed to set up a comprehensive investigation, thus a resolution was approved which clarified that Christian women in Kerala are being killed under the pretext of love jihad.

“The Left (CPM-led Left Democratic Front) and the Right (Congress-led United Democratic Front) are competing to appease jihadists by covertly and overtly justifying the form of terrorism known as love jihad. We should not allow the jihadists to grow in their (LDF’s and UDF’s) shadow. For that, we need to cut down the trees that provide them shelter. Think, act,” Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action, a Kerala-based Christian group charged in a 2021 video. Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) has been the ruling government in Kerala.

George Kurian writes to Amit Shah

“The spate of organised religious conversions and using the victims for terror activities by trapping them through love jihad has shown the Christian community is a soft target for Islamic radicals,” vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities George Kurian wrote to union home minister Amit Shah in 2019.

He added, “It was based on my letter that the NIA intervened in the Kozhikode case and the accused has been arrested. While the central government is doing enough to try and stop these love jihad cases, the allegation is that the Kerala government needs to pull their socks up.”

Kurian mentioned another case involving a Delhi-based Christian girl who disappeared the year before and outlined, “She was traced to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) after I alerted the government about this. The girl was brought to the Indian embassy in UAE where she told her family that she was forced to convert.”

He even utilized a study from the Commission for Social Harmony and Vigilance of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council, which discovered that between 2005 and 2012, there were 4,000 cases of love jihad.

The truth is that through love jihad, the promises of an afterlife in paradise, financial incentives or other tactics to attract young and naive persons, particularly from the Hindu community have persisted for many years, with incidents rising in recent times. People from disadvantaged backgrounds have also been exploited by Islamists to further their evil agendas.

It is evident that the methods are inconsequential to these groups, as they seek to carry out terrorism in India and propagate jihadi ideology in any manner possible. Furthermore, the recent incident has once again demonstrated how alarming reality is and how these groups have infiltrated deeply within the country.

No matter how much the left-liberal ecosystem tries to undermine the dangers of Islamism, particularly in Kerala, including rejection of love jihad as conspiracy, the reality is distinctly opposite and, unfortunately, extremely perilous.

China scrambles fighter jets in response to purported airspace violation: Is Beijing turning military fiction into defence market propaganda?

Balendu Singh Angad
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China scrambles fighter jets in response to purported airspace violation: Is Beijing turning military fiction into defence market propaganda?

On 29th June, Sunday, the Chinese state-run media house Global Times published a report. In that report, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force(PLAAF) claimed that its J-20 stealth fighter, J-16, and J-15 jets recently reacted to the foreign provocations in Chinese airspace. But there is a question that arises: why does no one see it happen?

Where is the evidence

Despite the bold headline, the article failed to answer these qusetions:

  1. Which country provoked China?
  2. What kind of aircraft were involved?
  3. Where the incident took place?
  4. When exactly did it occur?

Meanwhile, all the neighbouring nations, including Taiwan(ROC), Japan, Korea, India and others have not reported any airspace violation or military confrontation near China’s border.

Known for promptly reporting Chinese aggression, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence has not issued any alerts in recent days. A defence expert at South Asia Strategic Monitoring Initiative (SASMI)⁠ said, “This looks like more smoke than fire”. Satellite trackers and open-source military sources also reported no unusual air movement in that area.

The real target audience: Iran and Pakistan?

Interestingly, the dramatic announcement comes amid ongoing negotiations with Iran and Pakistan, both of whom are in talks to purchase Chinese fighter jets. Pakistan, a long-time buyer of Chinese military equipment, is reportedly eyeing an upgrade to its air fleet. Iran, recently freed from some international arms restrictions, is looking to modernise its ageing air force.

Military analysts suspect the Global Times could be part of a calibrated narrative campaign aimed at boosting the appeal of Chinese aircraft in these ongoing deals.

A familiar pattern?

This is not the first time that Chinese media have been used to make dramatic headlines to assert military prowess without providing concrete proof. In the absence of actual combat testing, media theatrics serve as a tool to project strength and potentially close billion-dollar defence deals.

So far, there’s no official comment from Iran or Pakistan in response to the story. But military observers say the timing is hard to ignore.

Bottom line

Without evidence, independent confirmation and no visual or radar evidence to back up, China’s report seems less like a reaction to foreign threats and more like a performance for potential clients for its defence market.

As competition heats up in the global arms market, Beijing appears ready to use every runway, real or rhetorical, to sell its airpower.

Tamil Nadu: Temple guard dies in police custody, family alleges brutal torture

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: Temple guard dies in police custody, family alleges brutal torture

In a shocking incident from Tamil Nadu’s Sivagangai district, a 27-year-old temple security guard named Ajit Kumar allegedly died after being beaten while in police custody. According to his family, he was tortured in connection with a case of theft.

Ajit Kumar was a security guard at the Madapuram Kaliamman Temple, which is run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department. He was arrested by the Thirupuvanam Police after a female devotee registered a complaint that approximately 80 grams of gold jewellery had been stolen from her car. She claimed that she had requested Ajit’s assistance in parking the car since she was disabled. Ajit, not knowing how to drive, requested somebody else to assist him. She said she received the keys an hour later and discovered that the jewellery was missing.

Family members of Kumar accused him of being held in custody by the police once, let off briefly, and taken into custody again. The police told the family soon after that Ajit had passed away. Kumar’s brother, Naveen, stated that both of them and some others were arrested and beaten up while being interrogated. He also said that Ajit was severely tortured to make him confess. “They beat me for half an hour in front of him so that he would confess. My brother never had any criminal record. They gagged him and beat him mercilessly,” said Naveen.

The death has outraged everyone. Sivaganga District SP Ashish Rawat has directed a probe into the incident. Opposition leaders have also come down heavily.

AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami condemned the police and asked why the government was maintaining silence on the issue. He asked for a judicial committee to investigate the incident and urged the authorities to take stern action against the culprits. “If a person is suspected of a crime, the police have to take legal recourse and produce them before the court, not take law into their own hands,” he said.

BJP state president Nainar Nagendran also raised concerns, calling the death suspicious. “Just last week, even women, including a pregnant woman, were assaulted by the police when they went to file a complaint. Now we’re hearing that Ajit and his brother were tied up, beaten, and forced to confess. This shows rising police brutality under the DMK government,” he said.

Assam and Mizoram join hands against illegal immigrants: New rules introduced against the menace of infiltration

OpIndia Staff
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Assam and Mizoram join hands against illegal immigrants: New rules introduced against the menace of infiltration

The northeastern states of Assam and Mizoram have unveiled stringent new measures to combat illegal immigration. They are responding to decades of demographic tensions and fresh security concerns. Under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assertive leadership, Assam is implementing a multi-pronged strategy that includes biometric controls, accelerated deportations, and reclaiming encroached lands. While Mizoram, on the other hand, under Lalduhoma’s leadership, tightened regulations for Myanmar nationals fleeing civil unrest.

Assam’s Aadhaar crackdown

The Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has mandated that Aadhaar cards will now be issued exclusively through District Commissioners (DCs) for adult citizens. This strategic move centralizes authority and introduces stricter verification processes for new adult applicants. The decision follows the state’s achievement of 100% Aadhaar coverage and alarming discoveries that four border districts Barpeta (103.74%), Dhubri (103.48%), Morigaon (101.74%), and Nagaon (100.68%) had more Aadhaar cards issued than their projected populations.

Sarma stated, “Since we have already achieved 100% Aadhaar coverage, we will thoroughly enquire into new adult applications”, asserting that this would make it “difficult for Bangladeshi people to obtain Aadhaar” and ease detection and deportation.

Mizoram’s ID confiscation policy for Myanmar nationals

Meanwhile, Mizoram’s Chief Minister Lalduhoma has proposed impounding the identity documents of Myanmar nationals who frequently cross into India. He cited the exploitation of the humanitarian crisis caused by Myanmar’s civil war.

“Many refugees are law-abiding, but there are some who continue crossing the border, exploiting the ongoing crisis”, during a meeting with a Ministry of External Affairs official, Lalduhoma explained. The state has started collecting biometric data from new entrants and will retain Myanmar-issued IDs for the duration of an individual’s stay to prevent border misuse.

Assam at the forefront: Himanta ’s multi-pronged strategy

Assam has emerged as the epicenter of India’s illegal immigration crackdown under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has implemented a series of aggressive legal and administrative measures:

1. Revival of the 1950 Expulsion Order: Sarma bypassed the slow-moving Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) by invoking the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950. This colonial-era law empowers District Commissioners to order immediate deportations without judicial review. The shift followed Supreme Court observations during hearings on the Citizenship Act Clause 6A that affirmed the validity of this approach. Sarma declared, “We can now push back such people without going through tribunals”. It is accelerating a process previously stalled by the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise.

2. Mass Deportation Drives: The state has “pushed back” over 330 individuals declared as illegal foreigners since early 2025, with plans to deport 35 more once flood conditions subside. Notably, Sarma claimed none have returned, attributing this to the state’s hardened stance. These pushbacks occur alongside coordinated efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs to resolve over 2,000 pending nationality verifications with Bangladesh.

3. Aadhaar-Population Linkage: After identifying Aadhaar over-issuance in border districts, a key indicator of illegal residents, Sarma barred those excluded from the NRC from obtaining Aadhaar in April 2025. The latest DC-centric model tightens this further, treating adult Aadhaar applicants as potential immigrants until verified.

4. National Security Narrative: Sarma framed these actions as essential defences against “Pakistani elements and Bangladeshi fundamentalists,” citing intelligence about 2,600 social media accounts from Islamabad and Riyadh allegedly targeting Assam’s indigenous communities. This security justification has intensified the political urgency surrounding deportations.

Context and Controversies

The measures unfold against complex backdrops. Assam’s history includes the anti-foreigner movement (1979-1985) culminating in the Assam Accord, which set March 24, 1971, as the cutoff for legal migration. Mizoram, meanwhile, hosts over 35,000 refugees from Myanmar’s civil conflict since the 2021 coup, balancing humanitarian concerns with security risks.

Critics, however, highlight humanitarian and legal risks. In May 2025, 14 Bengali-speaking Muslims were stranded in no-man’s land for days after Bangladesh refused entry post-deportation. Minority groups allege arbitrary detentions and inadequate verification, though the Supreme Court declined to intervene against the state’s deportation drive.

Analysis: Implications and Challenges

These policies mark a significant shift toward executive-led border control with three far-reaching implications:

•⁠  Federalism Tensions: Both states assert autonomous approaches despite immigration falling under central jurisdiction, testing inter-governmental coordination.

•⁠ ⁠Humanitarian Risks: Mizoram’s ID confiscation could complicate refugee protections, while Assam’s rapid deportations risk statelessness without verified nationality.

•⁠ Operational Realities: Effectiveness hinges on Bangladesh and Myanmar cooperating on verification—a hurdle evident in Assam’s pending cases.

As demographic pressures and regional instability persist, these rules reflect a hardening, high-stakes experiment in border security—one where humanitarian imperatives and national sovereignty remain in delicate, contested balance.

Prada finally admits their 1.2 Lakh men’s sandals were inspired by Kolhapuri chappals, read how luxury brands habitually steal traditional crafts and deny credit

Anurag
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Prada finally admits their 1.2 Lakh men’s sandals were inspired by Kolhapuri chappals, read how luxury brands habitually steal traditional crafts and deny credit

Centuries-old Indian footwear design unexpectedly found its way onto a Milan runway, and it led to a global controversy. Recently, Italian luxury brand Prada “proudly” showcased a pair of flat, open-toe leather sandals in its Spring/Summer 2026 menswear line. While the applause did not stop for Prada for coming up with an innovative foot-friendly design, it strikingly looked similar to none other than Kolhapuri chappals, the traditional handcrafted sandals from India.

The Prada sandals, or the fake Kolhapuri chappals, came with a price tag of ₹1 lakh or $1,200, while in India, the original version lists for around ₹1,000. As soon as the Prada sandals featured on social media, netizens, especially from India, fumed. What enraged most was not the price mark-up but the fact that Prada initially gave no credit to Indian artisans for the design. The brand simply labelled them as “leather sandals”, thinking they could get away with it. Like the comedian Abhishek Upmanyu once said, “Inko (Indians) kya hi pata chalega.”

But the internet is ruthless. Above all, Indians are literally everywhere. The moment Prada’s “leather sandals” went viral, the brand came under fire for not mentioning India, Kolhapur or the craft’s legacy. This perceived erasure of origin led to an outcry that the brand might not have been expecting. Netizens not only accused Prada of stealing the design but also of cultural appropriation.

Kolhapuri chappals are named after the town of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. These chappals are famed for their braided leather straps, intricate cutwork and durable handcraftsmanship. The designs of these chappals have been passed down through generations. They even carry a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in India since 2019, recognising their regional heritage and unique crafting process.

For Indians, who have known the famous Kolhapuri chappals, it felt like the ₹500 chappals that every family member loved got rebranded as a contemporary European sandal costing 200 times more. Beyond price, it highlighted a power imbalance. An age-old Indian craft got monetised by a global brand, while its original makers remained invisible. This struck a nerve in India, where artisan communities often struggle economically even as their crafts inspire high-fashion trends.

Backlash forces Prada to acknowledge Indian inspiration

Prada faced both public and political backlash in India, and that too, swift and loud. Craftsmen from Kolhapur voiced dismay that their “history and heritage of 150 years” had gone unacknowledged. Lawmakers joined in, condemning Prada for its shameless design-picking tactics. For instance, a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra even led a group of Kolhapuri artisans to meet the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, urging the government to protect the sandal’s GI rights and cultural significance.

Reportedly, Indian officials and artisan groups formally wrote to Prada, demanding the company give credit where it was due. Social media amplified the issue, with videos and posts questioning whether the dusty lanes of Kolhapur would get recognition on the international platform or not.

Facing anger of the people from India, Prada finally broke its silence. Prada’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Lorenzo Bertelli, sent a letter to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce acknowledging the sandals’ Indian provenance. The company said, “We acknowledge that the sandals… are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage.”

Bertelli explicitly credited the Kolhapuri chappal inspiration. He noted the design was still in an early stage and not guaranteed to be commercialised. Prada also expressed willingness to open a dialogue with local Indian artisans for a “meaningful exchange” and promised follow-up meetings. A company spokesperson added that Prada has “always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions”. However, it has to be noted that all these responses came after the outrage. Had there not been an outrage, Prada might have got away with it, minting money using a stolen design from Indian artisans.

The response from Prada marked a rare admission by a luxury brand after such accusations. For many critics, Prada’s about-face was welcome but belated. The sandals were showcased on 23rd June, and it took nearly a week of uproar for the company to publicly recognise the Indian legacy behind the design.

The incident brought the fine line between inspiration and appropriation in fashion, and the need for more respectful engagement with the artisan community, into focus.

Not the first – luxury brands and borrowed traditions

The Prada-Kolhapuri episode is not an isolated one. For decades, luxury and fashion brands have been accused of stealing traditional crafts or indigenous designs and selling them as their own. Often, the original creators, who are usually rural artisans or small communities, receive no credit or compensation while the brand makes heavy profits.

The Sabyasachi saga – when an Indian designer drew flak

Cultural appropriation in fashion is not new or confined to Western luxury houses. Indian designers, including Sabyasachi Mukherjee, have faced criticism for exploiting traditional crafts without properly involving or crediting the artisans behind them. In 2021, Sabyasachi collaborated with H&M and came up with a collection titled Wanderlust. The affordable collection featured prints inspired by Indian textile traditions like Sanganeri block printing, which is a GI-tagged craft practised by the Chhipa community of Rajasthan.

The issue there was not only the motifs that were used, but also that they were mass-produced using digital printing. Sadly, reportedly not even a single artisan was engaged. The collection sold out rapidly, but the community behind the art did not get any direct benefit. It led to a backlash from artisan cooperatives and craft activists. They penned an open letter condemning the missed opportunity. They accused Sabyasachi of allowing India’s rich craft legacy to be “bastardised by H&M’s conveyor belt”, all while marketing the collection with visuals suggesting handmade authenticity.

The episode exposed a deep power imbalance within Indian fashion itself. It reinforced the call for inclusive, transparent collaboration where artisans are treated not as silent muses, but as creative partners sharing in both credit and commercial success. From time to time, several Indian brands have come under fire for not giving due credit to the artisans.

Luxury brands have frequently dipped into India’s design heritage. For example, Louis Vuitton incorporated classic Indian textiles like Banarasi brocade motifs and embroidery styles into its collections without working with the artisans behind them. Such moves often fly under the radar as these brands do not explicitly name the source.

Similarly, in 2021, Italian luxury house Gucci found itself mocked on Indian social media for selling what was essentially an Indian kurta as an “organic linen kaftan” at a whopping price of $3,500 or ₹2.5 lakh. Indians were quick to point out they could buy the same garment in local markets for a few hundred rupees. Beyond the price ridicule, many saw it as cultural appropriation – repackaging a quotidian Indian attire as a deluxe Western fashion item.

When artisans felt cheated internationally

Apart from Indian brands picking designs without involving artisans, there are similar cases that have happened across the world. In 2015, French designer Isabel Marant faced backlash in Mexico for a blouse she sold that was virtually identical to a traditional Mixe indigenous embroidery from Oaxaca. The case became the foundation for Mexico to protect indigenous textile designs from exploitation.

Between 2017 and 2019, Christian Dior was called out multiple times over accusations of plagiarising the distinctive Bihor County folk vest of Romania, copying its colourful motifs in a jacket and selling it for thousands of euros without giving any credit to the source of “inspiration”. In 2019, Dior’s Cruise collection drew ire for using designs resembling the traditional attire of Mexican Escaramuza horsewomen. Locals noted the uncanny similarity and the lack of collaboration or acknowledgment of Mexican heritage.

In 2019, New York-based fashion label Carolina Herrera’s Resort 2020 collection led to an official complaint by the Mexican government. Dresses in the collection were full of patterns lifted directly from Mexican indigenous communities, including floral embroideries of Tenango de Doria (Hidalgo) and motifs from Saltillo shawls.

The Culture Minister of Mexico wrote to Herrera condemning the usage of designs “whose origins are well documented” and calling it a matter of ethics and visibility for indigenous artisans. The government even proposed a law to recognise indigenous communities as the lawful owners of their cultural designs to prevent such plagiarism.

These examples show a habitual pattern. Traditional designs are copied in the name of “inspiration” and sold at a premium price, far out of reach for the communities that created the original. Each incident has sparked debate, yet the practice persists. These “big” brands are unable to meet the demand of coming up with new designs constantly and choose the easy way – to simply pick existing designs rather than sit with the artisans and come up with a plan that is a win-win for everyone.

A legal vacuum for traditional designs

Traditional art and craft face limited legal protection globally. In India, GI-tags safeguard names like “Kolhapuri chappal” domestically. However, such rights do not apply abroad. Brands often copy designs without naming the original design or the artists to evade legal action. For example, Prada never used “Kolhapuri”, but the design is embedded in such a way in Indian minds that it did not work for the brand.

At the international level, intellectual property laws offer little defence unless a design is patented or copyrighted. Efforts by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to protect traditional cultural expressions remain slow. While countries like Mexico are pushing for reform, most artisan communities rely on public pressure, not litigation. The core question is: how is an artist, an organisation or a government going to sue for a design created by a culture, not an individual?

Decolonising fashion – Collaboration over exploitation

The uproar over Prada’s stunt has reignited a broader conversation about decolonising fashion and building a more ethical, inclusive industry. Consumers are increasingly valuing sustainability, heritage and craftsmanship, and traditional art forms can benefit from it. However, this can happen only if the original creators are recognised and rewarded.

The issue is one of social justice as well. Luxury brands extract inspiration without credit or compensation. They are simply replicating colonial patterns where wealth flows one way, away from the source.

This isn’t new. In the 19th century, the now-famous Paisley pattern originated from the buta motif on Kashmiri shawls. These were so coveted that Scottish mills in Paisley began mass-producing cheap replicas, eventually pushing Kashmiri artisans out of the market. That history echoes today, as Prada’s runway borrows from Kolhapur’s cobblers without initially acknowledging them.

However, growing awareness is creating change. After public pressure, Prada credited the Kolhapuri inspiration and signalled willingness to engage with Indian artisans. If such gestures translate into meaningful collaboration, they could reshape the fashion landscape. Some brands are already prioritising artisan partnerships and ethical sourcing.

Ultimately, this debate forces fashion to confront a key question: is it inspiration, or exploitation? The goal must be a future where traditional crafts walk global runways with dignity, credit and shared success.

The Wire twists Indian Armed Forces official’s statement to peddle false narrative, blames ‘political constraints’ under Modi govt for aircraft loss during Operation Sindoor

Jinit Jain
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The Wire twists Indian Armed Forces official’s statement to peddle false narrative, blames ‘political constraints’ under Modi govt for aircraft loss during Operation Sindoor

When it comes to distorting facts, undermining India’s national interests, and demonising the Modi government, The Wire has consistently outdone itself. In their latest hit job, The Wire tried to insinuate that India lost fighter jets due to the political leadership of the country.  

Titled “IAF Lost Fighter Jets to Pak Because of Political Leadership’s Constraints’: Indian Defence Attache”, the write-up is a quintessential propaganda exercise, a textbook example of selective reporting, half-truths, and manipulative spin aimed at eroding public confidence in India’s military leadership and elected government.

Let’s expose this propaganda, call out the distortion, and set the record straight on Operation Sindoor—India’s audacious and bold response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

The context: Terror in Pahalgam, retaliation across IB and LoC

Operation Sindoor wasn’t an unprovoked military operation. It was in response to the gruesome Pahalgam terror attack in May 2025, where Pakistan-sponsored Islamic terrorists targeted tourists in Jammu & Kashmir, checking for circumcision to identify Hindus before brutally executing them. This was not only an attack on civilians but a naked attempt to stoke communal tensions within India.

Unlike previous administrations that often confined their responses to diplomatic dossiers or toothless condemnations, the Modi government authorised direct military action. Indian Armed Forces were greenlit to strike terror infrastructure operating deep within Pakistan’s borders, calling Islamabad’s nuclear bluff and challenging decades of Pakistani impunity.

But India, being a responsible nation that believes in a rules-based order, limited itself to restricted rules of engagement: attacking only terror infrastructure and not the Pakistani defence apparatus. 

But this fact was conveniently brushed aside by The Wire to mount a propaganda blitz against the Modi government.

The so-called ‘Political Constraints’ — responsible statecraft, not weakness

At the centre of The Wire’s propaganda is the distortion of remarks by Captain (IN) Shiv Kumar, India’s Defence Attache to Indonesia. Speaking at an academic seminar, he highlighted how, during the initial phases of Operation Sindoor, Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets operated under strict political directives, not to target Pakistani military installations or air defence systems, but solely terror camps.

According to The Wire, this proves “political constraints” from the Modi government that led to aircraft losses. This interpretation is not only disingenuous but reveals a fundamental ignorance about military doctrine, international law, and strategic calculus.

What the so-called “political constraints” represent is New Delhi’s conscious, calibrated approach to distinguish between punishing terrorism and escalating into an all-out war. India’s initial restraint was a strategic signal to the enemy and the world: this is not India vs. Pakistan’s sovereignty, it is India vs. terrorism sheltered by Pakistan. It is was promptly communicated to Pakistan following precise strikes against terror camps. But as Pakistan came out in support of its terror network, India changed the rules of engagement and incapacitated Pakistan’s military installations and defence systems.

Ironically, the same leftist commentators who endlessly warn against “nuclear escalation” when India retaliates, now attack the Modi government for not being aggressive enough. Their doublespeak is apparent. They oppose any Indian action that showcases strength, regardless of context. If the Modi government attacks Pakistan, fear-monger about a spiralling wider conflict that could impact the country’s growth trajectory. If it doesn’t, blame the government for “clipping the wings” of the Armed Forces to deal a decisive blow to the enemy. Either way, the blame lies with the Modi government, if rags like The Wire are to be believed.

Losses in War: Unfortunate, but not unusual

No military operation, especially those involving precision strikes in a hostile airspace, is free of risks. However, this is something that narrative spinners at The Wire find it incredibly hard to comprehend. Even the world’s most advanced air forces, including the United States and NATO, have suffered aircraft losses during high-stakes missions. The US lost one of its most advanced choppers in an operation to eliminate Osama Bin Laden, who was hiding in Abottabad, Pakistan.

Even Russia has lost aircraft and drones in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. So has Israel against Iran, even though the former is hailed for possessing world-class combat equipments, including most advanced jets and drones provided by the United States.

The loss of IAF aircraft, while regrettable, does not signal incompetence or weakness; it reflects the complex reality of operating under restrictive rules of engagement, in a hostile, unpredictable environment, against an adversary that brazenly shields terrorists with military cover.

The real measure of success lies not in avoiding every single loss, but in achieving strategic objectives. By that metric, Operation Sindoor was a resounding success. But for The Wire, long used to following the anti-India playbook, lauding the Modi government for its strategic brilliance in Operation Sindoor was an anathema, guided by its ideological and political compulsions to oppose the Centre. So it did the next best thing it could do: nitpicking the government by selectively quoting an Indian Armed Forces official and casting aspersions on Operation Sindoor.

Operation Sindoor’s phased retaliation: A masterclass in military adaptation

Once Pakistan exposed its duplicity by scrambling air defences and fighter jets to shield terror infrastructure, India swiftly revised its tactics. Within days, the IAF neutralised enemy air defences, leveraged stand-off weapons like the BrahMos missile, and systematically degraded Pakistan’s air bases and military assets.

The results were indisputable:

  • Eleven Pakistani air bases suffered damage.
  • Key air defence installations were neutralised.
  • Pakistan’s offensive drone swarms were intercepted.
  • Pakistani military casualties mounted, forcing Islamabad to sue for a ceasefire.

Pakistan’s Directorate General of Military Operations (DGMO) reportedly pleaded with their Indian counterparts to de-escalate, a scenario inconceivable had India been “weak”, indecisive, or tied up with “political constraints.”

The Wire conveniently ignores this, cherry-picking selective remarks to fabricate a narrative of incompetence, all while Pakistan’s military and terror proxies were left reeling.

The Wire’s habitual distortions: Undermining India for narrow political agenda

This isn’t The Wire’s first brush with misinformation. Their track record includes downplaying Pakistan’s role in cross-border terrorism, amplifying “intelligence failure” narratives while ignoring the real perpetrators—the Islamic jihadist infrastructure and the Pakistani Army, and painting decisive Indian military actions, like Balakot airstrikes or Galwan Valley responses, as reckless rather than necessary.

Their distortion of Captain Kumar’s remarks follows this pattern.

In reality, Captain Kumar’s broader presentation emphasised:

“The Indian Armed Forces serve under civilian political leadership, unlike some other countries in our neighbourhood… the objective of Operation Sindoor was to target terrorist infrastructure and the Indian response was non-escalatory.”

The contrast with Pakistan is glaring. Islamabad’s military dictatorship operates without accountability, uses civilian air traffic as human shields during military operations, and protects terrorists as strategic assets. Meanwhile, India, despite provocations, adheres to democratic oversight and proportional use of force.

Yet, The Wire weaponises ambiguity, exploiting the use of “political constraints”, used most likely in philosophical terms conveying a sense of moral and international constraints that democratically elected India chooses to adhere unlike a rogue Pakistan where the democratic leadership is just a smokescreen to mask the country’s dictatorial impulses.

India’s doctrine has shifted, and The Wire can’t digest it

What The Wire refuses to acknowledge is the strategic shift Operation Sindoor represents:

  • Terror attacks originating from Pakistan are now treated as acts of war.
  • India will respond militarily, even under nuclear shadow, without succumbing to Pakistan’s blackmail.
  • The myth of Pakistani “non-state actors” operating independently is shattered—India has exposed the seamless nexus between the Pakistani Army and jihadist groups.

In short, Modi’s India has moved beyond hollow diplomacy and token responses, ushering in an era of credible deterrence. It is this muscular, unapologetic posture that rattles both Pakistan and the left-liberal ecosystem that romanticises “peace at any cost.”

Manufactured outrage and moral incoherence

Let’s consider the absurdity: had India immediately struck Pakistani military installations at the outset, The Wire would’ve screamed “war-mongering” and “destabilisation of South Asia.” When India exercised measured restraint, they cry “weak leadership.” that allegedly lost us jets. Their outrage isn’t grounded in facts, it’s rooted in political opportunism.

Moreover, their selective outrage never extends to Pakistan’s sanctuary to UN-designated terrorists, Pakistan’s open use of jihad as state policy, and the grotesque communal profiling and slaughter of Hindus in Pahalgam.

In their hierarchy of concerns, defaming Modi trumps defending India’s security interests.

Strategic success, media malfeasance

Operation Sindoor showcased India’s military prowess, strategic patience, and willingness to escalate proportionally. It exposed Pakistan’s terror-military nexus, degraded enemy capabilities, and redefined India’s red lines.

The Modi government’s approach—calibrated yet uncompromising—marked a new doctrine that balances restraint with retaliatory resolve.

The Wire, blinded by ideological hostility, twists facts, undermines morale, and peddles a false equivalence that serves neither truth nor national interest. Their attempt to rewrite Operation Sindoor’s legacy as a tale of weakness is not just dishonest; it borders on disinformation and deserves institutional rebuttal and unequivocal public condemnation. It is high time that The Wire is called out for it is: a propaganda outlet doing the enemy’s bidding under the guise of dissent.

India’s security cannot be held hostage to propaganda outlets desperate to score political points, even if it means distorting the words of military officials and misrepresenting hard-won victories.

The facts are clear. The enemies are exposed. And India’s message is louder than ever: Terrorism will be met with force, deception will be met with truth, and propaganda will be exposed for what it is — anti-national, morally corrupt, and intellectually bankrupt.

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