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Upper-caste Muslims attack newly appointed UP Minister Danish Azad Ansari, mock his ‘low caste’ and hurl abuses

OpIndia Staff
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Upper-caste Muslims attack newly appointed UP Minister Danish Azad Ansari, mock his ‘low caste’ and hurl abuses

On March 25, Yogi Adityanath took oath as a Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time in Lucknow. Among the 19 ministers of state who were included in the cabinet, 32-year-old Danish Azad Ansari stood out after he was given the charge of the minority affairs ministry by Yogi Adityanath.

Danish Azad Ansari started off as an Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad member during his graduation from Lucknow University. In 2018, he was nominated to the Urdu Language Committee in the Yogi government, with a status equal to the minister of state. Before the assembly elections in 2022, Ansari was appointed as the general secretary of the minorities cell of the BJP. While he has secured a place in the Yogi Adityanath-cabinet 2.0, he is facing online attacks from the Muslim Community over his so-called lower caste and political ideology.

Danish Azad Ansari has been made a subject of abusive attacks for making it big in the Hindutva-centric BJP while belonging to the Pasmanda Indigenous caste among Indian Muslims. Author and columnist Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie has pointed out that Ansari is being attacked by so-called upper caste Ashraf Muslims after the BJP decided to ascertain political representation to a person belonging to the indigenous Pasmanda Muslim community. He tweeted, “Have you ever seen a Hindu backward Dalit being abused by the upper castes when he gets political participation the way Ashraf youth and elders are lashing out after an indigenous Pasmanda member gets his share?”

Fyzie added some screenshots in his tweet which showcase the vile abuses on Danish Ansari’s Facebook profile after he became the minister. Some comments targeted collectivist attacks on Pasmandas as ‘low-born’, while others shamed women from the community with abuses. Faiyaz Ahmed Fyzie added that the rot of casteism and racism lies deep within the Muslims and why social justice needs to be taken seriously in this case.

The single-handed targeting of Danish Ansari is not an isolated case while the discrimination against Pasmanda Muslims remains a cause of grave concern in the Muslim society in India. In an earlier interview, Faiyaz Ahmed Fyzie talked at length about the discrimination and isolation faced by the community at the hands of Muslim scholarship and the high-ranked aristocracy. Fyzie said that while 90% of Muslims in India are considered to be Pasmanda, when it comes to discussing the rights of Muslims, no one considers their voices.

Pasmada refers to the mass of Indian Muslims who once deflected to Islam due to historical reasons. The Pasmanda community is considered a lower jamaat among Indian Muslims by the higher-caste Ashrafs who claim their direct origins from the Arab region. The Pasmandas have also been sidelined in the Islamic realm for they often indulge in practices sympathetic to their earlier indigenous faiths. With a Pasmanda Muslim now in charge of the Minority affairs in UP, casteist sentiments have rattled over his appointment as a minister.

Talking about the appointment of Danish Ansari, noted BJP spokesperson Guru Prakash wrote, “For the first time in the Uttar Pradesh government, Muslims of Indian origin (Pasmanda) have been given representation in the form of Danish Azad, which shows the seriousness of the BJP towards social justice in Muslim society.” Guru Prakash, who often speaks on the issues of Dalits also noted that while indigenous Pasmanda Muslims constitute 90 per cent of the total Muslim population, representation of Muslims always ends up in the hands of the foreign ruling class of Ashraf Muslims.

YouTube removes the entire archive of the show ‘On Contact’ hosted by American journalist Chris Hedges for the Russian news network

OpIndia Staff
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YouTube removes the entire archive of the show ‘On Contact’ hosted by American journalist Chris Hedges for the Russian news network

The online video streaming platform Youtube has removed the entire archive of the weekly interview show ‘On Contact’. The Emmy-nominated show was hosted by Chris Hedges for six years for RT America and RT International. According to the journalist, the social media platform took arbitrary action against him because it believed his show promoted pro-Russian content since it was aired on RT, an English-language news network funded by the Kremlin and based out of Moscow.

On March 28, Chris Hedges also published an article on scheerpost.com titled, “Hedges: On Being Disappeared”. In the article, the American journalist revealed how the entire archive of his show mysteriously vanished from the social media site probably because the social media platform felt that his videos promoted pro-Russian content.

According to Chris Hedges, YouTube blocked his programme on the platform in the “name of censoring Russian propaganda” because it was broadcast on RT, the English-language news network funded by the Kremlin and based in Moscow.

He claimed that he received no inquiry or notice from YouTube prior to his program’s sudden disappearance from the platform.

Youtube removes the entire archive of the weekly interview show ‘On Contact’ hosted by American journalist Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist said, “I suppose this was done in the name of censoring Russian propaganda, although I have a hard time seeing how a detailed discussion of “Ulysses” or the biographies of Susan Sontag and J. Robert Oppenheimer had any connection in the eyes of the most obtuse censors in Silicon Valley with Vladimir Putin.”

‘Not one show dealt with Russia, but YouTube still had my show blacklisted and removed’: Chris Hedges

The American journalist explained that in his entire programme there was not one show that dealt with Russia, however, he was “blacklisted” since his programme was aired on RT.

He said, “I was on RT because, as a vocal critic of US imperialism and militarism and, of the corporate control of the two ruling parties, and especially because I support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, I was blacklisted.”

“I was on RT for the same reason the dissident Vaclav Havel, who I knew, was on Voice of America during the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It was that or not be heard. Havel had no more love for the policies of Washington than I have for those of Moscow. 

Here it becomes imperative to know that RT (formerly Russia Today), the English-language news network funded by the Kremlin and based in Moscow, was dropped from YouTube and American cable in early March this year. Britain’s media regulator had also revoked RT’s license to broadcast in the United Kingdom in the month of March 2022, with immediate effect, citing its links with Russia amid the Ukraine-Russia war.

In his article, journalist Chier Hedges went on to slam the online video streaming platform, YouTube for stifling the voices of critics who challenge the dominant narrative. He also chastised the “liberal class” for supporting such arbitrary censorship.

The American journalist castigates YouTube, hauls ‘liberals’ over the coals for supporting sweeping arbitrary censorship

“The most vocal cheerleaders for this censorship are the liberal class. Terrified of the enraged crowds of QAnon conspiracy theorists, Christian fascists, gun-toting militias, and cult-like Trump supporters that grew out of the distortions of neoliberalism, austerity, deindustrialization, and the collapse of social programs, they plead with the digital monopolies to make it all go away,” said Chris Hedges.

The journalist further questioned the unjust treatment meted out to him. “What were my sins? I did not, like my former employer, The New York Times, sell you the lie of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, peddle conspiracy theories about Donald Trump being a Russian asset, put out a 10-part podcast called the Caliphate that was a hoax, or tells you that the information on Hunter Biden’s laptop was “disinformation.” I did not prophesize that Joe Biden was the next FDR or that Hillary Clinton was going to win the election.”

The award-winning journalist added that he was not the only one who has been subjected to such harassment by the social media platform. YouTube regularly removes or demonetizes channels without warning, usually by arguing that the content contained videos that violated YouTube’s community guidelines, said Chris Hedges.

“The de-platforming of voices like mine, which are already blocked by commercial media and marginalised by algorithms, is accompanied by a pernicious campaign to funnel people back into the arms of “establishment” media outlets like CNN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post,” deplored the journalist.

YouTube blocks Indian news outlet WION

Notably, Youtube, this month, also blocked Indian news channel WION for seven days for broadcasting a portion of the speech by the Russian foreign minister. According to the statement issued by the WION network, Youtube blocked the WION channel on the platform for publishing a speech made by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. The platform had blocked the news outlet from uploading any new content on its channel.

Days later, on March 22, YouTube reportedly sent a message to WION saying they would not be allowed to post any videos. They said it violated YouTube’s community guidelines. According to WION, they made an appeal to YouTube, however, it was rejected. The media outlet said they wrote to Youtube demanding an explanation.

WION has claimed that it was not the only media that telecast the Russian Foreign Minister’s speech, but several Youtube channels, including the western media outlets, had put up the video. However, Youtube decided to censor WION on the pretext that the video promoted pro-Russian content. 

Stay at your own risk in West Bengal if you vote for BJP: TMC MLA initiates ‘Khela’ ahead of bypolls

OpIndia Staff
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Stay at your own risk in West Bengal if you vote for BJP: TMC MLA initiates ‘Khela’ ahead of bypolls

Ahead of the by-polls for the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Narendranath Chakraborty was seen intimidating BJP supporters in the State. Chakraborty had won the 2021 Vidhan Sabha election from the Pandabeswar (Paschim Bardhaman) constituency of West Bengal.

A video of his speech, threatening BJP supporters, was shared on social media by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. “Hardcore BJP supporters, who cannot be influenced, need to be threatened. Tell them that if they cast their vote, we will assume that they voted for BJP,” Narendranaath Chakraborty was heard as saying.

He further warned, “After the election is over, they will be living at their own risk in the State. However, if they don’t cast their vote at all, we will assume that they are supporting us.”

“It is only then that they can live peacefully in the State. They can do business or jobs and we will stand by their side. Clear?” the TMC lawmaker unveiled his nefarious plans.

Suvendu Adhikari pointed out, “Pandabeswar Assembly Segment falls under Asansol Lok Sabha Constituency where bypoll is going to be held in about two weeks’ time.” He informed that the TMC MLA was earlier the block President of Pandabeswar (similar to Anaurul Hossain arrested for Birbhum violence) and also served as a member of Burdwan Zila Parishad.

In 2016, Narendranath Chakraborty was arrested by Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) for carrying a pistol, cartridges in his check-in luggage bag at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

‘Later on he was arrested by the Police under the Arms Act; for trying to board a Chennai-bound flight with an unlicensed gun and rounds of cartridges. He could not show any valid licence,” Suvendu Adikari further emphasised.

BJP IT Cell Head, Amit Malviya, has called upon the Election Commission (EC) to take cognisance of the matter and take action. “Such criminals should be behind bars but in Bengal Mamata Banerjee patronises them,” he tweeted.

TMC unleashes the ‘Khela’ of violence during Municipal elections

During the recent civic body elections in West Bengal, hooligans associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress resorted to violence, vandalism, assault, and election malpractices. A total of 8,160 candidates contested the polls and about 76.51% of eligible 95 lakh voters cast their votes. 

On February 27, TMC goons hurled crude bombs, tampered with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and attacked the candidates and agents belonging to the Opposition parties including BJP, Congress and CPI (M).

They also attacked independent candidates in Dhulian (Murshidabad district) and Dalkhoola (Uttar Dinajpur district). The police had to resort to firing tear gas shells to pacify the situation. Crude bomb attacks also took place in polling booths in Garulia and Halisahar municipalities.

Journalist Soumyajit Majumder took to Twitter to inform how members of the press were targeted for their objective reporting during the civic body polls. He said, “At least nine journalists of different media houses were beaten up, thrashed and admitted to hospitals while covering irregularities in the civic polls in West Bengal, cameras were broken, mics were snatched and thrown into the drain.”

A CPI(M) worker was assaulted in Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas. Left candidates in Barasat and a Congress candidate in Behrampore were also beaten up. This was despite the deployment of 44000 police personnel and 135 election observers, including 108 general observers and 10 special observers.

It must be mentioned that the Supreme Court had earlier dismissed a petition filed by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) party leaders Mousumi Roy and Pratap Banerjee, seeking deployment of central forces in the West Bengal local polls.

Punjab: 65-year-old Gurudwara priest in Ludhiana arrested for raping a teen with mental disabilities

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: 65-year-old Gurudwara priest in Ludhiana arrested for raping a teen with mental disabilities

In Machhiwara’s Noorpur village in Ludhiana, Punjab, a 65-year-old priest from a local Gurudwara was arrested for reportedly raping a 15-year-old girl with psychological illnesses. According to the officials, the accused had been raping the girl for three months and had given her contraception to prevent getting pregnant.

The offender, named Sohan Singh alias Sohni, is a priest in the local Gurudwara and was arrested by the Machhiwara police. He was arrested on Sunday night after the girl’s aunt filed a complaint.

The victim’s paternal aunt witnessed the youngster taking some tablets on March 26. When she inquired, the girl stated that the local Gurudwara preacher gave her the tablets in order to “improve her health.” The child also said that he had purchased her a phone. The girl further stated that the accused used to take medications before raping her.

The preliminary inquiry found that the accused kept raping the victim for three months and gave her a pill assuring her that she would be well if she ate it. During the interrogation, it became evident that the accused had given her a contraceptive pill in order for her not to become pregnant.

Inspector Parkash Masih, the Machhiwara Station House Officer, stated that police quickly filed an FIR after receiving the complaint and detained the accused. He also said that Sohan Singh will be produced in court soon.

‘AAP govt had approached upper courts to stop Kashmiri Pandits from getting jobs’: Teachers’ association fact-checks Kejriwal

OpIndia Staff
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‘AAP govt had approached upper courts to stop Kashmiri Pandits from getting jobs’: Teachers’ association fact-checks Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in damage control mode after his speech in Delhi Assembly went viral where he deemed ‘The Kashmir Files’ a movie based on ‘lies’. The Hindu community has criticized him for his insensitivity and called him out for denying Kashmiri Pandits’ genocide that led to their exodus from Kashmir valley.

In order to tone down the negative impact of the claims he had made, Kejriwal went on a damage control mode and claimed his Government gave permanent jobs to 233 Kashmiri Pandits who had been working on contracts in Delhi for decades. However, the teachers’ association of Kashmiri Pandits has denied his claims and released a detailed press note with the timeline of court cases explaining how his Government categorically tried not to give them jobs.

Press note by Kashmiri migrant teachers association, image via Aditya Raj Kaul

Kejriwal’s govt challenged the court order that has asked them to regularise jobs for Kashmiri Pandit teachers

In the press release, Government School Teachers Association (Migrant) Regd said that they strongly condemned the statement given by the Delhi CM that it was the Delhi Government that regularised the services of Kashmiri Migrant Teachers (KMT). Signed by Dilip Bhan, Co-ordinator of the teachers’ association, the statement noted down the timeline of the court cases that led to the Supreme Court’s verdict forcing the Delhi government to give them jobs.

On June 6, 2010, KMT approached Delhi high Court demanding regularising of their jobs. At that time, Congress leader Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister of Delhi. The case continued for five years, and in 2015, the Single Bench of the Delhi High Court delivered the judgement in favour of KMT and ordered the Government to regularize its services. At that time, Arvind Kejriwal was the Chief Minister of Delhi.

The Delhi Government under Kejriwal challenged the verdict in the Double Bench of the Delhi High Court. The case continued for another three years, and on May 21, 2018, Double Bench also passed the judgement in favour of KMT and directed the Delhi Government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, to regularize the services of the migrant teachers.

The press release noted that the Delhi Government assured to regularise the services of KMT as per the directions of the High Court. However, contrary to the assurance, the Delhi Government approached the Supreme Court of India against the High Court’s judgement.

Soon after the petition was filed by the Delhi Government, the apex court decided to dismiss it and upheld High Court’s judgement to regularise the services of KMT. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition on October 26, 2018, and the Delhi government took almost three months to issue a notification regularizing the services as they had no options left.

The Press release added, “The above events clearly indicate that the Delhi Government was never interested in regularising the services of KMT. In fact, the Delhi Government opposed the regularisation till the very end.”

‘It was court that gave us jobs not Kejriwal-led government’: Dilip Bhan

Dilip Bhan, in conversation with Navika Kumar, Group Editor, Times Now, explained the series of events. He said, “It was Bharatiya Janata Party’s Madan Lal Khurana’s Government in power (in 1994). In order to give us some relief, he gave Kashmiri Teachers jobs on contracts. The idea was that in a few months, terrorism would tone down in Kashmir, and the Pandits would return, but it did not happen. In 2010 we went to High Court. In 2015 Single Bench gave a verdict in our favour.”

He added, “At that time, Kejriwal-led AAP was in power. We went to meet him and requested him to regularise the jobs. He assured us, and we waited. When I contacted our deputy director, he informed us that the verdict was challenged in front of the double bench. The case continued till 2018, and the double bench also gave a verdict in our favour. Finally, they challenged the judgement in SC, but the apex court dismissed their petition. They directed the Government to give Kashmiri Pandits permanent jobs. It was a court that ordered to give us jobs, not the Kejriwal government.”

The verdict of 2018

In 2018, the Double Bench of Delhi High Court, led by Justice S Ravinder Bhat and Justice Deepa Sharma, gave the verdict in favour of Kashmiri Migrant Teachers. In the judgement, it was mentioned that in 1994, when BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana was Chief Minister of Delhi, they noticed that some of the migrants were trained teachers.

A cabinet meeting was held on April 2, 1994. It was decided in a cabinet meeting that one educated member from each such family would be appointed as a teacher depending on his or her capacity. They were appointed in schools run by the Directorate of Education, MCD and NDMC. The benefit was only available for the migrants living in camps run by the Government.

It further stated the teachers appealed to the Government from 1998 onwards (Congress was in power) to regularize their appointments. They also appeared in Court, where the single bench judge said in the verdict that they did not have the right to appeal for the regularization of their jobs. The Kashmiri Migrant Teachers appealed against the judgement in High Court that directed the Government in 2015 (AAP was in power) to regularize the jobs.

An interesting point was made in the judgement that in May 2000, the Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Development or MHRD (now Ministry of Education), Department of Education, had written to the officials of the Delhi Government (Congress’s Sheila Dikshit was CM) that when the teachers were appointed on contract basis in 1994, “there was an implicit policy decision in the Ministry of Home Affairs that the immigrant teachers had come to Delhi on a temporary basis and, had to be, sent back at some stage.”

It further stated that MHRD had asked the Delhi government to do a screening of the teachers and appoint those on permanent jobs as a teacher if they meet the criteria.

Those who did not clear the exam could be given one-time relaxation, and the criteria of age limit were suggested to be ignored.

In 2006 (UPA was in power at the Centre), the Ministry of Minority Affairs wrote to the CM of Delhi (Congress was in power) and requested to regularize the teachers. It was mentioned that the contractual teachers were not even paid salaries on time.

Coming back to the High Court case, after the single bench judge directed the Government to regularize the teachers, the NCT of Delhi (Delhi Government) appealed against at Double Bench of the High Court. However, the Delhi Cabinet, while the petition was in Court, sent a proposal to the LG for relaxation in some provisions in order to regularize the jobs.

LG agreed to the proposal at large but asked the Delhi Government to ask the Law Department (under AAP’s Law Minister) to examine the legal damnations of the proposed policy as suggested by the Service Department. The proposal went cold for two years. In 2017, the Government of Delhi again proposed relaxation via cabinet decision, but the decisions were not brought into effect anytime soon. It is further notable that in the same year, as per the judgement, NCT of Delhi had decided not to regularize the KMT as “it was felt that regularization would create a wrong precedent.”

Petition in Supreme Court

Meanwhile, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by the Delhi Government challenging the High Court’s judgement. It was dismissed by the apex court in October 2018, and three months later, the Delhi Government finally regularized the KMT, after trying all avenues to prevent it.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich suffered suspected poisoning during Ukrainian peace talks

OpIndia Staff
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Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich suffered suspected poisoning during Ukrainian peace talks

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, reportedly suffered suspected poisoning along with at least 2 other senior peace negotiators from Ukraine. The billionaire oligarch suffered pain in the eyes, and peeling skin on the hands and face, after a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month

Abramovich was acting as a mediator between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Reportedly, the poisoning was orchestrated by hardliner Russians who wanted to sabotage the talks. Abramovich is reported to be fine now, and has recovered fully.

As per investigative journalism group Bellingcat, Abramovich and other Ukrainian negotiators developed the symptoms on the night between 3rd and 4th March. Abramovich and another Russian entrepreneur had held discussions with Ukraine MP Rustem Umerov during the peace negotiations.

Bellingcat claims that after remote and on-site investigations, chemical weapons specialists concluded that the symptoms were result of poisoning with an undefined chemical weapon.

Abramovich, along with several other Russian billionaires has been facing sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. He has been traveling frequently between Moscow and Kyiv during the past month to help with the negotiations between the two countries.

Bharat Bandh: Kerala govt warns public servants against participating in the general strike after HC directive

OpIndia Staff
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Bharat Bandh: Kerala govt warns public servants against participating in the general strike after HC directive

The Kerala state government on Monday warned the public servants from participating in the 48-hour long general strike and declared that amid the strike, the absence of the employees without valid reason would be treated as ‘dies non period’. This is after the Kerala High Court issued an order to the state denying leaves to employees and teachers on strike days except for unavoidable reasons.

The Kerala HC on Monday slammed government officials for participating in strikes, observing that it was illegal for government officials to participate in strikes, citing Employees Service Rules.

‘Dies non-period’ is the one that cannot be treated as a duty for any purpose. It does not constitute a break in service. But the period treated as ‘dies non’ does not qualify as service for pensionary benefits or increments.

The court on March 28 was hearing the public interest petition filed by Chandra Choodan Nair, a retired government employee from Thiruvananthapuram. He had urged the Court to declare the two-day strike illegal. The order issued by Chief Secretary VP Joy read that pay of the employees for the days on which the strike is taking place would be withheld from their next month’s (April) salary. It stated that people indulging in violence during the strike days would be prosecuted.

The Court further directed the KRCTC managing director and district collectors to ensure sufficient vehicles are operated to allow the government servants to attend duty. “We direct the government of Kerala to issue appropriate orders forthwith to prevent government servants from engaging in the strike and also to issue necessary orders forthwith to all the heads of the departments to ensure that Rule 86 of the Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1960, are not violated, and in case of violation, to take appropriate action. The government should issue appropriate orders to enable the operation of vehicles to enable government servants to attend duty”, a division bench of Justice S Manikumar and Shaji P Chaly was quoted.

The bench stated in its order that the government must not only protect the citizens but also continue with all the public work as expected. The two-day strike that was called by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the joint forum of trade unions began on Monday with people actively participating to protest against the Central government’s policies allegedly affecting workers, farmers, and people in general.

While Trade unions’ strike had a negligible impact across India, it had struck normalcy in Kerala

According to the reports, banking services and public transport were affected on March 28 as strikes were held in a few states, with Kerala being one of them, where the ruling left is often regarded as sympathetic to the cause of bandhs and strikes. Offices across the state reported only thin attendance and all the educational institutions remained closed. However, the essential services remained largely unaffected.

On Tuesday, marking the second day of the nationwide strike, bank unions also joined the strike to protest against the government’s move to privatize two public sector banks as announced in Budget 2021-22. With this banking services have been impacted partially and the employees have failed to report for duty. Also, the public transport services across the state have been hit with only 33 per cent of the buses run by the state transport corporation.

The trade unions are protesting against the Central government’s policies allegedly affecting workers, farmers, and people in general. The decision comes following a meeting on March 22 where the trade unions had said that they would protest against the Centre’s ‘anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies.’

Dr S Jaishankar offers India’s help after hospitals in Sri Lanka suspend surgeries due to a shortage of medicines

OpIndia Staff
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Dr S Jaishankar offers India’s help after hospitals in Sri Lanka suspend surgeries due to a shortage of medicines

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has forced the country to give up on its primary needs including healthcare. On Tuesday, the news of surgeries being suspended in Peradeniya hospital over a shortage of medicines was shared.

Sri Lanka’s dire economic crisis has stemmed from its shortage of energy and foreign reserves. While India is already helping the island nation with USD 1 billion Loan as part of its financial assistance, and sending fuels, several humanitarian measures are being carried out in the country directly so that the help reaches the needy. Amidst all of this, scheduled surgeries in the multi-speciality Peradeniya Hospital were cancelled due to a shortage of medicines are medical equipment.

When the news reached India’s Minister for External Affairs, S Jaishankar, he called the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka to make necessary provisions for the hospital. In a tweet, he called upon the Indian high commissioner in Colombo Gopal Baglay to discuss measures on how India can help the ailing nation.

This came at a time when minister Jaishankar is on his visit to Sri Lanka after India extended financial assistance to the nation. Jaishankar arrived in Srilanka on March 27 to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other ministers in the cabinet. He discussed Indian perspectives on how Sri Lanka can be helped to overcome the economic crisis.

On Tuesday, Dr Jaishankar participated in the 18th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Ministerial Meeting in Colombo. “Emphasized our commitment to intensify and expand areas of cooperation, especially connectivity, energy and maritime cooperation,” he tweeted after meeting his South Asian counterparts.

Chhattisgarh: 23-year-old Sabir Ali arrested for rape and murder of teenage girl, had written another person’s name on victim’s wrist to portray suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Chhattisgarh: 23-year-old Sabir Ali arrested for rape and murder of teenage girl, had written another person’s name on victim’s wrist to portray suicide

A 23-year-old man named Sabir Ali alias Baba Khan reportedly raped and murdered a girl and later tried to pass it off as a suicide in Chhattisgarh.

The incident occurred on March 24 in Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district, according to sources. On Saturday, the accused was apprehended by cops. According to Surajpur Additional Superintendent of Police Harish Rathore, the accused choked the woman before hanging her body from a ceiling fan in her home.

As preliminary investigations suggest, the girl, a Class 12 student, had her practical test on Thursday and then returned home to Surajpur, almost 300 kilometres from the state capital Raipur. Her mother was in Bilaspur, caring for her ailing father, who was being treated at Apollo Hospital, while her younger brother was out playing.

When the younger brother arrived home after playing, he knocked on the door, but his sister did not answer. He tried everything, but when the door did not open, he informed the neighbours. When the neighbours failed to unlock the door despite many attempts, they smashed it and entered. As soon as people entered the house, they discovered the victim’s body hanging from the fan.

People promptly reported the incident to the Bhatgaon police station. The cops arrived on the scene and began an investigation. The initial assessment revealed that it was a murder case. As the inquiry continued, the needle of suspicion pointed toward Sabir Ali aka Baba Khan.

When the accused discovered the victim alone in the house, he went there. He then raped her and strangled her to death with her dupatta, fearing she would confess his identity. In an attempt to portray the murder as a suicide, the accused also inscribed someone else’s name on the victim’s hands.

A complaint has been filed against rape and murder suspect Sabir Ali aka Baba Khan under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), and other pertaining provisions. “The exact age of the dead has still to be determined,” police stated, adding that “if she is discovered to be a child, the requirements of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) will be incorporated into the probe.”

Uttar Pradesh: Maulanas and Islamic leaders hold press conference to demand a ban on The Kashmir Files, call the story misleading

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Maulanas and Islamic leaders hold press conference to demand a ban on The Kashmir Files, call the story misleading

The Maulanas from the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh convened a press conference at a school in Anand Nagar on 28th March 2022 to demand a ban on The Kashmir Files. As per reports, these Maulanas called the release of the film Kashmir Files unfortunate and termed it ‘laughable politics’. The organization that called this press conference is known as Muttahida Majalis-E-Amal. It is a combined group of religious and social organizations of Muslims, madarsas, schools, colleges, and other organizations in the Saharanpur district.

Muttahida Majalis-E-Amal’s spokesperson Sher Shah Alam said that through the film The Kashmir Files, an attempt is being made to disturb communal harmony under a conspiracy. It is unfortunate that attempts are being made to end the mutual brotherhood. Others addressing the press conference included Maulana Abdul Malik Mukesi who is district president of the Milli Council and Maulana Shahid Mazahiri who is a member of Jamiat Ulama Uttar Pradesh.

According to a report by Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Sher Shah Azam said, “This press conference has been held about the film The Kashmir Files. The movie is creating hatred within the country. This film should be banned immediately. The government here says that the reality should come out, then there are so many realities here. What is the use of re-picking up old forgotten memories, making fabricated stories, and leaving them in the midst of the people? People will hate each other and when there is hatred there will be fights, mob lynchings.”

It was further said in the press conference, “In this film, all the historical facts are being twisted. Here they want to impose a particular point of view on people. This is not the way to maintain peace and harmony. We want people inside the country not to be misled and not to hate each other. Rather, adopt the thousands of years old ‘tehzeeb’ that symbolizes mutual brotherhood.”

Interestingly, when the journalists present at the press conference started asking questions about the film, Maulana got enraged and was about to fight with the journalist. It was only after interventions by others that things resumed to normal. The Kashmir Files is a film based on the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus by Islamic terrorists in Kashmir in 1990 and their subsequent exodus. The film was released on 11th March 2022.

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