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Kerala Christian school apologises and succumbs to pressure, allows Hijabi girls to supersede uniform rule: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala Christian school apologises and succumbs to pressure, allows Hijabi girls to supersede uniform rule: Here is what happened

On Monday (February 22), the headmistress of a Christian convent school tendered an apology for barring a female Muslim student from attending classes in her hijab. The incident took place at the Little Flower UP School in Mananthavady in the Wayanad district of Kerala.

It must be mentioned that the headmistress Sr Roshna had earlier reprimanded the Muslim student for superseding the uniform rule. She had asked her parents to take a Transfer Certificate (TC) in case the child wanted to wear religious attire instead of the uniform to school. Following a police complaint by the girl’s parents, coupled with the intimidatory tactics of political groups, the convent school administration succumbed to the demands.

A copy of the apology letter by the school headmistress had gone viral on social media. “On 17/2/22 at the Mananthavadi little flower UP school, my conversation with a child’s guardian had some lapses and it was leaked to the media, thereby worsening the matter. But this was not done with the intention to hurt anyone nor hurt any religious sentiments,” she said.

Screengrab of the apology letter by the headmistress, image via Twitter/@AjmalAramam

Sr. Roshna emphasised that students will have the right and freedom to wear the school uniform like they used to do in the past. She added that the school authorities had no further objection to the wearing of hijab in schools. A meeting was convened by Wayanad Sub-collector R Sreelakshmi regarding the matter and it was attended by political party officials, cops, education department officials and members of student organisations.

As per a report in Janam TV, the headmistress of Little Flower UP School had initially argued that young children should grow up without restrictions, and that none should be allowed to bring their religious affairs to school. She was willing to hand over a TC to parents who prioritised hijab in schools over education and uniformity in the school’s dress code

The Muslim girl, a student of Class V, had earlier complied with the school rules but came to attend classes in hijab and covered hands on February 16, amidst the ongoing controversy in Karnataka. She was denied permission, following which her parents came to the school and argued with Sr. Roshna. They had even lodged an FIR against the school. The demand for religious exemption at the convent school gained momentum after members of the ruling Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist party, took to the streets.

Last month, the Kerala government had made it clear that the Student Police Cadets (SPC) cannot wear hijab, scarf or full sleeves over their uniform. SPC Project is an initiative by the Kerala police in collaboration with the government to make children conscious about laws, discipline and civic sense.

The development came days after an 8th Std student of GHSS Kuttiady named Riza Nahan moved the Kerala High Court, alleging that she wasn’t allowed to take part in the parade for wearing a full sleeve uniform with a hijab. In her petition, she claimed that it was her ‘fundamental right’ to wear hijab and full sleeves. Riza had claimed that she was stopped from participating in the parade due to modifications in her uniform.

Karnataka hijab controversy

Recently, some Muslim students from the PU College in Karnataka filed a petition in the High Court to allow them to attend classes wearing Hijab. They were denied entry into classes because the college management stated that the hijab is not part of the uniform and it cannot be allowed in classes. Since then, the ‘students’ have been protesting while wearing burqas.

The Muslim students had started wearing hijab and burqa to their school, college in defiance of the uniform rules since December 2021 after coming in touch with the Campus Front of India (CFI), the student wing of the Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in October 2021. The students had admitted being in consultation with the CFI.

Tamil Nadu: BJP makes significant gains in local body polls, wins big in Kanyakumari

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: BJP makes significant gains in local body polls, wins big in Kanyakumari

Emerging trends from the ongoing counting of urban local body elections in Tamil Nadu has shown that the Bhartiya Janata Party is paving its way to establishing a stronghold in the state. Today, the counting for the recently conducted elections for Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Nagar Panchayats is taking place. In a historic win, the saffron party has won a majority of wards in the Kanyakumari district in TN.

The BJP is seen making serious inroads in Tamil Nadu politics by winning many seats in the urban local body elections. In the Municipal Corporation elections, BJP has managed to bag at least six wards in the Nagercoil corporation and a few wards in Bavanisagar and Sathyamangalam MCs as well. Interestingly in Chennai, the party has come second in some wards in Chennai by displacing the assembly ally AIADMK to the third position.

The BJP has bagged the second position by pushing the AIADMK in at least 5 wards in Chennai. In the 174th ward, While DMK candidate Radhika won by a margin of 4960 votes, the BJP stood in second place with 1847 votes while the AIADMK was in third place bagging only 1403 votes. Also in the 54th ward, the BJP while bagging 1142 votes stood second replacing AIADMK while The DMK candidate was leading with 3,570 votes.

However, the DMK is moving towards a landslide victory in the urban local body elections while leading in almost 150 out of 200 wards in Chennai. As of now, the saffron party has bagged 5 seats in Municipal Corporations, 46 in Municipality elections and 188 in town panchayats. The number is said to increase as the counting of seats is still on. Among the significant victories for the BJP was of Puma Jansree who won ward no. 86 in Madurai and Meena Dev who won ward no. 9 of the Nagercoil corporation. BJYM general secretary for Namakkal district has also grabbed a seat in the Tiruchengode Municipality.

In Virudhunagar East, BJP candidate A. Murugantham has won ward no. 26 in Aruppukkottai municipality whereas Jegathampal has won the 13th ward of the Kilambadi municipality in Erode. Meanwhile, the BJP has won 12 out of 15 wards in the Kanyakumari municipality. The party with an increased vote share is also seen giving a tough time to DMK as an opposition party in alliance with the AIADMK in the Tamil Nadu assembly.

Uttar Pradesh: BJP Yuva Morcha leader killed in Hathras, police recovers pistol from crime scene

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: BJP Yuva Morcha leader killed in Hathras, police recovers pistol from crime scene

On Sunday afternoon, the District General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Krishna Yadav, was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district. The local police immediately reached the spot after getting the information and recovered a pistol from Yadav’s house.

According to the reports, Yadav was shot dead from a very short distance on the first floor of his house. He was covered in bloodstains and was moved to Aligarh for treatment where he breathed his last. Several BJP workers and his friends arrived at the spot.

Vineet Jaiswal, Superintendent of Police, Hathras revealed that Krishna Yadav got shot at his home in the Gausganj Mohalla area of Sikandra Rao assembly constituency. “We received information of a person named Krishna Yadav being shot with a bullet. After reaching the spot, we found bloodstains in his room and recovered a pistol and an empty cartridge. He was later taken to a trauma centre in Aligarh where he was declared dead. We are investigating the case,” he said.

The Police also added in the statement that stains of blood were found on the first floor of Yadav’s residence. The atmosphere in Sikandra Rao constituency has become tense after the death of Krishna Yadav. His sister said to the police that Yadav has been killed and that the incident cannot be a suicide.

Krishna Yadav was a worker of both the BJP Yuva Morcha and the Hindu Yuva Vahini. The Police has initiated the investigation in the case and has affirmed that strict action will be taken against those involved.

‘RSS organising Hindu society to make country strong’: Karnataka Assembly Speaker lashes out at the opposition for raising anti-RSS slogans

OpIndia Staff
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‘RSS organising Hindu society to make country strong’: Karnataka Assembly Speaker lashes out at the opposition for raising anti-RSS slogans

On February 21, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Speaker, Karnataka Legislative Assembly, lashed out at Congress legislators over anti-RSS slogans. Congress MLAs were demanding KS Eshwarappa’s resignation and raising slogans in the well of the House. Notably, the MLAs have been sleeping in the legislature since Thursday protesting against the alleged statement made by Eshwarappa in which he had said one day saffron might replace tricolour.

During the protest, when Congress MLAs raised anti-RSS slogans, the speaker said, “RSS is a nationalist organisation involved in organising Hindu society to make country strong. You should support RSS in its efforts. You are shouting anti-RSS slogans in the assembly that has no relevance to your political discourse. Don’t bring RSS into this. If you have political differences, sort them out instead of linking them to the RSS. I won’t allow using assembly to shout such slogans.” The assembly was adjourned for the day after his statement.

Earlier, as soon as the House met, the Congress MLAs entered the well of the House and raised slogans against RSS, BJP, Manusmriti and Eshwarappa such as “Puppet of RSS”, “Manuvada Beda, Samvidhana Beku”, and “Deshadrohi Eshwarappa”.

Law Minister J C Madhuswamy specifically mentioned Eshwarappa would not be sacked from his post even if Congress MLAs continue to protest in the Upper House. He said, “They can protest however much they want. The government will not dismiss Eshwarappa.” He further said if they were convinced Eshwarappa must be booked for sedition, they could go to court and prove their stance. He alleged the Congress MLAs were twisting Eshwarappa’s statement to the media as per their convenience.

Lehar Singh Siroya, MLC, BJP, had earlier said Eshwarappa was an emotional person, and his statement was misinterpreted by Congress.

The controversy

Karnataka Congress had claimed in a tweet, “It is a matter of pride in our country and of protecting its honour and the dignity of the national flag. How can the party that built India stand back and watch as others insult it? The dharna will continue until a sedition case is filed against KS Eshwarappa.” It also shared pictures of Congress leaders sleeping chatting within the premises of the Legislative Assembly.

On February 9 this year, Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa had claimed that the Hindu saffron flag might one day replace the Indian tricolour at the Red Fort in the future. He made the remarks after a group of Hindu students unfurled a saffron flag on an empty pole at an institute in Shimoga.

His comments created a stir in the political arena. The Congress demanded his resignation over the ‘saffron flag remark.’ Eshwarappa was, however backed by the Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on February 16, who pointed out that the Minister did not “legally commit any mistake.”

Amidst ongoing UP polls, rumours emerge SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is fleeing to London on 11th March, a day after result

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst ongoing UP polls, rumours emerge SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is fleeing to London on 11th March, a day after result

In the midst of the ongoing State Assembly Elections in Uttar Pradesh, social media is rife with rumours that Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav will be flying to London on March 11, a day after the results of UP election.

Assembly elections are being held in Uttar Pradesh from February 10 to to March 7 in seven phases to elect all 403 members of the Legislative Assembly, the results of which will be declared on 10 March this year.

The netizens, sharing an image of a purported ticket of some person named as ‘Akhilesh Yadav’ are wondering if the SP Chief is running away from India after elections and claiming indirectly that the UP elections will be won by CM Yogi Adityanath. The image of the air travel ticket that is going viral over the social media states that ‘Yadav’ will be traveling to London via Abu Dhabi with very little luggage on March 11, 2022.

One of the twitter user questioned the SP Chief over the election results and stated that ‘Yadav’ was flying to London immediately a day after the results of UP election. “Akhilesh Yadav Flying to London on 11th March? What does it mean?”, he tweeted with a hashtag ‘Ayenge to Yogi Hi (Yogi will only win)’.

Another user shared an edited video interview of SP Chief with a news channel and claimed that Akhilesh Yadav was going to London due to fear of defeat in elections. “He is ready with the ticket so he also knows that Ayenge to Yogi Hi (Yogi will only win)”, stated the video.

Further seeking the truth on the polls, one of the Twitter user said that Akhilesh Yadav had said that he does not want to go to Yogi’s swearing-in, so he has got a ticket to go to London at 3 PM on the day of counting of votes on March 10.

State in-charge of BJP Haryana also joined in the rumour mill and questioned if Yadav is indeed leaving for London.

Meanwhile, one of the users who claimed himself to be a travel agent said that the ticket that has been going viral over the social media was fake as the flight name mentioned in the ticket was Emirates hub which according to the user operates only in Dubai. “Akhilesh may be going to London. But that ticket is fake. Emirates hub is Dubai it operates via Dubai. I know this I am travel agent”, the tweet read.

However, Samajwadi Party has neither confirmed nor refuted the rumours of Akhilesh Yadav fleeing India a day after UP poll results. The truth yet remains hidden inside the veils amid the UP elections. It is important to note that Akhilesh Yadav is believed to own a house in London and had celebrated his 46th birthday there with his family, party leaders and workers in 2018. He, along with his family members also had spent a long vacation in London in year 2020 when they dropped off the oldest of their daughters to an undergraduate university in London.

SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the UP Assembly polls from Manipuri constituency. The counting of the votes and the results of the polls will be declared on March 10 this year.

Two years since Delhi anti-Hindu riots: The family of Naresh Saini, who was killed by a Muslim mob, still struggling to survive

अनुपम कुमार सिंह
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Two years since Delhi anti-Hindu riots: The family of Naresh Saini, who was killed by a Muslim mob, still struggling to survive

Two years have passed since violence rippled through the alleyways of several localities in Delhi but the horror and melancholy are still visible in the eyes of the families of the victims of the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots. Many innocent people were slain as a result of the Muslim onslaught just because they did not share the same faith as their assailants.

Naresh Saini was one of the victims. Saini, a resident of street number 1 of the Brahmapuri area, was rushed to the GTB hospital in a critically injured state and fought his injuries for several torturous days in the hospital’s ICU unit before succumbing on March 4, 2020.

The deceased Naresh Saini, who was a vegetable seller by profession, had fallen prey to the wrath of a bloodthirsty mob of 400-500 people when he, on the wee hours of February 25, 2020, came out of his house to volunteer to help protect a local Hindu temple that had just been attacked by the mob. Naresh was so severely injured from the bullet that he remained in an unconscious state until his death. 

Two years on, the destitute family of Naresh Saini is struggling to make ends meet. The family’s financial situation has deteriorated since Naresh Saini’s death. Many political leaders who had attended Saini’s funeral after his heinous murder had gone on to make lofty promises, but it’s a pity that no one has returned to check on his family in the last two years.

Saini is survived by his wife, one daughter (8) and a son (7). The daughter’s education costs Rs 1700 per month. Though the school has given Saini’s son a concession in the school fee, the family is still concerned about the children’s future education.

The deceased Saini’s wife told OpIndia that there are several issues like her children’s education that give her sleepless nights. She added that since her husband used to put up his vegetable shop outside their son’s school, the school waived off his tuition fees after Saini’s death, but that’s not enough. Now, to run her household, Saini’s wife has started managing her husband’s vegetable shop.

His wife stated that her husband would never allow her to work at the vegetable shop earlier, but the situation has changed and she now has to handle the shop in order to feed her children. Following the tragic death of Naresh Saini, many leaders, including then-Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari, had gone to his house and offered help. The family had then received ten lakh rupees in aid, but no further assistance was provided after that, lamented Saini’s destitute wife.

Naresh’s elder brother, Rajiv Saini, told us that they did not visit the court in the last two years because officials kept reassuring them that his brother’s perpetrators will be brought to justice, but he doesn’t know how far the case has advanced. “We have no idea what is going on in the court or what has come to light through the investigation,” Rajiv Saini rued.

The family of Naresh Saini, one of the victims of the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu Riots

Rajiv stated that after his brother’s gruesome murder, the Jaffrabad police did file an FIR, but no one knows what came of it, said Rajiv Saini, crying sporadically as he remembered his departed brother.

Recalling the ghastly night when a mob of 400-500 frenzied people approached from ahead and shot a bullet at Naresh, Rajiv Saini stated, “A large mob had attacked our locality. Many people had come out to defend the area otherwise we would have been killed. During the violence, he received gunshot injuries.”

Rajiv said that his brother had just arrived home from his shop the night of the attack when he remembered he needed to get some medicines. When he went out to acquire the medicine, he was attacked by a mob of rabid Islamists.

He stated that Naresh Saini’s widow only receives a pension of 2000-2500 rupees every month. Apart from the pension and the meagre earnings from the vegetable shop, there are no other sources of income. Saying so, Rajiv was concerned about how his brothers’ family would make do with the paltry sum, which was likely only enough to buy the household’s monthly milk supplies.

Rajiv Saini further told us, “We built our house in 2016. Who’d have guessed something like this would happen? We raised funds and took a loan to do so. We assumed we’d have a place to live. The majority of the Rs 10 lakh he received as compensation went toward the repayment of his loan. The remaining money is in the bank. How long will the family be able to sustain from that amount? They have their entire lives before them. My deceased brother’s wife should be at least provided with a job,” the brother rued.

Naresh’s brother reiterated that the former was unarmed at the time when the riotous mob of rabid Islamists attacked him. He added that Naresh had gone out to defend the Hindu temple from being vandalised by the mobsters but they had no inkling that the mob would wreak havoc on the family. Even today people get emotional as they recall the horrific brutality inflicted on Naresh Saini and several other beleaguered Hindus, who found themselves surrounded by murderous Islamic mobs baying for their blood, attacking their places of worship, looting and vandalising their houses and shops on the dreadful nights of February 24th and 25th, 2020.

There are additional agonising accounts of innocent Hindus being slain by a violent crowd, in addition to Naresh’s heartbreaking story of sacrifice. Nitin, who was only 15 years old at the time, was savagely hacked to death in Gokulpuri. Another Hindu, Alok Tiwari, was gravely stabbed by the crowd and was left to die after leaving his residence for a leisurely stroll. Dilbar Singh Negi, a poor migrant worker from Uttarakhand, was brutally dismembered and burned alive. Many of the accused persons have been released on bail.

We at OpIndia have also extensively covered the Delhi anti-Hindu riots which the national and international media had falsely painted as an “Anti-Muslim pogrom”.

Are Hindus wasting time on the Hijab row? Here is a better use of our time

Ganesh R
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Are Hindus wasting time on the Hijab row? Here is a better use of our time

Is the RW wasting time on the Hijab controversy? A corollary to this question is, is it BJP’s job to reform Muslim social practices?

As it is with anything that has the potential to be turned into an anti-Modi weapon, the hijab story is now hitting global headlines. The narrative is simple – that Modi is targeting minorities and trampling on their “rights”. 

Now it hardly matters what the facts are. Did it ever? Who cares if hardly a dozen girls, among thousands of Muslim students, many of whom had no issues with the no-hijab rules all this while, turned it into a controversy? Who cares if, as school authorities, media reports and even columnist Tavleen Singh says violent Islamist organisations are raking this up, inciting the girls? Who cares if a dozen Western and other countries have done the same or worse? Who cares if other “minority” run schools in the same zone impose the same rule? Who cares if even some Muslim countries have banned the headscarf in schools? Who cares what Tasleema or Arif Md Khan has to say about that?

What matters, in today’s world is that the Stalinist left, that controls the liberal narratives has concluded that it is in its best interests that Muslims in India remain wedded to the most extreme and most “conservative” streams of thought. If it is Wahabism today, so be it. If something “better” comes along, the left-liberals will embrace it and be delighted if all Muslims obey that. The woke crowd in the West simply follows suit, having anyway come to the same conclusion in their own countries for pretty much similar reasons. 

This is because keeping closer to the 7th century is the best way to ensure they kept in constant “fear”, anti-Hindu hate, and the speedy return of dynastic loot era, where the left can enjoy not just the table scrap of taxpayer-funded shindigs and awards, get free license to pursue their Pol Potist pogrom on Hindu faith from their perches in academia, history writing and such. I have elaborated on this earlier. While their heroes like Stalin, Mao or Pol Pot may have butchered millions, 800 million Hindus are simply too many to kill so the next best option is to destroy their faith. The frantic, clownish and pathetic lashing out at Dr Vikram Sampath shows how cornered and desperate the left is. And they are handed issues on a silver platter.

While efforts to expose the left’s lies and seize the narrative, such as those made by Dr Sampath are indeed praiseworthy, we simply have to acknowledge that we are now colonised, mentally by the left’s overwhelming control of institutions of power, patronage, academia and media. As the Islamists would say, we are in “Dar al harb”. Living in hostile territory. It is foolish to believe that you rule simply because you got elected. Rahul Roushan says it brilliantly in his pinned tweet. 

So what should RW in general and BJP in particular do?

It is not your job

It is somewhat true that “woke” Muslims of the Kalam, Arif Md Khan type generally are sympathetic to BJP. In fact, Muslims that dare to come out and declare their pro-BJP sympathies (risking enormous backlash and sometimes violence) are usually modern. Yes, you do find photos of hijab-clad women or religiously attired men meeting and appreciating PM Modi for this or that. But by and large, it can be said that BJP’s chances are better with secular and modern Muslims. Yet, it is pointless for Hindu right to take up the reform job to get them there.

Even ignoring the fact that there are tons of work to do on the home front, it is doomed to fail. Even assuming the party receiving the sermons of women’s rights are convinced of your intentions (they are not), what are the chances they are going to listen?

To use nerd language, is it worth wasting bandwidth on this? Of course, not! Because that bandwidth is needed elsewhere!

This may sound like we are letting down the brave Muslim girls and women who dare to go without hijab and get beaten offline, shamed online and ostracised at home. That is unfortunately true. But if the likes of Rana, Saba, Arfa and others that don’t themselves wear one want rural Karnataka kids to go around in one, who is the bigger culprit here? Of course, they couch it in “freedom” language, exactly the sort used by Erdogan types. They are fooling none. Just check how many of them defend the ones that truly want to be free. You have your answer. 

And yes, we all know it is a slippery slope with Taliban / Khoemeni type of restrictions as the destination. In case you missed it, let me repeat – it suits the left. 

A bit of history

So am I suggesting that we wait another 200 years or whatever it takes for every minority to become a Kalam? I have this to say – things move surprisingly fast – and not necessarily in one direction.

The history of hijab in India as well as South East Asia is interesting. I say SEA because of cultural and other similarities and the fact that Islam is an imported religion for both. If you visit museums or look at old pictures from Malaysia or Indonesia, you will rarely come across a hijab-clad woman. Right up to the early 90s this was true of Indonesia in my own experience. 

Forget about ordinary women. The Wiki page of Abdurrahman Wahid, grandson of founder of Nahdlatul Ulema, biggest Islamic organisation in Indonesia, (who went on to become Indonesia’s President) has a picture of his mother, daughter in law of its founder, without any headscarf or hijab! Ditto one of the country’s most famous pioneering and progressive women – Kartini. Today it is unthinkable.

In parts of India like Tamil Nādu and even Kerala, even Pakistan, this was the case too. Numerous other pieces of evidence abound on the internet that will prove beyond any doubt that the hijab, in whatever form, is not essential for millions of Muslim women. There is a famous YouTube clip of Egypt’s ex-President Gammel Nasser joking about it. Pictures of Iranian and even Saudi women before the oil era, happily enjoying the beach sun and surf in modern clothing are easily found on the net. Of course, Ataturk banned it. For years, Turkish generals used to refuse to shake hands with hijab-clad Erdogan’s wife until he managed to impose that “freedom” on them.

How did they slide backwards? The oversimplified but generally accepted answer to a complex question is Saudi oil money and Wahabism. Crown Prince MBS knows this and is desperately trying to change this. But the ideology they exported may outlive his reforms, even if KSA itself changes and its women go back to beaches. Now you understand why the Ranaa’s of the world are tweeting against Saudis. And how long did it take to change? Less than one generation. And in the space of that one (or maybe two) generations, traditional Brahmin women have gone from deeming singing music in public as sin to openly embracing it and emerging victorious.

We cannot predict the future, but my point is, if things change again, for the better, it may not take 200 years, but much less. And to repeat the point, Hindu RW cannot simply force the pace.

A better use of time

What then can the RW do?

The answer is both simple and difficult. 

Simple because it practically writes itself – BJP, as well as Hindu RW, should not focus on Muslims but instead expose Stalinist left’s (and by extension, that of corrupt fascist dynasties that act as each other’s B-team) hypocrisy, real agendas, double-standards and vested interest in keeping Muslims backwards. It should expose their so-called intellectuals for the morally corrupt frauds they are. It should tell the Muslim women that brave threats to cast off their patriarchal chains and medieval practices that they are with them. 

Difficult because this is a long-term game and easy to botch up.

But it should leave those that don’t want to listen alone.

NHRC seeks action taken report from Jharkhand police Rupesh Pandey murder case, he was lynched by Islamist mob on Saraswati Puja

OpIndia Staff
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NHRC seeks action taken report from Jharkhand police Rupesh Pandey murder case, he was lynched by Islamist mob on Saraswati Puja

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India has taken cognisance of the brutal murder of Rupesh Pandey, the 17-year-old from Jharkhand. Pandey was brutally lynched by a Muslim mob during a Saraswati Puja immersion procession at Dulmaha village, Barhi police station, Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand on February 6, 2022. The statutory authority has written to the Superintendent of Police in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, requesting that he submit an action taken report to it within four weeks from the date of receipt of this letter.

The email to the SP further read that if any notice, order, or other communication from the State Human Rights Commission has been received by the concerned authorities, they must inform the Commission. If so, the Commission should receive a copy of the order within four weeks.

“Let a copy of the complaint be also transmitted to the Secretary of the concerned State Human Rights Commission, calling upon him to inform this Commission the date of cognizance, if any, taken at their end in the instant matter within four weeks,” further read the communique.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India took cognisance of the brutal murder based on a complaint it received dated February 10, 2022, from one Madan Mohan Priye. In the complaint he detailed the brutality inflicted on the murdered 17-year-old boy on the night of February 6, 2022. He demanded a monetary compensation of Rs 10 lakhs for the kins of the deceased as well as a fair and prompt probe by the CB-CID department of Jharkhand police.

The complaint sent to NHRC

OpIndia had accessed the copy of Rupesh’s post-mortem report which had revealed gruesome details. According to Dr Gaurav Sharma, blood clots had developed and internal organs had failed as a result of the damage inflicted upon him. Injury marks were found all over the body, including the eyes, ears, chest, belly, and legs. Strong and heavy items were used in the attack. A sharp weapon has been used against him. Strangulation attempts were made. The ear, neck, and lower sections of the chest all had wounds.

Rupesh Pandey’s murder had been reported to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The Child Rights body had issued notices to the Jharkhand government and the Hazaribagh district administration, seeking details of the incident leading to the death of the minor boy. On February 21st, Priyank Kanoongo, the organization’s chairperson, had visited Barhi in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district to take stock of the investigation into the killing of Rupesh Pandey.

According to reports in the media, he has ordered that the team of physicians who conducted Rupesh’s post-mortem be present, as well as Superintendent of Police Hazaribagh, Case Investigator, DCPO, and CWC.

Rupesh Pandey was murdered by a mob of Muslims in a fight that emerged at the time of Saraswati Puja’s Idol Visarjan on 6th February 2022. The 17-year old son of Sikandar Pandey was part of the religious procession which faced unexpected opposition from the mass of Muslims while passing from an area called Lakhna Dulmaha Imambada of the Nai Taand village in Hazaribagh. The spot comes under the Barhi police station. The mob engaged in the ruckus with the Hindu devotees. In this, Rupesh Pandey was badly beaten. He was declared dead when taken to the hospital.

The brutal murder of the Hindu youth created a furore with people accusing the state government of shielding the accused. Thousands of people including the members of Bharatiya Janata Party, BJYM, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vishwas Hindu Parishad took to the streets to protest the brutal killing of Pandey. However, instead of punishing the culprits, the state govt of Jharkhand took action against these Hindu groups protesting against the murder and demanding justice. The Jharkhand Police registered an FIR against the protesters who had organised a candle march in Chatra condemning the murder.

Meet the ‘experts’ behind the UNHRC statement supporting donation fraud accused WaPo columnist and accusing India of ‘harassing’ her

OpIndia Staff
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Meet the ‘experts’ behind the UNHRC statement supporting donation fraud accused WaPo columnist and accusing India of ‘harassing’ her

On February 22, the Special Rapporteurs of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations Irene Khan and Mary Lawlor alleged that “far-right Hindu nationalist groups” had intensified attacks and threats against the alleged journalist and money laundering accused Rana Ayyub.

They further alleged the attacks were in response to her “reporting on issues affecting minority Muslims in the country, her criticism of the Government for its handling of the pandemic and her comments on the recent ban on hijabs in schools and colleges in Karnataka.”

They said, “The lack of condemnation and proper investigation by the Government, coupled with the legal harassment it has itself inflicted on Ms Ayyub, has only served to falsely legitimise the attacks and attackers and further endangered her safety.”

While mentioning the ongoing investigation against her, they said, “As with many of the spurious and defamatory accusations made against Ms Ayyub in retaliation for her reporting, the experts said, the false allegations can be traced back to a far-right social media group.” The Special Rapporteurs further alleged the Indian government failed to address the “threats” to Ayyub and did not provide the required security.

The UN statement incited a sharp and strong reaction from India.

Who are Special Rapporteurs to Human Rights Council?

Irene Khan and May Lawlor are Special Rapporteurs and “Independent Experts” and part of Special Procedures of Human Rights Council. It is notable that these are independent experts and are not United Nations’ staff or receive any salary from the United Nations. The statements made by UN Special Procedures, though often shared by UN CHR, cannot be said to be the official statement of the United Nations.

It is further notable that India at United Nations has strongly objected to the allegations. In response to the allegations, India said, “Allegations of so-called judicial harassment are baseless & unwarranted. India upholds the rule of law but is equally clear that no one is above the law. We expect SRs to be objective & accurately informed. Advancing a misleading narrative only tarnishes @UNGeneva’s reputation.”

Rana Ayyub is facing investigation for allegedly siphoning off the money she had collected in the name of charity using a crowdfunding platform. She had reportedly collected donations from around the world in the name of Covid relief work and had kept the amounts in her personal bank accounts, in violation of the law.

Irene Khan, Amnesty International and China

One of the Special Rapporteurs who had released the above statement is Irene Khan. Notably, Khan, who hails from Bangladesh, has been a regular critic of India and has often tried to interfere in India’s internal matters using her position on International platforms. The Hawk Eye, the same Twitter user who did the first expose on Rana Ayyub, shared details of her anti-India interests.

According to the official profile of Irene Khan on UNCHR, she was Secretary-General of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009. Interestingly, Khan had to leave the organization in 2009 after she was accused of receiving over USD 700,000 from the organization. Under her leadership, Amnesty faced criticism for supporting Moazzam Begg, the former Guantanamo detainee and its links to Islamist groups. 

Amnesty International is a dubious organization that has indulged in anti-India activities for a long time. Despite the non-issuance of FCRA licenses for its Indian chapter, the organization kept receiving foreign funds in India. After strict action from the Indian government in 2020, when ED froze its accounts, the organization closed its Indian chapter.

She was also director-general of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), as mentioned by another Twitter user Sagorika. Her profile on UN suggests she was part of IDLO from 2012 to 2019. China is a major contributor to IDLO and has been part of the collective since 1989. In 2017, IDLO and China had signed a memorandum on the “One Belt One Road” initiative.

Another aspect of Irene’s connection to China is that the dragon was behind her appointment at the UN. In 2020, a China-led panel had appointed her as the world monitor on free speech. UN Watch categorically mentioned in a report that Khan enjoys close ties with the Communist regime. In an op-ed on the appointment, Human Rights Activist and International Lawyer Hillel C Neuer raised objections.

Neuer said, “Only in the Orwellian world of the UNHRC would a totalitarian regime that systematically silences, jails and crushes dissenting voices, and which operates the notorious Great Firewall of China to block Internet content from its people, be allowed to lead the process in selecting the next UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.” He also pointed out how Irene always praised China but never talked about Uyghur Muslims facing atrocities in China.

Mary Lawlor: Supporting Urban Naxals and making repeated false allegations against India

Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders at United Nations, is the co-author of the anti-India rant on the investigation against Rana Ayyub. Lawlor is also linked to Amnesty International. She was director of the Irish chapter of the organisation from 1988 to 2000.

Lawlor had repeatedly targeted India for arresting Bhima-Koregaon violence accused Stan Swamy, who died of old age-related illness in 2021. On his death, she had said his death would “forever remain a stain on India’s human rights record.”

She had been meddling in India’s internal matters and tried her best to paint a negative picture of India on the international platform in Swamy’s case. However, she conveniently ignored that the Indian security agencies had found evidence against Swamy and the court had found these allegations legitimate multiple times to refuse bail. There were allegations that Indian authorities did not provide medical assistance to Swamy, but contrary to the allegations, he was provided with the best possible medical care.

She also raised objection over the arrest of Kashmiri separatist activist Khurram Parvez who was arrested by the investigating agencies in a terror funding case. NIA had arrested Parvez in November 2021 on the charges of terror funding. He was booked under Sections 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), 18B (recruiting of any person or persons for the terrorist act), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation), and 40 (raising funds for a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

On February 22, a Delhi court sent him and two others to NIA custody February 25 for interrogation linked to the arrest of former IPS officer Arvind Digvijay Negi in connection to sending sensitive documents to terrorist organisation LeT.

It is notably both Special Rapporteurs had written to the government of India in November last year over investigation against Rana Ayyub and sought further details. In that letter as well, they had alleged the government of India was not providing security to Ayyub.

Allegations against Rana Ayyub

Rana Ayyub is facing an ED investigation for allegedly siphoning off the money she had collected for charity via crowdfunding platforms. On February 10, OpIndia had reported that ED seized Rs 1.77 crore in Ayyub’s and her family’s accounts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED has, in its attachment order, said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors”.

A few days after the expose, Ayyub alleged in a statement that she was being framed for her “journalism” and she did not misuse the money. However, all her claims were debunked by a Twitter user Hawk Eye who was the first to share details of alleged charity fraud last year.

Central govt clamps down on pro-Khalistan channel on various mediums, was having links with Sikh For Justice terror group

OpIndia Staff
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Central govt clamps down on pro-Khalistan channel on various mediums, was having links with Sikh For Justice terror group

The Central Government has ordered the blocking of apps, websites and social media accounts having close links with banned Khalistani outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ). The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on Tuesday released a statement banning the foreign-based youtube channel ‘Punjab Politics TV’ linked with SFJ which is banned in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The statement read that the ban on the YouTube channel was in consonance with the intelligence inputs which reported that the channel was attempting to use online media to disturb public order during the ongoing state assembly elections. On February 18, thus, the Ministry used emergency powers under the IT Rules to block the digital media resources of ‘Punjab Politics TV’, the statement said.

The statement released by MIB read, “The contents of the blocked apps, websites and social media accounts had the potential to incite communal disharmony and separatism; and were found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, and public order.” It was observed by the government that the launch of new apps and social media accounts was timed to assert influence during the ongoing state assembly elections in India.

The statement issued by the MIB also enclosed screenshots of the Instagram page and YouTube channel belonging to the Punjab Politics TV which were blocked by the ministry.

In January, the Khalistani outfit ‘Sikhs for Justice’ was found threatening lawyers attending Supreme Court hearing in the Prime Minister’s Security breach matter in Punjab and had also taken responsibility for the same. It was about time that the wings of separtist sentiments on Indian social media were clipped by the authorities.

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