Ruskin Bond, the celebrated author, has released his latest book- A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 Years of Independence, focusing on India, his home country for the past 84 years. The prominent modern Indian writer of British descent, who is regarded as an icon among Indian writers, is reported to have based his current work on his personal memories and impressions of India.
Despite being one of the most beloved Indian authors of all time and having multiple bestselling works to his credit, the Padma Shri awardee, who has managed to pique a few left-leaning ‘wokes’ on previous occasions, has this time too, irked a few of them on social media. The reason being that his latest book, which he describes as an amalgamation of the “physical and spiritual” attributes of India, has a few words in favour of their bête noire- Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sharing an excerpt for Ruskin Bond’s latest book “A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 Years of Independence”, a Twitter user drew attention to how some ‘liberals’ are busy cancelling the ‘Sanghi’ for praising PM Modi in his book.
These so-called ‘liberals’ term all those Indians as ‘Sanghis’ who have exercised their democratic right to vote and voted for the BJP. When they say ‘Sanghi’, they mean any Hindu who is politically assertive about Hindu rights and voted for Narendra Modi.
Many other Twitter users pointed out how these left-leaning ‘wokes’ suffered a meltdown after reading the excerpt for Ruskin Bond’s latest book praising PM Modi.
In fiberal land, if a person the stature of Ruskin Bond ‘praises’ Modi, he needs to be branded a S@nghi & immediately cancelled! ? pic.twitter.com/Tx5D3iUNQe
The pronoun squad is having a melt down over Ruskin bond being a sanghi. They should come out of their bubble and see that not even 1 percent of the Indian people support the woke commie literature they follow ??
The excerpt from Ruskin Bond’s latest book which has piqued the Modi-haters on the microblogging site is shared below:
Interestingly Ruskin Bond has also included names of many “outstanding” former Prime Ministers of India like Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, but the inclusion of Narendra Modi’s name is something that has annoyed the chronic Modi haters.
Reacting to these simple words of admiration, some liberals called out Ruskin Bond a ‘Sanghi’.
It’s worth noting that Ruskin Bond had also gotten on the wrong side of these Modi critics on Twitter for endorsing PM Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in 2018.
Meanwhile, in the introduction of his latest book, the 87-year-old author has written: “This little book does not claim to be a political or historical analysis of events, although I have dwelt on the highlights of the last 75 years of India’s progress to maturity as a nation. It is a record of some of my memories and impressions of this unique land — of its rivers and forests, literature and culture, sights, sounds and colours — an amalgamation of the physical and spiritual.”
“We celebrate our freedom in different ways. I celebrate it with the written word,” he added.
Ruskin Bond has paid respect to the country that has been his home for 84 years in his latest book, “A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 Years of Independence,” which is drawn on his own experiences and impressions of India.
The book, which combines India’s “physical and spiritual” characteristics, promises to send readers on a nostalgic and devotional journey.
Penguin Random House India is the publisher (PRHI) of Ruskin Bond’s latest book which is priced at around Rs 250 and is presently available for sale in online and offline stores.
Dilshad Hussain, who was out on bail in a rape case, was shot dead at the gate of the civil court in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on the afternoon of Friday (January 21, 2022) by the father of a minor girl he had allegedly raped. After this, it is being peddled by the left-wing media that Dilshad had converted to Hinduism for that girl and married her, and it is a matter of consent between two ‘adults’. However, the truth of the deceased Dilshad Hussain, a resident of Vidhipur under Sakra police station area of Muzaffarpur district of Bihar, is different.
OpIndia contacted Arya Samaj Mandir in Hyderabad, where Dilshad married the girl, to inquire about it. The said Arya Samaj temple is located in the ‘Chengicherla’ area of Hyderabad. Sharing pictures of this wedding on social media, some people claimed that Dilshad had adopted the Hindu religion and had done everything according to Hindu customs. Media organizations like ‘Lallantop’ and ‘Janjwar’ propagated this narrative. So did Dilshad leave Islam and convert to Hinduism? Yes and No.
Dilshad had indeed got ‘converted’ to Hinduism and was also given a Hindu name at the Arya Samaj Mandir. But all this was only for marrying the Hindu girl. Actually, he had not converted, and he remained a practising Muslim even after his ‘conversion’ to Hinduism. The conversion was only for show, and he didn’t follow it through.
Arya Samaj Mandir of Hyderabad told the details related to Dilshad’s marriage and his so-called conversion
People at Arya Samaj Temple while talking to OpIndia said that they were given the girl’s secondary school certificate of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Secondary Education. Her first year (BA) certificate of graduation from Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University located in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh was also submitted. They also informed that in the Aadhar card given by the girl as identity proof, her date of birth is mentioned as December 5, 1998. Accordingly, they were told that the girl was an adult and was 21 years old.
Dilshad had submitted copies of his Aadhar card and PAN card as his identity for marriage. It was told on behalf of the Arya Samaj Mandir Hyderabad that the policemen had come to Telangana, from where they had taken the boy and the girl. They told that, in the temple, the girl was asked questions about love and marriage, for example, do your parents agree with you, how did you fall in love, where did you meet, etc. The video of this conversation is still available with the temple.
Panditji told that marriage is done in the Arya Samaj temple only after giving complete confirmation. However, he said that as Dilshad has been murdered, and as the matter is going on in the court, he may also have to face legal issues if this video goes viral. He also said that he is ready to cooperate if he is summoned and questioned. He told that a few days ago, Dilshad had also come to him.
Panditji had then told Dilshad, “If you have been married according to Hindu customs and the boy and girl are adults as well as agree, then these certificates should have been given to the court.” Dilshad’s conversion certificate was also made. Panditji also informed that the girl’s father Bhagwat Nishad had submitted the birth certificate of his daughter and he had told the police/court that she is a minor.
Dilshad Hussain got married in February 2019 at Arya Samaj Mandir in Hyderabad.
The priest of the temple, Pandit Ganesh Kumar Shastri says that the marriage was allowed only after Dilshad converted to Hinduism. He said that according to the documents handed over to him, the girl is an adult. He also came to know only from the newspaper that Dilshad was shot by Bhagwat Nishad, the girl’s father. Dilshad had come to the temple about two months ago to take pictures. The date of February 13, 2020, is written in the certificate of conversion. After his conversion, his name was changed to ‘Dilraj’.
Dilshad’s father’s name is Tahir Hussain. His date of birth was given as January 1, 1991. Accordingly, his age became 31 years. It is clear from these things that Dilshad had changed his name to ‘Dilraj’ after converting to Hinduism, but all this was done only for the marriage, and he had not become a practising Hindu. In fact, he continued to be a Muslim in his real life even after his ‘conversion’ to Hinduism. On social media, he had kept his name ‘Dilshad Hussain Dilraj’, he had retained his Muslim identity.
Dilshad remained a Muslim despite converting to Hindu for marriage
After the death of Dilshad, his last rites were performed according to Islamic customs in village Vidhipur. The people of the village have confirmed this. The question is if he had become a Hindu, he would have been cremated, whereas this did not happen. He was buried as per Islamic traditions.
Moreover, Dilshad had offered Eid Namaz after he was released on bail. Mohammad Rauf, a villager from Dilshad’s villages, said that after coming back from jail on bail, he had offered Namaz on Eid. It is clear from this that he did not become a Hindu and was a Muslim.
Gorakhpur court Bar Association president Bhanu Pratap Pandey and local journalist Dharmendra Mishra say that Dilshad Hussain only pretended to be a Hindu. That is, they believe that in reality he did not convert and he remained a Muslim. Dilshad Hussain was being prosecuted under the ‘Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012 (POCSO)’. Despite this, he managed to get bail from the court.
Appealing for bail, advocate Arvind Mishra (who presented the case on his behalf) argued that his client is innocent and he has been wrongly implicated with some other motive. Also, the girl’s statement was mentioned that she had physical relations with Dilshad Hussain with her consent and that she is an adult. The girl was quoted as saying that she wants to live with the accused and he has not done any action against her forcingly.
The lawyer had also argued that there was no criminal history against Dilshad Hussain. Whereas the president of Gorakhpur Bar says that he used to run his puncture shop at the door of a Nishad family and he took away the minor girl. He told that Dilshad Hussain used to make negative comments from his Facebook handle, due to which the girl’s father murdered him in a fit of rage. Dharmendra Mishra, a local journalist of Dainik Jagran’s legal affairs beat, said that for the sake of marriage, he used conversion as a medium and changed his name to Hindu, but he was a Muslim and did not accept Hinduism.
He says that his activities were overall Muslim. Bhagwat Nishad’s son Deepak also said that Dilshad Hussain was still a Muslim. Deepak informed that Dilshad Hussain was also troubling Deepak’s family members a lot. He used to make phone calls and make threats and talk nonsense and abuse. Dilshad Hussain’s lawyer Shankar Sharan Shukla said that the family members of the youth have said that the ongoing case between them is also the reason for this enmity.
He said that the evidence that Dilshad Hussain had converted to Hinduism and then married, should be prima facie held to be correct and it was also presented while filing an appeal in the High Court. However, he did not comment when asked about Dilshad Hussain being buried in an Islamic manner after his death. On the question of the girl is a minor, he said that these things are told by all the parties in their own way, and in such cases, the prosecution claims the girl to be the minor and the defence claims her to be the adult.
Now the question arises did Dilshad Hussain cheat the Arya Samaj Mandir by providing them with the girl’s fake Aadhar card. Because in the Aadhar card that has come to OpIndia, it is clearly visible that her date of birth is December 21, 2002.
According to this, she is now 19 years old, while her age at the time of marriage (13 February 2020) would have been only 17 years. She still had 10 months to become an adult. The Inspector of Gorakhpur cant Police Station is also the ‘Investigation Officer (IO)’ in this case. He said that when Dilshad Hussain ran away with the girl, she was a minor. In this murder case, the girl’s father Bhagwat Nishad has been arrested by the police. At that time the police had no information regarding the boy’s conversion to Hinduism.
Funeral was done by Islamic customs: Villagers and family also confirmed
Hrithik Patel, a childhood friend of Dilshad Hussain, who lives in Vidhipur, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, said that Dilshad Hussain was buried in the village graveyard. There is also a separate graveyard for Muslims in the village itself. He told that being Hindu, he did not go to the funeral. While the father of the deceased says that his son had married an adult girl but he was murdered in that enmity. This is what he has written in the FIR of the murder.
Mohd Rauf, the husband of the deputy head of Dilshad’s village, also confirmed that he had been buried in an Islamic manner and had stayed with her family members throughout the process. This process was completed by reciting Fatiha etc. in the ancestral graveyard. He had left the bike at 7 in the morning on the day of his death. After some time his lawyer called and he also left with the family. He alleged that the Gorakhpur police were pressurizing him to return soon after taking the dead body.
Mohammad Rauf says that the houses of both the families were face to face and the boy and girl were friends since childhood and that they had studied together. While Dilshad Hussain’s father Tahir Hussain says that Bhagwat Nishad was his childhood friend and he also talked to Nishad after he was locked up after the murder. He told that he had opened a puncture shop 30 years ago, which was now run by his son Dilshad. He told that the Imam of the village, Mohammad Zahoor Alam, completed the last process of his son by the Islamic process and recited the Fatiha.
The picture of Mecca-Medina is seen at Dilshad Hussain’s house in Vidhipur.
Now some more questions arise here. A boy who used to run a puncture shop travels with a girl to Hyderabad and back, posts pictures of living a luxury life on social media, and also get bail from Allahabad High Court in a serious case – what is the source of the funding for all this? Because his father says that he is unemployed and the family does not even have agricultural land. There is still a picture of Mecca-Medina and Kaaba in his village house. After bail, he was living in the village itself.
Dilshad Hussain’s brother lived in Hyderabad and he used to send money to Dilshad Hussain from there. His other brother has done hotel management, but due to loss of memory after an accident, he used to stay at home. Dilshad Hussain’s family says that he never brought the girl to the village.
Rahul Gandhi is upset because his follower count is stuck. And hence, like a whiney social media influencer he has written to the social networking giant claiming that at one point, before he violated POCSO Act by publishing image of a minor rape victim and revealing her identity against the law of the land, he used to get 8-10 thousand followers a day. But now, hardly any.
Now, months after that, while PM Modi was busy thanking prominent personalities across the world telling them how great India is and thanking them for being good friends of our great nation, Rahul Gandhi was busy whining to Twitter how he was losing his bot followers. Apparently, on 27th December 2021, when Rahul Gandhi was vacationing in undisclosed location, he also wrote a letter to the new Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. In the letter he identified himself as leader of India’s largest opposition party.
Rahul Gandhi claimed an assault on India’s institutional framework and ‘complete capture of traditional mainstream media’. Essentially, Rahul Gandhi was upset that mainstream media no longer toes the Congress line and there are people outside of these places who are questioning them. And The Family does not like it.
Anyway, after speaking about importance of Twitter as social media platform and its responsibility of keeping ‘authoritarian powers’ away, Rahul Gandhi cries that his follower count is stuck ever since he broke Indian laws. When there are important elections coming up in states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Rahul Gandhi was busy keeping tab of his follower count and making complex calculations on how he got over 6 lakh followers in May 2021 and since August 2021, his new monthly followers are almost down to zero.
Our boy hasn’t been able to win elections in longest time, his loyalists are leaving Congress and joining the BJP, the party he has vowed to destroy, but his concern right now is his stuck Twitter follower count.
Aag lage basti mein, Rahul Gandhi apni masti mein (The village could be on fire, but Rahul Gandhi is busy enjoying himself).
Twitter, however, has now said that it regularly takes actions against manipulation and spam accounts and hence, it may be reflecting on the follower count. Essentially, Twitter told Rahul Gandhi that the bots he mistook as popularity was not their fault.
This was the third time Rahul Gandhi was shadowboxing with Twitter. In August 2021, Rahul Gandhi had compromised the identity of a 9-year-old rape victim.
Gandhi’s actions violated the Juvenile Justice Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act that bars everyone from revealing the identity of a minor victim in any format, including print, television and online platforms. Acting on the notice issued by NCPCR, Twitter removed Gandhi’s tweet and locked his account for violation of its rules. Subsequently, the same was removed by Twitter as it violated its user policy.
Twitter had ‘locked’ his account temporarily till he removed the contentious post. However, Congress and its minions had whined that Rahul Gandhi’s account was ‘suspended’. Even back then Twitter had clarified that his account was not suspended but post was ‘removed’ because it compromised identity of a minor rape victim.
Twitter informs DelhiHC that Rahul Gandhi's tweet violated their policy during hearing PIL seeking direction to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights&police to take action against him for his tweet allegedly disclosing identity of Delhi minor rape-murder victim's kin pic.twitter.com/BYRQWzkQgS
Twitter had also put up a notice that said that a tweet on Rahul Gandhi’s account has been removed.
Notice on Rahul Gandhi’s tweet in August 2021
The notice displayed after Twitter pulled the tweet down by Rahul Gandhi said “this tweet is no longer available”. This notice essentially meant that Twitter, on its own, had pulled the tweet down and made it unavailable to the public.
However, just days later, after Congress cried foul and accused social media giant of bias, Congress bowed and removed the notice, thereby making the tweet compromising identity of a minor rape victim public again if accessed from browser outside of India. In India it continued to stand withheld.
Twitter notice on Rahul Gandhi’s tweet
Law of the land is equal for all. Just because you are a political party in the opposition does not mean any action against you is on behest of the Central government.
Days later, Rahul Gandhi released a short video on his YouTube channel where he again alleged that Twitter was interfering in India’s politics by shutting down his account. “A company is making its business to define our politics. And as a politician, I don’t like it,” Gandhi said.
Sources in Congress IT cell had then told OpIndia that this move by Twitter had embarrassed Congress and Rahul Gandhi as they never thought the social media giant would take any step against the leader. Congress leaders never thought that Twitter would take any step against Rahul Gandhi. After all, Twitter has made it very clear that its employees have left-leaning bias. Top Twitter employees in India have quite often tweeted against PM Modi and in favour of Rahul Gandhi. In fact, Jack Dorsey, Twitter chief, on his visit to India had even met Rahul Gandhi and spoke about ‘tackling fake news menace‘.
In August 2021 he did not want Twitter to interfere in Indian politics, but in April 2021 he wanted the US to save India‘s democracy and not to stay silent, thereby asking for America’s intervention in India’s internal matters. And now, suddenly he says it is Twitter’s responsibility to ‘hold government accountable’. And for that, the bots shall be allowed to follow Rahul Gandhi on Twitter.
In his letter to Agrawal, Rahul Gandhi mentions how before August 2021 he had not received any correspondence from Twitter about anyone reporting his handle. “This is curious since political opponents must have complained on numerous occasions – it is part of their job,” he claimed. This is interesting: Either Rahul Gandhi thinks way too highly of himself that political opponents (read: Modi government) will focus all their energies on an MP who lost his family seat after decades and had to go for a ‘safe seat’ in Wayanad or it is an admission that Rahul Gandhi and his party spend all their spare hours complaining about accounts of opposition politicians.
Rahul Gandhi then compared the average engagement of his posts and his follower count with that of other politicians. This is way too much free time, one must say. He then claimed his lack of bot followers was selective censorship on Twitter. It even appended a graph comparing his follower count with that of PM Modi, HM Amit Shah and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.
In mindboggling stats, he also shared weekly analysis of follower count and compared them with the other leaders. If he would have spent this much time analysing his party’s shortcomings, the grand old party would not have reduced itself to a joke.
Rahul Gandhi wants the world to believe that Narendra Modi is some sort of comic book villain out to control the world and Rahul Gandhi is some superhero who can save the world but if Modi government were even 1% of the fascist they are made to appear, all the dissidents would have been jailed the way his grandmother did it in the past.
Perhaps if Rahul Gandhi starts posting videos of himself cooking or his Pidi dancing, maybe things will improve and he could gain followers as social media influencer at least.
On January 27, a video of Mukhiya Gurjar, Samajwadi Party candidate from Hasanpur, district Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, went viral on social media in which he allegedly threatened that he would do dacoity at the BJP MLA’s house. Gurjar had visited Hasanpur on January 25. A smaller version of the video was published on his Facebook page as well.
‘I have opened a workshop to ‘repair’ MLAs’
In his statement, Gurjar said he has been in politics for years and has opened a workshop to ‘repair’ MLAs like the sitting one. At present, Mahendra Singh Khadakvanshi of Bharatiya Janata Party is MLA from Hasanpur. Gurjar said, “I have been in politics for many years. I have opened a workshop where I ‘repair’ such people from Hasanpur. I am a follower of Mulayam Singh Yadav. I did not remove Mulayam Singh Yadav’s photograph while I was in BJP. To hell with them.” Gurjar has recently resigned from BJP and joined SP.
‘I will do dacoity at MLA’s house’
Gurjar said once he gets elected as MLA, he would do dacoity at the current MLA’s house and would loot the wealth he has amassed during his tenure. He said, “There was a program organized by them. They clicked a photograph there and told everyone that I was a Hindu. Hindu Muslims are brothers. This MLA is corrupt. I will ensure he pays for his deeds. I will do dacoity at his house and will distribute the loot among you.”
‘I have been to jail 16 times’
He further added, “To hell with the administration. I have been to jail 16 times. Just remember one thing. I don’t know how to be corrupt. I follow the leaders and freedom fighters of this country. I am very innocent.”
Resignation from BJP
Mukhiya Gurjar, who is the chief of Pathik Sena, had resigned from BJP a week ago and joined the SP. He has been given a ticket by Samajwadi Party to contest the upcoming elections from Hasanpur, Amroha. It is notable he was earlier with the Samajwadi party. He has joined back SP after a gap of 14 years.
As the elections in Uttar Pradesh and five other states approach, political parties are rushing to comply with the Election Commission’s directives. In a move on the same lines, Samajwadi Party has shared criminal records of Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatma, and their son Abdullah Azam Khan.
The Samajwadi Party recently declared that imprisoned Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan would run in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election from his hometown of Rampur. Khan is the current Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Rampur. He has been jailed at Sitapur since February 2020. The Rampur candidate of the Samajwadi Party has been the subject of 87 criminal complaints.
The majority of the cases against Azam Khan are related to Indian Penal Code sections 153 (A) (Promoting hatred between various groups on religious grounds), 159 (Word, gesture, or activities intended to offend a woman’s modesty), 509 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 448 (house tress pass), and 500. (defamation). Azam Khan has also been charged with electoral fraud. He has been charged under Section 171 G in multiple cases (False statement in connection with an election).
It is notable here that Azam Khan and his family members also face multiple charges of theft, from stealing goats, electricity to stealing old manuscripts from an Islamic institution.
The party has called Azam an asset because he has been a member of the assembly 9 times and is the founding member of the Samajwadi Party. The notice issued by SP mentions that all the cases against him have been based on false allegations and hold a political intent.
The Samajwadi Party has also announced Abdullah Azam, Azam Khan’s son who was imprisoned for two years before being released on bail this month, as its candidate for the nearby Suar constituency. Abdullah has 43 cases filed against him. He ran as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Suar in the 2017 Assembly election and won. In December 2019, the Allahabad High Court overturned his win, citing the fact that he was under the age of 25 when he submitted his candidature with forged documents.
SP also wants to nominate Azam Khan’s wife, Dr Tazeen Fatma, who is currently out on bail and facing 35 court cases.
In accordance with the directions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its Order dated 13.02.2020, and in addition to the Commission’s earlier instructions dated 10th October 2018, the Election Commission has directed that all political parties that field candidates with criminal antecedents, shall follow the directives under the above-mentioned order. Information of Individuals with criminal antecedents who have been selected as candidates, as well as the reasons for such selection and why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates, shall be published by the political party in newspapers, social media platforms, and on the party’s website.
Murder of a Hindu youth named Kishan Boliya in Dhandhuka taluka on Tuesday has sent shockwaves in Ahmedabad. As per local media reports, in Ahmedabad district’s Dhandhuka taluka, when Kishan was on his way home, two bikers came and shot at him. He died on the spot. Police has registered case in this regard and started investigation. However, the villagers are not satisfied with the same.
As per reports, it is alleged that Kishan had shared a post on social media platform which Muslims find offensive. According to sources, the video shared by Kishan on social media had an image of Prophet Muhammad. Usually beheading, killing of those who share such an image is considered blasphemy and Islamists justify killing of those who share such an image.
Earlier police action was taken against Kishan over the post as some people had outraged over it. His social media account is currently set to private and police, too, have not specified the content of the allegedly controversial post.
After the outrage, Kishan had not stepped out of the house and only on Tuesday did he go out on his bike. Police suspect that he could have likely been killed over this social media post only. According to an eyewitness, the two men who fired at Kishan were riding behind him and at a turning at Modhwada, they fired their first shot. However, they missed it and then they fired again. He died on the spot, said the eyewitness.
There is anger in the villagers over the sensational murder and the family refused to accept the mortal remains of Kishan. However, prominent members of society and Hindu organisation members intervened and spoke to the police which assured proper investigation and only then the family accepted Kishan’s mortal remains.
Cremation of his mortal remains was carried out on Wednesday amongst heavy police security. SOG (Special Operations Group) of Gujarat Police will now be carrying out investigation in the case. Few suspects have been arrested but police is currently investigating the case, reports suggest.
On January 27, Twitter replied to the allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi where he had alleged conspiracy as his followers were not increasing on the social media platform. In its reply, the Twitter spokesperson said that the social media platform has a zero-tolerance zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and spam. Twitter further added that they have removed millions of accounts for violating their terms and condition.
Follower counts are a visible feature&we want everyone to have confidence that numbers are meaningful&accurate. Twitter has zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation&spam: Twitter spox on Rahul Gandhi’s letter to Twitter stating that no.of his followers seeing a drop (1/3) pic.twitter.com/HiU0QORYcR
As per news agency ANI, Twitter Spokesperson, while replying to the allegations, said, “Follower counts are a visible feature, and we want everyone to have confidence that numbers are meaningful and accurate. Twitter has a zero-tolerance approach to platform manipulation and spam.”
Twitter added that the platform fights spam and malicious automation using machine learning tools. The spokesperson said, “We fight spam and malicious automation strategically and at scale with machine learning tools, and as part of those consistent and ongoing efforts to ensure a healthy service and credible accounts, follower counts can and do fluctuate.”
We remove millions of accounts each week for violating our policies on platform manipulation&spam. You can take a look at latest Twitter Transparency Center update for more context.While some accounts notic minor difference,in certain cases no.could be higher: Twitter Spox (3/3)
Twitter further added millions of accounts are removed from the platform each week for violating Twitter’s policies regarding manipulation and spam. The spokesperson said, “We remove millions of accounts each week for violating our policies on platform manipulation and spam. You can take a look at the latest Twitter Transparency Center update for more context. While some accounts notice minor difference, in certain cases no. could be higher.”
Rahul Gandhi’s letter to Twitter
On December 27, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had written to Parag Agrawal, CEO of Twitter, where he alleged his followers were not increasing, but the followers of other political leaders were increasing consistently. He alleged Twitter was playing a pawn in the hands of the government, and the platform was “unwittingly complicity in curbing free and fair speech in India.”
A snippet of a letter Rahul Gandhi wrote to Parag, CEO, of Twitter
Gandhi had alleged his followers count stopped increasing in July 2021, after which he received multiple communications from Twitter that a complaint was received from ‘India’ against his account. He also mentioned letters by BJP leader Vijay Jolly from Delhi where he had requested Twitter to act on the allegedly malicious tweets by Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi has basically insinuated that his follower count not increasing means that Twitter is colluding with the government of India to ‘limit his reach’ and curb his voice. Twitter has clarified that they are committed to removing fake accounts and bots that are used to falsely amplify the social media reach of individuals.
On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that Samajwadi Party has become history and will never return in power to the state. Taking a dig at Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Yogi stated that no one will know Uttar Pradesh by ‘Saifai Mahotsav’ and the people who organised it are now ‘past’.
“The state is now identified with ‘Divya Kumbh’ and ‘Grand Deepotsav’, it will remain the same. Those who yearn to make the state’s identity with ‘Saifai Mahotsav’ are now history, history will remain”, he tweeted.
प्रदेश की पहचान अब ‘दिव्य कुंभ’ और ‘भव्य दीपोत्सव’ से है, वही रहेगी…
प्रदेश की पहचान ‘सैफई महोत्सव’ से बनाने की लालसा रखने वाले अब इतिहास हैं, इतिहास ही रहेंगे…
This is a day after Mulayam Singh Yadav citing the occasion of 73rd Republic Day said that he would make all kinds of sacrifices to protect the constitution and further strengthen the security and honour of the country. Addressing the SP workers at state headquarters yesterday, he also said that the party would stand by the farmers and wage workers.
He pledged to resolve all problems faced by citizens and said that the party will keep up to the faith shown by the people of Uttar Pradesh.
What was the Saifai Mahotsav?
Saifai annual festival used to be held in the ancestral village Saifai of the Yadav family almost every year between December and January since the mid-1990s. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s nephew Ranvir Singh had first held the festival at the block level in 1996. Subsequently, the then CM Mulayam Singh Yadav scaled it up and named it after Ranvir who was the first block pramukh of Saifai and who died in 2002.
According to the reports, the annual festival often courted controversy back in SP’s regime in Uttar Pradesh due to issues like trade tax holidays for purchase of vehicles from the village Saifai amidst the festival. During the Samajwadi Party rule, Akhilesh Yadav used to ferry Bollywood stars in chartered planes to perform at the festival, using government funds.
After wide controversy and criticism over state spending on a political family’s entertainment event, the organisation of Saifai Mahotsav was cancelled in 2016 during Samajwadi Party’s government itself and it was decided that the festival would be never be organised again.
Deepotsav and Mahakumbh
In what it actually means to nurture India’s cultural legacy, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath, for last four years has been celebrating the grand Deepotsav at Ayodhya during Chhoti Diwali. The birth place of Lord Rama at Ayodhya every year is lit up with lakhs of earthen lamps to celebrate his triumphant return from Lanka.
The Yogi government ensures that every year, 9-10 lakhs earthen lamps are procured from each of the thousands of villages in the state reach Ayodhya for the Deepotsav. This gives a boost to the small scale artisans, traders and ultimately boosts the state economy, promoting Ayodhya as a centre for cultural and spiritual tourism.
The Yogi Adityanath led government had also scaled up the grand celebrations of Divya Kumbh last in the state. The boost in infrastructure development, providing amenities and security during the Kumbh has been bringing millions of pilgrims from all over the world to the state. Both the Deepotsav and the Kumbh have made it to record books and international news, promoting Uttar Pradesh as a cultural tourism hub.
Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh from 10 February to 7 March, 2022 in seven phases to elect all 403 members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on 10 March 2022.
On January 26, a video of a female journalist went viral on social media in which she alleged her previous employer forced her to convert to Islam. She further alleged even after two months of filing FIR, the Police has not taken any action. In the video, the woman said she used to work for an online YouTube-based news channel, News Action Network, that has an office in Preet Vihar, Delhi.
The Managing Director (MD) of the channel, Shan Chaudhary, used to pressure her to convert to Islam. He allegedly tried to lure her into converting on the pretext of increasing her salary, as per the woman’s complaint.
In the video statement, she said, “I am a journalist by profession. I was working with News Action Network, which is an online YouTube channel. MD of the channel, Shan Chaudhary, used to pressure me to convert to Islam. It made me feel nauseated. He used to say, ‘you look like a Muslim girl. If you convert to Islam, I will increase your salary from Rs 25,000 to Rs one lakh.’
She further added she resigned from the job, but the company held her salary for 45 days. On the 47th day, she was called to the office. The woman said, “When I reached there, I was called in Shan Chaudhary’s office where Ria Gupta, Roshni, and Mishra were already present. Shan abused me and used derogatory language. He even threatened to kill me. After that, I somehow managed to leave the office with the help of my associates and reach Preet Vihar Police Station. I tried to file an FIR at Preet Vihar Police station, but ASI Sohangir refused to file my FIR.”
After trying to file FIR for two days, Police finally registered the FIR. However, they allegedly did not initiate any investigation in the matter or collect any evidence. She added, “I contacted social activist Rajesh Bhasin and Aastha, who raised the issue on social media and helped get my statement recorded under Section 164. It has been two months, and three IOs have been changed, but the Police have not taken any action.”
There is a 33-minute live video uploaded on Rajesh Bhasin Facebook page where they detailed the incident.
In the video, they said Chaudhary has political links and contesting elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket from the Hasanpur Assembly seat. However, we could not confirm if Shan Chaudhary is contesting election on the Samajwadi Party ticket as the list released by SP named someone else. It is noteworthy that in some of the videos uploaded by News Action Network, Shan has been named as “Future SP Candidate”.
Screenshot of a report on News Action Network’s Facebook Page. Source: Facebook.
In the video uploaded by Bhasin, the woman alleged even after two months of recording the statement, the Police had not taken any action. Three investigation officers were changed during that period. She further claimed that she had asked the Police officer assigned to the case to check the video footage of the day of the incident, but nothing happened. She said, “Either take any action or tell me my case is a fake one. Close the case if you do not want to take any action.” She added the issue is not about the salary but justice. They further added that Shan had filed a defamation case against them.
Former Vice President Hamid Ansari, Actress Swara Bhasker, Archbishop Peter Machado among others are invited in an event titled ‘Protecting India’s Pluralist Constitution’ on the eve of Indian Republic day, January 26 at 10:30 PM IST. The online event which is touted as a ‘Special Congressional Briefing’ also includes Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Andy Levin, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President of Mauritius and Nadine Maenza who chairs the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) among several others. The virtual event is hosted by 17 US-based rights organizations including Amnesty International (USA), Genocide Watch, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council among others.
The ‘rights groups’ based in the USA responsible for hosting this event are infamous for targeting India many times for its sovereign decisions. The groups have not only lobbied against India for acts passed in the parliament democratically, but they also constantly engage in the discourse which is anti-Indian and hinduphobic in nature. The Indian American Muslim Council is also responsible for hosting and promoting this event. It is the same radical Islamist group that has alleged links with banned terror organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The Islamist organisation has often misrepresented facts and ignored ground realities, to undermine India’s secular judicial system by calling for separate minority courts.
Former VP Ansari & Actor Swara Bhaskar participating in an event by IAMC to ‘save pluralism’ on #RepublicDay
They may not know:
IAMC paid money to get India black-list by the US is linked with Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) &
According to a recent expose done by DisInfo Lab, The IAMC has allegedly paid money to lobby groups in the USA to get India black-listed by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). DisInfo Lab has also alleged that the group has also open links with terror outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). It is learnt that IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid has earlier collected funds ‘to stop the genocide of genocide of Muslims in Burma.’ With the help of Fidelis Government Relations (FGR) and First Principles Strategies, the IAMC has raised a total of US $ 4,12,000 to promote sanction legislation on Burma, China and India on ‘issues related to human rights’.
It is also important to note that FGR head Terry Allen happens to be a long time associate of Nadine Maenza the USCIRF Chair who is also participating in the event. IAMC has taken repeated stances against the ruling Indian government to fight ‘civil rights and liberty issues in India’ to reaffirm the ‘rights of religious minorities’. However, contrary to its claim, the organisation was found lobbying against India in 2013 as well – a year before the current dispersion of the BJP came to power in 2014.
The interlinking of IAMC with other organisations throws light on its direct and indirect linkages with terror organizations and radical Islamist outfits. IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid have headed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US front for Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan. According to DisInfo Lab, ICNA has established links with Pakistan based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Rasheed Ahmed, who heads the IAMC currently was former executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). IMANA’s director of Operations is Zahid Mahmood an ex-Pak Navy official.
It is also the case when individual members of IAMC have been vocal supporters of the Taliban including Kaleem Kawaja who had given a call, ‘Brother, you can spare a tear for Taliban’. To remember, IAMC was caughtt spreading fake news in India to incite communal violence. The organisation was slammed with UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) in 2021. With the participation of Swara Bhasker and Hamid Ansari, local voices have amplified the causes of IAMC and others to peddle the narrative of ‘minorities under threat’ in India.
