On Saturday, January 22, a case was registered against some people in Korba district in Chhattisgarh after a video showing them taking a pledge for ‘Hindu Rashtra’ emerged. In the video, one person identified as Pramod Agrawal among others were seen taking a pledge to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, which went viral on social media on Saturday. According to Police Superintendent Bhojram Patel, a case has been registered against the people owing the language used by them could disturb communal harmony.
In the video that emerged, a group of people were seen taking an oath to make India a ‘Hindu Rashtra’. They had said, “We as staunch Hindus, the residents of Bakimongra, from Korba, Chhattisgarh swear before the fire and resolve that we will develop India into a staunch Hindu nation.” It later added, “Being together, we will help our Hindu brothers on every economic, religious and social front. In our establishments, businesses and homes, we will employ only Hindu brethren. In this way, we will empower our Hindutva.” In the 1 minute 58 second video that emerged where the people were seen taking an oath to abide by the following. In the end, chants of “Jai ShreeRam“, “Jai (Hail) Hindu Suraksha Sena“, “Ram Raj ki Karo tayari, A rahehaiBhagwadhari” (The people in Saffron are coming to make way for ‘Ram Rajya’) can be seen given.
Another hate video surfaces from Chattisgarh. This time from Korba where bigots of Hindu Surksha Sena took oath to make India a Hindu Rashtra and boycott Muslims.@bhupeshbaghel Ji sakht karyawahi ki ummid hai. Ye nafrat to aapko chunav me bhi nuksan pahuchayegi.@CG_Policepic.twitter.com/BMqh747qnF
After the video emerged, several calls calling the incident a case of ‘hate speech’ were raised by Muslim social media users on Twitter. What appears predominantly according to the video, is a bunch of people as members of the ‘Hindu Suraksha Sena’ pledging to strive for ‘Hindu Rashtra’ without a direct threat to anyone. However, a case has been registered against the people by Kotwali police station under IPC section 153A for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”. According to SHO Ramendra Singh, an FIR was registered on the complaint of local resident Sitamani Kunwar but no arrest has been made as of now.
Earlier this month, another video had emerged from Sarguja district in Chhattisgarh, where Hindu locals were seen pledging to boycott Muslims. In the video dated January 5, a man was seen leading almost 200 people in an oath banning Muslim sellers, boycotting any commercial transactions with members of the Muslim community and prohibiting the sale or lease of any land to a Muslim.
Well-known LGBTQ activist Gopi Shankar Madurai has recently survived the fourth attack in Mahabalipuram of Tamilnadu. Gopi Shankar Madurai was obstructed in the road by six goons when he was going for a post-dinner walk near his house at around 10 PM a few days ago. Gopi Shankar Madurai has claimed that these goons had some connection with the ruling party in the state – DMK and DMDK. He has said so because the vehicle in which the attackers reached there had stickers of DMK leader Y Gopalswami and other DMDK leaders.
Gopi Shankar was attacked three times before this incident. He has appealed for help to PM Modi, as he was not accompanied by the security persons despite being an endangered and active southern zone representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons which comes under the Union Ministry of Social Welfare and Justice.
Gopi Shankar Madurai has said in an interview that he was attacked while he was on his post-dinner walk near his house. The attackers in a car passing by approached him and obstructed his path. He said, “They asked me who you are and why are you walking on this road? I told him to ask his master who I am, as I saw the stickers of DMDK leader Y Gopalswami on their vehicle. In response to this, they started hurling abusive words.”
He further added, “Meanwhile I informed the protocol officer about the situation. The protocol officer alerted the patrolling vehicle nearby. The patrolling officers were also not so affirmative and they got me into the vehicle only after a heated argument.”
Gopi Shankar Madurai said “I request the government of India and especially our ministry to take serious note of this as this is the second attack in the last three weeks. Even before that, I have been attacked two times. I request PM Modi for help. He is an honest and hard-working man but unfortunately, the bureaucracy under him is not. It is us who are suffering because of this.”
Regarding security, Gopi Shankar Madurai emphasized, “Four attacks and not a single FIR has been lodged here in Mahabalipuram. You don’t provide me security the whole day, fine. Even I don’t ask for twenty-four by seven security for me. But when I am leaving my place of residence, especially when I go for fieldwork, there are unsafe conditions. Being an appointed representative of the government and the ministry looking after us, the government should think of this. Tamilnadu police respond very softly to the central home ministry when they inquire about my security status, but the reality is that I am not accompanied by any security personnel.”
Gopi Shankar Madurai is a well-known LGBTQ activist. He is also known to be a staunch supporter of Hindutva. He is credited for his contribution to making the transgender persons’ protection act 2019.
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be installed at India Gate on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary, British author and journalist Tunku Varadarajan tried to tarnish the image of India’s iconic freedom fighter.
In a tweet on Saturday (January 22), he claimed, “The statue of a man who was pals with Hitler is going to sully India Gate in New Delhi.” Tunku Varadarajan insinuated that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was somehow ‘friends’ with Hitler and supposedly embodied his vicious ideology of Nazism. He suggested that the statue of such a man at India Gate would undermine the sanctity of the historical site.
Screengrab of the tweet by Tunku Varadarajan
Varadarajan then took potshots at the incumbent Modi government and also attempted to mock Subhas Chandra Bose, whose death remains a mystery to date. The British journalist further reiterated that Netaji somehow ‘consorted’ with former German dictator Adolf Hitler.
Screengrab of the tweet by Tunku Varadarajan
Vicious campaign to delegitimise Modi Government’s effort to immortalise the legacy of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
From being called a ‘flawed hero’ to a ‘Nazi sympathiser’, attempts at character assassination were made systematically after the incumbent Modi government sought to preserve the legacy of Netaji. Tunku Varadarajan is the latest entrant in the list of people who have been carrying out a sinister agenda since 2014 to malign the legacy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The Indian freedom fighter has earlier been dubbed as a ‘Japanese agent’ by former Supreme Court judge Marakandey Katju.
In his reply to the Motion of Thanks by President Ram Nath Kovind in Rajya Sabha last year, PM Narendra Modi referred to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as the ‘First Prime Minister’ of India. Earlier, the Indian government announced that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary will be celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas’ every year.
In January 2019, PM Modi had inaugurated a museum of Netaji at the Red fort. He had also renamed three islands of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands after the legendary freedom fighter. The Ross Island was renamed to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, Neil Island to Shahid Dweep and Havelock Island to Swaraj Dweep. A ₹75 commemorative coin was also released to mark the 75th anniversary of the first hoisting of the Tricolour by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Port Blair.
While speaking at the Victoria Memorial Hall last year, PM Modi had said, “I sometimes wonder how Netaji would have felt had he seen how a new and strong India is taking shape. From the LAC to LoC, the world is witnessing a strong India that was once envisioned by Netaji. India today is giving a befitting reply wherever attempts are made to challenge its sovereignty.”
What did Netaji think of the Nazi Regime?
Historical events of one era might appear contentious in another and hence they need to be analysed in their rightful context. The actions of the Indian freedom fighter therefore must be judged, keeping in mind the volatile political situation of that era. Netaji visited Germany in 1933 and was disillusioned at the discriminatory and racially biased policies of German dictator Adolf Hitler. This becomes evident from his letter to Dr Thierfelder of the Deutsche Academie in 1936.
Bose wrote, “When I first visited Germany in 1933, I had hopes that the new German nation which had risen to consciousness of its national strength & self-respect would instinctively feel deep sympathy for other nations struggling in the same direction. Today I regret that I have to return to India with the conviction that the new nationalism in Germany is not only narrow and selfish, but arrogant… The new racial philosophy which has a very weak scientific foundation stands for the glorification of the white races in general, and the German race in particular”.
The motivation behind meeting Adolf Hitler
On the 29th of January, 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose was appointed the president of Congress, having defeated Pattabhi Sitaramaiya by 1580-1377 votes. MK Gandhi, dropping all the pretence of neutrality, had then declared that Sitaramaiyya’s defeat was his defeat. The old guard and Gandhi loyalists got to work almost immediately blocking the newly-appointed President at every step.
Stifled and crippled as a notional president, Subhas Chandra Bose resigned later that year in September 1939. It became clear to him that his fight for Independence had no takers in the grand old party. Netaji thus travelled to Berlin in April 1941. “The prime idea which motivated Netaji was to explore all possible means for achieving the cherished goal of India’s independence. It seems that he had adopted the concept that the ‘enemy’s enemy is your friend’. He looked at Nazi Germany solely from that perspective,” wrote Sisir K Majumdar.
In a memorandum presented to the German government in April-May of that year, Netaji wanted recognition of ‘Free Indian government in Exile’ from the government. He wanted the Germans to sign a treaty stating that The Axis Powers would ensure Indian Independence after the victory in the war. Netaji also sought the constitution of the Indian Army comprising of 50,000 soldiers and handed over the responsibility of liberated India to him.
However, the German government was wary of Netaji and were reluctant to discuss military plans with him. “His movements were under constant surveillance, his telephone was tapped, his letters were opened and censored. He seemed to be locked in an iron cage, an unbearable condition for the Springing Tiger.” Netaji did not lose hope and wanted to meet Hitler to discuss plans to advance the cause of India’s Independence.
The encounter with the German dictator finally took place at the Reich Chancellery on May 29, 1942. The meeting was rather ‘unpleasant’ during which Hitler spewed his national chauvinism and claimed that it would take 100-200 years for India to put their house in order. Netaji asked Hitler to withdraw his anti-India comments from his autobiography, ‘Mein Kampf’ or else the enemies would use it for anti-german propaganda in India.
Hitler was unmoved. Sisir K Majumdar pointed out, “It was not a meeting of two national leaders, rather it was a frosty encounter between Hitler the demon-genius and Netaji, a nationalist giant. Netaji spoke very little to his colleagues in Berlin about his unpleasant meeting with Hitler, except that it was not possible to continue a logical dialogue with him. After this episode, Netaji seemed to awaken from his illusion about Hitler.”
Netaji then used his time in Germany and the financial grant of the Fuhrer to recruit the first unit of the Indian National Army (INA). It comprised Indian prisoners of war from North Africa. The legendary freedom fighter understood the significance of sovereignty and wanted to make the Indian legion self-sufficient to fight only against the British army and not for other countries including Germany. During the 2 year period he lived in Germany, Netaji’s focus remained on using the Indian Independence Movement and not carrying out Hitler’s nefarious designs.
“In March 1945, when (Father of modern Day Myanmar) Aung San and his AFPEL had started the anti-Japanese resistance struggle, the Japanese wrote to Subhas Chandra secretly that he with his INA should now suddenly attack Aung San and his forces. Subhas Chandra bluntly refused saying that he differed with Aung San but his INA would never take up arms against freedom fighters of another country. These evidences should be enough to show what really was the attitude of the various Axis Powers towards Subhas Chandra Bose and his heroic efforts to liberate India with the help of an Indian Liberation Army. They also showed the principled and courageous stand that Subhas Chandra Bose adopted vis a vis some of the policies of the Axis Powers and how that percolated into the ranks of his most dedicated followers who, as in the case of the ten brave officers of the Indian Legion, preferred death by a Nazi firing squad to dishonour,” wrote Gautam Chattopadhyay.
MK Gandhi was pen-pals with Adolf Hitler
Several well-known political figures of that era had contacted Adolf Hitler for reasons that were insignificant as compared to Bose’s objective of achieving Indian Independence through German aid. One such personality was the ‘Father of the Nation’ aka MK Gandhi. He wrote his first letter to Hitler on July 23, 1939. Gandhi informed Fuhrer that his friends had urged been urging him to write a letter to him for the sake of humanity but had resisted until then as Gandhi felt that any letter would be an ‘impertinence’.
In his book ‘Why I Killed The Mahatma’, Koenraad Elst pointed out that this circumspection on Gandhi’s part was not bourn out of abhorrence for Hitler, but modesty. The last line of his letter where he asked for forgiveness if he erred by writing to him was also considered modesty and scruples by Elst. He also said that while this approach of Gandhi was condemned by many, and several believed that it provided Hitler with a carte blanche option, had Gandhi’s method worked, it would have stopped the deportation and genocide of Jews.
MK Gandhi’s second letter to Hitler came on the eve of Christmas (December 24, 1940). At that time, Germany and Italy controlled most of Europe, the German-Soviet pact was still in place under Churchill and Great Britain was continuing its war against Germany for the invasion of Poland in 1939.
In this letter, Gandhi explained in detail his reasons for referring to Hitler as ‘my friend’ and signing both the letters off with ‘Your Sincere Friend’. Gandhi said that the fact that he addressed Hitler as a ‘dear friend’ was no formality because he owned no foes and that his business in 33 years had been to earn the friendship of entire humanity irrespective of caste, colour, creed, religion and race. Gandhi had gone on to call that approach the ‘doctrine of universal friendship’.
Gandhi vehemently reiterated that he had no doubts about Hitler’s bravery or his commitment to his motherland. He also shunned the popular public opinion that Hitler was a ‘monster’ as described by his opponents. However, Gandhi conceded that some of Hitler’sacts and writings were monstrous, especially, to someone like him who considers the principle of universal friendship a way of life.
Understanding the missing context
Despite being pen pals with the killer of millions of Jews, Mahatma Gandhi is hailed as the ‘Father of Nation’ in India. He prominently features in the Indian currency, irrespective of denomination, and his philosophy of ‘non-violence (Ahimsa)’ is revered across the globe. This is because Mahatma Gandhi is remembered in the context of his contribution to the Indian freedom movement.
He did not condone or endorse the actions of Hitler and thus remained immune from popular criticism. But, if someone was to apply the flawed rationale of Tunku Varadarajan, all currency notes and monuments of Gandhi would have to be defaced. When historical events are analysed without context for political vendetta, it indeed sullies one’s ability to use mental faculties to the fullest.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was vocal against the notion of Hitler’s racial superiority and abhorred the Nazi regime. But when it came to freeing his motherland from foreign occupation, he had to seek help from the then German government (which was a part of the Axis powers and fought the British). Netaji’s commitment to his nation’s Independence was supreme, and the brief association with Hitler should not be inferred as his support to the Jewish pogrom. Due to his immense contribution to the Indian freedom movement, Netaji deserves a mammoth granite statue at the India Gate.
References:
CHATTOPADHYAY, G. (1996). HOW THE AXIS POWERS VIEWED SUBHAS CHANDRA BOSE AND HIS ACTIVITIES (1941-45). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 57, 846–849. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44133418.
An intervention application has been filed in the Supreme Court by Hindu Sena to oppose a writ petition seeking criminal action against the participants of the 3-day Dharma Sansad conclave, which took place between December 17-19 last year.
As per reports, the application has been moved by Sena National President Vishnu Gupta in response to the writ petition by one journalist named Qurban Ali and advocate Anjana Prakash. He had sought directions from the apex Court to register cases against various politicians like AIMIM leader Assaduddin Owaisi, Waris Pathan, Sajid Rashidi, Amanatullah Khan and Tamper Raza.
Gupta highlighted that the writ petition was an attempt to scandalise Hindu spiritual leaders. He pointed out that the event of Dharma Sansad cannot be treated as an attack on other religions. The applicant argued that the contentious speeches made by the participants of the event were in response to the consistent attacks on Hindu culture and civilisation by non-Hindus and did not fall under the purview of ‘hate speech.’
He added that the remarks made during Dharma Sansad cannot be ascertained as ‘hate speech’ without a detailed enquiry by an investigating officer. The intervention application stated, “The Constitution of India provides equal protection to the followers of all faith and religion, in this context reference may be made to Article 19(1)(a) and (b) read with Article-25 of the constitution of India.”
Vishnu Gupta claimed that conducting of Dharma Sansad by Hindus was protected by Articles 19A, 19B and 25 of the Indian Constitution and objections to it amounted to the encroachment of Fundamental Rights of Hindus. It must be mentioned that a Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justices Hima Kohli, Surya Kant and Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had issued notice on January 12 in the writ petition filed by Ali and Prakash.
Police action in the Dharma Sansad case
It may be recalled that a day after speeches of leaders like Yati Narsinghanand and other Hindu leaders went viral, an FIR was filed in Uttarakhand over the speeches that called upon Hindus to collect arms. The speeches were deemed as provocative and social media was rife with Leftists and Islamists claiming that the speeches called for a Muslim genocide.
Ashok Kumar, DGP, said the police had received a complaint and filed an FIR under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) related to the statements made at the recent Dharma Sansad event in Haridwar.
An FIR was filed against Waseem Rizvi (now Jitendra Narayan Tyagi) and several others involved in the event on the basis of a complaint by one Gulbahar Khan. As per the complaint, Rizvi and some other individuals made derogatory remarks against Islamic prophet Mohammad and the followers of Islam. He was arrested for inciting violence on January 13 this year for Haridwar ‘Dharma Sansad’ hate speech case.
Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday cast aspersions on Virat Kohli giving up his captaincy earlier this month. In a conversation with news agency ANI, Akhtar claimed that Kohli did not relinquish his captaincy but was ‘forced to do so’.
#WATCH | Virat Kohli did not relinquish the captaincy himself. He was forced to do so… He is a great cricketer. I think he is going to come out of this: Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in Muscat, Oman pic.twitter.com/jbXU5My2bj
“Chhodi nahin, chhudwai gayi hai… aise hi hai na? (He hasn’t left, he was made to leave, isn’t it so?)” he said. In an interview with Aaj Tak, Akhtar claimed that there is a lobby against Kohli. Many pro-Congress ‘liberals’ have also cast similar aspersions on Kohli’s leaving captaincy.
Has Virat Kohli paid the price for speaking up against hate? Did he jump or was he pushed?
Virat is currently the ‘favourite’ of the ‘liberals’ in India for having spoken up against Diwali firecrackers and many had claimed that he is facing the ‘wrath’ for standing up for Mohammad Shami when he was trolled by Pakistanis after the T20 World Cup loss against Pakistan. It was very obvious that the Pakistanis had peddled the ‘Shami abused for being a Muslim’ narrative and ‘liberals’ amplified it. Along with Kohli, other cricketers had also extended solidarity with Shami. Except, everyone then just assumed that Kohli’s captaincy controversy in past few months is because of his ‘standing up for Shami’.
Akhtar is currently in Muscat, Oman, playing the Legends Cricket League where he is representing Asian Lions. In another media interaction after the first match, Akhtar expressed his desire to punch Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who was representing Indian Maharajas at the tournament.
On Thursday, Kaif kept walking out of the crease to Akhtar during the match which triggered Akhtar. He jokingly said that he’d like to punch Kaif. “Mohammad Kaif was walking towards me again. I just feel like punching him. Because I have told him many times in the past ‘do not walk at me’, But he did that again,” he had said.
The first sentence in the anti-Hindu riots of Delhi in February 2020 was pronounced on January 20, 2022. Dinesh Yadav, who lives in Bhagirathi Vihar of Gokulpuri police station area, has been found guilty by the Karkardooma Court. He has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and also fined Rs 12,000. Dinesh Yadav was convicted by Additional Sessions Judge Virendra Bhat on 6 December 2021. Dinesh Yadav was accused of setting ablaze the house of a 73-year-old Muslim woman and taking away her buffalo and calf.
Opindia team reached Dinesh Yadav’s house
OpIndia team reached Dinesh Yadav’s house to hear his side of the story from the family. The house is near the drain of the Gokulpuri area. Through the narrow lanes, we reached house number 22 in E block – the house of Dinesh Yadav. The landmark of the house is Dhruv Public School. It is a colony of lower-middle-class people. Most of the people here make their living through daily wages or small jobs. The walls of Dinesh Yadav’s house are not plastered. There was a blue coloured gate in front of the house.
Dinesh Yadav’s house.
Pictures of deities on the walls inside the house
Dinesh Yadav’s house is about 35 feet long and 15 feet wide. It has a total of 3 small rooms. There is a room on the terrace for his elder brother Harish Yadav. The walls inside Dinesh Yadav’s house have paintings of Hanuman, Krishna. The family members told that the paintings were made by Dinesh himself. The paint on the wall was seen fraying in many places.
pictures of deities on the walls of the house
There is no separate bathroom for bathing etc. Some plastic buckets were found under the stairs, which were kept filled with water for use.
Interior part of Dinesh Yadav’s house
‘My son is innocent’ says Dinesh Yadav’s mother
Talking to OpIndia, Dinesh’s mother said “My name is Budha. I am from Azamgarh district of UP. I have 2 sons. Both are labourers. There was no case against my sons before this. I have been living in this house in Delhi for 33 years. My kids haven’t gone anywhere. His name is falsely put in the case. The accuser is a widowed Muslim woman and she herself is the witness. Then the police were called and my son was arrested. Police took him away only after abusing and beating him. Posters of auction were pasted on our house.”
Her husband died soon after the son was arrested
Dinesh’s mother further said, “After the arrest of my son, my husband died within a few days. His body had stopped working. Household expenses are left only for the Gods to take care of. My elder son is looking after the court case. As there is no one in the house, I have called my married daughter from her in-laws’ house here. We have no support from anyone. From arrest to punishment, no one came to our door. 4 people are trapped with my son. We don’t know what happened to the rest. Allegations of taking away the buffalo etc are just for the sake of entrapping them.”
The woman who made the allegation already had a fight with the people of her community
Dinesh’s mother said, “The Muslim woman who made the allegation was already having a fight with the Muslim people. Those people had already taken the buffalo away. All of them have accused the Hindus, just to save themselves. News spread in our area that Muslim people are coming here to kill. Then all the people of this colony had gathered. Everyone went there to stop those Muslims so that they should not come here. Nobody even came. My son also went to see the same. My son was told that this is a fight for the community. The people of the colony called it a fight for the community. Some of them ran away and some others stood back. The names of those who stood back were taken into the case. 22 people from my colony were named in this case.”
Policemen were asking for bribe
Budha Devi further added, “We did not take help from any relative. This fight was for the society. The people of this society are not getting up. What can you do now? The behavior of the policemen was very bad. They have done all this by taking bribe from others. 4-5 lakh rupees were being demanded from our family. From where do we poor people give so much money? We could not give money.”
‘As my husband has passed away, I don’t know what to do next’
According to Dinesh’s mother, “Ever since my son has been arrested, I haven’t seen him. When his brother visits him in jail, Dinesh tells him, don’t bring mother here in jail to meet me. Her health is already unwell. 2 to 4 years before death, my husband had stopped working. Relying on our sons, he sat at home. Like our sons, he also used to work as a laborer and he raised our family.”
OpIndia reporter Rahul Pandey talks to Dinesh Yadav’s mother
Dinesh Yadav’s sister Urmila spoke to OpIndia
DinDinesh Yadav’s brother Urmila told us “This was the fight of society. In this fight, he went only to see. Now we are left with only my mother, brother, and me being the daughter in the house. I also have a child. Dinesh had studied till class 8. He used to work as a labourer.”
‘My father was tortured and asked for bribe’
Dinesh’s sister further told “My brother was caught on 3rd June. My father died on 28 June. My father was made to sit in the police station for 4 hours. He was tortured. They kept asking him for money. There were threats to auction my house. We got bullied. The police used to enter and search in my house. There were no women police during the raid. After the riots, my brother’s name was inserted in the case. My brother’s name was not there when the riots happened. The video was made on the third day of the fight. The video was morphed. Dinesh used to do the painting of my house. My mother is suffering from diabetes and blood pressure.”
OpIndia reporter Rahul Pandey talks to Dinesh Yadav’s sister Urmila
Dinesh Yadav’s brother Harish Yadav talks to OpIndia
Harish Yadav said “Dinesh is my younger brother. I work and run the house. I get salary of Rs. 12 thousand. I am married whereas Dinesh was not married yet. The condition of the house is not good. Because of this I am not able to get the walls plastered. Brother is in jail for 2 years.”
Police torture responsible for father’s death
Harish’s father’s name was Jagannath Yadav. Harish said, “My father was continuously tortured in the police station. He was made to sit in the police station for hours and the police demanded money. He was called to the police station 4-5 days a week. We poor people could not raise that much money. The weight of my brother’s charge sheet was increased from 14 to 28 kg. The weight of government papers was so much that carrying them caused me shoulder pain. The woman on whose statement my brother was held guilty, she herself does not consider my brother guilty. However, she did not give it in writing. There was no harm to her. There are 4-5 Muslim families near the drain. It was them who created all this ruckus.”
‘Tahir Hussain is most guilty but he is not punished’
Harish said, “The media used to say that there was a slingshot at Tahir Hussain’s house. But he had money. He is not punished. Charges are framed on my innocent brother whereas he was nowhere involved in the riots. When riots were going on, where were the police? All these are concocted stories of policemen. Did these boys commit so many crimes in 2 days that 20-25 cases were imposed on them? Before this incident, these boys had never been to the police station. Police made them so big of a criminal.”
‘My brother is in Mandawali jail, he says look after the family instead of worrying for me.’
Harish added, “My brother is in jail number 11 of Mandawali. A gang of 4 nearby boys was formed with him. The condition of everyone’s family is not good. All of them are from hard working families, just like us. When my father passed away, I had hired a lawyer. At the same time, my brother used to say in the court that you take care of the family instead of worrying about me. My brother has got a public prosecutor from the court. At present my case is being handled by Shikha Garg. She is doing it for free.”
‘A week ago, the judge had called the brother innocent in the court.’
Harish said, “A week ago, the same judge had said in the court that these boys cannot be punished at the behest of the police. A week ago I read in the newspaper that these boys are innocent. I do not know what happened within a week that my brother was punished. Now all the policemen have become the only ones to do it. Who is going to listen to us?”
‘Will go even in High Court and Supreme Court.’
Harish said, “As far as there is breath, there is hope. He is our brother. We can’t leave him on his fate. Now we will go to the High Court. From there, if necessary, we will also go to the Supreme Court. Our father raised us by working as a laborer. He was killed by the riots and the exploits of the police. Now we were also working as laborers. My brother is made to live a dead life. No leader has visited our house in these 2 years.”
Muslims are united, Hindus are not
Harish added, “If anything happens to a Muslim, everyone gets united for him. But Hindus lack unity. That is why Muslims are dominating us. Because of this our younger brother is in jail today. Not only do I consider my brother innocent, but he is really innocent. My brother is not involved in any riots. Policemen kept coming to our house during the lock down. Our brother was playing in the street. They caught him and took him away. Don’t know what did they show to him and said that this man is none other than you.”
The condition of the accusers is many folds better than us
Harish added “The name of the woman who has accused my brother is Manori. The condition of her house is many times better than ours. The talk of buffalo theft etc. is false. We do not know who did what after that incident. The arrests in the February case took place in June. There were names of many people in it, but many of the names disappeared from the case later. So many cases were imposed on these boys. 22 cases were registered against my brother. Can 23-24 year old boys do 22 cases in 2 days? They were accused of the riots from Shiv Vihar to Mustafabad. Father was going to fight the legal battle of brother after the lock down. Then the policemen asked to wait for 3 months for the chargesheet. My father was mentally disturbed and died on 28 June.”
OpIndia reporter Rahul Pandey in conversation with Dinesh Yadav’s brother Harish Yadav
Neighbors refused to say anything on camera
OpIndia tried to gather information from the neighbors in this whole matter. People in the locality know Dinesh as Michael. The distance between Dinesh Yadav’s house from the main road is about 250 meters. Meanwhile, an attempt was made to get information from some shopkeepers and other residents in this matter. All of them refused to speak anything about this matter in front of the camera.
The road to Dinesh alias Michael’s house (Bhagirathi Vihar), the drain and the school next to the house
This is the actual ground report from the house and family of Dinesh Yadav who was convicted and sentenced the first punishment in the anti-Hindu riots that took place in February 2020 in Delhi.
Ahead of the assembly polls, UP police have busted yet another illegal weapon-making unit in Muzaffarnagar. A cache of illegal weapons has been recovered by police in a surprise raid in Kotwali in Muzaffarnagar district on Friday 21st January 2022. The arms were to be supplied to three states during the upcoming assembly elections. Police have arrested three accused from the spot, while some other members of the gang managed to flee from the spot.
The police also recovered more than 131 completed and semi-finished weapons. Along with this, equipment for making weapons has also been recovered.
Since the imposition of the code of conduct, the Muzaffarnagar police have busted 10 illegal arms manufacturing factories and recovered about 154 illegal weapons in about a month. Out of these, 131 illegal weapons have been recovered by the police from the same factory on Friday. These weapons include guns, rifles, pistols, muskets, quarters, revolvers, and a large number of cartridges.
On Friday, on the information of an informer, the Nagar Kotwali police raided the factory of making illegal weapons. The factory was set up in a garden located in Badkali village of Muzaffarnagar. During the raid, the police arrested three accused named Rajesh Kumar, Sarfaraz, and Shahid, who were making weapons at the spot. The police recovered more than 131 finished and semi-finished weapons as well as a large quantity of weapon-making equipment from the site. Police said that there are more than half a dozen charges against the accused in serious sections like murder, gangster, etc.
Senior superintendent of police Abhishek Yadav said, “Due to upcoming elections in various states including Uttar Pradesh, they were preparing country-made weapons to sell them. A special team, to arrest all rest of the members of this gang, has been formed and police are also tracking their contracts as well”.
Several illegal weapons-making units have been busted by police in recent weeks in various regions in the state including Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Shamli, etc. Demand for illegal weapons skyrocket during elections, and therefore such ‘handicraft’ units come up to cater to such demand.
Earlier this month, an illegal arms manufacturing unit was busted in Muzaffarnagar. That unit used to operate from a dilapidated building near a canal bridge under Shahpur police station of Muzaffarnagar district. In this case, police had arrested a person identified as Noor Mohammad. During interrogation, he had revealed that the illegal arms were being manufactured to be used in the approaching assembly elections in the state. In another similar raid, Muzaffarnagar police had seized a cache of weapons and ammunition from the factory in Tandera village under Kakroli police station. It is notable that Muzaffarnagar is undergoing polls in the first phase of the assembly elections.
Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns about atrocities on Muslims anywhere in the world especially so-called Muslim bashing in India, but Pakistan itself is actively involved in the repression of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China. Pakistan never leaves any chance to denounce other nations for the so-called atrocities on Muslims in those nations but here the country itself has joined China in the exploitation of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
By remaining silent on the violations of the human rights of Uyghur Muslims, Pakistan has so far assisted China obviously because of the large investments China has done in Pakistan for building the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. A Canada-based think tank International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) has reported that China’s economic rise and presence in Pakistan has given Beijing an unprecedented scope to take off ‘Transnational Repression’ which also includes violation of human rights and persecution of Uyghur minorities in the Xinjiang area. Pakistan is now included in the black list of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region(XAR). China has included Pakistan in the list along with 25 other countries.
What does this blacklisting mean?
According to the think tank, anyone who is from or has visited or has family ties or communications in these blacklisted countries will not be trusted and will remain under the radar of XAR authorities. It must be noted that there has been trans-border commerce between Pakistan and Xinjiang region via the Karakoram highway and Pakistani nationals and Uyghurs have forged marriages. So deporting of Uyghur spouses of Pakistani nationals has become a routine practice. Further, any Uyghur who happens to visit Pakistan and come back, or is even suspected to be a terrorist will be neutralized. Such incidences have happened in the last few years.
One such incident happened with Sikandar Hayat and Ghulam Durrani whose wives were Uyghurs. They had to separate from their wives who were detained in XAR by the Chinese authorities while they were visiting there. Hayat’s son too went to XAR to support his mother but couldn’t meet his father for two years. Durrani’s wife has not returned from detention since 2017.
Pakistan has been insensitively involved in the repression of Uyghurs by China. So much so that in another heinous incident, the Pakistani forces deported 14 Uyghur Islamic students whom China suspected of being terrorists. When handed over to the Chinese authorities at the border, Chinese authorities mercilessly killed those students.
Pakistan is following this practice for many years. The frequency has increased in the recent past. Earlier when there was unrest in Urumchi, many Uyghurs tried to China via Pakistan to Turkey. Pakistan caught them midway and deported them. They were approximately 60 Uyghurs. This incident took place in 2014.
Even before that in 2010, five innocent Uyghurs were deported to China from Balochistan. However, these Uyghurs had no connection with any terror groups.
In an update to the Gorakhpur’s minor girl’s rape case, where the father, a former BSF Jawan Bhagwat Nishad had shot dead the accused Dilshad Hussain in the Court, certain reports have emerged revealing that Dilshad Hussain was torturing Nishad and his family after he was released on bail in the case last year.
According to the reports, Dilshad Hussain was constantly harassing the minor girl and her father Bhagwat Nishad by showing provocative photographs of the girl. The entire family, unable to handle the torture by Hussain had decided to commit suicide but later dropped the plan. Instead, Bhagwat Nishad decided to wipe out Hussain instead.
This is after the minor girl, seeing the photographs of her wedding with Dilshad, avowed to stay with him forever. The girl was then sent to Naari Niketan by the family who say they were ashamed to even step out of the house.
Last year, Hussain had abducted the minor girl and a case of kidnapping and rape was registered against him under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on February 17, 2020.
About a month after the abduction on March 12, the cops had nabbed the accused from Hyderabad in Telangana. Hussain was jailed for some time but released on bail a couple of months ago. Reports mention that Former BSF Jawan Bhagwat Nishad had planned to gun down Hussain during the previous Court hearing but could not as Hussain was accompanied by a lot of his close friends.
On January 21, at about 1:15 pm on Friday, Hussain in the Court had asked his lawyer Shankar Sharan Shukla to meet him at the gate. Before Hussain could meet his lawyer, Bhagwat Nishad took out his licensed pistol and shot Hussain on the head. The rape accused died on the spot. The former BSF jawan was immediately apprehended by two security guards and the manager of the car parking lot.
According to Dainik Bhasker, the action by Bhagwat Nishad is being supported by many people who have raised several questions on the legal administration and criticized the judicial system.
On January 20, Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress vice-president Noori Khan was spotted losing her grip and falling in water while performing ‘Jal Satyagrah’ in the middle of four feet of water in the Kshipra river. A major accident was averted after her supporters and the NDRF officials quickly jumped into the river and rescued her. She was later rushed to the Civil hospital. The video of the incident has gone viral on various social media platforms.
The Congress leader herself shared the video of the same incident several times through her Twitter handle. One of her Tweets were captioned in Hindi followed by a folding hands emoji. It read: “BJP alleges I stood in water for 3 hours for acting and this is politics, let’s assume I stood for acting but at least you stand up for Kshipra….”
According to reports, the Congress leader from Ujjain launched a demonstration at 10 am on Thursday for the cleansing of the Kshipra river and alleged corruption in Kshipra river purification programmes. Noori Khan landed herself in four feet of water in the Kshipra river to conduct the ‘Jal Satyagrah’ (water protest). She protested in the water for almost two and a half hours, alleging a Rs 650 crore scam in the state’s river purification schemes.
Image credit: The Free Press Journal
SDM Jagdish Mehra and CSP Pallavi Shukla arrived at the scene after receiving information about Noori Khan’s ‘Jal Satyagraha’. They urged Noori to come out of the water, but she refused. Kamal Kuwal, the water resources department’s executive engineer, also rushed to meet the enraged Noori Khan but in vain.
Amidst all this, Noori suddenly lost her balance and fell into the deep water and began drowning. The party workers present on the spot, along with NDRF officials, jumped into the water and rescued her. She was rushed to the district hospital. Her health condition is said to be stable now.
Image credit: The Free Press Journal
Speaking about the incident, EE Kunwal said that he had tried to explain and give details regarding the purification of the Kshipra river to the Congress leader but she was not satisfied.
Surprisingly, after the accident, the Congress leader went on to blame the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh for her falling. She blamed the administration for failing to provide enough security for her ‘Jal Satyagraha.’ After being released from the hospital, Noori Khan told the media that the administration had mishandled security arrangements at the Satyagrah site. She said that after she was rescued neither an ambulance was available at the spot nor a stretcher was available at the hospital.
Congress leader Noori Khan and her theatrics
Noori Khan is the National Coordinator for Mahila Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress leader had recently hogged the limelight for her Shiv Tandav video. In the video that went viral on social media in December last year, the Noori Khan was seen dancing on the Shiv Tandav Stotram.
What made the video more interesting was its timing. Her performance had interestingly come two hours after she had resigned from all posts of the Congress alleging that the party has been neglecting minorities.
Taking to Twitter, she even shared her resignation letter and levelled a number of allegations against her party. She had alleged that Congress was neglecting as well as adopting a sympathetic attitude towards the minorities. Khan, further accusing the Congress of having an anti-Muslim mindset, had rued that she was being a victim of discrimination. She had gone on to say that Congress considers Muslims undeserving of a seat in the party. She had also added that after working hard and diligently for several years, she was not given responsible positions in the party due to her background.
However, before one could realise it, Noori Khan took back her resignation from Congress state president Kamal Nath.
प्रदेश अध्यक्ष श्री @OfficeOfKNath जी से चर्चा कर मैंने अपनी सारी बात पार्टी के समक्ष रखी है 22 साल में पहली बार मैंने इस्तीफ़े की पेशकश की कही ना कही मेरे अंदर एक पीड़ा थी लेकिन कमलनाथ जी के नेतृत्व में विश्वास रख अपना इस्तीफ़ा वापस ले रही हूँ !@RahulGandhi@MukulWasnikpic.twitter.com/9ApkWs4bN2
Taking to Twitter, Khan had Tweeted in Hindi which translated to: “After discussing my issues with the state president Kamal Nath Ji, I have put my whole point in front of the party. For the first time in 22 years, I have placed my resignation because there was a pain inside me. However, keeping my trust in Kamal Nath Ji, I am now taking back my resignation.
Interestingly, in April 2021, when India was grappling with the second wave of the pandemic and the central as well as state governments were trying their best to tackle the acute oxygen crisis, Noori Khan was seen staging a protest at an oxygen cylinder filling plant in Ujjain. She was arrested on accusation of delaying oxygen supply to other districts and violating Covid laws that barred gatherings of any kind. She was later released on bail. Speaking about the incident CSP Vandana Chouhan had then said: “Noori Khan was spreading misinformation and preventing government employees from doing their duty at the oxygen plant.” She added that her protest delayed oxygen supply.
