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Rakesh Tikait becomes professional aandolanjeevi, calls for a nationwide movement against privatisation of banks

OpIndia Staff
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Rakesh Tikait becomes professional aandolanjeevi, calls for a nationwide movement against privatisation of banks

After the Modi government took back the farm bills, the farmer organisations that were protesting against the bills are now looking for other excuses to keep their protests running. As a part of the same, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has called for a nationwide movement against the privatisation of nationalised banks. He asked the citizens to see the result on December 6 when the bill is scheduled to be tabled in the parliament to privatise public sector banks. In a tweet yesterday, he said when the protests against the farm laws began, he had announced that the next would be banks. He claimed ‘there is a need of a common movement against the privatisation across the country’.

The farmer organisations had already said that they will not withdraw the protests even after the three laws were withdrawn. They had said they will continue the protests and the highway blockades over demands like a law on MSP etc.

Farmer Union announced a five-member committee over MSP

Samyukt Kisan Morcha has named five members for a committee to discuss issues like MSP, the Electricity Amendment Bill, and the Lakhimpur Kheri case etc. with the government. The members are Dhawale, Gurnam Singh Chaduni, Shiv Kumar Kaka, Yudhvir Singh, and Balbir Singh Rawal.

Compensation for alleged deceased farmers

Tikait, in a statement to ANI, said that the discussion about MSP has just started and it would take time to reach a conclusion. “We won’t develop any strategies today, we will only discuss how the agitation should move forward.” He further added the talks between farmer leaders and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar were inconclusive. “Like Punjab, we need state-wise compensation for deaths of farmers and employment,” Tikait said.

The baseless urge to continue protests

Even though the three Agriculture Laws have already been repealed by the government, the farmer unions led by leaders like Rakesh Tikait are not ready to take back the protests. At one point, Tikait had announced that the protests would continue till Lok Sabha elections 2024, and it seems he is looking for one reason after another to keep the protests alive. The protests that got hijacked by the Khalistanis and anti-India elements from the very beginning, have caused losses of over 60,000 crores and have been linked to murders, rapes and riots.

Former BJP MP writes tribute for Vinod Dua, says Dua was not fearless but a part of the establishment

OpIndia Staff
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Former BJP MP writes tribute for Vinod Dua, says Dua was not fearless but a part of the establishment

Former BJP MP Balbir Punj has written a tribute letter to veteran journalist late Vinod Dua remembering Dua as a man full of life and a karam yogi. In his tribute letter, Balbir Punj also stated that Dua’s journalism during the last years of his life was heavily influenced by an ideology which was not directed towards the pursuit of truth and that Vinod Dua’s biased views took control of his journalism.

In his tribute letter titled ‘REMEMBERING VINOD DUA’, Balbir Punj has said that over the years Vinod Dua chose to ignore facts or twisted them to fit his narrative.

Punj said, “We lost a well known media personality VINOD DUA yesterday. I had known him for over three decades and his untimely demise has left me sad. He was full of life and a karam yogi. However, his ‘journalism’ was obviously shaped by the ideology he believed in. In last years of his life, he sounded more like an urban naxal, not as a journalist in pursuit of truth. over the years, VINOD’S heavily biased views overshadowed his journalism. He ignored inconvenient facts, or twisted them to suit his narrative. No wonder, in such a scenario, truth was the first casualty. But he couldn’t care less.”

Balbir Punj has also questioned if Vinod Dua could be called a journalist in the true sense or a political campaigner who peddled the anti- Modi narrative. He noted, “Can we call him a journalist ? I am afraid not. He was essentially a political campaigner, wedded to his world view. For him MODI & RSS couldn’t do anything right, and communists/Jehadies/Evangelists nothing wrong”

According to Balbir Punj, Vinod Dua was not ‘fearless’ as considered by many but a part of the ‘Left’ establishment who consider ‘Commies’ responsible for the creation of Islamic Pakistan as super ‘secular’.

He said, “For many VINOD was ‘fearless’. He wasn’t. He was a part of the establishment. In the post independence India, the ‘Left’ is the establishment… Here us an illustration. Commies, along with British and Jehadies, were responsible fir the creation of an Islamic Pakistan. For this ‘Establishment,Commies are not only super ‘secular’, they are the ones ‘authorised, to issue certificates of being Secular/Communal to individuals and organisations”

Yesterday, Mallika Dua, daughter of Vinod Dua had informed about the death of his father in an Instagram story referring to Dua as irreverent, fearless and extraordinary father.

Punj further noted that Vinod Dua was a ‘beneficiary’ of the Left establishment for a long time, “VINOD was a part and beneficiary of this establishment for long. He usually toed the establishment line- may be out of conviction or some other considerations – I am not sure”

However, Balbir Punj has stated that Vinod Dua was a “good, vibrant and entertaining company” and had the capacity to laugh at himself.

Congress leader Manish Tewari snubs Sidhu for asking to resume trade with Pakistan, says it’s useless and futile until Pakistan stops anti-India activities

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Manish Tewari snubs Sidhu for asking to resume trade with Pakistan, says it’s useless and futile until Pakistan stops anti-India activities

Senior Congress leader and MP from Gurdaspur Manish Tewari has snubbed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu for his suggestions to open the India-Pakistan border in Punjab to increase trade and friendship between India and Pakistan. Tewari said that it was futile to hold any trade talks with Pakistan when Pakistan is involved in anti-India activities like cross border terrorism.

Manish Tewari on Sunday said that it is “useless and futile” to hold any trade-related talks with Pakistan until the country stops its anti-India activities. Speaking to ANI, the Lok Sabha MP said, “Until Pakistan stops sending terrorists to India and dropping drugs and weapons in our areas via drones, it is useless and futile to hold any trade-related talks with Pakistan.”

Tewari’s comment came a day after Sidhu had advocated for opening the Attari border for cross-border trade relations. Sidhu said this while speaking to the media in Amritsar on December 4. The most dangerous aspect of the pro-Pakistani rant of Sidhu was that he had referred to Pakistani infiltrators (smugglers, criminals, terrorists, spies etc) as naughty elements who will keep coming to India through the porous borders. Hence, “why not open it, so that trade becomes possible and prosperity comes,” he said.

Battling for the India Pakistan friendship and trade, he said that Punjab has suffered huge loss due to stalled trade between India and Pakistan.

“If the Karachi border is open, why can’t they open Attari border for business? If the central government opens this, then it will boost the economy of Punjab,” Sidhu said.  

He pointed out how former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had started Aman Eman Bus Sewa from India to Pakistan to increase friendship.

Sidhu under the pretext of outlining his economic visions for Punjab paddled the agenda of Pakistan even to the extent of ignoring infiltration and Pakistan’s increased subversive activities in Punjab in the recent months.

Sidhu, who had referred Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan bada bhai (elder brother) and hugged Pakistani Army General Qamar Bajwa, keeps speaking for the other side of the border.

While the Congress high command is silent over Sidhu’s pro-Pakistani tune, party leader Manish Tewari has slammed him, which he had done earlier also.

When Sidhu had praised Imran Khan as elder brother, Tewari had termed Imran Khan as a cat’s paw of Pak deep State ISI-Military combine. Imran Khan “maybe anybody’s elder brother but for India he is that cat’s paw of Pak Deep State ISI-Military combine that drones arms & narcotics into Punjab & sends terrorists on a daily basis across LOC in J&K. Have we forgotten martyrdom of our soldiers in Poonch so soon?”, Tewari had said.

Pakistan: 900 workers of garment factory booked over the mob lynching of Sri Lankan manager in Sialkot, 235 arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 900 workers of garment factory booked over the mob lynching of Sri Lankan manager in Sialkot, 235 arrested

Sialkot police have registered FIR against 900 workers of a garment factory and arrested 235 people in the aftermath of the mob lynching of a manager of the factory according to a Dawn report. A Sri Lankan man Priyantha Kumara was tortured publicly and burnt to death by an Islamist mob on Wazirabad Road in Sialkot, accusing him of blasphemy.

According to reports, 900 workers of the Rajco Industries have been booked under sections 302, 297, 201, 427, 431, 157, 149 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 7 and 11WW of the Anti-Terrorism Act, after a complaint was filed by Uggoki Station House Officer (SHO) Armaghan Maqt. The officer admitted that the mob had brutalized and tortured the Sri Lankan man before setting him on fire. Arman Maqt said that Priyantha Kumar was beaten to death by the mob on the Wazirabad Road before his body was set on fire. The SHO Maqt said that the police lacked staff and was ‘helpless’ in front of the mob of hundreds of fanatics.

Among the arrested 235 people, some had assaulted the victim and some were witnesses to the incident and had recorded videos. The arrested also include the two main accused Mohammad Talha and Farhan Idrees, who have been moved to an undisclosed location.

The Sialkot police are looking for the remaining accused among the booked 900 workers accused of being involved in the brutal murder of Priyantha Kumara. Raids have been conducted in the nearby villages including Sambrial, Daska and Pasrur tehsils. Rajco Industries remained closed on Saturday, and its workers are on the run to evade arrest.

The post mortem report said that most of the body of Priyantha Kumara was burnt, and several bones were broken due to the torture by the mob. The body was shifted to a Lahore hospital amid tight security, and it would be sent to Colombo after fulfilling formalities.

Wife of Priyantha Kumara begs for justice :

Wife of the murdered Sri Lankan man Priyantha Kumara has begged justice from the Pakistani and Sri Lankan leaders for the brutal killing of her husband by the Sialkot mob. Niroshi Dasaniyake told BBC Sinhala, “My husband was an innocent man. I found out from the news that after working abroad for so long he had been brutally murdered. I saw on the internet how inhuman the killing was. I appeal to the Sri Lankan president and the Pakistani prime minister and president to conduct a fair investigation so my husband and our two children get justice,”

Meanwhile, Colombo’s High Commissioner in Pakistan Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama stated that the remains of Mr Kumara would be delivered from Lahore to Colombo on a special flight on Monday.

Pakistan Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Imran Khan promise justice for the Sialkot killing :

Threatened by the fact that the Sialkot Killing might aggravate the foreign relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi tweeted, “The lynching of a Sri Lankan citizen will not affect Pakistan-Sri Lanka bilateral relations as it was a work of a group of people and the nation or the country cannot be blamed for it,” adding, “Spoke to my brother FM Gamini Lakshman Peiris of #SriLanka and expressed my deep grief and condolences.”

Pakistani PM Imran Khan has expressed anger & shame over the Sialkot killing in a tweet where he said, “Spoke to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today in UAE to convey our nation’s anger & shame to people of Sri Lanka at vigilante killing of Priyantha Diyawadana in Sialkot. I informed him 100+ ppl arrested & assured him they would be prosecuted with full severity of the law.”

Maulana Fazlur Rehman justify the Sialkot killing on Pak Govt inaction towards blasphemy

Maulana Fazlur Rehman while condemning the incident have warned that such incidents of mob justice would continue to happen if the Pakistan government did not take action against those suspected of blasphemy. Maulana said, “In the past, such reactions have come when those accused of blasphemy have been sent abroad under government supervision,”

Mufti Muneebur Rehman, Former chairman of the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee has tried to downplay the incident and asked the media to refrain from blaming any group or individual before a complete police investigation has been conducted.

Over 50% India’s eligible population fully vaccinated, one more milestone achieved

OpIndia Staff
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Over 50% India’s eligible population fully vaccinated, one more milestone achieved

Centre’s ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ (door-to-door) vaccination campaign registered yet another milestone on December 4 as over one Crore dose of Covid-19 vaccine was inoculated on a single day taking the figure of fully vaccinated eligible population to 50 percent.

According to the provisional report uploaded on the CoWin portal, by the afternoon of December 5, the total vaccination doses administered now stands at 1,27,70,92,798. Out of this 80,08,52,255 people got their first dose whereas 47,62,40,543 people got both doses.

“Congratulations India,” hailed Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya. He termed it a moment of great pride as “over 50% of the eligible population are now fully vaccinated. We will win the battle against COVID-19 together,” he said.

In another tweet he said that world’s largest vaccination drive ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has achieved another 10,000,000 COVID-19 vaccinations.

According to the CoWIN portal, India inoculated 1,03,93,692 Covid-19 vaccine doses on December 4. India had first achieved this momentous feat of inoculating one Crore doses on August 27 and repeated it five times till now. During the period of August 21 and August 27 India had achieved highest ever weekly vaccination figure of 4,72,04,008 doses.

On September 17, coinciding with the birthday of Prime Minister India made a record of inoculating over 2.5 crore Covid-19 vaccine shots.

‘Har Ghar Dastak’ proved booster for vaccination drive

‘Har Ghar Dastak’ was launched on November 3 and it aims to ensure vaccination of all eligible beneficiaries through house-to-house visits.

During a press conference the joint secretary of union health ministry Lav Agarwal had revealed that due to the ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign, vaccination rates in the country increased. He said that the rate of first dose of vaccination rose by 5.9 percent while the rate of the second dose increased by 11 percent.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed the maximum (8.7 percent) progress in the first dose coverage as the result of this programme. Similarly, Himachal Pradesh witnessed also recorded a major jump of 28.7 percent in the second dose.

Modi government on mission Mode to vaccinate entire population

The central government had ramped up the vaccination drive when India detected its fourth case of Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Maharashtra. Earlier a man from Gujarat’s Jamnagar tested positive for the variant who had returned India from Zimbabwe. In Karnataka also two persons were tested positive for this new variant.

In the wake of new variant of Covid-19, scientists have advised Union health Ministry to ensure double vaccination so that people get base layer of protection.

Munawar Faruqui, Varun Grover, slated to perform comedy gigs in Gurugram, go missing from promotional posters

OpIndia Staff
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Munawar Faruqui, Varun Grover, slated to perform comedy gigs in Gurugram, go missing from promotional posters

On December 5, Gurgaon Comedy Festival that is happening between December 17 and 19 at Airia Mall, Gurugram, dropped controversial figures and alleged comedians Munawar Faruqui and Varun Grover from their posters. Nishant Suri has replaced them for the third-day line-up. Earlier, there were three comedians lined up for each day, but as of now, the last day has only two comedians lined up.

Airia Mall posted new poster of the comedy festival without two controversial figures and alleged comedians. Source: Airia Mall/Instagram)

It is unclear whether they were dropped from the festival or they dropped out themselves, but in the past, because of earlier derogatory statements made by Faruqui during shows, his multiple appearances were cancelled across the country. Notably, Faruqui has announced possible “retirement” from comedy twice. However, both times he crawled back into the comedy scene after gaining traction and support from the left-leaning crowd. 

In the recently changed poster of the Comedy Festival, the last day’s slots have been changed. The organizers have added Nishant Suri as one of the performers, while Faruqui and Grover are missing from the poster. The other performer Atul Khatri remains for the third day. The side-by-side difference can be seen in the image below.

Airia Mall’s Gurgaon Comedy Festival dropped Munawar Faruqui and Varun Grover. In the left-side poster, both comedians were included. In the right-side poster, Nishant Suri has replaced them. Source: Shubhendu/Twitter

Why were Munawar Faruqui’s shows stopped?

Munawar Faruqui, who hails from Gujarat, is an alleged comedian and a controversial figure. He was accused of making derogatory remarks against Bhagwan Ram and Mata Sita. Moreover, he also mocked the 59 innocent pilgrims who were burnt alive in 2002 in Godhra when they were returning after performing Kar Sewa at Ayodhya.

In January this year, Faruqui was arrested and stayed in jail for around a month, along with another comedian for making derogatory statements during his shows. After the incident, when he was released, he made a statement that he might leave comedy, but it turned out to be a PR stunt. Later, he started his India tour by the name Dongri to Nowhere that was cancelled after complaints against him filed by VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu outfits stating his show might result in law and order problems.

Subsequently, after around 12 shows got cancelled, Faruqui cancelled his tour and published on his social media handles that he would be leaving comedy amidst repeated cancellation of the shows. He got support from the left-leaning crowd and intellectuals, including celebrities and media personalities. While forgetting how hurtful and derogatory his acts were for the Hindu community, they blamed Hindu outfits for “curbing a comedian”. Interestingly, after announcing once that he would not do comedy anymore, Faruqui was lined up to perform at Airia Mall on December 17.

Varun Grover was accused in #metoo

Notably, the other comedian, Varun Grover, who was dropped from the festival, was accused of sexually harassing a woman earlier. In 2018, during the #metoo movement, an anonymous girl claiming to be his college junior at BHU had alleged that Grover had sexually harassed her on the pretext of auditioning for a play.

Another controversial figure, known for making derogatory comments, Atul Khatri, is still on the list of comedians performing at the show.

Telangana: Court orders Rapido, YouTube to take down Allu Arjun ad film for defaming TSRTC by showing their crowded buses

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: Court orders Rapido, YouTube to take down Allu Arjun ad film for defaming TSRTC by showing their crowded buses

A civil court in Nampally in Telangana has ordered bike taxi operator Rapido and YouTube to take down an ad film for allegedly defaming Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC). The court has ordered that Rapido and its successors, directors, employees, servants, agents, and representatives cannot telecast, broadcast, stream, reproduce, distribute, or make available to the public the original or modified versions of the ad film on their websites or through the internet in any manner.

The court also ordered Google-owned YouTube to remove the original and modified versions of the advertisement video from the service. City Civil Court of Nampally ruled that the ad featuring Telugu actor Allu Arjun is defamatory to the bus services run by state-owned TSRTC.

In the ad that offended TSRTC, Allu Arjun is seen in the role of a roadside food vendor selling dosas, where he tells a customer that people travelling in TSRTC buses are squashed like the filings of a masala dosa by the time they get off from the bus. He was referring to the crowded buses and the visuals showed such TSRTC buses with people hanging from the door. He also said that on the other hand, people riding Rapido bike taxis remain fresh like a dosa just off the pan.

This has angered the TSRTC officials, and they had sent a legal notice to Rapido to take down the ad. Corporation’s MD VC Sajjanar had tweeted last month saying that degrading public transport will not be tolerated by TSRTC management. He had also slammed Allu Arjun for doing the ad, saying eminent personalities should promote ads which improve public transport.

“I have received several complaints from our patrons about the ad’s objectionable content. While businesses can project their services as good, demeaning others, especially a government organization in the service of the public for decades, is highly offensive,” Sajjanar had told media. Talking about Allu Arjun, he had said, “Such big stars have the power to influence public opinion. They should not say something, portray anything for the sake of money.”

While the ad was shot in Andhra Pradesh, Sajjanar informed that the vehicle was hired for a day for the shooting in September. “To use our RTC bus to denigrate our service is even more appalling,” he had said.

After the legal notice was, YouTube had slightly edited the ad video, removing some visuals of the TSRTC bus. But the dialogue remained same, and a glimpse of the crowded bus was still there.

Since the company refused to stop airing the ad, TSRTC had approached the Court for getting it removed. Appearing for TSRTC, Senior Counsel K. Vivek Reddy argued that while Rapido was surely entitled to promote its services, it cannot do so by making defamatory statements about TSRTC & public transport. He also said that TSRTC is a responsible state-run corporation that takes several precautions for the safety of its passengers and it is against the law to make false and demeaning statements about it.

Agreeing with the arguments of the corporation, the court directed Rapido to stop airing the ad film and also directed YouTube to remove the video from its platform. Anybody who is found to be flouting the orders will be liable to be prosecuted, the court added.

Maharashtra: 21,018 KG beef worth over Rs. 20 lakh seized in Palghar, Police detain two from Tamil Nadu

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: 21,018 KG beef worth over Rs. 20 lakh seized in Palghar, Police detain two from Tamil Nadu

On December 4, Palghar Police said they had seized 21,018 KG beef worth Rs. 20.6 lakh in Palghar. The Police said it was being transported from Tamil Nadu in a container truck. Two people identified as 37-year-old Kolinchinath Rajendra Vaniar and 36-year-old Ranjit Kumar Ganeshan, from Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu, have been arrested in the case. The district rural police laid a trap at Ghol village, district Palghar located on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway based on a tip-off.

Senior Inspector Ajay Vasave said in a statement that they had intercepted a container truck on Tuesday evening. When inspected, the Police found that the container had beef being transported to the state. When the transporters were caught, they tried to escape, as per the police officials. They further added that a fake declaration about the consignment was given. It was meant to be delivered at Taloja.

The owner of the container truck and others linked to the case has been booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Cruelty to Animals Act and Maharashtra Animal Protection Act.

A large amount of beef seized in the past

In September this year, two incidents of such seizures were reported. The first incident was reported on September 6, in which around 100 tonnes of illegal beef and buffalo meat were seized by the Police based on a complaint by a Mumbai based NGO. In the second case reported in the same month on 27, 8,000 KG of beef was seized in Maharashtra’s Kalwa. Two persons, identified as Rais Ahmed Salam Qureshi and Abdul Ahmed Naseem Khan, were arrested in the case.

In hope to revive Sharda Peeth Yatra, Save Sharda Committee lays foundation stone of temple and research centre at LoC

Vijay Deo Jha
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In hope to revive Sharda Peeth Yatra, Save Sharda Committee lays foundation stone of temple and research centre at LoC

The Save Sharda Committee (SSC) campaigning to start the pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth temple situated in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK), laid the foundation stone of Mata Sharda Devi temple along with a research centre at Teetwal village near LoC.

Teetwal is situated in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and the Sharda Peeth is situated barely 40 km from this village.

On December 3, a large number of people gathered here for bhumi pujan. It rekindled their hope that sooner or later Hindus will be able to visit this temple and worship the Goddess Saraswati.

Sacred water was immersed in the Kishen Ganga River on the LoC amid chanting of mantras. Darakhshan Andrabi, Chairperson Waqf Development Committee of Union Ministry of Minorities affairs and BJP National Executive Member, laid the foundation stone of the temple.

“We will construct a temple of the Goddess Sharda. Besides, there will be a centre for learning here for the promotion of Sharda lipi, research on Sharda Peeth, Hinduism and related subjects. This is a step towards our ultimate objective to reopen the Peeth of devotees,” SSC head Ravinder Raina Pandita informed OpIndia over the phone.

Teetwal once a base camp for onward journey to Sharda Peeth

Asked why do they select Teetwal village to construct the temple and centre of research and learning, Ravinder Raina said that from ancient times Teetwal was a traditional route of pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth and here was a base camp for onward journey to the Sharda Peeth.

He said that there were several routes to visit the temple. But Teetwal was the most important one. “Here there was once a dharmshala and gurudwara where devotees used to visit and stay for their onward journey. During land levelling, we found burnt wood logs. People said that by digging deeper the relics of dharmshala can be found. We will also construct gurudwara here,” he said.

He informed that his organisation reclaimed 0.25 acres land belonging to dharmshala and the construction will soon be started.

Yatra stopped after India-Pakistan partition

From ancient time devotees used to undertake pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth. During the Dogra rule in 1846, it became a regular feature. But after India Pakistan division when Pakistan illegally occupied Indian territory in Kashmir, India lost its territory along with an important religious place.

“Swami Nand Lal Kaul of Kupwara was the last devotee to visit the Sharda Peeth in 1947. In fact, during the partition, Swamiji is said to have carried idols from Sharda to Tikker on horses. A few of these stone idols are lying at Devibal in Baramulla besides Tikker in Kupwara,” Pandita said.

Sharda Peeth trapped in conflict zone

As Sharda Peeth was trapped in a conflict zone due to illegal Pakistani occupation, the Save Sharda Committee objected to restrictions imposed on the visit. “Nowhere in any conflict zone across the world, people were stopped from visiting mosques and churches. But we are stopped. Sharda Peeth is associated with revival of Sanatan dharma and we are fighting for our right of worship here,” said Pandita.

He said that on the lines of Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara, steps should be taken for Sharda Peeth also. He informed that only in PoK there are 37 religious shrines of Hindus and Sikhs. Even the soil of Sharda Peeth was used for the rituals of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Sharda Peeth an ancient centre of learning

Sharada Peeth named after Goddess Saraswati was one of the important universities of the Indian subcontinent in ancient times. It is regarded as one of the 18 highly revered temples across South Asia.

This temple now abandoned. It is located in Sharda village in the Neelum Valley near the confluence of Kishan Ganga river and Mudhumati stream.

It is said to have been established in 273 BC much before the Takshila and Nalanda universities. It is said that the present style and form of the shrine was established by King Lalitaditya in 724 AD.

A view of the Shrada Peeth in PoK

Save Sharda Committee fought legal battle to protect ancient shrine

“We can’t see our ancient shrine turning into ruin hence we fought a battle for proper protection and restoration of this temple and we hope to get success,” Pandita said. The abandoned temple site was heavily damaged in the October 8, 2005 earthquake.

Indian Army regrets the death of 13 Naga youths owning to mistaken identity, Nagaland CM and union home minister announce high-level SIT

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Army regrets the death of 13 Naga youths owning to mistaken identity, Nagaland CM and union home minister announce high-level SIT

The Indian Army issued a statement today regretting the death of 13 Naga youths owning to mistaken identity. The Army’s 3 Corps headquartered near Dimapur in Nagaland issued a statement owning responsibility for the incident and assuring appropriate action. In the statement, the Army said that based on credible intelligence of likely movement of insurgents, the Army had initiated a specific operation in the area of Tiru in district Mon, Nagaland. It further added, “The incident and its aftermath is deeply regretted. The cause of the unfortunate loss of lives is being investigated at the highest level, and appropriate action will be taken as per the course of law.” Army personnel also suffered injuries, and one soldier succumbed to the injuries.

The statement issued by HQ 3 CORPS.

13 civilians died in Army operation

As per the reports, on Saturday evening, the youth were returning from nearby coal fields. But the Army mistook them as insurgents and opened fire on them. Soon after, angry locals attacked the army team, and the soldiers reportedly fired on them for ‘self-defence’. Six of the villagers were killed on the spot while seven others succumbed to the injuries later during treatment. The villagers also set fire to vehicles of the security forces. The angry villagers torched several vehicles of the security forces after the incident.

Police said that army soldiers were waiting for members of the banned National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang-Yung Aung), but fired at the pick-up van carrying the workers instead. An army official said that the vehicle didn’t cooperate when asked to stop, and that’s why they assumed it to be carrying the insurgents. The official informed that 6 villagers were killed in the ambush by the army and two were injured, and later when the villagers attacked them, 7 more were killed in shooting in self-defence. He also informed that a soldier was killed and three others were injured in firing from the angry crowd. 

The villagers, mostly from the Konyak community, informed that the labourers come home every Saturday from the mine around 15 km away in the Tiru area, spend the Sunday with their families and return to work on Monday. This has been a regular routine for a long time, the members of Konyak Union informed. The Konyak community members have said that they will not participate in the Hornbill festival due to the festival. In fact, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) has announced the withdrawal of six tribes it represents from the annual Hornbill Festival ongoing at Kisama near State capital Kohima.

Home Minister Amit Shah expressed condolences over the incident and said, “Anguished over an unfortunate incident in Nagaland’s Oting, Mon. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives. A high-level SIT constituted by the State govt will thoroughly probe this incident to ensure justice to the bereaved families.”

Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister of Nagaland, said, “The unfortunate incident leading to the killing of civilians at Oting, Mon is highly condemnable. Condolences to the bereaved families & speedy recovery of those injured.”

He further added that a high-level SIT will investigate & justice delivered as per the law of the land and appealed for peace from all sections.

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