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Bilawal Bhutto, out of power and media focus for over a year, begs for some attention, threatens war with India over Indus water

Aditi
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Bilawal Bhutto, out of power and media focus for over a year, begs for some attention, threatens war with India over Indus water

Continuing with his rant against India regarding the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, once again threatened India by posting a comment on X. Claiming that Pakistan wants peace, Bhutto, who appears to have undergone some sudden and drastic weight loss, warned India not to “touch” the Sindhu (river Indus) or face the consequence.

“Touch our Sindhu, and history will remember your mistake. India calls itself a democracy, we will expose it as a deception. We want peace, but if war is imposed, then we shall fight, not for glory, not for revenge, but because no power on earth can break the will of the people. We don’t beat the drums of war, but if provoked, the roar of a united Pakistan will be deafening,” a rattled Bhutto wrote in his post on 1st May.

After the ghastly terrorist attack in Pahalgam in J&K on 22nd April, in which 26 Hindu tourists were gunned down in cold blood by Islamic terrorists linked with Pakistan, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty as a retaliatory measure. Bilawal Bhutto, who is popularly known as ‘Pakistani Pappu’ among netizens in India, went bonkers after India’s retribution. Screaming in his signature weird rhythmic style in a public rally on 26th April, Bhutto said that if India blocked Pakistan’s water, the blood of Indians would flow in the river Indus. “The Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either our water will flow through it, or their blood will,” Bhutto shouted.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been struggling for its political existence in Pakistan for years. Therefore, Bilawal Bhutto, who has become obsolete in his own country’s political landscape, is desperately trying to gain some political relevance through his anti-India howling. In a country which is perpetually in shambles, anti-India ranting has been an old trick in the book of Pakistani politicians to impress a largely fanatic populace.

Bilawal Bhutto calls Pakistan a victim of terrorism

Pakistan’s connection with terrorism has been an open secret, which the country has denied blatantly. In an interview given to Sky News on 1st May, Bhutto played the victim card by claiming that Pakistan has “suffered” extremism. “I don’t think that it is a secret that Pakistan has a past as far as the extremist forces are concerned. As a result, we have suffered, Pakistan has suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learned our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem, “claimed Bhutto.

Bilawal Bhutto’s remarks about Pakistan’s past came after Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khwaja Asif, confessed that the country had been “doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades” and “the West, including Britain”.

This is not the first time that Bilawal Bhutto has tried to gain attention by ranting against India. On his visit to India in April 2023, when he was serving as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Bhutto raked up the Kashmir issue during a press conference with the Pakistani media in Goa. However, he was met with an apt response by the Indian Foreign Minister, who reminded him that Pakistan had nothing to do with Kashmir.

‘Rape as many Hindu girls as possible, this is a virtuous act’: Bhopal grooming gang’s main accused Farhan says they have no regrets and this is a matter of pride

OpIndia Staff
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‘Rape as many Hindu girls as possible, this is a virtuous act’: Bhopal grooming gang’s main accused Farhan says they have no regrets and this is a matter of pride

The Muslim gang that targeted and raped Hindu girls in Bhopal was doing this while considering this a virtuous act. The Muslim gang considered this act to be good from the point of view of Islam. They were targeting as many Hindu girls as possible. The gang tortured the girls by making their obscene videos. All these revelations have been made by the leader of the Muslim gang, Farhan. Bhopal Police is constantly unearthing new information in this case. The police has also arrested 11 accused in the case.

Rape of a Hindu girl is ‘sawab’

According to a report by Naiduniya, the leader of the Muslim gang Farhan told the police during interrogation that he has no regrets about raping Hindu girls, trapping them, and threatening them using their videos. He told the police that this is a virtuous act according to Islam.

Farhan also told the police that he wanted to ruin the lives of Hindu girls and considered this act as Jihad, so he targeted them. Farhan told the police that he is proud of trapping and raping Hindu girls. He has made several other revelations during police interrogation.

Farhan told the police that he had prepared a Muslim gang only for this purpose. Farhan and the other Muslim boys kept Hindu names and hid their identities. They also owned expensive cars and targeted girls who lived away from their families.

The gang made videos of each other while raping the girls

Farhan and the other accused used to make videos of each other while raping Hindu girls. This was revealed by a victim. She said that Farhan, along with Ali, gang-raped her in the same room. While Farhan was raping, Ali was recording it.

In return, Farhan recorded a video while Ali was raping the girl. The victim said that she met Farhan through a friend and he introduced her to Ali. One day, on the pretext of having dinner, Ali made the victim smoke a cigarette filled with marijuana. After this, the victim was raped and she was further blackmailed after Ali recorded a video.

11 arrested, Nabeel was caught from Bhopal itself

In the case of rape of Hindu girls by Muslim gang, 11 arrests have been made in 20 days. Apart from Farhan, Ali, Saad, Sahil and Nabeel were arrested. Nabeel was caught from Bhopal on May 1, 2025.

The search for Abrar is still on. Farhan and his gang used to bring girls to Abrar’s room and rape them. Police has also found out a lot of information about co-accused Sahil in this case. Sahil used to run a dance class where his Muslim friends used to send poor Hindu girls.

The police have received information about 30 girls attending Sahil’s dance class. The police is now going to question them to find out if any of them was sexually abused. The police is trying to contact all of them.

Farhan was going to sell the video on a porn site

Earlier, the police had come to know that Farhan was in contact with a porn site and was going to sell the pornographic videos of the victim students on those sites. A link to sell the video on a porn site and evidence of searching for porn was found in his mobile phone, in which the accused Abrar and Nabeel were helping him. Both of them had asked Farhan to sell the videos.

The idea of ​​selling the video was given to Farhan by his friends and fellow accused Abrar and Nabeel. Actually, the student living in Indore had started ignoring him continuously. Farhan was forcibly pressuring her to meet him. To teach the student a lesson, Farhan along with his friends made a plan to sell her video on a porn site.

One by one the victims came forward

This case of ‘Muslim gang’ targeting Hindu girls in Bhopal came to light on 18th April 2025. 5 FIRs have been registered in this case. It was revealed that Farhan and other Muslim boys used to trap Hindu girls first and later sexually exploited them.

They used to take the girls to their rooms, hotels and restaurants, and rape them and also make videos of it. After this, they used to blackmail them.

Police is investigating this matter and trying to trace all the victims and accused. 11 accused have been arrested so far in this case. An SIT has also been formed to investigate this matter. State Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has also said that strict legal action will be taken against those doing such work.

Caste Census: Sources deny media claims that Pasmanda Muslims will get reservations under OBC quota, clarify that caste of Muslims will be recorded

OpIndia Staff
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Caste Census: Sources deny media claims that Pasmanda Muslims will get reservations under OBC quota, clarify that caste of Muslims will be recorded

The Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category might include Pasmanda Muslims list in the caste census, according to a report in The Indian Express. This was reportedly confirmed by the leaders of the OBC Morcha and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Morcha. Muslims have been listed as a distinct, singular bloc in every official census to date, including the last one in 2011. According to the Sachar Committee’s report, 40% of Muslims in India are OBC or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (all India 2004-05).

However, Pasmanda activists and scholars claim that 80–85% of India’s Muslim population is Pasmanda. This roughly corresponds with the 1871 Census, which found that 81% of Muslims in India belonged to lower castes and only 19% belonged to upper castes. National enumeration cannot be as random as the Telangana caste survey, according to K Laxman, national president of the BJP’s OBC Morcha, who distinguished between the surveys carried out in Telangana and Bihar.

On the other hand, the impending caste census will cover the caste of Muslims as well, sources stated on 2nd May, reported India Today, however, they explained that since religiously motivated reservations are illegal, the demand for Muslim reservations will not be granted. Nonetheless, everyone will have access to a caste column in addition to the religion column. This procedure will document several castes within the Muslim community.

It is anticipated that the census process will start in the following two to three months. Soon, the official appointment deputation process will begin. Within 15 days after all the necessary preparations have been concluded, the actual census will take place. Furthermore, Aadhaar, biometric information and artificial intelligence will all be used in this digital census. The whole report will be released following the data analysis, which might take a year or two.

The government intends to implement women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for 2029. The delimitation procedure will start after the census is completed next year. A commission will be established and will travel to each state to prepare the report. The current 27% quota cap in government positions and educational institutions could be reviewed in light of the growing number of OBCs.

“What is the point of just enumerating Pasmanda Muslims in a separate category? Some state lists of OBCs already do this. The central government should ideally look for socio-economic upliftment of Pasmanda Muslims, by including Dalit Muslims in the Scheduled Caste list, for example. They are not ready to do this,” Pasmanda Muslim leader Ali Anwar Ansari stated.

The inclusion of Pasmanda Muslims among OBCs, according to Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) Rajya Sabha MP Haris Beeran, would be another attempt to create “some sort of a division within the community.” He asked, “When the Supreme Court itself has said that Muslims as a group are backward, what is the rationale for subdividing them without giving any inkling of uplifting the community?”

Meanwhile, the Justice Rohini Commission’s report on subcategorisation inside reservations has not yet been addressed. The matter might be brought up again after the census. According to others, the approach would jeopardize the current protections for the OBC, SC, and ST populations. The procedures for the caste census might be discussed with representatives of all political parties. Internal conflicts within the I.N.D.I. Alliance over the census and delimitation could lead to a debate between the North and the South.

Reservation requests in the private sector, meanwhile, have been deemed unfounded. The private sector resisted these demands, even though they were made during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration as well. Private educational institutions are already covered under Article 15(5). It enables the state to enact special laws that explicitly address the admission of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to educational institutions, as well as the advancement of socially and educationally disadvantaged segments of citizens. With the exception of minority educational institutions, both state-aided and unaided private educational institutions are covered by this clause.

IBM, TCS, and Andhra Government to launch India’s largest quantum computer at upcoming Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati

ANI
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IBM, TCS, and Andhra Government to launch India’s largest quantum computer at upcoming Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati

IBM, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and the Government of Andhra Pradesh have announced plans to deploy the country’s largest quantum computer at the newly planned Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati.

According to TCS, anchored by IBM’s next-generation Quantum System Two with a powerful 156-qubit Heron processor, this initiative marks a pivotal step in India’s ambition to become a global quantum powerhouse.

The Quantum Valley Tech Park will be the first of its kind in India and aims to serve as a national epicentre for quantum research, innovation, and application development.

The project aligns with the goals of India’s National Quantum Mission, which envisions the country as a global leader in quantum technologies over the next two decades.

TCS will partner with IBM to advance the development of quantum algorithms and real-world applications, supporting sectors such as life sciences, energy optimisation, materials science, sustainable manufacturing, cryptography, and supply chain resilience.

The partnership will focus on hybrid computing architectures that integrate quantum capabilities with classical computing platforms to solve intractable challenges currently beyond conventional systems.

Dr Harrick Vin, Chief Technology Officer at TCS, stated, “Hybrid architectures are the key to overcoming intractable computing challenges, with quantum computing serving as a catalyst. TCS’s Hybrid Computing strategy is creating what we believe is a breakthrough software layer that intelligently decomposes programs across current systems — CPUs, GPUs and emerging computing architectures — such as quantum.”

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, said, “India’s National Quantum Mission is to make India a global hub in the quantum industry. Andhra Pradesh is set to lead the global quantum revolution, becoming the first state in the world to envision a dedicated Quantum Valley as the foundation of its future economy. With quantum computing poised to transform every major sector in the next 25 years, the state aims to be a first mover in harnessing this emerging frontier.”

IBM’s Vice President of Quantum, Jay Gambetta, added, “Our collaboration with TCS will help attract the country’s thriving ecosystem of developers, scientists, and industry experts to develop algorithms and applications.”

The tech park will offer industry members, academic researchers, and government agencies the opportunity to work directly with TCS and access IBM’s cloud-based quantum resources.

This initiative is expected to create high-end jobs, attract world-class talent, and draw global investments to India’s rapidly growing quantum ecosystem.

Once operational, the Quantum Valley Tech Park is poised to become a vital hub for quantum computing in Asia, positioning India at the forefront of global innovation in this next-generation technology space.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Andhra Pradesh: High Court slams converted Christian pastor for misusing SC-ST Act, says cannot play both sides and use the act for personal gain

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra Pradesh: High Court slams converted Christian pastor for misusing SC-ST Act, says cannot play both sides and use the act for personal gain

A person who has converted to a different faith cannot register a crime under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, according to the verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. On April 30, the decision was pronounced by Justice N Harinath.

A complaint was filed under the SC/ST act by a Christian pastor Chintada Anand Paul from Kothapalem, Guntur district. He reported that the petitioners had punched and slapped him during a prayer service as well as hurled caste-based abuses against him.

However, the Court contended that the complainant’s conversion to Christianity rendered the submission of the FIR (First Information Report) under the SC/ST Act unlawful. They asserted that he cannot claim to a member of the scheduled caste community after conversion.

“The 2nd respondent has ceased to be a member of the scheduled caste community the day he had converted into Christianity. This court is of the considered view that the registration of crime under the provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is illegal,” the High Court declared.

The Court noted, “It is also held that filing of charge sheet in-spite of the categorical statements of the listed witnesses specifically stating that the 2nd respondent is working as a pastor for the last 10 years, the police could not have laid a charge sheet charging the petitioners for alleged offence under Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2)(va), SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”

The court reaffirmed that the SC/ST act’s provisions can only be invoked by members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community. Additionally, it clarified that the security provided by the legislation cannot be applied to a person who has converted to Christianity but held their caste certificate. “As seen from the recitals of the complaint and the statements of the material witnesses it is amply clear that the 2nd respondent is working as a pastor and has been professing Christianity for the last 10 years as on the date of the complaint,” the Court judgement highlighted.

It established that “having converted to Christianity, the petitioner cannot continue to be a member of Scheduled Caste community. The caste system is alien to Christianity. Having converted to Christianity and admitting his role as a Pastor in a Church the 2nd respondent could not invoke the provisions of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”

The Judge stated that although authorities will examine the caste certificate to determine its legitimacy, its existence would not grant him any rights under the act after his conversion. “This court is of the considered view that a false complaint is filed and no purpose would be served if the petitioners are relegated to the trial court and to undergo the rigmarole of trial criminal petition is allowed and Spl.SC.No.36 of 2021 on the file of IV Additional District and Sessions Judge – Cum – SC, ST Court, Guntur is hereby quashed,” he concluded.

Chintada Anand Paul, a pastor and Treasurer of the Pastors Fellowship, claimed to have been the target of threatening phone calls in December 2020, an attack on 3rd January 2021 during Sunday prayers, and another assault on 4th January 2021 by the petitioners and others. A police investigation, witness testimonies, a charge sheet and a medical report mentioning minor injuries were submitted after the complaint, which was submitted on 26th January 2021 with the Chandolu police against Akkala Ramireddy and others. The charge sheet was filed before a special court for SC/ST cases.

Afterwards, the petitioners were booked under sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act, as well as Sections 341, 506, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The pastor alleged that since the Tehsildar had verified that he was a member of the “Hindu-Madiga” caste and hence a member of the scheduled caste community, he could not be denied protection under the SC/ST Act.

The court found he could not claim SC status because of the statements of witnesses, including his wife. It also outlined that there was not enough evidence to support the accusations because the majority of witnesses did not support the alleged mob attack. The complaint violated the SC/ST Act, the court declared, and added that there was insufficient evidence to support a trial. A defendant had even died during the course of the proceedings.

SC/ST status cannot be misused for personal benefits

Notably, the Supreme Court of India issued a historic ruling on 26th November 2024, holding that it is “fraud on the Constitution” to convert to a religion merely to obtain reservation benefits without having a sincere belief in the faith. C Selvarani, who was denied a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate after claiming to have reverted to Hinduism to receive reservation perks at work, filed an appeal, but the apex court rejected it.

It observed, “In any case, upon conversion to Christianity, one loses the caste and cannot be identified by it.” The court further declared, “One converts to a different religion when genuinely inspired by its principles, tenets, and spiritual thoughts. However, if the purpose of conversion is largely to derive the benefits of reservation but not with any actual belief in the other religion, the same cannot be permitted, as the extension of benefits to people with such ulterior motives will only defeat the social ethos of the policy of reservation.”

The court added that reservations are meant to promote social equity and correct historical injustice. False claims tend to deny legitimate claimants and reduce the efficacy of the reservation system. “A caste to which a Hindu belongs is essentially determined by birth. When a person is converted to Christianity or some other religion, the original caste remains under eclipse, and as soon as during his/her lifetime the person is reconverted to the original religion, the eclipse disappears, and the caste automatically revives. However, where it appears that the person reconverted to the old religion had been converted to Christianity since several generations, it may be difficult to apply the doctrine of eclipse to the revival of caste,” it observed.

The bench stated, “The conferment of Scheduled Caste communal status to the appellant, who is a Christian by religion but claims to still embrace Hinduism only for the purpose of availing reservation in employment, would go against the very object of reservation and would amount to fraud on the Constitution.” The Supreme Court panel, consisting of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice R Mahadevan, had affirmed the 2023 ruling of the Madras High Court regarding the case.

Cannot carry caste after conversion

A person cannot retain their caste after converting, according to a 2022 judgment by the Madras High Court. On a plea filed by U Akbar Ali, who was born a Hindu into a denotified group and hence belonged under the Most Backward Class (MBC) category, Justice G R Swaminathan rendered the decision. In 2008, Akbar Ali changed his name and embraced Islam. He applied for the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission’s (TNPSC) Group-II services but was not selected since he was considered an open category candidate rather than a reserved candidate. He petitioned the court to challenge his exclusion.

“Whether such a person should be given the benefit of reservation even after conversion is a question that is pending adjudication before apex court. When the supreme court is apprised of the matter, it is not for this court to uphold the claim of the petitioner. The stand taken by the TNPSC is correct and it does not warrant any interference,” the court stated. Not all Muslims are recognized as BCs in Tamil Nadu, based on Justice Swaminathan report.

Referencing a certificate issued by a Qazi in Tamil Nadu, Justice Swaminathan stated that Sathiyamoorthy S/o Lakshmanan had converted to Islam of his own free will, joined the Muslim Jamat as a member, and was abiding by Islamic laws and principles. He added, “This certificate declaring the petitioner’s conversion only states that the petitioner has become a Muslim and nothing more.”

He emphasised, “When a Hindu gets converted to Islam, he becomes just a Musalman and his place in Muslim society is not determined by the caste to which he belonged before his conversion. When the Qazi does not declare that the convertee is to be treated as belonging to the group of Labbais, I fail to understand as to how a revenue authority of a secular government can fix the converted individual in a particular slot or pigeon-hole him.”

The judge noted at least four letters from the Tamil Nadu government, stating that the administration had stipulated that candidates who converted from another religion to Islam would only be categorized as “others.” The jurisdictional Deputy Tehsildar acted inappropriately by disregarding the mandates outlined in the government correspondence that are obligatory for him.

BBC’s terror apologia: Humanising Jihadi General Asim Munir, the man whose anti-Hindu rhetoric presaged the Pahalgam massacre

Jinit Jain
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BBC’s terror apologia: Humanising Jihadi General Asim Munir, the man whose anti-Hindu rhetoric presaged the Pahalgam massacre

BBC Hindi, in a recent profile of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, employed a classic media trope often used by Western outlets to sanitise perpetrators of violence—describing him as “the son of a school headmaster.”

BBC Asim Munir
BBC Hindi sought to humanize Pak COAS Asim Munir, who made inflammatory remarks days before the Pahalgam terror attack

While seemingly innocuous, such portrayals are not without motive. They form part of a well-documented pattern of narrative engineering that humanises those orchestrating violence, particularly in Kashmir, while casting the actual victims—often Hindus—as faceless statistics or even aggressors.

The BBC’s article conveniently omits General Munir’s incendiary rhetoric and ideological positioning. In recent months, Munir delivered a blatantly anti-Hindu, jihadist-laced speech in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein”—a term with deep militaristic and Islamist undertones in Pakistan’s strategic doctrine. His speech was laced with veiled threats and overt religious overtones, framing the Kashmir conflict as not merely territorial but theological, reinforcing a narrative that demonises Hindus as occupiers and justifies religiously motivated violence.

This rhetoric did not remain mere bluster. Just days later, the Pahalgam terror attack shocked India and reflected the ideological poison Munir had been spewing. In a chilling act of targeted killing, Islamic terrorists abducted and lined up unarmed Hindu men—unarmed tourists who were in Pahalgam on a vacation with their loved ones—and executed them at point-blank range. According to eyewitness accounts and police reports, the attackers often confirmed their victims’ religious identity, even resorting in some cases to pulling down their pants to identify circumcision status—an unspeakable level of brutality aimed at ensuring they killed only Hindus.

The attack was not random; it was ideological. And it was emboldened by a state apparatus in Pakistan that openly gives moral and material support to jihadist proxies. Munir’s speech served as a dog whistle to these actors, couched in state-sanctioned religious supremacy. Yet BBC Hindi, rather than holding him to account or providing context for his dangerous rhetoric, chose to paint a softer, relatable image—focusing on his father’s profession rather than his own role in fomenting violence.

This pattern of reporting is not new. Western and Western-aligned media platforms have a long history of portraying Islamist terrorists and their backers in humanising tones—highlighting their poetry, family life, or humble beginnings—while treating Hindu victims of jihadist violence as mere collateral. In this distorted narrative economy, victims are anonymised, and aggressors are empathised with.

Such editorial choices are not harmless—they have consequences. They distort public perception, diminish the horror of sectarian violence, and indirectly provide ideological cover to genocidal hate. By failing to name Munir’s hateful rhetoric and its links to real-world massacres like Pahalgam, BBC Hindi is not merely reporting news—it is laundering narratives.

Complicity of western media in empowering jihadist ideologies and dismissing atrocities faced by Hindus

The Western media’s approach to reporting on terror, particularly in South Asia, reveals a persistent and disturbing pattern: a systematic humanization of terror enablers and the simultaneous erasure or minimization of violence against Hindus. This is not incidental—it reflects a deeper editorial bias that privileges geopolitical narratives over factual, ethical journalism.

Consider the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, where Islamic terrorists abducted and brutally executed unarmed Hindu tourists. These were civilians—fathers, sons, and brothers on holiday with their families—lined up and murdered in cold blood. Eyewitness reports confirm that the attackers verified their victims’ religious identity, often through grotesque means, before executing them. This was not just a terror incident; it was a premeditated, religiously targeted massacre.

Yet, how did leading Western outlets frame this atrocity? The assailants were described blandly as “gunmen,” and the location as “Indian-administered Kashmir” or “Indian-controlled Kashmir,” subtly suggesting a political dispute rather than an act of jihadist terror. The deliberate linguistic framing shifts the focus from the victims and their suffering to a narrative that questions Indian sovereignty and sanitizes Islamist violence as “resistance.”

This narrative manipulation isn’t limited to Kashmir. In Bangladesh, the pattern repeats with chilling regularity—Hindu homes torched, temples vandalized, families lynched—yet Western coverage remains muted, decontextualized, or entirely absent. When atrocities are acknowledged, they are couched in vague language, stripped of the religious and ideological motivations driving them.

The same obfuscation applies to incidents in India’s West Bengal, where targeted violence against Hindus often goes underreported or is distorted through euphemisms and false equivalencies. Western-aligned outlets like BBC Hindi participate in this erasure under the guise of neutrality but reveal their bias through subtle narrative cues.

PM Modi dedicates Vizhinjam Deepwater Port to nation: Read how this Adani seaport is going to be India’s major player in global maritime trade

Aditi
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PM Modi dedicates Vizhinjam Deepwater Port to nation: Read how this Adani seaport is going to be India’s major player in global maritime trade

Prime Minister Modi today (2nd May) commissioned the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, India’s first deepwater transhipment port, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The event was attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, along with other dignitaries.

The Vizhinjam International Seaport, built at a cost of ₹8,900 crore, is also India’s first semi-automated port. Developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the port is operated by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), while the Kerala government holds the majority stake in it. It is a pivotal step towards the development of India’s untapped maritime potential, which is a focus area under the Modi government’s Maritime India Vision 2030.

The port received its commercial commissioning certificate on December 4, 2025, after a successful trial run. The trial operations commenced on July 13, 2024, which involved the handling of 272 large vessels and over 550,000 containers docked at the port. On December 3, 2024, full commercial operations started at the port, marking the completion of phase I. The next phases are expected to be completed by December 2028, after which the port will have an enhanced annual capacity of at least 3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This will require an additional cost of ₹10,000 crore to be borne by Adani Ports.

At the beginning of the year, the port ranked first in the list of ports on India’s southern and western coasts for container cargo handling by managing more than 100,000 TEUs in a month. In another significant achievement, the Vizhinjam port was included in the Jade Service of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest shipping company, known to include only high-capacity ports in its key services. The port thus joined the league of global giants like Qingdao, Shanghai, Busan, and Singapore ports.

The Jade Service is an important shipping route operated by the MSC, which connects Europe and Asia via the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Vessels in the Jade Service will now sail from Singapore to Spain and Italy via Vizhinjam.

The Vizhinjam port received MSC Türkiye

In a remarkable feat, in April this year, the Vizhinjam International Seaport received MSC Türkiye, which is among the world’s largest cargo ships, having a humongous capacity of carrying more than 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUS), thus becoming the first Indian port to handle a vessel of this size.

MSC Türkiye (via DD News)

Vizhinjam International Seaport and its strategic location

The Vizhinjam International Seaport, the only transhipment port in the entire Indian subcontinent, is close to international shipping routes. The port has the potential to become a major transhipment hub in the subcontinent due to its proximity to the east-west international shipping lane, which is only 10 nautical miles away from it. Its advantage is its natural depth of 18-20 metres, a kilometre away from the shore, which makes it conducive and cost-effective for the world’s largest cargo vessels like MSC Türkiye to dock without dredging, which is a costly process required to deepen shallow ports by removing sediments and other material.

In addition to that, Vizhinjam’s minimal sand movement (littoral drift) along the coast is another natural advantage for the port as it reduces maintenance costs. Moreover, the port is located at a distance of 2 km from NH 66, 12 km from a main railway line and 15 km from Trivandrum airport, which will make the cargo movement across the country convenient. To facilitate faster operations, the port has fully automated yard cranes and remotely operated ship-to-shore cranes. One of the unique features of the Vizhinjam port is that it is equipped with India’s first indigenous, AI-powered Vessel Traffic Management System, developed with IIT Madras.

What is a transhipment port

A transhipment hub is used when a direct route is not available or economical for the transit of cargo bound for a longer journey. The port has terminals that provide an intermediate point where the cargo is transferred from one vessel to another, which takes it to its destination. Often, smaller shipments are loaded onto larger vessels for more economic transportation. Countries having strong global trade networks make use of transhipment ports to transit large amounts of international cargo.

Image via DD News

Before this, India lacked the infrastructure to handle large vessels in the absence of a full-fledged deepwater container transportation port. As a result, India used to rely on foreign ports like Singapore, Colombo, and Jebel Ali in the UAE, for about 75% of its transhipment cargo. This arrangement resulted in delays, loss of foreign exchange and revenue and hiked costs, which were incurred by domestic traders. The port will eliminate India’s reliance on foreign ports, which in turn will make India’s supply chains immune to global geopolitical changes.

India’s maritime vision

The Modi government expressed its commitment to boost the maritime potential of India by allocating ₹25,000 crore in this year’s budget. To provide impetus to the country’s shipbuilding industry, the government accorded ‘infrastructure’ status to large ships. In her budget speech in February this year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the ships above a specified size would be included in the harmonised master list (HML) for infrastructure.  

Aligning with the central government’s vision of establishing India as a maritime power on the global level, the Maharashtra government announced a dedicated maritime policy on 29th April. The state cabinet approved the Shipbuilding, Ship Repair and Ship Recycling Policy, 2025, which aims to enhance maritime infrastructure and generate employment opportunities in the maritime sector.

Last year in August, the construction of a deepwater port at Vadhvan in the Palghar district of Maharashtra. Another transhipment is proposed to be constructed on Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At present, India has 13 major and 217 non-major ports.

Meerut: Power station employee Riyazuddin switches off electricity of entire village in protest against Waqf Act, suspended

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Power station employee Riyazuddin switches off electricity of entire village in protest against Waqf Act, suspended

A Muslim man working at the power house in Mundali in Meerut cut the power to the entire village on Wednesday in protest against the Waqf Act. As a result, the man named linesman Riyazuddin has been suspended from his job.

On 30 April, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board had appealed to all the countrymen to participate in a ‘lights off’ protest against the Waqf Act by switching off the lights of their homes, shops, factories and other establishments from 9 PM to 9:15 PM on that day.

Accordingly, Ajrada village had also announced a 15-minute blackout at 9 PM on Wednesday. During that time, households opposed to the act were to switch off the lights in their houses. However, in an attempt to make the protest a success, power station worker Riyazuddin proceeded to switch off the power supply to the entire village at the scheduled time of the blackout, leaving the people of Ajrada in darkness regardless of whether they even wanted to partake in the anti-Waqf protest.

Moreover, when non-Muslims in the village continued to use their lights using inverters, the Muslim families objected, and this led to a ruckus between the two groups. Police were called and the situation was brought under control.

After that, some villages complained to the energy minister Somendra Tomar about the manner on Thursday. On the order of the minster, the power department officials took cognisance of the matter and launched a probe. After finding that linesman Riyazuddin had disconnected power for the village as part of blackout call against the Waqf Act, he has been suspended.

a senior official of the Energy Department said, “Such misuse of government position is completely unacceptable. The concerned employee has been removed from service with immediate effect.” Police have also registered a case in the matter.

PM Modi inaugurates Adani’s Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala, calls it an example of “new age development”

ANI
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PM Modi inaugurates Adani’s Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala, calls it an example of “new age development”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated the people of Kerala and the country after inaugurating the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, calling it a “symbol of new age development.”

The inauguration in Thiruvananthapuram of the project, built by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is India’s first deep-water dedicated container transhipment port, was conducted in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport, which has been built at a cost of 8,900 crore ambitious project of the Kerala government has been developed under the public-private partnership by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd.

Furthermore, PM Modi emphasised that the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport is an example of “new age development” as at one end there is a deep sea, whereas on the other hand, there are a lot of opportunities, which is the beauty of nature.

“On one hand, there is this big sea with so many opportunities and on the other hand, there is beauty of nature, in between there is this ‘Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport’, which is a symbol of new-age development”, PM Modi said in his address to the public.

Furthermore, PM Narendra Modi extended his wishes on the occasion of Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti and said that he had the privilege of visiting his birthplace three years ago. He added that there is a statue of Adi Shankaracharya in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises.

“Today is the birth anniversary of Lord Adi Shankaracharya. Three years ago in September, I had the opportunity to visit his birthplace. I am happy that a grand statue of Adi Shankaracharya has been installed in the Vishwanath Dham complex in my parliamentary constituency Kashi. I have got the opportunity to unveil the divine statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath Dham in Uttarakhand. Today, the doors of the Kedarnath temple have opened in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand”, PM Modi said.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan extended the gratitude of PM Modi on behalf of the people of the state to dedicate the landmark project to the nation.

“On behalf of the people of Kerala, I once again express our sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister for visiting our state to dedicate the landmark project to the nation. I also extend my congratulations to the Adani Group for executing this mission with excellence”, he said while addressing the gathering.

The Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport port is currently being developed in a landlord model with a Public Private Partnership component on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. The private partner, the Concessionaire Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited commenced the construction on December 5, 2015.

Strategically located just 10 nautical miles from the international shipping routes connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Far East, Vizhinjam port with its proximity to the East-West axis, the port is expected to significantly reduce the dependence of the country on other international ports for transshipment of cargo.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Bihar: Mohammad Sahil trapped Hindu girls, made their obscene videos and sold them on porn sites, girlfriend Gulshan used to help

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Mohammad Sahil trapped Hindu girls, made their obscene videos and sold them on porn sites, girlfriend Gulshan used to help

A shocking case of love jihad has come to light from Vaishali in Bihar. Mohammad Sahil used to trap girls with the help of his girlfriend Gulshan Khatoon, and then blackmailed them after making their pornographic videos. Not only this, he also used to sell it on international porn sites. Sahil targeted girls of different religions, although most of his targets were Hindu girls. He made dozens of girls victims of this dirty game.

According to Bihar Police, Mohammad Sahil started this ‘business’ of making girlfriends and made money through it. Police is now finding out on which porn sites he sold these videos and how much money he charged. It is also being investigated from which countries these porn sites are being run.

This dirty game was revealed when a porn video of a minor girl went viral. After this, an FIR was registered against Mohammad Sahil and he was arrested on 2nd April 2025. However, even after 15 days of the incident, the victim was neither given a medical examination nor was she produced in the court.

Tired of this, the victim’s family informed the media about the matter and the matter came to light. According to local DSP Abu Zafar Alam, a case of making an offensive video viral has come to light. The accused has been arrested and sent to jail. Further investigation is being done.

According to the victim’s family, their daughter used to go for computer class, where she became friends with Gulshan Khatoon. Mohammad Sahil used to come to meet Gulshan Khatoon often. During this time, Gulshan introduced Sahil to the girl. Slowly, she fell into Sahil’s trap. She got many photos clicked with Sahil. After this, Sahil took her to a hotel and both of them had a ‘relationship’. During there meetings, Sahil recorded their initimate videos. Following that, Sahil started blackmailing the girl.

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