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‘Was shot at because I carried out Tiranga rally and opposed throwing of beef outside Hindu houses’: RSS activist narrates political violence in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Was shot at because I carried out Tiranga rally and opposed throwing of beef outside Hindu houses’: RSS activist narrates political violence in West Bengal

West Bengal remains to be one of the states worst hit by political violence. The incidents of violence against political opponents only increased following an impressive performance by the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 when it managed to bag 18 of the 42 seats from the state. As West Bengal gears up for the upcoming assembly elections, OpIndia got in touch with several victims of political violence and tried to understand their perspective.

One of the victims OpIndia interviewed is Bir Bahadur Singh, an RSS activist, who was shot at point-blank range in Kolkata’s Metiabruz area in public view. Singh was on his way to teach at Tantia High school, near Mohammad Ali Park, Kolkata, when he was shot at from behind.

Subjected to constant harassment since I helped Hindu victims of beef attack in 2018: Singh

Speaking about the attack on him, Singh recounts that it all started in January 2018 when he attended a Tiranga rally in the area. At the time of the rally, unknown miscreants had thrown a piece of beef outside the houses of Hindu minorities in the neighbourhood. Singh had accompanied the victims to the local councillor’s office to register their complaint.

The local councillor, belonging to the ruling TMC came to the area, picked up the piece of beef and threw it away, Singh remembers. However, the councillor did not direct a probe to ascertain the culprits behind the incident. Following this, Singh and others went to the police station to file a complaint in the matter.

Singh claims when he and others went to the police station to file a complaint about pieces of beef were thrown outside the houses of Hindus, the police officials refused to file a complaint. He also recounts that they were mentally tortured for 2 hours at the police station and were released only after they signed a confession document that said they were the ones who threw beef.

Four months later, Singh was charged for stoking communal tensions. A few months later, he was charged with a case of robbery. The systematic harassment of Singh culminated in an attack in December 2019 when the RSS activist was shot at point-blank, allegedly by goons of the TMC councillor.

“I had gotten out of my house and was walking to a place when I was shot at from behind. There was nobody in the vicinity to help so I walked 200 meters and called for help. After some time, a relative of mine came, whom I asked to call the police. The police admitted me to a hospital. I have not got justice so far. The bullet tore through my body. I was warned a couple of days before the attack that my life may be in danger,” Singh said.

Bir Bahadur also said that some leaders in West Bengal are rattled by ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants. He also said some people have made it their business to intimidate Hindus and coerce them into leaving the area. Singh cited an example of a Hindu family that has been threatened to vacate their house or suffer the consequence for their defiance.

Change in Bengal inevitable; fight for justice will continue in new Bengal: Singh

The RSS activist also expressed confidence in getting justice and stated that there is going to be a change in Bengal in the coming two months after which he will seek justice for all the victims of the political violence.

When asked if the party leaders helped him through his difficult time, Singh said senior members of the RSS stood beside him all the time and extended their help in whatever capacity they could to fight against the tyranny of the ruling TMC and their goons. He also added that the senior RSS members have assured him that they will continue to seek justice for him and other victims of the violence.

Minority Hindus fleeing Metiabruz for safer places : Singh

Regarding Metiabruz, a Muslim-majority region, Singh said that earlier a large number of Hindus lived in the area, but the number has steadily come down because of mounting threats that have forced them to flee. It is worth noting that Metiabruz is the same area that was declared as ‘Mini Pakistan’ by a Trinamool Congress minister.

Mamata Banerjee’s minister Farhad Hakim had told a Pakistani journalist that Metiabruz of the Garden Reach area is the ‘mini Pakistan’ of Kolkata. He told the journalist of ‘The Dawn’ – “Come, I will take you on a tour of Mini Pakistan”. This is the same area where the last Nawab of Awadh, Wazid Ali Shah, spent the last 30 years of his life.

As Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu and others face raid by Income Tax department, ‘liberals’ descend to cry vendetta

OpIndia Staff
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As Anurag Kashyap, Taapsee Pannu and others face raid by Income Tax department, ‘liberals’ descend to cry vendetta

Hours after the Income Tax Department raided 22 locations linked to director Anurag Kashyap and actress Taapsee Pannu in a tax evasion case on Wednesday, liberals suffered a meltdown on Twitter.

The meltdown of the ‘liberal bandwagon’

‘Nira Radia tapes‘ famed journalist Vir Sanghvi insinuated that it is an act of vengeance on the part of the government, against its own people. “At some point, this strategy will stop working. People will not be scared. They will still speak the truth. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu face income tax raids,” he wrote.

Screengrab of the tweet by Vir Sanghvi

Serial fake news peddler Mohammed Zubair quoted PM Narendra Modi to suggest that the CBI has been politicised and working on the behest of the Indian government to trouble ‘innocent people’ such as Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu. He wrote, “Politicization of CBI, its misuse, troubling innocent people… You will have to answer the people of India for this: Shri Narendra Modi (2013).”

Screengrab of the tweet by Mohammed Zubair

‘Activist’ and lawyer Prashant Bhushan did not leave behind. He said, “Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu face income tax raids. BJP’s A team at work to harass, intimidate and silence those who don’t fall in line. India has never seen such malafide use of IT Department, ED, NIA, police etc.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Prashant Bhushan

‘Journalists’ Swati Chaturvedi and Saba Naqvi resorted to one liners to target the Modi government. While Chaturvedi wrote, “So predictable”, Naqvi contented herself with “Why am I not surprised” gimmick.

Screengrab of the tweet by Swati Chaturvedi

Another ‘visionary’ journalist, Deepal Trivedi claimed, “Yeh to Hona hi tha (This was bound to happen).”

Screengrab of the tweet by Deepal Trivedi

Besides Anurag Kashyap and Taapsee Pannu, the IT Department also raided the properties of producer Vikas Bahl, and producer Madhu Mantena. As per reports, the IT department has alleged these four have evaded tax. Phantom Films’ office has also been raided. The company was formed by Kashyap, Bahl, Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane. In 2018, the company was dissolved following sexual assault allegations against Bahl by a former Phantom employee.

Metro car shed: Maha govt says it is ready to pay for disputed Kanjurmarg land, months after claiming it cost Rs 0

OpIndia Staff
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Metro car shed: Maha govt says it is ready to pay for disputed Kanjurmarg land, months after claiming it cost Rs 0

Months after Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray boasted that the land acquired in Kanjurmarg for the development of the Metro car shed was secured free of cost, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in its latest application to the Bombay High Court, expressed its willingness to acquire the land by granting all benefits and compensation to whoever may be successful in the legal dispute.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has approached the Bombay High Court seeking its approval to start its work related to the construction of an integrated car shed for Metro lines 3, 4 and 6 at the disputed site in Kanjurmarg. An application in this regard was filed by the MMRDA in the High Court last month. The case was heard in the court on Tuesday, which said that it would hear the case finally on March 12.

In the application, the MMRDA argued that without the construction of the car shed, Metro lines 3 (Colaba-Bandra- SEEPZ), 4 (Kasarwadavali-Wadala) and 6 (Lokhandwala-Vikhroli) cannot be commissioned and made available for the use of public. Besides the problems caused to the public, the delay would even incur financial costs to the MMRDA, the application said.

The MMRDA was seeking modification of the court order passed on December 16, 2020, wherein it restrained the authorities from carrying out any construction work pertaining to the car shed at the said land. The court had put an interim stay on the order passed by the Mumbai suburban district collector on 1 October 2020, allotting 102 acres of land in Kanjurmarg to the MMRDA for construction of an integrated car shed.

Maharashtra government expresses its willingness to compensate whoever wins the litigation to acquire the Kanjurmarg land

The Maharashtra government and the Centre are embroiled in a legal dispute over the ownership of the land allotted by the state for the construction of the car depot that was earlier planned at Aarey Colony, an area in suburban Goregaon. After the district collector earmarked the land to the Metro body, the Centre had filed a petition in the HC last year, challenging the collector’s order and claiming that the land at Kanjurmarg belongs to its Salt Department.

Now, as the legal dispute drags on, the MMDRA has said in its application that it has, at no time, attempted to claim the ownership of the land and expressed its desire to compensate whomsoever be the successful party in the dispute.

“The MMRDA is ready and willing to undertake to give all benefits and compensation to which the owner and/or the lessee would be entitled on the acquisition of the said land to whomsoever may be the successful party in the dispute,” the application filed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at the Bombay High Court last month said.

Earlier, the Bombay HC had also slammed the collector’s order regarding the transfer of Kanjurmarg land for the metro car shed, saying that it borders on fraud.

Aaditya Thackeray had boasted acquiring the disputed Kanjurmarg land free of cost

This stand by the MMRDA, a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for preparation of Regional Plan for MMR and the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is in sharp contrast to what Maharashtra Environment smugly boasted back in October 2020. Thackeray had then claimed that the car depot land in Kanjurmarg was acquired for free of cost.

“Car depot of Metro 6 & Metro 3 will be common at Kanjurmarg. The land for the same has been handed over to @MMRDAOfficial last week, for a sum of ₹0/- (Free of cost) and soil testing has begun. It was always told it’ll cost more than ₹10,000 crores. It happens for be free,” Thackeray tweeted.

The Metro car shed project at Aarey had been a battleground between environmentalists, who were allegedly backed by vested interests and the Mumbai Metro Rail authorities, ever since the plans were first drawn up in 2015. The previous government led by Devendra Fadnavis in an overnight operation on October 4, 2019, had ordered to fell 2,141 trees at the proposed 33-hectare site, following a Bombay High Court verdict.

However, the Shiv Sena, then a partner in a BJP-led state government, had actively backed the so-called environmentalist and had lent a political voice to those protesting the felling of the trees. Sena prince Aaditya Thackeray, now the state environment minister, spearheaded the movement against the construction of the Metro Car shed and was instrumental in getting the project shifted to Kanjurmarg.

Maha Vikas Aghadi government already knew beforehand the land was under dispute: Report

Even though Aaditya Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi government preened themselves on acquiring the land for free, a report published in the Times of India in December 2020 revealed that the state government knew beforehand that the Kanjurmarg land it had finalised for the Metro card shed was under litigation. The report said that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government were already informed about the challenges in regard to the Kanjurmarg land site in January 2020, about 9 months before the government decided to shift the Metro car shed from the Aarey colony.

A committee headed by Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik had turned down the plan of a depot at Kanjurmarg in its submissions made in January 2020. The 98-page report submitted by Saunik revealed that officers of Mumbai suburban Collectorate admitted that the land at Kanjurmarg is “still sub judice”.

Is the Education ministry making madarsas teach Gita, Ramayana? A fact-check

OpIndia Staff
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Is the Education ministry making madarsas teach Gita, Ramayana? A fact-check

On March 2, Ramesh Pokhriyal’ Nishank’, Union Minister of Education, released the study material for Indian Knowledge Tradition courses for the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) in Noida Uttar Pradesh.

NIOS has prepared 15 courses of Indian Knowledge Tradition that include Veda, Yoga, Science, Vocational Skills and Sanskrit language subjects available in Sanskrit, Hindi and English medium at all three levels of the Open Basic Education Program. These courses are equivalent to 3rd, 5th and 8th standards.

While announcing the new subjects in the 2021 curriculum, NIOS chairperson Prof. Saroj Sharma said that NIOS is trying to include students from Gurukul and Madarsas in the mainstream education program. She also noted that NIOS is working with madarsas to introduce modern education for its students who cannot afford regular school.

She further informed that in the recent meetings held with madarsas, the stakeholders had shown interest in introducing Indian Knowledge Tradition as subjects in madarsas. She said that initially, NIOS is planning to offer these subjects under OBE Program in 100 madarsas and in future it will be expanded further to 500 madarsas.

It has to be noted that NIOS is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education. There are some speculations that the Ministry of Education is trying to force these subjects that include Vedas, Ramayana and other Hindu Scriptures in madarsas which is not true. As the stakeholders have shown interest in incorporating these subjects, NIOS decided to explore the possibilities. Secondly, these subjects are optional. There is no compulsion on any student in madarsa or otherwise to learn these subjects.

Is the education ministry ‘imposing’ these courses on madarsas?

Several news agencies like the Times of India picked up the news but distorted several facts. For example, they did not mention that the stakeholders had shown interest in the subjects. Following the news reports, there were some claims on social media that the government is imposing madarsa students learn Hindu religious teachings.

imposing

Following the emerging controversy, NIOS issued a clarification. It said, “It is clarified herewith that NIOS accredits madrassas under SPQEM (Special provision for quality education of Madrassas). Various subjects are offered to learners under this provision-without any hard-line boundaries of fixed subject combinations unlike that in the formal education system. It is totally the discretion of the learner to opt for subject combination from the bouquet of the subjects provided by NIOS.”

It further added that around 50,000 students from 100 Madarsas are accredited with NIOS. “There are around 100 Madrassas with 50,000 students are accredited with NIOS. Further, there are plans to accredit around 500 more Madrassas with the NIOS in the recent future- totally on the basis of demand of Madrassas,” NIOS said.

NIOS is doing a commendable job in promoting Indian Knowledge Traditions – Pokhriyal

While addressing the attendees, Pokhriyal said that NIOS is doing a commendable job in making efforts to spread the Indian Knowledge Traditions in-country and abroad.

He also informed about the additional courses, including Vedic Studies, Sanskrit grammar, Indian philosophy, Sanskrit literature and Sanskrit language, prepared for Secondary and Senior levels at NIOS. These courses are available in Hindi and Sanskrit language. Experts are translating these subjects in English medium and other major foreign languages so that the Indian culture and knowledge tradition can be taught abroad.

The Minister further added that the course material prepared by NIOS is in sync with the new education policy recently enacted by the central government. The efforts made by NIOS to promote Indian culture, heritage, ancient knowledge and philosophy will prove to be a milestone.

Indian Knowledge Tradition subject details in the latest curriculum

Under OBE, three levels are equivalent to 3rd, 5th and 8th standards. All levels have five subjects that are Veda, Vijnana, Yoga, Sanskrit and Vocational Skills. Under Veda courses, lessons on Ramayan narratives, teachings of Bhagwad Gita, Maheshwara Sutras, Ekatyasastotra, Vedic hymns, Vishnushatranama stotra, the Shikshaavalli, Brahmavalli, Bhriguvalli and Lallishatnama stotra and more are included.

Under Yoga subjects, lessons on Patanjali kritasutra, yoga sutra exercises, Surya namaskars, asanas and activities, pranayama, Yama, niyam, hatha yoga and more are included along with memory-enhancing exercises.

In vocational courses, lessons such as watering plants, cow rearing, cleaning of cowsheds and hygiene, garden care, sowing and harvesting and many others are included.

In Science or Vijnana, lessons such as water, air, vegetation and land conservation in the Vedas, the origin of creation, Panchamabhut, and others are included.

Conclusion

NIOS is an autonomous body that provides distance education, especially to students who cannot afford regular school. It comes under the Ministry of Education. The latest courses under OBE Program include lessons of Ramayana, Gita, Yoga, and more. Though NIOS is introducing these courses in Madarsas, it is being done only after the stakeholders showed interest in these subjects. Moreover, these subjects are optional. It is not mandatory for any madarsa student to study these courses. Thus, speculating that the Ministry of Education is forcing students at Madarsas to learn these subjects is false.

Around 300 schoolgirls released a week after being kidnapped by an armed group in Nigeria, govt denies paying ransom

OpIndia Staff
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Around 300 schoolgirls released a week after being kidnapped by an armed group in Nigeria, govt denies paying ransom

A group of Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by armed men from a boarding school in the northwestern state of Zamfara last week were released on Tuesday. Around 279 girls were reported to have been abducted in a raid by hundreds of armed men in the Government Girls Secondary school in Jangebe village in Nigeria on Friday. The girls were kept in a government building before they were sent for medical check-up.

President Muhammad Buhari expressed pleasure on the release of girls

Muhammad Buhari, the President of Nigeria, tweeted to share the news of the release of the kidnapped girls yesterday. He said that he joined the families of the girls in welcoming them.

Nigerian Governor, Bello Matawalle, also took to Twitter to express joy over the release of the girls.

Sharing their ordeal of captivity, the girls told how they were taken to forest by their kidnappers and forced to walk on stones and thorns. They said that the kidnappers hit them with guns forcing them to keep walking, even the ones who were unwell.

It is not clear how the release of the girls was secured as the Nigerian government had reportedly refused to pay ransoms to the girls’ captors. According to reports, similar school abductions have taken place in Nigeria in recent months. The Nigerian government officials have been holding talks with the captors known as ‘bandits’. Previously, the government officials have reportedly entered into ‘peace agreements’ with bandits offering them money and amnesties. However, attacks including kidnapping for ransom, raping and pillaging by heavily armed criminal gangs in the north-west and central Nigeria have reportedly increased in recent years.

President Muhammad Buhari called for kidnappers to be brought to book

The approach of the state government of providing amnesty to bandits has not found favour with the central government. President Buhari had reportedly called for the captors to be brought to justice. He said that if ransoms were paid, this would encourage attacks in future.

Rising cases of school kidnappings in Nigeria

Criminal gangs have been targeting boarding schools in Northern Nigeria for mass kidnappings for ransom. The trend was reportedly started by jihadist group Boko Haram in 2014 when it kidnapped 270 girls from the town of Chibok. 100 out of these girls have not been found till date. Last week, some unidentified gunmen had killed a student in an attack on a boarding school in the north-central Nigerian state of Niger. They kidnapped 42 people including 27 students. The hostages have not yet been released.

Last year in December, over 300 boys were kidnapped from a school in Kankara, located in President Buhari’s home state of Katsina, while the President was on a visit in the region. The boys were released later but the incident had sparked fear among people. Boko Haram had claimed the responsibility for the kidnapping.

Kidnapping for ransom have become an escalating problem in Nigeria with businessmen, officials and ordinary citizens being abducted from streets by kidnappers seeking ransom money.

Jalgaon shocker: Police officials and hostel employees accused of forcing women residents to strip dance, complaint filed

OpIndia Staff
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Jalgaon shocker: Police officials and hostel employees accused of forcing women residents to strip dance, complaint filed

In a shocking incident, some police officials and other hostel employees have been accused of forcing the residents of a women’s hostel to strip dance at the government-run Ashadeep Hostel in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.

As per reports, a complaint has been filed in this regard by a social service organisation with the District Collector. Videos of the incident were also submitted as proof of the incident. District Collector Abhijit Raut promised to take immediate action and assured a fair investigation in the case.

In the complaint, it is being alleged that some police personnel and some other people entered the hostel in the name of investigation and coerced the women to undress and dance. When the girls refused to do so, they were threatened with murder.

Police personnel, outsiders entered the hostel under the pretext of carrying out interrogation: Reports

The hostel, located in Ganesh Nagar of Jalgaon, was run by the Department of Women and Child Welfare which provides shelter and food to the destitute and oppressed women and girls. There had been complaints of malpractices being committed in the hostel, reports said. The incident of police personnel and hostel employees forcing women to undress and perform indecent dance came to light when Jananayak Foundation presidents Feroz Pinjari, Farid Khan and Mangala Sonawane decided to pay a visit to the hostel and find out more information about the wrongdoings happening in the hostel.

However, they were stopped from entering the hostel. The girls reportedly narrated the whole incident from the windows of the hostel. According to them, police personnel and other outsiders entered the hostel in connivance with some hostel employees and under the pretext of investigation. They were asked to undress themselves and dance in front of them. Those who protested were threatened with beatings and murder. They were even harassed by the hostel authorities while sharing their ordeal with the Foundation members.

Man attacks Ajay Devgn’s car, hurls abuses for his tweet on ‘farmer protests’

OpIndia Staff
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Man attacks Ajay Devgn’s car, hurls abuses for his tweet on ‘farmer protests’

Rajdeep Ramesh Singh, on Tuesday, stopped Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn’s car and hurled abuses at him over his tweet on farmers’ protests.

He was later arrested but released on bail.

In the video that has now gone viral, he could be seen stopping Devgn from entering a film studio in Goregaon, Mumbai. The man named Rajdeep Singh was arrested on Tuesday. 28-year old Rajdeep Singh is a driver belonging to Punjab. He was reportedly upset with Devgn for not speaking in support of farmers protests. He demanded to know why the actor did not speak in support of the protests.

“How do you digest the food by being against Punjab? You should be ashamed of yourself,” he could be seen saying in Punjabi.

Devgn had tweeted and urged Indians to stay united and not fall for propaganda after Swedish protestor Greta Thunberg inadvertently tweeted the ‘protest’ toolkit a week after the Republic Day riots.

He had urged, like many celebrities, to stand united and not fall into infighting.

Rajdeep Singh, who is a resident of Santosh Nagar locality in the northern suburb, blocked Devgn’s car for about 15 minutes.

As per Inspector Dharmendra Kamble of Dindoshi police station, Rajdeep Singh was booked under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Devgn was reportedly headed to the Film City in Goregaon for the shooting of his film named Gangubai Kathiawadi.

West Bengal: Police recover arms, bombs from the house of a worker of Indian Secular Front, an ally of Congress

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Police recover arms, bombs from the house of a worker of Indian Secular Front, an ally of Congress

Ahead of the State Legislative elections in West Bengal, the police have recovered arms and bombs from the house of an Indian Secular Front (ISF) worker in South 24 Parganas. Indian Secular Front is led by Islamic cleric Abbas Siddique, which has formed an alliance with Congress and the left parties for the assembly elections in the state.

As per reports, the accused has been identified as one Ziarul Mollah. The police informed, “We conducted a search at Indian Secular Front (ISF) worker Ziarul Mollah’s house. We recovered shotguns, bombs & bomb-making equipment.” It must be mentioned that the cops had earlier arrested the father of the accused, Jalil Mollah.

While speaking about the development, DSP (Baruipur) Tamal Sarkar informed that the police received a tip-off about explosives at the residence of the Ziarul Mollah. The police is yet to arrest the accused, who has been on the run from the law enforcement authorities. “We have arrested accused ISF worker Ziarul Mollah’s father Jalil Mollah. Search is on for the accused Ziarul Mollah,” he informed.

In a video that has now surfaced on social media, the non-uniformed police officials could be seen raiding the house of Ziarul Mollah. Several arms, and bomb-making materials were found at his residence, which were later seized by the cops.

ISF leader arrested for attacking TMC members

Earlier on Sunday, the police had arrested another ISF worker by the name of Younis Sarkar for attacking Trinamool Congress (TMC) party members in Bhangar in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Younus, an aide of the Sufi cleric and ISF leader Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, was nabbed after the police analysed the CCTV footage and found that he was leading the mob. During the incident, the 6 TMC workers were severely injured.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ S Newz)

The 24-year-old ISF founder, Abbas Siddiqui, has been infamous for his incendiary rhetoric, fear-mongering and calls for ‘divine intervention’ for the death of 50 crore Indians. Despite being well-aware of his extremist views, the Left and the Congress party has joined hands with Siddiqui to gain political mileage and strengthen its hold over the Muslim vote bank. The Election Commission of India on Friday announced an eight-phased Assembly poll for West Bengal beginning March 27. The counting of votes will take place on May 2. 

Chinese court rules that a university book describing homosexuality as a mental disorder is correct

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese court rules that a university book describing homosexuality as a mental disorder is correct

A court in China’s Jiangsu province recently ruled in favour of a textbook description of homosexuality as a ‘psychological disorder’. According to reports, Suyu District Intermediate Court in Suqian said that the description was not a factual error and resulted from ‘perceptual differences’. The court thus upheld a judgment passed by a lower court in September last year.

The suit was filed by a Hong Kong bases social worker

According to reports, a 24-year old Hong Kong based social worker Ou Jiaying had filed a suit against Jinan University Press and a company owned by retailer JD.com in 2017 alleging that they had published and distributed factually incorrect content in a 2013 book on mental health education for university students.

In September last year, the Suyu District People’s Court had ruled in favour of the publishing house saying that the opposing views of the plaintiff and the publisher were due to differences in opinions and not because of a factual error. Jiayong had appealed against the order in November last year but the court upheld the previous ruling.

Jiayong, who uses the pseudonym XiXi, expressed disappointment over the ruling. “The teaching material classifies homosexuality as a psychological disorder, which it isn’t”, she was quoted as saying. “I am really disappointed, because we are seeing comments that are supporting this judgment”, she added.

Homosexuality was reportedly decategorised as a mental disorder by the Chinese Psychiatric Association in 2001. Director of LGBTQ Rights Advocacy China, Peng Yanzi termed the ruling as damaging to the LGBTQ community. “It’s quite damaging to the whole LGBTQ community, so we are solely disappointed”, said Yanzi. He appreciated XiXi for legally pursuing the case for years.

The book categorised homosexuality under ‘common psychological disorders’

Jiayong came across the psychology book in 2016 during the first year of her study at South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. The 2013 edition of the book named ‘Mental Health Education for College Students’ published by Jinan University Press categorised homosexuality under ‘common psychological disorders’ along with cross-dressing and fetishism. The book reportedly stated that ‘homosexuality was believed to be a disruption of love and sex or perversion of the sex partner’. The book was used by several Chinese universities. Thus, Jiayong was concerned that the book was perpetuating the belief that being gay as wrong.

Income Tax raids conducted at around 22 locations linked to Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl in tax evasion case

OpIndia Staff
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Income Tax raids conducted at around 22 locations linked to Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap and Vikas Bahl in tax evasion case

The Income Tax Department has raided 22 locations linked to director Anurag Kashyap, producer Vikas Bahl, Producer Madhu Mantena and actress Taapsee Pannu in tax evasion case.

Phantom Films’ office has also been raided. The raids have taken place at the homes and linked properties in Mumbai, Pune and some other locations.

As per reports, the IT department has alleged these four have evaded tax. Phantom was formed by Kashyap, Bahl, Mantena and Vikramaditya Motwane. In 2018, the company was dissolved following sexual assault allegations against Bahl by a former Phantom employee.

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