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Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ is safe, vaccine led to enhanced immune responses to Covid-19, says medical journal Lancet

OpIndia Staff
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Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ is safe, vaccine led to enhanced immune responses to Covid-19, says medical journal Lancet

British Medical Journal Lancet has said that Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine – Covaxin, India’s first indigenous vaccine against the coronavirus, showed enhanced immune response without any serious side effects in the Phase 1 trials.

The prestigious medical journal said that the vaccine generated tolerable safety outcomes and enhanced immune responses. According to the Lancet, the vaccine, codenamed BBV152, was well tolerated in all dose groups with no vaccine-related serious adverse events.

During the trials carried between 13 and 30 July 2020, 827 participants were screened, of whom 375 were enrolled. Among the enrolled participants, 100 each were randomly assigned to the three vaccine groups, and 75 were randomly assigned to the control group.

“The most common solicited adverse events were injection site pain, headache, fatigue, fever, and nausea or vomiting,” the journal said.

Adverse event common, not related to vaccine: Lancet

The journal also added that one adverse event was reported but was unrelated to the vaccine.

“All solicited adverse events were mild and were more frequent after the first dose. One serious adverse event of viral pneumonitis was reported in the 6 μg with Algel group, unrelated to the vaccine,” the journal said.

During the phase 2 trial, Covaxin has been tested in 11 hospitals across the country. According to Lancet, the volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 with no co-morbidity conditions have participated in the trial, who were administered two intramuscular doses of vaccines with 14 days apart.

Reportedly, the vaccine trial took place in Hyderabad, Rohtak, Patna, Kancheepuram, Delhi, Goa, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow among other places.

Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The drug regulator committee of India had last month granted emergency use authorisation for Covaxin in ‘clinical trial mode’.

Lancet study dismisses fearmongering by liberals and opposition parties

Ever since the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the emergency use of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine Covaxin for Covid-19, the opposition parties and its media ecosystem had resorted to not only politicising the issue of vaccination drive but also trying to discredit it as it was developed and manufactured indigenously in the country.

The left-liberals, trying to undo all the hard work carried out by Indian scientists, had resorted to false propaganda by targeting the government over the vaccine’s efficacy and had indulged in fearmongering ahead of the release of the cure for the pandemic.

According to these ‘experts’, the Covaxin has not been fully tested, short on trails, and there was no efficacy data to prove that the vaccine is a successful one.

However, with Lancet certifying the study and peer-reviewing the Indian made vaccine ‘Covaxin’, the left-liberals and opposition leaders in the country have much to answer about their campaign to discredit the vaccine at a time when the country needed it the most.

‘Money earned in drug sale was used to finance anti-India activities’: NCB busts Dawood Ibrahim aide’s drug factory

OpIndia Staff
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‘Money earned in drug sale was used to finance anti-India activities’: NCB busts Dawood Ibrahim aide’s drug factory

Two days after the Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) arrested Parvez Khan alias Chiku Pathan, the agency arrested one more member of the gang today from the Dongri area and recovered MD(Mephedrone) drug.

A diary has also been recovered from in which names of 20 drug peddlers are mentioned. According to the NCB, the money earned from the drug sale was used in financing anti-India activities.

The agency also stated that the information gathered about gangster Chiku Pathan will be shared with the Enforcement Directorate as well as the National Investigation Agency. An investigation is also underway to ascertain whether Pathan is associated with Dawood Ibrahim, NCB said.

NCB raids a drug factory in Mumbai’s Dongri and arrests Chiku Pathan

The latest arrest in the case came two days after the agency raided a factory in Dongri area of Mumbai and recovered drugs and cash worth crores along with firearms reserves. Chiku Pathan, who is allegedly a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in the raid. Acting on a tip-off, the NCB had launched an operation on Wednesday morning, which continued till Thursday and led to the expose of a drug factory located in the heart of South Mumbai.

The factory is said to be involved in manufacturing MD or Mephedrone, a menace on the Mumbai’s streets, pushing a large number of youngsters in the abyss of the crime world and drug addiction. The factory was run in Dongri of South Mumbai, once a stronghold of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, and whose henchmen allegedly still run illegal and unlawful activities from the place.

The factory was run by Pathan and his associates. Pathan is one of the biggest druglords of Mumbai and is believed to handle 70 per cent of the supply of mephedrone in Mumbai and the MMR region. According to NCB sources, Pathan had links with international drug cartels and his arrest and the expose of the drug factory in Dongri is one of the biggest drug busts in the country.

It is worth noting that Chiku Pathan is a relative of former underworld don, late Karim Lala. He is also said to have links with Dawood Ibrahim gang. He reportedly runs several kitchen laboratories where mephedrone is synthesized and then circulated with the help of a chain of drug peddlers, who sell it on the streets in Mumbai and surrounding places.

NCB launched a probe after drug-related chats surfaced in the wake of Sushant’s death

The probe into the drug menace prevalent in and around Mumbai was launched by the Narcotics Control Bureau in the wake of the alleged suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Based on Whatsapp chat involving drug, the NCB launched a probe into the rampant drug use in Bollywood.

The central agency had earlier arrested Rajput’s girlfriend, actress Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik, some employees of the late actor and a few others under sections of the NDPS Act. Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, and some other accused were later granted bail.

India sends Covid-19 vaccines to all neighbouring countries except Pakistan, China steps in to aid Pakistan with free Chinese vaccine

OpIndia Staff
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India sends Covid-19 vaccines to all neighbouring countries except Pakistan, China steps in to aid Pakistan with free Chinese vaccine

Just days after India started vaccinating priority groups in India, the Indian government has already started sending the vaccines to other countries. Even before commercial export by the manufacturers, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, makers of Covishield and Covaxin, had started, the central govt has already procured Covid-19 vaccines from them to send to other countries as grants.

The Modi government has decided to send the vaccines to almost all neighbouring countries, with one notable exception. While the first shipment of Indian vaccines had landed Bhutan and after that in the Maldives, vaccines have reached other nearby nations like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and the country plans to send vaccines to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka soon. Other than these neighbouring countries, India has also sent vaccines to Seychelles and Mauritius as grant supplies.

However, India has not sent any vaccines to its western neighbour Pakistan, and there are no reports suggesting that the govt may help the terror sponsor nation with vaccines. After India had started sending vaccines to other countries, the ‘aman ki aasha’ proponents have been demanding that India should send vaccines to Pakistan also in humanitarian grounds. However, the central govt has not shown any inclination of accepting that demand.

However, after India started sending vaccines to friendly nations, Pakistan managed to obtain a promise of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from its all-weather ally China as an aid.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi informed on Thursday, “I want to give the nation the good news that China has promised to immediately provide 500,000 doses of vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.” He informed the same after a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Quoting Yi, Qureshi said that Pakistan is the first country China is helping with its vaccine against the Chinese virus.

On Monday, Pakistan had approved the Chinese state-owned firm Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. Earlier it had already approved the vaccine developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca for emergency use. It is notable that the world’s largest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India is making the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in India under the Covishield brand.

In the last couple of days, India has sent 1.5 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bhutan, 1 lakh doses to Maldives, 20 lakh doses to Bangladesh, 15 lakh doses to Myanmar, 10 lakh doses to Nepal, 50,000 doses to Seychelles, and 1 lakh doses to Mauritius.

Apart from these grants by India, commercial export of vaccines is also starting from today. Serum Institute is shipping the Covishield vaccine to Brazil and Morocco today. South Africa and Saudi Arabia will also get shipments for the same in the coming days.

Brazil, the second-worst country hit by Covid-19, has been asking India to send the vaccines. It had even offered to send a plane last week to pick up the shipment.

However, India has not sent any vaccines to its western neighbour Pakistan, and there are no reports suggesting that the govt may help the terror nation with vaccines. However, after India started sending vaccines to friendly nations, Pakistan managed to obtain a promise 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from its all-weather ally China as aid.

Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi informed on Thursday, “I want to give the nation the good news that China has promised to immediately provide 500,000 doses of vaccine to Pakistan by January 31.” He informed the same after a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Quoting Yi, Qureshi said that Pakistan is the first country China is helping with its vaccine against the Chinese virus.

On Monday, Pakistan had approved the Chinese state-owned firm Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. Earlier it had already approved the vaccine developed by Oxford University-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. It is notable that world’s largest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India is making the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in India under the Covishield brand.

In the last couple of days, India has sent 1.5 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Bhutan, 1 lakh doses to Maldives, 20 lakh doses to Bangladesh, 15 lakh doses to Myanmar, 10 lakh doses to Nepal, 50,000 doses to Seychelles, 1 lakh doses to Mauritius.

Apart from these grants by India, commercial export of vaccines is also starting from today. Serum Institute is shipping the Covishield vaccine to Brazil and Morocco today. South Africa and Saudi Arabia will also get shipments for the same in the coming days.

Brazil, the second worst country hit by Covid-19, has been asking India to send the vaccines. It had even offered to send a plane last week to pick up the shipment.

There is great demand for Indian vaccines across the world, especially from less developed nations, as the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna as relatively expensive, and they have been already purchased by richer nations, leaving no stock for others. Moreover, those vaccines need to be stored in much low temperature, requiring extensive cold storage and transport facilities, while the Covishield and Covaxin can be stored in domestic refrigerators.

Delhi police books DSGMC president and Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa for embezzlement of Gurdwara funds

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi police books DSGMC president and Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa for embezzlement of Gurdwara funds

The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has registered a case against Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa and others on charges for cheating and embezzlement of Gurdwara funds.

Delhi court calls allegations against Manjinder Singh Sirsa “serious in nature”, orders probe

The Delhi police have acted on an order passed by a Delhi court in November last year. Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Dhirendra Rana, on November 7, had directed the Delhi police to register an FIR against Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other unknown persons in the committee for the misappropriation of funds while Sirsa was the general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee in 2013.

Calling the allegations “serious in nature”, the Additional chief metropolitan magistrate had said that the matter needs to be investigated.

The order was passed following a complaint by one Bhupinder Singh who had contended that the current DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who was the general secretary of the committee then in 2013, had caused a loss of public funds to the tune of Rs 65,99,729 by showing sham transactions with various entities and raising fictitious bills without any actual goods or services being provided.

Delhi court orders the DCP, Economics Offences Wing, to investigate the matter

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Dhirendra Rana had also said that the bills submitted to the court did not bear the signatures of anyone from the DSGMC and investigation is required to check why Sirsa had claimed payment on such bills. Saying that the bills “look fictitious prima facie”, the court said that it is a matter of investigation as to who approved these bills and how. The court had then ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Economics Offences Wing (EOW), to investigate the matter.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa comes out in his defence

When the issue came to the fore, a blame game began. Sirsa said in his defence: “There are no allegations against me. The court has said that payments should be investigated to ascertain whether there are proper bills available or not. The bills were approved by the then president Manjit Singh GK and not by me.”

Meanwhile, Manjit Singh GK, the former DSGMC president denied his role and said that Sirsa was trying to mislead everyone. “The court has named Sirsa and asked for an FIR to be registered in his name. I have evidence that he had got the payments made under his signatures for erecting tents at the homes of top Akali leaders. As per the DSGMC Act 1971, that governs the working of Gurdwara committee, the general secretary is the administrative head as he is in charge of accounts, purchase and personal matters.”

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also jumped into the entire fiasco and demanded that Sirsa be suspended as the president of DSGMC.

80% of meat supplied is halal: Meat traders call SDMC’s move to display whether they are selling Halal or Jhatka meat ‘unwarranted’

OpIndia Staff
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80% of meat supplied is halal: Meat traders call SDMC’s move to display whether they are selling Halal or Jhatka meat ‘unwarranted’

The meat traders in Delhi Thursday opposed SDMC’s diktat on restaurants displaying the halal or jhatka meat distinction, opining that the move is divorced from the reality of the trade as 80% of meat supplied to the national capital from the Ghazipur slaughterhouse is of the halal variety.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the meat traders argued that in most cases, the hoteliers and other bigger traders focus more on the price of the meat than on the method of slaughtering the animal. Irshad Qureshi, general secretary of the Delhi Meat Merchant Association, said that in case of chicken, traders buy live poultry from the Ghazipur market. And in the case of goat and buffalo meat, though there is a slaughterhouse with separate sections for halal and jhatka, the big clients usually do not differentiate between the two as for them price matters.

Qureshi also said that usually Muslims differentiate more between halal and jhatka than Hindus. “Muslim butchers naturally have expertise in the halal variety while Hindu khatiks are employed by many non-Muslim meat shops. But you will also find a large number of Muslim shops employing Hindu butchers. The nature of the trade is such,” said Irshad Qureshi.

Owner of a halal meat shop at Delhi’s INA market, who did want to be named, said the order “makes no sense” as it will have “no impact” on consumer behaviour. He opined that rather SDMC should crackdown on illegal roadside meat sellers as they are unregulated and lead to revenue losses for the authorised traders, and also carry the risk of spreading disease.

“In restaurants, most people don’t place special requests for halal or jhatka. A very small percentage does, it makes no economic sense for traders to source jhatka meat for them,” the owner said, adding that Hindu meat sellers in the market, selling mostly chicken, call him if a customer places a request for halal variety.

Meanwhile, another owner of a standalone poultry meat stall in a DDA market said that they are not required to display halal or jhatka variants under the norms. “We sell jhatka meat. Customers who want halal meat have their own source.”

The SDMC order

We reported earlier that the municipal corporation passed a resolution mandating restaurants and meat shops in South Delhi to display whether they are selling Halal or Jhatka meat. “There are thousands of restaurants in 104 wards of four zones falling under South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Out of these, meat is served in about 90 per cent of restaurants but it is not mentioned whether the meat being served by the restaurants is ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’,” said the resolution passed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The decision was taken keeping into consideration that in Hinduism and Sikhism, eating ‘halal’ meat is forbidden and against religion. Therefore, the committee resolved that this direction be given to restaurants and meat shops that it should be written mandatorily about the meat being sold and served by them that ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka’ meat is available here.

According to reports, officials have been ordered to take action against the eateries or retailers who flout the guidelines stated in the notice.

The controversy around Halal meat

Halal is the Islamic way of slaughter which can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal firm. There are certain other conditions that must be fulfilled that makes it quite clear that it is intrinsically an Islamic practice. Guidelines make it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process.

Guidelines make it abundantly clear that only Muslim employees are allowed to participate in the entire process at every stage. Even the labelling of the meat can be done by Muslims only. Naturally, due to the discriminatory nature of the entire process, a controversy had erupted.

Recently, Christians in Kerala had also opposed the method and called for a boycott of halal meat.

Microsoft files a patent to bring back dead loved ones as ‘chatbots’ from their digital data

OpIndia Staff
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Microsoft files a patent to bring back dead loved ones as ‘chatbots’ from their digital data

Microsoft has filed a patent that would allow the tech behemoth to access the personal information of dead loved ones and digitally revive them as ‘chatbots’.

According to the reports, the company is on the verge of realising the possibility of building a bot that could mirror a dead loved one based on the “images, voice data, social media posts, electronic messages”, and more personal information.

The information filed in the patent goes on to say that the chatbot would simulate human conversation through the agency of voice commands or text chats and may correspond to a present or past entity such as a friend, a relative, an acquaintance, a celebrity, a fictional character, a historical figure etc.

It further adds that the chatbot may correspond to oneself as well, alluding that living users could train a digital clone of themselves in the event of their death.

The concept of human replacement by a chatbot is taken a step further by including a provision of a 2D or 3D model of a specific entity that could be created using “images and depth information, or video data” of an individual in order to create a bot that has same characteristics and behaviour traits as suggested by the digital output of that entity.

The notion that a bot would imitate a dead person is not entirely a new concept. Something similar was portrayed Netflix’s famous Black Mirror episode ‘Be Right Back’, which narrated a story where a grieving woman opts to first have a ‘digital version’ of her partner restored, then eventually ‘orders’ a life-size humanoid that talks to her in the voice and mannersim of her deceased partner.

Digital versions of human beings filling in the void of dead people

In that particular Black Mirror episode, Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson play as Martha and Ash. When Ash gets killed in a car accident, Martha is devastated from the loss. She learns of a technology that could help her create a bot and simulate a dead person based on their online history. The episode had portrayed the promises and the consequences of such a decision.

More recently, Kayne West gifted Kim Kardashian West a hologram of her deceased father in October 2020, to celebrate her 40th birthday, further cementing the notion of how the digital versions are filling in the void of deceased kins.

An earlier AI chatbot was ‘corrupted in a day’

In 2016, an earlier experimental AI chatbot named ‘Tay’ released by Microsoft that was trained to learn and adapt human conversations was converted into a racist, abusive bot within a day due to Twitter. Soon after the launch of the AI program, social media users had started tweeting all sorts of racist, misogynist and hateful remarks at it and the AI bot, a ‘digital parrot’, learned it all. it had started regurgitating those hateful remarks in less than a day.

Temples under attack in Andhra Pradesh: Hindus must be granted autonomy and the chance to defend themselves from external attacks

Sai Priya Chodavarapu
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Temples under attack in Andhra Pradesh: Hindus must be granted autonomy and the chance to defend themselves from external attacks

The recent series of temple vandalism incidents across Andhra Pradesh have left Hindus all over the country horrified and shaken. The unprovoked, systematic attacks on Hindu temples across the state, whose numbers have increased both in magnitude and seriousness over the past year, are troubling, to say the least.

The outrage over the incidents came to a zenith upon the decapitation of a 400-year old mūrti of Sri Rāma at Ramathirtha, Vizianagaram District, AP on the 29th of December 2020, when the head of Sri Rāma was found after being thrown in the temple tank. The images of the pujari carrying the stone head if Sri Rāma were stirring and poignant, and have since come to represent the gravity of the situation in Andhra Pradesh. 

Prior to this incident, a 12th century Nandi was found broken to pieces at a Śiva temple in Chittur district; two old Hindu temples in Suryaraopeta, East Godavari district was illegally demolished by neighbouring Church’s Pastor, who also stole the antique idols housed within, and 23 idols of small shrines in Pithapuram, East Godavari district was brutally vandalized. There were countless other similar incursions across the state. Shockingly, a few more idol destruction episodes took place in AP even after protests had begun at Ramathirtha.

The Andhra Pradesh DGP, in a press conference, went over the available statistics regarding temple vandalism incidents in AP for the past few years. In 2020, about 228 cases of attacks on temples were registered in Andhra Pradesh, 305 cases in 2019, 267 in 2018, 318 in 2017, 332 in 2016 and 290 in 2015. 

While the incidents seem to have no connection with the political party in power – as the numbers have been consistently high for the past years, the magnitude and scale of destruction have certainly increased this past year – with two priceless temple chariots being burnt to ash within a few months of each other:

The first was the chariot belonging to the Prasanna Venkateśwara Temple at Kondabitragunta Village, Nellore, was burnt to ash in the middle of the night in mid-February 2020.

The second was the priceless teak wood chariot belonging to the famous Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Antarvedi in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district in September of 2020. The CCTV installed near the chariot apparently “malfunctioned”. Hindu activists alleged a deep-rooted anti-Hindu conspiracy behind the burning of the chariot, and demanded the apprehension of those involved in this heinous act – but four months have passed and no arrests have been made. 

The third attack on a temple chariot came soon after in September, at the famous Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada, when three silver lions affixed to the chariot, each weighing 3kg, went missing, while the fourth was found damaged. No arrests have been made as yet in this case either. 

Responding to the multitude of attacks on mūrtis in Hindu temples across the state, YSRCP MP Raghu Ramakrishna Raju asked CM Jaganmohan Reddy why the govt has not responded to the continued atrocities against Hindu temples in the state and questioned if there was an insidious involvement of influential people or groups, due to which no action was being taken. 

The frequency of these incidents is alarming, and precedes the Christian CM taking office, although attacks have, ostensibly, intensified since then. 

In February 2019, when ancient Gupta era idols in the Venugopāla Swamy temple at Rompicharla, AP, were destroyed, and a Ganapathi idol was stolen, a local Sadhu Sangham expressed concern about a series of such incidents with no action being taken against perpetrators, and demanded action from the govt – yet there has been no resolution to the case to date. 

One could argue that the blame for the situation in AP need not necessarily be placed with the current party in power, but the rampant, often state-aided missionary activity and demographic change that has been breeding intolerance and hatred for Hindus – after being allowed to fester with impunity for the past few decades – certainly seems to be a factor.

Although the endowments department has promised to fortify security in temples across the state, there is no reassurance regarding bringing the perpetrators to justice and uncovering the possibly sinister theological motive to the incidents, if any. All the priceless heritage, once destroyed, is lost to us forever.

A video recently surfaced of a Christian group conducting prayers inside the premises of the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Kondavidu, AP. The AP Police, instead of registering a complaint against the Christian prayer group, initiated a case against those that shared the video of the temple staff confronting the Christian trespassers, alleging “promotion of enmity between religions “. This act in itself shows the anti-Hindu attitude and disinterest of the government and the police in upholding the sanctity of Hindu places of worship, and the collusion between them.

Putting the temple vandalism aside for a moment, AP Government, led by CM Jaganmohan Reddy has been at the forefront of a massive financial assault on temple revenue and property. In May 2020, Endowments Dept attempted to auction (against the parameters of the Endowments Act, 1987) properties belonging to the TTD (Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams) – those that were kindly donated to the temple by devotees – citing an inability to manage said properties. There are many more alarming statistics. A whopping one lakh acres of temple land is under encroachment in AP according to Endowments Commissioner Arjuna Rao. 

In September 2020, YS Jagan government also unethically dissolved 2500 temple trusts across the state, which goes against the provisions of the Endowments Act wherein hereditary trustees are given a place on the trust or temple board.

Recently, the TTD, headed by CM YS Jagan’s uncle, Y Subba Reddy, has sanctioned the construction of 500 new temples in AP and Telangana. This seems to be a bid, as are most large-scale construction projects in our country, to hand out shady contracts to friends and family and misappropriate TTD revenue – while simultaneously appeasing their Hindu vote bank in the process. Currently, there are hundreds of smaller shrines, including ones of considerable antiquity and importance across Andhra, that come under TTD administration but are lying in a state of neglect and disrepair.

The TTD’s contribution to the Common Good Fund, created under Section 70(1) (a) of Endowments Act, is kept aside for their maintenance and preservation but the funds (which essentially devotee donations) are appropriated, and these heritage structures are lying in a derelict state. Renovation and repair are often carried out with no regard for the historical and aesthetic value of the monument, which results in irreparable damage instead of rehabilitation of these age-old structures.

A few weeks ago, Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition against Chief Minister YS Jagan’s visit to Tirumala temple, alleging that he belongs to the Christian religion and should not have been allowed to visit the temple without furnishing sufficient declaration. The court also made a statement saying that merely attending Christian Gospel conventions and prayers in Churches, having a crucifix and a bible at home is insufficient to be considered Christian – another clear sign of the putrid collusion of the High Court and Government to undermine the sanctity of Hindu temples, especially one of such immense importance to the Hindu community such as the Sri Venkateśwara Temple at Tirupathi. 

It is clear that no government, political party, or court cares about Hindu Temples, and the protection of the Dharma that they enshrine. The only solution to safeguard the little revenue, heritage, and property temples have left after decades of unchecked looting, is to free them from government control and revert administration to the hands of hereditary trustees, the local Hindu community, and devotees. It is time the Hindus are given the right and responsibility to protect their own heritage in the manner in which they see fit. As long as the government has its greedy hands digging deeper and deeper into temple coffers, and corrupt govt officials, politicians, and bureaucrats have a say in temple affairs with no answerability to the public whatsoever, the daylight robbery of temple revenue and lands will continue unabated.

The politicization of Hindu issues that we’re seeing across the country is a result of the “secular” government being entrenched in the temple, and therefore in Hindu, affairs. If the state were to be true to our Constitution and abide by the term “secular”, it would truly separate state and religion, and stay at an arm’s length from Hindu places of worship, with the Endowments Act of 1987 (rightfully) declared unconstitutional. This would mean that Hindu temples would not be subject to the whims and fancies of the changing governments along with the political tide, with Hindus ever at their mercy. A demand for transparency and efficient administration wouldn’t be so futile.

Whether it be related to this particular series of iconoclastic attacks or otherwise, the Hindu community must be granted autonomy without state interference, and the chance to uplift and defend itself from external attacks. We wouldn’t see this unethical politicization of Hindu issues and in my opinion, no political party – ruling or opposition – should be given such an opportunity to use Hindu temple attacks as cheap political mileage. 

More pressing issues such as corruption, infrastructure, growth and development are sidelined because religious and ideological issues are always at the forefront, to the frustration and constant annoyance of Hindus. If there’s an answer as to why our country is always so focused on religious matters, its because Hindus currently do not have the same rights with respect to their places of worship as other communities do, and therefore, they are constantly required to assert themselves to bring these issues to the limelight. A lot of “religious” discussions that the irreligious in our country love to avoid wouldn’t need to take place if Hindus were simply granted the same rights as the other religions for managing their own places of worship.

‘Traitorous angels became fake gods, corrupting humans through idols,’ miscreants drop condoms, posters with Christian message in temple hundi

OpIndia Staff
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‘Traitorous angels became fake gods, corrupting humans through idols,’ miscreants drop condoms, posters with Christian message in temple hundi

A tense situation prevailed in the coastal city of Mangaluru on Wednesday after a set of condoms and a poster with the desecrated images of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and his son BY Vijayendra were found in the offering box of Koragajja Guligajja Daivastana, near Ullal, Mangaluru.

According to the reports, some mischievous elements dropped condoms inside the hundi at the temple in an attempt to disturb communal harmony in the coastal district. A morphed poster showing CM BS Yediyurappa and his son MP BY Vijayendra with objectionable messages was also found in the offering box.

The images of PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and other BJP leaders were also defaced in the morphed poster that contained objectionable writings.

“Beware! Traitorous angels banished from heaven have become fake gods and are corrupting the humans on Earth through idols. Politicians who loot people are like blood-sucking mosquitoes, and they should be beaten up and killed”, read the poster.

The poster called for all corrupt political leaders to be killed. Following the incident, a case has been registered against the culprits in the Ullal police station. The incident came into light when the hundi was opened on January 19 by the Koragajja Seva Samithi.

Mangaluru police asks temples to install CCTV

Meanwhile, the Mangaluru Police said that some culprits had committed the act to disturb communal harmony and said that they would trace those people behind this act.

Speaking to media, the police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said, “Such incidents are hurting the devotees’ sentiments. The police department will not spare those who have committed such an offence. It is a matter of time, today or tomorrow, they will be caught. Such acts should not be repeated.”

The police commissioner said that a special team has been formed to trace the accused. “Hurting religious sentiments is a sad thing. Those indulging in such mischief will be caught,” he said. 

Kumar also asked management authorities of temples and other places of worship to install CCTV cameras to deter culprits from doing such crimes. “Having CCTV cameras will help find quickly those involved in such acts of mischief and theft,” he said.

Repeated incidents of temple vandalism in Mangaluru

The shocking acts come just weeks after a similar incident had occurred in three other temples in the city. Some miscreants had dropped used condoms and fake currency notes with derogatory posters in hundis in three other temples in the city.

Pictures of the fake currency notes that had a crucifix scribbled on it with a message – ‘Muslims and pig-like Hindus should be beaten up and killed. Lord Jesus Christ is the only God worthy of worship’ was found at Bhagavan Shree Babbuswamy Kshetra and Bhagavan Shree Daivaraja Kordabbu Daivasthana situated in the city’s Attavara area. All these incidents have been reported from temples where there are no CCTV cameras.

#BanSportsTak: Netizens angry after India Today owned sports channel claims Virat Kohli suffers from ‘disorder’

OpIndia Staff
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#BanSportsTak: Netizens angry after India Today owned sports channel claims Virat Kohli suffers from ‘disorder’

Following the historic victory of India cricket team in the Brisbane Test and the retention of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, sports journalists at the India Today Group-owned Sports Tak decided to mock Virat Kohli. During the live programme on the channel on Thursday, the pack of journalists led by Vikrant Gupta made were seen making some objectionable remarks about the Indian captain and insisted that he is suffering from some kind of ‘disorder’.

At around 18 minutes into the show, sports journalist Anil Singh said that he knew that India would not repeat its disastrous performance of 36 runs at the Adelaide Test Match as the skipper Virat Kohli had left home on paternity leave. “(We had said that) India will not get out on 36 anymore because the match, stadium and the captain are gone,” he emphasised.

“It is a disorder for a captain to (be as aggressive as Virat Kohli). It might be acceptable for a player to have this aggression (but nor for a captain),” Singh claimed. He further said, “We are talking about the qualities of a captain. If we see from IPL to international cricket, we can see (his behaviour) on the field. I don’t want to name names but he must realise that he is old now.”

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/Sports Tak)

Don’t cross limits, cautioned Sports Tak journalist

While continuing his remarks against Kohli, the sports journalist said, You are not 22 or 26 anymore. You have now assumed the role of a father, husband and a son. Do you like getting involved with the audience or insulting sports journalists in other countries? Does it uphold the stature of an Indian captain to get into confrontations with other players as in the case of Steve Smith?”

“Yes, we know you were aggressive. We even liked it initially, as you were opposite to the personality of MS Dhoni. But, everything has limits. If you cross that limit, then, not only the opponents will take advantage of that but also the team will become weak from inside,” Anil Singh warned. Lead host Vikrant Gupta then chipped in to support his co-host.

He claimed that while aggression on the field has proved useful for India, it was time for the Indian skipper to learn to adapt to the ‘changing times.’ In order to bolster the remarks of his predecessor, Vikrant claimed that outsiders can often analyse the situation on the field better than those playing the game.

Netizens demand ban on Sports Tak after outrageous remarks

Slamming the bizarre observations made by the sports journalists, a Twitter user commented, “Sachin Tendulkar said Kohli’s aggression has become India’s strength but Vikrant Gupta’s man tells you it’s a disorder. #bansportstak”

Another Virat Kohli fan snubbed the channel and wrote, “Breaking News: Standing for the team and country is a disorder? Lmao. Buy a brain Vikrant Gupta.”

Another fan tweeted, “So according to Sports Tak journalists Virat has disorder as he is aggressive and celebrates on the field . Are you human ??? This is beyond limit anyone can go for agenda and hatred against the captain of the country and says yourself as journalist.”

Twitter user (@GauravK8609) sought an apology from Anil Singh, reiterating that inappropriate remarks against the Indian skipper will not be tolerated. He added that only foolish people watch the channel for sports-related updates and to learn about their point of view.

Some Twitter users even threatened to unsubscribe the channel if they don’t mend their ways. Another user pointed out that the Indian captain has earned fans because of his aggressive nature and that the number of people who adore Kohli far outnumbers the total subscribers of the Sports Tak Youtube channel.

The heroics of the Indian team in Border Gavaskar Trophy

When the Indian cricket team began its tour of Australia in November last year, it would have never imagined that the team would eventually be marred with injuries. As India went into the fourth and final Test match against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Friday, the team was devoid of star players.

With experienced bowlers such as Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and RS Ashwin still recovering from injuries, India desperately needed the 29-year-old yorker specialist T Natarajan to come to the team’s rescue.

Be it the bowling masterclass of T Natarajan or an all-round batting performance from Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar in the 1st innings, the inexperienced Indian team came together brilliantly to dash Australian hopes in the final day of the series. With this victory, India has reached the top spot of the ICC Test Championship ratings.

Maha Congress protests against Arnab Goswami over ‘ChatGate’, raises ‘Joote Maaro’ slogan while hitting his poster with shoes

OpIndia Staff
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Maha Congress protests against Arnab Goswami over ‘ChatGate’, raises ‘Joote Maaro’ slogan while hitting his poster with shoes

The Congress party has decided to make Arnab Goswami its enemy no. 1 even as it fails spectacularly to mount any serious challenge to the BJP’s electoral dominance. The party on Monday took to the streets of Mumbai in huge numbers to protest against the Republic Editor-in-Chief. They are accusing him of compromising India’s national security.

The protests were orchestrated over the Balakot discussions in the WhatsApp chats leaked by Mumbai Police. Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap said, “Goswami knew about the Balakot airstrike three days in advance and the information was leaked to him by top BJP leaders. He is a ‘traitor’ and should be booked for sedition. BJP leaders are shielding him for their political interest by compromising national security. Goswami has used the sacrifice of the CRPF jawans martyred in Pulwama attack for financial gain by boosting TRPs. If central agencies failed to take action against him, Mumbai Police should go ahead and book him for these serious violations.”

“It appears Goswami was in the know about the airstrike as part of Indian defence forces’ retaliation in response to the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019. Goswami appears to know about the airstrike three days in advance. Goswami, in one of his chats, has said that it was revealed to him by a big name in the Modi government. Thorough investigation and arrest of Goswami is a must as the issue relates to national security,” said state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat.

The women’s unit of the Maharashtra Congress raised slogans of “Desh ke gaddaron ko, Joote maaro saalon ko” while hitting posters of Arnab Goswami with shoes. Niraj Bhatia, National Executive of ‘With Congress’, hailed the spectacle saying ‘Naari Shakti Zindabad’.

The Youth Congress in Kolkata took out protests against Arnab Goswami on Thursday.

The NCP had protested in Mumbai on Thursday as well.

Maharashtra Ministers Minister Aslam Shaikk, Varsha Gaikwad, Congress leader Baba Siddiqui, Naseem Khan participated in the protests against Arnab Goswami on Friday. The protest started from Jamburee Maidan at Worli and will end at the Republic Editor’s office. Congress ministers, MLAs, MPs, corporators, district presidents and office bearers also attended the said protest.

The Arnab Goswami ‘ChatGate’ controversy

The leaked WhatsApp chat shows Arnab saying three days prior to the Balakot Airstrikes, “Bigger than a normal airstrike. And on the same time something major on Kashmir. On Pakistan the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used.” However, what he had said was already public knowledge and consistent with the message conveyed by Prime Minister Modi while addressing the country.

Former Chief Minister of the state from the Congress party and an elected MLA from the ruling alliance, Prithviraj Chavan, has admitted that it was the Mumbai Police which leaked the private chats of the Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV. Following the leaks, Pakistan had also jumped in to claim that the Pulwama terror attack was a “false flag” staged by the Indian Government.

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