In a historic feat, a predominantly inexperienced Indian side defeated the Australian cricket team in its own bastion at the Gabba cricket stadium in Brisbane.
With an aggressive batting masterclass from Rishabh pant and Washington Sundar, India chased down the mammoth target of 328 runs with 3 wickets remaining. The temperament of the last day was set by Shubman Gill with his crucial 91 runs. It was followed by the resilience and defensive gameplay of Cheteshwar Pujara. While skipper Rahane failed to make it big, a cameo by Washington Sundar and a stellar knock from Pant did the job for India.
India breaks Australia’s 32-year record
Australia remained unbeaten at the Gabba cricket ground since 1988, a record broken by the superlative performance of the Indian team. The last time Australia had lost a match at Brisbane was against West Indies when the latter managed to win the match with 9 wickets.
Screengrab of the article via Espncricinfo
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 inexperience 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.
Amid ongoing farmer protests on the Delhi border against the three Agriculture Laws that were enticed in September last year, Khalistani terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has released another video provoking Sikhs to disrupt peace on Republic Day. In the video, designated terrorist Gurparwant Singh Pannu and the Chief of SFJ has provoked farmers from Punjab to cut the electricity supply to Delhi on January 25 and 26. Pannu also claimed that 125 farmers had lost their lives at the Singhu border.
Two companies BSES Rajdhani Power Limited and BSES Yamuna Power Limited, provide electricity to the Delhi region. Reliance Infrastructure Limited has the major shareholding in both the companies and the rest of the stakes are under the respective state government. Citing the fact, Pannu provoked the farmers to destroy the grids owned by these two companies. He claimed that by cutting the electricity, farmers would be able to wake up the central government which has ‘turned deaf’ to their demand to repeal laws.
Pannu threatened residents of Delhi against going to the R-Day parade
Note:OpIndia does not want to provide a platform for a separatist agenda. Thus we are not sharing the video that has been going viral on several social media platforms and messaging services.
In his video, Pannu threatened the residents of Delhi and asked them to stay at home if they want to be safe from Republic Day. He alleged that the government of India would indulge in terrorist activities to blame Khalistanis for the attack on National Capital. He further alleged that if the people of Delhi want to be safe, they must stay home on January 26 and do not participate in the Republic Day celebrations.
Pannu claimed that Khalistan is a genuine demand, and his organization will move ahead with a referendum for a separate country named Khalistan. He claimed Khalistanis believe in peace, and they do not have anything against India or Indians. However, towards the end, he raised the slogan, “Kesri Khanda Khalistan Masal Deyange Hindustan,” which literally translates to Khalistanis will crush India. In a previous video, Pannu had announced a cash prize for anyone who raises Khalistani flag on India Gate on Republic Day after which farmers’ leader Tikait had announced they will march to India Gate on Republic Day.
Nine rounds of discussion held so far
It has to be noted that the Central government has been trying to indulge in conversation with the farmer unions and trying to discuss the laws clause by clause. The government has said that they are ready to have a conversation and amend the laws wherever required. However, the farmers’ unions are not interested to talk to the government with an open mind, and nine rounds of discussion with the union government were not fruitful because of their adamant behaviour. It has been more than 55 days since farmer protests on the Delhi border begun.
Despite the intervention of the Supreme Court of India in the matter and the formation of a four-member committee to report the apex court, the farmers are stuck on repealing the laws. The unions have denied the order of the Supreme Court to be present in front of the committee. Even before farmers started marching towards Delhi in November 2020, the government had tried several times to call the union leaders to Delhi for discussion.
The fake TRP saga has taken a slightly strange turn. In the TRP case chargesheet filed by the Mumbai Police, pages after pages of personal chats between Arnab Goswami and the ex-BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta have been added. Hundreds of pages of chat, with seemingly nothing incriminating as far as the TRP case is concerned. No chat between them about money being exchanged, about the ratings being manipulated, nothing. Yet, all chats, even personal jokes, have been added in the chargesheet.
At the very outset, one has to wonder what the purpose of this move could be. It is not really possible that the police thinks that private chats between two individuals add any value to their TRP case itself. Thus, the logical conclusion is that the chats were added either to tarnish the overall image of Arnab Goswami or, to make the chargesheet voluminous so it appears as though it contains enough evidence.
Since the filing of the chargesheet, ‘liberals’ have been over-the-moon and have been thoroughly discussing every joke cracked by Arnab Goswami. They even tried to insinuate that Arnab Goswami knew about the Balakot strikes much before it happened because he had in passing mentioned ‘something big is going to happen’. They, of course, ignore the fact that everyone was saying exactly the same, including several channels like Times Now who are now discussing these chats threadbare.
There is another aspect to this chargesheet, however, that has not been discussed.
In the chargesheet, the Mumbai Police has added a forensic report prepared by a risk consulting firm called ‘Aquisory’ to BARC.
Cover page of the forensic report
We had earlier reported how this forensic report had problematic chats between the BARC officials and the BARC researcher about how Sony Live had to be added to the Alpha Report since they were telecasting IPL. That in itself should have ideally promoted an inquiry by the Mumbai Police, however, it did not.
In the TRP case chargesheet against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami, the evidence against India Today and AajTak
A further perusal of the report shows that there are incriminating chats even between an India Today official and BARC officials, much before Republic was even launched.
Except from BARC forensic report
In the summary posted in the Forensic Report, it says that there were chat message conversations between Romil, Partho (BARC) and “external officials of channels” hinting about “pre-fixing the channel ratings”.
It is pertinent to note that the messages pertain to 12th April 2016 when Republic TV (English) or Republic Bharat (Hindi) had not been launched. It says the in the chat, Romil (BARC) tells Partho (BARC) that he has “prepped Vivek Malhotra for No.2”.
Subsequently, in the 26th April 2016 chat, Partho asks if they can get ABP to No. 3.
The most clinching evidence included in this forensic report is the mention that there was a conversation between Vivek Malhotra and Romil on the 10th of May 2018 that there was a promise to AajTak that the channel would be No. 1. However, the channel was No. 2 and that is what Romil had ‘prepped’ Vivek Malhotra for. This, the forensic report says, was a conversation that took place right after the release of ratings.
It is important to note here that Vivek Malhotra is the Group Chief Marketing Officer of India Today Group. According to his bio on Linked In, he is still at that position.
LinkedIn profile of Vivek Malhotra
In the light of the conversation about the promise to AajTak to be number one and the conversation about ABP being No.3, it becomes important to look at the chats itself, which have been added as Annexure.
Except from BARC forensic report
In the chat on 12th April 2016 between Romil and Partho, it is being discussed how they had prepped Vivek Malhotra for no.2. This is after it was revealed that AajTak was promised to be made No. 1. Thus, at this point in time, it begs the question of whether AajTak was actually far before even the Number 2 spot and wanted to be Number 1. However, the manipulation was too much to get them to Number 1 and hence, BARC officials had to ‘settle’ and ‘prepare’ Vivek Malhotra for the channel to be Number 2. These details would only be revealed once a thorough investigation is done in this direction.
In the second chat, the conversation is about ABP and India News.
Except from BARC forensic report
In this chat, it appears that Partho is asking if they can get ABP to Number 3. However, Romil is saying that ABP is already on Number 3 in the Urban sector. Partho is also talking about how being on Number 3 is encouraging India News.
It is pertinent to note that India News was at Number 3 for a very long time in 2016. There are several news articles about the same. In July 2016, Exchange4Media reported that India News “has witnessed maximum gain after the DAS III roll out to become one of the most viewed channels across the HSM category”.
At that time, Varun Kohli, CEO, India News had said. “I will attribute this success to our differentiated content and the dedication of our entire team at India News who have made the channel stand out in a short span of time. I will say that we have put in a lot of hard work; all the teams, including the content team.” Speaking about impact on ratings post DAS III roll out, Kohli added, “We have gained considerable market share because we have a huge rural viewership compared to other channels and it has helped us to rise in our ranks and the latest BARC data is a reflection of this fact.”
Bhadas4Media had reported in 2018 that India News was evidently paying people Rs 500 to watch their channel. OpIndia could not independently verify this information.
With these chats, it becomes evident that India Today is smack in the middle of the TRP scandal. It is pertinent to note that in the initial Hansa Research Report, it was indeed India Today which was mentioned and not Republic TV. Further, the FIR that was filed subsequently also mentioned India Today as the channel manipulating TRP, and not Republic Today.
In these chats that have been included in the chargesheet, it also becomes apparent that the saga of TRP malpractice has been going on since even before Republic TV or Republic Bharat was launched and the forensic report clearly mentions that there was a promise to make AajTak number 1.
It would be pertinent to remember here that this does not seem like a one-off practise by India Today or AajTak. OpIndia had first exposed the matter earlier in the day regarding the BARC imposing penalty of Rs 5,00,000 on India Today after they could not give a satisfactory answer to BARC Disciplinary Council (BDC) as to how their viewership was increasing. According to our sources, a show-cause notice was sent to TV Today Network and BARC regarding viewership malpractice on April 27, 2020. After the TV Today Network Limited failed to satisfy the BDC, it ruled that the channel could not satisfactorily explain the rise in their TRPs in certain geographies (Mumbai and Bangalore).
In its ruling, the BDC had termed the rise in the viewership of the channel as “abnormal” and “inexplicable”. The Council had ruled that India Today had breached section 7 of the EULA and had thereby committed viewership malpractice. As a result, a penalty of five lakhs was imposed by BARC on the channel.
While several anchors put up a show on television about how Arnab Goswami’s shoes were too small to fit, the TRP scam is much larger than media reports suggest. Several channels were involved in the rigging of TRP. While there is nothing wrong in being in touch with BARC officials, as is the practise across the board with news channels and their representatives, it seems that it is AajTak that was promised a number 1 spot.
ED registers ECIR in TRP scam, India Today being questioned
While Mumbai police continue its witchhunt against Republic TV and the channel’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in the alleged fake TRP scam, the Enforcement Directorate had once again summoned India Today Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dinesh Bhatia and Distribution Head KR Arora for questioning in the case on the 18th of January. Prior to this, the Office of Joint Director had summoned the Group CFO on January 8, 2021.
The Enforcement Directorate had earlier registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the equivalent of FIRs filed by the Police, in the TRP case. The ED is investigating money laundering allegations and it was reported that all channels mentioned in the original FIR would be probed. It was also reported that along with the channels named in the original FIR, which did not have the name of Republic TV, the Mumbai Police probe could also be under scrutiny. The ED is the second central agency to come into the matter after the CBI. The CBI had earlier registered an FIR over the matter.
Since the ED filed its ECIR in the case, it has been making swift headway in the fake TRP manipulation case. Thus far, the ED has also questioned members of the BARC management and India Today under lens in the context of TRP manipulation.
BJP President JP Nadda today tore into Rahul Gandhi’s jibe over the village built by China on the land illegally occupied by the communist country.
Now that Mr. @RahulGandhi has returned from his monthly vacation, I would like to ask him some questions. I hope he will answer them in his today’s Press Conference.
While taking a dig on PM Modi, senior Congress leader tweeted how PM Modi had promised he wont let the country bow down. However, as Nadda pointed out, he forgot one important point. The land in question was occupied by China back in 1959 when his great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister.
Does @RahulGandhi have any intention to cancel the Congress Party MoU with China and their Communist Party? Does he intend to return the Chinese largesse to trusts controlled by his family? Or will their policies and practices continue to be dictated by Chinese money and MoU?
Nadda asked Rahul Gandhi when does he and his party plan to stop lying over China. He even questioned whether Rahul Gandhi plans to cancel the MoU signed between Congress and the Communist Party in China.
On August 7, 2008, during the first term of UPA, Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party and the Communist Party of China (CPC) signed an MoU “to consult each other on important bilateral, regional and international developments”.
Interestingly, the MoU was signed by the then Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. On the Chinese side, it was signed by none other than Xi Jinping himself, who was then the Chinese vice-president and standing committee member of the CPC’s politburo. The MoU was signed in the presence of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.
When will Congress stop provoking and misleading farmers of India? Why did UPA stall the Swaminathan Commission report for years and did not increase the MSP? Why did farmers remain poor for decades under Congress Governments? Does he feel sympathy for farmers only in opposition?
Calling out Rahul Gandhi’s and Congress’ lack of support while combating the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, Nadda questioned him why has he not yet congratulated the scientists and Indian citizens for curbing the pandemic. He further questioned Rahul Gandhi on misleading the farmers of India in the current ongoing protests against the new farm laws. “Why did farmers remain poor for decades under Congress Governments? Does he feel sympathy for farmers only in opposition?” he questioned.
Rahul Gandhi enjoyed Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu. Why did his party ban it and insult Tamil culture when they were in power? Is he not proud of India’s culture and ethos?
He even pointed out Congress’ hypocrisy over the farm laws as well as his participating in Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu while his party has previously opposed it.
The war of words between Trinamool Congress and BJP gets murkier as West Bengalheads for Legislative Assembly elections later in the year. Days after Mamata Banerjee termed BJP as the ‘Bharatiya Junk Party’, Uttar Pradesh minister Anand Swaroop Shukla Sunday called the West Bengal CM a complete ‘Bangladeshi’ and the biggest threat to the nation.
Mamata Banerjee has become complete Bangladeshi & is working on the directions of islamic terrrorists there. She has become the biggest danger for the country. After her defeat in West Bengal assembly polls, she’ll be ready to take refuge in Bangladesh: State Min Anand S Shukla pic.twitter.com/b6dEvzyZQn
Shukla, who holds the MoS for Parliamentary Affairs portfolio in Yogi Adityanath’s Cabinet, while speaking in Balia yesterday said that Mamata Banerjee will have to take refuge in Bangladesh after her party loses the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Mamata Banerjee working at the behest of Islamic terrorists of Bangladesh: UP minister
He accused Mamata Banerjee of acting at the behest of Islamic terrorists of Bangladesh. “She does not believe in Bharat or Bharatiyata (India or Indianess), she has worked to break the temples and insult gods and goddesses in West Bengal. Does not allow Hindus to celebrate their festivals. Gives citizenship to Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslims. She is acting at the behest of Islamic terrorists of Bangladesh and will have to go an take refuge there after her poll defeat. Mamata Banerjee has become the biggest threat to the nation and as a result, her own party workers are disowning her and defecting to BJP, said the Uttar Pradesh Minister.
The Assembly polls in West Bengal are due to be held in April-May later this year. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal faces a strong challenge in the upcoming assembly election from the BJP which made successful inroads in the state winning 18 of the state’s 42 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Political strategists say that the assembly and civic polls will perhaps be Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s toughest challenge to retain her citadel.
Mamata Banerjee decides to contest polls from Nandigram
Yesterday, the TMC supremo officially declared war against the saffron party as she announced to take her battle for West Bengal to Nandigram- the home turf of the former TMC stalwart Suvendu Adhikari. “I have always started my campaign for the assembly polls from Nandigram. It is a lucky place for me. So this time I feel that I should contest the assembly polls from here,” Banerjee said, addressing a public meeting in the town for the first time in five years.
Banerjee is at present the MLA from Bhawanipore in south Kolkata.
The Chief Minister’s return to Nandigram is being seen as a direct challenge to Suvendu Adhikari, who had led an exodus of Trinamool leaders to the BJP over the past few weeks. Over 40 Trinamool Congress leaders joined Adhikari as he defected to the BJP in a mega rally in December in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Bring it on, says political heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari
Responding to Mamata Banerjee’s dramatic declaration, Suvendu Adhikari, who had registered an emphatic win from Nandigram seat in West Bengal elections 2016 as a TMC candidate, turned the match on by accepting Mamata Banerjee’s challenge. “If I can’t defeat her by half lakh votes, I will quit politics,” he declared in Kolkata.
One of the most famous monuments in Delhi is Qutab Minar is believed to be constructed by two Muslim rulers named Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish. At least this is what we had learned in our school days from our school books, and the website of Delhi Tourism also says so. However, there is a twist in the story. In 2012, Neeraj Atri, author of Brainwashed Republic, wrote to the National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) and asked for the source of this information.
In his Right to Information (RTI) application, Atri said asked NCERT about a specific figure in the Class VII history textbook titled Our Pasts – II. In Chapter 3 of the book titled “The Delhi Sultans,” on page 36, there is a figure of Qutab Minar and a description of the structure written on the left side. It reads, “Quwwat al-Islam mosque and minaret, built during the last decade of the twelfth century. This was the congregational mosque of the first city built by the Delhi Sultans, described in the chronicles as Dehli-i- Kuhna (the old city). The mosque was enlarged by Iltutmish and Alauddin Khalji. The minar was built by two Sultans: Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish.”
Atri asked about the source of the information that these two Sultans made the minar along with the information about the authors and contributors who proposed the information to be added in the book. He had also asked if the NCERT has certified copies of any epigraphic or other evidence to prove the claims made in the book. The questions he asked were:
Certified copies of the references/texts which were used to conclude that the structure called Qutub Minar was built by these Sultans, as per records
Certified copies of any epigraphic or other evidence to support to the above mentioned assertion, as per records
Name(s) of the persons who had put forward the proposal for including the above mentioned sentences in the textbook, as per records
Name(s) of the persons who vetted the proposal
Certified copies of the file notings pertaining to this assertion
While speaking to OpIndia about his RTI, Atre said that the information in History books should be based on historical facts and not biased by the ideology of the authors. He added that during his interactions with engineering and medicine students, he felt that they have strong opinions about history that are not based on facts.
“AIT has been debunked by all disciplines of Science and History. I felt that may be they are being fed such wrong information during their formative years. To cross-check my hunch, I filed such RTI applications.” He added.
He further added that those who twist the fact should be punished. In Germany, there is a law that forbids the denial of the holocaust of jews. Neeraj believes that India should also have a law on similar lines that prohibits and punishes those who try to twist the historical events of India. “Right to true history should be a fundamental right. Our students should be taught about different religions as subjects,” he added.
Reply from DESS, NCERT
The application was submitted on November 28, 2012. On January 1, 2013, the Department of Education in Social Sciences (DESS) under NCERT replied to his query. In her reply, Prof. Saroj Bala Yadav, Head, DESS & Public Information Officer, said that her office received a copy of RTI on December 11, 2012. To his queries, the department said that there are no records of any references/texts that were used to conclude that those two Sultans built the Minar.
Reply from DESS (Source: Neeraj Atri’s Twitter account)
DESS further said that they do not have any evidence to support the above-mentioned assertion. The names of those who proposed the content are mentioned in the book, and it was approved by the National Monitoring Committee, Chaired by Prof. Mrinal Miri.
Prof. Miri has a PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge University. When we checked the details about the team involved in compiling the book, we found that the Archaeological Survey of India provided the figure of Qutub Minar. However, the book does not provide any specific information chapter-wise about the historians or contributors who worked on the book. The list of team members only contains names and their designations. PDF of the book can be downloaded [PDF] for free from NCERT’s website.
Team details as mentioned in the Book (Source: NCERT)
The information on Qutab Minar on Government websites
The website of Delhi Tourism has interesting information about the Minar. It says Qutab-ud-din Aibak built the Minar in 1193, immediately after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom. However, the website further stated, “Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced the construction of the Qutab Minar in 1200 AD, but could only finish the basement. His successor, Iltutmush, added three more storeys, and in 1368, Firoz Shah Tughlak constructed the fifth and the last storey.”
Screenshot from Delhi Tourism official website
As per KnowIndia website by the Government of India, the foundation stone was laid down by Aibak in 1199. It has to be noted that Aibak demolished 27 Hindu and Jain temples, and their stones were used to construct the rectangular courtyard of the structure. This fact is used by Tourism website to assert the reason behind the presence of Hindu and Jain ornamentation in the structure. It says, “The main mosque comprises of an inner and outer courtyard, decorated with shafts and surrounded by piller. Most of these shafts are from the 27 Hindu temples, which were plundered to construct the mosque. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Muslim mosque has typical Hindu ornamentation.” Qutab Minar is a Heritage Building under UNESCO.
A day after several media reports claimed that China has built a village on Arunachal Pradesh territory it occupied decades ago, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attempted to use the opportunity to take a dig at PM Modi. In a Twitter post, Gandhi insinuated that PM Modi has not kept his promise of “main desh jhukne nahin dunga(I won’t let the country down)”.
The Gandhi scion shared a screenshot of a report which said that after Ladakh, China is all geared up to touch off a conflict in Arunachal Pradesh. The report stated that China has built a village inside the Indian territory. Gandhi, in his tweet, implied that PM Modi and the Centre have failed in reining in China’s expansionist impulses.
While Gandhi tried to score brownie points by taking a swipe at PM Modi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju acquainted him with the unpleasant fact that the land on which China has built a village was occupied by it several decades ago, under the Congress regime. Rijiju wondered how a national leader like Rahul Gandhi be so far removed from sensitive facts such as China’s occupation of territories of Arunachal Pradesh while Congress was in power at the centre.
अपने गिरेबान में भी झाँका करो कभी-कभी, किसी दूजे पर गर्द झाड़ देना आसां बहुत होता है!
Those locations you are referring to have been under Chinese occupation since very-very long Congress regime in India. How can a national leader is ignorant and unaware of sensitive facts? https://t.co/9nH2DxevvG
“Those locations you are referring to have been under Chinese occupation since very-very long Congress regime in India. How can a national leader is ignorant and unaware of sensitive facts?” Rijiju tweeted.
China has built a village on Arunachal Pradesh land it illegally occupied in 1959
China has built a village on a land that was occupied by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after overrunning an Assam Rifles post in 1959 along the frontier in Arunachal Pradesh and not on the territory controlled by India.
According to the sources quoted by The Print, the village along the contentious border in upper Subansiri district was on the territory controlled by China. They have, for years, maintained an Army post in the region and the various constructions undertaken by the Chinese have not happened in a fortnight.
The area was captured by China in 1959 in an operation known as Longju incident. The incident had its roots in the Tibetan rebellion that broke out on 10 March 1959 and which was brutally suppressed by the Chinese PLA. The 14th Dalai Lama escaped and entered Indian territory on March 31 along with his followers, and was subsequently granted political asylum in India.
This had reportedly upset the Chinese, who thought India was behind the Tibetan rebellion and was committed to securing ‘Tibetan independence’. A book “1962 War – The Unknown Battles: Operations in Subansiri and Siang Frontier Divisions”, authored by retired major generals G.G. Dwivedi and P.J.S. Sandhu noted that the Indian post at Longju annoyed the Chinese and in a note dated 23 June 1959, they alleged that the Indian troops had intruded and occupied Migyitun and some other places in Tibet.
Following this suspicions, the Chinese PLA troops clashed with the Indian Army forces and overran the Indian post at Longju on 25 August 1959. The book further adds that since the incident the post has never been reoccupied by the Indian Forces and continued to remain under the Chinese occupation. Over the years, they had steadily built infrastructure in the region.
Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India in 1959.
In a heartfelt video published by actor Gurmeet Choudhary on Twitter on Monday, he announced that he will make a generous contribution for the construction of a grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
“You must have seen me in the character of Lord Ram and in different other characters but I truly believe that whatever I have achieved in life is due to Him. ‘Ramayan’ was my first ever serial on TV and I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. And I want to share something beautiful with you today,” the actor said in the video.
While narrating a story from the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’, Gurmeet said, “When Hanuman crossed the sea to meet Maa Sita in Lanka, he was pleased to know that she was safe. He then carried her message and returned to Lord Ram with the news that Maa Sita has been found. On learning about her whereabouts, Shri Ram became emotional and wanted to reward Hanuman. But, he had nothing to give as he has been on exile for 14 years. As such, Lord Ram hugged Hanuman and blessed him with all his heart. And Hanuman was overjoyed.”
जैसे कि आप जानते हैं कि राम मंदिर निर्माण कार्य के लिए सहयोग राशि एकत्रित करने का कार्य संपूर्ण देश में बहुत ही जोश के साथ चल रहा है। इस मंगल कार्य हेतु हम भी अपना कुछ सहयोग भगवान राम के श्री चरणों में अर्पित करना चाहते हैं। जय #श्रीराम ? pic.twitter.com/nyWF1kRn1t
“So, now that the temple of Lord Ram is being constructed in Ayodhya, it is important that we too get the blessings of Lord Ram. I want to request all of you to come forward and donate for this noble cause. Although I never had the opportunity to ever visit Ayodhya, this time I will be going there with my entire family and seek his blessings. I again request you to contribute for the Ram Mandir construction. Jai Shri Ram!” Gurmeet Choudhary concluded.
Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has already announced that the Temple will be built through voluntary donations by Hindus. A campaign has also been launched to invite donations for the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir.
Gurmeet Choudhary had played the role of Lord Ram in the hugely popular show ‘Ramayan’ in Imagine TV which started in 2008. Actress Debina Bonnerjee had played the role of Maa Sita. Gurmeet and Debina had married in 2011.
President Kovind, actor Akshay Kumar and many others donate for Ram Mandir construction
The Ram Mandir trust and VHP have started a nationwide fund collection drive called ‘Sri Ram Mandir Nidhi Sankalan Abhiyan’ where they take out rallies and go from door to door to collect funds. On Sunday, Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has announced that he will make a contribution towards the construction of the Bhavya Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. In a heartwarming video message, the actor also appealed to people to contribute as per their capabilities so that coming generation continue to be inspired by Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram.
Producer Manish Mundra has also donated Rs. 1 crore towards the same and donations are pouring across the country for the Ram Mandir. One can also contribute towards Ram Mandir construction through the official website of the trust.
President of India Ramnanth Kovind had also recently donated Rs 5 lakhs from his personal funds for the construction of the Ram Temple.
Pakistan has been grappling with economic woes and the situation is not likely to change anytime soon. As per reports, following the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) might seek repayment of its $3 million debt from the Pakistani government.
As per a report in Hindustan Times, the UAE had announced a $3 billion package for Pakistan in December 2018. But, the Arab country has not indicated its plans to extend the $1 billion dollars, payable on January 24 this year as part of the original $3 billion package. As such, Pakistan is ‘apprehensive’ that the UAE might demand loan repayment as well, amidst souring bilateral relationships.
While the Pakistani Finance Ministry did not comment on the development by dubbing it as ‘confidential’, a source in the Ministry cited by The Tribune, “In case (the UAE) does not withdraw the facility, the loan would be considered extended for one more year.” It must be mentioned that UAE had also announced $3 billion worth of deferred oil payments from Pakistan but soon cancelled the facility.
Saudi Arabia had asked Pakistan last year to repay its debt of $3 billion, which the Arab country provided as a financial support package to the latter in 2018. Besides the package, Saudi Arabia had also announced a credit facility of $3.2 billion for deferred oil payments. Pakistan, which had attempted to form an alliance with Malaysia and Turkey as ‘alternative Islamic powers’, had drawn the ire of Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan borrows from China to repay Saudi Arabia debt
According to the Pakistani Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan had taken a loan from China to repay a $3 billion loan taken from Saudi Arabia. A desperate Pakistan did so because had it defaulted the payment, Saudi Arabia would have reduced its financial support.
According to the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the assistance provided by Saudi Arabia was for one year. It had an option to roll over the amount at the end of the year for a period of three years. Pakistan was paying 3.2 per cent interest on the $3 billion loan. Pakistan had received the first tranche of $1 billion in November 2018, second $1 billion in December 2018 and third tranche of $1 billion in January 2019.
To repay the loan from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan had borrowed from China in three instalments of USD 1 billion, 1.5 billion and 500 million respectively.
A case of grooming jihad has come to light in Madhya Pradesh. A man named Sohail Mansuri alias Sunny has been arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police under Freedom of Religion Ordinance 2020 based on the complaint filed by a 22-year-old woman from Barwani.
As per the complaint, Sohail, who is already married and is the father of a child, sexually abused her for four years while keeping his real identity a secret.
When his real identity was revealed, he started pressurizing her to change religion for marriage.
Mansuri has been booked under sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 294 (obscene act) of the Indian Penal Code and Freedom of Religion Ordinance 2020.
The woman met Sohail in a wedding four years ago
In her complaint, the woman said that she met Sohail four years ago in Palsud town of Barwani district that is located around 170 KM from Indore. He works as a driver but also plays music at parties and events.
Barwani Station in-charge Rajesh Yadav has informed that as per the complaint, Sohail had introduced himself as Sunny and claimed he belonged to the victim’s own community. “They exchanged mobile numbers. Very soon, they entered into a relationship. He established physical relations with the girl.”
Sohail pressurized to change religion
As per the victim’s complaint, Sohail told the woman about his real identity and started pressurizing her to change her religion so that they could marry. When she refused to do so, he beat her several times. Yadav further added that the woman then started to gather more information about him and was shocked to learn that Sohail was already married and has a child from his first marriage.
After arresting Sohail on Monday, the case was transferred to Palsud police station as the crime took place in that region.
Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion ordinance 2020
The Madhya Pradesh government had recently passed the ‘Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion ordinance 2020’ on January 10. It is now an offence to forcefully convert someone or pressurising to convert for the sake of marriage. It is a non-bailable charge and the accused may face a jail term of two to five years and/or fine. Sohail is the first person to be arrested under the new ordinance in Madhya Pradesh.
