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Pakistan PM Imran Khan uses Indian media to target India ahead of Republic Day

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan PM Imran Khan uses Indian media to target India ahead of Republic Day

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday took to Twitter, to once again, target India and PM Narendra Modi ahead of Republic Day. Like his coterie, he also indirectly played up the leaked WhatsApp transcripts released by Mumbai police, to hint at an “unholy nexus between Modi Govt and Indian media”.

In a series of fallacious tweets, the Pakistan PM alleged a quid pro quo relationship between the Modi govt and section of Indian media. Without naming the journalist or the media house, Imran Khan wrote: “Latest revelations from communication of an Indian journalist, known for his warmongering, reveal the unholy nexus between the Modi govt & Indian media”.

Imran Khan tweeted on Monday that the transcripts leaked by Mumbai Police vindicated his government’s claims about the Modi government’s intentions. He further wrote that Modi government’s liaison with a particular section of Indian Media and a particular journalist (in an obvious reference to Republic TV and its owner Arnab Goswami), was “pushing the nuclearised region to the brink of a conflict it cannot afford”.

Reiterating his Foreign minister’s claim, Khan said that India’s fascist Modi government used the “Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains”. He said that a “larger crisis” was averted due to Pakistan’s “responsible, measured response to Balakot”. However, he warned that the Narendra Modi led government is turning India into a “rogue state”.

Cabinet minister of Imran Khan claims India staged Pulwama attack after Mumbai Police leaks WhatsApp chat 

It is pertinent to mention that since the time Mumbai police has delinquently leaked the Whatsapp chats to target Arnab Goswami, Pakistan has got another opportunity to stick its nose in India’s matters, which otherwise does not concern them. Yesterday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement claiming the Pulwama terror attack was a “false flag”. Ironically, a country which is known for exporting terrorism, claimed that its stand stood vindicated and exposed “India’s sinister designs”. 

Republic TV hits back

Republic TV had, however, hit back at Pakistan saying: “The desperation with which the Government of Pakistan has attacked the Republic Media Network in an open forum today, also lays bare the involvement of anti-India forces in the conspiracy behind the Republic Media Network. As the days pass, we will expose this conspiracy and the involvement of people who are working against national interest.”

Republic also also urged the Congress party to “stop working in tandem with the Government of Pakistan, consciously or unconsciously, to spread lies against India’s interests.” We had reported earlier that Arnab Goswami in the leaked chats did not say anything that was not already in public domain. Former Maharashtra CM from the Congress party Prithviraj Chavan had admitted that the chats were leaked by the Mumbai Police. Congress is part of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra

While Times Now goes hammer and tongs after Arnab Goswami, here is what Times of India published ahead of air-strike

OpIndia Staff
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While Times Now goes hammer and tongs after Arnab Goswami, here is what Times of India published ahead of air-strike

The Arnab Goswami private WhatsApp chats leaked by Mumbai Police have created quite the storm. After opposition parties claimed that the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief was aware of top secret information pertaining to national security based on selective portions of the chat on the Balakot airstrikes, Pakistan swooped in to claim on the basis of the leaked chats that the Pulwama terror attack was a “false flag” staged by India.

The leaked chat shows Arnab saying, “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.”

We have reported at length that Arnab Goswami had not said anything that was not already publicly available information. Prime Minister Modi himself had made it clear a day after the attack that the terrorists had committed a “grave mistake” for which they would have to pay a heavy price. On the 23rd of January, Narendra Modi reiterated his message.

Thus, it is abundantly clear that the Republic TV Editor was not speaking out of turn. And as it so happens, we have a Times of India report from the 16th of February 2019 that makes it even more clear that Arnab Goswami did not say anything that was not already in public domain.

TOI made the claims on the 16th of February, a week before Arnab Goswami.
TOI made the claims on the 16th of February, a week before Arnab Goswami

TOI reported on the said date, two days after the Pulwama Terror attack, that precision air strikes were the favoured option going forward. The report said, “The military options, short of going to war, could range from ‘shallow’ ground-based attacks and occupation of some heights along the LoC to restricted but precision air strikes against ‘non-state targets’ in PoK, senior military officers said.”

“There is growing agreement in the security establishment that carefully-calibrated airborne strikes are among the most viable and effective options to teach a lesson to Pakistan, with the ground-based ‘surgical strikes’ of September 2016 having somewhat lost their element of surprise,” it added.

The report went so far as to say, “Fighters like Sukhoi-30MKIs, Mirage-2000s and Jaguars, armed with ‘smart’ glide bombs and missiles, can be used to take out some terror camps and launch pads near the LoC from ‘stand-off ranges’ without even crossing into Pakistani airspace. “Preparation time for such air strikes is minimal,” said an officer on the condition of anonymity.”

The report said that the prevailing sentiment was that Pakistan must be made to pay for their support towards terrorism. Under such circumstances, it appears rather bizarre to claim that Arnab Goswami was privy to top secret national security information.

Amusingly enough, Times Now has invited politicians on its platform who have peddled such crazy conspiracy theories. However, the channel pretends that the TOI report does not exist. Both, Times Now and TOI are owned by The Times Group.

Farmer leader Gurnam Chaduni teamed up with Congress to topple Khattar govt in Rs 10 crore deal: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Farmer leader Gurnam Chaduni teamed up with Congress to topple Khattar govt in Rs 10 crore deal: Reports

A report by Divya Bhaskar states that farmer leader Gurnam Chaduni was accused of teaming up with political parties like Congress and getting into a deal worth Rs 10 crore to topple the Khattar government in Haryana in return of Congress ticket for elections. On Sunday, Sanyukt Morcha held the meeting where the above discussions were held. Chaduni, however, has refuted the allegations.

On Monday, Sanyukt Kisan Morcha said that they had nothing to do with the opposition party meet called by Gurnam Chaduni. A 5-member committee has been formed to submit a report on January 20, after which further course of action would be decided. Chaduni has denied all the allegations.

As per the reports, Chaduni had met several leaders of opposition parties, including Congress, AAP, SAD and some independent leaders. There are allegations that Chaduni is collecting funds out of the collection drive for protests and hiding the funds from other leaders. It has also been alleged that he took Rs 10 crore.

SKM further alleged that Chaduni was repeatedly asked not to call political leaders in the protests, but he called them on January 10, 14 and 17. He was further blamed for instigating farmers to disrupt the January 26 celebrations at the Red Fort. He allegedly made a deal with Congress to help them throw down the BJP-led Haryana Government. Union leader Shiv Kumar Kakka was quoted by Dainik Bhaskar saying that union leaders avoided taking any action against Chaduni, but he was not listening to them. It has to be noted that Chaduni also works as Aadhti in Haryana.

Haryana CM Khattar blamed Chaduni for violence

On January 17, Haryana Chief Minister Manoharlal Khattar blamed Bharat Kisan Union leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni for instigating the farmers that led to the clashes between farmers and police at Karnal just before the Kisan Mahapanchayat programme. He added that Congress and Communist parties have hijacked the protests and controlling the narrative of the protests. CM’s programme at Karnal was cancelled after farmers vandalized the venue.

Farmer body suspends Chaduni

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha on Monday suspended BKU leader Chaduni for meeting politicians across political parties. However, he will continue to be part of the delegation of unions negotiating with the government which will be held on Tuesday.

Went undercover as ‘Iftikhar Bhatt’, killed two Hizbul terrorists: The story of Major Mohit Sharma

Dibakar Dutta
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Went undercover as ‘Iftikhar Bhatt’, killed two Hizbul terrorists: The story of Major Mohit Sharma

The valour of Para Special Forces Officer Major Mohit Sharma, who was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra in 2009, still reverberates in his hometown of Rohtak in Haryana. He was killed in action during a military operation in Kupwara District of North Kashmir on March 21, 2009. But his fascinating tale of gallantry during a covert operation in March 2004 still lives on to inspire millions of Indians.

The book titled, ‘India’s Most Fearless 2’ by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, an excerpt of which was published in Swarajya in 2019, sheds light on how Major Mohit Sharma infiltrated the Islamist terror outfit, Hizbul Mujahideen, and successfully took out two dreaded terrorists. It was in Shopian, 50 km south of Kashmir, where the operation was executed.

Major Sharma was able to establish contact with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, namely, Abu Torara and Abu Sabzar, under the alias of Iftikhar Bhatt. With long hair and beard flowing down to his neck, he disguised himself to blend seamlessly into the terror outfit. And there he was in a small room at an undisclosed location in Shopian, in the company of Torara and Sabzar.

Undercover operation

Major Mohit Sharma concocted a story to convince the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists of his plans to attack the Indian army. He told them that his brother was killed by the Indian security personnel in 2001. He told Torara and Sabzar that he wanted to avenge his brothers’ death and needed help from the duo. Major Sharma informed them that he wanted to carry out a terror attack at an Army checkpoint and had done the ‘necessary groundwork’ for the same.

A viral tweet thread had recently highlighted his story.

The Para Special Forces Officer showed them hand-drawn maps of army movement in an unknown hill trail, which ‘moderately impressed’ Torara and Sabzar. Demonstrating his motivation, Major Sharma said, “I need your support, I want to learn.” The duo, who had been running a terror recruitment programme in South Kashmir, wanted to know more about him. ‘Who are you?’, Torara inquired on several occasions, suggesting that there was a deficit in trust somewhere.

But, nevertheless, they decided to help him execute his plans. The Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists informed Major Sharma that would go underground for several weeks and help in coordinating the logistics and finer points for the proposed terror attack. He convinced them that he would not return to his village until he had struck an army checkpoint. Soon, in the coming days, Torara and Sabzar arranged for a consignment of grenades, besides summoning three other terrorists from a nearby village.

The Final Blow

When Torara began having second thoughts, Major Sharma said, “If you have any doubts about me, kill me.” While dropping his Ak-47 rifle, he said, “You cannot do this if you don’t trust me. So you have no choice but to kill me now.” This caught Torara in a state of dilemma, who then looked at Sabzar for redressal. While both were caught off guard, Major Mohit Sharma seized the opportunity, took out his loaded 9-mm pistol and shot them dead.

The officer was martyred 5 years later in an anti-terror operation in the Kupwara district. During a firefight with the terrorists in the Haphruda forest, Major Sharma had killed two terrorists in close combat and had rescued many of his colleagues before being hit on the chest with a bullet and succumbing to his injuries later.

‘Madam Chief Minister’ poster row: Bhim Sena threatens to cut off Richa Chadha’s tongue, actress apologises for poster

OpIndia Staff
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‘Madam Chief Minister’ poster row: Bhim Sena threatens to cut off Richa Chadha’s tongue, actress apologises for poster

Actor Richa Chadha has been facing backlash for her upcoming movie Madam Chief Minister, where she plays the role of a Dalit woman. The controversy began after the posters for the movie was released earlier this month. In one of the posters of her upcoming film, Richa was seen holding a broom, which many claimed indicates the stereotyping of the Dalit community. The poster was withdrawn after it received backlash from various fringe groups, however, the row over the same did not end.

Poster of Richa Chadda’s upcoming film ‘Madam Chief Minister’ with received severe criticism from various fringe groups

Despite the actor issuing an apology after the matter blew up into a full-fledged controversy, Bhim Sena chief Nawab Satpal Tanwar has threatened to kill Richa Chadha is the movie is released.

In a Facebook post, the Bhim Sena leader said that the apology has not been accepted and that her movie wouldn’t be allowed to release. He threatened to kill Richa Chadha if that happens. He also announced a reward (Rs 2 crore shield of Ambedkar) for anyone who brings her severed tongue. He also asked his supporters to bring to him the director of the movie- Subhash Kapoor, following which he said he would walk him naked on the streets. 

“Jo bhai ya behen Richa Chadha ki zubaan kaat kar ke le ke aayega. Usse hum Baba Ambedkar sahab ki Rs 2 crore ki shield se sammanit karenge. Jo Subhash Kapoor (director) ko leke aayega humare saamne… hum Subhash Kapoor ko nanga karke sadak ke upar parade karwayenge. Agar goli bhi maarni padi na Bahujan Samaj ki raksha ke liye … behen Mayawati ke samman ke liye…. hum peeche nahi hatange. Richa Chadha, aapko goli se uda diya jayega dhyaan rakhna,” said the founder and National President of Akhil Bhartiya Bhim Sena from Gurugram.

The agitated activist believes that the movie is trying to malign the image of former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the BSP supremo Mayawati. Though the director who has also written the film claims it to be a work of fiction, Tanwar believes the film is based on Mayawati’s life and represents several wrong facts about her.

Reacting to the veiled threat, the actor has Tweeted saying ‘hum nahi darte’ (I am not scared).

For the unversed, following the poster row, the actor had apologised saying the team’s intention was not to hurt anyone’s sentiments. She termed it “a regrettable and completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation.”

Richa Chadda’s statement on Instagram

She had taken to Instagram to write: “This film was learning experience for me, for us all. The promotions were no different. The first poster that was released faced severe criticism, rightly so. What to me (and my privileged eyes) was a mere prop used by my character in a scene, came across as a stereotypical portrayal of Dalits for many of our people. As an actor, I receive the communication for posting, complete with the copy, handles and hashtags”.

“Needless to say, I have no role in the designing of promotional materials. By saying this, I am not throwing the makers under the bus. They realised this inadvertent error and took this criticism in their stride. They responded immediately by retracting the objectionable poster and by releasing a new poster the very next day. It was a regrettable and a completely unintentional oversight, not a deliberate insinuation. We are sorry. Our heart is in the right place. Hopefully, you will see that for yourself when you watch the film.”

Madam Chief Minister is to have a theatrical release on January 22. It is directed by Subhash Kapoor of Jolly LLB fame, it also stars Manav Kaul, Saurabh Shukla, Akshay Oberoi and others.

Gujarat: Ram Mandir fund collection rally attacked again, riots in 2 villages of Kutch

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Ram Mandir fund collection rally attacked again, riots in 2 villages of Kutch

On January 17, violence broke out after a rally for Ram Mandir donation was attacked by a ‘particular community’ in Kidana village in Gandhidham, Kutch (east) district. As per the reports, one house and an auto-rickshaw were burnt down during the clashes. Police had to baton-charge and use tear gas to control the situation.

Mayur Patil, Superintendent of Police, Kutch (east), said that there was stone pelting at the rally that had resulted in the clash. The situation was under control late at night.

JR Mothaliya, range inspector general of police (IGP), Kutch, said, “A huge mob had gathered during the rath yatra and there was stone-pelting. We also lobbed tear gas shells, and the situation is under control now.”

Another rally was attacked in Sadau Village, Kutch

A similar incident took place in Sadau Village of Mundra town of Kutch district (west), where a rally for raising funds for Ram Mandir was attacked. Saurabh Singh, Superintendent of Police, Kutch (west), said that there were no complaints filed by either side, but the police are filing FIRs against the mobs for unlawful assembly, breaching Covid-19 guidelines, among other charges.

Similar attacks are happening in other states

The attacks on the collection drive for Ram Mandir in Gujarat are not a first. Similar incidents have happened in other states as well. On January 16, Mumbai Police removed the posters of Ram Mandir Nidhi Sankalan posters alleging that they have orders from higher officials as the posters were ‘controversial in nature’ and hurt the sentiments of the locals. When VHP workers started recording the videos, the police arrested them.

Two incidents of attack on similar rallies were reported in Madhya Pradesh. On December 26, a Muslim mob attacked at the Ramnidhi Sangrahan rally in Ujjain, in which ten people were injured and several vehicles were damaged. Later on December 29, a Hindu rally was attacked in Indore that was collecting money for the construction of the Ram Mandir.

Waste of talent, resources and time: I watched Tandav on Amazon Prime so you don’t have to

Nirwa Mehta
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Waste of talent, resources and time: I watched Tandav on Amazon Prime so you don’t have to

Normally I’d have trashed Tandav on Amazon Prime in first ten minutes of episode 1. It was that bad. But thanks to all the boycott calls, I was just curious to see how bad can this web series really be. In a pool of mediocre dramas full of cliches, how was Tandav any different, I wanted to see.

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers.

By now everyone knows of the 2-3 scenes which have causes the furore. One scene is about how one upper caste man tells his estranged wife that her lover, a Dalit politician, is having an affair with her to take revenge for decades of atrocities they had to face. Another scene is how the ‘Prime Minister’ uses casteist slurs against same Dalit politician to ‘show him his place’. And third scene is about how one character ‘Shiv Shekhar’ is mocking Lord Ram and Ram Bhakts.

Tandav web series is what you get when you try to write fiction based on Twitter. There is a university ‘VNU’ (Vivekanand National University) in Delhi’s ‘Mahant Vihar’ and students there like to raise ‘azadi’ slogans. Now, which university in India really does that? Oh, and there is also student body election where the above character ‘Shiv Shekhar’, who hails from Bihar, is contesting. There is also a Kritika Kamra playing a Muslim girl who was in students’ body at VNU.

Kamra, who plays the role of student leader Sana Mir (yeah, as cliched as it sounds), also sleeps around with professor (who made the above casteist remark on his estranged wife) and does shady stuff. At worst, one person who should be p*ssed at this should be the Muslim student leader from India’s premier institute who is now reduced to a freelance protestor.

There is more cliche of a student in ‘VNU’ who ‘goes missing’ and is found dead on campus. Now, when have we heard that news before? So this student is involved in some shady stuff apparently and is murdered. There is absolutely no reason or motive given for this.

In fact, there is no logic or motive for most of the things that happen. Like why does Saif poison his own father who is set to be fourth time PM? There was no bad blood. And while he may have ambitions of becoming PM himself, killing his dad was a little too weird. Nowhere do they show that Saif expressed his desire to be PM and his father said no. It was all too bizarre.

Similarly, the cocaine sniffing dude who wants to be defence minister (?) at some point. Does he think a defence minister gets to play with the guns himself? I was wondering if the makers wanted to mock a certain political family from Bihar where the newer generation of politicians appear too dumb to be actual ministers who could decide fate of its people.

And then there is one mysterious anonymous caller who gives away details of poison which killed the prime minister. Using this info, Dimple, who was the Prime Minister’s ‘lover’ (and also mother of cocaine sniffer) becomes prime minister herself. Because that’s how thing work, no?

And ‘IT cells’ work day and night to trend hashtags. Even Aam Aadmi Party’s IT strategy has evolved but the writer of Tandav is stuck in 2015.

All through the series I tried to understand what exactly was happening. It was not because the writers wrote a complicated plot which could blow your mind but it was so shabby that it was a ready reckoner on how to not tell a story.

Talents like Sunil Grover and Kumud Mishra are wasted. Big Bollywood names like Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia appear too uncomfortable. Others are easily forgettable.

All in all, Tandav on Amazon Prime would’ve died its own slow, painful death and vanished without a whimper has it not got the attention it got in past few days. A waste of talent, resources and time.

Pakistan: Demand for an independent ‘Sindhudesh’ intensifies, placards of PM Modi raised

Dibakar Dutta
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Pakistan: Demand for an independent ‘Sindhudesh’ intensifies, placards of PM Modi raised

On Sunday, a pro-freedom rally was organised in Sann in Jamshoro district in the Sindh province of Pakistan to seek global intervention for the creation of Sindhudesh, where protestors were seen with placards of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per reports, the protestors organised the rally to commemorate the 117th birth anniversary of one of the chief architects of modern Sindhi nationalism, GM Syed. The demonstrators, demanding for a separate homeland for the Sindhis, held placards of Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with that of other world leaders, to seek support for their cause.

The pro-freedom rally supporters stated that Sindh was the cradle of Indus Valley civilisation and Vedic religion before it was occupied by the British and taken away by the Islamists in 1947. Chairman of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz, Shafi Muhammad Burfat, stated that despite attempts to erase its culture and history, Sindh has been able to preserve its ‘pluralist, tolerant, harmonious identity.’

He further added, “This historical synthesis of religions, philosophies and civilisation from the east and west has given our motherland Sindh a distinct place in the history of humanity”. Burfat emphasised that even though the inhabitants of the Sindh province made tremendous progress across various fields, they are forced to live under the Islamist, Punjabi imperialist state of Pakistan.

Why Sindh wants a separate homeland?

It must be pointed out that the demand for a free Sindh nation, Sindhudesh, has been a long-standing demand of the people of the province. As a result, several pro-freedom activists have been killed, tortured and forcibly disappeared by the military establishment of Pakistan. Burfat pointed out that the people of Sindh are enslaved by the Punjabis in the name of Islam.

“The Sindhi people do not want to remain in the oppressive slavery of the terrorist state of Pakistan, and therefore, we appeal to the entire international community to step forward and support us in our struggle for national independence from the fascist theocratic Islamist terrorist state of Pakistan,” he added.

We want freedom, India should help us like it helped Bangladesh

As Prime Minister Modi landed in the Houston ahead of his state visit to the US in September 2019, several representatives of Sindhis, Baloch and Pashto groups had gathered in Houston to sought the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump to gain freedom from Pakistan.

Baloch, Sindhi, Pashto, who are the minority groups in the terrorist state of Pakistan had been suffering decades of persecution at the hands of Pakistani military establishment for seeking greater autonomy, sought help from PM Modi and President Donald Trump.

After mouthing platitudes over farmer protest in India, Justin Trudeau’s police cracks down on protestors in Toronto

OpIndia Staff
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After mouthing platitudes over farmer protest in India, Justin Trudeau’s police cracks down on protestors in Toronto

On Saturday, the police in Canada cracked down on a large number of protestors, who had gathered at the Yonge-Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto against the rising unemployment and business closures caused due to Coronavirus lockdown imposed by the government.

As per reports, there was a heavy police deployment at the Yonge-Dundas Square, where anti-lockdown protestors were arrested under criminal charges. The anti-lockdown protestors took objection to the vague distinction made between essential workers and non-essential workers, who are not permitted to run businesses during the lockdown. Hailing their march as ‘Essential Exercise March’ following a Stay at Home order in Ontario, the demonstrators sang, “We are all essential” and hit back at the administration.

The protestors emphasised on their right to dissent but the cops responded by detaining them. In viral video footage that has now surfaced on social media, the police were seen disrupting the agitation, obstructing the path of the protestors and making arbitrary arrests. “This is assault, what these cops are doing, this is assault,” a protestor yelled. The scuffle between the police and protestors flared up the tension in the area, resulting in three arrests, including that of two organisers, for ‘common nuisance’.

The police informed that a 22-year-old protester has been arrested for assaulting police personnel while 18 charges were laid against protestors under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Toronto Mayor justifies police crackdown

Amidst the imposition of lockdown in Toronto for several weeks, the economic conditions of the residents have worsened. Labelling the protests as ‘not right and safe’, Toronto Mayor John Tory said, “The police do what they have to do and I’m glad, even though I don’t give the direction to the police, that they wrote some tickets yesterday. I find it very distressing that someone assaulted a police officer. I mean free speech is one thing and assaulting a police officer is entirely different.”

He further added, “I understand the right to protest, but in my case they not only demonstrate contrary to the regulations that are out there, and they do the same outside of Premier Ford’s house… they also stop people from people from coming in and out of their homes in our building.”

Doublespeak of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

While Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has been vocal about the ongoing anti-farm law protests in India in an attempt to appease the ‘Khalistani vote bank’ in his home country, it is important to note how the administration has been cracking down against those protesting against government directive on Coronavirus.

While talking about the protests in India, Trudeau had said earlier, “I would be remiss if I didn’t start also by recognizing the news coming out of India about the protests by farmers. The situation is concerning. And we all are very worried about family and friends; I know that’s a reality for many of you. Let me remind you. Canada will always be ready to defend the right to peaceful protest. We believe in the importance of dialogue and that’s why we reached out to multiple means directly to Indian authorities to highlight our concerns.”

‘Web Series Tandav can hurt religious harmony’: UP Police files FIR against makers, police team to be sent to Mumbai

OpIndia Staff
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‘Web Series Tandav can hurt religious harmony’: UP Police files FIR against makers, police team to be sent to Mumbai

On January 17, late at night, the Hazratganj Police in Lucknow has filed an FIR against Ali Abbas Jafar and Gaurav Solanki, the makers of the web series Tandav, for allegedly using derogatory language against Hindu Gods that can lead to religious disharmony. The FIR was lodged by senior sub-inspector Amarnath Yadav. Amazon Prime’s India head of original content, Aparna Purohit, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra and others have been named in the FIR. Notably, the Information and Broadcasting ministry has summoned the makers over the alleged Hinduphobic content.

Somen Barma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, central zone, said that a police team would leave for Mumbai on Monday morning to investigate and interrogate those who have been named in the FIR. Those who have been named in the FIR are booked under:

  • Section 153-A (vilification or attacks upon the religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc. of any particular group or class or upon the founders and prophets of a religion)
  • Section 295 (destruction, damage, or defilement of a place of worship or an object held sacred, with intent to insult the religion of a class of persons, punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both),
  • Section 505(1)(b) (intent to cause or likely to cause fear or alarm among the public, or any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against the public tranquillity),
  • Section 505(2) (offence in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies), and 469 (Forgery for the purpose of harming reputation) of Indian Penal Code)
  • Section 66, 66F and 67 of the IT Act.

The FIR says that during surveillance of social media platform Twitter, it was found that there were angry outbursts against the content of the web series Tandav that was released on January 16. People were found sharing clippings of the web series. The senior officials instructed them to check the web series. It was found that at the 17th minute of the first episode, characters playing Hindu Gods and Goddesses were seen using abusive, derogatory language that is hurtful to the sentiments of a community.

Excerpts from FIR (Source: Twitter)

The FIR further said, “Similarly, in the 22nd minute of the same episode, efforts have been made to ignite caste clashes. The person holding a dignified post like that of prime minister has been shown in a very derogatory manner throughout the web series.”

Yadav further added that there are scenes that depict differences based on caste and derogatory language against the women. The web series attempts to harm the religious, social and administrative fabric of the country and spread obscenity.

Case registered under serious sections

Shalabh Mani Tripathi, Information Consultant CMO UP, said in a tweet that serious cases had been registered against the entire team of Tandav, and they will be arrested soon.

BJP leader Ram Kadam has also filed a complaint against the series.

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