The farmer protests outside Delhi against the new farm laws, which is filled with luxuries like free pizzas, massage parlours, Wi-Fi etc, now have been infiltrated by thieves. Controversial journalist Saba Naqvi informed that her iPhone 11 Pro was stollen at the protest site at Singhu border by professional thieves. However, she wrote the name of the phone as “I phone 11 pro”. She tweeted that the thieves pushed her, grabbed the phone and disappeared.
Dear friends, my I phone 11 pro invaluable for my work got stolen today at Singhu border. Professional thieves. Pushed , grabbed and disappeared. So not available on phone tonight. will sort out.
Although Naqvi had posted to tweet to inform that she won’t be available on phone tonight due to the incident, this invited the ‘trolls’, who used the unfortunate incident to make a point or two. Instead of sympathising with her, or advising her on what steps should be taken to recover the phone and protect any sensitive data in the phone, ‘trolls’ used the incident to mock her and her brand of ideology, showing how ‘popular’ she is with ‘trolls’.
Popular Twitter handle @BefittingFacts reminded her this is the ideology she herself supports, taking from the rich and giving to the poor.
Don't call it stolen. According to principle of communism, "one who needed has taken it from the rich". Dont insult a poor by calling him thief. Buy a new one, comerade. ??
Similar views were expressed by other people also, taking a jibe at Naqvi.
in Lol salam it is justified. the poor man needed a phone which he can never afford so le liya. FYI Singhu border pr Farmers hai bs. waise kam kya krti ho ap? ?
According to your ideology, it has been shared. Maybe it has gone to the 'Right' owner. By the way, you sang paeans on the protests and people gathered there, saying they were hardworking affected poor farmers. Today you recognised professional thieves there.
How elitist. Some needy person participating in the protest may have taken it to google and understand the farm bills they are protesting against.. ? and you call them thief. Galat baat…
Many Twitter users accused Saba Naqvi of calling the farmers as thieves, as according to her ilk, only farmers are protesting at the site.
So ur accusing our hardworking "annadata" of theft?? Because u people say it's just farmers who are protesting there in singhu border!!! We want clarification @_sabanaqvi .. This is not done???
How dare you call our "poor annadaatas" as "professional thieves"!? ? The food that you eat is because of them.. So they can have your phone! ? Without your iphone how are they supposed to call their relatives in Kanedda? ?
How dare you call farmers thieves? Remember the food that you eat is grown by a farmer. The food that the manufacfurers and resellers of Iphone eat is also from farmers KISAAN EKTA ??
Some Twitter users linked the theft with a recent incident, where the ‘protestors’ had removed a generator from a Jio mobile tower and donated it to the local Gurdwara in Punjab. May be the iPhone 11 was also similarly donated to a Gurdwara, people wondered.
Stolen Jio generator was donated to a gurudwara, so maybe that iPhone 11 Pro is now in better hands. I think Saba should be happy. Sawaab milega.
Lol these guys are stealing generators, iPhone kya cheez hai ???. You should feel happy some poor farmer from Punjab got an iPhone ?. Happy New Year !!!
Some people also wondered how journalists can own phones that cost almost a lakh rupees despite ‘BJP ruining the economy’, referring to the constant allegations made by the left-liberal journalists.
Amazing, in spite of BJP ruining the economy our journalists can still own an expensive iPhone that costs more than a lakh of rupees 🙂
iPhone 11 Pro was launched in India in September 2019, and its starting price was Rs 99,900. However, the price has fallen now, after Apple launched the next phone, the iPhone 12 series this year, but still remains among the costliest phones available in the market.
Days after making abusive rants against Hindus on Twitter to proclaim her to be the ‘best woman in the world’, troll masquerading as an ‘activist’ Meena Kandasamy is in dock after her estranged husband made some sensational claims against the far-left Twitter ‘activist’.
Several serious accusations have been made against the ‘Dalit activist’ Meena Kandasamy by her former husband Dr Gunasekharan Dharmaraja. According to a letter shared by independent journalist Deepika Bharadwaj, Dr Gunasekharan Dharmaraja, the former husband of Meena Kandasamy said that the activist had filed fake harassment against him after he had filed a case on her father for attacking him. Dharmaraja said he had proofs, emails written by her that disclose the real reason of separation between them.
Statement by Dr. Gunasekharan Dharmaraja, ex-husband of Dr. @meenakandasamy post her tweets accusing him of physical, sexual violence. He claims she filed #498A after he filed case on her father for attacking him & he has emails by her that disclose real reason of separation pic.twitter.com/R5nLarCuGw
Dr Dharmaraja also made sensational disclosure stating that Kandasamy had faked her ‘Dalit’ credentials to not only to the world but also to his own husband. He said, however, as per official records, the mother of Kandasamy belonged to the forward community while her father was an OBC.
“How do you then pretend yourself or misrepresent/allow to be misrepresented as a member of the Scheduled Castes? Are these to ensure that you could use their historical injustice as a shield to cover your arm-chair activities?” Dr Gunasekharan Dharmaraja asked his former wife as he exposed her blatant lies.
The estranged husband said that Dr Ilavenil Kandasamy, the father of the Meena Kandasamy, had filed a case against him, through which she has played the victim-game and sought to earn certain social mileage.
Meena Kandasamy, her family harassed me for money, says husband
He also accused the so-called activist of trying to extort money from him. Dharmaraja also said that her parents had asked him to ask money from the Eelam Tamils, ever since he was the Member of Parliament of the Transnational Government of the Tamil Eelam.
Continuing to expose Meena Kandasamy, her former husband said, “Firstly, it was me who had filed a complaint against your father at Kodungaiyur Police Station on the ground that he attacked me. However, your family requested mine to withdraw the police complaint, and because of the family pressure, I withdrew the same. It was just after I withdrew that you had even filed this complaint. Why hasn’t this fact ever been revealed by you? Doesn’t this amount to selective highlighting and twisting of facts, as you accuse everybody else off?”
Former husband exposes Kandasamy’s fake feminist credentials
Exposing her fake credentials of being a ‘feminist’, Dharmaraja continued to ask how could she call herself a ‘feminist’ and a ‘fighter for women rights’ when she had herself filed FIR against me accepting that she had paid Dowry to him.
“How do you claim yourself as an activist for women’s rights when you yourself gave dowry for your marriage?” quipped Dr Dharmaraja aka Charles Antony as he added that she evaded the accusations when she was exposed of her intellectual hysteria.
“I also proclaim before the public that I neither demand nor support dowry. The claims you have made in the FIR concerning dowry, amongst others, is false. Therefore, by claiming to have given a dowry, you are either against the feminist ideals that you claim to stand for, or you are committing perjury by providing false information to the police and to the court of law,” he added.
The estranged husband also said that he was willing to release to the public the email conversations they had on the day of their separation after constantly accusing him of harassment and later portraying in her book, articles and social media as an abuser.
Pressuring me for money to settle divorce case: Dr Dharmaraja makes huge allegations against Meena Kandasamy
He also alleged that the controversial far-left Hinduphobic troll Meena Kandasamy was employing delaying tactics in a case filed against her for alleged domestic violence, cruelty and wife-beating in 2012 under sections 498A & 506(ii) of IPC. However, because of your non-cooperation in the case, the charge-sheet was filed only two years later, he said.
Further, Dr Dharmaraja has also accused Meena Kandasamy of harassing and pressurising him to provide for Rs 15 lakhs to settle the divorce case.
In another shocking allegation, Dr Gunasekaran Dharmaraja also revealed that Kandasamy had also accused Respected Prof. MSS Pandian of molestation, who is a respected Dalit leader and a sitting Member of Parliament. The former husband, in his letter, has challenged the self-proclaimed feminist and Dalit rights champion Meena Kandasamy to withdraw the false case and engage in an open debate with him before the public and media.
“My family, my friends and I have been ardent supporters of progressive rights and have always stood against the dowry system and have been supporting women’s emancipation. I am ready to engage in this debate in order to highlight my innocence and expose the hypocrisy of all the accusations levelled against me,” he said concluding the letter.
He continued, “In case you feel defamed by any of the above statements, instead of resorting to social media like Twitter and using your usual tactics of evading them, you are requested to approach the Court of law. However, you are expected to at least attend those proceedings and have respect for the rule of law.”
Naseed Geelani, son of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has denied reports of the death of his father, which had appeared yesterday in one Pakistan based media house. “Geelani is ok & alive, Rumor about his death is false and baseless”, Naseem told KNS Kashmir, responding to the media reports.
Yesterday, Pakistani media house Daily Times had reported that Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani had passed away due to a serious illness. The report had said that Geelani died on Wednesday, and the funeral prayers were to be held today. The report had quoted a written statement issued by Hurriyat, saying that the separatist leader was suffering from chest infection and he was not responding to the ongoing treatment.
Several social media users had shared the Daily Times report on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, saying that Geelani has died. But now his son had denied the news report, and has confirmed that his father is ok and alive.
Born in 1929, Syed Ali Shah Geelani is 91 years old, and he is suffering from health issued for several months. In fact, the rumours of his death had emerged earlier this year too, which the family was forced to deny. Internet connections were snapped in February this year to prevent the spread of rumours of his death, which could have led to law and order problems. In 2014 also, rumours of Geelani’s death had spread.
In June this year, Geelani had resigned from the Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of separatist groups in the Valley. He had written a detailed two-page letter highlighting the reasons behind his resignation from the Hurriyat Conference. As per the letter, Geelani was sidelined by the Pakistani chapter of Hurriyat in the key-decision making process for the past 2 years. Besides, he had revealed that his colleagues had also began to maintain distance from him.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani is considered as the senior-most Hurriyat leader, which itself is sponsored by Pakistan. Geelani was previously a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir but later on founded his own party by the name of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. He has served as the Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, a conglomerate of separatist parties in Jammu and Kashmir. He became an MLA from Sopore constituency first in 1972 and went on to become MLA for two more terms.
After several media reports claimed that two labourers were deboarded from the Rajdhani Express in Jharkhand despite having confirmed tickets, the Railways have strongly denied the claims. The Railway officials have also released CCTV footage from the railway platform to prove that the passengers arrived at the station after the train had left the station, and they had lodged a false complaint.
Today several Hindi media houses had reported that on Wednesday, two labourers Ramchandra Yadav and Ajay Yadav was deboarded from the New Delhi – Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express at the Koderma Junction in Jharkhand by the TTE. The reports claimed that the TTE had deboarded them from the train, saying that the train is for VIPs and they are not privileged enough to board the train.
After the incident, Ramchandra and Ajay had lodged a complaint with the station master against the TTE, which was later forwarded to higher Railway authorities. The reports quoted DRM of the Dhanbad Railway division Ashish Bansal saying that if the incident is true, it is wrong, and action will be taken after the matter is probed.
The Official Twitter handle of the All India Mahila Congress tweeted the a report on the alleged incident by Jansatta, and claimed that the Rail Minister is responsible for the incident.
However, now Ashish Bansal has clarified that no such incident had happened, and the two persons had actually missed the train. Responding to a tweet by Amar Ujala posting the report, the Dhanbad DRM said that the report is not based on facts. He informed that the Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express had left the station at 05:22, while the two passengers were still running on the foot-overbridge in the station at 05:23. The DRM posted CCTV footage which showed the two persons on the overbridge at 5:23, after the train had already left.
आपकी ख़बर तथ्यों पर आधारित नहीं है। भुवनेश्वर राजधानी एक्सप्रेस सुबह 05:22 पर खुल चुकी थी जबकि यात्री 05:23 पर उपरिगामी पुल पर दौड़ते हुए दिखाई दे रहे हैं। कृपया समाचार को संशोधित करें। https://t.co/A5oqSPUbJlpic.twitter.com/wlLY1z7Eak
After Bansal posted the tweet with the video, Amar Ujala deleted the tweet. Their report is still present on their website, which they have updated with the clarification from the DRM. They have also changed the headline to reflect the Railway version.
The Railways have issued a statement denying the allegations. The statement says that news reported in the newspaper is factually incorrect, as the passengers had missed the train as they arrived late on the platform. The Railways asserts that there was no altercation between the passengers and any Railway Staff on duty at Koderma.
It further says that passengers work in a private company in Odisha, and they recorded an incorrect statement in the complaint register kept with the station master, and sent a copy of it to his employer. Later, this incorrect complaint reached to some press reporter who published it.
As soon as the reports of the complaint came to the knowledge of the Dhanbad railway officials, the CCTV footage was examined, and the truth was revealed. Dhanbad Railway Division is issuing a rejoinder on the matter in newspapers.
In a gruesome crime in Meerut on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh a man allegedly butchered his married girlfriend over suspicion of infidelity. The incident happened in Harinagar colony near Brahmpuri police station on December 30. The accused named Javed brutally slit the throat of the victim named Nargis (some reports mention her name as Nazreen).
According to reports, the accused Javed, who was in a romantic relationship with the victim, suspected her of a having a love affair with another man.
The victim was the mother of 5 children
Nargis was the mother of five children and was married one Imran who sells clothes in Delhi. Nargis ran a beauty parlour and also used to sell medicines. Javed’ family, wife and two children live in Shastrinagar sector 14. Javed used to take care of Nargis’ children as her husband used to be Delhi most of the time. He suspected that Nargis was having an affair with a man named Sonu, a resident of Maliana. He alleged that she was planning to marry this other person.
Javed was angry over the victim’s alleged affair with another man
Yesterday, Javed went to Nargis’ house in the morning. He attacked Nargis with a butcher’s knife and slit her throat. On hearing Nargis scream, neighbours rushed to her house where they found Javed with a blood stained weapon and Nargis lying dead on the floor. Two of her children were lying on the ground unconscious while three were sitting in a corner crying. The neighbours informed the police immediately. Whne police reached at the spot, Javed did not try to flee and started shouting that he wanted police to kill him in an encounter as he did not want to live. He surrendered before the police and was taken to police station. The body of the victim was sent for postmortem. All the five children of the victim have been sent for medical check up and were later handed over to relatives.
SSP Ajay Sahni informed that Javed had known the victim for many years. A case has been filed on a complaint by the victim’s brother.
The year 2020 has been difficult for everyone but with the support from our readers, OpIndia continued to publish news that are not covered by mainstream media. From stories on Grooming Jihad to unmasking ‘civil society organizations’, OpIndia published a lot of exclusive news stories.
On the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots and the investigation that followed, we have published numerous exclusive reports and also a book on the events and the conspiracy that led to the enormous bloodshed at the national capital.
Now that we are at the end of the year, we revisit some of the important news stories that we have reported this year.
OpIndia reported on the plight of Hindus at Maujpur, a Hindu dominated locality that witnessed widespread violence, in the aftermath of the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots. The Hindus in Maujpur were living in constant fear of being attacked by Islamist mobs. Vinod Kumar was shot dead in this area.
We discovered that men prepared to die and women of the house prepared to fight or die themselves if the “Mohammaden mob” comes for them is a story not uncommon with Hindu families living in fear since the Delhi anti-Hindu riots broke out. The media, on the other hand, was busy painting these riots as a pogrom against Muslims, incited by “rabid Hindus”.
A minor girl was abducted on gunpoint while she was returning from the market with her father. The incident took place on July 26 (Sunday) in Begusarai’s Bhikan Chak village that falls under Bachhwara police station. Dinesh, the father of the minor girl said that around 5 pm, seven people, including a female, approached them in a Bolero car while they were crossing the Panchayat Bhavan in Behrampur in Mansurchak Block in Begusarai district and took away his daughter on gunpoint.
We brought the full story of the matter to public light.
OpIndia also reported on the Shaheen Bagh protests from the ground. We reported that contrary to the media narrative that this was a ‘spontaneous’ protest, a lot of money was being spent on organizing it. The protests were extremely organized, for a protest that was touted to be ‘spontaneous’.
There was a security check as well where protesters would demand your identity proof and check your bags and even then, would continue keeping an eye on you. Media personnel are screened before they could talk with the protesters. A lot of the details was happily ignored by the mainstream media.
On the 4th of May, 2020, the life of one family in upscale Gurugram came to a screeching halt. A 17-year-old boy, Manav, jumped from the 11th floor of his apartment building, landing on the road below and ultimately, losing his life. The ‘Bois Locker Room’ controversy had claimed a victim. We interviewed his father to bring his side of the story and reveal how such a promising young life was cut short by the demented nature of social media.
South-Africa launched an ‘anti-racism campaign’ led by President Ramaphosa. The campaign had significant opposition within South Africa as well. The launch of this campaign was to start with a virtual talk. The opening statements were to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa and then, a panel discussion was to ensue with several other panelists making their comments.
7 out of 8 of those panelists belonged to South Africa. However, there was one name that did not add up – Anand Sharma, Congress leader. We reported the manner in which Congress could have potentially undermined Indian national interests in the process.
OpIndia accessed a conversation which is between Person A (Person in whose home a bar-o-meter is installed) and his neighbour, makes it evident that Person A was scared for his security and his family’s safety after being allegedly coerced by the Mumbai Police.
The conversation accessed by OpIndia raised significant questions regarding the conduct of the Mumbai Police and the manner in which witnesses were being coerced in order to target Arnab Goswami and Republic TV.
The Prasar Bharati finally terminated its arrangement with the Press Trust of India (PTI) in October this year. Earlier, it was announced that the government of India institution will be reviewing its arrangement with the PTI following its interview with the Chinese Ambassador wherein the news agency was accused of providing a platform for the Chinese to run their propaganda.
OpIndia reported the precise reason why Prasar Bharti took that decision.
OpIndia has accessed screenshots of Whatsapp chats between those who controlled the Delhi riots which further explain how the communal riots were not the handiwork of locals but it was a result of deeper conspiracy and planning.
The WhatsApp chats make it extremely clear that the riots were a deep seated conspiracy and not impromptu at all.
We, at OpIndia, have spent a lot of time discussing and reporting on the undue influence that foreign-funded NGOs exert over the institutions of our country and the narratives that drive politics in the media. We have reported extensively on the manner in which foreign-funded NGOs are using the Judiciary in order to meddle the internal affairs of India via elements like Harsh Mander.
This year, we reported how Harsh Mander is a member of an organization connected to the Italian Government and the Italian Secret Service.
While the Delhi anti-Hindu riots rage on, the country woke up to disturbing news on 26th January. An Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, Ankit Sharma, had been brutally murdered and his tortured remains were recovered from a nearby drain. Some said that the IB officer was mercilessly thrown after the murder during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots, others alleged that the body was hidden so it would not be recovered.
Meanwhile, the mainstream media claimed that Ankit Sharma was murdered by a mob chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and went further to say that it was his brother who had made the claim. It was under these circumstances that OpIndia talked to the deceased IB constable’s brother.
The brother denied making any such claim ever and said that it was Tahir Hussain and the Islamist mob the former AAP Councilor was leading that was responsible for Ankit Sharma’s murder.
In the aftermath of the recent stone-pelting by a Muslim mob on a rally taken out by Hindus in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, the police are on a lookout for the culprits. According to Nai Dunia, the bail application of one of the accused was rejected by the court yesterday. So far, 18 people have reportedly been arrested by the police and 5 people have been booked under the National Security Act (NSA). Around 36 people have so far been made accused in the case. Teams of police have been deployed in the areas to prevent any untoward situation.
A rally taken out for collecting funds for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya on December 25 was attacked with stones as it passed through the Muslim dominated area of Begumbagh. The mob vandalised the vehicles left behind by people in rally after they ran for cover on being attacked. The house which was used by stone pelters to attack the rally was later demolished by the police as it was found to be an illegal construction.
Illegal colony where stone-pelting happened to be demolished
According to reports, the local administration is planning to demolish the illegal colony in Begumbagh area where stones were pelted at the rally. The families that will be affected by the demolition will be provided with flats that will be constructed in Dhatravada village. The construction of new flats will entail an expenditure of Rs 15 crore. The municipal corporation had invited tenders from construction companies for the construction of the flats. The administration is likely to finalise the tenders soon.
The new flats will reportedly be provided to affected families at cheaper rates. The construction will be carried under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana within two years. The land where the colony is located will be used for developing parking area and other facilities. The decision to pull down the colony and provide alternate accommodation to affected families was taken about a month ago in a meeting of Ujjain Smart City Board.
2020 has been an extremely fruitful year for us at OpIndia. It has been a year of growth and prospects. It has been a year where we bettered our own performance and continued to get undying support from the ones who matter: our readers.
These are the top 10 articles that you helped go viral and made them the most read this year. You can click on the preview images or the link below the images to read the respective articles:
1. The curious case of ‘Drone Boy’ who has made 600 drones using broken mixer grinders and televisions. A fact-check
In 2020, social media was abuzz with tales of Prathap NM, a young man who was dubbed as the drone boy, and a drone scientist. Stories of how Prathap had won numerous gold medals in various drone expos around the world, has been invited to 87 countries, and has been offered work by various govts apart from Indian govt, apart from PM Modi asking DRDP to hire him, were plenty. Not just the social media, but mainstream media too jumped on the bandwagon.
OpIndia did a fact-check and conclusively proved that his stories were just that – stories.
There was no evidence of drone scientist Prathap NM making any drone, winning any award and medal. All the stories about him on various websites were based on other websites carrying the same stories. It was a cycle of fake news that continued till we broke it. There were several loopholes in claims in regard to his achievements, and most importantly, his claim is remarkably similar to the story of another drone boy.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Drone Boy Prathap NM
2. China launches ‘crusade’ against Christianity, begins to remove crosses from churches across the country
In May 2020, the Chinese government decided to forcefully remove more than two thousand crosses from churches across China as part of a government campaign to regulate “excessive religious sites”. The Communist Party of China (CPC) decided to pull down crosses atop of churches across the country as part of its post-coronavirus crusade against Christianity. The campaign was aimed at eradicating Christian landscape and its symbols from China.
On Easter Sunday 2020, the Chinese authorities ripped down the cross that used to surmount the tympanum of a church in the diocese of Xinxiang in Henan province.
Our report on China’s Crusade became our second most read article of the year.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Crosses removed from Chinese churches
3. Here is why Aaditya Thackeray is called Baby Penguin by some
Dharmendra Mishra, legal head of Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena had filed a complaint against a Netizen for referring to Aditya Thackeray as ‘Baby Penguin’. In this article, we explained why Aditya Thackeray was called so by some people.
Click on the image to read the full story:
A baby penguin
4. Indian Army to take over Narela quarantine facility after Tablighi Jamaat attendees defecate in the corridor
The gross misbehaviour of the Tablighi Jamaat members in quarantine facilities continues unabated as they excreted in the corridor of the Narela quarantine centre in April 2020.
A request was then made to the Indian Army to take over the medical screening setup. The Indian Army then confirmed that it was in the gradual process of assuming the responsibility of screening duties in the Narela camp.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Tablighi Jamaatis
5. Hathras gang rape: Victim cremated, accused arrested. All you need to know about the case
19-year-old girl was was allegedly raped by four men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras on 14th September 2020. She succumbed to her injuries on 29th September, 2020 in Delhi. Amidst the cacophony of the media and the vulturism of politicians, the truth was getting lost.
We brought to our readers an unbiased chronology of facts, right from the time the girl was allegedly brutalised to the time the accused were arrested in the case.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Hathras police release official sound byte on the Hathras gang rape case
6. As India fights Wuhan Coronavirus, here is a list of prominent Hindu Temples and religious leaders helping India through donations and welfare
In times of national crisis, we often hear from liberals and those under the influence of Secularism that it would be better to construct hospitals than Temples. An attempt is made to portray the resources invested in Hindu Temples as a wastage when these resources could have been spent on other avenues. Under ordinary circumstances, apart from hospitals, much hue and cry being raised that the resources could have been allocated to the construction of schools instead.
Despite the fact that the construction of Temples and building schools and hospitals are not mutually exclusive, a dedicated attempt is made in order to guilt-trip Hindus. However, as it turns out, apart from the exhaustive social work that Temples are involved in, during times of crisis, they are at the forefront of making donations to institutions in order to combat the crisis. The Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic has been no different.
In the wake of the crisis, numerous temples across the country came forward to contribute generously, both in terms of food and welfare, to help the country.
We compiled a list back then that can be read here.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Somnath Temple
7. PMNRF vs PM CARES: PMNRF always had Congress President on its managing committee while PM CARES is far more democratic
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM CARES Fund to fight the Wuhan Coronavirus, a lot has been discussed about the similarities and differences between PM CARES Fund and PMNRF.
In this article, we spoke about how the PM CARES Fund was car more democratic then PMNRF, and how, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund used to have the President of Congress party in its managing committee.
8. Wife of late Wajid Khan writes on her sufferings in an inter-faith marriage, says anti-conversion law should be nationalised
Months after music composer Wajid Khan of the Sajid-Wajid fame passed away due to coronavirus related complications, his wife Kamalrukh Khan shared her first-hand account of life in an inter-faith marriage. In a lengthy post on Instagram captioned “Live and let live should be the only religion we all practice”, Kamalrukh revealed how her resistance to convert to Islam drastically widened the divide between her and her late husband.
She also demanded that the law against Grooming Jihad be nationalised.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Late music composer Wajid Khan with his wife Kamalrukh Khan and children (Source: famouspeople.wiki)
9. Rajdeep Sardesai issued an unconditional apology to an IPS officer in November 2019 for spreading fake news in 2007
Rajdeep Sardesai had to apologise to Rajiv Trivedi for a program titled “30 minutes – Sohrabuddin, the inside story”, which was aired on CNN-IBN (now CNN-News18) channel on 13 May 2007. In the program, it was accused that Hyderabad Special Investigation Unit SP Rajiv Trivedi had helped the Gujarat police in nabbing Sohrabuddin. Rajdeep Sardesai had reported that Rajiv Trivedi had provided cars with fake number plates which were used to transport Sohrabuddin to Ahmedabad.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Rajdeep Sardesai
10. Nikita murder case: Tauseef decided to kill her after watching Mirzapur
Tauseef, the accused who brutally shot dead Hindu girl Nikita Tomar in Mewat, revealed that he was inspired by online web series ‘Mirzapur’ where the lead actor is shown murdering a girl for rejecting his proposal.
Click on the image to read the full story:
Nikita Tomar, the character Munna in Mirzapur
And with that, Team Opindia wishes you all a happy, prosperous, opinionated and media-lies-free (sorry for the joke) 2020! We promise to bring to you news that matters, that the mainstream media ignores, in 2021 as well!
Preparations of the largest mass vaccination program are moving ahead at a fast pace in India. As per the reports, the government has decided to provide Covid-19 vaccine shots to the healthcare workers on priority, including doctors, paramedics, nurses and hospital staff. After the healthcare workers, the frontline workers will be next in the line.
Frontline workers divided into six categories
In an exclusive, Times Now has reported that a meeting was held between the Ministry of Health Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and all state governments’ representatives. They decided on the categorization of the frontline workers. The reports suggest that the government has decided to divide them into six categories starting with the police, civil defence and home guard personnel, paramilitary personnel, municipal workers, disaster management professionals (national and state level) and fire safety personnel.
Centre set for the largest vaccination drive in the country. TIMES NOW has accessed Centre’s blueprint. Frontline workers to have 6 categories.
The government has made it clear that there will be no mass vaccination program at first. It will be done on a priority basis, starting with the healthcare workers then frontline workers followed by the people living in hot zone regions. Once all these areas are covered, the rest of the population will be vaccinated. Earlier, government had made it clear that the vaccination program will be voluntary basis, and no one will be forced to take it.
The government ordered 83 crore syringes
The government of India has placed orders for 83 crore syringes for the Covid-19 vaccination and the Universal Immunization program. In a statement released by the Union Health Ministry on Thursday, bids were invited for 35 crore additional syringes. Additionally, 36,433 ventilators have been delivered to government hospitals in the last nine months. The cost of those ventilators ranged from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakhs.
The ministry said, “This is important because from the independence of the country till pre-COVID times, all the public health facilities in the country had only about 16,000 ventilators but in less than 12 months 36,433 ‘Made in India’ ventilators have been supplied to all the public health facilities.”
The journey from importer to exporter in masks and PPE-kits
It has to be noted that when the pandemic hit India, there were no facilities that were manufacturing ventilators, N-95 masks, or PPE kits in India. All these essential products were being imported. Also, there were no specific standards in India at that time. The ministry said, “The Central Government recognized the challenges posed by the pandemic in the very initial stages and successfully ensured more than adequate availability and supplies of essential medical items.”
The statement further added that in March, only a minuscule number of domestic PPE-kits were being produced and since then India has become the world’s second-largest manufacturer of PPE-kits. India can now produce 10 lakh PPE coveralls per day. “There are already nearly 1,700 indigenous manufacturers and suppliers. Nearly 170 lakh PPE kits have been distributed free of cost and the buffer stock of PPE kits available with the Central and State Governments has grown from about 2 lakh in March to more than 89 lakh at present. The average price to has come down substantially from nearly Rs 600 to about Rs 200 per kit in nine months,” the ministry added
There were only three suppliers of N-95 masks in March with a capacity of 1 lakh masks per day. There are now 3,000 manufacturers in India, and the domestic production capacity has risen to 8 lakh N-95 masks per day. India is now exporting N-95 masks, and over four crore N-95 masks have been distributed in different states free of cost. Some time back, N-95 masks were made available at Jan Aushadi Kendra across the country at just Rs.25.
Vaccine dry run in all states from January 2, 2021
As per the statement released by the Ministry of Health, a dry run for the vaccination program will take place in all states on January 2. The ministry said, “The dry run will be conducted by all the State and UT governments on 2nd January 2021 (Saturday). The activity is proposed to be conducted in all State Capitals in at least 3 session sites; some States will also include districts that are situated in difficult terrain/have poor logistical support; Maharashtra and Kerala are likely to schedule the dry run in major cities other than their Capital.” The ministry further added that during the dry run, the main focus will be on the management of any possible adverse events after immunisation.
“The first round of the dry run was conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Punjab on 28-29th December 2020 in two districts each where five session sites with 25 beneficiaries each were identified. No major issues were observed in the operational aspects during this dry run. All States expressed confidence in the operational guidelines and IT platform for large scale programme implementation,” it said.
Zee News anchor Aman Chopra has become a subject of ridicule on social media after he tried to teach a Bengali how to pronounce a Bengali name. Chopra thought that the Rabindranath Tagore is the real name of the author of India’s national anthem, and slammed a TMC leader for using the name Rabindranath Thakur, asking him to say the name ‘correctly’.
The incident happened on 29th December edition of the program ‘Taal Thok Ke’, where Chopra was hosting a panel discussion on the topic ‘who is outsider in Bengal’, a hot political issue ahead of the assembly elections on the state. At the beginning of the show, Aman Chopra raised the question, who is outsider in West Bengal. In response, TMC leader Anirban Banerjee said, those who thinks Rabindranath Thakur was born in Shanti Niketan are outsiders. He alleged that BJP President JP Nadda had said that Rabindranath Tagore was born in Shantiniketan, and by this he implied that leaders of BJP are outsiders in West Bengal.
However, JP Nadda had said that Tagore was born in West Bengal, which was misquoted by the Twitter handle of West Bengal BJP by saying that he was born in Visva Bharati University, located in Shantiniketan.
When Anirban Banerjee used the name ‘Rabindranath Thakur’ in his comments, anchor Aman Chopra interrupted him and asked him to use the ‘correct’ name. ‘Take the name correctly, you don’t even know the correct name. It is Rabindranath Tagore, not Rabindranath Thakur. At least take the name correctly, say the correct name’ he said, insulting Banerjee for not knowing the name of the Nobel laurate.
To this, Banerjee explained that Rabindranath Thakur is the actual name, and the Tagore name was used by the British. But Chopra was unrelenting, and said that TMC does not have a copyright on Tagore to use the Thakur name. He said that Tagore belongs to all, and hence the TMC leader should not use the name ‘Rabindranath Thakur’.
However, the discussion moved onto the main topic, and the matter of Tagore’s name was not raised again.
While he is known as Rabindranath Tagore all over the world, the TMC leader is correct in saying that his real name is Rabindranath Thakur, and his name was changed due to the influence of the British. A lot of names of places and people were changed during the British Raj as the British could not pronounce the local names. Several surnames of West Bengal were a victim of this change, and Thakur was one of them, which became Tagore in English spelling and pronunciation.
It may be noted that in Bengali, the name is still written as Rabindranath Thakur (রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর), therefore, it is natural for native Bengali speaking people to use the original name, instead of the British given name.
Other then Thakur, some other Bengali surnames which were changed during the British raj are Bandopadhyay (Banerjee), Chattopadhyay (Chaterjee), Mukhopadhyay (Mukherjee), Basu (Bose) etc.
Therefore, like Tagore, the Bengali version of the name of Subhash Chandra Bose is Subhash Chandra Basu, and current CM Mamata Banerjee’s name is written as Mamata Bandopadhyay in Bengali. These are not wrong names as the Zee News anchor thinks, but rather these are native versions of the names, and most native people use these names only while talking in Bengali.
If a Bengali uses Thakur or Basu, it does not mean that person is claiming that Tagore or Bose are not national icons, it is just the use of the native name, without any politics behind it.
