After receiving a lot of flak on social media for posting offensive anti-Hindu content online, Eros Now has now been slapped with a cyber complaint filed by Suresh Nakhua, spokesperson of BJP Mumbai. Nakhua shared a copy of the cyber complaint on Twitter.
Filed a Criminal Complaint against @ErosNow & @krishikalulla regarding cybercrime offences and hurting the sentiments of Hindus.
Tagging Krishika Lulla, Director/Producer at Eros International and Eros Now in a previous tweet Nakhua had accused them of hurting the sentiments of Hindus. He had said that he would take the OTT platform owned by Eros International Media Ltd. to the court for the vulgar content posted by them. Later, he tweeted the copy of the cyber complaint filed by him against Krishika Lulla and Eros Now. He also said that he would lodge a physical complaint soon.
Erow Now deleted the posts and apologised
Eros Now had deleted the offensive posts on Navratri and had tendered apology earlier in the day after the hashtag #BoycottErosNow started trending on Twitter. The posts now deleted by Eros Now had vulgar content and images of scantily dressed actresses, where they had associated Navaratri with sex. The posts had highly objectionable text such as “Do you want to put the ratri in my Navratri”, “Let’s have majama in my Pyjama”, “You need a dandi to play dandiya – I have one.” etc.
The digital platform had first attempted to hide critical comments on their posts but people started sharing the posts on social media calling out Eros Now for disrespecting Hindu festivals.
Complaint filed against far-left portal Arré
Eros was not the only one that chose to offend during the festival time. Arré, a far-left website, which often spews venom against Hindus and its culture, also descended to another low by posting a similar sexual innuendo against Hindus, targeting their cultures and festivals. As a result, a complaint has been filed against the portal and its officials by Mumbai based lawyer Chandni Shah.
As promised, I have filed a complaint u/s 153(a), 295(a), 504, 505, 506 of the IPC along with section 67(a) of the IT Act against :
On 17th October, Arré posted a tweet that said, “This year, #Navratri in Gujarat will not be the same. But even the pandemic might not be able to repress hormones that come roaring out once the mating dance begins.”
The tweet contained a link to an article published in the portal in 2017 titled “Navratri And The Mating Dance Of The Gujarati”, which had tried to claim that Navratri is nothing but a festival of sex. Both the tweet and the article have been taken down by Arré now after the outrage on social media.
Not just this, Arré also posted an image of Maa Durga holding severed heads. The severed heads of asuras symbolically depicted as, “Rapist, Assaulter, Molester, Predator” was put out by Arre to subtly insinuate that Hindus were essentially sexual predators.
An FIR has been filed by Chhattisgarh police against a local video journalist named Manish Soni for reporting on the farmers whose paddy crops were destroyed in an anti-encroachment drive of the municipal corporation. The journalist was booked in Ambikapur district for allegedly using explicit and derogatory language on October 20 on the complaint of Ajay Tirki, Congress Mayor of Ambikapur.
Soni has denied all the allegations against him. He said that the action against him was taken with mala fide intention. Alleging that the police registered a case without primary investigation, Soni said that the video on the basis of which the FIR has been registered has been edited by some other people. “The police have not done any primary investigation and registered a case against me”, he said. According to the report, Soni said that his story about the anti-encroachment drive of the municipal corporation was covered by various channels and therefore the municipal corporation turned against him.
Manish Soni further said that the farmers affected by the drive have filed a written complaint against the employees of the municipal corporation. “Second, the affected farmers have also lodged a written complaint against the employees of Municipal Corporation in Gandhi Nagar police station, claiming that no notices were served before the anti-encroachment drive. Hence, some people were not happy with my news report and I believe that they have distorted my video and made a meme. On the basis of that distorted video, police have registered a case without any primary investigation”, he added.
Responding to Soni’s allegations, Mayor Tirki questioned why Soni did not file a complaint if his video was distorted. He said, “I was not aware that the video was edited or original. The video has abusive content and it was circulated everywhere on social media. If the video was edited, why did Soni not complain that his video was distorted and is being circulated?”
According to Inspector General of Police (IG) Ratanlal Dangi, Soni has been booked under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code and the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and an investigation is underway in the case. IG Dangi said that if Soni claimed that the video was not made by him and he could provide the original video to the police. “If he submits the original video which he made, we will investigate it forensically and the case will be taken back”, he said.
Soni was reportedly booked in another case last month for allegedly putting up an objectionable post regarding an encounter between security forces and Maoists.
Journalist dragged on street and beaten up
Last month, Kamal Shukla, editor of a regional newspaper called Bhoomkal Samachar, was dragged on the street by Congress goons, beaten up and attacked with a sharp weapon in Chhattisgarh. The incident happened around 100 km from the nearest police station. Shukla has been covering assault on a young journalist who had been filing RTIs on illegal sand miners.
A massive backlash erupted on Thursday against web streaming service Eros Now as they posted memes on social media platforms that denigrated the revered Hindu festival of Navratri.
The streaming platform had sexualised the Hindu festivals by attaching vulgar texts to photos of Katrina Kaif that read, “Do you want to put the ratri in my Navratri”, an image of Ranveer Singh that depicted him lewdly saying, “Let’s have majama in my Pyjama”. Another damning post was the one in which Eros Now had put up a caption for a meme featuring Salman Khan, saying, “You need a dandi to play dandiya – I have one.”
Here are the few outrageous memes put out by Eros Now making sexual innuendos at Hindus and its festivals.
The vulgar posts on Navratri tweeted by Eros Now
As these derogatory posts spread like a wildfire on the internet, netizens took offence to the blatant act of slandering Hindu festivals and called for the boycott of the streaming platform.
As usual, the streaming platform fearing against the economic boycott issued a statement on Thursday morning claiming that it has now deleted the posts and also issued a so-called apology for “having offended anybody’s sentiments”. However, by the time Eros Now expressed their ‘remorse’ for the deplorable act, the damage was already done.
Arre – a far-left website joins Eros Now in sexualising Hindu festivals
Arre, a far-left website, which often spews venom against Hindus and its culture, also descended to another low by posting a similar sexual innuendo against Hindus, targeting their cultures and festivals.
Amidst the outrage against Eros Now, Arre, in an act of provoking Hindus, posted an image of Maa Durga holding severed heads. The severed heads of asuras symbolically depicted as, “Rapist, Assaulter, Molester, Predator” was put out by Arre to subtly insinuate that Hindus were essentially sexual predators.
“It’s time to bali the bully,” read the infographic shared by Arre, apparently ‘wishing’ Hindus on the occasion of Dussehra.
Image Source: Arre
The selectivity in accusing Hindus alone of being sexual predators, rapists, as done by Arre in this case, is not a one-off incident.
In 2017, Arre, taking its creative liberty to next level, had called ‘Navratri’ as a ‘mating’ ritual. “For those nine nights, all the bundled-up, repressed hormones of the year would come roaring out and the mating dance would commence,” wrote Arre in one of its report explaining how dandiya – the Gujarati socio-religious folk dance performed during Navratri.
According to the author, the Garba events in Gujarat are nothing but a ‘mating’ event, where Hindu daughters in the name of “cultural exposure” enjoyed sex in parked cars after the dancing events.
“After the nine nights, hormones would take cultural cognizance of the land in which they lived, and chastity would return…The Navratri nights, lit up with fairy lights and haunting folk songs, would be charged with sexual tension so thick that you could cut through it with a dandiya,” the article read.
Image Source: Ashutosh
Arre’s vile depiction of Hindu festivals and sexualising it is not limited to Navratri alone. The writers at Arre, who seems to extremely obsessed with mating rituals perhaps cannot think beyond sex, had come up with another article peddling the fake theories of ‘semen filled balloons’ thrown at Delhi University campus during Holi festival.
In one of its report, the author wrote, “Just a Semen-Filled Balloon… Bura Na Mano Holi Hai”. In short, the post compared the Holi festival to an act of sexual harassment.
Image Source: Ashutosh
It is pertinent to note that the ‘liberal-secular’ media outlets have gone great lengths to depict the festival of ‘Holi’ as some kind of crime event. To strengthen their narrative, the liberals have shamelessly passed off fake theories such as ‘semen filled balloons’ to present Holi festival as an event which is inherently ‘misogynistic’.
Secular establishment preaches morals and guilt-trips Hindus
The ‘liberal-secular’ media’s act of denigrating Hindus and their festivals is not a new phenomenon. Ever since the indigenous faiths of the country began to assert themselves, the ‘liberal-secular’ establishment have begun to preach morality to Hindus in an attempt to shame them for openly flaunting their religious identity.
The Hinduphobic media having the dubious distinction of maligning Hindu festivals have now stepped up their fight towards demonizing Hindus and the customs and traditions they hold sacred.
Not just our traditions, even the routine practises followed by the indigenous faith has now come under act from these ‘secular’ establishment. These ‘secular’ media establishment have started maligning Hindu festivals while glossing over the uncomfortable truths about the festivals of other religions.
The left-wing outlet ‘The Quint” had once vilified the Hindu festival of Holi and termed it as an occasion used by kids to unleash terror on the streets. Another notorious media outlet, Scroll, known for its anti-Hindu inclinations had resorted to publishing a post sending those celebrating the festival of Holi on a guilt trip by pointing out the terrible water crisis gripping the country.
Perhaps the most offensive post targeting the Hindu festivals was from the ultra-left wing rag – The Wire, that too had come up with the semen filled balloons theory and carried a post that said, “The festival of Holi perpetuates rape culture”.
The vile agenda against Hindu festivals is not just limited to Holi alone. Even, Deepavali – the festival of lights has time-and-again come under the scrutiny of the ‘liberal-secular’ media, who have wasted no time to indulge in their usual antics of bashing it by associating it with a false sense of being the source of pollution.
The champions of secularism have made a common point against celebrating Deepavali by accusing Hindus alone of causing pollution and guilt-trips Hindus about how they are causing serious harm to the health of kids and adults alike by bursting crackers.
In addition to that, the ecosystem often reminds us how animals feel threatened and disturbed by loud noises during Deepavali. On Diwali, the Quint published an article claiming that there should be an end to busting of firecrackers as there’s nothing religious about them. The Wire known for its anti-Hindu inclinations was disturbed over pollution caused by bursting of crackers that accompany the Hindu festival of Diwali.
Routine practises, beliefs under attack by ‘secular-liberal’ intelligentsia
The hatred for Hindus and their belief system is such that the ‘liberal-secular’ have left no stone unturned to pontificate and push Hindus into a corner by constantly shaming them for practising their faith.
Just a few months ago, during the nationwide lockdown, Times of India had published a story claiming at least 12 children from Hyderabad and surrounding areas had lost eyesight during the lockdown and had blamed the popular ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Ramayana’ serials that were rerun on TV.
Image Source: ToI
The ToI report had claimed that many children had started playing with homemade bows and arrows fashioned mostly out of broomsticks. This has resulted in injuries to kids, forcing parents to rush their kids with pierced eyes to the nearest hospital.
Liberals-Seculars turn blind eye to vices of other religion
Interestingly, the virtue signalling of the liberal-secular is only limited to Hindus. The liberals and seculars have always found a way to slander Hindu customs, festivals under the pretext of ‘secularism’ while ignoring over the uncomfortable truths about the festivals of other religions.
The modus operandi espoused by such media outlets entails pontificating Hindus about the vices purportedly associated with their festivals and holding the festivals responsible for the perpetuation of those vices. The lofty ideals of brotherhood, peace, inclusiveness etc are exclusive only for the Hindu festivals as they intentionally conceal all the glaring vices that are part of non-Hindu customs and faiths.
Bureaucrats are the most powerful in a government after the political leaders. In many cases, their role is more important than the leader as they are responsible for implementing government schemes in the region. However, during the period of Jungle Raj in Bihar, even the IAS officers were not safe. Champa Vishwas was the wife of one such officer. She was brutally raped and the incident not only shook the state but the whole country.
Allegations of sexual exploitation of politicians in Bihar are not new. In recent times, several prominent leaders were named in the Muzaffarpur Girls’ Home Scandal. RJD has given tickets to the wives of two rapist MLAs. As these incidents are happening openly nowadays, one can only imagine the situation when Lalu Prasad Yadav was in power in Bihar. Anti-social elements connected to Lalu could do anything in Bihar. Let’s discuss one of such dark incidents that took place during that time.
Champa Vishwas’s rape: A blot on Bihar’s reputation
Murders and kidnappings during Lalu’s Jungle Raj were so common that people had stopped to consider them as news. The ruling party leaders were goons and never faced any action in crimes like sexual exploitation and murder. However, when IAS officer BB Vishwas accused Lalu Yadav’s close aide Mriyutanjay Yadav of raping his wife and several other relatives in two years, there was chaos all around.
If the case had gone to the police, either the file would have been ended in the pile of forgotten cases or action would have been taken against the victims. But, the matter came to the limelight when the victim wrote a letter to the then-Governor of Bihar, Sunder Singh Bhandari and pleaded for justice. Sexual exploitation for two years of wife and relatives of an IAS officer was not a small case.
BB Vishwas, a 1982 batch IAS officer, was the Director of Social Security in the Labor Department of Bihar at that time. He had alleged that Mrityunjay (then-27-year-old), along with his friends, raped not only his wife but also his mother, two maids, and a niece. He restored to intimidation, greed, violence, and coercion in the act. Champa Vishwas was 30-years-old at that time.
Champa Vishwas had to undergo abortion once. In the end, she had to get herself sterilized. She had to take the step to avoid getting pregnant after repeated rape. She also feared that he killed her niece Kalyani and two maidservants who went missing. Taking cognizance of the matter, the Governor had recommended the case to the Home Minister.
He also ordered Niaz Ahmad, the then-DGP of Bihar, to investigate the case. Mrityunjay Yadav had also written a book on Lalu Yadav. On 8th August 1998, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi held a press conference in Patna and said that even the women of influential and respected families are no longer safe in Bihar because of the goons of RJD. The latter think that they can escape anything.
पटना की सड़कों पर दिनदहाड़े शिल्पी गौतम की हत्या हो या आइएएस विश्वास की पत्नी चंपा विश्वास का आरजेडी विधायक के बेटे द्वारा बलात्कार, लालू-राबड़ी के अंधकार-युग में बिहार ऐसी ही घटनाओं के लिए कुख्यात था।हम आपको याद दिला रहे हैं,राजद के उस गुंडाराज का।@yadavtejashwi#RJDKaGundaRajpic.twitter.com/4x49eIVLd7
Despite being an officer of higher rank, BB Vishwas could not save his family from the goons. It shows how powerful their influence was at that time. Vishwas later shifted to Delhi with his entire family. Champa, while claiming that her husband’s life was in danger, said he came to know about the case much later. Mrityunjay’s mother, Hemlata Yadav, was also an MLA, and she was the chairperson of the Bihar Social Welfare Advisory Board.
At that time, he said that the allegations were false and it was a conspiracy against him and his mother. He also accused BB Vishwas of not performing his duty properly and being absent from the office. Mohammad Namtullah, who was the chief whip of the RJD in the assembly at that time, said that he knows Hemlata’s family personally and her son cannot do anything like that.
His statement was somewhat similar to the one Mulayam Singh Yadav gave when his son Akhilesh Yadav was in power. He said about the rapists that, “these are boys, they make mistakes.” All those incidents were happening while Mriotyunjay’s history was full of black spots. He was arrested three years prior to that case for sexually harassing a politician’s daughter. Hemlata was a close aide to Lalu Yadav for eight years.
The allegations against Mrityunjay
BB Vishwas’s family lived in a government quarter located in Bailey Road, Patna. In her complaint, Champa said that an officer and his wife, who were living next door, called and took them to their quarter. Mrityunjay and Hemlata were already sitting there. They locked Champa along with Mrityunjay, where he raped her. It was alleged that Hemlata threatened her if she tells anyone about the incident, her family members would be killed and they will make her objectionable photographs public.
One day, Mrityunjay again came with his mother and more people. He also had a camera. He insisted Champa to get married to him. His mother said that he is smart and belongs to a reputed family, so Champa should marry him. They described Champa’s husband as old and said once Hemlata gets the position of a minister, she will make her president of some department. Mrityunjay then again raped her.
According to the complaint, in December 1995, once again, Mritunjay came and noticed Champa Vishwas’s mother in the kitchen. He hugged and kissed her mother, who got scared and asked Champa to shift from the flat immediately. He also raped Kalyani, niece of Champa Vishwas. He got a maid on his side and drugged BB Vishwas. Several friends of Mritunjay also raped her.
तब आपकी उम्र क्या रही होगी तेजस्वी जी .. ? शायद आपको चंपा विश्वास कांड याद नहीं होगा पूछ लीजिएगा शिवानंद तिवारी जी से या रघुवंश बाबू से…
लालू जी के राज में बिहार में 1982 बैच के एक सीनियर IAS हुआ करते थे।… https://t.co/bsyGGRHQfw
In the letter sent to the National Human Rights Commission, Champa alleged that a very prominent leader of Bihar also raped her, who was often known as the Messiah of the Jungle Raj. She alleged that police did not present her statement accurately in the court and changed it. After shifting to Delhi, her family was so scared that they shifted their home 20 times.
In 2010, the Patna High Court overturned the trial court’s verdict that acquitted Hemlata Yadav and Mritunjay in the case related to Champa Vishwas rape. The accused alleged that they were made a scapegoat in the fight between RJD and BJP. He said that Sushil Modi was behind the issue, and he ruined his life; otherwise, he would have studied in Hindu College in Delhi and would have been preparing for civil services. He said most of his friends are now in civil services.
One of the statements that Mritunjay made in September 2005 must be discussed. He alleged that he was framed to save several prominent leaders of RJD. He also alleged that the judge who sentenced him was later promoted. He said there was a threat to his life and the whole investigation was corrupt. According to him, he was used for political gains.
Recently, with the increase of online streaming platforms and easy accessibility, thanks to cheaper internet and smartphones, the manner in which we consume entertainment has also undergone a drastic change. While these websites provide for new talent and fresh content, it has also led to a soft bigotry towards Hindus.
Last month, Netflix, in an attempt to ‘secularise’ Rabindranath Tagore’s classic ‘Kabuliwala’, distorted it to show a Hindu girl offering namaz. In Safdar Rahman’s ‘Chhipa’, netizens questioned Netflix for mocking Hindu god Lord Hanuman. And these are just examples. There are so many shows and so much of content these platforms push through social media which display their utter disdain towards Hinduism.
OpIndia got in touch with an industry insider who, in conversation with Nirwa Mehta, spilled the beans on why such platforms display Hinduphobia in full glory and get away with it.
So tell us a bit about yourself. How are you associated with the industry
I don’t want to be named because I don’t want my image to be spoiled as someone who talks to “Sanghis” and “bigots” and frankly there are many things you guys (OpIndia) say that I genuinely don’t agree with. However, I feel that not speaking is not a solution. I will try to be honest and I expect you to not censor my comments. Your readers are free to agree or disagree.
<OpIndia rolls eyes, but okay>
Do you think Bollywood is anti-Hindu? Often such criticism is launched, especially of late on Twitter. There is a Twitter handle named “Gems of Bollywood” that has recently been highlighting many instances. What’s your take?
I don’t think Bollywood is anti-Hindu. Yes, Bollywood has been largely soft on Islam if you are pointing me things that the Twitter handle “Gems of Bollywood” has been pointing out. But they (the Twitter handle) go overboard and I don’t think many things they claim as “anti-Hindu” were really written or produced with some evil intentions. I agree that Islam or Muslims are treated with respect or with kid-gloves, but you can’t really say Bollywood is unique in this regard. There are so many mainstream Bollywood movies, which are accused of carrying “Hindutva” agenda by leftists. If Bollywood was entirely anti-Hindu, how did such movies end up being made?
Maybe because India has changed, people have changed? People are voting a Hindutva party, so Bollywood is making movies to cater to this audience?
Exactly! So Bollywood had always catered to what sells. It produces what the audience is likely to make a hit. If Bollywood content has been anti-Hindu or Hinduphobic, people should have rejected those movies and made such movies flop. But many of such movies, which are being highlighted by that Twitter handle, were hit movies. Why did Hindus of those times make those a hit? Are you guys saying India was anti-Hindu before Modi started winning?
Maybe people were uncomfortable even then, but then they didn’t speak up. Or they spoke up, but were not heard because there was no social media?
That is an assumption. I don’t agree with that. I genuinely believe that Bollywood is definitely soft on Islam and Muslims, but it is not Hinduphobic. Yes, I can agree if someone says that Bollywood is no friend of Hindus or definitely not an ally of Hindutva, but you can’t treat Bollywood as an enemy.
People like Swara Bhaskar or Anurag Kashyap are quite brazen about making fun of Hindus and Hinduism, why can’t they be treated as enemy?
Yaar don’t confuse a bunch of vocal idiots to represent the entire industry. There are people like me who are behind scenes and I’m also doing creative work. Then there are technicians and others. Don’t call all of them anti-Hindu.
What is the point if there are people like you who say they are not anti-Hindu, but still end up being party to producing Hinduphobic content?
Arey but where is the Hinduphobic content? I told you that recently leftists have actually been alleging that Bollywood is toeing Hindutva line and even doing propaganda for the BJP with movies like Uri, Toilet-Ek Prem Katha, etc. There are movies that have talked about Islamic invaders and Muslim rulers like Khalji have been shown as barbaric people, which again has put leftists in discomfort. You can’t ignore all these and just focus on 3 or 4 people who are vocal.
And even old Bollywood was not anti-Hindu. Happy and temple-going Hindu families have been shown in so many Bollywood movies and blockbusters. Bollywood never tried to shame Hindus of their identity blatantly. You have to see it in aggregate, not just be stuck on 3-4 movies or people, whether from the current era or from the past.
Can you recall any Bollywood movie for example that tried to argue that Dalits are not Hindus? Yes, in some of the old movies caste issues could have been highlighted, a Brahmin or Baniya could be shown as villain – that is outcome of the way education is given to us – but at the end of the day, a generic Bollywood entertainer shows a happy ending and not a civil war!
I am not denying the influence of leftist thinking at all. Many of Bollywood legends have been card-carrying communists. Outfits like IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) or PWA (Progressive Writers Association) were virtually the arms of the communist parties in Bollywood, yet the movies didn’t try to push any out and out anti-Hindu agenda. Take for example the movie Sujata by Bimal Roy. It talks about untouchability, but it doesn’t show or encourage the burning of Manusmriti or any such thing. It is a nice love story where Hindu characters reconcile with thoughts around caste without doing away with Hinduism. Today’s woke Bollywood generation will abuse an attempt like Sujata actually saying it’s manuwadi!
So you at least agree that there is a woke Bollywood generation that has an agenda?
I don’t deny at all. And you can call them Hinduphobic, and they are. But don’t paint the entire industry as such is the only thing I am saying because Industry is largely not Hinduphobic.
How powerful is this ‘woke’ lobby of Bollywood?
It is vocal, it is very organized, it is always angry, and it is looking to control everything, but it is not as powerful as they or you may believe them to be.
But they look to be in total control so far as web content is concerned. Almost every series on any OTT platform is full of Hinduphobic themes.
See, again I will say that you are generalizing, but this time I will give you that leeway. Yes, things are indeed very skewed so far as OTT is concerned. Primarily, because success of and on OTT is in a way not dependent on what sells the most.
A mainstream Bollywood movie had to sell tickets. People had to appreciate it. It needed to gather eyeballs to do well. So there was pressure on writers and movie-makers to not become “too revolutionary”. And that is why I earlier also argued that Bollywood is not anti-Hindu, because they had to come up with content that had ultimately to be accepted by an audience that was largely Hindu. In a way, such pressure doesn’t exist on OTT.
Are you saying OTT platforms don’t care about getting eyeballs? That sounds strange as any digital platform has to survive based on eyeballs and traffics too.
To an extent, yes, that’s what I’m saying even though it might sound strange. Currently, all OTT platforms or content being generated there are being driven by marketing and investment budgets. These platforms are not looking at making profits at this point of time in India. They are just looking to generate buzz and to create a content library right now. As a result, there is no huge pressure to perform well on “box office” as happens in Bollywood generally.
You guys give a call to boycott a series on OTT, but you know that it doesn’t affect the producers at all? If a Bollywood movie is boycotted and tickets are not sold, it will actually hurt the producers as they won’t be able to recover production cost. But the money that producers get to make a web-series is not at all dependent on how many people watch that series on any OTT platform. The producer is paid just to produce it. Even OTT platforms don’t make any extra money if you see an extra series or movie. The financial pressure is not that great right now as money is just being invested to grow the brand.
Since there is no pressure to gain eyeballs on every possible occasion i.e. there is no pressure to gain acceptance of the audience for every single production, they are making anything right now and don’t care much about your boycott calls. If it creates buzz, if it creates controversy, it only helps the OTT platforms as ‘no publicity is bad publicity’. As I said, money is being invested in marketing and growth currently, and a controversy is good marketing.
Interesting, so you are saying the more people outrage against Hinduphobic content and threaten to boycott a series, the more ‘successful’ it will become in the eyes of the OTT platforms?
As of today, yes. Because neither the producers are losing any money due to your boycott, nor the OTT platforms are losing any money as you have already subscribed to them and boycott of one series doesn’t mean less revenue for them. At the end of the day, it’s about money.
Since there is no financial pressure, the woke gang of Bollywood can do anything on OTT?
You can say that.
How do we defeat them?
As I told you, I don’t really think entirely like you people or like a “right wing” guy, so I can’t give you tips on that. It is your fight and you find out. I just wanted to say that you guys are wrong when you paint entire Bollywood or entertainment industry as anti-Hindu, and also that your outrage could actually be fueling more Hinduphobic content.
Even after Mumbai police admitted in the court that Republic TV was not named in the TRP scam case, the police continue to hound the channel for exposing the lies of Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. The Commissioner ad alleged that Republic TV was an accused in the case, but soon after that, Republic TV had accessed the complaint and the FIR in the case, which had shown that India Today was named, not Republic.
Since then, Mumbai police is continuously interrogating officials of Republic to know the source from where they accessed the complaint report by Hansa Research, a company that manages the Bar-O-meters of BARC that measures TV viewership. The company had found that its ex-employees were bribing households with the meters installed to watch India Today, and had filed a complaint with Mumbai police in the matter.
Today Republic TV informed that their executive editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy was questioned by Mumbai Police for almost 9 hours on 21st October. The network says that he was threatened with imprisonment repeatedly for his decision to not reveal the source of the Hansa report. Niranjan revealed that he was said warned that he will be booked under sections 174 and 179 of the IPC if he refuses to divulge the source of the report by Hansa Research, but Niranjan refused to divulge the source.
Mumbai police asked him a series of questions on the Hansa report, like where did the document came from, how it reached Republic office, who was the person that brought the report, how it reached the newsroom, who decided to air it, etc.
Republic TV has termed this as the greatest assault on journalistic freedom in our democracy, and asserted that Republic Media Network will not reveal its source— no matter what pressure and intimidation tactics are deployed against them.
The full statement by Republic TV is given below:
REPUBLIC EXECUTIVE EDITOR THREATENED BY MUMBAI POLICE FOR REFUSING TO REVEAL SOURCE, NETWORK WON’T YIELD
Republic Media Network is sharing with the people that our Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy on 21st October, 2020 was questioned for almost 9 hours by the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, wherein he was threatened with imprisonment repeatedly for his decision to not reveal his journalistic sources.
While fully cooperating with the ongoing proceedings, the repeated attempt to harass, coerce and intimidate our Executive Editor to reveal his sources in the name of an investigation is the biggest breach of constitutionality and the strongest reminder of the Emergency era.
This was Niranjan’s second appearance before the Mumbai Police and he has now been taken through a total of 17 hours of questioning by the institution’s Crime Branch. Till date we have completed over 50 hours of interrogation and responded to every summons issued in the process.
In the course of the interrogation, our Executive Editor was repeatedly probed on the Hansa complaint, which Republic brought into the public domain after Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh’s baseless, vicious and vile news conference against the Network. As is known, the Hansa complaint named English news channel India Today, and not Republic, in the context of alleged TRP manipulation. The Mumbai Police asked our Executive Editor a series of questions relating to the source and origin of the aired complaint. Among other probing questions, he was asked the following:
1. What are you citing to protect your source?
2. Where did the document come from?
3. How did the Hansa Research complaint reach the office?
4. Does what you are citing to protect your source override the CRPC?
5. Name the person who brought the Hansa report before you?
6. Who decided to air the document?
7. How did the Hansa report come into the newsroom?
Among others.
This is the greatest assault on journalistic freedom in our democratic nation, and Republic Media Network will not reveal its source— no matter what pressure and intimidation tactics are deployed against us. Threats to imprison our Executive Editor or others will neither make us relent nor compromise our sources. As journalists in this great country it is our duty to protect our sources and we will do so without an iota of trepidation for the rest of time.
Our Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy gave specific details including, but not restricted to, Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India that allowed him not to reveal the source of the Hansa Complaint. He was repeatedly threatened with sections 174 & 179 of the Indian Penal Code which lists out criminal offences if he doesn’t comply.
Our Executive Editor was also asked repeatedly and in depth about the editorial decision making process at Republic.
The Mumbai Police is trying to claim we are not cooperating, however, we are fully cooperating on everything but will not reveal our source. Our source is extremely credible but we will not reveal our source, no matter the attempts made by the Mumbai Police to threaten us. Republic will comply with every summons issued, but will not reveal our source.
Republic Media Network has, is and shall continue to operate with the highest standard of journalistic ethics. We will not compromise on our sworn journalistic principles. We will cooperate with every rule of law, follow due procedure and will not reveal our sources in the process.
Hindu festivals have lately emerged as the favourite punching bags for teaching morality and making fun of traditions. Recently, digital platform Eros Now took to social media to put up rather strange Navratri wishes, full of innuendos and vulgarity. After receiving severe backlash, the posts were taken down Eros Now issued an apology.
As hashtag #BoycottErosNow trended on Twitter, India Today quickly jumped in to give an impression that Eros Now is receiving hate on the internet by a section of ‘trolls’ for particularly using a film still, starring Katrina Kaif in a yellow saree. In an article headlined “BoycottErosNow trends online as Twitter outrages over Navratri post starring Katrina Kaif” dated, October 22, claimed that though Eros Now had also used pictures of other actresses, Twitterati particularly targeted the OTT platform for posting Katrina Kaif’s picture.
The article by India Today
India Today claimed that Eros Now had used the picture of various actresses including, Sonakshi Sinha, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif with an intention to suggest colours and fashion advice to their followers on social media for Navratri. Without being explicit and spelling it out, India Today insinuated that Eros Now was facing the heat because they chose to have Katrina Kaif, a Muslim woman, in one of the Navratri posts. It tried to imply that while there were no objections raised against any other picture, it was only Katrina’s image Eros Now tweeted which attracted the ire of the Hindus on social media.
Excerpt from India Today’s article
Very cleverly, India Today shared images of Eros Now’s account of other actresses, trying to show how the images of Hindu actresses wishing for Navratri did not get the ire.
However, India Today’s shallow attempt trying to be holier than thou was far from reality. Here is what really upset the Hindus.
The social media outrage was not because the OTT platform used the picture of a Muslim actress draped in a yellow saree, but because of the sexual innuendos and vulgar text which were attached to the posts. The social media users objected to the use of images of the actress wearing skimpy outfits and to the sexually suggestive texts attached to the pictures.
India Today with its selective amnesia did not see that people had objected to two other social media posts by Eros Now too.
One of the now-deleted posts features Ranveer Singh alongside the quote, “Let’s have some majama in my pajama”.
Ranveer Singh’s ‘Majama in my pajama’ post
The other image was that of Salman Khan alongside the quote, “You need a dandi to play dandiya – I have one”.
Salman Khan talking about his ‘dandi’
So, India Today, how come you did not see these two posts? Why should reducing the festival of praying to divine feminine to that of lust and innuendos not offend Hindus, whom you refer to as trolls? Just because Hindus do not take to streets to behead people for mocking their religion, is everything thrown at them halal?
Yet another conspiracy has been revealed against the Yogi Adityanath led BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh. Recently, there were reports that 236 people belonging to Valmiki community embraced Buddhism as they were facing financial constrain and oppression. It was also alleged that the infamous Hathras case was the turning point that led to their conversion. However, now it has come to light that the whole matter could be a not-so-well-planned conspiracy against Yogi Government. After a local BJP MLA called it fake news, the administration investigated the case and found out that the whole case was a fake. There was no evidence of conversion, and they could not find any certificate or registration number that can prove conversion.
The case of mass conversion
On 14th October, reports alleged that 50 Dalit families comprising 236 people embraced Buddhism as they were fed up with the financial constraints and oppression. The alleged conversion took place in Karehra village of the Sahibabad police station area. It was also alleged that every one of them even got a certificate of conversion.
Complaint filed by Montu Valmiki
A resident of the same area, Montu Valmiki, had registered a case in the police station on the matter. In his complaint, he said that the whole story of conversion is an attempt to create disharmony in society by spreading false rumours. When the police investigated the case, they found that there was a criminal conspiracy. It was found that the people were presented papers on the pretext of government schemes, but later it was said that those were conversion papers.
ADM City Shailendra Singh visited the location with SP City on the instructions of the District Magistrate. He could not find any evidence of conversion. In the investigation report, he mentioned that there were no signs of conversion, and he could not locate any registration number. SP City said that the names and numbers on the certificated did not match, and some people had blank papers. He added that they had received a memorandum from the people of the Valmiki community, and their problems will be solved soon.
Allegations on Aam Aadmi Party
Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party is playing dirty politics in the region. BJP MLA Nandkishore Gurjar has alleged that there was no conversion and the rumors are false. He also alleged that nexus between ISI and Dawood Ibrahim is hatching a conspiracy in the country to instigate instability and communal riots. He also alleged that one Pawan was paid Rs.10 lakh for the conversion.
In a shocking incident in Lucknow, a Mazar caretaker was arrested yesterday for allegedly running a sex racket. As per a report of News 18, the caretaker of Jama Mazar situated at Hussainabad in Thakurganj area of Lucknow named ‘Kale Baba’ allegedly used to sexually exploit women in the name of treatment.
The local people had reportedly been receiving complaints regarding some suspicious activities taking place in the Mazar. Some of the locals caught a woman and a man in an objectionable condition in a room adjacent to the Mazar. They recorded the incident on cameras. A video of the so-called ‘Kale Baba’ being caught by locals and the illicit activities being run in an adjoining room has gone viral on social media.
लखनऊ से इस वक्त की बड़ी खबर मजार में चलता है सैक्स रेकैट
काले बाबा जाली लोगों से वसूलता है मोटी रकम पिछले कई दिनों से चल रहा था सेक्स रैकेट स्थानीय लोगों ने रैकेट का किया भंडफोड़ स्थानीय लोगों ने काले बाबा जाली को पुलिस के हवाले किया…
The locals handed over Kale Baba to the police. He has been arrested and an investigation has been initiated against him by the police as informed by ACP Chowk IP Singh. During interrogation, the Baba allegedly confessed that he used to treat women for issues like infertility and leukorrhea. He said that he used to force women into the sex racket in the name of treatment.
A tense situation prevailed in parts of Meghalaya after several posters targeting Bengalis appeared in Shillong and various other parts of the state on Wednesday. According to the reports, Khasi Students’ Union, which is an influential students’ body in Meghalaya, put up banners referring to all Bengalis in the state as ‘Bangladeshis’.
The banners put up by KSU in various parts of Shillong, read, “All Meghalaya Bengalis are Bangladeshis” and “Khasiland for Khasis; Foreigners Go Away”.
So a bunch of hoodlums associated with student unions here in Shillong put up highly hateful and defamatory posters directed towards the state’s Bengalis, and the administration watches helpless like a bunch of fools whose testicles have failed to descend. pic.twitter.com/iix1J06FSp
However, the Meghalaya Police brought down the banners on Wednesday and warned people against putting such racist posters targeting Bengali population in the state. The Police said legal action would be initiated against those trying to “incite communal disharmony”.
“It is hereby informed that banners that were displayed today in public places, have been removed. We request all concerned to kindly co-operate with us in promoting peace and harmony in the State,” Meghalaya Police tweeted.
Assistant IGP, GK Iangrai, said that the KSU should refrain from activities that negate the social fabric and legal action shall be taken against anyone trying to incite communal disharmony in any form.
It is hereby informed that banners that were displayed today in public places, have been removed.
We request all concerned to kindly co-operate with us in promoting peace and harmony in the State. pic.twitter.com/hJT0VxHe3y
Meanwhile, defending his organisation’s action, KSU chief Lambok Marngar said, “The display of banners in Shillong and other parts of the state was intended to send a message to trouble-mongers who were trying to mislead the country and create hate especially on the Ichamati issue.”
“Those claiming to be residents of Shillong but living in Kolkata and other places are giving false statements that Khasis are targeting non-tribals and they have organised protests in Kolkata and Silchar,” Marngar added.
Posters were put up to mourn the death of KSU member during Ichamati clashes
Putting up posters, the students’ body also mourned the death of one of its members during the clashes that erupted during the anti-CAA protests in the Bengali-dominated Ichamati village along the India-Bangladesh border in February. The Ichamati clash which occurred on February led to the death of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) member Lurshai Hynniewta.
Following the death of Hynniewta, several non-tribals were allegedly stabbed to death in different parts of the state. The Ichamati incident was raked up after allegations of institutionalised harassment of non-tribal women and children were made against the tribals in reaction to the death of KSU member.
The Bengali population had written a letter to the NCPCR and Governor Satya Pal Malik alleging harassment of by locals in Ichamati, which increased KSU’s resentment against Bengali population.
Later, the state government, in its response to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), had claimed that no cases of harassment of Ichamati residents, particularly women and children, were found.
Ban KSU, it is an anti-national terrorist organisation, says former governor
The racist banners put up by Khasi Students’ Union has now stoked a massive controversy, prompting various leaders from Bengal to demand that the organisation be designated as a “terrorist outfit”.
Former Governor of Meghalaya Tathagata Roy said, “I say this taking full responsibility as ex-Governor of Meghalaya: KSU needs to be banned just like HNLC. It is an anti-national terrorist organisation, threatening Indian citizens, some of whom are residents of Meghalaya since British times. Like my family on both sides.”
I say this taking full responsibility as ex-Governor of Meghalaya: KSU need to be banned just like HNLC. It is an anti-national terrorist organisation,threatening Indian citizens,some of whom are residents of Meghalaya since British times. Like my family on both sides. https://t.co/rIOB73ycq2
Non-tribals in tribal dominant states in North-East such as Meghalaya have been suffering immense discrimination and are often the victims of hate crimes. In July this year, six non-tribal youths were injured grievously in Meghalaya on Friday after they were attacked by unidentified goons.
The incident had occurred after the boys, all between the age of 20 and 24, went to play basketball in Shillong. They were attacked by a group of around 20 individuals, allegedly tribals, who were armed with iron rods and sticks.
