Pakistani actress Saba Qamar and singer/actor Bilal Saeed have been booked on Friday for allegedly “violating the sanctity” of the Wazir Khan Mosque at Lahore. They had shot a scene at the mosque for a song that was scheduled to release on 11th August but was later postponed for a day.
Before the song could be released, a video of the two was circulated on the social media where there were seen doing a dance move with the mosque in the background. The said video caused outrage on the social media and many users demanded action against the actors and the team for shooting a song in the mosque.
According to the reports, a sessions court in Lahore has ordered the station house officer (SHO) to file the case and proceed with the actions against the team involved in shooting the song as per the law. Geo TV in its report said that a petition was heard on Thursday filed by Advocate Sardar Farhat Manzoor Khan. Additional District and Sessions Judge Attiqur Rehman listened to the petition in which the advocate requested the court to order the Lahore police to file a case against the duo and the team behind the song. The advocate also asked the court to take appropriate action against the officials of Pak’s Punjab government for allowing the shoot.
It is notable here that fundamentalist Muslims consider music and dance as ‘inappropriate’ and music and dance inside mosque premises are prohibited.
FIR registered under several acts
On court’s orders FIR has been registered against the actors and the team under sections including “offences relating to religion, injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class, and deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting Its religion or religious beliefs,” the report said.
The Punjab Government had suspended Ishtiaq Ahmed, manager Wazir Khan Mosque on 9th August. Punjab minister Sahibzada Saeedul Hassan was quoted by Geo TV saying, “The video shoot raised a lot of questions”. He vowed strict action against those who gave permission for the shoot, ‘no matter how high a position they held’.
Actors posted apology statements on social media
Both Saba and Bilal posted apology posts on Twitter and tried to clarify that they did not shoot any music or dance sequence in the mosque. According to them, the video posted on social media was misleading. While Saba shared a trailer of the song and ensured there was no music or dance sequence in the mosque, Bilal posted a video message and said he and the team are extremely sorry if they hurt anyone sentiments. He added that being a devote Muslim, he cannot think of violating the sanctity of a mosque ever in his life.
Apology in form of a Tweet Thread posted by Saba Qamar on her Twitter account
اگر ہم نے انجانے میں کسی کے جذبات کو ٹھیس پہنچائ ہے تو ہم دل سے آپ سے معافی مانگتے ہیں۔
براہ کرم نیچے دی گئی ویڈیو کو اپنے ، صبا قمر اور باقی ٹیم کی جانب سے مخلص معافی ہے . # بلالسعید # صباقمر # قول # اونٹوریکورڈز pic.twitter.com/1g6HVcNTUW
Bilal added in his statement that they would remove the shots. The sequence did not make it to the final song released on 12th August. The actress had stated that the viral clip on social media was taken from a still photo shoot for the promotion of the song, intendeded to depict a happy couple after their Nikah. She had also asserted that no playback music was playing during the shoot.
Facebook today has refuted the allegations that it is pro-BJP and claimed that they prohibit ‘hate speech’ and content that ‘incites violence’ irrespective of party affiliation.
A Facebook spokesperson was quoted by ANI saying, “We prohibit hate speech & content that incites violence & we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone’s political position/party affiliation. We’re making progress on enforcement & conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness & accuracy.”
We prohibit hate speech&content that incites violence&we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone’s political position/party affiliation. We’re making progress on enforcement&conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness&accuracy: Facebook spokesperson pic.twitter.com/8zHJhZuXXJ
In the last few days, opposition parties and their supporters are locking horns with Facebook over allegations of ignoring alleged hate speech by members of Bhartiya Janata Party. Facebook, in a statement, has rubbished the claims and said that they do not favour any political party or position. Facebook added that they penalise everyone for posting hate speech irrespective of their political affiliation.
WSJ claims Facebook is pro-BJP
In a report published in the Wall Street Journal, it was claimed that the Facebook India officials were reluctant in taking steps against an alleged anti-Muslim post by a BJP linked account(s). The report claimed that a top executive at Facebook India does not consider anti-Muslim posts as ‘hate speech’. The name of a senior Facebook official Ankhi Das was cited in the report by The Wire as the alleged BJP supporter. Some Twitter users, including Nidhi, ex-NDTV journalist, posted on Twitter that they have left Facebook to mark their protest against the alleged ‘pro-BJP’ stand of Facebook.
An Indian man identified as Nezar Mohamed Sabur Batca, who had returned from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu has been imprisoned in Malaysia for breaching the 14-day self-quarantine protocol and is currently serving 5-months imprisonment for the violation. The arrest was made after the Malaysia’s Institute of Medical Research (IMR) detected a D614G-type mutation of Covid-19 in the culture tests of samples taken from three cases linked to the Sivaganga cluster, and one from the Ulu Tiram Cluster.
As per reports, he had tested negative when he reached Malaysia from India on July 13. However, he was instructed to home quarantine himself. As per the charge sheet, Batca was found in four public spaces on July 14, thereby breaking the quarantine norms. His later screening showed he had symptoms for coronavirus following which he was admitted to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital.
He is now jailed for five months and fine of RM 12,000 has been imposed on him.
Deadly D614G strain found in coronavirus
Even as the world grappling with the galloping coronavirus crisis, a grim news has emanated from the South-East Asian nation Malaysia about the discovery of a deadlier strain of coronavirus. Malaysia has detected a new strain of coronavirus which is 10 times more infectious.
Taking to the social media website Facebook, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah claimed that the D614G mutation was first discovered in July, and the studies would possibly find that any existing vaccine is ineffective against the strain.
Facebook post by Dr Noor
“People must remain vigilant and Cautious as Covid-19 with the D614G mutation has been detected in Malaysia,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
He further added, “Public should continue take preventive measures and follow the standard operating procedures as mandated, such as strict social distancing, wearing masks in public places and self-hygiene practices.”
Dr Noor said that the test by the IMR was preliminary and that there were several subsequent tests lined up on other cases, including index cases of the two clusters.
The deadly infection which had ravaged other parts of the world, called D614G, was detected in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine. The man has since been sentenced to five months in prison and penalised. The strain was also found in another cluster involving people returning from the Philippines.
D614G mutation of the coronavirus
D614G is one of the deadliest mutation of the coronavirus that is predominant in several parts of the United States and Europe, two of the regions worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the World Health Organisation has issued a clarification, saying there’s no evidence to prove that the strain leads to a severe version of the disease.
As per research in the journal Cell, a variant of the novel coronavirus, named ‘D614G’ is more contagious in cell cultures under laboratory conditions.
However, another paper published in Cell Press contrasts the claim, asserting that the strain is unlikely to have a major impact on the effectiveness of vaccines which currently being developed.
The attack on Uyghur culture in China continues as China has now reportedly built a public toilet on the site where a Mosque once stood in Suntagh village, Atush (in Chinese, Atushi) city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwest China, as per a report in Radio Free Asia. In the past few years, China has been hell-bent on breaking the spirit of Uyghur Muslims.
This is an attempt by the Chinese to break the spirit of the freedom loving Uighur people. They first razed a mosque to the ground and then built a toilet on that very site. How low will the Chinese Government fall? Despicable. Shameful. Horrifying. https://t.co/rpvdtPyeFd
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) August 17, 2020
As per reports, in 2016, directives were issued to destroy Muslim places of worship. The destruction of the Tokul mosque along with a few other mosques in the area was part of the drive. Now the reports have emerged that the local authorities have erected a restroom on the site.
Xi Jinping’s “mosque rectification” drive is a small part of policies against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China. In an interview conducted by Radio Free Asia, Uyghur neighbourhood committee chief from Suntagh village in Atush said the mosque was torn down in 2018. The “Han comrades” have now constructed a toilet in the place. “It’s a public toilet … they haven’t opened it yet, but it’s built,” he added.
When he was asked if there was any need of a public toilet in the location, he said, “People have toilets at home, so there weren’t any problems like that.” Suntagh is located around 3 KM outside central Astush, and hardly any tourists visit the place. He said that there was no reason a public toilet had to be built here. According to the chief, the toilet was constructed to cover the ruins of the Tokul mosque.
RFA talked to one other resident of the village who told them that Azna mosque, another mosque in the area, was converted into a convenience store. It sells alcohol and cigarettes, which is considered against the religion in Islam. Only Teres Mosque currently stands in the area in poor condition.
China’s oppression of Uyghur Muslims
China has been accused of committing grave human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province. Thousands of Uyghurs have been held in ‘re-education’ camps, while the CCP imposes restrictions on prayers, festivals and traditional rituals. Chinese oppression of Uyghur Muslims has been known for a long time. Earlier the Chinese police had imposed a dress code for Uyghur women, under which the Muslim women are not allowed to wear long dresses.
Nearly 10 percent of the Uyghur population is estimated to be in these re-education camps and in some cases, half of the entire village, townships are in these concentration camps.
On Saturday, a 40-year-old TMC worker named Humayun Kabir died after sustaining grave injuries during an explosion caused while making crude bombs at the roof of his house, reportedThe Hindustan Times. The incident took place in the Shamshergunj area in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal.
As per the report, the 10-year-old son of Humayun was also injured in the explosion. According to sub-divisional police officer of Jangipur, Prasenjit Banerjee, Kabir was fatally injured while trying to make crude bombs. He informed, “Preliminary investigation shows that Kabir was making bombs on the roof of his house.” Banerjee further stated that the explosion was accidental and that a probe has been initiated into the matter. Reportedly, no arrests have been made in there case so far.
According to the locals, a loud explosion took place on Saturday night at 9 pm, post which they rushed to Kabir’s house. Reportedly, they discovered his blood-soaked body on the roof of his house. The deceased’s mother, Kachinur Bewa, informed that the explosion took place after they had dinner.
Kabir had a criminal history; mother denies charges
Dismissing the allegations of bomb-making levelled against her son, Kabir’s mother claimed, “My son was not associated with any criminal activity. We suspect that someone hurled a bomb at our house.” However, cops had revealed that Kabir was involved in several criminal activities in the past and had been arrested many times. The police officials suspect that the family hid the bomb-making materials in a bid to remove evidence.
TMC distances itself from the incident
Humayun Kabir was a part-time labourer at a nearby Bidi factory. Following his death, the Trinamool Congress has distanced itself from the incident. The spokesperson of the party in Murshidabad, Goutam Ghosh, said that no TMC worker was involved in the incident. “We have requested the police to probe the matter impartially,” he was quoted as saying.
On 15th August, on the occasion of India’s Independence Day, some Pakistanis and pro-Khalistanis gathered in Frankfurt, Germany for a rally against India. The main aim of the rally was to show support for “Azad Kashmir” and Khalistan. A few videos and photos have emerged on the social media showing them raising slogans against India and PM Modi. Pro-Pakistan and pro-Khalistan slogans can also be heard in the background.
The user Prashant Vengurlekar @/vengurlekarpras uploaded the video on his Twitter handle. He was present at the scene showing support for India. He tagged PM Modi, Ministry of External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar, along with a few media houses and wrote, “This Shameful protest by Pakistanis in Frankfurt abusing our great Nation and PM. I alone opposed them & stood my ground in face of [the] aggression. JAI HIND.”
When people in the rally noticed him recording the video, they hurled abuses and even tried to attack him. One of the protesters wanted to hit him with the Pakistani flag. The Police present at the scene to control the crowd had to intervene.
A user Sajjan M Sharma @/SMSharma uploaded a video of the rally in which a man was seen hurling abuses on the person recording the video who had to approach to Police to save himself from the Pakistani attack. The video below has abusive language, viewer discretion advised.
Pakistan-sponsored elements in London had attacked the Indian Consulate last year
Last year, agitated and humiliated after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had sponsored a number of anti-India rallies in the UK. In London, on the occasion of the Indian Independence Day, the Indian diaspora gathered at the Consulate to celebrate was attacked by Pakistani stooges. The Indian embassy building was attacked too. The Indian government had raised a strong protest over the incident. Similar anti-India rallies were taken out in several other UK cities too, with the support of Labour Party politicians. Eventually, the explicit support of the UK Labour Party to Pakistani Islamist elements in the UK was exposed, and the Indian government had strongly denounced it.
It is notable here that such anti-India protests had abruptly stopped after the UK Labour suffered a humiliating defeat in the UK elections last year.
Pakistan has been sponsoring Khalistan separatists for anti-India activities
This is not the first time pro-Pakistanis and pro-Khalistanis have organized rallies against India on foreign lands. Anti-India elements have even called for a referendum in November 2020 for separate Khalistan. On Independence Day, Khalistani flags were raised in different locations in Punjab including an administration building in Moga. Captain Amrinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab issued a statement and urged the youth of Punjab not to fall for anti-India propaganda.
UK and Canada have been the most prominent foreign locations for Pakistanis and their Khalistani stooges to display anti-India activities.
On 4th of August, The New Indian Express published a report claiming that hundreds of people from North India have been appointed to Indian Railways in Tamil Nadu, while very few locals were selected for the vacant posts. The report claimed that hundreds of natives from North Indian states arrived in Trichy in Tamil Nadu by flights for document verification process of the recruitment, and they didn’t take COVID-19 tests and didn’t self-isolated themselves.
The report claims that out of the 581 vacancies available for the Technicians (Grade-3) posts in Ponmalai Railway Workshop, only 12 people from Tamil Nadu were selected. It adds that 163 candidates from Bihar and 115 from Rajasthan were selected for the position.
The New Indian Express reports that ex-apprentices of Railways have alleged corruption in appointment in Railways to favour North Indians, and they staged protests against this. The ex-apprentices questioned how North Indians were called for verification, and how they travelled all the way to Tamil Nadu during the Coronavirus pandemic. The report also quoted one former apprentice saying that “Tamilians those who finished apprenticeship are waiting for jobs since 2008. But the railways are selecting North Indians primarily.” He also asked did the North Indians participated in the verification without quarantine.
Almost two weeks after the publication of the report, now the Indian Railways has issued a statement denying all the allegations made in the report. The statement issued by Southern Railway states that there are 21 Railway recruitment Boards in India, and all RRBs call for applications for various posts through a common notification taking into account all the vacancies that are existing in Various zonal Railways and Production units. Applications are invited through “Employment News” and the websites of the RRBs.
Therefore, candidates from all over the country can apply for vacant jobs anywhere in India under any RRB. At the time of applying they have to select any one RRB, and they are allotted a Railway zone based on their selection of RRB. Once a board is selected, a candidate can’t change the same. This means, the North Indian candidates who had arrived in Tamil Nadu had selected the Chennai RRB at the time of submitting the application forms itself.
Coming to the allegation that only 12 candidates from Tamil Nadu were selected, the statement says in the total number of selected candidates, 17% are from Tamil Nadu. The recruitments are being done for two posts, Assistant Loco Pilot and Technician. For the post of Assistant Loco Pilot, 53% of the selected candidates are from Tamil Nadu.
The statement informs that the number of Technicians selected from Tamil Nadu is less because most of the candidates from the state were over-qualified. The qualification criteria for Technician is ITI degree in the relevant field, and Engineering Degree or Diploma holders are not selected for the post of Technician. For the ALP post, these qualifications are accepted. Due to this reason, while more than half the candidates selected for the post of ALP are from Tamil Nadu, the share of candidates from the state for Technician is much less.
The Railways have also denied the allegations of violating Coronavirus protocol by the candidates who had reached Trichy for verification. The statement informs that the candidates were called for Certification verification from 4th August, and they were informed about the same much earlier. The Candidates arrived by flight well ahead of the scheduled date, and underwent 14 days of mandatory quarantine, Southern Railway confirms. The railway has also confirmed that swab tests were done for all the candidates as per the state govt’s protocols, and the results of the tests were verified by the Railway authorities through the online Covid-19 portal of the district administration.
Referring to the former-apprentices waiting for recruitment in Railways, the statement adds that Railways engage apprentices in workshops and Production units and impart them technical training with the objective of developing skilled manpower, and employment in Railways is not guaranteed on completion of Apprenticeship. Still, Railways have earmarked 20% posts in Railway Recruitment Cell for which aspirants who have completed Railway apprentice training are free to apply.
The statement by Southern Railway deny any foul-play in candidates as alleged in the news report. It says that RRB conducts exam in a fair and transparent manner, which is a computer-based test and notifications are issued on pan India basis. It also states that candidates from across the country have the right to choose any specific RRB, and candidates are selected purely based on their merits and their eligibility criteria irrespective of their state of origin.
The Southern Railway has asked the New Indian Express to publish the correct facts, so that misconception in the minds of public is cleared.
On Sunday, Nawab Malik, the national spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Minority Affairs Minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, informed that youth belonging to the ‘minority communities’ would be given pre-recruitment training to ensure their ‘maximum appointment’ in the police Department.
Malik had shared a post of Twitter that read, “Minority youths in the state will be given pre-recruitment training in view of their maximum appointment in the police department.” The post by Nawab Malik further read, “At present, the process of selecting candidates for the training has been started in 14 districts of the state and soon it will be started in the remaining districts as well. Accordingly, direct training will be started later.”
اقلیتی نوجوانوں کو پولیس بھرتی سے قبل تربیت دی جائے گی
— Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) August 16, 2020
The decision by the Maharashtra government, however, did not go well with netizens. Several people took to social media to express their concern about the State government indulging in blatant ‘minority appeasement.’
Malik had also promised 5% Muslim quota
Since the Maha Vikas Aghadi government assumed power in the state, many political leaders, including Nawab Malik, have spoken in favour of implementing 5% Muslim quota in the state for government jobs. Malik had earlier also asserted that the MVA government will bring an ordinance for the same.
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan who is in Turkey for the shooting of Laal Singh Chaddha on Sunday met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s wife Emine Ergogan.
I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it! pic.twitter.com/3rSCMmAOMW
This meeting comes in the backdrop of Turkey’s increasing anti-India and pro-Pakistan stand. Recently, reports had emerged how Turkey has been funding anti-India activities where Erdogan has been vying to become the leader of the Islamic nations.
As per the report, the expansionist Turkish government, is seeking to establish its dominance in the Islamic world through its conservatism and ‘Ottoman traditions’. It plans to achieve this by exerting its influence on South Asian Muslims. According to officials familiar with the security assessment, an extensive review was carried out to unearth the escalated anti-India activities that are perpetrated by Turkey in coordination with the deep state in Pakistan.
Erdogan sponsoring religious seminars in India
Reportedly, Erdogan is now funding religious seminars in India to radicalise Muslims. This includes taking them on a full-expense covered trip to Turkey for further indoctrination. “We are also aware of some people from this group travelling to Qatar to meet some people from Turkey to seek funding for their activities. That amounts as high as Rs 40 lakh is being offered to preach radical Islam in Kerala,” a government official was recently quoted as saying.
According to the report, Pakistani and Turkish officials had also funded hate preacher Zakir Naik, who has been accused of inciting and radicalising Indian Muslims, with the help of Qatar. Besides criticising India over the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the subsequent riots, the Turkish government had reportedly pumped in funds to prolong the protests. Reportedly, the government in Turkey have been funding separatist leader in Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, for several years. The Turkish government has also disbursed funds to a radical Islamist organisation in Kerala from time to time, the report further stated.
Turkey is the new ‘Dubai’ for ISI
According to officials quoted in the HT report, Turkey has now become ‘Pakistan’s Dubai’, a safe haven for the intelligence agency ISI between 2000 and 2010. Reportedly, ISI had been successful in radicalising Indian Muslims in UAE, including the founders of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. However, due to improved bilateral relations between India and UAE since 2014, the Gulf country is no longer the hub for anti-India activities.
Congress opened office in Turkey?
In November 2019, the Turkish media had reported that Congress’ Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) has issued a press statement about opening an office in Istanbul. One Muhammad Yusuf Khan was reported to be heading this office in Turkey. The reports of Congress opening an office there had come just days after Erdogan mirrored Pakistan’s stand over Kashmir in open defiance to India’s interests in the UN.
Turkey criticised India over Kashmir
In 2019, during an address at the United Nations post the abrogation of Article 370, Erdogan was seen supporting Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir. During a joint press conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, he compared the so-called “struggle” of the Kashmiris to that of the fight of the Turks against foreign occupation during the First World War. However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs warned Erdogan to not interfere in India’s internal affairs. The then spokesperson of the MEA, Raveesh Kumar, had stated, “India rejects all references to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India”.
Pakistan-Turkey, a new love affair
Recently, Turkish period drama Ertugrul, which talks about the Turkish Caliphate, has won Pakistani hearts. Pakistanis have been hyperventilating over the dreams of an Islamic mega-kingdom led by Turkey where they hope Pakistan will gain some much-desired prominence. Recently, after converting the Hagia Sophia to a mosque, Erdogan had vowed to ‘liberate’ the Al-Asqa mosque from Israel.
Netizens fume over Aamir Khan meeting Emine Erdogan
In 2018 when Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuhu had visited India, the Aamir Khan, along with Shah Rukh and Salman stayed away from meeting him.
So Aamir Khan refuses to meet Netanyahu but happy chilling out with a man who supports ISIS & Al Qaeda; whose party members parade severed heads of Syrian soldiers & whose Son In Law smuggles & money launders for ISIS. Scratch but a little & the Jihadi within emerges pic.twitter.com/95wOTMSJZb
Aamir Khan with the wife of Turkey's President Erdogan. Turkey is doing full Propaganda against India. This is self goal by Aamir Khan. pic.twitter.com/ghd6xB4Hbx
There has been a lot of interest & discussion generated in the media & elsewhere over the movie “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl”, which was released recently on the internet streaming platform Netflix. The movie is loosely based upon the account of Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, who is a retired Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and former helicopter pilot. She had joined the IAF in 1996, is a 1999 Kargil War veteran, and the first Indian woman to fly in a combat zone.
While the movie has largely been appreciated for chronicling the achievements of India’s first woman officer in the IAF, it has also been roundly criticized for peddling a toxic mix of lies & downright insinuation on the professionals who proudly serve the IAF.
IAF: A Glorious Past
The Indian Air Force was established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honored India’s aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. It is currently the fourth largest Air Force in the world and has distinguished itself in various battles, relief operations, search and rescue missions and rapid response evacuation. IAF routinely conducts flights to the world’s highest battle field in Siachen to helipads situated up to about 20,000 feet.
During the Kargil War, the period on which the movie is based, the IAF conducted Operation Safed Sagar with much valour and success. The Indian Air Force used various assets like MiG 21, MiG 27, MiG 29, Mirage 2000, Mi-17 and various other kinds of helicopters. The IAF strikes played an important role in the capture of Muntho Dhalo and Tiger Hill by the Indian Army. Such was the coercive threat of IAF that the Pakistani F-16s largely stayed away from the conflict zone.
Women Officers in the IAF
In terms of granting opportunities to women officers, IAF has soared past other services. According to a report tabled recently in the Parliament, Indian Air Force has the highest share of women officers in India at 13.09% among all the three defense forces in the country. Women representation in Indian Navy is 6% while the women representation in Indian Army is around 4%. Indian Air Force has opened all its arms for women officers which range from Air Traffic Controllers to combat and transport pilots. Clearly, the IAF believes in gender equality & empowerment in true sense of the word.
Women officers have excelled themselves in Kargil, Siachen and other dangerous operations. Squadron Leader Khusboo Gupta is the first IAF woman pilot to fly in Siachen. Wing Commander Shaliza Dhami has become the country’s first woman Flight Commander. She is also the first woman officer to be given permanent commission with the IAF. Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth is the first woman fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft, having flown missions on the MiG 21. She has been joined by Flight Lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi and Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh Jitarwal in combat role. These women officers act as role models for all the women who want to join the Indian Air Force and touch the skies.
Gunjan Saxena – The Movie: A Potpourri of Lies, Insinuation & Negativity
This week, the movie,’ Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ started streaming on the internet streaming platform, Netflix. It stars Janhvi Kapoor and Pankaj Tripathi and has been produced by Dharma Productions. The movie has won praise for the acting skills of its actors, but has been severely criticized for its depiction of the IAF.
Sample some of these dialogues.
“Aaj ke baad yahan ashleel baatein bilul band. Overall ki zip khuli rakhna band. Yeh deewaaron pe deviyon ke poster lagana band.
Sir, isme Pamela ji ko kyun sazaa de rahe hain”
“Kaafi dhamaakedaar entry ki hain aapne. Aate hi gent’s toilet main toofan macha diya. Bataiye is veerta ke liye kaun sa medal diya jaye aapko”
“Kyunki yeh jagah ladies k eliye bani hi nahin hain”
“Sir aap yeh sortie rukwa dijiye.
Kyun, kya hua.
Meri phat rahi hain, matlab koi emergency ho gayee aue yeh madam rone lag gayee toh main inko sambhaloonga ya chopper ko”
“Yeh Air Force hain tumhare baap ka ghar nahin.”
“Sir woh overalls change karne ki jagah nahin thi.
Toh tarmac pe change kar leti”
“Pata hain na aaj overnight sortie hain. Male pilots ke saath room share karna hain. Haan. Ya tumhare liye special room banwa de”
“Sir mujhe izzat dene se aap logo ki izzat kam nahin hogi. I promise. Chodiye Sir, aapki soch, aapka darr ,aapki yeh party, aur aap ki nakli mardaangi aap logo ko mubarak ho.”
Still from the movie’s trailer
The movie also shows how the sorties of Gunjan Saxena are repeatedly cancelled by her Commanding Officer who also makes her do arm wrestling with a male officer to apparently teach her a lesson.
Moreover, the Indian Air Force has been shown as a misogynistic force where male officers heavily drink, pass lewd remarks, drool over nude posters, dance to racy numbers, are uncomfortable with women officers and more.
All this is extremely unfair to the IAF which takes great pride in its women officers and ensures the best environment to all of its officers.
The Blowback
Stunned by this shocking depiction of its Force in this manner, the IAF sent a complaint letter to the Central Board of Film Certification. The letter stated “Dharma Productions had agreed to represent Indian Air Force (IAF) with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers.
However, when the trailer of the movie was released recently, it was observed that “certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer, which was forwarded to this office for viewing, have been found to portray the IAF in an undue negative light.
In the aim to glorify the screen character of ‘Ex-Fit Lt Gunjan Saxena’, M/s Dharma Productions presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAF.
That the organisation is gender neutral and has always provided an equal opportunity to both male and women personnel. In view of the above, the issue of grant of NOC for the release of the movie will be considered after deleting or suitably modifying the scenes in order to cater to the observations mentioned”
The next day, Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of National Commission of Women (NCW) asked the makers of the biopic to discontinue its screening. She tweeted “If that is so, the film maker must apologize and discontinue the screening. Why showing something which is portraying our own forces in bad light specially when it’s not true.”
General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM, who was the Chief of the Indian Army during the Kargil War, said, “Agree with IAF. I have respect for real Gunjan Saxena. But this film makers appear totally ignorant of military psychology & generally encouraging conduct in units. With few exceptions, lead character shows lack of confidence which is seen in lady officers of armed forces.”
Major Navdeep Singh, Advocate, Punjab & Haryana High Court, adds “The Indian Air Force is one of the most gender-neutral organizations and has been at the forefront of promoting equality with the most progressive gender policies, and hence portraying it in such a manner is disservice to this great force. Though in a vibrant democracy I do not quite agree with organisations writing to the censor board, but in my opinion there should be a strong official public statement or rebuttal issued by the IAF on the untrue depiction. A public opinion on the issue must be built”.
Clearly, the film makers have stuck a discordant note with the masses.
Woman Officers and Indian Air Force
To find out more about the situation that prevailed in the IAF in those early years of women officers, I spoke with Flight Lieutenant Promila Dhaka, who had served in IAF from 2001-2006. During the course of her career, she had served at various stations including commands. As one of the earliest woman officer in the IAF, she saw the gradual transformation in IAF firsthand as more women officers started joining the force. I sought her views on the movie and how women officers are actually treated by the IAF. Here is what she had to share:
“Commanding Officer is like the father of the unit and he treats everyone equally, motivates everyone and protects all officers. The movie shows the CO in a very poor light.”
“In the initial days there used to be common infrastructure. However, gradually separate infrastructure was also built. There used to be very few women officers but the male officers were always protective and went out of their way to help out.”
“The IAF helped me to settle down even post retirement. It helped me to pursue a course at IIM-A to prepare myself for future opportunities. The organization deeply cares for its own.”
To make the movie more dramatic, the movie makers have ended up casting aspersions on one of the finest organisations in the country and have strayed far from the truth.
Truth is Beautiful. Insinuation Isn’t
Just as every organization undergoes change and adapts with the time, so too does the Indian Air Force. As has been pointed out, it has the largest percentage of women officers. The recent Supreme Court judgment on permanent commission to women officers will impact it most. Its women officers have already shown their grit and mettle. The sky is the limit for women officers in the IAF.
Women officers in IAF have earned several laurels for their professionalism. During Balakot Operation last year, Squadron Leader Minty Aggarwal who was serving as the Flight Controller of IAF played a significant role in battling the enemy. She spotted a large package of Pakistan Air Force planes heading towards Nowshera and timely alerted the IAF teams. This earned her a Yudh Sena Medal subsequently making her the first woman in Indian military history to win such an honour. This is a watershed moment & IAF has again been at the forefront of it.
At a time when the country is facing twin challenges to its borders, women officers not only in IAF but also in Army & Navy are working shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in preserving the territorial integrity of the nation. Their sacrifices, valour and patriotism should not be belittled by a twisted piece of cinema. Controversy sells but to use it to besmirch the ethics & professionalism of IAF is a dirty trick to pull.
Peddling lies in the garb of cinematic freedom is just not acceptable. It is hoped that the movie makers will realize their folly and mischief that their wild flights of fancy have produced on celluloid and make amends by heeding to the changes suggested by the IAF. That will be their real contribution towards India.
