Home Blog Page 5456

Angry drunk man in Karnataka bites snake into pieces after it crossed his path. Watch video

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Angry drunk man in Karnataka bites snake into pieces after it crossed his path. Watch video

In a bizarre incident, an angry intoxicated man attempted to bite a snake into pieces for crossing his path when he was riding his bike. A video of the man biting the snake into pieces is doing rounds on social media.

According to the reports, the incident occurred in the Mustur village in Mulbagal, Kolar district of Karnataka. A 38-year-old man named Kumar was returning from a liquor store with a few bottles of alcohol on Tuesday. He encountered a snake as he rode back and then picked up the snake after it crossed his path.

He then wrapped it around his neck and rode in that condition for a while. After some time, he stopped in the middle of the road and began to bite the snake as passersby looked at him. Some even filmed and photographed the incident.

Man was angry after snake crossed his path

“How dare you block my path,” the man was heard shouting at the snake in the video. The video shows the man holding the snake around his neck as he starts to bite it.

“The snake has troubled me earlier. I was angry as it came under the wheels this morning too,” Kumar said while speaking to Times of India. Kumar said sighting and killing snakes was common enough in the village.

Reportedly, the police arrived at the scene after 30 minutes. The snake had died by then.

Meanwhile, Kumar was not aware that the snake was venomous. However, he was now expressed confident that nothing would happen to him and has also refused to visit a doctor.

3.17 crore food packets, 50 lakh ration kits, 3.42 lakh volunteers: RSS stands tall in coronavirus relief measures

OpIndia Staff
-
0
3.17 crore food packets, 50 lakh ration kits, 3.42 lakh volunteers: RSS stands tall in coronavirus relief measures

As the global pandemic of coronavirus has caused havoc across the globe, the Hindu nationalist organisation – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has dedicated itself to help the people of the country by carrying out relief measures across the country.

In its relief operations across the country, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has deployed over 3,42,000 volunteers to help people in need. The organisation served in over 67,000 locations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The nationalist organisation has also donated ration kits to over 50 lakh families and meal packets to over 3 crore people. The RSS also donated over 44 lakh face masks to people in need.

So far, the Hindu-nationalist organisation has also organised blood donation camps at 22,446 places. Masks and sanitizers have also been distributed to prevent people from the coronavirus and nearly. 44,54,555 masks have been distributed among the needy, the RSS said.

“Our Swayamsevaks have started 25 types of Sewa activities during the corona crisis from providing helpline numbers to various categories as per the needs to offering meals, shelter and medical help to people who are either stranded or coming from other states. From the urban poor to nomads and scheduled tribes, and even animals who are an integral part of our ecosystem, most marginalised sections are served by the Swayamsevaks on the priority basis,” said Dattatreya Hosabale, the Joint General Secretary of the RSS.

He added that the swayamsevaks are playing an important role as a support system to the government agencies in distributing masks, sanitisers, safety equipment, and most importantly, in sensitising the communities about the nature of the virus and explaining preventive measures.

“Specialised training is also given for the purpose, and the swayamsevaks are following all directions given by the official health authorities and administration,” he said.

“The 1.3 billion people of Bharat, being the children of Bharat Mata, are our brothers and sisters — this natural sense of belongingness, inculcated in the RSS shakha, is the fundamental motivator behind all these activities,” Hosabale added.

BJP MP alleges that stranded migrant workers from Rajasthan stopped at Congress-ruled Chattisgarh border despite permission

OpIndia Staff
-
0
BJP MP alleges that stranded migrant workers from Rajasthan stopped at Congress-ruled Chattisgarh border despite permission

On Wednesday, Devji Patel, MP from Jalore constituency in Rajasthan, has tweeted that migrant workers from Rajasthan have been stopped at the border of Congress-ruled Rajasthan, despite being granted permission by the Odisha Government. Citing harassment of the stranded people in the Congress-ruled States, Patel has asked for necessary intervention by the Rajasthan State Government.

The BJP MP uploaded a list of migrant workers who have been issued a vehicular pass to travel to Jalore from Rayagada in Odisha. The names of the passengers along with their phone numbers have been listed in the official order issued by the office of the Collector and the District Magistrate (Rayagada).

In another tweet, Devji Patel alleged that the local District Collector in Chattisgarh has demanded permits issued by the Rajasthan Government from the stranded migrants. He has urged Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, to either facilitate their return home or stop the drama of being concerned about stranded migrants.

Rajasthan Govt. charged train fares from migrants

Coming as a major embarrassment for Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, who made tall claims of paying for the migrant workers, the Congress-led government in Rajasthan has admitted to charging migrant labourers for the Jaipur-Patna Shramik Special train. According to a Times Now report, the Ashok Gehlot government has admitted of accepting money from migrants workers for their travel back to their native place. Later, after Sonia Gandhi asked state party units to bear the expenses, which were anyway to be borne by governments, Gehlot, to save the party fund, offered that the state government will pay for the migrants’ fares.

The MPLADS funds were a tool to appease MPs and keep a coalition government intact, read details

Anant Chetan
-
0
The MPLADS funds were a tool to appease MPs and keep a coalition government intact, read details

Ever since I started watching Bollywood movies, I would always see a corrupt politician and a failed system. Not in just one movie, but in every other movie. I would always think, is there no honest leader in the country? How did the system get corrupt? Was the system created to be like this or did it get corrupt over the years? I am sure a lot of people would have thought this.

Media is eyes and ears of a democracy. It is a duty of everyone who likes to refer to himself as a journalist, to highlight issues that are responsible for infecting a system. But unfortunately it has not been the case for long long time now. On the contrary, a lot of media houses are making it difficult for those who are trying to fix a broken system. For instance, before November the 8th, 2016 news headlines like “suitcases full of cash”, “room full of cash”, “loads of money found hidden in a politicians bedroom, boxroom, garage” etc. were common. All of a sudden after demonetization, headlines became- “corruption has nothing to do with cash“, “Cash is used by the poor“, “Black money is not in the form of cash.”

Media hypocrisy over MPLADS funds

Here is one more recent example of how Media is behaving exactly opposite to how it should be behaving. Before April the 6th, 2020 headlines were like “MPLADS breed corruption and should be abolished”, but as soon as the government suspended MPLADS for a couple of years, the news headlines are like “Decision to suspend MPLADS will hurt poor” and many more. It is simple, incite fear in the mind of a poor or an ill-informed person who unfortunately doesn’t have the willingness or enough ways to verify the headlines that are shoved down their throats by some.

Recently, the Modi Government cut the salaries of the MPs by 30% and suspended MPLADS for two years.

Now, the opposition is not complaining about the 30% cut in the salary but they are complaining about the suspension of MPLADS.

What is MPLADS and why are the opposition parties so upset about it?

Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) was introduced by Indian National Congress in 1993 at the time when it was trying to keep its coalition government intact. According to the scheme, every MP was entitled to Rs 2 lakh every year for the development of his/her local area. This was a kind of bribe paid at that time by the then ruling coalition to retain the MPs. The amount over the years increased to Rs 2 crores and today it is Rs 5 Crore per year per MP. Also, a similar scheme is available for the MLAs, however, the amount for them is between Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore, varying from state to state.

The governments so far have released Rs. 53,704.75 crores as of March 4, 2020. According to the same report, only 5,000 crores is unused and the rest is spent. Where did the money go? You might be inclined to say, it was for development and has been used for that. Is it?

Rahul Gandhi himself wanted this scheme to be scrapped before the general elections in 2014. It is quite interesting to see how politicians behave differently before and after elections. Take the example of his own conventional seat, Amethi. It has been a Congress bastion for decades. Before the 2019 elections, Mr Gandhi would have had at the very least infrastructure of worth Rs 65 crores to show in his report card. Was any of it there?

There have been books written on how MPs have been abusing these funds. Public Money, Private Agenda: The Use and Abuse of MPLADS by A Surya Prakash is one such book that provides a comprehensive look at this scheme.

Excerpts from the book:

“Assets” allegedly created under the scheme “could not be traced” by the surveyors; construction of community halls etc within religious places in gross violation of guidelines; construction of shopping complexes to promote private enterprise; diversion of computers bought for schools to commercial enterprises; supply of computers to private educational institutions; community centers built with MPLADS funds being commercially let-out by the beneficiary agencies; and repeat expenditure on a length of road via MPLADS after the very same contract has been “executed” under MLALADS – a similar constituency development scheme for state legislators.

The auditors have also come up with evidence which establishes fraud. Some samples of state- and district-level records showed misappropriation of funds in some states including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Mizoram. 

In Sikkim, funds from this scheme were used to construct anti-erosion bunds and walls to protect the private property of the MP and his relatives. Of 22 works sanctioned, all but one related to private property and in a dozen cases the contractors were also the beneficiaries. But, the biggest area of misuse is the allocation of these funds to trusts and societies, often controlled by the MPs themselves.

Diversion of crores of rupees from this fund to the coffers of private trusts, societies and NGOs, or to effect improvements in private property or to further the business interests of individuals, are infringements that warrant the severest action.

The nexus

Now you know why roads were getting built again and again in your neighbourhood, why and how private trusts and NGOs were budding in your city. And still, at the year-end, there were not enough roads. MPLADS were sure used for the development, but not for the constituency’s. The money does not come straight to the MPs account, it has to go through the district magistrate. Now, you can see how the nexus builds up; politicians, bureaucrats and contractors.

The Indian National Congress had made corruption a lifestyle in various ways. MPLADS is one of the many ways where corruption and bribery were legalized. The party has used the funds whichever way it found useful for the party. There have been instances where Congress has used the funds to promote its schemes like MGNREGA. Even the people who did not have a constituency to develop wanted these funds. Hamid Ansari, the afraid vice president raised havoc when he did not receive his share of the pie (after all he has the first right on the country’s resources, doesn’t he?), he wanted it even when he did not represent any constituency at that time.

I am not surprised when TMC MPs say “Don’t cut MPLADS instead take full salary”. An MP makes around Rs 3.3 lakhs in a month, You don’t need rocket science to see their desperation to save 5 crores by offering 39-40 lakhs.

What I am writing today is not new, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament and Planning Commission had termed MPLADS useless and corruption-generating. A TV-sting caught Parliamentarians taking a bribe to approve schemes to be funded through MPLADS. Even though the evils of this scheme were well known for years, why was it still running?

The policymakers in Congress must be laughing looking at us when we thought corruption is a middle-class businessman selling a thing at a higher price than the marked price or a traffic cop asking for 100 rupees. Tell me if I am wrong. Congress along with the media always promoted a bottom-up approach to fight corruption i.e. fix yourself first and the system will fix itself. In doing this, they successfully hid what they have been doing. Whenever a common man tries to raise a question, they will say look at yourself, it is who you pay the bribe, don’t pay.

Scrapping MPLADS

Congress would have never thought that there would ever be a government that would have the guts to get rid of this. Why? Because this would affect the ruling government more than the opposition. BJP today has the most number of MPs (303 in Lok Sabha and 83 in Rajya Sabha) and NDA even more. The senior leadership of the party would be in huge pressure from literally everyone inside the party as well as from outside the party. But the cabinet still went through with one of the most difficult decisions. Government by suspending MPLADS for only two years would be able to save around Rs 7900 crores.

Temporary or permanent?

However, the story is far from over. There is a reason why the mainstream media is not promoting this news on television. If this news is given a lot of air, the people would love it and the Modi Wave would be reinforced, this temporary suspension of two years would turn into a permanent suspension. Do you as a common citizen of India want a permanent suspension of corrupt schemes like these? If you do, it is one moment where you need to do something. What can you do? Since, media is not talking about it, we could do so. Talk about government suspending MPLADS on whatever platform you like, tweet about it, post it on Facebook, share this article. Make people aware of this. The government need people’s support. They can change the system only when they are the system.

When somebody is risking his political career for us, we can at least say “we are with you” Can’t we? Its a call for action. If we can’t act now, we should never complain about the system.

Delhi police arrests the class 12 admin of the controversial ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group which glorified rape

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi police arrests the class 12 admin of the controversial ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group which glorified rape

The Cyber Cell Branch of the Delhi Police probing the controversial ‘Bois Locker Room’ Instagram group case has arrested the administrator (admin) of the group, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Though the police have refused to share the identity of the arrested person, saying it could lead to revealing the identities of the minors who were part of the group, which had attracted the ire of people for its inappropriate content, it said that the arrested admin is a Class 12 student at a school-based in NCR and had appeared for his board exams this year. He is not a minor, confirmed the officials.

Sources said that the accused also revealed the names of other group members who were involved in sharing obscene photos of minor girls and chatting about objectifying them during interrogation.

One juvenile apprehended in connection to ‘Bois Locker Room’ 

Earlier, the Delhi Police had apprehended a 15-year-old juvenile involved in the Boys Locker Room group case. The teenager was apprehended after cops discovered his registered phone number that was reportedly switched off. The police found that the boy had shared a picture in the Instagram group and reached his house after determining his address.

The cell phone of the juvenile has been recovered and is now being examined. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 465 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm reputation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman) and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

So far, 27 members of the group have been identified of which 15 have been called for questioning since Tuesday. The devices of the identified members of the group have been seized and sent for forensic analysis. The names of four South Delhi schools and one in Noida have surfaced in connection to the case.

“Bois Locker Room” Instagram chat group

Recently, social media was awash with repugnant details of an Instagram chat group comprising of boys that discussed ‘gang-raping’ girls in a group called ‘Bois Locker Room’ (Bois, being a spin on the word ‘boys’). The group allegedly ran by teenage boys, involved graphic sexualisation and sharing of private photos of underage girls, objectifying them and planning gang-rapes with minor girls. The petrifying incident came to light after a girl from South Delhi shared a screenshot on social media and busted the said group and a host of other such groups.

Karnataka: Two youths Haneef and Irshad arrested for poisoning Phalguni river in Belthangady, thousands of fish die

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: Two youths Haneef and Irshad arrested for poisoning Phalguni river in Belthangady, thousands of fish die

In a shocking incident, thousands of fish have been killed in Karanataka after two youths poisoned the Phalguni River at Dadelu in Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada district.

According to the reports, on April 30, thousands of dead fish were found on the banks of the river in Nadthikkal village near Venur, Belthangady after two persons of the village had allegedly poisoned the river.  

The Phalguni river is not only the source of fresh water for the residents of the village but also the mainstay for several animals and birds, according to the villagers.

A disaster of massive scale has been averted in the village after it was found that the waterbody was poisoned. Two Muslims youths – Mohammad Hanif and Mohammad Irshad – are believed to behind the poisoning of the river.

The police have arrested the two accused and a case has been registered under IPC section 277 – Fouling water of public spring or reservoir. A team under Venur SI Lolakshara has been constituted to probe the incident. Meanwhile, the locals have demanded a detailed investigation of the incident.

Speaking to OpIndia, officials at Venur police station confirmed that they have arrested two in connection with the case. Further, they added that investigation is underway to know the real intentions behind the incident.

Bois Locker Room: Society and family are part of the solution to protect and safeguard women from predators and not the problem

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
Bois Locker Room: Society and family are part of the solution to protect and safeguard women from predators and not the problem

Over the course of the past few days, a chain of events has been set in motion that has led to the suicide of a student of Class 12 in Gurugram. The circumstances of his suicide are still unclear as and therefore, we shall not engage in insensitive speculation regarding his death. One thing is however clear, the ‘Bois Locker Room’ did have individuals who are deeply troubled, to put it mildly and might need some time in juvenile homes for proper rehabilitation. Having said that, there are other pertinent issues regarding the whole affair that needs to be discussed honestly and with an open mind.

First things first, discussing ways to rape girls on social media platforms is not normal. The existence of such a ‘locker room’ only proves that such conduct is not tolerated in any sane society. That the involved individuals had to engage in such perverse discussion in private indicates that society does not have a very high tolerance level for such atrocious behaviour. Therefore, as horrific as the discussions were in themselves, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is a deviance and not the norm. A lot of inappropriate humour does flood male only spaces, as I am sure is the case in female only spaces, but overwhelmingly, the nature of humour involved is harmless and not capable of causing permanent damage to anyone. In this particular instance, however, the discussion was definitely not humour and was perverse beyond measure.

It is important that we remember the unique set of circumstances before us. Because society and social norms themselves are often held guilty for such crimes whenever they happen. But in reality, such crimes happen despite social norms and not because of them. Indian society does not approve of such conduct, by and large, and men who indulge in such violent delusions are neither encouraged nor tolerated in their midst. The collective outrage and unequivocal condemnation of the incident by all sections of society is indicative enough of that. Therefore, the solution to the menace is not undermining social institutions themselves but empowering them to deal with such conduct effectively.

There is another uncomfortable truth that needs to be discussed in this context. Overwhelmingly, the individuals who engage in such discussions are men. And it is a well known fact that the overwhelming percentage of violent crimes are committed by men. This is not due to social norms or how men are raised but due to the fact that men are biologically predisposed towards committing more violence than women. The greater physical strength of men also makes them more likely to use it in order to acquire what they seek. Thus, the greater threat of violence always comes from men. It is the same reason why the discussion between the young boys is infinitely more disturbing than the disgusting discussion among girls the same age in the ‘girls locker room’. Because the threat of thoughts transforming into real action is infinitely more real in the case of men.

Historically too, wars have been fought over women. It is true, however, that not all cultures are the same and such conduct is expressly prohibited in Hindu religion. Nevertheless, raping the women of the enemy side was extremely common throughout history. Even as late as the Second World War, German women were raped en masse by Allied Forces after Adolf Hitler was defeated. Even in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, hundreds and thousands of Bengali Hindu women were raped by Pakistani Soldiers. And even in wars since then, rapes have unfortunately been a prominent feature of them. Would these men have raped the women if they were ‘one of their own’? It is hard to tell but without a shadow of doubt, it can be said safely that the women were raped because they were seen as the ‘other’. Wars reflect circumstances when all social norms collapse and the victor gets to do as he pleases, which causes the gravest of human rights violations. Thus, quite evidently, undermining social norms may not be the most sensible way forward if we are to ensure the safety of the feminine gender.

Thus, it is important to realise that civilisation is a process and not the end. And one of the unintended consequences of civilisation is the domestication of Man. In the wild, or in times of War, the beastly nature of Man comes forward and he engages in behaviour that he normally wouldn’t in civilised society. And hence, it is of paramount significance that incidents such as the Boys Locker Room do not undermine our faith in society but strengthens it. It is individuals who have massively failed society in this instance, not empowered them. It is only now that their conduct has been exposed to the world that they will suffer the consequences.

It is true that society is not always in the right and tends to put curbs on individual behaviour but it remains the only medium through which the safety of women and children can be assured. There is true evil in this world and against the might of their forces, only the collective can mount an adequate defence and deploy sufficient safeguards. The most important institution in this regard is that of the Family. Only families are at a position where they can identify such mongrels at an early stage of their deterioration and take effective measures to prevent them from crossing the red line. True reformation can only be inspired by the family. An insane amount of problems could have been avoided had the families in question been more involved in the affairs of their children. And this is true for both genders, the boys and the girls.

Only an empowered cultured society and families will be capable of mitigating the dangers of modernity. Therefore, the solution is not to undermine such institutions but orient them towards a direction where it is incumbent upon them to take a more proactive role in the protection of women and children. In that regard, we have made good progress over the years. However, much more remains to be done. It is also important to note that the ‘Boys locker room’ occurred because society and families still haven’t learned yet how to react and deal with the great threat social media platforms pose to women and children.

Another aspect of nature that solidifies my belief is the fact that rape is extremely common in the animal world. It is philosophically debatable whether animals are capable of rape given the fact that ‘will’ and ‘consent’ are generally presumed to be unique capabilities only mankind is capable of. However, if we limit the definition to forced sexual interaction alone, it is not hard to find such occurrences in abundance in the animal kingdom.

I suffer from no delusions that rapes or sex crimes will ever disappear from the face of the Earth. They won’t and they will not cease to occur as long the human race exists. As long as humans exist, so will crimes. Heaven and Hell do exist and we can find both here on Earth itself. Thus, under such circumstances, it is easy to give in to despair in times such as the age we are living in. However, unlike certain sections of the population, I do believe that the institutions of family and society are parts of the solution and not the problem.

Watch: Security forces personnel ask Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Tanveer Malik if he wants to go to ‘Jannat’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Watch: Security forces personnel ask Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Tanveer Malik if he wants to go to ‘Jannat’

On Friday, security forces nabbed an Islamic terrorist belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district. The arrested Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist identified as Tanveer Ahmed was seen pleading Indian Army soldiers.

In a video shared by ABP News journalist Vikas Bhaduaria, it can be seen that the Islamic terrorist sitting as security forces ask him whether he wants to go to ‘jannat’. (Note: Strong language, viewer discretion advised)

In the video, the Indian security personnel can be seen questioning the captured terrorist where one of them is asking if he wants to see ‘Jannat’ (heaven).

Malik is reportedly an associate of two active terrorists in Kashmir. One of his earlier terror associates was killed by security forces at the start of this year.

“Acting on intelligence inputs about the terrorist, a joint team of J&K Police’s special operations group, Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF’s 33 Bn launched a search operation and arrested him from Sheikhpura village in Gundana tehsil. One pistol and 10 rounds of ammunition were also recovered from his possession”, Jammu and Kashmir police was quoted as saying.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed

In a massive success to security forces of the country, Riyaz Naikoo – the top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander was killed by the Indian Armed Forces near a village near Pulwama on Wednesday.

According to the reports, the Islamic terrorist Riyaz Naikoo was trapped in a village during an overnight operation in Beighpora village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama. During the encounter last night, another unidentified terrorist was also killed by the security forces in the Awantipora area.

Riyaz Naikoo took over as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the outfit’s poster boy and commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.

The dreaded terrorist – Riyaz Naikoo is a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander. He had carried a reward of  Rs 12 lakh on his head. The killing of Riyaz Naikoo is a big blow to the local terror groups active in the area, especially Hizbul Mujahideen. Riyaz Naikoo is among the oldest surviving members of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Hindus need to defend and promote their faith, even if that sounds ‘controversial’ to others

Maria Wirth
-
0
Hindus need to defend and promote their faith, even if that sounds ‘controversial’ to others

Anchors at Indian TV channels are generally intelligent and capable. However, when the topic involves religion, they often lack common sense or courage.

Recently Rishabh Gulati, Managing Editor, NewsX, said that he wants to explore how to bring the Indian Muslims, who had been brainwashed into hard Wahhabi Islam, back to a softer Sufi version. Rishabh surely would know that all versions of Islam are based on Quran and he would also know that the stark division between believers, who are considered good, and unbelievers, who are considered bad, is fixed in this foundational text itself.

So why would he not rather explore how Muslims could be brought back to their ancient, benevolent Hindu Dharma? It would make far more sense. Why would he want a big part of Indians continue to believe blindly, albeit in a softer version, what the invaders violently enforced several centuries ago? Why is he so diffident about his own tradition which has contributed maximum knowledge to science and human civilisation in general?

The reason may be that over the last thousand years it was very dangerous to stand up for Hindu Dharma. So people tried to be diplomatic, made compromises, and did not mention and certainly not praise their Dharma, even if they greatly valued it. This attitude seems to have got deeply ingrained and is even in today’s generation present. The English education system also did its bit to cement this attitude and even made it worse, as it portrayed the indigenous tradition contrary to facts as inferior. Not wanting to be “controversial” is uppermost in the mind of many Hindus, when they deal with converts. They rather indulge them, than ask probing questions. 

This attitude is however in our times not helpful but dangerous. We have a window now, where we can be truthful and talk about the great advantage that Hindu Dharma has over Christianity and Islam. If we don’t use it, it may close again and then probably for a long time.

Most Hindus know, and if some still don’t know, it is urgent that they come to know, that both Christianity and Islam consider it as their divine duty to make their religion dominate the whole globe. Only then their God/Allah will be happy and start the Judgement Day proceedings, when the good believers are allowed to enter heaven. It has however not yet been clarified whether the Christian or Muslim believers have this privilege, as naturally only one “true religion” can be true. For Hindus of course it will be hell, both agree on this. 

Can any sane person believe that the Creator of this unimaginably vast universe will punish the majority of human beings ETERNALLY in hellfire because they did not accept that the truth about how we should live, was revealed only recently and only to one particular person on this earth which is already some billion years old?

There are other points which are not flattering for those two religions: Christianity and Islam are not based on reason, intuition or experience, but only on blind belief. One can never know if Jesus is really the son of God who was sent to earth to save us from the original sin and who declared that the way to the father goes only through him. 

Or we can never know if Allah really communicated via Gabriel with Prophet Mohamed and declared that he is the last prophet and all must follow what Mohammed said. 

These two religions make blind, unverifiable belief, which is not a healthy attitude, look like a virtue: ‘if you believe blindly what the padres or the mullahs tell you, you will be rewarded with eternal heaven after Judgment Day’, is promised. It is an effective method to keep people subdued on earth, waiting for heaven. And common people suspected this already in the dark ages. In Germany we have an old saying that the Pope makes people stupid (and the King makes them poor).

Unfortunately, only members of Christianity and Islam go all out to spread their religion with full zest and especially in the case of Christianity, with lots of money and a detailed strategy. Pious members of both religions do not hesitate to claim that their religion alone is true and all others are wrong and will not be accepted by the ‘true God’. They have nothing to support their claim, except that the founder of their religion allegedly said so. This claim of eternal damnation is meant to frighten people to fall in line. On the other hand, it makes them arrogant, believing “We are the chosen ones. We believe the right thing. Earth and heaven belong to us. All others are damned for eternity.”

Believing their clergy, they are on a mission to eradicate all other faiths. And how successful they have been! All ancient cultures were eradicated, except for the Indian culture.

In India those two religions have encountered the greatest resistance. Indian culture still stands but greatly diminished. Yet neither Christianity nor Islam has conceded defeat, on the contrary. They push harder than ever now by demonising Hindus to an unbelievable degree. Do they want the world to believe a false narrative that an “uprising of the oppressed Muslims against the demonic Hindus” is justified and must be supported?

There is however one great power on the side of Hindus. It is Truth, both on the relative level (truth is that Muslims are not oppressed in India) and on the absolute, spiritual level (Truth is one). 

Hindu Dharma is the best option for humanity. Nobody is forced to believe anything that does not make sense or cannot be experienced. Hindu Dharma is not a fixed, unverifiable ‘belief-system’. It is based on reason, intuition and experience. Its claims make sense and can be verified, like the most basic claim that the essence in all is one and the same – ‘sat-chit-ananda’ – blissful awareness behind the names and forms. 

But for people to know this, they need to be told, including those, whose forefathers have converted and who have been brainwashed into blind belief. If they knew and reflect on those insights, they might see that indeed Hindu Dharma is the best option. Therefore it would be so much better if Hindus went all out and informed others of the value of Hindu Dharma. 

Compare the Indian reluctance to project its wisdom with China. China has only few sages, but makes full use of them. It established already 15 years ago hundreds of Confucius institutes all over the world which are affiliated to colleges and universities. They teach Chinese language and promote Chinese culture to the Western world.

India is the cradle of civilization. It has so much knowledge, and millions of texts are not even translated into English. It has Sanskrit, the language which helps develop the brain, apart from being a perfect language; it has documentation of a number of great sages reaching back thousands of years, it has the deepest philosophy still expressed in a vibrant religion; a huge body of literature, amazing art, dance, music, sculpture, architecture, yoga, Ayurveda, delicious cuisine, incredible temples and yet Indians do little to propagate those treasures. “We are not like them”, many Hindus say, “we don’t advertise our religion and push them into accepting it, like the others”. 

The insights of the Vedic Rishis need not be pushed; they only need to be known. They result in a very beneficial mind-set, definitely far more beneficial than the divisive, narrow mind-set of the new-comer religions. Knowing that God is within gives inner strength, and knowing that God is also in others, including in animals and nature, makes people kind. This broad mind-set needs to dominate in the world, and it is Hindus who can lead the way. 

Bad people would still exist; they are there in every age, but normal, good people would not be indoctrinated en masse by their clergy into despising and even killing ‘unbelievers’ because they worship the Supreme Intelligence by other names. Looking at Muslims and Christian countries, such attitude also does not seem to make for a happy society. 

Meanwhile, especially in the West, many Christians and Muslims lost faith and say it openly. I am one of them and sometimes Hindus tell me: “It’s good that you write. You are an insider, you can do it. We can’t.” My reply is: “YOU need to speak up. Don’t wait for ex-Christians or ex-Muslims. Most of us, who lost faith, don’t bother about religion any longer. But YOU have been suffering for centuries, with millions killed, and the danger is real that it happens again. If someone is fully authorised to talk about those doctrines, and the harmful mind-set they produce, it is YOU, Indian Hindus. In fact you owe it to those millions who were massacred for being Hindus.”

Fortunately, in recent years more Hindus do speak up. Maybe soon a mainstream channel will have the courage to debate frankly what Muslims and Christians are taught about Hindu Kafirs and Heathen, and maybe more Christians and Muslims in India, who have lost faith in their religion, have the courage to say it openly. It surely would be a relief for them. Living a lie by pretending to be believers is painful. Hindus can help by being truthful, even if it means being “controversial”.

Jammu and Kashmir Top cop tweets photo of a martyred cop’s daughter, asks “Any award for this photograph?”

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Jammu and Kashmir Top cop tweets photo of a martyred cop’s daughter, asks “Any award for this photograph?”

As the ecosystem grovelling over three photojournalists in the Jammu and Kashmir were declared the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their “striking images of life” which show people affected by operations of Indian security forces, brave Indian soldiers continue to lose their lives to terrorists, reports that don’t get any international award.

While the images made certain problematic assertions that eventually made the Indian army evil forces and the terrorists and stone pelters as common protestors, the Senior Superintendent of Police of Jammu and Kashmir Imtiyaz Hussain came up with a contradicting idea. He tweeted a photo of the grief-stricken young daughter of a cop killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

He wrote, “This picture should haunt the conscience of humanity for times to come. An inconsolable daughter of a police martyred in 2017 in Kashmir. Any awards for this photograph?”

The picture Imtiyaz Hussain tweeted is of Zohra who was 5 years old when her father Abdul Rashid was killed due to Pakistan Sponsored terrorism in 2017. Rashid was an Assistant sub-inspector in Jammu and the Kashmir police. The photographs of Zohra had gone viral at that time, but they were not considered worthy of any photography award as noted by Imtiyaz Hussain, because they do not fit the narrative.

The picture tweeted by Hussain went viral on social media but unfortunately failed to grab the sympathy from the left lobby which is still busy in normalizing Pakistan sponsored terrorism and putting different allegations on the armed forces.

Pulitzer Prize for glorifying Terrorism

The featured photos that won the so-called prestigious Pulitzer Prize did best to glorify the Pakistan sponsored terrorism in Kashmir valley, maligning the image of India with some problematic assertions like ‘India occupied Kashmir’. Announcing the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography section, the official Pulitzer website referred to Kashmir as an ‘independent” state and a “contested territory of India”, adding that Kashmir’s “independence” was revoked by India through a “communications blackout”.

One of the photos that won the Pulitzer Prize showed a placard raised by a man that read “We dream of Independent Kashmir”, and echoed Pakistan’s stance over Kashmir by describing the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as “Indian controlled Kashmir”.

Another award winning photo showed a large number of masked protesters with the Pakistani flag in the background. The photo was clicked by Dar Yasin, captioned India’s Jammu and Kashmir as “Indian controlled Kashmir”.

In another picture, a Kashmiri stone-pelter attacking a convoy vehicle of the police is shamefully normalized as a “protester” who is merely throwing stones during a protest in “Indian controlled Kashmir”. It may be that a stone is seen in the hand of the person in the Pulitzer winning photo, and the website mentions this fact in the caption of the photo, but still labels him as a protester and not as a rioter or attacker.

1...5,4555,4565,457...7,670Page 5,456 of 7,670