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Dear Richa Chadha, women are not rehabs for angry, entitled men

Editorial Desk
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Dear Richa Chadha, women are not rehabs for angry, entitled men

Bollywood entertainer Richa Chadha today took to Twitter to dish out cure for misogyny.


In her overly simplistic tweet, she said that every angry, entitled man should be “blessed with a daughter” as it is the “best cure for c/overt misogyny”. There are multiple things wrong with this, like having an extremely simplistic view that having a ‘woman’ in a misogynist man’s life will cure him of the misogyny that has been ingrained in his mind because of decades of conditioning. However, more disturbing is the idea that she thinks women are rehabs whose job is to ‘cure’ broken men.

This is what one may call a Bollywood-inspired suggestion as if you have seen the kind of movies where there is a manic pixie dream girl whose sole purpose for those three hours is to rescue the hero from his depression or anger issues or just his wayward ways. Similarly, having a daughter(s) will automatically cure entitled men of misogyny. These entitled, misogynist men also came from women who gave them birth and clearly that hasn’t helped.

Chadha also blissfully forgets that more often than not, the women in the lives of such entitled, misogynist men, including those blessed daughters, are often on the receiving end of the abuse.

Read: A faceless troll thought we ‘need to be disciplined’ because we were ‘out of line’

Men don’t need to have daughters in their lives to treat women properly. It is not a cause and effect relationship. The kind of tweet and mindset Chadha is propagating quite often is peddled whenever we read news about sexual harassment. How the victim was someone’s daughter, sister. How hard is it to see her as just another human. Just ‘someone’. And not abuse her? Men often mention how they are worried about such cases as ‘father of a daughter’. No, you need to be worried about sexual harassment cases despite being father of a daughter, not because you are one.

To sum it up, Richa, daughters aren’t sacrificial beings who need to be in lives of misogynist men to get them to mend their ways. As someone who likes to identify herself as ‘feminist’,  one would assume she’d at least get that part right.

Inspired by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, man names his son ‘Congress’

OpIndia Staff
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Inspired by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, man names his son ‘Congress’

In a bizarre development, a man in Udaipur, Vinod Jain, who works as a media officer at the office of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, named his second son ‘Congress’, after the Indian National Congress political party.

Explaining the rationale behind naming his son as ‘Congress’, Vinod asserted that his entire family is associated with the Congress party and it was totally appropriate that he named his son after the political party that his family has deep ties with. He also stated that he would like his offspring to maintain his family tradition and continue to serve the Congress party.

Read: Poisonous ‘congress grass’, considered a gift of Congress to the nation, now creating havoc in Kullu

Vinod also added that he is deeply inspired by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and would want his son to pursue political career when he comes of his age. “I am inspired by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and I would like my son to initiate his political career when he turns 18 and play an active role in the Congress party,” Jain said.

Vinod claimed that some of his family members had reservations about naming his son ‘Congress’ so he determinedly waited until they all came around it. Vinod’s son was born in July and it took months for Vinod to obtain his birth certificate issued by the state government reads his son’s name as ‘Congress Jain’.

Congress Jain, born in July 2019, is Vinod’s second child, born 18 years after his first girl child.

Davos 2020: No mention of Kashmir in US readout of Trump-Imran Khan meeting

OpIndia Staff
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Davos 2020: No mention of Kashmir in US readout of Trump-Imran Khan meeting

The readout released by the United States after a formal meeting between US President Donald Trump and Pakistani PM Imran Khan at Davos, Switzerland has no mention of Kashmir.

Khan met Trump in Davos on the sidelines of the world economic forum and discussed on issues ranging from Afghanistan, trade and border matters. Before his meeting with Khan, Trump had reportedly stated that he is closely watching the developments between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and reiterated his offer to act as a mediator between the two neighbours to resolve their longstanding dispute.

“What’s going on between Pakistan and India, if we can help, we certainly will be willing to. We have been watching it very closely and it’s an honour to be here with my friend,” Trump said.

It is notable here that Pakistan has been trying desperately to bring international intervention in its attempts to hold talks with India on Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the readout released by the United States mentions only “regional issues” among issues discussed between the two leaders, with the specific mention of Afghanistan where the United States has high stakes even as it works out a negotiation with Taliban. According to reports, Khan had requested Trump to play a role in ironing out the difference between India and Pakistan but it was not included in the official statement.

Trump had been circumspect with his response by limiting it with a qualifier-“If we can help” and taking into consideration India’s sensitivities with regards to third party intervention in Jammu and Kashmir.

Read: India rejects US President Donald Trump’s claim that PM Modi had requested him to mediate on Kashmir issue

Earlier in July last year, Trump had stirred a diplomatic debate when he had claimed that PM Modi had asked him to mediate between India and Pakistan. Trump’s assertions then elicited sharp reaction from New Delhi rejecting his claims and reaffirming that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue was strictly internal to India.

In September 2019, Trump yet again presented himself to be an expert “arbitrator” to resolve the dispute between India and Pakistan. Trump stated that he is “ready, willing and able” to intervene if both countries wanted it.

Fugitive Businessman Nirav Modi’s luxury assets and paintings to be auctioned by ED through Mumbai-based auction house

OpIndia Staff
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Fugitive Businessman Nirav Modi’s luxury assets and paintings to be auctioned by ED through Mumbai-based auction house

Fugitive economic offender Nirav Modi’s seized luxury assets and paintings will be auctioned within two months, Mumbai based Saffronart auctioneers revealed in a statement. Nirav Modi was arrested last year in London over allegations of the fraudulence worth $2 billion at state-run Punjab National Bank. Although he has denied the charges and continuously opposing his extradition from Britain to India.

The auction, sanctioned by court order, is part of efforts by the government to sell assets confiscated in criminal cases with the proceeds used to repay the debts to the banks. The Mumbai-based auctioneers Saffronart has been selected to host the sales on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate. While the first sale, a live auction, will be held on February 27 in Mumbai, the second will be an online sale on March 3-4.

Assets going under the hammer include 15 artworks by significant modern and contemporary Indian artists like a 1935 masterpiece by Amrita Sher-Gil which has never previously been auctioned and is estimated at ₹12-18 crore, a significant oil on canvas by M F Husain from his “Mahabharata” series, also estimated at ₹12-18 crore, a 1972 serene blue painting by V S Gaitonde estimated at ₹7-9 crore, and a vivid red depiction of Krishna by Manjit Bawa, estimated at ₹3-5 crores, among others.

Nirav Modi
MF Husain’s The Battle of Ganga and Jamuna is among the paintings to be auctioned

Important watches going on sale include Jaeger Lecoultre Men’s “Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2” Limited Edition wristwatch, and a Gerrard Perregaux Men’s “Opera One” wristwatch.

Of more than 80 branded handbags included in the auction, several are from the Birkin and Kelly lines by luxury retailer Hermès and two cars – a Porsche Panamera and a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Saffronart statement said.

“We are diligently working with the ED to assess and evaluate each item and put together the catalogue for both the sales, which includes a distinguished line-up of artworks by the likes of Amrita Sher-Gil, M F Husain and V S Gaitonde,” the statement issued by the auction house said. Selected items from the upcoming auctions will be exhibited at the Saffronart gallery in The Oberoi, New Delhi during the India Art Fair later this month.

Indian tax authorities raised about $8 million in an auction conducted last year by Saffronart of rare oil paintings that were seized from Modi by the Income Tax department. 13 cars out of 15 seized cars were also auctioned, while the remaining two cars are being auctioned this time.

From Gaganyan simulation with ‘Vyommitra’, the half humanoid, to Chandrayan 3: ISRO gives a glimpse of future ventures

OpIndia Staff
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From Gaganyan simulation with ‘Vyommitra’, the half humanoid, to Chandrayan 3: ISRO gives a glimpse of future ventures

After making the year 2019 an eventful year in space odyssey, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today gave us a glimpse of few of the major missions that it has in store for its 2020 bucket list.

Though the ambitious Gaganyaan mission, India’s first manned space mission is amongst its most prominent missions, the new year also heralds a new chapter for India’s Moon mission, as ISRO is all set to once again attempt to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface with its mission Chandrayaan-3.

Following the Chandrayaan-2 where a snag in the communication led to subsequent failure of soft landing attempt after a successful orbital insertion, India had announced plans for a third lunar mission.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru to showcase the range of missions that ISRO will be working on in the 2020 and beyond, ISRO Chairperson K Sivan officially announced on Wednesday that the launch of India’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 may happen next year. He said that the work on Chandrayaan-3 has started and it is going at full speed.

Talking about the ambitious Gaganyaan mission, the ISRO chief informed that 4 astronauts, who are Indian Air Force test pilots, have been short-listed and they will go to Russia for training by this month-end. Sivan proudly said: In 1984, Rakesh Sharma flew in a Russian module, but this time the Indian astronauts will fly in an Indian module from India.


Speaking at the Symposium on Human Spaceflight and Exploration here on Wednesday, the ISRO chief said that the first phase of payload selection for human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan has been completed. “The opportunity for microgravity experiments have been announced and the first phase of payload selection has been selected (for Gaganyaan),” said K Sivan.

Ahead of the launch of India’s maiden human spaceflight venture ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2021, ISRO will undertake two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021, ISRO chairman K Sivan said on Wednesday.

ISRO also shared the first glimpse of the humanoid that it hopes to send to space at the end of this year before finally sending humans in 2022.

Read: There are no failures in science, only efforts and experiments: PM Modi to ISRO scientists

Sam Dayal, an ISRO scientist revealed that half-humanoid ‘Vyommitra’ will be placed in the first unmanned mission under Gaganyaan to simulate most of the human body functions on an experimental basis. “It will try to simulate a human and report back to us. We are doing this as an experiment”, said Sam Dayal.


Isro plans to send ‘Vyommitra’ to space later this year using its most powerful rocket – Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII.

Meanwhile, ISRO’s most ambitious Gaganyaan mission aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days. The mission is expected to cost Rs. 10,000 crore.

Pakistan struggles with food crisis as wheat flour, sugar prices shoot up

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan struggles with food crisis as wheat flour, sugar prices shoot up

Pakistan is yet again facing a major food crisis as prices of wheat flour has shot up to as high as PKR 75 per kilogram at several retail stores in the country. According to reports, Pakistan is facing a severe shortage of wheat flour, especially in the North-West part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where an 85-kilo bag of wheat flour is selling at PKR 5,200 while a 20-kg bag is selling at PKR 1,100.

Reportedly, in Multan, people are forced to buy wheat flour for more than PKR 60 as there has been an artificial scarcity. The roti sellers (nanbais) in KP have gone on a strike after their negotiations with the government failed. In other cities of Punjab including Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwala, the wheat is being sold at PKR 70 per kg.

According to Pakistan govt sources, a recent transporters strike is the main reason behing the crisis as the mills didn’t get wheat on time. While the millers say that there has been a massive increase in wheat consumption by at poultry or animal feed mills, causing the shortage.

The govt of Pakistan has decided to import 300,000 tonnes of wheat to ease the pressure on supply of the commodity.

In addition to that, a serious case of sugar shortage has also emerged in Pakistan amidst the wheat crisis. Sugar prices in Pakistan have shot up to as high as PKR 64 a kilo. Over the past week, the wholesale rate rose from PKR 64 to PKR 74 per kg and an acute shortage surfaced in the country.

The prices of bread are also now ranging more than PKR 12-15 apiece. The sellers have increased prices of Roti and Naan following wheat and gas price skyrocketed in the country, overburdening the middle and lower-middle classes due to unchecked rise.

It is learnt that Roti prices have jumped from Rs 5 to Rs 10 to Rs 15 and Naan prices from Rs 15 to Rs 25 in the market. The Tandoor owners said the government had increased gas tariff and they were unable to afford Roti and Naan at old rates.

Read- Tomato prices through the roof in Pakistan as government snaps trade ties over abrogation of Article 370, selling at Rs 300 per kg

Justifying the rates, Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid on Saturday gave a bizarre explanation for the recent wheat shortage and price hike in the country. “In December and November, people eat more bread than usual,” the minister said at a press conference. “It’s not a joke, a study backs my claims,” he replied when reporters burst into laughter after his peculiar explanation.

Last year in July, Pakistan had faced a similar food crisis in the country and the Prime Minister of the country Imran Khan had to chair a cabinet meeting to decide on the gas tariffs for tandoors and prices of roti and naan.

 

Almost two weeks after Tanhaji’s release, the ‘secular’ alliance govt in Maharashtra finally declares it tax-free

OpIndia Staff
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Almost two weeks after Tanhaji’s release, the ‘secular’ alliance govt in Maharashtra finally declares it tax-free

Almost two weeks after Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior was released worldwide, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has finally decided to make the movie tax-free in the state. The decision comes after numerous demands by the public on the government to declare the movie on the Maratha warrior tax-free.


Tanhaji was released on the 10th of January and has earned great praise from all quarters. Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh government was the first to announce a tax-free status for the movie that portrays the valour of the Maratha Warrior Tanhaji Malusare on the silver screen. The movie depicts the chain of events that led to the capture of the key fortress of Kondhana by the Maratha Army. Haryana has also declared the movie tax-free.

The movie has upset a lot of liberals who consider the portrayal of events that depict the valour of Hindu warriors against Mughals invaders as further evidence of ‘rising fascism’ in the country. Numerous attempts have been made to paint the movie as mediocre. However, Tanhaji continues to register a stellar performance at the Box Office. It has earned near about Rs. 178 crore till date and is expected to enter the 200 crore club in its third week.

Assam: Hekimuddin Sheikh poisons two minor daughters, kills one, because he had ‘too many girls’

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Hekimuddin Sheikh poisons two minor daughters, kills one, because he had ‘too many girls’

A nine-month-old baby girl was murdered by her own father in Assam’s Chirang district because the father was unhappy about having ‘too many daughters’. Hekimuddin Sheikh poisoned his youngest daughter along with another daughter aged 5. The youngest was declared brought dead at the hospital while the other daughter is said to be critical.

Hekimuddin mixed pesticide with iron syrup and fed it to two of his minor daughters when his wife, Ambiya Khatun, was not at home. Later, the wife took the children to a hospital in Bongaigaon district where her youngest was declared bought dead. The wife has been living at her parent’s house for the past month as her husband had begun torturing her for giving birth to ‘too many girls’.

“The torture increased after the last girl was born. He blames me for delivering too many girls and says it’s now my responsibility to bring money to feed them. Every morning, he used to come to our house to take me with him. On Monday morning, he said he wants to take the youngest and the five-year-old daughter home for some time. But he poisoned them and then sent them back here with my son. When they arrived, their faces were dark and the five-year-old child could barely walk,” Ambiya said.

Illias Rehman Sarkar, a child rights activist, blames the government for the crime Hekimuddin committed. He said, “A girl child is still considered as a burden as people cannot marry them at an early age because of legal consequences of child marriage. In these societies, an 18-year-old girl is still considered too old for marriage. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is only a slogan sticking in school walls and hospitals. Schools are rare, dowry is prevalent and government schemes meant for girl child are unknown to people. So, the birth of a girl child is not news of joy here.”

Hekimuddin has been arrested by the Police from his village after a case was registered in the matter.

Andhra Pradesh: Hindu gods and goddesses’ idols desecrated in East Godavari district

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra Pradesh: Hindu gods and goddesses’ idols desecrated in East Godavari district

Some unknown miscreants desecrated many Hindu god and goddess idols and flex banners in Pithapuram city in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours of Tuesday.

According to reports, some unidentified miscreants used hammers to disfigure cemented idols of Lord Ganesha, Hanuman, Sai Baba and Durgamata in the Bajranj temple located in the open shed in Suravarapu street in Agraharam and also destroyed various Hindu god flex banners installed in the open space along the roadside in nearby areas on the outskirts of Pithapuram town.

Various Hindu God idols and banners destroyed in Andhra Pradesh’s Pithapuram town

The residents who noticed this in the morning lodged a complaint with the local police station. The police, in turn, registered a case against unknown miscreants. They have collected the CCTV footage of the adjoining areas and started investigating the case.

In a similar incident, an eighth attempt of breaking in was made at Kali Temple in Sukant Palli in Siliguri, West Bengal today. In their bid to steal the ornaments which were on the idol, the thieves even broke the idol. As per the information, when devotees reached the temple in the morning to offer their prayers on Tuesday, they found the idol of Goddess Kali broken and lying on the ground. Some bamboo sticks and an iron rod were also found from near the broken idol.

Aam Aadmi Party triggers the most juvenile election campaign ahead of Delhi elections: Here is how AAP manages to descend to newer levels of stupidity

OpIndia Staff
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Aam Aadmi Party triggers the most juvenile election campaign ahead of Delhi elections: Here is how AAP manages to descend to newer levels of stupidity

Ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, Indian political parties have revved up their social media efforts to propagate their ideology, canvass online support, mobilise public opinion and discredit rival parties. With elections just days away, political parties are leaving no stone unturned in luring potential voters. Aggressive social media campaigns are commissioned to influence and shape voter psyche.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party has presided over one of the most cringe-worthy political campaigns of all times. Since the party had no significant achievement to its name in the last 5 years, it has resorted to sharing Whatsappworthy spoofs and memes to take a sly dig on their opponents. As the election dates are approaching, the gradual crescendo of Aam Aadmi Party’s stupidity is reaching newer heights.

Recently the official Twitter handle of AAP shared a spoof of an instance from popular Bollywood movie Taare Zameen Par where Aamir Khan has an animated conversation with protagonist Ishaan’s family. In the parody version, Aamir Khan is seen criticising BJP for the lack of leadership and deriding BJP supporters for supporting BJP.


AAP talks about water being made available free despite the fact that Delhi water continues to remain toxic.

Earlier, AAP had appropriated a popular advertisement of cement brand to assert Kejriwal’s resilience. The altered version shared by AAP shows an overbearing government officer as Amit Shah who is trying to down a building that is branded as “KejriWall”. The spoof shows how the wall fails to collapse despite repeatedly hit by an outsize metal sphere labelled as fake cases and CBI inquiry.


However, as this social media user pointed out, they cleverly skipped the part where towards the end everyone ignored ‘the wall’.

In another spoof from the movie Baahubali, the antagonist, Bhalal Dev and his father are seen distraught to see Arvind Kejriwal emerge as the first choice for voters in Delhi.


AAP received a lot of flak for sharing a meme from Baazigar movie where it showed Shah Rukh Khan as Kejriwal, Kajol as Delhi and a police officer eyeing Kajol as BJP’s Manoj Tiwari.


Several Twitter users pointed out the amateurish attempt made by AAP to take a jibe at BJP. They highlighted how in the climax Shah Rukh Khan dies while the police officer watches over.

The social media campaign by AAP exhibits that the party despite being at the helm of affairs in Delhi for the last 5 years has no credible achievement to talk about and is heavily relying on the cheap social media antics to garner support from the masses. The party has no vision for Delhi for the next 5 years, instead, it has sought solace in mocking the opponents and painting its chief Kejriwal as a victim to winkle brownie points from his perpetual victimhood.

Congress, on the other hand, is trying desperately to gain relevance in the Delhi political space which is largely viewed as an electoral duel between the AAP and the BJP. The official Congress Twitter handle a short time ago shared a campaign slogan exhorting people to reclaim “Congress Wali Delhi”. In the literary composition, Congress asserted that all the development that Delhi had seen till date had happened under Congress regimes.

However, while Congress exaggerates its contribution in building Delhi, there is one instance in the campaign song where Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee-led anti-CAA protest from Kolkata is passed off as a one that was carried out by Congress in Delhi.


The fact that Congress had to use an image of Mamata Banerjee-led protest to claim as its own indicates the party’s inability to mobilise people into supporting its cause. It’s no wonder then that, much like everywhere else, the party is staring at a bottomless pit of irrelevance in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

BJP’s Delhi unit, too, has resorted to juvenile ad campaign considering the last time Delhi had a BJP chief minister was back in 1998 when former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took in the reins from BJP’s Sahab Singh Verma mid-term. The BJP has also taken to meme war in these elections and answering fire with fire.


As we get closer to polling, one hopes that Delhi gets the government it deserves.

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