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Times of India publishes ‘sources based’ fake news about Train 18 not being produced by ICF: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Times of India publishes ‘sources based’ fake news about Train 18 not being produced by ICF: Here is the truth

As the Railway Board continues its probe against alleged irregularities in the procurement of electric propulsion systems for EMU/MEMUs (Electric Multiple Unit / Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) and the Train18, the officials under scanner continue to allege conspiracy behind the probe. The officials facing the vigilance investigation have been alleging that it is a ploy to stop making the Train 18 in the Integrated Coach Factory in Chennai and import the same from foreign manufacturers.

The Times of India published a report by journalist Siddharth Prabhakar earlier this month which carries similar charges levelled by an official who was transferred from the ICF. The report quoted a letter by former chief mechanical engineer of the ICF to Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav, where he had alleged that the probe and the change of specifications by Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) has caused delay in production of Train18, and this delay has been used to float a proposal to import 60 train sets at a cost of ₹25,000.

But there is no truth in the allegations, as the government of India has repeatedly confirmed that the Train18 sets will be made at ICF in Chennai after the technical issues with them are resolved. Last month while answering a question in Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had said that ICF will make 160, 240 and 240 coaches of Train18 respectively during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. After that, Railway ministry had informed that the ICF has been given the approval to manufacture 45 new sets of Train 18, also known as Vande Bharat Express, by 2021-22. This translates to 720 coaches of the train to be made by ICF by 2021-22.

Read- Mumbai Mirror tries to garner sympathy for officials being investigated for corruption in the production of Vande Bharat train

Earlier the production of Train18 was halted at the ICF after it was found that the trains didn’t meet RDSO specifications. The coaches were heavier and consumed more power. The tenders for the train were cancelled due to this reason. The issues with the train have been resolved and the specifications were revised. The Railway Board chairman Vinod Yadav had also informed that although no new sets of Vande Bharat Express will be made in the current fiscal due to the issues, 40 sets will be made in the next two fiscals with new specifications. This means the Railway Ministry has ordered five more trainsets than the estimate of Yadav.

The Times of India report also quotes an anonymous Railway Board official claiming that due to the ongoing probe, ICF is not able to process tenders. The official said that they don’t know when ICF will be able to process the tenders due to the issues. But a cursory glance at recent tenders issued by ICF proves that it is not correct. Tender monitoring websites list several ongoing tenders issued by ICF, showing that there is no halt in tender processing at the factory.

Moreover, the ICF produced its 3000th coach of the year in less than 9 months, displaying a huge improvement in efficiency. Over the last 5 years, the average time taken to manufacture a coach has come down drastically, resulting in a three-fold increase in the number of coaches built at the factory. In 2013-14, the ICF took 217 days to make 1000 coaches, while it made 3000 coaches in 215 days. These figures prove that there is no impact on the operations at the ICF due to the probe and change of specifications for Train 18, and the allegations made by the disgruntled officials have no base.

Jammu: In the wake of anti-CAA protests, Hindus and Muslims come together in support of the Act

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu: In the wake of anti-CAA protests, Hindus and Muslims come together in support of the Act

Amidst violent protests happening across the country in opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA), the Hindu and Muslim communities in Jammu came together to extend their support to the Act and appealed for Hindu-Muslim brotherhood in the country.

“The Citizenship Amendment Act is not anti-Muslim and it does not concern the residents of India. It concerns foreigners, not Indians,” the two communities jointly issued a statement. They also questioned former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that if he was going to bring the Citizenship Amendment Act in his tenure, then why is his party vehemently opposing it now.

In an allusive remark to the political parties who are fuelling unrest in the name of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, members of the Hindu community in Jammu put forth rhetorical questions- Who are vandalising the vehicles after namaz prayers? Who is instigating people against the Act by holding the tri-colour flag in their hands? Without explicitly mentioning any single political parties, the Hindu community in Jammu alleged that some politicians gain benefits in keeping the pot of the CAB boiling through their inflammatory speeches. It further said that the Hindus and the Muslims in the country should remain united and not tricked by such opportunist politicians.

Read: New map demarcating Union Territories Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh released by the Centre

Shehzad, one of the members of the Muslim community said that the brotherhood between the followers of Hinduism and Islam in India should prevail. Another participant, Farooq allayed the lingering fear among Muslims saying that there is no need for the citizens of India to worry as Citizenship Amendment Act does not concern Indians but is for the foreigners seeking refuge in India. He also exhorted Hindus and Muslims to shun violence and live peacefully with other each other.

The passage of Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 has touched off violent protests across the country as ‘protestors’ indulged in blatant acts of arson, vandalism and stone-pelting. Several reports had underscored that the protests were not spontaneous acts of defiance but carefully engineered demonstrations aimed to disrupt the prevailing peace in the country. Interestingly, most of these protests took place in left-leaning universities such as Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia University.

From ‘we want Lalu out of jail’ to ‘CAA is a machine that produces Indian citizens’: Read bizarre reasons why RJD supporters are protesting

OpIndia Staff
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From ‘we want Lalu out of jail’ to ‘CAA is a machine that produces Indian citizens’: Read bizarre reasons why RJD supporters are protesting

The opposition party in Bihar, RJD, today called out a state-wide bandh and protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A raft of RJD supporters obeyed the party call and hit the streets, feverishly protesting against the Bill, except for they did not know the exact cause for their protest.

The questions regarding the purpose of their protest elicited a wide array of profoundly ludicrous answers from the RJD supporters. From the explanations ranging from “the protest was against the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi” to “CAA is a machine that produces Indian citizens”, RJD supporters proffered hilariously inconceivable reasons to defend their participation in the demonstrations against the Citizenship Bill. Evidently, most of them were not even aware of the constitutional argots- the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register for Citizens.

Read: Watch: While assuring a journalist that their anti-CAA protests are ‘peaceful’, RJD leader spots an autorickshaw and vandalises it

“We are protesting because Mahatma Gandhi was murdered. Nathuram Godse murdered him. This government supports those who murdered Gandhi,” one of the protesters exclaimed. Perhaps, when you run out of logical reasons, the safest hedge is to invoke Mahatma Gandhi.

Another protester, having no good reason to offer, claimed that he participated in the protest to demand the release of their leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, notwithstanding the court order which sentenced him for 27 years for his involvement in the fodder scam.

Read: Anti-CAA riots: RJD workers, armed with sticks and flags with Lalu’s face, vandalise autorickshaws during ‘bandh’ called in Bihar

One protestor, who identified himself as a local RJD leader, Nandkishore Mandal provided an absurd reason claiming he is protesting because people garlanded him with a ‘Mala’. “I am protesting because people have garlanded me with a ‘Mala’. I am protesting because girls and women are being raped and set ablaze in Bihar.”

However, one of the most outlandish explanation came from a protestor who said CAA is a machine that provides Indian citizenship. “CAA/NRC is a machine. These machines produce Indian citizens. They grant citizenship,” he said.

The Citizenship Amendment Act passed by the central government aims to grant citizenship to the persecuted minorities-Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, and Buddhists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

Pakistan sentences scholar Junaid Hafeez to death for blasphemy in a 2013 case

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan sentences scholar Junaid Hafeez to death for blasphemy in a 2013 case

Pakistan anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday convicted a former university lecturer of blasphemy and sentenced him to death. Junaid Hafeez, a lecturer at the Bahauddin Zakariya University in the central Pakistan city of Multan, was accused of blasphemy, having insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and its holy book, the Quran, verbally and on Facebook in 2013.

Additional Sessions Judge Kashif Qayyum sentenced Junaid Hafeez to death under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Asad Jamal, Hafeez’s lawyer, said that he would appeal against the ruling in a higher court. “There can’t be a fair trial in blasphemy cases in Pakistan,” Jamal said, furthering: “We have a spineless system. No one can stand up to a blasphemy charge.”

Defence attorney Shahbaz Gormani said his client was wrongly convicted and that the verdict would be appealed.

Read: Muslim student in Pakistan confesses he cooked up blasphemy charges against Hindu principal which led to violence on Hindus

Hafeez was a lecturer in English literature at Bahauddin Zakariya University in the city of Multan. Shortly after he began working there as a graduate student in 2011, he found himself targeted by an Islamist student group, Islami Jamiat Talaba (the student group affiliate of the Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami) and Tehrik-tahafaz-e-Namoos-e-risalat, who took issue with what they considered Hafeez’s “liberal” teaching.

The academic was arrested on March 13, 2013, having been accused of using a fake Facebook profile to insult the Prophet Muhammad in a closed group called “So-Called Liberals of Pakistan.” Since 2014, Hafeez has been held in solitary confinement because he would likely be killed if kept with the general population.

Due to security concerns, Saturday’s trial was held inside the jail where Hafeez is being held.

Read: All you need to know about the assassination of Salman Taseer and what Aatish Taseer’s response to it says about ‘Liberal’ worldview

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan. Under Pakistan’s blasphemy law, anyone accused of “insulting” Islam can be sentenced to death. Dozens are sitting on death row in the country for alleged blasphemy.

In 2017, in a similar case, the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan has sentenced a 30-year-old man, belonging to the minority Shia community, to death for allegedly posting blasphemous content on Facebook.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the country had in 2016 arrested 15 people – 10 Muslims and five non-Muslims – on blasphemy charges. Several other violent incidents linked to alleged blasphemy have alarmed human rights groups in recent times.

Watch: While assuring a journalist that their anti-CAA protests are ‘peaceful’, RJD leader spots an autorickshaw and vandalises it

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: While assuring a journalist that their anti-CAA protests are ‘peaceful’, RJD leader spots an autorickshaw and vandalises it

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav called a bandh in Bihar on December 21 against the Citizenship Amendment Act. “In protest against CAA and NRC, the RJD will be leading a Bihar bandh on December 21. On the eve of it, the party carried a torch rally in all districts to give a call for a peaceful protest”, Tejashwi tweeted on Friday. But the protests were far from peaceful, and reports of violence by protesters are emerging from the state.

Among all these, in a video which is going viral on social media, one RJD leader is seen vandalising an auto-rickshaw just seconds after claiming that protests are peaceful. In the video, an ABP reporter approaches the RJD leader and questions him about the violence which his party workers had resorted to during the ‘peaceful’ bandh called by the party.

The leader tries to convince the reporter that the party workers at no point during the bandh resorted to any sought of violence and that the entire process was being carried out as peacefully as promised by their supremo. When he was asked about auto-rickshaws being attacked by RJD workers during the bandh, he was dismissing them but then the video suddenly takes an unprecedented twist.

While talking to the reporter about how peaceful their protests were, the RJD leader spots an auto-rickshaw on the road, presumably defying the bandh. Seeing this, he suddenly runs towards the vehicle, leaving the interview, he has a stick in his right hand, and an RJD flag on the left hand. Several other party workers charge towards the vehicle along with him, chanting ‘maar maar maar’. The politician who was, a second ago, assuring the reporter that his party workers have not been using muscle power to enforce the bandh, reaches the auto and starts attacking its front side with the stick he was carrying. After him, his party workers also join him in vandalising the auto-rickshaw, with the driver still sitting on the driver’s seat.


Following the call of Bihar bandh, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), party supporters blocked highways at Darbhanga and Vaishali here on Saturday.

At Darbhanga, RJD workers and supporters protested bare chest, sloganeering against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and central government. While party supporters protested at the railway line and disrupted train movement, they blocked the highway by burning tyres. At Vaishali, the highway was blocked by the RJD workers with the help of buffaloes.

The biggest incident occurred in Patna, where fierce stone-pelting took place during a clash between two groups. During this brawl, 11 people were sho, whereas, one was stabbed. Two dozen people, including half a dozen policemen, were injured in the stone-pelting incident. Several media person also fell prey to the hooliganism. Dainik Jagran’s cinematographer, Kumar Dinesh, was also injured in the ensuing.

In Aurangabad too, several policemen, including the SDPO were injured. Protests in places like Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Nawada also turned violent which compelled the police personnel to use tear gas shells to compel the crowd.

Phulwarisharif in Patna also turned into a war zone leaving 13 people injured in an incident of indiscriminate stone-pelting and violence by anti-CAA rioters. While 8 injured were admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),  two were taken to the Patna Medical Colleges and Hospitals (PMCH) and one was rushed to a private hospital. One person was also reportedly stabbed during the ruckus.

Six police personnel have also been reported injured due to the stone-pelting. They are being treated in local hospitals. DM Kumar Ravi said that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code has been implemented in Phulwarisharif, Patna.

Meanwhile, in Bhagalpur, RJD district president Tirupati Nath Yadav was himself seen vandalizing several vehicles.

The Left parties, supported by mahagathbandhan allies barring the RJD, too had observed a Bihar bandh on Thursday.

Meerut: Anti-CAA rioters trap RAF police forces in a house and try to burn them alive, 4 rioters killed after bullets fly from both sides

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Anti-CAA rioters trap RAF police forces in a house and try to burn them alive, 4 rioters killed after bullets fly from both sides

Several towns and cities in Uttar Pradesh witnessed widespread violent protests over the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The anti-CAA rioters, who ran amok, under the pretext of peaceful protests, blatantly indulged in arson, vandalism and stone-pelting in opposition to the bill that aims to naturalise persecuted minorities from the three neighbouring countries.

In Meerut, the police had received a tip-off that things could turn ugly on Friday. Soon after the Friday prayers, a crowd of people wearing black bands came out from the Jama Masjid at around 2 pm to protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. When police tried to stop them, they started chanting slogans against the police after which the police lathi-charged them. After that, 15-20 miscreants reached the Lisadi gate intersection and started creating ruckus there. As the crowd kept swelling, the protestors started throwing stones at the police forces.

DM and SSP reached the spot as bullet started flying from both sides. On Hapur road, where around 25-30 RAF police trainees were deployed, realising that the police deployment is less, the agitating crowd shifted there, vandalising scores of vehicles and pelting stones against the law enforcement personnel. To protect themselves from the stone pelting, the trainee policemen took shelter inside a shop, but they were taken hostage by the violent protestors inside the shop by shutting down the shutters. The mob also tried to torch the shop, but was unable to do so.

The trapped policemen called their seniors, and a police force from Nauchandi police station reached the spot, but their vehicles were also stopped and they were attacked with stoned by the protesters. After that, the police opened fire on the mob, and eventually rescued the trapped RAF soldiers and brought the spiralling situation under control. The soldiers were trapped inside the building for around an hour before being rescued. The Islamabad police station was also set ablaze by the violent demonstrators.

Source: AmarUjala

Four rioters-Asif(20), Mohsin(25), Zaheer(25) and Asif(25) were killed in police retaliation. 50 policemen were also injured in stone-pelting and other violent incidents, 3 of them were shot bullets at by the ‘protestors’ protesting against the CAA. The police have so far filed 6 cases against the rioters in three police stations in Meerut.

Similarly, in Muzzafarnagar, after offering the namaz, people started gathering on the grounds of Islamia Inter College. The crazed mob then started pelting stones and petrol bottles at the police. The miscreants set a branch of Dena Bank near Meenakshi Chowk on fire.

India Today reports fake source-based news stating BS Yediyurappa will not implement NRC in Karnataka, deletes article

OpIndia Staff
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India Today reports fake source-based news stating BS Yediyurappa will not implement NRC in Karnataka, deletes article

The “liberal-secular” media industry of the country which is openly instigating Muslims to pick up arms against the Modi government over the passing of Citizenship Amendment Act has now resorted to publishing fake news against the BJP government on the issue of implementation of NRC in Karnataka.

In a report by India Today on Saturday, it has been claimed that BS Yediyurappa led government has decided not to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Karnataka.

The deleted India Today report which claims that NRC will not be implemented in Karnataka

 

India Today report

The report further stated that the BJP government to create a database of immigrants who have been living in Karnataka instead of implementing NRC.

However, in reality, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has reiterated that the state government welcomes the Citizenship Amendment Act and asserted that NRC will be implemented in the state. Any decision of the centre including NRC is our decision as well, Yediyurappa had reiterated last week after thumping win in the by-elections.

As India Today realised that they had reported false news regarding the NRC implementation in Karnataka, the media group promptly deleted the report without even apologising for their error.

Funnily enough, if one searches with keywords, the deleted article by India Today and another article that appeared in India Today on the 18th of December on Karnataka appear one after the other.

Google search of India Today article

Funnily, India Today had itself reported that Karnataka CM had said that he will be implementing CAA in the state. One has to logically ask oneself that if a state is implementing CAA, which would it not implement the NRC?

Interestingly, the same journalist who reported the fake news today had reported in October that Karnataka is already in the process of collecting NRC information.

India Today article from October

In October, as reported by India Today itself, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had also said that his department was collecting information on immigrants in the state and will proceed on working toward Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) after a discussion with the central government.

Read: Modi government dispels myths about NRC: Here are 13 FAQs and their answers published by the govt

“There is a talk on the implementation of NRC across India. We are one of the states where people across the border have come and settled down. We are collecting information and will discuss with Union home ministry and go ahead,” Bommai had said.

One has to wonder how India Today and the journalist himself missed their own reportage in the past to peddle fake source-based news today only to delete the news later.

Karnataka government’s decision to implement NRC comes after Union home minister Amit Shah had repeatedly called for a nationwide NRC. Several other party leaders from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Tripura have also demanded the exercise across the country.

Media spreads fake news about Parineeti Chopra being removed as Haryana Brand Ambassador due to anti-CAA tweets. Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Media spreads fake news about Parineeti Chopra being removed as Haryana Brand Ambassador due to anti-CAA tweets. Here is the truth

A day after Congress party and its ecosystem attacked BJP government in Haryana for the alleged removal of actor Parineeti Chopra as the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign’s state brand ambassador, the spokesperson for Women and Child Development Department of Haryana Government on Friday said that an MoU signed with the actor had ended in April 2017 itself.

Taking to social media after reports suggesting that BJP govt had sacked Parineeti Chopra for speaking against the government, the Haryana government on Saturday said those reports were “false, baseless and malicious”. The Haryana government further said that the MoU between the government and Parineeti Chopra was signed for 1 year till April 2017 and the agreement was never renewed again.

This means, Parineeti Chopra was not even the brand ambassador of Haryana’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign at a time when she stood behind violent protestors of Jamia Millia University, so there is no question of sacking her for that reason.


On Thursday, Congress party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala and many members of the “liberal-secular” media ecosystem had criticised the Haryana government for allegedly “sacking” Parineeti Chopra from her assignment of brand ambassador.


After that, yesterday several media houses published the news that Parineeti Chopra has been dropped as the brand ambassador of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign by the Haryana government. Reporting a blatant lie that the Bollywood actress has been sacked, the media reports then went on to speculate whether it was done due to her tweet supporting the ant-CAA protests.

On 17th December, Parineeti Chopra had posted a tweet where she had criticised police action against Jamia Millia and AMU ‘students’ for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. She had tweeted, “If this is what’s gonna happen every time a citizen expresses their view, forget #CAB, we should pass a bill and not call our country a democracy anymore! Beating up innocent human beings for speaking their mind? BARBARIC.”


Indian Express, New Indian Express, Firstpost, News18, Zee News, The Print were among the media houses that carried the fake news and the insinuation connecting with her tweet.

The media reports claimed that Parineeti Chopra has been sacked by the Haryana government, but there is no official confirmation of the same. The reports quoted ‘reports’, and didn’t mention any source for the news. Some of the reports used an earlier quote by Haryana CM’s Advisor on Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao campaign, Yogender Malik, as saying that “as per my information, Parineeti Chopra is no longer our brand ambassador”, as a source of the claim. This quote is not dated, and it says Parineeti is no longer the brand ambassador, it does not mean that she has been sacked recently.

He was clearly referring to the fact that her contract with the state government had expired, and that’s why she is no longer the brand ambassador, not because she was dropped or sacked. But the media reports chose to ignore that and went ahead with publishing a fake report.

Some of the reports have since been deleted from the websites by the respective media houses. The fake news was picked up by usual suspects from the left-liberal ecosystem and used it to attack the BJP government in the state.

As Bhim Army supports Islamist protests against CAA, here is what happened to a Dalit leader who had supported Pakistan

Editorial Desk
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As Bhim Army supports Islamist protests against CAA, here is what happened to a Dalit leader who had supported Pakistan

The anti-CAA riots have raged on throughout the nation. While the riots are mostly by Islamists, the support has poured in from several expected quarters. The movie industry, which is often said to be made up of a vacuous, cerebrally vacant lot, have supported the Islamists in their riots. The violence unleashed on India has often been pushed under the rug, while attempts have been made to paint this onslaught as some sort of ‘dissent’ and ‘revolution’. Political parties like Congress, AAP, RJD, TMC etc have only poured kerosene on the raging fire. The latest addition to the list of people who have joined the Muslim mobs, is Chandrashekhar Azad, the chief of Bhim Army, a political party that fights on the ‘Dalit’ plank.

Recently, during the anti-CAA protests, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad surfaced at the Jama Masjid in Delhi, dramatically defying a ban on protests amidst heavy police presence. Azad was seen holding up a copy of the preamble of the constitution along with posters of BR Ambedkar as he led his supporters in a protest inside the gates of the Jama Masjid just after Friday prayers.

The Delhi Police had denied permission to Chandrashekhar Azad’s protest march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar. Reports say that thousands of Muslims gathered at Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers, joined by Bhim Army members. Azad was later detained by the police after reportedly, escaping detention once.

Read: Khilafat 2.0: How Useful Idiots in the media and political parties were fooled by Jamia students associated with the ‘blood brother’ of a banned Radical Islamic outfit

Azad’s presence at Jama Masjid where Islamists held protests indicates the age-old attempt to peddle the ‘Dalit-Muslim’ unity narrative. The ‘Jai Bheem, Jai Meem’ narrative was also seen at Jignesh Mevani’s rally in Gujarat that turned violent. Islamists who had attacked a police van in their frenzy were seen carrying ‘Jai Bheem’ flags.

In the face of such blatant unification of so-called Dalit leaders and Islamists, it becomes important to take a walk down memory lane and remember Dalit leader from West Bengal, Jogendranath Mandal. In Bangla, Yogendra is often pronounced as ‘Jogendra’, as was the Dalit leader Jogendra Nath Mandal. It is rather unfortunate that such vital stories from our past have not been taught in schools. Unfortunate because as is said, those who not remember history are condemned to repeat it.

Jogendra Nath Mandal was born on 29th January 1904 in British Bengal. In fact, the Dalit leader can be called one of the parents of Pakistan itself as he was instrumental in its formation. Ever since he was elected to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 1940, he helped the Muslim community and was immensely involved with them.

Read: 25 crimes that prove that the Dalit-Muslim unity is nothing but a farce

Jogendra Nath Mandal helped A.K. Fazlul Haq and Khwaja Nazimuddin (1943–45) in their governments and during 1946–47, Mandal contributed greatly to the Muslim League. It is because of Mandal’s immense contribution to the Muslim League that when Jinnah had to name five ministers for his newly formed government, Jogendra Nath Mandal was one of the five. Once named, Mandal became the first Law Minister of Pakistan.

One must look at the contribution of Mandal to the formation of Pakistan as well, that earned him the place in history as the first Law Minister of Pakistan.

After the announcement of June 3, 1947, Assam’s Sylhet district had to decide by voting whether it would become part of Pakistan or of India. The area had almost an equal population of Hindus and Muslims. The results of the election were expected to be non-decisive. Knowing the expected results, Jinnah sent Jogendra Nath Mandal to the area. Mandal went their and swung the Dalit votes in Pakistan’s favour. The area is today a part of Bangladesh.

Read: Why the Muslim perpetrators’ name must be mentioned explicitly when the victim is a Hindu

Jogendra Nath Mandal was also the first Labor Minister of Pakistan. In 1949, Jinnah also entrusted him with the responsibility of the Ministry of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs. It was from 1947 that the brutal atrocities against Hindus started in Pakistan. The abduction, murder and rape of Hindus were becoming extremely common and the fact of these sectarian atrocities was not hidden from Mandal. Mandal constantly wrote letters urging authorities to take note and investigate the atrocities against Hindus.

Jogendra Nath Mandal repeatedly urged Pakistan authorities to take action against Islamists heaping atrocities on minority Hindus. However, the Islamic republic was not interested in stopping the atrocities. It was almost as if the persecution of Hindus had state sanction. Unbridled persecution continued with Hindu women being raped, houses being looted and murders and abductions being the order of the day.

Mandal tried his best and for a while, continued his efforts to get the state of Pakistan to act against Islamists. However, his efforts failed. Soon after the death of Jinnah, Jogendra Nath Mandal returned to India in 1950 and lived a life of oblivion in Bongaon, West Bengal. The guilt of his actions weighing down heavily on him. Guilt-ridden, on October 5, 1968, he breathed his last in oblivion.

Read: Battle of Koregaon: Lessons in Unity

Dalit and Muslim politics haven’t changed much since then. We still see Dalit leaders trying their best to peddle the narrative of Dalit-Muslim unity. Leaders like Chandrashekhar Azad join Islamists in demeaning India and Congress leaders like Jignesh Mevani scream ‘Jai Bheem Jai Meem’ at the top of their voice.

The anti-CAA riots have seen a renewed push to further this narrative. What is forgotten, however, is that most Hindus who were left behind in Pakistan when the country was partitioned were, in fact, Dalits and backward classes. Today, when Citizenship Amendment Act seeks to right that wrong and give those Dalits and other Hindus the citizenship of India and steer them away from an Islamic nation that has historically heaped atrocities against them, it is unfortunate to see Dalit leaders join Islamists in opposing the Act.

Those who don’t remember history and condemned to repeat it, it is said. With the Dalit leaders pandering to Islamists, it would bode well for them to remember Jogendra Nath Mandal, what his actions entailed, and how, after trying his best to honour to ‘Dalit-Muslim’ unity trope, he breathed his last in India, guilt-ridden, after watching his Hindu brothers and sisters mercilessly persecuted.

1100 academicians, intellectuals and research scholars issue statement supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act

OpIndia Staff
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1100 academicians, intellectuals and research scholars issue statement supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act

Amidst the uproar and the extreme violence being discharged in the name of dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act, more and more people have now started coming up in support of the Act. A group of 1100 academicians, intellectuals, and research scholars issued a statement in support of the recently passed Act, stating that any opposition to the act is not in the best interest of the country.


The list mainly comprises of professors, associate professors and assistant professors from dozens of colleges and universities in Indian and abroad, research scholars from within the country and abroad, scientists and scholars associated with institutes like AIIMS, IITs and IIMs, law students and practitioners.

The statement which is duly signed by such distinguished academicians including names like Dr Anand Ranganathan, a faculty in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Kanchan Gupta- Senior Journalist, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, J Sai Deepak- Advocate, Supreme Court etc. states that: we a group of academicians, intellectuals, and research scholars are issuing this statement in our personal capacity in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019.

SS of the statement issued in support of CAA

The statement further adds, “The Act fulfils the long-standing demand of providing refuge and citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Ever since the failure of Liaquat-Nehru pact of 1950, various leaders and parties like the Congress, CPI (M) etc cutting across the ideological spectrum have demanded the grant of refuge and citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh who mostly belong to the Dalit castes.”

“We congratulate the Indian parliament and government for standing up for the minority rights in keeping with the civilizational ethos of India, providing a haven to those fleeing religious persecution from across the world,” the statement signed by over 1100 academicians, intellectuals and research scholars read.

We also note with satisfaction that the concern of the North-Eastern states has been heard and are being addressed appropriately.

“We believe that CAA is in perfect synchronization with the secular Constitution of India as it does not prevent any religious denomination from any country, seeking citizenship of India. Nor does it change the criteria of existing citizenship in Indian in any way. CAA only seeks to provide a special expediated redress, under special circumstances to minorities fleeing religious persecution from three specific countries i.e. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan while in no way excluding Ahmadis, Hazaras and other denominates and ethnicities, from seeking Indian citizenship through regular processes”, it read.

While castigating the violence in the name of CAA, the statement read that we also note with deep anguish, that an atmosphere of fear and paranoia is being built in the country through deliberate obfuscation, propaganda and fear-mongering leading to violence in several parts of the country most notably in Bengal.

“We also appeal to every section of the society to exercise restraint and refuse to fall in the trap of communalism and anarchism”, it read.

Yesterday, around 5000 people gathered the Central Park in Connaught Place and raised thundering slogans in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Apart from these, students of Delhi University had also on December 18 come out to extend their support for the Citizenship Bill.

Moreover, Alumni at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), had also launched a campaign in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Earlier, the IIT Bombay students had also come out in support of the CAA.

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