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Congress puts the ‘slow’ in ‘economic slowdown’, protest rally due in October to be held in December

Nirwa Mehta
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Congress puts the ‘slow’ in ‘economic slowdown’, protest rally due in October to be held in December

The grand old party today announced that it will hold an all-party protest rally on December 1 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on issues of ‘economic slowdown and agrarian crisis’. This is the third such ‘protest rally’ announced by Congress since September.


In September, Congress had announced a country-wide agitation from 15th to 25th October on these issues. That, too, was announced a month in advance. Amusingly, even without the hard work of protests, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi was off vacationing at mysterious foreign location after the October protest days flew by.

Read: 23 days after he left for a Bangkok vacation, Rahul Gandhi leaves for another foreign tour, this time Indonesia: Reports

Then, in October, before the last date of planned protests, i.e. 25th October, expired, Congress announced fresh dates of protests against ‘economic slowdown’.


On 22nd October, Congress said they’d protest across the country in first week of November. Congress had announced that starting from 5th to 15th November, the party will hold protests across the country and a rally in Delhi. These protests were also for ‘rising unemployment’, ‘sinking economy’ and ‘farmer distress’.

As 5th November flew by, Congress woke up and realised they missed yet another deadline. So on 6th November, they announced new dates of protests, this time, a combined protest with other parties.


Not too surprisingly, the joke wasn’t lost on netizens who took this opportunity to mock Congress for being a bigger joke than the party’s former President himself.


Congress also got mocked at for being the ‘laziest opposition’.


Netizens even questioned whatever happened to these earlier protests.


In a new low, even Aam Aadmi Party trolls, who are even bigger joke than ex-Congress President, were mocking Congress.


What will happen on 2nd December? Watch this space as Congress turns protests into new year party in 2020.

Have been warning since day one, Pakistan has hidden agenda: Punjab CM Capt Amarinder on Bhindranwale pic in Pak govt’s Kartarpur Corridor ad

OpIndia Staff
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Have been warning since day one, Pakistan has hidden agenda: Punjab CM Capt Amarinder on Bhindranwale pic in Pak govt’s Kartarpur Corridor ad

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has been maintaining that he smells conspiracy in Pakistan’s move to open the Kartarpur corridor. Today while speaking on the Pakistan government’s official video on Kartarpur corridor which features Khalistani terrorists and anti-Indian elements including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Punjab CM reiterated that Pakistan has a hidden agenda behind the opening of the corridor.

“All this is what I have been warning about since day one, that Pakistan has a hidden agenda here,” stressed the chief minister.


On Monday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had released a video of the official Punjabi song welcoming Sikh pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor, which displays posters of Khalistani separatist leaders Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Maj Gen Shabeg Singh and Amrik Singh Khalsa in the background.

Captain Amarinder Singh has several times in the past asserted that Pakistan’s move to open the Kartarpur corridor ‘indicated an ulterior motive’. He had called the corridor-opening a bigger conspiracy of ISI. Today too, in an interview with India Today the Punjab CM said that the Pakistan Army and ISI were behind the opening of the corridor.

Singh said that he is apprehensive since Pakistan never thought of opening the shrine earlier in so many years. He said the demand for the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor had been pending since 70 years ever since the Partition as several holy Sikh shrines (Sri Nankana Sahib, Sri Panja Sahib, Dera Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib) had been left in Pakistan. Why only now have they thought of opening the Kartarpur corridor? asks the CM. He asserts that this is nothing but Pakistan’s sinister plot to peddle its anti-India agenda.

Earlier in December 2018, while reacting to the statement made by the SJF’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannu soliciting Pakistan’s support to ‘liberate’ Punjab from India, the CM stated that it has exposed the evil nexus between the Pakistan army and the SFJ. In a statement, Amarinder said, “The entire affair of Kartarpur Corridor smacks off a wider conspiracy by the Pakistan Army and ISI to dismember India by reviving militancy in Punjab.” He claimed that it is an ISI ploy to strengthen anti-India forces, including the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ).

He has also indicated that Pakistan was attempting to revive militancy in Punjab and thus everyone should be wary of Pakistan’s motives. He maintained that ISI was trying to foment problems in Punjab by exploiting the religious sentiments of Sikhs. He also said that Pakistan funds and arms Sikhs in USA, Canada and even the UK by exploiting their religious feelings.

And why we can say that Captain Amarinder Singh’ apprehensions over Pakistan’s over-eagerness to open the Karatarpur corridor hold true is because recently Indian Intelligence agencies have accessed information that terrorists are being trained near the border district of Narowal in Pakistan’s Punjab province, the same district where Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is situated.

Reportedly, the intelligence alert has been received less than a week from the opening of the Kartarpur corridor for Indian pilgrims.

The Indian intelligence agencies are very much apprehensive about Pakistan’s desperation to open Kartarpur corridor as it provides an opportunity for the terror state to “exploit Sikh sentiments to support Khalistan agenda” in India.

Another worrying issue for Indian security establishment is that spillage of Pakistan mobile network up to 3-4 KM inside Indian territory. The officers said the spillage of the network can be used by drug smugglers and those involved in anti-national activities by using Pakistani SIM cards.

Another major challenge for security agencies is the proscribed group – Sikhs for Justice, whose propaganda through digital media and activities abroad have been a matter of concern.

Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9. Initially, only 5,000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit daily from India but later it will be increased to 10,000 pilgrims per day. The corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab with the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara located in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab.

Climate Change and India: Urban elites should focus their energy on pressuring developed nations to meet emission targets

Anagha Paranjape-Purohit
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Climate Change and India: Urban elites should focus their energy on pressuring developed nations to meet emission targets

A recent opposition to the felling of trees in a wooded area near Mumbai, called as the Aarey Colony, threw up some interesting debates and discussions amongst the citizens of India on Climate Change. Apart from the emotional aspect of cutting down trees to make way for a shed of a public transport project, which was important to note was the Climate Change argument.

Keeping aside the political reasons of this particular project, since the state of Maharashtra is going to the polls on 21 October, it is important for Indian citizens to understand the Climate Change politics and dynamics, before it is used an argument to protest against a much needed and important public infrastructure project, particularly an efficient public transport system like a Metro.

While I personally continue to question a lot of Climate Change models, the fact remains that we are causing grave damage to the natural resources around us. Our air and water is dirtier and just these should be reasons enough to act towards environmental conservation. Local action is needed much more than embroiling ourselves into a larger, global and possibly uncontrolled phenomenon of Climate Change.

Read: Greta Thunberg, Climate Change and Indian Dilemma

Having said this, it is also important to understand India’s role in the Climate Change debate and dynamics. Because, without this understanding, citizens will continue to target the wrong things, while large emitters will get away by polluting.

The following data by USEPA gives us economic sectors that are the largest contributors of GHG (greenhouse gases) in the world today.

Electricity & Heat Generation – 25% of all the GHGs are caused due to our need to generate electricity and produce heat (for cold nations). So our everyday lives and our demand to have electricity for all our daily routine is what contributes to the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere.

Industry – 21% of all GHGs are produced because you and I want things for our daily lives – right from our phones to our clothes. This includes everything – all metals mined for our daily things like pens and utensils.

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Landuses – 24% of all GHGs are caused due to a variety of our activities with which we grow our food and poultry etc. So our demand for food primarily gives rise to these emissions. Forests, themselves, also emit GHGs as trees can sequester carbon only during a very short period of their life. Approximately, 20% of this 24% can be considered as its sequestration potential through biomass, soils and dead organic matter.

Read: Aarey: Environmentalism should be a practical concern, not a religion

Transportation – 14% of all GHG emissions are due to our need for mobility, either by cars, rail, aeroplanes or buses. 10% of these emissions are due to private vehicles.

Buildings – 6% of all GHGs are emitted due to our need for a shelter. Our buildings and their services are responsible for these emissions.

Other – 10% of all GHGs are emitted by the Energy sector that is not directly counted during energy generation but is allied emissions.

Ways in which one can reduce contribution of GHGs

From this data, it is seen that there are multiple ways in which we can reduce our contribution of GHGs. Putting the entire onus of GHGs on construction activity and particularly on essential infrastructure building is futile. In fact, with reference to the recent protests at Aarey against the Metro, it is important to note that within the Transport GHGs (14%), 10% are due to private vehicles. Hence, any projects and initiatives undertaken to reduce this 10% have to be a welcome step towards mitigating Climate Change. This is completely missed in the argument when protestors protested against an efficient public transportation system which will give the citizens a more environmentally friendly alternative to their cars.

The Climate Change dialogue amongst nations has recognized that Developing countries like India still need to put in basic infrastructure to bring its citizens out of poverty. The World leaders know that India’s current quest for complete electrification cannot be held as an action against Climate Change. In this quest of rural electrification by the Modi government, collateral conversion of land-use has been done, but the larger benefit to the people is recognized in the climate change debates across the world. Similar is the case with Indian cities and other sectors in India as well.

The vagaries of the weather are often cited as coming of a Climate Change apocalypse. Yes, we should certainly worry about these weather variations, but also accept the fact that our local level actions may not directly impact these phenomena when the developed countries are still putting out much more GHGs into the atmosphere than India. So linking a small scale forest conversion to avoiding Climate Change is not just futile, it is counterproductive to the entire debate when India is trying to put in efficient systems in place.

Read: Why the Indian Right should take the lead on climate change and snatch the issue from the Left

For India, particularly, for the urban elite, to embark on a Climate Change argument without addressing its intricacies is a dangerous game that can threaten India’s development and access of her citizens to good and necessary infrastructure. While, we as a nation accept and acknowledge that environmental conservation is important, to be held ransom to the argument of Climate Change is just plain unfair, particularly to people still living in poverty. It is only with good infrastructure, mobility and access to resources can we expect our economy to perform so that poor are lifted out of their misery. The focus of activism against Climate Change should be governments of developed countries who despite numerous conferences and treaties, have not managed to reduced their emissions to acceptable targets. It is said, and rightly so, that the urban elite of India is often more connected to the global dynamics than with their rural counterparts. They should use their connections and passion for demanding action against Climate Change to put pressure on developed nations to achieve their emission targets

Once a mosque is always a mosque: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madni on Ram Janmabhoomi verdict

OpIndia Staff
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Once a mosque is always a mosque: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madni on Ram Janmabhoomi verdict

Days ahead of the Supreme Court judgement in the long-pending Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, Maulana Arshad Madni, President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind on Wednesday said that Babri Mosque was a mosque in terms of law and justice and once a mosque is always a mosque.

The mosque existed for almost 400 years, therefore as per Sharia, it is still a mosque, he said while addressing a press conference. However, he clarified that “we will abide by the Supreme Court verdict based on evidence”. Madni claimed that people across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari are presently living in an ‘atmosphere of fear’.

The Supreme Court is expected to deliver its verdict on a dispute over the possession of 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh before November 17, when CJI Gogoi retires.

Read: Road to Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya: How Hindus fought for Shri Ram

Yesterday, the Muslim clerics who met Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi at his residence ahead of the Supreme Court’s much-awaited verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, urged people to respect the apex court’s decision on the long-drawn row and asked people to maintain peace and calm.

The Chairman of All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, Syed Naseeruddin Chisty advised people of all religion to accept the court order. He also claimed that the council will issue guidelines to all dargahs and make an appeal to people to not believe in rumours and fake news.

Another Shia cleric, Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad echoed similar sentiments saying that everyone should respect the honourable court’s decision and exhorted people to maintain peace and calm as the country primes itself for a resolution in one of the oldest legal disputes.

Read: Ram Janmabhoomi case: Muslim parties ask SC to ‘keep future in mind’ while delivering Ayodhya verdict, make last effort to influence

On November 4, Ayodhya Police had also issued notification calling out the rumour-mongers and cautioning them that strict action will be taken against those who will be found inciting unrest through sharing fake news, communally sensitive videos/messages on Facebook, Whatsapp and other social media platforms.

The district magistrate has instructed people to not make any defamatory comments against any religion, community, deities, eminent personalities on social media platforms. People have also been prohibited from organising any event regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute. Section 144 has been imposed in Ayodhya till December 28. Those violating the orders will be booked under Section 188 (disobedience of an order promulgated by public servant) of the IPC.

The UP Police has assured that they are completely and absolutely ready for the verdict. The central government has given UP almost 4000 extra Paramilitary personnel to maintain law and order situation in the state after and during the SC much-awaited verdict on the long-drawn Ayodhya dispute. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also granted 15 companies of paramilitary forces, including three each of BSF, RAF, CISF, ITBP and SSB, to Uttar Pradesh immediately which will stay in the state till November 18. These companies will be deployed in 12 most sensitive districts and cities in the state.

Read: It is on my table and Indian Express front page, let it be there only: CJI on Muslim party submission leaked to media in Ram Janmabhoomi case

Strict instructions have been passed down to the police station level that no breach of government directives on security and law and order should be tolerated.

A five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi heard the Ayodhya case on a day-to-day basis for 40 days and reserved its verdict on October 16. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on a dispute over the possession of 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh before November 17, when CJI Gogoi retires.

The Hindu parties have laid claim to the entire 2.77 acres of land claiming that it is Lord Ram’s “janm sthan” (birthplace) and the Muslims came in only after 1528 when a mosque was forcibly built on the ruins of the erstwhile Ram temple.

Maharashtra assembly elections 2014: When Sharad Pawar had offered to provide outside support to minority govt of BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra assembly elections 2014: When Sharad Pawar had offered to provide outside support to minority govt of BJP

The two alliance partners-Shiv Sena and the BJP in Maharashtra have been at loggerheads following the fractured 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections mandate declared on October 24. While the Sena has been adamant on what it claims a “pre-poll agreement” with the BJP on sharing the position of CM for 2.5 years each, the BJP, on the other hand, has clearly denied of having agreed upon any such arrangement with its whimsical alliance partner.

The ensuing imbroglio has put the state in a limbo as there is not a single party with a clear majority to stake a claim at the government. The BJP is the single-largest party with 105 seats out of the total 288 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha seats. Its ally Shiv Sena has bagged 56 seats. The opposition parties NCP and Congress have scored 54 and 44 respectively. However, none of them is individually close to the 145 mark required to form a government in the state, although the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has a clear majority.

The 2019 Assembly elections bear a stark resemblance with the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections, in which, the BJP, riding on the popularity of PM Narendra Modi, emerged as the single-largest party with 122 seats but was still slightly behind the 145-mark required for staking a claim at the government. Shiv Sena, being its usual self, with 63 seats was holding the BJP to ransom that time also, trying to broker a “respectable deal” before extending its support. The NCP had then won on 41 seats while the Congress emerged victorious on 42 seats.

Though BJP and Shiv Sena fought the 2014 Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections independently, the power tussle between the two parties continued as Sena attempted to negotiate a favourable bargain with the BJP post the election results realising that the BJP is short of the required number to form a stable government in the state.

With the coalition between the two parties uncertain, the NCP chief Sharad Pawar then declared that he would provide an outside support to the 122-member BJP and abstain from future trust vote in the Assembly. The BJP had then claimed to have the support of 10 independent MLAs. NCP MLAs abstaining from the assembly would have brought the count down from 288 to 247 and the BJP would have had the necessary numbers to form a minority government.

Read: NCP-Congress alliance will not make any attempts to form a government in Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar

Pawar had reasoned that to avoid the need to have fresh elections, he and his party took a “conscious and collective decision” of supporting the minority government of the BJP. However, he ensured that the party would play the role of an effective opposition.

The NCP’s offer was regarded as “mega-clout” for the BJP to negotiate the modalities of an alliance with the Shiv Sena which was under tremendous pressure realising its rapidly shrinking leverage over the BJP. Amit Shah too did not turn down NCP’s offer stating that the party’s parliamentary board, PM Modi would discuss the options. Finally, the uncertainty ended with the Shiv Sena and the BJP coming together to form an alliance and stake a claim at the government.

NCP-Congress alliance will not make any attempts to form a government in Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar

OpIndia Staff
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NCP-Congress alliance will not make any attempts to form a government in Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar

Within an hour after meeting Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar confirmed that the NCP-Congress alliance will not make any attempts to form a government in Maharashtra.

Holding a press conference, Sharad Pawar confirmed that the Congress-NCP alliance will sit in the opposition in Maharashtra. He also urged the Shiv Sena and BJP to respect the people’s mandate and form the government soon.

“I don’t have anything to say yet. BJP and Shiv Sena have got the mandate of people, so they should form the government as soon as possible. Our mandate is to play the role of Opposition,” Sharad Pawar said.


Ending the speculations of Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena coming together to form government in Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar said the NCP will not join hands with Shiv Sena and said he was confident that they will form a government soon.

“Where is the question of a Shiv Sena-NCP government? They(BJP-Shiv Sena) are together for the last 25 years, today or tomorrow they will come together again,” NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.

Read: Shiv Sena demands union minister Nitin Gadkari to be brought in to resolve the Maharashtra stalemate

Pawar further added that Sanjay Raut met him today to discuss the upcoming Rajya Sabha session. “There are some issues we discussed on which we can have a similar stand,” said Pawar.

Sharad Pawar’s statement comes a day after senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai yesterday.

A deadlock has appeared between BJP and the Shiv Sena over the power-sharing agreement to form a new government in the state. The state went to assembly polls in October in which BJP has won 105 seats, Shiv Sena won 56 seats, while NCP and Congress won 54 and 44 seats respectively.

Jharkhand: Tearing up of Lord Hanuman flag at Chhath ghat sparks off communal tension, 3 Muslim youth arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Tearing up of Lord Hanuman flag at Chhath ghat sparks off communal tension, 3 Muslim youth arrested

Communal tension prevailed in Girodih’s Narayan Singhdih village in Jharkhand after some miscreants reportedly uprooted and tore off Lord Hanuman’s flag placed at Chhath Ghat. The angry villagers filed a complaint with the police following which three boys were arrested. The police have booked three individuals, Salamat Raza, Izamul Haq and Wasid Ansari, on the charges of hurting the religious sentiments of people.

Apart from these, Shoaib Ansari, Tanveer Ansari, Shamimullah, Sarafat Ansari and Budhan Ansari are listed by police as accused in the case. Ravindra Kumar Verma, representing agitated villagers, filed an FIR against 11 miscreants of Kasiotol for allegedly ripping apart a religious flag and affronting the religious sentiments of the followers.

Read: Bihar: People object to ‘Muslim community’ named as mischief makers in Chhath Puja notification, DM says, we say it as it is

According to the reports, following the completion of Chhath festival on Sunday(November 3, 2019), the accused pulled out and ripped up the flag on the ghat, flaring up tensions between the two communities. There was an attempt made by the police to settle the matter between the two sides but the tensions did not subside. All the efforts of the police to placate the soaring tensions in this case have so far gone in vain.

Screenshot of news published in Dainik Jagran

The police has asserted that reconciliation between the two warring factions could have struck but it could not happen due to some radical fundamentalists, who did not want the antagonism between the two parties to end.

Peace-building between the two sides is still underway. In an effort to avoid any escalation in the matter, Khorimhua SDM Dhirendra Singh, SDPO Naveen Kumar Singh, Jamua BDO Vinod Karmakar, CO Rambalak Prasad, Police Inspector Vinay Ram camped in Kasiotol and Baddiha throughout the day. Police said that anti-social elements will not be spared. Strict action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. In addition, as a precautionary measure, police personnel have been deployed in Kasiotol so that the matter is kept under check.

Yogendra Yadav claims a verdict in favour of Ram Mandir will test ‘secular politics’ in India: Pro Majority is Anti Minority?

Gunja Kapoor
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Yogendra Yadav claims a verdict in favour of Ram Mandir will test ‘secular politics’ in India: Pro Majority is Anti Minority?

In a rather distorted piece, Yogendra Yadav, known for his body of work in the field of political science, has exercised intellectual overreach by saying the impending verdict on Ram Mandir along with some other crucial proposals will test secular politics in India. I was confounded when I read the headline and therefore decided to read the piece just to ensure it was not a clickbait. Viola! It wasn’t. The once upon a time political scientist actually said it in so many words!

On second thoughts, as someone who has had the opportunity to observe the inside workings of academia, I am not surprised that Yogendra Yadav believes that any verdict in favour of Hindus and Ram Mandir is not secular in nature. His intellectual chicanery does not end here. He is of the opinion that implementation of NRC along with laws such as Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a central Anti-Conversion Act (ACA) and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) also deserve a ‘graded response’ and not a unanimous nod.

Read: Will Ram Lalla finally come home: The culmination of a people’s movement spanning over 491 years

His stance reveals two basic infirmities in the idea of secularism that was propounded by Nehru and propagated by his party. One, any decision that is remotely inclined to favour the sentiments of the majority (not necessarily hurt the minority) is not secular. Two, the vision of India is limited to a debate where minority sentiment is the only colour on the canvas; every argument is either pro-minority or anti-minority. I vehemently differ with such views, primarily because just like the minorities, I too am a daughter of the soil and deserve to exercise my opinions and rights.

Ram Mandir: Hindu Assertion is not Muslim Humiliation

Any judgement in favour of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should certainly not be seen as anti-minority for just one reason and Yogendra Yadav is wrong in doing so. Ayodhya is analogous to Mecca for Muslims. It has been established through ASI reports that there was a grand Hindu temple before it was demolished and subsequently a mosque was built on it. Like any other devout community, Hindus too espouse restoration of the temple, now that the country is free from any sort of authoritarianism or monarchy. A favourable judgement for Hindus does not mean one against the Muslim community, because it is only a section of motivated Muslims who are using the issue to spur sentiments. With minimal Muslim population in the area, there has never been an outcry for a mosque from the local minority community. Cry for a Ram Mandir, on the other hand, has been a common factor across a socio-cultural melange of the majority community, both in India and abroad.

Read: Hindus have been demanding restitution since 1528 for the Ram Temple destroyed by Islamist barbarians, Rajeev Dhavan

Unfortunately, as a consequence of centuries of conditioning majority are led to believe that any assertion of their cultural practices or social norms is the humiliation of minorities. But this is false equivalence. India belongs to both the majority and minority communities. It doesn’t belong more to one and less to another. Ergo, there is no reason why the majority should be embarrassed about just being themselves.

Pro Minority vs Anti Minority for Yogendra Yadav

India is a diverse country that has been held together for aeons by the echo of “एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति”. In such a land, how can one decide to paint the idea of secularism in one particular colour, and ostracise those attributes ascribed to the majority by calling them brute and anti-secular?

All three proposals, Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a central Anti-Conversion Act (ACA) and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), are being propagated as anti-minority by vested interests who reap dividends from social unrest, demographic imbalance, cross-border infiltration. On the contrary, all these three proposals strive to preserve the secular credentials of the country.

  • UCC impacts, benefits and irons out discord across all communities. It is not leaning positively or adversely towards any particular group.
  • An Anti-Conversion Act (ACA) will curb forceful conversions and evangelism seduced by money and material benefits. Like the UCC, it will apply across all religions, irrespective of the religion of the converted, before or after conversion. Any person crying foul and calling ACA anti-minority is suggesting inferences that will eventually leave the minority on a sticky wicket.
  • CAB seeks to provide refuge to Hindus, Sikh, Buddhist, Jains, Parsi or Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and grant them citizenship of India. Once again, this Bill does no harm to the inherent minorities of India. Their rights remain undiluted.

Secularism in India has stood the test of time and a series of assaults over a long period of time. It is not at the mercy of a particular judgement. However, it is clear, that a lot of intellectual fraudsters and spurious analysts like Yogendra Yadav stands to be exposed, just by their sheer reactions in anticipation of a pro-Hindu verdict. It is time that propagandists masquerading as political scientists conceded, that it is the very nature of the majority believed to be secular. Spread over countless sects, Hinduism has always served as an umbrella for people across faiths, ideologies, sects and beliefs. While neo-secularism is a fragile concept, standing at the mercy of support of propaganda and doctrine of binaries, it is the inter-faith culture within the majority, that gives them the patience to accept and embrace.

Madhya Pradesh: Civic body officials beaten up by Kamal Nath cabinet minister’s supporters for removing birthday greeting hoardings

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Civic body officials beaten up by Kamal Nath cabinet minister’s supporters for removing birthday greeting hoardings

Supporters of Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Tulsi Silawat beat up Indore civic body’s workers for removing posters and hoardings wishing the minister on his birthday. Congress leader Tulsi Silawat, who represents Sanwer constituency in Indore district, celebrated his birthday on November 5. For that, his supporters had put up hoardings.

On Tuesday, MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath had ordered removal of posters of leaders and put up posters highlighting Indore being declared as cleanest city fourth time in a row. For this, Indore civic body had started the work of removal of posters. As soon as the supporters got to know that the civic body personnel are removing Silawat’s birthday posters in Residency area, they reached the spot and started misbehaving with them. Silawat’s supporters beat up corporation officials and started abusing them. As per reports, they even pelted stone on them.

Read: Madhya Pradesh: Journalist assaulted in broad daylight, alleges attack carried out at the behest of a Congress leader

As matters escalated, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) workers stopped the removal of posters and reported the matter to higher ups. Later, the posters were removed after the IMC workers were accompanied by a police team to ensure their safety.

Kamal Nath government’s cabinet minister Tulsi Silawat said he was not aware of the ruckus created by his supporters and said that he will look into the matter.

ISIS-K had attempted to conduct suicide attack in India last year but failed: Top US Counterterrorism official

OpIndia Staff
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ISIS-K had attempted to conduct suicide attack in India last year but failed: Top US Counterterrorism official

The Khorasan group of ISIS, or the ISIS-K, had attempted a suicide attack in India last year, a top US official informed lawmakers on Tuesday. The ISIS-K operates in South Asia and according to Russel Travers, Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of Director of National Intelligence, ISIS-K concerns the US the most among all of its other branches.

“Of all of the branches and networks of ISIS, ISIS-K is certainly one of those of most concern, probably in the neighbourhood of 4,000 individuals or so,” Travers said in response to a question from Maggie Hassan, the junior Senator from New Hampshire. “They have attempted to certainly inspire attacks outside of Afghanistan. They attempted last year to conduct a suicide attack in India. It failed,”  he added.

Travers further said that two years ago, ISIS-K had made an attempt to perpetrate an attack on US soil but the FBI prevented it. Furthermore, he told the lawmakers that by any calculation, there are more radicalized individuals now than there were at the time of 9/11.

Read: ISIS declares new leader as it confirms death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, vows revenge against the US

“Eighteen years later, we face a homegrown violent extremist threat, almost 20 ISIS branches and networks that range from tens to hundreds to thousands of people, al-Qaeda and its branches and affiliates, foreign fighters that flocked to Iraq and Syria from well over 100 countries, Iran and its proxies, and there is a growing terrorist threat from racially and ethnically motivated extremists around the globe,” he said.

“This highlights the importance of terrorism prevention. While some aspects of the threat can only be dealt with through kinetic operations, the residents of the ideology will not be dealt with by military or law enforcement operations alone. The world has a lot of work to do in the non-kinetic realm to deal with radicalisation and underlying causes,” Travers added.

The ISIS-K is mainly active in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but its area of operation covers entire South Asia, including India. Historically, the Khorasan region encompasses parts of modern-day Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

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