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Teenage actor who acted in film ‘Haider’, joined Lashkar-e-Taiba, neutralised in encounter

OpIndia Staff
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Teenage actor who acted in film ‘Haider’, joined Lashkar-e-Taiba, neutralised in encounter

Three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, including 14-year-old Mudasir Ahmad and 17-year-old Saqib Ahmed Bilal, were killed in an 18-hour-long gunfight with security forces in Mujgund area, about 12 km from Srinagar.

Saqib Bilal, a class 11 student, known for his cameo role in the Bollywood movie ‘Haider’, starring Shahid Khan in the lead role, had reportedly joined the militant group with his friend, Mudasir who was studying in class 9, after they went missing on August 31.

Both Saqib and his friend, hailing from Hajin area in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, were found to be working for a Pakistani militant commander, Ali Bhai, who was also killed in the encounter.

Bilal had cleared his Class 10 with a distinction and was studying physics, chemistry and maths in Class 11. He was a football enthusiast and had even played taekwondo and kabaddi. Saqib played the role of a teenager in the movie ‘Haider’, who is seen struggling between independence and militancy in the movie. Ironically the reel life role became the real-life destiny for Saqib, admitted the slain’s father.

Police confirmed that the two teenagers had joined the Lashkar-e-Taiba, immediately after they went missing on August 31.

Families of both the teenagers had appealed them to give up militancy and return home.

The only reason the family could find, behind Bilal joining the militants, was an encounter between militants and security forces a day before their disappearance in Hajin. “Some militants had been killed and people went to see the ruined place.” This might have influenced the teenagers to take such a drastic step, assumed Bilal’s family members.

Last week, a picture of Mudasir carrying a dagger and an assault rifle had gone viral on social media. A police official said the picture was a few months old and was released recently to lure more youths to militancy.

The death of the two teenage boys had triggered anger in the people of Kashmir. People were outraged with the fact that the militants were targeting minors and luring them to take up militancy. The public also raised concerns as to how the security forces could go for the kill when minors were involved.

Bodies of both the deceased teenagers were laid to rest in their native places on Monday and people in large numbers attended the funeral.

However, this is not the first time minors have been seen picking up guns in Kashmir. Over 150 young boys from Kashmir have joined militancy this year. Local youth joining militancy has been on the rise, especially after the killing of 21-year-old Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016.

A 20-year-old captured LeT operative, Zaibullah alias Hamza had earlier revealed that  Lashkar-e-Taiba has recruited approximately 450 boys aged between 15-25 years who are being trained by LeT in Pakistan for anti-India activities. These boys are being radicalized in the name of Burhan Wani, Zaibullah added.

Parliament Attack 2001: Afzal may be dead but the violent and vile ideology he believed in is not

K Bhattacharjee
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Parliament Attack 2001: Afzal may be dead but the violent and vile ideology he believed in is not

On the 13th of December, 2001, one of the most terrible terrorist attacks on Indian soil and certainly the greatest assault on our democratic system was perpetrated. 17 years ago, on this day, our Parliament was attacked by Islamic terrorists and six policemen and two Parliament Security Service personnel were martyred on that fateful day.

Our democratic system has suffered and overcome many terrible affronts but the Parliament attack of 2001 remains one of the darkest spots in our country’s history. Not merely because the highest institution of our democracy was attacked but also because of the charade of sympathy that overflowed for one of the main conspirators of the attack: Afzal Guru.

On the 30th of October, in an article published on the Outlook Magazine, infamous intellectual Arundhati Roy wrote, “I believe Mohammed Afzal is only a pawn in a very sinister game. He’s not the Dragon he’s being made out to be, he’s only the Dragon’s footprint. And if the footprint is made to ‘become extinct’, we’ll never know who the Dragon was. Is.” She states further, “Of course it’s possible that the dead terrorists were foreign militants. But it is just as possible that they were not. Killing people and falsely identifying them as ‘foreign terrorists’, or falsely identifying dead people as ‘foreign terrorists’, or falsely identifying living people as terrorists, is not uncommon among the police or security forces either in Kashmir or even on the streets of Delhi.”

Towards the end, Roy wrote, “If Afzal is hanged, we’ll never know the answer to the real question: Who attacked the Indian Parliament? Was it the Lashkar-e-Toiba? The Jaish-e-Mohammed? Or does the answer lie somewhere deep in the secret heart of this country that we all live in and love and hate in our own beautiful, intricate, various, and thorny ways?”

The entire article is a defence of Afzal which makes the Parliament Terrorist Attack as events straight from a crime thriller. Perhaps it might not appear very obvious to authors but the reality is often much more mundane. In the United States of America, people who see an American conspiracy behind the 9/11 Twin Tower attack are seen as lunatics and are treated as such. In India, on the other hand, they are revered as intellectuals. That is, perhaps, the tragedy of our country.

Much like the conspiracy theories peddled by political entities after the Mumbai Terror Attack, various conspiracy theories still abound surround the Parliament attack. And unfortunately for us, they are not treated with the derision they deserve. Instead, people who endorse them are respected and revered by the establishment as intellectuals.

Various human rights organizations came forward to condemn Afzal Guru’s hanging. It appears human rights NGOs are reminded of the rights of people only when terrorists and criminals receive punishment in accordance with their actions. Amnesty International asserted that Afzal’s hanging revealed a “disturbing and regressive trend towards executions shrouded in secrecy and the resumption of death penalty use in India.”

AI India’s programme director, Shashikumar Velath, said, “We condemn the execution in the strongest possible terms. This, very regrettably, puts India in opposition to the global trends of moving away from the death penalty.” Human Rights Watch, another NGO, stated, “The hanging of [Afzal] Guru, following closely behind the hanging of Kasab, shows a very worrying trend by the Indian government. HRW opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment.”

Unfortunately enough, Roy and human rights organizations are not the only person to harbour such delusions. Even students at a reputed University such as the JNU are known to lionize Afzal. Chants of “Afzal hum sharminda hai, tere kaatil zinda hai” had earned the university quite a bit of notoriety a few years ago. Soon after Afzal’s hanging, students from various universities in Delhi, many from JNU, organized a protest at Jantar Mantar against the terrorist’s hanging. 21 were detained by the police. According to reports, Gautam Navlakha, the ‘Urban Naxal’ who was arrested recently in connection with the violence at Bhima Koregaon and had links with a notorious ISI funded Kashmiri separatist, was also part of the protest. He was reportedly beaten up by right-wing activists after a clash had erupted.

It is a mark of huge disrespect to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives that day in trying to protect the lives of major politicians and the Parliament. The terrorists were reported to possess enough arms and ammunition to bring down the whole Parliament. Casting aspersions on the Judiciary and the Political machinery based on warped conspiracy theories to paint a terrorist in bright light is certainly a grave justice to the memories of those who lost their lives in the attack. The glorification of a terrorist who conspired to attack the most important democratic institution in the country certainly does not bode well for the future of India.

India is threatened not just by external enemies but internal as well. The number of Indian youth joining ISIS is staggering. Afzal may be dead but the ideology he believed in is well and alive and is gaining strength with every passing day. And that is something that should concern us all.

Seriously considering for US President race in 2020: Democrat lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard

OpIndia Staff
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Seriously considering for US President race in 2020: Democrat lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard

In an interview to MSNBC, Democrat representative from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard put an end to speculations and said that she is ‘seriously’ considering to run for US Presidential elections in 2020.

Tulsi Gabbard in 2012 became first Hindu to enter the US Congress. She also became the first member of the Congress to take oath on Bhagavad Gita.

In October this year, reports hinted that Tulsi is contemplating for US Presidential elections of 2020. In the last few weeks, Gabbard has been talking to her party leaders and reaching out to Indian-Americans to get their feedback on the issue.

Tulsi Gabbard does not have direct links to India or any ancestry with Hinduism. It was her mother who embraced Hinduism, and later her father followed. She is seen to be taking a tough stand against Hinduphobia and propaganda against Hinduism.

In March last year, Tulsi had slammed CNN and host Reza Aslan of reinforcing stereotypes about Hindus and Hinduism through the series called Believer. She also claimed that the show virtually painted entire Hindu community as “cannibals”. She feared that the show will increase Hinduphobia and people’s misunderstanding about Hindus.

In the same interview to MSNBC, she criticised President Trumps’s policy of Middle East.  On the issue of killing of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia in Turkey, she said that the USA strictly needs to deal with Saudi, as relations with them are ”counter-productive”. She said that supplying hundreds of billions of dollars to Saudi is directly responsible for slaughters going-on in Yemen’s civil war. Being a proponent of non-interventionist approach towards Middle-east, she said that regime-change in Saudi, Syria or Iran won’t further US’s interest.

She also had sparked controversy in 2017 by meeting Russian backed Syrian Dictator Bashar Assad and expressing scepticism over American claims of Assad using chemical weapons against own people.

Tulsi Gabbard was one the Democrats who had criticised US’s government move to deny a visa to the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, and had labelled  the move as a ”blunder”

Gabbard had met Prime Minister Modi after his historic speech in September 2014 at Madison Square. She had gifted Prime Minister, the same copy of Bhagavad Gita, she had taken oath on, in her first swearing-in ceremony.

Before confronting President Trump in US elections of 2020, she will have to defeat Democrat’s candidates first in the primary elections, which will begin in February 2020.

If she officially announces her candidature for primary elections, she would become the first Hindu to be running for the presidency in the USA. She also can become the youngest and first women to be elected as US President in 2020.

With this announcement, Tulsi has joined a long list of Democrats wishing to run for the presidency. In the 2016 elections, Hillary Clinton was the Democrat candidate who lost by a narrow margin to Donald Trump. It is not clear yet whether Clinton will run again this time, but reports indicate that she will not be in the race.

JNU Internal committee finds sexual harassment charges against professor ‘frivolous’, bars accusing student from university

OpIndia Staff
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JNU Internal committee finds sexual harassment charges against professor ‘frivolous’, bars accusing student from university

A student of Jawaharlal Nehru University who had filed a complaint of sexual harassment against her professor in April this year has been barred from JNU campus by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of JNU, as reported by Indian Express.

The student had alleged in her complaint that her professor had molested, sexually harassed and threatened her. The Internal Complaints Committee called the complaint of the student “frivolous” and recommended certain punitive measures against her.

According to the recommendations made by the ICC on Nov 5, the complainant should be completely barred from entering in the JNU campus and should not be allowed to take part in any academic and non-academic proceedings. She is also barred from taking up any course or employment in the JNU in future.  The recommendations further require the complainant to apologise to the University and the defendant. “The JNU administration…shall not issue any character certificate and no objection certificate to the complainant in future…” the recommendation said.

If the complainant needs to come to the campus for the purpose of inquiry, the ICC recommendations say that she has to give prior Intimation to the Proctor Office. And she will be escorted by two female security guards.

“The Academic Council may initiate proceedings to withdraw the degree of the complainant” and that her “degree shall be put on hold till the Academic Council concludes its proceedings”, the ICC said.

The complainant has accused the ICC of being hostile. “The ICC was hostile to me from the beginning and had told me not to travel abroad. I’ve submitted my PhD but I’m yet to receive my degree because of which I haven’t been able to apply for a post-doctoral fellowship or a teaching job. The way they have barred me from campus and said I should be escorted by guards, I feel like I’m the criminal,” she said.

While the rules governing the ICC empower it to take action against false, malicious or untrue allegations or in case any forged information is provided during the inquiry, the malicious intent on the part of the complainant shall be established by inquiry.

The JNU Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar is yet to take a decision on the ICC recommendations.

All you need to know about Pu Zoramthanga, Mizoram’s new CM elect

OpIndia Staff
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All you need to know about Pu Zoramthanga, Mizoram’s new CM elect

The results of the assembly elections held in five states were announced on Tuesday and amidst a day of chaos, two leaders emerged with a decisive public mandate for them. Telangana elected its incumbent CM, K Chandrasekhara Rao with a thumping majority while the Mizo National Front emerged victorious with an equally decisive mandate under the leadership of Pu Zoramthanga.

Pu Zoramthanga is 74. He had been the CM of Mizoram for 2-terms in the past, between 1998 and 2008. Born in July 1944 in Samthang village, he is the second youngest of eight children.

He was an active participant of the Mizo Freedom Movement that started in 1966. The MNF, then an underground movement under President Laldenga was active during the insurgency. In 1979, he became the vice president of the MNF.

After Mizoram was declared a state in 1986 and MNF was invited to form an interim government, Zoramthanga was given the charge of finance and education departments. He became the President of MNF after Laldenga’s death.

Zoramthanga became the CM of Mizoram in 1998 and went on to win a second term in 2003. MNF lost 2008 elections to Congress following which the incumbent Lal Thanhawla became CM.

In December 2014, the Congress government in Mizoram revoked the state law that ensured a total prohibition of liquor, The Mizoram Total Prohibition of Liquor Act,1995 and introduced the revamped Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Act, 2014. The new law allowed individual citizens to buy six bottles (750 ml each) of Indian made foreign liquor and 10 bottles each of beer and wine every month for ‘personal consumption’. There was a widespread uproar in the state as several citizens and church groups started protesting.

The liquor issue became pivotal in the run-up to the state assembly elections. Zoramthanga had claimed that the lifting of total prohibition in the state has resulted in thousands of untimely deaths and addiction is becoming a major problem in the state. He had promised that bringing back the total prohibition will be his government’s first priority after assuming office. He and his party were also in the forefront of demanding CEO B Shashank’s removal from the state over the Bru refugees’ voting issues.

Zoramthanga is scheduled to take oath as Mizoram’s CM on Saturday. After the MNF secured 26 seats in the 40-member assembly, Zoramthanga had met the governor Kummanam Rajasekharan and staked claim to form the government.

Though the MNF is a part of the North Eastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA), Zoramthanga has ruled out any association with the BJP at the state level. BJP’s Buddha Dan Chakma won the Tuichawng assembly seat becoming the first ever BJP MLA in Mizoram.

Industrial production growth at a 11 month high of 8.1% in October, while retail inflation dips to 17 month low

OpIndia Staff
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Industrial production growth at a 11 month high of 8.1% in October, while retail inflation dips to 17 month low

The industrial output of the country has accelerated to an 11-month high of 8.1 per cent in October following higher production in the mining, power and manufacturing sector, with higher manufacturing of capital goods and consumer durables.

According to the official data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Wednesday, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has grown to 8.1 percent from 4.46 per cent in September and 1.8 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year.

The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2011-12 for the month of October 2018 stands at 132.4, which is 8.1 percent higher as compared to the level in the month of October 2017. The cumulative growth for the period April-October 2018 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 5.6 percent.

The manufacturing sector which constitutes the bulk of 77.63 per cent of the index, recorded 7.9 per cent growth in October as against 2 per cent last fiscal. The mining sector also grew 7 per cent during October compared to a decrease of 0.2 per cent in October 2017.

The cumulative growth for the period April-October 2018 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 5.6 per cent,” the ‘Quick Estimates’ of IIP released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said.

The power sector output also grew by 10.8 per cent in the month compared to 3.2 per cent a year ago while the capital goods sector saw the growth of 16.8 per cent in October, up from 3.5 per cent a year ago. Consumer durables expanded at 17.6 per cent as compared to a contraction of 9 per cent a year earlier.

Reportedly, 21 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during October 2018. Only two industries have shown a contraction in the month of October compared to seven in September.

With industries putting up good numbers this month, the retail inflation has hit a 17-month low of 2.33% in November as against 3.31 per cent in October as the prices of food items, including vegetables have come down. The RBI in its monetary policy committee meeting last week had cut its inflation projection to 2.7 to 3.2 per cent for October-March 2018-19 from its earlier view of 3.9 to 4.5 per cent.

Ranchi: Court summons Rahul Gandhi for his defamatory remarks against Amit Shah

OpIndia Staff
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Ranchi: Court summons Rahul Gandhi for his defamatory remarks against Amit Shah

A local court on Wednesday summoned Congress President, Rahul Gandhi, for an alleged controversial remark, which he had directed towards BJP President Amit Shah on March 18 during the national convention of the Congress.

Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Ajay Kumar Gudia who had reserved the order after hearing the petition in this regard on November 28, issued a summon against Gandhi.

In his petition, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader, which is the youth wing of BJP, Naveen Jha alleged that Gandhi’s’ controversial statement directed towards Amit Shah on March 18 had not only hurt his sentiments but had also tarnished the image of the party.

While addressing the 84th plenary session of the Congress party, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had made several frothy remarks at the BJP. He, staying true to Congress’ culture, had castigated the contributions of the great freedom fighter, Veer Savarkar. Amongst other things he had also launched a personal attack on Amit Shah by calling him a “murder accused”.

Previously, the same court had rejected the petition of Naveen Jha. He then approached the court of Judicial Commissioner Navneet Kumar against the rejection order.

SDJM court took cognizance after the Principal Judicial Commissioner (PJC) Navneet Kumar allowed the revision petition in the case and directed the SDJM Ajay Kumar Gudia to issue fresh order.

Supreme Court extends NRC deadline, claims to be filed by 31 December

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court extends NRC deadline, claims to be filed by 31 December

The Supreme Court has extended the December 15 deadline for filing claims and objections to the final draft of the National Citizenship Register to December 31. According to reports, the government of Assam had approached the apex court with a request to extend the existing deadline of December 15 by another month.

An SC bench of CJI Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R Fali Nariman reportedly said that it is keeping in mind the pace at which claims are being filed. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta had appeared for the state government to request an extension of the deadline.

Prateek Hajela, the NRC coordinator for Assam reportedly informed the SC that after the final draft was published on July 30, a total of 14.8 claims of objections and inclusion requests have been received. The SC bench was also informed that in the last few days, the pace of filing claims and objections has increased as the deadline approaches.

As per reports, the SC bench also eased the norms for documents to be considered for proving citizenship. The court added that the people filing for inclusion can attach any acceptable citizenship documents to substantiate their claim, provided they are considered by the NRC authorities.

While earlier, most documents allowed by the NRC authorities had a required cut off date of 24 March 1971, the All Assam Minorities Students Union represented by Kapil Sibal had appealed for easing of the norms. Hearing their plea, the bench directed the NRC authorities to accept List B documents valid too, regardless of the date of issuance, provided the NRC authorities are satisfied with the authenticity and validity of the said document.

The Assam government had also appealed for an increase in sample verification of NRC data to 20% from the current 10%. But the SC bench stated that they will consider the plea later.

The court also extended the date of start of verification of the filed claims from February 1 to February 15.

It is notable here that the NRC is being implemented in Assam as a method of protecting the rights of citizens against illegal immigrants. After the final draft of the Assam NRC was published, many states and citizen groups across the country have already initiated or called for similar exercises in their respective states, especially states that share an international border.

The final draft published in July had included 2.89 crores names out of the approximate 3.29 crore citizens of the state. About 40 lakh people were excluded. The government had assured that people will be given enough time to submit their claims of citizenship and include their names in the NRC. The NRC was mandated by the Supreme Court to handle the surge of illegal immigrants in the state which threatened to change the demographic balance in border states.

‘Will not develop areas which did not vote for me’: Rajasthan Congress MLA shortly after winning

Shashank Bharadwaj
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‘Will not develop areas which did not vote for me’: Rajasthan Congress MLA shortly after winning

Targeting the voters, the newly elected Congress MLA from Begu of Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, Rajender Singh Bidhuri has come up with a shocker after he said that he will not take up any developmental activities in those areas which did not vote for the Congress party, reported News18.

Speaking to the media after getting elected from Begu constituency, the Congress MLA stoked controversy by saying that he will only develop those areas which have voted for him and those areas which did not favour him will not get any benefits. He further went on to say those people did not vote for him can continue to fight for the next five years, but will not see any development rather he would support people who backed him during the elections.

Rajender Singh Bidhuri fought and won a close battle against BJP MLA Suresh Dhakad with a margin of 1661 votes. Reportedly, Bidhuri was facing severe opposition within the Congress party itself and a group of party leaders had even urged to high command to not field him as a candidate. Despite severe opposition, Bidhuri contested the election and has now been elected from Begu constituency.

The Congress party has secured 99 seats in Rajasthan state elections defeating Vasundhara Raje led BJP, who secured 73 seats. The Congress party failed to cross the half-way mark but has managed to attract other smaller parties and independents to form the next government. Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan PCC Chief Sachin Pilot are in the race to be the next Chief Minister of the state.

Five years after Tarun Tejpal was accused of rape, Editors Guild finally suspends him along with M J Akbar

OpIndia Staff
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Five years after Tarun Tejpal was accused of rape, Editors Guild finally suspends him along with M J Akbar

Editors Guild, the association of editors of media organisations in the country, has decided to suspend its members accused of sexual molestation. In a statement issued by the Guild, it announced that Tarun Tejpal and M J Akbar have been suspended from the organisation, while a decision on Gautam Adhikari will be taken after receiving the reply to a notice issued to him.


During the recent #MeToo movement, several women had levelled charges of sexual harassment against veteran journalist and former minister of state for External Affairs M J Akbar and founder editor of DNA Gautam Adhikari. M J Akbar is at present a dormant member and a former president of the organisation. On the other hand, one woman who had worked in Tarun Tejpal’s media venture Tehelka had accused him of sexual assault on her during an event in Goa in 2013. Subsequently police had registered a case against Tejpal and the case is now being heard by a trial court.

Although Tejpal was accused of sexual assault inside a lift by his colleague five years ago, he continued to be a member of the Editors Guild. Similarly, Akbar and Adhikari also continued as members after the allegations against them surfaced. The fact that people accused of sexual assault continued as Editors Guild members escaped attention for a long time. But last month this fact had come to light and people had started to put pressure on the Guild to take some action on the members. As a result of that, the Guild was finally forced to suspend the members.

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