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Social Media, The Great Leveller: Here is why the left and assorted perfumed elites hate it

K Bhattacharjee
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Social Media, The Great Leveller: Here is why the left and assorted perfumed elites hate it

One of the most extraordinary phenomena of the 21st century has to be the manner in which Social Media has taken over our entire lives. Men and women, young and old, the meek and the strong, the poet and the abusive, everyone takes to social media and makes themselves heard. It has truly revolutionized every aspect of our lives. And thus, on the 30th of June, we celebrate World Social Media Day!

See also: Trueindology account blocked again by Twitter

Also read: Twitter locks account of True Indology as it exposed NDTV’s distorted claims of communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir

Suspended officer Ashish Joshi threatens ‘True Indology’ after being exposed for his lack of knowledgeNot everyone, however, is happy with the unparalleled access social media has provided to everyone across the board, regardless of their economic status, race, gender, educational background, to register their opinions and pass judgments upon those who assume themselves mighty. Those who have suffered most, of course, are journalists who hitherto had a monopoly over the “truth”. But with the advent of social media and the memory of the internet which remembers everything, the credibility of journalists has suffered sucker-punch. And thus, the mainstream media across the world weeps and begs to their political overlords and bureaucratic friends to have the social media regulated so that their credibility, or whatever that is left of it, can be salvaged.

Another unique phenomenon that is observed, which was brought to my notice by a person on Twitter, that social media networks have a tendency to lean heavily towards the right unless stringently regulated. For instance, 4Chan which is devoid of any regulations is heavily rightwing while Facebook and Twitter, which are heavily regulated, have been known to target the free speech of conservatives.

The manner in which the Indian Political Left and the Right collide on social media is also very intriguing. While the journalists and their ilk often resort to involving the employers of those whose tweets they don’t like, the Right restraints itself to humour and sarcasm and mockery. However, amidst provocation by the mainstream Left, it is only a matter of time that the Right embraces the same tactics that are being used against them.

One of the reasons which journalists and other eminent intellectuals cite to enforce a censorship on social media is the rampant abuse that they are subjected to. Unfortunately, social media has a tendency to reflect real life more accurately than we would desire it to be so. And unlike real life, unpleasant people are merely a click away. However, it is only a plausible excuse for those who would like to scuttle free speech. If abuse was the real issue, then there would have been sympathy shown to right-wing women who have been victims of abuse. Instead, they are labelled as trolls. If abuse was the real matter of concern, then politicization of the matter would have never occurred. But, of course, abuse was merely a ruse to target the right-wing to achieve a political objective.

Social Media is the great leveller as eminent intellectuals have discovered to their dismay. One of the great success of social media has to be TrueIndology on Twitter. The person behind the account has been subjected to much abuse and targeted by those who wouldn’t have him spread the light of truth, however, he/she has educated many and continues to educate on Indian history through his/her account on Twitter. The eminent historians have made many attempts to silence him/her and have ridiculed him/her on many occasions and yet, to those who would listen and care about Indian history, he/she offers an opportunity to learn more about their history. And TrueIndology is but one such story. Twitter is littered with accounts who regularly bring the ’eminent intellectuals’ with several books to their name by merely penning a series of tweets.

The main objective of the Left when they seek to censor social media is to regain their hold on power. Their ideas and methods have no hope of succeeding in free and fair competition. Therefore, they seek to engineer circumstances which ensure their victory regardless of who fights the battle. If the objective was anything otherwise, one would expect them to maintain some sort of consistency over the matter. However, time and again, their actions betray their claims of a holier purpose and expose their political partisanship on the issue. Social Media has made it exceptionally easy for ordinary citizens to register their opinion in the ongoing clash of ideas and the intellectual elite despise the fact that the common citizen no longer regards their words as gospel truth and challenges their authority across every domain.

The political landscape has been changed forever by Social Media as well. If one has to gauge the true measure of the power of social media, one only has to look at Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential Elections. Trump went against the political establishment of both major political parties, the Pope, the mainstream media, Hollywood and the intellectual elite and yet emerged victorious, solely because he had a dedicate base on supporters on social media who would spread his message on Facebook and Twitter though memes and jokes. It’s for nothing that it is said that Donald Trump is the first President to have been memed into the Presidency. The same goes for Narendra Modi as well. The Bharatiya Janata Party was the first political party in India to truly gauge the power of social media and harness it for its sensational victory in the 2014 General Elections.

Of course, social media has its negatives as well. Social Media has reduced the distance between groups who hate each other and thus gives the appearance that our society is more divided than ever. And to a certain extent, social media is feeding the fault lines within the society to generate frictions within its various sections. Once upon a time, social media was an accurate reflection of reality. And yet, as more and more time passes, social media shapes real life discourse more than ever. More importantly, several studies have revealed that social media adversely affects mental health. Thus, it shows that it’s not merely the establishment elite who have not yet grasped the means to deal effectively with social media. The rest of us too are yet to develop means to cope up with the increasing importance that social media has assumed in our lives. One hopes, as more and more time passes, we manage to maximize the benefits of social networks and reduce the adversities of its use to a bare minimum.

Reuters displays blatant Hinduphobia by comparing Hindu Swastika to the Nazi Hakenkreuz

Jhankar Mohta
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Reuters displays blatant Hinduphobia by comparing Hindu Swastika to the Nazi Hakenkreuz

On Thursday, International news agency Reuters removed an earlier picture of US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley with a ‘swastika’ seen behind her at a Hindu temple in New Delhi.

The Reuters India Photo twitter handle wrote: “Reuters has removed an earlier photo of U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with a swastika seen behind her at a Hindu temple in Delhi. The swastika is an ancient religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists. It was also used as a symbol by Nazi Germany.”

Haley, who was on a three-day visit to India, visited the Gauri Shankar Temple on June 28 in the national capital.

The popular media house, Reuters, probably needs a fact check. There is a significant difference between the two symbols, which they have ludicrously compared and have not only hurt Hindu sentiments but also displayed their inherent Hinduphobia.

When translated from its Sanskrit root, Swatika comprises of ‘su’ meaning ”good” and ‘asti’ meaning ”to be”. In other words, well-being. It dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. Scholars generally agree it originated in India.

It has also meant a symbol of good luck, prosperity and all things auspicious for other ancient cultures, including the Vikings and Greeks, besides Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

A religious symbol for Hindus, the Swastika was first mentioned in the Vedas. It symbolises many things like Surya (the sun) and Brahma, the creator. It is seen as a power symbol and is also the emblem of Ganesha, the god of good luck. In both Hinduism and Jainism, the Swastika is used to mark the opening pages of account books, doors and thresholds.

In fact, it is found that the Swatika was also used in Ancient Greece and can be found in the remains of the ancient city of Troy, which existed 4,000 years ago. The ancient Druids and the Celts also used the symbol. It was used by Nordic tribes and even early Christians used the Swastika as one of their symbols, including the Teutonic Knights, a German medieval military order, which became a purely religious Catholic Order.

One is left to believe that the news agency, Reuters, definitely, not completely oblivious to this basic fact, decided to compare the two symbols. This was, for obvious reasons not well received by the Hindus, who were quick to make a jibe at the agency through their tweets.


Twitterati did not hesitate in showing total disregard for this malicious attempt of ‘The Reuters’ to completely disregard the Hindu conceptions.

Many even pointed out that it is rather impossible for The Reuters to have not known the glaring difference between Hindu Swastika and the Nazi symbol.


This is not the first time that Reuters has been caught on the wrong foot. Earlier they had used conjectures to build a narrative of ‘concessional land being provided to Patanjali’. They are yet to issue a clarification or retract their blatant display of Hinduphobia at the time this article was published.

CRPF ready to deploy women commandos in Kashmir to tackle stone pelting Jihadis

OpIndia Staff
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CRPF ready to deploy women commandos in Kashmir to tackle stone pelting Jihadis

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has prepared a team of women commandoes to tackle stone pelters. According to reports, the deployment of women commandoes is being considered due to the increasing participation of women in the stone-pelting incidents.

These commandoes are reportedly part of CRPF’s ‘super 500’. They have been trained extensively. Being blindfolded and repairing weapons and equipment within a minute are part of their training.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0sd5QandM]

Incidents of stone pelting and attack on security forces have been on the rise in the valley. Recently a young tourist from Tamil Nadu had lost his life when a mob of stone pelting jihadis attacked a bus. It is often the CRPF personnel who become the target of jihadi stone pelters.

On June 1st, in Srinagar, a convoy of CRPF vehicles came under severe attack by a large mob. Videos of the mob of Islamist jihadis were widely circulated but many media outlets and pro-separatist individuals had created a ruckus over a jihadi coming under CRPF vehicle amidst the ensued chaos. Stone pelting jihadis often attack security forces during ongoing anti-terror operations and are known to aid terrorists in escaping.

The central government had announced the suspension of anti-terror operations in the valley in the month of Ramzan. But that did not seem to have an effect on the Islamists as many more incidents of stone pelting were repeated across Kashmir.

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti had advocated for withdrawal of cases against jihadi stone pelters but the central government had advised against it, stating that it will be demoralising for the security forces as hundreds of personnel are injured every year due to stone pelting attacks. The centre had also stated that going easy with the stone pelters will further encourage the terrorists of the valley to use civilians as human shield.


According to reports, the team of women commandoes will be especially needed in situations where women stone pelters are involved. It is notable here that the CRPF is one of the first organisations to prepare women commandoes for combat operations. The women commandoes have been well trained in Jungle warfare and were also deployed in the Maoist infested areas of central India.

No P Chidambaram, Indian Economy is not a ‘vehicle with 3 punctured tires’ and the numbers prove it

Naagesh Padmanaban
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No P Chidambaram, Indian Economy is not a ‘vehicle with 3 punctured tires’ and the numbers prove it

Two news items in the recent past caught the attention of many. They deserve closer scrutiny since it provides good insights into a thriving business in India. It is indeed representative of a deep and well-entrenched industry that has prospered by profligate peddling of false narratives in India.

The first was observations made by none other than the former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. He led the economic fortunes of the country during his days in the Union Cabinet and arguably presided over an economy that tanked the fastest despite strong fundamentals. That he is in the news for investigations by concerned agencies and related court cases for alleged corruption is beyond the scope of this piece.

The erudite former Minister – Harvard alumni – has opined that the country’s current economic conditions were akin to a vehicle with three punctured tires. He went on to paint a very dismal picture where almost everything about the economy was wrong. If one were to believe him, it would appear that most Indians are rotting in poverty and even unable to sell pakodas to make a living. As a politician in the opposition camp, this was not unexpected.

As expected, this statement was lapped up by the media and reported 24/7. Many pseudo-experts and self-acclaimed economists joined the fray, pontificating on why all these imaginary ills can be attributed to none other than Prime Minister Modi himself. Mercifully, the false narratives did not carry on for more than a few days of print and airtime.

The second item was a glibly written piece that subtly casts doubt on the sustainability of the high growth rate that India is currently witnessing. It again questions PM Modi’s statements where he called for double-digit growth rates in GDP. Eminent economist Dr Subramanian Swamy has also talked about India’s inherent capacity to grow at double digits. With a touch of finesse, the article cites other pundits who are not sanguine about double-digit growth for India. It is certainly reminiscent of the days when socialists lectured us on why India can only grow at a “Hindu rate” of growth of 3.5% or less. The article pompously advises that it would do India better to aim for growth rates of less than 8%.

India has seen too many of these armchair pundits and ministers of bygone eras attempting to water down the unprecedented growth we are witnessing. The fact is that this is not well-intentioned advice or political strategy, but churlish rant emanating from those quarters where the sun has begun to set. It is indeed incumbent on Mr Chidambaram, in particular, to tell the nation the initiatives that he had undertaken to stimulate the economy that provided better results if any. That would garner better Television Rating Points (TRP) than the story of a vehicle with three flat tires.

The point is to not to question anybody’s freedom of expression or the right to have an opinion that is different or even counter-intuitive. On the contrary, such cross winds fertilize the idea pool and the ultimate winner is the country. But this virus strain is different. At a minimum, balanced punditry is a moral duty bound to signal and call out the existence of a thriving industry that peddles false narratives.

Many politicians, together with some sections of the media, have excelled in consummating this art of creating false narratives via obfuscations, distorted and skewed opinions that is ably supported by presenting selective data.

Now let’s look at another set of data that provides a counter or shall we say a neutral narrative. In a recent article published by World Economic Forum (published well before Mr Chidambaram’s statement), a researcher using World Bank data has shown the performance of the Indian economy over the last fifty years. Please refer to the chart.

The author argues that India’s growth rate has been consistent and has accelerated over the long run. The author further projects

“…..  GDP growth to be 6.7 percent in 2017-18 and accelerate to 7.3 percent and 7.5 percent respectively in 2018-19 and 2019-20”.

The observation of the author – derived from data presented in the chart – seems tenable. Since the readers themselves can visually verify the data, it irons out any potential for mischievous interpretation that may ensue when data over a shorter window is observed.

This chart belies both the news items referred to above. The Indian economic vehicle does not have three flat tires, as alleged by Chidambaram. On the contrary, it seems to be kicking and doing very well, despite pessimistic projections. Secondly, if we look at the performance over the last fifty years, a high trajectory i.e. double digit GDP growth may well be within India’s reach.

That leads us to the well-known truism that most Indians are aware of. In the worst days of socialism that beggared India, many exasperated but wise Indians would remark that no government rules India, for India governs itself. For them, India was on auto pilot on “Ram Bharosa”, meaning India was governing itself on the will of Lord Ram. The chart referred to earlier just seems to reinforce this dictum on India’s potential, well known only to ordinary Indians, and apparently not to some Harvard educated elites. In short, India’s growth is unstoppable, albeit it can be slowed down by the likes of Chidambaram in the short to medium term.

But that should make reasonable Indians stop on their tracks and ponder. Fashionable opinionistas in India and their allies elsewhere, as is their wont, have repeatedly lamented that India has missed the bus. But has it really? Today, when data is democratized and can be accessed by anyone in a matter of few clicks, it is indeed easy to review and draw their own conclusions.

But India has always been a paradise for peddling false narratives – be it economic growth, religious freedom, Aryan invasion theory or even the latest fad – intolerance. Some wisecrack puts out a skewed misinterpretation or blatant falsehood and this gets lapped up by the media like hungry wolves and then repeated ad nauseam. Finally, this becomes the established narrative – completely obliterating the underlying facts.

That has been the established and well tested strategy of the narrative peddlers who sell their views for a price, for a motive, in full disregard for India. And many of them happen to be politicians and opinion makers who presume they preside over the economic future of India.

The necessary and sufficient condition for the false narrative industry to thrive is a grossly ill-informed society. They had a free run for so many decades, but not anymore. Digital India has bought internet to every home and now information is free and the biased are being called out. This is the new ground reality politicians in India have to contend with. False narratives, be it from the government, the opposition political parties or for that matter from any quarter, will now be easily spotted and called out.

The Secular Council of India decrees Modi a dangerous man! Here’s why

desimockingbird
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The Secular Council of India decrees Modi a dangerous man! Here’s why

The Endless Pursuit of getting our detractors (to sound politically correct we would simply call them right wing guys, personally we prefer the term “Hindu Extremists” as quoted by a reasonably popular actress, very recently in her interview post her marriage) to yield to the common narrative and abide by the secular guidelines set forth by the Secular Council of India, is yielding no results.

In view of the above, it has been decreed by the High Council that we will discredit their entire ilk so that we can have our way and set the narrative for people to see things the way we want them to see it.

Today we have successfully managed to do that, thanks to our External Affairs Ministry who gave us the much-needed ammo to put the ‘right-wing people’ in place. We have support pouring in from all unexpected corners, even the Indira National Congress, who put out twitter polls asking if the current EAM minister was the worst amongst all till date; the ones that had asked for her resignation over the way she handled the Iraq issue citing she acted inappropriately, lied deliberately and hoodwinked the people have come out in support of her.

This is unprecedented, and this is exactly what we wanted. We want all like-minded (‘Like-minded’ is a typo, please read as ‘Anti BJP/RSS, Modi Haters’) people who believe in the secular fabric and democratic garments of this country to come together in our fight against the ones who have made our lives miserable.

To begin with, you must all understand that this ‘Secular Council of India’ considers Modi to be a larger threat because he talks of an India where we the councilmen would look like a bunch of fools being rendered obsolete and irrelevant to the idea of India he proposes.

He talks of an India where our fellow councilmen who today are celebrated journalists, ones who carved their career being footsies of the then subsequent Congress governments, peddling lies as truths and truths as lies, are no longer considered honest or worthy of being called as Journalists and no longer guardians of the fourth pillar of a democracy

Does he talk of a Congress Mukth Bharat, the only NGO/Industry that has kept the kitchen fires in our houses burning, how many of us would be rendered jobless if this becomes a reality? He talks of a “Make in India” to create jobs while he takes away ours and threatens to destroy the only industry that employs us.

He talks of an India where unworthy SM trolls call out our lies and hypocrisy at the drop of a hat. Damn Bambani for making internet competitive where the Airtel’s and Vodaphone’s had to drop prices to stay in the race. Today even a common man has access to the internet and can voice his opinion, and if we the ones whom once the country looked up to for information are discredited by ordinary people on social media who bust our fallacies in seconds, imagine what a fall from grace. Who are we to take that smack across our faces?

So we won’t spare any effort, won’t hesitate to bring forth any resources to bring this ecosystem down, the ones that simply threaten our very existence.

We are not one, we are legion. We will not hesitate to tarnish the very ecosystem that he draws his strength from. We will create disrepute to anyone that stands by him; we not let even the smallest opportunity to slip by. When there is none we will create one. By now you have seen that we have mastered the art of conjuring controversy from even non-controversial ones.

And for the benefit of people who are not well informed about the common narrative, I have listed them down for you:

Narendra Modi is our enemy. With him, we have no future. We explain here why!

1. Junket trips are free rides!

Our junket trips and free rides at the expense of the state have come to an end. He’s a selfish guy who travels alone with only the staff required for him to perform his duty, we ask will it cost an extra penny, on account of Air Fuel to carry us on the Air India One.

Moreover, our trips and our expenses there at the destination countries would be covered well and taken care of by our patrons whom we glorify, glamorize and make larger than life. For example, we made Rahul Ghandy look like some tall leader, that the world has been waiting for since Obama demitted office.

Don’t we deserve to be rewarded for such Mission Impossible Assignments? Didn’t we make Ramya who probably have never even touched her computer other than for Facebook and entertainment look like some Master Strategist compared to her counterpart who probably knows more about computers and how things work in the SM.? He – MODI has denied us, citizens of this country, a free ride on Air India one which we were entitled to so far. After all, these are the perks of the Job

2. We are becoming irrelevant!

Is that all – No! This man single-handedly has rendered us so irrelevant that we are now forced to make our own stories, sometimes we make one when there is none. Those were the times when we had first-hand information even before official press conferences were called in by the then ministers.

Some of us were even involved in the decision making of who should be ministers and that was the level of powers we wielded and we walked freely in the corridors of power. Today we beg him for a press conference this man pretends like we don’t exist. At this rate, journalists will become an endangered species in this country

3. Damn Social Media!

The misery continues. If this is not enough this man wields so much clout over social media that his colleagues have followed in his footsteps and have tried to establish people connect, and sadly some of them are good at it. Where does that put us? Already our noted colleagues have gone off to set up independent media outlets because it has become difficult to keep us paid, and our sources of revenues have dried up. Who would feed our beer bellies and our luxurious lifestyles?

4. What about our books?

Some of us are reduced to writing books and make a living writing books, do you know how difficult it is to sell books in such hostile environments after all most of the masses we have branded them as uneducated, uncouth Hindu Extremists, we are forced to sell our books to our own folks, sometimes we give them for free at Literary fests that we conduct to honor ourselves.

If none of this convinces you that this man Narendra Modi is a threat to us, then “I” by the powers vested in me by the Secular Council of India declare you all Right Wing Trolls

By the way, we will claim we got death threats from anyone that even dares to counter this article. We will write to all the press councils including the one we plan to establish in the Secular Republic of Mars. The Martians have already promised us a  show of solidarity saying they will play victims stating that Right Wing aka “Hindu Extremists” used vaporizers on them.

Irony dies a painful death: Man seeking justice for Kathua rape victim, faces domestic violence charges himself

Jhankar Mohta
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Irony dies a painful death: Man seeking justice for Kathua rape victim, faces domestic violence charges himself

As reported by Indian Express, Talib Hussain, a social activist and advocate who led an agitation seeking justice for the eight-year-old girl, brutally gang-raped and murdered in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, has been booked for alleged domestic violence and attempt to kill his wife over dowry.

The FIR was lodged against Talib Hussain after a preliminary inquiry by the police, following a complaint made by his wife, Nusrat Begum, 30. The directions for an inquiry came on Thursday from Shabnam Sheikh, Munsiff, Samba, and also the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

According to the police, Nusrat Begum, married to Talib, for three years, having two children with him, went with a written complaint along with court orders to the police station along with her father, Mohammad Tahir and nearly a dozen neighbours.

The FIR was registered after the neighbours told the police that Nusrat had been living along with her two minor daughters at her father’s home since her husband allegedly physically assaulted her for dowry, Samba SSP Anil Magotra said.

Talib has been booked under various provisions of Ranbir penal court (RPC), including domestic violence, demanding dowry, threatening to divorce his wife and making an attempt to murder her. However, the police said that they plan to get Nusrat’s statement recorded before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) before proceeding against Talib in the matter.

Talib Hussain’s brother too has also been booked for molestation and having common intention to intimidate Nusrat Begum.

Not very long back Talib Hussain was seen actively leading the fight for justice for the Kathua rape victim. In fact, his proactiveness and dedication to seek justice for the victim had earned him a title of a ‘Braveheart’ for standing tall to fight the barbaric injustice even as political parties played the blame game.

At this juncture, a brief on Talib Hussain’s past seems to be crucial, considering he had been exalted by the media for his prodigious efforts in the Kathua murder case.

A 16-page report of the 5-member Bar Council of India (BCI) team on the Kathua murder case had, on the one hand, satisfied those demanding CBI probe into the case to identify and punish the real culprits and, on the other, made people hail the report which wanted verification of the credentials of Talib Hussain.

Talib Hussain had allegedly attempted to murder a scholar of Jammu University, Kapil Shastri on September 13, 2013. There is FIR No. 226/2013 against him: Talib Hussain V/s 307, 147, 148 Police Station Gandhi Nagar. He is facing trial at Sessions Court Jammu. He was also expelled from Jammu University after an Inquiry Committee found him “guilty”

His sudden appearance in Kathua district hospital where the victim’s body was sent for an autopsy, which is 350 km away from his hometown ‘Poonch’ within 2 hours of the case getting popular, had raised doubts in the minds of the villagers, forcing them to think that his presence was preplanned and that the entire incident was used as a mere propaganda tool.

Though the police are still doing their job trying to probe the matter, one is left to think that this is a matter of sheer hypocrisy and abashment that the man who left no stone unturned to fight for a woman’s justice and rights, standing up against atrocities committed against them, has himself been engaging in domestic violence- abusing a woman, mentally and physically assaulting her.

Fact-check: Was a ‘Hindu man stabbed for adopting a Muslim baby’ as claimed by CNN-News18?

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: Was a ‘Hindu man stabbed for adopting a Muslim baby’ as claimed by CNN-News18?

CNN News 18, had on 29th June reported a stabbing incident in Hyderabad. According to their report, a Hindu man was stabbed 16 times in Hyderabad because he had adopted an orphaned Muslim child after the 2007 blasts.


In the report, it was stated that people from both the communities had objected to him raising a Muslim child as his own and this led to a vicious attack on him.

However, Hyderabad City police had busted the claims by stating the facts on Twitter.


Hyderabad City Police clarified that the case was one of personal grudge and animosity and there is no communal angle involved. The accused Balakrishna was warned previously by the victim Papalal and had developed a grudge against him.

Journalist Swati Goel Sharma shared a news clip from earlier the month when the man Papalal was stabbed. Interestingly, the stabbing incident was reported on June 3, almost a month ago. According to the report, the accused Balakrishna and Sumit were regular eve-teasers in the Chudi bazar area and Papalal had confronted them. Papalal had reportedly warned both Balakrishna and Sumit before not to visit their lane and they had developed a grudge. The report also mentioned that Papalal’s wife stated that they have complained earlier about the regular eve-teasing incidents but no action was taken.


The FIR filed on the incident by the wife of Papalal also does not mention any communal angle. In fact, it mentions the accused as regular eve-teasers and conflict mongers.

Another media outlet The Deccan Herald had also reported the incident on June 18 as one of communally motivated violence because Papalal had adopted a Muslim girl. Going even a step further than CNN News 18, this report stated that ‘a gang of Hindu men’ attacked Papalal because he had adopted a Muslim child.

Now that the Hyderabad Police have denied any communal angle in the case, it is being questioned why did the media outlets project the incident as that of communally motivated violence, even going ahead to project that the Hindus in the area suddenly attacked Papalal for adopting a Muslim child, 11 years after the adoption.

How the media propagated a casteist lie about the Jagannath Temple, Puri

Sambit Nayak
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How the media propagated a casteist lie about the Jagannath Temple, Puri

President Shri Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita visited Shri Jagannath temple at Puri on 18th March this year. Soon, a report in the media suggested that a meeting between Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) members have discussed the ill-treatment meted out to the President and his wife. There was possibly breach of President’s security cordon. It also said some servitors allegedly milled around Savita Kovind, while she was offering prayers inside the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, leading to occasional jostling.

It’s worthwhile to note that, Rashtrapati Bhavan neither through any letter nor any note has ever written to SJTA about any harassment whatsoever. It was only discussed in a meeting between SJTA members headed by Puri collector Arvind Agrawal and the collector has reportedly launched a probe on this. In fact, after Rashtrapati Bhavan’s denial, the servitor association has filed an FIR against the collector and SJTA chief for falsely accusing priests of misbehaving with President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife.

However, none of this comes in the way of propaganda for the fact-free “journalists”, “activist” and Lutyen’s brigade. They immediately added the caste angle to it and started spreading the canard that the “Bramhin” priest allegedly misbehaved with President Kovind because he is a Dalit. Their story has so many holes that even a full grown Elephant can pass through it.

Let me cite a few:

On June 28th, Shekhar Gupta, the brand new President of the Editor’s Guild tweeted that it was no surprise that President Kovind and his wife were ‘treated so boorishly’ by ‘casteist priests’ at Puri.

What eminent coup theorist fails to note, is that among 36 types of servitors, nijoga as it is called, most of them are not even Brahmins. For example, the servitors who prepare the earthen pot for cooking Mahaprasad are potters (Kumbhara). In fact, the class of priest who enjoys the highest privilege, Daitapati, are descendants of tribals. They enjoy some exclusive privilege and access during the annual Rath Yatra and Nabakalebara when the Lord takes a new form leaving His old body.

There are many other classes of servitors like the Suara, Bhoi, Bimanabadu, Bishoi etc who are not Brahmins and enjoy equal privilege inside temple performing some duty of the Lord. So, this imaginary theory that President was ill-treated because he was a Dalit falls flat on its face. But then, we can’t expect Shekhar Gupta to rely on facts, can we?

Gujarat MLA, funded by PFI and serial abuser, Jignesh Mevani went a step further and attributed this to Manusmriti and BJP.

Neither the rituals nor the daily affairs of the temple are administered by Manusmriti. In fact, most Odia, including yours truly will have no idea what Manusmriti is. The temple is run by SJTA headed by an  IAS officer of Odisha cadre reporting to Odisha state government. The committee reports to CM and Law ministry of Odisha. The servitors are on the payrolls of Odisha government led by BJD. We had written about it in the past but the Vadgam MLA has to lie about God and His adobe to score cheap political points.

Eminent historian Ram Guha invokes Indira Gandhi to take a cheap jibe at the Pandas and lies conveniently to further his agenda.

It is true that only Hindus are allowed into the temple. It includes Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs as well. The temple was invaded and closed 18 times in the past due to attack on the structure and the deity. Madala Panji, which chronicles the temple history since 12th AD stands as a living testament to this.

Hence, Indira Gandhi, who was married to a Parsi, was not allowed to enter into the shrine by the temple rulebooks. In fact, there is a long list of eminent people, who were not allowed inside the temple for the very same reason. But while at it, Shri Guha conveniently lied about Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji was not allowed because he was travelling with an entourage of Muslims and Christians and not because he sought to abolish untouchability as Guha suggests.

It is not untrue that the servitors at Puri temple in the past have misbehaved and even assaulted people. Fistfights have broken out in the temple leading to the filing of FIR and suspension of servitors. However, they don’t ask your caste, creed or social strata before insulting you. They are equal opportunity offenders. So let’s not play caste card where it is not applicable.

At the end of it, may I request the secular elites to keep Mahaprabhu and His abode free from their cheap politics and stinking agenda? We have issues in the temple but we are way better off without the cabal and their self-righteous virtues.

PVR multiplex staff beaten up by Raj Thackeray’s MNS party worker

OpIndia Staff
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PVR multiplex staff beaten up by Raj Thackeray’s MNS party worker

First the street vendors now a multiplex staff, Raj Thackeray’s party workers are often caught throwing around their weight.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party workers including a former corporate, Kishor Shinde on Thursday thrashed the PVR multiplex staff at PVR Icon multiplex located at Senapati Bapat Road, Pune over the high pricing of food items sold at the multiplex.

A video recorded which went viral on social media, caught the party workers assaulting the multiplex staff. Thereafter Pune police registered a case against the party workers at Chatuhshrungi police station.


Speaking to DNA, Shinde admitted that his party workers thrashed the theatre staff. “These multiplexes are overpricing the food items and recently even the Bombay High Court also questioned the state government over the high pricing at the multiplexes. Based on those reports, we had gone to various multiplexes asking them the logic behind the high pricing,” Shinde said.

“At PVR however, when we asked the staff if he has read the news, he said that he does not know Marathi so he could not read Marathi newspaper. When we asked him the explanation of high pricing, instead of giving the explanation, he said, those who can purchase food items should visit the multiplex. Our party workers got annoyed with his arrogant answer and some of them slapped him,” he added.

Earlier, last year, The Raj Thackeray led party members went to the station for checking the encroachment near Western Line, where they were beaten up by rods and sticks as they tried to evacuate the hawkers. The MNS, known for going after the migrant labourers in Mumbai, for the first time, themselves had got thrashed.

Humiliated by his party workers getting a dose of their own medicine from the hawkers they were attacking, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had threatened to sack party office bearers if something like that happened again. One is left to wonder what Raj Thackeray’s reaction would be at this shameful act. Not surprised, if he applauds his people this time, as he once said proudly: ‘In MNS, we beat up people, we don’t get beaten up’.

Question paper for Congress media spokesperson and talent hunt ‘exam’ gets leaked

Jhankar Mohta
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Question paper for Congress media spokesperson and talent hunt ‘exam’ gets leaked

As reported by DNA, Congress, perhaps, understanding the need to include few well-informed people in the party has decided to select spokespersons and other office-bearers for it’s Uttar Pradesh unit through a ‘talent hunt competition’, which would include a tough written test followed by a gruelling interview. However, shockingly, the question paper was leaked before the candidates can take the exam, via WhatsApp.

A few days back, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) President Raj Babbar had suddenly decided to dissolve four departments of the state unit, including administration, organization, finance and the media. While the first two departments were restored in a span of 24 hours the new team for the other two are yet to be decided upon.

The UPCC President had banned over two dozen party spokespersons from talking to media on behalf of the party until a new media team was selected.  These so-called spokespersons, who were heretofore acting as ‘TV shouters’, ‘Paper Tigers’ and ‘Social Media Warriors’, were suddenly rendered jobless.

The age-old spokespersons of the so-called media team had found a place for themselves by bootlicking the ‘self-proclaimed members of the royal family’, ‘Sonia Ji’, ‘Rahul Baba’ and ‘Priyanka di’ during their annual or election time visits to Rae Bareli and Amethi rather than exhibiting their competence, experience, knowledge, communication skills to defend the cynical party in Uttar Pradesh.

These loyalists to the Gandhi family who had made their way by back-scratching were in a rude shock when informed about the selection of new media team through AICC President(Rahul Gandhi)-approved Talent Hunt program. They were asked to submit their applications and be ready to face a written test and interview.

The much-awaited ‘Talent Hunt’ program by UPCC was held on Thursday when about 70 aspirants to find a place in the media team appeared for the written test followed by the interview conducted by the AICC Communication Cell Convenor Priyanka Chaturvedi and Rohan Gupta.

As expected from the members of this perfidious party, it surfaced that some Congress service team worker took the photograph of the question paper and put it on the WhatsApp before the examination, because of which the paper leaked. Although, the examination was held later and all the Congressmen gave the exam.

Though the results would be declared on Saturday, the parties old wardens were seen lamenting over this process of selection saying “We are serving the party for decades, not for this day that my loyalty and experience would be put to test before newcomers.” One of the other loyalists fumed saying “We are into politics not aspirants for civil services to go through written test and interview process.” It seems this decision to revamp the party has not gone down well with the old members who very much like the ‘self-proclaimed royal family’ thinks it’s their birthright to carry on the legacy.

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