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Humans of Hindutva should shut up : This is a free country, I’ll write whatever the heck I want

Ahmed Shariff
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Humans of Hindutva should shut up : This is a free country, I’ll write whatever the heck I want

Editor’s Note: Ahmed Shariff is Bangalore based blogger and standup comedian. Shariff identifies himself as a moderate Muslim and has been vocal in voicing his views on the extremists and how minorities are being played by the ‘liberal’ media. He has also come out in support of activist Tommy Robinson, who has been arrested in the UK for reporting on a paedophile grooming trial. For his views on Robinson and for writing for OpIndia, Shariff was targetted by hate mongering Facebook page masquerading as ‘parody‘, ‘Humans of Hindutva’. Shariff has written a response to Humans of Hindutva, which we are sharing verbatim, with his permission.

As a rule, I don’t start fights on the internet (anymore), but you started this, and here’s what I have to say:

Your asinine insults and ignorant comments full off sweeping generalizations and misrepresentations and overwhelming ignorance about Islam and Muslims clearly betray the fact that you have never in your life read a page of the Quran, never stepped into a mosque, never bothered speaking to an actual Muslim. Cuz if you did, you would know all moderate/progressive Muslims are on the side of Tommy Robinson (in this case at least) and appreciate the good work he is doing to uncover the filth. This is what happens when you spend too much time in front of a computer screen and too little time in the real world. Don’t believe me? Sorry to break your bubble, but prominent progressive Muslims leaders and public figures have come out in support of Tommy Robinson. Here. Read and weep:

Imam Tawhidi –


Tarek Fatah –


Maajid Nawaz –

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FniPiSLut8]

Such loathe. Much Islamophobia. Wow.

Also, look at this clip, where he’s hating on a Muslim and a non-white. Look at him. Just look at him, the animal! :’-(

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh2NuzL5vTI]

Clearly, you have not bothered to listen to the other side of the story. You have just vomited out whatever you heard from your libtard rag echo chambers.

Fun fact: Tommy Robinson has distanced himself from EDL – a fact pointed out by one of your OWN FOLLOWERS on your timeline. It was a pleasure seeing you get ripped by your own followers.

As for my OpIndia articles, did you even read what I wrote? If you get your head out of… whatever orifice it’s stuck in, and read from a neutral non-biased perspective, you will see that I have stayed as neutral and non-partisan as possible, criticized ALL sides. Tell me where I have “a**-kissed Brahmins.” All I did was call out liberal media on their fear-mongering tactics. They claim to be on the side of minorities but are doing more harm than good. But hey, facts don’t matter to you, you had already decided what you wanted to write about me, and went ahead with it anyway – not like your sheep-brained followers would bother to cross-check. I could have posted a kitten video, it would have made no difference to you.

Yes, Tommy Robinson is no fan of Islam, he has criticized Islam in very harsh words, that’s a different issue and I am very aware of that. But here, he is 100% correct in calling out the British government’s inaction and hypocrisy. And he has never shied away from calling out violent radicals – something even we moderate Muslims do. Parents and community elders strictly warn us, youngsters – “Stay away from the bearded folk.” Did you know this?

Besides, you are not even focusing on the main issue here. Thousands of kids got raped! Does that mean anything to you, you subhuman creature!?

I have been following the stories of Britain’s Islamic radicalization since the mid-2000s, since the days of Anjem Choudhary, long before your turd of a page was up before even Facebook and Twitter came into existence. There is something very shady going on. Tommy Robinson has been hounded and harassed for years by the establishment which is acting suspicious like they are trying to cover something up. He has been arrested before on technicalities, clearly, the government has it for him – so it is not an inaccurate statement when one says he was “arrested for reporting on paedophile gangs.”

You are a well-known joke on the Indian internet, and when I made a tweet about your arrogant and condescending post, you made another follow-up post about that where you said you have “merely pointed out my inaccuracies” but as the screenshots below show, you have clearly done a lot more than that. Own up to what you did, you lying slimeball! You didn’t just benevolently point out my inaccuracies, you have accused me of “sucking Hindutva c***” and “being employed” by far-right publications and have incited your followers who called me names like “Uncle Tom,” and “Black Republican” and “Kanye West of India.” You are no better than the bhakts and alt-right trolls you claim to take on.

Post by Facebook page ‘Humans of Hindutva’ targeting Ahmed Shariff.
Facebook user calling out Humans of Hindutva’s lack of logic.
‘Humans of Hindutva’ page triggered by Shariff’s reaction and not toeing the line.
‘Humans of Hindutva’ showing his strange obsession with OpIndia

And no, I won’t write about “Hindus and child marriage” because it’s not a subject I know much about. I’m sure there is enough material on the internet about it already.

I swear I haven’t been paid a single rupee, I felt I had to write these articles to defuse communal tensions which were spiralling out of control. I wrote from the heart, I’m not doing this for money or fame. I wrote because someone had to undo the damage done by you. I’m getting paid you say? That’s a pretty damning accusation. Unless you have copies of my receipts, you can shut up!

As someone who claims to be champion of minorities, you did not shy away from calling me “miyaan” in a slur-like condescending manner. Listen, bud – I am not your miyaan, I am not your bhaijaan and I am not your Abdul Puncturewaala!
Someone who accuses me of “sucking Hindutva c***” doesn’t realize he himself is “sucking Muslim c***.”

I am about to drop a really inconvenient truth now – the worst enemy of Muslims in India are not “ Fascist Brahmins” or “Jews” – it’s Muslims themselves. It’s Muslims lack of willingness to think progressively and be more open-minded is what’s keeping them backward. The community is in desperate need of reforms. Period. This point has also been reiterated by community elders and sermons in mosques where Imams say things like “Ghair qaum ko shikaayat ka mauka mat do.” (Don’t give non-Muslims a reason to complain about us). And you don’t you DARE argue with me about this, me and my family have done a lot of charity/NGO work in backward Muslim areas in my native Mysore, we know what we have seen. Doesn’t matter how much assistance you give people if they are not willing to help themselves. This is reasonable criticism and self-introspection, but you and your ilk cry “Islamophobia.”

Some of us chose to educate ourselves and join mainstream society, live with dignity, and refuse to be “victims” and “oppressed.” But you don’t like that, do you? You WANT us to be victims, I must just shut up and play my part in the script you SJWs have written for me. I cannot voice my own thoughts, cannot have an opinion that deviates from your narrative. Well, guess what…I don’t need your hoity-toity highness to lecture me on how to live my life! Yes, as a minority in India, I am very much hounded and harassed – by liberals! I’m sick of you disconnected-from-reality rich kids pouncing on me whenever I deviate from your script. calling me names and like Uncle Tom, Kanye West, racist, sexist, Islamophobe, homophobe, this -ist, that -phobe, enough is enough! The more you try to suppress my voice, the louder I will shout!

I was just a guy minding my own business, only “mistake” I made is writing a couple of things that went against the leftist narrative, questioned the hypocrisy. The hate and vitriol I received for that was unbelievable! It’s your constant name-calling and shaming and harassment that radicalized me. You created this monster, you deal with it now. I refuse to be a puppet in your kabuki theatre, this is a free country, I’ll write whatever the heck I want! Speaking of which, I’m writing more articles for OpIndia, & might even start my own podcast soon. So stock up on the burnol, Bucko!

P.S. Hope that was “mercilessly savage” enough.

DK Shivakumar says CBI might raid 11 MLAs : Inside information or diverting attention from missing Rahul?

OpIndia Staff
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DK Shivakumar says CBI might raid 11 MLAs : Inside information or diverting attention from missing Rahul?

The Karnataka man of the match for the Congress party, DK Shivakumar held an urgent press conference today and looked agitated while alleging that the CBI was about to raid 11 MLAs of the Congress party including him.

He said, “there is no question of bowing under any pressure. These politically motivated raids and the warrants have come from agencies that come under BJP’s control,” after alleging that BJP was indulging in “vendetta politics” and that it will not stop them from doing the work of the party and abiding by the law of the land.

He reportedly also said that the BJP has also been hounding him and his brother to jump ship and join the BJP and that the central agencies should not bow to political pressure, hinting that the CBI raids that are supposedly going to be conducted against him, his brother and their associates.

Karnataka saw the high octane political drama unfold when after the assembly elections that saw BJP emerge as the single largest party with 104 seats, BS Yeddyurappa, resigned as the Chief Minister after just a few hours. This move came in the light of BJP not being able to get the numbers to prove their majority on the floor of the house.

After the drama that unfolded and Kumaraswamy took oath as the CM, in a grand event that showcased the might of the united opposition, Rahul Gandhi absconded yet again. This time to tend to his mother, Sonia Gandhi who went abroad for her “routine checkup”.

In lieu of the prince missing, Karnataka has been left Cabinet less since the oath-taking ceremony. While Kumaraswamy has displayed his subservience to Congress and Rahul Gandhi, fact remains that Karnataka is now being ruled by a weak Chief Minister who has no cabinet and prefers to meet radical Islamist outfits like PFI and SDPI in his free time.

Whether DK Shivakumar has any inside information on whether the CBI is planning to raid MLAs cannot be confirmed other than the fact that he says he does. His premises were also raided in the past when a huge cache of cash was recovered from the premises.

In the backdrop of the cabinet-less Karnataka, if one views DK Shivakumar’s statements today, one wonders if Shivakumar is actually attempting to buy time in order to divert attention from the fact that Karnataka is at the moment running on autopilot mode or that Rahul Gandhi is out of the country when he should be deciding on Karnataka’s governance issues, since the Chief Minister of Karnataka repeatedly says that he can’t do anything without Rahul’s permission or is possible that Shivakumar is simply preempting the defections that could happen from Congress or JD(S) considering their alliance was travelling through rocky roads even before Kumaraswamy was sworn in as CM.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission beats Israel, distributes 1000 honey bee boxes to create world record

Sanghamitra
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Khadi and Village Industries Commission beats Israel, distributes 1000 honey bee boxes to create world record

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has created a world record by giving away 1000 honey bee boxes to tribal residents in Kaziranga. According to reports, the distribution was done to mark the World Honey Bee Day on 20th May.

The distribution of the 1000 boxes was claimed as a world record for giving away the maximum number of Honey Bee boxes. The previous record was of 841 boxes distributed in Israel two years ago. KVIC chairman Vinay Saxena distributed the boxes among members of the Minshi tribe in Kaziranga.


The KVIC also distributed 200 gram Honey bottles to schoolkids on the occasion.


The KVIC has reportedly stated that it has a target of distributing 1 lakh 30 thousand honey bee boxes across the country by November 2018. So far they have distributed 27,000 boxes. KVIC is reportedly the nodal agency in the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) and it also provides loans for setting up units in villages for processing, packaging and labelling of honey. Prime Minister Modi had last year called for a ‘sweet revolution’ in the line of previous white, green and blue revolutions, to increase production of honey in the country.


KVIC also imparts training to locals for honey production. Bees have great environmental significance and their population helps to maintain the diversity of flora and fauna. The KVIC is hopeful that the honey bee boxes would help to achieve the target of at least 30,000 kg of high-quality honey in the area.

The KVIC has selected 100 individuals for the training in Kaziranga and provided 10 boxes to each. Beekeeping in the forest areas not only help the tribals to earn a decent livelihood with minimum investment but also helps in the conservation of natural habitats in ecologically sensitive areas. The ‘Honey Mission‘ data by the KVIC states that at present India has about 2.5 lakh beekeepers and wild honey collectors maintaining about 25 lakh bee colonies and producing roughly 70,000 metric tons of honey annually. The value of the total honey produced is estimated at Rs 770 crores.

‘Vyapam whistleblower’ Anand Rai shares photographs of female journalist without her consent, mocks her

OpIndia Staff
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‘Vyapam whistleblower’ Anand Rai shares photographs of female journalist without her consent, mocks her

Self-proclaimed ‘Vyapam whistleblower’ Anand Rai, who has a history of sharing fake news and morphed images, posted a photograph of Jagrati Shukla, a journalist with Lok Sabha TV, mocking her for wearing ‘saffron’ coloured kurta. The photograph was originally posted by Shukla on her timeline, which Rai saved and posted from his account saying that if tv anchors themselves wear saffron, how can one expect neutrality from them?

The photograph posted by Anand Rai to mock Jagrati

This is not the first time he has shared Jagrati’s pictures without her consent. In a picture shared earlier this month, he said Jagrati has ‘finally’ been ‘awarded’ for her ‘Modi bhakti’ as after ‘months of unemployment’ she has now found a job with Lok Sabha TV.

Another photograph of Jagrati shared by Anand Rai without her consent

This behaviour of Anand Rai, where he acts like a lowly, sexist, vulgar troll, is not new. Earlier he has been caught spreading fake news and Photoshopped images and then deleting them when called out. He had shared an image of Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani where she is posing with an astrologer, wrongly calling the astrologer Virendra Dev Dixit, a self-styled godman accused of forcibly confining women and children as well as rape. Not only that, he even said that Irani had gone to meet Delhi’s ‘spiritual sexual university’s’ rapist Baba for ‘Prasad’.

Anand Rai’s highly derogatory and sexist tweet on Smriti Irani

When he is not insinuating and slandering women on Twitter, Rai is busy sharing fake news. He had earlier shared fake news of the death of veteran actor Dilip Kumar, a tweet he deleted after being called out.

Anand Rai sharing fake news of Dilip Kumar’s death.

He had also shared an image of a slain terrorist and claimed that he was not a terrorist, but a farmer protesting, killed by the government.

Image of terrorist which he called ‘son of farmer’.

While the verdict is still out on Vyapam case, the fact that a person who calls himself ‘whistleblower’ for the alleged scam posts such fake and Photoshopped images casts aspersions on his credibility.

Not surprisingly, the crusaders who fight against online abuse to women are silent on this one.

Shiv Sena reaches new level of pettiness, parting shots at EC, calling it a “Mistress” of a political party

Jhankar Mohta
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Shiv Sena reaches new level of pettiness, parting shots at EC, calling it a “Mistress” of a political party

As reported, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut today, passed a cutting remark calling the Election Commision a ‘Tawaif'(Mistress) of a political party, amid the ongoing squabble over a glitch in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during bypolls in four Lok Sabha constituencies.

He slammed the Election Commission for not taking any action even though, he alleged that Shiv Sena had caught BJP workers red-handed distributing money during Palghar bypoll. “People are losing faith in the voting system,” he added.

In Palghar, the bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga. The caterwauling BJP ally Shiv Sena has fielded the late MP’s son Srinivas in a bid to garner the sympathy vote.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a vehement and derogatory attack lashing out at the BJP and the Election Commission ahead of the Palghar bypolls.

https://youtu.be/rEm7lU-clD0

Taking the recent attack by the opposition on the EC and BJP government to a whole new level, Thackrey wrote in an editorial named Saamna, which is undoubtedly a mouthpiece of the Sena, that there was no point calling India the world’s largest economy anymore as the current government has been treating democracy as their mistress.

He made a direct allegation, saying that the BJP has tampered with the EVMs and is using it for political gain and went on to say that the Election Commission is not seeing the corruption and is not hearing the complaints.

Thackeray said that the government is trying to stay in power for life, comparing it with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, of Russia and China respectively.

The Shiv Sena is one of the oldest ally of the BJP’s, yet the sordid attitude the party resorts to towards its ally is rather reprobating. Recently the Sena chief, in a write up in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, had slammed Yogi Adityanath’s recent visit to Palghar and said he felt like hitting him with his own footwear.

Launching a scathing attack at the Shiv Sena chief, the UP CM said he doesn’t need to learn manners from him. The war of words between Shiv Sena and BJP does not seem to stop here. This high voltage drama will definitely heighten as Uddhav Thackeray claims he is all set for Lok Sabha elections next year.

The Shiv Sena chief’s grouse against the BJP is forever increasing. Earlier too he has targeted PM Modi, showing his displeasure when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on an eight-kilometer-long roadshow from the airport to Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. The two tried their hand at the charkha and bonded over a round of kite flying. On this Thackeray commented that the PM should have hoisted the flag in Kashmir instead of flying kites.

https://youtu.be/-18E5c8IDU0

Uddhav Thackeray seems to be in high dudgeon always ready to vent spleen at any given point of time. It seems he has gone through a complete mental breakdown, lashing out at anybody and everybody.

Last year Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray flew off the handle when faced when a barrage of questions was posed to him on the monsoon preparedness of the party-ruled Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or MCGM, a day after heavy rains virtually clogged the city. Irritated by the media persons he told the reporters to “stop the rains yourself”. Responding to Thackeray’s outburst, BJP city party president, Shelar had said, “Instead of speaking in an arrogant tone, you should humbly apologize to stranded people and rectify your mistakes.”

It seems as if the Shiv Sena chief as made Modi vs All his personal narrative. In his quest to defeat BJP, Shiv Sena is open to joining the grand alliance of opposition parties if a proposal comes his way. Earlier though, Shiv Sena has announced that it will contest 2019 Lok Sabha polls alone.

The power crusade often urges the politicians to take bizarre decisions and form outlandish alliances. The parties and leaders who are polar opposites in ideology and policies often rally together when it suits them. Uddhav Thackrey had last year teamed up with the TMC in a bid to take on the BJP, and called on West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee who has always contested different ideologies. She has been meeting Uddhav Thackrey on several occasions since.

Shiv Sena in its pursuit to emerge as an anti-BJP force goes out of its way to humiliate everyone coming its way. However, it’s yet to be seen whether his claim of contesting 2019 Lok Sabha elections alone would pay him off or make him emerge as an underdog.

Modi policy takes Indo-Indonesian relationship to a new high

Anubhav
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Modi policy takes Indo-Indonesian relationship to a new high

India and Indonesia share a cultural heritage. In, 2013 a BBC world service poll found that 51% of the Indonesians view India and Indians in a positive light, with only 21% of them expressing a negative view about India.

The nation also shares an ancient Hindu philosophy with Indian. Rabindranath Tagore while visiting Bali stated –“wherever I go on the Island, I see god.” During the Indonesian National Revolution, India was among the first countries to recognize Indonesia. Despite all this, the bilateral relations between these two countries have been nominal.

In his recent and first official visit to Indonesia, Prime Minister Modi met with President Joko Widodo and both countries agreed to double their efforts to boost bilateral trade to 50 USD Billion by 2025. They also decided to co-operate on areas like defence, maritime security, trade, and economy.

In a joint statement, Modi stated that India and Indonesia have agreed to upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Both parties have also agreed to work extensively for the early conclusion of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and stated the importance of the agreement being comprehensive, fair and balanced will benefit all the member states.

Prime Minister Modi appreciated the increased number of Indonesian companies’ involvement in ‘Make in India’ initiative. India and Indonesia also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on health co-operation. They also mentioned the MoU on co-operation in the railways’ sector and how it will promote technical co-operation, exchange of knowledge, technology, and institutional co-operation. These are just a few of the 15 MoU’s signed between India and Indonesia in Prime Minister Modi’s inaugural visit to Indonesia.

According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), trade between two countries in 2016 was 12.9 billion USD and it rose by 28.7% to 18.13 billion USD in 2017 with Indonesia’s exports to India reaching around 14.08 billion USD. The bilateral trade has increased from 6.9 billion USD in 2007-08 to 20 billion USD in 2013-14.

There was just one incident that could cause discord between India and Indonesia, in 1965 Indonesia offered to help Pakistan by dispatching submarines to seize Andaman and Nicobar islands in an effort to distract India from the Kashmir front. That was resolved by a signing of a maritime agreement between the two countries.

Both leaders agreed to co-operate in the promotion of energy efficiency technologies, new and renewable technologies, the statement stated.

Islamists attack Aamir Khan for playing with his daughter and posting food pictures during Ramzan

OpIndia Staff
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Islamists attack Aamir Khan for playing with his daughter and posting food pictures during Ramzan

One of the most special bonds in the world is that of a father and his daughter. As an expression of that special bond, Aamir Khan, Bollywood actor shared a picture through the social networking website, Facebook. In the picture, Aamir Khan was seen with his daughter Ira.

As soon as Aamir Khan uploaded this picture, there was a flurry of obscene comments from radical Islamists attacking Aamir Khan and his daughter. Many attacked Aamir for the “obscene” picture during the month of Ramzan. Some even went to the extent of attributing sexual overtures to the picture.

A Facebook user called ‘Ashiq Bhat’ said the picture was “unaccepted”. He attacked Khan for sharing it during the month of Ramzan and said the people who don’t respect their religion would face the wrath of God.

In a particularly disgusting comment, one said that the picture could be turned into a “porn movie” and that Aamir Khan would even be paid for it.

Another said a “non-practice Muslim = non-Muslim”.

The horrific comments just don’t seem to end.

Aamir Khan also had a lot of hate directed towards him for uploading pictures of him eating during the month of Ramzan. The album was evidently of him and his family celebrating the 60th Birthday of Mansoor, his cousin and also the Director of the movie Qayamat se Qayamat tak.


This is not the first time fundamentalists have attacked celebrities. Today, Hina Khan, a popular television artist was also asked by Islamists to dress appropriately during Ramzan. A popular Bengali actress Nusrat Jahan was earlier insulted on Facebook for celebrating Durga Puja as it was ‘inappropriate’. Cricketer Mohammad Kaif was trolled by Muslim fundamentalists for celebrating Christmas with family. He was also attacked for doing Surya Namaskar. Cricketer Irfan Pathan, too, was told by fundamentalists that Raksha Bandhan is ‘against Islam’.

Mohammed Shami too has had his share of such incidents. In July last year he was trolled for celebrating the birthday of his daughter. They were offended especially by ‘the way Shami celebrated’ the birthday. He also in the past had to deal with angry comments for the photo of his wife in a gown.

Also it isn’t just Indian cricketers who have been plagued by such incidents. Even English cricketer Moeen Ali was trolled on Twitter for drawing a picture because he was going against the traditions of Islam.

‘Came to power with blessings of Congress, will take decision only after they approve’, Kumaraswamy on farmer loan waiver

OpIndia Staff
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‘Came to power with blessings of Congress, will take decision only after they approve’, Kumaraswamy on farmer loan waiver

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy while addressing media today said that he has come to power with blessings of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and not people of Karnataka and hence he will take the decision regarding farmer loan waiver only after Congress approves.


Earlier, too, Kumaraswamy had said without Congress’ permission he can’t do anything as he is indebted to the grand old party. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, is missing in action since he is travelling abroad with his mother for her ‘annual health checkup’ as Karnataka government struggles to keep themselves together.

Meanwhile, he has promised to waive off farmers’ loan in 15 days, after discussing the same with Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

The Karnataka Chief Minister was holding meetings with state farmers for discussing issues like farm loan waiver and drought issues. He also placed certain new conditions on farmers to claim the benefit. He had earlier promised of waiving off Rs. 53,000 crores of farm loans taken by farmers from 2009 to 2017. But now, he has said that certain classes of farmers who have taken farm loans in urban co-operative banks, elected members of Parliament, state legislature and local bodies, directors of co-operative societies and income tax paying farmers cannot be eligible for the scheme.

The opposition party led by B S Yeddyurappa and many farmers’ association have protested against the decision of Kumaraswamy’s decision to not waive-off loans.

Involvement of UPA era aviation minister suspected in the ‘Air Asia Scam’ : Times Now

OpIndia Staff
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Involvement of UPA era aviation minister suspected in the ‘Air Asia Scam’ : Times Now

In a possible case of skeletons tumbling out of the closet, a Times Now report suspects the involvement of an UPA era aviation minister in what is being dubbed as an ‘Air Asia scam’:


The report alleges that erstwhile civil aviation minister Ajit Singh was paid a bribe of Rs 10 crore try and get the 5/20 rule relaxed thereby benefiting the airline. Under this said rule, any domestic airline needed a minimum of 5 years of experience in aviation and a fleet of 20 aircrafts to qualify for an international flying license.

This bribe related accusation as the the report has emerged during a privileged conversation between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI. The report also claimed that the alleged bribe being paid to the minister and his officials would have been enough to get an exemption with regards to the rule.

The genesis of this allegation as per the report, is a statement made by an unknown CEO to enforcement authorities under a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case.

This development comes just a day after the CBI had booked a Congress era lobbyist Deepak Talwar along with Air Asia’s CEO Tony Fernandes, airline’s director R Venkatraman, Director of SNR Trading Rajendra Dubey and unnamed government officials on charges of flouting for obtaining international flying licenses.

The lobbyist Deepak Talwar who is officially designated as an “aviation consultant” is reported to have made about Rs 1000 crores between 2008 and 2011 for influencing aviation policies of the UPA government to favour his clients. These airlines supposedly include Air Asia, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Air Arabia.

Talwar has also been linked to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh following recovery of some files by the Income Tax department in 2016.

Politicians and lost sense of humour: Jyotiraditya Scindia falls for satire ‘dowry calculator’ website

Nirwa Mehta
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Politicians and lost sense of humour: Jyotiraditya Scindia falls for satire ‘dowry calculator’ website

Disclaimer: This post in no way approves of or condones the practice of giving or taking dowry.

We live in such times in India that we have blurred the lines between satire and reality. No wonder many fall for parody accounts on social media because the jokes are also so believable. We’ve earlier written how scientist and columnist Anand Ranganathan’s brilliant tweets have been taken for real, triggering many. Recently, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Congress leader and MP from Guna, Madhya Pradesh, fell for a satire website ‘dowry calculator‘. He took to Twitter to inform the Prime Minister and Ministry of Women and Child Development, in hopes that the website which encourages the shameful act of dowry is taken down.


Unless you’ve lived under a rock, you would have come across this website years ago. But it seems Scindia hadn’t. Being a politician is a tough job, after all, it took him 16 years to ask for a government bungalow in Guna where he reportedly travels a lot for work.

General give-away signs that ‘dowry calculator’ is a satire website

One of the tell-tale signs that the website predates manufactured outrage is that the groom’s alma mater does not have Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as an option.

Where is JNU?

As a joke, we put in details of a fictional groom in the ‘dowry calculator’.

Fictional ‘Savarna’ groom

If you had to marry him, your parents would’ve had to cough up over a crore rupees.

Worth of fictional groom

Unfortunately, the groom’s profession did not have an option of a politician, otherwise, we could’ve figured out market rate of politician kings, too.

Meanwhile, a lot of people corrected Scindia on his lack of abilities to detect satire.


A lot of men’s rights activists also turned up in his mentions to put forward cases of fake dowry allegations.


Amusingly, Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development, too fell for it, and tweeted she will get it examined, but deleted the tweet later.


This also shows how the problem of dowry is deep rooted in our society, even 70 years after independence, there are dowry-related deaths. So while dowry is no laughing matter, one only hopes the politicians verify facts and do not resort to fear mongering.

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