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Maulana Kasim caught in Indore for sexually assaulting several children

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana Kasim caught in Indore for sexually assaulting several children

Kasim Malik Ansari, 21, has been caught and handed over to police in Indore for the alleged abduction and sexual exploitation of minors. He has been kept in police custody where he has admitted to having sexually harassed four minors. He has also accepted abducting and raping several kids. Reportedly, after abducting the children on his motorcycle, he used to take them at some remote, desolate location.

An eight year old girl was allegedly abducted and sexually harassed by Maulana Kasim, a resident of Khajrana locality. When the girl visited a shop dealing with items of house construction, she spotted the maulana in the shop, where he was working as a mason, and identified him, he ran away. Few days later, the girl narrated what happened to her. The locals caught him and handed over to Khajrana Police.

In a similar incident, an 11 year old boy was allegedly abducted and harassed by him a few days ago. When the boy visited the Khajrana locality with his father again, he was terrified to see him there. Then the kid narrated to his father the ghastly acts done to him by the perpetrator.

After interrogation, the maulana admitted to harassing several kids. According to the police, he used to target the kids in the area where he would work after befriending them. He has been booked under section 376, 363 of the Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act.

‘New secularism’ of Indian liberals is a scary kind of fundamentalism

Abhishek Banerjee
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‘New secularism’ of Indian liberals is a scary kind of fundamentalism

A few years ago, Al-Shabab, the radical Islamist group in Somalia, made a decision to put a ban on samosas. The reason? All of a sudden, it was suggested that the triangular shape of the samosa might symbolize the Christian Trinity, making the samosa “un-Islamic.”

This is just an example of the level of foolishness that can result when hatred is taken to extreme levels. You start seeing ghosts everywhere.

How different is Al-Shabab’s 2011 war on samosas from what I call the “new secularism” that is practised by Indian liberals of today?

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How is Scroll’s fear of casteist rasam any different from Al-Shabab’s worries over the Christian Trinity Samosa?

Or take the New York Times article from last year about sarees being a symbol of Hindu nationalism. Suddenly, commonplace acts, such as the Government holding Banarasi textile exhibitions or Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani wearing sarees, were under a cloud of liberal suspicion. With much paranoia and horror, the New York Times informs its readers that Banaras is also

“…. one of the holiest cities for Hindus, who consider it the eternal home of Lord Shiva, the Supreme God.”

Presumably, therefore, the Banarasi saree becomes a symbol of Hindu nationalism. Again, how far from the Christian Trinity Samosa?

Indian secularism has always been built exclusively on the backs of Hindus. But in the last few years, it appears to have become a different beast altogether. This mutant form, which I call “new secularism” is much more aggressive than anything seen in the last few decades. With an Al-Shabab like mentality, this “new secularism” seeks not only to end Hinduism, it also seeks to wipe out every form of art, food, clothing or expression that might be remotely reminiscent of Hindu culture.

A journalist is making a routine trip through Noida when her eyes fall on a couple of guys with an “Angry Hanuman flag.” Her antennae go up instantly. Why is this Hanuman not smiling? Is this Hanuman threatening us? Oh my god! This is the kind of thought that can only occur to somebody with Hinduphobia so acute that she probably stays up at night worrying to herself … The Hindus are coming…. oh dear… The Hindus are coming.

The journalist dashes off an article to warn her fellow liberals about this brand new threat. Although the flags, posters and stickers she refers to have been viral on India’s roads for some years now, the wave of panic spreads quickly through the liberal community. One liberal in Bangalore declares she won’t ever step into an Ola or Uber with the Angry Hanuman sticker, for fear of sexual assault. Another liberal who works for one of the new liberal websites declares thus:

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It was always just that, a sticker. Then one day a liberal saw it and decided to associate it with Hindu militancy. Another decided to associate it with rape. This one wants to block everyone with that DP.

This is “new secularism,” a radical fundamentalist ideology that is scared of the mere existence of Hindus.

Like fearing the saree or fearing rasam, there is no end to what these fundamentalists fear.  An Indian American writer arrives from New York to talk about her book at a literary fest in India. She gets freaked out because the lamp and the flame in it are too “Hindu-looking.” The fire itself has become suspect.

Someone the other day brought to my attention this gem of an article in The Wire.

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Take a note of all the other things that the article decides to demonize besides Bharatanatyam.

Sindoor? Danger!

Ganesh Utsav? Danger!

Greetings of “Jai Shri Krishna”? Danger!

Bhajan Sandhya? Danger!

The thing that distinguishes fundamentalists from mere partisans is that irrational fear. A partisan would be happy as long as his favourite political formation rules the country. A fundamentalist is different. A fundamentalist goes around looking for things to fear: bowls of rasam, Banarasi sarees, Hanuman stickers, Bharatanatyam, lamps with flame in them, Sindoor or Bhajan Sandhyas.

And fundamentalists don’t stop…or rather they can’t stop until they have wiped out the object of their hatred. Hindus beware about his “new secularism”.

Tripura clean up drive : Illegal structures of an RSS affiliate, CPI(M) and Congress demolished

OpIndia Staff
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Tripura clean up drive : Illegal structures of an RSS affiliate, CPI(M) and Congress demolished

Only a day after 7 illegal structures were demolished by authorities in Tripura belonging to various political parties and their trade unions, the authorities have demolished three more; this time in G.B. Bazaar area. “We have demolished three more political offices at G B Bazar area as those were built illegally on government land. The offices belonged to Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, CPI(M) and INC,” West Tripura District Magistrate Ramteke told reporters.

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh is affiliated to the RSS, the parent organization of the BJP. Chief Minister Biplab Deb had asserted earlier that action would be taken on illegal structures regardless of their political affiliations. He had said, “If offices of any political party, including BJP, are found illegally on public land, action would be taken.”

Dr Ramteke indicated that the demolition drive is likely to continue. “We have identified 104 illegal structures of political parties and their affiliated organisations in West Tripura district. All the structures would be demolished in a phased manner,” he said.

Local CPI(M) and Congress leaders have registered a strong objection to the government’s action against illegal structures. CPI(M) Trade Union leader Manik Dey claimed that the demolition drive reminded him of the Emergency. Congress leaders staged protests against the move and claimed that the drive exceeded martial law.

RSS worker murdered by radical Islamists and the void he has left behind

OpIndia Staff
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RSS worker murdered by radical Islamists and the void he has left behind

Rudresh who used to be an RSS and BJP leader was brutally murdered by two bike-borne youths in broad daylight at the heart of Bangalore on 16 October 2016. Rudresh prior to his death was the mandal President of RSS’s Shivajinagar shakha and BJP’s secretary in that part of the city.

The murder took place barely 1 KM away from the happening MG road, following which Rudresh was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead. He was survived by his wife and two kids.

In the aftermath, the NIA described the murder as a terrorist act and the police arrested five individual including a Popular Front of India (PFI) leader in connection with the crime. 40-year-old Azim Sharief is believed to be the main accused in the matter.

Now about a year and a half after Rudresh’s murder, India Today’s Shiv Aroor produced a segment over this crime and its electoral impact, which he claims involves four workers belonging to the radical Islamist organisation PFI. During the segment, he also interviewed Rudresh’s widow, who despite the threatening nature of her late husband’s murder, remains an active political worker for the BJP.

After expressing her and her family’s difficulty in dealing with Rudresh’s death, which includes her two young children, she urged the government and the law and order machinery to be more prompt in its action with regards to the political murders, especially of RSS workers. She affirming that her late husband’s case was taken to a certain level of investigative conclusion, but expressed her unawareness over the status of similar murders which have taken place in coastal Karnataka.

When asked whether her husband’s brutal murder should become an issue in this election, she replied in affirmative owing to Rudresh’s murder resulting in a void both in his family and the election constituency, which she realises while interacting with people during her day to day party work.

Over the prospect of her getting possible justice for her husband, she expressed how justice won’t bring her husband back, but hoped that they can receive some form of it in the coming days.

Journalist cheers as trolls give rape and death threats to a popular columnist

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist cheers as trolls give rape and death threats to a popular columnist

Columnist Shefali Vaidya, who has often been on the receiving end of abuses on social media, yesterday again took to Twitter to talk about how she has been facing sexual harassment and receiving threats to her kids.


To that, a journalist associated with The Times of India justified the attacks as ‘taste of her own medicine’ for taking on the celebrities who tried to malign Hinduism.


The ‘hit where it hurts most’ part Prasad is talking about is a tweet by Vaidya where she called for the boycott of films of Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar, Kareena Kapoor and others who tried to bring a religious twist to the heinous Kathua rape case.


However, as evident, ‘hit them where it hurts’ is a figure of speech and Vaidya is not really calling for physical violence. The sexual harassment and threats she receives, are real. Hence, Prasad’s justification as ‘taste of her own medicine’ appears like she is cheering the harassment.

When she was called out, she backtracked and shifted goalpost.


This is not the first time journalists have cheered harassment of right-wing women, just because they have opposing ideologies. Recently, The News Minute’s editor in chief Dhanya Rajendran was called out for her insensitivity for using tears rolling down the cheeks’ laughing emoji to show her happiness and amusement at Sadhvi from MP being harassed.

IMF report pegs India to be the fastest growing major economy in 2018 with a 7.4% growth rate

Shashank Bharadwaj
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IMF report pegs India to be the fastest growing major economy in 2018 with a 7.4% growth rate

The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that India will be the fastest-growing major economy by 2018, with a growth of 7.4 this year that rises to 7.8 in 2019 with medium-term prospects remaining positive. The IMF’s Asia and Pacific Regional Report said that India was recovering from the effects of demonetization and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.


IMF went on to say, “the recovery is expected to be underpinned by a rebound from transitory shocks as well as robust private consumption.” Medium-term consumer price index inflation “is forecast to remain within but closer to the upper bound of the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation-targeting band of four percent with a plus or minus two percent change, the report said.

Medium-term consumer price index inflation “is forecast to remain within but closer to the upper bound of the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation-targeting band of four percent with a plus or minus two percent change, the report said. It said the consumer price increase in 2017 was 3.6 percent and projected it to be five percent in 2018 and 2019.

“The current account deficit in the fiscal year 2017-18 is expected to widen somewhat but should remain modest, financed by robust foreign direct investment inflows,” the report said. However, it added a note of caution: “In India, given increased inflation pressure, monetary policy should maintain a tightening bias.”

IMF in its report said that Bangladesh is the fastest growing economy in South Asia after India with a projected growth rate of 7 in 2018 and 2019; Sri Lanka is projected to grow at four percent in 2018 and 4.5 in 2019, and Nepal five percent in 2018 and four percent in 2019. Overall, the report said that Asia continues to be both the fastest-growing region in the world and the main engine of the world’s economy.


The report said that US President Donald Trump’s fiscal stimulus is expected to support Asia’s exports and investment. However, in the medium term the report said that “downside risks dominate” for the region and these include a tightening of global financial conditions, a shift toward protectionist policies, and an increase in geopolitical tensions.

“While mobile payments are expanding sharply in such economies as Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines, on average Asia is lagging sub-Saharan Africa,” the IMF said, adding that the region should take steps to ensure it is able to reap the full benefits of increasing digitization in the global economy.

This is not the first time an International forum has lauded India and the growth trajectory under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. Recently, Moody’s had backed Modi and upgraded India’s sovereign rating for the first time in 14 years. The World Bank had also projected a solid growth trajectory under Modi’s reign. India has also jumped 30 places in Ease of Doing Business ranking and the opposition was surprisingly not happy about it. Recently, Michael Dell had spoken of how he was inspired by India and Bill Gates had lauded Modi’s Aadhaar scheme and said that he has funded the World Bank to take the Aadhaar approach to other countries.

With IMF too chiming in again, the fear-mongering about the Economy’s downward trajectory seems to have been comprehensively dismissed.

NSG commandos to be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to aide in counter-insurgency operations

Anubhav
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NSG commandos to be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir to aide in counter-insurgency operations

The National Security Guards (NSG) are set to be deployed in Kashmir as a part of counter-insurgency (CI) grid, according to a Hindustan Times report. This would present the NSG with an opportunity to remain at their peak combat capabilities and will also aid the CRPF and local police administration. This deployment will also help in achieving a reduced number of casualties for the security forces in the state.

The NSG has also been asked to train both the CRPF and the J&K (Jammu & Kashmir) state Police in counter-terrorism operations in densely populated areas. The Ministry of Home Affairs was examining a proposal to deploy the NSG, popularly known as “Black Cat Commandos” in the valley for quite some time now. The DGP police, Jammu and Kasmir, S P Vaid earlier stated that such proposals are being mulled over and he has been working on the proposal. Vaid stated – “Hope, I will be successful” while commenting on this subject. It seems he has been successful.

Home secretary Rajiv Guaba on May 4th issued written directions to national security agencies that Black Cat Commandos will be a part of the counter-insurgency operations in Srinagar city and they will also train the two forces within the city jurisdiction. The instructions have been communicated to both, DG NSG Sudeep Laktakia and DG, Jammu & Kashmir Police, SP Vaid.

DG NSG is sending a senior officer team to meet DGP Vaid to assess the required personnel and the kind of training needed in the valley.

NSG is expected to take part in high-risk house intervention operations, which are aimed at flushing out terrorists and suicide attackers holed up in densely populated localities in Srinagar and other towns.

The CRPF does currently conduct house intervention operations this has a high rate of causality as in many cases the adversary is willing to die. Thus, to minimize the human casualty the Army currently brings down the entire building rather than flushing out the terrorists in the open.

The NSG is India’s elite counter-terror force comprising of 10,000 men, recruited directly and on deputation from the Army.  NSG uses sophisticated Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine guns and sniper rifles, through-the-wall radar and C-4 explosives to eliminate holed up terrorists without causing much damage to the structure, previously Home Minister Rajnath Singh while visiting an NSG event in Telangana stated that the government believes these commandos can play a big role in operations such as those where terrorists take human shield and enter civilian premises.

Election Commission raids a Congress leader’s house in Karnataka, gold jewellery seized

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission raids a Congress leader’s house in Karnataka, gold jewellery seized

The Election Commission had raided a house in Karnataka’s Hassan. A report by Times Now states that the EC flying squad has raided a house in the Arkalgod constituency. According to the report, the house raided belonged to a local Congress leader Arun Kumar.

Arun Kumar is reportedly working under the Congress Minister A Manju. The gold jewellery seized weighs around 470 grams and contains many noserings and earrings. It is suspected that the items were meant to be distributed among voters.

Arkarlgodu is the constituency of sitting Congress Minister A Manju. Fresh reports for the area has revealed that major voter list discrepancies are also reported in the area. While several names are missing from the voter’s list, names of minors have been found listed as voters.

The seizure comes at the backdrop of another major seize by EC officials are over 9746 voter IDs and over one lakh counterfoils were found in a flat. Karnataka is poll-bound in some days and these seizures have given rise to fresh controversies between the political parties.

According to reports, the Election Commission has seized about 3 times as much of cash and gold in Karnataka as compared to the 2013 assembly elections.

The Karnataka elections have long been predicted to be a major battle for the BJP and Congress. It is one of the last states left for the Congress party and the party machinery is putting all its might behind the elections.

Leftist journalist Sadanand Menon accused of sexual harassment

OpIndia Staff
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Leftist journalist Sadanand Menon accused of sexual harassment

In October last year, Raya Sarkar, a law student with Indian roots based in the US put out a list of Indian academics who have been accused of sexual harassment. Featuring on number 66 on that list was Sadanand Menon, adjunct faculty at Chennai’s Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), one of the premier institutions of journalism in India. Following the list, many women came out to talk about the sexual harassment faced by them by hands of the academics.

In January this year, The News Minute published an article by one Neerja Dasani, where she described her ordeal of sexual harassment, without taking names. Following the article, several people who were subjected to harassment by the same perpetrator got in touch with Dasani and they discovered other he has also allegedly sexually harassed others at another educational institution he taught. Following this, Dasani lodged a formal complaint with the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at the institute where she was a former student. However, after 3 months of correspondence, the institution said that the matter is time-barred since the said incident happened when she was no longer a student and at a location away from the college. Despite her pointing out that such instances should be given the seriousness it deserves, the ICC did not relent.

Meanwhile, current students of same educational institution got in touch with Dasani and raised a separate formal complaint with the ICC, demanding an investigation be carried out against him since his name appeared in the list mentioned above. However, even their complaint was dismissed.

We had earlier written how the patron saints of feminism had insisted on the victims following ‘due procedure’ while passive-aggressively implying the victim may be lying. Here, while the victims are insisting on following due process, the institution seems to be shying off. Students and activists are now demanding that ACJ takes the allegations against Sadanand Menon seriously and not cite procedural reasons for not wanting to do so. That ACJ assures the students that it takes sexual harassment seriously and will do all it could to make the premises safe space for students.

Menon is associated with a lot of educational and cultural institutions where he could use his position of power to treat the young as a sexual prey.

Menon also writes columns for leftist propaganda website, The Wire, which also employs a journalist accused of cheating and abusing in a failed love affair, leading the girl to attempt suicide.

Nowhera Shaik, the mysterious burqa clad woman whose party is contesting all 224 seats in Karnataka

Nirwa Mehta
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Nowhera Shaik, the mysterious burqa clad woman whose party is contesting all 224 seats in Karnataka

A new political party which has sprouted in Karnataka, All India Mahila Empowerment Party (MEP), has announced it will contest from all 224 seats in the upcoming poll-bound Karnataka.


Curiosity got the better of us when we saw the party wants women to fight for their rights and even empower them and we tried to look up a bit about the founder of MEP.

Nowhera Shaik, who was recently booked for carrying unaccounted cash amounting to Rs. 3.94 lakh in HAL airport, Bengaluru, had lambasted the central government for the triple talaq bill. According to her, the triple talaq bill does nothing to protect the safety and rights of the Muslim women but “criminalizes Muslim men” for wanting to get separated from their spouses. She has said that the 3-year prison term will spoil lives and families of Muslim couple.

Shaik is the CEO of one ‘Heera Group of Companies’, which has its head office in Hyderabad, trading in a wide range of products from building material to gold and diamonds. She had even filed a complaint couple of years back against her husband for cheating her of 10 kgs gold.

Interestingly, MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had also filed a complaint against her for allegedly cheating her investors.

As someone who has drawn inspiration from AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal, she seeks to defy the conventional norms of fighting elections. She even seems to be having same Photoshop team. Her Facebook page shows an image of herself where she is supposedly receiving an award from MEA Sushma Swaraj back in 2014.

Hold my coffee as I roll over the floor laughing as I show you the original picture where there is a man in place of her.

Wait, there’s more.

Original video screengrab

One more. Just for laughs.

Mysterious woman behind Sushma Swaraj

She also has series of awards in her hat, none of which could be independently verified.

Not that we are implying anything, but it does remind us of the credits page of Gurmeet Ram Rahim movie credits.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding her business. As reported by The Ken, there are major red flags about her business concerns.

Heera Foodex Pvt Ltd is registered at same address as HGEL and other group companies. The manufacturing/packaging unit is situated at:

Heera Foodex Largescale Manufacturing & Packing Industry, Etharpally Village, Nakkalapalli Panchayat, Moinabad Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana – 501504

This is the same plant which was inaugurated by deputy chief minister of Telangana in January ’15. And yet no company or plant by that name exists at that address. Nor is there any intimation of a change in location. Foodex continues to use the above address in their packaging and is selling these products in Hyderabad and Mumbai. They seem to fly under the radar by processing home-deliveries for orders over the phone.

The Ken report further states that they couldn’t locate the FSSAI licence mentioned by Heera and neither is there any such address or name in Etharpally village.

That is not all. In 2013, she was accused of financial irregularities in construction of an Islamic university on the outskirts of Tirupati. In May 2014, she was prime accused in the Rs. 84.75 lakh international hawala case for which she has also been investigated by the Enforcement Directorate under the FEMA.

All these things about her just make her contesting from all 224 seats in Karnataka elections just more interesting.

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