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Mamata’s soft Hindutva: Weeks after praying at Hindu saint’s ashram, she now does a u-turn on Ram Navami

OpIndia Staff
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Mamata’s soft Hindutva: Weeks after praying at Hindu saint’s ashram, she now does a u-turn on Ram Navami

Taking forward her soft Hindutva approach, Mamata Banerjee has overturned initial orders banning the display of arms, allowing ‘restricted display’ of arms at Ram Navami rallies.

Earlier she had asked the police to take stern action against participants who carry arms in the rally. She had addressed a meeting of police officers in East Bardhaman and said, ‘Howsoever small an incident may be, do not neglect it. Do ensure that no communal incident takes place. If any incident is reported, take stern action immediately.’ However, yesterday she retracted her earlier statement and said ‘only organisations that carry out traditional processions with arms for the last 10-12 years will be allowed.’ She clarified, ‘I know that there are only a couple of organisations in Howrah and Asansol which traditionally hold Ram Navami processions with arms. Those who have been celebrating Ram Navami for more than a decade will be given special permission to hold processions with arms.’

Earlier also she had tried to cultivate a ‘pro-Hindu’ image by visiting Gangasagar, at the Kapil Muni ashram, in presence of chief priest Gyandasji ahead of Makar Sankranti.

After visiting, Mamata also stated that she would come back to the place again.

This isn’t the only ‘pro-Hindu’ stand which she or her party has indulged in. Reports had emerged claiming that TMC would organise a massive “Brahmin Sammelan” in the state’s Birbhum district on 8th January 2018. This was scheduled to be the first “Brahmin Sammelan” in the state and about 15,000 Brahmins were expected to attend.

Here Brahmins would be given a copy of Bhagwat Gita, a religious shawl and photos of Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Saradha Maa. The prime organiser of this event is Anubrata Mondal, TMC’s Birbhum district president.

Such ‘majority appeasement’ of Mamata, it seems, comes a few days after the results of Sabang by-poll, an assembly constituency in Paschim Medinipur district, were announced. Even though the TMC won the election by a comfortable margin of 49,167 votes, a close analysis brought forth a “tell a tale of a major shift in voting pattern”.

Here it was noted that the TMC witnessed a low upswing in the vote, and BJP made massive inroads by winning 18.4% of votes compared to a paltry 2.6% a year later.

It remains to be seen whether a growing threat of the BJP or a realisation of possible Hindu disenchantment, is driving Mamata and the TMC to undertake such measures. And whether she and her party would be successful in completing this ‘image makeover’, and get the desired results in the future polls.

Asiya Andrabi celebrates Pakistan Day, says all Muslims in Indian subcontinent are Pakistanis

OpIndia Staff
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Asiya Andrabi celebrates Pakistan Day, says all Muslims in Indian subcontinent are Pakistanis

Asiya Andrabi, head of the separatist organisation Dukhtaran-e-Milat organised the celebrations of Pakistan Day in Srinagar. She and her followers hoisted the Pakistani flag at an undisclosed location and Andrabi reportedly claimed that all Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are Pakistanis by default.


The incident happened early on Friday. Abdrabi, speaking to a gathering of black burqa-clad women, stated that for them people are either Muslims of Kafir and a Muslim country is Pakistan and Pakistan was founded on the basis of Islam and not on the basis of nationality.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3dofQewURY]

23 March is observed in Pakistan as its Republic Day.


Andrabi is known for her hateful anti-India activities. She has several cases registered against her and her husband Ashiq Hussain Faktoo is serving a life term in Srinagar Jail. He was sentenced in 2003 for the murder of noted human rights activist and a Kashmiri Pandit Hriday Nath Wanchoo in 1992. Andrabi is also a member of the All Party Hurriyat Conference and has been arrested on several occasions for her involvement in separatist activities.

CPM starts causing trouble in the ‘united opposition’ days after it was conceptualised

OpIndia Staff
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CPM starts causing trouble in the ‘united opposition’ days after it was conceptualised

Merely days after Sonia Gandhi hosted a gala dinner to show a united opposition in the upcoming General Assembly elections in 2019, cracks already seem to have started to develop in it.

As per reports, an editorial has appeared in CPI(M)’s journal named “People’s Democracy” which claims that Congress won’t succeed in another UPA experiment owing to it having lost all credibility. It thus advised that the most effective way to stop the BJP is to pool in all the anti-BJP votes, state by state.

The CPM has also claimed that regional parties like BJD, TRS and TDP won’t accept an alliance with the Congress. The CPM last month also made it clear in a draft political resolution that it won’t indulge in any alliance or understanding with the Congress for defeating the BJP.

The editorial has also proceeded to signal all round doom for the opposition by warning that a non-BJP, non-Congress “Federal front”, which was conceptualised by Telangana Chief Minister KC Rao, was also bound to fail.

Such hostility of the CPM towards the Congress and possibly the larger opposition might be ironic considering, the left parties were amongst those who had attended Sonia Gandhi’s dinner, which was meant to send a message of opposition unity.

This editorial also comes in the backdrop of the CPM alleging discrepancies in the Rajya Sabha nomination paper of Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Singhvi is contesting from West Bengal and has received supported for the same from the TMC.

The CPM leader Rabin Deb who was contesting against Singhvi had alleged that the Congress leader’s nomination papers were forged and had demanded that they be cancelled. The other allegations levelled include a discrepancy in Singhvi’s age, his statement being forged and the notary papers being stamped and not signed.

Singhvi has then retorted against the allegations, by calling them “petty and puerile”. While terming the allegations as malicious and false, Singhvi claimed that the CPM was convinced of its defeat and hence had stopped “fighting like gentlemen”.  The report also claimed that Singhvi hadn’t yet ruled out filing a defamation case against the communist party.

Commissioner of Income Tax rejects NDTV’s application for stay on tax demand, instructs to pay Rs 131 crores

OpIndia Staff
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Commissioner of Income Tax rejects NDTV’s application for stay on tax demand, instructs to pay Rs 131 crores

Amidst murmurs that the tax department is going easy on New Delhi Television Company (NDTV), news has now emerged that NDTV’s tax woes are, in fact, increasing. In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) late last night, NDTV informed the bourses that their application for stay on a tax demand was rejected by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax.

The filing by NDTV stated that the company had received an order from the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, rejecting the application for stay of demand and directing the Company to pay Rs. 131.04 crores, partly by way of adjustment of refund of Rs. 23 crores and partly in 3 installments payable on 15th April, 15th May and 15th June 2018 of Rs. 36 crores, 36 crores and Rs. 36.04 crores respectively.

It may be recollected that NDTV had earlier received an order under section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 from the Income Tax Department levying penalty of Rs. 436.80 crores for the assessment year 2009-10. NDTV had the filed a Writ Petition before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi (High Court) against the above said order issued. The High Court had refused to intervene and had directed NDTV to file an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and to approach the Assessing Officer for stay of the penalty order.

Now, the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, has rejected this application for stay of demand. With this, the Commissioner has directed NDTV to pay 30% of the total demand i.e. 30% of Rs 436.80 crores, in a staggered manner, by 15th June 2018. It remains to be seen how a perennially loss making entity like NDTV will pay up.

Non-bailable case registered against Jouhar Munavvir, professor accused of making sexually coloured remark in Kerala

OpIndia Staff
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Non-bailable case registered against Jouhar Munavvir, professor accused of making sexually coloured remark in Kerala

Koduvally Police have registered a non-bailable case against Jouhar Munavvir, a teacher at Farook College in Kozhikode, for allegedly making objectionable, sexually coloured comments against women.


The case has been registered under sections 354 A (IV) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) of the IPC. As per reports, at a gathering of Muslim families at Vattoli, Koduvally, the teacher had remarked, women do not cover up their breasts ‘properly’ and display them like watermelons. ‘I am teacher of a college where 80 per cent of the students are girls and of that, majority are Muslims. These girls are not wearing dress as per the religious tradition. They are not covering their chests with hijab. But showing part of it is like slice of red water melon being displayed’, the professor is reported to have said to the family counselling gathering in the audio clip that has gone viral. The professor had also reportedly slammed women for wearing leggings, saying the girl students hold the purdah up deliberately to to show off the leggings. He warned the women wearing such ‘immoral’ dresses that this will lead them to losing both physical and spiritual worlds.

These remarks sparked a unique protest where women took to Facebook to post topless pictures holding watermelons. However, Facebook has reportedly removed these pictures and blocked user accounts for posting such pictures.

Rajasthan Court orders FIR against Hardik Pandya over a tweet posted by his parody account

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan Court orders FIR against Hardik Pandya over a tweet posted by his parody account

Cricketer Hardik Pandya might get into trouble for no supposed fault of his, after a Rajasthan Court has ordered an FIR to be filed against him, for a tweet which was posted from a parody account of his. These comments were made on 26th December, 2017.

As per initial reports, a special court in Jodhpur had directed the police to file an FIR on Wednesday, based on a complaint which was filed D.R. Meghwal, a supposed member of Rashtriya Bhim Sena. Madhusudan Sharma the special judge in question of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe cases passed the order, after Meghwal alleged that Luni police station’s in-charge was refusing to file a case against the cricketer.

Media reports have claimed that the tweet in question is transcribed as, “Which Ambedkar ??? The one who drafted a cross law and constitution or the one who spread the disease called reservation in the country”.

As per the complainant Meghwal, the comment was derogatory towards Ambedkar and attempted to spread hate and caste division in the society. He thus demanded that Pandya be given adequate and suitable punishment.

Things though soon unravelled and subsequent media reports have claimed that the tweet in question was actually posted by a parody account of Pandya. This is the tweet in question:

Rajasthan Court orders FIR against Hardik Pandya over a tweet posted by his parody account
Tweet screenshot via TOI

As seen in the above screenshot, the twitter handle of the account in question is “sirhardik3777”. Which is different from the verified twitter account of Hardik Pandya which is, @hardikpandya7. The parody or fake account has since then been either deactivated or deleted.

The turn of events also seems to have resulted in some media houses deleting their earlier reports about Hardik Pandya getting into trouble owing to “his” tweets:

Rajasthan Court orders FIR against Hardik Pandya over a tweet posted by his parody account
Article on Hardik Pandya deleted

If the events described by the media reports are indeed true, then it raises the question as to why did the complainant and the court did not verify the basic facts before filing the case and ordering an FIR respectively.

It is time Yoga is taken up as a wellness program by the Government of India

Guest Author
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It is time Yoga is taken up as a wellness program by the Government of India

“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies the unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help in well being. “Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day,“ Narendra Modi in his address to the United Nations on 27 Sep 2014. A total of 177 nations co-sponsored the resolution, which is the highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA resolution of such nature.

India can promote Yoga creatively and meaningfully both domestically and internationally. With India putting itself on the world map with its ‘Make In India’ projects, Foreign Policy and Defense capabilities – Yoga can reinforce the soft power of India. We see how the West has appropriated Yoga and turned it into “Aerobics”. Repackaged our cultural and traditional heritage and commercialized it as one of its own. It is thus time to not only reclaim what is rightfully ours but also take it to the world as Bharat’s gift to mankind.

To that end, it is essential that Yoga is taken up as a wellness program by the government and for that, it needs to go beyond just celebrating ‘International Yoga Day”.

Yoga in schools and colleges:

Yoga should be taught in schools and colleges across India. This will be an invaluable gift to students. Studies in the USA have shown how Yoga, when taught to children has had dramatic effects on their well-being. Children in India are currently being denied their heritage by way of an education system where they spend 15-18 years and never taught Yoga.

The world of today is way more complex and competitive. Children are subject to a huge amount of pressure, stress and distractions simply because the world is a very different place. Imagine an army that has powerful weapons yet sends its soldiers to war without ammunition. We’re doing that to our children in India by depriving them of Yoga in our education system.

Teaching Yoga in schools and colleges will help our children to develop physical fitness and inner strength. We look upon just our demographic of a young population as a strength. Imagine how much stronger we will be as a nation when our youth are strengthened and empowered with the knowledge and practice of Yoga.

While schools have sports day drills with pompoms and props, Yoga would be an invaluable addition that goes beyond ‘Physical Training’ to holistic development.

Yoga at airports :

We are now traveling a lot – for work and leisure. Travel tends to mean a disruption in one’s schedule of exercise and meditation. It need not be so.

All Indian airports should have a meditation room where people can practice Meditation / Yoga / Pranayama in a quiet, serene and secure space  This will help those who already practice it to continue even when travelling. It would inspire other travellers to explore Yoga / Meditation.

As per an Economic Times news report, last year 100 million passengers travelled domestically within India. Global air travel data indicates 4 billion passengers in 2017. These are staggering numbers that would only grow in the years ahead.

Bigger airports like Mumbai / Delhi should have larger spaces for this where trained teacher and videos for basic yoga can be made available.

The government of India can take up spaces in international airports – especially those that are vibrant transit hubs like Singapore, Frankfurt, Dubai, London, Qatar etc. Passengers often have long transits at these airports. GOI can take up spaces that can be managed by organizations like Art of Living / Isha Foundation, or any other institution where there can be an introduction to Yoga by way of videos, live classes by a trained instructor. This would be the best way to showcase India while making a positive difference miles away in a foreign land. It would also be the FIRST case of a marketing initiative that makes a positive impact as opposed to merely being communication that a person passively receives. There may be a nominal fee for some of the services which would make this (to some extent) a revenue-generating initiative.

Organizations like Isha Foundation / Art of Living have an international Footprint. They would be able to arrange for trained yoga teachers in various locations. A common curriculum can be evolved so that irrespective of which org manages the space – the structure and content would be largely common.

A yoga/meditation room at all Indian and most international airports is a need and a solution towards

  • a calmer, healthier world
  • establishing the soft power of India very emphatically
  • showcasing the wisdom of Hindu culture

We increasingly see Spa facilities and wellness centres spring up at various Airports across the world. This can be an invaluable addition to the wellness services at Airports.

 

It is time that India reclaims her heritage and shows it off to the world like it should. Yoga and Meditation make an excellent starting point.

(This article was written by Savitha Rao)

Islamic group files complaint, seeks a ban on TV show that talks about Triple Talaq

OpIndia Staff
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Islamic group files complaint, seeks a ban on TV show that talks about Triple Talaq

An Islamic association named Raza Academy has filed a complaint against a TV show named ‘Ishq Subhan Allah’ which sought to highlight the Triple Talaq issue in a mature manner. The TV show has also taken into account the recent Supreme Court judgement on the matter.

The academy has sought a ban on the show as it is depicting Islam in a ‘wrongful manner’. It felt that the visual media can affect children badly. As per reports complaint under sections 124A, 153A, 153B, 504, 292, 293 and 295A have been filed. The academy has also sought a ban on the show under section 95 of criminal procedure act. The complaint by the academy claims that the programme “shows Islam in a bad light, the scripts of the entire serial is made to understand that Islam religion needs a lot of changes, revival, amendments”

Talking about the show to DNA on March 8, Deepak Rajadhyaksha – Deputy Business Head of Zee TV, had said, “Ishq Subhan Allah asks viewers to pause and reflect on the true interpretation of religion in our daily lives. It questions the true importance we accord to a woman’s choice in every decision that a couple makes, including entering the institution of marriage as also ending it with dignity. Even as the triple talaaq awaits sanction in the Parliament, it is our endeavour to get people to evaluate for themselves if it is fair for men to be able to single-handedly annul a marriage they had entered into with a woman’s full consent. Why should she now play the role of a passive, mute spectator and not be empowered instead, to have a say in its termination? Our protagonist Zara, much like the forward-thinking middle class of today, is taking charge of her destiny and asking these pertinent questions, paving the way for a better future for millions of women like her.”

Perhaps the Raza foundation is concerned about the reformative streak in the TV show. The Deputy Business Head, Zee TV told Indian Express, “Yes, we have heard about this, but are yet to receive any official intimation from the authorities.” We need to wait and watch if the move leads to a ban on the TV show or not.

‘What Siddarmaiah has done now was rejected by UPA’ says Amit Shah on Lingayat row

OpIndia Staff
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‘What Siddarmaiah has done now was rejected by UPA’ says Amit Shah on Lingayat row

Siddarmaiah government in Karnataka has resorted to all tactics to gain an edge over the BJP in the upcoming assembly polls. The government has decided to recommend the Lingayat community for a minority religion status to the centre. The move has caught the attention of the entire nation and has raised hopes for the Congress party about its prospects in the elections.

The national president of the BJP, Amit Shah in an interview to Navika Kumar of Times Now has made some remarks on the move by Congress government in Karnataka. He said that the people were aware that it is an election move. He further questioned as to why this was not done when both state and centre had Congress governments in 2013. The BJP president also remarked that the UPA government had rejected the proposal when they were in power.


When asked about fears of losing Lingayat votes, Amit Shah said that Yeddyurappa was not fielded as a CM candidate because of his caste identity. He added that Yeddyurappa was a declared as a CM candidate because he was a senior leader and former CM of Karnataka. He said that the Congress move was an example of Caste politics. One of the Congress ministers, Shamanur Shivashankarappa had visited New Delhi in 2013 to put forward the demand in New Delhi, but nothing had come out of the visit.

Thus it appears, that the BJP president is not scared to confront the matter in upcoming elections.

Javed Akhtar abuses a columnist who expressed a politically incorrect opinion

OpIndia Staff
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Javed Akhtar abuses a columnist who expressed a politically incorrect opinion

Noted lyricist Javed Akhtar on Wednesday decided to train his guns on columnist Francois Gautier, who raised an objection over reports of actor Aamir Khan making a movie on Hindu epic the Mahabharata.

As per that report, Aamir has been handed a whopping Rs 1000 crore budget for the movie series which will be co-produced by Mukesh Ambani. It claimed that Aamir has considered making Mahabharata as his dream project, and wished to play the character of Karna. He though expressed doubts over his physique and reportedly claimed that he might play the role of Lord Krishna in the films.

Gautier though didn’t take this report kindly and proceeded to raise his objections over the same:


Javed Akhtar took objection with this tweet and decided to abuse the person in question, instead of coming up with an articulate and reasoned response:


Incidentally, it isn’t the only time Javed Akhtar has been in the news for his tweets. It was reported how he had made demeaning comments against noted sportsmen like Virender Sehwag and the Phogat sisters, because they didn’t agree with his point of view, over the Gurmehar Kaur fiasco. Similarly, he has been seen demeaning ordinary citizens and at one point in time having a complete meltdown on Twitter while battling plagiarism charges.

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