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17 more bodies of Hindus killed by Rohingya terrorists found in Myanmar: Myanmar Police

OpIndia Staff
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17 more bodies of Hindus killed by Rohingya terrorists found in Myanmar: Myanmar Police

In the ongoing conflict between the Rohingyas and the Myanmar authorities, the Hindus in the Rakhine region of the country seem to be paying a very heavy price.

We had reported yesterday about a statement issued by the Myanmar army that, two mass graves of 28 Hindus had been found in the region on Monday. These graves comprised of 20 women and 8 men, which included 6 boys aged below 10 years.

It was reported that, it was a result of Rohingya militants brutally attacking a village in Northern Rakhine on 25th August.

Now it seems that the atrocities heaped by the Rohingyas are far more brutal, after another mass grave containing 17 bodies of Hindu villagers has been discovered barely 200 metres from the original spot. The police have blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgent group for these actions.

A report by Times Now paints an even grim picture of the situation. According to that report, 300 Rohingyas had abducted 100 Hindus on 25 August and killed 92 of them. According to several Hindu refugees, they fled their lands after the Rohingya terrorists came to attack them with weapons like swords, guns and even spears. The hundreds of attackers reportedly burnt the Hindus’ homes and even shouted that Rakhine is an Islamic state.

The report even quoted a Bangladeshi aid worker who claimed that, the Rohingya terrorists have problems with both the Myanmar military and the common people who inhabit the region. The aid worker also claimed that the terrorists were evicting, torturing and killing the Hindu families.

An India today report also covered the 25th August attack on the village and claimed that, the attackers identified the Hindu families, assaulted them and then took them up to a hill to carry out their execution. They reportedly only spared 8 young women who were told that they would have to convert and get remarried. The captive women were even forced to offer Namaz and were made to wear a Burkha.

2 of the women were then taken to a refugee camp in Bangladesh, where news of their atrocity spread and they seem to have been rescued and brought to a Hindu camp. The 6 other women were traced to the Kotupalong Rohingya camp in Bangladesh where they were allegedly kept under close watch by those allegedly carrying out the conversion.

The Bangladeshi authorities were supposedly clueless about the events and promised action, after they were reportedly made aware by the India Today reporters. Another aspect revealed in this report was that one of the men who had gone on to search the missing women (They too allegedly were tortured as a result) claimed that they have faced persecution from both from the Rohingyas and the Myanmar army.

The report also claimed that there are about 5 lakh reugees who have entered Bangladesh, out of which a significant percentage are Hindus.

Looking at the similarity in facts of the three reports may lead one to conclude that, all 3 reports depict same attack and 92 Hindus were murdered, out of which the possible bodies of 45 individuals have now been found. Or it might so be that the graves found are related to different incident. We have to wait and see…

Hamid Ansari offers defence of ignorance after he attends event organised by violent Islamist outfit

OpIndia Staff
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Hamid Ansari offers defence of ignorance after he attends event organised by violent Islamist outfit

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari has been in the midst of a controversy after it was reported that he had attended a program in Kerala, which was organised by a violent Islamist outfit.

The seminar named “Role of Women in Making a Humane Society” was co-organised by the women’s wing of the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI).

In 2010 the “activists” of this organisation were held for chopping off the hand of a Professor after he allegedly insulted Prophet Mohammed. This outfit has also been accused of carrying out Love Jihad in the state of Kerala.

Ansari was later also presented a memento by the PFI Chairman, E Aboobacker:

After many expressed outrage over the former Vice President’s decision to share the dais along with the members of such a radical organisation, he has now come up with a peculiar excuse to justify has decision.

According to an article published in Outlook, Ansari has claimed that he had gone to the Kerala event as a “state guest” and no police officer has warned him against attending the event. He in a telephonic interview to Outlook told that he was invited to the event by the Delhi based, “Institute of objective studies” which was the co-organiser of the event. He claimed that they had pitched him the event by stating that they were organising a study on status and role of women in making a human society. and the focus was to be on Muslim women.

He then claimed that him being the former VP, the Kerala government had made the necessary travel and security arrangements. For that he met various senior police officers but he claimed no-one warned him or mentioned the 2nd organiser (the women’s wing of the PFI).

Such a response raises a couple of serious questions. First, why did Hamid Ansari being such a senior public figure who held a very important public office, not himself thoroughly carry out a background check of the event considering the fact that he would have been its focal point. Secondly, why didn’t the Kerala government while making required security checks not warn Ansari that the event which he is attending has been co-organised by a known radical organisation.

Does it mean that the Kerala government has turned a blind eye to the radicals of the state or is allegedly even allowing them to gain legitimacy in public sphere?

It also remains to be seen if Ansari himself takes legal action against the “Institute of Objective Studies” for keeping him in the dark about the PFI involvement in the event.

My ‘feeble’ outrage and protest over Mahmood Farooqui’s acquittal

Nirwa Mehta
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My ‘feeble’ outrage and protest over Mahmood Farooqui’s acquittal

At a time when we in India are trying to get the courts to recognise the importance of consent and to acknowledge marital rape as a criminal offence, yesterday’s Delhi High Court verdict acquitting Peepli Live director Mahmood Farooqui giving benefit of doubt as the victim was familiar with him is a huge step backward in the movement.

In the 82 page judgement, the court said, “Instances of woman behaviour are not unknown that a feeble ‘no’ may mean a ‘yes’.”

The judgement further states that if the parties (the victim and the perpetrator) are known to each other, are ‘persons of letter and are intellectually/academically proficient, and if, in the past, there have been physical contacts’, it would be difficult to interpret whether the ‘feeble no’ is actually denial of consent. This is outrageous since whether or not the no is ‘feeble’, no means no.

The email which the victim wrote to Farooqui on 12th April, 2015, about her abuse, she has described her ordeal. One wonders how the honourable High Court judges found this a “feeble no”.

You were supposed to be my friend. Instead you manipulated me. You hurt me. I said no. I said no many times. You didn’t listen. You pinned my arms. You pulled my underwear down.

She further wrote,

I used to own my sexuality. You took that from me, you forced me to do something I did not want to do. I stopped struggling because I was scared. I wanted to get out. I did get out. So remember this, what you did that night wasn’t one night, what you did that night continues to affect me and my suffering, my pain. It’s on your hands, when I carry this forward in life. It is your sin that I carry forward. It is you sin that I have to overcome. You disgust me……

While I am not commenting on the judgement, as I believe it relies on facts more than anything else, the language used by the judge to talk about consent is worrying. In a country where as many as 90% of rapes are committed by person known to the victim, a ‘feeble no’ to a ‘person familiar to the victim’ gives the rapist a freehand at abusing.

Irrespective of the background or the familiarity between two people, no should be considered as an absolute no.

Earlier in 2016, Farooqui was convicted by a special fast track court for raping a 35 year old American woman. Advocate Vrinda Grover, who represented the American woman, claimed that in an email dated 30th March, 2015, Farooqui had admitted to the crime and even apologised for having committed the act without her consent and against her will.

Arguing for Farooqui, former Minister of Law and Justice and Congress leader Kapil Sibal, said, “even if the act was not with her consent, she actually communicated something which was taken as a consent by the appellant.”

He also argued that Farooqui was a “bipolar patient and under rehabilitation regimen”. This is not the first time Sibal’s arguments in court with respect to dignity of women made us physically cringe. If former law minister could have such regressive thoughts on triple talaq and consent, one can only wonder what he would argue on criminalising marital rape.

The regressive language used by the court makes the fight of criminalising marital rape just gets tougher. While marital rape has been criminalised in many countries have criminalised marital rape, including countries like Ghana and Nepal, India has a long way to go. However, sooner or later, the government will need to swallow the bitter pill and criminalise the same.

The words used in the judgement only add to the Bollywood stereotype that if the girl says no, she most likely means yes and wants you to woo her, following which the hero turns on his stalker mode. I’d like to add here that importance of consent is gender neutral. If a man says no, it should also be considered no. India, as a society, not only has to deal with abuses towards women and insensitivity with which they’re dealt with but also the fact that many are in denial that men also get raped. That a man, or even a woman, is equally capable of raping a man.

The way forward

Judiciary, lawyers and judges, get a little sensitised towards dealing with sexual harassment and sexual abuse cases.

Let us not limit “no means no” concept to movies like Pink and actually implement them in real life. If films are allegedly encouraging people to resort to stalking and violence to get the person of their desire, they should also educate them the importance of consent.

Make rape, including marital rape, a gender neutral offence.

Let us not sweep these issues under the carpet. The abolishment of instant triple talaq was a great step in empowering women from abuse. Let us also take a firm stand on issues like marital rape and acknowledge that no, feeble or otherwise, is no. Get public opinion, form legislations and make marital sexual abuse a criminal offence instead of combining it with Domestic Violence Act as “civil offence”.

How neutral is “fake-news buster” AltNews

pratikshit
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How neutral is “fake-news buster” AltNews

There is a new kid on the block of fake-news busting, and it is named altnews.in. It is run by one Pratik Sinha. Pratik happens to be the son of Mukul Sinha, lawyer and activist from Gujarat, who was staunchly anti-Modi and anti-BJP his whole life.

Further, Sinha senior, with the help of his son, ran a website called TruthOfGujarat.com. It so happened that the website was prone to spreading lies were were then often debunked. So prima-facie it is quite interesting when someone (Pratik Sinha) with such a colourful past, starts a fact-checking site.

Nevertheless, everyone is allowed a fresh start, from scratch. But Altnews did not need to build itself from ground zero. It has received support from a wide variety of left-leaning celebrity journalists from liars like Rana Ayyub to controversial journalists like Sagarika Ghose. Ironic again.

Now coming to subject proper, even though Altnews carries the above baggage, is it still a “neutral” portal? Can it be trusted to not take sides?

The editor, Pratik Sinha, was recently called out on social media, when he chose to besmirch a person followed by Modi for tweeting alleged “fake news”. The person in question had tweeted news from multiple media sources, and eventually, the news was proven to be true. Sinha of course brazened it out. So does his site fair better?

This can be easily gauged by comparing how the site comments on similar topics, but with people from different political leanings being on the receiving end of them. Take for example, the common issue of false/misleading/fake images or videos being circulated on social media. This is an issue which is plaguing social media across the political spectrum. Some people do it with malafide intent, while others genuinely fall for the propaganda. See how Altnews reacts to such cases:

Case 1: Fake images during Basirhat riots

In the course of this news break, many false images propped up on social media. Many of them were posted by users who were Right leaning. Altnews called them out for using the misleading images. See the editorial comments in that particular article on the site (emphasis added):

The situation with fake news and photoshopped images is clearly getting out of hand. There is an urgent need for a multi pronged approach with efforts from online platforms and the government to control this epidemic of fake news. Morphed images are a dangerous tool in the hands of those who have a single-minded agenda to polarise and incite violence. It is not just irresponsible, it is criminal.

Case 2: Viral images of beef protest by Congress

Some spurious images were once again circulated, again from some right-leaning social media users. Altnews busted the hoax. Again, read the editorial comments (emphasis added):

The Indian right-wing has yet again duped the people of India with their photo-shopping skills. Alt News requests its readers to always re-examine and re-analyze videos and images that are too shocking to be true, often they are actually fake.

Case 3: Video on communal events in Bengal

This time, the fake video was shared by BJP’s Asansol IT chief, and some other Right Wing sites. Read the editorial comments (emphasis added):

We at Alt News believe that these fake videos which do the rounds on social media and WhatsApp are being created in an organised and pre-planned manner. This is yet another proof that people officially in BJP are also a part of this dangerous propaganda of injecting communal poison in the society.

Summary so far: The slant is pretty clear: If someone from the Right Wing is caught spreading fake pictures, then the person is “photoshopping” images, doing it “deliberately, in an organised and pre-planned manner”, to “inject communal poison”, to “incite violence”, and it is “a criminal act”.

Case 4: Leftists caught spreading fake images

Now come to the recent occurrence where journalists and politicians from the Left site of the political spectrum were caught spreading fake pictures. Picture of a girl beaten up in a separate incident, was used to portray as if the girl was victim of police excesses at a BHU protest.

This fits the narrative of the Left since BJP is in power in UP. AAP leader Sanjay Singh, former AAP leader and activist Prashant Bhushan, Congress party’s national general secretary Ashok Gehlot, journalist Mrinal Pande, the abusive troll who doubles up as journalist Swati Chaturvedi were some of the prominent people sharing this fake image.

Now see the editorial comments for this story by Altnews (emphasis added):

At a time when one is outraged about an incident, it is easy to fall prey to fake images. In this case, it is a fact that there were injuries to students due to a police lathicharge. This was perhaps used by someone to share an unrelated image of a more serious injury to whip up passions. We have seen this happen frequently on social media when someone shares an image or video of an unrelated incident to whip up passions and many people inadvertently believe it to be true. It is therefore it is important to verify that the source of the image is reliable before sharing it further, particularly if the image is violent or gruesome in nature. If you find yourself unknowingly sharing an image that is a fake, there is nothing wrong in admitting it. We are glad to see that in this case, many have regretted their mistake and tweeted about it.

Summary: Thus, when anti-BJP voices spread fake news, Altnews steps in to justify the same. Suddenly, it becomes “easy to fall prey to fake images” as “one is outraged about an incident”. Even fake news gets a “context” now. It is deemed that these people had “unknowingly” shared a fake image. Worse, these people are made heroes for “admitting” that they lied. And Altnews cannot hide its happiness and is “glad” that the fellow communists have “regretted their mistakes”.

For the record, Sanjay Singh of AAP, Ashok Gehlot of Congress and journalist Chatuvedi, have neither expressly accepted that they spread fake images, and have obviously not apologised or expressed regret. But Altnews is “glad” for some imaginary regrets.

We now come back to the question: Is Altnews.in neutral? You have your answer now.

P.S. Since this article will appear in OpIndia.com, our friends from Altnews.in will indulge in whataboutery intelligent thoughts and ask “Is OpIndia.com neutral?”. The answer to this is simple: OpIndia.com has clearly stated its editorial stance in its About us section.

They have informed the reader that they are a right-of-centre portal. Full disclosure such as this is common in media houses in the US, where the reader knows upfront what he is reading. This helps the reader make a more analytical and critical judgement. Altnews on the other hand is silent and thus chooses to hide its biases. Thus, instead of being transparent, it is being deceitful and manipulative, tricking readers to believe that it is neutral, when the real position is all too clear.

NIA now summons a PhD student, trade body chief in connection with its terror funding probe

Hemant Bijapurkar
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NIA now summons a PhD student, trade body chief in connection with its terror funding probe

The National Investigative Agency which in the past months has virtually declared a war on the illegal funding which is used to fuel terrorism in the Kashmir valley, has decided to further act in the matter.

According to media reports, the agency has now summoned a student pursuing a PhD from Kashmir University, 2 Hurryat leaders and a trader body chief in connection with its probe. They are supposed to appear before the agency’s headquarter in New Delhi on Monday.

Those summoned include, Aala Fazil the PhD student, Yaseen Khan, the President of the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Association (KTMA) and Abdul Hameed Magrey, Wali Mohammed, the two leaders of the Syed Ali Shah Geelani led Hurryat conference. All these accused would likely be questioned about the funding being provided to the stone pelting groups who mainly target security forces.

The summons against Yaseen Khan haven’t gone down well with the KTMA which have called for a bandh which has been supported by the separatist leaders. This has resulted in various shops and business establishments remaining closed and the security forces have established an undeclared curfew in parts of old Srinagar to avoid protests.

Some of the past actions of the NIA in this terror funding matter include:

  • The arrest of notorious stone pelters and identification of 79 WhatsApp groups which were used to mobilise them.
  • Investigating journalists and retired judges in connection with fuelling the Kashmir unrest.
  • Arresting 7 separatist leaders including the dreaded Bitta Karate.
  • Raiding as many as 23 locations across Delhi, Haryana and Kashmir in connection with the Pakistani funding.
  • Summoning sons of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in connection with terror funding probe.

All such measures against the separatists and their financiers are the result of a case filed by the NIA on 30th May. The case was registered in connection with issues like raising, receiving and collection of funds for spreading terror activities in the state. The FIR named both the factions of the Hurryat, Hizbul Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat (all-women outfit of separatists) and even Hafiz Sayeed as the accused.

Rohingya terrorists kill 28 Hindus including women and children: Myanmar Army

OpIndia Staff
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Rohingya terrorists kill 28 Hindus including women and children: Myanmar Army

Myanmar Army issued a statement yesterday that a mass grave of 28 Hindus have been discovered in conflict torn Rakhine state. The Myanmar Army confirmed that they have found 20 dead women and eight men in the graves, including six boys under the age of ten.

The army has been conducting massive security crackdowns in areas where the Radical Islamist Rohingyas have been carrying out attacks since 25th August 2017, which incidentally is the time around which activism in support of illegal Rohingya immigrants peaked in India.

It has been reported that Rohingya militants raided a village in Northern Rakhine, where they brutally attacked villages and dragged some residents into the forest.

The conflict in Myanmar has said to have been aggravated after The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) ravaged police posts. The Myanmar Army has been fighting the ARSA, which has links with many radical Islamist organisations, since October last year.

A report by Time magazine quotes Mynmar government’s Information Committee, where a Hindu man has recounted the horrors. The Hindu man, who has since fled to Bangladesh, is reported to have told a local leader that ARSA insurgents took about 100 Hindus from the village and killed all of them except for eight women, who were forced to convert to Islam and brought to Bangladesh.

It is not the first time that Radical Islamist Rohingyas have targeted Hindus and ethnic Buddhists in Myanmar. Many accounts of terror have been reported from the Rakhine State.

A village chief of an ethnic tribe in Rakhine region had told media persons how Rohingya terrorists target non-combatant non-Muslims in the region. Earlier this month, it was reported how Hindus and Buddhists too were forced to flee the region.

A village chief had revealed how Rohingya Muslims killed 8 villagers as they were out foraging, including his brother and oldest son on 3rd August 2017. He added that people from his tribe had to leave everything behind and take sanctuary in the government controlled areas, fearful that the Rohingya would target them again.

In August, an AFP reporter had visited a hospital in Maungdaw in Rakhine state where the bullet-riddled bodies of six Hindu construction workers had been brought. Survivors said the group had been ambushed by Rohingya terrorists. A 50 year Hindu woman had told the AFP reporter that the Rohingyas were causing ‘disturbances’ but had no place else to go if the situation got worse.

Unfortunately, the Hindus are suspected to be colluding with the Myanmar Army by some Rohingya Muslims. A report by CNN published last week had quoted a Rohingya woman, who accused Hindus of helping the Myanmar Army in carrying out atrocities against the Muslims. It appears that radical groups have been able to convince the common Rohingyas that Hindus and Buddhists are their enemies.

Amidst all this, India has been debating whether illegal Rohingya immigrants should be given citizenship. Intelligence agencies assert that some Rohingya immigrants may have terror links to Pakistan based terror groups and others could be vulnerable to radicalization given their experience in Myanmar. There have been intelligence reports showing such security threats.

The central government told the Supreme Court that the illegal influx of Rohingyas using the porous border between India and Myanmar and their continued stay here was seriously harming the national security of the country.

The central government affidavit to the Supreme Court also stated that the illegal influx of Rohingyas started in 2012-2013 when Congress led UPA-II was in power.

Recently, the illegal Rohingya immigrants have found support from the likes of Zakir Musa and Hafiz Saeed, drawing strong suspicion from all quarters.

In Kashmir, Maulvi raped minor boys on pretext of ‘driving away evil eye’

OpIndia Staff
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In Kashmir, Maulvi raped minor boys on pretext of ‘driving away evil eye’

A local Maulvi in Kashmir has been accused of raping scores of minor boys under the pretext of summoning djinns and driving away ‘evil eye’. Kashmir Police has booked Aijaz Shaikh, popularly known as Maulvi Saab amongst the locals, under section 377 of the state’s Ranbir Penal Code.

According to victims, the Maulvi was approached by the followers to help them get rid of the problems. Maulvi would then claim that he has djinns under his control and they only speak to a male child under the age of 14. His followers and their relatives would readily send their children to the Maulvi, who would then trap them by guilt tripping them on things like masturbating and sexually exploit them. According to one of the victims, who is now an adult, the Maulvi would ask embarrassing questions about their sexual life and then humiliate them for ‘sinning’.

One of the victims said that one time, the Maulvi had as many as 10-12 children between the age group of 11-14 in his house where he made them perform sexual acts on each other all night long while he watched. He then took the most ‘attractive’ boy and rape him. Another said that the Maulvi was such a sadist that he would rape boys in front of other children in different positions.

Shockingly, the Maulvi has been abusing young boys since years when he was teaching Quran and Arabic in a school. He would also rape boys while pretending to be possessed by a djinn.

The victims have gone through such trauma that some are even showing signs of depression, anxiety, guilt and fear. However, since the state of Jammu and Kashmir is exempt from Acts like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO), the victims are deprived of sensitivity in approaching such case.

Tripura journalists hold a 2nd protest march after the initial one got hijacked by leftists

OpIndia Staff
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Tripura journalists hold a 2nd protest march after the initial one got hijacked by leftists

The brutal murder of Journalist Shantanu Bhowmik on Wednesday in Tripura during a clash between Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Tribal wing of the CPM, had left many shocked. It prompted a strong reaction from the journalist fraternity in Tripura, who on that day created roadblocks to demand action against the murderers. Later they were also scheduled to hold a silent funeral procession in memory of Shantanu, which most likely was scheduled to take place on Friday.

There were early indications of political interference by the left in the whole matter after local outfits had reported that Tripura’s PWD minister had made a clear political statement by giving a “Red Salute” to the body of the slain journalist.

Now this aspect of “political hijacking” has been strengthened by reports which claim that journalists in Agartala took out a second silent protest on Saturday after many of them complained that the original protest on Friday had more CPM workers than journalists.

The initial protest march on Friday was organised by the Agartala Press Club where as alleged by journalists, they were simply outnumbered by CPM supporters. Plus according to them, the Agartala Press Club clearly prepared political banners which blamed the IPFT for the murder even before the probe has been completed.

The General secretary of the Tripura Working Journalists’ Association (TWJA), also stated that various senior CPM leaders like MPs Shankar Prasad Datta, Jharna Das Baidya, Agartala mayor Prafullajit Sinha, DYFI state secretary Amal Chakraborty and SFI state secretary Nabarun Deb were also present at the protest.

This resulted in 7 journalist associations like the Tripura Journalists’ Union, Tripura Newspaper Society, Tripura Working Journalists’ Association, Tripura Photo Journalists’ Association, Tripura News Correspondents’ Forum, Tripura Electronic Media Society and the Kokborok Media Forum, taking out another protest on Saturday.

The CPM as a response to the criticism, labelled the criticism and protests as agenda of BJP supported newspaper-owners.

Whatever the CPM might say, this isn’t the only time their party or the left as a whole has hijacked such protests. During the aftermath of the Gauri Lankesh murder it was reported  how the presence of politicians during a protest at the press club of India had left many journalists disappointed. The politicians mainly included leftists like Sitaram Yechury, Mohammed Salim, Atul Anjan and leftist student leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid.

In February the ABVP had also alleged that the leftists had attempted to hijack a protest march inside the campus.

Such a behaviour of the leftists might be prompted by the fact that their party is rapidly losing relevance in the larger political spectrum and by trying to hog the spotlight during such protest meets, the communists might be attempting to pivot themselves into public eye.

FIR filed against DU professor for writing obscene Facebook post on Goddess Durga

OpIndia Staff
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FIR filed against DU professor for writing obscene Facebook post on Goddess Durga

Delhi University assistant professor Kedar Kumar Mandal has been booked for his Facebook post likening Goddess Durga to a ‘sexy prostitute’.

In a Facebook post posted on 22nd September, Mandal had posted a Facebook status (now deleted) referring to the Goddess to a prostitute. Others, too, chimed in, agreeing with Mandal’s post.

 


Offended by his post, members of National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF) had submitted their complaint against Mandal at Lodhi Road police station on September 23 following which an FIR was registered against him. He has been booked under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code.The NDTF has also alleged that Mandal had shared this post in 21 different groups as well.

According to his profile on Facebook, he has studied and taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where using such terminology for Hindu goddesses passes off as intellectualism and liberalism.

Earlier in March, 2016, Smriti Irani, the then HRD Minister, in Parliament had raised the issue of JNU students celebrating “Mahishasur Martyrdom Day” where some JNU students had referred to Goddess Durga as a sex worker.

BJP spokesperson Tajinder Bagga also claimed that Mandal is a close associate of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.


This is not the first time Mandal has written crass and sexist comments.

Referring to Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Mandal states an “infertile CM and an infertile government could make the entire UP infertile”. Using the term “infertile” as an insult is highly inappropriate and sexist.

Journalists, politicians share fake image of girls beaten by police in BHU

OpIndia Staff
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Journalists, politicians share fake image of girls beaten by police in BHU

At a time when fake news are getting called out, fake images of real news are making rounds by people who seem to have vested interest in flaring violence. What is shocking is that this includes politicians and journalists who are expected to verify the facts instead of resorting to fear mongering.

Following the alleged lathicharge of the police on students protesting molestation on the Banaras Hindu University campus, there has been a lot of uproar on the incident on the same on social media. Lot of people have expressed their anger  of using force on students. However, some prominent media persons and politicians jumped on to the opportunity to score their political brownie points by posting fake images of a girl allegedly beaten up by police at BHU.

Seems like everyone got the same WhatsApp forward message template with suggestive hashtags to be used with the accompanying image. None of them bothered to verify the image before taking liberties to blame the Modi and Yogi governments for use of force by the police.

However, reality is far from that. While there are reports that the police used excessive force on the students at BHU, the said image which everyone circulated is fake. It is lifted from another story where the girl was allegedly beaten up because of one-sided love affair.

One wonders at the intentions of the so-called prominent lawyers, journalists and politicians to indulge in spreading fake and unverified images, just to push their own political agenda.

While the self-proclaimed ‘antidote to fake propagandists’ Altnews did report that the image in circulation is not from the BHU, it failed to report the fact that that prominent anti-Modi people were the ones responsible for sharing that image in the first place:

Which is interesting since during the Basirhat riots in July this year, Altnews website was quick to name and shame the BJP leaders and other BJP supporters for sharing alleged fake images, which were not part of the Basirhat riots. But in the current case, Altnews has not called out leaders like former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan, AAP MLA Sanjay Singh, journalist Mrinal Pande, the abusive troll who doubles up as journalist Swati Chaturvedi, and AICC General Secretary and former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot for spreading fake images of an incident.

Update: Following criticism, Altnews was forced to carry a report stating the names of prominent people who shared the fake image.

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