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Remember cries of ‘mob lynching by Gau Rakshaks’ in Chhattisgarh? SIT says Saddam, Chand Miya and Guddu jumped to their death, no evidence of assault

Rukma Rathore
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Remember cries of ‘mob lynching by Gau Rakshaks’ in Chhattisgarh? SIT says Saddam, Chand Miya and Guddu jumped to their death, no evidence of assault

According to the chargesheet presented to the court last week, a Special Investigation Team stated that the three men who were discovered under a bridge in Arang, in the Raipur region of Chhattisgarh last month, “jumped” to their deaths and were neither lynched nor beaten. The deceased were identified as Saddam Qureshi (23) and his cousin Chand Miya Khan (23) who were from Saharanpur district and Guddu Khan (35) of Shamli district. The postmortem report revealed that their death was caused by their fall onto the rocks.

The chargesheet was submitted on 8th July but remained confidential until 17th July, when its single page appeared on social media. A previous First Information Report from the police included charges of assault and attempted murder. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) charged five men Harsh Mishra, Mayank Sharma, Raja Agarwal, Navin Thakur and Tanay Luniya under the counts of culpable homicide and common intention for the killings.

On 7th June, the three males were reportedly being pursued by the gau-rakshaks (cow-protectors) on suspicion of smuggling cows when they were taking cattle from Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund to the state capital Raipur. They were subsequently discovered lying on the rocks beneath a bridge. Chand Miya Khan lost his life immediately while Guddu Khan passed away on the way to the hospital that day and Saddam Qureshi died on 18th June from his wounds.

Initially, the incident was labelled a mob lynching. Afterwards, an SIT was formed to look into the matter and it filed a charge sheet in the court after concluding the investigation. Notably, the police personnel and the charge sheet disclosed that the Muslim men were never attacked. They leapt into the river out of fear and met their deaths.

The gau rakshaks were waiting for the trio in a car as they had information about cattle smuggling, according to the SIT charge sheet. The gau rakshaks tried to halt the four-wheeler and carry out an inspection but the latter drove away to escape for at least 54 kilometres as a long chase ensued. The Muslim men then got off their truck on the Mahanadi bridge located in Arang and plunged into the river believing that there would be water but it was dry and they ended up losing their lives. According to sources, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) could not establish assault.

The authorities earlier lodged a case under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide) and 307 (attempt to murder). Nevertheless, the police removed the attempted murder charge after Saddam Qureshi died because his autopsy report had no mention of assault-related injuries. “The assault never took place. The three got scared and jumped,” confirmed Additional Superintendent (Raipur Rural) Kirtan Rathore when questioned about the chargesheet on 17th July.

How the mob lynching narrative was peddled on social media

The Islamists and its ecosystem, whose primary goal is to provide a communal element where none previously existed and blame Hindus didn’t take much time to resort to their devious tricks in this case either. The members of the Muslim community flocked to the streets in Chhattisgarh to demonstrate against the ‘mob lynching’ as their religious and ideological brethren amplified the same lie online.

Social media commentator Harun Khan tweeted a video of a protest in Raipur against the alleged murders of the three Muslim men.

Another Muslim handle referred to the arrest of Harsh Mishra as the first one in the ‘mob lynching’ case and claimed that the latter was hiding at his girlfriend’s residence.

“Muslim Spaces” repeated the same falsehood, labelling the instance in Chhattisgarh as a “mob lynching of cattle transporters.”

Another popular user by the name of “Hate Detector” claimed that Raja Agarwal who identified himself as a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha was arrested in the ‘mob lynching’ of the three men.

Opportunistic Indian National Congress leader and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani also exploited the incident to attack the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party government and the authorities. He also alleged that the three Muslim males were murdered and demanded strict punishment for the perpetrators. He further threatened, “If justice is not served, we will organize massive protests against the BJP government. We demand accountability and swift action.”

Another netizen referred to the murders as “saffron terrorists” and called it “business as usual” implying that Muslims regularly die at the hands of Hindus in India. The person also highlighted that the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged victorious on ten out of eleven Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh.

Unsurprisingly, after the facts emerged and it was determined that the occurrence was not a mob lynching, the same individuals would neither apologize nor retract their false statements and sectarian remarks they had previously circulated to disparage Hindus and the BJP. It is pertinent to note that the Islamist-liberal ecosystem has been exposed multiple times in the past, although they brazenly continue to point fingers at Hindus while simultaneously ignoring or whitewashing hundreds of similar assaults where the majority community has come under attack and killed by the Muslims.

Flights cancelled, businesses hit across the world as Microsoft ‘Blue Screen of Death’ strikes computers due to Crowdstrike glitch

ANI
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Flights cancelled, businesses hit across the world as Microsoft ‘Blue Screen of Death’ strikes computers due to Crowdstrike glitch

Global software giant Microsoft said on Friday that an outage in its online services has affected customers across the world, including in India.

Microsoft Windows users reported facing ‘Blue Screen of Death’ errors with many users taking to social media platform X to report about the issue.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike told US outlet NBC that it suffered a major outage on Friday impacting businesses globally. The outage resulted from an issue with the latest update, the company said. CrowdStrike is now in the process of rolling back that update globally, it said.

As per reports, Windows users are seeing blue screen errors on their screen with their latops or Personal computers getting stuck on restart loop.

Major US carriers including Delta, United and American Airlines, have grounded all flights grounded, regardless of destination, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Berlin Airport announced the suspension of all flights.

Bloomberg said that London Stock Exchange was reporting “technical glitches.”

In India, SpiceJet announced via X (formerly Twitter) that it was experiencing technical challenges with its service provider, which affected online services like booking, check-in, and managing bookings.

IndiGo tweeted, “Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted.”

As per a heatmap of India, put out by Downdetector, which detects outages, users in various parts of India reported problems.

The National Cyber Security Coordinator of Australia in a post on X stated, “I am aware of a large-scale technical outage affecting a number of companies and services across Australia this afternoon. Our current information is this outage relates to a technical issue with a third-party software platform employed by affected companies.”

The Redmond, Washington DC headquartered American multinational corporation on Friday said that it was investigating an issue preventing users from accessing its apps and services.

On its support website, Microsoft said that “impacted services may include but are not limited to” Microsoft Teams, Viva Engage, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft 365 admin centre among others.

“We’re investigating an issue affecting access to multiple Microsoft 365 services. We’re working to identify the full impact and will provide more information shortly,” the official

Microsoft account for updates on certain Microsoft365 service incidents said on X.

Low-cost US carriers Frontier Airlines, Allegiant and SunCountry also reported that their operations had been impacted.

“The Allegiant website is currently unavailable due to the Microsoft Azure issue,” Nevada-based Allegiant said in a statement to CNN.

“Due to a global outage at a third party vendor, our booking, check-in, and trip-managing capabilities are temporarily unavailable,” SunCountry said on its site as reported by CNN.

The US media outlet said that Microsoft on its Azure cloud software status report site, said that around 6 pm ET, the service went down for some customers in the Central US region – “including failures with service management operations and connectivity or availability of services.”

“Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions. More details can be found within the admin center under MO821132 and http://status.cloud.microsoft,” Microsoft took to X to state as users faced issues impacting their ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Jharkhand: Muslim mob of ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ attack Hindu houses after a Muslim boy was thrashed for making video of a girl in Pakur

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Muslim mob of ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ attack Hindu houses after a Muslim boy was thrashed for making video of a girl in Pakur

In Jharkhand’s Pakur district, a case of stone pelting on Hindu houses has sparked outrage. Reports say that a Muslim boy in Pakur recorded a video of a Hindu girl and intended to make it viral on social media, prompting Hindus to protest against it and thrash the perpetrator. Infuriated over Hindus protesting against the Muslim youth several Muslims stood outside Hindu houses in Taranagar village, and both sides began pelting bricks and stones.

During the clashes, several people were seriously injured and many houses were damaged. During this time, the police were also targeted, and three officers were reported to have been injured. Meanwhile, BJP leaders have expressed apprehension that Hindus are leaving the area after the clashes out of fear. The BJP leaders have alleged that Bangladeshi infiltrators from West Bengal are behind the attack on Hindus. They also questioned the ruling Soren government’s silence.

BJP leaders raise question over Bangladeshi infiltrators attacking Hindus

Speaking about the incident of violence against Hindus, BJP MP from Godda, Nishikant Dubey said, “In Jharkhand, under the rule of @INCIndia this Taranagar Ilami village of Pakur became deserted. What was the fault, a Muslim boy was blackmailing a minor girl by making her video. When she protested, Bangladeshi infiltrators came from West Bengal to make all the Hindus leave the village. @JharkhandPolice. Now helpless in the hands of the people of West Bengal. Santhal Pargana is on the way to becoming Kashmir Valley, where Hindus are displaced in their own country.”

Meanwhile, Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi equated the situation in Jharkhand to what was in Kashmir during the 90s and the present situation in Kerala-West Bengal.

“When Rome was burning, Nero was playing the flute’… In today’s context, this applies accurately to Hemant Soren as well. Jharkhand’s Santhal Pargana region is burning in the fire of terror of Bangladeshi infiltrators, and Chief Minister Hemant Soren is busy touring. Due to the terror of infiltrators, the tribal natives of Santhal Pargana are now forced to migrate from their homes. The situation in Jharkhand is becoming worse like in Kashmir of the 90s and present Bengal-Kerala, where the state governments are turning a blind eye to the attacks on Hindus in the name of Muslim appeasement. In Taranagar village of Pakur, Bangladeshi infiltrators attacked the houses of Hindus when they protested against the blackmailing of a girl by a Muslim youth. The silence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren on such sensitive issues shows that these infiltrators have the silent support of his government. Hemant ji, remember that Jharkhand will not be allowed to become Taliban… Your government is a guest for a few months. Then these infiltrators and their patrons will also be driven out of the state,” Marandi posted.

Police say the situation is under control

According to Prabhat Khabar’s report, after receiving information about the incident, local police arrived at the scene and calmed the situation. A meeting is being held between the two communities in police presence. It is being said that the situation is under control and the issue will be resolved soon. The district authorities have issued a statement saying that the perpetrators of the incident in Taranagar village of Pakur have been identified and said that stern action will be taken against them.

Beyond ‘thook’ and Halal, here is another aspect of Muslim fruit sellers vs Kanwariyas controversy

Rahul Roushan
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Beyond ‘thook’ and Halal, here is another aspect of Muslim fruit sellers vs Kanwariyas controversy

The last couple of days saw a new ‘controversy’ where local administration in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh ordered roadside vendors, especially fruit sellers, to display their names on their carts and shops so that Kanwariyas can get transparent information about the identity of the sellers. The usual suspects started crying everything from discrimination to genocide, as they claimed that this was an attempt to make sure that Kanwariyas avoid Muslim sellers and buy only from Hindus.

The demand to ask vendors to display their names was made by some Hindu activists after multiple videos and news reports showed Muslim vendors spitting in food or sprinkling fruits with water that had urine traces. The issue was of purity and hygiene, as well as that of religious sentiments – because Kanwariyas must avoid occurrences that could defile their pilgrimage, which is subjected to strict adherence to various sets of rules – but it was turned into an issue of religious profiling and stereotyping, forcing the administration to semi-retracted their order by disclosing identity voluntarily. To be fair, the demand by activists obviously had an element of stereotyping, but as some nice bigots will say, ‘not all of them are bad. 98% of them give bad names to others.’

Leaving alone the issue of stereotyping, it was also pointed out by many, including here at OpIndia, that there was nothing wrong if Kanwariyas wanted to buy fruits only from the Hindu sellers. Why should Kanwariyas not have that choice when Muslims – everyone, not just those on some pilgrimage – insist on Halal-certified products, where the active and exclusive role of Muslims at some stage from manufacturing to sale is mandatory for certification? For example, only a male Muslim butcher must slaughter an animal while chanting the Islamic prayer for a market-ready piece of meat to be certified Halal. With Halal slowly becoming ubiquitous and universal, it means that non-Muslim butchers are never going to be employed by commercial slaughterhouses. Why is a “Muslim only” butcher okay, but not a “Hindu only” fruit seller? The question was raised.

There was also the issue of transparency and ‘branding’. Someone walks into a Dhaba named Shiva Dhaba because his ishtadeva is Shiva, but finally finds out while making the payment via the UPI QR code, that his money is going to someone called Zubair who definitely is not a Shiva bhakt. Does he have a right to feel cheated? Or is that bigotry? Is it not similar to buying a mineral water bottle in a hurry thinking you are buying Bisleri but after quenching your thirst you notice that it was actually Bilseri? If someone tells you not to bother till the water is pure, will you agree with that argument? Why should the original case be similarly not seen as that of misleading branding?

However, beyond these issues, lies another one that has largely been not touched – it is the representation of various communities in low-skilled jobs or the ‘unorganized sector’. Even the Sachar Committee report of 2006, which painted Muslims as the most marginalized and vulnerable socio-religious group of India, had recorded that the share of Muslims in the unorganized sector was above the national average, especially when compared with Hindu SC/STs and OBCs.

“The most striking feature is the relatively high share of Muslim workers engaged in self-employment activity,” the Sachar Committee mentions in its report, with more observations like “As compared to other SRCs, the participation of Muslim workers in the informal sector enterprises is much higher.”

The report notes that Muslims preferred to work in non-agricultural unorganized sectors i.e. working as technicians, mechanics, small industry workers, etc. The preference of Muslims for self-employed sectors too, such as street vending or owning other small businesses, was also far higher than other groups. For example, look at the chart below that has been taken from the official Sachar Committee report:

Muslim domination in street vending as per Sachar Committe report
Fig 5.7 of Sachar Committee report, 2006.

And mind you, this is data from like two decades ago, so things would have changed a lot since the time these numbers were recorded. There have been claims and reports that this preference and thus resulting domination has only increased over time.

Now Sachar Committee obviously puts this data in the context of Muslims being “forced” to take up such jobs as they don’t find jobs in the government or organised private sector. The attempt is to hint at systemic discrimination, rather than putting it as an outcome of how different communities prioritize education, family planning, skill development, etc. due to various economic and sociopolitical factors.

Whatever the reasons, the outcome is that the Muslim community dominates the informal sector and blue-collar jobs. The same has been recounted in anecdotes many times by ‘bigots’ on social media when they lament how they can’t find Hindu AC mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, tailors, etc.

There would be immediate demands to introduce quotas if say Hindu SC/STs and OBCs were so much under-represented in any other sector. Wait a minute, what if the Muzaffarnagar administration reintroduces their order as a form of some form of quota in street vending, making sure Hindu SCs and OBCs are adequately represented? I might want that to happen for the sake of popcorn, but let us not go there.

The issue is that unlike the Sachar Committee, which uses this trend in the unorganized and self-employed sectors as a tool to further demand concessions for Muslims, there is a need for honest analysis about why the Hindu socio-economic groups are seemingly not as “enterprising” as Muslims. Is the Muslim domination a result of a lack of other opportunities for them or it’s an outcome of shutting out opportunities for others e.g. the way halal shuts out opportunities for Hindu SC butchers? Or could it be the outcome of something else that we are missing?

Obviously, ‘bigots’ would imagine this as an outcome of Muslims ‘capturing’ one space after another once they get the opportunity, but there could be many other ‘secular’ reasons too.

One of my friends posited that this is an outcome of market dynamics as Muslim technicians, mechanics, etc. are able to offer highly competitive rates for their services and thus they are more successful. However, he had an interesting theory of what makes them offer this competitive price. He said that this is due to the fact that such service providers – e.g. garage owners, furniture shop owners, etc. – in turn employ fellow Muslims as workers at far cheaper labor costs. Now those workers don’t feel their low wages as ‘exploitation’ as the employer is often their relative, or some elder from the village who helped them migrate to urban areas, or someone else who otherwise uses religiosity to bond together. Since such service providers pay out wages that are way lower than what the government considers standard, their prices offered to end consumers are attractive, and that’s why they succeed and dominate.

There could be other reasons too like blue-collar or low-skilled jobs being maligned and mocked so much among Hindus – remember how pakoda selling as employment was mocked no end just because they wanted to spite Narendra Modi – that many don’t even try their hands and would rather spend all their lives trying to get a government job or some other ‘honorable’ job rather than try self-employment or small jobs.

This is a very tragic situation as we are dealing with groups that are largely poor and have limited resources for which they are competing against each other. However, this – the evident domination of one particular group in unorganized sectors and low-skilled jobs – is something that doesn’t need political correctness and virtue signaling as a solution, which is unfortunately what is always provided in abundance.

This uneven representation can give rise to other social problems in the future. We can either feel good about ourselves by blaming it all on ‘bigots’ or acknowledge it as a challenge that must be addressed.

Police car overturned, bus set ablaze, bricks hurled at officers: Violence in Pakistani-dominated Leeds, cops point fingers at ‘criminal minority’

OpIndia Staff
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Police car overturned, bus set ablaze, bricks hurled at officers: Violence in Pakistani-dominated Leeds, cops point fingers at ‘criminal minority’

On Thursday (18th July) evening, violence broke out in the Harehills suburb in Leeds city in Yorkshire county of England.

In visuals that have surfaced on social media, a frenzied mob was seen setting a bus on fire. The rioters also overturned a police car, broke the glass windows of another police vehicle and endangered the lives of officers seated inside it.

The cops were attacked with rocks and missiles. One rioter went on to use a child’s scooter to hammer it against a police car’s window. The police tried to pacify the violent mob but had to eventually flee the scene.

The complete breakdown of law and order in Leeds occurred after the social services took four children away from a family of Eastern European descent.

As per reports, one of the children was hospitalised a few days ago after being hurt by one of his siblings. The matter was reported to the police, which then notified the social services.

When the government agency workers removed the children on Thursday (18th July) evening, they faced attacks from the family and other inhabitants of the Harehills suburb.

While speaking about the matter, the West Yorkshire police said that the riots were orchestrated by a ‘criminal minority’ hellbent on creating communal disturbance in the Harehills suburb of Leeds.

“We want to make it very clear that the full weight of the law will be brought against those responsible. Police can also confirm that no-one has so far been reported to have been hurt in the disorder and police are treating the matter as a serious public order incident,” the statement said.

The cops further added, “We would strongly discourage residents from speculating on the cause of this disorder which we believe has been instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations.”

Reportedly, Harehills has a long history of violence and racial tension. The suburb is home to immigrants, especially people of Pakistani origin

Bid to curb Hindu festivals? Ahead of Ganeshotsav and Krishna Janmashtami, Karnataka education dept bans use of school grounds for non-academic use in Mangalore

OpIndia Staff
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Bid to curb Hindu festivals? Ahead of Ganeshotsav and Krishna Janmashtami, Karnataka education dept bans use of school grounds for non-academic use in Mangalore

In Karnataka, the Congress government has stoked a controversy ahead of the Krishna Janmashtami and Ganeshotsav festivals. The outrage erupted after Dakshina Kannada District Director of School Education issued a circular on 16th July prohibiting the use of school playgrounds for non-academic purposes in Mangalore.

The Dakshina Kannada District Director of School Education has issued a circular to government, aided, and unaided schools stating that school grounds and buildings should not be used for non-academic purposes. The officer has also directed that no proposals be submitted to the Education Department for approval. The publication of this circular ahead of Ganeshutsava and Sri Krishna Krishna Janmashtami has provoked uproar among Hindu organisations.

“In any case, in government-funded/subsidized/non-subsidized schools, the school grounds/premises will be used for non-academic activities/purposes and permission will be given. Accordingly, all government/subsidized/non-subsidized schools in South Kannada district are advised to submit applications to this office for permission to use school grounds/premises. And at the school level, except non-academic activities, he said that permission should not be given to any other programs. In case of violation of this order, the concerned school head will be held liable,” the circular dated 16th July 2024 reads.

The authorities have warned that the school principals in question will be held accountable if this order is violated. While the order states that school grounds can’t be used for non-academic purposes, the order just ahead of Hindu festivals like Krishna Janmashtami and Ganeshotsav has been seen as an attack on the Hindu festivals. Reportedly the public Ganeshotsava festivities being held by village organisations on their own may be affected.

Notably, several Hindu rights organisations have raised objection to this directive. They say that people have for many years been organising Ganeshotsav and Janmashtami events in school playgrounds after obtaining permission. Harish Poonja, a BJP MLA from Belthangadi has demanded that the Congress government withdraw the outrageous order immediately.

Taking to X, Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Girish Bhardwaj accused the CM Siddaramaiah-led government of hatching a conspiracy to stop Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, and Saraswati Puja in schools and college grounds. He added that Siddaramaiah used the same grounds during elections for his rallies and campaigning.

“Anti-Hindu Siddaramaiah’s government’s conspiracy to stop Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, and Saraswati Puja in schools and college grounds is evident. The Department of Public Instruction has issued a circular stating that school and college grounds should not be used for any other purposes.  However, the same grounds have been used by Siddaramaiah for his political rallies and election campaigning. This shows his conspiracy against Hindu festivals being celebrated on school and college grounds. If the government doesn’t want religious events on school grounds, then the government should stay out of temples. The government should withdraw its involvement from temples entirely,” Bhardwaj posted.

Action against those selling Halal products, eateries to display identity of owners to maintain sanctity of Kanwariyas’ faith: Yogi Adityanath

ANI
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Action against those selling Halal products, eateries to display identity of owners to maintain sanctity of Kanwariyas’ faith: Yogi Adityanath

On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh State Government announced several measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the Kanwar Yatra which will start on July 22. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath mandated that food and beverage shops along Kanwar routes display the name and identity of the operator/owner to maintain the sanctity of the pilgrims’ faith during Kanwar Yatra. Additionally, action will be taken against those selling halal-certified products.

Earlier, the Muzaffarnagar Police had urged all eateries along the Kanwar route to “voluntarily display” the names of their owners and employees, adding that the intention of this order is not to create any kind of “religious discrimination” but only to facilitate the devotees.

DIG Saharanpur Ajay Kumar Sahni said, “Instances have come to light earlier that Kanwarias had arguments over rate list for food at hotels and dhabas. Besides this, there have been instances where non-veg is available at some hotel/dhaba or a person of some other community has opened a hotel/dhaba under some other name and this has led to issues. In the wake of that, it was decided that the name of the proprietor/owner of shops/hotels/dhabas would be written clearly on the boards, rate lists would be written clearly and names of workers would also be written clearly so that no issues of any kind arise…Talks had been held with everyone, and all hotels/dhabas have agreed to it…This has been decided for our Kanwar route.”

However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition parties who have accused the UP Govt of singling out one community.

Former Samajwadi Party MP Dr. ST Hasan says,”…A message is being given to boycott Muslims and visit shops of Hindu…How long will this communal thinking last? Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are happening…A gap is being created between the two communities. These kinds of orders should be cancelled…”

UP state Congress chief Ajay Rai said, “This is absolutely impractical. They are trying to impair the sense of brotherhood in society, trying to create distance among people. This should be cancelled immediately…”

Earlier on Thursday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav labelled the order as a “social crime” and called for court intervention, questioning the intention behind the government and administration’s actions.

“What will be known from the name of the person whose name is Guddu, Munna, Chhotu or Fateh? The honourable court should take suo-motto cognizance investigate the intention of the government behind such administration, and take appropriate punitive action. Such orders are social crimes that want to spoil the peaceful environment of harmony,” he said in a post on X.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the order, likening it to apartheid and Nazi-era practices, and challenged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to issue a written order if he has the “courage.”

Addressing a press conference, Owaisi said, “Seeing this order of the Uttar Pradesh government, it seems as if the spirit of Hitler has entered them. Will you give so much importance to a trip that you will ruin the livelihood of others? Will you work for only one community? Where is the Constitution? I challenge Yogi Adityanath to issue a written order if he has the courage. Clear discrimination is happening against Muslims,” Owaisi added.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed preparations for the Kanwar Yatra, which begins on July 22, providing guidelines for water, power, urban development, and energy ministers to ensure peace and security during the event.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued directives for the Kanwar Yatra, Sawan Mela, and other festivals in the upcoming Shravan month, leading the Urban Development Department to release instructions aimed at enhancing cleanliness, lighting, and drinking water arrangements. 

NIA arrests key aide of terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa: Baljeet Singh involved in terror activity, extortion, supplying weapons to Khalistanis

ANI
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NIA arrests key aide of terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa: Baljeet Singh involved in terror activity, extortion, supplying weapons to Khalistanis

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a key aide of designated individual Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Sandhu, alias Landa, in a major terror network case involving the supply of deadly weapons, the agency said on Friday.

Identified as Baljeet Singh alias Rana Bhai alias Balli, hailing from Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, was arrested on Thursday from Punjab and found to be a major weapons supplier to Landa’s agents in Punjab.

As per the anti-terror agency, these supplied weapons were used to carry out large-scale terror activities, including extortions from businessmen and others.

NIA’s investigations in the case (RC 21/2023/NIA/DLI) led to the arrest of one Gurpreet Singh Gopi, identified as an associate of Landa and of another Khalistani terrorist, Satnam Singh Satta.

Investigations into the case, registered by NIA suo moto on July 10 last year, revealed that Baljeet Singh had provided weapons to Satta too as part of the larger conspiracy of various banned Khalistani terrorist organisations to destabilise India by unleashing violent acts in Punjab and other places.

“Both Landa and Satta are believed to be operating from foreign soil to promote terror in India,” said the NIA, adding it is continuing with its investigation as part of its crackdown on the Khalistani terrorist outfits.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Bangladesh: After HC reinstates 30% reservation for descendants of 1971 war vets, anti-quota protest leaves 32 dead. Understanding the politics and the violence

Dibakar Dutta
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Bangladesh: After HC reinstates 30% reservation for descendants of 1971 war vets, anti-quota protest leaves 32 dead. Understanding the politics and the violence

Bangladesh has been witnessing violent protests for more than a month over the decision of the High Court to reinstate 30% reservation in government jobs to the descendants of the freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War.

The agitation against the ‘quota politics’, which is said to benefit members of Hasina’s Awami League, is largely spearheaded by students belonging to prominent colleges and universities in the country.

More than 32 deaths and 2000 injuries have been reported so far. The development comes at a time when Bangladesh is reeling under high inflation, dwindling foreign reserves and rising unemployment.

The unrest in the country reached its peak on Thursday (18th July) when anti-quota protesters set fire to the headquarters of the state broadcaster Bangladesh Television (BTV) in Dhaka.

In a statement, the TV network informed, “The building of the BTV is under fire. The fire is spreading rapidly. Hoping for the rapid deployment of the firefighters. Many are trapped inside.”

The police resorted to firing rubber bullets and using other forms of non-lethal weapons (tear gas and noise grenades) to quell the protests by the students, leading to more deaths and injuries.

Appeal for calm fails miserably in Bangladesh

Forced by circumstances, the Sheikh Hasina-led government had announced to shut down schools and colleges for an indefinite period.

According to outage monitor NetBlocks, Bangladesh is also witnessing a “near-total national internet shutdown.”

On Wednesday (17th July), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appealed to the students to maintain calm.

In a televised address, she said, “I firmly declare that those who carried out murders, looting and violence — whoever they are — I will make sure they will be given the appropriate punishment.“

However, appeals for peace have so far failed to bear any fruits. The ruling Awami League has blamed the Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for exploiting the ongoing unrest and using students as political weapons.

While speaking about the ongoing agitation against ‘quota politics’, a protestor named Nahid Islam remarked, “Discussions and opening fire do not go hand in hand… We cannot trample over dead bodies to hold discussions.”

Quotas in Bangladesh, govt policy and court verdicts

It must be mentioned that Bangladesh had 56% reservations until 2018 for certain groups in government jobs, which are considered lucrative in Bangladesh.

These groups include disabled individuals (1%), indigenous communities (5%), women (10%), people from underdeveloped districts (10%) and families of the freedom fighters of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War (30%).

This left only 44% of seats for selection based on merit. There were large-scale protests in 2018 by student groups, which forced the then-Sheikh Hasina government to abolish the quota altogether.

Violent student protests in Dhaka,image via AFP

In June this year, the High Court in Bangladesh overturned the decision of the government and held the scrapping of 30% reservation for families of freedom fighters as illegal. This sparked fresh protests from student groups.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the High Court on 4th July 2024, leading to widespread demonstrations. Following appeals by the Sheikh Hasina government, the court asked all petitioners to maintain the status quo until 7th August 2024.

However, the protesting students are steadfast in their demands and are willing to even endanger their lives to prevent the implementation of the 30% quota yet again.

The US is officially platforming Modi haters like Sayema and Akash Banerjee: Understanding why and what India can do about it

Ganesh R
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The US is officially platforming Modi haters like Sayema and Akash Banerjee: Understanding why and what India can do about it

Why should the US platform dynastic sycophants and anti-Modi haters like Sayema or Akash Banerjee? Why are they throwing money to create a battalion of “fact checkers” loyal to them? They know Modi Sarkar can’t do much about it but they also know they can’t be too happy. Obviously, they don’t care. 

After all, the stated goal is to build up India as a “strategic partner” and a bulwark against their much bigger rival, China. Sell billions in arms. Integrate into QUAD to run the Indian Ocean region like a good caporegime. Maybe supply soldiers when needed. Even before Biden or Trump, Obama embraced Modi, and all the past rancour was forgotten. Because they were playing for bigger stakes. Were they? What’s the deal?

I too posted after the recent episode that the Indian Ambassador to the USA must do such shows with Don Bongino or Alex Jones. That would create a media circus and the outrage will last weeks. NYT, WaPo, CNN, etc will go crazy. But achieve very little. Abhishek Baneji rightly pointed out the imbalance in capacity.

US conservatives have nothing much to gain by associating with India or its media. Left “liberals” have an entire lifetime of comfy gigs, Harvard professorships, real or fake, frequent flyer miles, ample funds and support from woke controlled tech giants like Google to monetize their ‘influence’, push it to your timeline and cripple others like Amana Ansari or Omer Ghazi who don’t follow the script. I can’t put it any better than Banerji – if you are “BA Engliss (sic) pass with 45% in Board exams”, and have zero chance of productive employment, that’s not a bad career. 

Instead of blowing our tops, we must carefully think, WHY? And of course, what can we do about it?

Going back to the question of why Ambassador Eric Garcetti doing this, let us get one fact right – it is not just now, after Modi’s return with a reduced majority. So don’t imagine ghosts. The Sayema episode happened when everyone thought Modi 3.0 with even bigger numbers was all but certain.

Furthermore, Garcetti and his experts will know very well if the Modi government were to fall today, its replacement would be a coalition of left-minded parties and a PM known to be a loyal student of Politburo “intellectuals” who surrounds himself with hardcore JNU Maoists and Marxists. Beijing will relish that prospect. Relations with India will likely get much worse for the USA – even in best-case scenarios. There may be token obedience on the Russia-Ukraine affair but that too is unlikely given the unstated consensus.

Can they be that ignorant? Are they committing strategic suicide or what? Of course not!

The simple truth is the US knows most of the malcontents they support will damage relations and create problems. The fact is, they don’t care. Because the damage they do internally is orders of magnitude higher than what they can do to the USA. And that makes a big difference.

It is here that I must expand the term US to include the West in general. Because the thinking is the same and the tactics are the same across the Anglo-Saxon, European mind at least when it comes to us unwashed.

If you remember Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini, you will recall he was able to cool his heels in Paris and return triumphantly to Iran with lots of support from the West. We all know what happened since then. Iran – West (US in particular) ties took a nosedive, it became a positive nuisance for Israel and US interests in the Middle East. US oil giants couldn’t really make too much there. 

But all that fades into insignificance once you realize the damage done to Iran itself – a powerful proud nation, a cultural and scientific colossus, has been crippled – taken back centuries socially and decades economically. There is no way in hell it can be a realistic threat other than through total war that will likely obliterate it, pushing it back to the stone age. It has no capacity to attack the US mainland itself. At best it can take out a few bases here and there. All the damage likely will fall on “allies” who are, at the end of the day, cannon fodder unless they are WASPs like the UK. Look at the poor Ukrainians, NATO, and EU in their dreams, fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian while the US senators and politicians gloat that it is “cheap” to fight this way.

Do you see the maths? Now multiply Iran by 10 or 20, you see India. 

There are many other examples where the US deliberately or on the face of it foolishly encourages forces that are ideologically opposite, and eventually end up biting it. It also actively encourages the fall of individuals or ideologies that could be in US interests to prosper. Woke left in the US admiring Chavez and his chela Maduro is a case in point. It went along with the Pakistan Army sponsoring and underwriting Imran Khan’s rise to power and ended up regretting it. Imran even exceeded Indira Gandhi’s conspiracy theory record, blaming everything including bad weather on CIA saazish. US siding with ISIS gangs that wanted to defeat Assad in Syria is another case. The vilification of Saudi’s MBS or el-Sisi of Egypt and support for Islamist fanatic Morsi are good examples. 

The US won’t really be bothered if a bunch of left loonies, Stalinist mass butchers, Islamist fanatics and assorted dacoit dynasts friendly to Comrade Eleven create chaos and anarchy on their path to power in India. If throwing some loose change pushes that along, so be it. If you don’t believe me, check what’s going on in Bangladesh. Yes, they may be bad news for Intel, Ford, or IBM but the overall calculation is far bigger than that.

Now you may say, look, Uncle Sam doesn’t want to hurt India. It wants us to do better because we can then help them control China (or buy Boeings or whatever). Blah Blah blah…what about all that?

It is not as if that is not true but there are far bigger truths. You don’t need to be anti-US to figure that, you just need to have some common sense. Mind you, I am NOT anti-USA. Rather I am very much an admirer. But facts are facts. Politics is dirty. International politics is dirtier.

Now imagine you were the US Secretary of State or his advisor influencing foreign policy and long-term strategy. The boss wants to know if the rise of India will help or hinder. The frank answer you can give is, “we don’t know”. In fact, our entire multi-decade foreign policy consensus of “non-alignment” makes this answer inevitable. Anything else is a plain lie.

Now, do you wait for that rise to happen and then find out, holy shit, we made a big mistake? Or play a smart double game and try to head that off as much as you can? Especially if that is really a cheap option, far cheaper than arming Ukraine?! After all, our leftist, woke brigade doesn’t demand US$60 billion in gifts or F16s. They just want a few cushy gigs and table scrap, and they will happily lick your arse and do your bidding. They can go to Yale or Harvard and shout about free Gaza. They will declare pronouns, cry for Ukraine, and wait for the call from Soros or Omidyar.

Now where is the risk? That India will get upset and move away from all this “strategic partner” talk, however much a load of BS that is? That we will stop buying US arms? That we will kiss and make up with China and join them to take on the USA? Unlikely. Mind you, it’s not as if we are doing exactly what they want, so it cuts both ways. 

At worst, they know the Modi sarkar will grind their teeth and bear it. Maybe get their SM trolls to vent their anger. 

Turning to what we must do or can do, first, let us understand a few things clearly.

  1. The rise of India, whether it happens now or in 100 years, can only happen with our strength. Not because Uncle Sam or the EU wants it. Even small countries can’t manage that, and we are too big to even discuss this. 
  2. Pretty much EVERY country on earth, other than small ones that can hang on to our coattails or ones too small and far away will likely be concerned with this rise simply because they don’t know what it means for them. That’s natural. No amount of our reassurance will mean anything.
  3. To expect the USA, today’s lone superpower, to sit quiet and watch this hoping it will turn out to be good for them is foolish.
  4. US rivalry with China too is not written in stone. Who can guess the course of post-Xi China? Or even post-communist? Even if it were an immediate threat, the US knows that it will have to do all the heavy lifting and not rely on the likes of India that change regime every 5 years, and can be unreliable.

That said, let us see what we can do.

  1. It is tempting to do a ‘two can play this game’ thing and try similar tricks that may irritate the wokes currently in power. I think it is worth doing that, provided we know clearly the limitations and are under no illusions. 
  2. More importantly, send a subtle but clear message that there will be real price to pay for this sort of action.
  3. Expand strategic room to play. If US is not wedded to perpetual hostility to China and can turn on a dime it Xi orders a few Boeing or does something that pleases Biden, should we try to remain fixed to our chains? Whether or not we get there, just making some noises in that direction will send a powerful message.
  4. Focus on building strength. These are distractions. 
  5. Just as China, its imports and exports, its supply chain, and its business prospects are important to the US until the very last moment when armed conflict develops, it if does at all, the US and its economy are important to us. Keep that perspective in mind.
  6. Remember – propaganda is a twin-edged sword – the very fact that some individuals are willing to out themselves as US stooges or favorites reduces their value for Uncle Sam. It creates suspicion that all their future statements are just sponsored advertorials. That can be exploited. This game is played in much more indirect, sophisticated ways.
  7. BJP has its work cut out just as any non-woke left leader in the world has – Orban, Milei, Meloni, Sunak, etc. They will face hostility and naked blatant propaganda from the left-controlled media and the US establishment controlled by the woke left. Coolies will be hired to do the dirty job. That should lead to a focus on creating an alternate ecosystem with as much power as that left has – not an easy job but we must start somewhere.
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