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Who are the ‘journalists’ from The Guardian hounding Kajal Hindustani for an interview: Anti-Hindu tropes, whitewashing of love jihad and more

OpIndia Staff
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Who are the ‘journalists’ from The Guardian hounding Kajal Hindustani for an interview: Anti-Hindu tropes, whitewashing of love jihad and more

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leftist propaganda newspaper The Guardian had been hounding Hindu rights activist, Kajal Hindustani, for an interview.

On Sunday (24th March), it came to light that The Guardian wanted to interview her by the end of the month and had promised to fly a team of two ‘journalists’ from the United Kingdom for this purpose.

While the leftist propaganda newspaper downplayed the development as an extension of its ‘election coverage’, it must be mentioned that the choice of ‘journalists’ for the particular interview with Kajal Hindustani hints at a sinister agenda.

While responding to the South Asian correspondent of The Guardian Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Kajal Hindustani said, “Dear sis, Firstly, I have the chats where I was told the team is flying from UK. I was not told you’re in India.”

“Second, why so eager to interview me by march end only? Thirdly, I was cordial. But I sensed something was off going by your desperation (I have the chats since February). Now I know for sure after seeing your coverage of Hindus,” the Hindu rights activist pointed out.

It must be mentioned that Kajal Hindustani has been a vocal critic of ‘love jihad’, a concerted attempt by radical Muslim youths to deceitfully convert Hindu women to Islam under the pretext of romantic relationships.

The Guardian, on the other hand, had left no stone unturned to dismiss the phenomenon as a ‘conspiracy theory’, despite over 100 such documented cases across the country in one year alone.

Interestingly, the three ‘journalists’ chosen by the leftist British newspaper to interview Kajal Hindustani were Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Ahmer Khan, and Kyri Evangelou – all of whom have a history of downplaying love jihad and falsely associating alleged cases of ‘honour killings’ as consequences of the phenomenon.

During the anti-CAA protests in January 2020, Hannah Ellis-Petersen was busy presenting a distorted version of the Citizenship Amendment Act to the readers of The Guardian.

Screengrab of the tweets by Hannah Ellis-Petersen

Instead of highlighting how the law seeks to fast-track the citizenship of persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who have been staying illegally in India, the propaganda artist claimed that a women-led protest against the humanitarian law was somehow a counter-narrative of ‘toxic masculinity of Modi’s Hindutva politics.’

She also attempted to give a clean chit to the Islamists, who ran riots in the National Capital in February 2020, by labelling the anti-Hindu carnage as a ‘clash between Hindus and Muslims.’

Hannah Ellis-Petersen had also lamented how the riots did not affect the US-India ties and instead, the Modi government received praise for upholding religious freedom in the country from the President of the United States.

Screengrab of the tweets by Hannah Ellis-Petersen

The ‘journalist’ falsely presented restrictions on the wearing of religious clothing in Karnataka schools as ‘hijab ban’ in South India. She also claimed that the reclamation of disputed structures built on top of Hindu temple was ‘Hindu nationalists rewriting India’s history.’

Hannah Ellis-Petersen also wrote several provocative pieces for The Guardian where she tried to guilt-trip Hindus for the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict and the Pran Prathistha of the Ram Mandir. She also tried to dilute the significance of the events by referencing the disputed structure that once stood atop the grand Hindu temple.

Moreover, the propaganda artist linked the outbreak of violence in Leicester City of England in 2022 with ‘Hindu nationalism’, despite no evidence for the same.

In reality, the Centre for Democracy, Pluralism and Human Rights (CDPHR) in its fact-finding report pointed out that Islamists weaponised misinformation in Lecister, committed human rights violations against Hindus and attempted ethnic cleansing that resulted in the temporary displacement of Hindu families.

“Institutional Hinduphobia and bias was deduced through the analysis of the reporting of the Leicester unrest by the media houses BBC and the Guardian when compared to the verified police reports, witness accounts and corroborating reports from think tanks,” the report had said.

The propaganda of Hannah Ellis-Petersen is not limited to shaming the Hindu community or downplaying atrocities committed against them by Islamists. She has authored articles, wherein she dehumanised Hindus participating in Kumbh Mela as ‘Covid superspreaders’ despite no evidence to back her claims.

The ‘journalist’ had also given a clean chit to the actual superspreaders of Covid-19 aka the members of the Tablighi Jamaat, who at one time accounted for 30% of all cases of Coronavirus in the country.

Nonetheless, her grim presentation and eventual fearmongering about India’s Covid-19 situation in 2021 drew praise from ‘journalist’ turned ‘document cropper’ N Ram, infamous for peddling disinformation about the Rafael deal.

Islamist at the helm of discrediting ‘love jihad’

Another ‘journalist’ from The Guardian, who was hounding Kajal Hindustani for an interview, was Ahmer Khan.

He is known for rumour-mongering about CAA, painting the incumbent Modi government as anti-Muslim and expressing support for anti-India activists and Islamist apologists such as Harsh Mander.

Screengrab of the tweets by Ahmer Khan

Having said that, Ahmer Khan’s expertise lies in whitewashing Islamists involved in identity fraud, impersonation and forced conversions (the modus operandi that forms the core of the menace of love jihad).

Despite a plethora of documented cases of Muslim men assuming Hindu identity to entrap Hindu women and forcibly convert them to Islam, the controversial ‘journalist’ has taken it upon himself to create the false perception that love jihad is a ‘conspiracy theory.’

To that effect, he has directed 3 documentary films on the phenomenon. The Guardian’s sudden urge to send Ahmer Khan to interview Hindu activist Kajal Hindustani appears to be yet another ploy to discredit the menace of love jihad.

Some of the propaganda films shot by Ahmer Khan include ‘Love Jihad in India’s Uttar Pradesh’, ‘The Hindu extremists at War with InterFaith Love’, and ‘Love Jihad: India’s lethal religious conspiracy theory.’

“We spent months documenting Hindu extremists in India at war with interfaith love. These vigilantes “rescue” Hindu women from relationships with Muslims, and arrange them with Hindu grooms instead,” he tweeted in October 2021.

“The theory claims that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women and luring them into marriage in order to convert them to Islam. The claims are baseless, yet the consequences are real,” he claimed in another tweet.

Given that Ahmer Khan had gone to lengths to whitewash his radical co-religionists involved in ‘love jihad’, the official mouthpiece of the Congress party aka National Herald interviewed him in December 2021.

He used the opportunity to play the perpetual victim card and claimed, “What’s happening is unimaginable for the minority community, and for the greater good of the country as well.” 

Another ‘journalist’ at work

The Guardian had also roped in another ‘journalist’ named Kyri Evangelou to interview Hindu rights activist Kajal Hindustani. He has recently been involved in stirring anti-Israeli sentiment at the behest of the leftist propaganda outlet.

He had shot a dubious documentary film on ‘love jihad’ along with Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Ahmer Khan. Evangelou had also tried to pass off a case of ‘honour killing’ in Karnataka as the manifestation of ‘conspiracy theories of Hindutva forces’

The ‘journalist’ was also active during the politically motivated anti-farm law protests that were carried out in January 2021.

The hysteria peddled by Kyri Evangelou and Ahmer Khan during the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic in India earned their propaganda documentary a nomination at the Emmy Awards.

With the 2024 elections just around the corner, The Guardian and other propaganda news outlets have upped their ante in amplifying disinformation in India.

We are likely to witness more attempts at gaslighting Hindus, dissemination of vicious fake news targeting India and tarnishing of the country’s image on a global scale.

The sudden ‘change of heart’ of The Guardian to reach out to individuals across all political spectrums is part of the same ploy.

Uttar Pradesh: Aamir, Faiz, Faraz gang-rape 20-year-old girl, lock her up at a tube well, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Aamir, Faiz, Faraz gang-rape 20-year-old girl, lock her up at a tube well, arrested

On Saturday (23rd March), a Hindu girl was brutally gang raped by three individuals identified as Aamir, Faiz and Mohammed Faraz in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkarnagar district. The three accused persons have been arrested by the police and booked under several sections of the law.

As per the reports, the 20-year-old was held hostage in a tube well, and when she protested, she was assaulted. The victim was immediately rushed to the hospital in a bleeding condition.

This case is of Hanswar police station area of ​​Ambedkarnagar district. Here on Saturday, the victim’s father lodged a complaint with the police that on March 23, his daughter was going to Hirapur market on a bicycle for coaching. On the way, his daughter met Faiz and Faraz, residents of Mundera village of Hanswar. Both of them forcibly made the victim sit on their bike. After this, Faraz took the victim to his tube well at a deserted place. Aamir also reached there.

It is alleged that Aamir, Faraz, and Faiz gang-raped the victim one by one at the tube well. When the victim protested against this act, she was assaulted. Later, all three accused together beat up the victim. After the gangrape, Faraz and Faiz locked the victim inside a room built next to the tube well along with Aamir. Both of them locked the house from outside and ran away. Meanwhile, the victim’s family got to know about the incident and reached the spot to save the 20-year-old girl.

According to the complainant, the victim was lying inside in a bleeding condition. Aamir was also found naked inside the room. When the family members arrived, the victim tearfully narrated her ordeal. Police have registered a named FIR against Aamir, Faiz, and Faraz. Action has been taken against all of them under sections 376-D, 342, 323, 504, and 506 of IPC.

OpIndia has a copy of the complaint. The police arrested all three accused on 24th March 2024 (Sunday) on charges of gang rape of the B.Sc second-year student. The accused were arrested after they tried to escape near Hirapur market at 3:40 in the morning. Counseling and medical examination of the victim has been done. Further legal action is being taken in the incident.

‘One of my team members responsible’: Supriya Shrinate on backfoot following outrage over sexist post against Kangana Ranaut

OpIndia Staff
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‘One of my team members responsible’: Supriya Shrinate on backfoot following outrage over sexist post against Kangana Ranaut

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate appears to have gotten into a defensive mode as she posted a video blaming one of her ‘team members’ for her sexist post against actor Kangana Ranaut.

“Many people have access to my Facebook and Instagram accounts. One of these people had posted a very disgusting and objectionable post today,” Ms Shrinate said in a 1-minute 29-second long video posted by her on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I am trying to identify the person who did this. Also, the parody account created by misusing my name has been reported in X,” Ms Shrinate further claimed.

The tedious explanation came over a now-deleted post on Instagram by Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate where she asked, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rate system in Mandi is?)” with a particularly racy picture of Kangana Ranaut.

Other Congress supporters and leaders, too, resorted to abuses and vile innuendos to discredit the actor who has made the plunge into politics with her candidature from Mandi.

As outrage swept social media, Ms Shrinate deleted the post from her official Instagram account and tried washing her hands of the incident by claiming that the said post was “uploaded by someone who had access to her accounts.”

She also tried to project her blame on her parody account, claiming that the whole mischief was started by it. However, she did not explain how the mischief started by her parody account reflected on her official Instagram account where she had shared a picture of Kangana Ranaut with sexual innuendos.

Kangana Ranaut hits back at Supriya Shrinate over her sexist post

Kangana Ranaut on Monday hit back at Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate over a misogynist post directed at the actor after the announcement of her candidature from Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“In the last 20 years of my career as an artist, I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii,” Kangana tweeted. 

“We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices, we must rise above the curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain from using sex workers’ challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur… every woman deserves her dignity…” she further added.

Stop being ‘stubborn’, seek dialogues with neigbours to overcome financial challenges: Ex-Maldives President Solih advises incumbent Mohamed Muizzu

OpIndia Staff
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Stop being ‘stubborn’, seek dialogues with neigbours to overcome financial challenges: Ex-Maldives President Solih advises incumbent Mohamed Muizzu

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu should stop being “stubborn” and seek dialogue with neighbours to overcome financial challenges, Former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said while advising him to improve ties with India, as reported by Maldives-based Adhadhu. President Solih’s remarks come days after President Muizzu, a pro-China leader who led the India-out campaign during Presidential elections last year, had urged India to provide debt relief measures for Maldives as the country is struggling financially to keep its economy afloat.

Notably, while campaigning for his party in Male, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said he had seen media reports that indicate Muizzu wants to speak to India about debt restructuring.

According to the Adhadhu report, Solih emphasised that Maldives’ financial challenges have not been caused by Indian loans. He highlighted that the Maldives owes a debt of MVR 18 billion to China while it owes a debt of MVR 8 billion to India adding that the repayment period is 25 years.

Regarding Muizzu’s recent plea to India, Solih said, “However, I am confident that our neighbours will help. We must stop being stubborn and seek dialogue. There are many parties that can help us. But he [Muizzu] doesn’t want to compromise. I feel they [the government] are starting to understand the situation only now.” 

Solih said that neighbours and Islamic nations from the Middle East will help the Maldives. However, in a sarcastic tone, he slammed Muizzu’s government’s foreign policy stating that Maldives has “received only 50 tonnes of dates” from the Middle East due to the actions of the Muizzu-led government, Adhadhu reported.

The former Maldivian President accused the Muizzu government of deceiving people and relaunching projects started by the MDP government. 

After leading India-out campaign, Muizzu calls India the “closest ally”, and sought debt restructuring

During, and after the Presidential election campaign, Mohamed Muizzu peddled anti-India rhetoric and led a smear campaign against India, India-out campaign. The ties between the neighbours, have deteriorated ever since he assumed office in November. The social media row following Maldivian Ministers’ disparaging remarks about India, Indians, and PM Modi after he had visited Lakshadweep, had further strained diplomatic ties with several Indians announcing boycott of their trip to Maldives.

While the first overseas trip by Maldivian presidents had always been to their neighbour India, Muizzu visited China in January, making his first state visit. Seen as a pro-Chinese leader, Muizzu is yet to visit India even after four months of assuming power in Male.  

Additionally, Muizzu demanded the complete withdrawal of 88 Indian military personnel deployed at three aviation platforms used for humanitarian and medical evacuations in the Maldives by May 10th. As a result, the first batch of 26 Indian military personnel left the island nation and were replaced by civilians.

However, Muizzu recently made conciliatory comments towards India in the wake of the upcoming Parliament elections in Maldives on the 21st of April.

Last week, President Muizzu requested New Delhi for debt relief measures, stating that India will continue to remain Maldives’ “closest ally,” local media reported.

Despite leading the India-out campaign, Muizzu recently claimed that he has “not taken any action nor made any statements” that may strain the relationship between the two countries. 

In his first interview after assuming office in November last year, Muizzu told local media ‘Mihaaru’ that he hopes India will accommodate debt relief measures for the Maldives’. He sought India’s help in the repayment of the hefty loans taken from New Delhi over consecutive governments, Adhadhu reported.

He said, “The conditions we have inherited are such that there are very large loans taken from India. Hence, we are holding discussions to explore leniencies in the repayment structure of these loans. Instead of halting any ongoing projects, proceed with them at speed. So I see no reason for any adverse effects [on Maldives-India relations].” 

Taking a jibe at his changed stance, Former President Solih advised him not to be stubborn and understand that improving ties with India and seeking dialogue can help Maldives mitigate its financial troubles.

Meet Dr TN Sarasu, BJP candidate from Kerala’s Alathur: Professor hounded by SFI, attacked with symbolic ‘grave’ by Leftist goons when she retired after 27 years

OpIndia Staff
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Meet Dr TN Sarasu, BJP candidate from Kerala’s Alathur: Professor hounded by SFI, attacked with symbolic ‘grave’ by Leftist goons when she retired after 27 years

On Sunday (24th March), the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced Dr. TN Sarasu as the party candidate from the Alathur constituency ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections in Kerala. Dr. TN Sarasu, the former principal of Government Victoria College in Pallakad, is well-known for her considerable contributions to the institution during her tenure.

Ramya Haridas, a sitting MP and UDF candidate, and K Radhakrishnan, the Kerala state Devaswom Minister and LDF candidate, are her opponents in the triangular fight.

Dr. TN Sarasu, who served as Principal of the Government Victoria campus in Pallakad, has received numerous threats from SFI officials within the campus for her efforts to build an educational environment in the past. These threats are said to have arisen from her efforts to foster a respectable academic environment, which were challenged and undermined by the SFI.

According to several students and professors, TN Sarasu, who loved the institution like it was her own home and cared for the students like they were her own children, worked diligently to maintain academic discipline. Her efforts however earned her the ire of SFI leaders. 

In the year 2016, the prestigious 127-year-old Government Victoria College attracted massive controversy after the Indian left-wing student organization, SFI, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) prepared a symbolic grave for Dr. Sarasu as a gift of retirement for her.

Grave built by SFI

Following a complaint from the Principal, Dr. TN Sarasu, who retired on 31st March that year after serving for almost three decades, police filed complaints under various sections of the IPC against some SFI students. Sarasu said that the students acted at the behest of “some members” of the All Kerala Government College Teachers Union, which is affiliated with the left.

On her last working day, the SFI and other left-wing people burst crackers in celebration. “The organised unions were doing this in many institutions in Kerala. But I didn’t expect them to stoop to this level. I enforced some discipline to ensure smooth academic activities. I prevented the SFI activists from accommodating outsiders in hostels inconveniencing residents. They were targeting me ever since I started disciplining the campus,” Tarasu was quoted as saying.

Sarasu’s complaint to the police named at least eight SFI students who prepared the symbolic grave inside the college grounds, strewn it with flowers, and placed a wreath around it. 

The said incident was massively criticised by the BJP who slammed the SFI leaders for insulting Sarasu. Later in the year 2019, Sarasu joined the BJP.

Kangana Ranaut responds to Congress leader-cum-troll Supriya Shrinate over her sexist post asking her what her ‘rate’ is: What she said

OpIndia Staff
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Kangana Ranaut responds to Congress leader-cum-troll Supriya Shrinate over her sexist post asking her what her ‘rate’ is: What she said

Kangana Ranaut on Monday hit back at Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate over a misogynist post directed at the actor after the announcement of her candidature from Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“In the last 20 years of my career as an artist, I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii,” Kangana tweeted.

“We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices, we must rise above the curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain from using sex workers’ challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur… every woman deserves her dignity…” she further added.

Kangana was responding to a now-deleted post on Instagram by Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate where she asked, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rate system in Mandi is?)” with a particularly racy picture of Kangana Ranaut.

Other Congress supporters and leaders, too, resorted to abuses and vile innuendos to discredit the actor who has made the plunge into politics with her candidature from Mandi.

Amid the raging outrage, Ms Shrinate deleted the post from her official Instagram account and tried washing her hands of the incident by claiming that the said post was “uploaded by someone who had access to her accounts.”

She tried to project her blame on her parody account, claiming that the whole mischief was started by it. However, she did not explain how the mischief started by her parody account reflected on her official Instagram account where she had shared a picture of Kangana Ranaut with sexual innuendos.

Since OpIndia stonewalled Guardian’s latest hit-job attempt against Kajal Hindustani, here is a tear-jerker they could write supporting their Hinduphobic journalist

Anurag
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Since OpIndia stonewalled Guardian’s latest hit-job attempt against Kajal Hindustani, here is a tear-jerker they could write supporting their Hinduphobic journalist

On 24th March, it came to light that Hannah Ellis-Petersen, a journalist from The Guardian, has been attempting to contact Kajal Hindustani, a vocal Hindu activist, in light of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections in India. Notably, Hannah is known for her intrusive and biased approach, especially when it comes to Hindus.

The attempts made by Hannah and her colleagues to contact Kajal for an interview sparked a backlash on social media platform X after the editor-in-chief of OpIndia, Nupur J Sharma, revealed what has been going on behind the curtains at Guardian.

Interestingly, Hannah claimed she wanted to hear all sides of her reports, a claim which does not hold a base if we look at her past reports on India and Hindus.

Source: X

However, she was confronted with her old articles, showcasing how she was perhaps incapable of ‘hearing all sides’ because of her bias against Hindus and India.

The Guardian has a past of playing the victim

This is not the first time The Guardian tried to play victim when caught lying through their teeth while reporting on Leicester violence where Hindus were under attack last year. In October 2022, The Guardian accused OpIndia of “attacking” their journalist, Aina J Khan. Editor-in-Chief of OpIndia, Nupur J Sharma, received an email from The Guardian asking us to stop online attacks against Aina J Khan via the publication and personal and official handles”.

According to them, we had no basis to call Aina an Islamist and Islamist, and our doing so had somehow put her in harm’s way. Interestingly, Sheila Pulham had sent the email, and Aina was not tagged in the email.

Notably, we did not call Aina an Islamist. We pointed out that her reportage seems one-sided and has zero evidence. There were several other falsities peddled by Ms Khan, including a strange tirade against RSS and Hindus. While Ms Aina wishes to brand all criticism as Islamophobia, she displayed her Hinduphobia when she claimed that her discussion got ‘heated’ when the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans were raised. She refers to Jai Shri Ram (Glory to Shri Ram) as a ‘Hindu chant appropriated by extremists in India’ and also alleges that Jai Shri Ram is now synonymous with anti-Muslim hatred.

The Guardian and Aina branded us as fascists, Hindus as extremists and Hindu religious chants as war cries. When countered, she cried Islamophobia, and The Guardian crawled behind her to apparently “save her”. Our Editor-in-Chief’s detailed reply to The Guardian can be checked here.

Netizens called out The Guardian

Mohandas Pai wrote, “Your lies,bias, Jihadi sympathies and fake narratives are well known Hannah Ellis-Petersen. You just report from your Delhi Lutyens echo chambers. Meet more people across India, report honestly. Peddling one sided narratives shows you up as a bad journalist at Guardian. Big Shame.”

Abhinav Agarwal said, “When caught, when called out, she takes refuge behind a “मैं कौन हूँ” charade. She’s out to gaslight, and she now knows others know it too. The contortions are comic.”

Pt Satish K Sharma wrote, “Presumably this ‘journalist’ will be able to park her colonialist confirmation biases, will be seeking to interview the Owaisis re their genocidal political campaigns .. perhaps the DMK cabal with their anti-Hindu ethnic cleansing speeches? Or will pigs fly and goats celebrate ‘religious’ festivals first? Countdown to a victimhood card commenced…”

Avatans Kumar wrote, “Guardian’s “South Asia” correspondent concerned about “both sides,” is laughable.”

Here is OpIndia helping them write their next tear-jerker

Given their history of playing victim, and since OpIndia seems to have stonewalled their shoddy attempt at publishing a hit-piece against Kajal Hindustani, we thought we could help Guardian with a potential article they could publish, blaming the big-bad ‘Hindu Nationalists’ for hounding their Hinduphobic, anti-India journalists.

The unseen toll of digital intimidation: How The Guardian journalist faced harassment in India

The Guardian correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen has become the latest victim of the alarming showcase of digital harassment as she faced an orchestrated online campaign. Ellis-Petersen reports from South Asia and has been instrumental in shedding light on the region’s politics and cultural complexities. Recently, she found herself at the centre of a social media campaign after she attempted to reach out to Kajan Hindustani, a prominent figure in the Hindu nationalist movement, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

The incident highlighted the growing trend of online harassment of journalists. It raised concerns about the freedom of the press and the safety of journalists working in difficult situations. Ellis-Petersen’s outreach was part of a standard journalistic practice to ensure balance and comprehensive reporting. However, she met with a barrage of targeted harassment from “Hindus”, accusing her of biased reporting. They also accused her of unjustly targeting Hindu nationalism.

The backlash Ellis-Petersen received is about more than just one journalist or one newspaper. It represents a broader challenge that the media personnel face today. Journalists have been exposed to unprecedented scrutiny and hostility in the digital age, often from anonymous sources. The campaign against our esteemed correspondent is a stark reminder of the rugged landscape journalists operate in. It is a definitive representation that the loud voices of intolerance and partisanship often drown out the efforts to present nuanced views.

The Guardian stands firmly with our correspondent and all journalists who face such unwarranted attacks. Despite the attacks and attempts to discredit our work, we are committed to impartial and fact-based journalism. It is now more than ever essential to recognise the critical role of journalism in a democratic society, especially when India, the world’s largest democracy, is moving towards autocracy and authoritarianism.

As India is gearing up for the Lok Sabha Elections, the significance of free and fair journalism has increased exponentially. At The Guardian, we remain dedicated to providing comprehensive and unbiased coverage of the elections. In the face of adversity, we reaffirm our commitment to fearless journalism. We call on the digital community and authorities to stand against online harassment and support the right of journalists worldwide to report without fear of backlash and threats.

‘Kya bhav chal raha hai”, “r*ndi”: Congress trolls attack Kangana Ranaut, Supriya Shrinate claims ‘someone who had access to her account’ posted it

OpIndia Staff
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‘Kya bhav chal raha hai”, “r*ndi”: Congress trolls attack Kangana Ranaut, Supriya Shrinate claims ‘someone who had access to her account’ posted it

Actor Kangana Ranaut was at the receiving end of a particularly nasty online attack after Congress leaders and supporters targeted her with sexual innuendos and abuses following the announcement of her candidature from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh.

In a post on Instagram which has now been deleted, Congress National Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked, “Kya bhav chal raha hai Mandi me koi batayega? (Will someone tell me what the rate system in Mandi is?)” with a particularly racy picture of Kangana Ranaut.

The official Instagram account of Supriya Shrinate targeted Kangana Ranaut over candidature from Mandi

Other Congress supporters and leaders, too, resorted to abuses and vile innuendos to discredit the actor who has made the plunge into politics with her candidature from Mandi.

Congress supporter Mrinal Pande attacks Kangana Ranaut

Congress functionary HS Ahir abused actor Kangana Ranaut by referring to her candidature from Mandi as, “Mandi se R*ndi.”

Congress functionary abuses Kangana Ranaut

Islamists also joined in to abuse Kangana Ranaut.

The abusive tweets directed at Kangana Ranaut stirred online outrage, with many social media users expressing their disapproval of the Congress leaders, including Supriya Shrinate, for attacking a woman with sexual innuendos and encouraging others for the same.

Amid the raging outrage, Ms Shrinate deleted the post from her official Instagram account and tried washing her hands of the incident by claiming that the post was uploaded by someone who had access to her meta accounts.

She tried to project her blame on her parody account, claiming that the whole mischief was started by it. However, she did not explain how the mischief started by her parody account reflected on her official Instagram account where she had shared a picture of Kangana Ranaut with sexual innuendos.

Nevertheless, the entire episode demonstrates that for Congress leaders, including women politicians, slogans coined by their foremost party ideologues, such as “Ladki hoon, Lad sakti hoon”, are just campaign rhetorics aimed at swaying public opinions and casting Congress as a pro-woman party, while in reality, it is an organisation that attracts misogynistic members with low intelligence that blame their parody accounts and lean on “someone else posted from my account” excuse for their vile social media posts.

Al Jazeera story claiming Israeli soldiers committed rape inside Al Shifa hospital was fake; Palestinian woman now says she made it up to whip up public anger

OpIndia Staff
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Al Jazeera story claiming Israeli soldiers committed rape inside Al Shifa hospital was fake; Palestinian woman now says she made it up to whip up public anger

Islamist propaganda news outlet Al Jazeera ran a fabricated story about the rapes of Palestinian women in Al-Shifa hospital by Israeli forces, Al Jazeera columnist and former managing editor Yasser Abuhilalah said. The journalist cited an ‘investigation’ by the Hamas terror group to assert that the allegations made by the women in Al Shifa hospital were widely exaggerated, following which Al Jazeera retracted the story.

Abuhilalah took to X to quote the woman who made explosive claims of rape, and torture by Israeli forces inside the Al Shifa hospital, stating that they were widely exaggerated and aimed at ginning up public anger and brotherhood against the Israeli law enforcement officials. 

“It was revealed through Hamas investigations that the story of the rape of women in Al-Shifa was fabricated,” tweeted Abuhilalah, adding that the woman who spoke about rape justified her exaggeration and incorrect talk by saying that the goal was to arouse the nation’s fervour and brotherhood. 

On Sunday morning, Al Jazeera reported statements from a woman named Jamila al-Hissi, who was said to have been trapped in the hospital for six days. She claimed that Israeli soldiers at the hospital had “raped women, kidnapped women, executed women, and pulled dead bodies from under the rubble to unleash their dogs on them.”

“Is there anything more atrocious than this? Is there anything more terrifying than hearing women cry out for help, only for them to be shot at when we attempt to reach them to offer aid?” al-Hissi was quoted as saying.

Although Al Jazeera did not formally correct, retract, or acknowledge the issue, all content concerning the allegation was apparently removed from the Qatari broadcasting channel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz emphasized the United Nations’ serious consideration of such reports, while also pointing out Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ bias against Israel.

“Let it be known, the Palestinians concoct tales of rape to fuel anti-Semitism,” Katz shared on X. “Guterres, I understand that might be unsettling for you, but that’s the truth of the matter.”

Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman in Arabic, previously refuted the claims and efforts to dismiss this “fake news.”

“In the wake of repeated failures, Hamas propaganda is now peddling a fresh fabrication,” he stated in a video shared on X. Adraee also accused “Al-Jazeera and Hamas mouthpieces” of attempting “futilely to mask the true face of ISIS-Hamas as beautiful following October 7 and the atrocities of massacres, rapes, and arson they committed.”

Arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal doesn’t remember where is the phone he used during liquor scam period, 171st such ‘missing’ device in the case

OpIndia Staff
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Arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal doesn’t remember where is the phone he used during liquor scam period, 171st such ‘missing’ device in the case

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, said to the Enforcement Directorate during questioning that he could not recall where he had placed his cell phone, which he was purportedly using when the Delhi excise policy was being prepared.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) head was arrested in the Delhi excise policy scam by the central agency on Thursday (21st March) and has been remanded to custody till 28th March. The ED stated that the phone that the AAP supremo had been using back then had gone missing.

According to a report by NDTV, it is believed that this cell phone, which may hold relevant information concerning the excise policy scheme, is the 171st of such missing gadgets. According to the central investigation agency, 170 mobile phones have previously been untraceable.

Ultimately, the ED pieced together the case using the information gathered after tracking down 17 phones. The agency named Manish Sisodia as an accused in the chargesheet, which also included the data obtained from the 17 mobile phones.

The investigators said that the phones could have been destroyed to erase evidence. The agency’s chargesheet also stated that the majority of the information and evidence were obtained from the accused’s laptops and mobile phones.

The ED believes that most of those charged changed their laptops and mobile phones between May and August 2022.

According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate intends to retrieve certain data from the phone that Kejriwal reportedly used to speak to Sameer Mahendru, another accused in the liquor policy case. The Chief Minister is believed to have spoken with Mahendru on the phone and informed him that Vijay Nair was “his boy” and that he could “trust him”.

The ED chargesheet accused Vijay Nair, the AAP’s media in-charge, of working as a go-between for the ‘South Group,’ which allegedly paid the Kejriwal government Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to gain access into the spirits retail industry in Delhi.

In its remand appeal to a Delhi court on Friday (22nd March), the central investigative agency claimed that Kejriwal was the “key conspirator and kingpin of the Delhi excise policy scam”. It went on to allege that he was personally involved in the policy’s creation, demanding payments, as well as the processing of criminal proceeds.

However, Kejriwal refuted the claims, claiming that no proof linked him to the alleged swindle under the now-defunct program.

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