Lord Shri Ram Lalla will enjoy this year’s Holi with skin-friendly gulal made from Kachnar flowers at his magnificent temple in Avadhpuri. The scientists of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), have crafted this special gulal, to honour Uttar Prdesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s remarkable contribution to conserve the rich tradition and heritage of the country.
The scientists have prepared another herbal gulal from the flowers offered at Gorakhnath Temple, Gorakhpur. The gulals made from kachnar as well as flowered offered at Gorakhanath Temple in Gorakhpur are available in lavender and sandalwood fragrances, respectively. On Wednesday, the director of the institute Dr. Ajit Kumar Shashani presented both the special gulals to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and earned his appreciation.
Lauding the efforts of the institute, the Chief Minister said that the initiative will provide more opportunities to start-ups and entrepreneurs while generating employment both within Uttar Pradesh as well as across the country.
Underscoring Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s efforts to conserve trees and plants that find mention in the Ramayana in Ayodhya, the Director of the Council Dr. Ajit Kumar Shashani remarked: “Kachnar was considered the state tree of Ayodhya in Tretayuga and it has been used as a well-established medicine in our Ayurvedic system of medicine.”
He added: “Drawing inspiration from the CM’s efforts to respect heritage and preserve tradition, our scientists have developed this herbal gulal, especially for Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya, from the flowers of Bauhinia species commonly known as Kachnar. Kachnar has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal etc. properties. Similarly, herbal gulal has been extracted from flowers offered at Gorakhnath Temple, Gorakhpur. These herbal gulal have been tested and are completely safe for human skin and eco-friendly.”
According to Shashani, the colors of these herbal gulals are not bright as it does not contain harmful chemicals like lead, chromium and nickel. “The colours extracted from flowers are mixed with natural ingredients to form a powder that can be easily wiped off the skin”, he pointed out.
Herbal Gulal technology has been transferred to many companies and start-ups for better availability of the eco-friendly gulal in the market. Talking about the chemical gulal currently available in the market, Dr. Shashani said that these contain dangerous chemicals that can cause allergies, irritation and serious problems in the skin and eyes.
He elaborated that a key characteristic of herbal gulal is its tendency to not quickly stain the hands, distinguishing it from other varieties. The Herbal Gulal produced by the institute serves as a secure substitute for the harmful chemical-based colors commonly available in the market during the Holi festivities.
In a shocking revelation in the Badaun double murder case, it has come to the fore that the slain accused Sajid’s wife is not pregnant. As we reported, accused Sajid had asked for Rs 5000 from Sangeeta, the mother of the deceased victims, saying that his pregnant wife is in hospital. However, speaking to TV9 Bharatvarsh, Sajid’s wife Sana denied being pregnant.
When the reporter told Sajid’s wife about his pregnancy-related claim, she outrightly denied it saying “No, I have no idea why he said so.” When asked about the last time she talked to Sajid, Sana hesitantly said around 8 days ago since she does not have a mobile phone.
Sana added that Sajid used to drop her off at her maternal home from time to time and take her back after 15-20 days. She said that she did not know about this murder, she came to know in the morning that Sajid had killed two children and he too had been killed in a police encounter.
Moreover, Sajid’s wife also refuted the occult angle saying that despite the early death of her two children, Sajid never pushed her into occult practices or took her to some Maulvi etc.
Pertinently, Sana said that her husband had no relationship with any other woman. Both Sajid’s wife Sana and his mother Najin denied having any information about the whereabouts of Sajid and Javed.
As OpIndia reported today, in the FIR filed by the deceased’s father, Vinod Kumar stated that accused Sajid and his brother Javed arrived at the house about 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Sajid told my wife Sangeeta that he needed Rs 5,000 as a loan for the delivery of his pregnant wife. When my wife went inside to get the money, Sajid went to the roof of the house. Moments later, Javed also reached the roof and they called my two sons Ayush, 12, and Ahaan alias Honey, 8 on the roof,” the FIR filed at Civil Lines Police Station reads.
Sangita went inside the house to give him the money. Meanwhile, Sajid sent Vinod Kumar’s teenage son, Piyush Pratap, outside to fetch gutka.
After a while, Sajid told Sangita that he was not feeling well and wanted to go to the terrace to breathe fresh air. Sajid called Javed inside and took his sons with him to the rooftop. Vinod Kumar informed the police that after this, when his wife Sangita came with the money from inside, she saw Sajid and Javed coming down the stairs, and Sajid had a blood-stained knife in his hand.
On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, two minor Hindu children were murdered by accused Sajid after slitting their throats. A third child also suffered severe injuries on the neck and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Sajid, who was subsequently gunned down in an encounter with the police, was accompanied by his brother Javed.
In OpIndia’s ground report, it has been found that the police have recovered one country-made 315 bore pistol, 4 spent cartridges of 315 bore and 4 live cartridges of 315 bore during an encounter on 19th of March. Moreover, another accused has been arrested under Section 307 IPC and the 3/25/27 Arms Act.
On Tuesday (March 19) the Supreme Court refused to put an interim stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asked the Centre to file its response in 3 weeks. The Supreme Court issued the decision while hearing a group of 237 petitions seeking to stay the statute itself and/or the Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024. The court has scheduled the matter for April 9th to hear the Union’s answer.
The hearing was delayed by a three-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra at the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Notably, the Center was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Noting that the act doesn’t affect any petitioner, the Solicitor General was quoted as saying that the act has no intentions to take away the citizenship of anyone. “There is no prejudice caused to the petitioners. What is done is, those who have migrated… no new person is given, those who entered before 2014,” he said.
SG Mehta: This law does not take away citizenship of anyone…
Sr Adv Indira Jaising: Is the SG saying that no one will be given citizenship..also the other issue is of reference to a larger bench..we must ask for the order then they can reply..#supremecourt#CAA
Meanwhile, Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising who has a history of defending the Congress party and the banned terrorist organization Popular Front of India (PFI), argued that giving voting rights to the persecuted Hindus arriving from the neighboring Islamic countries would be a major concern.
The lawyer indicated that no citizenship should be granted under the law as that will affect the “minority communities”. On asking how would providing citizenship under the law affect minority communities in India, Jaising said, “Because they (Hindus arriving from nearby Islamic countries) will get voting rights..that is how it will affect them (minorities).”
Bench discusses.
Sr Adv Ranjit Kumar: If citizenship is being granted to me if I am a Hindu from Balochistan, how is that affecting them..
Jaising: Because they will get voting rights..that is how it will affect me..#supremecourt#CAA
During the hearing, SG Mehta also slammed one of the petitioners’ counsel, Advocate Nizam Pasha for needlessly dragging NRC into the CAA issue. Mehta said, “NRC is not an issue (in this case). This attempt was made outside the court four years back. Misleading people that you will be out of NRC. Same thing Mr. Pasha did. NRC is not an issue here. Grant of citizenship is. Please don’t do this.”
The petitions sought a stay on the rules till the top court disposes of the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA 2019. However, the Court refused to put an interim stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asked the Centre to file its response in 3 weeks.
It is important to note that several opposition parties in India have time and again furthered the illegal stay of the Bangladeshi Muslims by providing them illegal ration cards, employment, and also voter ID cards.
Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar illegally arrive in India, obtain forged Aadhaar, and voter IDs, and settle in the states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. In most of the cases, these illegal immigrants have also been responsible for increased incidents of crime in the country. The Centre has time and again stated that they identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar as a security threat and they are economic refugees, not persecuted minorities like the Hindu immigrants from neighboring nations.
UP Police discovered Rohingya refugees’ involvement in human trafficking
The UP Police and the other state police have in the past few years taken cognizance of the event and arrested illegal immigrants in numbers. In the year 2021, the UP Police arrested four Rohingya illegal immigrants from Meerut for running a sophisticated international human trafficking syndicate from inside the country. Four Rohingyas – Hafiz Shamiullah, Azizul Rahman, Mohammad Ismail, and Mufizur Rahman were caught running a notorious human trafficking syndicate and helped other illegal Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar infiltrate India.
The police also discovered that the accused helped Rohingyas settle in Bangladesh to cross over to India with the help of forged documents such as Voter Id, Aadhar cards, passports, etc. The police said that the four accused charged money from fellow Rohingyas to bring them into India. In addition, the accused also got them employment in various parts of the country and took half of their salary as their share. The arrested Rohingya Muslims also helped innocent Rohingya women from Myanmar infiltrate India and later trafficked them to different parts of the world.
In addition, these accused also helped Rohingya Muslims to get Indian citizenship documents, said Uttar Pradesh police. They used cards given by UNHCR to apply for a work permit in the country and forged other documents sometimes to establish themselves as legal citizens of the country.
In another similar operation, the UP Police in the year 2021 recovered Rs 70,000, PAN, Aadhaar, and UNHCR cards from the arrested illegal immigrants. The Police also stated that these illegal immigrants had been getting financial support from various sympathizers.
In the year 2022, the central government informed that in the last few years, as many as 2399 Bangladeshi nationals had been intercepted and found to be using fraudulently obtained Indian documents. Having said so, the government had written to all states and Union territories to take prompt steps to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrants staying in India and initiate a process to deport them as per the provisions of the law.
Delhi’s AAP government settled 300 illegal Rohingyas, provided them free ration, electricity for votes
It is important to note that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and Kejriwal’s Delhi government had systematically settled around 300 illegal Rohingyas in Delhi in the year 2020. The report suggested that they were living illegally right across the cremation ground in the Madanpur Khadar area of the national capital. Moreover, they were settled on the land of the irrigation department of the Uttar Pradesh government which is about 5.2 acres of land.
It had also come to the fore that the AAP MLA and the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal had been providing huge amounts of ration to them. Illegal immigrants were also provided electricity through illegal means and also boring water for free along with the ration. The locals then alleged that they were not provided ration because they were Hindus and ‘did not vote for AAP’.
Congress extending support to Rohingyas
Notably, in the year 2017, the Congress party had backed the illegal stay of Rohingya Muslims claiming that they were persecuted in their country due to their religious identity. Congress leader Sushmita Dev asserted that the government should have considered the case of Rohingya Muslims on the grounds of ‘humanity’ and in accordance with international law on refugees. The leader cited Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution to suggest that the Rohingya Muslims had a right to get protection from the Centre.
Sushmita Dev also alleged that the Citizenship Amendment Act is discriminatory as it decriminalizes an illegal Sikh, Buddhist, or Hindu migrant from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka but the same principle is not considered for a Muslim immigrant.
Also recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ attacked the BJP and the RSS community for allegedly targeting illegal Muslims (mainly Bangladeshi Muslims) for votes. During the rally, he indicated that the party was playing politics of hatred and polarising the communities for votes.
Opposing the CAA, Gandhi claimed that his party was against anyone who would create discrimination based on caste and religion. “We believe in an India that belongs to everybody, all communities, all religions, all cultures,” he was quoted as saying as he raised his voice for illegal Muslims from the neighbouring countries.
Indira Jaising and her support to the PFI and Rohingya Muslims
It becomes crucial to note that Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising has a history of supporting the banned terrorist organization PFI and also the illegal Muslims infiltrating India. It was reported earlier that during the investigation into the Anti-CAA riots in 2019, the ED had found that Jaising received Rs 4 lakhs from one of the PFI accounts based out of Kozhikode, Kerala. Apart from Jaising, several other Congress leaders and Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal had allegedly received Rs 77 lakhs from the PFI.
Jaising was also the one who led the UN fact-finding probe into ‘atrocities’ against illegal Rohingya Muslims in India. She had been raising her voice in their support citing human rights. In the year 2018, she also posted a tweet asking Indians to protect Rohingya Muslims, the screenshot of which is making rounds on social media after her recent argument in the Supreme Court in the CAA case.
The lawyer yesterday indicated that no citizenship should be granted under the law to the persecuted minorities from the neighbouring nations as that will affect the ‘minority communities’ in India. On asking how would providing citizenship under the law affect minority communities in India, Jaising said, “Because they (Hindus arriving from nearby Islamic countries) will get voting rights..that is how it will affect them (minorities).”
It is indeed baffling that some ‘secular-liberals’ in India apply their humanitarian consideration based on the religion of the people involved. CAA does not affect any Indian citizen, that has been clear from day 1. It only expediates the citizenship process for the persecuted minorities already living as refugees in India before 2014. The persecuted minorities are often the victims of partition. They were promised protection by the Islamic government of Pakistan but were tortured out of their homeland. India owes a moral responsibility towards the persecuted minorities who have fled to India as refugees from the neighbouring Islamic countries because they were Indians to begin with and they never demanded a separate nation.
Rohingyas are economic migrants from Myanmar who cross Bangladesh and enter India in search of better opportunities. The secular liberals advocating for the rights of Rohingyas and dehumanising the persecuted refugees who are set to benefit from CAA, just because they are not Muslims, show the hollow bias of their rhetoric.
At present, the Supreme Court has refused to put an interim stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asked the Centre to file its response in 3 weeks.
The brutal double murder in Badaun by Islamists Sajid and Javed has sent shockwaves across the country. The spine-chilling murder of young Hindu boys named Ayush and Honey has fared tensions in the area as locals took to the streets on Tuesday, 19th March, expressing their angst against the administration over the murders.
Back-to-back shocking details have been emerging in the case even as an investigation is underway regarding the motive behind the murder and the specific charge by the bereaved family that Sajid also drank the children’s blood.
These details and the sequence of events suggest that the murder was clearly intended and planned accordingly.
The accused Sajid, who was killed in the encounter, and his brother Javed, who is on the run, ran a roadside salon shop right opposite the residence of Vinod Singh, the father of the deceased boys.
They were known to the family and frequented their house, according to some reports. The father and the brother, who was also attacked but survived, said that they sometimes went to Sajid’s salon for a haircut.
Additionally, the mother of the deceased ran a parlour in her house. According to her statement to the media, when the accused duo came to her on the fateful day, they purchased 3 clatures from her, a type of a hair clip for women. For this, they paid her Rs 45.
This rather specific purchase followed by the demand for Rs 5000 appears to reflect strange behaviour by the accused.
However, the interaction and money exchange establishes that the accused and the victims knew each other and had interacted in the past, taking into account the similarity of their profession.
The accused had arrived at the victims’ house with a razor, which establishes that he did intend to kill them.
According to the sequence of events shared by the mother, the accused appeared to have been stalling the mother in order to stay inside the house and wait for the right opportunity.
Not only did Sajid borrow Rs 5000 from her citing that his wife was pregnant and had to be taken to the hospital but later asked the mother to make tea, which appears to be an attempt to push her out of sight.
According to reports citing the FIR, when the mother went inside to get the money, Sajid said that he was feeling unwell and wanted to go for a walk on the terrace and took her sons (deceased) with him.
He called his brother Javed to the terrace. When my wife returned, she said Sajid and Javed with a knife in their hands,” the FIR stated.
In between this period, the accused had asked the eldest boy to stay, the youngest one to go get water, and had asked the middle child to get tobacco. He then murdered them one after another as they kept approaching. The third child, who entered at last, escaped and is now safe.
Going by the above details, Sajid appeared to have engaged each of the three siblings and their mother as well carefully till the moment of the attack.
Now, reports are quoting Sajid’s wife saying that she is not pregnant. TV9 interviewed Sajid’s wife, who is reportedly staying at her mother’s residence since 15 days, who said that she is not pregnant.
If this is true, it means Sajid had lied. The mother of the deceased also revealed that Sajid told her that he had lost five kids already and that his kids didn’t survive.
Reports also suggested the angle of black magic behind the murders, especially following the allegation that the accused drank the blood of the victims.
In a horrifying tale, the FIR mentions the father alleging that while running away, Sajid told the mother of the kids that he had completed his work.
Moreover, the police chased Sajid who had escaped and eventually surrounded him when he started firing at them. This means Sajid also possessed a gun, although this is not specifically confirmed yet. Sajid was killed in retaliatory firing.
An FIR has been filed against Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje by Madurai City Cyber Crime Police on Wednesday for her remarks, wherein she claimed that ‘the suspect involved in the March 1 blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru was from Tamil Nadu’, officials said.
According to the police, the action was taken against Shobha Karandlaje following a complaint lodged by a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) worker. A case under sections 153, 153A, 505 (1) (b), and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against Karandlaje, they said.
Chief Minister MK Stalin also condemned her remarks, demanding legal action. “Strongly condemn Union BJP Minister@ShobhaBJP’s reckless statement. One must either be an NIA official or closely linked to the #RameshwaramCafeBlast to make such claims. Clearly, she lacks the authority for such assertions. Tamilians and Kannadigas alike will reject this divisive rhetoric of BJP,” CM Stalin had said in a post on X on Tuesday night.
“I also urge for an appropriate legal action against Shobha for causing threat to peace, harmony and national unity. From the Prime Minister to cadre, everyone in the BJP should stop engaging in this dirty divisive politics at once. ECI must take note of this hate speech and initiate stringent action immediately,” he added in his post.
The BJP leader Karandlaje, after facing the backlash for her remarks, issued an apology over remarks on Tuesday, stating that her remarks were “meant to shine light, not cast shadows.”
In a post on X, she wrote, “To my Tamil brothers & sisters, I wish to clarify that my words were meant to shine light, not cast shadows. Yet I see that my remarks brought pain to some – and for that, I apologize. My remarks were solely directed towards those trained in the Krishnagiri forest, linked to the Rameshwaram Cafe blast. To anyone from Tamilnadu affected, From the depths of my heart, I ask your forgiveness. Furthermore, I retract my previous comments.”
On Tuesday, Shobha Karandlaje, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare while speaking to the reporters, said that “one guy comes from Tamil Nadu, takes training there, and plants a bomb at Rameshwaram Cafe.”
She was speaking over an incident in which a shopkeeper was allegedly assaulted by six men at Nagarathpete.
DMK also filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India on Wednesday over her remarks.
Accusing the Union Minister of violating the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, and the Model Code of Conduct, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu requested the poll panel to “take appropriate action against Karandlaje.”
DMK alleged that the statement attempted to promote feelings of enmity between the people of Karnataka and the people of Tamil Nadu.
In its complaint, the DMK said, “Pertinently, an investigation in the blast case is currently underway, and the National Investigation Agency has so far not been able to identify the culprit behind the blast. Despite the same, the Hon’ble Minister has made the baseless accusation that the bomb was planted by people from Tamil Nadu. It is being reproduced hereunder: “People from Tamil Nadu come here, get trained there and plant bombs here. Placed bomb in cafe”.
An IED explosion occurred at Bengalur’s Rameshwaram cafe on March 1 leaving at least 10 people injured. The police had also found a suspect from the CCTV footage, keeping a bag inside the cafe. The police probe so far indicated that an IED device with a timer was used to carry out the explosion.
This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Several dignitaries from multiple fields including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Miniter Amit Shah graced the 21st edition of the India Today Conclave 2024 in New Delhi. A number of ‘experts’ also expressed their opinions, during an interactive session with journalist Rahul Kanwal on “How Will India Change In Next 5 Years.” Notably, another India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, by force of his habit, couldn’t let the opportunity pass without using religious tropes and bringing up “Hindu-Muslim” while attacking the ruling dispensation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
He alleged, “Just think about it. We are talking about ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar, 350 paar.’ This government at the moment in parliament doesn’t have a single Muslim MP. This 350 or 400 paar is also probably not going to have a single Muslim MP. 13% of your population in a way is being invisibilized. I don’t want to say it in this room also but I know in my own colony, which is an affluent and upmarket colony, how many Muslims live there today? There is a systematic invisibilizing of the Muslims.”
He reiterated, “I am not blaming an individual for it but this is the nature of it. An indoctrination has set in and I think since we are in a media conclave, we in the media should also look inside. How much have we done to spread these kinds of stereotypes, prejudice and the worst kind of hate politics that targets people because of the community they belong to? Nothing can be more dangerous for India in the future, the country with the third-largest Muslim population if the party in power with 400 MPs can not throw up a single Muslim MP or cannot actually actively promote a sense of genuine cooperation between communities. Don’t blame anyone and we in the media need to look inward.”
BJP having no Muslim Lok Sabha MP & Rajdeep having no Muslim neighbours at Panchsheel Park in Delhi is one as same.
Just yesterday, a Muslim neighbor asks for money from a Hindu family in Budayun. When the family denies, the Muslim (barber) goes to their roof, and slits the… pic.twitter.com/43qJyQwN3w
Interestingly, the veteran ‘journalist’ kept attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party while claiming not to “blame anyone.” However, he didn’t present nor was he asked to support his outrageous accusations of “Muslim invisibilisation or marginalisation” with any empirical data. On the other hand, there are hundreds of incidents where Muslims have demonstrated how non-marginalised they are by attacking Hindus and displaying their street strength by making a mockery of law and order.
When the “invisible” community acted due its helplessness
Social and mainstream media in India is rife with stories of Muslim attacks on Hindus over the most trivial of matters, which serve as justification for more killing and violence against the majority community. The nation’s collective memory continues to carry the graphic violence that occurred in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where police officers, both men and women, were attacked by a vicious Muslim mob because the authorities were there to lawfully demolish an unauthorized madrasa and mosque in the Banbhoolpura area.
According to OpIndia’s ground reports, victims and eyewitnesses revealed that the rioters were purportedly sparing the Muslims while hitting journalists, police officers, administrators, and regular individuals after demanding their identities. They even attempted to burn journalists and police officers alive as well.
The country is still grappling with the aftermath of a double murder in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun where barber Sajid and his brother Javed murdered 11-year-old Aayush and 6-year-old Ahaan also known as Honey and reportedly drank their blood. They also attacked 6-year-old Piyush but he managed to survive the assault, unlike his siblings. Sajid was killed in retaliatory firing when he attacked the police as he tried to escape while Javed was still absconding.
A Hindu shop owner named Mukesh in Karnataka’s Bengaluru was beaten only because he played “Hanuman Chalisa” and other Hindu devotional songs in his shop which was near a mosque. Bhajans infuriated the members of the ‘marginalised community’ that forces non-Muslims to listen to the Islamic call to prayer, known as Azaan, five times a day over loudspeakers to such an extent that they thrashed an innocent Hindu in order to assert their dominance.
Another recent instance transpired in the national capital’s Inderlok area where Sub-Inspector Manoj Tomar stopped Muslims from blocking the road and reading Namaz there as it caused inconvenience to the commuters. He kicked a praying man after none of them paid any heed to the repeated requests. However, instead of realising that they were in the wrong, the hostile throng assaulted the police personnel and hurled abuses at them.
Hindu holidays have witnessed an alarming increase in violent attacks. Radical Muslims consistently attacked Hindus and their festivals despite the many attempts of the secular media and liberals to propagate the myths of the “marginalisation of Muslims” and turned the shocking events into a new normal in the land of “Sanatan-Dharma.”
Notably, Islamists and their liberal cronies accuse Hindus of being responsible for the attacks, stating that these occurrences transpire because there are “Muslim areas” in the nation that are virtually off-limits to Hindus and that violators suffer repercussions. These areas are referred to as “Muslim areas” due to the majority religion of the residents yet if one were to apply the same reasoning to all of India, these same people foam at the mouth and label others “Sanghi” and “Hindutvavadi.” They want “no-go zones” with a Muslim population in a Hindu majority “secular” India.
Another prime illustration of the “vulnerability” of “marginalized Muslims” was the riots that swept the nation and were perpetrated under the guise of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 protests when the agitators held the entire country to ransom for a legislature that had no bearing on them. Even Delhi wasn’t immune to the unrest and on the 24th and 25th of February 2020, Muslim mobs attacked Hindus which resulted in the death of 53 people while more than 200 people were left injured. An Intelligence Bureau Constable was murdered in the riots along with a Head Constable of the Delhi Police.
These are but a few instances of the actions of Muslims in India that are frequently characterized as marginalized by individuals like Rajdeep Sardesai and his ilk when the reality is quite contrary to their claims. Muslims are indeed very much visible and they utilise most cruel methods to establish their supremacy which frequently results in violence and disregard for law and order. Rajdeep Sardesai doesn’t see any Muslims in his locality but not because it is inaccessible to them, however, the country has places where Hindus aren’t allowed to visit because they are “Muslim areas.”
Rajdeep Sadesai went so far as to hold the media accountable for the state of Muslims in the nation. However, he and his liberal media allies have persisted in portraying Hindus as the aggressors and Muslims as the victims, even in cases of the most terrible crimes. How can one forget that Islamists went on the rampage in the streets of numerous cities throughout the nation in response to BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s remarks after Mohammed Zubair of AltNews published an altered video of her and Tasleem Rehmnai who was abusing Lord Shiva during the Times Now debate? The edited footage ignited the fire that eventually grew out of control. Many Hindus including Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe were killed for supporting Nupur Sharma.
Minority communities benefitted most from welfare schemes under Modi govt
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) released a working paper last year that showed that the poorest twenty per cent of Muslim households in India have benefited the most from Indian government policies. Between 2015 and 2021, the study examined self-reported data from over 1.2 million households across many criteria, including access to necessities.
The research underlined that there is no proof of discrimination against any social, religious, or geographic group when it comes to the supply of basic utilities. Minority communities have sometimes benefited more than majority populations. According to the research, access to basic utilities has significantly improved for all religious communities in India. Notably, the report did not rely on the rhetorical jargon of a self-professed liberal mindset, but rather on real facts and a reflection of the impartial approach of the Modi government.
The umpteenth initiatives launched by the centre including Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission among others are being provided to each and every citizen without any discrimination. The accusation that the Bharatiya Janata Party does not provide tickets to Muslims, however, is unfounded because, similar to other political parties, the BJP also gives a candidate’s “winnability” priority when selecting its nominee.
The party needs to prioritize its political interests over meeting the fictitious demands of a random journalist whose spouse is a prominent figure in an opposition party. “Our ticket distribution is on the basis of winnability. If the media creates a wedge between the minorities and the BJP, and as it intensifies, there will not be any candidate who can win. We do hope that this gap ends,” Amit Shah has also repeatedly clarified the same.
Conclusion
The party that has done the most for Muslims is portrayed as a villain while being asked to do even more for the community, which is an irony that doesn’t escape anyone. The truth is that the opposition, liberals and Islamists would continue to relentlessly attack the BJP. They will never receive recognition or gratitude for everything they do. The BJP will have to prepare for many such attacks akin to those that occurred in 2014 and 2019 especially now when the election dates are announced.
Meanwhile, if Rajdeep Sardesai and any of his liberal peers wish to witness the real “invisibilazation of minorities,” all they have to do is observe the situation of minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, where their numbers are dwindling so quickly that they are almost wiped-out and on the verge of becoming invisible. The same minorities to whom liberals and Islamists oppose granting citizenship under the CAA after they migrated to India to protect their lives and dignity from Muslim extremists.
Popular spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has been hospitalised and has undergone emergency brain surgery at Apollo Delhi. As per reports, he was admitted to Apollo Delhi after a massive swelling and bleeding in his brain was detected on March 17.
Journalist Anand Narasimhan shared an update on Sadhguru’s health, stating that Sadhguru was suffering from severe headaches for the past several days.
Get well soon @SadhguruJV Prayers ?️ Namah Shivaay ??
Sadhguru health update Namaskaram Sadhguru has recently undergone a life-threatening medical situation. He was suffering from severe headache which got extremely severe by 14th On advice of Dr Vinit Suri, Sadhguru…
As per reports, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev was examined by Dr Vinit Suri and was advised an MRI, where massive bleeding in his brain was detected.
His health rapidly deteriorated and on 17th March, he was admitted after recurrent vomiting and a worsening headache. A CT scan revealed a critical swelling in his brain along with the bleeding.
A team of doctors from Apollo Delhi Dr Vinit Suri, Dr Pranav Kumar, Dr Sudheer Tyagi and Dr S Chatterjee performed an emergency surgery on him. Following the surgery, Sadhguru was weaned off the ventilator and has been recovering well. His brain, body and vital parameters are showing steady improvement following the surgery, as per Narasimhan’s update.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Statue of Valour as a bronze monument measuring 125 ft high in memory of the distinguished Ahom military general Lachit Borphukan at Hollongapar in Jorhat, Assam, on 09 March 2024. This monument of respect for a military commander who defeated the Mughals in the Ahom-Mughal War, especially in the crucial Battle of Saraighat in 1671, took centuries to come to be.
Even after the independence of India, the story of courage and fearlessness of Lachit Borphukan could not percolate the ideologically determined filters of history. In the grand narrative of Independent India and its historiography, Borphukan found no space. He remained a regional hero, and his victory over the Mughals secured no space even in the footnotes of modern Indian history.
His valour against the expansionist Mughals was exceptional and exemplified the pride of India. This victory was antithetical to the line of historiography that foregrounded the stories of defeats. Therefore, it suffered from deliberate inattention because this contested narrative disturbed the narrative of selectivism designed by the ’eminent historians’ (to borrow the phrase from Arun Shourie).
This kind of historiography made history an ideological project, not a space of objectivity. This exercise embodied the discontent because it practised exclusion. The exclusivity status was given to a chosen few who fit into their scheme of things or framework, but others whose merits are tested by history are pushed to anonymity.
Lachit Borphukan suffered this fate and was cancelled from the written history of Independent India. This history that remained unquestioned and assumed the power of irreversibility has finally experienced the test of truth. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the helm of politics with a thumping majority since 2014, the scope for revisiting history has become a reality.
It develops a scope for correcting the errors of historiography and recognising the suppressed voices and heroes who have contributed to this country’s unity, akhandata and civilisational prabah nityata. The Statue Of Unity for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, statue of Equality for Ramanujacharya, the Statue Of Valour for Lachit Borphukan, the project of unsung heroes of Bharat, etc., are the instances of effective response to the intentional errors of historiography.
PM Modi’s imagination of Viksit Bharat embodies the vision of justice that ensures the correction of errors. This exercise presents the dividend in the form of a development of a grand narrative that projects Bharat the way it ought to be and instils in Indians a sense of pride, confidence, and trust in their history.
Therefore, the history of India is not a history of continuous defeat. It inheres the stories of defeat, victory and unceasing resistance. The civilisational continuity of Bharat establishes the truth of defiance, intransigence, struggle and sacrifice.
The deeds of Lachit Borphukan are the instances of grit, courage and determination that ensured the civilisational continuity of Bharat at the teeth of annihilation and predatory forces that threatened Bharat’s civilisational existence. Therefore, the project of the ideology-loaded historiography that believed in imposing a film of frustration through the convoluted narration of Bharat’s history through lies and fraudulence finds its antithesis in the writings of Vikram Sampath, Meenakshi Jain, Rajiv Malhotra, Anand Ranganathan and so on.
The truths of history long suppressed finally find utterance. This utterance leads the nation towards a Viksit Bharat where the heroes of Bharat’s history are given the respect and recognition that they deserved for so long. To the question of the importance of building monuments, it may be argued that the monuments are necessary because their visual presence develops in the current generation and the generations to come a sense of history and pride in Bharat’s past.
From this pride comes the confidence of unity and the formation of a formidable identity. A nation without a strong sense of history is destined to repeat the mistakes of history. The Battle of Saraighat and the valour of Lachit Borphukan will now resonate in the minds of all Indians, and the monument built in his memory will remind them of the fierce resistance of their ancestors against the Mughals.
The example of patriotism that he personified by showing his deepest love for the land will continue to inspire Indians for generations. He has become a symbol of courage, and through courage, the impossible is made achievable. So, Lachit Borphukan is a national hero.
However, it may appear too late to recognise him as a national hero by giving him the honour he long deserved. Knowing the historiographic process that the aftermath of India’s independence experienced, the delay does not surprise many. What is important in this connection is the monument built finally in his honour, which will immortalise him and his deeds in the collective imagination of the Indians.
Finally, the history that experienced suffocation and lack of articulation for not falling within a specific ideological basket has found expression and national recognition. This is the new India that has taken up the journey of Viksit Bharat.
Dr. Chandan K. Panda is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Rajiv Gandhi University (A Central University), Itanagar. Email: [email protected]
On Tuesday (19th March), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) razed down the illegal property of an individual identified as Inquilab Khan after he attacked 5 Hindu persons from the Sakinaka area of the Mumbai region. The incident is said to have happened amid Ramzan on 14th March where the accused Khan brutally attacked 5 Hindus for complaining against his illegal encroachment adjacent to a Hindu temple.
The least reported SENSATIONAL Story from the heart of the financial capital of India.
Five Hindus stabbed in Mumbai during Ramzan for objecting to illegal Muslim encroachment near their Mandir.
The victims attacked by the accused have been identified as Siddhesh Prakash Ghorpade (23), Rajesh Tangaraj Chettiyar (28), Tangaraj Chettiyar (58), Laxmi Chettiyar (52) and Vikki (30). All these victims have suffered severe injuries and have been admitted to the Sion hospital. The injured individuals are all believed to be the residents of the Ambedkar Nagar area in Jarimari.
Reportedly, the accused attacked the victims with a knife after they complained about his illegal encroachment in the Sakinaka area adjacent to a Hindu temple. According to reports, he harassed local Hindus who routinely worshipped at an adjacent temple to disrupt peace. People had filed numerous complaints against him, but local officials allegedly refused to act.
On March 14, Khan carried out a knife attack on those who had complained against him. The event aroused uproar in the community, and the victims’ family members sought his arrest.
However, the accused used the same knife to injure himself and was admitted to a hospital. He stabbed himself several times and admitted himself to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. On 19th March, 5 days after the incident Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha ordered the demolition of illegal property owned by the accused.
As per the orders provided by the minister, the civic body tore down the rest of the structure and only let the ground floor stand. “After reviewing the incident that took place in Saki Naka, we realized that the Malvani pattern of harassing and torturing Hindus is going on here too. Hence appropriate action was taken. Injustice is being done to the sons of the soil here, which will not be tolerated anymore,” Lodha said after he ordered the demolition of the illegal property.
Illegal property razed to ground by the BMC (News18)
Khan is reportedly facing numerous allegations, including drug-related offences.
In the given case, the accused has been removed by the Police from the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar and has been arrested under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The double-digit inflation for many years is often listed as one of the most stellar achievements of Sonia Gandhi’s rule (2004 to 2014). Another double-digit achievement during her rule, that is often not given the due it deserves, is the home loan interest rates. The aspiring middle class was investing in buying a home for themselves. Please note that I am talking about the aspiring middle class like you and me. Not about the Rajdeep Sardesai-type middle class who will buy a 25-crore house in the year 2007 itself. This aspiring middle class was witness to a steady increase in home loan interest rates from 2005 onwards; rates that were 7.5% in 2003-04 leapfrogged to 10-11% in 2008-11 years; and then peaked in the 2012-2013 years. Headline after headline told us how the increase in home loan rates was burdening the middle class. At one point in time, we were also paying more than 11% interest on our home loans.
Enter Prime Minister Modi. The home loan interest rates steadily came down from 2015 onwards; came down to below 8% for the first time since 2005, and even reached a low of ~6.75% at one point! Even after the disastrous COVID pandemic, the interest rates haven’t gone as high as when Sonia Gandhi’s economists were at the helm. The closest graph I could find for a trend from the year 2000 onwards is below (Home loan rates vary from bank to bank, but we are more interested in the trend, so this graph is very illustrative of the same)
Let’s assume you took a 10-year, 45-lakh rupee home loan in the later part of UPA-2. A difference of 4% in home loan interest (11% in UPA vs 6.75% in NDA) would ideally mean you will save nearly 12 lakh rupees on a 45-lakh rupee loan! I know, I know that it is not the ideal way given the floating interest rates and all that. But even then, we can safely assume a ~10% average in the 2009 to 2014 period (it will be a tad higher, but I am being nice!) and a ~8% average in Modi’s 2 terms – you would have ended up saving nearly 7 lakh rupees. You can continue to debate with me on how taking an average is also wrong and it should be calculated with the exact number of months a certain interest rate was fixed and all that. Feel free to do that calculation too and you will still end up with the simple fact that we all saved a lot of money on our home loan interest rates, especially if we took the loan in the UPA days.
These savings didn’t happen just by chance or Modi didn’t just happen to be there at the right place at the right time. He ensured that more money first flows into our banking system, thereby helping ease the lending rates for the common citizen. They mocked him when he opened Jan Dhan Accounts. Today, 51 crore accounts hold nearly 2 lakh crore rupees in them! When demonetization brought back all cash into the banking system, one of the most obvious advantages that came with it was a reduction of lending interest rates, because more money came into our banking system! A structural reform like the Insolvency and Banking Code brought back nearly 3.2 lakh crore rupees into our system.
Compared to Sonia’s rule, there has been a whopping ~300% increase in the collections of personal Income Tax; a nearly ~140% increase in the collections of corporate taxes and a nearly 100% increase in the collections of GST. The most important point to note here is the actual taxes on these were NOT increased – In fact, they were decreased! For example, if you were earning 12 lakhs per annum in 2013 versus 12 lakhs per annum in 2023, you would pay 57% less tax in 2023 compared to 2013! The changes to the tax slab structure meant that those earning less than 15 lakh per annum would pay much lesser Income Tax than before. The Corporate Tax %age was reduced to 25% from 32% (much to the chagrin of the opposition); many slabs of GST were in fact bought down; and small-scale exporters now pay lesser tax than before!
A reduction in tax rates helped in increased compliance, which meant more money came into our system. More money in the system means better lending rates and better infrastructure. More people and companies paying taxes would also automatically point out to a simple conclusion – more jobs! Speaking of taxes, we need to make special mention of small yet crucial recovery schemes such as the Sabka Vishwas Scheme & Vivad se Vishwas scheme. These schemes alone have brought in nearly 1 lakh crore rupees back into the system!
Now, the cynic in you might want to question whether Modi is enjoying this newfound money. This article is not about what he did with that money, but given the recent brouhaha over the rights of the states, here’s a very simple yet startling statistic to satisfy your ego. The Modi government’s economic policies ensured that the States of India received a whopping69.6 lakh crore rupees in just 9 years – a whopping 376% increase from Sonia’s years.
Again, the cynic in you can talk about how taxes on fuel were increased. If that is your argument, then you must also be ready to accept the following fact – Central government + BJP state governments have also brought down fuel prices by nearly 20 rupees per litre. For example, there is a nearly 15 rupees per litre difference in the petrol price in Uttarakhand as compared to Telangana! Fuel Prices haven’t changed since May 2022. India under Modi negotiated a deal with Russia to buy fuel while some other world powers stopped buying fuel from Russia! This ensured that India would remain isolated from the severe inflationary effects many countries of the world are going through, because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Under Sonia’s stellar rule, the inflation rate hit double digits for multiple years. Modi government’s economic policies meant that inflation was in the 3.3% to 6.7% range, even after the COVID pandemic – this means that the pinch on your pocket is much lesser now than what it was when the universe’s biggest economist was at the helm.
When COVID raged, we were again reminded of how Modi’s lack of economic knowledge would devastate us. Articles were written on how we must blindly follow what the US and European countries were doing. Instead, Prime Minister Modi announced a brilliant 21-lakh crore package that covered multiple sectors and sections of society that the opposition didn’t know what to criticize in that package.
Both of Modi’s finance ministers, Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman, faced perhaps the worst flak as compared to any previous finance ministers (Piyush Goyal was FM for a brief time, a stop-gap arrangement for an ailing Arun Jaitley). Both of them were often called the worst finance ministers ever. Turns out, both of them have perhaps been one of the best we ever had. Both of them have steadfastly steered our economy through unprecedented crises and remained great trusted lieutenants of Narendra Modi.
The Modi government’s focus and grip on the financial system of our country is simply phenomenal. The equal focus on Big Bang systemic reforms and on benefitting the aspiring middle class; the neo-middle class; and the lower middle class is perhaps unprecedented. The middle class is thriving. It is not a fictional statement. It is what is being experienced. Makes you wonder, why exactly wouldn’t crores of these people willingly go and press the lotus button on the EVM!
This is the 5th article in the series Decoding How PM Modi Hacks EVMs (an allegation the opposition often throws at him). Part-1 speaks about the focus on small-scale entrepreneurs; Part-2 speaks about the revolutions in the labour/employment sector; Part-3 speaks about the focus on both prevention and cure in health; Part-4 speaks about how the lives of women were made better at home, school and work.
