On Tuesday, the Wire ‘journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani who peddles the leftist, Islamist agenda was slammed by netizens for editing a post she posted on the occasion of Dussehra. Sherwani initially tweeted wishing people ‘Happy Dussehra’ and added an emoji of a lamp (diya) which symbolizes the triumph of light over dark and good over evil. However, she later edited the post and removed the emoji of the lamp.
After this, netizens slammed the journalist for editing the post and indicated that she removed the emoji may be because it was a Hindu symbol. One of the users with id @SmokingLiberals commented on the post and questioned, “Edit karke diya isiliye hataya kyunki non-islamic that? (Did you remove the diya emoji because it was non-Islamic?)”
Meanwhile, another user also questioned the ‘journalist’ asking about what was the reason behind editing the post and removing the lamp from the original post. “Diya kyu hataya (why did you remove diya?” asked one @ShrivastavAni as he thanked former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria for challenging the ‘journalist’ into praising the Indian culture the other day.
However, others indicated that this was the first time the ‘journalist’ had posted something aligned with the Hindu festival. They also indicated that this was because of Danish Kaneria who challenged the senior editor of the leftist propaganda outlet on October 23 to show any tweet that she had posted in support of Bharat and its culture.
Screenshot from Twitter (X)
Screenshot from Twitter (X)
It is important to note that this post comes a day after former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria asked The Wire ‘journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani to migrate to Pakistan. He also challenged the senior editor of the leftist propaganda outlet to show any tweet that she had posted in support of Bharat and its culture.
The saga began after Sherwani accused the Indian cricket fans of supposedly displaying ‘majoritarianism’ during the 2023 World Cup. Danish Kaneria then asked The Wire ‘journalist’ to leave India if she had issues with her Indian entity.
Sherwani however accused Kaneria of posting communal trolls against her. After a series of tweet spat between the duo Kaneria then lashed out at Arfa Khanum Sherwani and said, “Let’s end the debate with a single answer – Just show me a single tweet in which you praised Bharat and its culture.”
I am not taking about conversion, majoritarianism, Hindus, Indian Muslims or religion. I am simply talking about your ‘loyalty’. Got it?
Let’s end the debate with single answer — “Just show me a single tweet in which you praised Bharat and its culture.” https://t.co/xtuZ06RL0K
A day after this, Sherwani who probably never exchanged wishes on any Hindu festival, who believes that saying ‘Bharat Mata ki Jay’ is communal and a majoritarian slogan, wished on Dusshera tweeting, “Happy Dusshera”. While the tweet seemed to shock many of her Islamist followers, others slammed her for editing the lamp (diya) emoji from the tweet, which symbolizes the triumph of light over dark and good over evil on the Hindu festivals.
As the Israel-Hamas war enters its 18th day, reports have emerged that the Islamist terror organisations Al-Qaeda and ISIS have called on their supporters to attack Israeli, US and Jewish targets raising the possibility of increased terrorist activities in the Middle East and in the West, including nations like the United States and the United Kingdom.
Al-Qaeda affiliates have made a series of statements over the past two weeks congratulating Hamas for the unprecedented attack it launched on Israel on Saturday 7 October 2023.
Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in Somalia in East Africa had recently asserted that the conflict in the Middle East is not limited to “the battle of the Islamic factions in the land of Palestine in particular, but rather the battle of the entire Muslim Ummah.”
“Muslims must gather and offer everything they can to support the mujahideen against the Jews and their hypocritical infidel allies. The strength of this nation lies in the strength of its jihadist fronts,” it said.
Al-Qaeda branches located in Yemen, Syria, and the Indian subcontinent also reiterated the calls made by al-Shabaab.
According to The Long War Journal, a news website with a US presence that covers the fight against terrorism said that Al-Qaeda branches in North and West Africa hailed the Hamas strikes on Israel.
While hailing the October 7 attacks, the Islamist terrorist group said, “We congratulate your actions and urge you to continue, biting your teeth with patience on the path of jihad. They [the Palestinians] attacked the Jews … wanting to lift the sword of humiliation from their necks.”
Hamas and its call for jihad
On Wednesday (11th October), Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (2017-present) called upon the Muslim community to engage in ‘global jihad’ and sacrifice their lives for the cause of Palestine. The development was confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) by Israeli journalist Emily Schrader.
Since 2020, he along with other Hamas leadership has been operating from Doha in Qatar because Egypt limited his movement into and out of Gaza.
On Wednesday (11th October), former Hamas supremo Khaled Mashal (2014-2017) announced, “(We must) head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday…To all scholars who teach jihad…to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application (of jihad).”
The Islamic terrorist further appealed to Jordanians, “Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan … This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility.”
On Monday (22nd October), a dreadful case of sexual assault and atrocities on minorities came to the fore from Pakistan. This is after a Hindu woman identified as Miran Kolhi was gang-raped by Shafaq Bhargari and his friends and was forced to give a false statement by a woman police officer.
According to a report by South Asian Digest, the woman was threatened by a woman police officer in Pakistan identified as Momal Laghari, and was asked to give a false statement in favour of the accused.
The video of the incident went viral over social media. It was posted by Faraz Pervaiz, a Christian who has been accused of blasphemy by the Pakistani locals for allegedly criticizing Prophet Mohammed through one of his social media posts. The woman in the video could be heard saying that the woman SHO Laghari threatened her to give a statement in favor of the accused.
Shocking Miran Kolhi, #Pakistan A #Hindu girl who is a victim of rape, Woman SHO Momal Laghari and the accused woman named as case man threatened me and forced me to give a false statement.
They both took me to a room near the court and threatened that you should declare that… pic.twitter.com/954Lv8Qe29
“Woman SHO Momal Laghari and the accused man threatened me and forced me to give a false statement. They both took me to a room near the court and threatened that I should declare that I am marrying Shafaq Bhargari, otherwise, they would send me to jail and kill me,’ the victim woman could be heard saying in the video.
The incident is said to have happened in September this year. However, it came to the fore only after Shiva Kachhi who fights for the rights of minorities in Pakistan posted about the incident and revealed that the girl was abducted and brutally raped by Shafaq Bhargari son of Ghulam Haider Bhargari. Kachhi noted that the girl somehow managed to escape from the spot and reached home.
کوٹ غلام محمد میرپورخاص کولہی برادری کی نوجوان لڑکی کو اغوا کر کے اجتمائی جنسی زیادتی کا نشانہ بنایا گیا۔ رات گئے گائون خادم بھرانی میں سات سفاک ملزمان شفاق بھرگڑی ولد غلام حیدر بھرگڑی، عمیر بھرگڑی، نکاش بھرگڑی اور دیگر ملزمان کمسن لڑکی میران کولہی ولد کستورو کولہی کو گھر سے لے… pic.twitter.com/Hk8QwzKJuj
As per the report, the girl was abducted by seven individuals including Shafaq Bhargari, Umair Bhargari, Nikash Bhargari, and others, and was forcefully gang raped. The girl somehow managed to escape from the spot after the incident and sought help from her relatives. Despite this, the police had failed to file the case.
Later one of the police personnel and the accused threatened the woman to give a statement in favor of the accused saying that the duo (accused and the victim) were going to marry each other.
The Hindus in Pakistan, especially the women face brutal atrocities at the hands of the Pakistani Muslims. Recently, a report revealed that in the past twelve years, around fourteen thousand cases of abduction, gang rape, and religious conversion of Hindu girls have come to the fore from Pakistan.
One Veerji Loond, a resident of Sindh and retired doctor from Liaquat University of Medical Sciences had appealed to PM Modi this May, to open the Indo-Pak border and grant visas to Pakistani Hindus willing to come to India to escape persecution at the hands of Islamists in Pakistan. The Pakistani Sindhi Hindu man could be heard saying in the video that in the last twelve years around thirteen to fourteen thousand Hindu girls had been converted to Islam.
An appeal from a Pakistani Hindu from Sindh to Prime Minister @narendramodi viral on social media requesting India to issue visa/asylum to Hindus who are being abducted, killed, tortured and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan by Islamist radicals with Pakistan Govt support.… pic.twitter.com/Aiay6g4PAv
“Our girls are sometimes brainwashed, sometimes they are taken away like goats and we cannot do anything as neither the police listen to us, nor the judges give justice. The chief minister also does nothing about it. Where shall we go, what shall we do? Our daughters and mothers cry and suffer. These Hindus are so poor that they cannot even afford the lawyer’s fees when their daughters are abducted and are compelled to sell their huts. Despite all this, despite the victim telling the court that they have been forcibly converted yet the judges do no justice, maybe because we are Hindus,” he added.
Recently, in December 2022, a Pakistani Hindu girl named Chanda was abducted from Hyderabad in Sindh. She had testified that she was forced to convert to Islam and married to her abductor Shaman Magsi and raped, however, the court instead of allowing the girl to return to her family, handed her over to her abductor. Later, when it was determined that the girl was a minor she was sent to a shelter home, meanwhile her abductor was not incriminated.
One Bheelji Rana used to work as a laborer in Rahim Yar Khan in Pakistan. One day his wife Samadi was working in the fields when some Muslim men abducted her along with her six-month-old daughter. Later, it was found that she was gang-raped by 12 Muslim men and was converted to Islam with her name changed to Gulam Fatima. Bheelji said that somehow his daughter was saved and he fled to India. He said that he does not even know if his wife is alive or dead.
A recent Human Rights Observer 2023 fact sheet revealed that in the year 2022, as many as 124 women belonging to minority communities were forcefully converted to Islam in Pakistan. Out of this, 81 were Hindu, 42 were Christian and one was Sikh.
Further, the fact sheet revealed that 23 percent of girls were below 14 years of age, 36 percent of them were between the age of 14 and 18 years, and only 12 percent of the victims were adults, while the age of 28 percent of the victims was not reported.
The Afghanistan cricket team staged a major upset in World Cup 2023 as it handed out an embarrassing defeat to neighbouring Pakistan, scaling down the mammoth 283 target with remarkable poise and displaying great character.
The defeat that, too, from a lower-seeded team, predictably had raised the hackles of Pakistanis, who could not bring themselves to terms with the reality of being humbled by a side that is relatively new in playing international cricket and lacks a robust domestic cricketing system that Pakistan has for over three decades now.
So this frustration of losing against Afghanistan, which analysts have rightly said was better against a lacklustre Pakistan, was reflected in the meltdown by former Pakistani cricketers, including Wasim Akram, who resorted to using casteist slang during the post-match analysis of Pakistan’s first loss in ODIs to Afghanistan.
Speaking in the sports show ‘The Pavilion’ on A Sports, Akram casually used the word ‘Cha*ar’ to lament their inability to maintain hygiene standards while shooting a similar 1-hour show on the ground.
This is disgusting! They don't even hesitate to use the “च” word which reveals that this derogatory term is used as if it were normal slang. Wasim Akram should not be allowed in India ever. ? pic.twitter.com/mEMT49kPYE
The usage of a word that could attract stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act and result in incarceration in India was used almost nonchalantly by Wasim Akram, underscoring the pervasive discrimination and stigma faced by a section of society in Pakistan.
Moreover, Akram’s casual utterance of casteist slur that saw no opposition from fellow panellists and the host betrays how discrimination is ingrained in the psyche of an average Pakistani, who has grown up watching the perpetuation of prejudice against non-Muslims, a rapidly declining breed of Pakistanis owing to rampant wave of Islamisation and religious persecution.
Already, non-Muslims face an existential crisis in a country created on religious lines, where infidels and apostates are regarded as second-class citizens, often brutally lynched for being non-Muslims and on spurious charges of blasphemy. But Akram’s statements reveal an even more dire situation faced by the oppressed classes within the non-Muslim communities.
How discrimination against non-Muslims, most notably against lower-caste ‘infidels’, is normalised in Pakistan
A report published by the New York Times in 2020 shed light on the plight of non-Muslims and the marginalised sections of the Hindu community prevailing in Pakistan. The report titled ‘Sewer Cleaners Wanted in Pakistan: Only Christians Need Apply’ talked about the burning crisis of lack of sewer cleaners in the country because the job was reserved only for non-Muslims.
While India had outlawed caste discrimination and brought in strict laws such as the SC/ST Act to curb instances of discrimination, Pakistan, on the other hand, had encouraged a new system of informal discrimination where Muslims sit at the top of the hierarchy, followed by non-Muslims, with manual sewer cleaners and sweepers at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
Although Christians constitute just 1.6 per cent of Pakistan’s approximately 200 million population, as per a 1998 government census, human rights organisations estimate that they occupy approximately 80 per cent of the sweeper positions, with lower-caste Hindus predominantly comprising the remainder.
Municipalities in Pakistan rely heavily on Christians for manual scavenging as Muslims refuse to clean the gutters and the Christian minorities have few other employment options. According to one estimate by the rights group, even though Christians constitute 1.6% of the population, they account for 80% of sanitation workers.
The rest 20% comprises Dalits who constitute the overwhelming majority of Hindus in Pakistan. Illiteracy and lack of alternate sources of income have pushed these Pakistani minorities with no other option but to clean drains clogged with faeces and medical waste to earn a meagre living.
The existence of caste-based practices in Pakistan is not limited to a specific area or sector, it is pervasive across the country, from the heart of Pakistan, i.e. Punjab, to the restive regions of Sindh, where sewage jobs are often reserved only for non-Muslim since Muslims consider it as a ‘job’ meant only for the second-grade citizens of the country.
Even the Pakistan Army, the all-powerful institution that is the defacto power centre of the country, even though civilians elected to power tout themselves to be the supreme authority, have perpetuated caste-based discrimination in its recruitments. Advertisements for sewage cleaning by the Pakistan Army often mention the eligibility criteria of being a ‘non-Muslim’ to fit the job requirements.
Rampant abduction and forceful conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan
Hindus in Pakistan live under a constant threat of persecution. Attacks on Hindus, kidnapping of Hindu daughters and their forcible conversions have become par for the course in Pakistan.
Hindus in Pakistan, especially girls, are leading a particularly vulnerable life in a country where forced conversion of Hindus into Islam has become a common norm. The Islamist fanatics routinely abduct Hindu girls and forcefully convert them to Islam before marrying them. On many occasions, even the Pakistani courts sanction the abductors and order the custody of girls to their tormentors. Dalits remain among the most oppressed communities among non-Muslims in Pakistan.
What Dr BR Ambedkar warned about the discrimination meted out in the Islamic country of Pakistan long before its creation
The chief architect of India’s constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, had pithily and presciently warned about the religious and caste-based discrimination faced by non-Muslims in Pakistan in his seminal work ‘Pakistan Or The Partition Of India‘, first published in 1940, with subsequent editions in 1945 and 1946. The book, a collection of his writings and speeches, lays bare a staggering account of what Ambedkar thought about Islam.
In crude and lucid language, Ambedkar expounded that Islam was a divisive religion, a faith that segregated people into rigid groups of Muslims and non-Muslims, where the benefits of brotherhood and fraternity were limited only to the former, i.e Muslims, while the latter was treated with contempt and enmity.
“Hinduism is said to divide people and in contrast, Islam is said to bind people together. This is only a half-truth. For Islam divides as inexorably as it binds. Islam is a close corporation and the distinction that it makes between Muslims and non-Muslims is a very real, very positive and very alienating distinction. The brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is a brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only. There is a fraternity, but its benefit is confined to those within that corporation. For those who are outside the corporation, there is nothing but contempt and enmity,” BR Ambedkar wrote in ‘Pakistan or Partition of India’.
Not only did this discrimination form the cornerstone of Pakistan’s creation in 1947, but it also created a template for the subsequent generation of Pakistanis to normalise and rationalise the prejudice against non-Muslims, including against Dalit Hindus. Akram’s apathetic reference to casteist slang during a post-match analysis is a testament to the discrimination that is entrenched in Pakistani society.
The existing discrimination highlights the pathetic conditions in which non-Muslims, most notably the lower-caste Hindus, live, but it no less also punctures the mythical construct of ‘Jai Bheem Jai Meem’ propped up by the desi ‘liberals’, who try to stitch a chimerical pact between Muslims and Dalits in India in their bid to undermine the consolidation of Hindus. If anything, the caste-based discrimination in the Islamic society of Pakistan reveals that the ‘Jai Bheem-Jai Meem’ construct is a wild goose chase for something that does not even exist and is nothing but a desperate attempt by ‘liberals’ at cultivating their vote bank.
On Monday (23rd October), the Shalby Multi-speciality Hospitals in Ahmedabad clarified that Wagh Bakri Tea Group’s Director Parag Desai did not die of a dog bite but brain haemorrhage.
“The press note states that the patient was brought to the emergency department of Shalby Hospitals at SG highway by around 6pm. He was unconscious and not responding,” the hospital announced.
“It was stated that the patient fell down after being chased by dogs but apparently there were no dog bite marks on his body. A CT scan revealed acute subdural hematoma with bilateral frontal contusion,” it further added.
Late Shri Parag Desai did not die due to any dog attack stated by SHALBY Multi-Speciality Hospital where he was admitted post to brain haemorrhage. pic.twitter.com/rVZtPLrb1L
Dr. Nishita Shukla, Group COO of Shalby Hospitals, stated, “The patient was admitted to the ICU and was advised to be kept under observation and treatment for 72 hours. The patient was discharged on the request of his relatives.”
Who was Parag Desai
Parag Desai was the Executive Director of Wagh Bakri Tea Group. He passed away on Sunday (22nd October) at the age of 49. He is now survived by his wife Vidisha and daughter Parisha.
The deceased Parag Desai was the son of Rasesh Desai, the Managing Director of the Wagh Bakri Tea Group. Desai, who had been in the business for almost 30 years, was in charge of the company’s sales, marketing, and export departments.
Parag Desai, a significant industry leader, and prolific tea taster, was also a member of the Federation of Indian Industry (CII), among other organisations.
Desai is described as “an expert tea taster and evaluator” on the Wagh Bakri website. He also had an MBA from Long Island University in the United States, according to the report.
17 days after the deadly terrorist attack by Hamas rocked Israel killing over 1,400 of its people, China has finally acknowledged that the Jewish state has the right to self-defense. However, the Communist country has still not condemned terrorist group Hamas for the 7th October terrorist attack.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on 23rd October and said that “every country has the right to self-defence”. Yi, however, maintained China’s position to preach by adding that “every country should abide by international humanitarian law and protect civilians.”
This is reportedly the first time that China has expressed support for Israel which is a starkly opposite stand from its usual calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Last Week, Chinese President Xi Jinping, too, called for an immediate ceasefire and offered to broker a solution along with Egypt and other Arab nations “to push for a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as soon as possible.”
Tel Aviv has repeatedly expressed its disappointment with Beijing for failing to condemn terrorism and instead putting the onus on Israel which has been the victim of Hamas terrorist attacks.
On 15th October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a scathing attack on Israel said that its actions in Gaza “have gone beyond the scope of self-defence”. Moreover, on 23rd October, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called on the international community for more humanitarian support for people in Gaza.
China is pained to see the large amount of civilian casualities and escalation of humanitarian crisis during the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflicts, Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the Chinese FM said on Mon. Mao called the intl community to provide more humanitarian support for ppl… pic.twitter.com/cHFK9kru4H
Merely two days after the attacks, on 9th October, China refused to condemn the Jihadist group Hamas for the barbaric attack on Israeli citizens. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that it wouldn’t condemn Palestine despite certain voices “pressuring” it to do so.
Israel on 14th October expressed “deep disappointment” with the Chinese stance with the Israeli Ambassador Rafi Harpaz dialing the Chinese envoy to the Middle East regarding Beijing’s decision not to condemn the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
Israeli Ambassador Harpaz stated that Israel is ‘deeply disappointed’ with China’s statements and media reports on the horrific incidents that took place in southern Israel, as informed by the Israeli Embassy in China on X.
The sudden change in China’s stance comes ahead of Chinese FM Wang Yi’s visit to Washington, D.C. Beijing has also backed two-state solution. China along with Russia are also reportedly planning to work together to broker a peace deal and a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
However, while China is calling on Israel to ceasefire on terrorists, it continues to maintain an eery silence over the reports of exploitation of Uyghur Muslims in China.
The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked demonstrations the world over. Even as Israel’s counter-offensive targets Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure in Gaza, Hamas sympathisers have received blatant support from pro-Palestine rallies across countries. Safe to say that Hamas is not working in isolation and has garnered increasing support from Palestinian Authorities as well as civilians.
Survey conducted after 11-day war in 2021 reveals how Palestinians viewed Hamas as winners against Israel
A survey released in 2021 found that Palestinian support for Hamas had risen dramatically following the Gaza war in May of that year. A scientific poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that around three-quarters of Palestinians viewed Hamas terrorists as victors in a battle against Israel.
The poll reportedly found that 53 per cent of Palestinians believe that Hamas is “most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people”. In April 2021, Palestinian protesters clashed with the Israeli police on a nightly basis in east Jerusalem to protest the restrictions on public gatherings during Ramadan.
About a month after the clashes, Hamas launched long-range rockets at Jerusalem on 10th May which led to an 11-day war. The poll found that 77 per cent of Palestinians believed that Hamas was the winner. Many Palestinians reportedly said that Hamas fought the war to defend Jerusalem and its holy sites.
Survey in 2019 showed 41% Palestinians would vote for a Hamas terrorist for President if elections were held
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) conducted a survey of 1,270 Palestinians in 127 randomly selected locations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 13-16 March 2019.
The Survey showed that if Palestinian presidential elections were to be held between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, 41 per cent of Palestinians would vote for Haniyeh. 48 per cent of Palestinians expressed support for a two-state solution.
Palestinians would have lent overwhelming support to Hamas terrorist Ismail Haniyeh for President if polls were held in December 2018
In a similar survey conducted in 2018 by The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), when asked who they would support, 49 per cent of Palestinians said they would vote for Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh for President.
Polls show 57% of civilians in Gaza perceive Hamas in positive light
A more recent data published by the Washington Institute on 10th October – three days after the terrorist attacks – claims that 57 per cent of Gazans express a positive opinion of Hamas along with similar percentages of Palestinians in the West Bank (52%) and East Jerusalem (64%).
Survey released in June 2023 shows how Palestinians are defensive for Hamas even against their own Palestinian Authority
Palestinian Center for Policy and and Survey Research revealed that 86 per cent of Palestinians believed that the Palestinian Authority has no right to act against the members of Hamas while 80% of the respondents said they were opposed to the members of the armed groups handing themselves over to the PA.
Data from June 2023, according to Israel Today, reveals that “Palestinian public opinion continues to approve of terror against Israel”. A whopping 71 per cent of Palestinians expressed their backing for terrorist groups, reportedly believing that they should operate independently without supervision or intervention from the Palestinian Authority.
70 per cent Palestinians opposed the two-state solution and 52 per cent viewed the armed struggle in Israel as the most effective means of ending the so-called “Israeli occupation”.
Palestinians and Pro-Palestinians seen supporting Hamas openly amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has exposed this very support by Palestinians for the terrorist group. A report by USA Today shows how Palestinians have used Israeli retaliation and self-defence as an excuse to support Hamas and its terror activities.
An excerpt from the report reads, “On Tuesday, Hamas blamed Israel for an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza that killed at least 500 people. And because of this, their own rough treatment at the hands of Israeli authorities and their long, violent and bitter shared history with the country, Palestinians like Farhat and others in the wider community are finding it hard to denounce the attacks on Israel even though they say they don’t approve of violence against civilians.”
The report goes on to quote a Palestinian man as saying, “Killing anybody is wrong. But imagine you live somewhere and I come and lock you in your house. I control everything that comes in and out of your house. Occasionally, I come and beat you up. Eventually, you’re going to resist and start fighting back with whatever you have,” he said. That’s what’s happening (with the Hamas attacks).”
A report by The Times of Israel quoted a Palestinian man saying, “I was pleased by what Hamas did,” further adding that he feared the scale of “Israeli crimes in Gaza” in retaliation. That terrorism by Hamas is being celebrated openly by Palestinians and Israel’s response is being termed criminal shows that Hamas is dwelling on the support from Palestinians.
Another report by Global News reveals how Palestinians in the West Bank’s Ramallah chanted slogans during protests backing Hamas. “Who is protecting us? Qassam!” the terrorist sympathisers chanted, referring to Al-Qassan Brigades which is the armed wing of Hamas that led the 7th October attacks.
People who are pro-Palestine took to the streets to celebrate the terrorist attack by Hamas. Even Palestinian authorities, which the Western media often pits as a separate, well-meaning entity than Hamas, have spoken the same language as Hamas for Jews and Israel. A Palestinian official quoted by The Times of Israel said that the Hamas attack was a “natural reaction to the crimes committed by Israel”.
On 18th October, the Palestinian Authority, in outright support to Hamas, issued a one-page document to imams of mosques laying down directives for Friday (Jummah) sermons. The document contained an Islamic verse which calls for the murder of all Jews by Muslims.
Palestine and Hamas flags and banners were displayed in cities that saw demonstrations against Israel. In fact, videos doing rounds online show several in Gaza, too, celebrating the 7th October slaughter of Israelis by the terrorists.
But as soon as Israel began retaliating in Gaza, Hamas supporters quickly spun the “Free Palestine” narrative, a narrative that has not been contested by Palestinians staging demonstrations. This comes even as Israel has only been targeting the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza where humans and residential spaces are being used as human shields.
More than 1,400 Israelis were butchered by Hamas on 7th October where as thousands of civilians have died in Gaza where the terrorist group has been using civilians as human shields.
Dussehra is a Hindu festival that symbolises the victory of the good over the evil. Every year, thousands of effigies of Ravan, Meghanad, and Kumbhakaran are burnt at several places across the country to mark the triumph of righteousness over wickedness. While burning effigies of societal problems like corruption and drug abuse has been a longstanding tradition during Ramleelas in Delhi, this year effigies of those who disparaged Sanatana Dharma are installed at Delhi’s Red Fort ground for Dussehra celebrations.
#WATCH | Effigies of Ravan, Meghanad and Kumbhkaran, along with those opposing Sanatan Dharma, installed at Delhi's Red Fort ground for #Dussehrapic.twitter.com/B36VeKWrhj
On the grounds of Delhi’s iconic Red Fort, effigies of Sanatana Dharma detractors are erected alongside the traditional effigies of Ravan, Meghnad, and Kumbhkarna—the three antagonists from Ramayana— killed by Lord Rama and his army in their fight for Dharma. The effigies with garlands of shoes wrapped around their neck have posters pasted on them, which bears slogans ‘Down with those who attack Sanatana Dharma’.
Earlier this month, it was reported that over 650 effigies of Sanatana Dharma disparagers were going to be set ablaze with Ravan, Meghanad and Kumbhakaran.
Arjun Kumar, the president of Shree Ramleela Mahasangh, the central organisation for Ramleela events in Delhi, informed The Indian Express, “The statues of legendary antagonists will stand tall at 80 to 100 feet, while those representing opponents of Sanatan Dharma, ranging from 6 to 15 feet, will convey their insignificance.”
DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin, A Raja, and Congress’ Priyank Kharge make disparaging remarks against Sanatana Dharma
The move was in response to Southern politicians’ contempt and disdain for Sanatana Dharma. On 2nd September, the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development of Tamil Nadu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, went on a tirade against Sanatan Dharma on social media. The development came hours after he courted controversy for comparing the Hindu civilisational, religious philosophy with ‘malaria’ and ‘dengue.’ While talking to X (formerly Twitter), Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote, “Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion.”
“Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality…I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalised who suffer from the Sanatan Dharma. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalised, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma,” he said.
“Let me reiterate the crucial aspect of my speech: I believe, like the spread of diseases like COVID-19, Dengue, and Malaria by mosquitoes, that Sanatan Dharma is responsible for many social evils,” he further emphasised.
Stalin’s remarks sparked outrage, with millions of people around the world who espoused Sanatana Dharma expressing vehement disapproval of the DMK leader’s call for the annihilation of a religious group that forms a majority in India. A Raja, another DMK stalwart, came in support of the beleaguered Stalin, stating that Udayanidhi was soft while commenting on Sanatana Dharma and added that it should have been compared to HIV and social stigmas.
In his derogatory remarks, A Raja said Udhayanidhi only compared Sanatan Dharma to diseases like Malaria and dengue as he had a soft approach. “Sanatan Dharma should be compared to diseases with social stigma like HIV and leprosy,” he added.
If this wasn’t enough, Congress’ Priyank Kharge too jumped into the raging controversy, comparing Sanatana Dharma to a disease. Speaking to the media personnel, the Congress leader said, “Any religion that does not promote equality or does not ensure you have the dignity of being human is not religion, according to me. Any religion that does not give equal rights or does not treat you like a human is as good as a disease.”
On Tuesday, October 24, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) held its annual Vijayadashami program in the Reshimbagh area of Nagpur, Maharashtra. Addressing the thousands of RSS volunteers gathered on the auspicious occasion, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat urged the citizens of the country to remain vigilant against “divisive forces” ahead of the assembly elections in five states in November and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He emphasised the need to cast votes mindfully for the most competent candidates.
Some elements deliberately disrupt peace in India. Fanaticism only breeds chaos: Mohan Bhagwat
Bhagwat further advised voters that they should not succumb to those looking to promote division and strife in society. He urged citizens to use their votes to fight such efforts and select the most competent representatives who worked for them. He cautioned that some may use provocative statements and other tactics to manipulate public opinion.
“Some elements deliberately disrupt peace in India. Fanaticism only breeds chaos, leading to conflicts worldwide,” he said.
Mohan Bhagwat warns society against destructive, all-devouring forces who identify themselves as ‘wokes’
The RSS chief added that the development of humanity has always been the goal of Bharat’s progress. However, as a natural result of this rise, sectarian interests-seeking forces that are self-centred, prejudiced, and dishonest are subject to restraints and regulations. Consequently, they consistently oppose us.
“The purpose of Bharat’s rise has always been the welfare of the world. But as a natural consequence of this rise, the selfish, discriminatory and deceitful forces seeking their sectarian interests are subject to curbs and regulations. Hence, there is a continuous opposition from them,” he said.
The purpose of Bharat's rise has always been the welfare of the world. But as a natural consequence of this rise, the selfish, discriminatory and deceitful forces seeking their sectarian interests are subject to curbs and regulations. Hence, there is a continuous opposition from… pic.twitter.com/4QKUyzkTOy
Although these forces appear to be working towards great aims while donning one ideology or another, their true ambitions are quite different. Regardless of their ideology or the type of work they conduct, people with integrity who sincerely give of themselves always prove to be a barrier to such dishonest and harmful forces.
These destructive, all-devouring forces call themselves cultural Marxists or Woke, or the awakened ones, Bhagwat said, adding that though they identify themselves as ‘Marxists’ they have forgotten Marx since the 1920s. In fact, such so-called ‘wokes’ reject all forms of discipline, morality, goodness, culture, dignity, and restraint. They encourage, reward, and foster anarchy and immorality in order for a small group of people to acquire complete power over the entire human species, Bhagwat added.
Woke elements using their influence in media to spoil the country’s education and cultural fabric: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwant
The RSS chief further stressed that such people’s strategy entails seizing control of the media and academics, causing uncertainty, disorder, and corruption in the fields of education, culture, politics, and the social environment.
Such an environment enables them to create a vicious cycle of fear, confusion and hatred.
The RSS chief further asserted how a society that is fractured and mired in internal conflicts and uncertainty weakens and is vulnerable to these destructive forces that are constantly vying for control. He added that in Bharatiya tradition, this style of functioning which creates disbelief, confusion and mutual hatred among the people of any particular nation is called Mantra Viplav.
To defeat political opponents, efforts are being made to form alliances with these unfavourable forces in the nation. This is done in an effort to advance narrow political goals. This is unwise and detrimental to the nation, he said, adding that the society is already amnesic, torn apart by all kinds of conflicts, and consumed by the lethal pursuit of egotistical goals tainted with resentment and hatred.
That is why these demonic powers are able to get the support of internal or external forces who want to break the society and the nation, Bhagwat added, citing the example of the recent conflict in Manipur to prove his point.
Vested interests and extremist forces fuelled Manipur violence, attempted to destabilise govt’s efforts to bring back peace in Manipur
While speaking during the annual Dusshera celebration, the RSS chief further hinted at the role of some extremist forces in the recent violence in Manipur. Bhagwat stated that the sudden enmity and hostility in Manipur, which has otherwise been such a peaceful state for the past decade, further proves the existence of vested interests or forces from across the border that have given the mutual conflict between the Meiteis and Kukis a communal tone in an effort to sow discord.
He also hinted that these vested interests also tried to malign RSS whose volunteers worked selflessly to bring peace and unity in violence-hit Manipur.
In Manipur, when people on both sides of the conflict are seeking peace, which are these forces that are attempting to trigger hatred and violence by causing an incident as soon as any positive step is seen being taken in that direction? Multidimensional efforts will be required… pic.twitter.com/Gj2T1PnyOh
“Who has a vested interest in trying to drag and besmirch an organization like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has been engaged in serving everyone without any bias for years, into this unfortunate incident without any reason? Which foreign powers may be interested in taking advantage of such unrest and instability in Manipur, located between Nagabhoomi and Mizoram in this border area? Does the geopolitics of Southeast Asia also have a role in these events? Despite there being a strong government in the country, on whose strength and instigation has this violence continued unabated for so many days? Why did this violence erupt and continue even though there was a state government that wanted to maintain the peace that had prevailed over the last 9 years?
Now, when people on both sides of the conflict are seeking peace, which are these forces that are attempting to trigger hatred and violence by causing an incident as soon as any positive step is seen being taken in that direction? asked Mohan Bhagwat.
World is looking towards Bharat expectantly to lead by example
The RSS chief cited the recent Isreal-Hamas war as an example to stress how totalitarianism, exploitation, and acts of terrorism are being given carte blanche to wreak devastation in the World. HE added that it has become plainly evident that the world’s limited perspective makes it impossible to address these issues and since Bharat has its own Sanatan (eternal) ideals and Sanskars, the world is expecting us to lead by example and show a new path to peace and prosperity.
Mohan Bhagwat lauds India’s exceptional hospitality during the G-20 summit
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat further lauded India for the successful organisation of the G20 summit. “It happens every year but this time the praise for how well the guests were hosted and treated. The announcement of including the African Union on day one was also a milestone,” he said.
The RSS chief emphasized that India’s leadership helped the nation find its place in the world.
“Every year, India’s pride is increasing in the world. The G20 summit held here (in India) was special. The hospitality of Indians was praised. People from different countries experienced our diversity. They saw our diplomatic skills as well as our honest goodwill. Our leadership gave India a place in the world,” Mohan Bhagwat said while speaking at the event.
#WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: While addressing RSS Vijayadashmi Utsav, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat says, "…Every year, India's pride is increasing in the world… The G 20 summit held here (in India) was special. The hospitality of Indians was praised…People from different… pic.twitter.com/ivmFyV4gn6
Ram Mandir, Chandrayaan Mission and Asian Games: RSS chief lauds Bharat’s unstoppable progress
The RSS chief, while addressing the annual ‘Vijayadashmi Utsav’ event in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, further proudly said that Bharat has been advancing on a path of unstoppable progress. He lauded India for its remarkable achievements in the fields of sports and science. He praised the Indian scientists who accomplished this historic feat of making India the first country to safely land on the moon’s south pole.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023, at 6:03 PM IST. This made India the first country to soft land on the moon’s south pole. India was also the fourth country to land on the moon, after the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China.
Mohan Bhagwat also went on to laud the Indian athletes who brought glory to the country with their remarkable performance at the Asian Games.
“Recently, our country’s sportspersons brought us great pride and joy by winning 107 medals (28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze), leaping past the 100 mark for the first time in the Asian Games. We extend our hearty congratulations to them. The Chandrayaan Mission also gloriously showcased the resurgent Bharat’s strength, intelligence and tact. The will of the nation’s leadership is seamlessly combined with the scientific knowledge and technical prowess of our scientists. Bharat’s Vikram Lander touched down on the South Pole of the Moon for the first time in the history of the Space Age. The scientists who accomplished this historic feat, which heightened the pride and confidence of us all, and the leadership that supported them, are being congratulated across the country”, he said.
The RSS leader took use of the occasion to further confirm that the installation of Lord Ram’s idol in the Ayodhya temple would take place on January 22, 2024. He continued by saying that we should stage this event on a small scale in various places on the occasion of Ramlala’s consecration. “This will awaken the Ram of one’s mind in every heart, and embellish the Ayodhya of the mind, creating an atmosphere of affection, responsibility, and goodwill in the society,” the RSS chief added.
The RSS organises a program on Dussehra in Nagpur every year since its inception in 1925. This year, noted singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan was invited to the RSS’ Vijaydashami event as the chief guest. He performed the Shastra Puja, which the Sangh performs every year on this occasion. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among others who attended the event. After the Shastra Puja, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed the program at Reshimbagh ground.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has come up with its final fact-finding report on the Rahuri love jihad case that emerged from Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district in July this year. The NCPCR noted that the investigation by the local police in the case had several gaps, lacunas, and anomalies. It directed the CBI to take over the case to provide justice to the minor Hindu girls who were trapped by the Muslim boys and their tuition teacher named Heena Pathan who further wanted to convert the girls to Islam.
Team OpIndia had exclusively covered this case in the month of July this year. It was reported that one of the minor girls had registered an FIR against 8 individuals for love-trapping her and then forcing them to convert their religion to Islam.
Heena Shaikh introduced the victim to her 'relative' Avej, besides allowing other boys from her community to sit in the class (even though they were not students).
Avej initially displayed 'respect for women' and quickly forged friendship with the minor Hindu girl.
The accused persons were identified as Avej Nisar Sheikh, Kaif Sheikh, Sohail Sheikh, Heena Pathan, Alisha Sheikh, Salim Pathan, Altaf Sheikh, and Shakir Sayyed. The Police had also arrested four of these identified accused including two women. The others meanwhile had been booked under sections 354, 354D, 109, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act.
Police conducted improper investigation, tampered evidence to favor accused: NCPCR
The NCPCR in its report stated that the Ahmednagar Police failed to gather pieces of evidence in the case after the complaints were lodged by the minor girls. The police also happened to tamper with the pieces of evidence provided by the victim girls and their respective families. “The police formatted the phone of the primary accused Avej and deleted all the photos of the victim girls,” the report mentioned.
Further, the NCPCR noted that the Ahmednagar Police used a tactic of lodging a counter-case on several members of the Hindu community who protested against the violations done by the accused boys.
“The role of police in the entire investigation is questionable. It is imperative and important that this matter requires a detailed and thorough probe by an external investigating agency such as the CBI,” the fact-finding report by the NCPCR noted.
NCPCR fact-finding report obtained by OpIndia
Also, the commission recommended the immediate removal of the SP, Additional SP, and SHO from Ahmednagar Police until the completion of the CBI investigation in the case. The officers as per the NCPCR had conducted lax, improper, and misguided investigations.
What had happened in Rahuri in July?
Hindu minor girls in Ahmednagar’s Rahuri filed an FIR in the case saying that they were being harassed and forced to convert their religion by their tuition teacher Heena Pathan and her ‘relative’ Avej Sheikh.
The victim girl in the complaint copy said that she along with her friends who were studying in standard 10th had joined tuition classes at the accused Heena Pathan’s home. The girls had joined the tuition classes in the year 2021 and continued to attend the classes until the true face of the accused teacher was exposed.
The accused teacher allowed her ‘relatives’ Avej, Sohail, Kaif, and Nisar from her community to enter the tuition and also allowed them to gather around the classes in the presence of the Hindu girls. She used to ask the girls to be friends with them and speak in Hindi only. The local language spoken in Maharashtra is Marathi people hardly prefer speaking Hindi. Heena however, forced the minor girls to speak Hindi saying that it was the culture and habit of Muslims.
Accused Avej Sheikh
The victim girl in the complaint said that the accused boys had nothing to do with the tuition but were allowed to sit with them given the permission of the accused Heena Pathan. The teacher also asked the girls to behave like Muslim girls and wear burqa. She also wanted the girls to stop wearing bangles and apply kumkum on their foreheads.
Avej trapped a minor girl and forced her to run away with him, wear burqa
The incident had come to the fore after one of the victims dared to come forward and file a police complaint against Avej and the tuition teacher. The girl in the complaint mentioned that Avej trapped many girls from his tuition and forced them to marry him. He would trap the girls in different time periods and none of the girls knew that they were being trapped by the accused until he was exposed after the police case.
The girl in the complaint mentioned that accused Avej would show respect towards girls and silently approach for friendship. He would then develop relations with the girls and propose they marry and run away with him. OpIndia had covered this case on the ground and had exclusively learned that the accused was provided support by other Muslim people from the village.
The victim girl was also likely trapped by the accused. “I was going home. Avej stopped me and told me that he liked me. Initially, he showed so much respect towards women so I decided to be friends with him. Later he began establishing casual contacts with my brother and then began coming home. In the due period he also told me that he loved me and that he could not stay without me,” the victim girl was quoted as saying in the complaint.
Minor girls who filed the police complaint
The accused became friends with the girl’s brother and would often barge into his home to see the victim. He also asked his sister to become friends with the victim. On the festival of Eid, the accused and his friends, his sister entered the victim’s home and clicked some photographs with her. They arrived at the victim’s home in the absence of her father under the guise of sharing sweets and forcefully took some pictures. These pictures were then used by the accused to blackmail and threaten the victim.
The accused Avej also sexually assaulted the girl that day and touched her private parts. He further threatened the girl and said that she would be murdered if she opened her mouth regarding the assault.
Avej’s friends, sister interfered and helped him to trap Hindu girls
As per the FIR, accused Avej asked his sister Alisha to interfere and convince the victim girl to accept his ‘love’ proposal. Accordingly, Alisha one day met the victim girl and told her that Avej was madly in love with her and that he wanted to marry her. Avej also used to message the victim on Instagram and blackmail her saying that he would viral her photographs if she refused to talk to him. He also asked the girl to convert her religion to Islam and marry him.
He said to the girl that Salim Pathan, Altaf Sheikh, and Shakir Sayyed (other accused booked in the case) from the village knew about their ‘relation’ and were ready to provide them with a home and some money post-conversion and wedding.
The girl got scared and informed Heena Pathan. But the accused tuition teacher would also favor the accused and praise Islam in front of her. She would say that Islam is the purest and oldest of all the religions. She would ask the victim to be with Avej and listen to what he would propose or suggest.
The victim girl also complained that she was forced to wear a burqa by Alisha and Avej and told to behave like Muslim girls by her tuition teacher Heena. As per the exclusive details that were obtained by OpIndia, around 3-4 girls from the same tuition had come forward and accused Avej of trapping them in love affairs separately and then forcing them to respond to his ‘proposal’ leading to forced conversion.
OpIndia has obtained three different FIR copies in which the three victim girls mentioned that Avej first trapped them in a love affair and then made plans with his friends to abduct them and convert them to Islam.
Heena would feed the victim with some powder giving the ‘strength of Islam’
OpIndia in August this year, traveled to Rahuri to obtain the ground details on this case. The team talked to one of the victims in the case who first filed the FIR against the accused. The motherless girl informed the team that she was assaulted and also harassed by the accused identified as Avej.
She said that given her mother’s loss, Heena would take benefit of her vulnerable emotions and offer her food after the tuitions sometimes. “She would tell me to have meals at her home daily but I refused. I stay with my brother and my father and I love being with them. However, Heena would pity me and give me milk and rice sometimes after tuition. I would not want to have it but she would force me to eat,” the girl said.
She further informed that the Heena would mix some power in the milk and say that it was to provide her with some strength. “It used to taste bitter. And I would also feel a bit dizzy after having it. But I never complained as I thought Heena teacher was genuinely doing this for me out of love. Heena teacher said that the powder mixed with the milk was to give her the strength of Islam,” the girl said.
NCPCR fact-finding report obtained by OpIndia
Also, it had come to the fore that the accused tuition teacher Heena had helped the boys in attaining the photographs of the Hindu girls from the tuition. “She used to offer us Shirkhurma on Eid and say that it is mandatory in their religion to click a selfie after having Shirkhurma. And then our images were morphed and misused to blackmail us to be in relation with the Muslim boys,” one of the victims in her complaint filed on July 29 said.
The NCPCR in its report also mentioned that Heena would take the tuition classes daily from 4 pm to 6 pm but would teach Math only for half and hour. The rest of the time, she used to teach the victim girls about Islam and train them to behave like Muslim girls.
Hindus protested but were falsely booked by accused Salim Pathan
The victim girls filed the police complaint but the police failed to take action in the case. This irked the Hindu community who launched protests in the area. The Hindu community members met the victim girls and their respective families to offer help in the case. However, one of the accused Salim Pathan filed an FIR against the Hindu community members falsely accusing them of damaging the Masjid.
In the FIR, accused Pathan mentioned that the members of the Hindu organization attacked his place of work and barged into a nearby Masjid further creating a ruckus on the premises. He also claimed that the Hindu members damaged the Masjid using rods and sticks. Accordingly, the police booked around 25 in the case and arrested 13 on July 27.
Team OpIndia visited Umbre village on August 3 to learn that the 13 Hindu persons from Rahuri who were arrested by the police and released on bail on August 1 were in no way involved in damaging the Masjid as claimed by accused Salim Pathan. They were not present in Umbre when the Masjid was damaged as claimed by accused Pathan.
It was later learned that the members of the Hindu community were specifically targeted for extending help to the minor victim girls who were trapped in a Love Jihad case. The entire incident of the false case was exposed by OpIndia after the team talked to one of the Hindu members who was arrested in the false case and also to the police. The detailed account of the case can be read here.
Police did not investigate the case properly, favored the accused, targeted Hindu members
The Hindu members were beaten by the Police after they met the victim girls at a local community hall in the village. However, the CCTV footage of the incident was destroyed by the authorities. The issue was also raised by BJP MLA Prasad Lad in the Maharashtra Legislative Council who sought strict action against the local officers who allegedly filed false police cases against the Hindu persons.
OpIndia had contacted Rahuri Police Inspector Dhananjay Jadhav in the case who had refused to comment on the wrongful arrest of the Hindu members. On asking whether the 13 Hindu persons were actually present in Umbre when the ruckus around the Masjid happened, the PI had said, “Nothing can be commented on that now. Whether they were part of the villager’s mob who created a ruckus around the Masjid or not will be decided in and by the Court. It’s all part of an ongoing investigation that cannot be revealed at present.”
Meanwhile, the victim girls confirmed to OpIndia that the Hindu members had met them to help them and were unnecessarily beaten by the Police. “The Hindu brothers had come to help us. They did nothing. But the Police charged them and arrested them,” one of the girls had said while exclusively talking to OpIndia.
Accused would discourage the girls to study and loiter outside their homes: NCPCR
The NCPCR in the fact-finding report further mentioned that while Ajev trapped the girls in a ‘love’ affair, there was also one Shahnavaz Sheikh who forced one of the victim girls to marry him and convert to Islam.
As per the report, one of the victim girls reported that Shanavaz Sheikh, when she had gone to the market, had forcibly taken her behind a car, hugged her, kissed her, and clicked a selfie with her. He would blackmail her so that if she did not come to him whenever he calls, he would make her photo viral to all.
He would ask her for her Adhar card or any other identification. He would tell her that they both should run away and get married, inspite of her protesting against his demands. He would discourage the victim from pursuing her studies and would often insist she get married to him post-conversion.
The girl reported that Shanavaz must be 21-22 years old; he had 3 mobile phones wherein he had stored photos of many other girls and multiple Instagram accounts. Also, Shanavaz Sheikh owned 4 motorcycles.
Conclusion: CBI inquiry must
The incidents of love jihad are massively increasing in the state of Maharashtra where the Muslims target the innocent, vulnerable Hindu girls and force them to convert their religion to Islam. In the given case, one of the victim girls also confirmed that she was targeted by the teacher as the latter knew that the girl was suffering from her mother’s loss and that her social and emotional condition was vulnerable.
The teacher began trapping the little girl by offering her food mixed with some ‘Islamic powder’ and made her believe that Islam was the purest of all religions. The teacher then forced the girls to be friends with Muslim boys who trapped them in ‘love’ affairs and forced them to convert their religion to Islam.
Moreover, the Hindu community members who tried to help the girls were booked in false cases. The shreds of evidence were destroyed by the Police and even the complaints of the girls were initially ignored. The accused were allegedly favored by the administration. Their mobile phones which contained derogatory, morphed photos and chats of the girls were formatted.
In several cases, if the accused has connections with some influential personalities, the victim girls remain unheard. The victims are either asked by the police to drop the case or are delayed justice. With this kind of law and order situation existing at the local levels, how can anyone say that the Hindu girls residing in the so-called ‘secular’ society are safe? In this case, though the influential connections remain untraced, the accused appeared to have the support of the Muslim community members who offered him with home and money to convert the Hindu girls.
Notably, after the exclusive reporting by OpIndia and efforts taken by the local Hindu community members, the accused Muslim boys and the tuition teacher were arrested by the police. Also, the 13 Hindus who were wrongly arrested by the Police based on a false case filed by one of the accused booked by the girls were released.
The CBI, as suggested by the NCPCR committee, therefore, must look into the case and deliver justice to the victim girls.
Please read earlier reports regarding this case here,here and here.
