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I.N.D.I.A. alliance falling apart? Arvind Kejriwal missing from poster released by Congress, Shiv Sena (UT) angry for showing Rahul Gandhi at forefront

Paurush Gupta
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I.N.D.I.A. alliance falling apart? Arvind Kejriwal missing from poster released by Congress, Shiv Sena (UT) angry for showing Rahul Gandhi at forefront

Ahead of the meeting of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance of the opposition parties in Mumbai tomorrow, the Congress social media team has released a poster featuring prominent leaders of the opposition bloc. Interestingly, there are two striking takeaways in the poster that have stirred a new controversy – one that has further widened the rift within these so-called alliance partners. Reportedly, seat sharing is one of the major agendas of the meeting.

Notably, the alliance poster released by the Congress party features images of several leaders – Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Hemant Soren, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray and Sitaram Yechury among others. Conspicuously, Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is missing from the alliance poster.

Secondly, the alliance poster shows Rahul Gandhi on the centre stage leading the political squad of foes turned friends. This comes in the wake of the statements made by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. He recently announced that Rahul Gandhi will be the Prime Ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. This move – the umpteenth relaunch of Gandhi’s Scion, however, has been a divisive issue within the ideologically amorphous opposition alliance. 

Reportedly the Uddhav Thackeray section of Shiv Sena was not happy with the poster showing Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the opposition alliance. Shiv Sena asked Congress to delete the post with the poster. The party further threatened to tear down the poster if it is seen in Mumbai.

Later the Congress party deleted the poster from Instagram.

Soon after the poster was released, BJP’s National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala took a jibe at the uncanny bonhomie of alliance partners AAP and Congress. Insinuating that the two have taken ‘political divorce’, he asserted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was accurate in predicting that the alliance will fall once the Delhi Services Bill becomes an act. Additionally, he also touched upon the unceasing ambitions of each alliance partner within the I.N.D.I.A. for Prime Ministership.

Speaking about the development, Poonawala said, “They (the opposition alliance) have no mission but an ambition to become PM. If you see the placard released before the meeting, where Rahul Gandhi is leading the group of other leaders… But the interesting part is that Kejriwal is missing out from that. Today AAP also pitches Kejriwal as a PM face, whereas JDU wants Nitish to be the PM. This is going towards triple talaq and even shows their ambition behind this.”

First takeaway of the poster: Is the alliance breaking away?

The absence of Arvind Kejriwal from the poster has led to widespread speculations that the escalating war of words between Congress and AAP has finally culminated in the inevitable meltdown of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. 

Although Congress and AAP claimed that they had united under the new umbrella, they continued accusing each other of being the most corrupt entity and said derogatory things about each other’s leaders. 

Evidently, AAP announced that it will contest Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar assembly elections. Additionally, their senior leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann bad-mouthed Congress in their poll rallies. 

On the other hand, Congress leaders have made serious allegations against AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal. Apart from this, an event of political bonhomie backfired on AAP when Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao egged on AAP’s flagship Mohalla clinics saying that it is “overhyped”.

Second Takeaway: Will the alliance of wanna-be PMs and anti-Modi hit squad crumble on greed for PM post?

Sensing their political rout, these former arch-nemeses, who have brazenly hurled serious allegations and abuses at each other – in fact, they have not ceased their hostile attitudes – have united for a common cause: anti-Modism, serving as their binding force. 

On multiple occasions, directly, indirectly, or from someone else’s shoulder, virtually all prominent leaders of the ‘alliance poster’ including the left-out alliance partner Arvind Kejriwal have displayed unchecked ambitions of becoming Priem Minister of the country, regardless of the consequences of their acts and deeds. 

While Sanjay Raut has been parroting this for Sharad Pawar, TMC has been adamant that their party Supremo Mamata Banerjee should become the Prime Minister candidate. In fact, today, AAP National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that Arvind Kejriwal should be the Prime Ministerial candidate.

But the recent move by Congress to project Rahul Gandhi as their PM prospect could seemingly serve as the ultimate tussle that rips this alliance apart. 


Without having any ideological convergence, it is seemingly turning out as an alliance of opportunist politicians who are united only by their insane dislike for incumbent PM Narendra Modi which many times breaches the code of conduct and is borderline pathological. The recent glaring display of this was seen when fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav who is out on ‘medical bail’ made disparaging remarks about PM Modi. He said that the opposition had caught PM Modi by his throat.

Child abuse has Hindu-Muslim filters too, for Ravish Kumar: How the ‘secular’ journalist spread propaganda over Muzaffarnagar and Kathua incidents

Gopal Tiwari
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Child abuse has Hindu-Muslim filters too, for Ravish Kumar: How the ‘secular’ journalist spread propaganda over Muzaffarnagar and Kathua incidents

In the past few days, two incidents of child abuse in schools were discussed in the media. One was from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh while the other was from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. Propagandist Ravish Kumar published a YouTube video from his YouTube channel on 28th August 2023 to discuss these issues. In the Muzaffarnagar incident, a Muslim student in a school was punished by a Hindu Divyang teacher who asked other students in the class to slap the victim student. In the Kathua incident, a Hindu student in a school was thrashed by his Muslim teacher for writing ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the classroom blackboard.

The video posted by Ravish Kumar is titled “Schools Poisoned by Communalism”. In this video, Ravish Kumar broke all the rules of journalism he claims to be a follower of. He defended another propagandist Mohammed Zubair, and also peddled a handful of lies as he proceeded through his video. Let us now dissect them one after the other.

Ravish Kumar started his video by saying that he would discuss the Muzaffarnagar and Kathua incidents and describe how Muslims in India are being discriminated against. But immediately after that, he started complaining about how an FIR was lodged against self-styled fact-checker Mohammed Zubair who is the co-founder of propaganda website ‘Alt News’ for disclosing the identity of the minor victim in the Muzaffarnagar incident.

On 28th August, Uttar Pradesh Police booked Alt News’ co-founder Mohammed Zubair under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, for sharing a video of a minor on social media. The FIR was registered based on a complaint that was submitted on 28th August. Ravish Kumar counter-questioned in his video, ‘Had the video not gone viral, tell me if this incident would have come to light at all; would the administration have acted so swiftly?’

On 25th August, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)’s chief, Priyank Kanoongo, urged the public not to publish the video. Following NCPCR’s warning Zubair deleted the video and played the victim in advance, saying, “Deleting the video as NCPCR might take action against the ‘messenger’”. Mohammed Zubair is very well aware of the consequences of sharing videos of minors on social media as he was booked in a similar case earlier. Still, he went ahead and shared the tweet and deleted it only after a statement from NCPCR.

Ravish Kumar defended this serial offender by calling him a scapegoat. Ravish Kumar also looked dissatisfied with Amar Ujala calling Mohammed Zubair an ‘alleged media-person’. Ravish Kumar said, “Mohammed Zubair has exposed the truth of numerous hate videos; and prevented the spread of hatred.”

What Ravish Kumar hid is that it is the same Mohammed Zubair who had shared a clipped video from a TV debate featuring BJP’s former spokesperson Nupur Sharma in which she was seen making allegedly insulting remarks against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Mohammed Zubair did not include in his video that part of the debate wherein Taslim Ahmed Rahmani repeatedly called the Shivling found in the Gyanvapi complex of Varanasi a fountain, thereby inspiring Nupur Sharma to make those remarks. innocent Hindus were beheaded by the Islamists whose anger was incited and fanned by the clipped video shared by Mohammed Zubair.

Ravish Kumar defended this fake news peddler through his video. Ravish Kumar said, “Mohammed Zubair has also exposed the truth of many false videos made against the BJP, thus displaying exemplary journalistic ethics. But Amar Ujala has described him as an ‘alleged media-person’. How this matter is now being resolved is for everyone to see.”

Ravish Kumar also cited a tweet by another YouTuber Sanjay Sharma to claim that “No one is ready to file an FIR against the teacher who beat up an innocent kid in UP. If yes, under which sections?” Notably, an FIR was lodged against teacher Tripta Tyagi in this case and it was reported in the mainstream media on 26 August 2023 which is two days before Ravish Kumar published this video. The police also provided information about the sections imposed against the teacher.

According to a report by India Today, the FIR was registered under Sections 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). But Ravish Kumar first tried to mislead the viewers by spreading the misinformation that no FIR was lodged against the teacher in this case. Later he said that an FIR was reportedly registered against the teacher.

Ravish Kumar further claimed in this video that the statements of the father and uncle of the victim student have changed or made to change several times. He said that this can be understood by looking at their socio-economic status. By mentioning the socio-economic status of the victim student’s family, Ravish Kumar implied that they were either offered money or were coerced to change their statements.

He then tried to impose the left-liberal stereotype of painting Muslims as the perpetual victims of discrimination, including in schools where he claimed teachers are innately jaundiced against Muslim students. He said, “Is it not the truth of Indian schools now, that the audacity for anti-Muslim discrimination has even reached the Principals and teachers?” Notably, it was the teacher and principal of the school in the Kathua incident who discriminated against a Hindu student in the school.

Ravish Kumar was also disappointed by the victim’s uncle denying any communal angle in the Muzaffarnagar case. He said, “The video was shot by the boy’s uncle Nadeem; now he stated in the media that there was no ‘Hindu-Muslim’ angle. Political parties want to emphasise this because elections are approaching. Seems that they have completely forgotten the point about their child being beaten for an hour.” He indirectly blamed the uncle of the boy who denied the communal angles in this incident. Moreover, he cited a BBC report to claim that the accused teacher had also beaten another Muslim student for an hour. Ravish Kumar went on to claim that the teacher is against Muslims. He essentially implied that the teacher punished the students because they were Muslims. However, it was already revealed that the victim boy in this case was being punished for incomplete homework.

Ravish Kumar also raised questions about BJP’s farmer leader Naresh Tikait who visited Muzaffarnagar and pacified the situation by meeting people on the ground. Ravish Kumar said, “Questions are being raised about Naresh Tikait’s role; it is his responsibility to properly clarify the matter. It was good to make these kids embrace each other, but there was no hatred in their minds. The children had not come to hit of their own will. moreover, many kids were hitting including a girl. When the farmer leaders are denying the Muslim angle then why was there a need for a hug?”

He further alleged that the BJP leader is supporting the teacher as he said. “Is this matter being ‘managed’? There is also farmer leader Naresh Tikait’s statement that ‘Are we not influential enough to get an FIR cancelled’? how did Tikait trust the administration so much that it would quash the FIR at his request? Was Tikait doing this on someone’s instructions? Did the farmer leader think that if this matter goes to trial or punishment stages, it would get heated up, giving someone else the upper hand politically, and the matter would be out of their hands? From BJP MP Sanjeev Balyan’s picture with teacher Tripta Tyagi, it seems the matter has been ‘managed’ and he is with Tripta Tyagi.”

At the beginning of the video, Ravish Kumar said that he would discuss both the incidents from Muzaffarnagar and Kathua. But in his 30-minute-long video, he spent 25 minutes ranting about the Muzaffarnagar incident and explaining how a Muslim student was being discriminated against and how BJP politicians were managing it to save the teacher. He resorted to the Kathua incident after 25 minutes only to formally cover it that too in an anti-Hindu stance. It is notable that the reason behind the brutal beating of the Muslim student in the Muzaffarnagar incident was not his religion, but his homework. However, Ravish Kumar presented it to insinuate that the student being Muslim was the reason the anti-Muslim teacher punished him.

On the contrary, a Hindu student was thrashed by a Muslim teacher in Kathua because he wrote Jai Shri Ram on the blackboard. Here, the display of civilisational notions of the kid irked the Muslim teacher who beat him up. But instead of addressing this issue, Ravish Kumar blamed the victim boy himself by asking why he felt the need to write Jai Shri Ram on the blackboard. It is notable that Ravish Kumar is essentially opposing the child displaying his religious civilisational identity on the educational campus.

However, it is the same Ravish Kumar who had said that wearing hijab on educational campuses is a matter of free choice for Muslim female students. At that time he did not say that Muslim female students are needlessly displaying their religious identities on educational campuses and that they are imposing it over uniforms.

While ample details of this incident have already emerged and going viral on social media, Ravish Kumar said that there are no more details of the incident of Kathua available so far. He used this statement as an excuse for not spending much time on a case where an oppressor is a Muslim, the victim is a Hindu, and the motive behind the crime is religious hatred. On the other hand, he spent 25 minutes presenting a case of beating a school student as a case of Muslim bashing by a Muslim-hating Hindu teacher inspired by religious hatred.

Ravish Kumar also blamed the Hindus gathered to protest outside the school in Kathua. He said, “In protest against this incident, the local people demonstrated outside the school; the huge crowd broke the school gate and entered the campus. this could have endangered the safety of other students too. But in the Muzaffarnagar case, there were no crowds in protest; instead, leaders of different organisations came to persuade to father of the victim and bury the case. Not much is known about the Kathua case. So far, its veracity has not been concretely proved.”

Ravish Kumar cleverly insinuated that Kathua can be a case of false reporting whereas he did not save any such grey area for the Muzaffarnagar incident despite a video testimony of the victim student making rounds on the internet.

Bihar: Security forces foil major Maoist attack, recover huge cache of weapons from Gaya district, discover a tunnel

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Security forces foil major Maoist attack, recover huge cache of weapons from Gaya district, discover a tunnel

Security forces discovered a massive cache of weapons and ammunition in Bihar’s Gaya district and succeeded in foiling a significant Naxalite attack, officials said on 29 August. According to an official, a huge search operation in the Lutua area was conducted after precise intelligence inputs to make the recovery.

An investigation was conducted in the Pandra forest area of Lutua by a special team comprised of CoBRA 205, CRPF 159 Battalion, STF, and District Police, based on the spokesperson. Following the search, 303 rifles and a hundred cartridges of 7.62 mm bullets were uncovered which were hidden in one location.

A statement by Gaya Police read, “The recovery was made in Gaya’s Lutua area during a massive search operation following specific intelligence inputs. A special team comprising CoBRA 205, CRPF 159 Battalion, STF and District Police launched a combing operation in the forest area of Pandra of Lutua.”

Security forces carried out a search operation at the opposite end of Pandra Hill and maintained their operations based on information. Three large improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were additionally uncovered at another location during the heightened searches and they were neutralised by the security forces. A tunnel that had been built across the hill and served as a possible hideout for the Naxalites was also discovered during the time.

Security forces found 13,800 detonators and backpacks stored in five plastic sacks during the cave raid. In addition, four bundles of cordex wire, a black Naxalite military outfit, and an ammunition bag came to light on the scene and were all incinerated there, per the police.

Two smartphones and two walkie-talkies were also retrieved from the cave hideout by security forces. People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (Military Squad), the most lethal squad of the outlawed Naxalite group CPI (Communist Party of India) Maoist reportedly used to have meetings in the cave.

The capture of the massive stash of weapons and ammunition, as noted by Ashish Bharti, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaya, indicated that the Naxalites were getting ready to launch an enormous assault on the security forces. The press release further added, “The nefarious design of Naxalites has been foiled. The search operation against them is still underway.”

Another coup in West Africa as Gabon military leaders grab power, claim that general elections ‘lacked credibility’

ANI
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Another coup in West Africa as Gabon military leaders grab power, claim that general elections ‘lacked credibility’

A group of senior Gabonese military officers on Wednesday appeared on national television saying they had seized power in the country as the recent general elections in the country lacked credibility, Al Jazeera reported, adding that they claimed to represent all security and defence forces of Gabon.

The officers, appearing on Gabon24 on Wednesday morning, said they had canceled the elections, dissolved all state institutions and closed the country’s borders, according to Al Jazeera.

Gabon became the third African nation after Burkina Faso and Niger to see a change of guard through a military coup in 2023.

The recent announcement came shortly after the state election body said President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office in Saturday’s disputed elections.

The officers said, “In the name of the Gabonese people … we have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.”

The Gabonese Election Centre said Bongo had secured 64.27% of the votes, significantly more than his main challenger Albert Ondo Ossa, who grabbed 30.77% of the total votes polled, after a process beset by delays.

The country’s Opposition camp on Saturday said the election was a “fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters” after the internet was cut and a curfew imposed.

French media outlets France 24, RFI and TV5 Monde were also banned, accused of “a lack of objectivity and balance … in connection with the current general elections”, the government said.

Bongo, earlier, announced his bid for a fresh term in office as the presidential candidate of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), the party founded by his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon with an iron fist from 1967 to 2009.

After his death, his son, then the defence minister, took his place as president and had been in power ever since, as per Al Jazeera.

Tensions had been running high amid Saturday’s vote with the Opposition pushing for change and an end to the Bongo family’s dominance of Gabon.

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

Ex-Trinamool leader Riazul Haque’s wife seen posing with AK-47 ‘gifted’ by husband on Facebook

OpIndia Staff
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Ex-Trinamool leader Riazul Haque’s wife seen posing with AK-47 ‘gifted’ by husband on Facebook

Riazul Haque, a former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, has sparked controversy after he shared a photograph of his wife flaunting an AK-47 on Facebook that he had “gifted” her on their first wedding anniversary.

The photograph posted by his wife, Sabina Yasmin, was later deleted. In the photograph, she was seen holding the assault rifle. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders raised objections over the post and demanded an inquiry into how Haque managed to acquire an assault rifle. Military and paramilitary forces often use AK-47s in operations.

BJP district president from Birbhum Dhruba Saha said, “From where Riazul got the gun should be investigated. I saw his Facebook post. He is an ex-TMC leader and close aide to the state deputy speaker; what message does it convey? Is this a promotion of Taliban rule? Are they trying to push the next generation to become jihadis?”

Haque came out to defend his wife, claiming it was a toy gun and not a real assault rifle in the photograph. Nothing illegal was done as my wife was holding a toy gun. The allegation against me is fake since it was a fake gun.” He claimed the post was deleted after several people questioned about it.

Haque is believed to be a close aide of Deputy Speaker and Rampurhat MLA Ashish Bandyopadhyay. He was once the president of the Rampurhat-1 block of TMC’s minority cell. Two months ago, he resigned from his post.

Rajasthan: 93-year-old Hindu priest murdered in Shiva temple in Tonk, attacked with sharp weapon

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: 93-year-old Hindu priest murdered in Shiva temple in Tonk, attacked with sharp weapon

On Tuesday, August 29, a 93-year-old Hindu priest was murdered in a Shiva temple in the Tonk district of Rajasthan. The deceased victim has been identified as Mahant Siyaram Das who was a priest at Bhuriya Mahadev Baba Dham Temple in Diggi town. On Wednesday, the locals who arrived at the temple found the Mahant’s dead body inside the temple. Upon receiving information about the incident, Tonk Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajarshi Raj Verma along with his team arrived at the spot. Later FSL team collected evidence from the crime scene.

SP Verma said that a medical board has been formed to conduct the postmortem examination of the deceased adding that CCTV footage is also being analysed and an investigation into the matter is underway. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to find and arrest the perpetrators.

“We received information that the body of the priest of Mahadev Mandir has been found. Police reached the spot immediately. A Medical Board has been formed for the postmortem of the body. We want it to be done at the earliest. Our investigation is underway…We are checking the CCTV footage as well,” Tonk SP said.

According to the police, Mahant Siyaram Das was attacked with a sharp object on his head resulting in severe bleeding. Reportedly, the Mahant has been doing daily worship rituals at the Bhuriya Mahadev Baba Dham temple for the last fifty years. The police have sealed a nearly 500-metre area around the said temple.

A group of agitated locals staged a protest in Diggi village against the killing of the Hindu priest. In the visuals from the protest site, the locals are seen arguing with the police and demanding the arrest of the murderers.

Taking to X, Union Jal Shakti Minister and MP from Jodhpur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat condemned the killing of the Hindu priest and slammed the CM Ashok Gehlot-led government saying that the disregard of the saints has been a part of Congress party’s appeasement politics. He also alleged that the Congress government such miscreants who harass Hindu saints.

“It is very sad that the famous Mahant Saint Siyaram Das Baba Ji of Tonk region was brutally murdered. Why are saints and sages the target of criminals in Rajasthan? This has not been seen anywhere else in the country. The disregard of Sant Samaj is part of the appeasement policy of the Gehlot government. To maintain its vote bank, Congress encourages anti-social elements who harass saints and seers. This is such a sin whose punishment is inevitable, which will soon be suffered by the unrighteous who are hurting Sanatan Dharma,” Shekhawat posted.

Yaariyan 2 faces stern warning from SGPC over actor sporting ‘Kirpan’, Sukhbir Singh Badal warns makers to remove the ‘objectionable’ scene

OpIndia Staff
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Yaariyan 2 faces stern warning from SGPC over actor sporting ‘Kirpan’, Sukhbir Singh Badal warns makers to remove the ‘objectionable’ scene

The Bollywood movie Yaariyan 2 has courted controversy and come under attack from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Sikh leaders due to the use of religious symbols in the video of the song ‘Saure Ghare’ by Meezaan Jafri. They warned the movie’s creators with legal action and announced they wouldn’t allow the film’s release if their demand was not fulfilled.

The objection was to a clean-shaven and non-Sikh actor wearing a Sikh Kakar which included a Kirpan (a small dagger that is a Sikh article of faith) and Gatra (a strap made of cloth that is used to wear the Kirpan). The apex body that manages Gurdwaras in India took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their displeasure on 28 August.

It posted, “We raise our strong objection to these visuals filmed, published in ‘Saure Ghar’ song of ‘Yaariyan 2’ film directed by Radhika Rao & Vinay Sapru. As the actor is seen wearing Sikh Kakaar (symbol of the Sikh faith) Kirpan in a highly objectionable manner which cannot be accepted. This has seriously hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community across the globe. Only an initiated Sikh has the right to wear Kirpan as per the Sikh Code of Conduct of Akal Takht Sahib and the right given by the Constitution of India.”

The organisation further added, “This video song is public on the official YouTube channel of T Series which must take it down with immediate effect. If any other platform is used to publish this video song with the said objectionable scenes must also take it down. We are immediately raising this objection through all channels to the Government and digital platforms.”

They asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and IT to take measures to prevent the Censor Board of Film Certification from approving the release of the problematic video or any other such inappropriate scenes from the aforementioned movie.

The SGPC warned, “If the videos are not taken down from public view, we shall initiate the legal proceedings are per law for hurting religious sentiments of minority Sikh community.”

The president of Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh Badal also conveyed his sentiments on the matter. He wrote, “Strongly condemn the way our symbol of faith ‘Kirpan’ is being worn by the actor in the movie ‘Yariyaan 2’. Sikh religion permits only a baptised Sikh to wear a Kirpan like this. A clean-shaven man without a turban/patka wearing a ‘Sikh Kakaar’ is a clear disrespect to our faith and religion, which no Sikh can tolerate.”

He even cautioned the filmmakers and posed an implied threat. “Before the community takes any action against the producer/director/actor of the movie, I urge the entire management of Radhika Rao & Vinay Sapru to tender an unconditional apology for this act and remove such objectionable/provocative scenes from the movie with immediate effect. I also request the Censor Board of India to make sure such scenes aren’t run on any platform from today onwards as they may invite severe socio-religious complications.”

However, he then attempted to call for mutual respect and harmony. The politician remarked, “My appeal to everyone in the society is let’s respect all religions and never hurt the sentiments of others. Also, resolve to practise love and promote unity and peace to build a harmonious world.”

Yaariyan-2 filmmaker clarified it is a khukri, not a kirpan

The directors of the film Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru offered a clarification on the matter and regretted any misunderstanding. “We would like to address the concerns regarding the visuals in the song – Saure Ghar from our recent film Yaariyan 2. We would like to clarify that the actor in the song is wearing a ‘Khukri’ and not a ‘Kirpan’. In fact, the dialogues in the film make it explicitly clear that it is a ‘Khukri’. We regret any misunderstanding that may Have arisen due to the similarity in appearance. Our intention has never been to offend or disrespect any religious beliefs.”

They added that their intention was not to offend any religious beliefs. “We want to emphasise our deep respect for religious sentiments. We understand the significance of all religions and are committed to ensuring that our work does not inadvertently cause any offence. Please be rest assured that we hold the highest regard for all faiths. We appreciate your understanding and will continue to strive for sensitivity and respect in our future projects.”

However, the highest religious group of the Sikhs didn’t accept their justification. It asserted that legal action would be commenced against the makers of Yaariyan 2 and argued, “The Sikhs very well know the shape of a ‘Kirpan’ and a ‘Khukri’ and the way both are worn on one’s body. We are not satisfied with your illogical clarification. Therefore, we are initiating the process of legal action in this case, as the concerned video song is still in public view and continuously hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.”

It mentioned, “The Khukri is worn like a pistol on a belt by a person (mostly Gorkha soldiers) authorized to do so, and similarly, the Sikh Kirpan is worn on a Gatra (belt) as the actor has done in your Saure Ghar video song. Only initiated Sikhs are authorised to wear Kirpan as per the mandate of Sikh Rehat Maryada (code of conduct) of Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the right under the Constitution of India.”

Complaint filed against Yaariyan-2

According to further information provided by the SGPC, its president, Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, adopted a strict stance on the subject and ordered legal action. Partap Singh, the organisation’s secretary, has also filed a complaint with the Amritsar Police Commissioner for hurting religious feelings.

It declared, “Harjinder Singh Dhami has clearly said that the insult to Sikh Kakaars and Sikh principles cannot be tolerated in any film. He said that the producer, director, and actor of the film did not do it right by presenting Sikh Kakaar Kirpan against Sikh principles and maryada (conduct). Moreover, the T-series company has made a mistake by publishing anti-Sikh visuals on its YouTube channel. Appreciating the Sikh sentiments, the SGPC will not allow this film to be released at any cost.”

The religious outfit continued, “He said that such people deliberately inflame the religious sentiments of Sikhs. He said that despite the fact that everyone knows about the Sikh lifestyle and living in the whole country, Sikhs are deliberately teased by such actions. The SGPC is serious about this film and orders have been issued to take legal action.”

The T-Series company was also approached by the SGPC over the episode, per SGPC spokesman Harbhajan Singh Vakta, who noted that the company provided information concerning the contention under consideration. He claimed that its representative Rahul Dubey had met with the SGPC and was explicitly told that the controversial video song needed to be taken down from the YouTube channel right away. He alleged that based on the latter’s statement, T-Series might think about eliminating portions that hurt Sikh sensibilities from the entire movie.

Yaariyan 2 is an upcoming Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru directorial coming-of-age comedy drama featuring Divya Khosla Kumar, Yash Dasgupta, Meezaan Jafri, Pearl Puri, Anaswara Rajan, Warina Hussain and Priya Prakash Varrier. It is produced by T-Series and is slated to release in October of this year.

Islamists harass man for travelling with a Muslim woman in Hyderabad, police apprehend three minors after video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Islamists harass man for travelling with a Muslim woman in Hyderabad, police apprehend three minors after video goes viral

On 27th August, a video of a couple being harassed went viral on social media. A man and a woman traveling on a bike were verbally abused and harassed, reportedly by 3 minors. The accused individuals heckled and abused the young man driving the bike for taking a burka-clad girl on his bike. According to the police, the incident occurred on 26th August in the Jubilee Hills Police Station area.

The police have apprehended three minors in the matter after a case was booked on Monday. The couple in the video is yet to be identified. In the video, the three accused were heard asking the bike-riding young man about the girl sitting as a pillion rider on the bike. They asked him where he was taking her. When he questioned what was their problem, they started abusing him. The duo appeared to be interfaith as the woman was covered in an Islamic burka and the man had difficulty speaking and understanding Hyderabadi Urdu.

The man then said she was his friend, after which it appeared the accused touched the girl as she was heard raising her voice. The three minors asked her to get down from the bike. The police said later they left the place, and one of them uploaded the video on social media.

The man on the bike tells the harassers that the woman is his friend and they are going to Golconda. The minors were heard repeatedly abusing and making threatening gestures to the man.

A case was registered in the matter at Jubilee Hills Police Station. In a post on X, the concerned SHO said the three accused were apprehended, and their parents were notified. Further investigation into the matter was underway.

‘Bhagwa love trap’ conspiracy theory and its aftermath

In recent times, a new menace of Islamist mobs attacking Hindu-Muslim couples has come to light. Multiple videos have surfaced on social media where extremist elements are seen harassing, abusing, molesting, and physically assaulting Hindu men and Muslim women under the garb of combating ‘Bhagwa Love Trap.’

It is based on a baseless theory about Hindu outfits, supposedly training Hindu youth to lure, and entrap Muslim women and turn them into non-Muslims. Opindia has reported that an Islamic cleric by the name of Sajjad Nomani has been making such outrageous claims since 2021.

The conspiracy theory soon took the form of a social media hashtag, which Islamists used to share videos of random hijab-wearing Muslim women and their male Hindu friends/ acquaintances and partners without their consent.

The posts are often accompanied by emotional messages and seek public help in identifying the couples. Soon after, social media was rife with videos of Islamist mobs ambushing random Hindu-Muslim couples and misbehaving with them.

This would then be followed by heated arguments, physical assault on Hindu men, and even molestation of Muslim women. The victims have been targeted on roads, restaurants, eateries, and even hotels.

Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled a total of 50 cases (here, here and here) where extremists attacked Hindu men and Muslim women under the pretext of the ‘Bhagwa love trap.’

Opindia has recently published an investigative report highlighting how Islamists are using Whatsapp groups to target Hindu-Muslim couples.

Online scammers include ‘hundreds of thousands’ of victims, trafficked and tortured by criminal gangs to run fraud rackets, says UN report

OpIndia Staff
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Online scammers include ‘hundreds of thousands’ of victims, trafficked and tortured by criminal gangs to run fraud rackets, says UN report

More than hundreds of thousands of people across the globe have been trafficked to Southeast Asia to run online scams, a new report by the UN Human Rights Office revealed on Tuesday (29 August). It has been estimated that over 120,000 people in Myanmar, and at least 100,000 in Cambodia, have been trafficked and forced to run online scam rackets. However, the full extent of trafficking for online scams in Southeast Asia is hard to estimate accurately because of its clandestine nature and gap in official response. 

Though it is a global menace that is continuing unabated, the report found that most of the victims who were trafficked were men from Asia including India. However, some victims were trafficked from faraway places like Africa and Latin America.

(Image Source – UN Human Rights Office report)

Once trafficked, they are forced to engage in wide-ranging digital criminal activity like romance investment scams, crypto fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling, the UN report added. As per the UN report, these online scam centres generate revenue worth billions of US dollars each year.

These criminal networks have also targeted people through love and romance traps that are often described as “pig-butchering” scams. Last year, a tragic case was reported where a 25-year-old Malaysian was tortured to death. He had gone to Bangkok to meet a “girlfriend” he had only spoken to online where he was brutally killed.

The UN report further highlighted that the profile of the victims who have been trafficked has undergone changes. As per the report’s findings, usually, the documented trafficking cases in Southeast Asia involved people who have had limited access to education and are engaged in low-wage work. They targeted migrants who were in vulnerable situations like being stranded in these countries or were out of work due to border and business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, there has been a change in the profile of people trafficked into these recent online scam operations. The report added that most of the victims are well-educated, sometimes coming from professional jobs or with graduate or even post-graduate degrees, computer-literate, and multi-lingual. They have been recruited into criminal operations on the false pretence of offering them real jobs.

The report at its outset has claimed that it is important to acknowledge that there are two sets of victims involved in this trafficking for online scams. 

The first set of victims are the ones who have been economically wronged. People defrauded through online criminality are victims of the financial and other crimes committed by these scam operations. Many victims lost their life savings and faced severe debt crises along with suffering from shame and stigma for having been conned. 

However, the reports categorically state that the focus of their briefing paper is on the second set of victims. 

Speaking about the second set of victims, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, “People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes. They are victims. They are not criminals.”  

Turk added, “In continuing to call for justice for those who have been defrauded through online criminality, we must not forget that this complex phenomenon has two sets of victims.” 

Further, the report noted that nations in these regions have tried to find solutions to address this phenomenon, but criminal actors find ways to change and relocate their operations, building new centres across the region and upgrading existing compounds.

After highlighting the trafficking issue, the report pointed out some Human rights responses to tackle this situation. The report underscored that there is an urgent need to find a holistic approach to break the cycle of impunity so that protection and justice for the people who have been so horrifically abused can be ensured. 

Bihar govt reduces school holidays for rest of the year from 23 to 11 by cutting Durga Puja, Diwali, Chhath holidays, BJP calls it attack on Hindu festivals

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar govt reduces school holidays for rest of the year from 23 to 11 by cutting Durga Puja, Diwali, Chhath holidays, BJP calls it attack on Hindu festivals

On 29th August, the Bihar Education Department issued a notification announcing that the number of festival holidays between September and December has been reduced from 23 to 11. Additional Chief Secretary KK Pathak issued the notification as part of improving the school education system in Bihar.

As per the notification, the Rakshabandhan holiday has been scrapped, the number of Holidays for Durga Puja has been reduced from six to three and nine holidays for Diwali to Chhatth have been reduced to four.

The 3-day Durga puja holiday includes a Sunday, while the 2-day Chhath holiday also includes one Sunday. The lone Diwali holiday falls on Sunday on 12 November. While there were nine days of holidays from Diwali to Chhath Puja, now there will be only one day off for Diwali and 2 days for Chhath Puja, including a Sunday.

The notification stated that due to elections, examinations, administration, festivities, events, floods, natural calamities and other reasons, the mandatory 200 days of school education for primary and 220 days for secondary schools are not possible.

Furthermore, different festivities are celebrated in different regions of the state, creating confusion. A new list of holidays for the remaining months of the year has been announced to remove the confusion over the holidays.

Reacting to the decision, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Begusarai Shandilya Giriraj Singh said, “Education Department, Bihar Government has cancelled holidays on Durga Puja, Diwali and Chhath Puja. Tomorrow, they may impose Sharia and ban Hindu festivals altogether.”

Teachers association of Bihar ‘Educators of Bihar’ said in a statement, “Even after deducting 52 Sundays and 60 holidays on festivals, the schools run for 253 days. The decision taken by the education department is dictatorial. The department should take cognisance of the matter and reverse the notification; otherwise, all teachers will protest against it and shake the foundation of the state government.”

OpIndia tried to reach out to MP Giriraj Singh for comments but could not connect.

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