Trouble has mounted for former Mumbai Mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar after a case was registered against her by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) over charges of corruption. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly obtained details and documents from the Mumbai Police pertaining to the irregularities in the purchase of body bags and other medical supplies during COVID.
A case was registered on 5th August by the EOW of the Mumbai police against Pednekar and two civic officials after a complaint was filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya in July. The case was filed under several Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections including 420 (cheating) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), breach of trust by government officials for purchasing body bags at inflated rates amounting to Rs 50 lakh from Vendanta Innotech Pvt Ltd.
Somaiya has alleged that each body bag worth Rs 1500 was purchased for a whopping Rs 6,700 and that funds worth crores of rupees were siphoned. One of the civic officials booked is senior IAS officer P Velarasu.
COVID Ghotala
'Body Bag' Scam by Uddhav Thackeray Sena Leader Kishori Pednekar Vedant Innotech
₹1500 of Dead Body Bag bought at ₹6,700.
Mumbai Police registered FIR registered against Kishori Pednekar & AMC
The ED has now sought information about the crime cases filed against Pednekar from the EOW. ED could likely initiate a fresh money-laundering case linked to the Covid jumbo centre scam. According to the EOW FIR, BMV officials bought 1,200 body bags since 2020 for about Rs 80 lakh, a fraud committed under instructions from the former mayor.
The central agency suspects that huge kickbacks from Vedanta might have been received by the accused as BMC hospitals procured the body bags regularly at low costs. In the first two Expression of Interest (EOI) floated by the BMC, Vedanta emerged as the sole eligible vendor but a fresh tender was floated for EOI-3 in which two bidders qualified.
One was Care One Solutions which initially quoted Rs 2,610 per bag and later settled for Rs 2,583, and the second was Vedanta which initially quoted R3,939 and settled for R2,610. It is alleged that Pednekar summoned Haridas Rathod, then deputy dean of the BMC central purchase department to her residence and instructed him to award work to Vedanta.
The Covid Jumbo Centre scam included the listing of fake doctors, and also fake patients in order to source funds from the BMC. The total estimate of the scam amounts to Rs 4,000 crore involving other contractors besides Lifeline Hospital Management Services.
Rapidly spreading wildfires are ravaging the Hawaiian island of Maui, killing at least 55 people as on Friday, August 11. According to the reports, strong winds from a far-off hurricane Dora fueled the fires in the city of Lahaina, the island’s primary tourist attraction, resulting in the fatalities.
The flames are one of the numerous ongoing disasters that have completely destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the Hawaii locality. A state of emergency has been issued, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes and take shelter either in the actively serving hotels or evacuation centres.
There is a significant search and rescue effort underway, but some people are still missing. In the wake of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii, on August 10, 2023, an aerial photograph shows burned-out homes and other structures in Lahaina.
President Biden declared the wildfire in Hawaii a “major disaster” on Thursday and ordered federal aid to areas affected by wildfires, according to the White House. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding will also be available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures.
Several videos of the destructive fire are going viral over the internet. The wildfires started early on August 8 and have burned thousands of acres while endangering 35,000 people’s lives on Maui and their homes, businesses, and property, according to a statement from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) August 10, 2023
Major wildfires are burning in four major sites in Maui, along with several other places. The fires have not been contained fully yet, and they continue to spread into new areas.
Spread of the fire in Maui (Image: Washington Post)
It will take years, billions of dollars to rebuild
Meanwhile, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen stated on Thursday that during the wildfires, all of the hotels were suggested to shelter people who lost their homes. “Authorities will not close the entire island of Maui, only the west side. Hotels will be needed to shelter those who lost their homes,” Bissen added.
Wildfires have burned historic Hawaii town Lahaina to the ground, at least 36 people lost their lives and 11,000 have been evacuated. Don’t skip this post without leaving a heart for Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/wFo12czpxT
Mayor Richard Bissen warned residents who had fled their homes that those structures might be gone and said it’s best not to return now. “There’s no power, there’s no water back on the west side,” Bissen said. Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said that the historic and popular tourist town Lahaina is completely destroyed by fire, saying it has been “decimated” and “forever changed.”
Police face challenges as no power, internet, or radio coverage
Also, reports mention that several people have been shifted to evacuation centres. Many have lost their loved ones and also their homes. While the police are trying to help the civilians and save them from getting destroyed, they say that the situation is challenging as the power, internet and other modes of communication have been cut down.
“The death count is rising. It’s going to be horrible and tragic when we get that number. So far we know that 53 have lost their lives. We don’t know. And here’s the challenge: There’s no power. There’s no internet. There’s no radio coverage,” the police officials and the fire officials were quoted as saying.
Several media organizations have managed to talk to the victims who have been shifted to the evacuation centres amid the wildfires. They are worried, shattered, and concerned about the safety of their loved ones. They are also feeling helpless as said by one Kamuela Kawaakoa who is now in an evacuation centre.
“We barely made it out in time. It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything. I was helpless,” a man who escaped along with his partner and six-year-old son, told the media.
Beth McCleod told CNN that her mother-in-law, Linda Vaikeli has gone missing since the wildfires spread through Lahaina. Vaikeli’s spouse, according to McCleod, had a doctor’s appointment on the opposite side of the island, and when he tried to go home, the roads were blocked by the fire that had engulfed the area around him.
Linda Vaikeli, Beth McCleod’s mother-in-law (CNN)
“She has some health issues, and she doesn’t get around very well. She needs some assistance. I just hope someone was able to get to her and help her to evacuate. They are looking but we have not heard anything yet. And from what I’ve seen, it looks like their apartment complex is completely gone,” McCleod told CNN.
Control, and evacuation operations underway
Amid this, Hawaii Lt Governor Sylvia Luke has stated that the place is no more safe to be in. Helicopters poured water on the fires from above as firefighters continued to battle the fires active till yesterday.
With only one main road passable, the western portion of the island, which is the second-largest in the Hawaiian chain, has been nearly completely cut off. To escape the fires, some local residents have resorted to diving into the river, while others have called the situation the “end of the world”.
Map Hawaii
Rock stars, Hollywood celebrities, and business moguls have long been drawn to Maui because of the island’s breathtaking scenery and relaxed way of life. These include former President Barack Obama, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actor Clint Eastwood, rock star Steven Tyler, and also Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
More than 130 members of the Hawaii National Guard have been activated, and helicopters are searching for those who have been abandoned in places without electricity or navigable roads. In Maui, around 11,000 residents still lack access to electricity and other modes of communication.
On 10th August 2023, a renewed discourse surfaced concerning an island that was once given away from India to Sri Lanka, casting a spotlight on the historically enduring relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi accentuated this matter during his parliamentary address, as he responded to the opposition’s no-confidence motion.
Notably, the resonance of Modi’s statement regarding the island, which had been ‘gifted’ to Sri Lanka during the regime of Indira Gandhi, reverberated as strongly as the overwhelming victory secured by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha voting on the no-confidence motion.
Indira Gandhi gave Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka
The Katchatheevu Island, nestled within the confines of the India-Sri Lanka border near Rameswaram, has evolved into a contentious focal point, giving rise to a burgeoning call for its repossession. Historically, this island has served as a shared enclave for Tamil fishermen hailing from both India and Sri Lanka.
The year 1974 witnessed a pivotal juncture when the island transitioned hands, as the then-Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, relinquished its sovereignty to Sri Lanka as part of a bilateral accord.
The location of Katchatheevu Island is strategically important. Image Source: Google Maps
In 1974, an accord was inked between Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, and Sri Lankan President Shrimavo Bandaranaike, resulting in the island’s integration under Sri Lankan jurisdiction. Not long after Katchatheevu island changed hands, a clamour emerged within India for its reinstatement.
The year 1991 witnessed the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s adoption of a resolution, articulating the demand to reclaim sovereignty over the island. Subsequently, in 2008, the issue resurfaced prominently when the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, challenged the matter before the Supreme Court, seeking the annulment of the island agreement.
History of Katchatheevu Island
Katchatheevu Island, a desolate landmass distanced from the coastal expanse, is believed to have emerged following a volcanic upheaval during the 14th century. Throughout the era of British dominion, this island served as a shared domain for both India and Sri Lanka. The contention over its ownership persisted unabated even after both nations asserted their claims to the territory in 1921.
During the preceding period, fishermen from both nations engaged in fishing activities across each other’s waters, blurring the lines of maritime jurisdiction. However, the trajectory shifted in the years spanning 1974 to 1976 when the two countries formalised the Maritime Boundary Agreement, definitively demarcating the international maritime boundary that separates them.
Following this pivotal accord, Indian fishermen were granted restricted access to Katchatheevu Island, permitted solely for activities like net drying and participating in the annual St. Anthony’s Festival. Fishing activities, however, were expressly prohibited on the island. Yet, despite these stipulations, Indian fishermen persisted in venturing toward the Sri Lankan sea border to harvest their catches.
In 2009, the security vigil along the maritime border was heightened by Sri Lanka, marking a departure from years of relative calm. This heightened security stance aimed to forestall any resurgence of Tamil rebels in the region. Subsequently, with the conclusion of the conflict in 2010, Sri Lankan fishermen began reclaiming their presence in the area and advanced assertions of sovereignty over the island.
Demands of reclaiming the island
According to the Ministry of External Affairs website, the island falls under Sri Lanka’s territory under the agreements signed between India and Sri Lanka in 1974 and 1976. The case is currently going on in the Supreme Court. Sri Lanka has allowed Indians to visit the island for religious reasons without any visa.
In 2022, off the shores of Katchatheevu Island, fishermen hailing from Rameswaram encountered a distressing incident as they found themselves subjected to an assault by the Sri Lankan Navy. These fishermen recounted their ordeal, stating that while engaged in their fishing activities in the vicinity, they were intentionally targeted by a patrolling vessel of the Sri Lankan Navy. This aggressive encounter culminated in the destruction of one of their boats, causing the fishermen to be plunged into the sea. Fortunately, their fellow fishermen promptly came to their aid, effecting a successful rescue operation.
Following a series of recurrent incidents, a fervent call for the reclamation of Katchatheevu Island has gained momentum. The government of Tamil Nadu has advocated that reinstating India’s sovereignty over this landmass holds the key to resolving this enduring predicament. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu engaged with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both June 2021 and April 2022, during which two memorandums were presented outlining the imperative to regain control of Katchatheevu Island. These memorandums underscored the substantial losses and hardships endured by the fishermen of Tamil Nadu.
Jawaharlal Nehru lost the Coco Islands
The repercussions that India has borne as a result of strategic missteps made during the Nehruvian period are graver than they appear. Many blunders by Jawaharlal Nehru remained undiscussed and hence unknown to the common people of India for decades, maintaining the dignified image of the rose-bearer which he seldom deserves owing to his deeds against the national interest.
Beyond the relinquishment of lands to Pakistan and China, the Congress party, led by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, bears responsibility for India’s surrender of territories possessing profound strategic importance. The vacillations exhibited by Prime Minister Nehru have exacted a toll far beyond the substantial areas of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.
Nehru’s deficiency in strategic understanding and his failure to adeptly negotiate with the British have led to the forfeiture of an exceptionally pivotal island in South Asia, ranking alongside the Andaman and Nicobar Islands – the Coco Islands.
History of the Coco Islands
The Coco Islands, situated approximately 1255 kilometres southeast of Kolkata, stand as a paramount entity within South Asia. Geologically stemming from the extended framework of the Arakan Mountains, or Rakhine Mountains, this island cluster submerges into the Bay of Bengal, forming a continuous chain, only to reemerge later in the configuration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Positioned to the north of the Andaman archipelago, these strategically significant islands share a topographical kinship with India’s own Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Regrettably, the Coco Islands presently fall under Myanmar’s jurisdiction due to the hesitancy of Indian leadership to assert a robust claim over them.
During the early 19th century, the British Indian government established a penal colony on the Andaman Islands to incarcerate convicts from the Indian subcontinent. Notably, the Coco Islands served as a crucial food source for this settlement. Historical accounts suggest that the British government had entered into a lease arrangement with the Jadwet family of Burma for these islands.
Coco Islands. Image Source: Google Earth
The decision to lease control of the Coco Islands led to inadequate administration, prompting the British Indian government to relinquish authority to the government of Lower Burma in Rangoon. This transition occurred in 1882, formally integrating the islands into British Burma. Despite Burma’s separation from British India in 1937, the islands retained their status as a self-governing crown colony.
Similar to the situation with the Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the fate of the Coco Islands remained uncertain as the British made preparations to depart from India in 1947. In the final days of British rule in India, imperial authorities were exploring various measures that could potentially impede the rise of a robust and independent India.
Against this backdrop, the British Raj was devising a strategy to withhold key strategic sites from the newly emerging India, encompassing not only the Lakshadweep Islands but also the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, along with the Coco Islands. The British sought to fragment India into distinct segments, a move that would enable them to maintain dominance and influence even as they relinquished direct control.
The British aimed to deprive India of its strategic islands
The imperialists had their eye on many strategic islands in the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, which they thought could be useful for keeping their dominance intact in the region. The Britishers thought that the non-inclusion of these islands with free India would also devoid India a strategic influence in the region, which will enable them to keep India in check.
As per an article in The Tribune India, written by KRN Swamy, the official documents accessed many years after Independence revealed information pertaining to the British Empire’s plans over these strategic islands. The astute statesmanship of Sardar Patel safeguarded Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands for the nation, as he engaged in resolute negotiations with the British, steadfastly resisting their pressures.
With the British Empire relinquishing its hold on both the Lakshadweep and the Andaman Islands, their focus shifted towards asserting control over a significant island within the Bay of Bengal. This ambition led to negotiations for the Coco Islands, encompassing both the Great Coco Island and the Little Coco Island. The British, eager to establish authority over these islands, pursued a tripartite agreement aimed at fulfilling their defence requisites through strategic utilisation.
However, the empire’s chiefs of staff harboured reservations about the Coco Islands becoming part of an independent India. Instead, their preference was for the islands to be governed by a Commissioner under the auspices of the Governor-General of India until the culmination of the agreement. Their objective was to persuade Indian leaders that the Coco Islands were integral to the newly formed dominions rather than being under the jurisdiction of free India.
The strategic location of Coco Islands. Image Source: File Photo
So, the Viceroy Lord Mountbatten knowing the shrewdness of Sardar Patel, took the matter to Nehru and convinced the proposal in informal terms in which he highlighted that India would lease these Islands to Britain for communication purposes.
Lord Mountbatten on July 19, 1947, reported that he had spoken to Nehru, who was quite friendly and had said that there was no objection to an official approach being made, though he could not commit himself until all implications had been considered. Following these talks, an official request to make the proposed arrangements was sent to the Government of India, which agreed to it “without prejudice”.
The decision of Nehru not to hard press the British for the control of the Coco Islands has emerged out to be another historical blunder of the former Prime Minister. These islands, which were later taken over by Burma, have now been used by the Chinese to keep an eye on India. The strategic islands are now utilised by the Chinese military to spy on the country, where they have already built an airstrip and radar station.
If it was not for Sardar Patel’s brinkmanship, perhaps, India would have lost Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands just like former Prime Minister Nehru gave away the opportunity to take control of the strategic Coco Islands, which has now emerged as a national security risk to India.
In a big development, the United Kingdom’s Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has announced funding of 95,000 Pounds, around ₹1 crore, to tackle Khalistani terrorism in the country.
UK's Security Minister Tom Tugendhat announces 95,000 pound funding to enhance Britain's capability to tackle "pro-Khalistan extremism".
The announcement comes hours after the UK Minister met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi. After the meeting, Minister Tom Tugendhat took to Twitter and wrote, “It was a pleasure to meet Minister of External Affairs Dr Jaishankar. We strongly agree on the importance of proactively tackling violent extremism – whatever form it takes. I look forward to working closely with him to combat the full range of threats we face.”
It was a pleasure to meet Minister of External Affairs Dr Jaishankar.
We strongly agree on the importance of proactively tackling violent extremism – whatever form it takes.
I look forward to working closely with him to combat the full range of threats we face.
Tugendhat also tweeted that India’s top investigative agency CBI works closely with UK’s intelligence agencies to tackle serious and organised crime. “Together, we’re making both our countries safer. It was great to share the results of that progress today,” he wrote.
The British High Commission in India said, “During a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, in New Delhi on Thursday (10 August), UK’s Security Minister Tom Tugendhat announced new funding to enhance the UK’s capability to tackle Pro-Khalistan Extremism. The £95,000 investment will enhance the government’s understanding of the threat posed by Pro-Khalistan Extremism, complementing the joint work already underway between the UK and India through the Joint-Extremism Task Force.”
In a high-level meeting held on 7 July 2023, between National Security Advisers Ajit Doval of India and Tim Barrow of the United Kingdom, India raised concerns over Khalistani terrorist elements threatening officials of the Indian High Commission in the UK.
India called upon the British government to take decisive action against the Khalistani terrorists, including deportation or legal prosecution, to safeguard the diplomatic staff. The meeting, part of the ‘India-UK Strategic Dialogue,’ aimed to strengthen cooperation in addressing violent extremism and radicalism. On 6th July, Khalistani terrorists in the UK announced a “Kill India” rally outside the Indian High Commission.
On 3rd June, EAM Dr S Jaishankar said that India has urged its partner countries like Canada, the United States, the UK, and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis. He added, “This will affect our relations. We will raise this poster issue with the government of these countries.”
On 19th March, Khalistani terrorists barged into the Indian High Commission in London and removed the Tricolor from the premises. A video showed a mob of Khalistanis staging a protest outside the Indian High Commission. Amidst chants of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, a man sporting an orange turban was seen scaling the walls of the building and pulling down the Indian flag.
Despite assurance from the London Metropolitan Police to raise the level of protection to the Indian High Commission, Khalistani terrorists four days later again breached the security cover and threw eggs and inks to deface and vandalize the building.
In a retaliatory measure, India then removed the security cover outside the British High Commission in the national capital. Indian authorities removed barricades in front of the British High Commission and the British High Commissioner’s residence and removed all external security that was provided to the British mission in India.
Almost a month after a five-member team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted an inquiry into the 19th March incident, Indian intelligence agencies revealed that the attack, among many others, was masterminded by Khalistani terrorists Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Avatar Khanda. Nijjar was shot dead in Surrey on 18th June while Khanda died mysteriously four days later in a UK hospital.
The Khalistani menace continues to target India operating with deep links and nexus in the UK, US, and Canada. An independent report released in UK, called Bloom Report, reportedly highlighted that young, impressionable minds from the Sikh community were being manipulated by Khalistani terrorists in the UK.
The Newsclick Chinese funding controversy has exposed how media tools are being used by China to manipulate public opinion about the communist regime. OpIndia highlighted this for the first time in 2021. One of the key links that have emerged in the aftermath of the New York Times article is Tricontinental, a Massachusetts-based think tank, with leftist Vijay Prashad as its executive director.
Stand in complete solidarity with our colleagues and friends at @newsclickin, once again made the whipping post by the Indian government in an act of suppression of press freedom. https://t.co/ZockzM4rV0
According to the New York Times exposé, Tricontinental was one of the nonprofit companies that received funding from Neville Roy Singham and promoted Chinese propaganda. Neville Roy Singham is on the international advisory board of the said think-tank accused of financing Chinese propaganda using American non-profit organizations.
P Sainath’s People’s Archive of Rural India or PARI had made several references to ThoughtWorks founder Neville Roy Singham, the US millionaire at the centre of the Newsclick Chinese funding row. Interestingly, P Sainath features as one of the senior fellows at the Tricontinental, which produced videos and articles on socialist issues showing China in a positive light.
The New York Times investigation also revealed that Tricontinental and Maku, a Chinese media company, agreed to work with a Shanghai University to “tell China’s story”, a term commonly used for masking propaganda.
Vijay Prashad, a key name linked to both P Sainath and Neville Roy Singham in the scandal, is a Marxist “historian”. P Sainath has also passingly mentioned Vijay Prashad among others for “huge encouragement” and “support” for his portal, PARI.
Prasad has also been a contributor at “People’s Dispatch”, a media portal that touts itself to be an “international media project with the mission of bringing to the world voices from people’s movements and organisations across the globe.” In one of the articles from January 2020, Prashad sympathised with the JNU protesters and inveighed against the Modi government.
Who is Vijay Prashad?
Vijay Prashad is the executive director of Tricontinental, a leftist think-tank linked to the Newsclick Chinese funding scandal. He is also the editor of Left Word Books and Chief Correspondent at Globetrotter. Basically, Prashad is a more globalised version of the Indian left and propagates its traditional anti-India, anti-Hindu narrative on the global platform.
He is the nephew of Brinda Karat, a CPI(M) leader and wife of Prakash Karat, also a senior CPI(M) leader, whose email exchanges with Neville Roy Singham have revealed their close ties in the scandal.
Comrade Brinda Karat on her early years. (Yes, yes, she’s my aunt; I already knew that so why bring it up as if it were a surprise?). Women And the Working Class Movement https://t.co/6DYekJoweSpic.twitter.com/zoQhbjt0tQ
That Tricontinental was built on the funds received from Chinese stooge Neville Roy Singham was announced unapologetically by Vijay Prashad in a series of tweets in December 2021.
Vijay Prashad’s ties with Neville Roy Singham go back decades. In Prashad’s own words, Singham’s father – Archibald Wickeramaraja Singham, a Marxist – had a huge influence on his life.
After three tweets on Archie Singham, Prashad writes about how Neville Roy Singham funded Tricontinental. He endorsed him as “a Marxist with a massive software company!”
Fortuitously, Roy built a remarkable software company, which is when I first met him – a Marxist with a massive software company! He sold that company a few years ago and decided to give away all the money toward political education for a new generation of radicals. pic.twitter.com/ytNXXqgtPr
Interestingly, NewsClick first made headlines when it came under the radar of Enforcement Directorate in 2021. The portal was reportedly accused of fraudulently receiving foreign funds amounting to around Rs. 38 crore. Safe to assume that it was this probe which prompted a tweet from Prashad a few months later same year.
“There’s a morbid fascination with the source of funds for @tri_continental. This is what I can say. We have a team of about 70 people spread out over fifteen countries. That requires resources. Nothing like we have done can be built without funds,” Prashad tweeted.
He further added, “Fortuitously, Roy built a remarkable software company, which is when I first met him – a Marxist with a massive software company! He sold that company a few years ago and decided to give away all the money toward political education for a new generation of radicals.”
“Those funds – now largely in non-profits – were the original source for @tri_continental’s endowment, & other projects, which we hope will last for at least a generation. We are building on Archie’s legacy, that unique intellectual who accompanied movements of social liberation,” Prashad concluded in his Twitter thread.
Ever since the NYT published its report on 5th August, Vijay Prashad through his leftist portals has launched a campaign accusing the publication of “McCarthyism” which denotes a time in American history when US Senator John McCarthy initiated investigations and hearings against communists in the 1950s. The term “McCarthyism” and “Red Scare” is used by communists to indicate paranoia among Americans about the threat from Communists.
Part of a long statement published against the NYT report by Tricontinental and its affiliates read, “Influential media outlets like The New York Times have joined right-wing extremists in using intimidation tactics to silence these advocates for change, affecting not only the left but everyone who supports free speech and democratic rights.” Director of The Hindu Publishing Group N Ram too is a signatory to the statement.
In 2021, Vijay Prashad and communist Naom Chomsky’s talk at the Tata Literature Festival was cancelled by the organisers after they learnt that the duo had planned to speak against TATA Group, the main sponsor of the event. But Prashad and Chomsky used this too as an opportunity to cast aspersions against the Indian government. They asked in a statement in People’s Dispatch if the cancellation of their talk “was a question of censorship?”
Vijay Prashad is an active contributor at People’s Dispatch, another one of the coterie’s leftist propaganda portals. In the statement, he also admitted that the duo planned to use the platform of Tata Literature Festival to attack the Tata Group. “We were going to talk about the broad issues that threaten the planet, but then also talk about the specific role of countries such as India and corporations such as the Tatas. Regarding the Tatas, we wanted to put on record a few facts that should lead sensitive people to understand what the Tata company has underneath its fingernails.”
Moreover, Prashad had every intention, he announced, to take on the BJP-led Central government by attacking CAA, peddling “erosion of democracy” narrative, and attacking the Quad. “We wanted to talk about how governments such as those led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and corporations such as the Tatas are hastening humanity towards a deeper and deeper crisis,” Prashad whined in the statement which was also published on NewsClick.
In 2019, Prashad published a sensationalised and conspiratoral article in “The Anarchist” titled, “India Government Going to War Against Its Own People.” Prashad in his article spread falsehoods about CAA to make an exploitative case for India to bear the burden of Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries. While Islamists in India worked in full-swing to hold the country to ransom, Prashad attempted to do the same job globally by infusing ideological indotrination using terms like Islamophobia, fascism, and so on.
Prashad has attempted to indoctrinate global audiences against India and has openly vouched for the revival of Maoism (aka Naxalism) in India. He also threw in the usual communist script against demonetisation, abrogation of Article 370, and NRC.
As per his own account, Vijay Prashad visited anti-CAA protest sites in Delhi, and Kolkata and lauded the violence that ensued following the same. Prashad blatantly spewed hate against Hindus using the “majoritarian” argument.
Vijay Prashad was back in the headlines in India in 2021 when a video of his talk at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) went viral on social media and was picked up by the mainstream Indian media. He was hailed for his lecture to the West on climate change. But what went unreported was his adulation for China. At the outset, several such talks by Vijay Prashad seem like, and are also projected as such, an Indian showing the mirror to the West.
But really, Vijay Prashad has been propagating Left-run countries like China and Cuba as role models for developing nations like India to follow. Going by his statement in an interview titled, “Why Does India Remain Entrapped by the UK?”, Prashad would rather have India be entrapped by the Communist China and cash-strapped Cuba model.
Here is another video shared by China Global Television Network (CGTN), a Chinese state-run media, lauding Vijay Prashad for speaking up for communist China against the capitalist US.
Three days after the NYT report, Prashad on 8th August received an award by CPI(M), revealing the close ties the Indian left shares with individuals and organisations funded by Chinese agents.
Prashad also takes a liking to none other than Arundhati Roy, a torchbearer of everything that is anti-Hindu, again shedding light on the leftist nexus operating against India for China.
What a lovely, and moving speech by Arundhati Roy on the trials and tribulations in India today. "Country is burning; It is ethnic cleansing in Manipur….Kerala should be role model."@CPIMKerala leads the way. Do watch: https://t.co/ptn1mjircn
Prashad continues to be an active contributer to several leftist-communist propaganda portals. Take for example this piece where Prashad has taken the liberty to bash Hindus to the extent that he terms the inclusion of Saraswati Vandana in school curriculum as “intolerant.” While on foreign land, Prashad conveniently projects himself as the hero by criticising Western occupation of developing nations, and when speaking about India, he likens us to China to make the latter look like a role model and preaches that anything that is Hindu in nature, meaning anything native to India, is an attack on democracy.
With his sheer manipulative strategies resulting from the alms given by China, Vijay Prashad has written for Indian news portals like Scroll, and The Hindu. Unsurprisingly though, he has also been published by the Islamist news portal Al Jazeera, and Hindu hating publications like The Guardian. Prashad’s outright support to Bhima Koregaon violence accused Anil Temtumbde, and Teesta Setalvad, accused of fabricating evidence pertaining to the 2002 Godhra Riots case points at the obvious links between the propagandists in India and abroad fanning anti-India hate.
It can be said conclusively that Vijay Prashad along with the left is embroiled deep in the conspiracy to malign India and Hindus and sing praises for China on the global stage. There is a greater scope yet to expose the skeleton in his closet.
On 31st July, an Islamist mob attacked the Hindu religious Brajmandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Haryana’s Nuh. The mob targeted Hindus, their religious temples, and other institutions owned by them. A Gurukul in Bhadas in Nuh was one such Hindu property that was attacked by Muslim mobs.
The murder of Shakti Saini is linked to this very attack on the Gurukul in the Muslim-dominated area of Bhadas. Shakti Saini, 34, was a Hindu sweets seller in Nuh’s Nagina. He was abducted, killed, and his dead body was dumped at the same Badkali square where his shop was located.
Ecosystem’s ace spinner Rajdeep Sardesai was among the first few people to have given a clean chit to the local Muslim mob by calling them “outsiders”. According to the information obtained by OpIndia, upon receiving the news of the Islamist attack on Gurukul, Shakti Saini went to the Gurukul in Bhadas to save his brother who teaches there.
Shakti had told his family that he is leaving for the Gurukul, but he was allegedly abducted by the rioting Muslim mob on the way. The next day, on 1st August, his family received the news of his death.
Witnesses told OpIndia that on 31st July, 200-250 Muslim rioters attacked the Gurukul twice. The first attack came in the afternoon at around 2-2:30. It is while returning after perpetrating this attack that the mob allegedly set a mustard oil factory on fire. The factory reportedly belongs to a BJP neta Shivkumar Bunty.
The rioters, after looting the factory, set it ablaze. Hundreds of canisters of oil were either looted or burned. Tonnes of oil cake was also kept in the factory. The fire was so huge that the firefighters could control it only by the next morning.
In the Bhadas Gurukul attack, the Muslim rioters were heavily armed with petrol bombs, sticks, and weapons. The mob was chanting the Islamic war cry “Nara-e-Takbir” and “Allah-hu-Akbar”. The mob also consisted of small children who assembled at the site of violence in two small groups. The rioters had covered the number plates of their vehicles with grease which sheds light on the extent of pre-planning by the Islamist rioters.
Witnesses said that during the first attack on the Gurukul by the Muslim mob, around 150 people were present along with devotees of the Nalhar Shiva Temple besides the three teachers, 35 students, and local Hindus. The Hindus had locked themselves in the Gurukul when the Muslim mob was shouting slogans outside. At this time, the Muslim mob descended owing to the resistance shown by some locals and families living in the Gurukul.
According to the information received by OpIndia, there was no policeman present at the time of the attack on the Gurukul because most policemen had gone to save the devotees who had sought shelter in the Nalhar Shiva Temple in Nuh. At around 6-6:30 in the evening, the Muslim mob attacked the Gurukul again.
By then the resident Hindus and residents of the ashram were on alert. Owing to this the Muslim mob was forced to return soon after. Shakti Saini had reportedly left his house for the Gurukul after he learned of the second attack in the evening.
The Muslim mob allegedly abducted Saini on the way and his body was found the next day. According to a brother of Shakti, “He had gone to the Gurukul to save his brother but he himself fell prey to the Muslim mob.” Shakti’s brother has narrated the entire incident in the FIR filed in the case.
The name of the conspirator of the attack on the Gurukul has not been revealed. But the house of the local Congress MLA Mamman Khan is only about 50 meters away from Gurukul.
It has been claimed that the MLA’s family left the house as soon as the Gurukul was attacked. It is worth noting that Mamman Khan has been embroiled in controversies since the Nuh violence. He is being held responsible for the Nuh violence owing to his statement warning Monu Manesar in the Haryana Assembly.
One of the accounts also links the attack on the Gurukul to Amin, son of Akhtar of Bhadas village. He has been arrested by the police for his alleged involvement in the violence. Two cases of cow slaughter are already registered against Amin’s brother Rashid. It is being said that Rashid was caught by local Gau Rakshaks and handed over to the police. Beef was recovered from his house during raids.
Local residents expose Rajdeep Sardesai’s lies
While talking to the priest of the Gurukul, Rajdeep Sardesai was repeatedly asking whether the attackers were outsiders. The priest ignored the answers about the nearby village and then took the discussion towards the Muslim sarpanch who saved him.
The truth is that Amin, son of Akhtar, has been arrested by the police in the very Bhadas village where the Gurukul is situated. Amin’s brother Rashid is a repeat offender in cases of cow slaughter. Two cases of cow slaughter are already registered against him.
According to Rajdeep Sardesai, there are only two theories regarding the attack on Hindus in Nuh: 1. Bajrang Dal instigated Mewatis and they retaliated. 2. The Mewatis were waiting to retaliate because they were fed up with the hatred spread by Hindu Gau Rakshaks. For him, no matter who perpetrated the violence and who attacked whom, the blame lies with the Hindus.
The truth is that even before the Jalabhishek Yatra of the Hindus had reached, the riotous Muslim mob had already attacked the Gurukul. If the riot was only a retaliation to the Bajrang Dal’s response and the so-called “hatred” spread by the Gau Rakshaks, then how come the riot at Barkali Chowk took place before the Jalabhishek Yatra had reached?
Why did the first attack on Gurukul take place between 2 to 2:30 in the afternoon? At that time the Jalabhishek Yatra had not even arrived in that place.
In the first case of conviction under the anti-conversion law of Madhya Pradesh, a district court in Indore sentenced a 20-year-old man named Mohammad Sabir under the anti-conversion law for forcing a Hindu girl into religious conversion. Along with this, a fine of Rs 56,000 has also been imposed on the accused.
According to a report by ABP News Hindi, the accused has been awarded 5 years of rigorous imprisonment under sections 3/5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 which came into force in 2021.
Hindi daily Amar Ujala, however, reported that Special Judge (POCSO Act) Surekha Mishra, awarded the accused 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under 376(3) IPC and 5(L) and 6 of the POCSO Act and up to 7 years of jail and Rs 56,000 fine under sections 450 and 506 of the IPC.
Special Public Prosecutor Sushila Rathore said that the said order was passed by Special Judge (POCSO Act) Surekha Mishra. The court commented in the judgment and said that the crime executed by the accused cannot be ignored as it can create a massive impact on society. “No leniency can be shown to the accused for the said act,” the Court said.
The incident in which the accused got punished is said to have happened in the year 2020 in the Hatod region of Indore. The accused on September 9, 2020, raped the victim and threatened her with a knife to not share what happened with her with anyone. The girl was so scared that she decided to keep quiet, but the accused continued to rape the girl.
He also filmed the act and used it to blackmail her to respond in the way he wanted. Further after a few months, he forced her to convert her religion to Islam and marry him. He said that he would leak the video on social media if she refused to follow his orders.
The victim, tired of the threats and atrocities, finally narrated her ordeal to her parents and brother who then took her to the police station to file a report. The police lodged a complaint and launched a probe into the case. A charge sheet was presented in the court, based on which the accused was convicted.
Notably, the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance was enacted by the Madhya Pradesh Governor on January 7, 2021, and after being announced by the State Government on March 27, 2021, it became the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021 (the Act). The major goal of the Act is to prevent any sort of coercive and unlawful religious conversions carried out by extremists or religious organizations. The Act also requires support for the wife and kids and declares invalid and void any marriage entered into exclusively for religious conversions.
Under the Act, forced conversion of a minor, woman or a person from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, would draw a minimum jail term of 2 to 10 years with a minimum penalty of Rs 50,000.
Notably, Madhya Pradesh had become the third BJP-ruled state to clear the anti-love jihad and anti-conversion law after Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier, UP Governor Anandiben Patel promulgated the law in November three days after the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet cleared the ordinance to bring in the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020 against ‘love jihad’ while Himachal Pradesh also implemented acts against forced conversions.
The Allahabad high court has ordered the Chhata tehsildar of Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh to provide an explanation on how the ownership of the Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple land was altered in revenue records in 2004 in the name of a Qabristan, or Muslim graveyard.
The order was issued by Justice Saurabh Srivastava in response to a petition submitted by the Shri Bihari ji Sewa Trust in Mathura. The court set August 17 as the next hearing date in the case.
Notably, the writ petition was filed in order to direct revenue authorities in Chhata, Mathura, to rectify the revenue entry that had been made ‘illegally’ against the Qabristan instead of the Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple.
The counsel for the state government drew the attention of the court that one application is also pending since the entries in the revenue records have now been altered from graveyard to ‘purani abadi’.
Shri Bihar Ji Seva Trust was represented by Advocate Raghavendra Prasad Mishra. According to the trust, Plot number 1081 has been recorded in the name of Banke Bihari Maharaj from ancient times. Bhola Khan Pathan, in collusion with revenue officials, had the said site registered as a graveyard in 2004.
The temple trust filed an objection after receiving the information. The matter was escalated to the Waqf Board, and a seven-member committee investigated and discovered that the graveyard was incorrectly registered. Despite this, Bihari ji’s name was not recorded on the land. Subsequently, a petition has been filed.
In its order issued last Thursday, the court said, “In light of the foregoing facts and circumstances, Tehsildar is hereby directed to appear in person for explaining the proceedings whatsoever carried out by the revenue authorities from time to time for changing the entries available over plot no. 1081 situated at Village Shahpur, Tehsil Chhata of Mathura district.”
According to the petitioner, the plot no. 1081 in village Shahpur was originally in the name of Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple, as evidenced by the record of rights of 1375-1377F.
It is said that the Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj temple was constructed around 1860 and is a classic instance of Rajasthani architecture.
In the Jaipur district of Rajasthan, a Dalit man has alleged that Congress MLA Gopal Meena and Jamwa Ramgarh Deputy Superintendent of Police Shivkumar Bharadwaj urinated on him, forced him to lick their shoes, assaulted and hurled casteist abuses on him.
A case has been registered against four persons including Congress MLA Gopal Meena and DSP Bharadwaj. On Thursday (August 10) victim Raju Prasad Nayak addressed the media and alleged that he is being threatened and pressured by the Congress MLA to withdraw the case and ‘settle’ the matter.
As per reports, Raju Prasad Nayak, 51, who worked on his farm in Todalari Aandhi village, said the incident occurred on June 30, and he remained silent out of fear. According to Nayak, some police officers arrived on the afternoon of June 30 when he and his wife were working on the farm. The cops allegedly escorted him to the home of Congress MLA Gopal Meena. The victim further alleged that he was held captive in a room and ruthlessly thrashed by police officers. He went on to say that when he begged for mercy, DSP Bharadwaj urinated on him and questioned how he dared to enter his farm without paying the bribe to Congress MLA from Jamwa Ramgarh.
Furthermore, the Dalit victim alleged that he was subsequently taken to a hall where MLA Gopal Meena allegedly asked Nayak to lick and clean his shoes, saying that only then would he be permitted to leave. Consequently, the victim, left with no choice, reportedly cleaned the Congress MLA’s shoes with his tongue and was then allowed to leave.
He further claimed that while he leaving, DSP Bharadwaj threatened the victim not to return to his farm in Todalari again or he will be killed. The DSP allegedly boasted that it is his government and his MLA and that nobody can harm them. The DSP reportedly said that Gopal Meena is the king of Jamwa Ramgarh and he only makes decisions pertaining to the posting of police personnel there.
According to reports, the victim was forced clean Congress MLA’s shoes in the presence of former MLA Dr Param and retired DGP Navdeep Singh.
Victim Raju Prasad Nayak also claimed that after the horrific treatment by the Congress MLA and Jamwa Ramgarh DSP, he tried to file a complaint against them, however, the police refused to do so. Eventually, the victim approached the court which directed the police to register a case against the accused persons, subsequently, an FIR was registered at Jamwa Ramgarh police station on July 27 under sections 190, 363, 143, 448, 323, 342, 506, 509 IPC and sections 3 (1) (R) (S) 3 (2) (VA).
The police have said that an investigation into the matter is underway. As the matter involves a Congress MLA, the investigation is being conducted by Crime Branch, Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID).
Meanwhile, MLA Gopal Meena has claimed that it is a case of land dispute. He also refuted the allegations leveled against him by the Dalit man saying that he does not even know him.
On 31st July, several Hindu devotees were partaking in the religious Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Shobha Yatra in the Nuh district of the Muslim-majority Mewat region in Haryana. The yatra (procession) was organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an organisation run by Hindus for Hindu rights.
A communally charged Muslim mob began targeting the peaceful procession of Hindus in no time. Positioned strategically on the hills and rooftops, the mob pelted stones, glass bottles filled with petrol, burnt vehicles, fired gunshots, desecrated Hindu temples, and also attempted to physically harm Hindu women and children who were among the nearly 3,000 Hindus stuck in a hostage-like situation in the Nalhar Shiva Mandir (a Hindu temple), situated in the foothills of Aravallis.
It must be noted that the Brajmandal procession has a historic significance for Hindus, particularly for Hindus of the Mewat region. It is an ancient tradition marked every year by devotees of Nalhar Shiva Mandir, the centre of faith and reverence for Hindus in Nuh, Mewat. The Nalhar Shiva Mandir, two kilometres from where the mob attacked the devotees, has great religious and spiritual significance for Hindus across the world.
Its significance dates back to the Dwapar Yuga when Bhagwan Krishna’s Divine Feet walked this Holy Land. The entire area of Nuh is historically very important for Hindus. The pre-planned attack by the Muslim fanatics on the revered land of Hindu devotees was an attack on the Hindu faith itself.
The anti-Hindu mob violence in Nuh bears a sinister resemblance to the many attacks launched on Hindu rallies in the past. By way of using its well-established anti-Hindu narratives, the Islamist-leftist-liberal ecosystem carefully paints a picture to further that very narrative – as if deliberately abetting such situations to help them compile a list of cases that can then support their baseless projection of Hindus as “intolerant haters” by painting the victims (Hindus) and the aggressors.
This is precisely why the Islamists have their eyes on Hindu processions. First, they assemble their fatal war chest; stones and rocks, glass bottles, petrol, guns, sticks, axe (probably the same ones they use to butcher Hindus’ cattle), and such. Then they mobilise their terrorists through WhatsApp groups and social media. They then go on to hide behind the walls of open roofs and gather in narrow alleys waiting for the right time to strike the Hindu men, women, children, and the elderly.
These roofs on which the Islamists hide, shield them from any retaliatory action by the police and aid them in attacking the Hindus by perching their guns and homemade catapults strategically. While the mobs are ready to attack Hindus, some of them would gather to block the procession by Hindus – not attacking yet – but being menacing enough – as if to taunt the Hindus before the onslaught begins – one that the Hindus don’t expect.
And then they attack. From hurling petrol bombs – assembled and made right inside their homes like in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots 2020, pelting stones and rocks from their roofs, to firing at the Hindus, and attacking Hindus with their swords – the Islamists turn a peaceful religious Hindu procession into their battleground for jihad against “kaffirs”. When the Hindu men retaliate in self-defence, to save the life and dignity of their women, children, and elderly, the Islamists start crying victims because they know that the ecosystem is on their toes to come to their aid.
Notice how selectively videos are broadcast by the mainstream media – treated visuals highlighting saffron-clad Hindu devotees as if attempting to reignite the “saffron terror” conspiracy theory manufactured by the Congress, even though it is the Hindus who are the victims. They visit Muslim houses and gather vox pops to showcase their “plight” even when they are the majority population in the area and just to be able to say they showed both sides, a one-liner statement from a Hindu victim in passing will be shown. In the Nuh violence, cow vigilantism became an excuse for the Islamist media to justify the Islamist violence while cattle smuggling which harms the livelihoods of the minority Hindus found absolutely no mention whatsoever. If such a recurring pattern of the narrative does not amount to abetment of crime then what does?
Despite the known fact that almost all instances of violence against Hindu rallies have been propagated and perpetrated by an Islamist mob, unilaterally and unprovoked, the wheels of anti-Hindu media coverage are set into motion by the ecosystem. Venomous lies are spewed against the community even when the victims themselves are Hindus. Despite clear evidence of large Muslim mobs in an all-out attack on Hindus, footage of the same is ignored. The end product is something like this interview by Rajdeep Sardesai of Haryana’s top cop where his sinister line of questioning insinuates that only Hindus are responsible for the violence even if Islamists started it.
One is reminded of the coverage during Delhi anti-Hindu riots. How the Islamist media slyly turned the pre-planned, unilateral attack against Hindus into an ‘anti-Muslim pogrom’. They did so with remarkable alacrity and shocking ease. NDTV at the time, for example, showed footage of a Mosque but ensured that they cropped the part where stones and petrol bombs were visibly stacked atop that Mosque. Ravish Kumar went a step ahead in his shamelessness and repeatedly claimed that Shahrukh Pathan, the rioter who pulled a gun at a policeman, was actually a Hindu. They claimed Ankit Sharma was merely ‘stabbed’ to death and Dilbar Negi was ‘burnt to death’, refusing to mention that Ankit Sharma was stabbed over 50 times, to a point where his intestines lay outside his body and Dilbar Negi’s hands and legs were first chopped off by the Muslim mob, and then, because that brutality was not enough for a “Kafir”, he was burnt alive.
Not only do they get to go on a murder spree against Hindus but also assimilate the PR resources required to display their farcical victimization as the poor, backward, humble Indian minority suffering at the hands of the majority Hindu. They first attack Hindus because they hate ‘Kafirs’, they then activate their ecosystem to defend that attack and finally, prove that it was the Hindus who are responsible for their own persecution. It is the Hindus who provoked the attack. More often than not, they don’t stop there. They go a step further to completely change the narrative on its head and claim that it was the Hindus who attacked the Muslims.
Looking at similar cases in the past, a common pattern has emerged. By the time the Hindus fighting to defend their life and their dignity learn that the violence was in fact pre-planned, Islamist apologist narratives by Islamist sympathizers already begin to manipulate public opinion to term Hindus as the aggressors.
And it’s icing on the cake for this ecosystem when the rally is a VHP rally, or by Bajrang Dal and other such Hindu groups. Because then, it gets easier to build the narrative. For the Islamist stooges, VHP and Bajrang Dal represent a powerful and unyielding Hindu who will not take a beating and hit back if attacked. This is what the Islamists hate and hence give a spin to showcase Hindus in a bad light by accusing them of attacking when all they do is defend Hindus against Islamist attacks. The likes of VHP and Bajrang Dal are Hindus who stand between the defenceless Hindus and violent Islamists – they are what the Islamists do not want Hindus to be.
And one of the ways they try to achieve this is by giving political undertones to the Hindu groups. Pitching words like “Hindutva goons” for VHP and Bajrang Dal activists who die fighting against Islamist attacks help the ecosystem to give the murders of Hindus a political colour. What does it matter if that murdered Hindu man is a VHP worker or a Bajrang Dal worker; hell, what does it matter if he is too an Indian citizen? According to the ecosystem, these slain men defended Hindus against real terrorists so they deserve to be berated.
Hindus have been blamed by the Islamist machinery for defending themselves while murderous Islamists have been humanised in the reporting of violence against Hindus by mainstream media. This has been the case in all cases of violence against Hindus in history including during the partition of India, the Kashmiri Pandit genocide, Moplah Hindu genocide, Kohat genocide, Calcutta riots, Noakhali riots, Mirpur massacre, Jahangirpuri violence against Hindus, anti-Hindu Delhi riots, and many more; these atrocities were downplayed and still are because the perpetrators were Islamists and Hindus suffered in silence. And when the Hindu finally speaks up and reacts, a tirade is launched to besmirch them.
The lowly op-ed by Rajdeep Sardesai from 2015 is a fine example where he writes, “Prashant Poojary (Bajrang Dal activist) didn’t deserve to die under any circumstance but there is a political context to his death as there would be in Bengal when Trinamool workers clash with CPI M.”
Notice how this Islamist stooge justified the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary from Moodbidri in Karnataka by associating it with a mere political repercussion and isolating him from his Hindu identity; it’s the perfect example of the ecosystem’s attempt at pushing the narrative that “Hindutva is saffron terror & Hinduism is not Hindutva”. This is also why Abhishek Rajput’s death at the hands of Islamists received no coverage other than by OpIndia. Rajput was first shot dead in Mewat and then, when that wasn’t enough, his throat was slit and his head crushed with rocks.
This agenda against Hindus runs parallel to “terrorists are not real Muslims, real Muslims are not terrorists” whitewashing. Of course, there’s no such thing as “saffron terror” but Islamist terrorism is an absolute reality. So what does the Islamist ecosystem do to turn the tide? Attack a Hindu rally, conveniently ignore Hindu casualties particularly when they are VHP and Bajrang Dal activists because hey, those murders are in a “political context”, and then try to revive the “saffron terror” narrative.
In Nuh too, it got so much easier for the ecosystem to whitewash the brutal crimes against the Hindus that the devotees and their dread were brushed conveniently behind headlines that read “clashes during Hindu rally”, “clashes at VHP rally” et al. There is always a clear attempt not to get to the fundamental point when the perpetrators are Muslims. It’s easier to beat around the bush for the ecosystem when they can club “VHP, Bajrang Dal, religion tension, Hindu rally with Muslim minority”. That way, the punishment fits the crime; here, the punishment is anti-Hindu violence and crime, being a Hindu.
Moreover, while Hindus are being attacked, the ecosystem has this weirdly unsettling craving to seek out human interest stories of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. To them, the chilling fear that gripped thousands of unarmed Hindus looking to save their life is not as important as the one Muslim who “saved them”. So what if the majority of Muslims pounced on a peaceful Hindu rally? That one Muslim messiah should be our role model.
A heart-warming feature story ignoring the fact that Hindus were killed by an Islamist mob in Nuh, Mewat (Source: Times of India)
Here’s the deal. Nuh violence, repeated attacks on Hindu rallies in Jahangirpuri, attacks on BJP and Hindu rallies in Bengal, etc prove that it is no walk in the park to be a Hindu living in a Muslim-majority region. In fact, it’s not easy for a Hindu to live in a Muslim-minority area either when the administration is covered deep in appeasement politics; that is not an easy life by any means. And this is where the role of Hindu organisations like VHP and Bajrang Dal becomes significant because they enable the Hindus to practice their faith fearlessly and without apprehension. When such organisations, which mind you are more connected with your middle-class Hindu voter, become the source of the community to speak for their rights to the powers that be, they are deemed political.
The self-defensive Hindu is called into question for standing up against the murder, rape, lynching, and pelting of their community. Basically, the Islamist ecosystem and its usage of political undertones to malign rallying Hindus stems from their hate for Hindus and love for Islamists. How else do you explain why almost any and every crime by Islamists – from terrorism to petty crimes – are justified using poverty and whatnot as excuses? Which is why for the likes of Rajdeep Sardesai and Ravish Kumar, self-defensive Hindus become “militants” and murderous Islamists become mere “local mobs”.
Their ilk uses headlines like “violence during VHP rally” to cast doubt in the minds of people by suggesting that violence did not happen against VHP and Hindus but because of VHP and Hindus. While the mention of VHP and Bajrang Dal gets prominent space in such headlines, Islamists or even the words related to it are not mentioned anywhere in the reports, and even for once they are, they are always supported by ifs and buts.
These are broad purposes of the ecosystem that are served every time a burden of an Islamist decides to target a Hindu rally. Give the Islamists a Hindu rally, and a stone, and let the ecosystem do the thinking. Even if the truth says that a Muslim mob attacked a Hindu rally, they brazenly blame the latter for chanting historically religious slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” which are chanted in every Hindu household. Their excuse? You did it in a Muslim-majority area so prepare to bear the brunt. That will do it. To the ecosystem, the Hindu is the problem when Muslims are minority and the Hindu is a problem when Muslims are majority too. Hindus are just expected to shut up and comply when attacked physically, verbally, and intellectually too otherwise it’s the same slander fest with a new case study for the ecosystem!
Take this report by The Quint for example. The headline reads, “Bike Rally by Hindutva Outfits Results in Clashes in Rajasthan, Curfew Imposed”, followed by details of the clashes in the subheader. This perverse phrasing suggests that the Hindu outfits caused the clashes to erupt.
Whereas the truth was that the Hindu rally was the victim of stone-pelting as reported factually by OpIndia to the point. Can you imagine the headlines had there been a retaliation? Read more here about the dirty propaganda of the anti-Hindu media at home and abroad.
Here are a few more examples of similar sentence phrasing.
One of the many misleading headlines on The Wire (Source: The Wire)
A misleading and diverting headline by The Print (Source: The Print)
Another propagandist headline by Outlook (Source: Outlook)
Here is a list of the many attacks on Hindu rallies by Islamist mobs, several of which were perpetrated this year alone:
26 March 2023: Hindu bike rally attacked in Jaipur
A Muslim mob attacked a rally by Hindus on the occasion of Hindu New Year at Jamvaramgarh in Jaipur in Rajasthan, and pelted stones at the rally. Even though police were deployed for the security of the rally, they could not do anything, according to reports. Later the mob was controlled when additional forces arrived.
7 June 2023: Stones pelted at Sakal Hindu Samaj rally at Sangamner
The Sakal Hindu Samaj had organized a peaceful march in Sangamner protesting against several recent incidents of Love Jihad and atrocities and assaults on the Hindu community. The march was concluded peacefully but while on their return, the members of the Hindu organization were attacked by Muslims who pelted stones and also damaged vehicles. However, it has been alleged that no stone pelters were arrested, and the 17 arrested were Hindu youths.
14 April 2023: Attacks on Ram Navami processions across India
Be it the Ram Navami Shobha Yatras or the recent Hanuman Janmotsav processions, Hindus came under attack as Muslim mobs pelted stones, created arson, and then, blamed Hindus for their own persecution. From West Bengal to Gujarat to Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and beyond, religious processions or Shobha Yatras on the occasions of Ram Navami and Hanuman Janmotsav were attacked.
14 April 2023: Attacks on Hanuman Jayanti processions in Odisha
In Odisha’s Sambalpur, a bike rally organised by ‘Hanuman Jayanti Samanyoy Samiti’ and Bajrang Dal came under violent stone pelting when it was passing near a masjid in the Dhanupali area, triggering clashes on Wednesday evening, April 12. A look at the FIR filed following the incident reveals how a Muslim mob attacked Hindus during the procession while shouting highly incendiary slogans.
19 February 2023: Mahashivratri procession attacked in Madhya Pradesh
A religious procession on Mahashivratri was attacked in Madhya Pradesh by Islamists. The incident happened at Chhindwara where Islamists stopped a Mahashivratri procession and asked the organisers to shut DJ playing religious music. As per reports, when Hindus refused, the Islamists allegedly pelted stones at the procession, and some of the devotees got injured.
2 April 2022: Hindu bike rally attacked in Karauli
Communal violence broke down in the Hatwara Bazaar area of Karauli when stones were pelted by miscreants at a Hindu bike rally while more than a dozen shops and three bikes were set on fire. Reportedly, 42 people, including policemen, have been injured in the mob attack while the rally celebrating ‘Nav Samvatsar’ passed through a Muslim-dominated area.
The Jamia violence of 2019, the anti-Hindu Delhi riots of 2020, and many such assaults on Hindus have been the brainchild of the Islamist ecosystem and they have spun that too in their favour. How so? Because it served a greater leftist purpose of projecting the police as someone powerful and wrong when it took action and to project the accused as innocent university students; a powerful versus the weak narrative than the right versus the wrong. The facts came out eventually.
Similarly, it was easy to shift the blame of the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots on a BJP politician who warned of action following weeks of dangerous anti-CAA protests by Islamists who had blocked roads, raised anti-India slogans, and attempted to spark communal tensions. Why go to the trouble of finding the root cause, knowing that it would serve as a bitter truth when you can make a pro-Hindu politician a scapegoat for simply demanding action?
The more said about the Islamist-leftist-liberal propaganda, the more they are exposed with every word. The truth is that when the saffron-clad rallying Hindu marches in unity with the songs of Shri Ram and Bharat Mata, they serve as a reminder to the descendants of tyrants that they in a thousand years could not eradicate this ancient civilisation and they cannot do so now no matter how hard they try. And try they will for the Hindu-hating radicals they are. Then again, so long as the rallying cry of a rallying Hindu continues to echo, the ecosystem will be stripped off its cover every single time.
