It is for the first time in Aligarh that namaz was not offered outside the Idgah premises and only inside it. This was after the administration prohibited offering prayers outside the Idgah ahead of Bakrid.
The UP administration has been keeping strict vigilance in a bit to avoid untoward incidents across the state in view of the Islamic festival of Bakrid. Drone surveillance is being conducted across Aligarh.
An additional force of 200 policemen has been brought in for patrolling. Five companies of PAC have been deployed. A foot march in Delhigate and Bannadevi was also led by DIG Shalabh Mathur and SSP Kalanidhi Naithani. Security forces have been equipped with riot control equipment, tear gas, binoculars, handsets etc.
Additionally, four ASPs, 13 jurisdictional officers, 50 inspectors, 250 head constables, 2000 constables, 300 women constables, 20 QRT, 150 cluster mobile teams have also been deployed.
Strict monitoring is underway in sensitive areas in the city. The security forces have been asked to take action against mischievous elements. Meanwhile, social media and the internet at large are also being monitored by the UP administration.
On June 27, UP CM Yogi Adityanath issued guidelines in light of upcoming festivals. Strict instructions were issued regarding the prohibition of offering sacrifices at disputed locations.
आगामी 04 जुलाई से पवित्र श्रावण मास प्रारम्भ हो रहा है। इस वर्ष श्रावण मास दो माह की अवधि का हो रहा है।
श्रावण मास में परम्परागत कांवड़ यात्रा निकलेगी। इसमें सोमवार पूजन का भी विशेष महत्व है।
इससे पूर्व 29 जून को बकरीद मनायी जाएगी। स्पष्ट है कि कानून-व्यवस्था के दृष्टिगत यह समय…
Guidelines were also issued for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, which read, “Be it rural or urban areas, the electricity supply should be kept smooth during festivals. There should be no complaints of unnecessary cuts from anywhere. It should be reviewed regularly.” Dilapidated electric poles, dangling electric wires, etc. on the route of Kanwar Yatra should be managed well in time so that the devotees do not face any problems and no accident occurs, it further added.
“Respecting the faith of the devotees, there should be no sale and purchase of meat, etc. in the open anywhere on the Kanwar Yatra route. Cleanliness-sanitization should be maintained on the Yatra route. Streetlights should be there,” it said.
कांवड़ यात्रा मार्ग पर कहीं भी खुले में मांस आदि की खरीद-बिक्री न हो। यात्रा मार्ग पर स्वच्छता-सैनिटाइजेशन की व्यवस्था रहे। स्ट्रीट लाइट की सुविधा हो।
गर्मी तेज है, ऐसे में मार्ग में पीने के पानी की व्यवस्था भी कराई जाए। जहां खाद्य शिविर लगें, वहां खाद्य सामग्री गुणवत्ता की टीम…
Meanwhile, in Meerut, speaking before namaz, Ulama Qari Shafiq ur Rehman said that “Muslims are being oppressed in India.” He added, “In the coming times, various restrictions may be imposed on us and we may be stopped from doing business. We should be ready for every sacrifice.” City Qazi Zainus Sajideen criticised the administration for imposing restrictions on Muslims by not allowing them to offer namaz on the streets.
At least one person has been reported dead and two more injured after insurgents opened fire on Manipur‘s Haraothel hamlet of Kangpokpi district at around 5.30 am on June 29. Armed individuals carrying sophisticated weapons also assaulted Tangnaum and L Munlai villages in the latest round of ongoing violence in Manipur.
Armed rioters opened fire unprovoked in Haraothel village in the early morning, and when the Indian Army forces deployed in the area moved ahead to respond to the firing, the rioters fired at the army personnel. However, the security personnel were able to contain the attack, without causing any collateral damage of civilians. As a result, the rioters retreated from the area, stopping firing.
Security personnel who arrived at the location saw a large crowd forming after the incident. However, the forces responded in a regulated manner to minimise collateral damage and ceased gunfire. More security force columns have entered the area to contain the assembling throng.
A statement by Spear Corps of the Indian Army said, “Unprovoked firing by Armed Rioters towards Village Haraothel commenced at 5.30 AM. Own troops deployed in the area immediately mobilised to prevent escalation of situation. While enroute to the site, own columns drew effective fire from armed rioters. Own troops responded in a calibrated manner to prevent any collateral damage. Swift action by troops resulted in cessation of firing. Additional columns moved to the area. Unconfirmed reports indicate some casualties. Build up of large crowds in the area also reported. Situation being closely monitored and further details will follow.”
Unprovoked firing by Armed Rioters towards Village Haraothel commenced at 5.30 AM. Own troops deployed in the area immediately mobilised to prevent escalation of… pic.twitter.com/Vc2p3rX7OC
The ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state has already resulted in more than 100 fatalities and thousands of displaced residents. The first clashes occurred on May 3 following a “Tribal Solidarity March” organised by theAll Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in the hill areas to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Tensions rose in April as a result of a Manipur High Court decision ordering the state administration to make a decision regarding the Scheduled Tribe status issue. The Indian Army had already sent out about 10,000 soldiers and paramilitary units to quell the rioting and restore order.
The majority of Meiteis, who make up around 53% of the northeastern state’s population, reside in the Imphal Valley. Another 40% of the population is made up of the Naga and Kuki tribes, who live in the hill districts.
Home Minister Amit Shah visited the northeastern state on May 29 for a period of four days during which he held meetings with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, leaders of all political parties, civil society, women groups, tribal groups, and security personnel. He announced the formation of a peace committee and a judicial commission under the chairmanship of a retired Chief Justice of a High Court to investigate Manipur violence.
The instance transpired when Congressman and Disqualified Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi arrived in Manipur today for a two-day visit. While travelling towards Churachandpur, the most severely impacted region of Manipur, his convoy was stopped by a crowd in front of the Bishnupur Police Station.
Aadhaar-based face authentication transactions for service delivery are gaining robust momentum with monthly transactions in May touching an all-time high of 10.6 million, since its launch in October 2021.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics & IT on 29 June, this is the second consecutive month to register more than 10 million face authentication transactions. The number of face authentication transactions is on an upward trajectory and the monthly numbers clocked in May is an increase of 38 per cent, compared with such transactions reported in January 2023, indicative of its growing usage.
The artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) based face authentication solution developed in-house by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), is now being used by 47 entities, including state government departments, ministries in the central government and some banks.
Among many usages, Aadhaar-based face authentication transaction is being used for registering beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, for authentication of beneficiaries in the PM Kisan scheme and for generating digital life certificates at home by pensioners. It’s also being used for marking staff attendance at several government departments and for opening bank accounts at a few leading banks via their business correspondents.
Among several states, the government of Andhra Pradesh is using Aadhaar-based face authentication for Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for fee reimbursement to eligible higher education students and under EBC Nestham scheme for welfare delivery to women from economically backward segments.
Face authentication provides features like ease of usage, faster authentication and it is preferred as an additional modality to strengthen the authentication success rate along with fingerprint and OTP authentications. It captures live images for authentication. It is safe against any video replay attacks and static photo authentication attempts by anti-social elements.
The ministry said that face authentication is also working as a robust alternative and helping senior citizens and all those who have issues with the quality of their fingerprints due to several reasons, including manual work or health issues.
The month of May also saw the UIDAI executing 14.86 million Aadhaar update requests.
The ministry states that the Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a key role in the banking and non-banking financial services sectors by providing transparent & improved customer experience and helping in ease of doing business. More than 254 million e-KYC transactions were carried out in May alone.
By the end May 2023, the cumulative number of Aadhaar e-KYC transactions has gone past 15.2 billion. Continued adoption of e-KYC is significantly reducing customer acquisition cost of entities like financial institutions, telecom service providers among others.
Whether it is AePS for last mile banking, e-KYC for identity verification, or Aadhaar-enabled DBT for direct fund transfer or authentications, Aadhaar, the foundation of India’s digital public infrastructure and a tool of good governance, is playing a stellar role in improving the Ease of Living for residents.
Amidst the growing anti-Hindu sentiment in the United States, leftists and Islamists have joined hands to downplay ‘Hinduphobia’ and instances of hate crimes against the Hindu community.
One such nefarious attempt was made by Aparna Gopalan, the news editor of Jewish Currents, in collusion with ‘historian’ Audrey Truschke, ‘journalists’ Asad Raza, Pieter Friedrich, and Raqib Hameed Naik.
On Wednesday (June 28), Gopalan wrote a 7500-word propaganda piece, which was titled – ‘The Hindu nationalists using the pro-Israel playbook’. At the very onset, she misled her audience into believing that bulldozers are used by the Indian government to intimidate Muslims.
Screengrab of the tweet by Jewish Currents
“The Washington Post called the bulldozer “a polarising symbol of state power under Narendra Modi,” whose ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is increasingly enacting a program of Hindu supremacy and Muslim subjugation,” she wrote in her article in Jewish Currents.
In reality, the BJP government has been razing illegal structures, irrespective of the faith or political affiliations of the accused. The illegally acquired properties of dozens of criminals and mafias have been demolished so far and the names include non-Muslims like Vikas Dubey, Yogesh Bhadora, Ramesh Pradhan, Badan Singh, Sundar Bhati, Vijay Mishra and many others.
In September last year, the BJP government in Uttarakhand demolished a resort, owned by Pulkit Arya (the son of an ex-BJP minister), after he was arrested for murder. Aparna Gopalan thus tried to claim deceptively that action has been taken only against the Muslim community.
Attempts to downplay acts of Hinduphobia
Throughout her vicious piece, the news editor of Jewish Currents made concerted attempts to downplay acts of Hinduphobia. For instance, the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee (TDMC) in New Jersey passed a resolution in September 2022, labelling several Hindu organisations as “foreign hate groups”.
The organisations included the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), SEWA International, Infinity Foundation, and the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation. TDMC demanded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) should step up research on “foreign hate groups that have domestic branches with tax-exempt status”.
After all Hindu organisations put up a united front, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC) condemned the Hinduphobic resolution. Aparna Gopalan lamented that the attempt to institutionalise Hinduphobia did not work.
#BREAKING. Thanks to the efforts of a broad coalition of Hindu orgs in NJ, @NJDSC has official condemned the anti-Hindu resolution by @DemsTeaneck which targeted Hindu orgs & supported #Hinduphobia. We will continue to work with lawmakers & educate them on such matters????. 1/n pic.twitter.com/ElHGO0EX41
— CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) (@CoHNAOfficial) September 30, 2022
She wrote, “The Teaneck incident is one of many in which Hindu groups have worked to silence criticism of Hindu nationalism by decrying it as anti-Hindu or “Hinduphobic.”
The sinister agenda of the editor of Jewish Currents became obvious when she roped in ‘historian’ Audrey Truschke, who is known for trivialising the atrocities perpetuated by the Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb on his Hindu subjects.
“The Hindu right wants to distract from India’s catastrophic human rights record…So there’s a lot of value in portraying Hindus as victimised people,” the Aurangzeb cheerleader was quoted as saying.
Tarnishing the image of Hindu advocacy groups
Aparna Gopalan also saw to it that the credibility of US-based Hindu advocacy groups was diminished through her propaganda piece. One of her primary targets was the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). As such, she onboarded ‘journalist’ Raqib Hameed Naik to tarnish the image of HAF.
Naik is infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. It is thus obvious that he will discredit organisations, which are actively working for the Hindu cause.
Gopalan thus roped him in to bad mouth the Hindu American Foundation, and he certainly stood by her expectations. “What the HAF is trying to do is to conflate Hindutva with Hinduism—to prove that a criticism of Hindutva is an attack on Hinduism. There is no doubt that the HAF subscribes to the ideology of Hindutva,” Naik brazened it out.
The goal of this definition is to “conflate Hindutva with Hinduism—to prove that a criticism of Hindutva is an attack on Hinduism,” Kashmiri American journalist @raqib_naik of @HindutvaWatchIn told me 11/
In conjunction with him, Aparna Gopalan also sought to downplay efforts made by HAF to create awareness about Hinduphobia. She also quoted ‘journalist’ Peter Friedrich, known for his ties with a Khalistani and ISI operative, to further her agenda.
The news editor of Jewish Currents also hit out at the student group ‘Hindu on Campus’ and the ‘Coalition of Hindus in North America (CoHNA)’ for popularising the term ‘Hinduphobia.’
Since our words can't be twisted, we are left out of the conversation and profs with a history of harassment speak over us. Before this article was even posted, @aparna_gopalan blocked us.
Anyway, this isn't all. There are a LOT of lies to unpack in this article. Let's begin! pic.twitter.com/kFJ3dS5giI
Aparna Gopalan also went on a diatribe against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and suggested that ‘Hindutva’ was on full display, even in the apex court of India. Her conclusion was based on the fact that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Hindus in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi verdict.
She also cited ‘journalist’ Azad Essa to claim that RSS-backed organisations have been mushrooming in the United States. Essa is the same scribe who passed off the Islamic terrorist organisation, ‘Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),’ as a ‘Pakistan-based group in November last year.’
While trying to cast aspersions on the role of LeT in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, he had claimed, “Saturday marked the first day of the (Mumbai) attack, 14 years ago, which India blamed on the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba.” The news editor of Jewish Currents quoted the ‘journalist’ to fearmonger about the formation of Hindu advocacy groups in the United States.
HAF claimed the conference was an “all-you-can-eat-buffet of Hinduphobia” and that it sought to “oppose and ‘dismantle’ the Bharatiya Janata Party, a democratically elected party in India”—collapsing of the distinction between Hinduism and the BJP 15/
Nonetheless, she was upset that Hindu organisations across the globe put up a united front to oppose the anti-Hindu event named ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’. Opindia reported in September 2021 how the event was targeting ‘Hinduism’ in the name of critiquing a political ideology.
Aparna Gopalan also attacked the Hindu American Foundation for not blindly believing in the dubious ‘Cisco caste discrimination’ case and suing the State of California.
The dismissal comes after @HinduAmerican filed a claim in US District Court that @CalDFEH’s case against @Cisco & the engineers infringed on the civil rights of Hindus living in California by unconstitutionally and falsely asserting that Hinduism mandates caste discrimination.
— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) April 10, 2023
Downplaying hate crimes against Hindus in the US
She wrote, “The HAF has also worked to mainstream the notion that “Hinduphobia” is running rampant in American society.” The news editor of Jewish Currents then went on to suggest that hate crimes against Hindus in the United States are ‘few’, ‘isolated’ and not necessarily the result of ‘Hinduphobia.’
“Progressive Hindu leaders oppose such attacks but question whether all of them truly constitute anti-Hindu hate crimes, noting that Gandhi is a regular target for pro-Khalistan activists,” she insinuated.
While ignoring the underreporting of hate crimes against Hindus, Aparna Gopalan stated, “Indeed, the data on anti-Hindu hate crimes undermine the contention that bigotry against Hindus is on the rise.”
‘Historian’ Audrey Truschke, known for her anti-Hindu views, readily agreed to the claims and remarked, “(It is)designed to take individual cases and assert a structural problem.”
NCRI’s latest paper on “Anti-Hindu Disinformation: A Case Study of Hinduphobia on Social Media.” was released today on KQED/NPR
— Network Contagion Research Institute (@ncri_io) July 13, 2022
As such, it comes as no wonder why both Truschke and Gopalan rejected a comprehensive report, prepared by the researchers at Network Contagion Lab at Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NC Lab) and highlighting the rise of Hinduphobia on social media and messaging platforms.
While denying the existence of anti-Hindu hate and promoting known ‘Hinduphobes’, Gopalan wrote, “Some progressive scholars and journalists—including Essa, Friedrich, Naik, and Truschke—argue that it is important to continue poking holes in the idea that Hinduphobia is a real phenomenon.”
Cries foul over collaboration between Hindu and Jewish advocacy groups
The Hindu advocacy groups in the United States have reached out to their Jewish counterparts, who are often the subject of prejudice and denialism by the same leftist-Islamist ecosystem.
HAF, for instance, works with American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Aparna Gopalan lamented that the active collaboration between the Jewish and Hindu groups in the US had facilitated good defence deals between India and Israel.
Like much Hindu nationalist activity in the US, the Hinduphobia strategy is modeled on the work of Jewish groups like American Jewish Committee (AJC) and AIPAC, especially their efforts to codify a definition of antisemitism that places much criticism of Israel out-of-bounds 8/ pic.twitter.com/6hdL6Q7YY7
As such, she sought refuge in an outfit (Hindus for Human Rights) with active ties to a radical Islamist advocacy group named ‘Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).’ Nikhil Mandalaparthy, known for anti-Hindu troupes, is the Deputy Executive Director of ‘Hindus for Human Rights’.
He claimed, “The same playbook and even sometimes the same terms…copy-pasted from the Zionist context.” Azad Essa also suggested that the relationship between Hindu and Jewish groups has been brewing in the US since the 1990s.
“Driven by that sense of shared purpose, the AJC and AIPAC helped train new Indian American political groups—such as the Indian American Political Action Committee and the United States India Political Action Committee—to achieve their aims in Washington,” wrote Aparna Gopalan.
She cried foul over the webinar of the Hindu American Foundation with ‘StandWithUs’, a Jewish organisation that advocates for Israel, on December 8 last year. During the virtual interaction, Suhag Shukla of HAF shared with Peggy Shapiro the challenges faced by both Hindu and Jewish communities.
The duo also noted how vested interests tend to deny both anti-Semitisim and Hinduphobia in the same breath. Unimpressed by the discourse, Aparna Gopalan claimed, “The event is part of a broader collaboration between the Israel advocacy group and its Hindu counterpart.”
Views of Aparna Gopalan about CAA, Article 370 revocation
The news editor of Jewish Currents also resorted to peddling hysteria about the supposed ‘Muslim genocide’ in India by citing reports from USCIRF, among others.
Her anti-India stance became evident when she labelled the revocation of Article 370 as stripping of “constitutional protections from residents of the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir” by Narendra Modi.
As such, her disdain for the Hindu American Foundation also became crystal clear. In her propaganda piece, Aparna Gopalan wrote, “…On Kashmir, the HAF declares that the region “always has been and always will be an integral part of the Indian civilisational state,” a line almost identical to that of BJP defense minister Rajnath Singh.”
She also attempted to present a distorted version of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to her readers.”…(Modi) passed a law that creates a fast track to citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants, laying the groundwork for a religious test for Indian nationality,” Gopalan claimed.
In reality, CAA is meant to fast-track the citizenship of religious minorities who have escaped persecution in the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and have settled in India illegally before December 31, 2014.
Given that Muslims are not minorities in these Islamic countries, hence, they have not been included in CAA. Muslim immigrants from these three nations are, however, free to apply for citizenship through other routes.
Promoting anit-India outfits
Aparna Gopalan also threw her weight behind Sunita Viswanath of the ‘Hindu for Human Rights.’ She wrote, “Since its founding, HfHR has joined a small circle of anti-Hindutva groups in organizing against the Hindu right. To do so, they must contend with the emotional power of the new Hinduphobia strategy.”
In April 2022, OSINT handle ‘Disinfo Lab’ pointed out that the ‘Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR)’ was at the helm of promoting the misleading narrative of ‘Hindu Vs Hindutva’. The same organisation was also seen endorsing the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ event.
As per Disinfo Lab, HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by two Islamist advocacy groups named Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI). Interestingly, the three organisations had formed another outfit called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA).
As per an article in The Hindu, the Alliance for Justice and Accountability had been at the forefront of leading demonstrations against the visit of PM Modi to Houston on September 22, 2019.
According to Disinfo Lab, Sunita Vishwanath also runs an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women, which is funded by the Soros Open Society Foundation (and eyeing a colour revolution in India)
Earlier, she had tried to create hysteria among Indian Muslims about the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “We are especially appalled by the most recent nightmare of the Kashmiri people and the situation of 1.9 million people in India who are rendered stateless due to the imposition of the travesty called the National Register of Citizens”, she had said.
The web of anti-India propaganda, as researched by DisinfoLab
Towards the end of her vicious article, Aparna Gopalan expressed hope that anti-Hindu and anti-India propaganda outfits will one day eclipse the efforts of Hindu advocacy groups in the United States
“Hindutva organisations may have positioned themselves as the representatives of the US Hindu diaspora, but Mandalaparthy said that groups like HfHR are contesting for space,” she concluded.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday issued a statement denying reports that it had refused to issue a censor certificate to the movie ’72 Hoorain’ and its trailer. The CBFC said that the film ’72 Hoorain’ directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan is already certified and the trailer certification of the film is in process. This press note by the CBFC came in response to some reports in the media claiming that the film certification has been restricted owing to certain corrections.
In the press note, the CBFC said, “Misleading reports are being circulated in certain sections of media that a film and its trailer titles ‘Bahattar Hoorain (72 Hoorain)’ has been refused certification by Central Board of Film Certification.”
Misleading reports are being circulated that a film and its trailer titled "Bahattar Hoorain (72 Hoorain)" has been refused certification by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Contrary to the reports, CBFC states that the film was granted 'A' certification. Now, the… pic.twitter.com/6k2cw4zKbX
According to the CBFC, it has asked the makers of the movie to make certain changes to the trailer and has not rejected it, as portrayed in reports. However, the trailer was released without the certificate, following which the CBFC issued a show-cause notice, and asked to implement the changes.
The CBFC stated in the press note, “The film ‘Bahattar Hoorain (72 Hoorain)’ was granted ‘A’ certification and the certificate was issued on 4-10-2019. Now, the trailer of said film is under due process which was applied to CBFC on 19-6-2023 and examined in accordance with the guidelines issued under section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.”
The board further said, “The applicant was asked for the requisite documentary submissions under intimation and upon receipt of the same, certification was granted subject to modifications. A show cause notice communicating the modifications was issued to the applicant/filmmaker on 27-6-2023 the same is pending the applicant’s response/compliance. Thus, any misleading reports may not be entertained or circulated hereinafter when the matter is under due process.”
On Tuesday, June the critically acclaimed film ’72 Hoorain,’ co-produced by Ashoke Pandit was given a list of modifications by the censor board to be made in the movie’s trailer. But the trailer was released on Wednesday without the changes. Producer Ashok Pandit said that the changes were asked at the last moment, and they had already prepared for the launch of the trailer. He also questioned the board for asking cuts in the trailer, when the trailer is made from scenes taken from the movie which was already cleared by the board in 2019.
Pandit said, “72 Hoorain won the National award as well as an award at IFFI. The film’s trailer has been cut from the film itself. So, either the National Award was wrong or this rejection of the censor certificate is wrong. I want to know on what basis our trailer was not given a censor certificate. I request Prasoon Joshi to find out who were the officials who didn’t give the certificate. I also request the I&B Minister Anurag Thakur to issue an inquiry into this matter. We are very hurt and shocked by this reaction.”
He said that the shots asked to be removed from the trailer, a shot with a foot and a word from Quran, are these shots are there in the movie cleared by the CBFC. “I would like to tell that this film is not against any person or religion. This film is dealing with terrorism. All we want to ask is why the shots that are okay in the film are not okay in the trailer,” Ashok Pandit said. He also demanded an inquiry against those people who have rejected the certificate for the trailer.
The film is scheduled for release on July 7. The film, directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and featuring Pavan Malhotra and Aamir Bashir in prominent roles, explores the repercussions of religiously motivated Islamic terrorism.
Next month, a prominent international health body is expected to designate one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners, aspartame, to be potentially carcinogenic.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the cancer research arm of the World Health Organisation (WHO), will list aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first time in the month of July. Aspartame is an ingredient used in products like diet colas, chewing gums, and snapple drinks.
The IARC decision, which was made earlier this month following a meeting of the group’s outside specialists, aims to determine whether or not aspartame poses a risk based on all available published information.
It does not consider the maximum amount of a product that a person can safely ingest. Along with decisions made by national regulators, this advice for individuals is provided by a different expert committee of the WHO, JECFA (the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization’s Expert Committee on Food Additives) which focuses on food additives.
Similar IARC decisions for various chemicals in the past have sparked lawsuits, encouraged producers to rework formulations, and encouraged consumers to seek alternatives. This has given rise to complaints that the public may find the IARC’s assessments perplexing.
This year, JECFA, the WHO committee on additives, is also examining the usage of aspartame. Its meeting started at the end of June, and it is scheduled to release its conclusions on July 14—the same day the IARC publicises its verdict.
JECFA has stated since 1981 that aspartame is safe to ingest within established daily limits. For instance, a 60 kg (132 lb) adult would have to consume between 12 and 36 cans of diet cola each day, depending on the amount of aspartame in the beverage, to put themselves in danger. National regulators, including those in the United States and Europe, mostly shared this viewpoint.
According to an IARC spokesperson, the conclusions of the IARC and JECFA committees are both “confidential” until July but are “complementary,” with the IARC’s decision serving as “the first fundamental step to understand carcinogenicity.” The additives committee “conducts risk assessment, which determines the probability of a specific type of harm (e.g., cancer) to occur under certain conditions and levels of exposure.”
However, the business community and officials worry that scheduling two processes close together could be confusing. Nozomi Tomita, a representative from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, wrote to Zsuzsanna Jakab, the deputy director general of the World Health Organisation, on March 27 saying, “We kindly ask both bodies to coordinate their efforts in reviewing aspartame to avoid any confusion or concerns among the public.” The letter also demanded that both bodies’ results be published on the same day, which is presently taking place.
Danger caused by aspartame
Aspartame has undergone the most extensive research and testing of any chemical food additive over the past 40 years, including investigations into potential cancer-related effects. A review of more than 100 studies revealed no proof that aspartame is harmful. Around 100 countries around the world, including India, permit the use of aspartame and label it safe for use. Several products sold in India like Sugar-Free, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Jams, jellies, frozen desserts, chewing gums, etc are allowed to use aspartame by FSSAI.
Debate revolving around aspartame and IARC
The conclusions of the IARC may be quite significant. In 2015, its committee reached the “probably carcinogenic” conclusion regarding glyphosate. Even after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and other organizations disputed this, the decision’s impacts were still being felt by businesses. In 2021, German company Bayer’s third attempt to overturn judgments from American courts awarding damages to clients who claimed their use of the company’s glyphosate-based weedkillers caused their malignancies failed.
The IARC’s decisions have also come under fire for raising unnecessary concerns about things or circumstances that are difficult to avoid. It had previously classified using mobile phones as “possibly cancer-causing,” similar to aspartame, and classifying working overnight and eating red meat as “probably cancer-causing” activities.
“IARC is not a food safety body and their review of aspartame is not scientifically comprehensive and is based heavily on widely discredited research,” Frances Hunt-Wood, the secretary general of the International Sweeteners Association (ISA) said. The group said it had “serious concerns with the IARC review, which may mislead consumers” and was made up of members such as Mars Wrigley, a Coca-Cola subsidiary, and Cargill.
Kate Loatman, executive director of the International Council of Beverages Associations, stated that the “leaked opinion” should cause public health authorities to be “deeply concerned” and that it “could needlessly mislead consumers into consuming more sugar instead of choosing safe low-sugar options.”
Numerous studies on aspartame have been conducted over the years. An observational study conducted in France last year involving 100,000 participants revealed a small increase in cancer risk among those who ingested more artificial sweeteners, including aspartame.
According to the reports, it came after a study from the Ramazzini Institute in Italy in the early 2000s claimed that aspartame may have caused some tumors in mice and rats. However, the first study was unable to demonstrate that aspartame was responsible for the elevated cancer risk, and concerns have been voiced about the second study’s methodology, notably by EFSA, who evaluated it.
Regulators have approved the consumption of aspartame around the world after thoroughly examining the facts, and significant food and beverage manufacturers have defended the use of the chemical for decades. The IARC reported that in their review from June, it had evaluated 1,300 studies.
According to individuals close to the IARC, the IARC’s decision to list aspartame as a potential carcinogen is meant to spur further investigation that will enable agencies, consumers, and producers to make more informed decisions. But it’s also likely to reignite discussion about the IARC’s function and the general safety of sweeteners.
The WHO published recommendations last month telling people not to use artificial sweeteners to lose weight. The rules sparked a controversy in the food business, which claims they can be beneficial for consumers looking to cut back on their intake of sugar.
On Thursday (June 29), while Muslims across the world are celebrating Eid-Al-Adha or Bakrid or Bakri Eid, the people of the minority Islamic sect of Ahmadis in Pakistan’s Punjab district have been denied permission for the same. According to reports, the Punjab police have issued a directive to stop minority Ahmadi Muslims from organising Qurbani (sacrifice) and offering Namaz, even from within their houses, during the Islamic festival of Bakrid.
Local media reports suggest that the notice had been sent to all local police stations asking police personnel to stop Ahmadis from performing Qurbani, as it is “offensive to other Muslims”.
The police as per the reports, have warned that if any Ahmadiyya persons violate these directives, they could face jail or financial penalty under 298-B and 298-C (Ahmadi blasphemy laws) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
In a video journalist Naila Inayat posted on Twitter, a local Ahmadi is heard confirming that the police have strictly directed them not to organise Qurbanis or offer Namaz outside or even inside their homes. He further says that the police in the Punjab province of Pakistan police have made it clear that any Ahmadia who is seen offering Namaz or performing Qurbani even within the premises of their respective homes will face charges under the strict blasphemy laws, along with the females of the home.
Freedom to practice religion, not for Ahmadis in Pakistan. Now, Ahmadi families offering Eid prayers, sacrificing animals even within their homes are threatened to be booked for blasphemy under 298-C. pic.twitter.com/HPxBkX7cly
A report by local media Dawn read that the police received several complaints wherein the complainants cited Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, contending that Ahmadis can neither call themselves Muslims nor adopt Shaair-i-Islam (Islamic rites).
The complaint further claimed that Ahmadis had been classified as non-Muslims in accordance with Articles 106(3) and 260(3) of the Constitution, the latter of which contains definitions of what constitutes a Muslim and what does not.
Ahmadis are “also non-Muslims according to various orders of high courts and the Federal Shariat Court (FSC), particularly a 1993 order of the Supreme Court,” the complaint continued.
According to the complainant, Ahmadis “cannot adopt Islamic rites or preach their religion” because of these reasons.
Another complaint sent to the Jaranwala police stated the same grounds for prohibiting Ahmadis from doing animal sacrifices on Eid-ul-Adha, stating that the practice was an Islamic tradition.
Another complaint submitted to Jaranwala police provided the same grounds for restraining Ahmadis from sacrificing animals on Eid-ul-Adha, stating that the ritual was an Islamic rite.
The complainant asked police to seek a list of Ahmadis residing in Jaranwala, summon them and inform them that “they cannot sacrifice animals” on Eid-ul-Adha.
And “if they sacrifice animals, a case should be registered against them,” the complaint added.
A similar complaint, as per Dawn.com, was submitted to the police in Kotli. In it, the complainant stated that if directives prohibiting Ahmadis from sacrificing animals were not issued before Eid-ul-Adha, the situation would worsen. “It would lead to “anarchy, clash[es] and destroy peace,” read the complaint.
Additionally, the Lahore High Court Bar Association also wrote to Pakistan’s Punjab Home Department. The letter stated that on Eid-ul-Adha, the adoption of Islamic rites of Eid prayers and sacrifice of animals was “exclusively only for Muslims”.
In the letter dated June 22, it demanded that the Home Department send instructions to SHOs directing them to take “all necessary and requisite preemptive and preventive measures to bound and restrain illegal use of Shaair-i-Islami (gathering for Eid prayer and Qurbani)” on all three days of Eid-ul-Adha.
Who are the Ahmadis or Ahmadiyyas
Ahmadis in Pakistan represent a persecuted minority and the exclusion of Ahmadis is even enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan.
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a prominent Muslim scholar and reformer, formed this Community in Qadian, India, in 1889. The movement he founded condemned any kind of terrorism and the use of aggressive violence to preach religion, i.e. the current concept of ‘Jihad’. The extremist ulemas are vehemently opposed to this benign interpretation of Islam. For years, they have exploited it as a pretext to exclude this community from the folds of Islam. In many Islamic nations, especially Pakistan, the Mullahs (the mediaeval orthodox clergy), politicians, and the military in power have collaborated to oppress and persecute this reformist Community.
In 1974, ZA Bhutto, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, saw it as a political benefit to impose “non-Muslim” status on Muslim Ahmadis by a constitutional amendment. The “mullahs” backed this amendment wholeheartedly. This amendment paved the way for the Community’s persecution. Since then, the state and the Mullahs have worked together to persecute Ahmadis.
Ten years after the Amendment, in 1984, dictator President Zia-ul-Haq introduced Ordinance XX, which further increased the quandary of the Ahmadis in Pakistan. This legislation made it a crime for Ahmadis to practise or simply announce their beliefs in Islam, punishable by three years in jail and an unlimited fine.
As a result, since the year 1984, hundreds of Ahmadis have been severely abused and persecuted for their faith and the institutional apathy towards them has only increased the difficulties of these persecuted minorities.
Notably, the plight of Ahmadis in the Islamic state of Pakistan is so pathetic that have been excluded from the Pakistani government’s minority commission aimed at safeguarding the rights of the country’s minorities. According to the Pakistani constitution, Ahmadis can’t call themselves Muslims, and they can’t call their place of worship as mosques. Moreover, their places of worship can’t look like a Masjid or Mosque, and they can’t have a structure like minarets. Moreover, Ahmadis also can’t write the Kalima-e-Tayyiba on their walls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday referred to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as “Paltu babu” (one who changes decisions) and attacked him for questioning the work done by the Centre during the past nine years.
Shah said Nitish Kumar should have some regard for those with whom he has shared power and because of whom he became CM. Amit Shah arrived in Bihar’s capital Patna on Thursday for a one-day visit to Lakhisarai district.
“Paltu babu Nitish Kumar was asking what had been done (by the centre in nine years. At least have some regard for those with whom you shared power and because of whom you became the Chief Minister. A lot of work was done by PM Modi across the country in these nine years,” said Shah at a rally in Bihar’s Lakhisarai.
Praising PM Narendra Modi for the stature he has achieved in global politics, Shah said, “These nine years have been years of India’s glory. Wherever PM Modi goes, be it the US or England or France or Egypt – you hear chants of ‘Modi, Modi’. He went to the US recently, some Heads of State sought appointment with him, some others – his autograph, while some others touched his feet for blessings. This respect for PM Modi across the world is not only his or BJP’s but that of crores of Indians…”
While mentioning the PM Modi-led government’s response towards Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Shah accused UPA governments for remaining silent on Pak-sponsored terrorism and said, “Earlier, when Pak inspired terrorists used to attack, Sonia-Manmohan’s government did not retaliate and remained silent as ‘Mouni Baba’ while sitting in Delhi. But when there were attacks in Pulwama and Uri during PM Modi’s tenure, Modi ji retailed within 10 days by doing surgical strike and air strike in Pakistan.”
“Congress, JD-U, RJD, and Mamata Banerjee used to say that if Article 370 gets abrogated there will be a blood bath in Kashmir. But I would like to tell Rahul Baba no one dared to throw a stone,” said Amit Shah.
After addressing the rally he offered prayers in the historic Ashok Dham temple and met with trustees of Mandir as part of the party’s ‘Sampark Se Samarthan’ Abhiyan. He also visited the residence of Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha.
Earlier speaking to ANI regarding Amit Shah’s visit to the state, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that after completion of the programs in Lakhisarai, the Home Minister will directly reach Patna’s Gandhi Maidan rally venue where he will address a public meeting on the completion of nine years of the Modi government.
Rai said that this is going to be a historic visit like his earlier visits to the state.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
A complaint was lodged in Vadodara against an individual named Irfan, who concealed his identity and lured Hindu girls into a love trap. His modus operandi involved taking the victim girls to hotels by presenting false identity cards. Additionally, evidence has surfaced indicating his communication with other girls through his mobile phone. This situation has caused significant anger among the Hindu community and organizations. Recognizing the gravity of the matter, the local police has been alerted.
According to reports, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Affairs Harsh Sanghvi has taken cognizance of the incident. Sanghvi said that the police have been ordered to carry out regular checks in hotels for suspicious activities. He has ordered the police to register a complaint in the Vadodara incident and accordingly, two agencies of the government are investigating. “The families of the girls are requested to come forward with courage and lodge the complaints. We promise to keep the name and identity of the family a secret,” he added.
વડોદરામાં ઇરફાને હિંદુ નામ સાથે રૂમ બુક કરીને યુવતી સાથે લવ જેહાદ કરવાની ઘટના#HarshSanghvi બાદ સરકાર એક્શનમાં.
ગૃહ રાજ્યમંત્રી હર્ષ સંઘવી ( @sanghaviharsh ) એ આપ્યું નિવેદન.
કહ્યું, "અમે આ બાબતે ખુબ ગંભીરતાથી પગલાં ભરવા માટે મક્કમ છીએ"
Harsh Sanghvi said that he has ordered an inquiry by the police immediately after the matter came to light. He added, “Checking is going on in all hotels not only in Vadodara but across Gujarat to ensure that such cases do not happen. Also, if such an incident comes to anyone’s notice, inform the police immediately, we are determined to take very serious steps in this matter.”
Two complaints have been filed against Irfan
Recently, on 23rd June 2023, Bajrang Dal activists from Vadodara city caught a Muslim man who lured a Hindu girl and took her to a hotel where he presented a fake Hindu identity card. The youth named Irfan Diwan stayed in the hotel by giving a false ID. Police have arrested three people, including Irfan Diwan, in connection with the case.
According to Makarpura police, recently a video went viral on social media in which it was said that a Muslim youth and a Hindu girl were staying in a hotel near Tarsali Bridge by submitting a false Aadhaar card. When the matter came to the notice of the police, the officers reached the guest house and inquired about the video.
During the interrogation conducted by the Vadodara police and the subsequent investigation of the hotel’s register, it was uncovered that a young man named Irfan Diwan had checked into the hotel using the alias “Hiten Thakor” and provided a fake Aadhaar card bearing the same name. After registering the case, the police arrested the trio, including the hotel manager, Irfan Diwan, and Irfan’s friend, Hiten Thakor, for violating the notification by allowing entry into the hotel without proper verification. The arrests were made after the police registered a case against them.
One day later, another individual came forward and filed a complaint against Irfan. The victim, residing in the Maneja area of the city, stated in the complaint that she had been subjected to harassment by Irfan for an extended period. Due to fear, she had refrained from speaking out until now. However, upon learning that a case had been registered against Irfan, the girl gathered the courage to file a complaint at the Manjalpur police station.
Preliminary findings in an ongoing investigation into the Chinese spy balloon that breached the US airspace have reportedly revealed that the craft was indeed intended for spying.
It was further revealed that the spy balloon was loaded with US-made equipment which helped it collect images, videos, and other information. The balloon was equipped with commercially available US components and interspersed with specialised Chinese sensors to transmit collected information back to China.
The investigation is being conducted by several US agencies along with the FBI who are analysing the debris retrieved after the US forces shot down the balloon on February 4, 2023.
A satellite-like device was suspended from the balloon with sensors, solar panels for power, and other devices to take photos, and videos and capture radar data. Officials said that with a propeller, the craft could maneuver over a site for long periods. US President Biden has described the balloon as carrying “two boxcars full of spy equipment.”
Details about how the balloon worked, how it was controlled and supposed to transmit data, and the sensors on it were also revealed.Investigators also traced purchase orders for some of the equipment and the purchasers’ relationship with the Chinese government.
According to a US media report, authorities described the Chinese balloon as an attempt at surveillance by Beijing combining off-the-shelf and specialised equipment. However, the craft didn’t appear to have sent the information back to China.
Whether the information transmission was blocked owing to a glitch or the Pentagon’s countermeasures to prevent information collection is not yet clear. In April this year, another report claimed that China had been able to gather intelligence from several US military sites despite the government’s efforts to block the same.
US media reports say it is highly unlikely that the US will make public the findings of the investigation. China had warned that should the US investigation report on the spy balloon become public, it will be forced to give a strong reaction.
Opposition leaders have criticised the Biden administration for delaying the release of the report for fear of further tensions in the already strained US-China relations.
What is the Chinese spy balloon case
On January 24, 2023, a giant white balloon was spotted drifting over Alaska, the mainland US and Canada which flared tensions between the US and China. While the US suspected Beijing’s attempts to spy, the latter said it was only for meteorological research purposes. The balloon was shot down by the US Air Force on February 4, 2023.
Chinese spy balloon spotted around Asia
Reports have emerged of Chinese spy balloons being spotted in parts of Asia over the years.
Reports say Japan has confirmed spotting balloons over its territory whereas Taiwan said it will shoot down mainland Chinese balloons if they pose any threat.
