Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday yet again attempted to peddle lies in Washington hours after he claimed that his phone was being tapped by the Modi-led government. While addressing the press at the National Press Club, Washington DC in the United States, Gandhi spoke about the Indian-China dispute to claim that China has occupied Indian territory.
When asked about India’s relationship with China and about the Indian government’s statement saying ‘not an inch of Indian land has been occupied by China’, Rahul Gandhi claimed that China has occupied 1500 sq km of land and it’s a fact.
“The fact of the matter is that China is occupying our territory. Its an accepted fact. I think 1500 sq km land, land of size of Delhi is occupied by China and I think that is absolutely unacceptable. Prime Minister seems to believe otherwise. I don’t know, may be he knows something we don’t know,” Gandhi could be heard saying in the video that has been making rounds on social media.
China has occupied our territory, and it's an accepted fact. They have occupied 1500 sq km of land, and it is absolutely unacceptable. However, PM Modi believes otherwise.
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) June 1, 2023
Gandhi also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the way India is handling relations with China. As per the reports, Gandhi’s visit to the US comes weeks ahead of Modi’s scheduled US visit later this month.
Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India: MEA statements
The Congress leader happened to peddle lies by claiming that China is occupying India territory. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has time and again stated that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and that not an inch of Indian land belongs to China.
In January this year, External Affairs Minister slammed the Congress party for deliberately spreading misinformation regarding India-China relations. This is after Rahul Gandhi claimed last September that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 100 square kilometres of Indian territory to China without a fight.
Jaishankar then slammed saying that “some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue knowing it is not true for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently.”
He also pressed that some people in the opposition were deliberately trying to spread wrong news or information about China on purpose. “Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday,” he had reiterated.
It is notable that China occupied large chunks of Indian territory in 1962, and continues to illegally occupy these areas. But the Congress party and some media houses keep claiming from time to time that those are recent developments, which is completely false. Although regular skirmishes take place between Indian and Chinese forces, and the Chinese military often enters Indian territory, the Line of Actual Control largely remains unchanged.
‘No part of Arunachal Pradesh occupied by China’ confirmed Indian Army
Also, in the year 2017, Indian Army’s Eastern Army commander, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita had said that there was no Chinese incursion into Indian territory during the clashes at Tawang. He also had confirmed that no part of Arunachal Pradesh was occupied by the Chinese forces.
Further, recently in April this year, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. His statement had come after it was reported by Global Times that China had released names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese characters, Tibetan and pinyin according to the rules on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.
Outrightly rejecting China’s attempt to rename places of Arunachal Pradesh, MEA had said, “Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality. We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright.”
The United States stands with India, condemns China’s military aggression against India
Notably, the country in which Gandhi is at present, the United States had also condemned China’s military aggression and had said that Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India.
In March this year, the United States recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and Arunachal Pradesh in a bipartisan Senate resolution. Standing firm with India, the US in its statement had said that “China continues to pose grave and gathering threats to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific and we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region, especially India.”
Senator Bill Hagerty, who along with Senator Jeff Merkley introduced a resolution in the Senate continued by saying that the bipartisan resolution demonstrates the Senate’s support for categorically acknowledging Arunachal Pradesh as a constituent state of India. He also had denounced China’s aggressive military actions along the Line of Actual Control in an effort to alter the status quo.
India has also in the past called out China’s military adventurism and expansionist ambitions, which have resulted in numerous confrontations between the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The first big flare-up of this nature since Galwan (in Ladakh) Valley, occurred on December 9 in 2022, in the Yangtze area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. In 2020, the Galwan clash, initiated by China, on 15–16 June, resulted in many deaths, on both the Indian and Chinese sides. According to reports, 20 Indian and at least 38 Chinese soldiers were dead, in one of the worst conflicts between the two countries in 45 years.
It is important to note that this is second attempt by Rahul Gandhi to spread lies and defame the Modi-led government on the international platform. Yesterday, Gandhi who is on 10 day visit to the United States had claimed that his phone was being tapped by the Indian government. He also blatantly greeted his iPhone saying, “Hello, Modi ji,” as he assumed PM Modi was listening to his conversation.
Rahul Gandhi is on a 10-day USA tour, where he spoke at the National Press Club, Stanford University and also, to ‘think tanks’, allegedly discussing relations between India and USA. The Hudson Institute tweeted images of Rahul Gandhi in deep conversation with these “think tanks”. The event of Rahul Gandhi where he is talking at Hudson Institute, seated alongside Sunita Vishwanath is now being widely discussed.
Hudson was honored to host @RahulGandhi to discuss the state of US-India relations and further cooperation between both nations. ???? pic.twitter.com/fIUJhS4ooX
— Hudson Institute (@HudsonInstitute) June 1, 2023
This image led to substantial speculation and conversation about the nature of the discussion being held by Rahul Gandhi and the links of the program to Islamists, anti-India elements and George Soros.
Rahul Gandhi in USA at a meeting with ‘think tanks’
Seated next to Rahul Gandhi in this image is Sunita Vishwanath. USA based organisation HinduACTion tweeted the image saying, “Just wow!! Sunita Vishwanath, a Soros proxy, who works for one of the most anti-India orgs in the US that co-hosts events with radical orgs like ICNA and CAIR is part of @RahulGandhi’s inner circle. Is he just ignorant or is the future of India this bleak that the leader of the Opposition has been compromised to this degree? @sampitroda“.
Just wow!! Sunita Vishwanath, a Soros proxy, who works for one of the most anti-India orgs in the US that co-hosts events with radical orgs like ICNA and CAIR is part of @RahulGandhi’s inner circle. Is he just ignorant or is the future of India this bleak that the leader of the… pic.twitter.com/xH6VRJDX4F
There were several tweets after the Hudson Institute tweeted which spoke about the nefarious designs of Sunita Vishwanath and the fact that she was sharing the platform closely with Rahul Gandhi, who, on this trip, has whitewashed the Muslim League and spread vicious lies against India.
Sunita Vishwanath is the co-founder of a US-based organisation called “Hindus for Human Rights” which has spread lies and propaganda mainly against Hindus, allied with Islamists and has ties to George Soros.
Hindus for Human Rights and its active involvement in anti-India propaganda – George Soros, IAMC, Dismantling Global Hindutva and more
Investigating Info-warfare and Psy-war OSINT Disinfo Lab had conducted an investigation revealing that the ‘Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR)’ had been 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.
“The AJA comprises of Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, Sikh and Christian groups, among others. They include the Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), a progressive Hindu group that opposes Hindutva; the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC); and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI),” the article read.
According to Disinfo Lab, the co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, Sunita Vishwanath, also runs an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by the Soros Open Society Foundation. Earlier, OpIndia reported in detail how George Soros had been fuelling a dangerous anti-India narrative through media and ‘civil society.’
The web of anti-India propaganda, as researched by DisinfoLab
Interestingly, Sunita Vishwanath, who was pictured alongside Rahul Gandhi, had tried to create hysteria and panic 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. It is pertinent to note that even during this USA trip, Rahul Gandhi endorsed dangerous lies and propaganda against CAA and NRC, which led to anti-Hindu riots in 2020 in India.
HfHR’s founding member Raju also heads EKTA. It is an associate organization of IAMC. The sole purpose was to have Hindus on the panel to project that the Hindus, in general, were against Hindutva. Interestingly, HfHR ran Facebook ads to promote previous USCIRF reports.
The George Soros factor: Connecting Sunita Vishwanath and Rahul Gandhi
As mentioned in the brief above, the co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, Sunita Vishwanath, who has now been pictured with Rahul Gandhi, also runs an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by the Soros Open Society Foundation.
In January 2020, the American billionaire committed $1 billion to start a global university to “fight nationalists” and climate change, calling them twin challenges that threaten the survival of our civilization.
While speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros pledged to fund a university project to battle the erosion of civil society in a world increasingly ruled by “would-be and actual dictators” and climate change.
Soros also claimed that the “biggest and most frightening setback” was in India, as he accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “creating a Hindu nationalist state.”
He had claimed, “The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship”.
George Soros, through his Open Society Foundation, which started its operations in India first in 1999 by offering scholarships and fellowships to pursue studies and research at Indian institutions, Soros has made great strides in creating disorder within India. In the name of running philanthropic activities, the left-wing international organisation led by Soros has begun to spread its tentacles across the country by his active support to anti-India elements operating inside India.
In the last few decades, George Soros has time and again has shown his desperation to wage war against the nationalist government in India through various networks funded by him comprising of NGOs, media, intelligentsia, etc.
Regarding his philanthropy work, Soros’s OSF grasped a stronghold in India during the Obama regime. Ever since its entry into India, OSF has tried to interlope in the internal affairs of the nation through the vast and interconnected network of organisations funded by George Soros. These organisations play a vital role in manipulating the original narrative and take the help of the judiciary and media to hinder the national interest.
In 2008, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) joined hands with Omidyar Network, the Indian School of Business (ISB) and Google.org to launch their 17 million SONG fund to boost investment. Together with other networks, Soros has provided extensive grants to media running into millions to manipulate political narratives.
The Hungarian-American billionaire has also tried to use international institutions, which are funded by him, including Freedom House and V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute to tarnish the image of India at a global level.
Recently, George Soros had also commented on the Adani row post the Hindenburg report, which Rahul Gandhi had taken up vociferously to target the Modi government and even PM Modi personally, essentially revealing that the campaign against Adani could have been fuelled by George Soros himself, in an attempt to bring PM Modi down.
However, it does not end here, the ties between Congress and Soros go deeper, who is widely known for his anti-India views. On 31 October 2022, a person named Salil Shetty joined Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Harthikote in Karnataka. Salil Shetty is the global vice president of Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros. In its regular update on the Yatra on its website, Congress wrote, “Yatris commenced their journey from Harthikote this morning. Walking alongside Shri Gandhi, among others, were two social and human rights activists. Salil Shetty, previous Secretary General of Amnesty International. Also, Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, an organisation known for its work in helping bring about the ‘Right to Information Act’.”
Before becoming VP of Open Society Foundation, Shetty was secretary general of Amnesty International, another left-wing organisation known for its anti-India activities. Shetty’s involvement in India does not end with Bharat Jodo Yatra, earlier he was seen in several events against the Modi government.
From anti-CAA protests, which led to anti-Hindu Delhi riots (and the false propaganda used was again endorsed by Rahul Gandhi in his trip to USA this time) to farmers protest, which was hijacked by Khalistanis and also led to rampant violence, rapes and murders, Shetty was involved everywhere – the Soros man who walked with Rahul Gandhi.
If one notices, every trope that has been furthered by Sunita Vishwanath, who now sits with Rahul Gandhi and Salil Shetty, who walked with Rahul Gandhi, has been furthered and endorsed by Rahul Gandhi himself and the Congress party. From differentiating between Hinduism and Hindutva and using that trope to demonise Hindus to the Adani fiasco, anti-CAA propaganda, farmers protest, Indian democracy and more.
If the links between Congress and George Soros were being speculated about before, with this picture from the USA trip emerging, the speculations that Congress party is working in tandem with George Soros’ agenda have only deepened.
Sunita Vishwanath, Rahul Gandhi and IAMC – an Islamist organisations linked to terrorists
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). IAMC is of particular interest in this equation since the Islamist organisation is linked to terrorists and has also spread canards in India.
Rasheed Ahmed is the executive director of the Indian American Muslim Council, Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a radical Islamist group that has alleged links with banned terror organizations such as the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and has a long history of lobbying against India.
The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). A detailed report by Disinfo Lab has exposed its links with the terror outfit Jamat-e-Islami.
IAMC founder Shaik Ubaid and member Abdul Malik Mujahid have headed the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the US front for Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan. According to DisInfo Lab, ICNA has established links with Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Rasheed Ahmed, who heads the IAMC currently, was the former executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). IMANA’s Director of Operations is Zahid Mahmood, an ex-Pak Navy official.
IAMC had been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021.
IAMC had recently extended support to the wrestlers’ protest and under that garb, had also whitewashed terrorist Yasin Malik, who could not potentially get the death penalty and has been convicted in a court of law for terrorism and Aysha Renna, who is a rabid Islamist and had participated in the anti-CAA violence of 2019 and 2020.
Recently, IAMC had ssued a statement condemning the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha. In the statement, IAMC claimed that the defamation case against Gandhi was designed to harass and intimidate him. The organisation called his disqualification a “grave injustice and clear manifestation of the ruling party’s desperation to maintain its hold on power, decimate the opposition, and silence dissenting voices.” They then proceeded to demonise India using this lie, which we have seen Rahul Gandhi also do repeatedly, including in his current trip to the USA.
In fact, only 2 weeks ago on the 15th of May, the US State Department released a contentious report, decrying the supposed lack of religious freedom in India based on falsified and misleading data sourced from Christian evangelist groups and radical Islamist outfits. The 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom has been published by the Office of International Religious Freedom under the State dept. It was then revealed that the report placed reliance on organisations such as the Federation of Indian Christian Organization in North America (FIACONA), United Christian Forum, Open Doors USA, Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), International Christian Concern and Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) to allege atrocities on religious minorities in the country.
A detailed report on the nefarious anti-India activity of all these organisations can be read here, however, it is pertinent to note that the report which was spearheaded by IAMC was also supported by the opposition parties in India. In fact, the tropes about minorities under attack and religious freedom being denied in India is one of the cornerstones of Rahul Gandhi’s attack against India and PM Modi.
What makes this agenda far more sinister is the fact that IAMC seems to be involved in Rahul Gandhi’s USA trip as well.
On June 4, Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to speak at Javits Centre in New York and the US-based IOC is working extensively to make it a successful meeting. However, a certain registration form that is being circulated on social media has raised eyebrows. In the said form, which has now been closed for registration, the list of persons whom people can contact for more information has raised concerns as it contains the names of people who have alleged links to anti-India activities. List of people and mosques that have called for the registration are Tazeem Ansari and Niaz Khan of Masjid Al-WALI/MCNJ North Edison Woodbridge TWP NJ, Jaweed Syed, Habeeb Siddiqui and Mir Quadri of Masjid MCMC South Edison/Piscataway / East Brunswick NJ, Mohammed Aslam and Minhaj Khan of ISCJ/MCGP South Brunswick/ Kendall Park/Princeton NJ, Aquil Mohammed and Nazeer Syed of Masjid Sadar Sayreville/Old Bridge NJ and Shaheen Khateeb and Hashir Qazi of (Darul Islah) Teaneck NJ.
All the names mentioned in the form, urging Muslims to attend the 4th June event have problematic antecedents. For example, MCNJ is led by Imaam Jawad Ahmed, Project Director of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) who is of Pakistani origin. Notably, ICNA is a radical Islamist organisation that has connections to Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan. They have glorified Islamic terrorists including Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin for his views on separating Kashmir from India. Not to forget, his sons were removed from government offices in 2021. Furthermore, his son Syed Shakeel Yousuf was arrested by the security agencies in India in a terror funding case in 2018. Salahuddin also had links with Mehraj-ud-Din, a suspect in the Kandahar plane hijack in 1999.
Another name, Mohammed Aslam, who is a member of the Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), a close partner of ICNA. The Twitter user highlighted that fronts like Justice For All operate under ICNA. Recently, OpIndia reported how ICNA was propagating Islam in prisons in the US and converting prisoners. Furthermore, they were found running fundraisers for distributing Islamic literature, hijab, and other Islamic items in the prison. ICNA is consistently indulged in anti-India activities and often posts anti-Hindu and anti-India statements on social media.
(A detailed analysis of all the names mentioned in the form can be read here).
But one name is specifically of interest in this article. Minhaj Khan. According to DisinfoLab, Khan is linked to the anti-India lobbying group Indian American Muslim Council or IAMC.
It is therefore evident that the event of Rahul Gandhi in the USA has deep links to George Soros, IAMC and other Islamist, leftist organisations that spread anti-Hindu, anti-India propaganda on a regular basis.
On Thursday, June 1st, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar drawing his to the case of Baby Ariha Shah who is stranded in a foster home in Germany for the last twenty months.
Ariha Shah, the daughter of a Jain couple Bhavesh and Dhara Shah was 7 months old when she was separated from her parents by the authorities of the Germany Child Care Institute in 2020 after the baby was accidentally hurt by her grandmother. 20 months have passed since then but she has not been returned to her parents.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde writes to EAM Dr S Jaishankar, drawing his attention to the case of baby Ariha Shah, "stranded in foster home in Germany since last 20 months" and whose parents met him last week.
In his letter, CM Shinde first, congratulated the external affairs ministry for its successful operation in conflict-hit Sudan to bring back Indian citizens stranded there.
CM further stated that the parents of baby Ariha Shah who belongs to Mumbai are fighting relentlessly to bring their daughter back to India.
Letter written by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to EAM (Source: ANI)
“I would like to bring your kind attention to the case of Baby Ariha Shaha, stranded in foster home in Germany since the last twenty months. Her parents Dhara and Bhavesh Shah belong to Mumbai, Maharashtra and fighting relentlessly to bring back her baby back to India,” the letter reads.
The Maharashtra CM also informed EAM Jaishankar that the parents of Ariha Shah met him last week requesting him to pursue their case with the external affairs minister. CM Shinde urged Minister Jaishankar to take up the matter again with the German government. He also added that Ariha’s parents have informed him that there many such similar cases wherein Indian babies are forced to go through such a situation.
“Last week the depressed and anxious parents met me to pursue with External Affairs Ministry their case which I think is a genuine case. You have already intervened in this matter, but I will urge you to take up this matter again with the German Government. The parents have also informed us about many such similar cases of Indian babies undergoing this type of tragic situation,” the Maharashtra CM’s letter stated.
He requested the external affairs minister to give an appointment to Dhara and Bhavesh Shah to understand their concerns.
“I would even like to request you to give an in-person appointment to the parents to understand their concerns and the details of the case. The parents can be contacted at the following contact details: Dhara Shah (Mother) and Bhavesh Shah (Father).
Hope your intervention in this matter will give justice to the parents of the baby,” the letter stated.
Ariha Shah separated from her Indian parents by German authorities
Ariha Shah, a three-year-old girl, has been in German child rights custody for over the past year and a half. The parents of a three-year-old Jain girl are battling the German government for custody of their daughter. The girl was taken into custody by the German authorities because of suspected sexual abuse.
The Shah family members have also started an online petition to gather public support to get their daughter back into custody. In this petition, the details of the ordeal are also described. According to this petition, Ariha Shah’s father was posted in Germany on a work visa as a software engineer. In September 2021, the infant Ariha Shah was accidentally hurt by his paternal grandmother. When her parents brought her to the hospital, they were charged with sexual assault and the baby was taken away.
It is said in the petition that the criminal inquiry was concluded without charges in February 2022, but Ariha Shah is still in the custody of German authorities. Berlin Child Services has filed a civil custody case to terminate the parental rights of the Shah couple. This lawsuit will take 2-3 years to complete, the petition says.
In December 2022, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised this issue during a discussion with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
In a press conference back then, EAM Jaishankar informed, “We have concerns that the child should be in her linguistic, religious, cultural, and social environment. This is her right. And our embassy is pursuing the matter with German authorities, but it was also a subject which I had brought up with the minister.”
On June 02, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) issued a statement on Twitter over the controversy about changes made in the science curriculum of class 10 specifically around the periodic table.
NCERT has clarified that the decision was taken given the Covid-19 pandemic as an attempt to rationalise the contents of the textbooks in 2021. In a tweet thread, NCERT said that the students and teachers across the school stages were at home and used alternative modes for studies. NCERT followed certain criteria while rationalising the content of the textbooks as follows:
a. Overlapping with similar content included in the other subject area in the same class.
b. Similar content included in the lower or higher class in the same subject.
Overlapping with similar content included in the other subject area in the same class.
Similar content is included in the lower or higher class in the same subject.
High difficulty level.
Content, which is easily accessible to children and does not require much intervention from the teachers and can be learnt through self-learning or peer learning.
Content, which is not relevant in the present context or is outdated.
Learning outcomes already developed across the classes are taken care of in this rationalization exercise.
f. Learning outcomes already developed across the classes are taken care of in this rationalization exercise.
With respect to the removal of the concepts of periodic table and evolution are concerned, the same has not been removed from the school education curriculum but
Considering the above points, it was decided to keep the concepts of the periodic table and evolution in appropriate detail in classes 11 and 12. Furthermore, NCERT pointed out that the concept of evolution has been dealt with in appropriate detail in class 12. They noted, “A considered opinion emerged based on the feedback received from various stakeholders, including practising teachers, that children may not have to study the same concepts at different stages and it needs to be done at the appropriate stage. Therefore the same has been rationalized at this stage, more so considering the Covid pandemic situation.”
in fact are available in appropriate detail in classes 11 and 12.
Regarding rationalization of the concept of evolution: As far as the rationalisation of the content of evolution is concerned, the same has been dealt in appropriate details in classes 12 as stated above.
Regarding the periodic table, NCERT said that the discussion about basic concepts such as elements, symbols, and formation of compounds, atoms and molecules have been dealt with in class 9. Furthermore, chemical reactions; acids, bases and salts; metals and non-metals; carbon and its compounds have been covered in class 10. The students who choose science in classes 11 and 12 will study the details of the Periodic Classification of elements or the Periodic Table.
The content placed in the periodic table again have been made more age appropriate, more so considering the Covid pandemic situation. @EduMinOfIndia@ProfSaklani
NCERT said, “The content placed in the periodic table again has been made more age-appropriate, more so considering the Covid pandemic situation.”
Regarding dropping “chapters- ‘Democracy and Diversity’, ‘Challenges to democracy’ and ‘Popular struggles and movements’, NCERT said, “It is to clarify that dropping portions relating to social movements from class X, Political Science textbook, Democratic Politics II and class XII Politics in India Since Independence, the expert committee in the process of rationalisation was of the view that these are more appropriate to be part of Sociology subject. Chapter one of Class X, Democratic Politics- II already deals with some aspects of Social Movements.”
these are more appropriate to be the part of Sociology subject.
Chapter one of Class X, Democratic Politics- II already deals with some aspects of Social Movements.
As per reports, apart from the in-house experts, NCERT roped in 25 external experts from ICHR, Kendriya Vidyalayas, private schools and the faculty of Delhi University to rationalise the syllabus.
Controversy over changes in curriculum
It was reported earlier in media that NCERT has removed chapters on evolution and the periodic table from class 10 and it will be taught in class 11. That means students who do not choose science in High School will not learn about it. A controversy sparked over the decision.
So much so, a UK Biologist Richard Dawkins decided to attack Hinduism over the decision without learning the complete details of the changes made by NCERT. In a tweet, he wrote, “As per reports, apart from the in-house experts, NCERT roped in 25 external experts from ICHR, Kendriya Vidyalayas, private schools and faculty of Delhi University to rationalise the syllabus.”
Modi’s BJP is a tragic affront to India’s secular beginnings. Hinduism is at least as ridiculous as Islam. Between them, these two idiotic religions have betrayed the ideals of Nehru and Gandhi.https://t.co/1wIHXKeyGS
While NCERT has clarified that the rationalisation was made in accordance with the comments and remarks from the stakeholders and experts, the autonomous body is facing criticism due to misleading and incomplete information about the changes.
Rahul Gandhi is on a mission. While on his 10-day USA tour, we heard him talk about “Mohabbat ki dukaan in nafrat ki bazaar”, the trope quickly fell flat after he, during an interaction at the National Press Club in Washington, not only supported a party that has actively participated in the massacre of Hindus but also furthered dangerous lies about CAA that led to an anti-Hindu riot by Islamists in 2020.
On the 1st of June, Rahul Gandhi was in conversation at the National Press Club in Washington. During this interaction, the moderator asked him a question about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The interviewer asked, “What are your concerns with regard to the use of the Citizenship law to expel Muslim Indians who have lived in India for generations? How would you handle things differently”.
Ideally, one would expect Rahul Gandhi to correct the misinformation being furthered – misinformation which led to the 2020 anti-Hindu riots. However, he did no such thing. Here is what he said:
“I think all Indian people have a right to expression, all Indian people have a right to religious freedom, all Indian communities should feel free to express themselves. I don’t differentiate between any community or caste. I think India, as I mentioned, is a conversation, and the freer and more open that conversation, the more powerful India becomes”.
Firstly, it is evident that Rahul Gandhi’s answer was a complete cop-out to what the question was. While his rambling about freedom of expression has nothing to do with the question, his signalling after that was quite interesting. He spoke about how he does not differentiate between religions and communities and how India is a ‘conversation’.
Essentially, Rahul Gandhi first accepted the interviewer’s assertion as true and substantiated that comment by signalling that while he does not differentiate between religions and communities, PM Modi does, and therefore, CAA was discriminatory.
Interestingly, the interviewer had asked about the “Citizenship laws being used to expel Muslims that have lived in India for generations”. Since he mentioned the Citizenship law, one is quite certain that the reference being made was to the Citizenship Amendment Act, passed in 2019, lies about which were used as an excuse by the Islamists to go on an anti-Hindu rampage in 2020.
With this sinister agenda playing out in Washington, it becomes imperative to break down the issue step by step.
What was the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 – did it aim to “expel Muslims living in India for generations”?
It is important to understand that the object sought by the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is to provide a remedy to the minorities who are victims of religious persecution aftermath of the Partition of India as the new nation Pakistan declared itself an Islamic state. And further, this Act aims to provide exemption under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or inclusion in the Citizenship Act, 1955 those religious minorities who came to India before 31st December 2014 from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
This Act does not include Muslims as Muslims are not persecuted minorities in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This Act recognizes the right of Non-Muslims who came to India due to religious persecution from these three Muslim-majority nations.
This Amendment (CAA) adds proviso in section 2, in sub-section (1), in clause (b) in the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The proviso is:
“Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as an illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act.”
Essentially, the CAA attempted to make right a historical wrong. It is no secret that Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis are persecuted in neighbouring Islamic nations. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are all Islamic nations and have meted out grave injustices to their non-Muslim population. Religious persecution and massacres of non-Muslims are commonplace. India merely attempted to give those refugees a dignified life in India, who have been religiously persecuted in neighbouring Islamic nations. The act does not extend to Muslims because it would be outlandish to claim that Muslims are persecuted by Muslims in an Islamic nation. Further, Muslims are also free to apply for citizenship in India under other provisions and they have not been exempted.
The most important aspect, however, is that Indian Muslims do not fall under the ambit of the act at all. CAA had nothing to do with Indian Muslims and any suggestion to the contrary is a dangerous lie, which was used in 2020 by Islamists to go on a rampage against Hindus in India.
Therefore, the question that the interviewer asked Rahul Gandhi itself was a lie, which Rahul Gandhi was more than willing to perpetuate in his response as well.
How the CAA lie, now furthered by Rahul Gandhi in Washington, led to anti-Hindu Delhi riots in 2020
In July 2020, OpIndia published an elaborate report that traced how violence was carefully incited and executed since December 2019, leading up to the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. Since 2019 January, Assam had seen sporadic violence against Citizenship Amendment Bill. This violence was carefully extrapolated by Congress, AAP, Islamists and assorted leftists to spark violence in India.
What was lost in the shrill cacophony of the intolerant minority, however, was that the context of the Assam protests was completely different. The people of Assam were in essence, not protesting against the exclusion of Muslims from CAB, they were, in essence, not even protesting against giving Citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring Islamic nations like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. What they were protesting was the settlement of any refugee in the state of Assam which even included Hindus – to preserve Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
The coverage of OpIndia traced the misinformation being spread and the violence being fomented right from the 1st of December 2019, when a Congress politician stood up in the Parliament and labelled Amit Shah and Narendra Modi as illegal immigrants. Jairam Ramesh had added at the time that Congress will form an alliance with like-minded parties and entities to oppose CAB and NRC (there was, and still is not, any draft of a guideline issued for nationwide NRC).
Thereafter, from Assaduddin Owaisi calling it the Nuremberg laws to Sonia Gandhi delivering a speech saying the fight against CAA is an ‘aar ya paar ki ladai’, asking people to come out on the streets, politicians played with fire. Simultaneously, emboldened by Congress’ rhetoric, Islamists started organising themselves. The chargesheet filed in the larger conspiracy case traces Islamists (Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others) and protestors for hire like Yogendra Yadav, conspiring to foment violence ever since the 4th of December 2019.
Throughout December, January and even February, before the anti-Hindu riots, OpIndia documented widespread violence against Hindus from various parts of the country. Along with the violence, several speeches were delivered that exhorted Muslims to take to the streets and inflamed passions with misinformation, half-truths and whole lies.
Finally, on the 23rd of February, the Delhi anti-Hindu riots broke out, with several people losing their lives. We reported tales of horror – of Ankit Sharma being brutally stabbed multiple times, of Dilbar Negi’s limbs being chopped off and the rest of him being burnt alive, of women from Chand Bagh saying their daughters were stripped and sent home amidst sexual taunts from Muslim rioters and Muslim owned schools being used as terror launch pads.
While it was Rahul Gandhi’s mother in 2019 who wanted a do-or-die fight based on the lies about NRC and CAA, today, with the blood lust unsatisfied, Rahul Gandhi is furthering the same tropes that led to the violence in 2020.
The violence essentially started with politicians like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others lying that CAA and NRC were targeting Muslims. While CAA was meant for persecuted minorities of neighbouring Islamic Nations and had nothing to do with Indian Muslims, the lies furthered claimed that CAA, coupled with NRC, would ensure that Indian Muslims were “expelled from the country”. NRC, as already discussed, was a specific court-mandated exercise in Assam meant to ensure that illegal infiltrators were expelled. If one was an Indian Muslim living in India for generations, he would clearly not be asked to leave India. There still is, to this date, not even a draft for nationwide NRC. Even if one was to be created sometime in the future, it would aim to expel illegal infiltrators and not citizens of India – an exercise conducted by every nation – including the USA where Rahul Gandhi is now spreading lies.
With these lies already having claimed the lives of several Hindus and even Muslims, for Rahul Gandhi to further these dangerous tropes in Washington while attempting to signal that all communities are the same for him, reaks of a sinister agenda of dividing the nation and fomenting violence all over again. In fact, while Rahul Gandhi furthered lies and claimed that all communities are the same for him, he went on to claim that the Muslim League, an off-shoot of Jinnah’s party actively participated in the partition of India (which led to the need for CAA in the first place), is a ‘completely secular’ party.
What we see, therefore, is that in Washington, Rahul Gandhi has whitewashed Islamists who have indulged in the massacre of Hindus and participated in the partition of India on religious lines, called any party which is not hostile towards Hindus as non-secular and divisive, and furthered lies that led to a riot aimed at “teaching Kafirs a lesson” (as admitted by Tahir Hussain). While Congress tried to paint Rahul Gandhi as a ‘merchant of love’, his agenda, is clearly to sow seeds of hate, anarchy and violence in order to win political brownie points ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul Gandhi, who is now a former member of parliament after he was sentenced by a court of law, is in the USA on a 10-day tour. On the 1st of June, he spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, answering questions posed to him by the interviewer. During the interaction, Rahul Gandhi made a bizarre assertion that the Muslim League, a Muslim political party in India which played a vital role in the partition of India on religious lines, was “completely secular”.
The interviewer asked him, “You talked about secularism and democracy while opposing the Hindu party BJP, however, the Congress in Kerala has been in alliance with the Muslim party, the Muslim League in Kerala, the state from which you were an MP”.
To this, Rahul Gandhi said, “Muslim League is a completely secular party, there is nothing non-secular about the Muslim League. I think the person has not studied the Muslim League”.
Here is the video of the portion of his talk where he answered the question about the Muslim League:
Rahul Gandhi is known to make contentious and ill-informed statements, however, this one is particularly sinister, given the history of India.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which claims to be born after Indian Independence in 1948, is actually an off-shoot of Pakistan founder and Islamist Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s All India Muslim League (AIML). The All India Muslim League was succeeded by the Muslim League in Pakistan and the Indian Union Muslim League in India. On its website, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) claims that its motto is secularism and communal harmony but has often openly indulged in carrying out those objectives which are contrary to its own motto.
The Muslim League had strongly advocated for the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation-state, Pakistan successfully led to the partition of British India in 1947 by the British Empire. The birth of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in December 1947 was a part of the intention to keep the spirit of the All-India Muslim League.
Muhammad Ismail, the first President of the Indian Union Muslim League after it split up from Jinnah’s Muslim League, had actively participated in the partition movement of the country and was an ardent supporter of the creation of Pakistan. Interestingly, Muhammad Ismail, who claimed IUML was a secular outfit had, in fact, supported the retaining of Sharia law for Indian Muslims in the Constituent Assembly after India’s independence.
Mohammad Ismail, the founder President of IUML, the first political party of Muslims in the new state of India even bargained with Congress to “recognise the League as the sole representative of Muslims”, similar to the policies of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who had always asserted he and his party AIML was the sole representative of the Muslims in undivided India.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the so-called ‘epitome’ of India’s pluralism, whose Congress had once rejected the proposal of Jinnah in 1937 for a coalition government with the Muslim League, joined hands with the IUML in Kerala post-independence. The opportunistic design of Congress further encouraged political Islamists like IUML to resort to more communal politics in the name of protecting the interests of Muslims in the country.
The Indian Union Muslim League has been notoriously known for flaring up communal incidents in the state of Kerala. The party was found involved in the planning as well as the execution of the brutal Marad massacre in Kerala in 2003 as per the report of Justice Thomas P Joseph Commission which was set up to investigate the incident. The report had declared the massacre as “a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim fundamentalist and terrorist organisations involved”.
Further, in 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a fresh First Information Report (FIR) in connection with the probe and had named Indian Union Muslim League leaders P.P. Moideen Koya and Moyeen Haji as accused of funding, conspiring and executing the riots.
Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi called the Muslim League ‘secular’ in response to a question that said he criticises BJP for being a “Hindu party” and divisive. BJP, on its part, has espoused the notions of “Sabka Saath, Sabha Vishwas”, which means it believes in the motto that every citizen of the nation should progress together. However, BJP has been a pro-Hindu party, in the sense, that it has not actively appeased the Muslim community to the point of demonising The Hindu community. For example, Congress, when in power, wanted to introduce a bill called the Communal Violence Bill which essentially declared every Hindu the perpetrator of violence and every Muslim the victim, regardless of the facts of the case, in the event of communal violence. Congress has also pandered to terrorist organisations often in order to appease its Muslim vote bank. BJP, on the other hand, banned terror outfit PFI which was involved in the murder of several Hindus, had planned communal violence multiple times, was planning to turn India into a Sharia state by 2047 and a Hindu genocide was a part of that plan.
While Rahul Gandhi called the Muslim League ‘secular’, with its history of communal violence against Hindus and unspeakable massacres, Rahul Gandhi berated the BJP, which was termed the “Hindu BJP” by the interviewer, calling it divisive. He claimed that BJP generates hatred in society, while providing no proof for it.
Clearly, for Rahul Gandhi, any party that is not actively hostile to Hindus is “divisive and non-secular” while a party that tore into on religious lines in favour of an Islamic nation, has planned communal violence and riots and has advocated for Sharia is a “secular” party worth allying with.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachand’ convened a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi on 1st June 2023. The two leaders engaged in discussions aimed at elevating the special and distinctive relationship between India and Nepal to new heights, said the Ministry of external affairs.
Both leaders signed various agreements at the meeting. Meanwhile, an amendment to the citizenship law in Nepal has been approved. This is seen as contrary to China’s stance. Prime Minister Modi and Prachand jointly inaugurated the Integrated Checkpost at the India-Nepal border near the village of Kewatlia in Sonauli, India, and Bhairahawa, Nepal on Thursday, June 1, 2023. They also unveiled the e-project for the Kurtha-Bijalpura section of the railway.
#WATCH | Exchange of agreements takes place between India and Nepal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ pic.twitter.com/srfXbgvuSs
Both the leaders jointly inaugurated Phase 2 of the Motihari (East Champaran)-Amlekhganj oil pipeline between India and Nepal. They also flagged off an Indian Railways cargo train from Bathnaha to the Nepal Custom Yard. Additionally, they expressed agreement on resolving border disputes through dialogue.
While addressing the joint press conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “I remember my first Nepal visit just after three months of assuming office (as PM) nine years ago. Back then I gave a ‘HIT’ formula for India-Nepal ties. It was – Highways, I-ways, and Transways. I had said that we will establish such a connection between India and Nepal that our borders should not become barriers between us. Oil should be exported by trains instead of trucks. Bridges should be built on the common rivers. Arrangements should be made to export electricity from Nepal to India. Friends, after nine years, I am happy to say today that our partnership is actually hit.”
VIDEO | "I remember my first Nepal visit just after three months of assuming office (as PM) nine years ago. Back then I gave a 'HIT' formula for India-Nepal ties. I am happy to say this today that our partnership is actually hit," says PM Modi in joint press conference with his… pic.twitter.com/NnbHvjX6HX
PM Modi said, “Over the past 9 years, both countries have been working together on several significant projects, including the construction of bridges over shared rivers and the export of electricity from Nepal to India. The first Integrated Checkpost was established in Birgunj. Efforts have also been made to initiate the first petroleum pipeline, railway line, and transmission along the border. India is importing 450 megawatts of electricity from Nepal.”
Nepal’s PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachand’ said, “Efforts are being made jointly to enhance contact between India and Nepal. The border dispute between the two countries will be resolved through dialogue. India has provided assistance to Nepal in various sectors, including agriculture.”
Nepal amended its citizenship law
Just a few hours before the Nepalese Prime Minister’s visit to India, the President of Nepal, Ramchandra Poudel, approved an amendment to the citizenship law. Under this law, female foreigners marrying Nepali citizens are immediately granted citizenship along with political rights.
The amendment includes a provision in the constitution saying that no Nepali citizen will be deprived of the right to obtain citizenship. Provisions are also made to grant naturalized citizenship and citizenship by descent. It will also give citizenship certificates to children whose parents’ whereabouts were not known. Under the amendment, children born to a Nepali mother but whose father is unknown could get citizenship documents after the mother makes a declaration.
In fact, China has been opposing this law, which is why it had been pending for several years. China has been cautioning Nepal regarding this law. China’s argument is that this law could grant citizenship and property rights to Tibetan refugees and their families. Nepal hosts the largest number of Tibetan refugees after India.
The influence of China was indeed the reason Nepal hesitated to approve this legal amendment. Nepal’s former President, Bidya Devi Bhandari, had rejected this amendment twice in the citizenship law. It was also speculated at that time that she had not given approval due to China’s influence.
The bill was passed by the Nepali parliament last year, but former President Bidya Devi Bhandari refused to authenticate the amendment bill twice and returned it to the parliament for review. After it was returned the first time, both houses of the parliament had passed the bill again without considering the suggestions of the president and sent it to the president for approval. After that, the former president didn’t endorse it within the 15-day deadline. She retired in March without clearing the bill.
The amendment will make way for thousands of children of parents who got citizenship by birth to acquire citizenship by descent. Earlier, the law allowed anyone born in Nepal before April 12, 1990, to acquire citizenship by birth. However, their children didn’t get citizenship as there was no law for granting citizenship by descent.
Nepal’s PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachand’ has a special connection with India
Prime Minister Prachand of Nepal has had a long-standing relationship with India. When he was involved in armed struggles against Nepal’s monarchy, he and several of his Maoist comrades sought refuge in India. During that time, they received support not only from India’s left-wing groups but also from the Indian government. Prachand discreetly arranged the marriages of all three of his daughters in India.
In 1996, Prachand initiated an armed struggle against Nepal’s monarchy. However, as the Maoists started targeting civilians in Nepal, public resentment against them grew. During this period, India engaged in discussions with Prachand and other Maoist leaders.
In November 2006, India and seven Maoist parties of Nepal entered into a significant 12-point agreement. Subsequently, Nepal held general elections, in which the Maoists emerged as winners, leading to Prachand assuming the position of Prime Minister for the first time. Despite occasional scepticism towards India, Prachand fostered closer relations with China. Nonetheless, the approval of the citizenship amendment law signifies a positive step towards strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
On Sunday, May 28, 2023, in the Shahbad Dairy area of Delhi, a young man named Sahil Khan brutally murdered 16-year-old Hindu girl Sakshi. The postmortem report revealed that Sahil had stabbed Sakshi multiple times with a knife, resulting in 16 large cut marks spanning from her neck to her stomach, causing her intestines to protrude. Following the knife attack, Sahil proceeded to repeatedly strike Sakshi’s head with a nearby concrete slab, resulting in severe damage to the head of the deceased girl.
OpIndia conducted an on-site investigation to assess and gather information on various aspects surrounding the tragic incident. Our primary focus was understanding the motive behind the murder, evaluating the current situation, and collecting relevant information from the local community members impacted by the incident. Notably, a deeply distressing video of this murder had gone viral on social media.
During our interactions with the residents, we initially planned to visit the location where Sakshi was brutally murdered. However, before reaching the site, we noticed a gathering of media personnel with cameras in one area. Upon inquiry, we discovered that it was the office of the Aam Aadmi Party MLA. Interestingly, unlike typical MLA offices, there was no noticeable signboard or banner indicating the presence of a political leader. The intriguing backstory behind this peculiar situation was later unveiled.
The location where Sakshi was tragically murdered seemed relatively calm, with only a couple of YouTubers capturing footage. The mainstream media, on the other hand, was positioned at a considerable distance. Notably, the crime scene and the office of the Aam Aadmi Party MLA were situated a mere 200 meters apart, with a park separating the two locations. This so-called park lacked vegetation and greenery, and adjacent to it we saw a sizable Mazar. It was during the exploration that we encountered a resident named Dalip Kumar in the vicinity of the Mazar.
OpIndia has spoken to Dalip Kumar about Sakshi’s murder. In this conversation, we questioned him about a park located about 50 meters away from the murder site and the Mazar adjacent to it. To this, Dalip said, “There was no tomb in the park before. About 10-15 years ago, there were some bricks kept over there in the name of Mazar. After this, 5-7 years ago, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Jai Bhagwan Upkar (who is now an MLA) first got the roof of the Mazar installed after winning from here. When Hindus protested, the police reprimanded the Hindus instead of banning Muslims from building the Mazar.”
According to Dalip Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal promote this kind of politics. In such politics, Muslim interests are served, and Hindus are ignored. If Hindus protest, they are systematically threatened.
Dalip Kumar further told, “Adjacent to the park, along the roadside, there stood an idol of a goddess sheltered beneath a peepal tree. This sacred spot was frequented by local Hindus for worship. However, after the construction of the nearby Mazar, when the Hindu community attempted to erect a temple in place of the idol, the construction work was abruptly halted. As a result, the idol of the goddess remains within the unfinished temple structure, while the temple construction and completion are not allowed by the administration.”
Why the board was removed from the AAP MLA’s office?
In close proximity, a mere 200 meters from the location of Sakshi’s tragic murder, lies the office of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Jai Bhagwan Upkar. During our conversation with Dalip Kumar, the local resident, he expressed his disappointment with the MLA, highlighting his absence during Sakshi’s funeral. Additionally, Dalip Kumar shared a shocking revelation regarding the removal of the board and banner from the MLA’s office, shedding light on the reasons behind this unexpected decision.
He said, “Prior to the murder incident, signboards were installed outside the MLA’s office. However, the following morning, these boards were unexpectedly taken down. This action was undertaken with the intention of avoiding any perception that a murder had occurred in close proximity to the MLA’s office, so as not to negatively impact public sentiment about the leader.”
On Sunday, May 28, 2023, while en route to attend her friend Neetu’s son’s birthday celebration, Sakshi encountered Sahil, who intercepted her. In a horrifying turn of events, Sahil mercilessly thrust a knife into Sakshi’s abdomen, inflicting severe injuries. Despite her grievous condition and collapse to the ground, Sahil callously continued his assault. He then proceeded to wield a concrete slab found nearby, relentlessly striking Sakshi’s head. Tragically, Sakshi succumbed to the multiple stab wounds to her stomach and the brutal blows inflicted upon her head.
Sakshi’s murder did not unfold as a spontaneous act; rather, it was the result of Sahil’s premeditated scheme that had been brewing for several days. His sinister plan extended beyond Sakshi alone, as he had plotted to eliminate a total of five individuals. This conspiracy aimed to target both Sakshi and her male friends during their regular journeys along specific routes. For this, he had done recce of the roads. He had also consumed marijuana and alcohol prior to carrying out his heinous act.
Franco Mulakkal, who was booked in a case involving the rape of a nun in Kerala back in 2018, has reportedly resigned as the Jalandhar bishop. He confirmed that Pope Francis has accepted his resignation on Thursday. He was cleared of all charges in the rape case by the Additional District and Sessions Court I, Kottayam last year.
The Vatican allegedly sought his resignation not as a punitive action against him but rather for the sake of the Jalandhar diocese, which requires a new bishop. According to a release by the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to India, the representative body of the Vatican in India, Mulakkal’s resignation was a ‘pro bono Ecclesiae’, especially for the good of the diocese which needs a new bishop.
He will now serve as Bishop Emeritus (retired) of Jalandhar. He is between 57 to 59-years-old and traditionally, Bishops usually step down when they turn 75.
Franco Mulakkal’s current status as Bishop Emeritus of Jalandhar apparently does not mean that he has canonical limitations on his ministry. He had his first encounter with the Pope on February 8 of this year after being exonerated in the rape case by the local Kerala court. During this meeting, he had informed the Pope about his decision to resign from the post.
After he was questioned by the Kerala police on charges of rape made by a nun, Pope Francis temporarily suspended the bishop of his duties for the diocese in September 2018.
He was not granted any new duties in the church notwithstanding his acquittal. However, the Vatican had previously acknowledged the court’s judgement clearing him of all allegations.
He thanked everyone who helped him through a difficult time in his life as he announced his resignation in a video message. “I resigned from the post for the sake of the Jalandhar diocese and appointment of a new bishop,” he claimed.
The Kerala nun rape case
A Kerala nun accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of raping her repeatedly while visiting her convent in Kottayam between 2014 and 2016 and launched a lawsuit against him in 2018. She is a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, a congregation under the diocese.
He was then taken into custody and placed under arrest. Pope Francis also temporarily stripped him of his duties in the diocese during this time.
He was cleared of all counts of sexual assault in January 2022, by the Additional District and Sessions Court in Kottayam, Kerala. However, he received no further duties inside the church. The victim and the Kerala government have filed appeals with the Kerala High Court against the trial court order absolving him of all charges. The High Court admitted the appeal in April 2022.
His charge sheet had 84 eyewitness statements including priests, bishops and nuns. In 2018 five nuns even sat on a hunger strike and accused that Franco Mulakkal who is a very powerful figure in the clergy was being protected.
Furthermore, a nun who testified in the trial revealed in 2020 that he hugged her and forcibly kissed her on the forehead at the convent in April 2017.
In yet another case of grooming jihad, a Hindu woman hailing from the Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh has accused a man named Wasim of intimidation, rape and forced conversion. The accused is said to be a Delhi Police Constable. She alleged that Wasim ensnared her in his ‘love’ trap and sexually exploited her for 11 years. He got her raped by his brother, forced her to convert to Islam, and when she protested he threatened to chop her into pieces like Shraddha Walker.
According to media reports, the Hapur victim alleged that she came to Delhi in the year 2011 to pursue her education. She lived with her family in a flat in Lajpat Nagar. Delhi Police Constable Wasim and his family also lived in the same building. Wasim’s mother Jamila used to talk to her in a very loving manner and frequently shared stories praising Islam.
The victim alleged that Wasim’s mother Jameela once invited her to her home. Jamila offered her some food which was spiked. The victim fell unconscious after she ate it. Taking advantage of the situation, Wasim raped her. When she regained consciousness, Jamila started pressuring her to get married to Wasim.
The victim further said that when she refused to marry Wasim citing their religious differences, Wasim and Jameela began to threaten her. They threatened to kill the victim’s brother if she resented. After that day, Wasim kept sexually exploiting the victim. He also got her raped by his brother. On December 28, 2012, she was forcibly married to Wasim.
The victim further said in the complaint, that after learning about her marriage, her family, out of concern for their reputations, left their Lajpat Nagar residence and started living elsewhere. Wasim and his family members, meanwhile, forced the victim to sign various documents and changed her name to Iqra Ahmed.
Following this, the torture and abuse of the victim got progressively worse. The accused and his family started mentally and physically tormenting her on a daily basis. In April 2015, she gave birth to Wasim’s child. Even after that, the atrocities continued. Wasim force-fed her drugs and had unnatural sex with her. The victim alleged that Wasim’s brother Arif also started raping her at his whim. When she protested, she was mercilessly beaten up.
When our boys lose interest, they chop off Hindu girls. My son will marry many more Hindu girls in the future: Wasim’s mother to the Hindu woman
Wasim allegedly took pride in telling her stories of how he has trapped many Hindu women in the past. Whenever she protested, Wasim threatened her with a Shraddha Walker-like fate. She said that Waseem often told her that committing murders or killing someone was something they are used to doing. It was not unusual for them. Wasim’s mother also often told the victim, “When our boys lose interest, they chop off Hindu girls. My son will marry many more Hindu girls in the future.”
According to the victim, Wasim and his family tortured her for 11 years. On May 11, Waseem severely beat her and attempted to choke her with the service revolver’s string. On May 12, 2023, she managed to escape and came to her grandfather’s house in Hapur, where she filed a complaint against Wasim and his family.
The Hapur police took cognisance of the complaint and filed an FIR on Monday, May 29, 2023. The police named Waseem, his mother Jamila, his father Kayum Ali, and brothers Imran, Arif, Azharuddin, and Shahid as the accused based on the victim’s complaint. No arrest has been made so far in the case.
Rise in cases where Hindu women were threatened with Shraddha Walker-like fate by their Muslim partners
Since the Shraddha Walkar murder case came to light in November 2022, where her live-in partner Aaftab Ameen Poonawalla killed and chopped her body into 35 pieces, there has been a spate of incidents where Hindu women have alleged similar threats by their Muslim partners.
Soon after the ghastly murder of Shraddha Walker, a woman from the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh (UP), filed a case against a man named Mohammed Muzammil for threatening to chop her into pieces like Shraddha. The case was filed at Pallavpuram Police Station.
In another case, the Kanpur police of UP arrested a man named Mohammed Faiz on acomplaint by a family that he was stalking their minor daughter and threatening her with a Shraddha-like fate if she turned him down.
In yet another case, this time from Maharashtra, a 24-year-old woman filed a case against her husband Arshad Malik for trapping her in a relationship with a false Hindu identity, and later mistreating her. Adding the dreadful details to the case, the complainant had then said, “I gave birth to my second child in August this year. But I was not getting proper healthcare. Instead, my father-in-law and my husband continued to rape me together. My mother-in-law also tortured me mentally.” She said that after the Shraddha Walkar murder case happened, Arshad and his father would issue her threats saying that “Aftab cut Shraddha into 35 pieces but we would cut you into 70 pieces.”
On November 11, 2022, the Delhi Police arrested Aaftab Poonawala for murdering live-in partner Shraddha Walker. Aaftab had killed Shraddha in a premeditated murder on May 18, 2022, by strangling her, in the Mehrauli area of the capital city. To dispose of the body, he bought a large refrigerator, chopped Shraddha’s body into 35 pieces and stored them in plastic bags. Over the next two weeks, he threw away the pieces in the nearby jungle at night.
