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EC’s big clean-up in Bihar: 35 lakh fake, dead, and duplicate voters removed in the ongoing SIR drive, 6.6 crore forms collected

OpIndia Staff
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EC’s big clean-up in Bihar: 35 lakh fake, dead, and duplicate voters removed in the ongoing SIR drive, 6.6 crore forms collected

In a major feat, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has collected the enumeration forms of 6.6 crore voters out of the total 7.89 crore electors in Bihar, accounting for around 88% of the total electorate under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, the Election Commission is conducting a revision and upgradation of the electoral rolls to ensure fairness and transparency in the voting.

“After two rounds of door-to-door visits by BLOs, enumeration forms of 6.6 crore electors in Bihar have been collected…Only 11.82 per cent of electors now remain,” said an ECI statement on Monday (14th July). More than 5.74 crore enumeration forms were reportedly uploaded on the ECINET website by Monday for document verification.

Graphics via News18.com

The enumeration forms are available online at the newly launched ECINET portal. Voters have 11 more days, till 25th July, to submit their enumeration forms. Voter details of the 2003 electoral rolls are also available on the portal. “Nearly 1 lakh BLOs will soon begin their third round of door-to-door visits. Of the 1.5 lakh booth-level agents appointed by all political parties, each can certify and submit up to 50 EFs a day. To ensure that no eligible urban voter is left out of the rolls, special camps are also being set up in all the 5,683 wards of the 261 urban local bodies (ULBs) of Bihar,” the ECI said.

The SIR began on 25th June with the printing of the forms and will conclude on 30th September with the publication of the revised and updated electoral rolls. Prior to that, a draft list of voters will be published on 1st August.

Around 35 lakh ineligible names excluded from the voter list

As per reports, around 35 lakh names have been excluded from the voter lists in the electoral revision so far. This includes around 12.55 lakh (1.59%) registered voters who have died; 17.37 lakh who have permanently moved out of the state (2.2%); and another 5.76 lakh duplicate enrolments (0.73%). During field visits, the ECI reportedly came across some foreign nationals from countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, who were registered as voters. Their names will be removed from the voter list after further verification.

The Election Commission been proactive in ensuring that no voter is left out. Special camps have been set up in 5,683 wards of 261 urban local bodies (ULB) of Bihar. Voters who have temporarily moved out of the state are being either directly contacted or informed through newspaper advertisements to make sure that they can fill out their enumeration forms. “Such electors (temporarily migrated) can easily fill up EFs online using their mobile phones through the ECINet App or through the online form on https://voters.eci.gov.in. They can also send their forms to the concerned BLOs through their family members or through any online means, including WhatsApp or a similar application,” the EC said.

Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the SIR

The Election Commission has been the target of the opposition, which is opposing the electoral roll revision in Bihar. A slew of petitions were filed challenging the SIR by several opposition leaders and organisations, including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, former AAP co-founder Yogendra Yadav, RJD MP Manoj Jha, and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The petitioners argued that the identification process laid down by the ECI shifted the burden of proof onto citizens and that, considering the high rates of migration and poverty in the state, the requirement of documents specified by the ECI might disenfranchise millions of voters. They also challenged the exclusion of the Aadhaar card from the ECI’s list of documents required as proof of citizenship to be enumerated as a voter.

The Supreme Court refused to stay the SIR on Thursday (10th July). However, the top court suggested that the ECI include the Aadhaar Card, the EPIC card, and the Ration card for the purpose of identification. The next hearing of the case is scheduled on 28th July.

Non-bailable offences, ₹1 lakh fines, and sweeping powers: Inside the draconian ‘Rohith Vemula Bill’ Congress plans to push in Karnataka and why it should alarm every Indian

Shraddha Pandey
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Non-bailable offences, ₹1 lakh fines, and sweeping powers: Inside the draconian ‘Rohith Vemula Bill’ Congress plans to push in Karnataka and why it should alarm every Indian

After ‘Caste X-ray’ and caste-based wealth redistribution rhetoric, the Congress party has found another way to continue its caste-centric politicking with the Rohith Vemula Bill. Following a push from Congress prince Rahul Gandhi, the Karnataka government is set to introduce the Rohith Vemula (Prevention from Exclusion or Injustice) (Right to Education and Dignity) Bill, 2025, in the coming monsoon session of the state assembly.

This bill is named after Rohith Vemula, the PhD scholar from the University of Hyderabad, who committed suicide on 17th January 2016. His suicide had sparked a nationwide uproar over alleged caste discrimination against the deceased. It, however, turned out eventually that Vemula was not a Dalit.

Provisions of the Rohith Vemula Bill

The draft bill is posited to prevent discrimination and ensure equal access to education for marginalised groups in the higher education institutions in Karnataka, including public, private and deemed universities.

The Rohith Vemula Bill safeguards Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backwards Classes (OBC), and ‘minorities’ from exclusion or injustice, to ensure their right to education and dignity.

It also provides that offences under this bill are non-bailable and cognizable. This essentially means that the police can make an arrest without a warrant. The first-time offenders face a minimum one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. This compensation amount is to be paid by the accused to the victim, and it can extend up to Rs 1 lakh.

Moreover, repeat offences will invite a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

Under this law, if passed, the victim or their kin can file police complaints directly, enabling quick action against alleged discrimination.

In addition, institutions found violating the bill’s provisions would lose state financial aid or grants. If an institution violates the provision of being “open to all classes, castes, creed, gender or nation”, then “the state government “shall not provide any financial aid or grant to such institution”.

Congress wants to name an anti-caste discrimination bill after Rohith Vemula, even as he was not a Dalit: Goebbelsian playbook?

Congress and its prince, Rahul Gandhi, position themselves as the messiah of ‘peedit, shoshit, vanchit’, and to prove the same, they decided to name the anti-caste discrimination legislation after a ‘Dalit’ victim, Rohith Vemula. It, however, is ironic that their Dalit poster boy was not even a Dalit.

Apparently, Congress has taken a page from Nazi politician Joseph Goebbels’s playbook, and decided to not only repeat a lie till it becomes truth but also name laws after the lies repackaged as truth.

The Telangana Police presented a closure report regarding the case to the Telangana High Court on 3rd May of last year. It emphasised that he did not belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category and that he died by suicide, fearing the exposure of his true caste identity. The authorities also exonerated former Secunderabad MP and current governor of HaryanaBandaru Dattatreya, Legislative Council Member N Ramachander Rao, former Vice Chancellor Appa Rao, ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) leaders and former Union Minister Smriti Irani.

“There is no evidence of any fact or circumstance available on the record which dragged him to commit suicide and no one is responsible for his death,” the closure report stated. The report added that Rohith Vemula committed suicide because “he had his own problems and was not happy with worldly affairs. If he would have been angry with the decision of the University, certainly either he would have written in specific words or would have indicated in this regard. But he did not do the same. It shows that the circumstances prevailing in the university at the time were not the reason for Rohith’s death.”

According to the closure report, Rohith Vemula was “aware that he does not belong to the Scheduled Caste” and received the SC certificate from his mother. It adds that this could have been one of Rohith Vemula’s continuous fears, as disclosing it could have ended in the loss of academic degrees and perhaps prosecution.

As per Rohith Vemula’s father Mani Kumar, he and his spouse are not Mala of Madigas (SC/ST) but rather members of the Veddera caste. The statement was in contradiction to the reports that his mother, Radhika Vemula, belongs to a Dalit community (SC or ST), and he opted to identify with her caste after the couple separated.

His father emphasised that Rohith Vemula was murdered and criticised leftist groups for exploiting his son’s death to launch attacks against the Modi administration. Moreover, his mother alleged that she was born into a Mala caste (SC) family but was raised by a Veddera family.

In 2017, the Andhra Pradesh government was reported to have cancelled Rohith Vemula’s scheduled caste certificate, asserting that he was actually a member of the Other Backwards Classes (OBC). The government contended that the SC certificate had been acquired through “fraudulent” means.

Merely because it was initially claimed that Rohith Vemula was a Dalit, Congress and other opposition parties, joined by the leftist media ecosystem, raised the caste discrimination bogey and built a narrative accusing the Modi government of oppressing lower caste groups of society. This came, even though his suicide note expressed his dissatisfaction with the Students Federation of India (SFI). While Rohith Vemula was discontent with the SFI, the leftists continue to hold events and seminars in his remembrance, only to vilify non-Dalit Hindus and push an anti-Hindu agenda

Rahul Gandhi and his ‘caste’ fixation now taking shape of legislations: An alarming pivot towards divisive caste-centric politics

This draft bill comes after Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, wrote to CM Siddaramiah urging him to bring a legislation in Rohith Vemula’s name to end caste-based discrimination in educational institutions.

In a 16th April letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Rahul Gandhi urged the state government to pass the “Rohith Vemula Act” to guarantee that no one is subjected to caste-based discrimination in the educational system. The development transpired after he met with students and teachers of the Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities in Parliament and was allegedly informed that caste discrimination is pervasive in higher education.

Soon after, CM Siddaramiah wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi informing him that he had instructed his legal team to start drafting the “Rohith Vemula Act.”

“I too, deeply share your sentiments, we must join hands to bring the Dalits, Adivasis and Backwards classes into the mainstream. That the oppressed classes must no more face any discrimination in our educational system. My government and I are committed to ensuring an egalitarian and equal society,” he claimed in the letter to Gandhi.

The Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have long been divisive, caste-based politicians for their electoral gains. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Congress, in its manifesto, committed to carrying out a nationwide ‘Caste X-ray’ (caste census) to assess the socio-economic status of various sub-castes as well as pledged to incorporate fishing communities into the caste census. Congress even declared its intention to raise the reservation cap from the current 50%, a poll promise it continues to reiterate time and again, even as the people of India rejected Congress for the third consecutive time in the general elections.

The Gandhi scion went a step ahead and even announced that if voted to power, Congress would carry out a caste-based wealth redistribution based on the findings of the ‘caste X-ray’.

Congress also sought to impose the “Rohit Vemula Act” throughout the nation if it secured power at the centre. “We will enact the Rohith Vemula Act to address discrimination faced by students belonging to the backwards and oppressed communities in educational institutions,” the manifesto read.

Rohith Vemula Bill: A step towards ending caste discrimination in educational institutions or a weapon against non-Dalit Hindus?

By naming the bill after Rohith Vemula, Congress wants to tap into the emotional resonance, though devoid of any factual relevance, to galvanise support from the SC, ST, and OBC Hindus. However, this bill risks being a draconian measure against general-category students and faculty, as they could be disproportionately targeted.

Over the years, the rising misuse of the SC/ST Act to falsely implicate general category individuals for personal vendetta and other reasons, devoid of actual caste discrimination, has received criticism from the courts. The Rohith Vemula Bill, if passed, could also be misused in a similar manner.

The controversial bill’s broad categorisation of SC, ST, OBC, and ‘minorities’ under a single protected group is deeply concerning. The bill’s provisions, so far, fail to address specific caste realities while conveniently including ‘minorities’, which obviously is Congress’s way of including the Muslim community under the ‘peedit, shoshit, vanchit’ fold and further establish the Muslim victimhood narrative.

The non-bailable and cognizable provisions of the bill could be misused against those not covered under the bill’s protective umbrella. While naming the bill after Rohith Vemula, a non-Dalit presented as a Dalit, might hand some political gains to Congress, it will come at the cost of fostering division and hatred against the so-called ‘upper caste’ Hindus.

Taking inspiration from the divide and rule policy of the British colonisers, Congress is hell bent on perpetuating a cycle of caste-based identity politics to widen the fissures and exploit the same to hold on to power. This will not be confined to Karnataka alone, but will soon extend to other Congress-ruled states including Himachal Pradesh and Telangana. The Congress government in Telangana has already moved High Court to reopen Rohith Vemula case and is proceeding towards introducing the bill. After proposing laws on hate speech and misinformation, the Congress is bringing the Rohith Vemula Bill to control narratives, all while projecting itself as the defender of free speech, democracy, the idea of India and what not.

‘Game of Thrones’ in Karnataka: While Congress denies there is any competition between Siddaramiah and DK Shivakumar for CM post, the statements from local MLAs show utter confusion

Shraddha Pandey
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‘Game of Thrones’ in Karnataka: While Congress denies there is any competition between Siddaramiah and DK Shivakumar for CM post, the statements from local MLAs show utter confusion

In Karnataka, the ‘game of thrones’ is intensifying even as Chief Minister Siddaramiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar deny any competition for the CM post. Despite the Congress high command’s diktat not to issue conflicting public statements, the party leaders are failing to hold back from taking sides.

Congress MLAs are taking sides between Siddaramiah and DK Shivakumar

On the 13th of July 2025, Karnataka minister KN Rajanna said that CM Siddaramiah will continue as Chief Minister for the entire tenure. He also suggested that neither the party high command nor the MLAs are ready for a change in leadership.

“Yes, Siddaramaiah will be Chief Minister for five years. If change is there, only the high command and MLAs can do it. I think both are not ready to change now,” he said.

Asserting that it would be premature to say would be the party’s face in the state for the 2028 election cycle, Rajanna said, “Can anyone do an election without him (Siddaramaiah) in the Congress party? 2028 MLAs will decide who will be the Chief Minister. It won’t be decided now. All leaders, including Siddaramaiah, must be included for the next election. MLAs will then decide.”

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Mandya, Ravi Kumar Gowda, seems to have sided with DK Shivakumar as he said the deputy CM deserves to be the Chief Minister, and when the time is right, he will definitely become the CM.

“DK Shivakumar will become Chief Minister when the time comes. 138 MLAs support both DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. When the time is right, DK Shivakumar too will become Chief Minister. When time and circumstance align, good things will happen. He definitely deserves to become Chief Minister, and he will become Chief Minister,” Gowda said.

Similarly, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait not only hinted at a possible change in leadership but also backed DK Shivakumar. “I feel leadership can’t be stagnant. New leadership has to come and grow. Whenever the opportunity is given, it’ll happen. But individual giving out statements shouldn’t be considered as a protest,” Sait said.

Congress MLA CP Yogeshwar from Channapatna has also voiced his support for Shivakumar as Karnataka CM and said, “All our district MLAs are united that DK should become Chief Minister. There are no discrepancies about it. High command should decide on it.”

Interestingly, Congress MLA HA Iqbal Hussain was recently served a notice by the party high command for making a public statement about the likelihood of DK Shivakumar becoming Chief Minister.

Hussain boldly claimed that “nearly 100 legislators” backed Shivakumar for the top post, arguing the deputy CM deserved his chance after tireless efforts to rebuild the party.

Earlier this month, CM Siddaramiah had said that he would serve his full five-year term. However, DK Shivakumar’s response to this sparked speculations of a power tussle ongoing within the party.

“Party will take its call at the right time. I don’t want to discuss anything on that. It is not an issue to be discussed in the media first. Our job is to bring the party back to power in 2028,” Shivakumar said.

The speculations about a possible change in leadership were fuelled further when Siddaramiah held a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Thursday (10th July). Siddaramiah is also reported to have requested a meeting with party ‘prince’ Rahul Gandhi; however, the latter denied an audience, although Gandhi did meet Congress leaders from Gujarat.

Siddaramiah’s appointment to a national panel of OBC leaders fanned speculations that the Congress party is paving the way for DK Shivakumar to become Chief Minister. However, it seems that Siddaramiah is not willing to give up his ‘throne’.

Reports citing Congress inside chatter say that Siddaramiah is likely to remain in power till early 2026, making him the longest-serving CM with a tenure of seven years and 2 months, surpassing Devaraj Arasu.

Interestingly, while the JD(S) MLAs who left the party and moved to Congress twenty years back have been loyal to Siddaramiah and want him to complete the five-year term. But DK Shivakumar, who is credited with having played a key role in bringing Congress back in power in the state, is not ready to relinquish his claim to power.

It is also worth noting that on one hand, Randeep Surjewala, who is Congress’s in-charge for Karnataka, is holding individual meetings with Congress MLAs in Karnataka to get an idea of the Chief Minister’s governance, much to Siddaramiah’s disappointment, on the other hand, Rahul Gandhi reportedly avoided meeting him.

While the Congress’s top leadership, both in Karnataka and New Delhi, is denying any discussion on leadership change in the recent meetings, the BJP has said that a horse-trading bid is ongoing behind the curtains.

BJP leader and Union Minister Prahlad Joshi has said that CM Siddaramiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar are engaged in “horse trading” to mobilise support of the party MLAs through “money and power”.

“Horses are ready for sale in the market, and buyers are also ready. I want to make it clear that earlier, we were short of 9 seats, and we were the single largest party. The mandate was with us. Now they have a mandate and should run the government without any problem. The Congress High Command is weak. Now, the situation is such that the one who gets MLA support will be the CM. Hence, both DCM DK Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah are involved in the trading of horses,” the BJP leader said.

Siddaramiah loyalists reportedly want to remove DK Shivakumar from the KPCC president post

Meanwhile, Siddaramiah loyalists are also reportedly trying to get DK Shivakumar removed from the post of KPCC president ahead of local body elections. Shivakumar was made KPCC chief in 2020, and after Congress won the assembly election in 2023, he was supposed to step down from the post of KPCC president after one year, as he became deputy CM. However, Shivakumar has held the position till now, apparently to ensure his control within the party.

CM Siddaramiah is reported to have suggested changing the KPCC president, arguing that a new leader for the party would better bolster the party during elections.

While Congress leaders like Priyank Kharge have cautioned party leaders from issuing individual public statements on leadership change and claimed that there is no discussion on this within the party, the fact that Congress MLAs are publicly taking sides between Siddaramiah and Shivakumar, it is evident that the smoke is not without fire.

Apparently, days after saying “What option do I have?”, DK Shivakumar has invoked the 2023 power-sharing compromise. It, however, remains to be seen whether Siddaramiah will be able to convince the party high command to let him continue as Chief Minister or Shivakumar will win his claim to the ‘chair’.

Tesla makes entry into Indian market with first showroom in BKC, Mumbai: Read how Elon Musk’s EV giant tried for years to sell in India

Chandrani Das
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Tesla makes entry into Indian market with first showroom in BKC, Mumbai: Read how Elon Musk’s EV giant tried for years to sell in India

Tesla is all set to make its debut in the Indian market by launching its first electric vehicle on Tuesday, July 15. The unveiling will take place at Mumbai’s Maker Maxity Mall, located in the Bandra Kurla Complex.

According to a report by Reuters, the EV giant has also revealed the pricing for its cars. The much-anticipated Model Y is listed at an on-road price of ₹61 lakh. The rear-wheel drive variant is priced slightly lower, at ₹59.89 lakh.

Tesla’s pricing list highlights that the base version of the Model Y, the rear-wheel drive, will cost ₹60 lakh for a full cash purchase. The long-range all-wheel drive variant comes at a higher price of ₹68 lakh. These prices apply to completely built units (CBUs) that will be imported into India.

Tesla’s third attempt at entering India

Tesla has had its sights set on the Indian EV market for a long time. This marks Elon Musk’s third attempt to establish the brand in the country. Earlier efforts failed to gain traction due to regulatory and logistical challenges. However, after Musk met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the company began recruiting for new roles in India, signaling a renewed commitment.

Tesla’s previous attempts to enter the Indian market also fell short. The company formally decided to launch retail operations in April this year. While the move was welcomed by both the Indian government and consumers, it failed to enthusiasm from certain market incumbents and even drew criticism from US President Donald Trump. He called the move “unfair,” citing tariff imbalances between India and the U.S., and remarked that it was “practically impossible to sell a car in India.”

The key obstacles Tesla previously faced included steep import duties, up to 110%, and the Indian government’s insistence on domestic manufacturing. Tesla had requested tax reductions to facilitate vehicle imports before committing to set up a production facility, but talks with the government failed to reach a consensus.

Further, instead of depending on imports, the government wanted Tesla to establish a production facility. It was also true that the company was hesitant to make a crucial upfront investment in a developing market. India still trails behind major markets in terms of EV demand, which has just lately begun to increase.

Despite these hurdles, Tesla brings several competitive advantages to the Indian market. The company enjoys global brand recognition and a strong reputation as a tech-forward automaker. Its innovations in battery efficiency, autonomous driving, and clean energy make it especially appealing to India’s growing base of tech-savvy consumers.

Tesla’s image as a premium electric vehicle manufacturer could help it carve out a niche consumer base before local competitors catch up. Once the company successfully localizes production, its vehicles could become more competitively priced, potentially making them accessible to a much broader audience in the long run.

Balasore, Odisha: FM College student, who set herself on fire following inaction on sexual harassment complaint, dies in AIIMS

OpIndia Staff
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Balasore, Odisha: FM College student, who set herself on fire following inaction on sexual harassment complaint, dies in AIIMS

A 20-year-old college student, who set herself ablaze on Saturday (12th July), following the inaction of FM College authorities on her sexual harassment complaint, succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday (14th July) night. The victim, named Soumyashree Bisi, suffered over 90% burns and was getting medical care at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

A statement issued by the Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, on 14th July, said that the victim was admitted on 12th July after being referred from the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital. The hospital said that she received all possible intensive care, including IV support, antibiotics, mechanical ventilation, and renal therapy, but succumbed to her injuries on the night of 14th July. “She was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14,” the hospital confirmed.

Somyashree Bisi, who was pursuing B.Ed. at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, had accused a Head of Department (HoD), Samir Kumar Sahu, of sexual harassment on 1st July. On Saturday, she had a meeting with the college principal, Dilip Kumar Ghosh, shortly after which she set herself on fire. Somyashree Bisi, who was reportedly associated with the ABVP, had submitted formal complaints to the college principal and the police against Sahu. She was disappointed as no substantial action was taken on her complaints.

An internal committee was formed to inquire into her allegations. In a letter submitted to the committee, she had provided details of the abuse and threats by the HoD, which reportedly went on for months. She was promised action within seven days, but nothing happened. The victim was upset with the sheer inaction by authorities amid threats and harassment by the HoD. The victim’s father blamed the college principal, Ghosh, for the death of his daughter. Her mother has demanded capital punishment for the culprits.

As per reports, batchmates of the victim revealed that she was mentally distressed for weeks because of continuous harassment by Sahu. They alleged that Sahu repeatedly made inappropriate demands and threatened her with academic consequences if she did not comply. On 12th July, the victim and some other students sat on a protest outside the college gate. Fellow students reportedly said that, on the day of the incident, Somyashree Bisi suddenly got up and ran to an area close to the principal’s office and set herself on fire. She was rushed to the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital with severe burns, from where she was referred to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

CM Manjhi assured strict action against culprits

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed his grief over the incident and assured the victim’s family that the strictest punishment will be given to the culprits.

“I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government’s fulfillment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim’s life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul and beseech Lord Jagannath to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss. I assure the family of the deceased student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. For this, I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family, ” the CM wrote on X.

Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati directs authotrities to ensure student safety

Following the tragic incident, Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati spoke to the State Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj regarding the incident. He directed the authorities to ensure the safety of the students.

“The safety, mental well-being, and dignity of students must be protected at all times. I have urged the authorities to act with urgency, empathy, and responsibility to prevent such incidents in the future, ” the governor wrote on X on Monday.

The accused HoD was arrested by the police, and a case was filed against him under the relevant provisions of the BNS. Principal Ghosh, who was earlier suspended, was also arrested on Monday and was sent to judicial custody.

BBC admits their Gaza documentary was propaganda, Hamas leader’s son was used as narrator

OpIndia Staff
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BBC admits their Gaza documentary was propaganda, Hamas leader’s son was used as narrator

On 14th July (local time), the BBC admitted that its documentary titled “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” was a propaganda. The broadcast claimed that it breached editorial guidelines as it failed to disclose a critical conflict of interest. The child who narrated the documentary was the son of an official linked to Palestinian terrorist outfit Hamas, the review has found. BBC director general Tim Davie commissioned a damning review in which the corporation found that the programme should never have been approved for broadcast in the first place.

The documentary was produced by an independent company named Hoyo Films. It was removed from iPlayer in February this year after concerns emerged about the boy’s background. The review has now confirmed that at least three members of the production company were aware of the fact that the boy’s father is serving as deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-run Gaza government. Notably, not a single person within the BBC was made aware of this fact before the documentary went live.

The review has strongly criticised the BBC for failing to conduct basic editorial checks. It highlighted a “lack of critical oversight” on key questions during the programme’s production and approval stages. Though the review has concluded that there was no evidence of direct editorial interference by the narrator’s family, it has been stated that using the child under these circumstances was “not appropriate”.

Source: SS from now removed documentary by BBC

CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, said in a statement that the broadcaster has “owned” its mistakes and confirmed a series of corrective measures including new oversight rules, tighter narrator vetting, and an internal compliance “first gate” before any high-risk documentary is released.

Notably, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has labelled the documentary a blatant misuse of public money and accused the BBC of attempting to whitewash the issue. Following the statement, a formal investigation has been launched by the regulator Ofcom to investigate if the BBC misled viewers in breach of broadcasting rules.

Former regulator questions what BBC was told

While the BBC has admitted it failed to put facts in place before releasing the documentary, former CEO of ITN and ex-content regulator at Ofcom, Stewart Purvis, has raised serious concerns about the production company’s transparency.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, he pointed out that there have been at least two instances where the BBC asked direct questions that should have prompted Hoyo Films to disclose the boy’s Hamas-linked parentage. Furthermore, he noted that while the BBC enquired about any “paper trail” on Hamas connections, it was reassured that social media checks came out “clean”.

Purvis further added that the broadcaster failed to follow through when answers remained vague, leading to this editorial lapse.

What the documentary showed and what it hid

The documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” was directed by Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash. It followed the lives of four young people living amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The film was produced by Hoyo Films and commissioned by the BBC. It relied on remote direction from London as Israel has imposed restrictions on international media access to Gaza.

Source: SS from now removed documentary by BBC

The film was narrated by a 13-year-old boy, who was later found to be the son of a Hamas official. It presented a child’s-eye view of life under siege. The documentary’s credibility crumbled when the identity of the boy was revealed. As the fact of his parentage was not disclosed, it was in breach of the BBC’s editorial guidelines. The film was pulled down in February this year.

Second Gaza documentary pulled over impartiality concerns

Following the mess surrounding the said documentary, Deborah Turness also addressed a separate controversy involving a documentary titled “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack”. It had also been withdrawn before broadcast due to impartiality concerns. It faced internal red flags after a journalist involved displayed problematic social media activity. The film was later aired by Channel 4.

In a statement, Turness explained that the lead journalist, Ramita Navai, used language on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that was “incompatible” with the BBC’s impartiality standards. She said, “It made it impossible for us to continue with the project.” She further added that no BBC journalist could have said what she said on air.

Notably, on 4th July, Ramita had said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Israel is “a rogue state that’s committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing, and mass-murdering Palestinians”.

Turness admits BBC failed to pursue key questions

Turness has emphasised accountability while speaking to BBC Radio 4. She admitted that the broadcaster failed to “run those questions to ground”. She added that the BBC took the matter seriously and conducted a full investigation. She claimed that no one at the BBC knew about the narrator’s Hamas-linked father and conceded they should have known. She said, “The questions were asked but not answered.”

Hoyo Films apologises, promises to improve editorial process

Hoyo Films, the production company behind the documentary, has issued a statement accepting the findings of the BBC’s internal review. It has apologised for the breach of editorial guidelines and said it has taken the report “extremely seriously”. The company has, however, denied any intent to mislead the BBC and pledged to improve internal processes. The company added that it is working with the BBC to potentially release a revised version of the documentary for iPlayer.

BBC director general promises action to restore trust

The BBC director general, while acknowledging the failure, called it a “significant failing in relation to accuracy”. He apologised for the lapse and said the BBC would act on two fronts, holding those responsible to account and implementing immediate steps to prevent similar breaches. The BBC Board has claimed in a statement that “nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism”.

Loss of trust led BBC to pull Gaza documentary

Not to forget, in March this year, Davie told the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee that he made the “very difficult decision” to pull the documentary from iPlayer after losing trust in the film. He said repeated questions about the boy’s family went unanswered by the production company. Although the film drew around 500 complaints of anti-Israel bias and 1,800 over its removal, Davie stressed editorial accountability was of utmost importance in such sensitive productions.

‘It’s a righteous deed to trap Hindu girls’: Naveed poses as Shiv Verma to trap, rape, and forcibly convert 18 Hindu girls in Shahjahanpur, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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‘It’s a righteous deed to trap Hindu girls’: Naveed poses as Shiv Verma to trap, rape, and forcibly convert 18 Hindu girls in Shahjahanpur, arrested

On Saturday, 12th July, Uttar Pradesh‘s Shahjahanpur police arrested a man, Naveed alias Kasib Pathan, on charges of raping a Hindu girl and attacking several others in a shocking criminal plan. The arrest followed when a young woman from Shahjahanpur approached the Chauk Kotwali police station and complained against Naveed’s nefarious activities.

Naveed befriended her on social media two years ago, pretending to be a Hindu named “Shiv Verma,” as per the victim. He gained her trust by wearing a tilak on his forehead and a Hindu sacred thread (kalava) on his wrist, and even taking an oath on Hindu deities to appear sincere. 

He vowed to marry her, but attacked her instead. The victim saw the accused’s phone on Friday, 11th July, and came to know his true identity and found horror-filled pictures and videos on his phone, including those with other girls. When the victim confronted him about it, Naveed said, “Having relations with Hindu girls is a righteous deed for us.” He also brutally beat her and started forcing her to convert to Islam.

Police found out that Naveed and his brother Kaif operated a racket against Hindu girls. They used deceitful Hindu names on social media to trap young women, keep them in a relationship, and then physically assault them. The brothers allegedly recorded all these activities to blackmail their victims into changing religion. Naveed admitted to having targeted at least 18 Hindu girls to date.

The complaint of the victim also included Naveed’s brother Kaif, who also raped the victim, their parents Abba Alam and Uzma, and sister Saman for their complicity. The parents of the accused reportedly forced the victim to abort her pregnancy, and when she did not comply, Naveed purportedly kicked her in the abdomen, resulting in a miscarriage.

Police discovered four Instagram profiles belonging to Naveed under alternate identities, out of which he had posted about 1,900 pictures, many in the company of different girls. Authorities suspect that Naveed and Kaif might be part of a bigger conversion racket, with possible connections to a similar gang found in Balrampur.

The case has caused outrage in Shahjahanpur, with the locals calling for severe action. Naveed is in jail, and the police are probing deeper to find out the scope of the racket and the other victims.

J&K CM Omar Abdullah clashes with police to read fatiha at graves of ’13th July martyrs’: Read how they were rioters not martyrs, the truth which has been systemically covered by ‘historians’

अर्पित त्रिपाठी
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J&K CM Omar Abdullah clashes with police to read fatiha at graves of ’13th July martyrs’: Read how they were rioters not martyrs, the truth which has been systemically covered by ‘historians’

Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, on Monday (July 14, 2025) visited a mazaar in Srinagar and offered flowers there. He also read the fatiha here. To reach there, Abdullah had an altercation with the police, jumped over a wall, and created a lot of ruckus.

Omar Abdullah also complained about the incident on X (earlier Twitter) after visiting this mazaar called ‘Naqshabad Sahib’ and paying tribute to these alleged martyrs and claimed that he has been put under house arrest. Many other people involved in his government also made the same claims.

Abdullah and his party workers wanted to pay tribute at this alleged ‘martyrs’ mazaar. Earlier they had sought permission from the district administration for this, which was denied. The mazaar where Omar Abdullah has offered these flowers, he calls them ‘martyrs of 13 July’ whereas in reality they were Islamic rioters.

Why was there violence in Srinagar on July 13, 1931

The root of this entire uproar is linked to a date 9 decades ago, July 13, 1931. On that day, Maharaja Hari Singh’s army shot 21 Islamic rioters inside Srinagar’s Central Jail. These Islamic rioters had come to attack the jail and wanted to overthrow Maharaja Hari Singh.

In 1948, when Jammu and Kashmir merged with India and the National Conference came to power in the state, these rioters were given the status of martyrs. A holiday was also declared in the state on this day. They were described as revolutionaries who agitated for ‘democracy’. A memorial was also built for them near the tomb of a Sufi saint.

Now Omar Abdullah wanted to pay tribute at this memorial for rioters, which led to an uproar when he was not given permission to honour these rioters.

What is the truth about the ‘martyrs’ of July 13

The extremists in Kashmir keep calling the incident of 13th July a revolution and mass movement against Maharaja Hari Singh. They call it ‘Kashmir Martyr’s Day’. It is said that it was a rebellion against the alleged cruel rule of the Maharaja. Whereas in reality, it was a fight against a ‘kafir’ Hindu ruler.

Kashmiri Pandit activist Sushil Pandit explained it very well in an article wherein he mentions that the first massacre of modern Kashmir happened then, and that too with a meticulously hatched conspiracy. Hundreds of people were murdered, burnt alive, maimed, and thrown into the river, women were raped, and many houses were looted, and many were forced to convert to Islam.

When the police took action against the rioters, some of them died, after which they were declared ‘martyrs’ by their gang and the new government of Jammu and Kashmir in independent India started remembering them on 13th July, honouring them like heroes to ‘sanctify’ the acts of those terrorists.

Let us now remember what actually happened on that day in 1931. At that time, Hari Singh was the autonomous king of Jammu and Kashmir.

Along with Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad-Mirpur, Aksai Chin, and the areas of Shaksgam Valley were also part of his territory. However, the British wanted to snatch the areas from him. Maharaja Hari Singh was one of those rare Hindu kings who ruled in a Muslim-dominated area. That is why, as a part of a conspiracy, the British installed an Ahmadi, Abdul Qadir from Peshawar, in Srinagar in the guise of a cook.

After this, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was also brought into the state. He was a person with political ambitions, whose ancestors still considered Jammu and Kashmir as their ancestral property. A public meeting was held at Shah-e-Hamdan in Khanqah Mohalla, where Abdul Qadir gave an inflammatory speech.

The Quran was cited for the war against the Maharaja. Abdullah incited the crowd by saying that how can a ‘kafir’ rule over Muslims, this is strictly forbidden in Islam. The extremists in Kashmir keep calling the incident of 13th July a revolution and mass movement against Maharaja Hari Singh. They call it ‘Kashmir Martyrs’ Day’. They claim that it was a rebellion against the alleged cruel rule of the Maharaja, whereas in reality it was a fight against a ‘kafir’ Hindu ruler.

He openly incited Muslims for cow slaughter, which was banned according to the law. When he was arrested on charges of treason, riots broke out. Attempts were made to obstruct the legal process. Hearings were held in the jail premises out of compulsion. There was a similar hearing on July 13. However, the mob attacked the premises and tried to enter the judge’s chamber. The mob also attacked the police and started arson.

As it happens even today, the Muslim mob started pelting stones. The prisoners in the jail also started trying to escape from there amidst the chaos. The police force tried all the tricks, but the Muslim mob did not disperse. After this, the local DM ordered the Police to open fire. Meanwhile, the mob also started moving towards Hari Parvat fort. The lathi charge from the Police was not having any effect. Maharajganj used to be a hub of traders then, where there was a lot of looting.

Sushil Pandit writes that after this, shops of Hindus were destroyed and looted from Bhori Kadal to Aikadal. There was a lot of looting in areas like Safakadal, Ganji, Khud and Nawakadal. Account books were burnt in the market and there was a stampede among the Hindu shopkeepers. Goods worth lakhs were looted, or destroyed, or thrown on the roads. However, there was no news of any Muslim breaking into a shop and looting it.

A separate Muslim mob had gathered in Vicharnag in Srinagar. There, rich Hindus were tortured and their women were sexually exploited. By the time the army arrived, the Muslim mob had caused great damage to the Hindus. After this, the ‘intellectual’ gang got to work and named it ‘democratic revolt against feudal power’. Remember, the large-scale massacre carried out by Moplah Muslims in Kerala was also called ‘peasant revolt against landlords’.

While, in reality, whatever happened in Kashmir on July 13, 1931, was an Islamic war against a Hindu king. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah also had a big hand in instigating these riots. He was arrested and sent to jail. However, the Maharaja pardoned him the very next year and Abdullah started instigating people by forming the ‘All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference’. Hindus in Mirpur tried to save their lives by fleeing. Later hundreds of them had to live as refugees.

Hindu villages were burnt, and temples destroyed

The elders who witnessed this incident at that time mentioned how many were brutally killed and many were forced to convert to Islam. Many incidents of attack on temples and gurudwaras also came to light. Many holy Sanatani books, including Guru Granth Sahib, were burnt and idols of gods and goddesses were broken. This is called the ‘massacre of 88’ as according to Vikram Samvat, the year was 1988 then.

After that incident, hundreds of families and their future generations struggled for rehabilitation for decades. If we go by the English records themselves, 31 temples and Gurudwaras were completely destroyed. Around 600 cases of forced conversion to Islam came to light. Hindus of Sukhchainpur and Sanwal (Mirpur) suffered the most. The English write that wherever the rioters reached, the local Muslim population supported them.

Some Hindu villages were completely deserted while Islamists caused loot and destruction there. After this, on January 18, 1932, 50 Hindu villages were attacked and 300 houses were looted. Out of these, 40 were set on fire. Not only this, 40 Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam at that time. In Thanna village, 36 houses were looted again on January 20, 1932, and 8 were burnt. In Sohana village, 84 houses were looted and another village was looted on January 28.

The Kashmir, which was freed from the clutches of Afghans by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and where the Dogra kings established Hindu rule, and the non-Muslims got relief from centuries of oppression, saw the massacre of Pandits again. The Constitution of India could not be implemented there even after independence and Abdullah-Mufti families together continued to run the Islamic rule here.

Honouring traitors stopped during Modi rule

In July 2020, for the first time, no tribute was paid to the rioters in Kashmir. This was possible because of the Modi government. The organised expulsion of Hindus from modern Kashmir had started decades back. The conspiracy of the British and the violence of the Islamic mob massacred Hindus to overthrow a Hindu regime, and later the ‘intellectuals’ gave it a different colour. Maharaja Hari Singh had even formed a committee headed by the Chief Justice of the High Court Barjor Dalal to investigate these incidents.

Maharaja Hari Singh had talked about Indian unity at the Round Table Conference in London. Interestingly, after that, the British army officer Major Boat brought and settled a Pathan named Abdul Qadeer in Kashmir. All this was part of a conspiracy. After taking control of power, the British released Abdul Qadeer in 1.5 years, even though he was jailed for 5 years. The Ahmadiyya community of Qadian town helped the British a lot in this entire conspiracy. This report revealed that British officer Wakefield deliberately did not go to the jail to control the situation that day, even though he was in-charge of the security.

On July 4, 1931, news of desecration of the Quran came to light, even though nothing like this had happened. However, Wakefield, after investigation, propagated the matter of desecration of the Quran, and instigated the Muslims. Inflammatory material was sent to Srinagar against Maharaja Hari Singh. Hari Krishna Kaul, who was made the Prime Minister in place of Wakefield, got the state to compromise with the Muslim rioters, but the riots did not stop. This has been the pattern of Islamic riots in many parts of the country, and it is the same even today.

From sympathy for Kasab to blaming society: DU ‘professor’ Apoorvanand’s meltdown over Ujjwal Nikam’s RS nomination exposes the Left’s moral decay

Jinit Jain
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From sympathy for Kasab to blaming society: DU ‘professor’ Apoorvanand’s meltdown over Ujjwal Nikam’s RS nomination exposes the Left’s moral decay

A day after facing severe backlash for his astonishing attempt to undermine the elevation of veteran public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to the upper house by accusing him of “creating animosity” against Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab with his ‘biryani’ remark, DU professor Apoorvanand brazened out his terror apologia, shifting blame from himself to society, and ultimately, to the Congress party’s critics.

In a follow-up tweet on July 14, Apoorvanand wrote:

“That you peddle lies against a killer says something about the society we are, which approves it. But was it a lie only against him? It was actually to create hatred against Congress party. Part of a more sinister language game that gave meaning to this lie. RS seat explains it.”

This is not only a deperate attempt at face-saving, but it also offers a profound glimpse into the festering intellectual rot that pervades sections of India’s academic Left, a worldview so consumed by its echo chamber that even the cold-blooded massacre of 166 innocent civilians by Kasab and 9 other Pakistani terrorists is weaponised into a tirade against political opponents.

From Kasab to Congress: The unholy leap

What started as a dubious moral lecture on “creating animosity” against a Pakistani terrorist who unapologetically opened fire at innocents, has now metamorphosed into a bizarre conspiracy theory: that the biryani remark wasn’t about Kasab at all, but a covert attack on the Congress party. 

Earlier yesterday, Apoorvanand, who also contributes to far-left propaganda portal The Wire, took to X to claim: “A man,a lawyer,boasted that he had lied about biriyani being served to Ajmal Kasab to create animosity against him. He is a Rajya Sabha MP now.Nominated by the President.Lies are the building blocks of the Hindu Rashtra in making.”

In Apoorvanand’s alternative reality, a statement by public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, meant to cut short attempts to indulge Kasab, is now proof of some sinister campaign to discredit the Congress. The mental gymnastics involved here would be laughable if they weren’t so serious.

Because what Apoorvanand is doing is classic deflection straight out of the left’s playbook: faced with justified outrage for implicitly humanising a terrorist, he now blames the “society” for allowing a ‘lie’ to inflame rage towards the terrorists—as if his act of killing innocent people wasn’t enough. He then seamlessly pivots to indicting the political right for creating it.

In his imagined universe, the real villain is not the terrorist with an AK-47, but the prosecutor who ensured he met justice, and by extension, the government that honours that prosecutor with a Rajya Sabha nomination.

A classic leftist trickery: Blame the society of complicity when propaganda dressed up as ‘intellectualism’ is called out

This is a textbook example of the Left’s rhetorical trap: elevate the criminal, vilify the system, and when questioned, accuse the public of complicity. Apoorvanand’s tweet reeks of this intellectual pretentiousness: self-righteous, evasive, and obsessed with abstract “language games” rather than real victims and real justice.

Instead of acknowledging the monstrosity of Kasab’s actions or the bravery of Indian security forces, Apoorvanand directs his ire toward those who remember the crimes too clearly for his comfort. In doing so, he confirms what has been long suspected: that certain sections of the Left aren’t merely misguided, they’re morally bankrupt.

Their loyalty lies not with the nation, but with the narrative.

The real sinister game: Trivializing terror

In trying to recast a tactical prosecutorial remark into a Right-wing propaganda tool, Apoorvanand reveals more about his own political paranoia than about any actual conspiracy. His disdain isn’t really about the “lie”, it’s about the justice that followed it.

Kasab wasn’t lynched in the street. He was given a fair trial. He was defended by a government-appointed lawyer. He was prosecuted by Ujjwal Nikam under India’s legal system, convicted by evidence, and sentenced to death after all appeals were exhausted.

But that doesn’t sit well with those echo chamber warriors who are constantly seeking to portray India as a fascist Hindu Rashtra in the making. So they hunt for distractions, a bowl of biryani, a turn of phrase, a Rajya Sabha seat, anything to shift the focus away from the blood-soaked truth of Islamist terror.

Biryani can’t whitewash Kasab’s crimes

Apoorvanand’s attempt to turn a terrorist into a victim, and a prosecutor into a propagandist, is not just academically dishonest—it’s morally grotesque. His follow-up tweet blaming “society” and accusing the Right of playing language games is nothing more than intellectual cowardice dressed up as critique.

This is not just about Ujjwal Nikam or Ajmal Kasab anymore. It’s about what kind of nation we want to be. A nation that stands with its victims, honors its heroes, and defends its right to justice? Or a nation that cowers behind false equivalences and moral relativism spouted by those who have never stood in the line of fire?

In the end, Apoorvanand’s tears, first for Kasab, and now for political narrative, say less about justice and more about the ideological corruption that masquerades as conscience in India’s elite institutions.

Let it be said clearly: it wasn’t biryani that created hatred for Kasab. It was bullets, bombs, and the blood of 166 innocents.

And no amount of academic spin can ever erase that.

Meghalaya HC allows ‘symbolic pilgrimage’ to Mawjymbuin Cave but restricts Hindu rituals: Read about how Hindus are being stopped from doing Puja at the naturally formed Shivling

Dibakar Dutta
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Meghalaya HC allows ‘symbolic pilgrimage’ to Mawjymbuin Cave but restricts Hindu rituals: Read about how Hindus are being stopped from doing Puja at the naturally formed Shivling

On Friday (11th July), the Meghalaya High Court allowed Hindu devotees to undertake a ‘symbolic pilgrimage’, devoid of any rituals, to the Mawjymbuin Cave in Mawsynram in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

The Yatra would begin from Mahadev Khola Dham in Shillong to the Mawjymbuin Cave, which houses a naturally formed Shivling. It would be supervised by district authorities.

The court imposed several conditions on the pilgrimage. This ranges from restrictions on the performance of puja or articles for performance of rituals such as flowers and incense sticks.

court-orderDownload

At the same time, Hindu devotees have been restricted from pouring water on the naturally formed Shivling. Only a ‘symbolic sprinkling’ of water will be allowed during the pilgrimage.

“This court also emphasises the need to maintain order and solemnity and to avoid any littering, or to cause any disruption of traffic movement,” the order read.

Objections against pouring of water on the Shivling have been raised by Dorbar Shnong of Mawsynram (the traditional village council responsible for governance in Mawsynram).

Dorbar Shnong vows to prevent puja at Mawjymbuin Cave

Dorbar Shnong claims to be the ‘owner‘ of the Mawjymbuin Cave and had previously campaigned against worshipping at the Shivling.

In January this year, the spokesperson of Dorbar Shnong claimed, “Since the beginning and till date, we don’t allow any group to come and perform religious rituals inside the cave.”

“However, any individual or group of people can visit the cave but they should respect the rules of the dorbar shnong, which we strongly prohibited worshipping inside the cave and to make the cave as a mandir or a temple as the cave is a tourist spot,” he warned.

The spokesperson mocked Hindu sentiments by claiming, “In the past, they have come and pour milk and burn essence and flowers, which has led to the dirtying of the cave and its surroundings.”

What happened in the past

With active support from churches and ministers in the Meghalaya government, Dorbar Shnong first banned Hindu worship at Mawjymbuin Cave in August 2024.

Dorbar Shnong’s executive committee announced that no group would be allowed to develop a place of worship at the cave. The decision came after the Hindu Yatra Pilgrimage group announced their plan to use the site for worship on 10th August and 11th August 2024.

The group had initially requested permission from the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, RM Kurbah, which was refused. Then, they approached the Dorbar Shnong for permission. Dorbar Shnong expressed surprise at the fact that they were being bypassed initially by going directly to the DC.

At that time, it had triggered protests by Hindu groups not only in Meghalaya but also in Assam. The Kutumba Surakshya Parishad (KSP), a Hindu organisation from Assam, threatened to block roads leading to Meghalaya from Assam if the ban was not lifted. 

KSP President Sanjay Ranjan Borah had accused social organisations and Christian missionaries in Meghalaya of hatching a conspiracy to defame and destroy the Hindu faith and culture.

On the contrary, local student groups Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) South West Khasi Hills District and KSU Lawbah Border Area Circle have supported the decision to ban Hindu prayers at the site.

Student union leaders even issued a joint statement “We will not accept any attempt to use force to establish the place of worship despite opposition from the Mawsynram Dorbar Shnong.” They emphasised the “need to preserve the natural form” of the cave.

The ruling National People’s Party also endorsed a ban on Hindu Puja at the sacred cave. Tourism minister Paul Lyngdoh had claimed, “The decision is logical and reasonable as the cave is a major tourist attraction. Allowing a particular religion to set up a place of worship can harm tourism in the area.”

“People from across the globe visit Mawjymbuin. A secular country like India cannot promote a place of worship in any tourist destination,” he brazened out.

Significance of Mawjymbuin Cave

Mawjymbuin Cave is a spiritual site, which is revered in Hinduism for its naturally formed Shivling. It is 209 m high and is made up of calcareous sandstones.

The Shivling is formed due to weathering, calcium carbonate deposition and dripping of mineral-enriched liquid. It is constantly bathed in water from a stalactite, which is shaped like a cow’s udder.

It is believed to have been in existence for thousands of years. In Hinduism, the Shivling is a manifestation of Lord Shiva in a formless, eternal cosmic energy.

During the month of Shravan, hordes of Hindu pilgrims across the country visit the cave as part of the Kanwar Yatra.

Lakhs of devotees clad in saffron attire walk barefoot to reach the cave and pay obeisance to the Shivalinga during the yatra. The cave is also visited by Hindu devotees during Mahashivratri.

But Hindus are now being denied their right to worship at the Mawjymbuin Cave in Mawsynram.

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