Home Blog Page 2395

‘We don’t need to learn the grammar of democracy from agenda-driven media’; Here is what Minister Anurag Thakur said about anti-India op-ed in NYT

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘We don’t need to learn the grammar of democracy from agenda-driven media’; Here is what Minister Anurag Thakur said about anti-India op-ed in NYT

On 10th March 2023, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs, and Sports Anurag Thakur lashed out at New York Times for an anti-India editorial published on 8th March 2023. Anurag Thakur said, “We don’t need to learn the grammar of democracy from agenda-driven media.”

Taking to Twitter, Anurag Thakur published a thread of tweets in which he wrote, “New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT’s so-called opinion piece on freedom of the press in Kashmir is mischievous & fictitious published with the sole motive to spread propaganda about India and its democratic values. This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji. Such lies can’t last long.”

Minister Anurag Thakur added, “Some foreign media nourishing a grudge against India and our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have long been systematically trying to peddle lies about our democracy and pleuritic society. Freedom of the Press in India is as sacrosanct as other fundamental rights.”

Anurag Thakur further said in his next tweets, “Democracy in India and We the people are very mature and we don’t need to learn the grammar of democracy from such agenda-driven media. Blatant lies spread by NYT abt press freedom in Kashmir are condemnable. Indians will not allow such mindsets to run their decisive agenda on Indian soil.”

The said article published in New York Times was written by Anuradha Bhasin, the Executive Editor of The Kashmir Times who criticized PM Modi’s stance against the Indian media and its freedom of expression. Donning an anti-India outlook on the international media platform, she alleged that the Modi-led government had imposed ‘repressive’ media policies in the country and was deliberately targeting the media organizations who chose to voice an opinion against it or the Prime Minister.

In an article titled ‘Modi’s final assault on India’s Press Freedom has begun’, Bhasin who has been a vocal critic of the Indian establishment for a while said that her outlet, The Kashmir Times, could not survive Modi. She also blatantly alleged that the government was intimidating media outlets into serving as mouthpieces and creating an information vacuum in the Union Territory.

PM Narendra Modi raises the issue of attacks on Hindu temples by Khalistani elements with the Australian PM, at least 5 attacks were reported last 2 months

OpIndia Staff
-
0
PM Narendra Modi raises the issue of attacks on Hindu temples by Khalistani elements with the Australian PM, at least 5 attacks were reported last 2 months

Amid the frequent incidents of attacks on Indians and Hindu temples in Australia by Khalistani elements, today prime minister Narendra Modi raised the matter in front of Australian PM Anthony Albanese, who is on a visit to India. PM Modi said in a joint press conference held today that he has raised the matter in front of the Australian PM.

PM Narendra Modi said that it is a matter of concern that for the last several weeks, reports of attacks on temples in Australia are regularly coming. ‘Naturally people in India are concerned after reading these reports, and we are worried about it,’ he said. ‘I have conveyed our such feelings and concerns to Prime Minister Albanese, and he assured me that the safety of the Indian community is a special priority for him’, PM Modi added.

“Our teams will be in regular contact on this matter, and will cooperate as much as possible,” PM Modi further added. He said the issue was raised with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during their bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House.

PM Modi also said that the Indian community in Australia is now the second-largest immigrant community, and this Indian community is making a significant contribution to Australian society and economy.

Several Indian temples have come under the attack of Khalistani elements in Australia in the lats several weeks, especially in Victoria state. These attacks are part of rising anti-Hindu violence in several countries in the world, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.

In the last two months, five separate Hindu temples in Australia were attacked and vandalised in Australia. Just last week, Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Brisbane’s Burbank suburb was vandalised with anti-Hindu and anti-India graffiti defacing its walls by Khalistani elements. Before that on 16 February, a Kali Mata temple in the northern suburbs of Melbourne received threats from Khalistani terrorists for organising a Bhajan program of Indian singer Kanhiya Mittal.

January saw three such incidents on vandalism of Hindu temples. BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Melbourne, Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs in Melbourne, and Hare Krishna Temple located at Albert Park in Melbourne were vandalised by Khalistanis. The walls of the temples were defaced with pro-Khalistan and anti-India slogans.

Messages like ‘Target Modi’, ‘Modi Hitler’, ‘Hindustan Murdabad’, ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, ‘Sant Bhindranwale is Martyr’ etc were seen written on the walls of the Hindu temples.

Apart from the vandalization of Hindu temples, Khalistanis also clashed with Indians for opposing their anti-India activities in Australia. On 21 February, the Khalistan supporters attacked the Consulate of India in Brisbane in Queensland and raised their flag at the office.

Last month, the ministry of external affairs had issued a statement condemning the attack on the Indian community by the extremist Khalistani groups in Australia. The MEA had urged the local authorities to launch an investigation into the case and punish the perpetrators. Khalistanis are also holding the so-called referendum in Australia for an independent Khalistan.

Usual suspects share old videos to attack Holi and malign Hinduism: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Usual suspects share old videos to attack Holi and malign Hinduism: Details

Days after the festival of colours, Holi, was celebrated around the world, the Hindumisic usual suspects rushed to social media to share videos maligning the Hindu festivals and guilt-tripping Hindus over its celebrations.

Sharing videos of stray and isolated incidents, the Hinduphobic elements defamed the festival of the colours and insinuated that it glorifies and normalises molestation and harassment, especially of women.

Jas Oberoi, a Khalistani sympathiser and a columnist for Newslaundry whose contempt for Hindus and Hinduism is evident through his disparaging tweets, posted a video of a man forcing his sister-in-law to play Holi with him and forcibly kissing him.

“An underage girl forcefully kissed & groped by her ‘Jija’ – husband of an elder sister – under the garb of playing Holi. Kya mast tyohaar hai!” Oberoi tweeted along with the video.

Many others also shared the video uploaded by Oberoi. Kaveri, a Twitter user, quoted Oberoi’s tweet in a thread she had compiled over the nonconsensual celebration of Holi.

The video instantly went viral on social media, particularly on Twitter, where users, primarily belonging to the Islamolesftist persuasion, who are often on the prowl to attack and defame Hindu festivals, reposted the video and vilified Holi over the same.

Similarly, other videos targeting Holi and humiliating Hindus were also shared on the internet.

Vinod Kapri, a self-proclaimed filmmaker, shared another video of a foreigner talking about what she had to go through during Holi.

This video, too, had instantly gone viral, with social media users asserting that the incident was from this year’s Holi and did not reflect well on the Hindu festival.

The truth about the viral videos maligning Holi

Several videos shared on social media are old and are not from this year’s Holi celebrations. They are shared by anti-Hindu elements on Twitter to attack the festival and target the Hindu community.

The video that is doing the rounds on the internet, which was also shared by Khalistan sympathiser Jas Oberoi, is at least one year old. It was uploaded on YouTube on 5 April 2021.

Source: YouTube

Yet, the propagandists shared the old video to slander the Hindu festival and induce guilt among Hindus over one of their festivals.

Another video, which was shared by the likes of Vinod Kapri, about a foreign woman sharing her experience while celebrating Holi in India, was at least 2 years old. A more extended version of the video was uploaded on YouTube two and a half years ago, in September 2020. The video, shared by a YouTube channel ‘Under The Same Skye’, was uploaded on 13 September 2020.

Source: YouTube

However, several social media users continued to bandy about the old video, alluding that the incident may have taken place during this year’s Holi celebrations.

How Hindu festivals continue to be attacked by usual suspects

But Holi is not an exception. Hindu festivals continue to be the object of contempt for many ‘journalists’ and media organisations who claim to follow the principle of ‘secularism’ religiously but are often found indulging in blatant Hinduphobia while gushing over the festivals of other religions. These usual suspects have a dubious distinction in maligning Hindu festivals while glossing over the uncomfortable truths about the festivals of other religions.

The modus operandi espoused by such people entails pontificating Hindus about the vices purportedly associated with their festivals and holding the festivals responsible for the perpetuation of those vices. This procedure is exclusive only for the Hindu festivals and for non-Hindu festivals, lofty ideals of brotherhood, peace, inclusiveness etc. are attached while glaring vices are intentionally concealed.

Union home ministry announces 10% reservation, exemption from physical test for ex-Agniveers in BSF

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Union home ministry announces 10% reservation, exemption from physical test for ex-Agniveers in BSF

The union ministry of home affairs has announced that 10% of all vacancies at the Border Security Force will be reserved for the Agniveers after their terms in the army under the Agnipath scheme is over. As the tenure of the Agniveers in the Agnipath is only 4 years, this will ensure that ex-Agniveers will have the opportunity to join the BSF under this reservation.

In a notification released on 6 march 2023, the Ministry of Home Affairs said that “10 percent of the vacancies shall be reserved for Ex-Agniveers”. Apart from this, the notification also said that the first batch of Ex-Agniveers shall also receive a 5 years relaxation in the Upper Age limit, whereas the Upper age limit shall be relaxed by up to 3 years for Ex-Agniveers of other batches. The notification further said that Ex-Agniveers shall be exempted from the Physical Efficiency test.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier in June of 2022 said that 10% of vacancies in the CAPF and Assam Rifles will be reserved for those persons who have completed the four years of service under the Agnipath Scheme. This reservation was over the existing 10% quota for ex-servicemen. The ministry had also announced a five-year age relaxation for the first batch of Agniveers.

The extension of 10 per cent reservation benefits to Ex-Agniveers in the Border Security Force is a move to further reduce the anxiety about the employment of the Agnivees after the end of their terms in the army.

About the Agnipath Scheme

On June 14, 2022, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with the chiefs of three armed forces, launched the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of youth in the armed forces. Those who get enrolled in the armed forces under this scheme are called Agniveers. Enrollment under the scheme is open for both men and women for a four-year period, including the training.

The Agnipath scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the armed forces for a short period of four-year. As per the press release by the Defence Ministry, the scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed forces. While 25% of the Agniveers will be absorbed into the army permanently after the 4-year term, the rest 75% will retire.

Other benefits of the Agnipath scheme

The recruits under the Agnipath scheme, also known as Agniveers, get attractive benefits that include a customized monthly package clubbed with risk and hardship allowances as applicable in the three services. After Agniveers complete four-year of service in the armed forces, they get a one-time ‘SevaNidhi’ package that would comprise their contribution, including accrued interest thereon.

The benefits that the government is giving to Agniveers are attracting many young men and women to join the scheme. This move to offer a 10 per cent reservation in BSF will further add to the attraction of the scheme for the youth.

Kerala Muslim couple, who remarried under Special Marriage Act, faces threats, fatwa issued calling it ‘drama’ to ‘mock religious personal law’: Details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Kerala Muslim couple, who remarried under Special Marriage Act, faces threats, fatwa issued calling it ‘drama’ to ‘mock religious personal law’: Details

Days after a 29-year-old Muslim couple got remarried under the Special Marriage Act to ensure that their property and assets would transfer to their three daughters, the Kerala police intensified surveillance around their house. Kerala police said on Thursday that they had increased monitoring around this residence.

This is after the couple identified as advocate-actor C Shukkur and Dr Sheena received threats for remarrying under the Special Marriage Act. “The vigil has been stepped in the area of C Shukkur’s house in Kanhangad here in the wake of news reports on threats by some outfits against the man and his family,” the police was quoted as saying.

Also, Darul Huda Islamic University condemned the marriage and issued a fatwa against the couple calling it a drama. “The marriage registration of advocate C Shukkur and his wife Dr Sheena Shukkur under the Special Marriage Act is a drama aimed at mocking religious personal law,” said the Council for Fatwa and Research, Darul Huda Islamic University.

“There is no law against handing over all their wealth to children when they are alive. Personal law matters only for inheritance. Those who believe in God and accept his wholeness will have no qualms about it. They will not have the obstinate greed that their wealth must go to their children,” it added.

On March 8, citing the occasion of International Women’s Day, Dr Sheena, the former pro-vice chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, and eminent attorney and actor C Shukkur, who is well known for his portrayal as a lawyer in the Kunchacko Boban film Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Sue Me Then), who had been married for 29 years reaffirmed their vows under the Special Marriage Act in order to ensure that their property and assets would transfer to their three daughters.

Due to the fact that their previous union was governed by Sharia law, which is Muslim Personal Law, their daughters would have only received two-thirds of their father’s estate, with the remaining portion going to Shukkur’s brothers, in the absence of an heir.

The couple remarried under the Special Marriage Act, which stipulates that the Indian Succession Act would control the succession of property of any person solemnized under it, in order to ensure that their property passes on to their children.

Shukkur said that he had previously experienced two near-death encounters, which caused him to reflect on his daughters’ future and whether or not they would receive all of his assets.

The Police said that the vigil has been strengthened around the residence of the couple as their marrige has been extensively reported by the media. “As of now, there is nothing like personal protection. There is no full-time security to the family or the house. The media has extensively reported about the remarriage incident in the last two days. Today, some newspapers have carried reports about an alleged fatwa issued by certain religious institutions against the family,” it said.

“Though the state police have no first-hand information regarding the threat, a decision has been taken to intensify the surveillance in the area based on media reports, the officer added,” the Police added.

US: Sikh man, Rajvir Gill, arrested on suspicion of hiring assassins and plotting to burn down Gurudwaras in Bakersfield

OpIndia Staff
-
0
US: Sikh man, Rajvir Gill, arrested on suspicion of hiring assassins and plotting to burn down Gurudwaras in Bakersfield

A Sikh man, Rajvir Gill, who had previously run for a seat on the Bakersfield City Council in the United States was taken into custody for allegedly attempting to employ assassins to shoot individuals at a prominent Sikh temple in Bakersfield and set fire to the premises. This has intensified a long-standing dispute within the congregation’s leadership and led to legal action in Kern County Superior Court.

After receiving less than 7 per cent of the vote in Ward 7’s November election, 60-year-old Rajvir “Raj” Singh Gill was subject to a temporary restraining order preventing him from harassing the Gurudwara. Despite this, Bakersfield police arrested him on Saturday for allegedly soliciting to commit six criminal acts. Although he has since been released from jail, records indicate his arrest.

On Tuesday, a Gurudwara elder reported that Gill had been causing disturbances and making threats to members of the congregation while carrying a firearm at the temple property over the past few months. He had been arrested once before but there are no records of any other previous arrests prior to the incident on Saturday.

Sukhwinder Singh Ranghi, the elder, stated that the ongoing confrontations were due to a disagreement over a sum of over $800,000 that had been contributed by the congregation members. The funds were intended to reimburse a corporate entity established to purchase the temple out of foreclosure in July 2020.

According to Ranghi, Gill allegedly offered $10,000 to two Hispanic men to assassinate several leaders of the congregation, including Ranghi, who are currently involved in court cases. Ranghi also claimed that Gill personally drove the men around the city, indicating the homes of the targeted temple leaders. The information regarding Gill’s actions was disclosed to the temple leadership by an associate of the would-be assassins.

Ranghi alleged that Gill taught the men how to set fire to the temple using the defective electrical wiring that was installed by Gill’s own workers during the construction of the temple over ten years ago.

During a religious service at the temple, Ranghi presented a video clip that allegedly showed Gill unplugging microphones that were still in use.

Shaheed is among the most well-attended Sikh temples in Bakersfield, with over 500 members. Every year in late October, it holds a celebration that attracts thousands of attendees. Last fall, notable guests such as Rep. David Valadao, Mayor Karen Goh, Assemblyman Vince Fong, and Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner were in attendance.

According to court records, in 2019, when Shaheed was at risk of losing its property due to foreclosure proceedings, the temple’s leadership came up with a plan. The plan involved the board members forming a limited liability corporation, which would purchase the property at a public auction and subsequently transfer ownership back to the temple’s nonprofit organization.

However, the transfer of title back to the temple never occurred, and there are conflicting accounts as to why.

In October 2021, Shaheed’s nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit against Jujhar LLC, the entity formed to purchase the property, alleging that four of the eight individuals chosen to execute the transaction collaborated to manipulate the formation process of the LLC. The lawsuit claimed that the defendants concealed the limited composition of the board in accordance with a premeditated plan to “hostage” the property.

In January 2022, Jujhar filed a separate complaint accusing nine members of the congregation of falsely portraying themselves as acting board members of the temple, which led to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claimed that the defendants had taken $430,000 that was intended to be paid to Jujhar, contrary to the LLC agreement, and had used the funds for personal and other unsuitable expenditures. It also stated that the nine individuals had declined to deposit the money into escrow as promised, resulting in a loss of over $25,000 for Jujhar.

The court is currently reviewing and overseeing the consolidated cases, which are still pending.

Shaheed obtained a restraining order against Gill on November 21 from the Kern County Superior Court, which prohibited him from harassing or disrupting the temple’s peace or interfering with its routine activities. On February 14, Court Commissioner Gina Cervantes extended the order until April 15, when a hearing is scheduled to take place.

‘Why no action against those openly calling for violence against Hindi-speakers’: DMK’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor asks TN govt

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Why no action against those openly calling for violence against Hindi-speakers’: DMK’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor asks TN govt

On Friday, March 10, DMK’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor questioned why no action has been taken against the people who have been inciting hatred and violence against Hindi-speaking people in Tamil Nadu. 

Sharing a video of a Naam Tamil Katchi leader Senthamizan Seeman who is heard making provocative remarks against Hindi-speaking people, Prashant Kishor wrote, “All those who used fake videos to incite hate & violence must be dealt with as per the law. But this doesn’t absolve those who’re openly calling for violence against #Hindi speaking people in #TN. Why no action against the likes of @SeemanOfficial for their vitriolic utterances?

In the video, Seeman can be heard speaking Tamil to a crowd. In the video, it is stated by Seeman that “Hindi-speaking people will hastily pack their stuff and flee from this place. I don’t know how many I will beat. They will pack their belongings within a week.”

Earlier, on Sunday Prashant Kishor had released a video stating that the attacks were real and should not be ignored by the Tamil Nadu government. He said that Tamil Nadu police and the ruling leaders of Bihar have disapproved of the incident calling it fake, but the attacks need to be looked into.

Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu denied the assault on Bihari workers and issued a statement on Thursday, March 2 claiming that Bihari migrant workers were not being attacked in Tamil Nadu. He said he had reached out to his counterpart in Bihar, DGP RS Bhatti, and refuted the reports being shared in the media and social media.

“The DGP of Tamil Nadu has denied of any such attacks on the migrant workers. But the incidents are real. The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has also disapproved of these incidents. I will post the correct videos” Prashant Kishor said while addressing a press conference on March 6. 

On March 5, Kishor quoted a tweet by Tamil Nadu police who had shared a video of an attack from February 16. In the video, a man could be seen being beaten on a train by some Tamil-speaking individuals.

Kishor quoted the tweet and said, “This video has been shared by Tamil Nadu Railway Police on 16 February. The DGP of Tamil Nadu Government should also inform about the status of this FIR registered in GRP Chennai.”

NYT publishes op-ed claiming ‘Modi’s assault on press freedom’ by Anuradha Bhasin, who wanted to keep govt house allotted to her father even after his death

OpIndia Staff
-
0
NYT publishes op-ed claiming ‘Modi’s assault on press freedom’ by Anuradha Bhasin, who wanted to keep govt house allotted to her father even after his death

On March 8, Anuradha Bhasin, the Executive Editor of The Kashmir Times, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times criticizing PM Modi’s stance against the Indian media and its freedom of expression. Donning an anti-India outlook on the international media platform, she alleged that the Modi-led government had imposed ‘repressive’ media policies in the country and was deliberately targeting the media organizations who chose to voice opinion against the govt or the Prime Minister.

In the article titled ‘Modi’s final assault on India’s Press Freedom has begun’, Bhasin who has been a vocal critic of the Indian establishment for a while said that her outlet, The Kashmir Times, could not survive Modi. She also blatantly alleged that the government was intimidating media outlets into serving as mouthpieces and creating an information vacuum in the UT.

“Journalists are routinely summoned by the police, interrogated, and threatened with charges such as income tax violations or terrorism or separatism. Several prominent journalists have been detained or sentenced to jail terms. We work under a cloud of fear. Many journalists self-censor or simply quit. Fearing arrest, some have fled into exile overseas,” she claimed.

“Journalism has always been hazardous in Kashmir. India and Pakistan both claim the mountainous region, which has been plagued by war and a separatist insurgency for decades. Journalists have been caught in the middle, threatened and intimidated by Indian security forces and militants, both of whom have wanted to control how the story is being told. At least 19 journalists were killed in Kashmir between 1990 and 2018,” she added. She also stated that the actions of the Indian government were threats to the Indian democracy.

It is notable that the government of India seized one of the offices of the Kashmir Times in 2020 as the premises were allocated by the government to run the newspaper Kashmir Times. As reported earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir government had allocated two properties to ‘The Kashmir Times’. One of them was used as office space while the other served as the residence of Ved Bhasin, the founder of The Kashmir Times. Following his death in 2015, the administration had issued notices to the family to vacate the government-allocated residence.

However, Anuradha Bhasin who was supposed to hand over the government-allocated buildings after her father’s death, alleged that the administration had ‘locked down’ the newspaper’s office in Srinagar in an illegal manner.

Bhasin, who attempted to globally defame the Indian democracy and the government on March 8, is the daughter of late journalist Ved Bhasin, founder of the newspaper ‘The Kashmir Times’. She has been indulged in several anti-India activities and has connections with the ISI. Ved Bhasin, her father was also a staunch supporter of the ISI operations in Kashmir. He blatantly supported the idea of Kashmir’s separation from India.

According to the Open Source Intelligence Analysis (OSIA), the ‘journalist’ was a close friend of ISI mole Ghulam Nabi Fai in the United States. Fai, a Jamaat-e-Islami activist also praised Ved Bhasin after his death, saying that he was the only person who believed that the solution to Kashmir’s problem would be establishing believebelieved that solution to Kashmir’s problem would be establishment of a separate state.

Notably, Bhasin and Gautam Navalakha, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case at present, also part of several ISI-sponsored conferences organized by Fai and his Kashmir American Council (KAC).

In the year 2011, she also extended support to Fai after he was accused of receiving money from the ISI for carrying out anti-India pursuit on Kashmir. Later, as per the OSIA, Fai was jailed for two years in the United States after he pled guilty of defrauding the US by concealing the transfer of millions of dollars from the ISI and using them for anti-India operations.

Bhasin however, kept on extending support to Fai. In her latest article, she has claimed that the Indian government is suppressing the voice of Kashmiri media and does not want it to show the real situation on ground. “Since he took power in 2014, Modi has systematically debased India’s democratic ideals, bending courts and other government machinery to his will. The media stands as one of the last remaining institutions capable of preventing India’s descent into authoritarianism. But if Modi succeeds in introducing the Kashmir model of information control to the rest of the country, it won’t be just press freedom that is at risk, but Indian democracy itself,” she was quoted as saying.

‘Congress was Hindu party, Vande Mataram provoked hatred against Muslims’: Pakistani school textbooks teaching falsehood to students to justify partition

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Congress was Hindu party, Vande Mataram provoked hatred against Muslims’: Pakistani school textbooks teaching falsehood to students to justify partition

Children in Pakistani schools are being taught anti-India and anti-Hindu books. Pakistani children are being brainwashed with hatred of the neighbouring nation and Hindus, a minority in Pakistan’s population. Such textbooks contain inaccurate and negative references to the Indian National Congress and MK Gandhi. The history book has been updated with made-up events far from reality. 

As per a News18 report, the history book being taught to class-8th and class-9th students in Pakistan has been published by the National Book Foundation. In Pakistan, Class 8 students are being taught that the Indian National Congress exclusively represented Hindus and was not the voice of all of India. The book claims that Indians founded the Congress to promote a ‘Hindu dominant’ Indian nationalism. It continued to represent the voice of Hindus, not all Indians. This is what necessitated the formation of a ‘Muslim League’ by Muslims.

For instance, the class 8 history book’s chapter on the foundation of the Indian National Congress (INC) during British rule reads: “Many Indians joined hands to demand India’s nationalism, purely Hindu in religion. Indian National Congress (INC), therefore, became more a Hindu political party than a voice of the whole of India.”

Screenshot of Pakistani textbook (Image via News18)

In addition, the book depicts Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as a “Hindu leader who neglected Muslims”. The book claims that Gandhi and his supporters were pro-Hindu. Muslims were marginalized, which sowed discord in society. However, in reality, nobody can dispute that MK Gandhi backed Muslims; the Khilafat Movement is a significant example of this.

Gandhi and the Congress, according to the book, had little interest in the Khilafat Movement. The Congress had joined it under its agenda of ‘self-rule’. The book emphasizes several times that Muslims could not rely on Hindus to protect their rights of Muslims. 

“The partition of Bengal brought the realization to Muslims that they could not expect any fair play from the Hindu majority. Therefore, to safeguard their interests, the Muslim leaders drew up a plan for separate electorates for their community,” a Pakistani textbook reads.

Image via News18

Furthermore, the book states that after the annulment of the Partition of Bengal in 1911, the Muslims had this realization that they could not trust Hindus or even the British to safeguard their rights. 

“The Muslims came to realize that they could trust neither the Hindus nor the British for the protection of their rights…The Congress claimed to be a national party, but on the question of partition, it behaved like a sectarian Hindu organization,” the book reads.

In a chapter of class nine, the Government of India Act of 1935 is referenced. The act, according to the Pakistani textbook made provisions in favor of Hindus and against Muslims. It is claimed that Muslim participation in programs like Vidya Mandir and Wardha was prohibited under the Act. The book describes that the Congress wanted to make “Vande Mataram” the national anthem and made efforts to “replace” Urdu with Hindi. Interestingly, Vande Mataram is labelled as being anti-Muslim and provoking hatred against Muslims in the book.

Democrats try to force Matt Taibbi of ‘Twitter Files’ fame to reveal his sources, journalist stands his ground: Watch

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Democrats try to force Matt Taibbi of ‘Twitter Files’ fame to reveal his sources, journalist stands his ground: Watch

On Thursday (March 9), Democrats forced journalist Matt Taibbi to disclose his sources in connection to the ‘Twitter Files’ expose but the latter refused to give in to the intimidation.

During a Judiciary Committee Hearing, Democratic Party Representative (Texas) Sylvia Garcia sought to know when the new Twitter owner Elon Musk approached Taibbi with the internal communications of the micro-blogging platform.

“You are asking a journalist to reveal his sources…You are trying to get me to tell you that he (Elon Musk) is the source,” the journalist pointed out. Taibbi had earlier made it clear that he is not going to reveal who approached him to work on Twitter Files.

Rep Sylvia Garcia said, “If you are telling me that you can’t answer because he is your source, then the only logical conclusion is that he is in fact your source.”

“You are free to conclude that,” Taibbi hit back. The Democrat House Representative told the journalist that he can’t have it both ways. This led to a heated discussion among the Judiciary Committee members about a journalist’s right to withhold the name of his sources.

“He can, he’s a journalist…He is saying that he is not going to reveal his source…The fact that Democrats are pressuring him to do so is such a violation of the First Amendment,” responded Committee Chairman and Republican Representative (Ohio) Jim Jordan.

During the hearing, a non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives named Stacey Elizabeth Plaskett tried to downplay the credentials of Matt Taibbi by deliberately referring to him as a ‘so-called journalist.’

“…My name is Matt Taibbi. I’ve been a reporter for over 30 years, and a staunch advocate for the First Amendment. Much of that time has been spent at Rolling Stone magazine. Ranking Member Plaskett, I’m not a ‘so-called journalist'”, he had said.

“I’ve won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for independent journalism, and written ten books, including four New York Times bestsellers. I’m now the editor of the online magazine Racket, on the independent platform Substack,” he emphasised.

Earlier on Wednesday (March 8), Taibbi slammed the mainstream media for not raising its voice against the insane overreach of the Biden administration.

“Which journalists a company or its executives talk to is not remotely the government’s business. This is an insane overreach,” he said after Federal Trade Commission demanded names of journalists, from Twitter, who worked on ‘Twitter Files.’

The ‘Twitter Files’ (as it is now called) story was initially broken by independent journalist Matt Taibbi. It exposed how the Twitter moderation team justified the censorship of the Hunter Biden story, under the guise of the ‘hacked materials policy,’ by the likes of Vijaya Gadde. 

The subsequent editions of the ‘Twitter Files’ gave a glimpse into the high-handedness of a ‘select few’ employees at the social media platform, who routinely censored right-wing accounts and non-mainstream narratives with complete disregard for Twitter’s rules.

1...2,3942,3952,396...7,637Page 2,395 of 7,637