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Adani Group hires top US legal giant Wachtell to fight against Hindenburg Research: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Adani Group hires top US legal giant Wachtell to fight against Hindenburg Research: Report

Gautam Adani has enlisted the services of Wachtell, a highly-priced legal firm in the United States, to defend against claims made by short-seller Hindenburg Research, a report published in Financial Times said.

“For decades, Wachtell has been among the most sought-after advisers by besieged corporate boards at some of the largest US companies trying to fend off activist investors or hostile takeovers,” the FT said in its article. Apparently, Wachtell is the same firm that tech billionaire Elon Musk had hired to fight his case against Twitter.

According to the report, Wachtell was approached by the Adani conglomerate through the office of the Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas firm, which is spearheading the defence of Adani Group. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is led by Cyril Shroff, whose daughter has married the son of Gautam Adani.

Wachtell has reportedly sought additional support for the Adani Group from crisis communication firms. As a law firm with expertise in repelling unwanted attacks from corporate raiders, Wachtell will concentrate on coordinating legal, regulatory, and public relations for the conglomerate.

On Friday, the decline in Adani group’s shares persisted as MSCI reduced the proportion of freely tradable shares it takes into account for four companies in its indices. The decision by MSCI was made after US short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report on January 24, accusing the Indian conglomerate of stock manipulation and improper utilization of offshore tax havens to conceal the extent of Adani family members’ ownership in the group’s companies. Despite the allegations, the Adani group has denied any misconduct.

Adani-Hindenburg saga

Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, one of the top 5 wealthiest people in the world before the report was published, saw his fortunes turn and wealth erode as nervous investors pulled money out by selling their holdings of the Adani Group stocks. Adani reportedly lost $100 bn in valuation following the allegations made by Hindenburg Research.

It all started last month after Hindenburg Research published a report accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Hinderburg, a short seller that relies on the trading strategy based on the expectation that the price of the security will fall, claimed that Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, has a net worth of approximately $120 billion, mainly due to an 819% average stock price growth in the group’s seven most significant publicly traded companies over the last three years. Predictably, the Adani share prices were pummelled in the days since the release of the report. 

The grave allegations were contested promptly by the Adani Group, which trashed the Hindenburg Research report as a ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations’. Days later, it released a 413-page rebuttal to the Hindenburg Research report.

However, the crisis was exacerbated by the Adani Group’s decision to call off an oversubscribed FPO in view of the serious allegations levelled against the group by Hindenburg Research. While the business conglomerate trashed the report as malicious disinformation and released a whopping 413-page statement to contest the claims made by Hindenburg, the attendant confusion, uncertainty, and anxiety among investors sent the group’s stocks into free fall and saw the chairman’s valuation plunge considerably.

‘India is reforming, not out of compulsion, but out of conviction’: PM Modi at UP Global Investors Summit

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‘India is reforming, not out of compulsion, but out of conviction’: PM Modi at UP Global Investors Summit

Highlighting the country’s development strides and investment-friendly environment and pointing out that Uttar Pradesh is leading the growth of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India is reforming not out of compulsion, but out of conviction.

If India is the bright spot in the world, then Uttar Pradesh is leading the growth of the country, PM Modi said after inaugurating the Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister said, “Uttar Pradesh’s growth has been noteworthy. People used to say that it was hard to develop UP and the law and order situation could not be improved. UP was known for scams and no one had any hopes for UP. But, within just five to six years, UP has established a new identity for itself. Today Uttar Pradesh is known for good governance, peace, law and order, and stability.”

The PM said a big change is being witnessed in the thinking and aspirations of Indian society and youth today. The aspirations of the country are pushing the governments, and these aspirations are pushing the development work.

“Today every credible voice in the world believes that India’s economy will continue to grow rapidly. The biggest reason behind this is the increasing self-confidence of Indians,” he said.

Prime Minister said that UP has also reaped great benefits from the work that has been done on social, digital and infrastructure in India. He said the Centre has abolished dozens of archaic laws and today India is truly on the path of speed and scale.

“Today, India is reforming, not out of compulsion, but out of conviction. More than 40,000 compliances have been removed and many laws have been abolished,” PM Modi said.

In this year’s budget, PM said Rs 35,000 crore has been provisioned for the energy transition. He said it reflects India’s commitment towards green energy. Mission Green Hydrogen gives strength to this very commitment, he said.

Prime Minister said more than 60 per cent of India’s total mobile production is in UP. One of the country’s two defence corridors is in UP. There are also endless possibilities here regarding fisheries, dairy and food processing.

In UP, PM said there are several new initiatives in dairy, fisheries, agriculture, food processing sectors and natural farming. Today, India is focused on crop diversification and reducing the input cost of farmers. Hence, the government is putting a lot of effort in promoting natural farming.

“We are making record expenditures on infrastructure, and we are increasing them every year. Therefore, you have new opportunities in the infrastructure sector. I especially invite you on the path of green growth on which India has embarked,” PM Modi told the industrialists present at the occasion.

UP Global Investors Summit 2023 is the flagship investment summit of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The mega event is aimed to bring together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, think tanks and leaders from across the world to collectively explore business opportunities and forge partnerships.

Investor UP 2.0 is a comprehensive, investor-centric and service-oriented investment ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh that endeavours to deliver relevant, well-defined, standardized services to investors, said an official statement.

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Former batsman Murali Vijay slams cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar over ‘conversion rate’ surprise

OpIndia Staff
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Former batsman Murali Vijay slams cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar over ‘conversion rate’ surprise

On Friday (February 10), former Indian batsman Murali Vijay slammed cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar for expressing surprise over the former’s conversion rate in Test matches played in India.

The incident reportedly took place during the 2nd Day of the First Test Match between India and Australia. During the course of the match, statistics propped up on the TV that showed Murali Vijay having the highest conversion rate in Tests played at home. Sanjay Manjrekar is one of the commentators in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Vijay was ranked at the top of the list, even higher than the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. It must be mentioned that as per the data, Murali Vijay had a 60% conversion rate at tests played in India, ahead of former skipper Mohammad Azharuddin’s 54.2%.

Sanjay Manjrekar could not help but express his astonishment at this data in the commentary box. He said that he was surprised that Murai Vijay topped the list of conversion rates in Test matches played at home.

This irked the former Indian batsman, who first responded with a tweet saying ‘wow’, before going ahead with a full-blown attack.

“Some Mumbai ex-players can never be appreciative of the south! #showsomelove #equality #fairplayforall,” Murali Vijay lashed out at Sanjay Manjrekar.

This is not the first time when Sanjay Manjrekar had stirred the hornet’s nest with his remarks and gestures. He was slammed by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in July 2019 after he called the latter a “bits and pieces cricketer.”

Jadeja took to Twitter to inform the 57-year-old commentator that he had already played twice the number of matches and urged him to stop his “verbal diarrhoea.”

In a bid to pacify the situation following a brilliant performance by Jadeja, Sanjay Manjrekar said, “By bits ‘n’ pieces of sheer brilliance, he’s ripped me apart on all fronts.”

Uttar Pradesh: 60-year-old Aslam Khan Baba rapes 8-year-old Hindu girl by enticing her with Rs 100, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: 60-year-old Aslam Khan Baba rapes 8-year-old Hindu girl by enticing her with Rs 100, arrested

On February 8, the Uttar Pradesh Police filed an FIR against a person named Aslam Khan Baba and arrested him for raping an 8-year-old Hindu girl in the Hamirpur district. The accused, aged 60, called the victim girl who stays in his neighbourhood and enticed her with Rs 100 before raping her.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on February 4, when the parents of the little girl were away from home. The father of the girl is a labourer and her mother is a domestic helper. The girl who was alone at home was called by the accused to his house and was given Rs 100. He asked the girl to remove her clothes and later he stripped her off.

“Aslam Khan then raped my daughter and asked her to keep her mouth shut. He said that he would keep giving her money for not telling about the rape to anyone. My daughter was sent home after that,” said the mother of the girl who filed a police complaint. She said that the 8-year-old girl complained about the accused to her after she returned from work.

FIR copy

The mother of the girl said that initially, she hesitated to file a police complaint but later did it after Aslam Khan Baba began threatening her and her little girl. She also said that after complaining to the police, Aslam continued to threaten her to take back the FIR. The police have booked the accused under IPC section 376 AB and POCSO section 506.

Speaking to OpIndia, the victim’s mother said that after the case was registered, Aslam’s daughter Sneha Khan and minor son Akash Khan along with another woman came to her and pressurized and lured her to withdraw the case. However, the girl’s mother refused to withdraw the case. The complainant says that in the meanwhile she got a call from another unknown number who said, “Yeh jo tum kar rahi ho yeh thik nahi hai” (what you are doing is not right). The woman said that Aslam is a furniture repairer and a native of the Etawah district of UP.

She added that even after turning 60, Aslam’s actions have been highly objectionable to young girls. “Some time ago my daughter’s friend had come home to play with her. At that time she had complained about Aslam’s misbehaviour to her mother. However, these things did not bother Aslam. We were also told that no one suspects him of doing such an act because of his age,” the mother added.

She further told OpIndia that she did not get cooperation from the hospital and the police in the case. She said that at first the nurse doing the child’s medical check-up warned her that she would not be responsible if anything happened to her child during the test. She also named a woman constable and alleged that the latter had demanded Rs 500 in the name of medical expenses. The victim’s mother stated that she was being threatened and warned so that she would get upset and withdraw the case.

Bihar: Woman constable shot dead by Hasan Arshad, 6 more including Kadir, Sajjad booked, probe on

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Woman constable shot dead by Hasan Arshad, 6 more including Kadir, Sajjad booked, probe on

Late on Wednesday night, a woman police constable from Katihar, Bihar was shot dead by a man identified as Mohammad Chote Hasan alias Hasan Arshad. The accused had reportedly been stalking the woman and was pressuring her to get married to him. He also threatened to make public all her private videos and killed her ultimately on Wednesday by firing two bullets in her head.

According to the Dainik Bhasker report, the Bihar Police has filed an FIR in the case against seven persons including, Hasan Arshad, Kadir, Sonu, Danish, Sajjad, Digga Yadav and Priyansh. However, the police arrested one of the accused, Mohammed Kadir on Thursday.

The woman constable has been identified as Prabha Bharati. Prabha’s sister Pratima Kumari issued her statement in the case to reveal that Prabha and Hasan were in a relationship for a year, but the deceased had broken up with the accused in recent times. “Prabha was being harassed by Hasan after that. He used to call her at odd times and threaten her. He also used to pressure Prabha to get married to him. He used to say that he would kill her if she would not agree to the marriage,” Pratima said.

She added that the accused had also threatened the deceased that he would make public all her private videos if she refused to marry him. “He was continuously blackmailing her. We had earlier complained to the police about the harassment but no action was taken. My sister was brutally shot by the accused and now he is absconding since then. My sister needs to get justice,” Pratima added.

Meanwhile, SP Jitendra Kumar confirmed that the woman constable was shot by Hasan Arshad. “We have booked seven persons in the case. They are Hasan Arshad, Kadir, Sonu, Danish, Sajjad, Digga Yadav, and Priyansh. While we are trying to locate Hasan who absconded from the spot after firing bullets at the victim, we have arrested Mohammed Kadir. He is in the custody and is being interrogated,” the Police said.

The incident is said to have happened late Wednesday night in the Bhatwada area of Katihar, Bihar. The woman was wearing a tracksuit and police shoes. She was shot while she was walking on the street with plugged-in earphones. The locals said that four to five rounds of bullets were fired from the gun. The police recovered her bag and mobile phone from the spot.

Prabha Bharati was posted at Katihar Police station and had gone for duty in Munger Samadhan Yatra two days before she was murdered. She is a resident of Jamalpur, Munger district, and had decided to join back her duty after taking one day break at home. However, she was murdered by the accused on Wednesday.

Police have started the investigation by taking possession of the dead body along with the mobile of the deceased woman.

Uttar Pradesh: Protests erupt after one Jitullah Khan uses tricolour to wipe his e-rickshaw; case registered

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Protests erupt after one Jitullah Khan uses tricolour to wipe his e-rickshaw; case registered

In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a case of national flag desecration has come to light. A video of an e-rickshaw driver wiping the rickshaw with the tricolour is making the rounds on social media. The clip is of Janapriya Vihar Colony in Humanyupur, Gorakhnath. The man in the footage identified himself as Jitullah Khan and claimed that he is from Bihar.

The driver was asked if he was an Indian citizen by a bystander who was filming the incident. The latter smiled and answered, “Yes,” before continuing to clean the rickshaw with the flag. He referred to the tricolour as “kapda” (piece of cloth) when questioned about it.

The number on the e-rikshaw is UP-53-FT-6293, and the registration in Gorakhpur RTO is in the name of a woman, Mamta Tripathi.

The number plate is clearly visible in the picture.

According to the police complaint, locals here protested on Thursday after witnessing a driver clean an e-rickshaw with the tricolour. They recorded the incident and reported it to the Gorakhpur Police. Police opened an investigation after receiving the complaint and registered a case.

Netizens reported the matter to the Gorakhpur Police via social media. Anup Shukla, a Twitter user, shared the image and video of the driver tagging the UP Police, Gorakhpur Police, DIG Gorakhpur, and ADG Gorakhpur, along with the following message: “This is from the Humanyupur North Janpriya Vihar Colony located in the vicinity of the Gorakhnath police station. Anyone who disrespects the national flag shall face consequences.” 

Mahendra Gaur, another user, posted: “This incident is of Humanyupur North Janpriya Vihar Colony area under Gorakhnath police station. This man claims to be an Indian citizen, but he has no idea (that the national flag shouldn’t be dishonoured). Shouldn’t these innocent (sarcasm) individuals be liable to penalties?”

Gorakhnath Inspector Durgesh Singh said, that an investigation into the accusation is currently taking place. Soon, the guilty will be taken into custody.

Rajasthan: CM Ashok Gehlot reads last year’s budget in assembly for several minutes before Congress leaders realise what is happening

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: CM Ashok Gehlot reads last year’s budget in assembly for several minutes before Congress leaders realise what is happening

The Rajasthan government is presenting the state budget in the assembly today. In a hilarious development, CM Ashok Gehlot started reading the budget and kept reading it for several minutes before his party leaders and other ministers realised that the budget sounds familiar and asked him to stop.

As per reports, the CM kept reading the old budget for nearly 7 minutes.

BJP leader Rajyavardhan Rathore shared the footage.

Interestingly, CM Gehlot had shared multiple photos of himself with the budget document and the official briefcase before entering the assembly. It is a mystery how he or anyone around him did not realise that the budget documents were from last year.

Screenshot from Gehlot’s Twitter account
Screenshot from Gehlot’s Twitter account

The opposition has started mocking Congress and laughing in the assembly. The budget session was halted for several minutes as the Congress leaders ran around to locate the current year’s budget papers.

This Day in 1952: Revisiting the historic moment of India’s first victory in Test cricket

OpIndia Staff
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This Day in 1952: Revisiting the historic moment of India’s first victory in Test cricket

The day was February 10, 1952. India had been up against a formidable England team that managed to clinch 1-0 in 4 Test matches, despite unfamiliar conditions.

When the Indian team went ahead with the 5th test match against the visiting side, it was more than determined to win and level the series. History was in the making at the Madras Cricket Club ground in Chepauk in Tamil Nadu.

The Indian team featured stalwarts such as Lala Amarnath, Vinoo Mankad, Vijay Hazare, Mushtaq Ali, Pankaj Roy, and CD Gopinath and they did not disappoint. Vinoo Mankad managed to rip through the English batting order and took 8 wickets in the process.

Screengrab of the scorecard via Espn Cricinfo

Although English batters Dick Spooner and Jack Robertson put up a good fight, the team was restricted to a paltry 266. India took the visitors head-on and posted a mammoth score of 457 runs at the loss of 9 wickets by the end of Day 3.

Middle-order batsman Polly Umrigar remained unbeaten at 130 while opener Pankaj Roy posted 111 runs on the board for the team. With conditions favouring spin, India decided to declare just before the end of the day’s play.

England managed to put up a score of 12 runs without the loss of any wickets. When the team came in to bat on Day 4, the Indian side was on its way to creating history. Until then, it had been almost 20 years since the country played its first Test match.

Bowling performance of Indian crickets in 2nd innings via Espn Cricinfo

Indian cricket fans were waiting in anticipation of the country’s first-ever win. Off-spinner Ghulam Ahmed took 4 wickets and conceded only 77 runs in 26 overs. Bowlers Dattu Phadkar and Ramesh Divecha took 1 wicket each.

Vinoo Mankad, known for his magical orthodox spin bowling, stood up to the occasion and took 3 wickets. It was the 75th over of England’s 2nd innings and the visiting side managed to put 186 runs on the scoreboard.

The team had lost 9 wickets and was short by 8 runs, with another innings remaining for the Indian side. The victory was imminent. On the last ball of the 75th over, Vinoo Mankad took the wicket of Brian Statham. CD Gopinath took the winning catch and the ball as a souvenir.

The hosts had defeated England, the country which invented the sport in the first place. And the decisive victory ushered into a new era for Indian cricket.

While recounting the experience, CD Gopinath told Sportstar last year, “Looking back, the first Test victory and being part of that, no matter what role you played, was the highlight of my career.”

He added, “In 1952 when we won that Test match in Madras, it was a great surprise even to us. Hence, the victory was so much more exciting and sweeter. Probably for the first time, we believed that we could beat a side that was stronger than us. It ushered in a new way of thinking.

CD Gopinath narrated, “I got the ball signed by my teammates…but it has been almost 70 years since, you know…the signatures have all worn off.” It has been 71 years since that red-lettered day and Indian cricket has evolved by leaps and bounds.

The current generation of cricketers owes it to CD Gopinath and his 1952 team, who paved the way for the meteoric rise of Indian cricket on the world stage.

Rajasthan: Man in Dausa with 1000 kgs of explosives arrested ahead of PM Modi’s visit, probe on

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Man in Dausa with 1000 kgs of explosives arrested ahead of PM Modi’s visit, probe on

On Thursday, the Rajasthan Police arrested a man from Dausa after large quantities of explosives were found in his possession. This is days ahead when ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the city of Dausa on February 12. The accused person has been identified as Rajesh Meena and the Police have recovered around 1000 kgs of explosives from his possession.

According to the reports, the incident came to the fore as the state police were reviewing the security preparations ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to Dausa. It is said that the accused was caught when he was transporting the explosives near Khan Bhankari Road in the district.

The explosives recovered from the accused’s possession include 65 detonators and 40 boxes with 360 gelatin sticks which are used for blasting. Reports mention that one gelatin stick weighs around 2.78kg. The Police stated that they received a tip-off during reviewing the security preparations ahead of PM’s visit to the city.

“Based on the tip-off, the vehicle was intercepted and explosives were recovered. The accused, Rajesh Meena who is the resident of Vyas Mohalla has been arrested and his vehicle has been seized,” the police confirmed.

According to the police, Meena was questioned about the legal permit to carry the explosives and the reason they were being stored. But when he was unable to give a convincing explanation, he was arrested. The accused has been charged under the appropriate provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Explosive Substances Act, and additional inquiry into the case is ongoing.

It should be mentioned that Prime Minister Modi will travel to the region to officially open the Dausa-Sohna section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

With a length of 1,386 kilometers, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is the longest motorway in India.  The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which cost Rs 1 lakh crore to build, will cut the distance between the national capital and the financial capital to 12 hours.

Major towns like Jaipur, Kishangarh, Ajmer, Kota, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bhopal, Ujjain, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat can indeed be visited along this highway, which runs across the six states including Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Maulana Sajid Rashidi who claimed Mahmud Ghazni attacked Somnath Temple only to stop illegal activities, now says he learned it from Romila Thapar

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana Sajid Rashidi who claimed Mahmud Ghazni attacked Somnath Temple only to stop illegal activities, now says he learned it from Romila Thapar

On Thursday, February 9, Gujarat Police said that an FIR has been lodged against Maulana Sajid Rashidi, the chairman of the All India Imam Association for his remarks that the Islamic tyrant Mahmud of Ghazni did not destroy Somnath Temple due to his hatred towards infidels (Kafirs) but to stop the alleged ‘wrongdoings’ that were taking place inside the temple.

The complaint against the Hinduphobic maulana has been filed by Somnath Temple Trust General Manager Vijaysinh Chavda on the basis of which a case has been registered by the police. 

“We have seen the video of Maulana Sajid Rashidi, in which he was heard making indecent remarks about the Somnath Temple. His remarks have hurt the sentiments of the devotees. We have filed a complaint on behalf of the Somnath Temple Trust,” Vijaysingh Chavda said.

It is notable that the controversial Maulana had recently sparked outrage after claiming that Mahmud of Ghazni had not destroyed the Somnath Temple rather he was informed that ‘wrong activities’ were taking place in the temple in the name of faith and deities and young girls were abducted.

“This is true that there has been a Mughal era and Mughal rulers were there for 800 years, however, they had nothing to do with religion. If you read history you will find that there are many such examples like Mahmud of Ghazni. It is wrongly said that he demolished the Somnath Temple. In fact, Ghaznavi was informed by the locals what was actually happening there in the name of faith. What was being done in the name of Devi-Devtas. How the young girls were going missing there,” Rashidi told ANI.

The controversial Maulana went on to say that “Ghaznavi then had the inspection conducted there. He went and invaded the Somnath temple after learning that the claims made by people were indeed true. Instead of destroying the Somnath temple, he only put an end to the wrongdoings that were taking place in the temple.”

An FIR has been filed at Prabhas Patan and Maulana Rashidi has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language, etc.) and 295A (malicious act intended to hurt religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, the police officer said. Manoharsinh Jadeja, district superintendent of police, told the media, “We have learned that Rashidi has made offensive comments.”

This is, however, not the first time that Rashidi has spewed venom against Hindu temples. In December last year, Maulana Rashidi stoked controversy by saying that after 100 years when Muslims come to power in India, the Ram temple at Ayodhya will be demolished and a mosque will be built at its place.

Maulana Sajid Rashidi said, “Muslims are silent today. But m My children… my son, his son, his grandson….but after 50-100 years they will learn from history that our mosque was destroyed and turned into a temple.  A Muslim judge, Muslim ruler, or Muslim government may come to power at that time. Nothing can be said about whether there will be changes… So, based on that history, won’t a mosque be constructed by destroying this temple? It definitely will be.”

Maulana Rashidi says his claims on Somnath were based on information provided by Romila Thapar

Following the FIR, Maulana Rashidi has issued a half-hearted apology to Somnath Trust saying it was not his intention to hurt anyone. He has also stated that his claims were based on Romila Thapar’s writings. he also added that during their 800-year rule, Muslim rulers in India had donated lands for temples and invested money to beautify those temples.

Destruction of the Somnath Temple by Mahmud of Ghazni

Destroying the temples and idols of the Kafirs was upheld by the invaders as their “religious duty” during the Islamic invasions of India. Two temples, Somnath in Gujarat and Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, have each been invaded 17 and 18 times, respectively, while vast numbers of temples have been desecrated, plundered, and destroyed during that time.

The deep-rooted antagonism towards Hindus was embodied by Mahmud of Ghazni who led 17 invasions on the Somnath Temple and desecrated the idols. In 1025, he plundered the holy idol of Somnath during his sixteenth expedition to India. “Somnath” is Sanskrit for “moon master.” The Somnath temple located in Gujarat, India, is the first of the twelve jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. 

According to historical records, he smashed and broke the Lord Somnath idol into four pieces during his 16th invasion of the Somnath Temple. Mahmud of Ghazni entered the temple after defeating the temple’s guardians and saw the magnificent idol of Lord Somnath there. He took his mace and attacked with such vigour that the Lord Somnath idol, which was reportedly five yards long, was shattered into pieces after he became enraged upon seeing the idol.

After the protectors of the Somnath temple were defeated, it is stated in Tariki-e-Alfi, a historical work compiled by a committee formed by Akbar, that Brahmins offered Mahmud of Ghazni an unheard-of amount of wealth in exchange for leaving the ling of Somnath undamaged. Mahmud, in response, said that after he died, he would rather love to be known in the presence of Allah as Butshikan (the destroyer of idols) rather than ButParast (the devotee of idols). He rejected the Brahmins’ offer and demolished the Somnath idol.

Tarikh-i-Alfi reference

The fragments of the Somnath idol were buried inside the Jama Masjid in Ghazni and beneath the entrance to the Sultan’s palace, according to Al-Beruni, an Islamic scholar active during the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni, so that people would step on them while visiting the mosque and the palace and continue to humiliate the idol worshippers.

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