By now it has been well established how the left-liberal ecosystem had come together to bury the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the US presidential elections in 2020. Major left-wing media houses had decided not to publish the explosive stories revealed after Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had left his laptop at a repair shop. And when New York Post published the reports, Twitter and Facebook had censored the story. Now it has been revealed that left-wing billionaire George Soros was also behind the conspiracy to bury the story to help Biden win the election.
The revelation was made in Twitter Files, the initiative by new Twitter owner Elon Musk to expose how the social media platform under previous management had suppressed right-wing voices. In Twitter Files 7 released by author Michael Shellenberger on December 7, it was revealed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) paid a whopping $3.4 million to Twitter between October 2019 and February 2021 and coerced top Twitter executives into gutting the ‘Hunter Biden story‘ of the New York Post.
According to the expose, the FBI was actively involved in Twitter affairs so much so that they created their own “private Slack channel and a crib sheet to onboard new FBI arrivals.” During that time, Twitter Safety Head Yoel Roth participated in a September 2020 “tabletop exercise” by Aspen Institute, a left-wing group run by elite liberals, on a potential “Hack-and-Dump” operation pertaining to the New York Post story on Hunter Biden.
The event was organised by Vivian Schiller, former president and CEO of National Public Radio, former head of news and journalism partnerships at Twitter, and also former vice president and chief digital officer for NBC News. Representatives of several media houses like the New York Times, the Washington Post, apart from Twitter Safety Head Yoel Roth and Facebook policy manager for influence operations (IO) Olga Belogolova had attended the meeting.
One of the persons who had attended the meeting was Claire Wardle, former executive director and co-founder of First Draft News. A screenshot of an email sent to the invitees of the event includes the email address [email protected], making it clear that Claire Wardle also attended the meeting.
First Draft News was funded by Open Society Foundations run by George Soros. Founded in 2015, First Draft News was shut down in June 2022.
The Aspen Institute exercise titled “The Burisma Leak” involved a series of hypothetical leaks showing that Hunter Biden had made more money in his role at Ukrainian company Burisma than previously disclosed and had communicated with his father about his work there, as revealed in the Twitter files. The exercise was meant to shape how the media covered the eventual leak of the Hunter Biden laptop story and the way social media platforms carried it.
The exercise was organised after an anonymous website and a Twitter handle had started to publish documents related to Hunter Biden and Burisma, and the matter had started to gain traction on social media. The objective of the exercise was to formulate strategies on how to cover it after the expose is picked up by media, and how to suppress it.
The exercise was a success, because when the story was eventually published by New York Post, left wing media houses chose to ignore it, and then Twitter and Facebook censored the story, preventing its spread. Twitter had even suspended the NYT account.
The New York Post based on documents obtained from the abandoned laptop revealed that Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to a top executive from the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. Less than a year later, Joe Biden reportedly pressured the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor who was investigating the firm.
The Aspen Institute is a left-leaning think tank funded by leftist philanthropic organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation. Aspen is known for its far-left bias, even though it claims that it fights disinformation. The Commission on Information Disorder run by Aspen Institute regularly approaches social media platforms to censor accounts.
RTI activist Prafull Sarda, who had filed a Right To Information (RTI) application seeking information about terrorist organisations active in India, has shared that there is nothing like ‘Hindu terrorism’ as per the RTI response he received from Home Ministry. He further added that the term is coined by politicians for appeasement politics.
In his RTI application, Praffull Sarda sought names and details about the terrorist organisations that are operating in India, along with information about what all measures have been taken to control such organisations.
Furthermore, Sarda sought information about ‘Hindu or saffron terrorism’ (if any). Sarda also inquired about the Home Ministry’s records about the involvement of ‘saffron or Hindu terrorists’ in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. Besides, the RTI activist also sought information on the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ and their involvement (if any) in such bomb blasts in India.
The RTI activist said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has dismissed any link or a term like Hindu or saffron terrorism.
“I am deeply hurt not only as an Indian but also as a Hindu. Just to garner the votes of a particular community, political leaders continuously defame Hindus by highlighting fake terms like Hindu or saffron terrorism. However, RTI’s reply clearly states that while a term like Hindu terrorism is non-existent, Islamic terrorism exists and troubles by killing millions of people globally,” Sarda said.
In its response to the RTI, the Home Ministry stated, “It is informed that under section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, (UAPA), 42 organisations have been declared as ‘terrorist organisations’. The government has taken various measures to counter the menace of terrorism, which include augmenting the strength Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), capacity building of special forces, tighter immigration control, and modernisation of police. Effective border management through patrolling and round-the-clock surveillance on the borders, setting up of observation posts, border fencing, floodlighting and deployment of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment as well as upgradation of intelligence setup and coastal security, etc.”
Furthermore, the Home Ministry stated that the government has bolstered the legislative framework by amending UAPA, 1967, and NIA Act, 2008 in the year 2019.
As per the information available on the website of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), these are banned terrorist organisations-
• Babbar Khalsa International
• Khalistan Commando Force
• Khalistan Zindabad Force
• International Sikh Youth Federation
• Lashkar-E-Taiba/Pasban-E-Ahle Hadis
• Jaish-E-Mohammed/Tahrik-E-Furqan
• Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-Ul-Ansar or Harkat-Ul-Jehad-E-Islami or Ansar-Ul-Ummah (AUU)
• Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen/ Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment
• Al-Umar-Mujahideen
• Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front
• United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA)
• National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Assam
• People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
• United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
• People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)
• Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)
• Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL)
• Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF)
• All Tripura Tiger Force
• National Liberation Front of Tripura
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
• Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
• Deendar Anjuman
• Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) – People’s War
• Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), all its formations, and Front Organisations
• Al Badr
• Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen
• Al-Qaida/Al-Qaida in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) and all its manifestations.
• Dukhtaran-E-Millat (DEM)
• Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA)
• Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT)
• Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj (ABNES)
• Communist Party of India (Maoist)
• Indian Mujahideen
• Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA)
• Kamatapur Liberation Organisation
• Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Daish/Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K)
• National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) [NSCN(K)], all its formations and front organisations
• Khalistan Liberation Force
• Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM)
• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan and all its manifestations.
Tamil Nadu Governor’s office lodged a complaint with Chennai Police seeking action against ruling DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy for his controversial remarks against Governor RN Ravi.
The complaint was lodged by the Deputy Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Governor. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrote to the state Director General of Police (DGP) over the matter and sought immediate action.
“DMK has always indulged in ‘abusive’ politics. They have always abused leaders holding higher constitutional posts, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have written to Tamil Nadu DGP seeking immediate action. The hands of the police are tied. Local DMK leaders treat police stations as their own offices,” Annamalai told ANI.
He said people will give a befitting reply to DMK in the elections.
“Chief Minister Stalin must come out and clarify because no one has come out with an apology and no FIR has been registered yet. I am sure people will teach them a befitting lesson during the next polls,” added the Tamil Nadu BJP Chief.
DMK leader Shivaji Krishnamoorthy on Friday sparked a controversy with his remark against Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi.
Addressing an event on Thursday, Krishnamoorthy said, “If the Governor refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, do I not have the right to assault him?” “If you (Governor) do not read out the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government, then go to Kashmir, and we will send terrorists so that they’ll gun you down,” Krishnamoorthy said.
The outburst came after CM Stalin accused the Governor of “delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text”.
Congress and communist parties and other ally members protested outside Raj Bhavan against TN Governor RN Ravi on Friday over the speech row.
Tamil Nadu MLA Thiru N Eramakrishnan on Wednesday moved a ‘Motion of Thanks’ on Governor RN Ravi’s address, with a mention of the word ‘regret’ over his action.
On Wednesday, January 9, the Governor sparked a controversy with his statement that the name ‘Thamizhagam’ would be more appropriate for the state.
Governor Ravi’s remark during his customary address at the opening session of the House on Monday, triggered an uproar, especially from the Treasury benches.
Legislators of the ruling DMK and its allies, the Congress and the VCK, started raising slogans against the Governor and staged a walkout.
(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 Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma has received an arms license to carry firearms for self-defense. Nupur Sharma received rape and death threats from Islamists after her remarks during a TV debate on 26th May 2022. After months of death threats, Nupur Sharma was finally given a gun license to defend herself, but scam-accused Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub has concluded that it is Sharma’s privilege that got her one.
Rama Ayyub, who is accused of embezzling funds acquired in the name of charity, took to Twitter to share the news of Nupur Sharma receiving the gun license with her comment “Privilege”.
Notably, it wasn’t just Nupur Sharma who faced death threats over the past 7 months. Anyone who dared to support Nupur Sharma online was brutally killed like Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe, or was the target of threats from Islamists.
Despite such a grave and clear danger to Nupur Sharma’s life, Rana Ayyub is disappointed that Sharma can now defend herself, and netizens were quick to point it out.
This is EXACTLY what Islamists believe. It’s a privilege for kaafirs to stay alive, let alone try and defend themselves. Thank Rana for giving us a peek into the Islamist mind. https://t.co/JPBsaBut2t
Nupur doesn’t have the freedom to come and air her views on news channels anymore. She can’t walk in a bazaar without worrying who is lurking behind. Nobody knows when her life will become normal. This is not privilege. https://t.co/EitGxb6xgX
Some users also pointed out the actual privilege that is enjoyed by the likes of Rana Ayyub as she travels abroad freely despite the findings of the Enforcement Directorate against her.
Nope, after EDs findings someone is traveling free and spreading venom is called Privilege. ? https://t.co/KwpNxzR972
Facing death threats for months, being locked in her own house for months, may seem like a privilege to Rana Ayyub, but for any sensible person, these are genuine grounds to grant a gun license to Nupur Sharma.
DMK Organizational Secretary RS Bharathi has sparked a fresh controversy by saying that North Indians sell panipuri in Tamil Nadu and the Governor is also like them.
He also compared the Governor to a migrant worker from Bihar and said that he would not have left without being beaten had Jayalalitha been alive.
“I had earlier stated that those who sell Soan papdi and Panipuri don’t know the pride of Tamil Nadu. I said this in a meeting. I came to know that many have come from Bihar and I think the Governor (RN Ravi) has similarly come by train,” DMK leader Bharathi said in a public meeting here on Monday evening.
The outburst came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin had accused the Governor of “delivering a speech that was extempore and deviated from the approved text.” Bharathi questioned why the Governor deviated from the speech.
“There is an old saying in villages, ‘don’t count the leaves (banana leaves used as plates for feast), if you are asked to pick it’…Governor’s job is similar to picking up leaves,” the DMK leader said.
Bharathi said, “The address is like the food on the leaves… You (Governor) are a cook. You should have cooked and left it at that… if you plan to keep something, the person who is eating will he be quiet ?.. I’m not boasting. If it was Jayalalithaa’s rule, he (Governor) would have been attacked and that party men also would not be quiet.”
On Monday, the Tamil Nadu assembly also saw unprecedented scenes, when Governor Ravi walked out in a rush following the adoption of a resolution moved by Chief Minister Stalin which sought to expunge, from house records, whatever the Governor spoke outside the customary government-prepared address.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Days after the Sindhi community in Indore removed Guru Granth Sahid from their temples and handed them over to a Gurudwara as demanded by Nihang Sikhs, a new video of Nihangs removing idols from a Sindhi temple in Indore has gone viral on social media. The undated videos are of ‘Poonam Didi Ka Gurudwara’ located at 65 Ex Rajmahal Colony, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. As per social media posts, this particular incident took place on December 19, 2022, a day after Nihangs Shiromani Panth Akali Budha Dal Panjva Takht 96 Crori Chkarvarti visited a Tikana (Sindhi Temple) located in Parshwanath Colony, Indore. However, OpIndia could not verify the exact date.
It is notable that a group of Nihang Sikhs had visited several Sindhi temples in Indore, and objected to the presence of both idols of Hindu deities and the Guru Granth Sahib in those temples. After that, they demanded that the idols should be removed if the Sindhi community wants to keep the Granth in their temples, or else the Granth should be removed from the Sidhi temples and deposited with a Gurudwara by January 12. The Sindhi community decided to return the Granth, and submitted over 80 Shri Guru Granth Sahib at Gurudwara Imli Sahib at Jawahar Marg in Indore on January 11, a day before the deadline.
Now it has been revealed that the Nihang Sikh merely didn’t demand to remove idols of Hindu deities from the temples where the Guru Granth Sahib is also kept, as per Sindhi tradition, but actually forcefully removed idols from some temples.
Idols were forcibly removed near the Guru Granth by some Sikhs who entered the house of a Hindu family. These people are saying “idol worship is hypocrisy”.See how they are removing the idols roughly. Is the sacrilege only of Sikh scriptures not of idols ? shameful act ! pic.twitter.com/B7lEvi0eFQ
In the latest video, Nihang Singhs of Sarkar Committee, Punjab, could be seen removing Hindu idols and asking the family to stop following Hindu practices if they want to worship Sikh Gurus. Multiple Punjabi News Channels on YouTube have shared the videos, and there are additional videos on the Facebook page of Satkar Committee’s member Dawinder Singh who was also seen in the videos.
OpIndia examined multiple videos by India Sikh Channel, TF News, Akaal Channel and others to understand what happened at the Sindhi Temple. A video of ‘Poonam Didi Ka Gurudwara’ appeared on social media, where a woman has seen blessing devotees while sitting next to Shri Guru Granth Sahib. The video reached to Satkar Committee, and their team visited Indore to verify the claims in the video.
As per the reports, when members of the Satkar Committee reached the Sindhi Temple, they found multiple Swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib and Hindu idols in the same room. There were idols of Sikh Gurus as well, which is prohibited in Sikhism as the religion is against idol worship. Nihang Sikhs asked the family that is administering the Temple to follow Maryada (Dignity) and maintain the sanctity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib as per the regulations set by Akal Takht.
Meanwhile, some of the members of the Satkar Committee started removing Hindu idols. The members of the Sindhi family could be seen opposing the step and repeatedly requested them not to remove the Hindu idols. One of the senior Nihang, who was part of the team, asked the other Nihangs not to remove the idols as the family promised they would remove themselves.
A senior member of the team also asked the Sindhi Hindu family not to “ride on two boats”. He told them if they had faith in Sikh Gurus, they should stop following “Pakhand” or Imposture, that is, Hinduism. The remarks by Nihang Sikh are being criticized over social media. On multiple occasions in the video(s), the members of the Satkar Committee could be seen asking the family not to follow the Hindu rituals if they want to follow Sikhism, which is being objected to by the Hindus on social media.
Furthermore, in one video, it appears the team again visited the Sindhi temple later to check if the directions they provided were followed or not. However, upon seeing some Hindu idols, including Bhagwan Ganpati and Sindhi Bhagwan Jhoolelal, still in the room, they decided to take away copies of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. While leaving the premises with Guru Granth Sahib, they again told the Sindhi Hindu family to stop following the rituals of Hinduism. A clip of that conversation has also been shared in our previous report.
The group reportedly visited other Sindhi Temples in Indore and took away copies of Shri Guru Granth Sahib with them. All the copies were submitted to Shri Imli Sahib Gurudwara. Following that, many Sindhi Temples have submitted copies of Shri Guru Granth Sahib after multiple meetings were held between a 5-member committee from the Sindhi community and Sikh religious leaders.
Notably, Satkar Committee has made headlines several times in the past. In 2021, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee leader Tarlochan Singh in a statement claimed that they are not sorry for what happened with Lakhbir Singh, who was killed by Nihang Sikhs. When asked if lynching someone for alleged sacrilege was justified, Tarlochan said, “Yes, absolutely. For us, our religion, our faith, our Granth holds more value than a person’s life.” “We have no remorse for what happened. We will do it again if anyone touches our Granth, doesn’t matter if he is a government agent or some minister himself,” added the committee leader. Lakhbir Singh was allegedly killed by Nihang Sikh during the farmers’ protests for allegedly committing sacrilege of Holy Sikh Scripture Sarbloh Granth. They also objected to letting his cremation done as per Sikh rituals.
The committee was also accused of taking away rare Bir of Shri Guru Granth Sahib on multiple occasions and not returning it despite multiple requests. A 2020 report in Times Of India noted how they took away a handwritten Bir of Shri Guru Granth Sahib in 2016 and did not return it for years claiming the family that had the Bir committed sacrilege (Beadbi).
Unable to follow regulations
The Sindhi community has said in multiple statements that they can’t follow the regulations laid down by the Nihang Sikhs to ensure the sanctity is maintained while keeping Guru Granth Sahib at Tikana or Sindhi Temples. For example, the Nihangs told them to remove all the Hindu idols. Furthermore, only an Amritdhari Sikh can do Sewa, whereas Guru Granth Sahib is ‘Virajmaan’. It was not possible for the Sindhi families who had Guru Granth Sahib at their temples to follow all the regulations; thus, they decided it would be better to give Guru Granth Sahib to the Gurudwara. In a statement, Sindhi community leader Prakash Rajdev said, “We can always visit Gurudwara to do darshan of Guru Granth Sahib, and no one can stop us from doing that.”
Notably, it has been reported that some of the Guru Granth Sahib copies were torn and had tapes pasted on it. As per Sikh norms, in such cases, Guru Granth Sahib’s Bir has to be submitted to Agni as per the rituals. There have been many reports where Satkar Committee members or Akal Takht leaders took away copies of Guru Granth Sahib from the houses of Sikhs on the pretext of not maintaining the sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib.
Sindhi Temples in other cities started giving up Guru Granth Sahib
Following multiple incidents in Indore, Sindhi Temples in other cities have reportedly started giving up Guru Granth Sahib. As per a report by Sindhu Prabhat News, Baba Karandas Darbar, Raipur, Chattisgarh, has also submitted a copy of Guru Granth Sahib to the Gurudwara. Speaking to OpIndia, Naresh Vasvani of Sindhu Prabhat News said, “The Sindhi Temples in other cities have started the process, and it appears every Temple will submit their copies in 2023 itself”. Vasvani added that over 70 copies of Guru Granth Sahib had been given up by the Sindhi community.
It is notable that the Sindhi community is keeping the Granth in their temples for a long time, and it has become a part of their ritual to worship the Granth. The reason for it goes back several hundreds of years, when most of the Sindh community used to live in present-day Pakistan.
The Sindhi Hindus were greatly influenced by Guru Nanak’s teachings as he had visited the Sindh region and had spread his philosophy in the area. From that period onwards, Sindhi people have been following Guru Nanak and Guru Granth Sahib in their temples. They keep the Granth along with other Hindu scriptures in their temples. But now the Nihang Sikhs have started to object this, and as a result, the Sindhi community is having to give up an ancient tradition.
OpIndia is trying to get in touch with the administration of Poonam Didi Ka Gurudwara and Baba Karandas Darbar. We will update the reports accordingly.
Following the face-off between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and state Governor RN Ravi recently in the state assembly, a DMK Minister has stoked a fresh controversy by making abusive and threatening remarks against Governor Ravi.
While speaking at an event, Shivaji Krishnamoorthy said, “Don’t I have the right to assault the Governor if he refuses to utter Ambedkar’s name in his address to the Assembly? Go to Kashmir and we’ll send terrorists so that they will gun you down there if you (governor) don’t read the speech given by the Tamil Nadu government.”
If he (TN Gov RN Ravi) refuses to utter the name of Ambedkar in his Assembly speech, don’t I have the right to assault him? If you (Gov) don’t read out the speech given by Govt, go to Kashmir&we’ll send terrorists so that they’ll gun you down: DMK’s Shivaji Krishnamoorthy (12.01) pic.twitter.com/OvcuauylVw
Furthermore, DMK’s motormouth Krishnamoorthy also went on to abuse Leader of Opposition (LoP) E Palaniswami saying that “a man is truly masculine only when he has sons.”
“Our ex-CM Karunanidhi, current CM MK Stalin, and Udhayanidhi Stalin are all men because they brought sons into the world, “ the DMK leader said.
On Friday, BJP state vice-president Narayana Thirupathy responded to Krishnamoorthy’s derogatory remarks and said, “It’s in the DNA of the DMK to use abusive and filthy language. The state governor was abused by Shivaji Krishnamoorthy and R S Bharathi, who also threatened to kill him. We wonder if the DMK has any connections to terrorists.”
It’s DMK’s culture. For last 60 yrs, they’ve been using foul & filthy language&are known for it. It’s in DMK’s DNA. Shivajii Krishnamoorthy&RS Bharathi had abused Gov RN Ravi & said they’ll kill him. We wonder if DMK has any links with terrorists: Narayanan Thirupathy, TN BJP VP pic.twitter.com/mf3QQ89tIQ
BJP’s state President K Annamalai issued a statement condemning the vile remarks made by Shivaji Krishnamoorthy against the Tamil Nadu governor and also stated that the Police’s inaction in the matter would be assumed as the endorsement of the views expressed by Krishnamoorthy.
We look forward to some stern action to ensure the Public stage is not used to spread filth, like how DMK men continue to use it for a long. We wish to convey that the police inaction on such public slander would mean endorsement of the view.
The rift between Tamil Nadu CM Stalin and Governor RN Ravi came out in the open on January 9 when the governor addressed this year’s first session of the Tamil Nadu state’s legislative assembly. A paragraph of the printed copy of his speech mentioned Ramaswami Periyar, Dr. BR Ambedkar, K Kamaraj, and CN Annadurai. It also mentioned the so-called Dravidian model of government. The governor skipped that paragraph while delivering the speech.
It is notable that the first session of the Assembly held every year begins with the Governor’s address. This provision is in force under 176(1) of the Constitution. The state cabinet expected the governor to read out the speech prepared by the cabinet. The Governor skipped some portions while speaking in the House. It was objected to by Chief Minister Stalin. Stalin moved a resolution that the official address prepared by the state cabinet would be on the table of the House and it was passed. As a result, the speech made by the governor was not recorded in the assembly. Since then, DMK cadres have been protesting against the governor. On Thursday, DMK and its allies skipped a Pongal event that was organized by Governor Ravi.
Governor RN Ravi, while interacting with a batch of civil services aspirants who have cleared their Civil Services (Main) Exam and were looking forward to their interviews, expressed his disagreement with the Tamil term ‘ondirya arasu‘ used by the state government to denote the union government.
He said he was fine with people using the term “Union government” to refer to the Government of India, but he felt the term being translated into Tamil as ‘ondirya arasu‘ was not acceptable. He said that this term referred to a sub-district, sub-divisional level structure in the hierarchy and was used for the Union government perhaps with an intention to belittle and be disrespectful to the Union government.
Yet another international organisation has come up with a report alleging that the Narendra Modi government in India is discriminating against minorities, stifling dissent and suppressing free speech. In its recently released Word Report 2023, Human Rights Watch, self-proclaimed defenders of human rights, made these comments while asking the Western Powers to not shift supply chains from China to India.
The report has been authored by activist Tirana Hassan, the Executive Director at Human Rights Watch. She was earlier associated with Amnesty International and several other organisations.
The anti-India comments were made by Human Rights Watch in a section on China titled ‘A Brighter Spotlight on Beijing’, where it talked in detail about the authoritative regime of Xi Jinping, including the atrocities on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang region. The report notes the increasing global focus on the dismal human rights situation in China, including discussions on the matter in the United Nations.
However, the report then says that due to increasing discomfort around the Chinese government’s repressive ambitions, several governments have started to expand trade relations with India, and Human Rights Watch warns the governments against it.
HRW says that several governments, including those of Australia, Japan, Canada, the UK, EU, and US have looked to cultivate trade and security alliances with India, “taking cover behind its brand as the “world’s largest democracy.””
It has advised these governments against it, claiming that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government has “mimicked many of the same abuses that have enabled Chinese state repression—systematic discrimination against religious minorities, stifling of peaceful dissent, and use of technology to suppress free expression—to tighten its grip on power.”
The report alleges that world leaders are making careless trade-offs on human rights, accusing them of justifying it at the cost of doing business. HRW further alleges that world leaders are ignoring “the longer-term implications of their compromises”. It further claims that “Deepening ties with the Modi government while avoiding its troubling rights record squanders valuable leverage to protect the precious, but increasingly endangered, civic space on which India’s democracy relies.”
Elsewhere in the report, HRW criticised the Biden administration for allegedly tempering “criticism of abuses and increasing authoritarianism in India, Thailand, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the region for security and economic reasons, instead of recognizing that all are linked.”
In the report on India, HRW has written what has become familiar rants by such left-liberal organisations against the Modi government, that the BJP government is continuing with “its systematic discrimination and stigmatization of religious and other minorities, particularly Muslims.” It alleges attack on freedom of speech because the govt has taken action against NGOs violating various norms including foreign funding norms, and for actions of people accused of links with terror groups.
The allegations by HRW against India are familiar ones, and all of them are baseless. Ever since Modi government came to power in 2014, Islamists and left-liberals have been spreading the propaganda that Muslims are being oppressed. Even reform measures, like ban on triple talaq, are cited as attack on Muslims. Citing a couple of random criminal incidents where the victims were Muslims, the Islamist-left-liberal ecosystem has been able to create the propaganda that Muslims are oppressed in India groups like Human Rights Watch are furthering their propaganda.
In fact, the ecosystem has been caught using lies to attack the Modi govt, like the so called “use of technology to suppress free expression” mentioned in the HRW report. Although not mentioned, it is clear that they are referring to allegations that BJP used a app named Tek Fog to manipulate social media, and that BJP had special access to social media platforms giving them unlimited powers to manipulate content.
Both these allegations were made by leftist propaganda outlet The Wire, but they have been proven false and the outlet has taken down their Tek Fog and Meta stories. But this fact does not prevent Human Rights Watch to allege that Modi government is using technology to supress free speech.
Similarly, HRW also mentions Pegasus, ignoring the fact that a probe found no evidence of its use against Indian citizens by the government.
Indian media and social media is filled with Islamists and left-liberals that continue to attack the Modi government daily, often with fake allegations, but HRW alleges there is oppression on free speech.
HRW mentions that several Kashmiri Hindus and other minorities like Sikhs have been killed in terror attacks in Kashmir in recent times, but fails to mention who killed them, and the religious ideology behind these attacks. Instead, the group criticises the government for action against some ‘journalists’ for their links with terrorists.
The report claims that the journalists, including Sajad Gul and Fahad Shah, were arrested for reporting about public protests and ‘contradictory claims’ of security forces. This is a complete lie, Sajad Gul is an associate of journalist turned terrorist Mukhtar Baba, and was involved in attacks on other journalists in the region. On the other hand, Fahad Shah was spreading anti-India propaganda on social media, instigating terror attacks. No journalist was arrested for some reports as the HRW report claims.
Like all such reports by such groups, HRW also does not fail to mention that Md Zubair of Alt News was arrested, citing it as an example of crackdown on dissent and free speech. But they fail to mention that it is Zubair who cause several deaths and widespread riots in India because he didn’t think former BJP leader Nupur Sharma had the right of free speech to talk about Prophet Mohammed, even if it is a fact mentioned in Islamic texts.
The report does mention the incident, but only to slam police action on Islamist rioters against Nupur Sharma. It does not mention how Islamists killed multiple people for supporting Nupur Sharma online, but criticised the police instead for controlling the riots demanding beheading of Nupur Sharma.
HRW also resorts to lies to target in India. A photo caption in the main report says ‘Hijab-wearing students arrive to attend classes as a policewoman stands guard outside a government school after the recent hijab ban, in Udupi town in the southern state of Karnataka, India.’ This text gives the impression that there was a ban on hijab in Karnataka, which is completely false. The hijab was only banned in schools where there are uniform norms, and there was never a ban on hijab outside schools.
While the India report mentions the fact, it still criticises the move, ignoring the fact the hijab is nothing but an attack on human rights of Muslim women.
The Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI) has recently declared that the espionage charges against aerospace scientist Nambi Narayanan, which caused a stir in 1994, are false and part of a larger “international conspiracy.”
According to a report from the Times of India, the CBI stated during a hearing at the Kerala High Court that the arrest of Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) espionage case was fake as the charges against him were fabricated.
The CBI has announced that they will release a case diary that proves Nambi Narayanan’s arrest in the 1994 ISRO espionage case was part of an international conspiracy. Prior to his arrest, Narayanan was a well-known liquid propellant engine scientist at ISRO, India’s space agency. He was falsely accused and subsequently arrested.
The Kerala High Court is currently hearing a plea for anticipatory bail for those being investigated for their alleged involvement in framing Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 ISRO espionage case. The CBI is opposing the granting of bail to the accused individuals.
How Nambi Narayanan was framed in the ISRO espionage case
In 1994, ISRO scientist S Nambi Narayanan was arrested by Kerala police with some of his fellows including D Sasikumaran, K Chandrashekhar, and a few others on the charges of selling classified information about India’s cryogenic engine program to Russia and Pakistan’s ISI. The Kerala police had launched the case on the basis of input received from the Intelligence Bureau (IB). However, when the case was soon handed over to the CBI, the CBI found that the case was fabricated and the defendants were being falsely accused by the Kerala police. The CBI probe revealed that there was no case within a month of their apprehension. However, the matter lingered on because of its involvement with Kerala politics.
The role played by IB had come into question, as the so-called evidence of spying had come from the agency, based on which the police had acted.
The CBI eventually informed the chief judicial magistrate in May 1996 that the espionage case was untrue and that there was no supporting proof. The report was approved by the court, and all of the accused were cleared. However, the newly elected CPI(M)-led government chose to play by its own rules and ordered more investigations until, in May 1998, the Supreme Court struck down Kerala’s request for a new probe.
Since then, the Kerala government has shielded the corrupt cops and delayed paying the compensation that was mandated by the High Court and the National Human Rights Commission. In order to begin criminal procedures against the police officers who allegedly falsified evidence against him, Narayanan filed a petition in April 2017. RB Sreekumar, who was recently arrested with Teesta Setalvad on 25th June 2022 for his false testimony in the Gujarat riots case, was one of those police officers.
Based on the petition of Narayanan, the Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee to look into the matter. After the D.K. Jain Committee report pointed out a conspiracy by Kerala police and others to frame the scientist, the apex court ordered CBI to probe the case last year. Accordingly, CBI conducted an in-depth investigation and filed an FIR against several police officials based on the committee report.
On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court came down heavily on media outlets for sensationalising news in order to increase their television ratings (TRPs). Expressing concern over the media trial in the recent incident where a man allegedly urinated on an Air India flight, the bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said, “He was called names. He was denigrated. Everyone has the right to dignity.”
Justice Joseph said TV channels are competing with each other as news coverage is TRP-driven.
The remark came while the bench was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a curb on hate speech incidents across the country and action against the culprits.
Media driven by TRP ratings: SC
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, hearing the pleas filed in relation to hate speech incidents, stated that hate speech is a “complete menace” and bemoaned the lack of regulatory oversight over TV news coverage, noting that it desires a “free and balanced press in India.”
The Supreme Court further argued that everything nowadays is driven by Television Rating Point (TRP) and that channels are competing with one another and “dividing society.” It also questioned why a TV news anchor cannot be taken off air if they contribute to the problem of spreading hate speech.
“We want free speech, but at what cost,” the court said noting that, unlike print media, there is no Press Council of India for news channels.
Justice Nagarathna stated that often times during live discussions, anchors become part of the problem by either muting the voice of a panelist or not allowing them to make a counter-point.
If TV channels are proven to be violating the program code by promoting hate speech, action can be taken against their management, he said.
Action has been taken against several media channels: News Broadcasters Association
The News Broadcasters Association’s counsel indicated that thousands of complaints were received in the previous year and that action was taken against the networks.
“In a live program, the key to the fairness of the program is held by the anchor. If the anchor is not fair, he would not allow the counter view to come by either muting the speaker or by not asking the question to the other side. This is an insignia of bias. How many times action has been taken against the anchor? Media people must learn that they are occupying positions of great strength and they have an impact on society. They cannot be part of the problem and speak their mind whichever way they want,” the bench said.
According to Justice Joseph, if action is taken against the news anchor or their management, everything would fall into place.
The court reminded Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, who was representing the Centre, that freedom of expression is a very vital and delicate subject, and that the government must take some action without actually interfering with it.
Center committed to dealing with hate speech issues
General KM Nataraj stated that the Centre is aware of the problem and is considering amending the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to address the issue of hate speech.
The bench informed him that the government must take action against broadcasts that have an impact on the nation and undermine fraternity and unity while remaining within the bounds of the law and employing some out-of-the-box thinking.
Justice Nagarathna said, “TV has been now in India for decades but still it has no regulations and has become free for all. You don’t have something like the Press Council of India for channels like newspapers.”
SC directs 3 state govts to take suo moto action against hate speeches irrespective of religion
It may be recalled that on 21st October 2022, the Supreme Court instructedthe law enforcement agencies of Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh governments to take suo moto action in cases regarding hate speech without waiting for complaints to be filed.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy also directed the Governments of Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh to file a report before the Court regarding the actions taken on the hate speech crimes that took place in these states.
