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Ghar Wapsi: Here is a list of 28 incidents from 2022 where people who fell into the trap of evangelists or Islamists, revert to the fold of Hinduism

OpIndia Staff
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Ghar Wapsi: Here is a list of 28 incidents from 2022 where people who fell into the trap of evangelists or Islamists, revert to the fold of Hinduism

Over the years, several conversion rackets have been unearthed in various parts of the country. These conversion rackets, which are typically backed by foreign organisations, Islamic outfits and influential Christian missionaries, prey on economically vulnerable Hindus and tribals by tempting them with money, two square meals, clothing, education, and other materialistic inducements. Often, these individuals, in their bid to escape the grinding poverty, accept the offer and convert their religion, only to realise later that the reprieve has been temporary and there has not been a drastic change in their predicament.

Only a small piece of this pervasive and ongoing conversion racket comes to light whenever such defenceless Hindus are rescued or when individuals, gone adrift, revert to Hinduism or undertake Ghar wapsi.

As this year comes to a close, here is a compilation of this year’s cases where vulnerable Hindu families or individuals, who were forced to convert to either Islam or Christianity, later returned to the folds of Hinduism after realising how they had fallen into the trap of evangelists or Islamists who initially lured them with financial aid and food and then brainwashed them to convert to Christianity or Islam.

Ghar Wapsi in Bulandshahr

On December 26, OpIndia reported that over 100 people belonging to 20 Valmiki families in Khurja of the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh reverted to Hinduism. The ‘Ghar Wapsi‘ initiative was organised by Rashtriya Chetna Mission along with Valmiki Sangh with the help of local MLA Minakshi Singh.

Singh said those who reverted to Hinduism took an oath to pray to Sri Ram, Sri Krishna, and other Sanatan deities from now on.

Ghar wapsi in Koppal, Karnataka

On December 16, an incident of Ghar wapsi has been reported from Karatagi village of Koppal district in Karnataka. According to reports, Shankar K and his family, who were compelled to convert to Christianity four years ago owing to financial constraints, contacted Koppal’s Hindu organisations seeking Ghar Wapsi. The Hindu Jagarana Vedike performed the rites at Karatagi village as per the requests of the family members, and the individuals reverted to Hinduism.

Ghar wapsi in Mandsaur

In a Ghar wapsi event from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur on December 12, 2022, a man named Afsar Mansoori quit Islam and embraced Hinduism after chanting Vedic mantras and taking a Panchgavya bath. After his reversion, Mansoori gave himself a new name- Krishna Sanatani after the Vedic rituals at a temple.

80 people in UP’s Muzzafarnagar quit Islam and embrace Hinduism

On December 11, 2022, around 80 people of 12 families in Muzzafarnagar quit Islam and embraced Hinduism in presence of Mahant Swami Yashveer Maharaj at Yog Sadhana Ashram, Bagra. The 80 members, belonging to the Dalit community, alleged that they were earlier Hindus and were forced to convert to Islam by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.

The members undertook Ghar wapsi by chanting Gayatri Mantra and by embracing the Hindu religious thread ‘Janeu’. 

Jharkhand’s Muskan Khatun embraces Hinduism, marries Ram in a Hindu temple

On November 24, OpIndia reported that in Jharkhand’s Godda district, a Muslim girl named Muskan Khatun embraced Hinduism and got married to her Hindu partner Ram. Muskan Khatun said that she likes the Hindu Dharma and is very happy with her decision.

Muskan converted to Hindu Dharma and amidst the chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’, got married to Ram in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on November 22. 

Reportedly, several Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, and RSS activists were also present during the wedding. While Muskan’s family members had threatened to kill her as she changed her religion and married a Hindu man, Ram’s family had accepted their marriage.

Akshay Gaur reverts to Hinduism after filing complaint against mosque caretaker who converted him to Islam

On Friday (November 18), in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district, the caretaker of a mosque was booked on the charges of forcefully converting a Hindu man named Akshay Gaur to Islam.

Akshay Gaur of Prabhu Prem Puram locality filed a police complaint alleging that Alim Qadri converted him to Islam taking advantage of his family problems. After formally lodging a complaint, he said that his Hindu friends found out about his forceful conversion. They spoke to him and convinced him after which he reverted to Hinduism by giving him Gangajal. “I later changed my name from Akshay Gaur to Mohammad Fahim Khan and announced it on Facebook.” When my Hindu friends found out about it, they called me and persuaded me for three days. “They helped me get rid of the illusion I was caught in,” he said.

Akshay Gaur whom Alim Qadri converted to Islam taking advantage of his family problems

500 tribals in Odisha revert to Hinduism

On October 20, 2022, around 500 people, who belong to the Schedule Tribes, in Odisha embraced Hinduism. Vishwa Kalyan Mahayagya was organized in the village Jamurla of Sundargarh district for the Ghar wapsi of these people who were previously converted to Christianity. The event was organized by Dharma Jagran Coordination Department, Odisha in collaboration with Arya Samaj, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.

5 members of a family in Bijnor, who were converted to Islam 8-years-ago, reverts to Hinduism

A five-member family living in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, who had converted to Islam 8 years ago, reverted to Sanatan Dharma in October this year. Mohammad Ahmed, the patriarch of the family was renamed Sandeep Saini, and his wife Sania was again named Seema Saini.

Sandeep Saini and his family embrace Hinduism

Saint Yashveer of Yashveer Ashram, who helped the family to revert to Hinduism by performing Yagna and springing Gangajal on the family members for purification, had said how the Saini family was lured and converted to Islam 8 years ago. “I would call it Ghar wapsi instead of conversion,” the Hindu saint said.

Mohammed Nisar willingly embraces Sanatan Dharma In Mandsaur, MP

In September this year, it was reported how one Mohammed Nisar out of his own will embraced the Sanatan Dharma at the Gayatri temple in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and adopted the new identity as Sonu Singh. After embracing Hinduism, Sonu Singh said that his inclination was towards Hinduism from the beginning and after marrying a Hindu girl, he started worshipping at home but was always afraid of the consequences if he embraced Sanatan Dharma.

“I would have adopted Sanatan long ago, but there was no one to give me the courage. My grandfather’s name was Chand Singh. Our forefathers were Hindus, so I named myself Sonu Singh and converted to Hinduism. I do not know how to read Namaz, nor have I ever read Quran. I liked living like a Hindu. That’s why I used to apply Tilak. The law of India allows me to follow the religion of my faith,” Nisar had said after embracing Hinduism.

Rukhsar Khatoon does Ghar wapsi and becomes Nisha, says was frustrated since father wanted to consummate his 5th marriage

On September 25, OpIndia reported that a Madarsa student named Rukhsar Khatoon adopted Hinduism as per Hindu rituals and customs. Rukhsar who hails from the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh changed her name to Nisha after embracing Hinduism. After conversion, she married a Hindu man, the love of her life, Ram Ashish. Speaking about her decision, Nisha alias Rukhsar Khatoon discussed the aspects of Islam that she found objectionable. She said that her father already has four wives and is planning to consummate his 5th marriage, which she felt was wrong and which is why she chose a Hindu boy as her life partner.

Muslim woman embraces Hinduism after alcoholic husband gives her triple talalq

In another similar instance, an aggrieved Muslim woman named Rubina Khan of Haldwani in Uttarakhand wilfully adopted Hinduism and married a Hindu man named Prempal after her alcoholic ex-husband Shoiab threw her out of the house after giving her triple talaq.

Ikra becomes Ishika after willingly accepting Hinduism and marries a Hindu boy

In yet another similar incident, a Muslim woman named Ikra willingly converted her religion from Islam to Hinduism in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandasaur district and married a Hindu man in the month of September this year. The woman married her love Rahul Verma and accepted Hinduism as her new religion amid the religious chants at Gayatri Mandir.

After performing Ghar Wapsi, Ishika reiterated that she has converted her religion to Hinduism willingly and that she wants her family members to stay away from her husband and her new family.

Retired railway supervisor Abdul Jameel of Fatehpur embraces Hinduism

On Thursday 21st July 2022, a man named Abdul Jameel in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh quit Islam and embraced Hinduism at the Sankat Mochan Mandir amidst the holy chants of Vedic Mantras along with all the rituals according to the Sanatan Dharma. He will now be known as Shravan Kumar. Abdul Jameel – a retired government servant – said that he developed an interest in the Sanatan Dharma over the last many years.

Abdul Jameel said, “When my brother-in-law Babar alias Mustakim knew that I am converting to Hinduism, he locked me at home and he beat me. I believed in my deity, Lord Ram. I perform his puja at my home for the last three months.”

He added, “Lord Ram is the ancestor of the whole of India, and people should happily accept this fact.”

UP youth who was misled and converted to Islam reverts to Hinduism

A Hindu youth named Saurabh Rastogi, who was brainwashed into converting to Islam 11-years-ago returned to his faith in July this year. Saurabh who had started identifying himself as Muhhamad Suhail after conversion said that a Muslim cleric had brainwashed his father and other family members to eschew Hinduism and embrace Islam.

However, 11 years later, Saurabh Rastogi wrote to the District Magistrate of Bareilly Shivakant Dwivedi stating that he felt smothered in the religion of Islam and wanted to revert to Hinduism. Finally, on July 12, Saurabh Rastogi came back to the fold of Hinduism amid havan and puja rituals.

18 Muslims convert to Hinduism because they believe their ancestors were Hindus

In June this year, reports emerged that 18 Muslims retreated to Sanatan Dharma after worshipping at the Shiva temple in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh saying that their forefathers were Hindus. They offered prayers at the Bhimnath Mahadev Temple in Amba. In the presence of Swami Anandgiri Maharaj, everyone took a bath with Gaumutra and wore Janeus. The individuals who adopted Hinduism signed an affidavit testifying that they converted of their own free will.

Muslim man Shaikh Jafar Qureshi does Ghar Wapsi in MP

On May 28, OpIndia reported that a Muslim man named Shaikh Jafar Qureshi renounced Islam and accepted Hinduism in the Mandasaur district of Madhya Pradesh. The 46-year-old Sheikh was given the initiation to Hinduism by performing ritual worship by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Chidambaranand Saraswati at the Pashupatinath temple. From May 28 Shaikh Jafar Qureshi was known by his new name Chetan Singh Rajput.

Elaborating on his feeling over having a new name, Chetan Singh Rajput said, “Forefathers of Muslims were Rajput. So I decided to consider Rajput surname for myself. I am a devotee of Lord Shiva and was fascinated by Sanatan Dharma since childhood”, he reiterated. He also stated that now he will support and encourage all those people who want to adopt Hinduism as a religion.

Muslim girl converts to Hinduism, called her family members fanatics

On May 23 it was reported a Muslim girl has converted to Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district to marry a Hindu youth, Bobby Kashyap. “My family members and relatives are of fanatic and fundamentalist ideology. They hate Hinduism but I have unwavering faith in Hinduism,” Lubna Shahjeen who became Arohi said after reverting to Hinduism.

Mohammad Gulnaz turns Virat Kumar after realising ‘what’s wrong and what’s right’

One Mohammad Gulnaz rejected Islam to adopt Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh Shahjahanpur district in the month of May this year. Gulnaz became Virat Kumar amid Hindu rituals and mantras, with the help of members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.

After adopting Hinduism, Virat claimed that when he realized “what’s wrong and what’s right” he decided to get back to his original roots. “My ancestors were “Sanatanis” keeping that in consideration I returned back to my original religion. Sanatan Dharm is the oldest dharma and I returned to it on my own,” said Virat and also appealed to his family members to return to Hinduism.

A Muslim girl in Bareilly does Ghar Wapsi

On May 16 it was reported that a Muslim girl, Nazish, married a Hindu boy in the temple in Bareilly after undertaking Ghar wapsi. Nazish who started identifying herself as Niharika after reverting to Hinduism had said that she had immense faith in the Hindu religion and there was no pressure or coercion from anyone on her. Mahant of Agastya Muni Ashram had helped Nazish to embrace Hinduism according to Hindu customs and rituals.

Ex-AIMIM leader and wife want to quit Islam, adopt Hinduism

In April, the former district president of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) Mohd Ruved Sabir and his wife Samina Parveen expressed their desire to convert to Hinduism and reached out to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to seek help in the due process. The couple said that they have been compelled to take the decision after they did not receive any help from the leaders and organisations of their own community.

Uttar Pradesh: Eight members of two Muslim families revert to Hinduism

Eight members of two Muslim families reverted to Hinduism in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Mahant Swami Yashveer Maharaj and Swami Mrigendra Maharaj of Swami Yashveer Ashram Parishad at Bagra brought them back to the Hinduism fold after performing the havan and puja rituals. All of them became Hindu amidst the chants of holy mantras by doing Achamana of the holy Gangajal.

Bareilly: Christian boy and Muslim girl undergo gharwapsi

In the same month, a Christian boy and a Muslim girl underwent Ghar wapsi and got married according to Hindu rituals in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, the Christian groom Sumit loved Sanatan values and culture, so he proposed to his lover Noor to marry him by becoming a Hindu. Noor immediately accepted the proposal and the duo decided to undergo Ghar wapsi and get married.

Ghar Wapsi of 1250 people in Chhattisgarh

In the state of Chhattisgarh, 1250 persons returned to Sanatan Dharma. This occurred at the Vishwa Kalyan Mahayagya held in Katangpali village in the Mahasamund district of Chattisgarh on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. 

‘Ghar Wapsi’ in Pakistan

On March 14, a Pakistani national, Zakriya Hanif, who identifies as transgender, announced that she was leaving Islam and embracing Hinduism. In a tweet where she posted photographs of herself donning Tilak at a temple and the gate of the temple, she wrote, “Officially leaving muslimanity and joining Hinduism.” She also used the hashtag Ghar Wapsi, a term often used for people coming back to Hinduism.

61 tribal Christian families do Ghar wapsi in Jharkhand

In March this year, as many as 61 families of Vanvasi (tribal) Samaj in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district converted back to their Sarna religion. According to reports, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Department Minister Kalicharan Mandal had organised a program for the return of these 61 Sarna tribal families in the Sahibganj district.

181 Christians reconverted to the original tribal Sarna faith in Jharkhand

It’s worth noting that while Christian missionaries operating in the rural hamlets of Jharkhand have been luring vulnerable tribals with land and money in order to convert them, members of various Hindu outfits have been working tirelessly to free these innocent tribals from the clutches of such evangelists.

Prior to the aforementioned incident, as many as 181 members of a tribal community whose ancestors had embraced Christianity many years ago were converted back to their Sarna religion in different villages of the Garhwa district in Jharkhand.

The Dharma Jagran and Tribal Suraksha Manch organised the Saraedih Village Tribal Conference for the return of the Sarna tribals. In the program, all the Christian converts who wished to revert back to their original faith were welcomed as per the tribal tradition of washing their feet.

Malayalam director Ali Akbar renounced Islam and embraced Hinduism

A month after quitting Islam, Malayalam Director Ali Akbar officially reconverted to Hinduism in January. On the 10th of December, Ali Akbar announced that he was leaving Islam and would be known as Ramasimhan henceforth.

Ghar wapsi in Karnataka

On January 10, a unique case of Gharwapsi had come to the fore in Karnataka’s Yadgir district. A man whose family converted to Christianity close to 50 years ago had returned to the fold of Hinduism along with his wife and three children.

In his interview with Times of India, Timothy said he is unaware of the circumstances that led his parents to eschew Hinduism and embrace Christianity 50 years back. But now, he is preparing to return to his original religion.

Those who cry in support of the proponent of Two-Nation theory, Iqbal, were silent about freedom fighter Veer Savarkar: The dangerous hypocrisy

Saket Suryesh
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Those who cry in support of the proponent of Two-Nation theory, Iqbal, were silent about freedom fighter Veer Savarkar: The dangerous hypocrisy

The problem with romanticising history is that it reduces science to fantasy, and facts to propaganda. Indian intellectual space has long suffered this malaise, where the intellectuals, mostly leftists and closet communalists beat up historical facts so mercilessly to bring them into a shape of their liking that in the protest it lost any life it had. The telling of history ought to be lively so that it can help us define the future. The propaganda that influenced our reading of history to suit the political requirements of today made it useless for our future. To protect our future from the failures of the past is, to my mind, the primary reason for reading history. 

As a school Principal was suspended for making the students sing a poem by Mohammad Iqbal and a slew of articles came out in close succession in the national dailies in support of the school functionaries breaching the set curriculum and making the kids sing a poem with allegedly religious tinge. Nostalgia-strained articles were written referring to the younger days of old intellectuals about how in the non-communal world of Nellie, Bhagalpur and Meerut before 2014, poems were sung without such interventions. Syeda Hameed wrote referring to various poems referring to Hindu deities that were sung and unlike Nahida and Waziruddin no one got suspended. She forgets that for a wounded nation, it is not only the work of art, rather the artist is also important before taking in his art into national school curriculum.

We cannot take Hitler’s paintings into the curriculum of Art Schools, where you have a much more mature audience, even to teach them how paintings should not be painted. Sayeeda Hameed challenges the 140 Crore people to put their hands on their hearts and then say whether they agree to this state action against a Mohammad Iqbal poem. She is not wrong. She knows we are a nation which had put the members of the Muslim League into the Constituent Assembly and made them participate in the making of the constitution of a nation which they had just broken into two. She also knows that we have been conditioned so well over the years, post-independence that we believe Iqbal to be a nationalist, freedom fighter with a secular outlook. She is so sure of the propaganda that she is not afraid of the truth. She leans on the trope of now-defunct due to the overuse Ganga-Jamuni culture which is nothing but a representation of the large-heartedness of the Majority population of India who allowed one of the two of their own rivers to represent the foreign faith. 

While Mohammad Ali Jinnah is the political father of Pakistan, those who have read history know that Mohammad Iqbal, known by his pen-name Allama Iqbal was the ideological father of Pakistan. In order to exonerate the actual proponents of the Two-Nation theory, by alienating them from the Indian Muslims, an erratic policy, post-independence pushed the Muslims into their lap, by creating fake villains of Partition. There is no evidence to suggest even in the last, blood-tainted days, Hindus of Lahore or Dhaka were taken on board and agreed to the creation of a Muslims-only India out of a Hindu-Majority India. Apart from the loss of businesses, history and culture, this partition unfairly forced Hindus of the region to the point of sword resulting in the loss of their political relevance after almost two centuries of mostly Hindu fight for independence, if we leave it alone the small phase of Caliphate movement which was jointly carried forward by both Hindus and Muslims.

While the story is long and will need full attention, for now, let us go with the undeniable fact that religion as a basis for nation-making first raised its ugly head in the last phases of 1857 when the Muslim mutineers raised Islamic flags in the Red Fort, followed by the pro-British Sir Syed first raising the two-nation theory, in a speech he made in Meerut, on 14th of March, 1887. Savarkar was five years old at that time. It was in 1906, that Sir Aga Khan- III founded Muslim League and formalised this two-nation theory by obtaining a separate electorate for the Muslims. Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1916, a reactionary movement of Hindus, years after the foundation of the Muslim League. In 1921, it removed the clause of being loyal to the British and made independent and self-ruled India its goal. Congress approved the Poorna Swarajya resolution in 1929.

In 1926, Justice Abdur Rahim from Midnapore gave a more definite shape to the Two-Nation Theory, in a speech he made in January at the 17th Convention of Muslim League, claiming that Indian Muslims are closer to Pan-Islamism than they are to the Hindu inhabitants of India. RSS, just as Hindu Mahasabha, was again formed as a reactionary force in September 1926. Every time Muslim leaders sought to separate themselves from Hindu India, the Hindus came together, perforce forming an organisation for Hindu unity. Coming to Mohammad Iqbal, born to Hindu ancestors, Sapru Brahmins from Kashmir, on 9th November 1877 at Sialkot. (Iqbal would write proudly about his Hindu caste credentials). Khushwant Singh wrote that Iqbal’s father Rattan Lal was caught in a case of embezzlement, in Afghanistan and to escape punishment, he converted to Islam.

This ordinary case of corruption created a separatist Islamic leader and thinker. Around 1907, Iqbal returned from England and started legal practice in Lahore. Unlike Jinnah who even in 1947 tried to distinguish Indian, and later Pakistani Muslims from Pan -the Islamist movement, Iqbal from the early one pushed the idea of Muslims being a part of Pan-Islam and considered any loyalty to nationalist feelings inconsistent with the teaching of Islam. In December 1930, Allahabad session of the Muslim League, Iqbal made a speech claiming that it was impossible for the Muslims to live together with the Hindus and demanded the creation of Muslim states. Arguing strongly against the idea that religion is a private affair and should not have a play in the political space, Iqbal pushed for an Islamic political entity. He said in this famous speech hidden away from public view in a secular India – I demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim state in the best interest of Islam and India. 

Iqbal has been positioned to the people in India, in the minds of majority Hindus with the secular slant of thinking as the writer of Tarana-e-Hindi, known better as Sare-Jahaan-Se-Achcha in 1905. However, within the next five years, in 1910, after he had become a secretary in the Muslim League, he wrote Tarana-e-Milli on a similar rhythm and poetry structure but with a diametric opposition theme. No longer claiming himself to be ‘of hind’ (Hindi hain hum, vatan hai Hindostaan hamara), Iqbal is now a Muslim with no allegiance to his motherland, rather a citizen of Ummah or Pan-Islam with loyalty to the global Islam not to the nation (Cheen-o-Arab Hamaara, Hindustaan hamaara, Muslim hain hum, vatan hai, saara jahan hamara- China is ours, and so is India, we are Muslims and entire world is ours). The man who five years back claimed to be a Hindustani, writes in Nazm Wataniyat “baaju tera tauheed ki kuvvat se kavi hai, islam tera desh hai to mustafvi hai (Your arms carry the strength of monotheism, and your nation is Islam and you are a citizen of Prophet’s nation). 

In 1922, the man who secularists in India would later project as a Nationalist freedom fighter got knighthood from the British Government. While he was very happy about Muslims getting the support of the Hindus in the Caliphate movement, he was disappointed when Turkey declared itself as a secular nation. He wrote in despair – If a nation gives up Islamic fanaticism and chooses a national fanaticism as the principle of order then for that nation preaching of Islam is meaningless, and it means it has no interest in the preaching of Islam. Read in plain English, Iqbal contends that unless a nation chooses the path of Islamic fanaticism, it cannot propagate Islam. Iqbal batted aggressively for Hijab for women. Annemarie Schimmel writes in her book Gabriel’s Wings that Iqbal saw the Western methods of female education as a greater danger to his dream of Muslim womanhood. A vocal opponent of women’s right to vote, Iqbal blames this political involvement of women on monogamy. 

It is not so shocking that a religious prayer of the architect of Pakistan is being objected to, what is more, surprising is that our secular slant has kept the truth about Iqbal hidden from our masses. We have cultivated our intelligentsia in such a manner that out of some sense of inadequacy they cannot think of Sahir or Ashfaq who repudiated Pan-Islam and celebrated their nationalism as poets of repute to teach them in schools, rather we run after Pakistani heroes like Iqbal and Faiz. While we have awards constituted after the architect of Pakistan, in a way, honouring those who broke India to pursue their fanatic goals, Pakistan has no awards named after Indians who made great cities of Pakistan like Karachi. 1947 saw creation of Pakistan and destruction of India, it is strange that Pakistan has open animosity towards the Hindu ancestors of theirs who contributed towards developing the region, and in India we have intellectuals falling over one another to honour the Pakistanis.

The secularists of India would be shocked that while we seek unity on the account of similar cultural ethos and ideological moorings as the citizens of the same nation, Iqbal clearly denounced any such possibility. In a speech made in Aligarh in 1911, he said- It is not the unity of language, or country or identity or economic interest that constitutes the basic principles of our nationality. It is because we believe in a certain view of the universe and participate in the same historical tradition that we are a member of the society formed by the Prophet of Islam. An absolutely divisive Islamist, Iqbal was never a secular nationalist and was the nourisher of the thought which created a theocratic Muslim state, by severing India on which his ancestors grew. He wrote letter after letter to Jinnah persuading him to never settle for anything less than the creation of a Muslim homeland.

While I am totally against banning any work of art, to officially introduce the works of someone who was the ideological creator of Pakistan, to students who are innocent enough not to evaluate the value and meaning of a work of art, is not right. If this protest is being raised not because our intellectuals look at bigoted intellectuals of the past as a voice of free expression, then we must remember that the same Pakistan-loving class remained silent when a noted musician like Hridaynath Mangeshkar was sacked from All India Radio under Congress rule merely for composing a song of Savarkar. We as common citizens must listen to the silence with which action on a noted composer like Hridaynath Mangeshkar was received, and understand the noise with which a suspension notice to a barely known School Principle is challenged. One had put to music a song by an Indian leader, another had made young kids sing a song composed by innocent children.    

Adani Group completes majority acquisition of NDTV, acquires 27.26% shares from Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy for over ₹602 crore

OpIndia Staff
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Adani Group completes majority acquisition of NDTV, acquires 27.26% shares from Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy for over ₹602 crore

A week after NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika announced that they are selling their most of stake in the media company to Adani Group, today Adani Enterprises Limited informed that it has completed the transaction. In a regulatory filing made with BSE and NSE on Friday, the Adani Group said it has acquired a 27.26 per cent equity stake in NDTV from Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, thereby becoming the majority owner of the media firm.

Adani Enterprises Limited said in the statement, “RRPR, an indirect subsidiary of Adani Enterprises and member of the promoter/promoter group of NDTV, has acquired 27.26% equity stake in NDTV from Mr Prannoy Roy and Mrs Radhika Roy (“Sellers”) by way of inter-se transfer under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011.

According to the filing made with the stock exchanges, RRPR will now hold a 56.45%equity stake in NDTV, as RRPR already held a 29.18 per cent equity stake in NDTV. The acquisition of shares from Roys was completed on 30 December.

The Adani Group also informed that Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, an indirect subsidiary of the Adani group, holds an 8.27% per cent equity stake in NDTV. Therefore, Adani Group now owns 64.72% stake in New Delhi Television.

The statement by Adani Enterprises says that the company acquired the 27.26% stake from Roys at the price of ₹342.65 per share. This means that the company paid over ₹600 crore to Roys for the shares. According to the regulatory filing made by NDTV last week, Prannoy Roy transferred 86,65,209 equity shares and Radhika Roy transferred 89,12,467 shares to Adani group. This means both promoters transferred a total of 1,75,77,676 equity shares.

Number of shares transferred as mentioned in NDTV statement

At the price of ₹342.65 per share, the total cost of 1,75,77,676 equity shares translates to ₹602,29,90,681. The price paid to Roys is almost same as the current market price of NDTV shares.

The price paid per share as per Adani Group statement

The Adani Group statement also mentioned that they paid cash to Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy for the transaction.

It is interesting to note that the Adani Group paid a premium to Roys over the price paid in the open offer. The group paid ₹294 per share to acquire around 53.27 lakh shares of NDTV in the open offer, which means the promoters have been paid around 17% more. While laws say that the price paid in an open offer should be the same for all shareholders, this deal will be exempt from that rule. This is because, it was not an open offer but a transfer of shares from one owner to another owner, or an inter-se transaction. Because, the shares have been acquired by RRPR, which is an existing owner of NDTV. Moreover, the acquisition was announced after the open offer had ended.

The acquisition of NDTV by Adani Group began with the acquisition of Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Ltd (VCPL), a Reliance Group company, by AMG Media Networks, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, in August this year. Vishvapradhan held warrants of RRPR, in exchange of interest-free loan, with the rights to convert them to 99.9% share in RRPR. RRPR was the holding company of Roys, through which they owned 29.18% in NDTV.

After acquiring Vishvapradhan, the Adani group executed the warrants acquiring RRPR, and became the 29.18% owner in NDTV. After that, the group made an open offer as per regulatory provisions, and Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited acquired an 8.27% stake through the open offer which was completed on 20 December.

On December 23, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy said in a statement saying that they are transferring most of their shares in NDTV to Adani Group, as the group has become the single-largest shareholder in NDTV after the open offer. Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy have divested 13.44% and 13.82% of their shares respectively to the Adani Group, and have kept 2.5% shares each, remaining as minority shareholders.

The promoters had said that their discussions with Gautam Adani were constructive, and all the suggestions they made were accepted by him positively and with openness.

The Roys had said in their statement, “Mr. Adani has invested in a brand that is synonymous with Trust, Credibility, and Independence, and we are hopeful that he will preserve these values and expand upon them with all the responsibility required of a leader of an organization of this nature. We look forward to watching NDTV, and its entire extraordinary team, delivering the next phase of growth, one that India can be proud of.”

Sikh recruits can keep their turbans and beards throughout Marine Corps Boot Camp: US Federal Court

OpIndia Staff
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Sikh recruits can keep their turbans and beards throughout Marine Corps Boot Camp: US Federal Court

In a historic decision, a federal court in the United States ordered the Marine Corps to allow Sikh cadets with untrimmed hair and beards to start basic training instantly as a preliminary measure, while a district court considers the merits of a challenge against the elite unit’s boot camp grooming rule of trimming and shaving beards.

According to the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, the plaintiffs were enduring severe, immediate, and ongoing damage to the exercise of their faith as a result of the restriction. “The Corps recognizes that they are otherwise fully qualified to enlist in the Marine Corps, and they would join the Corps immediately but for the Corps’ refusal to extend existing hair and shaving exemptions to their exercise of faith or to accommodate their religious articles,” wrote Judge Patricia Millen on behest of her and Circuit Judges Neomi Rao and J. Michelle Childs.

The Justice also added that every day the Marine Corps refuses to let the recruits take the oath of service until they give up their religion causing irrevocable and irreparable harm. They are constantly compelled to choose between their faith and the important and noble responsibility of contributing to the protection of the rights and honor of the nation, and they suffer the indignity of not being able to serve for causes that, on this record, bear no relationship to their capacity to perform.

According to reports, three men identified as Milaap Singh Chahal, Jaskirat Singh, and Aekash Singh, as well as Captain Sukhbir Singh Toor, who is fighting for the right to dress his beard throughout a combat mission, filed a complaint to confront the Marine Corps’ grooming strategy on the grounds that its rejection to grant a religious waiver was arbitrary and discriminatory, as well as a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom. On behalf of the Corps, it was asserted that the petitioners’ request for lodging was declined to ensure ‘disciplined uniformity’.

It was argued that exempting the plaintiffs from the recurrent process of shaving their faces and heads alongside fellow recruits and allowing them to wear a head covering would jeopardize the Corps’ compelling interest in fostering unit cohesiveness and a uniform mindset throughout boot camp. According to them, this was critical for the ‘psychological transformation’ via which civilians adopted the military branch’s team attitude and willingness to sacrifice. 

Meanwhile, attorneys representing the Sikh recruits pointed to other rules which the Marine Corps has loosened in recent years to promote diversity, such as permitting tattoos and allowing women to wear natural haircuts. “I just want them to do this for Sikhs. I want them to do this for religious and racial minorities on the whole,” the attorney said adding, “I just think it’s unfair that (the Marine Corps) get to pick and choose based on their individual value judgments.”

Judge Millet said, while issuing a preliminary injunction on two of the three plaintiffs’ claims under the United States Religious Freedom Restoration Act, “They have shown not just a likelihood of success, but an overwhelming one, on the merits of their claim. The balance of equities and the public interest weigh strongly in favour of issuing the injunction.”

According to the verdict, Chahal and Jaskirat Singh can commence boot camp with their articles of faith right immediately. Aekash Singh’s case was remanded to the district court for review since he has subsequently registered in college and intends to attend Officer Candidate School.

As per the reports, this is a significant win for both religious freedom and the plaintiff-recruits of the minority sect, whose faith prevents all initiated male members from trimming their ‘kesh,’ or hair, which is one of the five items that signify their dedication to the Sikh rehni, or way of life.

Release of Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, with an actor who supports Hafiz Saeed, postponed indefinitely in India: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Release of Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, with an actor who supports Hafiz Saeed, postponed indefinitely in India: Details

The Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, which was scheduled to hit the screens in India on Friday (December 30), has now been postponed indefinitely, reported Press Trust of India (PTI).

Citing an INOX official, PTI reported that no new dates had been announced for the release of the Pakistani film in India. “We have been informed by the distributors that the release of the film has been postponed,” the official told the news agency.

“We were told this two-three days ago. No further date has been shared with us,” the INOX official further shared.

The film is based on a 1979 Pakistani cult classic titled, ‘Maula Jatt.’ The remake features actor Fawad Khan as the hero ‘Maula Jatt’ who fights his nemesis and finest warrior in Punjab by the name of Noori Natt (played by Hamza Ali Abbassi).

After it was announced that the Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ will be released in India, it triggered massive outrage, as Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorism in India. Netizens had demanded a ban on the release of the movie in India. Moreover, the movie had also courted controversy for starting actor Hamza Ali Abbassi, known for his admiration of 26/11 terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

The Indian rights of the Pakistani film, which has grossed over $10 million worldwide, have been bought by Zee Studio. Recently PVR Cinemas announced that the movie will be released on 30 December. The movie was to be released in Punjab and Delhi where there Punjabi speaking people. But now the movie has been pulled down from cinemas.

It has been speculated that the release of the movie has been stalled due to protests and resistance from certain sections. “Zee Studios had acquired the rights of ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ as they were expecting the film to do well. But because of the resistance from certain sections, the decision was made to not release the movie,” an industry insider told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has taken credit for stalling the release of the movie. MNS cinema wing’s president Ameya Khopkar said, ‘After the warning given by MNS, the screening of Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ has now been completely cancelled. Not only in the state but also anywhere in the country, this film will not be released anymore.’

‘If anyone has feelings of love for Pakistani artists, then this one warning is enough for them,’ Khopkar added, congratulating his party workers ‘for the victory of MNS movement’.

Hamza Ali Abbasi and his support for Hafiz Saeed, 2-Nation Theory

OpIndia had reported on December 23 that Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi, who plays a crucial role in the movie, has been unabashed in his vocal support for the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind, Hafiz Saeed.

The movie features actor Fawad Khan as the hero ‘Maula Jatt’ who fights his nemesis and finest warrior in Punjab by the name of Noori Natt. This character of Noori Natt is played by Hamza Ali Abbasi, who is known for being a terrorist sympathiser and an active proponent of the divisive ‘Two Nation theory.’

While responding to a tweet by Donald Trump in 2019, the actor claimed, “You unbelievable idiot! Hafiz Saeed publicly condemned the Mumbai attacks in an interview I conducted.”

Following the arrest of Hafiz Saeed by Pakistani law enforcement authorities in July 2019, Hamza Ali Abbasi extended his support to the terrorist and absolved him of any wrongdoing. He also applauded the extremists who came out in support of the 26/11 mastermind.

“Hafiz Saeed is not a terrorist! His only fault? He speaks for & rallies the youth for Kashmir!” the Pakistani actor claimed in a 2019 tweet, despite being sanctioned by the United Nations a decade earlier.

In one instance, the Pakistani actor went on to claim that Hafiz Saeed had done great work for non-Muslims of Pakistan and that he bore no ill will against India or Indians.

The brainwashed Pakistani actor has been a long-proponent of the divisive ‘Two Nation Theory’, which claims that ‘Hindus’ and ‘Muslims’ are not just two religious communities but nations in themselves (and cannot coexist).

Under the pretext of criticising the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), he unleashed his bigotry on Twitter. “On 14th August 1947, we got Pakistan because Jinnah Sahab argued that Muslims of the sub-continent are in danger of being oppressed by the Hindu majority,” he had claimed.

“…And once more history proved him right because of Citizenship Amendment Act by Modi/RSS/BJP Hindutva raj, I thank Allah for PAKISTAN,” Hamza Ali Abbasi had remarked.

Andrew Tate, who had recently converted to Islam, arrested in Romania in a human trafficking case after he trolls Greta Thunberg

OpIndia Staff
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Andrew Tate, who had recently converted to Islam, arrested in Romania in a human trafficking case after he trolls Greta Thunberg

Andrew Tate, a controversial digital media influencer, is said to have been jailed in Romania as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation. Tate’s residence in Bucharest, where he was held alongside his brother Tristan, was raided by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). The brothers’ imprisonment was verified by their lawyer on Friday. 

Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) issued a statement and said that four suspects, two British citizens, and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking. “The four suspects … appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing, and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost,” the prosecutor said.

According to the reports, the brothers, along with two Romanian nationals, have been under scrutiny since April. The video of their arrest was extensively shared on social media in which Tate and his brother could be seen being escorted away from a luxurious villa in Bucharest. The police also recovered guns, knives, and money from the detained suspects, as per reports.

Tate is a four-time World kickboxing champion and is ‘well known’ for his misogynistic way of thinking. The former kickboxer rose to prominence in 2016 after being booted from the British TV show Big Brother due to a video that showed him assaulting a lady. He later became notorious online after Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok banned him for saying that women should ‘bear responsibility’ for being sexually assaulted. TikTok spokesperson while banning Tate from the platform in August this year remarked that ‘misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated.’ However, his account on Twitter was later reinstated in November 2022.

Tate converted his religion to Islam in 2022

Notably, the British American ‘influencer’ is also said to have converted his religion to Islam in October this year. The former kickboxer, who was born in Chicago and raised in Luton, previously hailed Islam as “the last true religion in the world,” and he later verified that he had become a Muslim after a video of him praying in a mosque went viral.

Post by Tate on Gettr (Image source- Tribune.pk)

“This is why I’m Muslim. Any Christian who believes in good and understands the true battle against evil must convert. So be patient, indeed the promise of Allah is TRUTH Quran 30:60,” read his note on one of his remaining social media accounts called Gettr. The video of him offering Namaz with Hollywood actor Tam Khan was posted on Twitter by the actor. “Praise be to God, to receive wide interaction and the admiration of thousands of followers,” Khan captioned the video on his social media sites.

Pizza box ascertained Tate’s presence in Romania, leading to his arrest

Interestingly, in the current case, Tate was detained by the authorities who seemingly tracked his social media accounts to discover his location after he engaged in a verbal brawl with Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg. Thunberg mocked Andrew Tate recently when the kickboxer included her in a tweet boasting about the significant emissions produced by his huge automobile collection. Greta Thunberg took the ‘small d*ck energy’ jibe at Andrew Tate in response to his tweet.

Thunberg’s response to Tate’s tweet boasting about his luxury car collection

Later on December 28, Tate took to Twitter to post a 2-minute video mocking Thunberg over her previous tweet. The kickboxer in the video could be seen enjoying cigars and Pizza from ‘Jerry’s Pizza’, a Romanian restaurant chain. Several social media accounts and media reports claim that the box of Pizza displayed in Tate’s video helped authorities in ascertaining that he was in Romania which certainly led to his arrest.

Tate would date women aged 18 or 19 to ‘make an imprint’ on them

As mentioned earlier, Tate is notorious for his misogynistic ideology. He has been saying that women belong in the home, can’t drive, and are a man’s property. He has posted several videos online in which he talks about abusing women, choking them, trashing their belongings, and stopping them from going out. He was banned by Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter after he stated that rape victims must ‘bear responsibility’ for their attack. Reports mention that he used to date women aged 18 or 19 because they must have been sexually naive, as opposed to older women who he said ‘must have been involved with dozens of men’.

Several domestic violence groups have earlier characterized Tate’s beliefs as severe misogyny capable of radicalizing men and boys to perpetrate damage offline. However, Tate was one of the most well-known people on TikTok, where his videos have been seen 11.6 billion times before August when the platform imposed a ban on his account.

Compilation of videos posted by Tate against women on TikTok

In one of the videos posted on YouTube, Tate could also be seen openly suggesting his fans adopt a misogynistic approach towards women online. Also, he could be seen calling a woman ‘bit*h’ on video who served him and his brother coffee and spilled some by mistake.

Tate opined, ‘Women should bear some responsibility on being raped’

Raised in a Luton estate, the son of a catering assistant and chess master, worked as a TV producer in his twenties while also training himself as a kickboxer at a nearby gym. In 2016, his public career looked to be finished before it had even begun, when he was evicted from Big Brother after a video of him beating a lady with a belt surfaced. Soon later, a second video surfaced in which he could be seen ordering a lady to tally the bruises and wounds he allegedly gave her.

More debate ensued as his Twitter page contained posts with homophobic and racist insults. Then in September 2017, he was condemned by mental healthcare institutions for suggesting depression isn’t real. The following month, he weighed in on #MeToo, stating women should “carry some responsibility” for being raped, a viewpoint he has since reiterated and which, among other things, led to his Twitter ban.

Interview clip in which Tate says ‘women should bear responsibility for being raped’

According to reports, Tate had posted several videos in which he related an incident in which a lady knocked a phone out of his hand in a bar and a man struck him, prompting them to start wrestling. He claimed that during the scuffle, he accidentally struck the woman and shattered her jaw. In another video, he claimed that he was probed by police for allegedly assaulting a lady, which he denied, in a case in which his residence was raided, equipments were taken, and he was kept in jail for two days.

Tate is believed to have left the UK for Romania around the time when UK police were investigating abuse allegations. In one video explaining his reasoning for the shift, he stated that it would be simpler to avoid rape accusations. “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free,” he was quoted saying.

In the current case, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) has issued a statement saying that four suspects, two British citizens, and two Romanian citizens were suspected of being part of a criminal group focused on human trafficking. The authorities arrested Tate and his brother along with two Romanian nationals for recruiting, housing, and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost.

Tunisha Sharma’s family says she was blackmailed by co-star Sheezan Mohammed Khan, insists on probe into ‘Love Jihad’ angle

OpIndia Staff
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Tunisha Sharma’s family says she was blackmailed by co-star Sheezan Mohammed Khan, insists on probe into ‘Love Jihad’ angle

Amid the probe into the unnatural death of TV actress Tunisha Sharma, her mother Vanita Sharma has levelled several serious allegations against Tunisha’s ex-boyfriend and co-star Sheezan Mohammad Khan. Insisting that the ‘love jihad’ angle be investigated in connection with the death case of actor Tunisha Sharma, the actress’s mother said that Sheezan Khan was teaching Urdu to Tunisha.

In a statement recorded by the Mumbai police on Thursday, Vanita Sharma said, “He (Sheezan Khan) trapped Tunisha. She was blackmailed by his family… She was taught Urdu, and she had also started speaking Urdu,” she said.

Tunisha’s maternal uncle Pawan Sharma also gave a statement to the Police in which he mentioned that there was a change in the deceased’s body language, behaviour and how she was dressing up after coming in contact with Sheezan Mohammad Khan.

Notably, the deceased actor’s mother had earlier mentioned that her daughter had started to wear a hijab. “She was working on the show even after her break up. Shezaan Khan’s mother is involved in this. Tunisha decorated Sheezan’s home for his birthday. She bought him expensive gifts. I did not understand what was happening. She was wearing niqab. She was slowly accepting their religion. She got involved too much with Sheezan and his family. My daughter was never like this. He knew that my daughter was from another religion before they started the relationship. Tunisha told me that Sheezan’s mother was calling and troubling her. Even I spoke to Sheezan’s mother but she outrightly denied it,” the mother said.

Furthermore, the late actress’ mother, in a recent interview with India Today, revealed that she had spoken to Sheezan after his breakup with her deceased daughter. Speaking about Tunisha’s behavioural change when she was dating Sheezan, the mother said that Tunisha had distanced herself from her family and started speaking in Urdu.

“I had only one kid, I have lost her, I won’t let this boy get out. He used my daughter over months. I told her to speak and tell us if you are in another relationship. Speak to my daughter but he just told me ‘Sorry Aunty, I can’t help you’. He involved Tunisha so much in his life and his family that my daughter had started getting distant from me. I used to ask her about their relationship but she never spoke much. He shouldn’t have cheated her. If he was in another relationship, then he should have informed her,” she told India Today.

It’s worth noting that the late actress had a close relationship with Sheezan’s sister Falaq Naaz. The couple was frequently seen spending quality time together. Tunisha had shared numerous Instagram posts with her.

Tunisha Sharma, on Saturday, December 24, committed suicide on the set of ‘Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul‘, a TV serial wherein the accused Sheezan Mohammad Khan plays the role of the protagonist. Following a complaint by the actress’ mother, Sheezan was arrested by the Waliv Police under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 306 (abetment of suicide) on Sunday (December 25).

Tunisha found out about Sheezan Khan’s affair 

Tunisha Sharma’s mother has claimed that her sudden break up with co-star Sheezan Khan drove her to take her own life. Vinita detailed how Tunisha had found out about Sheezan’s affair from his chats. “Tunisha and Sheezan were in a relationship. When Tunisha found out about Sheezan’s relationship with another woman, he broke up with her. My daughter was very sensitive. When Sheezan ended the relationship, she was broken to the core. Even I questioned Sheezan over his affair besides Tunisha. But he apologised to me,” Vinita Sharma added.

Sheezan Khan refusing to cooperate in the investigation

Sheezan Khan’s police custody has been extended until December 30. He has been accused of cheating on Tunisha with another woman. The Police who have retreived WhatsApp chats in the case have said that Sheezan has not been very forthcoming during interrogation.

Sony’s Crime Patrol distorts Shraddha Walkar murder case, changes Aftab to ‘Mihir’ and Shraddha to ‘Anna Fernandes’

OpIndia Staff
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Sony’s Crime Patrol distorts Shraddha Walkar murder case, changes Aftab to ‘Mihir’ and Shraddha to ‘Anna Fernandes’

Sony Entertainment Television (SET)’s widely popular crime anthology series ‘Crime Patrol’ today televised the horrifying case of Shraddha Walkar’s murder by her live-in boyfriend Aftab, except the serial distorted the facts and changed the religious identities of the victim and the culprit.

Aired this week, the episode of ‘Crime Patrol’ portrayed the victim, Shraddha Walkar, as a Christian girl named ‘Anna Fernandes’, while her tormentor, Aftab Poonawalla, a Muslim man with temperamental issues, was depicted as ‘Mihir’ in the crime anthology series. The duo is also seen marrying at a temple in the episode.

The episode shows the duo based out of Pune, even though Aftab and Shraddha were based out of Delhi, where the former brutally killed her and later severed her body parts to be discarded at different places across the NCR region. In addition to this, the episode shows Mihir’s mother as a devout Hindu, an implicit hint that he belonged to a Hindu family, even though Aftab was a practising Muslim.

The said episode was uploaded on SET India’s YouTube channel yesterday. Here’s the screenshot of the episode.

Source: YouTube

The episode is also available for paid subscribers of the Sony LIV app services.

The program is numbered 212 and is titled the ‘Ahmedabad-Pune’ murder case under Crime Patrol 2.0. Here’s the screenshot of the Sony LIV app with the said episode marked in red.

Screenshot of Crime Patrol 2.0 episodes on the Sony LIV app

Shraddha Walkar murder case

On November 14, the Delhi Police solved the six-month-old murder case of Shraddha Walkar and arrested Aftab Poonawala for murdering her, and then chopping her into 35 small pieces. Aftab executed the murder on May 18 and stored her body parts in the refrigerator. He then disposed of the body pieces in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest during the next 18 days.

The accused was arrested based on the complaint filed by Shraddha’s father on November 10. He stated in the complaint that the accused and the deceased had rented an apartment in Delhi and were staying in an unhealthy live-in relationship. He said that he had always opposed their relationship as Aftab used to physically assault Shraddha.

The girl, a resident of Palghar was adamant about continuing her relationship with accused Aftab and shifted to Delhi with him. Three days after they shifted to Delhi, they engaged in a quarrel and Aftab happened to kill Shraddha. He confessed his crime on November 14 and stated that they used to fight a lot. He said that he murdered Shraddha on May 18 as she was forcing him to get married to her. They also fought over who would manage the domestic household expenses.

After the Delhi Police detained Poonawala on November 12, the shocking revelations surrounding Shraddha Walkar’s murder stunned the whole country. The 28-year-old admitted during questioning that he killed Shraddha Walkar, dissected her body, and dumped the pieces about the nation’s capital.

The corpse of Shraddha, 27, who had been murdered, was sawed into 35 pieces on May 18 and kept in a 300-litre refrigerator at Poonawala’s home in Mehrauli, south Delhi, for over three weeks before being dumped throughout the city over a number of days.

Bangladeshi infiltrators altering the demography of Bihar’s border districts, Hindus turning into minorities: report

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladeshi infiltrators altering the demography of Bihar’s border districts, Hindus turning into minorities: report

The dominance of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in the Seemanchal region in Bihar has compelled the local Hindus to migrate to other areas. In districts that are collectively called Seemanchal, major demographic change has been taking place as Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are settling there in large numbers. Consequently, the Hindus have been reduced to a minority in the region. 

Notably, the Seemanchal region of Bihar includes the districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, and Purnia bordering Bangladesh and Nepal. The population of Hindus in this area has dropped considerably. In Kishanganj, Hindus have become a minority. As per the official data of the 2011 census, the Muslim population makes up to 67.98 percent while the Hindu population is 31.43 percent.

Kishanganj religion census data 2011 (Image via census2011.co.in)

According to a Dainik Jagran report, the share of Muslims in the country’s population increased by 4% between 1951 and 2011. During this time span, this figure in the bordering Seemanchal districts was 16 percent. In these districts, Bangladeshis and Rohingyas are arriving via West Bengal and settling there.

It is pertinent to mention that in a similar scenario of demographic change, several areas in Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal have also witnessed major changes, wherein illegal Mazaars are being installed in a bid to capture land. OpIndia has done a series of ground reporting about the demographic changes at the Indo-Nepal border. 

Coming back to Seemanchal, the Muslim population in this region has increased rapidly, resulting in a decline in the percentage of the Hindu population and several Hindus have also migrated to other areas. As per the 2011 census, the population of Muslims has increased to 67.58 percent while the Hindu population has been recorded at 31.43 percent only.

It is notable that Muslims account for 44.47 percent of the population in Katihar, 42.95 percent in Araria, and 38.46 percent in Purnia.

In many districts of Seemanchal, Hindus became minorities and moved to other districts after getting tired of the persistent harassment. Hindu families from Rampur village in Araria’s Raniganj block relocated to Doganchhi village, where the Hindu population is slightly higher.

Local Muslims are said to have helped Bangladeshi infiltrators settle and obtain important documents in order to increase their population. Furthermore, producing more children is a common and continual strategy employed by Muslims to bolster their dominance.

Each married Muslim woman in these areas has more than ten children, and if a Muslim man has two wives, a single Muslim family has 20 children on average. If a Muslim-dominated village has 20 Muslim men, the village has 250 children on average. If this pattern persists for the next ten years, the entire demographic scenario will be altered.

It is worth noting that the infiltrators from Bangladesh and Rohingyas from Burma enter West Bengal and from there they move further to other states, particularly in Muslim-dominated areas.

Apart from the threat posed by demographic change, the Seemanchal districts are also sensitive from the standpoint of national security. In 2017, a tunnel was unearthed near the Bangladesh-India border. This tunnel was dug from Bangladesh to India by excavating 80 metres of land from beneath the barbed fence. This tunnel was meant to facilitate the infiltration of Bangladeshis into India. 

A syndicate of smugglers works here, from infiltrating them to obtaining fake documents and settling them. Their reach extends to the Muslim smugglers sitting in Bangladesh and Nepal.

PM Modi apologizes to people of Bengal for not attending Vande Bharat express’ inauguration, joins through video conference soon after mother’s last rites

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi apologizes to people of Bengal for not attending Vande Bharat express’ inauguration, joins through video conference soon after mother’s last rites

Soon after performing the last rites of his mother, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the flagging-off ceremony of the Vande Bharat express in West Bengal through video conferencing. PM Modi apologized to the people of Bengal for not being able to attend the program in person on 30th December 2022.

West Bengal’s first Vande Bharat express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing. The train runs between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri Station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to attend the program in West Bengal but he had to go to Ahmedabad to attend the last rites of his mother Heeraben who passed away early in the morning.

The new Vande Bharat express train departs Howrah at 6 am and reaches New Jalpaiguri station at 1:30 pm. The return journey, which starts after a stoppage of 1 hr, departs the north Bengal station at 2:30 pm and reaches Howrah at 10 pm. PM Modi also inaugurated the Joka-Taratala stretch of the Purple Line of the Kolkata Metro through video conferencing. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was present at the event.

PM Modi during his address through video conferencing said, “I was supposed to come to West Bengal but due to personal reasons, I could not come there. I seek apologies from the people of Bengal.”

He added, “Central govt is making record investment to modernize Indian Railways. Now modern trains like Vande Bharat express, Tejas express, and Humsafar express are being made in India. In the next 8 yrs, we’ll see railways on a new journey of modernization.”

PM Narendra Modi said, “It is my pleasure to dedicate the Vande Bharat train to the land that gave birth to the slogan Vande Mataram. Today is 30th December. This date also carries its historic importance. On 30th December 1943, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose waved the Tricolor at Andaman and Nicobar islands and marked the beginning of India’s independence. I visited Andaman in 2018 on the 75th anniversary of this incident. Now, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence, we have pledged to dedicate 475 Vande Bharat express trains to the nation and one of them is running between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri station starting today.”

PM Modi also informed about many other projects in West Bengal that he is going to inaugurate. He also informed about various projects regarding the cleaning of the river Ganga, modernization of trains, and electrification of the rail tracks.

Earlier, Heeraben, the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, passed away at the age of 100 years on 30th December 2022. Heeraben was born on June 18, 1923, in Vadnagar, district Mehsana, Gujarat. She belongs to the Modh-Ghanchi community, and her husband, Damodardas Mulchand Modi, was a tea seller.

Heeraben is survived by five sons, Soma Modi, Pankaj Modi, Amrit Modi, Prahlad Modi, and Narendra Modi, and a daughter Vasantiben Hasmukhlal Modi. Prior to her husband’s death, she used to live in the family’s ancestral home in Vadnagar. Later, she shifted to Pankaj Modi’s home. PM Modi attended the last rites of his mother in Ahmedabad and immediately resumed his duties which displays his commitment to the nation.

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