In a written petition submitted on Monday, December 12, before the Supreme Court’s bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar, advocate Ashwini Upadhyay asked the court for the seizure of benami properties of people involved in illegal conversions. Upadhyay asked the court to direct the central government and the states to seize “benami” properties and disproportionate assets owned by people and organisations involved in “fraudulent religious conversion.”
The advocate stated in court that women and children are the primary targets of this “foreign-funded” religious conversion in the nation. He added that a legal vacuum on the subject has allowed the use of “unethical predatory conversion strategies” to convert the country’s socially and economically underprivileged citizens.
The SC bench has been hearing the petition filed by Upadhyay seeking direction to the centre and states to take stringent steps to control fraudulent religious conversions through intimidation, and luring through gifts and monetary benefits.
“Petitioner submits that women and children are the main targets of foreign-funded missionaries and conversion groups but the Centre and the States have not taken appropriate steps to control religious conversion in the spirit of Article 15(3)”, the petition said.
“Call upon the Law Commission of India to suggest suitable legislation and Guidelines to check unlawful fraudulent religious conversion,” the plea added.
Upadhyay further told the Supreme Court that the situation is concerning since numerous people and groups are converting SCs and STs in significant numbers, either through coercion or allurement or by taking advantage of their socioeconomic disadvantage.
Citing IPC rules, the petitioner added, “However, religious conversion by intimidation, threats, luring through gifts, monetary benefits and by inducement, which are more serious offences relating to religion are not covered under Chapter-XV of the IPC.”
Wrongful religious conversion directly offends the right to life, liberty, and dignity guaranteed under Article 21, it said.
“But, due to a legal vacuum, unethical predatory conversion strategies are commonly used in Delhi to convert socially and economically backward citizens. One method is material enticement by which economic, educational, medical or social assistance is offered on the condition that the person converts. Another is the denigration of the person’s religion to make a new religion appear superior. Predatory proselytization tears apart the fabric of the communities where it occurs and has led to social disorder and unrest,” the petition said.
‘Cannot convert on the pretext of help’: SC slams NGOs for carrying out religious conversion
Notably, during the last hearing, the Supreme Court criticised missionaries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for carrying out the forced religious conversion of individuals under the guise of helping them.
“The purpose of charity should not be conversion; every charity or good work is welcome, but what is required to be considered is the intention,” the court said as it rejected the plea challenging maintainability of the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
Reiterating that forced religious conversion is a very serious matter, the court also called it unconstitutional. The bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar asked the Centre and States to file a detailed affidavit on the issue of forceful conversions.
SC terms forced religious conversion a ‘very serious’ issue, warns difficult situation may emerge if practice not stopped
It may be recalled that during the hearing on this matter on November 14, the SC termed the practice of forced religious conversions a ‘very serious’ issue. Supreme Court directed the Central Government to step in and make sincere efforts to check the practice. The Court also issued a warning saying that a very difficult situation might emerge if the practice of forced religious conversion is not stopped.
On Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh Police detained five Bangladeshi individuals of one family who were staying as Indian nationals in Kanpur city of the state. The accused were issued a letter purportedly signed by jailed Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Irfan Solanki which authorized them as Indian nationals.
According to the reports, the Police seized fake identity cards including passports and Aadhaar cards from the arrested individuals and also recovered foreign currency from them. The detention comes only 48 hours after cops filed a charge sheet against Solanki in relation to an arson case in the district’s Jajmau sector. The accused have been identified as Rizwan Mohammad (53), Khalid Majid (79), Hina Khalid (45), Rukhsar Rizwan (21), and Rizwan’s 17-year-old son.
We have seized more than 2 passports & foreign currency. We have also recovered Indian currency more than the prescribed limit. We have registered a case, probe is underway: Joint CP Anand Prakash Tiwari, Kanpur
Kanpur Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Anand Prakash Tiwari confirmed the incident and said that the officers recovered multiple passports, Indian and Bangladeshi ones from the possession of the accused. “We also recovered three fake Aadhaar cards and forged documents which helped them prove themselves as Indian nationals. We have also found a letter purportedly signed by MLA Irfan Solanki, in which he has said that they are Indian nationals,” the Police said.
MLA Irfan Solanki is in jail for setting fire to a woman’s house to occupy her property.
The Police further said that the officers recovered a corporator’s certified paper, a Khulna resident in Bangladesh but not a native of India. “We have seized two letters from the accused where Solanki has purportedly certified that he (Solanki) knows them personally and that the accused are Indian nationals. We will probe the signatures on the letters,” Tiwari stated adding that a case at Moolganj police station has been filed.
Reports mention that Rs 14.56 lakh in Indian currency, USD 1,000, some jewelry, 13 passports, and 5 fake Aadhaar cards have been recovered by the Kanpur Police. According to the police, accused Rizwan Mohammed married an Indian-origin woman named Hina, who was also detained on Sunday.
Additional CP Anand Prakash Tiwari also confirmed that SP MLA Solanki and SP councilor Mannu Rehman helped the accused in attaining the residence proof certificates which proved them as Indian Nationals. “The Police lodged a case against the accused and they will be produced in the court soon,” Tiwari said.
In November this year, several media outlets reported that the wedding reception of an interfaith couple (Divya Dudhrejiya and Imran Mukadam) was called off in Vasai in Maharashtra.
The reports claimed that after the wedding invitation was shared on social media with allegations of “love jihad”, the marriage was cancelled by the families. While. sharing of the invitation card is incorrect and personal details with misleading claims can endanger citizens, the claims that the marriage was cancelled because of it were found untrue.
It turned out that the event was called off due to the death of a member of the bride’s family and not the social media post of Suresh Chavhanke. “The parents told us that due to a death in the family they have cancelled the reception at Vishwakarma Hall in Anand Nagar,” a cop told Hindustan Times.
Newslaundry spreads fake news, and refuses to correct it even after a month’s time
Despite this, leftist news publications such as The Quint and Newslaundry did not bother to correct or update their reports. Even the likes of The IndianExpress peddled misleading information without bothering to verify facts with due diligence.
On November 18, Newslaundry published an article titled ‘Interfaith wedding function cancelled after Suresh Chavhanke’s ‘love jihad’ tweet.’ The propaganda piece, authored by reporter Ayush Tiwari, squarely blamed Suresh Chavhanke for disrupting the reception party of an interfaith couple.
The archived version of the article can be accessed here. While quoting an ‘anonymous’ venue manager, the article said, “They cancelled the function at my venue and I returned their deposit. It was because of the function invite that was leaked to the public.”
Screengrab of the report by Newslaundy
The leftist propaganda portal thus reiterated the lie that the Editor-in-Chief of Sudarshan News was the man responsible for the cancellation of the event. “Newslaundry contacted one of the families who had organised the wedding function but did not receive a response,” it had claimed.
Despite being a month after Hindustan Times reported that the reception was cancelled due to the death of a family member from the bride’s side, the article by Newslaundry was not updated with the latest information.
As such, anyone searching for ‘Vashi interfaith marriage’ might stumble upon the report of the leftist news website and believe in the falsehoods and half-truths that are peddled by it.
The Quint ensures the amplification of misleading information about
The Quint, too, did not retract its dubious report. Written by one Arshi Qureshi, the archived version of the article can be accessed here.
It had claimed, “Hours after Hindutva proponent… Suresh Chavhanke tweeted out details of an interfaith couple’s wedding reception invitation and linked it to the Shraddha Walkar murder case, Imran and Divya were forced to call off their function in Vasai, on the outskirts of Mumbai.”
The leftist propaganda news outlet shrewdly quoted a venue manager to claim that the event had to be cancelled after the social media post of the Editor-in-Chief of Sudarshan News.
Screengrab of the article by The Quint
“I’ll incur some loss, but safety comes first. I don’t want to get into a political issue,” the Quint quoted the alleged manager as saying. Despite talking to the police, the news outlet did not report as to why the reception party was called off.
Instead, it used a statement from the manager to suggest that the family members were ‘forced by circumstances’ to cancel the event. “The families of both the bride and the groom came to us and have cancelled their reception programme at our venue,” The Quint again quoted the alleged manager.
The report did not contain any information about the death of the bride’s family member. The content of the report has not been updated with the information about the death of the family member.
The Indian Express did a hitjob against Suresh Suresh Chavhanke
English daily, The Indian Express had published an article titled, ‘Maharashtra: Wedding reception of interfaith couple called off as right-wing activists protest’, was published to this effect on November 24.
Not surprisingly, the report also missed out on the crucial aspect of the death of Divya Dudhrejiya’s family member, which is directly tied to the calling off of the event.
“…as Chavhanke’s tweet became viral, right-wing activists started calling up the hall owner from across the country. Finally, the reception was cancelled,” it read.
Screengrab of the report by The Indian Express
Just like The Quint, the English daily contacted the Manikpur police station but did not report the death of Divya’s family member. Instead, it remained fixated on Suresh Chavhanke.
“Despite repeated attempts, the bride did not respond to calls and messages,” The Indian Express shrugged off its responsibility. It has been two weeks now since the report was last updated by the newspaper.
The fact that none of these publications updated their reports points towards the fact that the media is attempting to create literature to discredit the phenomenon of Muslim men targeting Hindu women as a figment of the “right-wing imagination”. While this case was a legitimate case of an inter-faith marriage, alleging that it was a “proponent of Hindutva” because of whose actions the marriage was cancelled, the media is trying to insinuate that all genuine cases of Love Jihad (grooming jihad) could be false as well. This appears to be a well-crafted strategy to deny justice to hundreds of Hindu women who are forcefully converted to Islam, misled and lured into relationships where they often suffer dire consequences owing to religious hate and fanaticism.
On December 11 (local time), billionaire and Twitter’s chief Elon Musk threw a bombshell on Twitter and called out those who force their pronouns on others’. While replying to Former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly who objected to Musk for allegedly mocking the LGBTQ+ community, Musk said, “Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracising those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.”
I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.
As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome imo.
It all started when Musk tweeted, “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci”. He has also hinted that as a part of ‘Twitter Files’, documents and information will be released on how Twitter played a role in hiding information about the pandemic. While replying to a Twitter user Aaron Murray, Musk confirmed that Twitter files on Covid will be released soon. Murray had asked if the information about the suspension of scientists and doctors, along with who was involved in their suspension, would be released or not. Musk said, “Oh, it is coming big time.”
Musk’s tweet on pronouns targeting Anthony Fauci, the American immunologist and chief advisor to the President, did not go well with those who support the LGBTQ+ community’s desire to push “pronouns” to the mainstream. Kelly quoted Musk and said, “Elon, please don’t mock and promote hate toward already marginalised and at-risk-of-violence members of the LGBTQ+ community. They are real people with real feelings. Furthermore, Dr Fauci is a dedicated public servant whose sole motivation was saving lives.”
Musk disagreed and said, “I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask and implicitly ostracising those who are neither good nor kind to anyone. As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome, IMO.”
The Gender Identity war
It can be called a war because, well, it has taken the shape of no-less-than a war between those who want to shove the idea of gender identity down the throats of everyone in this world and those who are resisting to save some sanity in their lives. Those who are not aware of the issue might even feel okay with the demands of the LGBTQ+ community to use the pronouns as desired by them. Over 70 of them were on the list, which is getting obnoxiously long with the passing day.
The matter of ‘gender identity or the ‘gender pronouns’ is an extremely controversial topic in the world of academia. It is noted there is no scientific consensus on the matter. However, the individuals who are propagating the pronouns have the complete liberty to be whatever they want. No one has a problem with that. However, it is painful to see them dictating the society to accept something the other side does not believe in. According to them, the reason for such forceful behaviour is that they want to prevent their feelings from being hurt.
It all started with the three sets of pronouns that are ‘he/him’, ‘she/her’ and ‘they/them’. The idea was to include transgenders in the mainstream and let them use ‘they/them’ as most of them are unable to identify themselves as a man or a woman, which is supported by science as well. However, within a short span, the demand for using pronouns became nauseating as the list of pronouns kept increasing, and it became uncomfortable for many. Any dissent to the idea of using pronouns is pushed back with a cry of “non-inclusive society”.
It has reached a point where fully grown men with not even a single hint of any traits of a woman are dressing as a woman and pushing people to treat them as women, insisting that people use the ‘she/her’ pronoun for them. So much so that some sporting events have allowed men to perform in women’s competitions, which has attracted much criticism. Reports have shown transgender athletes are winning competitions meant for women athletes.
The ‘gender identity’ menace has been linked to mental health as well. If someone “mispronounces” someone’s pronouns, it is now being seen as a trigger for mental health issues for the person who has been “mispronounced”.
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is a nightmare for the left
With the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk, one might see Left principles not being shoved down the throats of those who don’t agree with some of their delusions. For example, today, if someone “misgenders” an individual, they can be thrown off the platform. Gender politics is purely a product of the global Left. They want to force the entire world to believe that biological men “can give birth” simply because they one day wake up and claim that they are women. They want the world to concede to the delusion that if a 6 feet tall man with a penis and testicles “believes” that he is a “woman”, he should be able to compete in women’s sports and use the same space made only for women.
The horror stories of Gender Identity Politics
There have been several incidents where people were targeted for calling out the mess that gender identity politics have created. One of the best examples is of the Twitter user LibsOfTiktok, who is best known for exposing the propaganda that has been running on social media platforms to shove gender identity politics down the throats of every individual.
The user has been attacked on social media, doxxed by media houses and even suspended by Twitter several times just because she publishes posts against the “poisonous” propaganda running in educational institutes, governments and medical facilities across the US. It was only after the takeover by Elon Musk that Twitter has been a little kind to the woman behind the handle. LibsOfTikTok tweeted what Elon said with fire emojis. Evidently she could not be happier to see support coming directly from the person who owns the platform.
“Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.” ?
Harry Potter’s author JK Rowling became one of the victims of vicious attacks by the LGBT community after the famous author said that biological sex is real. In June 2020, quoting a report, she expressed her unhappiness over the fact that the headline of an opinion piece published on a media portal addressed women as ‘people who menstruate’ instead of the actual word. This is due to the fact that in the world of the Left, it is believed that gender is a social construct and menstruating woman can actually be a man if she calls herself one and society must address her as a man. If one accepts such a premise, then it cannot be said that it is only women who menstruate.
Interestingly, Rowling has been one of the favourites of the Left and the LGBT community as she transformed Albus Dumbledore from her Harry Potter novels into a homosexual and changed the face of Hermione Granger from White to Black. Still, just because she believes that the biological sex is real, a plethora of trolls made her life hell on social media. In July 2021, Rowling revealed that she was being threatened with being beaten, raped, assassinated and bombed by thousands of “trans activists” for flagging the danger women face in gender-neutral toilets. In November 2021, she expressed her anger in a tweet thread as her address was leaked by LGBT activists.
It is not just individuals who are under threat, but the community is targeting the whole stream of professions. Take the example of Jessica Yaniv. The transgender individual was born a man and claimed to have transitioned into a woman but still has male genitalia. He sued 16 aestheticians, all of them female, for refusing to wax her male genitalia. Quite obviously, the women were uncomfortable with the idea of handling male genitalia, but Yaniv demanded that she be treated as a woman. Not to forget, in June 2021, a Canadian man was jailed for calling his biologically female child a ‘daughter’.
Robert Hoogland, a father of a teenage girl, has been jailed by a Canadian court for calling his biological female child his “daughter,” and referring to her with the pronouns “she” and “her.” Hoogland was found to be in contempt of court. At the heart of Hoogland’s miseries is a gender non-conforming 14-year-old biological female who identifies as transgender and prefers the use of male pronouns. Hoogland repeatedly called the person his daughter, even after the court proscribed him from doing it. As a result, the Attorney General of British Columbia issued an arrest warrant for contempt, following which Hoogland surrendered himself to the court on Tuesday at 10 am. He was arrested and taken to jail.
The harmful effects of Gender politics on children
There has been a sudden spike in the number of teenage children who want to change their sex as they feel they should not be the gender they were born as. Sadly, the education institutes are propagating and supporting them without informing their parents. It is one of the reasons LibsOfTikTok often gets attacked on social media as she publishes videos of teachers gloating about how they push the “LGBTQ+” propaganda in the classrooms.
It is a fact that gender identity propaganda is also pushing the use of puberty blockers for underage children. These are the drugs that postpone or inhibit puberty. These are being pushed on the children who allegedly feel that they are of a different gender. Once a child gets on these drugs, it is next to impossible to get him or her back on track for natural growth. Several reports have suggested that those who got exposed to such drugs often regret the decision later in life.
Children are just children. They may say a lot of things and believe in all kinds of things, but it is the responsibility of the adults to ensure they do not indulge in anything harmful. Sadly, many parents are pushing their children towards the hellhole what is even sad is that the educational institutes, medical professionals and governments in many countries have started to keep the parents in the dark who are against Gender Identity Politics and want to save their children from getting exposed.
Another aspect of this “war” is the normalisation of sexualisation in children and paedophilia. It has become a common visual to see sensually dressed drag queens hold programs for underage children. Such events are also being organised in India, though on a small scale. It can become a major problem quickly if not controlled in time.
Musk’s one tweet has triggered a new discussion, and hopefully, the idea of suspending people for allegedly mispronouncing someone on Twitter will become the talk of the past soon.
A news report had gone viral on Sunday that suspicious looking round objects were found Bilhaur village in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The round objects aroused quite an intrigue amongst the villagers.
As can be seen in above 4 second video, about 3-4 egg-shaped round objects were lying amongst the bushes. Villagers were wondering what they could be and had alerted police. However, when the police reached the spot, it turned out to be excreta of some animal.
कुछ भी संदिग्ध नही है, किसी जानवर का मल है।
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE KANPUR NAGAR (@kanpurnagarpol) December 11, 2022
Kanpur Nagar Police Commissionerate took to social media to inform that there was nothing suspicious about the objects found and that it was excreta of an animal. However, it is not yet clear which animal’s excreta it is.
Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has expressed his desire to act in a Pakistani film. Kapoor attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between December 1 and December 10. During a session, he spoke about the idea of collaborating with actors in the Pakistani film industry and shooting a film in Saudi Arabia. He claimed that artists have no boundaries. Notably, Kapoor received Variety International Vanguard Actor Award at the festival.
Kapoor was attending a session where an audience member who happened to be a director and producer from Pakistan questioned if he would like to be a part of a Pakistani film. The audience member said it is not possible for the actors of Pakistan to work in the Indian industry anymore, and the same goes for the Indian actors. He said, “Now we have a platform like Saudi Arabia where we can jointly do films, I would love to sign you for a film. Would you be willing to work with the Pakistani team along with your team in Saudi Arabia?”
Kapoor, while congratulating the Pakistani film industry for the success of The Legend of Maula Jatt, said, “Of course, sir. I think there are no boundaries for artists, especially for arts. Many congratulations to the Pakistan film industry for (The Legend Of) Maula Jatt. It is one of the biggest hits we have seen in the last few years. Of course, I would love to.”
In recent years, the involvement of actors from the Pakistani film industry in the Indian film industry sparked controversies amidst the rising terror threats and attacks from the neighbour’s side. Raj Thackeray’s party MNS has issued a warning against the release of Maula Jatt in India. MNS media wing president Ameya Khopkar said in a statement that they would do everything in their power to stop the release of the film in India.
Ranbir Kapoor’s ongoing projects
Ranbir Kapoor, who just became a father, will feature in the yet-untitled film with Shraddha Kapoor that is scheduled for Holi 2023. Furthermore, another film, Animal by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, starring the Brahmastra actor, is also scheduled for release in 2023.
About Maula Jatt
Maula Jatt is a remake of the 1979 classic Maula Jatt. The movie features Pakistani actors Fawad and Mahira in the lead roles. As per reports, it is one of the biggest hits in the Pakistani film industry to date.
A new study that measures Beijing’s expanding global sway has revealed that Pakistan is the country in the world which is most influenced by China, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
The China Index, a database relaunched on December 8 by DoubleThink Labs, a Taiwan-based research organization has ranked Pakistan atop a list of 82 other nations around the world and said that its links and dependency on China with regard to foreign and domestic policy, technology, and the economy make it particularly susceptible to Chinese influence. Following Pakistan, Cambodia and Singapore are listed at the second spot while Thailand at third position, as per the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) report. The Philippines is listed at the seventh spot while Malaysia lies in the 10th position. South Africa and Peru are tied at the fifth spot on the index.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are at the eighth and ninth spots on the index. These two countries share a border with China’s Xinjiang Province and are the Central Asian countries most influenced by Beijing.
Meanwhile, Germany is the highest-ranked European country at 19th spot while the United States leads North America in the 21st position, as per the news report. While compiling the China index, the research team focused on nine categories to monitor influence around the world, which includes higher education, domestic politics, economic ties, foreign policy, military cooperation, media, technology and cultural links.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Min Hsuan-Wu, the co-founder and CEO of Doublethink Labs, said that the database has been created to raise awareness about different aspects of China’s influence. Wu stressed that the system will help to have more understanding that challenges some assumptions about levers of Chinese influence, particularly around economics and trade.
“A major goal of [of this database] is to raise awareness around the world about the different aspects of Chinese influence and what that can actually look like,” RFE/RL quoted Min Hsuan-Wu as saying.
“We have taken a much broader and nuanced look at what influence can be, which can tell us more about what Beijing is actually doing and the different ways it can apply pressure,” Min Hsuan-Wu added.
Pakistan leading in the index is no surprise as the South Asian country is home to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a centrepiece of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative which involves funding of Chinese entities in developing infrastructure projects in the past 10 years.
Pakistan’s relations with China have increased in every sector, particularly in military ties, technology and foreign policy, according to RFE/RL report. Shahzeb Jillani, a veteran journalist who helped compile research on Pakistan used for the database, said that they can only hope that the index will encourage the people of Pakistan to debate regarding the pros and cons of the country’s ties with China.
While trade and investment were an early impetus, Chinese influence now plays an increasing role in foreign policy, local media, defence and security. In the index rankings, Kyrgyzstan ranks in the 10th place while Kazakhstan holds the 15th spot.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is listed at the 24th spot while Turkmenistan which sells a large portion of its natural gas to China is listed at the 45th position, as per the news report. Notably, the United Kingdom is in the 27th spot on the index and is ranked as the second-highest European country. This time, the database involved 82 nations, however, DoubleThink Labs plans to expand it in the future, particularly across Africa.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has once again backed India for permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) stating that New Delhi has added value to the Council with its stance on global and regional issues.
“I think that India is currently one of the leading countries in terms of economic growth, maybe even the leader. Its population will soon be bigger than that of any other country. New Delhi has vast diplomatic experience in settling various kinds of problems, as well as authority and a reputation in its region,” Lavrov said. Lavrov made these remarks while responding to media queries on at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow on December 7.
India plays an active role in the United Nations as well as a range of integration structures in South Asia within the Shangai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said.
“India is part of a range of integration structures in South Asia within SCO & it takes an active role in United Nations. India is a country that not only aspires to be but is at the essence of the forming of a multipolar world as one of its most important poles,” Lavrov said.
Previously Lavrov while addressing the 77th United Nations General Assembly in September this year said that the Security Council will be more democratic if countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America are included.
“India and Brazil, in particular, are key international actors and should be counted for permanent membership in council,” he had said in his address. India and Brazil have been promoting their applications to join UN Security Council together with Japan and Germany, which is a sign of multipolarity, the Russian foreign minister said.
“We see what added value India and Brazil can bring to UNSC knowing their stances on global & regional issues,” Lavrov said. Among the five permanent members of the 15-nation Council, the US, UK, France and Russia have supported a permanent seat for India in the UN body.
Previously, UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward said, “We support the creation of new permanent seats for India, Germany, Japan and Brazil, as well as permanent African representation on the Council.”
Addressing the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the ‘Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council’, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the UN said that “France’s position is constant and well known. We want the Council to be more representative of today’s world, in a way that further strengthens its authority and effectiveness.”
India’s current two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council will end in December. India is currently presiding over the 15-nation Council.
It is the second time in its two-year tenure as an elected member of the UN Security Council that India has assumed the Presidency of the Council. India had earlier assumed the Presidency of the UNSC in August 2021.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Sunday levelled fresh allegations of cattle smuggling against the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the BJP MLA claimed the West Bengal Police, with support of the Mamata Banerjee government, was facilitating illegal cattle smuggling through the state highways and district roads in the Asansol-Raniganj-Bankura circuit. The BJP leader also alleged a Bihar link to the cattle smuggling nexus.
He alleged that the cattle smuggling was being carried out, under the supervision of the police, in vehicles with Bihar registration plates and embossed with the symbol of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), thereby indicating a Bihar link to the crime.
The LoP further alleged that the vehicles ply after midnight to avoid public glare, without any documents for transporting cattle. He claimed two such vehicles were intercepted by locals in the Egra Village of Asansol Dakshin (West Burdwan) district.
TMC strongman and the party’s Birbhum district, Anubrata Mondal, was arrested earlier by the CBI in connection with alleged cattle smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border. Anubrata’s close aide Sehgal Hossain was also arrested in the case.
Hossain, along with fellow accused Enamul Haque and Satish Kumar, are presently in judicial custody in Delhi. The ED has attached a total of 20.25 crore worth of assets in this case.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On December 9, an organisation named “The World Is Watching India” released a propaganda video titled “Global Actors Marking Two Years Since the Arrest of Anti-CAA Protestors under UAPA”. In the video, international activists from different organisations came together to whitewash Islamists accused of the anti-Hindu riots of February 2020. The video was based on an online webinar that took place on December 6. Interestingly, the video also contained remarks from the infamous so-called historian Audrey Truschke from her September address from a similar program.
The video claimed that it had been two years since 18 “students and activists” were arrested for terrorism by the Delhi Police. Those who were arrested were part of anti-CAA protests. The video claimed, “The protests came from their belief that the new law is a tool to disenfranchise Indian Muslims and was part of the powerful, nationwide anti-CAA movement.”
The so-called activists listed in the video were Sharjeel Imam, Ishrat Jahan, Khalid Saifi, Tahir Hussain, Saleem Malik, Mohd Saleem Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Shifa Ur Rehman, Gulfisha Fatima, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Umar Khalid, Natasha Narwal, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Faizan Khan, and Devangana Kalita. The group further said 12 of these accused are still in jail. They claimed, “Individuals and groups all around the world who believe that they are being persecuted for protesting against CAA spoke out in their support.”
It contained excerpts from the online discussion from the webinar that is currently available on its Twitter timeline.
— #TheWorldIsWatchingIndia (@right2dissent20) October 6, 2022
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur, Human Rights Defenders, said, “I find it particularly distressing that those who have been denied bail in these cases are all Muslim. I understand that the Delhi high court has repeatedly cited the lack of any factual evidence, material in the charge sheets to back up the police’s theory that the anti-CAA protests were part of a larger conspiracy to cause Terror in India.”
Delhphine Reculeau, World Organization Against Torture, OMCT, said, “All over the world, we see anti-terror rules are being weaponised to target and silence human rights activists. As well as to undermine and degradabilize the numerous legitimate activities.”
Mark Heywood, Editor associated with The Daily Maverick, South Africa, said, “I am speaking for thousands of Human Rights activists not just in South Africa itself but in southern Africa and across Africa that we will work hard in this country to build awareness of what is happening in India and to make sure that the names of all of those who are imprisoned become familiar to us and familiar to people here. Just as 30 years ago, the names of people like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and all of the South African Liberation Heroes who the world stood up and fought for became known to millions of people. And we know that it was a solidarity that kept their names alive and that kept them alive. What we are seeing in India feels to us in many ways reminiscent of what used to happen in South Africa under apartheid. The retribution, the punitive nature, the Vengeance that is exacted by power on activists, and it has to stop.”
Shahidul Alam, photojournalist and activist from Bangladesh, said, “The family members, the activists, the students who come out in protest have shown tremendous courage and strength at a time in South Asia when there is so much repression, so much abusive human rights and some are disrespect for the rule of law their position is to be lauded.”
Lee Rhiannon, Former Senator of Australia, said, “From Sydney, Australia, we joined the growing worldwide call for the immediate and unconditional release of the human rights Defenders held in Indian jails. The child activists are to be congratulated for taking a stand against the citizenship Amendment Act 2019.”
They added a video clip from Audrey’s September address on a similar topic. She said, “That there’s always another in fascist thought and that other has to be hated and demonised relentlessly in order to define the self. And for Hindutva ideologues, the other are Muslims. Now the citizenship Amendment Act is one piece of this far larger project. But it’s a particularly important piece which is why we saw such brutal crackdowns on protesters against the CAA between December 2019 and February 2020.”
Now here is the link to the event where Audrey spoke. Who organised the event? Well, it was organised by none other than IAMC, the dubious organisation from the US that is known for its anti-India stand and allegedly has links to terrorist organisations.
Govind Acharya, Amnesty International, USA, said, “The decision to rest in jail activists is obviously a conscious effort to silence dissenters, and we actually must make sure that those who are deliberately silenced or unheard are actually heard.”
It also included statements given by several so-called intellectuals and activists who spoke their minds after screening a propaganda documentary titled “Delhi Riots Case: The Unknown Faces Behind Bars Under UAPA” by The Quint that was released on June 28, 2022.
These statements made it clear that they were told one-sided propaganda-inspired stories to whitewash the crimes of those who the Delhi Police arrested. For example, Prof Lyla Mehta said, “It is deplorable that so many committed students and human rights defenders who seek to retain the secular fabric of India are still in jail.”
Interestingly, it also had a quote from Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) that allegedly has a connection to terrorist organisations. The organisation said, “If Gandhi was alive and with us today, would he have supported these detained activists, or would he have supported Narendra Modi and his BJP party members?” It was rich of IAMC to quote none other than Gandhi, who is believed to be a symbol of non-violence.
Similarly, Ania Loomba, Literary Scholar and Professor, said, “The 18 brave students and others were part of peaceful protests movements that arose at the end of 2019… Many of us were protesting in Philly… If we had been in Delhi, we could have been in jail for the rest of our lives.” It is unclear if she was told who Tahir Hussain was and what he did as per the court documents.
The list of names included in the video and the accusations against them
Sharjeel Imam: Imam is facing charges under IPC and UAPA for speeches he gave during the anti-CAA protests, including instigating Islamists to cut of North Eastern region from the rest of the country by blocking the ‘chicken’s neck’ in North Bengal.
Ishrat Jahan: Jahan was arrested on February 26 for the charges under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault on public servant), 332 (voluntarily causes hurt to public servant), 307 (attempt to murder), 109 (abetment), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Arms Act.
Khalid Saifi: Saifi was earlier arrested by the Delhi police from the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest site at Khajuri Khas on February 26. He is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly plotting riots in the national capital.
Tahir Hussain: Hussain was arrested for instigating riots during anti-CAA protests. His house was used as a launchpad for the riots that he had earlier confessed in a disclosure statement. Given that his house was a high-rise building and was under construction at that time, it was easy to collect stones and bricks without raising any suspicion. He confessed that he and his co-conspirators had started collecting stones, bricks, and other ammunition, well in advance so that they could teach those, who were in support of the CAA, a lesson when the time was right. To that end, 2-3 days before the riots broke out, he had also got his licensed pistol released from the police station. Moreover, Tahir Hussain was a corporator and leader of AAP, not a student.
Safoora Zargar: Zargar was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for her alleged role in the conspiracy that led to the Delhi Riots in February 2020. She was arrested in April 2020. The Delhi Police had claimed that she was part of the conspiracy to “destroy, destabilize and disintegrate the Government of India in order to compel to withdraw the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the alleged National Register of Citizens.” The Delhi High Court granted bail to Safoora Zargar in the Delhi Riots case in June 2020 on humanitarian grounds. After the Central Government said that it had no objections to her release, bail was granted. A regular bail was granted to Safoora Zargar after furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000 on the condition that she will not leave the territory of Delhi without the permission of the Court and will not hamper the investigation.
Umar Khalid: The FIR filed against Khalid includes serious allegations such as Sections 13, 16, 17, and 18 of the UAPA, Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, and Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act of 1984. He is also charged with several offences listed in the Indian Penal Code of 1860.
Delhi Riots 2020
The Delhi anti-Hindu riots that shook the capital city of India, Delhi, just as the then USA President Donald Trump was visiting, was a stark reminder of just how fragile India’s internal security is, with bloodthirsty mobs, protected by a deeply entrenched ecosystem, looking for a reason to unleash violence against Hindus. The first murder during the violence that erupted on the 23rd of February with Muslim mobs running rampage was that of Ratan Lal. Soon after him, Dilbar Negi, a young daily wager, was brutally murdered. His hands and legs were chopped off before he was burnt to death. OpIndia’s detailed reporting on the Delhi Riots of 2020 can be read here.
