Home Blog Page 2654

America’s NBC News platforms Alt News’ propagandists to malign India, cites their fictitious Nobel nomination without basic fact check

Amit Kelkar
-
0
America’s NBC News platforms Alt News’ propagandists to malign India, cites their fictitious Nobel nomination without basic fact check

For years now, the bullies of the leftwing ecosystem have used Twitter to set political discourse and impose their views on others. That changed dramatically after Elon Musk took over Twitter, sending leftist commentariats into a tizzy and western publications into scaremongering over the fate of the social media behemoth under a tech billionaire who is determined to turn Twitter into a free speech paradise.

Several western dailies and media organisations have partaken in the propaganda efforts to undermine Musk’s takeover of Twitter, publishing countless articles to stoke unfounded fears about how his ambitions for the social media company would fuel hate speech and extremism in different parts of the world, helping ‘fascists’ dominate the public discourse.

As a part of this global Left’s effort to dissuade Musk from dismantling dubious mechanisms and structures built by Twitter’s preceding leadership, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network, recently platformed propagandists from Alt News, a fringe far-leftist organisation infamous for shielding Islamists and pushing fake news that hews to its agenda. 

In an article about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, NBC quoted Alt News’ Pratik Sinha, Mohammed Zubair, and others to malign India and kindle fears of the social media platform firehosing hate speech and extremism under its new owner.

Titled as ‘Elon Musk’s Twitter risks opening floodgates of hate speech and extremism in India’, the article relies on statements made by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who is out on bail in connection with his incendiary Twitter posts insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Source:nbcnews.com

In order to lend credence to its report and to possibly whitewash Alt News co-founders’ troubled antecedents, the American media outlet also peddled fake news that Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair were ‘unofficially’ nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, even though there exists no official list of the nominees for the prize.

“The fact-checking website’s work debunking fake news and calling out hate speech by powerful people against India’s ethnic and religious minorities has made it one of the country’s leading independent news outlets, earning its founders a mention on an unofficial shortlist for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize,” the NBC article read. 

Relevant section from the NBC’s article

The objective of such an article cannot be mistaken: to malign India as a hub of non-left extremism and hate speech as Elon Musk refashions Twitter and shreds its prejudice against voices that challenge the left’s political discourse and expose its hypocrisy. And in doing so, the American daily has relied on peddling fake news and glorifying one of the most notorious websites known for pushing propaganda under the garb of ‘fact-checking’. 

NBC peddles fake news that Zubair and Sinha were on ’unofficial list’ of Nobel Peace Prize nominations

While NBC article claimed that founders of Alt News were unofficially listed for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the reality is that Zubair and Sinha were never nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, a lie which the duo allowed to travel far and wide even though they pride themselves on being ‘fake checkers’.

Earlier this year, TIME promoted a PR hoax claiming that Zubair and Sinha are among frontrunners for the Nobel Peace Prize. The propagandists from India’s Left ecosystem instantly lapped up the PR hoax, amplifying the fake news that the duo had indeed been nominated for the prestigious prize.

However, all these claims of Muhammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha were proven to be misleading and wrong. The Nobel committee does not reveal shortlists for awards for 50 years, but the source where the duo’s name comes from made it crystal clear that they were not even in contention, let alone in shortlist. Actually, the duo’s name was added as an afterthought in a Nobel Peace prize shortlist made by Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), which had actually ‘shortlisted’ Harsh Mander, and added the names of Md Zubair and Pratik Sinha as other probable names from India. 

In February this year, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) shortlisted people from around the world who they deemed fit to receive the Nobel Prize. Though their list has nothing to do with the actual list of laureates that receive the prize, they have been doing it since 2002. According to PRIO’s website, their list is widely covered by the international media. This year, PRIO’s director Henrik Urdal, who has been in the post since 2017, named Harsh Mander as one of the five shortlisted candidates that he thinks would be the best fit to receive the Nobel Prize.

In the para on shortlisted Harsh Mander, Alt News’s Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha were also listed as worthy candidates for a prize focused on “combating religious extremism and intolerance in India” as they have contributed significantly “to debunking misinformation aimed at vilifying Muslims in India.” However, they did not find a place in the five names and were mentioned under Harsh Mander’s “nomination” as an afterthought.

The five shortlisted by PRIO were 1. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya & Alexei Navalny, 2. International Court of Justice, 3. Harsh Mander & Karwan-e-Mohabbat, 4. Ilham Tohti, Agnes Chow & Nathan Law, and 5. HRDAG & CANVAS, and the Alt News founders were not among them. They were just mentioned under the para of Harsh Mander & Karwan-e-Mohabbat. 

Now, it is to be noted that the PRIO’s list has nothing to do with the Nobel Peace Prize. As per the guidelines laid down by the Nobel Committee, the director of PRIO is eligible to nominate anyone for the prize. However, according to PRIO’s website, PRIO’s director does not nominate anyone for the prize because of his active role as a commentator on the Peace Prize. It further reads, “Neither the Director nor the Institute he leads have any form of association with the Nobel Institute or the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”

Secondly, NBC kept referring to Alt News as ‘fact-checking website’ whereas it has been an inexorable source of fake news and propaganda aimed at undermining the current regime in India and shielding Islamists responsible for undermining India’s social fabric. 

Recently, Bhilwara Police arrested PFI leader Abdul Salam over raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans after forensic examination of a video that has gone viral earlier this year. The video, which was from February 2021, showed throngs of rabble rousers chanting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. Alt News and its co-founder Mohammed Zubair had given a clean chit saying that not ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ but ‘SDPI Zindabad’ slogans were raised in the rally.

After police said forensic examination revealed the slogans chanted were ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, the other co-founder, Pratik Sinha, came to the defence of those chanting pro-Pakistan slogans. Sinha dismissed the forensic report as ‘faulty’ and said that the protesters were shouting ‘SDPI Zindabad’ and not ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.

Alt News and its devious modus operandi

Alt News has been leaning on dishonest methods as a part of its modus operandi to give a boost to its propaganda of keeping the Muslim victimhood narrative alive. It has mastered several methods to further its narrative while disproving a contrarian worldview. Besides using reverse search images for its propaganda purposes, it has also emphasised nitpicking about petty and irrelevant details of an incident to muddle the readers and sow doubts about the narrative around the incident.

For instance, in 2020, when the videos of Muslim vegetable vendors applying saliva to their produce had gone viral, Alt News tried to water down the act by alleging that the video of a Muslim vegetable vendor spitting on the vegetables was not from April but from February, as if spitting on the vegetables in February was totally in accordance with the prevailing societal norms.

Pratik Sinha—a veteran fake new peddler

Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of Alt News, has an equally unenviable record of peddling fake news. 

In December 2020, a social media user exposed the AltNews co-founder Pratik Sinha for flooding social media platforms with fake and misleading information. The social media user highlighted that Sinha, a self-described ‘fact-checker’, has an inveterate habit of spreading lies and distortions and has been doing so with impunity for the last few years.

The social media user posted a string of tweets exposing Sinha for spreading misinformation and lies. He shared various instances when the so-called ‘fact-checker’ was caught red-handed for disseminating propaganda.

The Twitter user said that Sinha, a Hindu-hater masquerading as a ‘fact-checker’, made a career out of abusing and denigrating PM Modi through dubious portals such as Truth of Gujarat, eopinion and Alt News.

Mohammed Zubair triggers Islamist violence in India, resulting in the deaths of innocent Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe

Earlier this year, Mohammed Zubair sparked controversy after sharing a truncated video of Nupur Sharma’s comments on the Times Now debate and accused her of making derogatory remarks against the Islamic Prophet. 

Before long, the controversy gained epic proportions and transcended national boundaries as Arab countries made unsolicited comments, causing a diplomatic nightmare for India’s mission in the Persian Gulf. Islamists took to the streets, running riot and indulging in vandalism, and arson against what they perceived as an insult to Prophet Muhammad. Protest marches calling for the beheading of Nupur Sharma were carried out as participants shouted “sar tan se juda” chants against Nupur Sharma. In one instance, her effigy was left hanging from a cable, reminding Hindus of the fate that awaits them should they dare cite authentic and reliable Islamic Hadiths to comment on Prophet Muhammad.

While Islamists went on a rampage on the streets in many cities across the country, it was essentially Mohammed Zubair who was responsible for kindling a fire that had gone on to assume uncontrollable proportions. It was Zubair’s dog-whistling that made a mountain out of a molehill and painted a target behind the back of Nupur Sharma and anyone and everyone who came out in her support.

The ominous hounding of Nupur Sharma prompted many to extend their support to her. Kanhaiya Lal from Udaipur, Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, and many others extended their solidarity with the beleaguered leader, voicing their support for her amid the death threats from Islamists. 

And so, Lal was a marked man the moment he came out in support of Nupur Sharma. Islamists, provoked by Mohammed Zubair, dished out death threats to him for what they considered an unpardonable sin committed against Prophet. And days later, the Hindu man was killed for something as trivial as just sharing a social media post in support of Nupur Sharma.

Even though the Islamists on the ground were responsible for killing him, the buck does not stop there. They were puppets working at the behest of their masters, who were equally blameworthy for goading them into murdering Lal. In essence, Mohammed Zubair’s dog-whistling against Nupur Sharma instigated Islamists, who then went on to kill Lal for his support to the former BJP leader.

This makes Mohammed Zubair guilty of ‘stochastic terrorism’, a concept defined as the public demonisation of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted. It was Mohammed Zubair who spearheaded a campaign against Nupur Sharma, accusing her of insulting the Prophet Muhammad and letting loose an army of Islamists against her that ultimately hacked Lal to death. 

A similar fate befell Umesh Kolhe, a chemist living in Maharashtra’s Amravati, who was murdered by four Muslim assailants while he was returning from his pharmacy on the night of June 22. Kolhe, too, was murdered for his social media post supporting Nupur Sharma, who was hounded by Islamists and egged on by the likes of Mohammed Zubair for her comments defending her faith on a TV news debate where a fellow Muslim panellist was mocking Shivling discovered inside the premises of the contentious Gyanvapi mosque compound. 

Mohammed Zubair: Chronic fake news peddler with Hinduphobic tendencies

Days after India witnessed violent protests that saw Islamists running riot, indulging in violence over the alleged insult of Prophet Muhammad, Twitter user The Hawk Eye (@thehawkeye) shared a collage of past tweets and posts by Mohammed Zubair mocking Hindu Gods and beliefs.

In one of the tweets shared by The Hawk Eye, Zubair is seen mocking Shivling and comparing it with the top view of the Vatican City. He said the post comparing Shivling with the Vatican City inspired him to come up with a parody Facebook page ‘Unofficial: Subramanian Swamy’ in 2014.

Apparently, one of the posts on the Facebook page ‘Unofficial Mohammed Zubair‘ mocks Arun Govil to take a swipe at Lord Ram, suggesting that ISRO must consult the actor because he would know more about the rocketry.

Another post by ‘Unofficial Mohammed Zubair’ shows an aeroplane under the water with the caption: “Breaking: Pushpak Vimana used by Ravan 5000 years ago found in the Indian Ocean.”

Besides ridiculing Hindu Gods, Zubair has also poked fun at Hindu beliefs and took a dig at Sanskrit, regarded as one of the most important languages of Hinduism and the means of communication by the Hindu Gods. After being exposed for his Hinduphobic posts on Facebook, Zubair deactivated his page. 

On top of all this, Zubair is also a consummate fake news peddler. Here are 20 instances when Zubair has resorted to sharing falsehoods and misinformation. Though this list is not exhaustive, it demonstrates Zubair’s penchant for fake news.

Ahead of MCD polls, anti-Sikh riots accused Jagdish Tytler campaigns for the Congress party

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Ahead of MCD polls, anti-Sikh riots accused Jagdish Tytler campaigns for the Congress party

The Congress party has yet again courted controversy for allowing the 1984 anti-Sikh riot accused Jagdish Tytler to campaign for it in the run-up to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.

In a video shared by Times Now, Tytler was seen campaigning for the grand old party. Given that over 3000 Sikhs were massacred in Delhi during the 1984 riots, the decision of the Congress party to entertain him has rubbed salt in the wounds of the families of the deceased.

The development has angered members of the Sikh community, who reside in large numbers in the National Capital. It must be mentioned that the MCD polls are scheduled for December 4, 2022.

While speaking about the development, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa remarked, “Congres is a party of killers. And the Gandhi family openly supports such killers. And the most shameful thing occurred yesterday when they made Jagdish Tytler address a public rally.”

“Congress is sending a clear message that if people don’t vote for it, then, it will bring in people like Tytler and orchestrate mass killings. This is clearly an attempt at intimidation. We are not afraid of those people, who killed us with impunity with the support of the government.”

He requested the Election Commission (EC) to take cognisance of the matter and asked the voters to abstain from supporting the Congress party, which endorses criminals such as Jagdish Tytler.

Last month, the Congress party released the list of 40 members for the Pradesh Election Committee for Delhi Municipal Corporation Polls (MCD), and the name of 1984 anti-Sikh Riots accused Jagdish Tytler was included in the list.

Who is Jagdish Tytler

The 1984 anti-Sikh riots erupted in the aftermath of the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and culminated in the horrific killings of over 2800 people, according to government data.

Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were accused of a direct role in instigating the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India. Jagdish Tytler was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 and later served as the Union Minister of State for Surface Transport.

He was only dropped in 2009 by Congress due to the controversy over his actions in the 1984 riots. The CBI gave a clean chit to Tytler during the second term of the UPA government. However, the closure report was rejected by a Sessions Court, and an investigation into his role was requested.

Despite public calls to cut relations with Tytler, Congress has frequently accommodated him on public platforms. In January 2019, Congress was criticised for granting Tytler a front-row seat during the ceremony of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit taking over as Delhi Congress chief on January 16, 2019.

Supreme Court cancels anticipatory bail granted to accused ex-cops in Nambi Narayanan fake espionage case, directs Kerala HC to re-hear bail pleas

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Supreme Court cancels anticipatory bail granted to accused ex-cops in Nambi Narayanan fake espionage case, directs Kerala HC to re-hear bail pleas

On Friday, December 2, Supreme Court cancelled the anticipatory bail granted to five ex-officials accused in the 1994 ISRO espionage case pertaining to the falsification of evidence to frame scientist Nambi Narayanan. 

A bench led by Justice M.R. Shah directed the Kerala High Court to re-hear the anticipatory bail pleas and ruled that, “all the appeals are allowed, and the impugned judgments are hereby quashed and set aside.”

The top court asked Kerala HC to decide on the matter within a period of four weeks. As an interim arrangement, the Supreme Court also granted protection from arrest to the accused for five weeks till the Kerala HC issues its order.

Notably, Kerala HC had granted anticipatory bail to the five accused in the case namely – Former Kerala DGP Siby Mathews, former Gujarat ADGP RB Sreekumar and former Deputy Central Intelligence Officer, PS Jayaprakash – who were IB officials in 1994 – and two former Kerala Police officers S. Vijayan and Thampi S. Durga.

The bench said that the Kerala High Court failed to take several aspects into consideration while passing the order. “The High Court has committed certain wrongs. It has not dealt with Justice Jain committee report, individual allegations not examined. High Court should deal with individual cases individually”, the court said.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the accused persons saying that this might derail the investigation. 

Previously, the CBI informed the Supreme Court that some scientists were tortured and framed in the case, causing a delay in the development of cryogenic engines, causing India’s space programme to be delayed by nearly a decade.

It is pertinent to note that the CBI in its 1996 investigation report concluded that the cases against Nambi Narayanan and others were fabricated. The CBI in its report had observed that “The aforesaid IB officials comprising the team enquiring into ISRO case acted in an unprofessional manner and were privy to the arrest of six innocent persons, thereby causing them immense mental and physical agony.” The CBI had also clearly indicted Srikumar for “failing in their duty to conduct the inquiry in an objective and fair manner.”

The Supreme Court ordered a high-level investigation into the role of erring police officials in the Nambi Narayanan espionage case in 2018. On September 14, 2018, the Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee and ordered the Kerala government to pay Nambi Narayanan Rs 50 lakh in compensation for subjecting him to extreme humiliation.

The Supreme Court described the police action against Narayanan as a “psycho-pathological treatment,” and stated that Nambi Narayanan’s liberty and dignity, which are fundamental to his human rights, were jeopardised because he was forced to face “cynical abhorrence” despite his past achievements.

Former Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill joins BJP, appointed as national spokesperson

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Former Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill joins BJP, appointed as national spokesperson

Former congress leader Jaiveer Shergill joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday. Jaiveer Shergill has been appointed the national spokesperson of the BJP.

Along with this, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former Congress leader Sunil Jakhar have been made the national executive members of the party. BJP also inducted P minister Swatantra Dev Singh, former Uttarakhand BJP chief Madan Kaushik, former Congress leader Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, and former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia in the National Executive of the party.

Notably, on August 24, Jaiveer Shergill resigned from the post of National Spokesperson of the Congress party and had also left the party. He tendered his resignation to the Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi, where he claimed that the vision of the decision-makers was no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth.

In his resignation letter, he wrote, “I hereby resign from the post of National Spokesperson of the Party. The primary reason being that the ideology and the vision of the current decision-makers of the Indian National Congress are no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth and modern India.”

Hailing from Punjab, Shergill, who is a lawyer by profession, is considered to be one of the most prominent young leaders. In August, news agency ANI quoted him saying, “I’ve resigned from all posts in the Congress party. The primary reason for the resignation is that the decision-making in INC is no longer being done, keeping the interests of the public. It’s purely being influenced by a coterie who merely indulges in sycophancy.”

Also, Sunil Jakhar, former senior Congress leader and former chief of its Punjab unit formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party days after he quit the Congress in May this year.

Captain Amarinder Singh, the former chief minister of Punjab, joined the BJP in September after merging his party, the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), with the BJP. Following his abrupt resignation as Punjab chief minister due to disagreements with the senior party leadership prior to the state assembly elections earlier this year, the veteran Congress politician was inducted into the BJP on September 19 in the presence of agricultural minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Law minister Kiren Rijiju.

As Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind moves Supreme Court for SC status to converted Muslims, here is why BJP should be careful about their Pasmanda outreach

Nupur J Sharma
-
0
As Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind moves Supreme Court for SC status to converted Muslims, here is why BJP should be careful about their Pasmanda outreach

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Union government to grant the Scheduled Caste status to Dalit converts to Islam. The intervention application filed says that it is important for Dalit converts to Islam to be considered Scheduled Caste so they can get equal opportunities in government jobs, educational institutions and the employment sector.

Interestingly, the petition states that somehow, the non-inclusion of these converts stops them from freely propagating their faith. According to reports, the plea says that the denial of the Scheduled Caste status to Muslim converts deprives them of political, educational, and other benefits given to non-Muslim and non-Christian Scheduled Castes persons and it is a calculated historical wrong to restrain the free profession, practice, and propagation of religion.

It has been submitted that the truth of the caste system cannot be denied and the effect of society is inevitable on all the religious communities it inhabits.

‘In the present issue, a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste is provided benefits if he is a Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist. However, if the same person is a Muslim, he will not be provided with those benefits. This distinction is totally arbitrary and is sans any reasonable classification,’ the petition has stated.

While the Jamiat has approached the Supreme Court demanding Scheduled Caste status for converted Muslims, the BJP, India’s ruling party, has launched a massive outreach to the Pasmanda Muslim community. BJP launched a program to reach out to Pasmanda Muslims, who are “lower caste” Muslims, historically oppressed by the “upper caste” Ashraf Muslims. Earlier in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a clarion call to unite Pasmandas. In the National Executive meeting that concluded in Hyderabad earlier in July, PM Modi had asked BJP workers to reach out to the downtrodden and oppressed Pasmanda Muslim community. 

These two developments – Jamiat demanding SC status for converted Muslims and the BJP reaching out to Pasmanda Muslims in conjunction could spell doom for Hindus at large.

Pasmanda is a Persian word. It broadly means backward and disadvantaged people. Muslims who come under Pasmanda are also called Arzal. Ashrafs come from the upper castes among Muslims. For example, Sheikh, Sayyid, Mirza, Khan etc. Ashrafs constitute only 15-20 per cent of the total Muslim population in India, the rest are Pasmanda. 

The demand by the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind essentially draws on the Liberal argument that caste is an ingrained construct that sticks with individuals regardless of their religious association – that even after individuals convert to far more “egalitarian” religions such as Islam or Christianity, the societal evil of caste discrimination continues to haunt them.

We are told that the entire reason Dalits convert from Hinduism to Christianity or Islam is that Hinduism is discriminatory and that these religions would provide equality, respect and security. If that is the case, the moment a Dalit changes his religion, there is an assumption that he is shedding the supposed historic oppression to become a part of an egalitarian society. Reservations were accorded to Scheduled Castes (Dalits) essentially because of the historical oppression that the community faced. The oppression then led to economic and social backwardness. As far as social backwardness is concerned, that ideally should be taken care of the moment the individual converts to Christianity or Islam. The economic backwardness is now taken care of by Economic Weaker Section (EWS). Interestingly, the petition by the Jamiat alludes to both these reasons to justify the demand for SC status to converted Muslims saying that the categorisation and the reservation that would accrue owing to the categorisation would help them get economic opportunities and social justice.

However, if one truly thinks about the argument given by the Jamiat, which draws from the liberal argument that caste is an ingrained social evil in India regardless of religious affiliation, one also has to ask why then is the caste construct used to deride Hindus with claims that only Hinduism is the vessel for this social evil. It is true that the construct of caste discrimination exists in Islamic and Christian societies, however, that has nothing to do with Hinduism. These individuals converted to Islam or Christianity precisely because they wanted to escape caste discrimination. Once they convert out of the religion, if they continue to face discrimination, that is a problem of Christianity and Islam and those individuals can’t possibly get reservations based on the assumption of discrimination that accrued when they were Hindus.

They essentially want state protection while their own discriminate against them, but use their Hindu identity to do so – preserving the propaganda of Christianity and Islam.  

Be that as it may, it is important to understand the agenda behind these tropes being furthered not just by the liberals, but not by the Jamiat, based on the liberal argument.

The aim of furthering this argument is simply to facilitate the conversion of Hindus into Islam and Christianity and remove one of the few obstacles to such conversion – the loss of reservation benefits. It is no secret that the Christian and Muslim community provides enough coercive incentives to convert Hindus – from monetary benefits to false promises of an egalitarian society – and in worst cases – intimidation and threats. In several cases, reservation benefits given to Scheduled Caste Hindus is an impediment to the nefarious designs of monotheistic faiths. Many Hindus understand the benefits they get via reservations and refuse to convert. The argument that caste continues to haunt Dalits even after they convert from Hinduism is essentially designed not towards social justice because they continue to deny that Islam and Christianity also have a system of caste hierarchy and blame only Hinduism for it, but to further the political trope of Jai Bheem Jai Meem, which essentially attempts to form a mythical alliance between Dalits and Muslims against Hindus.

It is pertinent to note that even the PFI document Vision 2047, which talks about converting India into an Islamic nation, talks about this mythical trope. The PFI document said, “From all the cadres who are being given PE, those with talent are to be spotted and recruited to be given advanced training on weapons including firearms and explosives. Meantime, Party should utilise concepts such as ‘National Flag’, ‘Constitution’ and ‘Ambedkar’ to shield the real intention of establishing an Islamic rule and to reach out to SCs/STs/OBCs. We would reach out to executive and judiciary and also strive to infiltrate our members in these at all levels in order to gather information and get a favourable outcome in matters of our interest. Further, liasoning is to be established with foreign Islamic countries for funding and other help”.

The PFI document further says that PFI should form close alliances with the SC/ST/OBC community and win at least a few seats in elections. The alliance that the PFI wants to forge is with 50% Muslims and 10% SC/ST/OBC. In fact, the 10% support they are aiming for becomes trying to gain the trust of 50% SC/ST/OBCs in order to fulfil their dream of restoring power to Muslims.

With the stated goal of Islamists gaining the faith of Schedule Castes and Tribes simply to establish a Sharia state, it becomes even more clear why Jamiat wants to remove the reservation impediment to their campaign of converting Hindus to Islam.

Given this agenda, BJP’s outreach to Pasmanda Muslims and the rhetoric being used to further this outreach becomes far more concerning.

BJP’s Ram Madhav recently asserted that most Pasamanda Muslims converted to Islam due to caste inequalities and discrimination, however, their state has remained the same – and therefore – they need to be reached out to and taken care of.

BJP leader Ram Madhav’s views over Pasmanda Muslims, a clip from Jagran

With Pasmanda Muslims forming 70-80% of the Muslims, the BJP furthering this trope becomes particularly dangerous. They are essentially insinuating then, that most Muslims today converted to Islam because of the discrimination they faced when they were Hindus and that they are still in bad economic and social conditions because of their identity when they were Hindus.

This argument furthers the liberal argument that the root cause of problems even within Islam and Christianity stems from Hinduism, which is patently incorrect. If they convert from Hinduism owing to their social status to more egalitarian options, they cannot possibly continue to blame their Hindu past for their current plight. In fact, the urge to shed that historical and identity baggage is so severe, that often Dalits who convert to Christianity change mostly everything about themselves. Once a Dalit converts, one notices that they change their mannerisms, their linguistic pattern, how they dress and even how they eat. They become a part of the Church congregation or Mosque which in theory, is meant to treat everyone in its people equally. There have in fact been many cases where even the converted Christians and Muslims start disconnecting from their extended family and friends circle because of their newfound identity. The psychology behind that is once the individual is baptised or converted to Islam, they are reborn and start an entirely new chapter of life, therefore, the earlier roots must be abandoned completely. Another reason for this also is that either those newly converted Christians and Muslims start looking down on their Hindu relatives or they believe that with their changed lifestyle (mannerisms, eating habits etc), they are a misfit in the Hindu society they once belonged to.

With such changes, it is fair to assume that the individual converts to Christianity because, in his perception, he would shed his part baggage and achieve upward social mobility. A better social status after conversion is a primary motive for those who convert out of their own free will and even those who are induced to convert. Given that these individuals believe that conversion to a theoretically more egalitarian society would help them shed their past identity baggage completely, it is fair to say that they stop being “Dalits” altogether.

In such a case, for BJP to say that most Muslims today converted because of their past identity and continue to be in abysmal condition due to their past Hindu identity is a dangerous slope that will only legitimise the Muslim demand to remove impediments to conversion. If converted Muslims continue to face discrimination it is because of a problem within the Muslim society – which is discrimination on the basis of tribal and feudal mindset which is indeed independent of their past Hindu identity. In Muslim society, for example, Arabs do consider themselves ‘pure’ and look down upon Muslims of other origins – and that is the problem of the tribal Muslim society – not the Hindu society.

BJP’s outreach to the Muslim community is a political reality, however futile the exercise might be. When BJP repeats tropes like “terrorism has no religion”, while their support base becomes angry, they can still ignore the trope because the reality of the religious identity of terrorism is stark and apparent. However, the caste debate and its contours is a far more complex subject that even their own support base is largely unequipped to deal with. It is also a reality that the contours of the caste debate are set by the Left in order to rub the Hindu nose in the ground. With such tropes being repeated by the BJP, it can only lead to a dangerous situation for Hindus at large and the Hindu case that BJP largely wishes to espouse, leading to Hindus being vilified even for the ills of the Muslim society, leading to the strengthening of the mythical Dalit-Muslim alliance that Islamist organisations like the PFI want to forge in order to Islamise India.

Madhya Pradesh: Six professors in Indore law college taken off duty for allegedly promoting love jihad and religious fundamentalism

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Madhya Pradesh: Six professors in Indore law college taken off duty for allegedly promoting love jihad and religious fundamentalism

On Thursday, December 1, 2022, the Government Law College in Indore took six of its professors including off duty for allegedly promoting love jihad and other anti-social ideas among the students. The decision came after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused these professors of being anti-establishment and encouraging negative anti-social thoughts and fundamentalism against the union government.

The ABVP, on Thursday, protested in Indore alleging that some teachers at the Government New Law College in the city were promoting ‘love jihad’. It was also alleged that the professors were promoting religious fundamentalism and instilling negative things about the country’s government and the army in new students’ minds. Following the protests, the college management has asked for a retired district court judge to probe the allegations.

Along with that, six teachers including four Muslim teachers have been removed from academic work for five days. They are identified as Professor Mirza Moziz Beg, Professor Ameek Khokar, Professor Suhail Ahmed Wani, Professor Milind Kumar Gautam, Professor Feroze Ahmed Meer, and Poornima Bise.

A college official shared the information about this move. Deependra Thakur, president of ABVP’s unit at Government New Law College, said that the complaint was submitted on his behalf to the college principal Dr. Inamur Rahman. It has been alleged that some teachers are promoting religious fanaticism among the new students of this institute. They allegedly put negative thoughts about the army and government of India in their minds. The ABVP has said that the professors have created different messaging groups of students which are used to spread hate messages.

The action was taken after ABVP members met principal Inamur Rahman and lodged a complaint against the teachers. They gheraoed the principal and demanded action against the six teachers accusing them of spreading religious bigotry. They said that the professors talk only about religion in the classes and don’t discuss the course material.

It has also been alleged in the complaint that every Friday, the principal of the college, Muslim teachers, and students of this community go to the mosque to offer namaz. There are no classes at this time. Thakur said, the complaint also alleged that love jihad was being promoted and meat was being consumed on the college campus. It is also alleged that the teachers invite girl students to meet them in private.

College principal Dr. Inamur Rahman said, “The atmosphere in our college is not the same as the allegations being made. However, ABVP’s complaint is serious and I have decided to get it investigated by a retired district court judge.”

He added, “On the complaint of ABVP, six professors have been relieved from academic work for five days so that the investigation is not affected. These include four Muslim teachers. Among those temporarily removed from academic work are two Hindu teachers against whom the ABVP has accused of indiscipline, acting at will, and not talking to students properly.

According to the Times of India, Dr. Bise, who is facing an inquiry, said she was not aware of the action. “There was a ruckus in the college for several hours after 4 pm. I never knew I was embroiled in controversy”, she said. Dr. Baig said he knew about the investigation through online messages. He said, “I have not received any official letter or communication from the institute. After getting anything from the institute, I will be in a position to answer it tomorrow.”

Mangaluru Auto Blast: Arrested Shariq became terrorist to meet 72 hoors in Jannat, had banned family from talking to Hindus, watching movies and TV

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mangaluru Auto Blast: Arrested Shariq became terrorist to meet 72 hoors in Jannat, had banned family from talking to Hindus, watching movies and TV

On November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded in Mangaluru, Karnataka’s coastal town, under mysterious circumstances. The Police identified the accused on November 20 and arrested Mohammed Shariq who had been previously arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Days after the incident, Shariq’s maternal aunt on Friday talked to the media to reveal that Shariq chose the path of terrorism to meet 72 hoors who are beautiful virgins in Jannat (heaven).

The aunt said that Shariq used to say that he will meet 72 hoors in Jannat, and that will be his real world, and his entire life revolved around Namaz, Allah etc. She said that Shariq used to torture the females in the house and restrict them from watching television, listening to songs, doing make-up, etc. He also used to prohibit them from talking to Hindu people. “He himself used to watch movies and songs but he never allowed the women in the house to do so. He used to say that Allah is his everything and Jannat is his only heavenly world,” aunt added.

The aunt also added that Shariq used to follow his religion graciously. He used to offer Namaz five times a day and also had started keeping the beard on his face. “But we could not see he had intentions to do these kinds of attacks. He used to say soon I am going to do something which will help me attain Jannat,” she added. She further added that she used to argue with him as he would restrict the women in our family from watching TV or talking to Hindus.

Shariq’s aunt while talking to Dainik Bhasker further condemned the blast and criticized the accused for his involvement. She said that he was a religious and an Islam follower but they never thought he would do something like this. “The incident and Shariq’s involvement in the case have brought shame to us. We still have to survive with everyone in society. We are not even able to show our faces to anyone. Islam doesn’t teach anyone to kill people. It is a crime. I think he has done this under some fanatic influence.”

On asking about the Police action in the case, the aunt said, “The Police showed us the CCTV footage in which he could be seen. The Police could have shot him on the spot. But instead, they saved his life and took him to the hospital.” The aunt on December 2 said that Shariq’s family members knew from the beginning that Shariq and Abdul Mateen, a proclaimed ISIS terrorist, knew each other. “I knew they were with each other but did not know what they were doing. We want the law to take its course in this matter,” she stated adding that people like Shariq are in disrepute to the religion.

Reports mention that Shariq is a resident of Sopugudde, which according to the central agencies is home to five more ISIS terrorists. Shariq’s father passed away three months ago. Since then his cloth shop is being looked after by Shariq’s aunt. “In February 2020, slogans and messages written in support of Lashkar and ISIS were written on the walls of Shivamogga by Shariq and his companions including Maaj Munir. He was arrested and later his father somehow got him out on bail. However, he drastically changed after visiting Udupi and Bangalore. Ever since he returned, he used to talk only about Namaz, Ibadat, and Allah,” the aunt said.

Cloth shop which is looked after by Shariq’s aunt (Image source- Dainik Bhasker)

Abdul Mateen, a proclaimed ISIS terrorist, and Shariq knew each other very well. According to the reports, they both stay at a distance of 50 meters. Police claim that Shariq is also close to Arafat Ali, the fugitive terrorist who had planned to execute the blast in Shivamogga in September.

Arafat also lived in Mateen’s neighborhood and the two were good friends. Arafat, Shariq had relations with Maaz Munir and Syed Yasin, who were arrested in Shivamogga. Yasin was associated with ISIS and was arrested for burning the Indian tricolor in Shivamogga whereas Munir had written pro-ISIS slogans on the walls in Shivamogga. Both of them also lived at a distance of 100 meters from Shariq’s house. On the third day after Maaz’s arrest, his father died of a heart attack.

Maaz Munir, Syed Yasin, Abdul Mateen (Image source- Dainik Bhasker)

Dainik Bhasker reporter meanwhile also reached ISIS terrorist Abdul Mateen’s residence to meet his family members after the Mangaluru Blast case. Mateen’s father Manjoor Ahmed stated that the police had taken away the mobile phones of the entire family 8 days ago and have not given them back yet. He also said that Mateen had gone to Bangalore to become an engineer and that he is not in contact with them now. After the incident in Mangaluru, the whole family has been imprisoned in the house and the police persons have forbidden them from going out of the house.

The team further inquired about the people staying around Shariq’s home in Sopugadde. One of his neighbors named Afsaan stated that Shariq changed after both his parents died. He also added that due to Shariq and other people like him, the city of Sopugadde has attained a negative identity. “We are no more trusted. People don’t rent us rooms in their hotels when we go out. We are looked upon with suspicion. I am not able to do my business. Earlier I used to supply fruits to five nearby villages, but now even those people have started avoiding us,” he added.

Naushad, who has been running a hardware shop for 10 years right in front of Shariq’s ancestral house, said that all the youths whose names have come up in terrorist incidents have studied here till the 10th or 12th standard. “Later they went to cities like Mangaluru, Udupi, and Banglore for further studies. It is difficult to say with whom he came in contact after going there,” he added.

On Saturday, November 19, an auto-rickshaw exploded in Mangaluru, Karnataka’s coastal town, under mysterious circumstances. It was reported that the passenger in the auto-rickshaw was carrying a pressure cooker, and police found that there was an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the cooker which exploded.

The accused was also carrying a stolen Aadhar card of a 24-year-old Hindu person named Premraj, who is a resident of Hubballi. As per a report, police sources said that the suspect is from Shivamogga and for the last few months was also on the radar of the police. The suspect was reportedly planning a similar attack two months ago in Shivamogga, however, could not succeed as the plan was busted by the police.

‘Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s close aide and Sidhu Moosewala murder mastermind Goldy Brar arrested in California’, claims Punjab CM

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s close aide and Sidhu Moosewala murder mastermind Goldy Brar arrested in California’, claims Punjab CM

The Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, a close aide of the feared gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who had taken responsibility for the sensational Sidhu Moosewala murder in Punjab, has been detained in California, USA, as claimed by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

The development was confirmed by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann during a press conference on Friday, November 2, 2022. “There is a confirmed piece of news this morning. Being the Head of the State I tell you that a big gangster sitting in Canada, Goldy Brar has been detained in America,” Bhagwant Mann said addressing the media in Gujarat, where he is campaigning for AAP for the assembly elections. The CM stressed that the arrest is confirmed.

While no official information about the arrest has been revealed by US authorities, reports claim that Research And Analysis Wing (R&AW) and the intelligence wings of Delhi Police and Punjab Police have received inputs that Goldy Brar’s arrest has caused a big stir in California.

Additionally, media reports suggest that a red corner notice, which allows the arrest and detention of a fugitive abroad, has also been issued against Brar. A member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Goldy Brar had recently moved to the US from Canada, where he was based since 2017.

Goldy Brar takes responsibility for the murder of Sidhu Moosewala

In May this year, Goldy Brar, in his Facebook post, said that Moosewala was responsible for the murder of several of his associates, and since the police didn’t act, he did and murdered the singer/rapper. Interestingly, Moosewala’s security was removed just a day before the murder by the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in the state.

The Lawrence gangster group also published a Facebook post confirming that it was them who carried out this killing.

As per the Punjab Police, 8 assailants attacked Moosewala and bullets from 3 AK-94s were found at the site. The police said that the use of AK-94s is extremely rare in Punjab. The police had also made some arrests over their alleged links with Goldy Brar after the murder.

14-year-old Hindu girl abducted by tuition teacher Mohammad Aamir in Bihar’s Begusarai recovered from Tamil Nadu: All we know so far

OpIndia Staff
-
0
14-year-old Hindu girl abducted by tuition teacher Mohammad Aamir in Bihar’s Begusarai recovered from Tamil Nadu: All we know so far

Bihar’s Begusarai police have recovered the 14-year-old Hindu girl, who was kidnapped by her tuition teacher Mohammad Aamir on November 21, 2022. The girl was found in Tamil Nadu. The accused had brainwashed the minor girl who studied in his coaching centre for the last four years, i.e since the age of 10. On November 21, he enticed her into fleeing with him under the guise of marriage.

Popular Twitter user Ashwini Srivastava shared information about the girl’s recovery on December 1, 2022.

Notably, ten days after the girl went missing, on December 1, 2022, the Bihar police released a press note confirming that a team led by Tegra district’s Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ravindra Mohan Prasad used intelligence gathering, technological and scientific research to arrest Mohammad Aamir from Tamil Nadu’s T Nagar area. The minor was recovered and sent back to her parents.

Statement released by Bihar police on December 1, 2022 (Source: @AshwiniSahaya)

The Begusarai police initiated a search operation after the girl’s family filed a complaint with the district’s Phulwaria police station, expressing concern that she may become a victim of grooming jihad. They were also concerned that their daughter would suffer the same fate as Sharddha Walker, who was mercilessly strangled and butchered by her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawala in Delhi’s Mehrauli neighbourhood.

According to the FIR, registered under IPC 366A (procuration of minor girl), the family had discovered a few days ago that Aamir had given the minor girl a mobile phone. For several days, the girl appeared terrified, and her parents said they were certain that Aamir was blackmailing her. They quickly stopped her coaching and shifted her classes to a different place.

The girl left home on November 21, 2022, saying she was going to study, but she never returned. Aamir’s coaching centre was discovered to be closed since then. Aamir, according to the family, lured the girl away.

The mother of the victim told the police that when they went to Aamir’s house to enquire about his whereabouts, his father abused, humiliated and chased them away.

“When I reached Aamir’s house to complain about it, his father misbehaved with me and chased me away by abusing me,” said the girl’s mother.

“I went to the house of Mohammad Aamir but his father misbehaved with me. He also levelled the allegation that my minor daughter took away his son who is more than 20 years old, apart from Rs 1 lakh from the house,” she said.

“A large number of Hindu-Muslim cases are appearing before us. The life of my daughter is in danger. She might be killed like Shraddha was killed in Delhi,” the distressed mother had added.

Speaking about the incident, Navin Kumar, the SHO of Phulwaria police station had said, “We have registered an FIR against Mohammad Aamir and an investigation is underway. His mobile phone is under surveillance. The accused will be arrested soon.”

The police claimed they are ‘holding raids’ to find the minor Hindu student, but the girl’s parents had then said that the Bihar police response has been unsatisfactory.

Supreme Court lawyer Vineet Jindal files police complaint over hateful anti-Brahmin, anti-Baniya slogans on JNU walls by leftists

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Supreme Court lawyer Vineet Jindal files police complaint over hateful anti-Brahmin, anti-Baniya slogans on JNU walls by leftists

Outrage erupted after anti-Brahmin slogans were written on the walls of several buildings located on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. Apart from defacing the walls with slogans threatening bloodshed, the leftist goons had also written ‘Go back to Sakha’ on the doors of the chambers of several professors. Now Supreme Court lawyer Vineet Jindal has filed a police complaint against the matter.

OpIndia has accessed the copy of the complaint lodged by Vineet Jindal with DCP South West and SHO Vasant Kunj. In his complaint, Jindal alleged that leftist goons wrote hateful slogans and threatening messages to kill students belonging to Brahmin and Baniya Hindus. “I have come to the knowledge of the same from news reports and being a social activist and member the of Vaishya community filling this complaint. That slogans against Brahmin and Vaishya communities have been written on the walls of the School of International Studies-II building on the university campus,” the complaint reads. 

Some of the hateful slogans written on the campus walls were “Brahmin-Baniya, we are coming for you”, “We will avenge”, “Brahmins Leave the campus”, “Brahmins leave India”, “Now there will be blood”, “Go back to Sakha.”

Jindal in his complaint pointed out that the JNU campus has earlier also witnessed “anti-national” incidents organised by the Leftists. Referring to a 2019 incident, Jindal mentioned that a woman professor was held hostage for three days and that chambers of independent-thinking professors were defaced with ‘Go Back To Shakha’ slogans.

Jindal urged the police to take strong legal action against those people involved in the hateful act.

Taking to Twitter Advocate Vineet Jindal informed about his complaint and wrote, “Complaint Filed by @vineetJindal19, Social Activist and SC lawyer U/S 153 A&B, 505, 506 AND 34 OF I.P.C With DCP South West and SHO Vasant Kunj on JNU incident where casteist remarks and threat to kill has been extended to the members of Brahmin and Vaishya community.”

For the uninitiated, On the walls of several buildings on the university campus, including the offices of several professors, controversial slogans were written. In addition, “Go back to Sakha” was written on the doors of the chambers of several professors, asking the to go to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Photos of the graffiti-filled walls are going viral on social media. The slogans are aimed specifically at upper-caste Hindu communities.

University students said that anti-Brahmin and Vaishya slogans had been scrawled on the walls of the university’s School of International Studies-II building. “Brahmin-Baniya, we are coming for you,” “We will avenge,” “Brahmins Leave the Campus,” “Brahmins Leave India,” “Now there will be blood,” “Go back to Sakha,” and other slogans were written. The professors targeted by the leftist goons include Nalin Kumar Mohapatra, Raj Yadav, Pravesh Kumar, and Vandana Mishra.

In the meanwhile, the Office of the Registrar of the university has issued a strong statement condemning the vandalism. “The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Santishree D. Pandit has taken a serious note of the incident of defacement of walls and faculty rooms by some unknown elements in SIS, JNU. The administration condemns these exclusivist tendencies on campus,” the statement said.

“Such incidents will not be tolerated as JNU belongs to all,” the Office of the Registrar further added. It further said that the Dean of the School of International Studies and Grievances Committee had been directed to submit a report about the incident to the Vice-Chancellor of JNU.

The Office of the Registrar of the varsity concluded, “JNU stands for inclusion and equality. The VC reiterates zero tolerance for any kind of violence on campus.” The note bore the signature of the acting Registrar

1...2,6532,6542,655...7,599Page 2,654 of 7,599