On Tuesday, November 15, the Delhi police probing the barbaric murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar revealed that the accused, Aftab Amin Poonawalla, continued bringing other women home and had sex with them while Shraddha’s dismembered body remained in his fridge, reports News 18. The police confirmed that the disturbing disclosure was made by the accused Aftab during his interrogation.
Aftab confessed that he kept meeting other women through the dating app after he killed Shraddha in May this year. He brought those women to his house in Chhattarpur Pahadi in south Delhi where he had sex with them. All this while, Shraddha Vikas Walkar’s body which he chopped into 35 pieces kept lying in that refrigerator frozen, wrapped in multiple plastic bags.
The police further said that even though those women who frequented Aftab’s house noticed many incense sticks lit in the residence, a strong fragrance of room fresheners, and a harsh stench of chlorine, they did not suspect a cover-up.
OpIndia reported earlier in the day how Aftab installed the dating App Bumble shortly after the murder. On the dating app, he got in touch with another woman who was a psychologist by profession. Notably, Bumble is the same dating app where he got in touch with Shraddha for the first time in 2019, stated Indian Express while quoting sources.
The report mentioned that the other woman whom Aftab got in touch with on the dating app had visited his house a couple of times in June and July. Shraddha’s body parts were still in the fridge and the kitchen while Aftab hosted the new woman at his flat.
Aftab purchased the fridge recently with the sole purpose of stashing the dismembered body parts of Shraddha: Delhi police
The cops also learned that Aftab purchased the refrigerator recently for the sole purpose of storing the woman’s decomposing body parts. “After strangulating her, the man wanted to dispose of the body in order to escape. Since the body has started decomposing he bought the refrigerator. He even ordered bleach online to wash the body parts as it had started emanating a foul smell. We will check his phone and computer to find what all did he order during that period and then establish a sequence of events. He has also told us that the saw he used to cut Walkar’s body into more than 30 pieces, was bought from a local shop in Chhattarpur area,” News 18 quoted a police officer who was part of the investigation team but did not want to be identified as saying.
On November 14, reports emerged that a man identified as Aftab Ameen Poonawalla allegedly killed his live-in partner, a Hindu woman identified as Shraddha, in May this year. He allegedly chopped her body in 35 pieces, stored them in a newly brought fridge, and disposed of them one piece at a time for several days.
Reportedly, he would go out every night at 2 am to dump the body parts and destroy the evidence of his heinous crime. Shraddha’s family kept track of her whereabouts through her social media posts.
When she stopped posting updates, her family grew worried. Shraddha’s father went to Delhi but was unable to find her. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint with the police. The arrest of Aftab on Saturday (November 12) thus brought closure to the 6-month-old case.
On November 10, Shraddha Walker’s father, Vikas Madan Walker, filed a missing person report at Mehrauli Police Station, South Delhi district. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered by the police and an investigation was initiated to find Shraddha. During the investigation, the police found that Aftab Amin Poonawala, with whom Shraddha was in a live-in relationship, allegedly killed her in May. He reportedly chopped her into 35 pieces and disposed of them one by one.
Details of the FIR
In the FIR, Vikas said in 2018, Shraddha used to work at a call centre in Malad, Mumbai. Aftab was her colleague at the office. After eight or nine months, Shraddha’s parents came to know that she was in a relationship with Aftab.
Excerpt of FIR based on Shraddha’s father’s complaint.
In 2019, Shraddha told her mother that she wanted to have a live-in relationship with Aftab. As Vikas’s family is Hindu and Aftab is Muslim, they refused to allow her to get into a live-in relationship with him. Vikas said in the complaint that inter-caste or inter-religion marriages did not happen in his community.
However, Shraddha was adamant about her decision. The FIR noted after her parents announced their disapproval of the relationship with Aftab, she said, “I am 25 years old. I have full right to take my own decisions. I want to have a live-in relationship with Aftab. From today, you can think you never had a daughter.” She packed her belongings and left the house. Vikas and his wife late, Suman Madan Walker, tried to stop her, but she did not listen.
Shraddha’s friends informed the parents about her whereabouts from time to time. The FIR noted that her parents came to know that the duo had shifted to Naya Gaon and later to Vasai. Meanwhile, Shraddha started calling her mother and informed her that Aftab often fought with her and physically assaulted her as well.
On January 1, 2020, Shraddha’s mother Suman passed away. Around 20 days after her death, Shraddha called her father a couple of times. She informed him that Aftab had physically assaulted her. A month later, she met Vikas and said the same about Aftab. He requested her to leave Aftab and come back home. However, Aftab apologised to her, and she went back.
Later, her father contacted two of her friends, Shivani and Laxman, who informed him that the relationship between Shraddha and Aftab was not healthy, and he used to physically assault her. Vikas was not in contact with her daughter since she refused to return.
On September 14, Laxman called Vikas’s son Shreejay and informed her that he could not contact Shraddha for two months. On September 15, Vikas called Laxman. He told Shraddha’s father that he was in regular contact with Shraddha, but her phone had been switched off for the last two months. Vikas tried her phone, but it did not connect. He decided to file a complaint at Manikpur Police Station.
Manikpur Police transferred the case to Mehrauli Police Station and informed her father that the duo had shifted to Delhi. Vikas mentioned in his complaint that he tried finding his daughter but could not trace her. In his complaint, Vikas said, “The relationship between my daughter and Aftab was not good. I am confident that he is behind her disappearance. Either he has hidden her somewhere or has done something wrong.”
Police arrested Aftab for Shraddha’s murder
After filing FIR under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code, the Delhi Police initiated an investigation. During the probe, they found out that Aftab had killed Shraddha in May this year. Reports suggest Aftab kept on changing his statements during questioning.
Aftab told police that the duo got into an argument, and he strangulated her. Later, he chopped her dead body into 35 pieces. He brought a new fridge to store the pieces. Aftab left his apartment with one piece of the dead body wrapped in plastic daily and disposed of it off in a forest area.
Reports suggest after murdering Shraddha, he installed a dating app and dated another woman. While Shraddha’s dead body pieces were in the fridge and kitchen, Aftab brought another woman to the apartment a few times on the date.
The first visuals of Aftab Amin Poonawala, the accused perpetrator in the Shraddha Madan murder case, lying in a Mehrauli Police station lockup have gone viral on social media. The video was shared by Journalist Rohan Dua on Twitter.
Murderer Aftab Amin under police scrutiny inside Mehrauli PS
Delhi police tells @AlokReporter that during interrogation, Aftab never showed any remorse over Shraddha. He cried only on one occasion when his father visited police stn after his arrest
According to the Delhi Police, Aftab showed no remorse for murdering Shraddha. The only time he cried was reportedly when his father visited the police station after his arrest. Reportedly, Aftab talks in “accented English”.
Aftab Amin, 28, who eloped with Shraddha from Mumbai, and chopped her into 35 pieces in a rented residence in Chhatarpur, was apprehended by the police on Saturday (November 12).
Aftab was allegedly irritated by the victim’s request to marry him. He strangled her to death on May 18, this year. Aftab, who had previously worked as a cook, sliced the body parts with an iron saw, which is used to cut wood and trees. He also threw the blood-soaked clothing in the bin. After that, the accused bought a refrigerator and kept her body in it for many days. He cut her into 35 pieces and disposed of them in 18 different sites around Delhi.
He allegedly went out every night at 2 a.m. to dispose of the body parts and eliminate the evidence of his horrible murder. Shraddha’s family tracked her activities via social media posts.
When she stopped posting updates, her family grew worried. Shraddha’s father went to Delhi but was unable to find her. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint with the police. The arrest of Aftab on Saturday (November 12) thus brought closure to the 6-month-old case.
According to recent revelations, Poonawala invited other women on dates to his flat while butchered pieces of Shraddha’s body remained in the refrigerator.
The religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla
When word of the horrible incident spread, the typical suspects began questioning Aftab Amin Poonawalla’s religious beliefs. They said that the accused is a Parsi by faith and that his heinous crime was being utilised to slander the Muslim community.
The reality, on the other hand, is frequently far from it. Aftab admitted to being a Muslim in a social media post in 2014. The murder suspect has an Instagram account with the handle @thehungrychokro.
The religious affiliation of the accused is also revealed in the complaint, which was submitted to the police by the victim’s father and is attached to the case’s First Information Report (FIR).
Copy of the FIR in Shraddha murder case.
“My daughter had told my wife in 2019 that she wants to stay in a live-in relationship with Aftab Amin Poonawalla. I and my wife had said ‘No’ to it. This is because we are Hindus and belong to the Koli caste. And the boy is a Muslim,” the complaint read.
It further added, “In our place, we do not engage in inter-caste, inter-faith relationships.” It is thus clear that Aftab Amin Poonwalla is a Muslim by Faith and not a Parsi, as claimed by several users on social media.
Aamir Khan recently made a rare public appearance, one of his first following the box office debacle of his most recent film, Laal Singh Chaddha, and said that he intended to take a break from acting “for the first time in his career.”
It is notable here that Laal Singh Chaddha was Aamir Khan’s first movie in over 3 years, after his last flop movie Thugs of Hindostan.
Khan has declared that he’ll produce his next movie named ‘Champions’. Aamir Khan said at a Delhi event that he was slated to shoot Champions following Laal Singh Chaddha but instead opted to take a break from acting in films. Aamir Khan Productions, Sony Pictures International Productions India, and 200 Not Out Productions will co-produce Champions.
“When I am doing a film as an actor, I get so lost in that and nothing else happens in my life. Which is why I decided to take a break. I want to be with my family. With my mom, with my kids. I feel like I have been working for 35 years and I feel I have been single-mindedly focused on my films and it is not fair for the people who are close to me,” Aamir Khan said.
“I am looking at the next year and a half in which I am not actually working as an actor and I will be working as a producer,” said the actor, who stated he wants to experience a different side of life.
Aamir was most recently seen in ‘Laal Singh Chaddha,’ the Bollywood remake of Tom Hanks’ Hollywood classic ‘Forrest Gump.’ In addition to him, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, Manav Vij, and Naga Chaitanya played key bits in the Advait Chandan-directed film, which was released in August of this year. Despite a big budget and promotion, the movie flopped very badly and was slammed by viewers and critics alike for being a shabby parody of the Tom Hanks classic.
Aamir Khan’s anti-India remarks in the past, his unfavourable and disparaging representation of Hindu Gods in his film PK, and his blatantly political pronouncements in the past contributed to the audience’s rejection.
On Saturday (November 12), the Delhi police nabbed a man named Aftab Amin Poonawalla for the gruesome murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar. The victim’s body was chopped into 35 pieces and disposed off in 18 different locations by the accused.
When the news of the heinous crime went viral, the usual suspects began contradicting the religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla. They claimed that the accused is a Parsi by Faith and his barbaric act was being used to ‘defame’ the Muslim community.
“…Aftab is Parsi not Muslim but you mother f*ckers are targeting Muslim,” wrote one Mayn Zalik.
Iska Bhi Answer De Sanskari R@pist bc Only one Sara HOA Samaj in entire world stand welcome Does Aarti Distributes sweets fir R@pist Ki11ers No one Else even tho Aftab is Parsi not muslim but u mfs targeting muslim pic.twitter.com/zVXo9siekJ
A similar comment was made by one Syed Mahmood. “Aftab Poonamwalla is the name of the guy. He was a Parsi. Not that it matters but people will again paint it as Hindu-Muslim conflict,” he tweeted.
Aftab ponamwala is the name of the guy. He was a parsi. Not that it matters but ppl will again paint it as hindu muslim conflict.
One Mohammad Meeraj Alam also claimed that the accused is a Parsi. Within hours, the micro-blogging site was filled with tweets, falsely labelling Aftab Amin Poonawalla as an adherent of the Zoroastrian Faith.
Balatkari ka samarthan karne walon suno meri baat.
Tumko us ladki ke maut ka afsos nahi hai..tumko sirf Aftab naam hone se problem hai…waise wo aftab poonawala(parsi) hai.
The religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla
We often see the Muslim community try and divorce their faith from the perpetrator in cases where the victim is a Hindu. However, the truth is often far from it.
In a 2014 post, Aftab had acknowledged that he was a Muslim. The murder accused has an Instagram profile, with the username @thehungrychokro.
One Instagram user (@zloymom) had inquired about his religious affiliation in the comment section of his 2014 post. “Hello, my friend! Can I ask you – are you Krishna or Muslim? I have two friends from India one of them is Krishna and other one – Muslim,” the user said.
“I am a Muslim and the other term you’re is Hindu. Lord Krishna is the God of Hindus. May I ask why the certain inquisitiveness about my religion???” Aftab pointed out.
Screengrab of the Instagram comments
The Instagram user (@zloymom) continued, “Because I want to correct say you HI – if You are Muslim I’ll say You Salam Aleykum. Otherwise I would need to say Namaste.” Aftab responded, “A normal and regular Hello would work too.”
Screengrab of the Instagram comments
It is thus clear from the comment of the murderer that he is an adherent of the Islamic Faith. The religious affiliation of the accused also becomes clear from the complaint, filed by the victim’s father with the police and attached with the First Information Report (FIR) in the case.
“My daughter had told my wife in 2019 that she wants to stay in a live-in relationship with Aftab Amin Poonawalla. I and my wife had said ‘No’ to it. This is because we are Hindus and belong to the Koli caste. And the boy is a Muslim,” the complaint read.
It further added, “In our place, we do not engage in inter-caste, inter-faith relationships.” It is thus clear that Aftab Amin Poonwalla is a Muslim by Faith and not a Parsi, as claimed by several users on social media.
Copy of the FIR in the Shraddha murder case
The background of the Case
As per reports, Aftab met Shraddha in Mumbai while working at a call centre. Shraddha fell in love with Aftab and eloped from her home after her parents disapproved of her relationship with him.
The duo, thereafter, began living together in the Mehrauli area of Delhi. Aftab was reportedly miffed with the victim for asking him to marry her. On May 18 this year, he strangled her to death.
The accused then purchased a refrigerator and stored her body in it for several days. He chopped his partner into 35 pieces and disposed them at 18 different locations in Delhi.
Reportedly, he would go out every night at 2 am to dump the body parts and destroy the evidence of his heinous crime. Shraddha’s family kept track of her whereabouts through her social media posts.
When she stopped posting updates, her family grew worried. Shraddha’s father went to Delhi but was unable to find her. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint with the police. The arrest of Aftab on Saturday (November 12) thus brought closure to the 6-month-old case.
During the investigation into the Shraddha murder case in Delhi, it was revealed the accused, Aftab Amin Poonawala, allegedly brought another woman to the rented apartment in Mehrauli, South Delhi, on a date while Shraddha Walker’s body parts were still stuffed in the newly brought fridge. As per Indian Express’s report, the Police said Aftab made the revelation during interrogation.
As per the report, Aftab installed the dating App Bumble shortly after the murder. On the dating app, he got in touch with another woman who was a psychologist by profession. Notably, Bumble is the same dating app where he got in touch with Shraddha for the first time in 2019, stated Indian Express while quoting sources.
The report further mentioned that the other woman whom Aftab got in touch with on the dating app had visited his house a couple of times in June and July. Shraddha’s body parts were still in the fridge and the kitchen while Aftab hosted the new woman at his flat.
Aftab did everything to ensure no one missed Shraddha
Reports suggest Aftab replied to messages Shraddha received on her phone after her death. He paid her credit card bills. He also logged into her social media accounts and messaged her friends to give the impression that she was alive.
Aftab and Shraddha moved to Delhi from Mumbai
As per reports, Aftab and Shraddha used to get into regular fights during their relationship in Mumbai. They suspected each other of cheating and often asked for GPS details and photographs of the surroundings. To make their relationship better, they planned a trip to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in April this year. After the trip, they had decided to Move to Delhi.
On May 15, they shifted to Delhi and rented a flat in South Delhi’s Mehrauli. Just three days after shifting to the new place, they again got into a fight again which ended in Shraddha’s death.
Additional DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan said, “We suspect the woman was shouting or screaming during the fight, and the man tried to silence her by strangling and overpowering her. She died during the struggle.”
After killing Shraddha, Aftab chopped her body into 35 pieces and stored them in a newly brought fridge. He disposed of the body parts one at a time. As per the investigators, he soon got on with his life and joined a call centre for his job.
A major controversy has broken out over a video excerpt of one of the lectures of Vikas Divyakirti, the managing director of the UPSC tutoring centre based in Delhi named Drishti IAS, wherein he is seen maligning Hinduism by mocking Hindu deities Lord Ram and Sita. In the video, the UPSC instructor Vikas Divyakirti was heard saying that in Ramayana after the battle, Lord Ram told Sita that he did not fight the war with Ravana for Sita because Sita was like the ghee licked by a dog and not ‘eligible’ for him.
This inappropriate statement about Lord Ram and Sita triggered several reactions, with netizens demanding a ban on his coaching institution.
Following the outrage on social media, the UPSC professor, Vikas Divyakirti gave an interview to The Lallantop in which he said whatever he claimed in the video is supported by evidence.
Interestingly, while in the video that went viral Divyakirti said that the statement he referred to was mentioned in Srimad Valmiki Ramayan in the interview with the Lallantop, the UPSC professor said had quoted from a book by Purushottam Agarwal.
“He has been a member of the UPSC which means we can quote him in our studies. I have not read Ramayana or Mahabharata in Sanskrit. I came across this in this book which cites Valmiki Ramayan itself,” Dr Divyakriti said.
“I do not speak without evidence. I have spent less time on Twitter and more time on my studies. That’s where I am more comfortable,” Dr Divyakriti said in the interview citing the page numbers where the information can be found.
Following Divyakirti’s response, numerous academics and authors took to social media to explain why the UPSC professor’s statements were unsubstantiated.
Ami Ganatra, the author of Ramayana Unravelled, a book that retold the story of Shri Rama, recently posted a video on YouTube illustrating how the UPSC professor’s initial remark on the Hindu epic Ramayana and subsequent clarification were both incorrect. She emphasised how obtusely cherry-picking a line from the scripture, without having a thorough knowledge of the text, leads to convoluted and twisted interpretations, as was the case with Dr Divyakriti.
For easier understanding, Ami Ganatra broke down Divyakirti’s remark into two parts. She said that firstly, the Drishti IAS managing director, Vikas Divyakirti had remarked, apparently referring to some text, that when Ram defeated Ravana, Sita was elated over thinking that his husband has done everything for her. However, Ram stated that he did not fight the war against Ravana for her but for his family and lineage.
The author admits that this specific phrase does appear in Srimad Valmiki Ramayan, but selectively quoting only one line without providing context is almost like misquoting our itihās, according to the author.
The author noted how excerpts of the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan, such as the one on Kishkindha Kand or Sunder Kand that appears before verse 115, that Divyakirti referred to when he made the aforementioned remark, reflect Lord Ram’s anguish and yearning for his wife Sita after she was abducted by Ravana. Divyakirti, she contended, conveniently ignored this and cherry-picked that one particular line leading to muddled conclusions.
The author asserted that it is critical to understand the context of the statement and also whether Lord Ram said it literally or whether there was a deeper meaning to the analogies.
Author Ami Ganatra then went on to speak about the viral clip wherein the UPSC teacher audaciously compared Hindu Goddess Sita with “ghee contaminated by a dog.”
It may be recalled the Divyakirti had claimed, in a clear falsification of Hindu mythology, that Lord Ram told his wife, goddess Sita, “that just as food licked by a dog becomes unfit for consumption, you are no longer acceptable to be my wife.”
At this point, the author first pointed out how Divyakirti cleverly lied following the social media backlash. She called our attention to how, in the first clip that went viral, Divyakirti brazenly declared that this exact exchange is mentioned in the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan; however, after the social media backlash, he modified his stance and stated that this reference was found in the Ramopakhyana (the story of Lord Ram as it appears in the Mahabharata).
The author stated that she is convinced that the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan is the genuine scripture written by Sage Valmiki and that she solely believes what is written in this holy book and not in the various versions available in the market.
Castigating Divyakirti for cherry-picking one sentence from the scripture and rattling it out of context thus creating a completely erroneous perception, the author read out numerous passages from the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan that indicate how restless and worried Ram was while Sita was in Ravana’s captivity. She goes on to say that when Ram won the fight and returned to Sita, he was afraid that the people would dispute or raise their fingers at Sita’s sacredness, so he used such lines to provoke Sita, who in response gave ‘Agni pariksha’ to prove her sanctity.
The author continued by referring to versus 118 of the Yudh Kand in the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan, where after the ‘Agni pariksha,’ when the Agni god appears and testifies for Goddess Sita, Lord Ram says that he never had an iota of doubt about Goddess Sita’s sanctity, but asking her to go through the test was necessary so that no one else ever has the courage to raise fingers at her.
By narrating this entire episode, the author simply sought to prove that it is completely improper to isolate and quote only one or two sentences without knowing the total context. This, she maintained, amounted to distorting the entire scripture, which Divyakirti unfortunately did.
A Sanskrit scholar, author, and editor Nityanand Misra, like author Ami Ganatra, took to YouTube to post a video in which he criticised the UPSC professor for distorting the Sanskrit epic and maligning Hinduism. Misra chastised Divyakirti for misrepresenting the Hindu holy scripture by cherry-picking an ancient Sanskrit metaphor, which he claimed was referenced in several places in the Mahabharata, without understanding the essence of it.
The scholar employs the English metaphor ‘don’t cast pearls before swine’ to describe how the meaning of the entire pharse will be lost if we literally translate this into Hindi or any other language. Similarly, he claims that when a Sanskrit metaphor was translated literally without context, its essence was gone, and it sounded blatantly perverted.
He stated how the Mahabharata contains numerous examples of the metaphoric phrase “a dog licked Havishya” to indicate a wicked person touching/abducting/ravishing another’s wife. This metaphor has even been employed by a female character, Dhātreyikā, Misra said, adding that to consider or propagate this a very bad thing attributed to Rāma by a poet without understanding the essence of this ancient metaphor in Sanskrit is a big blunder by Vikas Divyakirti.
It may be recalled that after the social media backlash, Divyakirti appeared on The Lallantop and claimed that he never speaks without evidence and that he had quoted from a book by Purushottam Agarwal.
However, in the video clip that went viral, the UPSC coach is heard narrating one episode from Srimad Valmiki Ramayana to his students. He claimed, in a clear falsification of Hindu mythology, that Lord Ram told his wife, goddess Sita, “that just as food licked by a dog becomes unfit for consumption, you are no longer acceptable to be my wife.” Vikas chuckles as he makes the ludicrous statement. A few pupils can also be heard laughing in the background after hearing his remarks.
After the video went viral, netizens dug out video excerpts of Vikas Divyakirti’s other lectures and said that the Drishti IAS coach, over time, has been subtly brainwashing and instilling Hinduphobia in the minds of his students under the guise of helping them prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
Drishti IAS managing director calls Lord Ram ‘casteist’
In another video, Vikas Divyakirti was misrepresenting Ramayana and insulting the Hindu god Ram by labelling him a casteist. The fallacious assertion made by Vikas Divyakirti is mentioned in the controversial Uttara Khand, which experts believe was not an original component of the Srimad Valmiki Ramayan but a later insertion, the validity of which has never been confirmed.
In one of his sessions, the Drishti IAS managing director spoke extensively against the Modi government and how the latter and the industrialist Gautam Adani are hands in glove with each other.
In the same video, the teacher sings plaudits for the Aam Aadmi Party, describing it as a party that is always working for the betterment of ordinary people.
In fact, the Aam Aadmi Party used the abovementioned snippet of the Hinduphobic professor’s lecture in its campaign last year.
This year, India celebrated the 75th anniversary of its independence. Dubbed ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the celebrations remind us of the past and the price our previous generations have paid for us to reach this day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a series of events and programs in March 2021 to be spread out over 75 weeks. One essential aspect of the celebrations is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the freedom struggle.
Hundreds of people can be credited with helping India obtain its independence. From Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, all played essential roles in the freedom struggle. Although the tribal population’s contributions are less well-known, they played a huge role in laying the groundwork to make India a country ruled by democracy.
India was freed from British rule on August 15, 1947. But before that day, many Indians fought bravely against the might of the British and their administrative personnel. We all know about famous names like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and several others, but do you know who Tilka Manjhi, Budhu Bhagat, Ramji Gond or Rami Gaidinliu are? Do you know how the foundation of the freedom struggle was laid much before 1857 to thwart British colonialism? Or, do you know what these warriors did after India attained independence? This book is an attempt to provide a brief overview of their contributions and stories.
We are often not aware of the important historical figures who have made an impact on our lives. That’s why books such as ‘The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat’ play a crucial role in telling the stories of these unsung heroes and recounting their efforts, courage and heroism. This book, co-authored by Tuhin A Sinha and Ambalika, tells 17 inspiring stories from India from periods of colonial rule.
The book owes its success due to the authors and the insightful foreword by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. The foreword opens up about the need to explore the lives of unsung heroes in rural India.
A crucial lesson from the unknown history of Bharat
This book retells the stories that history books have repeatedly overlooked. The contributions of these Tribal heroes to the struggle for independence and the challenges they faced in fighting against British control are important, poignant lessons that every generation needs to hear. More importantly, this book also highlights the inadequacy of efforts by local, state, and central administrations to preserve history in the past.
For example, the first chapter tells the tale of Tilka Manjhi, the Santhal Tribal leader from Bhagalpur, Bihar. In the 1780s, he rebelled against the British administration. He had attacked British collector Augustus Cleveland with a poisonous arrow that put him in bed for months. An act that made him the first recorded Tribal leader to take up arms against the British.
Manjhi was captured after years of efforts on January 12, 1785. He was tied to four horses and dragged for miles. The next day, he was publicly executed by hanging to a banyan tree. While Augustus Cleveland found all the space in history, the story of Manjhi was lost to time until a few years ago. As a matter of fact, the official records suggest that Cleveland’s poor health was due to harsh climatic conditions and stress and has no mention of Manjhi’s attack.
A tribute to brave Tribal women of Bharat
Everyone knows about the great women who have contributed to the fight for independence. From Bhikaji Cama to Sarojini Naidu, plenty of women have space in history books. However, have you heard of Helen Lepcha, Dashriben Chaudhury or Rani Gaidinliu? These are a few of the many women tribal leaders who played an important role in the struggle for independence.
Do you know Helen Lepcha helped Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who was under house arrest in Kurseong, to flee India? Inspired by Gandhi, Helen Lepcha left school and joined the Non-Cooperation movement. Her life revolved around fighting British exploitation against Tribals as a labourer. Helen Lepcha, alias Sabriti Devi was 14 when she joined the struggle for independence. She participated in the Khadi movement led by Gandhi in 1918. Participating in Congress and radical women’s groups, she was influenced by Sister Nivedita, Bhikaji Cama, Annie Basant and Sarojini Naidu. After Independence, Sabriti continued advocating for causes and eradicating social evils.
OpIndia had a conversation with Tuhin A Sinha, co-author of the book. We discussed his journey while writing this book and the previous one on Birsa Munda.
OpIndia: What inspired you to write the book?
Tuhin: Right from my first book in 2006, was a tale of complex relationships in urban society, to a cricket thriller after that to three socio-political thrillers, to a book on Kashmir to an espionage thriller with a Covid backdrop on Mission Shengzhan, I have always enjoyed probing and experimenting with new genres.
Post-2014, we have seen a significant transformation in our society in our country. For the first time, the characters from our history who did not get their rightful place, like Birsa Munda and even Subhash Chandra Bose, are getting the deserved recognition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated their contribution and made genuine efforts to provide them with the space they deserve in the history books.
So after eight or nine books, I was struggling with a subject. I was trying to figure out 2019-20 what the next big subject I would like to attempt on would be. When PM Modi started talking about our tribal heroes, our unsung heroes, I felt this was the right subject I would like to experiment on.
The journey began with Birsa Munda. I have a special connection with him. I grew up in Jamshedpur. It was common to have a small colony named after him. However, information on his life was rare. When PM Modi invoked Birsa Munda on several occasions and talked about his contributions, I also started working on and researching the project. This was how the first book on Birsa Munda, the first of the Tribal Trilogy, was conceived.
The second was The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat because when you enter a genre and move ahead with a theme, it makes sense to probe that theme deeply. The third book on the genre will come out in the middle of next year. The name of the book will be revealed later.
I think the inspiration was the socio-political narrative in the country where the unsung heroes had begun to be celebrated, and it is my humble contribution to that narrative.
OpIndia: What problems were faced in researching historical facts about these warriors?
Tuhin: The biggest challenge was research because history has always been written from the point of view of rulers and kings. So first-hand information on Tribal warriors was not easy to find. There was brief information about Birsa Munda but no comprehensive book. The research for The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat was even more difficult. This is where my co-authors, Ankita Verma for Birsa Munda and Ambalika for The Great Tribal Warriors of Bharat, were extremely helpful in digging out research content. We took the information available in the public domain as the base. In addition, we used books and articles written by the British, especially on the Santhan incident of 1855. So research was the most complex and challenging part of writing these books.
OpIndia: What is your message for the young Indians in regard to the unsung heroes?
Tuhin: My only message to the youth is to choose your icons and your idols wisely. The world has changed. The time of the dynast, especially the incapable dynast, has ended. You have to look into our subaltern areas to dig out the suitable icons and the good stories. That is what we are trying to do through these books. There are a lot of motivational stories that were never appreciated. This is an extension of the social equality and social justice project that this government has initiated. So celebrating the unsung heroes is an effort to correct history. My message to the youth is to find their heroes, icons and role models wisely so they can work towards building the nation and not the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’.
OpIndia: In your view, what more can the state and central government do to popularise such stories?
Tuhin: I think the state should include the stories of these freedom fighters, the unsung heroes, in all our study materials and our school syllabuses. One of the steps I am trying to explore is to get these books converted into Children’s format, which can be utilised in educating standard four and standard five students. I am also starting communication with National Book Trust for the same. The government should also try to popularise these characters among the children because when children grow up reading and hearing about these stories, their priorities will be on the path as far as nation-building is concerned.
OpIndia: How can we include these stories in school and college history books? What could we do to get people to start talking about Tribal heroes?
Tuhin: As I mentioned earlier, these characters need to be included in the books in schools and colleges. I am attempting the same in which National Book Trust can play a vital role. Our education policy has changed considerably in the last few years. The new education policy aims to Indianise or localises the content of education. Over time, the more awareness we create about these characters, the more we will succeed in creating a narrative among the youth and the children. Also, I am trying to cinematically adapt these books. Viacom has bought the rights to Birsa Munda. I hope sooner or later, it will be made into an OTT or TV series. These are small ways to try to popularise these characters as much as possible and get them included in the study material, possibly going ahead.
This is just the beginning
Without the contributions of tribal heroes, India would not have achieved freedom. Some aspects of this rich heritage are still waiting to be explored, which is one reason why we need more research done.
On November 13, Vijay Bainsla, Adhyaksh (Chairman) Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, issued a warning to Congress suggesting the community will not let Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) enter Rajasthan. BJY, which started on September 30, is scheduled to reach Rajasthan on December 6. However, the recent announcement by the MBC community has put a question mark on the BJY’s 18-day schedule in Rajasthan.
Speaking to OpIndia, Bainsla said, “There were two protests that happened in 2019 and 2020. Congress-led Rajasthan government promised to back cases filed against us. They signed an agreement for the same. It has been almost four years, but no concrete action has been taken to withdraw the cases.”
He added, “They also promised jobs for our 233 community members for REET Level 1. They gave posting orders to our 233 students but were cancelled later. These postings were legal. Their government is saying the same, but instead of providing jobs, they ignore our request. As per law, we are right. If they are not doing it, their intentions have a problem. Furthermore, 372 jobs were promised in writing. Two cabinet ministers signed the agreement. It has been almost two years. No action has been taken in that matter as well.”
Speaking about the pending scholarships he said, “There is a Devnarayan Yojna in which the government provides scholarships and other benefits. 13,400 odd scholarships are pending under the scheme from 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.”
He said, “People who do not have money approach the government for scholarships. However, despite getting sanctioned by the government, the payout has not been issued for three years. My community is suffering.”
Bainsla added that promises were made about the backlog in jobs in Congress’s manifesto. He said, “In their manifesto of last elections, which also had a photograph of Rahul Gandhi, they promised to provide the backlog in jobs. The promise was repeated in the agreement as well. That subject is pending as well. The government has only one year left.”
‘If you want to enter Rajasthan, fulfil your promises’
Bainsla bluntly said the community would not allow Bharat Jodo Yatra to enter Rajasthan if the promises made by the Rajasthan government were not fulfilled before the scheduled date. He said, “We have only one demand. Fulfil what you have promised and your Yatra can then pass through Rajasthan. We will be more than happy to offer garlands to the leaders in Bharat Jodo Yatra. But if you refuse to fulfil our demands, we are not going to let you enter Rajasthan.”
Speaking about the accusations against him, he said, “The community members linked to Congress are accusing me of being an agent [of the opposition party]. My standpoint is very clear. We are asking for the completion of their promises to the community. So if you want to stand with the Congress party, that clearly means you are not standing with the community. If you are not standing with the community, the community will not stand with you, now and never.”
Bainsla lashed out at the community leaders in the government. Blaming them for the delay in fulfilling the promises, he said, “If the community leaders in the government have had done their jobs properly, we would not have to take such harsh steps. Why do people elect you? So that you help them. Just after elections, if you move out and think nothing will affect you, then I am sorry, it does not work like that. We will not leave you. Enough is enough.”
‘We are not making any new demands’
Bainsla emphasized that the MBC community is not making any new demand in view of Bharat Jodo Yatra’s Rajasthan schedule. He said, “See if Congress party wants Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra to go through Rajasthan, they have to fulfil their promises. What is the problem? We have been demanding the same for over four years. This is not a new demand. There is not even a single demand on which government has agreed and signed upon.”
‘We have a presence in 74 assembly seats, won’t let them enter’
MBC community have a high vote share in 74 assembly seats. He said, “We have a strong presence in 74 assembly seats. From wherever his Yatra is planned to pass through, we have a presence there. We are not going to leave him. Either fulfil what you have promised, or it will be better if you take him through Madhya Pradesh and not enter into Rajasthan.”
‘No committee meetings in 2 years’
Bainsla said the government had formed a committee comprising state and cabinet ministers. They were supposed to look into MBC’s demands. However, no action was taken. He said, “Can you believe they formed a sub-committee to look into our demands in 2020 with Cabinet and State ministers as members… but it has been two years, and they have not met even once. They never approached us in these two years.”
The congress-led government had promised to revoke cases, backlog jobs and more in 2019
On February 15, 2019, an agreement was signed by the Congress-led Rajasthan government following the protests led by the late Kirori Singh Bainsla and Vijay Singh Bainsla. As per the agreement, a 5 per cent reservation was promised to Gurjar and other communities. The government also promised to cancel and revoke cases filed against the protesters at the earliest.
15.02.2019 को सरकार से जो समझौता हुआ है वो यह है। कृपया सर्व समाज को सूचित कर दें, एवं सबके साथ शेयर करें। धन्यवाद , विजय बैंसला । pic.twitter.com/IBxT4UAGkp
Furthermore, the government had promised to strengthen Devnarayan Yojna and backlog jobs. For those who are unaware, backlog jobs are those where the notifications have already been issued, but community reservation was not mentioned. As the government promised, the MBC community members were scheduled to get reservations in those jobs as well, where notifications were already issued.
The 2020 protests
In November 2020, the Gurjar community led by Vijay Singh Bainsla again sat in protest for 11 days. On November 11, 2020, the government of Rajasthan signed an agreement with the Gurjar community for reservation in jobs and education. Furthermore, the government again promised backlog jobs, withdrawal of ongoing cases and rehabilitation of families of those who were killed in previous agitations. Energy Minister BD Kalla and Ministers of State Tika Ram Jully and Subhash Garg were signatories to the agreement.
On November 14, reports emerged that a man identified as Aftab Ameen Poonawalla allegedly killed his live-in partner, a Hindu woman identified as Shraddha, in May this year. He allegedly chopped her body in 35 pieces, stored them in a newly brought fridge, and disposed of them one piece at a time for several days.
Like other media outlets, Times Of India also published the report of the ghastly murder at 12:35 PM with the headline “Delhi’s interfaith love: Shraddha’s body cut into pieces by Aftab”. The story initially identified the killer in the headline. However, within a couple of hours, TOI had a change of heart, and changes were made to remove Aftab from the headline.
Source: Archive.org
As per the records available on the Times Of India website, the story was updated at 03:07 PM. That is when the media house made changes in the headline and hid the name. The new title of the same report read, “Man chops live-in partner into 35 pieces, dump them in Delhi forest.”
Source: Times of India
Times Of India and misrepresenting crimes by a particular community
Times Of India has a history of misrepresenting crimes committed by a particular community. In June 2022, the Times of India also published a vague report instead of calling out the person responsible for the communal tensions. In its article titled “Curfew in J&K town after communal tension”, the Times of India refrained from including details of how a Muslim cleric in a mosque in Jammu insulted Hindus with gaumutra barbs, whipped up a communal frenzy by issuing death threats to former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and journalist Ashish Kohli. It went a step ahead and defended the murderous Islamists baying for the blood of Nupur Sharma and Ashish Kohli, stating that two miscreants provoked the community with objectionable comments.
In January 2022, TOI published numerous reports on the Kishan Barwad Murder case, all with ambiguous headlines in order to downplay the murder by radical Islamists. Interestingly, TOI is so meticulous with its plotline that it does not even reveal the victim’s name in the headline since it is a Hindu in this case, let alone the names of the Muslim perpetrators.
In November 2021, TOI reported an incident where an RSS worker was hacked to death by SDPI members. The report took a different turn in print versions. In one region, they said he was hacked to death, but in another region, they claimed he died in an accident.
In July 2021, Occult practitioner Afzal Malik and his aides gang-raped a minor girl in Amroha. While reporting, TOI used the word Tantrik insinuating that the culprit was a Hindu. However, in its report, the Times of India clearly mentions that the rape accused is an occult practitioner named Afzal. However, in an attempt to ‘secularise’ the crime, the ToI, in its report, misleadingly refers to the accused as a ‘Tantrik’.
Going further back, in October 2020, in a TOI report on an incident of Love Jihad that took place in Delhi, the name and identity of the Muslim accused were completely omitted. As per reports, an e-rickshaw driver named Dilbar Qureshi trapped a 13-year-old Hindu girl in a love affair posing as a Hindu man and later eloped with her on October 18. Both the headline and the body of the report of the TOI have no mention of the name of the culprit Dilbar Qureshi. The TOI report merely says that a 13-year-old girl was kidnapped by a 25-year-old man and was rescued from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, by the police.
Looking at their track record, it is hardly surprising that the Times of India chose to remove Aftab from the headline to try and hide the identity of the murderer, however, it is intriguing why they added the name in the headline in the first place and who asked them to change it.
