The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday revealed that PFI’s office bearers, members, and cadres, along with others, were involved in radicalising and recruiting Muslim youth to join proscribed terror organisations like ISIS. The disclosure came while seeking remand for the 106 members and cadres of the Popular Front of India (PFI) arrested in the country’s first-ever massive operation against the extremist Islamic organisation.
PFI office bearers were recruiting Muslim youth to join proscribed organisations like ISIS: NIA
In the remand note, the counter-terror agency said that the PFI office bearers and members were raising funds for terror acts.
“The Central Government has received credible information that the office bearers, members and cadres of Popular Front of India along with others, are conspiring and raising or collecting funds from within India and abroad for committing or getting committed, terrorist acts in various parts of India including states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi,” the document stated.
“In pursuance to the conspiracy, the accused persons are also involved in acts preparatory to the commission of terrorist acts using weapons, with an intention to strike terror in the minds of the general public,” the NIA notified a special court in writing, citing its First Information Report, which was filed on April 13 this year in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs’ directive (MHA).
In the accused’s remand copy, the NIA explicitly states how, “in pursuance to the conspiracy, they (PFI leaders, office bearers and others) were involved in radicalizing and recruiting Muslim youth to join proscribed organisations like ISIS”.
“Criminal violent acts carried out by PFI such as chopping off the hand of a college professor, cold-blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing the other faiths, collection of explosives to target prominent people and places, support to Islamic State and destruction of public property have had a demonstrative effect of striking terror in the minds of the citizens,” said the NIA.
The note also stated that the accused were training individuals to engage in terrorist activities and foment communal hatred.
“The accused persons are also involved in promoting enmity among different groups and thereby causing communal disharmony in the society through social media and other platforms,” it added.
NIA raids PFI offices and houses across 10 states, 106 members, including top leaders arrested
The revelations came after the federal agencies led by NIA had on Thursday conducted raids across 10 states, including Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana and arrested 106 PFI activists for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
The agency arrested 106 cadres, including top leaders of the organization. The maximum number of arrests was made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2).
As per reports, the raids were conducted by joint teams of NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and respective State Police, and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs was monitoring the action against the organization.
These searches were conducted at the homes and offices of top PFI leaders and members in connection with five cases registered by the NIA in response to ongoing inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for armed training, and radicalising people to join banned organisations.
As of date, the NIA is investigating a total of 19 PFI-related cases, including five registered recently.
Following the arrest of numerous members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), their followers are causing a commotion on the streets in the name of ‘hartal’ and ‘bandh.’
An incident of vandalism has occurred in the BJP office in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Apart from this, two PFI workers were reported to have thrown petrol bombs at the RSS office in Mattanur, Kannur.
Kannur, Kerala | During the strike protesting the arrest of the Popular Front of India’s leaders by NIA, a petrol bomb was hurled by two persons at the RSS office in Mattannur; police probe underway pic.twitter.com/3FQCSUgAgS
Stone-pelting incidents have been reported around the state, according to police. Two police officers were attacked by PFI hartal supporters earlier today in Pallimukku, Kollam district.
Hartal supporters were seen throwing stones at a Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus in Panamaram village, Wayanad district. The bus was on its way to Kozhikode. In addition, stones were hurled on KSRTC buses in Kozhikode, Kochi, Alappuzha, and Kollam. An autorickshaw and a car were seen in a damaged state in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram after being attacked by PFI workers in Poonthura.
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala | One auto-rickshaw and a car were damaged allegedly by people supporting the state-wise bandh called today by the Popular Front of India over NIA raids pic.twitter.com/k305OP83jW
The PFI workers have called for a ‘Kerala Bandh’ on Friday (23 September 2022) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in protest of the raids in the terror funding case. Meanwhile, these people are causing disturbances all over the state.
The state government has increased police deployment in response to the violent PFI protests. The Kerala High Court has taken suo moto cognizance of the leaders of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for declaring a bandh in the state. According to the High Court ruling, no one in the state may declare a bandh without permission.
Kerala High Court initiates suo motu case against the leaders of Popular Front of India (PFI) for calling a one-day statewide bandh in Kerala.
As per a Kerala HC order, nobody can call for a bandh in the state without permission.
It is worth noting that the National Investigation Agency detained the National President of the Popular Front of India (PFI), OMS Salam, and the Delhi President of the same organization, Parvez Ahmed, on September 22, 2022. PFI workers took to the streets in several parts of the country to condemn the raids and arrests. In this wake, the security of the NIA office in Delhi has been tightened.
Earlier this month, Rajiv Satyal, an American comedian of Indian origin, came under attack from assorted Islamists, ‘liberals’, and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) for merely agreeing to perform at an event attended Sadhavi Ritambhara’s event, a Hindu leader they deemed Islamophobic.
The comedian had agreed to emcee a program organised by the Param Shakti Peeth of America Foundation, which was also to be attended by Sadhvi Ritambhara to raise funds for the underprivileged people back in India.
However, Satyal was not the one to be cowed down by online attacks and bullying. Unfazed by the attacks, the comedian went ahead with his commitment and hosted the program, which took place on September 17 and was also attended by Sadhvi Ritambhara.
Islamists and social media users attack Rajiv Satyal after Indian American Muslim Council attack him for agreeing to share the stage with Sadhavi Ritambhara
Then, on September 22, he shared his ordeal with the world and penned an article on Substack, providing a window into the kind of online attacks he had faced for hosting an event where Sadhvi Ritambhara raised funds to help homeless women and children.
Just five days before the event, i.e. on September 12, Satyal writes, he received an email from one Shazia asking him to dissociate himself from an event attended by Sadhvi Ritambhara, whom she described as the “single-most powerful instrument for whipping up anti-Muslim violence” in Indian states. She also shared misinformation and random incidents to allege that Sadhvi Ritambhara has been inciting hatred against minorities in India for decades.
Satyal, who had by then received hundreds of such emails and messages asking him not to perform at the program because Sadhvi Ritambhara was an invitee, replied a slightly exasperated email to Shazia, conveying to her that he won’t give in to bullying.
IAMC runs a polarising hate campaign to vilify and attack Sadhavi Ritambhara
Shortly afterwards, Satyal started receiving tweets from the official Twitter account of the Indian American Muslim Council, which scare mongered over the event featuring Sadhavi Ritambhara and started targeting the comedian for agreeing to perform in the said program.
This Saturday, Sadhvi Ritambhara, a Hindu supremacist hate monger, has been invited by a far-right group to speak at the @Hyatt in Long Beach, CA. @funnyindian Why are you associating yourself with an Islamophobe?
That only worsened attacks against Satyal, who started receiving nasty tweets in droves for accepting the proposal and sharing the stage with Sadhavi Ritambhara. The IAMC has been, for a long time, running motivated propaganda against the Hindu leader, making preposterous allegations against her and portraying her as an anti-Muslim bigot.
Tomorrow, Join us in our rally to #RejectHindutvaHate in Long Beach, California.
Besides inflaming communal passions, the IAMC has also organised protests and rallies in the United States to oppose the Hindu leader’s event. In days before the scheduled event, the IAMC ran a particularly charged-up social media campaign, attacking and vilifying the Hindu leader and seeking support from its followers to protest against her event.
Source: Twitter
Muslim Council fails to respond to Satyal’s overtures seeking to iron out differences
The attacks, Satyal confesses, had him intrigued about discovering more information about Sadhvi Ritambhara. Before agreeing to the program, Satyal did not know much about who Ritambhara was or her past antecedents, he wrote in his article on Substack. However, after facing attacks online, he endeavoured to find more information about the figure whose presence at the program emceed by him had triggered such a polarising reaction from a section of bigoted social media users.
But despite his conscious attempts, he could not find anything to corroborate the malicious allegations levelled against Sadhvi Ritambhara by the IAMC and its Twitter minions. He held it to media bias and popular prejudice among the propagandists, who instead of verifying the claims made about the Sadhavi, continued propagating myths that were impossible to verify.
In his response, Satyal also spoke about the virtue of tolerance that Hinduism teaches and told his critics to engage in conversation instead of fearmongering and attacking people online.
“One of the key tenets of Hinduism is Tolerance. I pride myself on being as understanding a person as I can be. I’m continuously striving to “get” where people are coming from. I might not agree with you, but it’s my inherent curiosity and boundless pursuit of the truth that push me at least to know what you are saying,” he wrote.
Satyal also sent a message to the Muslim Council, informing them that he will be emceeing the event on September 17 and that he is up for ironing out the differences in the following week. But, along the expected lines, Satyal did not receive any response from the Indian American Muslim Council.
“If the government of India won’t serve Hindus, who is going to stand up for Hinduism?”: Rajiv Satyal
Towards the end, the comedian also spoke about how India remains the only country that millions of Hindus across the world can call home and escape to in case of persecution. If Christians in the United States are persecuted, they need not worry, they have other countries to flee to. Hindus, on the contrary, have only India because that is the only solitary large nation with a sizeable Hindu population.
“…India is the solitary large Hindu nation (Nepal and Mauritius are small), surrounded by Muslim nations. Much like there’s Pakistan and Afghanistan, India is known as Hindustan, a.k.a., the Land of Hindus…If the Indian government isn’t going to serve, again, as a counterbalance and stand up for Hinduism, who will? Indian Hindus have long been too quick to acquiesce to others’ standards,” he wrote.
The comedian, while concluding, also had a piece of advice for his detractors and critics who attacked him for emceeing an event attended by Sadhvi Ritambhara.
“I’m a peaceful guy. I’m a small guy. But I also come from a line of Punjabi soldiers, and I’ll go to battle for myself and my family at a moment’s notice. And though it might seem laughable at first, anyone who’s seen the angry me can attest that you don’t want to push me too hard. If I get mildly upset, it’s kinda cute: someone this little doesn’t have a temper; he has a tantrum. But once I’m super pissed off, what people tell me is remarkably consistent: “You transform into a completely different person. It’s terrifying,” wrote Satyal, cautioning his attackers.
Islamists in Birmingham protest against Sadhavi Ritambhara’s event
Curiously, the online attacks against Rajiv Satyal in the United States coincided with physical attacks against Hindus in Leicester, United Kingdom. Leicester City in England’s East Midlands region has witnessed a sharp increase in targeted attacks against the Hindu community. The orgy of violence by Islamists began soon after India clinched victory against Pakistan in the group stage match of the Asia Cup on August 28.
However, weeks later, the Islamist ire shifted to Hindu temples in the region. On September 20 (local time), Islamists had planned to gherao Durga Bhawan Mandir (Hindu temple) located at 360 Spon Lane, B66 Birmingham, allegedly against an event of Sadhvi Ritambhara.
OpIndia spoke to the office of Sadhvi Ritambhara, and the officials informed us that the whole UK trip of Sadhvi Ritambhara was postponed owing to her poor health. While Sadhvi is recovering and the new dates of the events are yet to be issued, Islamist organizations running propaganda against her since the announcement of the events are celebrating that they got the event ‘cancelled.’ Sadhvi’s office, however, confirmed that such claims were false, and the event was postponed only because of her poor health.
Param Shakti Peeth, which is Sadhvi’s organisation’s branch in the UK, had announced that the event was postponed on September 16. In a Facebook post, they wrote, “Namo Narayan, Pujya Didimaaji’s Health has had a setback. Thousands of ‘Get Well Soon’ messages have been conveyed to her. Regrettably, her events in the UK have been postponed. Apologies to her devotees.”
Several recent ground reports by OpIndia have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarsas is rapidly increasing in the area. From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the nineteenth report of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.
In prior reports, we discussed what locals think about the mosques, Islamic shrines and places of worship spread along the highways leading from Balrampur to Barhni and Jarwa along the open international border running between India and Nepal. We also reported how the authorities have sprung into action after the exclusive reportage by OpIndia along the UP-Nepal border.
In this report, we attempted to contact Uttar Pradesh Police personnel stationed on the borders of India and Nepal in order to learn more about the hurdles and challenges they continue to face. Sunil Dutt Dubey, formerly the DSP Nichlaul of Maharajganj district (currently Circle Officer, Police Lines), was interviewed in this segment. He outlined in detail the difficulties encountered by the police personnel stationed along the Nepal border.
When we spoke with Sunil Dutt, a former DSP who was stationed on the Nepal border, he told us that the biggest issue is the porosity of the borders. He stated that the police and paramilitary SSB patrol regularly, but that anti-social elements or smugglers often infiltrate from one country to another by casually walking through the village roads. Sunil Dutt told us that the limited number of personnel deployed makes it difficult to keep a watch on the border areas.
‘Pagdandi Abhiyan’
DSP Sunil Dutt informed us that the Maharajganj district shares a 65-kilometre border with Nepal. According to him, in addition to border security, the police are responsible for maintaining law and order as well as keeping an eye on the border. According to Sunil Dutt, in order to prevent the infiltration of any anti-social element into India from the Nepal border, he launched the ‘Pagdandi (path/track) Abhiyan,’ under which small rural roads were monitored in addition to highways and main roadways.
The DSP stated that the initiative had significantly reduced illegal movement along the border area.
No discernible pattern followed during cross-border smuggling
Sunil Dutt Dubey denied that there was a precise pattern followed for cross-border smuggling at the Indo-Nepal border. He stated that whatever becomes pricey in border countries on one side is smuggled across the border and sold on the other side. This smuggling includes anything from sugar to urea fertiliser, according to DSP Sunil Dutt. He claimed that smugglers do not even need automobiles to transport these items across the border. In fact, the miscreants transport smuggled goods from a diverse range of locations by bike, foot and cycle, said Dubey.
He added that transport of some items like sugar only comes under customs duty evasion.
The absence of an extradition treaty
According to DSP Sunil Dutt, the police department has to face numerous challenges due to the lack of an extradition pact between India and Nepal. Using his own Nichlaul circle region as an example, he stated that the criminals involved in vehicle theft are originating from Nepal. Despite knowing their whereabouts, the Indian police force is unable to apprehend them since they can neither enter Nepal in uniform nor with their weapons.
“Even if our most dangerous and wanted criminal stands on the other side of the border and challenges us,” Dutt added, “we will have to work exceedingly hard to apprehend him.” He went on to describe the extensive procedures that police must follow before a criminal can be extradited from the border country.
He stated that, in accordance with international law, they must first obtain Interpol warrants and other legal documents from a court before pressing the Nepalese government to act. He added that bringing criminals back from Nepal is just as difficult as bringing criminals back from Pakistan or Arab countries.
Nepal police and administration is not very helpful
Sunil Dutt, the DSP stationed on the Nichlaul border at the time, informed us that a huge number of offenders had entered India after committing crimes in Nepal and vice versa. He also added that Indian police are tough on offenders who infiltrate from Nepal and act quickly when asked for assistance from across the border. In contrast, Dutt said that the Nepal administration’s responsiveness and cooperation in apprehending offenders who have fled to Nepal from India are inadequate.
The Nepal Police’s SAF battalion, according to Sunil Dutt, is the only force that is armed, whereas the rest of the force operates with sticks and khukris.
Human trafficking
Sunil Dutt, also spoke about the police’s efforts to combat human trafficking along the open international Nepal border, which has been known as one of the busiest human trafficking gateways in the world. He stated that the majority of the victims of human trafficking are Nepali females. According to him, once these females cross the border they are sold off and forced to either marry or work as sex workers at places such as cabin/dance restaurants and massage parlours.
Lack of CCTV etc. on the border
While making a demand and offering a suggestion, DSP Sunil emphasised the significance of equipping border police stations with surveillance devices and covering border areas with CCTV. He feels that organising a joint patrol of border protection troops from both countries will result in better results.
Many people exploiting their Nepal-India dual citizenship
DSP Sunil Dutt Dubey also informed that though the Constitution of India and Nepal does not allow dual citizenship, that is, holding the citizenship of both countries simultaneously, there are many individuals who vote in both India and Nepal. As a result of this irregularity, he claimed, the administration is having problems determining the citizenship of such people and they often take advantage of the situation.
A creeping Islamisation of Nepal and its border areas appears to be underway, with Islamists steadily establishing their foothold in distant villages, including those on the Indian border. In the first four parts of this series, OpIndia documented the demography change ongoing in Nepal, as well as the worrying surge in the number of mosques and madrasas in the Himalayan nation’s border villages. Additionally, we also spoke about the rising incidents of love jihad in Nepal, as well as its Delhi connection and smuggling, and various other notorious activities that are going on along India’s border with Nepal.
Following the increased activities by Khalistani organisations in Canada demanding a separate Khalistan country carved out of India, the Ministry of External Affairs has issued an advisory for Indians visiting the country. MEA said that Indians should exercise caution due to increasing incidents of hate crime and anti-India activities in India.
The advisory issued by MEA on September 23 said, “There has been a sharp increase in incidents of hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities in Canada. The Ministry of External Affairs and our High Commission/Consulates General in Canada have taken up these incidents with the Canadian authorities and requested them to investigate the said crimes and take appropriate action. The perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice so far in Canada.”
As the Canadian government has not taken action against anti-Indian activities, the MEA has advised Indian nationals in the country to remain vigilant. The ministry said, “In view of the increasing incidences of crimes as described above, Indian nationals and students from India in Canada and those proceeding to Canada for travel/education are advised to exercise due caution and remain vigilant.”
The MEA further informed that “Indian nationals and students from India in Canada may also register with the High Commission of India in Ottawa or Consulates General of India in Toronto and Vancouver through their respective websites, or the MADAD portal madad.gov.in. Registration would enable the High Commission and the Consulates General to better connect with Indian citizens in Canada in the event of any requirement or emergency.”
On September 19, a so-called referendum on Khalistan was held in Brampton in Ontario, Canada, organised by the pro-Khalistani group Sikhs For Justice. Reportedly, over 100,000 Canadian Sikhs came out to vote in the ‘referendum’. The Canadian government had allowed the so-called referendum to go ahead despite strong protests by the Indian government. SFJ claims that after obtaining the consent of Sikhs for independence of Punjab from India, they will approach the United Nations and other international organisations.
Indian government has termed the so-called Khalistan referendum in Canada as a “farcical exercise”, and has conveyed concerns to Canada about the use of its territory by politically motivated “extremist elements”, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said yesterday.
“We would term it as farcical exercise. A farcical exercise was held by extremists and radical elements supporting the so-called Khalistan referendum in Canada,” Bagchi said in the weekly media briefing of the ministry. He also said that India has deeply objected that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country like Canada.
“The matter has been taken up with the Canadian authorities through diplomatic channels. The government of Canada has reiterated that they respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and they will not recognise the so-called referendum which is taking place in Canada,” the MEA spokesperson further added.
Bagchi said, “However, we find it deeply objectionable that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country. You all are aware of the history of violence in this regard,” he added.
Earlier this month, BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Toronto was vandalised with anti-India slogans by Khalistani terrorists. Slogans of ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’ were painted on the walls of the temple. The Indian government had expressed strong objections to this incident also.
A day after Indian bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed miserably against the visiting Australian side, his wife Nupur Nagar took to social media to slam those who are critical of Kumar’s poor performance during the 1st T20 match in Mohali.
In her Instagram story on Wednesday (September 21), she wrote, “Nowadays, people are so worthless, that they have nothing better to do and have so much time to spread hate and envy.”
Nagar continued her tirade, “My advice to all those is – nobody is affected by your words or cares about your existence. So please spend that time in making yourself better, though there is very less scope for that!!”
Screengrab of the Instagram story of Nupur Nagar via India Today
Cricket fans were, however, miffed at the arrogant response of Nupur Nagar. Popular Twitter user Rosy wrote, “Anushka Sharma handing over woke Baton of writing long Instagram posts scolding fans- to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s wife Nupur Nagar.”
“She wrote a whole essay to say she isn’t affected. Sachin, Dravid, MS, Ganguly et al were criticized much more, none of their wives came to play devil’s advocate. Take the accolades & brickbats with the same humility, these good-for-nothing WAGs think they’re celebrities,” another user wrote.
She wrote a whole essay to say she isn’t affected?Sachin, Dravid, MS, Ganguly et al were criticized much more, none of their wives came to play devil’s advocate. Take the accolades & brickbats with the same humility, these good for nothing WAGs think they’re celebs?#NupurNagarhttps://t.co/v7nboI6etA
Another cricket fan said, “Whatever it is fact is fact, if you cant accept it, people only criticize you when you give bad performance, that doesnt mean they hate you. if you give good performance they praise you. You can’t blame on people due to your husband’s performance. #NupurNagar”
Whatever it is fact is fact, if you cant accept it, people only criticize you when you give bad performance, that doesnt mean they hate you. if you give good performance they praise you. You can’t blame on people due to your husband’s performance. #NupurNagar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been under the spotlight ever since the Asia Cup 2022. His penultimate over spells against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the tournament cost India dearly.
Screengrab of the scorecard of India Vs Aus match
Indian fans had enough when the cricket team lost out to Australia despite posting a mammoth score of 208 on the board. Bhuvneshwar Kumar failed to take even a single wicket and conceded 52 runs in 4 overs at a run rate of 13.
Thereafter, fans took to social media to question whether Kumar even deserved a place in the current cricket team and the upcoming T20 World Cup. Miffed by the criticism directed at her husband, Nupur Nagar lashed out at the fans on Instagram.
With just months away from the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in the State of Gujarat, a video of journalist Mausami Singh, revealing Congress’ strategy of projecting itself as a soft Hindutva party, is doing the rounds on the internet.
In the said video, the India Today Editor could be heard as saying, “I remember once Rahul Gandhi had a roadshow in Gujarat and at that point in time, Congress was trying to project itself as a ‘soft Hindutva’ party.”
She added, “As such, his roadshow took diversions and did not pass through a Muslim-dominated area. It was decided that since Rahul Gandhi was frequently visiting temples, going through a Muslim area would feature people with skull caps in the frame.”
मोसंबी is a frontline कांग्रेस मीडिया कार्यकर्ता with a Purie badge. We gotta give credence to her for this (not so secret) revelation
The Congress party desperately wanted to get rid of its Muslim appeasement identity and harp on the growing tide of Hindutva. Mausami Singh had made the remarks during an interaction with Lallantop anchor Saurav Dwivedi on August 27 this year.
According to the India Today Editor, the strategy to consciously avoid Muslim-majority areas was developed by an ex-member of Rahul Gandhi’s SPG (Special Protection Force) named KB Byju.
Reportedly, Bjyu has been a party of Gandhi’s team since 2007 although he is not an official Congress member. Former party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had even mentioned him in his resignation letter.
Azad had said that while Sonia Gandhi is the nominal Head of the grand old party, the key decisions are being made by Rahul Gandhi’s personal assistants and security guards.
“Worse still the ‘remote control model’ that demolished the institutional integrity of the UPA government now got applied to the Indian National Congress. While you are just a nominal figurehead all the important decisions were being taken by Shri Rahul Gandhi or rather worse his security guards and PAs,” he had said.
Rahul Gandhi and his temple run
In November 2017, the Congress party announced that Rahul Gandhi is a ‘janeu dhari‘ Hindu after he reportedly declared himself a ‘non-Hindu’ before the darshan of the Somnath temple.
Screengrab of the news report by Outlook
The assertion by the Congress was questioned by social media users who hinted towards a possible catholic origin of the Congress scion. A year later, Rahul Gandhi told a priest in Pushkar that he is a ‘Kashmiri Brahmin’ and his gotra is ‘Dattatreya.’
Screengrab of the news report by ET
Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had taken potshots at the Congress over its attempt to replicate the BJP. “BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party and if someone wants to mimic us, I do not have any complaint. But there is a basic principle in politics, if an original is available why would anyone prefer a clone?” he had famously said.
In 2020, the Congress party went on to celebrate the birth anniversary of Periyar, who advocated physical violence against Brahmins. Rahul Gandhi, the Janeu dhari Hindu, also gave up his ‘sacred thread’ for politics and joined the Lingayat sect in Karnataka.
Recently, he courted controversy for meeting a Christian pastor, who made derogatory remarks about Bharat Mata and the Hindu community. While Rahul Gandhi might resume his temple runs again in the hopes of winning Hindu votes, the electorates are unlikely to forget his duplicity.
On Thursday, a petitioner in the case against Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board complained that the concerned deputy commissioners in the case were deliberately delaying in responding to the court notices. Petitioner Ankur Sharma in the year 2018 had challenged J&K Waqf Board’s notification claiming authority over 500 kanals of land.
According to the reports, the J&K Waqf Board had issued a notification in the year 1985 in which over 500 Kanals of land were notified as Waqf property in Poonch district. Sharma challenged the notification in 2018 and accused revenue officers of deliberately delaying the case on September 22.
“The said notification included the offices of the deputy commissioner and the district information officer as well. In 2012, the deputy commissioner Poonch wrote a letter to the government stating that all lands notified by the Waqf board in 1985 in Poonch town are recorded as state land and not as Waqf land in the revenue records. Subsequently, in 2018 the Waqf board started issuing notices to people occupying these lands stating therein that the lands were being illegally occupied by them and eviction proceedings would be started against them”, Sharm was quoted.
Sharma filed a case before the J&K High Court on behalf of the people of Poonch, in which he challenged the Waqf board notice of 1985, claiming that it should be repealed. He went on to say that the lands given to the Waqf board were unilaterally allocated to favour a specific community, incurring tremendous losses to the general population.
According to the advocate, tax authorities are considering delaying responses to court notifications in order to satisfy a certain population, further attempting to disrupt the judicial process.
Actor Akhil Iyer has said that he will be taking legal action against the Congress party for the unauthorised use of his photographs for a political campaign. The Karnataka-based actor posted the poster released by the Congress party in Karnataka in its ongoing ‘40% Sarkara’ campaign against the BJP government in the state.
Akhil Iyer posted on Twitter, “I am appalled to see that my face is being used illegally and without my consent for “40% Sarkara” – an @INCIndia campaign that i have nothing to do with.” He further added, “I will be taking legal action against this.”
Iyer also tagged the Twitter handles of Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress to look into the issue.
I am appalled to see that my face is being used illegally and without my consent for “40% Sarkara” – an @INCIndia campaign that i have nothing to do with.
The poster with Akhil Iyer’s photo has the text “The gluttony of 40% Sarkara has robbed over 54,000 youths of a career’, and asked youths to sign-up for the campaign. It asked people to raise their voices against ‘BJP’s corruption in Karnataka’.
The Karnataka Congress launched the 40% Sarkaracampaign against the Basavaraj Bommai government earlier this month alleging large-scale corruption in the state. Congress leader Siddaramaiah called the state government ‘40% sarkar’ filled with “looters and scamsters”.
40% ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ಬಯಲು ಮಾಡಲು ನಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕೈಜೋಡಿಸಿ.
844-770-40-40 ಗೆ ಕರೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ದೂರು ನೀಡಿ https://t.co/n5QTYaDmz7 ಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ದೂರನ್ನು ದಾಖಲು ಮಾಡಿ.
The party has also launched a website 40percentsarkara.com, and asked people to register complaints about corruption. Apart from this, they have also launched a phone number 844 770 40 40 for people to call to inform about corruption.
The Photograph of Akhil Iyer that the Congress party used its poster without his permission was taken from the actor’s Facebook page, where it was uploaded in July 2014. The photograph was taken by Shankar Adisesh, and clearly, it is the property of the actor and the photographer.
The Congress poster and the original image of Akhil Iyer from his Facebook page
The photograph also has been used in the Actor’s Wikipedia page, and it is licensed under the Creative Commons-Attribution-Share on the Wikimedia Commons portal. Although Photographs and images uploaded on Wikimedia Commons can be used by others with proper attribution, such images must be the own work of the uploader. And here, it is clear that it is an unauthorised upload, as it has been uploaded by a user with the username Snehamenon87, and it has been claimed as ‘own work’. That is clearly incorrect, as the photo was taken by Shankar Adisesh. Although the actor and the photographer might not object to the use of the photo for the Wikipedia page of the actor himself, for other uses like commercial and political campaigns his consent is required.
This is the second controversy the 40% Sarkara campaign has faced. Yesterday, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai ordered a probe after ‘PayCM’ posters had come up in Bengaluru. The posters put up by the Congress party are in the form of QR codes with an image of the CM incorporated in the code. The poster had the text ‘40% accepted here’, the word PayCM is written in the style of the Paytm logo, and scanning the QR takes the user to the 40percentsarkara.com website.
Later the municipal corporation lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru Police regarding the posters, after which FIRs were registered against unknown people for putting the PayCM posters. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the objective of the Congress party’s campaign is to tarnish his and the state’s image.
There were chants against the ‘dictator,’ people were clapping, and then a woman came dancing in circles. She looked towards the sky, held her hijab in her hand for a couple of seconds, and then threw it into the fire. What followed was several women joining her in throwing their hijabs into the fire. Iran has been witnessing a string of protests since the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini died after being taken under custody by the moral police for not ‘wearing the hijab properly’.
Fire was revered by the Persians, it represents Ahura Mazda – their supreme deity. The historical cycle is repeating itself ? https://t.co/kvfcgNG77c
With the protests against the hijab engulfing numerous cities across Iran, observers have pointed out that the uprisings denote a fightback by Persians against the Islamist rule in the country. The use of fire and aggression against the oppressor in Iran has become a symbol of invoking Ahura Mazda, the principal deity in Indo-Iranian religion, which predated Zoroastrianism. The protests are being seen as Persians reclaiming their land.
The history of Ahura Mazda, Zoroastrianism, and the importance of fire
Ahura Mazda, also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, and Hurmuz, is the principal deity in the Indo-Iranian religion that predated Zoroastrianism. It was a polytheistic religion and consisted of several deities. Each of these deities has its own domain of power. Ahura Mazda is the principal God among those.
As per the Zoroastrian tradition, the Prophet Zoroaster, who started the religion Zoroastrianism, received a message from Ahura Mazda while partaking in a pagan purification ritual. Prophet Zoroaster believed that Ahura Mazda was the creator of the Universe. He is the Supreme God. As per some accounts, the Prophet was warned by God himself that a war was coming and taught him some principles. The teachings became the foundation of the religion known as Zoroastrianism.
The Prophet is believed to have been born in the 6th century BCE. However, some archaeological evidence dates the time of his birth between 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE.
Characteristics of Ahura Mazda, the Supreme God
The name Ahura Mazda comes from the Sanskrit word medhās, which means wisdom or intelligence. Thus, the name of the Supreme God translates to Wise God. In Zoroastrianism, it is believed that Ahura Mazda created life. He was the Supreme God in heaven and the source of all goodness and happiness. He is created and has no equal.
According to the sacred text of Zoroastrianism Avesta, Ahura Mazda has a son, i.e., fire. In Zoroastrian culture, there are also prayers to fire. It is considered a symbol of God and represents Ahura Mazda. As fire provides light, it serves as a symbol of the Supreme God. The places of worship in Zoroastrianism are also called ‘Fire Temples’. These temples feature an altar with an eternal flame that burns continuously. It is believed that the fire in these temples came directly from Ahura Mazda at the beginning of the time.
History of Zoroastrianism
According to scholars, the origin of Zoroastrianism dates to the Bronze Age, when the Prophet Zarathushtra first revealed and preached “the Good Religion”. Zarathushtra spread his monotheistic ethical doctrine across ancient Persia and Central Asia, converting a limited number of faithful men and women. Legend has it that Zarathushtra was invited to impart his teachings to King Vishtasp, who became one of the first of many Central Asian kings to adopt this new and revolutionary faith.
Zoroastrianism ultimately acquired widespread recognition, eventually becoming the religion of Cyrus the Great’s Achaemenian Empire (550-330 BC). Alexander the Great vanquished the Achaemenians in 330 BC, and the city of Persepolis, together with its collection of holy manuscripts, was destroyed by fire. After almost a century of Greek domination under the Seleucids, the Parthians (256 BCE-226 AD) ascended to power and dominated Iran for a number of years. The Sassanian Empire (226–652 AD) succeeded the Parthian Empire, and during the next 400 years, its monarchs made Zoroastrianism Iran’s official religion. With up to 30 million followers, this was the heyday of Zoroastrianism.
Persecution of the Zoroastrians
The Sassanian Empire was overthrown by Arab Muslims in 652 AD. A major portion of Zoroastrians converted to Islam; some practised their faith privately and were frequently persecuted. Forced conversions and intermittent violence were used as forms of discrimination and harassment against Zoroastrians both during and after the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia.
Throughout the history of Zoroastrianism, there is abundant documentation of Zoroastrians being persecuted. It is known that Muslims who came to the region during the Rashidun Caliphate invasion destroyed Zoroastrian temples. Many Zoroastrian temples were demolished, and mosques were built instead, with many Persian libraries set ablaze. Many Iranian fire temples were converted to mosques by Muslim rulers. In territories that Muslims had taken over, Zoroastrians even had to pay a tax called Jizya.
In order to escape persecution and the negative effects of being treated like second-class citizens during the Islamic caliphates, many Zoroastrians converted to Islam. Their children were sent to an Islamic school to learn Arabic and memorize the Quran, among other religious lessons, when a Zoroastrian subject converted. In an effort to persuade Zoroastrians to convert to Islam, the number of laws governing their behaviour rapidly increased, reducing their ability to participate in society and making life difficult for them. Zoroastrianism’s supremacy over religion in Persia was eventually toppled by the Arab invasion, which also made Islam the state’s official religion.
The connection between the anti-hijab movement, fire, and Persian Uprising
Ahura Mazda, the Supreme God of Zoroastrian culture, is the symbol of light and hope. The recent protests in Iran, people believe, may lead to the Persian Uprising against the Islamic rule in Iran that has suppressed the voice of Persians. There are many Persians on social media platforms who proudly call themselves Persians and not Muslims. The fire is seen as a symbol of invoking the Supreme God holds utmost importance as it brings strength among the protesters to stand against the oppressor. It is being seen as Persians reclaiming their land.
Several netizens expressed pleasure to see Persians fighting back against over 1,000 years of Islamic rule.
Fantastic to see the Persians finally fighting back after 1,000 years of Muslim occupation.
Not to forget, the father of Mahsa Amini refused to allow Islamic prayers over his daughter’s dead body. He told the Islamic Preacher who was praying, “Your Islam denounced her, now you’ve come to pray over her? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You killed her for two strands of hair! Take your Islam and go.”
Father of Mahsa Amini refuses to allow Islamic prayers over body of Mahsa. He’s says to the mullah who’s praying over her: “Your Islam denounced her, now you’ve come to pray over her? Aren’t you ashamed of urself? You killed her for 2 strands of hair! … Take your Islam and go.” pic.twitter.com/Pzqn92Z2c2
A 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini, who fell into a coma after she was beaten by the ‘Morality Police’ for wearing ‘improper hijab’, died on Friday in Tehran. Iranian media reported that Amini died in hospital, quoting official sources.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mahsa Amini was declared brain dead, hours after she was arrested by the ‘Morality Police’ in Tehran for “improper hijab”, which means she had not fully covered her hair. She was arrested by the police and then beaten in the police van while being taken to a detention centre, dubbed as a ‘re-education class’ for not conforming to the country’s mandatory hijab rules.
According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on September 13 when Amini, a native of Saghez, Iran, had travelled to Tehran for a pleasure trip. The woman was with her brother Kiarash at the entrance to the Shahid Haghani Expressway when the ‘Morality Police’ arrived and arrested Amini for a one-hour ‘re-education class’.
