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Did you know ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ pastor Bajinder Singh was once arrested for raping a woman: Here’s his brief profile

Akshita Bhadauria
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Did you know ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ pastor Bajinder Singh was once arrested for raping a woman: Here’s his brief profile

Several videos of pastors miraculously ‘healing’ so-called possessed people or people suffering from ailments have finally got the country to notice the conversion business operating in the name of ‘Yeshu’ (Jesus Christ). While these videos are mostly comical in nature because of the content, effects and background music; they highlight the underlying threat of conversions through deceit. 

A video has recently gone viral where a “bolneeee lagiii” pastor has got the internet in splits after his old video claiming to heal a speech impaired girl started making rounds. The pastor making making these miracles is one ‘prophet’ Bajinder Singh, who was once a Haryanvi Jat before he decided to shift career.

Converted to Christianity while serving jail time for murder

Prior to hailing Jesus in Punjabi, Bajinder Singh born into a Jat family in Haryana’s Yamunanagar was lodged in jail in a murder case. Reportedly, it is during his time in prison that he came in contact with a pastor and got inclined towards Christianity. 

“He used to read Bible daily and got converted,” revealed police officials privy to the investigations. Kickstarting his business in 2012, Bajinder Singh started holding Sunday prayer meetings for ‘healing’ and gradually became popular. 

Arrested in a rape case

After his stint in jail for murder, Prophet Bajinder Singh Ministries as his followers call him fondly was once again arrested in 2018 for allegedly raping a woman from Zirakpur in Punjab.

Singh was picked up by the police at the Delhi airport when the self-styled Christian Godman was about to board a flight to London. The victim had alleged that Singh lured her in 2017 on the pretext of taking her abroad.

He then sexually assaulted her at his house in Chandigarh and made a video of the same which he then used to threaten her. Reports suggest that the victim had paid the accused pastor a sum of three lakh for promising her to be taken abroad.

Accused of looting 

Feeding off patients suffering from fatal ailments, pastor Bajinder Singh in April this year was accused of looting Rs 80,000 from a family claiming to get their dead daughter back to life. 

Filing a case against Singh, Shubham Pandit revealed that his sister Nandini had been suffering from cancer since several years. They lost their father at a young age and were going through a financial crisis.

When the doctors had given up on Nandini, Pandit came across one Suvarna Khede who worked for the pastor. The family was then called to Chandigarh to meet the pastor. It was alleged that the entire nexus of Singh then began extorting money from the family and even got them converted. 

“My sister did not come back to life, we were looted and even converted,” said a dejected Shubham Pandit after being defrauded by the Christian Prophet.

Action against Singh for using children for conversion

What started as a meme, landed the pastor in legal trouble. On August 29 the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) wrote a letter to Mandip Singh Brar, Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, seeking action against Singh for using a minor boy for forceful religious conversion activity. 

The NCPCR in its letter noted that such videos promoted superstition and used children for such purposes, thus violating the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Taking the matter seriously, NCPCR directed the Deputy Commissioner to inquire into the matter and furnish an Action Taken Report within the next seven days.

The ‘healer baba’ surprisingly has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube and over 2 lakh followers on Facebook. His social media pages mostly consist of testimonials and claims of curing illnesses like HIV infections, paralysis by simply applying his prayed anointing oil, curing a deaf and dumb child by using the same oil.

However, a Reddit article claims that the miracle healer himself is on medication for blood pressure and visits a cardiologist for treatment. 

PM Modi asks ministries to submit a list of infra projects delayed due to court and NGT orders, loss to taxpayers: Report

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi asks ministries to submit a list of infra projects delayed due to court and NGT orders, loss to taxpayers: Report

As per a News18 exclusive report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a review meeting held on August 25 demanded a list of infrastructure projects delayed due to orders of various courts and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba is said to lead this extensive exercise with the relevant ministries.

Four ministries have been asked to coordinate the exercise and also list the loss incurred to the exchequer due to the delay. 

The minutes of the meeting accessed by News18 reads, “Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Railways and Road Transport & Highways in consultation with Ministry of Law and Justice should identify decisions of Hon’ble Courts, NGT, etc., related to land acquisition, forest or other clearances, etc., which are causing a delay in infrastructure projects.”

“Cabinet Secretary should monitor such exercise. A list of delayed projects due to such court decisions and orders, including loss incurred to the exchequer may also be prepared and compiled by the Cabinet Secretary,” it read further. 

The objective of the exercise is not yet known, however, the report suggests that this exercise directed by the Prime Minister with the involvement of the Law Ministry could help clear the bottlenecks causing a hindrance in the completion of multiple infrastructure projects.

PM Modi had demanded the complete list of such projects within a week, the News 18 report stated. A press statement issued by the PMO office right after the meeting in which eight projects were reviewed stated that ‘the Prime Minister stressed on the significance of timely completion.’

Delay in projects

The report also suggests that the Prime Minister was displeased over the delay in the prestigious Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. He also directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to get in ‘mission mode’ and ensure completion of Delhi’s Urban Extension Road by September 15, 2021.

Stressing on adopting a different approach to cut losses incurred due to delay in projects, the Prime Minister in February had asked the cabinet secretary to prepare a methodology to operationalize infrastructure projects in phases as and when ready. 

504 projects delayed

As per a recent Economic Times report, as many as 504 projects are running behind schedule and another 483 infrastructure projects reported cost overruns. The report is based on data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 

The primary reasons for delay include land acquisition, delay in obtaining forest and environment clearances, and lack of infrastructure support and linkages.

Covid scare in Karnataka after 65 Kerala students carrying negative certificates test positive in Kolar college

OpIndia Staff
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Covid scare in Karnataka after 65 Kerala students carrying negative certificates test positive in Kolar college

People travelling from Kerala, the epicentre of Covid-19 in the country, have now become a source of a fresh wave of infections across several states, especially the neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

According to the reports, as many as 65 students from Kerala have tested positive for Covid-19 in a nursing college in Kolar, Karnataka, creating panic in the city about a possible wave of infections in the state, which has so far successfully contained the Covid-19 pandemic.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the students who have been tested positive for Covid-19 in a college in Kolar were all returnees from Kerala. The minister said that he would visit the college and take action against the management.

The district administration tested 265 students and staff from the nursing college from August 24 to August 30. As a few Kerala returnees tested positive for Covid-19, the administration decided to test everyone in all nursing colleges. So far, 165 nursing students studying at Noorunisa Institute of Nursing in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) have been tested positive for Covid-19.

“15 more tested positive on August 28; 15 more on August 29 and finally 32 on August 30. All are from Kerala. We have sent a show-cause notice to the college on Monday and are awaiting their reply. They all had negative certificates. We are trying to ascertain the veracity of the certificates by scanning the QR code on them to check whether they’re fake,” Kolar in-charge district surveillance officer Dr Chandan said.

Reportedly, the college bus had transported 146 students from Kerala to the KGF college on August 18. The students were put in quarantine ever since they arrived. However, they developed symptoms during the quarantine period and were tested on August 23.

As per Dr Chandan, the returnees from Kerala did not travel by any other form of transport and also arrived in a single group. “So, we suspect one of them spread to others,” the officer added.

The officer did not rule out the possibility of more of them testing positive after the incubation period of the virus.

The health authorities have converted the college into a containment zone. The officer said that two hundred are in quarantine on the campus, 65 are in Covid Care Centres.

Gujarat to screen Kerala travelers, check-up mandatory

Amidst fears over Kerala exporting Covid-19 infections to the rest of the country, several state governments have begun taking precautionary steps to contain the pandemic and have decided to enforce strict rules to check infectious persons travelling from Kerala.

As Covid-19 continues to soar in Left-ruled Kerala, the Gujarat government had earlier decided to enforce strict rules against people arriving from the state. The state government had made it mandatory for all the people arriving from Kerala to undergo a thorough check-up for coronavirus symptoms before entering Gujarat.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said that if a person is found to have symptoms, she or he will be quarantined as per the Union government’s protocol. The Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister also said the government had directed the health department to ensure check-up of all people coming from Kerala for coronavirus symptoms.

He had also asked officials to find out why there is a surge in infections in Kerala despite a high vaccination rate.

Kerala – the epicenter of the Covid-19 infections

Kerala is one of the two biggest epicentres of Covid-19 infections in the country, along with Maharashtra. In fact, Kerala remains the worst Covid-19 affected state in the country and continues to burden the country’s efforts in tackling the second wave of the pandemic even as other states have successfully reduced fresh Covid-19 cases.

For over a week now, Kerala has recorded close to 30,000 fresh coronavirus cases, along with over 200 deaths and a test positive rate above 19 per cent. With only 3 per cent of India’s population, Kerala now accounts for almost 70 per cent of all new Covid-19 cases. It ranks top in the daily number of deaths. The nationwide test positive rate is 2.4 per cent, while in Kerala, it is over 19 per cent.

In the last 24 hours, Kerala has reported 30,203 new cases and 115 deaths. With this, the total active Covid cases have now gone up to 2,18,921. 

Image Source: Covid19India19.org

With Kerala reporting more than 30,000 cases every day on an average over the last two weeks, the total tally of Covid-19 cases in the state now stands at 40,57,233, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra. 

Image Source: Covid19India19.org

Kerala has recorded on an average 150 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last two weeks, taking the related death toll in the state to 20,788.

‘Not against religion’: Says Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray after Mumbai police filed 11 FIRs and detained 85 for Dahi Handi celebrations

OpIndia Staff
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‘Not against religion’: Says Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray after Mumbai police filed 11 FIRs and detained 85 for Dahi Handi celebrations

The Mumbai police on Tuesday filed nine FIRs while two were filed by Thane police for violating the ban imposed on Dahi Handi celebrations by the Maharashtra state government. 

As many as 120 people were named in these FIRs of which 85 were detained by Mumbai police. Some prominent leaders of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) like Bala Nandgaonkar, Akhil Chitre and Sandeep Deshpande were also arrested.

MNS leader breaks handi near CM’s residence

A case has been registered against MNS vice president Akhil Chitre and another party worker Omkar Khandekar for breaking a Dahi handi near Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence in suburban Bandra.

In a video, the duo was seen breaking a Dahi Handi hanging low from a tree in a symbolic gesture near Kalanagar junction, off the Western Express Highway at Bandra East. Chitre has been asked to report to the Kherwadi police station for violating the guidelines. 

In a statement to the PTI, Chitre said, “Police booked me and one more party worker under section 188 (Disobeying the order of public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and asked us to report to the Kherwadi police station. We will complete all the legal formalities.”

Several MNS workers booked

Mumbai police on Tuesday morning had detained nine MNS workers including five women for attempting to organize a Dahi Handi program near Ghatkopar link road.

A group of 20-25 MNS workers was detained at Shivaji Park including leader Sandeep Deshpande for trying to organize a 15-minute ritual. At Bhandup too another 25 party workers were arrested for similar violations. 

Around 13 to 14 people including a few MNS karyakartas were booked by Kalachowky police as a precaution as they had announced organizing Dahi Handi in the area. 

Few others were arrested for breaking Dahi Handi at Vartak Nagar and at Vishnu Nagar in the Naupada area. They were all released on bail later. 

Raj Thackeray slams Maharashtra government

MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday alleged that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is using the Covid-19 crisis to their benefit. While speaking with the media, he also accused the state government of ‘selectively relaxing COVID-19 rules’ for some people. 

“The actions of the Maharashtra government can be summed up in the words of veteran journalist P. Sainath who wrote a book Everybody Loves a Good Drought. The current actions of the State government are like ‘everybody loves a good lockdown’,” remarked Raj Thackeray after several of his party workers were arrested for going against the government’s guidelines. 

Taking a dig at the MVA, he further said, “The arrest of the workers seems like a revenge politics (by the government). No action was taken against any leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi for participating in public functions where no guidelines regarding the COVID-appropriate behaviour was followed.”

He also slammed the Uddhav Thackeray-led government for keeping the temples shut. “Morchas are not allowed, protests are not allowed and temples are shut. Tell me where we don’t have crowds? Rallies are on. The yatras are held. Street fights between political workers are on. We have seen it over Narayan Rane’s yatra. Sena legislator Bhaskar Jadhav’s son visits a temple, but others are not allowed. Why?” questioned the MNS chief. 

“Government not anti-Hindu” claims Maharashtra CM

After facing severe criticism from the opposition for imposing a ban on the Hindu festival celebrations, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday claimed that his government is not “anti-Hindu”. He said that the steps taken were not against any festival, but an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic. 

Shifting the blame on the Centre, Thackeray in a virtual event remarked, “Those who are saying that our government is anti-Hindu, I want to show them a letter from the Centre which specifically asks to avoid crowding during Dahi Handi and Ganesh festival.”

“The government is not against any festival but is against the coronavirus. So those who want to agitate should protest against coronavirus,” he added further. 

Vilifying the Hindu sentiments and drawing false equivalence, the CM said, “Some people have celebrated Dahi Handi. But this is not a fight for the country’s independence. What great freedom did they get by breaking Covid norms? Had they agitated for freedom, it would have been different.”

“Curbs on Ganeshotsav will not be tolerated” says BJP

After a muted Dahi Handi, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar issued a warning on Tuesday saying if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government tries to stop the Ganeshotshav, there will be retaliation from the party. 

“The state government on Tuesday used police force, filed cases and arrested BJP workers who wanted to celebrate Dahi Handi while observing all Covid-19 norms. Its highhandedness went on without protest. But if it tries to stop Ganesh celebrations, BJP will not tolerate it. It will strongly retaliate,” said Shelar while speaking with the media. 

He also condemned the state government for using police force to dampen the Hindu spirit. 

“Festivals are being banned on the pretext that it draws crowd, which is not good amid the pandemic. If that is the case, why are discos, bars and liquor shops being allowed to stay open? What about the huge crowd in these places?” questioned Shelar. 

BJP leaders had demanded to be allowed to celebrate Dahi Handi with vaccinated participants.

Police team at BJP leader’s residence

A team of Mumbai police on Tuesday had reached the residence of Maharashtra BJP leader Ram Kadam after he had announced organizing Dahi Handi celebrations on the occasion of Janmashtami. He had also accused the state government of putting him under house arrest and restricting his movement. 

Kadam had sought permission to celebrate the festival with just five people all of whom were fully vaccinated. “This Hindu tradition is very old and we need to keep the tradition alive. We won’t be breaking any Covid protocols. But I am not being allowed to move out from my house,” had alleged Kadam.

Taliban holds mock funeral with coffins wrapped in US and NATO flags amid Allahu Akbar chants

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban holds mock funeral with coffins wrapped in US and NATO flags amid Allahu Akbar chants

Taliban celebrated the exit of U.S Military forces from the Afghanistan soil with mock coffins draped in US and NATO flags.

Thousands of locals from the Khost participated in the event and took to the streets carrying Afghanistan and the Taliban flags to celebrate the withdrawal of the US and their allied forces from Afghanistan. Supposedly a mock funeral was organized to mark the victory of the Taliban Militants with Kalashnikovs against the US.

According to Reuters, Talibani spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid celebrated the US departure at the Kabul Airport and stated, “We are proud of these moments, that we liberated our country from a great power,” and also that “The Islamic Emirate wants to have good diplomatic relations with the whole world.”

Visuals of the mock funeral went viral on the social media.

In another video, one can see huge crowd gathered for the ‘mock funeral’ chanting “Nara-e-Takbeer Allahu Akbar”.

Alleged Taliban accounts were found mocking the US on the internet with memes of Pepe The Frog depicting the Triumph over the US and shaming Western Culture. The US troops completed their withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan on the 30th of August, 2021, thus ending the 20 year war.

Kashmir Police denies reports claiming 60 youth gone missing from Kashmir since the Taliban took over Afghanistan

Anurag
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Kashmir Police denies reports claiming 60 youth gone missing from Kashmir since the Taliban took over Afghanistan

On September 1, Kashmir Police denied the reports that claimed 60 youth have gone missing from Kashmir amid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

In a tweet, IGP Kashmir said, “Some #SocialMedia platforms are running that 60 youth have gone #missing from different parts of the #Kashmir Valley amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. This is #fake news.”

The fake news covered by social media platforms

Several news platforms have covered the reports that 60 youth have allegedly gone missing from different parts of Kashmir since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. In a report titled “Amid Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan, A Worrying Trend In J&K”, NDTV claimed the ripple effect of US troops withdrawing from Afghanistan is seen in the valley.

Fake news by NDTV

NDTV quoted Vijay Kumar about the issue of 60 young men going missing from their homes in the last couple of months. NDTV had quoted him saying, “They said they are going to attend on someone or for some work, but now they are missing. This is a serious concern. We have been asking and appealing to all misguided youth who have joined terror groups to quit violence and return to the mainstream.”

Assuming NDTV quoted IPS Vijay Kumar, who is currently posted as IGP Kashmir, the quote did not stand genuine after IGP Kashmir has stated that the reports are fake. Navbharat Times also quoted IGP Vijay Kumar based on NDTV’s report.

Screenshot of report covered by Navbharat Times

Other portals that covered the reports include News18, The Kashmiriyat, Hindustan and several others.

Screenshot of report covered by News18
Screenshot of report covered by The Kashmiriyat
Screenshot of report covered by Hindustan

While speaking to OpIndia, the office of IGP Kashmir confirmed there is a standard procedure under which Kashmir Police takes action against the portals and agencies that spread fake news. Action will be taken against these portals that have covered the fake news about 60 youth going missing as well.

“We know that the SIT is not functional,” says Calcutta High Court on Bengal post-poll violence case

OpIndia Staff
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“We know that the SIT is not functional,” says Calcutta High Court on Bengal post-poll violence case

The Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court; Rajesh Bindal, on Tuesday observed the court was aware of Special Investigation Team (SIT) not functioning which the five -judge bench of the High Court, on August 19. The SIT was to be formed to look into the cases of post poll violence other than cases of murder and sexual assault assigned to the CBI for investigation.

“We know that the SIT is not working and necessary steps will be taken,” the court observed when Ravi Shankar Chatterjee, counsel for Kashinath Biswas raised this matter.

The observation of the High Court is a thick hint to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee that she better not take the judicial system for granted.

During the course of hearing the court of Acting Chief Justice directed the CBI and the SIT to file a status report to it within six weeks.

Kashinath Biswas who is a local BJP leader had filed a petition at the High Court stating that even after 10 days have passed West Bengal government has not made the three-member Special Investigation Team functional. Speaking to

News18.com quoted Biswas saying, “I filed a PIL and mentioned that CBI has started investigating the matter in the concerned districts of Bengal where post poll violence took place but SIT could not be seen anywhere. Today, the matter was mentioned by my lawyer Ravi Shankar Chatterjee.”

The SIT comprising IPS officers namely Soumen Mitra (Calcutta police commissioner), Suman Bala Sahoo (DG telecommunications) and Ranbir Kumar (ADG (administration I)) is yet to become functional.

Notably, on August 19, the five member bench of the Calcutta High Court passed the order to form the SIT as well as the CBI investigation after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) submitted its report on human right violation in West Bengal. The NHRC has made quite a few damning revelations in the report which detailed the barbarity unleashed upon the political opponents.

The court had categorically stated that the SIT investigation will be monitored by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court. It means it will be difficult for the West Bengal Police and the Mamata Banerjee to distort and suppress facts of post poll violence which Mamata Banerjee has denied.

West Bengal witnessed an unprecedented post poll violence where a large number of BJP workers and leaders were allegedly brutally murdered, prosecuted and raped by leaders and workers of Mamata Banerjee led ruling Trinamool Congress. This alleged state managed violence started right after assembly poll results were declared on May 2.

Even the victory of Trinamool Congress was not sugar coated. Trinamool Congress had won but Mamata Banerjee lost her Nandigram bastion from her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari that came as bitter pills for her. The BJP tremendously gained and emerged as the main opposition party.  

Mangaluru: Police inspector Albert Lasrado stops Hindu activist’s car, asks him to remove religious sticker

OpIndia Staff
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Mangaluru: Police inspector Albert Lasrado stops Hindu activist’s car, asks him to remove religious sticker

The Mangaluru traffic police stopped a car belonging to Hindu activists on Tuesday and questioned them over the religious stickers they had put up over the car, fuelling a war of words between the police officials and Hindu activists.

According to the reports, on Tuesday, August 31, Assistant sub-inspector Albert Lasrado stopped Hindu activist Babish Poojary, who was travelling in his Maruti car near the Thokottu flyover. Albert Lasrado, who stopped the car for allegedly checking the documents, demanded that the Hindu activists pay a fine for putting up religious stickers on the car, claiming that the stickers were against the law.

Hindu activist Babish Poojary refused to remove the stickers from his car, saying they were his religious feelings. However, the traffic police assistant sub-inspector Albert Lasrado demanded that the Hindu activist removed the stickers. “Team Parashuram” and “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah” appearing on the number plate of the car and also the “Om Sai” and “Swami Koragajja” stickers were fixed on the window glasses.

A heated argument erupted between the cop and Hindu activists over removing Hindu religious stickers from the car. Arjun Madoor of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who arrived on the scene, said that the cop wanted the stickers to be removed because of religious considerations. The Hindu activists alleged said that the assistant sub-inspector is opposed to the Hindu religion. They demanded the state government remove him from his post and urged the senior officials will be urged to take action.

Moplah massacre: Classical dancer Kalyanikutty Amma’s granddaughter recounts how their ancestral home is now occupied by Muslims

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Moplah massacre: Classical dancer Kalyanikutty Amma’s granddaughter recounts how their ancestral home is now occupied by Muslims

Smitha Rajan, one of India’s finest Mohiniyattam performers and granddaughter of the legendary Indian classical dancer couple of Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, has slammed the “secular-liberal” historians for whitewashing the Moplah massacres, in which Islamists had butchered over 10,000 Hindus in Kerala.

Amidst the ongoing campaign to “secularise” the Moplah Hindu massacres and portray it as a freedom struggle, Smitha Rajan has put out a Facebook post recounting how legendary Mohiniyattam performer Kalyanikutty Amma and her family had to flee from their own house in Kerala during the Moplah Hindu massacres in 1921 after Islamists had stormed into her ancestral house.

Calling out those people who justify the Malabar communal riots as a ‘freedom struggle’, Smitha Rajan recounted how her grandmother had to run for her life as a six-year-old during the Moplah Hindu massacres of 1921 after encountering religious fanaticism. Smitha Rajan shared that a group of religious fanatics had surrounded Kalyanikutty Amma on one such night during the Moplah Hindu massacres. The family realised that they were in danger, wrote Rajan in her post.

“The women and children were forced to flee into the woods through the back door of the house to escape. On the night of the terror attack, the family fled their homes, lands and crossed the river in the darkness to save their lives. Many unfortunates who could not do flee were mercilessly killed. Sakshal Kalamandalam Kalyanikutty Amma, who became the cultural heroine of Kerala, was just a six-year-old girl who escaped from her homeland to save her life,” Smitha Rajan narrated in the post.

Smitha Rajan, who herself is a well-known classical performer, said Kalyanikutty Amma’s suffered from those fears for the rest of her life. Rajan also added that Muslim families have now occupied the ancestral home of Kalyanikutty Amma after the family had to flee during the Moplah massacres.

“Years later, I was lucky enough to get a look at the interiors, verandas and terraces of the house that my grandmother told me about. The mother herself went to the family yard, appealed to the Muslim families living there and arranged for the opportunity for her youngest daughter. I still vividly remember my mother standing outside with the memories of childhood inside,” Rajan wrote.

She slammed the neo-historians, intellectuals and local rulers for attempting to re-interpret and whitewash the horrific Moplah massacres of Hindus as part of the freedom struggle. She warned them against forgetting that a generation of victims of the terror of that time is still alive to recount the terror that was unleashed during the Moplah massacres.

In her post, Smitha hoped that the next generation would at least understand what is real and not repeat the mistakes.

Moplah massacres

The Moplah riots of 1921 were a systematic campaign of Jihad against Hindus. The genocide, orchestrated by the likes of Variankunnath Kunhamad Haji, Ali Musaliar and others, led to the brutal murder of an estimated 10,000 Hindus in Kerala. It is believed that as many a 100,000 Hindus were forced to leave Kerala in the wake of the massacre.

The number of Hindu Temples that were destroyed in the genocide is speculated to be a hundred. Forcible conversion of Hindus was rampant and unspeakable atrocities were poured upon the Hindus in the name of Caliphate.

In his book, Pakistan or the Partition of India, Babasaheb Ambedkar wrote, “The blood-curdling atrocities committed by the Moplahs in Malabar against the Hindus were indescribable. All over Southern India, a wave of horrified feeling had spread among the Hindus of every shade of opinion, which was intensified when certain Khilafat leaders were so misguided as to pass resolutions of “congratulations to the Moplas” on the brave fight they were conducting for the sake of religion'”.

The Khilafat movement was launched to support the Khalifa or the Ottoman Caliph of Turkey, who was considered the leader of all Sunni Muslims in the world. It had nothing to do with India’s freedom struggle.

Former Afghan President Ghani had informed Biden that Taliban was advancing with ‘full Pakistani support’. Read excerpts

OpIndia Staff
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Former Afghan President Ghani had informed Biden that Taliban was advancing with ‘full Pakistani support’. Read excerpts

In July 2021, the then-President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani in a phone conversation with US President Biden told US President Joe Biden how the Taliban was advancing quickly with the help of Pakistan, as per a Reuters report.

He had said, “Mr President, we are facing a full-scale invasion, composed of Taliban, full Pakistani planning and logistical support, and at least 10-15,000 international terrorists, predominantly Pakistanis thrown into this.”

Ghani had urged US President to take note of Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban into consideration while making any decision about the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan.

The phone conversation between Ghani and Biden

As per experts of the call provided by News Agency Reuters, on July 23, then-President Ghani and President Biden had a conversation about the ongoing scuffle between Afghan forces and Taliban. Biden said that after having discussions with the officials in Pentagon, NSA and others, he came to the conclusion that the perception around the world, and in parts of Afghanistan, “is that things aren’t going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban.” He added that there was a need to project a different picture of the whole situation.

Biden urged Ghani to put Bismillah in charge of military strategy

During the conversation, President Biden urged then-President Ghani to give Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi powers to execute strategies focused on key parts of the population centres. He added that it would change the allies’ perception across the spectrum about how Ghani has been handling the situation in Afghanistan.

He further asked Ghani to consider bringing everyone from Former Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum to Former President Hamid Karzai to back the military strategy that gives Bismillah powers to execute military actions; it will change the perception to a large extent.

Biden promised to provide air support

While mentioning that Afghan forces include over 300,000 well-armed personnel, which is over 3-times in size of what the Taliban had at that time, Biden said that the US would continue to provide close air support during military operations of Afghan forces through the end of August. However, US troops had left several bases in Afghanistan much before the August 31 deadline. In some cases, they did not even inform the Afghan forces about the withdrawal.

Biden further promised Ghani that in addition to the air support, the US would continue to “fight hard, diplomatically, politically, economically, to make sure your government not only survives but is sustained and grows because it is clearly in the interest of the people of Afghanistan, that you succeed and you lead.”

Ghani had raised concerns over Pakistan’s involvement

The Reuters article further stated that President Ghani said that Afghanistan was facing a full-scale invasion by the Taliban with the support of Pakistan in terms of planning and logistics. He further added that the US should consider the fact that there were 10,000 to 15,000 international terrorists, mainly from Pakistan, that were fighting against the Afghan forces. Ghani added that there was a heavy reliance on air power during the war between Afghan forces and the Taliban.

Ghani added he has high expectations regarding the close air support from USA and asserted that the Afghan forces are dependent on it. However, as there was an agreement with the Taliban regarding [air strikes] that Ghani’s administration was unaware of, US Air Force was extremely cautious in attacking the Taliban.

He further added that Dr Abdullah, who went to negotiate with the Taliban, made it clear that the Taliban had no inclination. “We can get to peace only if we rebalance the military situation. And I can assure you…,” Ghani said.

The urban resistance in major cities

Ghani said that he had been travelling to the four key cities with the vice president and others and assured Biden that the urban resistance had been extraordinary in those cities. Some of them had taken a siege of 55 days but did not surrender. Thus, Biden’s assurance of support would go a long want. Biden replied that CAS would only work if there was a military strategy on the ground.

What is close air support?

According to DOD, “Close air support (CAS) is air action by fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and requires detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces.”

CAS is a critical part of military action and requires detailed planning, coordination and training of the ground and supporting air forces to ensure safe and effective execution of the military operations.

The current situation in Afghanistan

As of September 1, US troops have completely withdrawn from Afghanistan. There are some US citizens and allies left in Afghanistan, and it is unclear when would they get evacuated. Taliban has taken complete control of the country except for a few regions, which are expected to fall into the hands of the Taliban soon. The Jihadists have imposed several restrictions on women, like the compulsory burqa. They have restricted women employees from joining their positions in several establishments, both private and government.

Taliban has put a ban on music, co-education and more as per the Sharia law. Executions in broad daylight are happening in Afghanistan for petty reasons like not wearing a burqa or donning the Afghan flag. As the situation worsens in Afghanistan, the US is getting heavily criticized for abandoning Afghanistan on its fate after 20 years of war.

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