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Doordarshan turns 63: A history of India’s public broadcaster and a tale of controversies under the Congress government

OpIndia Staff
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Doordarshan turns 63: A history of India’s public broadcaster and a tale of controversies under the Congress government

The state-owned public broadcasting organization Doordarshan has completed its 63 years of service. It started as a humble experiment on September 15, 1959, in a makeshift studio. Initially, it was part of the All India Radio and provided services only in the Delhi region. It became a service in 1965 and started beaming signals to reach television sets in and around New Delhi. It took another seven years for Doordarshan to expand its services first to Mumbai and Amritsar in 1972. Further expanding its services, Doordarshan then reached another seven cities by 1975.

On April 1976, Doordarshan finally had its separate department as part of the national broadcaster Prasar Bharti in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Notably, All India Radio still offers several services for Doordarshan, especially for the news segment.

As time passed by, the organization expanded its roots across the length and breadth of the country, covering several sections, including linguistic, geographical, and cultural groups. The broadcasting services promoted the social, cultural, and educational development of the country and expanded its studio presence in different parts of the country to produce programs in regional languages.

At present, Doordarshan has an array of 36 satellite channels along with free-to-air DTH service with 110 channels in the kitty. There are over 66 studio centers of Doordarshan across the country, out of which 17 major studios are located in State capitals and 49 studios in various cities.

Important timelines of Doordarshan’s history

  • September 15, 1959: Experimental transmission from Delhi 
  • October 24, 1961: School television for Delhi students. 
  • August 15, 1965: Regular service with daily news bulletin in Hindi.
  • January 26, 1967: Krishi Darshan – programs for farmers. 
  • October 2, 1972: Television in a second city, Mumbai.
  • August 1, 1975: SITE launched. 
  • January 1, 1976: Commercials introduced.
  • April 1, 1976: Doordarshan delinked from AIR. 
  • August 15, 1982: National programs, colour transmission, and networking through satellite.
  • November 19, 1982: Expansion through LPTs launched. 
  • August 15, 1983: Countrywide classroom of UGC launched. 
  • July 15, 1984: First mass appeal serial Hum Log. 
  • August 9, 1984: Second channel at Delhi. 
  • August 9, 1085: First regional satellite network in Maharashtra. 
  • February 23, 1987: Morning transmissions 
  • January 26, 1989: Afternoon transmissions 
  • April 1, 1993: Metro channel with satellite networking 
  • October 1, 1993: Regional language satellite channels. 
  • August 15, 1994: Restructuring of channels -DDl to DD 13
  • March 14, 1995: DD India—International channel. 
  • November 23, 1997: Prasar Bharati—the autonomous broadcasting corporation of India.
  • March 18, 1999: DD Sports channel was inaugurated. 
  • July 10, 1999: News on the hour. 
  • August 15, 1999: DD News and current affairs channel. (Test transmission).
  • Controversies that still haunt the public-broadcaster

Apart from glorious history, there have been moments in Doordarshan’s history that caused controversies and haunt the public broadcaster to date.

The funeral of former PM Indira Gandhi

On October 30, Doordarshan did a live telecast of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During the funeral, alleged incendiary slogans were raised that fuelled the already tense atmosphere in the national capital. Bollywood veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan is known to be close to the Gandhi family, especially Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Following the murder of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards, Amitabh Bachchan visited her residence to pay respects to the departed. He also attended the funeral of the former Prime Minister and remained close to Rajiv Gandhi throughout the last rites. According to the eyewitnesses, the actor allegedly gave an inflammatory speech and raised slogans like ‘Khoon ka badla khoon,’ which translates to ‘blood for blood.

In 2011, the Times of India quoted Jagdish Kaur, one of the prime witnesses in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots saying, “I wonder why no one in India lodged a case against Amitabh Bachchan for provoking killing of Sikhs.” She said whoever watched Doordarshan at that time knew what Bachchan had said. The alleged slogans raised by Bachchan went “missing” from the archives, never to be found.

‘When a big tree falls…’ Rajiv Gandhi’s speech justifying anti-Sikh riots

Not only Amitabh Bachchan but former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s objectionable remarks on anti-Sikh riots were aired on Doordarshan in 1984. On November 19, 1984, while giving a speech in front of thousands of people, then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi justified anti-Sikh riots by saying such incidents happen when a ‘large tree falls’ referring to Indira Gandhi’s death and the aftermath of the murder.

Rajiv Gandhi said, “Hamein Indira ji ka yaad rakhna hai. Hamein yaad rakhna hai ki unki hatya kyun hui. Hamein yaad rakhna hai ki kaun kaun log iske peeche ho sakte hain. Jab Indira ji ki hatya hui thi, to haamre desh mein kuch dange fasaad hue the. Hamein maloom hai ki bharat ki janta ke dil mein kitna krodh aaya, kitna gussa aaya. Aur kuch din ke liye, logon ko laga ki bharat hil raha hai. Lekin jab bhi koi bada ped girta hai to dharti thodi hilti hai. (We should remember Indira Gandhi. We should remember why she was killed. We should remember who can be behind her assassination. When Indira ji was killed, there were some riots in the country. We know how angry the people of India were. And for a few days, people thought that India is shaking. However, whenever a big tree falls, the earth shakes.)”

Opposition to airing Ramayana

Ramayana serial is one of the most popular series telecasted by Doordarshan. Its impact on the public is well documented, and those who lived in those years must remember how streets used to get empty during its telecast on Sundays. However, very few people are aware that the administration at Prasar Bharati did not allow its telecast for long.

Ramanand Sagar’s son Prem Sagar openly spoke about the resistance and said, “Baba knew he would make the Ramayana as early as the 1940s. He had begun conceptualizing the idea back in 1975 itself. But every time, at Doordarshan, someone or the other pulled the plug. They had an agenda. It was probably down to the officers high up in the organization. Eventually, someone got transferred here or there or left office, and the show finally happened.”

Another aspect of that period is that to ‘monkey balance’ the telecast of a series based on Hindu religion, Doordarshan produced programs like Bible ki Kahaniya, Alif Laila, and more.

Special cell to target then-CM Modi

In his book titled “Narendra Modi Censored,” journalist Ashok Shrivastav revealed a special cell was constituted in DD News to run news stories, documentaries, programs, etc. to target Narendra Modi, especially around the 2002 post-Godhra riots. Not everyone was allowed to walk into this cell which was housed in room no. 123. Controversial ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad was a special and regular visitor to the cell.

‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ removed from logo

Journalist Ashok Shrivastav in a recent tweet, alleged that during UPA tenure in 2013, the iconic phrase ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ was removed from Doordarshan’s logo.

It was added back when the government changed in 2014.

Delhi liquor scam: Sting video of accused number 9 Amit Arora goes viral, reveals the rampant corruption under AAP government

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi liquor scam: Sting video of accused number 9 Amit Arora goes viral, reveals the rampant corruption under AAP government

On September 15, a sting video of accused number 9 in the Delhi liquor scam, Amit Arora, went viral on the internet. Sharing the video, Bharatiya Janta Party commented, “How two people get business worth 10,000 Crores. How you can make 150 crores on investment of 10 crores. See another sensational expose on Arvind Kejriwal government’s liquor scam.”

In the video, Amit Arora can be heard sharing how bribes and corruption have been organized under the Delhi excise policy. As per Arora, liquor giants in the region gave 100 crores in cash to Aam Aadmi Party which could be utilised for the party’s election campaigns in places like Goa and Punjab.

Arora also shared how the policy was tweaked to help these big players in the market. License fees was raised from Rs 10 lakhs earlier to as much as Rs 5 crores, making it difficult for smaller retailers to survive, giving these big wholesalers the total control of the market. Unlike other states, Delhi also stopped fixing a quota for these wholesalers, letting them control the entire business.

As per Arora, Aam Aadmi Party government also increased the commission for the wholesalers from 5% to 12%, to help them make more money. The same policy has been implemented in Punjab, with the wholesalers’ commission at 10%. As per Arora, this way, the wholesalers gave their black money to AAP and in return, got a chance to earn it back manifolds in white.

Amit Arora shared that business of as much as 10,000 crores was given to only two players by the AAP government by making these tweaks in their excise policy.

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia is the accused number 1 in this liquor scam. Earlier, a 6-minute video allegedly of the father of Sunny Marwah, an accused in a liquor scam, had gone viral on social media. In most of the video, the person who appears to be Kulvinder Singh Marwah, Sunny’s father, was talking about how changes in the liquor policy favoured the Aam Aadmi Party.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has listed 15 accused including Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in an FIR on Friday 13th August 2022 following hours of raids into the alleged excise fraud. The excise department, which the deputy chief minister oversees, implemented a new strategy last year that ruled government liquor stores shut down and private businesses granted licenses.

Along with Manish Sisodia and Excise officials, CBI has named several private persons for involvement in the scam. Apart from the 15 persons named in the FIR, CBI also included ‘other unknown public servants and private persons’ as accused in the FIR.

‘Not shot the way it is being shown’: Actor Ranveer Singh tells Mumbai police that controversial nude photo for Paper magazine was ‘morphed’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Not shot the way it is being shown’: Actor Ranveer Singh tells Mumbai police that controversial nude photo for Paper magazine was ‘morphed’

Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, who recently got embroiled in controversy after posing nude for the New York-based Paper magazine, has told Mumbai Police in a statement that someone tampered with and morphed one of his images.

The actor’s statement was recorded by the Mumbai police on August 29. The complaint against the actor was registered by a woman and subsequently, by Lalit Tekchandani, an office-bearer of an NGO after the nude photoshoot of the actor went viral.

Amidst the nude pictures of the actor that went viral, a particular photo of the Bollywood actor allegedly showing private parts also emerged on social media. Ranveer Singh reportedly told Mumbai police in his statement on August 29, that this particular photo was morphed. He further claimed that the photo was not shot the way it is being shown.

It may be recalled that a Mumbai Police team had visited actor Ranveer Singh’s house on Friday, 12th August 2022, to serve him with a summon to appear at the police station for questioning. However, since the actor was out of the city, Mumbai Police had said that they would deliver him the summon on August 16. He was initially summoned on August 22, but finally, his statement was recorded on August 29.

The complaint against the actor was registered by Lalit Tekchandani, an office-bearer of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) situated in the east Mumbai suburb of Chembur, and a woman lawyer at the Chembur police station after the nude photoshoot of the actor went viral.

Interestingly, when the photos went viral, the actor was quoted as saying that he can get naked before thousands of people and he is not ashamed of nudity.

Subsequently, multiple cases were registered against him with many slamming the actor for posing naked for a magazine. Ranveer Singh was charged under sections 509, 292, and 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Section 67 A of the Information Technology Act.

Speaking about the case, a senior officer had said then, “We will be recording his statement in connection with the FIR registered by the Chembur police station as a part of our probe in the case.” The complainant, Lalit Tekchandani, stated in his complaint that on July 24, a friend forwarded him the photographs Ranveer Singh had uploaded on Instagram and Twitter. He claimed that when he zoomed in on one of the photos, he saw the actor’s private parts were visible. The photo quickly went viral.

‘I would have shot them in head’: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee says police showed unnecessary restraint in stopping BJP’s Nabanna Chalo rally

OpIndia Staff
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‘I would have shot them in head’: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee says police showed unnecessary restraint in stopping BJP’s Nabanna Chalo rally

On Thursday, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee lauded the state police for targeting the BJP workers during the Nabanna Chalo march and said that he would have shot the protesters in the head, had he been present at the site. “I salute the officer for his patience and his handling of the riots. If I was there, I would have shot them in the head”, Banerjee said on September 14.

According to the reports, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s cousin and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee visited Kolkata (central) ACP Debjit Chatterjee who suffered injuries during the rally. After seeing Chaterjee who is undergoing treatment at the state-run SSKM hospital, Abhishek Banerjee turned furious and used disparaging language toward the BJP workers.

He accused the BJP workers of creating a ruckus in the state during the Nabanna Chalo rally and said that the state police unnecessarily showed restraint to handle the rally with ‘patience’. “If the police wanted to teach the stone-pelters a lesson, they could have opened fire on them. The game would have ended even before it had started. But that didn’t happen. The very fact that the police showed restraint in the face of adversity is the biggest change in our system”, he was quoted.

This is moments after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the protest led by the BJP on September 13 and compared the BJP workers to goons. “The public has been harassed by the BJP workers. The police could have shot at the protesters. But that was the last resort and was not necessary”, Banerjee said praising the state police for ‘managing’ the situation in a restricted manner.

Mamata Banerjee also alleged that the BJP leaders from the state had called goons from other locations to deliberately create mayhem in the state during the Nabanna Chalo rally. “Political protests are not done in such a violent manner. You (BJP) will bring goons from outside the state and use them for violence. That is unacceptable. You will carry guns and bombs in your bags. Is this a way to protest?”, she was quoted while leveling allegations over the state BJP.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya slammed Banerjee for her statement by sharing a video of the West Bengal police pelting stones at the BJP workers and tweeted, “This is West Bengal Police, in gross violation of policing manual to control public protests, like jihadis, is pelting stones at political protesters during the Nabanno Chalo Abhiyan. Home Minister Mamata Banerjee said the police was ‘restrained’ and didn’t fire at the protesters”.

The BJP on Tuesday conducted a ‘Nabanna Chalo’ (march to secretariat) mega rally to condemn the TMC-led government and its alleged corrupt practices in the state of West Bengal. LOP Suvendu Adhikari was supposed to lead a rally from Satraganchi, while Sukanta Majumdar, the party’s state president, was supposed to lead one from Howrah Maidan. Meanwhile, former state BJP head Dilip Ghosh was supposed to lead the workers from College Street.

However, the West Bengal Police said that the party had taken no permission for such a rally and stopped several BJP workers from participating in it. Widespread incidents of Police excesses in Howrah and Kolkata were also reported amid the rally. The Police also arrested thousands of BJP workers. They detained Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition and other leaders like MP Locket Chatterjee, Rahul Sinha, Taapshi Mondol, and Dibankar Gharami.

The BJP workers then reached the Police headquarters in the Lalbazar area and also opposed the Police action taken against several BJP leaders. The Police then deployed water cannons and lobbed tear gas shells at the protest site to disperse the BJP workers. The Police lathi-charged them in Santragachi, Howrah Maidan, Mahatma Gandhi Road, and Rabindra Sarani and also were seen misbehaving with the women who wanted to join the BJP in the rally.

It was earlier reported that several BJP workers had sustained injuries in the Police attack. BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta was also injured amid the party’s mega-protest in West Bengal against Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. “They fired tear gas shells and lathi-charged protesters. I got pushed by a policeman. A peaceful demonstration was attacked in this fashion. The initial attack was by police. It looked like a pattern the way police attacked”, Dasgupta had said after being injured. He further slammed the TMC-led government and stated that the whole country should know the true face of this Bengal government.

Meanwhile, Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also criticized the TMC-led government and claimed that crude bombs and stones were hurled at his party workers. Majumdar who was supposed to lead the march from the Howrah Maidan was also detained by the Bengal Police.

Notably, many police officers have also been reported injured during the attack first launched by the West Bengal Police. TMC alleges that ACP Debjit Chatterjee who is undergoing treatment at the state-run SSKM hospital was beaten by the BJP workers. A case of a murder attempt has been filed in connection with the incident.

India dodges global economic slowdown, exports grew by 19.7% in April-August over the same period last year

OpIndia Staff
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India dodges global economic slowdown, exports grew by 19.7% in April-August over the same period last year

After India banned the export of wheat and broken rice, and in light of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that has impacted global trade, there is a perception that there is a decline in exports from India which will have a negative effect on the Indian economy. There were concerns about the reduced growth rates in exports to Europe and USA, as the western countries are still facing supply chain problems that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite such factors, Indian exports have shown healthy growth.

In spite of a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, the disruptions in the supply chain, high inflation rates and demand slowdown in some of the major economies, the Indian exports of merchandise have held well to register 17.7% growth in April-August this year, against the corresponding period last year. Overall export, both merchandise and services, grew by 19.7% in that period.

The amount of merchandise exported was $ 164.44 billion in April-August 2022, and the export of services was valued at $260.46 billion. However, India continued negative trade balance due to higher imports, which stood at (-)$11.42 billion.

For the month of August only, the export grew from $53.83 billion in August 2021 to $57.47 billion in August 2022, registering a growth rate of 6.75%. Among these, merchandise export grew by 1.62%, while services grew by 15.12%.

The electronics sector continued to achieve impressive growth, as export of electronics showed positive growth with a 54.7% increase in the period April to August compared to the same period last year.

Exports of tobacco products showed the highest growth in August, which grew from $72.29 million in August 2021 to $127.51 million in August 2022, growing by 76.39%. Similarly, Oil Meals grew by 73.68% YoY for August.

India’s agricultural exports too have been doing well with marine products registering a growth of 7.6%, meat and dairy products registering a growth of 13.6%, fruits and vegetables exports grew by 8.8%, cereal preparations and processed food products grew by 30.6%, coffee registered a growth of 36.7%.

However, exports of some of the products have come down in the same period. Some of the sectors that have seen a dip are cotton yarns/fabrics/made-ups where exports have declined by 32%, in iron-ore exports have declined by 90% and in handicrafts there has been a decline by 36%. But the drop in exports in cotton yarn and iron ore has contributed to meeting the domestic demands and has helped domestic manufacturing.

The country’s exports have also been successful in diversifying their exports from the traditional economies to non-traditional countries, such as Indonesia (37.8% growth), Brazil (64.6% growth), South Africa (52.4% growth), Australia (31.6% growth), France (38.9% growth). This gives the confidence that Indian exports will sustain the momentum that it had gathered in 2021-22.

The Indian government is confident of the fundamentals of the Indian economy being in a very strong position and its ability to tackle global headwinds, if any, a source in the government said. The country has seen a sustained improvement in demand conditions boosting new order intakes and this has pushed output growth to the second highest in 9 months.

The S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) has signalled a strong sentiment toward India’s manufacturing growth. The survey by S&P shows that factory orders rose at the quickest pace since last November, boosted by strengthening demand conditions, new client wings and advertising.

This sentiment has been supported by GST collections that rose 28% year on year to around Rs.1.43 lakh crores in August. This suggests a pickup in economic activity as well as the success of the GST Council in improving compliance. In the first quarter of the current financial year, The GDP has grown by 13.5% which has been the fastest in a year. The numbers suggest that the country is well on track to achieve a 7.5% GDP growth which has been estimated by many agencies.

From SSB base camp to deserted fields, Madarsas and Mazars cropping up everywhere between UP’s Balrampur and Jarwa border in Nepal: Ground Report

राहुल पाण्डेय
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From SSB base camp to deserted fields, Madarsas and Mazars cropping up everywhere between UP’s Balrampur and Jarwa border in Nepal: Ground Report

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 constantly increasing. 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 tenth episode of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.

We also travelled to the border areas of the Balrampur district to find out more about the mosques, madarsas, and mazars that are rapidly growing there. You can read our report on the problems brought about by the growing Muslim population in the urban areas of the Balrampur district here. OpIndia’s Hindi report on the same can be read here.

When we were reporting in the border regions, we focused on Tulsipur, the last and largest market on the Nepal border in the Balrampur district. From here, we acquired information regarding the places of worship that could be seen along the borders of the Barhni, Jarwa and Shravasti districts.

Mosque seen at a distance of 1 km from SSB base camp

As we travelled towards the borders in the direction of Tulsipur from Balrampur town, the headquarters of the paramilitary SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) camp, whose jawans are 24X7 guarding the Nepal border, we noticed a sizable mosque on the main road itself. The mosque was strategically positioned in between the SSB camp and the Kotwali police station, which was quite surprising. There are also important institutions like the District Court around this mosque.

Mosque seen at a distance of 1 km from SSB base camp

Shiva Nagar area has two mosques

Nearly 5 kilometres from Balrampur city, as we travelled in the direction of Tulsipur, we noticed two mosques in the Shiva Nagar neighbourhood. The distance between the two mosques was approximately 1 km. One of them was built right in the centre of a vacant field and was clearly visible from a distance. It is worth noting here that this route also connects the international border like Barhni and Jarawa with Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

One of the mosques in Shiva Nagar

The second mosque is clearly visible just a few meters away from this mosque.

Second mosque is just a few meters away from the first mosque

Mazar right next to the main road

We saw a mazar after travelling a little further along this path. On the road leading to the tomb, some cows were spotted. The mazar’s state gave the impression that colour and light had been restored to it. However, no one in the area knew its history.

2 Mosques situated in the Laukahawa village

We came upon the settlement of Laukahawa while travelling along the Jarawa border, around 4 kilometres before Tuslipur market. From the main road itself, we could see 4 towers in this settlement. According to CP Mishra, a local resident, the area is predominately Muslim and has both mosques and madarsas.

Mazar and mosques in Laukahawa village

Madrasa as soon as you enter Tulsipur Block in Balrampur District 

The Devipatan Temple at Tulsipur is a very famous and highly revered temple in the district. Devotees continue to travel here from all over the world. We noticed a madarsa as soon as we arrived in this temple town. The madarsa named Jamiat Banat Al Salahit Sin was situated on the main road heading to the border village of Jarwa.

Madarsa in Tulsipur

At the entrance to Tulsipur market, we noticed another madarsa as we moved toward Jarwa. This madrasa was known by the name Madarsa Ahle Sunnat Faizul Uloom. The green-painted madarsa was shut and none of the students was present.

Madarsa Ahle Sunnat Faizul Uloom

On the main road outside Tulsipur market, we saw another building, on which something was written in the Arabic language. However, we could not find out what the building was used for.

Many shrines and places of worship on Tulsipur-Jarwa road

As we moved from the Balrampur-Tulsipur route to the Tuslipur-Jarwa road, we spotted several mosques, madarsas, and mazars along this roughly 15 km long stretch leading to Nepal. Here, it was notable that while the people’s homes were in shambles, the mazars and mosques were in immaculate condition.

Mosque on the Jarwa road

We spotted numerous Idgahs (places of worship) at isolated places, where there were no inhabitants nearby. When we asked the people walking by who frequented these places of worship, some stated that there were weekly fairs held there, while others indicated it happened once a month.

An Idgah situated in an isolated area

We noticed a dargah on the outskirts of Tulsipur as soon as we left the market. We were told that the dargah is visited by more Hindus than Muslims. We were also told that the monthly turnover of incense sticks, chadarposhi, and other items at that dargah is in lakhs of rupees.

Dargah situated outside Tulsipur market

While driving towards the Jarwa border, we could see pucca and new mazar structures coming up in open and deserted areas.

Another distinguishing aspect of these mazars was revealed to us by the locals who told us how initially a concrete structure was constructed in the location. Then, a large amount of the surrounding area was paved expanding the area of the mazars. Most of the time, this construction can be seen practically reaching the main thoroughfare, the locals informed.

An Idgah seen right next to the main road

On our way to the Jarwa border, we noticed that shrines were not only placed along the route but also in the middle of settlements. We noticed such mosques in a number of villages.

Mosques situated bang in the middle of the villages
Madrasatul Muda

We also noticed many madarsas along the Jarwa border road. Many students were present as well at these madarsas.

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 madarsas in the Himalayan nation’s border villages. Additionally, we also spoke about the rising incidences of love jihad in Nepal, as well as its Delhi connection and smuggling and various other notorious activities that are threatening India’s border with Nepal.

The first report in this series can be read here in Hindi: कभी था हिंदू बहुल गाँव, अब स्वस्तिक चिह्न वाले घर पर 786 का निशान: भारत के उस पार भी डेमोग्राफी चेंज, नेपाल में घुसते ही मस्जिद, मदरसा और इस्लाम – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report

The second report in this series can be read here in Hindi:  घरों पर चाँद-तारे वाले हरे झंडे, मस्जिद-मदरसे, कारोबार में भी दखल: मुस्लिम आबादी बढ़ने के साथ ही नेपाल में कपिलवस्तु के ‘कृष्णा नगर’ पर गाढ़ा हुआ इस्लामी रंग – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Islamic flags flying atop houses and mosques, madarsas influencing businesses: The creeping Islamisation of Nepal’s Krishnanagar

The third report in this series can be read here in Hindi:  नेपाल में लव जिहाद: बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी और नेपाली लड़कियों से निकाह के खेल में ‘दिल्ली कनेक्शन’, तस्कर-गिरोह भारतीय सीमा पर खतरा – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Rising cases of love jihad in Nepal and its Delhi connection, smuggling plaguing India’s border with Nepal: Ground report

The fourth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध आस्था के केंद्र हों या तालाब… हर जगह मजार: श्रावस्ती में घरों की छत पर लहरा रहे इस्लामी झंडे, OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Steady rise in mazars and madarsas adjoining Buddhist places of worship in UP’s Shravasti near Indo-Nepal border: Ground report

The fifth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: महाराणा प्रताप के साथ लड़ी थारू जनजाति बहुल गाँव में 3 मस्जिद, 1 मदरसा: भारत-नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी का ये है ‘पैटर्न’ – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Rising number of mosques, madarsa along Indo-Nepal border: Ground report on Islamisation of village of Tharu tribe that fought along Maharana Pratap

The sixth report in this series can be read here in Hindi: बौद्ध-जैन मंदिरों के बीच दरगाह बनाई, जिस मजार को पुलिस ने किया ध्वस्त… वो फिर चकमकाई: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Dargah and mazar built around Buddhist and Jain temple premises, illegal mazar once demolished surfaces again: UP’s Shravasti near Nepal border

The seventh report in this series can be read here in Hindi: हनुमान गढ़ी की जमीन पर कब्जा, झारखंडी मंदिर सरोवर में ताजिया: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी, असर UP के बलरामपुर में – OpIndia Ground Report

The same report can be read here in English: Muslim encroachment of temple land, Karbala built in temple compound, and more: Ground report on Islamisation underway along the UP-Nepal border

The eight report in this series can he read here in Hindi: पुरातत्व विभाग से संरक्षित जो जगह, वहाँ वक्फ की दरगाह-मजार: नेपाल सीमा पर बढ़ती मुस्लिम आबादी, मुसीबत में बौद्ध धर्मस्थल – OpIndia Ground Report

The same can be read here in English: Mazars built at places protected by Archaeological Department along India-Nepal border, Buddhist shrines in trouble- OpIndia Ground Report

The ninth report in this series can he read here in Hindi: 2 मीनारों वाली मस्जिदें लोकल, 1 मीनार वाली अरबी पैसे से… लगभग हर गाँव में मदरसे: नेपाल बॉर्डर के मौलाना ने बताया इसमें कमीशन का खेल – OpIndia Ground Report

The same can be read here in English: Mosque with two minarets funded locally, another one funded by Saudi Arabia, Maulana at Nepal border speaks about construction mafia, foreign fundings and more

‘God told me it is ok to join BJP’: Former Congress leader and ex-CM of Goa Digambar Kamat

OpIndia Staff
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‘God told me it is ok to join BJP’: Former Congress leader and ex-CM of Goa Digambar Kamat

Former Congress leader and ex-CM of Goa Digambar Kamat, who along with seven of 11 Congress MLAs in Goa switched to the ruling BJP Wednesday, told the media that he has switched to the saffron party fold after taking permission from God and God ‘agreed’.

The comment came when he was asked about the ‘pledge of loyalty’ he and other Congress leaders had taken in the month of February, days before the Goa election.

“About the oath which I had taken before God, I have gone before God and the Goddess and said that this (joining BJP) is in my mind. What should I do? In Goa, we have a system of taking prasad. Then God said you go ahead, don’t worry,” Kamat told reporters in Panaji, as he walked out of the state BJP headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.

On September 14, eight out of eleven MLAs of Congress in Goa, including former Chief Minister of Goa Digambar Kamat and leader of opposition Michael Lobo joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

With the shift of eight MLAs, Congress was reduced to three MLAs in the state. BJP, which has 20 MLAs out of 25 MLAs of NDA, is set to improve its number. Reports of Congress MLAs leaving the party came at the time when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on the “mission” to “jodo” India via his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ The eight ‘rebels’ also had a meeting with the Goa CM Pramod Sawant.

After defecting to BJP Wednesday, the former Goa Chief Minister stated that he believes in God and though they had taken an oath not to leave the Congress prior to the election, he gave himself an easy out. “I went to the temple again and asked God what to do. God told me do whatever is best for you,” he told the media.

Congress asks Goa members to take ‘pledge of loyality’, Digambar Kamat had said ‘serious about this and will not allow any party to poach our MLAs’

Interestingly, in the run-up to the February 14 Goa Assembly elections, the Congress took 36 of its election candidates to the Mahalaxmi temple in Panaji and the Holy Cross Shrine in Bambolim on January 22, while the 34 men went to the Hamza Shah Dargah in Betim to promise that if elected, they would not defect.

The Congress candidates had taken the ‘pledge of loyalty’ in Rahul Gandhi’s presence. Congress had then, extensively publicised the pledge in order to reassure voters that its MLAs would not swap sides this time.

The Congress candidates made the same declaration in an affidavit signed in the presence of top party leader Rahul Gandhi on February 4.

At the time, Kamat said, “We are very serious about this and will not allow any party to poach our MLAs. We are god-fearing people. We have full faith in the Almighty. Hence, today we have taken a pledge that we will not defect.”

“We have taken a promise in front of temple, mosque and church. Today, we are taking an oath in front of Rahul-ji, our boss,” Sankalp Amonkar, another defectors, had said at the time.

The grand old party, which has been in opposition in Goa, since 2012, had reportedly asked its members to swear the ‘pledge of loyalty’ in order to avoid a rehash of the 2019 defection, in which ten of its 15 MLAs switched to the BJP overnight.

However, just six months later, in July, the Congress found itself in the midst of another defection storm. It had then accused Kamat and then-LoP Michael Lobo of colluding with the BJP to organise the defection of at least eight of its 11 MLAs and removed Michael Lobo from the position of the leader of opposition in the Goa state legislative assembly.

IPAC passed common plan of Parliamentary Action against China, to address the violation of human rights and to develop alternate supply chains

OpIndia Staff
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IPAC passed common plan of Parliamentary Action against China, to address the violation of human rights and to develop alternate supply chains

On September 14, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) agreed on a common plan of action to address the Chinese government’s activities with respect to other nations and its own citizens. IPAC, which is an organization of legislators from countries around the world, adopted the communiqué on Wednesday to set out a plan to defend human rights and hold CCP accountable for the human rights violations in China and Hong Kong.

60 legislators from 30 countries attended the meeting.

The plan also aims to safeguard the rules-based international system, strengthen democracies internationally, and support Taiwan and Ukraine. Furthermore, the communiqué included the need to make efforts to move critical supply chains away from PRC.

In the press note issued by IPAC, the group said, “Since its foundation in June 2020, IPAC has grown from 8 founding legislatures to 29, spanning five continents. Among the legislators attending are the network’s newest members from Ukraine, whose accession to the network was announced at a press conference on Capitol hill.”

Senator James Paterson, IPAC Co-Chair for Australia, said, “This document sets out a clear pathway to help democracies resist coercion and intimidation from Beijing. Only by acting together can we hope to preserve and maintain the values we hold so dear, which were paid for by the sacrifices of previous generations. We leave the summit stronger than ever, determined to continue and deepen collaboration within this extraordinary network, and determined to implement this important communique in each of our countries.”

Source: IPAC

Ukrainian IPAC Co-Chair Oleksander Merezhko MP, who is the latest member of IPAC, said, “After February 24, I realized that in our struggle against Russia’s aggression, we can only count on democratic countries, including Taiwan, but not on the PRC which in effect has sided with Russia in a “no limits” partnership. It is my firm belief that today more than ever, democracies should support each other in order to survive. This alliance to me is about the solidarity of those who believe in democracy and human rights, and who understand the danger posed by neo-totalitarianism to the democratic free world.”

IPAC’s communique on China

Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) was founded in June 2020. Its aim is to promote reform in to approach of democracies toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Since its establishment, the group has raised concerns over the practices of PRC within its borders, such as human rights violations against Uyghur Muslims, and across borders.

Its communique noted, “after two years of campaigning and considerable growth of the network, the 30 legislatures of IPAC are united in pursuing the following plan to safeguard democracy and defend universal rights.”

It noted that the human rights records of the PRC government have been on a deteriorating path. Still, the Chinese government continues to deny basic rights, including freedom of expression, thought, conscience, and religion, to its citizens. Furthermore, mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearances against opponents of its rule are on the rise.

They explicitly highlighted “the industrial scale human rights abuses taking place in the Uyghur Region, where a growing body of legal opinion finds credible evidence for mass atrocity crimes, alongside ongoing abuses in Tibet and the dismantling of Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms” in particular.

IPAC noted that the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has failed to obtain access to the Uyghur Region that is facing atrocities at the hands of the Chinese government. They said, “No country can be allowed to violate human rights with impunity. IPAC will continue to call for our governments to act to hold the PRC government to account for its abuses.”

The communiqué also talked about the economic influence PRC has gained over the years in the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative. They noted, “In recent years, the PRC has sought to use its economic influence to coerce other states into acquiescence. As recent disputes with several nations have shown, the PRC practices formal and informal trade bans, popular boycotts, and other coercive trade techniques to achieve its political aims. Similarly, the PRC has used its Belt and Road Initiative to exert leverage over-indebted nations like Sri Lanka and Malaysia and to secure political support within multilateral institutions. Such coercive diplomacy is unacceptable and has no place in a rules-based international order based upon reciprocity and mutual respect.”

To counter China’s influence and put a curb on human rights violations, IPAC called for Reducing strategic dependency on the PRC through building diverse and resilient supply chains. They further suggested “Scrutinising and limiting exports and technology transfer of specific sensitive equipment and technologies to the PRC, in particular, where there are grounds to suspect undesirable use relating to internal repression, the interception of communications or surveillance.”

They also called for developing an alternative to PRC’s One Belt, One Road initiative and expanding programs such as “the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership, the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative, the Three Seas Initiative, and other similar endeavours initiated by Japan, India, and other countries to provide sustainable routes to development for emerging economies.”

Source: IPAC

Furthermore, IPAC also expresses concerns over the increasing influence of China on Hong Kong and Taiwan. Also, it expressed concerns over the support China is providing to Russia following the military action against Ukraine.

BJD MP Sujeet Kumar and Congress MLA Ninong Ering are members of the IPAC.

Lakhimpur Kheri: Two minor Dalit girls dragged, raped, strangulated and hanged, Junaid, Sohail, Arif amongst six accused arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Lakhimpur Kheri: Two minor Dalit girls dragged, raped, strangulated and hanged, Junaid, Sohail, Arif amongst six accused arrested

On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested six persons named Junaid, Sohail, Arif, Hafiz, Karimuddin and Chhotu (Gautam) for sexually assaulting two minor Dalit girls and brutally murdering them in the Lakhimpur Kheri area of Uttar Pradesh. The police officer investigating the case said that the accused Junaid was shot in his leg when he tried to run away during his arrest.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on Wednesday when two accused named Sohail and Junaid dragged the two Dalit girls aged 15 and 17 to the sugarcane field and brutally raped them. The girls were later murdered and hanged on a tree with their dupattas after they forced the boys to marry them.

Officer Sanjeev Suman confirmed the incident and addressed the media to inform them that the deceased were allegedly friends with the accused. “The girls were introduced to the boys by one Chhotu who stays in their neighbourhood. The boys developed a friendship with the women and took them to the fields on their bikes. There Sohail and Junaid sexually assaulted the women and murdered them after they insisted on marriage”, the police stated.

The police added that after the three men murdered the girls, they called two more men, Karimuddin and Arif. Now the five men, in a bid to destroy evidence, hanged the girls. He added that the further investigation in the case is underway.

Five accused except Chhotu hailed from Lalpur village while Chhotu was the neighbour of the two girls. Accused booked u/s IPC 302, 376 & POCSO Act.

Jungle Raj back in Bihar? After the mass shooting in Begusarai, Bhagalpur businessman shot dead by unknown criminals, police clueless

OpIndia Staff
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Jungle Raj back in Bihar? After the mass shooting in Begusarai, Bhagalpur businessman shot dead by unknown criminals, police clueless

On Wednesday, unknown criminals shot dead a businessman in Bhagalpur, Bihar, just one day after another firing incident where two riders had fired at multiple people. Four bullets struck the businessman. Following the incident, the miscreants escaped. The police are currently investigating the crime.

According to Bhagalpur SSP Babu Ram, a businessman was shot dead in the district’s Nathnagar. Four rounds struck him. The attackers had come to kill the man, and more investigation is underway.

According to media reports, a silk trader was fired upon by criminals on Kebilal Road in Nathnagar police station area at around 10.45 pm on Wednesday night. The injured businessman died on the way to the hospital. The deceased has been identified as Afzal Ansari, the 35-year-old son of Haji Irshad, a resident of Momin Tola Ward 05. Afzal was a silk merchant.

Fear prevails among the locals due to this incident on NH-80 main road. The criminals carried out this incident just 300 meters away from the police station and escaped via the Champa Nala bridge. Local people told that six criminals had come on three bikes.

Begusarai mass killing

Earlier on Tuesday, two bike-borne miscreants carried out the firing incident at several places on National Highway 28 and 31 in Begusarai, Bihar. The miscreants shot 11 innocent people while travelling over a distance. One of them died on the spot. While the rest were injured. The injured are being treated in various hospitals.

The CCTV footage of the firing incident in broad daylight has also come to the fore. The criminals who shot at 11 people are still absconding. After this shooting incident, there is an atmosphere of panic among the people. Many people are avoiding going out of the house out of fear. At the same time, the police are conducting raids from place to place but till now no success has been achieved.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police Yogendra Kumar said regarding this incident that all the people who were recently released from jail are being identified, and all the suspects are being traced among them. Patrolling cars have been checked and 7 vehicles were found to be negligent in duty, the officers of the vehicles have been suspended. 

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar gives ‘caste color’ to the recent killings

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar when confronted by media over the incident in Begusarai and the Bhagalpur businessman’s killing, he claimed that all this is a conspiracy and that only the people of backward castes and minority communities are being targeted. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi slammed Nitish Kumar for going a casteist angle to the killing, he also questioned the competence of the Bihar police and investigative agencies. 

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