The contemporary revered supreme figure of the Congress party and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has once again stated that he is fighting against the Indian system rather than any political party. Rahul Gandhi stated during a media conference during his ‘Bharat Jodo yatra’ in Tamilnadu, “we’re not fighting anymore a political party. It’s now between the structure of the Indian state & opposition.”
#WATCH | BJP has taken control of all the institutions of this country & pressurise through them…we’re not fighting anymore a political party. It’s now between the structure of the Indian state & opposition: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Tamil Nadu during ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ pic.twitter.com/c2sXkFmvgs
Talking to the reporters, Rahul Gandhi further said, “As I’ve said, the BJP has taken control of all the institutions of this country. They have inserted most of their people in most of the institutions. They pressurize through these institutions. You know the role of the CBI, of the ED, of the Income Tax Department. You know how they deal with these things. So, we’re not fighting anymore a political party. We used to fight a political party. Now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the opposition.
“Everybody understands this. Now, this is not an easy fight. This is a difficult fight. Media is not with the opposition, not because you don’t want to be, but because you are under pressure, your owners have typical relationships,” Rahul Gandhi went on to add.
“Congress is fighting against the entire infrastructure of India”
This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has made such a remark. Rahul Gandhi launched a direct assault on the centre, criticising it over democracy, unemployment, inflation, and a litany of other issues, after facing ED action in his suspected complicity in a money laundering case involving the National Herald in August of this year.
Rare Confession by Congress leader #Pappu Rahul Gandhi
The Wayanad MP openly confessed that his party is attacking India’s whole infrastructure, alleging that the Centre has taken control of all democratic institutions in the country. Rahul Gandhi also accused the RSS of infiltrating the nation’s democratic institutions in what appeared to be an effort to win over the public’s sympathy for the Gandhi family’s alleged involvement in the National Herald money laundering case.
Leftists often raise their voices in the name of the welfare of poor workers, but the Communist government in Kerala has set a new benchmark for exploiting the workers as it extended the duty shift of the state transport workers from 8 hours to 12 hours. The Left government in Kerala forced the employees to accept the increased work hours in exchange of paying their unpaid salaries. It may be noted that the transport workers in Kerala are protesting for months over unpaid salaries.
The Communist government said that if workers don’t accept the 12 hour work day, their unpaid salaries will not be paid. As a result, the worker unions were forced to agree to the condition.
Around 25,000 employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) had been agitating for the past few months due to non-payment of salaries. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a meeting of KSRTC management and trade union leaders on Tuesday (September 5, 2022) to resolve the wage crisis caused by this agitation. After this meeting, the government ordered the release of the budget of 100 crores earmarked for the transport authority. Further, it also said that the remaining funds will be managed by KSRTC.
However, the government has put a condition for paying salaries in this order. The order said that the government is releasing this fund on the condition that the employees of state transport will have to do a single duty of 12 hours per day. Labour unions, including CPI(M) affiliated CITU, had been opposing the Kerala government’s move to increase the duty hours of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees from 8 hours to 12 hours. But as the communist government made it a condition for paying outstanding salaries to the transport workers, the labour unions were forced to accept the condition, as otherwise the employees would not be paid their salaries.
Reportedly, the Left government of Kerala wants to increase the duty of employees from 8 hours to 12 hours to run 1300 additional buses. It is being said that these buses are lying parked in the depot due to lack of staff. But, now these buses can be operated with the same number of workers if they work for 4 more hours a day. In fact, the Left government believes that increasing the duty hours of the employees, it can increase the revenue of the State Transport Corporation.
It is notable that when the central government introduced the new labor laws, the Left strongly opposed it. The Communist Party was also involved in this protest. On behalf of the Communist Party, it was said that these laws will increase the exploitation of workers. It should be noted that there is no provision in the labour law to make any worker work for more than 8 hours in a day.
Dr Meena Kandasamy, an anti-Brahmin activist and a Congress loyalist through and through, had recently admitted on social media that she did not press charges against a molester who molested her because he was a non-Brahmin.
Taking to Twitter, Kandasamy tried justifying her silence after being molested at JNU when she was 25 years old. “In 2010, as a 25-year-old who was a UGC visiting fellow at JNU, I refused to press charges against a non-Brahmin faculty (on probation) who molested me (there were witnesses) though JNU had strong GSCASH rules. I told many academic well-wishers, professors, in JNU, and writers in Delhi about what happened, but I didn’t act because I thought of two things,” she wrote in a document shared on Twitter.
Source: Twitter
One of the reasons she kept quiet about assault on her is because she had received her first pay check in her life from the wife of the alleged sexual predator.
However, the primary reason why she did not speak about her molestation is that her molester was non-Brahmin, and she feared pressing charges against her tormentor would result in her being called a “Brahmin-stooge”.
“No one would see a young woman who wanted justice, they would read it only as a Brahmin Head of Center (the professor who invited me) making use of me against a non-Brahmin intellectual. Even in the moment of seeking autonomy, I would be read as an agent. If I had been invited to JNU by a Dalit or a Bahujan, I would have thought differently. I decided to maintain my silence because living with the humiliation of molestation seemed better than being called a Brahmin-stooge,” Meena Kandasamy wrote.
Apparently, hatred toward Brahmins preoccupied Kandasamy so much so that she did not press charges against her molester because he was a non-Brahmin, and bringing him to justice would somehow boost Brahminism. She stoically endured sexual assault against her because speaking up against it would, in her perverse understanding, empower Brahmanism. And years later, Kandasamy did not appear one-bit regretful for not bringing her molester to justice.
She realised that her silence on her sexual assault would spark an angry backlash. So, she preemptively pulled out the victim card and continued demonising Brahminism instead of admitting to her pusillanimity of not standing up against her assaulter and filing a police complaint against him.
“This is me. I request 2.0 types to refrain from causing hurt by calling me whatever names come to you. I’ve witnessed the toxicity of Brahminism and its supremacy firsthand, and sorry to break the news, but I am not a baby to be co-opted into its project of supremacy,” she lamented.
And predictably, she is one of the esteemed members of “smash Brahminical patriarchy” gang, who have an inveterate habit of pinning the blame of all evils on Brahmanism and Brahmins. Back in 2020, Kandasamy held forth on the need to “smash Brahminical patriarchy” in one of her Twitter threads.
Source: Twitter
“Many many young women look up to you. Tell them to fuck the caste system. Tell them that self determination means disobeying caste. Tell them to smash Brahminical patriarchy. Tell them to set fire to the Manusmriti. Tell them to read Dr Ambedkar. Tell them to rebel,” Meena Kandasamy had tweeted, for whom Brahmanism is probably the source of all evils bedevilling the society so much so that she turned a blind eye to her own molestation because doing otherwise would mean acting as an agent of Brahmanism.
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed an application to quash the chargesheet filed against five persons accused of attacking and pelting stones at police officers when they were attempting to disperse a crowd assembled to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019. The chargesheet was filed on June 6, 2020, under Indian Penal Code Sections 147, 148, 332, 336, 353, 188, 427, 109, 120-B, 153A, 295A, and 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
[CAA Protest] Allahabad High Court Refuses To Quash Chargesheet Against Men Accused Of Attacking, Pelting Stones At Police@ISalilTiwari reportshttps://t.co/4NK9VP7grH
The petitioners claimed in their petition to the high court that they had been wrongfully accused in the case owing to preexisting animosity with the local police. Their lawyer maintained that the applicants did not throw stones or injure anyone, including police officers, and that, according to the FIR, they had just assembled to oppose CAA.
According to the petitioners’ lawyer, who stated that one of the applicants is an engineer, protesting is a fundamental right of a citizen, and if a person is participating in a peaceful agitation, he cannot be accused in any criminal case.
Rejecting the appeal, Justice Sameer Jain’s bench stated, “In my view as FIR disclosed, prima facie, cognizable offences against the applicants, therefore, charge sheet pending against the applicants cannot be quashed.”
After reviewing the case record and considering the arguments advanced, the court noted that the FIR stated that a large mob gathered in a public place to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (then Bill), and when the police arrived and informed the protestors that Section 144 CrPC had already been invoked in the city, and thus no procession could begin, the mob began stone pelting.
The court also disregarded two of the petitioners’ contention that they were mentioned in the FIR because of their animosity towards the case’s Investigating Officer. The court held that the proceeding against the petitioners could not be annulled on that basis.
Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who recently ended his five-decade association with the party, took a shot at the party on Thursday, saying that the party had fired missiles at him but he only retaliated with a 303 rifle and they got destroyed. He further mocked Congress saying he wonders what would have happened to the party had he used a ballistic missile against them.
#WATCH | “They (Congress) fired missiles on me, I only retaliated with a 303 rifle & they were destroyed. What would have happened had I used a ballistic missile?” says GN Azad while he addresses a public rally in Bhaderwah, J&K pic.twitter.com/1Da6b3UYAJ
Addressing a public rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bhaderwah, the veteran politician said, “They (Congress) fired missiles on me, I only retaliated with a 303 rifle and they were destroyed. What would have happened had I used a ballistic missile?”
He went on to add that both Islam and politics teach you to defend yourself first if someone attempts to hurt you.
Ghulam Nabi Azad had pulled up a ‘non-serious’ Rahul Gandhi in his resignation letter
However, he avoided commenting on Rajeev Gandhi or Indira Gandhi. “Since I have been a member of the party for 52 years and consider Rajeev Gandhi to be my brother and Indira Gandhi to be my mother, I have no desire to even use words against them,” he said.
Azad quit the Congress party on August 26, 2022. It may be recalled that in his resignation letter, Azad had slammed the Congress high command for sidelining senior party leaders and giving in to the whims and fancies of ‘inexperienced sycophants.’
He pulled up a ‘non-serious’ Rahul Gandhi for infamously tearing a copy of the ordinance, approved by the UPA Cabinet. The veteran Congress leader suggested that the decisions of the grand old party are now being made by the Personal assistants and security guards of Rahul Gandhi.
Congress released old video of Rahul Gandhi taunting Azad after he quits the party
Notably, hours after the senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the party, Congress Sevadal released an old video of Rahul Gandhi to mock the veteran leader’s exit from the party.
In the video, which dated back to 2021, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was heard saying that the party needs “fearless” people and those who are ‘darpoks’ (cowards) are welcome to leave the party and run away to the RSS.
The Congress Sevadal shared the video with a Hindi caption mocking Azad, “Congress is fearless Those who are afraid are Azad (free)! @RahulGandhi.”
Meanwhile, the day Azad resigned from the party, six more Congress leaders resigned from their primary membership of the Congress party. At the same time, former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had also said that he will be forming his own party in Jammu & Kashmir.
On Friday (September 9), an unidentified man breached through the security cover of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and tried to snatch away his mike in Hyderabad. As per reports, the incident took place at the MJ Market area in Hyderabad city of Telangana. The Assam CM was scheduled to address a public gathering on the occasion of Ganesh Visharjan.
When a BJP leader was speaking ahead of Assam CM’s speech, all of a sudden, a man wearing a pink scarf climbed onto the stage and got in close proximity to Himanta Biswa Sarma. The heckler made some remarks addressing Sarma and tried to snatch the mike.
#WATCH | Telangana: A man tried to confront Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma by dismantling the mike on a stage at a rally in Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/HFX0RqVEd8
He was soon overpowered by BJP workers and taken off the stage. The man was heard raising the slogan of ‘Ja KCR’.
All this while, the Assam Chief Minister maintained his composure and was seen smiling at his supporters. The episode was followed by chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ by members of the Bhagyanagar Utsav Committee.
Himanta Biswa Sarma later delivered his speech wherein he defended his decision of demolishing madrassas in Assam for promoting terror activities.
Utterly shameful to see that an unlawful Telangana govt under @TelanganaCMO KCR Garu indulged in providing an evil exposure of security breach of HCM @himantabiswa sir in Hyderabad today! Is this your govt’s culture to treat another state’s CM??
While reacting to the incident, Assam Minister Pijush Hazarika said, “Utterly shameful to see that an unlawful Telangana govt under @TelanganaCMO KCR Garu indulged in providing an evil exposure of security breach of Himanta Biswa sir in Hyderabad today!”
He further asked, “Is this your govt’s culture to treat another state’s CM?? Highly condemnable!!”
There seems to be no end to the cancellation of stand-up comedy shows by comedians over protests by Hindu organisations for their Hinduphobic comments. In the latest such incident, a bar in Gurgaon has cancelled a show by Kunal Kamra which was scheduled to be held on September 17 and 18.
Studio Xo Bar in sector 29 in Gurgaon has informed that they have cancelled Kunal Kamra’s show titled Kunal Kamra Live, after members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad protested against the scheduled show. The members of the organisations had the management of the bar asking to cancel the show, and had said that they will hold protests at the bar if the show goes ahead. The organisations had also written to the administration seeking to cancel the show. Kunal Kamra’s shows are facing opposition from Hindu organisations because of his jokes insulting Hindu gods.
Announcing the decision to cancel the show, Studio Xo Bar’s general manager Sahil Dawra said that they decided to cancel the show to avoid any trouble. He said, “We have decided to cancel the show. I do not want any trouble. Two men from Bajrang Dal had come and they threatened to disrupt the show. They objected to the show and said that they will not allow the show to happen. I spoke with the owners, police, and the comedian and I don’t want any risk to my company and organisation, so we have decided to cancel it.”
Dawra said that they have not lodged any complaint with the police regarding the matter. The bar has written to BookMyShow informing the decision and initiated the process to cancel the show.
On Wednesday, several members of VHP and Bajrang Dal visited the bar and asked the management to cancel the show. Bajrang Dal’s Praveen Hindustani said, “We met the management of the bar and told them to cancel the show. This comedian has repeatedly insulted Hindu gods and goddesses in his shows and videos. We showed the organisers the videos of his acts on YouTube. Such artistes, who attack Hindu faith, will not be allowed to perform in Gurgaon and any such insults will not be tolerated. We handed over a memorandum to a magistrate and requested them to cancel the show as it could disturb communal harmony and create a potential law and order situation.”
Earlier on August 29, Studio Xo posted a poster on social media announcing the Kunal Kamra Live on the 17th and 18th of September at the bar. The tickets for the show were available on BookMyShow.
On 9th September 2022, the Gurugram district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) wrote a letter to the deputy commissioner seeking the cancellation of the show. The national spokesperson of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Vinod Bansal shared this information from his Twitter handle.
Sharing the letter submitted to the deputy commissioner by the VHP activists and Bajrang Dal members, Vinod Bansal wrote in his tweet, “VHP today gave a letter to the Deputy Commissioner Gurugram to cancel the show of AntiHindu Kunal Kamra scheduled in Gurugram on 17th of this month. These hatemongers must be booked under penal provisions of law. Can’t be allowed to perform in public. The Gurugram police should take action.”
VHP today given a letter to the @DC_Gurugram to cancel the show of AntiHindu Kunal Kamra scheduled in Gurugram on 17th of this month. These hatemongers must be booked under panel provisions of law. Can’t be allowed to perform in public. The @gurgaonpolice sud take action. pic.twitter.com/jbLWPX4IRU
In the letter given to the deputy commissioner, the VHP activists said, “A show is being organized in Studio Xo Bar on 17th September 2022 by Kunal Kamra. This person mocks Hindu Gods and Goddesses in his comedy shows. There are cases already registered against this person for the same. Therefore, this program can cause tensions in Gurugram. We request you cancel this show with immediate effect otherwise the VHP workers and the Bajrang Dal activists will protest against this. Therefore we request you cancel this program immediately and share the information of the proper action with us.”
Vinod Bansal further explained in his subsequent tweets why comedians like Kunal Kamra should not be spared. He wrote, “It is necessary to boycott and oppose such Hindu traitors. By adopting cheap tactics in the name of freedom of expression, such people are out to kill art. Hindu community will not forgive them.”
हिंदु द्रोहियों का बहिष्कार व विरोध जरूरी है। अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के नाम पर ओछे हथकंडे अपना कर ऐसे लोग कला की हत्या पर उतारू हैं। हिंदू समाज इन्हें क्षमा नहीं करेगा..
He wrote in the next tweet, “How can the blatant ridicule of the symbols of Hindu pride be part of an art or culture? The Hindu community is tolerant, but not cowardly. The Hindu community knows well how to deal with such alleged artists in a democratic manner.”
हिंदू मान बिंदुओं का खुल्ला उपहास किसी कला या संस्कृति का हिस्सा कैसे हो सकता है? हिंदू समाज सहिष्णु तो है किंतु, भीरू नहीं। ऐसे कथित कलाकारों से लोकतांत्रिक तरीके से कैसे निपटा जाए, अच्छी तरह जानता है।
Vinod Bansal said in his last tweet, “Haryana police should immediately take cognizance of this matter and announce the cancellation of the program, otherwise the Hindu society will be forced to protest.”
हरियाणा @police_haryana@anilvijminister को इस मामले में तुरत संज्ञान ले कर कार्यक्रम निरस्त करने को घोषणा करनी चाहिए अन्यथा हिंदू समाज प्रदर्शन को मजबूर होगा।
Propagandist Kunal Kamra often makes political comments in his so-called comedy shows. He is known for insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses in his performances.
Before this, several comedy shows by Munawar Faruqui in several cities were cancelled for the same reason.
The issue of beautification of the grave of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast convicted terrorist Yakub Memon is getting traction among Maharashtra’s political parties. The BJP claims it is a disgrace that the grave of Yakub Memon, a Dawood Ibrahim aide convicted in the Mumbai bombings, was decorated like a mazar and that the government allowed it.
In a press conference, Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar wondered whether the ‘Penguin’ army had become the guardian army of the terrorist’s grave. Amidst the war of words between BJP, Congress, and Shiv Sena, then Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar is news as her old pictures with Yakub Memon’s kin Rauf Memon have gone viral on social media.
मुंबईकरांचा जीव घेणाऱ्या अंडरवर्ल्ड दाऊदच्या हस्तकाला याकूब मेमनच्या कब्रिला फाईव्ह स्टार ट्रीटमेंट देण्याचं कारण काय @mybmc ?
According to Ashish Shelar, the Thackeray government was pro-Dawood Ibrahim at the time. Nawab Malik retained his position as a minister. Now, Uddhav Thackeray’s side has emerged as a Dawood Ibrahim supporter. BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule questioned, “when the tomb of terrorist Yakub Memon was being adorned, where the Shiv Sena’s bow and arrow and mace went.”
Uddhav Thackeray compromised with Hindutva to retain the chair: BJP
According to the state president, Uddhav Thackeray made a deal with Hindutva to keep the chair. BJP MLA Ram Kadam has also asked how the grave became a tomb while Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister. According to Ram Kadam, Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar should repent while assuming responsibility for beautifying the terrorist’s tomb. BJP MLA Nitesh Rane also questioned the Thackeray government, claiming that cemetery beautifying would be permitted in 2021. How can Uddhav Thackeray’s BMC deny this?
BMC elections are near, this is a gimmick to spread misunderstanding on the pretext of Yakub Memon – Shiv Sena
In response, previous BMC mayor Kishori Pednekar stated that neither the BMC nor the state government contributed anything to the grave’s adornment. Yakub’s burial is unrelated to the Shiv Sena, BMC, or Mahavikas Aghadi administration. As the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections approach, Shelar and BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule is causing confusion among the city’s residents. The Hindus of Mumbai supported Uddhav Thackeray and would continue to support him, she added.
Former Mumbai mayor denies knowing Yakum Memon’s family when confronted by a TimesNow anchor on a TV debate
‘I do not know Yakub Memon’s relatives. I was a mayor & went there at the request of people. I was not aware that any relative of Memon was present there’, Kishori Pednekar, Former Mumbai Mayor said.
The video of Kishori Pednekar with terrorist Yakub Memon’s kin Rauf Memon are making rounds on social media. However, Pednekar dismissed the questions saying that as a mayor when people invited her, then she had to go. Sh clarified that she does not have any relations with the kin of Yakub and she was unaware that the relatives of Yakub are going to be present at that time. She added that she had gone to meet some citizen representatives when there was a water logging issue at the masjid. She asserted that she was there as a mayor and she had not interacted personally with Memon’s relatives.
She also stated that she was not aware of the beautification work done at the terrorist’s grave.
‘I do not have any relations with #YakubMemon or his relatives. I was a mayor & went there at the request of people. I was not aware that any relative of Memon was present there’ : Kishori Pednekar (Former Mumbai Mayor)@kritsween share the latest update pic.twitter.com/hxIE0wNBRm
Mumbai Police took action and removed LED lighting from the grave
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has taken action as soon as it was informed that Yakub Memon’s grave was decorated with tiles and LED lights in the big graveyard in the Marine Lines area of Mumbai. Whereas the officials of the administration associated with the tomb say that no decoration of the tomb was done. Whatever the family members do on their behalf, we do not interrupt them for what they used to do. The administration related to the grave does not interfere in this nor has any kind of help been given.
Several recent reports 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 thefourth episode of the series of reports documenting the steady Islamisation of the border noticed by the OpIndia team.
Shravasti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh. Shravasti was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala where Gautam Buddha spent most of his time after attaining enlightenment. It is near the Rapti river in the northeastern part of Uttar Pradesh India, close to the Nepal border. We learned during our visit to the area, that in Shravasti, it is very common to find mosques and madarsas next to Buddhist temples and places of faith. The majority of the settlements near Angulimal Cave are predominantly Muslim.
Semi-constructed Mazar and Idgah in Purainiya village
As our team toured the area, we discovered a semi-constructed Mazar in a garden in the Purainiya village, around 100 metres away from the highway on the Bhinga road and about 1 kilometre from the Angulimal cave. Purainiya is a small hamlet in Hariharpur Rani Block in the Shravasti District of Uttar Pradesh. The structure’s construction was completed, but the plastering was still not done. There was no one to be spotted on the site to answer who was carrying out the construction.
The semi-constructed mazar in Purainiya village
As we moved ahead, we spotted an Idgah, located around half a kilometre away from the aforementioned Mazar (shrine). This Idgah was located near the road that connected the village to the main highway. The Idgah could accommodate a crowd of approximately 200 individuals. An iron gate guarded the main entrance to the Idgah, which was surrounded by a pucca (brick) border.
The mazar spotted at a distance of 1 km from the Idgah
We noticed that the Mazar was built on a pond in Katra village, Ikauna Tehsil, Shravasti district, created for water harvesting under the central government’s MNREGA scheme. The Mazar had been carved into the dam of the pond in the shape of a Karbala and cemented. There were Islamic flags hoisted at the same location.
Mazar built on a pond created for water harvesting under the MNREGA scheme
The farm pond in which the Mazar was built was created under the government water harvesting scheme to meet the water needs in the water distressed areas but what we observed was that the water in the pond was negligible and the remnants of many tazias were thrown in it. This pond is located barely 100 metres inside the main highway on the connecting road of Katra village.
Tazia is a replica of the mausoleum of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussain, and is made in numerous forms and sizes. Basically, Muslims bring home the Tazia on any day between the eve of the first day of the Islamic festival Muharram and the ninth day. It is buried on the tenth day of Ashura when Imam Hussain died.
Remnants of Tazia thrown in the public pond
Dr Ayub Khan’s posters mounted on electric poles throughout a nearly 20-kilometer stretch
As we progressed, we noticed numerous political billboards along the main highway. The most prominent hoardings were those of the National President and former MLA of Peace Party Dr Ayub Khan. These boards were mounted on electric poles on either side of the highway. There were appeals to join the Sampurna Swaraj Rally on these posters. These boards were found for around 20 kilometres from the confines of the Balrampur district to Bhinga.
Ayub Khan’s billboard
Notably, Dr Ayub, who was elected to the Vidhan Sabha in 2012, was arrested from Gorakhpur on August 1, 2020, for issuing an advertisement with derogatory content in a newspaper after a complaint was filed against him at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow. He was granted bail in October 2021.
‘Karbala’ and Islamic flags adorned the main road
We passed by Gopiyapur, a small hamlet in Mahewa Block in Etawah District of Uttar Pradesh, on our way back to Balrampur from Shravasti. There were Islamic flags right next to the road at this location. Some flags were green, while others were red. We spotted at least three pucca structures next to the road that were painted green. The locals referred to these structures as ‘Karbala’.
Islamic flags on homes, mosques and madarsas
Despite the fact that the country was commemorating its 75th year of independence at the time, many roadside houses near Gopiyapur had Islamic flags fluttering atop them. Amen Mobile and Yadav Travels boards were visible beneath these dwellings. In the centre of the green flags, a tricolour was also waving.
Roadside houses near Gopiyapur had Islamic flags fluttering atop them
These areas seemed to have been completely Islamified over the years. A dargah was visible adjacent to the road near Gopiyapur on the main route leading to Shravasti. Dargah Chaddars were being sold and a large conngregation of people was seen roaming around in and around the dargah.
The dargah spotted adjacent to the road near Gopiyapur
While our team was moving towards Shravasti, they noticed a Madarsa, situated just 200 meters away from this dargah. The madrasa had a black gate and some Arabic words written on the outside.
Madarsa situated in Gopiyapur
A person at a tea stall near the madarsa told us that what you see on the road is often what you see inside the villages also. Another person stated that if you travel to the Bhinga area of this district, you will see more mosques and madrasas than this.
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 three 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.
Back-to-back mega flop movies from Bollywood in recent months has resulted in heavy loss for film distributors and theatres, apart from the producers of the films. The latest big-budget Bollywood movie Brahmastra Part One: Shiva was released today with poor reviews from film critics, and it seems the movie has a new victim, the investors of theatres.
Made with an ambitious budget of ₹410 crore, Brahmastra released today with much less than expected advance booking. Ahead of its release to the public, the movie was poorly reviewed by film critics, with Taran Adarsh calling it a ‘king-sized disappointment’, who gave it just two out of five stars.
While the movie did receive some favourable reviews from some critics, the stars given to it range from 2 to 3.5. Most reviewers said that while the VFX and CGI in the movie are good, the story is poor. And moments after the bad reviews of the movie started to appear, the stock price of major multiplex chains in the country started to fall.
According to estimates, PVR and INOX, the two major listed theatre chains, lost over ₹800 crore in market capitalisation today. The stocks had started to gain in recent days, but they crashed today, coinciding with the release of Brahmastra.
The PVR stock, which had reached a high of around ₹2,200 in the beginning of August, had opened at ₹1,942 today at the NSE. But soon after the reviews of the Brahmastra started to arrive in the media, the stock crashed and reached ₹1,829 at around 12 pm, falling by more than 5%, and is currently trading at around that price.
Similarly, INOX had reached a high in the first week of August and had opened at ₹522 at the NSE today. The share price fell by almost 5% to reach around ₹490 at around 12 pm today. It is notable that graphs of both PVR and INOX share prices show exactly the same pattern.
It is being analysed that the poor opening of the movie Brahmastra is the reason for this fall in the share price of the multiplex chains. According to analysts, the movie will do a lifetime business in the range of ₹130-200 crore, which will not be enough to recover the cost of ₹410 crore. This will mean a massive loss for the makers of the movie.
Brahmastra is produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Namit Malhotra, and Director Ayan Mukerji, under the production companies Dharma Productions, Starlight Pictures, and Prime Focus in association with Star Studios, which is a subsidiary of Disney Star. Ranbir Kapoor and Marijke DeSouza are also producers of the movie. Fox STAR Studios is distributing it in India, while Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is handling international distribution.
Brahmastra has Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in lead roles and has big names like Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and even Shah Rukh Khan. While the makers had high expectations from the movie, they had to face the ongoing general negative outlook towards Bollywood movies among the public.
If Brahmastra fails this weekend, this will be a big loss for all these companies, along with the theatres, and investors in the companies. If the movie flops, it will join the recent big budget flops like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan and Samrat Prithviraj, Anurag Kashyap directed Dobaaraa, Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera from Yash Raj Films etc.
With very few mega hits in recent times, Bollywood filmmakers have been trying to recreate the success of Southern larger-than-life movies like RRR, KFG, Bahubali etc, and made Brahmastra, Shamshera etc movies on a similar scale, but they have failed to excite the audiences due to poor storylines.
With the massive budget of ₹410 crore, it will be difficult for the makers to recover the cost if the analysts are right that it will collect a maximum of ₹200 crore. If that happens, even revenue from OTT platforms will not cover the costs, because with recent flops, OTT platforms have stopped big money for Bollywood movies, and it is unlikely that any streaming company like Netflix or Amazon Prime will pay big money to acquire the movie.
PVR and INOX head for a merger
In related news, theatre chains PVR and INOX are considering a merger of both companies. PVR has called a meeting of its shareholders and creditors on October 11 to seek their approval for the scheme of merger with rival Inox Leisure. Earlier in June, both PVR and Inox Leisure had said they had received clearances for their merger from exchanges NSE and BSE.
