On Thursday, September 8, the Bareilly police in Uttar Pradesh arrested one Samad Ahmed for threatening to bomb a mosque and kill an imam. Ahmed was the accused who had on September 7 pasted a poster with a threat note written on it on the wall of the Shahi Jama mosque in the qila area of Bareilly. The letter threatened to bomb Jama Masjid and kill Imam Khurshid Alam.
Bareilly police took to its official Twitter handle to inform about the arrest.
#bareillypoliceinnews ➡️थाना किला क्षेत्रान्तर्गत जामा मस्जिद की दीवार पर धमकी भरा पर्चा चिपका पाये जाने के सम्बन्ध में थाना किला पुलिस द्वारा त्वरित कार्यवाही करते हुए अभियोग पंजीकृत कर अभियुक्त मो0 समद को गिरफ्तार कर विधिक कार्यवाही की गयी। #UPPInNews#UPPolicepic.twitter.com/kkWveIdxfW
According to the police, the accused confessed that he was agitated as the Imam of the mosque had barred him from playing DJ music to celebrate Eid-Milad-un-Nabi in October, calling the practice “anti-Islamic”. The accused further added that he wanted to teach the Imam a lesson. The police further confirmed that Ahmed had spent Rs 1.10 lakh to book the DJ and was furious when he was not allowed to play it.
Meanwhile, speaking about the case, Circle officer Ashish Kumar Pratap said the accused was booked under relevant sections of the IPC and has been sent to jail.
On Wednesday, Khurshid Alam, Imam of the Jama Masjid, approached the police and informed them about the threat letter in which it was written that the mosque would be blown up and that the cleric would be gunned down on Friday if he was not removed from his post.
The threat note in the poster said, “A bomb will be placed in the mosque on any Friday. This Imam should be removed, stay away from the mosque, Khurshid Alam should be removed, otherwise, he will be shot.”
The matter had been taken seriously by the Masjid Intezamia Committee. In this regard, the manager of the mosque, Dr Abdul Nafees Khan, had given a complaint to the qila police station in charge and demanded action.
The police officials tightened security arrangements around Jama Masjid and soon a police force was also deployed there. The search operation was conducted by the dog squad team in the presence of CO (second) Ashish Pratap Singh.
On 9th September 2022, the Supreme Court decided that it will hear petitions challenging the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The apex court has also said that a bench of three judges will be formed to hear all the cases and interventions in this regard. The Supreme Court has also given a time of 2 weeks to the central government to file a reply in this case.
Order: considering issue involved. the matter will be heard by 3 judges of this court and this matter will be listed on October 11, 2022. in the meantime all parties are directed to complete pleadings in the matter and can be considered on next day. #placesofworshipact
A three-judge bench headed by Chief justice Uday Umesh Lalit and comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha said that the matter will be listed for hearing on 11th October. The bench ordered all the parties to complete all the pleadings by then. Apart from petitions challenging the act, the bench will also hear counter-petitions filed against the petition, including a plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind to intervene in the hearing.
The Places of Worship Act 1991 mandates character of all religious places of worship be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947. According to this law, no suit or proceeding shall lie in courts of law with respect to the character of such places. Essentially this law means that the nature of a religious place can’t be changed, and therefore mosques which were built after demolishing temples can’t be reclaimed because they were already mosques in 1947.
Hearing various petitions filed by Vishnu Shankar Jain, Ashwini Upadhyay, Subramanian Swamy, and others against different provisions of this act together, the Chief Justice of India U U Lalit said that a 3-judges bench will hear the petition challenging this act on October 11. Ashwini Upadhyay in his petition said that the Places of Worship Act, 1991 creates an arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date of August 15, 1947 for maintaining the character of the places of worship or pilgrimage against encroachment done by “fundamentalist-barbaric invaders and law-breakers”.
During the hearing, Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain said, “Sections 3 and 4 of the places of worship act are challenged. My submission is that right to judicial review can not be taken away. I am relying on the Minerva mills’ judgment.” Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi appeared for the Union of India while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that no reply has been filed on behalf of the Union of India. SG Mehta told that it will be filed soon.
Jamiat Ulema E Hind submitted that their intervention application should be allowed in the Ashwini Upadhyay case. After this, the Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan said, “There are close to 15 intervention applications. We were asked to implead ourselves in the pending case.”
Advocate J Sai Deepak also appeared in this case representing the Royal Family of Kashi. He said, “We are here for Princess Rachna Kumari. This is with reference to the Razia mosque. I say that the act is violative of Article 14. We say that one place of worship cannot have greater rights than another religious place.”
In his order, CJI said, “We issue notice in all petitions and intervention applications. It will be listed before a three-judge bench. As per the Bahari foundation judgment, we can do let it be heard before a 5-judge bench, but let the bench be decided on the judicial side. We cannot stop the other courts from interpreting differently.”
The CJI further said in his order, “A bench of 2 judges of this court issued a notice in this case. thereafter this case has come up on a few occasions however no reply by the center yet. The Centre granted 2 weeks time to file a reply, rejoinder a week thereafter. Hosts of applications seek impleadment, considering nature of controversy we allow these applications and allow them to intervene in this matter.”
The order further said, “Intervenors to file written submissions which should not exceed 5 pages. We also issue a notice in the plea by Vishnu Shankar Jain and the one by Ejaz Maqbool considering the issue involved. The matter will be heard by 3 judges of this court and this matter will be listed on October 11, 2022. In the meantime, all parties are directed to complete pleadings in the matter and can be considered on the next day.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected to hear a petition seeing directions for the arrest of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for purportedly controversial comments on the Islamic prophet. A bench of Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, Justice Ravindra Bhat, and Justice P.S. Narasimha heard the case.
The court ruled that while it appears to be extremely basic and benign, it has far-reaching repercussions. “This may sound simple and innocuous but it has far reaching consequences. The court should circumspect while issuing directions. Dismissed as withdrawn,” the court directed.
Supreme Court refuses to entertain a plea seeking directions to the authorities to act and arrest former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her alleged hate statement against Prophet Mohammad and hurting sentiments of the Muslim community.
These remarks by the court follow after the petitioner’s attorney emphasised the alternative prayer, which asks for the implementation of the Tehseen Ponnawalla judgment’s guidelines regarding the control of mob lynching, when the bench indicated its unwillingness to consider the plea under Article 32.
Through Advocate Chand Qureshi, Advocate Abu Sohel filed a petition requesting guidelines for an “independent, credible, and impartial investigation” into the incident. But after the apex court refused to hear it, the petition was withdrawn by the petitioners and the matter was dismissed by the court. The petition was mentioned before a vacation bench for urgent listing on the first week of July, but the bench had refused an urgent hearing and had asked to mention it before the registrar.
All FIRs against Nupur Sharma that had been filed in various areas of the nation due to her comments on the Islamic prophet had already been transferred to Delhi Police by the Supreme Court.
Islamists throughout the globe, not only in India, were outraged by the alleged “blasphemous” comment made regarding Prophet Muhammad by former BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma on May 26 this year. Her move to just repeat a passage from the Islamic Hadith during a TV broadcast proved disastrous for her political career, mental health and the life of her family members including herself after AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair dog-whistled about her remarks to Islamists.
This triggered a chain of incidents that resulted in a steady onslaught of threats against Sharma and assaults on anyone who ventured to come out in her favour, many of which turned out to be unbelievably cruel.
On Thursday, four officers of the Pirbahar Police station in Patna were admitted to the hospital after they were brutally beaten by people of the Islamist community for allegedly arresting criminal suspects. A violent mob had first attacked a police party at a market, and then went to the police station and began pelting stones at the officers. They further assaulted the officers who moved out of the police station to save their lives.
According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on Thursday evening when Patna Police got a tip that a few people armed with weapons had gathered in the Patna main market around the Shia Masjid. Taking immediate action, officers Amir Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Pandey conducted a raid on the spot, but they didn’t find anything. While returning to the police station, they saw that four men started to run after seeing the police. The police team caught them and tried to bring them to the Police Station for questioning. But when the news spread that police have caught the four persons and are taking them to the police station, a mob of Islamists attacked the Police officers and brutally assaulted the cops with bamboo sticks and stones.
राजधानी पटना में गुरुवार की रात असामाजिक तत्वों ने पुलिस को दौड़ा दौड़ा कर पीटा | pic.twitter.com/P9IpfFu7qr
The incident was confirmed by Station head officer Sabih Ul Haq who said that the person who gave tip to the police about the men with weapons was incorrect. “Officers had just gone to raid the location and check but they found nothing wrong. Later when they were returning, four boys near the Shia Masjid began running after seeing the officers. They were brought to the Police station at around 10 pm for inquiry”, he added.
On the other hand, the witnesses of the incident claimed that the Police were unnecessarily beating a shopkeeper in the Patna market. “The Police held the collar of one of the shopkeepers who are into cosmetic products business. People around protested against the Police act and then launched an attack on them with bamboo sticks and stones”, the witness was quoted.
The witness added that enraged people then followed the Police officers to the Pirbahar Police Station, surrounded the police station, and pelted stones at the other officers too. According to the reports, four police officers have been severely injured and are admitted to the PMCH hospital. One of the officers identified as Subhash is undergoing treatment in the ICU.
Locals however mentioned that the person who gave tip to the Police usually provides wrong information to extort money from the traders. The person is identified as Sajjad who maintains good contact with the Police at the Pirbahar Police Station. “Sajjad’s friend works as a jeep driver at the Police station. He takes advantage of his friend and provides wrong information to the Police to extort money from the Patna Market traders”, the locals said.
Mahaviri Akhara procession in Siwan attacked by Islamists
In another similar incident, Islamists attacked the Mahaviri Akhara procession in Siwan, Bihar and pelted stones at the participants on Thursday. Reportedly, when the procession reached the Masjid area, there were some arguments between Hindus in the procession and Muslims in the area. This argument turned violent and some people climbed to the roof of the mosque and started pelting stones and bricks at the Hindus. Soon, people from houses in the area also started to attack the Hindus in the procession with stones and bricks from their terraces.
They also pelted stones at the Police who were deployed for the protection of the Mahaviri Akhara procession. Around 12 people from both the communities and also a Police sub-inspector, 2 ASIs and 6 other officers have been reported injured. Some shops in the area were also torched during the violence.
The video of the incident went viral over social media in which the Islamists could be seen pelting stones at the procession from the top floor of the Masjid. Islamist women also joined the attack and pelted stones at the participants of the procession. The Police have arrested around 10 people in the case and are interrogating the Islamists. A heavy police force has been deployed on the spot after the incident and the Police are investigating the case.
A video has gone viral on the internet, showing some girls in a mosque in Pakistan being trained to behead people. According to reports, the footage is from the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan, where teen girls are being taught to behead those who disrespect the Islamic prophet. In the video, an instructor is seen showing young burqa-clad girls how to grip and use a sword to behead people.
The girls are being taught in a large assembly that anyone who ‘insults’ the Prophet will face just one punishment: decapitation. Pink hijab-clad girls can be heard shouting slogans and praising the act of murder.
Upon searching, it was found that the video was first uploaded and went viral on social media in December 2021. The video was shared on Twitter by Pakistani Journalist Gul Bukhari. Sharing the video, she wrote, “Students of Red Mosque Islamabad practising how to behead a person accused of blasphemy. Pakistan’s “kamyab jawan” (successful youth) project proceeding rather well.”
Students of Red Mosque Islamabad practising how to behead a person accused of blasphemy. Pakistan’s “kamyab jawan” (successful youth) project proceeding rather well. pic.twitter.com/fgZXXgL9bO
It is worth noting that Islam considers blasphemy against the Prophet to be a severe crime, and the Quran condemns it in 11 places: 2:88, 4:15, 5:17, 5:64, 5:68, 5:73, 6:19, 9:74, 11:19, 14:28, 39:8. During the conquest of Makkah, the Islamic Prophet declared wide amnesty to everybody except those who committed blasphemous deeds or made disrespectful remarks.
According to the classic Hadith volumes Nasai and Sunan Abu Daud, a slave Jew woman was slain by her master for her persistent blasphemy against the Prophet, and when the issue was brought to the Prophet’s attention, he proclaimed no punishment to the master.
According to Mufti Obaidullah Qasmi of Deoband, Islamic legal scriptures have also decreed the death penalty for blasphemy, which is greed by all Islamic scholars of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah.
While the world debates tolerance, free expression, and liberal viewpoints, fundamental Islamists have gone in the opposite way, with a spike in violence against suspected blasphemy, which includes insults to Islam and the Islamic Prophet.
In fact, there is an existing trend of making catchy songs with incendiary lyrics, explaining how it is glorious to kill for the cause of Islam. OpIndia had analysed some such songs, widely popular among the Islamic masses, in a detailed report here. The songs and the videos made on them have millions of views on YouTube.
Following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday (September 8), the former Prince of Wales ascended to the British throne.
King Charles III, now 73, has been the longest-serving heir apparent to become the British monarch. The official proclamation, as the new King, by the Accession Council is scheduled to take place on Saturday (September 10) at St James’s Palace in London.
Britain’s new monarch will be known as King Charles III.
The former Prince of Wales has been quite unpopular among the British public, with almost half of them wanting him to step aside and make way for Prince William. Here is a list of few controversies that King Charles III courted over the years.
Cashgate
In June this year, The Sunday Times reported that King Charles III accepted 3 million euros from Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, as donations to his charitable fund between 2011 and 2015.
In one instance, the new British monarch reportedly accepted a suitcase full of cash, totalling 1 million euros. Later, it also came to light that he accepted money(about $1.2 million) from two half-brothers of the slain terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Although the payments were legal, the King was criticised for being indifferent to Qatar’s grave violation of human rights. His office, Clarence House, defended the decision and claimed that the monarch did not personally solicit the funds.
Screengrab of the news report by The Sunday Times
“Charitable donations received from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim were passed immediately to one of the Prince’s charities who carried out the appropriate governance and have assured us that all the correct processes were followed,” it said in a statement.
King Charles III’s charity told The Sunday Times that cash payment was the choice of the donor and that the funds were accepted by the trustees after ‘due diligence.’ Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund’s (PWCF) Chairman, Sir Ian Cheshire, emphasised, “Any attempt to characterise it otherwise is false.”
Infidelity
During the infamous “Panorama” interview, telecast in 1995 and watched by more than 20 million viewers in Britain, Princess Diana had revealed personal details about her marriage to the erstwhile Prince of Wales.
It was the first time Diana had commented publicly about her doomed marriage. Diana had said, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” – a reference to Charles rekindling his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, now his wife.
It had become a talking point across the world. Diana and King Charles III formally divorced in 1996. She died at the age of 36 in a high-speed car crash while being chased by the media in Paris. The fallout with Diana and the subsequent revelation about his infidelity had dented the public image of the British Monarchy.
Attempts to influence the British government
King Charles III, who has now ascended to the throne, had earlier been accused of interfering in the affairs of the British government. It must be mentioned that the monarchy in Britain is constitutional and that the royal family is expected to not influence political opinion in the country.
In 2015, it came to light that King Charles III personally lobbied with senior British politicians on an array of issues, ranging from the purchase of helicopters during the Iraq War to illegal fishing of Patagonian toothfish.
A total of 27 memos were released, which showed that the erstwhile Prince of Wales had access to confidential papers pertaining to the British government, which were not seen even by some elected Ministers. The private letters were called black spider memos due to the distinct handwriting of the new Monarch.
Promotion of Pseudo-Science
King Charles III also came under fire for advocating homoeopathy, which is considered an alternate form of medicine and pseudo-science. He has been accused of lobbying for National Health Service (NHS) funding for homoeopathy, an initiative that had drawn the ire of modern medical practitioners.
Ahh it occurs to me that not everyone knows what an absolute piece of shit Prince Charles has historically been regarding NHS funding for the dangerous, proven-ineffective bullshit that is homeopathy. Google ‘black spider memos’ and let that inform your politics better.
In a Twitter thread in 2020, writer Tracy King claimed, “Every penny spent on alt med is a penny not spent on actual medicine. Fortunately for us, he failed, although he will try again when he’s king.”
She further added, “He and the government also tried VERY hard to suppress evidence of his interference in the NHS. He’s welcome to sit in isolation with his homoeopathy and keep the hell away from our NHS.”
He and the governement also tried VERY hard to suppress evidence of his interference in the NHS. He’s welcome to sit in isolation with his homeopathy and keep the hell away from our NHS.
“He has tried to use his unearned power to defund lifesaving medicine and research in favour of his pet alt med. That is extremely serious and essential political perspective regardless of your personal feelings about monarchy,” she had alleged.
So yes. It sticks in the craw. He has tried to use his unearned power to defund lifesaving medicine and research in favour of his pet alt med. That is extremely serious and essential political perspective regardless of your personal feelings about monarchy.
When the Paradise Papers (a follow-up of the Panama papers) were released in 2017 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the name of King Charles III cropped up among those who stashed their wealth in safe tax havens.
He was accused of benefitting from his advocacy against climate change. Media reports suggested that King Charles III was engaged in a conflict of interest and bought shares worth $113,500 in ‘Sustainable Forestry Management’, a Bermuda-based company.
Prince Charles is embroiled in controversy after the Paradise Papers showed his Duchy of Cornwall estate invested in an offshore tax haven.
The Monarchy’s Office however refuted allegations about the ‘secret investment’ in the offshore company, which lobbied with global politicians to allow the trading of carbon credits from rainforests.
Amidst his climate change advocacy, King Charles III’s almost tripled its investments in Sustainable Forestry Management in 1 year.
The ‘Golden’ Handshake
In April 2005, the former Prince of Wales committed a diplomatic gaffe and shook hands with the Zimbabwean President and dictator, Rober Mugabe. The incident took place during the funeral of Pope John Paul II and a day before his marriage to Camilla.
At that point in time, Mugabe was banned by the European Union (EU) for rigging parliamentary polls. He was on a travel ban but he defied all rules to attend the Pope’s funeral in the Vatican. King Charles III’s gesture was dubbed as ‘stupid’ and ‘not very sensible.’
King Charles III with the dictator Robert Mugabe
“The Prince of Wales was caught by surprise and wasn’t in a position to avoid shaking Mr Mugabe’s hand,” the former Prince of Wales’ spokesperson had defended. Clarence House also claimed that he supported Zimbabwe Defence and Aid Fund, which worked against Mugabe’s regime.
King Charles III’s life has been mired in controversies. Only time will tell what impact his ascent to the throne will have on British politics, especially at a time when the public charm of the monarchy is fading and voices are raising to abolish it.
Netflix has been threatened with legal action by a group of 6 Gulf Arab states if it continues to stream content that contradicts Islam, according to Saudi official media. While the statement did not mention the specific shows that were anti-Islamic in nature, there are speculations that this statement was referring to the depiction of LGBT content in various shows.
The Saudi media regulator and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), based in Riyadh, released a joint statement that did not specify which of the shows are in violation of ‘Islamic values’, instead it referred to content in general that “contradicts Islamic and societal principles.” While the consortium did not specify the content, the platform was asked to remove content aimed at minors and several shows ‘promoting’ homosexuality by the Saudi state media regulator.
The action follows a debate in the Gulf on social media and television concerning content for youngsters that was claimed to promote homosexuality. “The required legal steps will be taken if infringing content is continued to be broadcast,” the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said in a statement on Tuesday.
Netflix was described as the “official sponsor of homosexuality” by a “behavioural consultant” on Saudi state television. The assertion was shown with a blurred-out clip of two female Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous characters kissing. Saudi television has also hinted at a permanent ban on Netflix.
The identical scene in the program sparked outrage in Hungary, which just passed legislation prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality.
The controversy around the ‘Lightyear’
Muslim-majority countries moved earlier this year to prohibit the release of the Pixar prequel Lightyear, which contained a lesbian subplot. Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE had also banned the Toy Story spin-off. In this example, the scene depicted Alisha, a lesbian space ranger, kissing her lover as she returned home from a mission
Countries that have censored LGBT+ content
After Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Eternals, and West Side Story were all banned in Saudi Arabia owing to LGBT+ content, it was alleged that Disney did not even submit Lightyear to censors.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian censorship agency LFP, which also banned Lightyear, previously prevented the distribution of the Elton John biography Rocketman and Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore due to LGBT storylines.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intervened over ‘satanic’ costumes on the popular entertainment show ‘The Masked Singer,’ and Netflix was forced to terminate its Turkish original ‘If Only’ in 2020 due to pressure from the Turkish government to remove a gay character.
Following the death of British Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 at the age of 96, various statements emerged, reinvigorating a long-debated claim that the monarch had ancestral links to Prophet Muhammad, the founding leader of Islam. After tracing her family tree back 43 generations, historians think the Queen is a descendant of Islam’s founder, as per some reports.
According to the claim, the British monarch is a great descendant of Prophet Muhammad. Her ancestors have been traced back for centuries, and there are doubts concerning Elizabeth’s probable ancestry from a Muslim princess named Zaida, as well as Zaida’s own origins and offspring.
The claim publicly appeared in 2018 when a Moroccan newspaper claimed to have traced the ancestry of Queen Elizabeth back to the Prophet. A March 2018 report in the Moroccan daily Al-Ousboue reiterated assertions made by Harold B Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke’s Peerage Partnership, claiming the queen is the Prophet’s 43rd direct descendant through Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah.
According to their study, Elizabeth II’s ancestors trace back to the 14th century Earl of Cambridge, via mediaeval Muslim Spain, and to Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter. Although some historians doubt the allegation, genealogy records from early-medieval Spain support it, and it has also been validated by Ali Gomaa, Egypt’s former grand mufti.
In 1986, Burke’s publishing director, Harold B Brooks-Baker, wrote to then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, requesting enhanced protection for the royal family after this. “The royal family’s direct descent from the prophet Mohammed cannot be relied upon to protect the royal family forever from Moslem terrorists,” Baker wrote to the then British Prime Minister.
He said, “It is little known by the British people that the blood of Mohammed flows in the veins of the queen. Recognizing the relationship would be a surprise to many. However, this is a fact that all Moslem religious leaders are proud of.”
Elizabeth’s lineage with Muhammad was first formally mentioned in Burke’s Peerage research. It was said that the Queen is descended from Zaida, a Muslim princess who escaped Seville in the eleventh century and later became a Christian. Zaida was the fourth wife of King Al-Mu’tamid ibn Abbad of Seville. He had a son named Sancho via her; in the eleventh century, a descendant of Sancho wed the Earl of Cambridge.
Image: Dailymail UK
Also, according to the Moroccan newspaper article authored by Abdel-Hamid Al-Awni, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abbad, the king of Seville in the 11th century, was a direct descendant of the Prophet through Fatimah. In 1023, Al-Qasim established his own dynasty, the Abbasids, and became king of Seville in al-Andalus. Zaida was one of his daughters.
The Muslim princess escaped to the court of Monarch Alfonso VI, the Spanish king of Leon, Castille, and Galicia, during an invasion of the Abbasid empire by the Almoravids. She adopted the Roman Catholic faith, changed her name to Isabella, and gave birth to Sancho, a boy who was the ancestor of Richard of Conisbrough, the third earl of Cambridge, whose descendant later was Edward IV, King of England, and the bloodline then runs through James V, the King of Scotts, and Mary, the Queen of Scotts whose son James later became the King of England. Sancho was the grandson of Alfonso VI of Castille.
It is notable here that though not officially confirmed, the claim, as per many reports, is not a random hoax, and can be regarded as ‘plausible’. Most of Europe’s royal families are related to each other and at one time, the Spanish royals were had marital and blood relations with Islamic royals, mostly as the Islamic caliphate of Umayyads had ruled over many parts of Spain.
A day after the Nepal Police started an investigation into the rape complaint filed against Nepali national Cricket team Captain Sandeep Lamichhane, the cricketer took to social media to call all the allegations against him baseless. He also said that he would return to his country and take a leave from the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
CPL is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament underway in the Caribbean. “I am innocent. I’ve decided to take a leave from CPL and go back to my country within a few days. I am ready to face all these baseless allegations. Hope the law acts equal to everyone”, he said in a Facebook post on September 8.
“I am innocent. I’ve decided to take a leave from CPL and go back to my country within a few days. I am ready to face all these baseless allegations,” says Nepali national Cricket team Captain Sandeep Lamichhane on a rape complaint against him https://t.co/RoEKqbceEXpic.twitter.com/fLByBxHU1d
This also comes a day after the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) suspended Lamichhane for being accused in the rape case filed by a 17-year-old girl. The girl in the complaint mentioned that the cricketer had raped her in a hotel room in Kathmandu. She said that Lamichhane took the girl to various places in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur on August 21 and raped her on the same day at the hotel.
Based on the complaint which has been filed at the Police Circle Gaushala, the Kathmandu Court has issued an arrest warrant against the cricketer. The Police said that they are investigating the matter and are attaining all the relevant evidence in the case including the CCTV footage of the hotel.
Lamichhane is at present playing in the Caribbean Premier League in West Indies with the Jamaica Tallawahs squad. However, his first international break came in 2018 when he became the first Nepalese cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals franchise. The Cricketer however on Friday declared that he would leave the CPL and return to his country.
England’s queen Elizabeth II breathed her last yesterday September 8. As soon as the news of the British monarch’s passing was shared, condolence messages poured in from all over the world. PM Narendra Modi shared 2 images in his condolence tweet, recalling the past instances of meeting the British queen.
I had memorable meetings with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during my UK visits in 2015 and 2018. I will never forget her warmth and kindness. During one of the meetings she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture. pic.twitter.com/3aACbxhLgC
In his tweet, PM Modi wrote, “I had memorable meetings with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during my UK visits in 2015 and 2018. I will never forget her warmth and kindness. During one of the meetings, she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture.”
The Daily Telegraph’s coverage of Elizabeth’s wedding
MK Gandhi’s ‘gift’ and why was it considered ‘inappropriate’
In an article published in The Telegraph, Pamela Hicks, the daughter of Lord Mountbatten, the last governor-general of India, had mentioned the ‘gift’ sent by MK Gandhi for Elizabeth’s wedding. She had written that her parents had met MK Gandhi before departing for London to attend the wedding, and MK Gandhi told them that he wishes to send something for the young Elizabeth, the British Princess at that time. However, Gandhi told that all his possessions are away at that moment and he does not know what to send.
It is notable here that Pamela Hicks was one of the 7 bridesmaids for the princess and a cousin of the groom, Prince Philip.
At this, Lord Mountbatten suggested to Gandhi that a piece of cloth from the yarn he has spun with his own hands would be as precious as the crown jewels. So Gandhi had sent a piece of cloth with the Mountbattens.
Queen Mary was confused and thought it was a ‘loincloth’ of Gandhi
When Elizabeth’s mother Queen Mary saw the piece of cloth sent by Gandhi, she was confused about what it was. In Pamela Hicks’ words, she thought it to be a loincloth of Gandhi, and stated that it was the most ‘indelicate’ gift. The piece of cloth was never used by the royal couple because they never understood its purpose, as per Pamela Hicks.
Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding
Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip on November 20, 1947, soon after India’s independence. The royal couple had received over 2500 gifts from all over the world, as per a report in the Free Press Journal. The gifts also included a vacuum cleaner, and a potato peeler, sent by unknown people. The New York Institute of Dress Designers had sent 25 dresses for the princess. 20 dresses were given away to other girls who were getting married on the same date.
In 2007, when Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated the diamond jubilee of their wedding day, the wedding gifts were displayed by the National Archive in London. The gifts from India included an ivory table by the Maharaja of Patiala and a piece of cloth sent by Gandhi. It was described as a hand-spun shawl and reportedly contained the motif ‘Jai Hind’ on it.
