In a major security breach of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s cavalcade during his visit to Hyderabad, TRS leader Gosula Srinivas parked his car in front of Shah’s motorcade, following which the Union Minister’s security detail damaged the car.
security lapse during #AmitShah's visit. A car came in front of the cavalcade near Haritha plaza hotel. Comandos deployed in HM security damaged the car. The car was driven by a #TRS the leader identifies as Srinivas Yadav who was detained by police. #Hyderabadpic.twitter.com/aFhwpqIyzn
As per reports, Gosula Srinivas parked his car in front of Home Minister Amit Shah’s cavalcade in Hyderabad. Following this, the Home Minister’s security guard immediately told him to move the car from the place. After Srinivas did not move the car as instructed, the guards damaged his vehicle.
However, in his defence Srinivas alleged that his car suddenly stopped and by the time he could remove the car the police had vandalised it.
“The car stopped just like that. I was in tension. I will speak to them (Police officers). They vandalised the car. I will go, it’s unnecessary tension,” Srinivas said.
In the visuals that have gone viral on the internet, Srinivas is seen driving a red car whose rear glass had been completely damaged, presumably after he parked the car in front of Amit Shah’s motorcade.
Shah is in Hyderabad to celebrate the day when Hyderabad was liberated from the oppressive Nizam rule. TRS, the party that is in power in Telangana, is celebrating a 3-day long Telangana National Integration Day.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah during his speech for Hyderbad Liberation Day had applauded the role of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in ‘liberating Hyderabad’ from ‘Razakars’ of Nizams. KTR, on the other hand, hit back at Shah saying that the Union Home Minister has come to Telangana to divide and bully the people of the state and its government.
On Friday, September 16, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposed the bail plea of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut saying that Raut played a crucial role ‘behind the curtains’ in the Patra Chawl redevelopment-related money-laundering case.
In July, the Rajya Sabha member from Shiv Sena was detained in the case and is currently in judicial custody. He has appealed for bail in a special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases.
In its reply, the ED refuted Sanjay Raut’s allegations that the action against him was taken out of political vendetta or any sort of malice.
“Accused played a significant role in the offense through his proxy and confidant Pravin Raut (a co-accused), to avoid the money trail (Sanjay Raut) has been acting behind curtains,” the ED said.
“Sanjay Raut is a “highly prominent and powerful individual” who, if freed on bail, may tamper with evidence and has previously threatened witnesses,” the Enforcement Directorate added. On September 19, special judge M G Deshpande will hear the arguments from both sides again during the next hearing of the case.
Sanjay Raut’s role in the Patra Chawl Land Scam
The Patra Chawl Land Scam can be traced back to 2007. Patra Chawl, also known as Siddharth Nagar, is a 47-acre area in the North Mumbai district of Goregaon. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd (GACPL) signed an agreement in 2007 to build new residences for the chawl’s 672 tenants. Furthermore, GACPL has agreed to build 3,000 units for MHADA. The remaining chawl space was designated for sale to private developers. The original residents of the chawl are yet to receive the flats.
The investigating agency ED claimed that Pravin Raut, a close aide to Sanjay Raut, and other GACPL directors failed to meet the agreed-upon terms.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case against GACPL, alleging that the company’s unlawful operations total Rs 1,039.79 crores. The investigation revealed that Pravin Raut had received Rs 100 crores from HDIL. ED also stated that the funds were moved to various accounts held by his family members, business entities, and close associates. Some of the funds were also transferred to accounts related to Shiv Sena politician Sanjay Raut.
Moreover, the agency stated that Varsha Raut, Sanjay Raut’s wife, received Rs 83 lakhs directly or indirectly from Madhuri Raut, Pravin Raut’s wife, which equates to criminal gains. Varsha Raut allegedly used the money to purchase a Dadar apartment.
ED attached properties associated with Raut in Alibaug and Dadar during the probe. The agency asked Raut to answer questions about his relationship with Pravin Raut. Details concerning his wife’s business dealings were also included in the questioning. The ED apprehended Pravin Raut, one of the suspects in the case, in February 2022. He is also currently held in judicial custody.
The recent gangrape and murder of two minor Dalit sisters in the Uttar Pradesh district of Lakhimpur Kheri by six men including Junaid, Sohail, Arif, Hafiz, and two others has shocked the entire nation, but the utterly distorted and exclusive coverage of the incident by Western media exposes the intent of these outlets and their tenacity to push their agenda in a subtle manner.
It is pertinent to mention that out of the 6 accused persons, 5 belonged to the Muslim community. The 1 who was Hindu, Chottu (Gautam) had introduced the sisters to the other accused. The rape and murder were done by the other accused, who were introduced to the sisters by Chottu, who was a neighbour of the girls. Some reports also indicate that Chottu himself belonged to the Dalit caste.
The BBC, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Reuters have all reported on the case exclusively, making explicit reference to the “hierarchical and discriminatory Hindu caste system” and specifically omitting the names of the accused men, which were openly announced by authorities after they were promptly arrested within hours of the crime being reported. Here is how all of them reported the incident with their prejudiced opinions subtly injected in between the lines.
Report by Reuters mentions ‘ancient caste system’
Reuters reported the incident on September 15, stating the police arrested six persons “in connection with the alleged rape and murder of two girls from a lower-caste community.” It is pertinent to note here that the whole report makes no mention of the names of the accused which were made public by the police within hours after their prompt arrest following the incident.
Arrests were already made, according to the Reuters report. The UP Police had notified the public about the arrests during a news conference, and the identities of the accused were also revealed during that press conference. Therefore, Reuters was aware of the identities of the arrested accused, but they deliberately opted to exclude the names of the arrested accused in their article.
Report by Reuters.
The report also tries to push the propaganda of India as a deeply divided society based on classes and hierarchy. In the later parts of the report, it is mentioned that people and families in India “follow an ancient caste system.” The intent of Reuters for using such a prejudiced connotation for India can be contested by their resolve is fairly clear i.e., to defame India and capitalize on India’s perceived schisms.
Washington Post report mentions ‘India’s rigid caste hierarchy’
The Washington Post also mentioned that six people were arrested by the police but deliberately missed their names. The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested six persons named Junaid, Sohail, Arif, Hafiz, Karimuddin and Chhotu alias Gautam for sexually assaulting the girls and brutally murdering them.
WaPo further mentioned that the girl belonged to the Dalit community, “the lowest rung of India’s rigid caste hierarchy.” WaPo deliberately made a reference to untouchability, malpractice that persisted in India under colonial rule much before the independence.
Report by WaPo.
The Washington Post also made a reference to the social media outrage that followed after the incident regarding the punishment of the accused and instead portrayed it as an outrage against the state government, which has acted more than promptly and assured that the family of the victims face no single challenge in the future and justice is delivered to them on time. The state government has provided ex gratia financial assistance to the family through the district administration and has assured that the family is taken care of in future.
The Guardian report refers UP CM Yogi as a ‘hardline Hindu nationalist monk’ failing to protect women
The United Kingdom-based The Guardian has gone a step ahead in portraying India in a bad light. In addition to intentionally omitting the names of the accused, The Guardian referred to the girls as Dalits, “the lowest in India’s hierarchical and discriminatory Hindu caste system,” and labels them as “untouchables.”
Report by The Guardian.
Again, labelling the social media outrage against the culprits as against the government, The Guardian stated that the incident triggered protests and criticism of the ruling government of Uttar Pradesh, led by the “hardline Hindu nationalist monk Yogi Adityanath, who has been accused of not doing enough to protect women from rape and sexual violence, particularly those from poor and lower-caste backgrounds.”
This mention of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is well known for his policy of zero tolerance against any type of crime and special attention to incidents involving women as victims, exposes the prejudiced notion of India and the hatred for the Hindus and nationalist personalities.
BBC report blames ‘Hindu hierarchy’ for the rape and murder of two girls
As reported earlier by OpIndia, a BBC report stated that the girls were targeted as they were Dalits, “the bottom of a deeply discriminatory Hindu hierarchy.”
The BBC story has factual inaccuracies about the incident. The first is that the identities of the accused were not published by them, despite the fact that the names were openly revealed by the police in a news conference.
According to the BBC, “The girls, both below 18, belonged to the Dalit caste, at the bottom of a deeply discriminatory Hindu hierarchy.” By portraying Hindus as “highly discriminatory,” the BBC attempted to indicate that the incident occurred because of the prevalence of a “Hindu hierarchy,” rather than because of a crime committed by individuals who had already been apprehended by police.
The BBC report.
The BBC also sought to cast doubt on the rapid response taken by Uttar Pradesh police. The official British broadcaster mentioned the UP Police encounter in quotations, judging its credibility. Furthermore, the article states, “There is a deep suspicion of the police within the Dalit community,” insinuating that the police, who apprehended the perpetrators within hours of the incident, were not trustworthy.
OpIndia had already reported on the bias of foreign media and addressed many issues in detail. The conclusion was that these agencies bet on India’s perceived schisms, hunting for disagreements and politically charged features. Furthermore, this not only causes social unrest in the country but also tarnishes India’s worldwide image, compromising India’s diplomatic connections and business interests. The full report can be read here.
On Friday (September 16), Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin about the need to establish global peace and end the conflict in Ukraine. He made the remarks during a bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) in Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
“Today’s era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades,” the Indian Prime Minister told the Russian President.
PM Modi also thanked Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for facilitating the evacuation of Indian students from the war-torn areas. He added, “We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers.”
“Today’s era isn’t of war & I’ve spoken to you about it on the call. Today we’ll get the opportunity to talk about how can we progress on the path of peace. India-#Russia has stayed together for several decades”: PM Modi in bilateral meet with Russian President Putin#SCOSummitpic.twitter.com/Fsl6CtX6gO
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the concerns raised by the Indian Prime Minister. “I know about your position on the Ukraine conflict. I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible. But the other party, the leadership of Ukraine has claimed… that they refuse to engage in the negotiation process.”
“They said they want to achieve their objectives, as they say, on the battlefield militarily. We will keep you abreast of everything that is happening over there. We are actively engaging on international platforms. We are in discussion on international issues. Sometimes these issues are something that is not very good news…,” Putin emphasised.
He further emphasised that the trade between India and Russia is growing and that the supply of Russian fertilisers to India has grown more than 8 times. “I am hopeful that this is going to be of huge help of the agricultural sector of India,” he remarked.
The two-day summit was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping along with other leaders from a total of fifteen heads of state and the heads of ten international organizations.
US Media heaps praise on PM Modi for ‘rebuking’ Putin
On Friday, the US media heaped praise on the Indian Prime Minister for ‘bluntly and publicly’ challenging Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Postwrote, “The rare reproach showed the 69-year-old Russian strongman coming under extraordinary pressure from all sides. Internationally, he is facing calls to end the war not only from his traditional critics in the West but also from Asian partners whom he cannot paint as beholden to the U.S.”
It further added, “Russia and India for years have enjoyed close bilateral cooperation, but, as with China, Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has tested the relationship.”
Screengrab of the news report by The Washington Post
Similarly, The New York Timeslauded the Indian government for looking Putin in the eye. It wrote, “Mr Modi’s comments came a day after President Xi Jinping of China — in his first face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin since the invasion began — struck a far more subdued tone than the Russian president, and steered clear in his public comments of any mention of Ukraine.”
“All along, India has called for dialogue while avoiding challenging Russia as an aggressor, with its officials quietly insisting that their country is an intermediate power and needs to maintain ties and credibility with both Russia and the West in order to help make peace,” it concluded.
Screengrab of the news report by The New York Times
This is the first in-person SCO Summit since the Covid epidemic. The most recent SCO Heads of State Summit took place in Bishkek in June 2019.
The SCO currently has eight member countries (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), four observer states interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia), and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey).
In the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, Sharif, a vegetable vendor was beaten up by locals and handed over to the police after he was caught urinating on vegetables he was planning to sell in a Hindu majority area. Bareilly Police has registered a case against the accused. The video of the accused is going viral on social media.
The case is of the Izzatnagar area of Bareilly. A local, Durgesh Gupta, who lives in the city, was going out for some work in his car. Meanwhile, he noticed a 55-year-old elderly man pulling a vegetable cart on the colony’s roadside and urinating on the vegetables kept under the handcart. Durgesh recorded the vegetable seller as proof before confronting him, so he couldn’t deny it later.
एक इंसान कितनी हद तक गिर सकता है, इस वीडियो में देखा जा सकता है. सब्जी पर पेशाब करके बेचने जा रहा था मुस्लिम बुजुर्ग. अगर वीडियो न बनता तो यही सब्जियां घरों में पहुंचती.
मामला यूपी के बरेली का है. जनाब अब पुलिस की गिरफ्त में हैं. @bareillypolice
Durgesh Gupta showed the video of Sharif urinating on the vegetables to the local people, who then thrashed Sharif black and blue. Harsh Bhardwaj, District President of Hindu Jagran Manch said, “This person has been selling veggies here for numerous years. Given Sharif’s age and hard labour, the majority of the people in the neighbourhood used to buy vegetables from him. However, people’s trust has been shattered as a result of this deed.”
According to Bareilly SSP Styarth Anirudh Pankaj, the accused vegetable vendor is still being questioned. He will be brought before the court. He is seen in the video urinating on the vegetables kept at the bottom of the handcart. During interrogation, it was learned that the individual’s name is Sharif and that he is a resident of Partapur Chaudhary police station, Izzatnagar. The accused Sharif has been arrested after a case was filed against him for disturbing the communal atmosphere, hurting religious sentiments, and spreading infection.
The Uttar Pradesh Police is thinking about slamming the stringent sections of the National Security Act (NSA) against the six accused arrested for the rape and brutal murder of two Dalit sisters in Lakhimpur Kheri. The NSA permits the police to detain the accused for one year without any charge.
“We are mulling imposing the NSA on the six accused persons. Apart from this, DNA samples of the six accused persons and the two girls will also be sent for an examination,” Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Suman was quoted saying.
SP Suman also said that none of the accused was minor and that they needed to be punished under strict laws. Earlier, the accused were produced before a POCSO court, which sent them to 14-day judicial custody. The two Dalit minor girls aged 15 and 17 were brutally raped and murdered by the six accused this week sending shock waves across the state.
The incident happened on Wednesday when two accused named Sohail and Junaid dragged the two Dalit girls to the sugarcane field and brutally raped them. The girls were later murdered and hanged on a tree with their dupattas. Other accused reportedly helped the duo to hang the girls on the tree and rub off the evidence.
Taking cognizance of the crime, UP CM Yogi Adityanath directed financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh and a house and agricultural land to be given to the family members of the girl. He also ordered the state administration to punish all the accused within a month. Reports mention that BJP’s district president Sunil Singh and Nighasan’s BJP legislator Shashank Verma visited the girls’ families to express their solidarity.
Also, 11 members of Congress including MLAs Aradhna Mishra Mona, Virendra Chaudhary, former MP Zafar Ali Naqvi, and former MLA Satish Ajmani met the family members of the deceased girls. Meanwhile, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati, and Congress’ Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP government in the state over the incident. BJP leaders however slammed the parties for playing politics over the human tragedy.
The six arrested accused in the case have been identified as Junaid, Sohail, Arif, Hafiz, Karimuddin and Chhotu (Gautam). They have been charged under the relevant sections of IPC and now the investigating police is thinking to invoke National Security Act in the case.
A trustee of a temple in Sola, a 69-year-old temple trustee from Ahmedabad’s Memnagar neighbourhood, filed a complaint on Wednesday against three unidentified Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists for reportedly threatening him over posting the party’s poster on a wall in front of the temple. Diparam Prajapati, a resident of Memnagar’s Chandralok society near Subhash Chowk filed the complaint with the police.
In the complaint, Diparam Prajapati stated that since 1992, he has served as the chairman of the Ramapeer temple trust in Sola. On September 4, Prajapati observed some people sticking AAP posters on a wall in front of the revered site as he was seated inside the temple. A temple security guard instructed them not to put up posters in front of the temple.
They began fighting with the security personnel. Prajapati also approached them and advised them not to paste the posters. Following that, those men left. According to Prajapati’s FIR, when he returned to the temple office at approximately 5.30 PM on September 4, three unidentified men stormed in. Those individuals identified themselves as AAP members and began threatening Prajapati for refusing to allow them to paste the posters.
In the FIR, Prajapati stated, “They threatened me with dire consequences and said that if their government comes to the power, they would teach me a lesson.” Prajapati stated that he could not approach the police sooner since he was attending a religious function at the temple. A criminal trespassing, intimidation, abusive language, and abetment case has been filed by Sola police and the investigation to identify the accused has started.
It is noteworthy that on Tuesday (September 13), supporters of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party attacked a worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Yuva Morcha with a knife. The incident happened in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city’s Gomtipur suburb.
The victim was identified as Pavan Tomar. While speaking to Opindia, BJP Yuva Morcha (Karnavati Mahanagar) President Vijay Desai said, “Some AAP workers came to the office of Pavan in Gomtipur. Following a heated argument, one of them stabbed him with a knife.”
The same AAP men, according to Vinay, had previously attempted to rag Pavan in his neighbourhood. At present, Pawan is receiving medical care at the Shardaben General Hospital in Saraspur, Ahmedabad.
Days after Tamil Nadu Waqf Board claimed ownership of 7 Hindu-majority villages and a 1500-year-old temple in Tiruchirappalli, it has come to light that the Congress-led-UPA government gifted 123 government properties in Lutyens’ Delhi to Waqf in 2014.
As per a news report by Times Now, the decision was taken by the Cabinet and conveyed through a secret note, just days prior to the 2014 General election. The properties are located in prime locations such as Connaught Place, Ashoka Road, Mathura Road and other VVIP enclaves.
Times Now reported that it took just a phone call to identify the 123 government properties in favour of the Delhi Waqf Board. The news channel also shared the secret note, which is dated March 5, 2014, and signed by Additional Secretary JP Prakash.
#WaqfLandSecretNote#EXCLUSIVE | Days before the 2014 elections, the UPA govt ‘gifts’ 123 prime properties in Delhi to Waqf.
Addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, the note read, “Denotification of 123 properties in Delhi under the control of Land & Development Office (LNDO) & Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allowing the title to revert to Delhi Waqf Board be communicated to the Ministry pending formal issuance of minutes.”
According to Times Now, a supplementary note was written by the Delhi Waqf Board on February 27, 2014, to the Government of India, staking its claim on the 123 prime properties in the National Capital. Interestingly, the ‘secret note’ was issued by the UPA Cabinet within a week of receiving the proposal.
The news channel also unearthed a notice by the Union Home Ministry which stated, “The Central government is pleased to withdraw from the below-mentioned Waqf properties under the control of LNDO & DDA, subject to the following conditions.”
The Congress-led-UPA government conceded that the 123 properties belonged to the Delhi Waqf Board and decided to ‘withdraw’ its claim on them, after receiving a note from the Board. it must be mentioned that the said properties were inherited from the British government and their status remained unchanged till March 5, 2014.
NDA government took cognisance of the matter in 2015
As early as February 2015, the BJP-led-NDA government vowed to set up an inquiry into the decision by its predecessor to gift government properties to the Delhi Waqf Board. The development came after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) moved the Delhi High Court against the decision.
The Hindu organisation had then argued that the prized properties could not be released and identified under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act. While speaking about the matter, then Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “I have received a representation against Salman Khurshid… On the eve of his demitting office last year, he was instrumental in the transfer of these properties, keeping vote bank politics in mind.”
According to a senior official at the Ministry, the de-notification process was done in haste (one day prior to the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct). Reportedly, 61 of the 123 properties were owned by LNDO while the remaining 62 properties were owned by DDA.
Delhi Waqf Board defended its decision
The Delhi Waqf Board was granted the power to carry out renovation and construction on the properties, following the transfer of ownership by the UPA. In its defence, nodal officer Alam Farooqui alleged that the 123 properties were built on masjids, dargahs and graveyards.
He claimed that the reversal of the UPA decision would impede the generation of revenue and the development of the Muslim community. “Revenue from wakf properties is used for the welfare of the community,” Farooqui said.
He further added, “Only a handful is vacant land and most of these have been encroached upon. Ownership rights would have allowed us to remove the encroachments.”
Inquiry Committee failed to resolve the issue
An Inquiry Committee, comprising of a retired Delhi Higher Judicial Service official named JR Aryan, was set up by the BJP government in May 2016. It was tasked to submit the report within a period of 6 months.
In June 2017, it was reported that the Committee recommended that the final call on the fate of the 123 properties must be taken by the Delhi Waqf Commissioner. One official informed that the JR Aryan Committee failed to examine the core issue of the de-notification i.e. whether the properties actually belonged to the Waqf.
This was despite the fact that it was tasked to seek the views of all stakeholders. Even though it took an extension of additional 6 months, the Inquiry Committee failed to come up with a concrete solution and passed the buck on to the Waqf Board Commissioner.
Screengrab of the news report by The Hindustan Times
It suggested that the DDA and LNDA take up the matter with the Commissioner for a solution. Interestingly, the power to appoint the Delhi Waqf Board Commissioner rests with the Delhi government (which is run by the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Aam Aadmi Party).
A source had told The Hindustan Times, “Had the panel taken a call on the ownership of properties and not left it to the waqf commissioner, the NDA government could have struck down the UPA’s decision.”
On Saturday, a wall built near the temple in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand was demolished by the local administration. Hundreds of members of the Hindu organization gathered at the location till 1 AM, according to a report by Zee News.
Due to the growing protest, top police authorities were forced to send an additional force to the scene to maintain the law and order. This incident took place near SK Mines in the Dariba police station area, where a wall built near a temple was demolished.
Locals told the media that when they opposed the demolition of the wall near the temple, a protestor was detained. However, after the protest, he was released. According to the Zee News report, Nathdwara deputy Chagan Purohit said that some locals pushed the wall to build their shops. This wall was then demolished by the local administration with a bulldozer.
No one was detained, according to Nathdwara Deputy Chhagan Purohit. Although the situation is now quiet, an additional batch of police officers have been deployed on the spot for security reasons.
Several recent ground reports by OpIndia have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarsas is rapidly increasing in the area. From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the thirteenth report of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.
In the previous report, we looked in greater detail into the drastically rising number of mosques and places of worship springing up along the road from Balrampur district headquarters to Nepal’s Jarwa border. We emphasised how the entire 50-kilometre area from UP’s Balrampur district headquarters to Nepal’s Jarwa border is plagued with several mosques, mazars, and madarsas. After touring the Tulsipur market region, which borders the Balrampur district headquarters, our team chose to travel to the Barhni border, which is one of Nepal’s busiest border areas. This path is also approximately 60 kilometres long.
Mazars and madarsas on the highway
We came to an Islamic site of worship as we drove from Tulsipur market to the Barhni border. The shrine was painted green, and there was complete silence. This shrine had a minaret and a pucca structure built around it. It was only around 50 metres away from the highway.
Mosque on highway near the Barhni border
We must have gone about half a kilometre from this mazar before we spotted a madarsa signage on the left side of the road. ‘Madarsa Arabiya Ahle Sunnat Qadriya’ was inscribed on the board. The madarsa in Purushottampur, a village in the Kapilvastu District of the Lumbini Zone on the Indo-Nepal border, was recognised at the elementary level, according to the signboard. Maulana Nasruddin Qadri has been operating this madarsa since 2001.
Madarsa Arabiya Ahle Sunnat Qadriya in Nepal’s Purushottampur village
After moving no more than two kilometres from this madarsa, we noticed a mosque with one minaret built in the heart of the market. There was a row of shops outside the mosque. Here one must recall, that in one of our previous reports in this series, we highlighted how Maulana Barkatullah Khan had revealed to us that Saudi Arabia has provided funding for almost all of the mosques that have been built over the years along the Indo-Nepal border. The mosques with two minarets were built with funds from Indian Muslims, he explained, whereas the mosque with just one minaret was funded by Saudi Arabia.
Mosque with one minaret
We passed another madarsa on our left as we drove towards Badni on the main highway. The name of this madrasa is ‘Darul Uloom Habiba Faizan Tajjushariya.’ his madrasa is built at a place named Matehna.
Madarsa in Matehna
On the main highway after Matehna, there is Kewalpur market. We came across a dargah built right next to the road. A small gathering was also visible at the dargah. Something was inscribed in Arabic on the entry gate of the dargah.
After travelling a maximum of 100 metres from this mazar, a mosque appeared at Kewalpur. It was situated about 200 metres from the road. This mosque featured two minarets.
Mosque with two minarets
After travelling no more than 100 metres from the mosque, we spotted the gate of a madarsa. The gate was on the main road that led to the connecting road. The name ‘Madarsa Darul Uloom Sadyehq Naimiyan’ was inscribed on the board. This village was called Rajabagh, and it was located near the Gainsari border.
We hardly even walked one kilometre when we saw another madarsa near the main road. This madarsa was named ‘Madarsa Khadijatul Kublial Banat.’ This madarsa had a white-painted boundary and was enclosed on all sides.
Madarsa Khadijatul Kublial Banat
We’d just passed the previous madarsa when we noticed another. This was located on the road leading to Fatima Degree College in the Gainsri neighbourhood. Like the aforementioned madarsa, this too was situated on the side of the road. It was named ‘Madrasa Maculiya Zohra.’ Some people dressed as clerics were spotted teaching while numerous children were seen studying inside the madarsa. A government tap was installed right in front of it.
Madrasa Maculiya Zohra
As we drove through the Gainsri neighbourhood toward the Pachpedwa market, we noticed a big mosque. The mosque was located alongside the road in the heart of the main market. Another little road connected to the Nepal border from here, and the mountains beyond the border of Nepal are clearly visible from this market. This mosque had two minarets as well.
SK Mishra, a local resident, told us that there are more shrines or madarsas situated within the villages than can be seen from the road. Mishra described the Pachpedwa mosque as the most important centre of worship in the neighbourhood.
Pachpedwa mosque
As we passed through the Pachpedwa market on our way to the Badhni border, we noticed another mosque at the Judikuiyan intersection. We had to only travel one kilometre to reach this point. This mosque was plastered white and like all others was also situated merely a short distance from the main road. There was a puncture shop in front of the mosque.
Puncture shop in front of the mosque
Islamic worship places present in every single village
We passed another masjid as we travelled barely 2 kilometres from the Judikuiyan roundabout. This mosque had two minarets and was located in the village town of Shankarpur Kalan in UP’s Balrampur district.
Shankarpur Kalan Masjid
We must have travelled no more than one kilometre from Shankarpur Kalan village when we came upon another mosque in Vishnupur village. This mosque was on our left. The mosque was located alongside a road close to a railway line. This railway line connects Delhi to the Nepalese border station at Barhni. This mosque also had two minarets.
Two minaret mosque found in Vishnupur village
All of the previous markets and villages we visited were very close to the Nepali border. The Nepalese border is only 10 kilometres away from all of these locations. After leaving Vishnupur, we reached Narayanpur village. In this village also we saw a mosque beside the road. The most notable and distinctive feature of Narayanpur village was the presence of mosques with single and double minarets built side by side.
Mosques in Narayanpur with single and double minarets built side by side
We reached the Laxminagar police checkpoint after travelling a little further away from Narayanpur, which is under the Pachpedwa police station in the Balrampur district. Another madarsa is being built on the opposite side of this police picket line. This madarsa is known as ‘Fazal Rahmania.’
Fazal Rahmania Madarsa
We must have driven for not more than 2 to 3 minutes from this madarsa before seeing a large mosque on the left side. This mosque had a minaret, which was surrounded by Islamic flags.
Islamic flags atop of mosque in Narayanpur
Mazars crop up under recently constructed overbridges and bridges
During our trip, we saw something peculiar. On the roadway from Balrampur to Barhni, we spotted multiple Mazars and Karbalas positioned beneath recently constructed overbridges. The fresh paint and plaster on it spoke to the fact that these were newly built. However, no one in the neighbourhood was willing to talk about it.
On the route heading to Barhni, there is an overbridge just in front of the village of Bishunpur Tantanwa. When we took a view of the surrounding from this overbridge, we noticed a green-coloured prayer hall in the village approximately a half kilometre away.
Prayer hall built next to the overbridge
When we took a closer look around, we noticed another shrine not far from the first. Both places of worship were nearly the same distance from the overbridge on the highway. The second mosque we saw had two minarets. Local people of Bishunpur Tantanwa hamlet also told us that a madarsa is all operating in that village.
Mosque in Bishunpur Tantanwa village
As we approached the Pachpedwa police station, we noticed a new mazar by a bridge. This mazar was located near Banjariya village. The distance between the tomb and the road bridge was hardly 100 metres. There was complete silence and no sign of habitation. Several Islamic flags were placed atop the mazar and a large platform was constructed around the tomb. There was also a pond beside the tomb. We met Arbaaz, a native of Kohandora village, but he couldn’t tell us anything about the mazar’s history.
Mazar near the bridge
As soon as we crossed Gainsari Bazar, we saw an overbridge on the highway. A recently built mazar could be seen just below the overbridge. Some called it Karbala. This mazar was almost as far away from the overbridge as Pachpedwa’s tomb was from the road bridge. This mazar’s colour and size were comparable to the previous mazar’s. Islamic flags were also flying over it. A river ran alongside this mazar.
Mazar constructed below Gainsari overbridge
On the highway between Tulsipur and Gainsari Bazar, we observed another mazar erected beneath another overbridge. Gainsari is around 5 kilometres away. This tomb was similar in colour to the other ones. A number of green flags were placed around the tomb. The locals were unable to provide us with much information regarding this mazar.
This process of discovering mazars and mosques proceeded all the way to the border. Balrampur district ended at the Pachpedwa boundary, and Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar district began. What we noticed in this district will be detailed in the following report.
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 incidents of love jihad in Nepal, as well as its Delhi connection and smuggling, and various other notorious activities that are going on along India’s border with Nepal.
