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‘Rohingyas big burden on country’, says Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, seeks India’s help to send them back to Myanmar

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‘Rohingyas big burden on country’, says Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, seeks India’s help to send them back to Myanmar

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina described the Rohingya Muslims seeking sanctuary in her country as a “big burden,” and said India might play a significant role in dealing with the issue. She stated that her country is contacting the international community to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“For us, it’s a big burden. India is a vast country; you can accommodate, but you don’t have much. But in our country. We have 1.1 million Rohingya. We are consulting with the international community and also our neighbouring countries. They should also take some steps so that they can go back home,” Sheikh Hasina remarked in an interview with ANI.

Though she claimed her government made the effort to vaccinate the Rohingya people with COVID-19 vaccines, she underlined that this would be difficult for a long time. According to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, criminality involving narcotics, women, and weaponry is on the rise, and she believes that the return of the Rohingyas to their country is critical for Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina will pay a critical bilateral visit to India on Monday. Hasina’s four-day visit to India is estimated as a chance to strengthen the long-standing partnership between the two fastest-growing South Asian economies. Here are some key takeaways from her interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash.

Attack on minorities

Sheikh Hasina claimed that her government strongly supports secularism and that any attempt to disrupt communal peace is swiftly dealt with. “As long as we are in power, we always give importance to that and I always tell them that you are our citizens. You should own our country. But some incidents sometimes take place but immediately we take action. It has sometimes happened, but it’s a very unwanted situation,” she said.

“We all, together we celebrate… As a cultural event, even you can see it in Bangladesh, during Durga Puja. In so many places, we have Durga Puja and people celebrate all together. So the religious harmony is there but now some… here and there some incidents happen but our government immediately takes action against it,” the Bangladesh PM further said.

There have been instances of violence and animosity directed towards Bangladesh’s minority Hindu population. According to certain accounts, attacks on Durga Puja pandals or places of worship have occurred. Hasina said that it was crucial for nations to show kindness when asked about incidents of violence against the Hindu minority community.

Economic crisis like Sri Lanka

In response to concerns that Bangladesh may follow Sri Lanka’s example, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that her country’s economy remains robust despite the Covid-19 strike and the unrest in Ukraine and that her government exercised utmost prudence when receiving any loans. She claimed that the world was now dealing with problems that were not specific to Bangladesh.

“Our economy, still it is very strong. Though, we faced this Covid-19 pandemic, now the Ukraine-Russia war. That has its effect here. But in debt rate, Bangladesh always pays timely all its debts. So our debt rate is very low. In the context of Sri Lanka, our economic trajectory and the development, it is (planned) very, very calculatingly,” Sheikh Hasina said.

She went on to add, “I think the whole world is facing an economic problem. We are also. But yes there are some people who raise this issue. Oh, Bangladesh will be Sri Lanka, this and that. But I can assure you, no, that will not happen. Because we… all our development plans, what we prepare and we implement, always we see that what would be the return? How people would be the beneficiary? Otherwise, I don’t take any project (for) just spending money.”

Water dispute between India & Bangladesh

Sheikh Hasina called India a loyal friend and said the two nations’ long-standing water-sharing conflict should be settled to alleviate Bangladesh’s problems.

Sheikh Hasina said,” We are downstream, water is coming from India. So, India should show more generosity. Both countries would be beneficiaries. Sometimes, our people suffer a lot because of this, especially the Teesta River. We found that PM [Narendra Modi] is very eager to solve this but the problem is in your country. We share only Ganges water but we have 54 other rivers. It’s a long-standing problem and should be resolved.”

Also, Sheikh Hasina thanked the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi for the help extended to Bangladeshi nationals stranded in Ukraine. She labelled the help as a ‘friendly gesture.’ She also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative.

The Bangladeshi foreign policy

Bangladesh’s foreign policy, according to Sheikh Hasina, is centred on the country’s growth. Referring to China, she said, “Our foreign policy is very clear — friendship to all, malice to none. If there’s a problem, it’s between China and India. I don’t want to put my nose there.”

Throughout the interview, Sheikh Hasina kept reiterating the strong relationship between India and Bangladesh. She said that she is thankful to India for the help extended during the Bangladesh liberation movement. “India is our trusted friend. We always remember India’s contribution during the 1971 war. Even in 1975, when I lost all my family members, the then-Indian PM gave us shelter in India,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina recalled the days when she and her family used to live at a house on Pandara road in central Delhi with disguised names. “Our names were changed due to security reasons. We were provided with all security until we went back to Bangladesh. We lived in India from 1975 to 1981,” she added controlling her emotions on camera.

Sheikh Hasina will be in India from September 5 to September 8 where she will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, and newly elected President Draupadi Murmu. Her last visit to India was in October 2019, months before the coronavirus epidemic.

Liger producer Charmme Kaur takes a break from social media after the film fails at box office, actor Vijay to pay Rs 6 crore ‘compensation’ to producers

OpIndia Staff
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Liger producer Charmme Kaur takes a break from social media after the film fails at box office, actor Vijay to pay Rs 6 crore ‘compensation’ to producers

On 4th September 2022, movie producer Charmme Kaur tweeted to announce a break from social media. It is notable that the film producer made this announcement after the film Liger recently produced by her failed at the box office.

Charmme Kaur tweeted, “Chill guys! Just taking a break. (from social media). Puri Connects will bounce back. Bigger and better. until then… Live and let Live.”

The film Liger was made with a budget of more than 100 crore rupees. But it miserably failed at the box office. According to reports, Vijay Deverakonda has decided to contribute more than Rs 6 crore to filmmakers who have sustained significant losses. He will be helping Charmme Kaur and the other co-producers because the movie was a financial failure. Apart from the actor, director Puri Jagannadh has also planned to compensate the distributors who have suffered losses due to the box office failure of Liger.

The failure of Liger has also affected Vijay’s next movie Jana Gana Mana, also to be directed by Puri Jagannadh, as the movie’s budget has been reduced significantly. Moreover, both Vijay and Puri Jagannadh have decided to let go of their remuneration for the movie. Instead, they may take a share of the profits if Jana Gana Mana becomes successful at the box office. Like Liger which was made in Telugu and Hindi,  Jana Gana Mana will also see a pan India release.

Liger, one of the most anticipated movies of 2022, had a disastrous box office performance. Manoj Desai, executive director of Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema, two of the well-known and among oldest theatres in Mumbai, slammed Vijay Deverakonda for his comments on the boycott trends. Vijay Deverakonda has said that those who want to watch the film will watch it anyway and we shall not pay attention to those who boycott the film. Reacting over this, Manoj Desai said that Vijay should have learned lessons from actors Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Taapsee Pannu, all of whom had a rough outing at the box office of late after facing boycott calls for their respective movies. 

The Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda and Bollywood actress Ananya Panday’s pan-India film Liger has failed to impress cine-goers. Directed by Puri Jagannadh, the sports-action film features Vijay as the titular MMA fighter boxer along with Ananya Pandey. Besides Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday, former world heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson is seen making a cameo in the film. Now, the film’s miserable performance at the box office is followed by its producer Charmme Kaur taking a break from social media.

As India decides on a yearlong “Hyderabad Liberation Day” celebration, here is the bloody history of Razakars and how Hyderabad became part of independent India

OpIndia Staff
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As India decides on a yearlong “Hyderabad Liberation Day” celebration, here is the bloody history of Razakars and how Hyderabad became part of independent India

On September 3, the Government of India announced year-long commemoration of the Hyderabad Liberation Day starting from September 17, 2022. In an official press release, the Ministry of Culture said that the inauguration of the program would be done by Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be the chief guest at the inaugural program that is scheduled to take place at Parade Grounds in Hyderabad. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka have been invited to the program.

The year-long commemoration will pay tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Samsthan and its merger with the India Union. Notably, it took over a year for Hyderabad to get its independence from Nizam’s rule after the Independence of India. On September 17, 1948, Hyderabad officially joined Indian Union.

The press release noted, “History is replete with illustrations of struggles in the entire freedom movement including the struggle of Ramji Gond against the British; the fight of Komaram Bheem; the valour of Turrebaz Khan in 1857 who wanted to hoist the Indian national flag on the residence of the British Resident Commissioner at Koti in Hyderabad city.”

Following the Indian independence, the people of Hyderabad started the struggle for the merger of samsthan into the Indian union. It took the shape of a massive people’s movement leading to Operation Polo led by then-Home Affairs of India minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Timely action by the home ministry at that time ensured the merger.

Regions including Telangana, the Marathwada region in Maharashtra that included the districts of Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani and

districts of Kalaburagi, Bellary Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Vijayanagara and Bidar in current day Karnataka were under the state of Hyderabad under the Nizam. Notably, Maharashtra and Karnataka officially observe September 17 as Liberation Day.

The blood-tainted history of Razakars

When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan was formed, the British gave the remaining princely states a choice to merge with either union or stay independent. One of the largest princely states within the Indian union was Hyderabad, a Hindu-majority region ruled by a Muslim Nizam.

The Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was in a dilemma on whether he should join the Indian union or stay independent. On the other hand, the Majlis-e-Itihadul Muslimeen (precursor of present-day AIMIM) was adamant about the Nizam merging with Pakistan instead of being Independent. Being no more than a puppet to the MIM, the Nizam agreed to keep Hyderabad independent of either union.

Though the Nizam tried to legitimise the Princely state of Hyderabad by appointing trade officials in European countries and sending delegations to the UNSC, there were civil movements within his territory led by Arya Samaj, Hindu Mahasabha and Hyderabad State Congress to fight for Hindu rights in Hyderabad and merge the state with the Indian Union.

Nizam feared there would be an uprising by the majority-Hindu community, so he sanctioned the creation of Razakars led by Kasim Razvi, which was to be a paramilitary wing of the MIM. Razakars were empowered by Nizam to suppress Hindu uprisings and movements by whatever means possible. Following the green signal from Nizam, the ethnic genocide of Hindus in Rural Telangana began. The Razakars were committed to mass conversions of Hindus to Islam in an attempt to make Hyderabad a Muslim-majority province. The Razakars went village to village and mass-murdered, raped and kidnapped several Hindu villagers.

One such incident is that of Veera Bairanpalli, a village in Telangana which was at the receiving end of the Razakars. The Jihadi forces had tried to enter the village to mass convert Hindu residents thrice but were unsuccessful when the residents chased the invaders with slings and other crude weapons.

However, the Razakars, led by Kasim Razvi, managed to infiltrate the village with the help of the Nizam on their fourth attempt during the festival of Bathukamma. At the borders of the village lay a mud fort which the villagers used to guard themselves against the Jihadis, the Razakars shot all the guards at point blank range and proceeded to massacre the unarmed villagers.

On entering the village premises, the Razakars stripped Hindu girls off their clothes and paraded them naked, followed by making them dance to their tunes as a sign of submission and surrender to Islamic superiority. Hindu women were raped mercilessly, and the men were shot dead. Several villagers jumped into open wells present in agricultural fields to escape the terror. Many temples were also plundered by the Razakars.

Some of the Razakar forces were shot dead by the villagers, which enraged Kasim Razvi and escalated the massacre. The Razakars rounded up the villagers and shot them dead after lining them up in an attempt to save bullets. A survivor of this incident, N. Mallaiah, told The Hindu in 2016, “They plundered everything. The armed men molested women, killed sheep and killed able-bodied men just for pleasure. They looted every village en route.”

“To save bullets, they lined us up and shot. The bullet missed me and went through my left hand. Thinking that I am dead, they threw me on the heap of dead bodies”, he further said. A resident named Dasari Pulliah added to Mallaiah’s statement, “Many of us climbed onto the mud fort which has been there since times immemorial. We took shelter and fired at the Razakars. We killed some of them, and that enraged Kazim Rizvi, who was controlling the Razakars”. Several survivors narrated similar stories.

The Razakars continued their barbaric campaign till the Indian army routed their forces with Operation Polo in 1948, leading to the liberation of Hyderabad from Nizam’s control and accession to the Indian Union. These incidents highlight the sacrifices made by Telangana villagers to ensure the survival of Hinduism in present-day Telangana. Remembering their sacrifices will honour those who lost their lives in these barbaric attempts to erase Hinduism from the face of Deccan India.

Operation Polo and the merger of Hyderabad in the Indian Union

Over 150 villages in rural Telangana were pushed to Islamic brutality, and over 40,000 civilians fled to the Central Provinces of India from Telangana for refuge. These refugees then retaliated against the murderous Razakars through frequent raids to reclaim their land in the bordering areas of Central Provinces and Telangana.

After receiving the details of the exodus of Hindus by the Nizam of Hyderabad, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was afraid that any attack on the princely state would attract retaliation from West and East Pakistan. Nehru was hesitant to decide to storm into the state and annexe it.

On the insistence of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru hesitantly agreed to the annexure of Hyderabad and ordered the Indian Army to annexe the state of Hyderabad and storm into the state from all fronts.

On September 13 1948, the Indian Army launched an attack on Hyderabad; this operation was named ‘Operation Polo’. The Indian Army, in a 5-day battle, annexed Hyderabad from the Nizam and integrated it into the territory of India.

Despite the Indian Army having only 35,000 soldiers dispatched for this operation, it suffered only 35 casualties, whereas the Hyderabad State suffered 5,738 casualties despite having an army of 2,20,000 soldiers. The Indian Army had a sweeping victory over the Nizam and annexed the state.

Aftermath and surrender of Nizam to India

After the embarrassing defeat, the Nizam of Hyderabad surrendered to the Indian Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and agreed to accede Hyderabad to India. Qasim Razvi was jailed from 1948-1957, after which he took asylum in Pakistan.

Nizam surrendered to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Razvi gave the responsibility of the MIM to Abdul Wahid Owaisi, thus letting the Owaisi family run what remained of the MIM. The MIM was banned for a brief period in 1948, after which it changed its name to AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Itihadul Muslimeen) and contests elections to this day.

Jharkhand: National Commission for SC pulls up state administration after Islamists demolished houses of people of Mahadalit Musahar community

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: National Commission for SC pulls up state administration after Islamists demolished houses of people of Mahadalit Musahar community

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken suo moto cognizance of the incident of Islamists forcefully evicting Musahars from a village in Jharkhand. On Saturday, a delegation from the National Commission for Scheduled Castes visited the Pandu region of Palamu district in Jharkhand, where almost 50 households of Musahars were reportedly forcibly evicted by the Muslim community.

Following the visit, the panel emphasised the State Government’s apathy in collaborating as well as the Director General of Police’s and Chief Secretary’s lack of seriousness.

Arun Haldar, vice chairperson, Nation Commission for Schedule Castes said, “We found during our visit that the administration is not serious about safeguarding this community. It seems there is some setting at the administration level, because without this such things (throwing out the families) can not happen. Haldar asserted that despite a letter ordering them to do so “compulsorily,” the chief secretary and DGP failed to show up.

“The Commission came from Delhi. We had written to the chief secretary and DGP to attend us compulsorily. We contacted them many times but they did not turn up. This shows how they are taking the commission,” he said. According to the vice chairperson, the commission would soon issue a formal notice and summon the chief secretary and DGP.

Notably, on Monday, Islamists attacked the homes of members of the Mahadalit Musahar minority in Murumatu village, Palamu district, Jharkhand. They damaged around 18-20 houses and shelters belonging to Muhasar community members and forced them to flee the village. The victims were also humiliated and assaulted, and their possessions were thrown in the jungle near Loto village in Chhatarpur. Frightened by the violence, up to 50 individuals sought justice against the Islamists at the Pandu Police Station.

After the incident, the area saw a stampede-like situation as family members and young children scurried around in an attempt to survive. While some of them got the courage to seek redress at Pandu Police Station, others were seen wailing and wandering around Loto Village’s jungle. According to sources, the violence was started by Islamists who claimed that the Mahadalit Musahar family had wrongfully gained possession of madrasa land.

Jaffna University students condemn China for supporting Sri Lanka on war crimes at the UN, resist China’s bid to make inroads in Tamil areas

OpIndia Staff
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Jaffna University students condemn China for supporting Sri Lanka on war crimes at the UN, resist China’s bid to make inroads in Tamil areas

On August 30, students of the Jaffna University lashed out at Qi Zhenhong, the Chinese envoy in Sri Lanka, for extending support to the government of Sri Lanka’s stand on war crimes. The matter is expected to come up at the United Nations Human Rights Council session in September.

In a letter issued by University Students’ Union, University of Jaffna, they called the tweet (thread) by the Chinese Ambassador irresponsible and condemned the support China extended to Sri Lanka for the upcoming UN UN Human Rights Council session on accountability of war crimes. They said, “We, Jaffna university students, are extremely hurt by the irresponsible tweet by the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka supporting and protecting Sri Lanka at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva on accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and Genocide committed by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamil people.”

The letter further pointed out that despite being aware of the death of over 70,000 Tamils during the last six months of war, rapes and missing persons, China decided to support Sri Lanka. The letter said, “China is well aware of the suffering Tamils have undergone during the war, including according to the UN over 70 thousand Tamils were killed during the last six months of the war, hundreds of Tamil women and girls were raped by Sri Lankan armed forces and thousands of Tamils, including babies, disappeared. According to UK foreign office, over 90 thousand Tamil war widows are in Tamil areas facing numerous hardships, including the large number of the army occupying Tamil areas. After the war, lands are taken to settle the Sinhala Buddhist people to make us a minority in our traditional homeland.”

The student union said, “At a point when countries like UK, USA, India, Germany and others are coming together to act for the benefit of the Tamils at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the statement of the Chinese Ambassador is aimed at increasing their influence in the country by taking the side of the Sri Lankan Government.”

Condemning the anti-Tamil mindset of China to increase its influence in the North and East, the union said, “We strongly condemn attempts by anti-Tamil mindset China to increase influence in the North and East, the traditional homeland of the Tamils. We are extremely hurt and condemn the Chinese Ambassador’s insensitive tweet, which demean decades long suffering of our people. We urge the Chinese Ambassador to withdraw the content of the tweet and urge him to support our call to refer Sri Lanka to ICC at the upcoming UNHRC session.”

Chinese misleading statement attracted criticism from India

It is noteworthy that on August 27, India slammed China for false insinuations about bullying and interfering in Sri Lankan affairs. The Indian High Commission in Colombo slammed the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, for falsely accusing India of bullying and interfering in the internal affairs of the island nation.

The recent issue between the India and China has been the lodging of Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship (disguised as a Chinese research vessel), at Hambantota port on August 16.

The said port was leased to China in 2017 for a period of 99 years after the Sri Lankan government defaulted on the $1.4 million debt repayment.

“His view of Sri Lanka’s northern neighbour may be coloured by how his own country behaves. India, we assure him, is very different. His imputing a geopolitical context to the visit of a purportedly scientific research vessel is a giveaway,” responded Indian High Commission to Colombo.

China propagated Sri Lanka resisted ‘neighbour’ aggression 17 times

In a series of Tweets, China propagated against India without taking its name. It said, “Looking back at the great history of the island, SriLanka has overcome aggression from its northern neighbor for 17 times, colonization by the west for 450 years, and an anti-terrorism war for nearly 3 decades, and is now still standing in the world bravely and proudly.”

It further claimed that the resistance against the spy vessel came without any “evidence”. It said, “External obstruction based on so called “security concerns” but without any evidence from certain forces is de facto a thorough interference into Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence.”

Jaffna students resisted China’s bid to make inroads in Tamil areas

Notably, it was reported on August 31 that the students had resisted China’s bid to make inroads into the North and East, which are deemed as Tamil areas in Sri Lanka. The students’ objection arose from the possibility that Tamils might fall into the Chinese “debt trap” as Sri Lanka had. The increasing influence of China on Colombo would hamper the demand of Tamils to have autonomy within a united Sri Lanka, the students’ body feared.

In a media interaction, the Jaffna University Students Union said they would appeal to the Chinese envoy to understand the demands of the Tamils and stop assisting the governments of Sri Lanka. Simultaneously, the union leaders also believed that they did not believe China would change its mind.

It is noteworthy that because of the resistance of the students’ union, a scheduled visit of a Chinese envoy for an event was postponed where the university was to sign a collaboration agreement with the Agriculture faculty and a Chinese Agricultural institute. In a statement, the spokesman of the Chinese embassy, Luo Chong, said, “The Ambassador is always keen on another visit to Jaffna. Northern Province is an important part of China-SL friendship and cooperation. About the exact time of visit, I don’t have information at the moment.”

Jharkhand: Postmortem reveals another minor tribal girl found murdered was four months pregnant

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Postmortem reveals another minor tribal girl found murdered was four months pregnant

Close on the heels of the Dumka case where minor girl Anita (name changed) was set ablaze by one Shahrukh for not reciprocating his advances, another minor girl from tribal community was found dead, hanging from a tree. The postmortem report has now revealed that she was carrying a foetus of four months. The minor girl belonged to Raneshwar Police Station area and was found hanging from a tree.

As per a report in Lagatar24, the minor girl worked as daily wage earner and was allegedly sexually abused by Arman Ansari who is a Raj Mistri. She was missing from past three days.

However, as per news agency ANI, while the postmortem has been conducted, the report is yet to be made available to them.

The accused Arman Ansari has been booked under IPC section 302 and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act and POCSO Act.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that these kind of crimes indicate Islamisation of Jharkhand and suggested that investigation into the identity of the accused would reveal that he is from outside of India. As per reports, the accused, Arman Ansari has been arrested.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra has said that in this case, the accused Arman Ansari had given a fake name to the girl to befriend her.

He said that he had given his name ‘Amanat Rai’ to the girl after which she had said yes.

Notably, Dumka is a long-held stronghold of Hemant Soren and his family. The Chief Minister has tried to stop protests against such incidents in the past by imposing section 144 whenever he could. As per reports, Dumka is becoming a hub of such cases thanks to indoctrination by banned Jihadi organisations from Bangladesh.

US: Drama of “stolen” plane ends in Mississippi as pilot threatening to crash into Walmart store lands after circling for 4 hours, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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US: Drama of “stolen” plane ends in Mississippi as pilot threatening to crash into Walmart store lands after circling for 4 hours, arrested

On Saturday morning, authorities in Mississippi, US had a major scare after a pilot who hijacked an aeroplane threatened to smash the plane into a Walmart store in the Tupelo City of Mississippi. The Tupelo police evacuated the Walmart following the threat. However, the drama ended peacefully, as informed by Governor Tate Reeves after the pilot landed the plane in a field.

Benton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the local news that the plane landed in Ashland, in Benton County, Mississippi. The suspect is now in the custody of the Benton County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect has been identified as Cory Patterson from Shannon, Mississippi. Patterson circled in the air for around 4 hours before landing the plane. He was flying a fixed-wing multi-engine 1987 Beech C90A aircraft, believed to be stolen. He was flying alone and there was nobody else onboard the plane, confirmed FAA after the plane landed.

Reportedly, Cory Patterson worked for a company that is contracted to maintain planes at the airport, including fueling the planes. The plane he stole was refuelled at the airport last night, and he flew with it in the early morning finding an opportunity. Authorities believe that he landed the plane because it had run out of fuel. The Beech King aircraft has a fuel tank enabling it to fly for around 5 hours.

Photographs posted on social media show that the aircraft was intact after landing.

Patterson had earlier shared a message on Facebook saying that he never wanted to hurt anyone and that he loved his family. However, later that post was deleted. A screenshot of the message is given below.

Earlier, the town of Tupelo was sent into a state of panic after the pilot hijacked an airplane and threatened to smash the plane into a Walmart store in the city. The Tupelo Police Department said the pilot contacted them at 5 a.m. and said that he is going to crash the plane into the Walmart store. The Tupelo police said that the store had been evacuated following the threat. Around five in the morning, the jet began to circle, and for more than four hours, it was in the air.

The local police warned everyone to avoid the area as the damage from any kind of crash into the Walmart store would have extended to several places in the area. Several government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are now engaged in the inquiry and trying to determine a purpose.

US: The pilot of a ‘stolen’ airplane in Mississippi threatens to crash it into a Walmart store

OpIndia Staff
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US: The pilot of a ‘stolen’ airplane in Mississippi threatens to crash it into a Walmart store

On Saturday, 3rd September 2022, a pilot who hijacked an airplane threatened to smash the plane into a Walmart store in the Tupelo City of Mississippi. The Tupelo police said that the store has been evacuated following the threat. Around five in the morning, the jet began to circle, and more than three hours later, it was still in the air.

Authorities claimed to have spoken with the Beechcraft King Air 90 pilot personally who is intending to deliberately crash the aircraft. The police wrote in a notice published on Facebook, “Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given. With the mobility of an airplane of that type, the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”

The pilot has since been identified as Cory Patterson of Shannon, Mississippi. Patterson shared a message on Facebook saying that he never wanted to hurt anyone and that he loved his family. However later that post was deleted. A screenshot of the message is given below.

Screenshot of Cory Patterson’s FB post

The plane flying above the Mississippi city was visible in a video posted by the news network BNO. According to a report, the aircraft had departed the Tupelo area’s airspace and was now flying close to a Toyota production factory in the nearby Blue Springs.

Several government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security are now engaged in the inquiry and trying to determine a purpose. Investigators are in touch with the pilot and keeping an eye on the flight’s trajectory.

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said, “State law enforcement and emergency managers are closely tracking this dangerous situation. All citizens should be on alert and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department.”

No separate charge or GST on using washrooms of Executive Lounges at railway stations: IRCTC issues clarification after misleading media reports

OpIndia Staff
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No separate charge or GST on using washrooms of Executive Lounges at railway stations: IRCTC issues clarification after misleading media reports

IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) has denied media reports that separate GST is applicable for using washrooms in waiting rooms of Railway stations. The Corporation have clarified that a flat rate is charged, including GST, for using executive lounges, and several services are included in this amount, including the use of toilets and urinals. It is notable that IRCTC manages the executive lounges at major railway stations.

Today several media houses published a sensational report claiming that two British nationals were charged Rs 112 per head, including 12% GST, for using urinals at the Agra Cantt Railway station. The reports stated that the two tourists had reached Agra Cantt from Delhi via Gatiman Express Train, where they were received by a tour guide.

In the railway station, they expressed their desire to use the urinal, and the guide took them to the railway washroom. But they had to pay Rs 224 for using the urinal, Rs 112 per head, the reports claimed. It was mentioned that while the charge for using the urinal is Rs 200 for two persons, 12% GST was added and the total charge became Rs 224.

The reports claimed that using the washroom at the Agra Cantt Railway station proved costly for the tourists as they had to pay Rs 224 even though they spent just 5 minutes there and they used only the urinals.

However, now IRCTC has issued a clarification saying that the entire episode was misreported by the media. The corporation has clarified that the British tourists had used Executive Lounge at Agra Cantt Railway station which is a paid service, and there is no separate charge for only using washrooms at the Executive Lounges. As the British tourists had visited the Executive Lounge, they were charged the applicable charge for it, IRCTC clarified.

IRCTC said that the entry charge for using the Executive Lounge is Rs. 200 per person for 2 hours, along with 12% GST. The charges include unlimited services in the Air-Conditioned Executive Lounge like TV, comfortable Recliner Seating, Free Water, WiFi, Beverages (Tea-Coffee), washroom facility etc. It is up to the passengers whether they use only one, some or all of these facilities after paying the standard entry charges & entering the Lounge.

The Railway body also pointed out that Washroom facilities are also available ‘FREE OF COST’ at 1st Class & Sleeper Class waiting rooms at stations, implying that the British tourists could have visited those waiting rooms, and they could have used the urinals there without any payment. It is possible that the tourists were not aware of the free washrooms and the guide took them to the Executive Lounge. Here it is notable that apart from free washrooms attached to the waiting rooms, most Railway Stations also have separate pay-and-use washrooms, where the charge for latrine is Rs 2, bathroom charge is Rs 5, but the use of urinals in those facilities is also free of cost.

With regard to the reported incident, IRCTC informed that the two foreigners were informed about the facilities available at the Executive Lounge, and the entry charge for the same. They reiterated that 12% GST is the standard tax for the entry charge, and there is no separate charge of tax for individual services available in the Lounges.

Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report

राहुल पाण्डेय
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Demographic change hits other side of the border too, Mosques and Madarasas mushroom in former Hindu dominated areas in Nepal: Ground report

Several recent reports have shown that demography is changing rapidly along India’s border with Nepal. The number of mosques and madarasas is constantly increasing. From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. What follows here is the first episode of the series of reports documenting the facts noticed by the OpIndia team.

The Dang district in Nepal falls in the Lumbini state. We entered Dang from the Jarwa border in the Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh. Vehicles were not allowed to cross the border. We walked about one and a half kilometres to reach the border of Dang. During this time, we had to go through security checks by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Nepal Police. This border is situated in dense forests. Our first stop was Koilabas village in the Dang district.

The very first village in Nepal had a Muslim Sarpanch

Abdul Khaliq is the village head (Sarpanch) of the Koilabas village. Villagers informed that no Hindu candidate even contested the election in this village housing approximately 1100 voters. Abdul Khaliq said, “Saddam won the election last time. He is from the Maoist party. The village has an equal population of Muslims and Hindus.”

Koilabas is the first village in Nepal after crossing the border.

Indian Maulavis and students in the Nepali Madarasas receiving government grants

Abdul Khaliq informed us that the Nepal government gives funds and grants to the madarasa in his village. He said, “In addition to the normal course, religious training is also necessary to maintain well-being. Teachers are appointed by locals in the village madrasa. Their expenses are borne by the government. There are 2 maulvis from India to teach children in the Islamia madarsa of the village.”

Village head Abdul Khaliq added, “Many clerics have gone to India after getting religious training from here. There are maulvis in Nepal too, but we get Indian clerics cheaply. They also get better salaries here than in India. There are many maulvis in the Garhwa and Lamhi areas of the Dang district. There are also madarasas and mosques in these places. Most of Nepal’s maulanas and maulvis are also involved in many types of trade.”

According to Abdul Khaliq, the Koilabas madarasa houses Indian students in addition to the Indian teachers. Most of them are from Bihar and West Bengal. Among these Indian students going to Nepal for religious studies, there are many girl students as well. They get free accommodation and food.

Abdul Khaliq informed us that he is not the only Muslim Sarpanch in that area. He told that Muslim village heads and Muslim lawmakers can be seen even in the interior parts of Nepal. To give an example, he named Nasaruddin Khan who is presently the Education Minister of the Lumbini state of Nepal. Besides, Mohammed Lalbabu Raut Gaddi, Fauziya Naseem, and Mohammed Yakub Ansari are important political figures in the Lumbini state.

Abdul Khaliq is the village head of the Koilabas village in Nepal.

Muslims draw the major chunk of benefits of the government schemes

In the Dang district, a board of those who get the benefits of government schemes has been installed by the government. As mentioned on the board, a total of 839 people have benefited in the Garhwa region under a scheme run by the government. Out of these 839 total people, the number of Muslims getting these benefits is 602. Besides, 39 tribals and 198 others got the benefits of the scheme.

The board shows details of the beneficiaries of the government schemes.

A century-old mosque

About 1 kilometre after entering the Dang area, we saw a large mosque adjacent to the road. The mosque is right next to the Jhulangi bridge, Dang’s most popular tourist destination. Abdul Ahad, a local resident, told us that the mosque is more than 100 years old. Ahad also pointed out that some more mosques and madarasas in Koilabas have come up recently.

The Jamia Mosque in Koilabas.

A few words were written in Arabic outside the mosque. Abdul Ahad described it as a prayer to be recited before entering the mosque. Abdul Ahad was accompanied by his relative Tauseef. After going a little away from this mosque, we saw another place of worship located a little away from the main road. There was also a Muslim-dominated colony around, in which stray goats and chickens were seen.

A place of worship like some Mazar as seen in the night hours.

Muslim shopkeepers dominate the market

Most of the shops in Koilabas belong to Muslims. Right next to the Jhulangi bridge is Niyamat Ali’s shop where he sells tea and cold drinks. Abdul Ahad works as a cloth merchant. Abdul Vakil’s shop of chips and pan-masala was seen on the main highway. Abdul Vakil’s wife, who runs the shop, said that one of the two mosques in Koilabas belongs to the Muslims of the Ahal-e-hadith sect. The second mosque is for Sunni Muslims.

As we walked ahead, we met Mohammed Kamal and Mohammed Saddam. Both of them told that they have a business of mobile phones. They said that the SIM of Nepali telecom company ‘Namaste’ sells the most.

Empty houses bearing Hindu symbols and misconceptions on NRC

In the Dang district, we found many deserted and ruined houses. Babbu Kasaudhan, who once lived here, said, “Gone are the days when Koilabas was a Hindu-majority place. After 1995, our business suffered a lot due to Maoist violence. When trade and business were finished, we came to India. Hindus left the area with their entire family and settled in India. At the same time, only a few members of Muslim households left the family and went out to earn. For this reason, the area has now become Muslim-majority. All the empty houses in the area near the lane of the Ram Janaki Temple belong to Hindus.”

Arabi written over Hindu houses

We also saw a house with a Swastika sign on it. ‘Shubh-Labh’ was also written on the walls of the house. But at the same house, some lines in Arabic were also written by scraping the wall. The Hindu name written on the door was also blackened. Talking about this, Babbu said, “For the last 3-4 times, a Muslim person is holding the post of the village head of Koilabas continuously. Now that Hindus are not there, who knows what someone is writing in their homes?”

According to Babbu Kasaudhan, many people of the Hindu community were misguided about the National Register of Citizens and they are afraid of the rule because they were told that they would not be allowed to stay in India as they own some land in Nepal. According to Babbu, this was also a major reason for Hindus selling out their lands in Nepal and going to India.

Scars of the Maoist violence

We saw a police station in a ruined state. A Passersby told us that Maoists had hurled a bomb at the police post in 2002. Six policemen were killed in that attack. Since then, the post remains deserted. However, the Nepal police’s identification mark is still visible on the walls of the ruined police station.

The police check post deserted after the Maoist attack in Nepal.

Don’t click photos, it is prohibited in Islam

During our journey, we spotted 2 youths sitting by the roadside. As we tried to click their photos, they asked us to shut off the cameras. One of them was named Asif Siddiqui. He said, “We are from the Islamic State. Photos and videos are prohibited in our Islam. Till date, I have not taken a single photo or video. I have studied in madarasa till Class 8. There is no government job in Nepal, so I am preparing to go abroad.”

It was not just a few local Muslims who tried to stop us from coverage. Nepal’s police also refused to allow us shoot video and do photography. A police officer, called ‘Gautam Sir’, asked us not to do any kind of coverage.

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