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From ‘Indian spy’ inside Twitter to lack of security measures to Chinese money, explosive revelations in the whistleblower complaint against Twitter

Anurag
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From ‘Indian spy’ inside Twitter to lack of security measures to Chinese money, explosive revelations in the whistleblower complaint against Twitter

On August 23, Washington Post published a redacted version of the complaint filed by the former head of security at Twitter. Peiter Zatko, a widely known hacker known by his nickname “Mudge,” had worked for Twitter for a long time, but his services were terminated in January 2022 owing to ‘poor performance and ineffective leadership. In his 84-page long complaint, Mudge accused Twitter of security problems, cyber-security negligence, allegedly allowing foreign government agents to get employed at the company with full access to user data, and more.

Here are the key takeaways from the complaint.

‘India had government agent inside Twitter, ‘ said the whistleblower

First, let’s talk about the accusation laid down against the Indian government. On page 38 in Section 72 of the complaint with the title ‘Penetration by Foreign Intelligence & Threats to Democracy,’ Mudge accused Twitter of allowing foreign agents to have full access to the user database.

Mudge named three countries, India, China, and Nigeria, for managing to get their hands on sensitive user information. Furthermore, Mudge claimed that Twitter’s CEO Parag, at one point, had suggested to “consider ceding to the Russian Federation’s censorship and surveillance demands” when he was CTO of the company.

As per the disclosure report, the Indian government “forced” Twitter to hire specific individuals who were government agents. These alleged agents had access to the sensitive information on Twitter “because of Twitter’s basic architectural flaws.” It reads, “Twitter’s transparency reports purported to quantify the number of government data requests from the Indian government, but the company did not, in fact, disclose to users that it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll. By knowingly permitting an Indian government agent direct unsupervised access to the company’s systems and user data, Twitter executives violated the company’s articulated commitments to its users.”

Excerpt from the complaint. Source: Washington Post

In the footnote, it was mentioned that further details of the incidents, though unclear how much more information about allegations against India was provided, were submitted to the relevant agencies. Interestingly, the document did not mention when these incidents happened. Mudge came to know about the alleged incidents over the course of 2021.

It is notable that the key phrase that needs attention here is “it was believed by the executive team that the Indian government had succeeded in placing agents on the company payroll.” Was there no concrete proof of the accusations against the Indian government that the document uses the word “believe”? OpIndia tried to find more details and check additional documents provided by Washington Post in its report but could not find any.

About the specific allegation, the Washington Post read, “He [Mudge] believed the Indian government had forced Twitter to put one of its agents on the payroll, with access to user data at a time of intense protests in the country.” It further quoted an “unnamed source” on Twitter familiar with the matter who “agreed that the employee was “probably” an agent.” Again, keywords like “believed” and “probably” were used, throwing very vague allegations. Unless there is more proof in public, it is hard to believe that a company that went to extremes to stop the Indian government from getting information about the users that the Indian security agencies believe could harm the harmony and democratic processes in the country will allow such unrestricted access to a ‘govt agent’.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Twitter did everything to avoid hiring a compliance officer from India in accordance with the new IT laws. The Indian government had and still struggling to get rid of the anti-India elements on Twitter. The company took months to take action on legal demands by the Indian government and even sued the Indian government to skip complying with legal demands.

There have been multiple protests, some of them gone violent, in the past three years in India, which were triggered by social media posts. If, by all means, the Indian government had agents inside Twitter, it would have been easier for the security agencies to nab the anti-India elements provoking people and put a stop to the violence much before they went out of control. It is hard to digest that a government that has worked extensively to ensure a good image on the international platform let protests happen against itself even though it allegedly had so much sensitive information at its disposal.

Allegations against China and Nigeria

Further, in the same section, Mudge alleged that though Twitter was banned in China, the company accepted funds from Chinese entities. He alleged that after Twitter received money from the Chinese entities, there were concerns within the company that the information possibly provided to them would allow the Chinese agencies to “identify and learn sensitive information about Chinese users who successfully circumvented the block and other users around the world.”

“Twitter executives understood this constituted a major ethical compromise. Mr. Zatko was told that Twitter was too dependent upon the revenue stream at this point to do anything other than an attempt to increase it,” the document read. 

In the case of Nigeria, Mudge alleged that despite being aware of the misinformation being spread by the Nigerian government about being in conversation with Twitter executives following the ban on the platform in the country, Twitter did not try to correct them. The inaction of Twitter led to negotiations in favour of Nigeria.

Twitter was allegedly forced to hire locals for leverage

In Section 74 of the document titled ‘Squeezing Local Staff,’ Mudge alleged that India, Nigeria, and Russia had sought and succeeded to a varied extent to “force Twitter” to hire local full-time employees that “could be used as leverage.” If the allegation is understood correctly here, Mudge is claiming that the countries where Twitter has physical offices “forced” the company to hire locals.

Excerpt from the complaint. Source: Washington Post

Mudge claimed that “There was the physical safety of the employees to consider. The threat of harm to Twitter employees was sufficient to cause Twitter to seriously consider complying with foreign government requests that Twitter would otherwise fundamentally oppose.” Basically, the complainant wants to impose the idea that in countries including India, there was a risk of physical harm to the Twitter employees thus the company bent to the “forceful hiring of the local staff.” The company that was not even ready to hire a local compliance officer was claimed to have been “arm-twisted” in hiring local employees is not something that is easy to digest, especially when the “additional documents” that the complaint disclosure talked about are not in the public domain.

The allegations over lack of security practices at Twitter

Mudge was hired by Twitter after the embarrassing situation where some of the most famous accounts were hacked, including that of former President of the US Barack Obama and then-presidential candidate Joe Biden by a teenager from Florida who ran a cryptocurrency scam on those accounts.

In his complaint, he mentioned that there was a long list of security failures at the company, including a lack of server updates, inadequately configured employees’ computers, and more. Mudge claimed that the lapses in security were in violation of a previous settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Furthermore, Mudge alleged Twitter claimed to care about addressing spam, but the reality is completely different. He claimed that there were no bonuses to tackle spam for the employees, but on the other hand, they could fetch bonuses up to $10 million for an increase in user base without caring if they are real users or fake accounts or bots.

The document came as a blessing for tech billionaire Elon Musk who recently said he might not buy Twitter as the company failed to give out details about the spam accounts. In a Tweet, Musk said, “Give a little Whistle,” followed by another tweet where he shared a screenshot from a WaPo report and said, “So spam prevalence *was* shared with the board, but the board chose not to disclose that to the public.”

Musk had quoted the part of WaPo’s another report on the same case that read, “Four people familiar with the company’s processes for spam detection, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive internal matters, told The Post that the company keeps several internal tallies of spam and bots — known as “prevalence” — across the service beyond the number supplied to Wall Street. The Post also obtained an internal document, which was redacted to hide the numbers, showing that “spam prevalence” was a number shared with the board. The document was supplied to the board at a meeting Zatko attended, according to two of the people.”

It is noteworthy that Mudge has categorically denied any coordination with Musk before filing the complaint. However, a lawyer at Whistleblower Aid, the law firm representing Mudge, informed WaPo that he would reply to a subpoena that, according to Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro, had already been issued.

Poorly tracked access to user information

Mudge alleged in his complaint that he had warned his colleagues that the servers were running out of date. He further claimed that the lack of proper updates was leading to vulnerabilities in the software. He claimed that the executives withheld the facts about the number of breaches into the servers and the lack of protection of user data. Instead, they submitted “feel good” charts of unimportant changes.

He further claimed that thousands of the employees at Twitter had poorly tracked internal access to the core software, and it led to embarrassing hacks over time. He alleged that Twitter’s CEO lied in his tweet in May, where he had claimed that the company was “strongly incentivized to detect and remove as much spam as we possibly can.”

Parag’s internal letter to employees rejected allegations

After Washington Post’s reports got published, Parag sent an internal letter to the employees suggesting the allegations were false. In his letter, he said that his team was reviewing the redacted claims that have been published, “but what we’ve seen so far is a false narrative that is riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and presented without important context.”

He further added that the allegations do not take away from “the important work you have done and continue to do to safeguard the privacy and security of our customers and their data.” He further said, “Given the spotlight on Twitter at the moment, we can assume that we will continue to see more headlines in the coming days – this will only make our work harder. I know that all of you take a lot of pride in the work we do together and in the values that guide us. We will pursue all paths to defend our integrity as a company and set the record straight.”

While the allegations are still being reviewed by the experts, without further details and disclosures, it is hard to assess how much of the complaint is based on truth. Mudge is a reputed name in the cybersecurity sector. His work in the past has given him a cult following that would believe in anything and everything he would say. The next few weeks will be interesting, especially for Musk, who has a hearing scheduled in October this year in the matter related to the acquisition of Twitter.

Maldives Minister Ali Solih stabbed in broad daylight, attacker seen reciting Quran verses

OpIndia Staff
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Maldives Minister Ali Solih stabbed in broad daylight, attacker seen reciting Quran verses

In a horrific incident, Maldivian Minister Ali Solih was attacked by a sharp weapon while he was riding on a bike in the Hulhumale region of the capital Male. The Maldivian Police immediately arrested the attacker who tried to slit his throat.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened on Monday when Minister Solih was riding his two-wheeler in the Hulhumale region of Male. The attacker stopped in front of the Minister’s bike and blocked his way. He then chanted some Quran verses and launched an attack to cut Solih’s neck, as reported by Maldives media.

The attacker used a sharp knife to cut the Minister’s neck but slashed a portion of his left arm instead. Minister Solih jumped off the motorcycle and rushed away from the spot to save his life. He is being treated at the Hulhumale Hospital.

The video of the incident went viral over social media which shows the attacker making several failed attempts to slit the Minister’s neck. Soon after Solih ran away leaving his scooter on the road, the attacker began expressing his aggression. He also talked to local people in the local language.

The Male police were immediately informed about the incident and reached the spot and arrested the attacker. While the Police are investigating the case and interrogating the attacker, it is not clear why was the attack was planned and executed.

The Maldives is facing a threat from rising Islamic radicalism as well as recruitment for global militant organizations. Earlier, the island was in the news when former president Mohamed Nasheed was attacked in Male. The attackers in May 2021 had planted explosives on the bike that was parked outside the residence of Nasheed. The former President had to undergo treatment for months in Germany.

Reports mention that the present administration, led by President Solih and Speaker Nasheed, is recognized for being democratic and liberal in its approach to governance and social values. With international assistance, the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has been fighting a lengthy war against the rise of extreme inclinations in the Indian Ocean island nation.

The victim in the current situation, Minister Ali Solih is the State Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Technology. He is also the spokesperson for the Jumhooree Party (JP), a coalition partner of President Ibrahim Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Memes, jokes mocking Ravish Kumar, who refuted his resignation ‘rumour’, flood the Internet after Adani Group initiates hostile takeover of NDTV

OpIndia Staff
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Memes, jokes mocking Ravish Kumar, who refuted his resignation ‘rumour’, flood the Internet after Adani Group initiates hostile takeover of NDTV

The internet is an unforgiving place. More so if the ‘Bhakts’ get one rare chance of having fun on the expense of a media house and its propagandists who moonlight as ‘journalists’. Soon as the news of Adani Group’s bid of hostile takeover of NDTV poured in last evening, the social media has been flooded with memes.

Many Twitter users said that Ravish Kumar might quit NDTV, as he would not like to work under the ‘Adani-Ambani’ he has demonised over the years as ‘crony capitalists’ and likely start his YouTube channels like other ‘journalists’ turned YouTubers like Ajit Anjum and Whatshisname Sharma.

Many also said how suddenly, Ravish might end up praising Gujaratis after years of dehumanising them because of his strong hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who are both Gujaratis.

And then there were more.

Clearly everyone seemed to be having a good time today. If you’re having a good time today, #ThankAGujarati.

Amidst all this, NDTV’s Ravish Kumar has announced that he is willing to work for Adani.

Taking to Twitter, Ravish Kumar said that the news of him resigning from NDTV are as real as PM Modi giving interview to him. Hence, after years of leading propaganda against the Adani group and spreading fake news against his likely future employers, Ravish Kumar has decided to stick around and work for the Adani Group led NDTV if the deal goes through.

Trolls on Internet are suggesting that Ravish fell for the satire published by OpIndia Hindi on his resignation from NDTV and issued clarification. However, as seen above, Ravish can perhaps eat his own words but wont not work for Adani.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi to travel abroad for medical check-ups: Rahul, Priyanka to accompany

OpIndia Staff
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Congress President Sonia Gandhi to travel abroad for medical check-ups: Rahul, Priyanka to accompany

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi is all set to travel abroad for a medical check-up. The information was revealed by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday who added that son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also accompany Sonia Gandhi for the medical check-ups.

“Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will be traveling abroad for medical check-ups. Party MP Rahul Gandhi will address the ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally in Delhi on September 4,” Ramesh was quoted in a report.

According to the reports, while party MP Rahul Gandhi will speak at the ‘Mehangai Par Halla Bol’ rally in Delhi on September 4, Sonia Gandhi would pay a visit to her unwell mother before returning to Delhi.

Ramesh further added that Congress President Sonia Gandhi on August 23 met Droupadi Murmu, India’s freshly elected President, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. “Despite the current internal strife within the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi visited President Murmu”, he said.

To note, Anand Sharma, a prominent Congress official, recently announced his resignation as chairman of the party’s steering committee for the state, stating he had no option due to the continued marginalization and insults. Meanwhile, Rajeev Shukla, the AICC’s Himachal Pradesh representative, was dispatched to appease him. Shukla traveled to Delhi after meeting with Anand Sharma to meet with Sonia Gandhi.

Recently, Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in two months. Party leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted this information on 13th August 2022. Sonia Gandhi had earlier tested positive for COVID on 2nd June 2022, 6 days before the date when she was supposed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald scam.

Yogendra Yadav busts Sisodia’s ‘message from Amit Shah’ claim, says Kejriwal has a habit of arranging fake BJP calls to blackmail his own MLAs

OpIndia Staff
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Yogendra Yadav busts Sisodia’s ‘message from Amit Shah’ claim, says Kejriwal has a habit of arranging fake BJP calls to blackmail his own MLAs

As the politics in Delhi boils up with the CBI raids on Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and allegations of rampant corruption, former AAP ideologue and professional protestor Yogendra Salim Yadav has stoked a new controversy. In a tweet, Yogendra Yadav has stated that AAP senior leadership has a habit of blackmailing their own MLAs by trapping them through prank calls pretending to be BJP leaders.

Yogendra Yadav was commenting on a news report shared by Aaj Tak where former AAP leader Paramjeet Singh has made similar allegations.

In an interview to Aaj Tak, Paramjeet Singh Katyal is seen telling that he had been with Arvind Kejriwal constantly from 2011’s Anna protests till 2014. Another AAP ideologue named Manish Raizada who was earlier the foreign wing in charge of AAP and was charged with collecting donations had made a documentary named ‘Chanda Chor’ (donation fraudster) around 2018-19. The documentary featured many former AAP ideologues including Paramjeet himself, Shazia Ilmi, Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Kumar Vishwas etc.

A clip that has gone viral from the documentary shows Paramjeet Singh Katyal saying in 2013 that he was given 2 sim cards and was asked to call AAP leaders while pretending to be calling from the offices of senior BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley. Katyal further stated Kejriwal himself had asked him to make those calls because ‘they had to save the party’ that way, by identifying people who are interested to take bribes from the BJP.

The viral clip from the documentary can be seen here. It had Katyal saying Kejriwal himself laid plans to make those fake phone calls and was later seen claiming that BJP is trying to ‘buy’ his MLAs.

Katyal admitted that he was starry-eyed with Kejriwal’s ideology at that time and he did what Kejriwal had asked him to do. He added that Kejriwal had even told him that they would even arrange for the money to be shown as BJP’s bribe if it was what it takes to identify moles and blackmail AAP leaders into staying in the party.

Quoting the Aaj Tak tweet, Yogendra Yadav informed that he knows Paramjeet and has been aware of the particular tactics used by senior AAP leadership to blackmail its own MLAs. Yogendra Yadav added that it was one of the many reasons for which he and many others lost their interest in Kejriwal’s politics and eventually parted ways with AAP.

Yadav added that he had made inquiries at his own level and had found that Paramjeet Singh Katyal’s claims were 100% true. In 2013, Kejriwal had ordered phone calls to be made to his own party leaders in the name of BJP to blackmail them.

Manish Sisodia claims he got an ‘offer from BJP’

It is notable here that just after the CBI raids began, Delhi’s deputy CM Manish Sisodia used the same tactic and claimed that he had got a message from BJP saying that if he leaves AAP and joins BJP, all cases against him would disappear and he will be given a Rajya Sabha nomination. Some social media users even shared screenshots stating that Sisodia may have taken a prank message seriously.

The BJP had denied Sisodia’s claim. BJP MP Gautam Gambhir had stated that Sisodia will lose the next elections and he only barely managed to win in the 2020 elections. Hence there is no chance of the BJP wooing him.

NDTV cries foul after Adani Group decides to exercise its right to convert loan into equity, know what a hostile takeover is

Nirwa Mehta
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NDTV cries foul after Adani Group decides to exercise its right to convert loan into equity, know what a hostile takeover is

NDTV on Tuesday, in an official communication, claimed that a notice was served upon the media house and its promoters, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy by Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) stating that it (VCPL) has acquired control of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH).

VCPL owns 29.18% of equity in NDTV and asked to transfer all equity shares within two days. The right was exercised based on the loan agreement NDTV founders got into VPCL in 2009-10. However, NDTV has claimed that they were not informed about such exercise of rights.

With this, Adani group also said it will launch and open offer to buy another 26% shares from market, making it majority shareholder if the offer comes through.

What is hostile takeover

The term hostile takeover largely means when one company acquires another company against the wishes of the company getting acquired. It may happen when the acquiring company buys shares directly from shareholders of target company. In this case, the Roys have stated that they were not consulted before Adani Group made the open offer to buy shares to form majority stake after loan or other convertible debt instrument is converted into equity. Many times, companies offer ‘convertible debt instrument’ in which after certain stipulated time, the debt instrument can be converted into equity of the lender company. This is a very standard and legal procedure as prescribed in the corporate laws of India.

Here is how Adani made a bid for hostile takeover of NDTV

Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VPCL), is company incorporated in 2008. In 2009, it offered unsecured loan to NDTV’s holding company, Radhika Roy Prannoy Roy Holding Private Limited (RRPRH) worth Rs 403.85 crore. RRPRH held 29% equity in NDTV.

VCPL, in same year, had received unsecured loan from Shinano Retail Private Limited, which had obtained money from Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, a part of Reliance Group. Shinano Retail was a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Group. Since these documents are publicly available, NDTV was aware that it was obtaining unsecured loan from an entity that was linked to Reliance group. For its part, VCPL was owned by Shinano Retail and Teesta Retail Private Limited, another fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Group.

Note: Here is an unrelated article from 2016 on NDTV wherein it mentions how Teesta Retail is a fully owned subsidiary of Reliance Group. This is shared here to bust certain media propaganda that tries to cast aspersions on how NDTV was unaware. All the details of companies, ownership, shareholding pattern – they are all public documents and one would assume the Roys are not of unsound mind to not carry out due diligence before obtaining unsecured loans in crores from such entities.

Coming back. VCPL’s directors back then were also Reliance Group’s senior executives, so it was quite clear about the ownership of the company that had loaned over Rs 400 crore to NDTV.

In 2012, VCPL’s ownership changed and it was acquired by Nextwave Televenture Private Limited and Skyblue Buildwell Private Limited. These companies were linked to a senior executive, Mahindra Nahata, of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, another subsidiary of RIL. Nahata, who also owned Eminent Networks Private Limited, took over ownership of loan that VCPL owed to Shinano. Nahata invested Rs 50 crore in this. Again – all these transactions are in public domain and legal and very standard business practice.

VCPL transferred Rs 50 crore to Shinano and cleared the loan debt it owed. On Tuesday, Adani group took over VCPL, which had given Rs 403 crore loan to NDTV from Nextwave Televenture. NDTV had never returned the loan it took from VCPL. The loan came with terms and conditions that VCPL can convert 99.9% of its loan into equity “at any time during the tenure of the loan or thereafter without requiring any further act or deed on the part of the lender”.

Essentially, VCPL never needed the Roys’ permission to convert the loan into equity. The Roys knew that their stake in NDTV was diluted as back as 2009-2010 when they took unsecured loan convertible into equity from companies with links with Reliance Group. The Roys have to allot 99.5% of their equity shares to Adani owned VCPL through its arm AMG Media Network. After that, AMG Media Network will own 29.18% of equity in NDTV. Since it will own over 25% of equity in NDTV, AMG Media Network has announced open offer to acquire 26% of stake so as to become majority shareholder.

Adani has offered Rs 294 per share, i.e. little less than Rs 500 crore for 26% equity from open market. The Roys together still own about 32% stake in NDTV. But if the Adani deal comes through and Adani gets 55% ownership, it does have the right to make changes in the management and take control from the Roys. The only way the Roys can gain back control is buying more shares from open market and increasing their stake.

Interestingly, in May this year, Adani group’s AMG Media Network bought 49% equity in Raghav Bahl’s Quintillion Business Media Private Limited, the company that runs online website ‘The Quint’, which quite often humanises terrorists and gives context to rape accused.

While certain media houses, along with NDTV, are crying foul and going ‘haaye Modi’, the fact is that the rumours of Adani taking over NDTV have been making rounds since last year. In September 2021, NDTV’s shares hit the upper circuit on BSE after a daylong rumour that Adani was taking over NDTV. NDTV and Adani had both refuted the rumours. Analysts have believed that one of the major reasons for NDTV share prices to have rallied in past few months are because of the rumours of Adani taking over the media house.

On August 24, 2021, NDTV shares on the BSE were trading at Rs 78.65. The open offer came on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. On August 22, 2022, NDTV shares on the BSE were trading at Rs 356.9. Looking at NDTV stock’s movement from January till yesterday (up 227%) coupled with rumours of Adani taking over making rounds since over a year, everyone knew this was coming.

Year long stock movement of NDTV Ltd on BSE

In absence of any pathbreaking profit and allegations of insider trading on the Roys, which show they weren’t quite novices when it comes to stock trading, and bankruptcy looming over their heads as per auditor’s report as latest as 2019, one wonders what else could be the reason for such rallying of share price.

Meanwhile, we wait and see how the things unfold over next few days.

After all, its business.

Bollywood film for the missionary who converted Hindus, Padma Shri to his widow; not even a discussion on the Saint who promoted gharwapsi and saved cows

अनुपम कुमार सिंह
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Bollywood film for the missionary who converted Hindus, Padma Shri to his widow; not even a discussion on the Saint who promoted gharwapsi and saved cows

Today, let us remind you of an old incident. A special reminder is needed because we are Hindus and we tend to forget too much. Palghar incident from April 16, 2020, is still fresh in our mind, the way the missionary inspired mob killed 2 sadhus and their driver in Maharashtra. However, there was a similar incident that happened in Kandhamal, Odisha on August 23, 2008 that everyone seems to have forgotten. The incident involves the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and his 4 disciples. Swami Ji’s body was cut with an axe 15 years ago on the day of Janmashtami.

The witnesses to this massacre were 130 girls, who were studying in ‘Kanya Ashram’ of Tumudibandh, and had come there on the occasion of Janmashtami. A young boy was also among the dead. The killers had AK-47 rifles, many assailants were also equipped with indigenous kattas. Most of the Maoists whose names surfaced in this massacre were Christians. Many people even described these arrests as ‘cover-ups’ because instead of Christian missionaries, the conversion gangs were protected by calling the massacre only the handiwork of Maoists.

Killing of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati: ‘Clean chit’ given to Christian missionaries under the guise of Maoists

It is no secret that Christian missionaries generally target poor and backward areas. The poor people are shown miracles in the name of cures from diseases, they are lured with food and money, and hatred for Hindus is instilled in them by holding Hindu gods and goddesses responsible for their plight. In this way, the missionaries are successful in getting the people of backward regions converted to Christianity. This has been going on for years and is not a recent phenomenon.

The same Christian missionaries were behind the murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, the result of the same Hindu hatred spread by them. Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda had claimed responsibility for the killing. This can give you an idea of how much Christian missionaries have infiltrated even the Maoist organizations that have shed people’s blood for years. Then you have people like Father Stan ‘Swami’ who were in jail in the case of Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra. After the Kandhamal massacre, Panda even said that he would kill LK Advani, Ashok Singhal, and Praveen Togadia.

Remember that these three used to be the firebrand leaders of Hindutva back then. After this statement of the Maoist leader, the liberal gang got an excuse to cover up the Christian missionaries’ role by saying that this is the work of Maoists, and Maoists are Hindus. However, no one talks about the penetration of Christian missionaries into Maoists. Today the situation has become such that in many areas it has become difficult to differentiate between Hindus (Dalits/Tribal people) and Christians, because even after conversion, they remain the same as they were before. Only one new thing is added – Hindu hatred.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati had close ties with the RSS and was associated with the ‘Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)’. He had been spreading awareness about Hinduism among the tribal society for 35 years by setting up an ashram in Chakapad. He had also opened ‘Gurukul Sanskriti Vidyalaya’, through which education was provided till graduation. He was vocal about Christian conversions and this was not liked by the missionaries. Swami was becoming an obstacle for them in the path of conversion in the area. Swamiji was also running a movement against cow slaughter.

2008 was the year when Maoist violence was at its peak in Odisha. 28 commandos of Special Security Force ‘Grey Hounds’ were ambushed by Maoists. Within a span of a few months, 17 police personnel were again killed in a landmine explosion. The following year, MP Sudama Marandi was also attacked, in the attack, three of his security personnel were killed. In the midst of all this violence, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was also killed.

Media ignored the murder of an old saint and his 4 disciples, the focus of the media was on defaming the Hindus

People who witnessed that period in 2008 know that the media did not give enough attention to this massacre. There was neither much concern about Christian conversions nor the influence of missionaries in the Maoist organisations. In the pre-social media days, the general public knew only what the journalists of a particular ideology used to tell them. And what was told after this massacre? That Hindus have persecuted Christians.

So, the initial massacre of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and his 4 followers was not given priority in the news, but when Hindus protested, the nature of the protests became an issue. The massacre itself was forgotten by describing the Hindu protests as violent. ‘Journalists’ compared the protests to the riots in Gujarat after the Godhra massacre. Even today the incident of burning alive 59 Ram Bhakts, including women and children in Godhra, is not talked about and the culprits behind it, but the Hindus are definitely blamed for the riots that followed.

Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati also belonged to the forest dwellers of Odisha. He belonged to the Kanda Vanvasi society, which is considered very powerful. After penance on the Himalayas, he had come back for the betterment of society. When Sangh Pracharak Shyam ji went to his ashram, he saw how many struggles he was undertaking for his work. There were not enough utensils for cooking, and there was no provision of adequate lanterns for lighting, due to which it was difficult to study at night.

At that time, both of them together took out the yatra of Lord Jagannath in the villages and helped turn the tribal society back to its roots. Due to the revival of faith in Lord Jagannath, many converted Christians returned to Hinduism. Swamiji used to blow the conch shell and sprinkle holy water, which led to their formal return to Hinduism. Now you can understand how this renaissance led by Swamiji must have caused an uproar among Christian missionaries.

This is the reason why the Vanvasi society became furious after the murder of Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati and was filled with resentment towards those who had converted to Christianity. This was followed by protests and violence, during which the media forgot about the murder of Swamiji, and focused on blaming the Hindus. We did not get to know the details about the massacre of a social worker over 80 years of age and his 4 disciples, the way we could get to know in Palghar.

Congress-BJD MPs were accused of attacking Swamiji, but no action on anyone was taken after arrest of the Maoists

A group of about 30 people had come to kill Swamiji and all of them had covered their faces. Swamiji started running the ashram only a year after his return from the Himalayas in 1966. It is also worth knowing that when he was killed, 70% of the district committee of Maoists were Christians. However, this was not the first incident when he was attacked. On Christmas day in 2007, Christians in Brahmanigaon started putting up their gate in front of the temple.

Hindus were enraged by this and in the subsequent conflict, 5 people died on both sides. Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who reached the spot, was also attacked. Before his murder, there had been 8 murder attempts on him. Despite 8 attacks, the local police and administration were not serious about his safety. When he was murdered, his bodyguard was on leave and 4 constables engaged in his security had gone to the market. Those constables did not even have any weapons. Swamiji was gunned down with bullets, then his body was cut up using an axe.

Leaders of BJD and Congress were also involved in the attacks on him in the past. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Radhakant Naik was named in the attacks on him, who happened to be linked to a Christian organization called ‘World Vision’. When Swamiji was travelling by bus once, a Christian Lok Sabha MP from BJD blocked his way and attacked him. A week before the murder, he had filed an FIR over a death threat he had received. After his murder, the local SP and the station in-charge were suspended and the government action concluded with those suspensions.

A Christian missionary was murdered in Odisha in 1999, Bollywood even made a film about it

Even when Hindu saints are killed, Hindus are blamed by the media by highlighting the reactions from the protests that followed, but this is not the case with other religions. To see these double standards, we have to go back to 1999, when a Christian missionary named Graham Staines and his two children were murdered. The unfortunate incident got a lot of media coverage and Hindus were made the villains of the piece. Bollywood even made a film on this incident in 2019 called ‘The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story’.

Think, Bollywood made a film blaming Hindus for an incident in 1999, but for an incident that occurred 9 years later, there was not even a discussion. Graham Staines, who came from Australia, was active in Kendujhar district and was also accused of forceful conversion of Dalits and tribals. The UPA-1 government also conferred Padma Shri on his wife. In 2016, she also received an international award named after Mother Teresa.

What did Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati get in return for the work done by him for 4 and a half decades for the upliftment of the tribal society? Did the media remember his contribution even after the massacre or did the governments give him any respect? Graham Staines was even accused of proselytizing villagers by feeding them beef. Today you will find many articles in the media remembering Graham Staines, many books can be found on him, but nothing will be found about Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

The Graham Staines murder case is also said to be a conspiracy to defame Hindus, as a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge DP Wadhwa had written in its report that the main accused was not associated with any organisation. But, the Minorities Commission denied this and blamed ‘Bajrang Dal’ in its own investigation. In the investigation of the judicial committee, it was also found that the work of Christian conversion was going on in the camp where the murder took place.

Today, the question arises how do Christian missionaries reach the Maoist areas where even the police are not able to go to the troubled areas? Think that places where Swami Lakshmanand Saraswati was not safe even on foot, how did Christian missionary Graham Staines roam fearlessly with his wife and children? Swamiji neither received Padma Shri, nor any international award nor any film on his murder will be ever made.

China begins to feel the heat of economic slowdown amid crashing property rates and surging job losses: All you need to know

Dibakar Dutta
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China begins to feel the heat of economic slowdown amid crashing property rates and surging job losses: All you need to know

Communist-ruled China is amid an economic slowdown. With deflating property prices and Covid-19 lockdowns, the country is steering through a period of high unemployment and low growth.

This became evident in July this year when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described its economic situation as ‘a worse-than-anticipated slowdown.’ It noted, “In China, further lockdowns and the deepening real estate crisis have led growth to be revised down by 1.1 percentage points, with major global spillovers.”

The international financial institution has projected a mere 3.3% growth in real GDP for the year 2022. Reportedly, this marks the slowest change in China’s economic output in the past 40 years (except 2020).

According to economist Raymond Yeung, unemployment has now hit an all-time high of 20% in Chinese cities. With decreasing consumption and prioritisation of essentials, the property market has taken a severe hit.

The situation has been exacerbated by drought, extreme heat, energy crunch and the country’s zero-Covid policy. On August 20, investment banks Nomura and Goldman Sachs further slashed China’s GDP forecast to 2.8% and 3% respectively from 3.3%.

Property crash in China

The property slump in China has been marked by a simultaneous decline in the production of cement and steel. Whiles speaking about the matter to The Guardian, climate expert Lauri Myllyvirta remarked, “Steel was recovering but is now falling again, which reflects the intense distress in the real estate sector. “

As per reports, over 50 million apartments are currently unoccupied in China. Unfinished housing projects and the inability of mortgage holders to make payments to the developers have added to the crisis.

According to S&P Global Ratings, about 40% of developers in China are in deep financial trouble. The latest case of Evergrande, defaulting on its debt payment of $US 300billion, exemplifies the situation.

% of unoccupied flats in various countries, image via SCMP/BRI

This is a matter of concern for a country where real estate forms 70% of the household wealth. Finance Professor at Peking University, Michael Pettis, highlighted that China’s property slump is the culmination of 30 years of unchecked rise in property prices.

“Property developers had historically depended on rising home prices and surging sales to justify massive leverage and overbuilding. But once the bubble began to deflate last year, these over-leveraged property developers ran into serious liquidity and credit constraints that made it impossible for them to complete their construction projects,” he said.

Pettis pointed out that real estate developers have not yet delivered 40% of flats they sold between 2013-2020 in advance. Although he ruled out a sharp economic contraction, the Finance Professor has predicted a prolonged period of low growth for China.

To boost growth and spending, the Chinese government has decided to lower interest rates and sell more bonds. Pettis is of the view that it will not yield results and households will avoid burdening themselves with more debt.

Banks inflating loan numbers

China is pressuring its banks to lend people money and pump credit into its economy. The coercive action has made Chinese banks boost loan volumes artificially, reported Bloomberg.

One of the tactics involved sanctioning loans to companies and then asking them to deposit the funds in the bank at the same interest. Another method employed by the State-owned banks was short-term financing to each other, which was then shown as a ‘new loan’ in record books.

This was confirmed to Bloomberg anonymously by executives, working at 6 different banks. With consumer demand at its lowest since 2007 and uncertainty at its peak, attempts at indiscriminate lending have not helped improve credit or stimulate loan growth.

This becomes evident from the case of a well-established electronics supplier in Zhejiang. According to Bloomberg, the company was offered loans by several banks at extremely low rates. Despite this, the firm refused to borrow any money.

“We’re not considering borrowing because our cash can fully cover our operations and modest growth. The Covid outbreaks and property downturn have had an impact on us,” the company’s CEO Albert stated.

According to Bloomberg, State-owned banks are also unwilling to lend to small businesses due to a lack of collateral and valid credit records. One electric vehicle component maker in Anhui told the news organisation that the firm received only 60% of the sanctioned loans due to low debt repayment ability.

Chinese banks, which are already under pressure due to the economic slowdown, also face the risk of non-performing loans. An estimated 30% of all loans are in the property sector and banks can face $356 billion in mortgage losses if borrowers continue to threaten a boycott.

As such, banks are squeezed between an over-demanding Chinese government on one side and risk management challenges on the other. “The pressure on non-performing loans to rebound increased as the downward pressure on the economy was gradually felt by the financial sector,” remarked CBIRC official Liu Zhongrui.

Rising unemployment in China

Amidst an economic slowdown, China is faced with a unemployment crisis. According to the country’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, unemployment outlays increased to $US 5.45 billion in June this year.

The figure is 3.6 times higher than the monthly payout by China’s unemployment insurance system for June 2021. There was also a 20% increase in beneficiaries, leading to a deficit of 22.7 billion Yuan. Reportedly, it is the biggest shortfall since March 2020 when a deficit of 15.6 billion Yuan was recorded by the insurance system.

According to the Economics correspondent of The Guardian, Peter Hannam, about 1-in-5 people in Chinese cities between 16-24 is looking for work. With more people graduating, the competition for jobs has become cut-throat.

The Chinese government is incentivising companies that keep workers on the payroll. Large corporations can now receive up to a 50% refund of their unemployment insurance contribution from last year. The same has been increased to 90% for small and mid-size companies.

Interestingly, the unemployment insurance fund has been on the decline since 2019, when the Sino-American trade war broke out. Economist Takamoto Suzuki told Nikkei Asia, “There’s a strong possibility that the unemployment insurance system will end up running a deficit for the full year in 2022.”

He concluded, “If the fund balance persistently continues to decrease, it will become more difficult to engage in programs that citizens will welcome, such as extending the duration of insurance benefits or expanding eligibility for payments.”

While our eyes are fixated on the economies of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, China’s slowing economy and its ramifications are what will probably dominate the Asian and the world headlines in the months to come.  

Meet Syed Abdahu Kashaf – The Islamist who raised ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans against T Raja Singh without any fear of law

OpIndia Staff
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Meet Syed Abdahu Kashaf – The Islamist who raised ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans against T Raja Singh without any fear of law

On August 23, BJP leader T Raja was arrested by the Police for his comments on Prophet Muhammad. Earlier, influencer and former AIMIM social media head Syed Abdahu Kashaf led the ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans against Raja. While Raja was arrested for “hurting religious sentiments,” Kashaf is roaming free despite issuing and standing by the death threats against Raja.

Who is Syed Abdahu Kashaf?

Syed Abdahu Kashaf is a Jawaharlal Nehru University pass out and works as a Digital Content Creator at Crimson Media Company. As per his online profile, Kashaf has worked as AIMIM’s and its chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s social media head from 2012 to 2019.

Kashaf calls himself a political strategist and Social and Civil Rights Activist. The “young and energetic” political strategist was described as an “influencer” by several media houses after he issued death threats to BJP’s T Raja. Interestingly, the more people tagged him and condemned ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans, the more he gloated over the remarks and happily retweeted the posts that were against him.

The blunt and remorseless attitude does not originate on its own. Such attitude is shown by a person only when he or she is sure that no one can touch him. The recent incidents, including that of Nupur Sharma, where the former Spokesperson of BJP had to hide from public view over the remarks she passed during a debate, the murders that happened just because the victims supported Nupur Sharma, no strong action against the likes of Munawar Faruqui, Mohammed Zubair and the other panelist Rehmani who provoked Sharma, are a few reasons anti-social elements like Kashaf are boldly openly giving death threats. Even the past incidents such as Akbaruddin Owaisi getting acquitted by the court in the case over his provocative speech in which he urged to remove Police for 15 minutes have fueled such attitude.

Here are a few posts that we came across on Kashaf’s social media accounts.

On August 22, Kashaf gathered hundreds of Islamists following the alleged derogatory remarks by T Raja against Prophet Muhammad. During the protest, he gave ‘sar tan se juda’ slogans and provoked the Muslims against T Raja. The video of the speech that he gave has gone viral on social media platforms. He not only published the videos from his social media accounts but also retweeted those posts that shared the video of him raising ‘sar tan se juda slogans’ and condemning him. The blunt showcase of the ‘I don’t care’ attitude shows he knows no one is going to come after him.

On August 20, he shared a photograph with controversial comedian Munawar Faruqui who used derogatory language against Bhagwan Ram and Mata Sita. Gloating over the meeting, he said, “Reminder: This is #Hyderabad, not Bhagyanagar! Outsiders and hate mongers have no place here. I welcome Munawar Faruqui to our city. Kudos to the organizers, Azhar Bhai and Nisar. Most importantly, thank you, Cyberabad Police Commissionerate CP Stephen Raveendra Sir IPS, for retaining the faith in Police.”

In July 2020, Syed happily informed his supporters that he was booked under Sections 153, 504 & 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code for using derogatory remarks against PM Modi and HM Shah.

In February 2020, he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, “When Modi get scared he hides behind the impotent”.

In January 2020, when anti-CAA protests were rising, Syed published misinformation that the central government was fanning anti-minority sentiments. Calling PM Modi a liar, he said, “PM Narendra Modi, you are a liar, you have divided the nation by introduction CAA bill your representatives are speaking Anti Minority language. Did u even condemn the killing of 25 Innocent people who were peacefully protesting under democratic rights. You are a blunder we hate u.”

In December 2019, he shared a very derogatory video of an old lady from Hyderabad who was clearly misinformed about CAA and NRC.

Crimson Media, a company founded by Syed

In March 2020, Syed left AIMIM as a political strategist and started his own company named Crimson Media Co 2021. As per the company’s profile, it helps clients in political strategy building and provides a series of services, including campaign designing, surveys, polls, and more.

If you look at the company’s blogs, it clearly paints the picture that the company is looking for anti-BJP and anti-Modi clients. His experience with a party like AIMIM and posts that are openly provoking Muslims are a clear sign of what one can expect from the campaigns Crimson would design for the client.

While the likes of Syed Abdahu Kashaf, Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair, alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui, controversial influencer Faizu and others walk freely even after provoking Muslims, insulting Hindus and indulging in anti-India activities, Hindus are either hiding (Nupur Sharma) to save their lives or have already died (Kanhaiya Lal, Umesh Kohle, Kamlesh Tiwari) while trying to stand for Dharma.

Supreme Court advocate and renowned author J Sai Deepak launches his second book, ‘India, Bharat and Pakistan’

Pallav
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Supreme Court advocate and renowned author J Sai Deepak launches his second book, ‘India, Bharat and Pakistan’

Supreme Court counsel and renowned author J Sai Deepak launched his second book of the Bharat Trilogy on Tuesday at a function in Delhi. The book, “India, Bharat and Pakistan was launched by Historian Meenakshi Jain and Author-Scientist Dr Anand Ranganathan. The book is the second in the trilogy that seeks to understand India’s history from a decolonial approach. It is published by Bloomsbury India.

Several eminent people from various disciplines of arts, science, culture, and history including author Sanjeev Sanyal, and Ami Gantara graced the event with their presence. During the event, TV panellist and moderator Anand Ranganathan lauded the author for noting the facts straight in his new release named ‘India, Bharat and Pakistan’. He said that the second book in the Bharat Trilogy series written by the author was remarkable and was as good as Dr BR Ambedkar’s book named ‘Pakistan or the Partition of India’ which is based on a similar topic and the one by author Venkat Dhulipala named ‘Creating a New Medina’.

Elaborating on the book, author J Sai Deepak said that his recent release talks about the formation of Pakistan well before the year 1940 when the theory of two nations was pronounced. “The theory was pronounced in 1937, and 1940 as mentioned in Dhulipala’s book as well. But the germ for the separate country had started to take root in 1740 at the very least”, he said further adding that the only common thing between his book and Dr BR Ambedkar’s book is that they both speak as lawyers through their publications.

He suggested that there was a pre-existing division in the former country of Bharat which was escalated by the British and the Islamist leaders like Syed Ahmed Khan and Jinnah during the 1940s. “The only question that I have posed through this book is did the duo (British and the Islamist leaders) consciously collaborate with each other to lead towards the partition? Was there a conscious handshake between the British mindset and the Islamist mindset”, he said. Meanwhile, author Dr Meenakshi Jain congratulated the author for the second book in his series Bharat Trilogy.

About India, Bharat and Pakistan

The second book in the Bharat Trilogy, India, Bharat, and Pakistan, continues the subject begun in the first book, India That Is Bharat. It investigates the combined impact of European and Middle Eastern coloniality on Bharat as the successor state to Indian culture, as well as the roots of the Indian Constitution.

Through that purpose, the book follows the intellectual continuity of Middle Eastern coloniality from the development of Islamic Revivalism in the 1740s after the collapse of the Mughal Empire, which foreshadowed the concept of Pakistan, to the conclusion of the Khilafat Movement in 1924, which solidified the route to Pakistan.

The book also exposes the convenient partnership that developed between supporters of Middle Eastern coloniality and the British colonial administration, which led to the destruction of Indian civilisation. This book’s objective is to help the reader see parallels between today’s problems and the challenges encountered by the Indic civilization from 1740 to 1924. The book’s overarching objective remains the same as the first: to inspire Bharatiyas to pursue a critical decolonial study of Bharat’s history, particularly in the context of the Constitution, so that religious adherence to the constitution is counterbalanced by a sense of proportion, perspective, and purpose.

The first book – India, That Is Bharat

The first book of the trilogy, India, That Is Bharat, looks into the effects of European ‘colonial consciousness’, particularly its religious and racial underpinnings, on Bharat as the successor state to the Indic civilization and the beginnings of the Indian Constitution. It establishes the groundwork for its sequels by spanning the time period between the Age of Discovery, as symbolised by Christopher Columbus’ journey in 1492, and the reformation of Bharat through a British-made constitution—the Government of India Act of 1919. This covers international developments that led to Western countries forming the League of Nations, which had a tangible influence on this voyage.

Furthermore, the book connects the roots of ostensibly universal concepts like tolerance, secularism, and humanism to Christian political theology. In order to advance their shared contempt for the Indic way of thinking, it also explores the concept of Middle Eastern coloniality, which precedes its European equivalent. Decoloniality is presented as a requirement for civilisation in nature, religion, culture, history, education, language, and, most importantly, constitutionalism in order to save Bharat’s inherent indigeneity.

About J Sai Deepak

J. Sai Deepak is a former engineer who now works as an arguing counsel, particularly before the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi. Sai, a mechanical engineer from Anna University, earned a bachelor’s degree in law from IIT Kharagpur’s Law School in 2009 and has positioned himself as a civil, commercial, and constitutional attorney.

Sai has been involved in numerous important cases, including those involving the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the Basmati Geographical Indications, and the Indian Penal Code’s Marital Rape Exception. Sai received the Young Alumni Achiever’s Award from his home institution, IIT Kharagpur, in 2019. In addition to giving lectures on constitutional matters, he produces plenty of material for prestigious newspapers and periodicals.

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