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This Dutch city is set to become the first to enforce a ban on meat advertisements to curb meat consumption

OpIndia Staff
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This Dutch city is set to become the first to enforce a ban on meat advertisements to curb meat consumption

In an effort to reduce meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the Dutch city of Haarlem has decided to ban all meat advertisements from public spaces. Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands, will enforce the ban from 2024, making it the first city in the world to do so. It is important to note that 95% of people in the Netherlands eat meat. However, the Dutch are becoming more and more aware of the harm caused by meat consumption to the environment.

Study reveals that the meat industry accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Various pieces of research also tell us that beef production contributes the highest to greenhouse gas emissions.

Ziggy Klazes, the councilor of Groenlinks who drafted the motion to ban meat advertisements said, “Meat is very harmful to the environment, we cannot tell people that there’s a climate crisis and encourage them to buy products that are a part of it.”

The meat sector opposes ban on meat advertisements

Meat sellers of the country are strongly opposing the ban on meat advertisements arguing that the ban will impact their business and that it will also affect the economy. However, the government of Haarlem has yet not decided if sustainably produced meat will be included in the ad ban or not.

The Netherlands heading toward becoming a meat-free nation?

Over the past few years, the Netherlands has witnessed a sharp decline in meat consumption. In 2020, Dutch consumers lowered their meat consumption by 1.9 kilograms, the sharpest decline in 15 years. According to Wageningen University data, per capita consumption in the Netherlands was 75.9 kg in 2020. The drop was most noticeable in the three main meat categories: chicken (0.8kg), pork (0.5kg), and beef (0.4kg). For the first time since the time period between 2010-2016, meat consumption declined in 2020. The reduction of about 2kg in one year is nearly as much as the total reduction between 2010 and 2016.

Plant-based meat substitutes gaining preference

Another notable development in the Dutch market is the steady increase in sales of plant-based meat alternatives. However, the size of this market is and will stay relatively small (4%). As a result, the popularity of plant-based meat replacements appears to have a limited impact on consumer demand for meat at the moment.

Pakistan: Journalist reports plight of Hindu flood victims, exposes local administration for denying them food in a relief camp, gets arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Journalist reports plight of Hindu flood victims, exposes local administration for denying them food in a relief camp, gets arrested

On Wednesday, Pakistan Police in Ghotki arrested a journalist named Nasrallah Gaddani for covering the plight of Pakistani Hindus trapped in the ongoing floods in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The journalist has been sent on remand for 5 days.

According to the reports, the journalist had covered the heart-wrenching story of Pakistani Hindus belonging to the Bhagri community in Mirpur Mathelo of Sindh. The journalist reported that the local administration had expelled the Bhagri community people from the flood relief camp for being Hindus.

The video of the Bhagri community people explaining their terrible situation amid the floods in Sindh also went viral on social media. The people in the video confirmed that the Pakistani local administration had expelled them from the flood relief camps and had told them that they were not the flood victims.

The Hindu victims in the video could be seen crying after being denied basic resources like food, water, and shelter by the local administration. “We have been expelled for being Hindus. They have refused to provide us with food and water. They think we are not the victims of floods. Where will we go now? How are children supposed to survive”, a woman was heard saying.

“We are poor. We have lost our homes in the floods. And they (local administration) tell us we are not flood victims. We have small children with us. Where do we go now? How do we survive without food and water?”, a man further pondered.

Hindu people residing in Pakistan have been facing adversities and severe institutionalized discrimination in Pakistan. However, the recent flood-like situation in the Sindh province has added to their plight. Earlier, it was reported that a Hindu girl was gang raped by two Islamist men on the pretext of providing food amid devastating floods in the Sindh province.

The video of the victim girl had gone viral over social media where she could be seen crying on camera. On August 31, a similar video from Pakistan had gone viral over social media where a man was seen complaining of attempted rapes of their women by Pakistani goons. Another incident was reported during the last week in Sindh, Pakistan, where an 8-year-old Hindu girl was gang-raped amid the devastating floods. The suspects scratched her entire face and also gouged out her eyes.

To note, many of the Hindus living in Sindh province of Pakistan are among the poorest sections of Pakistani society. They face human rights violations in cases regarding land grabbing, abduction, and conversion. They have fewer employment opportunities and many still live as bonded labourers under Muslim landlords. Hindus also suffer routine exploitation which they dare not report to the police.

The current floods in the southern part of Pakistan have created havoc by killing more than 1300 people. According to the reports, the UN refugee agencies have rushed to provide desperately needed aid to flood-stricken Pakistan. While the floods have touched much of Pakistan, the southern Sindh province remains the most affected posing threat to the communities living in the area.

‘Right to undress also becomes a fundamental right then’: SC remarks after petitioner claims Hijab is ‘right to dress’ citing Article 19 of Constitution

OpIndia Staff
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‘Right to undress also becomes a fundamental right then’: SC remarks after petitioner claims Hijab is ‘right to dress’ citing Article 19 of Constitution

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court while hearing the case challenging the hijab ban in Karnataka government educational institutions remarked that even the right to undress would qualify as a fundamental right under article 19 of the Indian Constitution. “If the right to dress is claimed as an absolute fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution, then right to undress would also qualify as one”, the Court remarked.

According to the reports, this is after Advocate Devadatt Kamat appearing for the petitioner Ayeshat Shifa contended that wearing hijab should be considered as the right to dress under article 19 of the Constitution of India. The Court bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta also pondered whether it was fair to stretch Article 19 to illogical ends.

“We cannot take this to illogical ends. If you say the right to dress is a fundamental right then the right to undress also becomes a fundamental right. No one is denying the right to dress”, the Court reiterated. Meanwhile, Kamat pressed that the state can’t restrict the girls from wearing an additional dress (hijab) on the basis of Article 19 if they want to.

However, the Court ruled that the state was not prohibiting the Muslim women from wearing the hijab, but the schools are, inside their respective premises because they have uniform dress code rules. Last Monday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the State of Karnataka in a batch of petitions contesting the Karnataka High Court decision that essentially upheld the prohibition on wearing hijab in government schools and universities.

On March 15, the Karnataka High Court upheld a Karnataka government order (GO) effectively authorizing college development committees of government institutions in the State to prohibit Muslim girl students from wearing hijab (head coverings) on campus. “Hijab is not a part of essential religious practices of Islam. The requirement of uniform is a reasonable restriction on the fundamental right to freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a). The government has the power to pass the GO”, a three-judge bench led by Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi, Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi had ruled.

Meanwhile, one of the petitions filed by Muslim students after being denied permission to attend courses due to their hijab use contended that the High Court had failed to take cognizance of the fact that the right to wear Hijab comes under the ambit of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Advocate Kamat reiterated the contention on September 7 and stated that the state had failed to provide reasonable accommodation to a student exercising her right under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. He also pointed to a woman lawyer wearing Hijab in the Courtroom and argued that was her act violating the decorum of the court.

He also cited the examples of Kendriya Vidyalayas looked after by the Central government which allow Muslim girls to wear hijab. “Kendriya Vidyalayas, under the Central government allow Hijab. For the Kendra Vidyalayas head scarf with matching colour of uniform for girls is allowed. It makes it a reasonable accommodation for Muslim girls to wear the head scarf in schools”, he argued.

Kamat also said that religious identity symbols of other religions were allowed in the schools but not Hijab. To this, Justice Gupta said that religious identity symbols like Sandhya Vandanam, Rudraksha or even cross do not violate the discipline of the school. “Rudraksh and cross is inside shirt. No one is removing your shirt to find it out”, the Court added.

The Court further maintained that it was not fair to stretch Article 19 of the Indian Constitution to illogical ends.

“Once a Waqf, always a Waqf”: How Waqf Boards have become 3rd biggest land owners in India and the properties now belong to Allah

Amit Kelkar
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“Once a Waqf, always a Waqf”: How Waqf Boards have become 3rd biggest land owners in India and the properties now belong to Allah

Recently, the Supreme Court of India denied permission for the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at the Eidgah Maidaan in Bengaluru after the Karnataka Waqf Board raised objections against such celebrations at the said location claiming ownership of the land. This has again brought into focus the prevalent practice of Waqf in an allegedly secular country and the functioning of the boards maintaining them.

While Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) claimed that the land of the Eidgah is government land and the title was not transferred to any Muslim organisation, the Waqf Board claimed that it is Waqf property since the 1850s and once a Waqf property, it continues to remain a Waqf property till eternity. Waqf Board’s lawyer Dushyant Dave also argued that Waqf Act is an overriding law and there are no legislative powers over it, hence the Court can not pass an order on a Waqf property.

The Supreme Court then denied permission for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and asked to maintain the status quo on the site.

What is Waqf

The very literal meaning of Waqf is detention or confinement and prohibition. As per Islam, it is the property that is now available only for religious or charitable purposes, and any other use or sale of the property is prohibited. As per Sharia law, once Waqf is established, and the property is dedicated to Waqf, it remains as Waqf property forever.

Waqf means that the ownership of the property is now taken away from the person making Waqf and transferred and detained by Allah. As per Sharia, this property is now permanently dedicated to Allah, making Waqf irrevocable in nature.

‘Waqif’ is a person who creates a waqf for the beneficiary. As Waqf properties are bestowed upon Allah, in the absence of a physically tangible entity, a ‘mutawalli’ is appointed by the waqif, or by a competent authority, to manage or administer a Waqf. 

The history of Waqf and Waqf Boards in India

In India, the history of Waqf can be traced back to the early days of the Delhi Sultanate when Sultan Muizuddin Sam Ghaor dedicated two villages in favour of the Jama Masjid of Multan and handed its administration to Shaikhul Islam. As the Delhi Sultanate and later Islamic dynasties flourished in India, the number of Waqf properties kept increasing in India.

There was a case made for the abolition of Waqfs in India in the late 19th Century when a dispute over a Waqf property ended up in the Privy Council of London during the days of the British Raj. The four British judges who heard the case described the Waqf as “a perpetuity of the worst and the most pernicious kind” and declared Waqf to be invalid. 

However, the decision by the four judges was not accepted in India and the Mussalman Waqf Validating Act of 1913 saved the institution of Waqf in India. Since then, no attempt has been made to curb Waqfs, and Waqf Board is now the 3rd largest land owner in India after the Armed Forces and Indian Railways.

In fact, political vote banks have dictated that the institution of Waqf has only been strengthened post-independence. The Waqf Act of 1954 passed by the Nehru government provided a pathway toward the centralisation of Waqfs. Central Waqf Council of India, a statutory body was established in 1964 by the Government of India under this Waqf Act of 1954. This central body oversees the work under various state Waqf boards which were established under provisions of Section 9(1) of the Waqf Act, 1954. The Waqf Act was made even more favourable to Muslims in 1995 which as Advocate Dave pointed out, is an overriding law and there are no legislative powers over it.

The Waqf Act 1995

The Waqf Act, 1995 was enacted and implemented on November 22, 1995. This act provides for the power and functions of the Waqf Council, the State Waqf Boards, and the Chief Executive Officer, and also the duties of mutawalli.

This Act also describes the power and restrictions of a Waqf Tribunal that acts in lieu of a civil court under its jurisdiction. The Waqf Tribunals are deemed to be a civil court and required to exercise all the powers and functions exercised by a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The decision of a Tribunal shall be final and binding on the parties. No suit or legal proceedings shall lie under any civil court which this act requires to be determined by a Tribunal. Thus, making the Waqf Tribunal decisions above any civil court.

Once a Waqf property, always a Waqf property

Since the ownership of the property is transferred to Allah from the waqif in the case of Waqf, and property can not be taken back from Allah, once a property becomes Waqf, it will always stay Waqf.

Waqf website

As seen in the case of Bengaluru Eidgah ground, even though there was no title transfer to any Muslim organisation as per the government, Waqf’s claims that it was a Waqf property from the 1850s means that it is now forever a Waqf property.

Recently, the Gujarat Waqf Board had staked claim to the Surat Municipal Corporation building which is now the property of the Waqf because the documents were not updated. As per Waqf, back during the Mughal era, the Surat Municipal Corporation building was a sarai and used during the Hajj travels. The property then belonged to British Empire during British rule. However, when India got independence in 1947, the properties were then shifted to the government of India. However, since the documents were not updated, the SMC building then became Waqf property, and as Waqf Board says, once a Waqf, always a Waqf.

In another bizarre case of staking a claim, Divya Bhaskar had reported that the Waqf Board had written an application to Gujarat High Court staking claim on the ownership of two islands in Bet Dwarka in Devbhoomi Dwarka. A perplexed High Court Judge refused to hear the application and asked the Board to revise its petition wondering how can Waqf stake a claim on land in Krishnanagri.

Another interesting aspect of Waqf is that an apartment in your housing society can any day turn into a mosque without any input from the other members of the society if the owner of that apartment decides to endow it as Waqf. Something similar happened in Shiv Shakti society in Surat where one of the plot owners registered his plot with the Gujarat Waqf Board, making it a holy place for Muslims, and people started offering Namaz there.

The relevance of Waqf in a secular country

A special Act for religious properties of only one religion when no such law exists for any other religion smacks of clear discrimination. As a proudly secular country, how do we reconcile with this? In fact, a PIL has been currently filed in the Delhi High Court asking this very question by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. Delhi HC has issued notice to the central government on this plea regarding the constitutional validity of Waqf.

Waqf is not even present in all the Islamic countries with places such as Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, and Iraq having no Waqfs. However, in India, in a country mired with vote-bank politics, not only are Waqf Boards the largest urban landowners, but they also have an Act protecting them legally.

Uttar Pradesh: Bilal rapes his cousin, assaults her for refusing to marry him and threatens to release rape video, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Bilal rapes his cousin, assaults her for refusing to marry him and threatens to release rape video, arrested

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested one person named Bilal for raping and abusing his cousin in the public. He also took incriminating videos of his cousin and also used them to blackmail her to force her to marry him. A case has been registered against the accused under sections 376, 323, 504, and 386 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the reports, the Police arrested the accused named Bilal based on the complaint filed by the victim girl. The incident is said to have happened in the Pratap Vihar area of Ghaziabad on August 29 when the accused forcefully took the victim to a restaurant and physically abused her. He also shot the video and threatened her to marry him. The video of the incident went viral over social media in which the accused can be seen hitting the victim and threatening her.

The police confirmed the incident and said that a case had been filed against the accused. “We were informed about the incident on September 6 evening after which the Police immediately took action against Bilal. He has been arrested and other legal proceedings are being implemented”, the Police added.

The victim girl who is a resident of the Pratap Vihar area in Ghaziabad mentioned in the complaint that the accused is her maternal sibling and is already married. “He is the resident of the Kaila Kheda area and has been frequently visiting our house for the past four years”, she said adding that she stays at home with her ill mother and three working brothers.

She noted that the accused Bilal took advantage of the unfavourable family situation and raped her four months ago. “I was alone at home that day. My mother keeps ill and that day my brothers too had left for their work early. I was all alone at home. Bilal came home that day and raped me. He also shot incriminating videos of brutal rape and later threatened me to post those on social media. He wanted to marry me and kept on forcing me to do so even after I had refused his proposal”, she said.

The victim girl noted that Bilal on August 29 forcefully took her to a restaurant and abused her. He also forced her to accept his proposal and marry him. “On August 29, I was going to the market to fetch medicine for my ill mother. Bilal arrived on his bike and blocked my way. Later he took me to a restaurant in Pratap Vihar and pressured me into marriage. He is already married and I had refused his proposal long back. He then began hitting me and shot the incident which went viral over social media”, the victim stated.

The complaint was filed by the victim girl on September 6 after which the Ghaziabad Police took immediate action against the accused identified as Bilal. The Police have arrested the accused and have booked him under the relevant sections of the IPC. Further investigations and legal proceedings in the case are underway.

‘Alia and Ranbir chose not to go inside Mahakaleshwar temple’: MP Home Minister says security arrangements were solid, but they returned without Darshan

OpIndia Staff
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‘Alia and Ranbir chose not to go inside Mahakaleshwar temple’: MP Home Minister says security arrangements were solid, but they returned without Darshan

On September 7, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s return from Mahakaleshwar Mandir without Darshan on a September 6 night following the protests by Bajrang Dal activists stirred a controversy. It was reported that Bajrang Dal activists allegedly stopped the duo from taking blessings from Bhagwan Shiv. However, recent updates on the matter show a different side of the story.

According to Madhya Pradesh State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, the duo was not stopped from Darshan. In fact, there were adequate security arrangements, and the administration had requested them to go ahead with Darshan, but they returned.

Speaking to the media, Mishra said, “Protest was a different matter. No one stopped them from Darshan. Ayan and others from their team went for Darshan. There were adequate arrangements. They were requested to go ahead to go for Darshan. I talked to the administration, and they told me they had requested the couple to go, but they did not because of the protests. The artists should restrain from using any derogatory language that may hurt people’s sentiments.”

The whole incident was narrated by journalist Anuraag Singh following his conversation with the minister. He added that one of the Bajrang Dal activists, Dilip, was booked by the Police under Section 353 after he allegedly got into an altercation with the Police outside Mahakaleshwar Mandir.

OpIndia reached out to Ankit Choubey, district President of Bajrang Dal. He said, “We were not there to stop them from entering the temple for Darshan. We were there to mark our Protest over the statements given by the actors in the past, especially what Ranbir had said about eating beef. However, we did not stop anyone from doing Darshan.”

He added, “You are aware that Ayan and others went for Darshan in the temple, right? If we wanted to stop them, we would have stopped everyone and not Ranbir and Alia selectively.” Speaking about the altercation one of the activists had with the Police, he said, “We were peacefully protesting at the site. There was some altercation between the Police and our activists. Dilip got hurt during the altercation, and he was booked by the Police as well. Currently, he is in ICU as he was suffering from severe pain in the chest and back.”

Ankit said, “Everyone knew from which route they were coming. If we wanted to stop them, we would have stopped them at the toll or at the entrance of the city. Why would we allow them to enter if that were our intention to begin with? It was their wish not to go for Darshan.”

The exclusive story on how Ramasimhan’s movie on 1921 Malabar Genocide of Hindus is being stonewalled: Cuts by CBFC, threats by Islamists and more

Nupur J Sharma
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The exclusive story on how Ramasimhan’s movie on 1921 Malabar Genocide of Hindus is being stonewalled: Cuts by CBFC, threats by Islamists and more

The 1921 Malabar Genocide of Hindus by the Moplah Muslims was a dark chapter in the history of Hindus and the civilisational state of Bharat with an estimated over 10,000 Hindus being massacred by Moplah Muslims. The genocide was a direct consequence of the Khilafat movement that was espoused by none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Ever since, the genocide of Hindus has been whitewashed, pushed under the rug or distorted to paint the aggressors as the ‘real’ victims. The Left has spent decades trying to push the narrative that the Malabar genocide was actually a “peasant uprising” where poor Muslims rose up against the evil Hindu landlords, demanding their legitimate rights. The killing, was a result of the oppression faced by Muslims and not a product of sectarian hate that the Islamists harboured.

The truth is, of course, far from it. In the book The Moplah Rebellion, 1921 written by Diwan Bahadur C. Gopalan Nair, he narrates how even before the Moplah massacre of Hindus, intermittently, there were times when Muslims went into a frenzy and slaughtered Hindus. He writes how the Muslims would sometimes go into their “Hal Ilakam” (Religious frenzy) and not only slaughter Hindus but also desecrate their temples. 

At that time, one MR TL Strange was sent as the special commissioner in Malabar to understand what the cause of these frenzied episodes are. In an 1852 report, Mr Strange categorically rejected the theory that the transgressions by the Muslims against Hindus were a result of a peasant uprising. The report also said that the Hindu landlords treated the peasants well and the violence against Hindus was a clear result of Islamic hate.  

Any attempt to change the established Left narrative about the Malabar Genocide of Hindus has been met with steep resistance, it was, therefore, expected that the upcoming movie by Ramasimhan (previously known as Ali Akbar) would meet the same fate. On June 27, news emerged that the censor committee of Kerala had denied a certificate to the upcoming Malayalam film ‘Puzha Muthal Puzha Vare’, revolving around the Malabar Genocide of Hindus, by filmmaker Ali Akbar aka Ramasimhan Aboobakker. What presumably made matters far worse for Ramasimhan, was that he had reconverted to Hinduism after being disillusioned by the conduct of Islamists in several cases, particularly, after the tragic death of CDS General Bipin Rawat.

“There was a movie that was being released on the Malabar Genocide of Hindus that glorified the murderers. The movie ‘Vaariyamkunnan’ was based on the life of Variamkunnath Kunhamed Haji and Ali Musaliar – the Jihadis responsible for carrying out genocide against thousands of Hindus in Kerala during the early 1920s. When this movie was announced, many people approached me to make a movie that represented the truth about what happened to the Hindus community. That is when I decided to make this film”, Ramasimhan said.

This movie by Ramasimhan is completely crowd-funded. “From Rs 50 onwards, people started giving me money to make this movie. I collected Rs 1.4 crores by people’s contribution”, he said.

It is pertinent to remember that Malayalam director Aashiq Abu had cast controversial Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran in his period film titled ‘Vaariyamkunnan’. After the outrage, it was reported that the movie was shelved. In June 2020, controversial Malayali actor Prithviraj Sukumaran took to Facebook to announce the new movie and hailed the Jihadists in his post. The actor, sharing the posters of the movie, said Variyam Kunnathu stood up against an empire that ruled a quarter of the world. The moviemakers were accused of whitewashing the crimes of Jihadists of the Moplah Hindu massacre under the garb of freedom of movement. Several people had raised objections against the movie, alleging that the movie was another attempt to absolve crimes by hailing a terrorist as someone who “rebelled” against the British.

Ramasimhan (Ali Akbar) told OpIndia that from the very beginning, a regional officer called Parvati in the Kerala Censor Board was against the movie. “From the registration itself, she was against me”, he said. “It took around one and a half months to register the movie in the software e-pramaan. The software would keep saying it was under scrutiny. The moment I said I will approach the High Court, the registration went through. After that, they called for screening. But after the screening, without any notice, she suggested the movie to the Revision Committee, Mumbai”, he added.

According to Akbar, when he reached Mumbai, there was a 9 person hearing at the Revision Committee. There were Malayalis as well so the local context is not lost. The Revision Committee said that because the movie has a little bit of violence, the certificate that would be given to it would be an A certificate. The Review Committee also suggested some minor cuts that were accepted by Ramasimhab. He told OpIndia that the cuts suggested in this first review meeting were nothing major that altered the foundation of the story itself.

After this meeting, while Ramasimhan waited for the list of cuts that he had to make, he got a notice from the CBFC that another Revision Committee meeting was to be held. Ramasimhan was a little flummoxed because he did not understand the reason for a second revision. His contacts told him that the movie was passed by the first committee but after that, it could only be something “fishy” that led to a second meeting.

When he reached for the second Revision Committee meeting, Ramasimhan says that there were no Malayali members in the panel.

One of the first scenes that the CBFC censored in the movie was a scene where the Thuvur well incident was depicted. On the 25th of September 1921, on the barren hillside between Thuvoor and Karuvayakandi in North Kerala Chambrassery Imbichi Koithangal, one of the Khilafat leaders, held a rally with over 4,000 of his followers. During this meeting, more than 40 Hindus were caught hold of and taken to him with their hands tied behind their backs. 38 were murdered. 3 of the 38 were shot but the rest were beheaded and thrown in the Thuvoor well. 

Besides the Thuvoor well incident, there were several other scenes which were cut. For example, Akbar tells OpIndia that in the movie, there was one dialogue that spoke about the Al-Daula (Islamic State) that was established in Malabar by Kunjahammed Haji. According to several records, this was evidently an ‘independent area’ that the Islamists had established where they had even imposed Jizya on Hindus. One lady, who was a part of the censor board, asked Akbar questions about what he knew about Shariat and Islam, and then proceeded to cut that dialogue altogether.

Akbar told OpIndia that during the 1921 Genocide of Hindus, the carnage was rampant. There was the forcible conversion of Hindus, the deliberate slaughter of cows was rampant just to insult the faith of the Hindus, several thousand were beheaded and temples were razed to the ground. In the movie, he had scenes where he depicted the forcible conversion of Hindus and the temples being razed by Islamists, these scenes were also disallowed by the censor board. In another scene, without really showing the cow slaughter, he had alluded to cows being slaughtered by Islamists and that too was cut. 

Aside from such scenes, OpIndia was told that the censor board even told Ali Akbar to ensure that chants of “Allahu Akbar” and “Naara-e-Taqbeer” were not shown so frequently. 

Essentially, all the cuts in the movie would strip down the essence of the movie, which was to show the genocide of Hindus by Moplah Muslims in 1921. He suspects that the censor board was under the influence of the Kerala officer who, according to him, is a Communist wanting to peddle the communist narrative of the 1921 genocide being a “peasant uprising” against “landlords”. In fact, this is evidenced by the fact that when the movie referred to the family of the Hindus Kings of the area as “Lords”, the censor board insisted that it be changed to refer to them as “Landlords”.

The full list of cuts that Ramasimhan got, essentially would mean that he would have to show a movie on the genocide of Hindus without really showing how the Hindus were murdered and tortured, essentially, peddling the “peasant uprising” propaganda of the Leftists. Mr TG Mohandas uploaded the full list of cuts on Twitter as well.

“After these cuts, only goodness of the Muslims would be there, there would be nothing that would show the plight of Hindus who were murdered by the Moplah Muslims”, Ramasimhan told OpIndia.

Ramasimhan also said that among the many cuts that would change the character of the movie, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) during its Revising Committee meeting also was forcing him to use his Muslim name, Ali Akbar, as the Director of the movie. “I think they have a problem that a Muslim man converted to Hinduism and is making a movie on the Malabar genocide of Hindus”, he told OpIndia. “They don’t want this message going out”, he added.

“So many people use pen names. So many artists and technicians use a different names. Why should they have a problem if I want to use Ali Akbar as the producer name but my Hindu name as the Director? They are supposed to review the movie, not decide on names”, he added. He told OpIndia that he had also submitted his conversion certificate to the censor board, however, they insisted that he use the name Ali Akbar as the Director and not Ramasimhan.  

“I am suspicious that it was Parvati from the Kerala Censor Board who told the Revision Committee of CBFC that these cuts should be there. I suspect some pressure from Islamist organisations like PFI as well”, he said. Since the Kerala Censor Board and the Revision Committee, both come under the central government, on being asked why he thinks his movie is being stonewalled, Ramasimhan said, “You have to remember that dialogue from The Kashmir Files – The government might be outs but the establishment is still theirs. Also, I think the central government is more interested in economic growth and in the process, they ignore important cultural issues”, he said.

Other roadblocks that Ramasimhan faced while making the movie on the 1921 genocide – threats, intimidation and clandestine stonewalling

Ramasimhan told OpIndia that it was not just the cuts by the Censor Board that were stonewalling the movie, He wanted to register a name for the Hindi version of the movie, however, that too proved to be difficult. Ramasimhan wanted to register the Hindi version of the name, “1921: Puzha Muthal Puzha Vare”, which essentially translates to “1921: Nadi Se Nadi Tak”. However, when he tried to register the name, it was already taken by someone else.

“I tried to register 20 different variations of the name, from Malabar Genocide to every variation one can think of, however, all had been registered by someone else. It was almost as if someone did not want me to find a name for the Hindi version of the movie”, he said. Ramasimhan suspects that someone is deliberately registering all possible names for the movie so he cannot register a Hindi name.

Ramasimhan further said that the Kerala state police and the Central Intelligence officers have approached him, informing him that he is under serious threat. “After the movie came into the news, and even when I was filming the movie, there were threats. The central agencies came to my house and told me to install 8 cameras for security purposes”, he said.

“Even when I was filming the movie, beyond the threats, the state tried to stonewall the movie by denying me permission to shoot”, said Ramasimhan. “They did not give me permission to shoot in public areas, I had to come to private areas and finish the shooting of the film”, he added. About the threats, Ramasimhan said that radical Islamists had threatened even the artists working in the movie, asking them to stop their association with the film. Eventually, Ramasimhan says that he made the set on his own property to finish the filming. “They did not even allow me to visit the area of the Thuvur well. Actually, the Thuvur well area is now purchased by these Muslims. They are still looking to create a Muslim caliphate in Malabar”.

Ramasimhan believes that given the threats he has received since he reconverted to Hinduism, he is a dead man walking. “They will finish me the day they get the change”, he said. “The only security I have is my Krishna”.

Ramasimhan, previously known as Ali Akbar, has now decided to approach the High Court to seek justice against the cuts imposed by the CBFC.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s MLA brother came to Delhi amid to purchase undergarments, he says, justifying his absence from Dumka amid sensational murders

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s MLA brother came to Delhi amid to purchase undergarments, he says, justifying his absence from Dumka amid sensational murders

On being asked about the reason for his recent visit to New Delhi amidst the political crisis in Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA and Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s brother Basant Soren said that he ran out of underwear and went to Delhi to buy some.

“I had run out of undergarments, so I went to Delhi to purchase them. I get them from there,” said Basant Soren when asked by reporters about the reason behind his recent Delhi visit.

This remark has sparked controversy, with several individuals on social media calling out Soren’s arrogance at a time when the state is in a political crisis and two adolescent girls had been brutally murdered in the state. Basant Soren could not be seen in his constituency after the brutal murders of two minor girls. Soren’s rationale for his absence from Dumka, which has still not recovered from the trauma of two successive killings of two minor girls within a fortnight, including a tribal, exposes Jharkhand’s political landscape.

Journalist Aman Chopra took to Twitter and wrote, “Remember a plane flew from Bhopal to Indore to pick up Nehru’s fav 555 brand Cigarettes and now this. Plane to buy undergarments from Delhi. Basant Soren, brother of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is an MLA from Dumka, where murders are taking place continuously.”

An outraged social media user targeting Basant Soren wrote, “Ankita was burnt alive and killed by Shahrukh and he went to Delhi to buy underwear!”

In Dumka, there were two cold-blooded killings, and Basant Soren was nowhere to be found. First, a 17-year-old Hindu schoolgirl was set ablaze after being doused in petrol by a man named Shahrukh as she slept at home, apparently as retaliation for turning down Shahrukh’s romance proposal. Second, a 14-year-old Dalit girl was murdered and hanged on a tree miles from her home after being raped for several months.

Basant Soren visited the mourning relatives on Wednesday. Soren informed reporters that he had been to Delhi to buy underwear when asked by the media why he hadn’t been seen in Dumka for a few days. It is notable that similar remarks were made by Jharkhand chief minister and his brother Hemant Soren when asked about the murders. Hemant Soren had said that such incidents keep happening and there’s nothing new about them.

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.

LED lights removed from terrorist Yakub Memon’s grave after outrage, BJP’s Ram Kadam says Sharad Pawar and Uddhav should apologise

OpIndia Staff
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LED lights removed from terrorist Yakub Memon’s grave after outrage, BJP’s Ram Kadam says Sharad Pawar and Uddhav should apologise

A day after BJP leader Ram Kadam shared the images of ‘beautification’ done at the grave of terrorist Yakub Memon, alleging that it has been converted into a mazar, the LED lights have been removed.

ANI reported on Thursday, 8 September that the light arrangements at the grave site are being removed. Police presence was seen at the site. After the BJP leader highlighted the issue and stated that there are attempts underway to convert the convicted terrorist’s grave into a ‘mazar’, there was public outrage.

On September 7, BJP leader Ram Kadam had shared images of the grave of the Islamic terrorist at Mumbai’s Bada Qabrastan, saying that the terrorist’s grave was beautified when the MVA government was in power. He had added that the leaders of the MVA alliance parties, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the people of India for allowing a convicted terrorist and traitor’s grave to be glorified.

Yakub Memon, the convicted terrorist in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case, was hung and his remains were buried in the Bada Qabrastan in South Mumbai. However, a shocking image emerged in which LED lighting and marble tiles have been put on Yakub Memon’s grave.

Terrorist Yakub Memon’s grave in Mumbai gets marble slabs and LED lights: BJP leader says attempts are underway to turn it into a Mazar

OpIndia Staff
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Terrorist Yakub Memon’s grave in Mumbai gets marble slabs and LED lights: BJP leader says attempts are underway to turn it into a Mazar

Yakub Memon, the convicted terrorist in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case, was hung and his remains were buried in a huge graveyard in South Mumbai. However, a shocking image has emerged in which LED lighting and marble tiles have been put on Yakub Memon’s grave.

Political commentary has also begun as soon as the images gained attention. The BJP claims that Memon’s grave was turned into a tomb while Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. Ram Kadam, a BJP leader, blamed the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government for this, saying that Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the people of Mumbai.

Who was Yakub Memon? 

Yakub Memon was convicted for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts and was sentenced to death. In 2015, the death sentence was carried out after his mercy petition was rejected. He was buried on July 30, 2015, at Bada Cemetery in South Mumbai. Yakub was the only convict awarded the death penalty. An attempt is now being made to turn Yakub’s grave into a tomb. LED lights have reportedly been put on this marble-covered grave. It is guarded 24 hours a day.

It is notable here that Mohammad Abdul Rauf Memon, Yakub’s cousin, had filed a complaint with the LT Marg police in 2020, accusing the trustees of the Juma Masjid Board, under which the Bada Qabrastan is registered, of ‘selling’ the grave sites of the Memon family to another family. As per Waqf rule, grave sites cannot be sold, they are given to respective families only for maintenance.

It was said that the trustees of the graveyard sold Yakub Memon’s grave for Rs 5 lakh. So the question arises if Memon’s family holds ownership of the grave, and if not, why is the tomb being provided VIP treatment? The Burial Waqf Board has control over the Bada Kabrastan location, where Yakub Memon’s remains were buried.

A report by Times Now Navbharat claimed that their reporter had contacted the Qabrastan authorities who stated that the marble slabs and LED lights are a part of a general beautification drive and are not specific to the grave of Yakub Memon.

Congress’s ‘love’ for terrorist Yakub Memon 

Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh who had written the letter to then President Pranab Mukherjee seeking mercy for 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon’s execution, was sworn in as a cabinet minister the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

When AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi lamented the death sentence awarded to Yakub Memon

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, while addressing a rally in Nanded in 2019 had expressed remorse over not being able to save Yakub Memon since Muslims were not in power. He went on to call Muslims who voted BJP as ‘Chhakka’ referring to colloquial derogatory slang for transgender persons.

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