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Fact-check: Govt did not order anyone to buy Tiranga to get ration. Misleading video viral, shared without ‘fact-check’ by ‘fact-checker’ Mohammad Zubair

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-check: Govt did not order anyone to buy Tiranga to get ration. Misleading video viral, shared without ‘fact-check’ by ‘fact-checker’ Mohammad Zubair

Social media websites were recently awash with videos of people complaining that they are forced to buy Tiranga for Rs 20 at government-operated ration centres, failing which they were denied the ration. 

The video shows alleged employees at the ration centres claiming that they had received orders from above to sell Tiranga to consumers who come to their shops to buy rations. The video is being bandied around on the internet with the claim that the Centre had instructed ration centres to deny rations to people not buying the national flag. 

The video, seemingly from the Karnal district of Haryana, instantly went viral on the internet, with politicians and social media personalities with sizeable following sharing the video, lending credence to the attendant claim that government-run ration centres were mandating consumers to buy Tiranga from them.

‘Fact-checker’, Rahul Gandhi, opposition parties spread the viral video that claims GoI ordered the denial of ration to people not buying Tiranga

Never one to exercise discretion in sharing news that shows the Centre in a bad light, Mohammed Zubair, who preens on being a ‘fact-checker’, shared the viral video without carrying out a basic fact-check if the government had indeed ordered PDS centres to force consumers to buy Tiranga from them.

Source: Twitter

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is constantly on the prowl to attack the Centre, most notably on their ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, took to Facebook to share the viral video and target the government. 

“Tricolor is our pride, it resides in every heart. Nationalism can never be sold, it is very shameful that instead of giving rations, 20 rupees are being collected from the poor in the name of tricolour. Along with the tricolour, the BJP government is also attacking the self-esteem of the poor of our country,” Gandhi wrote along with sharing the video. 

The official Twitter handle of All India Trinamool Congress also shared a Dainik Bhaskar report and alleged poor people were being looted and forced to pay Rs 20 for buying the flag, without which they will not get ration. 

Tiranga
Source: Twitter

Varun Gandhi also shared the viral video noting that it would be unfortunate if the celebration of the 75th anniversary of independence becomes a burden on the poor.

Tiranga
Source: Twitter

Many others too shared the viral video claiming that the government of India had ordered the denial of rations to people not buying the national flag. 

Tiranga
Source: Twitter

The truth about the claim that the government is forcing people to buy the national flag at ration centres

However, the claim that the Indian government is compelling the poor to buy the national flag at ration centres is false. The central government has issued no such instruction, it said on social media websites. The official Twitter handle of the Press Information Bureau called out the fake claims attributed to the government and said that no such instruction mandating the buying of the Tricolour has been issued to the PDS centres.

The government has also cancelled the license of the errant ration shop for violating the government orders and misrepresenting facts.

The Haryana government on Wednesday suspended the licence of the ration depot after he was found forcing people to buy the national flag and telling them they won’t be given the provisions otherwise.

“A ration depot holder at Hemda village was selling the flags stating if they don’t buy the ration at the rate of Rs 20, they won’t be given the supplies. As soon as the matter came to the knowledge of the district administration, his licence was suspended with immediate effect,” Karnal deputy commissioner Anish Yadav was quoted as saying in a report published by the Indian Express.

Speaking to the media persons, the depot holder said, “I have made it clear that the flag will cost Rs 20 as there are orders from the government. We have to deposit the money (charged in lieu of the flags). We won’t provide rations to those who will not buy a flag at the rate of Rs 20. We have been instructed by the inspector that the purchase of the flag is mandatory for those who are taking ration. We have to follow the orders of the government.”

However, authorities clarified that there was no mandate on people taking rations to buy Tiranga from the depot. They said the Tricolour at the public distribution system (PDS) centres are for the convenience of the public and they will be returned to the government after August 15. 

Mexican President proposes three-member committee including PM Modi to convince Russia, China and USA for five-year global ceasefire

OpIndia Staff
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Mexican President proposes three-member committee including PM Modi to convince Russia, China and USA for five-year global ceasefire

Amid rising global conflicts among various nations that have started to affect all other countries, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has appealed to the international community to agree to a five-year ceasefire. The president has suggested to the UN to form a three-member committee to talk with various nations to achieve this truce and has proposed three names for the committee. AMLO said that the committee should be comprised of Pope Francis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the most accepted global personalities who could talk to world powers to convince them to end wars.

With the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the emerging stand-off over Taiwan, the president of Mexico said that geopolitical tensions between China, Taiwan, and the US are hurting the world, and nations need to put an end to wars. He said that the world can agree on a truce of at least five years so that the nations can tackle the problems affecting the people.

Lopez Obrador said on Thursday that nations should come together to help the poor and promote economic development during the five-year truce period. “NO to provocations, NO to war. We do not want hegemonies in the world. It is not too much to ask the United States, Russia, and China to accept this proposal, which could be raised in the United Nations,” the president said.

“We must stop the war through a pacification agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and at the same time reach an agreement between the nations especially an agreement signed, mainly, by Russia, China and the United States, so that we achieve, at least, a five-year truce so that all the governments of the world can dedicate ourselves to confronting the crisis that affects billions of human beings,” Lopez Obrador further said.

He then suggested that the United Nations should form a committee to work out modalities to achieve the five-year global ceasefire on both military wars and trade wars. He said that he is proposing the names – Pope Francis, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi – for the committee. Justifying the inclusion of Modi, Lopez Obrador said that he has good relations with China, Russia and the United States, and therefore could be able to convince them to end the wars.

“I will make the proposal in writing, I will present it to the United Nations. I have been saying this and hope the media will help us in spreading it. Because when it doesn’t suit them, they don’t talk,” president López Obrador added.

Elaborating the role of this truce committee, AMLO said that they will meet and prepare a proposal to stop wars everywhere to achieve a ceasefire for at least five years. He said he hopes that Russia, China and the USA will listen to this committee and accept the arbitration. The Mexican president added that the committee could help in reaching agreements in the cases of Taiwan, Israel and Palestine without promoting or provoking more confrontation.

He proposed that the three world leaders will ‘meet and soon propose to stop war everywhere, and reach an agreement to last at least five years, so that the governments around the world dedicate themselves to supporting their people, especially those who suffer the most from war and its effects’.

Lopez Obrador said that Russia, China and the USA have caused havoc in the world in the last one year, and they need to end the hostilities. “By their confrontations, nothing more than a year, they have caused this. They have precipitated the world economic crisis, they have increased inflation and caused food shortages, more poverty and, worst of all, in one year, because of the confrontations, so many human beings have lost their lives. That is a paragraph. That’s what they have done in one year,” he said.

He added that he hopes that Russia, the United States and China will listen and accept his suggestion for the three-member committee. He added that the political leaders of world powers should make compromises to achieve peace.

The Mexican President also said that the UN should place more emphasis on working toward global peace and ending wars. He said, “the Secretary-General is very good, but he has entered a phase where they do not pay attention to him, he is making announcements and there is no response”.

St Xavier’s Kolkata professor forced to quit the job and asked to pay Rs 99 crores for posting ‘objectionable’ pictures on Instagram: Details

OpIndia Staff
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St Xavier’s Kolkata professor forced to quit the job and asked to pay Rs 99 crores for posting ‘objectionable’ pictures on Instagram: Details

In yet another alarming incident, an associate professor at St Xavier’s University in Kolkata was reportedly compelled to resign and asked to pay Rs 99 crores after a guardian of a student complained about her supposed ‘objectionable’ Instagram images. The former assistant professor, who did not wish to be identified, is a graduate of the respected institute.

According to the reports, the university administration called lecturer and forced her to leave after the parents of an undergraduate student filed a complaint. She went on to say that they felt her Instagram post was ‘objectionable’.

According to the professor, she was obliged to testify before a committee that included the university’s registrar and the vice-chancellor, Fr Felix Raj. The professor stated that the complaint letter by guardian B.K. Mukherjee was read aloud to her at the meeting, and she was forced to quit. “It was an interrogation chamber where one woman read out a complaint from a student’s father regarding my social media post”, she said adding that she tendered the apology, but was forced to quit nevertheless.

The complaint letter stated, “I was shocked to find my son looking at images of Prof. in which she had posed in a sexually explicit manner, creating purposeful public exposure. Looking at a teacher clothed in her underwear and posting images on social media makes me feel ashamed as a parent because I have tried to protect my kid from such extreme indecency and exploitation of the female form. It is filthy, vulgar, and inappropriate for an 18-year-old student to watch his professor dressed scantily and exposing her body on a public stage.”

After the letter was read out, the woman was asked to explain how students could obtain those photographs. When she said it was impossible for the said student to access Instagram Stories posted in June, her statement was refuted as mere speculation. “One of the members of the committee reminded me that as a professor of an esteemed institution I was supposed to appear appropriately before the society, and it was objectionable to put up such posts which might corrupt the minds of young men”, she said.

The lady also added that she was slut shamed, taunted and harassed by the University members. “What happened in the meeting can only be described as a kangaroo court, where my client was intimidated, bullied and taunted with sexually coloured remarks and objectionable insinuations without any provocation or justification. Each member had some comment or the other including asking her – if her parents were comfortable with her ‘nude’ photographs,” the woman’s lawyer stated.

The professor, who has a PhD from two European universities indicated in a police report filed at Purba Jadavpur police station on October 24, 2021, that her private Instagram account had been hacked, resulting in the release and spread of her images. After that, she sent a legal notice to the university asking for a copy of the complaint of the guardian, along with documents regarding the committee meeting. She went on to claim that the way the institution handled her departure constituted sexual harassment and intentional character assassination. The university has, however, refuted all the allegations and said that the assistant professor resigned voluntarily. The lecturer stepped down in the final week of October 2021. 

‘Some people are resorting to black magic as they are immersed in despair & negativity’: PM Modi takes a dig at Congress over Aug 5 protests

OpIndia Staff
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‘Some people are resorting to black magic as they are immersed in despair & negativity’: PM Modi takes a dig at Congress over Aug 5 protests

PM Modi on Wednesday took a sly dig at the Congress party, insinuating that it indulged in black magic after its leaders donned black clothes to protest against the Centre on 5 August 2022.

“Some people are resorting to black magic as they are immersed in despair & negativity. We saw on 5th August that there was an attempt to propagate black magic. These people think that by wearing black clothes, their period of despair will end,” PM Modi said.

He further added, “But, these people are unaware that no matter how much ever they do black magic & believe in superstitions, people will never trust them back.”

PM Modi’s comments were in response to the demonstration carried out by the Congress MPs, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi, who were all dressed in black clothes to staged a protest march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 5.

Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that the Congress party chose August 5 for its so-called nationwide protests because it wanted to promote its appeasement politics through the selection of this day and clothes. He also mentioned that August 5 was chosen for protests because the foundation of Shri Ram Janambhoomi was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day in 2020.

Amit Shah said, “Congress chose this day for protest and wore black clothes because they want to give a subtle message to further promote their appeasement politics because on this day itself PM Modi laid the foundation of Ram Janambhoomi.” Union Home Minister Amit Shah also mentioned that Congress chose August 5 for protests because, on this day, PM Modi laid the foundation of Shri Ram Janambhoomi in 2020.

Jungleraj in Bihar returns: Journalist shot dead in broad daylight in Gopalganj the day JDU-RJD govt forms

OpIndia Staff
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Jungleraj in Bihar returns: Journalist shot dead in broad daylight in Gopalganj the day JDU-RJD govt forms

On Tuesday, a journalist named Gokul Yadav was shot dead by five miscreants in Simultala block of Jamui district of Bihar. The journalist was shot five times in his chest and head in broad daylight while he was on his way to the market from his house.

According to the reports, the incident is said to have happened at around 11 am on Tuesday. 35-year-old Gokul Yadav who worked as a journalist at the daily newspaper Prabhat Khabar was targeted by the miscreants who arrived on bikes to kill Yadav. The accused who arrived on two bikes had already been watching Yadav and shot him as he left home after breakfast. Reportedly, five people on two motorcycles had arrived to kill Yadav, and eyewitnesses said that they looked like professional killers.

After the incident, Yadav was immediately shifted to the local hospital where he was declared dead. While the police are investigating the case, reports speculate that the journalist was killed following the enmity over the Panchayat elections. Gokul Yadav’s wife had contested the Panchayat Elections from Khuranda Panchayat but failed to win. This led to several disputes in the village. A few days ago, Gokul Yadav was even attacked due to the election enmity which escalated after the polls.

Reportedly, a case was also registered at the Simultala police station. The Father of the deceased, Narendra Yadav and his maternal uncle Shyamdev Yadav confirmed that the journalist has been killed due to the elections. “The ones who had attacked him earlier are the only one who have killed him”, they said.

Narendra Yadav said that Gokul had gone to the market to buy some pesticide for a corn farm of the family when the killed fired on him. He said that he saw the five killers escaping after shooting Gokul Yadav.

In this case, Simultala SHO Vidyanand Kumar said that after getting the information, the police had reached the spot and arrested two people in the case. “On the basis of the application given by the relatives, further action will be taken after registering the case”, he added.

Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘free money’ to women in Gujarat is a flawed concept deeply rooted in patriarchy

Nirwa Mehta
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Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘free money’ to women in Gujarat is a flawed concept deeply rooted in patriarchy

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today announced free money to women in Gujarat should his party be elected to power. Now, who doesn’t like free money? I wish I had free money and I could travel the world, have a house on the hills where I spend my day playing with five dogs and not get depressed looking at the state of Indian politics. But just as my wish is utopian, Kejriwal’s ‘free money’ scheme is also the same.

Arvind Kejriwal today announced Rs 1,000 to every woman in Gujarat should AAP be elected to power.

This money, in absence of terms and conditions announced, one would assume is for all women in Gujarat. As per 2011 census, there are about 2,89,48,432 women in the state. A decade later, this figure would have only increased. As per some estimates, female population in Gujarat in 2021/2022 would stand at about 3.4 crore. Now, going by the statistics, 3.4 crore women (Kejriwal has not specified only adult women or all women in Gujarat) getting Rs 1,000 per month – 3,400 crore every month. Every year this would be Rs 40,800 crore. This is just one year. Where will this money come from? Will Kejriwal grow it at a place where sun doesn’t shine?

(Note: Some media reports have suggested the free money scheme is for women above age of 18. However, this article and above calculation is based on the video tweeted by AAP Gujarat handle which does not specify age of women for free money. If one wishes, one could adjust calculations, but larger point is free money makes no economic sense.)

To put things in perspective, Kejriwal had made exact same promises to every adult woman in Punjab ahead of elections and it has been six months and the women there have not started getting their free money yet. So, not only is the promise flawed but also not fulfilled. Why is Kejriwal then making promises he has not even fulfilled in one state his party is in power? Is it because of financial burden? If yes, why is he repeating the same promise when he knows it will not be fulfilled.

Then Kejriwal says how the free money that he will give to women, women will go to market and buy vegetables. Because that is the only thing women in India do, right? Because women’s place is in the kitchen.

And even if they do, because realistically speaking, India, like a lot of countries in the world, has a long way to go in terms of fighting patriarchy, why is he perpetuating patriarchy? His ‘buy vegetables’ thing only shows how he thinks women are in control of men. That women should live their lives as men dictate them.

Instead of ‘free money’ to buy vegetables, why not tell us how he would control inflation so that vegetables are more affordable to poor? Instead of free education, why not set up schemes for subsidies where those who need it can avail benefits. Why burden a taxpayer because you want some votes? Instead of promising to give Rs 12,000 every year to EVERY woman (which we have seen is not going to happen) why not give scholarship of that amount to those girls who are not able to study further because of financial restraints?

Why not promise employment opportunities, self help groups, skilled workforce, seed capital to start their own businesses? How is ‘free money’ better than opportunity to create wealth and further employment opportunities? If the girl earns her own money, she will not need your free money to ‘buy vegetables’.

Smashing the patriarchy

The ‘free money’ to women scheme plays right into the patriarchal society women like you and I are trying to fight each and every day. Right from equal pay to right to equal job opportunities. You know how absolutely normalised it is for women to be asked ‘are you married?’ and ‘do you have children/plan to have children?’ during job interviews? Because those things are considered before hiring women.

Men, on the other hand, don’t usually get this question. It is just assumed that even if he does get married, or have children, his efficiency wont get affected. Women, on the other hand, will prioritise children and home and hence are kept away from the top management.

During the election campaigning in Punjab, Kejriwal went on an auto ride and then went for dinner at the ‘auto driver’s home’ because the auto driver out of his whim decided to change routes. Though eventually it turned out that the said auto driver was an AAP worker, the fact that Kejriwal and his gang can be safe when the auto driver or anyone for that matter takes a detour and not get into absolute panic mode is male privilege.

When I take cabs after dark, I share my ride status with at least one trusted contact. I have seen people take naps in long metro rides. A woman, in her wildest dream, would not consider taking a nap in a metro because there are high chance of her getting groped in public place. That is the male privilege we are fighting every day.

Now there would be this ‘free money’ thrown at us. It only adds to the long list of battles. The constant ‘taunts’ one would get to hear because, ‘well, why don’t you sit at home and take the free money instead of using your knees in office?’ The knee jibe is often given to tell women that they think from their knee because unka dimaag ghutno mein hai – I have personally heard this jibe from a qualified chartered accountant, no less.

Charity, they say, begins from home. How about having a woman chief minister for Gujarat? Or let a woman be the national convener for Aam Aadmi Party? To put things in perspective, the Delhi government cabinet, where Aam Aadmi Party has 61 out of 70 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly and not a single woman MLA is a minister in the Kejriwal cabinet. Why are women in his government not given more responsible work? Does Kejriwal think women are only interested in buying vegetables?

CAG report flags critical concerns in the gems and jewellery sector, pearl imports are ‘3 to 10 times higher’ than global production

OpIndia Staff
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CAG report flags critical concerns in the gems and jewellery sector, pearl imports are ‘3 to 10 times higher’ than global production

On August 8, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) tabled a report [PDF] in the Lok Sabha in which it flagged critical concerns in the gems and jewellery sector. The report suggests that the import of pearls in India from financial years 2013-14 to the financial year 2018-19 was 3 to 10 times higher compared to the average annual value of global pearl production.

Further, there was a manifold increase in the rate at which pearls were imported into the country. The value of imports of pearls in India being much higher than the value of global production of pearls is indicative of trade mis-invoicing and round-tripping of funds which have been flagged as critical concerns in respect of Gems and Jewellery sector, as per reports.

India imported pearls mainly from Hong Kong, Thailand and UAE. Interestingly, the contribution of pearls to a global market for these three countries is negligible. CAG said in its report that the pearls were imported at the price higher by manifolds. The auditor mentioned that there were irregular trends in the growth of quantity and value of imports and exports of rough diamonds from 2010 to 2020. CAG recommended a detailed examination of the same.

Notably, India is the largest consumer of gold as well as the largest player in the field of diamond cutting and polishing. The gems and jewellery industry particularly in export is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. Because of the high value of transactions and foreign exchange involved in the sector, CAG pointed out there could be misuse and money laundering instances in the sector.

CAG’s Customs Receipt Audit Unit and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) pointed towards the irregularities of large scale including round tripping of exports of machines and gold jewellery was manipulated to allegedly increase the turnover artificially to take status certificates and to enhance credit limits and financing from the banks.

The various irregularities that CAG mentioned include unexplained excess output, non-verification of claims made by the assessee and related parties, short according of stocks and more. In 33 notable incidents, CAG said the tax effect involved in the cases could round up to Rs 37,909.38 crores. CAG said, “Such irregularities had the underlying risk of tax evasion that require further probing and detailed examination.”

CAG further observed that the Income Tax Department allowed an aggregate deduction of Rs 115.45 crores under Section 10AA against a total export turnover of Rs 5,654.39 crores in seven out of 84 scrutiny cases. It happed even though the major part of the exports (Rs 3,878.95 crores) was outstanding for over six months. Revenue loss in these cases could be close to Rs 28.57 crores.

It further noticed that in 34 cases spread over 10 states, AO failed to consider the income under several provisions of the IT Act resulting in a total tax effect involved of approx Rs 58.86 crores.

While speaking about the discrepancies in the inventory, CAG said, “Audit observed that in 346 instances the assessees had not disclosed the quantitative details of inventory in ITRs and/or in Tax Audit Reports; in 362 instances, there was a mismatch in quantitative details as per the ITR vis-à-vis the disclosures through Tax Audit Report and in 330 cases there were discrepancies in Tax Audit Reports such as, incorrect carry forward of closing stock, mistakes in various disclosures required under the Income Tax Act.”

The recommendations from CAG to CBDT and ITD included revision of the format of the Tax Audit Report for grade-wise details necessary for the valuation of diamonds, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and standard guidelines entailing checks to be exercised during scrutiny assessment of Gems and Jewellery cases, capturing of details of exports and imports transactions undertaken with related parties, mandatory disclosure of PAN details of related parties for transactions beyond a certain threshold limit and more.

Kerala: Congress councillor on the run after molesting employee in Kannur arrested from Bengaluru

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: Congress councillor on the run after molesting employee in Kannur arrested from Bengaluru

On Wednesday, a team of Kerala Police arrested a Kannur Corporation Congress councillor named PV Krishna Kumar from Bengaluru, Karnataka in a case of sexual harassment. PV Krishna Kumar was apprehended based on a complaint filed by an employee of a Congress-controlled Bank in Kannur. Kannur Corporation is ruled by the Congress-led UDF.

According to the reports, the complaint was filed on July 20 in which the employee stated that she was molested by a Kannur Corporation councillor from Congress. She also said that she was alone in the office when the incident took place. The Edakkad police registered a complaint after analyzing CCTV visuals of the bank. PV Krishnan Kumar had gone absconding after the police registered the case.

“A case was filed against Kannur councillor PV Krishna Kumar regarding sexual harassment of bank employee. The accused was absconding. We conducted searches in Kerala and neighbouring states. He was arrested from Bengaluru yesterday and will be produced in court”, Ilango R, CP, Kannur confirmed.

Following the complaint, the Kannur District Congress Committee suspended Krishna Kumar. The accused was apprehended by a squad of authorities led by Thalassery assistant municipal police commissioner TK Ratnakumar. Reportedly, Krishna Kumar’s anticipatory bail application had already been denied by the Thalassery Sessions Court.

Prophet remarks row: Supreme Court has a change of mind, orders merger of all FIRs against Nupur Sharma and transfer to Delhi

OpIndia Staff
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Prophet remarks row: Supreme Court has a change of mind, orders merger of all FIRs against Nupur Sharma and transfer to Delhi

The Supreme Court of India has accepted a petition by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma to merge all the FIRs filed against her at various places in the country and transfer them to Delhi. A bench of justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala, the same bench that had earlier refused the same plea and blamed Nupur Sharma for the violence and beheadings by Islamists, today had a change of heart while hearing the petition which was again submitted by her.

The Supreme Court bench cited the earlier order of the apex court directing merger of all FIRs against Alt News cofounder Md Zubair and transfer of cases against him to Delhi, saying the bench will follow the steps taken by the bench in the Zubair case. While the bench of justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala had earlier made unwarranted verbal comments against Nupur Sharma blaming her for the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, today the bench said that they will not go into the merit of the cases against Nupur Sharma, as the plea is only on the merger and transfer of FIRs filed for the same allegation.

The Supreme Court considered the threats that Nupur Sharma continues to receive for her comments made on Times Now in June while taking the decision.

While the bench had made its intention to merge the FIRs and transfer them to Delhi at the outset itself, the West Bengal govt strongly opposed it. Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy representing West Bengal said that the state suffered the most as a consequence of the comments of Nupur Sharma, therefore the cases against her should be transferred to Kolkata.

Guruswamy argued that the accused can’t be allowed to select jurisdiction, and assured that the WB govt will provide enough security to Sharma. When the court rejected the prayers, the WB govt counsel then proposed setting up a joint SIT. Guruswamy also argued that Nupur Sharma’s comments had triggered the violence, but the court refused to go into the matter of the case.

Rejecting all the arguments of the WB govt, Justice Surya Kant said that the bench had a change of mind due to threats to Nupur Sharma. Court noted that while the first FIR against Nupur Sharma was filed in Maharashtra and therefore all other FIRs should be merged with the Maharashtra FIR, the court is taking the decision to transfer the FIRs to Delhi.

The Court also noted that the first FIR in the matter was actually filed in Delhi by Nupur Sharma after she had started to receive threats for her comments on Prophet Mohammad, and there is merit in transferring the cases to Delhi. ‘We are of the view that a part of cause of action has arisen in Delhi and she is at liberty to move the Delhi High Court for quashing the FIR and the FIR which may be registered against her in future,’ the bench said.

Issuing the order, the Supreme Court bench said, ‘Since this Court has already taken cognizance of the serious threat to the life and liberty of the petitioner and specific instances thereto have been cited in our previous order, we direct that all the FIRs be transferred and clubbed for the purpose of investigation to Delhi Police’. The bench also directed the Delhi Police to ensure that the first FIR filed in Maharashtra along with the FIR filed against Nupur Sharma on 8 June are investigated together by clubbing the other FIRs in different parts of the country.

The court also said that the interim order dated July 19 granting relief to Nupur Sharma will continue. The same bench of the court had issued the order granting protection from arrest to Nupur Sharma.

Responding to the demand of SIT, the court said that the IFSO of Delhi which had filed the FIR against Nupur Sharma is a specialised agency and it will be appreciated if the investigation is done by it. The bench added that IFSO will seek assistance from other states if required.

The court further clarified that in case more FIRs are filed against Nupur Sharma for the same allegation in future, such FIRs will also be covered by today’s order, and such FIRs will also be transferred to IFSO of Delhi police.

Did You Know? In 2011, Supreme Court had termed Guru Dronacharya’s act of seeking Eklavya’s right thumb as Guru Dakshina as ‘shameless’

OpIndia Staff
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Did You Know? In 2011, Supreme Court had termed Guru Dronacharya’s act of seeking Eklavya’s right thumb as Guru Dakshina as ‘shameless’

Eleven years ago, the apex court of India delivered justice to a 25-year-old tribal woman who was paraded naked in the state of Maharashtra. The woman who got justice after 16 years had turned 40 when the Supreme Court of India on January 5, 2011, announced one year of jail to a total of four accused including a woman. “The injustice done to the tribal people of India is a shameful chapter in our country’s history”, the Court had said observing they are generally superior in character to non-tribals.

According to the reports, the victim woman belonged to the Bhil community and stayed in a village in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. She was paraded naked by four persons one of whom was a woman. The victim woman was 25 when the incident took place. The Court while hearing the case said that the parading of a tribal woman on the village road in broad daylight was shameful, shocking, and outrageous.

The justices then had cited the example from Mahabharata and indicated that the accused had disrespected the Bhil woman just like Guru Dronacharya who had disrespected Eklavya because he belonged to the tribal community. They called the act of Guru Dronacharya seeking Eklavya’s right thumb as Guru Dakshina a shameful one and asked, “Guru Dronacharya had not even taught Eklavya, so what right had he to demand Guru Dakshina”.

The Court added that Guru Dronacharya favored his disciple Arjuna over Eklavya and deliberately demanded the latter’s right thumb so that he may never become the best archer. “This was a shameful act on behalf of Guru Dronacharya”, the bench reiterated.

The bench led by judges Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra also said that the tribal community deserved respect as they are the ‘original inhabitants’ of India. “The mentality of people in the country towards tribals must change, and they must be given the respect they deserve as the original inhabitants of India”, it had said. The court, while delivering the justice slated many examples from history suggesting that the non-tribal community has always been harsher towards the tribal community in India.

Guru Dronacharya had demanded Eklavya’s right thumb as Gurudakshina in Mahabharata

Dronacharya once had gone to a jungle with his disciples, the Kauravas, and Pandavas. Arjuna, who was only a child then, saw a dog with its jaws open and arrows stuck inside the mouth. Even though the dog had arrows stuck inside the jaws, Arjuna could see no signs of injuries. He then brought this astonishing sight to the attention of his Guru, who pondered who could have done it.

Later Guru Dronacharya came to know that the arrow was targeted by a tribal boy named Eklavya. He asked Eklavya to reveal his and his Guru’s identity. Eklavya said that he was the son of Hiranyadhanus of the Nishadha tribal clan who was loyal to the Magadha empire and said that he had taken archery lessons from him. He also showed him a mud sculpture with Dronacharya’s imprints on it and explained that he had taken the statue’s permission and started studying the lessons by just observing him.

Reportedly, Guru Dronacharya anticipated Eklavya to give him Guru Dakshina because he had learned lessons from him. As a result, he requested that Eklavya give him his thumb and the tribal boy did not hesitate in chopping it off.

Dronacharya was assigned as a teacher solely to train youngsters from the Kuru dynasty’s household. At that time it was also against the rule to educate anybody other than Kuru family members. Furthermore, Eklavya had learned the lessons without Dronacharya’s permission. And this was contrary to learning principles. As a result, Dronacharya requested Eklavya’s thumb, without which practising archery would be impossible. Guru Dronacharya, on the other hand, stated that he would have chastised Eklavya regardless of whether he was a Brahmin or a Kshatriya.

Also, Guru Dronacharya knew that Eklavya would always be loyal to the King of Magadha who was an enemy of Hastinapur, the Kuru dynasty. Therefore, he didn’t want his enemy kingdom to have an archer of Eklavya’s calibre.

The Supreme Court in its 2011 verdict had also slammed the state government for not appealing for the enhanced punishment of the accused. The High Court earlier had set aside the conviction of the accused under the stringent Scheduled Cases and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 stating that the victim woman was not able to produce her caste certificate.

Upset by the injustice meted out to the woman in the old case, the Supreme Court recorded, “It is the duty of all people who love our country to see that no harm is done to the Scheduled Tribes and that they are given all help to bring them up in their economic and social status since they have been victimized for thousands of years by terrible oppression and atrocities”.

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