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Did you know: Muslim League politician who fought for separate Pakistan was a speaker in Indian assembly the night Nehru delivered his “tryst with destiny” speech

OpIndia Staff
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Did you know: Muslim League politician who fought for separate Pakistan was a speaker in Indian assembly the night Nehru delivered his “tryst with destiny” speech

When it comes to our collective recollection of the proceedings of the Indian constituent assembly on the night intervening 14th and 15th August 1947, most of us can only remember that Jawahar Lal Nehru gave his famous “tryst with destiny” speech that night.

Despite all the PR highlighting that speech by Nehru from that night, it is a fact that there were 4 speakers that night heralding a new dawn for India, including one who fought for the division of India and the creation of a separate Pakistan.

After Sucheta Kriplani started the program by singing Vande Mataram, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first of the speakers. He addressed the nation first reminding the people of India about their duties in an independent country. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the president of the constituent assembly at the time. Following Dr. Prasad was Nehru, the man becoming the first Prime Minister of India, and gave his ‘tryst with destiny’ speech.

However, the really interesting speaker was the one who spoke after Nehru, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, a Muslim League politician who fought for the division of India, and the creation of a separate Pakistan. Khaliquzzaman indeed moved to Pakistan in November 1947 after the partition where he became the first president of the Muslim League (Pakistan).

Khaliquzzaman was in fact the one to second the resolution moved by Nehru for all members of the Assembly to take an oath dedicating themselves in all humility to the service of India and her people.

Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman was apparently chosen to be the voice of Muslims in the constituent assembly since the other speakers, Prasad and Nehru before him, and Dr. S Radhakrishnan who spoke after him, were all Hindus.

Interestingly, Congress had several Muslim leaders at the time who stayed with India even after the partition but none of them was found suitable to be the voice of Muslims in the assembly. Khaliquzzaman was apparently on good terms with Nehru and other Congress leaders of the time so he was chosen as the voice of Indian Muslims despite fighting for a separate Pakistan from India.

Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman was initially associated with Congress, however, when the party didn’t appoint Muslims like him to office after sweeping United Provinces elections, he grew disillusioned with the party, joined Muslim League, and started his support for a separate Pakistan.

Khaliquzzaman was born in Chunar, a town in United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), and was one of the most prominent Muslim League leaders on either side of the partition. He stayed behind initially at the time of partition, addressed the Indian constituent assembly, and eventually made his way to Pakistan in November 1947. In Pakistan, he became the first ever president of the Muslim League (Pakistan), later becoming governor of East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) before moving on to become ambassador to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Khaliquzzaman eventually died in Pakistan in 1973. In 1990, the Pakistani Post office issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour under its ‘Pioneers of Freedom’ series.

‘Hindus killed for being Hindus’ series: 75 and still counting…here is a never-ending list of Hindus killed and brutalised in independent India

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hindus killed for being Hindus’ series: 75 and still counting…here is a never-ending list of Hindus killed and brutalised in independent India

This year, the independence we gained after India’s partition in the name of religion turned 75 years old. However, the threats posed by evangelical faiths, most prominently the virulent strain of Islam known as Islamism, are far from over. Being a Hindu and asserting one’s Hindu roots results in tragically devastating consequences, often resulting in one’s death. And there have been more than 75 Hindus who have endured the grim fate. 

For years, the media has worked tirelessly to depict Muslims as largely the victims and Hindus as overwhelmingly the offenders, establishing a false notion among minorities that they are being attacked by ‘fascist’ Hindus with active state cooperation. The grim fact is that Hindus have been disproportionately targeted by hate crimes in India. Hindus have been brutally killed and lynched for speaking out, in riots, especially by Islamists, and in other cases, simply for being Hindus.

They have the ability to attack at any time of day or night. They may enter shops and businesses disguised as customers and conveniently leave after stabbing or beheading the Hindu victim. They sometimes appear disguised in saffron and depart after ruthlessly attacking with sharp weapons. These perpetrators remain disturbingly undisturbed by radical Islam. They sometimes silently wait for their victim, whom they ambush and nonchalantly kill before walking away unfazed. No one is safe, neither sages, saints, nor ordinary Hindus. Neither house nor ashramas.

In the Kandhamal district of Odisha, a well-known and highly respected Hindu Sadhu named Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was brutally murdered by armed Naxalites and some Christian fanatics in 2008. The tribal-dominated Kandhamal district has long been the hotbed of forced conversions by evangelical organisations. Christian missionaries have been constantly targeting Hindu Sadhus working on the ground to prevent their rampant conversion efforts, with explicit help from Maoists.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, an 82-year-old cow-lover Sanyasi who had dedicated his life to the service of the Adivasis in the area, was murdered along with 4 of his associates in the Jalespata Ashram on the day of Janmashtami in 2008, while the Ashram’s devotees were getting ready for the festivities. His body was riddled with bullets and his dead body was brutalised further with sharp weapons by the murderers. The incident had sparked communal riots in the Kandhamal district, where tribal Hindus and Christians clash regularly, with the Naxalites supporting the Christians.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was a Hindu saint. For once we could assume that his love for his religion and habit of chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, considered a ‘war cry’ by petty Bollywood nerds like Anurag Kashyap and Islamists like Muhammad Zubair, might have triggered the Islamists, but what about Sarbananda Kaul, one of the most secular individuals who used to keep ‘Quran’ with him, yet Islamists murdered him along with his son and hanged him from a tree.

Sarbananda Kaul ‘Premi’ was also a well-known Kashmiri poet, freedom fighter and a famous scholar. He was known for his secular values. Premi wrote in Kashmiri, Urdu, and Hindi. His grasp on Persian was as strong as his hold on Sanskrit. He used to keep a copy of the Quran in his house of worship.

On the evening of 29–30 April 1990, three masked Islamic terrorists entered his home and kidnapped him and his younger son, Virendra Koul. The dead bodies of the father-son duo were found hanging on a tree on 1 May 1990. The Islamists had brutally scrapped off his forehead skin since Kaul regularly applied tilak.

Sarbananda Kaul was elderly. He was past his prime, but what about the ten children who were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002?

Twenty years ago, on February 27 2002, an enraged Muslim mob burnt 59 innocent Hindus, including women and children, to avenge the demolition of Mughal-era Babri Masjid Ayodhya. A group of Hindus travelling from Ayodhya in Sabarmati Express were mercilessly burnt alive inside the train by a riotous Muslim mob. The raging mob of over 2,000 people had killed the innocent Hindus for the simple reason that they had visited Ayodhya to perform karseva for the Ram Mandir.

In the more recent incidents,  Chandan Gupta was killed in a communal clash that erupted over a flag march in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, taken out on Republic Day in the year 2018.

Prashant Poojary (29) a flower merchant was brutally murdered in broad daylight by six men atop two motorcycles who attacked him with sharp weapons at a market in Moodbidri when he was selling flowers as usual. Poojary, believed to be involved with the Bajrang Dal, was actively involved in stopping illegal cow slaughter and transportation.

A 50-year-old newspaper hawker Mannulal Vaishnav was hacked to death by his customer Rafique Khan with an axe in the Kho Nagoriyan area in Jaipur in 2019, after the former urged the latter to clear his long pending dues.

Similarly, a 27-year-old Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad was killed by Islamists on 25th January 2022, merely for being a Hindu. Kishan Bharwad hailed from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad. He was killed in the morning when he was passing by the Modhwada locality on a two-wheeler. Like other killings by Islamists, the reason behind his murder was that the Muslims claimed he had hurt their religious sentiments and committed “blasphemy”.

Many more Hindus, like Harsha, Umesh Kolhe, Kanhaiyalal, and Praveen Nettaru, have lately become victims of Islamic intolerance. This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. In actuality, there is a long list of people in independent India who were murdered solely for being Hindus. All of these Hindus were attempting to bring the Hindu society together. They were assisting anyone who desired ‘gharwapsi’ (revert to Hinduism from Islam or Christianity of their own volition) or for simply wearing their identity on their sleeves. Many of them were selflessly working towards cow protection. None of them deserved to die, yet they were hacked to death just because they were Hindus.

Kala Devi, 70, was murdered while lighting a lamp at home to symbolise support for India’s fight against the global corona pandemic.

M Lavanya, a 12th-grade student, was told that if she wanted to study, she should convert to Christianity or clean the toilet. She couldn’t bear the pressure and committed suicide. Some were killed as a result of love jihad, while others were killed as they were considered a threat to Islam.

As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its independence, we present 75 names from independent India who were murdered only because they were Hindus:

  1. Praveen Nettaru
  2. Kanhaiya Lal
  3. Umesh Kohle
  4. Harsha
  5. Kishan Bharwad
  6. Rupesh Pandya
  7. Neeraj Ram Prajapati
  8. Mukesh Soni
  9. Kamlesh Tiwari
  10. Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati 
  11. V Ramalingam
  12. Dhruv Tyagi
  13. Palghar lynching- Kapilgiri Maharaj, Sushilgiri Maharaj and Nilesh Telgade 
  14. Gaurav-Sachin
  15. Prashant Pujari
  16. Sanjay Kumar
  17. Ankit Saxena
  18. Ratan Lal
  19. Ankit Sharma
  20. Gangaram Singh Chauhan
  21. Bharat Yadav
  22. Vishnu Goswami
  23. Subodh Singh
  24. Avinash Saxena
  25. Amit Gautam
  26. Chandan Gupta
  27. Ravinder Kumar
  28. Riya Gautam
  29. Yogesh Kumar
  30. Pankaj Narang
  31. Kala Devi
  32. Mithun Thakur
  33. Ravi Nimbargi
  34. Revati Singh
  35. Rajesh Kumar
  36. Nikita Tomar
  37. Dr. Sanjay Singh
  38. Rinku Sharma
  39. Sunny Sinha
  40. Rahul Rajput
  41. Rahul Solanki
  42. Shambhulal
  43. Bharat Vaishnav
  44. Ranjit Bachchan
  45. Priya-Kashish
  46. Nagaraju
  47. Dilbar Negi
  48. Hrithik Adarsh
  49. BK Ganju
  50. Sarvanand Kaul
  51. Vinod Kumar
  52. Tikalal Taplu
  53. Sadhu Saravanan
  54. Ajay Pandita
  55. Satish Bhandari
  56. Makhan Lal Bindru
  57. Girija Tikku
  58. Satinder Kaur
  59. Deepak Chand
  60. Hiralal Gujarati
  61. Rameshwar Ankush
  62. Alok Tiwari
  63. Prem singh
  64. Dinesh
  65. Veerbhan
  66. Bina Jha
  67. Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya in Sabarmati Express
  68. Krishna Razdan
  69. PN Kaul
  70. Neelkanth Ganju
  71. Rajni Bala
  72. Satish Kumar Tiku
  73. Ekta Deshwal
  74. Kanti Prasad
  75. Santola Devi

Such names and incidents cannot be summed up in 75 columns. This is a never-ending list with no end in sight. A new name is added to the list whenever the date changes. OpIndia has gone out to the relatives of several of the people on the list this year of Amrit Mahotsav. We’ll bring them to you one at a time.

We had not forgotten and will not forget these Hindus. You will be reminded of these as long as this threat exists. So long as you’re a kafir. So that you are aware of the perils of Islamism and evangelical Christianity.

‘It is our government now’: Goons in Bihar’s Sheikhpura go on a rampage, beat up shopkeepers for no reason

OpIndia Staff
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‘It is our government now’: Goons in Bihar’s Sheikhpura go on a rampage, beat up shopkeepers for no reason

Hours before the swearing-in of ministers of a new government in Bihar, miscreants went on a rampage in the Barbigha Police Station area of Sheikhpura district. The incident took place on the night of August 15. They not only broke goods at shops but also beat up the shopkeepers for no apparent reason.

As per reports, they thrashed at least a dozen shopkeepers. The eyewitnesses stated that the miscreants were saying that now the government has changed and their leaders would rule the state.

Following the incident, the angry shopkeepers blocked the Barbigha-Sarmera road for over three hours. The Police were informed about the incident and reached the spot and pacified the situation after persuading the shopkeepers.

Local shopkeeper Chandan Kumar said he and other shopkeepers were at their shops at Arjun Talkies Cinema Hall Chowk, which is located a short distance from Police Station. On Monday Night, Chandi Yadav, a resident of the nursery colony, came with his associates. They were carrying sticks and rods. As soon as they reached the market, they started creating a ruckus and vandalized goods kept at the shops.

Soon, without saying anything, they started beating the shopkeepers. The victims alleged that the attackers were saying that the government had changed. It is their rule now, and the shopkeepers could go where they wanted to go.

During the incident, those who were passing by the market were also beaten up by the miscreants. The victims alleged that the Police reached very late. The Police have arrested a youth identified as Sonu Kumar following multiple raids. Kumar was in a drunk state when the Police arrested him. The SHO said no FIR had been registered so far in the matter.

It is notable that since the JD(U) and BJP parted ways in Bihar and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar joined hands with RJD to form the government, there have been multiple criminal incidents reported, including the murder of a journalist.

As calls to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha taste success, here is how we need to learn from the global Left going forward

Ganesh R
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As calls to boycott Laal Singh Chaddha taste success, here is how we need to learn from the global Left going forward

As I write this, the concerted efforts by some activist Hindus to boycott Amir Khan’s copycat movie Lal Singh Chaddha appear to be successful. One hopes the main objectives behind the boycott are realised. 

But then, what exactly are the objectives?

This is extremely important – without a laser-like focus on objectives, we are just flapping about like a caged bird without any result. As we try to bring the Cheetah from Africa to revive its population in India, let us recall the beauty and grace of its run – not a wasted movement or moment.

To be focused on objectives, we must first know what those objectives are. Easy as it sounds, it often becomes blurred in the excitement of action. To a point where the actions even become counterproductive.

To me, objectives are very clear – send a message that gratuitous Hinduphobia has costs. Nothing  less and more importantly, nothing more.

As I have pointed out in other articles, today Hinduphobia not just has zero costs, it has enormous rewards. The easiest way one can achieve instant fame, recognition and rewards are to drop some anti-Hindu remark. It can be cleverly camouflaged as rationalism or pro-subaltern or pro-environment. Or it can even be left out there naked and direct like some of our ‘fact-checker’ Zubair’s tweets and FB posts (since deleted) were. Either way, it is a ticket to rewards and benefits.

Be it donations to your NGOs and fundraisers from overseas evangelist lobbies, a slice of George Soros’ billions set aside for regime change, OpEd chances in woke liberal magazines of the West, rewards and titles from the left ecosystem, lucrative academic gigs in American and European universities, Magsaysay awards, Booker prizes, Pulitzers perhaps one day even a Nobel – there are myriad ways one can cash covert or overt Hindupbobia especially if packaged well. 

To turn this situation 180 degrees is not going to be easy at all. LSC boycott is but a tiny step in that direction. The path is long and arduous.

But to achieve the main objective, sometimes one must pause, take stock, and sometimes even walk back a few steps. 

Why do I say this? It goes back to the objectives – end gratuitous Hinduphobia. 

Hindu activists have essentially copied the left’s patented tactic of boycott and de-platforming. They must learn to copy the carrot and stick approach of the global jihadi left in such matters as well. As ruthless and strict as their ‘punishment’ for violating the party line is, their reward systems are that much more attractive and provide a powerful incentive to toe the line. 

Hindus do not have the financial muscle to offer rewards even for simply refraining from anti-Hindu hate on the scale that can be offered for Hinduphobia. Frankly, despite eight years in power, the BJP government’s track record has been pathetic in this. On the contrary, in fruitless efforts to curry favour with the Stalinist left, their media and intellectual warriors are often provided platforms by Modi’s government, sometimes causing uproar and reversal as happened with a notorious fringe left American-Indian “journalist”. 

But in our own small way, we can try to tip the scales. This means that in addition to danda, we must have recourse to ‘saam’ and ‘daam’ as well. And a bit of ‘bhed’ thrown in. How?

We must be willing to offer a path out for those engaging in gratuitous Hinduphobia under certain qualifying circumstances. 

I know this sounds a bit oxymoronic but the fact is we cannot deal with each case of ‘hate’ exactly the same as others. All are not necessarily driven by deep-seated hatred towards our faith. Not everyone is a committed soldier in the Stalinist left’s pogrom on Hinduism. Not everyone has a quota or target to harvest a certain number of souls. And not everyone is a jihadi that believes in Ghazwa-e-hind.

Many are in it because it costs nothing to be in the good books of the woke left. 

Many, that are just starting out in the business of anti-Hindu hate will quietly abandon it when they know the costs and more importantly when they know it is also possible to win back the support of the Hindus and their dollars. If they believe nothing they do in repentance, genuine or otherwise, will ever make a difference, they are more likely to harden positions, like a cornered animal. As with a bear you encounter in the wild, offering a way out is often the best recourse.

Whether Amir Khan’s halfhearted apologies and regrets qualify for such a liberal approach toward his future endeavours is not for me to say. We must watch his track record carefully.

But just the fact that costs are imposed but rewards are also on the table causes a change in behaviour. Check out the recent track record of our Yugpurush and compare it with his past anti-Hindu soundbites.

And that is precisely what we want. Nothing more.

Laal Singh Chaddha: Producer-distributor Viacom 18 deny claims of seeking compensation as movie faces disaster

OpIndia Staff
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Laal Singh Chaddha: Producer-distributor Viacom 18 deny claims of seeking compensation as movie faces disaster

On Tuesday (August 16), the distributor of the movie ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’ dismissed media reports which claimed that Viacom 18 Studios was seeking compensation for the poor performance of the film in the theatres.

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Times, CEO (Viacom 18 Studios) Ajit Andhare remarked, “There are no external distributors, it is being distributed by V18Studios, and no money is lost in the first place. The film is still running in theaters both in India & internationally. This is baseless speculation.”

An exhibitor told the paper that producers of big-budget movies are also the distributors of the film. Citing sources, Entertainment Times reported that in the event of a loss, actor Aamir Khan will bear the brunt of it.

Screengrab of the news report by Entertainment Tik

“In the last ten years, Aamir Khan has not charged a single rupee as his fee, which also includes his latest, Laal Singh Chaddha’ So if there is even a loss, it only falls on Aamir’s shoulders without affecting any of the other partners. However, all the production cost was borne by both studio and production house,” the source added.

He continued, “Laal Singh Chaddha’ will break-even via all non theatrical earnings itself. Also, one can only discuss the profit and loss of the project at a later stage as it is still running in theatres currently.” So far, the film has earned a total of ₹45.83 crores (which is lower than the Day 1 collection of Thugs of Hindostan).

The Background of the Controversy

Earlier, ‘journalist’ Subhash K Jha had claimed in a report in Bollywood Hungama that Aamir Khan was in a state of shock over the dismal performance of ‘Lal Singh Chaddha.’

“The immediate aftermath of this colossal setback may get monetary compensation for film distributors across the country who have lost heavily on Laal Singh Chaddha. Apparently Aamir, as co-producer, has taken responsibility for the film’s failure and is working at partially compensating the heavy losses incurred by distributors,” the report claimed.

This claim, which is believed to be a part of the Aamir Khan’s PR machinery to whip up sympathy for the actor, was however refuted by Viacom 18 Studios.

Screengrab of the news report by Subhash K Jha

The same journalist had earlier promoted ‘Lal Singh Chadhha’ as a movie that is supposedly ‘better’ than the ‘original” Forrest Gump.’

In an article in First Post, Jha wrote, “Without touching the inviolable essence of innocence in the original, the remake outdistances the original, not because Aamir Khan runs faster than Tom Hanks (he does!), but by shifting the focus of the original from universal compassion to a specific love-interest.”

Screengrab of the news report by Subhash K Jha

He had claimed, “Laal Singh Chaddha is filmed like a dream. And I don’t mean just the panoramic sweep of Nature’s bounty that cinematographer Satyajit Pande brings to every frame. The film looks exquisite. But it doesn’t stop there. Director Advait Chandan designs every frame to say something that words cannot express.”

The ‘journalist’ had also appealed to those boycotting the film to watch it in the theatres. “They will come away reformed,” he had suggested. Despite the false claims of the naysayers, film critic Taran Adarsh pointed out that calls for the boycott of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ movie had been successful.

In a tweet, he remarked, “Stop being in denial about #Boycott calls not affecting film biz… The fact is, these #Boycott calls have made a dent and impacted the Box Office numbers of Laal Singh Chaddha specifically… Face it!.”

While the Nation celebrated its 75th year of Independence, here is how ‘The Hindu’ chose to worship Nehru and sound despondent

S. Sudhir Kumar
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While the Nation celebrated its 75th year of Independence, here is how ‘The Hindu’ chose to worship Nehru and sound despondent

The Prime Minister of India had given a call for all citizens to participate in the #HarGharTiranga campaign. He had also requested for everyone to have the Indian flag as their display picture on various social media platforms. Ever since he said that the Congress party and sections of the English media went haywire. First, they thought that this campaign will go nowhere. Then they saw the tremendous support the people of the country were giving to this campaign. Left with no choice to adopt it, the Congress party came up with what they know best – worship Nehru and his dynasty even while referring to the Indian flag! 

I was wondering how the mighty Congress party gets the public mood wrong every single time until I saw the deluge of articles in the English media that were worshipping Nehru and Nehru only, for some mysterious reason! The occasion was to proudly display the Indian flag. The reaction of the Congress party and their friendly media was to display unflinching loyalty to Nehru! The coverage in The Hindu, over the past two days, aptly summarizes how this whole team celebrated Nehru instead of India. Let’s begin with the best article of all – published today – “The temples that Jawaharlal Nehru built”. 

The Hindu article

For a large part, the article repeats the same old arguments on how the awesome Nehru built IITs, Bhakra Nangal Dam, ISRO and whatnot. Perhaps the author also felt bored with these repetitive arguments and he decided to up the ante. He goes on to tell us that Nehru was so awesome, that even after his death in 1964, he was responsible for the Green Revolution (in 1965), the telecom revolution (in the late 1980s), the economic liberalisation (in 1991), and the digital revolution (in 2017)! Today, in 2022, India is the fastest growing economy in India only and only because of Nehru’s dreams. The others simply happened to be there when these events occurred. If you don’t believe me, see it for yourself! 

The Hindu article

The author of this piece is a “Senior Fellow, London School of Economics”. Doesn’t it scare you that there are still such people sitting in reputed universities and guiding students on their future? The Hindu had no absolute qualms publishing this worshipping piece of Nehru. It is one thing for Jairam Ramesh and Rahul Gandhi to exhibit this level of worship. It is however a whole different thing for analysts, journalists and editors to indulge in this worship. If I were to follow only sections of the English media and the Congress handles, you wouldn’t fault me for thinking that it is Nehru’s anniversary that is approaching and not India’s Independence Day! 

On the same day and on the same page on which we were told how awesome Nehru is, The Hindu also published another opinion piece – “The fragility of Northeast’s integration”

The Hindu article

The author tells us that the landmark years of severe turbulent years for the North East are 1949 (Nehru was PM), 1958 (“draconian AFSPA was promogulated”, we are told. Not told that the awesome Nehru was the PM!), 1963 (Nehru was still the PM!) and 1971 (Nehru’s daughter is the PM!). According to the author, the tide started turning in 2001 and 2004 (separate ministry for North East), and 2002 (Powerful panel established for infrastructure development). The Prime Minister of India when things started getting better, was Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the BJP! The author also fails to mention that the “draconian AFSPA” was actually repealed across multiple places in the North East by the Narendra Modi government.

You would think that the author will properly credit Congress and BJP in the various years he mentions, but the only time he refers to a political party is in his conclusion section. And that party is the BJP – “Assam vehemently opposed BJP-sponsored CAA but voted BJP back to power”! It is continually baffling to note how these folks are disconnected from reality on the ground. We have often argued that the silence of the supporter is much more powerful than the violence of the detractor. The loudest voice need not be the right one, and the election results time and again have proved this. Instead of reflecting on why they are not able to read the ground realities better, the writers and editors always find new ways to blame the people!

The Hindu also published an opinion piece by Dr. Manmohan Singh – India must protect its hard-won freedoms.

The Hindu article

“Authoritarian arrogance”, he thundered. I was immediately reminded of the many times that Sonia Gandhi had arrogantly undermined the authority of the Prime Minister of India. “Linguistically chauvinist”, he said. I was immediately reminded of the times when the Congress party sought to create a divide in the country based on language. “Communally divisive”, he rued. Beginning with the horrific partition of India, I was also reminded about the 100s of riots that happened in India under the aegis of the Congress party. 

We can go on and on. But we mustn’t forget the occasion that was being celebrated was India’s 75th year of Independence. This was a time to celebrate India’s strengths; India’s victories; India’s people and India’s future. This was a time to visualise India’s 100-year celebrations. This was a time to plan to take India to greater heights in the next 25 years. For such a momentous occasion, we mustn’t also forget that the Congress party and friendly media chose to worship Nehru and sound despondent about our India. We definitely mustn’t forget. 

Delhi: Kejriwal aide among 4 arrested; were part of Pak ISI-backed terror module to execute attacks in Delhi and Punjab ahead of I-Day

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Kejriwal aide among 4 arrested; were part of Pak ISI-backed terror module to execute attacks in Delhi and Punjab ahead of I-Day

Punjab Police, along with Delhi Police, apprehended four persons on the outskirts of Delhi, including an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader on suspicion of planning a terror attack in Delhi and Punjab. Deepak Sharma of Preet Nagar in Moga (Punjab), Sandeep Singh of Kotkaror Kalan village in Ferozepur (Punjab), Sunny Dagar of Ishapur village in Najafgarh in Delhi, and Vipin Jakhar, a resident of Goyla Khurd in New Delhi, were apprehended by the police.

Vipin Jakhar is an Aam Aadmi Party leader who ran in the 2017 Municipal Council elections. Jakhar ran elections on his own, but he was intimately affiliated with the Aam Aadmi Party, as amply demonstrated by a Facebook page he maintained.

The Facebook post made in 2015.
Another Facebook post.

Jakhar fought independently for the post of Ward member from the Chhawla ward in Goyla Khurd Village in South Delhi. His election affidavit can be found here. The current association of Vipin Jakhar with the Aam Aadmi Party is not clear as of now.

The accused were affiliated with Canada-based mafioso Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala and Australia-based gangster Gurjant Singh alias Janta, according to Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav. Lethal weapons often used by the Pakistani army have been recovered from the accused. The police recovered three P-86 hand grenades, one IED, two 9mm handguns, and 40 live cartridges from the detained individuals.

The arms and ammunition recovered from the ISI-backed terror module busted by Punjab Police. (HT Photo)
Recovered arms and ammunition.

All four detainees have been held on five-day remand by the state police. During interrogation, they revealed that Arsh Dala had entrusted them with carrying out criminal activities in Delhi and Punjab ahead of Independence Day in order to undermine peace and harmony.

So far, investigations have shown that Deepak Sharma was sought by the Punjab Police in two cases: the March 2022 murder of Moga-based Jaswinder Singh and June 2022 shooting at the home of a panchayat secretary in Dala village, Moga. Sandeep, who had lately returned to India from Dubai, had assisted Deepak in carrying out the shooting at the panchayat secretary’s residence.

Sunny Dagar, who’d been released on parole, is an active member of the Delhi-NCR gangs Neeraj Bawana and Tillu Tajpuriya. Dagar was arranging dungeons in Delhi for Deepak and Sandeep Singh, while Vipin Jakhar was giving financial and logistical assistance as well as enabling the accused’s travel from one shelter to the next.

The Oscars apologises to Sacheen Littlefeather, 49 years after Hollywood subjected her to racist insults, booing, and nearly an assault by John Wayne

OpIndia Staff
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The Oscars apologises to Sacheen Littlefeather, 49 years after Hollywood subjected her to racist insults, booing, and nearly an assault by John Wayne

Over 49 years after Native American Sacheen Littlefeather was booed off stage at the 45th Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has formally apologised to the actress and civil rights activist. Nearly 50 years after suffering racist insults and abuse, Littlefeather will now return to the Academy as an invited guest of honour at the Academy Museum.

In making the announcement, the Academy Museum shared a letter sent to Littlefeather by David Rubin, the academy president, in June. Rubin called Littlefeather’s speech “a powerful statement that continues to remind us of the necessity of respect and the importance of human dignity”. However, it took the academy over 49 years to realise this.

The abuse Littlefeather suffered took place at the 1973 Oscars when she represented Marlon Brando to decline his Oscar for Best Actor. Ahead of the ceremony, Brando was the overwhelming favourite to win the Oscar having given one of the greatest ever performances in cinematic history as Don Corleone in Francis Coppola’s classic ‘The Godfather’. Anticipating his award, Brando decided to make a statement about the state of Native Americans from one of the biggest stages in the world.

Brando asked then-26-year-old Littlefeather to decline the Oscar on his behalf and to share that he can’t accept the award due to the racist stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans in the movie industry and also over the happenings at Wounded Knee in 1973.

In a strictly timed 60 seconds speech, since she was threatened with arrest if she exceeded that time, Littlefeather stated that Marlon Brando “very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award, and the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry, and on television, in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee.”

Brando had shared an 8-page speech with Littlefeather but thanks to the threat of arrest, she condensed it into 60 seconds and later read the entire speech in front of the press.

Even during her short 60 seconds speech, there were audible boos from the Hollywood elites in the crowd who didn’t have any time for her. Some people used the “Tomahawk chop”, a demeaning gesture to Native Americans, as she was walking by. After her speech, while she was escorted off stage, Hollywood legend John Wayne had to be restrained by 6 bodyguards because he wanted to get on stage, attack her and drag her off stage.

Later on, in the show, other presenters made it a point to take a shot at Littlefeather while presenting the awards. Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood went on stage to present the Best Film award and mocked Littlefeather, saying he was presenting the award on behalf of “all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford Westerns.” Racquel Welch, who announced the Best Actress that evening, also mocked Littlefeather’s appearance by saying, “I hope the winner doesn’t have a cause.”

Not content with abusing and mocking her, Hollywood even tried to destroy her credibility with doubts raised about whether she actually was a Native American.

For nearly 5 decades, Hollywood didn’t see anything wrong with their actions that day as they humiliated a Native American for talking about their issues just for 60 seconds. However, in this era of virtue signalling, they have decided to extend a meaningless apology to show themselves as virtuous people without actually doing anything.

While Marlon Brando’s intentions may have been noble, even he didn’t go scot-free when it came to criticism. Michael Caine, the British acting legend, who was co-host of the ceremony that day, criticised Brando for “letting some poor little Indian girl take the boos” because there was no way any Hollywood elite was ever booing Brando if he had come on stage and said the same thing himself.

Did you know: Nehru wanted ‘date with destiny’ in his I-Day speech but his PA changed it to ‘tryst with destiny’ because ‘date’ had romantic connotation

OpIndia Staff
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Did you know: Nehru wanted ‘date with destiny’ in his I-Day speech but his PA changed it to ‘tryst with destiny’ because ‘date’ had romantic connotation

As India celebrated its 75 years of independence, Congress general secretary, Communications, Jairam Ramesh shared the handwritten draft of first Independence day speech by former PM Nehru in which he had written about the country’s “date with destiny” but delivered it as a “tryst with destiny”. Ramesh also shared the link of the video of Nehru’s speech delivered at the midnight session of the Constituent Assembly as India achieved independence on August 15, 1947.

Lauding the former prime minister, Ramesh stated that Nehru wrote the speech as ‘date with destiny,’ but it was his pure genius that he modified it at the last minute to ‘tyrst with destiny,’ which went down history as one of his most iconic speeches.

“75 years ago, a little after midnight, Nehru gave his immortal ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech. Here’s his handwritten draft dated 14.8.47. He had penned it as ‘date with destiny’, but in a moment of true genius delivered it as ‘tryst with destiny’,” Tweeted the Congress leader.

Here, Congress politician Jairam Ramesh should be reminded that it was MO Mathai, Nehru’s Special Assistant from 1946 and 1959, who advised the last-minute adjustment in the speech to the former prime minister and not Nehru’s ‘moment of true genius.’

MO Mitahi had reportedly then pointed out the romantic overtones of the word ‘Date’ to Nehru. So after toying with ‘rendezvous’, they settled for the assonance of ‘tryst’.

MO Mathai had, in fact, also delved into this topic in his book “Reminiscences Of The Nehru Age.” He wrote that when the typed version of Nehru’s handwritten speech arrived for his approval, he had commented, “‘Date with Destiny’ was not a happy phrase for a solemn occasion because the word date had acquired an American connotation of assignation with girls and women. I suggested its replacement with “tryst” or “rendezvous,” he said.

Matahi further added that he cautioned that the phrase “Rendezvous with Destiny” was used by President Franklin Roosevelt in one of his famous wartime speeches. Nehru thought for a moment and changed the date to tryst in the typescript, recalled MO Mathai.

Excerpt from MO Mathai’s book Reminiscences Of The Nehru Age

“The original handwritten draft with the word date remained with me all these years and was handed over recently to the Nehru Museum and Library along with innumerable documents and photographs,” Mathai wrote in his book.

Nehru in his draft note wrote, “Long years ago we made a date with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the strike of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom.”

Later, however, during his first Independence Day speech, Nehru said, “Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…”

BJP Karnataka skips Jawaharlal Nehru in the list of freedom fighters, triggers Congress’ meltdown

It may be recalled how only yesterday, Congress had made a major hue and cry after the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka skipped Jawaharlal Nehru from the list of freedom fighters in an advertisement to promote the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. This caused a meltdown of Congress leaders.

Many Congress leaders and supporters including the former chief minister Siddaramaiah took to Twitter to criticize this move. It is notable that Jawaharlal Nehru’s sketch did appear in the advertisement alongside the drawings of other great leaders from that time like Veer Savarkar.

Hey, Rana Ayyub, say it, say that ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’ should not be punishable with ‘sar tan se juda’

Nirwa Mehta
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Hey, Rana Ayyub, say it, say that ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’ should not be punishable with ‘sar tan se juda’

Say it. Say it in as many words. Say that ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool should not be punishable by death’. Financial fraud accused Washington Post columnist on Monday took to social media to claim that she deleted her tweet wishing recovery for Salman Rushdie because of a grammatical error and how her ‘editor’ were getting tagged in it.

Rana Ayyub’s claims

First of all, how many of us even know who are the editors at Washington Post to tag them personally for some ‘grammatical error’ in Rana Ayyub’s tweet? Especially when the tweet doesn’t even have any such grave error to begin with.

Rana Ayyub’s tweet on Salman Rushdie

As one can see, while her tweet wishing well for Rushdie did not have any error. ‘Recovers back’ is tautology, but not exactly an error that needs a tweet be deleted. The tweet where she claimed her editors were being ‘unnecessarily tagged’ indeed have an error, though. Instead of ‘were’, Rana wrote ‘where’. Even after 12 hours after posting this tweet with a grammatical error, Rana Ayyub has not deleted it. This, when quite a few people have ‘unnecessarily tagged’ Washington Post for their columnist’s error.

Further, the article she has plugged to ‘prove’ that she indeed cares for Salman Rushdie’s wellbeing and tomtom her bravery is nothing but cowardice as she is actually comparing Rushdie stabbing for ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’ to boycott calls for Aamir Khan film Laal Singh Chaddha which has not resulted in any riots or murders or fatwas for murders. Sab kuch shantipurvak tareeke se hua hai.

Rana’s article was nothing but cover fire for Islamists to prove how they are not the only ones who are the ‘bad’ people. To show ‘look here, look at the Hindu nationalists under Modi who are giving boycott calls for a movie with Muslim actor’. That film itself is terribly made and audience rejected it does not matter. The art of creating false equivalence and to play victim at the drop of the hat is something we all need to learn. Or maybe not.

In reality, Rana Ayyub’s tweet wishing recovery to Salman Rushdie had drawn ire of her fellow coreligionists who were upset she could wish well for someone who had insulted Prophet Muhammad. In the late 80s, after Rushdie wrote the book The Satanic Verses, believed to be a satire on the Quran and life of Prophet Muhammad, fatwas were issued against him. India was the first country to ban the book.

Since the publishing of the book that is considered ‘blasphemy’ by Muslims, Rushdie has been living under the threat because of the fatwa issued against him. On August 12 when he was about to give a lecture at Chautauqua Institution in New York, he was attacked by one Hadi Matar, who seems to be inspired by Iran leaders. Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini also issued a fatwa, calling for Rushdie’s death. A bounty was offered to anyone who kills Rushdie.

More than three decades after the bounty on his head was announced, Rushdie was stabbed publicly in New York.

When Rana tweeted for his recovery, she was attacked by Islamists who felt that she should not wish well upon someone who ‘insulted Prophet Muhammad’.

Rana attacked by Islamists

Here are some more.

More tweets condemning Rana

So essentially, Rana wants us to believe that she deleted her a tweet without any grammatical error praying for recovery of a man, accused of being ‘Gastukh-e-Rasool’, and which was getting condemned by Islamists, because of ‘grammatical error’. She, obviously, didn’t tweet praying for his recovery again. Even in her tweet ‘clarifying’ that her Editors were being tagged, she did not condemn killing for ‘insulting Prophet’.

And no one is buying her feeble attempt. In fact, even her coreligionists are not believing her bluff.

Here are some sample tweets.

Muslim Twitter users calling out Rana Ayyub’s bluff.

Rana, with her divine eyes, couldn’t manage to see hundreds of tweets by her coreligionists condemning her for praying for Salman Rushdie’s recovery but ‘unnecessary tweets tagging Editor’ she saw. Maan gaye, aapki roohaani nazar, or aapke tagged editor, dono ko!

But not just her. ‘Fact-checker’ Muhammad Zubair who was one of the first ones to share the partial audio clip from Times Now debate, has not ‘fact-checked’ Nupur. He called her ‘hateful bigot’ and called her many names, but did not tell the world where she was wrong. What Nupupur said that was not already written in the Islamic holy books. ‘Fact checker’ Muhammad Zubair has not given us actual version about Prophet Mohammad and how it was different from what Nupur Sharma said. Surely writing facts about your divine figures cannot be ‘gustakhi’, right?

Every single prominent Muslim, who has condemned ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad, has not condemned death threats to her. Not one of them has said that death should not be the ‘punishment’ for ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’. Islamic religious heads, clerics, mainstream politicians – have all justified beheading calls, announced bounty on head of Nupur Sharma and even justified how those who are killed for supporting her perhaps deserved it for supporting a ‘Gustakh’.

Prominent Muslim celebrity ‘journalists’ like Rana Ayyub, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Radio Mirchi RJ Sayema, Alt News’ Muhammad Zubair, The Wire’s Alishan Jafri – none of them have said in as many words that no one should be killed for ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’. Is it because they themselves believe it, that ‘blasphemy’ of divine Islamic figures is punishable by death?

They may ‘condemn’ threats, but will not say in as many words that ‘Gustakh-e-Rasool’ ki saza should not be ‘Sar tan se juda‘.

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