In a major development, the Delhi police turned down a request by the Popular Front of India (PFI) to conduct a rally in the National Capital on Saturday (July 30).
The programme was scheduled to be held at Ambedkar Bhawan in the Jhandewalan area of Delhi. The event was titled, ‘Save the Republic.’ The police have warned action against the Islamist outfit if it tried to organise the rally in the absence of required permission.
Poster of the PFI rally
Earlier on Friday (July 29), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner and sought action against the Popular Front of India.
“This organisation (PFI) is running suspicious activities across the whole country. The investigation of its involvement in several violent incidents in the country is going on in many states. On the occasion of Independence Day, such activities can spoil the atmosphere in the National capital,” the letter said.
“That’s why we are requesting you to stop this immediately. Please take the right action and also inform the same to us,” the Hindu organisation concluded.
Screengrab of the letter by Vishwa Hindu Parishad
This is not the first time that the Popular Front of India had conducted its flagship event of ‘Save the Republic.’ One such rally was organised in the Alappuzha district of Kerala on May 21 this year.
Prior to the start of the event, PFI had shared that a grand people’s conference will be held in Alappuzha as part of a nationwide campaign. “People from all over the State are expected to take part in the program, which is beginning shortly,” PFI had tweeted.
In a Facebook post, the radical organization had informed that the event would be inaugurated by Chairman Oma Salam. Former Rajya Sabha member Obaidullah Khan Azmi was invited as the Chief of the ‘volunteer march.’
— Popular Front of India (@PFIOfficial) May 21, 2022
PFI, SDPI extremist outfits indulging in serious acts of violence
Earlier on May 5, the Kerala High Court observed that the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) are extremist organisations, which have not yet been banned in India.
The court made the remarks while hearing the petition of the wife of deceased RSS worker A Sanjith, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “No doubt, SDPI and PFI are extremist organisations indulging in serious acts of violence. All the same, those are not banned organisations,” Justice K Haripal had stated.
The Kerala High Court further noted that both SDPI and PFI have a history of attacking members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It added, “It is the common case that activists of the SDPI/PFI were behind the attack.”
Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member, was hacked to death on July 26. Two Muslim men have been arrested in the case so far – Mohammed Shafiq Ballere and Zaqir Savanuru. While the two accused are linked to PFI and SDPI, another troubling detail emerged in the case – accused Shafiq Ballere and his father worked in the poultry shop of Praveen Kumar Nettaru. This was revealed by Shafiq’s father Ibrahim himself while talking to the media. Ibrahim told India Today, “I work at Praveen’s shop. My son and Praveen used to talk there.” There are also reports that Shafiq and Praveen Nettaru were good friends.
Earlier, two theories had emerged about the murder of Praveen Nettaru. One is that he was killed because he posted on social media supporting Kanhaiya Lal, who was beheaded by Jihadis recently for supporting Nupur Sharma. The second theory was that he may have been murdered as retaliation for the death of a Muslim man, who had been beaten up by Hindus after he had beaten up a Hindu youth.
Now, another theory has emerged, that could possibly be the reason behind the murder of Praveen Nettaru. It is pertinent to note here that the police are still investigating the motive behind his brutal murder by Jihadis.
A report published in Prajavani says that the chicken shop that Praveen Nettaru had opened, where accused Shafiq and his father worked, had overtaken the meat shops run by Muslims in the area and had become an object of hatred for the Islamists there.
9 months ago, Praveen opened his poultry shop called “Akshay Farm Fresh Chicken” in Bellary. Ranjith, Praveen’s father-in-law’s son, has said that the Islamists of the area had become envious of the shop over time. Praveen was a nationalist and a Dharmic who used to share several posts on social media, which were in the national interest. He had got several threats because of his posts and the police had been approached, however, no action was taken. Only days before his murder as well, Praveen had got threats.
In the South Karnataka district, there was a growing campaign to boycott Muslim meat sellers. Praveen had reportedly taken lead in this campaign and had started to create awareness about Hindus buying meat from Hindu shops and encouraged those who could, to start poultry and meat shops.
‘The chicken meat business in Bellare is under the control of non-religious people. Praveen had started a chicken meat business himself and they had threatened him. No matter how many obstacles he faced, he became successful in this industry. Inspired by him, Hindu youths started such businesses in many places in the district,’ he said.
The report also says that Praveen’s meat shop, in a mere 9 months, had overtaken the Muslim-owned poultry shops in the area. This is being pointed at as a possible motive for Praveen’s murder, coupled with the fact that he was spearheading the campaign to buy from Hindu shops.
The murder of Praveen Nettaru by Jihadis
On July 26, Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified assailants. As per reports, the killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Praveen Nettaru, who looked after a poultry business, was returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Praveen was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Massive protests erupted after Praveen’s death in the city of Bellare and Sullia. While the outraged BJP Yuva Morcha members started to furnish mass resignations, the members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a bandh concerning the safety of Hindus in the state of Karnataka.
The Police have arrested two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq in connection with the murder. According to the reports, Shafiq and Zakhir are the conspirators, but the assailants are yet to be apprehended. Investigations in the case are still underway.
Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of ridesharing company OLA, has denied media reports claiming that his company is in talks with global ridesharing major Uber for a merger. Calling the reports ‘Absolute rubbish’, he said that if some other companies want to exit their business from India, they are welcome, without naming Uber.
Bhavish Aggarwal added that Ola is a profitable company and growing well, implying that it has no need to merge with Uber. He said, “We will never merge.”
Absolute rubbish. We’re very profitable and growing well. If some other companies want to exit their business from India they are welcome to! We will never merge. https://t.co/X3wC9HDrnr
The Ola Cabs and Ola Electric CEO made the comments on Twitter in response to a report by Economic Times, claiming that Ola and Uber are in talks for a possible merger. Similar reports were carried by other business media like Business Standard, and even regular media houses like NDTV.
Quoting sources, the reports had said that Bhavish Aggarwal met top Uber executives in San Francisco in the US recently. While Aggarwal didn’t comment on the report of this reported meeting, he has denied any possibility of merger. Following his tweet, an Ola spokesperson said, “We are the market leader in India and are much bigger than other player. Hence, merger of any kind is completely out of the equation.”
“We believe that India has a lot more opportunity to unlock when it comes to mobility services. As a strong vertically integrated mobility company we will further consolidate our position by any acquisition in the Indian market, if at all,” the spokesperson addd.
Similarly, Uber has also denied the speculations of merger. “That report is inaccurate. We are not, nor have we been, in merger talks with Ola,” Uber said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
Ola and Uber are the two major players in India in the sector, and they are slugging it out in the intensely competitive market. While speculations of merger between the two emerge from time to time, both companies have denied any such possibility for now.
A day after blaming the Union government for failing to attend the ‘World Cities Summit’ in Singapore, the Delhi Chief Minister has now made a U-turn. While speaking to the media on Friday (July 29), Arvind Kejriwal remarked that he did not want to blame anyone for not being able to visit Singapore.
“It would have been good if I could go and put forward my point and share with the world the work being done in India…I am not blaming anyone for it,” he had said.
I will attend the meeting with Delhi LG at 4pm today, says CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The ‘change of heart’ was not impromptu but a well-thought-out strategy to deviate criticism from the public. It has come to light that Arvind Kejriwal had deliberately misled the public by falsely blaming the Centre for ‘scuttling’ his Singapore visit.
The controversy began on June 1 this year when Singapore High Commissioner in Delhi, Simon Wong, met Kejriwal in the National Capital. It was reported that the former had invited the Delhi Chief Minister for the ‘World Cities Summit’, which is to be held between August 1-3 this year.
Delhi: Singapore High Commissioner Simon Wong’s first meet with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal; extends invite to CM to attend the Singapore World Cities Summit in August 2022. https://t.co/Vfuki6BVRb
On Thursday (July 28), the AAP-led-Delhi government accused the Centre of sabotaging the visit of Arvind Kejriwal to Singapore. “Only the central government can be held responsible for CM Arvind Kejriwal not being able to attend the World Cities Summit in Singapore, and the subsequent humiliation the country has to face,” it stated.
The Delhi government claimed that Arvind Kejriwal forwarded the file, pertaining to the clearance for CM’s visit, to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on June 7 this year. It alleged that the Lieutenant Governor deliberately sat on the file for more than 1.5 months and returned it only on July 21 i.e. a day after the expiry of the official invitation.
“It is clear from this that the intention of the central government was to prevent the Chief Minister from telling about the world-class work done in Delhi in the international arena apart from education and health,” the Delhi government further alleged.
Delhi LG tells Arvind Kejriwal he can’t go to attend Mayor’s conference and belittle the people of Delhi since he is still the Chief Minister… pic.twitter.com/OsxR9w5z7H
Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had earlier told Arvind Kejriwal that the conference in Singapore was meant for mayors, and hence it was not advisable for a chief minister to attend the same. In a written response to the request, he said, “…Having studied the nature of the forum and the other attendees, it must be noted that on a prima facie basis this is a conference of Mayors of various cities.”
On the same day, Arvind Kejriwal placed an online request on the website of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for political clearance. It must be pointed out that the AAP supremo could have approached the MEA during the 1.5 month-long-period.
A viral email
Meanwhile, an email transcript dated July 26, 2022, had gone viral on social media. It read, “Thank you for considering our invitation for the Honourable Chief Minister to attend the World Cities Summit (WCS) 2022 and to speak at the WCS Plenary, “Liveable & Sustainable Cities: Combating the Climate Crisis”.
“With reference to our email dated 15 July noting the acceptance deadline of 20 July 2022, we regret to inform you that we could no longer accept further additions to the plenary. The invitation to the WCS, which is non-transferable, would also be allowed to lapse,” it emphasised.
The email concluded, “Thank you again for considering the invitation. We hope to see you in Singapore on another occasion.”
Screengrab of the email transcript
Response by the sources in the government
Citing the viral email transcript, government sources toldIndia Today that Arvind Kejriwal missed the deadline that was required for accepting the invitation to the ‘World Cities Summit.’ The sources argued that such dillydallying by the Delhi CM led to the automatic cancellation of the invite by Singapore.
While dubbing it a stunt, they pointed out that a request for political clearance was made to the MEA after the expiry of the deadline on July 21. “The World Cities Summit invitation to Arvind Kejriwal was withdrawn by Singapore. An email reveals that the invitation was cancelled,” they said.
The sources further added, “Therefore, Kejriwal’s entire appeal to PM and L-G for permission to travel to Singapore was nothing more than a political stunt in his usual style of all drama and no substance.”
Although Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP-led-Delhi government tried to portray that they have been victimised by the Centre’s high-handedness, it becomes clear that the Delhi Chief Minister had ample time to seek political clearance from the MEA. And he voluntarily chose not to do so.
Note: Opindia could not independently verify the authenticity of the viral email transcript.
Tanushree Dutta, a Bollywood actress who had accused Nana Pataker of harassing her during the MeToo movement in the country, has posted a baffling message on social media. The actress detailed her struggle with harassment in her lengthy post on Instagram.
On Friday 29th July 2022, in the morning, Tanushree Dutta posted a photo on Instagram. With this photo, she shared a long caption in which she blamed the so-called Bollywood mafia for the harassment she claims to have faced and said that Nana Patekar will be responsible if anything happens to her.
Tanushree Dutta wrote, “If anything ever happens to me let it be known that MeToo accused Nana Patekar, his lawyers & associates & his Bollywood Mafia friends are responsible! Who are the Bollywood Mafia?? Same people all whose names came up frequently in SSR death cases. (note that all have the same criminal lawyer)”
Tanushree Dutta also appealed to people not to watch movies by Bollywood stars. She said in her post, “Do not watch their movies, boycott them totally & go after them with a vicious vengeance. Go after all the industry faces & journalists who planted fake news about me and PR people too behind the vicious smear campaigns.”
Tanushree Dutta added, “Go after everyone!! Make their lives a living hell because they harassed me so much! The law & justice may have failed me but I have faith in the people of this great Nation.”
It is notable that Tanushree Dutta filed an FIR against Nana Patekar after accusing him of sexually abusing her in 2008 when they were filming a special dance sequence for her movie ‘Horn Ok Pleasss’. Patekar, though, has denied all of the charges. The witnesses indicated that she was aware of the alterations made to the dance performance, according to the police, who noted this in the Tanushree Dutta-Nana Patekar case closure report. According to the report, there was no mention of sexual misconduct in the petition lodged in 2008.
Tanushree Dutta claimed that the police gave a clean chit to Nana Patekar and the witnesses were silenced by intimidation. After making her Bollywood debut in the movie Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Tanushree Dutt went on to appear in movies like Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets, Bhagam Bhag, 36 China Town, Apartment, etc.
Recently on 19th July 2022, Tanushree Dutta published another post on her Instagram handle in which she alleged that she was being harassed and targeted. She said her work in the film industry had been sabotaged for the last year. Above all, the actress alleged that a dubious Muslim maid was ‘planted’ at her place who doctored her drinking water with medications and steroids, resulting in health issues.
The Kerala police busted a human trafficking racket and arrested a Kochi-based pastor, along with three others for trafficking minor girls from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. According to reports, Jacob Varghese, the arrested pastor of the Pentecostal Church was running the illegal trade under the guise of running an orphanage named Karuna Charitable Trust, in Kochi’s Perumbavur area.
The pastor and the other accused, who were working as agents, have been arrested and a case has been registered against them under section 370 (1) (2) (3) (4) (human trafficking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Childline officials said that a separate complaint will be filed against the orphanage under the Juvenile Justice Act.
As per reports, the incident came to the fore after the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel rescued 12 minor girls, from Okha-Ernakulam Express when the train reached Kozhikode railway station on the night of July 27 (Wednesday). RPF Inspector Upendra Kumar said that acting on a tip-off, the railway protection force (RPF) officials took 12 girls into custody after inquiring about the route of their journey in Okha Express at Calicut Railway Station. The Inspector added that the rescued girls were handed over to the railway police who in turn handed them over to the Child Welfare Committee.
According to reports, six adults were travelling with the victims. Of these, four are said to be the parents of two girls. Out of the six people, three have been arrested, including an agent identified as Lokesh Kumar and Shyam Lal. The adults accompanying the girls had reportedly revealed to the police that the girls were being taken to the NGO Karuna Charitable Trust-run hostel for education. Subsequently, the charitable trust director, Jacob Varghese, was held.
A Hindustan Times report has quoted the district child welfare committee chairman P Abdul Nasar as saying, “Among the rescued children, 11 belong to Banswara region in Rajasthan and one girl is from Madhya Pradesh. All the children are in the 9-12 age group and most of them have no identification cards. They were tired and scared.”
Nasar reportedly added that the rescued girls will be given counselling and their medical examination will also be held. “Police have contacted the parents of some of the girls. The parents reportedly told the police that the girls were being sent to Kochi for education and after fulfilling all the formalities, they will be sent back to their parents,” Nasar said.
Of late, Kerela has become quite infamous for human trafficking. In June this year, reports emerged revealing the bitter tales of two Keralite Hindi-speaking women who were lured into trafficking in Kuwait by two men named Ajumon and Majeed. The case has been registered by the Ernakulam Town South police who have booked the accused under sections 34, 406, 420, and 506 of The Indian Penal Code.
In 2019, the crime branch of Kerala police filed a charge sheet at the POCSO Special Court in Thiruvananthpuram against the model-cum-activist Reshmi R Nair and her husband Rahul Pashupalann in connection with an online sex trafficking case.
Similarly, in 2018, after over 50 children go missing in a private charity, Janaseva Sishu Bhavan, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had begun an inquiry and put the secretary of the trust Jose Maveli on notice and asked him to produce the missing children. The District Collector took over the institution citing a violation of the Juvenile Justice Act. Following a series of complaints on violations, including illegal detention of children from other states, lack of proper documentation and missing children, the state government took over the trust for three months. A team of officials from Tamil Nadu found trafficked kids from the orphanages run by Maveli.
As per 2018 reports, 2,266 complaints of child rights violations had remained unresolved in Kerala from 2013-2018.
The significance of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the revival of Indic culture and faiths including Sanatan Dharma in the medieval era is unmatched. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his companions in building Hindavi Swarajya witnessed the toughest of the times when a major part of India was under Islamic rule – Mughals in the north and various Shahis in the southern part.
No wonder the fascinating facets of life and works of the first Chhatrapati of the Maratha empire inspire millions of minds even today. One of the brightest among such enlightened minds in the last century was Late Balwant Moreshwar alias Babasaheb Purandare whose centenary year is completing on 29th July 2022.
Babasaheb Purandare narrates the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the way to fort Purandar in the year 1942. Image Source: facebook.com/goneedandekar
Love for history at an early age
Babasaheb Purandare was born on 29th July 1922 at Saswad village near Pune in Maharashtra. He developed a keen interest in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life and works at a very young age. He started publicly narrating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s stories when he was just 14 years old. A natural orator, Babasaheb Purandare was witnessing the freedom struggle as a youth and was thus inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s valour who too had fought for freeing the motherland from the clutches of Islamic invaders.
Babasaheb Purandare stepped down a fort in the year 1974. Image Source: facebook.com/goneedandekar
Since his young age, Babasaheb Purandare was closely associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After independence, Babasaheb Purandare started working in Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal where he met historian Ganesh Hari Khare and started working as a history researcher under his guidance.
In his initial days, he worked on the project titled “Maratha Itihasachi Shakavali 1740-1761” (Years of Maratha History 1740-1761). This project was initiated by the University of Pune in association with Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal.
Initial writings of Babasaheb Purandare
During the same period, that is, in the 1950s and 1960s, Babasaheb Purandare also wrote for the newspaper Maratha run by Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre. Purandare also frequently wrote in a magazine called ‘Manoos’ run by his brother-in-law SG Mazgaonkar with whom he went on to start a publishing house which is today famously known as the Rajahasna Prakashan.
Babasaheb Purandare ensured that every kid in Maharashtra knows the valorous life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Image Source: YouTube Channel Mahesh Phundkar
During the same time, between 1955 to 1961, Babasaheb Purandare actively worked in the freedom struggle of Dadra and Nagar Haveli which was then under the Portuguese regime. He also continued and bettered his well-researched story-telling on the era of the Maratha regime in general and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in particular.
He also penned some inspiring incidents in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life in the form of short stories and its collection was also published during this time. It was titled ‘Thingya’ (Sparkles). In those years, Babasaheb Purandare would peddle his bicycle for hours to reach some historic spot, collect the historic documents and evidence and meet the people who might have had stories to tell about the history they knew either as folklore or with concrete proof. It was his years in the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal that shaped a historian within Babasaheb Purandare.
Association with Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar
During his stint as a history researcher and columnist, Babasaheb Purandare developed close ties with eminent Marathi writers like Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar, and others. It was GN Dandekar who often took Babasaheb Purandare along while he visited any fort. GN Dandekar is also known as ‘Durg Maharshi’ as he spent most of his life exploring each and every fort in Maharashtra. GN Dandekar and Babasaheb Purandare used to organize various camps on a regular basis and took the youths of Maharashtra to the forts where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his brave commanders fought against the Islamic rulers.
Shiv-Shahir Babasaheb Purandare (left) and Durg Maharshi Gopal Neelkanth Dandekar took many youths with them on the fort study tours. Image Source: facebook.com/goneedandekar
Babasaheb Purandare was an excellent storyteller. His selection of words to describe an incident from the chapters of history was unmatchable. He and GN Dandekar are credited with first doing the expedition of the Panhalgad to Vishalgad path via Pavankhind where Baji Prabhu Deshpande fought the bravest rearguard battle in human history and laid his life ensuring a safe passage to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who was being chased by the Adilshahi army.
Literary Contribution of Babasaheb Purandare
While GN Dandekar went on to write about the geography and beautiful terrain of the more than 350 forts in Maharashtra, Babasaheb Purandare took up the task to pen the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that revolved around the same forts. He wrote Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s biography ‘Raja Shiv Chhatrapati’. This novel is one of the most popularly read biographies of the Hindu king. Purandare’s linguistic skills have only enriched the great tale which in itself is very inspiring.
Babasaheb Purandare played important role in the salutation program on the 300 death anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in 1980. Image Source: facebook.com/goneedandekar
Besides this biography, Babasaheb Purandare went on to write other books covering various individual incidents from the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and describing various historical places and stories associated with them. The list includes titles like Rajgad, Panhalgad, Sinhgad, Lal Mahal, Purandar, Pratapgad, Agra, etc. In 2014, Hema Herlekar translated ‘Raja Shiv Chhatrapati’ into English.
The magic of ‘Janata Raja’
Babasaheb Purandare is also known for two plays he wrote – one is titled Phulwanti and the other is titled ‘Janata Raja’ (जाणता राजा). ‘Janata Raja’ is a mega play based on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Its first show was staged in the year 1985 and since then, it became a tradition of Maharashtra to host the shows of this play. Every year, after the monsoon was over, there used to be shows of this play in various cities and towns of the state. Till now, more than 1000 shows of this play are staged in Maharashtra as well as in Agra, Delhi, Bhopal, and the United States.
Babasaheb Purandare narrates the making of Jaanata Raja.
This drama is performed by more than 200 artists and these artists are accompanied by many elephants, camels, and horses. This grand show earned more fame for Babasaheb Purandare as he took the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the common man in the most uncommon theatrical performance. This play, in a true sense, depicted the grandeur of the medieval era.
Jaanata Raja is one of the biggest theatrical productions in the history of Marathi theatre.
As Babasaheb Purandare became Shiv-Shahir
Throughout his life, Babasaheb Purandare delivered countless speeches on the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Whatever honorarium he received for his lectures and speeches, he used to either donate it to various institutions or employed in further researching the topic he became synonymous to. There were numerous occasions when he roamed around the state to research his topic, despite there being lesser means of travel in those days. Even the smallest details of the life of the Maratha king were at the tip of his tongue. Even at the age of 100, as late as a few days before his demise, he was blessed with a sharp memory.
Babasaheb Purandare was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2019. Image Source: India TV News
His research was so impeccable that he would even tell the exact dates of the solar eclipses that were seen from Maharashtra during the life of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In Maharashtra, lakhs of CDs and cassettes of his lecture series on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are sold. People of Maharashtra take pride in calling him Shiv-Shahir which means a bard of King Shivaji. The government of Maharashtra honoured him with the Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 2015. The government of India honoured him with the second highest civilian award in the country ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2019. Shiv-Shahir Babasaheb Purandare passed away on 15th November 2021 at the age of 100 in Pune.
Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal Pune published a book in the memory of the Late Shiv-Shahir.
As the nation marks the completion of the centenary year of the late historian Babasaheb Purandare on 29th July 2022, Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal Pune is all set to publish a book in the memory of the Shiv-Shahir. Eminent Marathi personalities, colleagues, and disciples of the Shiv-Shahir have penned their memories about him in this book called ‘Sonchapha’. Babasaheb Purandare’s colleague historian Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale will launch the book on 31st July 2022 in a program in Pune.
In a judgement that can have far-reaching consequences in the sports sector in the country, the Kerala High Court has said that transgender people should be allowed to participate in the category of the gender they identify themselves with. On Friday 29th July 2022, the Kerala High Court ruled that in the case of lack of a distinct category for transgender people to compete in a sporting event, they must be allowed to compete in the category of their choice. Justice VG Arun was hearing a petition by a transwoman who wanted to compete in a district-level Judo tournament but was instructed by the organizers that transgender people are not permitted to compete.
Justice VG Arun asserted that every transgender person has the same right to compete in sports and that they must be permitted to take part in the category of their choice if there is no distinct category.
Transgender persons have right to take part in sporting events in gender of their choice in absence of separate category: Kerala High Court
The court said in its order, “It is my considered opinion that a transgender person is having equal right to participate in competitions. Here, in the absence of any category for participating transgender persons, the petitioner is seeking to participate in her identity as a woman. If the organizers have not made arrangements for participating transgenders, then the petitioner will have to be permitted to participate in her chosen category.”
The Court ordered the tournament’s organizers to accept the petitioner’s entry and let her compete provisionally, pending the resolution of the case. The Court made the ruling in response to a petition filed by a transwoman who claimed to have competed in competitions her whole life, even after getting gender-affirming surgery, though she did so under the transgender domain. She was told that transgender people would not be permitted to compete in the tournament when she tried to register her entry to compete in a District Level Judo tournament.
The petitioner’s attorney, Dhanuja MS, argued that since the operation and approximately 5 years of hormone medication to transition from man to woman, the petitioner has a strong sense of her gender identity as a woman. As a result, the petitioner ought to be allowed to compete in the women’s category. The Supreme Court’s ruling in the historic case of National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, in which the highest court recognized transgender as a gender identity, was cited in this case.
The Kerala Judo Association and the Kozhikode Judo Association were ordered by the court to approve the petitioner’s plea and grant her permission to compete on a provisional basis.
Issues with the participation of transwomen in women’s categories in sports
Participation of trans persons in sports is a contentious issue and is associated with additional questions apart from usual issues related to the trans movement. In most cases, it is transwomen, men who have transitioned to women, wanting to participate in women’s category in various sports. But it has been alleged that this put them at an unfair advantage in sports that rely on physical strength, as even after converting to women, they retain some male characteristics, including higher strength and stamina.
While the trans community claims that sex-change surgery and hormone therapy remove all male characteristics, biological women who are forced to compete with men-turned-women deny that claim. Studies have shown that transwomen retain a significant amount of strength related to men. Moreover, even if they lose some strength due to therapy, they never lose other physical characteristics like height, which play important role in several sports.
While many sports organisations have formulated rules specifying various factors allowing transwoman to participate in the women’s category, some like the International Swimming Federation has banned transgender women who had experienced male puberty from competing in women’s events.
In a ruling issued last month, FINA said that transwomen who transition to female after attaining puberty as male retain significant physical advantages, and this puts biological women players at a great disadvantage. The decision was taken months after transwoman Lia Thomas had become the first transgender woman to win an N.C.A.A. Division I swimming championship.
After FINA, the International Rugby League also issued a similar order, barring transwomen from participating in international women’s events.
In a shocking incident, a Hindu girl from Bangladesh was abducted and killed by a person who later posted her picture on Facebook declaring that she was dead. The deceased girl has been identified as Anuradha Sen who belonged to the minority community in Nalitabari Upazila of Sherpur, Bangladesh.
The girl who was kidnapped earlier was killed by the accused and her picture was posted on her Facebook account by the accused. The caption attached to the post read, “There is no need to find her. She is dead.” The accused is suspected to be Bari Mehdi who had earlier made threatening calls to Anuradha’s brother.
According to the reports, the victim had just given her 10th board exams this year from Bankura High School. She was kidnapped by the miscreant who pretended to be calling from her school to provide government funds for her further studies.
The incident is said to have happened on Sunday, July 25 when the accused called Anuradha’s mother and asked her to send her to the school to collect the funds. The person on the phone call said that the funds were being provided by the government for some special students and Anuradha was one of those.
Muslims kidnapped 15 year old Anuradha Sen in Bangladesh. Later a photo of her was shared on her own Facebook a/c & it was written that no need to find her, she is dead.
Same thing happened in India in case of Nishank Rathode. World in silence is observing Hindi Genocide. pic.twitter.com/eacEOFGI3M
— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) July 29, 2022
The family of the girl later came to know that the person had trapped the girl and had kidnapped her by falsely calling her to the school. The father of the victim girl went to the school and tried to search for her but to no avail. Later he filed a police complaint at Nalitabari police station.
Meanwhile, the girl’s brother revealed that he had received a similar phone call from a person named Bari Mehdi a few days ago. The person on the other side talked about Anuradha. He said that he had met the girl on Facebook and claimed that he had developed a love affair with her.
“I met your sister on Facebook. Then we became close. Your sister talked a lot with my mother. Now I heard that your sister has a relationship with someone else. It’s not going well. This is not good,” Bari Mehdi said to Anuradha’s brother on phone.
The brother also confirmed to the Police that the call that he had received that day and the call received by his mother asking her to send Anuradha to school for funds had been made from the same number. From the reports, it is suspected that the accused murdered the girl over suspicion of her relationship with some other person. The investigations in the case are underway and the police are verifying the claims.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted searches in multiple locations in Bihar in connection with the terror module with links to Islamic extremist outfit PFI, busted by the Bihar police on the evening of July 11. The central probe agency had recently taken over the investigation from Bihar Police on orders from the Union Home Ministry, taking into account the magnitude of the offence and its ramifications on national security. It is notable that Bihar police had revealed that the module had plans to disrupt a rally of PM Modi in Bihar earlier this month, and now NIA has confirmed the conspiracy.
The agency had taken to Twitter on July 28, Thursday, to inform that the agency had raided “10 locations in Patna, Darbhanga, East Champaran, Nalanda and Madhubani districts in Bihar in the case pertaining to the involvement of suspects associated with the Popular Front of India (PFI) in anti-national activities.”
NIA Conducts Searches at Multiple Locations in Bihar in the PFI Phulwarisharif Case of Patna, Bihar (RC-31/2022/NIA/DLI) pic.twitter.com/JPj5gKrKZO
The NIA revealed that the searches conducted on Thursday had led to the seizure of digital devices and various incriminating documents. Further investigations in the case are in progress, said the central agency.
Notably, the NIA re-registered the case on July 22. It was previously registered by the Bihar police on July 12 after the latter initially arrested two individuals, Md Jalaluddin and Athar Parvez for indulging in anti-India activities and then subsequently made the third arrest in the case on July 15.
NIA registers two FIRs, reveals crucial details on plan to disturb PM Modi’s Bihar visit
Meanwhile, the central agency, after taking over the case, also registered two separate FIRs in the case. Both of the FIRs were filed on July 22. According to news agency ANI, the first FIR was registered against 26 suspects. The first FIR also outlined a plan to obstruct the PM’s visit by a group of suspects who had gathered in the Phulwari Sharif neighbourhood on July 11.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed two separate FIRs in Bihar’s Phulwari Sharif terror module case. First FIR is registered against 26 suspects while another named one. pic.twitter.com/p0ctdwM6og
The second FIR was associated with the Bihar Police’s arrest of the third accused- Margub Ahmad Danish alias Tahir on July 14 for his alleged involvement in anti-India activities and the radicalization of vulnerable youth through the use of various social media platforms.
Notably, Marguv Ahmad Danish alias Tahir, who was arrested in Patna in the Bihar terror module case, is a resident of Phulwarisharif and was associated with the Ghazwa-e-Hind group.
Bihar Police busts terror module with PFI links, reveals PM Modi’s Patna visit was on target
Notably, on July 11, hours after the 2 individuals, Md Jalaluddin and Athar Parvez, were arrested for indulging in anti-India activities in Patna, the Bihar Police revealed that one more (Marguv Ahmad Danish alias Tahir) was arrested and that all the accused had planned to attack the event that witnessed the presence of PM Modi on July 12. The duo had trained around 26 people for creating violence at PM Modi’s event in Patna, the police had said.
The police had further revealed that Md Jalaluddin is a former police officer from Jharkhand. Meanwhile, the other- Athar Parvez is a former SIMI member and currently is a member of PFI and its political arm SDPI. ASP Manish Kumar informed in a press conference on July 14 that Parvez’s younger brother is also a convicted terrorist who was jailed in 2001-02 for involvement in a bomb blast case.
Reports mention that the two accused Md Jalaluddin and Athar Parvez had trained around 26 people for the terror mission and had taught them to use guns, swords, and knives. The Police also recovered the relevant documents from the accused to discover that the PFI was hurt by the alleged ‘blasphemous’ statements made by ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and that they had made a terror plan to take revenge against the alleged remarks.
The FIR registered in the matter also mentioned that the accused belonging to the terrorist organization had planned to disturb the event in which PM Modi had participated on July 12.
