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As centenary year of the late Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare completes, know how he went on to be known as the Shiv-Shahir

Gopal Tiwari
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As centenary year of the late Padma Vibhushan Babasaheb Purandare completes, know how he went on to be known as the Shiv-Shahir

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
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
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.

Babasaheb Purandare
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.

Kerala HC says transgender athletes can participate in sports events in their chosen gender category if there is no separate category

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala HC says transgender athletes can participate in sports events in their chosen gender category if there is no separate category

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.

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.

Bangladesh: Hindu schoolgirl abducted and killed, killer used her Facebook account to post her kidnapped picture and announce her death

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: Hindu schoolgirl abducted and killed, killer used her Facebook account to post her kidnapped picture and announce her death

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.

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.

Conspiracy to attack PM’s rally: NIA raids 10 locations in Bihar, files 2 FIRs against PFI terrorists arrested by Bihar police

OpIndia Staff
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Conspiracy to attack PM’s rally: NIA raids 10 locations in Bihar, files 2 FIRs against PFI terrorists arrested by Bihar police

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.”

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.

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.

Burnt documents supporting ban on Jamaat-e-Islami but released those supporting RSS ban: Reveals Kerala journalist O Abdurrahman

OpIndia Staff
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Burnt documents supporting ban on Jamaat-e-Islami but released those supporting RSS ban: Reveals Kerala journalist O Abdurrahman

Senior Kerala-based journalist O Abdurrahman, who had worked as an interpreter at the Indian Embassy in Qatar during Indira Gandhi’s tenure as the Indian PM, had burnt documents related to Jamaat-e-Islami instead of distributing them to the media, while allowed RSS related documents to go out. He had disclosed this in a speech in 2019, the video of which has emerged now.

O Abdurrahman was working as a translator in the Qatar Embassy when Jamaat-e-Islami was banned by the Indira Gandhi government. At that time, the diplomatic bags sent to the embassy included leaflets of Jamaat and other documents that justified the ban. It may be noted that Jamaat-e-Islami was banned a few days after the declaration of the emergency by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government. As there was an outrage in the Arab world against the ban, the Indian govt had sent documents supporting the ban to embassies in those countries, asking them to be published in local media. However, O Abdurrahman, who has been associated with the Islamic organisation for a long time, refused to do so, and therefore burnt the documents that justified the ban on Jamaat.

The leaflets and documents were to be distributed to the media and other related offices in Qatar. However, O Abdurrahman said that he found it difficult to distribute them, and burnt them instead. However, he distributed documents related to RSS which were also sent in the diplomatic bags.

He said, ‘In 1975, I was working in Indian Embassy in Qatar as an interpreter. After the declaration of emergency by Indira Gandhi, an order came to ban Jamaat-e-Islami along with ban on RSS and few others. Next 2 years was really hard for me. The scholars and clerics in Arab world strongly opposed the ban on Jamaat. In that background, what I did was, when the diplomatic bags arrived every week, there were literature on why Jamaat-e-Islami was banned along with literature on why RSS was banned. One of my jobs was, the ambassador Arif Gabriel would tell me to distribute the literature to all media organisations. It was easy to distribute literature giving reasons for banning RSS, but when it came to distributing literature on why Jamaat was banned, which were lies according to me, it pricked my conscience.’

Therefore, he burnt those literature related to Jamaat-e-Islami, he revealed.

Admitting the burning of the diplomatic documents, Abdurrahman said people can either call him a patriot or a traitor, but he stands by his action decades ago. He made the revelation during a speech at an event in Trichur in 2019.

When Republic talked to him on the matter, he refused to make any comment on the matter but said that he had opposed the emergency. When asked why distributed documents supporting RSS selectively, Abdurrahman claimed that he had opposed the ban on RSS also.

O Abdurrahman is the group editor of Madhyamam Daily newspaper and Mediaone news channel. Importantly, he is also known as an activist associated with Jamaat-e-Islami. The newspaper and the channel are run by Ideal Publications Trust, which was founded by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind wing in Kerala.

Afghanistan: Suicide blast rocks Kabul International cricket stadium during a T20 match

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: Suicide blast rocks Kabul International cricket stadium during a T20 match

A suicide blast rocked the Kabul International Cricket stadium during the Shpageeza Cricket League T20, an IPL-like tournament held in the Afghan capital. All players were rushed inside a bunker following the blast.

The blast occurred during a match between Band-e-Amir Dragons and Pamir Zalmi. United Nations officials were present at the stadium when the attack took place.

The spectators were seen rushing to safety as chaos engulfed the stadium following the explosion, triggering panic and tensions among all those present in the stadium.

Multiple casualties have been reported from the stadium. Social media websites are rife with videos of the attack that took place in the Kabul International Cricket stadium. 

No terror group has taken the responsibility for the attack so far.

The Shpageeza Cricket League, an IPL-like professional T20 tournament, was started by the Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2013.

It is worth noting that Afghanistan has been marred with isolated attacks taking place across the length and breadth of the country, particularly after the Taliban stormed to power in August last year. Since then, disparate militia groups, in their bid to exert their dominance, have launched attacks, particularly against the minorities.

A few days back, an explosion took place near the gate of Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul. In June, several blasts roiled Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul’s Bagh-e Bala neighbourhood. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the terror attack on the gurdwara that had resulted in the death of two people, including a Sikh community member.

Mallikarjun Kharge urges Rajya Sabha Chairman to expunge remarks by union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi

OpIndia Staff
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Mallikarjun Kharge urges Rajya Sabha Chairman to expunge remarks by union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi

On 29th July 2022, the leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Chairman of the house in a written letter to expunge the remarks made by Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal on Sonia Gandhi in the House on July 28. There was an uproar in both the houses of the parliament on 28th July 2022 over the ‘Rashtrapatni’ jibe by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury against President Draupadi Murmu.

In his letter, Mallikarjun Kharge said, “I wish to draw your kind attention to a matter of grave procedural Irregularity. Yesterday, i.e. 28 July 2022, at about 11:10 hrs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman raised the matter with regard to the usage of a term by the Leader of Indian National Congress In Lok Sabha in regard to Hon’ble President of India, and in this context, she inter alia stated “I demand an apology from the President of the Congress Party, who, herself being a woman, has allowed her leader in the Lok Sabha to speak insultingly about our Rashtrapati. Shrimati Sonia Gandhi should come before the nation and apologize to the Rashtrapati and also to the entire country for the insult that her own leader in the Lok Sabha has…(done). I demand an apology from Shrimati Sonia Gandhi. Thereafter when the House reassembled at 12:00 hrs, Leader of the House Shri Piyush Goyal inter alia stated Congress President should apologize in this matter.”

Kharge stated that it has been a tradition of the house that reflections or critical remarks should not be made on the other House or members of the other House. Supporting this thing, he further said in his letter to the Chairman, “In this regard, wish to draw your attention to the ruling made by Shri R. Venkataraman the-then Hon’ble Chairman of Rajya Sabha on 15 April 1987 wherein he inter alia observed ‘No person who is not a member of this House can be referred to in the House in a derogatory manner or in any other way affecting his reputation.’ In fact, even a Question of Privilege cannot be raised directly in one House against the members of the other House.”

Kharge added, “In this regard, a procedure has been laid down based on a report of the Joint Sitting of Committees of Privileges of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha which was presented to both Houses on 23 August 1954 and later adopted by the Houses in December 1954. As per this procedure, when a question of breach of privilege or contempt of the House is raised in either of the House in which a member, officer, or servant of the other House is involved, the procedure followed is that the Presiding Officer of the House in which the question of privilege is raised refers the case to the Presiding Officer of the other House.”

Mallikarjun Kharge further wrote in his letter that mentioning and making remarks in regard to a member of the Lower House in the Upper House is a gross violation of the time-honored conventions. Concluding his request, he urged the Chairman to expunge the remarks made by Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal about Sonia Gandhi. Mallikarjun Kharge also pleaded that the ministers should furnish an apology for violating the sacrosanct conventions of the House.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had called President Draupadi Murmu ‘Rashtrapatni’ which he later claimed was done by mistake. Both the houses of the parliament witnessed a heated uproar against this jibe and were adjourned.

Autopsy reveals death due to tuberculosis, media claims minor Muslim boy beaten to death: Truth about the death of 15-year-old student in Kannauj

OpIndia Staff
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Autopsy reveals death due to tuberculosis, media claims minor Muslim boy beaten to death: Truth about the death of 15-year-old student in Kannauj

A 15-year-old Muslim boy died during treatment at Murari Lal Chest Hospital in Kanpur late on Monday (July 25) night. The boy was identified as Dilshan alias Raja, a resident of Madaiya West village under Chhibramau Kotwali in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. After the student’s death, different versions of the news started circulating in the media.

While police confirmed that the student’s autopsy report listed the cause of death as cardiorespiratory failure and chronic lung disorder, many media houses quoted the family as claiming that the boy was beaten to death by three teachers of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district on suspicion of stealing a watch when he went there to seek admission.

Speaking about the case on July 27 Kannauj Superintendent of Police, Kunwar Anupam Singh, confirmed in a video byte that the police had sent the body of the deceased student for a post-mortem after registering an FIR in the aforementioned case. The autopsy report confirmed that there were no injury marks on the deceased’s body. In fact, the cause of death was mentioned as chronic lung disease. He added that the allegations of torture and assault have been found to be untrue. The SP said that the police are thoroughly investigating the case and action will be taken on the basis of evidence.

How media houses misreported the death of the Kannauj student

The Kannauj police’s Tweet had come in response to a Tweet posted by the Millat Times, wherein the news portal shared a picture of the student with claims that a teacher of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district, named Shiv Kumar Kumar summoned Dilshan and accused him of stealing a watch. On suspicion of theft, the teacher had beaten up the student so badly that he succumbed to the injuries.

Notably, Millet Times was not the only media house that highlighted this version of the incident. Other media houses like the NDTV, Hindustan Times and Times of India also reported along the same lines, highlighting the family’s claims that the 15-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death by three teachers of a school in Madaiya village of Kannauj district on suspicion of stealing a watch when he went there to seek admission.

Since in the aforementioned case, the victim was a Muslim, Maktoob Media used the opportunity to play Muslim victimhood by highlighting the religion of the boy in the headline. It headlined the report, “UP: Muslim boy beaten to death by teachers, police begin probe.” Interestingly, the report published by the Islamist propaganda portal was dated July 28, a day after the Kannauj police revealed that the death was not due to assault but because of chronic lung disorder.

Report published by Maktoob Media on July 28.

The reports read that the father of the boy, Jahangir Khan, alleged in his police complaint that Dilshan was locked in a room and assaulted at the RS Inter College in the Ramlila Maidan area on July 23. The complaint states that teacher Shivkumar Yadav summoned Dilshan and accused him of stealing a watch. Following this, Shivkumar and his colleagues Prabhakar and Vivek Yadav locked Dilshan inside a room and assaulted him, states the complaint.

Jahangir said Dilshan had suffered internal injuries and when he came back from school, he fainted after vomiting. “We took him to the hospital. Doctors referred him to Kanpur as there was no improvement in his condition,” he said.

Reacting to the complaint, SP Kunwar Anupam Singh had cleared then too that they were investigating if the death was due to an assault. “Strict action would be taken against the accused, as per the rules, if the post-mortem report confirms the assault,” he said.

Two days later, the autopsy report of the 15-year-old boy revealed that he allegedly died of tuberculosis.

In fact, Vinod Kumar, the Chief Medical Officer also confirmed on Wednesday that the boy identified as Dilshan died of tuberculosis, according to the autopsy report. “Both of his lungs had puss deposits; there was no sign of contusion or abrasion found on the body,” he added.

Shamshera flop show: Critic Taran Adarsh blames pandemic for movie failure, says audiences now want content rooted in Indian culture

OpIndia Staff
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Shamshera flop show: Critic Taran Adarsh blames pandemic for movie failure, says audiences now want content rooted in Indian culture

Ranbir Kapoor starrer movie Shamshera which has been badly rejected by the audience and the reviewers has recorded only Rs 40.5 crores of collection in the last seven days. While the movie has been declared a flop, some experts went on to blame the pandemic for the failure along with the content and the timing of the release.

Commenting on the failure of the movie, well-known film critic Taran Adarsh said that movies like Shamshera were planned and executed for pre-pandemic audiences. He said that the audiences post-pandemic had begun craving for more content that is rooted in the Indian culture.

“These were pre-pandemic films that were planned and executed for the pre-pandemic audience. However, during the pandemic, the requirements from films for movie-going audiences have changed. They want content more rooted in Indian culture, wholesome entertainment films”, he said while in an exclusive conversation with Zoom Digital. He added that the movie could have done well as it starred Ranbir Singh and was directed by Karan Malhotra, the man behind Agnipath, but it did not translate into box office numbers due to the pandemic.

Screenshot from the article published by Zoom Digital

Meanwhile, Producer and film business analyst Girish Johar too blamed the pandemic for the poor performance of the movie. “Some of the biggest films got stuck in the pandemic and they are coming out now – when audience preferences have seen a shift. It was just a string of bad luck”, he said.

Shamshera’s poor performance at the box office is part of a wider story that appears to have plagued Yash Raj Films for quite some time. All the recently released YRF films including Bunty Aur Babli 2, followed by Ranveer Singh’s Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Akshay Kumar’s Samrat Prithviraj, and now Shamshera have bombed at the box office.

It is notable here that Adarsh had called Shamshera “unbearable” and an “epic disappointment” in his review.

To note, Film actor Sanjay Dutt on Thursday took to social media and said that he stands by the film Shamshera and tweeted ‘#ShamsheraIsOurs’ claiming that those who criticised the film over its Hinduphobic content are ‘spewing hatred’ on ‘one of the most hardworking and talented actors of our times’.

It is notable here that a number of Bollywood movies have flopped in recent months while South Indian movies like RRR, Pushpa and KGF-2 have been superhits all over India.

Shamshera has been on the receiving end of criticism not only from apolitical mainstream film critics who have given it a low rating and even called it unbearable but even an average movie-going audience seems to be unhappy with the storyline. Shamshera portrays the villain, played by Sanjay Dutt (Shuddh Singh) as a devout Hindu and a ruthless barbarian. He is shown in the film as a devout Hindu with a Shikha and a Tripund Teeka. His character is named Shudh Singh, a brutal authoritarian general who has imprisoned and enslaved a warrior tribe.

Shamshera was released in cinemas on July 22 with a lot of expectations. Sadly, the big-budget action entertainer starring Ranbir Kapoor and produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF) failed to pull significant crowds. With less than Rs 40 crore in seven days’ worth of box office revenue, Shamshera, a movie with a huge budget of Rs 150 crore, has decisively been rejected by fans, putting YRF under a lot of strain. The film’s script has also been criticized by viewers and reviewers for its weak content with many saying the storyline has no point.

Bhopal: Congress’ Digvijaya Singh manhandles a police officer during protests over local body polls, grabs his collar and assaults him

OpIndia Staff
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Bhopal: Congress’ Digvijaya Singh manhandles a police officer during protests over local body polls, grabs his collar and assaults him

Senior Congress leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh, manhandled a police officer deployed outside the District Panchayat office in Bhopal while protesting over the local body polls. In the visuals that have emerged from the protests, Singh is seen breaking the police cordon and holding a cop by his collar.

Singh and other Congress leaders were a part of a protest and have alleged that the local body polls were rigged by the BJP government in the state, and that the police and administration were working under the pressure of the government.

BJP candidate Ram Kunwar Gurjar won the District Panchayat elections in Bhopal amid protests from Congress leaders who alleged that the polls were compromised.

Digvijaya Singh alleged that nine votes were cast with fake medical certificates and accused the BJP of kidnapping Congress district panchayat members. “Anyone who is uneducated or not fit to cast their vote can get another family member to do it. But here. nine votes were cast with fake medical certificates. They are bringing government cars full of people, who cast votes. It’s a violation of election rules,” the Congress MP claimed.

A scuffle also broke out between Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and police outside the District Panchayat office in Bhopal after Congress alleged that police acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation. In order to ensure that polls took place smoothly, the police cordoned off Congress leaders and supporters who had gathered outside the building over protest against the state government. In their bid to enter the District Panchayat office, Singh and other Congress supporters tried to break through the cordon, resulting in clashes with the on-duty police officials, videos of which have gone viral on social media.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury holds a police officer by his collar during protests against ED in Hyderabad

However, this is not the first time that a Congress leader has displayed brazen contempt toward law enforcement officials. Earlier last month, senior Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury had grabbed the collar of a police officer on duty during the AICC protests against Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad.

During the protests, members of Congress clashed with police officers attempting to control the scene. When the officers were attempting to take Renuka Chowdhury into custody while handling the situation, she and the cops got into a dispute. Renuka Chowdhury lost her calm and grabbed the collar of a police Sub-Inspector.

The police officer was seen maintaining restraint and not taking any coercive action against Renuka, even while some other Congress worker tried to calm Renuka down and move her hand away from the policeman’s collar.

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