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Indian origin boy faces harsher punishment even after being assaulted and choked in US school, bully’s influential father accused of manipulating school decision

OpIndia Staff
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Indian origin boy faces harsher punishment even after being assaulted and choked in US school, bully’s influential father accused of manipulating school decision

New details have emerged in the bullying case in the United States where an Indian-origin boy was almost choked to death by a White student. As per reports, the Coppell Middle School North in Texas has suspended the victim, student Shaan Pritmani for three days, while the bully got only a one-day suspension. It has been reported that the bully’s father, Sam Wellington used his influential position to save his son from harsher punishment.

Wellington had run for Place 7 on the Coppell Independent School District board of Trustees. Though he lost the election, he seems to have good connections with the school authorities making it possible for him to save his son from punishment.

Coppell ISD deactivated social media accounts

Since the report broke, Coppell ISD has so far deactivated two social media accounts, Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter and Facebook accounts of CoppellISD deactivated. Source: Twitter/Facebook

A petition on change.org is being run to gather support for the Indian-origin student. The petition, started by Shaan’s mother, Sonika Kukreja, has gathered 2.7 lakh votes so far. In the petition, she said due to a lack of support from the Coppell ISD and Coppell PD, they were demanding the bully should be removed from the school with immediate effect.

Indian origin student assaulted in US school

A video had emerged on social media platforms in which an Indian-origin student could be seen being assaulted, and choked by a White student. The incident took place at Coppell Middle School North in Texas. The victim, Shaan Pritmani, was subjected to three days of suspension by the school, while the attacker, whose identity was not revealed, was only suspended for one day.

Shaan is seen in the video seated at the lunch table while another youngster urges him to leave. Shaan says, “No, I’m not getting up. There is literally no one sitting here.” The second student is subsequently seen attempting to choke Shaan while the latter winces in discomfort. Shaan is soon dragged from his seat and thrown to the floor by the attacker.

Shaan’s mother, Sonika Kukreja, shared the incident on Facebook, stating that her son, who is being choked and assaulted, is the one who got three days of suspension. “The school authorities refuse to take the matter with a sense of urgency and have not handled the situation well!” she added.

False narrative to smear Shaan’s image

As per members of the Coppell ISD Concerned Parents and Taxpayers Facebook group, a false narrative against Shaan is being run to discredit him over the incident, and to justify the school’s decision to unfairly punish the victim of bullying. A Facebook user Ram Mehta shared several screenshots of the stories that were getting circulated against Shaan and his parents.

False narrative against Shaan. Source: Facebook.

It was being alleged in the stories that Shaan initially used racial slurs against the White student and spoke about assaulting his sister. One of the message even alleged that Shaan threatened to rape the aggressor’s sister. When the White student asked him to leave, he refused, which led to the altercation. However, it was mentioned that the bully has no sister. 

Gyanvapi survey: Know about five women petitioners who came together to seek unrestrained right to worship Maa Shringar Gaur

OpIndia Staff
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Gyanvapi survey: Know about five women petitioners who came together to seek unrestrained right to worship Maa Shringar Gaur

The discovery of the Shivling in the disputed structure of the Gyanvapi Masjid in the state of Uttar Pradesh has become a contentious issue with the Hindus celebrating the court-monitored survey and the Islamists deliberately demeaning it. Some of the journalists like Arfa Khanum Sherwani (Senior Editor Wire) questioned the Court over the survey and pondered why the court allowed the petitions that defied the Places of Worship Act, 1991 in the first place.

She said that the Places of Worship Act, 1991, clearly prohibits conversion of places of worship as they existed on 15th August 1947. “History should not be used as an instrument to oppress the present generation. Why should courts allow petitions that defy Places of Worship Act?”, she tweeted on May 16, hours after the Shivling was found from below the area where Muslims washed their hands and feet before offering namaz.

Also, people like AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Rana Ayub, a journalist who is accused of swindling money in the name of donation disrespected the Court orders and called upon Muslims to not lose the disputed structure at any cost. “They must know that we will not lose any more of our mosques. We know all your tactics,” Owaisi remarked while Ayub tweeted, “EVERY DAY A BABRI. EVERY DAY A TRIGGER”. Many more suffered a meltdown as the Shivling was unearthed from inside the disputed structure of the Gyanvapi mosque and questioned the petition based on which the Court had ordered a videography inspection.

Five Hindu women join forces to move the court for seeking an untrammelled right to worship inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure

Interestingly, it was 5 Hindu women named Laxmi Devi, Rakhi Singh, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas, and Rekha Pathak who filed the petition in the Varanasi court on 18 August 2021 seeking permission to worship the deities of Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, and Nandi regularly, as well as barring opponents from harming the statues inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure. The Civil Judge (Senior Division) of Varanasi, Ravi Kumar Diwakar, then on April 26, 2022, ordered videography of the Shringar Gauri temple in the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex and adjoining places.

Sita Sahu one of the petitioners in the case, revealed on May 18 that all the lady petitioners in the case have been regularly offering prayers to the deity of Maa Shringar Gauri and that they were harassed for entering the disputed structure. “We all Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, and Rekha Pathak used to worship Maa Shringar Gauri. We became friends as we all started used to meet on the spot and conduct Satsang. We all wanted to exercise our right to worship the deity but the devotees were harassed. They (management of the Mosque) used to allow us only an hour to worship Maa Shringar Gauri even on the occasion of the full moon of Chaitra Navratri”, she said.

Sahu added that the petitioners then decided to take legal help. She stated that Dr. Sohanlal and Advocate Hari Shankar Jain helped them to act legally against the Mosque Management. “Dr. Sohanlal is the husband of Laxmi Devi (one of the petitioners). He already had worked on some similar cases in the year 1996. He then introduced us to Advocate Hari Shankar Jain who helped us in filing the petition”, Sita said.

Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and VHP leader Sohan Lal (Image source- Dainik Bhasker)

When asked about her friends who are also the petitioners in the case, Sahu said that they all believed in the powers of Maa Shringar Devi and worshipped the deity by offering Bindi and bangles on Chaitra Navratri. “We want to exercise our right to worship daily. So the case. We four live in Varanasi and range from age 35 to age 65. The fifth petitioner in the case, Rekha Pathak, stays in Delhi. We’ve met her twice or thrice and she was introduced to us by Dr Sohanlal”, Sahu said.

While Laxmi Devi, Sita Sahu, Manju Vyas, and Rekha Pathak reside in Varanasi and have attended every session since the lawsuit began in August 2021, Rakhi Singh, the fifth and principal petitioner, is located in Delhi and has not been in court. According to the reports, Rakhi Singh (35) resides in the Hauz Khas area of Delhi and is the founding member of the Vishwa Vedic Sanathan Sangh. Sita Sahu (40) owns a modest general store from her home in Varanasi’s Chetganj area, roughly 2 kilometres from the complex. Manju Vyas (49) owns a beauty parlour 1.5 kilometres from the Gyanvapi complex. Rekha Pathak, a housewife, lives in the Hanuman Phatak area, which is close to the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex. Laxmi Devi (65) is the wife of VHP leader Sohan Lal Arya.

The apex court on Tuesday issued orders to protect the site where the Shivling was discovered from the disputed structure. The order also denied entry of Muslims in Wuzukhana, disallowing washing of their feet and spitting on the Shivling. Supreme Court also maintained that the order in any manner should not restrict or impede the right of the Muslims to use the Mosque for religious purposes.

Journalists, Hindu and Muslims, mock Hindus after Shivling is found at Gyanvapi: It is more than Hinduphobia that drives their disdain

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Journalists, Hindu and Muslims, mock Hindus after Shivling is found at Gyanvapi: It is more than Hinduphobia that drives their disdain

The discovery of a Shivling inside a wuzukana of the disputed structure of Gyanvapi Masjid has substantiated the longstanding belief of the Hindus that a Hindu temple existed at the site, which was subsequently demolished by Islamic tyrant Aurangzeb to build the Gyanvapi masjid on top of the revered Hindu temple.

As reports emerged that a Shivling was found inside the controversial site, Hindus felt vindicated of their long-held belief about the presence of the Shivling inside the structure, while the left-liberals, Islamists expectedly suffered a huge meltdown on the microblogging site Twitter.

Besides suffering meltdown, the Islamists, ‘liberal-secular’ intellectuals indulged in making casual ‘Hinduphobic’ remarks and mocking Hindu deities in an attempt to discredit the recent discovery of the Shivling inside the disputed structure of Gyanvapi masjid in Varanasi. Many usual suspects, often having a notorious past of chiding Hindus for being unapologetic and proud of culture and heritage, took to Twitter to mock Hindus for celebrating the presence of Shivling inside the disputed structure.

Alleged journalist Saba Naqvi, who has been on a tweeting spree ever since the Varanasi court ordered a survey of the disputed structure, put out an infographic on Twitter on Wednesday to ridicule Hindus over their belief that a Hindu temple existed in the place of the existing disputed structure.

Sharing two images of a Shivling and the domed structure at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Saba Naqvi tried ridiculing Hindus, saying the community would lay claim to any structure that has characteristics of a Shivling. With this image, Saba Naqvi slid her casual bigotry against Hindus to not only mock Hindus after a Shivling was found inside the disputed structure but also generalise a trend to discredit Hindus and their beliefs at a large level.

Freelance journalist Raqib Hameed Naik, a notorious Hinduphobic element, put out an image of the White House and a fountain in front of it to discredit the recent findings of Shivling at the Gyanvapi. As per the ‘journalist’, the survey team did not find a Shivling, instead unearthed a fountain, which as per him, is being used by the Hindu side to push for ownership of the site.

Manzoor Ali Khan, another Islamic troll, also mocked Hindus that they would someday come stake claim for the Jama Masjid in Srinagar after mistaking a fountain for a Shivling.

Kavish Aziz, who claims to be a journalist, put out an image of a mixer-grinder to compare it with the Shivling that was found inside the wuzukana of the Gyanvapi masjid.

Salman Hingwa, a Congress leader and the former Vice President of NSUI, compared the Shivling found inside the disputed structure to the grinding stone to belittle Hindus and their rights to reclaim Hindu temples that were converted into mosques by Islamic tyrants.

Not just the Islamists, but the left-wing coterie, often backed by the Congress party, also had a field day on social media platforms. Vir Sanghvi, a celebrated middleman and once believed to be a stenographer of the lobbyist Nira Radia, also resorted to similar chicanery to mock Hindus and their belief.

Sharing an image of a fountain, Vir Sanghvi claimed that it was a Vedic religious monument appropriated by invaders who wanted to keep it cool. Essentially, he was hinting that the Shivling found at the wuzukana of the disputed structure is not real; instead, a fountain, which is further being propagated as remnants of the erstwhile Kashi Vishwanath temple, that was desecrated and demolished by tyrant Aurangzeb to make way for Gyanvapi masjid.

Another troll account Narundar, who is often caught peddling fake news to target Hindu communities, claimed that it was not a big deal for the Hindus to prove that the Shivling found in Varanasi is not a fountain.

It is easy to brush this under the carpet by simply saying that the Islamist hate for Hindus has lost its novelty and that their hate is expected. It is also easy to say that they are all Hinduphobic and their response is a result of their unbridled hatred for Hindus. We can even go a step ahead and talk about how Kamlesh Tiwari was beheaded for saying something remotely (and allegedly) against Prophet Mohammad but they mock Hindu Gods with impunity, with no fear of consequences. Yet, they keep drumming up the trope about the Muslim community being “Dara Hua”.

However, it is important to realise that it is not just the Islamists but sections of the Hindu community who have been deracinated enough to mock their own faith. Take Vir Sanghvi for example. Do we think his comments stem only from Hinduphobia or the fact that he needs to deride the majority community to make a buck?

The rot within the Hindu society itself needs to be addressed and understood if we need to successfully reclaim the Bharata that once was.

So what makes born Hindus like Sanghvi mock the very foundation that defines who he is and the community he supposedly belongs to?

It is indeed true that Hinduphobia is a strong reason for why they choose to mock Hindus and their beliefs, including the fact that they know the complacent and intrinsically tolerant majority will not react like the violent minority when their faith is hurt, however, there is another reason why they choose to mock Hindus with impunity.

One has to realise that for the Leftists and assorted Islamists, the very problem today, which is Hindus wanting to reclaim Kashi Vishwanath temple, stems from their religious worldview where they see divinity all around them. For a Hindu, a rock under a tree is divine if the community starts worshipping it. That is the polar opposite of what Abrahamic religions stand for.

For Liberals, this foundational belief itself is the root cause of the “problem” and why Hindus now want to reclaim their Temple. For Hindus, divinity in the Shivling is above the narrow considerations of secularism and therefore, it is the belief itself that needs to be attacked.

It is a devious yet rational approach if one wants to ensure that Hindus live with their heads buried in the sand. Dismantle the belief itself so that the claims that arise out of that belief are discredited automatically.

It is a completely different subject that the liberals have no spine to do the same to Islam. As far as the Hindu community is concerned, the situations that the Liberals view as a “problem” is limited to them wanting to reclaim their places of worship, however, as far as Islam is concerned, their “belief” gives rise to far greater problems.

It is because of the Islamic belief that Kafirs must be beheaded that we see spates of violence every single day, heck, it is because of their belief that Muslims and Hindus cannot co-exist that Bharat was ripped apart to carve out a nation where they did not have to share the same space with “Kafirs”. It is their urgent to humiliate Hindus why Murthis were broken and buried in the steps of Mosques. It is because of their religious belief that ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda exists.

It would make perfect sense for the Liberals, who pride themselves for being rational, to attack the Islamic belief itself in an attempt to find a resolution to the problems that arise due to the Islamic faith. Instead, we see them mock the victims of Grooming Jihad saying that the phenomenon is a “right wing conspiracy”.

One can theorise that it is their fear of the Islamists that drives them to close their eyes to a belief system that results in unprecedented blood shed the world over. Or perhaps the fact that allying with the Islamists serves a larger goal – discredit the very idea of a civilisational state that Hindus hold dear. However, there is clearly far more than Hinduphobia at play here and the change starts with the churn that will first and foremost, deal with the rot within the Hindu society.

India’s Thomas Cup win: The years of hard work, the team spirit, the struggles and all that went into making the dream a reality

Sambit Nayak
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India’s Thomas Cup win: The years of hard work, the team spirit, the struggles and all that went into making the dream a reality

Whatsapp groups I am part of, that usually send tricolour forwards on Republic day and Subhlabh stickers on Diwali and stay silent throughout the year were buzzing about Badminton, last Sunday morning. That’s the euphoria India’s maiden Thomas cup final appearance had brought in. But it was just a curtain-raiser. The full movie was about to unfurl at 11:30 AM IST. The journey of Indian Badminton from being a rank outsider to individual brilliance to a powerhouse had been a long and arduous one.

The years in the making

Post Gopichand’s 2001 All England win, India didn’t really see any success till late 2009, when Saina became the first Indian to win a BWF super series. She had won the Indonesia Open. It was a phenomenal event for Indian Badminton in many ways. Apart from being a super series win, it made Indians believe that Chinese shuttlers can be beaten. This was really the proverbial breaking the glass ceiling moment for Indian shuttlers.

But even after that, Indian Badminton’s successes remained limited to individual brilliance, few and far between. It was mostly Saina Nehwal and Jwala/Ashwini who carried Indian Badminton till 2012. Sindhu entered this elite league in 2013 when she became the first Indian to win a world championship singles medal post-Prakash Padukone era. It was not until 2014, that the Men’s contingent would come out of the shadow of Saina-Sindhu. Srikanth stunned the world, defeating two times Olympic Gold Medalist and 5 times World Champion Lin Dan at China Open and announced his arrival. Around the same time, Kashyap became the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the Men’s singles ranking. The dream that Gopichand had seen was taking shape.


Indian Badminton as a whole saw steady progress since then and reached its pinnacle in 2017. Well, before this Thomas cup, the biggest moment in India’s badminton would be Sindhu’s Silver at Rio, 2016 and World Championship Gold at 2019 Basel. But, if we look at Indian Badminton as a whole, 2017 was clearly the Golden period. Srikanth won 4 super series in a year equalling the records of the legends Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. Sai won Singapore open in an all Indian final. HS Prannoy had a very good run in a couple of super series tournaments playing several semi-finals and defeating Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei. 2017 was the year when India rose as a Badminton powerhouse. India had as many as 5 players in the top 30 of Men’s Singles ranking. It was higher than any other nation.


But the momentum was short-lived. In 2018 Indian Badminton was on a steady downfall. Apart from Sameer Verma’s Swiss open win, there were disastrous results abound. And this only aggravated further in coming years except for the lone achievement of Sai Praneeth’s 2019 World Cup Bronze where he had back to back wins against Indonesia’s Jonathan Christie and Anthony Ginting. 2020 saw the outbreak of COVID and the BWF calendar was severely curtailed. Early 2021 also continued with COVID restrictions. India didn’t have a good run at Olympics. Except for Sindhu’s Bronze, we had a group stage exit in all categories.

2019: Satwik and Chirag

Meanwhile, something interesting happened in 2019. India saw the emergence of its first-ever Men’s Doubles super pair in the form of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty when they won the first-ever super series by an Indian Doubles pair in Thailand. Yes, the story began in Thailand, where we made history last Sunday. The super series win was special because the duo had defeated a couple of high ranking pairs including Alfian/Ardianto and Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen. In the coming months (and years), they would defeat Endo/Watanabe, Olympic Gold Medalists Lee/Wang and the legends Ahsan/Setiawan, who are also known as “Daddies”.


2021 Olympic was a forgettable experience for Men’s Badminton except a couple of wins of Satwik/Chirag’s at the group stage. The resurgence wouldn’t start until Bali Badminton Festival which hosted Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open and World Championships. Indians had a couple of deep runs in all the tournaments, including a Silver and Bronze by Srikanth and Lakshya respectively, who announced their arrival at the senior circuit with a bang.


2022 continued the Golden run for Indian Men’s Badminton in general and Lakshya in particular. Lakshya won India Open, was runners up at the German Open and All England after causing some massive upsets. Our doubles duo Satwik/Chirag had defeated the legends Ahsan and Setiawan at India Open final to claim their second super series win. Srikanth was also getting his mojo back after the world championship Silver. He made it to the Swiss open semi-finals. Prannoy, who had some good wins at Bali Badminton Festival in 2021, made it to the finals of the Swiss open too. It was then that HS Prannoy had a discussion with his compatriots Srikanth and Lakshya.

Serious consideration was given to forming a good team for Thomas cup and giving a tough fight, as all of them were finding back their rhythm. This camaraderie would continue till last Sunday when team India would engrave their names in Golden letters in Bangkok. “Two months back I started having these small conversations with Lakshya and Srikanth separately and told them we need to seriously try this time since we are all in decent shape. Maybe, much stronger teams had gone to the Thomas Cup before us, but either due to injury or not performing well, India hadn’t done well. This time, we discussed giving our best. We wanted it badly” Prannoy says.


After Korea Masters in April, BAI held selection trials for the Thomas Cup and the team that will go to script history a few weeks later was created. Immediately after the team formation, Srikanth created a Whatsapp group titled “We’ll Bring It Home”. They would have at least one meal together, mostly dinner. Something Tan Kim Her, India’s former doubles coach had introduced between Satwik/Chirag to boost the bonding. They would have each other’s back and routinely encourage each other. The doubles and singles teams practised side by side on 5 courts. Training sessions were shorter but more intense. There were team meetings after each session. But only players and no coaches.


The group stage matches were straightforward and we have had some very good wins except against Taiwan, where apart from Srikanth and Prannoy, everyone else lost their matches. But those 2 wins also boosted our confidence. Meanwhile, Lakshya had a stomach infection after his dinner post-arrival in Thailand. However, it was kept a secret and he was rested in the tie against Canada. He was also a little low on confidence after Badminton Asia Championships.

The toughest phase: From hanging by a thread to beating the odds

Over to knockout, our first tie, Quarterfinals, was the toughest among all the ties we played including the finals. Malaysia has a strong doubles team capable of beating all our doubles pairs. And Lee Zee Jia, their star singles player has the capability to beat our best.  Our first singles player was coming back from a stomach infection and was struggling with form, while Lee Zii Jia was brimming with confidence with some good wins under his hat. It was tilted in Malaysia’s favour. This means, on paper, if we were losing the first MS, we had to win the next MD or our chances were virtually over. Our fate was hanging by a thread. But then so was Malaysia’s. Given The depth of our singles prowess, an LZJ loss would mean Malaysia was out. The chances of Malaysians winning the other 2 singles against Srikanth and Prannoy were remote. So they too had exact 3 matches marked which they had to win, so did we. And between those 3 marked matches, we won one. Satwik/Chirag delivered. And it sealed our fate for us. Malaysia’s dream of winning both doubles was crashed and their run in the Thomas Cup had to come to an end. As the legend Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was quoted, the lack of depth in Malaysia’s Men’s Singles team was their undoing.

Semifinals: Facing the mighty Danes

Our next outing was the semifinal against the mighty Danes. Denmark had arguably the best Men’s Singles team. Viktor Axelsen, Anders Antonsen and Rasmus Gemke. World Rank 1, 3 and 13. But they had their weaknesses as well. Antonsen was struggling with form in 2022. Gemke was coming back to the circuit after injury, Thomas Cup being his first world tour in 2022. Also, on paper, our first MD pair was better than their best MD pair. But that was on paper. We had seen WR 336 defeating WR 1 in the Uber Cup. So we could never be so sure. Lakshya had a brilliant win against Viktor Axelsen 2 months back, coming back from 9-16 down in the 3rd and deciding game in the German Open semifinals. But he was struggling with form while Axelsen was continuing his beast mode post Olympics. As expected, Lakshya lost to Viktor. However, as per the script, Satwik/Chirag gave us our first win which kept us alive in the tie. Srikanth also had a brilliant win against Antonsen at the Swiss Open in a 3 game blockbuster match where Antonsen was seen losing his cool and throwing his headband in disgust post-match. Srikanth continued the momentum but this time he didn’t have to wait for a deuce in 3rd like the Swiss Open. He finished it quite comfortably at 21-15. It was just a matter of formality then before Prannoy beat Gemke but the Badminton Gods had other plans. He had a terrible slip in the 1st game and called for a medical timeout. He was seen limping for a couple of mins after he returned to court. Post-match, he said he was in pain for the entire 1st game which he lost. But it seemed to ease as the game concluded. When Siyadath Ullah went to him after 1st game for a pep talk, he assured “Main ye game nikal lunga”. And the beast knew what he was talking about. The brilliant retrieving skills and sharp attacks ensured Gemke couldn’t understand what hit him and the match was sealed at 21-9, 21-12 in the 2nd and 3rd game-winning the tie for India, 3-2. As Srikanth hugged Prannoy post-match, he said “Bro, I’m way too happy today. It was emotional and such a healthy team feeling”, Prannoy recalls.

The finals: Facing 14-time champion Indonesia

The plan that was made in March was falling in place. The idea that was sown was getting to reality. It was a matter of 3 more matches. But this time, we were up against 14-time champions, mighty Indonesia. A Badminton powerhouse. A doubles team that can probably defeat the combined best pairs from the next 4 best countries. WR 5 and 8 in Men’s Singles. Indonesia’s team was what a champion team looks like in every sense of the word. They had a team that can virtually come back from any stage. But we had something working for us. The team spirit, the backing, and the camaraderie that was crafted carefully over the past several weeks were showing their effects on the mental fortitude of the players. Clubbed with a few good wins in the last few ties, our players went into the final with confidence oozing from their body language. On paper, it was always Indonesia, given they had a very high probability of winning both MDs. So it was a matter of winning just 1 MS. Anthony Ginting, who had a terrible 2022 so far, was finding his rhythm in the last 2 matches defeating Momota in the semis. Jonathan Christie was in the pink of his form having beaten Srikanth recently at Korea open semis in straight games and being runners up at the Badminton Asia Championships a few weeks back. The odds were heavily tilted in Indonesia’s favour.


Lakshya went into the first match with 3 back to back losses in the last 3 matches that he had played. Despite trying hard, he was not able to get a win and there was certain guilt he was carrying to the finals. He had defeated Ginting at German open 7 and 9. But that was Ginting, 3 months back. There are very few players who make look Badminton as beautiful as when Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is on a song. And he played his first game exactly like that. His smashes were inch-perfect and found the lines. Lakshya, even with his out of the world defence skills, was finding it hard to retrieve. Ginting was fully exploiting his weakness at the forehand deep corner. He lost the first game 21-8. But Lakhsya is a fighter. The best one among Indian Men’s shuttlers, if I am allowed to say so. The boy went into the 2nd game with no baggage. Playing from the faster side meant the shuttle was now obeying his commands and he was placing it at will. He soon wrapped it up at 17-21 and the game went into a decider. Ginting started fast and was leading 7-11 at the mid-game interval. But as Lakshya recalls, “I knew I could pull it off as I was going to play the 2nd half of the game from my preferred side and a couple of point difference was always manageable”. He had a flurry of points which left Ginting clueless. Lakshya delivered India its first victory with a 21-16 win. Post-match, Lakshya was quoted saying “This one is for the team. They have been backing me throughout my previous performances. I played well but was not able to get a win. My team was there for me then. Now I am happy that I have pulled out the first point for the team”.


The Men’s doubles match after this was what, legends are made of, things that we see in movies. The match had several layers to it. Satwik/Chirag were up against, a pair made up of World Rank 1 for the last 3 years and World rank 2 for the last 2 years and winner of almost every single super series as well as Olympic and World Championship medalists. Mohd Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. Kevin is arguably the best ever doubles players the world has ever seen. On top of that, the boys had this mental block of an 11-0 head-to-head against Kevin and his usual partner Marcus, who was not in the team due to surgery. Add to it, they had recently lost to the Indonesians at All England Quarterfinals from 5 game points. They were leading 20-15 and could not take a single point after that losing the game and the match. Everything was stacked against the Indians. Mentally as well as physically. As expected, they lost the 1st game. And the Indonesians soon had 3 match points in the 2nd. But Lakshya’s win against Ginting had given them some breathing space which meant they were not under huge pressure. Boe, our recently appointed doubles coach had said that he was working on the mental aspect of our players. Satwik/Chirag just kept the shuttle in play and Ahsan netted a return. This gave us an opening and boys pounced on it. They not only levelled at 20-20, coming from 3 match points down, but they also won the game at 23-21 taking the game to a decider.

The 3rd game was nail-biting, to say the least. At 19-19, it was anybody’s game. The last 2 tantalising points as Gillian Clarke would put it. But there was something working for the Indians. Playing in a team event and that push for doing it for team India gives you that extra thrust. It is amazing what the body can achieve when your brain says you can do it. A strong cross-court forehand smash from Chirag at 20-19 and the shuttle landed in the backbox. As Kevin and Ahsan looked towards each other, the Indian camp erupted in joy with Chirag throwing his shirt off and breaking into a dance, quite reminiscent of Sourav Ganguly at the Lords. Satwik’s reaction at the end summarises the match. “At All England, we just wanted to finish finish finish but we could not finish. This time, we just kept our calm. They too were under pressure. So just played our game”.


India was 2-0 up and it was now up to the captain to deliver on the promise they made to each other 2 months back. If Ginting on a song is the most beautiful thing to watch, Srikanth on his day is poetry in motion who can defeat even the mighty Lin Dan in his prime. And it was this vintage Srikanth on display when he saved a net tap from Christie and flicked it to his backcourt in just a matter of a few microseconds. And there was no stopping after that.

When Srikanth looked comfortable winning the second game, a couple of good points by Christie gave him a good lead and a game points at 20-19. Those who have seen Srikanth over years would know, you can look at his face and movements and can tell with certainty about his state of mind. Srikanth fans are used to his frustrating looks, terrible surrenders and lack of movement on the court for 3 long painful years. But on Sunday, even being a game point down, there was a certain calmness on his face. His movement was not hindered. That was a good enough sign that he was confident of sealing it. And he didn’t disappoint. At 22-21, as he flew several inches above the ground and hit that inside out smash, the exact shot he hit at match points in his previous 2 matches against Wang Tzu Wei and Anders Antonsen, a fully stretched Christie failed to reach the shuttle travelling at 359 KMPH. Srikanth dropped his racquet on the court and fist-pumped soon to be trampled by his teammates. A dream had come true. Hopes and prayers of billions had been answered. The 10 men had achieved something which India didn’t achieve in the last 73 years. Chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Hind reverberated the Impact Arena in Bangkok. India had won the Thomas Cup for the first time. We had arrived at the Badminton world. We were the world champions.

9 out of 10 players in the Indian winning team are from Gopichand’s academy

A team that has been struggling with form for years, finding their rhythm back, deciding to give a good fight at the Thomas Cup, the plan falling in place like clockwork and we winning against Indonesia 3-0 in the finals, India’s Thomas Cup win is stuff that dreams are made of. As Indian Badminton’s Dronacharya, Gopichand had always said, the individual brilliance is the outcome but what he was working on was to create a pool of talents. Because only a strong bench can make you a real Badminton nation. These weren’t mere words. He has worked towards it. 9 out of 10 players in this team are products of his academy. It’s incredible how he followed every minute detail of the tournament even back home. During the match against Antonsen, Siyadath Ullah could be heard telling Srikanth “mella mellagadi, quickuh aadu” (Mix the slow and fast). Because Antonsen was reading Srikanth’s game at net and was ready to counter. The coach says, “I speak to Gopi bhaiyya every night about deciding sets, and he had asked me to keep an eye on this aspect”. That’s how detailed the man is.


“It was important for our batch to play in an event not for ranking points, not for individual glory, where there’s no cash prize, but just a tournament for the country. That feeling is enough to push yourself”, quips Prannoy. It’s amazing how a good camaraderie and having each other’s back can boost the morale of every player. Satwik/Chirag’s win against Kevin/Ahsan is the living proof of it. It can’t be better described than what Chirag said in one of his post-match interviews. “You can see I have lost my voice to shouting. Yesterday there were around 200 Malaysians in the Arena and us 10 had to outshout them. I think we did it”.

As Gopichand puts it in words, “Saina and Sindhu didn’t take the team along, we should have built that culture in the Uber Cup. That’s the difference between bronze and gold.” Now that it has been achieved, what’s next? How do we keep pushing the boundary further? There are Asian games and Sudirman cup and there is also World Championship coming up. Our players are brimming with confidence. They look happy and relaxed on the court and that is all that matters, to them and to their fans. There is a long road ahead but let’s live in the trance and glory that we are the world champions. For the first time in 73 years. Hope it encourages generations to come.

Hardik Patel goes ‘underground’ after resigning ahead of Gujarat elections, had earlier said being in Congress was like ‘nasbandi’

OpIndia Staff
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Hardik Patel goes ‘underground’ after resigning ahead of Gujarat elections, had earlier said being in Congress was like ‘nasbandi’

In what does not come as much of a surprise, Hardik Patel has now resigned from Congress just months ahead of state assembly elections. Patel resigned and sent his resignation letter to the party’s interim president, Sonia Gandhi. As per sources, he has since gone ‘underground’.

In the tweet, he wrote, “Today I courageously resign from the post of Congress Party and primary membership of the party. I am sure that my decision will be welcomed by all my colleagues and the people of Gujarat. I believe that after this step of mine, I will be able to work really positively for Gujarat in future.”

Hardik Patel stated in the letter that the lack of seriousness about all issues is a major problem with the Congress Party’s senior leadership. He went on to say that the Congress party has restricted itself to opposition politics. He claimed that the country desired a solution in the form of such decisions, whether it be the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the CAA-NRC, the removal of Article 370 from Kashmir, or the implementation of GST, but the Congress party has always objected to such matters.

“It is unfortunate that workers like us, who travel 500 – 600 km in our cars in a single day to meet people, get to see that Big leaders of Congress in Gujarat are far away from issues of Gujarat but are more focussed on ensuring that Chicken Sandwich for leaders who have come from Delhi is delivered on time!’ Hardik Patel stated in the letter.

Hardik stated that Gujaratis can never forget how the Congress party has insulted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He mentioned that the Congress leadership’s hearts and thoughts are filled with hatred towards India, his community, and especially the youth. He claimed that the party had consistently worked against “my country and our society’s” interests.

Hardik Patel’s discontent with Congress

Hardik recently chastised the Congress party for failing to consult him and delaying decision-making on party matters in the state. He said that he is being neglected in the party and that his situation in the party is that of a recently married husband forced to endure ‘nasbandi’ (sterilisation). 

“My position in the party is that of a newly married groom who has been made to undergo nasbandi (sterilisation),” lamented Hardik Patel.

Patel also removed the reference to Congress from his Twitter bio recently. There are several media reports which suggest that Hardik Patel can also join the Bharatiya Janata Party soon after resigning.

‘State cannot be mute spectators’: Delhi High Court pulls up AAP govt for illegal Islamic religious structures on public roads

OpIndia Staff
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‘State cannot be mute spectators’: Delhi High Court pulls up AAP govt for illegal Islamic religious structures on public roads

Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla of the Delhi High Court reprimanded the Delhi government for failing to take effective action against unlawful encroachments in the shape of Mazars on public roadways in the national capital’s Bhajanpura area.

The Court was hearing a petition contesting the unlawful construction of two Mazars, one on a road adjacent to Hassanpur Depot and one on Wazirabad Road in Bhajanpura.

SD Windlesh, the petitioner, stated that the encroachments were blocking traffic and creating problems for individuals and that they should be removed promptly in accordance with Supreme Court orders.

During the hearing, the court remarked that the state must act strictly on such issues. “How will the civilised society survive if you have such structures in the middle of the road? You must send out a message to society and the encroachers. You must cut down with an iron hand,” the court said.

The Court stated in the order serving notice that the images of the illegal encroachment indicated a “shocking state of affairs” in terms of how the State government was a passive witness to the encroachment.

“We are at loss to understand, how the state can be a mute spectator and allow such structures. The state should play a firm stand and come down with an iron hand to send a clear message to all encroachers that such encroachments will not be tolerated and will be removed as soon as they are sought to be placed and penal action should also be initiated against persons behind raising such structures,” the court further stated.

The Delhi government lawyer informed the Bench that the subject of eliminating unlawful constructions was now before the Supreme Court. The Bench gave time for the matter to be brought to the attention of the court and issued a notice in the plea.

CBI arrests Karti Chidambaram’s CA Bhaskar Raman in bribe-for-visa case

OpIndia Staff
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CBI arrests Karti Chidambaram’s CA Bhaskar Raman in bribe-for-visa case

On May 17, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Karti Chidambaram’s auditor S Bhaskar Raman in connection with the bribe-for-visa case. The development was reported a day after raids were conducted by the investigation agency at Chidambaram’s residence and other locations linked to the Congress leader and Sivaganga MP.

CBI has listed Karti Chidambaram, S Bhaskar Raman, Mansa and Vikas of Talwandi and Bell Tools Limited as accused in the case. As per reports, Chidambaram has been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for visas for over 250 Chinese nationals to work at Talwandi Sabo (a subsidiary of Vedanta Group) Power Plant located in Punjab.

Vedanta Group was commissioned to establish a 1980 MW thermal plant at Mansa. The project got delayed for multiple reasons, after which the company outsourced it to a Chinese company.

Bhaskar Raman was arrested in the INX media case

In February 2018, S Bhaskar Raman was arrested by CBI in the INX Media case. He was later sent to judicial custody. Later, he was granted bail by the court. In August 2019, it was reported that Bhaskar Raman, during questioning by the investigation agency in May 2018, was confronted with evidence, including documents and hard drives seized from the premises of Chennai-based Chess Global Advisory Services Pvt Ltd. He allegedly told the officers that a shell company controlled by Karti Chidambaram allegedly paid for his certain expenses, including travel bills.

An FIR was registered in May 2017, where CBI had alleged there were irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX media for foreign funds worth Rs 305 crore when Karti’s father P Chidambaram was the Home Minister.

Indrani Mukerjea, owner and founder of INX media, had alleged that one of Karti Chidambaram’s companies benefitted in exchange for the approval. P Chidambaram had spent over 100 days in custody in a money laundering case filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on FIR by CBI. The father-son duo were also named as accused in Aircel Maxim Scam.

Terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Islam, threats to Kashmiri Hindus and its connections with Pakistan: Here is all you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Islam, threats to Kashmiri Hindus and its connections with Pakistan: Here is all you need to know

On Sunday, May 15, a letter surfaced on social media that threatened to exterminate Hindus living in the Kashmir Valley if they do not vacate their homeland.

“All migrants and RSS agents leave or face death. No space for Kashmiri Pandits who want another Israel in Kashmir to kill Kashmiri Muslims. Double/triple your security, be ready for targeted killing. You will die,” the letter by terror outfit ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’ read.

A copy of the contentious letter was posted on social media by the Assistant Editor of CNN News18, Tejinder Singh Sodhi. He also shared that the cops have started investigating the letter and security has been increased around the migrant colony Hawal in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir.

Screengrab of the tweet of Tejinder Singh Sodhi

The story was covered by media publication India Today on the same day. “This comes only days after Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit government employee, was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. He was attacked at the Tehsildar office in Chadoora in central Kashmir on Thursday afternoon,” the report had added.

Screengrab of the news report by India Today

Free Press Journal had also covered the threat issued by ‘Lashkar-e-Islam’ by citing India Today in its report.

Screengrab of the news report by Free Press Journal

However, in reality, the letter by the Islamist terror outfit had originally surfaced in August 2016. It was carried out in a news report by DNA India.

While speaking about the development, Vinod Pandit said, “Fear is palpable because Kashmiri Pandits think this is a serious warning to the community to leave the valley. Most of the Kashmiri migrants had shifted to Jammu after the stone-pelting following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani”

Pandit was the then Chairman of the All Parties Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC).

The origins of Lashkar-e-Islam

DNA India had reported in 2016 that Lashkar-e-Islam is led by terrorist Abdul Qayoom Najar and had earlier been a part of radical Islamist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. The chief of Lashkar-e-Islam has a bounty of ₹1 million rupees on his head.

The terrorist organization has been active in both North and South Kashmir since 2015. In that year, it had warned telecom operators to stop their business in Sopore and had killed 6 civilians in the process.

It was alleged that Hizbul Mujahideen wanted the Indian police to attack Abdul Qayoom Najar as he had messed up the financial targets of Hizbul by creating a breakaway group.

As per an article in Combating Terrorism Centre, Lashkar-e-Islam has also been active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It reportedly started out as a ‘vigilante crime-fighting organisation’ and later metamorphosed into a terrorist outfit with ties to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Again in November 2014, it was reported that 3 key commanders of Lashkar-e-Islam had surrendered before the Pakistani authorities. The terrorists included Saifullah Saif, Ilyas and Wajid.

“The LI, which is already battered with the ongoing military operation, have suffered a severe blow due to the surrender of these commanders,” the report emphasised. Another 80 terrorists associated with Lashkar-e-Islam surrendered in October of that year.

A terrorist Mangal Bagh, who served as the Chief of Lashkar-e-Islam, was killed in a mine explosion in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province in January last year. The development was confirmed on Twitter by Governor (Nangarhar) Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhel.

“Mangal Bagh, also known as Mangal Bagh Afridi, the leader of Lashkar-i-Islam, a militant organisation operating in (erstwhile) Khyber Agency, has been killed in a roadside explosion in Achin district along with three others,” he had tweeted.

Earlier in July 2016, it was claimed that Mangal Bagh was killed in a US drone strike but the report turned out to be false. It must be mentioned that Lashkar-e-Islam was allegedly declared a ‘proscribed organisation’ by the Government of Pakistan on June 30, 2008.

Recent threats to Kashmiri Hindus and dubious fact checks

In April this year, Opindia had reported a threat letter addressed to Kashmiri Hindus by Lashkar-e-Islam. “Leave the valley or face dire consequences”, read the letter, warning Kashmiri Pandits, migrants and ‘RSS agents’.

It further stated that Kashmiri Hindus would be killed and sent to hell for disobeying their diktat and nobody including PM Modi or Amit Shah will be able to save them. The letter to all the ‘non-Muslims’ also noted that they were being watched by ‘followers of Allah’ and that they would have to convert if they wanted to stay in Kashmir.

“You are being watched by followers of Allah. One by one, all of you will be killed and sent to hell. Every Kashmiri Pandit will die. Kashmir is only for those who accept & follow Allah”, it read.

According to the letter, the terror group Lashkar-e-Islam was being supported by a few Police officers and a few unnamed delegates. The terror group has also started targeting Kashmiri Muslims who are friends with the Kashmiri Pandits and RSS workers.

“If Muslims of Kashmir do not remain aloof from Kafirs, they will also be killed”, the letter warned. After the letter surfaced on social media, dubious fact-checkers at Alt News (who have a long history of whitewashing Islamists) claimed that the letter was fake.

Watch: Twitter employee mocks Elon Musk for having Asperger’s syndrome, calls him ‘special needs’ and ‘loony tunes’

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Twitter employee mocks Elon Musk for having Asperger’s syndrome, calls him ‘special needs’ and ‘loony tunes’

Another video by Project Veritas went viral on social media on May 17 where a Twitter employee was seen mocking billionaire Elon Musk for having Asperger’s syndrome, a condition on the Autism spectrum. Those who have Asperger’s often have difficulty relating to others on a social level.

The employee, identified as Alex Martinez, mocked Musk for having Autism. Speaking to the undercover Veritas agent, he said, “Like he’s a loony tune, he has Asperger’s. So he is special. We all know that. And that is fine. So here, no one is gonna say some f*ck*ng crazy sh*t because he is special.”

He continued, “I am like you are special needs– you are literally special needs. Literally, though, you really are. So, I cannot even take what you are saying seriously. Cause you are special.”

On Tuesday night, Project Veritas released part two of their Twitter exposé. This time they got lead client partner Alex Martinez on camera saying that Twitter as a company cares more about ideology than making money. But simultaneously, the employee expressed the thought that Twitter’s rules are what keeps advertisers happy.

People with Asperger’s syndrome find it difficult to socialise and may need communication therapy. Elon Musk had himself revealed in an episode of Saturday Night Live that he has Asperger’s. The condition, which was earlier included in the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ is now put under the Autism Spectrum disorder.

‘Twitter makes less money because of ideology’

Martinez is (or was) the lead client partner at Twitter. He said, “Well, right now, we don’t make a profit. So it’s gonna say ideology. Which is what’s led us into not making profits.”

He added, “If we’re implementing all these rules… and Elon wants to dismantle them, then technically our ideology has led us to not making money because we’re not making money, and Elon wants to turn it the other way so that we can make money, do you get what I mean?”

Martinez alleged that the advertisers were freaking out because Musk is continuously tweeting about free speech. “Yeah. Like who really knows what that even means?” he told the Veritas agent. He said, “As an advertiser, as my business is what I do every day and why I go out is like, we want (Twitter) to be as fair and transparent and accurate as possible. And if that means there’s a level of censorship to make it correct. Quote, unquote again. And what does correct mean? I guess, like, it just kind of goes into the idea of like, well, what is correct?”

‘Elon gonna f*ck everything’

Visibly upset about the deal and the possibility that Musk is going to demolish the eco-system they had created, Martinez said good and bad exist, and it is either bad or good. “It isn’t, it’s not like a mix of good and bad… It is like one or the other… is it truthful, or is it lies, or is it a mix of truth and lies? Where do you call- where do you draw the line?” he added.

Martinez said, “That’s why I hate this deal so much. Elon’s gonna f*ck everything up.” He added that the people would push Musk back as much as they could. Martinez said, “There are people that are gonna try to push back as much as they can, because we are doing… the rest of us who have been here, believe in something that’s good for the planet and not just to give people free speech.”

He said when the time comes when Musk has to talk to the employees, the people at the company will confront him about the misinformation policies of the social media platform. Martinez claimed people do not know how to make rational decisions unless the ‘correct things’ are out in public.

Towards the end, he showed the Veritas agent that a warning was issued to the staff about an upcoming expose by Project Veritas and that they should be careful. He said, “You are lucky that you met me organically cause I would be questioning everything about you.”

Martinez showed Veritas agent an internal memo asking employees to be careful of such exposes. Source: Project Veritas.

Musk reacted to the video

Elon Musk reacted twice to the video. In the first reaction, he just posted a sad emoji.

In a follow-up tweet, he said, “Twitter exec trashing free speech & mocking people with Asperger’s….”

Earlier, the video of another Twitter employee Siru Murugesan was shared by Project Veritas, where he confessed that the micro-blogging platform is aligned with the far-Left and how it clamps down on Right-wing accounts.

AIMPLB to provide legal assistance to the Muslim side after Shivling was found inside the disputed Gyanvapi mosque structure: What they said

OpIndia Staff
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AIMPLB to provide legal assistance to the Muslim side after Shivling was found inside the disputed Gyanvapi mosque structure: What they said

Days after Shivling was found inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure in Varanasi, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Tuesday held an urgent meeting of its executive committee and decided to provide legal assistance to the management of the mosque.

According to the reports, the legal team of the country’s most influential Islamic organisation – AIMPLB, has announced that they would extend all the necessary assistance to the Muslim side. The meeting was held virtually on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing developments around the disputed structure of Gyanvapi.

Following the meeting, the AIMPLB announced that they would provide expert legal advice to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the affairs of the disputed Gyanvapi mosque structure.

“We will go through the matters discussed and presented in the court on Tuesday, and our legal team will provide help to the Muslim side. But, at the same time, we will try to reach out to the people with facts through pamphlets, books etc., so that people don’t get misguided,” an AIMPLB source said.

The AIMPLB also added that they would like to know the stand of the Central government and other political parties on the Places of Worship Act, 1991.

The AIMPLB further condemned the sealing of the ‘wuzukhana’ inside the disputed structure Gyanvapi mosque complex and contended that the “masjid would continue to remain a mosque till the end.

AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said that the Gyanvapi is a mosque and will remain a mosque. He added that the attempt to transform it into a temple is nothing more than a conspiracy to spread hate by communal forces. This statement, calling the reclamation of a Hindu temple as “communal” came even as the Muslim side argued in the Supreme Court that continuing to wash their dirty hands and feet in the well where the Shivling was found was their religious rite. A demand denied by the SC.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed the Varanasi administration to seal the area where the Shivling was found during the video survey inside the disputed structure Gyanvapi mosque, where the original Kashi Vishwanath temple once stood. The apex court also directed the authorities not to restrict any Muslims entering the mosque to offer namaz or religious observances.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha said, “The area where the Shivling is found should be protected.” The top court has listed the matter for further hearing on May 19.

Hindu petitioners urge the court to access the disputed structure

Earlier on Tuesday, Hindus petitioners urged the Varanasi court to grant them access to an eastern door that leads to the Shivling found inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure during a videography survey on May 16.

The petitioners had filed a plea in the Varanasi court, which eventually led to the court ordering a videography survey of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque structure. It was on the third day of this survey when a Shivling was discovered inside the wuzukhana in the disputed Gyanvapi structure.

After the discovery, the Hindu side’s lawyers argued before the court that there is a door from the east that leads to the Shivling just below the wuzukhana, but it is blocked by debris. The lawyers contended that the court must allow them entry to the room that provides access to the Shivling.

Vishnu Jain, one of the lawyers representing the Hindu petitioners, said, “we haven’t been able to reach the room as the passage has been filled with debris. Hence, we are also demanding that the wall in front of the Nandi idol facing the Shivling be removed.”

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