A 22-year-old Bangladeshi woman swam across the border across the Sunderbans to marry her boyfriend from West Bengal, India. Krishna Mandal, 22, crossed the Indo-Bangladeshi border to meet her Facebook boyfriend Abhik Mandal out of the love that bloomed online.
The two decided to marry each other. However, as Abhik Mandal did not have a passport or any means to reach Bangladesh, it was Krishna Mandal who chose to cross the border illegally. Krishna started off by walking alone through the Sundarbans. She dared the jungle through the endangered passage of the Bengal tigers. The young woman then swam across the Malta river to reach her destination.
After about an hour, Mandal entered the village of Kaikhali in the southern 24 Parganas district of the state. She finally met her online love Abhik Mandal, a resident of Rania in Narendrapur. Mandal had brought a car with him after which they went to Kalighat temple in Kolkata. In the temple, the couple tied a knot in the temple and soon the story of Krishna Mandal’s bravery spread among the people.
Soon the news of a young woman entering India illegally reached to the Police. After this, the Narendrapur Police raided Rania on Monday and the woman was arrested on charges of illegally entering India. According to the sources, the woman may be handed over to the Bangladesh High Commission.
In a similar incident in 2021, a 24-year-old resident from Ballavpur village in Nadia, West Bengal travelled across the country to meet his 18-year-old lover from Nerail, Bangladesh. The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested the couple, who had met each other online, in West Bengal’s Nadia district for illegally crossing the international border.
For years, the far-left academicians and Nehruvian ‘historians’ have distorted Indian history to pervert public discourse. Fearing a revival of Hinduism in India, this particular cabal has always attempted to ‘secularise’ Indian history through falsifying facts and defaming the indigenous cultures of the land.
However, recently, the revisionism of India’s history books has gained ground. Many intellectuals have taken the initiative to expose the lies peddled by these leftist historians, one of them being Dr Omendra Ratnu, who recently wrote a book titled ‘Maharana: A Thousand Year War For Dharma’, that chronicles the history of the Sisodia Rajputs.
The book that’ll bring out tears of blood in your eyes,swell your heart with pride & destroy every Leftist-Jehadi lie on the glorious Hindu resistance to Islamic invaders.
This new book is a synopsis of the one-thousand-year illustrious history of the proud legacy of the Rajputs of Mewar or Mewad who stood guard, lost countless generations of their children in protecting ‘Maa Bharati’ and resisted several decades of Ghazwa-e-Hind (an Islamist doctrine forecasting the dominance of Islam over India) by marauding, ruthless, and bloodthirsty Islamic tyrannical rulers.
Before we get into the specifics of the book, it’s important to note that it’s been published in both Hindi and English and as of now, it’s available online. The 398-page book is published by Prabhat Institute and the paperback edition of the book is available on the e-commerce platform Amazon.in for Rs 292. Prabhat Prakashan is selling the Hindi edition of the book for Rs Rs 349. The cover of the book features Lord Shiva carrying his Trishul in the left hand while in the centre we see a depiction of ‘Maharana’ riding a horse and wielding a spear. On the right, there is a picture of a saffron flag hoisted atop a fort.
Omendra Ratnu has divided his book into three parts in order to counter the Islamist and Leftist interpretations of history, in which the ‘weak’ Hindus have always been destroyed by Islamic invaders.
Bappa Rawal to brave Rajput warriors Gora and Badal to Rani Padmini’s Jauhar: The legendary tales mentioned in the new book by Omendra Ratnu
It begins with the story of Bappa Rawal, descendent of a dynasty that traces its roots to Lord Ram’s son Luv. Bappa Rawal has been described as the ‘Conqueror of Arabia’ and was one of the first kings to defeat the Mughals for the first time in history.
The book talks about how Bappa Rawal stitched an alliance with the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Malwa and Pulakesiraja and Jayabhatta of Gujarat to annihilate the early Islamic invasions.
The author then talks about the life of Rawal Khuman, who drove the Arabs out of India several times. The book further details the legacy of Raja Rawal Ratan Singh, the Rajput ruler of the Medapata (Mewar) kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, India, whose wife was Maharani Padmini, also known as Padmavati.
The first part of the book also deals with the story of the valour and bravery of Gora and Badal, the two legendary Rajput warriors who served Raja Ratan Singh. It divulges uncharted truths about Jauhar (self-immolation) of Rani Padmini and all other womenfolk of Chittor in order to protect their honour and avoid the horrifying fate of being raped and captured by the invading army of Islamic tyrant Alauddin Khilji.
In this part, we also learn about Maharana Hammir Singh, who reclaimed Chittor by annihilating the Tughlaqs, as well as the legendary tales of Maharana Lakshya Singh and Maharanas Kumbha and Sanga, who were always steadfast in safeguarding Hindus. These were such great heroic warriors, but little has been spoken about them. These heroes have never featured in any school textbooks, be it the state or national curriculum.
The crucial Battle of Dewair obliterated from India’s collective consciousness by Leftist historians
The second part of the book contains the heroic saga of the defiant Rajput ruler Maharana Pratap, a beacon of sacrifice and Kshatriya Dharma, who refused to submit to the Mughal tyrant Akbar.
The Leftist historians and the self-proclaimed intelligentsia of India have glorified the Battle of Haldighati and forced people to believe that it was the Mughal tyrant Akbar who won the battle. While the outcome of the Battle of Haldighati is disputed (the author believes Maharana Pratap won the battle, since all of Akbar’s battle aims failed), the fact that the Maharana ruled Mewar without interruption from CE 1583-1597 suggests that he was not defeated by Akbar or his machinations.
In his book, Omendra Ratnu has exploded the longest-running falsehood in India’s history that Maharana Pratap lost the Battle of Haldighati (1576) to Akbar. Based on authentic research he establishes Pratap actually won the battle.
Furthermore, the author, unlike the coterie of leftist ‘historians’, has attempted to provide his readers with an accurate and detailed study of the history of this great Rajput Dynasty by revealing details of the lesser-known First Battle of Dewair, which was fought in the coming years after the battle of Haldighati.
The first battle of Dewair fought between Maharana Pratap of Mewar and the forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar, changed the direction of history in the Indian subcontinent. Pratap decisively beat the Mughals. In a single day, 36,000 Mughal troops were slaughtered, and the Mughal battlement was decimated. This is one crucial part of Indian history that has been completely disregarded by far-left ‘intellectuals’ and ‘historians’ since obviously, it evinces the Rajput valour and bravery instead of portraying the Muslim tyrants as superior beings. It laid bare the ceaseless Rajput resistance to Islamic tyranny, which was instrumental in holding back the tides of Islamisation in India, a clear departure from the leftist agenda to portray Hindus as ‘meek’ and ‘inferior’.
This book by Omendra Ratnu also reveals how the conspiracy to make the Mughals and Islamic rulers great and powerful was hatched using Persian and Turkish literature.
Omendra Ratnu is, in a sense, carrying forward the vision of the erudite scholar, activist and author Sita Ram Goel, who exposed the Nehruvian fallacies by portraying the right side of Indian history. In 1990, Historian Sita Ram Goel, along with other authors Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Ram Swarup, published a two-volume book named ‘Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them’. In the book, Goel traced over 1,800 Muslim structures that were constructed over existing temples and/or using materials from destroyed temples. From Qutub Minar to Babri Masjid, Gyanvapi, Pinjor Gardens, and others found mentioned in the book.
Goel was referred to as ‘Maharshi’ by the author of ‘Maharana: A Thousand Year War For Dharma’. Like the former’s book, Ratnu’s book not only chronicles the history of the Rajput dynasty but also divulges important and less discussed details about the Bhil warriors. This book is written for Hindus and Indians in general, not for any specific caste.
It is past time for us to express our support for such works of literature. Whether it’s the work of exemplary journalist Anant Vijay, who has exposed Marxist ideologies and leftist propaganda through his work, or the work of renowned author and historian Vikram Sampath, who exposed the fallacies woven by the leftist intelligentsia around Hindu revolutionary leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, or the books of authors like Omendra Ratnu, who has been working tirelessly to disseminate the false narrative spun about the Rajputs, such literature should not only be read but also widely shared.
Omendru Ratnu begins his book Maharanas: A Thousand Year War For Dharma by explaining how India’s history was shaped in such a way that the expansionist agendas of the Islamists, Marxists, and missionaries were able to flourish under the control shifted from the ‘white gentlemen’ to the ‘brown gentlemen of the Congress.’ This leftist-jihadi combination was not even questioned.
Ratnu further described how, in the late 1980s, an official circular was published in West Bengal, stating that no one should mention the countless temples that the Mughal rulers had razed in order to avoid criticism from the then Muslim rulers.
Author Omendra Ratnu has not only depicted the lives of the rulers but has also endeavoured to place them in the perspective of the broader Indian landscape by recreating those era’s environments. The information provided in his book is not skewed or incomplete, as has been the case with most ‘leftist ‘historians, who focus on just distorting parts of history to glorify Islam. For example, when he discussed Mohammed Bin Qasim’s attack on Sindh, he does not forget to mention how no one had ever heard of ‘sex slavery’ in India prior to this particular Islamic attack. With the rise of Islamic dominance, however, the series of horrible atrocities against women only increased.
When he chronicled the story of Maharani Padmini, he also mentioned how Allauddin Khilji ordered the slaughter of 30,000 innocent villagers in Chittaur. When the author discussed Maharana Lakshya Singh, who became the ruler of Mewar in 1382 AD, he also narrated the account of Chunda Sisodia, the eldest son of Maharana Lakha, who made sacrifices akin to Bhishma Pitamah in the Mahabharata.
While writing tales about the resilience, patriotism and valour of Maharana Amar Singh who continued the legacy of his brave father Maharana Pratap, the author does not forget to mention the sacrifices and contributions of Bhama Shah (1547–1600), a noted general, minister and close aide of Maharana Pratap, who helped the latter to restore his army and reclaim much of his lost territory.
There are numerous portions in the book that will bring tears to the eyes of the readers, and the depiction of the demise of the gallant Maharana Pratap is one such part. The author has etched the context of Maharana Pratap’s final day on earth by paraphrasing ‘Rana Raso.’
Similarly, the portion on Maharani Padmini’s Jauhar is also extremely heart-rending. After reading the book, one would undoubtedly want to visit the site where the women of Chittorgarh committed Jauhar in order to avoid a horrific fate at the hands of Khilji and his marauding army.
The best part about the book is that as you read it, you realise, how over the years, the far-left academics and Nehruvian “historians” have elevated the perpetrators of the Hindu genocide to historical heroes. Whether it’s the story of Islamic tyrant Taimur Lung slaughtering one lakh Hindus in a single day or the brutal massacre of Hindus that lasted nine and a half hours on the orders of Mughal Emperor Akbar, readers will be astounded to learn how these barbaric Islamists brutally killed even the most vulnerable women and children amid chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and sycophants like Todra Mal, the Finance Minister (Mushriff-i-Diwan) of the Mughal empire during Akbar’s reign and Bhagwan Das, one of the generals of Akbar, thought it was appropriate to quietly endure all of this.
Amid the ongoing row over the discovery of the Shivling inside the disputed Gyanvapi structure in Kashi, controversial Islamic preacher Ilyas Sharafuddin has compared the Shivling to a male body part and said that Hindus have a habit of worshiping the idol and male private organ. He was one of the participants at the ‘Taal Thok Ke‘ debate hosted by Zee News.
Quoting the Vedas, Geeta, and Upanishads, Sharafuddin first argued that the Hindu texts mention that ‘people who would worship idols would be sent to hell’. “Hindus should not worship idol, ling and private parts of a human body”, he blatantly said in the debate named ‘Gyanvapi Survey video reveals the presence of Shivling?’ Not listening to the other participants, he burst into laughter and said, “Private parts ki puja nahi honi chahiye (private parts should not be worshiped)”. (Timestamp- 30:51)
Mahant Yogesh Puri immediately slammed the Muslim Cleric for using derogatory remarks against the Shivling and the Hindu religion. He said that the remarks by Sharafuddin had hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. “You have no right to say anything about the Shivling. What do you know about it? Shivling is not identical to the male private part. It has nothing to do with what you think (sex)”, Mahant Puri said during the debate. The Muslim cleric continued to laugh and said, “Hindus should stop worshiping the human private parts”.
Meanwhile, Sharafuddin in an attempt to counter the debate also somehow brought Asaram Bapu into it saying that people like Asaram Bapu have raped several women in the Ashram. He also praised the hijab-wearing girls in Udupi and raised the slogan ‘Hijab Lao, Beti Bachao (Allow Hijab, Save Girl)’.
Getting back to his controversial comment, Sharafuddin called Hindus brainless for worshipping the Hindu deities. “Hindus are ruining the country by worshiping the ling and by performing Yoni Pujan”, he stated this time comparing the Shivling to a stone. He also argued with the other panelists and abused them and was later removed from the debate by the channel. (Time Stamp- 40:50)
BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla condemned the remarks made by Ilyas Sharafuddin and asked whether ‘Fatwa’ would be issued against the Muslim cleric. Derogatory comments by Sharafuddin against the Hindu religion and Hindu practice of worshiping idols were not welcomed by netizens as well. “Issue fatwa against Sharafuddin for mouthing ugly words against Hindu Aastha, demands Shehzad Poonawalla but his demand is negated by Muslim clerics. India expected them to accept the demand. SAD”, tweeted one of the Twitter users, Rajiv Sood.
Another Twitter user named Ranveer Rathore also said that the remarks made by Ilyas Sharafuddin on live television were objectionable and that a fatwa should be issued against such people. “Will it be released?”, he asked on the social media platform on May 31.
ईस्लामिक स्कॉलर इलियाज शराफुदीन ने कहा हिन्दू मूर्ति पूजा, योनि पूजा करते हैं ऐसा #TaalThokKe Live प्रोग्राम में आपत्तिजनक टिप्पणी की ईस पर @BJP4India के राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता @Shehzad_Ind ने कडा विरोध दर्ज कराया और मौलाना अजदी से पूछा कि ऐसे लोगों पर फतवा जारी होगा क्या? pic.twitter.com/66KFPmhMds
This is not the first time that Islamic preacher Ilyas Sharafuddin has made controversial remarks. Earlier, during the COVID-19 spread times, he had said that Allah had punished China by unleashing Coronavirus on them for their brutal crackdown on Uyghur Muslims. “Remember how they have threatened the Muslims and tried to destroy the lives of 20 million Muslims. Muslims were forced to drink alcohol, their mosques were destroyed and their Holy Book was burned. They thought that no one can challenge them, but Allah the most powerful punished them,” he was quoted as saying.
It is important to note that on May 30, new visuals of Shivling inside the Gyanvapi compound surfaced showing a structure that strongly resembles a Shivling. The visuals also showed Swastika, Trishul, and other Hindu motifs engraved on the walls of the mosque’s basement. The court had earlier stated in its order that the Shivling discovery was significant evidence and had directed the CRPF commandant to guard the complex and prevent Muslims from entering the Wuzukhana.
A sperm donor who offered his services online and fathered 15 children never told their mothers that he had an inheritable ‘low IQ’ condition that causes developmental disabilities.
James MacDougall, 37, fathered children to lesbian women through donations via social media despite knowing that he suffered from Fragile X syndrome, a hereditary disease associated with low IQ and mental development delay, and is incurable.
MacDougall, who advertised on social media as a private sperm donor for lesbian women did not sign up with donor clinics given his condition. He signed an agreement with the mothers, stating that he suffered from fragile X syndrome, but did not mention what it is. Most of the mothers who looked up to MacDougall for sperm did not read the document in totality.
The donor also stated in his document that he did not want any contact with ‘his’ children once they were born. However, he demanded access to his offsprings from four women to whom he donated his sperm. MacDougall went to the court demanding the same, while three mothers opposed this proposition. The case was heard by Justice Lieven who stripped the donor from taking any parental responsibility.
Court slams MacDougall for keeping the mothers in dark about his hereditary disease, says he should be stopped from being a sperm donor
In the order, MacDougall was called out publically for not revealing his mental development condition – the X syndrome which could be inherited. He was named as a warning to other women seeking to become mothers. With the fragile X syndrome, James MacDougall had already fathered more than 15 kids to lesbian couples via private sperm donation.
Justice Lieven commented in her order, “The usual approach of anonymity in the Family Courts should not be used as a way for parents to behave in an unacceptable manner and then hide behind the cloak of anonymity.”
The judge also maintained that MacDougall should be named to stop other women from using him as a sperm donor. One of his clients, a 25-year-old woman, conceived a girl in October 2018 and another one was born in 2020. He handed her a three-page document in highly legalistic language which on page 3 had a mention of the Fragile X syndrome without providing any explanation.
MacDougall used to visit his baby daughter often, and during the lockdown in 2020, even started living with the mother. The lady became pregnant with a second child but asked MacDougall to leave in June 2020. During the legal battle in the court, she claimed that the donor made sexual advances on her and showered with the toddler which she found problematic.
MacDougal was arrested in June 2020 after he left bruises on the mother’s neck and back in an attack. The mother noted that while the daughter is now three-years-old, she is not yet verbal and her behaviour is challenging. In another such case, MacDougall is also the sperm donor father of another toddler boy while he got into a relationship with his mother just months before.
MacDougall removed from Facebook group following the court order
After the ruling, Anthony Fletcher, who manages a number of sperm donor Facebook groups of which MacDougall was part, has removed him from all the groups. However, the septuagenarian parents of the controversial donor have defended him saying that he suffered from autism.
Speaking to MailOnline, the donor’s mother said, “This court case has broken his heart, and ours. When he first told me he had become a dad two to three years ago, he showed me a picture and said – this baby was mine.”
“He didn’t want any money, he just wanted to help women, who couldn’t conceive naturally, have babies. It was his gift to them and he never did anything illegal, as far as we are concerned,” she asserted.
On May 31, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri shared on Twitter that Oxford Union has cancelled his Humanity Tour event at Oxford University. Agnihotri has promoted the event through ‘I Am Buddha’ Foundation but now apparently Oxford Union has scrapped it.
— #IAmBuddha Foundation (@i_ambuddha) May 31, 2022
In his tweet, Agnihotri mentioned that the President-elect of the Oxford Union is a Pakistani. He wrote, “Yet another Hindu voice is curbed at HINDUPHOBIC Oxford Union. They have cancelled me. In reality, they cancelled Hindu Genocide & Hindu students who are a minority at Oxford Univ. The president-elect is a Pakistani. Please share & support me in this most difficult fight.”
IMPORTANT: Yet another Hindu voice is curbed at HINDUPHOBIC @OxfordUnion.
They have cancelled me. In reality, they cancelled Hindu Genocide & Hindu students who are a minority at Oxford Univ. The president elect is a Paksitani. Pl share & support me in this most difficult fight. pic.twitter.com/4mGqwjNmoB
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) May 31, 2022
In the video message posted by Agnihotri, he also explained how he was not allowed to record the session at Cambridge University that had happened on May 30. He said, “I am on a humanity tour in Europe. This tour was decided because a lot of prestigious places like Cambridge University, Oxford University, British Parliament had invited me. But yesterday, a very strange thing happened. At Cambridge University, when I reached there, I was told at the last minute that I could not video record the event. Now, this is 100% curbing of freedom of expression. This happened because a few Pakistani and Kashmiri students protested against it. These are genocide deniers, they are fascist. Their logic is perhaps I support democratically elected Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi.”
Oxford event cancelled at last minute
Agnihotri said his event at Oxford was cancelled at the last minute. He said, “Now another strange thing happened. Today I was supposed to speak at Oxford University because Oxford Union invited me a long time ago. It was all confirmed via emails, but just a few hours before that, they said sorry we made a mistake. There was a double booking, and therefore we cannot host you today, and without even asking me, they changed the date to July 1 because, on July 1, no student would be there, and there will be no point doing an event.”
‘They are cancelling Hindus’: Vivek Agnihotri
Agnihotri further added that cancelling the event would not have an effect on him as they were not cancelling him but the government of India. “They want to cancel the democratically elected government of India, especially Mr Narendra Modi. They want to label us as fascist people and Islamophobic. Killing thousands of Kashmiri Hindus was not Hinduphobic but making the film on the truth is Islamophobic.”
Agnihotri pointed out that Hindus are in the minority at Oxford. He said, “They are cancelling Hindus. You have to understand Hindus are in the minority at Oxford University, and this is the oppression of the minority. This is Hinduphobia. This is fascism. This is the same Oxford University which has hosted dictators and fascists including Indira Gandhi and Bhutto’s son and many African radical extremists.”
Speaking to OpIndia, Agnihotri said he would be taking legal action in the matter. He said, “I am filing a lawsuit against them. I am going to claim all the damages.” He further added that Oxford Union told him there was a double booking but it was just an excuse.
Source: oxford-union.org
When OpIndia checked Oxford Union’s calendar, there was no other booking for the same time slot. Agnihotri’s event is still listed in the calendar at the time of publishing this report. The event details read, “Vivek Agnihotri is a highly-acclaimed Bollywood film director, screenwriter and author. His recent films, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files became blockbuster hits shortly after their release, with the former winning the National Film Award. Having convened the 48th International Film Festival of India, Mr Agnihotri has since sat on the board of India’s Central Board of Film Certification. He is also a cultural representative at Indian Council for Cultural Relations.”
Oxford South Asian Society ran a campaign against Agnihotri
Former President-elect at Oxford Rashmi Samant shared a post on Twitter showing how a campaign was being run against Agnihotri’s event.
Oxford India Society and Oxford South Asian Scoiety full of lies, hinduphobia (as usual) and radical Islamist apologists. They are at it again to whitewash the Kashmiri Pandit genocide of which @vivekagnihotri is a strong campaigner. Goebellian lies won’t change the truth! pic.twitter.com/Egui0KGJ9h
The campaign was initiated by the Oxford South Asian Society. The post read, “Protest against Vivek Agnihotri at Oxford Union. Vivek Agnihotri is an Indian Filmmaker accused of sexual harassment. He is known as Islamophobe, Casteist and Misogynist.”
Source: Twitter
Interestingly, the same organization has invited controversial Pakistani Journalist Hamid Mir, who is well-known for his anti-India and anti-Hindu views.
On Tuesday, a plea challenging a Gauhati High Court order, which upheld the Assam Repealing Act of 2020 under which all existing provincialized madrassas in the state are to be converted to regular government schools was moved to the Supreme Court
The High Court on February 4 dismissed the petition challenging the validity of the act, stating that such state-funded institutions can’t impart religious instructions. The appeal has been filed by 13 petitioners, who are residents of Assam.
Plea in SC challenging Assam govt’s decision to convert madrassas to general schools
According to the reports, the plea, filed through advocate Adeel Ahmed, quoted, “The high court has erroneously observed that the petitioner madrassas being government schools, and wholly maintained by the State through provincialization are hit by Article 28(1) of the Constitution of India and as such, cannot be permitted to impart religious instruction.”
The plea further stated that the operation of the high court judgment, which was delivered on February 4, 2022, would result in the discontinuation of the petitioner madrassas as madrassas and would prevent them from admitting students for the old courses for this academic year. “The land and building belonging to the madrassas are taken care of by the Petitioners and the expenditures on electricity and Furniture are borne by the Petitioner Madrassas themselves”, it read.
The plea added that the Act takes away property coupled with statutory recognition of madrassa education and the impugned order dated February 2, 2021, issued by the Governor disbands the ‘Assam State Madrasa Board’ created in 1954. “It amounts to an arbitrary exercise of both legislative and executive powers and amounts to a denial of the petitioner madrassas’ ability to continue as madrassas providing religious instruction coupled with religious education”.
The Assam Repealing Act, 2020 repealed Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialization) Act, 1995 and the Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialization of Services of Teachers and Reorganization of Educational Institutions) Act, 2018. The Governor of Assam had granted his assent to the bill on January 27, 2021.
Assam has 189 state-run high madrasas and madrasa higher secondary schools that are run under the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council. There are also 542 state-run pre-senior, senior, and title madrasas and Arabic colleges which are run by the State Madrasa Education Board. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had stated that the government cannot be funding religious schools. The new Act had stopped government funding to Sanskrit tols too.
On Monday (May 31), unidentified miscreants vandalised idols at a Hindu temple in Arsikere taluk in Hassan district of Karnataka. The incident has created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the area.
As per reports, the vandalism took place at the Exhibition Center of Chikka Tirupati (mini Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh) temple, which is located on the Amaragiri Malekal Tirupati Hill. The sacred place is estimated to be 300 years old.
According to the police, four unidentified miscreants created a ruckus within the temple premises. Despite opposition by devotees, they smoked cigarettes and intimidated the workers employed at the site. As per police, over 10 idols were vandalised.
They then went into the Exhibition Centre and vandalised the idols that were to be inducted into the temple. Reportedly, the accused men used rods to destroy the idols of Hindu deities.
Having realised the sensitivity of the incident, District Superintendent of Police R. Srinivas Gowda and other senior police officials went to the crime scene. They summoned the dog squad and forensic experts to collect fingerprints of the miscreants.
When the news of the idol vandalism spread, Hindu activists and devotees gathered at the temple premises. A large contingent of police was deployed to avert any law and order situation. A probe has been initiated into the matter.
Cases of idol vandalism from Karnataka
Earlier in March this year, some unidentified miscreants vandalised the idol of Goddess Saraswati present inside a government primary school in Chikkodi taluk of Belgaum district.
During the attack, the marble idol was severely damaged. Two of the four hands of the deity were broken, along with Her Veena. A complaint was lodged with the Chikkodi police.
In October last year, Baikampady Karkera Moolasthana Jarandaya Daivastana and Naga Brahma Peeta were destroyed by miscreants at in Mangaluru in Karnataka. Besides, the accused broke open the cupboard, threw all the belongings, and destroyed the gates of the temple.
In April 2021,two people were arrested in connection to an incident where a condom was found in a temple’s Hundi (Donation box) in Manguluru. The temple belonged to the local Manguluru deity Lord Koragajja, who is considered an avatar for Lord Shiva. The arrested were identified as Raheem (32) and Taufiq (35).
Workers of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra protested against BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma on Tuesday for allegedly making ‘blasphemous’ statements about Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate. Members led by Minister of Housing, Minority, and Wakf, Jitendra Awhad, NCP Mumbai Chief Anand Paranjape, and Shanu Pathan assembled at the Darul Falah Masjid in the Mumbra area in Thane, Mumbai and demanded Sharma’s immediate arrest.
Hundreds of people gathered on the streets blocking the passage of vehicles during the protest. At the protest, Shakir Shaikh, Maisar Khan, Sakib Date, Marjiya Pathan, Najim Buber, and others backed Shanu Pathan, who sought Sharma’s immediate arrest. The NCP workers also chanted slogans such as “Nupur Sharma Murdabad”. Several women also joined the protest against Nupur. The demonstrators who were obstructing the traffic were eventually detained by the police.
This comes a day after Mumbra Police filed another FIR against Nupur Sharma under several sections of the IPC for allegedly inciting hatred and inciting religious emotions. Two separate cases against Sharma have already been filed in Mumbai and Bhivandi.
Following a Times Now news discussion on Thursday evening, Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair dog-whistled an online mob against Sharma, accusing her of disrespecting Prophet Muhammad. Other Islamists backed him up, with several threatening her and her family with murder and rape.
While speaking at a gathering, AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi also tried to incite his supporters against Nupur Sharma. Owaisi said he is appealing to Prime Minister Modi to punish BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma for making a statement about Prophet Muhammad, as any remark on Prophet Muhammad is not acceptable to him.
During a debate on Times Now over the disputed Gyanvapi structure, Nupur Sharma argued that if people are criticising Hinduism, they can also criticise other religions, referring to Islamic teachings. Zubair from Alt News took the video out of context and shared it with his Twitter followers, calling Nupur a communal hatemonger capable of instigating bloodshed.
Immediately, troll accounts appeared on Nupur Sharma’s timeline, threatening her with numerous threats, including threats to behead her, indicating that the dog-whistling had succeeded. In other similar situations, such as those involving Kamlesh Tiwari and Kishan Bharwad, a similar type of threat resulted in their deaths.
On Monday, the Allahabad High Court refused to interfere in a plea that challenged the magistrate’s order dismissing an application filed seeking FIR against alleged stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his tweet, which insulted the Indian National Flag. Kamra in November 2020 had tweeted a morphed picture of the Supreme Court and had replaced the Indian Tricolor atop the apex with the flag of a political party.
According to the reports, the petition that was filed by Advocate Saurabh Tiwari stated that Kamra’s actions had hurt the feeling of the people of this country and had caused contempt and disrepute to the Indian National Flag. The Varanasi Court on May 27 filed a case against Kamra for willfully and deliberately replacing the Tricolor hoisted atop the apex court with the flag of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971.
Screenshot from Twitter
The provisions that were prayed by the petitioner were under section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, 1971, sections 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the India Penal Code. However, the criminal provisions were rejected by the CJM Court and the Additional District Judge (ADJ). The petitioner had then moved to the High Court who further refused to interfere in ADJ’s decision.
Judicial Magistrate Richa Sharma has registered the complaint case also under section 200 and has sought the complainant’s affidavit as to whether the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the offence under the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act,1971 or not.
Supreme Court initiated contempt of court proceedings against ‘comedian’ Kunal Kamra-
Supreme Court in December 2020 had issued a notice to Kunal Kamra seeking contempt proceedings after his contemptuous remarks against the Judiciary in his bid to become a liberal ‘hero’ or a ‘martyr’. In one of his tweets, he had shown CJI Arvind Bobde the middle finger and in another, he had painted the Supreme Court in saffron colour to allege that it had become a puppet of the NDA Government.
In the first tweet, Kamra compared the Supreme Court to a Supreme Joke. In the next tweet, he wrote, “The pace at which the Supreme Court operates in matters of “National Interests” it’s time we replace Mahatma Gandhi’s photo with Harish Salve’s photo.”
Screenshot from Twitter
In the third tweet, he compared DY Chandrachud to “flight attendant serving champagne to first-class passengers after they’re fast-tracked through, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let alone served.” In the last tweet, he provoked lawyers to stop using the prefix “Hon’ble” while referring to the Supreme Court or its judges. He said, “Honour has left the building long back.” Kamra had also posted a morphed image of the Supreme Court building giving it an Orange shade with the BJP flag hoisted in the Supreme Court’s entrance.
Screenshot from Twitter
On the issue of criminal contempt against the ‘comedian’, the Supreme Court issued a notice on January 29 last year. In his response, Kamra had stated that his tweets were not aimed to diminish people’s faith in the judiciary and that there is no defence for jokes and should not be treated as reality.
Other Court cases against Kamra-
Recently, in March this year, advocate Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah had written to the Attorney General for India KK Venugopal seeking to initiate criminal proceedings against the ‘comedian’ under the State Emblem of India (prohibition of improper use) Act, 2005. Kamra had insulted India’s National Emblem by using it in a morphed certificate that shamed the agony of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and blatantly mocked the film ‘The Kashmir Files’.
I am a person of Law, I shall always abide by it.
A letter to the AG for India Shri K.K. Venugopal for initiating criminal proceedings against comedian turned habitual offender Mr. Kunal Kamra under the State Emblem of India (prohibition of improper use) Act, 2005. pic.twitter.com/0UjRyfIwtz
— Chandni Preeti Vijaykumar Shah (@adv_chandnishah) March 23, 2022
Two lawyers- Advocate Ashutosh Dubey and Advocate Vineet Jindal in the same month further had written to the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal requesting permission to commence contempt proceedings against the stand-up comedian for vilifying and defaming the Indian judiciary in his recent ‘comedy’ video.
I have requested to Hon’ble Chief Justice Of India and Supreme Court Of India to initiate proceedings against Alleged Comedian “Kunal Kamra” for criminal contempt under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. https://t.co/FGF9tZsDfKpic.twitter.com/boZ6uOTKss
— ADV. ASHUTOSH J. DUBEY ?? (@AdvAshutoshBJP) March 5, 2022
Kunal Kamra in one of his videos uploaded on his YouTube channel had made derogatory remarks against the SC. While speaking about the contempt of case filed against him in the top court, Kamra had said, “Dear SC, kal ki baat bhul ja, l**da pakad ke jhul ja (forget yesterday’s talk, come swing on p**is)”. Kamra in the video further had said that he had more respect for the food court in the shopping mall that the apex court and alleged that the SC is a ‘Brahmin Baniya’ affair and it did not represent different cultures.
Also, earlier this month, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had taken action against Kamra who had posted a doctored video of a minor boy singing an Indian patriotic song in Germany. The NCPCR had taken the cognizance of the video in which Kamra had edited a song sung by a 7-year-old boy amid his interaction with PM Modi. The boy had sung the song named ‘Hey Janmabhoomi Bharat’ which was replaced by Kamra with lyrics ‘Mehengayi daayan khaaye jaat hain’. The NCPCR had written to the social media company and had sought immediate removal of the video.
The NCPCR has demanded strict action against the ‘comedian’ who has violated the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The doctored video has, however, been deleted by Kamra.
The Viral Fever (TVF) has done many good things for the world of Indian web series, maybe the best thing they did out of them all was to introduce Jitendra Kumar to the Indian audience. The undisputed king of the Indian web series industry has delivered another massive hit with the second season of the much-acclaimed show Panchayat which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Jitendra Kumar, who is a Civil Engineer from IIT Kharagpur, did what most engineers do, stay away from their engineering major in their profession. Civil engineering’s loss was art’s gain as he rose to become a star on Indian television.
The 31 years old Jitendra joined TVF nearly a decade back and since then, he has been riding one wave of success after another as he has become a household name through TVF’s realistic shows about Indian youth and their struggles.
Even though regular followers of Jitendra were familiar with his work on various TVF sketches which were uploaded on YouTube, his big break came on TVF’s massive hit Pitchers where he played a frustrated techie brilliantly. The show about 4 friends trying to launch a start-up was a huge success and Jitendra’s performance was one of the main reasons behind it. Anyone who has ever been stuck in a dead-end corporate job could relate to Jitendra’s situation, and let’s face it, most of us are stuck in a dead-end corporate job.
After the massive success of Pitchers, Jitendra kept appearing in TVF sketches regularly during the next few years. However, it took 4 years for him to deliver his next memorable performance. The endearing ‘Jeetu Bhaiyya’ of Kota Factory, a series based on the struggles of engineering aspirants in the education hub of Kota. A series that was supposed to highlight the students in the show, became more popular due to Jitendra, who played a Physics teacher on the show.
‘Jeetu Bhaiyya’ became an internet sensation as TVF delivered yet another mega-hit show. However, all the success of Pitchers and Kota Factory was going to pale in front of what was coming next, Panchayat. One of the most successful web series of all time in India, Panchayat has now delivered 2 successful seasons back to back.
Centered around Jitendra Kumar’s character ‘Abhishek Tripathi’, Panchayat takes you to rural India and makes you fall in love with it, as Jitendra does in the show.
While biggies like Netflix are burning money all over the place and wondering how to crack the Indian market, TVF has already shown it multiple times how to get it done. Take a simple story about real India, tell it effectively, put Jitendra Kumar at the center of it and you have a big hit.
With several big hits behind him, Jitendra Kumar has proven that he is the most bankable star today in the world of Indian web series. The combination of TVF’s writing staff and Jitendra’s acting has proved to be unstoppable so far, and long may it continue.
