Rahul Gandhi has discovered a new political vocabulary: “Break the cage” and “smash the patriarchy.”
The Congress leader recently told a gathering of young women in Pune that women do not belong to their fathers, husbands or sons, but belong to themselves. He attacked what he called the “Manusmriti mindset” and argued that women must be free to build identities independent of men.
It is a superficially legitimate argument. Women should have agency. They should be free to study, work, participate in public life and determine their own futures.
But there is an obvious question that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party would rather not answer:
Does this principle apply only when patriarchy can be associated with Hinduism?
Because Kerala has now presented Rahul Gandhi with precisely the sort of test that political slogans are supposed to withstand.
Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, one of Kerala’s most influential Sunni clerics and the tenth Grand Mufti of India, has defended the appalling proposition that women should remain confined to their homes and should not enter the public sphere. He explicitly attributed this position to the Quran and defended the purdah system as a means of preventing what he described as “great destruction.”
He even compared women to gold ornaments that need to be kept safely inside a box.
This was not some anonymous social-media account making an inflammatory post. This was a prominent religious scholar publicly defending a restrictive interpretation of women’s place in society.
And it came days after the Kanthapuram faction of Samastha directed Islamic institutions to ensure that Muslim women and girls do not participate in programmes on stages or in public spaces alongside men.
So where is Rahul Gandhi?
Where is the “smash the patriarchy” campaign?
Where is the lecture about women belonging to themselves?
Where is the demand that women should not be treated as possessions whose movements need to be controlled by men?
The silence is striking precisely because Gandhi has made women’s autonomy and opposition to patriarchal social structures a central part of his recent political messaging.
When discussing Manusmriti, Gandhi was categorical. He described its alleged prescription of women’s subordination as shameful and said the fight was against the mindset that seeks to control women and confine them.
But when a Muslim cleric makes an extraordinarily similar argument about restricting women’s public participation, and explicitly invokes Islam and the Quran, the Congress ecosystem suddenly becomes considerably more cautious.
That is where the charge of selective feminism becomes difficult to dismiss.
Congress’ glaring duplicity exposed
There is an important distinction that needs to be made.
Criticising a regressive interpretation of a religious text is not an attack on every person who follows that religion. Nor does opposing a cleric’s prescription for women require insulting Muslims or denying their right to practise their faith.
In fact, genuine reform requires precisely the opposite: treating Muslims as citizens capable of engaging critically with interpretations of their own religious traditions.
If Rahul Gandhi is justified in criticising Manusmriti over purportedly discriminatory provisions against women, then he should also raise his voice against provisions or verses in the Islamic text that the Grand Mufti of India is citing to defend confinement of women within the four walls of their homes.
In essence, the same intellectual standard that applies to Manusmriti should apply to the Quran when an Islamic cleric cites it to justify keeping women confined to their homes.
Otherwise, “smash patriarchy” begins to look less like a universal principle and more like a political weapon selectively deployed against one religious tradition.
And this is where Congress has a credibility problem.
The party frequently speaks the language of constitutional rights, women’s empowerment, secularism and social reform. Yet when the subject enters the politically sensitive terrain of Muslim personal law or conservative religious authority, its instinct has historically been far more cautious.
The Shah Bano episode remains the most obvious example. After the Supreme Court’s 1985 judgment in favour of maintenance for Shah Bano, the Rajiv Gandhi government enacted legislation in 1986 following intense opposition from sections of Muslim leadership. The episode remains one of the most consequential examples of the Congress party struggling to reconcile its commitment to reform with the demands of organised religious constituencies.
This is precisely why Congress cannot simply dismiss questions about its approach to reform within Muslim society as an attempt to “target Muslims”.
Reform is not targeting a community. Refusing to reform because a community’s religious leadership may be offended is.
Why is Manusmriti fair game, but religious conservatism within Islam treated with kid gloves?
The question Rahul Gandhi needs to answer is remarkably simple.
If a text or its interpretation is being used to tell women that they cannot be independent, should he oppose it?
If the answer is yes, then the principle cannot depend on the religious identity of the person citing the text.
If a cleric says women should stay inside their homes because “the Holy Quran says so”, a politician who has just made “smashing patriarchy” a political rallying cry should have something to say about it.
He could simply say:
No religious interpretation should be used to deny women their constitutional rights, freedom of movement, education, employment or participation in public life.
That would be entirely consistent with the argument he made in Pune.
But that is precisely the uncomfortable part.
It would require Congress to confront conservative Muslim clerics rather than merely invoking women’s rights when criticising Hindu texts.
The Congress’ secularism problem
There is a larger political pattern here.
For decades, Congress has presented itself as the party of secularism. Yet its version of secular politics has often involved treating religious communities differently depending upon the political consequences of confronting their conservative leadership. Minorities, especially Muslims, have often been treated with kid gloves, with Congress leadership often turning a blind eye to Islamic radicalism or contextualising crimes when committed in the name of Islam.
That is not secularism. It is political risk management.
A genuinely secular party should be willing to tell every community the same thing: your faith is your private right, but the Constitution is the common framework within which everyone lives.
If a Hindu priest says women should not work, challenge him.
If a Muslim cleric says women should not appear in public, challenge him.
If a Christian cleric makes a similarly regressive claim, challenge him.
The standard should be the same.
Otherwise, the woman whose freedom is supposedly being defended becomes secondary to the identity of the person restricting her.
And that is the ultimate irony.
Rahul Gandhi has told Indian women that they are not the property of their fathers, husbands or sons. He has urged them to reject a mindset that seeks to confine them and control their choices.
But, he cannot summon the same courage to call out the Grand Mufti of India who has relegated Muslim women to second-class citizens of the country.
A Muslim woman deserves precisely the same freedom.
Not a watered-down version of it.
Not freedom subject to the approval of a religious committee.
Not freedom that disappears whenever a cleric invokes scripture.
If Rahul Gandhi genuinely believes that women belong to themselves, he should have no difficulty saying so when the woman in question is Muslim and the person restricting her freedom is invoking Islam.
That is simply applying the same feminist principle to everyone.
And if Congress is unwilling to do that, people are entitled to ask whether its commitment to “smash patriarchy” is really about women, or whether, once again, electoral arithmetic decides which patriarchy is acceptable to criticise.
From India to the US, the Islamo-leftist cabal is rattled by the New York visit of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. Khalistani terrorists and ‘liberal’ outfits like USCIRF to Democrat politicians, in the last few weeks the Islamo-leftist coterie has demanded US sanctions on the RSS, vilified Mohan Bhagwat and churned out Muslim victimhood propaganda. One of the key politicians to back this anti-RSS/Mohan Bhagwat campaign is Jim McGovern.
On 31st August, Massachusetts’s 2nd congressional district representative, Jim McGovern, published an X post amplifying a propaganda article authored by former USCIRF chairs Stephen Schneck and Nadine Maenza. Jim McGovern claimed that RSS contributed to making discrimination and violence against religious ‘minorities’ mainstream in India.
Demanding accountability from RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Jim McGovern wrote, “Former USCIRF Chairs @StephenSchneck & @NadineMaenza are right: The Hindu nationalist RSS helped make discrimination & violence against religious minorities mainstream in India. Its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, should face accountability—not be given a platform to foment hatred.”
Stephan Schneck, Nadine Maenza, and the anti-India USCIRF
Notably, Stephan Schneck and Nadine Maenza are notorious anti-India propagandists, who contributed to several dubious reports published by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
As USCIRF Commissioner, Stephan Schneck amplified the erstwhile Canadian Trudeau Government’s falsehoods that India was involved in transnational repression, particularly the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In 2023, Schneck said that India’s purported part “in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States was deeply troubling” in 2023. He added, “We call on the Biden administration to acknowledge the Indian government’s perpetration of particularly severe religious freedom violations and designate it as a country of particular concern (CPC).”
Later, Canada admitted that it had “no evidence” against India or the Indian government in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Similarly, Nadine Maenza, the former Vice Chair of the USCIRF, has also demonstrated her anti-India leanings through her work during her time in the USCIRF and afterwards. Maenza had aggressively pushed for designation of India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC) during her vice chairship in the USCIRF.
During her tenure, Islamist lobbying against India was rampant. Maenza regularly attended anti-India and anti-Hindu events organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).
Source: DisInfo Lab’s X handle
The Indian American Muslim Council is reported to have links with the banned Islamic terror outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Besides, the Indian American Muslim Council has ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) through its founder Shaik Ubaid. The IAMC is a Jamaat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group.
The IAMC is also accused of collaborating with and even paying money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF. OpIndia has reported on how the IAMC frequently publishes disinformation to peddle Muslim victimhood propaganda against India. The Indian government slapped the IAMC with the UAPA in 2021.
Predictably, the IAMC also backed New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his mayoral candidacy. Mamdani, a notorious Hinduphobe, had recently lamented not having the authority to cancel the RSS Chief’s event in the city.
During Nadine Maenza’s tenure as USCIRF Vice Chair, the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable, an informal alliance of NGOs working closely with the USCIRF, became a hub of anti-India elements.
The IRF Roundtable’s India Working Group was headed by IAMC Advocacy Director Ajit Sahi, HfHR’s Raju Rajagopal, and FIACONA’s John Prabhudoss.
Notably, HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by two Islamist advocacy groups: the IAMC and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI). The three organisations had formed another outfit called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), which, alongside IAMC, had been at the forefront of leading demonstrations against the visit of PM Modi to Houston on September 22, 2019. HfHR ran Facebook ads to promote previous USCIRF reports.
HfHR chief Sunita Vishwanath, who was pictured alongside Rahul Gandhi, had tried to create hysteria and panic among Indian Muslims about the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Meanwhile, FIACONA, or the Federation of Indian Christian Organizations in North America, has also been involved in fabricating data on atrocities on Indian Christians and is based in the United States. Founded by one John Prabhudoss, the factually incorrect annual reports by FIACONA, riddled with data duplication and other anomalies, have been cited in several news articles to suggest the increasing marginalisation of the Indian Christian community.
Interestingly, in 2022, Nadine Maenza was awarded by Justice for All for “Advocacy for all, especially Muslims.”
Notably, Justice For All is a Chicago-based NGO, which was recently at the forefront of the anti-RSS and Mohan Bhagwat campaign in the US. The Islamist outfit founded by Pakistani-origin Abdul Malik Mujahid, who had links to the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, even launched an online campaign that urged people to put pressure on the US government to bar Bhagwat from entering the United States.
It is unsurprising that the USCIRF, a US bipartisan body dominated by explicitly anti-India elements, churns out propaganda reports every year, pushing the same ‘Hindu nationalism’, ‘democracy under threat’, ‘Muslim persecution’ bogey, to malign the Modi government, the RSS, and India’s global reputation.
More recently, the USCIRF, helmed by a Pakistan-born American Islamist, Asif Mahmood, actively contributed to the sinister Islamo-leftist campaign in the US to stop RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Madison Square event.
Jim McGovern: The US politician consistently involved in anti-India activism
Representing Massachusetts’s 2nd congressional district, James Patrick McGovern, commonly known as Jim McGovern, is more invested in championing Islamo-leftist causes related to India than his own country. McGovern has long been spewing venom against the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that violates the limits of constructive criticism. McGovern has on multiple occasions claimed that human rights, religious freedom, and democracy are deteriorating under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
McGovern’s CAA disinformation
In January 2022, Jim McGovern, who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, addressed a Special Congressional Briefing called to commemorate India’s 73rd Republic Day.
Jim McGovern claimed that the Modi government has been promoting ‘Hindu nationalist’ policies even as no welfare schemes or any initiative has been launched in over a decade of PM Modi’s government, which exclusively benefits Hindus.
McGovern also claimed that religious freedom and human rights were backsliding. He also amplified the false and alarmist narrative peddled by the Indian Islamo-leftists that the Citizenship Amendment Act, when combined with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) proposal, would institutionalise discrimination against Muslims. This briefing was attended by Hamid Ansari, the former Vice President of India.
Amusingly, this briefing was organised by a coalition of 17 US-based ‘rights’ organisations, including IAMC, HfHr, Sikh Coalition, among others. Most of these organisations have earned notoriety by peddling anti-Hindu and anti-India narratives and indulging in lobbying activities in the US to undermine American Hindus.
“For the first time in 2019, a law was passed that links citizenship to religious identity. There is every reason to fear that this change, combined with the proposal for a National Register of Citizens institutionalizes discrimination against Muslims,” McGovern said.
Relying on the Muslim victimhood propaganda fed by the IAMC and other Islamo-leftist outfits, McGovern peddled alarmist disinformation against the CAA, even as the CAA had a connection with the NRC and had nothing to do with Indian Muslims.
Jim McGovern lied about the FCRA license cancellation of a Christian organisation founded by soul harvester ‘Mother’ Teresa, backed USCIRF recommendation to label India as ‘Country of Particular Concern’
McGovern had also framed the Modi government’s decision to refuse renewal of the foreign-funding license for the Missionaries of Charity, the Christian organisation founded by ‘Mother’ Teresa, as “discrimination against Christians”.
This blatant lie came even though the denial of FCRA license renewal was not an act of discrimination but because the organisation failed to submit some necessary documents. Within days of submitting complete documents, the license was restored.
Backing the USCIRF recommendation for designating India as a “Country of Particular Concern”, McGovern asserted, “The concern about discrimination based on religious identity [was] so great that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular Concern.”
McGovern criticised India’s UAPA law, but never demanded relaxation of anti-terrorism laws in the US
Jim McGovern also criticised the UAPA and other strict anti-terrorism laws enacted by the Modi government, falsely claiming that such laws are ‘misused’ to target journalists, activists, attorneys, and other civilians.
“This kind of misguided anti-terrorism legislation is not the sign of a healthy democracy. We cannot be silent when measures are taken that discriminate against whole populations or when inflammatory language is used that could incite violence against those populations,” McGovern said in condemnation of the so-called ‘targeting of journalists, activists and other dissenters, under the UAPA and other such laws.
McGovern’s comments came in complete neglect of the fact that journalists, activists, and any civilian, for that matter, are not immune to prosecution over anti-national activities. Those booked under the UAPA and other stringent provisions were not targeted for their journalistic work or activism but for alleged involvement in activities jeopardising India’s national security and/or territorial integrity.
Jim McGovern is a blue-eyed boy of the IAMC and extended Islamo-leftist coterie
In 2016, the IAMC testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Washington, DC, at the hearing titled ‘Challenges & Opportunities: The Advancement of Human Rights in India.’ McGovern echoed the IAMC’s propaganda about discrimination against religious ‘minorities’. McGovern, however, never questioned IAMC’s own lies with the banned Islamic terrorist outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and LeT ties.
McGovern cried hoarse over abrogation of Article 370 and 35A
Back in 2019, when the Modi government repealed Article 370 and 35A, discontinuing Jammu and Kashmir’s “special status”, McGovern claimed that India was indulging in “massive human rights violations by detaining politicians, restricting ground access to journalists, and using ‘brute force’ against protestors.”
McGovern was joined by Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky, and Lloyd Doggett in co-sponsoring a House resolution “Urging the Republic of India to end the restrictions on communications and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious freedom for all residents.”
Jim McGovern advocated for designating India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’
In June 2025, the IAMC-founded HfHR group member Ria Chakrabarty advocated for designating India as a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom. At that time, Jim McGovern came out in support of Khalistani separatist terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, who repeatedly threatened violent attacks against India. He claimed that India orchestrates ‘transnational repression’. The Democrat leader made mention of the anti-India activities of Khalistanis and projected the situation as India ‘persecuting’ Sikhs.
McGovern signed letter demanding ‘fair trial’ for 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots accused Umar Khalid
In January 2026, 8 US lawmakers signed a letter to the Indian government demanding bail and a free trial for Umar Khalid, the accused mastermind of the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots. Jim McGovern was a signatory of this trashy letter alongside rabid anti-India Islamist Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Pramila Jayapal, Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch, Jan Schakowsky, and Lloyd Doggett.
While Umar Khalid’s case is sub judice, the US lawmakers gave their own verdict on Khalid, declaring him innocent. They demanded that Umar Khalid be released from jail. They claimed that the anti-CAA protests were ‘peaceful’ and even painted Muslims as the victims of the anti-Hindu riots in 2020.
Jim McGovern even called the CAA, the provision to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Islamic or Muslim-majority neighbouring countries, “fundamentally discriminatory” merely because the law excludes Muslims. McGovern, however, failed to explain how Muslims can be persecuted in Islamic countries for being Muslims.
The letter amplified the Indian Islamo-leftist propaganda that Umar Khalid has been deliberately stuffed in jail without a trial for years. However, Contrary to the false narrative peddled by Islamo-leftists to garner support and sympathy for Umar Khalid, OpIndia has reported earlier that out of the 14 adjournments in 2023 and 2024, 7 delays and adjournments were sought by Umar Khalid himself. It therefore becomes evident that the withdrawal was certainly not due to the famed “delay” in the hearing. While the Islamo-leftists in India and abroad continue to cry ‘injustice’, it is the alleged failed forum shopping attempts of the accused’s lawyer that have Khalid rotting in jail for so long.
Clearly, Jim McGovern is a part of the global Islamo-leftist coterie actively pushing anti-India narratives and contributing to the manoeuvers to tarnish India’s image by relying on fake Muslim victimhood propaganda, ‘minorities under threat’ bogey, and turning a blind eye to the religious hate-driven anti-Hindu crimes.
The family of Matthew VanDyke, the US mercenary who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March 2026, has sought an “urgent” US diplomatic intervention to secure his release. On 30th August, the Sons of Liberty International issued a statement in which it said that VanDyke’s family demands a US diplomatic intervention, claiming that VanDyke’s health is deteriorating.
Family of Matthew VanDyke seeks US diplomatic intervention alleging ‘illegal detention’, denial of treatment at a private hospital, and communication with family
The Sons of Liberty International (SOLI) portrayed Matthew VanDyke as a mere US citizen and NGO director, who remains under “illegal detention” by the Indian authorities. VanDyke’s family and SOLI lamented that the US mercenary, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, was allegedly denied prescription medicines and frequent communication with his family.
“Family of Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, United States citizen, NGO director, seek urgent US diplomatic intervention after his illegal detention at Kolkata airport on March 11th, and transfer from NIA headquarters April 6th with an injured leg, diminished eyesight, as well as being denied his prescription meds, and communication with family. Presently detained at Tihar jail 8/9,” the statement reads.
Further, the SOLI statement highlights the Delhi Court denied VanDyke’s request for treatment at a private hospital and communication with his family in the US. It further lamented the court decisions denying both his request for treatment and communication with family.
The statement plays the emotional victim card for better impact, repeatedly emphasising VanDyke’s supposed physical weakness and denial of regular communication with his 80-year-old mother.
“Advocates Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour, his legal counsel, applied to the Delhi Court for Matthew’s medical treatment at a private hospital and for proper communication to be established with his family, who reside in the U.S.. His mother who is over 80, was only allowed a 5-minute emergency call with him months ago! However, the Delhi Court denied both application requests on June 1st alleging foreign government communications. Matthew was too weak to stand or walk during a court appearance, and utilizes a wheelchair to meet with his attorneys,” the statement adds.
The family of @Matt_VanDyke seeks urgent U.S. diplomatic intervention as Matthew VanDyke is presently still denied basic detainee rights, and is being kept in solitary confinement at Tihar Jail 8/9 in Delhi, India. It is time to bring #MatthewVanDyke back home! #FreeVanDykepic.twitter.com/g1CrRnMnDF
US Ambassador Sergio Gor spoke to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Matthew VanDyke
The statement posted on VanDyke’s X account also claims that the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, “briefed” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri about VanDyke’s case during Rubio’s May visit to India. It also mentioned VanDyke’s hunger strike inside prison.
“Ambassador Gor previously briefed Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Secretary Rubio on Matthew’s situation during his visit to Delhi, India May 24-26,” the statement reads.
Matthew VanDyke’s family is actively lobbying the US power circles, including Congressional offices, and the State Department to secure his release from Tihar Jail and return to the US.
“Matthew’s mother Sharon Van Dyke, and Gia Santos spokesperson for the family visited DC June 1-3 and again July 8/9th to speak with Congressional offices, and the State Department. Judicial custody extension is through Sept 8th. The family seeks urgent US diplomatic intervention. It is time to bring Matthew Van Dyke back home,” it adds.
“This is a humanitarian emergency for our family. Matthew has spent his life documenting human suffering and supporting people in crisis. We are pleading for his safe return home,” VanDyke’s mother said.
Source: VanDyke’s X handle
Matthew VanDyke is not in Tihar Jail for being an NGO director or US citizen
While SOLI and VanDyke’s family portray him as a mere NGO director ‘illegally detained’ by Indian authorities, Matthew VanDyke is under judicial custody due to his involvement in a plot to recruit and train anti-India elements to commit acts of terrorism against the country.
VanDyke was nabbed alongside 6 Ukrainian citizens on 13th March after they entered Mizoram without valid permits and reached Myanmar illegally. They contacted banned organisations associated with militancy and provided them with weapons, including drones and other terrorist hardware, along with training.
VanDyke and other arrested accused persons brought a huge consignment of drones from Europe through India. The investigation revealed that all the accused had entered India on valid visas but reached Mizoram without the mandatory Restricted Area Permit (RAP).
The NIA revealed that these foreigners acknowledged being in direct touch with the militants brandishing AK-47 rifles during interrogation. The probe agency disclosed that a party of 14 Ukrainians travelled to Guwahati and then Mizoram after landing in India on tourist visas. They trained ethnic militias, entered Myanmar illicitly and helped supply drone consignments from Europe to networks connected to armed groups.
VanDyke and other perpetrators have been charged with criminal conspiracy and other offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as the matter remains under investigation.
Matthew VanDyke is not a mere NGO director; he is a trained mercenary
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1981, Matthew Aaron VanDyke had been a prisoner-of-war in Libya as he had joined the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi. Before becoming a combatant and trainer in multiple conflicts, VanDyke worked as an adventurer-filmmaker.
He went on solo cycling expeditions across North Africa and the Middle East, from Morocco to Syria and Turkey, becoming the only American citizen to cross Libya by motorcycle under dictator Muammar Gaddafi. For some time, VanDyke lived in Iraq, embedded as a war correspondent with American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
VanDyke also completed a 2010 Iraq-Iran-Afghanistan motorbike trek with photographer Daniel Britt. It was footage from these trips that formed the basis of VanDyke’s award-winning documentary, Point and Shoot (2014). VanDyke was detained over 20 times, all this while in Iraq, and was even accused by Iran of espionage.
When the Libyan Civil War broke out, VanDyke joined the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi in addition to filming it. After fighting alongside rebel troops, he was taken prisoner by Gaddafi’s government and held in solitary confinement for almost six months before making his way back to the front lines. VanDyke was paraded by the Gaddafi regime on state television.
He was accused of being a CIA-linked American spy and carrying CIA-provided espionage-related equipment.
Between 2012 and 2014, Matthew VanDyke stayed in Syria’s Aleppo, wherein he filmed an award-winning short documentary “Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution”. This self-financed documentary was made with the motive to garner global support for anti-Assad rebels.
In 2014, Matthew VanDyke formed the Sons of Liberty International after his friends, American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, were executed by ISIS. Operating as a licensed 501(c)(3) non-profit, SOLI is essentially a private security contracting company.
The SOLI admittedly provides supplies, military training, and consulting services at no cost to “vulnerable populations” facing terrorist groups and authoritarian regimes. The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU), an Assyrian Christian group battling ISIS, were trained by SOLI during its first deployments in Iraq.
Both Matthew VanDyke and SOLI have been actively training, advising, and supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia.
“I can bring in 10 or 20 of my guys, and we can train thousands of Ukrainians very quickly and very competently. And we can also train Ukrainians to become trainers themselves, so that Ukraine can tap into all the manpower it has. Because they’re not allowing men of military age to leave the country, they have a reserve of millions of potential soldiers, but they have no way to train them,” VanDyke told Newsweek.
VanDyke had also claimed to have participated in America’s regime change operation in Venezuela.
OpIndia reported earlier about VanDyke’s social media footprint, his deep ideological support rooted in his profound belief in Christianity, for the ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in Myanmar, and anti-Ayatollah activities in Iran.
VanDyke’s footprints have been traced in Ukraine, Venezuela, the Philippines, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Jordan, Turkey, Spain and now towards Myanmar, through India.
There is an unmissable pattern, Matthew VanDyke has his footprint in almost all the countries where the American government has had significant foreign policy interests, with Ukraine being the highest priority theatre.
VanDyke’s presence in Myanmar also aligns with American foreign policy interests. The Myanmarese military junta, Tatmadaw, has the military and diplomatic backing of Russia and China, and Russia also supplies oil to Myanmar. In such a case, the US needs to back anti-junta elements to drain Russia of its resources to force the Kremlin into discontinuing its war against Ukraine.
Reports say that Matthew VanDyke failed a CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) polygraph many years ago. VanDyke denies his CIA links; however, his activities in countries America has geopolitical interests in indicate that VanDyke is not a clean NGO director as his family and mercenary outfit, Sons of Liberty International, claim.
OpIndia has reported extensively on how the US mercenary Matthew VanDyke worked closely with the CIA and MI6 front.
A significant section of Muslims globally pursues a self-imposed imperative of converting as many non-Muslims to Islam as possible. From terrorism, rape jihad, brainwashing, to coercion, the jihadist Muslims employ every means, no matter where they are, to ‘spread’ Islam. In recent decades, the prisons in the United Kingdom (UK) have become a hotbed of jihadist training camps and forced conversion of non-Muslim prisoners.
The main target of Muslim jail gangs is reported to be White British men, who are being forced by Muslim inmates to convert to Islam.
Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary of the Conservative Party, demanded that the Labour government take strict measures to stop the forced conversion menace inside the infamously ‘overcrowded’ UK prisons.
One in five Muslims in UK prisons is White: Increasing Muslim population and gang dominance
The official UK Ministry of Justice data indicates that one in five Muslims in England and Wales prisons is White. This is around four times the rate of 5.8% in the general population.
As per the data presented by Nick Timothy, the number of Muslim prisoners in prisons in England and Wales has also surged exponentially and accounts for over one in five, 18%, of the prison population, despite making up 6.5% of the general population.
Islamist gangs control many of our prisons.
Conversion to Islam is the only way to stay safe from them.
I obtained data showing 1 in 5 Muslim prisoners are white.
That’s four times higher than in the general population.
“The percentage of Muslims who are white in our prisons is so vastly higher than in the general population it raises serious questions. We know that experts have warned repeatedly about forced conversions taking place behind bars, driven by Islamic gangs. We need to be honest that something is not right here – Labour must urgently investigate and stamp out forced conversions in prison,” Timothy said.
In his 2022 report, Terrorism in Prisons, Jonathan Hall KC, the UK government’s independent reviewer on terrorism legislation, wrote that the surge in Islamist group activity inside prisons “is concurrent with a dramatic downsizing of prison staffing levels.”
Hall’s probe found that jailed Islamic terrorists act as “self-styled emirs” who control inmates via “leadership and recruitment.” These Muslim terrorists mainly target “vulnerable or lonely prisoners, using guidance, sharing of food or material gifts” and “conversion backed by implicit or actual violence”.
The 2022 report by Hall cites cases of two jailed Islamic terrorists: Usman Khan, who killed two students in an attack at London Bridge, and Sudesh Amman, the Streatham knife attacker. These two had threatened other inmates to pressure them into converting to Islam.
Usman Khan attacked an inmate in 2011 while shouting Allahu Akbar. He used to recite inflammatory poems like “cut off the kuffar’s head”. He even encouraged other non-Muslim prisoners to take up Muslim names, wear Muslim dresses and threatened those who questioned Islamic prayer.
By 2015, Khan led a “bullying gang” and was involved in covert radicalisation, was found with newspaper clippings relating to jihadism, was “known as an influential TACT prisoner and “Emir” involved in extremist bullying and religious preaching in the prison yard, sought to intimidate and organise disobedience towards members of staff, disrupted Remembrance Sunday, and sought to dictate the dietary and washing habits of non-Muslim prisoners.”
The terrorists in UK prisons are “exerting a controlling and radicalising influence on the wider Muslim prison population (including through enforcers, whilst keeping their hands clean); recruitment (in particular of vulnerable or lonely prisoners, using guidance, sharing of food or material gifts), and conversion backed by implicit or actual violence; soliciting or accepting menial tasks (such as cell-cleaning) from lower status prisoners,” the report reads.
Citing the Ministry of Justice data, The Telegraph reports that the number of Muslim chaplains in prisons is increased to 140, surging from 128 in 2023-24, compared with 87 for the Church of England, down from 97 in 2024-25. There are an additional 94 Catholic chaplains, 64 from free churches and 23 described as “Christian”.
The most alarming aspect is the massive rise in the number of white converted Muslims. Their number skyrocketed from 2,767 in 2022 to 3,218 as of June 30, 2025, marking an increase of 16%.
Overall, the number of Muslim prisoners in England and Wales has gone up to 14,037 in 2022 to 16,051 as of June 30, 2025, recording an increase of 14%.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation raised alarms how Muslim dominance and conversion activities inside UK prisons are inflicting detrimental damage on the country’s prison system.
“It is an absolutely outrageous state of affairs in the British prison system. This also poses a very significant national security risk for the United Kingdom. The British government appears to have lost control over its prisons, which have become jihadist training camps. It is very clear that large-scale Islamic migration into the United Kingdom is having a direct impact on crime and public safety in the United Kingdom,” Gardiner said.
Not identifying as a Muslim in many UK prisons meant, denial of protection from violent Muslim gangs
In 2023, Colin Bloom, a British government advisor, published a 159-page independent review, demonstrating how Muslim prisoners were aggressively encouraging conversion of non-Muslim inmates to Islam. The report found that if a new prisoner failed to identify as a Muslim, he was denied ‘protection’ from Muslim gangs, which would then intimidate and assault the new prisoner.
“Failure to identify as a Muslim meant that at best the new prisoner would be denied ‘protection’ from the dominant Muslim gang on that wing, or at worst the new prisoner would be subjected to violence and intimidation from that same gang,” the report reads.
“The 2019 Ministry of Justice report on separating extremist prisoners noted the growing problem of religious extremism across the prison estate, including the ‘aggressive encouragement of conversions to Islam’,” it adds.
In 2021, the report says, Muslims accounted for about 18% of the prison population, up from 8% in 2002. “However, the Muslim male prisoner population in London prisons is reportedly almost 30%, which is considerably higher than the 15% in the general London population,” the 2023 report states.
The report also highlighted that “the phrase ‘convert or get hurt’ was commonly used by some Muslim gangs, and copies of the Quran would be left on the beds of new prisoners.”
the report mentions that the Hindus make up for the lowest levels of prison rates of any religion but have the highest employment rates.
In his 159-page report, Bloom had asserted that “insufficient action” has been undertaken and continues, saying: “There is one burning injustice from which this Government should not shrink, and that is the issue of forced and coercive marriages.
Before this, in 2019, the UK Ministry of Justice published a report in which it found that Muslim jihadist groups in prisons aim at bringing other inmates under the fold of Islam to strengthen their ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ in the prison.
The report had said that about 12847 prisoners in these prisons are Muslims. Out of the total number of prisoners lodged in for charges of terrorism, 90% were Muslims. The preponderance of Muslim detainees led to the formation of groups and gangs within jails, with ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ being a uniting factor for these seemingly diverse and heterogeneous groups of individuals.
The Muslim gangs had three main tactics to assert and retain influence: violence, bullying, intimidation and spreading. Imposing Islam remained the core objective.
As per the UK Justice Minister report, most of the contraband goods circulated in the prisons were attributed to these Muslim gangs. There were varied motivations for people to join groups such as protection, safety, criminality, and power. Brotherhood provided lone vulnerable prisoners with a social setting. Many were proselytised to Islam by the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were often hailed by the gang members as scholars of Islam. The prisoners converted to Islam citing social acceptability and Islam offering them a ‘stricter’ way of life as primary reasons for the same.
Notably, the Islamist outfit Muslim Brotherhood has been banned even in Muslim-majority Arab countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the UK, a ‘secular’ country, has neither banned the outfit nor declared it a terrorist organisation.
The United Kingdom has been grappling with rapid Islamic radicalisation and conversions to Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood has expanded its presence in the UK through students coming to study there and Islamist exiles who fled repression in their home countries. Muslim Brotherhood-linked organisations collaborate with Islamists from South Asia, established to promote the work of Abu A’la Mawdudi and representing Jama’at-e-Islami.
In January 2026, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) slashed funding for its citizens interested in studying in the United Kingdom (UK). The UAE’s decision comes after the UK refused to ban the Muslim Brotherhood.
With surging Islamic fanaticism and Muslim Brotherhood-type jihadi outfits in UK prisons, the number of forced conversions and violent crimes has also increased.
In January 2025, a Muslim prisoner named Aklakar Rahman, currently lodged at the HMP Belmarsh in London, stabbed a female officer in her head and throat using an improvised weapon.
While carrying out the attack, Rahman yelled ‘kill all kafirs, death to all Kafirs.’ The 38-year-old prisoner also threw a bin at the officer and 2 other key workers at the high-security jail. Rahman was jailed in 2015 for Class A drug offences. He had previously been involved in similar prison attacks. According to a report by The Mirror, the Muslim prisoner had expressed his desire to kill non-Muslim ‘Kafir’ officers.
In September 2022, he was detained in a segregation unit at another prison for trying to radicalise inmates with ‘extreme versions of Islam.’
Despite numerous reviews and investigations indicating the rampancy of forced conversions to Islam in UK prisons, the British government has largely remained nonchalant, and to some extent in denial of the severity of the rot.
“We do not tolerate intimidation, gang activity or faith-based coercion of any kind in our prisons. Prisons and staff act swiftly to clamp down on all threatening behavior from any groups or individuals,” a UK Justice Ministry spokesperson told Fox News.
“Forced religious conversions are not tolerated across the prison estate. In response to the report from the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall, HMPPS [His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service] carried out a review into the influence of faith-based gangs. After the review, HMPPS has improved the ability to identify nascent extremist gang activity and disrupt it before it takes hold via advanced training and data collection,” the spokesperson added.
From prisons to politics: The Islamisation of the UK is going on in full swing while those in power pursue suicidal ‘fight against Islamophobia’
Muslims represent 6.5% of the population in England and Wales, up from 4.9% (2.71 million) in 2011. Alongside a surge in population, Muslims are also expanding their dominance in the UK’s politics, prisons, and neighbourhoods. Their utility as a consolidated votebank is such that the liberal-secular political party, particularly Labour, bends over backwards to appease Muslims.
The mainstream political parties in the UK have inducted Muslims, even radicals masquerading as ‘progressives’, to lead the key institutions across the country. However, in many if not most cases, these Muslim politicians use their power and influence for the benefit of their co-religionists.
In 2025, the Labour Government proposed an Islamophobia definition that introduced vague and undefined concepts like “prejudicial stereotyping”, racialisation of Muslims”, “collective group with set characteristics”, “stir up hatred”, “practices and biases within institutions” that would result in facilitating its weaponisation by Muslims to target non-Muslims.
The most outrageous example of the appeasement of Muslims by British governments was their downplaying of the Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs that targeted non-Muslim girls for rape, conversions, and religious humiliation.
It was seen how the fears of appearing Islamophobic and racially insensitive prevented UK authorities from effectively acting against Pakistani Muslim groomers/rapists for years, and now the Labour Party, which has adopted the flawed Islamophobia definition, is dismissing those criticising Muslim grooming gangs as “far-right” in an apparent attempt to make the Muslim community sacrosanct to criticism.
OpIndia reported earlier how, in many cases involving Pakistani-Muslim grooming/rape gangs, instead of arresting the rapists, the police ended up arresting the victims and their families. This was commonly due to a failure to probe the grooming part, in most cases a deliberate cover-up to avoid appearing Islamophobic, culturally insensitive and racially prejudiced, with young victims being treated as offenders for small violations while still in contact with their abusers.
For nearly three decades, the fear of being labelled Islamophobic or indulging in ‘racial profiling’ prevented the police from taking decisive action against Muslim rape gangs in the UK. The Labour Party’s political perversion further worsened the situation.
A June 2025 rape gang inquiry report found that 4% of Pakistanis were responsible for 64% of cases of child sexual abuse in the UK’s Rotherham alone.
Despite the presence of evidence that Muslim rape jihadis systematically trapped non-Muslim white and other girls for rape, persistent abuse, and religion-based humiliation, the liberal-progressive power circle in the UK continues to label the critics of these rape gangs as ‘Islamophobic’ and downplay the religious motivations of these crimes, further emboldening the Jihadis.
In March this year, it was reported that the Labour Party councils in Northern England are drawing inspiration from 7th-century Sharia laws and enforcing them in schools.
Labour-run councils in Leeds, Oldham, Tameside and Kirklees have instructed schools against conducting drawing, music and dance classes.
“In a document titled ‘Sharing the Journey’, multiple Labour-run councils have told schools that drawing pictures of humans could be ‘idolatrous’ to ‘some Muslim’ pupils. Music lessons could also conflict with the religious injunctions of Islam,” the report stated.
Muslims have also managed to posit themselves as super citizens in the UK and are operating 85 Sharia courts. These Sharia courts, established to address Muslim issues, are spread throughout England. These courts render decisions on matters such as marriage, divorce, khula, and four marriages. These courts often issue rulings that violate British law.
Secular organisations in England are protesting these Sharia courts. One such organisation, the National Secular Society, has demanded that this parallel legal system operating in Britain be curbed. They say it is affecting the rights of women and children. However, the government has remained silent on the issue.
It’s not unusual for the government and liberal society to remain silent on Islamic fundamentalism in Britain.
In 2014, it was uncovered how Muslim jihadist groups in the UK were trying to take control in some schools and impose Sunni Islam. The report had found evidence of “sustained and co-ordinated agenda to impose upon children in several Birmingham schools the segregationist attitudes and practices of a hardline and politicised strain of Sunni Islam”.
While this revelation had alarmed Britons in 2014, over the years, the influence and dominance of Muslims in the UK has increased to such an extent that Sharia-compliant norms are being self-imposed in many schools under the garb of “sensitivity and awareness around faiths and beliefs”.
Coming back to prisons, recently UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood justified her controversial early-release scheme, saying she had little choice but to free killers, rapists and child sex offenders because prisons in England and Wales were running out of space.
Prisons, politics, schools, demography, and society in general, the UK is undergoing unannounced Islamisation while those supposed to stop this are busy inventing unique methods to accommodate Jihadist intransigence in the name of secularism and inclusivity.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is portraying himself as the saviour and champion of the Dalit community while Congress-ruled Karnataka is allegedly looting money earmarked for Dalits. Across public platforms and party briefings, the Leader of Opposition has been attempting to position himself as a crusader against social inequality and systemic oppression, taking every opportunity to accuse the ruling party and Hindu society at large of persistent bias against Dalits.
However, this grandstanding stands in stark contrast to the actions unfolding within his own party’s governance framework. While high-sounding speeches are delivered from podiums in the national capital, millions of rupees designated specifically for the welfare, economic assistance, and upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are being siphoned off and diverted for political gain in the Congress-led Karnataka government.
Rahul Gandhi’s claims on ‘discrimination’ against Dalits
During a Congress party briefing in Delhi on 29th August, Rahul Gandhi spoke at length about caste discrimination in India, focusing particularly on conditions in North India. He claimed that despite modern advancements, deep-rooted discrimination against Dalits continues to persist in both cities and rural areas.
Attempting to illustrate his point with everyday occurrences, Gandhi alleged that caste-based division is visible even at roadside tea stalls. “There are two types of cups in tea shops,” Gandhi said, explaining that one is a reusable glass cup while the other is a disposable paper cup. He claimed that Dalits are regularly served tea in disposable paper or plastic cups, while members of the general public are given reusable glass cups.
VIDEO | Delhi: Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, "Dalits are not allowed to drink water from the village well, forcing them to dig their own wells because they are barred from using the common village well. At tea stalls, two types of cups are used – reusable glass… pic.twitter.com/u9K7QSYk8U
Continuing his address, Gandhi cited several other examples to highlight what he described as the harsh reality of the Dalit experience in contemporary India. He claimed that in many rural pockets, Dalits are systematically barred from using common village wells and are forced to dig separate wells for their own water needs.
He further alleged that Dalit children are routinely targeted in schools and made to clean toilets instead of focusing on their education. To emphasise the threat of violence faced by the community, Gandhi added that Dalit grooms sometimes have to wear helmets during their own wedding processions just to protect themselves from stone-pelting by upper-caste groups. Calling these instances “the reality of India” and particularly “the reality of North India,” Gandhi insisted that such oppressive practices remain widespread in both rural and urban landscapes.
Crafting narratives vs. ground realities
These statements point to a recurring pattern where Rahul Gandhi tries really hard to build a new narrative every other day, sometimes after giving a speech on women and showing himself as a performative feminist, and at other times spreading unverified claims about alleged discrimination against Dalits.
This political strategy relies on creating emotional flashpoints and positioning the Congress leadership as the sole defenders of marginalised groups. Yet, behind this constant narrative-building, the reality in states governed by his own party tells a drastically different story.
While public rhetoric focuses heavily on social justice, the actual administrative machinery in Congress-ruled Karnataka has been embroiled in major corruption scandals involving funds meant for the very communities Gandhi claims to champion. In Karnataka, a senior cabinet minister had to resign for damage control after being named as the primary accused in massive financial irregularities within the state’s tribal welfare corporation.
The resignation of B. Nagendra and ED findings
The political fallout reached a boiling point when Karnataka Cabinet Minister B. Nagendra on Friday, 28th August, resigned from his post amid intense pressure over ₹89-crore irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) formally named the MLA and former Scheduled Tribal Affairs Minister as the primary accused and chief conspirator behind the multi-crore financial fraud. According to investigative agency documents, Nagendra masterminded the entire operation, using his ministerial influence to unauthorisedly transfer the corporation’s bank account to a specific branch on MG Road in Bengaluru.
The probe reveals that he orchestrated the siphoning, layering, and diversion of approximately ₹89.63 crore through his personal staff, close associates, and private entities. Crucially, agency findings revealed that around ₹20 crore of the siphoned cash was funnelled directly to manage and fund political campaigns during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Amid absolute political outrage, intense protests by the opposition BJP and JD(S), and a CBI charge sheet seeking his prosecution, Nagendra submitted his resignation from the Karnataka Cabinet. His resignation came right ahead of a planned 10-day padayatra by the opposition from Raichur to Bellary over the financial irregularities.
Inside the Valmiki Corporation scam
The Valmiki Corporation scam represents a major financial fraud in Karnataka, involving the illegal diversion and siphoning of ₹89.63 crore out of ₹187 crore pooled from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC).
Founded in 2006 in Bengaluru, the corporation was established to uplift the socioeconomic status of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka by running critical welfare schemes, including self-employment loans, microcredit, land purchase assistance, and irrigation facilities. Instead of reaching tribal beneficiaries, these funds were layered through hundreds of shell accounts, IT companies, and a cooperative credit society.
The multi-crore scam unravelled following the tragic suicide of 52-year-old accounts superintendent Chandrasekaran P. on 26th May, 2024. He left behind a detailed six-page suicide note exposing the immense pressure he faced from top management and senior officials to execute unauthorised, illegal money transfers exceeding ₹80 crore. Following his death, an FIR was registered, leading to the suspension of officials and subsequent investigative action by state and central agencies.
Findings by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the ED showed that around ₹88.62 crore was illicitly transferred from the corporation’s official account at the Union Bank of India, MG Road branch, to unauthorised accounts created in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by an accused named Satya Narayana Verma.
The funds were routed through over 170 secondary accounts, including the First Finance Credit Cooperative Society in Hyderabad, before being physically withdrawn. More than 20 people have been linked to the scam, with 14 arrests made, including bank officials, corporation executives, and former minister Nagendra, who was arrested by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in July 2024. The agency noted that Nagendra even attempted to destroy mobile phones to obstruct the probe.
Selective silence on Karnataka looting
Despite the overwhelming evidence and legal actions surrounding the looting of tribal funds in Karnataka, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has suddenly become vocal for the upliftment of Dalits, remains eerily silent on what his own government is doing in the state.
While he travels across the country giving lectures on caste oppression, he has not uttered a single word of condemnation regarding the siphoning off of ₹89 crore meant for Scheduled Tribes under his party’s rule. This silence reveals a stark double standard: vocal outrage when alleging societal bias in non-Congress states, but absolute mute spectator status when his own minister is arrested for embezzling funds meant for vulnerable tribal communities to fund election campaigns.
Lok Sabha LoP is also spreading lies on untouchability
Rahul Gandhi is not only trying to portray himself as the champion of Dalits; he is also actively spreading lies and making false claims of untouchability to stoke social tension. A prime example occurred recently when Gandhi alleged that an act of untouchability was committed against Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is a Dalit, following a Congress rally in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Gandhi claimed that after Kharge attended the event on 8th August, a ‘shuddhikaran’ (purification) Havan ceremony was performed at the venue by BJP workers on 10th August to clean the stage simply because a Dalit leader had stepped on it. Gandhi demanded the lodging of an FIR under the SC/ST Act against the organisers.
However, these claims were completely debunked by Ankit Pal, a Hindu Dalit man belonging to the Valmiki community and a member of the Shri Ram Seva Dharmarth Nyas, the organisation that actually performed the ceremony. Speaking to the media on Sunday, 30th August, Pal rejected the allegations of untouchability made by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress machinery.
Pal clarified that the venue is a traditional cultural stage where Ram Lila is held, and that after the political rally, it was left littered, dirty, and scattered with urine-filled bottles. Furthermore, he pointed out that Islamic slogans were raised during the political event on a stage meant for religious functions. “Look, I had made this clear through your channel that the shuddhikaran havan was performed because a political programme was held on that stage… And through that stage, slogans of ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ were raised, as we saw in the videos we received. So, the havan was performed there for its shuddhikaran…” Pal stated.
His testimony confirmed that the Havan was performed by a Dalit-led religious trust to clean up the physical mess and restore the religious sanctity of the stage, completely exposing the Congress party’s narrative as a fabricated story.
The strategy behind the Dalit narrative
The persistent effort to manufacture false incidents of discrimination while ignoring actual financial exploitation points to a clear political objective. By constantly highlighting caste fault lines and spreading unverified claims of untouchability, Rahul Gandhi aims to divide the broader Hindu vote bank into fragmented categories of General, SC, ST, and OBC.
Instead of offering genuine developmental solutions or accountability in governance, this strategy relies on creating a sense of perpetual grievance among marginalised communities. By convincing these groups that they are under constant threat from the majority population, the leadership attempts to secure a dedicated vote bank through fear and division, all while turning a blind eye to scandals like the Valmiki Corporation scam, where actual Dalit and ST welfare funds are looted.
On Saturday (29th August), West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the Birbhum district, prayed at the Tarapith, and held an administrative meeting in Rampurhat. The local Trinamool Congress MLA from the Hasan constituency, Kajal Sheikh aka Fayezul Haque, was also present at that gathering (as per protocol).
Since then, social media has been rife with claims that Adhikari interacted with the notorious TMC MLA and was somehow planning to rehabilitate him into the BJP or the Ritabrata Banerjee-led TMC faction.
The disinformation came days after Kajal Sheikh resigned from the post of Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati (Chairperson). Earlier, several members of the Trinamool Congress moved a no-confidence motion against him at the Zilla Parishad.
Nonetheless, his presence at the official event sparked intense speculations about alleged acceptance of his antics by the BJP and Suvendu Adhikari in particular.
But a careful persual of the videos from the administrative meeting in Rampurhat shows a starkly different picture. While it is true that Kajal Sheikh stood behind Suvendu Adhikari during his press briefing, it is evident that the Chief Minister had avoided him throughout the meeting.
This was despite multiple attempts by the TMC leader to strike a conversation with Adhikari. It is highly unlikely that Kajal Sheikh will ever find refuge in the BJP (as some people are speculating online).
You are unnecessarily generating hate against a CM who is doing everything possible for hindus.
You carefully used one screenshot from the entire video to show Kajal Sheikh standing right behind Suvendu.
About 10 days earlier, BJP State President Samik Bhattarcharjee pointed how how Kajal Sheikh is considered a ‘miscreant‘ by his own party. “Who is Kajal Sheikh? Will our State be remembered for this kind of a man?”
It must be mentioned that the TMC MLA had initially joined the Ritabrata faction but later moved away after his arch rival Anubrata Mondal went to that side.
Their rivalary goes decades back, with each striving to control the illegal multi-million rupee businesses of riverbed sand extraction and quarry stones in the Nanoor region and greater Birbhum district.
“The sand mafia was once close to the Left parties, now it has become a battleground for two TMC satraps.One of the alleged warlords, Kajal, is the younger brother of Sheikh Shahnawaz, the face of the Trinamool in the region from 1998 to 2000, when the party was struggling to get a toehold in this red bastion. On July 27, 2000, Shahnawaz and Kajal planned the first-ever village takeover operation in Nanoor.
It was a fierce and bloody skirmish, since declared a ‘black day’ by the TMC. Kajal, with the backing of Shahnawaz, now the MLA from Ketugram in Burdwan, started dabbling in illegal sand mining and gradually took control of all 10 ghats in Nanoor’s lower belt. Gone underground for the last seven months, today he has arrest warrants out against him in 43 cases, including murder.”
Screengrab of the India Today report
Ahead of the 2016 election, Kajal Sheikh was accused of working for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and facilitating the defection of more than 3000 Trinamool Congress workers. But within 3 years, his dynamics with the party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew changed.
In May 2019, he was elevated to the position of Nanoor’s block executive President, much to the dislike of TMC leaders Anubrata Mondal and Firhad Hakim.
Posters of Kajal Sheikh and Abhishek Banerjee outside TMC offices in 2023, image via Anandabazar Patrika
Around the time of the 2023 Panchayat election, Kajal Sheikh was prominently featured in posters pasted outside TMC party offices from Bolpur to Nanoor. It was clear that he was increasingly being favoured over the likes of Anubroto Mondal by the high command.
A year later, Sheikh’s security cover was upgraded to the Y+ category, which elated many of his supporters.
In April 2026, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek was seen campaigning for Kajal Sheikh from the Hasan Vidhan Sabha constituency, which the latter eventually won.
It is clear that Kajal Sheikh has been politically opportunistic, which is evident from his dwindling affiliations. But this does not mean that the BJP unit of Bengal will take him in as one of their own. This became crystal clear from Suvendu Adhikari’s recent snub in Rampurhat.
Kajal Sheikh has been instrumental in the 2021 West Bengal post-poll violence during which more than a dozen BJP workers were killed. OpIndia had compiled 40 such incidents.
As per a report by Organiser, a BJP worker who was raped during the post-poll violence had named Kajal Sheikh as one of the TMC leaders who were involved in mobilising the mob that attacked her family and publicly humiliated her.
Even after the 2026 West Bengal election, Kajal Sheikh was named as one of the TMC leaders who directed violence against BJP workers in Birbhum.
Between 2008 and 2016, multiple cases involving murder, attempt to murder, rioting, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation, and possession of explosives were registered against the Trinamool Congress leader.
Even until last year, Kajal Sheikh was threatening the Modi government with street violence and fearmongering about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in his constituency.
“If the citizenship of anyone from Birbhum is revoked, then the foot soldiers of Trinamool Congress (Maa-Mati-Manush) won’t remain silent. This is a conspiracy by the BJP. I will tell all BJP leaders to remain prepared. SIR can take place the way it is designed. But if the voting right of anyone is taken away, then there is trouble awaiting your fate.”
This dog-whistle from a man with a history of violence against his rival BJP workers and leaders is evidence enough that he will not be entertained by the State unit of the BJP.
Those who are outraged over Kajal Sheikh being in the same frame as Suvendu Adhikari must understand the context of the setup and stop believing in conspiracy theories.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s upcoming memoir, ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, was scheduled for international release on 10th November through Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House. However, the book has now become the centre of a political controversy after Penguin Random House India clarified that it is not the publisher of the memoir in India.
The clarification came on Friday, 28th August, after reports said Penguin Random House India had decided not to publish the book in India following the discrepancies in the fact-checking process.
Congress leaders have since alleged that the publisher was being pressured by the BJP to drop the memoir or seek changes in it. Penguin, however, has given a different explanation, saying that fact-checking and recommendations to authors are a normal part of the publishing process and that it had remained “willing and keen” to publish the book.
Congress alleges BJP pressure over Sonia Gandhi’s memoir
The controversy began after Penguin Random House India said it was not the publisher of ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’ in India. The development came days after Alfred A. Knopf announced the international publication of the memoir.
Congress leaders quickly questioned the decision and alleged that the publisher was facing pressure because of the political content of the book. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot asked why the Indian arm of Penguin would not publish the memoir when the book was being released internationally by its global imprint.
“Penguin Worldwide is ready to publish Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji’s upcoming book worldwide in its original form, but Penguin Random House India wants changes made to launch it in India. After all, what is the reason or what pressure is there, that what is being published across the world cannot be published in India?” Gehlot wrote on X.
Penguin Worldwide is ready to publish Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji's upcoming book worldwide in its original form, but Penguin Random House India wants changes made to launch it in India. After all, what is the reason or what pressure is there that what is being published across the…
Despite the clear reason from the publisher, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also criticised Penguin’s clarification and described it as a “weak statement”. He pointed to books such as Exam Warriors and books about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) being published by Penguin India and alleged that the publishing house was now afraid of the ruling party.
Such a weak statement.
Penguin India is more than happy to publish “Exam Warriors” and several books on RSS.
No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being being read by the people of India. https://t.co/JvmXD8FZV6
“Such a weak statement. Penguin India is more than happy to publish ‘Exam Warriors’ and several books on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). No doubt there are those in the BJP government who have now become afraid of a book being read by the people of India,” Gogoi wrote.
Congress Seva Dal chief B.V. Srinivas also attacked the publishing house, accusing it of compromising its editorial independence. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, meanwhile, called the decision a matter of “grave concern” and questioned whether it had been taken independently, indirectly feeding into the Congress’s victim narrative that the BJP was behind the decision.
Congress leaders have also claimed that some passages concerning China, the RSS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies were among the portions discussed during the manuscript process.
Penguin Random House India said book is not factually ready to be published
Amid the political allegations, Penguin Random House India issued a clarification on X, explaining its position. The publishing house said that it is not the publisher of the book in India.
The publisher explained that, as part of its normal publishing process, it is both its “prerogative and its responsibility” to fact-check material and provide authors with recommendations that are considered to be in the best interests of their books.
Fact-checking, according to Penguin, is therefore not an unusual step or an indication that a book is being politically blocked. The publisher said such checks and editorial recommendations are part of the normal process before a manuscript is published.
More importantly, Penguin said that throughout its discussions over the book, it remained “willing and keen” to publish the memoir. This directly challenges the Congress narrative that the publishing house simply refused to publish the book because of political pressure.
Publisher says fact-checking is part of the normal process
The key issue in the controversy is therefore the distinction between fact-checking a manuscript and refusing to publish it.
Penguin’s explanation is that it reviewed the material, carried out fact-checking and gave recommendations to the author. The company has not said that the memoir was permanently rejected or that it was unwilling to publish it. Instead, it has maintained that it was interested in publishing the book.
This means that the publisher’s explanation does not establish the Congress allegation that the BJP pressured it to drop Sonia Gandhi’s memoir.
BJP rejects Congress’ allegations
The BJP has rejected the Congress allegations of political pressure and accused the party of trying to create a narrative of fear around the memoir. BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan said Congress leaders were trying to “spin stories and manufacture a false narrative of fear” over the book. He also called the allegations “not merely ironic; they are glaringly hypocritical”.
The attempts by Congress leaders to spin stories and manufacture a false narrative of fear over the release of Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s memoir are not merely ironic — they are glaringly hypocritical. Excerpts from the late Shri. K. Natwar Singh’s 2014 autobiography ‘One Life Is Not… pic.twitter.com/Jye8sbjXde
Kesavan questioned the issue at the centre of the controversy and asked, “The moot point in the context of Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s memoirs is: which portions of her memoir warranted fact-checking and why so?”
VIDEO | Amid Sonia Gandhi memoir row, BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan says, "Congress leaders attempting to manufacture a false narrative of fear over the release of Sonia Gandhi's memoir are brazenly hypocritical. Late K. Natwar Singh's 2014 autobiography, 'One Life Is Not… pic.twitter.com/pn2YPzWe1b
The BJP has argued that if a publisher itself says fact-checking is a normal part of the publishing process, then the focus should be on the portions that required verification rather than on allegations of political pressure.
BJP leader Ajay Alok also attacked the Congress over the controversy, saying the issue was not about a publisher “bowing down” but about whether the contents of the memoir could be verified. “It’s not a matter of bowing down. It’s a matter of shame that even in writing a book you are not placing facts and figures. That’s why publishers are not ready to publish it. Because verification has to be done, credibility has to be maintained,” he said.
Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao similarly argued that the request for fact-checking raised questions about the claims made in the memoir. He said the controversy showed why readers would also need to examine the claims made in the book carefully.
#WATCH | Hyderabad: On Penguin Random House India backing out of publishing Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi's memoir ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’, Telangana BJP President N Ramchander Rao says, "There has been a lot of hype around the memoir written by… pic.twitter.com/02YPm6f1us
BJP leader Amit Malviya also took a sarcastic dig at the controversy, questioning why a memoir written by Sonia Gandhi herself required fact-checking.
It is rather amusing that Penguin Random House India felt the need to fact-check Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, a book authored by Sonia Gandhi herself.
The publisher says fact-checking is a normal part of the publishing process and that it remained “willing and keen” to publish the… https://t.co/z6XnLwN24H
“It is rather amusing that Penguin Random House India felt the need to fact-check Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, a book authored by Sonia Gandhi herself,” Malviya said. He added that Penguin had described fact-checking as a normal part of publishing and had said it remained “willing and keen” to publish the book.
Malviya then asked what exactly required verification, saying, “What exactly needed fact-checking — the author’s memories, or the blurred line between fact and fiction?”
As the neighbouring Nepal is grappling with ravaging flash floods, India rose to the occasion and extended swift humanitarian assistance to the Himalayan country. India sent 62 tonnes of emergency aid to Nepal. India was the first country to provide physical assistance to the country in the middle of the deadly disaster.
As the death toll from the catastrophic flash floods rose above 600 and the number of missing people crossed 2000, India is actively taking part in the intensified rescue and relief operations, along with local authorities in Nepal. The Indian government is also sending consignments of relief material to Nepal.
On Saturday (29th August), India sent a fourth tranche of relief material to the country along with an 11-member team of doctors, paramedics and tunnel rescue specialists. According to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian government has also offered a tunnel rescue team, a medical team and personnel from its National Disaster Response Force to the disaster-hit country.
India has been among the first responders whenever its neighbours faced any natural disaster or any other calamity. It has stood by its Himalayan neighbour, which often faces natural disasters, through thick and thin. The Indian government extended similar support to Nepal following the devastating 2015 earthquake. The Indian government and the Indian armed forces launched a massive rescue and relief operation under Operation Maitri.
During the operation, the Indian Air Force and the Army flew 2223 sorties, rescued/evacuated about 11,200 people (including 780 casualties) to safer places and transported and dropped about 1700 tonnes of relief materials. Besides, the Rapid Action Medical Teams of the Indian armed forces extended medical assistance to 4762 injured.
Let’s take a look at how India has emerged as the ‘first responder’ and a true friend in need during times of crisis for not just its neighbours but also for countries located afar.
Operation Amistad after twin earthquakes in Venezuela
About two months ago, in June 2026, the South American country of Venezuela was jolted by twin apocalyptic earthquakes. The calamity caused horrifying visuals of high-rise buildings turning into rubble, huge loss of life and devastation. The Modi government presented an example of friendship and support in times of crisis by sending urgent humanitarian assistance to Venezuela under Operation Amistad (the word Amistad means friendship in Spanish).
Under the operation, which was part of India’s HADR mission, the Indian government dispatched two Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft carrying humanitarian relief supplies and a 41-member rescue team to assist the ongoing relief and rescue efforts in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The relief consignment included a self-reliant Indian medical task force, an Indian Army Field Hospital unit with HADR pallets and medicines, 30 tonnes of relief supplies, 6 tonnes of medicines and medical equipment and two BHISHM cube portable hospitals.
The Indian government expressed solidarity with the people of Venezuela and assured the government of Venezuela of all possible assistance in the time of crisis.
Operation Sagar Bandhu after Cyclone Ditwah hit Sri Lanka
In November 2025, a deadly cyclone hit the coasts of Sri Lanka, causing massive floods, loss of life and destruction. The Indian government launched Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide urgent emergency assistance to the country. Two Indian Navy ships immediately transported food supplies and relief material, tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits, ready-to-eat food items, medicines and surgical equipment to Colombo.
India deployed troops from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Air Force to provide search, rescue, and relief assistance. A 5-member medical team for on-site training and an 80-member special Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team of the NDRF were sent to assist in rescue efforts. Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant and MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force joined the Sri Lankan Air Force in conducting search and rescue operations.
India’s unwavering support and humanitarian efforts in the middle of a crisis touched the people of Sri Lanka, who expressed their gratitude to the Indian troops deployed in the rescue work.
Operation Brahma for earthquake-hit Myanmar
In March 2025, when Myanmar was hit by a ravaging earthquake, India stepped up as a good neighbour and helped it in the rescue and relief work. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc, killing over 5000 people and injuring over 11,000. The Modi government launched Operation Brahma to extend support to the disaster-torn neighbour.
The Indian government sent IAF aircraft carrying the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel and tonnes of relief material to the country. In addition to that, India deployed two of its Naval ships for rescue work. Another aircraft carried 118 personnel from the Indian Army’s Field Hospital Unit, including Women and Child Services and relief material to Myanmar.
India also provided disaster relief support to Myanmar after it was hit by Cyclone Komen in July-August 2015, causing floods and landslides. The cyclone affected 250,000 people and destroyed over 500,000 acres of farmland. The government provided emergency relief assistance to the country and transported relief materials to the country.
Operation Dost following earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
India extended humanitarian support after devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria in March 2023. India launched Operation Dost to help in the rescue and relief operations in the two countries. Within hours of receiving requests for assistance from Turkey, the Indian government dispatched relief material along with three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to help the disaster-hit country. The Indian Army set up an on-field hospital to offer medical assistance to the injured. Similar assistance was provided by India to Syria, where the Indian government sent Indian Air Force aircraft carrying emergency relief assistance.
India aid after volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea
In November 2023, Papua New Guinea, an island country in Oceania, was hit by a major eruption at Mount Ulawun. The volcanic eruption forced the government of Papua New Guinea to evacuate around 26,000 people from the affected area. India was quick to extend humanitarian aid to the country, which is its development partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC).
The Indian government announced $1 million in immediate relief assistance for the country. India sent 11 tonnes of disaster relief material, including tents, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, meals ready to eat, and water storage tanks and 6 tonnes of medical aid material. Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape thanked the Modi government for sending humanitarian aid during the humanitarian crisis caused by the volcanic eruption.
This was not the first time that India extended support to the country. It also provided humanitarian assistance to Papua New Guinea following the 2018 earthquake and the 2019 volcanic eruption. Due to the Indian government’s unconditional support to the country in times of crisis, the relations between the two countries grew stronger and warmer. This was reflected when PM Marape welcomed PM Modi and touched his feet out of respect at the airport during the latter’s visit to the country in May 2023.
Operation Samudra Maitri for earthquake and Tsunami-hit Indonesia
In October 2018, a catastrophic earthquake and subsequent Tsunami hit the island country of Indonesia. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake combined with the tsunami caused widespread destruction in the country, leaving over 4000 people dead. The Modi government launched Operation Samudra Maitri to help its neighbour in tough times.
Under the operation, the Indian government sent two Indian Air Force aircraft, C-130J and C-17, carrying relief material, including medicines, tents, and generators, along with medical personnel and equipment to set up a field hospital. India also deployed three Indian Navy ships, INS Tir, INS Sujatha and INS Shardul, which carried additional humanitarian supplies.
Over the years, India has time and again proved that it is a reliable neighbour and a generous friend to countries in times of natural disasters. India’s response to disasters at the domestic as well as international level has demonstrated the effectiveness of its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) framework.
As rescuers race against time after devastating flash floods in Nepal, a question has emerged over whether Kathmandu actually refused offers of foreign search-and-rescue assistance, including from India, despite hundreds of people still missing.
The answer is more nuanced than a simple “yes” or “no”.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it does not currently require foreign search-and-rescue teams, insisting that its own security agencies are capable of handling the operation. At the same time, India says it has specifically offered to deploy teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with specialised equipment, and is still awaiting Nepal’s response.
The scale of the disaster helps explain why the question has attracted attention. At least 552 people have been killed on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border, while more than 1,400 people have been reported missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals. Entire settlements have been swept away, roads and bridges destroyed, and hydropower infrastructure badly damaged.
Damaged houses stand precariously near the swollen, debris-choked banks of the Trishuli River after flash floods in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
This apparent contradiction has fuelled questions over what exactly Nepal has accepted, what it has declined and whether the situation could change as rescue operations enter a critical phase.
What did Nepal actually say?
Nepal Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said offers of assistance from other countries were “natural”, but maintained that Nepal’s security agencies were conducting the search-and-rescue operation.
“For now we don’t require such help,” Chhetri said, according to reports.
The statement came after The Kathmandu Post reported that Nepal had declined requests from several countries to send specialised rescue teams.
Those countries reportedly included India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
South Korea separately said Nepal had indicated that it was not yet planning to accept foreign rescue teams. Seoul has nevertheless pledged $1 million in humanitarian assistance through international organisations.
So, strictly speaking, Nepal has not said it is rejecting all foreign assistance. Its position appears to be that it does not presently require foreign search-and-rescue teams because its own forces are handling that part of the response.
Then what about India’s NDRF offer?
This is where the distinction becomes important.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that it had made a specific offer to send NDRF personnel and associated equipment to Nepal to assist with ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
“We await a response from Nepal,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said India remained in close contact with the Nepal government and had offered a range of assistance, which Nepal was evaluating.
The MEA said India was also preparing additional humanitarian assistance at Nepal’s request, including medical support, engineering teams and equipment aimed at helping restore damaged infrastructure. Jaiswal said two aircraft carrying relief material had already been sent, with a third expected to carry more humanitarian assistance.
Nepal floods:
Third aircraft likely to leave in evening with 12-13 tonnes of relief material requested by Nepal: MEA pic.twitter.com/xqj9VkN3f5
India has already decided to send a tunnel-rescue team and a medical team, particularly because of concerns over people potentially trapped at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project.
Around 100 people are reportedly stranded at the project site, with the possibility that some could be trapped inside tunnels.
The tunnel operation illustrates why specialised capabilities may become important even if Nepal does not want large foreign rescue contingents operating across the country. India said a recce team would first assess the site and determine what equipment would be needed before the specialised tunnel-rescue team is deployed.
This makes the situation more complicated than the claim that “Nepal refused India’s help”. India has offered a specific capability; Nepal says it does not currently need foreign search-and-rescue teams, while New Delhi says it is still waiting for Kathmandu’s response.
Nepal has already accepted some Indian assistance
Another important detail is that Nepal has not shut the door on Indian assistance altogether.
According to the MEA, portable Bailey bridges have already been sent to Nepal following a request from the Nepali authorities.
These prefabricated bridges can be rapidly assembled and are particularly useful in disaster zones where existing bridges have been washed away.
Jaiswal also said India had offered associated technical teams with the Bailey bridges so that connectivity could be restored quickly in affected areas.
The flash floods devastated parts of Rasuwa and neighbouring districts close to the Tibet border, severely disrupting transportation and communications.
Villages have been swept away in Nepal-Tibet flash floods (Image Source: Northeast)
Therefore, the available information suggests a more selective approach from Kathmandu: assistance that Nepal specifically requests is being provided, while the deployment of foreign search-and-rescue teams remains a separate question.
Why would Nepal hesitate to bring in foreign rescuers?
One explanation is Nepal’s experience after the devastating 2015 earthquake.
The disaster triggered an enormous international response, with rescue and relief teams arriving from around the world. While the assistance was crucial, managing large numbers of foreign teams also created logistical and coordination challenges.
Nepal may therefore be reluctant to bring multiple international rescue teams into an already chaotic disaster zone unless there is a clearly identified operational requirement.
But another possibility has also been raised.
The worst-hit areas include Rasuwa district, close to the border with China’s Tibet region. Dinesh Bhattarai, a former Nepali ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, suggested that the geographical sensitivity of the area could have influenced Kathmandu’s decision.
“They may have thought about the locational sensitivity of the region and decided not to accept foreign teams,” Bhattarai told Reuters.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry, however, rejected that interpretation.
Chhetri said the decision had nothing to do with China’s sensitivities, maintaining that Nepal’s own rescue agencies were capable of managing the operation.
The bigger question: Is Nepal’s own capacity enough?
This is ultimately the issue that matters more than the diplomatic back-and-forth.
The floods have caused extensive destruction, with the death toll approaching 500-600 according to varying reports, while hundreds of people remain missing or unaccounted for.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by destroyed roads, damaged infrastructure, disrupted communications and the continuing risk of flooding.
A lake created by accumulated debris near the Nepal-China border even began overflowing on Friday, temporarily forcing rescue operations to stop before they resumed.
At the same time, hundreds of foreign nationals have been caught up in the disaster.
India said around 320 Indian nationals and 100 people of Indian origin remained uncontactable. Around 400 Indians on the Tibetan side have since been contacted and confirmed safe, while another 96 Indians stranded near the border have crossed into Nepal.
India has also brought rescued citizens home. Twenty-one Indians rescued from Nepal reached New Delhi on Friday, with Jaishankar saying around 85 Indians had been rescued from different locations so far.
Importantly, Jaishankar said the rescued Indians were particularly grateful to the Nepal Army, which had helped evacuate them from a difficult location.
So, did Nepal “refuse” foreign rescue help?
Partly, but the wording needs qualification.
Nepal has publicly said that it does not currently require foreign search-and-rescue teams and that its own security agencies are conducting those operations. Reports indicate that several countries offered to deploy specialised teams.
However, Nepal’s own spokesperson later clarified that this should not be interpreted as a blanket rejection of international assistance. Chhetri said Nepal may request specialised expertise if it becomes necessary: “It is not that we will not need help, but our security network is capable and working effectively right now.”
India, however, says its NDRF offer is still awaiting a response. New Delhi is also preparing specialised tunnel-rescue and medical teams, while Nepal has already requested and received other forms of Indian assistance, including Bailey bridges.
The picture, therefore, is not of Nepal refusing all international help.
It is more accurately described as Kathmandu choosing to retain control of the search-and-rescue operation while selectively accepting assistance that it considers necessary.
That distinction is crucial. Nepal appears to be saying: its own security agencies will lead the rescue operation for now, but Kathmandu remains open to requesting specific expertise, equipment and humanitarian support when it considers them necessary. India’s position is similarly clear: it is ready to provide NDRF teams and equipment, but has not said that those teams have already been accepted for deployment.
Whether that remains the right decision could become clearer in the coming days. In a disaster where people may be trapped in tunnels, roads have been destroyed, and communications remain patchy, the central question is no longer simply who offered help.
It is whether the available rescue capacity can reach everyone who can still be saved, and how quickly.
Leicestershire Police have seized assets worth more than £250,000 from Leicester-based Muslim ‘activist’ Majid Novsarka, better known as Majid Freeman, who is facing terrorism charges over supportive statements about Hamas and social media posts relating to terrorism.
Court documents lodged at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court reveal that the force has made six separate applications under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. The applications include a request to forfeit £239,008 in cash seized from Novsarka on March 19, 2024, which police have described as “terrorist cash”.
Leicestershire Police are moving to seize over £250,000 in cash, frozen accounts, and crypto wallets linked to Majid Novsarka (also known as Majid Freeman), a prominent figure during the 2022 Leicester unrest, which saw Hindu homes and temples attacked.
The documents also show that police are seeking to continue detaining cryptocurrency-related assets held through KuCoin, Nest, Revolut and CB Payments. The wallets are valued at $36,069, or approximately £26,000. A further, undisclosed sum held in an account frozen in July 2024 is also the subject of a forfeiture application.
The six applications are due to be considered at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on November 10, 2026. Novsarka, 38, denies the two terrorism charges against him and is due to stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court in September 2027. The offences concern his social media activity.
According to the prosecution case, Novsarka is accused of expressing views supportive of Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. He is also accused of using a social media post relating to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris to encourage his followers to carry out, plan or incite similar acts of terrorism.
Novsarka has denied the allegations. His representatives at CAGE have also challenged the suggestion that the seized money was connected to terrorism, arguing that there has been no determination about what the cash was intended for and pointing out that his charitable activities involved handling and transferring money.
The seizure proceedings are separate from the criminal prosecution, and the court has yet to determine whether the money or crypto assets are connected to terrorist activity.
Majid Freeman, the fanatic who was at the forefront of instigating violence against Hindus in Leicester
Majid Freeman is a local Leicester Muslim “activist” who is known to harbour problematic and extremist Islamic views. Throughout the Leicester violence, Majid was at the forefront of spreading fake news that instigated violence against Hindus.
It was on 28 August 2022 that a scuffle broke out after India defeated Pakistan in a T20 match after the Indian flag was desecrated. After the scuffle, Hindus had even calmed the situation down and tended to the individual who had snatched and desecrated the Indian flag. Majid Freeman, however, had a different story to tell.
On the 30th of August, after the Leicester police got influenced by the Muslim organisations and lied about “death to Muslims” being chanted by Hindus (they later clarified their investigation found no such chants were heard), Majid took to Twitter to rabble-rouse against Hindus.
On the 30th itself, he lied about Quran being desecrated in Leicester, insinuating that the Hindus had committed this act. However, OpIndia tried to verify these claims.
There was another incident that was cited by Majid Freeman to claim that Hindus had been attacking Muslims. He claimed that a mob of 30+ Hindus had chased and assaulted a Muslim teenager. When confirmed, it turned out that while the Muslim organisations had claimed this, no video evidence was submitted to the police and no investigation was underway, OpIndia was told by Insight UK.
On the 4th of September, when the violence against Hindus started with mobs hunting them down in their houses and on the streets, Majid Freeman took to Twitter to dog-whistle against Hindus again.
Freeman did not merely report on the unrest. He repeatedly amplified inflammatory allegations against Hindus at a time when tensions were already running high, helping push unverified claims to a large online audience.
From the 4th to the 7th of September, Muslim mobs went on a rampage against Hindus. On the 4th of September, when Majid tweeted and dog-whistled, the Muslim mob went on a rampage unprovoked while the Hindus were celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. Eggs were thrown when Hindu symbols were spotted and where Ganesh puja was being held. A Hindu man was dragged out of his home and stabbed. When his aunt ran out of the house to defend him, she was injured because the Muslim mob punched and beat her.
On the 12th of September, a dangerous lie started. It was alleged that Hindu men had attempted to abduct a Muslim girl while she was going to school.
After the story went viral, aided by Majid Freeman, the Hindu man started getting threats from Islamists since they had outed his car number, his location and his picture.
On the 14th of September, the Leicester police confirmed that the news was fake.
In fact, another lie that was circulated by Majid Freeman and his Islamist cohorts was that a Mosque was attacked by Hindus during their peaceful protest. The Leicester police confirmed that no such mosque was attacked; however, they did confirm that a Hindu temple had been vandalised.
A BBC investigation into the Leicester disorder previously examined the role of social media in spreading unverified allegations. It specifically documented how Freeman shared a claim that a 15-year-old Muslim girl had nearly been kidnapped by Indian boys. Freeman later acknowledged that the allegation turned out to be wrong.
The episode showed how Freeman used his social-media reach to amplify an unverified communal allegation, contributing to an atmosphere in which Hindus were increasingly portrayed as perpetrators of attacks that had not occurred.
Freeman’s conviction during 2022 Leicester violence
Freeman’s conduct during the unrest eventually resulted in a separate criminal prosecution. In June 2024, he was convicted of a Section 4 public-order offence relating to the September 2022 disorder. He was sentenced by Northampton Magistrates’ Court on September 9, 2024, to 22 weeks in prison.
The court found that his conduct involved an intention to provoke “immediate unlawful violence”. OpIndia reported that the judge concluded Freeman had used abusive words with the intention of provoking violence.
The conviction was for a public-order offence, but it further cemented Freeman’s record of using inflammatory rhetoric during the Leicester unrest.
Earlier scrutiny over extremist associations and terror links
Freeman’s online activities and associations had attracted scrutiny well before the Leicester riots. OpIndia investigation revealed Freeman often expressed sympathy for Islamist extremist figures and causes.
Freeman had even encouraged European Muslims to undertake jihad in Syria and had published material praising or paying tribute to Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. OpIndia also examined his involvement with organisations involved in humanitarian activity in Syria and alleged connections to networks associated with Islamist extremism.
A separate report by the Henry Jackson Society similarly recorded allegations that Freeman had encouraged Muslims to “do jihad in Syria” and had promoted tributes to al-Awlaki.
He is also linked to humanitarian organisations operating in Syria, including Aid4Syria and organisations associated with the Turkish charity IHH.
On social media, Freeman has often expressed sympathy towards ISIS and Al-Qaeda-linked figures.
From Leicester riots conviction to terrorism prosecution
In the latest case, he is accused of encouraging terrorism and expressing support for Hamas through social-media posts. Those charges remain contested and will be tested at trial in 2027.
The latest seizure proceedings add another dimension to the case. Leicestershire Police are seeking the forfeiture of more than £239,000 in cash described in court documents as “terrorist cash”, alongside cryptocurrency assets worth approximately £26,000 and another frozen sum.
The November hearing is expected to examine the police applications concerning the substantial sums seized from Freeman, while his terrorism case remains pending before Birmingham Crown Court.
