NDTV has once again indulged in spreading fake news by sharing a 10-year-old video of a young girl stating that she is a Ukrainian and is standing up to oppose the Russian invasion. In the viral video, it can be seen that a soldier is standing with a weapon and a little girl starts hitting him. That little girl keeps shouting at the Russian soldier without any fear of death.
The news report by NDTV.
The video was also shared on Twitter by some Congress Party leaders. It was posted by Mohd Zoha Khan, whose Twitter profile says he is a Congress leader. He shared the video writing, “Salute to the courage of this little girl Everyone’s blood boils for the sake of his country. @LambaAlka”
Tweet by Mohd Zoha Khan
It was also shared from the Twitter Handle of All India Parisangh, an organization run by Congress leader and Ex-Member of Parliament Udit Raj. All India Parisangh has a verified handle on Twitter. It also uploaded the video with the same intent as NDTV stating that she is a Ukrainian and is standing up to oppose the Russian invasion.
The tweet by All India Parisangh.
However, Twitter flagged the video posted by All India Parisangh as “Stay infiomed! This media is presented out of context.” This flag meant that various videos and images circulating on social media were taken in previous years and are not linked with the current situation in Ukraine.
Twitter flagging the video.
The purported video is 10 years old and is that of a Palestinian girl
The video which was reported by NDTV and shared by the Congress Party leader happens to be 10 years old. It is a video that was shot in 2012 in Palestine. The girl in the video is Ahed Tamimi who had confronted an Israeli soldier in West Bank in Israel.
She stood up against the arrest of her brother by the Israeli forces. Tamimi was sentenced to eight months in jail in late 2017 after being caught on camera hitting and assaulting Israeli soldiers outside her home in the West Bank village of Nebi Saleh. She was released in 2018.
Days after Maharashtra Minority Minister Nawab Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the charges of money laundering, some political leaders have started making it a religious issue. Nawab Malik’s name appeared in the process of investigation after the ED conducted raids pertaining to hawala transactions while probing a money laundering case against fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and his aides in Mumbai.
On February 23, before his arrest, Nawab Malik was issued summons to appear before the ED concerning a PMLA case related to elements linked to Dawood Ibrahim and the underworld. AIMIM leaders including party chief Asaduddin Owaisi among others saw this as an opportunity to further their Islamist politics over the arrest of ‘minority affairs’ minister Nawab Malik who happens to be a ‘Muslim’.
While speaking at a public rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar, AIMIM Chief Asaddudin Owaisi said, “I want to ask people from the Samajwadi Party, Azam Khan was the minister when Akhilesh Yadav was the CM. Then why is it that Azam is in Jail, while Akhilesh is out? Similarly, In Maharshtra Nawab Malik has been arrested but the current Deputy-CM from NCP (Ajit Pawar) who is accused of a massive Irrigation Scam is roaming free.” He highlighted with anger to the audience, “What is this happening? Are you not being able to connect the dots? Hence, vote for AIMIM with all the Jamaat to increase your participation and responsibility,”
Here, Owaisi was trying to say that while Muslim leaders (Azam Khan and Nawab Malik) were in jail, Hindu ministers belonging to the same parties (Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Pawar) were spared by the investigation agencies.
On Sunday, AIMIM MP from Maharashtra, Imtiaz Jaleel reiterated the same logic while expressing his support to Nawab Malik. While talking to the media, He said, “We fully support Nawab Malik while nobody from the MVA alliance is concerned over this issue. What Asad Sahab (Owaisi) talked is true – for the scam involving thousands of crores, Ajit dada never went to jail.” He asserted, “We have expressed our support to Nawab Malik because you cannot link Muslims of this country with terrorism. We might consider tomorrow if he is accused of corruption; but if you look at Muslamans through this lens which is often used by the BJP, then why wasn’t Malik arrested earlier if you had all the proofs?”
He then claimed, “If required, we will also enter the streets and assemble at the Kranti Chowk to show solidarity with Nawab Malik. When Sharad Pawar was summoned by the ED for questioning, NCP members gathered in large numbers in front of the ED office. When a Nawab Malik or an Azam Khan is arrested, no one goes to support them,”
It was also the case, that when NCP supremo Sharad Pawar was asked to make a statement over Malik’s arrest that he tried to play the Muslim card. Alleging that the arrest of Malik is a deliberate misuse of central agencies, he said, “If there is a Muslim activist who is their opponent, it is their habit to link his name to Dawood. When I was the CM of Maharashtra, they had tried to link my name with Dawood as well. This is an attempt to harass those who are speaking against the misuse of central agencies,” Pawar was quoted.
While the ED questioned Nawab Malik over his alleged links with Dawood Ibrahim, leaders have already started questioning the credentials of the investigation, only because the accused happens to be a Muslim. The attempts of ‘secular’ politicians to communalise politics as well as to construct a narrative around an investigation concerning national security are out in open.
The renowned Australian organisation, Australian Hindu Association (AHA) has revealed how four Victorian Gurudwaras had jointly planned a pro-Khalistani, anti-India and anti-Hindu event that took place on February 20, 2022, in Australia in the memory of Khalistani supporter Deep Sidhu. Sidhu, a Punjabi actor and one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots had recently died in a road accident. It also revealed that these Gurudwaras regularly organise incendiary pro-Khalistani, anti-India, and anti-Hindu speeches and events to radicalise young Sikhs on the foreign land.
On 20th February 2022, a Sikh Gurudwara in Australia showcased an Anti-India/Hindu poster blatantly in between two so-called Khalistan flags. The poster had hate-filled slogans like ‘End Hindu Fascism’ and ‘India kills Sikhs’ printed on it. It also bore the image of the deceased Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu, one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots. The poster was found hanging at the entrance of the Craigieburn Sikh Gurudwara in Australia.
Entrance of a Gurdwara in Australia. Nestled between 2 Khalistan flags are pictures of Deep Sidhu with the words “End Hindu Fascism.” Deep Sidhu died in a car accident. He was an accused in the violent 2021 Indian Republic Day attack on Delhi’s Red Fort. pic.twitter.com/7Hi7TYX4Mn
The Australian Hindu Association (AHA), first brought this to the fore on February 21 by tweeting, “Entrance of a Gurdwara in Australia. Nestled between 2 Khalistan flags are pictures of Deep Sidhu with the words “End Hindu Fascism.” Deep Sidhu died in a car accident. He was an accused in the violent 2021 Indian Republic Day attack on Delhi’s Red Fort.”
Gurudwaras plan and execute the pro-Khalistani and anti-India/Hindu event
Now, according to an exclusive report by Australian Hindu Media (AHM), the media wing of the Australian Hindu Association, four Victorian Gurudwaras, Craigieburn, Tarneit, Plumpton, and Miri Piri Deanside had planned and executed the aforementioned event organised in the memory of now-deceased Khalistani supporter and accused 2021 Republic Day Riots, Deep Sidhu.
According to the report, on the evening of Friday, February 18, 2022, representatives of the management committees of Tarneit, Miri Piri Deanside, and Plumpton Gurudwaras, as well as several Khalistani activists, met for several hours at Tarneit Gurdwara to finalise plans for the event. It was decided at this meeting that the car rally taken out in memory of Deep Sidhu would end at Craigieburn.
The report said that though Gurdeep Singh Matharoo, Secretary of the Craigieburn Gurudwara told the media house that his Gurdwara had no role in the activities’ planning, AHM’s sources confirmed that members of Craigieburn’s management committee were fully involved in the organising of the activities.
On Sunday, February 20th, the car rally began practically simultaneously from two places — Tarneit and Keysborough Gurdwaras – shortly after 9 am. Khalistani flags and slogans were prominent throughout the rally.
Notably, Tarneit is the Gurdwara where the then Indian High Commissioner Dr A M Gondane and Melbourne Consulate-General Manika Jain were heckled on 19 November 2017, and anti-India slogans were hurled.
The report further mentioned that the four posters were already up when the car rally participants arrived at Craigieburn Gurudwara just after midday on Sunday, February 20, 2022, according to sources. At around 3:30 p.m., the Deep Sidhu memorial service ended.
Posters placed at the entrance of the Craigieburn Gurudwara in Australia
Though the members of the Craigieburn Gurudwara’s management committee were present at the memorial service, they purportedly claimed that they were unaware of the posters.
Role of these Victorian Gurudwaras in the radicalisation of young Sikh youths
The AHM report further goes on to talk about the role of these aforementioned Gurudwaras in nurturing Khalistani extremists and the radicalisation of young Sikh youths in Australia.
Residents of Indian origin who live near the four Gurudwaras independently told AHM that the gurudwaras have become a breeding ground for the radicalization of young Sikhs. According to them, fiery pro-Khalistani, anti-India, and anti-Hindu speeches and gatherings are often held at these Gurudwaras.
AHM went on to share a post from Plumpton Gurudwara that urged the “Khalsa Panth” to be “…prepared by wearing weapons…” to the event on 23 March 2022.
The report further shared various other images to show the Gurudwara’s connection with Khalistani supporters.
A supporter of Miri Piri Gurudwara with a Khalistan motif on his top (source: AHM)
Plumpton Gurudwara “dal” at the Australia-India 2021 Boxing Day cricket match protesting about Indian farm laws. A Khalistan flag can be observed in the background (source: AHM)
The interior of Plumpton Gurudwara with a picture of Jarnail Bhindranwale (source: AHM)
According to report, all four Gurdwaras receive significant government funding and are also recognised charities. This is despite gurudwaras publicly participating in and financing non-charity activities like the Khalistani movement and Indian farmer demonstrations, as well as spreading hatred towards Hindu organisations like the RSS and VHP, reports AHM.
Hours after controversial historian Audrey Truschke was caught forging fake signatures of many intellectuals in her recent hate letter directed at Vikram Sampath, she has now deflected the blame on ‘Hindu Right IT cells’ for ‘vandalizing’ it.
On Sunday, many including Ramchandra Guha, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Pratap Bhanu Mehta distanced themselves and denied signing the letter published by Truschke asking support for her false ‘plagiarism’ allegations against historian Vikram Sampath.
It all started when the infamous Rutgers University Professor Audrey Truschke published an open google form asking ‘concerned scholars’ to register their names for participating in a hate campaign directed against Vikram Sampath by three professors including Ananya Chakravarti, Rohit Chopra and herself.
Google form shared by Audrey Truschke on Twitter
On Sunday, many public figures who had not signed the letter found their names in the list published by her, to their utter surprise. While she took to Twitter to announce the so-called support by such ’75 concerned scholars’ whose names were included in the list, Individuals like Ramchandra Guha, Sanjay Raut and Pratap Bhanu Mehta made it clear that they had not signed any such letter.
My attention has been drawn to this letter below. I had never seen it before, and contrary to what is claimed there, I have not signed it, neither as Ramachandra Guha nor as “Ram Guha”. https://t.co/xJj1BIDx3C
It has come to my notice that I am listed as a signatory to this letter. I did not receive the contents of this particular letter and never signed it. I also have institutional affiliations that would have been part of my signature. https://t.co/QisJFjv8EV
Soon after the gang of ‘historians’ led by Audrey Truschke was exposed while engaging in misinformation and forgery, The professor has taken to Twitter to blame people from the ‘Hindu Right’ for supposedly ‘vandalizing’ her campaign. “Unsurprisingly, an open letter from academic colleagues supporting scholarly honesty and integrity was vandalized by Hindu Right IT cells, with the goal of manufacturing confusion and fear. The letter is now closed, for security.” she wrote on Twitter.
PSA — Unsurprisingly, an open letter from academic colleagues supporting scholarly honesty and integrity was vandalized by Hindu Right IT cells, with the goal of manufacturing confusion and fear.
Though she had herself shared about the signatories to the hate letter, when exposed for forgery, Audrey tried to shift the blame to the so-called ‘Hindu Right I-T cells’.
Truschke has stooped to ower levels of engaging as an academic mafia, even after the Delhi High Court has restrained her from tweeting defamatory statements against Historian Vikram Sampath. The Court has also ordered her to take down her earlier hateful tweets against Vikram Sampath within a period of 48 hours.
The Bombay High Court on Saturday, while hearing the petition challenging the controversial Lavasa project, observed that there were irregularities and use of ‘political influence and clout’ by NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his family members in extending largesse to Maharashtra’s only private hill station project in 2002. The bench also observed that Ajit Pawar, who is the nephew of NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, breached ‘Solemn Duty’ by not disclosing his personal interest in the Lavasa Project at that time.
The judges agreed with amicus curiae, senior advocate Shiraz Rustomjee, that there was a failure to follow a fair and transparent tender procedure. Jadhav said Ajit Pawar took active part in the decision-making process for setting up the Lavasa project without disclosing his blood relations with Pawar and Sule.
“As the minister for irrigation and ex-officio chairman of Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation (MKVDC), it was Ajit Pawar’s duty to disclose his direct and indirect interest in the matter, but there was nothing on record to suggest he did disclose his interest… Limited to that extent he is found to be remiss in his duty,” the judges said.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni made the observations while hearing the PIL filed by lawyer Nanasaheb Vasantrao Jadhav in August 2018. The plea sought to declare permissions as void, arbitrary, unreasonable, bad in law and obtained with undue political interference and breach of trust. Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya Sule, and his nephew Ajit Pawar, were made parties to the PIL.
Apart from other decisions, the plea also challenged MKVDC’s Governing Council’s “ex-post facto” sanction on June 20, 2002, and subsequent execution of agreements, which Sharad Pawar followed up on by meeting with the then Chief Minister and Ajit Pawar, among others, in regard to problems encountered in implementing his “dream project.”
“It cannot be said that exertion of influence and clout by Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule is an unreasonable inference that cannot be drawn from the facts…Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule being personally interested in the project, it is proved by a preponderance of probability that the allegations are true,” the bench noted.
It added, “… It was the solemn duty of Ajit Pawar to disclose his direct or indirect interest in the matter; but there is nothing on record to suggest that he did disclose his interest… Limited to that extent, Ajit Pawar is found to be remiss in his duty.”
Though the court refused to interfere with the same due to “gross delay” in the filing of the plea and considering that “third-party rights have been created”, it said, “With a deep sense of pain and remorse, we feel compelled to take judicial notice of the malaise of looting of India and its natural resources by its own people in the recent past. The roots of such malaise have, without doubt, set in deep. The country is faced with a situation where uprooting of this malaise seems to be difficult, if not impossible.
“… the mindset of the people needs to change…Above all, concern for the welfare of the people and zero tolerance for corruption must override all other considerations. If the greed and dishonesty for power and money continue unabated, the future does not augur too well for the country,” the court added.
Sharad Pawar and his family at heart of Lavasa scam
Notably, Lavasa was NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s “dream project.” Ajit Pawar was the irrigation minister and the MKVDC’s ex-officio chairman. He presided over a conference at which an ex-post facto approval was granted to build weirs on the backwaters of the Varasgaon-Morse dam, which would supply water to Lavasa. Sule was a shareholder in Lavasa and represents the Baramati constituency, which encompassed 18 villages in Lavasa City in 2009.
In 2001, the Maharashtra government-sanctioned 10,000 acres of land for the construction of this modern city, which would be spread over 20 villages and hamlets. The first phase of construction, Dasve, on 1,700 acres, began in 2005 and has been completed. Work on the second phase, Mugaon, is stalled because of regulatory issues.
In 2012, YP Singh, a former IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, alleged a scam involving the Pawar family in the construction of Lavasa spread over 3,000 acres and reportedly involving an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.
YP Singh had alleged that Ajit Pawar, irrigation minister and nephew of Sharad Pawar, allotted 141 hectares (348 acres) of land belonging to Maharashtra Krishna Valley Development Corporation on a renewable lease of 30 years to the Lake City Corporation in 2002, violating a Supreme Court Judgement.
The company which later came to be known as Lavasa Corporation, a subsidiary of Hindustan Construction Company, was allotted the land at a monthly rent of Rs 23,000, Singh said.
According to data disclosed by Singh, Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, now an NCP MP from Baramati, and her husband Sadanand Sule owned 20.81 per cent of the company.
Sharad Pawar, despite being a Union Minister with no involvement in the Lavasa project, allegedly used his clout to arrange a meeting with Ajit Pawar, bureaucrats, and top corporate officials at a private guest home in the lake city of ‘Ekaant,’ according to the former IPS officer.
The liberal world’s proclivity for anti-Hindu sentiments is certainly not disguised. Subscribers to this notion continue to promote their goal of Hindu hatred in whichever domain they deem appropriate. Cricket, being India’s most popular and frenzied sport, has become the latest target of liberals. It is the unfortunate new arena into which they have decided to inject Hinduphobia.
The way incidents in cricket have been reported in the media and in the sports world in recent years reveals the rise of anti-Hindu viewpoints throughout the community. Several international cricket pundits and journalists have openly endorsed this stance of corrupting one of India’s most popular and cherished sports.
“India has eroding image of tolerance” reported CNBC citing a cricket match
Although many news organizations have been doing it for a long time, recent developments in cricket commentary writing and reporting suggest concerning patterns. Back in November 2021, a piece published on CNBC wrote that the image of India in the west is poor with respect to tolerance. The soul basis of such conclusion by Ananta Agarwal, the author of the article, was the T20 match between India and Pakistan held in October 2021, in which Pakistan won.
Citing the match, he wrote that “ethnoreligious tensions boiled over” in the country. Also, he went on to add that some Kashmiri Students who cheered the victory of Pakistan on social media were suspended, detained, and charged with sedition.
The CNBC article.
To begin with, in response to Ananta, there were no religious conflicts following India’s defeat in the match. The performance of the team as a whole, rather than any individual player, disappointed Indians. The claims made in public about the mocking of Indian pacer Mohammad Shami proved to be unfounded and without substance. The entire story of Shami’s abuse in India was cultivated by Pakistani social media bots and magnified by the Indian leftist ecosystem.
Secondly, the suspension of Kashmiri Students and charging them with sedition was never because they celebrated the victory of Pakistan in the match. It was because they hurled anti-national slogans and chants that were supportive of the Pak-sponsored terrorism in India.
Ananta also made it a point to raise Hindu nationalism by labelling the Prime Minister as a Hindu Nationalist leader. He vehemently quoted Nikhil Mandalaparthy saying that Hindutva is an “exclusionary political ideology that relies on a vision of Hindu identity as being North Indian, upper caste and patriarchal.”
Well, citing anyone and drawing inferences about Indian culture under the guise of a sport like Cricket is a remarkable attempt to further the liberal cause of defaming India and Hinduism but, views of Nikhil don’t hold any legitimacy and are incongruent with the present conditions of India. Also, labelling Prime Minister Modi as a Hindu Nationalist leader would not work to their advantage. It is widely known and accepted that PM Modi is a Hindu and he is a Nationalist out and out. His nationalistic policies have led India to the path of development and global recognition.
The fading image of tolerance in India is a figment of the western imagination and has no substance in reality. Efforts to depict Hindus as bigoted and minorities, particularly Muslims, as downtrodden is a myth that no one would buy except a few devoted liberals.
“Chauvinism and patriotism not the same” headlined ESPN portraying Indians as melodramatic
A report by ESPN back in 2014 stated that the sedition act is against the security of the country. Surprisingly, such fervent opinions have begun to find traction on sports platforms as well! Similar to CNBC, they resorted to the same strategy of portraying India in a bad light just because some Muslims, who celebrated the victory of Pakistan in a cricket match and raised anti-India slogans were charged with sedition. The report quoted Shiv Visvanathan, who wrote in The Hindu that such action “reflects idiot officialdom in the country and its people as paranoid and melodramatic.”
The report by ESPN.
This erroneous stance eulogizes those who celebrate Pakistan’s cricket victory over India and raised anti-India seditious slogans by thumping their chests. What the author overlooks is that Pakistan is the same country that has gone to great lengths to incite unrest and bloodshed in India. Anyone who defends values that aren’t intrinsically national and justifies the acts of a country like Pakistan should indeed be prosecuted with sedition.
This might be simple for groups of people to cheer for Pakistan and then defend it in the name of cricket spirit, but it is not easy for the “idiot officialdom” to make judgments when proof abounds that such people have openly backed Pakistan’s separatist and jihadist agenda in the past.
Wisden India: A platform full of anti-Hindu Journalists
Wisden India, a well-known platform among cricket fans, has numerous journalists who are not afraid to wear their anti-Hindu attitude on their sleeves. Many reporters and news writers have openly abused Hindus on Social Media portals and elsewhere. One of them is Sarah Waris.
Sarah’s work has appeared in a number of well-known left-liberal publications, including The Quint and NDTV. Sarah publicly referred to Hindus as rapists in a 2013 tweet, which has now been deleted.
Tweets by Sarah Waris
Her hatred for Hindus is evident from her tweet. Not only do they demonize Hindus, but they also laud foreign sportsmen while dismissing Indians. Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian cricketer, had criticized the portal last year for favouring white English cricketers.
Wisden has a history of making nasty remarks towards Indians. Before the 1983 World Cup, David Frith, a veteran Wisden editor, penned an op-ed objecting to India’s participation owing to their dismal performance.
The cricket section of ‘The Australian’ spread anti-India propaganda
Gideon Haigh, a journalist, authored a column for The Australian’s Cricket section on February 19, 2021, in an attempt to mislead its primarily Australian audience. Haigh touched on a variety of themes in his 1000-word post headlined ‘Ugly trend that can poison Indian cricket,’ and presented his biased and constricted view of complicated situations as ‘oversimplified facts.’ He discussed the farm protests, partisan appointments to the BCCI, India’s allegedly shrinking scope for dissent, Rihanna, and other topics.
In the article, he alleged, “Unfortunately, India is a democracy in worsening decay, thanks to seven years of the BJP’s Hindu majoritarianism, at odds with the country’s traditions of pluralism and tolerance. And that’s got implications for cricket, even Australian cricket, of which we should be aware. The ruling BJP’s modus operandi is demonising minorities, subverting institutions, intimidating media, criminalising dissent and, not least, tyrannising the internet.”
Using the religious identity of Wasim Jaffer, who was in the spotlight for allegedly favouring Muslim players in the team during his stint as the coach of the Uttarakhand team, as the foundation of the argument, He alleged, “Jaffer, though, is a Muslim. So Verma trumped-up counterclaims of “communalism”: Jaffer’s preference for coreligionists. This is a classic trope of Hindu chauvinism, obsessed with the existence of a Muslim fifth column.”
He further claimed that the BJP engages in vicious online trolling of liberal celebrities, independent journalists, and academics who don’t toe their line. He then suggested that India’s cricket board has somehow been ‘pervaded by Modi’s myrmidons.’ This is despite the fact that India always had a political appointee in the form of Rajiv Shukla and Sharad Pawar as the BCCI President, unlike now, when the coveted post is occupied by an actual cricketer aka Saurav Ganguly. He claimed that India’s cricketing elites such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahane, and Rohit Sharma echoed ‘BJP’s talking points’ when they came out in support of the hashtag #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.
Jacobin, a left leaning American Magazine headlined, “Cricket in the Service of Hindu Nationalism”
Jacobin is a communist magazine that publishes articles on politics, economics, and culture. In 2019, an article titled “Cricket in the Service of Hindu Nationalism” was published on 4 August.
The piece in Jacobin.
According to the report, the Indian cricket team’s 2019 tour of the United States was an attempt by Narendra Modi’s ostensibly Hindu Nationalist government to expand its influence in the US. The article stated that “the Modi government sees the Indian cricket team as their best PR weapon, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the governing body for cricket in India, as just another tool to be controlled.”
Alleging bias of the players, it stated “The players, too, have lined up behind the prime minister.” It further added, “When Modi was re-elected in May, a slew of Indian cricket legends tweeted their support — inconspicuously similar language, with nationalistic tropes like “new India” and “greater heights” appearing across several players’ tweets.”
It would seem like the sole motive behind the article was to prove that the tournament is being held under the influence of the Modi Government and it is to endorse the government and its policies. It adamantly mentioned that cricket has been influenced by the prevailing “Hindu Nationalism,” which is publicly endorsed by everyone, including cricketers.
The article clearly mentions that “Modi, elected in 2014 and re-elected by a startlingly large margin earlier this year, has represented the sharp end of ‘Hindu nationalist’ politics.”
Interestingly, Nakul M. Pande, a cricket writer, presenter, and cricket pundit living in London, is one of the co-authors of the article. One can see Nakul’s animosity towards Hindus in India and the Modi government just by looking at his Twitter profile. For a long time, he has been tweeting anti-Hindu slurs.
In a tweet made on 17 June 2019, he wrote, “The BCCI has become the reputation laundering arm of the Modi government. The BCCI is to Modi as Manchester City is to Abu Dhabi, or PSG is to Qatar.”
The Tweet.
In another Tweet, he mocked the belief of Hindus by saying, “In Hindu mythology, Hanuman the monkey god was once so hungry he mistook the sun for a mango and tried to eat it.”
The Tweet.
In a tweet made in 2016, he wrote, “I am a big fan of Hindu”? Fuck you, Donald, your smarmy pandering isn’t going to save your campaign.”
The Tweet.
Another tweet reads, “I don’t speak Hindi, Punjabi or Marathi (my parents’ first languages). I’m not religious. I eat beef. I speak in a very English-coded accent. I’ve been criticized by my Hindu relatives for ‘looking like a Muslim’ when I’ve had a longer beard.”
The Tweet.
Pushing anti-Hindu propaganda in Cricket
The firm resolve of writers and commentators such as Nakul Pande and Sarah Waris to show the Indians, and particularly Hindus in a bad light can be measured by their writings and their expressions on social media platforms.
Liberals have finally chosen the game of cricket to play their anti-Hindu card and mock them. Being a game followed extensively by Indians across the globe, these people find it easy to disseminate hate openly.
Even though such malevolent propaganda will not alter the international image of India, it is becoming clear that the anti-India liberal gang is meticulously engaged in peddling their anti-Hindu hatred and would stop at nothing in their sinister quest.
Ad-din Sakina Medical College in Bangladesh has now made the hijab (headscarves worn by Muslim women) compulsory even for non-Muslims. This even after Bangladesh Supreme Court order from 4th October 2010 said that no one can be forced to wear religious clothes against their will.
Hindu organisation Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote said that another founder of Ad-din Sakina Medical College, Sheikh Afil Uddin, was also involved in torturing religious minorities. Newstrack had earlier reported that the college’s administrative officer Subrata Basak had claimed that the rule had been in force since 2011 (when the college was founded). He declined to answer when asked about how the diktat of the medical college was against the decision of a Bangladeshi court on wearing religious attire in schools.
On Friday (February 25), the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote raised strong objections against the decision of a medical college to make hijab mandatory even for non-Muslim students, reportedSangbad Pratidin.
In a press conference, the Hindu rights organisation emphasised that non-Muslim students must not be forced into wearing Islamic attire at any educational institute in the country. Citing media reports, it pointed out that the Ad-din Sakina Medical College (ASMC) in Jessore district of Bangladesh has introduced such a rule in the college.
The spokesperson for Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, Palash Kanti Dey, said that the decision of the college is in contravention to the 2010 verdict of a Bangladeshi court. It was held by the court that people cannot be forced to wear veils, skull caps and other religious clothing against their will in schools/colleges and workplaces.
The Hindu organisation said that by making hijab compulsory for all, the medical college had violated the order of the court. It informed that the college has been soliciting ‘written consent’ from students at the time of admission. Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance said that those students who refuse to give consent for wearing hijab are barred from taking admission.
Sangbad Pratidin reported that the hijab has been made compulsory for all students (including non-Muslims) at all educational institutes, operated by Akij Group Ltd. The Hindu outfit has demanded the immediate intervention of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina regarding the matter.
Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance had claimed that Dr Sheikh Akij Uddin, the father of ASMC’s founder Dr Sheikh Mohiuddin, was against the Independence of the country in 1971. It added that Akij Uddin was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing, Chhatra Shibir, while he was a student of Barisal Medical College. His family was accused of looting the properties of Hindu refugees.
Hindu rights organisation condemn threats to Bangladeshi Hindus over Karnataka hijab row
On February 18, Islamists had threatened Hindus living in Bangladesh with dire consequences if Muslim students were not allowed entry into Indian classrooms with Hijab. They gathered in large numbers in Dhaka to protest against the ‘Hijab ban’ in Indian schools, reported Ruptly.
In a video shared by a Bangladeshi Twitter user, a large group of Muslims were seen marching on the streets with placards while raising anti-India slogans. “The conspiracy about stopping education of Muslim girls in India should be stopped,” read one placard.
The mob, associated with the radical Islamist party Islami Andolan Bangladesh, also raised slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’ while they rallied in support of the hijab on the streets of Dhaka. While threatening Hindus living in Bangladesh, an Islamist warned that life would become miserable for Hindu women in the country.
“Not a single Bangladeshi Hindu woman come outside homes and walk on the street with a religious symbol like Shaka, Sindoor…,” he threatened. The Islamist received overwhelming support from the Muslim mob standing in his vicinity. The Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance had strongly condemned the anti-Hindu rhetorics during the press conference on February 25.
Vision IAS, a training institute for Civil Services aspirants, has issued a statement after videos of its teacher went viral where she was teaching Islamic propaganda to the students while demonising the Bhakti Movement. Calling the propagandist teacher an ‘esteemed faculty’, Vision IAS alleged that the video only presented ‘a small part of a discussion’. It said, “The said discussion, which is currently not available on any official Vision IAS platform, has led to divergent opinions and reactions.”
It further added that the intention was not to ‘hurt anyone’s sentiments’. Calling the Bhakti Movement a cult in its statement as well, Vision IAS said, “The discussion in point is only focused on one possible reason for the rise of the Bhakti Cult and that too in a particular time period. What the speaker underscores is the dynamic response of followers of Sanatana dharma and its inherent strength which took the form of Bhakti cult meaning “loving faith in God” and “love for fellow human beings” to meet the egalitarian appeal of Islam, that is the appeal of its caste less theology and social order.”
Notably, in its statement, Vision IAS propagated that Islam has “casteless theology and social order” while conveniently ignoring the fact that Islam not only has different subsections such as Shia, Sunni, Ahmadiyya and more, but they practice high order of discrimination amongst themselves. For example, Ahmadiyyas are often not considered Muslims in countries like Pakistan.
It further added, “It was never the intent of the Vision IAS family to hurt anyone’s sentiments. The discussion in point is only focused on one possible reason for the rise of the Bhakti Cult and that too in a particular time period. What the speaker underscores are the dynamic response of followers of Sanatana dharma and its inherent strength which took the form of Bhakti cult meaning “loving faith in God” and “love for fellow human beings” to meet the egalitarian appeal of Islam, that is the appeal of its caste less theology and social order.”
While talking about the reference of a replica of the first mosque presented by PM Modi to Saudi King in 2016, the statement said, “Her reference to PM Modi’s presentation of the replica of the first mosque outside the Arabian Peninsula that was built in Kerala to the Saudi King further serves to highlight the syncretic character of the Indian civilisation and its strength.”
The institute stood by the misleading statement made by the teacher by calling the Bhakti Movement a ‘cult’ but said, “Having clarified our stance, we also sincerely apologise if anything said or done by us has served to hurt the sentiments of any community or member thereof. Vision IAS firmly believes in the ethos and values enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and any sentiments hurt, is unintentional and deeply regretted.”
‘Bhakti Movement was a cult’ – Netizens criticised Vision IAS faculty for misleading students
On Sunday, a video of a faculty of Vision IAS went viral on social media in which she was teaching the students about the rise of the Bhakti Movement. She propagated that Bhakti Movement was started due to the spread of ‘liberal ideas’ of Islam where they talked about ‘equality’ and ‘caste-less’ society. The video was initially shared by a user @sillypuneer on Twitter.
In the video, the female teacher, identified as Smriti Shah, asked the students about the purpose of the Bhakti movement. When the students said it was “equality”, she said, “Islam arrived in India in the seventh century. It was very liberal and talked about equality. There was no caste system either. PM Modi gifted a miniature of Cheraman Juma Masjid to the Saudi King, which was the first mosque built in India. Islam had not arrived in India yet, but it had started showing its influence. It was free from any rigidity and casteism. There was a speciality of Islam that talked about complete devotion to one God (Allah). They were talking about the concept of one God.”
She further added, “As Islam said, there was only one God, and he created all, it means everyone was same. Islam talked about the universal brotherhood that attracted people. Those who belonged to the lower class started to convert to Islam to raise their status. That was the time when Hindu civilisation felt threatened. As a result, the Bhakti cult was started. They wanted to tell Hinduism is the same religion as Islam, and there was no difference.”
After her video surfaced on social media, the netizens objected to the type of propaganda-filled content being shared by the coaching centres against Hinduism.
Film-maker Vivek Agnihotri said, “Wonderful Vision IAS! You have opened a shop for brainwashing [students].” Tagging Minister of Education, Dr Dharmendra Pradhan, he added, “Dr Pradhan Ji, please note. Is this kind of radical propaganda of religion at the cost of another allowed by your ministry? Every Indian must help stop this brainwashing of students.”
Wah bhai wah @Vision_IAS Brainwashing ki badi badhiya dukan kholi hai. @dpradhanbjp ji, please note. Is this kind of radical propaganda of a religion at the cost of another allowed by your ministry? Every Indian must help stop this brainwashing of students. https://t.co/ZyA6epGdPl
Twitter user NagpurKaRajini sarcastically said, “Ghazanavi, Babar were not only the most secular but also liberals. They taught Indians what is secularism, liberalism and got rid of Bhakti Movement in India. You Vision IAS are right.”
Ghazanavi, Babar were not only the most secular but also liberals. They taught Indians what is secularism, liberalism and got rid of Bhakti Movement in India. You @Vision_IAS are right ?pic.twitter.com/u2fFeut6x4
In another video, the same faculty talked about Hindu traditions and mocked Hindus for their centuries-old traditions. She said while Hindus have accepted the new amenities like a car, they are still stuck to the old traditions like hanging lemon and chillies or breaking a coconut before using a vehicle, thinking the vehicle would remain safe from damages. “They break the coconut. Thank God they do not break it on the car! The idea is, you accepted the peripheral value by owning a car, but the core value that is tradition is still there.” She also mocked ‘bhakts’, a term used for BJP followers, and said, “Everyone has Bhakts, I am talking about God’s followers”, which was followed by giggles in the classroom.
‘Joint families satisfy sexual gratification’ – the deep-rooted hate for Hindu community
In yet another bizarre statement made by Shah during another class, she claimed the joint family system in Hindus “satisfy sexual gratification”. She said, “Your sexual desires are also satisfied a family. You need to understand. In a family, you get into a relationship if you are not a blood relative then through marriage. And marriage is the institution that serves the purpose of sexual gratification. Once your sexual needs are gratified, it results in to reproduction.”
Joint Family satisfies our sexual gratification. Marriage serves the purpose. And finally Reproduction.
Notably, this was not the first time someone has raised a voice against the anti-Hindu propaganda being spread by the same teacher. Back in 2021, a Twitter user Naina had shared a video of her where the Vision IAS faculty said, “Beliefs generates emotions. Believes are not related to emotions. The emotions are generated based on your beliefs. ‘I believe India is a Hindu Rashtra’which generates an emotion of antagonism and hostility toward other religious minorities. And then it might generate the action tendency of being violent or attacking them. So it all starts with belief.”
‘It is not an apology’ Netizens pointed out lack of ‘apology’ in Vision IAS’s statement
The ‘apology’ statement by Vision IAS did not go well with the netizens. Pointing out the lack of the so-called apology in the statement, Supreme Court Lawyer, Shashank Shekhar Jha said, “This is a statement and not an apology! Posted at 2:30 with Comments Closed, Vision IAS missed apologising for ‘esteemed’ where 1. She referred to Bhakti Cult as Pejorative. 2. Another video where she used Hindu Rashtra jibe and labelled Hindus as violènt & attackers.”
This is a statement and not an apology!
Posted at 2:30 with Comments Closed, @Vision_IAS missed apologising for ‘esteemed’ where- 1. She referred to Bhakti Cult as Pejorative. 2. Another video where she used Hindu Rashtra jibe and labelled Hindus as violènt & attackèrs. https://t.co/CE6XMl4ZtD
Twitter user GauriB said, “A clarification that is worse than the video. Blatantly distorting a narrative is not hurting sentiments, it is endangering lives. To call Islam egalitarian is to further the lies. Islam is blatantly misogynistic, irrational and contemptuous of human creativity and depth.”
A clarification that is worse than the video. Blatantly distorting a narrative is not hurting sentiments, it is endangering lives. To call Islam egalitarian is to further the lies. Islam is blatantly misogynistic, irrational and contemptuous of human creativity and depth. https://t.co/oolTrIFrRj
Misleading and wrong lessons of History in Indian education system
There have been voices against the misleading and factually wrong lessons of History in the Indian education system on several occasions. Netizens have raised the issue and demanded overhauling of the education system to ensure the future generation has the right information. A 2020 RTI had revealed that NCERT has no evidence to prove that Mughal emperors had rebuilt temples destroyed in wars, even when it claims the same in its history textbook. In July 2021, the research produced by Public Policy Research Center (PPRC) director Sumeet Bhasin, researchers Chandni Sengupta, Deepa Kaushik and Sanket Kate, titled “Distortions and Misrepresentations of India’s Past: History Textbooks and Why they need to change“, had highlighted that NCERT textbooks have deliberately overstated the contributions of Mughal rulers to India.
On February 28, the Government of India announced that three Union Ministers, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) VK Singh would travel to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation of the Indians from the war-hit region.
Notably, Gen (Retd) VK Singh had coordinated the evacuation program Mission Raahat in 2015 to bring back Indians from war-hit Yemen when he was the MoS External Affairs. In Operation Sankat Mochan in 2016, Gen VK Singh had personally accompanied 156 Indians evacuated by Indian Air Force in a C-17 aircraft from war-hit South Sudan.
Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju and Gen (Retd) VK Singh to travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation mission and help students: Govt sources#RussiaUkraineCrisispic.twitter.com/DbaQ6U47KQ
Reportedly, the Ukrainian security agencies are allegedly making it difficult for Indian nationals, including students, to leave Ukraine. There have been reports that the Ukrainian agencies are not only using Indian nationals as leverage against India by putting them in a hostage-like situation but also assaulting and misbehaving with them.
A high-level meeting was called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Ukraine crisis. During the meeting, it was decided that four union ministers would travel to the war-hit region and coordinate the evacuation mission and help students to reach back home safely.
India raised concerns about safety of Indians at UNSC
PR/Ambassador of India to United Nations TS Tirumurti in a statement expressed concerns about the safety of Indian nationals in Ukraine as reports had emerged of them being assaulted and harassed by the Ukrainian agencies. He said, “We continue to be deeply concerned about the safety and security of Indian nationals, including a large number of Indian students, who are still stranded in Ukraine.”
He further added, “Our evacuation efforts have been adversely impacted by the complex and uncertain situation at the border crossings. It is important to maintain an uninterrupted and predictable movement of people. It is an urgent humanitarian necessity that must be immediately addressed.”
In UN Security Council meeting on #Ukraine today 27 February, India abstained on the vote on the resolution to refer the matter to an emergency session of @UN General Assembly.
Mission Ganga: The Evacuation Program to bring back Indian students from Ukraine
Since Russia’s declaration of military action against Ukraine on February 24, the Indians stuck in the war-hit zone are being evacuated by the government of India under the Mission Ganga program. The number of Indians stranded in Ukraine is reported to be anywhere between 16,000 to 20,000, with most media houses reporting them at 18,000. However, as of now, the official government figure is 16,000. So far, 907 Indians have been evacuated. Notably, the Indian government had issued multiple advisories urging Indians to leave Ukraine before the war was declared.
China and Pakistan are close allies, is a fact well known. Their leaders often use metaphors like “higher than the mountains” and “deeper than the oceans” to describe the relationship between the two countries. China considers Pakistan its rental state to advance its geopolitical machinations and regional ambitions. For Pakistan, China is their eternal go-to state, a country they trust to support their foundering economy and address their perennial misgivings regarding India.
While they share a relationship in an array of fields, a recent report published on Logically throws light on the close online association between the two countries. An investigation conducted by OSINT experts of Logically found that several social media influencers pretending to be Chinese, in reality, were Pakistanis. They are, by definition, sockpuppets—a false online identity created by a person or group to promote their own opinions or views.
A large number of seemingly Chinese influencer accounts on social media platforms, most notably on Twitter, are operated by Pakistanis, with a majority of their followers being fake or bot accounts. These accounts then deploy disinformation campaigns that align with China and Pakistan and is always against India, stemming from their shared animus against New Delhi.
Interestingly, these sockpuppets have enjoyed state support from both Chinese and Pakistan state officials, who enthusiastically share and promote content uploaded by them.
Be it fake claims regarding the Galwan Valley clashes between Indian and Chinese troopers or the conspiracy theories surrounding the helicopter crash of late CDS General Bipin Rawat, or any other internal matter concerning India, these sockpuppets fuel disinformation online in their bid to create a rift within the Indian society along religious and ideological lines.
Nian Zhen, who operates under Twitter handle @Xinhua_88, is one such Pakistani impersonator who pretends to be a Chinese national. Zhen claims to be a member of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations(CICIR) and is often found spreading Chinese propaganda under the pretext of sharing intellectual insight from a think tank based in Beijing.
Source: Twitter
According to data analysed on TruthNest, the initial posts made by @Xinhua_88 were in Urdu, indicating that it is a sockpuppet likely operated by someone in Pakistan. Logically cites audience intelligence tool SparkToro to claim that 22.3 per cent of @Xinhua_88’s followers are fake or bots.
Furthermore, @Xinhua_88 was also found to have received significantly higher engagements as compared to other accounts with a similar following. It was also discovered that most of the accounts with which @Xinhua_88 interacted were primarily associated with Chinese government officials or accounts notorious for pushing pro-Chinese propaganda online.
Zhao Lijian (@zlj517), the deputy director of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department, was one of the officials who interacted with @Xinhua_88. Zhen also interacted with Shen Shiwei (@shen_shiwei), a production editor at China Global Television Network (CGTN), who shared a picture of Indian soldiers allegedly surrendering near Galwan Valley. Other key associations include Zhang Heqing (@zhang_heqing), China’s Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, and Hu Xijin (@HuXijin_GT), the former editor-in-chief and party secretary of the Global Times.
Liza Wang, who goes by Twitter handle @ChinaPakWW, is another such account with a massive following. The account usually shares propaganda about CPEC and the China-Pakistan friendship. The profile picture of the account is that of a female military officer, whose reverse image search shows that the photo originated from a Turkish blog whose title translates as “Don’t think it’s a movie frame! China’s secret weapon: female warriors.”
Source: Twitter
As per SparkToro, 21.4 per cent of the approximately 11,000 followers are populated with fake accounts. Like in the case with @Xinhua_88, this account too receives higher engagement than other accounts that have a similar following. The Logically investigation found that the account interacts largely with Pakistani government officials or accounts that are known for harbouring sympathy with Pakistan or are involved in pushing pro-Pakistani propaganda. It interacts with Pakistan PM Imran Khan, Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Government of Pakistan, and the official account of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.
Interestingly, @ChinaPakWW operated an account that was suspended by Twitter. According to a tweet posted by it, the account was suspended at the behest of “Indian propaganda”. The suspended account reportedly had close to 21,000 followers. OSINT tool Followerwonk showed that the most frequently used words by the account included “Imran Khan”, “Pakistan Army”, “Proud Pakistani” etc. This obviously suggests that the account operator must be someone who harbours loyalty for Pakistan and not a Chinese as the profile picture and the name implies to be.
Another Pakistani social media user masquerading as a Chinese influencer runs a Twitter account called @tangtianru. This account also shares content advocating strong bilateral relations between Pakistan and China. Besides, the account also holds strong anti-Taiwan views, giving an impression that it might be a sockpuppet based out of China.
Source: Twitter
Intriguingly, this account too has a profile picture of a Chinese woman in a military uniform, a pattern that is becoming increasingly common with Pakistani imposters pretending to be Chinese influencers. The SparkToro analysis says 38.8 per cent of over 10,000 followers of @tangtianru are populated with fake followers.
According to the results of the Twitter analytics tool TruthNest, the initial posts by the account corroborate its link with Pakistan. One of the initial posts made by the account was that of four women at a function called “Pakistani Food Extravaganza”, an event that was hosted by the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing.
The account has interactions mostly with Chinese government officials and accounts that share CCP propaganda. It has significant engagements with the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, but most of them are negative in sentiments and spew anti-Taiwan narrative. Besides, the Twitter account has also spread conspiracy theories and fake claims about the Galwan Valley clashes and the Indo-China standoff along the line of control in eastern Ladakh.
Spreading disinformation online has traditionally been a Chinese forte. The Chinese Communist Party(CCP) excels in covering up its inadequacies and fomenting unrest in other countries by fire-hosing social media platforms with disinformation and fake news while using censorship to control the flow of information inside its borders. Pakistan, on the other hand, until now has been a relatively lesser-known entity in terms of inundating social media platforms with its propaganda and misinformation.
However, the curious case of Pakistani imposters pretending to be Chinese social media influencers and disseminating anti-India propaganda demonstrates that the CCP has roped in its most-trusted ally in its information warfare as it seeks to assert its hegemony in increasingly volatile world order.
