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‘It was the British manager who stopped my hijab-clad friend’: Customer clarifies in the Bahrain Indian restaurant controversy

OpIndia Staff
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‘It was the British manager who stopped my hijab-clad friend’: Customer clarifies in the Bahrain Indian restaurant controversy

On March 27, an official statement of the woman who was allegedly stopped by the British manager of an Indian restaurant in Bahrain was released by Only Facts India’s Vijay Patel.

In the video statement, the woman, Mariam Naji, said, “Hello, first of all, I am very sad about the news and the rumours. Actually, the man wasn’t Indian. He was a British guy, and trust me, I can recognize Indian guys. So please stop doing that. Please, please stop doing that. I am not even happy about what I saw. So, I sat with the Indian owner. He was very kind to us. He apologized to us for what had happened. So, we closed the case, and this is it. This is the truth. Don’t even listen to the news. You have to know the true story. You can even see I am not wearing a hijab, but my friend was wearing the Hijab. Because of that, I made a video.”

Naji also lashed out at anti-Hindu professor Ashok Swain for his misleading tweet where he identified the manager as a Hindu. She said, “The British Manager named Llyod and I want to mention that I’m Muslim and I don’t like racism because God’s land is big. It can handle all of us. I hope we live in peace pls stop doing this I told you he’s British & I can identify the person if he is an Indian or not.”

The Bahrain Indian restaurant controversy

On Sunday, it was reported that an Indian restaurant, Lanterns, owned by a person of Indian origin, was shut down by the authorities of Muslim-majority Bahrain for allegedly stopping a woman from entering the premises as she was wearing a hijab.

Following the controversy, the restaurant issued an apology and acknowledged the involvement of the manager in the controversy. The restaurant said, “Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as how it has been for more than 35 years that we have been serving all nationalities in the beautiful kingdom of Bahrain. Lanterns is a place for everyone to come enjoy with their families and feel at home. In this instance, a mistake has been made by a manager who is now being suspended as this does not represent who we are.”

Several people used the controversy as an opportunity to target Hindus and the Indian community at large. Social media user @Mariam1597, who had earlier posted about the incident from her Twitter account on March 26, informed that the manager was British and not Indian. She posted this after some trolls were seen blaming the incident on “Hindu right-wing”.

It is noteworthy that Mariam was not the one who was stopped from entering, but it was her friend who was wearing Hijab. She was not stopped by any Indian employee but by the manager, who was British.

Oscars 2022: Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock before yelling “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”

OpIndia Staff
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Oscars 2022: Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock before yelling “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”

Hollywood actor Will Smith punched stand-up comedian Chris Rock for making fun of his wife Jada Pinkett’s appearance in a joke. The incident took place during the screening of the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

While on stage to present best documentary award, Chris Rock said, “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you.” A reference to Jada’s bald head due to alopecia. The comment upset Smith so much so that he rushed on to the stage to physically punch the comedian.

After returning to his seat, the ‘King Richard’ star yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth.” A video of the altercation was posted on Twitter by popular user Timothy Burke.

Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett was seen sporting an emerald green gown at the Oscars. Although it remains unclear whether the ‘assault’ was in jest, a Twitter user (@Rocio2026) pointed out that Pinkett has been suffering from an autoimmune disease, leading to loss of hair.

“This joke is of bad taste,” she pointed out. In 2021, Pinkett had opened up about alopecia, an autoimmune disease that leads to the loss of hair in clumps.

Screengrab of the tweet

Last year, she also posted a picture on Instagram with a shaved head after being inspired to speak out about her hair-loss journey.

Another Twitter user explained the connection between the 1997 movie ‘GI Jane’ and comedian Chris Rock’s comment. The lead character in the movie, Demi Moore, played the role of a ‘bald-headed Lieutenant Jordan O’Neil.

Although there has not been a sequel to the movie, the comedian suggested that a ‘bald’ Jada Pinkett can feature in ‘GI Jane Part 2’. Given that the hair loss is due to the autoimmune disease of Alopecia, many social media users found Rock’s remarks as ‘insensitive.’

Screengrab of the tweet

The audio was muted by the broadcasters in America after the incident, but viewers in several other countries could hear the fiery retort from Will Smith.

Later in the night, WIll Smith went on to win the Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams in ‘King Richard”. During his acceptance speech, he did apologize to the academy and fellow nominees.

Bowling woes return to haunt RCB as Punjab chase down 206 to win

OpIndia Staff
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Bowling woes return to haunt RCB as Punjab chase down 206 to win

An Odean Smith cameo at the end turned out to be the difference as Punjab Kings chased down a mammoth target of 206 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to start their IPL campaign with a win. Smith ended up with 25 off 8 balls as Punjab got home with an over to spare in the end.

Punjab were 170 for 5 after 17, needing 36 from the last 3 when Smith came to life. Mohammaed Siraj’s last over, the 18th of the innings, was taken for 25, with Smith scoring 23 of them, deciding the game. Earlier, youngster Anuj Rawat, who had a great day in the field otherwise, dropped Odean Smith when he was on 1.

Punjab had started their innings well while chasing the big target with newly appointed captain Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan giving them an excellent start. Once Mayank fell to an excellent catch by Shahbaz Ahmed, Sri Lankan import Rajapaksa kept up the momentum with a quickfire 43 off 22 balls.

However, RCB fought back well with the wickets of Dhawan, Rajapaksa, debutant Bawa and Livingstone in quick succession. That only brought Smith to the crease, and in the company of Shahrukh Khan, he guided Punjab to a comfortable win in the end with an over to spare.

Earlier, new RCB captain Faf du Plessis put on a show as he pushed his new team to a huge first innings total. Faf made 88 off 57 balls, and his 118 runs partnership for the second wicket with Kohli powered RCB to a huge first innings score.

However, RCB’s Achilles heel, their bowling, returned to haunt them as they failed to defend this huge score in the face of a sustained Punjab assault. When it looked like they may have a sniff, Odean Smith decisively extinguished their hopes with 3 sixes and a four in the 18th Over.

Punjab: Patiala police lodge FIR against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga after he criticizes Arvind Kejriwal for insensitive remarks on The Kashmir Files

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: Patiala police lodge FIR against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga after he criticizes Arvind Kejriwal for insensitive remarks on The Kashmir Files

In the city of Patiala in Punjab, a state ruled by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), police has lodged an FIR against the National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, after he criticized Kejriwal for his insensitive remarks on the movie The Kashmir Files.

Ramkumar Jha of Aam Aadmi Party informed from his Twitter handle about the FIR. He tweeted, “FIR registered against Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga in Patiala police station for his derogatory remarks against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.”

Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga had earlier tweeted, ‘When a million scoundrels die, a Kejriwal is born.’ He tweeted this on 25th March 2022 reacting to controversial remarks by the Delhi CM in Delhi assembly mocking the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits, which have been depicted in the movie The Kashmir Files.

However, a day later, he made some changes in his statement. He tweeted, “According to the advice and appeal by all of you, I am taking my tweet back. I have committed a mistake and I will provide the explanation in the next tweet.”

In his next tweet, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga wrote, “In my earlier tweet, I wrote one million by mistake. Please read it as one hundred million.” All these tweets by Bagga went viral.

When Ramkumar Jha of Aam Aadmi Party informed about the FIR from his Twitter handle, Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga gave him a befitting reply saying “Lodge 100 such FIRs but if Kejriwal calls the massacre of Kashmiri Hindus as a lie, I will speak, if Kejriwal takes a dig at the massacre of Kashmiri Hindus, I will speak, whatever be its consequences, I am ready to face them. I’m not going to spare Kejriwal, I’ll put a nail in his nose.”

Bagga has pinned the first tweet on his Twitter profile. The FIR is lodged probably for the same tweet, though further details are yet to come up.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had stoked a controversy last week when he used precious time of the Delhi assembly to criticize and mock Vivek Agnihotri’s film ‘The Kashmir Files’. In response to the pleas to make Kashmir Files tax-free in Delhi, Kejriwal asked the filmmaker to put the film up on YouTube for free. He went on to criticize BJP for supporting the film and even went on to call the film “Jhoothi film“ (film full of lies).

Meanwhile, The Kashmir Files continues to do well at the box office. The film based on the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus in the late 1980s and 1990s has already grossed well over 200 Crores and continues to attract the audience in the 3rd week of its theatrical run.

Muslims in Hindustan also voted for creation of Pakistan: Pakistan PM Imran Khan during show of strength rally

OpIndia Staff
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Muslims in Hindustan also voted for creation of Pakistan: Pakistan PM Imran Khan during show of strength rally

Facing the biggest threat to his post as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan expectedly fell back on religion to rally public support around him ahead of the no-confidence vote against his government.

Addressing a huge gathering at Islamabad ahead of the vote against his government, Imran Khan repeatedly fell back on his claim to recreate “Riyasat e Madina” in Pakistan based on the principles of Prophet Muhammad.

Imran praised non-Islamic countries in western Europe and Scandinavia for following the principles of Islam without following the religion by caring for the poor sections of the society. However, he also praised China for following Islamic principles even as China continues to persecute Muslim community in Xinjiang.

Further, Imran Khan went on to say that the Muslims in India also voted for the creation of Pakistan. He went on to say that Muslims in India wanted to see what an actual Riyasat e Madina looks like, that is why they voted for the creation of Pakistan.

The data for provincial elections in India in 1946 does suggest that majority of Muslims in India voted for Muslim League, which wanted a creation of separate Pakistan.

Imran Khan also said that India was ruled by slaves at one point of time, probably referring to Slave dynasty which ruled gangetic plains in the 13th century, without realizing that India is slightly bigger than that.

With the economy in doldrums, inflation shooting up, and country still in FATF grey list for its support to terrorism, religion was the only thing that Imran Khan could fall back on. He attacked his opposition relentlessly throughout his speech, and tried to list the achievements of his government.

With a united opposition and Pakistan Army not showing any willingness to help him, Imran Khan has gambled on religion to save his government, like every Pakistan politician.

Narendra Modi had disguised as a Sikh man during emergency: People share unknown stories about the PM on newly launched ModiStory portal

OpIndia Staff
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Narendra Modi had disguised as a Sikh man during emergency: People share unknown stories about the PM on newly launched ModiStory portal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently the most popular leader in the world. Recently launched website www.modistory.in brought many less-known stories about the Prime Minister of India. These stories are narrated by the ones who were a part of the narrated incidents and memories. These stories describe how Modi disguised as a Sardarji during the emergency, how he is always inspired to work for his countrymen, and how he connects with people in a matter of a few minutes.

Rohitbhai Agrawal of Gujarat narrated his memories with Narendra Modi when he was living at Agrawal’s house during the emergency in 1975. He says, “Narendra Modi during the emergency had disguised himself as a Sardarji. He used to live at our house in those days. Once while he was stepping out dressed as a Sardar, a policeman approached him and asked where does Narendra Modi live. Modi replied, ‘I don’t know, you go inside and inquire’. He then left on a scooter with my brother. Not just the policeman even we were often deceived by his appearance.”

Another memoir narrated by Dr. Anil Rawal of Gujarat describes the heart-wrenching incident that changed the course of Modi’s life. Rawal said, “It was in the year of 1983 or 1984 that while on a tour I had asked him a question. What got you committed to the upliftment of the last man standing? Modi said ‘I had visited a village in the afternoon hours, roughly at 1 PM when I was working as a full-time Pracharak of RSS. I went to a Swayamsevak’s house. It was a hut. That Swayamsevak lived with his wife and a kid. He asked me to have a meal. I said yes. On a plate, he served me half a Bajra roti and a small bowl of milk. At that time, the kid was resting in his mother’s lap. The kid was looking intently at the bowl of milk. I understood the milk was meant for that kid. I told the Swayamsevak that I have had breakfast somewhere else. I ate half the roti with water and left the milk. The lady gave the bowl to the kid who finished it in one go. I was in tears. Is my country so poor? So many deprived people live in my country. At that moment I decided that I will live this life for the upliftment of the last man standing.”

Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs & Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri informed from his Twitter handle that he feels privileged to be a part of the initiative called Modi Story. He tweeted, “Privileged to be a part of Modi Story. August 2003, I was posted in United Nations at Geneva when PM Narendra Modi who was then the CM of Gujarat, visited Geneva to bring the urn containing the ashes of the proud son of India Shri Shyamji Krishna Varma Ji back to the motherland.”

Many other people who had met with Narendra Modi before and after he joined electoral politics have shared their memories as a part of this initiative. Narendra Modi’s teacher when he was in school, has talked about the attraction Narendra Modi had for the Sainik school when he was a school student. Narendra Modi’s colleagues from RSS, BJP, and his friends have shared their experiences with him. Olympic Gold Medalist athlete Neeraj Chopra and BJP MP Manoj tiwari are among the other known faces who have shared their experiences with Narendra Modi.

Bihar: Man slaps CM Nitish Kumar in Bakhtiyarpur, video viral

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Man slaps CM Nitish Kumar in Bakhtiyarpur, video viral

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been attacked at Bakhtiyarpur in Patna. He went to a hospital for attending a programme. When he was offering flowers on a statue there, a young man came and climbed up in hurry. The guards tried to catch him when the young man attempted to slap Bihar CM on the cheek. However, the slap hit him in the arm.

The video of the same has since gone viral. The police immediately arrested the young man. The youth has been taken to the Bakhtiyarpur police station. His identity is not revealed yet. The video of the incident was captured on camera which went viral in no time.

This is not the first time Nitish Kumar has been attacked like this. During the 2020 assembly elections also, CM Nitish Kumar was attacked. When Nitish Kumar reached the Harlakhi assembly constituency in Madhubani to address a rally, he was attacked. Nitish was addressing a rally when a piece of onion and stone was thrown at him.

Uttar Pradesh: Muslim youth Babar Ali lynched by neighbours for celebrating BJP’s win in assembly elections

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Muslim youth Babar Ali lynched by neighbours for celebrating BJP’s win in assembly elections

In a horrific incident, a Muslim youth was killed by his neighbours after he had celebrated the victory of BJP in the assembly elections. The incident took place in the Kathgharhi village of Ramkola police station in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, where the youth named Babar was lynched because he campaigned for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and distributed sweets after the Yogi Adityanath the government was formed. Babar was severely beaten up by his neighbours and relatives on 20th March 2022. The youth was referred to the district hospital and then to Lucknow where he died during treatment on Sunday 27th March 2022.

The Muslims in the area were angry with Babar even after his death. When the body of the deceased reached the village, people were enraged. People refused to perform the last rites of the body. The administrative staff also became active considering the seriousness of the case. The local MLA PN Pathak also reached the spot. After the assurance of MLA PN Pathak and administrative officials, the family agreed to perform the last rites. The area MLA himself shouldered the body of the deceased Babar. In fact, after the formation of the BJP government in UP on March 10, Babar had distributed sweets in the entire village.

According to reports, the family members of the deceased Babar said that the people living in the neighbourhood were angry because Babar was campaigning for the BJP. Many times Babur was warned that he should not campaign for the BJP. Babar asked for security from the Ramkola police station to several officials, but his plea was not heard. As the Ramkola police station did not respond to him, the goons were emboldened and they beat Babar badly and then threw him down from the roof. Seriously injured in the attack, he died during treatment at the hospital. After this, Babar’s wife has lodged a case against the accused at Ramkola police station.

SDM Varun Pandey, who rushed to the spot, said the case is being investigated, the accused will be arrested and strict action will be taken against those who are guilty. BJP MLA PN Pathak said the accused will not be spared at any cost. The SDM also said that the victim had complained about death threats, but no action was taken at that time. He added that an FIR has been registered, and they are investigating the matter.

Talking about the incident, Kushinagar police have said that two accused in the case already have been arrested, identified as Arif and Tahid. They added that they are searching for the others involved in the lynching. The FIR has been registered in the case under IPC sections 323, 504, 452, 336, and 308 on the complaint filed by Babar Ali’s wife Fatima Khatoon on 21st March.

Public law school NALSAR in Hyderabad goes ‘woke’ and introduces gender-neutral toilets

OpIndia Staff
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Public law school NALSAR in Hyderabad goes ‘woke’ and introduces gender-neutral toilets

On Saturday (March 26), the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) announced that it has introduced gender-neutral washrooms and designated spaces within its campus. The public law school is located in the Shamirpet suburb in Hyderabad city of Telengana.

In a tweet, the varsity informed, “We are pleased to share that in our endeavour to make our campus a truly inclusive space, the ground floor of GH-6 has been designated as a gender-neutral space with rooms allotted to students self-identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community with plans to move towards a gender-neutral hostel in due course.”

NALSAR stated that the toilet, located on the ground floor of the academic block has been transformed into a ‘gender-neutral one’. The varsity pointed out that it also has an interim policy for addressing concerns of ‘inclusivity’ by the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) community.

While ‘woke’ experiments such as gender-neutral toilets in campuses have already been tried and tested in foreign schools and universities, it is the first time that a public State University has chosen to mould its policies for the ‘gender non-conforming individuals.’

Bar and Bench reported that the idea behind the gender-neutral washroom was conceived by NALSAR Student Bar Council and NALSAR Queer Collective, with help from Vice-Chancellor Professor Faizan Mustafa, Assistant Professors Akanksha Singh and Prerna Bijay.

While speaking about the development. Akanksha Singh informed about the varsity’s future plans to take inclusivity to the next level. “We are working towards the possibility of having a gender-neutral hostel. This is not something that would materialize this semester, but by the next semester.”

She further added, “People come with different baggage, so this is just as a safe space that exists on campus where people could freely be who they are. It is intended to be a space where students who are non-conforming feel safe to be themselves and where they can uphold their privacy which they would otherwise not enjoy in cis-gendered hostels.”

Gender-neutral toilets, politics and an impending disaster

Earlier, OpIndia had reported about an NCERT teachers training manual that had proposed gender-neutral toilets and puberty blockers for children in Indian schools to promote ‘gender inclusiveness’. After a massive uproar, the NCERT document was removed from their website. Child rights body NCPCR had called the NCERT document ‘a conspiracy to traumatise school students’.

In November last year, it was reported Scottish schoolgirls had refused to use gender-neutral toilets after boys wreaked havoc in the toilets. Misbehaviour included waving sanitary pads like flags, urinating in the sanitary bins, and playing with tampons.

A councillor had admitted that several girls did not use the unisex toilets due to vandalism by the male students. The introduction of unisex toilets was attributed to minimizing costs, creating more space and diversity and building an inclusive environment.

Implementing gender-neutral toilets are one of the first steps in the gender identity politics that are now taking over the public discourse across many nations. Trans activists and gender equity activists claim that separate toilets for men and women promote inequality and are not inclusive. They refuse to acknowledge safety concerns and the need for girls of a vulnerable age to have their privacy protected.

A holy tomb in Pakistan’s Sindh where male donkeys are offered to fulfil the desire of a male child

OpIndia Staff
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A holy tomb in Pakistan’s Sindh where male donkeys are offered to fulfil the desire of a male child

We all have seen chadars, sweets, flowers being brought to Islamic shrines as offerings to the almighty for the fulfilment of vows. In the bandwagon of heaps of offerings and prayers being answered in return, a story from Pakistan’s Sindh province stands out. A shrine dedicated to a local saint in Khairpur’s village of Bibarlo, the tradition of offering living male donkeys is famous.

Tradition has it that in the tomb of Pir Syed Rajan Qattaar Jahania, live male donkeys are offered to secure the saint’s blessings in the Mannat so offered. Local myth says that the saint loved to ride the animal in his lifetime and hence the story behind the offering. While all kinds of offerings are done in the shrine, the practice of offering live male donkeys to the saint is a must if a vow from a devotee is to be fulfilled. Those who cannot afford to buy a full-fledged donkey can also offer comparatively inexpensive small donkeys, according to the tradition.

According to Atif Shah Jahania, the caretaker of the shrine, Pir Syed Rajan Qattaar Jahania was from the Makhdoom Jahania family of Uch Sharif ad migrated to Sindh in the latter half of the nineteenth century. When once sent a vehicle by his followers to receive him, he refused to step in and asked for a ride on a donkey instead. On longer journeys, he often used to take rides on a donkey. Devotees to this date, offer a decorated live male donkey at the tomb of Pir Rajan Qattar Jahania, popularly called ‘Rajan Mast’ after their wishes (mannats) are fulfilled.

A devotee in an interview by Geo News narrated his experience of following the Rajan Mast cult. “My niece was finding struggle in conceiving a child. After I asked her to pray at the Rajan Mast, she was blessed with a baby boy. We have come here to offer flowers, sweets and a donkey as our wish is fulfilled.” In his lifetime, the saint asked his followers to gift him donkeys in return for a divine favour. While he used the donkeys for riding, he often used to pluck the hair of those donkeys and gift them to his followers as that would bless them with a baby boy.

The donkeys offered at the shrine are sold further. The tradition of offering male donkeys is particularly popular among followers who want a male child in their house. While the superstitious practice behind the cult is way beyond debate, the realm of religion and belief offers much amusement while devotees in the third world keep expecting a male child.

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