The Calcutta High Court Friday, transferred the investigation into the violence in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, in which 8 persons were brutally thrashed before being burnt alive, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Until now, an SIT formed by the Mamata Banerjee government in the state was handling the probe into the case. A division bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj told the CBI to file a progress report by April 7.
West Bengal | Calcutta High Court orders CBI probe in Rampurhat, Birbhum case. Report to be submitted by April 7.
In its order, the Calcutta High Court stated, “we are of the opinion that the facts and the circumstances of the case demand that, in the interest of justice and to instil confidence in the society and to have a fair investigation to dig out the truth, it is necessary to hand over the investigation to the CBI.”
“Accordingly, we direct the state (Bengal) government to forthwith hand over the investigation of the case to CBI. We also direct the state authorities to extend full cooperation to the CBI in carrying out the further investigation. In view of this order, the state police authorities or the SIT formed by the state will not carry out any further investigation in the matter from the time the same is handed over to the CBI,” the court said.
It further said, “the CBI will not only be handed over the case papers but also the accused and suspects who were arrested in the matter and are in custody. Hence, we direct the CBI to forthwith take over the investigation in the case and submit the progress report before us on the next date of hearing.”
Calcutta HC orders Mamata Govt to protect evidence and witnesses of the Birbhum carnage case
Notably, on March 23, the Calcutta High Court had issued directions to the state government to ensure a proper probe of the case and asked to submit the case diary and a report on the investigation so far. The court also issued directions for the protection of evidence and the crime scene. The court ordered that the scene must be continuously monitored through CCTV cameras. The Calcutta High Court had further directed that a team from CFSL in Delhi will visit the site to collect forensic evidence. The order said that the evidence will have to be collected without any delay. The bench also asked the DGP and the IGP to ensure the protection of witnesses in the case.
The High Court had taken up the matter after initiating a suo motu case, along with some PILs filed by some individuals after 8 persons were killed in retaliation to the alleged murder of a TMC leader. The individuals who have approached the court have demanded a CBI probe, saying that the SIT formed by the state govt is not impartial.
The cities of Indore and Khandwa have recorded the highest number of incidences of love jihad in the state of Madhya Pradesh, a report published in Dainik Bhaskar said. In small localities, tribal females have been the primary victims of love jihad. There are more minor females among them who have completed classes VIII-X and are active on social media. College students and working females have been victims in large cities such as Bhopal and Indore.
The victim females claim that Muslim men befriended them on social media by pretending to be Hindus. They then pledged to marry them. And when they fell for their ruse, they imposed the condition that marriage can take place only if they convert to Islam. After discovering the truth, the girls approached the police.
In a year after the enactment of the Freedom of Religion Act, 67 cases of love jihad have been reported in Madhya Pradesh. 24 of these incidents were recorded in January of this year, and the police filed a charge sheet in 36 of them, while 29 are still under investigation. In these incidents, the police have charged 109 people. Indore has the most instances registered in the state, with 13, while Khandwa has 11 cases. In Bhopal, 9 females were deceived for third place. In third place, 9 girls were deceived in Bhopal.
According to data from the Bhopal-Indore Police, 50 per cent of the incidents here involve girls from the general category. Girls from the general category have filed cases in Bhopal’s Tilajmalpura, Kohefiza, Kamalanagar, and Ashoka Garden. According to Indore Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra, around 13 instances have been recorded. Aside from ordinary victims, there are victims of OBC and other groups in this too. Tribal females were victimized in 95 per cent of incidents in the districts of Khandwa, Ujjain, Dhar, Jhabua, Barwani, Khargone, and Rewa.
Conceal identity to befriend, convert to marry
After analyzing 15 incidents in Indore-Bhopal, it was discovered that Muslim boys gained the trust of girls by creating a social media presence in the identity of a Hindu youngster. Then, under the guise of relationship, they urged the females to marry them. Here, the requirement for marriage is that one must first convert to Islam, and only then may the marriage take place. When the females found out about the religious conversion, they discovered that the boys were Muslim. A similar scenario existed in other areas as well.
The Madhya Pradesh Freedom Of Religion Act 2021
On March 8 2021, the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly enacted the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill-2021, which aims to reduce religious conversions. This act was published in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette (Extraordinary) on March 27, 2021, with the Governor’s consent. Its goal is to nullify such marriages that are performed under coercion by converting faith.
Caste-based reservation a reason for love jihad
According to Ram Dangore, a member of the state’s tribal council and Pandhana MLA, if a tribal girl marries a male from another society, her perks and reservation from the government are unaffected. But, if a Scheduled Caste girl marries someone from another community, her reservation is terminated. That is why tribal females are singled out. There are 15 such instances where Muslim youths have married tribal girls and are benefiting from government initiatives and acquiring land in their names.
Case registered only after thorough investigation
“Since the law was enacted, 13 crimes have been registered in the city. In all these cases, the girls had given statements that they were pressured to convert to the religion. The cases are registered only after verification of the statement,” said Harinarayanchari Mishra, the PoliceCommissioner of Indore.
Vivek Singh, the SP of Khandwa also stated, “The case is registered on the basis of the statement of the victim. If, she mentions in her statement that religious conversion was being done under pressure, then the investigation is done by registering a case under the Religious Freedom Act. The investigation of the crime registered under this Act is done by the SI or higher-level officials.”
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has posted a long statement against the Uttarakhand government’s decision to introduce Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. Taking to Twitter, the IAMC “unequivocally condemned the BJP-ruled Uttarakhand state’s decision to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)”. The IAMC went as far as to claim that ensuring that all citizens of a nation adhere to the same laws in ‘secular’ matters will somehow lead to the erasure of Muslims and Christians by a “Hindu supremacist” government.
IAMC said that the introduction of UCC is “an alarming deviation from the current system, which has different laws for different faiths, including the Hindu Marriage Act, Indian Christian Marriages Act, and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act. Muslim personal laws are based on religious texts and are not codified”.
This is an alarming deviation from the current system, which has different laws for different faiths, including the Hindu Marriage Act, Indian Christian Marriages Act, and the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act. Muslim personal laws are based on religious texts and are not codified.
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) March 25, 2022
IAMC further said that implementation of UCC would be an affront against Muslims and Christians who are “already marginalised” in India and that far from being progressive, UCC is another tool for “Hindu supremacists” to “prosecute Christians and Muslims for practising their faith in their private lives”.
Far from being a step towards progressiveness, the UCC is another avenue for Hindu supremacists to attack and prosecute Muslims and Christians for practicing their faith in their private lives.
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) March 25, 2022
Mysteriously, after admitting that UCC is about all citizens adhering to the same law as far as “secular” activities are concerned, IAMC goes on to fearmonger further saying that UCC would not unite but force minorities to adhere to a Hindu centric idea of uniformity.
Dragging the Hijab verdict into their statement, IAMC said that it was evident that a Hindu centric idea of uniformity would be enforced because of the Hijab verdict where it was the Court that ruled that every school has the right to determine their school uniform and that Hijab was non-essential to Islam.
Rasheed Ahmad, Executive Director of IAMC said, “UCC is one more step in the direction of turning India into a Hindu majoritarian state where minorities are relegated to second class citizenship. The Hindu nationalist BJP has long been a proponent of the UCC precisely because it is an effective erasure of Muslim and other minority religious practices. UCC is a tool that forces a minority to conform to the standards of uniformity set by an extremist majority”.
It is interesting to note the sleight of hand used by IAMC in its statement. At the very outset, IAMC admitted that UCC was a law that would ensure that all citizens, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and those belonging to other faiths adhere to the same code as far as secular activity was concerned. For the purpose of UCC, secular activities would mean that related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption. While admitting that all citizens would have to adhere to the same code, IAMC facetiously goes on to claim that it would primarily affect only Muslims and Christians.
IAMC further said that the UCC would be used to prosecute Muslims for practising their faith in private. However, the UCC does not extend to the practice of faith, to begin with. It does not bar Muslims, Christians or people of any faith to practise their faith in private. If a Muslim man chooses to read namaz, the UCC would ideally have no provision to stop them from doing so. They will still be able to practise their faith just like the Hindu majority will. UCC extends only to marriage, divorce etc which are considered “secular activities” under the constitution.
It is also not clear how UCC would lead to the erasure of Muslims. Sharia, as IAMC seems to demand it, is what was responsible for the “erasure” of not just minorities but also of Muslims as several women were murdered, men displaced. We saw the visuals of individuals hanging from USA planes and trying to escape the clutches of the Taliban in Afghanistan. One is unaware of how a civilised law would lead to the erasure of Muslims especially when it does not extend to the practice of religion itself.
The truth is that UCC has been postponed for decades because it was the Muslim community that was “not ready” for the change. It is essentially not any other faith that has had a problem with living under democratic laws that give women and children the same rights. The UCC, for the Muslim community, would mean equal rights for Muslim women and children as far as marriage, divorce and inheritance are concerned. Also, it is worthy to be mentioned that the Hindu personal laws have already been codified and streamlined.
One has to wonder why it is mostly the Muslim community that sees living under democratic and fair laws as an affront to their very existence. Why is it that for Islamists like IAMC, the mere idea of living under the same laws as other citizens, and others getting the same rights and benefits as them, seems to be a move that will ensure their “erasure”?
Uttarakhand CM says the state will implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, on Thursday, announced that the government has decided to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. “The state cabinet unanimously approved that a committee (of experts) will be constituted at the earliest and UCC will be implemented in the state. This will be the first state to do so,” Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
Goa is another state that has UCC implemented.
“Goa has what Constitutional framers envisaged for India — a Uniform Civil Code… And I have had the great privilege of administering justice under that Code. It applies in marriage and succession, governing all Goans irrespective of religious affiliation. I have heard a lot of academic talk about the Uniform Civil Code. I would request all those intellectuals to simply come here and learn the administration of justice to know what it turns out to be,” then Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had said last year.
Kaliyar police in Uttarakhand have apprehended a youth named Ayaan after he attempted to flee a hotel with the dead body of a girl stuffed in a suitcase. The incident reportedly occurred from Uttarakhand’s Piran Kaliyar area on Thursday, March 24. Video of the incident has also gone viral on social media.
The video shows a youth, who identifies himself as Ayaan, a resident of Mewar/Mewad in Rajasthan, sitting outside the hotel that he was attempting to flee. A blue suitcase, which he was allegedly carrying, lay open next to him, containing the dead body of a girl dressed in a red dress.
Ayaan caught with his partner packed in a suitcase…
On being interrogated, the youth reportedly told the cops that the deceased girl was his girlfriend, and she had committed suicide by ingesting poison. He stated that he was going to Gang Nahar, near Haridwar, with the dead body. He, too, would have drowned himself in the canal with his girlfriend, said Ayaan. The police have taken the youth into custody for further investigation.
On March 24, around 5 pm, Ayaan had checked into a hotel in Kaliyar, Uttarakhand, with his girlfriend. Later, around 8 pm, a hotel employee noticed Ayaan hurrying out of the hotel lobby with a blue suitcase in his hand. A member of the hotel staff approached Ayaan and offered to help him with his luggage. Ayaan, who appeared to be terrified, began fumbling and making excuses. Furthermore, the girl who went in with Ayaan was not with him. This piqued the hotel staff’s interest, and they alerted management, which in turn dialled the police.
The Kaliyar police arrived on the scene. When the cops opened the suitcase, they discovered the girl’s body inside. The youth introduced the girl as his girlfriend. He told the cops that his girlfriend had consumed poison. He was on his way to Gang Nahar with the dead body. He, too, would have jumped into Gang Nahar with the dead body, he said.
According to SHO Dharmendra Rathi, the body was taken into custody and transferred to the Civil Hospital mortuary. Ayaan was arrested, and the police have been questioning him in order to obtain information. Footage from CCTV cameras installed in the hotel is also being extracted to help with the investigation.
Out on bail riots accused Safoora Zargar, who managed to obtain bail on ‘humanitarian grounds’ because she got pregnant while protesting against the CAA, has termed the police presence at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi as an ‘occupation’.
Inside Zargar’s head, the Jamia Millia Islamia is probably a sovereign entity and Indian police and paramilitary forces are ‘occupying’ it. This is perhaps what happens when one raises too many ‘Azaadi’ slogans for years in vain. When activism overloads the brain, the very presence of security personnel inside a sovereign nation’s own territory, at a government-funded, government-run university starts to feel like an ‘occupation’, because the Jihadi elements can no longer riot freely.
Zargar’s tweet calling police presence at Jamia Millia an ‘occupation’
“How many of you have gone back & looked at Jamia Millia Islamia since the anti-CAA protest. The campus is absolutely occupied. Police and paramilitary presence is constant, to intimate (she probably meant *intimidate) students creating an atmosphere of abject fear. A new police chowki has come up near gate No 1 of the university to keep constant surveillance on the students. The university is swarmed by policemen of senior rank and paramilitary forces carrying tear gas and lathis, at the drop of a hat.” Zargar tweeted.
Zargar’s tweet calling police presence at Jamia Millia Islamia an ‘occupation’
In the next tweet, Zargar shared, “Jamia Millia Islamia, in the national capital of India, is undoubtedly the most militarized university campus in the country. It is a blatant occupation. Nothing less.”
Next, quoting one Shahid Tantray’s tweet about paramilitary personnel being deployed at Jamia Millia ahead of a protest call against the Hijab ban in Karnataka colleges, Safoora again wrote, “Militarisation of a central university in the national capital of India. Occupation.”
Militarisation of a central university in the national capital of India. OCCUPATION. https://t.co/LBJ4WZeHjS
In days leading to the horrifying anti-Hindu Delhi riots in February 2020, Zargar was seen making provocative speeches and whipping up frenzy against the central government with respect to the Citizenship Amendment Bill. After the horrific riots in the national capital, planned and timed to coincide with Donald Trump’s visit to India, Zargar was arrested on April 10, 2020. Months later, she was granted bail because while participating in anti-CAA protests, she had got pregnant.
Jamia Millia Islamia and Delhi riots
While Safoora laments about police presence in the Jamia Millia Islamia campus, she won’t admit how the university was used as a staging ground and operational base by the Islamist rioters in Delhi.
In fact, much before the February riots and the Shaheen Bagh protests, Islamists inside Jamia Millia had started vandalism and arson under the garb of anti-CAA protests.
On December 15, stone-pelting from inside the Jamia campus was caught on camera. Hundreds of students and some non-students inside the campus had attacked police personnel with stones. Eventually, the police had to enter the Jamia campus to flush out the violent elements.
Criminal actions of #JamiaMillia students caught on LIVE TV CAMERA.
Stone pelting and violence FROM INSIDE campus and mask wearing thugs outside campus attacking Police and Media from BOTH SIDES.
The University administration had later claimed that it was ‘outside elements’ that had entered the campus and its students had nothing to do with violence on December 15. on December 15, violent riots, arson and stone-pelting had happened in the Jamia Nagar area where several buses were torched.
In June 2020, Jamia students were found discussing plans to blow up the proctor’s office and carry out violent protests against the government for slapping UAPA on riot accused. ‘Hinduon se Azadi, Ladh ke lenge Azadi’ and Chheen ke lenge Azadi’ etc slogans were raised at Jamia on December 15, before the ‘protests’ turned violent and widespread arson and stone-pelting started. The violent protestors from Jamia had even torched several vehicles and had attacked police personnel.
Several ‘students’ and ‘student leaders’ of Jamia Millia were arrested for instigating riots and involvement in the violence of the December 15 and February riots. Asif Iqbal Tanha, one of the main accused in the Delhi riots cases, is a Jamia ‘student’. Tanha was arrested under UAPA.
As per a report by Zee News, in a statement made to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, Delhi riots accused Asif Iqbal Tanha has revealed that he wanted to turn India into an Islamic republic. As per reports, Tanha has admitted to orchestrating a march of 2500-3000 people from Gate no.7 of Jamia Millia Islamia on December 12. He revealed that Sharjeel Imam gave a provocative speech to encourage ‘protestors’ to execute a ‘chakka jam’ on December 13.
Asif Iqbal further revealed that the infamous Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) was constituted after the violence that ensued between the ‘protestors’ and the police under the pretext of ‘Gandhi peace march.’
Delhi police said entering Jamia was necessary
A number of ‘Left-liberals’ and Islamists have approached the court against the Delhi Police actions in the Jamia Millia. In August 2020, Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi made submissions on behalf of the Delhi police in front of a division bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan. The Delhi Police had asserted that action taken by the police was necessary and proportionate to the violence unleashed by the mob during the anti-CAA protests.
The police stated further that a large mob of over 2000 people had gathered inside the Jamia campus, armed with stones, petrol bombs and had indulged in arson in the surrounding areas. The police had also stated that there are videos of Jamia rioters stealing petrol from bikes and torching vehicles. Despite numerous appeals by the police to stop violence, the Islamist mob had gathered inside the Jamia campus and had continued attacking the police. Several senior police officers were attacked during the violence.
On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh government issued a show-cause notice to an IAS officer for his tweet on the movie – ‘The Kashmir Files’ suggesting that a film should be made on the suffering of Muslims as well.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that IAS officer Niyaz Khan had crossed and violated the limits set for government officials, and hence the government issued a notice for the IAS officer.
Speaking to media, the state home minister said, “I have seen Khan’s tweets. This is a serious issue…he is crossing and violating the Lakshman Rekha (limit) set for (government) officials…the state government will issue a show-cause notice to him and seek his reply.”
On March 18, IAS officer Niyaz Khan, posted as Deputy Secretary in the Public Works Department (PWD) in Madhya Pradesh, had put out a tweet asking the makers of ‘The Kashmir Files’ to make a movie on killings of Muslims.
He had tweeted, “Kashmir File shows the pain of Brahmins. They should be allowed to live safely in Kashmir with all honour. The producer must also make a movie to show the killings of a large number of Muslims across several states. Muslims are not insects but human beings and citizens of the country.”
Thinking to write a book to show the massacre of Muslims on different occasions so that a movie like Kashmir Files could be produced by some producer, so that, the pain and suffering of minorities could be brought before Indians
He had also said that he is “thinking to write a book to show the massacre of Muslims on different occasions so that a movie like Kashmir Files could be produced by some producer, so that, the pain and suffering of minorities could be brought before Indians.”
The officer followed it up with another tweet on Sunday, asking the producer of the movie to donate all the earnings of the film to the Brahmin children’s education and construction of homes for them in Kashmir.
Income of Kashmir Files reached 150 crore. Great.People have given a lot of respect for Kashmiri Brahmins’ feelings.I would respect film producer to transfer all earnings to the Brahmin children’s education and construction of homes for them in Kashmir. It will be a great charity
The government office’s rant on the widely acclaimed movie received widespread condemnation, with Madhya Pradesh Medical Education minister Vishwas Sarang had demanded action against Niyaz Khan, saying that the officer’s comments violated All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.
The minister said that he would be writing to the Department of Personnel and Training asking the department to take disciplinary action against the officer, as he promoted sectarianism through his comments.
Vivek Agnihotri responds to Niyaz Khan
Responding to Niyaz Khan’s tweets, The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri sought an appointment from him to exchange ideas.
Sir Niyaz Khaan Sahab, Bhopal aa raha hoon 25th ko. Please give an appointment so we can meet and exchange ideas how we can help and how you can help with the royalty of your books and your power as an IAS officer. https://t.co/9P3oif8nfL
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) March 20, 2022
He tweeted, “Please give an appointment so we can meet and exchange ideas on how we can help and how you can help with the royalty of your books and your power as an IAS officer”.
On Thursday (March 24), the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education announced that singing of national anthem along with other morning prayers will be mandatory for students in madrassas, reportedThe Times of India.
The decision was taken during a Board meeting, which was led by Chairman Iftikhar Ahmed Javed. While speaking about the development, he said, “The national anthem is sung in various schools and we want to instil patriotism in madrassa students too, so that they know our history and culture.”
It must be mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education had announced in 2017 that unfurling of the tricolour and singing of national anthem would be compulsory in madrassas on Independence Day.
During the same meeting, the Board also decided to introduce pre-qualification exams such as the Teachers’ Eligibility Test (TET)-based Madrassa Teachers’ Eligibility Test (MTET) for recruitment of madrassa teachers. Iftikhar Ahmed Javed conceded that the Islamic institutes are wrought with nepotism.
He remarked, “Nepotism has become the order of the day in teachers’ recruitment. This is why the board has decided to make MTET mandatory, but the selection process will be finalised by the management. A formal proposal will be sent to the government soon.”
Madrassa licence cancelled for barring students from singing national anthem in UP
In August 2018, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adithyanath decided to cancel the registration and derecognized a madrasa in the Maharajganj district after a cleric prevented the students of the institution from singing the national anthem on Independence Day.
In the video that was widely shared widely on social media, the cleric was seen asking the students to avoid singing the national anthem. He then went on to say that it was not “jayaz” (permissible) in Islam. He was then seen asking students to sing ‘Sare jahan se acha’, even as a teacher protested against the cleric’s comments.
Is this secular India….?? Singing national enthem is not allowed as per muslim religion is said by the the members of this Madarsha situated at maharajganj U.P…. Plz take necessary action regarding disregard to our national enthem as soon as possible… pic.twitter.com/H7k7ElFTwh
— Advo. Brijendra Sahay Mishra (@brijendra_bsm) August 15, 2018
Following a probe, the state government decided to derecognise the madrassa and the Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Board released immediate orders to suspend the licence and registration. Maulana Junaid Ansari and two others were arrested on charges of sedition under Section 124-A and 153B (imputation assertion prejudicial to national integrity) for disrespecting the national anthem.
A 10-member ‘high-powered’ delegation of British MPs scheduled to visit Delhi and Rajasthan has called off the India trip after the Indian High Commission raised objections to their tour to India.
According to a report in The Guardian, a high-powered UK delegation led by the Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and his deputy was to visit India this week to try and influence India to take a pro-west stand on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Initially, the delegation was to visit to discuss the UK-India free trade deal, however, the purpose of their visit changed after Russia launched its special military operations in Ukraine in February. The 10-member delegation, involving lawmakers across parties, has been in discussion with India since January and was planning to visit Delhi and Rajasthan.
However, the Indian High Commission in Britain has raised objections at the last minute, leading to the cancellation of the tour, as per a report in The Guardian.
The Speaker-led delegation’s visit, the first such visit to India, was part of the British government’s diplomatic efforts to persuade India to take a stand against Russia and probably to join the Western nations in imposing sanctions against Russia has now been cancelled after the Indian government reportedly refused to entertain the British parliamentary delegation.
The specific reason cited for the cancellation of the British MPs’ tour to India is not clear yet, but it is being reported that the Modi government was not inclined to provide a platform for the UK delegation to discuss India’s foreign policy and its stand in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
So far, India, as a responsible global power, has taken a nuanced stand on the Ukraine-Russia crisis considering its own strategic interests. India has abstained from voting on the US-sponsored United Nations resolutions against Russia, with New Delhi saying dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes.
At the same time, the Indian government has called both parties to adhere to UN Charter and international law while asking them to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
However, the British government and the west want India to take a ‘more aggressive position’ on the Russia-Ukraine issue and condemn Russia. British PM Boris Johnson had also spoken with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convince India to join the West in condemning Russia.
Several Western powers have been trying to persuade India to join the sanctions against Russia and at least vocally condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine. But India has maintained neutrality in the conflict, asserting that its concerns are humanitarian and both parties should resolve issues via dialogue.
West keeps buying Russian oil and gas, but wants India to ditch its largest military supplier
It is notable here that while pressurising India to take an anti-Russian stand, Western countries have continued to buy Russian oil and gas worth billions of dollars. Russia has been a trusted strategic partner for India through decades of war and conflict with neighbouring nations and is India’s main supplier of weapons.
British MPs denied entry, deported from India
This is not the first time that the Indian government has taken a serious stand against the British MPs’ actions to influence domestic politics and strategic interests. In fact, in February 2020, the Indian government had denied entry to Debbie Abrahams, a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom from the Labour Party, after her e-visa was cancelled.
Abrahams, who chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Kashmir (AAPGK), was critical of India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in August 2019. She had flown to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. However, she was denied entry and sent back to her country.
Similarly, in 2018, British MP and lawyer Alexander Carlile was denied entry into the country as he arrived at the Delhi airport without an appropriate visa. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, he was trying to create problems in Indo-Bangladesh ties.
On 24th of March, Arvind Kejriwal displayed exemplary insensitivity and mocked the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus that took place in the 1990s. While talking in the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal responded to the demand to make The Kashmir Files, a movie based on the 1990s Hindu genocide in Kashmir’, tax-free in the state.
Arvind Kejriwal, laughing and giggling, said that if they wanted The Kashmir Files to be tax-free, Vivek Agnihotri, the director of the movie, should simply release it on YouTube so everyone can watch it for free. Refusing to stop the insult there, Kejriwal further said that the movie was not based on reality and was a “jhooti film”.
Several Kashmiri Hindus came forward to react sharply to the insults heaped by Arvind Kejriwal in calling The Kashmir Files a ‘jhooti film’. Arguable, The Kashmir Files is the first movie that lays bare the massacre and humiliation faced by the Kashmiri Hindus in the 1990s in Kashmir. There have been several movies in the past, however, they have mostly shown a watered-down version of the truth.
Kashmiri Hindu Utpal Koul took to Twitter to post a picture of his burnt down house in Kashmir. He said that this was his house in Kashmir which had 14 rooms and housed 5,000 books on the culture and history of Kashmir. It was burnt down by Islamic terrorists in the 1990s.
Mr. Kejriwal, this was my house of 14 rooms which had 5000 books on Kashmir and our cultural heritage. All was burnt by Islamist terrorists. #TheKashmirFiles is only an introduction of the genocide we faced. Please don’t ridicule our pain, Sir. @ArvindKejriwal@vivekagnihotripic.twitter.com/p6PxBwTNjr
Another Kashmiri Hindu, Ashish, took to Twitter to shame Kejriwal by saying that it was indeed a true movie and not a “jhooti film”. He said it was the story of the genocide of his people.
Dear @ArvindKejriwal – The Kashmir Files is not “Jhoothi Film”.. It is true story of genocide of us, Kashmiri Hindus.
Pawan Durani, a Kashmiri Hindu activist also commented on the insensitive remarks made by Arvind Kejriwal. He said that in the 1990s, Bitta Karate killed Hindus on the streets of Kashmir and today, Kejriwal killed Hindus inside the Delhi parliament.
I am pained today ! If Bitta Karate killed us in open , Kejriwal killed us in Delhi assembly
Manu Khajuria, another well-known Kashmiri Hindu activist, said that Arvind Kejriwal knew his electoral base and was pandering to them by denying the genocide of Hindus.
The Arvind Kejriwal speech…he knows who his electoral base is and he has unabashedly serenaded them.
Apart from Kashmiri Hindus, several other leaders from different walks of life also responded to the comments made by Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly. Mohandas Pai, senior businessman, responded with disgust to the comments saying that his statements were hollow, terming his arguments “idiotic”.
When a film is made tax-free in a particular state, the state government lets go of the entertainment tax levied by the state for that particular film. It reduces the price of ticket considerably which makes the film accessible to a wider audience. While Kejriwal led Delhi government had no qualms in making films like Swara Bhaskar’s Nil Batte Sannata and Taapsee Pannu’s Saand Ki Aankh tax-free, a film on Kashmiri Hindu genocide, which truly deserves to be seen by more people, is being mocked by the ruling party in Delhi.
“Mr Trudeau, you are a disgrace to any democracy. Please, spare us your presence,” remarked German member in the European Parliament Christine Anderson. On Wednesday, March 23, she was speaking on the occasion of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visiting the EU Parliament to deliver a speech.
????|Yesterday, Canada’s Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau visited the #EU Parliament to give a speech. I took the opportunity to give him an appropriate “welcome” there. Short, concise and right hitting the bull’s eye! #IDpic.twitter.com/qpcQyGTixQ
In her address, Andreson decided to give Trudeau an ‘appropriate welcome’ in the EU following his shenanigans in trampling the truckers’ protest against the vaccine mandate in Canada in February this year. In her speech, she remarked, “Based on article 195, I would like to point out that it would have been more appropriate for Mr Trudeau to address this house. According to article 144, which was specifically designed to debate violations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law which is clearly the case with Mr Trudeau.”
She stated further, “Then again, a President who openly admires the Chinese basic dictatorship, who tramples on fundamental rights by persecuting and criminalising his own citizens as terrorists, just because they dared to stand up to his perverted concept of democracy, should not be allowed to speak in this house at all.” Anderson was speaking in reference to Trudeau’s anti-democratic methods to curb the truckers’ protest including invoking the Emergency act.
Croation Member calls Trudeau ‘Dictator’
Trudeau had a hard day in the European Parliament yesterday. Another member from Croatia Mislav Kolakusic lashed out loud against Trudeau in front of him calling his regime a ‘dictatorship of the worst kind.’ Kolakusic stood up to say, “To defend our rights and the rights of our children, which we have acquired over the centuries, many of us are ready to risk our own freedom and our lives. Unfortunately, there are those among us who trample on these fundamental values,” while referring to the presence of Trudeau in the hall.
PM Trudeau, in recent months, under your quasi-liberal boot, Canada ?? has become a symbol of civil rights violations. The methods we have witnessed may be liberal to you, but to many citizens around the?it seemed like a dictatorship of the worst kind. pic.twitter.com/FZuc6aDZ1I
— Mislav Kolakusic MEP ???? (@mislavkolakusic) March 23, 2022
He went on to say that Canada which once stood as the symbol of the modern world has become a symbol of civil rights violations under Trudeau’s ‘quasi-liberal boot in recent months.’ He added, “We watched how you trample women with horses, block bank accounts of single parents so that they can’t even pay their children; so that they cant pursue education and medicine, that they cant pay utilities and mortgages for their homes.”
He asserted that these may be liberal methods for Justin Trudeau to curb protests, but for many citizens of the world, it was the dictatorship of the worst kind.
How Justin Trudeau trampled democratic values in his home
Justin Trudeau who thought of painting himself as a liberal icon for ‘standing up’ with the farmers agitating against the three farm laws in India, went absolutely bonkers over his ‘democratic commitments’ when people of his own country campaigned against the vaccine mandate in February this year. In a similar fashion, truckers in Canada, being adamant against Trudeau’s unjust Covid-19 regulations blocked highways of Ottawa by erecting permanent structures and stockpiling fuel and food. A group of 2700 truckers in Ottawa organised a freedom protest against Trudeau’s policies for which his dispensation was shamed all over the world.
Trudeau targeted the protestors in many ways. Primarily, he mobilised police forces to strengthen the government’s counter-response against the protestors and reminded them that he will pull out whatever resources needed to get the situation under control. While the protest kept growing in numbers, his government started freezing bank accounts of people linked with the protest. The Canadian government also enforced terror-financing laws to target crowdfunding websites and payment providers on which monetary support for the protest grew.
On February 14, Justin Trudeau invoked the rarely used Emergencies act to target the protestors legally and financially. Under the act, the Police had additional powers to take action against those who were allegedly indulged in illegal activities such as ‘protesting and blocking the road.’
