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‘Chintu aye hai malai Chatne’: Kumar Vishwas responds to Raghav Chadha’s threats to media for covering his comments exposing Khalistani ambitions of Kejriwal

OpIndia Staff
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‘Chintu aye hai malai Chatne’: Kumar Vishwas responds to Raghav Chadha’s threats to media for covering his comments exposing Khalistani ambitions of Kejriwal

Kumar Vishwas has tickled his funny bone while hitting back loudly at AAP leader Raghav Chadha’s threats to media houses for covering his comments exposing Arvind Kejriwal. This happened when Vishwas was replying to news agency ANI when asked whether he has any proof to validate his claims on Arvind Kejriwal’s soft-corner for Khalistanis. Earlier, the poet-turned-politician had exposed Kejriwal over him not giving a single thought before accommodating Khalistani separatists within the party as a strategy to grow in Punjab.

Kumar Vishwas had said that Arvind Kejriwal wished to become the CM of Punjab or the first PM of an independent Khalistan. After his comments were widely reported by the media, Raghav Chadha had issued a threat saying they will take stringent legal action for covering the allegations.

Today, Kumar Vishwas lashed out at AAP’s Raghav Chadha for this threat saying, “These are the Chintus (pawns) of that person (Kejriwal) speaking, who have entered the party after we made the governments out of our own blood and sweat. They’ve come to lick the ‘cream’ now. Tell those chinus to send their Aaka (mastermind) to speak.”

He further added, “If you have got the guts, then come up with the evidence, I’ll also present mine. This nation needs to know what you used to say, hear and let your messages be read. Let him come with evidence on any platform or any place he wishes to.”

He further talked about Raghav Chaddha’s threat to TV channels over showcasing Kumar Vishwas’ allegedly ‘Malicious, unfounded, fabricated, inflammatory’ comment exposing Kejriwal’s Khalistani sympathies. He said, “They threaten TV channels to not showcase my comments? I am telling this in front of you – I had once asked two senior journalists of big channels who had once interviewed Kejriwal why wasn’t he being asked about how Rajya sabha seats were distributed in Punjab, on Framers’ Protest, etc. They replied me telling they were barred from asking such questions beforehand.”

Kumar Vishwas also alleged that when AAP gives ad deals to TV channels worth crores, there’s a clause to not ask uncomfortable questions. “Many channels are not asking him his reply over my statements, I’ve observed” he added.

On February 16, In a sensational development, Kumar Vishwas had highlighted Kejriwal’s compromise for power in Punjab by siding with Khalistani separatists. According to him, Kejriwal at one point had claimed, “Either I will become Chief Minister of the state or I will become first Prime Minister of an independent nation (Khalistan).” Vishwas had alleged that deep-rooted separatism had engulfed Kejriwal’s mind in his quest for power.

Responding to this, AAP leader Raghav Chadha had come up with a clarifying statement calling Kumar Vishwas’ insinuations ‘devious’ and that through the means of the ‘forged and fabricated video’ Vishwas way trying to defame and deride Arvind Kejriwal. He had also openly threatened media houses, saying that his government will take stringent legal actions against these media houses covering the news about Kumar’s video.

The war of words between Kumar Vishwas and Raghav Chadha has escalated further, with Vishwas now claiming AAP’s supposed deals with TV channels.

Delhi: IED containing ammonium nitrate and RDX recovered from a house in Seemapuri, tenants from the house missing

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: IED containing ammonium nitrate and RDX recovered from a house in Seemapuri, tenants from the house missing

Improvised Explosive Device (IED) has been recovered by Delhi police special cell and a bomb squad from the Seemapuri area of Delhi on 17th February 2022 in the evening. The police had received a call in the afternoon about a suspicious bag near a house in the Seemapuri area, after which the teams had rushed to the spot. NSG was also called to examine the contents of the bag. This IED recovered days before the second anniversary of the Delhi riots against CAA that took place on 25th February 2020, is seen in connection with the 3 KG of IED that was found on 17th January 2022 in the Ghazipur mandi area.

At around 2:15 PM, the Delhi police and the Fire Department received a bomb threat call. An official has reportedly said, “An unidentified bag was found in Shahdara district. Delhi Police and Fire Department received a bomb threat call at 2.15 p.m. We found a bag from the spot and the teams are checking it.” Parallelly, another similar threat call was received at New Seemapuri station. It was about the IED.

According to the NSG team, the IED contained ammonium nitrate, RDX, a 9-volt battery, iron pieces to work as shrapnel, and a timer device attached to it. 

It is also reported that a few tenants living in the house are absconding and the police have launched a search operation to trace them. The explosive was found in a bag in the house. The IED was confirmed late in the evening after the team had completely examined the suspicious bag. The Seemapuri comes under the Shahdara district and the DCP of Shahdara has confirmed the incident.

According to Delhi Police, during the Ghazipur IED case investigation, Special Cell got information about a house in Old Seemapuri. The special cell had intercepted several dozen suspicious phone calls, and based on that data the said house was traced. When the Delhi Police Special Cell team reached the place, the house was closed, and the tenants were missing. It is suspected that they might be working as sleeper cells.

On 17th January 2022, a bag full of explosives was recovered from the Ghazipur flower market in east Delhi ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. The Delhi police special cell and other teams were investigating the case to trace the people behind this.

‘Khalistan Zindabad’, ‘Saadi majboori hai, Khalistan zaroori hai’: Khalistani slogans chanted during the cremation of Deep Sidhu

OpIndia Staff
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‘Khalistan Zindabad’, ‘Saadi majboori hai, Khalistan zaroori hai’: Khalistani slogans chanted during the cremation of Deep Sidhu

On Wednesday, hundreds of Khalistani supporters attended the cremation of actor Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident on February 15, in Ludhiana’s Tharike village and raised slogans in favor of Khalistan. “Saadi (hamari) majboori hai, Khalistan zaroori hai”, they yelled as they demanded freedom and a separate territory named Khalistan. The Sikh youth also shouted in union ‘banke rahega Khalistan’ and demanded a probe into the death of Sidhu, who was one of the accused in the 2021 Republic Day riots in Delhi.

Surrounding the pyre of Deep Sidhu, people who attended the cremation chanted the ‘Khalistan Zindabad’ slogan repeatedly. Some of them also carried pro-Khalistan banners.

The California Youth Sikh Alliance shared a few videos on Instagram portraying the Kalistani supporters who echoed Punjab with the cries of freedom in the vicinity of Deep Singh Sidhu’s cremation pyre. “After several decades, this vision of sovereignty, that was once brought to life by Sant Bhindranwale, was what Deep had made the youth actively realize again. Thousands upon thousands participated in the Antim Ardas, while even more watched the lion being cremated in the diaspora live. The struggle continues…”, the post read with hashtags- ‘India Kills Sikhs’, ‘India Killed Deep’, ‘Free Punjab’ and ‘Long Live Deep Sidhu’.

This group is calling the death of Deep Sidhu a ‘political murder’ and ‘assassination’, and blaming the ‘Indian state’ for the same. In a post, CYSA claimed that Deep Sidhu was murdered by India, a claim very difficult to prove because Sidhu had crashed his car into a moving truck from behind.

Deep Sidhu died on February 15 in a road accident on KMP (Kundli-Manesar) Highway near Delhi. According to the reports, various Sikh organisations who attended the cremation alleged that Sidhu’s death was a planned murder and that the state must look into the investigation. Sidhu was accompanied by his girlfriend Reena Rai who survived the accident due to the airbags. She in her statement to the Police had said that the car rammed into the moving truck in Sonipat district and Sidhu himself was driving the car. Sidhu’s family friends said he was returning from Delhi to take part in an election campaign for Simranjit Singh Mann in Amargarh constituency.

Although the Police have registered a case against the 37-year-old truck driver, they are considering the entire case of accident due to reckless driving. A large number of people gathered at the Shambhu border of Punjab and Haryana to pay homage to the actor-turned activist. They showered petals and flowers on the ambulance that carried Sidhu’s body for cremation. They called him a martyr and raised slogans like- “Deep Sidhu Zindabad”, “Raj Karega Khalsa” and “Khalistan Zindabad”.

Deep was a Khalistani supporter and was arrested last year in February after he participated in the desecration of the Red Fort amid the tractor rally held by farmers that turned violent. The Khalistani supporters had brutally attacked the security personnel and police officials stationed at Red Fort and had disrespected India’s national flag by hoisting two other flags with Sikh symbols. His act of desecrating the Red Fort was hailed by the pro-Khalistan groups as
a charge sheet was filed against him in May last year.

Sidhu primarily had come to limelight when a video of him speaking in English went viral in December 2020. Deep Sidhu was seen claiming to be a farmer and said that the farmers protests will be the defining moment of the geopolitics of not just India but also entire South Asia. Sidhu was heard saying that these farmer protests were nothing but an revolution.

As Deep Sidhu and his fellow protesters had uttered the magical words of ‘revolution’, the left-liberals and the opposition ecosystem had fallen in love with the Punjab actor, who descended on social media platforms for having a ‘spine’ to stand up to the ‘fascist’ Modi government.

Ahmedabad: Man gives triple talaq to his wife because she offered milk to their 5-year-old daughter before him, use to assault her for dowry

OpIndia Staff
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Ahmedabad: Man gives triple talaq to his wife because she offered milk to their 5-year-old daughter before him, use to assault her for dowry

On the night of February 15 (Tuesday), a woman in Ahmedabad filed a police complaint accusing her husband of giving her triple talaq because she gave milk to her children first before offering it to him, reports the Times of India (TOI). The victim, a 31-year-old Karanj resident, has also accused her husband and in-laws of dowry-related mental harassment and assault.

According to the report, her mother-in-law, father-in-law, and husband demanded Rs 1 lakh from her parents in December 2021, which sparked a quarrel between them. The woman claimed that she had been abused and assaulted in the past.

Her five-year-old daughter requested milk and cookies after the fight. According to the complaint, as she was attending to her 5-year-old child, her husband simultaneously requested her milk. But she first offered milk to her daughter and then to him, which offended him.

The husband was so much angered with this that he gave her triple talaq in the presence of his wife’s relatives and his own parents.

The victim’s older brother begged his aunt to talk to her husband about the situation, but the husband insisted that triple talaq had been issued. When she returned to Ahmedabad on Tuesday, she filed a police report.

According to reports, the woman shifted with her in-laws to Nadiad in 2008 after her marriage.

All of the items she had gotten on her wedding day were transferred to the Nadiad house, according to the victim, and her in-laws began torturing her for dowry. She stated that as her husband’s unemployment mounted, so did the requests for dowry. She claimed she had been harassed and assaulted mentally, which had gotten worse over time.

It should be noted that the government made divorce by uttering triple talaq unlawful in 2019. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 was implemented by the Modi government to put an end to the practice of Muslim males swiftly divorcing their wives by repeating the words talaq three times in a row.

Pakistan using Karnataka hijab row to spread misinformation and communal divide, created hundreds of fake Twitter accounts to push anti-India propaganda

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan using Karnataka hijab row to spread misinformation and communal divide, created hundreds of fake Twitter accounts to push anti-India propaganda

India’s intelligence sources have hinted at Pakistan’s role in amplifying discontent and hatred over the Karnataka Burqa row on social media. Sources have told News18 that a number of social media accounts were created in Pakistan to push Islamist narratives in a move to create fissures in Indian society.

It has been a time since Pakistan has played its part in furthering the Burqa row which has unfolded in Karnataka’s Udupi. On social media, there is a growing uproar of perspectives that push the compulsion of wearing Hijabs in schools as an act of individual freedom. Amidst the polarization on social media over the Hijab issue, it is learnt that over 100 accounts were created in the name of Muskan Khan – the Burqa clad girl who gave ‘Allahu Akbar’ chants on the college campus. Many of such fake accounts were created on February 09, 2022, the sources have learnt.

One such account on Twitter, which goes by the name ‘@muskanindia90’ was initially created in Pakistan, but its location was later changed to ‘Karnataka’.

The account under the guise of Muskan’s name was seen peddling malicious propaganda against students protesting for a uniform mandate. An illustration of a Burqa-clad girl (dedicated to Muskan) was referred to as a ‘lioness’ while the protecting students with saffron flags were called ‘saffron jackals’. The glorification of ‘Burqa’ in the name of protesting for ‘Hijab’ can be clearly seen here when a Burqa-clad girl is being referred to as ‘The Great Hero of the Muslim World’.

The account was also seen pleading to the Taliban for supposed persecution in India. When Taliban spokesperson Inamullah Samangani supported the Karnataka Burqa girls, a tweet of thanks was made by the fake account as well.

Pakistani agenda on social media exposed

The Digital Forensics, Research and Analysis Center (DFRAC) had published a report yesterday exposing the role of Pakistan in creating Fake accounts. According to the organisation, The geographical map of tweets under the hashtag ‘#Muskan’ showed traffic from many countries, with the highest number of tweets made in Pakistan. With over 3000 Twitter users tweeting about the topic, more than 125 new accounts were created alone for the hashtag Muskan.

Similar to the case of the above Twitter handle mentioned, many new fake accounts with names like @muskankhan_0786, @musk_a_n, @muskan10, @muskankhanbibi were created which dominated the content under #Muskan. Reportedly Pakistani handles also participated in trending hashtags like #AllahuAkbar, #MuslimGirls #HijabRow, #Sherni, etc while changing their geotag to an Indian location.

Interestingly, it was also found by DFRAC that many accounts had their previous tweets deleted on February 08, a day before the Karnataka Burqa controversy erupted. DFRAC, an independent media organisation has asserted that Pakistan is fulfilling its wicked agenda to defame India and disturb India’s internal peace.

How Pakistan employed Congress’ Propaganda

Soon after Congress jumped in the Burqa controversy while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed ‘girls being denied education’, the Pakistani Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had toed a similar line when he tweeted about the supposed ‘violation of human rights’ in India.

Earlier, Congress had lied about the Tricolour being removed from the flagpole on the college campus, which was empty in the first place. Thereafter, a series of news agencies published the fake claim of Congress without verifying. This report was to reach Pakistani Media, wherein journalist Hamza Azhar Salam claimed that ‘Hindutva mob’ replaced the tricolour with saffron flag – a lie peddled by the Congress. A Pakistani Blogger Dr. Omar Ali has already claimed that Pakistani Intelligensia uses cues from ‘Indian liberals’ to promote anti-India narratives.

With more shreds of evidence emerging, it is amply clear that Pakistan is engaging with a psy-war while constructing social media narratives and misinformation campaigns as tools. The Indian side needs to be aware of the changing nature of war to prevent internal matters from being escalated at the cost of strategic sovereignty.

As the strike by Delhi Anganwadi workers enter third week, AAP govt sends threatening messages and notices to them

OpIndia Staff
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As the strike by Delhi Anganwadi workers enter third week, AAP govt sends threatening messages and notices to them

Anganwadi workers in Delhi have been on strike since 31st January 2022 demanding better pay and working conditions. The women are protesting near CM Kejriwal’s residence. However, instead of listening to their problems, the AAP government of Delhi is threatening the women. The protests are becoming intense with every passing day and the AAP leadership along with the CM Kejriwal is busy in campaigning for the Punjab assembly elections.

The Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union is protesting for the last two weeks with demands of better facilities and working conditions for the women. The workers are demanding facilities like PF, pensions, medical aid, regularized government job, restored widow pension, etc. With these demands, hundreds of Anganwadi workers and helpers have come on the streets. Some of them have even brought their children along. Delhi is witnessing one of the largest frontline-workers protests ever which is led by women.

According to a report by TV9 Live, these women are joining the protests every day after they perform all their household duties. They look after their children and the other family members on one hand while on the other hand, they are strengthening the voice of their co-workers in the strike. Many women have not gone to their daily duty and are participating in the protest.

The union has put forth a demand that the state and the Centre should fill vacancies in the ICDS schemes. They are also demanding the rolling back of the National Education Policy which according to the union is a threat to the job security of these workers. The workers are also identifying the ‘Saheli Coordination Center’ as an obligation with forced labour. Therefore the union has also demanded to withdraw the same. The workers get Rs 6000 honorarium which they say is insufficient to run their families.

The walls on the streets of Civil Lines near Vikas Bhawan in Delhi are full of the protest arts made by these protestors. The women have taken the food along as they are not ready to move even to have meals. Shaheen Bagh protests and Farmer protests have seen five star facilities for the protestors being provided by their backdoor supporters. The funding trails were also exposed later. In sharp contrast to this, these anganwadi workers don’t even have proper facility of drinking water while they are sitting on the roads of Delhi.

Taking this to Twitter, political Dr Anand Ranganathan has said “Did you know – for TWO WEEKS thousands of our Anganwadi CoVID warriors are on dharna outside Arvind Kejriwal’s home demanding their pitiful honorarium? That’s the power of ad money. No news is good news.”

The workers are also protesting outside the offices of different AAP MLAs as well. On 14th February 2022, the women had protested outside the office of MLA Haji Yunus. On 15th February 2022, they had protested outside the office of AAP MLA Dilip Pandey.

The AAP government in Delhi has however tried to end this strike right from the day it started. The major communications regarding this, are done on WhatsApp, the social media platform used by the workers to organize the protests. The anganwadi workers were given free smartphones by the Delhi government in 2019 for filling up various data. The same phone has now become an important tool in the agitation against the same government. According to a report by The Hindu, the anganwadi workers protesting near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, have received, on WhatsApp, letters from the Delhi government threatening them of action if they do not join work.

The Child Development Project officer has sent a letter to the protesting Anganwadi workers in Shiva Vihar on 14th February 2022. The letter reads, “As per orders, you should immediately report to your anganwadi centres. Else file will be sent to the headquarters for departmental proceedings against you.” The Hindu has reported that letters with the exact same words were also sent to another group of women who were protesting in Prem Nagar area.

In another message on a WhatsApp group, the supervisor has informed the workers that they will not be paid for the days they are protesting and not attending work. On 15th February 2022, minimum 47 workers protesting in the Seemapuri area had received an individual letter from a supervisor on WhatsApp. In this letter, these workers are warned of action against them for not attending work. 

Around 20000 Anganwadi workers and helpers work in Delhi. Director of Department of Women and Child Development, Rashmi Singh, has said, “We have not issued any letter or notice to workers from the headquarters, but I don’t know about district levels. We have issued a notice for a meeting with the Anganwadi workers and the Minister will also be a part of it.”

There has been a threat of mass termination of these workers right from the beginning of the protest. On a WhatsApp group of lower officials, a senior officer of the department has written “Please convey them that we are genuinely and seriously trying hard to resolve their issue. If still they don’t want to cooperate, they must be ready for mass termination.”

This officer has sent a voice message in the same group. In this Hindi message, he says “On one side there is the union and on the other side you have to open the anganwadi and fail the protest. This strike has to be failed and it’s your responsibility. Don’t play into their hands. Open the anganwadi centres.”

According to a report in The Hindu, a senior official was asked about this voice message. In response, he had said “Some workers wanted to open the anganwadi centres and they were being threatened by the ones on the strike and it was then the audio was sent. The ones who are willing should be allowed to work and open centres.”

Amnesty USA supports charity fraud, equates investigation on Rana Ayyub to ‘preventing her right to practice journalism freely’

OpIndia Staff
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Amnesty USA supports charity fraud, equates investigation on Rana Ayyub to ‘preventing her right to practice journalism freely’

On February 16, dubious organization Amnesty came out in support of alleged journalist Rana Ayyub who is currently under investigation for allegedly siphoning off the money she had collected in the name of Covid charity.

Amnesty wrote in a tweet, “We stand with Rana Ayyub as she continues to speak truth to power, even as she faces increasingly serious threats to her life. We also call on the Indian government to defend her rights under international law to practice journalism freely and safely.”

Source: Twitter

Amnesty’s accounts were frozen for not complying with FCRA laws

On September 10, 2020, the Enforcement Directorate, the same agency that froze Rana Ayyub’s 1.77 crore funds, had frozen all bank accounts of the organization’s India chapter over FCRA violation. On September 29, 2020, the organization closed its India’s chapter.

Notably, Amnesty India was not registered with FCRA to receive foreign funds. As per law, any NGO that wants to receive foreign funds has to register under FCRA. However, the government has stated that Amnesty International was never registered in India under the FCRA, which is needed for receiving foreign donations.

The organization has a long history of anti-India activities. In a report published in India in 2019, we explored the connections between Amnesty International India, the British government, and radical Islamists.

On several occasions, Amnesty India and its former head Aakar Patel kept peddling blatant lies and fake news to portray India negatively. It also campaigned for the arrested Urban Naxals in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.

Amnesty International received funding from governments though they had refused any such donations. As reported by NGO Monitor, in 2009, Amnesty received €2.5 million (approximately 1% of its donations) from governments that they used for its operations in India.

Amnesty was first raided in 2018 by ED for FCRA violation. In 2020, former Amnesty India head Aakar Patel was arrested for his defamatory tweets on PM Modi, BJP-RSS, and Ghanchi caste. Earlier, Patel’s Twitter account was withheld due to tweets instigating caste and communal violence in India.

Rana Ayyub allegedly siphoned off money she collected for charity

On February 10, OpIndia had reported that ED seized Rs 1.77 crore in Ayyub’s and her family’s accounts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED has, in its attachment order, said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors”.

A few days after the expose, Ayyub alleged in a statement that she was being framed for her “journalism” and she did not misuse the money. However, all her claims were debunked by a Twitter user Hawk Eye who was the first to share details of alleged charity fraud last year.

The Burqa over barbarism and trauma: Millions of Muslim women at risk due to Female Genital Mutilation, no Islamic organisation protests for their rights

Shashank Bharadwaj
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The Burqa over barbarism and trauma: Millions of Muslim women at risk due to Female Genital Mutilation, no Islamic organisation protests for their rights

Over the last few weeks, the Islamists worldwide have descended on social media platforms to cuss Indians after one of the state governments asked the students to adhere to the secular ideals of the country and not to wear religious attire such as hijab or burqa inside educational institutions. Islamists are demanding that Muslim women be allowed to wear hijab and burqa in schools and colleges violative of the dress code of the institutions.

The Islamists argue that the enforcement of constitutional values is incompatible with the Islamic laws, thus insisting on wearing their religious attire such as hijab or burqa inside secular educational institutions. The Islamists and their strategic allies, i.e., the left-liberal establishment, have been claiming that the hijab represents the choice for Muslim women, and hence the state must permit the Muslim women to wear whatever they wish to.

Amidst all these noises around the Islamic clothing – hijab, the real issues concerning Muslim women that mandates a serious discussion have found no takers in the Islamic-liberal circles. One such issue involving a global movement is to end the savagery that continues in the form of Female Genital Mutilation. In fact, the progressive Islamic society should take up the matter of FGM, making it a choice-based practice and ending the trauma and humiliation Muslim women face.

As the FGM issue has no takers in the left-liberal establishment, the Muslim women themselves have come forward in the last few weeks to recount how they are being subjected to the practices of FGM without their consent. One such story is spine chilling.

GIRDLE – an organisation that runs a field awareness programme on the atrocities committed against innocent Muslim women in the name of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practise has shared a story of Hibaaq, a Muslim woman from Jowhar in Somalia.

Hiqaab narrates how she had to face trauma after she was forcibly subjected to FGM by the community at an early age, including infibulation, a more drastic part of the process.

For starters, Female Genital Mutilation is a traditional practice that involves altering or removing the female genitalia for cultural reasons. FGM is mainly carried out on young girls between the age of 7 to 15. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. The practice is recognised internationally as a violation of human rights and the health and integrity of girls and women.

The practise is mostly carried out by traditional practitioners, mostly in Islamic societies and also sometimes in orthodox Christianity. The practice has no health benefits for girls and women.

The infibulation includes another step in the mutilation, where the vulva is sutured or stitched together after removal of the external genitalia, which makes this practice most horrific for women. After sewing together the entire labia majora, only a small hole is left for urination and menstruation, and it is impossible to have intercourse without opening the vagina first. As per ritual, the husband cuts it open on the first night of the marriage, or sometimes a circumciser does the job. Female infibulation is known as Type III FGM, and it is practised in Northeastern African countries.

As per Hiqaab, just like several Somalian girls, she had undergone Type III FGM when she was eight years old, which means her external genitalia was cut and the vulva was sewn together. As she remained in the condition for a long time, her skin had joined together, like how the skin gets joined after an injury or surgery, closing the genitalia almost permanently, except for the small hole. After her marriage, when she and her husband tried to open it, they were unsuccessful and she was bleeding from the process.

“When I got married, we tried for five days to get me opened, but the blood just poured out, and in my pain, I wrestled with my husband out of bed! We visited a doctor, who said that along the years after my infibulation, the skin had grown together to partially cover the small hole left for me to pee and menstruate!” Hiqaab penned the terror she had to face after being subjected to FGM at an early age.

Due to the underlying complications, Hiqaab says, she consulted a doctor, who called it “as spontaneous adhesion” and advised her of having surgery to open her genitals so that she could continue to perform intercourse with her husband without pain.

What followed was worse. Hiqaab’s husband refused, saying, “I will be the one to open her up; no one else. It’s a shame for me not to be the one to open her up”. For Hiqaab’s husband, it was a matter of prestige as he yelled, “how would I be seen as a man among my family and friends!”

Hiqaab says she disagreed with him, but he threatened her, saying that he would divorce her if he did not consummate the marriage by “personally opening me up”. As a result, she conceded and allowed her husband to forcefully open her without surgery. This resulted in months of pain and agony for her, she said.

“Out of shame for my family’s name, we went back home. I cannot describe the amount of pain he did. I was passing urine uncontrollably for two months!”

The young Muslim girl’s story on the barbaric practice of Female Genital Mutilation has now ignited a stirring debate on social media on why such archaic practices still exist in Abrahamic cultures.

Well, this is just one story.

GIRDLE has put out several such stories on its platform revealing the horrors and trauma Muslim women faces in the form of forceful practises of FGM. The ordeal is not just limited to Hiqaab, Rahma, and a few others alone. According to WHO’s estimate, more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to FGM in more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Each year, around 4 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation, with most girls cut before the age of fifteen.

The consequences of FGM are terrible on women’s health. It can cause severe bleeding and urinary related issues and lead to cysts, infections, complications in childbirth, and sometimes even death.

The economic costs of treating health complications arising from FGM have been estimated at $1.4 billion for 2018. If the barbaric practice remains, the health cost is expected to rise to $2.3 billion by 2047.

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) is opposed to all types of FGM and intends to end all forms of Female Genital Mutilation by 2030.

Amidst all the unimportant debates surrounding the hijab and burqa, the Islamists have actually remained tight-lipped on the FGM practice. In fact, some of the radical Islamic organisations worldwide and in India have been vocal about preserving such practices. Strangely, the Islamic organisations that back pro-hijab movements have never shown any such eagerness to liberate Muslim women by ending such practices.

There is hardly any global movement led by Muslims in support of their women’s bodily rights. But, when it is about hijab or burqa, the Islamic organisations puts out the ‘choice’ trope to defend the patriarchal attire. The FGM debate has exposed the dubiousness of both Islamists and the left-liberal establishment over their differential treatment of two similar issues that concern Muslim women.

The issue has also raised pertinent points on why have these societies turned a blind eye towards such a heinous practice and instead defended the patriarchal symbols such as hijab or burqa that has turned Muslim women into perpetual prisoners.

Punjab CM Channi and Priyanka Gandhi activate damage control mode after they were caught spreading hate against UP-Bihar people

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab CM Channi and Priyanka Gandhi activate damage control mode after they were caught spreading hate against UP-Bihar people

After Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi’s recent hateful remarks against the people of UP and Bihar working in Punjab saw wide criticism and questions were raised on Priyanka Gandhi cheering for those remarks, the Congress has activated damage control mode.

Channi has now claimed that the remark was directed at Arvind Kejriwal, not the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He said that his remark was ‘misinterpreted’ by rival party leaders and that he did not disparage migrants. The Punjab CM has perhaps forgotten that he was seen on camera spreading hatred against the people of UP and Bihar, and no ‘misinterpretation’ has happened.

“My statement was about people like Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh who come to Punjab as outsiders and create disturbance in the state,” Channi said in a video message. “My statement yesterday (Wednesday) was taken out of context. I believe, everyone who has entered Punjab, has worked hard and has taken the state on the path of development. We heartily love all of them who have made Punjab better,” he added.

Interestingly, Priyanka Gandhi, who was yesterday seen laughing and cheering on Channi’s statement propagating hate against the people of UP and Bihar, has also come out in defence of her party leader saying that the Punjab CM’s ‘UP-Bihar ke bhaiya’ comment was misconstrued.

All that the CM said was that Punjab should be run by Punjabis, she said, adding, “His statement was misconstrued. I don’t think anyone from UP is interested in coming to Punjab and ruling.”

During an electoral rally in Ropar on February 15, the Punjab chief minister warned residents not to let ‘bhaiyas’ from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar enter the state. Interestingly, while he was propagating hate against the people of UP and Bihar, Priyanka Gandhi, general secretary of Congress and in-charge of UP Congress, cheered and clapped on his statement.

Opposition parties tears into Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi and Priyanka Gandhi for the hateful remarks against UP, Bihar people

Since the video has gone viral, Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi has been receiving a barrage of criticism from opposing party leaders and even social media users. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has also come under the fire for supporting Channi’s contentious remark against the people of UP and Bihar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi for his contentious remark, as well as Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, claiming that “the boss family from Delhi was clapping.”

“What the Congress Chief Minister said here the entire country has seen. The family from Delhi is his maalik (boss), that maalik was standing next to him, clapping,” PM Modi said at a rally in Punjab ahead of the Sunday election in the state.

“Day after her brother sermonized us on diversity and ‘spirit of India’, albeit brazenly ignoring North East, Smt Priyanka Gandhi is seen cheering Punjab CM Sri Charanjit S Channi on his despicable comments against people of Bihar and UP! Hypocrisy & politics of tukde tukde at best!” Himanta Biswa Sarma had tweeted lambasting Priyanka Gandhi over her complicity in Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s ‘bhaiyas from UP, Bihar’ comment.

“Do they know how much is the contribution of people of Bihar in Punjab and how many are living (there)?… I am stunned how people make such statements”, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said, as he expressed his disappointment over Channi’s remarks.

“It’s a shameful statement. I condemn this. Wherever the people of Bihar & UP went, they made a place for themselves with hard work & contributed to the growth of their state”, said Bihar Minister Sanjay Jha, adding that the “Situation of ‘Congress mukt (India)’ will persist if they speak such language & do such politics. They have lost Punjab, there’s no chance for them”.

Furthermore, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had also slammed Channi for his ‘shameful’ comment. “It is a very shameful remark to make in a united country like India. They have also called me kala, kala several times. Passing remarks on any community or state or group is deplorable,” he had said yesterday at a press conference in Punjab’s Jalandhar.

The Punjab Chief Minister’s ill-timed comment could be a stumbling block for the Congress party, which is frantically trying to keep its Punjab seat in the upcoming elections on February 20. Voting will be held in a single phase. The results will be announced on March 10 with four other states that are Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

‘Fallacious and completely inaccurate’: Govt dismisses media reports claiming COVID-19 mortality in India higher than official counts

OpIndia Staff
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‘Fallacious and completely inaccurate’: Govt dismisses media reports claiming COVID-19 mortality in India higher than official counts

The Indian government has on February 17, Thursday released a statement that strongly rejected some media reports claiming a “significant undercounting” of actual COVID-19 deaths in the first two waves.

The statement by the government of India said reports with claims that Covid-19 mortalities in India were much higher than the official count are “fallacious and completely inaccurate.”

“There have been some media reports based on a published research paper alleging that mortality due to Covid-19 in India is much higher than the official count and that actual numbers have been undercounted…these reports are fallacious and completely inaccurate. They are not based on facts and are speculative in nature,” the statement read.

It informed that India has a robust system of birth and death reporting which is carried out regularly from the Gram Panchayat level to the District-level and State-level.

Debunking the fake news, the Centre further said that the report alleges that between 3.2 million and 3.7 million individuals died in the country from Covid-19 by early November 2021, compared to official figures of 4.6 lakh in November 2021.

The government cleared that it has been pressing states to update their mortality estimates in the event that specific deaths are not reported in a timely manner at the field level, and is thus committed to obtaining the most accurate picture of pandemic-related deaths. Furthermore, it has asked States and Union Territories to register fatalities correctly in compliance with the statutory guidelines through various formal notifications, multiple video conferences, and the deployment of numerous Central teams. The Union Health Ministry has also repeatedly underlined the importance of a comprehensive reporting framework for daily monitoring of district-level cases and deaths. “Therefore, to project that COVID deaths have been under-reported is without basis and devoid of justification,” the government said in its statement.

The govt dismissed media reports based on a published ‘research paper’ that claimed that “Experts believe India’s civil registration system is vulnerable to gaps. The current civil registration system has little interoperability with health information systems, there is potential for gaps in recording of deaths.” It clarified that the Union Government has followed a transparent approach regarding COVID data management and a robust system of recording all COVID-19 related deaths already exists.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has produced ‘Guidance for accurate recording of COVID-19 related deaths in India’ to ensure that all deaths are recorded correctly using the ICD-10 codes suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since the commencement of the pandemic, the date of cases and deaths related to COVID19 has been made public, and all states, including districts, have released regular bulletins with full details on a daily basis, which are also made public, said the government of India.

The statement added that the Supreme Court of India is keeping a close eye on the entire process, as a result, there’s a far lower chance of COVID deaths being underreported in the country. “Hence, the conclusion that the “undercount” is due to reluctance or inability of families and local authorities is fallacious and far from the truth,” the statement added.

It may be noted that many media houses reported today that India’s Covid mortality is 6 to 8 times higher than official counts.

Report published by The Telegraph on February 17, 2022
Report by Deccan Herald published on February 17, 2022
Report by Daily Hunt published on February 17, 2022

These media reports have been based on an article written by Christophe Guilmoto, a researcher at Centre de Sciences Humaines for a journal PLOS ONE. The author claimed that India had 3.2–3.7 million Covid related deaths between March 2020 and early November 2021, a level that is roughly 7–8 times greater than the official figures.

Interestingly, the paper says that their claim of the number of deaths is based on ‘models’ and estimates, not actual data. Meaning the 3.2 -3.7 million figure is ‘speculation’, not based on actual data.

Leftist and international media’s use of Covid-19 to demonise the Indian govt becomes a pattern

This is, however, not the first time liberal and foreign media outlets have tried to spread false information to undermine India’s fight against the Covid pandemic. In January this year too, there were some media reports claiming a “significant undercounting” of actual COVID-19 deaths in the first two waves. Then too, the govt of India had released a statement clarifying the reports as being false.

Moreover, the PIB said that there is an incentive in India to report coronavirus deaths as they are entitled to monetary compensation. “Hence, the likelihood of underreporting is less,” the government said.

The government’s response was to a news report published in the journal Science which estimated that India’s true death toll between 1 June 2020, and 1 June 2021, could be between 3.1 million and 3.4 million. It said that the data was collected by three different sources and involved a survey of 137,289 adults.

In May last year, The New York Times had also used arbitrarily chosen random numbers to claim that India’s actual Covid-19 infection and deaths are much more. OpIndia had then reported how the entire analysis done in the article was based on ‘estimates’ based on randomly selected numbers, and how it did not explain why and how those estimates were made.

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