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Pakistan: Christian pastors shot in broad daylight in Peshawar, one pastor dead while another injured

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Christian pastors shot in broad daylight in Peshawar, one pastor dead while another injured

On Sunday (January 30), a Christian pastor was gunned down by miscreants in Madina Market in Peshawar city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The area falls within the jurisdiction of the Gulbahar police station.

As per reports, the victim was identified as one pastor William Siraj of All Saints Church. Besides, another priest named Reverend Patrick Naeem was critically injured in the gun attack.

According to the police, the pastors came under gunfire from unidentified assailants while they were travelling for personal work in a van on the Ring Road. While Siraj died on the spot, pastor Naeem was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital. He is said to be in a stable condition now.

The hospital authorities informed that the dead body of pastor Siraj will be handed over to his family. Meanwhile, a large contingent of police has been deployed in the crime spot. The cops have launched a search operation to nab the accused.

The dastardly attack was condemned by several people on social media. President of Bishop Church of Pakistan, Azad Marshall, tweeted, “We strongly condemn the firing on clergy of Diocese of Peshawar and instant killing of Pastor William Siraj and injuring Rev Patrick Naeem earlier today. We demand justice and protection of Christians from the Government of Pakistan.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Bishop Azad Marshall

It must be mentioned that the pastors belonged to the All Saints Church of Peshawar, which has been operational since 1883. The Church came under a deadly terror attack in September 2013, leading to the death of over 75 people. The attack was orchestrated by two Islamist suicide bombers, belonging to the Pakistani Taliban. While taking responsibility for the attack, the Islamist outfit said that it was carried out to avenge US drone strikes in North-west tribal areas in Pakistan.

Udupi hijab row: Satirist gets slammed by Islamists for cartoon on Islamic attire

OpIndia Staff
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Udupi hijab row: Satirist gets slammed by Islamists for cartoon on Islamic attire

On Tuesday (January 25), political satirist Satish Acharya was slammed by Islamists for his ‘anti-Muslim’ cartoon on social media. His artwork was published in the backdrop of an ongoing controversy at a Udupi college where 6 Muslim girls were barred from attending classes for brandishing hijab over their uniform.

The cartoon by Satish Acharya depicted a ‘Muslim woman’ clad in a hijab (head scarf) and being caught in the middle of two groups. While one group directed the girl that she cannot attend college with a hijab, the other group told her ‘no college without hijab.’

Screengrab of the cartoon by Satish Acharya

Islamists slam satirist for suggesting Hijab can be ‘forced’

Although Acharya tried to ‘normalise’ wearing of religious attire atop school uniform, his insinuation that the hijab has been thrust upon the girls irked the Islamists on social media. They slammed him for deviating from the common Islamist narrative that the headscarf is a matter of choice for women.

In a tweet, popular ‘news grazer’ Zoya Rasul claimed, “Helpless, voiceless Muslim women being forced by brutal, aggressive Muslim men has been the most popular strand in anti-Muslim sentiments. This cartoon exhibits the same prejudice, cunningly discounting the brave and graceful fight these girls have been putting up for weeks now.”

Screengrab of the tweet

In another tweet, one Nihad said, “Hope you have heard the girls talk. They are not forced to wear hijab. Maybe you can draw a more accurate cartoon next time.”

Screengrab of the tweet

“This cartoon is misleading. No one is forced to wear hijab. But the hijab girls are being forced to miss school. Big difference,” wrote one Islamist.

Screengrab of the tweet

Another Islamist claimed, “Shame on you Satish. Wearing hijab is their choice. No one has forced them to wear this. Stop these biased things.”

Screengrab of the tweet

Another Islamist slammed Satish Acharya for his ‘disgusting’ cartoon. “So-called modern minds, who cannot accept ‘Muslim women exercising her right & willingly practising her religion. But always ready to impose their own false narratives. Pity on your mindset, which doesn’t allow you to accept Muslim women committed to her beliefs,” he added.

Screengrab of the tweet

One Mohsin Khan went on parrot the same Islamist argument that hijab, just like bikini, is a matter of choice. This is however in complete disregard to the fact that the college has a mandatory uniform for all students and did not encourage either religious symbolism or swimwear.

Screengrab of the tweet

“If a female wears a bikini, then, it’s her choice. And if she wears burkha or a hijab, then it’s forced. It just shows your prejudice. Nothing much,” he claimed.

Udupi hijab row: The background of the Case

The controversy began on January 1 this year when 6 female Muslim students of a Pre-University College (PUC) in Udupi tried to enter their classes with a Hijab. The school principal, identified as one Rudra Gowda, barred the girls from attending classes with their Islamic attire.

He pointed out that it nullified the purpose of a uniform. According to Karnataka’s Education Minister BC Nagesh, uniforms had been in existence in the said government PUC since 1985. He informed that there had never been an issue to date.

“Uniform in the college has been there since 1985. Till now, no problem was there. Uniformity creates a common mind. Kesari shawls are not allowed in college either. The same six girls had been OK [with the uniform] till 1.5 years ago. They have been suddenly provoked,” he had remarked.

The girls then launched a protest outside their classrooms for 3 days to allow them entry with their headcovers. They have now been asked to attend online classes until the matter is resolved.

Meanwhile, Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV) had cautioned that Hindus will wear saffron shawls to classes if Hijab is allowed for Muslim students.

Indian Express spreads fake news, CAPFs refute its report that their DGs were not invited to Republic Day parade

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Express spreads fake news, CAPFs refute its report that their DGs were not invited to Republic Day parade

According to a report published in the Indian Express, the Director Generals of several Central Armed Forces were not invited to the Republic Day Parade this year. However, this turned out to be misleading information because all of the DGs were invited to the Parade, and several of them attended the event.

The report read, “The DGPs of the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITB, and SSB were not invited to the Republic Day parade. The omission is perceived as a snub to the one odd million personnel of the central forces.” The claim appeared in an opinion piece titled “Why PM Modi wasted no time in installing Netaji’s statue” by Coomi Kapoor, where it was added under the section titled ‘Not Invited’.

However, this claim has turned out to be false, as several CAPFs have refuted the report and informed their chiefs were invited to the parade and they have attended the same.

This misinformation was first countered by the Twitter handle of Central Reserved Police forces (CRPF). It tweeted “The information published in @IndianExpress that DG CRPF was not invited to Republic Day Parade is not just incorrect but also ill intended and insulting to the Force. Shri Kuldiep Singh, DG CRPF, was invited to the Republic Day Parade which he attended.”

Similarly, Indo-Tibetan Border Police also refuted the claim. The CAPF said that DG ITBP was invited & attended the Parade. ITBP also added that it was for the 1st time that the ‘Janbaz’ bikers of ITBP displayed a brave show at the parade.

It is notable that DG ITBP Sanjay Arora also has the additional charge of SSB. Therefore, even though SSB has not issued any statement regarding the Indian Express report, their chief was invited to the parade and he had attended the same.

Central Industrial Security Force tweeted to inform that the Indian Express report was fake. It said that DG CISF Sheel Vardhan Singh was invited to the 73rd Republic Day parade at Rajpath, New Delhi, and he attended the same. “The information published in news paper stating that DsG of CAPF were not invited at the Republic Day Parade 2022 is incorrect,” CISF said.

BSF has not responded to the report yet, but given that the DGs of all other CAPFs were invited to the parade and they attended the same, it can be said with reasonable certainty that DG BSF was also invited.

After the individual CAPFs refuted the report, Indian Express removed the ‘Not Invited’ section from the article. It added an Editor’s note saying “The last item in this article titled ‘Not invited’ was incorrect and has been removed. The error is regretted.“

It should be mentioned that Indian Express has been accused of disseminating fake news and promoting misinformation on countless occasions.

Very recently, when PM Modi’s convoy was blocked in Ferozepur Punjab and his security was breached, The Indian Express reported that Khalistani slogans were raised by the BJP workers near the Ludhiana DCs office. The truth, however, was far from the catchy headline that IE had picked. Conversely, IE stated in the same article that the slogans raised by BJP activists were ‘Khalistania da yaar Channi Murdabad’ (friend of Khalistanis, Channi Murdabad) and ‘Attwadian nu panah den wala Channi Murdabad’ (one who host terrorists, Channi murdabad). PM Modi’s convoy was blocked when he was heading towards Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district of Punjab to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial and subsequently address a public meeting.

As West Bengal starts to become West Bangladesh, time to remember how Bangladesh was formed to realize the goals of Lahore Resolution

Guest Author
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As West Bengal starts to become West Bangladesh, time to remember how Bangladesh was formed to realize the goals of Lahore Resolution

Fifty years of the formation of Bangladesh is being celebrated quite enthusiastically in West Bengal. The spiritual bond of the Bengali language and culture between two Bengals is being rediscovered and championed. Bengali language movement of 1952 by the students of Dhaka University is also almost universally being accepted as the basis of the Bangladesh independence movement. The creation of Bangladesh is being portrayed as the emergence of a secular space on the eastern border of India. At this juncture, it is very important to expose this lie on the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of Bangladesh.

Whenever the word Pakistan is uttered, a negative picture of a strict Islamic country emerges. When East Pakistan became Bangladesh, most people felt relieved that there would be no Pakistan on our eastern border. There was hope in West Bengal that it would no more be plagued with the constant influx of Hindu refugees from Islamic East Pakistan. And ‘secular’ Hindu Bengali historians, artists, intellectuals, political parties (even some Hindutva activists) painted a rosy sentimental picture about the newly formed country called Bangladesh.

But if we turn the page a little back, we will see that even after the partition of the country into Pakistan, the eastern wing of Pakistan was called East Bengal. In 1955 it was officially named East Pakistan. The name Pakistan (meaning Holy Land) was coined by Chowdhury Rahmat Ali after the names of the states of Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan. There was no mention of Bengal in it. There is no mention of the word Pakistan in the Lahore resolution of 1940 which is considered as the basis and fundamental guide for creation of Pakistan. The Lahore resolution explicitly mentioned that “that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North-Western and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped to constitute “Independent States” in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign”.

Eminent writer and political leader of East Pakistan/ Bangladesh, Abul Mansur Ahmed has explained it very clearly in his autobiographical book – “One Pakistan has been replaced by two Pakistans in accordance with Lahore Resolution. The Government of India has assisted us in implementing the Lahore Resolution …. The Lahore resolution does not mention the word “Pakistan”, only the Muslim majority states. This means that the name of the states should be decided by the people later. The western people have named their state ‘Pakistan’. We, Easterners have named ours ‘Bangladesh’. There is no reason to be confused. ” (Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachhar [Fifty Years of Politics As I Saw It] –pp. 808 3rd Ed. by Abul Mansur Ahmed, Naoroj Kitabistan, Dhaka, 1975).

East Bengal and West Bengal were formed on 20 June 1947 by a vote in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. All the Muslim members of the Bengal Legislative Assembly were against the division of Bengal and voted in favour of annexing the whole of Bengal to Pakistan. Those Muslim members demanded a united Bengal not to protect the language and culture of Bengal but to gain control over a larger landmass including the rich and prosperous city of Calcutta. Two most prominent political leaders in favour of a united Muslim-majority independent Bengal were Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose. Muslim Leaguer Shaheed Suhrawardy was then Primer of Bengal and also infamous as ‘butcher of Calcutta’ because of his role in Great Calcutta Killings.    Congressman Sarat Chandra Bose was the brother of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Debates on the status of the Bengali language in Pakistan started from the time of the creation of Pakistan. Was it due to love for Bengali language and culture? After the partition of the country, all the Bengali newspapers published in East Bengal and who spoke in favour of the Bengali language had Arabic names – Paygam, Dainik Azad, Ittefaq, Insan, Insaf etc. The name of the most important organization championing Bengali language was Tamaddun Majlis. This is an Islamic example of love for the Bengali language. Bengali-speaking Muslims still name their children in Arabic.

On 23 February 1948, Dhirendranath Dutta, leader of Congress Party in in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan demanded that Bengali be made the state language. He was supported by three Hindu members namely Premahari Barman, Bhupendra Kumar Dutta and Srishchandra Chattopadhyay. Prime Minister Liaquat Khan (elected from East Bengal) and Chief Minister of East Bengal Khwaja Nizamuddin vehemently opposed it. No Muslim member of East Bengal supported this demand. However, shortly the movement to make Bengali the state language was intensified due to economic reason.

In the words of Abul Mansur Ahmed, “If Urdu is made the state language, the educated society of East Pakistan will become ‘uneducated’ and ‘unfit’ for government service overnight. By replacing Persian with English as the state language in the mid-nineteenth century, British imperialism made the Muslim educated society “uneducated” and incapable of public service overnight.” (Purba Banglar Bhasa Andolan O Tatkaleen Rajnity [Language Movement of East Bengal and Politics of that Time]vol , pp 19 b Badaruddin Umar, Anandadhara Prakashan, Dhaka, 1970).

This was the crude reality of the Bengali language movement. Of course, the students of Dhaka University and a section of intellectuals added some emotional components associated with mother tongue. But love for mother tongue was not absolute. In an article published in December 1948, the eminent linguist and scholar Muhammad Shahidullah wrote: “Language of religion has the place next to mother tongue. For this, I will say with all my heart, like Bangla we want Arabic. The birth of the state of Pakistan will be meaningful on the day when Arabic will be accepted as the state language of the whole of Pakistan”. (Pakistaner Rashtrabhasa Samasya [Problem of State Language of Pakistan], Dainik Azad, 29 July, 1947). The process of the Arabization of the Bengali language has been going on since then.

In 1954, Bengali became the state language of Pakistan. In all official notifications from currency notes to postage stamps Bengali was used along with Urdu. The language movement was over. But this victory of the Bengali language did not affect the ongoing persecution of Bengali speaking Hindus in East Bengal / East Pakistan. It continued as usual. In 1950, during the language movement, Jogendranath Mandal, the law minister of Pakistan, a leader of the Scheduled Caste Society, a supporter of the Pakistan movement, fled to India to save his life.

In this context, another myth about the sacrifices of Bengali speaking Muslims only for the Bengali language needs to be demolished. It is true that in 1952 police fired on agitating students of Dhaka University and four Bengali speaking Muslims (none of them were students of Dhaka University) were killed. But ‘secular’ intellectuals of both the Bengals consciously ignored the sacrifices of eleven Hindu Bengalis in the Bengali language movement in Silchar, Assam in 1961. Out of eleven martyrs nine were Hindu refugees from East Pakistan including a young girl named Kamala Bhattacharya. So Bengali speaking Hindus never had any mercy from the Bengali speaking Islamists in East Pakistan/ Bangladesh.

Since the creation of Pakistan, almost all the political parties of East Bengal/ East Pakistan had complained against discrimination by West Pakistan in all facets of life – jobs, education, industry, agriculture, trade. The first democratic election of East Bengal (not yet East Pakistan) was held in 1954. The United Front which won the election massively, was composed of four political parties of East Bengal, namely Awami Muslim League (later Awami League), KrishakShramik Party, Nezam-e-Islam and Ganatantrik Dal. The United front announced 21-point package programme in the election manifesto, drafted by Abul Mansur Ahmed of Awami Muslim League. The 19th point of the programme was – “The Lahore Resolution proposed full autonomy of East Bengal leaving defence, foreign affairs and currency only under the central government. In the matter of defence, arrangements shall be made to set the headquarters of the army in West Pakistan and the naval headquarters in East Bengal and to establish ordnance factories in East Bengal, and to transform Ansar force into a full-fledged militia equipped with arms”. However, the United Front government did not last long.

After a long period of military rule, a general election of Pakistan was held in 1970. Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won almost all the seats in East Pakistan and claimed to be invited to form the government. The basis of this huge election victory of Awami League was the six-point charter of demands framed in 1966.The first sentence of the first paragraph of the charter was, “Pakistan must be built into a true federation based on the historic Lahore resolution.” In other words, the Awami League had never deviated from the raison d’etre of creation of Pakistan. The six-point demands were all about East Pakistan’s economic issues. The last demand was the formation of an armed force for the security of East Pakistan (from Indian invasion). There was no mention of Bengali language and culture in the charter.

The military government of Pakistan and the major political parties of West Pakistan did not accept this victory of the Awami League and the following military intervention compelled Awami League to demand total separation from Pakistan. A so-called liberation war (MuktiYuddha) began. Historically such liberation wars go on for years and decades. Here, only nine months later, with a 14-day Indian military intervention gave birth to a new country – Bangladesh.

Politically, Bangladesh became a newly independent country with a new secular constitution. But, shortly within three years, Bangladesh rolled back to the old mould of Pakistan. The secular constitution was scrapped, Islam was made the state religion. The opening words ‘bismillah-ar-rahman-arrahim’ (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful), were added in 1997. Following the tradition of Pakistan, persecution of Hindus continued and at least ten million Bengali Hindus had been kicked out from Bangladesh in the last 50 years.

How are the Bengali Hindus Living there? After the attack on idols, temple vandalism and attacks on the Hindu community across Bangladesh during Durga Puja last October, 2021, prominent Bangladeshi educationist and writer Muhammad Zafar Iqbal (brother of the legendary writer Humayun Ahmed) wrote in one of his social media posts on October 19, 2021, “for last few days I am feeling myself impure. It seems that I am immersed in a dirty sewer. Not only me, but many people like me in this country have the same feeling, it seems that a large part of the nation is drowning in depression. The reason must be understood by everyone. Durga Puja, which is considered to be the biggest festival of Hindus, is at the center of the biggest violence this time. I can’t even comfort myself that this is an isolated incident. Starting from Comilla, it did not stop in Comilla, it spread all over the country. Which means there are horrible communal people all over the country, they are not hiding, they are open in public, proudly carrying out their operation. … ..When the time for Durga Puja comes, the work of making idols starts all over the country, since then I feel a kind of suppressed unrest inside myself. Inevitably I get the news that the idols are being smashed here and there in the country. When the puja starts, I hold my breath”. Do you find any difference between Bangladesh and (East) Pakistan?

Famous Bengali writer and thinker Annadashankar Roy wrote – (during a visit of Dhaka after formation of Bangladesh) “We asked Sheikh (Mujibar) Saheb, ‘When did the idea of ​​Bangladesh come to your mind?’ –  He smiled and said, in 1947. I was a part of  the team of Mr. Suhrawardy (then Prime Minister of United Bengal under British rule and known as ‘Butcher of Calcutta” for his alleged role in riot in Calcutta). He and Sarat Chandra Bose (brother of Netaji Subhash) wanted United Bengal. I (Mujib) also wanted a country for all Bengalis. ” (Indrapat, Kando Priyo Desh, Kolkata, 1979, Quoted in Bangabandhu Kibhbe Amader Swadhinata Enechhilen [How Bangabadhu Gave Us Independence] pp15 by Muntasir Mamun, Maola Brothers, Dhaka, 2013)

Do the people of West Bengal smell anything? The slogan of ‘Joy Bangla’, very popular in Bangladesh, is nowadays being heard in the streets of West Bengal too. The ruling party of the state is popularizing this slogan to transform West Bengal into West Bangladesh to make their vote bank happy. In the fiftieth year of the formation of Bangladesh, the heirs of Sarat Chandra Bose and Suhrawardy are again dreaming of merging Hindu majority West Bengal into Islamic Bangladesh to fulfil the spirit of Lahore resolution. Even Hindutva activists have now become Gandhites and care less about these ‘communal’ issues.

Now it is time to wait for West Bengal to become West Bangladesh.

Author- Mohit Ray

The author is a well-known environmentalist, refugee rights activist and state committee member of BJP in West Bengal. He has authored a number of books on the environment and Bangladesh issues.

Gujarat: Another youth from Anand gets death threats over social media post, days after Dhandhuka youth gets killed over ‘blasphemy’

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Another youth from Anand gets death threats over social media post, days after Dhandhuka youth gets killed over ‘blasphemy’

A Hindu youth from Anand in Gujarat has received death threats over a phone call from a Muslim youth for sharing a social media post. According to the reports by News18 Gujarati, a Hindu youth named Ilesh Parmar who lives in Petlad of Anand in Gujarat has received such threats from one Hani Sayyad. Ilesh Parmar had posted a status on his WhatsApp profile in which Lord Krishna was glorified.

Enraged at this, the accused has threatened him of death first on the chat and then over a phone call. As the audio clip of the call went viral, the news spread all over in Anand. Meanwhile, a case has been registered by the police in this matter.

What is heard in the call recording?

In the audio clip of the threat call that went viral, it is clearly heard that the accused is threatening Ilesh Parmar for posting a WhatsApp status praising Lord Krishna. The audio recording was shared by News18 Gujarati on its Twitter handle.

The talk is shared briefly as follows:

Ilesh: Hello

Accused: Hello! I will kill you Ilesh

Ilesh: Where are you, come over here

Accused: Now I am near your farm, but you have gone to college in Petlad, right?

Ilesh: Yes I go to Petlad college, so what will you do?

Accused: Why did you put that status?

Ilesh: Why would I send it to you? It is my profile. I don’t have your number saved in my phone. You delete my number and you will not see my status then. It is that much straight.

Accused: No, no, no. You remove that status. I have taken a screenshot of that and if you don’t delete the status, I will see you.

Ilesh: Ok. Do whatever you can.

Accused: Even if you do a police complaint, I will see you.

Ilesh: Do whatever you can. I don’t need anyone.

Accused: Whether you be at college or at home, I will kill you on Monday.

Ilesh: Yes try to kill me.

Accused: I will not go back home unless I kill you. Come to Petlad for college on Monday, I will see that you won’t go back alive.

Ilesh: Why not tomorrow? I can be in Petlad tomorrow.

Accused: You just remember the day. I will come to Petlad and kill you.

Ilesh: Ok. Will see.

Repeatitive incidents

Last week, a Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad, aged 27, was killed by two bike borne Muslim men over allegations of blasphemy. Bharwad had put up a post on social media which contained an image of Prophet Muhammad. Sharing an image of Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemy in Islam.

After arresting and investigating Muslim clerics and youths involved in this case it was revealed that they were building a bigger network to target and kill more such Hindu youths a different places in Gujarat. The incident that happened at Anand holds serious importance because of this backdrop.

Petlad town of Anand in Gujarat is communally sensitive. Police have taken cognizance of this incident registered a case and the matter is being investigated further. It will also be checked if this matter is also connected to the Kishan Bharwad murder case and subsequently exposed the network of attacking Hindus for social media posts.

Arrested accused reveal more information about Kishan Bharwad case

Meanwhile, in another shocking revelation in the Kishan Bharwad murder case, the arrested accused have informed in the police investigation that they had actually planned for the murder of another Hindu youth in Porbandar. As reported by Zee 24 Kalak, they had also contacted the local Muslim youth of Porbandar to execute the plan, but at the last moment, the Muslim youth from Porbandar refused to kill the Hindu youth.

This is why they took the Dhandhuka plan on priority and killed Kishan Bharwad. It is notable that the Porbandar youth was also the target of this Jihadi network because he had posted something on social media which according to the accused Muslims is an act of blasphemy.

Accused Shabbir and Imtiyaz both were arrested by the police. Zee24Kalak has reported that both of them had hired a Muslim youth from Porbandar for a similar target killing but he refused at the very last moment. They had also contacted a Muslim youth from Jamnagar to execute a similar killing job. According to the report, Qamar Gani Usmani had visited Ahmedabad and Surat 6 months ago. Many young Muslim boys from Gujarat were in connection with him. Earlier, the Pakistan connection was also exposed in this whole matter.

Modus Operandi

During the police investigation, Shabbir and Imtiyaz had spoken about the way these killers used to operate. In Dhandhuka’s Kishan Bharwad murder case and in the unexecuted or unsuccessful plans of Porbandar and Jamnagar, the hired killer would keep a close watch on the target Hindu youth as in who does the target meet regularly, what are the places usually visited by the target, who is the target accompanied by at what time of the day, etc.

The list of the targets can be still long and the number of Muslim youth in contact with the Jihadi mentors can also be higher than revealed. State ATS is doing further investigations in this case.

Kangana Ranaut speaks up for Kishan Bharwad, calls out ‘Humanists’ for silence over the murder

OpIndia Staff
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Kangana Ranaut speaks up for Kishan Bharwad, calls out ‘Humanists’ for silence over the murder

On January 29, actress Kangana Ranaut expressed her anger over the murder of Kishan Bharwad, a 27-year-old man from Gujarat who was shot dead over an alleged derogatory post on Prophet Muhammad. In a Facebook post, Ranaut said his murder was planned by a mosque and maulvi over FB post. She urged the government to take strong action against the accused.

She said, “Kishan Bharwad murder was planned by a mosque and maulvi over a FB post because he thought God did not like his post. Killing in the name of God needs to stop, we are not living in some medieval age, and Govt needs to take strong action against such Killings. Kishan was hardly 27 years old and had a two months old daughter, he was asked to delete his post and apologise he did the same, yet he was brutally killed by four men, he is nothing short of a martyr. He died for everyone’s freedom, such people are the ones who are stopping this nation from becoming Afghanistan … his widow should get pension, Om Shanti”

Ranaut also shared stories on her Instagram account. In one of the stories, she shared a screenshot of scientist and author Anand Ranganathan’s post in which he had talked about the death of Kishan Bharwad. Ranaut said, “Unbelievable cruelty in the name of God!!! So God told them he was offended with Kishan’s FB post? Really!? Why worship such a God who gets offended by an FB post and does not even accept apology and regrets!! Shame!”

Story in support of Kishan by Kangana. Source: Instagram

Ranaut continued to share stories on the matter. In a follow-up story, she called out so-called ‘humanist’ and questioned them for not condemning the murder of Kishan. She said, “No one with ‘Humanist’ in bio is condemning murder of Kishan. This proves Kishan was not human. Selective humanity of woke activists…”

Story in support of Kishan by Kangana. Source: Instagram

After the arrest of the maulvi alleged to be involved in the murder of Kishan, she shared another story in which she question if we were still living in the medieval age. She said, “What is this? A mosque and maulvi planning the murder of a man because he thinks God is offended by his post… are we living in medieval age?”

Story in support of Kishan by Kangana. Source: Instagram

The murder of Kishan Bharwad

On January 25, Ahmedabad youth Kishan Bharwad was shot dead by two bikers in Dhandhuka taluka. Kishan was on his way home, two bikers came and shot at him. He died on the spot. It was alleged that Kishan had shared a post on social media platform which Muslims find offensive. According to sources, the video shared by Kishan on social media had an image of Prophet Muhammad.

After the uproar, Kishan did not leave home for days. On Tuesday, he stepped out on his bike. According to an eyewitness, the two men who fired at Kishan were riding behind him, and at a turning at Modhwada, they fired their first shot. However, they missed it and then they fired again. He died on the spot, said the eyewitness.

Gujarat ATS and Gujarat Police initiated an investigation in the case. The two suspects, Shabbir and Imtiaz, were arrested by the police. Two maulvis were also arrested for instigating the attack and providing weapons for the kill. The pistol and bike used in the crime have been recovered by the police.

Bhopal: Man gives triple talaq to his wife after she filed dowry and molestation case against him and his family

OpIndia Staff
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Bhopal: Man gives triple talaq to his wife after she filed dowry and molestation case against him and his family

On the complaint of a woman, the Talaiya police station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh’s capital, has lodged a case of triple talaq (Muslim Women’s Marriage Protection Act) against her husband. The woman informed the police that her husband was abusing her by standing outside her house and that when her parents intervened and prevented the son-in-law from harassing her, he said Talaq three times and left, stating the relationship has ended.

It has been found that a case of dowry against the husband and another case of molestation against his brother-in-law was filed in the police station based on the woman’s complaint. Angered by this, the husband went to his wife’s residence and uttered Talaq three times. The Police are investigating the matter.

The 23-year-old woman from the region, along with her father, had filed the complaint with the Talaiya police station. She had married a man from the Gautam Nagar police station area on August 7, 2020. Her husband is employed by a private company.

According to reports, her husband and in-laws began pestering her for dowry soon after they married. Every day, her spouse used to beat her. His brother-in-law used to keep a bad eye on her, due to which she had filed a case of dowry against her husband and in-laws at Gautam Nagar police station last year. A charge of molestation was also brought against the brother-in-law. The case is still proceeding in court. She is currently staying at her parents’ house.

The woman informed the police that her spouse came outside her house about 2:15 P.M. on Friday and began abusing her. When her parents intervened to stop their son-in-law from abusing her, he began abusing them as well. He also moved away threatening to break the relationship after uttering talaq three times to his wife. 

It may be noted that the divorce by uttering triple talaq has been made illegal by the government in 2019. Keeping the promise made to Muslim women, the Modi govt had enacted The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 to end the practice of Muslim men divorcing their wives instantly by saying the words talaq three times in a row.

Kejriwal bats for a law against forced religious conversions, says conversions through influence, money or threat is wrong

OpIndia Staff
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Kejriwal bats for a law against forced religious conversions, says conversions through influence, money or threat is wrong

In a surprising turn of events, now Arvind Kejriwal has batted for an anti-forced-conversion law. On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal expressed his wish for a law to be made against forceful religious conversions. Kejriwal, while talking in a press conference in Punjab’s Jalandhar, said that he is against forceful conversions and that religion is a matter of personal faith.  

While talking in the state of Punjab which is about to go for polls on February 20th, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal took a stand against religious conversions happening forcefully. Kejriwal was asked about his view on coercion of the poor into converting to a new religion through money and influence. Upon this, Kejriwal added, “I am of an opinion that religion is a private matter. Everyone has a right to pray to whichever God, believe in whatever religious text he/she wishes. If conversions are happening through influence, money or threat then it is outright wrong.”

When asked about whether a law should be made to stop such conversions in the country, he said, “Yes, such a law should definitely come into force. But the law should not be used to harass anybody.”

While religious conversions of Hindus are rampant today, many BJP ruled states have enacted a law to curb forceful religious conversions pertaining to contextual realities. In 2020, the Yogi Adityanath led BJP Govt in Uttar Pradesh had passed ‘The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020’ which attracts a jail term for up to 10 years to offenders found guilty in mass conversion practices. Considering the menace of grooming Jihad in the state, the Madhya Pradesh Government had enacted a law aimed at preventing religious conversion using fraudulent means.

In December 2021, The Karnataka state assembly passed ‘The Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021’ to keep a check upon the rampant fraudulent conversions through missionary activities ravaging the state. The BJP ruled states of Haryana and Assam are already considering such laws in the respective states. With the advocacy of Arvind Kejriwal for the issue, all eyes will be on him whether he plans to enact such a law in AAP governed Delhi or promises to propose such act in states where his party goes for polls this year.

NTPC Ltd requests Railways to change the name of its NTPC exam and avoid the confusion amid controversy

OpIndia Staff
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NTPC Ltd requests Railways to change the name of its NTPC exam and avoid the confusion amid controversy

NTPC Ltd, the largest state-owned power generation company in the country has requested Indian Railways in a letter dated 28th January 2022 that railways should change the name of its NTPC exam which has caused great confusion among the aspiring candidates so far.

The NTPC in the name of the power generation company stands for National Thermal Power Corporation while that in the name of the NTPC exam of railways stands for Non-Technical Popular Categories. NTPC Ltd has said that it has created a wrong impression about the company. Railways examinations are in the middle of controversies owing to the aspiring students’ violent outrage at Gaya in the last week.

NTPC Ltd writes to the Railways

Pointing specifically to the similarity in names of the exam and the company, the power generation giant in its letter has said “This is with reference to the recent protest in some parts of the country with respect to Railway Recruitment Board Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC RRB) exam of Indian Railways.”

Expressing concern over the way this issue is being reported with the abbreviated names of the exams, NTPC Ltd has further said “While we are confident that the Railways is taking all necessary steps to address the situation, we just wish to bring to your notice that the NTPC Ltd has inadvertently been caught in the crossfire. The media has been using the abbreviated form NTPC, which gives the impression that the exams are linked to India’s largest power producer.”

NTPC Ltd has written a letter to the ministry of railways.

MSD Bhattamishra is the Executive Director (HR) of NTPC Ltd and he has written the letter on the company’s behalf. The letter further says “This, you would agree, is also hurting our reputation. You are requested to clarify and use the full form of the Railways Recruitment Scheme in your press releases or statements so that this misconception is not carried on creating the wrong impression amongst the users of social media and also the public at large. We would therefore urge you to kindly rename these exams so that no confusion is created in the future.”

Shiv Sena goes further ‘secular’, makes a U-turn on Nathuram Godse

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena goes further ‘secular’, makes a U-turn on Nathuram Godse

Shiv Sena has changed its stance diametrically on the issue of Nathuram Godse. On January 30, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said that If there was a real ‘Hindutvawadi’, then he would’ve shot Jinnah, instead of Gandhi.

On Sunday, the Shiv Sena leader was talking to the media about Nathuram Godse on MK Gandhi’s death anniversary. Sanjay Raut was asked to comment on Rahul Gandhi’s claim that a ‘Hindutvavadi’ (Godse) had killed Mahatma Gandhi. He replied, “Had anyone been a real Hindutvavadi, he/she would have shot Jinnah, why would one shoot Gandhi?”

He added, “The demand for a (separate) Pakistan, was a call given by Jinnah. If you were a real man and had guts, then you would have killed the man who spread violence through the partition. Such an act would’ve been an act of patriotism.” Talking about Gandhi he added, “To kill Gandhi, who was a saint was not right, according to me. The world even today mourns Gandhi Ji’s death”

Shiv Sena hailing Nathuram Godse as a patriot, as reported by DNA in November 2019

A controversy had erupted in 2010, when the souvenir of the 84th Marathi Sahitya Sammelan had a mention of Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated MK Gandhi on January 30, 1948. NCP leader Jitendra Awhad had demanded the photo of Ishrat Jahan, a terrorist killed by police in an encounter in Ahmedabad in 2004, to be mentioned in the souvenir instead. 

The Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, “Those who hate Nathuram are in love with Ishrat. Do they want Ishrat’s photo to be published in the souvenir instead of that of Nathuram?”. Contrary to the recent statements, the party held Godse as a leader who took pride in ‘Swadesh and Hindutva’. The editorial in Saamna further said, “He (Nathuram) always stood for united India. Is it anti-national to harbour such feelings? He was a real patriot.”

Shiv Sena had hailed Nathuram Godse as a patriot who was angered by partition and the subsequent killings of Hindus. In an interesting jibe at Sonia Gandhi, the article had claimed that ‘Pandit’ Nathuram Godse ‘had not come from Italy’ and instead was a staunch patriot.

It was only in August last year, that Sanjay Raut had taken a so-called moderate stance on Nathuram Godse questioning his act holding Gandhi responsible for partition and killing him instead of Jinnah. On Sunday, Raut seems to have reiterated this stance owing to Shiv Sena’s alliance with Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra.

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