Foreign Direct Investment inflow into India came down by 26% in the year 2021, according to UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Investment Trends Monitor report published by UNCTAD on Wednesday said that the decline in FDI inflow was largely due to the absence of any large M&A deal like the last year.
The report says that the second wave of Covid-19 had a major impact on overall economic activities in India, including FDI inflows.
However, the report of 26% decline in FDI inflow can be misleading, as it is based on calendar year (January to December) data, while India uses the April-March period as the financial year. And according to the latest data by the govt, there has not been much decline in FDI inflow to the country so far.
While UNCTAD’s Investment Trends Monitor says FDI inflow into India declined by 26% in 2021, the official figures for the financial year 2021-22 will come out only after March 2022. The figures will be different, because of the difference in financial years used.
According to govt of India data, FDI inflows in the first six months of FY 2021-22 was $42.9 billion. And reportedly, the figure had reached $48.5 billion by October. This amount is similar to the amount for the period April-October 2020, therefore, it can be expected that the amount will not come down much, and can in fact go up if some major deals take place in the next two months. The total FDI inflow in the previous year was $82 billion, and with $48.5 billion already reached by October, it can be reasonably expected that the inflow will not come down, and can go up.
Moreover, sources in the union govt say that FDI has not come down. Govt also denied the suggestion that no large deal took place in the year, saying that a record number of deals were signed in the current financial year. Therefore, the govt expresses confidence that FDI inflow to the country will remain on track.
Total FDI inflow to India has been rising every year since 2014, which had witnessed a dip in 2013. In fact, the inflow has gone up by 128% from 2014 to 2021, which means FDI into the country has more than doubled in the first seven years of Modi government.
Financial Year
Total FDI Inflow (US $ Billion)
2011-12
46.6
2012-13
34.3
2013-14
36.0
2014-15
45.1
2015-16
55.6
2016-17
60.2
2017-18
61.0
2018-19
62.0
2019-20
74.4
2020-21
82.0
2021-22 (Upto September 2021)
42.9
The total FDI inflow in 2014 was $36 billion, which had reached $82 billion by 2021. The amount was $46.6 billion in 2012, which had come down to $34.3 billion in 2013. The figure has been continuously rising every year after 2014, showing increasing confidence of global businesses in India.
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka remain the top three recipients of FDI into the country.
Two days after Congress inducted the hate-monger Islamic cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan of the famous Ala Hazrat family into the party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Nida Khan, Tauqeer Raza Khan deceased’s brother’s daughter in law, has strongly hit out at the grand old party for endorsing her uncle. She has chastised the head of the Ittihad-e-Millat Council for his hypocrisy on the issue of women’s rights.
Speaking to the media, Nida Khan, the triple talaq crusader, called Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s election campaign- ‘Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon’ a political gimmick. Slamming Tauqeer Raza Khan for his duplicity and trickery, Nida Khan said that her ex-husband’s uncle has been openly extending support to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s ‘Ladki hoon, Lad Sakti hoon’ campaign but in reality, he has no respect for women.
Nida Khan criticises the Congress and Tauqeer Raza Khan for masquerading as crusaders for women’s rights.
She said that she came across a few of Tauqeer Raza Khan’s interviews where he has been making tall claims about women empowerment and women rights and extending support to this mindfully crafted political stunt adopted by Congress to woo voters ahead of the UP polls. Talking about the atrocities perpetuated at her by the Ala Hazrat family, Nida Khan added that if Tauqeer Raza Khan had been such a staunch supporter of women’s rights, he would have taken stock of the situation in his own backyard.
“He was unhindered when his own daughter-in-law was struggling and fighting for her rights and justice, and now he is speaking out about women’s rights and endorsing the Congress party’s campaign. How can a man speak about the rights of other women if he hasn’t been able to deliver justice to his own daughter-in-law? This is all a ruse to deceive voters ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections,” claimed Nida Khan.
Nida Khan and her ex-husband Sheeran Raza Khan of the Ala Hazrat family
‘Go wherever you want, the CM is in our pocket’, Khan opens up about her struggles when Samajwadi Party was at the helm in UP
She further spoke about the long-standing struggle she faced since 2016, when she filed a case against her husband, Sheeran Raza Khan, accusing him of beating her after she failed to meet his family’s demands for dowry. Nida Khan described how no police station would file her complaint since her family was a powerful family with political ties to the Samajwadi Party, which was in power in Uttar Pradesh at the time. “I was told… go wherever you like, to whichever police station you deem fit but you can not harm us. The CM is in our pocket,” recalled Nida Khan, adding that she was not provided with any help for any police station, as they had stated. Whatever assistance she received at the time came through the courts.
“Things are different now. Today we needn’t approach the court. There are many cases filed against them and it’s all through the police stations”, she said.
It may be noted that Tauqeer Raza Khan served as a minister in the Samajwadi Party’s cabinet in Uttar Pradesh when the party was in power.
Nida Khan describes the BJP as the real fighter for women’s rights
Nida Khan, the Bareilly triple talaq victim, went on to say that the BJP is the only political party that has truly fought for women’s rights. She praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government for empathising with Muslim women in India and banning triple talaq.
Nida Khan grabbed headlines when she went to the Supreme Court to challenge the triple talaq given by her husband.
Muslim clerics issue fatwa to stone Nida Khan
It may be recalled that in July 2018, a group of Muslim clerics, All India Faizan-e-Madina Council from Bareilly had issued a fatwa against the activists Nida Khan and Farhat Naqvi and announced a cash reward of Rs. 11,876 for anybody who chops her hair. Nida Khan had then revealed that she was threatened to leave the country in the next three days or she will be stoned.
The fresh threat to Nida Khan had come after the Bareilly court had declared the instant triple talaq given to Nida Khan by her husband Sheeran is invalid. The court had also rejected his petition seeking a stay on the domestic violence case filed against him by Khan.
Nida Khan, sharing her story said that she was married in February 2015. Her parents married her off to the Ala Hazrat family as it was a very reputed one and obviously, her parents thought that it would be of the progressive mindset. Nida Khan recalled how the family actually turned out to be extremely regressive and orthodox. She was barred from pursuing her post-graduation. The family informed her that they are opposed to the women of their house pursuing further education. Further, she was beaten and threatened after she failed to meet his family’s demands for dowry. She was also forced to sleep, consummate the marriage with her father-in-law and brother-in-law, under the Islamic practice of ‘Nikah Halala’, so that her husband could marry her again.
Who is Tauqeer Raza Khan
Tauqeer Raza Khan, who was earlier booked for derogatory comments against PM Narendra Modi and reportedly issuing threats against the Hindu community, is Nida Khan’s ex-husband Sheeran Raza Khan’s late father’s younger brother. He leads a political party called the Ittehad-e-Millat Council and was a minister in the Samajwadi Party government.
It is important to note that Congress had allied with Maulana Tauqeer Raza also in 2009 despite his habits of issuing threats to anyone he thought was insulting Islam. The party had in 2009 announced that the All India Ittihad-e-Millat Council has agreed to support Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, and in return, the council would have a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
It was reported that the Maulana belongs to the Barelvi sect which is close to Congress. At that time, Maulana had claimed that he was allying with Congress because he felt the need to strengthen the ‘secular forces’ in the country.
Earlier this month I spent a five days in South Gujarat, specifically Surat and Bharuch where I got to speak to a young woman Pooja (name changed), who had been victim of grooming jihad herself when she was a minor. She put her faith in me and narrated her ordeal in hopes that her story will perhaps help other victims to get courage that there is still hope.
For me, Pooja was now not just someone I wrote a report on. My eyes welled up and when I gave her a hug as I left, I apologised to her. I was sorry that she had to go through this. That not only go through it once, but relive these moments every time she is asked to talk about it. It has been 7 years since she was abducted, forced to read namaz, enter into a nikah and eventually rescued.
She was all but 17. At 17, I was preparing for my 12th Board exams and hoping I get into the college I wanted. No 17-year-old should have go to go through what Pooja had to endure.
“Didi, main jab wapis aayi toh kuch din baad itna bura lag raha tha, jab bhi bahar niklo, sab dekh ke bolte the ki iske saath yeh hua, ki usko Musalman ladka le gaya tha, itna insult feel hota tha ki maine socha idhar rehna hi nahi aur wapis Dilshad ke saath jaane ka soch liya. Main nikli bhi thi ghar se lekin inhone wapis bacha liya. (Didi, when I returned I felt so bad, everyone kept looking at me as if I was at fault, and would keep discussing how I had to go through all this and how I was taken away by a Muslim boy. I felt so insulted that one day I thought I’d rather go back to Dilshad (abductor) anyway. I even left the house but they (activists) saved me)”, she told me through sobs.
Which is why today when one nameless, faceless, coward troll dismissed her as ‘paid Hindutva troll’, I was very upset.
Troll on Pooja (name changed)
Willis here with less than 50 followers found my 10 day old tweet and said that Pooja’s ordeal is ‘bullsh*t’ to him. “She’s clearly a paid Hindutva troll working for Modi’s government, just like you,” he said before making a personal attack on me.
Here is a girl, literally coming on record giving video testimony of what she had gone through and this fellow had the audacity to dismiss it.
Yes, love jihad does not exist because if it is jihad, it is not love and if it is by consenting adults out of free will, it is not jihad. However, when a young girl is abducted or lured into relationship by deceit (where Salman becomes Sonu or Arshad becomes Ajay), with eventual aim of religious conversion, the relationship is not love. Or when a ‘lover’ loves his/her religious duties more than ‘love’, it can’t be love either.
But it is not just this anonymous loser who does not believe in grooming jihad. Many ‘liberals’ and media houses have regularly dismissed the fact that Hindus could be and are victims of forced religious conversion.
Here are a few headlines of the ‘liberal’ media establishment.
The Wire article on ‘bogey of love jihad’ from July 2021
Apparently, ordeal of Hindu women who are abducted and forced to convert to Islam, eat beef, offer namaz, wear burqa is ‘hate filled menacing message on WhatsApp’.
NDTV being NDTV
NDTV in July last year ran a show claiming ‘so-called’ victims of love jihad debunk conspiracy. You see, NDTV claims it spoke to a woman who converted to Islam out of her own free will. There is no background of how the woman met the Muslim man she married after converting to Islam. It does not specify whether the man had hidden his religious identity or whether she was lured into relationship. All inter-religious marriages, obviously, are not grooming jihads. But there has to be an element of deceit and intention of subsequent religious conversion. On bringing in a random interfaith couple, one cannot dismiss the painful stories of lakhs of women.
NYTimes
Racist NYTimes also tried to make all Indians come across as intolerant religious bigots by spinning facts and trying to paint all interfaith relationships as ‘love jihad’ or grooming jihad.
On the other hand, all these media houses and ‘liberals’ never come forward to debunk all the fake ‘Jai Shri Ram’ hate crimes they are just too eager to report on. In July 2021, OpIndia listed out 20 incidents where ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan was misused to turn a random crime into a hate crime. Most of these were widely reported in mainstream media and many in international media to portray India’s ‘rising intolerance’ but when the same were debunked, they didn’t really show any enthusiasm to update their readers on how they erred.
As I have earlier said, Allahu Akbar is so dreaded for being the go-to chant of Islamists before blowing themselves, planes and other things off that the apologists desperately need something to defame Hinduism.
So when the popular vote and sentiment is against you, how do you expect more Hindus to speak up? Haven’t you seen how Hindus are mocked recently in a widely shared infographic for even expressing concerns about forced religious conversion and demography change and polarisation?
Caricature mocking Hindus’ fear of polarisation, forced conversions
This image was widely shared to mock Hindus who expressed apprehensions of persecution.
It is because of this that most Hindus do not speak up. Because they are mocked, ridiculed or worst (and quite often) not believed.
Like how Willis just said that Pooja was lying. He did go on to name call her and accuse her of being ‘paid’ to say that, but his first reaction was to dismiss it completely. That is also how an average ‘liberal’ behaves.
They will tell you you are a liar for being a victim of persecution. The mainstream sentiment which eventually influences popular opinion has called you a liar.
A few weeks back, we at OpIndia decided to do a follow up story of a real interfaith couple – a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl where the girl wasn’t asked to change her religion and never did the boy meet her pretending to be a Muslim – who were threatened by Muslim fundamentalists. They had to run away to a ‘safe place’. We wanted to bring their story out about their challenges since then.
We got in touch with them, but the boy said, “madam, rahne do please, mat chhapo kuchh. Abhi lagta hai woh log bhool gaye hain. Aap chhapoge toh kahin phir se woh humaare peechhe na pad jaayein.” They basically didn’t want their story to come out, as they feared for their safety. We couldn’t have put our traffic ahead of their lives, so we didn’t carry any story.
But essentially what happened – a victim was successfully silenced by those who claim they are ‘dara hua’. The stories don’t come out. The victims don’t speak. Some are not even alive to speak.
Recently I saw one ‘Muslim journalist’ (her own phrase to describe herself), who is a victim of ‘bulli bai’ app, who has already written three articles on various publications explaining her trauma how she was put on ‘auction’. Being a woman, I can understand the trauma of your pics being used online and you being subjected to humiliation, but I couldn’t stop noticing how this victim, victim of a virtual crime, has already put out three stories, and dozens of derivatives stories on those would be followed up in the mainstream media, while the Hindu victims of real hate crime were either dead or scared to death to speak up.
Voices of victims like Pooja are shouted down – that is how lopsided narratives get. Pooja not only had to endure the trauma, but she now also has to live through the humiliation of being called a liar because popular narrative is so built that does not even accept her ordeal.
One of India’s enduring challenges in military and civil aviation has been the inability of Indian industry and research agencies to design and produce an indigenous jet engine. Indian civil aviation industry fully imports its aircraft, and the lack of an indigenous engine stymies any attempt by institutions like NAL and HAL from being able to bring out even a small jet-powered civilian plane. In military aviation, the same saga continues, with the much-hyped and then much-maligned indigenous Kaveri jet engine being separated from the Tejas fighter jet program and then left to die a slow death. Our indigenous program to build fighter jets is having to make to do with foreign engines, which themselves are only doled out to us rather miserly by the US.
The fact remains that the GE F404 Engine used by Tejas is insufficient to power the aircraft, reducing its payload and range. Similarly, the GE F414 engine planned for Tejas Mark-II is similarly underpowered to meet all the requirements of IAF in the medium-weight fighter class of 15–18-ton range to enable a 5-ton combat payload and a combat range of 600 km on internal fuel. Even the AMCA/TEDBF planned/fantasized about, are all slated to be powered by GE F414, which would limit the size and payload as well as range of the fighter jets by design. So, why is India forced to compromise its expensive and extremely important fighter jet program with underpowered engines? Why cannot India successfully build its own engines?
The answer to the above question lies in the fact that jet engine technology has been more closely guarded by nations and their corporations than even nuclear reactor know-how. Jet engines are famously complex machinery, containing at least 30,000 moving and static parts, requiring high-end metallurgy research as well as a very high degree of precision and skill in forging, casting and machining. Once designed and put together, jet engines require extensive testing in wind tunnels and subsequently on flying testbeds, having to clock hundreds and thousands of hours to understand the fatigue characteristics as well as degradation of each individual part, among a hundred other studies. India lacks an ecosystem that is competent to design and build such systems as yet and therefore understandably is way behind other countries who have manufactured their jet engines.
India’s fighter jet building program hinges on the success of the Tejas contract with HAL. The contracts for 40 Mark-1 and 83 Mark-1A jets are expected to deliver by 2027 a total of 123 Jets worth 6 fighter squadrons and 1 training squadron. These shall finally replace 6 of the 8 MiG-21 fighter squadrons, even if at least 3-4 years after the retirement of the last MiG-21 squadron. The Mark-2 LCA project is expected to use an F-414 IN engine from the GE stable and has already cleared the Comprehensive Design Review stage. Since no indigenous engine can be readied for powering the Mark-2 until 2035, The LCA Mark-2 project shall proceed with the F 414 In engine of GE.
The LCA Mark-2 is supposed to replace the Mirage 2000 (3 squadrons), the MiG-29s (5- squadrons) and the Jaguar strike aircraft (6 squadrons) and the 2 remaining MiG-21 Bis squadrons. So, it is logical that out of the 16 squadrons retiring by no later than 2035, the Indian defence ministry will be able to find the need to order at least 8-10 of LCA Mark-II are ordered (150-180 planes) and the rest is made up by the AMCA production line when it starts in 2030 (another 8 squadrons worth of planes is proposed presently).
This would bring the total strength of IAF to 39 fighter squadrons by the year 2040. The Mark-2 LCA is being planned for production by HAL from 2028 onwards and if they produce at least 1.5 squadrons worth of planes a year, it will take at least 2034 till the last LCA Mark-2 is produced. India is looking for a 110 KN class engine (dry thrust) for its AMCA mark-II by 2035 which is the earliest it plans to get an indigenous engine into its planes. However, such a long timeline casts a doubt on the objective since 110 KN engines are already deemed as underpowered for 5th generation planes, which are powered by at least 130 -140 KN (dry thrust) rated engines (F-22, F-35 and Su-57).
Therefore, our dream project of a desi engine will only underpower our AMCA fighter, preventing it from meeting the fullest requirements of the IAF when it enters service. Such an under-designing of capability at even the design stage is baffling and smacks of a lack of enough thought or belief towards engine indigenization. India has to make at least a 130 KN (dry thrust) engine, either indigenously or as a licensed assembly and design the AMCA or any other plane it deems fit, with this engine in mind, considering the high-power requirement of 5th generation fighters.
110 KN or 130 KN, how are we going to make an indigenous engine when we don’t even make a single kind of jet engine in our country?
India has to innovate here. We have to entrust this project to private Indian and foreign companies with 100% FDI automatically allowed in the design and production of a jet engine. India should set aside at least $ 500 million for the 130 KN engine project. All jet engine manufacturers or consortia should be allowed to bid, with a detailed design and test program submitted to win a design contract. India should award at least 2 design contracts of equal amount to the top 2 entities and a time frame of 24 months should be given with amounts released in a staggered manner based on the progress of the design and testing contract.
At every stage of design review and testing, IAF and ADA/GTRE officials should inspect and recommend changes if any. At the end of the 24-month period, India should carry out a complete cost analysis of the two projects, to evaluate the lowest bidder who shall be given 60% of the contract to build engines while the other bidder should be given 40 % of the contract. Any export of the engines could be allowed with the permission of the government. The SQR for the engines should be limited to power ratings (dry and wet), specific fuel consumption, length and radius dimensions each stage, temperature/ compression ratio limitations and minimum power take-off from the alternator, minimum service life, maximum mean time between overhaul/ breakdown and integrated life cycle cost.
By assisting companies in designing an engine, India can also allow companies to innovate without risk, enabling smaller players a chance to shine. Moreover, new ventures with Indian private companies can also take off, with smaller foreign partners, apart from the big three of Rolls Royce, Pratt and Whitney and General Electric. It shall also allow joint ventures like Turbo Union, smaller European firms and Japanese IHI etc. to innovate in a mutually beneficial manner in conjunction with an Indian firm.
If design contracts are awarded by end of 2022, we can obtain a successful test of one or two proto-type engines by 2026 and by 2028, production can begin. The reason for such a short timeline is that no company can build a greenfield engine of this rating unless working over 10-15 years. Therefore, the proposed engine would be an up-gradation or an up-rating of an existing engine thereby requiring lesser time. This shall allow India to start the production of AMCA/ TEDBF design with 130 KN engines right off the start.
Another modus is to get hold of an indigenous jet engine by entering into a joint venture with countries with similar programs. Japan is presently in the advanced stages of developing a compact Military Jet Engine that is already tested and is designed to output 180 KN in production variants. The IHI XF-9 design is very new and innovative and considering the good relations India enjoys with Japan, an offer to invest in research and production of components for the XF-9 can reduce costs for both and also help lay hands on an advanced engine pretty quickly for both countries.
India could in fact use this as a fallback for engine design just in case the indigenous jet engine proposal is delayed or fails. Either way, a new design that is tailormade for 6th generation warfighter requirements can help India quickly leapfrog the Chinese in Engine design. A jet engine of 180 KN (wet) at one of the highest fuel efficiencies currently available in jet engines can help evolve the AMCA into not just a nimble and expanded version of LCA but can allow for larger wings, longer fuselage, higher thrust to weight ratio and conversion into a Naval version with only a few modifications. India should therefore forget the attempts at trying to coax Rolls Royce and Safran into giving us underpowered engine models or footing the cost of their development and instead concentrate on the Japanese project, which is already in the prototype testing stage.
A third model is to again use diplomacy to gain access for India to use the GE F136 / XA100 models which are developed to the prototype stage. The F136 project was abandoned after Pentagon selected the F135 of Pratt and Whitney to be the sole propulsion for the F-35. Now with a new engine contract looming, GE has shifted onto a higher gear through its adaptive Engine technology which it has used to make the GE XA100 prototypes, which have recorded a maximum thrust of 200 KN already. Both the models can be pursued through diplomatic means and if controlled production is allowed in India by GE (who already partner India’s indigenous jet fighter program for propulsion) for either of the two engines, India can quickly beat the lead times and also offer GE crucial user operational data, which it can use for further research, either by itself or jointly with India.
While there shall be the need for development costs for either of the two models, India can share such costs with GE and jointly sell the engine in a new JV for the same on the lines of the ITU RB-199 Engine that powers the Tornado Jet. This is also a time-saving measure, wherein India can start production no later than 2026 for the selected jet engine. This method however requires a lot of diplomatic heavy lifting to convince the US into parting with a sensitive technology and India may have to accept curbs on sales / further development for now in order to gain access to either of the two Engines, which are sufficient to power our indigenous jet fighter development into the 2050s.
India has to make quick and judicious decisions regarding obtaining access to jet engine technology or at least the jet engine to safeguard its airpower indigenization plan. Lack of a jet engine can cause us to fail miserably and can ensure all plans of AMCA, TEDBF/ORCA etc remain on paper only. All the above three models have a cost and involve trade-offs. But all three models could ensure India has a workable military jet engine powerful enough and reliable enough to base our 5th and 6th generation fighter projects and also learn during the entire cycle of development. A spin-off of these projects could be the propulsion for our unmanned systems which all over the world are getting increasingly bigger and more complicated. The day of AI-powered UCAV is not far away. India has to right now sort out propulsion issues so that it can concentrate on the electronics and the software aspect of jet fighter/ UCAV designing.
Ashok Swain, a Twitter user who is known for his serial fake news peddling and Hinduphobia had to face a downturn after IIT Delhi postponed its online literature festival ‘literati’ scheduled for January 23, after inviting Swain to speak. This is probably after IIT Delhi faced wide criticism on social media for inviting Left propagandists and habitual fake news peddlers to speak.
Netizens were seen criticising the institute for its panel selection at the scheduled ‘literati’ fest. Users called IIT Delhi as another ‘Urban Naxal hub’ like JNU and said that a government-funded institution inviting such fake news peddlers is ‘shameful’.
Sad to see @iitdelhi inviting Anti India Propagandist like Ashok Swain and Kawalpreet Kaur.
Many social media users had criticised IIT Delhi for inviting only Left propagandists to speak at the event.
.@iitdelhi 'Literati' event 'Polarised Politics'. Fair enough to have diversified opinion but what's point when all 3- Ajay Gudavathy (JNU Prof, TheWire OpEd), Kawalpreet Kaur (AISA, Riots UAPA accused), & Ashok Swain (doesn't need intro) having pathetically propagandist stance?? pic.twitter.com/EceBtbBzTf
Ashok Swain taking to Twitter on Thursday informed that the event had been cancelled citing COVID reasons. “I was invited to the IIT-Delhi’s annual literary fest panel to discuss what it means to be political this Sunday? Unsurprisingly, the Hindu right-wing yesterday started a campaign against my invitation. Today, the ‘online’ event got postponed in the name of Covid”, he tweeted.
Surprisingly, I was invited to the IIT-Delhi’s annual literary fest panel to discuss what it means to be political this Sunday? Unsurprisingly, the Hindu right-wing yesterday started a campaign against my invitation. Today, the ‘online’ event got postponed in the name of Covid.
He further said that he was surprised to get the invitation from IIT Delhi. In its annual lecture series, the IITD had scheduled a session of ‘Political Stance and Identity’ with Ajay Gudavarthy, Ashok Swain and Kawalpreet Kaur, which apparently got cancelled.
On Instagram, the IITD handle for the ‘Literati’ event had shared that their scheduled program has been ‘postponed indefinitely’. They said that many of their team members have been affected by the pandemic.
It is pertinent to note that Ashok Swain, who claims to be a Professor of ‘Peace and Conflict Research’ at Uppsala University has a history of spreading lies, fake news and blatant Hinduphobia. He had in 2018, claimed that the NDA government was triggering conflict between India and Pakistan to gain electoral points. These claims of his were also picked up by Pakistani media for absolving Pakistan of the ghastly terrorist attack in Pulwama.
Swain had proudly tweeted that his tweets got the ‘Prime Time Attention in Pakistan’.
Reports mention that Ashok Swain had in past also spread fake news about a Muslim boy alleging that he was set on fire by ‘Hindutva beasts’ for not chanting Jai Shri Ram, despite the police clarifying that it was a fake news. He often peddles blatant fake news that is already debunked and never acknowledges it. He had even indulged in cyberbullying of a teenage Hindu girl who was selected for a NASA internship.
Following the violent riots in the United States in the name of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement last year, Swain had called for similar riots and violence in India for the so-called “extra-judicial killings” of Muslims in the country. He had demanded to replicate the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in the United States and Canada in the name of ‘Muslim Lives Matter’ in India.
Usanas Foundation, an India-based geopolitics and security think-tank, recently dug deep into the network of Wahhabi organisations’ network in India and their role in the radicalisation and spread of terrorism in the country. In a report published in the Sunday Guardian, the think tank’s founder and head of research explained how Qatar-based Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association, also referred to as Eid Charity, has been funding millions of dollars to organisations associated with the Wahhabi school of thought since 2008-2009.
Eid Charity sent $7.82 million to India
The Middle East Forum, which is a Philadelphia-based organisation, recently came across a massive cache of documents related to the Eid Charity. The organisation found over 1,200 transactions made to India either directly via Eid Charity or contributions by individuals. It suggested that a total of approx USD 7.82 million, or roughly Rs 58.25 crore, were sent to eight organisations in India. The money was allegedly used for projects directly linked to the Muslim community, including building supporting mosques, building hand pumps and more.
The Eid Charity faced global scrutiny in 2013 when the US Department of Treasury named Abd Al-Rahman al-Nu’aymi, one of the founders of Eid Charity, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGTs). The US Treasury sanctioned him for providing financial and material assistance to al-Qaeda and its affiliate terrorist organisations in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Somalia. Donations made by Eid Charity and its affiliate organisations are under investigation in several countries, including the US.
Salafi Charitable Trust Narikkuni – the top beneficiary of Eid Charity’s funds to India
The documents further revealed that Salafi Charitable Trust Narikkuni, which is a Kerala-based organisation, received the largest chunk of the funds. Records suggest that between 2008 to 2017, this organisation received USD 4.9 million. This particular organisation is being run by another Qatar-based charity group, RAF or Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services. A royal family member of Qatar is behind RAF. It is noteworthy that Arab Nations had banned RAF in 2017 for its involvement in funding terrorist organisations. RAF has serious charges against it, including providing funds to terrorist group al-Qaeda’s affiliate groups al-Nusra in Syria and providing weapons to Muslim-Brotherhood-backed militants in Sudan.
The investigation showed that the money received by Salafi Charitable Trust was mainly meant for financial support to the poor Muslim population. A portion of the money was also used to promote and distribute Hijab. Dr Hussain Madavoor, who is Kerala’s one of the most prominent religious leaders and vice president of Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM), one of the largest faith-based organisations, serves as chairman at Salafi Charitable Trust as well.
In 2018, Salafi’s chairman, Dr Madavoor, posted a video message on Facebook. In his address, he extended support to Peace Education Foundation and its founder and MD, M.M. Akbar. Notably, Peace Education Foundation has been under security agencies’ radar since 2016. It was revealed that several people who were radicalised and joined ISIS were associated with this organisation.
Akbar, who is known for his controversial statements, is often called “Zakir Naik of Kerala”. In 2018, he was arrested while trying to fly to Qatar on the charges of radicalising school children using inflammatory content in the schools funded by his organisation.
Abdul Rashid Abdullah, mastermind of ISIS Kerala module and former employee of Peace Foundation, had released an audio message in which he claimed several teachers and parents of Peace Schools support ISIS. He further alleged the organisation tried to hide the identity of two of its former employees who had joined ISIS-KP in Afghanistan.
Usanas Foundation said in the report that during the investigation, they found Eid Charity also funded an organisation named Peace Education Centre. Most of the money received by this organisation was meant to support an orphanage. However, Usanas could not establish a link between Peace Education Foundation and Peace Education Foundation. However, it added if the two organisations are linked, “it would be the most direct evidence of Eid Charity funding organisations in India that are alleged to be involved in radicalisation activities.”
Symposium Educational Charitable Society – Ghost charity of Uttar Pradesh
The second organisation that received the maximum funding from Eid Charity in India was of Symposium Educational Charitable Society. It received around $2.01 million. However, when Usanas Foundation tried to trace down the organisation, there was no information available about it in the public domain. The majority of the funds were transferred for the projects running in the Siddharthnagar district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
A large chunk of that money was sent to Al-Farooq Group, which is based in Iowa, district Siddharthnagar, UP. Al-Farooq Group is known for its dismissive stand against Sufi Islam which is quite popular in India. Itwa is known for organisations that propagate fundamentalist Wahhabi interpretations that are intolerant towards the non-Wahhabi Muslim community.
Eid Charity’s beneficiary Al Safa’s criminal history
The next organisation on the list is Al Safa Educational, Industrial and Islamic Charitable Society. Maulana Sheikh Meraj Rabbani, a controversial religious leader, runs this organisation. He was arrested in 2010 for hate speech against Muslim communities that follow Barelvis and Sufis. He was also involved in the Heera Gold fraud case, which was a Ponzi scheme. He had urged people to invest in the scheme.
The investigation also revealed that the funds were transferred using ghost individuals and shell organisations in order to escape the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies and tax regulatory bodies. For example, they were not able to trace Al-Habib Educational and Charitable Foundation and Relevance Charitable Foundation existence.
Qatar is possibly on the verge of falling in the FATF grey list
Usanas Foundation said in its report that the authorities in Qatar may fall under the FATF grey list if they do not take aggressive steps to avoid the situation. Its strong allies, Turkey and Pakistan, are already on the grey list for their involvement in terror funding. As international investigation agencies are investigating several Qatar citizens for the terror funding, Qatar may follow suit. Recently, it was reported that Qatar was on track to become the ninth Middle East and North Africa (MENA) country to complete the latest FATF assessments. Among the eight MENA countries that have completed the FATF assessment, Morocco and Jordan found a place in the grey list that means these countries post high risk in terms of foreign investment.
Sreekanth Vettiyar, a popular YouTuber from Kerala, has been charged with raping a woman. The case was registered by the Kochi Central Police after the victim from Pathanamthitta in Kollam district, Kerala, filed a complaint against Sreekanth, who is also a member of DYFI (youth wing of the ruling CPM). In the complaint, the woman accused Vettiyar of brutally raping her twice, once in a hotel room and once in his apartment in Kochi.
The police are said to have recorded the statement of the victim under CrPC Section 164 and begun probing the case. A case has been registered against the blogger under Section 376 (2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The police have said that it has intensified the search to track Sreekanth Vettiyar down as he has gone into hiding after the case came to the fore.
The victim, a resident of Pathanamthitta, posted about the incident on social media and a week later she formally filed a complaint against him at a police station in Kochi. In the #MeToo allegation that surfaced on social media, the woman said that Vettiyar had invited her for his birthday party and raped her.
According to the police complaint, the victim, a mother of an eight-year-old child, said she became close to Sreekanth Vettiyar while living in Kochi. As per the complaint, the woman said that she became a fan of the YouTuber for his stands on social media on issues like women’s empowerment and political correctness.
The victim alleged that she was invited to Sreekanth’s birthday party in February 2021 to his flat in Aluva, Ernakulum where she was sexually attacked. This was the first time, after which she was again assaulted in a hotel room in Kochi city.
The victim also confirmed that on the instructions of Sreekanth Vettiyar, the latter’s friends have been constantly coercing her to take back her complaint.
The Facebook page ‘Women Against Sexual Harassment’ had brought the matter to the fore two weeks ago. In the post on the FB page, the victim had said she was abused even though she resisted.
“He manipulated me several times to ensure that I will not open up about the crime. The mental trauma I faced in the last couple of months was unexplainable. The criminal involved in the crime is roaming around freely and he gives lengthy lectures on liberalism and modern attitude,” said the woman in her post in Malayalam.
The woman claimed she suffered significant bleeding and mental anguish as a result of the rape, although Sreekanth Vettiyar acted in such a way that he made no mistakes. Sreekanth allegedly extorted money from the victim as well.
Another MeToo allegation against the YouTuber
Notably, the Facebook page ‘Women Against Sexual Harassment’ had earlier also levelled a #Metoo allegation against Sreekanth Vettiyar.
Another woman, who accused Sreekanth of the same, revealed that he was her friend. She alleged that the YouTuber used his popularity to deceive his naïve fans. “He is celebrated for not using anti-women comments and body shaming for humour and is deemed politically correct. However, he subjects those around him to gross injustice,” she said on Facebook.
She also accused him of exploiting and taking advantage of several other women who were fans of his. She claimed she had been abused on several occasions and decided to speak up after several such incidents were reported. “Many of his victims contacted me, and I decided to speak up,” the woman explained.
There are also allegations that Sreekanth deceived other women by promising them a role in one of his upcoming films.
Sreekanth Vettiyar and his CPIM links
The 31-year-old content creator hails from Mavelikkara in Alappuzha. He is known for his memes and spoofs which are usually guided by his left-leaning and pro-communist ideology. Vettiyar is a content creator and his social media page “Vettiyar Trolls” has wide viewership. Many media reports suggest that Sreekanth Vettiyar is a left-liberal face on social media platforms who have often opened up about his affiliations with DYFI (youth wing of the ruling CPM) and left-wing politics. He is also the administrator of the International Chalu Union (ICU), one of the first internet troll pages to gather popularity in Malayalam.
On Thursday, farmers from a village in Dausa gathered in Jaipur, outside the residence of CM Ashok Gehlot and protested against the Rajasthan government’s confusing policies that have resulted in banks auctioning the agricultural land of farmers on failure to repay loans.
Demanding a loan waive off, aggrieved farmers outside the residence of CM Ashok Gehlot said that the Congress government had ruined their lives. “What should a farmer do? Does the government want us to die of excessive loans? It had said that it would waive off the loans taken by the farmers, but after 3 years, we are yet to see our loans being waived off”, they said.
#WATCH Rajasthan | Dausa farmers protest in Jaipur outside CM Ashok Gehlot’s residence against Rajasthan government’s direction to stop auctioning of agricultural land under ‘Removal of Difficulties Act’ by banks if farmers are unable to pay off their loans pic.twitter.com/6FwuGH6quu
Further accusing Rahul Gandhi of making false promises, farmers said that Gandhi had publicly declared that farm loans would be waived off within 10 days. “We can’t see anything in practice. He addressed public rallies declaring that the Congress government will wave off farmer loans. He counted till 10 and said loans will be waived off in 10 days. CM Ashok Gehlot has ruined our lives”, they added.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday directed officers to stop auctioning under the Removal of Difficulties Act (RODA) by banks if farmers are unable to pay off their loans. This knee jerk reaction has come exactly a day after the state government faced severe criticism by the BJP over the auction of land belonging to a farmer, however, the auction was later cancelled by the administration.
The Additional District Magistrate confirming the development said that process of auction of the land of a farmer, who could not repay his loan to a bank has been cancelled. “Instead, a settlement process between the farmer and the bank is being facilitated,” he added.
#UPDATE | The process of auction of the land of a farmer, who could not repay loan to a bank, has been cancelled. Instead, a settlement process between the farmer and the bank is being facilitated: Dausa ADM RK Meena (19.01.2022) pic.twitter.com/LjYvOFl94k
Yesterday, a deceased farmer’s land in Dausa, Rajasthan was auctioned two and a half months after his death, for non-repayment of the loan amount. The farmer’s family reportedly had asked for a reasonable time span to repay the loan of Rs 7 lakh but was denied by the bank. About 15 bigha 2 biswa land of the farmer was auctioned off for Rs 46 lakh in Ramgarh Pachwara village of Dausa.
It is pertinent to note that in 2018, Rahul Gandhi had promised a farm loan waiver within 10 days. He had specifically mentioned that Congress was not making false promises and that it had already implemented the same in Punjab and Karnataka.
On completing 2 years of office, CM Ashok Gehlot also in 2020 had vowed to waive the farm loans taken from nationalized and commercial banks. He had also blamed the commercial banks for not cooperating and had informed that loans availed from scheduled banks were not to be waived off.
The dispute between the former zonal director of the NCB Sameer Wankhede and NCP leader Nawab Malik is not over yet. Sameer Wankhede’s father and retired excise department officer Dnyandev Wankhede has approached the Bombay high court with a contempt plea against Nawab Malik. In this plea, it is claimed that despite assurances to the court, Malik continues to defame the Wankhede family. It is also mentioned that Nawab Malik has breached the order three times – that is on 28th December 2021 and 2 and 3 January 2022.
Earlier in November 2021, Sameer Wankhede’s father Dnyandev Wankhede had filed a case of defamation against Nawab Malik in the Bombay high court, in which it was pleaded that Nawab Malik should be restrained from posting derogatory things against the Wankhede family. A compensation of Rs. 1.25 Crores was also sought by Wankhede. The dispute between Sameer Wankhede and Nawab Malik had emerged after the cruse drugs case in which Aryan Khan and his friends were arrested by the NCB.
Ex NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede’s father Dhyandev Wankhede files contempt plea against Nawab Malik in Bombay HC. Plea claims that despite assurances from court, Malik continues to defame his family; plea also mentions 3 breaches by Malik-on Dec 28, 2021, Jan 2&3,2022
This is not the first time that Nawab Malik has breached the court orders to restrain himself from making malicious allegations against the Wankhede family. Justice Madhav Jamdar observed earlier in the first week of December 2021 that Malik had been tweeting with malice after his own son-in-law was arrested by Sameer Wankhede. The Court had restricted Nawab Malik from making any more comments against Wankhede and his family till December 9. But Nawab Malik breached this order on 3rd December 2021, after which he had to furnish an unconditional apology.
After this, Nawab Malik had again come up with new allegations against Sameer Wankhede. On 2nd January 2022, he addressed a press conference in which he had put some serious allegations questioning the delays caused in the decision regarding the routine schedule of transfers of officers including Sameer Wankhede. He had also alleged that NCB is pressurizing the witnesses to sign the back-dated blank papers and Sameer Wankhede is involved in this.
A special Delhi court has sentenced 25-year old Dinesh Yadav to 5 years in prison for his involvement in the 2020 Delhi Riots. Yadav is the first person to get convicted in the northeast Delhi riots of February 2020. The decision came on Thursday 20th January 2022.
Earlier last month, Yadav was convicted of rioting in Delhi and setting a 73-year old woman’s house on fire. The court has also directed Yadav to pay a fine of Rs. 12000. Advocate Shikha Garg has represented him during the trial.
Delhi court sentences five years jail term to Dinesh Yadav, the first person convicted in connection with February 2020 North East Delhi riots.
Dinesh Yadav is 25-year old and was arrested on 8th June 2020. On 3rd August 2021, charges were framed against him to which he pleaded not guilty. Dinesh Yadav was convicted on 6th December 2021 by Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat.
In February 2020, communal riots had emerged in the national capital following the clashes between the supporters and protesters of the citizenship amendment act. Large Muslim mobs had attacked the houses and shops of Hindus, pelted stones, acid bottles and Molotov cocktails stored on rooftops in a planned and organised manner. 53 citizens had died in the riots while 700 others were injured.
The prosecution had argued that Yadav was an active member of the riotous mob and that he participated in vandalizing and putting on fire a house of a 73-year old woman named Manori on the night of 25th February 2020. Manori had alleged that a mob of approximately 150 to 200 rioters had attacked her house. According to Manori, her family was not present there at the time of the attack. The house including various articles and even a buffalo was looted and set on fire.
The Karkardooma Court in Delhi had held Dinesh Yadav guilty under various sections of IPC which include sections 143 (member of an unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 457 (house trespass), 392 (robbery), 436 (arson) of IPC read with section 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of a common offense) of IPC. This is the first sentence by the court in the February 2020 Delhi riots case.
