Home Blog Page 3575

Cow protection, bringing ‘Hindustan to knees’, anti-Brahmin rants, more: Analysis of order framing sedition, other charges against Sharjeel Imam

Nupur J Sharma
-
0
Cow protection, bringing ‘Hindustan to knees’, anti-Brahmin rants, more: Analysis of order framing sedition, other charges against Sharjeel Imam

A Delhi Court has found sufficient grounds to proceed against Sharjeel Imam for offences in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1949 (UAPA) and sedition in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under Sections 124­A, 153­A, 153­B, 505 IPC & Section 13 UAPA. Additional Session Judge, Amitabh Rawat, Karkardooma Court, said that the speeches by Sharjeel Imam amounted to incitement to violence.

The court, while framing charges first explained the provisions of Section 124 A of the IPC.

The court says that “the offence of Sedition as made out in Section 124A IPC make it abundantly clear that any words, spoken or written, or signs or visible representation or otherwise which brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempt to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India is punishable under the said Section”.

Since the prosecution made elaborate arguments talking about how the speeches of Sharjeel Imam were within the purview of freedom of expression, the court said that dissent against any government, institution and policies are within the purview of freedom of expression since dissent is the hallmark of a progressive nation. However, the court says, “What the Court has to discern is whether the activities of an accused brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards government established by law. What is objectionable and punishable is the activities intending or having a tendency to create disorder or disturbance of public peace by resorting to violence. Thus, the gist of the offence is finding out the mens rea which is the intention of accused by means of words or otherwise and to show a tendency to create disorder or disturbance of public peace by incitement to violence”.

Further, explaining the significance of 153 A IPC, the court said, “through words spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, the accused promotes or attempts to promote on the ground of religion, etc. disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill­will between different religious groups or castes or which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony and disturbs or likely to disturb public tranquillity. The intention of the accused is again of fundamental importance in ascertaining the applicability of the said Section”.

The case made in the chargesheet against Sharjeel Imam: What the court said

On the 4th of December 2019, the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 was cleared by Union Cabinet for introduction in Parliament and on the 12th of December 2019, it became a law. According to chargesheet, the accused, Sharjeel Imam, was canvassing Muslim dominated areas and spreading falsehoods, claiming that the Citizenship Amendment Act would take away the citizenship of Muslims and that the government would them put them in detention camps.

“Speeches were given to incite hatred, contempt and disaffection towards the government established by law. These were meant to promote enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion”, the court said about the contents of the chargesheet against Sharjeel Imam.

According to the chargesheet:

As a result of speeches and protests, riots took place in Delhi on 15.12.2019, 16.12.2019 & 20.12.2019. Accused Sharjeel Imam gave a speech at Jamia on 13.12.2019 regarding his opposition to CAA and NRC. He also gave speeches at Aligarh Muslim University, U.P, at Asansol in West Bengal and Chakand Gaya in Bihar.

Sharjeel Imam was arrested on the 28th of January 2020 from Imambada, Kako Kasba Village, Jahanabad, Bihar and several pamphlets that he was distributing to the Muslim community were found from his computer, where he was spreading misinformation regarding CAA and NRC. The chargehseet also stated that Imam has done his MPhil on “Exodus before Partition: the attack on Muslims of Bihar, 1946” and has become radicalised after not researching or learning alternate versions of history.

Essentially, in this part, the chargesheet has said that Sharjeel Imam became radicalised after reading literature that presented a one-sided narrative about Muslim persecution during the partition.

After the introduction of CAA on the 4th of December 2019, Sharjeel Imam told fellow Muslims from JNU to prepare to protest against the bill on the 5th of December and started getting signatures of Muslim students. On the 6th of December, Imam made a WhatsApp group called Muslims Students of JNU to rise against CAB/NRC. The date of the 6th was chosen specifically to coincide with the anniversary of the Babri demolition so as to give the protests a “strong communal colour”.

The chargesheet said that Imam made pamphlets with several falsehoods and the WhatsApp messages exchanged between Imam and his “associates” point towards the extreme communal colour of the falsehood. Further, Sharjeel Imam chose mosques to disseminate this information to get maximum impact. In the WhatsApp chats, Sharjeel Imam had also sought funds for this activity.

On the 7th of December 2019, a protest was called by United Against Hate at Jantar Mantar Delhi where the accused not only supported the protest but also actively mobilized a number of Muslim students of JNU to take part in the protest. Imam also wanted to use the Friday namaz to mobilise Muslims on a mass scale.

On the 12th, Sharjeel Imam burnt the copy of the CAA in JNU and thereafter, spread misinformation saying that Muslims would be put in detention centres and there there were thousands of Muslims were ready to disrupt Delhi against the act, that would give them international media attention. Then, on the 13th of December, Sharjeel Imam took part in the protest at Jamia where violence soon erupted.

The court said while talking about the chargesheet:

He actively took part in the said riots due to which his spectacles were also damaged. He admitted it in his Whatsapp chat dated 13.12.2019 and also in his speech at Aligarh Muslim University on 16.01.2020. The rioters pelted stones on public persons, police personnel and vehicles due to which a number of police personnel and people were injured and property damaged. A case of riots was registered. Soon after the riots, accused Sharjeel delivered a speech at Jamia and provoked the gathering for chakka­jam as a means of protest against the government and set the groundwork for other incidents of riots. After his delivery of a speech at Jamia, the protest against CAA & NRC in other areas of Delhi and its adjoining States increased and they started encroaching and blocking the main roads in a planned and coordinated manner reflecting the adoption of modus­operandi i.e. disruptive chakka­jam by the crowds as suggested by accused Sharjeel Imam. The mob was communally surcharged and there were frequent incidents of communal riots. On 15.12.2019, the accused also incited the gathering by way of his instigating speech available in his Facebook post.

The court further said:

On 11.12.2019, the accused delivered a speech and distributed pamphlets at AMU asking for disruptive chakka­jam. An incident of riot took place at AMU on 15/16.12.2019 after the Jamia riots. In the riots, the same modus­ Operandi was adopted.

Sharjeel Imam had further created the Shaheen Bagh Coordination Committee and on the night on 15/16th of December 2019, blocked Shaheen Bagh, causing massive inconvenience to lakhs of people.

The court said:

The accused had managed to mobilize the Muslim community and set the stage for disruptive chakka­jam across Delhi and other parts of India. He succeeded in getting the media attention. Thereafter, the incident of riots took place in the area of Police Station Dayal Pur on 16.12.2019, in Seelampur and Jafrabad on 17.12.2019, Dayal Pur on 17.12.2019, Seema Puri, Nand Nagri on 20.12.2019, Darya Ganj on 20.12.2019. There is also a Whatsapp chat in group of Muslim Students of JNU retrieved from his mobile where he is asking back­up should there be an attempt by some people to unblock the roads. He asks Jumma prayer to be held on the road and to build up the momentum and even provide logistics to those joining the blocking of road.

One of the most operative parts of the chargesheet was that in all the incidents of violence and riots, the strategy provided by Sharjeel Imam was adopted. For example, Sharjeel Imam had visited Northeast Delhi on the 15th of January 2020. “Accused Sharjeel is also arrested in FIR No. 242/2019, P.S. Jamia, Delhi. In the said case, another accused Furkan disclosed that he got emotionally stirred after hearing the speech by accused Sharjeel Imam delivered in Jamia on 13.12.2019. The voice sample of the accused was taken and the CFSL report gave a finding that the speeches by the accused Jamia and Aligarh Muslim University were delivered by him”, the court order cited.

The summary of the 4 speeches mentioned in the court order

In the order, the judge said that it is inarguable that Sharjeel Imam was intelligent and well-read. However, this case was not one where his intelligence or qualifications were under test but the legality of the act committed by him and whether the charges brought against him are justified. The judgement, therefore, cannot hinge on his intelligence but has to hinge on the speeches made by him that incited violence.

The court said that when such speeches are analysed, they have to be heard and understood in its totality and not in piecemeals.

“All the speeches made by accused Sharjeel Imam have to be read in complete to decipher what he was thinking and what he was trying to convince all those who had gathered around him and to whom the speech would get disseminated to. When one tries to interpret a speech, one must consider who is a speaker, to whom it is addressed, to whom it will disseminate, what is the context in which speeches are made. The manner in which it is said, the choice of words in the speech, all are relevant“.

The court said that there is nothing wrong with having a viewpoint and those opinions need to align with any dispensation, however, to say that any speech no matter how threatening or incendiary must be included in the ambit of free speech is “beyond the pale”. The intent of the speech has to be gathered from the words spoken or written, therefore, a speaker will be taken to have the intent of the consequences that followed.

The court then goes into analysing each of the 4 speeches made by Sharjeel Imam.

Jamia Milia Islamia on 13th December 2019

In the first video of the speech made by Sharjeel Imam in Jamia Milia Islamia, the court said:

  1. The provocative speeches were made in connection to the CAA, however, the speeches covered a whole gamut of other issues.
  2. The accused says in the speech that Muslims have been driven out and their property confiscated from 1955 to 1995 and the numbers are in lakhs. The Muslim population of Tripura has been driven out.
  3. After this, he draws a reference to the Quran
  4. He further says that his desire is to see chakka­jam in Delhi and that platform of 100-­200 Muslim students has been created. He says that Indian Muslims can do chakka­jam in 500 cities in India but there are certain roadblocks in this.
  5. He then asks if Muslims have what it takes to shut down cities of North India and the answer of the Muslim crowd was “yes”.
  6. He then talks about the fact that Muslims are living in cities where their population is over 30%. He then questions the crowd as to why those cities are still functioning despite their numbers being so high.
  7. He tells Muslims to “fight” after “making a reference to the Quran”.
  8. He says that whether it is cow protection, the definition of Hindu or manner of elections, it shows that the Constitution itself is fascist but you (Muslims) should take the help of these in Courts. He further says that this can’t be the “last resort”.
  9. He says that the constitution says that property should not be taken or lives should not be lost but in the same breath, he says that lives can be disrupted if Muslims organise themselves.
  10. He says that he and others are distributing pamphlets in Masjids for the last two weeks and will continue to do so. He then goes on to explain the importance of Delhi and how an incident in Delhi would result in wide-scale coverage worldwide.
  11. He then asks Muslims to form groups to do chakka jam across the country.
  12. He then uses a reference to the leadership position of Iqbal Ahmed to drive home his point that leaders can emerge out of a situation. Importantly, the reference point of this story is not an ordinary one but from the 1947 partition.
  13. He stresses again the need for chakka­jam as the goal and tells that water supply, milk supply should be stopped in Delhi and then says that 55,000 people are in detention camps. He concludes his speech by reading a couplet in the context of the 1946 Bihar Riots which again is a reference to Islam religion.

Speech in Aligarh Muslim University on the 16th of January 2020

  1. In this speech, Sharjeel Imam says that he had visited AMU on the 10th and 11th and had spoken about the blockage of roads.
  2. In his speech, he again shares his ideas casting doubts about secularism in India. He starts off by telling that if India was to be secular, then scheduled castes would have been Muslims.
  3. Sharjeel Imam talks about how India is not “secular” because of “cow protection laws”.
  4. He terms the Constitution of India as a document by the Pandits and says that educated Brahmins are very dangerous. He then says that the idea of India is a construct upon the grave of Muslims and it is essentially a unification project by the Pandits.
  5. The court observes that he was not only denigrating the constitution but was also creating hatred against a certain caste (Brahmins).
  6. In this speech, he spoke about how lynchings have been happening for hundreds of years but are being reported only now.
  7. He then discloses his plan of action­when a critical mass of people had been assembled; then what all can be done and what should be got done from them. He talks about the events in Delhi from 5th to 15th December 2019 and then disparages the peaceful mode of protest by political personalities.
  8. He acknowledges the violence at Jamia.
  9. He tells Muslims that they will have to close down India, which they are capable of.
  10. He says that non-Muslims, specifically alluding to Hindus, are not allies and they are lying about being allies if they have not stopped Delhi from functioning yet.
  11. He says that the argument that a lot of citizens are being inconvenienced due to chakka­jam, is in fact our achievement.
  12. He also then talks that if 05 lakhs people were to get organized, then North­East and India can be permanently cut off and if not, then at least for a few months. He exhorts people to block the roads to cut­off Assam and India and again raises the issue of detention camps. He says that ‘chicken­neck’ belongs to Muslims and all the supplies to Army in the North­East should be cut­off.
  13. He also ridicules all those Muslims who are with the Pandits. 
  14. He then ridicules the cow protection and this support from some Muslims. He then gives reference to the necessity of cow killing and says that we will never stop cow killing.
  15. He then talks about the importance of doing Namaz 5 times a day and that it is their right to pray wherever they are standing.

Speech in Asansol, West Bengal, on the 22nd of January 2020

In this speech, Sharjeel Imam asks Muslims if they have come on the roads only for CAA/NRC and he says this while invoking Triple Talaq, Babri Masjid and the Kashmir issue.

The court document says:

He, in his speeches, is talking about detention camps, and the need to burn it, should they be sent there. He stresses the need to create 15­100 Shaheen Bagh and says that if by wishes of God, it is successful then Hindustan would be closed and they will be brought to their knees. Muslims have not closed down India in the last 70 years and now they will do it and do it completely. He also talks about problems faced by ordinary people/citizens due to highway closing at Shaheen Bagh, which he terms it as a success. He asks them to get organized. He ends the speech again with a reference to a couplet in the context of Bihar Riots or attacks on Muslims in 1946 drawing reference to the religion Islam.

Speech in Chakband, Gaya, Bihar on 23rd January 2020

  1. In this speech, Sharjeel Imam says that CAA is an affront to Muslims of India.
  2. Muslims will be put in detention camps and the Courts will do nothing. In four weeks, the government would have put 10­20 thousand Muslims in detention camps and the work is going on in this regard. He lauds the efforts in Shaheen Bagh where the highway has been blocked, Petrol Pump made vacant, show­rooms closed and every citizen living in Noida reaching home at least four hours late. Importantly, he mentions this as his own achievement.
  3. He says that Muslims should sit on the roads till the detention camps are closed.
  4. He asks rhetorically to the crowd what will happen if detention camps are created in Bihar and what will you do when the ladies from the houses are taken away and then replies that you will have to burn those detention camps. He then says that this is happening in Assam.
  5. He said that he would consider it a victory only if hundreds of Shaheen Baghs are created.
  6. He says that there are two crore Muslims in Bihar and if some non-Muslims also join them, there is nothing they can’t do.
  7. He says that these things were tried in Old Delhi and Seelampur in Delhi. He does say that they don’t have to throw stones or pick sticks but we have to close down India. Later, he says that it is very easy for them to block 5­10 highways.
  8. He says that Muslims should paralyse the government and not let the goods travel.

The judgement by the court in the framing of charges against Sharjeel Imam

After detailing the speeches, the court said that a perusal of the speeches shows the fundamental thinking, ideas and intent of Sharjeel Imam. The speeches were delivered to Muslims and that it would also be read and heard by the people belonging to other communities.

The court says:

The speeches seem to be indicative of showing the worthlessness of the community and existential crises. The issue of demographic profiles in certain cities is misleading and needs to be explained at trial. Again the issue of ridiculing cow protection and in the context of secularism requires explanation at trial.

The court says that the apparent reason for making the speeches was CAA and NRC, however, there are several other incidents from history that have been invoked. The aim of the speeches seems to be to convince the Muslims of India that they have been wronged by the Constitution of India and the makers of the constitution who were meant to protect the Muslim community.

“The references to cow­killing or reservations not being given to Muslims who had converted from Hindus as such have no relevance for the protest which is ostensibly shown in the arguments as against the CAA law. The speeches appear to be completely pessimistic. In his admitted speech, he focuses that Muslims are concentrated in urban areas and there are 24 cities in the country where the Muslim population can stop the functioning and put the city at a halt and bring the government to its knees“, the order says.

The speeches made, the court says, did result in violence according to the chargesheet as there were several cases of violence in 2019 reported from Jamia, New Friends Colony, Seelampur, Darya Ganj, North­East Delhi post his speeches.

The most important observation by the court comes in para 13.5.

Court order in framing charges against Sharjeel Imam

Para 13.5 says that the speeches by Sharjeel Imam, on a prima facie level, has a tendency to create public disorder and can classify as incitement to violence. The court in this observation said that prima facie, the religious groups are sought to be divided on emotive issues and one community is sought to be misguided. In this part, the court was clearly talking about Imam inciting Muslims by his speeches. By talking about the blockage of the chicken neck, which joins mainland India to the North East, seems to remind everyone that the said land “belongs to Muslims” and that the call to do it is indicative of his intention.

Ending the order, the court said, “Thus, on the basis of material on record, I am of the opinion that there are sufficient grounds for presuming that the accused Sharjeel Imam has committed offences under Section 124A IPC, 153A IPC, 153B IPC, 505 IPC & Section 13 of UAPA. Ordered accordingly”.

It is evident from this order that the court has found prima facie evidence that Sharjeel Imam’s speeches did lead to violence in 2019 and that he had the intention to create disharmony between Muslims and Hindus. Further, Imam had the intention to disparage not only the nation but also Hindus at large. Given this, the court has found that Sharjeel Imam had committed offences of sedition and the other charges in question.

Modi, Doval call high level meeting as Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter followers get stuck, Pres Kovind also intervenes

Shashank Singh
-
0
Modi, Doval call high level meeting as Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter followers get stuck, Pres Kovind also intervenes

Republic day celebrations were not even over completely when the Prime Minister’s Office called for an urgent high level meeting as a national crisis befell upon us. In the meeting, along with PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah, RM Rajnath Singh, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, NSA Ajit Doval, R&AW Chief, IB Chief, the Cartoon Network chief was also present. The agenda of the meeting was the fact that Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter followers were stuck and not increasing.

The meeting lasted till wee hours of morning the next day. At around 2 AM, the PM received a call from President Kovind to enquire what necessary steps have been taken on this matter of great urgency. PM informed him that in the next parliament session they will bring an ordinance that will force every Twitter user to follow Rahul Gandhi else Mukesh Ambani will disconnect their Jio numbers. However, the President told the PM that next parliament session is far away and asked him to pass ordinance by today evening itself. He informed Lok Sabha speaker to call urgent joint session under article 78(6).

On the other hand, right wing trolls were mocking Rahul Gandhi for crying about Twitter followers. It’s a fact that RW trolls are not aware of importance of Rahul Gandhi’s Twitter account and what it means for the nation’s security, economy and meme industry.

In January 2020 when world was going through massive unemployment, Rahul Gandhi hired 5 lakh Twitter warriors and these 5 lakh warriors created employment for million memers. 

Rahul Gandhi, through his twitter account, keeps exposing China. He was the 1st one who informed the world about Coronavirus even before WHO. In fact, it was he who had kept a tab on the progress during his top secret visit to Wuhan a few years back.

Further, only people in revenue intelligence could crack what Rahul Gandhi meant when he said “ek taraf se aaloo dalunga and dusre taraf se sona niklega”. It was a hidden intel to find gold hidden in rectum. He went all the way to Kerala to get elected as an MP from Wayanad to let the world at large know that rectum gold will be found in Kerala.

Rahul Gandhi is so hardworking that even when he was holidaying in undisclosed foreign location he didn’t forget his duty and wrote a letter to Twitter about his follower count going down. He even spent time drawing up colourful graphs and compared his follower count with other ladykiller like the charming Shashi Tharoor. Even Tharoor got thousands of followers these past few months while Rahul Gandhi lost his followers.

Sources close to Congress tell us that Rahul Gandhi had actually planned a visit to Ajmer and visit the Dargah to pray for increasing his followers. But he was reminded that he should not trigger Sachin Pilot, the only loyalist left in Congress otherwise even the Gehlot govt in Rajasthan will topple and one more state will be lost along with Twitter followers. So as precautionary measure he visited Punjab to make sure at least Sidhu sticks around instead of crossing over the border.

PM Modi has assured that for next few days at least no new Congress leader’s job application to the BJP will be accepted.

Madhya Pradesh: Shweta Tiwari lands in controversy after her ‘bra fitting’ remark on God, MP minister orders probe

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Madhya Pradesh: Shweta Tiwari lands in controversy after her ‘bra fitting’ remark on God, MP minister orders probe

On Thursday, TV Actress Shweta Tiwari landed up in a huge controversy after making derogatory, sexual comments on Hindu Gods. At the launch event of her upcoming new web series ‘Show Stopper’, Shweta in Bhopal said that her bra size was being measured by God.

According to the reports, the web series stars Rohit Roy, Digangana Suryawanshi, Kanwaljit Singh and Sourabh Raaj Jain in lead roles. Sourabh Raaj Jain who had played ‘Lord Krishna’ in Star Plus TV serial Mahabharat, will be seen playing a ‘bra fitter’ in the web series ‘Show Stopper’, as per reports.

In a clip from a promotional event in Bhopal, the actress is seen saying “Mere bra ka size bhagwan le rahe hain” (The God is sizing my bra), and then giggling with her co-worker. The statement was meant as a jibe at Saurabh Raaj Jain who is quite popular for his portrayal of Lord Krishna in the Mahabharat show.

The derogatory remarks by the actress have caused controversy as many social media users have slammed the useless sexual innuendo that dragged the name of Hindu gods.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Minister Dr Narottam Mishra has taken cognizance of the matter and directed the Bhopal Police to submit a detailed report in this regard. Condemning the comment, Mishra said that demeaning Hindu culture and Gods was a shameful act.

Shweta and Sourabh had appeared together in the reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi 11. Sourabh had earlier shared that he has been a fan of the actress since his childhood days.

Illegal cow slaughter racket busted in Maharashtra’s Tarapur, FIR filed against 11 after cops were attacked during the operation

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Illegal cow slaughter racket busted in Maharashtra’s Tarapur, FIR filed against 11 after cops were attacked during the operation

An illegal racket of cow slaughter has been busted by Maharastra Police in Tarapur in the Palghar district of Maharashtra on January 26. The police have registered FIR against 11 persons after the accused attacked the police after being caught red-handed.

The Maharashtra Police has registered an FIR against eleven people over illegal slaughtering of cows and selling cattle meat in Tarapur, Palghar. The Police on Wednesday morning received information about the illegal slaughter of cows which is prohibited under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act 2015 which restricts the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and calves. A team of police from the Panchmarg Naka Police station set out to Tarapur where the accused Mohommed Joher Sheikh was running a cattle shed afront his home beside an Urdu school in Tarapur.

It is reported that Ansari Damanwala and his two sons – Atique Ansari and Abdul Hamid Ansari were involved in the illegal cow slaughter and beef trading. It is learnt that the Ansari trio used to smuggle stolen beef from illegal traders which were then brought to Mohammed Johar Sheikh’s slaughterhouse. Among the people involved in illegal storage and cutting of cow meat were Sheikh’s wife Rubina, Sulieman Zubair and Faizal from Patni Mohalla Ramzan, Khalid from Teliwada and a person named Thakur whose details are unknown.

According to the FIR, when the police reached the slaughterhouse in Tarapur, they found cow meat being sliced with sharp knives and bladed tools. When the police tried to enquire about the ongoings, the accused hit out at the policemen with knives in a life-threatening attack. According to the police, Ansari Damanwala came forward and threatened, “You go back or else we will all kill you with what we have in our hands.”

Inspector Ramesh Hadal describes in the FIR, “When we caught them red-handed, Ansari Damanwala came forward to threaten us with knives. When I moved to get hold of him, his sons attacked me with knives and tried to obstruct the operation. A person named Shoaib attacked me on my left shoulder, in which I was injured”. Inspector Hadal received severe injuries in the attack while his shirt was torn. He further describes, “When Sub Inspector Jadhav got up to nab Suleiman, he too was attacked on his right knee.”

After a small clash with the accused, the police got hold of the people involved in the business. It was reported that Cows, other cattle and activities related to the slaughtering of beef were found by police during their sudden raid on Mohd. Joher Sheikh’s cattle shed. A case was registered against 11 accused over the coordinated attempts of cow smuggling and storage of slaughtered cow meat under sections 5A and 9A of Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act 2015 and section 3,11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. An offence against hoarding of cattle with the intent of killing was registered under sections 307, 332, 353,269,424, 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR also mentions action against violation of sections 25(1-C) and 4 of the Arms Act of 1959 for possession of sharp knives and life-threatening tools.

Incidents of illegal smuggling and slaughtering of cows have risen in Maharashtra over the years. In June last year, 41 animals including cows were rescued during a raid on an illegal slaughterhouse in Raigad. On December 18, 2021, the brother of a Shiv Sena leader among two were arrested for transporting 40 kgs of beef in Mumbai.

Rift in Punjab Congress widens, 5 party MPs boycott Rahul Gandhi’s state visit ahead of elections: Reports

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Rift in Punjab Congress widens, 5 party MPs boycott Rahul Gandhi’s state visit ahead of elections: Reports

In Punjab, Congress seems to be heading towards another huge crisis ahead of the assembly election. Five of the eight Congress Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab are boycotting Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the state on Thursday, according to reports. Citing sources, reports say that the five MPs do not find Rahul Gandhi’s leadership reasonable and unless Rahul Gandhi relinquishes his unofficial presidency, these MPs have threatened to leave the party.

Jasbir Singh Gill, Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur, ex-Union Minister Manish Tewari, Congress’ Lok Sabha top whip Ravneet Singh Bittu, and Mohammad Sadique are among the disgruntled MPs, according to a report in Republic.

Rahul Gandhi, along with the Congress’ 109 candidates for the Punjab elections, paid obeisance at the Golden Temple earlier in the Day. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal downplayed the accusations of a “boycott,” saying they were “baseless rumours” and “not true.”

Congress won 77 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly in 2017, while Shiromani Akali Dal only managed to win 18 seats. The politics of the state has been in chaos since Navjot Singh Sidhu was appointed chief of the Punjab Congress. Captain Amarinder Singh resigned as Chief Minister, saying that the party had humiliated him and labelling Navjot Singh Sidhu a national security threat. Captain Amarinder Singh afterwards formed his own political party in preparation for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.

Punjab’s 2022 Legislative Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 20, 2022, with results announced on March 10.

The siege of Leningrad: When Russian scientists starved themselves to death to preserve the future of the world, in a seed bank

Sanghamitra
-
0
The siege of Leningrad: When Russian scientists starved themselves to death to preserve the future of the world, in a seed bank

January 27, 1944, is the day when the prolonged siege of the Russian city of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) by Nazi Germany finally ended. The city was under siege, blockaded from all sides by the Nazi forces, not for a month or two, but for 872 days, that is nearly 2 and half years.

It is one of the darkest and most violent phases in the history of World War II. While the Nazi forces surrounded the bustling city, its citizens starved to death, languishing in the freezing cold and waiting to be rescued.

Among the countless stories of suffering and bravery during World War II, there is a tale of unmatched valour and dedication, lived not by soldiers or leaders, but by a group of scientists, botanists who worked in a seed repository.

The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry

The story of the sacrifice by the scientists of the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry had remained unknown and unacknowledged for a long time. In the early 1990s, two scientists of the institute named SM Alexanyan and VI Krivchenko had written about it in the journal Diversity. A report on the story was published in 1992 by the Washington Post.

citizens of Leningrad during the siege, image via Daily Mail

The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry was located inside the city of Leningrad. A premier institute of crops and plant research, the Institute housed seed samples from 187,000 varieties of plants. It was a priceless repository of plant genetic diversity where scientists worked to preserve food crops, develop new hybrid crops and collect data on planting, climate, pest resistance. Between the walls of the institute was one of the world’s largest collections of plant genetic data in the form of seeds.

As the Nazi forces surrounded Leningrad, the institute’s scientists became concerned about its safety. The seeds needed not just proper storage, but the samples needed to be planted and harvested periodically for the research to continue. About 40,000 of the 187,000 varieties of seeds were food crops.

As the Red Amry and Hitler’s Nazi forces engaged in shelling and confrontations, the city was blocked from all sides, cut off from the world, its citizens slowly running out of food and fuel. The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry was facing not just destruction from bombing, but because of the sacks of rice, potatoes and wheat it had stored, there was the possibility of loot by the starving citizens and enemy soldiers. The research work, the result of years of hard work had to be preserved for the future too.

As the siege continued, and shelling happened relentlessly, the botanists at the institute had boarded up the windows and shut themselves inside to protect their seeds. The potato collection was the most vulnerable, the Washington Post article says, because of the freezing winter and the starving people all around. The institute was unheated, and there was no firewood or coal to be used.

The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, image via Wikipedia

The botanists burned furniture, papers, boxes, cardboard and debris from neighbouring buildings to stay alive as the winter set in and the temperature dropped to several degrees below freezing. They divided themselves into groups and guarded the seed storage vaults all 24 hours.

Working non-stop, the botanists also devised plans to preserve their collection. Parts of the collection was smuggled out, over the frozen, desolate landscape to another storage facility place near the Ural mountains. Woking inside the dark, damp place, the scientists had to save the seeds from hungry rats too. They poisoned rat holes and used shattered glass.

While facing starvation, the botanists refused to eat from their seed collection. Rice crops researcher Dimitri S Ivanov had died of starvation while guarding several thousand packs of rice. A peanut specialist Alexander Stchukin had starved to death while the samples under his care remained intact.

A modern-day photo of the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, image via amusingplanet

As the siege continued over the months, the botanists faced another challenge. Some of the food crops needed to be replanted and harvested for their long term preservation. The rural areas outside the city were swarming with Nazi forces, so the botanists managed to find a small place in the outskirts of the city itself. They had no tractors, no fuel or no horses, so they tilled the plot by hand, planted the seeds and managed to harvest fresh samples.

The botanists of the institute worked relentlessly while facing death from all sides, starving themselves while guarding a priceless collection of food crops.

Nine of the Institute’s scientists had perished due to starvation, as per the article in Washinton Post. Apart from Ivanov and Stchukin mentioned above, the others were Liliya M Rodina, M Steheglov, Georgi K Kriyer, G Kovalesky, N Leontjevsky, A Malygina and A Kozrun.

The botanists had starved themselves to death while being surrounded by food crops, to preserve the collection for scientific research.

How the siege ended

The siege of Leningrad had started on September 8, 1942, when the Nazi army had taken over the last road to the city. The Finnish army had joined them. Though the Red Army of Russia had managed to open a small land path in January 1943, they did not manage to lift the siege till 1944.

Nazi soldiers outside a burning Leningrad, image via Wikipedia

Leningrad was the centre of the Russian Revolution, it had numerous arms factories and was the main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet. Its siege was crucial for Hitler. Hitler had wanted to raze the city to the ground. The city had a population of over 3 lakhs prior to the siege. As Hitler’s forces looted, killed and bombed, the citizens perished in large numbers. Over 1.5 lakh people had died in the 872 days. In the annals of war history, the siege of Leningrad is mentioned as the worst, one of the most lethal and destructive. Some historians even peg the number of direct and indirect deaths to a million people.

After over 2 years of multiple battles and relentless efforts by the Red Army, the siege was finally lifted on January 27, 1944.

Who was Vavilov?

Nikolai Vavilov, who had headed the Institute of Plant Industry, was a prominent Russian scientist who worked to form the world’s largest seed bank. He was a plant genetic researcher. He was asked by Lenin to deal with the 1921 famine and find ways to preserve and develop new food crops. He had travelled to the USA in 1921 to study advanced agriculture methods and had returned with 61 boxes of seeds. Over the next several years, Vavilov had travelled around the world to collect seeds, study plant genetics and had continued crop research, leading to pioneering works in the field. His contributions to the field of plant breeding are considered priceless.

Nikolai Vavilov, image via Beginenglish. ru

A brilliant scientist who wanted scientific research to work for the betterment of people around the world, Vavilov fell out of favour of the communist leaders of Russia. Some communist leaders had accused Vavilov of trying to sabotage ‘Soviet science’ and colluding with enemy countries. Joseph Stalin had ordered his arrest in 1940. In a sad tryst of fate, while the world’s largest seed bank that Vavilov had built in the city of Leningrad lay under siege, the scientist himself was languishing in the Gulag, sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Suffering from lung infections, neglect and starvation in the harsh Russian prison in Saratov, Vavilov died in January 1943. Long after his death, the subsequent governments in Russia ‘pardoned’ his sentence and tried to restore his name and contribution to science. The seed bank in Leningrad is still one of the world’s premier institutes of plant diversity research. Russia had named a crater in the moon after the scientist in later years. Numerous novels and books have mentioned his life and works.

‘Modi bashing turning into India bashing’: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slams Hamid Ansari for his rants against Indian democracy

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Modi bashing turning into India bashing’: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slams Hamid Ansari for his rants against Indian democracy

On the 26th of January, former Vice President Hamid Ansari made contentious remarks on a virtual program hosted by several American organizations. He said that intolerance in the country is on the rise.

He made the comments in an online event titled ‘Protecting India’s Pluralist Constitution’, which was organised by The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC). The online event which was touted as a ‘Special Congressional Briefing’ also included Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts, Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Andy Levin, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Former President of Mauritius and Nadine Maenza who chairs the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) among several others. Swara Bhasker was also one of the speakers.

The organiser of the event, The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), is alleged to be linked to the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and behind a plot to foment riots in India. From the platform of this institution, Ansari took a shot at the Modi government. In India, he claims, efforts are underway to replace civic nationalism with cultural nationalism. According to Ansari, religious intolerance is encouraged in India by portraying the religious majority as a political monopoly.

“In recent years, we have experienced the emergence of trends and practices that dispute the well-established principle of civic nationalism and interpose a new and imaginary practice of cultural nationalism,” said Ansari.

“It seeks to present an electoral majority in the guise of a religious majority and monopolized political power. It wants to distinguish citizens on the basis of their faith, give vent to intolerance, insinuate otherness, and promote disquiet and insecurity,” he added. “Some of its recent manifestations are chilling and reflect poorly on our claim to be governed by rule of law. It’s a question that has to be answered. These trends need to be contested and contested legally and contested politically,” Ansari further said.

Along with Hamid Ansari, four US lawmakers and the Archbishop of Bangalore also expressed views on India’s current human rights situation.

Senator Ed Markey alleged that as the Indian government continues to target the practices of minority faiths, it creates an atmosphere where discrimination and violence can take root. “In recent years, we have seen an uptick in online hate speeches and acts of hate, including vandalised mosques, torched churches, and communal violence,” he said.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the union minister for Minority Affairs, responded to Ansari’s comments by saying that the frenzy for Modi hate is evolving into a plot for India hatred. Such voices can be expected if one goes into India bashing while criticizing Modi, according to Naqvi.

The event organised by The Indian-American Muslim Council was co-hosted by 17 American groups in Washington, including Amnesty International US, Genocide Watch, Hindus for Human Rights, New York State Council of Churches and others.

In its brief to the Supreme Court, the Tripura government has blamed IAMC for the state’s communal riots. Not only that but this group is suspected of having ties to the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Aside from that, it has ties to a number of other terrorist organizations. The IAMC, on the other hand, has refuted these charges though.

IAMC has often taken stands against the governing Indian government in order to battle ‘civil rights and liberty concerns in India’ and to reassert the ‘rights of religious minorities.’ However, contrary to its assertion, the organization was seen lobbying against India in 2013 as well — a year before the current BJP government came to office in 2014.

Elle India distances itself from Rana Ayyub’s brother Arif Ayyub after his tweets attacking the Saudi regime go viral

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Elle India distances itself from Rana Ayyub’s brother Arif Ayyub after his tweets attacking the Saudi regime go viral

On January 25, Elle India distanced itself from Rana Ayyub’s brother Arif Ayyub after his tweets attacking the Saudi government went viral on social media. In its statement, Elle said, “Ogaan Media would like to inform that Mr Arif Ayyub is not an employee of Elle India. He had resigned from his services as the Publisher w.e.f. August 2019 itself and has not been associated with the company in any possible manner.”

Further, Elle India said the tweets published by Ayyub were in his personal capacity expressing his individual opinion and perception, and those tweets had no link to Elle.

Arif Ayyub’s anti-Saudi tweets went viral

On Tuesday, it was reported that Ayyub, former Elle India Publisher and brother of controversial journalist Rana Ayyub, had gone on an unhinged rant against the Saudi and UAE royal families. He had spewed a lot of hate after the Saudi-led coalition retaliated against the Islamist Houthi movement in Yemen for carrying out a deadly drone attack in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a tweet, he alleged that dissenters in Saudi Arabia, Israel and India were being put behind bars. “Dissidents in SAUDI ARABIA are languishing in jails, political activists like Sharjeel, Umar, Khalid and countless others are languishing in INDIAN jails, thousands of Palestinians are languishing in ISRAELI jails. The USA is the biggest ally of them all. It supports tyrants,” Arif Ayyub wrote. Ayyub has a history of posting anti-Saudi tweets.

After his tweets went viral, many netizens, including prominent people from the UAE asked if Elle India stood by the tweets of Ayyub. Many netizens at that time had pointed that Ayyub was employed by Elle India. However, it now seems that he had resigned from the organisation two years back.

Ayyub’s Facebook profile says he is publisher of Elle India

Though Elle India said Ayyub resigned from the post in 2019, Ayyub’s Facebook profile still mentions him as publisher of Elle and Elle Décor.

Screenshot of Arif Ayyub’s Facebook Profile. Source: Facebook.

His LinkedIn profile, however, mentions he left the Elle in 2019.

Screenshot of Arif Ayyub’s LinkedIn profile. Source: LinkedIn

Arif Ayyub’s sister Rana Ayyub also went on a rant against Saudis and blamed PM Modi for the hate he was receiving for indirectly supporting Houthi Movement. 

Chinese military hands over missing 19-year-old Arunachal boy Miram Taron to Indian Army

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Chinese military hands over missing 19-year-old Arunachal boy Miram Taron to Indian Army

On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) handed over 19-year-old boy Miram Taron to the Indian Army, who had gone missing after crossing the LAC at Arunachal Pradesh. Confirming the return of the young boy, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the procedures and Miram’s medical examination were being taken care of.

Kiren Rijiju informed that Miram Taron was handed over to the Indian Army by PLA soldiers at the WACHA-DAMAI interaction point in Arunachal Pradesh today.

This is exactly a day after the Indian Army had exchanged hotline discussions with the Chinese PLA on the matter on Republic Day. The PLA had responded positively and indicated that they would repatriate Toran to India at the suggested place of release after completing necessary formalities.

On January 18, Miram Taron of Siang had gone missing from the state of Arunachal Pradesh after he was allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military. Taron’s friend Johny Yaiying, who managed to escape, had informed the authorities about the kidnapping by the PLA, state MP Tapir Gao had said.

While there were reports of alleged abduction by China, the Chinese PLA denied the allegations and later confirmed that a missing boy was found on their side of the border.

After the course of action initiated by the Indian Army, the Chinese side on January 20 sought details of Miram Taron to confirm the identity and later agreed to evacuate him back to India. The Indian and Chinese armies yesterday had finalized the time and place for Taron’s repatriation.

It is worth noting that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had cornered the government over Taron’s disappearance. Tweeting in Hindi he had said, “Just days ahead of Republic day the Chinese have abducted an Indian citizen, we are with the family of Miram Taron, and we will not lose hope and will not accept defeat. But Prime Minister’s silence is his statement that it does not bother him”.

Media continues to whitewash Lavanya suicide case ignoring dying declaration, The News Minute says ‘but there are other videos too’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Media continues to whitewash Lavanya suicide case ignoring dying declaration, The News Minute says ‘but there are other videos too’

The allegation of forced conversion in the case of a girl who died of suicide in Tamil Nadu has shaken the nation. But at the same time, the media is trying to whitewash the case by finding non-existing loopholes in the dying declaration of the victim. Recently, The News Minute has published a report in which they said there are four videos of Lavanya, and only one of them mentions conversion. The report tried to whitewash the entire case of forcing the girl to convert to Christianity just because she talked about conversion in only one video.

TNM claimed Lavanya took her life as hostel warden gave her extra work

In the report, TNM alleged that Lavanya ended her life because the hostel warden gave her extra work that resulted in her falling behind in her studies. Lavanya, who lived in a boarding house of Sacred Hearts Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti in Thanjavur, died of suicide at the hospital. Before dying, she had recorded a statement where she alleged the school administration forced her to convert, and had forced her to do chores for refusing to convert.

Only of the videos recorded by VHP’s secretary talked about conversion

TNM specifically mentioned in the report that the videos were recorded by Muthuvel, who is Ariyalur district secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. It further pointed out that there were four videos on Muthuvel’s phone that he recorded on January 17. Out of these videos, TNM said the Police believed one of the videos was deleted but later recovered.

TNM’s report read, “However, the investigating agencies have managed to retrieve the video from his phone as he had received it as a forward from another person. The Police are investigating if Muthuvel forwarded the video to someone else before deleting it, and it eventually came back to his phone as a forward.”

It further asserted that as only one of the videos mentioned conversion, there was a possibility she was tutored to talk about the conversion angle. It said, “Since, in the newly leaked video, she even denies that she was forced not to wear a bindi. The Police are investigating this angle too.” It is noteworthy just because the conversion angle was talked about only in one video and not the others, it does not mean that she was not forced to convert.

The media has downplayed incidents earlier in a similar way

This is not the first time media tried to downplay the incident by using videos of the deceased. In June 2021, a man identified as Mukesh was burnt alive at the Tikri border, one of the sites of farmers protest. Initially, it was reported that he had set himself ablaze in protest of the three now-repealed agriculture laws.

However, later, more videos of the incident came out in which Mukesh gave a statement before succumbing to injuries. In his statement, Mukesh said that the farmers at the Tikri border, specifically a man in a white kurta, had set him on fire. When the police official asked him specifically if he set himself on fire or it was the farmers who set himself on fire, to this, he clearly said that it was the farmer and he did not set fire to himself. However, the media used the vague videos posted by the Kisan unions stating it was Mukesh who had burnt himself.

1...3,5743,5753,576...7,645Page 3,575 of 7,645