In yet another horrifying crime against women, a 19-year-old girl, hard of hearing and speech, from Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district was raped and was dropped pregnant by three men in Chittorgarh. The matter came to light when the girl on Monday complained of acute stomach pain and bleeding and was admitted to a government hospital in Bhilwara.
According to the Police, two months ago, the girl had visited her sister in Petra village of Chittorgarh and was raped by a man while she was working on the farm. The other two men who accompanied the accused had helped him to exploit the girl.
Adarsh Siddhu, ACP, Bhilwara said that the girl didn’t report the incident when it happened. She spoke out when she witnessed heavy bleeding and stomach pain yesterday. “The two-month-old fetus has been removed and the girl is kept under observation”, he added.
For the present, Bhilwara District Collector Ashish Modi has stated several uncertainties regarding the case. “She used to visit her siblings often but was in Bhilwara for the last 15 days only. So, it is clear that nothing happened in Bhilwara district”, he said.
He also added that the police is investigating whether the girl was raped or gang-raped and is also trying to discover the location of the crime.
Reports mention that the government hospital yesterday immediately informed the local police and district administration after they found the deaf and mute girl pregnant. The local police then arranged for a sign language expert to record the statement of the victim girl. The girl in her statement revealed that she was raped by two or three unidentified men when she was working on the farm around two months ago.
While the police have initiated the necessary legal action in the case, District Collector Modi has directed a team to discover and expose all the minor details in the case and put cuffs on the culprits at the earliest.
BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla meanwhile, has slammed the Rajasthan government and Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi for uttering silence on the issue. Rajasthan Rape Saga continues. No justice in Alwar yet- instead of an attempt to save the accused by destroying evidence, meanwhile rape of another mute & deaf girl in Bhilwara. PRIYANKA SILENT !!”, he tweeted.
Rajasthan Rape Saga continues
No justice in Alwar yet- instead an attempt to save accused by destroying evidence … meanwhile
On January 12, a specially-abled minor girl was found abandoned at the Tijara flyover in Alwar, Rajasthan. She was bleeding from her private parts and was admitted to the hospital. As reported earlier, a few men came in a car on the night of January 11 and left the minor girl covered in blood at the flyover.
The incident had caused widespread outrage and the protesters had hit the streets to question the deafening silence of the senior Congress party leaders over the horrific rape incident. Several videos had emerged in which protesters are seen demanding justice for the victim from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary and UP in charge.
Budget 2022 is set to be released in a few days. On the 1st of February 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will open her tablet and read out how the government money is to be allocated amongst the people of India and departments that work for the people of India. Almost every year, like clockwork, the middle-class becomes incredibly unhappy about the Budget. We collectively rue the fact that there were no rebates for the salaries class even though the salaried class pays their taxes diligently.
Nobody really knows what might happen this time. The government may or may not give rebate to the salaries class. However, before that, we must talk about the disgruntlement that we will all deal with it that does not happen.
No government in India can ever satisfy the over swelling Indian Middle class. By some conservative estimates, it is a whopping 500 million out of the 1400 million population of the country which is around 35% of our population. I am a part of this hallowed giant group and am fully aware of what we contribute to society and what our expectations from society are.
In this huge oceanic mass of middle class, there are sub classes like upper middle class middle-middle class and lower-middle class and on the bottom and top fringes you have upper- upper Middle class and Lower-lower Middle class. Therefore, five loosely defined buckets exist in this bulging populace.
While the Middle Class covers a wide spectrum of people whose earning also varies greatly, it is also true that a bulk of this class is in a cozy comfort zone. Most so called middle class guys especially in big cities own a decent home. They have flat TV sets, of course with a fire stick, a nice music system, couple of lap tops, a good broad band connection, one expensive smart phone for every member of the house, air conditioners, microwave, gas connection(s), mixer grinder, cutlery crockery, silverware, oven toasters, car etc. Their children study in the best schools and colleges and afford good tuition classes as well. Our middle class is the one who are hard bargainers too. They happily bargain with everyone and look for discounts from even bhaji wala, poor Matka or Gamla wala. On a traffic light would jump the signal and argue with the cop too, ‘kuch lei de ke khatam karo na’.
They eat out once in a while and more or less, leave a decent lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with this. The middle class earns their money and spends it as they deem fit and everyone is entitled to a decent lifestyle. If they earn their money to fulfil that lifestyle, so be it.
What, however, is intriguing is that the middle class is the one group that seems to be the unhappiest. The middle class often criticizes every system, never appreciate any government effort and forward hundreds of jokes on the sarkar and the government machinery.
The government in the last six seven years has made serious efforts to give some very basic amenities to the poor who are far below the middle-class spectrum. Gas, bank account, electricity, Health cover, toilettes in rural areas and such like basic existential things which any human being requires.
This is a large number of people and for them, it is a life-changer! I am so happy to see our safai karamchari now asking for his monthly salary in a cheque and refusing cash payment. Now he has a bank account and comes with his passbook! You can see the look of pride in his eyes and on his face. Now he feels he is as good as any one of us. This is the biggest leveller or equalizer.
I remember how I felt when as a school kid my dad took me to a bank and opened a small savings account. It is the same feeling of pride more than anything else for everyone who has got an account in the bank through Jan Dhan Yojana.
These are the ‘have nots’. And they are contented and grateful for what you do for them.
The best way to describe ever complaining attitude of our middle class is by looking at a middle-class wedding function. The hosts usually spend a lot of time, effort and money to get the wedding going and leave no stone unturned to ensure that all guests are looked after.
A nice food spread is laid out for the dinner and as they depart it is time to thank the host profusely for the lovely dinner and hospitality. As soon as they are outside the venue they are now free to dissect the wedding arrangements. A usual comment is ‘Bhai, everything was very good but the Jalebi garam nahi thee’.
It is true that the middle-class gets paltry little in terms of direct benefits from the government. It is also true that most taxpayers are from the middle class. They earn their living, pay their dues to the government and live a lifestyle that is comfortable at worst. Before the budget, the expectation of the middle-class soars and if they are not met, all hell often breaks loose. It is true that the middle-class deserves a break, however, for the government, it is important to think in terms of the have-nots. To ensure that they are uplifted. To create a new middle-class that can later tell the governments that they did nothing for them.
The middle-class will have to realise that all the public spending on infrastructure and amenities does favour them. Would they be the middle class had roads and railways not been developed? If highways were not made? The Airports will be used by the middle-class to go on their hard-earned vacations. The new medical colleges will help their children. And from the suburban infrastructure to gramin markets, would be used to make the middle-class section’s life easier. Our tax money goes into the development of the very facilities we use and feel entitled to because we pay taxes. Congress lost its vote base in the middle-class because of the rampant corruption and not particularly because of the kind of socialism they practised.
Largely, the middle-class is content if they know their tax money is being used to uplift the nation without the pilferage that became synonymous with Congress. With the BJP using the tax money, perhaps it is time for the middle-class to not get too disgruntled if rebates are not provided. As a middle-class person myself, I sure hope it is. We need a break. But if it is not, I will find it in my wisdom to calm down and realise that my tax money is being used for the right purposes.
Congress heavyweight and former minister RPN Singh has tendered his resignation to the party and speculations are rife that he may join the Bhartiya Janata Party any time soon. This development comes as a major setback to the Congress party, which has been struggling to keep its house in order ahead of the high-octane upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.
Singh, the party’s Jharkhand in-charge, has taken to Twitter Tuesday to share his resignation letter submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi. While sharing his resignation later, the Congress leader Tweeted: “Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind.”
In his letter dated January 25, 2022, the Congress leader stated: “I hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress with immediate effect. I thank you for providing me an opportunity to serve the nation, people and the party.”
Today, at a time, we are celebrating the formation of our great Republic, I begin a new chapter in my political journey. Jai Hind pic.twitter.com/O4jWyL0YDC
Interestingly, the Congress leader has dropped ‘Congress’ from his Twitter bio and changed it to: “My motto India, First, Always.”
RPN Singh’s changed twitter bio
India TV had quoted a BJP source as saying that Singh is in touch with senior party leaders in Delhi and talks about him switching the side are in the final stage.
It is being speculated that BJP may field RPN Singh against Swami Prasad Maurya from Padrauna seat in Kushinagar. Maurya, former Cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP, recently switched to the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Interestingly, RPN Singh’s name was also on the list of Congress’ 30-star campaigners for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, which is scheduled to begin on February 10.
Congress releases a list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of UP Polls
RPN Singh and his long association with the Congress
RPN Singh is a resident of Padrauna of Purvanchal in UP. A descendent of the royal family of Sainthwar of Kushinagar, Singh is popularly known as Raja Saheb of Padrauna.
RPN Singh has been a loyalist of the Congress Party. He is said to have shared a very close relationship with the Gandhi family.
In fact, in 2020, the Jharkhand Congress had issued a show-cause notice to senior party leader Furqan Ansari for criticising senior leader Rahul Gandhi and the party’s state in-charge RPN Singh. Attacking the local leadership in Jharkhand and also the party in-charge RPN Singh, Furqan Ansari said, “If it was up to me, I would have not appointed RPN Singh even a block president”. Then, the Congress party’s leadership had issued the show-cause notice to Ansari in a bid to send a ‘strong message’ to dissenting voices.
He had been president of UP Youth Congress between 1997 and 1999 and secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) between 2003 and 2006.
From 1996 to 2009, RPN Singh served as a Congress MLA in the Kushinagar district’s Padrauna assembly seat. In 2009, he was elected to the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket from Kushinagar (formerly Padrauna Lok Sabha). Apart from that, RPN Singh served in the UPA 2 government as Minister of State for Road and Transport, Petroleum, and Housing. RPN was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 after defeating the then-BSP government’s strong leader and BSP state president Swami Prasad Maurya in Uttar Pradesh.
Despite campaigning for Congress in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he was defeated both times. RPN is now the National General Secretary of the Congress and the State Chairman of Jharkhand. CPN Singh, RPN’s father, served in the Indira Gandhi cabinet as Minister of State for Defense.
According to reports, he has recently felt sidelined inside the Congress party. Three days prior, he met with top BJP leaders in Delhi, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh, however, denied any conversations with the BJP last week.
Singh’s decision to join the BJP ahead of the state’s important assembly elections will be yet another blow for the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming crucial polls. Jitin Prasada, another state Congress heavyweight, had previously joined the BJP and been sworn in as a minister in Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet.
Seven Medical students including BJP MLA Vijay Rahgandale’s son have died in a road mishap near Wardha, Maharashtra. The incident took place in the early hours of Tuesday after the speeding vehicle collapsed from a bridge near Selsura, Wardha and fell 40 feet down into a riverbed. The deceased who were medical students of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Science were travelling from Devali to Wardha while the incident took place at a spot 20 km from Wardha.
Maharashtra | 7 students including BJP MLA Vijay Rahangdale’s son Avishkar Rahangdale died after their car fell from a bridge near Selsura around 11.30 pm last night. They (deceased) were on their way to Wardha: Prashant Holkar, SP Wardha
Among the lives claimed by the incident, include the son of Gondia’s seating MLA Vijay Rahangdale’s son Avishkar, who was a first-year MBBS student. After returning from a feast at a Dhaba, Avishkar and his friends were heading to Yavatmal while the car lost control near Selsura where the incident took place. Preliminary investigation suggests that the accident is likely to have happened around 1 to 1:30 AM on Tuesday night. Reportedly, the car lost control near a turning, which also had a smaller bridge after crossing a bigger one.
All the deceased who have been identified were MBBS students including Neeraj Chauhan (Final Year), Nitesh Singh (Intern), Vivek Nandan (Final Year), Pratyush Singh (Final Year), Shubham Jaiswal (Final Year) and Pawan Shakti.
SP Prashant Holkar while talking to the media said, “The vehicle was likely driven by Chauhan who lost control due to over-speeding. The vehicle had fallen through the bridge railing after impacting it. The incident has taken place between two bridges.” He assured that the inquest has been conducted and a post-mortem would be conducted of all the bodies by senior experts. SP Holkar informed that all the bodies were found on the riverbed whereas it took two hours to retrieve Chauhan’s body. An offence would be registered against Chauhan for irresponsible and rash driving, SP Holkar informed.
Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident near Selsura in Maharashtra. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those injured are able to recover soon: PM @narendramodi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his grief on Twitter. Expressing his pain at the loss of lives he has assured Rs. 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the families of those who died and ₹ 50,000 for the injured.
Former Elle India publisher Arif Ayyub has been going on an unhinged rant against the Saudi and UAE royal families after a Saudi-led coalition retaliated against the Islamist Houthi movement in Yemen for carrying out a deadly drone attack in United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is the brother of controversial journalist Rana Ayyub.
In a series of tweets, Ayyub claimed, “The renaissance in the Islamic world will come when the rulers of Saudi Arabia and UAE are thrown out. The Arab Spring that started in Tunisia was halted in Egypt by obscene monies spent by Rulers of UAE & KSA. The USA loves it as it helps them subjugate the Middle East through them.”
In another 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. USA is the biggest ally of them all. It supports tyrants,” Arif Ayuub wrote.
Screengrab of the tweets by Arif Ayyub
He also claimed that ‘Sanghi trolls’ were supporting ‘Saudi nationalists’ for conducting airstrikes in Yemen. “It’s hilarious to see Sanghi trolls come out in solidarity with Saudi regime apologist trolls. They are the same folks who cheer Zionist Israelis who persecute and uproot Palestinians. India under Modi, Saudi & UAE under their sadist rulers and Zionist Israel is an alliance of evil,” Ayyub alleged.
This is not the first time that Ayyub has spewed vitriol against Saudi Arabia or the UAE for promoting bilateral ties with Israel. Ayyub seems to be a part of the self-proclaimed Islamists who consider themselves more Islamic than others. There has been a faction of Islamists opposing Saudi Arabia and UAE’s efforts to improve business and cooperation with Israel and promote tourism in their country by opening cinemas and music festivals.
Arif Ayyub claimed that the House of Saud must dismantle and that the Kingdom must be ruled by “the finest of Muslims”, not the current royal families.
Screengrab of the tweets by Arif Ayyub
Arif Ayyub wants joint Islamic forces to attack Israel and seize Al Aqsa mosque
Rana Ayyub’s brother also called for the dismantling of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). “The debauch Arabs of KSA, UAE must be kept away as they are only capable of sword dance.” Arif Ayyub called for a global coalition of joined military forces from Islamic nations including Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan. He had urged Imran Khan and Erdogan to “siege the moment.”
He demanded further that the ‘global Muslim army’ should immediately invade Jerusalem and capture the Al Aqsa mosque.
Screengrab of the tweets by Arif Ayyub
‘Rulers of Saudi Arabia and UAE should be sacked, the citizens there should be protesting on the street’, says Arif Ayyub
“What are the people Saudi Arabia and UAE all about? They are either cowards or imbeciles or have no conscience. Right now they should be on the streets, reclaiming the Arab legacy of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) from the hypocrite Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed Bin Zayed.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Arif Ayyub
Emirati businessman calls for action against Arif Ayyub, calls him ‘sibling of a snake’
Emirati businessman, Hassan Sajwani, dug out old and racist tweets of Arif Ayyub and had called out his Islamist tendencies. He emphasised, “Someone told me that a snake may not necessarily have a sibling, because they prey on each other… But hey! Here’s a brother of a snake, also an Islamist one.”
In multiple tweets, Arif Ayyub was seen raving and ranting against peaceful coalitions to boost the economy and tourism. He had called for a boycott of India’s pavilion at the Dubai Expo, improving bilateral ties between Israel and UAE and has asked for war and conflict in the Middle East.
It is notable here that Arif Ayyub is the brother of Rana Ayyub, another Islamist who is a habitual fake news peddler and writes anti-India columns for the Washington Post.
Screengrab of the tweet by Hassan Sajwani
While pointing out some of his anti-Semitic tweets, Hassan Sajwani called for action against Ayyub from Elle India. “Will Elle India take action against such hatred spreader? Remains to be seen,” the Emirati businessman pointed out.
Screengrab of the tweet by Hassan Sajwani
However, it seems Ayyub resigned from Elle India in August 2019 and since then as per his LinkedIn profile, he is now the CEO of something called Skytalk India Media Pvt Ltd.
Recently, Rana Ayyub had ranted against Saudi Arabia for engaging in a conflict with Houthi rebels in Yemen. Saudi Arabian citizens had reminded her that the Kingdom’s intervention comes at the request of the legitimate government of Yemen and she is supporting terrorists who had recently killed innocent civilians, including 2 Indians in UAE.
Radical Islamists upset after Saudi Arabia tries to move away from extremism
Unlike his predecessors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quickly realised the need of the country to reduce dependency on oil and diversify it to other sectors such as health, education, recreation and tourism. In an interview with CBS News, he said, “(Before 1979) We were living a normal life like the rest of the Gulf countries, women were driving cars, there were movie theatres in Saudi Arabia.”
In December last year, the Kingdom organised a giant party in the middle of the desert. For the first time, men and women were allowed to assemble and dance together without segregation. Since the rise of the Crown Prince to the power corridors, women empowerment has been one of the primary goals of the Saudi regime. For instance, women were allowed the right to drive in June 2018, ending the decades-long prohibition on driving.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia directed the preachers of the mosques to dedicate the Friday sermon towards warning the Saudi people against the Tablighi and Da’wah groups. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh had given a direction to the Mosques in Saudi Arabia to reserve the Friday sermon for warning the people against the partisan groups of Tablighi Jamat and Da’wah existing in the country.
Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis. These are people who call themselves the custodians of Islam. As a Muslim I am ashamed that these savages are guardians of the holy mosque. The world CANNOT stay silent thru this genocide #YemenUnderAttack
The progressive decision by the Saudi regime to distance itself from orthodoxy and extremism has not gone down well with radical Islamists. On Saturday (January 22), controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had posted a tweet attacking Saudi Arabia for launching a military operation against Yemen. She was then slammed on Twitter by Saudi netizens in response to that, accusing her of supporting terrorism.
“Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis,” Rana Ayyub had tweeted on Saturday, saying that as a Muslim she is ashamed that “these savages are guardians of the holy mosque”. After Rana Ayyub posted the tweet, several Saudi netizens responded to her saying that their govt is supporting a recognised government, while Ayyub was supporting an Islamist terror group trying to overthrow that government.
Saudi engineer Gassan called it fake news and said that Saudi Arabia has launched military operations in Yemen as part of a coalition of over ten countries in response to a direct request from the legitimate government of Yemen. “We supporting legitimate and you supporting terrorists”, he added. One Twitter user Abu Sultan called her a “fu**ing liar”, saying all she “said are bullshit”. The user noted that this is why Ayyub had disabled replies to her tweets.
Note: The report earlier identified Ayyub as Elle India publisher. However, it was brought to our notice that he resigned from the media house in August 2019 and has not been associated with them. We have updated the report to reflect changes. Error is regretted.
The Balapur police in Hyderabad, Telangana have arrested a 61-year-old man Mumbai based businessman identified as Syed Altaf Ali for trying to buy a minor girl for a sum of Rs 3 lakhs. The police have also arrested eight others including the 14-year-old victim’s mother and grandmother who were trying to sell the minor girl. The other arrested persons are Akeel Ahmed, Zareena Begum, Shabana Begum, Shameem Sulthana, Nasreen Begum, Zahaida Begum, Arshia Begum (mother) and Chand Sultana (grandmother).
All the accused were booked under IPC sections 370, 370 (A) r/w 511, Section 17 of the POCSO Act and Section 3 and 5 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (PITA).
Speaking about the arrest, B Srikanth, Balapur Sub-Inspector said: “I got a tip-off about the minor girl being sold to a person from Mumbai. Upon receiving information, I informed my senior officers and after obtaining permission we informed the SHE teams and raided the house in Bilal Colony, Errakunta, Balapur and found that all the arrested persons were in the house brokering the deal for selling the girl.”
He further informed that he arrested people, initially claimed it was a family affair and attempted to avoid answering the questions posed at them by the police, but when the police confronted them and sought the truth, the minor girl’s mother admitted to selling her daughter to Syed for Rs 3 lakh.
The mother confessed that they had tried to sell off their minor daughter three months ago to the same Mumbai based businessman, Syed Altaf Ali, but the deal did not work out as he was not ready to pay the demanded amount of Rs 5 lakhs.
Arshia Begum further told the police that a few days earlier, however, her brother met with an accident and they needed money for his treatment. It was then that they contacted Syed again to renegotiate the deal.
Meanwhile, according to the police, Syed Altaf Ali, who is from Mumbai, had divorced his first wife and was looking for a young girl to stay along with. Some common friends introduced Syed to an auto driver Akeel Ahmed. Akeel Ahmed, who was also a broker from Quba colony in Shaheennagar, in turn, contacted Zareeena, Shabana, Shameem, Nasreen and Zahaida seeking help in finding a girl for Syed.
“Akeel with the help of others identified a minor girl who is a resident of Errakunta and convinced her mother to sell the victim for Rs. 3 lakh. After a deal was stuck, Syed Altaf Ali came to the city. On information, the police raided the house and arrested them,” informed Rachakonda Commissioner, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat.
Other incidences of older men marrying minors in Hyderabad
The rising number of incidences of older men marrying minors is a source of concern for the police, particularly in Hyderabad. Several reports have come to light in the past about such incidents. In 2020, the Hyderabad police had booked seven people, including the parents of the girl they married off their 16-year-old minor daughter to a 54-year-old man identified as Abdul Lateef from Kerala. The accused had been staying in Hyderabad city.
In September 2017, the Hyderabad police had arrested 3 Muslim clerics and 8 Arab Sheikhs. These Arab Sheikhs were marrying minor girls with the help of Qazis, brokers and lodge owners. The girls were even sexually assaulted by the Qazis.
This crackdown had come close to a complaint by a woman in August against her husband for allegedly “Selling off” their minor daughter to a 70-year-old Omani national named Ahmed Abdullah.
Tennis Australia has lifted its ban on fans wearing t-shirts to the Australian Open to demonstrate support for Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. According to their CEO Craig Tiley, fans will now be able to wear t-shirts with inscriptions supporting Shuai. Tiley has maintained, however, that banners would remain prohibited from the tournament owing to the comfort and safety concerns of other spectators.
Tennis Australia is standing by its decision to order an Australian Open spectator to remove a shirt that featured a message supporting Peng Shuai amid ongoing concerns for the Chinese tennis star’s welfare.
Last week, on Friday, videos of supporters at Melbourne Park went viral, showing them being compelled to remove T-shirts addressing the Chinese athlete.
A group of volunteers for the Democratic Alliance Party have walked into the Australian Open donning “Where is Peng Shuai?” T-Shirts. It comes after Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley reversed his decision to confiscate them at the weekend. @australian#AusOpenpic.twitter.com/xqTBPnAGKp
Tennis Australia had stood firm in its decision to prohibit the wearing of clothing and the display of banners in support of missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. However, after wide criticism, Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley stated “Where is Peng Shuai” T-shirts would be allowed as long as the spectators remained nonviolent.
“What we’ve said is that if anyone comes on-site with an intent to disrupt and use the Australian Open as a platform for themselves and really disrupts the comfort and the safety of our fans, then they’re not welcome. However, if someone wants to wear a t-shirt and make a statement about Peng Shuai that’s fine”, CEO Tiley was quoted saying by AFP.
Peng Shuai has been a focus of international attention since she accused a senior Chinese leader of sexual misconduct in early November last year. Former Czechoslovakian American tennis player Martina Navratilova called the Australian Open’s decision to prohibit fans from wearing shirts with words of support for Chinese doubles player Peng Shuai at the grand slam “cowardly.”
Recently, Tennis Australia was chastised by Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton for enforcing a ban on t-shirts and placards supporting Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. “It’s deeply concerning, and I think we should be speaking up about these issues.” Dutton was quoted as saying by Sky News. “I’d encourage not just celebrities but tennis organizations, including Tennis Australia, WTA’s been very good in relation to it, but other governments and other bodies, we need to speak as one voice on this,” he added.
As per reports, Peng Shuai disappeared after accusing former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of forcing her into sex at his home. In November 2021, she posted a long post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, which was quickly censored by the CCP. Fans were concerned about her safety and wellbeing after she had remained incommunicado for over 3 weeks. Though she did appear in public later, there are still concerns regarding her safety and freedom of movement. She is not participating in the Australian Open.
On January 24, a woman named Ankita from West Bengal posted a tweet with the screenshot of a post by a Reddit group ‘I_AM_Bengaalan’ whose photograph was misused. Ankita, who is a BJP worker, said wrote, “My photo is being misused on social media. I am feeling afraid. Posting proof of which was found on Reddit. A person named Radha Sheikh edited and posted my picture with heinous comments. I am requesting NCW, Rekha Sharma, Kolkata Police, to look into this matter.”
Screenshot of Ankita’s post. Source: Twitter. (image edited to protect privacy)
The user who posted the image deleted the post and his/her profile after the screenshot went viral on Twitter.
The user has deleted the profile after Ankita’s post went viral on Twitter. Source: Reddit
Speaking to OpIndia, Ankita said she came to know about the Reddit post after an unknown person on Twitter sent her the link in DM. “An unknown person on Twitter sent me that link after that I opened it and saw it’s none other than my own picture. I have talked to an advocate friend and will file a complaint today,” she said.
OpIndia further investigated the group in which the derogatory image was posted. The group’s description reads, “I am Bengali Hindu Girl having attracted on Muslim BBC.” The group is filled with highly objectionable posts and randomly picked photographs of Hindu women.
Screenshot of the group on Reddit. Source: Reddit
In one of the posts, a photograph probably picked from a social media account was posted with the caption that roughly translates to “Salim was very reasonable with your mom after she begged like this. He f**ked her after lifting her saree and ripped her undergarments that’s why the recording of Sharmaji can go viral.”
Source: Reddit (image edited by OpIndia to protect privacy)
Another post also looked like a photograph of a Hindu girl possibly picked from a social media account. The caption read, “Tell in comments where did Abdul took Sonia’s mother and why she has not returned yet.”
Source: Reddit (image edited by OpIndia to protect identity)
The users in the group used photographs of models and actresses as well. In another post, the caption read, “Your sister thought she was going through religious conversion process, but she loved Wasim too much and was ready to do anything… She doesn’t know the guy she thinks is moulana is just a pimp, and she is the newest in demand Hrandi of his brothel. Wasim has already moved on to other girls.”
Source: Reddit
In one of the most shocking posts, a nude photograph of a woman was posted with the caption, “Sister finally showed her true colours.” The text on the image read, “Tell me Atif, in whose room would you like to spend the night.”
Source: Reddit
In another post, the caption read, “My mom wants to show Mstuds how religious she is. Sometimes she comes very late to home when she goes to that temple. Probably, doing some extra worship to ignite Mstuds i guess.”
Source: Reddit
The group uses hashtag #hslut4mstud or “Hindu sl*t for Muslim stud”.
There was also a discussion section in the group filled with filthy language against Hindu women.
The group has a chat section as well. Source: Reddit
OpIndia had earlier reported that Reddit as a platform has been an underbelly for vile and bigoted propaganda as well as grooming jihad. Pornographic content is regularly shared on Reddit with an intention to cause communal tension and strife. The pornographic images often show Hindu women lusting for Muslim men.
Many, many such posts are posted on Twitter too, with same hashtags, sexually objectifying Hindu women for Muslim men.
Sexual objectification of Hindu women
In a now removed tweet, a Twitter user named Rashed shared about his ‘Hindu wife’ with crass and sexual remarks on an image of a woman.
More horrible tweetsImage with derogatory comments on womenTweet from January 8, 2021
Many posts on Twitter go way back since August 2020.
Tweet from August 2020
Many such posts are posted by accounts with names which sound like that of Hindu women. However, they frequently speak about sexual objectification of women and use offensive terms and vulgar language for them.
Objectification of Hindu womenHindu women sexually objectified
In fact, there are other channels on platforms like Tumblr where such sexual posts are made against Hindu women.
sexual objectification of women on Tumblr
Under the tag ‘interfaithxxx’ on Tumblr, one can see some of the most disturbing images of Hindu women being sexually objectified.
Tumblr
As of now, authorities have not intervened in the above harassment, despite the victim reaching out to them for help via social media.
On Monday, Mohammad Haroon, the key conspirator behind the murder of the RSS worker Sanjith in Palakkad was nabbed by the Kerala Police. Haroon is a native of Athikkode near Kozhinjampara and is reportedly associated with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Kerala.
According to the reports, Haroon was actively involved in planning the murder of a 27-year-old RSS worker Sanjith and there was already a lookout notice issued against him. Palakkad District police chief R Viswanadh said that he had selected the assailants for the murder and then also helped them to disappear.
Kerala | Main accused arrested in connection with the death of RSS worker Sanjith. Total 10 people arrested in the case: Palakkad Police https://t.co/rHNQefnKLC
Earlier in the month of November 2021, the Police had arrested three more accused named Subair, Salam and Isahak and had affirmed the role of SDPI and Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) in the murder case of Pramukh Sanjith. However, Salam was granted bail by the local court.
As per reports, 4 more accused persons are yet to be nabbed by the police.
It is reported that the court has directed the state to file a report on the status of the investigation. This is after Sanjith’s wife, who had witnessed the gruesome murder of her husband in broad daylight, had moved to the Kerala High Court seeking an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Earlier, Sanjith’s widow Arshika also had publicly narrated the incident of Sanjith’s death and said that she could identify the murderers as none of them were masked. On November 15, Sanjith who belonged to Elappully, Kerala was hacked to death by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) goons. The incident occurred at Ellapully in Palakkad district at 9:30 in the morning. He was travelling with his wife on a motorbike when he was brutally attacked by the SDPI members.
Reports suggest that the assailants came in a car. They stopped his bike and attacked him in broad daylight in front of many people, including his wife Arshika. Sanjith was rushed to the hospital in serious condition. He later succumbed to his injuries. On November 18, Police had recovered blood-stained swords suspected to have been used in the murder of the RSS worker.
The BJP and RSS had also pointed out the involvement of SDPI and PFI in the murder. While SDPI had rejected the allegations, the BJP State president, K Surendran had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency into the killing.
In a letter to the Home Minister, a copy of which was shared by Surendran, the BJP leader alleged that 10 RSS-BJP activists have been killed in Kerala by the Islamists in the state in last 5 years. He had further alleged that so far about 50 RSS activists have been killed by them in the State.
The police had then claimed the breakthrough in Sanjith’s case amid protests by the BJP and the RSS over the delay in arresting the culprits. With Haroon’s arrest, the total number of culprits in the case has reached 10.
On January 17, 2022, three fuel tanker trucks exploded in the industrial Musaffah region near the new Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following a drone attack by Houthi rebels of Yemen. Houthi is an Islamist political armed movement which is backed by Iran to fight the coalition of Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia.
During the attack, one Pakistani national and two Indian nationals lost their lives. Besides, six others had reported injuries ranging from light to media, said Dubai-based WAM news agency. “Initial investigations found parts of a small plane that could possibly be a drone at both sites that could have caused the explosion and the fire,” the police said in a statement.
#Yemen‘s Iran-aligned #Houthi movement claimed responsibility for an alleged #drone attack on the United Arab Emirates that occurred Monday morning.https://t.co/82AbSm8vAM
Four days later on January 21, 2022, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition retaliated by conducting an airstrike on a detention centre in Saada in Yemen. Reportedly, about 100 people were killed and wounded in the Houthi stronghold of Saada. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) chief Ahmed Mahat reported, “There are many bodies still at the scene of the airstrike, many missing people. It is impossible to know how many people have been killed. It seems to have been a horrific act of violence.”
Another airstrike was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition on a telecommunications facility in Hudaydah, which led to the death of 3 children. The incident led to a nationwide internet outage in Yemen.
BBC had reported that Saudi Arabia acknowledged the military action in Hudaydah but not the one in Saada.
The Background of the Yemen conflict
The modern State of Yemen came into existence in 1990 through the unification of the Yemeni Arab Republic (backed by the US and Saudi Arabia) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (backed by the USSR). Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the Yemeni Arab Republic in the North since 1978 became the leader of the unified nation. His autocratic tenure was marred by allegations of corruption.
The Houthi movement (also called Ansar Allah), an Islamist movement comprising of Zaydi Shiites from the Houthi tribe, began its political activism against Saleh in 2003 for supporting the US Invasion of Iraq. The Houthis were concentrated mainly in the northern part of Yemen and had remained a force of cultural/religious revivalism since the 1980s.
Interestingly, Houthis were against Saleh during his tenure as Yemen’s President. They carried out armed rebellion against him on 6 occasions between 2004 to 2010. After the Arab Spring of 2011 (anti-government uprising and armed rebellion) in Yemen, Saleh had to resign and cede power to his Vice-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. He then joined hands with the same Islamist outfit that he fought as President of Yemen.
The decision was well-calculated since Saleh wanted to make inroads to the power corridors. The political transition to the new ruler of Yemen was distraught with challenges including corruption, unemployment, food security. Houthis took advantage of Hadi’s weakness and made inroads to the city of Sanaa in September 2014 and seized complete control by January 2015.
Territorial control and influence as of February 2021 in Yemen via Council of Foreign Relations
The intervention by Saudi Arabia -led coalition
Saleh had the support of members of Yemen’s security forces, the political establishment, tribal networks, which made it easier for Houthis to gain access to power. Ordinary Yemenis also supported the Islamists after being ‘disillusioned’ by the political transition process from Saleh to Hadi.
Houthis then attempted to take control over the entire country and forced President Hadi to flee in March of 2015. The Houthi movement had the backing of Iran, a Shia majority country and arch-rival of Saudi Arabia. Iran has been accused of providing military support to Houthis and using them as its proxy for shared geopolitical interests.
It implied an increasing threat to Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on its southern border. Yemen holds strategic importance as the Arab nation is situated on a strait that links Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. As such, it serves as the world’s pass for oil and gas shipments. The Kingdom thus formed a multinational coalition, comprising of 8 Sunni majority Arab nations including Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to put an end to the political impasse and restore Hadi’s government.
It must be mentioned that Hadi had written a letter to the United States, seeking permission to allow coalition forces to avert Houthi aggression. “(Authorise) willing countries that wish to help Yemen to provide immediate support for the legitimate authority by all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter the Houthi aggression,” read the letter by Hadi to UN Security Council. The then Yemen President also wrote to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab League, seeking intervention.
The Saudi-led coalition received intelligence and logistical support from European powers such as the UK, France and also the United States. In 2018, the coalition was expanded to include Pakistan and Eritrea. Saleh, who had supported the Houthis after his ouster as president, was killed by the same Islamist outfit for switching his support to the Saudi coalition in 2017.
In July 2018, President Hadi told the BBC that he did not regret seeking help from the Saudi-led coalition. He said, “I do not regret this decision at all. Otherwise, we would not have liberated parts of the country from Aden to [the eastern province of] Al-Mahra. Without the support of the coalition, these areas would still be under the control of the Houthis.”
He further added, “If Decisive Storm (name of the military operation) had not happened, it would have been the beginning of a major civil war lasting even longer than the conflict in Somalia [that began in 1991 and remains ongoing].”
The aftermath of Saudi intervention
Interestingly, the radical Islamist Houthi movement was designated as a terrorist group by Donald Trump prior to leaving the Oval office. The decision was, however, reversed after Joe Biden became the US President. Following the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition, it was expected that the political crisis would be resolved within a few weeks. But, the ‘military stalemate’ has lasted for over 7 years now.
The coalition helped free much of South Yemen in August 2015 but failed to regain territories of Saana and north-western Yemen. In 2018, major airstrikes were conducted to capture the city of Hudaydah. The forces were joined by the loyalist of former President Saleh. A ceasefire was declared by the warring sides after 6 months of intense fighting. In 2021, the Houthis carried out attacks in the Northern Marib, which is an oil-rich province under government control.
During the 7-year period, Houthis had targeted civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones. The ongoing crisis has provided a fertile ground to Islamist terror outfits such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State group (IS), who occasionally carry out attacks to further destabilise the region.
The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is widely regarded as a part of an intense power tussle between the Sunni-majority Saudi and Shia-ruled Iran. Besides, Yemen’s strategic location, the strait connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, through which much of the world’s oil shipment passes, is also considered as a major reason for the continuing conflict.
In December 2020, it was estimated that over 2.33 lakh people died from both direct and indirect causes of the crisis in Yemen. As per the UN, about 3450 children have died so far. It has been described as the ‘worst humanitarian crisis’ in the world.
Islamists upset after Saudi Arabia vows to move away from extremism
Unlike his predecessors, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quickly realised the need of the country to reduce dependency on oil and diversify it to other sectors such as health, education, recreation and tourism. In an interview with CBS News, he said, “(Before 1979) We were living a normal life like the rest of the Gulf countries, women were driving cars, there were movie theatres in Saudi Arabia.”
In December last year, the Kingdom organised a giant party in the middle of the desert. For the first time, men and women were allowed to assemble and dance together without segregation. Since the rise of the Crown Prince to the power corridors, women empowerment has been one of the primary goals of the Saudi regime. For instance, women were allowed the right to drive in June 2018, ending the decades-long prohibition on driving.
In December 2021, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs of Saudi Arabia directed the preachers of the mosques to dedicate the Friday sermon towards warning the Saudi people against the Tablighi and Da’wah groups. Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al_Alsheikh had given a direction to the Mosques in Saudi Arabia to reserve the Friday sermon for warning the people against the partisan groups of Tablighi Jamat and Da’wah existing in the country.
The progressive decision by the Saudi regime to distance itself from orthodoxy and extremism has not gone down well with Indian Islamists. On Saturday (January 22), controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had posted a tweet attacking Saudi Arabia for launching a military operation against Yemen. She was then slammed on Twitter by Saudi netizens in response to that, accusing her of supporting terrorism.
Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis. These are people who call themselves the custodians of Islam. As a Muslim I am ashamed that these savages are guardians of the holy mosque. The world CANNOT stay silent thru this genocide #YemenUnderAttack
“Yemen is bleeding and there is nobody to stop the bloodthirsty Saudis,” Rana Ayyub had tweeted on Saturday, saying that as a Muslim she is ashamed that “these savages are guardians of the holy mosque”. After Rana Ayyub posted the tweet, several Saudi netizens responded to her saying that their govt is supporting a recognised government, while Ayyub was supporting an Islamist terror group trying to overthrow that government.
Saudi engineer Gassan called it fake news and said that Saudi Arabia has launched military operations in Yemen as part of a coalition of over ten countries in response to a direct request from the legitimate government of Yemen. “We supporting legitimate and you supporting terrorists”, he added. One Twitter user Abu Sultan called her a “fu**ing liar”, saying all she “said are bullshit”. The user noted that this is why Ayyub had disabled replies to her tweets.
