Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a powerful politician? Such as a chief minister, or even Prime Minister. I know you have. Imagine how cool it would be to have all those people running around, giving you lots of respect. Because you have the power to change their lives.
You see, that is the problem with our country. And with the world in general. Everyone wants to rule. Very few want to serve. If you think you are one of those few, then you just have to read this article in The Print to find out what it really means to be a great chief minister.
ThePrint heaping praises on Punjab CM
The new Punjab CM has been in office for less than two months, but he has been a ‘refreshing change.’ Let us find out how. This article takes you behind the scenes and shows you the daily grind. You might have heard of those “godi media” style articles that don’t speak truth to power. This is not one of those articles. This article shows how a real liberal scrutinizes a powerful politician, and with help from real experts.
In fact, let us read this article together and make notes. I have quoted below some key lines from the article, which I have placed in italics. For ease of learning, I have added a couple of my own remarks after each quote, on what I think the article is trying to say. So, are you ready to learn how you can serve the people?
Be young
“Channi, he said, was the first CM of Punjab who was born in independent India. “All other chief ministers of Punjab were born when the British were occupying Punjab. Hence he (Channi) is free of colonial thinking,” Manpreet said.”
First of all, who are they quoting here? They are quoting Manpreet Singh Badal, the Finance Minister in Channi’s government. Always start an article about a chief minister by quoting a compliment from the finance minister in his own cabinet. This is how you speak truth to power. All those in “godi media” must be so ashamed right now.
At 58, the new Punjab CM is so young that he is only a few years older than Rahul Gandhi. Hats off to him.
Hug people, shake hands, and smile
“He is constantly hugging the people he meets, shaking hands, smiling warmly, touching feet of the old.“
Remember, it is all about the issues. As Chief Minister, your policies decide the fate of millions of citizens. So you must lead from the front. You can’t just leave the important work of hugging people, shaking hands and touching feet to the lazy bureaucracy. You have to do the heavy lifting yourself. It is tiring, but remember that’s why you became a politician – to serve.
Stop at random weddings
“More than once he has stopped his cavalcade of vehicles and participated in the weddings of total strangers he has seen on the roads.“
Suppose your convoy is on the road and you see a wedding happening. What do you do? A lazy, possibly communal politician from a party such as the BJP, might be tempted to just keep going. But that is not how a real liberal like Channi serves the people. No, Channi will often stop the cavalcade and participate in the wedding!
Be ready to shed tears
“And on more than one occasion he has shed tears openly and unapologetically. Once, when he was addressing his first press conference as chief minister and another time when he went to visit the families of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Uttar Pradesh.“
Politicians who are lazy and selfish often hide their tears. If you really want to serve the people, you must cry openly and unapologetically. Mr. Channi has been CM for only six weeks or so, but he has already shed tears twice! In fact, he is so hardworking that in his short term in office, he solved all the problems in Punjab and went all the way to Uttar Pradesh to shed tears. Not everyone can be this hardworking.
Play hockey
“Last week, the CM and Cabinet Minister Pargat Singh, a hockey Olympian, played hockey at a stadium in Jalandhar as part of the Surjit Hockey tournament.“
Got it. It’s not enough to just work for the people. You must also play for the people.
Do bhangra
““Channi is humble but so is Badal. But from an eternal father figure to retired royalty, Channi is the brother or the son-like CM that Punjab has not seen in years. Can you imagine Badal or Amarinder doing bhangra at a college stage?” said Kanwalpreet Kaur, a political expert based in Chandigarh.“
This comment is particularly deep, since it comes from a highly credentialed “political expert” based in Chandigarh. As the article notes, the reference is to the Punjab CM doing bhangra at some kind of fest at I K Gujral Technical University in Kapurthala.
He sheds tears, plays hockey, does bhangra, shakes hands and stops at weddings. It is kind of incredible how hard one man can work. But then, you have to be superman at some level to be worthy of such a high position in government. Remember, it is not easy to impress political experts like Kanwalpreet Kaur.
Meet officersand attend public functions
“Channi begins his day with meeting people from 8 am and a typical day includes meetings with officers, attending at least one public function or traveling to the site of an ongoing project to monitor its progress.“
Imagine how hard it must be to start the day at 8 am. On a typical day, you might even have to meet officers and travel to public functions. Everyone wants to be chief minister. But did you know that chief ministers have to meet with officers and attend public functions? Did you know it was this hard?
Drink tea
“And all this interspersed with endless cups of tea.”
All this hard work takes its toll on a person. There are the meetings with officers, the public functions, and maybe having to stop at random weddings on the way. And after all this, you still have to answer to liberal journalists always ready to speak truth to power. No wonder the Punjab CM is reduced to drinking endless cups of tea.
On this occasion, the author of the article concludes that “he is putting his best foot forward and making all the right moves.” But we can’t be sure until the assessment from the independent experts are also in.
ThePrint on Punjab CM Channi
One expert finds that he is “idea” and the other, a professor of history, credits him for hard work and merit. I guess the new Punjab CM has passed muster for now. That wasn’t easy.
Now you know what it takes for a great chief minister to serve the people. And now you know how liberal media speaks truth to power.
Now ask yourself, truly and honestly. Could the BJP’s newly installed chief ministers such as Pushkar Singh Dhami, Basavaraj Bommai or Bhupendra Patel pass such intense scrutiny? Could they drink tea, do bhangra, meet officers and stop at weddings? And above all, would they have liberal privilege?
On November 10, Shahlabh Mani Tripathi, Media Advisor to CMO, Uttar Pradesh, shared that Lucknow Police had arrested one Ichchharam Yadav, who was posted as an undersecretary level officer in the Minority Welfare Department at Lucknow Secretariat. Yadav was caught on camera while sexually assaulting a woman colleague on camera.
In the videos circulating on social media, Yadav was seen forcing himself on the woman employee. The victim shot the video. In the first video, the woman tried her best to push Yadav away, but she failed to do so as Yadav kept forcing himself on her.
After the woman broke down in the second video, Yadav came close to her and continued touching her inappropriately and sexually harassing her.
The woman filed a complaint at Husainganj Police Station. The Police registered the FIR against Yadav based on the complaint on October 29 under sections 354, 506, and 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In her complaint, the woman alleged that Yadav has been harassing her since 2018. She has been working in the Secretariat since 2013.
FIR registered based on the complaint of the victim. Source: Arvind Chauhan/Twitter
She added that Yadav has been making lewd and sexual comments on here since 2018. Around a month ago, he asked her to join her in the washroom and ‘have fun. When the woman objected, Yadav threatened she would terminate her from the job. She further said he threatened if she did not agree to his sexual advances, he would ruin her life. He allegedly threatened to kill her if she refused to marry him, the woman said in the complaint.
While talking to Dainik Bhaskar, Ajay Kumar Singh, Inspector, Husainganj Police Station, said that they have filed an FIR based on the woman’s complaint. The Police further said that the victim did not appear before the magistrate to submit her statement under Section 164.
OpIndia reached out to Station in charge Ajay Kumar Singh, Husainganj Police Station for the latest updates. Singh said Yadav has been arrested and would be presented in court soon. The investigation in the case is underway.
In his book ‘Sunrise over Ayodhya’, Congress leader Salman Khurshid has compared Hindutva to Islamic terror organisations like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and Boko Haram. ISIS, one of the most dreaded Islamic terror group has been responsible for terror attacks across the world in recent years. He made this comment in a chapter called ‘The Saffron Sky’ in the book.
In the chapter, Khurshid has said that in the current form, Hindutva is a political form and is cornering the ancient Hindu religion. Khurshid said that this politicising of Hinduism is akin to the Islamic terror groups ISIS and Boko Haram.
Snippet from Salman Khurshid’s book “Sunrise over Ayodhya” (image courtesy: AajTak)
Referring to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as ‘Ayodhya saga’, Khurshid claimed that the Supreme Court judgement in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman was like one faith trumping the methods of another. “Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints was being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years,” he said in his book.
Responding to a question by News18 journalist on why the comparison between Hindutva and Islamic terrorist groups, Khurshid brazened it out and retorted if not Islamic terror groups, then who. He claimed he is not comparing Hindu religion to Islamic terror groups but Hindutva. He further claimed that he has respect for Hindu religion.
Subsequently, a case has been registered against him. Delhi-based lawyer Vivek Garg has filed a complaint him with Delhi Police and accused him of comparing Hindutva to Islamic terrorism.
Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer Sooryavanshi was recently released in theatres around the country. Directed by Rohit Shetty, the movie scripted a comeback of Bollywood at the box-office after long Covid lockdowns, but it also managed to draw the ire of liberals, who have accused the movie of being Islamophobic.
Though the movie’s storyline is not entirely novel, it highlights the prevailing menace of Islamic terrorism tormenting the Indian society and how a conscientious policeman, played by Akshay Kumar, makes it the purpose of his life to stop the Islamic terrorists from fulfilling their nefarious designs and carrying out attacks in India.
As the movie’s plot revolves around the scourge of Islamic terrorism, it was but obvious that the terrorists or villains depicted in the movie would be shown as puritanical Muslims who were brainwashed and radicalized to carry out terror attacks against innocent people. As various terror attacks in India have proved, this is not a fiction that Rohit Shetty weaved in his movie but a sordid reality.
But the portrayal of threats that Islamic terrorism poses to society has ruffled quite a few feathers, causing the ‘liberals’ to brand the film as Islamophobic. The depiction of Muslims in negative roles has raised the hackles of the liberals, who are probably outraged because the movie attempts to draw attention towards the grim reality of Islamic radicalization and terrorism in India.
‘Liberals’ take offence over negative portrayal of Muslim characters in movies and series
Rana Ayyub, one of the leading luminaries of India’s left intelligentsia, and a habitual fake news peddler took offense at the portrayal of Muslims in the movie. She was visibly upset with the movie and made no bones about it on her Twitter account.
Lambasting at the movie, Rana tweeted, “Muslims offer namaz before acts of terror, Muslims need to be taught patriotism, love jihad, terrorism wiped out after 370 revoked, Muslims ungrateful and the trope of good Muslim versus bad Muslim(decided by an upper-caste Hindu). This is the film Sooryavanshi in a nutshell.”
Source: Twitter
Well, this is not the first time that ‘liberals’ had taken offense to the portrayal of Islamic terrorism in India. Earlier this year, Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Family Man 2 was released on the OTT platform Amazon Prime. The second volume of the much-popular series showed how Islamic terrorists from Pakistan colluded with Sri Lankan terrorists to carry out an attack against India’s Prime Minister.
The series also showed a Muslim boy posing as a Hindu to entrap Manoj Bajpayee’s daughter in a love relationship, only to hold her captive and gain leverage over her father, who worked as an intelligence officer responsible for thwarting terror attacks in India. It was a subtle depiction of how love jihad worked in the society, where unsuspecting Hindu girls are lured into relationships by Muslim men portraying themselves as Hindus and later forcibly converted into Islam.
And on expected lines, liberals were offended with the series, accusing it of showing “deep-seated Islamophobia” and validating the prevalence of love jihad. Rana Ayyub had in June 2021 expressed her disapproval of the fictional series. Although she did not name the series, the references made to Bajpayee’s Family Man 2 in her tweet were unmistakable.
Source: Twitter
Although Sooryavanshi deals with the pervasive issue of Islamic terrorism and radicalization existing in the country, it is after all a fictional movie. However, even then, liberals believe that Muslims should not be shown playing negative characters. They even want incidents such as love jihad, which has a clear religious connotation attached to it, to be swept under the rug as the lives of the victims are of lesser importance as compared to preserving the “secular” fabric of the country.
Sooryavanshi pins the blame of India’s partition on Hindus, depicts Muslim terrorists as ‘victims’ of atrocities committed by Hindus
In addition to this, the movie ‘Sooryavanshi’ or for that matter the Amazon Prime series ‘Family Man 2’ cannot be categorized as creations that perpetuate Islamophobia, not by a long shot. Rather, the makers of these movies have deliberately tried to water down the menace of Islamic terrorism by gratuitously giving a ‘secular’ context to their depravity.
For example, in the movie, Jackie Shroff, who plays the character of Lashkar terror chief rationalizes his decision of taking up terrorism by blaming Hindus for the country’s partition. He says his father was beheaded, his sister was raped in front of him when he was 5-years-old and that they were thrown out of their house in 1947.
This is the opening scene of the movie During name casting. Following this sequence, a caption appears on the screen that reads: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. It is hard to miss that Hindus are painted as aggressors through this caption by depicting that the partition violence was caused by them and that Islamic terrorism was one of the fallouts of the bloody partition. The partition of India happened because an overwhelming number of Muslims wanted an Islamic nation, but that sad reality has been conveniently ignored.
“They beheaded my father, raped my sister in front me when I was 5 year old. Kicked us out of our own home & country in 1947”
The thousands of Hindus who were slaughtered in Bengal to fulfill Jinnah’s Direct Action Day command have been ignored too.
Through Jackie Shroff’s lament, the makers of Sooryanvashi try to insinuate that Hindus were responsible for the country’s partition and for pushing Shroff into terrorism while in reality, it was the Muslim League and their bigoted supporters who wreaked havoc and brought about the partition of the country into India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The partition saw widespread violence that was touched off by provocateurs in chief of the Muslim League, most notably MA Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and other Muslims who believed in the supremacy of Islam over other religions.
Liberals taking offence over a Hindu distinguishing between a good and a bad Muslim is nothing but a manifestation of two-nation theory
The supremacist belief was also reflected in Rana Ayyub’s tweet where she highlights that an upper-caste Hindu distinguishes between a good and a bad Muslim. Ayyub’s disapproval with this notion that Hindus have the agency to differentiate between who is a righteous Muslim and who has gone awry is starkly similar to the Muslim League’s belief that Hindu representatives cannot represent the interest of Muslims. Venkat Dhulipalla in his seminal work ‘Creating a New Medina‘ highlighted how Muslim League had demanded separate electorate for the Muslim population because they were deeply distrustful of Hindu representatives.
Therefore, Ayyub and liberals’ objection to a Hindu police officer distinguishing between a good and bad Muslim is another manifestation of the two-nation theory, a hypothesis peddled by the Muslim League to argue that Muslims and Hindus are fundamentally irreconcilable and that the only way for the two to exist is the partition of the country in Hindu majority and Muslim majority nations. Of course, India rejected the notion and assimilated people from all walks of life while Pakistan treated Muslims as first among equals and discriminated against people belonging to the minorities. As has been evident by countless incidents in the past, the liberals have their affinity towards Pakistan while their obsession with preserving secularism is just a charade to whitewash Islamic terrorism.
In another preposterous attempt to understate the menace of Islamic terrorism, the movie goes on to provide justifications for why a terrorist named Bilal Ahmed embraced terrorism. The movie shows Ahmed’s slide to terrorism took place after his family was burnt to death by a communally charged-up mob. Then the movie tries to draw a distinction between a good and a bad Muslim, showing how Allah helps an upright Muslim officer in nabbing the dreaded terrorist.
Bilal Ahmed is notorious terrorist But 1 He became terrorist ONLY because his family was burnt to death for communal reasons 2 He got tracked ONLY because Allah helped a sachcha Muslim police officer see Bilal while doing Ibadat!#sooryavanshi by @akshaykumar and Rohit Shetty
The pusillanimity of Indian film makers in showing how terrorists draw inspirations from Islamic religious texts
This is yet another perversion that not only tries to draw a veil over the menace of “Islamism” that drives its adherents to wage unspeakable atrocities against non-Muslims in the name of waging ‘jihad’, but it also tries to paint Hindus as the troublemakers who compelled the otherwise ‘righteous’ Muslims to walk down the path of extremism. Hardly any movie maker demonstrates the courage of showing the reality of Islamism as it is. They would dare not highlight how terrorists draw inspiration to attack non-Muslims through Islamic religious texts and Hadiths that endorse using violence as a tool to subjugate non-believers, especially idolators(idol-worshippers).
As against this reluctance to show the reality of Islamism, filmmakers show remarkable courage and liberty in citing obscure Hindu texts to assert that Hindus justify social inequities such as caste discrimination, untouchability, and others. In fact, the movie makers go on to defend vile distortions in their movies by hiding behind the veneer of “artistic freedom” to justify the warped turn of events and twisted facts depicted in their creations. Recently, a movie named Jai Bhim, which was touted to be based on a true incident, showed the villain from the Vanniyar community even though in reality the villain was a person named Anthony Sami. Similar distortions have been witnessed in various movies, where negative Muslim characters are glorified such as SRK’s Raees, or a Hindu character is depicted as Muslim to show India is Islamophobic as in the case of SRK’s Chak De India.
While Sooryavanshi shows Muslims turned to terrorism after atrocities meted out on them by Hindus, Indian Muslims in Kerala joining ISIS is a prime example of how Muslims do not have to be victims of atrocities or persecution to join the terror ranks. When ISIS was at its peak a few years ago, a large number of Indians from Kerala had travelled to Syria with the aim of joining the Islamic Caliphate and bringing the world under one Ummah. They were not persecuted or brutalized in India to have escaped to the Middle East and join ISIS. Rather, they were inspired by the supremacist ideology of radical Islam and brutal ways adopted by ISIS to establish their rule. It is the ideology of radical Islam that calls upon faithful Muslims to constantly wage a war against the non-believers(Kafirs) and apostates and bring them under the fold of Islamic rule.
However, hardly any movie dares to venture into these troubled waters. Filmmakers consciously refrain from showcasing how it is the Islamic texts advocating the supremacy of Islam over other religions and Islamic edicts calling for the persecution of non-Muslims that contribute massively towards Muslims embracing the path of extremism and violence. Instead, Muslims are branded as victims of some atrocity to rationalize their decision of embracing violence and extremism. This is how movies are ‘secularised’ so that there is always a justifiable reason for Muslims to take up arms while Hindus are invariably vilified as a bigoted community, actions of which had pushed the Muslim antagonists to the abyss of Islamic terrorism.
The evangelical zeal displayed by liberals in whitewashing Islamic terrorism
If even this grotesque perversion is labeled as Islamophobia, then it is quite clear that liberals are averse to the very idea of Muslim characters playing negative roles. They want filmmakers to not only gloss over the unvarnished reality of Islamic texts and scriptures encouraging Muslims to indulge in ‘jihad’ and carry out terror attacks against non-Muslims, but also to portray Muslim characters always in a positive light. Any movie that fails to comply with this liberal diktat is summarily rejected as Islamophobic and anti-Muslim.
Scores of liberals then take to denouncing the movie or series as Islamophobic, just because it may have showcased some negative characters as Muslims and picturized real-life incidents like many Islamist attacks carried out in India or even harsh realities such as the prevalence of love jihad. They have made it their cri de cœur to oppose and resist any movie or artistic creation, even if they are rooted in fiction if they perceive them showing Muslims in a bad light. Apparently, the trope of “artistic freedom” exists only for Hindus who protest against unwarranted bastardization of facts to portray them as negative. When a film maker exercises his artistic freedom in so far as to just portray villains as Muslims, the liberal ecosystem springs into action, slamming the movie as “Islamophobic” and accusing the maker of harboring pathological hatred against Muslims.
As we have seen with Sooryavanshi, where Islamic terrorism was downplayed and to an extent justified as a consequence of perceived atrocities committed by Hindus, the liberals nevertheless are still rattled with the movie and have shown missionary zeal in denigrating it as Islamophobic. This is a perfect example of how whitewashing of Islamism is carried out—take offense on the most trivial facets of movies such as a Muslim character being the bad person and depiction of real-life events such as love jihad so that filmmakers are discouraged from calling attention towards more serious aspects such as maximalist doctrines and religious scriptures that form the cornerstone of Islamic terrorism or Islamism.
On October 29, a Saudi Islamic preacher, Assim Al-Hakeem, while quoting a question asked by his follower, has said that Muslims are not allowed to join the Indian Air Force as pilot. Though he did not explain the reason, his followers quoted Quran and said Allah forbids Muslims from ‘helping the non-believers’.
A Twitter user Halal Maguire had tagged the preacher and asked, “Can we join Indian Air Force as a pilot?”.
According to Assim Al-Hakeem, Muslims cannot join Indian Air Force as a pilot. Source: Twitter.
Replying to the question, in a quoted Twitter, the preacher said, “This is not permissible”.
As he did not explain why Muslims cannot join Indian Air Force as a pilot, some Twitter users asked in the reply section to provide a reason for the same.
A Twitter user H_1_N_D quoted Assim’s tweet and explained why it is not ‘permissible’ for Muslims to join the Indian Air Force. He quoted verse 4:76 of An-Nisa, chapter four of the holy book that roughly translates to, “Those who have faith fight in the way of Allah, while those who disbelieve fight in the way of Satan. Fight, then, against the fellows of Satan. Surely Satan’s strategy is weak.”
Twitter user H_1_N_D explained using Quran verse why Muslims cannot join IAF as a pilot. Source: Twitter.
According to the website IslamicStudies, the verse lays down the verdict of Allah that a devout Muslim should fight in the cause of Allah to establish his religion on the earth. It also talks about fighting against the ‘non-believers’, who, according to the verse, are Satan’s comrades-in-arms.
Who is Assim Al-Haleem?
Assim Al-Hakeem is one of the prominent leaders of the Islamic world. Hailing from Saudi Arabia, he conducts Islamic programmes in both Arabic and English for TV and radio. He claims to teach the authentic sayings of the Quran and the Hadiths and often appears on Huda TV and Zakir Naik’s Peace TV. He holds a BA in Linguistics from King Abdul Aziz University and a diploma in Islamic Studies from Umm al-Qura University. He has been working as an Imam at a Jeddah mosque for the last 20 years.
He has a long history of connection with controversies. In October itself, he suggested a man divorce his wife because she celebrated the Hindu festival Navratri. In June last year, he had claimed that protesting is ‘haram in Islam. In 2018, he claimed bitcoin and cryptocurrency are ambiguous and haram under Islamic law as it was being used to buy drugs and money laundering.
Bajrang Dal in Gujarat, especially Surat, has decided to donate loudspeakers to all those places where Hindus are in minority so as to facilitate recitals of Hanuman Chalisa. Bajrang Dal has taken it upon itself to start a nationwide movement on recital of Hanuman Chalisa twice a day.
There are 21 such areas in Surat where Hanuman Chalisa is recited twice a day on loudspeakers, from the temples or from the roofs of residents. “In coming days, more such areas will be included. In those areas, there are pockets where Hindus are in minority. There, too, the Bajrang Dal has decided to donate speakers along with amplifiers and timers set so that the Hanuman Chalisa gets played twice a day on its own,” said Bajrang Dal’s Rahul Sharma while speaking to OpIndia.
Sharma further said that certain areas where Hindus have become a minority, like certain pockets of Azad Nagar, were not Hindu minority areas always. The demography change has happened over past few years. “People from lower caste used to reside in these areas. These people came and tried to create the divide between Hindus by telling them how Dalits are not Hindus and slowly the area become Muslim dominated. We have taken it upon ourselves to assure them that they are as much Hindus,” Sharma said.
Azad Nagar area in Surat is one such area where in some pockets, Hindus have become a minority. Above video is of Hanuman Chalisa being recited in the area.
Bajrang Dal’s Sharma further explained that in Vesu area of Surat, some Muslim youths would come and create a nuisance. “We started recital of Hanuman Chalisa in the area and the nuisance is less now. Bhoot pishach nikat nahin aave, Mahabir jab naam sunave,” he said.
Earlier people used to oppose the use of speakers but now they have also embraced the Hanuman Chalisa recital on loudspeakers.
Hanuman Chalisa in Surat
OpIndia had earlier reported that since earlier this year, residents in Surat have started reciting Hanuman Chalisa twice a day. Surat residents said that playing the Hanuman Chalisa and weekly Satsang creates awareness about the Dharm along with spreading positivity. This is not limited just to Surat, but even other parts of Gujarat have embraced Hanuman Chalisa recital. Other than the local Hindutva groups like Shri Sainath Yuvak Mandal, women’s group of Durga Vahini and Matru Shakti also join in the satsang.
The Hindu Pushback
Across India, the azaan, Islamic call for prayer, is blared on loudspeaker five times a day, the first one being played way before sunrise between 5-6 AM. Even Islamic countries discourage the use of loudspeaker for azaan for Fajr (morning) namaaz, or use only internal speakers for the same. In India, however, any such comments on use of loudspeakers for azaan is referred to as ‘bigotry’ and ‘Islamophobia’ – many times by the ones who refer to themselves as liberals and seculars.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Wednesday wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) seeking details of 8 short films on same-sex relations scheduled to be screened at schools in West Bengal. The child rights body also wrote to UNICEF India regarding the matter, as the films are being screened in collaboration with UNICEF.
NCPCR wrote to the two organisations on the basis of a complaint submitted with it, based on a Times of India report published on November 9 which said that 8 short films based on same-sex relationships will be screened in schools of Kolkata to promote ‘inclusive education’. The films are to be screened after the schools are reopened.
. @NCPCR_ seeks explanation from Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and UNICEF over screening of short films on same sex relationaships at schools in West Bengal.@PTI_Newspic.twitter.com/yuCjNzAIw4
In its letter to CBFC Chairperson Prasoon Joshi, NCPCR has sought comments on the eight selected short films on same-sex relations, asking whether the films have obtained certification for screening in the state or not. NCPCR also wants to know what category of certification has been provided to the selected movies, if they obtained certification.
In the letter sent to UNICEF India representative Yasumara Kimura, NCPCR has asked under which mandate the movies have been selected to be screened for minor children in West Bengal in collaboration with UNICEF, and what factors were taken into consideration for screening the films on same-sex relationships. UNICEF India has been asked to provide this information within 10 days of receiving the letter signed by NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanungo.
Further, the NCPCR has asked UNICEF India to provide a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Ministry of Education and a copy of MOU signed with state governments.
The eight short films scheduled to be screened before minors in schools in Kolkata are made by young filmmakers and have been shortlisted for the Bad and Beautiful World Film Festival organised by Prayasam, a Kolkata based NGO. Prayasam is a UNICEF partner organisation, and the filmmakers are students of Prasayam Visual Basics, a grassroot film studio supported by Adobe.
The eight films are made by four filmmakers, ‘Dwitiyo Purush’, ‘Dekha’and ‘Dakkhina’ by Salim Shekh; ‘Dhora Pore Gechi Aami‘, ‘Dutto‘ and ‘Deya Neya‘ by Manish Chowdhury; ‘Durbin‘ by Saptarshi Ray and ‘DumbBell’ by Avijit Marjit. The films deal with subjects like homosexuality, live-in same-sex relationship, male escort etc. There are concerns that the movies may not be appropriate for children, due to which a complaint was filed with NCPCR and it prompted NCPCR to take cognizance of the same.
The Anantnag office of the Social Welfare Department in Jammu and Kashmir has withdrawn a notice issued to 26 Kashmiri Pandit employees threatening action against them for their absence from duties. A tweet posted by the District Information & Public Relations Centre of Anantnag said that the notice was issued ‘unauthorisedly’, and it stands withdrawn by the department.
The notice under reference below has been issued unauthorisedly and stands withdrawn by department. pic.twitter.com/RoPz4UJ7II
— District Information & Public Relations Centre Ang (@AnantnagDIPRC) November 10, 2021
Yesterday, the Office of the District Social Welfare Officer in Anantnag had issued a notice to 26 officers of the department, all of whom are Kashmiri Pandits, who have fled the area due to recent attacks on civilians by terrorists. The notice was issued seeking explanation from the absent employees for “unauthorizedly remaining absent from duties”.
The Notice had said that the office tried to contact them through telephone and other media, but they have not bothered to resume their duties and have failed to join back to their duties. “Where as your unauthorised absence has hampered the office work both at the district as well as subordinate offices,” the notice had said, adding that the poor beneficiaries and common people are badly suffering because of their unauthorised absence.
The employees were ordered to resume their duties within 2 days and explain their position, and the notice had added that if they fail to do so, appropriate action under rules will be initiated against them.
After the notice had emerged on social media, the J&K administration was strongly condemned by social media users, because the Kashmir Pandit employees have left the region to save their lives as several minorities have been killed in the union territory in the last few weeks.
Shocking! J&K Government sends explanation notice to 26 Kashmiri Hindu Govt employees who were forced to flee to save life after recent minority killings by terrorists in Kashmir. Is Govt going to further victimise terror victims? This is absolutely not done, HLG @manojsinha_. pic.twitter.com/3feAWDywVK
“Is Govt going to further victimise terror victims?” journalist Aditya Raj Kaul had asked the govt, objecting the notice issued to the 26 employees.
Social media user Ashima Kaul tweeted that the employees had asked the administration to give them accommodation, security or postings in safer areas, and after their request was not accepted, they left the Anantnag and went to safer places.
In the meantime, the Govt has threatened to initiate action against 26 Kashmiri Pandit employees who were forced to leave Kashmir to avoid being murdered by terrorists. These employees had asked administration to give them accomodation, security or postings in safer areas. (1/2) https://t.co/vB20HQC775pic.twitter.com/6FXMFQ1RXw
“The Government just ignored their security concerns and expected themselves to scapegoat themselves at the altar of “duty”. Apparently, only politicians are entitled to right to life in this country,” she had added.
Less than 24 hours after a Kashmiri Pandit was almost killed by terrorists, the government terms absence of 26 Pandit government employees (who had left after killings began) as unauthorised and asks them to join immediately. Is this fair? @PMOIndia@HMOIndia@OfficeOfLGJandKpic.twitter.com/iVORkyIKnt
Author Rahul Pandita noted that the notice was issued less than 24 hours after a Kashmiri Pandit was almost killed by terrorists, and asked if it is fair. He was referring to the killing of a Muslim salesman in Srinagar by terrorists mistaking him from his Kashmiri Pandit employer.
Social media websites on Wednesday were rife with reports of wrestler Nisha Dahiya and his brother Suraj being murdered in Haryana. The reports stated that Dahiya and his brother Suraj were shot dead in Haryana’s Sonepat by unknown assailants as they were returning home from Sushil Kumar Wrestling Academy in Sonepat’s Halalpur. It was also reported that Nisha’s mother was admitted to Rohtak’s PGI Hospital and was in critical condition. However, the wrestler herself has come forward to clarify that she is well and alive, and termed the reports of her murder as fake news.
On Friday, Dahiya had won the bronze medal in the 72kg weight class at the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2021 in Belgrade. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded Dahiya and other fellow wrestlers for their achievement.
Today evening, several news publications reported that national-level wrestler Nisha and her brother were assassinated in Haryana’s Sonepat.
The Times of India report said bodies Dahiya and her brother were sent to Civil Hospital for postmortem.
Source: Twitter
Similarly, CNN News 18 carried a report that cited Sonepat police sources to claim 5-6 bullets were fired at Nisha Dahiya by unknown assailants.
Source: Twitter
Similarly, other news organisations, including Sportskeeda India, Hindustan Times, also published the death of the ace wrestler who had recently won a bronze medal at World Championship in Belgrade.
Source: Twitter
Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla also weighed in on the matter, quoting PM Modi’s congratulatory tweet to Nisha Dahiya on her achievement to allege that Nisha Dahiya was “brutally murdered” in Sonepat. Poonawalla further asked PM Modi to tweet about the incident and ensure justice for the wrestler’s family, along with seeking responsibility from the Haryana CM ML Khattar.
Source: Twitter
Nisha Dahiya dismisses rumours of her death
As it turns out, the reports of Nisha Dahiya’s death were baseless and misleading. After rumours of her death started doing the rounds on the internet, the wrestler took to her Instagram account and shared a video in which she identified herself and asserted that she is currently in Haryana’s Gonda and is safe and well. “I am in Gonda to play senior nationals. I am alright. It’s a fake news. I am fine,” she said in the video.
The video was also shared by ESPN journalist Jonathan Selvaraj, who had earlier tweeted that Nisha Dahiya was shot dead by unknown assailants. Sharing Dahiya’s video, Selvaraj apologised for sharing fake news about the wrestler’s death.
Olympian Sakshi Malik also took to her Twitter to share her pictures with wrestler Nisha Dahiya and slammed the rumours about her death. “She is alive,” Malik tweeted along with her picture with Nisha Dahiya.
According to reports, the false reports about Nisha Dahiya appeared on media because a different woman was actually murdered on Sonipat. Coincidently, that woman is also a wrestler and her name is also Nisha Dahiya, which caused confusion. Reportedly, her coach is accused in the case.
Wrestler shot dead in Sonepat is newcomer Nisha Dahiya, not U-23 world championship bronze-medallist: Coach, who travelled with Indian team
PTI reported saying that the wrestler shot dead in Sonepat is newcomer Nisha Dahiya, not the U-23 world championship bronze-medallist, quoting the coach of the Indian team.
Days after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav glorified Muhammad Ali Jinnah by comparing him with Gandhi, Nehru and Patel, now his alliance partner has praised the father of Pakistan. Om Prakash Rajbhar, the chief of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party, on Wednesday said that partition of India could have been prevented if Jinnah was allowed to become the first prime minister of the country.
While talking to reporters in Varansi, Om Prakash Rajbhar said, “Had Jinnah been made the first prime minister, the partition of the country would not have happened.”
Rajbhar also defended Akhilesh Yadav glorifying Jinnah in a rally a few days ago, saying that many other leaders have praised the founder of Pakistan. Reacting to questions from reporters over Yadav’s comments, he said, “read Advani Ji’s views, read Atal Ji’s views, read the views of country’s other well-wishers on the prospect of Jinnah having been made the PM. Why did they praise him?”
He was apparently referring to LK Advani calling Jinnah secular, which was later supported by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The SP alliance leader accused the journalists of speaking the language of BJP and speaking against Muslims for asking him questions on Jinnah. He asked why the reporters are asking questions on Jinnah instead of asking on price rise, hatred etc.
Rajbhar’s comments on Jinnah comes days after Akhilesh Yadav had created a controversy by glorifying Muhammad Ali Jinnah while addressing a party rally in Hardoi on October 31. On the pretext of remembering Sardar Patel, Akhilesh Yadav had said, ‘Sardar Patel used to know the land, Sardar Patel took decisions holding the land, he used to understand the land so he made his decisions and that is why he is known as the Iron man Of India. Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Jinnah, they all came out of the same institution. They all studied at the same institute, they became barristers and gave freedom.’
Samajwadi Party and its allies using the name of Muhammad Ali Jinnah at this time creates suspicion that they are doing this to target Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly elections.
BJP leaders had slammed Yadav for his comments over Jinnah. In the meanwhile, a case has been filed against Akhilesh Yadav for praising Jinnah on the orders of a court in Bareilly. The court issued the order to register a case against the SP chief on a complaint filed by advocate Virendra Gupta. Gupta had filed a complaint with police, but after the police refused to register the case, he had approached the court. Taking cognizance of the same, the ACJM court ordered the police to register a case against Akhilesh Yadav.
