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Did Hindu activist Pramod Muthalik call for the ‘Babri-like’ demolition of a mosque in Karnataka? Fact Check

OpIndia Staff
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Did Hindu activist Pramod Muthalik call for the ‘Babri-like’ demolition of a mosque in Karnataka? Fact Check

On Monday, several “left-liberal” news outlets and alleged journalists took to social media platforms to share a video of Hindu activist Pramod Muthalik, the chief of the influential Hindu activist group Shri Rama Sene, to claim that he had said that a Jamia Masjid in Karnataka’s Gadag “should be demolished”.

Imran Khan, a ‘journalist’ working for Times Now, put out a tweet on Monday saying that the Hindu activist Pramod Muthalik allegedly said that a new campaign would start to demolish Gadag Jamia Masjid.

The journalist also said that Pramod Muthalik is claimed to have said that the Jama Masjid in Gadag was a Tippu era masjid, which will be raised down, and a temple will be built in its place. An awareness campaign was also organised over this issue in Gadag, the Imran Khan tweeted.

The video shared by Imran Khan spread like wildfire on the internet, which was soon picked up by several other left-liberal news websites.

The News Minute, a left-wing portal that has a history of peddling misinformation on Hindutva activists, put out a tweet saying that Pramod Muthalik called for a “Babri-like” demolition of the mosque in Karnataka.

In its report, the News Minute claimed that Pramod Muthalik had said that the Jamia Masjid in Karnataka’s Gadag “should be demolished” and claimed that he drew a parallel with the Babri Masjid demolition.

The report also claimed that Muthalik said that an erstwhile Venkateshwara Temple will be rebuilt in place of the mosque which exists now. 

“We had to fight for 72 years for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. After 72 long years, Babri Masjid has been removed, and Ram Mandir will be built there. In the same manner, in Gadag, the Jamma Masjid that’s there, it’s a Venkateshwara Temple, and I’m telling it with full confidence that it should be razed,” claimed TNM its report.

The video was shared aggressively by radical Islamist groups to put out misleading claims that the Hindu activist had called for the demolition of a mosque situated in the Gadag district of Karnataka.

Hindutva Watch, a notorious Hinduphobic Twitter account that has constantly put out hate-filled content against Hindus, also claimed that the Muthalik had called for a demolition of Jumma Mosque in Karnataka’s Gadag in a similar way Babri Masjid was allegedly brought down in Ayodhya in 1992.

Far-left news outlet NDTV too picked up the misinformation and proclaimed that the Hindutva activist had threatened to bring down a mosque in Gadag.

Controversial news anchor Sreenivasan Jain claimed that Muthalik warned about the demolition of a mosque to make way for a temple.

However, the claims made the left-liberal journalists are far from the truth. Did Pramod Muthalik threaten to raze down a mosque in the Gadag district of Karnataka? Here is the truth.

Fact Check:

Contrary to the claims of the left-liberal media outlets, that Muthalik had warned against razing down a mosque in the Gadag district of Karnataka in a similar way to Babri Masjid, to make way for a temple, in reality, Pramod Muthalik never makes any such statement.

In a speech delivered in Kannada, Hindu activist Pramod Muthalik, seen with saffron head-gear, can be heard saying, “We had to fight for 72 years for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Finally, after 72 long years of struggle, Babri Masjid was removed, and we successfully built a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.”

Continuing, Pramod Muthalik says, “In the same manner, I can challenge you that the Jama Masjid in Gadag was a Venkateshwara temple. Take out the documents, and you will have proof that there was a temple. Like Babri Masjid, which was built on a temple, Venkateshwara Temple was one of the many temples demolished during Tipu Sultan’s rule, and Jama Masjid was built at the spot.

“We have proof, and we should launch a struggle,” Pramod Muthalik can be heard saying in the above 57-second video that has gone viral on the internet.

Interestingly, in the video shared by the left-wing outlets, there is not even a single reference to Pramod Muthalik calling for the destruction of the Jama Masjid in Gadag to make way for Venkateshwara temple. He simply lay his claim for the Venkateshwara temple that was existing at the premises before allegedly being demolished by the Islamist forces of Tipu Sultan, as claimed by Muthalik himself.

However, the media houses made false insinuations saying that the Hindu activists had claimed to demolish the mosque but does not provide any substantial evidence to prove.

Shockingly, TNM went to the extent of attributing quotes to Pramod Muthalik, which he had never uttered in the first place.

In its report, TNM claims that Pramod Muthalik had called for “razing” down the Gadag’s Jama Masjid.

Image Source: TNM

However, there is no such reference to any such statements in the video shared by them in their report.

From the above video evidence, it is clear that Pramod Muthalik never called for the ‘Babri-like’ demolition of a mosque in Karnataka, and the claims made by the left-liberal media outlets and journalists are incorrect and false.

Afghanistan: Taliban beheads woman volleyball player

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: Taliban beheads woman volleyball player

Mahjubin Hakimi, member of Afghanistan’s woman’s national volleyball team was beheaded by the Taliban, reports Independent Persian. An Afghan national and one of the coaches of the Afghan women’s national team by the pseudonym Suraya Afzali confirmed that the athlete was killed earlier in October. However, no one in Hakimi’s family seems to be aware of when the murder took place. She used to play for Kabul Municipality Volleyball Club before Afghanistan fell to the Islamist group Taliban in August 2021. She was one of the most successful players.

It is believed Mahjubin’s murder took place sometime early in October and it was not made public because her family members were threatened not to talk about it. According to coach Afzali (name changed), the Taliban have been hunting for the female athletes, going to their homes in their search. Those female athletes who appeared in media programmes are under serious threat, she said.

She said that only two members of the team were able to leave Afghanistan on their own and rest of the women athletes face serious threat from the Taliban. Zahra Fayazi, a former volleyball player and then a coach, fled Afghanistan and arrived in UK earlier in September. While speaking to BBC, she had said that many players have been threatened by their relatives who are Taliban as well as other Taliban followers.

The Afghan National Women’s Volleyball Team was first established in 1978. However, due to the civl war followed by Taliban rule, the team ceased operations between 1992 and 2002. The team has participated in number of international competitions and had been widely supported within Afghanistan.

At present many female athletes in Afghanistan have either gone into hiding or fled to Pakistan or other countries.

Tulsi Gabbard condemns violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, asks ‘supposedly secular’ Hasina Govt to take action against Jihadists

OpIndia Staff
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Tulsi Gabbard condemns violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, asks ‘supposedly secular’ Hasina Govt to take action against Jihadists

Former US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday spoke up on the violence perpetrated on Hindus in Bangladesh last week during the Durga Puja.

Gabbard said that it broke her heart to see such hate and violence being directed towards devotees of god in their temples in Bangladesh. She said that for the Jihadists to believe that burning and destroying temples will please gods and desecrating the idol of A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad shows how far away from God they truly are. “God is love and his true servants embody and manifest that love in the world,” she said.

Gabbard further called upon the ‘supposedly secular government’ of Sheikh Hasina to protect the religious minorities in Bangladesh including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists “from the Jihadist forces of hate.”

Attack on Hindus in Bangladesh

Between October 12 – 17, multiple temples, Hindu homes were attacked in Bangladesh after some miscreants associated with radical Islamist group placed a Quran on idol of Lord Hanuman when the guard at pandal was sleeping. This led to widespread violence and houses of tens of Hindus were burned down.

ISKCON was one of the Hindu organizations that faced the attacks by Islamic radicals in Bangladesh. The attack happened on Friday, October 15. A frenzied mob of radical Islamists attacked the ISKCON temple in the Noakhali district in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. Disturbing videos of mob attacking the temple surfaced on social media networks. Reports suggest that 400-500 strong mob of radical Islamists were seen desecrating the temple.

Watch: Punjab Congress MLA Joginder Pal seen assaulting a man for asking what has he done for his constituency

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Punjab Congress MLA Joginder Pal seen assaulting a man for asking what has he done for his constituency

An undated video of Congress MLA Joginder Pal has surfaced over the social media networks in which he was seen beating a man for asking him if he has done any work for his constituency. In the video, Pal was seen addressing a small crowd inside a tent in the village, district Pathankot, Punjab.

The video is reportedly recent. Pal is the MLA from Pathankot’s Bhoa constituency. He was seen addressing some people gathered near a Navratri celebration event.

While he was speaking, a young man was heard from behind the crowd. A man who was wearing a brown shirt was then seen in a frame being shooed away by the security personnel of the MLA. At first, Pal ignored the man and continued his speech. However, when the man continued to shout from behind, Pal asked his security officers to let him pass. He handed over the mic to the man and asked him to say whatever he had to say on the mic.

As soon as the man said on the mic, “What have you done?” the MLA started assaulting him. The man suffered several blows to his head before the police personnel, and the MLA’s followers joined in to assault the man further. He was seen getting severely beaten up by the people present at the scene, including the police officials.

The man tried to escape, but the crowd held him down and kept beating him. Shortly after they started beating the young man, another policeman intervened and stopped the crowd to let the man let go.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, State Home Minister, said, “The MLA should not have behaved in this fashion. We are the people’s representatives and here to serve them.”

Another video of Pal also surfaced in which he was seen losing his cool. It appears that MLA, who was standing near a helicopter, was upset as Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had cancelled a visit to his constituency. In the video, a man was seen trying to calm MLA Pal down, but he shrugged him away and left the ground. 

Punjab assembly elections

The incident is going to make it further difficult for the Congress party in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for early 2022. Notably, former CM Captain Amarinder Singh has recently announced that he would float his own party for the upcoming elections. He also hinted at an alliance with BJP on the condition that the Centre finds a logical solution for the ongoing farmer protests ‘that benefit the farmers’.

‘Chunavi Hindu’ Rahul Gandhi says Ramayana author Valmiki gave the ‘idea for India’s constitution’

OpIndia Staff
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‘Chunavi Hindu’ Rahul Gandhi says Ramayana author Valmiki gave the ‘idea for India’s constitution’

In yet another bizzare comment, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi credited the Ramayana author sage Valmiki for giving India the ‘idea of Constitution’. He made the comment while addressing a rally on Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti.

Insinuating Maharishi Valmiki to be a Dalit leader, while flagging off a ‘Shobha Yatra’ in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said, “People of India used in the constitution the ideology that was propagated by Valmiki ji. Today we see attacks on his ideology & on poor Dalit brothers & sisters.” 

In what seemed like replacing ‘Idea of India’ with ‘Idea of Valmikiji’, the Congress leader was heard saying, “Valmiki ji showed a path to the nation. His message was about love & brotherhood. Today when we see India, we see his message being attacked. Our constitution is a constitution of Valmiki ji’s ideology.” 

He further added that the Indian constitution is not new, but it is old. As the things said by Valmiki have been incorporated into the constitution by the people of India. He then added that thoughts of Valmiki in the constitution and the Dalit community in the country are being attacked.

Promising to protect the Dalits from this ‘attack’, Gandhi added, “I would like to give a message to the Dalit brothers and sisters that Congress party will stop these attacks. The more they break the country, the more we will connect the country. The more they spread hatred, the more we will speak of love & brotherhood.” 

Interestingly, with several state assembly elections in sight, the Congress party has decided to launch its ‘Shobha Yatra’ on the birth anniversary of a sage who authored the epic on Hindu god they once disbelieved in. 

Congress and the ‘myth’ of Ramayana

“The Ramayana may have moved millions since civilisation took root, but for the Centre, Valmiki’s tale of Lord Ram lacks scientific and historical veracity,” Congress-led UPA government had told the Supreme Congress in 2007. 

Supporting the Sethusamudram project that would have destroyed the Adam’s Bridge or Ram Setu, the Manmohan Singh government in an affidavit to Supreme Court had said, “Valmiki Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, but these cannot be said to be historical records to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters and occurrences of events depicted therein.”

Fourteen years later, the leader of the Congress party has thanked the same sage for giving the ‘ideology for Indian constitution.’ 

Netizens react

Social media users were quick to educate the Congress leader and helped him differentiate between Maharishi Valmiki- the author of Hindu epic Ramayana and BR Ambedkar- a prominent architect of the Indian Constitution. 

“Wow, did not know Ambedkar was a ghost writer for Valmiki’s constitution,” wrote a user. 

Taking a dig at the Congress leader, another user Tweeted, “He just has one template and keeps changing the variables of it. Today’s variable is Valmiki.”

“Ok then make Ramayana as National Rule book. Full support,” demanded another user. 

Mumbai’s NDPS court rejects Aryan Khan’s bail plea, may spend Diwali in custody

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai’s NDPS court rejects Aryan Khan’s bail plea, may spend Diwali in custody

Mumbai’s Special NDPS Court on Wednesday has rejected Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan’s bail plea in connection with the high-profile Mumbai Cruise drug bust case.

The bail plea of Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha have also been rejected by the special court. 

As per reports, Aryan Khan will now have to approach the Bombay High Court and file a fresh petition seeking bail. Junior Khan is currently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail. 

Suspected involvement of foreign nationals

We reported earlier on how Anil Singh who is representing NCB referring to a sensitive Whatsapp chat of Aryan Khan hinted at the involvement of foreign nationals regarding bulk procurement of hard drugs.

It was also reported earlier that NCB had submitted Aryan’s WhatsApp chats in court. The chats were reportedly between Aryan and a debut actress.

He had also opposed his bail petition and said that it was misconceived at this stage. While the investigation was still going on, NCB feared the accused may influence the probe if released on bail at this stage.

This is a developing story.

Maharashtra: Fans of Mughal bigot Aurangzeb get offended by Facebook post, stone-pelting leaves four policemen injured

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Fans of Mughal bigot Aurangzeb get offended by Facebook post, stone-pelting leaves four policemen injured

As many as four policemen have been injured after an unruly mob of around 150 people in Maharashtra’s Osmanabad took to the streets to protest against a social media post that allegedly criticised Mughal bigot Aurangzeb.

The incident took place on Tuesday night at 10:30 PM in the Vijay Chowk area. As per the police, the mob expressing their anger over a Facebook post pelted stones on vehicles and vandalized banners and hoardings. 

Four policemen including Inspector Surve sustained injuries when trying to control the violent mob. “The mob vandalized a hoarding, a police vehicle and an auto-rickshaw in Vijay Chowk area. Four policemen, including an officer, were injured while they were trying to stop the mob,” confirmed Osmanabad city police station’s inspector Suresh Budhwant to PTI. 

Auto vandalized by the violent mob. Image Source: Osmanabad Live

A case has been registered against 43 people who were named and over 150 unnamed protestors under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. 

As per Osmanabad Live, a local news portal, it all started with a group of people from a particular community removing a Hindu religious flag hoisted at the Chowk during Navratri and replacing it with their flag on the occasion of their religious festival. 

This led to tensions between the two groups after which using a social media post as an excuse, the unruly mob resorted to stone-pelting and vandalism.

We reported earlier on how social media is used by Islamists to validate attack, murder, arson and vandalism. Be it the Bengaluru riots over an alleged Facebook post or the systematic attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, a stray Facebook post is always cited as the reason to justify violence.  

SIT releases six photos of suspects who lynched BJP workers on October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri

OpIndia Staff
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SIT releases six photos of suspects who lynched BJP workers on October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri

Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh Police investigating the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence has released six photographs of suspects who had allegedly lynched three BJP workers during farmers’ protest. According to the media reports the faces of the suspected persons are visible in the photographs and videos of the incident in the possession of SIT. In photographs unknown suspects are seen standing close to burning SUV with sticks and black flags.

Other than the BJP workers, a journalist and four farmers had died during the violence. Protesters accused that a convoy of vehicles including one owned by Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra ran over the protesters killing four farmers on the spot. In the subsequent violence, protesters lynched BJP workers. Deceased BJP workers were identified as Shubham Mishra, Shyam Sunder Nishad, and Hari Om Mishra. Deceased journalist was Raman Kashyap who became a victim of brutality. The police is currently trying to ascertain whether the attack on BJP workers was planned or ‘retaliatory’.

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had formed the SIT following the incident. SIT has urged people to identify suspects in the photographs and released four mobile numbers on which people can give information to SIT about them. While the name of informers will not be disclosed, the SIT has also announced cash prizes on useful information without mentioning the amount as cash prize.

Right after the SIT displayed pictures of suspects the Congress-left oriented human right groups and activists started to criticize the SIT. Activist Trilochan Singh Gandhi, an activist criticized the police for sharing pictures of farmers without identifying their names or without evidence of their role in the violence may put them in peril. 

But ADG (Lucknow zone) SN Sabat rubbished the allegation and said that the display of the picture was part of the legal process that doesn’t violate human rights.

So far, SIT has collected around 100 videos of October 3 violence. In the past  five days SIT issued notices to three dozen people to record their statement. On Tuesday, the SIT recorded statements of seven persons who were present at the site. In this case the police have arrested 10 people, including minister’s son for the deaths of the farmers.

23-year-old aspiring model stabbed to death by jilted lover in Delhi, three arrested: Here’s what happened

OpIndia Staff
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23-year-old aspiring model stabbed to death by jilted lover in Delhi, three arrested: Here’s what happened

On the intervening night of October 18 and October 19, a 23-year-old woman identified as Dolly Babbar alias Kishu was stabbed to death by a man in Delhi. Reports suggest that Dolly had rejected the advances of Ankit Gaba, the main accused in the case. She was stabbed in Uttam Nagar, Dwarka, close to her residence. According to the Police, she was stabbed at least six times. She was found lying in a pool of blood by a delivery person at around 1:20 AM. On seeing the injured woman, he called up the Police.

Babbar’s family has alleged that the main accused had threatened her with a pistol earlier. CCTV footage of the incident has emerged which have gone viral on social media networks. In the video, three men were seen standing with the woman. One of them suddenly began stabbing her while the other two watched. The family has alleged that several residents of the locality heard her screams, but no one came out to help her.

Police have arrested the main accused Ankit Gaba and two others Manish and Himanshu in connection with the case. The other two were with Anit when he committed the crime.

Dolly was stabbed just 300 meters away from home

Babbar, who worked as a freelancer with event management companies, was an aspirant model too. Before leaving the house, she told her family members that she was going to attend a birthday party. Dolly left home at around 11 PM, and she was stabbed at around 1 PM, just 300 meters away from her home. A senior police officer investigating the case told The Indian Express that they got the call late at night that an incident had happened at Matiala Road in Om Vihar near Uttam Nagar in west Delhi. 

The officer said, “We received a call about a woman lying on the road. We reached the spot and found her with multiple stab wounds. The men had fled. We informed the family and rushed the woman to a hospital, where she was declared dead. We spoke to neighbours who said they had seen a man, identified as Ankit Gaba (25), attacking her with a knife. We were told he had proposed to her earlier.”

Accused had threatened her with a gun earlier

The Hindu quoted Sudarshan Kumar Babbar, Dolly’s father, saying that Dolly had told her grandmother she was leaving for a birthday party and would be back in an hour. Babbar alleged that they were kept in the dark over the details. He said, “I saw my daughter bleeding and sitting on the road face down. I don’t know whether she was alive or dead, but the Police called for an ambulance, which came an hour late, and we just kept sitting there looking at her body from a distance. What if she was alive and the Police didn’t call the ambulance on time?” Dolly was declared as brought dead in the hospital.

He further added, “In the CCTV footage, three men are visible. We know all of them as they stay in the same area and have been friends with Kishu. One of them attacked her with a knife, after which she ran towards our street, bleeding from her arm. She then called her friend for help. Within minutes, this man returned and struck her again. The three of them then fled.”

Dolly’s brother Lakshay said in a statement that Dolly had informed one of her friends that Ankit had threatened her with a gun. “I wish we could have reached earlier. We were sleeping when the Police informed us. I saw her lying on the road. There were many people, but nobody helped. Dolly didi wanted to start her event management work again. She was friendly and treated them (the accused) like brothers,” he said.

Meena, Dolly’s mother, described her as bright and hopeful. Dolly was helping her father in managing finances at the house. She said, “I wish I had stopped her from going outside. She was young and bright. Due to the lockdown, she had lost contracts but was starting to get work again. I was happy and hopeful; she was running this house. Her father drives an autorickshaw; who will help us now? I just want justice for my daughter.”

Sanjana, Dolly’s cousin, said Gaba had approached her several times, but she did not show any interest. “They have known each other since childhood. He is involved with local gangs and had been threatening her,” she added.

Shankar Chaudhary, DCP (Dwarka), said that multiple teams had been deployed to arrest the three accused. Family and neighbours are being questioned in the case.

Residents claimed the spot was famous for anti-socials

The residents of the locality claimed that the spot where she was killed is famous as the meeting spot of anti-socials. Anita, who lives near the spot where Dolly was killed, said, “We have complained to the Police several times, but nobody listens. Last night, I heard the woman’s screams and saw the three boys, but they fled by the time police came.” The residents claimed they did not date to help Dolly, fearing their own safety. “We even put up a CCTV camera there, but someone stole it. Every day, the local boys consume liquor there and threaten us if we speak out about it,” they said.

Zomato, Fabindia, farmer’s protest, superstar’s son: what recent controversies taught me about the liberal worldview

Abhishek Banerjee
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Zomato, Fabindia, farmer’s protest, superstar’s son: what recent controversies taught me about the liberal worldview

Canceling people online is easy. In fact, that is probably what Twitter is for. In fact, if we did not cancel people online, what would the modern left do with all that free time? We go online to cancel people. It is what makes us better than all those who came before us, from Lincoln to Roosevelt, or even J K Rowling.

So imagine my surprise the other day when I discovered liberals raising their voice against this great internet tradition.

Suhasini Haidar’s tweet

Economic terrorism? Those are some really strong words against people who merely trended a hashtag calling for boycott of a clothing brand.

If they are economic terrorists, what do you call a group of people who have now blocked the highways around Delhi for almost a year? The damage they have caused to industry and the livelihoods of people is in the thousands of crores. They say that unless the government accepts their demands, they will block road and railway traffic for as long as they like. For that matter, they organized a nationwide “rail roko” only yesterday. So what do we call these people?

I know. We can’t say anything to them. Even if they storm the Red Fort on Republic Day and plant their own flag. Even if they bring their own religious police and execute a poor Dalit farm laborer in full Taliban style, we cannot say anything to them. We must grovel before them. We must address them as “annadata,” the form of address that zamindars have always demanded from the peasants who toil on their land. That’s liberal privilege.

Let us examine more closely why the folks who trended the hashtag were angry with Fabindia. They were objecting to the term “Jashn-e-Riwaz,” which they felt was a rebranding of Diwali. All around the world, what you call something is a big deal. Because names are markers of identity and culture. If you take our names away, you are wiping out our identity. These days, even pronouns are a big deal. So why would liberals think it is too much for a group of people to trend a hashtag against what they considered to be a renaming of Diwali?

Okay, so Fabindia says that Jashn-e-Riwaz was not a reference to Diwali at all. I will take them at their word. If you can think of any other festival, celebrated around this time, that the accompanying photo seems to suggest, please let me know. In any case, this article is not about Fabindia, but about the online reactions on all sides.

Now let us see what happened here. This is from yesterday.

Zomato controversy

Apparently, some customer service representative at Zomato told someone that all of us should know at least a little Hindi. Along with that, she also quoted a longstanding myth from the Doordarshan era that Hindi is our “national language.” The customer, who apparently was based in Tamil Nadu, was not happy.

So what about the folks who were so outraged by this remark that they started trending #RejectZomato on Twitter? Anyone calling them “economic terrorists”? Never. Like those who called for a boycott of Zomato, the folks who called for a boycott of Fabindia were also anguished about their identity. One group was anguished about linguistic identity and the other about religious identity. What is the difference? The difference is liberal privilege.

What do we learn from this? There is identity politics and then there is identity politics. There is the identity politics that helps liberals win votes and there is identity politics that makes liberals lose votes. The two are treated differently.

Was the customer service representative wrong to say that everyone should know a little Hindi? Absolutely, yes. But was she some kind of govt functionary or big corporate executive? Not at all. She was a small time employee, making a humble living.

But liberals had no mercy on her. They wanted her to be fired. That too at this time of the year, just before ‘Jashn-e-Riwaz’.

Could the liberals not forgive her for making a mistake? Of course not. Because words like “mistake” and “forgiveness” are applied to the sons of superstars. Not some customer service representative who makes a few thousand rupees a month. I don’t know if superstar’s son is guilty or not. I suppose courts will decide. But I have seen liberals falling over themselves talking about “mistakes” and “forgiveness.”

As for the customer service representative, how rich and powerful is her dad? I am guessing not very much. So she has no luxury of making mistakes. She deserves no forgiveness.

We have now reached the single most important principle of modern liberalism. Browbeat those who have no power, but always grovel before the strong.

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