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Woke ‘activists’ now get Bollywood support over NCERT controversy, Sonam Kapoor steps in: Details

Actress Sonam Kapoor, daughter of Anil Kapoor, has stepped in to support the woke ‘activists’ over the NCERT training manual controversy. The training manual for teachers, published by the Department of Gender Studies at NCERT, attracted a lot of criticism after endorsing gender identity ideology and suggesting a series of bizarre ideas such as puberty blockers.

Sonam Kapoor shared a post by ‘yesweexist’ on her Instagram story, which spoke about a ‘transphobic’ campaign against one of the members of the team that produced the document, Vikramaditya Sahai (VQueeram).

The story shared by the actress said, “Not only did the complaint filed by a former RSS worker against NCERT’s training to sensitise teachers about LGBTQIA+ children lead to the takedown of the training manual from the NCERT website, but at the same time, one of the team members who designed the manual, VQueeram Aditya Sahai, is being subjected to online harassment, transphobia, body shaming, stalking, moral policing and doxing by right-wing digital media organisations and internet bullies.”

Instagram story of Sonam Kapoor

All the charges leveled are outright false. Past comments made by VQueeram about Hindus and men have gone viral on the internet after the NCERT training manual was published. Furthermore, there is no question of ‘doxing’ as all information about VQueeram is available on public domain.

The individual is being criticised for their controversial stances they has taken in public, available on public platforms. Apart from that, Vikramaditya Sahai is also being criticised for posting semi-nude photographs of themself on Instagram which was public until recently. People are questioning whether someone who posts such photographs should have any say in the education of children. However, LGBT activists are labeling valid criticism of a public figure as ‘transphobia’ in order to shutdown genuine criticism of the individual.

Sonam Kapoor has stepped in to aid such efforts at silencing critics of a public figure. She has also another post by the same account.

Instagram story of Sonam Kapoor

OpIndia journalist @YearOfTheKraken has also been targeted by such activists. The journalist has been accused of perpetrating a “brutal attack” against the activist. It was falsely claimed that the journalist indulged in “body shaming” and “trolling Vqueeram’s politics against caste and gender-based violence”.

Gaysi Family claimed, “One troll, whose handle is @YearOfTheKraken, was particularly committed to the smear campaign against Vqueeram. @YearOfTheKraken, who, of course, is enjoying the immunity by being a nameless and faceless figure on social media, is using “shame” and “respectability” politics to vilify and question Vqueeram’s work by posting pictures from the latter’s Instagram account.”

The NCERT training manual that sparked the controversy said, “The use of toilet , an infrastructural facility, is used to condition children into binary gender; female children are conditioned to use the toilets labeled ‘girls’ and male children are to use the toilet marked for ‘boys’.”

It claimed, “Children, who face gender dysphoria, feel conflict/dilemma while choosing the toilet that they feel comfortable. This is mainly because their self-concept and social expectations of their body do not coincide with each other. Therefore, presence of binaries in infrastructure also creates conflicts for gender nonconforming children who find it difficult to make a choice; at such a young age, it is an emotionally charged decision that additionally burdens them.”

Apart from that, the document blamed ‘Caste patriarchy’ for stigma against the transgender community. Since then, the document has been taken down by the NCERT from its website.

Pakistan Hindu Council to celebrate Diwali at Teri temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which was rebuilt after being destroyed last year

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The Pakistan Hindu Council is said to have planned a function on Monday (November 8) to celebrate Diwali at a century-old temple at Teri village in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. According to a report published in Pakistan newspaper Dawn, the Hindu Council has invited Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmad to participate in the Diwali celebration scheduled at the temple popularly known as Teri temple. The temple vandalized in December last year has been renovated.

The temple is dedicated to a saint Shri Param Hans Dayal Ji Maharaj who was laid to rest in 1919 and the temple was constructed here in 1920. On December 30 last year, the temple was vandalized by a mob led by local clerics belonging to the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl.

A file picture of Islamic radicals vandalizing Teri temple in December 2020 in Pakistan. Image source Dawn

According to the report of the Dawn, a good number of devotees from Sindh and Balochistan are expected to visit the temple. Hindu Council has requested the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to make arrangements for boarding and lodging of around 1,500 pilgrims at Hassanabdal. From Hassanabdal they will be taken to Teri on Monday for darshan and return the same day.

PHC patron-in-chief and member of the National Assembly Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said that the presence of senior officials during the celebration would give a strong message to the miscreants that their nefarious designs would be foiled by the state.

Hindu minorities in Pakistan including Sikhs have been facing prosecution including forced conversion, abduction of their women and destruction of their temples and Gurudwaras. The shrine of Shri Param Hans Ji Maharaj is one such religious place that was repeatedly vandalized. Apparently, the Hindu Council invited the Chief Justice of Pakistan for the programme as a thanksgiving. When the Pakistani government had allowed Islamic fundamentalists to prosecute Hindu minorities and destroy this temple, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had intervened.

On the orders of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Teri temple was restored to its original condition. A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, had also ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to recover Rs33 million from the culprits when Advocate General for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shumail Butt said that Rs 33 million was spent on restoration of the temple.

FBI raids Project Veritas founder James O’ Keefe’s apartment in Biden’s daughter’s stolen diary inquiry

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FBI raided the apartment of James O’ Keefe, founder of the activist organization Project Veritas, in New York on Saturday morning. The search was conducted in connection to the investigation of the stolen diary that belonged to President Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.

As per reports, the FBI had also earlier searched the homes of two other O Keefe’s associates on Thursday. The raid occurred at around 6 am in O’Keefe’s Mamaroneck apartment complex and lasted for several hours. Neighbours of Keefe confirmed that an FBI team had arrived at around 6 AM and they heard them talking about an FBI warrant. They also said that the FBI agents were at the apartment for several hours.

An F.B.I. spokesman on Saturday said that agents had “performed law enforcement activity” at the building, but said they would not reveal anything about the case. On the other hand, James O’ Keefe said that his group had recently received a grand jury subpoena, and acknowledged that Project Veritas had been involved in discussions with sources last year about the diary.

In a video statement released on Friday, O’Keefe had said that Project Veritas regularly verified the “authenticity,” “legality,” and “newsworthiness” of any source material it receives. Talking about the diary, he said that they had handed over the diary to the law enforcement authorities last year, and had tried to return it to a lawyer of Ashley Biden.

O’Keefe said, “It appears the Southern District of New York now has journalists in their sights for the supposed crime of doing their jobs lawfully and honestly,” adding, “Our efforts were the stuff of responsible, ethical journalism and we are in no doubt that Project Veritas acted properly at each and every step.”

O’ Keefe also revealed that “tipsters” had contacted journalists of his organization late last year who claimed to have Ashley Biden’s diary. He said that Project Veritas refused to publish it saying, “because, in part, we could not determine if the diary was real.” He also then claimed that Project Veritas then “attempted to return the diary to an attorney representing Ms. Biden, but that attorney refused to authenticate it” and the organization then handed over the diary to law enforcement so that it could be returned to its rightful owner. According to the “tipsters”, the diary was left “abandoned in a room”.

On October 24, 2020, dozens of handwritten pages from Ashley Biden’s journal were published by a right-wing website under the byline of a reporter Patrick Howley. The posting said the diary was acquired from a whistleblower at a media organization.

Watch: Former Pakistani senator says World War will start in 2 months, rants about Saudi Arabia, Jews and Covid

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Former Pakistani Senator, Faisal Raza Abidi, has declared that the Third World War will begin in two months. He said that world powers will occupy Pakistan first before launching an attack on Iran. During the interview, he speaks of Freemasons and numerous such matters.

The anchor asked Faisal Raza Abidi if he believed there was international politics underway regarding oil prices and whether agencies like the Mossad were involved. Abidi responded saying that the Rothschild and Freemasons have conquered Pakistan and he will throw them out.

Abidi also referred to his 9-point program, which if implemented, according to him, would bolster Pakistanb’s position in international politics. He also lamented that his YouTube and Facebook has been shut down.

According to Abidi, 7 Jewish families control the dollar and Muslims control the oil. In order to control the world, he says, those who control the petrol have to control the oil. Faisal Raza Abidi also claimed that he was the first to oppose the Coronavirus vaccine.

According to the former Pakistani Senator, there is a relationship between Coronavirus and oil. Using the lockdown as a tool, the price of oil was driven down and world powers used the opportunity to reserve oil for the next 100 years. And consequently, people who controlled the dollar now control oil.

Abidi also became quite animated regarding the oil prices in Pakistan. In an animated rant against Saudi Arabia, he claimed that Pakistani officials should have gone to Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, and said, “For you, we have not bought oil at cheaper rates from Iran. For you, we have put Pakistan on the line, we are protecting your reign with our forces… but even after that, if we are buying oil from the open market, what is the use of our friendship?”

Then he proceeded to claim that Pakistan will fall to world powers within the next 60 days. He said that the third World War will begin in Pakistan. Quite agitated by the fact that the anchor appeared shocked, he lashed out saying, “Kahaan baithe hain aap log? (Where are you guys living?)”

“World War will start, not any war. The Third World War is about to commence, this year itself. I had said it last year itself,” he said. Abidi said that Pakistan was “110%” the target of world powers. Faisal Raza Abidi also said that Pakistan should threaten Saudi Arabia into providing them with cheap oil.

Abidi also slammed Imran Khan over his policies. Abidi said that someone with the mindset of a cricket selector was made the Prime Minister of the country. “We have the strength that we know what Rothschild thinks, what Bill and Melinda Gates think, what CIA, Homeland Security thinks. After two hours, the message comes to us and we decode it,” he said.

Faisala Raza Abidi said that after one of his programs, he has been blacklisted in 5 countries, his Visa was cancelled, travel restrictions were imposed and even arrest warrants were issued against him. According to him, what has happened to Lebanon will be repeated in Pakistan.

Pakistan forces open fire at Indian fishermen off Gujarat coast, one fisherman killed, six kidnapped

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Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA), the marine commandos of Pakistan opened fire at an Indian fishing boat ‘Jalpari’, off the coast of Gujarat near Porbandar leading to death of one fisherman. The incident took place near International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in Arabian Sea. Fisherman Shridhar Ramesh Tambe, originally from Maharashtra, was killed in the firing.

An offence of murder has been registered in Porbandar as the incident happened beyond 12 nautical miles in the sea.

The Indian boat Jalpari set off towards Okha in Devbhoomi Dwarka district on October 25. The firing incident took place on Saturday, November 6. Another boat from Gujarat, Padma, which had set sailing from Veraval, was also there when the firing incident took place. As per reports, Jalpari boat was abducted by PMSA while Padma returned to Gujarat coast with one injured man from the firing. One more fisherman was injured in the firing who was also brought back on Padma.

10 days back, the Indian government released 10 fishermen who had illegally crossed over to the Indian territory. It is reported that six fishermen have also been kidnapped.

Chinese state media shares images of ‘Indian soldiers captured by PLA in Galwan valley’, netizens point out how things don’t add up

On Sunday (November 7), the Chinese State media posted manipulated pictures of the Galwan Valley clash that took place between the Indian forces and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on June 15 last year. The images, posted by a Chinese journalist, were morphed to suggest the complete surrender of the Indian army before a dominating Chinese side.

Shen Shiwei, the International News Editor of the China Global Television Network (CGTN), claimed in a tweet, “New pictures of last June’s Galwan clash emerged on social media, showing surrendered Indian soldiers captured by Chinese PLA.” He further added, “Indian soldiers violated newly-reached consensus and launched provocative attacks against Chinese personnel, leading to serious physical conflicts.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Shen Shiwei

Social media users debunk the narrative of Chinese information warfare machinery

Netizens were quick to bust the Chinese propaganda peddled through the micro-blogging site. A Twitter user (@Rahhul_Kumar_) pointed out several discrepancies in the images posted by Shen Shiwei. He underlined 6 points that clearly suggested that the image was digitally tampered with by the Chinese information warfare machinery.

“Just look at the Boot of that soldier(encircled) he is wearing some footwear and does not even look like what our soldiers wear. Not even a single INSAS is loaded. Jacket and pants are mismatching with the other soldiers… Almost each and every soldier is wearing a different kind of jacket…an actor/soldier can be seen wearing a sweater… just look at no 1 pointer. Does his hair, jacket seem like (that of) professional army soldiers. Note: read actor where it’s written soldier”

Another Twitter user pointed out that several so-called captured Indian soldiers have long hair, but actually, Indian army men are not allowed to keep long hair. “So nowadays Indian army soldiers are allowed to keep long hair? Better luck next time with propaganda,” he wrote.

Retired Major General Harsha Kakar also rubbished the images as ‘morphed’. He tweeted, “These are fake & morphed pictures. Indian soldiers do not have long hair. These are not soldiers but locals whom China has clicked attempting info warfare after it faced a crushing boot in Tawang. It is desperate to hide its 111 casualties in Galwan. Improve the quality of fake pictures.”

Another Twitter user inquired whether the Chinese forces ended up taking a year’s time to morph the images. “(Did) it take you one year to morph one photograph? That’s bad. Just to fix your post, Indian soldiers do not wear Salwar Kameez or have long hair. Try better next time. And yes, send my kind regards to Winnie the Pooh (a reference to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping),” the user concluded.

One Thomas Shelby took a jibe at the Pakistan army (often dubbed as salwar kameez army) and clarified that the Indian army personnel do not wear such attire. He had encircled a man in the image shared by Chinese media to highlight how that individual was wearing salwar Kameez.

The Galwan Valley Clash between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA

On the night of June 15th 2020, China had attacked Indian soldiers and unilaterally tried to change the status quo in Eastern Ladakh by attempting to intrude into Galwan valley in Ladakh. In the violent face-off where Indian soldiers managed to push the PLA soldiers back, 20 Indian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice and reportedly, China had lost 43 of their men. After the face-off, China had vociferously denied reports of casualties on their side and called it a misinformation campaign. 

The fallen Indian soldiers were honoured by the government and their last rites were performed in the presence of government representatives and accorded them the due status of martyrs. PM Modi and the COAS had also visited to meet and speak to the injured soldiers. About 8 months later, China had posthumously awarded honorary titles to 4 of those PLA soldiers who had died during the attempted intrusion into India.

Father of Sameer Wankhede files defamation suit of Rs 1.25 Cr against NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik

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Dhyandev Wankhede, father of NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation case against Maharashtra government minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik for maligning the image of his family by making false allegations.

Nawab Malik has been constantly making allegations on the personal and professional life of Sameer Wankhede and his family right after he arrested star kid Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in the Cordelia Cruise drugs bust case on October 2.

The defamation case was filed before Bombay High Court where Dhyandev sought Rs. 1.25 crore in damages. Dhyandev has also requested the court for a permanent injunction to restrain the minister, NCP party members and all others from acting under or on his instructions from publishing, writing, or speaking in the media about his family. He has further requested the court till the pendency of this defamation case, there should be an injunction to restrain the minister, NCP party members and all others from acting under or on his instructions, from publishing, writing, or speaking in the media about his family.

He said that all such remarks, insinuations, imputation etc that the minister has made against his family in whatsoever way— in writing, oral, press releases, interviews and likes—should be declared tortious and defamatory in nature. He has also demanded deletion of articles, tweets, interviews, including in electronic and social media.

His lawyer Arshad Shaikh said Dhyandev filed a defamation case since the minister has repeatedly been making false allegations against the family. Now the matter is expected to be taken up after the Bombay High Court reopens on November 8.

Right after the Maharashtra minority minister Nawab Malik launched a personal vendetta questioning his caste and religion besides the integrity of Sameer Wankhede and other family members, Dhyandev had warned about suing the minister.

On Friday, his lawyer made an urgent mentioning before Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla of Bombay High Court to grant permission to Dhyandev to file the suit during court vacation and to hear the matter for interim relief on Monday. To this, the court granted permission. In that urgent mentioning, the lawyer said that Nawab Malik is calling everybody in the Wankhede family a fraud.

The lawyer has maintained that Nawab Malik is casting aspersion on the family since Sameer Wankhede got Sameer Khan arrested in a drug case who is the son-in-law of the minister. Sameer Khan is on bail and the NCB has challenged his bail at Bombay High Court.

The lawyer said that Malik deliberately did a character assassination of lawyer Yasmeen Wankhede who is the sister of Sameer Wankhede. He said that the minister tried to prove that Yasmin has links with drug traffickers by producing WhatsApp chats of a goon known to him.

Earlier, Sameer Wankhede had approached National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against his constant harassment by the minister. He had also moved to Bombay High Court for protection. Yasmeen Wankhede too had written to National Commission for Women (NCW) and the police against Malik. But despite directives of NCSC, NCW and other constitutional forums the family is being harassed.

From people dancing on ambulance to a man injecting people with drugs: Terrifying details emerge about stampede at Travis Scott concert

On November 5 (local time), at least eight people died, and over 300 were injured during the stampede that at the Travis Scott concert, Astroworld Festival at NRG Park. Over 50,000 people were waiting outside the venue in the sold-out concert at the Houston music festival. As soon as the gates were opened, people rushed inside without thinking twice, resulting in a stampede.

The incident began just after 9 PM CT as per the officials. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, during a statement, said that the authorities were trying to identify those who lost their lives. No people have been reported missing so far. Several people were rushed to the hospital. On Saturday, at least 13 people remained hospitalized getting treated for the injuries. Five of the hospitalized individuals were under 18.

In the statement, Turner said that there were many unanswered questions. He said, “Over the next several days, several weeks, could be even longer, we’ll take an in-depth look at everything that took place, why it took place, what steps we can do moving forward to mitigate an incident of this kind from taking place.”

The visuals of the event are devastating. As per the reports, several ambulances, police cars and paramedics rushed to the festival to attend to the injured, but the concert had already begun. The ambulance got stuck in the crowd, trying to find a way out.

In some visuals, the concert attendees were seen dancing on stuck ambulances and police cars.

The horrifying visuals of the Travis Scott concert emerged on social media

Several netizens shared videos and photographs of what had happened at the concert. One Twitter user ‘heavyonitbarbie’ shared a thread compiling the visuals. In one video, an ambulance was seen struggling to go through the crowd while in another video, an attendee was seen dancing on the top of the ambulance.

People were seen jumping on the top of the police car that was trying to take the unconscious people out of the crowd.

Some fans tried to stop the show but no one from the organizers allegedly listened to them.

Officials were seen taking unconscious attendees out of the ground. Some visuals showed how they were desperately trying to revive the unconscious attendees.

An Instagram user who attended the concert penned down the incident in her own words. She explained how she tried to save a few people who fell down during the stampede but could not do anything much. She even tried to tell the camera person and security officials present at the site about what had happened but no one listened to her.

A video shared on Twitter showed how Seanna Faith was trying to tell the organizers about what was happening but no one paid attention.

Visuals and eyewitness accounts showed Travis Scott and his team were aware of what was happening but they did not pay much attention or did anything to minimize the damage.

Statement from Travis Scott

In a statement, Scott said that he was devastated by what had happened during the concert. He said, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”

He further added, “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.”

Live Nation, the company responsible for the organization, said, “Heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night.

We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation.”

Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña told CNN in a statement, “[The crowd] for whatever reason began to push and surge towards the front of the stage, which caused the people in the front to be compressed. People began to fall out, become unconscious.”

Field hospital treated over 300 people at the Travis Scott concert

Reports suggest that over 300 people were treated at a field hospital that was set up near the festival. The youngest victim of the chaos was a 10-year-old who was rushed to the hospital. It is unclear how such a young attendee managed to enter the venue. Unverified sources have claimed that the 10-year-old kid was one Thomas Drought and he had succumbed to the injuries.

Several patients had suffered cardiac arrest and were rushed to hospital. Peña said the details of the injuries and causes of death were unclear, and it would be determined by a medical examiner. The cause of the surge would be part of the investigation.

Peña said that the concert was stopped “as soon as the situation got to the point where it was overwhelming the resources there”; however “, the damage was already done”.

An unknown assailant allegedly injected people with drugs

Troy Finner, Houston PD’s Chief, confirmed that at least one person was injected with some drug via needle. He further added that might be more such incidents at the concert. TMZ reported that a security guard was trying to restrain a citizen when he felt a prick on his neck and fell unconscious almost immediately. He was revived using NARCAN by medical personnel, who confirmed that he saw something on his neck that indicated he had been stabbed with a syringe.

The second day of the show cancelled

After the Friday horror, the second day of the show was cancelled by the authorities. An investigation has been launched by the Houston administration.

Vikramaditya Sahai, NCERT and woke propaganda: How LGBT activists are calling legitimate criticism of a public figure ‘transphobia’

The NCERT opened a can of worms recently after it published a training manual for teachers with the objective of sensitizing “teachers and teacher educators regarding aspects of gender diversity keeping gender-nonconforming and transgender children at centre stage.” The document espoused numerous ‘woke’ ideas, which was not taken kindly by people on the internet.

Since then, the document has been pulled down from the NCERT website but the controversy surrounding it has still not died. One of the major figures in this controversy has been an individual called Vikramaditya Sahai (or Vqueeram, preferred pronouns are They/Them). This journalist discovered that Sahai, who was on the NCERT team that produced the training manual, was sharing semi-nude photographs of themself on Instagram.

The ideological inclinations of Vikramaditya Sahai

Since then, videos have emerged where Vqueeram can be seen making extremely controversial comments. In one video from the past, the activist could be heard making extremely derogatory comments about the Hindu community. They said that there was nothing proud in being a Hindu or in being a man.

In another video, Vikramaditya Sahai speaks of Rohit Vemula’s “beautiful suicide note”.

Vqueeram also appears to have rather problematic opinions on gender. According to them, gender is the “root cause” of all trouble. Gender is also violence, apparently.

Given that Vikramaditya Sahai has such an ideological predisposition, it is fair to ask if such a person should play any role in the education of our children. It is also completely fair to ask if a person who posts semi-nude photographs of themself on social media should influence the education curriculum in our country.

Needless to say, such criticism has nothing to do with the person’s gender but their own conduct. People wouldn’t want, and with good reason, someone who harbours such problematic opinions about a religious community and gender to have any say in children’s education.

Nonetheless, LGBT activists made the criticism all about the person’s gender and accused this journalist of perpetrating a “brutal attack” against the activist. A Twitter handle, Dalit Camera, with over forty thousand followers on the platform, claimed that this journalist indulged in “body shaming” and “trolling Vqueeram’s politics against caste and gender-based violence”.

Source: Twitter

The accusations are quite perplexing as all this journalist did was point out that people who post semi-nude photographs of themself on social media, and harbour ostensibly hateful opinions about Hindus, should not have a say in the education of children. But that was twisted to claim that @YearOfTheKraken indulged in a transphobic attack against Vqueeram.

Since then, NCERT has pulled down the training manual from its website after the NCPCR took cognizance of the matter. One senior Ministry of Education official under the condition of anonymity told Hindustan Times, “The NCERT has informed the ministry that the document was still under process and it was inadvertently uploaded on the website. The council will provide the required response to the NCPCR. The manual has been drafted by the department of gender studies at the NCERT with all due considerations.”

Allegations level by Gaysi Family regarding Vqueeram

After the Hindustan Times report apprising readers of the latest development in the matter, Gaysi Family, a media platform that describes itself as a “safe space for Desi Queers to share their stories”, launched another set of allegations against this journalist.

Gaysi Family wrote in a post, which at the time of writing this report received over 2,500 ‘likes’ on Instagram, “One troll, whose handle is @YearOfTheKraken, was particularly committed to the smear campaign against Vqueeram. @YearOfTheKraken, who, of course, is enjoying the immunity by being a nameless and faceless figure on social media, is using “shame” and “respectability” politics to vilify and question Vqueeram’s work by posting pictures from the latter’s Instagram account.”

The allegations of a ‘smear campaign’ against Sahai are especially stunning since all this journalist did was share photographs on Twitter that Sahai had themself shared on their public profile (made private since then) on Instagram. The videos of Sahai that this journalist brought attention to are of statements that the activist has themself made to the media.

Quite clearly, the real problem appears to be that the activist is receiving criticism for his public conduct and not much else. It is bizarre that even legitimate criticism is being slandered by attaching baseless sinister motivations to it. In fact, the way the community pages have gone all guns blazing against this journalist, it appears more like a smear campaign against him for bringing to light what is the uncomfortable truth.

The real objective: Shut down criticism of Vikramaditya Sahai because Vqueeram is transgender

Vikramaditya Sahai is a public figure. They is an associated the Centre for Law and Policy Research. Formerly, they has been a faculty at the Gender Studies Department of Ambedkar University. They was also an external team member of the NCERT team that produced the training manual for teachers.

As a public figure, journalists have every right to criticise their conduct in public. The allegations of ‘transphobia’ are being used to shut down criticism of the individual on very legitimate grounds. People have every right to question the NCERT for appointing a person with extremely problematic opinions to a team that would decide the education of children.

It is not transphobic to assert that people who post semi-nude photographs of themself should not be influencing the education of students. It is not transphobic to say that an individual with palpable animosity towards Hindus and men should not have an influence over the education curriculum.

All such allegations are merely a ruse to shut down all criticism. And they will be resisted accordingly.

Bengal political violence, Jammu and Kashmir and PM Cares: What Nirmala Sitharaman said on BJP’s Executive Committee meeting

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference on the Executive Committee meeting of the BJP on Sunday. During the press conference, Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirmed the commitment of the party to seek justice for the victims of the political violence in West Bengal.

The Union Finance Minister said that the party stands by its karyakartas in West Bengal and will ensure they get justice through the courts. 18 key resolutions were passed in the Executive Committee meeting on Sunday. Climate Change and vaccine milestones were two of the issues that were discussed.

The abrogation of Article 370 was also discussed. “The political resolution says that terrorism related incidents between 2004-14, 2081 died in J&K. While from 2014 to Sep 2021, 239 civilians died in J&K. J&K is moving towards developmental works,” she said.

She also said, “A statistic I’d like to highlight is the Industry Promotion Scheme worth Rs 28,400 crore, which was launched in Jan 2021, for J&K. 54 projects worth Rs 56,201 crore have also been launched.”

Nirmala Sitharaman also stated, “The ‘PM-CARES for Children’ programme for orphaned children showed how the PM and our government cares for the next generation and children. ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ has also been taken up and implemented speedily.”