On October 11, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) handed over the responsibilities of the Jaipur International Airport to Adani Group. The group will manage the Airport for 50 years. JS Balhara, Airport Director, handed over the Airport’s symbolic key to Vishnu Jha, Chief Airport Officer Adani Jaipur International Ltd. Balhara said that the company would handle the operations, management and development of the Airport under the PPP model.
Notably, two months ago, the company had started an observation program at the Jaipur Airport to gather details about the functioning of the Airport. Out of 250 employees, 150 have been absorbed by the Adani Group, reports suggest.
In 2018, Adani Group had won the bid to ‘operate, manage and develop’ the Jaipur airport along with that of Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Mangaluru for a period of 50 years. Adani Group had won the bids by offering the highest amounts towards per-passenger fee (PPF), and its offered PPF for Jaipur was ₹174, while GMR had offered only ₹69 for the airport.
Jaipur International Airport is located in the southern suburb of Sanganer, around 13 km from Jaipur in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. The airport was granted the status of an international airport in December 2005. The civil apron of the airport can accommodate 14 aircraft and the new terminal building can handle up to 1,000 passengers at a time. Its 3,407-meter long runway can handle larger aircraft like Boeing 747 and Boeing 777, and it is CAT-IIIB instrument landing system (ILS) compliant. The airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 handles domestic flights as well as Hajj flights. Terminal 2 is used for international flights.
Adani Group will take over the operations at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from October 14, 2021. The Ahmedabad-based business conglomerate had delayed taking over Jaipur Airport and had sought a six-month extension till December 2021 to take over Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports, citing the restrictions arising out of the covid-19 pandemic. But the government had given it three months to take over the management. The airports at Mangaluru, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow were already handed over to the company on October 31, November 2 and November 7, respectively. The group had taken over the Guwahati airport on October 8.
Therefore, after taking over Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, the Adani Group will complete the process of taking control of all six airports if had won. The group also manages the Mumbai airport, after it bought stakes in the companies that operate the airport in July this year.
In a massive crackdown against Pakistan sponsored Islamic terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the security forces gunned down a top Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Sham Sofi on Wednesday whereas the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested four over-ground terrorists.
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar informed that the terrorist was neutralized during an encounter at Tilwani Mohalla in Tral area of Awantipora in Pulwama district. He was killed during a joint operation of J&K Police, CRPF and Indian Army.
In the last three days, security forces have gone all out against Islamic terrorists in the wake of the targeted killings of Hindu and Sikh civilians in the Union Territory.
On October 12, three terrorists of Pakistan’s new terror outfit ‘The Resistance Front’ (TRF), an offshoot of Pakistan-based terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were neutralized during an encounter in the Shopian district of South Kashmir. Mukhtar Shah, one of the terrorists gunned down, was responsible for the murder of a poor street vendor named Virendra Paswan, a native of Bhagalpur district of Bihar.
On October 11, another Islamic terrorist Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar associated with the TRF was shot dead by the Special Operations Group at Gund Jehangir locality in Bandipora. Ahmed Dar was involved in the killing of a civilian at Shahgund in Bandipora. However, on the same day, one JCO and 4 jawans of the Indian Army made a supreme sacrifice during an anti-terror operation in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir.
NIA crackdown on terror networks, several arrested
The NIA has arrested four Islamic terrorists associated with LeT and TRF on Wednesday, October 13. These terrorists are Waseem Ahmed (Chattabal Srinagar), Tariq Ahmed Dar (Shergarhi Srinagar), Bilal Ahmed Mir alias Bilal Fufu (Parimpora Srinagar) and Tariq Ahmed Bafanda who is the native of Rajauri Kadal in Srinagar.
Earlier on Tuesday, the NIA in connection with the investigation had conducted raids at as many as 16 locations across Jammu and Kashmir namely Shopian, Pulwama and Srinagar.
NIA in the press statement said that the agency received information regarding conspiracy both physically and in cyberspace for undertaking violent terrorist acts in Jammu and Kashmir and other major cities including New Delhi, by members of proscribed terrorist LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al Badr and similar other outfits and their affiliates such as TRF, People Against Fascist Forces (PAFF) etc.
NIA conducts searches at multiple locations in J&K and arrests 4 persons in J&K terrorism conspiracy case pic.twitter.com/I5PoWpIVcL
The terror associates and Over Ground Workers of these organisations were conspiring with their handlers and commanders based in Pakistan and also radicalizing local youth for terrorist activities, informed the probe agency.
The Karnataka Congress has expelled their state media coordinator MA Salim for 6 years after a video of him accusing state party president DK Shivakumar of bribery along with former MP VS Ugrappa went viral. The party has sent a show-cause notice to Ugrappa for the same.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee media coordinator Saleem Ahmed expelled from Congress for 6 months. India Today’s Nagarjun Dwarakanath (@nagarjund) shares more information.#ITVideo#Karnatakapic.twitter.com/PGX4Aym9eS
After the video was shared extensively on various social media platforms, the matter was sent to the Karnataka Congress disciplinary committee. The committee, in turn, decided to expel media coordinator MA Salim and send a show-cause notice to Ugrappa.
Following the disciplinary action on the Congress leaders, Ugrappa justified their acts during a press conference that Salim was referring to the BJP’s claims about DK Shivakumar, not his own personal opinion of the senior leader. Ugrappa stated that he had told Salim not to speak, but that he had done so anyhow.
Ugrappa also refuted the corruption allegation levelled at DK Shivakumar and asserted, “DK Shivakumar is working for the people. Congress is far from ‘commission’ or corruption and we’re trying to build a corruption-free state.”
“Gets drunk, accepts bribe”, Karnataka Congress leaders badmouth own state party president
In the leaked video, which features former MP VS Ugrappa and the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee media coordinator MA Salim sitting in front of a table full of microphones from media houses, the latter can be heard discussing a “scandal” involving Congress leader DK Shivakumar, in which he and his associates are accused of receiving bribes.
“It was six to eight per cent before then it became 10 to 12 per cent. It is all DK adjustment. Mulgund (aide of DK) has made Rs 50-100 crore. Imagine if Mulgund has this, then how much DK has,” says Salim in the clip.
Salim further said: “His house is near SM Krishna’s house here in Bengaluru. This is a huge scandal and if you dig deeper, his (DK’s) name will also crop up. You are not aware sir, but Mulgund (DK Shivakumar’s aide) makes Rs 50-100 crore in collections. If he made Rs 50-100 crores collection, imagine how much DK would have made.”
The duo also discussed how the Karnataka Congress president is of no use to the party. In their exchange, the two also referred to Shivakumar as a “drunkard”.
They compare Shivakumar to senior Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, and question if he is always in a state of intoxication because of his so-called stutter.
Ugrappa is then heard, “We all made DK the president (of KPCC) and this shows everything.”
DK Shivakumar slaps party workers in public
It may be noted that in July this year, a video had gone viral on the internet, where Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar was seen losing his cool after a party worker tried to approach him during his visit to Mandya. As the party worker tried to touch the Congress leader, DK Shivkumar got angry and slapped him on his face.
As DK Shivakumar realised that his act of arrogance was caught on the camera, he warned the media persons to delete the video.
This was not the first time that DK Shivakumar was seen attacking common party workers in public. In 2018, during a Congress election campaign in Bellary, DK Shivakumar had slapped another man who wanted to take a selfie with him.
Shivakumar has, meanwhile, said that he “doesn’t want to comment on this matter (but) the disciplinary committee will take strict action”.
The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) of Tamil Nadu Police is likely to question Cuddalore MP from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) TRVS Ramesh in connection with the murder of a 60-year-old daily-wage labourer K Govindarasu.
The deceased poor worker hailed from Melmampattu village in Cuddalore district and he was working as a labourer at the cashew factory owned by the MP located at Panruti in Cuddalore district.
The MP and five of his aides were booked by the police. While police could arrest MP’s personal assistant Natarajan, manager Kandavel, and senior employees M Allah Pitchai, K Vinoth and Sundararajan, MP TRVS Ramesh had evaded his arrest. However, he finally surrendered on Monday before the court which remanded him to two days of judicial custody.
On September 19, the victim K Govindarasu had gone to the cashew factory for work but he didn’t return home. It was alleged that he was caught by security guards for stealing a few kilograms of cashew from the processing unit.
It was alleged that TRVS Ramesh and his aides had tortured the Govindarasu for allegedly stealing cashew. According to reports, the victim was taken to the Kadampuliyur police station by two persons. But the police officials on duty directed them to take the victim to the hospital since he was badly injured. But instead of taking this elderly man to the hospital, they took him back to the factory. After this, he was found dead at the factory on September 20.
Some factory workers later informed the family of Govindarasu about his death telling them that his body was kept at Panruti Government Hospital. The police initially lodged a case under section 174 (suspected suicide) of CrPC.
The victim’s son Senthilvel, who works as a daily wager in Chennai rushed to the hospital to receive the body of his father. Initially, he was under the impression that his father died after consuming poison. But when he saw injury marks on the body he lodged a complaint against the MP. The family also approached the collector of the district demanding a CB-CID probe. In the meanwhile, they approached the Madras High Court with the direction to constitute a medical board of the doctors from Puducherry Jipmer Hospital to conduct the post-mortem on September 23.
Anticipating an adverse court decision, DMK led Tamil Nadu govt headed by M.K.Stalin on the same day transferred the case to CB-CID for investigation.
While the accused MP demanded first class facility for him at the Cuddalore central jail, he also claimed innocence and accused the opposition of running political propaganda against him. Pattali Makkal Katchi leader Dr. S. Romadoss had criticized the DMK government for protecting the politician who allegedly murdered a poor labourer.
The Uttar Pradesh police have booked 28 people for raping a minor in the state’s Lalitpur district for several years. The accused include the victim’s father, leaders of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samajwadi Party. Based on the victim’s complaint, the Lalitpur police on Tuesday filed an FIR under Sections 354, 376(D), 323 and 506 of the IPC and Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act.
In her complaint, she named Samajwadi Party district president Tilak Yadav, his three younger brothers, BSP district president Deepak Ahirvar, BSP vice-president Neeraj Tiwari and some of her family members of rape.
The victim accused many prominent leaders of SP-BSP of raping her (source: Dainik Bhaskar)
On its official Twitter account, the Lalitpur police issued a video byte in which it has confirmed that the minor girl had approached the police with a complaint against her own father accusing him of sexual assault. Lalitpur ASP Girijesh Kumar said that the victim has also named various political leaders as accused in the case. The ASP added that the girl said that not only did her father continuously rape her, but he also forced her to have a sexual relationship with other people as well.
He added that the girl’s medical test has been conducted and she would be presented in front of the Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate to record her confession under section 164 of CRPC. The girl has been provided with adequate security, said the Uttar Pradesh police.
All angles will be investigated because the matter is very sensitive. As new evidence comes to light, we’ll do our investigation diligently,” added ASP Girijesh Kumar.
कोतवाली क्षेत्र अंतर्गत नाबालिग लड़की से बलात्कार के संबंध में अपर पुलिस अधीक्षक ललितपुर की बाइट । pic.twitter.com/h2E09EgEdU
According to reports, the victim has alleged that her father had first tried to coax her into a physical relationship when she was in Class 6 by showing her pornographic films. He later took her to a deserted farm and raped her. He threatened to kill her if she didn’t remain quiet.
A few days later, her father took her to a hotel and fed her sedative-laced food. She was raped by another man there. The victim recalled that she had passed out after a while. When she regained consciousness, she noticed that her clothes were dishevelled and she was experiencing stomach pain. After somehow pulling herself together, the victim returned home. After coming back, she inquired with her father about what had occurred in the hotel. The father responded by telling the minor that this would be an ongoing process from now on.
Later, this continued and she was repeatedly raped by different men on different occasions, as per the complainant. The father threatened her with dire consequences if she resented. He also threatened to kill her mother if she told anybody about the assault, said the victim in her complaint.
Lalitpur SP Nikhil Pathak said: “It is a sensitive case and we are taking it seriously. The medical examination of the victim has been done and her statement has been recorded. She will also record her statement in front of a magistrate after which action will be taken. We are questioning her father, who is a truck operator.”
SP leader Tilak Yadav was quoted by Aaj Tak as saying that he has never even met the girl and it is a conspiracy to defame him. BSP leader Deepak Ahirwar has stated that it is a political conspiracy to defame him and the allegations hold no ground.
Ahmedabad-based business conglomerate Adani Group will take over the operations at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from October 14, 2021. As per the contract, Adani Group will pay Rs 168 to the airport authority for each passenger who arrives at the airport. Currently, AAI charges Rs 700 and Rs 1000 from domestic and international passengers as user development fee (UDF), causing quite displeasure amongst the passengers.
The Adani group will be taking in development and expansion activities at the airport for which subcontracts are invited. New duty-free shops, food courts and retail shops will also be opened. Kerala state government and Airports Authority Employees Union has filed a case against handing over the airport to Adani Group and is currently under consideration in the Supreme Court.
In 2018, Adani had won the bid to ‘operate, manage and develop’ the Thiruvananthapuram airport along with that of Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati and Mangaluru for a period of 50 years. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor represents Thiruvananthapuram constituency in the Lok Sabha.
Under AAI, Thiruvananthapuram airport lost to competition owing to red-tape bureaucracy and could not attract top international airlines to operate out of the airport. Hence, Adani Group is expected to infuse new energy and profitability. Currently most direct international flights from Thiruvananthapuram go to the gulf countries. However, Adani Group is considering starting flights even to the UK and US from Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Kolkata’s Durga Puja is one of the most beautiful festivals in the country. Every year, Durga Puja organisers go to great lengths to come up with fresh concepts that draw visitors from all over the world. This year, the organisers of 66 Pally Durga Puja in Kolkata’s Rash Behari Avenue have defied a century-old stereotype by bringing in female priests to perform all of the rites.
Four female priests broke into the centuries old customs,making this #DurgaPuja at 66 Pally in Kolkata historic.
This is the first time they have held a Durga Puja with a theme ‘Mayer Haate Mayer Abahon’#WomenEmpowerment
66 Pally’s theme for this year’s Durga Puja is ‘Mayer Haate Mayer Abahon’, roughly translated to Mother goddess will be worshipped by mothers.
After the puja committee’s veteran male priest passed away at the end of last year, four women, Nandini Bhowmik, Ruma Roy, Seymanti Banerjee, and Paulomi Chakraborty, were roped in to conduct this year’s puja.
Four priestesses performing Durga Puja instead of male priests in 66 Pally Durga Puja Pandal
Since only males have been allowed to invoke Goddess Durga for years, the organisers’ unique concept has turned into a significant crowd puller for this season.
Four priestesses performing Puja instead of male priests in 66 Pally Durga Puja Pandal
The senior office-bearer of the puja committee, Pradyuna Mukherjee said: “four women are all scholars having great command on scriptures, professors in their respective fields, and fit the bill as a worshipper of the goddess in every possible way.”
He further argued: “Don’t women make all the arrangements for conducting puja rituals in household and para puja? If there can be women clay modellers if there can be women organisers, why not women priestesses?”
According to sources, if the priestesses are approved this year, the puja committee would continue the trend next year. It also depends on the willingness of the priestesses to maintain their involvement with the puja.
Unlike traditional priest groups, the all-women priestess group claims to have no lead or head priestess. They want to teach people how to do rituals in accordance with long-standing traditions and encourage other women to travel into areas where they haven’t gone before.
The Australian Federal of Islamic Councils (AFIC) has invited two Taliban radicals as speakers in a live webinar scheduled to take place on October 16. The Afghan refugees and Australian veterans have condemned the move.
The two invitees are Sheikh Suhail Shaheen and Sheikh Sayed Abdul Basir Sabiri. Notably, Shaheen had been interviewed by Australian and international media in the past after the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US-led forces from the country.
AFIC webinar
As per the statement released by AFIC, they have brought together a “stellar panel of speakers” for the webinar. If they are to be believed, the panel will discuss “the future of Afghanistan and our role, regardless of whether we are in favour or against recent developments.”
Refugees express concerns
Sitarah Mohammadi, a Refugee advocate and member of the long-persecuted Hazara minority of Afghanistan, called it “completely inappropriate”. She said that she found it horrifying that Taliban radicals were getting a platform to address the Islamic community in Australia and might spread the Talibani propaganda.
The Hazaras, as long persecuted religious minority are currently facing forced land evictions and ethnic cleansing at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan. This event would allow the Taliban to advance its push for global legitimacy, & strengthen its oppressive rule.
She added, “As part of the Hazara community – my family and I fled the rule of the Taliban in the late 1990s – to see faces like these on a prominent event like this is really traumatising. Our people have suffered so horrifically at their hands, and continue to do so to this day.”
According to Mohammadi, the event would help the Taliban in getting global legitimacy. It might lead to unlocking international funds that would strengthen the oppressive rule over Afghanistan under the Talibani regime. She said, “If anything, it legitimises them to have those members on the panel.”
Taliban should not be given a platform, say experts
Herbert Phil Thompson, Liberal Member, called it a misstep by the AFIC and said it would outrage veterans. Notably, when Thompson was serving as an army private in Afghanistan, he got seriously wounded after an improvised explosive device (IEDs) exploded in close proximity. He said, “These two people from the Taliban should not be given a platform. The Taliban is an illegitimate government.”
He further added, “We have seen young girls unable to attend school. We see girls and women treated as property. They are vile and barbaric. They rule with an iron fist and murder, and this organisation should not be given a platform in Australia.”
Senator James Paterson, chairman, federal parliament’s intelligence and security committee, warned against the step. He said it would allow them “to support their claims of legitimacy”. Paterson added, “We should instead be doing everything we can to advance the cause of freedom for millions of Afghan girls and women who are now living under the control of a regime with a proven history of violence and brutality.”
Walt Secord, spokesperson, NSW Labor’s police and counter-terrorism, said the event should not take place. He said, “This event looks like a road map to radicalisation. I am absolutely disgusted that any organisation in Australia would provide a platform to the Taliban and their primitive views.”
AFIC justified the event
AFIC president Dr Rateb Jneid said they had invited the Taliban members to hear about their intentions as a ruling regime in Afghanistan. He claimed that many Australian Muslims had expressed concerns about what has been happening in Afghanistan as many of them have loved ones who still live there. He said, “We have many families of Afghan background who are worried about their loved ones in Afghanistan, and they want to hear about the intentions of the government there. We will do what is necessary to make sure that we get the message across to our youths not to go to Afghanistan.”
Justifying giving them a platform, Jneid said, “The Taliban have been given thousands of platforms all over the internet, they do not need us for a platform.” Jneid, along with National Grand Mufti of Australia, Imam Abdul Quddoos Al Azhari and Islamic legal scholar Professor Mohammad Naqib Jan are scheduled as speakers for the event.
Keysar Trad, AFIC chief executive, also defended the event and called Taliban was “recognised as the government of Afghanistan”. He added that AFIC sought to stop young Australian Muslims from travelling to Afghanistan “for the wrong reasons” as previously people had travelled to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic groups.
He claimed that AFIC believed the Taliban would support them in convincing young Australian Muslims not to travel to Afghanistan. “We don’t want to see our children getting involved in foreign matters, and we certainly don’t want to see them in Supermax [prison] either,” he said.
Historian Vikram Sampath recently took to Twitter to respond to the attacks he has been facing from left historians and online trolls for the remarks he made during his interaction with Shashi Tharoor and Rajdeep Sardesai at India Today Conclave. At the conclave, Sampath had slammed the historians for devoting more space to obscure and bigoted dynasties in India’s textbooks than empires that flourished to the south of Vindhyas, such as the Cholas and the rulers of Travancore.
However, Sampath’s acerbic comments about the skewed nature of India’s history taught in school textbooks did not sit well with the historians and “intellectuals” belonging to the left intelligentsia, who rushed to discredit Sampath, his work and statements made by him in the India Today Conclave.
Sampath hits back at his critics, providing evidence of prejudiced account of history taught in school books
But Sampath, who recently wrote a second volume of his biography of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, remained undeterred to the denigration by the left trolls and propagandists. In a fairly long string of tweets, Sampath came out all guns blazing against the ‘historians’ and trolls and presented evidence to back the claims made by him during his interaction on India Today Conclave.
Conscious of the fact that a batallion of “professional” historians & some crazy trolls have begun discrediting me, my work & whatever I said at @IndiaToday conclave with Dr @ShashiTharoor & @sardesairajdeep . Selective screenshots of NCERT books (usual ploy!) to prove falsehood+
Sharing the links to the NCERT history books for Class 6, 7, and 8, Sampath said he feels pity for the students of such ‘historians’ for suffering their fakery and sleight of hand on a daily basis.
He cited Class 7 school book to assert how south Indian dynasties such as Rashtrakutas, Pandyas etc. had just passing reference in the book while Hirangyagarbha myth was cited to make Rashtrakutas and their Brahmin priests foolish.
Anyone can download entire books & see my point proved amply. Class 7 textbook has merely a map in chp 2, pp 16 that just states names of southern dynasties like Rashtrakutas, Pandyas etc. Some hiranyagarbha myth cited to make Rashtrakutas & their brahmin priests appear foolish
Sampath highlighted the dichotomy between the way historians glorified the Muslim invaders and the way they treated Indian kingdoms with contempt and scorn. For instance, he cites the vilification of the Cholas for imposing 400 types of “oppressive taxes” as against no criticism of “jizya”, a tax imposed by the Mughals on non-Muslims.
Sampath said Cholas were disposed of within 3 pages whereas Mahmud Ghazni, the Islamic marauder who invaded and desecrated the Somnath temple multiple times, was given undue coverage by the ‘historians’, who characterised him as a leader interested in finding out more about the people he conquered and even mentioned a book he got Albiruni to write on himself.
Buttressing his claim that Delhi centricity is a hallmark of books used to teaching history to students in school, Sampath pointed out that while great kingdoms in the south are disparaged and disposed of in 3-4 pages, “Delhi Sultans” have got entire chapters after them, even though their contribution to the country is unknown. He further mentioned that even the history of “Delhi Sultans” is adulterated, with sordid facts about their tyranny against the masses conspicuously absent from the books.
Chp 4 is fully devoted to “Mughal Empire”. Chp 5 on “Rulers & Buildings’ is also largely about Delhi Sultanate & Mughal architecture/tombs/gardens wt a few temples strewn in between. “Temples and mosques were beautifully constructed because they were places of worship”? (pp 63)
As far as temple destruction is concerned, Sampath says the books provide an elaborate justification for the desecration of temples witnessed during the Muslim rule in India. The books, Vikram says, demonise Hindus to the point that their temple destruction by bloodthirsty Islamists could be justified. Obscure attacks carried out by Hindu kings against Sri Lankan Buddhists are cited to justify how attacking religious places was the norm of the day in medieval India.
Temple destruction hardly merited a mention in the book, but one whole page in Class 7 book is devoted to the Hindu pillaging by Mahmud Ghazni, mentioned so casually so as to give an impression that it was common to destroy and loot places of worship of defeated rulers in the middle ages.
Mind u just 3 lines on any temple destruction at all as against 1 page of Hindu pillaging & that too mentioned so casually that Mahmud Ghazni was not a v important ruler & in middle ages it was common to destroy & loot places of worship of defeated rulers (p66). No proofs given!
The Vijayanagara Kingdom, one of the most prosperous Indian kingdoms of all time, has just a one-page mention in the book, which was also more about Hampi and what Domingo Paes said about it. There was no explanation as to what brought an end to the empire, with just an abrupt mention that it fell in 1565.
Source: NCERT
Chapter 7, which talked about Tribals and Nomads, there was a brief mention about Ahoms, that too about Mughals defeating them in 1662 while all-important battles of Saraighat in 1671 and the humiliating defeat of Mughals against the Ahom army led by Lachit Borphukan were excluded from the book.
Sampath further calls attention to Chapter 10, which he says mentions in detail about Nadir Shah, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Awadh Nawabs, but only a minuscule reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Peshwas, he says, get only 1 page to themselves as against Delhi Sultanate rulers, Mughal kings, who had entire chapters to themselves. While exploits of Nadir Shah and other Muslim conquerors were explained in detail, the book reserves just one-quarter of a page for acquainting students with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and only a page for the Peshwas.
Sections on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Peshwas (Source: NCERT)
“If this doesn’t prove my point of the incommensurate portrayal of invaders as against native kingdoms, I don’t know what else can! I’m told “professional” historians work very hard & shouldn’t be insulted. If this shoddy work is what comes after toil, they deserve all the rap on knuckles,” Sampath emphatically tweeted.
Sending a stern message to trolls and their ‘historians’ sitting in foreign universities, Sampath said slanders and ad hominem attacks do not bother him one bit and he is not among those who would cower under their bullying.
“Truth, courage of conviction & a clear conscience along with the support of my readers is all that I have as my strength. The rest of you with no constructive criticisms/feedback & your malicious insinuations are irrelevant to my life or my work! So please utilize your time elsewhere!” said Sampath in his concluding tweet.
Truth, courage of conviction & a clear conscience along with the support of my readers is all that i have as my strength. The rest of you with no constructive criticisms/feedback & your malicious insinuations are irrelevant to my life or my work! So pls utilize ur time elsewhere!
Left ‘historians’ and trolls target Vikram Sampath for his remarks at India Today Conclave
Sampath’s rebuttal on Twitter came after a raft of left-leaning ‘historians’, social media trolls and sympathisers of the Congress party tried to denigrate observations made by him during his interaction at India Today Conclave. His assertion that the history that is taught in schools is highly prejudiced in favour of Muslim invaders while neglecting the indigenous rulers rattled the ‘historians’ and Marxist trolls who proceeded to criticise Sampath’s views as opinions deriving out of his political ideology, Whatsapp forwards and distorted version of history.
Truth is: @IndiaToday would never call professional historians at its stage because they are interested in TRP, not in history. None of the speakers on the stage are professional historians. They are writers who write about the past for a political ideology. https://t.co/JCYXmD6N78
Some of them even raised aspersions on Sampath’s credentials, questioning whether he is truly a ‘historian’.
From PN Oak’s letters to the editor to Vivek Sampath as ‘historian’ at the India Today conclave, a short history of India’s descent into mediocrity. https://t.co/CHyKToRgmc
Those who could not bring themselves to accept what Sampath said at India Today Conclave was unfortunately true, derided his contentions as Whatsapp forwards couched in better English.
Same as sanghi whatsapp forwards, but now wrapped in the language of decoloniality and delivered in better English. https://t.co/fglXj7dtSc
Historians provided a mono-chromatic version of India’s history, glorified invaders while obscuring Indian kingdoms: Vikram Sampath
Historian Vikram Sampath in a recent interaction on India Today Conclave had slammed the historians for presenting a monochromatic narrative of India’s history, stating that India’s history was presented almost in “third person” as if it is the history of some other nation.
He further added that historians dedicated unwarranted space to little known and fanatical dynasties in India’s textbooks as compared to empires that flourished to the south of Vindhyas, such as the Cholas and the rulers of Travancore.
For this travesty of history, Sampath blamed the successive Congress governments after the independence for unwittingly ceding control of historiography to the stranglehold of Marxist historians, whom he blamed for distorting history and creating several faultlines that continue to exist today.
“Let people read the truth, however inconvenient it may be. I think we have had a very troubled past and since we have not made peace with it, we will keep having these fissures emanating all the time, whether it is in Ayodhya or some other place,” Vikram Sampath said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi last month visited mental health facility and asked the medical professionals present there about where they keep drug addicts. She was visiting the Punjab Institute of Mental Health Asylum where she inquired about the care given to patients. She had insisted special care be given to rehabilitation of drug addicts and elderly people with illness.
When she asked where drug addicts are kept in the facility even doctors were left surprised as per media reports. Local people of Lahore often refer to this mental health facility as ‘pagalkhana’. Bushra Bibi visited every ward of the mental health facility. She then suddenly inquired about the drug addicts. While the doctors were initially shocked, they later informed her about the care given to them.
It is notable here that supernatural claims and rumours about Bushra Bibi are quite common in Pakistan. Bushra Bibi is known as ‘Pinky Peerni’, a living saint-woman with special powers. Her family from the Wattoo clan in Pakistan’s Pakpattan are the worshippers of the ‘Baba Farid’ shrine n Pakpattan.
In an article in Vanity Fair, a senior Pakistani media person was quoted as saying that Imran Khan had consulted Bushra Bibi for spiritual guidance to become PM and he used to give her two vats full of cooked meat as fees. The meat was for Bushra Bibi’s two jinns, the article had stated.
In 2019, there were reports that Bushra Bibi’s reflection cannot be seen in mirror. However, Pakistan media had later clarified that her reflection can indeed be seen in mirror. Some media reports claimed that Pakistan’s Capital TV had stated that some staff member in Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s household had claimed that Khan’s third wife Bushra Bibi’s image does not appear in the mirrors. However, Capital TV later denied any such reports.
