Congress national media coordinator Radhika Khera mocked Indians while celebrating Pakistan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets while chasing a target of 152. Radhika Khera was overjoyed with the victory and appeared to interpret it as a defeat for ‘Bhakts’ and not for India as a country.
In her first tweet, the Congress national media coordinator said, “What Bhakts? How’s the taste? You have managed to humiliate yourselves?”
Source: Twitter
In her next tweet, Radhika Khera targeted ‘stupid Bhakts’ and “Malviya’s 2 rupees trolls”. She was presumably referring to Amit Malviya, the IT Cell head of the BJP.
Source: Twitter
In another tweet, she just used fire and chilly emojis.
Source: Twitter
When a fellow Congress party member reminder her that the Indian team that lost to Pakistan did not belong to ‘Bhakts’ alone, the Congress national media coordinator mocked him saying that someone who appears on Times Now was giving her advise.
Source: Twitter
Her bio on Twitter reveals that she was an MLA candidate from Delhi in 2020 and has previously been the national secretary and social media head of the youth wing of the Congress party.
Source: Twitter
Earlier, people on social media had given the Indian cricket team plenty of brickbats for losing to Pakistan. Pakistan defeated India for the first time in a World Cup event on Sunday after they defeated India by 10 wickets in their opening match of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan chased down the target of 152 with 13 balls to spare. The men in green never looked in trouble and chased down the target comfortably.
Radhika Khera brazens it out
Even after over 12 hours, Congress National Media coordinator Radhika Khera has not removed her distasteful tweet even though she has been panned by many netizens for the same. In fact, she has now claimed that her tweet mocking ‘Bhakts’ right after India lost to Pakistan was not on India Pakistan match.
Yes, I will definitely take legal action.
My tweet has been twisted and turned.
There was no reference whatsoever to cricket, or any one losing or winning.
But lies and deceit is the Karma & Dharma of BJP & it’s sponsored media! https://t.co/JjtvXZwkbe
Khera has claimed she will take legal action against those who reported on her tweet. However, she has not yet clarified what ‘insult’ she was speaking about right after India’s loss to Pakistan in T20 World Cup match.
In fact, she has also taken to tagging employees of people who are condemning her distasteful tweet against Indian cricket team.
She also tagged Indian Express to complaint about another of their journalist who criticised her distasteful tweet.
Meanwhile, as one Twitter user pointed out, this tweet by Khera has drawn more attention to her than her actual election campaign.
She was the Congress candidate from Janakpuri West in 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections. The number of Quoted Tweets she has on this tweet is twice the number of votes she got in the election. ? pic.twitter.com/rpvd6WmbD9
As seen above, the number of quoted tweets, most of them critical of her distasteful tweet, are more than the actual votes she got in 2020 Delhi state assembly elections. Khera had contested from Janakpuri constituency where she got merely 2084 votes. She had even lost her security deposit. At the time of this report, she has over 4,121 quoted tweets, most of which are critical of her. This is likely the most popularity she has ever gained.
Indian cricket legend Virender Sehwag mocked those who celebrated Pakistan’s victory against India by bursting firecrackers after Pakistan beat India in the T20 World Cup. Virender Sehwag also questioned what was the need to ban firecrackers for Diwali when they can be burst to celebrate Pakistan beating India in cricket.
However, the former cricketer’s angered liberals on social media who accused him of inciting hatred against the minority community in India.
Punjab Youth Congress targets Virender Sehwag
The Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) targeted Sehwag over his tweet where he supported firecrackers for Diwali while condemning those who celebrated Pakistan’s victory against India.
The PYC said, “From colors of India to communal colors . Viru phaji, what hypocrisy is this when sons of farmers die on border and there fathers on singhu, do not get your attention but everything else including all this nonsense of bursting crackers. You were a role model once, not bjp model.”
Source: Twitter
Earlier, Congress national media coordinator Radhika Khera had celebrated Pakistan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup and insulted ‘Bhakts’ over it.
Liberals attack Virender Sehwag
Shweta Sengar, senior correspondent at India Times, called Sehwag a “vermin” and “top-rated hatemonger”.
Source: Twitter
Eminent hatemonger Ashok Swain said that it was time to move on from Cricket.
Source: Twitter
Congress sympathizer Sumanth Raman claimed that the first part of the tweet was a “dog-whistle”.
Source: Twitter
Another user said that ‘Sanghis’ deserve concentration camps and there was nothing wrong with saying it.
Source: Twitter
A Muslim activist called Virender Sehwag a “filthy, Nazi scum”.
Source: Twitter
Another called Sehwag an “absolute piece of sh*t”.
Source: Twitter
Pro-AAP blogger Rifat Jawaid attacks Sehwag
Pro-AAP blogger Rifat Jawaid targeted Sehwag over the tweet as well. He called the former cricketer “bigot” and labeled his tweet “utterly shameful”.
Source: Twitter
Rifat Jawaid had sparked an outrage on Sunday after claiming that his Hindu friend at college would hide the photos of Hindu Gods so that he could offer Namaz. “As university student in Kolkata, I often studied with my friend Rajesh at his house in Bara Bazar. His grandfather was RSS worker. But they always encouraged me to offer my namaz at their place by even covering photos of their deities. This new India is beyond recognition now,” he had said.
UP and Bihar students thrash Kashmiris in Punjab for cheering Pakistan
Kashmiri students at the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur, Punjab were thrashed by students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for cheering for Pakistan during their match against India in the T20 World Cup.
Sangrur SSP Swapan Sharma has said that both sides have offered their apologies before the Police and the matter has been settled.
A day after Congress accused RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav of using casteist slur against the AICC in-charge of Bihar, Bhakt Charan Das, the Grand Old Party resorted to attacking PM Modi with casteist slurs.
In its social media campaign against PM Modi, the official Twitter account of All India Mahila Congress used #TeliKiMaar hashtag to mark their opposition to the rising fuel prices. Teli is an OBC community, predominantly residing in northern India and traditionally occupied in the pressing of oil.
Source: Twitter
Along with the patently casteist hashtag, the All India Mahila Congress shared an infographic saying the prices of edible oil have skyrocketed by 34 per cent in the month of September.
While the casteist slur made by the Congress unit involved Teli community, it is worth noting that PM Modi belongs to the Modh Ghanchi caste, another OBC community just like Teli, and has endured countless casteist attacks launched by the Congress party.
Congress’ repeated casteist attacks against PM Modi
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had taken digs at PM Modi’s humble beginnings and called him a ‘chaiwalla’. He had also referred to Modi as ‘neech insaan’ which got him suspended from Congress. Sanjay Nirupam, another serial abuse has often used derogatory terms to abuse PM Modi by referring to him as ‘illiterate and uncouth’.
PM Modi’s humble background has always been a point of criticism for Congress leaders. After senior Congress leader, CP Joshi’s cheap casteist slur against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the BJP, Uttar Pradesh’s Congress Chief Raj Babbar had stooped to his lowest by pulling Modi’s mother into this muck and comparing the devaluing rate of the Indian rupee to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aged mother.
In 2014, Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil had alleged that Narendra Modi is a “fake OBC”. He had also claimed Modh Ghanchi caste was not in the OBC list before Modi became CM. At that time, the Gujarat government had issued a clarification saying that Modi’s caste was notified as OBC in 1994 itself.
Congress slams Lalu Prasad Yadav for his casteist jibe at AICC leader
Ironically, the use of casteist slur against PM Modi came a day after Congress had expressed strong objection to supposedly casteist remarks made by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav against All India Congress Committee in-charge for Bihar, Bhakt Charan Das.
Addressing the media on Sunday over bypolls to Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats, Lalu Yadav derided former ally Congress as he questioned the party’s usefulness as a poll partner. Lalu Prasad said if the RJD had left an assembly bypoll seat in the state for the Congress, the latter could lose even its deposit.
RJD’s decision to go solo in the polls elicited a sharp reaction from Bhakt Charan Das, who accused Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party of betraying Congress.
When asked about the allegation by Bhakt Charan Das that by turning its back on the Congress, the RJD was helping the BJP, Lalu Yadav quipped, “Bhakt Charan is a bhakchonhar (stupid person)”.
The controversial remark came ahead of his return to Bihar after 6 months of convalescing from his illness in New Delhi following release from jail on bail post-conviction in fodder scam related cases in April this year.
Lalu’s insulting remarks did not sit well with the Congress party, which accused the former Bihar CM of slighting the Dalits of the country. Bihar Congress spokesperson Rajesh Rathore said, “Lalu Prasad Yadav insulted not only Bhakt Charan Das but all the Dalits of the country. The brunt of leaving the Congress was in the 2009 Lok Sabha and 2010 assembly elections. RJD has suffered. RJD should take a lesson from this.”
The high profile drug seizure case off the coast of Mumbai has thrust not just Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the limelight but it has also brought inordinate attention on the Zonal Director of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Mumbai unit head Sameer Wankhede, who led the raid resulting in Khan’s arrest.
Nationalist Congress Party’s Nawab Malik seized on the opportunity to launch a campaign against Sameer Wankhede, raising questions on his integrity and alleging that the raid on the cruise ship was fake. Malik had alleged that Wankhede had extorted money from Bollywood stars earlier during the pandemic, a claim that is vigorously contested by the embattled officer.
A day after Sameer Wankhede found himself in the eye of a raging storm when independent witness Prabhakhar Sail alleged that Rs 25 crore was demanded on behalf of the officer to let off Aryan Khan in the Mumbai cruise drugs case, Nawab Malik has launched a scathing attack against Wankhede, accusing him of committing forgery.
Malik on Monday morning tweeted a picture of a document related to Mr. Wankhede’s birth and claimed, “the forgery began from here”.
— Nawab Malik نواب ملک नवाब मलिक (@nawabmalikncp) October 25, 2021
As per the birth certificate released by Nawab Malik, Sameer Wankhede was a Muslim by birth but appeared for civil services examination in reserved category and became the IRS. As per Malik, Wankhede forged his birth certificate to pass the exams and land a job through reservations.
Journalist claims Sameer Wankhede had married twice: What we know so far
Malik also shared an image, allegedly of Mr. Wankhede, and cryptically asked, “Identify him”.
New Indian Express journalist Sudhir Suryawanshi then shared an image of stating that Wankhede had gotten married twice, the first one with one Dr Shabana Khureshi on December 12, 2006, and with whom he reportedly had two children. The journalist claimed Kranti Redkar is her second wife and he is also a close relative of NCP’s Nawab Malik.
Twist in the @narcoticsbureau Director #SameerWakhende saga, Sameer Dawood Wankhede got married in Dec 12, 2006 with Dr Shabana Khureshi & has two daughters. Kranti Redkar ishis second spouse. He also happens to be distance relative of NCP minister Nawab Malik. @NewIndianXpresspic.twitter.com/qoeMOputAw
NCB officer refutes allegations made by Nawab Malik
However, Wankhede has reportedly rubbished the allegations levelled against him, terming Malik’s comment as “shoddy”. “This is a shoddy attempt to bring in things that are unrelated to the drugs case. My mother was a Muslim. Why does he want to bring my dead mother into this?” Wankhede was quoted as saying by the agencies.
“To check my caste and background, anyone can visit my native place and verify my descent from great-grandfather. But he should not indulge in smear campaigns before getting the facts straight. I will fight all this legally and do not want to comment too much on this out of court,” the NCB officer said, according to the sources.
Wankhede lodges complaint of being stalked during his visits to kabristan
It is worth noting that Wankhede had recently has lodged a complaint with the state police and Union government, stating that he is being stalked. Wankhede had complained that he has learnt from his sources that someone has been following him even to a Kabristan in western suburbs, which he regularly visits to pray at his mother’s grave.
Wankhede’s mother had passed away in 2015 and since then he has been frequenting the Kabristan to offer his prayers.
Ever since Shah Rukh Khan’s son is caught in the cruise ship drugs case, a concerted attempt is made to tarnish his reputation and shift the attention from the culpability of those accused in the case to the Narcotics officer who led the raid. As a part of this campaign, Sameer Wankhede’s personal life is scrutinised threadbare—be it his dead mother or his personal relationships—focus is shifted on inconsequential things so that his actions in the Mumbai drugs case can be undermined.
Sameer Wankhede, a seasoned IRS officer with considerable experience in investigating high profile cases
However, officer Wankhede is not a novice when it comes to high profile investigations. He has also investigated the Sushant Singh Rajput case after the drug angle was revealed and probed Rhea Chakraborty and others involved in the case.
Sameer Wankhede, a 2008 batch IRS-C&CE officer, was previously posted as Joint Director of Revenue Intelligence in Mumbai. He also held the post of Additional SP in NIA and Deputy Commissioner in AIU. Wankhede’s first posting was as a Customs Officer at Mumbai Airport. He was also honored by the Union Home Ministry with the award of Outstanding Investigation for the year 2021.
Sameer Wankhede’s team has seized drugs worth Rs 17,000 crore in the last two years of investigation. According to reports, Wankhede also filed cases against more than 2000 celebrities for not paying tax in customs. Sameer Wankhede also caught Mika Singh with foreign currency at Mumbai airport in 2013 and raided the houses of many Bollywood celebs including Anurag Kashyap, Vivek Oberoi, Ram Gopal Varma.
Shortly after Aryan Khan was arrested in the case, the media glare shifted to his wife Kranti Redkar, an actor by profession but who had no connection with the drug case. When she was accosted about her husband’s recent raids, Kranti Redkar said, “Sameer has always been a hard worker. His operations and cases were there even before too. Today, he is dealing with Bollywood-related drug probe cases, which is why it is getting highlighted. I give him his space when he is investigating or working on operations. I never ask him what happened, how it happened because I respect the secrecy of his job. I take care of everything at home, which is why he can concentrate on his cases more.”
NCB recovers drugs from cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai
After the raid on the cruise Ship rave party, NCB seized a huge amount of narcotics and detained 10 people. The ship was supposedly going from Mumbai to Goa. According to reports, every person present in that party had paid a entry fee of more than 80 thousand rupees. As per sources, Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede and other NCB officials acted on an intelligence input and boarded the ship as normal passengers and carried out the operation.
Following the raid, there have been allegations that Wankhede is selectively targeting Aryan Khan. However, he said in a statement, “We are not targeting anyone at all. We have nothing against him. We have arrested more than 300 people in the last 10 months. Out of those, at the most, there would be about 4 to 5 known people. How can you say that we are targeting anyone? Most of those arrested in the last one year are hard-core, drug related criminals.”
On 24th October, the Indian cricket team created history and not the good kind – they lost their first World Cup match to Pakistan. A match that ended on a terrible note for India did not really start on a positive note either. The Indian Cricket Team and their management team went ‘woke’ and started the match by ‘taking the knee’.
After the death of George Floyd in the United States of America, it became commonplace for American sportsmen to ‘take the knee’ as a mark of protest against the state that they believe is inherently racist against the African American community. It all started with American footballer Colin Kaepernick who took the knee during the national anthem before a match in 2016. He said he could not stand to show pride in the flag of a country that oppressed black people.
Essentially, ‘taking the knee’ is a typically American thing that had nothing to do with Indians. Absolutely nothing. The move, needless to say, received widespread condemnation. A country that spearheaded the anti-racist movement in the ‘white man’s sport’ need not succumb to a movement that had nothing to do with India, to begin with.
Ironically, while the match started with the Indian team ‘taking the knee’, it ended with Pakistani commentator Bazir Khan celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India by saying ‘Kufr toot gaya’. Khan while interviewing the winning captain Babar Azam, in a post-match presentation ceremony remarked, “Lekin Kufr to toot gaya,” to which Azam replied, “All because of Allah.”
Pakistani commentator said “Kuffar to toot hi gaya” (the non-believers has been been finally destroyed).
One would not need a soothsayer to prophecise the reaction of Indians who were fervently following the match. It sparked a breakaway conversation in India about Pakistanis considering the Indian team as “Kafirs” (non-believers) and celebrating a sporting victory over India as a religious victory over the non-believers. The notion was further fanned by Pakistan minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed celebrating the cricket victory as a ‘victory of Islam’ congratulating all Muslims across the world, including those in India.
The Indian cricket team and its management that blindly followed woke politics of the west and ‘took the knee’ against racism in the USA while losing a match to Pakistan were oblivious to the staggering irony of these two events put together – them kneeling and Pakistani commentator saying ‘Kufr toot gaya’.
Black Lives Matter and Lexicon control
First and foremost, it is important to note that ‘taking the knee’ is not something that started only after the death of George Floyd. In 1965, Martin Luther King Jr took the knee after a group of protesters were arrested during a march to the Dallas County Alabama courthouse. Around 250 people were arrested during the demonstration, which was part of a push to get African Americans in Selma registered to vote. Among those praying with King is Ralph Abernathy, a fellow minister and leader of the Civil Rights movement.
Martin Luther King Jr led a group of civil rights activists to take a knee in prayer after being arrested while campaigning for voting rights in 1965
Patently, therefore, the movement has paltry little to do with India. The racial tension in the USA between the blacks and whites has no parallel in India even though brown-sahibs like Professor Ashutosh Varshney would like to equate the Blacks in the USA with the Muslims in India. The religious tension in India has its roots in centuries of oppression by the Muslims of the indigenous Hindu population – from the Mughals killing and converting “Kafirs” by the sword to the modern-day religious crimes like Grooming Jihad, riots and widespread violence against Hindus being observed. In fact, one of the criticisms that accrued to the Indian Cricket Team was that they failed to show solidarity with crimes against humanity far closer to home, like Hindus being persecuted in Bangladesh, and chose to show a gesture that pertains to a fault line that finds no relevance in India.
While ‘kneeling’ is a phenomenon that African Americans have followed since the Civil Rights Movement to show inherent lack of respect for the anthem and the flag of the USA, another distinct feature of the current Black Lives Matter movement was Lexicon control that was not just advocated but even implemented in several aspects.
In June 2020, HBO had removed from its collection the classic 1939 movie “Gone with the wind’ because of its ‘racist undertones’.
In a statement, an HBO Max spokesperson had said, “’Gone With the Wind’ is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society… These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”
Was Margaret Mitchell, who wrote this novel in the 1930s, being deliberately racist? Perhaps not. Was it written with the explicit intent to offend African Americans decades after it was released? Probably not. But the BLM activists insisted that the racist undertones of the movie offended those who had suffered the consequences of American slavery. Two weeks after the movie was pulled down, it made a comeback with appropriate historical disclaimers explaining the context of the scenes set in the early 1900s.
Besides movie scenes making an appearance with appropriate disclaimers, there was a movement of Lexicon control to outlaw or at least, disenfranchise the use of terms that could ‘appear’ racist, even though the origin of the word had no undertones of racism.
One such word that became the casualty of the Lexicon control movement was ‘blacklist’. The word “black” itself comes from old English usage of the word “Blaec” meaning absolute dark, absorbing all light or the colour of soot/coal. Therefore, without going into the details of how the word “blacklist” was used in the early 1600s, ‘blacklist’ was simply a list to signify something unreliable, dark, sinister etc.
The terms “blacklist” and “whitelist” are also used in programming code and they have not been replaced largely after the BLM movement. In programming speak, “master” refers to a device or process – such as a hard drive or a database – that controls other devices or processes, which are known as “slaves,” or replicas. “Blacklist” is used to describe items that are automatically denied, typically forbidden websites.
After the BLM movement gathered steam, Twitter removed several words from their programming lexicon to be more ‘inclusive’. Microsoft’s Github, Google Chrome, Android etc followed suit.
We’re starting with a set of words we want to move away from using in favor of more inclusive language, such as: pic.twitter.com/6SMGd9celn
While it is pointless going into the genesis of each word, it is safe to conclude that even words that do not have a racist genesis were removed from lexicon because they could be construed as ‘racist’ – Blacklist and Whitelist for example.
Kafir, Kufr, alternate meanings, the Quranic meaning and the irony of it all
When Bazir Khan celebrated Pakistan’s victory over India by saying ‘Kufr toot gaya’, there were several individuals who proceeded to explain how “Kufr toot gaya’ was a poetic idiom and not ‘non-believer’ as defined in the Quran.
One Pakistani explained that the idiom only means that the obstacles have been removed.
Yeh Aik Urdu mahavra hai
Kufr toot gaya means
“obstinacy to end”
An end to the obstacles…the obstacles our team went through put in hard effort https://t.co/XJcDFcjlMt
Now, alternatively, the word “Kufr” could even mean that an Islamic unicorn will ride through the sky showering green colour and candies on newborn babies, however, that does not wash away the true meaning of the word “Kafir” and its violent connotations as mentioned in the Quran.
According to New Age Islam, an Islamic reformist organization, “The word Kufr means to reject faith in God, God’s signs, the prophets, the Holy Scriptures and the Day of Judgment. One who does not have faith in the unity of God and does not have faith also in other sacred signs of God is a Kafir, according to the Quran. One who rejects faith in God or does not have faith in God is called a Kafir. A Kafir may also be an idolater who worships gods and goddesses. According to the Quran, they are those who have gone astray. There are about 350 verses about Kufr and Kafir. In the majority of the verses, Kufr is non-belief in one God and prophets of God and in Holy Scriptures. Kufr is also the worship of idols and gods and goddesses other than God. In some of the verses, the word Kufr and its variations are used to mean ingratitude for the favours of God. It is natural that if someone does not recognize God or does not have faith in God, he will also not acknowledge God’s favours but will attribute the favours to his gods and goddesses.”
The words Kufr and Kafirun and Kafirin and their other variations are used for non-belief in Allah, the Holy Scriptures of Islam, its messengers and the Day of Judgment. These are variations of the word Kafir. New Age Islam also lists numerous quotes from the Quran so that readers can understand what the word Kafir and its variations mean. Here is a list of verses cited by the website:
5:86: But those who reject Faith (Kafaru) and belie our Signs, – they shall be companions of Hell-fire.
3:4: Then those who reject Faith (Kafaru) in the Signs of Allah will suffer the severest penalty,
9:3: And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger, to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the Pagans(Mushrikeen). If then, ye repent, it were best for you; but if ye turn away, know ye that ye cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those who reject Faith (Kafaru). (Mushrik and Kafir treated as same),
8:38: Say to the Unbelievers (Kafaru), if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them).
8:52: (Deeds) after the manner of the people of Pharaoh and of those before them: They rejected (Kafaru) the Signs of Allah, and Allah punished them for their crimes:
41: 50: But We will show the Unbelievers (Kafaru) the truth of all that they did, and We shall give them the taste of a severe Penalty.
58: 4: For those who reject (Him) (Kafirin), there is a grievous Penalty.
58:5: And the Unbelievers (Kafirin) (will have) a humiliating Penalty,-
There are, of course, many more such verses that ask “believers” to unleash violence on the “Kafirs”.
One has to wonder after reading this, whether the alternate meaning of ‘Kufr toot gaya’ really matters. Is it not natural for people, especially indigenous people and polytheists to immediately connect the word “Kufr” to the violent meaning in the Quran, given that they have been persecuted time and again because the Muslims deemed them so throughout history?
In fact, let us keep Hindu sentiments aside for a moment. Let us forget for a moment that as our cricket team was showing solidarity by taking the knee, Hindus in Bangladesh were being killed and raped simply because they are “Kafirs” living in an Islamic nation.
The word Kafir has racial undertones even for the blacks.
According to the DSAE, the first recorded use of ‘Kafir’ applied to southern Africa (in the form ‘caffre’) appeared in Richard Hakluyt’s The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, the first volume of which was published in 1589. G. Theal indicates that European settlers in South Africa adopted the word from its use by East African Muslims for ‘infidels’ in the southern part of Africa (quoted in DSAE: 347). Henry Lichtenstein writes in his Travels in Southern Africa, ‘[b]eing Mahommedans, they gave the general name of Cafer (Liar, Infidel) to all the inhabitants of the coasts of Southern Africa’ (1812: 241). A research paper on the racial undertones of the word “Kafir” for South Africans can be read here.
In 2016, when thieves (blacks) broke into the car of a white motorist, she hurled the “Kafir” slur against them, and that ignited a fierce debate in South Africa about a draft law that would propose jail time for racial slurs, including the word “Kafir”.
It is, therefore, ironic that the India-Pakistan match started with “taking the knee” and ended with a racial slur that Blacks have suffered through for centuries. It is frankly pointless asking why the Indian cricket team did not bother showing solidarity with Hindus who were being massacred in Bangladesh or the Hindus who die in India regularly simply because they are Hindus, but since the Indian cricket team felt the need to fight against the American flag, the American national anthem and the racism pandemic in the USA, how is it that the ‘wokes’ have failed to apply the same Lexicon control and change parameters to Muslims.
While the BLM activists rallied to outlaw words like “blacklist” that did not even have a racial genesis, one has to wonder how they forgot to rally against racist words like “Kafir” that, forget Hindus, their own Black brethren have suffered the consequences of.
As for the Indian team and their management, one can chart their woke activism to their monumental incomprehension and ignorance. Notwithstanding the actions of the dull-witted Indian cricket team and its management, the fundamental question remains – will the BLM activists, reformists and global Woke cabal now campaign to outlaw the word “Kafir”? And if they do, what happens to the Quran? How will they reconcile their pattern of shielding Islamists and fighting for the rights of the Blacks if they end up campaigning against the word Kafir? Or will they look away because the Islamist amalgamate is far more important than outlawing racial slurs that have been used to persecute Hindus and Blacks alike? These questions could very well be rhetorical since we know the innate hypocrisy of the Global Woke fraternity, but they must be asked nonetheless.
Kashmiri students at the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur, Punjab were thrashed by students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for cheering for Pakistan during their match against India in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets, chasing a target of 152.
Visuals of the incident were shared on social media. Videos showed rooms that were ransacked and a person could be heard saying that people from Uttar Pradesh were responsible for it.
Students from Bihar barged in their rooms, thrashed them &went on rampage, vandalised the rooms of students, damagd the hall, abusd & beat up a few others. pic.twitter.com/dA1n6pXLuu
The Police said that the Kashmiris were cheering for Pakistan, which led to the scuffle. Indian Express quoted a senior police official from Sangrur as saying, “There are about 90 Kashmiri students and around 30 students from UP and Bihar in the college. Kashmiri students stay in 2 wings of the hostel. While the match was on, the students cheered when Pakistan was hitting runs. They also raised azadi slogans.”
“After match ended, students from UP and Bihar went inside the rooms of Kashmiri students and had a scuffle with them. Later, the Kashmiri students also had a scuffle with the students from UP and Bihar. The police and college authorities pacified things overnight,” the police official added.
Nasir Khuehami, the national spokesperson J&K Students Association, said, “I have spoken to several in Bhai Gurdass Engineering and Technology College. They told me that students from Bihar had hit them, vandalised the rooms, damaged the hall, and even abused and beat up a few others.” Khuehami also demanded that Punjab Police must protect students from Kashmir studying in the state.
According to the Indian Express, Sangrur SSP Swapan Sharma has said that both sides have offered their apologies before the Police and the matter has been settled.
On October 24, a man identified as Ganesh Meena killed a 32-year-old married woman named Shanti Devi as she allegedly refused his advances. The incident took place in the Ahor region, district Jhalore, Rajasthan. Reports suggest that the deranged one-sided lover attacked her with an axe and killed her. He clung to the dead body and kept crying till the Police arrived on the spot.
A resident of village Thalwana, Shanti Devi, was an MNREGA labourer. Her husband, Shantilal Choudhary, works in Maharashtra. She had two sons. Gomaram, elder brother of Shantilal, filed a complaint against Meena. In his complaint, he said that Shanti Devi was out for work at the MNREGA site. Around 50-60 other labourers were working at the site.
Ganesh Meena arrived at the site with an axe and another sharp weapon. He went close to Shanti Devi and swirled the axe in the air while shouting, “I will kill you today.” He hit her several times on the neck, shoulder and other parts of the body. She fell down in the pool of blood while Meena kept attacking her to the point she succumbed to the injuries. He clung to the dead body and started crying. He cried and clung on to the corpse for over 7 hours.
After learning about the incident, the Police rushed to the spot where they found Meena holding the dead body. The Police tried to take him away, but he was not ready to leave the dead body. Police forcefully took him into custody and sent the dead body to the hospital for post mortem. Police said Meena was harassing Shanti Devi for several months.
The Police has informed the husband, and the post mortem would be performed once he is back from Maharashtra. Further probe is underway.
Cricketer Virender Sehwag has mocked the pointless ban on Diwali celebrations and has questioned the bursting of firecrackers after India’s loss to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match.
“Firecrackers are banned during Diwali but yesterday in parts of India there were firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan ‘s victory. Achha they must have been celebrating victory of cricket. Toh, what’s the harm in fireworks on Diwali. Hypocrisy kyun ,Saara gyaan tab hi yaad aata hai,” Tweeted the former Indian opener.
Firecrackers are banned during Diwali but yesterday in parts of India there were firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan ‘s victory. Achha they must have been celebrating victory of cricket. Toh , what’s the harm in fireworks on Diwali. Hypocrisy kyun ,Saara gyaan tab hi yaad aata hai
The Tweet has received more than 20 thousand likes in less than 30 minutes with netizens praising the cricketer for his stand.
While some called him the real ‘King’, some took a trip down the memory lane sharing how the fans miss the fireworks from his bat when he opened for the Indian men’s cricket team.
Sehwag’s tweet was aimed at the behaviour of some people who curiously celebrate Pakistan’s win against India in several areas of the country. He also called out the hypocrisy of shaming Hindus for bursting firecrackers during Diwali and the pointless ban on Diwali celebrations, while fireworks are used unabated on other kinds of ‘celebrations’.
Kohli gets slammed for teaching ‘how to celebrate Diwali’
On the other hand, current Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, known for preaching ‘pollution-free Diwali’ was slammed by netizens for his new campaign.
In a paid campaign for Pinterest, Kohli had released a video trailer saying he would be sharing “personal tips” in the coming days on how to celebrate a “meaningful” Diwali.
The sermon, however, did not go down well with the netizens and the captain was forced to take down the Pinterest page.
State govt ban firecrackers
The state governments of Delhi, Odisha, Rajasthan and now even Assam have imposed a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers just ahead of Diwali under the garb of Covid-19 restrictions.
We reported how the small traders firecracker manufacturers are facing huge losses for the second time in a row due to the reckless and forceful ban imposed in the name of ‘pollution control’ and Covid restrictions. The ban on firecrackers continues while multiple state governments do nothing to control pollution caused from other sources, like stubble burning.
Puducherry, however, in a recent announcement has permitted the sales of crackers.
Ahead of Diwali, the Puducherry govt has allowed the sale of firecrackers. We’ve achieved 80% vaccination. We’re aiming for big sales, offering 70% off on crackers: Muthukrishnan, Popsco Director pic.twitter.com/xs2CGrfJ42
While Delhi’s pollution is a result of year-long emissions, rampant stubble burnings in neighbouring areas, the state and Central government’s crackdown against the small traders and common people trying to celebrate Diwali has been gaining wide criticism in recent years.
Vicky Kaushal starrer and Shoojit Sircar directed Udham Singh is out of the race of India’s official entry to the Oscars after Tamil film Koozhangal beat it and Sherni amongst other movies.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor at a recent India Today conclave, while talking about Indian history had said, “We are scratching at wounds that have already healed.”
Toeing in line with this sentiment, Indraadip Dasgupta, who was part of the jury that rejected Sardar Udham’s entry from India to Oscars remarked, “..it (the film) again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred.”
The film ‘Sardar Udham’
Sardar Udham, directed by Shoojit Sircar is a story on the life of Sardar Udham Singh, a revolutionary freedom fighter. He went down in history for assassinating Michael O’Dwyer in London to take revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.
The film received widespread applause and an IMDb rating of 9.2. Starring Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal in the lead, the film was one among 14 shortlisted for India’s official entry to the Oscars.
‘Movie with an agenda’
Despite the resounding success, the jury did not find Sardar Udham good enough to make the cut citing outrageous reasons. Dasgupta while defending their Oscar selection criticized Sardar Udham for ‘harping on hatred’.
“Sardar Udham is a well-made production with brilliant cinematography that lives up to international standards. But it is a little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident,” Dasgupta said, downplaying one of the bloodiest chapters of Indian history.
That is not where he stopped. “It is an honest effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle. But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred,” added Dasgupta, drawing a rather illogical comparison between ‘history’ and ‘globalization.’
Justifying the selection of Tamil film Koozhangal for Academy Awards 2022, Dasgupta claimed, “Koozhangal in contrast (to Sardar Udham) is a truly Indian film with a global appeal. It has no agenda attached to it. It is the most honest film among all the contenders.”
It is baffling how a chapter from Indian history has been termed ‘not Indian enough’ by the jury.
Koozhangal on the other hand selected for ‘humanism’ is the story of a young boy following his ‘violent’ and ‘alcoholic’ father to get his mother back who had run away to escape the ‘abuse.’
Who is Indraadip Dasgupta?
Indraadip Dasgupta is an Indian music composer-turned-director, well known for his work in various Bengali films.
Dasgupta is all set to release his next project ‘Bismillah’ on Janmasthami next year. The movie reportedly will focus on the tradition of a musical family and how foreign intrusion creates disturbances in it.
Following Pakistan’s win over India in a T20 World Cup match, Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad called it a ‘victory for Muslim world’. He also alleged that the sympathies of the Indian Muslims lay with the Pakistan team. Rashid made these contentious remarks on Sunday (October 24) night.
“I want to congratulate the whole of Pakistan on this resounding victory (against India in T20 Qualifier match). I salute the Pakistan team for decimating its arch-rival in an exemplary display of grit, determination and courage. Pakistan has showcased its righteousness before the Muslim world. This is the only India Vs Pakistan match that I could not attend owing to Ministerial work,” he said.
Sheikh Rashid further emphasised, “I have directed the Traffic Department to remove barricades in Rawalpindi, Islamabad so that the people can celebrate. I want to again congratulate the Pakistan team and the people on this ‘final’. Yes, it was like our ‘final’ match in this edition of the T20 World Cup.”
The minister, visibly overjoyed after a long-awaited victory for the Pakistani team, used heavy words, equating the T20 match victory to some major national achievement. He even claimed by winning a T20 match, Pakistan has proved its capabilities in the Muslim world.
The Pakistani Interior Minister claimed that the victory of the Pakistani team in the cricket match was a victory for the entire Muslim world. “The Pakistani team had the emotional support of all Muslims of the world, including Muslims of India. This is the victory of the Muslim world. Pakistan Zindabad. Islam Zindabad,” he concluded. Pakistan chased down the target (152 runs) set by India comfortably without the loss of a single wicket.
Sheikh Rasheed thought that ‘smart bombs can kill Indian Hindus without harming Muslims’
In August 2020, in an interview with a television channel, Sheikh Rasheed had claimed that the Indian Army is far superior to the Pakistan Army in conventional warfare. Therefore, Pakistan was working on ‘miniaturised nuclear weapons’. He said that their bombs (popularly referred to as ‘bums’ in Pakistan) were so precise that they will selectively target only Hindus in India and will do no harm to Indian Muslims.
