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Security in Indo-Pacific, Covid-19, Climate Crisis, Cyberspace and others: Quad leaders address a host of issues in the joint statement

OpIndia Staff
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Security in Indo-Pacific, Covid-19, Climate Crisis, Cyberspace and others: Quad leaders address a host of issues in the joint statement

Quad leaders from Australia, India, Japan and the USA emphasized the need and importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is inclusive and resilient, in a joint statement that was issued after the Quad summit held at the White House. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden had participated in the first physical meeting of Quad.

The joint statement issued after the meeting said, “On this historic occasion we recommit to our partnership, and to a region that is a bedrock of our shared security and prosperity—a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is also inclusive and resilient”. The joint statement focused on a wide range of topics from the security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, partnership on Covid-19 response and relief.

Security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific :

Quad leaders recognized their role in the Indo-Pacific region to establish free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law. The joint statement said that the Quad leaders are dedicated to achieving security and peace in the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific. “We stand for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity of states. We commit to work together and with a range of partners,” the statement said. The leaders also supported ASEAN’s unity and welcomed the September 2021 EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

Partnership on COVID-19 response and relief

Quad Vaccine Experts Group was formed by the Quad countries comprising of top experts from the respective Quad countries charged with creating strong ties and directing plans to support Indo-Pacific health security and COVID-19 response. The joint statement also underlined the efforts and co-ordination of the Quad countries in mitigating COVID-19 in the region. It said, “we have shared assessments of the state of the pandemic and aligned our efforts to combat it, reinforced shared diplomatic principles for mitigating COVID-19 in the region”. The Quad leaders also pledged to donate more than 1.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally. India’s announcement to resume exports of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines was welcomed.

Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation 

The leaders declared the Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation for clinical trials and genomic surveillance to accelerate efforts and end the pandemic. It also aims to build better health security through the (S&T) cooperation, “We are committed to align around shared global targets to help vaccinate the world, save lives now.”

Climate crisis

The statement said that the Quad countries will work together and aim to keep the Paris-aligned temperature limits within reach including efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The statement reveals that Quad countries intend to update or communicate ambitious NDCs by COP26 along with coordination to raise global ambition. The Quad leaders in this front claimed that the work is organized across three thematic areas: climate ambition, clean-energy innovation and deployment, and climate adaptation, resilience and preparedness.

Cooperation on critical and emerging technologies

Establishment of cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, and determine how technology is designed, developed, governed, and used. Deployment of secure, open, and transparent 5G and beyond-5G networks is also mentioned. Furthermore, partnership to foster innovation and promote trustworthy vendors including Open-RAN is also on the list of objectives.

Cooperation in cyber space 

“We begin new cooperation in cyber space and pledge to work together to combat cyber threats, promote resilience, and secure our critical infrastructure” Quad leaders stated the new cooperation to take place which would include sharing satellite data for peaceful purposes such as monitoring climate change, disaster response and preparedness, sustainable uses of oceans and marine resources, and responding to challenges in shared domains.

Afghanistan

The joint statement also pointed out close coordination of diplomatic, economic, and human-rights policies towards Afghanistan. Counter-terrorism and humanitarian cooperation measures are about to be taken in the coming months in accordance with UNSCR 2593. The statement said “We reaffirm that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts”. It also denounced the use of terrorist proxies and laid emphasis on denying any support to terrorist groups.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accorded ‘Z’ category security cover

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accorded ‘Z’ category security cover

Newly-appointed West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar has been accorded ‘Z’ category’ security cover by the central government in wake of the alleged threat on the life of the BJP leaders and workers in the state.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide round the clock security to Sukanta Majumdar who recently replaced Dilip Ghosh as president of West Bengal BJP.

Under Z category, 22 security personnel remain deployed for security including armed guards at the residence, two personal security officers round the clock and armed escort for road journeys.

The decision for the high security cover came close to an incident at Kalighat area of South Kolkata where Sukanta Majumdar and other BJP workers were allegedly manhandled by West Bengal police. On Thursday the BJP workers led by Sukanta Majumdar were holding a peaceful demonstration near chief minister’s residence with the body of Manas Saha during his funeral procession.

Dhurjyoti Saha popularly known as Manas was a BJP leader who had unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls from Magrahat West constituency in South 24 Parganas district. Manas lost to TMC’s Giasuddin Molla. On the day of counting of votes on May 2, he was allegedly assaulted by the goons of TMC and he was admitted with multiple injuries. His condition suddenly deteriorated and he died on Wednesday at a private nursing home in Thakurpukur area.

The West Bengal Police registered a ‘suo moto’ case against Sukanta Majumdar, Arjun Singh, Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, and Priyanka Tibrewal at the Kalighat police station. They were booked under sections 143, 147, and 283 of IPC.

Notably, the by-poll of Bhowanipore assembly seat is scheduled on September 30 which Mamata Banerjee is contesting to retain the post of chief minister of West Bengal. The BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal.

Given the track record of the pre and post-poll violence in West Bengal this assembly election with a large number of BJP leaders and workers assaulted, raped, murdered and subjected to many other heinous crimes, security agencies apprehend another bout of violence.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently made a ‘dead rotten dog’ remark against the deceased BJP leader, attracting strong crticism.

The CBI is investigating political violence cases in West Bengal under judicial monitoring. The agency so far has registered over three dozen cases.

Taliban hangs man accused of kidnapping in full public glare, meant to be a lesson for others

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban hangs man accused of kidnapping in full public glare, meant to be a lesson for others

On Saturday (September 25), the Taliban hung the dead body of a man from a crane in the city of Herat in Afghanistan, reported Associated Press.

A video of the incident has now surfaced on social media. Citing an eyewitness named Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi, Associated Press reported that a total of four bodies were brought to the main square of the city. According to Seddiqui, who runs a pharmacy, the Talibs hung the body of one man at the main square and took the rest to other parts of the city for public display.

The Taliban had claimed that the four deceased were involved in a kidnapping case and were neutralised by the police. It was only then that they took the bodies and hung it from cranes. While speaking to the Associated Press, district police chief Ziaulhaq Jalali claimed that the Talibs had rescued two people (a father-son duo) who were kidnapped by the four accused. He added that the four men were killed in a gunfight with the Talibs.

Jalali also informed that a civilian (municipal worker) and a Talib was injured in the gunfight. Earlier, Taliban founder Mullah Nooruddin Turabi announced that they will carry out executions and amputation for robbery, theft and other crimes in accordance with sharia law. Taliban carried out the executions in Kabul’s sports stadium and Eid Gah mosque in the 1990s. Turabi was then the head of the Taliban’s religious police known as Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Although the Taliban has been trying to project a ‘moderate’ image, the radical Islamist outfit shot dead a woman in August for not wearing a burqa. The incident surfaced on the same day the Taliban announced to act ‘moderate’ and give women their rights in accordance with Sharia law.  A photo of the deceased woman lying in a pool of blood with her loved ones crouched around her sent shock waves in the already distressed country.

‘Some countries using terrorism and fragile situation in Afghanistan as political tool’: PM Modi at UN General Assembly

OpIndia Staff
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‘Some countries using terrorism and fragile situation in Afghanistan as political tool’: PM Modi at UN General Assembly

From Covid-19 to Islamic terrorism and aggressiveness of China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched upon the current burning issues in the world in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York today.

PM Modi started with paying tribute to those who have lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic and talked about India’s contribution to the fight against Coronavirus.

The prime minister said that he is representing a country that is known as the mother of democracy, which has completed 75 years of independence. Saying that India is the best example of a vibrant democracy, he said that it is the beauty of democracy in India that a kid who used to help his father selling tea at a railway station is addressing the UNGA for the fourth time.

“With the experience of 20 years of public service, I can say that, yes, democracy can deliver, yes democracy has delivered”, PM Modi said. Narendra Modi also quoted Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in his speech, saying that inspired by Deendayal Upadhyaya Ji’s philosophy of ‘Antyodaya’, India is moving ahead and ensuring integrated and equitable development for all. Development should be all-inclusive, all-pervasive, universal, and one that nurtures all, this is our priority, the PM said.

The PM said that in the last 7 years, more than 43 crore people have been brought into the banking system, more than 36 crore people have govt insurance protection, more than 50 crore people have been given the facility of free medical treatment. He informed that the Indian govt has launched a project to connect 17 crore homes with water supply lines to provide clean water.

PM Modi said that every sixth person in the world today is Indian, and when India grows, the world grows too, when India reforms, the world transforms. The science and technology-based innovations taking place in India can benefit the world. He said that the scale and cost of India’s tech solutions are incomparable. He informed how India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is seeing more than 350 crore transactions in India.

Similarly, the CoWIN platform developed by India is providing digital support to administer crores of vaccines in a day.

The PM said that he wants to inform the UNGA that India has developed the world’s first DNA vaccine which can be administered to anyone above 12 years of age, and that an mRNA vaccine is in the final stages of development in the country, while Indian scientists are also developing a nasal vaccine against Covid-19. He informed that India has restarted exporting vaccines to counties across the world. The PM invited all vaccine manufacturers to make vaccines in India. He also said that while technology is important in today’s world, it is also important to ensure technology with democratic values.

After that, he turned to the burning issue of extremism, and said that the threats of regressive thinking and extremism are increasing. In this situation, the world will have to make science-based rational and progressive thinking the basis of development. Talking about encouragement to science in schools, he informed that on the occasion of 75th anniversary of independence, India is sending 75 satellites to space which are being made by Indian students.

But on the other hand, a country with a regressive thinking is using terrorism as a political tool, PM Modi said without naming Pakistan. He said that they should understand that terrorism a big threat to them also. “It is important to ensure that the land of Afghanistan is not used for spreading terrorism and terror attacks”, he added. The PM urged the world to be careful that no country tries to use the fragile situation in Afghanistan as a tool for own benefit. Saying that people, women, children, and minorities in Afghanistan need help, he said the world should take the responsibility for the same.

The PM further said that Oceans belong to all, and the ocean resources should be used, not abused. Oceans are the lifeline of international trade, we have to protect them from expansion and exclusion. The international community must raise its voice in unison to empower rule-based world order, the PM said without naming China, which is trying to expand its marine territory in several areas.

Narendra Modi also pointed fingers towards China, without naming, in reference to the origin of Covid-19 and the controversies related to the Ease of Doing Business ranking. He said that global organisations have lost their credibility, which they had earned through works of decades, due to such issues. PM Modi was referring to WHO being accused of repeatedly shielding China in the matter of the origin of Coronavirus, and the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking which was suspended after it was found that China had manipulated its rankings.

PM Modi concluded his speech at the UNGA by quoting a poem by Rabindranath Tagore.

The legacy of Madam Bhikaiji Cama: The ‘mother of revolutionaries’ who fought for Indian independence

Shubham Goyal
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The legacy of Madam Bhikaiji Cama: The ‘mother of revolutionaries’ who fought for Indian independence

Madam Bhikaiji Cama was born in a wealthy Parsi family of Bombay on 24 September 1861. She completed her secondary education at Alexandra Girl Education Institution. It was considered the best women school in the country at that time. Among nine of her brothers and sisters, she was the brightest and learnt several languages in her childhood. She married a wealthy, young and smart Parsi man ‘Rustam Cama’. However, her husband’s family always praised Britishers and had very little interest in public life. Slowly while following the freedom movement, Madam Cama grew conscious about the atrocities done by Britishers in the country due to which differences arose between her and Rustom Cama. 

When the plague broke out in 1896, Madam Cama gave up all the comfort and luxury lifestyle, devoted herself completely to the service of people wearing a white apron. She was so courageous that even while knowing that there has been no vaccine discovered for plague, yet she kept on working selflessly for the patients. A young, wealthy and beautiful lady could be seen in the role of a nurse and mother taking care of people affected by the. After a point of time she was infected with plague, therefore doctors advised her to go abroad for treatment. Subsequently, she left for London. 

After recovering from the illness she came in contact with a few revolutionaries Shyamji Krishna Verma and S.S. Rana. Dissatisfied with the stance of the British Committee of Indian National Congress, they started opposing the policies adopted by Congress leaders. Soon they realised that peaceful protests were not enough for dismantling the British rule. Madam Cama along with other revolutionaries started delivering speeches at Hyde Park. These fiery speeches started to attract native Indians staying abroad and foreign media. Madam Cama started working with Dada Bhai Naoroji and learnt about politics and expanded her network. She started to write in Indian Sociologist regularly.

Association with Veer Savarkar and Activism at India House

Shyamji Verma established the India House in London which became the centre for Indian revolutionaries staying abroad. It was a kind of hostel which was used to accommodate Indian students studying in London. The India House was established on 1st July 1905. The inauguration ceremony was attended by revolutionaries like Lala Lajpat Rai and Dada Bhai Naoroji. It was at India House that Madam Cama along with other revolutionaries like Veer Savarkar and Senapati Bapat used to formulate strategies to overthrow the British establishment. However, the ‘father of our nation’ never liked this group of revolutionaries working at The India House and considered them as ‘Violent Team’. 

When India House was celebrating the Golden Jubilee of India’s first war of Independence, Lala Lajpat Rai was arrested in India. At this time Madam Cama wrote fiercely in The Indian Sociologist and appealed to follow non-cooperation. She realised that the best way to dismantle Britishers in India is by stopping cooperating with them and this way their system would collapse in no time.   

As Veer Savarkar became the leader of The India House with the support of Madam Cama, he formed a group named – ‘ Abhinav Bharat’. This group used to celebrate the birthdays of Indian Freedom fighters.

When Veer Savarkar’s book ‘First War of Indian Independence’ was banned by the English authorities before it could even release, it was Madam Cama who somehow got it smuggled to India and translated it into French. Indian revolutionaries used to consider this book as their Geeta. Madam Cama always took care of Savarkar as her mother. When Savarkar was being chased by British Police, it was Madam Cama who gave him refuge at her place in Paris.

Thereafter when he was arrested in London, Madam Cama was the one under whose leadership an escape plan was formulated. When he was taken to India for trial, Madam Cama along with Lala Hardayal started a movement in France with the help of Jarvis a socialist leader, so that Savarkar’s release could be initiated. The French Govt. wanted the British Govt. to return Savarkar to them. It was after Madam Cama and Lala Hardayal wrote to various International Media Houses, ICJ took the case into its hand.

She kept on helping Savarkar’s family when he was awarded imprisonment for life. When she realised no option is left to save Savarkar, she walked straight into the office of the British Council in Paris and took all the responsibility for the crime for which Savarkar was being punished in Kala Paani. This clearly shows how bold and fearless she was.  

Designing and hoisting of the National Flag 

After Sister Nivedita first talked about the concept of the National Flag, Madam Cama and Savarkar started working on it. This flag consisted of three stripes of different colours. The first one was Green which represented the Muslim community of our country, the second one was of Saffron colour which is considered sacred by Hindus, Third was of red colour which was envisaged to give respect to the brave freedom fighters who lost their lives in the freedom movement.

Vande Mataram was also written in the middle of this flag. Finally, the day came on 22 August 1907 in the International Socialist Convention in Stuttgart, Germany, in which India was represented by Dada Bhai Naoroji.

As described by Author Rachna Yamini in her book ‘The life and times of Madam Bhikaiji Cama’: “When people saw Madam Cama, adorned in a Parsi saree with a full-sleeved blouse, sitting with a glorious face, people started to whisper in low voices. Her head was covered with an end of her saree, which displayed her courtesy, but when the same courteous and well-cultured Indian woman rose to speak in a fluent style, it appeared as if the entire assembly had been put on fire. When the Union Jack was about to be hoisted as a mark of the national flag of India, she opposed it and took out a small tricolour from her bag and waved it in her hands. With this Madam, Cama became the first Indian to hoist the National Flag on foreign soil. This drew a lot of international attention.”

End of a 35-year long journey          

Madam Cama spent a major part of her life in exile, in foreign countries. She travelled in Europe and America to gather resources and support for her countrymen who were fighting for the country. It should be observed that she proved to be quite successful in her mission. It won’t be wrong if we say that she was the first Non-Government ambassador of India. American press used to call her – ‘Indian Zone of Arch’. When Madam Cama came back to India after 35 years, she grew old and poor. After spending almost 8 months in hospital she finally gave up her life on 16 August, 1936.

As Mamata Banerjee claims Modi stopped her ‘foreign trip’, here are the many unanswered questions about the event she was supposedly invited to

OpIndia Staff
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As Mamata Banerjee claims Modi stopped her ‘foreign trip’, here are the many unanswered questions about the event she was supposedly invited to

Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the Central Government has denied her permission to attend a world event at Rome which is supposed to be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis as well. The West Bengal Chief Minister claimed that she was told it isn’t proper for a Chief Minister to visit.

Mamata Banerjee also accused Narendra Modi of being jealous of her. “You keep talking about Hindus, I am also a Hindu woman, why did you not allow me? You are totally jealous,” She said referring to Narendra Modi.

Trinamool spokesperson Debangshu Dev has also jumped into it to accuse the Central Government of stopping Mamata Banerjee’s visit.

The event Banerjee was referring to is an event for World Peace supposedly being organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio. Earlier in August, it was reported that Banerjee had been invited to the event along with Angela Merkel and Pope Francis, to be hosted in Rome on the 6th and 7th of October.

However, the suspicious bit about the whole affair is that there is hardly any coverage of the matter in western media. When we checked the website of the organisation, we could not find any reference to any such event or to Mamata Banerjee herself.

A Google search reveals that there’s no relevant search result for Mamata Banerjee on the website.

A Google search result

Since it is an event expected to be attended by Angela Merkel and Pope Francis, it is reasonable to expect that western media would report the development on their presence. However, there is no such news reports on the matter.

On Twitter, when one searches with the keywords “Angela Merkel sant’egidio”, the top results are from years prior and the latest results are all related to claims by Mamata Banerjee.

Source: Twitter

Furthermore, we have sent several emails to the Community of Sant’Egidio seeing confirmation of the matter but have not received any replies from them over the same. Thus, we see a pattern of extremely suspicious events here.

We have an obscure organisation, that supposedly has a very close relationship with Pope Francis, inviting an Indian Chief Minister for an obscure event that the German Chancellor and the Pope is expected to attend. Second, there does not appear to be any independent confirmation of the event, and the Indian media has simply reproduced Banerjee’s claims without verification.

Thirdly, for such a high profile event, there is nonexistent coverage of it in the western media. Fourthly, there is no indication of any such event on the website of the Community of Sant’Egidio, the group that supposedly invited Mamata Banerjee. Fifth, our attempts to seek some confirmation of the event from the organisers have received no response at all.

All of this leads us to question the authenticity of the event, if any such event is happening at all. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that Mamata Banerjee is accusing the Modi Government of preventing her visit in order to avoid admitting that she fell for an elaborate hoax.

It certainly will not be the first time that the Trinamool Congress has fallen for a hoax. The party had claimed that a group affiliated to the United Nations had congratulated the West Bengal Chief Minister for her governance during the Covid-19 pandemic. After our investigation that exposed the dubious nature of the group, Trinamool Congress was forced to remove the tweet that boasted of the endorsement.

While a verdict cannot be passed regarding the Sant’Egidio event as of yet, it remains to be seen whether such an event actually takes place of the 6th and 7th of October.

Rajasthan govt bans WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, mobile internet and SMS to ‘maintain secrecy’ of REET exam in Ajmer district

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan govt bans WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, mobile internet and SMS to ‘maintain secrecy’ of REET exam in Ajmer district

The Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan has suspended mobile internet services, bulk SMS/MMS and social media platforms in Ajmer district from 6 am to 6 pm on Sunday, September 26, in the wake of state teacher eligibility test, Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test or REET, the state government announced on Saturday.

“Internet services, bulk SMS/MMS/Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and other social media by Internet Service Providers (except for voice call of landline, mobile phone, and landline broadband, lease line data) to be suspended in Ajmer district from 6 am to 6 pm on September 26 in the wake of REET exam,” said Ajmer district magistrate in an order.

The decision to suspend services was taken a day after the Rajasthan police apprehended a gang of four members with Rs 5.60 lakhs in cash in an alleged attempt to make dummy candidates appear for REET 2021. CM Gehlot issued a warning for state government personnel against helping candidates cheat in the test. He also authorised the withdrawal of affiliation and recognition of private institutes if any of their staff is caught facilitating cheating.

Tight security has been arranged to prevent cheating in the exams. Even officials such as collectors and SPs will not be allowed to take their mobile phones to the examination centres while visiting them, Education minister Govind Singh Dotasra said.

The decision to ban the internet during the exams was taken despite the Rajasthan High Court asking the state government to avoid suspending the internet to conduct exams in the past, as it causes inconvenience to other people utilising services such as booking cabs, ordering food and other essential services online.

The REET is scheduled to take place on Sunday for the recruitment of 31,000 Grade 3 teachers in the state. The REET admit card was released by the Board on September 17, 2021, and the exam was planned for June 20 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is worth noting that the exam is being conducted almost after three years in the state. As per reports, the exam is slated to be conducted at 4,153 examination centres across 200 places in the state. In the state’s capital, Jaipur, more than 2.5 lakh candidates will appear for the examination at 592 centres. The state govt has arranged free travel for candidates, for which the transport department has hired private buses.

As the examination is taking place after 3 years, a large number of candidates, around 16 lakh, are appearing for the exams. To avoid crowding during the test, the administration has ordered shops and business establishments to remain shut on Sunday.

Dr Nisar Khan and his son forcibly circumcise their Hindu servant to convert him to Islam in Madhya Pradesh, case filed: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Dr Nisar Khan and his son forcibly circumcise their Hindu servant to convert him to Islam in Madhya Pradesh, case filed: Read details

A sensational case of forced conversion has come to the fore in the Agar-Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, where a 31-year-old man had filed a complaint against 2 people for forcibly circumcising him with the intent of converting him into Islam.

In his complaint, the victim identified as Dashrath told the police that he worked under one Dr Nasir Khan, a resident of Malikheda, who along with his son circumcised him against his will. He was threatened and intimidated to embrace Islam and even forced to offer namaz, Dashrath had alleged in his complaint.

Describing his ordeal to the police, Dashrath said Dr Nasir and his son had completely barred him from going to temples. He was instead coerced into offering namaz and following Muslim rituals. Following his complaint, a case has been registered against Dr Nasir Khan under the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Ordinance 2020.

Doctor and his son forced their servant to embrace Islam, stopped him from visiting temples

Ranjit Singh, Kotwali police station in-charge, said the accused in the case is a repeat offender and has a case pending against him in the Agar district. The victim said he has been working under Dr Nasir since 2007 and had left the job once after being fed up with the harassment and bullying he had faced at the hands of the father-son duo. Dashrath had then gone back to his village after which Dr Nasir reached his place and pleaded with him to return.

However, after a while then, Dr Nasir and his son Zubair started pressuring Dashrath to convert his religion. Nasir started physically assaulting him. Nasir’s son, Zubair, also supported his father in his endeavour to convert Dashrath into Islam. About seven months ago, the accused got him circumcised. Circumcision is regarded as an important ritual in Islam, apparently aimed at improving cleanliness. The ritual dates back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. According to tradition, Muhammad was born without a foreskin and is therefore strongly encouraged for all Muslim men.

He was even rechristened to Ashraf by the father-son duo. Then on September 23, Dashrath decided to end his misery and approached the police station to file a complaint against his employer and his son. After taking cognisance of his complaint, the police filed a case against the accused and launched an investigation into the matter.

Christian boy accused of forcing a Hindu girl to convert into Christianity

It is worth noting that just a few days ago, a case of forced conversion of a Hindu girl was reported from Bhopal. A Christian boy was accused of entrapping a Hindu girl into a romantic relationship by hiding his religion. As per reports, when the girl got pregnant, she pressurised the boy to marry her. It was then that the boy revealed that he was not a Hindu as portrayed by him but was a Christian. Although he married the girl in an Arya Samaj temple as per Hindu customs, he later started pressurizing the girl to convert her religion.

When the girl refused to change her religion, she was tortured. After which the victim girl reached Kohefiza police station in Bhopal to file a complaint against her own husband. The police filed a case against the accused under the MP Religious Freedom Ordinance 2020 and launched a probe into the matter.

‘Child Marriage bill of Rajasthan violates central acts and court judgements’: NCPCR writes to Ashok Gehlot govt urging to reconsider the bill

OpIndia Staff
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‘Child Marriage bill of Rajasthan violates central acts and court judgements’: NCPCR writes to Ashok Gehlot govt urging to reconsider the bill

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has urged the Rajasthan government to review the Compulsory Registration of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021 stating that legalizing the marriage of minors not only violates the law, but will also have a serious impact on the physical, psychological, social and education of minors in Rajasthan.

NCPC chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, who shot a letter to Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, has explained at length how this Bill is bad in the eyes of laws and regressive too.

The Rajasthan Congress government headed by chief minister Ashok Gehlot got this bill passed on September 17 during the assembly session amid protest of the BJP and concerns raised by the civil society. The bill states that marriage between the bridegroom who has not completed 2l years and the bride who has not completed 18 years of age could be registered by the parents or guardians within the 30 days of the marriage through the marriage registration officer.

NCPCR has reminded to Rajasthan government that the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Bill of Rajasthan violates the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006’. This central Act prohibits solemnisation of child marriages and constitutes child marriages by a male adult with a girl child as a cognizable and non-bailable offence under different sections namely 9, 10, 11 and 10 of the Act.  

It further states that whoever performs, conducts, directs or abets any child marriage will be punishable with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years and will be liable to a fine which may extend to Rs one lakh.

NCPCR has also said that under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, any child marriage would be voidable at the option of the contracting party being a child at the time of marriage. This central act also provides protection and maintenance to the female contracting party to child marriage.

NCPCR has said that the Rajasthan government’s bill violates other laws also like The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 which states that a girl child who is at imminent risk of marriage before attending the age of 18 years of age is a child in need of care and protection.

The child rights body referred October 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Independent Thought vs Union Of India case, where the Supreme Court held child marriage a serious offence.

Hence, quoting provisions laid down by law and observations of the Supreme Court, the NCPCR urged the Rajasthan government to review provisions of the bill since it will have adverse impacts on the welfare of the children in Rajasthan.

The bill has defied all the logic given the fact that Rajasthan is among the states of the country where the evil of child marriage is still prevalent. Ironically, in 2017 the then BJP government headed by Vasundhara Raje had launched a statewide campaign Bal Wiwah Mukata Rajasthan Hamara to discourage child marriage.

Earlier, NCPCR had sent a letter to Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra expressing concern over the bill.  

Surge in Covid-19 cases in Mizoram causes concern, infection high among youths

OpIndia Staff
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Surge in Covid-19 cases in Mizoram causes concern, infection high among youths

As the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19 increases due to the world’s largest vaccination program, the prevalence of Coronavirus infection in the country is coming down gradually. While the total active cases have come down to less than 3 lakh from a high of above 37 lakh in May this year, Kerala and Maharashtra remain the top two states affected by the pandemic. But surprisingly, northeastern state Mizoram has seen a spike in cases in recent times, which has caused fresh worries.

At present, Mizoram has more than 14 thousand active cases, which is the fourth-highest in the country. While other countries in the top ten list always had high cases, Mizoram’s cases have increased only recently. Moreover, the active cases in the state are going up, while in almost all other states, active cases are going down. Even Kerala has seen the number of active cases coming down from 2 lakh in last week to August to 1.63 lakh now, similarly, Maharashtra’s active cases came down from 50 thousand to 38 thousand during this period.

Recently the Union Health Ministry had said that Mizoram, along with Kerala, has emerged as a cause for concern. As many as 3,192 children between 11 and 20 years were reported to be infected by the virus in the first half of September. 2,850 Covid-19 cases have been detected among children below 10 years, and 2,997 cases have been detected between the age group of 21 and 30 years.

But for Mizoram, the active caseload has gone up from 6 thousand a month ago to above 14 thousand now. A Similar trend was seen in July this year, when the active cases had gone from 4 thousand to 12 thousand in a month, before coming down to 6 thousand by the end of August, which against went up in September.

Another cause for concern is that the share of youths among the Covid-19 infected people is high in Mizoram.

Explaining the recent surge in cases in the state, Dr Pachuau Lalmalsawma, state nodal officer and official spokesperson on COVID-19, said that a recent study conducted by experts in the state has revealed that the nature of society in the state has led to the increase of cases in the case. The study found that Mizoram is a close-knit society where casual visits to relatives, friends, and neighbours or dining together within the family circle or with others is a common practice even during the lockdown, it has resulted in increased transmission of the infection.

A central team had also attributed this reason behind increased cases, however, the central team had also cited non-compliance with public health guidelines as another reason. According to reports, Dr ZR Thiamsanga, the chairman of the State Medical Operational Team on COVID-19, said that as per a recent study done on 10,000 people in the state, it was found that Covid-19 transmission was found to be high among the people who do not follow Covid-19 Appropriate Behaviour, but the infection is low among the people who follow the norms.

The experts in the state have said that new variants of Covid-19 like Delta and Delta Plus have contributed to higher rates of infection in the state, as these variants are highly contagious. “If highly transmissible Covid-19 variants are already present, it is clear that transmission rate will be high or vast in a close-knit society,” said Dr Thiamsanga, who is also an MLA in the state.

Another reason being cited for recent higher cases in Mizoram is the lack of natural immunity among the people in the state.

Although the pace of vaccination was slow at the beginning in the state, it has gone up recently, and the state has administered more than 11 lakh doses so far. During the initial days, there were lots of vaccine hesitancy in the state due to the influence of the church. It was reported that some Churches and Christian groups were discouraging people from taking the coronavirus vaccine in north-eastern states, including Christian majority Mizoram. But now, vaccination drive has picked up pace due to increase awareness about the benefit of vaccines among people.

The state is augmenting its Covid-19 response infrastructure in the wake of increased cases. The government has decided to increase testing capacity in the state, and is getting two mobile vans equipped with RT-PCR testing facilities from the Centre.

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