On August 24, banned Khalistani organization Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) issued a video in which their mascot Gurpatwant Singh Pannu announced that his organization would seek help from the Taliban to “liberate Punjab” from India.
In the video, Pannu claimed that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is a “message” for India that the public’s “fight for freedom” continues till they get freedom from the rulers. He further added that Sikhs are trying to free Punjab from India since 1984.
Pannu said that his organization would hold referendum voting alongside Punjab’s Assembly Elections in 2022. He added that if the Government of India tried to stop the voting for the referendum, the “fall of Delhi is inevitable”.
Throughout the video, sounds of thunder and lightning could be heard in the background. Pannu tried his best to make the threats sound serious by adding the sound of thunder and lightning in the background, with occasional lightning flashes on the screen, added with some tacky editing.
Recently, SFJ had announced a cash reward for anyone who stops PM Modi, Chief Ministers and other leaders from hosting National Flag on Independence Day. He had announced a similar cash reward in January for those who raise Khalistani Flag on Republic Day. However, this time his “ambitious” plans did not work out, and Independence Day celebrations went smooth without any notable incident.
SFJ would seek help from the Taliban, says Pannu
Pannu asked Sikhs to be “prepared to fight against the government just like the Taliban”. He said SFJ is seeking a “peaceful solution” to the “conflicting” Punjab and would hold Referendum voting alongside Assembly elections.
Screenshot from Pannu’s video showing Talibani leader in the background. (Source: youtube)
He added, “You are spreading a message in the world that the Taliban is atrocious. But the biggest terrorism done against Sikhs is by India.” He further said, “If EU, UK, US recognized Taliban, SFJ would approach them for support Khalistan referendum. Either by votes or by the military. SFJ believes in Kesri, Khanda, Khalistan, Tukde Tukde Kar Deyange Hindustan’.”
SFJ also issued a letter congratulating the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. It read, “Once key Western powers recognize Taliban regime, the secessionist group will approach Taliban to enrol their support for the establishment of Khalistan through Referendum.”
Interestingly, Pannu forgot to mention that Sikhs are leaving Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country out of fear that they would get persecuted for their religion. On Tuesday, Sikhs also brought three hand-written Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Afghanistan to India to ensure their safety.
SFJ also launched a website for the same that has been banned by the Indian authorities. SFJ claimed that it would hold voting for the referendum in different countries before Punjab. In October, the same would take place in Switzerland, followed by Canada and other locations.
SJF’s history of venomous videos against India
This is not the first time SFJ has released such videos against India. In the past, SFJ released several videos asking Sikh youth to join the Khalistan movement. Before Republic Day, SFJ released a video in which they announced a cash reward for anyone who hoists the flag on Red Fort on Republic Day. He also announced support for farmer protests and claimed to send money for their support.
Weeks after photographs of ‘Gender Jihad’ activists in “bold dressing” in front of a monument dedicated to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, sparked outrage in Pakistan, the Islamabad police have now arrested a man named Zulfiqar in the case.
According to the police, Zulfiqar was one of the two activists who had posed in the photographs that had gone viral on the internet, drawing flak from a large number of Pakistanis, who demanded their arrests for posting “immoral photos” in front of the portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, whom they refer to as Quaid-e-Azam.
Zulfiqar, a resident of Lahore, was arrested after a complaint was filed against him by a man called Rashid Malik. According to the FIR, the plaintiff alleged that the photos featuring Zulfiqar and another activist have violated the sanctity and respect of historical places and persons. The complainant pleaded strict action against the culprits for violating the honour of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The police registered a case under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Under this section, any person found guilty of immoral acts, obscene words or obscene songs in public places can be imprisoned for a maximum of three months or fined or both.
Pakistanis demand arrest after photos of ‘Gender Jihad’ activists in ‘bold attire’ in front of Jinnah’s portrait go viral
On August 2, Pakistani social media users were left miffed after they spotted photographs of a couple in “bold dressing” in front of a monument dedicated to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the man behind the formation of Pakistan whom they “fondly” call Quaid-e-Azam. The photographs were first posted by a group identified as Mystical Shayari on Instagram.
The photographs were clicked on Express Highway, Islamabad. ANI’s Smita Prakash shared it on Twitter and hoped the couple is not hounded by the moral Police in Pakistan.
The photographs were taken by one Eman Mahsud, and dresses were designed by one Raja Wasey, who identifies himself as a drag artist on Instagram. While Mystical Shayari and Eman have deactivated their accounts, Wasey made his account private on Instagram after the backlash.
According to the Instagram bio of Mystical Shayari, they are part of what they call ‘Gender Jihad’.
While some Pakistanis called them vulgar, others termed the dresses ‘abnormal’. The photographs drew strong criticism from Pakistani social media users who urged authorities to take strict action against the two models for their “disrespectful” gesture. Many offended Pakistanis had then even asked police to arrest the activists for insulting the Quaid-e-Azam by wearing immoral dresses and posing in front of one of his portraits.
Self-proclaimed “fact-checking” portal Alt News has earned itself the dubious distinction of summarily dishing out “clean chits” based on flimsy evidence and serving as an apologist of Islamists. It employs dubious methods and tricks to absolve Islamists of any wrongdoing and instead paints them as “victims” of Islamophobia.
True to its reputation, it recently carried out a “fact-check” about provocative slogans being raised at a function organised on the occasion of Muharram in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. A video from the programme had apparently gone viral on the internet, leading many people to allege that “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans were chanted during the function.
The video was shared by many notable personalities, including ABP journalist Brajesh Rajput, BJP UP leader Santosh Singh and Supreme Court advocate Gaurav Bhatia among other folks. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also weighed in on the controversy, stating that action has been initiated and the accused have been arrested. He further added that the Talibani mindset will not be tolerated.
Just as Alt News has been giving a free pass to the Taliban by “fact-checking” and declaring that their viral videos and images of atrocities are old, it quickly came to the rescue of Islamists in India who routinely hail Pakistan and sing paeans to the Islamic nation.
In its “fact-check” on the Ujjain incident, Alt News claimed it had a “source” who had attended the function and who had claimed that the slogans raised during the event were not related to Pakistan but to a certain Qazi. Alt News fact-check said “Qazi Saab Zindabad” slogans were mistaken for “Pakistan Zindabad”.
Source: Twitter
To back its assertion, Alt News shared a video from the event, claiming that it is of superior quality as compared to the ones doing the rounds on the internet. It further claimed that one could clearly hear in the alleged superior quality video that the crowd in the background had chanted “Qazi Saab Zindabad” slogans and not “Pakistan Zindabad”.
In their desperate attempt to give a “clean chit” to the people present at the event, Alt News even resorted to claiming that the chants of “Qazi Saab Zindabad” and “Pakistan Zindabad” are phonetically distinct.
Nevertheless, when one hears the videos shared on social media websites or even the “superior quality” video uploaded by Alt News, the chants have uncanny correspondence with “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans. Therefore, to fault social media users for deliberately maligning participants of raising slogans in favour of Pakistan is a stretch at best and a shoddy attempt to whitewash Islamists at worse.
Qazi slogans in one video does not absolve Islamists of chanting “Pakistan Zindabad” on other instances
Even if one assumes that the chants made at the Muharram event in Ujjain were “Qazi Saab Zindabad”, it does not absolve other Islamists elsewhere who raise slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad”. For many decades now, there have been umpteen incidents from across India when slogans in support of Pakistan are raised and victory to the country has been prayed.
To put things in perspective, here is a video from 2015 from Jammu & Kashmir where children as reciting Pakistan national anthem.
But with this dubious fact-check, Alt News tries to blur the line between what’s true and what’s a lie. This is a typical modus operandi employed by Alt News of late. For example, if there are videos of “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans being raised at an event in India, the “fact-checkers” will find a video of an event from Pakistan, where obviously a Muslim mob would be shouting “Pakistan Zindabad”, and conclude that the viral video is from Pakistan and not India.
When it becomes difficult to shield Islamists, the “fact-checkers” lean on extraneous details such as date, time and location to discredit the claims surrounding an incident. So when a video of “Pakistan Zindabad” from a place somewhere in India goes viral on the internet, the “fact-checkers” fall over themselves to search for similar videos from Pakistan.
When they can’t find such videos from Pakistan, they apply themselves to cast aspersions about the viral video, declaring it to be from a particular date and not the one mentioned by the netizens or contest the location about where it was shot. So the fact that “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans were raised becomes an inconsequential fact and the narrative is steered towards the date, time and location on when the event took place.
Dubious methods used by Alt News to shield Islamists under the cover of “fact-check”
In fact, Alt News has often resorted to using devious methods as a part of its modus operandi to give a boost to its propaganda of keeping the Muslim victimhood narrative alive and diligently work towards protecting and whitewashing Islamists. It has mastered several methods to further its narrative while disproving a contrarian worldview. Besides using reverse search images for its propaganda purposes, it has also emphasised nitpicking about petty and irrelevant details of an incident to muddle the readers and sow doubts about the narrative around the incident.
For instance, last year, when a video of a Muslim vegetable vendor applying saliva to his produce had gone viral, Alt News tried to water down the act by alleging that the video of the Muslim vegetable vendor spitting on the vegetables was not from April but from February, as if spitting on the vegetables in February was totally in accordance with the prevailing societal norms.
The question here was, on what basis did Alt News fact-checked the article? Firstly, it is staggeringly preposterous to base one’s fact-check not on the event itself but the date and timing of the event. But the “fact-checkers”, who run an Islamic propaganda website using fact-check as cover, had no qualms in premising their article on the date of the video, even if that meant condoning the act of applying saliva on the vegetables and fruits. So the discussion is suddenly shifted from the immorality of the Muslim vegetable vendor to the provenance of the video being circulated online.
The same continued with the Tablighi Jamaat episode where Alt News went on an overdrive to whitewash the hoodlums of the Muslim seminary, whose unhygienic practices powered the inexorable rise of coronavirus cases in the country in March-April 2020. However, However, slanted ‘fact-check’ website was then so engrossed in their Muslim salvation that they could not bring themselves to acknowledge the fact that the cases in the country had indeed skyrocketed because of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi.
Much recently, about a week ago, Alt News conducted another dubious fact-check after posters bearing inflammatory slogans attributed to prominent Muslims were found in UP’s Pratapgarh. Even before the police completed their investigation to identify miscreants responsible for putting up the posters, Alt News presumptuously declared that Muslims cannot erect such posters because it would attract unfavourable attention towards the community.
And this declaration was made even though evident suggest that innumerable Muslim leaders have not shied away from making threatening and disparaging remarks against Hindus and other religion. But, in their attempt to whitewash provocative Muslim leaders and Islamists, Alt News made a generalised claim that the posters were put up by anyone but Muslims. Early this year, Aam Aadmi Party leader Amanatullah Khan had justified and even nudged mob for beheading of Yati Narsinghanand of Dasna Temple over alleged blasphemy. But because some obscure leader ‘confirmed’ to Alt News that he did not put up the poster, Alt News will use it to ‘prove’ how no one from the community would do such a thing to ruin so-called secular fabric of the nation.
Alt News’ cunning strategem of using “fact checks” to paint the offenders as “victims” of fake news
The recent case of “fact-checking” provocative slogans raised in Ujjain during a Muharram function is yet another attempt by Alt News to shield the delinquent Islamists, who attended the event despite strict prohibitory orders from the government to curb the spread of COVID-19. Such events have the potential of powering subsequent waves of COVID-19 outbreaks.
The state government had not permitted any assembly as per the restrictions imposed in the view of coronavirus outbreak. The fact that the congregation of people during the event in Ujjain was unlawful was also mentioned in the Alt News article. But, in their bid to perpetuate Islamist propaganda, this nugget of information was swept under the rug and a smokescreen of “fact-check” was raised in order to divert attention from the criminal behaviour of the Islamist mob.
And what this insidious attempt at fact check by Alt News effectively does is it shifts the attention from the criminality of the mob that had gathered for Muharram in defiance of COVID-19 protocols and guidelines, and instead proceeds to paint the wrongdoers as “victims” of fake news.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, a youth is seen putting tilak and tying rakhi to a pair of cobras, when he is bit by one of them. According to reports, the youth, identified as Manmohan, a 25-year-old snake charmer from Saran district in Bihar was immediately rushed to the hospital after he was bitten but unfortunately he succumbed to the poison.
In the video of the incident, Manmohan was seen holding the two serpents by their tails. As the reptiles keep slithering, the youth first puts tilak on the snakes. While he looked back to bring something from the ritualistic Rakhi plate kept close, holding the two cobras by tail, one slowly crawls towards the man’s foot and bites a toe.
Many people from the village were seen surrounding Manmohan to witness the unique rakhi-celebration.
After the incident, Manmohan inspected his foot and resumes his activities. However, as per reports, he was soon rushed to the hospital for treatment. He was declared brought dead.
The 25-year-old used to catch snakes and treat their wounds for more than a decade, reports said. Unfortunately, Manmohan who used to treat people in his village suffering from snakebite, himself succumbed to it.
Popular bookstore chain ‘Crossword’ refused to deshelve Garuda Prakashan’s book on Delhi’s anti-Hindu riots after TheWire’s founder Siddharth Varadarajan’s wife Nandini Sundar tried to ‘cancel’ them for selling it.
Sundar, a Delhi University professor and known Naxal sympathiser, who is also one of the speakers at the Dismantle Global Hindutva Conference, attacked the bookstore for featuring a fact-based book on Delhi Riots and other books by Garuda Prakashan. “Pogrom-enabling @crossword_book showcases books which spread lies, hate and violence,” Sundar Tweeted.
Nandini Sundar’s Tweet
She also quoted a vague negative review of the book in her following Tweet to discredit it.
In response to her Tweet, Crossword made it clear that as a bookstore they take a neutral stand and promote reading.
“Hi! Thanks for highlighting this. These books were New Arrivals and coincidentally displayed together for which the displays have been taken care of. Although, Crossword doesn’t have any intentions to hurt anyone’s sentiments, being a bookstore we take a neutral stand and purely promote reading,” the brand said in a Tweet.
Crossword’s Tweet in reply to Nandini Sundar’s complaint
This is not the first time that an attempt was made to disallow the book to reach the readers. Succumbing to immense pressure from the left cabal who have tried hard to portray the Delhi violence as an anti-Muslim riot, Bloomsbury had pulled back as a publisher of the book by advocate Monica Arora, Sonali CHitalkar and Prerna Malhotra.
The book authored by Supreme Court advocate Monika Arora entailing several ghastly attacks on Hindus under the garb of ‘anti-CAA’ protests was then published by Indic brand Garuda Prakashan.
Meanwhile, several netizens slammed Sundar for her attempt to deplatform books that do not toe the leftist line. Some users also thanked her for inadvertently promoting the books in her attempt to bully the bookstore chain into removing them.
Kerala, often dubbed as God’s own country, has become the hotbed of religious conflicts. Muslims and Christian groups in the State are now settling mutual differences by releasing films in the name of each other’s Prophet.
As per reports, the controversy began after Mollywood (Malayalam cinema) director Nadirshah began directing his upcoming movie titled ‘Eesho: Not from the Bible’. The movie, featuring actor Jayasurya in the lead, has drawn the ire of the Christian community for using the name of Jesus Christ (Eesho) in the title of the movie. Following the controversy, Nadirshah claimed that the ‘Eesho’ was the name of the character and not that of Christ. Ex-MLA PC George, a Christian by faith, had lashed out at Nadirshah for his actions and claimed that Mollywood was being controlled by Islamic extremists.
In a Facebook post on August 2, Nadirshah clarified that he will not change the name of the movie. “This movie has nothing to do with Jesus, son of God, whom I respect a lot. This is just the name of a character. So, we have decided to remove the tagline – ‘not from the Bible’ considering that the title has caused distress to a few of my dear brothers from the Christian community,” he emphasised. Nadirshash further added that he believed in respecting ‘all religions equally’ and have friends from all faith. The director claimed to accept any punishment, from those whose sentiments were hurt, after the release of the film.
While speaking to the New Indian Express, Nadirshah reiterated that the title of the movie cannot be changed. “The title and first look of ‘Eesho’ was released three months ago. At that time, nobody came up against the poster or the tagline. However, after releasing the new look of my another movie last week (July end), many came up with objections to the ‘Eesho’ poster,” he said. The Mollywood director even went on to claim that the title was suggested by his ‘Christian’ cameraman Robby Varghese. It must be mentioned that Nadirshah also courted controversy for the title of his another movie named, ‘Keshu Ee Veedinte Nadhan.’ He added that the name of the lead character in the movie is Keshavan and had nothing to do with Yesu.
Given his tough stance to not change the title of ‘Eeasho’ and ‘Keshu’, a Facebook group named Christian Association And Alliance For Social Action (CASA) has decided to release a short film on child abuse. However, the movie has been named ‘Muhammad’. Muhammad is also one of the names of the prophet of Islam. As part of a global awareness campaign, CASA will release the film titled, ‘Muhammad: The POCSO Criminal’ on November 19 i.e. World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse.
The poster of the short film – Muhammad: The POCSO Criminal
The movie is based on the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in the Dibrugarh district of Assam by a Bangladeshi national named Muhammad. As per reports, the shooting of the movie will commence from the first week of November and will be released on various social media platforms. The poster of the movie was released by the Facebook page of CASA in a post on Monday (April 23). The short film titled ‘Muhammad: The POCSO Criminal’ has received an overwhelming response from Keralite Christians.
Screengrab of the Facebook comments
“Super idea. Congratulations to the CASA team for this endeavour,” wrote one Facebook user. Another user suggested to add ‘Not from the Quran’ in line with Nadirshah’s movie titled ‘Eesho: Not from the Bible’
After a hasty and badly handled withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan, the country has fallen into chaos as ISI-backed Taliban have taken over most provinces, including the capital Kabul. As NATO forces withdraw from the war-torn country and US soldiers leave, a large number of arms, ammunition, and military equipment left by them are now under the control of the Taliban.
In India, many have raised concerns that these weapons may soon find a way into Pakistan, and then, through Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, to India, especially Jammu and Kashmir. A report by ANI quotes top military experts as saying that these weapons will first be used in Pakistan by the ISI-backed terrorist groups, and will then make their way into India.
“There are a lot of inputs suggesting that American-origin weapons, especially small arms are being sent to Pakistan. But the way terror groups have been emboldened there by the Taliban victory, there is a possibility of these weapons being used for violence in Pakistan itself,” senior military officers told ANI while discussing the Afghanistan war’s outcome.
Along with arms and ammunition, a significant part of the loot of American communications and night vision equipment is also likely to make its way into the Pakistan Army, ANI reported.
As per the report, in the last 20 years, American forces are believed to have supplied Afghan forces with more than 6.5 lakh small guns, including M-16 and M-4 assault rifles, as well as a large cache of armour piercing ammunition or steel core rounds. A report by Forbes suggests that America has provided $83 billion worth of training and equipment to Afghan security forces since 2001. This year, alone, the U.S. military aid to Afghan forces was $3 billion.
Videos emerge showing Talibanis with sophisticated American weaponry
Since the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, multiple reports have emerged suggesting that the billions of dollars worth of modern military weaponry left behind by America has been captured by the jihadist organisation.
DISTURBING: Photos of the Taliban parading around with their confiscated American weapons are now circulating online. Over 2,000 U.S. armored vehicles and 40 U.S. aircraft are now in the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan. #TalibanTakeover#BidenDisasterhttps://t.co/WDd00QWz4r
What Biden can’t sidestep: Billions in American money spent on weapons for the Afghan Army now directly in the hands of Islamic extremists & terrorists. Like these ScanEagle drones loaded like potato sacks into a truck after the Taliban raided the abandoned Kunduz base: pic.twitter.com/80bV1PwnBn
Scores of videos have emerged of Taliban fighters rejoicing near abandoned American helicopters, carrying US-supplied M24 sniper rifles and M18 assault weapons, stacking other small arms and materiel in unending piles and driving Humvees and other US-made military trucks.
Prepared to tackle Pakistan aided Taliban even if they are equipped with superior weaponry: Indian military officers
Meanwhile, the Indian Army officials told ANI that they are fully prepared to tackle terrorists even if they are equipped with superior weaponry and survival equipment.
On the possibility of the Pakistan Army using the Taliban to spread terrorism in India, sources said a majority of the Army’s senior leadership has faced Afghan terrorists in the 1990s.
“The Afghans are easy to find in the Kashmir valley and the locals are scared of them due to their atrocities against women and young girls. In most of the cases, the locals themselves approach the security forces to get rid of them,” they said.
The British government has been guilty of using ‘stealth’ and ‘manipulation’ to control and worsen the economic and political condition of Lebanon, revealed leaked documents from the British Foreign Office in December 2020 and published by The Cradle on August 20 this year.
Lebanon has been the hotbed of anti-government protests over rising inflation, unemployment, corruption, poor living standards, and waste management. Saad Hariri, the Prime Minister-designate, failed to form his government even after nine months of negotiation. As such, he was forced to tender his resignation on July 15 this year. This was the second time that he had resigned from the post.
Earlier, widespread resentment and public demonstration led to his resignation in October 2019. It has now come to light that the British government has been at the helm of a ‘regime change’ operation in the politically-wrecked nation of Lebanon. The Cradle reported that about 7 months before the anti-government protests gripped the city of Bierut, the UK government commissioned a Target Audience Analysis (TAA) in the country.
Mobilisation of targeted audience against the Lebanon government
The purpose was to identify ‘population segments’ that could be mobilised for ‘positive social change’ against the government. One of the objectives was also to reduce sectarian tensions and unify population groups to oppose the ruling government. The government had tasked ARK to conduct TAA in Lebanon. ARK is a consultancy firm founded by British Intelligence MI6 operative Alistair Harris and has conducted psychological operations at the behest of both the US and the UK government.
ARK narrowed down the target audience to 12% of the population, who did not adhere to violent means but were active in protests and civil society initiatives. The British government had sanctioned a budget of £2,100,000 between April 2019 and March 2021 for the project. Through a multi-channel strategic communication campaign, ARK began influencing the public perception of their target audience and ‘stir them into action.’ But ARK has been at the helm of such manipulative operations in Lebanon since 2010. They were involved in campaigns such as ‘Get Out The Vote’ (2017/2018 elections) and ‘Take Action’ (2019).
The role of ARK in mass propaganda in Lebanon, and enhancing mobilisation capabilities
In order to influence its target audience, ARK partnered with 4 different local organisations. They started creating, publishing and pushing ‘compelling content’ on social media, print media, billboards, and local broadcast channels. The firm’s campaign dubbed ‘Take Action’ became the second most recognised advertising campaign among the respondents, ahead of political parties and beer companies. It engaged a whopping 30% first-time voters in one way or the other. ARK’s success in Lebanon paved the way for a dedicated production hub in the country, with another office in London. The firm would publish original content 5 times a day, with each post reach 45% of the population.
ARK also secretly created a Facebook Page by the name of ‘Ana Hon’ (Arabic : I am here) under the garb of a youth empowerment project funded by the Canadian government. The objective again was to build ‘mobilisation capacities’ of the youth and ‘promote positive stories from these communities and peer groups’ in areas such as Tripoli, Central Bekaa and Sidon. Under the initiative, locals were trained in video production to share compelling stories that would in turn encourage other young Lebanese. The Facebook page of ‘Ana Hon’ witnessed 16.3 million reach and a million views per month. Interestingly, 3/4th of the page was followed by the cohort between 18-35 years.
Hyper-local initiatives, co-operation with influencers
ARK adopted a ‘hyper-local approach’ to disseminate their propaganda to a wide range of audiences. They set up regional hubs in Beirut and other areas, published stories of pro-social behaviour with the ‘Ana Hon’ Facebook page serving as the aggregator of all such stories. The expansion of the page was thus crucial to the communication plans of the company. The company began training new reporters for Ana Hon, with the target of recruiting 50% women, besides the existing lot of 24 staffers. The purpose was to spread their propaganda to a wider female audience. ARK also conducted offline events to reinforce their messaging and bring about behavioural change.
Furthermore, ARK created a network of actors and influencers, who shared the objectives of the United Kingdom, and trained them in video production and messaging. At the same time, NGOs and local governance actors were recruited in exchange for their promotion on national media, ‘Ana Hon’ Facebook page, and other communication channels. Reportedly, the firm was well aware of the risk associated with the large-scale manipulation including the threats by Islamist terror outfit Hezbollah to the UK government and its affiliated groups in Lebanon.
ARK conducted bootcamps, town hall meetings, organised engagement forums to further their objective. It engaged the attendees in raising and resolving critical local-level issues, which should have been addressed by the government. The firm helped youth groups in conducting surveys, identifying issues of concern, and raising them at meetings. At the same time, ARK allowed the groups to be transferred to self-created youth collectives, In this way, they projected that the youth could become a part of a national group and foment change in the society.
ARK published training resources, educational material, political interviews, Q and A sessions, humorous messaging campaigns to facilitate the active recruitment and participation process. It targeted regions such as Beirut, Bekaa, Tripoli, and Chouf for its propaganda to induce ‘positive social change behaviour.’ The selection of the ‘priority regions’ was again based on Target Audience Analysis (TAA), which was conducted prior to the inception of the manipulation campaign. ARK succeeded in presenting the campaign as “a Lebanese-led youth political engagement project.”
ARK shrewdly concealed the role of UK government in the propaganda warfare
ARK ran surveillance programmes on Hezbollah run social media channels, private Whatsapp messenger groups and assured the British Foreign Office of warning in advance about any forthcoming attack. It still remains unknown how the firm had access to such terror networks. While keeping its local partners at the forefront of the manipulation campaign, ARK was able to conceal the role of the UK in the economic and political destabilisation of the country. “Content will not be directly attributed to the UK (and) this project will be designed and presented as a social cohesion project, providing a strong defence against any attacks on the UK,” it had vowed.
“Partners will be selected for sharing project objectives (and) based on their credibility as messengers and/or existing, established follower bases inside Lebanon. All content will be hyper-local, referencing local themes, locations and individuals that the target audience understands,” the firm had outlined the strategy. In one of the leaked documents dubbed as ‘theory of change’, it was noted that ARK succedded in creating a culture of youth participation and hold political elite and institutions accountable. It also suggested that it paved the path for improvement in Lebanon’s governance, suggesting its pro-Western inclination.
With the leakage of the Foreign Office Documents in December last year, the closely guarded secret of ARK and the British government was laid bare to the world. The incriminating evidence against the firm was released on the internet and ARK’s founder Alistair Harris fled Lebanon within 10 days. He then went to London and was given a post at the Civilian Stabilisation Unit within Whitehall. Today, Lebanon remains in tatters, both on the economic and political front. And it highlights how foreign intervention and regime change campaigns hurt the interest of native States more than before.
West Bengal post-poll gang rape victim Ritu (name changed) had alleged that few TMC goons had come to her house and appeared to be preparing for an attack. She has alleged that a group of Trinamool Congress goons have assembled outside her house. Speaking to SC advocate Monika Arora, Ritu said that six TMC goons have been waiting beneath a tree near her house, making phone calls to probably assemble more people. The WB victim went on to say that she was afraid the goons might attack her house at any moment.
Ritu further said that the goons had approached her cousin who runs a grocery shop near their house. Her cousin brother called her up to inform that the goons came asking for her. When her brother inquired as to what was it regarding, they said they will only talk to Ritu.
Speaking to Adv Monika Arora, the victim added that she had to eventually submit to the demands of the TMC goons, who had been hounding her to join the party. She said that though she has joined the party, she will never be a part of it. She said she has merely joined TMC to save herself and her father from the constant threats and badgering they have been going through for the past so many days.
Ritu went on to say that her father advised her to join the party solely to put up a show. He assured her that they would be safe because of the CBI’s intervention and that this ruse would simply serve to keep them away from everyday harassment.
TMC goons repeatedly pressurising West Bengal victim Ritu to join the party or face dire consequences
On July 26, OpIndia editor-in-chief Nupur J Sharma spoke with Ritu, a victim of TMC atrocities, unleashed in West Bengal following the party’s assembly election triumph on May 2. She had described her anguish as well as the helplessness of victims in the state due to police apathy. She had narrated how she was continuously being pressurised by the state police and the TMC goons to take back her statement and join TMC or face dire consequences.
On July 29, OpIndia reported how Ritu, on July 28, was forcefully taken to meet the local TMC hoodlum Mamun Sheikh, on whose behest she was gang-raped by TMC goons on May 2, 2021. They pressurized her to take back her rape complaint file a complaint with the NHRC. They also threatened her to either join TMC or face dire consequences.
The victim had narrated her plight to Supreme Court advocate Monika Arora and a subsequent complaint to NHRC had been filed by her.
Complaint filed with NHRC
In the complaint filed with NHRC on July 28, Ritu (name changed) summarized the series of threats and intimidations meted out at her ever since she filed her first complaint with the NHRC, in which Ritu had detailed the barbarity that was heaped upon her and her father.
She said: “I am extremely terrified and I am afraid the TMC people and Police both are together and pressuring me to withdraw my complaint which I had given to NHRC.”
“My only offence is that, I am a Hindu and I voted for BJP. Please save me and my family’s life”, urged Ritu in her complaint.
Ritu speaks exclusively to OpIndia
While speaking to OpIndia on July 26, Ritu disclosed how the TMC goons with the connivance of state police, unleashed hell on her and several other BJP victims in many villages and towns in the interior parts of Bengal on the night of May 2.
Ritu said that several BJP victims are languishing in jail while the perpetrators of TMC are walking around scot-free, therefore, the fear that they would arrest them was real and present.
Ritu said that there was no point in giving any message to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee since she had no ‘Mamata’ left in her. However, she had an appeal for PM Modi’s help.
The full interview where Ritu shares her harrowing story with OpIndia Editor-in-Chief Nupur J Sharma can be read here.
Union Minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane has been detained for his allegedly controversial remark against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Maharashtra: Police detained Union Minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri
Reportedly, Rane had approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection from arrest or any coercive action, however, the Bench comprising Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar refused to hear his petition asking the advocate to follow due ‘procedure.’ He was detained by Ratnagiri Police and is being taken to Nashik.
Meanwhile, as per an India Today report, a team of Nashik police arrested Rane while he was attending the Jan Ashirwad rally in Konkan’s Chiplun region on Tuesday. The Union Minister was granted permission to travel in his own vehicle.
A controversy broke out after the BJP leader said he would have slapped Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray over his ignorance pertaining to the country. Thackeray allegedly during a speech had forgotten the number of years since Indian Independence and turned back to ask how his aide about it.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: A group of Shiv Sena workers pelt stones at BJP party office in Nashik & raise slogans against Union Minister Narayan Rane.
The Union Minister and BJP leader had given a statement against CM Uddhav Thackeray yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Y3A3cWZbTa
While speaking at the ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in Raigad district of Maharashtra, Narayana Rane had remarked, “It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a tight slap.” Rane, former Shiv Sena leader, was removed from the party in 2005 and has been a vehement critic of the Uddhav Thackeray government.
Following Rane’s comment, Shiv Sena workers had stoned BJP’s Nashik office and multiple FIRs were filed against the Minister.
