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Huawei, the company close to the Chinese govt, sponsors Reuters article praising Kerala for COVID-19 management even as cases soar

OpIndia Staff
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Huawei, the company close to the Chinese govt, sponsors Reuters article praising Kerala for COVID-19 management even as cases soar

Huawei – a Chinese tech giant with close ties with the Communist Party of China, has sponsored an article praising the Kerala model of Covid-19 management when the Communist-led Kerala government is facing massive criticism over its failure to handle the Covid-19 pandemic effectively.

On Friday, Reuters published an article on its website titled, “Kerala’s COVID-19 lessons for India and Modi’s government”, hailing the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government for its “effective handling” of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interestingly, the propaganda article that is written by Reuters correspondent Krishna N Das attempting to give a clean chit to the Kerala government over allegations of massive mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic is sponsored by none other than Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Reuters paid article praising Kerala despite its mismanagement of Covid-19

The propaganda article, paid by the Chinese company, makes tall claims about the so-called Kerala model of the Covid-19 and goes on to say that Kerala may actually “hold crucial lessons for the country” in containing the outbreak if a possible third wave of infections breaks out in the country.

In its report, Reuters claims that they have carried out their own analysis of national and state data and interviews with epidemiologists and Kerala health authorities, which according to them, painted a different picture.

In reality, Kerala, which is neither very populous nor very industrialised, has been the worst affected Indian state in the Covid crisis for months now.

Reuters comes up with ‘targeted testing’ bogey to defend Kerala’s mismanagement:

The report suggests that the state’s containment measures may have helped catch infections early, allowing authorities better to manage the illness and dramatically lower the death rate. Further, the report claims that Kerala’s decision to carry out antigen tests instead of prescribed RT-PCR tests has yielded results in combating the deaths due to the Covid-19.

Cleverly, Reuters cites the lowest fatality rate in the state to glorify Kerala for its “effective” management of the pandemic. “The efficient detection rate and its population density at more than twice the national average explain the high number of cases in Kerala,” the Reuters report claimed.

Well, now comes the spin. According to Reuters, Kerala’s success comes from its decision to adopt rapid antigen tests to detect and strictly isolate infected people at home, an approach completely different from successful states such as Uttar Pradesh.

Amusingly, Reuters quotes state officials and “experts” from JNU to argue that rapid antigen tests have helped them to better allocate hospital beds and oxygen supplies for those who really need them.

“The government-recommended RT-PCR tests are more accurate but take longer to produce results, meaning by the time a positive COVID-19 case is confirmed, the infected person is more likely to have developed severe symptoms and passed it on to others in a vicious cycle of more infections and deaths,” claimed the paid article.

Despite the uncertainty and a raging debate over the accuracy of rapid antigen tests, Reuters attempts to make their readers believe that it was much accurate than the RT-PCR tests, a testing protocol that is being followed in the rest of the country, especially in those states which have successfully halted the transmission of the virus.

Interestingly, Reuters, just like other self-proclaimed epidemiologists in the country, sticks to the ‘targeted testing’ bogey of the Kerala government to claim that the state was testing more; hence there is an increased number of cases in the state.

In fact, other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan have been testing more than Kerala and recording the fewer fresh cases in the state. The bogey of “higher testing-higher cases” also does not hold true as there is no exact scientific rationale behind this strategy as it is not proved anywhere else other than Kerala.

‘More beds, enough oxygen supply in Kerala’, claims Reuters to declare Kerala model as the best

Reuters cites data from Kerala’s most populous Malappuram district, one of the epicentres of the second wave of the pandemic, to claim that a quarter of the Covid-19 beds in its biggest hospital were vacant and oxygen supply was ample. Thus, on the basis of the ready availability of beds and oxygen supply system, Reuters declares that Kerala had successfully managed to handle the pandemic much better than any other state.

Further, Reuters suggest that there were no lockdowns in Kerala despite higher cases, which according to them, showed how successful the Kerala model is. However, the information put out by Reuters is incorrect as the Kerala government has imposed tough lockdowns in the state, both in the first and the second wave of the pandemic, except relaxing it ahead of the Eid celebrations owing to pressure from the Muslim community.

As we know, the lockdown relaxations in Kerala ahead of the Eid celebrations have turned out to be a disaster, with the Communist-ruled state is now recording an average of 25,000 fresh cases every day.

It does not stop there. Reuters then hails Kerala for its vaccination push in the state, which according to Reuters, is the fastest pace among all states. Finally, concluding the paid article, the author claims that the strategy followed by the Communist government has done wonders in Kerala to tackle the pandemic and should be replicated in other states.

Reuters’ double standards in analysing Kerala and other states

Not just praising Kerala, the Reuters report went on to criticise the centre over “mishandling” of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country by claiming that people died in carparks and outside hospitals for lack of oxygen and beds in big cities at the height of the health crisis.

While picking up isolated incidents of deaths during the second wave of the pandemic, Reuters attempts to discredit the larger success achieved by the Indian government in stopping the Chinese pandemic from creating havoc across the country. However, the same standards are not applied to the Communist-ruled Kerala, where proper management of the pandemic has been aberration rather than a norm.

However, the reality is that since the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country last year, Kerala has remained one of the two biggest epicentres of Covid-19 infections in the country, along with Maharashtra. In fact, Kerala remains the worst Covid-19 affected state in the country and continues to be a burden to the country’s efforts in tackling the second wave of the pandemic even as other states have successfully reduced fresh Covid-19 cases.

For over a week now, Kerala has recorded close to 30,000 fresh coronavirus cases, along with over 200 deaths and a test positive rate above 19 per cent. With only 3 per cent of India’s population, Kerala now accounts for almost 70 per cent of all new Covid-19 cases. It ranks top in the daily number of deaths. The nationwide test positive rate is 2.4 per cent, while in Kerala, it is over 19 per cent.

With Kerala reporting more than 25,000 cases every day on an average over the last two weeks, the total tally of Covid-19 cases in the state now stands at 39,13,506, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra. 

Image Source: Covid19India.org

Kerala has recorded on an average 150 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last two weeks, taking the related death toll in the state to 20,134.

Image Source: Covid19India.org

One of the worrying factors about Covid-19 pandemic mismanagement in Kerala is the active cases in the state. As other states have almost brought the fresh infections to a halt, Kerala still has more than 1,81,230 active cases. Moreover, the fresh cases continue to pile up as 10,000 more cases have added up to the tally on Thursday alone.

Image Source: Covid19India.org

Well, the number speaks for themselves.

Reuters tries to paint a rosy picture of the Kerala Covid-19 disaster despite all the glaring evidence that proves otherwise. It is interesting to see why Reuters would choose to defend the indefensible and why a tech company linked with the Communist Party of China would sponsor a paid article to glorify the Communist-led Kerala government and effectively whitewash their crimes of mismanagement during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kabul airport explosion: US President Joe Biden gives clean chit to Taliban, says no evidence to point towards the group’s collusion with ISIS

OpIndia Staff
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Kabul airport explosion: US President Joe Biden gives clean chit to Taliban, says no evidence to point towards the group’s collusion with ISIS

US President Joe Biden on Thursday gave a clean chit to the Taliban, saying there was no evidence to indicate collusion between the terror group and ISIS in carrying out the fatal attacks in Kabul yesterday.

“There is no evidence thus far that I’ve been given as a consequence by any of the commanders in the field that there has been collusion between the Taliban and ISIS in carrying out what happened today,” Biden said in an address at the White House.

However, Biden did pledge to exact revenge for the attacks that killed thirteen US Marines and about 60 Afghans in two explosions whose responsibility was claimed by ISIS.

“Know this,” Biden said to the attackers. “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.”

“The lives we lost today were lives given in the service of liberty, the service of security, the service of others, in the service of America,” he said from the White House.

Biden said the situation on the ground in Kabul was still evolving and that the U.S. will target the assets, leadership and facilities of ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate that has reportedly claimed responsibility for the terror attack.

Twin explosions in Kabul leaves 13 US Marines and 60 Afghans dead

Kabul on Thursday was rocked with two explosions, leading to the death of 13 US Marines and 60 Afghans, including women and children. The attack took place outside the city’s airport amidst the waning days of evacuation as the deadline of August 31 approaches.

The first incident reportedly took place near the Abbey gate of the airport. Minutes later, a second explosion was reported from the Baron Hotel near Kabul airport. Several reports said gunfire also took place at the sites of the attack.

The incident comes after Australia, the US and UK had issued alerts to their citizens advising them not to go to the airport, warning of a possible terror attack. People outside the airport had been advised to leave the area immediately as there were concerns of violence from an ISIS affiliate group.

Uttar Pradesh: After Mirzapur, Aligarh and Mainpuri; proposal sent by Gram Panchayat to rename Miyaganj to Mayaganj

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: After Mirzapur, Aligarh and Mainpuri; proposal sent by Gram Panchayat to rename Miyaganj to Mayaganj

After a series of proposals were sent to the Uttar Pradesh government for a change in name of various cities and districts, the state is likely to see another change of name. A Gram Panchayat in Unnao has recommended renaming Miyaganj to Mayaganj.

The proposal to rename the gram panchayat came in an open meeting in Miyanganj. A resolution was passed to rename the gram panchayat following which the recommendation was made to the District Collector in the matter.

A letter in this regard has been sent by Unnao DM Ravindra Kumar to the UP government. 

Mirzapur to be renamed Vindhyanchal Nagar

We reported earlier that there has been a growing demand from the residents of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh to change the name of the district to ‘Vindhyanchal Nagar’.

A resolution was passed in this regard by the Bharatiya Savarna Sangh and a letter has been sent to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urging the government to rename the city.

A member of the Bharatiya Savarna Sangh said that the district gets its name from the Hindu deity Maa Vindhyavasini. It is only fair for the government to rename Mirzapur as ‘Vindhyanchal Nagar’.

Aligarh to be renamed Harigarh

This month witnessed yet another demand of renaming Aligarh to ‘Harigarh.’ The Zila Panchayat of Aligarh had passed a resolution seeking renaming of the city.

In addition to Aligarh, the Zila Panchayat of Mainpuri had also passed a resolution seeking to rename the town as Mayan Nagar. 

Yogi Adityanath’s government had previously renamed Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad district under which Ayodhya city used to fall to Ayodhya district.

Foreign funding diverted for mass conversion to Islam: Gujarat police reaches UP to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh

OpIndia Staff
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Foreign funding diverted for mass conversion to Islam: Gujarat police reaches UP to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh

In a parallel investigation against the two accused, a team of Vadodara police from Gujarat has reached Uttar Pradesh to arrest Umar Gautam and Salahuddin Sheikh, the two accused in the UP forced conversion case. The two are currently lodged in a Lucknow jail after being arrested by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for running a racket of forceful religious conversions. 

The duo reportedly was also involved in diverting funds of a charity organization for illegal religious conversions and to provide legal help to anti-CAA protestors, including those arrested in the Delhi riots. 

A release issued by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Vadodara police informed that a police team from Vadodara has reached Lucknow with a production warrant issued by a local court. 

NGO received Rs 10 crore fund in 4 years

Salahuddin Sheikh was one of the six aides of Umar Gautam to be arrested. He was nabbed in a joint operation by the Gujarat and UP ATS in Gujarat in July.

Sheikh who is the Managing Trustee of AFMI Charitable Trust in Vadodara used to divert the foreign funds to Umar Gautam for religious conversions. 

Reportedly, Sheikh’s NGO had received nearly Rs 10 crore in foreign funds in a period of four years during 2016-2021. The majority of the funds received by the Salahuddin’s NGO were from UK and America-based organizations.

A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted by the Vadodara police to conduct further probes into the matter. Registering an FIR against Sheikh on Tuesday, the police issued a press release divulging more information. 

As per the release, Sheikh is said to have given Rs 6 crore to Umar Gautam for religious conversions and Rs 60 lakh as legal help to anti-CAA protestors arrested in connection with the Delhi riots. 

The accused has also diverted Rs 7.27 crore to his network in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to build over 100 mosques in those states. 

Police teams have been sent to those states to unearth the entire network, said the release.

Umar Gautam involved in mass conversions

Umar Gautam along with his aide Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi was arrested by the UP ATS in the month of June this year. The two accused ran an organisation named Islamic Dawah Centre(IDC), along with their other associates, to mass convert people into Islam through inducements such as marriage, job and money and mental pressure.

They have also been accused of specifically converting deaf and mute children. The investigations revealed that Gautam converted 1500 children at a deaf and dumb school in Noida to Islam. 

The two, and their organisation has been booked under Sections 420, 120 B, 153A, 153B, 295 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance-2020.

China: State-owned media Global Times rants against Indian ex-science teacher who investigated the Wuhan lab leak theory

Dibakar Dutta
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China: State-owned media Global Times rants against Indian ex-science teacher who investigated the Wuhan lab leak theory

On Friday (August 26), Chinese State-owned media Global Times targeted a former science teacher from India, whose investigation gave credence to the Wuhan lab leak theory. Identified as ‘The Seeker’, the Indian man from Kolkata felt a sense of social responsibility to determine the origins of Covid-19, which took countless lives.

Global Times, the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China (CCP), sought to delegitimise the findings of ‘The Seeker’ and his team DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) after the US Intelligence report on ‘Coronavirus origins’ remained ‘inconclusive.’ In an article authored by Bai Yunyi published on Friday, Global Times dubbed ‘The Seeker’ as a ‘rumourmonger’ while it dismissed DRASTIC as an ‘online conspiracy group.’ It further claimed that such groups are backed by ‘anti-China forces’.

While slamming the group for being ‘anonymous, the CCP mouthpiece alleged,”…DRASTIC members are constantly spreading conspiracy theories and false news about the “Wuhan lab-leak” theory and launching online public opinion attacks against scientists who hold impartial scientific positions. DRASTIC’s clumsy manipulation of this conspiracy theory has been widely questioned.”

Screengrab of the Global Times report

Global Times further accused the DRASTIC of ‘plotting’ and ‘popularising’ rumours against China in the West. It claimed, “For example, there was the rumour that the novel coronavirus originated in a copper mine in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, when scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) brought back samples and the virus was leaked. This information, published by the Washington Post, was originally concocted by a core member of DRASTIC named The Seeker”. 

The tabloid newspaper accused the former Indian science teacher of finding a master’s thesis, which outlined 6 cases of pneumonia caused by an unknown virus in 2012 at an abandoned copper mine in Yunnan province, by mistake. “After taking only a few minutes to read the abstract, “The Seeker” immediately posted a lengthy message on his Twitter account pointing that the source of the novel coronavirus disease was the WIV, with the tag “DRASTIC” attached, CNET reported,” it wrote. Global Times remarked that the findings of the DRASTIC fail to conform with the ‘basic tenets of scientific rigor.’

It added, “The Global Times noticed that DRASTIC has been getting the attention of mainstream Western media since February. Sky News, Newsweek, Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal, as well as many Indian media outlets, have all cited the group’s views and hyped about how the group has changed the chapter of the virus origin.” Accusing DRASTIC of publishing ‘alleged reports’ and harassing scientists, it claimed the ‘ultimate goal’ is to somehow tarnish the image of Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). The CCP mouthpiece concluded that DRASTIC’s emergence to the limelight was the result of ‘change in the Biden administration’s attitude toward the traceability of the coronavirus disease.’

Findings of ‘The Seeker’ and the DRASTIC team into the origins of the Wuhan Coronavirus 

‘The Seeker’, in his mid-20s, used to be a science teacher. From there, he studied architecture, painting and filmmaking. He told OpIndia that he had then moved on to a project that allowed him to follow his passion – working on audiobooks. Initially, he had bought into the mainstream media narrative that the virus had infected humans from animals at the infamous wet markets in Wuhan. But soon, he became skeptical of the conventional narrative and began interacting with individuals who had begun to rip it apart. This made ‘The Seeker’ curious about the virus and its origins. 

It was a sense of social responsibility, besides the obvious curiosity, that led him to this mission. “COVID has taken the lives of countless people and devastated so many others. But it has also left so many clues that haven’t been followed up. Humanity deserves answers,” he had emphasised. The Seeker was convinced that the mystery behind the Wuhan Coronavirus lay in the RaTG13 virus. 

Using his online research skills, The Seeker found CNKI, which is a huge database of Chinese academic journals and theses. Fueled by tea and occasional arcade games, he scrolled through the database for days until he struck gold. The Seeker found a 60-page thesis authored by a student at Kunming Medical University in 2013. Titled, “The Analysis of 6 Patients with Severe Pneumonia Caused by Unknown Viruses,” the paper found that the miners had died of SARS-like Coronavirus. He shared it on Twitter on May 19, 2020.

After it had become public, the Chinese authorities swung into action and limited the access control to ensure that it was never found again. Interestingly, The Seeker also found that the corporate media ignored the story when the miners had died of SARS-like infection in 2012. He worked in close association a Madrid based data scientist named Francisco de Asis de Ribera. The Seeker found new pieces of the Coronavirus puzzle while Ribera fitted the pieces together. He discovered detailed plans of Wuhan Institute of Virology to test the infectivity of SARA-like viruses in lab animals and human cells, undergo cross-species mutation and genetic recombination of the viruses.

He found that the Wuhan Institute of Virology never bought the argument that the three miners had died of a fungal infection, as espoused by Shi Zhengli. The researchers, working at the institute, were concerned about a viral outbreak and thus tested the blood of neighbouring villagers and obtained genetic sequences of 8 other SARS-like viruses from the mine. DRASTIC found that China had the information with them in advance but instead chose to conceal it and let people die. The Seeker concluded, “I no longer see science as an exclusive domain. Everyone can make a difference.”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pretends to be a doctor at an IYC protest in Kerala against LDF govt

OpIndia Staff
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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pretends to be a doctor at an IYC protest in Kerala against LDF govt

While the state of Kerala is contributing more than 60% of new Covid-19 cases in the country, Thiruvananthapuram MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor thought it was the perfect idea to hold a ‘roadside’ protest.

The protest with zero social distancing and Congress workers piling upon each other, reportedly took place in front of the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, a day after Kerala reported a single-day count of 31,445 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. 

Tharoor ‘inaugurated’ the protest opposing the state government’s handling of the Covid-19 situation. “At the @IYC protest, checking the health of the patient Kerala in the roadside ICU!” Tweeted Tharoor sharing a video where he was being a ‘doctor’ and checking on a ‘patient’ who lied on a stretcher.

In the video, Tharoor can be seen playing the role of a doctor with a stethoscope, treating a fake patient lying on a stretcher. Scores of Congress workers and media can be seen around the ‘actors’ violating basic Covid-19 protocols. 

Even before the social media could get over Tharoor’s coconut smashing meme, the Congress leader presented yet another opportunity to the netizens to break the internet with funny reactions. 

Here’s how Twitterati reacted to Dr Tharoor’s antics

not missing the opportunity to use the ‘Mera Yasu’ meme, one user shared how the patient would react after getting treated by “Dr Tharoor”.

Another user criticized the Congress MP questioning the necessity of all the drama when the state is already facing a pandemic situation. Many questioned the rationality of a politician falsely pretending to be a doctor.

Many pointed out the complete absence of social distancing and how bad an idea was it to gather a crowd when the state is clocking more than 30,000 new Covid-19 cases. “Social distancing was not explained in the adult literacy classes,” Twitted a netizen.

Another user mocked saying that Tharoor will treat the patient by just speaking in his trademark ‘Tharoorian’ English.

A sitting MP like Tharoor, who is ‘educated’ and is often seen mocking others for lack of knowlege, pretending to be a fake doctor in complete mockery of covid norms and common sense was highlighted by many social media users.

While several condemned the Congress leader for mocking science and common sense, some even compared him to the movie character Arjun Reddy. As per Covid-19 dashboard, the state of Kerala has more than 1,81,000 active Covid-19 cases as of today.

Who are the ISKP? The group that has claimed responsibility for Kabul airport attack, active in India too

OpIndia Staff
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Who are the ISKP? The group that has claimed responsibility for Kabul airport attack, active in India too

On Thursday, August 26, bomb blasts inside Hamid Karzai international airport in Afghan’s capital Kabul killed more than 100 people, including 13 US troops, disrupting the ongoing Afghan evacuation of tens of thousands of stranded civilians.

Soon after the attacks on their forces, the United States officials attributed attacks that killed more than 100 people at the Kabul airport to Islamic State’s regional affiliate Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

The ISKP has also taken responsibility for the bombing of the Kabul airport and has released images of the terrorist who blew himself up inside the Kabul airport. Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri of the ISKP was allegedly the suicide bomber.

What is Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP)?

The ISIS-K or Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) – is an offshoot of the Islamic State terror group that operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Khorasan refers to a historical region comprising of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, the territories once controlled by a caliphate.

ISKP operates from the eastern province of Nangarhar, strategically located between the drug and people trafficking routes of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The terrorist group was first formed in 2015 after several dissatisfied fighters of the Afghan Taliban and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, who viewed their own organisation as moderate outfits, joined the Islamic State, swearing to create a caliphate. The ISKP also influenced several radical Islamists studying in madrasas in Afghanistan and Pakistan, who travelled to the war-torn country to join the most extreme jihadist terrorist groups in the world.

In later stages, the ISKP recruited urban middle-class Muslims, specifically targeting the universities to lure younger Muslims to join the terror network.

Since its inception, some ISKP fighters have travelled from Afghanistan to fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and plot terror attacks on Western targets. It is estimated that the terrorist group has several thousand fighters across Afghanistan, but the terrorist group has suffered significant casualties in recent years.

ISKP is responsible for some of the worst terror attacks in recent years, including attacks on girls’ schools, hospitals where they had shot dead pregnant women and nurses. In March 2020, the terror group had attacked a Sikh religious complex in Kabul, killing 25 people. More than 30 people were gunned down a month later, mostly belonging to the ethnic Hazara community, by the ISKP fighters.

Islamic State’s ties with Taliban, Al-Qaeda

Interestingly, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has a tumultuous relationship with the Taliban and other affiliate terror groups. Both organisations compete against each other for recruit, funding sources and control over regions inside Afghanistan. However, each group has its own way of doing things.

Islamic State largely operates in the north, while the Taliban controls Afghanistan’s south and western region.

According to a report by the BBC, ISKP – a part of the global IS network, intends to wage ‘Jihad’ against non-believers to establish a global Islamic state, unlike the Taliban, which intends to govern Afghanistan under a Sharia framework. The leaders of the Islamic State in Afghanistan had rejected the Taliban takeover of the country, claiming that their version of Islamic rule is not hard-line enough.

While there is stiff competition, there is also some sort of coordination between the two groups when they intend to take on a common enemy.

ISKP has established links with the Taliban through the Haqqani network, which in turn has close ties with foreign Islamic terrorist groups, including deep associations with Al Qaeda. Experts believe that the Taliban’s affiliate Haqqani network and ISKP have coordinated several major attacks in the last few years with active support from other terrorist groups based in Pakistan.

However, ISKP has been critical against the Taliban for its peace talks with the United States, including the Qatar negotiations that paved the way for the US to pull out its troops from Afghanistan. The ISKP maintains a ‘more Islamic than thou’ approach with the Taliban and is not a party to the Qatar talks.

With the Taliban taking control over the war-torn country, the ISKP has now found more impetus to carry out attacks on the remaining US forces operating inside Afghanistan. After the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, the Jihadist fighters had released dozens of terrorists lodged in the Pul-e-Charki jail, most of them were ISKP terrorists and former Taliban members.

The Islamic State Khorasan Province also has strong ties with Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that is behind the September 11, 2001, attacks.

ISKP and its influence on India:

The ISKP, a global Islamic Caliphate that intends to capture more lands east of Afghanistan, is a major security threat to India. The ISKP has already been successful at radicalising Muslim youths in the country.

Several Indian Muslims, especially from the southern state of Kerala, has travelled to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). However, the Indian security establishment has managed to unearth several ISKP terrorists operating on Indian soil over the last two years.

In August last year, the NIA had arrested one Abdur Rahman, an ophthalmologist working in Bengaluru, for his links with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The arrest had come after the NIA had nabbed a Kashmiri couple Jahanzaib Sami Wani and his wife, Hina Bashir Beigh, from Delhi. The couple were linked to ISIS was accused of motivating Muslims to unite against CAA and carry out terror strikes inside the country.

In March 2020, the Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police had uncovered a massive plot to replicate the Colombo-style Jihadist attacks in Delhi by a module of Islamic-State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Five ISKP terrorists – Jahanzaib Sami, Hina Bashir, Abdullah Basith, Sadiya Anwar Shaikh and Nabeel Siddick Khatri, were arrested by the Delhi Police.

In June 2016, four couples left Kerala for Afghanistan to wage war against the US forces in ISIS-controlled Khorasan Province. The women were identified as Nimisha Fathima alias Fathima, Sonia Sebastian alias Ayisha, Merrin Jacob alias Mariyam, and Raffaela. After their husbands were killed, they surrendered before the Afghan government in 2019. They had expressed the desire to return to India.

Delhi University removes works of Mahasweta Devi English syllabus, teachers’ group backs decision: Here is what the DU said

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi University removes works of Mahasweta Devi English syllabus, teachers’ group backs decision: Here is what the DU said

The Delhi University has come under fire for deleting works of Mahasweta Devi and other Dalit authors from the English syllabus of Semester V of the BA (Hons) English course. Reportedly, the Academic Council (AC) in a meeting held on Tuesday expressed discontent over the Oversight Committee’s (OC) functioning alleging “vandalism” of the curriculum. 

15 members of the AC have accused the OC of deciding to remove two Dalit authors — Bama and Sukhartharini. They also voiced their dismay over the deletion of celebrated literary work. 

“The Committee as an afterthought suddenly asked the English department to delete the celebrated short story of Mahasweta Devi, ‘Draupadi’ – a story about a tribal woman – without giving any academic logic,” complained the committee. “Moreover the Committee refused to accept any short story by Mahasweta Devi despite her iconic status globally as a writer and being a winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Jnanpith Award and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India,” the academic council members added further.

The council further accused the OC of making these ‘arbitrary and academic changes’ without the consent or feedback from the ‘stakeholders either with the syllabus committee of the department or with the Committee of Courses’.

Elaborating on the harassment by the OC, Rajesh Singh a History professor alleged, “They also delay notifying the syllabus for each semester, usually 4-7 weeks after the classes begin. We had given them the LOCF syllabus for Semester VI too, but they have still notified it.”

DU issues clarification

Delhi University on Thursday released a statement clarifying its stand on the controversy that erupted over the unfair deletion of portions. DU in its statement insisted that the syllabus of the course had been passed through a ‘democratic process.’

“A careful perusal of the present syllabus clearly brings out the inclusive nature of the syllabus under reference in terms of its diversity of content and inclusion of pioneering works of various renowned scholars of both national and international fame without consideration of their religion, caste and creed as, according to the University, excellence in academia is not subservient to these attributes,” reads the statement. 

Delhi University’s media statement. Image Source: Twitter

“Such an inclusive approach is important for the young minds who imbibe the content of the teaching- learning emanating from the syllabus in letter and spirit,” the media statement said further.

National Democratic Teachers Front backs decision

The National Democratic Teachers Front (NDTF) has backed the decision to remove works of Mahasweta Devi from the English syllabus. It said in a statement, “It is an unfortunate fact that a section of teachers in the English Department exploited academic autonomy and freedom in an attempt to denigrate and demonise Hinduism and  our ancient civilisation, to perpetuate animosity between social castes, to encourage militant maoism & naxalism amongst tribals, etc. Many stakeholders raised valid objections and they were checkmated. That is why they are making political noises.”

“‘Draupadi’, a story written in Bengali by Mahashweta Devi and translated into English by Gyatri Spivak, had been taught in DU for many years. The very title of the story which revolves around humiliation of a tribal woman, is an insidious attempt to demean Hinduism. The contents of the story is replete with description of gory details of her private body parts, sexual innuendos, vulgar descriptions of sexual attacks on her, etc.,” added the statement.

It proceeded to add, “NDTF is for academic freedom and autonomy. Writers and academics are free to write and publish what they deem fit. But under freedom of speech none has the right to demand that the same must become part of university syllabuses. And therefore, in the name of autonomy and freedom University syllabuses should not be allowed to be dictated by a particular political leftist ideology.”

“Why cannot they prescribe Munshi Premchand’s story ‘Jihad’ which fits eminently into what’s happening in the Talibani mindset ? Why is Tulsidas Ramayana is strictly no no for them and deviant Ramayanas acceptable? University academic programs cannot be allowed to foster animosity between different social sections of society and religion. The aim of leftists had always been to inject society with the cancer of social and religious conflicts. As patriots and nationalists NDTF is committed to resist their toxic cancerous approach and demand from University Administration to scan all syllabuses made by English Department,” it said.

Indian Gods as part of the LGBT community

This is not the first time the DU syllabus has come under attack. In 2019, the right-wing teachers’ group National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) had expressed concerns over ‘Maniben alias Bibijan’. A story based on the Gujarat riots painting Bajrang Dal and RSS in a ‘bad light calling them ‘murderers.

They had also objected to the syllabus that portrayed Indian gods as being part of the LGBT community. Further, the History Syllabus taught Naxalism and Communism as ‘Democracy on work’.

Not sparing even the Hindu epics, Krishna and Arjun were being described as ‘great slaughterers of creatures’ in the syllabus. 

Columnist for Pakistani newspaper suggests USA should consider India a ‘possible suspect’ behind Kabul bombing

OpIndia Staff
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Columnist for Pakistani newspaper suggests USA should consider India a ‘possible suspect’ behind Kabul bombing

Hassan Khan, columnist for Daily Times in Pakistan, has suggested that the United States of America should consider India as a ‘possible suspect’ behind the Kabul suicide bombing on Thursday. The terror attack is believed to have been committed by the ISIS in Afghanistan, or Islamic State Khorasan Province as it is called. ISKP has already claimed responsibility for the attack.

ISIS-K or ISKP is the regional affiliate of the ISIS which emerged in Iraq and Syria. Hassan Khan, however, believes that it is India who are behind the attack. He said, “This may seem far-fetched but the United States needs to focus on India as a possible suspect for today’s dastardly terror attack at Kabul Airport which claimed over 60 lives.”

Daily Times columnist Hassan Khan
Source: Twitter

“New Delhi had active terror sanctuaries in the region for years which many Western journalists ignored,” Khan added. The comments by the Daily Times columnist appear especially ridiculous since Pakistan’s collaboration with the Taliban is well known.

Moreover, after Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, they have reportedly released a great number of prisoners from prisons in the country, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorists. These terrorists are now out in the open. Also, in the past, Taliban’s Haqqani network and ISKP have collaborated with each other to commit terrorist attacks in the country. And Taliban, as is widely known, has extensive links with the Pakistani establishment.

Thus, the suggestion that India might be behind the terrorist attack appears to be a pre-emptive move by a propagandist to deflect attention from Pakistan’s culpability in the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 12 US service members and 90 Afghan civilians.

American radio host Todd Starnes calls for genocide of Afghans after Kabul bombing, deletes tweet after outrage

OpIndia Staff
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American radio host Todd Starnes calls for genocide of Afghans after Kabul bombing, deletes tweet after outrage

American columnist and radio host Todd Starnes called for the genocide of Afghans after the Kabul bombing that claimed the lives of 12 US service members (at the time of writing this report). Todd Starnes said that for every American life that was lost, a city in Afghanistan should be wiped out.

Source: Twitter

Starnes said, “For every American who is killed, a city in Afghanistan should be wiped off the face of the Earth.” It is unclear how that would be possible without the indiscriminate slaughter of millions and millions of Afghan men, women and children.

Starnes came under severe criticism on social media for his genocidal comments.

Todd Starnes, following the criticism, has deleted the genocidal tweet. However, the clarification he offered still remains on his profile for now. The clarification does not make his situation any better and comes across as bizarre.

He said, “If you do not threaten the Taliban with this sort of language, the killing will continue. Gotta play hard ball with evil.” It is unclear what effect a tweet by an irrelevant radio host would have on the Taliban, it is unlikely to impact them in any manner. Secondly, a threat of genocide does not appear to be acceptable public discourse in any manner, especially since Afghan allies of USA would be killed in hundreds and thousands as well.

Source: Twitter

Meanwhile, Republican senators and representatives have called for US President Joe Biden to resign as the Commander-in-Chief of the country. The calls for his resignation came after 12 US service members were killed in the Kabul bombing on the 26th of August with death toll among Afghan civilians reported to be at least 90 at the time of writing this report.

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