In a short interview with India Today, former Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh said that the country rejects the Taliban’s ‘dictatorship’. Saleh who declared himself the acting President of Afghanistan after Ghani fled the country said they are open for negotiations.
“We prefer negotiations with the Taliban but these need to be meaningful,” said Saleh. Further emphasizing on not recognizing the Taliban rule, Saleh said, “The country rejects dictatorship. We want people to have a say. We don’t want the individual identities of the Afghan people to be shattered.”
Coming down heavily on the barbaric Talibani military, Saleh added, “They want to erase Afghanistan and establish Talibanistan.”
Saleh in the media interaction further stated that the Afghan people should be given a chance to determine the character of the state. “We are not seeking positions or personal favours,” he remarked.
“We are not seeking positions, personal favours, but we want the Afghan people to have a chance to determine the character of their state,” said Amrullah Saleh (@gauravcsawant )https://t.co/P5WhsFhxd1
Busting claims of the Taliban securing Panjshir, Saleh said that the situation is very much under their control. “The moral of the people is high. The community has unanimously stood up and the resistance is strong,” informed Saleh.
“Situation is dire”
Acting President Saleh took to Twitter on Tuesday to apprise the world of the horrific situation in Afghanistan with the rise of the Taliban. What can be called a major humanitarian crisis, Saleh said that the Talibs are not allowing food and fuel to reach Andarab Valley, which has not yet fallen to Taliban forces.
Talibs aren’t allowing food & fuel to get into Andarab valley. The humanitarian situation is dire. Thousands of women & children have fled to mountains. Since the last two days Talibs abduct children & elderly and use them as shields to move around or do house search.
“Since the last two days Talibs abduct children and elderly and use them as shields to move around or do house search,” he said. Thousands of women and children have been forced to flee to the mountains he said.
Reiterating his commitment to Afghanistan, Saleh Tweeted, “I own Afghanistan and it owns me. We are one. It speaks to me every day.”
That indelible color red in my heart is Afghanistan. Only God will one day evacuate my soul from here but still my remains will reunite with the soil. I own Afghanistan & it owns me. We are one. It speaks to me every day. https://t.co/qYYPYtXO2q
Meanwhile, after the Taliban took control of most parts of Afghanistan and took over Kabul, the US, several European countries and India have been running an intense rescue operation to get their respective citizens back home safely.
A conference set to take place with sponsorship from Universities in the United States of America has attracted a lot of attention in India. The theme of the conference is ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ and is set to be attended by ’eminent intellectuals’ of the Indian liberal camp.
Nandini Sunder, Naxal sympathizer Kavita Krishnan, ostensible propagandist Anand Patwardhan and insufferable troll Meena Kandasamy are some of the speakers at the event. Discussions on the matter will revolve around caste, gender politics and related matters.
One segment will also devote itself to describing what precisely is ‘Global Hindutva’. But the most intriguing aspect of the event is the segment titled ‘Hindutva and White Supremacy’. It isn’t clear what the link between the two is precisely.
But the objective appears to be clear. The event is geared towards appealing to western audiences and ensuring that people in the West do not have a favourable opinion of Hindutva as an ideology.
As to how they intend to do that is something we will discover during the conference. But we can speculate the manner in which the organisers, and the speakers, seek to go about their business. Audrey Truschke, who has been heavily publicizing the event, has provided some insight in the past regarding the manner in which they seek to associate Hindutva with White Supremacy.
Audrey Truschke vs Mike Cernovic
Back in March, Mike Cernovich, an American media personality with a populist Republican political orientation, commented on Audrey Truschke. He only said what most Hindus feel about the ‘historian’. The comments were made during the Rutgers University controversy when the institution attempted to defend Truschke over allegations of ‘Hinduphobia’ from students.
Cernovich said that in any other content, her conduct would be considered “genocide denial” and “holocaust revisionism” but since her agenda is against Hindus, the University does not care.
Following his comment, Truschke responded by calling an ‘alt-right male supremacist’. And said that it was evidence of the ‘nexus’ ‘Hindu nationalist’ groups in the US were ‘enmeshed’ in.
Audrey Truschke has been heavily promoting the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference (Source: Twitter)
She also claimed that Cernovich was Suhag Shukla’s ‘most prominent backer’. Shukla heads the Hindu American Foundation.
Source: Twitter
Thus, we can make a safe guess with regards to the narrative that will be peddled in the ‘Hindutva and White Supremacy’ segment. The speakers will make an attempt to claim there is a nexus between Hindu organisations in the USA and White Supremacist groups.
Of course, this does not make any sense but that is the claim that will be made, regardless of the fact that Hindus are a micro-minority in the United States and hold no discernible political power. The ramifications of such allegations are not hard to guess.
It will paint a target on the back of Hindu Americans, serving as a justification for left-leaning extremist associations to target Hindus in the country. This is the obvious next step in the long-drawn attempt by the liberal ‘intellectual’ establishment to draw an equivalence between Hindutva and White Supremacy.
Attempts by media to equate Hindutva to White Supremacy
For quite some time now, there have been attempts by those in the media to equate Hindutva to White Supremacy. Numerous articles have been penned to invent a narrative to that effect.
Source: Asia Times
Al Jazeera published an article drawing equivalence between the two.
Source: Al Jazeera
BBC claimed that the alt-right in the West was resurrecting the legacy of one ‘Savitri Devi’.
Source: BBC
Bu 2021, perhaps hit with the realisation that no one is buying their claims, efforts are being made to not only claim that the two ideologies are alike but also that there is a nexus between Hindutva and White Supremacy. Instead of rectifying their folly, they are doubling-down on their agenda.
How ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ works out in the real world
To combat allegations of Hinduphobia, such ‘intellectuals’ fall back to their claim that they are only against Hindutva, not Hinduism. They say that they are against a political ideology, not a religion or its adherents.
But unfortunately, that is not what transpires in reality. In reality, ordinary Hindus are attacked for their faith and efforts are made to ruin their careers. Take Tulsi Gabbard for example.
There’s no point denying that Tulsi Gabbard is greatly liked by people of India. Part of the reason is that she is Hindu, the first Hindu Congresswoman in the United States. But that is not the only reason.
Gabbard has said that she shares a warm relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and she has time and again raised her voice for closer ties between the USA and India. At the same time, she has been vocal against Pakistani atrocities and remains one of the few politicians in the United States to have condemned the genocide of Bengali Hindus by the Pakistani Army.
All of this makes her much more popular among Indians on the internet than even Kamala Harris. But throughout her presidential campaign, she had to contend allegations of being a closet ‘Hindu fascist’ and people demanded that she answer for Prime Minister Modi’s transgressions, whether real or imagined.
Claims were made that she has ties to ‘Hindu nationalist’ groups, without any evidence merely because she was Hindu and had a warm relationship with Prime Minister Modi. Even Barack Obama and Donald Trump have claimed that they shared a good relationship with Narendra Modi but they did not have to deal with such allegations.
But since Gabbard is a Hindu, she became a target for such allegations. In the end, this is what ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ boils down to: Targeting Hindus living elsewhere solely due to their faith. Tulsi Gabbard herself called out the campaign against her and there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that the campaign against her was orchestrated by elements with links to Pakistan’s ISI.
But Gabbard is not the only one to have suffered because of such allegations. Amit Jani, a staffer in Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, became the target of left-oriented groups that claimed he has links to ‘Hindu Nationalism’. Sonal Shah, another Biden campaign staffer, faced similar allegations.
The most unfortunate victim, however, was a Christian man of Indian origin from Kerala. During the Capitol Hill riots, he was spotted with an Indian flag during the protests that ensued following Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential elections of 2020.
Vincent Xavier insisted that he was part of a peaceful protest in support of Donald Trump and there is no evidence to suggest that he was involved in any form of violence. Before his identity became known, he was branded a ‘Hindu Supremacist’ by left-oriented individuals on social media.
Unfortunately for them, their ‘Hindu Supremacist’ was not even a Hindu, he was Christian. And even more so, he was an ordinary supporter of Donald Trump who was only exercising his democratic right. Nonetheless, due to the morbid hatred festers in their heart, they wanted to force him into the gallows.
Thus, we have four such targets of the campaign against Hindutva. Three of them are Democrats and one of them is not even Hindu. And yet, all of them were made to suffer based on fictitious allegations that they were somehow furthering the interests of Hindutva in the United States of America.
The End-Goal of ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’
Powerful elements in the United States have declared war on all Trump supporters. There is grave fear that the national security establishment in the US will begin a new ‘domestic war on terrorism’. Such fears have not been expressed by only fringe elements but prominent journalists such as Glenn Greenwald and Tucker Carlson.
Under such circumstances, the objective of the conference appears quite obvious. The organisers of the event want to create an atmosphere where every Hindu in influential circles is viewed through a lens of suspicion.
Their attempt is to brand Hindus, remotely sympathetic to Indian interests or with a favourable opinion of Narendra Modi, an ally of White Supremacists. Eventually, they hope that the entire might of the American national security establishment will be unleashed against them.
They want Hindu groups surveilled and censored, and eventually raise the costs of associating themselves with such groups so high that Hindu refrain from doing so entirely. Also, they want to brand every Hindu who does not hate Narendra Modi as a potential domestic terrorist.
All of this is only domestic politics being played out on the global stage. There is every reason to suspect that the agenda is being orchestrated and fueled by associations inimical to Indian national interests, given that we know for a fact that ISI linked groups are very active in the US.
The victim of this witch-hunt, that the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference seeks to incite, will inevitably end up being ordinary Hindu Americans, who care about their faith and its interests, for absolutely no fault of their own.
We have seen this play out with respect to Hindus living in the Middle East for professional reasons. Islamists targeted them based on their posts on social media, accusing the individuals of endorsing ‘Hindutva’. Many lost their jobs, some were even arrested.
Only recently, Harish Bangera returned to India after spending 20 months in prison in Saudi Arabia on charges of blasphemy. He was eventually released after it was discovered that he was framed by individuals who wanted him to suffer due to personal enmity.
So they made a fake profile of him and made posts they knew would attract blasphemy charges. He was fired from his job and arrested and thus an innocent man was made to suffer. It seems a similar fate is being planned for Hindus living in the United States. It might not lead to arrest since the US has free speech rights but they are likely to suffer persecution with regards to their professional and personal life.
On August 24, after it was reported that the names of individuals involved in the Moplah massacre of 1921, would be removed from the Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has come to their rescue.
In a tweet on Monday (August 23), he claimed, ” Communalising history is a deplorable project pursued narrow political ends, but rewriting the past to introduce communal divisions is to create false memories in a people who have been living in amity for generations… ICHR should be ashamed of itself.” Shashi Tharoor had also shared an article by The Wire wherein it cried foul over the removal of the names of ‘387 martyrs’ from the dictionary of Indian freedom fighters.
Screengrab of the tweet by Shashi Tharoor
It must be mentioned that a three-member panel reviewed the 5th volume of the Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s Freedom Struggle and recommended the deletion of 387 names. The panel came to the conclusion that the Moplah massacre was a fundamentalist movement bent on religious conversion and not a part of the freedom struggle. In a bid to whitewash the communal angle in the infamous Moplah riots of 1921, Shashi Tharoor sought to target the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) that publishes the Dictionary. However, in doing so, the Congress Parliamentarian has labelled the Father of the Indian Constitution i.e. BR Ambedkar a ‘communal bigot.’
Moplah riots and observations made by BR Ambedkar
The Moplah riots of 1921 were a systematic campaign of Jihad against Hindus. The genocide, orchestrated by the likes of Variankunnath Kunhamad Haji, Ali Musaliar and others, led to the brutal murder of an estimated 10,000 Hindus in Kerala. It is believed that as many a 100,000 Hindus were forced to leave Kerala in the wake of the massacre.
The number of Hindu Temples that were destroyed in the genocide is speculated to be a hundred. Forcible conversion of Hindus was rampant and unspeakable atrocities were poured upon Hindus.
Babasaheb Ambedkar in his book, Pakistan or the Partition of India, wrote, “The blood-curdling atrocities committed by the Moplahs in Malabar against the Hindus were indescribable. All over Southern India, a wave of horrified feeling had spread among the Hindus of every shade of opinion, which was intensified when certain Khilafat leaders were so misguided as to pass resolutions of “congratulations to the Moplas on the brave fight they were conducting for the sake of religion”.
Although BR Ambedkar had clearly emphasised the overtly communal nature of the riots, Shashi Tharoor chose to blame the ICHR for ‘communalizing history’. In this process to whitewash Hindu genocide, he essentially dubbed Ambedkar a ‘bigot’ for calling out the rioters.
The Khilafat movement was launched in the support of the Khalifa or the Ottoman Caliph of Turkey, who was considered the leader of all Sunni Muslims in the world. It had nothing to do with India’s freedom struggle.
A Russian news agency has reported that a Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan to rescue its citizens has been hijacked by armed people. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin on Tuesday informed that the plane has been taken to Iran.
However, Ukraine has since denied the reports of hijacking.
As per Russian news agency, Yenin on multiple failed attempts of evacuation said, “Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people. On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us, it flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard instead of airlifting Ukrainians.”
“Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport,” Yenin added vaguely.
The Minister, however, has not commented on the whereabouts of the plane or what happened to the plane. There’s also no clarity as yet on how the Ukrainian citizens got back from Kabul when the plane sent for evacuation was “practically stolen” or was there another one sent by Kyiv.
Yenin also criticized the diplomatic service headed by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba claiming that it has been working in a ‘crash test’ mode.
However, Kiev has denied any such incident of hijacking.
#BREAKING Ukrainian FM spokesperson has denied any hijacking of a Ukrainian evacuation plane.
Russian media outlet Interfax as well as Ukrainian FM spokesperson have denied reports of plane hijacking, as per Iran state affiliated media, Tehran Times.
As per news agency IANS, a military transport plane with 83 people, including 31 Ukrainians, arrived from Afghanistan to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The office of the president reported that 12 military personnel too returned home safely. 100 Ukrainians are still waiting for evacuation from Afghanistan, agency reports said.
Who can be a better candidate for the post of Mayor of the financial capital of the country than Bollywood stars? Recognizing this very mantra, Ganesh Yadav secretary of the Mumbai Congress’ strategy committee appointed for the civic polls in his recommendation suggested considering ‘Messiah’ Sonu Sood, former Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh’s son Riteish Deshmukh and ‘Sanghi’ Milind Soman as mayoral candidate.
Yadav, who is also the senior vice-president of Mumbai Congress, reportedly made this recommendation to the strategy committee comprising 25 top Congress leaders. In his 25-page strategy report, Yadav asserted that these Bollywood actors as a face of BMC Mayor could attract the youth and bring the public to its side.
He also advocated declaring the candidate well in advance and to consider those without any political baggage.
Also, the three seem to have a Mumbai-connect and have been in news lately. Actor Sonu Sood rose to become a ‘messiah’ after his ‘heroic stunt’ and philanthropic efforts during the first national lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reteish Deshmukh, a popular face in Bollywood and Marathi cinema, is also the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. His brothers, Amit Deshmukh and Dhiraj Deshmukh are Congress leaders as well. Oblivious to Bollywood heartthrob Milind Soman’s ‘Sanghi connections’, Yadav plausibly thinks it will be a good idea to ride on his massive popularity especially amongst the youth.
In an ‘image-building’ exercise, Yadav also recommended giving a small number of tickets to young professionals, social activists and start-up owners. When contacted by Hindustan Times for a comment, Yadav declined and said he had no idea how the report submitted to the committee was leaked. Allegedly, the report was making rounds on social media after getting leaked.
The strategy committee is headed by Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and comprises of Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap, whose pornographic posts recently went viral on social media and other senior leaders including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan.
Congress to contest solo
Congress- the third wheel in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has decided to contest the upcoming BMC elections solo. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole was reportedly miffed after former political strategist Prashant Kishore met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on multiple occasions.
Reacting to being sidelined, “Congress will contest the Maharashtra Assembly Elections alone. I am ready to be the CM face if the party high command decides,” announced Patole.
The party plans to contest on all 227 seats in the 2022 BMC polls.
Days after praising the Taliban for providing ‘good food’ and ‘playing cricket’, Indian national Tamal Bhattacharya has now hailed the radical Islamist outfit for being ‘trustworthy’. Tamal was among the 10 Bengalis who were successfully evacuated from the Hamid Karzai International airport in Afghanistan by the Indian government on Saturday (August 21 ) night.
In a recent interview with TV9 Bangla, Tamal Bhattacharya claimed that he ‘escaped’ death by leaving Afghanistan but also praised the Taliban for being ‘trustworthy’. “We thought they (Talibs) will capture us and kill us… This fear remained with me for 5-6 hours until we were rescued from my school to the Kardan International school. We chatted with the owner of the school and the Talibs present there. They assured us that there was nothing to fear. They said that they will protect us. They promised to guard me and all other teachers…And the truth is that the Taliban kept their promise.”
His contentious claims found overwhelming support among the radical Islamists, who were seeking opportunities to whitewash the atrocities committed by the Talibs. One Mozammal Haque Sohel wrote, “Tamal Bhattacharya is an Indian teacher returning to India last night, he praised the Taliban. He said that what is happening in the media against the Taliban is all propaganda, it is dirty media.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Mozammal Haque Sohel
A radical Islamist from Bangladesh, Nznn Ahmed, also thanked Tamal Bhattacharya for supposedly proving the Indian media wrong. “Tamal Bhattacharya, an Indian flown back on Sunday from Kabul proved the whole Indian media wrong in his live interview. He said, Talibs were very friendly & safeguarded all including women. With due respect to their religious laws, I’m saying that they’ve done a wonderful job,” he alleged.
Screengrab of the tweet by na_nznn
One Faisal Caesar wrote, “While people like Priya Saha of Bangladesh remains a traitor and liar, there are some like Tamal Bhattacharya in India, who doesn’t step back from speaking the truth. The paid media who are spreading negatives about Taliban, (one) should learn from this man.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Faisal Caesar
After Tamal trivialised the actions of the Taliban, a Facebook page by the name of ‘Paschimbanglar Muslim kontho (The Muslim voice of West Bengal) further exaggerated his comment. While attributing an alleged remark to Tamal, the page claimed, “Islam is never against women. Islam is the only modern religion which talked about gender equality and that’s the truth. Addressing the women, the Taliban has assured them that they can study and work but not alongside men.”
Screengrab of the Facebook post
One Islamist named SK Fariuddin from West Bengal posted on Facebook, “Thank you so much Tamal Bhattacharya for putting out the truth (about Taliban) in public.” In the video, Tamal was heard claiming that everything was perfectly fine in Kabul with shops and stores operating as usual. He had also praised the ‘Shariah law’ saying that deceit and fraud will not be tolerated under the Taliban rule. He explained the benefit of Shariah law by saying that the quantity of meat (naan kabab) served to customers for 150 rupees has now doubled under the new regime.
Screengrab of the Facebook post by SK Fariuddin
The story of Tamal Bhattacharya: From pleading for help to praising Taliban
Tamal, a 34-year-old resident of Nimta in the North Dum Dum area, was stranded in Afghanistan ever since the Taliban took control of the country. He had been working as a physics and chemistry teacher at an army school (Kardan International school) in Kabul since March this year. A mechanical engineer by training, Tamal was living in the staff quarters of his school. However, after the Taliban took over the city of Kabul, he was forced to lock himself up inside the principal’s residence.
He alleged to have contacted the Indian embassy and couldn’t reach the Hamid Karzai International airport despite several attempts. Later, he claimed to have reached the airport gate at 11 pm on Friday, only to be returned by the US security forces due to the absence of government officials and documents. He added that Talibs were surrounding the airport and had to spend the night in a nearby wedding hall. While speaking to Anandabazaar Patrika, he said, “Please inform PM Modi and Amit Shah so that immediate action is taken for our evacuation”
Eventually, Tamal was evacuated by an Indian Air Force (IAF) carrier along with 10 other Bengali residents. He boarded the flight late on Saturday night and reached the National capital on Sunday morning. On the same day, he returned to Kolkata via a flight from New Delhi. Tamal, who was successfully rescued by the Indian government from his perilous state, heaped praise upon the Taliban after reaching home.
As per a report in ABP News, Tamal Bhattacharya claimed that the Taliban has not only treated him well but also fed him good food. “They (Talibs) also played cricket with us,” he claimed. This is despite the fact that he had earlier pleaded with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to evacuate him immediately from Taliban-controlled Kabul.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has submitted a list of 17 draft charges in a 15-page document, claimed that the accused of Bhima Koregaon cases recruited students from universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to carry out terror activities.
The Bhima Koregaon case was initially probed by the Pune police and later transferred to the NIA by the Centre.
As per a report in Economic Times, the NIA has told in the draft charge sheet that all the arrested ‘Urban Naxals’ are “members of the banned terrorist organisation CPI(Maoist) whose main objective is to establish ‘Janata Sarkar’ i.e.people’s government via revolution supported by a commitment to protracted armed struggle to undermine and to seize power from the state.”
Accused ‘activists’ organised training camps to recruit cadres to carry out terror activities: NIA
In furtherance of their conspiracy to “wage a war against the nation”, the accused, being active members of banned terrorist outfit CPI (Maoist) and its frontal organisations, recruited students from various universities, the draft said. It added that the accused organised training camps in various regions to recruit cadres at all levels for the “commission of terrorist activities” of the CPI (M).
The NIA has laid down 17 charges against the 15 accused ‘Urban Naxals’ who include self-proclaimed ‘activists’ and alleged human rights lawyers, namely, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao, Hany Babu, Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, late Stan Swamy and others. The accused have been sought to be charged under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused persons also sought and collected funds for the purposes of terrorism, the NIA alleged. They were involved in organising, collecting and participating in providing funds through the banned CPI (Maoist) in order to cover the expenses of rebellious activities, and coordinated the Bhima Koregaon programme, held in Pune, with underground Naxalites, the charge sheet says.
They exploited the communal sentiments of Dalit and other minority forces and individuals across the state and provoked them in the name of caste in order to create instability and chaos in Maharashtra, the draft added.
Though the draft charge sheet spoke of a conspiracy to arrange weapons “to attempt or cause the death of public functionary”, it did not particularly mention the assassination plot against PM Narendra Modi.
Framing of charges is the first step before trial commences in the case. The NIA had submitted the draft charge sheet earlier this month, however, it was made available only on Monday, August 23.
Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon Case
The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case pertains to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. The following day, i.e January 1, 2018, large scale violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had gathered to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army against the Peshwas in 1818.
An FIR was filed in connection with the violence on January 8 after which Pune Police kickstarted a probe into it.
The Pune police continued the probe in the matter for 2 years after which the investigation was transferred to the National Investigation Agency in January 2020. The agency said that incriminating documents and letters were found on the devices of some of the accused, tying their links to the banned CPI(M) group. Soon after, the case was transferred to the NIA.
Three days after the Assam police made several arrests including an Assam Police constable, a senior leader of the state unit of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a medical student and a journalist, for their social media posts supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan, another person has been arrested for the same, police informed on Monday, August 23.
The man, who works in a Tyre shop in the Jorabat area of Guhawati, had taken to Facebook to write a post in support of the Islamic fundamentalists.
Prior to this arrest, the Assam police had arrested as many as 15 people who had posted various comments and videos on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook hailing the victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The arrests were made from various districts of the state on August 20 and 21.
Two people each were arrested from Kamrup Metropolitan, Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj districts. While one person each was arrested from Darrang, Cachar, Hailakandi, South Salmara, Goalpara and Hojai districts, the Assam police informed.
Violet Baruah, Deputy Inspector General of Assam Police, had tweeted earlier that the Assam Police is taking stern legal action against pro-Taliban comments on social media that are harmful to national security. “We’re registering criminal cases against such persons. Please inform the police if any such thing comes to your notice,” she added.
Assam police have also obtained information of three persons from the state staying outside India who have supported the Taliban.
The arrested persons are being interrogated by the police to find out any possible link with the Islamist group.
A senior police officer familiar with the case informed that the arrested people have been booked under several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC.
India has vaccinated one-third of its population with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. As per the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has administered 58,83,55,950 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 45,66,37,831 people have received at least one shot of the vaccine, while 13,17,18,119 people have completed the two-dose course.
Source: Covid19india.org
According to UADAI’s estimate, India has a population of 137,05,08,600 as of December 2020. Out of the said population, approx 50,50,52,109 are under the age of 18. So far, India has not permitted vaccination of children under 18 for vaccination against Covid-19. The data suggests that over 34% (more than 1/3) of the total population of the country that includes both eligible and non-eligible (minors) individuals, have been vaccinated with at least one dose.
Frontrunner states in vaccination drive
The top ten states that are the frontrunners in the world’s largest vaccination drive against Covid-19 include six BJP/NDA ruled states that are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bihar.
According to data available on the CoWIN dashboard, the state of Uttar Pradesh has administered a total of 6,42,44,819 doses has been administered in the state. 5,40,39,825 people have received at least one dose, while 1,02,04,994 people have completed the vaccination course of two doses.
Vaccination doses administered in Uttar Pradesh till August 23, 2021. Source: Cowin Dashboard
Maharashtra has administered 5,39,29,427 doses so far. 3,96,49,625 people have received at least one dose. 1,42,79,802 people have received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
Vaccination doses administered in Maharashtra till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
The state of Gujarat has administered 4,32,32,726 doses as of August 24. 3,26,30,501 have received at least one dose, while 1,06,02,225 individuals have received both doses.
Vaccination doses administered in Gujarat till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Talking about West Bengal, the state has administered 3,67,15,982 doses of the vaccine so far. 2,65,86,453 people have received at least one dose, while 1,01,29,529 people have received both doses.
Vaccination doses administered in West Bengal till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Madhya Pradesh has administered 4,01,94,519 doses of the vaccine so far. 3,35,92,821 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 66,01,698 have completed the two-dose course.
Vaccination doses administered in Madhya Pradesh till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
The state of Rajasthan has administered 3,99,98,257 doses of the vaccine. 3,03,11,131 have received at least one dose, while 96,87,126 people have completed the course of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Vaccination doses administered in Rajasthan till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Karnataka has administered 3,75,48,877 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 2,87,08,236 people have received at least one dose, while 88,40,641 people have received both doses.
Vaccination doses administered in Karnataka till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Bihar has administered 3,28,29,911 doses of the vaccine. 2,74,36,530 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 53,93,381 have received both doses.
Vaccination doses administered in Bihar till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Tamil Nadu has administered 2,90,72,405 doses so far. 2,35,09,570 people in the state have received at least one dose. 55,62,835 people have completed the course.
Vaccination doses administered in Tamil Nadu till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Andhra Pradesh has administered a total of 2,66,24,972 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 1,95,40,786 have received at least one dose, while 70,84,186 have received both doses.
Vaccination doses administered in Andhra Pradesh till August 23, 2021.Source: Cowin Dashboard
Just a few lakh doses behind Andhra Pradesh is the state of In Kerala that is still recording the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country. In the state, 2,62,88,088 doses have been administered so far. 1,93,33,756 have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. 69,54,332 people have received both doses of vaccine.
Vaccination doses administered in Kerala till August 23, 2021. Source: Cowin Dashboard
Covid-19 in India
On August 23, India reported 11,385 new cases of Covid-19. So far, India has reported 3,24,60,354 cases of Covid-19. There are 3,21,877 active cases in the country. 3,16,90,678 have recovered from the disease. 4,35,051 have lost their lives to the complications related to Covid-19.
After receiving a rousing welcome by the nation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Olympic medalist and wrestler Ravi Dahiya has fulfilled a personal spiritual resolve after reaching home.
Hitesh Shankar, the editor of Panchjanya Weekly, informed that Dahiya’s family had lit an Akhand Jyot at his home to fulfil his wish of winning a medal at the Olympics.
ओलम्पिक पदक जीतने की मनोकामना के साथ पहलवान रवि दहिया के घर में अखण्ड ज्योति प्रज्ज्वलित थी। संकल्प पूरा हुआ, मनोकामना पूरी हुई …और फिर महादेव का जलाभिषेक! धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः #Olympics#RaviDahiyapic.twitter.com/FWHAHEvdTF
As Dahiya returned home after winning a silver at Tokyo Olympics 2020, he paid obeisance and performed the ritual of ‘Jalabhishek’ of Shivling at a temple.
The images are winning the internet with some netizens referring to him as ‘real-life Bahubali.’
In 2020, Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Poonia and others had trekked to the world’s highest Shiva temple at Tunganath, Uttarakhand.
Ravi Dahiya visited Jammu to thank his motivator
The Olympian on Monday reached Jammu to thank his motivator Vickrant Mahajan. “Very few people know that to accomplish this unparalleled feat for the nation, I had been motivated by Jammu-based Vickrant Mahajan,” informed Dahiya.
Dahiya connected with Mahajan a couple of years back when the latter had started a campaign called GoAthlete Program to motivate Indian athletes for the Tokyo Games.
“Initially my goal was to just qualify for the Olympics but Vickrant inspired me to set the goal for a medal and asked me to commit wholeheartedly to it,” added Dahiya in praise of his mentor.
“Together, we have worked out a vision for the next 10 years and this is just the beginning,” concluded Dahiya. Speaking to ANI, Dahiya stated, “Coach and motivator are two different persons and have their different roles. We may achieve better results with the help of a sports motivator.”
Dahiya had been felicitated by the UP government and was also welcomed at a grand event at his village recently. The Delhi government has decided to name his childhood school after the wrestling star.
In a historic feat, Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya won the silver medal in the 57kg freestyle category of the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Ravi was the second Indian wrestler ever to reach the Olympic final, after Sushil Kumar.
