Home Blog Page 4056

Imran Khan and Rahul Gandhi always find the same opponent, same organisation to blame for their own failures: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Imran Khan and Rahul Gandhi always find the same opponent, same organisation to blame for their own failures: Read details

After Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday parroted the ‘RSS ideology’ excuse when asked about the India-Pakistan relationship, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi soon followed suit to malign the Hindu organization, parroting Pakistan’s line as usual.

Here’s what happened

Khan who is in Tashkent for the Central-South Asia conference was asked by an ANI reporter if “talks and terror could go hand in hand”. To this Khan replied, “We can tell India that we (Pakistan) have been waiting for a long time to coexist as civilised neighbours…but what to do? the ideology of RSS has come in between.”

Khan repeated the usual rant, ignoring that It is Pakistan’s open sponsoring of Islamic terrorists aganst India that prevents ‘talks’ between the two nations. However, when the reporter counter-questioned Khan about his government’s links withb Taliban and Pakistan’s failure to keep the Taliban in control, he was quick to evade the ‘out of syllabus’ query.

It is notable here that the Modi government had made it clear to Imran Khan’s government in Pakistan that there will be no bilateral dialogues as long as Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorism against India and allows anti-India terrorists to use Pakistani resources.

After Imran Khan, Rahul Gandhi repeats the same ‘RSS ideology’ rant

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while addressing the members of the party during a meeting emphasized the need for inducting fearless partymen who rejected the ‘RSS ideology.’

“There’re many fearless people, who are not in Congress. They should be brought in & the Congressmen who are afraid of (BJP) should be shown the exit door. We don’t need those who believe in RSS ideology. We need fearless people,” he said, hinting about inducting ex-BJP leaders.

Gandhi in his speech also confessed that some Congressmen are ‘BJP-fearing’, thus advising the party to get rid of them.

Imran Khan and Rahul Gandhi’s Congress keep parroting each other’s statements

Well, this is absolutely not the first time that Khan has used RSS as a shield to deflect questions on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in India. Additionally, Khan with his ‘RSS is responsible for ___’ script has managed to blame the Seva organization, Bhartiya Janta Party and the Hindu community for everything under the blue sky.

Khan managed to pin the blame of the Delhi anti-CAA riots and farmers’ protest on the RSS/BJP ideology apart from regular complaining about the ‘condition of minorities’ in India. 

Just like Imran Khan, it wasn’t the first time that Rahul Gandhi gave an anti-RSS statement. As a matter of fact, all of Gandhi’s recent interviews and public addresses have centered around bashing and maligning the organization and the Hindutva ideology. 

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2020 had mocked Sangh critics by saying that they attack the RSS when their negative campaigns do not succeed. “Now even Imran Khan has learnt this mantra,” Bhagwat had said in his remarks. 

It is notable here that Imran Khan’s party and Rahul Gandhi’s party have been picking ideas from each other and repeating statements of each other. We at OpIndia had even prepared a list of the instances where they just parroted each other.

In 2019, Pakistan’s anti-India dossier to the UNHRC featured former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders. The dossier had quoted remarks made by Rahul Gandhi in the aftermath of India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir where he had taken to Twitter to castigate Jammu and Kashmir authorities and had cast doubts on the Indian government.

Rahul Gandhi’s and Congress’ political statements against the Modi government have been used multiple times by the Pakistani establishment to target India. Pakistani politicians love quoting Rahul Gandhi. They even use his and his party’s statements to validate their rantings against India on international platforms.

In 2019, Pakistan’s national radio had used Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders’ statements over the Balakot surgical strike to peddle lies against India.

Madras High Court comes down heavily on Tamil Nadu govt for failing to recover encroached temple lands, warns strong action

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Madras High Court comes down heavily on Tamil Nadu govt for failing to recover encroached temple lands, warns strong action

The Madras High Court on Thursday lashed out at the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department of the Tamil Nadu government for its failure to act on the increasing complaints filed in the court about the misappropriation of temple properties. The court also warned the department that it might have to come down hard if the Department did not act on its own to recover encroached temple lands.

The observations were made by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy while hearing a contempt of court petition filed against top government officials for having failed to recover the encroached lands of the Agatheshwarar Temple at Nungambakkam. 

“We note that in most cases pertaining to temples under the HR&CE Department, the officials concerned have been negligent in resuming temple properties that had been transferred to others unauthorisedly. Unless immediate measures are taken by the Department, more drastic measures may be called for,” the court warned.

Details of the case

As per petitioner J. Mohanraj, the HR&CE officials under the Tamil Nadu government had failed to recover the lands of the temple that were sold illegally by the erstwhile trustees, despite a court order passed on February 19, 2019.

Putting forth the facts, counsel for the petitioner P.T. Perumal, brought to the court’s notice a souvenir brought by the temple in 1988 that had mentioned that the temple was in possession of 340 grounds of land then. 

Going by the information obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the temple was in possession of 307 grounds. However, in a status report filed before the court, the HR&CE Department stated that the temple was only in possession of 93 grounds. 

The report also mentioned that 107 grounds had been sold by the erstwhile trustees but yet the figures differed in comparison to the records presented. 

The counsel thus insisted that the HR&CE Commissioner be directed to explain the steps taken to recover large tracts of land that were sold illegally.  

Agreeing with the arguments placed, the judges have ordered the Department to file a status report within three weeks.

Madras High Court issues direction

This is not the first time that the Tamil Nadu government and the HR&CE Department came under fire for their negligence. In a 224-page judgment, the Madras High Court in June had issued a set of 75 directions to the Tamil Nadu government for the maintenance and protection of historical monuments and ancient temples. 

The Court had remarked, “the custodians of grand and antique temples and ancient monuments are least bothered and the conservation of our valuable heritage is deteriorating not due to any natural calamity or catastrophe, but due to reckless administration and maintenance under the guise of renovation.”

It also ruled, “The State Government or the Commissioner of the HR&CE department, who are the Trustee/administrator of the temple lands, shall not alienate or give away the lands contrary to the wish of the donor. The lands shall always remain with the temples. The ‘public purpose theory’ shall not be invoked in cases of temple lands over which the interest of the community people of the religious denomination generally rests.”

FIR registered against T-Series MD Bhushan Kumar after woman complaints that he had raped her promising to give job

OpIndia Staff
-
0
FIR registered against T-Series MD Bhushan Kumar after woman complaints that he had raped her promising to give job

Bollywood producer and T-Series MD Bhushan Kumar has reportedly been booked by the Mumbai police on charges of rape.

As per reports, a 30-year-old woman has accused Kumar of raping her under the pretext of getting her a job in T-Series. She has alleged that the producer tortured her between 2017 and August 2020. The victim informed that she was raped at different places during the period and intimidated against speaking about it. On the basis of a complaint filed by the victim with the DN Nagar police station, the cops have registered an FIR under sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation)of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The police have so far made no arrests in the case. A probe has been initiated into the case. The police will be recording the statement of Bhushan Kumar soon. It must be mentioned that Bhushan Kumar took the reigns of T-Series after the tragic death of his father Gulshan Kumar. He was 19-year-old at that time. He is married to Divya Khosla Kumar and has produced several films including Aashiqui 2 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa.

#MeToo allegations on Bhushan Kumar by Marina Kunwar

This is not the first time Bhushan Kumar is facing rape charges. In 2018, model and actor Marina Kunwar had come out publicly during an interview with Aaj Tak, where she had accused Bhushan Kumar and Sajid Khan of sexually harassing her. At that time, it was alleged that the media did not cover the case and Marina’s story was thrown under the carpet. Last year, Sonu Nigam had posted a series of vlogs revolving around problems faced by actors, singers, and other artists in the film industry, especially those who do not have any godfather or family support.

Sonu Nigam had made explosive allegations that Bhushan sought his help to save himself from gangster Abu Salem. “Remember Marina Kunwar? And the allegations she made? Why did she say this and why did she back out? Media knows. I have her video. If you mess with me, I will upload her video on my YouTube channel. Don’t mess with me,” he had said.

‘A flight to remember’: When BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy piloting his flight to Chennai, with many colleagues, including DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘A flight to remember’: When BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy piloting his flight to Chennai, with many colleagues, including DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran was in for a surprise when he boarded an Indigo flight from Delhi to Chennai. The flight was piloted by BJP MP Rajiv Kumar Rudy and Maran described how he was pleasantly surprised to find the captain of the flight was one of his fellow parliamentarians.

“I boarded the Indigo flight 6E864 from Delhi to Chennai after attending a meeting of the Parliamentary Estimates Committee. I happened to sit in the first row, as the crew declared that the boarding had completed. ‘So you are travelling in this flight as well!’ said a person dressed in the Captain’s uniform,” the DMK MP said.

“I could not recognize him with his mask on, although his voice sounded familiar. I nodded my head, still wondering who it could be. He looked at me and his eyes gave away the smile behind the mask,” Maran said. “So you don’t recognize me”, the pilot exclaimed.

In a series of tweets, Maran described how he was set back in his heels on finding that Rajiv Pratap Rudy was captaining his flight to Chennai.

At first, Maran was puzzled to find a pilot asking him if he recognises him. Moments later, he realised the man behind the mask was none other than his colleague and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Maran was in Delhi to participate in a meeting of the Parliamentary Estimates Committee. Two hours before the flight, Maran and Rudy were a part of an intense discussion in the meeting, the DMK MP revealed in a Twitter post later. “I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing his transformation from a politician to a pilot,” Maran said.

“I could only say that I was honoured to be flown by my good friend and colleague… A flight to remember indeed!” Maran said.

“How often does a sitting Member of Parliament captain a commercial flight? I’m sure I will be talking about this for a long time. Thank you Captain @RajivPratapRudy, MP for flying us safely from Delhi to Chennai!” he added.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a BJP MP from Bihar and former civil aviation minister, frequently flies commercial planes. He is also the national spokesperson for the BJP and has served as Minister of State when Maran’s father, Murasoli Maran, was Union Minister for Commerce.

Rudy later responded to Maran in a series of tweets in Tamil and expressed his pleasure and surprise over Maran being a passenger in his piloted craft on Tuesday. Remembering his days with Murasoli Maran, Rudy also hailed Dayanidhi as a “successful aviation entrepreneur and union minister”.

“Thank you Mr Dayanidhi Maran. After our meeting in Parliament, I was surprised and happy that you came as a fellow passenger on flight number 6E864 from Delhi to Chennai,” Rudy tweeted in Tamil.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari posted a video of Rajiv Pratap Rudy making the announcement and interacting with the passengers before taking off.

In the announcement, Rudy spoke about him piloting the aircraft and read out the names of several passengers to greet them. He also named the youngest passengers, 6 month old daughter of Manoj Tiwari.

Madhya Pradesh: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan holds the wedding ceremony of his three adopted daughters

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Madhya Pradesh: CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan holds the wedding ceremony of his three adopted daughters

The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday held the wedding of his three adopted daughters in a simple ceremony in Vidisha.

Chouhan and his wife were seen performing the ritual of ‘Kanyadaan’ during the wedding of their daughters at a temple in the city.

About 20 years ago, Chouhan and his wife had vowed to take care of seven girls and two boys who were raised in Sundar Seva Ashram in Vidisha. Since then, Chouhan has taken care of all their expenses, including their education.

Chouhan has so far already married off four girls and a boy out of his adopted children. On Thursday, he married off three daughters –Radhan, Suman and Priti, in accordance with all the customs and rituals at the famed Badh Wale Ganesh temple in Vidisha.

The chief minister and his wife, Sadhna Singh, reportedly became emotional at the time of marriage and bestowed their blessings on the newly-wed couples.

Chouhan had shared the video of him performing ‘Kanyadaan’ during the wedding of his three daughters on Twitter. “Today my three daughters are stepping into a happy future, this is a day of utmost auspiciousness and good fortune for every father,” he tweeted.

“A big responsibility is going to be fulfilled today. I was a Member of Parliament when I adopted these girls. I am happy that three of my daughters are getting married today,” he said.

The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh also planted three saplings on the occasion of his daughters’ wedding.

“Sometimes, I will sit in the shade of these trees and remember my daughters. Sometimes, I will have tea with them. May my daughters always be happy, this is the blessing of this father,” Chouhan tweeted.

In an interview with ANI, Chouhan revealed the time when he adopted the three girls. He said it was in 1998 when he adopted the girls when they were mere infants.

“They had no guardian, so I decided to adopt them. Sadhna ji brought them up with great love and today we have these daughters married. I am very happy,” Chouhan said.

There are no rules anymore: How journalists have only themselves to blame for the viral photo of Danish Siddiqui’s corpse

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
There are no rules anymore: How journalists have only themselves to blame for the viral photo of Danish Siddiqui’s corpse

Laws are important for any society to prosper and function adequately. But even more so are those unspoken norms that are based not on the legal system of a country but on ethics and personal morality. The punishment for violating such rules is not imprisonment or fines but losing the goodwill of those they share their homeland with.

‘Rationalists’ might even argue that such norms are not based on sound logic and violating them does not constitute a grave moral crime. Such people inadvertently end up encouraging the violation of such norms. Take the norm of respecting elders, for instance.

Yes, elders can be stupid, some can be downright criminals and perverts but in general to teach children to respect their elders is still a good idea. Some ‘rationalists’ would question, “Why should we respect someone just because of their age? Respect is earned, not given!”

On the face of it, there might be some logic behind such arguments but across all cultures everywhere, elders are widely given respect and it is a universal norm that children are taught to respect their elders. The simplest rebuttal to arguments against it is that if a norm has such universality and has survived through hundreds of years to this day, then it ostensibly does provide some benefits to human societies and the benefits outweigh the costs.

After all, the greatest confirmation of a hypothesis is its validity in the world we live, not in theories. Theories must be tailored to explain reality adequately, not the other way around. One such norm that has evolved over centuries and is the norm in most cultures is that death is a private affair and the dead body of the deceased is reserved for the eyes of the family. In the 21st century, even pedophiles and murderers sentenced to die in civilised societies are awarded the privilege of privacy.

It is considered obscene to parade the dead body of the deceased for the eyes of the world at large. Even Kasab and Yakub Memon, responsible for the deaths of hundreds and hundreds of people, were awarded the same privilege. Privacy in death is the one sacred norm that is violated with extreme caution, if it is ever violated at all. Indeed, parading dead bodies in public is a sign of barbarism and savagery, something Islamic terrorists are greatly fond of with their public executions.

Second Wave of Covid-19 pandemic

Something changed during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was one of the darkest phases in the history of independent India. Thousands of people lost their lives and at one point, the healthcare system of the country was in the brink of collapse.

Demand for medical oxygen skyrocketed sharply and the Government had very little time to augment the supply of medical oxygen, which they did eventually. But by the time they could secure an adequate supply, thousands had already lost their lives.

People were struggling to secure a bed in hospitals as most were overburdened. Thus, when spirits were low and the future looked bleak, journalism in the country sank to even lower depths. Truth be told, the media conducted itself shamefully during the whole pandemic.

From the CNN admitting to an undercover journalist that they were highlighting the Covid-19 death tally in the United States for ratings to the entire media branding the Covid-19 lab leak hypothesis as a ‘conspiracy theory’ without a shred of evidence, the media went from one blunder to the next without feeling any sense of shame.

But undoubtedly, the lowest they stooped to was in India, where journalists across the board ran helter-skelter to capture photographs of funeral pyres. Reuters, BBC, New York Times, nearly every international media outlet published images of funeral pyres on their front pages.

Barkha Dutt was one of them, Danish Siddiqui was another. And thus was a sacred norm violated, one of the most sacred norms in civilised society.

Danish Siddiqui killed by Taliban in Afghanistan

On Friday, the 16th of July, it was reported that Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed during clashes with the Taliban. He was traveling with Afghan forces when they were attacked by the Taliban.

Soon after, a photograph of his dead body surfaced on social media. And journalists, as if on cue, began pleading with others to not circulate the photograph as it was disrespectful to the dead. It was a remarkable demonstration of hypocrisy, really.

Danish Siddiqui killed by Taliban, dead body photograph
The appeal by one journalist

The very people who captured photographs of funeral pyres, violated the right to privacy of the deceased’s family, suddenly realised that sharing the image of a corpse is disrespectful to the dead. One of the most ironic comments came from Stuti Mishra, a reporter with The Independent, who appealed to people to not circulate the image right after sharing photographs of funeral pyres captured by Danish Siddiqui himself.

Until now, journalists were defending the funeral pyre photographs saying it was important to highlight the extent of the crisis in India. But that could have been highlighted in a million different ways. It is only when people are circulating the photograph of Siddiqui’s corpse that the realization has dawned on them that it is disrespectful to the deceased.

Danish Siddiqui killed by Taliban, dead body photograph
The appeal by Stuti Mishra

As the old saying goes, you do not realise the effect your actions have on others until you step in their shoes. And this did really hit close to home. Journalists suddenly realise that photographs of their dead bodies may be circulated in the future as well, just as the treatment that is now being meted out to Danish Siddiqui.

But they have to remember here that things have escalated to this point because it is they who violated the sacred norm of respecting the privacy of the deceased’s family. It is they who trampled on the rule, then danced on top of it in the fancy clothes that were bought with the money that was earned. And now, they are receiving payback for their transgressions.

Danish Siddiqui incident shows there are no rules anymore

The series of events highlights perfectly why rules are important. As I remarked elsewhere, “Such rules do not exist to protect others from your frivolity, they exist to protect you from the savagery of the hordes.”

The ‘intellectual class’ is free to violate them, of course, for they are safer than anyone else from any adverse consequences but they do so at their own peril. Danish Siddiqui was an active participant in the desecration of the sacred norm, the rules were defiled and shat upon and it shall not be forgotten that the degeneration was initiated by the ‘intellectual’ class.

They have violated the very laws that protected them from savagery, much the same way as an idiot cuts off the very branch of the tree he is sitting on. And the consequences are terrible.

Why rules are important

Such rules are important because they represent the essence of co-existence, they are the unspoken agreement that people in a society agree to so that they may continue to exist together in harmony. When such norms are defiled, even without breaking any laws, it leads to a breach of trust that is essential for members of a society to work together.

For instance, the ‘intellectual class’ highlights human rights abuses based on the identity of the perpetrator committing them. What it has led to is a situation where human rights abuses are not considered grave enough by anyone involved.

The same ‘intellectual class’ picks and chooses cases of violations of women’s rights and what it has resulted in is that feminism as an ideology has been discredited entirely. Such norms are not important only for individual countries alone but also international relations between countries.

The United States of America, for example, harps on about “rules based international order” while engaging in regime change wars abroad and working to destabilize entire countries. It accuses China of human rights violations while it continues to wage illegal wars in the Middle East which have cost the lives of hundreds and thousands of people and destroyed the lives of millions others.

The inevitable consequence of such duplicity is that rules do not exist anymore. All that exists is power and forces in pursuit of it, without anyone caring enough about the moral consequences of it.

Exclusive: “Please let me meet my son”, cries Tarlochan Sandhu who filed case against wife, in-laws for trying to convert him and his child to Islam

Akshita Bhadauria
-
0
Exclusive: “Please let me meet my son”, cries Tarlochan Sandhu who filed case against wife, in-laws for trying to convert him and his child to Islam

We had reported yesterday how a 36-year-old Sikh man from Chandigarh had to move court and file a civil suit in the district court seeking directions to restrain his Muslim wife and her family from forcibly convert him and his minor son to Islam.

The plaintiff who is Sikh by religion and by birth has stated that his Muslim wife had promised him that religion will never become an issue after marriage. However, the promise was short-lived with his wife Nageena and her family forcing Sandhu to convert to Islam from day one of their marriage.

“My son is small. He is scared” cried Sandhu while speaking to OpIndia

Tarlochan Singh Sandhu in an exclusive interview with OpIndia narrated his ordeal. Sandhu shared that he met Nageena in 2007 and got married in 2008. Initially, he had declined the proposal by Nageena as the two belonged to different religions.

However, Nageena began to emotionally blackmail him and started to pressurize him for marriage. Sandhu eventually agreed when Nageena promised that religion will not be an issue after marriage.

The promise, however, was short-lived and Nageena and her family began to pressurize Sandhu to convert to Islam soon after marriage. To escape the pressure, Sandhu who is originally from Amritsar shifted to Delhi for a while. 

Sandhu shared that from the past two years his wife along with her parents began to pressurize him to convert. He also said that in his 13 years of marriage with Nageena not once did he ask her to give up Islam to accept Sikhism.

Wife forced to shift to Chandigarh

Nageena who is from Chandigarh began to force Sandhu to shift to the city, however, Sandhu refused to do so. He feared that his in-laws would once again influence him. Nageena yet again took him into confidence and promised that her family would not interfere in their marriage. Sandhu then with his wife and child shifted to Chandigarh six years ago but his happiness was short-lived. Sandhu has been facing the brunt of shifting close to his in-laws since then. 

In-laws shifted in his rented house to track his movements

As if harassing Sandhu over calls and meetings was not enough, his in-laws shifted to his rented house to track his movements and persuade him to leave Sikhism. They restricted him from offering prayers or wear kada and even forced him to cut his hair. 

When Sandhu protested, they flung his turban on the ground and forced him to read Namaaz. On May 30, when Sandhu resisted the harassment, Nageena’s family members ganged up to beat him up.

No help from police

After being attacked, Sandhu immediately called 112 and informed the police that his life is under threat. As the statements were being recorded in the police station, Nageena’s brother Nawabuddin started to hurl abuses. After that Nageena’s family once again attacked Sandhu with rods and sticks outside the police station.

When he approached the police once again they advised him to either go home or spend the night at some park. Sandhu then spent two nights at Shivalik Park after which he booked a hotel room.

However, he was still receiving threats from his brother-in-law who claimed that he would gather 150 people on one call to attack him. Sandhu frequented the police station to get the police to take some action but to no avail. 

“They want to change my name to Tahir”

Sandhu had shifted to Dubai for a while for his professional work. Sharing an anecdote Sandhu said that when he was in Dubai, he received pictures of his son dressed as a Muslim. When he questioned his wife she said that it was only for Eid.

Nageena’s family wanted Tarlochan to change his name to Tahir. They subsequently began harassing his son. On multiple occasions, they threw away his son’s kada. When asked, they used to say that it got lost. 

Upon asking his son he got to know that Nageena’s brother stopped him from wearing it. Sandhu also informed that Nageena’s family has taken away his son and does not let him meet or even talk to his son over the phone.

“The last time I spoke to him, my son said that he does not like to stay with that family, is scared and wanted me to take him,” said Sandhu. On complaining to police the SHO said that they would make arrangements to make him meet his son. Sandhu was then taken to meet his son for a few minutes but said his brother-in-law had caught his son’s hand and his son looked dreaded, refusing to speak

False case against Sandhu

In 2019 when Sandhu, tired of the harassment took his son to Amritsar, his wife lodged a false harassment case against him due to which he had to come back. Nageena alleged that Sandhu used to physically abuse her. After this, the Women’s Cell began to trouble Sandhu and even snatched his son from him. 

Sandhu also informed that Nageena’s sister married a Hindu boy a couple of years ago and got him converted to Islam too. 

My parents saved her life

Sandhu alleged that as per a ritual, Nageena was sent to her mother’s home for their child’s delivery. However, Nageena’s family switched off their phones and broke all ties as soon as his son was born.

However, Nageena’s health deteriorated after delivery. It is then when they were compelled to inform Sandhu. 

Sandhu rushed to Chandigarh and said that his parents took care of Nageena and all the expenses. He also informed that his parents had been unhappy with him for marrying Nageena.

Sandhu claimed that Nageena had always been disrespectful towards his parents, used to abuse them and provoke him to assault them. “Yet they saved her life,” he said.

Sandhu filed a police complaint

Worried for his son, Sandhu finally lodged yet another complaint against Nageena and 10 members of her family in Chandigarh’s Sector 09. The matter has been listed for July 20.

Sandhu also said that a BJP youth leader has been helping him in this matter. 

Ram Mandir to open for devotees by the end of 2023, says Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust

OpIndia Staff
-
0

The much-awaited Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will open to devotees for worship by the end of 2023. According to the reports, Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple would be opened for devotees to offer prayers to Ram Lalla by the end of 2023.

The announcement came after a two-day meeting of the 15-member Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust with engineers and architects. The meeting was chaired by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust chief Nripendra Misra.

The office-bearers of the trust, who are overseeing the construction of the Ram Mandir, said that the complete construction of the entire 70-acre campus would be finished by the end of 2025.

On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of the temple in a historic ceremony. The 500 years wait of the Hindu devotees worldwide came to an end when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the Ram Mandir’s Bhoomi Pujan.

However, the work was temporarily halted in January this year after engineers had found water under the proposed temple site. Currently, engineers are working on the foundation of the temple, and it is likely to be completed by September 15.

Reportedly, the engineers are using Sandstone from UP’s Mirzapur and Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, and marble from Rajasthan’s Makrana and pink stone from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur for the temple construction. The second phase of the work is likely to start in November this year after Diwali.

South African MP Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi talks to OpIndia: Racist attacks against Indians, the Indian govt’s help, a ‘toolkit’ and a people in distress

Nupur J Sharma
-
0
South African MP Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi talks to OpIndia: Racist attacks against Indians, the Indian govt’s help, a ‘toolkit’ and a people in distress

South Africa has been thrown into unrest and a civil war-like situation was seen developing after the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma. On the 7th of July, Jacob Zuma was arrested after he failed to appear for his corruption hearing and was sent to jail for 15 months over contempt charges. In the ensuing violence, reportedly, 72 people have died and over 1,200 people have been arrested. However, as the protests escalated, the violence turned racial and the Indian community in South Africa was targeted.

According to eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, around 45,000 businesses have been deemed out of commission, and it is estimated that properties worth R16 billion (around 8225 crores) have been looted or destroyed during the riots that include damage to infrastructure and equipment.

Kaunda said, “Preliminary estimate of the economic impact revealed that the unrest had cost R1 billion in terms of loss of stock and around R15 billion in terms of damage to property and equipment.” He further added that around 45,000 businesses that include 5,000 informal traders have been severely affected by the riots. “Small businesses may never recover from this upheaval,” he said. 

According to some estimates, over 1,29,000 jobs are at risk in Durban as malls, factories, and certain industries have been burnt down to ashes. A large portion of workers were dependent on these establishments, and it will now add to the already skyrocketing unemployment figures in the country.

Several South Africans took to Twitter to call for violence against the Indian community, some, saying that the violence was retribution for the crimes of the Gupta brothers. However, the violence had severe racial undertones with the Indian community being specifically targeted and Gupta Brothers were being used as an excuse to justify the racial violence

OpIndia, which has followed the developments closely since the beginning of the violence, conducted an interview with the South African Member of Parliament, Ms Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. She belongs to the Minority Front (MF).

Speaking to OpIndia, Shameen Rajbansi revealed how there was a ‘toolkit’ to target Indians in Kwazulu-Natal province and how the charge that the violence was unleashed as retribution for the crimes of the Gupta brothers was completely unfounded. She further spoke about how the Indian government was corresponding with the South African government to ensure the safety of the Indian community and explained the roots of the racist violence in the country.

Following are excerpts from the interview. The questions are indicated in bold, followed by the answers given Shameena Rajbansi.

Do you think the violence that South Africa is seeing today is just protests turned ugly or does it have racial undertones

It was purely a political protest when it started out. During a protest, there are always various agendas at play and then, there are certain people who come out and become violent. On many occasions, the violent takes a racial turn and that is what happened here.

Is there a reason, you think, why there is a racial undertone to the violence specifically against Indians? Because we have seen several examples of racist violence against Indians in African nations. One recalls what happened in Uganda during the time of Idi Amin in 1972. In South Africa specifically, can you explain why there are these racial undertones.

You just quoted Uganda and South Africa is no different since we have a long history of racial undertones against the Indian community and for no fault of ours. It started with the displacement of the Indians from the 1860s from the time Indians were brought in as labourers and shunted off to different parts of the world by the Britishers. Our ancestors went through this. Having come here, being enslaved, then being resilient and working their way up, always being in survival mode and eventually naturalisation, getting citizenship status and getting their rights back – all this has been a long process, but a very painful one.

As far back as 1949, riots against Indians at Durban Central, going on to the 1985 riots to what we are currently experiencing, you have had different political shifts at different time and many riots have broken out against the Indian community. But the root cause has always been that of political power. Whenever there was a crisis in power in South Africa, one of the communities that has always got the brunt of violence has been the Indian community. Because we have been soft targets believing in non-violence. Therefore, we have become vulnerable targets to perpetrators.

Several South Africans too took to Twitter to call for violence against the Indian community. One of the common themes that emerged was that they said it was a backlash because of the Gupta Brothers. Do you think the corruption charges against them along with President Zuma contributed to the violence against the Indian community?

There are many foreign businesses in South Africa. From the inception of our democracy, many people have come to SA looking for business opportunities. They have courted different presidents, leaders, influential people and they have integrated with the business community. They have been a part of powerful structures. Using the Gupta Brothers as an excuse to unleash violence on the Indian community is something I completely denounce. There comes a time as an Indian community we need to stand up. In South Africa, we have had large scale corruption by several other foreign business leaders but it has never taken racial undertones and it has never resulted in violence against their community. This is a political battle and the Indian community is being made a scapegoat.

You said that this is a political battle. How does it help the political cause if the Indian community is targeted

In our democracy, the Indian community has always held a sway vote that every party has been clamouring for. They know that the Indian community has that power, any which way, and they can become powerful if they get the Indian vote bank. In many ways, they also determine who becomes the President of the country. This is the reason the Indian community becomes a target on several occasions.

Are you indicating that the supporters of former President Zuma are targeting the Indian community because they support the current President

That is a blurred area. The Indian community has lived with a philosophy where we believe in ethics. We don’t support a particular leader as such. Indian people vote for who will give them security and who will be a good leader in the country and when they vote, they vote for a party. Indians voted for the majority party which is the party both the leaders belong to and they have been consistent in the voting party. There is no way that our community can be blamed for favouritism. We supported the leader that the party put up. There are even several Indian members in the ANC as well and they vote too for who leads the ANC party. The person who leads the ANC party then goes on to become the President. So the Indian community cannot be blamed for supporting a leader selectively.

Could you give us a sense of the scale of violence that the Indian community has seen in the past 72 hours. There have been reports of Indian women being raped, farm lands being burnt and Indians coming out on the streets to defend themselves.

The rape charges are false, I think. In our legislature we debated the violence as well and nowhere did the government mentioned that women were raped. But yes, 2 lives were lost. But a lot of property was looted, shops and businesses were raised to the ground and even business and shops of expats were burnt down. Perpatrators came into areas where Indians lived and violence was committed rampantly. Indians had to scramble to try to protect whatever they had. People had to use cricket bats etc because we have strong laws against owning firearms. So a majority of the Indian community was fighting with other means, like using bats and setting up barricades. The police was ineffective and could not help the people due to lack of resources. In fact, it was the community that was helping the law enforcement and when that was failing, we called in the army to come.

2,500 army personnel have now been deployed in the riot infested areas where majority of Indian people live. We have promised that the full force of the army will be in the Khwazulu-Natal and that the people will be protected.

There was news of ANC as well issuing a statement and blaming the Indian community for the violence, while they were only defending themselves. What do you make of that?

In order to be a responsible leader, we have to understand all of this in context. Politically, today, in our legislature, I apologised if any action of any Indian person was looked at as racism or discriminatory. But I also said that the Indian community was taken by surprise. And when that happens, it is human instinct to do whatever one can to protect their community. ANC has come out and made that statement, but it was an insidious attack and people were just protecting themselves. Indians were not the ones to start the violence. This was a very well-orchestrated, well-coordinated anarchy that was unleashed on this entire province. We were the community that got the brunt and historically this has been happening. This is an undeniable fact and since this has a political root cause, the political leaders need to find a solution to this.

I have been in touch with several members of the Indian community in South Africa, and they have now created Whatsapp groups just to try and coordinate the resources that are now running out. They have said they are out of water, food, essential items etc and they are helping each other out through specific WhatsApp groups. Now that the Army has been brought in, could you tell us what is the status of the violence now and whether resources have reached community members.

The Indian community is extremely resilient. I am proud of all the heroes. The business sector and the NGO sector has come out very strongly to support everyone in the South African community, not just Indians. They have sprung into survival mode and set up all sorts of Whatsapp groups. I drove around in the area after the Parliamentary debate to assess the situation myself. From Monday, other members are also going to go to areas where they have been deployed. The shops are now slowly opening up but there are unending queues to buy what is necessary. The NGO sector is beginning to pack different commodities like food, water etc. If there is a need, people are getting it to people. This is the magnanimity of the Indian community. They are not discriminating. Anybody who needs help, Indians are helping them.

Interestingly, you said that you apologised if any statement or action of the Indian community hurt the sentiments of the people. Historically, we have seen that Indians are blamed even when they defend themselves after the violence has been unleashed against them. They are blamed for unleashing the violence instead of defending themselves. I know this is a sensitive question, madam, but do you see this as a spark that might escalate further, leading to a situation like Uganda.

What is happening today is a reminder of what happened in 1949 when we had over 1,500 dead, 40,000 Indian refugees were left stranded and were looking for help. At that time, the Indian government did come in and promised to help them. In this case, we are monitoring the situation. The Honourable Minister of External Affairs Mr Jaishankar has spoken to our minister Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor and they are communicating to assess the situation. The Indian government has to be thanked for having their finger on the pulse and have extended support to us. They have also opened many channels of communication to us to understand what our situation is. Now we just have to monitor and on a daily basis, assess the situation and even our government’s political commitment to bring us back to normalcy. With the army coming in, we have to see and then make a decision on what to do. I have not asked the Indian government to come in and help us because we don’t want to be alarmist. Sometimes, being alarmist ends up claiming more lives and making the situation worse. We don’t want chaos. We want to do this in a responsible manner and follow protocols.

So the Indian government has reached out to the South African government and demanded that the Indian community be protected. Is there something else you think the govt should do? Because clearly, there is not a lot of awareness about the plight of the Indian community in South Africa.

The Indian government has a very long and good standing relationship with South Africa. From the time of Mahatma Gandhi to BRICS now. They have many channels through which they can help. Through BRICS, they could perhaps do something for businesses that are not going to be fully compensated and they can be helped to build their lives again. I even know of many expats whose businesses have been razed to the ground. They are really in a dire plight and they have no hope because they are only 13 years old in our country.

The other thing that can be done with the Embassies. If we are running out of our own resources, like basic commodities, maybe the embassies can start a program to help the community that does not have basic necessities.

You said the Indian businesses are not going to be fully compensated. Is that a problem of governance or is there an underlying racial tone to that as well.

When it comes to compensation, there are two parts to it. Those businesses which are insured, won’t be discriminated against. Built into our insurance, there is a problem of ‘quota’. Out of the R16 billion damages, we have been told only R4 billion will be repaid. But the other compensation would be discriminatory. It would be left to the discretion of the government and the department of economic development will decide how the victims will be compensated. I called in the parliament for a full investigation into a “toolkit” that we have discovered. There was a “toolkit” about the violence being unleashed and who were to be targeted. There were specific instructions about which businesses should not be targeted and which should be targeted. Once the government gives us more information, we will be able to understand whether they will discriminate against businesses that were looted and attacked on a racial basis – whether whites or Indians.

In this ‘toolkit’ that you talk about, was it specifically mentioned that Indian communities and perhaps also white communities should be targeted?

Yes. That is true. Also, this loss is what is being assessed. By the time the investigation is completed, one never knows what the numbers would be. On messages going on in Whatsapp, we have heard voice messages of instructions being given about certain people that need to be attacked. Currently, our intelligence has told us that there were 12 masterminds to this violence. As this unfolds, we will then see what is the treatment they will be given by the government. We will then see how they will compensate victims as well and hopefully, Indian communities will not be discriminated attack since this is an orchestrated attack against us.

R16 billion loss, 2 Indian lives loss, 12 men accused of the conspiracy to target Indian communities and a toolkit – this has the making of a larger conspiracy. Why do you think the international media is quiet?

Well, you know, that is not surprising. As I stated, the violence against the Indian community is a distraction. It is quite clear there is a bigger agenda at play and the Indian community is being used as a scapegoat. The International media, the different institutions are keeping quiet because only as we know the larger, real agenda, will we all be able to, in hindsight, understand why in this period why the violence took place and why the media was silent.

Are you hinting at a regime change operation?

Well, we all know the steps that are taken before a regime change operation is put in motion. We have seen such regime change operations across the world. When you look at other BRICS nations, like India, you will see the same thing. The hidden hand, the role of the media etc, and South Africa is not different. We have only asked for transparency from the government’s side. We are so much to be proud of and as a South African Indian, I would never want to see our country to be taken over by anybody. We can’t let our country collapse because someone else wants to loot our country. With the army coming in, I am hopeful. We have not declared a state or Emergency yet because we are also dealing with COVID-19. The vaccination program has also been affected by the violence. I am just hoping that the political impasse can be resolved and we can return to normalcy.

‘Women who go out after 9 pm are prostitutes, they deserve to be raped’: Kerala’s Islamic cleric Swalih Bathery

OpIndia Staff
-
0
‘Women who go out after 9 pm are prostitutes, they deserve to be raped’: Kerala’s Islamic cleric Swalih Bathery

A video of a controversial Islamic cleric from Kerala has gone viral in which he was seen making derogatory comments against women, reports Communemag.

In a video that has gone viral now, Maulana Swalih Bathery, a famous cleric in Kerala, was heard saying that those women going out at night after 9 PM are nothing but prostitutes, and they should be killed.

In the controversial video, Salih reportedly justified rapist Govindachamy who had raped and killed a girl named Soumya in 2011. The cleric criticised the judgement and the judge who heard the Soumya case. According to Swalih, Govindachamy had said that he raped Soumya because she was travelling at night, and according to him, every girl travelling at night was a prostitute.

Soumya, who worked at a mall in Ernakulam, was attacked and robbed when she was returning home by train by serial offender Govindachamy. Govindachamy jumped off the train after her, hit her with a stone and raped her. The victim had died five days later.

In 2016, the SC had set aside the death sentence granted to the accused and reduced it to only a 7-year prison sentence for rape. The investigation had failed to establish a water-tight case of murder against the accused.

The 27-year-old cleric Swalih Bathery, who suffers from a medical condition called Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) or the “Benjamin Button” disease, looks like a child. However, Swalih Bathery is known for making many such controversial statements.

1...4,0554,0564,057...7,597Page 4,056 of 7,597