As the Taliban continues its advance in Afghanistan with the active support from Pakistan, Afghanistan national government led by President Ashraf Ghani has announced an Afghan security force led “National Resistance Movement” (NRM) to fight against the Taliban.
Taking to Twitter, Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh said that the Afghanistan government has decided to incorporate every village and community under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to strengthen the country’s fight against the Taliban.
In a tweet, Saleh said, “Every Afgh village & community that have stoop up against Talib terror offensive hv bn & will be incorporated under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to be led by the ANDSF. It is already happening. Prz @ashrafghani at JCMB. Afg won’t bow to Talib proxy or its backer”.
“Every Afgh village & community that have stoop up against Talib terror offensive hv bn & will be incorporated under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) to be led by the ANDSF. It is already happening”. Prz @ashrafghani at JCMB. Afg won’t bow to Talib proxy or its backer.
Afghan Vice President Saleh also asserted that Afghanistan would not bow to Taliban proxy or its backer, in an indirect reference to Pakistan Army, which has long supported the terror outfit.
Saleh said that President Ghani took the decision to form NRM at the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board Meeting (JCBM) in the Afghan Presidential Palace.
In an earlier tweet, Saleh had slammed Pakistan for its duplicity on Afghanistan, saying that the Pakistan government wants a billion dollars from the west to solve the problem of terrorism in Afghanistan.
Pak used to portray Waziristan as a lawless tribal land sending fighters & terrorists to Afg. Give us 10 digit $$ & we will fix it, GHQ/ISI used to demand frm the West. Now an awakened Waziristan has crushed that falsehood & openly echoes Afg voices. Higher lies fall harder. https://t.co/eef0XfbOrr
Afghan Vice President had also blasted Pakistan for “exporting” Taliban terrorists after the US troops began to pull out from the war-torn country and had warned Pakistan that it would pay a heavy price if it continues to wage a proxy war against Afghanistan.
Slamming Pakistan for its open support for the Taliban, Afghan Vice President Saleh had said that he is willing to offer evidence to prove Pakistan’s support to the Taliban. In a Facebook post, Saleh had said that the Taliban is divided into three sections, one of which is guided by Pakistan’s special anti-terrorist cells.
My brother @mjdawar thank you for standing for the truth & in defense of the truth. Pak has once again opted for a very dangerous & costly adventure. It is a matter of time before the hubris of the establishment to backfire. Afg is too big for GHQ to swallow. Too big. https://t.co/mrC6UqUHCP
He had further accused Pakistan of openly supporting the Taliban. Saleh had shared a video clip by Pakistani lawmaker Mohsin Dawar where he was calling out his own country’s support to the Taliban.
A few days after the gunfight between Assam and Mizoram police forces that left six Assam cops dead, the situation has escalated further on Friday after Mizoram police filed an FIR against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and six other top police officials from the state on charges of attempt to murder and assault.
According to the reports, the Mizoram government has filed a case against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and six other officers under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on July 26 at the Vairengte Police Station in Kolasib district of Mizoram, an area that borders Cachar district of Assam.
The FIR was registered on charges of allegedly entering Mizoram’s Vairengte district and violating Covid-19 protocols under the Mizoram Containment and Prevention of Covid-19 Act 2020 along with the Indian Penal Code.
The Assam Chief Minister and the officials have also been booked for an attempt to murder, concealing design to commit the offence, grievous hurt, assault and using criminal force against public servants.
Besides Sarma, the Mizoram police have also named Assam Inspector General Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Inspector General Devojyoti Mukherjee, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli, Cachar Superintendent of Police (former) Vaibhav Chandrakant Nimbalkar, Forest Officer Sunnydeo Choudhury, the officer in charge of Dholai police station Sahab Uddin, and 200 unidentified Assam Police personnel.
The Assam police officers have been summoned for questioning at Vairengte Police Station on August 1.
The notices to Assam Police came a day after a similar notice was issued to Mizoram officials and another to the Rajya Sabha MP from Mizoram, K Vanlalvena, in New Delhi in connection with the Monday clash between the two-state police forces.
What the FIR against Himanta Biswa Sarma and others says
In the complaint, Mizoram police have accused a team of “200 fully armed” Assam Police personnel led by the IGP of intimidating Mizoram’s team of 20 officers and attempting to “forcefully occupy” their police camp calling it an encroachment of reserve forest.
“The Mizoram Police were outnumbered and their actions to defend their camp were in vain. Upon learning of this incident, SP Kolasib and party immediately rushed to the area and tried their level best to have an amicable dialogue with Assam Police, but they were not ready to listen to sane argument and instead forcefully informed SP Kolasib that the area falls within Assam territory and they intended to construct a camp as per the instruction of Chief Minister, Assam himself,” the FIR claims.
It further states that the Assam Police team had arrived with tents and other material in 20 vehicles with the aim of constructing a camp by forcibly occupying the Mizoram BOP.
Clashes at Mizoram-Assam border:
On Monday (July 26) evening, a violent clash took place between the locals of Lailapur village (Cachar district) in Assam and Vairengte village (Kolasib district) in Mizoram. The conflict at the inter-state border erupted amidst an ongoing dispute over alleged illegal encroachment in each other’s land.
The conflict culminated in stone pelting, vandalism, arson, and gunfire. During the clash, around six Assam police personnel lost their lives while about 65 people, including civilians, were injured. Around 40 of those injured were admitted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital for further medical treatment.
The long-standing territorial dispute between the two states began when Mizoram used to be a district of Assam. In the colonial era, Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills and was demarcated from the Cachar plains in accordance with an 1875 notification. Subsequently, another notification was released by the British government in 1933 that drew a boundary between the Lushai Hills and Manipur.
Mizoram wants the boundary demarcation to be followed as per the 1875 notification. In their defence, they claim that the Mizo society was not consulted prior to the 1933 notification. However, the Assam government follows the 1993 demarcation, which has become a bone of contention between the two states.
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, an association of major IT companies aimed to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms, has labelled BJP as a fringe group. The organisation formed by Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube listed the world’s largest political party Bharatiya Janata Party under the Right-Wing fringe groups that indulge in non-violent extremism.
On page 62 of the 177-page report titled Broadening the GIFCT Hash-Sharing Database Taxonomy: An Assessment and Recommended Next Steps, BJP has been listed with two other right-wing non-fringe groups, Australia First party and National Socialist Movement. The report also lists two left-wing parties, three religious groups, two separatist groups and two separatist groups as Level 1 Fringe Groups under the Non-Violent Extremism category.
From the GIFCT report
The classification has been done on the basis of Dynamic Matrix of Extremisms and Terrorism (DMET), which GIFCT describes as a continuum approach towards identifying different degrees of extremisms. It says that the DMET considers the whole ecosystem of content and actors that can contribute to a continuum of extremism.
Interestingly, while Antifa has been listed as a left-wing violent extremism group, Jihad Watch, a blog that chronicles Islamist Jihadi attacks across the world, has been listed as a right-wing violent extremism group. The GIFCT report lists non-extremist groups as level 0, non-violent extremist groups in Level 1, Violent Extremist groups in Level 2, and Terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, KKK etc under Level 3.
It describes the Level 1 Fringe Groups, under which BJP is listed, as “non-violent ideologies that are on the periphery of social movements or larger organizations, with more extreme views than those of the majority.” It says that such groups can be identified on the basis of various cues, like cognitive cues of perceiving/glorify the in-group as superior, indoctrinate dogmatic values, prejudice, and discrimination.
The DMET classification says the Level 1 groups Discredit or denigrate the ‘out-group’, seek isolation from the general public, express external blame for negative events, censor deviant views. It adds that the group dynamics of fringe actors are marked by internal intolerance and censorship of deviant views, as well as readiness to pursue and promote norms of purity, supremacy, domination, or revenge.
GIFCT was founded in 2017 by Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube with the goal to prevent terrorist and violent extremists from exploiting digital formats. The group shares data among Big Tech companies, enabling them to flag and remove content that they think promotes terrorism. Airbnb, Amazon, Discord, Dropbox, Instagram, JustPaste.It, LinkedIn, Mailchimp, Mega, Pinterest, Tumblr, WhatsApp and WordPress have joined the group to join the hash-sharing database taxonomy prepared by GIFCT.
The hash-sharing database enables its members to identify images and videos that violate the terms of services of their platforms and those associated with UN-designated terror organisations. When such an image or video is uploaded on the platform of a member, they produce a hash, a digital signature for the content, and upload the same to the hash-sharing database. The hashes used in the GIFCT hash-sharing database are “perceptual hashes” – which means visually similar content creates hashes that are mathematically close to each other.
The 256-bit hash values are produced using an open-source algorithm which is developed and released by Facebook.
While the GIFCT database was originally confined to terrorist groups, it has been now expanded to include ‘white supremacists’ and ‘far-right militias’. Although the initiative of the group is noble, there have been concerns of censorship and violation of free speech rights after it expanded the database to include far-right groups.
The full report of the GIFCT can be accessed here [PDF].
Six years ago, in 2015, a Pakistani government worker named Asif Faza Rana shared an image on his Facebook account, announcing that he is no longer friends with a man named Mudasir. The aftermath was unprecedented. It triggered a massive meme fest on social media platforms, with netizens across the globe using the line “Friendship ended with…” to describe a range of situations.
In a post on Facebook, Rana shared crossed images of his erstwhile friend Mudasir to declare the breakup and introduced a new friend, Salman. Since then, the meme spun a raft of iterations, from showcasing internal fights between Avengers characters to Indo-Pak hostilities, to American politics highlighting the transfer of power from Republicans to Democrats.
‘Friendship ended with…’ meme about internecine conflict among Avengers characters (Image Courtesy: Twitter)
It has also been widely used during Trump’s election in 2015-16 and after he lost the elections in 2020-21. The meme instantly resonated with people around the globe and they started using it to depict a change in relationships.
‘Friendship ended with…’ meme after the election of Donald Trump to the White House(Image Courtesy: Twitter)
Meme to be auctioned as NFT
Now, six years later, Rana is putting up the image for sale as NFT on the eve of the friendship day, i.e July 30. Alter, a Lahore and London-based startup is all set to auction Pakistan’s first non-fungible token (NFT).
“We are about to mint and auction a 1/1 NFT of the meme ‘Friendship Ended with Mudasir’ for World Friendship Day (30th July),” Alter said in a statement, referring to a famous Pakistani meme that went viral on the internet in 2015.
The meme is being auctioned on the world’s largest platform for NFT listings—Foundation. The minimum bride price is 1 Ethereum token or $2,320.
As far as NFTs are concerned, they are digital codes associated with blockchain technology. They are stored on a decentralised public ledger that certifies any digital file to be unique. They are digital identifiers that can’t be copied.
In recent times, with the world facing the scourge of piracy and copying, the NFTs have become an increasingly popular tool. For instance, NFTs have spawned an entire art industry worth more than $1b by finding a solution to one of the most chronic problems faced by artists faced: copying.
The story behind ‘Friendship Ended’ meme
Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat recently penned an article in ThePrint, explaining the story behind the meme that has remained viral for over six years—how it all started between three friends before it turned ugly and ultimately famous.
It all began with Rana announcing the breakup of friendship by sharing a picture with cross photos of Mudasir. The message was loud and clear: “I declare that I left my past best friend Mudasir Ismail Ahmad.” Rana claimed the reason behind this dramatic declaration was the “selfish” and “proudy” behaviour of Mudasir. On the other hand, Mudasir maintained that he was “not proudy” and was even ready to forgive Asif for his online screed.
Things only deteriorated from here, before they finally became better. This time, Mudasir went on the offensive, registering his protest with Asif’s brother about the Facebook post. Mudasir’s grouse was that how Asif only crossed his chest and not his face, in the viral post.
Now that shots were fired by Mudasir, the ball was in Asif’s court. In yet another Facebook post, Asif called Mudasir ‘cheap’ for fussing about a non-issue because he believed his only aim was “Peace, Love and Friendship”.
However, something in Asif snapped, and he decided it was time for a detente and reestablishment of friendship. With his meme travelling all around the globe, Asif decided to end the hostilities, so Mudasir and Salman became Asif’s best friends forever. And since then everything is hunky-dory between the three friends.
Friendship restored between Rana and Mudasir(Image Courtesy: ThePrint/Naila Inayat)
Reflecting on the meme, Asif says he did not expect the picture to become such a rage. He added that he was upset with Mudasir and had wanted to convey how he felt to him. Thrilled about the NFT auction, Asif says it could not have been possible without his two friends—Mudasir and Salman.
Hearing the Rs 25 crore defamation suit filed by actor Shilpa Shetty in connection with husband Raj Kundra’s arrest in the pornography case, the Bombay High Court on Friday said that news reports based on police sources cannot be deemed defamatory. The actor had approached the High Court seeking to restrain media houses from publishing ‘defamatory content’ against her. However, the court refused to grant an interim injunction against various news portals and publications accused by actor Shilpa Shetty of indulging in defamatory reporting of her reactions to the arrest of her husband.
The court further told the plaintiff’s lawyer that what the actor was expecting will have serious consequences on the freedom of the press. “Now do you expect the court to sit back and check every source that media houses cite for every single story?” the court asked Shilpa’s lawyer.
The court further said, “You give me individual examples of defendants saying malicious things, I will look into it. But, news reports based on police sources cannot be called malicious and defamatory. What you are expecting me to do will have very serious consequences on freedom of the press.”
“The line between freedom of the press & the right to privacy will have to be balanced. It is possible that freedom of speech may have to be narrowly tailored. But it is not possible to ignore the constitutional pinning of privacy nor to say that if a person is a public figure, that person is deemed to have sacrificed his right to privacy,” Justice Gautam Patel said.
The court also noted that reporting of something that crime branch or police sources said is not defamatory in nature and thus expressed its scepticism on whether a blanket restraint can be ordered. However, the court observed that though Shilpa Shetty is a mother of two and a public figure, it does not mean she has sacrificed her privacy.
“If somebody says anything about Shilpa Shetty, it becomes a big thing, why? what’s so great about it. This is not a law that we have come to a conjecture that it’s defamatory,” said the court.
Earlier yesterday, actor Shilpa Shetty had approached High Court asking for restrictions against defamatory content on social media and websites following her husband Raj Kundra’s arrest in a pornography case. The actor said in her plea that her public image has taken a hit after the controversy and demanded an unconditional apology from certain media houses. The actor also asked for the removal of stories and videos with defamatory content and asked for compensation of Rs 25 crore.
In her application, Shilpa Shetty said the reports published and broadcasted by media houses without verifying details have heavily damaged her character and reputation in front of her fans, family, endorsement companies, and followers. Shilpa had also mentioned that she is being painted as a criminal and a woman who has abandoned her husband due to the ongoing criminal investigation ongoing against Raj Kundra in a porn case. Apart from several media houses, Facebook, Instagram, Google etc social media companies were also named in the petition. She had alleged that the media houses named in her petition were alleging that she was helping her husband, and thus it was defamatory against her.
Following his arrest on charges of producing pornographic films, actress Shilpa Shetty came out in defence of her husband, reported Mid-Day. While quoting a police official, it stated, “Shilpa Shetty said that the movies available on Hotshot are not pornography but erotica. She also said that nowadays, similar content is available on the various OTT platforms, and in fact, some are more obscene than what is available on Hotshot”. According to Mid-Day, she had denied her involvement in the production of the contentious videos.
Arrest of Raj Kundra in pornography case
On July 19, actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, Raj Kundra, was arrested by Mumbai Police for his alleged role in creating and publishing pornographic films on mobile application HotShot.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said, “Businessman Raj Kundra has been arrested by the Crime Branch in a case relating to the creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps. We have arrested Raj Kundra in this case on July 19, 2021, as he appears to be the key conspirator of this. We have sufficient evidence regarding this. The investigation is in progress.”
In an incident that could stoke a massive controversy, the Muslims in the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu forcefully stopped Hindus from sacrificing pigs as part of their worship, reports Hindu Post.
According to the reports, Muslim residents of the Aranthangi town in Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu, have taken offence to Hindus slaughtering pigs as part of their rituals. They have also registered a complaint against the district administration to stop Hindus from carrying out such rituals.
Reportedly, the Kattu Nayakkar community sacrifices pigs as a part of worshipping Madurai Veeran swami, which is their Kula Deva. They usually sacrifice the pigs near the Municipal office and Anganwadi in Aranthangi.
However, the local Muslims in the area have raised objections against the Hindu rituals saying slaughtering the animals in public creates an unhygienic environment in the area and disturbs their peace of mind. Chief of the Muhideen Andavar Jamat has filed a complaint with the local authorities asking to ban the slaughter.
As Muslims in the area are opposed to Hindu sacrifices, a tense situation was created in the area. Following this, the local police and the Revenue Divisional Officer arranged a peace meeting to resolve the issue. However, the notice sent by the RDO regarding the peace meeting has gone viral on social media, creating a massive outrage.
TN. Peace meeting called after Muslims object to sacrifice of pig by Kattu Nayakar community in front of their temple. Health hazard arising from sacrifice to children/ citizen also cited. Thousands of animals sacrificed across the nation by ☪️ but ?️never filed such objections. pic.twitter.com/DWsmpEPTDv
Social media users have pointed out that Muslims slaughter lakhs of animals during their festivals on the streets, creating a lot of inconvenience to the public, however, they oppose the same if Hindus performs such religious rituals. In fact, Bakrid was celebrated just a week ago, when lakhs of animals were sacrificed by the Muslims.
Vishal P. Singh, a video journalist of Indian origin, was knocked out with a punch to his face during a protest at West Hollywood in California, USA. A video of the incident was shared by journalist Andy Ngo. According to Ngo, Singh is a “militant Antifa activist”.
From the video, it is not clear who initiated the fight or why the fight ensued. In a comment in response to Ngo’s tweets, Vishal Singh shared a longer video of the incident but there is still ambiguity about the actual cause of the fight.
— Vishal P. Singh (They/He) (@VPS_Reports) July 30, 2021
Allegations appear to be flying from both sides and Vishal Singh was later kicked by an individual as well. According to his bio on Twitter, Singh is a non-binary advocacy journalist. He claims to be a documentary filmmaker and his videos appear on Washington Post, Slate, Newsweek and The Intercept. Singh uses the pronouns They/He.
Singh has spoken on the matter saying, “I know my attackers will celebrate this, but I believe it’s important to document my injuries. I also think it’s important to say I succeeded in defending the bystander they were attacking. I will never turn my back on a community member in danger.”
According to claims on social media, the attacker is a man called Mike Ancheta. Singh has allegedly suffered a concussion. Antifa is an umbrella term for people who subscribe to far-left Communist ideology and is short for anti-fascist. Rioters associated with the ideology have been involved in multiple violent protests in recent times in the USA.
On Thursday night (July 29), prominent Indologist ‘Bharadwaj Speaks’ was forced to deactivate his Twitter account after receiving legal threats over a Twitter thread on Assam-Mizoram controversy. ‘Bharadwaj Speaks’, who earlier went by the username of True Indology, took to Twitter to speak about the violent clash between the locals of Lailapur village (Cachar district) in Assam and Vairengte village (Kolasib district) in Mizoram, and posted some historical facts about Mizoram. After the tweet thread, former Mizoram governor and former adviser or Mizo National Front Swaraj Kaushal threatened to file FIR against him, following which Bharadwaj deactivated his Twitter account.
He had written, “To be sure, Assam is not the only state Mizoram is at loggerheads with. Mizoram also has conflicts with other states on its border. Last year, Mizoram targeted a village on Tripura border because Hindus of the village planned to construct Shiva temple. For Mizoram, which does not celebrate “International Yoga Day” because Church considers Yoga “anti Christian”, building a Hindu temple was too much. Mizoram Government imposed section 144 because “a Hindu temple would disturb peace and tranquility”.
The Indologist pointed out that Mizoram was once a district in Assam by the name of ‘Mizo Hills’ before it was carved out as a separate State. Back then, it had a population of 1.96 lac people which has now increased to 10.91 lacs. “This region was ruled by Ahoms & then British. But there is not a SINGLE mention of “Mizos” or “Mizoram” until 19th & early 20th century. In-fact, it was officially known as “Lushai Hills” until 1952. Who are the “Mizos”? Earlier, this region was inhabited by Reangs (Hindu) & Chakmas (Buddhist).There was no trace of any “Mizo”. Who we now refer to as “Mizos” are actually a collection of distinct tribes like Lushai, Kuki, Paite & Hmar. They all came to India in 18th century,” he emphasised.
Screengrab of the tweet by Bhardwaj Speaks
Bharadwaj Speaks discussed in detail about the emergence of ‘Mizo racial identity’
According to Bharadwaj Speaks, the ‘Mizo’ tribes were natives of Sinlung in South-East China. He said, “They established themselves in Chin hills (present day Burma) by 17th century. However, there was no common “Mizo identity” among these tribes and they were warring with each other. Abducting each other and head hunting was the norm. Infact, the earliest known picture of any Mizo was that of a Lushai woman captured by a Southern tribe called Mara. When the Mizo tribes first encountered the Hindus of Assam,their feeling was of admiration.”
He emphasised that the Mizo tribes were influenced by plain Hindus (vai). And the Christian missionaries were wary of the growing influence. As such, the evangelists forced the complete boycott of traditional Mizo dress, music, culture, religion and customs. The missionaries first conceived the idea of inculcating a distinct ‘Mizo racial identity.’ “The Baptist church wrote that “the ethnicities of Lushei,Kuki & Chin can be classified as one race. They are sturdy hill warriors unlike the effeminate Assamese and Bengali.” Soon enough, the traditional Mizo animist temples were converted to Churches,” he noted.
Bharadwaj Speaks further remarked, “Even at this point, Churches were not built in Christian style. They were still the old thatched huts with the traditional drum hanging out. Drum had great significance in Pre Christian Mizo religion. By early 20th century, Mizos began shedding their traditional costumes which they themselves referred to as “primitive”. They adopted western style, costume, religion & script. Bands of Mizos children raised up in Churches began touring all over India to sing Christian choirs. The new Lushai tribe converts formed a “Young Lushai Association” in 1935.”
As per the Indologist, one of the primary objectives of the association was to remove pre-Christian pagan culture from the tribes. The Association called for a ‘common identity’ for all converted tribes. Thus, the blanket identity of ‘Mizo’ became commonplace as opposed to any specific tribe. Soon after, the ‘Young Lushai Association’ changed to ‘Young Mizo Association’ and ‘Lushai Hills’ was renamed to ‘Mizo Hills’. Another group named ‘United Mizo Freedom Organisation’ (UMFO) was formed at the time of Indpendence to call for merger with Burma instead of India.
“They claimed that they were ethnically closer to Burmese Chin than Hindus. When their demands of separate nationhood were ignored, Mizo separatists formed a terr0rist organization named Mizo National Front (MNF) in 1966. Their aim was to “kick India out of Mizoram through violent means if necessary”. They began killing Assamese, Hindus & Army Men. MNF then received funding and training from Pakistan’s ISI. Many of Mizo youth escaped to East Pakistan(Bangladesh) to receive military training. The Present CM of Mizoram, Zoramthanga, was a member of this terrorist group MNF. He himself confessed it in a media conversation,” Bharadwaj Speaks added.
Zoramthanga was a member of terrorist group MNF: Bharadwaj Speaks
He informed, “When India defeated Pakistan in 1971, Mizo CM was hiding in Pakistan along with his comrades. He was involved with an MNF unit named “Joshua”. It was named after the Biblical commander Joshua who defeated, killed Pagan Canaanites and ended their Pagan kingdom in Israel. Here, as Mizoram CM himself confesses in his interview, he was in Islamabad until 1975 as part of ISI training to MNF. When Indian army conquered Dhaka, he managed to escape narrowly. He calls it “James Bond type escape.”
Bharadwaj Speaks added, “During the Mizoram insurgency, Hindus were targeted. Violence was unleashed on Hindus and 34,000 Hindu Reang(Bru) were kicked out of Mizoram. They are still living in refugee tents of Tripura. The Hindus Reangs were original inhabitants before Mizo migration. However, they were ruthlessly targeted. “Quit Mizoram” notices with deadlines were posted in Reang villages. “Mizoram is for Mizos only” said Pu Laldenga. He later became Mizoram CM. Mizo insurgency lasted for 2 decades. The MNF finally gave up militancy when they signed Mizoram peace Accord in 1986.”
While highlighting how Mizoram became a part of India, he pointed out, “In return, India gave statehood to Mizoram, and Special category status to Mizoram. India also revoked all criminal cases on MNF members and lifted ban on MNF. In addition, Mizoram was given special privilege. No Act of Indian Parliament would be legalised in Mizoram unless the state government approves it. Then the MNF gave up militancy and became part of Indian democracy. Also, Mizoram is accorded special and disproportionate share of Budget. These were the doles given out to MNF and they agreed to sign Mizo accord.”
‘Governor Swaraj’ threatens Bharadwaj Speaks with legal action
Swaraj Kaushal, the former Governor of Mizoram and the husband of late Sushma Swaraj, warned of impending legal consequences for such a writeup. “Probably you know the consequences of what you are writing. One FIR and you will spend many years of your life facing trial. Think again,” he cautioned.
Screengrab of the tweet by Swaraj Kaushal
He further added, “Somebody is spreading hatred against the Mizos. It is an offence to create disaffection against an ethnic group. A police officer in Aizwal will register an FIR. He can ignore my advice and do what he pleases.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Swaraj Kaushal
Following the controversy, ‘Bharadwaj Speaks’ clarified that it was only a historical examination of the ongoing conflict and that he did not intend to slander Zoramthanga and Mizos. Prior to deleting his Twitter thread and account, he said, “Mizos are as much Indian citizens as anyone else. Personally, all I want is peace, tranquility & progress in Mizoram. I condemn racism against Mizos.”
This caused massive outrage on Twitter, with social media users slamming the former governor for misusing his power to scuttle freedom of expression. However, Mr Kaushal stood his ground, maintaining that the tweets by Bharadwaj have offended the people of Mizoram.
Swaraj Kaushal claimed that the tweets by Bharadwaj can jeopardise the peace in Mizoram which is the result of the Mizoram Peace Accord. Claiming that he has his entire life for the peace accord, he implied that Mizos will now return to violence because of the tweets. When people countered why the history can’t be told, he was adamant, saying that ‘no Mizo will ever listen to anything of the kind that was written’.
This tweet was to make you aware of the legal consequences. Now I am putting you on a legal notice. Mizo people have screenshots of all the objectionable tweets. All such tweets will entail prosecution under the law. Please note. https://t.co/2GcUkdbyob
Today he posted more tweets claiming that while he is an expert in Mizo issues, Bharadwaj does not know anything about it. He ended his long rant in two days saying that he is putting Bharadwaj Speaks on legal notice. This means, he is taking legal action against a person for repeating history just because he thinks it will break the peace accord in Mizoram.
On Friday between 10:30 am to 12:30 pm as many as 20 journalists from Shimla received threatening pre-recorded calls from pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). The caller identifying himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun from the US, the general counsel for SFJ, warned that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur should not be allowed to hoist the tricolour on Independence Day.
In a bizarre incident, the recorded message to several journalists talked about a separatist movement in Himachal Pradesh. “Himachal Pradesh was part of Punjab and we are seeking a referendum in Punjab. Once we liberate Punjab, we will make sure that we take over areas of Himachal Pradesh which were part of Punjab,” said the recording.
Pannun also provoked farmers and pro-Khalistan Sikhs to come on tractors and disallow Jai Ram Thakur from hoisting the tricolour.
Some locals in Himachal Pradesh also claimed to have received similar phone calls.
“Fully capable of securing the state” says police
Taking cognizance of the matter, the Himachal Pradesh police Tweeted, “Himachal Pradesh Police is fully capable of securing the State & preventing anti-national elements to thwart peace & security in HP.”
Himachal Pradesh Police is fully capable of securing the State & preventing anti-national elements to thwart peace & security in HP. pic.twitter.com/hmpPiDyTtt
— Himachal Pradesh Police (@himachalpolice) July 30, 2021
Sharing a note, the police also stated, “We are in receipt of pre-recorded message from pro Khalistani elements from overseas sent to some journalists from HP and seized of the matter. HP Police is fully capable of securing the State and preventing anti-national elements to thwart peace and security in HP in cooperation with Central security and intelligence agencies.”
Note by Himachal Pradesh Police. Image Source: Twitter
Following the threat, the Himachal Pradesh police have beefed up security for Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, BJP national president J P Nadda and union minister for I & B Anurag Thakur.
Khalistani posters
Earlier this week, we reported how now slogans in support of the terror outfit and its ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were found scribbled on the road milestones in the Sri Naina Devi-Kolanwala Toba road in Himachal Pradesh. Besides, posters bearing pro-Khalistani slogans were also seen on the roads leading to the town.
One of the messages on the road milestones in Himachal Pradesh said it was the start of the Khalistani territory. Another message said, “You are to Khalistan”. Similarly, other messages included slogans hailing Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Khalistan.
Slogans of “Khalistan Zindabad”, “Join Khalistan”, “Referendum 2021”, and “Join SFJ” were written in the Punjabi language. In some places, it was written with paint, while in other places, it was scribbled with a marker pen.
The defacing of milestones and the recorded threats come at a time when thousands of devotees are travelling from Kolan Wala Toba to celebrate Shravan Ashtami in Shri Naina Devi and when the state readies to celebrate Independence Day.
In a surprising decision, the newly-appointed state BJP president of Tamil Nadu K Annamalai announced that the Tamil Nadu BJP unit would protest against the decision of the Karnataka government to go ahead with the Mekedatu project.
According to the reports, K Annamalai, the IPS officer-turned-politician, addressed a press conference on Thursday to speak on various issues pertaining to the activities of BJP in Tamil Nadu. During the press conference, the BJP leader said that while dealing with inter-state issues, the Tamil Nadu unit of BJP should question the Central BJP and neighbouring Karnataka BJP.
Chennai | Newly appointed Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai has said that they will build Mekadatu Dam. In spite of being in the same party, we will stage a fasting protest on Aug 5 against the Karnataka govt over this: BJP’s Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai pic.twitter.com/LA27qg9vH2
The Tamil Nadu BJP has also planned a one-day fasting protest on August 5 in the Cauvery Delta region to protest against the decision of the Karnataka BJP government to start the Mekedatu drinking water project. More than 10,000 farmers and BJP workers are expected to join the protests.
Reportedly, BJP state chief Annamalai has informed all the state office bearers about focusing on local issues and directed that the state BJP start functioning as a state party ahead of the upcoming civic polls.
“Karnataka cannot construct the dam as per the legal norms, and the union water resource minister has assured that Karnataka will not be allowed. This message should be taken up to the masses,” Annamalai said to BJP workers.
What is the Mekedatu project?
Mekedatu is adeep gorge situated in Karnataka at the confluence of the river Cauvery and its tributary Arkavathi. The Rs.9,000 crore project intends to store and supply water for drinking purposes for Bengaluru city. The project also aims to generate around 400 megawatts (MW) of power.
The Karnataka state government first approved the project in 2017. The drinking water project, which is being planned to end the water woos of Bengaluru city, has received approval from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, however, it is waiting for approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
Mekedatu project/ Image Source: Dristi
The Mekedatu project will submerge nearly 63% of the forest area of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
However, the government of Tamil Nadu and all the political parties in the state, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, have opposed the proposed Mekedatu project by Karnataka in the Cauvery river. The two states have a long time dispute on Cauvery water sharing, and the project has further escalated tensions between the states.
