Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf, both over fifty years old, were convicted of involvement in a grooming gang that raped nearly 50 girls in Rochdale, United Kingdom nearly a decade ago. Now, they are invoking their ‘human rights’ to fight their deportation to Pakistan.
The grooming gang gang raped minors after plying them with alcohol and drugs and then grooming them for sexual abuse. Adil Khan claimed to be ‘stateless’ at an immigration tribunal case management hearing on Thursday, with lawyers arguing that it could be a bar to deportation.
He had caused outrage when he told a preliminary hearing, ‘We have not committed that big a crime.’ Khan said complaining about the media coverage, ‘The journalists have made our lives a living hell. We are not that big a criminal. We have not committed that big a crime.’ ‘I’m innocent. I’m not committing any crime. The journalists made us out to be big criminals,’ he added.
Both were convicted for his crimes in 2012. The deportation proceedings were launched by then Home Secretary Theresa May ‘for the public good’.
The lawyers argue that their deportation would violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which relates to the right to a private and family life. Adil Khan impregnated a 13 year old girl before trafficking a 15 year old girl for sex, and using violence when she complained. He was sentenced to eight years in prison but was released four years later under a license.
Abdul Rauf is convicted for trafficking a 15 year old for sex, taking her to a flat in Rochdale where he and his acquaintances abused her. He was sentenced to six years before being released after two and a half years in prison. He is a father of five. The deportation hearing has been adjourned till September.
The Grooming Gang phenomenon has received widespread coverage in recent years after attempts were made to cover up the sexual exploitation of children due to predominant religious background and ethnicity of the criminals.
The overwhelming majority of the rapists are Muslims from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds and they would predominantly target white girls or women of other religions for their crimes.
On the intervening night of July 1 and July 2, an Army officer identified as Deepak Singh was beaten mercilessly at a Gurudwara in Punjab over alleged blasphemy. Those who are justifying the killing have alleged that Deepak went to Gurudwara to disrespect Guru Granth Sahib. According to them, the caretakers of the Gurudwara noticed him, and on enquiry, he was unable to give a “justifiable” answer that led to his beating. The Police had rushed Deepak to the hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
After learning that Deepak was an Army personnel and was posted in Arunachal Pradesh, the news caught the attention of the mainstream media, and soon it became a matter of discussion across the country. The main accused, identified as Daljit Singh Kashmir, is absconding since the incident. Those who come in his support are alleging that Daljit was not present at the scene when Deepak was being beaten up. He came later and helped the Police to put Deepak in their vehicle, they say.
Who all came in Daljit and others’ support?
Many people from the Sikh community who believe in a severe penalty for anyone who indulges in blasphemy came out in support of Daljit and others accused of the crime. Actor-turned-activist, a well-known Khalistani supporter and accused of rioting on Republic Day 2021, Deep Sidhu posted in favour of Daljit. He implied that the Police are falsely implicating the accused Daljit Singh in the matter. He calls Singh a sinner and claims that he died in the custody of the Police.
Another notable name that popped up during the last few days in support of Daljit was Kathavachak Barjinder Singh Parwana, who is a member of Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura. Parwana justified the killing and said Sikhs took justice on the spot, as law never punishes anyone for blasphemy. He added that Deepak came to commit blasphemy, and he did commit blasphemy, and he went to the extent of saying that if the person died after being beaten due to blasphemy, then it was justice.
Apart from these two, there were several posts on social media platforms that supported the killing of Deepak Singh over the allegations of blasphemy.
A call for burning the blasphemer alive
Notably, some time ago, a video of Baba Ravinder Singh Joni was making rounds on social media platforms in which he called for killing the blasphemer. In the viral video, Ravinder urged Sikhs to burn alive anyone who disrespects or desecrate Guru Granth Sahib. He further added that he would fight the case with the person if he or she burns someone who had desecrated Guru Granth Sahib. He went ahead to say he is ready to die for the cause.
In an interview with Akaal Channel, Joni said that Granth Sahib is considered to be God for Sikhs. They cannot tolerate disrespect of Granth Sahib in any form. While mentioning an incident of 2015 where an alleged mentally upset man had indulged in the act of desecration of Granth Sahib, he said since then, a new government had been formed, and elections are now on doorsteps. “Every government promise strict law against blasphemy, but no one fulfils it,” he said. Joni further added that there is a limit to everything, and now it is not possible to tolerate such incidents. According to him, SGPC should leave Akaal Takht if they cannot save Granth Sahib. He called for strict rules against Granthis, who leave Granth Sahib alone at any time of the day.
Joni believes that Section 295(a), under which a person can be booked for disrespecting someone’s religion and hurting religious sentiments, is good for nothing. According to him, as the offence is bailable, anyone arrested gets bail and roam freely.
Joni believes RSS indulge in ‘beadbi’
During the conversion, Joni mentioned that those including people from Deras, fake Sikhs, RSS members and Shiv Sainiks should not be given a chance to desecrate Guru Granth Sahib. Interestingly, Christian missionaries were not mentioned by Joni. In 2017, a Punjabi Christian was arrested for desecrating Granth Sahib. On the contrary to what Sikhs think of RSS, the members of RSS have been helping to bring Sikhs converted to Christianity back to Sikhism since 2014.
Police questions Joni for the video
As the video went viral on social media platforms, Police was informed about the video, and he was called to DC’s office for questioning. When Police urged him not to publish such content while asking people to take the law in hand, he countered Police and asked them to book anyone who desecrates Guru Granth Sahib under Section 302 as Supreme Court had passed a judgement considering Guru Granth Sahib, a juristic person. The video was removed by Facebook as it had hateful content as per its policies. However, several copies of the said video are still making rounds on social media platforms.
‘An eye of an eye’
During the interview, Joni even urged every religion to come together and force the government to pass a law against blasphemy in any religion. Joni said if someone kills the person who desecrates Guru Granth Sahib, he will stand with him. He also said he would pay 5-10 lakh to the person as a reward or whatever more he could pay.
Police deny blasphemy
In another video shared by Akaal Channel, Inspector Sukhpal Singh said they did not get any complaint of blasphemy. He told Police was informed at around 7:30 PM. Police rushed to the spot and found out that Deepak Singh needed to be rushed to the hospital. Singh succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Police further added that they had asked all Gurudwaras and other religious places to keep their CCTV cameras in good condition. “But when we asked the Gurudwara committee about the footage, they said the cameras are non-functional.”
Onkar Singh, Deepak’s father, said they came to know about the incident the next morning that his son has been killed by two people at Gurudwara. He denied any knowledge of the reason behind the killing. Singh’s family staged a demonstration with his body and blocked the National Highway demanding case under 302 against the accused. The protests were called off after Police’s intervention. As per Republic World’s report, a case under Section 302 of IPC has been filed, and a manhunt has been launching to nab Gurjit Singh, Dalbir Singh and others who allegedly killed Deepak.
OpIndia tried to reach out to the investigation officer, but he was not available for comments. We will update the story soon.
When Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had appealed to the Muslims in the state to adopt birth control measures to check the population growth, he was slammed by Muslim fundamentalist leaders. AIDUF leaders in the state had argued that the CM should not talk about the population when he had six siblings. However, now an analysis of Muslim dominated assembly constituencies shows that the fear of the CM is correct, the demography of the state will change radically if the population growth of Muslims, both through immigration and births, is not checked.
An analysis of the number of voters in 40 Muslim dominated assembly constituencies shows that there has been an explosion in the number of voters in those constituencies in the last 10 years. The number of voters in those 40 constituencies has increased at an unbelievable rate, ranging from 30% to 55%.
The extremely high growth in the number of voters in minority-dominated districts like Barpeta, Dhubri, Goalpara, Hojai etc shows that the demography in those areas is changing rapidly. Jania and Baghbar, two constituencies in the Barpeta district, saw the number of voters increase by more than 50% from 2011 to 2021, signifying the high population in the areas dominated by people of East Bengal/Bangladesh origin.
Sl
Constituency
Voters in 2011
Voters in 2021
Increase in voters
Growth rate
1
Jania
1,36,939
2,11,920
74,981
55%
2
Baghbar
1,08,076
1,65,838
57,762
53%
3
Dhing
1,57,327
2,31,156
73,829
47%
4
Mankachar
1,55,178
2,26,649
71,471
46%
5
Dalgaon
1,65,803
2,40,684
74,881
45%
6
Naobaicha
1,56,440
2,24,744
68,304
44%
7
Abhayapuri North
1,24,304
1,80,332
56,028
45%
8
Bijni
1,11,668
1,59,949
48,281
43%
9
Sarbhog
1,60,186
2,27,668
67,482
42%
10
Rupahihat
1,43,071
2,02,668
59,597
42%
11
Jamunamukh
1,55,977
2,21,831
65,854
42%
12
Abhayapuri South
1,45,925
2,06,843
60,918
42%
13
Bako
1,70,334
2,36,661
66,327
39%
14
Sarukhetri
1,49,547
2,05,810
56,263
38%
15
Senga
1,05,482
1,45,053
39,571
38%
16
Goalpara East
1,61,717
2,22,895
61,178
38%
17
Goalpara West
1,27,005
1,74,841
47,836
38%
18
Dhalai
1,37,666
1,90,791
53,125
39%
19
Katigara
1,37,422
1,88,677
51,255
37%
20
Chaigaon
1,40,137
1,92,597
52,460
37%
21
Dudhnoi
1,51,884
2,07,083
55,199
36%
22
Bilasipara West
1,28,700
1,73,560
44,860
35%
23
Lahorighat
1,37,765
1,86,537
48,772
35%
24
Jaleswar
1,19,288
1,59,937
40,649
34%
25
Barpeta
1,54,343
2,07,536
53,193
34%
26
Barkhala
1,13,232
1,52,054
38,822
34%
27
Jagiroad
1,78,148
2,38,391
60,243
34%
28
Majbat
1,19,628
1,60,130
40,502
34%
29
Sonai
1,37,366
1,83,580
46,214
34%
30
South Salmara
1,41,925
1,89,209
47,284
33%
31
Patharkandi
1,42,923
1,90,434
47,511
33%
32
Karimganj South
1,44,103
1,91,239
47,136
33%
33
Bilasipara East
1,64,309
2,17,630
53,321
32%
34
Gouripur
1,56,559
2,05,264
48,705
31%
35
Golokganj
1,55,801
2,03,513
47,712
31%
36
Hojai
2,04,078
2,65,886
61,808
30%
37
Lakhipur
1,27,350
1,65,813
38,463
30%
38
Hajo
1,38,141
1,77,548
39,407
29%
39
Raha
1,71,707
2,20,889
49,182
29%
40
Dhubri
1,53,380
1,95,920
42,540
28%
Population explosion in 40 minority-dominated areas in Assam in last 10 years
The population growth in the next 10 constituencies were between 40% to 50%, and most of them are Muslim nominated areas.
Among the top 40 constituencies with the highest growth in the number of voters, as many as 33 were won by the Congress-led alliance in the recently concluded assembly elections. Among these 40 seats, 20 seats were won by the Congress party, 11 seats were won by Badruddin Ajmal led AIUDF, while one each was won by CPI(M) and BPF, part of the grand alliance led by the Congress party. Thus, the Congress-led alliance won 33 seats among the 40 seats with the highest growth in voters, while BJP won the rest 7 seats.
This shows, the grand alliance won most of their seats in minority-dominated constituencies with high population growth, Congress won 21 out of its 29 seats, and AIUDF won 11 out of its 16 seats from these constituencies. On the other hand, BJP won only 7 seats from these 40 places, while the party won 60 seats in the elections.
The link between population growth and community is established more by the growth in voter numbers in constituencies which are indigenous and tribal populations. During the same 2011 to 2021 period, the growth in the number of voters ranged from 10% to 20% in most of such constituencies. The growth rate in some such constituencies was as follows- Haflong 13%, Bokajan 14%, Patasarkuchi 15%, Guwahati East 6%, Dharmapur 11%, Sibsagar 12%, Amguri 13% etc. All these constituencies are located in places that are dominated by indigenous communities like caste Hindu Assamese and local tribal populations, and the share of Muslims in these places is lower.
In several constituencies, the proportion of Muslims in the population has been increasing, and the result of the same can be seen in the election results. As the growth of voters in Muslim dominated is almost three times the growth rate of non-Minority dominated areas, it can be said with reasonable certainty that if this trend continues, Muslims will have more seats under their control. With this rate, it will not take much time for the state to see a complete change in the demographic profile of the voters.
This shows that the concern of Himanta Biswa Sarma is valid, and in order to stabilise the population and the demographic profile of the state, Muslims in Assam have to come forward to adopt birth control meassures. Last month, he had urged Muslim residents of the state to adopt a ‘decent family planning policy’ to deal with grinding poverty and chronic social problems, adding that the state will be undertaking few more steps to encourage population control.
“We want to work more for the minority Muslim community to reduce population burden. We want to work together with them so that the population in the state is controlled. The population is the main root of social menace like poverty, land encroachment and we can reduce this social menace if the population is reduced,” Himanta Biswa Sarma had told media reporters in Assam.
The previous BJP govt in Assam had already adopted a population policy, which makes people with more than 2 children uneligible for government jobs and benefits.
Four-time national award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut has launched a scathing attack on Bollywood and Hollywood actress Priyanka Chopra over her changed political stance. Ranaut has alleged that Chopra has turned from a nationalist to secular, and slammed her for this transformation.
Taking to Instagram, Kangana Ranaut took a sly on Priyanka Chopra by commenting on a news website’s tweet which reported on the recent advertisement published by New York Times on Linkedin seeking for “anti-Hindu, anti-Modi” correspondents.
In her post targeting Priyanka Chopra, Kangana wrote, “But this is not just in journalism. It is in every field, the way Priyanka Chopra has gone from being a nationalist to secular puppy. From being Modi ji’s biggest fan to his passionate critic and hater is evident. Basically roti ke liye duniya nachati hai. Apne desh mein freedom toh hai. Jo karna hai karo (The world can do anything just for their daily bread. There is indeed freedom in our country to do anything. Do whatever you want).”
On July 1, the controversial left-wing news website New York Times had posted an entry-level job requirement on their website and on LinkedIn. While the hiring process of any establishment seems to be a routine affair, at New York Times, they thought it fit to post very specific requirements for the job – being anti-Hindu and anti-Modi. The job posting was for that of a South Asia Business Correspondent in New Delhi.
This is not the first time that Kangana has exposed Priyanka Chopra’s hypocrisy on social media. In the past, she had attacked Priyanka Chopra for extending her supporters to ‘farmer’ protestors. Priyanka Chopra had retweeted a post by controversial actor Diljit Dosanjh and had written, “Our farmers are India’s Food Soldiers. Their fears need to be allayed. Their hopes need to be met. As a thriving democracy, we must ensure that this crises is resolved sooner than later.”
Our farmers are India’s Food Soldiers. Their fears need to be allayed. Their hopes need to be met. As a thriving democracy, we must ensure that this crises is resolved sooner than later. https://t.co/PDOD0AIeFv
Kangana had written, “People like @diljitdosanjh and @priyankachopra will be hailed by the left media for misleading and encouraging farmers protests, pro Islamists and anti India film industry and brands will flood them with offers and English/living in colonial hangover media houses will felicitate them with awards, the problem is whole system is designed to make anti nationals flourish and grow and we are too less in numbers against a corrupt system, but I am sure magic will happen in every fight of GOOD versus EVIL, evil has been much stronger, JAI SHRI RAM.”
The nationa-award actress Kangana Ranaut’s Twitter account was suspended arbitrarily by the micro-blogging site claiming that she had violated the platform’s community guidelines. In a series of messages, the actress had raised her voice against the post-poll violence that was unleashed by Trinamool cadres in West Bengal after assembly election results in May.
Kangana had demanded president rule in West Bengal after Mamta Banerjee-led TMC had orchestrated post poll violence in the state. However, Twitter suspended her account citing violation of social media rules.
‘Historian’ Audrey Truschke is one of the most unpopular academicians in India today. While there are academicians who have built up a controversial reputation after years of devotion towards the Congress party and the Nehru-Gandhi Parivar, Audrey Truschke managed to surpass them all in a mere matter of couple of years. That is no ordinary feat.
Much of the reason behind her quick rise to infamy is her obsession with whitewashing the crimes of the tyrannical Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Universally reviled as a genocidal maniac by contemporaries and other historians alike, Aurangzeb is sought to be recast as a ‘man of his times’ through the use of ‘nuance’.
Nuance is, of course, the magic wand in the hands of the liberal intelligentsia that miraculously transforms genocidal maniacs into ‘controversial monarchs’, rioters into ‘human rights activists’ and terrorists into advocates for justice.
Apart from that, there are several other controversies Truschke has found herself in the midst of and is associated with problematic individuals that require further elaboration.
Association with SAHI
Audrey Truschke is in the advisory board of the Students Against Hindutva Ideology (SAHI), an activist body in the United States of America with close ties to the Democratic party establishment. The activist body is most famous for organising the Hinduphobic ‘Holi Against Hindutva’ campaign in 2020 when it was simply called ‘Students Against Hindutva’.
The brain behind the campaign was Ziad Ahmed, a 21 year old activist who has previously worked for Hillary Clinton’s campaign and that of other prominent Democrats. Ahmed also runs a consultancy firm/marketing agency to help brands reach young people.
Source: Website of SAHI
SAHI has worked with Stand With Kashmir (SWK), an organisation that toes the Pakistani line on Kashmir. SAHI also glorified the Islamists at the heard of the Jamia protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The organisation also admitted that they would lobby to achieve their desired propaganda goals against India. That Truschke is in the advisory board of such an organisation is problematic at all levels indeed.
Association with the Indian American Muslim Council
A fellow member of the advisory board of SAHI is Ajit Sahi, advocacy director of the Indian American Muslim Council. Ajit Sahi is the former executive director of the disgraced Tehelka magazine. He has appeared at prominent platforms in the USA on several occasions to spread propaganda against India.
Source: IAMC
As can be seen in the poster, the IAMC regularly collaborates with problematic figures such as Teesta Setalvad, accused of embezzlement of funds meant for victims of the Gujarat Riots.
The Hindu American Foundation notes, “IAMC (established by Shaik Ubaid) previously hosted Mohammad Siddiqi, the founder of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a banned terrorist organization in India which carried out several bombings and seeks to create an Islamic state in India.”
The Rutgers University Controversy
Students of the Rutgers University, where Truschke teaches, accused her of peddling a hateful agenda against Hindus. A petition by the students said that the professor falsely linked Hindus with extremists and white supremacists rioting at Capitol Hill.
On other occasions, she is reported to have claimed that Srimad Bhagavad Gita, the holy book of the Hindus, “rationalizes mass slaughter” and violence. Truschke also insulted Hindu god and goddesses by calling Lord Ram a “misogynistic pig”.
The petition accused her of portraying all Hindus as “lustful and sex-obsessed” and ‘cow piss drinkers’. It read that Truschke advocated that Hinduism is inherently oppressive, racist, misogynistic, and violent.
In response, Rutgers University came out with a statement saying, “Rutgers emphatically supports Professor Truschke, academic freedom in pursuing her scholarship, abhors the vile messages end threats that are being directed at her, and calls for an immediate end to them.” It also described genocide denial rhetoric as ‘academic freedom’.
Subsequently, the University issued another statement apologising for the same. “At our meeting today with members of the Rutgers Hindu community, this misunderstanding was made clear and again we apologize. We are sorry for the hurt that members of the Hindu community have been experiencing in relation to recent events. Our commitment to inclusion includes religion, not just the right but the freedom to celebrate as an individual or community without fear,” it said.
Not too long after, a resolution was passed was passed by the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) adopting a scholarly definition of Hinduphobia. Consequently, she was found stalking the parents of the students who had participated in the conference where the resolution was adopted.
The derogatory comment on Lord Ram
The petition by the students of Rutgers University mentions the derogatory comment she made on Lord Ram. The ‘historian’ claimed in 2018, “Sita basically tells Rama he’s a misogynistic pig and uncouth.” However, there was no textual evidence for it anywhere.
She was heavily criticised for the remark by others and eventually, she defended herself by playing the victim card.
Audrey Truschke vs Hindu American Foundation
In April 2021, the controversial ‘historian’ cited an article by Al Jazeera to accuse five organisations of having ‘Hindu supremacist’ links. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) was one of them. She also accused HAF of leading a ‘coordinated attack’ against her.
Rajiv Pandit, a Board Member at HAF, slammer her and said, “No, Audrey Truschke, as a board member of HAF, I can confirm that your name was never discussed as part of a coordinated attack, nor ever been brought up at the board level. Any such accusations are defamatory.”
He added, “It’s actually you who has been involved in targeted harassment. You, Audrey Truschke, have mocked Hindu texts, claimed Lord Rama was a misogynistic pig, that rape & “rape culture” were endemic to Hinduism, portrayed Hindus as bizarre “cow piss” drinkers, taught students that Hinduism is inherently oppressive, racist, and violent.”
Vaidika Bharata founder denied entry to Truschke’s event
Mohit Bharadwaj, founder of Vaidika Bharata, in August 2018 was denied entry to her lecture in Delhi. He said that people were selectively denied entry even though it was said to be an open event. It was also claimed that people were ready to stand in the “supposedly houseful auditorium” despite waiting for more than an hour but yet, only a select few were let in and others were denied entry.
Bharadwaj had told OpIndia, “I had gone in hopes of understanding her ideas and ask her a few honest questions which she refuses to answer on Twitter by labelling people as trolls or anonymous and thus unworthy of a reply.” “When I approached the person in charge and requested him to let me in, he looked at my clothes with close attention, a t-shirt with an illustration of Shivaji on it and a dhoti, smirked and said ‘No, Sir. The auditorium is totally packed’,” he added.
Other controversies Audrey Truschke has been associated with
In 2018, the Hyderabad Police had denied permission for hr to deliver a lecture following protests against her anti-Hindu views. The controversial writer was supposed to deliver a talk on “Unpopular Stories: Narrating the Indo-Islamic Past and Navigating Present-day Prejudices” organised by Krishnakriti foundation.
The organiser said in a statement, “There are various complaints about the scholar, especially her social media posts have been viewed as anti-Hindu. The public was not happy to have her speak at the function. The Hyderabad police informed us and we have called it off. There is no other place to hold it.”
During the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Truschke claimed that a few students at the Aligarh Muslim University had their wrists cut off and fingers chopped off. She was cautioned by Aligarh itself against spreading rumours.
What do her students think of Audrey Truschke?
Rate My Professors is a website that was founded in 1999 that allows college and university students to rate professors and campuses of American, Canadian and British institutions. Truschke has a rating of 1.7 out of 5.
One of the ‘1’ rating Audrey Truschke received on the platform says, “She doesn’t know the material. She just gives you “busy work”. A very terrible teacher. She should rather have become an activist rather than a teacher. She made a fun subject into a miserable course. She doesn’t respect other points of view. TL:DR: If I had to take the class again, I would rather drop out of university.”
“Horrible teacher ever, very annoying and unhelpful. Very unclear. Her ego gets hurt if u ask her a question she doesn’t know. Always ready to play women’s card Verdict : she sucks,” says another. One student went so far as to remark, “I didnt think a history class would be this bad. Avoid at all costs”.
Another student said that her attitude towards students is a “nightmare”. “She doesn’t answer questions or she says “we’ll get to that later” and then never gets to it. Avoid at all costs,” the student said. There was another student who commented along similar lines.
“DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. YOU DO NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM HER. We asked her questions during class and every time she was saying “I’ll get back to you.” If that is the case, why do you pay you? Such a crappy professor.”
Based on her rating and from the responses, it can be safely said that her students are not too fond of her.
An audio clip of senior Malayalam journalist MP Basheer, the former editorial head of the now-defunct news outlet – Indiavision, has gone viral on the internet, in which the Kerala-based journalist made sensational disclosure regarding how radical Islamic organisations across the world are financing projects that promote Islamism in India.
According to Kerala-based news outlet Marunadan Malayali, an audio of a Clubhouse conversation featuring journalist MP Basheer has gone viral, in which he was heard revealing details pertaining to the international funding to advance radical Islam in the country.
In the viral Clubhouse audio, a person, who identifies himself as MP Basheer, can be heard saying that during his time as the Editor of the Indiavision news network, one day he received a telephone call from T Arif Ali, secretary-general of the radical Islamic organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. According to Basheer, Arif Ali asked the journalist to meet him.
A few days later, MP Basheer went to meet Arif Ali at the Jamaat-e-Islami office in Trivandrum. At the meeting, Ali expressed concerns about three women reporters named Nadeera Ajmal, Fousiya and V Shabana disrespecting Islam by not wearing the Hijab when they appear on the news network. Giving a subtle warning, Ali said to Basheer that the news network, especially the ‘un-Islamic’ conduct of the women reporters, gave a wrong message to Muslims in the country.
In the audio, Basheer revealed that Ali mentioned how Basheer as Executive Editor could intervene to get the women to change their attire. In a sensational disclosure, Basheer said that he had accessed a letter at one point of time, written by Jamaat-e-Islami requesting the King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia to increase the financial grant to the radical Islamic organisation so that they could create awareness and promote Islamic dress code in Kerala and India.
Further, Basheer revealed that Jamaat-e-Islamic had started a project in India to promote the Islamic dress code for women and had access to funds from King Abdul Aziz University, an Islamic university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He also said that many top Muslim journalists in the country were employed to assist them in this nefarious design, which King Abdul Aziz University allegedly paid.
The letter which Basheer mentioned in his Clubhouse discussion was a letter written by Jamaat-e-Islami seeking more grants for implementing this Islamisation project, which according to the journalist, has been continuing for the last three decades.
Is Saudi Arabia sponsoring Wahabism in Kerala?
The recent disclosure by journalist MP Basheer comes at the backdrop of unsettling evidence of Saudi Arabia indirectly funding ultra-radical Islamic thought of Wahabism, the ideological thought that drives terror organisation Islamic State, in several madrasas in Kerala.
A recent investigation by India Today had revealed that several madrasas in Kerala are preaching Wahabism, a Saudi-sponsored creed of extremist Islam linked to global terror. Reportedly, these madrasas are receiving funds through hawala networks from Islamic countries in the Gulf.
It is alleged that these madrasas are indoctrinating young Muslims a radical thought that is aligned with ISIS, the Islamic terror outfit that intends to establish a global caliphate through a worldwide war. However, teaching Wahabism to young Muslims is not limited to one centre in Kerala, according to India Today, several other madrasas are on the same path to Islamic terror influencers like controversial Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik.
Abdul Malik, who runs a madrasa in Karanthur, had earlier admitted that they show videos and speeches of Zakir Naik videos were shown regularly to young children at his centre.
Not just rich Gulf states, even Turkey has been forefront at funding radical Islamic thought in India, especially in Kashmir and Kerala.
Turkey, Pakistan funding anti-India activities, in touch with radical Islamic organisations
Turkey has been actively funding and supporting extremist Islamic organisations in Kerala and Kashmir. As a result, Turkey, led by Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has now emerged as the epicentre of anti-India activities.
The expansionist Turkish government, seeking to establish its dominance in the Islamic world through its conservatism and ‘Ottoman traditions’, is now exerting its influence on South Asian Muslims. In this endeavour, Turkey has joined hands with Pakistan to expand its influence in the region. The Turkish organisations have been in constant touch with Islamist organisations in the region.
The IHH, also known as İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı, has an alliance with radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). The two radical Islamic organisations have met in the run-up to the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019. Erdogan is also funding religious seminars in India to radicalise Muslims and taking them on a full-expense covered trip to Turkey for further indoctrination.
Pakistani and Turkish officials had also funded hate preacher Zakir Naik, accused of inciting and radicalising Indian Muslims with Qatar’s help. Besides criticising India over the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the subsequent riots, the Turkish government had reportedly pumped in funds to prolong the protests.
This ongoing trend of radicalisation emanating from Kerala leaves the country vulnerable to a national security threat, especially from radical Islamic organisations that operate outside India but enjoys considerable influence within the country.
In what could be a major political decision, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi may replace senior Congress leader and Behrampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as the leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Indian Express reports.
According to the report, the Congress party is set to do a major overhaul in the party’s organisational structure ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to be in July. Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi intends to lead the party inside the parliament herself or may appoint one of her deputies to the post in the next few weeks.
If true, Sonia Gandhi will return to lead the party in the lower house after 17 years, as she was the leader of the opposition during the NDA-1 government. After Narendra Modi became the PM in 2014, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was appointed as the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury has been occupying the post since the Modi govt came back to power in 2019.
However, Punjab Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu was named the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha during the budget session, as Choudhury was leading the Congress party in the West Bengal assembly elections. The post of leader of opposition lying vacant as no opposition party has won the required number of seats in the house.
The report suggested that the Congress party is looking to work alongside other opposition parties to coordinate the campaign against the BJP and the Modi government in Parliament. Hence, Sonia Gandhi is looking for a leadership change in the Lok Sabha and might replace Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as the party’s leader ahead of the monsoon session. This movie is being said as the first of many changes the party will make in the coming days.
Chowdhury, who represents Baharampur in Lok Sabha, has been leading the Congress party’s attack on the floor of the lower house of parliament. However, some critics have pointed out his ineffectiveness as the Congress party’s Lok Sabha leader. In addition, Chowdhury was recently the face of the party’s campaign in West Bengal, where the Congress party lost humiliatingly despite joining hands with radical Islamists and left-wing parties.
Intriguingly, Chowdhury is also extremely loyal to the Gandhi family and had been at the forefront of tackling the rebellion within the Congress party, especially when the G-23 group of leaders stood against Gandhis. In fact, Chowdhury was one of the few leaders who stood behind the Gandhis when the 23 senior leaders had begun to conspire against the party leadership.
However, despite all these considerations, Sonia Gandhi is reportedly intending to sack him as the leader of Lok Sabha and is all set to appoint herself or one of her loyalists as the next leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.
Adhir Ranjan to be removed to placate TMC
According to the Indian Express report, Sonia Gandhi wants to build bridges with the Trinamool Congress, which has been deteriorated since the recently held West Bengal Assembly elections. The Gandhi-Parivar understands that the Congress party alone cannot fight the BJP, which has a large public mandate and wants to create an informal coalition on the floor of the house against the Modi government and the BJP.
The Congress has, in fact, on more than one occasion thrown its weight behind Banerjee in her post-Assembly election verdict battle with the BJP. Adhir Chowdhury, who is the Congress party’s chief in West Bengal, was extremely critical of the Trinamool leadership during the assembly elections even though the Congress party had officially stayed away from commenting on either Mamata Banerjee or the TMC.
In fact, Congress has thrown its weight behind Mamata Banerjee for more than one occasion in her post-Assembly election verdict battle with the BJP. Hence, the decision to remove Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from his post is being seen as Sonia Gandhi’s efforts to placate Mamata Banerjee.
The Gandhis are hoping for seamless floor coordination between the Congress party and the Trinamool Congress in Parliament. Chowdhury, who is critical of the West Bengal government, would be a political problem for the Gandhis. Hence, he might be replaced before the Parliament session begins.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress is also gearing up for a battle with the Modi government over the post-poll violence against opposition party cadres in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress may reach out to Congress and other opposition parties to approach the President demanding the recall of the West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has been vocal against the atrocities unleashed by the Trinamool party cadres.
Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari also in the race for the post
If not Sonia Gandhi, senior party leaders loyal to the family may be appointed as the next Congress leader in the Lok Sabha. Among the frontrunners are Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari. Interestingly, both of them are signatories to the letter written to Sonia Gandhi by 23 senior leaders. However, these two Lok Sabha MPs have been far more loyal to the first family of the Congress than others, and there is a possibility that they could be given the mantle under Sonia Gandhi’s command.
It is also unclear whether Gandhi-scion and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi will be keen to lead the 52-member Congress side in Lok Sabha. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh wants Manish Tewari to take over as president of Punjab Congress. One has to see what major changes the Congress party will undergo in the coming days.
Hours after the BJP swept the Zila Parishad elections in Uttar Pradesh with 66 out of 75 seats, State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has vowed to ensure the party’s victory in the State Legislative elections in 2022.
On this ocassion, he spoke to various media channels and responded to the challenges posed at him by his arch rivals. While speaking to news agency ANI, he remarked, “BJP candiates won 67 out of 75 district panchayat chairperson seats. I thank BJP workers. BJP will win 2022 elections with huge margin. We’ll win more than 300 seats.”
BJP candiates won 67 out of 75 district panchayat chairperson seats. I thank BJP workers. BJP will win 2022 elections with huge margin. We’ll win more than 300 seats: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/fLuJ8RbYmQ
Yogi Adityanath also slammed Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav for alleging that the BJP won Zila Parishad seats by misusing administrative power. “Two things are very clear: When we win Lok Sabha elections, they blame the EVM. When elections were conducted using ballo papers this time, they began blaming the administration…If we win, they blame the administration and EVMS. If they win, it somehow implies hard work by SP workers. Our victory is also the hard work of our party workers,” remarked the Uttar Pradesh CM.
#WATCH | Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s reply to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s allegation that the BJP has won district panchayat chairperson seats by misusing administration power. pic.twitter.com/4MpZBdnxIc
Meanwhile, AIMIM leader Assauddin Owaisi has challenged Yogi Adityanath to win in any of the 100 seats, where his party is contesting. Yogi Adityanath accepted his challenge and said, “Asaduddin Owaisi is a big leader of our nation. If he has challenged BJP (for 2022 Assembly elections) then BJP’s worker accepts his (Asaduddin Owaisi) challenge. There is no doubt that BJP will form government in Uttar Pradesh.”
Asaduddin Owaisi is a big leader of our nation. If he has challenged BJP (for 2022 Assembly elections) then BJP’s worker accepts his (Asaduddin Owaisi) challenge. There is no doubt that BJP will form government in Uttar Pradesh (in 2022): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/93fUPShYFk
While speaking to India TV Conclave, CM Yogi Adityanath announced that BJP will continue its winning streak, despite any alliances created to topple him from the CM ‘s throne. He added that earlier such alliances were tried and tested in both 2017 and 2019 and that they failed. “Any political party has the right to chose its allies to fight an election, but they should know that they will have to bite the dust just like in 2017 and 2019. There isn’t an iota of doubt that BJP will win the Uttar Pradesh election,” he added.
(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ India TV)
Yogi Adityanath also spoke to Arnab Goswami of Republic TV after victory in Zila Parishad elections. He said, “We have not left anything incomplete. We believe in completeness. Sabka saath, sabka vikas – this mantra has been adopted. Policies have been made to reach the remotest places, the state has seen infrastructure projects, the economy has seen a rise, this is the largest state and yet has the least unemployment rate. We have successfully fought the COVID-19 pandemic as well.”
#WATCH | All political parties in UP have already come together against BJP in 2019, they can do it again. We will win with 300+ seats in 2022: UP CM @myogiadityanath to Arnab Goswami
On being asked by Goswami about his election fortunes if the Opposition gangs up against him, the Uttar Pradesh CM responded, “They have tried to pull off a similar stunt in 2019 and will continue to do so even in the future. I don’t want to interfere in their plans. But, BJP will get more than 300+ seats in the West Bengal State Legislative polls, which will be held next year.”
During the interview with Republic, Yogi Adityanath also answered questions on ‘Love Jihad’. He was asked why does BJP make an issue out of religious conversions only ahead of elections. Yogi replied that the law against ‘Love Jihad’ was passed a long time before any election. He called religious conversions a matter of national security.
The Chief Minister said, “Children are turned into Jihadis and they are used to target religious institutions and sentiments and get past the VVIP security. We have evidence of it. It’s a full fledged attempt to play with national security, not just religious conversion. The Government has formed a team of over 500 officials to uncover conversion rackets.”
Yogi also spoke on the allegations made by opposition party leaders against the Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust over land deals and said that there was not a shred of truth in them. He said that some people do not want the issue to be settled and hence, they cannot accept the amicable solution to the dispute.
On June 29, the largest private-sector employer in Kerala, Kitex Group, announced the withdrawal of an Rs.3,500 crore investment project from the state. The company alleged that the state authorities are running a witch-hunt against them. Notably, Kitex Garments is the second-largest kids’ apparel manufacturer in the world. The group has now announced that they have got informal invites from over ten states, including Gujarat and formal invites from the state of Tamil Nadu, to shift their investments. Tamil Nadu has offered an array of subsidies, discounts and freebies if Kitex decides to shift its projects while stating how it is the most business-friendly state/
MD of Kitex group Sabu M Jacob has said, “After I disclosed the plan to drop proposed investment in Kerala, I have got queries from other states. Governments of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Gujarat have invited me to invest in their states.” He called Tamil Nadu a “very important, attractive investment destination.” Jacob said that principal secretaries and ministers from states across the country have been calling him up to discuss taking his Rs 3500 crore investment there from Kerala, but he has not yet taken a decision on it.
Meanwhile, a PTI quoted a senior Tamil Nadu official saying, “Proposal has been extended to the Kitex group, which is keen on investing Rs 3,500 crore in the textile sector.”
Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state’s Industries Department’s nodal investment promotion agency, sent a letter to Kitex inviting them to invest in the state. Gaurav Daga, Associate Vice President of Guidance, mentioned in the letter that it was being sent after a discussion between Tamil Nadu Industries Minister and Sabu Jacob.
According to Sabu Jacob, the state has offered him 40 per cent subsidy, land at half the market value, 100 per cent relaxation on stamp duty, 5 per cent tax reduction for six years, 25 per cent subsidy for environmental protection infrastructure, 50 per cent subsidy for intellectual property, Rs 4,000 per month for the training of each employee for six months, electricity subsidy, and several other freebies.
Sabu said, “The offer given by the Tamil Nadu government is irresistible, and I came to know that many facilities are being provided by our neighbouring state. However, a decision to shift from Kerala has to be taken after a lot of consultations with our team, our management… it will not happen in a day, but we are seriously contemplating it.” The state also assured to provide anything over and above the offers mentioned in the letter. Notably, the group has not decided yet where it would like to move its project.
Why Kitex wants to move out of the state?
According to Sabu M Jacob, there have been repeated instances of harassment by the government at the existing garment processing plant in Kizhakkambalam panchayat of district Ernakulam. Just before the announcement of withdrawal was made, Sabu said 11 teams of officers from various departments raided the company in the last month, including teams from the Department of labour, factories and boilers, and even a team led by the district collector.
He had said, “The Kitex factory has been functioning here for the past 26 years, and we have 11,000 employees. They arrive with a huge team violating Covid protocols and bring camera teams of online media. While our neighbouring states give a red carpet welcome to investors, the Kerala government treats them as traitors. They are branded as bourgeoisie, exploiters, encroachers, capitalists and criminals and humiliated in public. Whoever invests in Kerala will lose peace of mind and will be driven to suicide.”
“There are states that provide the PF and ESI share of the employees. Some states even offer Rs 5,000 salary for the employees for five years. We don’t demand any benefits from the government. At least they can stop harassing us. If the situation continues, Kerala will turn into a graveyard of industries,” he had added.
The 3,500 crore project for which Kitex Group signed a memorandum with the Kerala Government was announced at the “Ascend Global Investors Meet” in Kochi in January 2020. As decided, the Kitex Group was supposed to open an apparel park in Kochi and establish industrial parks in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad.
No initial communication from the government
Sabu had alleged that even after disclosing that Kitex was planning to drop the proposed investment in Kerala, no one from the Kerala government contacted him. He added, “When I cannot run the existing units, why should I make fresh investment? Who can give guarantee for the new investment, which is envisaged to give jobs to 35,000 people? Despite the Covid-related crisis, we have been going ahead with the project and land has been acquired in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram for the apparel project.”
Industry Minister assured support
However, Industries Minister and CPI(M) leader P Rajeev said on July 3 that the government had taken serious note of the issue raised by Kitex. He said, “The government wants KITEX to revive the project which they had proposed here.”
Rajeev said that the Industrial Department had contacted the MD of the Kitex group. He further added that the Department is not in favour of surprise checks on the industrial units in the state. Urging the investors to contact the state authorities to take up their concerns, he said, “Everyone should keep away from making statements that impair the state’s image.” He assured that “positive steps” would be taken to resolve the issue with Kitex Group. He said the company should have talked to the government before taking up the issue on social media.
The minister further said that the incident with Kitex Group was a “one-off incident”. A meeting has been called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on July 5 to discuss the issue and to ensure the industrial entrepreneurs get the facilities required by the concerned departments to run the businesses smoothly.
Later, Sabu Jacob confirmed to media persons that Industrial department officials had approached him, and he had given them a report on the issue. He also urged the government to prove the allegations of pollution against his company, and if the government does not have any proof, they should suspend the officers who raided his industrial units.
BJP alleged political vendetta
As per reports, Kerala BJP President K Surendran has alleged that the action against the Kitex group is a part of the political vendetta of the ruling CPI(M) party. Notably, Kitex had got into politics a few years ago and founded a party named “Twenty 20”. It tried its hands in the Kizhakkambalam panchayat and also in recent assembly elections on six seats but failed to win any.
Fundraising platforms in India have helped people in need of medical treatment or other financial needs, and now this spectrum of public help appears to be widening. One particular call for public help caught the attention of many on social media earlier today was where a person started a fundraiser for hair removal.
The fundraiser was started by a Bangalore based person Prakriti Soni, who needed funds for hair removal as the financial condition of the family was not stable.
While hair removal might sound too mundane a thing for which a fundraiser should be started, Prakriti explained that it was nothing less than a “life altering procedure” for her, who is 21-years-old and identifies as trans-woman.
She explained that she must get rid of the hair on her body to remove the mismatch between her biological sex and her gender identity. This mismatch was majorly affecting the mental health of Prakriti, giving her distress and discomfort – something that is known as “gender dysphoria” as Prakriti explained in her fundraising page.
She said that the Covid-19 induced lockdowns were making her gender dysphoria worse and thus she has decided to completely remove the body hair via laser treatment. Since her own or her family’s financial condition is not stable, she decided to seek public help, and it appears to have worked for Prakriti Soni, who was earlier Gaurang Soni.
To support her claims, Prakriti uploaded a doctor’s letter from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital of Bangalore. The letter stated that the “client refers to themselves in the feminine gender and to respect their feelings I will be using female pronouns throughout this report.”
Doctor’s letter identifies Prakriti as a ‘male to female’ transgender person who had described a desire to be and to be treated like a member of the opposite sex since early childhood. It also states that her family is supportive of this and so is her social network, which reflected in the fact that Prakriti was able to raise more than half of her targeted fundraise.
An anonymous person who helped with 5000 rupees, the maximum individual contribution at the time of this report being published, left a message that read “Hi Prakriti! Wish you all the very best. I wish you are able to meet your target and get your hair treatment done and feel better!! You are an amazing person and deserve the best!!”
Another contributor, who identified himself as Adil, said, “I am a friend of Nikita whose friend’s with mridula. And I can’t tell you how happy I am for you and hope that everything works out fine (sic.)”
The doctor’s letter dated 28 October 2020 report said that Prakriti reported gender congruent experience of living like a woman for the past two years. It further revealed that Gaurang alias Prakriti liked being with and playing with girls in the school, and also acted like them.
“She wants to get rid of both primary and secondary sexual characteristics because of the marked incongruence she experiences. She seeks hormone replacement therapy to feminize her body to suit her gender identity,” the doctor’s letter declared.
It is not clear if Prakriti has already undertaken hormone replacement therapy or she might need another fundraiser for that. However, the hair removal fundraiser was on track.
