On June 30, Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Amritsar, awarded the family of Jugraj Singh for hoisting ‘Kesari Flag’ (Flag with Sikh Holy Symbol) on Red Fort on Republic Day this year. During the riots at the national capital on 26th January, as part of the farmer protests, the Red Fort was taken over by the protestors, who had hoisted the flag on it. The rioters had also attacked the police and vandalised the historic monument.
In a social media post, SGPC wrote, “SGPC honoured the family of Sikh youth Bhai Jugraj Singh who hoisted the Kesri Flag on Red Fort with Rs 1 lakh. SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh handed over this appreciation amount to the family of Bhai Jugraj Singh.”
#SGPC honoured the family of #Sikh youth Bhai Jugraj Singh who hoisted the #KesriFlag on #RedFort with Rs 1 lakh. SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh handed over this appreciation amount to the family of Bhai Jugraj Singh. pic.twitter.com/t9EU6M8WCp
— Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) (@SGPCAmritsar) June 30, 2021
The family was ‘honoured’ in May
Reportedly, this is not the first time SGPC has ‘honoured’ the family of Jugraj Singh. In March 2021, an event was organized inside Golden temple in memory of the rioter identified as Navreet Singh, who was killed during the Republic Day riots after his tractor turned turtle while trying to break barricades.
During that event, the father of 21-year-old rioter Jugrat Singh was honoured by the Committee. Jugraj Singh hails from Vaan Tara Singh village of Punjab’s Tarn Taran district. He was booked for rioting and sedition by Delhi Police for Republic Day riots and has since been run. Police have announced a bounty of Rs.1 lakh for anyone who can provide information that could lead to his arrest.
Notably, on June 29, Delhi Police had arrested Buta Singh from Talwandi Sabo. Singh, a 25-year-old rioter, had helped Jugraj Singh to hoist the flag during the Republic Day riots. There was a bounty of Rs.50,000 for his arrest. The villagers had blocked the roads inside the village to stop police from arresting Buta Singh. However, with the help of Punjab Police officials present at the scene, Delhi Police could arrest him. Another accused, Gurjot Singh, was also arrested on June 28.
Republic Day Riots
On January 26, groups of alleged farmers forcefully entered Delhi on the pretext of a Tractor Rally. They created a riot-like situation in which over 300 police personnel were injured, and properties worth crores were damaged. The rally was supposed to be a protest rally against the Agriculture laws named Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 that was passed in September 2020.
Visuals that emerged from the riots showed how the alleged farmers tried to mow down the police personnel with tractors, attacked them with swords, batons and other weapons and mercilessly attacked police personnel at Red Fort for security purposes. A group of rioters including Deep Sidhu, Gurjot Singh, Jugraj Singh and others reached the Red Fort and hoisted two flags with the Sikh Holy symbol. Interestingly, the hoisting of the flag was in sync with the provocations of terrorist organization Sikhs For Justice, whose founder had announced a cash prize for the person(s) who hoist the flag on Red Fort. A total of 43 cases were registered in connection to the riots.
The left-wing news portal ‘The Quint’, which has a history of distorting facts regarding sensitive cases, has yet again caught peddling misinformation in the latest case of Sikh girl’s abduction and conversion to Islam in Jammu and Kashmir. The Quint is accused of putting out incorrect information about the Sikh girl’s age in its latest report to insinuate that the girl had consented to the relationship with the Muslim man. After getting caught propagating misinformation, the Quint has quietly altered its report to put out the girl’s real age.
On Tuesday, the Quint had published a report saying that Manpreet Kaur, one of the two Sikh women who was forcefully converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man in Kashmir, remarried a man from the Sikh community on Tuesday, 27 June, just two days after she was handed over to her family by the police.
Amid the controversy over two Sikh women being forcefully converted to Islam and married to Muslim men in J&K, one of them remarried a man from the Sikh community on 27 June, just two days after being ‘handed over’ to her family by the police. https://t.co/ib7qJS5mU9
Manmeet Kaur, a resident of Srinagar, was abducted, converted to Islam and married off to a Muslim man in Jammu and Kashmir. After severe protests across the country by the Sikh community, she was handed to her family, who got her remarried to one Sukhbir Singh. The marriage took place on Tuesday in front of the police and the girl’s family.
In its report, Quint mentioned that Manpreet Kaur was 26-years-old and not 18, as suggested by several on social media. Further, the Quint claimed that Shahid Nazir Bhat, the Muslim man accused of abducting and converting the Sikh lady, was aged 29 years, contrary to the reports that Shahid is a 60-year-old man with two kids. Citing the police statement, the Quint had dismissed the rumours surrounding Shahid’s age, saying it was “baseless”.
Image Source: Sandeep Singh
The report further stated that the Jammu and Kashmir Police handed over Manmeet to her parents on Saturday after recording a statement before a court in Srinagar. Two days later, in a hushed ceremony attended by the elders of the community, she was reportedly married to a Sikh man, the Quint report said, indirectly suggesting that the Sikh girl was forcefully married off to another person from the Sikh community hurriedly.
Sikh ‘activist’ Amaan Bali busts Quint’s lies on girl’s age, puts out documents
A day after Quint put out misleading claims about girl’s age, Sikh ‘activist’ Amaan Bali, who has been forefront at reporting on the ongoing Sikh girls’ abduction case in Jammu and Kashmir, took to Twitter to accuse the online news portal Quint of propagating misinformation pertaining to the case.
The Sikh activist-cum-writer Amaan Bali posted a series of tweets on the micro-blogging site to accused Quint of deliberately toning down the incident by putting out misinformation about Sikh girl Manmeet Kaur’s age, who was abducted by a Kashmiri man and converted her to Islam after forcefully marrying her.
On Quint’s assertion that the abducted girl Manpreet was 26-years-old, Bali stated that the age of Manmeet Kaur is 18 or 19, as he had confirmed with her family. The protestors maintained that as well, he said.
In a series of tweets, Amaan Bali put out proofs to highlight that the age of Manmeet Kaur was not 26 as suggested by the Quint, but 18. He also said he was withdrawing his earlier statement where he too had agreed that her age is 26. The Sikh ‘activist’ posted several documents, including Aadhar card, entrance exam admission ticket, domicile certificates of Manmeet Kaur to prove that the girl was 18-years-old.
Kashmir cases- Age confusion- So @TheQuint ‘s @Gaamuk wrote the age of Manmeet kaur as 26 in his article & then cleverly edits it to 18 when he discovered the truth at 3:30pm today. Fortunately many people had read the article & started a propaganda against Sikhs that girl was 26 pic.twitter.com/f5b0pSxhJl
Amaan Bali also alleged that Quint created the entire rumour for Manmeet Kaur in a hurry to deflect the case. However, the present age of Manmeet Kaur is 18 years and 3 months, he said while posting the proof.
Here is the proof of Manpreet Kaur’s age that shows the abducted Sikh girl was just 18 years old:
Manmeet Kaur’s Aadhar card/ Image Source: Amaan Bali
The Domicile Certificate of Manmeet Kaur also shows that her age is 18 years, born in 2003.
Manmeet Kaur’s domicile certificate issued by the Govt. of J&K/ Image Source: Amaan Bali
Manmeet Kaur’s college documents/ Image Source: Amaan Bali
As documents proved that the girl’s age was not 26-years-old, the Quint has silently edited its report to change the girl’s age to 18. However, despite making such a huge error, the Quint has not published any corrigendum in its latest update about the error it had committed.
The Quint’s altered report.
From the above, it is categorically clear that the Quint put out misinformation about Manmeet Kaur’s age to deflect the ongoing case and attempt to portray that Kaur was an adult and consented to the relationship with the Muslim man.
No clarity on the age of accused Muslim man too
In addition to Manmeet’s age, there is also speculation about the accused Muslim man’s age. Earlier, Amaan Bali had put out a tweet saying the girl’s family maintained that the age of the abductor Shahid was 60 years old, while the Quint claimed that he was just 29 years old.
The 60yr old is still maintained by father of the girl as man where Manmeet was kept.
The confusion is regrettable but the whitewash that Jehangir has done in the @TheQuint piece is also worth mentioning.
In the latest update, Bali said that he was wrong on Shahid’s age as Kashmir-based news reports have confirmed that the age of the abductor was 29-years-old. Responding to the error, Bali said though he agreed that he was wrong on boy’s age due to multiple statements, he said, one has to explain how a minor was groomed by 29-year-old Muslim man.
Now Kashmirwalla runs a news that two lovers have been separated. I agree I was wrong on boy’s age due to multiple statements but can @pzfahad explain how a minor was groomed by 29yr old? https://t.co/2rCVnl6LLM
The Sikh ‘activist’ also said he would also be taking legal proceedings against the Quint writer Jehangir for peddling misinformation about the age of the abducted Sikh girl.
Quint tries to gaslights the entire Sikh community for standing up against conversions and abductions by Islamists
In its report, which is now edited multiple times, the Quint published the statement of one Danmeet, who ‘willingly’ married a Kashmiri Muslim in 2014, to gaslight the Sikh community for protesting against the abduction and conversion of Manpreet Kaur. Speaking to Quint, Danmeet said she had happily married her batchmate in 2014, and no one from the Muslim community had coerced her to marry a Muslim or convert to Islam, but she did it willingly.
Quoting her, the Quint claimed thatDanmeet received threats from the Sikh community, who tried to “brainwash” her into recording a video statement against her “legal husband”. “They warned of getting me killed or targeting me in acid attacks. I am not missing… but my life is under threat. Please stop playing politics over this issue,” Quint quoted Danmeet.
Essentially, the Quint hinted that similar attempts might have happened in Manpreet’s case, who, according to Quint, returned due to intense pressure from the Sikh community.
Amidst the allegations that the family of the girl was not allowed inside the court and were made to sit outside the court citing Covid regulations, the Quint attempted to tone down the allegations by citing a police source, according to whom no provision in the law mandated the parents of the woman to be present before the judge while their daughter was recording the statement.
Quint ignores family statements, cites police to call abductions as ‘rubbish’
A senior police officer was quoted by the Quint, who claimed the “speculation” that the two women were forcibly abducted is “all rubbish”. “There is no evidence to suggest the use of force. What they have done was out of their own will,” the officer said to The Quint.
The Quint spoke to Sikh leader Jagmohan Singh Raina who alleged that the protests held against the abduction were nothing but some “miscreants” are attempting to “disturb the communal harmony” in Kashmir.
“We (Kashmiri Sikhs and Muslims) have shared our joys and sorrows for decades. I am hearing disturbing reports of some Hindu right-wing activists arriving in Kashmir. They want to drive a communal wedge between us, but we won’t allow them to succeed,” Raina was quoted by Quint.
Sikh ‘activist’ slams them for gaslighting Sikh community
As Quint speculated about several things about the case in its report and put out misleading narratives to blame the Sikhs for the entire incident, Sikh ‘activist’ Amaan Bali had earlier taken offence at the far-left website distorting facts of the case. In a rebuttal to the Quint, Bali had put out a series of tweets in which he had put out facts that contradicted claims made by the Quint in its report.
Regarding the police statements quoted by the Quint to claim that allegations of abductions of Manpreet were “baseless”, Amaan Bali said that the Quint nowhere mentioned the statements of the family in both the cases but mentioned the one-sided police statements.
“The police version is not the absolute truth, and we all know what police versions are where stakes are that of things getting out of hand,” Bali said, insinuating that J&K police are issuing misleading statements.
No where in the piece has the author mentioned the family side in both the cases. The police version is not the absolute truth and we all know what police versions are where stakes are that of things getting out of hand.
The Sikh ‘activist’ also slammed the Quint for deliberately ignoring to cite the statement of brother Krishanjeet Singh and accused the website of gaslighting the community into believing that there were no forced conversions when all the Sikh organisations have maintained that there were forced conversions.
The article continuously gaslights the community into believing that there were no forced conversions at all when all the Sikh orgs maintain that there were forced conversions. The family still maintains that. What do we do about it? https://t.co/dcgT0xHiHG
In his tweet, Amaan Bali also said that the mention of Kashmir’s GPC and Jagmohan Singh Raina was laughable as they are part of the National Conference and added that they are “very same leeches” who issued statements in Chittisinghpora and Mehjoor Nagar killings and hindered the progress of investigations as well.
“Find me a Kashmiri Sikhs who trusts Raina, I will delete this,” tweeted Bali.
These very same leeches issued statement in Chittisinghpora and Mehjoor Nagar cases of killings and hindered the progress of investigations as well. Find me a kashmiri Sikhs who trusts raina and I will delete this.
Finally, Bali claimed that the Quint report made a huge mistake by failing to highlight how the family of a Muslim men was allowed inside the court while making girls family to stand outside the court during the hearing.
The Sikh girls abduction and conversion case:
On June 26, a case of abduction and religious conversion of two Sikh girls came to light from Jammu & Kashmir. As per reports, an 18-year-old Sikh Girl from Badgam district was lured and converted to Islam. Another case was of a girl from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar, who attended the function of her Muslim friend, from where she was reportedly kidnapped and married off to a boy who attended the function. While the girl was not a minor, she is still missing.
The reports of abduction and conversion of two Sikh girls to Islam stirred a massive online furore, with scandalised people demanding action against the culprits. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) also raised the issue on social media platforms urging the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to intervene.
According to Sardar Santpal Singh, President Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee-Budgam, who narrated the entire incident, one of the two girls was mentally unstable. A Muslim man lured her on the pretext of love and marriage to convert her. He said, “A girl from Sikh community has been forcefully converted to Islam. She is not mentally stable. The man lured her on the pretext of love. It is not a love affair but a clear case of Love Jihad. The government is acting negatively against us.”
Not only this, the family of the girl was not allowed in the court. The family and the relatives of the girl were sitting outside the court as they were barred from attending the court proceedings on account of Covid regulations, however, the court recorded the statements of the Muslim family.
The tentacles of mass conversion racket, where people were allegedly forced, lured and coerced into conversion to Islam, have now reached Gujarat.
Three orphan brothers from Surat Gujarat, Rajesh Pandhare, Dinesh Pandhare and Santosh Pandhare, lost their parents when they were very young. While the three brothers were trying to adjust to the fact that they have to survive without any elder in the family, the conversion mafia in the state found a way into their house. As per a report published in Aaj Tak, they worked as labourers to fulfil their day-to-day needs.
Santosh went missing without a trace
In 2013, one day, Santosh left for work and never came back. He was only 16-years-old at that time. Rajesh and Dinesh tried to trace their brother but failed. As the time passed by, the hope of finding Santosh dimmed away, and the two brothers learned to live with the fact that they would never meet their brother again.
A call that changed their lives
Around 7-8 years later, Rajesh got a call from an unknown number. When he picked up the call, the caller identified himself as his younger brother Santosh. The two brothers saw a light of hope that their brother would finally reunite with them. However, the situation was a lot different from what they thought.
Santosh embraced Islam to become Abdullah
Over the call, Santosh informed his brother that he has converted to Islam, and his name is now Abdullah. He further told the brothers that he was happy with his life and wanted to stay where he was. He claimed he was living somewhere in Delhi and Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He also sent a video of his place to Rajesh and Dinesh and told them a lot about the place he was staying in.
Santosh alias Abdullah. Source: Aaj Tak
As per reports, he also expressed his desire to go to Kashmir.
The fight to bring Santosh back home
After learning about Santosh’s whereabouts and the story of his conversion, the two brothers could not stop themselves from trying to bring him back to Surat. They informed Surat Police about their brother and approached Hindu Organizations seeking support in the matter.
With the support of the Police Commissioner of Surat, Satish Sharma and then the crime branch team managed to bring Santosh back to Surat. Santosh was not pleased with what his brothers did. After coming back to Surat, he revolted against his brothers. According to reports, he even called some men to kill the brothers. Rajesh said that Santosh was a minor when he was lured to Islam when he was in Surat.
Role of Bajrang Dal in bringing back Santosh
Rajesh and Dinesh had approached Devi Prasad Dubey, convener of Bajrang Dal, for support in the matter. He helped them in approaching the police for support. Dubey told Aaj Tak that there is a conversion mafia active in Surat, and government must take action against them.
Speaking to OpIndia, Devi Prasad Dubey said the conversion mafia is targeting those who are orphans and marginalised. They lure them on the pretext of good food and a better lifestyle and ask them to convert to Islam, he said. On Santosh’s case, Dubey said, “The maulvi who converted Santosh was fearless to the extent that he offered Rajesh and Dinesh to convert to Islam. He told them that Islam is the only religion that can give them respect and a better lifestyle.” Dubey further added that the recordings of the conversation between Santosh and his brothers hinted that there was a plan to shift Santosh to Kashmir and then out of India.
Mass religious conversion racket
In a shocking revelation, two maulvis were arrested by Uttar Pradesh’s anti-terror squad (ATS) who were accused of converting at least 1,000 people to Islam, sometimes by luring, coercion or forcefully. The accused were later identified as Mufti Qazi Jahangir Qasmi and Mohammad Umar Gautam and were residents of Jamia Nagar in South Delhi. The two accused, who ran an organisation named Islamic Dawah Centre(IDC), along with their other associates, were charged for mass conversion of people into Islam through inducements such as marriage, job and money and mental pressure.
The rampant racket of converting people into the fold of Islam came to light after a deaf and dumb son of a couple in Kalyanpur, Kanpur, was converted and sent to South India. Since then, thousands of cases of forcible conversions to Islam by the two accused have surfaced. The two reportedly made false promises of jobs and money in lieu of conversion.
Nearly 10 months after Islamists had unleashed horrific riots in Bengaluru city, the National Investigation Agency has arrested the key conspirator Syed Abbas for his role in the violence.
According to the reports, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has nabbed a 38-year-old accused Syed Abbas for his involvement in the Bengaluru riots. Abbas, a resident of Govindpura in Bengaluru, is the block president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
In the statement released on Wednesday (30 June), the NIA stated that investigation into DJ Halli and KG Halli riots case has revealed that accused SDPI leader Syed Abbas, along with other office bearers of SDPI, were actively involved in torching down burning vehicles and attacking police officers on duty at KG Halli Police Station.
The NIA added that these conspirators had also set fire to KG Halli Police Station using petrol bombs and added the accused set the government vehicles parked in the vicinity of the police station on fire.
Following his arrest, the NIA produced Abbas before a special court in Bengaluru, which has sent the accused for a six-day NIA custody. The case was originally registered as FIR on August 12, 2020, relating to rioting by an unruly mob armed with deadly weapons who had unlawfully gathered outside KG Halli Police Station, Bengaluru, in the late evening of August 11, 2020.
Earlier, the National Investigation Agency had arrested 17 party leaders of the Islamist organisations – the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Popular Front of India (PFI), for their involvement in the Bengaluru riots case. As many as 138 persons have been charge-sheeted by the agency for their involvement in the riots.
NIA conducts raids at the offices of SDPI and PFI
Last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at several places in connection with the Bengaluru riots, including four offices of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). SDPI is the political wing of the radical Islamic organisation Political Front of India (PFI).
According to a statement issued by NIA then, the raids were conducted on a total of 43 locations in Bengaluru, Karnataka, concerning the large-scale communal conflagration that had broken out in the metropolitan city of Bengaluru in August this year.
The NIA officials had then seized incriminating material related to the SDPI/PFI along with weapons like swords, knife and iron rods during the raids. The agency had informed that 293 people had been in connection with the riots that swept the city.
Islamist mobs burn down Bengaluru over an alleged Facebook post insulting Prophet Muhammad
Amidst the chants of “Allah-hu-Akbar” and “Nara e taqbeer”, the violent Islamist mobs had burnt down the city of Bengaluru in violent riots on August 11 this year over an alleged Facebook post of the nephew of Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy about Prophet Muhammad.
The riots unleashed by the violent mob left four people dead and 60 police personnel injured. Two police stations and the house of Srinivas Murthy was torched down. After taking over the investigation of the riots, the NIA had named SDPI leader Muzamil Pasha for “instigating the mob” to unleash violence on the streets of east Bengaluru.
Soon after riots broke out in the city, the situation took an ugly turn when two separate mobs gathered in front of KG Halli and DJ Halli police stations. The mobs locked the gates from outside and pelted stones at the police station. At least 10 vehicles, including Innovas of two DCPs, were damaged in front of the stations.
The mob also set fire to the vehicles in front of the DJ Halli police station. In what seemed to be a pre-planned attack by the mob, the police station premises were badly vandalised and several vehicles were burned to ashes.
Apart from NIA, the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB), is also investigating the case, that has submitted a preliminary charge sheet naming 60 people, including former Mayor and Congress leader Sampath Raj and corporator Rakib Zakir in the DJ Halli riots case.
The battle commenced in November 2016, Donald Trump had just been elected President, an astounded Washington establishment-media complex was conspiring to undo the election results, but most sinister of them all, Big Tech began exposing their venomous fangs.
They were caught slumbering at the wheel back that had allowed a relatively free exchange of information, a major factor that enabled Trump’s election, they were not going to allow it.
Twitter began with small measures such as shadow banning Trump supporters and suppression of pro-Trump Tweets covertly. In time, Trump supporters were suspended, sometimes permanently banned. YouTube began blocking and demonetizing channels of Trump supporters. But Trump administration and even Trump himself were silent when it should have been one of their top priorities.
Next, Twitter marked a video in President Trump’s tweet as manipulated media. As election season heated up, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram removed a Trump campaign video over copyright complaints. Trump’s Tweets were labelled ‘misleading’.
Anti-Biden news, especially the news of Biden as vice president abusing his power to enable his son Hunter Biden to earn millions of dollars, was censored by Big Tech. It was reported that almost 10% of Biden voters in the key states wouldn’t have voted for him had they known about hunter Biden dealings.
Twitter altered the ‘retweet’ functionality without any notice. Many users presumed that the app had malfunctioned and stopped using the function.
It is entirely possible that all of this and the tyranny of Big Tech caused a Biden victory which was by a slim margin in key states.
After the results of the 2020 elections were out, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram banned President Trump claiming that he was ‘inciting violence’.
Today the big tech function like a de facto super-nation, which operates above the rules of law of any specific country. They work with governments such their influence and networks are deeply embedded in the corridors of power.
If one were to study the pattern of behaviour of big tech in the US and India, there are some interesting parallels.
Regular users, particularly Modi supporters have always complained of being shadowbanned. Some have been suspended for ‘abusive behaviour’. Last year a Tweet by the BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra was labelled ‘manipulated media’, he complained but they did it again a few months back. They removed Home Minister Amit Shah’s display photo citing copyright reasons.
Recently, Twitter depicted a map of India with Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as separate countries. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s Twitter account was blocked briefly, a week after he reprimanded them for its arbitrariness in fighting fake news. There have been instances of opposition leaders tweeting blatant falsehoods, but seldom is punitive action taken.
The instances are myriad and it is amply clear that the direction is identical to that in the US.
Could they really push aggressively to peddle their influence here?
Let’s do a risk assessment and consider the worst possible scenario for the central government.
Perhaps we are months away from the election and the following measures are implemented simultaneously:
WhatsApp begins by tagging certain messages as ‘False information or hateful and begins restricting the ability to forward or even copy them.
YouTube bans or suspends certain channels (even TV channels) labelling them as hateful, and other social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter remove videos
YouTube block the broadcast of political rallies again citing hate again or they do it covertly by slowing down the streaming that causes users to give up.
Twitter and the others go out of their way to amplify specific stories while they suppress others.
Google searches are manipulated in such a manner that negative stories show up on the first two pages while the positives are pushed to the third and fourth which people seldom look at
Social media platforms alter or purposefully suppresses functionality to share certain stories.
All of the above to occur concurrently and in a coordinated way is extremely unlikely, but the US elections of 2020 have taught us that nothing is impossible with respect to Big Tech.
It has to be remembered, the Trump campaign spent millions on social media adverts but that didn’t help at all. For big tech, earning a few million or even a billion is short-term thinking. Hence doing business with them, like the central government is doing, will do little to placate them.
What the Big Tech seeks is dominance through monopoly. Since they are the only show in town you have no choice and hence they eventually earn all the billions and push their influence. They decide if you are worthy of being their patron. They decide if you are worthy of earning a living through their mediums. Also on the agenda is a total silencing of opposing points of view via de-platforming. Rivals will not be allowed since they own all the servers. This sounds like a totalitarian state.
In Trump’s case, the Washington-based permanent bureaucracy and even some members of his own cabinet were against him. Most of them wanted Trump out and were glad to see him go. Hence they did nothing to support him apart from theatrics during hearings.
In PM Modi’s case, it would appear that he has widespread support in his government. They will act if he desires, it, therefore, makes sense to be proactive rather than reactive.
Some claim that that newspapers, TV news, Govt adverts and Mann Ki Baat, and election rallies make Social Media irrelevant. There are people from all demographic groups, even in smaller towns, who consume news solely through digital channels and who do not read physical newspapers or watch TV. Half a billion people in India use smartphones, all Big Tech needs is to peel off from this section, and maybe it is just enough to alter results.
What about those who say it is essential to label falsehoods actively stop the spread of it? What about curbing ‘hate’? Social media always claimed to be a platform rather than a publisher. If they are going to fact-check or look for ‘hate’ material in one account they will have to apply it across all accounts and we know that it is impossible. Also, Hate is subjective and what is hateful to one is provocative to another. A platform has no right to decide that for its users.
Twitter is now poking the central government, perhaps to judge how far they can go. If the ministers and government officials continue to merely express condemnation, followed by strong disapproval, followed by vehement denunciation, the prodding monster will be emboldened presuming weakness. There has to be action, not words.
We have often heard of local social media platforms being bug-ridden, clunky, poorly designed, and crash-prone. Some have servers in China.
The government through its Digital India and Make in India initiatives should commission local talent to either develop or improve upon Indian platforms and provide alternatives to Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, and WhatsApp.
It won’t be easy or quick but we have the finest and most superior software development talents in India. By enabling and encouraging private enterprises to embark on these projects the government will be providing a boost to the economy. It is also essential that encumbering regulations are relaxed and incentives such as tax breaks should be given to these firms for them to progress without impediments.
All government officials must set up accounts on these platforms once they are robust. It would also be the opportune moment to stop all collaborations with big tech corps for government programs. We can truly become Athmanirbhar. Soon Indian users and perhaps even users beyond our shores will join.
Rather than a ban, merely make them irrelevant would be more fitting.
However, in the interim a temporary ban or some tough action is essential. It would result in global backlash and op-ed pieces in the New York Times, but it will send a clear message. On the positive side, a certain Donald Trump will most certainly endorse this.
It is time to act and time to act fast, not just for the security of our elections but for the sake of our democracy in the long run.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have registered an FIR against 200 alleged farmer protestors for turning violent and attacking BJP workers during a welcome ceremony for the newly-elected BJP general secretary near the Ghazipur border.
200 unidentified Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) workers have been booked under IPC section 147, 148, 323, 352, 427 and 506 on the complaint of BJP general secretary Amit Valmiki and other party workers.
Copy of FIR filed by BJP leader.
Valmiki alleged that around 200 BKU workers disrupted the procession held Wednesday noon on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway with black flags, sticks, swords and revolvers.
The procession reportedly passed from the same area where the protesting farmers have been camping since November 2020 resulting in a brawl between the two parties.
The protestors are said to have vandalized the cars, attacked BJP workers and hurled casteist slurs.
TIMES NOW’s Prerit reports from #Ghazipur border where there has reportedly been clashes between protesting farmers and the #BJP workers.
President of the BJP’s Ghaziabad unit Sanjeev Sharma revealed, “There were about 300-400 workers including 20-25 women…We were on the other side of the expressway (Delhi-Ghaziabad carriageway), near the starting point of the Hindon elevated road. The farmers were on the other side in their camps. Suddenly, hundreds of them attacked us.”
Following the attack, Valmiki registered an official police complaint at Kaushambi police station.
BKU blames BJP
The Bhartiya Kisan Union on the other hand claim that the entire episode was a conspiracy by the ruling BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to delegitimize their seven-month-old protest against the three Farm Bills. The BKU claimed that it was BJP workers who had started raising anti-protest slogans and when stopped by farmer protestors, they had attacked the farmers.
भाजपा के कार्यकर्ताओं ने आज गाजीपुर बॉर्डर पर फ्लाईवे केबीच मंच के पास भारी संख्या में इकट्ठे होकर किसी नेता के स्वागत के बहाने ढोल बजाकर आंदोलन विरोधी नारे लगाए।भाकियू कार्यकर्ताओं के मना करने लाठी डंडों से हमला किया। जिसमे किसान घायल हुए है।@ANI@PTI_News@AmarUjalaNews
On Wednesday, Rakesh Tikait, the self-acclaimed leader of the farmers also accused the BJP of planning caste-based riots.
Farmers turn violent in Haryana
We had reported earlier how the farmers camping at Hisar, Hayarana got violent and tried to disrupt a Covid-19 facility inauguration event attended by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in May.
The farmers protesting the Farm Bills had charged at police personnel near a toll close to the event location which resulted in a lathi-charge. The farmers also attacked DSP Abhimanyu, leaving him seriously injured.
The farmers who were protesting near the Ramayan Toll travelled 18 kilometres to ransack the event. They also charged at the security barricades using tractors to pave their way to the event. As per reports, a huge crowd gathered at the site all of a sudden charging at the security forces which resulted in a clash.
And Kejriwal is readying himself with a smile, which invokes many emotions especially rage, to campaign for your votes in other states as well. Be it Gujarat, Punjab or Uttar Pradesh the Aam Aadmi Party has adopted a unique political campaign, different from the rest to nudge you to cast your vote for them. Here are some of the tricks deployed by the circus that AAP is to stay constantly in the news cycle (other than paid advertisements in national dailies, of course).
I Promise….
Just like how a lover makes endless promises to provide a better and comfortable life, AAP to promises to provide “Free bijli, free pani (free electricity, free water)” to voters in every state they set their foot in. After promising and somewhat fulfilling their word in Delhi (well almost) Arvind Kejriwal has promised the people of Gujarat and Punjab to dispense ‘free bijli pani’ (well almost).
But with the ‘well almost’ level of fulfilling ‘a’ promise and faltering on the others, will the voters overlook the utter failure of the AAP government in Delhi for freebies? What failures you ask? Let’s have a look.
Tareekh pe Tareekh
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in 2015 had promised to clean the Yamuna river within 5 years. And this was the promise made on the banks of the river when Kejriwal, along with his cabinet colleagues and senior Delhi government officials, had taken part in the first ‘Yamuna Aarti’ held at the Kudesia Ghat.
As per the 2015 Mint article, Kejriwal boasted, “We will revive Yamuna within five years,” adding that the government has a plan to stop the flow of drains in the Yamuna in the next 1-2 years. The aarti was conducted in a very Dharmic style with priests from Varanasi who were specially invited for the program chanting Vedic hymns.
Seven years later, this is the condition of Yamuna river in Delhi with Kejriwal once again promising that the Yamuna will be ‘nirmal’ again in the next five years.
#WATCH | Thick layer of toxic foam floats on the surface of river Yamuna
Kejriwal’s next promise of ‘free pani’ too turned out to be costly for the citizens of Delhi. Black water to no water. One does not know when he will run after a water tanker to get a bucket of water in the scorching heat and amidst the pandemic.
#WATCH | Residents of Vivekanand Camp in Chanakyapuri area of Delhi climb atop a water tanker while others mill around as they wait for their turn to get water. pic.twitter.com/ccRLNMcZkZ
Seems like the AAP leader has made ‘offering freebies’ his life mission for every state they venture in. But as wise people said, there is no such thing as free lunch.
So, with toxic foam making the Yamuna look more like a piece of the sky than a river, videos of polluted water, sorry condition of the redundant Mohalla Clinic, a voter has much to deliberate on to cast its vote for the AAP.
Delhi choking
Other than toxic Yamuna water and subpar drinking water and the lack of it, another problem that plagues Delhi is pollution. Once again, the AAP government has assured to free the national capital from pollution in the next few years and all it does is implement ‘odd-even’ rule every time the stubble is burnt by farmers in neighbouring state, especially Punjab.
And if that was not enough, the Kejriwal government has allowed ‘farmer’ protestors to choke Delhi again from all borders, disrupting livelihoods and lives of people who regularly commute on those roads. In 2019-2020 too he let the anti-CAA protestors sit in middle of the road holding up traffic movement for months on end.
And then the oxygen crisis during the second wave of COVID pandemic. Let us never forget the Delhi state government sat tightly without even making an effort to arrange transport chain of oxygen being arranged by Centre. Interim report of audit committee states that the state government may have exaggerated oxygen demand. This may have triggered chaos amid the crisis. Perhaps lives could have been saved had Kejriwal government not sat pretty in their offices and did something.
The blame game
Aam Aadmi Party leaders live in a world where they think that the entire world is conspiring against them. Like the damsel in distress in a Bollywood movie, AAP is fighting with the ‘evil BJP’.
Promises not fulfilled? Blame BJP. Agencies scrutinising your financial records to check for evasion, fraud? Blame BJP. Their corporator gets accused of murdering a cop? Blame BJP. Their MLA endorses violence and beheading of someone in name of religion? Blame BJP.
Take a look.
Screenshot of India.com articleScreenshot of Hindustan Times articleScreenshot of Republic articleScreenshot of OpIndia article
And latest:
Two days ago, Income tax department had sent me a notice related to my fixed deposit. They don't have time to go after Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi. This money was saved before AAP was formed. Are BJP leaders ready to declare all their assets transparently?: AAP MLA Atishi pic.twitter.com/dGTJ4j2dXV
AAP has not hesitated for blaming the opposition parties for their failure to conduct rallies, conferences. The latest example being Punjab.
However, this is a permanent trick up Kejriwal’s sleeves- ready to be used whenever convenient.
Screenshot of Hindustan Times article
How could AAP not blame the neighboring states for the pollution and water crisis? Deflecting the blame once again, an AAP MLA passed the buck to Haryana for the water shortage in Delhi.
Screenshot of Times Now article
Dusting responsibility off one’s shoulder, Kejriwal has consistently blamed Punjab and Haryana for the rise in pollution in the national capital.
Screenshot of Hindustan Times article
Any indefensible attack on AAP leaders, and the party is ready with a new headline to blame the BJP for it. Fascinating, when a party leader blamed the Bhartiya Janta Party for her divorce even.
This is not it, Delhi CM Kejriwal once even blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for traffic jam, thereby, attracting trolls for his hysterical attack.
Screenshot of India.com article
That is not all. AAP leaders are regularly subjected to dubious ‘attacks’ where someone usually throws ink on them or just slaps them. The motley of ‘activists’ and ‘journalists’ who refuse to accept testimonies of rape victims in Bengal just because they supported the BJP will lap up the ‘ink attacks’ on AAP leaders. These ‘ink attacks’ on AAP leaders in BJP ruled states is the ‘proof of fascism’ under Narendra Modi.
This is how it is. The drama that surrounds Aam Aadmi Party.
No wonder they say you elect a joker, you get a circus.
In response to India’s robust air defense capabilities, Pakistan had inducted a Chinese-made Low-to-Medium Altitude Air Defence System (LOMADS) LY 80 on March 12 this year. However, in a major embarrassment to Pakistan, the low-quality Chinese-made missiles are reportedly ‘not working.’
As per a Times Now report, the Chinese technicians are in Pakistan for the past two months making an attempt to repair the systems. To add to it, Pakistan has placed an order for six more such systems.
LOMADS LY-80 capability includes intercepting and destroying aerial targets flying at low and medium altitudes. Pakistan has deployed the LOMADS at nine locations in the country with a Chinese technician team sent to each of these locations to fix the systems.
As per the Times Now report, Pakistan is desperate for the Air Defence System and has signed a contract with China for six more of such systems.
India successfully test-fires Agni P
On the other hand, India successfully carried out the test-firing of Agni P- a new missile in the Agni series off the coast of Odisha on Monday.
DRDO had updated after the successful test, “Various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile has followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy.”
Prior to that, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired an extended range version of indigenously-developed Pinaka rocket last week at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.
Seven EU nations and Switzerland have accepted India’s Covishield in their ‘Green Pass’, that is, persons vaccinated with Covishield will be allowed to travel in those nations.
The development has come after India had told EU nations that it would allow EU travellers in India without mandatory quarantine only on the basis of reciprocity. India had conveyed to the EU that they need to include India-made Covishield and Covaxin in their ‘Green Pass’ that comes into effect from July.
#NewsAlert: Today Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain have included Serum Institute’s Covishield in Green Passport. Switzerland also accepts Covishield. (ET Bureau)
Earlier, India had cautioned against the European Union’s reluctance in accepting Indian-made vaccines for its ‘vaccination passport’. The Indian government had categorically stated that it will not recognise the EU’s digital Covid certificate until it recognises Indian vaccines Covishield and Covaxin in the certificate, reports Hindustan Times.
In what seemed to be the first diplomatic retaliatory move against vaccine nationalism, the Indian government had said it will only recognise the EU digital Covid certificates on a reciprocal basis.
The reciprocal approval means that EU’s vaccine certificates will not be accepted in the country, and people from the EU will have to face mandatory quarantine upon arrival in India unless the European Union accepts Covishield and Covaxin certificates in its digital certificate, also known as “Green Pass”.
“We have requested the EU Member States to individually consider extending the similar exemption to those persons who have taken Covid-19 vaccines in India, that is, Covishield and Covaxin, and accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal,” a senior MEA confirmed to the Hindu.
The EU digital Covid certificate or “Green Pass” will exempt those who are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the EU from mandatory quarantine. The EU “Green Pass” is expected to come into effect from July 1.
Meanwhile, the EU has claimed that SII had not applied for the permissions with the European Medicines Agency, and had promised to consider its case as soon as it applied. However, New Delhi contended that the EMA must consider the Indian-made vaccines by accepting the CoWin certificate, regardless of the applications.
On Tuesday, Serum Institute applied for EU’s authorisation for the use of Covishield through its European partner, AstraZeneca. However, European Medicines Agency said they have not received a request for the approval of Covishield.
Dr Jaishankar takes up issue of ‘vaccine passport’ with EU’s top officials
On Tuesday, during his meeting with top EU officials, Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar took up the issue of the inclusion of Covishield in the vaccination passport initiative of the European Union. “Discussed vaccine production and access. Took up ‘Covishield’ authorisation for travel to Europe. Will be following up,” Dr Jaishankar tweeted.
A comprehensive review of our relationship with EUHR VP @JosepBorrellF. Taking forward the agenda of the Leaders’ Summit.
Discussed vaccine production and access. Took up ‘Covishield’ authorisation for travel to Europe. Will be following up. pic.twitter.com/FhwIKS44V7
The European Union’s ‘vaccine passport’ programme has approved only four vaccines, Vaxzevria (Oxford-AstraZeneca), Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna) and Janssen-Johnson & Johnson. Interestingly, Covishield, which is exactly the same as AstraZeneca’s – Vaxzevria, has failed to make the cut. Covaxin has not been considered, largely because it is yet to get WHO approval.
Meanwhile, the EU also clarified on Tuesday that the “Green pass” is not a mandatory condition to travel to Europe as individual member states are free to accept vaccines approved by WHO such as Covishield.
On June 29, Pew Research Centre published findings of a survey that stated 80% of Muslim men do not want their women to marry non-Muslims. The study titled ‘Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation’ talked about religion across India. The survey was based on face-to-face interviews of 29,999 Indian adults that included 22,975 Hindus, 3,336 Muslims, 1,782 Sikhs, 1,011 Christians, 719 Buddhists, 109 Jains and 67 who belonged to another religion or identified themselves as religiously unaffiliated. It was conducted under the direction of RTI International between November 17, 2019, and March 23, 2020.
Indians are religiously tolerant, respecting other religions is seen as a core value of being an Indian
Over 84% of the people who participated in the survey emphasized religious tolerance. However, they asserted the fact that the majority of Indians live religiously segregated lives. For most people, respecting all religions is a part of their identity as an Indian. The survey stated, “People in all six major religious groups overwhelmingly say they are very free to practice their faiths, and most say that people of other faiths also are very free to practice their own religion.” Notably, due to differences between the religious practices, the majority of the Indians prefer to stay in a closed circle of people from their own religion.
Source: Pew Research Center
‘There is a need to stop interfaith marriages’
A large share of Muslims is against interreligious marriages. As per the survey, 80% of Muslims say it is very important to stop Muslim women from marrying outside their religion. 76% want to stop Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim women. In the case of Hindus, while 67% did not want Hindu women to marry non-Hindus, 65% were not in favour of Hindu men marrying non-Hindu women.
80% of Muslims want to stop interfaith marriages. Source: Pew Research Center
The link between national identity, religion and language
According to the survey, 64% of Hindus believe to be truly Indian, it is important to be a Hindu. 80% of these individuals link the Hindi language to the national identity as well. The idea of such an interlinked connection among Hindus is most visible in the Hindi belt, where Hindi is the major one of over a dozen spoken languages.
Dietary laws and religious identity go hand-in-hand
Muslims consider eating pork as Haram. In the survey, 77% of Muslims believe that a person cannot be a Muslim if they consume pork. On the other hand, as Hindus traditionally see cows as sacred, a large share of Hindus (72%) believe that a person is not Hindu if they eat beef.
Muslims prefer Shariah over regular courts
As per the survey, 74% of Muslims are in support to have access to the existing system of Islamic courts. Notably, since 1937, they have the option to resolve family and inheritance-related cases in officially recognized Islamic courts, known as dar-ul-qaza. Religious magistrates identified as Qazis oversee these courts and follow Shariah principles. However, decisions taken by these courts have no legal binding.
Muslims prefer Shariah courts. Source: Pew Research Center
While the majority of Muslims want access to Islamic courts, the followers of other religions are not in favour of allowing Muslims to have a separate court system.
